Denver, Colo., Dec 28, 2019 / 03:02 pm (CNA).- On Monday of National Suicide Prevention Week this year, popular evangelical pastor and mental health advocate Jarrid Wilson, 30, reportedly committed suicide. Just hours prior to his death, Wilson had posted a message on Twitter about Jesus’ compassion for the depressed and suicidal.
“Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure suicidal thoughts,” Wilson wrote. “Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure depression. Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure PTSD. Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure anxiety. But that doesn’t mean Jesus doesn’t offer us companionship and comfort. He ALWAYS does that,” Wilson tweeted.
Wilson had been a long-time advocate for mental health, and founded “Anthem of Hope,” a Christian outreach for the depressed and suicidal, with his wife. His death this September followed that of Pastor Andrew Stoecklein, another young, vibrant evangelical pastor and mental health advocate, who committed suicide last year.
In the span of just 16 years, suicide rates among working-age Americans (aged 16-64 years) spiked 34% between 2000 and 2016, according to data from the Center for Disease Control. Among Americans aged 10-24, the spike was even more dramatic – CDC data shows a 50% increase in suicides among this group between 2000-2017.
The suicides of these two pastors highlight this concerning upward trend in suicide, especially among young people, even among those who are part of a Christian community.
CNA spoke with three mental health professionals about why suicide rates, particularly among young people, are increasing, and what the Catholic Church and other faith communities can do to help.
Overconnected, and under pressure
Deacon Basil Ryan Balke is a licensed therapist at Mount Tabor Counseling in the Denver area, and the co-host of the podcast “Catholic Psyche,” which aims to educate people on the integration between the psychological sciences and Catholic spirituality, philosophy and theology. He is also a married deacon with the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church.
Balke told CNA that he thinks one of the driving factors of an increase in suicide among teens and young adults is their constant connectedness to the world through mobile devices, coupled with a lack of greater meaning in their lives.
“When I was in high school…I would go home, and I wouldn’t really have any contact with my friends unless I wanted it,” Balke said.
“And now with the saturation of the iPhone…you get the communication that is constantly there and constantly moving and so you can never unplug, and you can never continue on with life outside of the image you have to put out into the world (through social media),” he said.
“They’re always distracted, always moving forward. I was a youth minister for many years as well, and it was just – these kids never had a moment’s peace,” he added.
Tommy Tighe is a licensed marriage and family therapist in the Bay area in California, who also hosts a podcast on Catholicism and mental health called “St. Dymphna’s Playbook.” Tighe told CNA that despite having more connections, young people today are more isolated than ever.
“There’s so much more pressure…there’s so much more of a drive to be popular,” Tighe said, but social media connections often do not equate to “a close-knit community of close friends.”
According to a 2015 article from the peer-reviewed research journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, frequent social media use in children and teenagers is associated with poor psychological functioning, as it limits their daily face-to-face interactions, impairing their ability to keep and maintain meaningful relationships.
The study found that students who reported using social media for two or more hours daily were more likely to poorly rate their own mental health, and experienced high levels of psychological distress and suicidal ideation.
“There’s a trend towards superficial relationships, and of course you don’t post on Instagram ‘I’m depressed’ or something like that, so I think people don’t know who to reach out to,” Tighe noted.
Furthermore, Balke said, “I think what is also happening is the younger people have lost meaning in their day-to-day lives as well. I think all of us have lost meaning as a force in our lives.”
Balke said especially for young people, there is an increasingly intense pressure to perform academically or athletically that has replaced the things that used to bring people a sense of greater purpose, such as faith or virtue or close familial connections.
“Whether it be sports, they have to be track stars, they have to be in all AP (advanced placement) classes, they have to have like 30 college credits before they graduate high school, a 4.0 is not good enough anymore it’s gotta be a 4.3 or something,” he said. “I don’t even know how you do that. They’re pushing themselves so aggressively to the point where there’s no meaning behind it all because they don’t have an overarching purpose. These things are substitutes for that.”
