Straight from the Vatican without comment...
"For a number of years the Church has followed with great concern the difficulties caused by the regrettable conduct of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. Many attempts have been made to bring Archbishop Milingo back into communion with the Catholic Church, including the consideration of suitable ways to enable him to exercise the episcopal ministry. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI were directly involved in those efforts and both Popes personally followed the case of Archbishop Milingo in a spirit of paternal solicitude.
"In the course of this unhappy series of events, Archbishop Milingo became irregular in 2001 as a result of his attempt to marry Mrs. Maria Sung, and incurred the medicinal penalty of suspension (cf. canons 1044 para. 1, n. 3; 1394 para. 1 of the Code of Canon Law). Thereafter, he headed certain groups calling for the abolition of clerical celibacy and gave numerous interviews to the media in open disobedience to the repeated interventions of the Holy See, creating serious upset and scandal among the faithful. Then, on 24 September 2006 in Washington, Archbishop Milingo ordained four bishops without pontifical mandate.
"By so doing, he incurred the penalty of excommunication 'latae sententiae' (canon 1382) which was declared by the Holy See on 26 September 2006 and is still in force today. Sadly, Archbishop Milingo has shown no sign of the desired repentance with a view to returning to full communion with the Supreme Pontiff and the other members of the College of Bishops. Rather, he has persisted in the unlawful exercise of acts belonging to the episcopal office, committing new crimes against the unity of Holy Church. Specifically, in recent months Archbishop Milingo has proceeded to several other episcopal ordinations.
"The commission of these grave crimes, which has recently been established, is to be considered as proof of the persistent contumacy of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. The Holy See has therefore been obliged to impose upon him the further penalty of dismissal from the clerical state.
"According to canon 292 of the Code of Canon Law, the penalty of dismissal from the clerical state, now added to the grave penalty of excommunication, has the following effects: loss of the rights and duties attached to the clerical state, except for the obligation of celibacy; prohibition of the exercise of any ministry, except as provided for by canon 976 of the Code of Canon Law in those cases involving danger of death; loss of all offices and functions and of all delegated power, as well as prohibition of the use of clerical attire. Consequently, the participation of the faithful in any future celebrations organised by Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo is to be considered unlawful.
"It must be pointed out that the dismissal of a bishop from the clerical state is most extraordinary. The Holy See has felt obliged to act in this way due to the serious consequences for ecclesial communion resulting from repeated episcopal consecrations carried out without pontifical mandate; nevertheless, the Church hopes that Archbishop Milingo will see the error of his ways.
"As for those recently ordained by Archbishop Milingo, the Church's discipline in imposing the penalty of excommunication 'latae sententiae' upon those who receive episcopal consecration without pontifical mandate is well- known. While expressing hope for their conversion, the Church reaffirms what was declared on 26 September 2006, namely that she does not recognise these ordinations, nor does she intend to recognise them, or any subsequent ordinations based on them, in the future. Hence the canonical status of the supposed bishops remains as it was prior to the ordination conferred by Archbishop Milingo.
"At this moment, as the Church experiences profound sorrow for the grave acts perpetrated by Archbishop Milingo, she entrusts to the power of prayer the repentance of the guilty party and of all those who - be they priests or lay faithful - have in any way co-operated with him by acting against the unity of Christ's Church".
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Swiss Catholic bishop calls for married priests
Swissinfo.chNovember 29, 2009 - 1:07 PM
A Swiss bishop says that married men should also be allowed to be priests in the Catholic Church and that celibacy should be voluntary.
Norbert Brunner, who takes over as head of the Swiss Bishops Conference at the start of next year, told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper that most Swiss bishops were in favour of the move.
"There should be the possibility of making married men priests," Brunner said.
There was no fundamental link between celibacy and the priesthood, maintained the Bishop of Sion, but added that it should remain a choice for those who wanted it.
Brunner said that the Swiss bishops were "quite unanimous" in their support.
He had proposed the move to Rome several times, but admitted that he had, as yet, been unable to push his solution forward.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Catholic official in Germany calls for end to celibacy for priests
The Local
11/24/2009
Alois Glück, the new head of Germany’s main Catholic association, on Tuesday called for an end to celibacy vows for priests.
“I would welcome allowing established married deacons to be ordained as priests,” the president of the Central Committee of German Catholics told daily newspaper Bild.
But Glück said such a decision could not be made only for Germany.
“The question of mandatory celibacy can only be determined within the Church globally,” he said.
Glück, a former conservative politician from Bavaria, was made the president of the lay organisation on Friday.
A Catholic priest in Hammelburg in northern Bavaria was suspended by the Church last month after he said he wanted to marry and announced he already had one child.
Pope Benedict XVI earlier this month raised the hopes of some liberal Catholics opposed to celibacy constraints by announcing the Church would welcome married Anglican priests wishing to convert to Catholicism.
11/24/2009
Alois Glück, the new head of Germany’s main Catholic association, on Tuesday called for an end to celibacy vows for priests.
“I would welcome allowing established married deacons to be ordained as priests,” the president of the Central Committee of German Catholics told daily newspaper Bild.
But Glück said such a decision could not be made only for Germany.
“The question of mandatory celibacy can only be determined within the Church globally,” he said.
