The Nature of the Priesthood

Vatican II explains the priesthood in Presbyterorum Ordinis.  Here's an Antiochan Orthodox explanation of how the priest as an icon of Christ must be male, a point reiterated (and apparently defined as to be definitively held by all the faithful) by Pope John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis.

Catholic Clergy and Unpardonable Sins

I once had occasion to explain to a friend the words of the prison chaplain to Sister Prejean in Dead Man Walking:

She found it inconceivable that a supposedly good Christian could say such thing.

"Scum of the earth? Really?"

I said, "Now, wait a minute. He might have been telling the truth."

She'd looked at me in shock. I hurried to respond.

"Consider it for a minute. What if those men in that jail were every bit as bad as the chaplain said? What if they were the worst of criminals, guilty of horrific crimes?"

Her face began to alter.

"Well, if they're all that bad, then why is she going in there in the first place?"

"Look, this is one element of Christianity most people fail to recognize. Jesus Christ didn't just get a papercut to redeem us from our sins. He died a bloody awful death, the worst that could be devised at the time. Why? We've become monstrous in sin. he didn't die for the forgivable sins. He died for the unforgivable sins. He died for us after we'd become monstrous."

It took her a little while, but then she began to appreciate the point.

Chesterton said it all much more elegantly, of course.

“...We have to touch such men, not with a bargepole, but with a benediction,” [Father Brown] said. “We have to say the word that will save them from hell. We alone are left to deliver them from despair when your human charity deserts them. Go on your own primrose path pardoning all your favourite vices and being generous to your fashionable crimes; and leave us in the darkness, vampires of the night, to console those who really need consolation; who do things really indefensible, things that neither the world nor they themselves can defend; and none but a priest will pardon. Leave us with the men who commit the mean and revolting and real crimes; mean as St. Peter when the cock crew, and yet the dawn came.” –"The Chief Mourner of Marne," The Innocence of Father Brown, G.K. Chesterton

Ex-Catholic Priest Gets Talk Show on Fox on...Catholicism?

Carl Olson has all of the latest on the whole Father Cutie (yes, that's his name) affair.

For anyone looking to understand the discipline of priestly celibacy, see Priestly Celibacy: Its Scriptural, Historical, Spiritual, and Psychological Roots or Apostolic Origins of Priestly Celibacy.

Early Reviews of "The Rite"

And it sounds like it's well worth a look.  Steven Greydanus reviewed it in Christianity Today.  Excerpts follow:

...This is not a world in which demons manifest openly or in which sacred objects like crosses or holy water are omnipotent over the forces of darkness. Exorcism in The Rite is a long, drawn-out process that can last for weeks, months or even longer. In that way, among others, The Rite is probably the most sober, realistic treatment of exorcism in Hollywood history. It's also a pretty thoughtful depiction of doubt and faith—one of a tiny number of exorcism films, along with the original Exorcist and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, that offers a spiritual, even theological take on what most films in the genre treat as mere horror-movie trappings...

Although The Rite stumbles when it lapses into standard horror tropes, Hopkins' easy authority and sense of calm urgency go a long way toward making the realistic exorcism scenes credible, and he negotiates both the better lines and the sillier ones with aplomb. (He's much better here than he was sleepwalking through last year's late-winter horror turkey, The Wolfman.) O'Donoghue, an active Catholic and a TV and stage veteran making his big-screen debut, ably conveys Michael's intelligence and uneasy sense of suspension between belief and unbelief, and Alice Braga is effective as a sympathetic journalist who generates some tension with the seminarian without either of them crossing any lines they shouldn't...

Catholic imagery abounds: crucifixes, images of St. Therese of Lisieux and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and so on. All in all, it's the most positive depiction of the Church and of Christian faith I can think of in any recent Hollywood film. Hostile critics may even dismiss it as religious propaganda, but it deserves more credit than that...