“You might do something stupid like literally eating a tide pod, laundry detergent, and you become world-famous for thirty seconds. It’s so crazy,” he said. “It’s like these kids are just waiting for their next big break.”
The lingering stigma of mental health care
Another driving factor in the spike in suicides among young people and other populations is the lingering stigma of seeking out therapy or other mental health interventions, Tighe said.
“I think we try to act like we’ve really changed (as a society) in our perception of mental health, but I don’t think that’s really true,” Tighe said.
“Especially…it seems like every time there’s one of these mass tragedies in our country, mental health gets brought up and I think that pushes people even further away from wanting to reach out or identify as having an issue,” he added.
Additionally, Tighe said, not only do young people today have a harder time making meaningful relationships with their peers, parents are also often afraid to broach the subject of suicide and mental health with their children.
“I’m hoping that the younger generation of parents will be a little bit more willing, but it’s scary, right? That’s super scary to talk about.”
But talk about it parents must, Balke said, and the more specific they are, the better.
“You want to use that exact phrase: ‘Are you thinking about killing yourself?’ Or ‘Are you thinking about suicide?’ You don’t want to use the phrase ‘self harm,’ or ‘Are you thinking about hurting yourself?’” he said. “You want to be very clear.”
Some people fear that bringing up suicide may plant the idea of suicide in their child’s head, or may worsen their depression, but Balke said that studies show that these fears are unfounded.
“Statistically speaking – you can’t catch suicidal thoughts,” Balke said. “You’re not going to be pushing kids to become suicidal by asking, ‘Are you thinking about suicide?’ That’s actually… helping them come out of that isolation.”
The Soul Shop movement: helping congregations prevent suicide
In 1999, Fe Anam Avis was the pastor of a Presbyterian church in a small suburban town in southern Ohio when the suicide of three students within seven months rocked his community.
Searching for help and resources for his grieving congregants, he found that there was little to nothing when it came to faith-based resources for suicide prevention and mental health. He started traveling to speak about suicide, but noticed that clergy and church leaders weren’t among his audience members.
“He said, ‘I would go to these towns and they would have me in a fire hall and I would give a presentation about suicide and a hundred people would show up in a small town. And not one of them would be a clergy person,’” Michelle Snyder told CNA. Snyder is the director of Soul Shop, an organization founded by Fe that trains clergy and congregations in suicide prevention and interventions. Fe has since retired.
“(Fe) said consistently it felt like people in the church were not connecting this issue of suicide prevention with faith, and pastors were just not showing up to engage with this as an issue as a matter of faith.”
That’s what spurred Fe to found Soul Shop movement, a group which now travels the country to give workshops to congregations on how to speak about suicide, how to prevent it, and what the warning signs are.
“I’ll often say to a group of faith community leaders, if you’re asking yourself the question, ‘Is anybody in my parish thinking about suicide?’ you’re asking yourself the wrong question. Because the right question is, which six people out of the hundred here are thinking about suicide right now?” Snyder said.
Part of the training consists in simply raising the awareness among clergy and church leaders that there are people in desperation within their own congregations who are at risk for suicide and need help. Snyder said they also train congregations on how to support people who have been impacted by the suicide of a family member or friend.
In addition, they study the stories about suicide, or suicidal ideation, found in Bible passages.
“There’s quite a few,” she said. “We’ve got Judas, the story of Judas, and that’s a suicide. But you’ve also got stories like Elijah (who was) praying to die. You’ve got Saul, who fell on his own sword and killed himself…you’ve got Job, who said death would be better than what I’m experiencing. You’ve got lots of heroes in the Bible who thought about (it) or else just said, ‘I’m in so much pain. Death would be better,’ but who didn’t attempt (it). So you’ve got lots of suicide – you’ve got suicide attempts, you’ve got suicides, you’ve got suicide intervention.”
They also train church leaders in spotting some of the warning signs of a person who is at risk for suicide.
