Cleansing Fire

Defending Truth and Tradition in the Roman Catholic Church

From “Balcony Sitter” to High Priestess

March 15th, 2010, Promulgated by Dr. K

Just found this old article… Her eminence, Sr. Joan Sobala, complains about the role of women in the Church in a September 25, 1979 article in the Pittsburgh Press:

And now she’s running two parishes.

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11 Responses to “From “Balcony Sitter” to High Priestess”

  1. Anonymous says:

    Try Googling "charity" for a change.

  2. Anon;

    Why do you think it's more charitable to disobey Church teachings or ignore those to publicly do?

  3. Dr. K says:

    Anon: "Try Googling "charity" for a change."

    *points to the charity widget over on the right side of the blog*

    Don't make me tap the sign…

    ~Dr. K

  4. Anonymous says:

    I googled charity, and Joan Sobala didn't come up.

    That was a waste of my time, anon.

  5. Gen says:

    Tell me what is more charitable – warning Catholics of schismatic administrators, or letting their souls get torn into shreds by liberal scheming and politicking?

    One more time, "qui tecet consentire." Who is silent consents. We are not silent. We do not consent.

  6. Anonymous says:

    It is not speaking out that I have a problem with on this blog. There is a tone of sarcasm and so many ad hominem arguments on this blog. I am just searching for a way to understand how to respond to abuses in the diocese in a considerate and thought-filled manner.
    Surely if the writers of posts can be sarcastic and judgemental, I can be simply judgemental about their posts?
    Grandma

  7. Mike says:

    Anonymous Grandma,

    I admire and respect your sentiments and I can assure you I used to feel the same way myself. My experience, however, has shown that responding to DOR abuses "in a considerate and thought-filled manner" gets one precisely nowhere.

    You might find this difficult to believe, but a DOR deacon conducting a class at St. Bernard's actually admitted that one of his goals was to teach his students how to effectively respond to concerns from their more orthodox parishioners.

    This is not hearsay. I was actually in that class and my account of it is here.

    How to dismiss "considerate and thought-filled" concerns is actually taught in this diocese. Perhaps you understand now why so many of us are frustrated.

  8. Gen says:

    Grandma,
    You are a guest here – would you treat a host with such an inquisitorial attitude? I should certainly hope not.

    And I find it funny that you accuse of the over-used phrase "ad hominem" attack. Isn't that in itself an ad hominem attack?

    The spiritual works of mercy declare that we are to "instruct the ignorant" and "admonish the sinner." How on Earth can we do this without using a one-on-one approach? We need to address specific abuses, specific people, specific parishes. Our Lord didn't say, "Love your neighbor as yourself, but tip-toe around their error to make them feel better about themselves." No – if we truly love our neighbor as ourselves, then we would strive to correct their error. It is through love and mercy that we bring these things to light.

    Thomas More once said, perhaps apocryphally, "And when we die, and you are sent to heaven for doing your conscience, and I am sent to hell for not doing mine, will you come with me, for fellowship?" If we do not strive to do that which we feel we are compelled to do, we are living a lie. I choose not to live a lie but rather, write how I feel, what I know, what I have experienced. It is absolutely your choice to read – do not criticize me for writing what you whole-heartedly consent to read.

    The Church is an entity of absolutes. There is good. There is evil. We strive to be a force for good. And if we have to make a few funny, slightly disrespectful videos to make people stop and think, so be it. I ask you another question: would you rather us be silent and let what we know go by the wayside, or would you have us reach out to a broad spectrum of people who have different tastes, different senses of humor, different liturgical preferences?

    We honestly do value everyone's opinion. We are one of the very few Rochester blogs that does not moderate comments. Sure, once in a great while when we have a spammer, we'll impose limitations for 48 hours. We value debate and discussion. I guess you could say this is one long, rambling dialogue homily – although it's probably better than anything any of these lassies have come up with.

    So, Grand-mimsy, do not call us uncharitable or anything along those lines. Do not say we attack people "ad hominem." What a nauseatingly over-used term this has become! The people speak, and make their preferences plain. We post at least three or four times a day for the most part, combining theology, liturgy, canon law, news, education, culture, sacred music, social justice, and more. We do so with a light-hearted sarcasm. It has propelled us, in less than one year, into the upper-echelons of the Rochester blogosphere. I'm not bragging (and most certainly not disparaging any fellow bloggers), but I'm just saying that you, madame, are in the very vocal and very minute minority. Over 70,000 hits, and only a handful of objections to our methods. I would say that's a pretty good track record.

    Certainly no one's ever reported us to Rome, as they have Joan Sobala, Deni Mack, Nancy DeRycke, Fr. Lawlor, Bishop Clark, Fr. Palumbos, Fr. Hart, Margaret Ostromecki, Barb Swiecki, etc. ad infinitum.

    Mea culpa – was that too "ad hominem?"

  9. Dr. K says:

    I don't know, Grandma, I thought the post was pretty direct in making the point that Sr. Sobala has in the past complained about the role of women in the Church, and today she's running two parishes contrary to Church norms.

    Thanks for complaining.

    ~Dr. K

  10. Anonymous says:

    Mike, Gen, and Dr K,
    I truly appreciate your taking time to respond. I did work hard to say what I thought, and your responses help me to think more.
    Your experience is valuable and I am the beneficiary. Thanks.
    Grandma

  11. Anonymous says:

    Sure she is running 2 parishes!!! She is running 2 parishes into the ground.

    Sister Bo Peep has lost all the sheep!

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