Indicted Life Teen Founder "resigns" From Priesthood,

[EJames2]

Fushek said he started the nondenominational Praise and Worship Center as a place where people can come to worship between regular services, not as competition for the Catholic Church.
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[url="http://closedcafeteria.blogspot.com/2007/11/life-teen-founder-starts-own-p-services.html"]http://closedcafeteria.blogspot.com/2007/1...p-services.html[/url]

[Justin86]

Reason #58230484683 why we should get rid of Lifeteen.

[cmotherofpirl]

It has nothing to do with Lifeteen (although I am not a great fan of them), and everything to do with putting one's personal agenda above the Church.

[Romans1513]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1424190' date='Nov 24 2007, 10:37 AM']It has nothing to do with Lifeteen (although I am not a great fan of them), and everything to do with putting one's personal agenda above the Church.[/quote]
Very true... I'm not a huge fan of Lifeteen either, but the real problem here I think is his new P&W center. He's basically saying, "Go to Mass because the Church says to, but that isn't really worship, so come visit me too." So now instead of trying draw teens into the Church by making Mass more "appealing", he's going to end up drawing them away...

[prose]

No one can win, can they?? When someone tries "drawing teens" into Mass, people say he has too much praise and worship and wrong music etc etc in Mass. When they do it outside of Mass people are mad that he has praise and worship going on outside of Mass.

I don't think this man should be allowed to do ANY form of religious ANYTHING until after trial. That is what infuriates me.

[Mercy me]

I am disappointed in him.

[Romans1513]

[quote name='prose' post='1424205' date='Nov 24 2007, 12:49 PM']No one can win, can they?? When someone tries "drawing teens" into Mass, people say he has too much praise and worship and wrong music etc etc in Mass. When they do it outside of Mass people are mad that he has praise and worship going on outside of Mass.[/quote]
Its not that he's offering P&W outside of Mass... its the way he's doing it. Sunday mornings? Going by "Reverend Dale"?

[Autumn Dusk]

My thinking is that if he's not guilty, if the accused are doing this for the money, becuase they were hurt by another priest, or for revenge and Rev. Fushek is being unjustly accused then leaving the church or leading others to Christ is not so horrible.

Someone I know was falsely accused of misconduct by diocesan officials. Its driven two of his five kids completely away from the church, one away from Christianity, and the other two away from their piousness to the church. He and his wife are still believers but they also entertain other religions.

If the Catholic church has failed him so, and he is innocent then the best he can do for the church at this time is resign and still somehow serve people. And that's exactly what he's doing.

Its not relevant if he's homosexual or not, or even acts effiminant, as long as he dosn't act on it.

Plus, the activities for Catholic teens are on Saturday and Sunday night so his worship service would allow them to attend Mass.

[walk_on_water]

I'm not familiar with Lifeteen. What is it and why the criticism?

I found the website and it seemed like a good ministry, but I know that's not necessarily reliable.

[cathoholic_anonymous]

[quote name='Autumn Dusk' post='1424223' date='Nov 24 2007, 05:33 PM']If the Catholic church has failed him so, and he is innocent then the best he can do for the church at this time is resign and still somehow serve people. And that's exactly what he's doing.[/quote]

Being falsely accused of sexually abusing a child by one cleric, i.e. a diocesan official, does not amount to being 'failed by the Catholic Church'. When I was fourteen I got accused of stealing a considerable sum of money by a permanent deacon, on the grounds that the other people who had been in the church when the theft took place were all elderly and, by virtue of their age, less likely to steal than a young hoodlum like me. That was all the 'proof' he had. I was very upset by the incident, especially as the man took my faltering speech (part of my disability - I struggle to talk to people whom I don't know) as a sign of my guilt.

At this time I wasn't a practising Catholic. I was tentatively circling Rome, considering reversion. That incident could have finished off my investigations into Catholicism, especially as I didn't have much support from my family or any Catholic friends. Mercifully it didn't deter me, because even at fourteen I knew better than to take the behaviour of one man, even a deacon, as symptomatic of the state of the Church.

Secondly, it is possible that this man is guilty. Personal experiences of false accusation don't mean that all allegations are false, and even unproven allegations require us to follow protocol. When an accusation of sexual abuse is made, the person involved is not allowed to work near children until his or her name has been cleared. A friend of mine was repeatedly raped by the leader of her Scout troop. After she found the courage to tell the police, the man was asked to step down from his job until the Crown Prosecution Service had conducted its investigation. If the founder of Lifeteen truly is innocent, he would create a better impression by seeking advice from his superiors and staying away from children until the issue is resolved.

[Seven77]

Pham,

Tread carefully... pray.

[Totus Tuus]

To me this is a little weird, because I always thought it would be great to have the Lifeteen-style praise and worship outside of Mass, like in "sessions" during the week, or on Sunday nights. Teens like praise and worship, I think it's awesome. But it doesn't belong within the solemnity of the Mass. Why not have both? Have Mass, and then have a praise and worship session too. But I see that this situation is not what I ideally had in mind. It's sad that he's estranged from the Church in this way.