Glück, a former conservative politician from Bavaria, was made the president of the lay organisation on Friday.
A Catholic priest in Hammelburg in northern Bavaria was suspended by the Church last month after he said he wanted to marry and announced he already had one child.
Pope Benedict XVI earlier this month raised the hopes of some liberal Catholics opposed to celibacy constraints by announcing the Church would welcome married Anglican priests wishing to convert to Catholicism.
Monday, November 23, 2009
'How can any normal priest go through 40 or 50 years and not fall in love?'
By Kim Bielenberg
Irish Independent
Saturday November 21 2009
It is hard to imagine a similar response from the faithful 10 or 20 years ago. Last Sunday, a Catholic congregation actually stood and cheered when their priest Father Sean McKenna announced at the altar that he was stepping down, having embarked on a "loving, beautiful and life-giving relationship".
It could have been the somewhat corny denouement of a romantic comedy, or a scene from Ballykissangel.
The Derry priest, who celebrated his silver jubilee earlier this year, has become involved with a local nurse, Elaine Curran. She is a mother of two children, who reportedly separated from her husband before the relationship with Fr McKenna started.
"I have made my choice,'' the popular priest declared to his parishioners. "It is a difficult choice but a clear and free one.''
At the time of the Eamonn Casey affair 17 years ago, such revelations were greeted with shock and much hand-wringing across the country. But now reports of relationships between priests and a consenting adult woman, married or otherwise, have a certain humdrum quality and are met with a certain relief that there was nothing untoward or illegal going on. There was anger in Derry this week, but much of it was directed at the Church for its archaic strictures on celibacy and the media for delving into what local Catholics saw as a private matter.
Like many other priests, Father Brian D'Arcy greeted the news with a tone of sincere regret, rather than any form of condemnation. It was regret, not because one of his colleagues was involved in a relationship with a woman, but because yet another priest has been lost to the strict celibacy rule. "We are losing good men,'' Father D'Arcy told me.
He refers to estimates that 110,000 priests have left the church worldwide because of a similar predicament. Asked whether it was common for priests to fall in love, Father D'Arcy said: "I would think that every priest worth his salt has had to face it at least once in their life. Of course, not all priests will break their vows. They have to make a very difficult choice.
"How can any normal person go through 40 or 50 years in their life and not fall in love? It is something that I have had to face up to myself.
"It is a significant time to think about the value of compulsory celibacy. This may have been suitable for a particular time but that time has now gone. Remember, the first Pope, St Peter, was married.''
It is bad enough for the Church that few men in Ireland are called to the priesthood in 2009. Even fewer are called to a life of permanent celibacy, it seems.
Close observers of the Church suggest that the rule is observed in the breach by many priests worldwide.
Richard Sipe, a psychiatrist at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, has estimated that just 10pc of priests are successfully celibate. These fulfilled celibates have embraced their state of being and find it empowering. The psychiatrists says 40pc stick by the rule but only with profound reluctance.
According to a report in The Times, Sipe contends that the remaining 50pc have at some stage during their ministry been sexually active. If these figures are correct, and it should be pointed out that they are US figures, around half of priests find it impossible to practise what they preach.
Father D'Arcy believes celibacy can be a good thing, but it should be voluntary.
"It is an insult to celibacy to make it compulsory. It must be freely chosen in order to make it meaningful. Compulsory celibacy is a man-made rule, introduced to enforce obedience and to ensure that Church property was not dissipated.''
The celibacy rule in the Catholic Church was introduced in a piecemeal fashion. One decree in the year 306 declared that priests could not sleep with their wives on the night before Mass (the type of rule that some sports stars would be familiar with).
St Augustine is never likely to become a poster boy for feminists after his famous pronouncement in the 5th century that "nothing is more calculated to cast a man's spirits down from the citadel than the blandishments of a woman".
Increasingly, celibacy was held up as an ideal, but for another 1,000 years at least it was still common for men of the cloth to be married.
In the more recent past, Irish priests who became involved in love affairs either covered up their romances, in some cases taking their secrets to the grave, or simply left the Church for a new life, frequently abroad.
Increasingly, Irish Catholic priests with an inclination to marry are continuing their spiritual journey elsewhere. Father D'Arcy believes up to six former Catholic priests have married and joined the Church of Ireland in recent years.
The ease of this transition has been demonstrated by Dermot Dunne, a former Catholic priest who married, became a Church of Ireland clergyman, and now holds a senior position as Dean of Christ Church Cathedral.
It only took the priest three years to make the leap from Roman Catholic priesthood to a post in the Anglican Church.
Explaining his decision, he said: "What was emerging for me is that we are not called to be 'other worldly' but actually to live fully in this world and to value humanity and the world that God has created.
"The decisive moment for me was to admit that God is mediated through our acceptance of an inclusive humanity where there can be no exclusions.
"This inclusive humanity embraces the fullness and beauty of human sexuality from one end of its continuum to the other and the full participation of the woman as well as the man in the celebration of the life of faith.''
A growing number of Catholics, both clergy and parishioners, are copying the example of Dr Dunne by simply voting with their feet. "If a priest leaves the Catholic Church and joins the Church of Ireland, there is no longer a sense of betrayal among parishioners,'' says Canon Ian Ellis, editor of The Church of Ireland Gazette. "In some ways, the two churches are coming closer together. So that makes the transition easier.''
