Help please

[Monica child of God 1]

I don't want to get into that kind of thing with him. Things are difficult enough right now for me and for our parish. Ten people left this summer over a decision he made. We are really, really small, so that makes a big difference. Hopefully he is learning.

M.

 

[Antony in Tx]

Thanks everyone. I needed the encouragement to do something about the situation. I'm not really looking forward to speaking with my current priest about seeing someone else for confession. But I have to do something.

M.

I don't think in this case that you need to talk to him about it. You should seek out a new Father Confessor first. Talk to that priest about the situation, and he can talk to your current priest. It is likely that the conversation between them will consist of "I am now seeing Monica as her Father Confessor. I will let you know if she is in need of staying away from the Chalice." He will also likely, very gently, talk to the Bishop about the situation so that the Bishop can guide your parish priest in his healing and coming into good praxis as a priest.

My prayers will be with you.
In Christ,
Antony

 

[SoulFoodEater]

Hi, I can understand what you going through here. Priests are after all human beings, they're not always infallible.

Listen to what Met Jonah (then Fr Jonah) says in this talk. You'll find this very helpful and revelant to your situation. This talk directly deals with your situation and gives advice on it.

THE PATH TO PRAYER: Foundations Of The Spiritual Life: By Orthodox Metropolian Jonah.#5/5 - YouTube

Hope this helps. Listen to the talk, even show it to your priest.


Lord have mercy

 

[Damaris]

This is an AYP question, but I don't have anyone to go to right now.

Monica

P.S. My husband and I are doing really well. Glory to God!

Poor Monica! I am so sorry this happened to you. Others have rightly said that you can confess to a different priest while continuing to attend this parish. That is actually what I do. It has nothing to do with the current priest, who's great, it's just that I had a pre-existing confessional relationship with a different priest and I felt it best to continue it. I thought I should tell you that in case you felt torn about doing that. You have no obligation to go to your parish priest for confession.

Under normal circumstances it is wise to seek the blessing of your parish priest before seeking a different spiritual father, but in this case, it would be wiser to get in touch with another priest first and then tell the current one about it. That way the other priest can help you if necessary.

Also, if you can, I strongly recommend telling the bishop. Your current priest may not appreciate being tattled upon, but from what you said, these are very grave errors. This priest has given you some frankly dangerous advice that needs to be corrected. He also came close to breaking the confidence of a confession, and needs to be sternly warned to clean up his act if he has any hope at all for continuing in the priesthood. Also, if things get even worse within the parish, the bishop will have some advance warning of the situation and can help correct it before the parish is totally destroyed.

 

[Damaris]

Hi, I can understand what you going through here. Priests are after all human beings, they're not always infallible.

Listen to what Met Jonah (then Fr Jonah) says in this talk. You'll find this very helpful and revelant to your situation. This talk directly deals with your situation and gives advice on it.

Whoa, he was really worked up! There's great wisdom in that talk, though. I second the recommendation.

 

[Mary of Bethany]

Monica,

First of all, I offer my prayers for you! Lord, have mercy!

Second, I just want to echo others in that it is very common in our parish for people to have Father Confessors other than our parish priest. I don't remember if you're attending a ROCOR parish or other jurisdiction, and perhaps there are different expectations, but from what I've seen around the OCA, it's not at all uncommon.

Mary

 

[Monica child of God 1]

Thanks you guys. I will be sure to watch the video.

M.

 

[GTAsoldier]

You have my prayers Monica.

Lord have mercy.