I don't know why everyone keeps calling Malachi "Father" Martin. He was laicized. Despite the fact that the Sacramental character of Holy Orders remained, he ceased to be "Father", could not function as such, and was not allowed the title "Father" any longer.
Completely wrong
He himself was maddeningly vague on that point, referring to himself in public as "Doctor" Martin, rather than "Father" or "Reverend," while accepting all of these titles from others indifferently.
Once you are a priest, you are a priest forever. Even if you are laicized, you remain a priest. Whether you go to Heaven or Hell. Ordination is a sacrament that you cannot erase from the timeline.
No one's arguing against that fact, which is a separate issue from what the proper address was for Malachi Martin in the final years of his life - and the fact that he did nothing to clarify that unseemly ambiguity.
John McLaughlin remains a priest forever, the priestly character remains indelibly and ontologically stamped upon his soul... but you don't hear Pat Buchanan addressing him as "Father"... I'd likewise refrain from addressing him thus, were I introduced to him.
Topic: Fr Malchi Martin - vindicating St John Paul 2 (Read 8857 times)