MAYNOOTH - SEMINARIAN STALKED ME
The media knows of the alleged reasons for the reshuffle of the top diocesan official. Yet these reasons are to be regarded with caution. Named are problems with two priests of the diocese. Don Francesco Zappella was implicated in cases of sexual abuse, and Don Angelo Chizzolini was "xenophobic". So it is maintained by some media, and both priests were included in media campaigns last year.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
TODAYS PICS:
Pat's last Irish traveller wedding:
CONAN O'BRIEN AND PRIEST STALKER |
IF YOU THOUGHT that priest stalkers only existed in the USA (as per above) then read the following account of a recent Maynooth seminarian who was stalked by another seminarian:
"I am a straight man and some time ago I entered Maynooth to test my vocation. If there is such a thing as a 100% straight man I am it. I have no problem at all with homosexuality and gay people. In fact my brother is gay and in a civil partnership with his partner and my cousin is a gay priest.
I am not one of of those guys who spend hours in front of mirrors but people have told me that I am good looking guy.
I was only in Maynooth a few days when this other seminarian who was senior to me started approaching me and talking to me. He offered me some of his old text books which meant that I did not have to buy them for myself. We went for an occasional coffee together in Maynooth and on one occasion we went for a pint or two in a group of four seminarians. I went to the bar to buy my round and just happened to glance back and the two other seminarians we were out with were kissing each other on the lips. I was a bit surprised but felt it was not really any of my business.
We went back to Maynooth and went to our own rooms as per normal. In the morning when I got out of bed I noticed that a piece of paper had been pushed under my door during the night. Ir was a short message from the senior seminarian who had befriended me thanking me for the night out and telling me that he found me attractive! I was blown away at this and was quite frankly, embarrassed.
During the day we met on a corridor and he asked me if I got his note. I told him that I had and that I did not wish to offend him or tell him how to live his life but that I was straight and that we could be friends and only friends. He smiled and said: "They all say that".
I decided to give him a wide berth from then on but he pestered me. On a regular occasion I found gifts outside my door - books, a pen and on two occasions expensive aftershaves including a RAJUL men.
On each occasion I brought the gifts back and left them outside his door.
But that did not stop him. He sent me a number of texts - including texts with sexual content - and I eventually had to change my mobile number.
On one occasion he grabbed me late one night in a corridor and held me and I was aware that he was sexually aroused. I flung him to the ground and told him that if he did that again I would kick his f****** head in.
He had a few other seminarians talk to me to see if we would be friends again and I refused.
On the night we went out as four for a pint I remember him saying with a wink: "The only difference between a straight man and a gay man is five pints".
I eventually left Maynooth (nothing to do with my stalker) as I came to the conclusion that the whole thing was not for me.
I would say that Maynooth was riddled with homosexuality in my time there.
My stalker is now ordained a priest and I have heard that he is very sexually active on the scene.
In my opinion Maynooth is not fit for purpose and I would advise anyone - especially straight guys - from going there.
I still believe in God, still pray everyday but stay well clear of the Catholic Church".
VATICAN REMOVES BISHOP WHO TOLERATED PLAYBOY PRIESTS:
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of an Italian bishop who welcomed into his diocese priests accused of, and in some cases convicted of, sexual abuse, homicide and other crimes.
The Vatican didn't say why Bishop Mario Olivieri resigned two years before the regular retirement age of 75. Usually, the Vatican announces early retirements by saying they were due to a "grave" reason that made the bishop unfit for office. In Olivieri's case, the Vatican didn't even provide that information Thursday.
Italian newspapers have identified a handful of priests accused or convicted of crimes who were accepted by the tradition-minded Olivieri into his Albenga-Imperia dioceses.
In a letter on the diocesan website Friday, Olivieri said he was pained to leave because he loved the dioceses "and above all its priests."
Vatican probes
Italy's 'playboy priests'
The Vatican has launched an
investigation into a diocese in north-west Italy following a series of scandals
by “playboy priests”, including one being convicted for sexual abuse and
another posting naked photos of himself on Facebook.
Pope Francis has ordered a Catholic
Church representative to help bishop Mario Oliveri bring his priests into line.
During his
25-year-old reign over the diocese of Albenga-Imperia, Oliveri has allegedly
turned a blind eye to the actions of priests under his direction.
They include Luciano Massaferro, who
was sentenced to seven years and eight months for sexual abuse, and Gabriel
Viorel Irla, a priest who allegedly posed naked on Facebook. Another priest -
Alfonso Maria Parente - reportedly stole money from a Catholic church.
