Fr. Owen Kearns apologizes

Here is a snippet from the National Catholic Register:

I regret that in my defense of Father Maciel I took to task Gerald Renner and Jason Berry, the writers who broke the story, and their editors at the Hartford Courant. They didn’t get everything about the Legion right but they were fundamentally correct about Father Maciel’s sexual abuse and I ask forgiveness — too late for Gerald Renner, who is deceased.
To Father Maciel’s victims, I pray you can accept these words: I’m sorry for what our founder did to you. I’m sorry for adding to your burden with my own defense of him and my accusations against you. I’m sorry for being unable to believe you earlier. I’m sorry this apology has taken so long.

Click here to read the whole apology.

Patrick Madrid, Fr. Neil Buchlein, and Al Kresta talk Medjugorje on the radio

Patrick Madrid discussed the Medjugorje case today on Ave Maria Radio’s “Al Kresta Show” today. Speaking from a favorable point of view on the alleged apparition was Fr. Neil Buchlein, a pastor from West Virginia. You can hear a replay of the show over at Patrick’s blog.
While Fr. Buchlein got much more air time than Patrick did, he did seem to back off in his approach as the conversation progressed. He eventually resorted to saying that, for people who have good experiences at Medjugorje, Church approval really isn’t all that necessary. I had to wonder if that might have been his first exposure to the skeptical case, brief as it was.

UPDATE: Finding Christ outside LC/RC

There’s a reason the early Christians shared their personal testimony of how they encountered Christ. For most of us, a good story captures the imagination much more readily than dry theological treatises. Which is why I’m happy to see so many former LC/RC/3gf emerging in the blogosphere to share their personal stories of leaving Maciel’s movement. One never knows when the Holy Spirit will use your story to help others in a similar situation. By sharing the truth of your experience with the movement, Christ is setting you and others free.

Continue reading UPDATE: Finding Christ outside LC/RC

What do I do with my kids now that I’ve left RC?

This is a question several parents – who are shying away from RC and its derivatives – have asked me over the past month. Where does one find a program that teaches kids self-discipline, self-respect, loyalty, faith and patriotism? A program that allows kids to socialize with other good kids, and that is at the same time easy on the budget and open to large families – both homeschooling and non-homeschooling?

Continue reading What do I do with my kids now that I’ve left RC?

St. Norbert rescues liberation theologian from 3gf

If one needed proof that vocations from God are more hearty than LC/RC reportedly claim, Rachel Gray shares her experience at a Norbertine monastery this past weekend on a vocation retreat for young women. At one point during the retreat, a Norbertine nun spoke about how she had been a liberation theologian before having a change of heart and concluding her vocation with the 3gf. But God had other plans, as you can read here.