Archbishop Wuerl: What Gives? (or An Open Letter to the Archbishop)

Dear Archbishop Wuerl:

When it was announced by the Catholic News Service (CNS) that Archdiocese of Washington DC CFO John Michael Kelly (aka "J. Michael Kelly"; aka "Mike Kelly") was indicted by the Securities and Exchange (SEC), we were told a couple of different stories.

Story One: He wasn't the Chief Financial Officer. (However, that was hard to believe, since he it was reported as such by CNS and he had represented himself as such at various meetings, in documents, etc.)

Story Two: Thom Duffy was the CFO. However, no where does he or the Archdiocese represent him as such, at the time of Kelly's indictment. In fact, I even have one document which shows he was not the CFO at the time Kelly was indicted. He was only the Executive Director of the Secretariate of Finances and Management.

Story Three: He was only volunteering his time.

My sources tell me that after his indictment, he announced that he would be "advisor" to you starting June 2, 2008. Mr. Duffy would be the CFO.

However, no where does it show that Mr. Duffy is the CFO. The area on your website for Financial Management has only a phone number. There is not even a listing for Thom Duffy on your website. You would think that an important position like this would be announced to the faithful.

When a priest has been accused of sexual misconduct and it is found "credible," he is immediately visited by the Director of Personnel, and at least one or two other priests. He is ordered to vacate the rectory within 24 to 48 hours. He is told not to say public Mass, hear confessions or conduct baptisms. He is told to stay off of Church property unless given permission to be on it. In some instances, there is a car waiting outside to take him to St. Luke's.

So, I ask you, if you can do this to a priest, why did you not ask Mr. Kelly (who was indicted by the US Government) not to vacate the premises immediately? Why does he still have his office? An office that equals that of the Moderator of the Curia and Vicar of Administration and that of Chancellor. You would think that that office should go to Mr. Duffy. Granted, you are the boss and can give anyone any office but to someone who is indicted?

On Tuesday, June 24th, the Archdiocese Finance Council held their first meeting since the indictment. The purpose of the meeting was to present the Archdiocesan Central Administration budget for the fiscal year starting on July 1st. Unfortunately, "CFO" Duffy was on vacation. And you know who presented the budget: Mike Kelly.

Why do you keep someone who has been indicted for fraud, involved in the finances of the Archdiocese?

All I ask is "WHY?"


Signed,


AWashingtonDCCatholic

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Help defeat Montgomery County's Gender Identity Bill 23-07 this November. Go to http://notmyshower.net.

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NObama in 08

The Three Scandals Affecting the Catholic Church

There are three main scandals affecting the Catholic Church today, in my humble opinion.

1. Pedophiles.
2. Homosexuality. Active gay priests, who also cover up for their pedophile brothers. (Oh, and the pedophile issue is partly a gay priest issue because many of those abused are not children but 13 and 14 year olds. Don't believe those who tell you otherwise.)
3. Financial. Mismanagement, and to some extent, embezzling.

Monday's posting will be on #3 and the Archdiocese of Washington DC.

See you then and have a great weekend.

Obama's NARAL Catholics

From the Wall Street Journal:

You are the Democratic candidate for president. You want to reach out to Catholics. So what do you do when the majority of the elected officials on your National Catholic Advisory Council have the seal of approval from NARAL Pro-Choice America?That's the position Barack Obama now finds himself in.

A few months ago, his Catholic advisory council was announced with great enthusiasm, and Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) was listed as a national co-chair. His appearance at the top of the council sent a clear message: This campaign is determined to recover some of the lost Democratic sheep who have gravitated to the GOP over abortion.

This council does indeed include some Catholics whose pro-life credentials are impeccable, including Minnesota Congressman James Oberstar. But let us also stipulate the obvious: Of the 21 senators, congressmen and governors listed on the council's National Leadership Committee, 17 have a 90%-100% NARAL approval rating. Even Mr. Casey now enjoys a 65% NARAL approval rating.

It's not as if these NARAL scores are outliers: Sen. Obama himself boasts a 100% NARAL rating, and for good reason. In a speech before Planned Parenthood, he declared that the right to an abortion is at stake in this election, and vowed that he would not yield on appointing judges that would uphold Roe v. Wade.

