Where's Waldo?

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Nov 02, 2003

"In good standing!" replies the Diocese of Bridgeport. Today's Cape Cod Times asks a question raised a couple weeks ago in OTR, viz., why is psychologist-priest-procurer Donald Turlick absent from the Catholic Directory? How does anyone (apart from his hairdresser) know whether he deserves to be in good standing or not? John Kearns, the spokeman for the Fall River Diocese, insists everything is under control:

"Let's say a priest is visiting the Cape for the summer and wants to continue in his priestly ministries. That requires a mandatory exchange of paperwork between the dioceses and parishes involved to verify that the priest is in good standing," Kearns said.

A summer-long visit to Cape Cod is a suggestive example, especially in these days of what libs call "eucharistic famine" -- a priest shortage so acute that we need to bring Eugene Kennedy out of retirement to cope with it. That said, Kearns's reply begs the question. No one disputes that, were Fall River to inquire of Bridgeport about Turlick, Bridgeport would send back paperwork asserting that Turlick in "good standing." The problem is that no one seems to care -- still less to know -- about the concrete circumstances in virtue of which one might assess his standing in the first place.