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WHY I AM A CATHOLIC – BUT NOT A ROMAN CATHOLIC.

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More and more people are becoming totally disillusioned with the Roman Catholic institution.

Some of them walk away completely – and sadly many walk away not only from the totally corrupt RC institution – but they walk away also from God and spirituality.

I am not one of those who have walked away completely – and I understand those who walk away from everything. For many made the mistake of thinking that the institution, the hierarchy and the clergy were God or a big part of God. Of course the hierarchy and clergy often represented themselves as of God – when the very opposite is probably true.

As a younger man I swallowed all I was taught hook, line and sinker.

After ordination I was introduced to the reality of what is the clergy and hierarchy.

I met several “bastardo” Irish born parish priests when I served in Wales – they were bullies and drunkards who treated me as dirt in the presbyteries we shared. One made me go to bed every night at 9. One forbade me entering the kitchen to make a cup of tea.  One taunted me at every meal as being from “dirty Dublin”.

I told the archbishop – John A Murphy about what was going on. He replied by telling me that they were saints and would make me a saint.

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I eventually got the boat home to Dublin and Murphy nominated me a “fugitivus” – a fugitive in canon law.

Then I came to Belfast where I was unfortunate to meet two other “bastardo” priests. Eventually they persuaded Daly that I was a bad man and Daly gave me the heave-ho.

I didn’t realise it at the time – but Daly actually did me a great favour.

He cut me loose from the rotten institution.

And for 33 years now I have ministered independently from The Oratory in Larne.

There we practice an independent Catholic Christianity.

We have thrown away the dirty water of the RC junta and have kept the “baby” of Catholic Christianity.

We have the Catholic Mass and sacraments – and at the same time the congregation is not only made up of Catholics. We enjoy regulars and visitors who by tradition are Protestant, Jewish, Muslin et al.

One Sunday a few years ago we had a group of 20 or so Hari Krishna join us for Mass. They did the music and told us about their faith.

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On another occasion we had visitors who were from India and were members of the Parsee faith. They were beautiful people.

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So we are Larne Catholics, Independent Catholics and NOT Roman Catholics.

The faith that Jesus preached was non institutional and over time the clerics institutionalised it.

We have cast off the institution and returned to the simple, charismatic faith that Jesus preached.

When faced with a decision we only ask: “What would Jesus do” and then we try and do it.

As a result we have the freedom of the sons and daughters of God.

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THE NATIONALITIES OF OUR BLOG VIEWERS YESTERDAY

(By numbers of readers)

2019-01-19

2019-01-19 (1)

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126 replies on “WHY I AM A CATHOLIC – BUT NOT A ROMAN CATHOLIC.”

Wholeheartedly agree with your stance Pat. Institutionalism leads to power struggles and corrupts the very message that is supposed to be at the core of the institution. What would Jesus do? A beautiful motto to live ones life by. To all those hiding abusers or taking part in any wrongdoing ask yourselves on this Sunday “what would Jesus do”?

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I’m fascinated with the comments from the Clogher Curate. Please tell us more as that diocese begins a new chapter with their new bishop. What’s the story on Enniskillen? There’s two lovely curates there – one a bit effeminate but a lovely guy, the other only recently arrived.

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The effeminate one is a lovely guy! Really!! Maybe to your face he is. But he has ideas of grandeur believe me. Nothing but the best for him and if you ask anyone that was with him in the Irish College Rome, they will paint a completely different story of this diva. Manipulative, cunning, bitchy, nasty and horrible to fellow Seminarians and Priests behind their backs. Will stab anyone for his own advancement as he did in Rome. Looks down on his fellow clergy as rough. Would hate the smell of the sheep.

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And to whom is your vitriol extended?
At least have the wit to indicate the individual you refer to and then one might take you seriously.

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What really is the point of your self congratulatory praises? Most priests I know and encounter are as free, if not freer than you as we too use our imagination, vision and creativity to encourage people to make their homes and parishes more Christ-like. You do it your way Pat and the rest of us who remain priests have our way of being as Christ-like as possible. It’s a gross imjustice to claim that you possess a better or superior Christianity or life of service than those who remain. You do good work, but not always faultlessly. The majority of us I believe seek what is best. Anyway we’ve heard all this before about you being “thrown out” by Bishops. Pat, you have been economical with the truth. I think it’s also un-Christian and unfair that the bishops whom you blame and all the other “bastardos” are not able to defend their reputation and undoubtedly they would enlighten us about your “bastardo” living!!