The film is loosely inspired by journalist Matt Baglio's nonfiction book The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist, which documents the training of a real-life exorcist, Fr. Gary Thomas of San Jose, California, who went to Rome in 2005 to apprentice with an experienced exorcist. If there's one aspect of Fr. Gary's experiences, or the experiences of any good exorcist, that I wish had gotten justice in the film, it's the reality that psychological problems rather than demonic influences are at the root of most troubled people's problems...

And, of course, the trailer:

The Demon-Fighter of France

was also one of the greatest catechists (a sample) the Church has seen in her long history--but not because of the crowds or the hours in the confessional.

Before all that, he was sent by his diocese to serve in the little town of Ars, so small, it wasn't even a parish.  In the wake of the catastrophe that was the French Revolution and the Napoleonic years, Jean Vianney rescued the town from acedia, indifference, hedonism, and social breakdown.  Sometimes harsh, often strident, but eminently successful, Jean Vianney remains a model for modern evangelists and catechists for one reason: his successes stemmed from his deep and total love, that is, his total self gift to God which led to his total self gift to his parishioners.

Behind all the fasts, all the prayers, all the penances, there lies this loving total living of the gift.  He preached against the sins of his parishioners, not because he delighted in condemnations, but because he delighted in saving souls.  He suffered alongside them the entire way, and they saw it.  They saw his love of God and his love of them, of the poor.  They saw him pour out his money and his life for the beautification of God's holy temple--the local church, and their souls.  They saw his love, and knew him a Christian, and followed him wherever he led them.

Priest Refuses to Violate Seal of Confession

Confession, also known as the Sacrament of Divine Mercy, occasionally causes some remarkably dramatic scenarios:

As anyone who goes to confession can tell you, the seal of the confessional is sacred. My pastor hears as much or more about my deepest and darkest sins as anyone. I trust him completely to keep my confessions private.

Confession, however underutilized in Christian churches today, even Catholic parishes, is a subject that is difficult to write about. Usually we only see a story about it when something goes awry — say the police are trying to force a priest to reveal what the accused has said. First, you might want to read this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story about the defamation lawsuit Gruber filed against the school. Or you can read the lawsuit here.

Inside Higher Ed already revealed that an employee of St. Vincent had come forward to officials in the Youngstown Diocese and testified under oath that he had downloaded gay porn during the week in question and had told Father Gruber in confession.

In the latest from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Priest May Have Protected Confession,” we get more details.

Perhaps most surprising is that the paper knew all this back in December of last year. But the student insisted on anonymity in part because he didn’t believe he could withstand public scrutiny. The paper confirmed his identity but chose not to publish the claim without corroboration. That came with last month’s lawsuit and police report. So the Post-Gazette gives a bit of back and forth.

When the college asked the monk about the porn, he was evasive. The former student said he thinks that’s because he was protecting him. And when he asked Father Gruber what to do, Gruber told him not to reveal what he had confessed. The priest said that he didn’t think the student could withstand the revelation and that he didn’t want anyone to think he had pressured the penitent. All terribly interesting, right?

But the story takes it further, with Rodgers explaining how the monk’s decision stacks up with Catholic teaching:

If the former student’s account is true, Father Gruber is acting exactly as a priest should, said the Rev. Lawrence DiNardo, vicar of canonical services for the Diocese of Pittsburgh and a former president of the Canon Law Society of America. He isn’t involved in the case.

“If you receive information through the sacrament of reconciliation, whatever that information may be, you can never reveal that information to anyone, under any condition, at any time, for any reason,” he said.

That was the plot of the 1953 Alfred Hitchcock thriller “I Confess.” In the film, a penitent confessed to a murder and the priest was later charged with committing it. The priest couldn’t defend himself because he was bound by the sacrament. …
Many priests believe that the penitent can’t grant release from the seal, Father Vallone said.

“Even if everything were to come out and he told Father Gruber, ‘I release you,’ he hasn’t been released. The seal isn’t dependent on the participants, it’s dependent on the sacrament,” he said.

Concern about the penitent’s well-being takes precedence over the priest’s predicament, he said.

“The priest is the healer. With his lips he pronounces God’s words, ‘You are forgiven.’ That is meant to heal,” Father Vallone said. “What use would it be to pronounce healing words and allow a destructive action?”

