Report: California priest concelebrates with Presbyterian minister
February 15, 2011
The California Catholic Daily is reporting that a priest of the Diocese of Orange concelebrated Mass with a Protestant minister on February 13. The priest, Father Agustín Escobar, hails from Colombia and “enjoys reading the Bible and books about Buddhism and eastern wisdom,” according to the parish’s web site. “Three years ago in India, he found the treasure of meditation, a great support for his personal and priestly life, and for all those in search of a deeper experience of God in their lives.” The Presbyterian minister, Steve Whitney of Trinity Presbyterian Church in West Sacramento, received Holy Communion and distributed Holy Communion during the Mass, according to California Catholic Daily. Concelebrating Mass with ministers of ecclesial communities that do not have apostolic succession is an “exceptionally serious” crime against the sacraments, according to canonical norms currently in force. Violation of the norm falls under the purview of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and may result in dismissal from the clerical state without an ecclesiastical trial.
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Further information:
- “Bishop Brown is disturbed by this” (California Catholic Daily)
- Meet the parish staff (St. Norbert Church)
- Vatican revises norms for clerical abuse of minors, other ‘exceptionally serious’ crimes (CWN, 7/15/10)
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Posted by: impossible -
Feb. 17, 2011 11:11 AM ET USA
Hey Chestertonian, right on. My wife and I pray the Rosary every night and have for many years. One of our ongoing prayer intentions for priests and bishops is: That the good ones persist; that the ignorant ones be enlightened and join the good ones; that the deliberataely evil ones be converted, repent and join the good ones. The American Catholic Church needs to revert and rejoin the Church Jesus founded. That they all may be ONE!
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Posted by: impossible -
Feb. 16, 2011 11:10 AM ET USA
Bishop do your job. Talk to him and instruct him. Give him a week or two to publicly repent and clearly acknowledge his guilt. If he fails in that and/or continues his dissenting behavior, revoke his faculties and/or excommunicate him. That's justice. As for the priest's eternal salvation, it is also charity. What have our bishops got against reality? Isn't being out of touch with reality a definition of insnity?????
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Posted by: Chestertonian -
Feb. 15, 2011 8:49 PM ET USA
Pray for our priests and bishops! Pray the rosary, and the Chaplets of Divine Mercy and St Michael for their encouragement, strengthening in the Faith, and increase of holiness.
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Posted by: Don Vicente -
Feb. 15, 2011 12:09 PM ET USA
Wow. Finally! This stuff has been par for the course, especially in the "progressive" areas like California, for more than a generation. And a bishop has a public reaction! If I were a Protestant, I would expect the "rapture" not far behind... But I'm not, and I don't.
