The blog header depicts an important and yet mis-understood New Testament scene, Jesus flogging the money-changers out of the temple. I selected it because the faith that gives us consolation can also make us very uncomfortable. Both Divine Mercy and Divine Justice meet in Jesus. Priests are ministers of reconciliation, but never at the cost of truth. In or out of season, we must be courageous in preaching and living out the Gospel of Life. The title of my blog is a play on words, not Flogger Priest but Blogger Priest.
Fr. Kenneth Roberts died Thursday, December 20, 2018 around 4:50 ET in Cincinnati, Ohio. Born and raised in England, he later became an American citizen. He was 89 years of age. A charismatic and articulate priest, he easily made his early reputation as a stark defender and teacher of Catholic teaching. (Back in 1989, I got to meet him over a dinner in Birmingham, Alabama.) At the time he was filming programs locally for Mother Angelica and EWTN. His book PLAYBOY TO PRIEST was one of the works that influenced many young men to discern a vocation to the priesthood, myself included. Another notable book was NOBODY CALLS IT SIN ANYMORE. He is well remembered for his books, tapes, television appearances, retreats and support for the Medjugorje apparitions and messages.
His defunct website noted the following: “Throughout his life, Father Ken has been especially devoted to our Blessed Mother, realizing that the love and graces of her Immaculate Heart are the surest and most expedient way into the saving Sacred Heart of her son Jesus Christ. Father Roberts has dedicated his priesthood to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
Although he traveled a great deal, he was a priest (ordained in 1966) from the Diocese of Dallas, Texas. Given credible charges of misconduct with minors, he was suspended from ministry in 1998 (November 13) by Bishop Charles Grahmann and incurred serious restrictions (such as not being able to wear clerical garb and from presenting himself as a priest in good standing). Although ordered to do so, he was hesitant or slow to terminate his national online ministry. He was especially popular with young people and his site got as many as 50,000 hits a day. When the revelations of misconduct were made public, his supporters were in utter disbelief and rallied to his defense. Unfortunately, accusations of improper behavior dated back to the 1970’s. Since 1995 he had been directed to avoid ministerial contacts with youth and men thirty years of age or younger. He disappeared into retirement, stripped of all the trappings of priesthood, even the title, FATHER. An official monitum or Church warning went out in 2007 that he was allegedly celebrating home Masses and was associating with children and teenagers in violation of his suspension and earlier restrictions. I recall one vocal critic who complained when she spotted the elderly Roberts praying quietly in the rear corner of a parish church. It looked to her that he was wearing a clerical shirt, albeit not black and without the tell-tale Roman collar. If I recall the correspondence correctly, someone may have even called him “father,” although I suspect that he was also called many other things of a far more offensive nature. My response was to remind the critic, who had every right to be upset and disappointed in the wayward priest, that we are all sinners and the Church will never close her doors to any soul seeking to make reparation for wrongs and to find healing in Christ. Given that the charges were true, maybe he was bringing the many victims to prayer? We leave ultimate judgment to God.
I was a big fan of his YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT program on EWTN. It was a wonderful show which he co-hosted with a Catholic and Protestant teenager. It spoke to the youth in a non-threatening language that they could understand. His small booklet in response to the anti-Catholicism of Jimmy Swaggert was also right on the mark. Of course, the misconduct soured or ruined the positive impact of much of what he did.
As with the many other scandals facing the Church, it is all so terrible and hard to believe. How must we respond? We must pray for victims and their perpetrators. We must seek transparency in our discipleship and shed any duplicity. We must seek justice and healing for those harmed.
His family and friends kept his passing quiet so as to avoid sensationalism. That is as it should be. The reason I posted this information was to urge all his past fans, friends and critics to pray for the repose of his soul. He was buried from Holy Cross-Immaculata Parish in Cincinnati on December 27, 2018. The Mass was celebrated by Fr. Timothy Reid. He was buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (11000 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH 45249).
He very much believed in the power of prayer and frequently urged that we remember the poor helpless souls in purgatory. I suspect that he has now joined their company.
Funeral Mass Program – Fr. Kenneth J. Roberts
Eternal rest, grant unto him/her O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.
May his/her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Remembering Father Ken… I hope and trust that he knew the graces that come with repentance. REST IN PEACE.
