We had a good run down to Alabama – a little nasty getting out of Ottawa with snow and freezing rain, but once we hit the 401 we pretty well sailed along, happily watching the temperature climb up, up and up.
Much excitement here. More family from Canada arriving this evening.
And finally a chance for a belated posting of the 18 December 2017 Andrew Duffy article in the Ottawa Citizen re Father Stephen Amesse being assigned as Associate Pastor at St. Patrick’s Basilica in Ottawa. Here it is:
19 December 2017: Priest acquitted of sex assault appointed to downtown church
I expressed a few of my thoughts on this several days ago. I hate to have to address this on Christmas Eve, but this has been my first opportunity to get anything posted. I firmly believe that Father Amesse should not be in the priesthood never mind a parish.
*****
My heart-felt prayer and wish for each and every one of you is that you will be blessed with happy and holy Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
Sylvia
Of course it’s lawful for a priest to give a troubled teen a body shaver… and Father Amesse’s followers are correct in pointing out that he’s not been convicted. But the same people who support Father Amesse’s gift of a body shaver to a troubled teen also oppose abortion; which is also lawful. They also oppose gay mariage; which is lawful. In fact as Catholics they oppose a whole lot of activities which are also lawful. And so if the bar has been so lowered now, mostly because of the clerical abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, that legality itself is the new moral minimum, then we need as tax payers to consider shutting down much of the Church’s charities as most are directly involved in opposing activities that are as lawful as giving body shavers to troubled teens.
Surely Christ had something else in mind than actual fleecing when he lovingly spoke about being the good shepherd.