Other priests have raised eyebrows
for working in bars at night and having tattoos, Il Messaggero said.
The Vatican’s decision to intervene
follows a visit to the diocese by envoy Adriano Bernardini, after a local
woman, Luisia Bonello, sent a dossier to the Pope detailing the scandals.
Bonello committed suicide last month and an investigation is currently underway
into her death.
Bishops who are too traditionally inclined, or
promote it in their dioceses, or who allow the celebration of the traditional
form of the Roman Rite to an extent that it goes beyond a niche, don't have it
easy under Pope Francis.
This is already
being felt by Bishop Mario Oliveri of Albenga-Imperia on the Italian
Riviera. Despite the above-average earnings in his diocese, he was
overthrown by Pope Francis in January 2015. The Pope appointed the Bishop
of Pitigliano-Sovana-Orbetello, Msgr. Guglielmo Borghetti, as the Coadjutor
Bishop of Albenga-Imperia, although Bishop Oliveri is in good health and was
only 70 years old.
The coadjutor
received with immediate effect, all authority as diocesan
bishop. Bishop Oliveri has since been only "decorative" actually.
Last April, Pope
Francis summoned bishop and coadjutor separately and on the expressway to Rome.
It was reported by Savona News that the Pope
demanded Bishop Oliveri's resignation. He is to retire in August.
This dismissal was
not made in the context of the new Motu
Proprio As a Loving Mother, which will come into force on 5 September.
The media knows of the alleged reasons for the reshuffle of the top diocesan official. Yet these reasons are to be regarded with caution. Named are problems with two priests of the diocese. Don Francesco Zappella was implicated in cases of sexual abuse, and Don Angelo Chizzolini was "xenophobic". So it is maintained by some media, and both priests were included in media campaigns last year.
The allegations
have yet to be clarified, and thus are not suited for the preventive
impeachment of a bishop, but initially, only for an inadmissible
prejudice. Also therefore, they are not be suitable because even the
coadjutor would then have to resign, who has been responsible for the two
priests for over a year, and the specific cases already concern his tenure.
At the moment only
it is only clear that with the help of the media, there is a thick fog
of suspicion and accusations have been spread, and the church has been
indicted by the public. Whoever hurls dirt from a safe cover, reckons that
something has gotten stuck.
Bishop Oliveri
seems to be the pawn sacrificed to allow the coadjutor to a "fresh
start". It is more likely that Bishop Oliveri is disturbing as a
traditional shepherd and has to be removed gingerly in a climate disposed to
tradition.
The sudden urgency
was brought about because in Uruguay a case against Don Zappella was initiated
for sexual abuse. The priest worked until 2004 in Uruguay in the
missions. Among other things, he built an orphanage and a home for
maladjusted children and adolescents. The incident for which he has been
accused allegedly occurred at the Mission in 2005.
There is currently
a wave of scandal in Uruguay rolling across the Church. Several priests
have been accused of the sexual abuse of minors. How much of it is true,
must first be cleared up. The damage to the Church has already been
accomplished by the media's prejudice. Here also the name Zappellas is
mentioned, which brings the situation to the level of an international event,
about which Pope Francis has had to intervene personally.
Don Zappella
himself went public and had addressed the allegations himself. He is said
to have then "raped" a 29-year old Brazilian. Don Zappella says
it's the tit for tat response, because he had referred the man to a home in
Albenga and was sent back to Brazil after he had molested a daughter of the
hostess. He himself has no longer been engaged in the mission since 2004,
but has visited his mission station since then only once a year.
An Italian victims'
association had paid for the Brazilian come at society cost to
Italy in order to be heard by the public prosecutor in an appeal for an
indictment against Don Zappella in 2015. Previously, the victims'
association had dragged the priest in this matter before the media. The
investigation has been archived at the end of 2015 because of the statute of
limitations. Then the association presented a new case in the spring, but this
time a mentally unstable young man Don Zappella is supposed to
have molested at a time which was within the statute of limitations.
The victims'
association is working together with a priest of the diocese in the
matter. Therein, Don Zappella sees the reason for the "campaign"
against him: This priest is "envious" of him that Coadjutor
Bishop Borghetti has appointed him as the new director of Caritas in the
Diocese.
