[Notwithstanding]

A friend who is a protester wrote this after reading the apology of Fr. Ortman:

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This weekend, Fr. “Doc” Ortman asked forgiveness for "misunderstanding" arising from his "ambiguous" statement a few weeks ago in the Our Lady of Good Counsel bulletin. He briefly explained that he is against “abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment,” and said he was writing this at the request of Cardinal Maida and Bishop Britt (who has been appointed to address the scandal surrounding OLGC’s advocacy of Jennifer Granholm and abortion). As a pro-life Catholic I welcome this step by Fr. Doc, but it remains ambiguous and it must be the first of several steps.

There was no "misunderstanding" three weeks ago. Fr. Doc and Fr. Sullivan were rather unambiguous and specific in trumpetting the following pernicious lies:

· “Pro-choice” on abortion is THE Catholic view
· Granholm’s “pro-choice” views are faithful Catholic views
· Laws protecting preborn children violate our God-given rights
· “Pro-choice” on abortion is not the same as “pro-abortion”
Further, they enthusiastically permitted Granholm’s husband to leaflet the parish before the election, identifying Granholm as “pro-life.” Last Sunday, Fr. Doc was caught again spouting his “pro-choice” dogma to a parishioner after the 5 pm Mass. This is “clerical abuse” of the worst kind, demonstrating that the OLGC priests are severely compromised in their ability to fulfill their pastoral duties faithfully.

Fr. Doc's new statement refuses to address any of these falsehoods. Then and now he says he "reverences" preborn life, yet he claimed three weeks ago that these lies are consistent with his "reverence." Now he says he's against abortion, but three weeks ago he said Catholics defend abortion's legality even while they oppose it. Granholm, Clinton, and Planned Parenthood all claim to be pro-life with the help of these priests' reasoning. Whether Fr. Doc is truly repentant is between him and God, but this scandal requires SPECIFICITY. Continued ambiguity reeks of bad faith.

As shepherds, Cardinal Maida and Bishop Britt must specifically contradict the four OLGC orthodoxies above. They must publicly censure Ms. Granholm until she reconciles her views to the Church. They must require Fr. Sullivan and Fr. Doc to recant these lies specifically and pledge fidelity to true Catholic teaching. They must remove Fr. Sullivan and Fr. Doc from ministry because of the danger to pregnant girls in the parish, and they must re-catechize the parish under faithful clerical oversight.

Until Cardinal Maida and Bishop Britt carry out this duty, the lay faithful must wage an ongoing public campaign, through every charitable means, to address Granholm’s and OLGC’s scandal, clarify the Church’s teaching, and persuade the bishops to do their duty.

[AdA$tra]

Controversial issues seem to follow certain Archdiocesan locals, don't they. You also seem to find more pro-abortion politicians from Boston, New York and say....Detroit.

[happytobealive]

Further, they enthusiastically permitted Granholm’s husband to leaflet the parish before the election, identifying Granholm as “pro-life.”

Can anybody supply a scan and the typed text for this leaflet?

[happytobealive]

They must remove Fr. Sullivan and Fr. Doc from ministry because of the danger to pregnant girls in the parish, and they must re-catechize the parish under faithful clerical oversight.

Until Cardinal Maida and Bishop Britt carry out this duty, the lay faithful must wage an ongoing public campaign, through every charitable means, to address Granholm’s and OLGC’s scandal, clarify the Church’s teaching, and persuade the bishops to do their duty.

YES!!! Whose with me. What other out-of-towners will travel to Plymouth this weekend to help our wonderful local protesters?

We've intercepted a pass, and now we have to drive it down the field.

[tahiti]

"the lay faithful must wage an ongoing public campaign,"

Why don't the "lay faithful" hit the Catholic Church where it really hurts: quit throwing money into the collection basket until the Cardinal gets his mind right on the abortion issue.

If you want people to change their minds, follow the money.

[yendu bwam]

Fr. Doc's new statement refuses to address any of these falsehoods. Then and now he says he "reverences" preborn life, yet he claimed three weeks ago that these lies are consistent with his "reverence." Now he says he's against abortion, but three weeks ago he said Catholics defend abortion's legality even while they oppose it. Granholm, Clinton, and Planned Parenthood all claim to be pro-life with the help of these priests' reasoning.

He's compounded his original sins with further ones. He has a lot of repenting to do.

[Siobhan]

I have nothing more to say than Cardinal Maida needs to retire immediately (to the Vatican or Disneyworld -- it doesn't matter to me so long as he is gone) and Bishop Britt needs to retire to a monastery deep in the Wadi Kelt in the Holy Land.