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If one of those bishops were to submit a comment I don’t doubt that Pat would publish it unedited. But they don’t. They have the opportunity to defend their life and reputation and could but don’t. Why? Because they would be letting down the old boys club and at risk of recriminations in the institution. Just like all the priests who comment on here that they protest the culture of silence and cover up in the church. Just give the link for one public example who has not found himself redeployed to hell’s kitchen.
There isn’t one.
You all are kidding yourselves. You can’t claim to be protesting the institution and also live off it.
If any priest is going to claim to be doing that, sign your comment with your name, diocese and bishop, then I’ll believe you.
But you won’t, will you.

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10.47: Anonymous, if you believe you have something really worthwhile to say and are nit fearful of public harrassment or ridicule, why don’t you sign your real name? Are you working in an organisation or institution that you fear reprimand too? Come on, show us your courage…..hypocrite.

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12:24
Free! Are you soft in the cranium? Or an out-and-out liar?
Priests are free to serve the one to whom they vowed obedience. And it wasn’t Christ.

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A reflection that is full of contradictions and far too self absorbing. It is written in such a way as to suggest that you, Pat, are the only true Catholic. I on the other hand also consider myself to be a true Catholic. I remain in the Church as apriest: I do not see e an instifution: I serve the people of God. I feel free to be truly Christ like in my life. I abhor all abuse. I speak against it. I support people in all kinds of situations. I am not at all constrained to be creative, different or to exercise my ministry in a compassionate way. I don’t agree with all the teachings of the Church but I’ve always put the gospel vision of Christ as my guide. The majority of priests I know try to behave likewise. We have learned from our own life’s experiences and from the many crises of recent decades. So please do not write abiut me or others as a footnote of history. I wish I had your luxury of time to be so self absorbed!!!!

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10.49: Pat, I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction of my name but I know you well!! Admirer – no way. Why would I allow my real name on here so that other brats like you would visit to harrass, intimidate and bully? You are madly silly and delusional. And, I am a very free person within and thank God that I find no barriers preventing me from being a kind, caring priest or human being. Why? Because I have always focused on CHRIST’S WAY.

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Ah, the old free person within idea.
And without? Nah.
The only people who pride themselves specifically on their freedom within are prisoners.

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Why can’t you sign your comment, Anonymous 10.49? Because you are a hypocrite, or because like most people here you are ashamed of dipping your precious toe in an open sewer?

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8 . 09
So what great demands are made on you…a few masses at a stated time.
Maybe a funeral or 2
The odd baptism
First communion and first confession.
If you a cannon u might get to do confirmation…bishops far too busy for this…living it up
Free house, no rates, free to cook whatever you desire…some few parishioners running after your every whim.
Get a grip man…some of us have had to turn up for work every day and stay after we should be away home
And the wages were dismal…but the craic was good..a lifetime caring for others…and I mean physically.
You have no idea of the real world..u don’t even have to

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3.27: Let me assure you, I do live in the real world, was reared in a real world of 9 in a family, had to work every God given hour from the time I was 12, on farms, in hospitals, nursing homes and pay and find my way through life which all of us did. My parents instilled a work ethic, a decency and an honesty in us that stands to me in my life. You can be cynical all you like but I know my work description and what I am calledvto do in my ministry. Sorry to disappoint your narrow world view.

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Yes, ‘what would Jesus do’ is a better, higher, and more reliable mantra than ‘what would Rome do’.
Yesterday afternoon, I watched again the dramatisation of events that led to the conviction of paedophile priest, Brendan Smith. As appalling as his crimes were, they were closely followed by the inaction, and indifference, of men like Cardinal Cahal Daly, who tawdridly hid behind Canon Law to avoid intervening against Smith’s bolt-hole from justice in Northern Ireland, Kilnacrott Abbey, and the Irish Government’s repeated bureaucratic nit-picking over extradition warrants for Smith, in order to avoid having to hand him over to the RUC.
None of these asked ‘what would Jesus do’, but, rather, ‘what would Rome do’ or, ‘what is required by sectarian ideology?’