The Apostolate for Family Consecration’s beloved founder, my father, Jerome Francis Coniker (“Jerry”) passed into eternal life on July 4, 2018. At his death, he was surrounded by so much love and many prayers, and by many family members and loved ones who were with him in his daughter Maureen’s home. No doubt he is overjoyed to be reunited with my mother, Gwen, the love of his life, as well as his daughter Angelica, and his parents and brother.
My father was a man truly driven to make a difference in the world. The salvation of souls and the protection of families through consecration were his passion. He desired the laity to know and embrace their call to holiness, to be saints, because he was convinced that ordinary fathers, mothers, and children can help to bring about the kingdom of God on earth when they make their daily family life an offering to God.
This is the message of hope, inspired by the Fatima message, that he and my mother spread through the Apostolate for Family Consecration® and by the example of their life. At a time when there were not many lay ministries in the Church, my father overcame many obstacles and made many sacrifices, never wavering in his conviction that God had called him to this mission. Thousands of lives have been touched because he said yes to the Holy Spirit and chose to found the AFC with the help of my mother. I am filled with joy and gratitude that the fruits of his labors, as well as my mother’s, will live on in this ministry.
Thank you for supporting this mission through your prayers and sacrifices.
I invite you to join us in celebrating my dad’s legacy. Visitation will be from 4:00–9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 11, with a vigil service at 8:00 p.m. in St. John Vianney Chapel at Catholic Familyland®, and from 9:30–10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 12 in St. Joseph Auditorium.
A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 12, in St. Joseph Auditorium. Following the Mass, he will be laid to rest in the crypt of St. John Vianney Chapel, next to my mother, Gwen. A lunch celebration will be held immediately after the burial. If you plan to attend the luncheon, please RSVP through this form.
RSVP to Funeral Luncheon
I ask your prayers for the repose of my dad’s soul, for my family, and for the AFC during this time. Thank you and may God bless you!
Sir Knight Reginald Grier informed us that his sister, Dr. Dolores Bernadette Grier, died in New York City on February 22, 2018, her birthday. She was 91 years old.
The late Cardinal O’Connor of New York appointed Dr. Dolores Bernadette Grier as the first lay woman to be a vice chancellor of the archdiocese. Dolores Grier’s appointment as vice chancellor for community relations in 1985 was national news as she achieved several firsts. Not only was she the first lay woman, but she also was the first black American in the U.S. to be appointed a vice chancellor. She also became the first lay woman named to any chancery post in the archdiocese.
When Grier was a teenager she converted to Roman Catholicism. She graduated with a master’s degree in social work from Fordham University. In 1980 she heard a “persuasive, dynamic speech in defense of all human life from conception” by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and credits this speech with bringing her into the pro-life movement. She lamented in her book, DEATH BY ABORTION, the course Jackson took in his career by saying, “Regrettably, Rev. Jackson joined the Democratic political party and adopted its pro-abortion/pro-choice platform. Too many legislators, Republican and Democratic, have chosen to walk on the ‘comfort zone’ bridge of pro-choice, thus turning their backs on the unborn human beings, perhaps because they are not yet voters or members of a political action group.”
In 1993 the New York City branch of the NAACP selected her to be the recipient of the Women’s History Month award, she refused it and membership because of the organization’s pro-choice stance on abortion. “As president of the Association of Black Catholics,” she wrote, “I believe abortion to be a racist weapon of genocide against black people. It has been thrust upon black women as a solution to their economic crises, confusion and concern.”
She had a television program on BLACK CATHOLICS and was a long-time EWTN spokesperson and close friend of the late Mother Angelica. She was a nationally known African American pro-life activist and non-fiction author. She also orchestrated the PROUD TO BE ROMAN CATHOLIC effort in New York. Dr. Grier sat on the Board of Advisors of the Catholic League and was founder of Black Catholics Against Abortion. She wrote, “Yesterday they snatched babies from our arms and sold them into slavery, today they snatch them from our womb and throw them into the garbage.”
I met her on several occasions and she was a wonderful lady and true disciple of Christ. Rest in peace.
Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin, the third bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, passed away Dec. 23:
The reception of the body and a vigil prayer service will take place at St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Road in Charlotte, at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 1. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2, also at St. Gabriel Church. Following the funeral Mass, Bishop Curlin will be buried at Belmont Abbey in Belmont.
Bishop, then Msgr. Curlin was our Vocations Director for Washington. He was the pastor of Old St. Mary’s in Chinatown. He accepted me into the seminary back in 1978. God bless him.
