Matt C. Abbott
Vocations director under fire in California
By Matt C. Abbott
Mike Tripoli, who provided me with the open letter to Bishop Tod Brown of Orange, Calif., has provided me with some additional information on the diocese.
Tripoli writes (edited):
Concerned Catholics in Orange County, California, have been troubled by a pattern within the Diocese of Orange, under the leadership of Bishop Tod Brown, wherein priests and lay persons with an obviously heterodox agenda have been promoted to positions of authority within the diocese.
The open letter indicates one of the appointments which caused concern among some Orange County Catholics was that of Msgr. Wilbur Davis, the vocations director for the diocese. However, the letter was not the first article to describe Msgr. Davis' liberal agenda or his loathing for Catholic orthodoxy. There have been several others, and when combined with the physical evidence concerned Catholics have provided (a letter and an e-mail, both written by Msgr. Davis, both of which are reproduced below) chronicling Msgr. Davis' acrimony for EWTN, Mother Angelica, Father Joseph Fessio, Franciscan University at Steubenville, Catholics United for the Faith, and the thinking of Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz on the subject of fostering vocations, one has to wonder exactly what is going on in Orange County under the leadership of Bishop Tod Brown.
In his brilliant article, The roots of the Catholics' scandal, Orange County Register commentator, Steven Greenhut wrote:
Msgr. Davis' liberal agenda has also been documented in the following articles:
She's Okay, Vote for Her — Catholic Parishes Endorse Pro-Abort Candidate, by Maggie Garcia, Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission, July/August 1998
http://www.losangelesmission.com/ed/articles/1998/0798mg.htm
Herod Resurrected, Pro-Abortion Candidate Doubled As St. Boniface Lector, by Maggie Garcia, Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission, November 1998
http://www.losangelesmission.com/ed/articles/1998/1198mg.htm
I'm Outta Here, Convert Discouraged in Seeking Priesthood, by Robert Kumpel, Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission, November 2002
http://www.losangelesmission.com/ed/articles/2002/1102rk.htm
Just Innuendo and Hearsay? A Retrospect on Bishop Brown, by Robert Kumpel, Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission, June 2004
http://losangelesmission.com/ed/articles/2004/0406rk.htm
The unaltered e-mail below was sent by Msgr. Wilbur Davis to Father Michael Heher. However, Msgr. Davis, whether intentionally or accidentally, also sent a copy of his message to the person who had initially sent this message to Father Heher. Note Msgr. Davis' irritation with Bishop Bruskewitz for accepting vocation candidates from outside his diocese in order to circumvent some of the artificial obstacles that have created what many Catholics see as a contrived shortage in vocations.
And below the [edited] e-mail is Msgr. Davis' letter of complaint about the former diocesan publication called The Diocese of Orange Bulletin. Msgr. Davis' letter complains of evidence of a conservative slant in that publication and demonstrates his bitter antipathy toward Catholic individuals, organizations, and institutions he considers too conservative.
From: "Msgr. Wilbur Davis" [e-mail address deleted]
To: "angels watchin" [email address deleted]
Subject: RE: Plenty of vocations in Lincoln, Nebraska
Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2005 20:10:51 -0800
Michael,
This kind of stuff pisses me off.
"but as a diocese, we do try to act how God wants us to be, and I think that is very appealing to a lot of these young men." What do the other dioceses do? And from where come their seminarians? Locally grown?
Wil
From: angels watchin [e-mail address deleted]
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2005 11:00 PM
To: Father Michael Heher
Subject: Plenty of vocations in Lincoln, Nebraska
Judy, please copy Bishop Brown on this,
Fr. Heher, why don't you print this in the OC Catholic?
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=5252
Priestly shortage? Not in Lincoln
Lincoln, Neb., Oct. 26, 2005 — While the ominous subject of priest shortages in many parts of the world took center stage at the recent Synod of Catholic Bishops in Rome, the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska is reporting that their numbers for men committing to a life of priestly service and celibacy, are thriving....
Msgr. Wilbur Davis' 1998 letter can be read here and here.
© Matt C. Abbott
Mike Tripoli, who provided me with the open letter to Bishop Tod Brown of Orange, Calif., has provided me with some additional information on the diocese.
Tripoli writes (edited):
Concerned Catholics in Orange County, California, have been troubled by a pattern within the Diocese of Orange, under the leadership of Bishop Tod Brown, wherein priests and lay persons with an obviously heterodox agenda have been promoted to positions of authority within the diocese.
