St Michael's Pastor O'Leary Accused

This reminds me of the scandal with the Society of Saint John. Anyone remember Rev. Carlos Urrutigoity and Rev. Eric Ensey and the fun we endured? Is this an opening to rid himself of these pesky traditionalists for Bishop Bambera?

It would seem that Saint Michael the Archangel Pastor Father Michael O'Leary allegedly furnished alcohol to a minor. Saint Michael's is of course, the only location one may attend a licit celebration of the Old Mass anywhere near Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Pray for this priest, as Satan seems especially committed these days to attacking our priests, and for the victims. Let's hope that furnishing alcohol was the worst of the crimes.

Diocesan statement follows.

Diocese of Scranton

Statement Regarding Father Michael O’Leary, F.S.S.P.

On Sunday, July 17, 2011, Diocesan officials were informed that Fr. Michael O’Leary, a member of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, allegedly furnished alcohol to two individuals, including an underage young adult and a minor. The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is a Clerical Society of Apostolic Life in the Church, established by Pope John Paul II in 1988 to offer the Traditional Latin Rite of the Mass and the sacraments to the faithful. At the time the incident was reported, Fr. O’Leary was serving as Pastor at St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Scranton, where Masses are offered in the Traditional Latin Rite. He has served in that capacity since January 2010. Diocesan officials have spoken with the parents of the two individuals and reported the matter to law enforcement. The incident was also reported to the appropriate superiors from the Fraternity of St. Peter. Fr. O’Leary has been removed from ministry and from St. Michael’s Parish pending the outcome of the investigation. Diocesan officials remain committed to fully cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation.

Requests for further information can be made to Fr. Eric Flood, North American District Superior, Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, at (570) 842-4000, extension 0.

No Excuse...

...to not offer the Extraordinary Form! Our friends at the FSSP have introduced a 2 dvd set to teach you how to celebrate the Mass!

This 2-DVD disc set has been produced by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in collaboration with the EWTN Global Television Network to teach priests how to say Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The video includes an introduction by Darío Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. A comprehensive step-by-step explanation and walk-through of the entire ceremony of Low Mass. A real-time demonstration of the Mass filmed from four simultaneous camera angles with the ability to switch the viewing angle at any time! Instruction in the basic principles of gesture and movement as well as all the variable elements commonly encountered when offering Mass. A talk on the fundamental principles of the Extraordinary Form by Fr. Calvin Goodwin, FSSP, and a spiritual commentary on the liturgy. English, Spanish, & Italian audio tracks available. Over three hours of footage on two DVDs!

And best of all it is FREE to priests! What have you got to lose except bad liturgy?

http://www.fsspdvd.com/

Excellent News!

This should really irritate a lot of heretics...I mean progressives! Slip of the keyboard there...

Pope Desires FSSP To Be Given Full Pastoral Care Of Faithful

Pope Benedict XVI wishes that the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter be entrusted, beyond the celebration of Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form, at as many places as possible, with the cura animarum, i.e. the full pastoral care. This was reported by Fr. John Berg, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, at the Annual Meeting of Pro Tridentine Missa, which was held today in Wiesbaden. Fr. Berg had on 6 July, a private audience with the Pope, during which he was able to speak for fifteen minutes with him at his desk in the papal library. The Holy Father was very interested in whether the Fraternity was able to exercise its apostolate without obstacles, as intended. He inquired whether its priests, where they operate, could really work pastorally for the souls.

St. Michael's Fate

From the Diocese website:

CLUSTER # 1 – the parishes of St. Ann, Scranton; SS. Peter & Paul, Scranton; St. Lucy,
Scranton; St. Patrick, Scranton; St. Michael, Scranton:
• SS. Peter and Paul, Scranton and St. Lucy, Scranton, will remain linked but this will be reevaluatedno later than July 2011. It is further directed that the linked parishes will develop a proactive plan to partner in the combining of activities, resources, personnel, RCIA, Sacramental preparation, and CCD.
• St. Michael, Scranton and St. Patrick, Scranton will consolidate at the St. Patrick site in the remote possibility that the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter withdraws from St. Michael Parish. If that were to occur, plans will be made to accommodate the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite at a new location.
• The worship site at Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel of St. Patrick Parish is to be reviewed after two years.
• The creation of a Partnership among St. Ann, Scranton, St. Patrick, Scranton, St. Michael,
Scranton, St. Lucy, Scranton and SS. Peter and Paul, Scranton no later than July 2009.

I wouldn't worry too much about any of this. The FSSP has no plans to pull out of St. Michael's. As a matter of fact, there are three priests staffing the parish currently. If anything, certain diocesan priests might be pissed about three priests at St. Michael's while nearly each diocesan priest is serving three parishes. A wee bit of jealousy I wonder?

The only thing that concerns me is that St Mike's is being thrust into a partnership which other parishes. An example of a partnership would be all of the parishes would send their CCD students to one class. Those traddys reading this can see the difficulty there already.

We will see where this leads.

Not horribly bad, though.