Sensus fidelum baby! For all you non-brainiacs, that means priests don’t have to listen to Church teaching or their archbishop as long as they surround themselves with people who agree with them.
It’s being reported that a priest is openly defying his archbishop and seems to be completely getting off on it. He’s even sending emails to the media about it. I’m unsure if he’s going to perform some kind of victory dance on the parish lawn but I wouldn’t be surprised. What? It could be for a nice charity like Planned Parenthood or a marriage equality group.
Seattle Pi reports:
The congregation at Seattle’s Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church gave the Rev. Tim Clark a standing ovation Sunday when he announced that the parish would not gather signatures for a referendum to repeal same-sex marriage.
The parish became the sixth in Seattle to opt out of the petition drive for Referendum 74 that has been endorsed and foisted on parishes by Archbishop J. Peter Sartain.
“I am happy to report that Our Lady of the Lake parishoners have been overwhelmingly and, thus far, unanimously supportive of the decision I made NOT to gather signatures in support of this Referendum,” Clark wrote in response to an e-mail.
“The standing ovation experienced during one of the Masses says less about me and much more about the health of this parish. I only wished the archbishop could have experienced the sustained applause — the ‘sensus fidelium’ — of the people. He needs to listen to this ‘voice.’ That is my prayer.”
You’ve got to wonder how many Catholics have scrambled out of that parish and found a decently Catholic parish to attend. But there might be slim pickings in Seattle as a number of other parishes have also refused. I’m unsure if they too are emailing reporters about their “standing ovations.”
But the Rev. Michael Ryan of St. James Cathedral reportedly said that the archbishop’s wishes in this case, “prove hurtful and seriously divisive in our community.”
Yes, let’s just tell people what they want to here to make them happy. Who cares what happenes to them after they die?
Archbishop Peter Sartain is asking Catholics to sign their name to put traditional marriage to a referendum.
Mind you, the archbishop is hardly donning gestapo boots. He’s gone out of his way to say that all persons “should be treated with respect, sensitivity and love,” but he also didn’t water down the Church’s teachings.
But Father Clark reportedly responded by telling the media:
“When I first read the archbishop’s letter I was troubled by the content and his intentions,” Clark wrote. “In conscience, I could not allow signatures to be gathered, to allow the faith to be politicized in this way.
Wait, what faith are we talking about again. Oh yeah, the sensus fidelum one that he makes up as he goes along. And it gets worse from there. He reportedly wrote:
“What troubles me is the message this whole approach sends which I find discriminatory and insensitive. To follow through with his wishes would be hurtful, divisive and a countersign to what we are trying to foster in this Catholic community in Wedgwood.
“I deeply believe, and say this with boldness, that this approach is not in the mind of Christ.”
Uhm. Father Clark, it wasn’t Jesus giving you the standing ovation. It was just the Catholics left in your parish.
I went over to the parish’s website and found “Father Tim’s Corner” where he wrote this:
Because the strategy behind this crusade has—unintentionally, I believe—a discriminatory and insensitive feel to it. However, if you wish to support this Referendum, that is your civic right. But, I must admit, the ovation I witnessed at the 9:30 Mass after I made my intentions known was overwhelming. And I thought to myself: How I wish the Archbishop was present! Something is being said within the echo of such applause that needs a hearing. Since our student days in Rome, I’ve always known him to be a deeply prayerful and genuinely good person. My fear is that the approach he’s determined to take will only undermine his authority in the Archdiocese and I would never want that to happen. Such a thought only saddens me because of my friendship with him and of my love for the Church.
Two things about this. The first is that he says that if you want to support it, “it’s your civic right” but then says that you should probably know that pretty much everyone else in the Church is with me on this.
Secondly, he claims that the archbishop’s actions will only “undermine” the authority of the archdiocese. But isn’t that actually what Father Tim is doing?
April 19, 2012 at 12:45 am
I live in the Seattle area, this is a tough place for a Catholic who is faithful to Rome to live. Fr. Michael Ryan, who is rector at the Cathedral of St. James is a priest who has done great harm to this diosese, with his heterodox visions of what the Church should be in the modern world. Yes, please pray for Bishop Sartain. Not only for the task given to him by the Holy Father concerning women religious, but for undoing the damage done by 40 years of priests, bishops, and parish staff who have rejected the authority of the Church. In Seattle,it's going to get a lot worse before it gets any better.
April 19, 2012 at 1:02 am
Please pray of us here in Seattle. It is indeed going to get worst. And I love our Archbishop. It took a while for me to find a parish and have made St.James my home. Even though I am the minority in what I believe, I could not sit through another 70's style guitar Mass, which is seems most churches still do here. I have found the liturgies so beautiful here at St. James.I did try Our Lady of the Lake as it was in my neighborhood, but couldn't bear it. Please do not insult others, the priest or bishops, you will not help matters, but please pray instead. thanks
April 19, 2012 at 1:25 am
"I LOVE MY MOMMY AND MY DADDY" HATE SPEECH FROM A FIVE YEAR OLD CHILD IN "GAY-MARRIAGE" COMMUNITIES. In Belgium when a priest reads from Holy Scriture that Sodomy is a crime against God, the priest is arrested and charged with "hate speech". In Canada, too. This cowardly specimen of a human being is avoiding having to announce the truth of the Gospel. "You shalll not lay with a man as with a woman." and codify the vice of LUST as the virtue of LOVE because this is perjury in a court of law. A nation divided against itself shall not stand.If father clark will not stand up for our unalienable civil rights, he ought to be deported.
April 19, 2012 at 1:51 am
It's moments like this that heretics make it so easy for them to be found.
It sounds like Archbishop Sartain – who has just been tasked by the Vatican with overhauling the LCWR – has his hands full. Why do all the nice guys get to have all the fun?
