Saturday 30 July 2016

MAYNOOTH - MAFIA - WOUNDED

MAYNOOTH SEMINARY

CHALLENGING THE MAFIA - HEALING THE WOUNDED 

MAYNOOTH SEMINARY - A FROZEN PLACE NEEDING GOD'S HEALING SUN / SON
Maynooth Seminary at present presents us with two great challenges - the challenge to confront and eradicate the life destroying GAY MAFIA and the challenge to reach out in love to heal seminarians and staff who are deeply WOUNDED.

These challenges call for that difficult phenomenon of combining the spirit of the WARRIOR with the spirit of the HEALER.

Both of those spirits were found in Jesus Christ - the Christ who took his WHIP into the temple - and the Christ who HEALED the sick.

MAYNOOTH needs both WHIP and HEALING!

Sadly the WHIP must come first followed by the HEALING.

But where will we find THE MAN or THE MEN who can wield with courage and compassion both the WHIP and the MEDICINE?

Is there one Irish Catholic Bishop who can be this man? Is there among the Body of Bishops a group of such men?

I DOUBT IT !

But how I would love to be proven wrong.

 Can I try and communicate the problem we have to you by telling you a parable?


Picture a large room in Maynooth with a high ceiling. Seated in that room is a priest and a young seminarian. They are having a conversation:

P = Priest
S = Seminarian

P: How are you coping with your sexuality?
S: How do you mean, Father?
P: Do you get erections? Do you have sexual fantasies?
S: Er..... I suppose I do, Father?
P: You suppose.... you mean erections or sexual fantasies?
S: Er...both er....Father.
P: Are your sexual fantasies about men or about women?
S: Er...I find it hard to talk....er...about that Father.
P: I need you to talk about that to see if you are suitable material for the priesthood. I have to      recommend you....or not....to your bishop.
S: Father, I do talk about these things in confession and with my spiritual director.
P: Good. But we must also talk about them now.
S: Can I think about it and talk with you again Father?
P: No. We are having this conversation now.
S: I masturbate er....every....day....Father.
P: And when you are masturbating what or who are you thinking of - a naked man or a naked woman?
S: Er...a woman, Father.
P: I'm not sure you are telling me the truth.

The priest stands up and the seminarian thinks that he sees signs of sexual arousal in the priests trousers.

The priest goes to a wash basin in the room and begins to wash his hands vigorously. His face looks a bit distorted. 

The seminarian looks on with a slight sense of panic,

The priest returns to his chair with a disturbed look on his face and dismisses the seminarian with the words: "We will discuss this again".

The seminarian leaves the room feeling somewhat like a lamb that has just escaped from the presence of a brooding lion.

To be continued...............................................

In this parable the priest is both a perpetrator and a victim. It is clear that the priest has major issues - issues that he has not dealt with and issues that is causing him to engage in inappropriate conversations - at least. He is like this because he himself is psycho-sexually and emotionally immature. But he has been like this for years - and it is getting worse. He has chosen or has been forced to lead a double life for years. This double life has now brought him to the border between neurosis and psychosis. This cannot continue.

The seminarian - and others like him - are victims. The danger is that if they do not develop psycho-sexually and emotionally they too will end up like the poor priest. 

It is a vicious circle. 

That is why change is needed.

Change can only happen if the status quo is challenged.

But this change can only happen if some "champion" mounts a challenge.

Where is such a champion? 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Fr Darius Oko

Fr Oko is the Professor of Theology at The Pontifical Academy of Theology in Krakow, Poland.

For a thought provoking exploration of this problem and greater problems associated with the Catholic Church read the LONG piece by Father Darius Oko on:



PAT SAYS:

I do not agree with ALL that Fr Oko says.

But I do find his article thought provoking.

It contains much that we as Catholics need to reflect upon

34 comments:

  1. Please stop mixing up the roles of perpetrator and victim in this fashion.

    The priest may have been a victim of other things in his life, at other times. These, however, has absolutely nothing to do with the student in this "parable" scenario.

    In the scenario you are describing, this prurient priest is completely and totally THE PERPETRATOR and the seminarian is the real and only victim!

    Saying that the priest in the scene you imagine is "both perpetrator and victim" sends out a confused message.

    The priest may indeed have issues. They are his concern and he should deal with them. They are no excuse whatsoever for him interrogating a seminarian in this disgraceful manner and "getting his rocks off".

    He is abusing his power, breaking Canon Law and sinning against the 6th Commandment. He should be removed immediately from his post.

    If this is what has been happening in Maynooth, then Maynooth needs radical intervention. If this has been happening for some time, despite an apostolic visitation - and if bishops have been complicit and negligent in facilitating such dysfunctional behaviour among the faculty - then heads need to roll!

    Former seminarian.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment. I did not mean to confuse.

      I have been trying to strike a balance between challenge and compassion.

      But much of what you say is true.

      Above all else - I think you will agree with me that Maynooth needs to be looked at very closely and reformed.

      The problem is that no one is doing that now - especially the Irish Catholic Bishops whose responsibility it is.

      This Blog is meant to encourage comment and debate.

      That seems to be happening - I hope?

