Catholic priest kicks black family out of church during funeral

[47of74]

According to one Catholic priest even mourning while black is an intolerable offense

Quote

Despite having ample evidence that Jesus will work it out, a Catholic priest halted a homegoing service in Maryland to have a black family removed from the church. The servant of God even kicked the dead body out of the funeral, proving once again, there is no sanctuary when it comes to racism.

Aside from the fact that she was no longer alive, the Charlotte Hall, Md. mass for Agnes Hicks was going along perfectly fine on Tuesday until an attendee of the funeral went in for a hug and accidentally knocked over a chalice at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, angering pastor Michael Briese.

“There will be no funeral, no repast, everyone get the hell out of my church,” Briese reportedly told the family. According to Fox 5, Briese then kicked the family out of the place of worship, telling them to remove the body of the woman who wished to be laid to rest in the church where she was baptized.

But Briese wasn’t done. Yea, though he walked through the valley of the shadow of death, the priest feared no evil, but he was a little bit scared of black people. Instead of getting Jesus on the main line, Briese decided to call his Lord and Savior from whom all white things flow: the police.

This pisses me off.  That priest needs to never be allowed to lead religious worship again of any kind.

[Myomy]

This priest better fall to his knees and pray there is no God.

[PennySycamore]

WHAT.THE.FUCK! 

That priest out to be defrocked and excommunicated.

[Hane]

This must be one of those old-timey priests for whom form and ritual are more important than people. Reminds me of a (far less ugly) situation in which our deacon once collapsed at Mass, dropping a ciborium full of consecrated hosts all over the floor near the altar. While the priest was making sure he was lying safely down and I was running to call 911 (I was the lector that day), the elderly organist and ushers were running around picking up the hosts.

ETA: And then there was the SOB priest who was supposed to have conducted my cousin’s wedding. My cousin’s (Catholic) fiancée and my (Baptist) cousin were meeting at her pastor’s office to plan the wedding, and everything was peachy until my cousin mentioned his religion. The priest became LIVID. Among other things, he barked, “There will be no music at this wedding!” when they mentioned having the groom’s twin sister as soloist. After the meeting was over, my cousin told the priest, “If you weren’t wearing that collar, I’d invite you out into the alley.” Fortunately the day was saved when the bride’s priest cousin was able to fly in and perform the ceremony.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

For those of you who, like me, hoped it was a joke, there's footage.

[Gobsmacked]

The Priest needs to be taken away from any further duties, sent to be assessed for any possible Dementia/Alzheimer's type illness then without any fuss or retirement celebrations be put out to pasture for ever. 

[Coconut Flan]

Perhaps there is a monastery spot open for him if there isn't an underlying rationale for his peculiar behavior.

[47of74]

5 minutes ago, Gobsmacked said:

The Priest needs to be taken away from any further duties, sent to be assessed for any possible Dementia/Alzheimer's type illness then without any fuss or retirement celebrations be put out to pasture for ever. 

Yeah, he should personally be sentenced to a life of prayer and penance by the Pope.  Emphasis on the penance part, which should not involve any contact with the public. 

[Bad Wolf]

That sickens me. How awful for the family.

[Alisamer]

Maybe he and the priest that slapped the baby at the christening should go start their own ministry on a deserted island somewhere.

[Gobsmacked]

31 minutes ago, Alisamer said:

Maybe he and the priest that slapped the baby at the christening should go start their own ministry on a deserted island somewhere.

They can lob coconuts at each other. 

[polecat]

HIS church??? HIS? Isn't it the people's church, and he just serves? 

Such a nasty, hateful, awful man. Should be defrocked, if that's a thing.

[47of74]

26 minutes ago, polecat said:

HIS church??? HIS? Isn't it the people's church, and he just serves? 

Such a nasty, hateful, awful man. Should be defrocked, if that's a thing.

Yes it is the people's church.  Of course too many Catholic clergy look upon their parishes as their personal fiefdoms and the laity as little more than pew stuffing.  Especially ones like this guy and Lord High Ray Burke.  