The "xenophobic" priest
Don Angelo
Chizzolini for his part, has come into the headlines as an alleged
"anti-immigrant priest." In a broadcast of an Italian private
television channel, he was presented as a "xenophobe". He had
refused the reception of asylum seekers in his rectory and also refused to
bless a dead Muslim. The latter was the initial spark for the negative
media attention for the priest.
A gas cylinder
exploded in a disaster in the spring of 2015 in a residential
building. Several people were killed, including a Muslim. A Requiem and
funeral took place in the parish. Relying on the canon law, the
parish priest, Don Chizzolini made a distinction between the baptized
Catholics and the Muslim. For some, who showed utterly no understanding,
were outraged and appeared in the local press. From there the case reached
the national press where the blessing that was not granted was hyped into an
"unprecedented scandal" as part of the Refugee-Welcome-Hype.
The brother of the
Muslim who died had even threatened the priest and accused him of being
"part of the hate." The priest filed a police complaint against
anonymous leaflets with insulting insulting slogans on them. The
investigations are still underway.
Don Chizzolini is
one of those priests of the diocese who celebrate in both forms of the Roman
Rite.
Shortly after the
Coadjutor Bishop returned from his visit to Pope Francis, Don Chizzolini had to
give up the three parishes that he supervised. About a new task, "he
would have to decide in quiet reflection," said the coadjutor. Don
Chizzolini is imposed to silence on the matter. This should put the matter to
rest, is what is said at the Diocese.
Even Bishop Oliveri
now appears to have resign in the wake of a "calming action"
personally chosen by the Pope, although he is not personally responsible in
either of the cases. "What a coincidence that this is precisely the
most traditional friendly diocesan bishop of Italy," so Messa
in Latino .
THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
TODAYS PICS:
Pat's last Irish traveller wedding:
AND THE OLDER LADIES STILL HAVE IT:
If a man or a woman gave me that bottle of Rajul I would certainly think I was on a promise :-)
ReplyDeleteOr a threat :-(
DeleteBottle like that I'd be afraid to open it. Could be an occasion of sin
DeleteLooking at the shape of the bottle, it could be inserted instead of opened.
DeletePat, Stick to the Crisis at Present!
ReplyDeleteOk. But the present crisis has a past, a present and a future.
DeleteThe Maynooth Problem did not start this year.
Love the tee shirt!
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of clerical deviance I think of the Medecies. It is equally fair that I can now appreciate that human nature has not changed and shit happens. In the so-called 21st century I call two words to mind openness and accountability. I am sad to see all the genuine vocations murdered by promiscuity and the damage done to the church of Christ. Bring back Martin Luther
ReplyDeletesorry Pat, I've found all your articles interesting and insightful, but the supposed account by the above former seminarian is the biggest pile of drivel I have ever read on a blog. Thank God he did leave!
ReplyDeleteTo 17.11
ReplyDeleteHad I just read this account then I would have treated it just as you did. A load of tosh. However a good friend, a former seminarian, had an almost identical experience so I have to say that I believe the contributor in this case.
In response to 17.11 I recall Seminaries Convents do have their own code of conduct as I suppose army barracks do. This does not condone abuse. I can in theory not contradict the ex seminarian but I have never witnessed the extent of behavior he relates above
ReplyDeleteThe experiences of the ex-seminarist are appalling. The fact that his "romantic" pursuer is now ordained is dreadful. Such men should not be priests. They should be kicked out of the seminary. Maynooth has lost all credibility in my eyes as an ordinary Catholic.
ReplyDeleteThis stalking of a younger man by a seminarian is - in every sense - a diabolical disgrace.
ReplyDeleteThis man has no concept of boundaries to say nothing of Christian sexual morality.
And you can be pretty of one thing - he has not changed. He still has no concept of boundaries. He still has the morals of a randy mongrel.
Such a man is very dangerous. I hope someone is monitoring this man's activities.
Maynooth has to be now by far the most rotten seminary in the world.
ReplyDeleteThere is something seriously wrong somewhere that more severe action is not being taken on the Maynooth hierarchy.
ReplyDeleteWell it seems that even the dogs in the street are having a good guess as to why no action has been taken although I think Pat might well be sitting on something which when revealed will through more light on matters.
ReplyDeleteGreat article in Catholic Voice - Maynooth:reviewing the response from the trustees.
ReplyDeleteIs it 'zenophobic' to adhere to canon law and therefore necessary to consider one's actions? Zenophobes hate foreigners - no evidence of that at all, I am sure that the priest would have blessed a dead Arab Christian, as the Church permits.
ReplyDeleteWhat ARE you on about?
DeleteMMM