Well, that escalated quickly.
Readers, we could rehash the sad tale of the past couple days in the diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana, which rapidly culminated in the suspension from public ministry of Fr. Theodore Rothrock following his sharp denunciation of certain activist groups.
The controversial move is being duked out over on the diocese’s Facebook page at the present moment, and has been tweeted by Catholic and secular journos across the nation.
Everything has, and likely will, follow the predictable and frankly tedious pattern we’ve come to know, which values truth very little and mercy even less.
So what say you? Shall we take it a different way?
If you’re able, fast for our diocese this Friday.
Commend every cleric in this diocese to the Mother of God. We may tire, but the ever-young, ever-Virgin Mother does not.
If you have access to the Blessed Sacrament, go there and ask what He wants of you in these times.
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82 Replies to “Well, that escalated quickly.”
Look, some more of Bishop Doherty’s good buddies committing assault and harassment of a mixed race congregation, including children. But don’t ever say it’s wrong!!!
Punish people who try to stop it. https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-protesters-storm-baptist-church-harass-children-assault-parishioners-hows-your-head-feel-pastor
Mostly peaceful protestors.
Overheard Sunday somewhere in our diocese (after a long, hard day):
Diocesan employee #1 – “How is all this ever going to heal?!”
Diocesan employee #2 – “When Rome transfers him to another diocese. Hope they’re watching all this!”
As much as I want a new prince for our diocese, I do not wish him upon other dioceses.
Well, maybe he can just retire like the Pope Emeritus. Could be he is just not cut out for this and would be happier and healthier away from it.
From Indy Star: “His words prompted one woman to shout “You’re a coward” in the bishop’s direction multiple times before she was escorted out. More than a dozen other people gathered their belongings and walked out of the church along with her. . . . As he spoke, the woman who called him a coward also accused him of having no backbone, saying “they’re doing it anyway out there” in reference to the protesters who decided to gather despite Rothrock’s suspension.
Another man yelled out, “You’re an enemy bishop!” after Doherty said Black lives matter. There was scattered, dueling applause for both Doherty and those making the outbursts. . . Doherty began 9:30 a.m. Mass by directly addressing what was happening outside the church. He referenced an article published by the Catholic News Agency that asks whether Catholics can support the Black Lives Matter movement.
He said the article points out that while organizations such as the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation promote ideologies that are directly at odds with the teachings of the Catholic Church, the phase itself has outgrown being affiliated with a single organization or individual.
“It is a mistake to say that foundation is the headquarters of a coordinated or very diverse movement,” he said. “We can’t capture the facts of what’s happening across different movements inside and outside of the United States by simply referring to a general ‘they’ or an ‘it.'””
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/carmel/2020/07/05/carmel-church-protests-opinions-clash-over-remarks-suspended-pastor/5380198002/
So if the CARI group said that they were going to SEAS for “a peaceful gathering” of healing and dialogue, but were ACTUALLY there to yell at people and vent anger all over the parishioners, then does that not prove Father Ted Rothrock was totally correct? That these activist groups pretend to have one purpose but actually have another? Asking for a friend. SMH
As far as his own diocese goes, our bishop is more concerned about helping the BLM community than helping the TLM community. Food for thought.
Probably doesn’t even know what TLM stands for…
MUCH more concerned.
Sadly, opposition to the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in the Lafayette diocese has been well demonstrated over many years. Why the sudden sudden support of a Marxist terror group
whose goal is to abolish the
traditions of Christianity and America? Father Rothrock is to be commended for bravely speaking the truth.
Father Rothrock had every right to his “Freedom of Speech “! I applaud his fortitude for speaking the truth!
All the diocese is worried about are protests at 610 Lingle Ave. I’m Lafayette. Kudos to those that walked out of the Bishop’s mass Sunday.
Freedom of speech only applies to some???? I don’t think so!
Praying for Father Rothrock!
