28 August 2012. Latest Dribble from the Monomuckos Cabal… Take it with a Block of Salt

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One of the Cabinet sent me the following. This is one of those things that you have to read to be informed, but it sure ain’t enlightening or edifying:

Unconfirmed but consistent sources inside the Diocese of the Midwest are reporting that its bishop has been put on Administrative Leave by the OCA for misconduct. The nature of the alleged misconduct won’t be reported here since that would be up to the OCA and the Diocese of the Midwest to share. It is clear that the removal of Mark Stokoe from the Midwest as one of their representative to the Metropolitan Council and recent attempts by the bishop to insist on more uniform diocesan liturgical practices received lukewarm responses in some regions of the diocese; thus, one should be careful to leave room that the misconduct allegation could be an attempt to discredit the bishop’s leadership and sully his reputation, as unfounded allegations forced another Chicago prelate, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, to defend himself in the 1990’s.

However if, and I stress if, the allegation is true it will be another severe blow to the credibility of the OCA. One bishop is under indictment in Canada and facing a trial for sexual misconduct with minors, a Metropolitan recently removed from office, and, now, this. The question now becomes how long will Syosset try to keep a lid on this when they were so quick to publish every misstep of Metropolitan Jonah, the major of which has been proven false? One can only hope that the current Midwest allegation is also proven false and that OCA transparency will be forthcoming.

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I have no URL for the above.

It sounds like the usual Monomuckos drivel to me. I wouldn’t trust any report of discipline for Moriak unless it came from the Holy Synod. Moriak’s as dumb as a box of rocks, he’s a clueless incompetent, and he’s a neopotistic schemer, but that doesn’t mean that he’s in any hot water. I did say that things were going to become very confused and jumbled at the end. Don’t jump at rumours, especially, those posted on sites with slim-to-none cred such as Monomuckos. If Moriak were suspended or under discipline, trust me, the Holy Synod would make an announcement. Therefore, give this a “that’s interesting buzz”, and don’t give it any cred until there’s official word.

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Albany NY

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28 August 2012. Zounds, Batman! Is There Something in the Water in San Francisco? They’ve Nicked Another Bishop for DUI!

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Read this. Get a load of this gobbledygook:

The Roman Catholic Archbishop-elect of San Francisco apologised for his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving, behaviour that he said brought “shame” and “disgrace” on himself and the church, though legal experts said was unlikely to derail his promotion. Rev Salvatore Cordileone said in a statement issued Monday by his office that he was driving home from a dinner with friends in San Diego with his mother and a visiting a priest friend early Saturday when he was pulled over at a DUI checkpoint near San Diego State University. The statement said a sobriety test showed his blood-alcohol level to be above the legal limit, although Cordileone did not reveal by how much, saying, “I apologise for my error in judgment and feel shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the Church and myself. I pray that God, in His inscrutable wisdom, will bring some good out of this”. …

The Rev Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, predicted that Cordileone’s arrest, while embarrassing, would only draw a response from Rome if it appeared that he had a serious substance abuse problem, one that prevented him from carrying out an archbishop’s duties, noting, “The bottom line is there is no real requirement that he resign. If he’s an out-of-control alcoholic who can’t function, that would be an issue, but obviously, he’s been the Bishop of Oakland all these years and he seems to be able to function. Nobody knows if he has a drinking problem or was one fraction over the (blood alcohol) limit”. Noting that forgiveness is an integral part of the Catholic faith, Reese recalled the 1985 DUI arrest of the late Minneapolis-St Paul Archbishop John Roach, who pleaded guilty and served two days in jail, but remained popular in the post for another decade. He observed that Cordileone would have to “explain this to people and depending on what he does and how it’s perceived, we’ll see how it goes. It could make him more human”. …

Since last year, Cordileone has been chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defence of Marriage. At a news conference last month, he said he thought the Roman Catholic Church had come a long way in addressing the issue of clergy sex abuse and reiterated his opposition to gay marriage, saying, “Marriage can only come about through the embrace of a man and a woman coming together. I don’t see how that is discriminatory against anyone”.

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One of the Culture Warriors got nicked by John Law… and is doing his best to weasel out of his guilt and skip scot-free away from the consequences. The above is sorry shit, no matter how you cut it. Here’s what real people of character do:

Bishop Margot Kässmann, the head of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) submitted her resignation. Last Saturday, police arrested her in the centre of Hanover for going through a red light. Frau Kässmann admitted that she was driving a car while intoxicated. However, according to police, she “wasn’t in control of her automobile”. “I made a big mistake. My heart tells me that I can’t remain in office. Therefore, I resigned and relinquished my duties in the Church”, Frau Kässmann said, according to the BBC.