Eternal rest, grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.
Father René Laurentin, a priest and historian of the apparitions of Lourdes, passed away on Sunday 10 September 2017. He was about to be 100 years old in October. His funeral will be celebrated Friday, September 15, at 10:30, in the Cathedral of Evry. They will be presided over by Bishop Michel Dubost of Evry-Corbeil-Essonnes, in the presence of Bishop Nicolas Brouwet, bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes. He will be sorely missed. Rest in Peace.
Dave Thomas, a parishioner of Holy Family Parish and a long-time Knight of Columbus, passed away today. Keep him and his family in prayer. Dave delighted in jokes and magic! Rest in Peace.
Vigil at Beal Funeral Home on Sunday, July 16 from 1 PM to 4 PM
Funeral at Holy Family Church, Mitchellville on Monday, July 17 at 11 AM
DAVID M. THOMAS
On Sunday, July 9, 2017 of Glenn Dale, MD, formerly of Johnstown, PA. Beloved husband of Mary Jane Harbrant Thomas (married 54 years); loving father of Michael D. Thomas and his wife Susan McGuirk Thomas. Dear brother of the late Mary Jane Thomas. Devoted grandfather of Justin and Kendra Thomas. Also survived by many cousins four brothers-in-law, two sisters-in-law, and many dear friends. Family will receive friends at the family-owned BEALL FUNERAL HOME, 6512 NW Crain Hwy. (Rte. 3 South), Bowie, MD on Sunday, July 16, 2017 from 1 to 4 PM. A Memorial Mass will be held Monday, July 17, 2017, 11 AM at Holy Family Catholic Church, 12010 Woodmore Road, Mitchellville, MD. Interment private.
He passed away at Hospice of the Chesapeake, surrounded by his loving family. He was born September 5, 1937 in Johnstown, PA, son of Kenneth and Rose (Coco) Thomas. Preceded in death by his loving parents and sister, Mary Jane Thomas.
A member of Holy Family Catholic Church in Mitchellville, MD, Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus Sacred Heart Council, and charter member of three Knights of Columbus councils in MD, and the Bowie Magic Club.
Dave will be remembered as a caring, loving, faithful, and thoughtful son, husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He loved to entertain, do magic for children and at convalescent homes, and organize and MC local events.
Interment at St. John the Baptist Cemetery, New Baltimore, PA will be scheduled at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to For the Kids, Inc., a charity founded by Dave’s son, Mike, to benefit local children with serious medical issues. Donations may be sent to For the Kids, Inc., 1119 MD Route 3 North, #210, Gambrills, MD 21054.
On Tuesday, October 7, 2014, of Silver Spring, MD. Priest of the Archdiocese of Washington. Beloved son of the late Joan Louise and John R. Pennington, Jr.; brother of Mary Fourcade, Mark Pennington (Sherrill), Judy Pennington and Janice Moulden (Ross); uncle of Kimberly, Kristie, Adam, Jason and Xander. Friends may call at St. John the Evangelist Church, 10103 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20902, Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m. with Vigil Mass at 7:30 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial at St. John the Evangelist Church on Monday, October 13 at 11 a.m. Interment All Souls Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to St. John the Evangelist Church at the above address.
I originally posted this entry on August 10, 2008. Quite a wonderful conversation ensued.
Father Stadtmueller, also a native of Germany, came to the U.S. in 1928, was ordained to the Priesthood in 1940 and came to New Mexico in July of that year. After teaching at Lourdes School and being an assistant in the parishes of Santa Rosa and Sacred Heart (Albuquerque), Fr. Stadtmueller was appointed pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish (Mosquero), by his Excellency, Archbishop Edwin V. Byrne in November 1943.
Two priests served in the San Antonio mission church. Between 1920 and 1944, Mass was offered by the Rev. Courad Lammert, parish priest from the town of Bueyeros. Then from 1944 to 1955, the Rev. Fred Stadtmuller, from the Mosquero parish, served the El Carrizo community. Area resident Doroteo M. Martinez was baptized in San Antonio Church during its early years. “The church was beautiful inside,” he recalls. “Mass was offered once a month. We had a funcion every June 13 and (the statue of) San Antonio was paraded around the church. My parents and other family members are buried in the cemetery.” His nephew Epimenio Martinez remembers Rev. Stadtmuller, the “Flying Padre.”
