the churchlet of the self

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Apr 01, 2004

Self-styled abbot, social worker, and Oakland-area scholar Donald Weeks has been accused of conducting affectivity education with an underage youth.

Weeks has said he is an ordained priest of a branch of the Old Catholic Church, and is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. He maintained an extensive Web site with his biography and information on his programs.

But it appears that most of the information cannot be verified. He lists honorary doctorates from St. Jude Seminary, St. Ephrim Institute and the Pontifica Universitas Lateranensis, none of which could be located.

He also served as archbishop of the Apostolic Episcopal Church and abbott for the American Congregation of Saint Benedict -- a sect he may have created when he founded the abbey in 1999.

Well, at least the Pontifical Lateran University can be proven to exist, although it doesn't have the reputation of handing out gongs to schismatic monks. I wonder whether the Voice of the Faithful could find fault with Weeks's client-centered ecclesiology.