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	Catholic Priest's Faith Nearly Dead By Matt C. Abbott Renew America [United States] November 14, 2005 http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/abbott/051114 Father James Haley of Arlington, Va., had the following (edited) quasi-response to a Nov. 14 Washington Post story. "Amazingly, after four years, I have still not heard anything significant about my 'trial.' In fact, from what I understand, my case has still not been received by the Vatican, where it may sit for many more years. And again, this is a trial about my behavior, not the bishop's, nor the chancellor's, nor the behavior of so many homosexual priests. "I believe all is lost unless some wealthy individual gives me the necessary funding to do a real exposure — the money being used primarily for my predicted legal defense because the Church will do, and has done, everything to prevent their dirty 'little' gay secret from being exposed. And the last thing I want is to end up in prison worrying about homosexual rape; I had too many 'roving' eyes in the priesthood. "So it looks like the evil men have won. A priest for ever — utter nonsense! A Church that teaches the fullness of truth in faith and morals — total baloney! And the good people in the pews? Simple, blind, stupid sheep who are still totally culpable every time they pay a dime to the Church without first insisting on the fullness of truth about this horrendous moral tragedy. A brief 'instruction' from the Vatican will do nothing to solve this outrageous moral dilemma, nor prevent the infiltration of future homosexual men; in fact, it will probably encourage even more to join. "Am I angry? Not anymore. Just completely and utterly disgusted. Living in poverty in a 30 ft. trailer has completely killed my spirit and robbed me of any 'happy' life. Unlike most people, I have no companionship, no support, no happy memories, no busting photo albums, and no real purpose for continued life. Ultimately, I blame God for it all. "Apparently, even the Almighty is totally powerless and completely useless in fighting for the proclamation and defense of moral truth from his Church. And yes, that is a prayer said for the millionth time to a Father who just doesn't seem to care! I have more concern from my earthly father who can barely remember my name, then from a Father who supposedly knows every hair on my head. Unless this problem is solved soon, my faith is dead. And anyone who says to me to have faith, without first solving this moral impasse in the Church, has neither real faith, nor any sense of logic (truth) with which to speak. "Unique in the history of the Church, the one question, the one moral teaching that the Church absolutely refuses to answer: Is it moral, good, prudent, wise and exemplary to ordain homosexual men (men with same-sex attraction) to the priesthood and to the episcopacy? And a simple 'no,' or a 'seriously defective qualified no,' will not be a clear and emphatic teaching. It would just be a useless answer without any weight in law or reason, and thus it would never be enforced. "But I guess they are just words to the wind. "In the meantime: This last Sunday morning, literally thousands upon thousands of hidden homosexual men (impostors to real celibacy) 'serving' as priests and bishops heard these words: 'Good morning, Father'; 'Nice job, Father'; 'How are you, Father?'; 'Have a great week, Father'; 'Keep up the good work, Father.' "Apparently, they had 'fulfilled' their Catholic, priestly requirement and obligation: They had said the Mass, or, at least, something resembling it. "And these same men received the unqualified support and the means to continue their work of 'spreading their Gospel' by the contribution of literally thousands upon thousands of dollars conveniently placed into wicker baskets that were passed around during the Holy Mass. "Many of those who attended that Mass have no real recognition of the inherent Sacrifice of the Eucharist, or the stunning Miracle of Transubstantiation; they do not know where the Tabernacle is located in their church; they have not been, nor have they been encouraged to go, to confession in years; they have not heard a homily about the Cross, living a moral life, the Blessed Mary, the saints, or often times, even about God Himself. "'Keep up the good work, Father.' "Many of those who attended that Mass have witnessed, in just the space of their short lives, the rapid decline of Catholic education, the rarity of good Catholic nuns and convents, the disappearance of holy hours, Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction, the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross. And they have watched the mass exodus, or complete indifference to the faith, of so many younger people and young vibrant families from the pews. "'Keep up the good work, Father.' "Although the presence of homosexual men serving as priests and bishops cannot be said to be the exclusive reason for these stunning changes in Catholic life, it is certainly one of the most apparent and horrific aberrations of good Catholic morality: A real abomination that is seriously and tragically afflicting the very core, or heart, of the Church today. "The hidden lie, the extraordinary cover-up, and the duplicitous life of so many homosexual men in the priesthood and episcopacy, can in fact go a long way to explaining the disastrous decline in morality we have all witnessed in the Church — the increasing presence and inexplicable morality of homosexual men re-presenting Christ to us, the homosexual abuse and rape of teenage boys, the secret and frequent homosexual relationships of so many priests, the refusal to give us the moral truth about the issue, and the absolute silence of those who should be proclaiming, professing and teaching the fullness of truth. 'Keep up the good work, Father.' "I, personally, have not heard those words for years. Nor have I received financial support for the proclamation of the real truth. Nor have I have ever lied, hidden, or deceived anyone about my sexual orientation. I guess the truth is just not worth saving. Nor the life of this priest, who can honestly say with Christ and with the conviction of his basically forgotten priestly life: The only reason I was born, the only reason I am here, is for the truth. "And all I can hear is the silent and scandalous echo of Pontius Pilate from the 'faithful' Catholics, and certainly from our 'good' priests and bishops: 'The truth, what does that mean? Who cares about the truth?' "Words to the wind." Father Haley also has written an essay on priestly celibacy, which can be found here. Matt C. Abbott is a Catholic journalist and commentator. He is a columnist for and/or contributor to RenewAmerica.us, TheConservativeVoice.com, MichNews.com, Catholic.org, Opeds.com, and Speroforum.com. He can be reached at mattcabbott@gmail.com.
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