Strings Attached

Fr. Bozek has begun to up the ante, now that deception is no longer possible. But whose playbook is it? Fr. Bozek, in this raw video from the KSDK website, finally publicly admits that his canon lawyer is Fr. Thomas Doyle, notorious "liberal" canonist whose credentials have not been accepted by Archbishop Burke in this case (nor in others, btw) due to his long history of advocating dissent from infallible Church teaching.

Doyle has gone on record with his views on the restructuring he sees necessary in the Catholic Church here, and I have posted on him before, as well. As you can see from the photo at the post, Fr. Doyle isn't one to always wear the roman collar. But more to the point, Fr. Bozek's "vision" for the Church sounds a lot like Doyle's.

From the Doyle letter:

All along there has been a movement among some lay, cleric and hierarchical Catholics to continue with the vision of Vatican II. Today, all of the bishops in that movement in the US are either dead, retired or in exile. The “Vatican II” clergy are growing old, discouraged, tired and are either retired or have left altogether. They have been replaced by a couple generations of younger clergy who often describe themselves as “John Paul II” priests. Others describe them as the ‘Catholic Taliban,” “the Young Nazis” or words to that effect. Lately several scholars have written about them and the assessment is worse than discouraging. It’s frightening.

...It’s a long, excruciatingly painful process to grow up in the Catholic Church. Most chronological adults never make it. No matter how liberated and avant-garde they believe themselves to be, there is still a very powerful core, deep down inside, that causes dependency feelings to take over whenever one is faced with the challenge of taking the risk of not only thinking but acting like an adult when in the realm of the Church world. To do so means to challenge the clerical office holders and to express opinions that they do not want to hear. To do so means taking the risk that some of them might try to capitalize on the magical thinking that has supported their power by threatening canonical penalties or equating disobedience to them with disobedience to Christ.

...Is there hope for change from within?

As far as reform etc. is concerned, I have lost all realistic hope that the institution will change for the better in my lifetime. The present crop of bishops, courtesy of John Paul II, is far less pastoral, less theologically educated and more clericalist and monarchical than any I can remember. I see no hope and only constant signs of discouragement. I believe in VOTF but I do not believe that they will ever accomplish any meaningful structural change. It’s simply impossible for any such change to happen unless it starts at the top. The Catholic Church is a monarchy. Period! Getting a pastoral council up and running here and there is nothing. Sitting down to tea with a bishop is no more than a sop to keep the activists. They are not able or willing to bend or change their approach in something as vital as clergy sexual abuse so why expect them to even think about giving up any of their power in anything else.

The hot button issues that the popes have told us we can’t even talk about will remain discussed by lay and clergy alike and closed in the minds of the pope and the bishops. All you have to do is look at the stream of Vatican decrees re-introducing the pre-Vatican II version of the Latin mass to stomping on theologians to get the picture. The young conservatives lap it up and seem to play at church as if it’s some sort of surreal dress-up game. What many fed-up people are doing is simply walking away and finding an alternative faith/worship opportunity that is less toxic and more Christ centered.

Now, consider the nauseating verbiage spewed forth by Bozek today, and further consider the "Pastor's Message" on the St. Stan's website. The Pastor's Message, until recently, had been a general statement of welcome to the parish, with some info on the state of the dispute over the structural governance of the parish with the Archdiocese. Now it is a full-fledged rant by a would-be Luther. Excerpts below:

Unfortunately, the Roman Catholic family can today be described as dysfunctional, toxic, or abusive. For decades we have allowed the men who claim to be our shepherds to abuse us, our sisters and brothers, and our children.

...Just as for centuries the hierarchy had been persecuting scientists and activists disagreeing with its geocentric vision of the universe or with its quiet acceptance of slavery (both coming out of a literal reading of the Bible) – today such persecution is directed toward women who are refused their right to receive all seven sacraments including the sacrament of Holy Orders, toward divorced and remarried people, toward priests who wish to continue their ministry and at the same time pursue the blessings of married life, toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of our family, toward anyone who dares to think and vote contrary to the local bishop’s instruction, toward hundreds and thousands of people who witnessed their churches being closed and sold in order to pay for the mistakes of the hierarchy, and toward anyone who is mentioning the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. The list of abuses, unfortunately, can continue almost without end. How much longer can or should the mothers and fathers in our Catholic family silently tolerate such abuses, and by their indifference enable the abusers? Should we wait until the only ones who are satisfied with their bishops are their wealthy sponsors and those who prefer the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Latin Mass and all its trappings to the accessibility of Mass in the vernacular language? Will we continue to stand silently as the shepherds who have been entrusted with guarding and nurturing the flock act more and more like wolves scattering the flock and driving away many? Do miter and purple vestments authorize anyone to treat us, the members of the family, in the way you would never allow your children to be treated? All of us will have to answer these questions sooner or later.

