See Dick. See Dick run his mouth.
Meet the longtime Pastor of St. Vincent de Paul in Baltimore, MD, Fr. Richard Lawrence, (“better known simply as Dick,” according to the parish’s website), who made national news for preaching in support of “same-sex marriage” immediately after reading from the pulpit aloud a letter from Archbishop William Lori urging Maryland Mass-goers to vote otherwise in an upcoming statewide ballot initiative.
“It seems to me,” Fr. Lawrence posited, “that even if we do not believe that gay marriage ever could or should be allowed in the church, we could live with a provision that allows civil marriage of gay and lesbian couples. Personally, however, I would go farther than that.”
“I personally believe that this is a possible line of future development in theology and perhaps eventually even in church teaching. And if this is even a possibility, could we not judge that civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples ought to be allowed by the state at this time?”
See Dick’s Bishop. See Dick’s Bishop respond.
Fr. Lawrence’s scandalous and well-publicized remarks demanded (at least one might reasonably assume) an equally public response from his ordinary, Archbishop William Lori, but what came instead was a written statement (accessible only after clicking on a front-page link generically entitled, “The Teaching Role of Priests”) that neither names Fr. Lawrence nor addresses the scandal that he caused directly.
The statement itself is, well… a little perplexing. Archbishop Lori begins by making note of the promise he personally made at his ordination to subordinate his personal views to the teachings of the Catholic Church when preaching. He then says, “It is in the light of this responsibility that I have been teaching about marriage” as between one man and one woman.
Even though it might appear that the archbishop is telling his priests, “Look, I set aside my personal views on this topic, you should too,” I’d much rather assume that the statement is just very poorly worded in what it says, as well as in what it doesn’t say.
See Dick’s flock. See Dick’s flock starving.
While Fr. Lawrence’s scandalous disregard for the truth that comes to us from God through His Holy Catholic Church didn’t earn him the public rebuke he deserved (not so much to send a clear message to Dick but to all concerned) it did earn him a standing ovation from his parishioners; a sure sign that he has been given free reign to shepherd his flock to perdition for many years.
As further evidence of Fr. Lawrence’s neglect for the souls in his care, consider the following taken from the parish website:
Women in Ministry is a group of women who believe that, through Baptism, women as well as men are called to ministries in the Church, including ordination. In solidarity and through prayer and action, we serve our Church community by: Promoting the liberating message of the Gospel. Increasing the awareness of sexism within the Catholic community. Working to eradicate unjust policies that prevent all of God’s people from using their gifts.
See the Church. See the Church in disarray.