“Father Fred Stadtmuller used to fly his plane into El Carrizo. He used to give people rides. I rode in his plane once; it was my first time. He landed the plane on the flat.”
When I wrote this post, Monsignor Stadtmuller was retired and purportedly lived in Albuquerque. He has since passed away.
Here is the conversation after the posting:
August 16, 2008 / Antonia
Dear Father Joe,
Thank you for the interesting post. My folks live in New Mexico and sometimes they like to take a ride and visit the Pueblos and other historical places. I know they will enjoy learning about the church and the Padre. They live in a suburb of Albuquerque. There are some interesting churches at some of the Pueblos. One in particular is at Laguna Pueblo, the Church of St. Joseph. It was built in the 1600s. The Spanish missionaries had a great devotion to Good St. Joseph and every year had a procession with a beautiful image of him painted on a hide (I think it was buffalo!). You can see it today. The Stations of the Cross were among the most vivid I have ever seen. The wooden altar was adorned with the most beautiful and colorful carved flowers. Unfortunately you cannot take pictures. But it is wonderful to find such beauty and the past history of our Faith in what to some may seem just another lonely little town.
God bless.
August 26, 2008 / rbbadger
Dear Father,
I knew Monsignor Stadtmueller. I was once a seminarian for the Diocese of Gallup and though Monsignor was not of our diocese, he lived in our diocesan boundaries upon his retirement and filled in often in various parishes throughout the Diocese.
I received notification from a priest friend of mine in the Diocese that Monsignor Stadtmueller has died at the age of 95 yesterday or the day before.
May his soul and souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
August 27, 2008 / Kim Stadtmueller
Dear Father Joe,
Monsignor Stadtmueller passed away around 3:00 PM on August 22nd after a terribly painful last few days resulting from prostate cancer, which had metastasized to bone cancer. He has lived with my husband (his nephew), Charles, and I in Virginia since March. He requested to live with us because he wanted to be with family “when he died.” For those who wish to know, Mass will be tomorrow (August 28) at Holy Ghost Church in Albuquerque and the funeral will be on Friday. It is with great regret that I could not attend the funeral, however, we could not afford for both my husband and I to fly there. I was blessed to know Monsignor Stadtmueller (Uncle Fred, as we called him), although it was for a very short time.
God is good! He has delivered the Monsignor from his terrible pain.
Peace be with you.
August 27, 2008 / Father Joe
I say an extra Mass tomorrow at Coast Guard Headquarters. I will remember him in my intention for the Mass. May he rest in peace. I am so sorry for your loss.
August 27, 2008 / P. Siler
Dear Father Joe,
Indeed, Msgr. Fred Stadtmueller passed away on Sunday, August 24, 2008 in a nursing home in Rocky Mount, VA. The rosary group from our local parish, which my daughter belongs to, visited him last Tuesday evening and recited the rosary at his bedside and then the Divine Mercy Chaplet. My understanding is that he had been in the nursing home a short time and had a nephew living in Roanoke, VA, and that he was taken back to New Mexico for funeral and burial. I watched the movie about him and was very impressed with it. May he rest in peace.
August 28, 2008 / Sharon Karpinski (University of New Mexico)
I was saddened to read Monsignor Stadtmueller’s obit this AM in the Albuquerque Journal. He was a fascinating, wise, and independent-minded gentleman that I was privileged to interview several times in 2004 and 2005 as part of my research for my Master’s thesis re: life on the high plains pre-1950. I am heartened that he died with his family. Although he had many, many friends here in New Mexico, after his long term housekeeper passed a few years ago, I know he was lonely.
His memories of circuit riding his mission churches throughout Harding and Union County, New Mexico in a Piper Cub are unique—and priceless. It was a time and place as remote from us now as Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.
October 19, 2008 / Catherine (Stadtmueller) Bolin (Winchester, VA)
Uncle Fred was a legend, and I remember flying in the “Spirit of St. Joseph” with him around 1944-1945. Kim, we have never met, but Charles is my cousin. I wish I had known Uncle Fred had come to Va. Have tried to find your phone # unsuccessfully. GOD BLESS YOU UNCLE FRED, MAY YOU REST IN PEACE!