What we’re fighting for now is every priest’s solemn duty to have the FREEDOM TO PREACH: To preach the truth in and out of season! And this extends way beyond Father Rothrock’s situation. This goes straight to the bureaucratic, phony-evangelistic, corporate nerve-center of Uniting in Heart and Divine Renovation that is about to be unleashed on our diocese: treating our priests as if they never went to seminary, never learned anything, and haven’t picked up any wisdom of their own since their ordinations. Nope! Our priests will be given pre-packaged “messages” that must be delivered, per corporate instructions, with as much manufactured sincerity and passion that they can muster or there will be hell to pay back at headquarters. Oh, Saint John Vianney, pray for them all; That they can weather this storm until it passes.
Fortunately, this storm will likely pass quicker than we think thanks to world events: The church closures, covid-phobic liturgies, and TV-masses have all but driven away the marginally faithful and whatever money they used to throw in the plate. The boomers and their money are rapidly leaving the stage. Boondoggles like Uniting in Heart and the St. Joseph Retreat & Conference Center will accelerate the financial draining. Eli Lilly’s money will soon all be spent. The diocese has a finite amount of assets worth selling and our bishop will have to retire in five years (possibly sooner, after his recent performance at SEAS and its financial repercussions).
But when the storm inevitably passes, the poorer church that remains will continue to be the one worth living and dying for; Even if all our church buildings and schools are gone and masses are celebrated in the basements of homes with only a handful of the faithful left, either because the church is broke or Marxists finally achieve political power and make Catholicism illegal. As long as there is faithfulness, there is a strong foundation on which to rebuild. And until Christ comes again to claim his Bride, Holy Mother Church will never be defeated from within or without.
The money did NOT come from the drug company. It came from the Lilly Endowment which is the Lilly family’s private foundation.
Dear Layperson, May I ask your age? Please don’t include every “boomer” in your rant. By my count yesterday at Mass in my parish, the “boomers” were the ones who were there. And there are plenty of “boomers” who are the backbone of the parishes. We often wonder if the “youngsters” are going to step to the plate when we are gone. Be careful what you wish for.
Any news from the protest/counterprotest today? How many people are gathered approximately?
I don’t know how many gathered but look at Carmel Against Racial Injustustice posted on FB that they had to call the protest about 4:00 due to thunder and lighting and rain. I don’t think it was as peaceful and conciliatory as they hoped because someone commented the following on their post: “What about the people at the entrances of the grounds yelling at members of the church? That’s not peaceful or a “gathering” Not what Deacon Bill agreed to!” https://www.facebook.com/CarmelAgainstRacialInjustice/videos/270429784049629/ Praying for all of you in Carmel today!
You can also look at a post that is a letter this group originally drafted to Fr. Rothrock, ending with their calling for him not just to resign but sounds like renounce his priesthood forever: “We are calling upon you to, immediately, submit your resignation both as pastor of Saint Elizabeth Seton and Our Lady of Mount Carmel and to renounce your position in the Catholic Church. Your vile words have caused pain that will forever leave a stain on the opinions of Catholicism for many in the community. It is our hope that with you no longer at the helm of the church we can begin to bind the wounds of so many Catholics and community members that do not share your position.
Sincerely,
Carmel Against Racial Injustice.” It is signed by 5 people in this organization.
https://www.facebook.com/CarmelAgainstRacialInjustice/posts/117304153367325?__tn__=K-R
That is so ridiculous! What about the pedophiles who has asked for their resignation as a priest forever, no one. Yep pedophiles and homosexual priests continue to stand at the pulpit but who protest? No one. Yet you take one good outstanding well loved priest for many years and you condemn him For his God-given right according to the united states constitution of freedom of speech! God bless Father Rothrock.
I have been trying to find out what Bishop Doherty said but so far no luck. Anyone know? I am not in that church but am in the Diocese and am concerned about what has happened to this priest. Whatever the Bishop said will effect all of us in the diocese.
