Indicted Life Teen Founder "resigns" From Priesthood,

[vbbabespx]

lol

but we have a lot of masses to spread the people out. And I think that is just the registered families. NOt hte families that go to Church weekly.

[jmjtina]

[quote name='TradMom' post='1425764' date='Nov 27 2007, 03:46 PM'][color="#0000FF"][font="Century Gothic"][i]Dear All,

Praise be Jesus Christ the King; now and forever!

As you will see, this is my first answer to any of the posts here at Phatmass, though I have been an avid "lurker" for quite some time. As my "new name" indicates, I am a mother, traditional and in full communion with Rome. I have seven children, one on the way, and a daughter that just entered a Carmel. (Pray for her; and for us. Our first Christmas without her, and we are having pangs of holy loss!) I'm sure you can all imagine that my children are homeschooled. (Not a hard guess, is it?)

I found that necessary to share because of our home schooling life, my children did find it necessary to engage in Religious Education programs in order to receive the Holy Sacraments. We attended three separate parishes in which LifeTeen was used, and sadly, I took my children out of each parish.

I agree with Perpetualove's comments, which one person - I believe - misunderstood. She was not discussing systematic theology, but a "cultic system" - two very different things. Unlike our Church, and our own experience of Faith - wherein we find logic, truth, beauty and theology intertwined, building upon each other, and fitting together in order to progress to the next step or depth (think of St. Teresa's method of prayer, or St. Ignatius' for that matter), cults do the opposite. They bombard the new members with love, unconditional acceptance and overwhelming activities; and within their cultic system of thought reform, the individual ceases to think critically. Also, not every cult is bad, negative or destructive. Off the top of my head, I can think of groups that certainly fall within the definition of cult, and yet, are not destructive. I am willing to believe that at one point, the leader of LifeTeen had good intentions and created out a way to bring young people into the church. Many of the fallen priests, and Protestant ministers who found themselves popular and charismatic found the lure of fame, power and attention too much. Sadly, I am not surprised that this would have happened to the founder of the LifeTeen program as well. These material things are very hard to deny and walk away from.

Yes, whoever said that LifeTeen encourages all to attend - you are right. But it is clearly a Teen Mass. The Youth Ministers/Confirmation Directors I tried to work with in bringing my children to church invited me. But they also made it very clear this idea of a separate "teen culture" is real. This idea is one in which I believe - just personally, I believe this! - is a negative and sad reflection on our times.

I will tell you why. I have raised one beautiful daughter that chose Carmel in the prime of her beauty and youth. I have raised another daughter considering that option as well - and whether she finds her place in a Monastery, or as a single woman or as a mother, the fact that she is even open to such a life makes my heart swell with love and pride. My sons have worked for Habitat for Humanity and take care - with me - of the younger ones. We say the Family Rosary every night, we have a home altar and take turns decorating it according to the seasons. My husband's sister has MS and she lives with us, and again, we all take turns taking care of her, driving her to appointments, helping her eat, bathing her (the girls, obviously) and helping her get through the day. (How much easier it would be to just put her in a hospital, pay for it! and claim her demanding presence is hurting our "family culture!") When we vacation, we do so together. We pray together, eat together, and are together. When I discovered, somewhat as a surprise, that I was pregnant, my family rejoiced! We all know, only too well, that the new baby will bring challenges and weariness, and yet, we all know this new little one has a place already in the family's heart. We have done novenas together, we have attended concerts together, and we do arts together. Does this make you sick? It does my friends. I have had one too many "friends" tell my husband and me that we are insane, smothering and overdoing it. My husband makes a good living, we have a nice house and can afford help, and yet, we believe in ora et labora; and our children, through our watchful eye and the grace of God, have worked and stayed out of trouble.

I have been told one too many times that my PhD has languished.