So Sometimes Arguments Convert People

Case in point:

We had a “come to Jesus” meeting (without Jesus). My uncle was not directly interested in my faith at the moment. He was more interested in seeing that I not flush my life down the toilet, which was exactly what I was unknowingly doing. I owe him a lot—that (terrifying) experience changed my life. It was the first moment of my conversion. I was readmitted to Georgia Tech. I left my fraternity (the problem was me, not the fraternity), and I moved in with my brother. I began doubling up on classes and excelling in them. And slowly I began to return to the faith. It began in “chat rooms” where I would debate with religious folks and would occasionally be bested. I learned that I had to know my enemy, so I began reading religious books. Lots of them. Eventually they took their toll on me. In fact, after about two years, I had reached a point in my reading where I knew that the Catholic Church had the whole thing right -except that God didn’t exist. But, if he did happen to exist, I knew the Catholics were right about the rest. I was in a bookstore one summer afternoon and ran across a five-volume set of books that never should have been there. So, I figured I would give them a chance. It was thus that I began reading the first volume of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Contra Gentiles. As I read, I could feel my legs giving out. I ended up sitting on the floor of the store tearing through the first volume. About fifty pages in, I sat back, exhaled like a man who has just been shot and is about to die, tossed the book away from me and began to sob. St. Thomas Aquinas had just proven to me that God exists. And if God exists, the Catholics have it right. Bingo. I return to Mass. Then I begin attending Mass daily. Then I begin hearing that voice: maybe you should be a priest. Why not ask? What can it hurt? After all, you’re too old and you’ve done too many bad things and they are going to turn you down anyway, so give it a shot. Except they didn’t turn me down. So here I am, a couple of months away from ordination. They still haven’t turned me down, and every year of my life gets better. I don’t know how many young men read this column, but I know a whole lot of parents read it. Who better to have in your family than a priest? When I was a kid, I heard about doctors and lawyers and firemen and marine biologists, but priesthood was never mentioned on the same level. In fact, it was never mentioned. Your sons will only be generous with God if you teach them to be. Encourage your sons to think about priesthood, and your daughters to think of consecrated life—even the ones who seem like they could never want to do it! Your boys might surprise you. I sure surprised my family. From my seminary, recently ordained priests include doctors, lawyers, an NFL quarterback, and professional soccer players—God calls whoever he wills, and it does not always conform to our expectations! I am so grateful for the blessings of the past six years. Please pray for me as I approach ordination. And pray for your own children, that they will seriously consider the priesthood or consecrated life.

"Christ and I were having eye contact for the first time"

Amazing conversion and vocational call story:

