Awhile ago on this site, I made some comments about a few Catholic priests who I viewed as self-promoters. They were more interested in promoting themselves on the alter than in serving the community. I caught fire and brimstone from some people, yet others agreed with me.
So I was not surprised to hear today that former St. Thomas Aquinas priest Father Art Smith was caught having an affair with a married member of his new congregation. Hey, we're all sinners when it comes right down to it. I wish I had a nickel for every time someone told me about a time Father Art gave them a hard time about something. Not letting someone baptize their kids.... Telling someone they can't have this priest or that priest perform at their wedding at his church.
I remember carrying the collection at St. Agatha's for about a decade (I'm still using some of the money to pay off my car) before I became a pagan. The late Father Snyder used to say the 4PM mass and it was filled with mostly young people. Many of them came over for the mass from St. Thomas's, probably because they could still sleep in. A few of them told me that Father Art had told them, if they didn't stop coming to this church, they would not be able to play on their school's basketball team. If I remember correctly, even St. Thomas's coach attended this mass regularly. It was just typical of the stories going around about Father Art. The power had clearly gone to his head years ago. Some dumb people must have told him how great he was, and he was dumb enough to believe them. People tell me I'm great once i n awhile, and I tell them they must be high on drugs. We all have our flaws, but it annoys me when some misuse a position of power. I'm not the type to say I told you so, but...
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