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What would Jesus do is a hugely challenging question for all who profess his name. Each day the question should be reflected upon as I believe it keeps us focused on what really matters in the eyes of God. It is possible, contrary to your assertion Pat, for priests like myself and many, many others to live as Christ expects of us while remaining within the Church. When we are each honest and seek only Christ’s heart and mind we are doing the right thing. When rooted in Christ, we, like you, try to do what is right and just. Being in the Church does not prevent us from doing so. Let us acknowledge the endless possibilities, however challenging, to be Christ, irrespective of the Church we belong to.

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You haven’t walked away completely Pat. That’s interesting to read. It’s a well known fact that Murphy in Cardiff was a complete tyrant. I’ve always thought that if you were handled properly Pat, particularly by Cahal B, we would not be in this position. Now that I’m getting on in life I understand that more and more. I wish you well in whatever you do. You might have always thought I was never on your side but I always quietly gave you the benefit of the doubt.

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Bullying is rife because of control issues. Nobody should expose the old boy’s club and nobody should make life difficult for bishops.
Conform or be controlled. Once you think of the church as a mafia you will understand.

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Hi tis supression frustration sublimation to unhealthy lifestyles and self granted compensation for the horrible world and how tis treatin th poor sucky wuckies but. The church is not McJesus’s no one outlet owns the franchise hi and the sooner these pimples get this through their humpty dumptey shells the better. The age of bullying is not acceptable is it any more hi

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Bishop Pat, I am the real Clogher Curate. Recent comments using my name are fake. I was advised by Mgr McGuinness to not comment on this blog and I’ve kept my promise until forced to comment today.

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Did Joe McGuinness think he was your lord and master? I was very happy he did not get Clogher.

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It was expressed in terms of friendly advice along the lines of not airing diocesan matters in public and also that I had offended some of the older priests, notably the biggest queen in the diocese and friend of Joe Duffy (Sean Cahill), and the aptly named Dick Mohan.

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Clogher Curate
And you took the advice of such a man as Joe McGuinness?😲
The mind boggles.😕
But then, perhaps it shouldn’t, because most Roman Catholic priests are morally spineless, too eager to toe the institutional line.

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Do you want us to believe that load of crap knowing McGuinness will read this and know it was you who he told off. Do you think we are idiots. You are the imposter.

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I am the actual, real, proper Clogher curate. My only comment today was the one saying that I’d been advised not to comment on Bishop Pat’s blog. Any further comments about Clogher priests were not made be me. I am not in Enniskillen and Clogher Curates are surprisingly numerous.

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How many singing priests do we need. As well as the fey trilling trio, there’s Lawlor, and the one who sang at a wedding and was ragin’ when hot Nathan was picked to sing for the pope, plus Darcy sings at celebrity funerals and Phonsie does “My Way” at clerical gatherings.
Ffs.

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11.19: You’re right. Fr. Darcy has a lovely, manly singing voice. Beauuuuuutifulllll…..doh, ray, me, me, me, me, me,me…….That’s as far as it goes!!Tra la.,la.,la.,la.,la.,la, la…..

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You are an imposter and using my name as Clogher Curate. Can you please desist from doing this. I only talk about my diocese and no other issue.

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Nathan didn’t sing for the Pope, he sang to Croker. The Pope hadn’t even arrived when Nathan finished singing. The poor Priest singing Trio also missed his arrival. I always laugh when people say they sang for the Pope and he wasn’t actually there to listen.

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11.05: FFS – you get a real life, you minnie moaner – such pieces of useless information. Are you sitting behind laced curtains with your woollies on and crochet needles? Piss off you idiot.

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Mullaney sent Kevin Connolly to bring back Sean Hickey to seminary after the assault incident. Connolly acted as a mediator between Sean Hickey’s parents and Mullaney.

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why was Kevin Connolly so eager to do Mullaney’s bidding. What else did Connolly do for Mullaney and his kittens.

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They should care. Liturgy is the public work of the Church and should be of the highest standard. Did they not teach you that in Maynooth?

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Actually I was thinking that.
Magna darling, do you remember the old days when I would make many a Roman chasuble for the missions?
You used to pretend to say Mass at my dining table, wearing them. I know it was traumatic when you had to apply to the priesthood when Norman Hartnell wouldn’t take you on, though.
If the bishop had come to me, I could have made him a proper chasuble that wasn’t polyester.

