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I am forgotten, out of mind like the dead; I am like a worn-out tool. – Psalm 31
____________________
Father William C. Graham, pastor of St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Duluth, Minnesota (an interesting coincidence: St. Michael’s was also the name of the parish in Dane, Wisconsin, where the unsolved murder of Father Alfred Kunz took place in 1998), was recently returned to active ministry after being acquitted by the Vatican of sexual abuse.
See my March 30 column for links to the background of Graham’s ordeal.
The following is the text of Graham’s homily of April 13 and 14, his first weekend back at his parish.
Well, as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted …
Thank you. I’ve been working on that line for the last 95 months.
The old gospel hymn describes what I see here today: ‘When all God’s children get together, / what a time, what a time, what a time!’ And what a wonderful sight this is to me: all of us together again around book and table, thanking God for the gift of Christ, remembering and celebrating that the Church makes the Eucharist and the Eucharist makes the Church.
Vatican II teaches us that ‘[t]he Church has never failed to come together to celebrate the paschal mystery: reading those things ‘which were in all the scriptures concerning him’ (Luke 24:27), celebrating the Eucharist in which ‘the victory and triumph of his death are again made present’ [19], and at the same time giving thanks ‘to God for his unspeakable gift’ (2 Cor. 9:15) in Christ Jesus, ‘in praise of his glory’ (Eph. 1:12), through the power of the Holy Spirit. To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations.’ [CSL 6-7]
We are much like those disciples who, on the road to Emmaus, met Jesus; he was made known to them as he is made known to us: in the telling of the stories and in the breaking of the bread. Those disciples shared the agony of the passion and death of Jesus; we, too, have suffered as the Body of Christ, broken, but called to new life and renewed hope.
You and I have been through a terrible, traumatizing experience. I was falsely accused and denied both justice and mercy by our local Church. A number of folks have asked why I didn’t just quit and go away.
That is not how justice is accomplished; it is not how we seek the Truth, who is Christ, and who will set us free. Doing the right thing is a demanding task. You know that. I have found the path to justice exhausting and worrisome and, let me say, very, very, very expensive. All that we have is our human dignity, and it is our obligation to assert and defend that dignity as we seek the face of God. Pope St. Leo the Great told us of that duty of ours when he said in the fifth century, ‘Christian: remember your dignity!’
I am deeply sorry that the pursuit of justice was so long and difficult for you here, and for me, and for all who were involved. Those who stood for justice will enjoy what the psalmist promises, that the Lord does wonders for his faithful ones, and hears us when we call upon him. Further, the light of the Lord will shine on us, and he will put gladness into our hearts (Psalm 4).
The Vatican official who made the last determination of my case spoke out on March 25. He is Archbishop Charles Scicluna, adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; he told Vatican Media that ‘The pope very often repeats this phrase: ‘When one of us suffers, we all suffer.’’ Scicluna added, ‘If there is this attitude of solidarity, if there is the thirst for justice of which Jesus speaks, but also the will to do good, then the law becomes a living instrument, otherwise, like all laws, it could remain a dead letter.’
Continued below.
____________________
Father William C. Graham, pastor of St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Duluth, Minnesota (an interesting coincidence: St. Michael’s was also the name of the parish in Dane, Wisconsin, where the unsolved murder of Father Alfred Kunz took place in 1998), was recently returned to active ministry after being acquitted by the Vatican of sexual abuse.
See my March 30 column for links to the background of Graham’s ordeal.
The following is the text of Graham’s homily of April 13 and 14, his first weekend back at his parish.
Well, as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted …
Thank you. I’ve been working on that line for the last 95 months.
The old gospel hymn describes what I see here today: ‘When all God’s children get together, / what a time, what a time, what a time!’ And what a wonderful sight this is to me: all of us together again around book and table, thanking God for the gift of Christ, remembering and celebrating that the Church makes the Eucharist and the Eucharist makes the Church.
Vatican II teaches us that ‘[t]he Church has never failed to come together to celebrate the paschal mystery: reading those things ‘which were in all the scriptures concerning him’ (Luke 24:27), celebrating the Eucharist in which ‘the victory and triumph of his death are again made present’ [19], and at the same time giving thanks ‘to God for his unspeakable gift’ (2 Cor. 9:15) in Christ Jesus, ‘in praise of his glory’ (Eph. 1:12), through the power of the Holy Spirit. To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations.’ [CSL 6-7]
We are much like those disciples who, on the road to Emmaus, met Jesus; he was made known to them as he is made known to us: in the telling of the stories and in the breaking of the bread. Those disciples shared the agony of the passion and death of Jesus; we, too, have suffered as the Body of Christ, broken, but called to new life and renewed hope.
You and I have been through a terrible, traumatizing experience. I was falsely accused and denied both justice and mercy by our local Church. A number of folks have asked why I didn’t just quit and go away.
That is not how justice is accomplished; it is not how we seek the Truth, who is Christ, and who will set us free. Doing the right thing is a demanding task. You know that. I have found the path to justice exhausting and worrisome and, let me say, very, very, very expensive. All that we have is our human dignity, and it is our obligation to assert and defend that dignity as we seek the face of God. Pope St. Leo the Great told us of that duty of ours when he said in the fifth century, ‘Christian: remember your dignity!’
I am deeply sorry that the pursuit of justice was so long and difficult for you here, and for me, and for all who were involved. Those who stood for justice will enjoy what the psalmist promises, that the Lord does wonders for his faithful ones, and hears us when we call upon him. Further, the light of the Lord will shine on us, and he will put gladness into our hearts (Psalm 4).
The Vatican official who made the last determination of my case spoke out on March 25. He is Archbishop Charles Scicluna, adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; he told Vatican Media that ‘The pope very often repeats this phrase: ‘When one of us suffers, we all suffer.’’ Scicluna added, ‘If there is this attitude of solidarity, if there is the thirst for justice of which Jesus speaks, but also the will to do good, then the law becomes a living instrument, otherwise, like all laws, it could remain a dead letter.’
Continued below.
Vatican-acquitted priest: Diocese was unjust
I am forgotten, out of mind like the dead; I am like a worn-out tool. – Psalm 31 ____________________ Father William C. Graham, pastor of St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Duluth, Minnesota (an interesting coincidence: St. Michael’s was also the name of the parish in Dane, Wisconsin, where the...
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