The Saturday Vigil and 9:30 were live streamed on the parish page only (not YouTube or Facebook) and the archives conveniently do not appear to be accessible. Perhaps a few people recorded the stream. I watched both and he did the same pre-mass speech. The 9:30 one was interrupted as noted. The main takeaway was that SEAS parish does a lot of good work, he’s the bishop, and could not allow Father’s comments to represent him. He said that BLM is used by many organizations. Although one of those organizations he would not agree with, others that use BLM are fine. He ended by saying, “So, if anyone asks, you can tell them I said, ‘Black Lives Matter’ “. Thus throwing his priest under a bus.
I saw that in the Indy Star article above. That’s not even a good argument on the bishop’s part, really specious actually, because Father Rothrock was not speaking about random friendly people that say “black lives matter,” he was clearly referring specifically to THE official BLM group and ANTIFA as being against Church teaching. Which they are! And the reaction at the church proves that at least some people see through his faulty reasoning.
It’s quite interesting that the bishop is so concerned about not having Father’s (legitimate) write-up about BLM associated with his name, but yet the bishop is perfectly fine having his name associated with Cardinal Bernardin—still listed on the Bernardin Catholic Common Ground Initiative Advisory Committee even after what has come to light from the James Grein’s revelations concerning McCarrick and Bernardin. This, after our bishop lead the USCCB’s Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People?
A word from a REAL bishop about Black Lives Matter:
https://twitter.com/bishopoftyler
Pray for Bishop Strickland
Perhaps the sidelined priests of our diocese (past, present, future) could apply for asylum with Bishop Strickland.
Wow, our bishop just doubled-down and told the congregation this evening that if anyone asks, you can say he said, “Black Lives Matter”. Take note clergy. Take note diocesan parishioners. Our Lady Undoer of Knots, pray for us!
Par for the course, I’m afraid, when it comes to our bishop and the world…
….and I heard 15 people walked out of the Church.
Join us outside St E Ann Seton at 9, noon, and 3 Sunday Jul 5, to pray.
Whether he or his Vicar General realize it, Bishop Doherty has lost the support of the majority of his priests and people. It is time for him and the Vicar General to resign.
It is disgraceful to think a 70 year old priest with over 35 years service has been suspended.
That’s a bishop out of control who can only govern by brute force.
In the corporate world a CEO who operated like that would be fired…before the company fails…
Spot on! Their incompetence, arrogance, and utter lack of charity appears to finally have caught up with them. Nothing is going to stop the coming avalanche. They have earned every last bit of rubble that is about to engulf them. Pray for them.
Our diocesan leadership should have heeded Matthew 25:29 –
“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.”
A great “taking away” has begun.
Bishop Strickland is rock solid! May God bless and reward him.
JULY 5 UPDATE :
Took a minute to gather voices and prayers regarding the scheduled CARI event tomorrow at Seton. Gosh… we are in crazy times! God is good in sending the Holy Spirit and all the right people to give us a plan.
We got a word from a Holy Priest in arch indy that we need to be there early tomorrow, so we have settled on 9 am, mass time is 9:30, and we will meet at the Elizabeth Seton statue in front of the church. i have to say that arch indy has stepped up for us in ways you can not imagine and many will be present with us tomorrow. Going to be a long hot day! There will be other counter protesters there ( will include some information below about one group) and we need to be aware of that. It will be great to have the additional support, however, we don’t know what their conduct will be so it’s best to try and stick together in our group and allow God to guide us. Please join us and spread the word that we need prayerful, silent presence and our only response is to be LOVE. Let’s demonstrate Christ to them, given through Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart!
+++ information about another group attending tomorrow, written on Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Is this the Calvary?
Extra!!! Extra!!! PLEASE SHARE
Christian Democratic Caucus organizing Support for Fr. Ted, pastor at
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Parish, Carmel, Indiana
Sunday July 5th 2020 at 11:30 A.M.
