Helpful Links
Canon and Civil Law
Catholic Counselors
General Support
Apostles of Jesus Christ Priest and Victim
Australian Confraternity of Catholic Clergy
Confraternity of Catholic Clergy
Standing With Peter (no site)
Standing With Peter is an organization that was founded by Fr. Lawrence Michael to offer support to inactive and active priests who are loyal to the Pope and to the teachings of the Church. Standing with Peter is for priests who are isolated or threatened because of their loyalty to the Holy Father and the Magisterium of the Church.
From their announcement: Fraternal support group for inactive priests who left the active ministry for worldly pursuits but whose hearts have turned and now desire to support the Holy Father and Magisterium. Our membership consists of spiritually wounded inactive brother priests. It also includes active priests, both those who are tempted to take the same unfortunate path and those who simply wish to help us in this apostolate. We extend fraternal help to each other in our struggle to live the life of grace and to love the Church. Retreats
Priests who might be interested may write to Standing With Peter, P.O. Box 2230, Brattleboro, VT 05303. cumpetro@adelphia.net
Porn Addiction
Unwanted Same Sex Attraction
Related posts
Resources
Canon and Civil Law
Catholic Counselors
General Support
Apostles of Jesus Christ Priest and Victim
Australian Confraternity of Catholic Clergy
Confraternity of Catholic Clergy
Standing With Peter (no site)
Standing With Peter is an organization that was founded by Fr. Lawrence Michael to offer support to inactive and active priests who are loyal to the Pope and to the teachings of the Church. Standing with Peter is for priests who are isolated or threatened because of their loyalty to the Holy Father and the Magisterium of the Church.
From their announcement: Fraternal support group for inactive priests who left the active ministry for worldly pursuits but whose hearts have turned and now desire to support the Holy Father and Magisterium. Our membership consists of spiritually wounded inactive brother priests. It also includes active priests, both those who are tempted to take the same unfortunate path and those who simply wish to help us in this apostolate. We extend fraternal help to each other in our struggle to live the life of grace and to love the Church. Retreats
Priests who might be interested may write to Standing With Peter, P.O. Box 2230, Brattleboro, VT 05303. cumpetro@adelphia.net
Porn Addiction
Unwanted Same Sex Attraction
Related posts
Catholic Therapists: A New Direction for Psychology
By now we’ve all heard the stories of whistle blower priests being bullied into checking into the diocesan-approved treatment center for “evaluation.” Or perhaps the seminarian or diocesan priest branded a sexual deviant, by the shrinks hired to screen him, for opposing women’s ordination or the Lavender Mafia. More recently, priests who have been falsely accused of misconduct and removed from ministry without due process find themselves bullied into the diocesan gulag for evaluation.
Here’s an entry from the Opus Bono Sacerdotii FAQ:
22. I have a priest friend who is looking for some counseling help, but he is scared to death to go to the bishop or any other brother priest, especially any one associated with the diocese. He, and I agree, is afraid that the minute you let the bishop or diocese in, he’ll/they’ll, remove the priest and his name will be disseminated all over the media and elsewhere. Furthermore, treatment centers are just as bad since they report to the bishop and are paid for by the diocese and I’ve heard some real sad stories about these places. Do you have any advice on him seeking counsel? Are there any good priest psychologists that can be trusted and are loyal to the teachings of the Church and the Holy Father?
There are very few priest psychologists/psychiatrists available. Many qualified Catholic mental health professionals help priests in this country. To find a Catholic therapist in your area who share your convictions in integrating the truths of the Catholic faith into their practice we highly recommend visiting www.catholictherapists.com.
Residential treatment is rarely indicated unless a priest is suicidal or severely incapacitated. We have priests go to psychologists from other parts of the country, take hospitality near a counselor’s center and participate in intensive 4 day per week outpatient psychotherapy. Also many priests are treated on the phone from different parts of the country and this has been very succesful. The most common conflicts in priests are those of loneliness, low male confidence, anxiety and mistrust. I’d recommend priests read the article our advisor Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons wrote in The Priest on resolving loneliness in priestly life which can be found at www.maritalhealing.com/ResolvingLoneliness.pdf.
It’s no wonder that many priests in crisis are apprehensive about seeking help for depression or anxiety triggered by the intense trauma of being falsely accused. Some commit suicide.
Follow Fr. John Zuhlsdorf’s commentary and discussion on the abuse of psychological screening by the Lavender Mafia to keep REAL MEN out of the Catholic priesthood:
Fr John Zuhlsdorf: Holy See on use of psychology in priestly formation
As Joe Maher mentioned in his FAQ at Opus Bono Sacerdotii (read about them here), the most common conflicts in priests are:
- Loneliness
- Low Male Confidence
- Anxiety
- Mistrust
joemaher(at)opusbono(dot)org
Fr. Joe’s Blog featured a great post referencing the gulags:
Retrospective on Clergy Child Abuse
Related posts
Adopt a Priest: Adoration, Reparation, Spiritual Motherhood for Priests
Fr. Owen Gorman preached a retreat during Holy Week. Father’s from the Diocese of Clogher in Ireland. On that particular Tuesday, he discussed Adoration, Reparation, Spiritual Motherhood for Priests, a booklet released by the Holy See’s Congregation for the Clergy on December 8, 2007. This Vatican initiative encourages the vocation of spiritual motherhood for priests. It’s a vocation for all women, and men as well, not just for those in the consecrated life.
Here’s the beautiful pdf of
Adoration, Reparation, Spiritual Motherhood for Priests
and here’s Fr. Owen Gorman’s talk detailing stories of how prayers for individual priests profoundly changed the course of their lives. To adopt your individual priest, revisit this post for adoption details.
Fr. Joseph Mary at Our Lady of the Angel’s Monastery spoke of this Vatican initiative during his homily on February 14, 2007. If you want to get right to the homily, it’s about a quarter of the way in.
Related posts
Get Help Here
Suzanne, a priest contacted me after seeing your site. Thank you again, and may Our Lady of Priests be your health and protection! ~ Joe
Opus Bono Sacerdotii (work for the good of the priesthood) is an initiative of the Catholic laity to help priests in crisis throughout the world by providing these emergency services at no cost to the *priest.
For this emergency aid to continue, it is imperative that anyone reading this make OBS known to people who may offer them monetary assistance.
If you are contemplating exposing corruption in your diocese to your bishop, contact OBS first to ensure you have access to a canon lawyer’s counsel. Doing the moral thing can turn out badly for the whistleblower otherwise.
Confidential Email Request for Assistance:
joemaher(at)opusbono(dot)org
If you have been removed from ministry and would like to talk
to brother priests confidentially for moral and spiritual support,
contact: priestnetwork(at)opusbono(dot)org
“It is edifying to see such lay people willing to risk everything to help so many in the ministerial priesthood. It is a privilege for me to be here, thank you.” ~ Jose Cardinal Sanchez, Former prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy - member of the Holy See upon his visit from Rome in October 2007 - offering Holy Mass in Our Lady of Priests Chapel located in Opus Bono Sacerdotii’s offices.
*All validly ordained Catholic priests who are not ministering in a schismatic situation and who desire to be in union with the Supreme Pontiff are eligible for support.
