Msgr. Wayne Kirkpatrick
Diocesan Administrator
…………………………..
July 31, 2010
Dear Monsignor Kirkpatrick,
With this letter I send you my good greetings. I pray that all is well with you and with the Diocese.
This is to inform you, that as I had announced in the letter that I sent to the Diocese last April, at the time of my resignation, I have now completed the first part of my sabbatical which I spent in the Holy Land in a time of prayer and rest. Later in the summer, I plan to continue my sabbatical doing some writing and research on a catechetical-pastoral project.
I would be grateful if you would extend my sincere thanks and assurances of my well-being to the clergy and faithful of the Diocese. I am deeply appreciative of their expressions of concern and for their prayers.
With you, I am praying earnestly for the needs of the Diocese and for the Holy Father and his advisors in their important work of choosing a new bishop for St. Catharines. As I continue my sabbatical, I would be grateful to have the ongoing support and assistance of your prayer.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Most Reverend James Wingle
Bishop Emeritus of St. Catharines
Sylvia,
This was an email Msgr. Wayne Kirkpatrick received from Bishop Wingle. I know Bishop Wingle personally and had to deal with school meeting etc. He is a great man and a holy priest.Why Does he not have the right to privacy when he is on Sabatical? As far as I understand when a priest or bishop is on sabatical he does not need to tell the all world where he is and what he is doing. I am quite to sure, the diocesan authorities including the pope knew where he was. Though there are few rotten apples in the catholic church, there are thousands of good and holy priests in the church. That is why in spite of many faults, the catholic church is crowded and stronger than all the churches in the world. Ordinary failthful like me clearly understand the games the media play against the catholic church. In my church more people started coming to church after all these happenings. We have a very good priest whom we love dearly and is a good shepheard. That is what matters for me ,my wife and my young children. God bless Bishop Wingle.
Michael, I’m happy for you & all your loved ones that care & support Bishop Wingle.
I will not speak for others.
Forgive me, if I come across a little paranoid. I am from the Diocese of Pembroke. We had our share of scandals here, & still one is on going with Msgr.R. Borne.
Just knowing Bishop Wingle hails from Eganville just sends up red flags for me.
In my opinion, you are assuming a lot but not even you Michael knows what Bishop Wingle does every moment of the day or what he did in his past, that goes for me also.
I am glad your church is crowded with parishioners mine is not. We are down to two Masses during the weekend.
As ordinary faithful folks like you clearly understand the games the media play against the Catholic Church? That may be true in some cases but if it wasn’t for the media many victims never would have had closer for the crimes that were done against them.
Also, the media at times knows more but cannot publish their reports because the accused priests/clergy’s lawyers in some ways puts legal blocks against them.
As for the right to privacy, yes, Bishop Wingle does have that right. It is just the way he left that was so mysterious.
No hard feelings. Peace to you Michael!
Lina,
I have been reading about R. Borne.
Myself and my family go to church for ourselves, and we benefit from it. I know that part of the country including QC less attendance in churches.Recently I was in NS. There the situation is different. If you happend to visit Toronto, the catholic churches are full. If you happen to travel to US , you will be surprised to see how crowded the churches are. I am sure you know they had greater scandals than we have here. If my memory is correct, there are over 50 thousand clergy in the US . EWTN made a survey some time back. Over 300 clergy were accused of sexual misconduct and over hundred were proved to be true. There were over ten thousad five hundred protestant ministers who were accused of inappropriate behaviour with minor children and all were proved to be tru. You and me do not hear any of these in the media. A couple of months back there was a big news in CNN about a religious education teacher who sexually abused and killed a five year old girl and put her body in a suitcase and threw it in a lake. The woman who did this henious crime was the daughter of a famous church minister. For a while the media did not say that. If something like happens in the catholic church they blow it up.
Jesus had 12 disciples and one of them betrayed him. So also out of nearly hundred thousand priests in North America, a couple of hundreds have turned to be judas’s. But this should not shatter our faith.
One think I do not understand: If I am mentally, emotially and physically hurt because of someone’s unchristian and inhuman behaviour, money does not cure my hurt feelings ! I want that person to be executed or put in prison for life. many of the abuse cases ,it seems they are looking for money. I may be wrong. Why did they wait till the age of fourty or sixty to file case?
Any way let us pray for the church, it’s leaders and also the victims of abuse that they find comfort in their fath.
Also pray for the good priests that they may be able to overcome the shame caused by a handfull of rotten apples.