(Yes, that was one long paragraph.)

...I am faced with another canonical penalty, laicization. I was informed that this penal process will be initiated in my regard due to my “contumacy of schism” and my presence at the ordination to the priesthood of two women through the Roman Catholic WomenPriest movement. Many have asked me why I attended that ordination ceremony last November, knowing how delicate the situation is for both myself and St. Stanislaus Parish. I have only one answer--just as I could not tolerate the abuse St. Stanislaus Parishioners were suffering three years ago, I could no longer tolerate the abuse of my sisters. I could not remain indifferent to the injustice being done to all those women graced by God with the priestly vocation. I could not remain indifferent to the injustice being done to all of us since we are deprived of the priestly ministry of such women.

Finally, he states his oh-so-wonderful vision for the Church. See if doesn't sound familiar.

1. We firmly believe and affirm all the dogmas and articles of faith of the Roman Catholic Church. That includes the dogma of Papal Infallibility, as it was proclaimed – when the Bishop of Rome speaks ex cathedra in union with Catholic bishops throughout the world. Our disagreement with the hierarchy is not, as some would like you to believe, about matters of Catholic faith or dogma. Studies of the Church history reveal that, on matters of Church discipline, there is room for respectful dialogue and different viewpoints as these elements of discipline sometimes change over time. Unlike the Polish National Catholic Church, we proudly profess our faith in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as her Assumption.

2. We are a community that worships according to the Western Rite as expressed in the “Novus Ordo” proclaimed after the II Vatican Council. We love, respect and will continue our Catholic liturgical heritage.

3. We believe that church leaders should be elected by the people they are to serve, as it was practiced for several early centuries of Church history. Pastors should be chosen by the Parishioners of any given Parish, and Bishops should be chosen by the priests and the laity of any given diocese. St. Ambrose is a wonderful example of such a practice.

4. We believe that the governance of all the temporal goods (property ownership and financial resources) of any Parish or Diocese should be in the hands of the people who constitute that particular faith community and not in the hands of the clergy.

5. We believe that all of the other six sacraments should be potentially available to all Baptized Catholics. We believe that both men and women, upon careful consideration, prayerful discernment, and requisite education, should be allowed to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

6. We believe that diocesan deacons, priests, and bishops should be free to choose their state of life and be allowed to either marry or lead a chaste, celibate life.

7. We believe that the words of Jesus, repeated at the Consecration prayer during each Holy Mass, “take this all of you and eat it” and “take this all of you and drink from it” oblige us to invite all believers to receive Holy Communion. We explicitly welcome all at the Eucharistic table, with no regard to their race, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other extraneous factor. All who believe in their hearts that Our Lord Jesus is truly present in the Eucharistic bread and wine are welcome to partake in this banquet of life.

Contrary to what you might have been told, this vision does not mean that we change our Roman Catholic faith. It is because of our love for the Roman Catholic Church that we strive to do our part to make it more just, more charitable, more Christ-like. Moreover, it is not an issue of promoting a feminist, gay and lesbian, liberal or conservative, Polish, Irish, African-American, or any other agenda. For me it is a very simple but fundamental issue of stepping up and accepting the responsibility that comes from being a “father.” It is an issue of bringing an end to the abuse of those I love. If it means my excommunication and laicization, so be it. I shall no longer be silent. So help me God.

Fr. Marek

Pastor

_____________________

There it is, folks. That's the agenda he is willing to admit publicly. It is the same, tired playbook used by leftists and Church-haters today; it has been used by schismatics, crackpots, and heretics throughout history. There is no way to hide it anymore. Don't look for the local mainstream media to connect the dots, though, as Bozek continues to get Obama-esque easy treatment.