SCANDAL in a small town

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

Anyway, my home town (which shall remain unnamed) is home to one church and three priests. One of them (let's call him *Father Pete) made an announcement, back in November, that he was thinking of renouncing the priesthood. Everyone in the town wished him the best of luck. You see, he came from a horribley strict upbringing and became a priest at 18 only to escape his family.

Now, to backtrack: In the summer, a member of the community (let's call her *Andrea) lost her job. And she began hanging around quite a bit with said priest. Holding hands, going for walks in the park. Kissing. Did I mention that she was married and had two kids?

So now, she has separated from her husband. It probably would have happened regardless, but still. And Pete visits her new house all the time. Sleeps over. All while still calling himself a Catholic Priest. They've lied to a lot of people about their relationship. Many people in the community are angry. Andrea's kids hated Pete at first too--I guess they felt he was partly the reason why their parents had split up.

The Archdiocese announced Sunday that he is to revoke all his priestly duties.
I don't even know what to think. I mean, part of me wants to think that if he was really serious, he would have left for a vacation--a year, 6 months, whatever...to think about his life and what he wanted. Instead, he stays behind and sleeps at her house once a week. The other priest is furious.

It's a scandal in a small town. Well, it's as exciting as things get in our town

*Names have been changed to protect those involved

 

[Lilly]

Originally posted by The_Sweetest_Thing:

It's a scandal in a small town. Well, it's as exciting as things get in our town

Last time things got "scandalous" was in January when a 17 year old boy (who I used to go to school with---until he got expelled) strangled his 13 year old sister to death. The parents were out of town, an aunt was to be caring for them, she came home from work at like 1 am to find her dead and him gone. He has since said he wanted to kill his whole family, but she was home at the time, so she was first. He's on trial as an adult right now.

so there, that's my scandal.

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"Why do you have to be such a smart ass?" -my mom

 

[melon]

You'd be shocked as to all the dirt I know about what goes on behind-the-scenes with the priesthood. This, funny enough, sounds rather tame...lol.

But, seriously, you have to understand that priests, just like you and I, are human. I guess a lot of us just imagine that priests really are sexless human beings with no earthly desires or weaknesses. The Church, certainly, likes to encourage that image--hence their anger over ABC's ill-fated TV show, "Nothing Sacred," a few years back which dealt much with the same subject. The priesthood, ultimately, is in emotional turmoil currently; after 1000 years of denial, it finally has to deal with the same issues as the rest of the world. I just wish, ultimately, that the Church would embrace it, rather than try and cover it up with even more lies (hence why the current sexual abuse scandals are such a mess).

I hope, ultimately, that the ex-priest finds happiness. Perhaps the priesthood wasn't his path after all...

Melon

[This message has been edited by melon (edited 04-08-2002).]

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

No disrespect intended to the Catholic Church, but I think that they reap what they sow on this one. I believe it's terribly short sighted and unhealthy to deny their own clergy the basic human need for relationships, companionship, and family.