Bishop O'Brien Resigns

The Holy See: Vatican Information Service ^ | June 18, 2003 | Staff

[Loyalist]

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 18, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Accepted the resignation to the pastoral care of the diocese of Phoenix, U.S.A., of Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien, in conformity with Canon 401, para 2, of the Code of Canon Law. NER:RE/.../IBRAHIM:O'BRIEN VIS 030618 (80)

[Loyalist]

Rome can turn on a dime when it wants to.

[Loyalist]

Pingus ad orcae schismaticae.

[Roughneck]

"Rome can turn on a dime when it wants to"

LOL for the sarcasm(I think)

If Rome would have had any morals, the Pope would have called for his excommunication over the "pedophile incident". Furthermore, this corrupted bishop should have already been in the slammer for aiding and abetting pedophiles. If he was, the person this Bishop KILLED, would still be alive.

[Hermann the Cherusker]

Am now proceeding to shed crocodile tears.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

So what is your opinion of the civilian DA who cut the deal with O'Brien not to prosecute him? Any contempt for him?

[traditionalist]

Rome can turn on a dime when it wants to.

Only when it has to in order to avoid embarrassment. The real test is whether he is stripped of his faculties. I very much doubt it. If the Vatican did not do it to a Bishop Ryan who personally solicited prostitution from boys, it's not going to do it to this reprobate.

[traditionalist]

So what is your opinion of the civilian DA who cut the deal with O'Brien not to prosecute him? Any contempt for him?

Yes. He's a wimp, as is the Boston DA who failed to prosecute Cardinal Law. They're probably afraid to do it for political reasons, but the fact is nearly all Catholics I know would welcome such a move. If the Vatican is unwilling to cleanse the American Episcopate of reprobates, then most Catholics are more than happy to let the criminal justice system do it.

[zbogwan2]

If he was, the person this Bishop KILLED, would still be alive.

AMEN!

[zbogwan2]

If the Vatican is unwilling to cleanse the American Episcopate of reprobates, then most Catholics are more than happy to let the criminal justice system do it.

That is the most puzzling thing this Catholic tries to rationalize. Why in God's Holy Name does the Vatican fail to champion Christ's Holy Word here? I'm totally dismayed and baffled to say the least!

[traditionalist]

That is the most puzzling thing this Catholic tries to rationalize. Why in God's Holy Name does the Vatican fail to champion Christ's Holy Word here? I'm totally dismayed and baffled to say the least!

We have no guarantee that the pope will govern the Church well. John Paul II is not the first pope to be guilty of massive dereliction of duty. The pope is a mere man, and hence there is nothing stopping him from being a lax disciplinarian. The only thing God guarantees w.r.t the pope is that he will never define an erroneous doctrine on a matter of faith and morals. That's it.

[traditionalist]

If Rome would have had any morals, the Pope would have called for his excommunication over the "pedophile incident".

No, even a good pope would not excommunicate him for since he did not utter heresy or commit a schismatic act. What the pope could have and should have done was depose him from his Episcopal See, strip him of his priestly faculties, and impose a severe penance, such as living in poverty and isolation for the rest of his life in some remote monestary in the desert somewhere. At least that's what would have been done in the good old days.

Furthermore, this corrupted bishop should have already been in the slammer for aiding and abetting pedophiles. If he was, the person this Bishop KILLED, would still be alive.

Amen.

[saradippity]

Be warned. This County Attorney got his nose in the tent. This morning he was on the radio explaining how he was going to get together with other County Attornies and plan how they could effect this across the country. I think he also mentioned RICO statues being applied. We can look forward to the government church because of these lying bishops.

But there are many good bishops and we must pray so hard that God protects them and also that He gives us the discernment to know His will and act accordingly.

[saradippity]

I wish Catholics had more time to look at what is happening.They would find that the system used to vet and appoint bishops is almost entirely in the hands of a group who commandeered it quite some time ago. The Pope has to get to the bottom of it in order to out the "enemy" and place good,holy men in position.

