Dear Tell All: Your letter writer All Prayed Out felt scared to reveal her identity when complaining about the heavy-handed tactics of Bishop Robert Morlino ("Losing My Religion," 5/25/2012). I, too, must remain anonymous due to the situation of St. Mary's in Platteville, where the bishop has installed conservative Spanish priests whose similarly heavy-handed approach has distressed the congregation.
St. Mary's is pretty much dead. Most everyone is in deep shock. The whole extinction process has been cold and calculating. It's hard to believe we had 800-plus families - vibrant, caring, working together in a very enriching parish. We even managed to raise over a million dollars to save our school before this fiasco started.
Honest, sincere overtures were made several times to authority clergy. We found out that in no way could we deal with clergy who have no soul. Unfortunately, being human is not in their scope. They are in total ignorance of being Christian.
It's too late for us to retrieve what we have lost. We need prayers to be able to remain surviving Catholics. I pray that what happened here is not an omen of things to come for other Madison diocesan churches.
It brings to mind Hitler's rise to power. No one saw it coming before it was too late. If you walk into St. Mary's, you can actually feel evil. It is so sad.
Disenfranchised
Dear Disenfranchised: I'm sad to hear about all the bad feelings among area Catholics - described not only by you, but also by others who responded to All Prayed Out ("Do Not Give Up Your Faith," 6/21/2012). I don't claim to be an expert on doctrinal matters, Disenfranchised, but as your friendly neighborhood advice columnist, I would urge you to be as generous to the clergy as possible - and yes, that means cutting back on the Hitler references. And I would urge the clergy to be as generous to the parishioners as possible, rather than continually drawing lines in the sand. Blessed are the peacemakers, folks.
