Weakland said he rescinded his plans to move to St. Mary's Abbey in Morristown, N.J., on May 18 after Abbot Giles Hayes expressed concerns about his presence in the wake of a New York Times story recounting revelations in his forthcoming memoir.
See Ex-Archbishop Speaks About Catholic Church and Homosexuality
"It seemed evident to me that they thought my presence there might be a negative element for the school and monastery," said Weakland, who discusses his homosexuality and his handling of clergy sex abuse in the book, A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church, which is due out this month.
He might have anticipated some problem, given events a few years back at St. John Vianney Church in Brookfield (see A tangle of sin, forgiveness: Weakland's role in teens' confirmation canceled when parents object, by Lisa Sink and Dan Benson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, posted March 5, 2004).
The Abbot's version of events differed from Archbishop Weakland's.
Giles, who is the former headmaster of the school, said Weakland changed his plans without explanation a week earlier, and that he had no reason to believe controversy surrounding the book played a role.
Archbishop Weakland's version sounds more plausible, and consistent with his earlier withdrawing from the controversy at St. John Vianney.
P.S. Dad29 says this is a second unsuccessful try at relocating to a Benedictine Abbey.
Several years ago, his home abbey, St. Vincent's in Latrobe Pennsylvania told him 'they had no room' for him after his "retirement" from the Archdiocese.
Archbishop Weakland has not in retirement considered doing what he earlier said.
If I could found a religious order today, I'd found a religious order to live in the central city, just to be there.
(See Weakland wants to see church minister more to central city: Archbishop plans to keep pushing for goals as long as he remains in office, by Tom Heinen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 19, 1999) That might be more controversial now, coming across as using a poor neighborhood as the place for what can't go elsewhere.
A post by Pete Vere from just after Archbishop Weakland resigned suggests another possibility. Mr. Vere noted then-Abbot Primate Weakland's
initiating the reconciliation of a number of Fr. Feeney's followers back in the mid-seventies, and organizing them into a beautiful monastery (St. Benedict's Abbey) in Still River, MA. I've been to this Abbey, spoken to its members, and while they were never fond of the Archbishop's liberalism (the trouble into which it got him, we are all familiar), they were always grateful that as Abbott Primate of the Benedictines he looked past ideology and took a special interest in seeing them reconciled and organized as a Benedictine Monastery.
If he doesn't want to stay here, maybe he could inquire there. Hey Abbot!
See Archbishop Weakland Memoirs to be Released
It was the Board of Directors of The Delbarton School, who strenuously objected to Weakland's presence at the school their sons attend.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to know if the Holy See or some potential successor does not want Weakland around since he and Sklba have been running the Archdiocese these past years.
Maybe he could go live with Archbishop Dolan, who did much to further Weakland's legacy.