June 14, 2009 / Maria Theresa Stadtmueller
I am also a niece of Fred Stadtmueller’s (hello, Kim, Charles, and Catherine!), and remember very well how he’d fly his plane back East occasionally to visit the family when we were kids. I got to know him better as an adult, visiting with him several times after he’d retired, and we’d phone each other every few months until he moved and I lost track, which I’m very sorry about. He was a highly intelligent and kind man, a hard worker, and a good friend and neighbor to so many. He was no longer flying when I visited him in NM, but he sure drove fast!
Uncle Fred was at the center of controversy in the early 60s, and was evicted by residents from his pastor position at the Isleta Pueblo. He was accused by some of cultural insensitivity, of demeaning the Indians’ spiritual and cultural practices. What I learned in interviewing him and others, and in reading through archives on the matter, was that, as is often the case, there was a lot more going on than met the eye. Independently of Fred’s attitudes or actions, political strife brewed within the tribal government that produced heated factions on the pueblo; the police chief’s son was a suspect in several crimes, etc. If I remember correctly, the bishop’s refusal to appoint another priest after Fred’s departure ultimately led to a freedom of religion appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Uncle Fred was a stubborn guy, and pretty doctrinaire in his Catholicism—not unusual for someone who trained in a pontifical academy. He certainly did not grant indigenous religion the same credibility as Catholicism, and as such was part of an unfortunate continuum of Catholic influence in other cultures. But I do know Fred considered himself unjustly accused of many actions, as did many of his friends on the Pueblo. He was open-minded enough not to let my own rejection of Catholicism interfere with our visits or our friendship, for which I was grateful. He was a cool guy, and I’m glad he’s now at peace after his suffering.
July 11, 2009 / Catherine Stadtmueller Bolin
Maria, you have to be Christine & Ludy’s daughter. Since Uncle Al died on Father’s Day this year, all the children of August Stadtmueller, that came here from Germany, are gone. There were a lot of years between us. I think you were about Michael’s age, and I have a picture of the two of you. There were you and Lisa, and I heard later, a brother also. We were all so spread out. There were eight children in our family, all survive but William (Billy) died in 1983. It would be nice to hear from you. I have lived in Virginia almost 45 years.
September 29, 2010 / Arthur Sedillo (Retired DEA Agent & Current Lago Vista, Tx. Municipal Judge)
In the mid 60′s I had the honor of knowing Monsignor Fred Stodmiller while I served as a New Mexico State Police in Los Padillas, a small community bordering Isleta Pueblo. Monsignor authorized me and community leader Jerry Jarimillo to convert the abandoned church in Los Padillas into a boy’s club.
He became a good friend. When he was expelled from the Isleta Pueblo, my supervisors prohibited me from leaving my house fearing that my intervention in his behalf would have further compounded the situation. May he rest in peace.
April 23, 2011 / Catherine (Stadtmueller) Bolin
When he was expelled from the Isleta Pueblo? I assume we are talking about the same person. Since my Uncle Fred Stadtmueller is no longer here to defend himself, let me say that my family never heard an expulsion had occurred. That would be permanent. He was however, moved from that church to a safe haven. The Pueblo Indian people were not happy that the housekeeper had ordered concrete poured in the courtyard in his absence, and they painted swastikas on the parsonage. The courtyard was a sacred stomping ground. Don’t know why she chose to do this, but it sure caused an uproar.
April 23, 2011 / Father Joe
Priests, as men under authority, are routinely transferred. Churches and schools are opened and closed. There is always an impact on the people left behind. Even today, there are priests who place the needs of people over issues like immigration and finances. We remember this priest as one who made a positive difference in the lives of so many.
April 25, 2011 / Maria Theresa Stadtmueller
Catherine, he was expelled by a faction of the Pueblo Indians, not by the bishop. In fact, it was the bishop’s refusal to acknowledge that expulsion and to appoint a successor that caused some of the Isleta residents to sue, saying they were being denied their religious rights by not having a pastor. It was this suit that made its way to the Supreme Court, although I don’t recall if they agreed to hear the case.
Uncle Fred gave me his book of all the newspaper articles and letters regarding this case. There are also photographs—a famous one in Life Magazine, for example, of Fred with his hands tied, being evicted at gunpoint by the opposing faction of the Pueblo. They wouldn’t even let Fred return to fetch my grandfather, who was elderly and living with Fred at the time. When I returned with Fred to Isleta (around 1998, I think) it was the first time he’d been back to the (empty) rectory since his eviction.
