Met Gay-La-Di-Da: Heads (Collars) Should Roll

From the Pastor:    Met Gay-La-Di-Da: Heads (Collars) Should Roll

      The Met Gala clearly shows that reality is not found in the “Catholic” leaders of the Jesuits or New York or Rome. I didn’t want to write about such a blasphemous event but after reading the May 3 New York Times article, “How The Met Got The Vatican’s Vestments” I knew I couldn’t just shrug it off with, “Well, what do you expect from Cardinal ‘Bravo to Sodomy’ Dolan and Father James Martin, LGBTSJ?” For various and sundry reasons I already believe that both of these men are a disgrace to the priesthood and have no business being in the positions they are in. It is one thing to make occasional mistakes, to speak in less than clear ways on the faith (especially when speaking off the cuff while being interviewed, for instance) or just plain getting part of Church teaching wrong and later having to correct oneself. It is another thing completely when it becomes clear that a cardinal or priest actively promotes mortal sin on a regular basis under a variety of circumstances and is publicly proud of leading the flock astray. But to find out that “Andrew Bolton, curator in charge of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art” and one of the main instigators of the Gay-la-di-da met often enough (10 times) with the staff of the Sistine Chapel that that “they entrusted him with the hidden chamber’s keys and opened secret doors, behind which elderly nuns ironed the pope’s white vestments.” means that this story’s villains reach even further into the Church and must be addressed.
      Mr Bolton met with multiple high ranking officials and, after explaining exactly what nefarious use was going to be made of the sacred vestments, was given the green light to take with him “more than 40” pieces “including a papal tiara with 19,000 precious stones, including 18,000 diamonds” which was valuable enough monetarily (though obviously nobody saw any spiritual value to it) that is had to “fly to New York with its own bodyguard” to be used profanely to put on a show mocking Catholicism. Who was it that ultimately gave the thumbs up to this atrocity? “Msgr. Guido Marini, the papal master of liturgical celebrations and the keeper of the sacristy” who was only approached after gaining the approval of Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal Household and personal secretary to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Both of these high-ranking Churchmen should be disciplined immediately. The priest in charge of the Sistine Chapel sacristy, who sent Mr. Bolton to Archbishop Gänswein in the first place is the only one in the Times story who, perhaps, was not on board with the whole thing. Everybody else seems to have been gung-ho about the lampooning of Catholic ecclesial “fashion”, showing a complete lack of Catholicity. No guilty party, cleric or lay, should be left in positions of authority.
      I generally don’t like to tell anyone who should be disciplined and who should not be, especially when I am not directly involved. After all, I myself have often been unjustly disciplined but just as often gone undisciplined when I fully deserved it and I generally wouldn’t want people sticking their nose into my business on at least one side of that equation! But the Met Gala is worldwide news and this public scandal (I see no way of a real Catholic seeing this as anything lesser than a scandal) is bringing me questions from the faithful even though I am just a parish priest many states removed from New York and certainly even further removed from Rome. The questions it brings are not minor but rather have considerable, perhaps eternal, ramifications. [How is this proper? Am I wrong to be appalled when even the Cardinal attends and enjoys such a “sexy” show? I see this as a mockery of my Catholic Faith but Rome sent the vestments and even the Sistine Chapel Choir to sing alongside Madonna. Am I too Catholic? Is this even the true Church anymore? Why doesn’t somebody do something? etc.,] For this reason I want each of you to know that there is at least one priest you know (there are some --many?-- on the blogosphere stating the Truth, thanks be to God, but you probably don’t know them personally) who will publicly state that heads (and collars) should roll over this. Enough is enough. This is the Church, not a carnival. It was founded by Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity and Savior of mankind, as His Church, not just any old organization which can be run according to the whims of aging hippies and blatantly immoral and unbelieving false shepherds. Sacred vestments and other objects are just that, sacred, and are to be treated with reverence rather than sacrilegiously used to model fashion symbols of rampant immoral perversity and irreligion. Who should do the disciplining? The Bishop of Rome, who himself approved so many other such scandalous events such as tuning St. Peter’s into a projection screen for a piece of global warming propaganda. I won’t hold my breath waiting for a correction to these actions, but at least you know that your pastor is as disgusted as you hopefully are by the blatant gaslighting being done by “powerful” Church leaders. God help us all.

With prayers for your holiness,
Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka


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