      Pat

      Delete
    2. Totally agreed. I wonder is anyone reading this blog in the Vatican/Rome, Pat?

      Former sem

      Delete
    3. Well, lets put it like this:

      Six to eight thousand people a day are reading it.

      Two hundred people a day are viewing it from Italy.

      Two hundred people viewed it in Krakow, Poland, this week.

      At least one Irish bishop has "confessed" to reading it.

      The real question is: Will anyone do anything about Maynooth soon?

      Delete
    4. ... apart from some sort of bromide sexual suppressant and/or CCTV in every room, including bedrooms and toilets, nothing much can be done in order to damp down priestly sexual urges. Keith Brien is an excellent example; nothing can be done.

      Delete
  2. Sounds to me like some of faculty in Maynooth should be joining Rory in the USA. Any word on their lawsuit, Pat? Those who have enabled this grave situation to happen and continue are a "thundering disgrace"!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pat, Without knowing the slightest thing about your statistics I can assure you and former Sen at 14.05 that every bishop, bishop's secretary, chancellor and folk in the Nunciature will read this. They would be fools not to!
    Believe me anything of substance on here will be in Ab Brown's ear before the ink is dry on the post !
    Such is the way of life.
    Whatsmore I have no doubt that although the powers that be will not react to what's on here immediately they will take action in due course.
    This blog is widely read.
    The Spin Doctor

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pat, has the above convetsation between a priest and seminarian in Maynooth actually happened? Or is the above verbatim only a general conversation which may or may not take place between staff and students in maynooth

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fr Oko is right at so many levels. However, is it not extreme to forbid men with same sex attraction to become priests?

    Does God not give vocations to men with ssa? I think he does and many such men have always served the Church well - many of them are undoubtedly in Heaven.

    There is such a thing, after all, whether sexual orientation is hetero or homo, as discipline and self-control. A man with ssa - as much as a man attracted to women - does not need to act out on his compulsions.

    That notwithstanding - there is no question about the fact that the "homo-mafia" have gained an inordinate amount of influence over the Church.

    There is also no question about the fact that this "homo-mafia" must be exposed and smashed - completely eradicated - no matter how high up the ecclesiastical ladder they have climbed. They are destroying the Church and endangering souls.

    The entire malaise in Maynooth must be examined carefully so that it can be effectively treated. I believe, as part of that procedure, ALL of "the Brady Bunch" should closely scrutinised and assessed.

    Cillian from Cavan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with you. Good men, whatever their sexual orientation, should be ordained.

      Its the gay mafia that is the problem.

      As I said above Fr Oko is extreme and unbalanced in places. But he is right about the mafia.

      Delete
    2. Bishop Pat, the moral rot at Maynooth is lack of chaste desire, but your repeatedly and explicitly linking it with homosexuality will only feed the homophobic stereotype (so loved by Church hierarchs) that homosexual orientation is about one thing only: lust. This is, in fact, what current
      Catechetical teaching on homosexuality strongly suggests.

      Be careful, please. There are good, chaste, gay seminarians; they were at Maynooth in my time there, too. Please don't make life any more difficult for them; they already face enough homophobic prejudice in the world. And
      we both know there are homophobic persecutors in the minesterial Church who would use any excuse to drive every gay student, whether chaste or not, out of seminary. Don't unwittingly facilitate their Pharisaical efforts.

      Goo

      Delete
    3. I am aware of the danger you point out and as an openly gay man in a civil partnership I am sensitive to it.

      The problem in Maynooth at present is the presence of a GAY mafia.

      I would campaign as hard if we were dealing with a HETERO mafia.

      But I appreciate your warning.

      Delete
  6. Bishops Patrick Ziemann of Santa Rosa in California (1999), Archbishop Juliusz Paetz (Poland, 2002), Juan Carlos Maccarone of Santiago del Estero in Argentina (2005), Georg Müller of Trondheim and Oslo in Norway (2009), Raymond John Lahey of Antigonish in Canada (2009), Roger Vangheluw of Bruges, in Belgium (2010), John C. Favalora of Miami (2010) and Anthony J. O'Connell of Palm Beach in Florida (2010), etc...

    Makes you wonder who their Irish counterparts are - doesn't it???? Or maybe that kind of thing couldn't happen here in Ireland???

    The Axeman cometh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Plus Cardinal Spellman in New York, Cardinal Keith O'Brien in Scotland, Cardinal Hans Groer in Austria, Bishop Francisco Da Silviera in Uruguay, Bishop Cawcutt in Cape Town.

      We can be quite sure that there are gay bishops in Ireland.

      Are any of them sexually active?

      Are any of them protecting people in Maynooth?

      We WILL find out

      Delete
    2. The sooner the better, Pat. Smash the gay mafia. Expose them all and clear them out.

      "Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Luke 3:9).

      Delete
    3. Do non sexually active Irish gay bishops need to be exposed? Just asking?

      Any of them protecting the Maynooth Mafia are in a different position, I would imagine?

      Delete
    4. If a man is keeping his vows and behaving properly as a bishop/priest, his sexual orientation is no one's business. There is nothing to expose.

      if a bishop/priest is sexually active and exploitative - away with him.

