Archbishop John Favalora of Miami needs to resign.
This today from the Palm Beach Post: “Ruling a Setback to Man’s Suit vs. Archdiocese of Miami”
The Miami Archdiocese is not new to sex scandals. According to its own website, since 1966 “the Archdiocese of Miami Insurance Programs have paid $26.1 million in settlement, legal and counseling costs associated with sexual misconduct allegations made by minors involving priests, laity and religious brothers and sisters.”
Thomas Francis of the Broward-Palm Beach New Times has written at least two extensive articles on the culture of the Archdiocese, and one particularly egregious pedophile-priest has had his abuse covered up and enabled by every bishop who has ever governed this Archdiocese, including the current incumbent, John Favalora:
“Speak No Evil: When a Margate Priest Misbehaved, the Archdiocese Punished His Secretary”
And these do not appear to be isolated occurrences. Rather, they seem to be symptomatic of a wider homosexualist superculture which implicates most of the Archdiocese’s priests, and several in the top hierarchy of the church there.
A reader(s) has provided me with the following documented information which they attempted to publish in the appropriate Wikipedia entries, before vandals deleted it:
In 2004, a group of concerned lay Catholics of the Miami Archdiocese constituted themselves a lay “watchdog” organization, under the name Christifidelis. They were moved to do so by what they have alleged is a gay superculture running the archdiocese.
Attorney Sharon Bourassa, a member of Christifidelis, was counsel for The Rev. Andrew Dowgiert in a lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese in May of 2005. Fr. Dowgiert, on loan from a Polish archdiocese and soon to be incardinated in Miami, alleged that he was “fired” from activie ministry in the Miami Archdiocese after whistle-blowing on homosexual activity by several pastors of the Archdiocese (particularly that of Fr. Anibal Morales of All Saints Parish [in Sunrise]).[1][2][3][4]
In 2005 and 2006, Catholic columnist Matt C. Abbott (of RenewAmerica.us) published several articles tracing developments in what became known as the “Miami Vice” scandal. Bourassa claimed that several “straight” priests were feeding her information on a culture of sodomy and theological heterodoxy on the part of priests of the Miami Archdiocese. Among the allegations: 70 to 90 percent of the Archdiocese’s priests are sexually active gays; Archbishop Favalora and Catholic Charities of Miami owned several thousand shares in stock for a liquid aphrodisiac popularly sold in gay clubs and strip joints; at least 70 percent of the United States bishops are sexually active gays; many parish priests were misappropriating parish funds to live exorbitant lifestyles, and Archbishop Favalora and vicar-general Msgr. William J. Hennessey are in some way implicated in this superculture.[5]
The lawsuit was eventually dismissed, on the grounds that it involved “separation of church and state” issues. The court refused to determine whether a religious employer wrongfully terminated the ministerial employment of an ordained cleric. In dismissing the case, the court made no determination on the veracity of the above allegations.
Two of the Miami Archdiocese’s parishes (Saints Anthony and Maurice, both in Fort Lauderdale) are publicly featured on the directory of the Conference for Catholic Lesbians as being “Gay-Friendly”; a complimentary directory lists both Archdicoesan universities, Barry and Saint Thomas, as “Gay-Friendly”.[6][7]
There seem to be a lot of sick things going on in this Archdiocese. There is especially no excuse for why two of the Archdiocese’s parishes, and both of its universities, are operating in de facto schism by virtue of their affiliation with the (by Catholic standards) heretical “Conference for Catholic Lesbians” sect. Why don’t these four Archdiocesan institutions be honest with themselves and realign with the Episcopal Church? I just don’t get it . . .
My source tells me that two years ago Rome was sent an exhaustive report detailing and documenting all these allegations and more. One hopes Pope Benedict will soon be implementing his reforms in this Archdiocese. As a law student in the Blue Southeast, I can testify that the Miami Archdiocese is not exactly noted for its “dynamic orthodoxy.” The Catholic church in Florida is moribund, and keeping the old boys’ club in power isn’t doing anything to bolster the church’s credibility in the eyes of the faithful or the broader populace.
[...] posted before on the shenanigans of the Miami Archdiocese before, and sure enough it’s up to its old tricks [...]
I knew it was very bad, but the number of active gay clergy is unbelievable. I don’t know how they can live with themselves as they are preaching.
For many, many years I’ve been a loyal supporter of my alma mater, STU-(then Biscayne College.) This year will mark the 35th anniversary of my graduation in 1974. Needless to say, what I’ve seen lately has been quite an eye-opener, and it all started when I caught a glimpse of a story pertaining to this bizarre nun, Miriam MacGillis, scheduled to speak at STU next week.
The more I looked into this trying to find out how and why such an event could’ve been scheduled (hoping against hope that it might’ve been a rogue “progressive liberal-minded” staffer’s “ideal presentation” w/o checking in with his or her higher pay grades, the faster my hopes were dashed on to a scaldingly hot Florida limestone pavement. It all fits in with the whole agenda of the Iannone regime in the School of Theology and Ministry there. Joseph Iannone, himself is a liberation theology advocate, which ought to have raised plenty of (no pun intended) red flags in the Vatican!
For most of my adult life, however, I’ve lived in Amherst and Hadley, MA, smack in the middle of what we call the Five Colleges, Inc. area of western Massachusetts (Amherst, Smith, Mount Holyoke & Hampshire Colleges and UMass/Amherst.) Oh, I’ve dealt with these so-called “progressives” and know them quite well. I used to be one of them until 25 yrs. ago. (Settling down and starting a family does wonders to improve one’s heart and eyes.)
In my desire to be loyal to my college, since it was a small Catholic (which meant up here among these self-annointed “ever-so-sophisticated…progressives”) a “backwards-thinking medievalist institution and basket-weaving school in South Florida, I perhaps was far too willing to either overlook such developments or perhaps even refuse to acknowledge their existence. No longer, and I’ve put the school on notice. I don’t expect it to be overly worried since I haven’t been able to donate anything. Although I hate admitting I’d want to contribute any money that could enable the school to pay a single cent to Joseph and Mercedes Iannone’s salaries; at least being more of a contributor would give my arguments more weight. Perhaps.
I have nevertheless posted a commentary “protest thread” in the Coming Home International’s Forum http://www.chnetwork.org/forums/forum17/5765.html under “Heretical Nun, M iriam …” and with http://www.overheardinthesacristy.net/?p=2841&cpage=1#comment-1026 if anybody’s interested.
I would like to commend STU’s Law School for its contributions in the struggle to end legal abortion. But it seems pretty strange that a cut and dried field such as the study of law would produce more activists and dedication to upholding Church teachings on foundational theological/moral issues than its school of theology and ministry. Once you get into the realm of Liberation Theology, the modern day version of Beecher’s Bibles — AK47s — are seldom kept at a distance by those who use our home-grown “useful idiots” to borrow Lenin’s famous description of naive academics.
Keep up the great work and vigilance.
BTW, could anything be more evident that something’s clearly wrong with a school that’s not putting its clear allegiance to the Vatican a listing as a “gay friendly” institution in “Catholic Lesbians On-Line”?
Time for a good old-fashioned New England barn manure shovel to clean out a south Florida “catholic” university’s flying-nun-on-broomstick-and-EVERYTHING ELSE-problems.