Recently, I wrote an article about a priest in my parish now in academia. At least one of my fellow parishioners disputes one of the more dramatic portions of my summary of highlights of Friar Kyle Haden’s homilies.
“Just to correct your statement of Fr. Kyle ‘walking out of the Church’ after a Homily in which he stated that he would give up his priesthood over his support of gay priests being able to minister,” she writes. “He was the Celebrant and he did not walk out.”
“I was there.” She was also in a better position to see him in action. I, unfortunately, could only hear him.
Nevertheless, her take on his priestly manner did not differ radically from my own. “He means well, but he is very dangerous to the faith because of his disobedient nature,” she avers. “If you are to be a Priest, you must try to be holy.”
“Holiness and disobedience do not mix. What message does that send to the Catholic in the pew?” she asks. “(If my priest can disobey, why can’t I.)”
Now, here’s the latest twist to the story. As you noticed, the lady above confirms the quote. Friar Kyle, meanwhile, denies every homiletic quote I attribute to him in that article.
“I enjoyed reading your article about Kyle Haden dated August 11,” a mutual acquaintance wrote. “I know Father Kyle and I asked him about the article.”
“He denies saying the things that you wrote about. This confuses me because I would like to believe Father Kyle, but I also know that you must have checked this out very well to be able to write about it. If you could clear this up for me I would be very grateful.”
I will try. This is the first time I know of in which a priest denied something that he said in a homily. In fact, it is the first time I have ever known of a priest denying something that he said.
As you can see, I have at least one witness. Three times in my life, I have written personal experience columns. In each case, the stories were written after I had repeated them ad nauseam. to anyone who would listen and quite a few who would not.
The story on Friar Haden was the least-planned of the trio. With the other two, each time I had inklings as they transpired that they would some day make for good material.
Conversely, I never intended on writing about homilies I had heard in Mass as I go to Church with a completely different mindset than the one I adopt when covering a press conference.
But I’m not going to Mass to hear Democratic Party talking points or ersatz multicultural mumbo jumbo either. Unlike a famous U. S. Senator, I will not say that Friar Haden’s sermons were “seared” in my memory, but they were memorable enough to drive me to another parish until he exited the one that was closest to me.
His warnings to seven-year-olds about the dangers of listening to Rush Limbaugh, for example, occurred during the Mass in which my oldest daughter celebrated her first communion. As with most Sacraments, since you can only experience this once, whatever occurs during the ceremony will be unforgettable, particularly if it is an inappropriate homily.
When he alit for academia, Friar Haden landed on my beat and gave me a chance to put those memories to good use so that others could see what they are in for. Sadly, the problems at the Virginia parish where I first heard the homilies did not end with Friar Haden’s promotion to St. Bonaventure’s.
“The Rev. John J. Marino, 52, has been removed as the pastor of the Triangle St. Francis of Assisi parish,” Alexander J. Granados reported in the Potomac News on September 12th. “Marino was arrested June 30 on a charge of disorderly conduct and pleaded guilty, according to a statement from the Catholic Diocese of Arlington.”
“The diocese learned of the incident in early September, and promptly removed Marino from service, according to the statement.” In the three parishes I have belonged to in the past 20 years, two of the pastors have been removed or suspended. Can you guess which church featured the most traditional services and apolitical homilies?
Here’s a hint: Catholic churches that offer a Latin Mass do not seem to have these difficulties.
Malcolm A. Kline is the executive director of Accuracy in Academia.
