Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Ecclesiastical priorities


As doubts about the Church’s infallibility had become more and more obsessive, I had become more and more certain that I would have to leave the priesthood, and perhaps the Church, sooner or later.
 
Meanwhile, I continued as best I could with the routine duties of the priesthood. Was it not hypocritical to each the doctrines of a church whose mission I was internally doubting? How could I advise penitents in confession to obey the rulings of a Church whose wisdom and authority I was myself questioning?
 
I saw the Archbishop on the 26th and told him that I could not continue as a priest because I no longer believed in Catholic doctrines; I did not even have faith in God, but could continue praying only in the way that someone stranded on a mountainside might cry out for help without knowing that there was anyone within earshot.
 
[Later] I then explained how as a student I had been dissatisfied with the accounts given in the textbooks of how we know that there is a God, and that faith began to seem to be a sacrifice of integrity rather than a virtue. I had papered over this difficulty with an existentialist type of approach, on the basis of which I had been ordained.
 
So the transition from priest to layman happened, in the end, very swiftly. It was within a week of receiving the official rescript from Rome that I took up my duties as a lecturer at Exeter and Trinity…
 
When I had been laicized, I had not been released from the Church’s law of celibacy. Hence, the date of my marriage was also the date of my–automatic-excommunication from the Church.

A. Kenny, A Path From Rome (Oxford 1986), 189,192, 196, 204,207.

This is a revealing window into the theological priorities of Rome. Losing faith in God wasn’t an automatically excommunicable offense. Although he was no longer a believer, he was still a member in good standing.

No, the truly inexcusable transgression was for him to marry a woman–even though by this time he’d formally and officially left the priesthood.

He was excommunicated on a technicality, for getting married.

Now, from my warped perspective as a Protestant, I rather think that being a Christian ought to be minimal condition for membership in a Christian church. (I’m talking about functioning adults, right now, not little kids or the mentally incompetent.)

But you can see how hopelessly skewed my priorities are. If Kenny had been an atheistic bachelor, he’d still belong to the One True Church–but for him to marry a woman, even though he was now a layman, is utterly intolerable!

One wonders what his ecclesiastical standing would be had he split the difference by having a mistress–or maybe a boyfriend.

9 comments:

  1. "If Kenny had been an atheistic bachelor, he’d still belong to the One True Church–but for him to marry a woman, even though he was now a layman, is utterly intolerable!"

    Yeah, I don't get that either.

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  2. Or if he had simply chosen to remain in the priesthood for the perquisites and fringes, and indulge his sexual appetites with altar boys.

    But I guess we all know what would have occurred had he exercised this option, he would received all expenses paid relocation from parish to parish, diocese to diocese as he sampled all the culture and young boys The One True Church has to offer its "faithful" priests.

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  3. Greetings in Christ!

    I’d be interested to know more about this particular story. Father Francis from EWTN’s Life on the Rock stopped practicing as a ministerial priest and got married, and he was still a good Catholic. I haven’t heard anything about him recently, but I hope he’s doing well.

    Hey Steve!

    Be sure to keep us updated on the latest manuscript discoveries. That’s exciting!

    With love in Christ,
    Pete

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  4. Apostate priests are not always reliable sources for Catholic theology. Heresy, schism, and apostasy by nature sever one from membership in the Church, spiritually and internally (Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi, 23). Whatever date this priest incurred a juridic penalty in canon law is a matter of lesser importance.

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  5. Hey Ben,

    I know this is going to sound cheap, but let me have this shot. Roman Catholics hold up testimonies from apostate Protestants all the time. In fact, they write entire books dedicated to blasting various forms of Protestantism by way of conversion stories.

    Can I as a Protestant hold them to the same standard with apostates from Catholicism? Can I gather Catholic "de conversion" stories together in books to show how Catholicism is wrong?

    Not that I would, but by doing so, I'd simply be following the example of Catholic apologetic ministries.

    Just an observation.

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  6. Jeff wrote, “Can I as a Protestant hold them to the same standard with apostates from Catholicism? Can I gather Catholic "de conversion" stories together in books to show how Catholicism is wrong?”

    Greetings in the Lord, Jeff!

    We definitely want people to be able to share their stories and their walks with Christ.

    I wonder about this particular story because Canons 194 and 1394 of the Code of Canon Law say that such priests are automatically removed from office, or suspended, not automatically excommunicated.

    Hey Ben Douglass! Thanks for coming around, brother. I hope that you and Sungenis can find a way to be deeply reconciled. :)

    Hey Steve! Where do you worship? Are you a part of Sovereign Grace Ministries? I saw you mention CJ Mahaney at one point.

    With love in Christ,
    Pete

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  7. Steve,

    This is a revealing window into the theological priorities of Rome. Losing faith in God wasn’t an automatically excommunicable offense. Although he was no longer a believer, he was still a member in good standing.

    Don't you think this is a bit crazy?

    Think of what you're really suggesting here: losing faith in God - doubting - being an 'automatic excommunication'.

    Have you ever known anyone who had doubts about God or Christianity? Did they ever go through a period of questioning, when they were no longer sure of their faith or at least of their sect? Were they suddenly 'no longer Christian'? What about if they ultimately restored their belief and faith in the span of a week? Two weeks? A year? More?

    This seems less like a window into 'theological priorities' and more a question of dealing with very visible scandal.

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  8. "Can I as a Protestant hold them to the same standard with apostates from Catholicism? Can I gather Catholic "de conversion" stories together in books to show how Catholicism is wrong?"

    Well, objectively speaking it's wrong to write anything arguing for Protestantism against Catholicism, because the conclusion isn't true.

    At the very least, you would be responsible as editor for making sure the contributing authors represented Catholicism accurately and in context. That cannot be assumed.

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  9. "Hey Ben Douglass! Thanks for coming around, brother. I hope that you and Sungenis can find a way to be deeply reconciled. :)"

    Yeah, that would be nice, but if you look at his website he's still on the war path about Jews.

    ReplyDelete