What rankles with Catholic campaigners for the abolition of compulsory celibacy is the apparently inconsistent line taken by the Vatican. Father Brian D'Arcy points out that married Anglican priests are admitted to the Catholic Church.
He said such priests were "re-ordained" in the Catholic Church and allowed to minister at parish level without celibacy being imposed.
Quirks of history also enable certain priests with links to the Orthodox Church to get married with the blessing of the Vatican.
The warm reaction of parishioners to Father McKenna's plight again demonstrates the gulf between many ordinary Catholics and the Papacy over certain teachings.
So long as the present Pontiff is alive, it is a gulf that is likely to remain unbridged.
Irish Independent
Saturday November 21 2009
It is hard to imagine a similar response from the faithful 10 or 20 years ago. Last Sunday, a Catholic congregation actually stood and cheered when their priest Father Sean McKenna announced at the altar that he was stepping down, having embarked on a "loving, beautiful and life-giving relationship".
It could have been the somewhat corny denouement of a romantic comedy, or a scene from Ballykissangel.
The Derry priest, who celebrated his silver jubilee earlier this year, has become involved with a local nurse, Elaine Curran. She is a mother of two children, who reportedly separated from her husband before the relationship with Fr McKenna started.
"I have made my choice,'' the popular priest declared to his parishioners. "It is a difficult choice but a clear and free one.''
At the time of the Eamonn Casey affair 17 years ago, such revelations were greeted with shock and much hand-wringing across the country. But now reports of relationships between priests and a consenting adult woman, married or otherwise, have a certain humdrum quality and are met with a certain relief that there was nothing untoward or illegal going on. There was anger in Derry this week, but much of it was directed at the Church for its archaic strictures on celibacy and the media for delving into what local Catholics saw as a private matter.
Like many other priests, Father Brian D'Arcy greeted the news with a tone of sincere regret, rather than any form of condemnation. It was regret, not because one of his colleagues was involved in a relationship with a woman, but because yet another priest has been lost to the strict celibacy rule. "We are losing good men,'' Father D'Arcy told me.
He refers to estimates that 110,000 priests have left the church worldwide because of a similar predicament. Asked whether it was common for priests to fall in love, Father D'Arcy said: "I would think that every priest worth his salt has had to face it at least once in their life. Of course, not all priests will break their vows. They have to make a very difficult choice.
"How can any normal person go through 40 or 50 years in their life and not fall in love? It is something that I have had to face up to myself.
"It is a significant time to think about the value of compulsory celibacy. This may have been suitable for a particular time but that time has now gone. Remember, the first Pope, St Peter, was married.''
It is bad enough for the Church that few men in Ireland are called to the priesthood in 2009. Even fewer are called to a life of permanent celibacy, it seems.
Close observers of the Church suggest that the rule is observed in the breach by many priests worldwide.
Richard Sipe, a psychiatrist at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, has estimated that just 10pc of priests are successfully celibate. These fulfilled celibates have embraced their state of being and find it empowering. The psychiatrists says 40pc stick by the rule but only with profound reluctance.
According to a report in The Times, Sipe contends that the remaining 50pc have at some stage during their ministry been sexually active. If these figures are correct, and it should be pointed out that they are US figures, around half of priests find it impossible to practise what they preach.
Father D'Arcy believes celibacy can be a good thing, but it should be voluntary.
"It is an insult to celibacy to make it compulsory. It must be freely chosen in order to make it meaningful. Compulsory celibacy is a man-made rule, introduced to enforce obedience and to ensure that Church property was not dissipated.''
The celibacy rule in the Catholic Church was introduced in a piecemeal fashion. One decree in the year 306 declared that priests could not sleep with their wives on the night before Mass (the type of rule that some sports stars would be familiar with).
St Augustine is never likely to become a poster boy for feminists after his famous pronouncement in the 5th century that "nothing is more calculated to cast a man's spirits down from the citadel than the blandishments of a woman".
Increasingly, celibacy was held up as an ideal, but for another 1,000 years at least it was still common for men of the cloth to be married.
In the more recent past, Irish priests who became involved in love affairs either covered up their romances, in some cases taking their secrets to the grave, or simply left the Church for a new life, frequently abroad.
Increasingly, Irish Catholic priests with an inclination to marry are continuing their spiritual journey elsewhere. Father D'Arcy believes up to six former Catholic priests have married and joined the Church of Ireland in recent years.
The ease of this transition has been demonstrated by Dermot Dunne, a former Catholic priest who married, became a Church of Ireland clergyman, and now holds a senior position as Dean of Christ Church Cathedral.
It only took the priest three years to make the leap from Roman Catholic priesthood to a post in the Anglican Church.
Explaining his decision, he said: "What was emerging for me is that we are not called to be 'other worldly' but actually to live fully in this world and to value humanity and the world that God has created.
"The decisive moment for me was to admit that God is mediated through our acceptance of an inclusive humanity where there can be no exclusions.
"This inclusive humanity embraces the fullness and beauty of human sexuality from one end of its continuum to the other and the full participation of the woman as well as the man in the celebration of the life of faith.''