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Indeed I do, Mommie Dearest! Those were…ah!… halcyon times.☺

Do you recall how we improvised for communion? Your darling Magna, ever flaired with imagination and design (taking after you, of course), had you cut French baguttes with garlic butter into solid little cicles, which you proceded, post-prandially (we observed our own, arbitrary Eucharistic canon on fasting), to feed pa-pa after he had liberally drunk from his best cognac and was in no state to refuse. Do you recall, dearest?

As for Sir Norman, he refused to employ me, since he knew I was a blinding light to his guttering candle flame.

I swear there was more green in his heart than in his royal designs.😡

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3:43

The public work of the Church is the liturgy (all decorus, showy piety) while its private work is… well, something entirely different and at odds with this liturgy.

No, I wasn’t taught this at Maynooth,

otherwise I should never…😕

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With the dispute going on as to who is actually the real Clogher Curate, can I deduce from this that they will now go and settle in Avignon?

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Clear to me from above today that the Clogher Curate was trained in Rome; and from yesterday’s post that he is based in Enniskillen. That narrows it down.

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So, “the freedom of the children of God” can only be found in a converted Larne garage, presided over by a man who mingles “religious syncretism” with supposed “Christian worship” and who is too lazy (unable) to come up with his own liturgical rites and rituals! 🙂

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Anon 2:07 Jesus had little time for palaces and grand temples, yet he chose to be born in a humble dwelling. The origin of The Larne Oratory building is a meme in itself. To research the entirety of Pat’s blog back issues would be indeed onerous and I am sure, interesting, however, you would also find that Pat has, in the two years I’ve been following, shared his own creedal thoughts. I think the community at Larne should use a liturgy that inspires them whether that be one of their own devise or extant. I believe all religious / spiritual traditions have both truth and taint and only by cross comparison, prayer and meditation can one in humility (from humus, earth, grounded) hope to perceive the All In All.

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+Pat: The inference in your second paragraph comment, as follows (.”….they walk away not only from God and spirituality”) contains a highly debatable inference. You infer that “walking away from God” is to reject spirituality. In other words one cannot be spiritual without God. I disagree.
Spirituality has traditionally been viewed as a religious concept connected to a belief in a god or gods. It is better understood in recent times as a quality of being concerned with the human spirit as opposed to material or physical things.
One who is spiritual, but not religious, now sometimes referred to as’ spiritual but not affiliated’ self identifies a life stance of spirituality that contests that religion is the only or best way of furthering spiritual growth.
For many, indeed a belief in God is central to their spiritual life, and they may lead a good, kind and fulfilling life as a result. Humanists however might question how many individuals are spiritual, leading life simply because of a belief in God, the afterlife, and the potential consequences of ‘misbehaving.’
Is it equally commendable, or perhaps more so, to live a spiritual life without any belief in God, gods, or the potential rewards of an afterlife?
I believe this to be the case. As I said previously: “Good without God.”
MMM

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Dear MMM, If that inference can be taken from my comments I regret it.

I am just finishing a book with chapters like:

Spirituality without God.
Christianity without Jesus.
Atheistic Spirituality.

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Sounds interesting Pat. Ya can’t have Christianity without Christ. It’s in the name. I think I no where ur coming from tho. We need the free range Jesus not all this processed muck

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MMM, are you being honest with yourself about your disbelief in God? Are you sure that there is no part of you that asks ‘what if?’.

Is your spirituality (your ‘good without God’) really a subconscious hedging of bets, just in case you discover, one lagubrious day, that you were wrong and that God really does exist. This will be the moment when you can, as it were, cash in that moral insurance policy, ‘good without God”, and suffer no eternal consequence.

I don’t recall who said this, but it did concern moral hedging of bets: if you don’t believe there is a god, it would be wiser to behave as if there were, for then you can’t go wrong. But you will go wrong if you disbelieve in him only to find out that he does, after all, exist.

For what is atheism but a supposition based on…God-knows-what. 😆

It is not a proof that God doesn’t exist.