Mr. Obama is for using tax dollars to fund abortions, and against restrictions on partial-birth abortion. In the Illinois Senate, he voted against legislation protecting a child who was born alive despite an abortion. In sum, if you want to know what Mr. Obama's policies mean, it's this: taxpayer-funded abortion on demand.

So, for all of you "Catholics" in the Archdiocese of Washington DC who support Obama, are you proud of yourselves? Will you continue to support him?

Unfortunately, some of you will.

As the bumper sticker says: NObama '08.

Tip of the hat to The Cafeteria is Closed for this one.

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Help defeat Montgomery County's Gender Identity Bill 23-07 this November. Go to http://notmyshower.net.

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NB: To the person who posted at 11:09am on Wed., is there an email address for you? When you write to me, please indicate the topic discussed in your posting, so I can verify.

"I stand for the Catholic faith."

"I'm not here to invent things, I'm not here to put my new spin on it," Riffle said later. "I'm a Catholic priest. It's the Catholic faith. I stand for the Catholic faith. All of this is so much more about Him, about His church."

In this day of Fr. Pflager's, Greeley's and Reese's, I was simply overjoyed (and thanked God) to hear a priest say this, and it is especially true when it comes from a newly ordained priest: Fr. Patrick Riffle.

What also amazed me that it was in published in the Washington comPost on Sunday, June 22nd.

Granted, the article focused on the celebration after a priest is ordained, but every once in a while the Post moves away from its' anti-Catholic bias and a gem shines through.

Take a moment to read it.

Congratulations Fr. Riffle. Ad multos annos!

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Help defeat Montgomery County's Gender Identity Bill 23-07 this November. Go to http://notmyshower.net.

Homosexuality and the Diocese of Arlington

I received from my friends over at Les Femmes, The Truth last week their e-letter.

At issue is the influence of homosexual priests in the Diocese of Arlington. (This was an issue that has been in the back of my mind as a possible blog posting or two -- only here in the Archdiocese of Washington DC.)

Although very long, I have reproduced most of it here. If you wish to read it the entire letter, please click on the link above, and go to that section.

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It's been almost seven years since Fr. Haley was booted from the St. Mary's rectory in Fredericksburg and forced into a nomadic life on the road for giving Bishop Loverde unwanted evidence of rampant sexual immorality in several Church rectories. It's almost four and a half years since the tribunal, headed by Bishop Thomas Doran, met in Philadelphia to decide Fr. Haley's fate. There is something seriously wrong when a bishop can throw out a faithful priest on a trumped up charge and leave him in limbo for seven years. Justice delayed is justice denied. Such a delay is incomprehensible. (Unless, as one individual suggested, it ensures the statute of limitations will prevent any action in civil court.)

How many good priests have experienced the heavy hand of retaliation for exposing homosexual immorality? Some have resigned; few have shown the perseverance of Fr. Haley. A short list of persecuted priests who blew the whistle on the gay problem in the Church includes: Fr. Michael Madden, Fr. James Foster, Fr. John Nesbella, Fr. Seamus MacCormack, Fr. Phillip Saylor, and Fr. Andrew Dowgiert. These men got the lash from their bishops and are gone. Meanwhile, can anyone doubt there are still homosexual priests running parishes? (To be clear, I define the term homosexual as the Church does: "those who practice homosexuality, show profoundly deep-rooted homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called gay culture.")

A number of years ago a young Arlington priest (not named above) told my husband and me over dinner that his pastor's "boyfriend", (who spent beaucoup time at the rectory) "doesn't like me." I wasn't surprised; my young friend was very handsome, movie-star handsome in fact. I'm sure the pastor's "significant other" was as jealous as a teenage girl thinking about such eye-candy in the rectory. To make a long story short, my friend ended up at St. Luke's for depression; his pastor got a bigger parish with a school. The homosexual is still there; my friend, an exemplary priest, is long gone, one more casualty of the lavender brotherhood. Did the bishop (Keating) know? Yes, a friend and I met with him and Fr. Robert Rippy (chancellor at the time) in April of 1997 to discuss Father's troubling lifestyle which included spending most of the week away from the parish at his nearby condo, living beyond his means, and being in the constant company of his "special friend." The bishop asked for proof; I told him he could get it from the priests who had lived with him. The result? Nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. My young friend left the priesthood. It was rumored that the day before he died, Bishop Keating who was in Rome for his ad limina visit, asked in a meeting what he should do about "his homosexual priest problem." Whatever he learned, the bishop never had the chance to implement it.

