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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
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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
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Fr. James Power of the Boston Archdiocese
Fr. James Power of the Boston Archdiocese: Now where do I go to get my reputation back?
by Diogenes of Catholic Culture
The Boston archdiocese has reinstated Father James Power, who was suspended nearly 7 years ago because of sex-abuse allegations for which, in turns out, the archdiocese cannot find supporting evidence.
What do you say to a priest who’s been barred from pursuing his vocation for 7 years, if you realize there’s no substantial evidence to support the disciplinary action taken against him? Oops? Sorry?
There’s no reason to think that the case of Father Power is unique. There are other innocent priests out there, waiting for vindication. They were deprived of their rights because– let’s face it, the American hierarchy panicked. The US bishops weighed two factors: due process for ordained ministers on one hand, and the pressure of media attention on the other. We all know which way the scales tipped. The Dallas Charter let bishops escape from the glare of the headlines. Priests who were falsely accused could escape seven years later– if they were to escape at all.
Oh, and there was one more thing about the reinstatement of Father Power. TheBoston Globe reports:
The ruling came 12 years after the church had already settled a $35 million civil lawsuit brought in 1993 by an alleged victim of the priest.
That’s $35 million spent from archdiocesan funds– from the sacrificial offerings of the faithful. The archdiocese, which agreed to that outlay, cannot find evidence to support the charges. But what the heck. It’s only money. You can always take up another collection. Or close another parish.
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Fr. John Zuhlsdorf: Christmas Gifts for Priests
Fr. John Zuhlsdorf on Christmas Gifts for Priests
This issue of taking care of priests is today a sore spot for me, and I am very glad the writer led with this.
I just read a story in the Italian press about a tragic death of a priest in Rome. An African priest, 30 years old from Zimbabwe, died alone in his room and he was not found until three days later. No one had bothered to check or find out why he hadn’t been to meals or where he was.
Dead alone in a house full of priests.
This does not surprise me in the least.
Once in Rome I was stuck in my room for days, feverish and completely unable, too weak, to get out of bed, probably with pneumonia. I was terribly ill. There was no phone in the room and that was before cellphones were omnipresent. Not a single person checked on me, even though I lived in a clerical house. Not. A. Soul.
There are a lot of priests who bear a profound sense of isolation. Of course many are extremely active and social and sought after by their own families and others, but many have little or no family. They effectively have no one. Even other priests.
So I say this not just for Christmastime, but for the whole year:
Don’t forget your priests.
Even small gestures toward them can make a difference.
Follow the Discussion
Please share this post.
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Persecuted Priests: A Growing Problem in US by Mary Ann Kreitzer
Persecuted priests: A growing problem in US
by Mary Ann Kreitzer
Catholic Media Coalition
During the civil war many soldiers suffered such severe wounds that surgeons had to remove limbs to save lives. Eye witnesses describe piles of arms and legs outside makeshift hospitals near the battlefield. Doctors mutilated men to save their lives.
But what if the surgeons wouldn’t cut? Suppose they ignored infections because they feared the attitudes of those who saw men disfigured by the knife? Even worse, what if they were quacks selling snake oil cures with no concern for their patients at all? The men would die, of course, victims of lethal bacteria.
That’s our plight in the Church in the United States. The patient is the bride of Christ, and her diseased limbs are the many dioceses infected with the corruption of dissent and homosexuality. The doctors are bishops and clergy. Those who cover up the rot are the quacks. They apply false remedies like touching programs and mandatory fingerprinting while covering up and enabling corruption. The true doctors are faithful priests who love the Church and want to purify her. Instead of thanking their loyal sons, bad bishops persecute and vilify them. Meanwhile the quacks and charlatans flourish.
How many ways do bad bishops punish good priests?
Take your pick: exile, silencing, mandatory evaluation at pseudo-psychiatric facilities like St. Luke’s, frequent reassignment, making them permanent parochial vicars with no hope of becoming pastors, marginalization, driving them out (to other dioceses or the military vicariate), whispering campaigns that designate them “mentally unstable” or “unfit for ministry,” etc. The ultimate punishment, the bishop’s sword of Damocles, so to speak, is suspension. It hangs over the head of a good priest who knows his “spiritual father” will use it. How many orthodox priests hear variations of the threat, “You have no idea what I can do to you!” But the good priests do know. They’ve seen the sword fall on their brothers.
Many orthodox priests live in fear that their bishops will remove their priestly faculties.
