Noel's angel Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Wow. Careful on the judgment there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffpugh Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 I heard that it takes seven years of discernment before laicising (sp?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggyie Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 There is probably no "set" time limit but it is by no means quick nor is it guaranteed that the laicization will [i]ever [/i]be granted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmotherofpirl Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 None of us can assume we are safe from temptation, and like St Paul, must strive to win the race and not be found wanting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Therese Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 (edited) [quote name='Ash Wednesday' post='1672004' date='Oct 7 2008, 10:22 AM']I would be surprised if his usage of the slogan "life on the rock" for his product is even legal. EWTN could ding him on that one.[/quote] I think you may be right.. I'm also wondering because he leaves the priesthood and then does motivational speaking for free??? Isn't that sort of like doing something a priest does but not really? i mean, its like maybe he's trying to do the same as before. I'm not judging at all, just discussing. Edited October 8, 2008 by Saint Therese Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytherese Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Why would he be doing free motivational speaking? Isn't he trying to make a living now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggyie Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 According to his latest post he has a child to care for now (!?) and is of course writing a book, which is always what happens when there is a scandal. I guess he really needs the money, but the MFVA's can't be too happy about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Wednesday Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 As is, he insists on his site that he remains in full communion and good standing with the Church and we should give him the benefit of the doubt. Obviously somewhere along the way something went wrong, but this can happen to all of us. We need to stay vigilant ourselves -- and especially pray for our priests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mortify Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Refresh yourself. [img]http://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/Mexico/Abstracts/CentredImage,13668,en.jpg[/img] [img]http://puffin.creighton.edu/jesuit/pro/images/pro_kneeling.gif[/img] [img]http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/a/a9/Miguel_Pro.gif[/img] [img]http://www.secondexodus.com/assets/images/people/stmaximiliankolbe.jpg[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Wednesday Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 [quote]Refresh yourself.[/quote] Is this directed towards me or the entire thread as a whole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmotherofpirl Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 I think we all need to "refresh ourselves", and remember those who persevere to the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seven77 Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Well said, Ash. And Cmom. I believe that he is indeed in full communion in good standing of the Church as he says he is. There is, on his website, a quote from the September issue of Magnificat, he talks about mother Angelica, Scripture, has links to encyclicals and quotes St. Thomas Aquinas. It seems that he is indeed keeping the faith after the fact. I refuse to sensationalize the whole thing... We will never know what happened or what went wrong, not fully anyway. Only God knows fully. He is not despairing or doubting the mercy of God (as Judas) from what I perceive... should he be? Here is something that he wrote yesterday in case anyone missed it: [url="http://www.davestoneinc.com/desk/100808a.htm"]http://www.davestoneinc.com/desk/100808a.htm[/url] [quote name='Ash Wednesday' post='1672699' date='Oct 8 2008, 12:47 PM']As is, he insists on his site that he remains in full communion and good standing with the Church and we should give him the benefit of the doubt. Obviously somewhere along the way something went wrong, but this can happen to all of us. We need to stay vigilant ourselves -- and especially pray for our priests.[/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mortify Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Is abandoning the priesthood not a serious thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissyP89 Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 He has a kid? Huh. Well, good for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Wednesday Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 (edited) It is a very serious thing. He has publicly stated in his letter from EWTN that he is aware of the magnitude and seriousness of his situation. And I understand why a lot of people are upset. It is a very upsetting thing to happen in this day and age when we need so many good priests. But the way some people have been conducting themselves about this has been unreal. It's not as much on here as much as what I've seen in comments on the blogs. Up until now, people have been gossiping, speculating, or passing along information that they had no business passing along -- at the same time, completely shredding this man to pieces instead of worrying about their own souls. Father Benedict Groeschel addressed this incident specifically on EWTN some time ago and warned people not to engage in the mortal sin of detraction. All that has been disclosed publicly is that he has fathered a child and left EWTN. We do not know the nature of his private life otherwise, such as the status of his laicization and current relationship with the child's mother. His reasons for leaving the priesthood could be a lot more complicated than we know. How he chooses to publicly address his situation in the future is up to him. And as Seven77 said, God only knows the whole story. At the end of the day, we have our vocations and our callings. The priesthood, like marriage, is supposed to be an unbreakable vow before God. But we are all sinners and many do fail their vocations -- both marriage and priesthood. Fortunately we have God in his mercy there to forgive us when we do fail. There is no question that even though we are forgiven when we sin, the consequences of that sin can still remain. Many viewers, including younger ones, looked up to him as a priest. Dave Stone is still in a very delicate situation given his public nature in his priestly vocation, he must be very careful about how he chooses to publicly conduct himself in the future. So we should keep in him our prayers, but at the same time be vigilant about our own shortcomings and honestly question what we have to gain by tearing down someone else like people are. I've been holding back on this for quite some time and I think we should be careful about how much and what kind of attention we are giving this -- myself included. So I'll get off my soapbox now. It's time for less time talking, more time praying. Edited October 9, 2008 by Ash Wednesday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts