My Son

[Beatus]

Dear Community of Phatmass,
I am the mother of the person you have come to know as Beatus, though we prefer to call him by his given name, [mod]edited for privacy's sake - Lil Red[/mod]
My husband and I have spent the better part of the night and early morning going over his computer bookmarks, posts (to this site as well as others) and talking to him. Needless to say, I will spare you the private details of how he has taken this "invasion of his privacy."
As some of you have so wisely intuited, our son needs serious help. We are a practicing Catholic family, devout and serious about our faith, but certainly not to the degree that he would like.
Unfortunately, he has fallen under the spell (I am at a loss at how else to describe this) of a priest who seems to have influenced him for the worse.
We have other children, and this recent development in his spirituality has taken a great toll on our family life.
My husband and I, with the guidance of our pastor, who is actually very gifted and intelligent, are in the midst of trying to decide what we can do about this. It is far more serious than random postings on a website.
I am writing to tell you that I have read - very carefuly - the supposed thread that pushed him over the edge. According to the postings, some of you were very clear-headed and attempted to get the subject back on track. Some, however, insisted on literalism, which can be very dangerous for young people, such as my son. I am horrified that the moderators didn't step in at some point, and either clarify or just end the posting.
To those of you whom have encouraged my son, told him he was right, sent him thousand year old quotes that speak against women....I have this to say:

It is really, really, really sad to think that the Church is falling into the hands of those of you who clearly present as malformed, righteous, better-than-thou, Catechism thumpers. There is no shred of mercy, compassion, love, welcoming or anything other than black and white juvenile thinking, minus any shred of questioning, which is vital to an adult experience of ministry and church. (I have taken parts of this, obviously, from some of the "more mature posts.")
I would like to think that some of you will mature and blossom into beautiful people, with the heart of Christ as your guide, but unfortunately, I think your complete agreement with [u]any[/u] rule just solidifies the new (and sadly, in my opinion, flourishing) communities' agendas that "go after" very young people (men AND women)...and after spending the night, reading so many of these posts, most recently the INSANE one that inspired my son, I now see the advantage of taking only "young ones" ---- as long as it is printed or found in a book, they will believe it and stand by it till their dying days. Truly, in my opinion, outraged as it may be, some of these communities are no better than cults, following the words of their leader, whomever it might be....L.Ron Hubbard, Rev. Moon or Jim Jones.

My son has lost his computer privileges as of now. Immediately. He will begin some form of treatment, under the guidance of our pastor, and not "his" priest. Contrary to what he told you, he will remain in high school until he reaches the appropriate age for graduation, accelerated programs or not. While his IQ is high, his EQ is about that of a ten year old.
If ANY of you think that my son would make a good priest, or is holy, or special, or anything else along those lines based upon his insane posts, then I fear for the Church even more so. He is my son, I love him as does his father, and we see moments of great tenderness and yes, even holiness within him. But truth be told, I encounter those special moments in all of my children, and focusing on "not sinning" and remaining pure has turned into some sort of bizarre OCD issue, helped along immensly by many of you.
I realize that if he had not found Phatmass, he would have found someone crazy on another website. In short, I would like to suggest that some of you keep in mind that young people do find their way to this website. As was pointed out over and over again on "the other thread," some of these matters are best left to the Bishop and people in authority. Some of you, not all of you, truly added fuel to an already raging fire.
Those of you who realized that my son needed help and encouraged him in that vein, I thank you.
I know this is a harsh and probably not very well written post. I apologize ahead of time. To all who showed interest and care regarding my son, and were mature and honest enough to recognize that he needed help, thank you for being a voice of clarity. Those of you who fueled the fire, I have no words.
If by chance my son created another email account that we have not found as of yet, I would ask that you respectfully refrain from contacting him. While his computer privileges have been taken away, I am not an idiot and realize he will have access during summer school and at his friends' homes.
Finally, my son needs prayers. It may indeed be that in his future life as an adult, he ends up a priest. At this rate, he headed straight for the mental hospital and I cannot imagine a Seminary (other than a cult-like seminary) accepting him.
My husband and I again thank all of you who did indeed show some compassion and were able to spot his trouble.
Sincerely,
Mary [mod]edited for privacy's sake[/mod]

[Beatus]

My apologies for posting the same thing twice. Clearly I do not know how to post a new topic. I surprised myself in getting this far. Perhaps someone can delete one of the topics? My apologies again.

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
if you have a problem, please contact the moderators ([url="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?act=Stats&CODE=leaders"]click here[/url]), and/or the webmaster/owner of this site, dUSt at phatmass@gmail.com. This is not appropriate for public comment and phatmass members cannot be blamed for 'pushing someone over the edge.' God bless.