Why? Because they are having an affair with a parishioner’s wife? Because they’re hoarding porno flicks in the closet? Because they’re letting a homosexual buddy live in the rectory? No! Because they defend the faith vigorously against the evils of modernism and the homosexual subculture.
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
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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
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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
Adopt a Priest
Apply to the Spiritual Adoption Program Coordinated by Opus Sanctorum Angelorum
Find out about the Vatican’s adoption initiative with this post:
Adopt a Priest: Adoration, Reparation, Spiritual Motherhood for Priests
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My Attempt to Help Priests in Crisis is Thirteen Years Late
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In the winter of 1995, I was speaking with a very saintly priest about a story that made the front page of The Washington Post that morning. News broke out that four priests were arrested for abusing their young victims. One of them officiated at my friend’s wedding the year prior.
Back then before the media barrage of similar stories, I was capable of being stunned. This faithful priest then went on to tell me that the biggest scandal in the priesthood is its suicide rate. He didn’t elaborate.
Suicide rate? This did not compute. No doubt, I was clearly influenced by the clericalism then prevalent among the laity of our “we have it good here” diocese. Sure, I’ve heard of priests having a crisis of faith — hey what Hollywood movie or novel hasn’t depicted a priest undergoing a crisis of faith. I figured these guys just needed to step up their devotions, pick up their breviaries more often, and foster a devotion to our Lady — then their suicide rate would go down. So I tucked away the information.
Fast forward 13 years. Now I’m married having just moved to Sydney Australia seven months ago. Previously, the media coverage of anything Catholic came across to me as the usual ongoing pathetic drivel — until recently. The local media’s coverage of the Holy Father’s visit for World Youth Day 08 was nothing short of demonic.
The incessant demonic shrieks of so-called victims advocacy groups paraded around by The Sydney Morning Herald abated just in time for me to learn of the trend of public desecrations of the Blessed Sacrament by Prof. P.Z. Myers and others back home.
One could read headlines clamoring for a papal apology alongside headlines denouncing a papal apology for not having any merit. Words are not enough, the so-called advocacy groups spew.
It’s no wonder a few bishops (I do mean a FEW. Many bishops care deeply for their priests) in North America were spooked into embracing a zero-tolerance policy. Now they had an out. They could deliver something — anything — to appease the mobs. At no other time could “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown” ring more true.
Now under these new conditions, an accusation of misconduct made against a priest = fact until proven otherwise over a period of years. Oh, and no need to bother with due process or basic civil rights for the accused priest. The accused may have hours to vacate the rectory/presbytery. ”Invitations” of voluntary laicizations are offered. There is of course canonical due process for the accused priest. It may not be mentioned to the accused, however, at the diocesan level in many cases.
You can read the accounts and comments submitted by these priests and others under the What It’s Like tab.
Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ has been very critical of the Dallas Charter drafted by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops because it leaves the accused priest vulnerable without due process. Those removed from ministry without due process are referred to as “chartered” priests in their ranks. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference anticipated this potential harm and decreed in December 2000:
“All persons are presumed innocent unless and until guilt is either admitted or determined by due process. If church personnel accused of abuse are asked to step aside from the office they hold while the matter is pending, it is to be clearly understood that they are on leave and that no admissions or guilt are implied by this fact. Unless and until guilt has been admitted or proved, those accused should not be referred to as offenders or in any way treated as offenders.”
Didn’t like that Father insisted on the Church’s magisterial teaching during his homily last Sunday? Did that really piss you off? Feeling a repressed memory coming on? Don’t worry. Report it anonymously. Your report will be held in the strictest confidence. Your name will never be revealed.
So now the webmaster of a Catholic clergy sexual offender database collects the names of accused priests and throws them in with the convicted offenders. The names of the accused priests were released by the diocese and subsequently publicized all over the syndicated media worldwide. Now the accused priest has to explain to his Mom why he’s on some international pervert list. Or worse, his mom has to explain why her son is on some international pervert list.
I remember when the Virginia State Police published the names of CONVICTED sexual predators on an online database, and the ACLU went ballistic.
Some accused priests get to keep their stipend, but many do not during this ordeal. The accused priest cannot get a job of course. Work references from his bishop?
I learned of this crisis in the priesthood very recently. Scratch that . . . 13 years ago. Priests and seminarians cannot speak about it publicly for obvious reasons. So members of the laity rose to the occasion to provide emergency assistance to these priests thrown into personal crisis.
