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	Priest: 'The Boy Always Gets Naked...' By Matt C. Abbott Renew America January 23, 2006 http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/abbott/060123 The following is the (slightly edited) text of a letter sent by Catholic columnist Barbara Kralis to Bishop Charles Grahmann of Dallas. January 22, 2006 The Most Reverend Charles V. Grahmann, Bishop of the diocese of Dallas P.O. Box 190507 Dallas, TX 75219 Dear Bishop Grahmann: As you know, three pastors of yours have financed (with parishioner's hard-earned money) a retreat to be conducted within your diocese on February 2 and 3, 2006, by a dissenting and pro-homosexual theologian, Father Richard Rohr, O.F.M. At a 2001 meeting in Los Angeles — specifically Cardinal Mahony's Religious Education Congress — Father Rohr stated, 'Everything the Catholic Church offers in the way of its sacramental rituals and moral and doctrinal teachings is an obstacle to having a relationship with God.' His topic was titled 'Religion as Membership vs. Religion as Transformation.' Many people, including former parishioners of the Diocese of Dallas who have moved to other parts of the nation, are deeply troubled by this planned retreat. Those Catholics living outside the Diocese of Dallas are concerned because they still have families actively living Catholic lives in your diocese. Bishop Grahmann, if you are not aware of the dangers this priest poses for the souls in your diocese, please go to this website for a dossier/documentation of Father Rohr's disturbing teachings, tapes and writings: http://www.lospequenos.org/RohrDossier/ Father Rohr is founder of New Mexico's new age facility 'Center for Action and Contemplation' which is most popular among Catholics promoting the homosexual lifestyle. At Father Rohr's center, retreatants are fed unorthodox instruction and false teachings. Father Rohr has been a dissenter of Humanae Vitae since its infallible promulgation by Pope Paul VI in l968. The website of Soulforce, a homosexual advocacy group, carries a letter written by Father Rohr (dated 2000) supporting their mission. Father Bryce Sibley, S.T.L, a priest of the diocese of Lafayette, La., recently wrote a column refuting Father Rohr's dissent from magisterial teachings. Father Sibley wrote: 'Fr. Rohr's support of Soulforce and its goals is rooted in his interpretation of Jesus' all inclusive love. He writes that the Church has failed to live up to the Gospel values by alienating and condemning homosexual acts and homosexual marriage. He writes: 'At last we have a group of dedicated Christians who are willing to use disciplined and Christian means of nonviolent protest against its church's failure to live the Gospel.' He hopes that the Church will realize the error of her ways but until she does he hopes that Soulforce will maintain its loving inclusive position because 'our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered brothers and sisters have been left outside of his realm of grace for far too long.' Father Rohr is well known for his 'Wild Man Retreats' where men sometimes take their clothes off and touch each other in certain parts of their bodies — to release the demons. Archbishop Sheen has taught that anytime nudity is used in therapy or instruction, it is a sign of demonic influence. The excellent Catholic website CatholicCulture.org (website's owner/founder is Dr. Jeff Mirus, one of the founders of Christendom College, Front Royal, Va.) has this documentation within its archives, written by journalist Stephanie Block. She reports after having recorded Father Rohr's talk at a New Ways Ministry symposium in Pittsburgh, March 1997: http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?RecNum=649 [Warning: content is with vulgar with homosexual references] Here is an excerpt of Block's report: 'Fr. Rohr's retreats often contain an element of nudity. He said: 'the nakedness thing, I must comment on, is really uncanny to me. I could give a whole talk just on that. I never encourage nakedness, as such, but it always happens. I will normally have on the fourth day of a five-day retreat, a day where I send them out into the canyons or into the desert alone. I've prepared them for that day. A lot of men, and women too. I'm sure have never spent a day alone, in solitude. And then that night we come back and process: What happened in the canyons alone? 'Well, there's always one who in that processing will raise his hand and, sort of with embarrassment, admit that when he got out there he took off all his clothes. And then there's chuckles all around the room — I can just predict it, it happens every time — there's chuckles all over the room. 'Oh! I did, too!' I did, too!' I did, too!' There's something about nakedness in the male psyche — and now I've studied initiation rites — it's universal. The boy always gets naked, as you see in the sweat lodges, too. 'And I think it's this desire to get rid of all this persona. All this stuff you have to live up to — you pay a big price for being a patriarch. And feminism has sometimes not been sympathetic enough with that. You pay a big price for having roles and titles and importance and power and significance and the male is just finding every way he can to take it off, to take it off. They always tell me they had to do it and it's amazing how often some wonderful things happen in this sitting there in the sunlight naked — exposed, as it were. 'At times, nudity at the retreats is communal. We often have camp-fires, and I know some of you have been at these where it happens, so you know what I'm talking about. Always, always, there's some guys — I mean, is it in their hard wiring? — They'll strip and have to leap over that fire, burning their balls . . . .I don't know what it is. They're the 'real' men, who can leap over the fire, naked.' 'According to Fr. Rohr, this nudity occurs spontaneously. 'This is not part of my agenda that they're supposed to . . . it's just that we have a fire, and then predictably men start doing the same old damn things, all again and again and again. There's this deep desire to get naked, to somehow, even risk nakedness in front of one another. To expose the self. That's really pretty archetypal. It shouldn't really surprise us at all, should it? I mean, that's really what all lovemaking is, of course — could you love me when you see me in my nakedness? Could I still be beautiful, could I still be attractive to you in my nakedness? Can you see it all and still be desirous of me?' Bishop Grahmann, what possible good could this man contribute to the souls entrusted to your care? Oftentimes, Bishop, you have encouraged us all to evangelize and spread the Catholic truths. If you continue to allow this retreat to take place, not only will it demoralize the laborers in the vineyard, but it will undo much of the good so many of the laity have worked hard for so long to spread. Instead of having the filthy theologian Father Richard Rohr come into our already demoralized diocese to give his pro-homosexual, anti-papal retreats, please consider having the good program 'That Man Is You' based on Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body" instituted in each parish. http://thatmanisyou.com/ Please cancel this evil retreat and stop Father Rohr from teaching anyone anything of his erroneous theology. Sincerely, Mitch and Barbara Kralis, directors Jesus Through Mary Foundation email: AveMaria@earthlink.net Cc: His Excellency The Most Reverend Pietro Sambi Apostolic Nuncio to the United States 3339 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008-3687 Matt C. Abbott is a Catholic columnist with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, Media and Theatre from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, and an Associate in Applied Science degree in Business Management from Triton College in River Grove, Ill. He is the former director of public affairs for the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League and the former executive director of the Illinois Right to Life Committee. He was a contributor to The Wanderer Catholic newspaper and had numerous letters to the editor published in major newspapers, including the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun-Times. He can be reached at mattcabbott@gmail.com
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