Posted on 09/25/2018 4:03:32 PM PDT by ebb tide
Fr. Ryan holds “Listening Session” at Holy Trinity over Fr. Lehrberger homily
DALLAS, 9/25/2018 - Fr. Milton Ryan, CM, held a “listening session” at Holy Trinity (Dallas) after the 5pm Sunday Mass regarding the homily given by Fr. James Lehrberger, O Cist, last week. On Wednesday Fr. Ryan announced the meeting via email in response to his congregation’s reaction to the Cistercian’s homily, during which 1/3 to ½ of the congregation walked out.
Before the meeting, Fr. Ryan stated that this would be a time for people to say what they feel, what they think, what they need, and what they want, not a time for teaching or catechesis. He informed the attendees although he had not spoken with the visiting priest in question, he had googled the priest and learned he was ordained in 1976 and was a professor of philosophy. He also told attendees that he had had many very bad teachers in the seminary, from whom he learned how not to be.
Around 20 people shared their thoughts during the course of the 70 minute meeting. Some showed disgust for Fr. Lehrberger’s homily; others recommended that not all teachings from priests should be taken to heart. When one young woman brought up the Church’s teachings on homosexual acts and the crowd grumbled at her, Fr. Ryan asserted that everyone would be heard.
At one point, a young woman who spoke admitted that she did not know the Church’s teachings on homosexual acts. Another young woman pulled out a Catechism, offering to read the specific passage. At this some in the crowd shouted, “No!" Fr. Ryan reasserted that there would be only listening, no teaching, and instructed her to put the Catechism away.
In response to the young woman, one middle-aged man, who said he was "gay,” stood and stated that “Cardinals who wrote those awful words in that terrible book [the Catechism] do so to make themselves feel good,” calling them “boogey men.”
In the course of the meeting, no specific reference was made to any statement made in Fr. Lehrberger’s homily Fr. Ryan himself admitted that he had neither heard nor read the homily, and made no comment when a friend of Fr. Lehrberger offered him a copy of the homily.
Fr. Lehrberger was not officially informed of nor invited to the meeting. Fr. Ryan stated that he had considered inviting him, but decided to first to hear from his congregation before contacting Fr. Lehrberger.
The circumstances surrounding Fr. Lehrberger celebrating the 5pm Mass are unclear, since Fr. Ryan said that he has never spoken with him and knows nothing about him save what he found on Google.
Banks of the Trinity has reached out to both priests for comment. Fr. Lehrberger politely declined to comment; we have yet to receive a response from Fr. Ryan.
At one point, a young woman who spoke admitted that she did not know the Church’s teachings on homosexual acts. Another young woman pulled out a Catechism, offering to read the specific passage. At this some in the crowd shouted, “No!" Fr. Ryan reasserted that there would be only listening, no teaching, and instructed her to put the Catechism away.
It seems like Fr. Ryan only allowed listening to dissenters of the Catholic faith not orthodox Catholics attempting to quote the Catholic catechism.
Related article:
Fr. Lehrberger accused of “wounding” Holy Trinity Dallas congregation in homily
Barf alert.
What on Earth is “BanksOnTheTrinity?” Is it anything more than a nearly unread blog? The whole incident seems utterly non-Catholic. There’s no by-line; most of this blog’s articles are reprinted stories from around the world, despite the blog’s claim to cover “local news” and pretenses of being a news outfit.
There are many Catholic news services, but most of them are national or international. The few we have in DFW are either more like diocesan newsletters or Op-Ed blogs. Many stories about the Church in the Metroplex go unreported.
That’s where Banks comes in.
Banks of the Trinity reports Catholic news from around the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. We share stories about parishes, schools, monasteries, convents, and other Catholic institutions across both dioceses. Plus, we report secular news which is of interest to Catholics.
And occasionally we’ll just have fun.
Yeah. I know. The thing is, most of the articles in the archives are mere reprints. There’s no sign that this is anything other than a single crackpot making random posts every once in a while.
What, exactly, did Fr. Lehrberger say?
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