Christian Democratic Caucus Executive Director Rev. Mark J. Powell, M.Div., (D-IN) announced today that there will be an outside prayer gathering Sunday July 5th at 11:30 A.M. at the parish in support of the ministry of Fr. Theodore Rothrock, Pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic at 10655 Haverstick Rd, Carmel, IN 46033
According to the Indianapolis Star, Fr. Rothrock wrote of Black Lives Matter organizers. “They are wolves in wolves clothing, masked thieves and bandits, seeking only to devour the life of the poor and profit from the fear of others.”
Rev. Powell stated, “As a Lutheran pastor and a 2020 Democratic Congressional candidate that received nearly 10,000 Democratic primary votes, I know the Indiana Democratic Party is home to many Marxists and Democratic Socialists. Fr. Ted in his teaching role as a pastor spoke to his parishioners of the wolf at the door, an imagery I used just this past Sunday in my own sermon.”
Pastor Powell continued, “What Fr. Ted wrote, took courage and faith and now a group of Marxists are hounding him and the Bishop like a pack of wolves. On Sunday at 11:30AM at the sidewalk entrance of the parish in Carmel, I ask all people of faith to come and pray that Bishop Doherty realizes that leaving Fr. Ted in his pastor’s office is a clear sign that People of faith cannot be bullied by Marxists in Indiana or anywhere. I invite all faiths: Catholic, Protestant, Jews, Muslims Hindus, Buddhists et al to join together in the fight against Marxism and Chinese Communism.”
The Christian Democratic Caucus (CDC) within the Indiana Democratic Party was formed in January 2020 to assist Pastor Powell’s Congressional campaign. CDC is an exciting new political movement in the Democratic Party for the Common Good of every person regardless of their faith or no faith, race, sexual orientation or economic class. Christian Democrats say YES to FREEDOM and NO to Marxism and Fascism.
Christiandemocrat.webs.com
also, the bishop will be doing all the masses at Seton this weekend.
His homily should be interesting. He’s famous for Beatles references (uh-boy). Regardless, I’ve been praying for him and the clergy. I sincerely hope the Holy Spirit speaks through him. We need a strong bishop now more than ever. Come Holy Spirit, come.
Anyone know if the parishioner mayor is attending mass their this weekend or is he lying low?
Working in a reference to “Helter Skelter” would be a good fit for this weekend’s homilies.
Or he can just lead them in a rendition of “Imagine” since that is the endgame of the people he is pacifying.
Glen Beck covered Fr. Rothrock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c9KN5xMoCM
The story got picked up by Patrick Coffin Media. The comments on the video show people in various countries saying they are praying for Fr. Rothrock. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tJnayp1UPc
A comment posted on the Patrick Coffin video:
“I live in the diocese and many of us are outraged by action taken by our Bishop.
Did you know that Bishop Doherty asked the KofC to Stand Down, an edict I received cascaded thru the ranks from our State Deputy?
As a Knight I refuse to be intimidated by BLM nor will I follow directives from cowards. And I am not alone. Many of us will actively support Father and Holy Mother Church.
Did you know the “protest” by the local BLM affiliate has actually gotten permission from the Bishop to have some kind of collaboration with BLM and other faith spokesmen at the parish?
This is happening because many in Holy Mother Church agree with the stated aims and actions of BLM.
It’s good to know where our Bishop and KofC Leadership stand on this issue.
But we do need to defend our parishes, our property, and our families.
We can’t just let whoever shows up to protest dictate what is going to happen.
If trouble does happen, and I pray it does not, we will be asked: Where were the Knights?
Courage or cowardice. I don’t see a third way.
I will be there tomorrow with brother Knights unafraid and in defiance of the cowardice and capitulation of our Bishop and our State Deputy.
We will be at the parish to guard, protect, pray and give witness during the “protest”.
Viva Cristo Rey!”