It hasn't. I studied sociology and destructive groups. I took classes under the author Perpetualove mentioned, Dr. Margaret Singer, RIP. I learned what makes a "group" healthy and whole, and how to build up for the long haul, not the short one. It is always dangerous to separate and declare something "different." It is always dangerous to have a group dependent upon a single founder or leader, charismatic or not. It is never a good idea to explain things away easily with one lines such as..."The Pope said so," or "This is how we do it." Our Faith, has never, ever - except in her darkest of days - encouraged or promoted black and white thinking. In cultic terms, this is called, "Doctrine Over Person," - this is why, in our Faith and Church, we have such a thing as pastoral care. A pastor, a priest, can make a pastoral decision that sometimes is out of the norm, for the good of the soul of the individual. We don't live by "doctrine over person," which cults do. Our collective culture - old, young, Spanish, White, sick, healthy - whatever - is linked by something our Faith encourages...called "critical thinking." This concept, of critical thinking (which destructive cults take away, by the way) is what can and should lead right into a good program of systematic theology. We have a history of our greatest saints asking questions, seeking, seeking, seeking...looking for answers and finding them. Sometimes. Sometimes our saints just lived without answers, and accepted the question as a mystery.

Every day I look at my sister in law and see her disease and I wonder why that happened to her. And so, I live with that mystery. Hearing, "God willed it," is not good enough because that doesn't answer the question. The answer, at this point, is a mystery, and I accept that - somedays easier than others - and I live with it.

My biggest problem with LifeTeen - and remember - I saw it in three different parishes - is that for me, it did not leave any room for the mysteries of life and faith. I saw a very controlled, very systematic - to borrow that word again - "organized" program. I don't want my children to be told how special and how different they are. I don't want them to hear about their "special culture." I want them to hear and know and believe they are part of God's big family, the incredible interwoven complex of life. I want them to know Jesus Christ, to experience the earth shattering holiness of the Eucharist, and to encounter our Catholic culture in all of its splendor! I want them to greet the Face of Christ in the poorest of the poor as they pass out food they made, and I want them to sit next to the screaming baby, the old man who smells and the young couple who can't keep their hands off each other. I want them to know that the child is God's beloved Child, the old man is Christ's most gentle Friend, and the young couple, the wedding couple from Cana. I want my children to embrace the Body of Christ fully and to know this doesn't come from a fun and wacky priest, or a cool nun, or a hip youth minister. It comes through the experience of encountering Christ, and this is impossible in an enclosed environment, whether it is called that or not. As I can tell you only too well, a family - like a good community - forces each individual to accept the other and to realize not all of our needs and wants and hopes and desires and whatever else is in there will be met at each moment. Sometimes Mass will be boring. Sometimes the Rosary will just fall out of our mouths without deep contemplation. Sometimes Holy Hour will seem like seven. And in each of those cases, sometimes not.

If I could give every young person something, it would be the chance to be involved in an intergenerational group. I would give each young person the opportunity to serve and the chance to see the holiness is someone they least expected it. I would invite them to a Mass done in a sacred hush, and I would watch their faces for the flicker of recognition that they are standing on holy ground.

And, finally, I would encourage all young people to take the path not taken. Just because a program has lots and lots and lots of numbers does not mean it is good or worthy or wonderful. Take a minute and think about how fast cults are growing in this country and how resistent so many of us are to say anything about that.

I apologize for going on and on and on. For those of you who made it to the end of this little lecture, I hear you breathing a sigh of relief you are not being homeschooled by me! I hear that!!!

And for the rest of you...I guess you know why I have been a "lurker" for so long! See what happens?

In the meantime, whether we like this poor priest or not, let us remember that his creation has brought many to the Church. Let us thank God for the good he has done, let us pray that the damage of his current actions will create a mere ripple across our sea. Let us pray for good, solid priestly vocations and let us remember that none of us are exempt from the lures and snares of the enemy, and finally, let us pray for his soul. For he remains a priest now and forever, and as surely as I sit here with life kicking within me, I know Our Lady in Heaven is crying over his lost vocation and the willful turn of his face away from the Beloved.

Finally...dear ones, pray for our daughter, our family, and the little one a month away!

Momma (as my youngest calls me!)[/i][/font][/color][/quote]

great post! Welcome to phatmass!

[esmith818]

For full disclosure, I serve as a core member in the LIFE TEEN program at my parish, and without a doubt I can say that our HS program brings more youth back into full communion with the Church following a failed religious education program in most cases.

I believe any youth program is only as good as the people who are leading it IN THE PARISH. The LIFE TEEN model reaches teens on their level. Once reached, what you do with them is on the shoulders of the YM, the parish priests and the other adult volunteers. Not the founder. Not the flagship parish.

I would be willing to bet that if you asked the current teens in our parish who "Father Dale" was, less than a half dozen would know (we have regular attendance of 60-80 teens), and they are likely siblings of LIFE TEEN "alumni" around when Fr. Dale was still active in the ministry.

