LOL… my far-right magacatholic brother recently moved to tyler tx just to get closer to this guy 
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There used to be a very elaborate ceremony for defrocking a priest, which involved basically going through the ordination process in reverse- removing each individual piece of clerical clothing, scraping his hands to “remove” the holy oil put on them at his ordination, and even shaving his head to remove the clerical tonsure, before handing him over to the secular authorities for further punishment (with a request that he should not be killed or mutilated).
On the other hand, this guy is officially still a bishop. He’s just been essentially forced to retire, so he isn’t the bishop of anywhere.
In the 1990s, the left-wing French bishop Jacques Gaillot refused to retire in this way, so was instead reassigned to be bishop of Parthenia- a ruined city in what is now the Algerian desert. He set up a website called Partenia, which operated as essentially an online diocese.
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A Rabbi and his friend, a Catholic priest, were having a discussion when the rabbi asked “Could you ever be promoted withing your church?”
The priest responded, “Well, one day, I hope to become a bishop.”
The rabbi asked, “And then?”
The priest though for a second and responded, “Well, then I might become a cardinal.”
The rabbi again asked, “And then?”
The priest again pondered the question before responding “Then I would become Pope!”
The rabbi, still unsatisfied, asked “And then?”
The priest, exasperated, cried “What else could I become? God Himself!?”
The rabbi quietly responded “One of our boys made it.”
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I noted this quote:
According to Catholic media, the investigation also looked at the handling of financial affairs at the diocese.
Seems like it was more this than his politics. If it’s one thing you don’t do to the church, it’s steal its money.
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Bishop of Nowhere sounds like a more interesting person than Bishop of Bigotry.
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The ring of power needs to be removed
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So there are consequences for breaking the vow of celibacy.
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Or some sort of Protest.
Maybe try some Reforms.
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I See what you did there
It’s not that difficult:
Voila! You’re a Pope, right now! 
More seriously: while I certainly wish Pope Francis would go a lot further, he’s already demonstrated more compassion and concern for the average person than other popes have, and if nothing else, it’s a decent start…
…unlike the ex-bishop, who makes me wonder if he’d ever even opened a bible, much less read it.
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Meanwhile, the conservative rebellions against the pope have proved self-limiting so far, because of the self-contradictions involved in conservative resistance to papal authority and the lack of effective mechanisms for such resistance short of actual schism. (Even the most outspoken papal critic in the American episcopate, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Texas, has acknowledged that he would comply if removed from office.)
oct 7
(not wasting a gift link)
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Poor Ross, trying to cover up what’s no doubt the ideological version of a migraine for him (and by “poor Ross”, I mean I’m glad he’s stuck trying to reconcile his crappy views of bigoted and sexist Catholicism and blind obedience to the Pope).
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… baby David Brooks, or centrist Ben Shapiro?
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I guess he fucked around and found out.
As a queer individual in this country, I don’t really care what the catholic church does until it A) Allows me to take communion without considering my gayness a most mortal sin and B) turns over all information on pedophile priests (who raped young boys, and oddly, not only can still take communion but also administer it) that they have in the Vatican, permanantly execommunicates them, and aids all law enforcement in every single last case.
Until those two events happen, Pope Francis’ waffling “oooh gays are alright but they’re not” actions can just go into the dustbin of history.
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