Sharing this from arch indy
https://youtu.be/J3xQcF07lPA
minute 15
Arch Indy is asking them to be vigilant. With the protest at Seton going on Sunday, which has made national news, doesn’t take much to see where this could be heading. I pray that we have many bodies at Seton on Sunday to peacefully and prayerfully defend our liberties and church.
A rosary walk on the grounds of SEAS took place yesterday, with almost 100 in attendance from both diocese. Blessed Miraculous Medals and St Benedict medals were buried and exorcised salt was dropped around the perimeter of the property. A path was paved for peace and love… we need now only walk in it.
“Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” St Francis
Mother Mary, pray for us!
Hi jm, is there a group organizing a rosary on Sunday at SEAS? I don’t want to show up by myself but I would like to support Fr. Ted at that point. If we let this pass, he will never be reinstated. They want his head on a platter based on their facebook page…
Very much appreciate you sharing that, jm. The priest asserts that Arch Indy received intel of possible planned attacks on churches, destroying images of the Sacred Heart or other European-style sacred art, windows, etc. Warned parishes to remain vigilant on their property. This is why we fast, my friends. We do not fight only against flesh and blood.
Indiana public radio had this in their article: “CARI plans to demonstrate Sunday on the sidewalk surrounding the church. The group is hoping that the demonstration can give members of the church an opportunity to show their support for those hurt by Father Rothrock’s comments.” Interesting expectations.
You can read a bunch of their statements and comments here.
https://www.facebook.com/CarmelAgainstRacialInjustice/
Well, this will be a chance to see where our mayor/SEAS parishioner stands regarding supporting his pastor. I hope our mayor doesn’t just go the easy PC route. That said this will also be a chance for Carmel PD to make ready of some of the tech they’ve shown off over the years at Church festivals. Perhaps, they’ll even be able to make use of some Stingray tech? There is a lot of expensive real estate surrounding that parish with residents that will not tolerate civil unrest near/on their property. Regardless, the most powerful weapons that will no doubt be present ahead of, during, and after any protests against the truth Father wrote will be the Holy Rosaries being prayed for him and our diocese in this increasingly troubled time in our history.
Right now we are working on determining what their target time is, as we can’t believe that they will be able to cover all day. We will be sure to post here when we know. This CARI group is just a pawn and believe they have no idea what they actually stand for. If you have seen their flier, it states they will be bringing in faith leaders from all denominations to counsel people. Permission has been given by the diocese to allow this on the churches property. To give over our authority to them to do so is very dangerous, and someone is believing the lie that this is the way to peace! It is good, right and holy to stand up for our religious liberates when done with peace and love AND the apostolic power of the Catholic Church. We have already won, fear is lie.
High of 90 forecast for Sunday, so hopefully that will dissuade the misguided protestors from turning out in part.
I just checked the Diocese’s site…not seeing any COVID-19 guidance pertaining to procedures for attended counter protests showing our support for Father? Mask, no mask?
I’m giving odds for over 8 pages by Bishop of Covid protocol guidance regarding outside peaceful counter-protest and/or prayer. Takers?
@jm, do you have a source that you can share for the permission that has been given by the diocese to allow this on the churches property. If true, I wonder how supportive the diocese would be of our priests to go to the properties of these other leaders to counsel people on repenting of their heretic ways.
I hope somebody will be taping and documenting all the ‘counselling’ and ‘education’ that occurs too.
AF, CARI has met 2 x with some of SEAS church staff and according to their facebook page, i quote “Deacon Bill of Saint Elizabeth Seton has committed to, moving forward, continuing dialogue in recognizing the church’s role in education and promotion of equality. We have presented them with action steps and they will be meeting with us again about implementing them. They have given us their permission to use church grounds for Sunday’s event, which will still be held from 7:00 AM-6:30 PM. CARI will be available all day to answer questions and continue to educate those who seek to understand. We have an opportunity to show Carmel and the faith community the real reason behind the Black Lives Matter Movement; love, acceptance, and equality.”
https://www.facebook.com/CarmelAgainstRacialInjustice/
They will be meeting at the baseball diamond and apparently directing traffic.