God Bless
Michael
Michael,
In Pembroke, Our Cathedral: St. Columbkille used to have 4 Masses on Sunday now they have only 2. The Saturday Mass stayed the same. There is still plenty seats available.
Your comment about money? I believe most victims want healing, closer, & justice. Some may follow the path of turning the other cheek so to speak & offer all their pain & sufferings to God. Like they were taught so well by the Catholic Church’s teachings.
Guilt & shame are a strong force to stop a crime being reported. Especially, when you are so scared, young, a frighten child or a very vulnerable youth.
I know of a man that was a victim of abuse by priest(do not know priest’s name) in Sault-Ste-Marie. It took place outside the city at a youth camp. He told his wife about it. At first he seem to be fine to share this with his wife who was supporting him & get some counseling.
That same priest had other victims that came forward & filed charges. Her husband never filed charges. He stop going for help but only after writing 5 long pages why he hated his mother. His mother was a strong Catholic & did not want to believe a Catholic priest would do such a thing to her son.
This wife eventually divorced her husband. She tried hard to save the marriage but when she realize her husband needed help but he thought he did not need the help. She decided their children needed to be kept safe & away from their father.
I did ask her. Your ex must have seen the name of his abuser in the newspaper & heard this priest’s name on the news. You think they would be strength in numbers. He would have company & it would be a little easier for him to file charges.
I really upset her with that statement.
She told me he was not her concern now but she still prays for him. I found out later while she was working the night shift at the hospital he was home taking care of their children. She did not know then but he was sexually abusing their daughter. Slapping their son around. It seems the son was trying to help his sister.
I did say I sorry for upsetting her & I did not know the whole story. She knew I did not mean to hurt her. With all the evidence facing him what did he say to her about that. That is what so weird….he really believes he did no harm, he honestly believes he was just loving their daughter & son.
This was my first encounter what damage a Roman Catholic priest abuser can do by his evil actions. This relative of mine went through years of hell. Once this sick man was holding a gun to his head threatening to blow it off in front her & the children. She has nothing but praises for the Sault-Ste-Marie police department.
If any one deserves financial help it was that courageous woman. Surprise…not one cent from the Roman Catholic Church. By the way…her ex-husband didn’t seem to think too much about getting money from the Church. There is one victim I know of that should had filed charges…how many more like him out there we do not know of?
Michael, yes…lets pray for all good priests & all the bad ones and their victims.
Lina
Coming from the St.Catharines diocese I dont buy Bishop’s Wingle’s note. He was a shepherd who left his flock in the lurch abruptly! Not telling anyone and then sending an email about 4 months later..and claiming he is studying? No I think not….sorry …
I agree with you Thomas.
I must say that I find Wingle’s use of the word “Sabbatical” puzzling. For a bishop any talk of taking a sabbatical would, I would think, denote taking a sabbatical from his duties as bishop with an intent to return – to his duties as a bishop. But, Wingle resigned his post. He will not return, at least not as bishop. So, why the talk of a sabbatical?
One defintion of sabbatical is “any extended period of leave from one’s customary work, esp. for rest, to acquire new skills or training, etc.”
For the past 17 years Wingle’s customary “work” was that of a bishop.
Why did he use the word sabbatical?
Another question: Who is financing Bishop Wingle’s costly “sabbatical”?
TheSt. Catharines Standard poll – current results…
Do you think Bishop James Wingle owes the community some sort of explanation about his mysterious disappearance and resignation from the Roman Catholic diocese? Option % Votes
Yes 64% 73
No 36% 41
Wingle? Dingle Dingle wringle Really who is this man ( or whimp) who wants our support? Good questions Sylvia! Who is finnacing this escape so called asabbatical, We could all accept a sabbatical. we wonder what is the whole story
Who needs our prayers is the MSGR left holding the fort
Make him the bishop and let him get on with all the real work that needs to be done. And why does all this have to be decided in Rome who once again will send us another Wingle?
All I can say is…”Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever amen.”
That’s all I can say…God KNOWS all and we can say what we want but all that doesn’t matter, only God’s purpose’s matters. He will do the judging, not us. Amen.
Blind faith must be wonderful?
That’s all I can say.
Brenda Kirkpatrick (9)If anyone makes it their purpose to protect children from the beasts who want to use them as things to serve thier own sick cravings, then that persons purpose matters too ( I very much doubt that God’s purpose and that purpose are in contradiction to one another.)Being a Christian dosn’t mean you have to be an ostrich.