Tighe said some of those warning signs include people who have been noticeably depressed for long periods of time, social withdrawal, talking about suicide or self-harm, or the giving away of prized possessions, among other things.
A warning sign that might seem strange, Tighe said, is when someone who has been depressed for a while is suddenly and inexplicably happy again.
“If someone’s been super depressed and then all of a sudden they’re sort of feeling really good…that makes us very nervous, because sometimes it’s because they’ve made the decision like, okay, on Friday, I’m going to do it. And they feel like a burden lifted off their shoulders, because there’s an end in sight,” he said.
When those risk factors are spotted, those are the times to specifically ask people if they’re considering suicide, Tighe added.
During the Soul Shop trainings, Snyder said, the group takes a public health approach to suicide, meaning that they train faith communities to take a collective responsibility for the health of their own people.
“We spend a whole day equipping communities of faith on how to be communities of faith in relationship to this issue,” she said.
One of the biggest suicide prevention tools that communities of faith can provide, Snyder said, is being “soul-safe” communities of faith, where people feel connected and valued as whole people, and not just for one aspect of their identity.
People who are more resilient to suicide are those whose don’t have all of their “eggs in one basket,” Snyder noted.
“If every egg is in the basket of being on a full scholarship for football, and then I get injured, every egg was in that basket. I have no Plan B, and so that becomes a risk. And helping our people in our congregation become well-rounded people with lives that are full and rich and diverse can be a suicide prevention initiative.”
At Soul Shop, church communities that are trained in suicide awareness and prevention are called “soul-safe communities,” Snyder said, which are “communities where people are intentionally connected to each other…communities where everybody knows what to look for. Communities where we are aware of our tendency to shun when we get uncomfortable and are challenged to not do that.”
What else can be done?
Besides hosting a Soul Shop or other suicide prevention training, what else can pastors and parishes do to help prevent suicide?
Balke said he would encourage all pastors to meet with their staff and frequent volunteers in order to familiarize them with locally available mental health resources. They should know the location of clinics, the hours of those clinics, and what crisis numbers to call, he said.
“They need to have quick access to them, so that when someone is coming in their office, or after a bible study or whatever it is when this kind of conversation comes up, they have it on their phone ready to go and they won’t have to go searching for it,” he said.
Tighe said he recommended that parishes have flyers posted on their bulletin boards with information on local mental health resources, as well as local crisis hotlines to call or text. In the United States, texting “741741” will connect users to a crisis text line.
Text lines get great response rates, Tighe said, because “everyone’s like, okay I would send a text, because it’s easier. And they’re incredible. We get people who come to our clinic who are like, ‘I was driving to the bridge, (because that’s a very popular thing here in the Bay Area for people who are suicidal), and for whatever reason texted these people and they told me to come to your clinic before I went.”
Pastors and clergy should also make it a point to build a personal relationship with the mental health professionals in their congregation, Balke said.
“Someone that they can just phone and say, ‘Hey, what do you think about this? What should I do in this situation?’” he said. “I have a number of priests and deacons who have phoned me on a regular basis and say, ‘You know, someone came into my office and said this this and this. What’s going on here?’”
Pastors and other church leaders also need to treat suicide and mental health issues with the seriousness they deserve, Balke said, and not treat them as something that is either not a serious issue, or something that can be solved solely by prayer or spiritual direction.
“Mental health in the Church is a real problem, and…it’s not necessarily being addressed with the seriousness, from an institutional level, that it deserves. People are committing suicide in our parishes and in our churches.”
Snyder said that she is confident that, if properly trained, churches and parishes have a key role to play in preventing suicides in their communities.
“We talk a lot about putting your seatbelt on before the accident happens. And that’s kind of what we’re describing here, is how do we do that in faith communities long before crisis strikes,” she said.
This article was originally published on CNA Sept. 15, 2019.
[…]
How can there not be a mass exodus from that Mass? Oh, I know. We have a sentiment over substance Church.