With that said, this thread is supposed to be about the current events of Dale Fushek. I think it would do us well to leave our opinions of LIFE TEEN out of it.

I am saddened and deeply disappointed in the recent news of Dale Fushek's current events. Like many here, my personal opinion is that holding a non-denominational service on a Sunday is misleading and will ultimately draw former teens away from the church and toward a ministry style that appeals to them.

I pray for Dale, the LIFE TEEN program, all the teens and former teens who are confused by this news, and the members of Phatmass who are making assumptions about a program based on it's founder. Like was said in an earlier post, if we start holding an organization accountable for the actions of it's leaders, it may be us, not Dale, that need a jury rather than a judge to rule on the Church we all love so much!

God bless.

[jenna311]

Several years ago, teens at LIFETEEN parishes would gather around the altar. BUT, while I was in early high school, they sent out a letter to all the parishes telling them that this, along with a few other things, were not allowed anymore to be more in line with the rubrics and whatnot.

So really, no parish should be doing this, but LIFETEEN does not have rigid control over everything that goes on at each of their parishes.

The parish I grew up in (and still go when I am home, and not at school), was a LIFETEEN parish. I really think it helped bring me to the faith I am today. I no longer need the LIFETEEN Mass, and I don't rely on that spirituality to come closer to God. But it did help me get started in my faith.

And not every parish does LIFETEEN the same way. Our parish didn't always use the youth nights that the organization sent out---and even when they did, they often adapted it.

And as I think someone else mentioned, Msgr. Dale has not been actively involved in running LIFETEEN in several years, I would say at least 4 or 5.

[Maggyie]

Another article came out on this situation today (12/24):

[url="http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1224fushek1224.html"]Ex-priest ministers amid sex charges[/url]

Money quotes:

[quote]Jim Dwyer, a spokesman for the diocese, said Fushek may view himself as a former priest, "but the diocese considers him a disobedient priest" on leave. He said Bishop Thomas Olmsted and Vicar General Fred Adamson would consider what action to take against Fushek in early January, when they return from trips out of state.[/quote]
[quote]"I've always looked to Dale for spiritual uplifting and support," said Jill Palus, 30, of Chandler, who added that Fushek is her cousin. "It's a rare opportunity, but it's an opportunity I look forward to having in the future because he has his [b]new church[/b]."[/quote]
[quote]Ed Gergosian, 86, said Fushek is unusual in the Catholic Church because he is an evangelist. He said he'd love to see Fushek preach on television.

[b]"If I have to leave the church for him, I'll do it,"[/b] Gergosian said.[/quote]

I think the diocese needs to do something about this now, not later.

[jiyoung]

I think this whole thing is really sad...I'm not a fan of the "Lifeteen Mass," but I don't see anything wrong with having the program other than that--though I might make a few adjustments--and, knowing that the group has dissociated itself from Msgr. Dale (Mr. Fushek? I don't know if I should refer to him as Monsignor now), I think it'd be unfair to be like "well he's a nut, so clearly they're wacked out too!"

TradMom--your post was amazing, and I wanted to comment that it's not just something that can be applied to the "teen culture"--I was raised in a Korean parish that had a teen ministry, so I was doubly "celebrated," or alienated, from the Church in the liturgy. When I discovered the riches of the liturgy done right--the "boring, irrelevant" one--I felt betrayed, and I also felt rather condescended to. I know that the intent is to celebrate what makes us special, but honestly what makes us special is contained in our identity as children of God made in His image and likeness, not as a Korean nor as a teenager. So as important as multiculturalism or age-relevance or whatever is, it's important to emphasize what unites us when it comes to liturgy. That's why I dislike the Lifeteen Masses--not just because they're loud and raucous and as a contemplative type I'm seriously distracted from meditation by them, but because by setting them aside the teens are alienated from the rest of the Church. They're also deprived of their liturgical heritage when you give them nothing but what's "new." And I think Lifeteen would probably get a lot less flack for what they're doing if instead of separating the teens they led them towards the universal Church and towards how the liturgy really should look, since that's the one we're gearing up for spending eternity in when we go to Heaven. But again, as someone who came back to the Church through Lifeteen, the charismatic movement, all that jazz, I see its place, but it is a bridge, and bridges are meant to be crossed, not camped on.