I didn’t always hear Jesus calling me to the priesthood. When I was growing up, I attended Catholic schools with my three brothers. Finally, in 6th grade, my family couldn’t afford Catholic school anymore, so I went to Forsythe Middle School in Ann Arbor. I made new friends. To win favor with the new crowd of guys, I gave myself to much the world had to offer. Rebelling against my parents. Cheating. Stealing, and other immoral choices. While I was playing hockey and wrestling, I was a jock with an attitude – to me my opponent was a bug and I was a big shoe. I wasn’t entirely happy with my life; I had the ‘I steal these smokes for you, you get those smokes for me’ kind of friendships. Between the 6th and 8th grade, I abandoned internally the faith my parents generously gave me. Externally I performed the motions, went to church, tried to behave, etc. My experience of priests was minimal, mostly seeing them at Mass and then seeing them disappear. That changed the summer after 8th grade, when my parents signed me up with Christ the King Catholic Church for a youth conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville, in Ohio. This is a conference that facilitates a real living encounter with Jesus. When I played hockey, I loved expressing my strength and power by knocking the daylights out of the other team, making others cry – but not me. So, naturally, at the procession of the Eucharist, I didn’t get why people were crying or smiling. I was a totem pole and 3,000 teens praising and worshiping Jesus seemed strange. The worship band was playing Mercy is Falling and the priest was nearing my row, monstrance in hand. I can only describe it like Christ and I were having eye contact for the first time. It felt as if the floodgates had been opened, and his love and mercy were pouring into my heart. The reality of his love was overwhelming to me; my heart just melted before his eucharistic presence. In this moment, with people praying over and around me, I was crying like a newborn baby, when a girl leaned over and whispered “Jesus loves you” in my ear. I decisively gave him my heart and life at that moment. At Mass the next day, the bishop invited men to consider the call to priesthood, and it was at this time that I first heard Jesus say “priesthood.” Father Ed Fride has been an amazing model of joy-filled priesthood for me. My family is incredibly supportive of my decision. They are very excited about my vocation. My grandparents consider it a great blessing to have a member of their family become a priest, and they’re grateful that I’m responding to the call of the Lord. Most eagerly, I anticipate my ordination so I can celebrate the Eucharist. I have a hunger for ministering to the people of God. I look forward to being a spiritual father for them. I desire that every member of Christ’s body has, and develops, an active relationship with Jesus; bring it into their day to day lives. Catholics are invited to rise and become courageous followers of Jesus. As priests, it is our mission to preach this. There are some big challenges facing the church today. Only 25 percent to 30 percent of Catholics believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. That calls for a massive re-evangelization. What I mean is, there are baptized Catholics who have received the sacraments, but are not evangelized. Some who go to Mass are not “aware” of what or who is given in Mass. Many do not have an experiential knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Additionally, there are the unbaptized who still need to hear the Good News. One of my professors said a relativistic culture is evangelizing people better than Catholicism right now. Materialism and radical skepticism are wedging themselves into the heads of people sitting in the pew, threatening to steal hearts from Jesus Christ. What is the game plan to fix this? The Holy Spirit. He is the agent of all evangelization. People need to see Jesus in us. That’s how to build the church, by bringing the word of God to those who have not heard. Proclaiming the Gospel is my first duty as a priest. The challenge for priests today is the new evangelization. Priests are faced with the domestic secularization of an ever-changing culture and seemingly insurmountable pastoral responsibilities. I cannot face this unless I allow myself to be re-evangelized. I can’t preach effectively without more of the Spirit filling me with his love. My life still includes being an athlete. At the seminary, I played football. I love any kind of sport that I’m capable of doing – some boxing, baseball, rock-climbing, even weightlifting competitions. And I just love being outdoors whenever possible. The risen Jesus has already won the victory over darkness. A recent example of Christ’s justice comes to mind. A group of seminarians take the Gospel to the streets of downtown Detroit. One day, a man prayed in an alley, “Lord, if you exist, send someone to tell me about you.” That night he ran into six of us. We shared the Gospel with him, prayed with him and he gave his heart to the Lord. That’s what I call justice: giving to God what belongs to him, that is, our hearts. Even as I’m about to become a priest, I don’t always “feel” Jesus’ presence. Sure, there are seasons of the desert. When that happens, you’re operating on “raw faith,” sustained by the Holy Spirit. For me, it is a time to surrender. Jesus just invites me to give myself to him, relying only on His help. There has been some hardship on the way to priesthood. Still, I am constantly strengthened at the cross, by the true love of Jesus Christ. Every time I go to Mass, the manifestation of true love is made available to me with such accessibility. What a great gift that is, which turns hardship into an opportunity to engage in yielding to God. And it’s just one of Jesus’ gifts I hope to share with all of you.

The Year for Priests Continues

And they can really use our prayers.

Holy Father, sanctify your priests, sanctify them in the truth, preserve them in Your name. May the love with which You loved Your Divine Son be in them. Keep them from evil, they are in the world and the world hates them. Protect them, they are yours. May not even one of those whom You have entrusted to Your Son be lost. Jesus, sustain, comfort, save Your priests. Divine Spirit of love fill them with Your charity. Lead them as You led Jesus, even to the cross. Grant that priests be also hosts of love: for God for their fellow priests for all souls. Amen.

-prayer of the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (following the charism of Ven. Teresa Casini)