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Magna: I’m not aware of any proof that God does NOT exist. And I’m unaware of any proof that God DOES exist. It is said that the greatest possible scientific discovery would be proof of God’s existence. I see no reason to simply believe cradle catholic beliefs emotionally and psychologically imposed before I read/studied/realised just how improbable are the whole farrago of Roman Catholicism, Christianity and deist beliefs.
Yes as you ask: indeed I have asked, “What if?” Then I wonder: (among countless other contradictions) if there is this supposed good omnipotent God who loves us, wants us to know and love Him, why virtually no proof; why so many contradictions/ contra-indications within religion and it’s beliefs, and certainly the behaviour of its proponents?
“All the Answers “, Kieran Halpin’s song is worth listening to. “I may not have all the answers, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
MMM

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So, MMM, is it reasonable to say that your ‘good without God’ spirituality is an inaccurate? When, really, it is more ‘good with God’ (or, at least, ‘good with the proviso that God may, after all, exist’)? If so, aren’t you as much a prisoner of human emotions (fear, superstition, etc) as Christians for their dependency on an ‘outmoded’ system of beliefs?

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Magna: much greater minds than mine have neither proven God’s existence nor non existence. In that light I find no absolute proof/reason to believe one way or another. I find all the alleged reasons so far presented for deist belief untenable.
Taking into account scientific evidence of the infinite nature of space and time and earth’s evolvement I am persuaded that religion and God are human made creations and self sustain to meet human emotional/psychological needs.
And from what I see, religion in all its forms, piggybacks and capitalises on this.
The RC church has mastered this art.
MMM

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Mother of God, Pat, you’ve crashed into more bishops than I’ve had breakfasts. What the hell kind of temperament have you? Thrown out of Clonliffe, then to Waterford, Wales, Scotland, Derry……now Larne! Holy Mary, bless your energy!! Crazy stuff. Not a Catholic but holding on to bits of it! Frs. Ted, Dougal and Jack come to mind…..

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Hahaha Pat sounds like me. I’m a mental health nurse and literally walked out of one trust after I had repeated conflict with management and ultimately blew the whistle. I left another similarly and have finally found a small private provider to work for which deals better with mavericks. As a result all the staff are mavericks and we have the best CQC rating in the area!

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I only wish I’d had your wisdom and forsight to avoid the perpetual battles I endured with bureaucratic management!
Well done.
MMM

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Hi Pat
I’ve not been on you blog for a while. Whatever happened to the Priest who bummed the young man on the holy altar? Have the authorities investigated? Celibacy is difficult and some of us have wandered now and then, but having sex, gay or straight means that both of these men should be given some sort of of mental health treatment surely? I recall the incident a few years ago in the Archdiocese of Glasgow when a Parish Priest was caught with sex toys on the altar, one of which was in a certain orifice. I believe he was sent off for treatment. I just googled him
he is now running another Parish.

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On the Cloyne diocesan website he is listed as c/o bishop’s house. What parish do you think he is in?

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Yes, unfortunately a Church helper found said Father Lawlor naked and pleasuring himself with these toys on the altar.
The majority of clergy are unable to deal with sexual deprivation in healthy ways. It is true that celibacy has been used throughout history as a means of increasing spirituality. But it is a distortion to assume a person becomes more spiritual simply because you force them to be celibate. Part of this distortion is that celibacy is not used within the Catholic priesthood for spirituality but for control: the control of the bishop over his priest, the control of the pope over his bishops. Celibacy is an external obedience.

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Yes, unfortunately a Church helper found said Father Lawlor naked and pleasuring himself with these toys on the altar. The majority of clergy are unable to deal with sexual deprivation in healthy ways. It is true that celibacy has been used throughout history as a means of increasing spirituality. But it is a distortion to assume a person becomes more spiritual simply because you force them to be celibate. Part of this distortion is that celibacy is not used within the Catholic priesthood for spirituality but for control, the the control of the bishop over his priest, the control of the pope over his bishops. Celibacy is an external obedience. Sex scandals are not exclusive to the Catholic church. But Roman Catholicism seems to struggle more than most churches with human sexuality. Partly, that’s because few are so vocal about their moral standards while remaining so silent about their failures to live up to them. But Catholicism has also historically imposed a kind of moral hierarchy around sex, with celibacy admired as the pinnacle of achievement. That presents a problem. A reverence for creation and family life are also part of Catholic culture. How can you achieve that without sex?
The concept of sex in the Catholic church is distorted and skewed, there’s a very narrow range that is non-sinful. A published 25-year study suggests that, at any one time, around 50 per cent of priests will have been sexually active in the previous three years, mostly with other males. It is a figure that has been replicated in studies throughout the world. Father Jim Lawlor is simply one small thread in a worldwide tapestry.

