26 08, 2018

Sermon on the Scandals

By |2021-04-07T14:41:23+00:00August 26th, 2018|Podcasts, Sermons, Talks|

In the beginning of this sermon, I quote breaking news from last night via the National Catholic Register.  To see why Cdl. Wuerl is the featured image on this blog post, go to the sixth and seventh paragraph here. Bishop Strickland of Tyler, Texas has already written to his faithful today regarding the credibility of the allegations of those occupying the Holy See covering up the child abuse of Cardinal McCarrick.  The letter is found towards the end of this The American Conservative article, including this sentence:  “Let us be clear that they are still allegations but as your shepherd I find them to be credible.  Using this standard the response [...]

24 08, 2018

Why Did So Many Gay Men Enter the Priesthood in the 20th Century?

By |2020-04-17T01:12:20+00:00August 24th, 2018|Theology|

Here are 10 very important Nota Benes to read before the account of homosexuality in the American Catholic Church: 1. This is not a gay-bashing blog-post. I have good friends who have struggled with same-sex attraction. Most of them were smart enough not to enter seminary or religious life. I say "smart" because it would be stupid to go live with 100 people you're sexually attracted to for over seven years in a celibate vocation. 2. I do not believe anyone is born “gay,” so the correct Catholic term is actually “someone who struggles with same-sex attraction.” However, for the sake of brevity, I will often use the term “gay” [...]

15 08, 2018

The Best Day of my Priesthood

By |2023-05-24T14:56:29+00:00August 15th, 2018|Life|

I spent 2017 as the parish priest in a small bayou parish in south Louisiana. Their normal pastor was serving as a chaplain for the US Army for a year, and he needed someone who knew the Traditional Latin Mass. His tiny bayou parish was very unusual insofar as it was under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, but was 1962-sacraments-only. The bishop down there was very good to me. Like most “Latin ghettos” in other dioceses, this Latin Mass parish was found in a poor part of the state, in this case on Tiger Bayou, full of gators and ditched oil rigs. I describe Louisiana as a “Catholic [...]

8 08, 2018

May Catholics Attend a “Gay Wedding” for Pastoral Reasons?

By |2019-02-07T08:23:41+00:00August 8th, 2018|Theology|

This was a real email I got tonight.  My response also follows verbatim. Hi, Fr. DN, I asked three local pastors in the area I live in in NJ about what Catholics should do if they are invited to same sex marriages. They all said that if it is a close relative that you should attend so as not to lose the relationship or bond with that relative. Does the Catholic Church have any dogma on this? Thank you, Karen Dear Karen, Those priests are wrong. You would be committing grave mortal sin in participating in the attempted "marriage" of same-sex people by going to their "wedding." Your sin would [...]

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