nationwide seminary discussion about drinking

[cappie]

Death of two seminarians sparks nationwide seminary discussion about drinking

Chicago, Sep. 22, 2005 (CNA) - The death of two Chicago seminarians last week--both of whom were passengers in a car accident in which the driver’s blood alcohol level was double the legal limit--has raised new concerns about formation programs for potential priests and issues surrounding alcohol use.

Matthew Molnar and Jared Cheek, both seminarians for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, died last week when the car they were riding in crashed on the grounds of Chicago’s Mundelein Seminary, University of St. Mary of the Lake, going a reported 70 mph.

CNA has learned that Mundelein has sent a letter to Catholic seminaries around the country urging discussion about drinking in the nation‘s seminaries and what sort of character they ought to be looking for in priestly candidates.

The local sheriff’s office said that Robert Spaulding, 27, the driver of the car, faces a special class 2 aggravated DUI, punishable by 6-28 years in prison.

Both Spaulding, and the car’s registered owner, 36-year old Mark Rowlands, who was also in the car, have been suspended from the seminary. They were studying for dioceses in Wyoming and Ohio, respectively.

According to reports, Rowlands, a former Ohio police officer, was also arrested for carrying a gun, bullets and sheriff’s badges in the glove box of the car. Police are charging him with impersonating a police officer.

Archbishop Joseph Nauman of Kansas City commented after the accident that, Molnar and Cheek’s deaths "are a great loss for the archdiocese, and they will be deeply felt by the entire archdiocesan family…They were both wonderful and exuberant missionaries of Christ’s love, and representative of the high quality of young men we have studying for the priesthood of the archdiocese."

Molnar’s mother told the Chicago Tribune that he had gone to nearby Emil’s Pizza and Sports bar earlier in the evening but had lent his car to two friends who wanted to leave earlier in the evening.

He and Cheek, who he had known from Kansas, ended up in the ill-fated back seat of Rowland’s car.

"I feel sorry for the driver because he has to live with this all of his life," Pam Molnar told the Tribune. "Everybody makes choices. Sometimes their choices aren't the right choices."

[Dreamweaver]

I never realized that drinking would be a big problem in the seminaries. Hopefully those studying the priesthood can get the help and support they need to overcome addictions.

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

I think their are bigger issues than drinking in our semenaries.

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='Extra ecclesiam nulla salus' date='Sep 22 2005, 11:01 PM']I think their are bigger issues than drinking in our semenaries.
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You would be surprised. Personally, I cannot drink due to medical reasons, but, as we speak, pub is going on. Pub is getting together, watching tv, playing ping pong and pool, while having a pizza and a beer. Usually it is not a bad night and no one overdoes it, usually.

However, there have been events where some have had their fill and then some, I am by no means trying to air dirty laundry or cast the first stone, as it were, just telling it like it is. Drinking in the seminary is a bigger problem then I think some realize and, unfortunately, it took the death of two seminarians to bring it to the surface.

God Bless

[jezic]

here at Cardinal Muench, i don't think that it is a problem. The only time that i have ever heard of guys drinking was like one and that is only on an occasional friday night.

Is it more of a problem in other areas?

[MilesChristi]

[quote]Drinking in the seminary is a bigger problem then I think some realize and, unfortunately, it took the death of two seminarians to bring it to the surface.[/quote]

Deacon,

Do you think that excessive use of alcohol is any more problematic in the seminary than the rest of society?

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Dreamweaver' date='Sep 22 2005, 09:02 PM']I never realized that drinking would be a big problem in the seminaries.  Hopefully those studying the priesthood can get the help and support they need to overcome addictions.
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Drinking was unfortunately a problem at my old seminary. At least one kid got probation for underage drinking.

[homeschoolmom]

I guess I always assumed there was a lot of drinking at seminary.

[Laudate_Dominum]

Drinking at seminaries doesn't really bother me, nor does underage drinking so much, but getting smashed and driving drunk bothers me.

That's interesting too, because none of the seminarians I've been friends with over the years did that kind of stuff at all.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' date='Sep 23 2005, 07:57 AM']Drinking at seminaries doesn't really bother me, nor does underage drinking so much, but getting smashed and driving drunk bothers me.

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I concur.

[Norseman82]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' date='Sep 23 2005, 07:57 AM']Drinking at seminaries doesn't really bother me, nor does underage drinking so much, but getting smashed and driving drunk bothers me.

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Whereas I [i]personally[/i] agree regarding the underage drinking, there are also legal/liability issues nowadays regarding serving alcohol to underage people, even in the privacy of one's home.

No need to saddle the Church with any more lawsuits.

[Philosopher]

The seminary I will be attending next year is very harsh on drinking. A few kids were kicked out competely last year for it.

I really hope that this problem is not wide spread.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='Norseman82' date='Sep 23 2005, 11:13 AM']Whereas I [i]personally[/i] agree regarding the underage drinking, there are also legal/liability issues nowadays regarding serving alcohol to underage people, even in the privacy of one's home.

No need to saddle the Church with any more lawsuits.
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sad but true.

[Guest musicnerd]

I already posted this in another thread:
I"m new to this forum. Matty, one of the seminarians who died in the car crash was a dear friend of mine. If any of you have time, read to blog...
www.xanga.com/jpthe2nd His funeral was this past Monday. There were 83 priests, 3 bishops, and the priest who delivered the homily flew all the way from rome!! There were about 1200 at the Mass. Matty and I and two other guys were in a band for a while..the two other guys and I had the honor of assisting with the music. Please keep both families and the seminary in your prayers. peace.

[1337 k4th0l1x0r]

The drinking then driving problem is a problem in lots of colleges and it is not limited just to seminaries. Also, no one in the car was wearing their seatbelts. I wonder if they would have survived the crash had they been wearing their seatbelts. People should take using a designated driver and wearing a seatbelt much more seriously.

[Pio Nono]

JMJ
9/23 - St. Pio

We also should realize that drunkenness is a sin common to young men. It's a cultural problem, not a seminary problem. Seminarians should be more attuned to it, but often times they're just guilty of being young and stupid.

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='MilesChristi' date='Sep 22 2005, 11:41 PM']Deacon,

Do you think that excessive use of alcohol is any more problematic in the seminary than the rest of society?
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No, and I am not living in a vacuum believing this to be a problem exclusive to seminaries. However, people expect a little more from a seminarian, because they are studying to be priests and while not every priest is perfect, they should be aware of the example that they give.

I have seen some really sad things with regard to drinking with seminarians and clergy and it just saddens me to see that. Again, seminarians and clergy struggle just like the rest of the world, but at the same time, people demand a lot more from them, and whether they like it or not, people look to them. It is why so many are still hurt from the scandals, people expect a lot and though we can do nothing without He whom we follow, and we fall, we should still be much more vigilant.

Again, I am not saying they are to perfect, but to be aware of the responsibilities of even being a seminarian.

Just my jaded .02

God Bless

[ardillacid]

[quote name='Extra ecclesiam nulla salus' date='Sep 22 2005, 09:01 PM']I think their are bigger issues than drinking in our semenaries.
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I agree