A growing number of Catholics, both clergy and parishioners, are copying the example of Dr Dunne by simply voting with their feet. "If a priest leaves the Catholic Church and joins the Church of Ireland, there is no longer a sense of betrayal among parishioners,'' says Canon Ian Ellis, editor of The Church of Ireland Gazette. "In some ways, the two churches are coming closer together. So that makes the transition easier.''
What rankles with Catholic campaigners for the abolition of compulsory celibacy is the apparently inconsistent line taken by the Vatican. Father Brian D'Arcy points out that married Anglican priests are admitted to the Catholic Church.
He said such priests were "re-ordained" in the Catholic Church and allowed to minister at parish level without celibacy being imposed.
Quirks of history also enable certain priests with links to the Orthodox Church to get married with the blessing of the Vatican.
The warm reaction of parishioners to Father McKenna's plight again demonstrates the gulf between many ordinary Catholics and the Papacy over certain teachings.
So long as the present Pontiff is alive, it is a gulf that is likely to remain unbridged.
Shortage of priests
The Irish Times
11/23/2009
SPEAKING IN Dublin recently the Catholic bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, recalled how, of his own 1952 Leaving Certificate class, 40 per cent went on to study for the priesthood. Vocations were so high then that between a third and a half of priests went on the missions. In 1961, remarking on this extraordinary phenomenon Pope John XXIII said “Ireland, that beloved country, is the most fruitful of mothers in this respect. In the number of priests, diocesan and regular, and in the number of nuns and sisters to which she has given birth, she is second to none.”
Almost 50 years later, all has changed. The number of priests is in serious decline. The average age of the Irish Catholic priest today is put at 63. Each must retire at 75. Soon, there will not be enough priests to serve all Catholic parishes.
The reasons for this rapid decline will be debated for years to come but consensus is gathering around a view that in Ireland, as elsewhere, its beginning can be traced to the 1968 Humanae Vitae encyclical. It banned artificial means of contraception, though a great majority on the Vatican Commission set up to address the issue recommended otherwise. It was “a watershed” moment Bishop Willie Walsh said last week. Whereas disobeying church teaching was as old as the institution, that 1968 decision was the beginning of people questioning the teachings of the Church itself, he said. In the Catholic home, traditionally the primary source of vocations, it was the beginning of a decline of confidence in church leadership. This, in time, led to ever-growing doubt about the mandatory celibacy requirement for men who wished to be Catholic priests. An RTÉ poll in 2003 found that 75 per cent of Irish people opposed it. But it doesn’t matter. As Catholics are frequently reminded, the church is not a democracy and, certainly during this papacy, there will be no change on celibacy.
It means that in Ireland an ageing priesthood must shoulder an ever-heavier workload as parishes are clustered with fewer personnel to serve them. It means too that the laity is assuming a far greater role in running parish and church. This trend may extend to laity conducting funerals and baptisms. In some few Irish dioceses a permanent (male) diaconate is being prepared to conduct all liturgies, except celebration of the Eucharist. What we are witnessing is the death of a clerically-dominated Catholic Church which has existed since Victorian times. It is being replaced by something altogether more lay-oriented, and where the priest’s role is almost entirely spiritual.
11/23/2009
SPEAKING IN Dublin recently the Catholic bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, recalled how, of his own 1952 Leaving Certificate class, 40 per cent went on to study for the priesthood. Vocations were so high then that between a third and a half of priests went on the missions. In 1961, remarking on this extraordinary phenomenon Pope John XXIII said “Ireland, that beloved country, is the most fruitful of mothers in this respect. In the number of priests, diocesan and regular, and in the number of nuns and sisters to which she has given birth, she is second to none.”
Almost 50 years later, all has changed. The number of priests is in serious decline. The average age of the Irish Catholic priest today is put at 63. Each must retire at 75. Soon, there will not be enough priests to serve all Catholic parishes.
The reasons for this rapid decline will be debated for years to come but consensus is gathering around a view that in Ireland, as elsewhere, its beginning can be traced to the 1968 Humanae Vitae encyclical. It banned artificial means of contraception, though a great majority on the Vatican Commission set up to address the issue recommended otherwise. It was “a watershed” moment Bishop Willie Walsh said last week. Whereas disobeying church teaching was as old as the institution, that 1968 decision was the beginning of people questioning the teachings of the Church itself, he said. In the Catholic home, traditionally the primary source of vocations, it was the beginning of a decline of confidence in church leadership. This, in time, led to ever-growing doubt about the mandatory celibacy requirement for men who wished to be Catholic priests. An RTÉ poll in 2003 found that 75 per cent of Irish people opposed it. But it doesn’t matter. As Catholics are frequently reminded, the church is not a democracy and, certainly during this papacy, there will be no change on celibacy.
It means that in Ireland an ageing priesthood must shoulder an ever-heavier workload as parishes are clustered with fewer personnel to serve them. It means too that the laity is assuming a far greater role in running parish and church. This trend may extend to laity conducting funerals and baptisms. In some few Irish dioceses a permanent (male) diaconate is being prepared to conduct all liturgies, except celebration of the Eucharist. What we are witnessing is the death of a clerically-dominated Catholic Church which has existed since Victorian times. It is being replaced by something altogether more lay-oriented, and where the priest’s role is almost entirely spiritual.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Obituary: John MacGillis
By Amy Rabideau Silvers
Journal Sentinel
Posted: Nov. 18, 2009
Before John D. MacGillis became a father - the biological kind - he was a Catholic brother working in Peru.