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Is that Big Jim or Rocking Rev Edinburgh or are you the same person posting the same stuff.

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3.44pm he has a third name not just big Jim or rocking Rev but Fr Brendan OSA too. He’s a busy boy inventing all these names – who will it be next, Willie from Wigtown or Annan Alan

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I suspect that there are quite a few others who have recently taken to inventing new posting names. 50+ “new names” have appeared in January alone and the literary style of many of those seems repetitive.
I wonder.
Still it seems better to at least have a pseudonym that a reply can be made to rather than the ubiquitous “Anonymous.”
MMM

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Roman Catholicism is about mind control nothing more. It is not designed to bring us closer to God. It is an organisation dedicated to the sole purposes of greed and power. However I do still believe that there are good clerics within it who seek God and are afraid to speak out publicly about the goings on within the church for fear of losing their position. Whilst this is a natural fear it means that they are trying to ride two horses. You cannot be for God and for mammon. One argument for this is that they seek to change the organisation from within. Is this really possible though? The cancer which has set in is too extensive and that body is dying. Where one or two are gathered in Christ’s name he will be there with them. Nothing is impossible for God and I pray that he emboldens these clerics opposed to the Roman junta throughout the world to rise up in his name and take on this mafia. How much more scandal can this organisation take. There has to be an end to this. All despots eventually come crashing down when the spirit of God takes control

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Yes I’ll rise up against the ‘junta’ as you call it. Shall you house me then, feed me and look after me in my old age. Of course you would.

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3:42
The ‘junta’ feeds, clothes and cares for no one, because the ‘junta’ comprises financially parasitical, too-lazy-to-work-for-a-living clergy, who sponge off those who are the precise opposite: the laity.😆

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3.32: I am beholden only to Christ. As a priest I seek to effect renewal in myself first and foremost and then seek to do so in the parish where I work. It is possible to do but only with God’s grace. I’d be interested to know what ‘YOU’ are doing to “renew” the Church…rather than criticise.

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5:42
Don’t be a liar, on top of everything else, priest. Beholden to Christ? Bullshit! 😠 You are beholden to the one to whom you vowed obedience: a bishop, and his successors.
You, priest, turned your back on Christ the day you were ordained. 😆

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Pat, what’s your stance on the vexed issue of #Brexit? I bet that like Dominic Grieve, Anna Soubrey, +Noel Treanor and the bicycling bishop of Derry you are a remainer and want to be under the Brussels jackboot.

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So right. The £39 million the PM wants to give to the EU would be better spent closer to home. I’m fascinated that Pope Francis wants more immigration to Europe and opposes Trump’s wall. Have you ever seen the wall that surrounds the Vatican? Francis is a fraud and a hypocrite. He should demolish his own wall first and house refugees in the Vatican before admonishing Trump.

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Whatever you choose to call yourself, or describe yourself as, Pat, you are not, by any definition of the term, Catholic.

And there is no such thing as “Roman” Catholic – there is only Catholic.

You have retained some of the trappings of the Catholic Faith for your own convenience; but you are dishonest and deluded in attempting to call your minuscule sect “catholic”.

At best, maybe, you are some type of religious hybrid: elements of Catholicism, Parseeism, Hinduism, Protestantism, Wicca, Shamanism, etc.

I’d say, if the notion took you someday in the Oratory, you’d put flowers in your hair and pass round a hash pipe.

It’s whatever tickles your fancy and whatever YOU decide is reality that is the more honest description of what you are engaged in with your equally deluded “disciples”.

You also delude yourself and your followers into imagining that what you are doing is what Jesus would do. You are in for “a quare gunk”.

The “jesus” you are asking ‘what would he do?’, is in reality, a projection of your own selves.

So the answer to WWJD is really “Whatever We Decide” and “Whatever We Want” and “What He Is Told To Do By Us”.