Opus Bono Sacerdotii was founded by Joe Maher and other Catholic business men in Detroit in response to this current crisis. They have formed a network of professionals to help priests. These professionals include therapists, canon lawyers, civil and criminal attorneys, financial consultants, career trainers, among others. Oftentimes the priest is despondent contemplating suicide. OBS arranges for a suicide watch in these cases.
Donations allow OBS to pay for these services and emergency funding at no cost to the priest. Guilt or innocence never enters into it. Any priest in trouble gets help.
Please spend time reading these accounts of suffering priests.
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About
“The highest form of resistance is to give hope to those who have none.” ~ Adam Stephan Cardinal Sapieha to then Seminarian Karol Jozef Wojtyla
The Priests in Crisis blog site is a gateway to emergency resources for faithful Catholic priests in personal crisis.
A Catholic priest in the United States does not consistently enjoy due process nor civil rights when accused of wrong doing. In a matter of days or hours, a diocesan priest may find himself without his reputation, his home, his family, his livelihood, his liberty, and his hope.
“I know now that people are being a lot more careful about what they say. They [the bishops] are realising that the blogosphere and the internet, with the way the media is today, they know that they are going to be called to account for what they say or do.” ~ Catholic Herald Interview with Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
After reading From Scandal to Hope and listening to Our Lady and This Present Darkness by Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, I realized the role of the Catholic laity in helping its priests through this wintertime of the Church.
Related posts
What It’s Like
- Read these letters sent to Opus Bono Sacerdotii mostly by priests. They allow us into their hearts and minds as they suffer through this wintertime of the Church.
- Follow this imprisoned priest’s fight to clear his name and expose abuse payout scams.
- Read Carol McKinley’s blog as she uncovers the shameful treatment of our priests.
- Follow this “chartered” priest’s dark night through his series of posts, Living in the Catholic Gitmo.
- Listen to Fr. Benedict Groeschel on How to Deal with Injustice on a Personal Level
If you have been unjustly removed from ministry,
know that you keep good company.
John 16: 1-4
1 I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them.
John 15: 18-27
18 If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all this they will do to you on my account, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.
23 He who hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.
25 It is to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’ 26 But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me; 27 and you also are witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning.
John 6: 67-70
67 Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?”
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to betray him.
John 16: 20-33
20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.
21 When a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name. 24 Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
25 “I have said this to you in figures; the hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in figures but tell you plainly of the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name; and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father.
28 I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” 29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure! 30 Now we know that you know all things, and need none to question you; by this we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?
32 The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, every man to his home, and will leave me alone; yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 33: I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
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How to Help
Letter to Opus Bono Sacerdotii:
A huge thanks to you for the superlative job you did for Father’s defense. The full measure in which you both threw yourselves into your work to spare him a life of woe and depression is far beyond the demands of any job. I know that you also did what you did out of your love for the Church, our dear Mother who is suffering so much grief these days. Gratefully, and in the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
Father Eduard Perrone
Step 1
First and foremost, donate to Opus Bono Sacerdotii. If you want your emergency money to help a particular priest,
contact joemaher(at)opusbono(dot)org
Step 2
To counteract the extensive harm done to priests by the current media hysteria, please:
- promote this resource site in all your social media outlets (see icons at the bottom of the page)
- link to us in your blog
- copy/paste posts into your blog giving proper attribution to the original authors
- Stay updated by RSS or email (see bottom of page)
Then when your friends know of a priest in dire need of help, he or she could immediately plug him into a network of emergency resources.
Step 3
Pray the Rosary for the success of this apostolate.
It may seem that evil has the upper hand right now, but it’s no match for the intercession of Our Lady. (read about Bl. Bartolo Longo)
Step 4
Form the proper perspective during this unholy mess. Read From Scandal to Hope by Fr. Benedict Groeschel or listen to his original talk An Urgent Appeal found in this post
“Indeed too without your fraternal affection and prayer, my Brothers and that of so many of the Laity, I might well let go of the hand of the Mother of Priests and then truly would fall – from grace, probably, from life off a bridge or some such possibly, for we all know this is too much, way too much suffering for any person – but NOT too much for Him and He is our faith, HE is our trust, HE is our courage and HE is the reason for our ad sum!, spoken not some yesterday of ordination but in the now of every moment in Him, which is always the graced moment of beginning again!”
~ Fr. Arthur Joseph, Living in the Catholic Gitmo
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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.