[Seven77]

FYI: [url="http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=55749"]Church officials in Phoenix discourage Catholics from attending center[/url]

please pray for him.

[Noel's angel]

Throughout all these lifteen discussions, one question pops up in my head all the time:

Why do we need 'LIFETEEN MASSES'?? Is the Mass that the Church has given us not enough? If people go to Lifteen Masses when they wouldn't have attended regular Mass, I would seriously question their motives.
Maybe Lifteen makes people feel 'involved' and all warm and mushy inside.
Why do we need gimmicks when we've got the real thing - Christ.

[Brigid]

[quote name='vbbabespx' post='1425994' date='Nov 27 2007, 09:41 PM']why is a big no-no?

It actually makes me pay more attention. Because Jesus is just so close![/quote]
sit at the front of church. I'm not being sarcastic or anything, I'm dead serious. I know exactly what you mean. It's incredible to be that close. but it IS a big no-no, so just sit closer in the pews.
I would explain why it's a no-no, but I'm not sure how, exactly... if someone could help me out, that'd be great.

[quote name='Sacred Music Man' post='1426032' date='Nov 27 2007, 10:43 PM']I am a youth. I don't wanna be a part of a "special" culture. I wanna be a part of the Catholic culture. Bring on the awesome vestments, incense, Latin and Gregorian chant. I want to be a part of the Body of Christ when I celebrate mass (in the orthodox sense, ie celebrating w/ those who have gone before, in the timeless sense).[/quote]
SMM, that is EXACTLY what I wanted to say. exactly. you probably said it better than I could have, though. thank you.


[quote name='Sacred Music Man' post='1426032' date='Nov 27 2007, 10:43 PM']That was great. I enjoyed the "ramble". Sounds like a beautiful family life, lots of love, devotion, etc. I bolded a few points to highlight the fact that I agree... and hey, I like your point that mass doesn't have to be made relevant (by music, improving the liturgy, w/e). Christ makes the liturgy relevant, just like he brings your family together, and unites you with all Catholics, including me, and Prose, and the other PMers. It's an amazing thing.[/quote]
same here! TradMom, I LOVED your post and would love to be taught by you. Thank you so much for writing that, and please post in the future!


I spent six years of my life at Our Lady of Mount Caramel Parish, from age 4 to age 10. Because of the area we lived in, we were supposed to go to St. Timothy's, but my parents are pretty orthodox (they came from the Lincoln, Nebraska diocese), and refused to go to there. OLMC is a little better than St. Tim's, but it was still a big stretch for them. (loads of Extraordinary ministers, music, etc.) I joined the Girl Scout Troop at St. Tim's, and didn't even realize it was a Catholic church. I was a VERY observant little girl, so this was a really big thing for me to miss. Now that I think about it, I do vaguely remember attending Mass there once. I think we had to watch the consecration (and the whole Mass, really) on a screen, because the church was so big.

When we moved to Kansas City, KS, Fr. Mark Dippre was the pastor at OLMC. Our former pastor, Fr. Tim (I don't remember his last name... sorry.) was getting older and had to move to a smaller parish. The assistant pastor, Fr. John Bonavitacola, was the only priest in the parish for a few months (if I recall correctly), and he really held things together. He's the pastor at OLMC now, according to their website. Fr. Mark got there right before we left, so I don't remember too much about him.

A while after we moved up to KCK, my mom got an email from a friend, saying that Fr. Mark was a priest no longer and had left the church (without going through the proper motions) to get married. So it wasn't a big surprise to me when I read on this thread that he co-founded this "praise and worship center".

Honestly, it makes me really sad. really, really sad.

[Brigid]

[quote name='Brigid' post='1442210' date='Jan 4 2008, 10:28 PM']When we moved to Kansas City, KS, Fr. Mark Dippre was the pastor at OLMC. Our former pastor, Fr. Tim (I don't remember his last name... sorry.) was getting older and had to move to a smaller parish. The assistant pastor, Fr. John Bonavitacola, was the only priest in the parish for a few months (if I recall correctly), and he really held things together. He's the pastor at OLMC now, according to their website. Fr. Mark got there right before we left, so I don't remember too much about him.[/quote]
minor detail correction... it was actually Fr. Thaddeus McGuire who was the only priest in the parish for a few months. He was the associate pastor when Fr. Tim left. Then Fr. Mark came, and was the pastor. Then Fr. John replaced Fr. Thaddeus as associate pastor. Fr. John is the pastor at OLMC now.