[saradippity]

We are so grateful to God that our bishop did not resign when we first wanted him to step down. And,as a matter of fact,at one point he may have tried. In fact,he had his Vicar in place to take over. A very affable fellow who was the founder of the infamous Life Teen programs in this country.

Well,guess what in November,we learned that the Church had paid $45,ooo.oo to shut up a young man who was charging him with sexual harrassment. Now of course,he claims he did not do that but then why did they pay the young man off?

So you see had the bishop resigned and his Vicar been appointed,they might have paid more and the truth would not have come out until maybe five years from now,and we would have another abusing bishop in place. God works in mysterious ways.

[PFKEY]

Why in God's Holy Name does the Vatican fail to champion Christ's Holy Word here?

I am not a Catholic but if I were this question would need to be answered immediately.

[sinkspur]

We are so grateful to God that our bishop did not resign when we first wanted him to step down.

Why?

A father of four children might be alive today.

[Jeff Chandler]

>>A father of four children might be alive today.<<

Or maybe the second car would have been the first.

[Salvation]

From article on Zenit

ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome

---

Code: ZE03061803

Date: 2003-06-18

Phoenix Bishop's Resignation Accepted by Pope

Charged in a Fatal Hit-and-Run Accident

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 18, 2003 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II accepted the resignation of Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien, a day after the Arizona prelate was charged in a fatal hit-and-run accident.

Bishop O'Brien, 67, was arrested by the police Monday and charged with having fled the scene of a fatal accident. Police said his car struck a pedestrian late Saturday. The bishop was released on bail.

He told police that he thought he had hit an animal or an object, but that he did not realize it was a person. The victim was a 43-year-old man, Jim Reed.

The Vatican press office today said the bishop's resignation is in keeping with Canon 401, Paragraph 2, of the Code of Canon Law. The text states: "A diocesan bishop who, because of illness or some other grave reason, has become unsuited for the fulfillment of his office, is earnestly requested to offer his resignation from office."

Monsignor Richard Moyer, vicar general of the Phoenix Diocese, issued the following statement Monday:

"I sincerely regret reports I have received about Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien being involved in a fatal accident. The sympathy of all of us in the Diocese of Phoenix as well as our prayerful support goes out to the victim's family. The diocese will cooperate fully in any police investigation. No further statement will be made while the investigation proceeds."

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Desperately spinning the excuses?

[Jeff Chandler]

>>Desperately spinning the excuses?<<

No, I just think that citing his non-resignation as the cause of the accident is quite a stretch. (Didn't you or Sinkspur ever study logic?)

[Thorondir]

Aristotelian Reasoning 101 was skipped in lieu of that most fascinating class, Hate the Catholic Church 200.

[zbogwan2]

The Pope has to get to the bottom of it in order to out the "enemy" and place good, holy men in position.

Wonder if there are more Holy Men outside of the church, rather than inside of it's clergy ranks these days?

[zbogwan2]

The only thing God guarantees w.r.t the pope is that he will never define an erroneous doctrine on a matter of faith and morals. That's it.

Seems like the current sex abuse controversy in the church pertains to a doctrine of/on morals here. Wonder why this pope and his ilk are relatively silent on this issue here?

Something is rotten here, no doubt.

[traditionalist]

The pope is not DEFINING doctrine on faith or morals. That is, he's not, as pastor of all Christians, declaring a doctrine that must be accepted assent of faith. These are the only conditions under which he is infallible.

What the pope is doing is failing to depose bishops who fail to enforce a moral doctrine. That is not the same thing as defining a moral doctrine.

[saradippity]

The Pope has spoken often and clearly and wants it cleared up. The recalctrant bishops,many of whom must be homosexual themselves are stonewalling,dithering and diverting. I know ,or at least,I think you are not Catholic.But whether you are or not,if you think that homosexuality is hurtful to man and to God,write a letter or a postcard to the Catholic bishop of the diocese in which you live and let him know how you feel. They are the only group strong enough to fight this and we need to use everyone and every thing we can think of to fight this juggernaut.Thanks.