Your “jesus” is your own construction. More honesty you would ask WWPD (What Would Pat Do?) And the answer? “Whatever The Feck Pat Likes Is What He Will Do!” For Pat’s wishes are Pat’s commands.

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You wouldn’t be judgemental at all would you Father. I know if I had a choice between following you or Pat then I’d head for Larne and not someone who looks down their noses in such a judgemental nasty way.

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@4:20pm, Oh I’m not looking for you to “follow” me at all. And I am a “Father” by the way but not in the way I think you mean 😉

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4.20: Doesn’t matter what profession 3.48 is. It’s a perfect description of what Larne is about. While Pat does some good (primarily for himself), the truth is that he is so consumed by a vindictive vengeance (against clerics) he is unable to be fair, balanced or just. In all the years since he defected from the Catholic Church we haven’t witnessed the furtherance of true, genuine renewal or Christ-like communities, as promised. The so called website for the Little Brothers, if they exist at all, never materialised. All we get are ad nauseam repetitive narratives of ugly, venomous condemnation and incitement to hatred of Catholic Priests. Pat’s vision is all about “what Pat wants, Pat gets” . I won’t ever choose Larne despite my disappointment with the Catholic Church to which I belong and from which I gain much comfort and spiritual support. Incidentally, I’m not a cleric. Lay people too see through Pat’s nonsense and hatred.

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Pat, you have achieved something that eluded succesive presidents and deans of Maynooth in finally cleaning up that sordid excuse of a seminary. The new rector warned off the Maynooth University German Department. And he also told the lay infirmarian that she was no longer permitted to offer anonymous STI tests to the resident seminarians. She can still do so for the religious order sems who commute to Maynooth as they are under the jurisdiction of their superior and not the rector.

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Can the real Clogher Curate name themselves as others are getting blamed in the wrong. There are so many claiming to be the Clogher Curate.

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4.10: The Vatican wall as you ignorantly call it doesn’t keep migrants out….they are all welcomed as are millions of people of all faiths and none. You obviously don’t read history or are aware of Pope Francis’s outreach and material support for migrants. You’re another keyboard hero – out in the highways and byways gathering migrants to care for!!! I doubt it, you fraud and hypocrite…

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Francis went to Lampadusa and bullied the Italian state to accept more young male Muslims crossing the Med. How many did he house in the Vatican? Zero!!!!

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6.45: A total lie. Some world leader needs to call out the selfishness and protectionism of European nations. Poor Francis has given a great example..Open your eyes.

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@ 8.15
Wise up! Francis and the other big business globalists don’t give a shit about ordinary Europeans. Francis took exactly none into the Vatican. Europeans are entitled to preserve their culture and standards without their children, females and pensioners being raped and murdered by these Neolithic savages – while paying to feed, clothe, house, educate and healthcare them. Spare me the sob stories. We aren’t stupid ( well, some fall for the nonsense). You know what they say: if you want to know who rules you then look at who you daren’t criticise. Which of Pat’s blogs disappeared off the web? The m**l*m one of course. BTW how do you, mr. virtue signaller, decide when Europe is full, or do they just keep coming? Idiots like you are going to cause some serious blowback.

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8:15
Pope Francis a world leader?😲
What ‘great example’ has this morally hypocritical pope set for the world, apart from moral hypocrisy?

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3:48. I fear you are deluded. We do not need permission from Romanists to call ourselves catholic. They do not own the term. Indeed what is a catholic? My understanding is that it is an understanding of and continuity of faith of early Christianity. That being the case, romanists are NOT catholic. They follow traditions of their church not of early Christianity. They are caught up in mafia practices Not early Christianity. Go and give your head a shake

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Exactly, the term Roman does not exhaust the definiendum Catholic. The Orthodox consider themselves the only true Catholic Church. The Anglicans and others like to think they are part of the Catholic Church.

Don’t I recall that the Celtic church had her differences with the Roman Church which authorized an English monarch to correct her?

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@5:50pm – If you honestly and properly examine the teachings and practices of the early church and the early church fathers, you will find the Catholic Church’s practices and teachings as they are today, on all the essential matters.

Many Protestant evangelicals, when they examined the early fathers, were led to the Catholic Church as the authentic expression of Christianity.