Oh, fabulous.
So our parishes are now advocating for offbeat sexual practices.
I hope that by commenting on this abomination I will not be turned into a pillar of salt.
Cupich. Papa.
This practice is emesis. Pure emesis.
Let’s get down to some brass tacks regarding Chicago’s Cupich and Francis’ Catholic restorationists seeking reverence for Christ rather than bowing down, back and sideways to seriously disordered and dishonored laity and priests.
VCII’s Sacrosanctum Concilium says the liturgy “is thus the outstanding means by which the faithful can express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church. It is of the essence of the Church…. that in her the human is directed and subordinated to the divine, the visible likewise to the invisible, action to contemplation, and this present world to that city yet to come, which we seek.”
Canon law, 767 says: “Among the forms of preaching the homily is preeminent; it is a part of the liturgy itself and is reserved to a priest or to a deacon; in the homily the mysteries of faith and the norms of Christian living are to be expounded from the sacred text throughout the course of the liturgical year. Whenever a congregation is present a homily is to be given at all Sunday Masses and at Masses celebrated on holy days of obligation; it cannot be omitted without a serious reason.”
In 1980, John Paul II promulgated “Inaestimabile Donum”
Instruction Concerning Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery
Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship
The document addressed common liturgical abuses at that time, one of which was lay people giving homilies.
From the document: “One who offers worship to God on the Church’s behalf in a way contrary to that which is laid down by the Church with God-given authority and which is customary in the Church is guilty of falsification.”(Aquinas)
“None of these things [liturgical abuses] can bring good results. The consequences are–and cannot fail to be–the impairing of the unity of Faith and worship in the Church, doctrinal uncertainty, scandal and bewilderment among the People of God, and the near inevitability of violent reactions.”
“The faithful have a right to a true Liturgy, which means the Liturgy desired and laid down by the Church,…Undue experimentation, changes and creativity bewilder the faithful….The Second Vatican Council’s admonition in this regard must be remembered: “No person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove or change anything in the Liturgy on his own authority.”
Finally,
“3. The purpose of the homily is to explain to the faithful the Word of God proclaimed in the readings, and to apply its message to the present. Accordingly the homily is to be given by the priest or the deacon.”
I agree with you. But also, look at where they’re at, Chicago. Another one of those “blue cities”. That said, what else can one expect?!
[Pietrzyk] “…reiterated that the fact that they are living publicly as a same-sex married couple — a state the Church teaches to be sinful — cannot simply be ignored.“
Oh, Jonah, not to worry. The Diocese of Chicago isn’t ignoring that fact.
Not hardly.
They’re celebrating it.
Can two gay “dads” create a natural family?
And we don’t think that the local Church (and here I am referring to the diocese) in Chicago hasn’t apostacized? Wake up…someone with authority.
Yes, are we seriously to believe that behind this event there is no backstory of a leadership vacuum, or hhinting, acquiescence or even approval?
Something like Mission Impossible! “As always, should you or any of you be caught, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape/disc will self-destruct in five/ten seconds. Good luck, guys,” or whatever.
But, hey, the idea is to get something to stick to the wall, and then to call those feces the “paradigm shift.”
Two fathers preaching on Father’s day! Sad! So very sad
Not really two “fathers”; one is the “husband” and the other is his “wife.” And when the wife clarifies this arrangement, the husband will back her up.
Fatherhood through leagalized kidnapping is not fatherhood. Neither is worshiping of one’s sins at Mass an act of fatherhood.
Just when you thought the lunacy had peaked (again).
“[T]here are probably not too many gay dads speaking on Father’s Day at many Catholic Churches . . .We wanted to raise our children in the Catholic Church . . . On the other hand, we didn’t want to expose our children to bigotry . . .”
Why, may I ask, do folks who do not believe in what the Church teaches want to join?
They want to infiltrate and compromise the moral and spiritual teachings of the church. Full frontal attacks won’t work; progressives know that. So they seek change in a more subtle but equally malevolent way.
