Clergyman Tried for Heresy by Diocese

December 13, 2005, 10:09 PM EST

LOS ANGELES -- A rare heresy trial was held Tuesday for a Roman Catholic priest who joined a denomination that doesn't accept papal infallibility and has ordained women clergy.

The Rev. Ned Reidy did not attend the one-day closed trial, which was conducted by three priests at the Diocese of San Bernardino. Reidy, 69, called the trial "medieval" and contends it has no authority because he stopped being a Roman Catholic in 1999.

Rev. Howard Lincoln, spokesman for the diocese, said Reidy was automatically excommunicated when he went to another denomination, but under church law he remains a Roman Catholic priest until he is formally excommunicated and defrocked.

The heresy trial would "officially clarify his status within the church," Lincoln said. The court's decision will be announced to Reidy at an unspecified future date.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-heresy-trial,0,2699009.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

Oh my, god forbid someone should have some rational thoughts. What heresy.

http://www.quixote.org/pfe/index.html

Priests for Equality is a movement of women and men throughout the world - laity, religious and clergy - who work for the full participation of women and men in church and society. We are a grass-roots organization committed to creating a culture where sexism and exclusion are behind us and equality and full participation are the order of the day. We challenge sexism in all its forms wherever we may find it and offer an alternative vision that frees and empowers people.

He was never excommunicated but he eventually left his parish and his diocese to work on this cause full time. He is not alone and it is not a new cause.

Gotta love the Quixote Center's "tilting at windmills since 1976" mission statement.

But tell me why any self-respecting gay or woman should continue to align themselves with an archaic, sexist, homophobic and repressive institution such as the Catholic Church?

I can only think they don't know or want to acknowledge the sordid history of the Church and they're mesmerized by the ritual (as well as still effectively brain-washed).

But I have always been proud of my uncle who has been trying to tilt at some mighty old and very rigid windmills for 30 years now.

late 1800's.

Me, after a very long night, I just declared myself infallible.



BTW, Peter, the first so-called Pope, was married.

Actually, I think a lot of them were married in the early days. Then they decided that priests should be celibate. That way, their wealth went to the church when they died and not to their heirs.

Celibacy became a requirement because, in too many cases, priests and their families would become civil powers as well. In some cases, it was not unusual for the king of a clan or tribe to become their bishop or priest as well, with his heir assuming that status after the lord's death. Clergy were beginning to establish small-scale dynasties. It was decided that, if you wanted to serve as a priest or bishop, you had to give up your ties to the secular world -- including having a family. (Which might, in part, explain the loose attitudes toward violations of the vows of celibacy; if the point was not so much "giving up sex" as "giving up familial/tribal power," the abjuration of marriage and family was more important than the abjuration of sexual activity.)

it's really all about money if you think about it.

It wasn't until around 1000 AD that celibacy was introduced. Even then, the popes continued to flaunt extravagance and political pressure from their chair. The history of the papacy is possibly the most corrupt seat of power in human history. The book "Bad Popes" really outlines the extravagance and evil that pretty much went hand and hand with the Papacy for over a millennia.

Papal infallibility wasn't proclaimed until Vatican I, in the latter half of the 19th Century. A group of Roman Catholics, now known as "Old Catholics," broke with Rome over the decision, and still remain viable, if small, denominations to this day. Many denominations like the one in this news story are offshoots of the European Old Catholics.

e.g. the Polish NCC which does not follow the Pope. For the most part I think they are Eastern European.

Gay, and devoutly Catholic... I myself was raised RC, and can't understand it. When I question him, I get major cognitive dissonance -- excuse city...

Read the actual doctrine of the Roman Catholic church prior to making any judgment. Yes, there are problems, however, the underlying message is that Jesus loved us and he died for our sins. We are supposed to love one another and bear witness to Christ.

The only way to change things that you dislike is to stay involved. By leaving the church, those who have views which discriminate against men and women get the chance to take over. Those of us who care enough need to stay and fight.

I was on the verge of leaving the church, mostly because of the views the church holds on gays. I was at a turning point when I talked to a man who is a Deacon within my home parish. His son is gay, and he talked to the Bishop about him, to let him know what the situation was. The Bishop told him that all he could do was continue to love his son. I have faith that eventually, positive attitudes like that will flow up.

I have been involved with bus trips to celebrate Martin Luther King day, organized through the church. I have listened to sermons denouncing the war and discussing poverty. I have seen acts of unselfish love and kindness by parishioners trying to help those in need.

It’s kind of like our government. Yes, I dislike things. I am going to work to change them, though. I am not moving to Canada. I'm not gay, but I am a progressive person fighting to make sure that everyone is allowed in the church I love.

kudos to him.

if there was a parish near by i'd join it. i bet their website got a lot of hits this morning!

Who Would Jesus Excommunicate Until He Was Defrocked?

Reidy was ordained in 1962 and was pastor of a parish in Palm Desert, near Palm Springs, before he resigned to join the Ecumenical Catholic Communion. He now is pastor of the 100-member Community of the Risen Christ church in Bermuda Dunes, a few miles from his old church.

His denomination considers itself Catholic in the sense of celebrating its sacraments. But it does not believe in the infallibility of the pope and permits married and female clergy. It also holds more liberal views than the Vatican on divorce, birth control and homosexuality.

http://www.catholiccommunion.org/

This is a modern interpetation of the dogma.

I still consider this priest to be Catholic in all ways possible.

except for the eucharistic difference. I'm too lazy to spell transubstantiation!

wants to take the world back to the dark ages, it seems to me.

I won't name any denominations, but some never made it out of the dark ages. Too much hokus pokus. And I'm not an atheist. If they want to run around with their little rituals, then fine. I'm not joining in.

They will probably get a bunch of new members now.

I'm an ordained deacon in an "Independent Catholic" denomination that doesn't accept papal infallibility and has ordained women clergy.

Although, since I was never ordained to the priesthood by the Roman Catholic Church, they don't have to "formally excommunicate and defrock" me -- they can just ignore me. ;-)

But I'm curious as to what the grounds of "heresy" are -- that generally means something a lot more serious than just rejecting Roman church law...something like denying the divinity of Christ or his resurrection. From the article, it just sounds like his denomination rejects Papal supremacy and is "open and inclusive," which may annoy Rome, but scarcely justifies charges of heresy.

:shrug:

and then look what happened!