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BOOK
BRINGS HOME TRAGEDY OF SEMINARIES THAT REJECT
by Michael H. Brown
Last week I began reading a new book, Goodbye,
Good Men, about the situation in Catholic seminaries.
For years we have heard the stories: of conservative candidates who are turned
away by liberal seminary "screeners," of New Age infiltration, of
widespread homosexuality. I am closely related to one man who left a seminary
so he didn't "lose" his faith, as he
put it, and we hear time to time from others
who were disallowed from piety, true holiness, and such things as
saying the Rosary while undergoing their formation and education (in one East
Coast seminary students had to hide in a basement room while reciting it!).
This we have known, but to see so much of it put in one package, with page after page of allegation, is still intensely disturbing, and while we usually stay away from "muckraking" within the Church (despite my own background as an investigative journalist, and despite the temptation of such huge, unmoving targets) -- and while we are wary of those who traverse too far to the right, in such a way as to lack charity (for we are all called to pray for sinners, not condemn them) -- this book is for the most part a dispassionate and well-researched recitation of facts that make one thing clear: many of our seminaries are in desperate shape, worse than most imagine, and if they are not tended to immediately they will fail to produce any worthy pastors.
Are there good seminaries? Yes. And there
is much hope. Seminaries that promote solid devotion are beginning to expand --
and in some cases are bursting at the seams. Moreover, the scandal should not
taint our view of the majority of priests, who are so good and dedicated.
But a crisis there is. Consider these facts (brought to light by author
Michael S. Rose):
-- One prospective priest was allegedly
propositioned by the president of a school of theology in
-- At another
-- At still others, whether an applicant
believes in female priests is a crucial screening question -- with those who
don't favor female priests finding their vocations flatly rejected in certain
instances.
-- Across the
nation, seminarians are barraged with psychobabble, often ordered to
consult with a psychologist when their views are too "rigid" (read:
orthodox). At one seminary in
-- In
-- Homosexuals often practiced openly and
even frequented "gay" bars during their years at the seminary. At
some schools, a third or more seemed to have this proclivity. Heterosexuals who
don't accept it are again labeled as inflexible -- and their vocations endangered.
In line for Communion, one student testified that he saw other touching each
other suggestively. (I'm not sure we need the details.)
And then there is the education. Many of
our young priests are taught that the Real Presence is a myth; that Christ
never intended to establish the Eucharist; that
Denied in many of our seminaries are
fundamental doctrines. Those who follow the Pope are considered abnormal. Indeed, as Rose points out, John Paul II would be considered
"inflexible" and would probably be rejected by many screening
committees in the
Incredibly, teachers are often not only
opposed to
A couple more snippets:
-- During courses in sexual education
seminarians are forced to view hardcore pornography despite their protests, and
sometimes themselves encouraged to experiment.
-- Crystals, enneagrams,
and other gnostic techniques (read: New Age) are
offered in the name of "openness."
-- Seminarians are inundated with the
works of dissidents such as Father Richard McBrien,
Hans Kung, and Charles Curran.
"My formation class is headed by two
people," explained one student, "a discontented priest and a liberal
nun who both support homosexuality and abortion issues, along with stem cell
research."
This litany goes on -- and on. It's nearly too much to read. We know a lot of this
already. But there are those who will want to see it spelled out, and it's a
book that should be read by every bishop in North America and the Vatican
hierarchy. If what has been delineated already isn't enough, perhaps sincere
Church elders will take note of one case at a notorious seminary in Baltimore where a priest who wanted to get rid of superstitions about the
Eucharist blew on the paten after Communion and scattered fingernail-size
pieces of the Eucharist as sort of a defiant
demonstration.
This is how our priests are trained?
Fortunately, there is good
news. There is a silver lining. As I said, seminaries in a conservative setting
are doing well. Consider that the archdiocese of Omaha -- one of the nation's
most orthodox -- ordained 56 priests from 1991 to 1998. That's in a population
of just 215,000 Catholics -- while in the same period the much more liberal
diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, ordained a total of four. Or take Peoria, Illinois, where a population of just
230,000 Catholics in a conservative diocese ordained nine priests a year in
that period, while in 2001 the Milwaukee archdiocese, with three times the
population, ordained two.
We believe the Church will
not only survive, but will come out of this stronger than ever. We believe what
is going on now, what started in Boston, what was even the topic of a talk this
week between the Pope and President Bush, is a purification. We also believe we
have to be careful that the current exposure doesn't lead to persecution. We
have already seen indications of false charges against priests, and no matter
what they have done, they don't need our opprobrium. They need our prayer.
But for now, we must face
unpleasant facts.
They're summarized by said Archbishop Elden F. Curtiss of Omaha: "It seems
to me that the vocations 'crisis' is precipitated by people who want to change
the Church's agenda, by people who do not support orthodox candidates to
the magisterial teachings of the Pope and bishops, and by people who actually
discourage viable candidates from seeking priesthood and vowed religious life as
the Church defines these ministries."
And that's the bottom line: there is a
conspiracy afoot, it's the root of much that has happened since the Sixties,
and its architect is Satan.
[Goodbye, Good Men is
available here]
[see
also: Pope alluded to
'demon' in light of scandals]
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