"Former" Deacon Speaks?
The plot sickens
THIS IS GETTING INTERESTING.
If you thought the drama at St. Andrew's parish in Red Springs, NC was over, guess again. If anything, there are even more questions than before. And my gut reaction is that something here stinks.
Here's what's up - I've been doing separate news and general web searches every day since this public act of defiance against Bishop Burbidge came to light almost a week ago.
WRAL (Raleigh, NC) has just ran a slideshow of the yelling and screaming session outside of St. Andrew's after Msgr. Brockman delivered a personal message from His Excellency last Wednesday (the entire slideshow of twenty one images can be found here). Below are two of six images of one certain individual --
Copyright 2009 Capitol Broadcasting Company
This individual, Alexander Vincent, is prominent in six of the twenty one images on WRAL's slideshow. WRAL certainly gives a lot of lens time to just one individual. I wonder why? And why is it HIM that's doing all the "explaining"?
But anyhow, WRAL identifies this individual as a "former deacon". Really? So, I decided to take a gander at the Diocesan website for the Permanent Diaconate. I found a listing (dated 09/12/08) of the 16 men who have began their studies, and as now considered "candidates" for the Permanent Diaconate.
And guess what name I came across?
Juan Alexander Vincent-MartÃnez. Same person? Could be. I'm not 100% certain. But the chances of these being two different men are pretty slim.
So I scrolled down the page a bit more... lo and behold, I see a group picture.
Did you happen to see who's directly behind and at the left hand of the Bishop? Same person? I'm not 100% certain. But the chances of these being two different men are now rapidly approaching astronomical proportions.
And in light that the P.D. is a five-year program, and Bishop Burbidge has been here LESS than five years... if this is the same individual... how could he even be a Deacon already, much less a "former" Deacon?
Something else to consider -- Father Ospina serves three different parishes: St. Andrew's in Red Springs; the missionary station of St. Andrew in St. Pauls; and he celebrates the Spanish Novus Ordo Missae at St. Francis De Sales Catholic Church in Lumberton. So why is there a challenge to the Bishop through Father Ospina only at St. Andrew's?
Like I said at the beginning of this post... something stinks.
The plot sickens
THIS IS GETTING INTERESTING.
If you thought the drama at St. Andrew's parish in Red Springs, NC was over, guess again. If anything, there are even more questions than before. And my gut reaction is that something here stinks.
Here's what's up - I've been doing separate news and general web searches every day since this public act of defiance against Bishop Burbidge came to light almost a week ago.
WRAL (Raleigh, NC) has just ran a slideshow of the yelling and screaming session outside of St. Andrew's after Msgr. Brockman delivered a personal message from His Excellency last Wednesday (the entire slideshow of twenty one images can be found here). Below are two of six images of one certain individual --
Copyright 2009 Capitol Broadcasting CompanySupporters of Rev. Walter Ospina confront his detractors outside of St. Andrews Catholic Church following Mass on Wednesday evening. Former deacon Alexander Vincent attempts to explain why the congregation locked the church doors in protest on Sunday. (Photo by Will Okun)
This individual, Alexander Vincent, is prominent in six of the twenty one images on WRAL's slideshow. WRAL certainly gives a lot of lens time to just one individual. I wonder why? And why is it HIM that's doing all the "explaining"?
But anyhow, WRAL identifies this individual as a "former deacon". Really? So, I decided to take a gander at the Diocesan website for the Permanent Diaconate. I found a listing (dated 09/12/08) of the 16 men who have began their studies, and as now considered "candidates" for the Permanent Diaconate.
And guess what name I came across?
So I scrolled down the page a bit more... lo and behold, I see a group picture.
Did you happen to see who's directly behind and at the left hand of the Bishop? Same person? I'm not 100% certain. But the chances of these being two different men are now rapidly approaching astronomical proportions.And in light that the P.D. is a five-year program, and Bishop Burbidge has been here LESS than five years... if this is the same individual... how could he even be a Deacon already, much less a "former" Deacon?
Something else to consider -- Father Ospina serves three different parishes: St. Andrew's in Red Springs; the missionary station of St. Andrew in St. Pauls; and he celebrates the Spanish Novus Ordo Missae at St. Francis De Sales Catholic Church in Lumberton. So why is there a challenge to the Bishop through Father Ospina only at St. Andrew's?
Like I said at the beginning of this post... something stinks.
posted by Kevin Whiteman at
11:35 AM
2 Comments:
1. There is nothing more unseemly to me than laity going against laity over an issue that is solely the province of ecclesiastical authority. Then again, this is another fruit of the "spirit" of Vatican II wherein the laity exercise a supposed authority in the Church that V-II never authorized in the first place. V-II called for the laity's ministry of witness in the secular world--at home, at work, etc.
2. I have never been a fan of the permanent deaconate program, although I do not oppose it in principle. Candidates go through a 4 or 5 years "boy scout" training program. They are authorized to preach and to "govern" [they share in the pastoral role of their Bishops], yet their training program has none of the academic rigor that is supposed to be part of a sacerdotal seminary program that priest candidates must go through. A "former" deacon doing what is evident in the link is an example of a poorly formed cleric or cleric-wannabe.
I suspect that he was presenting himself as a former deacon rather than someone who was kicked out of the deaconate program, as it seems. Either that, or the media is intentionally misrepresenting it.
If he was a former deacon, he would have had to go through a laicization process & it would have had to go through Rome.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home