Leave it to the Red Wolf to call for prayer and fasting…. when our Bishop does nothing but repeat past statements and cry to the mob that he is against racism. Shouldn’t our Bishop be calling for prayer and fasting? Isn’t that what Bishops are supposed to do?
Stop being so rigid with your expectations of prayer and fasting. Ecology is where it’s at, bro.
The only solution is the consecration of Russia
Since her errors have already spread, I’m not sure if that is the solution, but I agree that it should be done anyway as a matter of obedience to our Blessed Mother.
I have been thinking what bugs me about this. In the entire time UiH has been planned, the Diocese cannot find time to tell us what on earth is actually going on. Even though they have a social media presence, a website, a newspaper and a communications staff. The Bishop even says in the Catholic Moment that he can’t really describe the restructuring, it’s something else. But boy did they manage to move fast on this situation, make statements on the website AND even put it on their Facebook, where now a bunch of people from other activist groups can come pat them on the back. And that is what is happening right now. I don’t agree with entirely with the words Father Rothrock used initially and I think he should have done a better job. But some of what he said was true, that some people exploit bad situations and use them to take political power over others, and that they have other purposes and ends than what they say on the surface. The diocese could affirm the parts that were true, or at least acknowledge why he and others are concerned, while still correcting what he said wrong. That would actually be fair. But they would rather just throw him overboard like Jonah and cleanse themselves of all guilt. The bishop should make much a clearer statement about these organizations because now people are reading this as his endorsement. Just look at all his new activist friends applauding him on the diocese’s Facebook. They are not going to be here once this 15 minutes of fame is over. They will head back to the things they care about, a lot of which are against the Church’s teachings anyway, or include things like destroying all white representations of Jesus (yes, that is on one of their pages). And of course making all sorts of assumptions and slanders about Father Rothrock that are way beyond anything he said or did. Great people to hang out with! Glad you manged to impress them. The diocese has shown how fast they can type when they want to. Why don’t they put on FB which of our parishes will be shutting down to make UiH happen? Or who is being hired to read and approve the priest’s sermons and oversee all the employees from now on? And so on?
Saint Paul would seem to apply here:
“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with [a]great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:1-5
We are most definitely “out of season” these days as Saint Paul rightly puts it in . There will be some that are up to the task of preaching as the great saint exhorts, while the rest turn aside to myths. No matter what your vocation, for the sake of your own soul, find yourself on the correct side of this eternal equation.
Remember, the worst the world can take from you is your life on this earth.
Your eternal destiny is in your hands.
I must commend Fr. Rothrock for his well thought out and to the point evaluation of the BLM and Antifa organizations. As someone who has seen the darkest sides of “global socialism “ (communism) aimed at overthrowing established civilization, his sermon I believe should be applauded as an awakening by the Catholic Church. Everything in Fr. Rothrock’s sermon was absolutely correct. The Church which as an organized religion is in grave jeopardy from these organizations should help spread Father’s message rather than assault it. The destruction of religious statues and artifacts and attempting to eliminate historical monuments is only one end to a means. It appears however, these movements will continue until they reach the small people who just want to be left alone. When that happens reaction will be swift and decisive.
Amen.. well stated and a wake up call to the bad Shepards
I agree 200%
Much discussion is going on over at the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana Facebook page. I think it is important for our opinions to be voiced, whatever they may be. If you would like to voice your opinion. I suggest a Facebook post, as well as directly contacting the Bishop through the “Contact Us” portion of the Diocesan website. Links provided below:
https://www.facebook.com/diolafin/posts/3042665395782709
https://dol-in.org/contact-us
Here is the full text of the clarification from Fr. Rothrock. It has been removed from both Facebook and the parish website.
Response and Clarification
1 July 2020
I am somewhat surprised that my recent article has received such
extensive coverage and has aroused such interest and debate. It was
not my intention to offend anyone, and I am sorry that my words have
caused any hurt to anyone.