Yes!
“The Archdiocese of Chicago has not responded to questions on the matter from other Catholic publications.”
Really – what more need be said?
This charade is nothing more or less than an obscenity. The irony that we pretend to advance the study of Sacred Scripture while casting its teaching and The Teacher to the gutter is heart wrenching. We engage in a “new evangelization” while endorsing sin and the damnation of souls — yes, it is “new” indeed. We are in the throws of a demonic self-deceit as we hurl toward ecclesial suicide.
Where is the Pope on this matter??? They remove Fr. Altman cause he states a true comment in his sermon and this is accepted??? Know wonder many are leaving the church and going to church’s that go by the bible. This needs to be brought to the attention of the Pope.
The bishop was right to remove Fr. Altman.
Ok, so explain the logic for me. Fr. Altman is removed because of his conservative positions on various issues but James Martin SCH, is permitted to violate church teaching on sexuality and receives support from his bishop when doing so. How exactly does that work?
I would have gotten up and walked out.
Me too!!
Reportedly [Lifesite news] a nationally known drag queen requested a Mass from new Phoenix Archbishop Dolan in which the morally disturbed man was permitted to speak, presented the Archbishop with an international drag queen award. I pray for former Archbishop Olmsted who I’m certain is deeply pained by Pope Francis’ purposeful slap down of a faithful priest who fearlessly represented the truth revealed by Christ.
Added to the Chicago Mass, and the increasing similar abominations permitted, and we must confess openly for sake of a bewildered, scandalized laity, the faithful who remain and are being subverted in their faith, abetting by Pope Francis, in context of all the high profile appointments of men who either practice homosexuality or favor it from Archbishop Paglia, Cardinal Hollerich, Fr James Martin et al the list goes on. What can the Daemonic do when we have Christ standing beside us? Persecute us? Bring it on I say. Let the whirlwind of Christ’s righteous wrath sweep them from the stage of life to the pit where they belong [do we pray for them? Yes. They are included in all our prayers for conversion]. Faithful Catholics are at this momentous point in Church history obliged to take a stand in favor of the faith revealed by Christ and condemnation of these abominable acts and this manifest Vatican policy.
Thank you.
It has to be recognized that many ‘priests’ are in reality only people who saw the priesthood as a way to an easy life. They are without a deep felt faith and go with what they believe to be popular views from their reading of the secular press and trends. They have little or no apostolic or ecumenical inclinations. If the world is pushing the agendas of homosexuals, they will believe that going with the flow is what must be done. Some even believe that because sinners are people too that their sin must be accepted if they are to be accepted as candidates for salvation. The problem is that most truly faithful people cannot see this. Parish councils should learn to be continuously putting their priests to the test and refusing their right to serve if necessary.
Well to top it off. One the parishes I go to or technically am a member in the Chicago Suburbs introduced a new principal, who by apparances and speaking demeanor is Gay. During Mass when he introduced himself he did not wear a suit, just some sort of tee shirt and is not married. The parish priest did not introduce him, so there ya go. I hope he is not Gay, but given what I just identified above, he fits it. BTW, just before the last blessing at Mass, the parish priest said he was leaving for a few weeks to see his mother in another country.
Mike, since you posted this publicly, I’ll call you out publicly. You have judged a man because, in your mind, he fits a stereotype that may or may not be true. This principle may very well have same sex attraction. He may also be valiantly fighting to live a chaste and holy life. You don’t know. You cannot know. Yet, sanctimoniously, you have committed the sin of detraction. Publicly. It is attitudes and actions like this that drive people away from Christ and His Church. Remove the plank from your own eye before looking for the speck in his. In justice you owe the man an apology and a retraction.
I’m not a proponent of Ghandi, but I completely understand the quote attributed to him: “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Agree I definitely have a lot of planks in my eyes, no doubt. Always helps to have someone point out my sins. Maybe on the golf course you could analyze my game and prevent my too frequent quadruple bogeys.
