Tom has left a new comment on your post "And Here's Another - Fr. Steve Niskanen":
From the San Gabriel Mission Weekly Bulletin, dated October 19, 2008...
"Dear Parishioners of San Gabriel Mission:
The Peace of Christ be with you!
Two weeks ago, I presented in a bulletin letter an overview of the three Propositions (4, 6 and 8) on which our California Bishops’ Conference has taken an official position. I presented these positions in summary, but then added my own personal opinion regarding Proposition 8, framing it as a matter of my conscience. I regret and apologize for placing my opinions on the same level as our Bishops, “the authentic teachers of the faith.” I fully respect and support our Bishops’ position that Proposition 8 does not intend to infringe on the human and legal rights of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters; rather it seeks to preserve the restriction of the term “marriage” to the complementary, life-long partnership of the whole of life, open to the gift of children, between one man and one woman.
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Steve Niskanen, CMF, Pastor."
The peace of Christ be with you Fr. Steve.
My emphasis added in the letter. The bolded words of Fr. Steve are pure BS. I don't mean to be harsh on him, but they sound very much like a forced confession out of a Soviet gulag. His position in the church will be adversely affected anyway. He's a marked man for having made his original statement.
Let us pray for Fr. Steve.
Tom, thanks for calling my attention to his change of mind.
Like you, I'll try not to be too harsh---it's going to be very hard to be him from now on. Marked by the hierarchy and knowing he's violating his conscience...
ReplyDeletePax,
Doxy
Well, and in all fairness there is a little ring of a "secret non-apology" there. He said, "I regret and apologize for placing my opinions on the same level as our Bishops," not "I apologize for what I said."
ReplyDeleteAlso he puts quotations marks around "the authentic teachers of the faith." Does that mean he may not quite believe that now????? Me, I'll give him some space and peace for the place he's in...
As Dr Primrose quoted on the Friends site, isn't there a certain Irony that the Catholic Church will fire a priest for dissenting on Prop8 but find a way to protect him if he molests altar boys?
ReplyDeleteIT
I think some nuns worked him over.
ReplyDeleteGreetings in Me.
ReplyDeleteAfter careful consideration, I realize I ought not to have placed myself in conscientious objection to the wisdom of the Scribes and Pharisees. They sit in Moses' seat, after all, and I'm just a Galilean Carpenter. I deeply regret that I may have offended them and caused any unrest among the people. Nothing was further from my mind. Special apologies to the Governor of Judea, under whose excellent guidance the peaceful reign of Caesar can continue uninterrupted by zealotry. I am very sorry if anything I said was taken in the wrong way, leading to suggestions I was attempting to usurp any kind of earthly authority or rule. I was speaking metaphorically. I'm particularly concerned that last week's demonstration and donkey-ride may have given people the wrong idea. I tried to hail a taxi, but people insisted I use the donkey. I didn't mean anything by it.
Can I go now?
J.C.
I detect a thread of irony running through his whole statement. That's why I compared it to a confession from a Soviet gulag. However, I'm afraid that the hint of, "I don't really mean this," won't help Prop 8.
ReplyDeleteI pray for him, rather than judge him.
CL, it was, no doubt, the nuns.
Note: This was written before I saw Tobias' words. I'll take them on separately.
Chere Mimi
ReplyDeleterequesting permission to give Steve+ a quick, fraternal tap upside the head before exchanging the peace of Christ with him.
'our Bishops, “the authentic teachers of the faith.”
what century is he writing in?
wether there's imbedded irony or not, this is a public statement which among others might be read by some faithful who can't even spell 'irony', and by bigots who will be only too happy to waive it around, both of whom will take it for a recanting of his earlier stand.
Just makes me more grateful than ever for our three, equal priesthoods in the Anglican tradition.
David@Montreal
Tobias, this is priceless. And you just dash these things off? What a waste to have it hidden in the comments. I may need to promote it.
ReplyDeleteMimi, thanks for the compliment. This kind of thing comes from the fury I feel at injustice -- clearly the good priest and pastor was "sat on" or had his arm twisted. Recantations are never pleasant to read, but the sad thing in this case is that the "authentic teachers" really think that's what they are, and are grinding the faithful into the ground. Oooo, I'm getting angry again just thinking about it. And it's almost sundown. oops!
ReplyDeleteCher David, those already "in the know" will know. That type of veiled message to the few is not to my taste. The phrase “the authentic teachers of the faith” actually made me laugh. I was quickly reminded of the huge, smelly pile of rubbish consisting of words spouted by bishops.
ReplyDeleteThanks be to God for the shared governance by bishops, clergy, and laity of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, which form of governance seems to trouble the Archbishop of Canterbury to such a degree.
I'm with Tobias. he was sat upon and got a face fart from the powers that be. But I also think he could not help under the circumstances, put some hints in his "apology"...kind of like the guy in the POW films from North Vietnam who blinked "torture" in Morse code...
ReplyDeleteAway from the blogs all day... wow, he really had to have someone holding his hand as he wrote those words.
ReplyDeleteSheesh. It does have as noted by Kirkespicatoid and others a non-apologetic ring.
Tobias' satire is pure brilliance.
It is satire, isn't it?
And who says anything better than what IT does?