From the Christian perspective, we are called to promote peace and
justice. The peace we proclaim is the Peace that comes to us in the
person of Christ Jesus our Lord. The justice we seek is granted to us
from God. These values and beliefs are not the property of
governments or political parties.
Since the earliest generations, when the disciples of Jesus began their
work to usher in the Kingdom of God, there has been resistance, even
within the Church herself. The Gospel message is a narrow door that
resists any kind of compromise. Slavery was a fact of the ancient world.
The Church brought a message of hope to the enslaved, that their
bondage was about to come to an end. It took many hundreds of years
to banish the institution of slavery. The Gospel remains firm in the
teaching that all people are welcome to the table in God’s Kingdom.
Racial and ethnic bigotries are evils that have been rightly condemned
by the Church and are not to be tolerated. They have never been
tolerated by me, and never will be. Life is a sacred gift from God and
must be reverenced as such. The institutional sin of black enslavement
had to be removed from our nation at a terrible cost and the damage
has not departed from us. The sin of bigotry has remained a part of the
fabric of our society. This must be rooted out of our culture through
the grace of spiritual conversion in the hearts of everyone. It is the task
of every Christian, and certainly every Catholic, to uphold the Gospel
and the social teaching of the Church. I have always held firm to this
belief and have promoted this teaching at St. Elizabeth Seton.
However, we must also be fully aware that there are those who would
distort the Gospel for their own misguided purposes. People are afraid,
as I pointed out, rather poorly I would admit, that there are those who
feed on that fear to promote more fear and division.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings clarity and purpose to our human
condition as the children of God. The central message of Christianity is
contained in the belief that God so loved the world that he gave us his
only Son. Not to condemn us, but to bring us into eternal life. At St.
Elizabeth Seton we have prayed the Peace Prayer every day for the last
nineteen years.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.”
This is the message we seek to instill in the hearts of all people, turning
fear into faith.
What a shame that this was removed.
He’s more useful to the diocese right now as a punching bag for the angry than as an imperfect human being who obviously has some good in his heart.
Yes…very true: https://www.setoncarmel.org/home/seton3/
Wow. “…his hurtful language…does not recognize the dignity of all people. …his words endorsed silencing the oppressed.” What a clown world. They would even accuse Christ of not recognizing the dignity of all people for separating the sheep from the goats.
Thank you for publishing Father Rothrock’s clarification. I had tried to find it everywhere—the diocesan website, their FB page, on the parish website, as well as in the Indianapolis Star. I was afraid that it would be another one of those coerced about-face apologies put out by so many people who dare to speak the truth about the current crisis, but then crumble under the attacks and retract what they had said. Contemptible. But I am so happy to see that we have a truly courageous priest in Father Rothrock. The only thing he apologized for was the hurt that his words might have caused to anyone. And not for what he said! In his clarification he put his position into the context of perennial Church teaching. So it’s no wonder that his clarification was deliberately made unavailable to the public. It interfered with the demonization of Father Rothrock, with throwing him as a sacrifice to the hate-filled mob.
The article in the Indianapolis Star was written by one Kaitlin Lange, who describes her approach to journalism in the following terms, right at the bottom of the article: “I am a journalist because I want to hold the powerful accountable and draw attention to those being wronged in the community.” In other words, I am sitting in judgment and taking sides. Whatever happened to journalism as a fair reporting of facts? Journalists are driving the divisions and hatred in the country.
Hi PMH. Out of curiosity, would you mind explaining what specific parts of the Indy Star article you found to be nonfactual?
Omission and lack of context can be more misleading than fallacies. Today’s journalists are master in the black art of omission and false context.
First the priest writes a bulletin column…
Then the bishop says he didn’t approve it and the priest will write a clarification
The priest writes the clarification, including these words,
“Since the earliest generations, when the disciples of Jesus began their work to usher in the Kingdom of God, there has been resistance, even within the Church herself.“
Finally, yesterday afternoon, the priest was suspended.
