Granted I was only back to the Knoll by suppertime Monday, but the reactions from the troops to the prayer petition to petition (the General Council on behalf of Fr.Roy Bourgeois) during the closing Mass on Saturday were as follows:
"Totally inappropriate."
"Disgusting."
"Disrespectful in the extreme."
"A pageant of Narcissists."
"Why didn't he (Episcipalian priest, Fr. Frank Alagna) do this at any other time during the weekend?"
At least one Maryknoller walked out during the incident.
To be fair, several Maryknollers surely must have agreed or otherwise approved this action (The petition during Mass). If there are, they have yet to inform me of their support.
And to be honest, not all the negative reactions came from just the elderly and the conservatives among us. One guy way younger than I (by almost 20 years) and at least as liberal, was incensed.
If I could gauge the rage, it seemed more at the fact that this took place during the Eucharist, and was led by someone no longer in Maryknoll, that seemed to fry people's rice most.
In the coming meals I shall make a concerted effort to find supporters of the petition, if not its timing, so you may have a more balanced reaction. Assuming there is one.
One older Maryknoller took it all with a grain of salt and put the onus on Superior General Ed Dougherty for interminably drawing out this process. "Get on with it, already," he said.
Another member added, "We didn't abandon Roy; he abandoned us." He's contemplating writing a letter to the highest authority with the greatest influence (No, not the Vatican; the National Catholic Reporter) petitioning Roy to publicly apologize for what he's doing to Maryknoll.
Happy Centennary!
It's understandable, isn't it, that there will be controversy...it's still Maryknoll, isn't it? But what's the problem? You reported that this petition drive occurred "post-communion." In most parishes, people are heading for the doors, not even stopping for the blessing and the announcement about the bake sale, etc. Shocking, just shocking!!
ReplyDeleteHi Dan! From what I gather (since I wasn't here Saturday) guys are miffed about the ambush nature of the campaign. There were various tables set up for other projects (Chi Rho fund, Orbis etc) so why didn't the organizers of the petition campaign go through the steering committee and have their own table on the up and up? The fact that Dave also felt blindsided just left a bitter taste in members' mouth and didn't help Roy's cause. One guy said he felt badgered at supper to sign the petition by a woman who wouldn't take "No thanks" for an answer.
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