“…what must I do…”
From Today’s Gospel, Mark 10:17
Is it that Fr. Tony is frantically asking himself, “What must I do to get out from under the oppressive debt that Bishop Zurek’s United Catholic Appeal is placing on St. Mary’s Cathedral❓”, that he has now turned to invoking the names of priests whom many in the parish think of as being “good“…
…for example, on Pentecost Sunday he spoke of Fr. John Valdez, whom many from St. Mary’s Cathedral have fled to seeking refuge from Bishop Zurek’s clericalism, (a merciless governance about which recent rectors have not been able to do anything but participate);…
…subsequently, on Trinity Sunday he had recourse to Msgr. Waldow, our first rector, and wasn’t he the only rector that had enough of a “priestly spirit” to wash the feet of our brothers and sisters while at the same time preventing Bishop Zurek from “crushing them under his feet;…
…although I have misgivings about traipsing down a nostalgic path in a vain attempt to bring back what some may think of as the glory days of St. Mary’s Cathedral, if that is the synodal path on which Fr. Tony wants to go, shouldn’t I show a willingness to dialogue and ask of him a few questions:..
- To begin with Fr. Tony, I am somewhat surprised that you would resort to calling up Msgr. Waldow, for don’t I recall some years back a conversation in which you lamented, “Msgr. Waldow never liked me!”❓
- Furthermore, did Msgr. Waldow regularly cancel confessions for reasons such as it being his ordination anniversary, his wanting to make an appearance at a ball game, or his desire to have a security system in place❓
- Also, when Msgr. Waldow was the only priest at St. Mary’s Cathedral, didn’t he go against Bishop Zurek’s request and offer two daily Masses because he cared more about “the faithful administration of the sacraments on behalf of Christ” than Bishop Zurek’s “desire to control these ‘services’ ❓
- Next, would Msgr. Waldow ever use Bishop Zurek’s clericalism to disrupt the lives of his beloved “squirrels” by firing their principal and cafeteria manager in the middle of the school year without giving ample justification for doing so❓
- Finally, Father Tony, have you considered that the reason I’m not renewing my membership is that the benefits have been drastically cut, and what you see as me being irresponsible, is actually my taking on the responsibility of seeing that the benefits that were assured with Msgr. Waldow are reinstated❓
49. First and foremost, the practice of surrogacy violates the dignity of the child. Indeed, every child possesses an intangible dignity that is clearly expressed—albeit in a unique and differentiated way—at every stage of his or her life: from the moment of conception, at birth, growing up as a boy or girl, and becoming an adult. Because of this unalienable dignity, the child has the right to have a fully human (and not artificially induced) origin and to receive the gift of a life that manifests both the dignity of the giver and that of the receiver. Moreover, acknowledging the dignity of the human person also entails recognizing every dimension of the dignity of the conjugal union and of human procreation. Considering this, the legitimate desire to have a child cannot be transformed into a “right to a child” that fails to respect the dignity of that child as the recipient of the gift of life.[93]
PARAGRAPH 49 of Declaration of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith “Dignitas Infinita” on Human Dignity
…besides, how will I ever see how grave practices such as surrogacy violates the dignity of the child if I just blindly renew my membership in a parish where clericalism violates the dignity of God’s holy people…
Hope would have us recognize that there is always a way out, that we can always redirect our steps, that we can always do something to solve our problems
From Paragraph of ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME
…and yet, although I am not currently renewing my membership in the way Fr. Tony prefers, can I not say that I have hope enough to recognize that there is always a way out, that we can always redirect our steps, that we can always do something to solve our problems;…
…and consequently answer what I think is Fr. Tony’s question, “What must I do…” ❓