Nevertheless this situation concerns me. How this will play I don’t kmow. If he would have worn a blazer or suit etc. and a better presentation, I would not be so concerned. The school already is on the verge of not having enough students. This I do not think helps, will see.
Just wondering do you apply the same comments to people who critize Catholic politicians that support abortion. If so I’ll add that to the plank in my eyes.
Whether a man is attracted to a woman or another man, he must aim for a chaste life. This is not an easy task and if we fail, we have confession. We have counsel to live virtuous lives, yet God gives special admonition against homo sexual practice.
The church is a place where sinners congregate to be cleansed and enriched through God’s eternal word. Where God has set boundaries, we must respect what he says. To promote what God considers an “abomination” within the Church is totally unacceptable.
If we truly love a person, then we must speak the truth in love.
No surprise that this happened at Old St. Patrick’s in Chicago. It has been a laboratory for “the reform” for decades. I lived in Chicago from 1986-91, a few blocks from the parish, and witnessed it first-hand.
In sum, the AD of Chicago is run by the “quite intentional apostates” (to employ the phrasing used by Fr. Imbelli in his 2021 essay “No Decapitated Body,” though of course he wasn’t naming names, he simply admitted it was widespread and implied that it extended far upward), led by the apostate sodomo-clericalist “His Eminence” Blase Cupich.
As my dear friend states, who escaped the nightmare of the “GB” spectrum of the LGBT lifestyle, “It is insanity for adults to teach [anyone] that it is OK for a man to inseminate someone else’s intestines.”
What is patently obvious is that our Catholic Church, in a vast number of places, especially at the Archdiocesan level (e.g., LA, CHI, NY, DC) is under the control of apostate hierarchs and their chanceries. For example, LA, which is advertised to be led by an “orthodox” (i.e., faithful) shepherd in Archbishop Gomez, promotes LGBT ideology at its annual REC conferences. A false shepherd, and an apostate LA diocesan establishment.
The Cardinal Newman Society has stated it can only recommend 10% of so-called “Catholic” universities to parents (some 20 or so out of approximately 200). I take that as a rough benchmark for the state of what Fr. Imbelli has admitted is the widespread and “intentional apostasy” in the Church at large.
Having been desensitized by the contempt of the First Commandment, shown by Pontiff Francis in his 2019 orchestration of idolatry, the apostate Church is now primed for the “sanctification” of sodomy proposed by the apostate Cardinal Hollerich, SJw, executor of the ideology of Pontiff Francis.
Old St. Patrick’s is the prototype of the new-post-Christian-Pagan cult, with many gods, including Her Occult Majesty Pachamama, mistress of all who possess “the mind of McCarrick.”
Prayer and fasting is commanded by Jesus, before confrontation of this evil.
“Then many of his disciples who were listening said, ‘This saying is hard; who can accept it?’ Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, ‘Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’ Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.’ As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.”
Father Roccasalva, this is how Jesus approached teaching hard truths. Might I suggest doing as Jesus did? Sure, some people may leave the Church when you do so. Some may revile you for doing so. That’s what you signed up for in your vocation. The time has come for you to embrace it. Can you do what Jesus has called you to do?
Additionally I would add, could hierarchy preach at now much greater length for marriage prep to fiancé and fiancée? Anthony Esolen responds in The Vatican Confesses:
“You cannot have the sexual revolution on Monday, and then wag your finger on Tuesday and tell the man and woman that they have done ill, shacking up as they do, or using porn. And so they must study hard and listen to sermons and reorient their whole arrangement of sexual habits and expectations. And then on Wednesday you go to the [LGBT] parade and clap your hands. It is incoherent. And there is more. The fact is, there are Catholics among us who have not bent the knee to Baal. Why should they be made to suffer for the sins of others? And where are such Catholics to be found, dear hierarchs? You know where. But many of you have done your best to vilify those few havens of health and fidelity” (Anthony Esolen The Vatican Confesses in TCT).