[saradippity]

I don't know whether you are a male or a female but whatever you are you are looking at this like a man.You are treating the whole problem in the Church very simplisticaly,as if it was clear cut and concrete,would that it were as simple as you seem to believe,he would have cleaned it up a long time ago.Trust me.

[Roughneck]

No, even a good pope would not excommunicate him for since he did not utter heresy or commit a schismatic act. What the pope could have and should have done was depose him from his Episcopal See, strip him of his priestly faculties, and impose a severe penance, such as living in poverty and isolation for the rest of his life in some remote monestary in the desert somewhere. At least that's what would have been done in the good old days.


The above, would have at least shown that the Vatican cared about their reputation, and the priest or bishop accepting such penance would have shown that, although just a man, he is willing to pay for his sins/crimes.

[Roughneck]

Yes. Too many of those in law enforcement are using their "feelings" rather than following the rule of law.

Although I feel this way about the DA, he is a lawyer, and in my opinion not held to as high a standard as a priest, bishop, pope, etc..any spiritual leader doing wrong can lead people to eternal damnation, but you can vote a DA out of office

[traditionalist]

I don't know whether you are a male or a female but whatever you are you are looking at this like a man.

Yes I am a man.

You are treating the whole problem in the Church very simplisticaly,as if it was clear cut and concrete,

It seems very clear and concrete to me. Certain bishops protected and harbored sodomites and pederasts, which demostrates that they are either moral reprobates or have exteremly poor judgement. If they were secular leaders they would be immediately removed from office and possibly prosecuted. I fail to see why Bishops deserve to be treated with less severity, particularly since their responsibility is much greater than that of any secular leader.

would that it were as simple as you seem to believe,he would have cleaned it up a long time ago.

What makes you so sure?

[traditionalist]

The Pope has spoken often and clearly and wants it cleared up. The recalctrant bishops,many of whom must be homosexual themselves are stonewalling,dithering and diverting.

That's the problem with John Paul II. He's all talk and no action. HE has the power to clean up the mes. HE ALONE has the power to depose and defrock the sodomite recalcitrant bishops. In fact, HE APPOINTED most of these bishops.

This will not have been the first time in the history of the Church in which the papacy engaged in a massive purge of the episcopate. I hope the next pope models himself of St. Gregory VII.

St. Gregory VII, pray for us.

[zbogwan2]

I know ,or at least think you are not Catholic.But whether you are or not,if you think that homosexuality is hurtful to man and to God,write a letter or a postcard to the Catholic bishop of the diocese in which you live and let him know how you feel. They are the only group strong enough to fight this and we need to use everyone and every thing we can think of to fight this juggernaut.Thanks.

Catholic I am.

Writing a letter to a cardinal, bishop or whoever won't solve anything. Sexually abused victims and their parents have been writing and verbalizing sins against their beloved ones for eons and nothing gets done, save getting a $$$$ payment for their silence on the original sins committed by these men of Satan.

A strong real man of God occupying the popes shoes is needed to weed out this permissive evil atmosphere in the church. Our current pope, although seeming to be a holy man, doesn't meet this criteria.

I'd love to see Jesus God standing before a gathering of all of the cardinals, bishops and church leadership hierarchy. The evil ones would probably end up like the wicked witch of the west in the Wizard of Oz: they’d all scream I'm melting I'm melting and then they’d end up paving the deepest depths of hell for all of eternity. I guess I can dream can't I???? :)

[saradippity]

Write post cards,the secretaries and receptionists view every thing that comes in,also the postman. If you believe that it is wtrong let them know. At least they will not be able to say "I didn't know how people felt",and what's more the people who sorted their mail will also know that their bosses "lie". Write the postcards,flood the chancery offeces. What do chickens do to weak chickens in the barnyard? They are offed a peck at a time.