It’s obvious the bishop didn’t like Father Rothrock’s clarification/apology. It’s obvious the bishop tried to coerce the priest’s conscience. It’s obvious the priest would not allow the bishop to abuse him.
Catholics in this area of the diocese (and I hope anywhere), will not be forced into silence and will not surrender their consciences to a leadership that only cares about how many $$$ they can bring in.
May God save us all from the rage of our leadership — directed at our priests and us…
It felt like the priest’s punishment was made in proportion to the mob outrage. The apology was not good enough for the mob, so also not good enough for the diocese.
@NoelleC, do you have the full text of the clarification from Fr. Rothrock?
It is obvious this and many other bishops are simply bad Shepard’s!
Yes, let’s take a different way: Fasting, prayer, adoration, & commending every cleric to our Blessed Mother.
These are the ways that distinguish us as Catholics.
Divisiveness & ugly words have gotten us nowhere. Every one of us has an opinion. We’ve heard every point of view to the point of fatigue. Now is truly the time to focus on prayer in the name of our Lord & Blessed Mother.
Let them know we are Christians by our love.
Prayer & fasting also purify our intentions and fortify us for right action.
This is the way.
The bulletin article that got him suspended:
The lady (doth) protest too much, methinks
Today in Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
28 June 2020
This dialogue from Hamlet is taken from Act 3, scene 2 and is a response to Hamlet’s query: “how like you this play?” The line suggests a hidden agenda that is revealed in the objections, where the accuser is actually the perpetrator. History is replete with examples of misdirection. In 2001 the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas of Bamyan, the 6th century monumental statues of Gautama Buddha in central Afghanistan, claiming them to be pagan idols. The world was horrified, but did nothing about it.
Despots and tyrants have always employed accusation and distortion to achieve all manner of mischief in an effort to shape and mold public opinion. Anyone currently doing business with Amazon could not help but notice the prominent banner headline from the internet giant touting their proud support for “Black Lives Matter.” But do those black lives really matter to the community organizers promoting their agenda? Is “Antifa” concerned with the defeat of fascist right-wing nationalism or more interested in the establishment of left-wing global socialism?
The brutal murder of a black man in police custody has sparked a landslide of reaction to the alleged systemic racism in America. We are being told that the scars of race relations in this country are really unhealed wounds that continue to fester and putrefy; amputation is required! Reforms must be sweeping and immediate to crush the rising wave of racism that pervades the nation and perverts the body politic.
On the heels of the Covid sequestration, the bottled-up tension of an isolated population has exploded into riots and demonstrations that we have not seen the like in fifty years. What would the great visionary leaders of the past be contributing to the discussion at this point in time? Would men like Fredrick Douglas and the Reverend King, both men of deep faith, be throwing bombs or even marching in the streets? Would they be pleased with the murder rates in our cities or the destruction of our families by the welfare system? Would they see a value in the obliteration of our history to re-write a future without the experience and struggles of the past? Would we tear down their monuments?
Who are the real racists and the purveyors of hate? You shall know them by their works. The only lives that matter are their own and the only power they seek is their own. They are wolves in wolves clothing, masked thieves and bandits, seeking only to devour the life of the poor and profit from the fear of others. They are maggots and parasites at best, feeding off the isolation of addiction and broken families, and offering to replace any current frustration and anxiety with more misery and greater resentment.
The message of peace that comes to us in Christ is the gospel we carry in common with the Orthodox Churches and other Christians. We must stand in solidarity with our brethren across the world to oppose this malevolent force. Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and the other nefarious acolytes of their persuasion are not the friends or allies we have been led to believe. They are serpents in the garden, seeking only to uproot and replant a new species of human made in the likeness of men and not in the image of God. Their poison is more toxic than any pandemic we have endured. The father of lies has not just been seen in our streets, we have invited him into our home. Now he is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, strong in your faith.
Wow! So clearly stated. Thank you