This summary is from "FREEP the Abortion Parish This Morning" which was posted Sunday morning:
SUPPORT THE PRO-LIFE GROUND TROOPS WITH YOUR LONG-RANGE E-MAILS, PHONE CALLS AND LETTERS. Its Sunday morning and pro-life protesters are at full force pricking the consciences of the churchgoers at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, Michigan. Why don't we have messages waiting for the parish staff as they return from mass. Surely the Cardinal also would want to hear from us.
SITUATION SUMMARY:
Jennifer Grandholm, pro-abortion gubernatorial candidate, is a lector at the parish. On August 4, the Associate Pastor, Fr. Doc Ortman, published an essay in the parish bulletin saying a persons views on abortion should have no bearing on their standing in the Church, and that in fact Jesus is pro-choice (
http://www3.catholicweb.com/bulletins/59371/Aug-04-2002.pdf).
Witnesses for the unborn had already been protesting parish masses for some time, but Fr. Ortmans heretical support of Ms. Grandholm increased their numbers (
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/737686/posts).
The pastor, John J. Sullivan, and the Deacon, Timothy P. Sullivan, have since both published articles in the bulletin saying that the parish is pro-life in that broadminded way that encompasses all the many forms that life takes, but they did not challenge any of Fr. Ortmans abortion apologetics. Perhaps, then, it is just a matter of heaping up enough hot school lunches, elderly drug benefits, and mass transit to achieve that genial Christian balance against the welfare of those 42 million unseen children.
Borrowing from the "New York Times Guide to Word Usuage", the pastor spends a sentence assuring us that the parish is indeed "anti-abortion", but hastens to inform us in some detail that he has spoken with the police and can have us arrested if we stray off "the strip of grass between North Territorial Road and the side walk". He encourages his guys not to "respond to antagonism" or "return harassment" for then the parishioners would sink to the protester's level and even "further smother a spirit of Peace". Everything will work out though, for they "have a powerful tool at [their] disposal, and that is the power of prayer" (Erasing any doubts, I suppose, in whose tent Yahweh can be found strategizing). (
http://www3.catholicweb.com/bulletins/59371/Aug-11-2002.pdf)
More distressingly, Adam Cardinal Maida has not taken a public stand against this very public heresy. In fact, the only criticism he has leveled (through his spokesman) has been directed at the picketers tactics. Apparently the Cardinals teaching is that the protesters would more effectively combat this flagrant affront to a fundamental Catholic principle if they were not seen (
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/737793/posts).
Last February, Cardinal Maida did speak (through a spokesperson) about Ms. Granholms fitness with regard to another controversy. The Cardinal's office said that there was no reason Ms. Granholm couldnt speak to a Catholic youth group at St. Raphael Parish in Westland, as she is a Catholic in good standing and is not pro-abortion per se, but [rather] does not think abortion should be illegal.
Apparently it all worked out because Sr. Patricia Donnelly, SC, Director of Religious Education, said that she gave a very good spiritual talk to the children. The way she did it, she really grasped the attention of the youth, by telling them how to be good. (
http://www.credopub.com/archives/2000/iss20000228/20000228p08.htm).
Perhaps not unrelated to this saga are two other incidents that the author happened upon in his research:
1) Cardinal Maida arranged for a special 2-hour mass for Presidential candidate Gore, allowing him to speak after the homily for 15 minutes while smiling clergy served as background for a network photo op (
http://www.mich.com/~buffalo/girouxoped.html).
2) This year the Cardinal ignored pleadings from orthodox Catholics to disallow a gay Valentines Day Dance at Marygrove College, saying (through a spokesman) that he will not get involved. The dance had also been ignored the previous 6 years. (
http://detnews.com/2002/religion/0202/14/d01-416299.htm).
CONTACT INFORMATION:
His Eminence Adam Cardinal Maida / Archdiocese Of Detroit / 1234 Washington Blvd. / Detroit, MI 48226-1825 / Phone: (313) 237-5816 / Fax: (313) 237-4642 /
pr.office@aod.org
Rev. John J. Sullivan / Pastor / Our Lady of Good Counsel Church / 47650 North Territorial Road / Plymouth, MI 48170 / Phone: (734) 453-0326 / Fax: (734) 416-9257 / To E-Mail Fr. John:
counsel-frjohn@ic.net
Rev. Doc Ortman / Associate Pastor / To E-mail Father Doc:
counsel-frdoc@ic.net
Deacon Tim Sullivan / Phone: (734) 502-1818 /
timpsullivan@prodigy.net