Edit: Yes, it's official, just as we said it would.  One of the most Liberal Cardinals in the American Church strikes a blow for political correction at the expense of the Catholic Faith.   The faithful priest, Father Marcel, has been suspended for doing his job.

http://eponymousflower.blogspot.com/2012/03/washington-dc-ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ-agenda-leads.html

And the pope, who should immediately step in and restore sanity and justice, will do nothing.  It is embarrassing to be a Catholic today.

People familiar with my posts here know that I am not a great fan of the SSPX.  Nevertheless, I hope Fr. Marcel beats a quick path to their door.  He did not act on hearsay.  He told the woman exactly what would happen if she approached the altar.  He does not appear to have been rude or harsh about it, beyond what was required by the Law of God.  

As CI posters go, I am probably the most "liberal" poster here on the subject of ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity.  I think it is disordered, and acting on it is a sin.  I am inclined to sin as well, and feel no need to assume that my sins are less than another's.   Every time I attend the Divine Liturgy I confess that I am the first among sinners.  I try to mean it when I say it.  It is God's job always, and never mine, to determine the formal guilt of anyone for his sins.

I certainly do not hate , or even personally dislike, ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖs.  I have one ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ friend, or as Matthew would insist acquaintance.  He knows what I think and is confident I am wrong, and I feel the same about him.  That has not stopped us from doing business together and occasionally socializing.  

I am sure in the minds of many here that makes me soft on sin, or at least on this sin.  Nevertheless and even so, I am beside myself with fury about this.  I wonder if there is a single bishop in this country Catholic enough to share this feeling.  If so, he will rise up and rebuke Cardinal Wuerll to his face like St. Paul resisted...  Well, I can't finish that sentence.  It would require me to compare Wuerll to St. Peter, and on St. Peter's worst day that would still be blasphemy.  

Okay.  Well, I am embarrassed.  

Since my last post, I checked my email.  This is from my son the Byzantine priest, quoted with his permission.

I am never tempted to be come Orthodox because of the dogmatic differences between us and them.  We are right, and I know it.  If I were to be so tempted, however, it would be because I know that almost every Orthodox priest in this land would have told that woman to kiss the Chalice and return to her seat, and that there is not one Orthodox bishop in this country who would discipline him for it.  

And from my gαy business associate, whom I mentioned above,

Well, it seems that the people who run the Church either don't really believe what they say the believe, or they are cowards.  Either way, it is hard to see why anyone on either side of this issue should respect them or pay attention to them at all.

It is hard for me to argue.

Since my last post, I checked my email.  This is from my son the Byzantine priest, quoted with his permission.

I am never tempted to be come Orthodox because of the dogmatic differences between us and them.  We are right, and I know it.  If I were to be so tempted, however, it would be because I know that almost every Orthodox priest in this land would have told that woman to kiss the Chalice and return to her seat, and that there is not one Orthodox bishop in this country who would discipline him for it.  

And from my gαy business associate, whom I mentioned above,

Well, it seems that the people who run the Church either don't really believe what they say the believe, or they are cowards.  Either way, it is hard to see why anyone on either side of this issue should respect them or pay attention to them at all.

It is hard for me to argue.

I would say that the overwhelming majority of Novus Ordo Bishops don't have the Faith at all. They prefer rather, a One-World Church without any true discipline.

The comment about the Orthodox doesn't surprise me. From what I understand, they still give out things like excommunication and temporary excommunications in Traditional EO countries for serious sins, and it wasn't even that long ago that you could find equivalent disciplinary practices in Traditional Catholic countries.

On a relevant note, one sees a similar situation with things like abortion as well. An NO Bishop will usually denounce abortion and say that such and such politician shouldn't receive or be excommunicated, then the Neo-cons go gaga about this how bishop is so "conservative" or "Catholic," but when the rubber hits the road don't expect anything to happen in a pluralistic church.

Well, it seems that the people who run the Church either don't really believe what they say the believe, or they are cowards.  Either way, it is hard to see why anyone on either side of this issue should respect them or pay attention to them at all.

It is hard for me to argue.

Me too.

It was said that the "bishop" would never have given him faculties if he had known that Fr. Marcel was not going to play their way--or words to that effect.

Holy Apostles, pray for us.  

All of these stories are vile, but this one really makes my blood boil.

I will try to write this as calmly as I can as this story angers and saddens me greatly.
I grew up in Pittsburgh and I can tell you even among nominal Catholics Weurl is disliked.
I had already fallen away from the Catholic Church when Weurl was made Bishop of Pittsburgh. Nevertheless I remember how Catholics felt about the Parish closings and 'mergers'. My own Parish and Catholic school are no more, little chapels around the city are now businesses or Pentecostal churches. The rich ethnic history of Catholic Pittsburgh never survived Bishop Weurl. The Churches that ministered to immigrants coming to America in the early part of the 20th century are now a memory. The spritual state of Catholics were dismissed and ignored.

An article in the January 23, 1989 Pittsburgh Press, "Breaking Bread — Wuerl Wants Denominations to Share Communion," dealt with a meeting between the Bishop Wuerl and six Protestant denominations "to work with the Catholic Church toward the possibility of sharing Communion together...Wuerl stressed that local church leaders have had years of experience working together on social projects through Christian Associates.

Yet the little Chapel on the South Side of Pittsburgh that still said the Latin Mass, the Chapel my parents used to attend was ravished in a letter stating they were "neither a Chapel nor a church". Catholics were told their souls were in danger if they attended. Meanwhile Wuerl was "breaking bread with Protestants".

I will just say this out loud, this was one of the many reasons I started looking across the Tiber for spirtiual direction when I was young.
At least the heretical fundamentalist doesn't back down from the ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ lobby.
This whole story angers me and make me want to weep.
We need to pray the Rosary for this good priest, and that God will deal with this great injustice.