"He was with the Marianists religious order for about 15 years and had taken vows of celibacy and poverty," said his son, Alex MacGillis. "He met a woman who was a Canadian and was working there as a nurse."
When she left Peru to return home, they began corresponding, writing letters for several years.
"And he fell in love with her," their son said.
In 1968, MacGillis was released from his religious vows, marrying the former Louisette Poulin the next year. She died in 1975, following the birth of their third son.
MacGillis raised his young sons and kept working for Milwaukee Public Schools, teaching the Spanish he honed as a brother in Peru.
He died Saturday of complications of heart disease. MacGillis was 75.
The youngest of five children, MacGillis grew up in Milwaukee, graduating from the old Don Bosco High School.
"He was an outstanding athlete," said one of his brothers, also named Alex MacGillis. "He was a popular guy, but humble as well."
Inspired by the Marianists at Don Bosco, he entered the order and the religious life right after high school. He continued his education, including a master's in Latin American studies and work toward a doctorate.
MacGillis first taught in Lima, Peru, then helped to establish a new school in northern Peru. He received training in basic medical work, helping at a summer clinic in the Andes Mountains.
That was where he met his future wife, a nurse who was a lay missionary, in 1961, brother Alex said.
"She was one of 17 children," he said. They married and settled in his hometown.
In the late 1960s, there was a certain stigma to leaving the religious life and starting over. Someone with one company even told MacGillis that he lacked stability because he had left the order, according to his brother.
In 1969, MacGillis began teaching with the Milwaukee schools. He taught for more than 25 years, last at the Milwaukee High School of the Arts.
"Students from both his Peru years and his Milwaukee years stayed in contact with him," son Alex said.
MacGillis also found love again. Years after his wife's death, he married the former Marguerite Ceolla.
"She, too, was a nurse like my mother, and formerly a nun," his son said.
MacGillis remained a man of faith, active with St. Mary's Catholic Faith Community in Hales Corners, including on the church council. He was long involved with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, even serving as a volunteer manager for local stores.
"He believed in charity and forgiveness and humility," his son said. "And he was non-materialistic, probably from life as a monk."
In addition to his wife, son and brother, survivors include sons James and Pierre; sister Mary Capelli; brother Paul; and grandson Ian.
Funeral services were held Tuesday.
Journal Sentinel
Posted: Nov. 18, 2009
Before John D. MacGillis became a father - the biological kind - he was a Catholic brother working in Peru.
"He was with the Marianists religious order for about 15 years and had taken vows of celibacy and poverty," said his son, Alex MacGillis. "He met a woman who was a Canadian and was working there as a nurse."
When she left Peru to return home, they began corresponding, writing letters for several years.
"And he fell in love with her," their son said.
In 1968, MacGillis was released from his religious vows, marrying the former Louisette Poulin the next year. She died in 1975, following the birth of their third son.
MacGillis raised his young sons and kept working for Milwaukee Public Schools, teaching the Spanish he honed as a brother in Peru.
He died Saturday of complications of heart disease. MacGillis was 75.
The youngest of five children, MacGillis grew up in Milwaukee, graduating from the old Don Bosco High School.
"He was an outstanding athlete," said one of his brothers, also named Alex MacGillis. "He was a popular guy, but humble as well."
Inspired by the Marianists at Don Bosco, he entered the order and the religious life right after high school. He continued his education, including a master's in Latin American studies and work toward a doctorate.
MacGillis first taught in Lima, Peru, then helped to establish a new school in northern Peru. He received training in basic medical work, helping at a summer clinic in the Andes Mountains.
That was where he met his future wife, a nurse who was a lay missionary, in 1961, brother Alex said.
"She was one of 17 children," he said. They married and settled in his hometown.
In the late 1960s, there was a certain stigma to leaving the religious life and starting over. Someone with one company even told MacGillis that he lacked stability because he had left the order, according to his brother.
In 1969, MacGillis began teaching with the Milwaukee schools. He taught for more than 25 years, last at the Milwaukee High School of the Arts.
"Students from both his Peru years and his Milwaukee years stayed in contact with him," son Alex said.
MacGillis also found love again. Years after his wife's death, he married the former Marguerite Ceolla.
"She, too, was a nurse like my mother, and formerly a nun," his son said.
MacGillis remained a man of faith, active with St. Mary's Catholic Faith Community in Hales Corners, including on the church council. He was long involved with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, even serving as a volunteer manager for local stores.
"He believed in charity and forgiveness and humility," his son said. "And he was non-materialistic, probably from life as a monk."
In addition to his wife, son and brother, survivors include sons James and Pierre; sister Mary Capelli; brother Paul; and grandson Ian.
Funeral services were held Tuesday.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
"Celibacy was part of the package..."