[Cartmann99]

44 minutes ago, Gobsmacked said:

They can lob coconuts at each other. 

The coconuts will all get together and vote them off the island.

[47of74]

5 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

The coconuts will all get together and vote them off the island.

I was thinking send them both here instead.  They can keep the Imperials infesting the island entertained.

[Carol]

When I was in High School we had to attend Mass every morning in the gym before classes started.  One time Father Scott dropped the host and I think he nearly had a conniption fit.  He made everyone step way back while he wiped the floor over and over(with what I don't recall - Clorox? ? Wine?).  Then he kissed the floor, got up and left the gym. 

It was weird then and it's still weird now.  I think he really believed he dropped Jesus on the gym floor.

[47of74]

When I was in High School we had to attend Mass every morning in the gym before classes started.  One time Father Scott dropped the host and I think he nearly had a conniption fit.  He made everyone step way back while he wiped the floor over and over(with what I don't recall - Clorox? ? Wine?).  Then he kissed the floor, got up and left the gym. 
It was weird then and it's still weird now.  I think he really believed he dropped Jesus on the gym floor.

One time back in the days when the church had the weird hang up about regular people touching the host with their hands my uncle went to receive. When the priest placed the host on his tongue my uncle felt it starting to fall off his tongue and pushed it back in his mouth. My uncle said the priest had a fit over him touching the host with his hand - that the priest pretty much said it was better for the host to fall to the floor than a regular person touch it.

[katilac]

1 hour ago, Carol said:

When I was in High School we had to attend Mass every morning in the gym before classes started.  One time Father Scott dropped the host and I think he nearly had a conniption fit.  He made everyone step way back while he wiped the floor over and over(with what I don't recall - Clorox? ? Wine?).  Then he kissed the floor, got up and left the gym. 

It was weird then and it's still weird now.  I think he really believed he dropped Jesus on the gym floor.

 

That's exactly what he believed; that's what transubstantiation means. How did you go to mass daily and not know that, lol? 

It would have been just water that he wiped the floor with, to make sure he got any stray crumbs (and then he would have rinsed the material in water in a special sink, to dispose of any crumbs properly). One would not use Clorox or such in any area that might contain a particle of the host, and of course using the wine would only compound the problem. 

Regarding the OP, the priest was obviously insanely wrong, but I didn't see anything that suggested he was being a racist asshole. Just an ordinary asshole. 

[anniebgood]

We use whole wheat wafers and red wine for communion but we use intinction where we are given the host and then dunk it either in white grape juice or the red wine. After church if there are any wafers left they're thrown outside for the birds and the wine goes too. I actually prefer intinction, less messy.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

47 minutes ago, anniebgood said:

We use whole wheat wafers and red wine for communion but we use intinction where we are given the host and then dunk it either in white grape juice or the red wine. After church if there are any wafers left they're thrown outside for the birds and the wine goes too. I actually prefer intinction, less messy.

That's not a Catholic church, right?

Transubstantiation is one of the main tenets of Catholic faith. For Catholics the consecrated wafer actually becomes the Eucharist, the actual body of Christ, it's the single most holy thing ever. Leftover wafers are always preserved in the tabernacle for the next Mass. There's a reason if people kneel in front of the tabernacle, they believe that Christ with his actual flesh and body is present inside it.

[Carol]

2 hours ago, katilac said:

That's exactly what he believed; that's what transubstantiation means. How did you go to mass daily and not know that, lol? 

It would have been just water that he wiped the floor with, to make sure he got any stray crumbs (and then he would have rinsed the material in water in a special sink, to dispose of any crumbs properly). One would not use Clorox or such in any area that might contain a particle of the host, and of course using the wine would only compound the problem. 

Regarding the OP, the priest was obviously insanely wrong, but I didn't see anything that suggested he was being a racist asshole. Just an ordinary asshole. 

I was being facetious.  The idea of transubstantiation is ludicrous to me.

