Speaking of Voice of the Faithful...

I came across this gem - Imagining New Ways of Being Catholic: The Underground Church.

Do not miss the quote under 'conclusions'  from an individual (Larry Kessler) discussed in the posts here and here revealing the characters Deacon Anthony Rizzutto recruited to implement "Talking about Touching".

Another 'coincidence'?

Let us not forget that Larry Kessler is also on the parish council and has been a CCD teacher for 14 or so years at the Church listed at 'above ground communities' - Our Lady Help of Christians.

Larry Kessler was also the individual who delivered the 'Catholics United' petition to remove Fr. Rafferty for wanting to exclude admission to a parent who made clear to him the teachings of the Church on human sexuality were discriminatory.

But despite the public announcement of the delivery, the official archdiocesan newspaper The Pilot reported that the Catholics United petition never reached the archdiocese.

After the non-delivery was made public, Catholics United, which is based in Washington D.C., requested three of its members living in Boston (Joe Betz, Phil George and Larry Kessler) to personally deliver the signatures to the archdiocesan offices and take pictures of themselves at the entrance of Boston’s pastoral center.

In a press release sent to CNA, James Salt said that Catholics United members expressed their concerns “to an archdiocesan canon lawyer, who agreed to present the petition to Cardinal O'Malley on their behalf.”

Salt sent the press release to CNA from a Blackberry “powered by CREDO Mobile,” a company  that trumpets its support for progressive causes and has donated over 65 million dollars to organizations such as Planned Parenthood and Greenpeace.

The statement added that Catholics United "will continue to circulate its petition until the archdiocese adopts a clear non-discrimination policy for its Catholic schools."

Nevertheless, the effectiveness of Catholics United's pressure campaign remains in doubt.

Terry Donilon, Secretary for Communications of the Archdiocese of Boston, informed CNA on May 28 that he is in possession of the petition to Cardinal O'Malley.

When Cardinal O'Malley decided the fix was in and he and his staff needed a safe environment to recruit people to talk to children about feelings they'll have when people rub their genitalia, this is his pool of talent.  A program written by prostitution advocates and practicing witches.

I remember one meeting with a regional bishop who tried to tell me it didn't matter who wrote the program.

"Really", I said, "then I presume you'd have no problem if the man-boy-love association wrote the program?"

He got all flustered and told me he of course he would have a problem with that.

"How about if Paul Shanley wrote it, would have a problem then?"

"Where are you going with this?", he gruffly asked me.

" Either the people whose ideas about sex are dangerous to children are the basis for objection for books they write on the subject matter, or they are not."

 I looked at his bookshelf and asked him whether he had any books about sex around his office written by prostitutes and witches and when he said he didn't, I said "the same reason you don't have books on your shelf written by whores and witches that you use for reference on sexuality is the same reason we don't want these resources being used for our children."

I then opened the Talking about Touching lesson book and said, I'm  going to read you a lesson or two.

He got all red in the face when I was reading the stories with 'vagina' - 'penis' - etc.    I turned to him and said there is no scrotums or clitoris in these stories.

 'That is vulgar', he said, literally so mad he had spit coming out of the sides of his mouth as he said it.

"Are you afraid of the real names of body parts?"  I said?

 "How do you like it?   It is absurd isn't it?    You refuse to see the vulgarity of subjecting our kindergarten children to this and now you want to say it's vulgar to repeat these lessons to a big grown man ?"

I have no shame in repeating what you are doing innocent children. "

"Most of the priests were sexually involved with men over the age of 20 and believe you me, they knew the name of their penis. "

"The fix for the mess we are in is taking an inventory of priests who reject celibacy, are out promoting promiscuity and calling them into the Chancery to find out if they are sleeping around and if so, with whom - and then either ministering to or firing people who are involved in adult relationships depending upon the circumstances and reporting the pedophiles to the police."

And with that, I was shuffled out.

(This should put closure on why they don't take me up on my invitations to talk to them about what is going down in the archdiocese?)

Here we are ten years later and the last priest standing is going have his parish taken away from him because he will not deliver the children in his parish to this unscrupulous seduction of their innocence and put them potentially into the hands of a pedophile who shows up to use it as his vehicle.

The shame of lay people who have let the people in the Chancery, including Cardinal O'Malley get away with this is beneath the honor that Christ and our children deserve.

This should be the last straw for Cardinal O'Malley's fiefdom here in Boston.  It is the clarion call for laity to organize and stop what is going on in the Boston Chancery before they destroy every bit of faith, truth, honesty and innocence of children and our priests.    We will have nothing left to hand to our children if we do not rise to the occasion and free the oppression of our faith and children from within.