Régis Menet is married, but he is not exactly like any other husband. For 34 years, he was a priest in the Diocese of Lille. In France, about 10,000 men have left the priesthood. Their reasons are many and diverse. Their journeys as well. Here is his, which started in 1942 in Haubourdin.By Benoit Deseure (translation by Rebel Girl)
La Voix du Nord
11/15/2009
Priestly celibacy, a taboo subject? Régis Menet immediately warns us: "With the association I'm part of (Association pour une retraite convenable - APRC, "Association for a Decent Pension"), we are not making any demands for marriage for priests. We only want to get a decent pension."
That said, obviously, his journey draws attention.
The former pastor of Bondues (in fact, he was vicar at the time) lives today in Guéret, near Limoges, with Marie, his wife, a psychologist. "In 2002, I asked to meet with the bishop (Msgr. Defois at that time) and I explained to him that I had met a woman and wanted to bring this relationship to light. I did not want to live in clandestinity." Régis Menet was then... 60 years old. He had been a priest for 34 years.
What happened? To understand, the sexagenarian explains, you have to go back to the 60s. Originally from Haubourdin where he was born in 1942, fifth of a family of seven, Régis plunged into scouting. He was generous, liked being of service to others. He observed the lives of his two uncles who were priests. And at 18, having passed the baccalaureate, he decided: off to the seminary in Merville, then to the one in Lille. "The priesthood was an ideal in life." And the Second Vatican Council, a "breath of fresh air, very hopeful."
Ordained at 27, after the army, Régis was named to Villeneuve-d'Ascq, which didn't quite exist completely yet. "Ascq, Annapes, it was fascinating, I was the vicar." Yes, but celibacy, did it raise any questions for you? "No, the sexuality issue was a bit hidden, even by us. It should be said that at that time boy-girl relationships were not as open as they are today. I was just getting out of an all-boys high school and I entered seminary." So celibacy "was part of the package."
After ten years at Villeneuve-d'Ascq, Régis Menet came to Bondues, in 1978. There he was also vicar. "I was in charge of the young people."
The adventure lasted seven years, before a nomination to Lille, in the Vauban neighborhood: "It was the beginning of parish consolidation. Everything was going well." That's where he met Marie: "We had known each other for a long time. We were buddies, friends. I didn't want to leave..." Marie knew this. But their friendship changed into...
In 1992, the priest, now in his 50s, was named to Gruson. "At that point I was hesitant: leave the Church or not?" In the end, he stayed. For a noble mission: to bring alive 12 bell towers in the heart of Pévèle. "It was very interesting." Except, everything changed. "As it went on, it went less and less well. I would join Marie again sometimes at night, without anyone knowing." No one? "No, not even my family -- I didn't tell them anything. I only talked about it to a small group of priests with whom I met regularly to share." What to do then? The priest in love asked himself the question, and decided to stay until the end of the eight years he had agreed to serve there with the bishop. Then he asked for an audience with Msgr. Defois. "Climbing up to the chancery, that was the hardest."
So, what happened on Rue Royale in Lille? "He dropped his pencil when I announced that I had met someone. He suggested that I take one year sabbatical, step back a bit. Finally, after a few weeks, I confirmed to him that I wanted to leave." A move and a civil marriage later, Régis Menet has taken stock of his life: "I think I would have been an excellent deacon but at that time, they didn't exist." Any regrets at having been a priest? "No, I gave the best of myself."
See also:
- Charité bien ordonnée pour les retraités? (11/12/2009)
- La retraite, sujet de discorde (11/15/2009)
Priest's love for a mother-of-two began only after marriage ended
By Anita Guidera
The Independent (Ireland)
Wednesday November 18 2009
Father Sean McKenna, who sensationally told his congregation he was leaving the priesthood for love, began a relationship with a mother-of-two only after her marriage had ended.
The Derry-based priest met separated mother and nurse Elaine Curran during his work as parish priest in Creggan before he moved on to Ballymagroarty some two years ago.
Since dropping the bombshell that he was quitting the priesthood at the weekend, Fr McKenna has appealed for the couple's privacy to be respected and he and Ms Curran have gone to ground.
But a source close to the priest has insisted that the relationship between the couple did not begin until a "considerable length of time" after the end of her marriage to local man Liam Curran.
Bombshell
Ms Curran, a nurse at a local health centre, is a mother of two children, aged six and 11 years.
This is the second time in the past 12 months that the Holy Family parish has lost a priest. Last February, curate Kieran Page announced he was taking a "leave of absence".
Shock waves continued to reverberate through the sprawling Ballymagroarty parish yesterday following the weekend bombshell.
The 51-year-old parish priest waited until Mass was almost over on Saturday night before taking to the altar to tell the congregation that in his personal life he was in a relationship.
"The nature of this relationship is such that the rule of celibacy does not allow me to continue in priesthood and to be in this relationship at the same time. Therefore I have made my choice. It is a difficult choice but a clear and free one," he said in a prepared statement.
His announcement prompted an outpouring of emotion as both priest and parishioners wept and embraced each other.
Fr McKenna has served in three parishes in the Derry diocese over a 25-year period and locals yesterday were critical of the Church for its stance on celibacy and the media for delving into what they saw as a private matter.
One woman from the Ballymagroarty area, where Fr McKenna ministered, was so scathing of the media that she would not let her name be used.