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=34356

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Let’s not be coy… Ms Kässmann, at least, did the right thing. When the coppers nicked her, she knew that her moral cred was in shreds. Ergo, she resigned immediately. In the case of this RC bishop, and in the case of OCA Bishop Benjamin Peterson, we have moral midgets who loved power so much that they spat in the face of good order and character. I’ll say this for Herman Swaiko… he demanded that the Holy Synod remove Peterson for dragging the Church through the muck… and he was RIGHT. However… note well how the Catholic and Orthodox clergy closed ranks to protect criminal clergy (let’s call them what they are). It doesn’t make me confident that they’re serious about protecting our kids from abusive clergy (“the black wall of silence” is a reality, kids). As I said, give Margot Kässmann credit… she did the right thing. Odd, ain’t it? Someone who’s not supposed to be a bishop acted with the dignity proper to a bishop caught in wrongdoing, but Peterson and Cordileone rip the episcopal dignity to shreds by not “doing the right thing”.

Peterson and Cordileone are sunk deep in prelest… no cleric who’s committed a civil crime should stay in office… rather, they should go to a monastery for repentance, as Nikon Mironov did. THAT’S why so many people have lost belief… the so-called guardians of purity are bespattered and sunk deep in the mire, and, then, DEMAND exact obedience to their every diktat (and obeisance before their secrecy and high-handedness). Excuse me whilst I hurl… this is too much of a muchness. How much longer, dear Lord?

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Albany NY

28 August 2012. Is the Parma Sobor Going to Count Minuscule Konvertsy Parishes the Same as Real Parishes?

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I was discussing (online) with some of the Cabinet on how JP gained election by bowling over impressionable, deluded, and shallow konvertsy. We came to the conclusion that tiny konvertsy conventicles shouldn’t have the same representation as established real parishes. In fact, the Holy Synod should adopt a rule stating that no parish of less than 120 parishioners on the books shall have either lay or clerical representation at the Sobor, unless it was established prior to 1965 (of course, monasteries would be exempt from this rule). This would disqualify most of the superficial konvertsy, and, probably, encourage some of the more feral sorts to leave.

We have to protect the upcoming Sobor from being hijacked by Culture War converts, who’d take the Church into territory that would lead to the OCA being disowned by the rest of world Orthodoxy. Can you believe that some of the konvertsy actually are bloviating that they’ll “re-elect” Fathausen? There’s nothing wrong with taking steps to protect Christ‘s Church against semi-converted quasi-Proddies. Indeed… it’s our DUTY.

BMD

28 August 2012. Perp in Olmsted Falls Bell Heist Nicked by Coppers… oca.org Incomplete as per Usual

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According to the Olmsted Township Police Department, David B Diamond, 34, of Olmsted Township, admitted stealing five brass bells from St Innocent Orthodox Church, 6526 Usher Road, and will face charges. The police learned of the theft at approximately 19.30 EDT 26 August. The church choir director came back to the church that night, noticed them missing, and called police. According to Olmsted Township Police Chief John Minek, at 20.00 EDT 27 August, they received a call from D&B Auto Wrecking in Columbia Station OH that they possibly had the stolen bells. Officers met with D&B owner Don Bosak, who said that Diamond brought him the brass bells to scrap for money. Bosak became suspicious that they were stolen; he asked Diamond for identification before releasing payment. Bosak paid him 380.80 USD (12,200 Roubles. 303 Euros. 241 UK Pounds).

After Diamond left, Bosak was ready to call the Lorain County Sheriff’s Department, but he heard about the theft of the bells from St Innocent’s, so, he called the Olmsted Township PD, who recovered the bells. Officers went to Diamond’s home to question him. While driving to the home, they saw him driving down Sharp Road and stopped his vehicle. The cops took Diamond to the station for questioning, and he admitted to the felony theft. According to St Innocent’s pastor, Rev Michael Butler, the bells are from Russia, with a value of 5,500 USD (176,000 Roubles. 4,375 Euros. 3,475 UK Pounds). They were a gift from a parishioner, in memory of her husband. Butler said, “We’re glad to have the bells back. We thank everyone for their prayers for their return”. He also noted that it’d take about three weeks to get the bells mounted onto another platform, but this time, the platform will be movable, to allow it to taken inside the church building.

28 August 2012

Mark Holan

Sun News

http://www.cleveland.com/olmsted/index.ssf/2012/08/olmsted_township_man_admits_to.html