************

Underground Church

Movement to reform the Church and/or

Create worship communities beyond (or beneath) the reach of Vatican control

Borderline Communities

Convents in which

Catholic nuns perform

their own liturgies

(including Eucharist) and

new types of rituals.

Vigiling Parishes that are

resisting closure orders from the

Archdiocese and conducting their

own rituals. Example: St. Albert

the Great in Weymouth, MA.

Eucharistic Communities

that are at least tolerated by

the hierarchy and rely on

“insider priests”* but engage

in church reform work.

Parishes with progressive pastors who support laity Empowerment

(in varying degrees) and allow open discussion regarding Church policies.

Example: Our Lady, Help of Christians in Newton, MA.

Underground Church

(Defined as groups, parishes, or networks of parishes that operate outside of

Vatican approval or control, and engage in church reform work.)

Above-Ground Communities

* Insider priests are priests who are recognized by the Vatican.

Eucharistic Communities that

are not approved by the Vatican,

rely primarily on lay persons or

“outsider” priests”* to perform the

Eucharist, and engage in church

reform work. Example: Community

of God’s Love in Lowell, MA.

Networks of parishes that

provide a governance structure

and support services for “under-

ground” parishes. Examples:

Ecumenical Catholic Communion,

Ass. for Contemporary Catholic

Life, Reformed Catholic Church.

Parishes that are not recognized

by the Vatican, but retain the

“Catholic” label and engage in

church reform work. Example:

Spiritus Christi in Rochester, NY.

* Outsider priests are priests who have married, resigned or been defrocked.

4

Catholic Reform Organizations

Voice of the Faithful.

Call to Action

Council of Vigiling Parishes

Insider Tactics

Protest

Persuasion

Above Ground Communities:

Our Lady Help of Christians

Newton, MA

Parish selected by Paul Wilkes highlighted in his book “Successful Catholic Parishes”

Pastor subjected to series of punitive actions by Cardinal Law and later O’Malley for his leadership role in organizing letter signed by 58 Boston priests demanding Law’s resignation.

Cuenin’s firing in October 2005 evoked widespread protest from parishioners and VOTF as well as ridicule and disbelief from Boston press.

Former Law spokesperson Rev. Coyne lasted only 4 months.

8

Above Ground Communities:

Our Lady Help of Christians

Newton, MA

Cuenin’s story relevant because he admitted openly he has considered leaving church.

He has visited underground churches

and is currently forming intentional community.

Some of his former parishioners are forming underground parish in Boston.

In a number or parishes story of Our Lady’s is being repeated as newly appointed bishops or priests shutdown programs and fire staff (ex.: Bishop Finn In Kansas City).

Other examples:

New Jersey.

Many dissident priest in Boston have no parish.

Vatican II priests dying, retiring or

leaving ministry.

Vigiling Parishes

Vigiling Movement of Twelve Boston area parishes to resist closure spreads to a network of parishes nationwide

Vigiling Parishes marginal because their resistance is aimed at reinstatement within institution.

St. Albert the Great, the first of the vigiling parishes in Boston reopens after over one year of vigil.

Vigiling movement effective form of nonviolent resistance that challenges cliché: “The Vatican always wins.”

Vigiling movement has spread to many dioceses. Future Church has developed handbook and CTA workshop for vigiling churches.

Some CTA churches have evolved into underground churches.

Could this be ground zero (AP)? 

• St. Stainaslaus Kostka of St. Louis
• Parish chose to defy order from Archbishop Raymond Burke to turn over 9 million in assets.
• Priest Mark Bozek and lay board formally excommunicated. Tom Doyle helped involved in appeal to reverse excommunicaitons.
• VOTF sent letter of support.
• 1,500 attend Christmas liturgy.
• Church not particularly liberal theologically—suggests that under appropriate conditions conservatives will resist hierarchical control.

CONCLUSIONS 

• Some people fight from the inside and some people fight from the outside and the walls of Jericho come tumbling down.”

--Sister Marie August Neal 

• Anger that is not acknowledged and processed is paralyzing, but anger that has legitimate outlet is capable of generating immense social energy for change. Community organizations sometimes call this energy sanctified anger and identify it as the kind of energy that hope needs in order to operate . . . First there must be a public outcry of pain . . . Private pain generates no social energy. . . Second, the community must know who or what is responsible for the pain (ideology critique). Only then is social and religious imagination generated.

--Paraphrase of Walter Brueggemann  

• We’ve got to be inside, outside, alongside, wherever there is an opening for change.

--Larry Kessler, AIDS Activist. 

• The church of the future will be built from below, even though it will be a call from the gospel and the message of the Church coming out of the past.

--Karl Rahner