      If a bishop is complicit and/or enabling, or covering up, any aspect of this ghastly business - he should be exposed as such. He is facilitating evil.

      Delete
  7. Is Sean Jones Kerry diocese still suspected of being actively gay/ ? on Grindr & is he on target for ordination? Is his bishop aware of the allegations do you know ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bishop Ray Browne of Kerry has been on holidays since the story broke. He is back to work after this weekend.

      The deacon is his baby.

      Delete
    2. I knew Ray Browne in Rome and in Sligo. I remember him as the quiet man and a deep thinker. Is he naïve I don't know. Much has happened since I left Sligo

      Delete
  8. And DM i take it has moved CD to another parish-surely not! so CD continues in ministry? Or has DM suspended his minustry pending a full investigation?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diarmuid Martin has been in Krakow since being made aware of CD.

      He is returning home as we speak.

      Delete
  9. Any updates on ex bishop Drennan or who might replace him?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Too early. He will not be replaced, I imagine, for 12 months plus.

      Delete
  10. Bishop Pat, I'm surprised that you should provide a link to Fr Darius Oko. I have just read part of his article and have to say it is one of the most highly speculative, homophobic pieces I've come across. It unashamedly panders to the worst public prejudice about homosexuality: its predatory attraction to underage males.

    Extreme prejudice can breed contempt that borders on hatred. And hatred breeds the
    kind of reaction to homosexuals we find in such continents as Africa. And that reaction often results in brutal murder.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with you that the article has a homophobic premise.

      I totally reject that.

      But it is a lens on the Gay Mafia in the Church which I also see as very problematic.

      Somehow we all have to meet on rational ground.

      Delete
    2. What do you mean by 'Gay Mafia'? And how (if at all) does Prof. Oko substantiate this?

      Delete
    3. Have you been following this blog at all MC? Do try to keep up if you are going to comment.

      Delete
    4. You've ignored the last part of my question. Why?

      Delete
    5. Ever hear of Google, Magna Carta? Presumably you can type? So take your fingers and type "gay mafia" into Google. Anyone following this blog with a titter of wit knows exactly what Pat is describing.

      Delete
  11. Im with you on the question re gay mafia MC..Despite having a high IQ & GI myself & following the blog I still had to look up a defnition & am still not so sure of the contextual meaning! I have read many sound intelligent posts from Magna Carta: because one thinks critically & poses valid questions you Anon 00 seem to suggest that this precludes him/her from comment. Strange logic indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mourne Man Michael31 July 2016 at 01:48

    Sorry Anon @ 00:00, but I think Magna C @ 22:50 is making very sensible comment
    Rather than keeping up, his/her comments are well ahead.
    MMM

    ReplyDelete
  13. What an interesting parable.. hopefully this is only fiction or were you speaking to seminarians, prior to publishing this article?

    ReplyDelete
  14. THE IRISH TIMES NOW PUBLISHING MAYNOOTH STORY

    Martin moves priests out of Maynooth over ‘strange goings-on’

    Catholic Archbishop of Dublin decides to send seminary students to Rome instead

    Paddy Agnew
    Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin says the national seminary in Maynooth ‘seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around’. Photograph: Cyril Byrne / The Irish Times
    Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin says the national seminary in Maynooth ‘seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around’.

    The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has decided to cease sending trainee priests from the diocese to St Patrick’s College, Maynooth because of a worrying “atmosphere” at the national seminary.

    Asked about the decision of the Dublin archdiocese to send its three seminary students next autumn to the Irish Pontifical College in Rome rather than to Maynooth, Dr Martin told The Irish Times: “I wasn’t happy with Maynooth...

    “There seems to an atmosphere of strange goings-on there, it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around.
    “I don’t think this is a good place for students,” he said.
    “However, when I informed the president of Maynooth of my decision, I did add ‘at least for the moment’.”

    The Archbishop’s decision to send his students to Rome comes after anonymous letters were circulated in clerical circles about student activities in Maynooth, including an allegation that some seminarians had used a dating app.

    Dr Martin made no comment on those reports, saying only that he himself had a “certain bonding” with Rome and that he felt the Irish college there offered “a good grounding” in the Catholic faith.

    Before being appointed Archbishop of Dublin in 2004, Dr. Martin had worked in the Holy See in Rome for 25 years, mainly at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

    Monsignor Ciaran O’Carroll, rector of the Irish college, confirmed that the three Dublin seminarians would be “transferring” to Rome, adding this was very much a normal practise since this was the time of year when bishops nominated students for the college.

    Last year, there were 12 Irish seminarians studying at the college along with 38 priests, who resided in the college but who were pursuing post-graduate studies at some of Rome’s pontifical universities.

    Most of the men who present themselves for formation at the Irish college tend to be mature students, men with a “late vocation” whilst the priests doing post-graduate studies come from 18 different countries, from Romania to Peru and from Chile to South Korea.

    People who know the college well suggest that the international nature of the college inmates means that it offers possibilities and opportunities that might be lacking in Ireland whilst it is also a fair reflection of the “universality” of the Catholic Church.

    Maynooth currently has around 60 seminarians in residence.

    ReplyDelete