Sunday, April 26, 2009

To Laugh or to Cry - You Decide


What happens when you cross elements of the Diocese of Rochester with what Catholic universities have become? A married man who was ordained a 'priest' by an excommunicated 'bishop' and refers to himself as a married priest, who announces the ordination of 'female bishops', who were graduates of Notre Dame and St. Mary's - both in Indiana. Got that? Let me explain it this way: Phony priest from Rochester, NY who happens to be a 'media liaison' for CORPUS (a group for dissidents who think they are still Catholic but really are not) is proud to announce the ordination of female 'bishops', one a Notre Dame graduate and the other a graduate of St. Mary's. Still messy and full of grammatical errors but not as erroneous as the canon laws which have been trounced. Note that their croziers are as phony as they are in the picture above. Read the news release:

CORPUS Congratulates Four Newly Ordained Women Bishops
By Ray Grosswirth, CORPUS Media Liaison
Dated: Apr 19, 2009

CORPUS, the national association for an inclusive priesthood, wishes to convey its joy over the ordination of four women bishops on April 19, 2009, in Santa Barbara, California.

CORPUS SUPPORTS AND CONGRATULATES FOUR NEWLY-ORDAINED CATHOLIC WOMEN-BISHOPS

CORPUS (www.corpus.org), the national association for an inclusive priesthood, is deeply proud to articulate its support of four ordinations that took place on April 19 in the state of California. It is withgreat joy that we congratulate the following four Catholic bishops: Joan Mary Clark Houk, Andrea MicheleJohnson, Bridget Mary Meehan and Maria Regina Nicolosi.

Bishops Houk, Johnson, Meehan and Nicolosi join their male counterparts in the Roman Catholic Episcopate as servant-leaders of their respective communities.

For over thirty-five years, CORPUS has been actively engaged in the effort to create a church that is all-inclusive. In its effort to expand its outreach efforts, CORPUS has moved beyond its original mission as a vehicle of support for married priests and their families. We now recognize that the Kingdom of God on earth cannot be realized until all of human creation is treated with dignity and respect. We also realize that
a call from God to ordained ministry is not limited to celibate males. We therefore embrace and encourage all who experience the call, minus any discrimination on the basis of gender, marital status or sexual orientation.

Women who prepare for ordination to the diaconate, priesthood and episcopate are highly trained and have the same educational qualifications as males in similar roles. CORPUS hopes and prays that those who are opposed to the ordination of women will search their hearts and come to realize that if the Catholic Church is to remain vital in the years ahead, we must be open to the will of the Holy Spirit.

The fact that many women are coming forward to respond to a call from God is a reason to celebrate, and CORPUS greets these women of faith with open arms and a feeling of joy and gratitude for their spiritual
and ministerial gifts. Bishops Houk, Johnson, Meehan and Nicolosi give hope to a divided church. CORPUS has every confidence that they will be true disciples of Christ, and we therefore rejoice in their ordination to the rank of the episcopate.

CORPUS has been in existence for over 35 years to promote and support inclusivity in the ranks of the Roman Catholic priesthood.


If you are game, go to youtube.com and search for: 'Rochester married priest' and feast your eyes on the the media laison from CORPUS. He dances with cleaning implements, has fake conversations with the Pope on the telephone and all sorts of nonsense. Then whether you cry or laugh, end with a prayer. Maranatha.

Thanks to fratres for sharing the story.

12 comments:

Therese said...

I saw this picture at Larry D's blog. I wonder if these women know how much they are mocking Christ and his church.

A Secular Franciscan said...

Don't confuse Groswirth with the Diocese of Rochester. He is not part of the Diocese, and lumping them togehter is unfair.

Kelly said...

Hi Lee - I intended to point to the shenanigans that Bishop Clark has allowed to go on for so long - and the married priest is a major supporter/defender of the Bishop, Sr. Joan and others who press for female ordination. I did not mean to imply that he actually celebrates Mass with the endorsement of the Diocese. Sorry if I offended you or others who have suffered under the current leadership - or lacktherof - in the DOR and if you read my blog, you will see that I have made plenty of posts asking for prayers for our brothers and sisters to the east.

Kelly said...

and Lee, do note that I stated elements of the DOR in the blog entry.

Bishop Clark has hardly discouraged the appointing of priestesses to parishes and the sidlining of priests. Grosswirth represents CORPUS and all of the 'sisters' who seek ordination - like Sr. Joan, et.al. Elements of the DOR.

Anonymous said...

Hi Catholic Ponderings---

A clarification:

1 Non Bishop Woman Layperson was a graduate from the University of Notre Dame.

and,

1 Non Bishop Woman Layperson was a graduate of St. Mary's University in Notre Dame.

I was in error for a day or two before correcting. Sorry for the confusion.

Grace. Blessings. Peace. In that order for you and yours...

james mary

Kelly said...

James Mary, thank you for the clarification - I will update the blog entry to reflect it.

Dominus vobiscum

Rich Leonardi said...

It's fair to call Grosswirth "an element of Rochester." The man was a leader on his parish RCIA team for years. Does anyone seriously contend that he didn't send up a signal flag or two during that time? Moreover, the heterodox views he reveals in the press release are indistinguishable from those of the Women's Ordination Conference. Sister Joan Sobala, a prominent member of that conference, was appointed by Bishop Clark to serve as de facto pastor over one of the last tradition-minded parishes in the Diocese of Rochester, St. Anne's.

MFB said...

Lee Strong,

Ray Grosswirth is an element of the diocese of Rochester whether you wish to acknowledge it or not. The man still receives Communion in our churches, despite being told by his pastor [Fr. Kennedy] that he no longer should. Grosswirth is a friend of the bishop, and a friend of Nancy DeRycke and Sr. Joan Sobala. He received his Masters of Divinity from St. Bernard, an institution in the diocese of Rochester. How much more an element does he need to be? The only thing he doesn't do is run a parish, and thank God he doesn't. Then again, he has two friends running parishes, so it would not surprise me if he had any influence in how they carry out their affairs.

A Secular Franciscan said...

All too often, people use anything they can to club the Diocese of Rochester. Grosswirth is a loose cannon who would make trouble anywhere - that's why I pointed out that we shouldn't confuse him with the Diocese. The DDiocese is not responsible for his current actions and pronouncements.

I agree, though, there are legitimate reasons to criticize actions by the Diocese. Just to name a few: lax enforcement of liturgical rules (and even some skewed interpretations of the norms) that have allowed liturgical abuses like lay people preaching; the lack of a strong, sustained, focused vocations program that has resulted in few vocations to the priesthood - and the lack of ordinatin in the coming few years ; the poor handling of the Corpus Christi situation, not cracking down soon enough; etc. Grosswirth is a side issue.

A Secular Franciscan said...

By the way, Grosswirth has now taken the plunge and joined the schismatics at Spiritus Christi.

Anonymous said...

Did he really?

He has said a "Mass" there before, but has he actually become a member, or a minister there?

A Secular Franciscan said...

Yeah, he announced it on his blog.