The open letter indicates one of the appointments which caused concern among some Orange County Catholics was that of Msgr. Wilbur Davis, the vocations director for the diocese. However, the letter was not the first article to describe Msgr. Davis' liberal agenda or his loathing for Catholic orthodoxy. There have been several others, and when combined with the physical evidence concerned Catholics have provided (a letter and an e-mail, both written by Msgr. Davis, both of which are reproduced below) chronicling Msgr. Davis' acrimony for EWTN, Mother Angelica, Father Joseph Fessio, Franciscan University at Steubenville, Catholics United for the Faith, and the thinking of Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz on the subject of fostering vocations, one has to wonder exactly what is going on in Orange County under the leadership of Bishop Tod Brown.
In his brilliant article, The roots of the Catholics' scandal, Orange County Register commentator, Steven Greenhut wrote:
-
A 1998 letter from the diocese's current vocations director, Fr. Wilbur Davis, to Director of Communications Msgr. Lawrence Baird, also deals with topics in the Bulletin. Fr. Davis depicted Catholic Family Radio as extremist. He called Mother Angelica, the TV nun who offers kind-hearted but traditional Catholic opinions, an apostle of 'religious intolerance and arrogance.' He criticized one of the nation's well-respected traditional Catholic colleges [Franciscan University of Steubenville] as 'the home of Catholics United for the Faith, a pathetic organization of bitter people.' (The roots of the Catholics' scandal, by Steven Greenhut, Orange County Register, June 9, 2002)
Msgr. Davis' liberal agenda has also been documented in the following articles:
She's Okay, Vote for Her — Catholic Parishes Endorse Pro-Abort Candidate, by Maggie Garcia, Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission, July/August 1998
http://www.losangelesmission.com/ed/articles/1998/0798mg.htm
Herod Resurrected, Pro-Abortion Candidate Doubled As St. Boniface Lector, by Maggie Garcia, Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission, November 1998
http://www.losangelesmission.com/ed/articles/1998/1198mg.htm
I'm Outta Here, Convert Discouraged in Seeking Priesthood, by Robert Kumpel, Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission, November 2002
http://www.losangelesmission.com/ed/articles/2002/1102rk.htm
Just Innuendo and Hearsay? A Retrospect on Bishop Brown, by Robert Kumpel, Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission, June 2004
http://losangelesmission.com/ed/articles/2004/0406rk.htm
The unaltered e-mail below was sent by Msgr. Wilbur Davis to Father Michael Heher. However, Msgr. Davis, whether intentionally or accidentally, also sent a copy of his message to the person who had initially sent this message to Father Heher. Note Msgr. Davis' irritation with Bishop Bruskewitz for accepting vocation candidates from outside his diocese in order to circumvent some of the artificial obstacles that have created what many Catholics see as a contrived shortage in vocations.
And below the [edited] e-mail is Msgr. Davis' letter of complaint about the former diocesan publication called The Diocese of Orange Bulletin. Msgr. Davis' letter complains of evidence of a conservative slant in that publication and demonstrates his bitter antipathy toward Catholic individuals, organizations, and institutions he considers too conservative.
From: "Msgr. Wilbur Davis" [e-mail address deleted]
To: "angels watchin" [email address deleted]
Subject: RE: Plenty of vocations in Lincoln, Nebraska
Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2005 20:10:51 -0800
Michael,
This kind of stuff pisses me off.
"but as a diocese, we do try to act how God wants us to be, and I think that is very appealing to a lot of these young men." What do the other dioceses do? And from where come their seminarians? Locally grown?
Wil
From: angels watchin [e-mail address deleted]
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2005 11:00 PM
To: Father Michael Heher
Subject: Plenty of vocations in Lincoln, Nebraska
Judy, please copy Bishop Brown on this,
Fr. Heher, why don't you print this in the OC Catholic?
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=5252
Priestly shortage? Not in Lincoln
Lincoln, Neb., Oct. 26, 2005 — While the ominous subject of priest shortages in many parts of the world took center stage at the recent Synod of Catholic Bishops in Rome, the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska is reporting that their numbers for men committing to a life of priestly service and celibacy, are thriving....
Msgr. Wilbur Davis' 1998 letter can be read here and here.
© Matt C. Abbott
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