"It is a disgrace the way the media have portrayed this story. Fr McKenna was a good priest who has done nothing but help local people both here and in Creggan. If he decides that this is what he wants to do then it is his business and the media should have left him in peace."
Local man Bobby Bradley was supportive of Fr McKenna and critical of the Church.
"It shocked me but it is his life and he should be allowed to get on with it. Priests should have been allowed to marry years ago," he said.
Jacqueline Campbell said she was sad to see Fr McKenna leave. "He is a very genuine man and a great priest and I will be sorry that he is no longer going to be part of this parish.
"At the same time he should be allowed to get on with his life and after serving the people of Derry for 25 years he deserves all the happiness he can find," she said.
Calls to the local BBC Radio Foyle radio station were overwhelmingly favourable to the priest, a spokesperson said.
Happiness
"The vast majority of calls were supportive of Fr McKenna. In general, the calls reflected the popularity of the man himself who, it seems, is greatly admired within the community.
"The BBC and other media outlets also came in for criticism for running the story and many people said it was Fr McKenna's private business and we had no right to pry into it."
Bishop Seamus Hegarty is expected to announce a new appointment at the parish before Christmas.
The Independent (Ireland)
Wednesday November 18 2009
Father Sean McKenna, who sensationally told his congregation he was leaving the priesthood for love, began a relationship with a mother-of-two only after her marriage had ended.
The Derry-based priest met separated mother and nurse Elaine Curran during his work as parish priest in Creggan before he moved on to Ballymagroarty some two years ago.
Since dropping the bombshell that he was quitting the priesthood at the weekend, Fr McKenna has appealed for the couple's privacy to be respected and he and Ms Curran have gone to ground.
But a source close to the priest has insisted that the relationship between the couple did not begin until a "considerable length of time" after the end of her marriage to local man Liam Curran.
Bombshell
Ms Curran, a nurse at a local health centre, is a mother of two children, aged six and 11 years.
This is the second time in the past 12 months that the Holy Family parish has lost a priest. Last February, curate Kieran Page announced he was taking a "leave of absence".
Shock waves continued to reverberate through the sprawling Ballymagroarty parish yesterday following the weekend bombshell.
The 51-year-old parish priest waited until Mass was almost over on Saturday night before taking to the altar to tell the congregation that in his personal life he was in a relationship.
"The nature of this relationship is such that the rule of celibacy does not allow me to continue in priesthood and to be in this relationship at the same time. Therefore I have made my choice. It is a difficult choice but a clear and free one," he said in a prepared statement.
His announcement prompted an outpouring of emotion as both priest and parishioners wept and embraced each other.
Fr McKenna has served in three parishes in the Derry diocese over a 25-year period and locals yesterday were critical of the Church for its stance on celibacy and the media for delving into what they saw as a private matter.
One woman from the Ballymagroarty area, where Fr McKenna ministered, was so scathing of the media that she would not let her name be used.
"It is a disgrace the way the media have portrayed this story. Fr McKenna was a good priest who has done nothing but help local people both here and in Creggan. If he decides that this is what he wants to do then it is his business and the media should have left him in peace."
Local man Bobby Bradley was supportive of Fr McKenna and critical of the Church.
"It shocked me but it is his life and he should be allowed to get on with it. Priests should have been allowed to marry years ago," he said.
Jacqueline Campbell said she was sad to see Fr McKenna leave. "He is a very genuine man and a great priest and I will be sorry that he is no longer going to be part of this parish.
"At the same time he should be allowed to get on with his life and after serving the people of Derry for 25 years he deserves all the happiness he can find," she said.
Calls to the local BBC Radio Foyle radio station were overwhelmingly favourable to the priest, a spokesperson said.
Happiness
"The vast majority of calls were supportive of Fr McKenna. In general, the calls reflected the popularity of the man himself who, it seems, is greatly admired within the community.
"The BBC and other media outlets also came in for criticism for running the story and many people said it was Fr McKenna's private business and we had no right to pry into it."
Bishop Seamus Hegarty is expected to announce a new appointment at the parish before Christmas.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Church cheers as priest admits that he's in love
By Anita Guidera
The Irish Independent
Tuesday November 17 2009
A congregation wept and cheered when their beloved priest delivered the bombshell that he had tendered his resignation because he had fallen in love.
Popular parish priest Fr Sean McKenna (51) told his stunned congregation at Sunday Mass that he was leaving the priesthood, having embarked on a "loving, beautiful and life-giving relationship".
The priest, who celebrated his silver jubilee earlier this year, is believed to be involved with a mother of two children who is separated from her husband.
The revelation, which has prompted calls for the abolition of mandatory celibacy, comes at a time when the Dublin Catholic Archdiocese is claiming there will soon be barely one priest per parish.
Mayo priest Fr Brendan Hoban is predicting priests will have effectively disappeared in Ireland within three decades.
Fr McKenna, who was ordained in Maynooth in 1985 and has served in three parishes in the Derry diocese, told his congregation in the Holy Family Church, Ballymagroarty, he had made his decision after "a period of discernment and personal reflection".
Celibacy
He revealed that the Bishop of Derry, Dr Seamus Hegarty, had accepted his decision with regret last week. He said that because celibacy was "integral to the priesthood" he could no longer remain a priest.
