John Pacheco at SoCon or Bust mentioned an article in Le Devoir regarding Fr. Raymond Gravel travelling to Rome to make his case about LifeSiteNews.
The article is hidden behind a subscription firewall. But it was posted on the nationalist website Vigile.net.
John speculated that Fr. Gravel seems to have been summoned to Rome.
As the article mentions that Fr. Gravel will meet with Cardinal Levada at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, this appears to support the thesis.
In summary, the article says:
Rome has written at least one letter to the Bishop of Joliet expressing a "wish" that Fr. Raymond Gravel be suspended from the priesthood. Which, of course, Bishop Lussier has not granted.
Fr. Gravel says that because of LifeSiteNews, he always feels like he is on the verge of being kicked out (i.e. kicked out of the priesthood). He complains that priests are "like numbers" to the Vaticans, and he fears that it will not take into account all the good he's done in the last 25 years.
He will meet with Cardinal Levada on Thursday and make his case about LifeSiteNews. (And, I suspect, how he's not contradicting Church teaching. Supposedly).
Fr. Gravel complains that Cardinal Ouellet should have told the truth at the Vatican about what was said about him on LifeSiteNews.
He also says that it's in the Church's best interest to accept his stance on abortion and homosexuality, because they represent "Quebec values". He says if it doesn't the Church will die.
He thinks he still has a place in the Catholic Church, and that the Church has a message of hope that, at the time, is not very well conveyed.
.......
I just would like for you to keep in mind that the MSM often screws up on Catholic stories.
But Fr. Gravel probably has people at Le Devoir who are sympathetic to him.
I think that this is looking really bad for him.
If he is going to Rome to talk to Cardinal Levada and LifeSitenews, it can't be good.
Cardinal Levada is probably going to take out a file of all the negative reports on LSN, and then ask Fr. Gravel to respond to the issues.
I predict that, in his mind, he's going to think himself completely innocent, so he will answer in the most naive way possible, and eventually incriminate himself without the faintest suspicion that he is saying anything "wrong". He has a pattern of doing this. His dissent from Church teaching is very naive. There's no subterfuge in him (must give the man credit). He honestly believes that what he is doing is perfectly kosher, so there is no need to couch his speech and thinking in politically and theologically expedient language.
I fear getting my hopes up, because the official Church has let me down before.
But this might just be the end of the line for Fr. Gravel. He's going to bow to the Magisterium, or he's going to be disciplined.
I hope there's a reporter on this story on Thursday. I just find it interesting that this meeting is being held on Holy Thursday. Is there an attempt to bury this story? Hmmm...