Fr. Thaddeus was a pretty cool guy... I really liked him.

Sorry for the mistake.

[Theoketos]

His wikipage has been updated. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Fushek"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Fushek[/url]

[apparent]

Did Father Dale Fushek created Life Teen to "get teens”?

Whether he is innocent or guilty of the criminal charges against him, is immaterial. He is guilty of violating Ecclesiastical Law. Priests are expected to obedient to their superiors. He was not supposed to engage in public ministry. Also, he can't simply resign and get off scot-free. I hope this cult leader gets excommunicated.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='apparent' post='1444230' date='Jan 10 2008, 07:05 PM']Did Father Dale Fushek created Life Teen to "get teens”?

I hope this cult leader gets excommunicated.[/quote]
Life Teen is NOT a cult, and has been approved by the Church, and has brought literally thousands of kids into the Church. You may not like it, but are not free to misrepresent it as something it is not.

[HomeTeamFamily]

I think it is also important to recognize/remember that there is a difference between the "Lifeteen" Mass, and the Lifeteen youth program.

It is my understanding that many of the liturgical abuses that people keep referencing have been addressed, although I will concede that they probably still occur.

That being said, the Lifeteen youth ministry program is completely independent of anything that goes on at Mass (aside from the fact that its Catholic and yadda yadda, I think you all know what I mean). So for some of you to discredit the work that Lifeteen does in the lives of our youth because of the liturgical abuses, in my opinion, is unwise.

God bless

Adam

[jeffpugh]

[quote name='Noel's angel' post='1442124' date='Jan 4 2008, 06:08 PM']Throughout all these lifteen discussions, one question pops up in my head all the time:

Why do we need 'LIFETEEN MASSES'?? Is the Mass that the Church has given us not enough? If people go to Lifteen Masses when they wouldn't have attended regular Mass, I would seriously question their motives.
Maybe Lifteen makes people feel 'involved' and all warm and mushy inside.
Why do we need gimmicks when we've got the real thing - Christ.[/quote]
Nice, someone else with the same brainwave!

[quote name='Brigid' post='1442210' date='Jan 4 2008, 10:28 PM']sit at the front of church. I'm not being sarcastic or anything, I'm dead serious. I know exactly what you mean. It's incredible to be that close. but it IS a big no-no, so just sit closer in the pews.
I would explain why it's a no-no, but I'm not sure how, exactly... if someone could help me out, that'd be great.


SMM, that is EXACTLY what I wanted to say. exactly. you probably said it better than I could have, though. thank you.



same here! TradMom, I LOVED your post and would love to be taught by you. Thank you so much for writing that, and please post in the future!


I spent six years of my life at Our Lady of Mount Caramel Parish, from age 4 to age 10. Because of the area we lived in, we were supposed to go to St. Timothy's, but my parents are pretty orthodox (they came from the Lincoln, Nebraska diocese), and refused to go to there. OLMC is a little better than St. Tim's, but it was still a big stretch for them. (loads of Extraordinary ministers, music, etc.) I joined the Girl Scout Troop at St. Tim's, and didn't even realize it was a Catholic church. I was a VERY observant little girl, so this was a really big thing for me to miss. Now that I think about it, I do vaguely remember attending Mass there once. I think we had to watch the consecration (and the whole Mass, really) on a screen, because the church was so big.

When we moved to Kansas City, KS, Fr. Mark Dippre was the pastor at OLMC. Our former pastor, Fr. Tim (I don't remember his last name... sorry.) was getting older and had to move to a smaller parish. The assistant pastor, Fr. John Bonavitacola, was the only priest in the parish for a few months (if I recall correctly), and he really held things together. He's the pastor at OLMC now, according to their website. Fr. Mark got there right before we left, so I don't remember too much about him.

A while after we moved up to KCK, my mom got an email from a friend, saying that Fr. Mark was a priest no longer and had left the church (without going through the proper motions) to get married. So it wasn't a big surprise to me when I read on this thread that he co-founded this "praise and worship center".

Honestly, it makes me really sad. really, really sad.[/quote]

Thanks, I have been working on arguments for a while (see my other threads on Sacred music. nuff said there). Interesting post.