Following his announcement, he received a standing ovation from an applauding congregation, many of them in tears.
Fr Michael Canny, spokesperson for the Derry Diocese and a friend of Fr McKenna, told the Irish Independent that they had been shocked by the announcement. "It has come as a total shock, like a bolt out of the blue. He has been here 24 years and he has touched so many lives. It is like a wake here today."
All day yesterday, radio stations in Derry were flooded with messages from parishioners expressing their support.
"The Church has lost a good, kind, generous man. He was loving and caring and he did a lot of good for a lot of people," said one woman.
Outspoken Enniskillen-based Passionist priest Fr Brian D'Arcy told the Irish Independent that the Church was losing good men because of an outdated mandatory celibacy rule.
"It is a significant time to think about the value of compulsory celibacy. This may have been suitable for a particular time but that time has now gone. Remember, the first Pope, St Peter, was married.
"It is estimated that 110,000 priests have left the priesthood worldwide, the vast majority because they fell in love. It is extraordinary that the priesthood is being deprived of these very good men," he said.
FATHER McKENNA'S PUBLIC STATEMENT
Derry Journal
Published Date: 17 November 2009
Father McKenna has asked for his privacy to be respected, however he issued the following statement:
"As you are aware, celibacy is an integral part of the commitment to priesthood. The nature of this relationship is such that the rule of celibacy does not allow me to continue in priesthood and to be in this relationship at the same time. Therefore,
I have made my choice. It is a difficult choice but a clear and free one.
"Since being ordained in 1985, I have found my experience of priesthood to be very meaningful and spiritually uplifting. I have greatly valued the ministry of priesthood and I know how much that ministry is valued by you the people of Holy Family and by the people of all the parishes and situations in which I have been privileged to serve – St Mary's Creggan and Long Tower.
"My decision to leave has not come about through any lessening of the respect and regard in which I hold this very important ministry in today's world.
"I am aware that many of you may be saddened by my decision to leave the priesthood and this parish of Holy Family. It has also been a very difficult decision for me and it has not been without pain."
The Irish Independent
Tuesday November 17 2009
A congregation wept and cheered when their beloved priest delivered the bombshell that he had tendered his resignation because he had fallen in love.
Popular parish priest Fr Sean McKenna (51) told his stunned congregation at Sunday Mass that he was leaving the priesthood, having embarked on a "loving, beautiful and life-giving relationship".
The priest, who celebrated his silver jubilee earlier this year, is believed to be involved with a mother of two children who is separated from her husband.
The revelation, which has prompted calls for the abolition of mandatory celibacy, comes at a time when the Dublin Catholic Archdiocese is claiming there will soon be barely one priest per parish.
Mayo priest Fr Brendan Hoban is predicting priests will have effectively disappeared in Ireland within three decades.
Fr McKenna, who was ordained in Maynooth in 1985 and has served in three parishes in the Derry diocese, told his congregation in the Holy Family Church, Ballymagroarty, he had made his decision after "a period of discernment and personal reflection".
Celibacy
He revealed that the Bishop of Derry, Dr Seamus Hegarty, had accepted his decision with regret last week. He said that because celibacy was "integral to the priesthood" he could no longer remain a priest.
Following his announcement, he received a standing ovation from an applauding congregation, many of them in tears.
Fr Michael Canny, spokesperson for the Derry Diocese and a friend of Fr McKenna, told the Irish Independent that they had been shocked by the announcement. "It has come as a total shock, like a bolt out of the blue. He has been here 24 years and he has touched so many lives. It is like a wake here today."
All day yesterday, radio stations in Derry were flooded with messages from parishioners expressing their support.
"The Church has lost a good, kind, generous man. He was loving and caring and he did a lot of good for a lot of people," said one woman.
Outspoken Enniskillen-based Passionist priest Fr Brian D'Arcy told the Irish Independent that the Church was losing good men because of an outdated mandatory celibacy rule.
"It is a significant time to think about the value of compulsory celibacy. This may have been suitable for a particular time but that time has now gone. Remember, the first Pope, St Peter, was married.
"It is estimated that 110,000 priests have left the priesthood worldwide, the vast majority because they fell in love. It is extraordinary that the priesthood is being deprived of these very good men," he said.
FATHER McKENNA'S PUBLIC STATEMENT
Derry Journal
Published Date: 17 November 2009
Father McKenna has asked for his privacy to be respected, however he issued the following statement:
"As you are aware, celibacy is an integral part of the commitment to priesthood. The nature of this relationship is such that the rule of celibacy does not allow me to continue in priesthood and to be in this relationship at the same time. Therefore,
I have made my choice. It is a difficult choice but a clear and free one.
"Since being ordained in 1985, I have found my experience of priesthood to be very meaningful and spiritually uplifting. I have greatly valued the ministry of priesthood and I know how much that ministry is valued by you the people of Holy Family and by the people of all the parishes and situations in which I have been privileged to serve – St Mary's Creggan and Long Tower.
"My decision to leave has not come about through any lessening of the respect and regard in which I hold this very important ministry in today's world.
"I am aware that many of you may be saddened by my decision to leave the priesthood and this parish of Holy Family. It has also been a very difficult decision for me and it has not been without pain."
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