[polecat]

13 hours ago, Carol said:

When I was in High School we had to attend Mass every morning in the gym before classes started.  One time Father Scott dropped the host and I think he nearly had a conniption fit.  He made everyone step way back while he wiped the floor over and over(with what I don't recall - Clorox? ? Wine?).  Then he kissed the floor, got up and left the gym. 

It was weird then and it's still weird now.  I think he really believed he dropped Jesus on the gym floor.

I feel really bad about snort-laughing at this. 

 

[smittykins]

My former Episcopal priest once told a story about when, at a previous parish, he accidentally spilled some consecrated wine from the chalice.  He froze, not knowing what to do, and then the other priest tapped him onthe shoulder and whispered,  "If He can get Himself out of the tomb, He can get Himself out of the carpet."

[Palimpsest]

On 7/2/2018 at 1:56 PM, Gobsmacked said:

The Priest needs to be taken away from any further duties, sent to be assessed for any possible Dementia/Alzheimer's type illness then without any fuss or retirement celebrations be put out to pasture for ever. 

Or a psychotic break.  He should be removed from pastoring that church until it is sorted out, and severely reprimanded if there is nothing physically or mentally up with him.

He's ever so sorry.

Quote

 

"Before the start of a funeral mass on June 27, one of the guests in the church damaged a sacred chalice used for the mass. The sight of that accident made my frustration boil over. My anger spilled out in a torrent. I uttered words I never use, and treated people I have lived with and committed my life to serve in an unacceptable manner. Instead of care and compassion for the grieving family and friends, my focus turned to anger," Briese who leads the Saint Mary Catholic Church in Charlotte Hall, wrote in a letter to the editor of The Enterprise on Thursday.

"The man who canceled this family's funeral and dispatched them in anger, is not the man who hours before worked to minister to their needs in a time of grief. Instead of lifting them up, I let them down. For the anger and embarrassment I caused to that family, I am profoundly sorry," he wrote.

<snip>

In his public apology, Briese said he is aware that some people might not want to hear what he had to say after how he treated the grieving family and he is willing to accept that as a consequence of his actions.

"Some might dismiss these words, given the tenor of the words I uttered before the funeral that was to take place on Wednesday. That is a just part of the consequence I will bear for my behavior. Like all human beings, I, too, am broken in nature, make mistakes and, yes, I fail. My life has been, is now, and prayerfully will always be, a life in which my daily words and deeds exemplify the Gospel message," he said.

"My most recent actions do not reflect who I am as a priest. I have spent much of my life working to lessen the challenges and ease the burden of people whose lives are heavy with struggles. I understand that my recent actions have now added a burden to their lives — a sad consequence that I must confront and for which I take responsibility," he added.

The Archdiocese of Washington also issued an apology to the family, saying: "What occurred at St. Mary's Parish ... does not reflect the Catholic Church's fundamental calling to respect and uplift the God-given dignity of every person nor does that incident represent the pastoral approach the priests of the Archdiocese of Washington commit to undertake every day in their ministry."

Last month, another Catholic priest, Fr. Jacques Lacroix, 89, of France, sparked international outrage with his anger when he was caught on video slapping a baby in the face because he wouldn't stop crying during a baptism ceremony.

 

https://www.christianpost.com/news/priest-sorry-for-canceling-funeral-telling-mourners-to-get-the-hell-out-of-church-over-broken-chalice-225674/

This is also Father Briese.  He hasn't been at the parish for very long and the Catholic Church is very short of priests.

http://www.somdnews.com/independent/spotlight/father-briese-ushers-new-era-for-charlotte-hall-parish/article_913b8bf8-17db-5d39-aabb-b67819960b37.html

I also found a church bulletin from St Mary's where female parishioners were being asked to sign up to bring meals for poor Father Briese because he didn't know how to cook.  Such a good way to get to know your new priest.

No, Father.  Learn to cook, dammit!  You are there to serve not to exploit the parishioners.

[Kailash]

@katilac I have to think there have been other services where something was accidentally broken or dropped and he didn’t flip out and kick everyone out then. I think, sadly, disgustingly, he’s a racist asshole.