I hope you realize that if a Chicago priest spoke out against this Cupich would send him to a mental health facility.
Chris in Maryland above – Thanks for the tip re Fr. Imbelli’s article.
Always lucid and even-toned. Clarity and charity. Unbeatable combination.
Gilberta –
You’re welcome, and thanks in return.
I respect Fr. Imbelli enormously for his 2021 essay, which readers can find here at link to Nova et Vetera:
https://stpaulcenter.com/02-nv-18-3-imbelli/
In his 2021 essay, he revisited the theme of apostasy, which he had addressed in a previous essay in 2000. His 2021 essay’s purpose was to assess the fruits of the 2nd Vatican Council. The money quote is repeated here by me:
Imbelli wrote that in 2000 he stated: “There is abroad in the Church a measure of innocent and sometimes quite intentional apostasy.”
But in 2021, he revised estimate, stating: “I would now omit the words ‘measure,’ ‘innocent’ and ‘sometimes.’”
For a priest of his intellect and faithfulness, and his reserved demeanor in speaking and writing, to speak so candidly about the devastating truth, was surely painful for him to do.
But he said it, and may God bless him for saying it.
Matt. 7:15. Would Jesus be ok with Satan taking over the pulpit? To Love God is to love him unconditionally – let’s pray for these sad individuals and the priest who befriended Satan.
Barf.
There is simply no willingness to assert catholic morality across the board for sexual purity. Far too many are wanting to go with the flow of secular moral stands. We are at a point in the world where being “mean” appears to Trump almost all other moral failings except the oft repeated accusation of racism. Church leaders appear afraid to speak the truth for fear of being seen and “mean” to gays, lesbians or unmarried couples living together. This was the case of the fall of Donald Trump. Trump, who could slice and dice political enemies in a way generally admired by fellow New Yorkers, met his downfall by the votes of “college educated” (but evidently not too smart) white suburban women who voted Biden. “We teach our kids to be NICE and not to BULLY” was their rallying cry. Yes. Evidently suppression of “meanie” Trump was the MOST important goal.Even now, it appears.Its ok if terrorists come through our borders, or drug cartels kill 100,000 of our young people each year, and food shortages, even for babies prevail, and that massive inflation guarantees their kids will never own a home in most urban areas, our lowered quality of life is all worth shutting up Trump. Well count me as someone who believes in “sticks and stones”. As someone who is mature enough to know politics is a miserable and dirty game. And as somebody who feels a politician’s DECISIONS to protect his people is more important than whether or not he is “nice” and occasionally produces a mean tweet. That Catholic priests are following secular leaders ( like kneeling with rioters) and now succumbing to the pressure to Ok “anything goes” in order to avoid the hurt feelings which may come of speaking the church’s moral truth is very very sad. Once day they will have to stand before Jesus to give an account of their willful failure, and take responsibility for leading the sheep astray. Its my opinion that this couple, no matter how nice they may be, had no business flaunting their relationship in any catholic church. I am in fact not interesting in anyone flaunting their sexuality of ANY type in my face. Doesnt anyone still believe that certain things are too personal and intimate to be bandied about in public, and that it is crude to do so?? ESPECIALLY a priest? I dont have much hope that the church’s moral teachings will be presented strongly at all under the current Pope. No leadership has been shown in this area, as is demonstrated by the current state of the German church, which is taking steps toward schism.The priest who permitted this presentation should be removed.
Honest question: Can someone please explain what “full communion” actually means anymore.
This parish is in full communion and in good standing, but the SSPX isn’t.
It doesn’t make sense.
Moreover, for those of us “in communion” it also begs the question: What am I “in communion” with? and “Do I want to be?”
PS: I’m not an SSPX attendee.
Ok, so explain the logic for me. Fr. Altman is removed because of his conservative positions on various issues but James Martin SCH, is permitted to violate church teaching on sexuality and receives support from his bishop when doing so. How exactly does that work?