[Mercy me]

Perhaps I was to hasty posting after reading just the info from the linked blog which is more than a little biased. If this is what it appears to be, nothing more that using P&W to bring people to God then I am all for it. As their website. [url="http://www.praiseandworshipcenter.net/"]linked here[/url], says they are not trying to take people from their churches and all Christians are invited. I see it as a positive way to reach out to protestants. It seems to me that it is a way for him to live out his call.

Also, he is to be considered innocent until proven guilty. Personally I am glad that he is going for a jury trial rather that just settling and giving money. It takes guts to do this. I am still hoping that this is untrue.

[Seven77]

[quote name='Totus Tuus' post='1424245' date='Nov 24 2007, 01:50 PM']To me this is a little weird, because I always thought it would be great to have the Lifeteen-style praise and worship outside of Mass, like in "sessions" during the week, or on Sunday nights. Teens like praise and worship, I think it's awesome. But it doesn't belong within the solemnity of the Mass. Why not have both? Have Mass, and then have a praise and worship session too. But I see that this situation is not what I ideally had in mind. It's sad that he's estranged from the Church in this way.[/quote]

have both. we are both/and people. ive thought of that---reverent Mass on Sunday and a charismatic p&w prayer session on a weeknight.

[inDEED]

Seven77 - Thank you for your post.

Phatmass - REMEMBER that they will know we are CHRISTIANS by our LOVE. Do not allow Satan to use this as a means of talking ill about Monsignor, Lifeteen, or any of the beautiful things that he has done. I know it is tempting to immediately post slander and/or judgment - but most everyone on this board knows only what the Associate Press has released.

Like Seven77 said, please pray for both Monsignor Dale and the lives he has touched. I hope - just as you all do - that this doesn't lead away people away from the Church.

[curtins]

[quote]He is accused of engaging in sexually related discussions with teenagers during confessions[/quote]


That's certainly not a legitimate charge as sexually related discussions surely come up in the confessional- its part of who we are and 2/10 commandments deal with sex. Thats a bogus charge.

As for the rest- idk sounds fishy but innocent until proven guilty right?

[Ash Wednesday]

Oh boy. This is gonna be good.

[PopeClementI(MorClemis)]

So what's the difference between this center and the myriad of so-called 'non-denominational' organizations around the country? [quote]2. Is the establishing of the Praise and Worship Center anti-Catholic, or are the efforts of the core group an attempt to get Catholics to leave the church?
Membership in any church is up to each individual. There is no intent to do anything to encourage anyone either to join or leave any particular church or denomination. People of all Christian followings will be joining the activities of the Praise and Worship Center, and all will be welcomed.
3. Will there be a mass?
This is not a Catholic organization. There will be no mass. The service will consist primarily of the Word, preaching, praise and worship music, and spirit-filled prayer.
5. What is a Praise and Worship Center?
It is not a "new religion," but is a gathering of people of diverse religious backgrounds and experience as a community for the purpose of praising God in prayer and in service. [b]There will be Sunday services, and eventually services and ministries during the week[/b]. The center is Christian in its orientation, but is neither Catholic nor Protestant. It is truly ecumenical and multi-denominational.[/quote]Basically, what I'm asking is - what is the point of it if is just like the rest, and if it does not encourage Catholicism to protestants (as opposed to the other way around) then how is it any different?

[ovenbird03]

My concern would be if this P&W center takes the place of Mass for these young people. If it is meant to be supplementary...why have Sunday services?

"Moral and family decisions will be left up to the spiritual discernment of each individual member." -- Throws up a red flag for me. If it is merely a praise gig without any doctrine or guidelines..why even mention things like moral decisions?

"Through lively worship of God, breaking open the word, total acceptance of each person and learning to love more deeply, the community will assist each other in our spiritual journey." -- I worry that "breaking open the word" will end up biblical exegesis without the guidence of the Church. I also worry that "total acceptance of each person" will morph from total acceptance of the sinner to total acceptance of the sin.

It just seems like a sneaky way of starting one of those feel-good Jesus is love Christian denominations. People think they are there to just worship, and become slowly indoctrinated by things contrary to the Faith.

I could just be paranoid, but it doesn't seem quite right, especially since it was started by TWO [u]former[/u] priests.

[cappie]

[quote name='Seven77' post='1424240' date='Nov 25 2007, 03:32 AM']Pham,

Tread carefully... pray.[/quote]

Agreed remember "morose delectation" is a sin. ^ Prima Secundae Partis, Q. 74, The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, Second and Revised Edition, 1920; Literally translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Online Edition Copyright © 2006 by Kevin Knight.

It is known in popular speech as Schadenfreude which is a German word meaning 'pleasure taken from someone else's misfortune'. Usually, it is stated that Schadenfreude has no direct English equivalent. For example, Harper Collins German-English Dictionary translates schadenfreude as "malicious glee or gloating."