I'm confused as to why such extensive efforts ( texts , emails, etc) were made to include Bishop Dolan when certain parties are alleging that Fr Collins did not request his involvement.
My wife was not "alleging" anything. To allege is to assert without proof. We have not read Fr. Collins Will but are in communication with those who have. Fr. Collins made John Sharpe, his dear friend for many years and compatriot for liturgical excellence, the executor of his estate and last Will. Therefore, John Sharpe has the legal and moral authority to make all decisions regarding Fr. Collins funeral and those decisions should be respected by all. This can be a very difficult and thankless responsibility but I could not ask for a better Catholic man of tested virtue to perform this task than John Sharpe. The implications made on this thread and others often anonymously suggest that John Sharpe is not fulfilling Fr. Collins will and is cynically using his authority as executor to collect money that is not needed for the funeral expenses for his own ends. Those who have made this insinuation without a shred of evidence are guilty of grave calumny. Are they so stupid that they believe that God cannot impute guilt to "anonymous" sin?
Fr. Collins made John Sharpe his executor therefore, John has the authority and responsibility for the direction of every detail in the funeral arrangements and this selection proves the insight of Fr. Collins. In his Will, Fr. Collins requested that John Sharpe enroll Bishop Neville, assisted by Frs. McMahon, Ahern, Ringrose, and Zapp, to offer his funeral Mass and burial rites. Fr. McMahon, who we can assume read Fr. Collin's Will because he signed it as one of the witnesses, on his own authority, contacted Bishop Dolan and tried to set aside both John Sharpe and Fr. Collins last requests regarding his funeral by placing Bishop Dolan in charge. John Sharpe is not a man to be gainsaid and he stopped this effort by standing up to Fr. McMahon and the others who attempted to usurp the direction of the funeral. I can only guess at their motives which might be an interesting thread on its own. These usurpers made every effort to take charge of the entire funeral arrangement which included an obituary asking that bequests be made to St. Gertrude the Great chapel in Ohio implying that that was done at the request of Fr. Collins.
John Sharpe tried repeatedly to contact Bishop Dolan but his calls were not returned. He also tried to contact him through Bishop Sanborn but ultimately received a message from Bishop Sanborn that telling him that Bishop Dolan is "in charge" of the funeral and he should leave it at that. John was derogatorily accused by Fr. Cekada of having "claimed (Fr. Collins') body" as if he were guilty of having abused a corpse. John wanted all to feel comfortable attending Fr. Collins' funeral but at the same time to insure that Fr. Collins last will is carried out to the letter. And you can be sure of this, it will be.
Thus we have the calumny against John Sharpe because he is standing in the way of these posturing hypocrites. Well John is a magnanimous gentleman. He will just turn his back on these insults, but I do not have to. He has been insulted by villains with a lot more finesse than these bunglers and I am more than happy to expose their bungling. I have personally been associated with two occasions, and have direct knowledge of a third with docuмentary proof, in which Fr. McMahon has used grossly unethical means in attempts to gain control of traditional organizations and property to feather his own bed. He drives a wedge between natural ethics and Catholic morality, as if grace and nature were two unrelated categories, believing that his conception of the faith and the nobility of his ends justifies his unethical means. He is an underhanded conniver. What he ends up doing is making a mockery of the Catholic religion.
I did not know Fr. Collins well. He spent Holy Week at Ss. Peter and Paul in York in 2018 and planned to do so again this year until his health failed. With the help of Fr. Collins, John Sharpe and his family, as well as other generous souls, we had the entire Holy Week ceremonies in 2018. We were able to do so again this year but Fr. Collins was sorely missed. Fr. Collins sent a last message to remind the servers not to respond after the readings on Holy Saturday and even entertained the idea of traveling to York for Holy Saturday. He recognized that liturgy is the work of God and attended this work with loving care and attention to detail. He will be missed. In Fr. Collins there was a perfect unity between intention and act in liturgical practice. Everything was done right and done for the greater glory of God. John Sharpe will insure that Fr. Collins' funeral rites are in accord with his last wishes. I will not be able to attend Fr. Collins' funeral but consider it a privilege to have contributed to defraying the expenses, and I have complete confidence that the money contributed will be properly used for that end.
Drew