Who knows how many other homosexual priests are closeted in rectories entertaining their buddies with private porn collections and lavish dinner parties paid for from parish collections? The short answer: the priests who've live with them, priests, like Fr. Haley. But how many priests will say anything after witnessing what has happened to their brothers who present evidence to their bishops? Silence is safer even though it may endanger others both spiritually and physically. That's one reason the laity absolutely must speak up. We are less subject to retaliation from the bishops. I am finally speaking publicly about this situation in less veiled language because I know if anything ever happens to a child in that parish I will blame myself for keeping silent. I am not publicly exposing the priest. Rather, I wish to put the chancery on notice. Fr. Rippy knows who he is and he certainly should have briefed Bishop Loverde on the potential problem when the bishop arrived in the diocese. Additionally, unless they were deliberately destroyed, there are several letters on file at the chancery which I sent return receipt requested. If this priest ever injures a child or young adult, I will volunteer to testify for the prosecution that the chancery knew of his immoral homosexual lifestyle.


The bishops would like us to believe the homosexual problem in the Church is over. The news tells a different story. There may be fewer child molestations, but the cases of lewd conduct, embezzlement, etc. continue to appear. While soliciting sex in the park is less vile than raping children, such activities make a man unfit for the priesthood and he should be removed immediately when it happens. Bishops who knowingly assign homosexual priests to parishes are unfit to be guardians of the Church. Read Leon Podles book, Sacrilege. You may not be able to stomach the descriptions (sworn court testimony) of the sodomite rape of youngsters. I had to skip over some of the graphic parts. But what's also sickening is the sympathy of bishops, not for the ravaged children, but for the poor rapists whose priesthood was threatened by exposure. And so they allowed them to rape, and rape, and rape again. A little outrage over such bishops escaping justice (think Cardinal Law) is definitely appropriate. The homosexual priest is a threat to our children or grandchildren even if he selects "age-appropriate" partners for his lust or just fantasizes with his porn collection. The bishop who knows about his predilection and allows him to continue in a parish is irresponsible and, ultimately, an enabler of his immorality.

One of the saddest parts of this cultural meltdown is the damage to the priesthood in general. Every priest who entertains a child with a magic trick or a silly song is now a suspect. Tousling a child's hair or saying, like Jesus, "Let the children come to me," raises a red flag. What a horrendous injustice to good men who have devoted their lives to Christ; and there are many. We must pray and fast, both for the removal of homosexuals from the priesthood and for the protection of good priests who are one false accusation away from destruction. We can never lose hope, but neither should we be complacent.

There are many Judases in the Church. No surprise. One out of twelve of Jesus' closest friends was a traitor who betrayed his Master with a kiss. Was that percentage prophetic? Will we be fortunate if the traitors number only one out of twelve in the U.S. Church? Remember, two thirds of the bishops engaged in the cover-up. Most of those men are still running dioceses driving out good priests like Fr. Haley who dare to speak up about the homosexual cliques in the Church. His continuous exile warns the faithful that the cover-up continues.

There's an old political saying, "If we can't have honest politicians, let's at least have nervous ones." It's a good slogan for the bishops as well. We know there are a lot of dishonest bishops in the U.S. Church. One day they will stand before Jesus and answer for their betrayal. Let us pray that reflecting on that reality makes them nervous. They should be.

Welcome to The Deacon's Bench

In last Thursday's blog posting, I referenced The Deacon's Bench on the issue of VOTF and those women who wish to be ordained to the Catholic priesthood. After a couple of nice email exchanges with Deacon Greg, I am delighted to include his blog on my list.

And, by the way, have you noticed, no one from VOTF (or should I say "Voice of the Dissenters") has answered my questions.

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Help defeat Montgomery County's Gender Identity Bill 23-07 this November. Go to http://notmyshower.net.