With rectors like Fr. Ryan, who needs enemas.
April 19, 2012 at 2:17 am
Remember who the Father of Rebellion is… Pray for these priests, for they shall answer to the Throne of Heaven someday for causing scandal…
April 19, 2012 at 2:22 am
Why does it not surprise me that this is the rather unattractively modern looking parish a few blocks from my grandmother's house. When my husband and I last visited from Texas we went to the FSSP mass, and it was wonderful! I love to visit my family, but am so glad to be in the Austin diocese. I will definitely keep Seattle's archbishop in my prayers!
April 19, 2012 at 2:22 am
This makes me sad because I have family that live there and they probably were part of the crowd that applauded. That poor bishop there is going to need all of our prayers and support. His diocese is a seed bed of dissension
April 19, 2012 at 3:07 am
MIght I suggest that in the present climate, it may not be prudent for a parish to solicit signatures for a petition dealing with such a highly charged political issue?
Ten years, maybe even 5 years ago, you could have. But then, during this same time an Episcopal parish was investigated by the IRS for revocation of its tax exempt status because the rector preached a sermon against the middle-east wars.
April 19, 2012 at 3:11 am
Let's see….
Feelings vs. Moral Standards
I think Jesus settled that one. Oy!
April 19, 2012 at 3:15 am
I live in Seattle and my parish IS collecting signatures. We have some very good parishes and priests. Don't give up your search.
April 19, 2012 at 3:32 am
Yes, Father Clark, just a few days back we heard the words read, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" The crowd was overwhelmingly supportive of the high priest in that instance also. You say that our Archbishop should listen to the "voice" of your supporters. The WH recently told Cardinal Dolan that he should listen to the voice of America magazine. I join the prayer warriors in support of the voice of Archbishop Sartin.
April 19, 2012 at 4:24 am
There are simply far too many self-proclaimed Caatholics who do not accept the perennial teaching of the Catholic Church, handed down by the Apostles. Some of them are even ordained. Why they remain in the Catholic Church is a mystery to me.
April 19, 2012 at 4:58 am
The actions of these Seattle parishes that disobey ArchBp Sartain says something about the attitude and behavior of his predecessor (Was that Hunthausen?)
Many theologians in English-speaking countries pooh-poohed Humanae Vitae. In effect, they were saying that since V-II, the Sixth Commandment and the Church's interpretation of it no longer applied. They have sowed the wind; and the whirlwind will be reaped.
Must pray for them.
TeaPot562
April 19, 2012 at 5:16 am
This priest & those like him are seriously scandalizing those entrusted to their care. The sacraments, the Word of God are all passed down to us through Mother Church & he undermines the authority of the archbishop so blatantly. Sounds like a wolf among the sheep. The fathers of the Church would have very harsh words for him.
April 19, 2012 at 5:35 am
When a priest does something outrageous, there is a procedure within canon law to lift his faculties! 'Father' Ryan is out of control and scandalizing the Seattle Archdiocese. ABp. Sartain needs all the support from loyal Catholics that he can be given. Write letters to the Vatican in support of him for a start.
April 19, 2012 at 5:38 am
This priest has a serious problem. Not only is he a show-off; his views are wrong. For a start, marriage has never been a political institution – check with the communities around the world. As Catholics, parishioners are supposed to be followers or disciples of Christ and in communion with his Church. So, what did Jesus have to say about marriage when a certain question was put to him? He said that it was for marriage that, at the beginning, God made us MALE and FEMALE. Let’s face it! There is only one feature that separates humans of all races, castes and creeds into two distinct and different groups, namely Gender. It is beautifully and meaningfully designed in our nature. Two principal organs specific to these genders are complementary, and when a man and woman unite these organs merge perfectly – and there we have a marriage. This marriage is very significant because it provides stability and continuity. No other loving relationship is so blessed. States record these marriages, offer support (because of their significance, and religions bless them. Clearly, this priest and his followers are contradicting our Redeemer.
April 19, 2012 at 7:01 am
I was a parishoner at St. James for almost 14 years. I had several run-ins with Fr. Ryan over the years regarding the nearly non-existent pro life presence in the parish, including non-mention of the issue even on Respect Life Sundays, as well as his thinly veiled contempt for Rome. There was also his open support for the gays as a constituency group in the parish. However, as one person noted, the liturgy is celebrated beautifully there, esp. the music. That kept me a member of the parish. I believe that Fr. Ryan is only a couple of years away at most from retirement. There are good parishes in the city and area, including Blessed Sacrament, run by the Dominicans in the University District, and St. Monica's on Mercer Island. The disobedient parishes are almost exclusively in the central city close to or in the midst of the heavily gay neighborhoods.
April 19, 2012 at 8:10 am
Nice post.
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April 19, 2012 at 2:07 pm
The people of Seattle obviously don't appreciate the gift they've been given in Peter Sartain. The Catholics in Memphis are in the process of collecting a Spiritual Bouquet for this good man who seems to be a voice crying in the desert that is the Left Coast.?!?
April 19, 2012 at 2:12 pm
Sartain is being given too much benefit of the doubt, here. He needs to start acting like a bishop. He should abort the faculties of this priest, and he should close the parish immediately. Bolt the doors and take the keys. That would achieve serious shock effect. Dissidents consider their parishes like union halls. The closure of their "union hall" would knock them off balance. At the same time, he should issue catechesis clearly stating that anything supporting homosexualism is mortal sin. Things would be dicey for awhile, but things have gotten so bad in the Catholic world that this must be done. No Catholic bishop should ever have to issue teaching that homosexualism is mortally sinful. It should be common knowledge and commonly accepted among Catholics everywhere, but as I said, things have gotten so bad…