I don’t remember Fred saying that Josephine ordered the dancing ground cemented over, and I doubt she would have done so without Fred’s approval. He told me that he was trying to increase church parking space that wouldn’t be muddy and trying to discourage tribal dancing. The latter was not in the best of judgment, but there you have it.
Forgot to include, Catherine, that August was your grandfather, too. Sorry for the omission.
March 28, 2012 / Sharon Karpinski
When I interviewed Monsignor Stadtmueller in 2004 (these interviews were taped, with the Monsignor’s permission), he discussed his removal from Isleta at some length. As one of the writers above commented, there was far more to the case than came out in print—at least according to Fred, thirty plus years later. One point I can clear up. Josephine did NOT order the paving of the dance ground. The Monsignor did it, because he objected to people “dancing” on graves, or so he said in 2004. There was a clear cultural clash going on—on several levels. As for the disputed, paved space: Isleta’s view of the dance ground, which was sacred to them was different than Monsignor Stadtmueller’s view of the graveyard, which was sacred to him.
July 6, 2013 / Matthew Baca
Growing up during the ’70′s, I attended Mass (including serving as an altar boy) and school at Holy Ghost. My brothers, cousins and I all agree that Monsignor Stadmueller was a truly remarkable priest and man and so I am not surprised by the respect, admiration, and love conveyed in the preceding posts. I am somewhat surprised that no one has mentioned Monsignor’s wonderful sense of humor that I suspect stemmed from the grace and humanity belied by his stern manner. That man was very funny, even when leveling criticism. My family and I still talk about him and miss him.
July 6, 2013 / Maria
Thank you for your wonderful remembrances of my Uncle Fred. Yes, he really was a hoot. After his longtime housekeeper, Josephine, had died, he used to joke that when saying Mass every day in his little chapel at home his most regular parishioner was his dachshund, Fritz.
July 7, 2013 / Sharon Karpinski
Maria— In his last years before he left New Mexico, the Monsignor used to love to go to lunch at the Isleta Casino a couple of miles from his house. We’d get a table at the buffet and then would end up spending two or more hours at lunch because nearly everybody in the place knew Fred and would come over to visit. I always embarrassed him taking him to the Casino (he’d stopped driving) because I drove a battered, ancient Toyota Corolla. Fred liked a handsome vehicle.
Further support for a new organization to bypass the APA’s liberalism. I suspect a similar problem infects the NEA. The politicization of America continues.
We have lost a great author and a dreamer of dreams. He and his stories meant a lot to me; this is like losing piece of one’s soul. He was not just another science fiction writer; he was a great short story author and an insightful authority on the human condition. Rest in peace.
Instead of apologies for stealing Christianity’s greatest church, there are just threats. Can there really be dialogue and cooperation with growing militant Islam?
“Dear God, we ask you to remember your servant who refused to deny you, even at the cost of his life. Rest in peace.” This happens at a time when the State Department has expunged the section on religious liberty in its world status report. What does it mean? We are next, take courage and keep the faith.
Rev. Msgr. William J. Awalt died on Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 11:00 AM at the Byron House on the campus of Our Lady of Mercy Church. Potomac, Maryland.
All funeral services will be at Our Lady of Mercy.
Viewing will be Tuesday, December 20, 2011 from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM with the Vigil Mass at 7:30 PM.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 10:30 AM.
This is the home of the AWALT PAPERS, the posting of various pieces of wisdom salvaged from the writings, teachings and sermons of the late Msgr. William J. Awalt.
Fr. Kenneth Roberts died Thursday, December 20, 2018 around 4:50 ET in Cincinnati, Ohio. Born and raised in England, he later became an American citizen. He was 89 years of age. A charismatic and articulate priest, he easily made his early reputation as a stark defender and teacher of Catholic teaching. (Back in 1989, I got to meet him over a dinner in Birmingham, Alabama.) At the time he was filming programs locally for Mother Angelica and EWTN. His book PLAYBOY TO PRIEST was one of the works that influenced many young men to discern a vocation to the priesthood, myself included. Another notable book was NOBODY CALLS IT SIN ANYMORE. He is well remembered for his books, tapes, television appearances, retreats and support for the Medjugorje apparitions and messages.
Dear Friends of the AFC,
He passed away at Hospice of the Chesapeake, surrounded by his loving family. He was born September 5, 1937 in Johnstown, PA, son of Kenneth and Rose (Coco) Thomas. Preceded in death by his loving parents and sister, Mary Jane Thomas.
Blogger Priest 