Thursday, January 27, 2011

St. Petersburg bishop refuses to meet parents with complaints about priest - St. Petersburg Times

Editor: More fallout from the sex abuse hoax. It's acceptable for a priest to ask questions about various sins in the confessional to help the penitent with an examination of conscience. The people who are demanding this audience with the Bishop are presumptuous, stupid and probably evil.

Either they need to be brought up to speed about the Sacrament of Penance, or sent speeding out the door to the nearest protestant/universalist/muslim sect where objectivity and clarity aren't held in as much esteem.

ST. PETERSBURG — The head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg has rejected a request by parochial school parents for a meeting to discuss questions they say their children were asked during confession.

The Cathedral School of St. Jude parents accuse Father Joseph L. Waters, 49, of asking at least eight children questions they consider inappropriate regarding what the children looked up on the internet and whether they masturbated.

They say Waters, head priest at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle in St. Petersburg, asked the questions during confessions a few weeks before Christmas.


St. Petersburg bishop refuses to meet parents with complaints about priest - St. Petersburg Times

13 comments:

Jovan-Marya Weismiller, T.O.Carm. said...

Maybe they need some basic catechesis on the Sacrament of Penance, eh?

Caroline said...

Thanks for posting the story. This is my diocese and it is indeed a mess. Pray for Father Waters..

Blessings

Anonymous said...

Then the parents need to be taught this as well as the children. In the way Christ would teach --with patience and compassion. They cannot know what they have not been taught or have been taught differently for years.

Would Christ call these people names such as presumptuous, stupid and evil? Where is the love here for the sinner? Your language divides and incites anger.

It breaks my heart.

Tancred said...

It's a good thing I'm not Christ, then. I'm afraid that worse things are in store for the local ordinaries and prelates who've allowed this state to become the norm.

If you're not angry, you need to be made to be angry.

Anonymous said...

I am very angry about many things and am quite outspoken about such things as well (abortion and abuse of women and children specifically).

Being outspoken in our culture of death is hard and scary at times. This is a cross I must bear.

I am angry with you and other leaders in the church who use power, control and name-calling in attempts to convert others to Christ. Is conversion even what you are trying to do?

Actually, I am VERY angry that you called parents who have chosen to send their children to confession in the first place disrespectful names. They are obviously struggling with their faith and need education, love and compassion not middle-school name-calling.

There. Now you know how truly ANGRY I am and I didn't even have to call you a name to make my point, Tancred.

Whew.

Tancred said...

Christ called people worse things. These people are clearly dishonest and should be sent packing with a good beating. That's how it would be handled in my world.

Anonymous said...

Good thing you're not Christ, Tancred. (:

Tancred said...

God has done far more terrible things than deliver beatings to con-men wanting to cash in on phony sympathy and cast doubt on the Sacrament of Penance.

Anonymous said...

LOL. Uh, you're not God either.

Tancred said...

It's unfortunate that the false-charity crowd seems to spend more time watching daytime television than reading the Scriptures or attending to their own garden.

They need to be told where to go too, and the more that these ninnies are shown the door, the better things will be.

The Church needs to give the boot to all these effeminate types that make a laughing stock of true religion, and insist on forcing others to obey their whimpers.

Religion is for the salvation of the bodies and souls of men, it's not for coddling error and pious frauds.

Anonymous said...

I don't have the same ability to know what is in a person's heart as Jesus did, so I will not call names here.

I don't believe you are any closer to seeing in hearts than I am either but there is no way I can know this for a fact so I better refrain from calling you what I'd really love to call you.

I better go finish my weeding. My show is starting soon.

Tancred said...

You asked the question about what Jesus would do, and when I responded about what He did in fact do in analogous situations to this one, you accused me of misidentifying myself with Christ.

It really depends on who's Ox is being gored, and in the end, it really seems to be about power. Forget about who's right.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Christ called the Pharisees names. Therefore, I think it might comes down to whether or not those parents who question a priest represent the Pharisees or whether another group just might. . .