So you are talking through your hat. Give your own head a shake.

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3:42. You could be a man instead of a wimp and stand up for the gospel. I have in the past left an organisation (which paid my wages) because I did not believe in its practices. Yes it was difficult as I had children to feed and a mortgage to pay but I couldn’t live a lie and watch what was going on around me. The choice is yours my friend. Hide or speak out.

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I’m a father (of babies) not a clerical Fr and I phoned Pat for advice as I was having an extra-marital affair with a man. Pat gave me surprisingly orthodox advice to either come clean by ending the extra-marital relationship or end the marriage. I chose the latter.

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If a priest can be released from his vows and marry than surely thus man’s wife deserves the freedom to remarry a man who will love her in all senses?

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See below a list of the clergy appointments for the Archdiocese of Armagh, effective 9 February 2019.

Archbishop Eamon thanks the priests for their continued ministry and service in the Archdiocese and wish well those who are taking up these new appointments. He also thanks the people of the Archdiocese of Armagh for their ongoing prayers and support for all of us.

Rt Rev Archdeacon James Carroll, PP, VF, EV, St Peter’s Parish, Drogheda and Adm, Monasterboice, to remain as Adm, Monasterboice, and to be Pastor Emeritus and Priest in Residence, Clogherhead

V Rev Canon Eugene Sweeney, PP, VG, Eglish, Moderator of the Curia, to be PP, VF, VG, St Peter’s Parish, Drogheda

V Rev John Connolly, PP, Clonfeacle, to be in addition, Adm, Eglish.

Archbishop Eamon is also pleased to announce that Rev Paul Mallon, Deacon, has taken up the role of Diocesan Secretary, while continuing his pastoral ministry in the Cathedral Parish of Armagh.

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Why do bishops in Ireland insist on Clerics being the Diocesan Secretary. In England some RC bishops have lay secretaries.

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5:42. I took the decision to walk away as I believed and still do that the church wS broken beyond repair

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Yes, it’s all very well, Bp Pat, but yon priest is still enjoying himself (and who wouldn’t?) gorging himself on truckers up the A1, and +Nolly is still probably ordering up more Carrara marble for his palace. Its the way of the world.

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Just catching up with blog after a few days absence. Interesting take on not belonging to Catholic Church but being Catholic. A little confusing. I believe as we grow older, wiser and more reflective we distill the essence of what it means to be a good human being and how we should live spiritually and morally. For me my Catholic faith and belonging to a believing, praying parish community nourishes my approach to life. The “What would Jesus Do” prayer is a good guide for reflective living. However, the answer we give may not always be in accord with the mind and heart of Jesus. Does ridiculing, harrassing, belittling and mocking others reflect what Jesus might do? Does the constant definitive, nasty judgments made against clerics and others reflect what Jesus might do? Does name calling and semi porno descriptions reflect what Jesus might do? Yes, Jesus named the wrong and sinfulness of others loudly and clearly but didn’t crush people with ugly words. He didn’t write people off. He offered the possibility of new beginnings to people. We choose our responses to the various moral, ethical and Christian issues before us. If we are followers of Jesus, then surely we must always be of his mind and heart, even though at times we are tempted to land boulders of harsh judgment on others. This is in no way to condone horrendous abuse or wrongdoing of any kind. But if we truly accept the vision of Jesus, our response has to be in imitation of him. Much of the commentary on this blog does not reflect the appropriately challenging question – “What would Jesus Do?”

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10.17: Has the truth of the “sermon” made you confront the contradictions and hypocrisy of your life? Generally that’s when “sermons” become boring! Pity about you….

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What exactly is the deal with the German dept in Maynooth? There have been oblique references before to it.
Did the Armagh grandad get anywhere with his concerns about Fr Scruff?

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9:23. You haven’t shook ur head enough. I’m sure early Christianity wasn’t based on neither power nor greed nor abuse. I’m sure it wasn’t based on lies, corruption. Or mind control. I’m sure that it wasn’t based on cover ups, self preservation nor evil. Sorry u haven’t shook ur head enough

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J McGuinness is raging and on the prowl like a roaring lion looking for the Clogher Curate to eat. Someone said earlier that Enniskillen had two curates but in fact it has three which includes the new permanent deacon who regards himself as a curate.

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