{"id":105834,"date":"2020-09-24T11:14:29","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T18:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=105834"},"modified":"2020-09-24T14:22:38","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T21:22:38","slug":"i-stab-at-thee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/i-stab-at-thee\/","title":{"rendered":"“…I Stab at Thee”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

F<\/span>orty-one days ago, we learned<\/a> that our parish of Holy Rosary was to be suppressed. Twenty-five days ago, we celebrated our last Confirmations<\/a> as Holy Rosary ceased to be a parish in the Archdiocese of Seattle. Eleven days ago, Archbishop Etienne celebrated the final Mass<\/a> for Holy Rosary parish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then, six days ago, we received this in the mail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It’s dated eleven days after the date that our parish was suppressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was utterly furious when I read this. How dare<\/em> they? How dare they abolish my parish and then ask me for money to help support it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ll leave aside for now that they used several photos without permission, and that at least one of these is under protected copyright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon further reflection, I realize that this mailing was probably prepared months ago, and that sending it out was your typical bureaucratic SNAFU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, my heart aches for all of the former parishioners who received this in the mail and, like me, fumed at the absolute cruelty of it: “we refused to listen to you for years, we’ve condemned your parish church<\/a>, and now we’ve abolished you, but send us money anyway”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wish this were an isolated case, but it’s not. I still bear the wounds of being mocked and scolded by archdiocesan officials, once on the very day of Father Wagner’s funeral (just minutes before the entrance procession, in fact), and again a few weeks later at a transition meeting. In the latter case, a chancery official literally wagged her finger at me for the crime of following the instructions of my pastor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the cruelty inadvertent? Probably. One of my mottoes is “never presume malice when simple ignorance (or incompetence) will suffice as an explanation”. However, at some point the preponderance of evidence tips the balance. With this, has that moment arrived? I don’t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m no longer angry – these things pass quickly, and Confession certainly helps! But I’m certainly bearing another scar, inflicted by the beancounters and bureaucrats<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forty-one days ago, we learned that our parish of Holy Rosary was to be suppressed. Twenty-five days ago, we celebrated our last Confirmations as Holy Rosary ceased to be a parish in the Archdiocese of Seattle. Eleven days ago, Archbishop Etienne celebrated the final Mass for Holy Rosary parish. And then, six days ago, we received this in the mail. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":105838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Blatherings from the Blog: \"...I Stab at Thee\"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[111,91,24,90,3,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2020-the-end-of-holy-rosary","category-archbishop-paul-etienne","category-community","category-holy-rosary-parish-tacoma","category-moments-in-time","category-rant"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-09-18-17.37.40-1-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-rx0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":106373,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/a-corpus-christi-invitation-to-holy-rosary-parishioners\/","url_meta":{"origin":105834,"position":0},"title":"A Corpus Christi Invitation to Holy Rosary Parishioners","author":"Thom","date":"21 May 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"brothers and sisters in Christ, It is now more than ten months since our last parish Mass was celebrated in our parking lot by Archbishop Etienne. Several months ago, the Archbishop announced that the four parishes of Holy Rosary, Saint Ann, Saint Rita, and Visitation would be merging into a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2021 Transitions in Tacoma"","block_context":{"text":"2021 Transitions in Tacoma","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/2021-transitions-in-tacoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/cc01-by-Emily-Gossard.png?fit=825%2C551&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/cc01-by-Emily-Gossard.png?fit=825%2C551&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/cc01-by-Emily-Gossard.png?fit=825%2C551&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/cc01-by-Emily-Gossard.png?fit=825%2C551&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100282,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/pray-for-holy-rosary-and-archbishop-etienne\/","url_meta":{"origin":105834,"position":1},"title":"Pray for Holy Rosary and Archbishop Etienne","author":"Thom","date":"30 October 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"please pray for my parish of Holy Rosary in Tacoma. Our new Archbishop, Paul Etienne, has given our church a \"stay of execution\", suspending the destruction order for the moment, while he prays and consults. Tonight, I'm asking you to pray, as tonight his Excellency will be consulting with our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2019 Transitions in Tacoma"","block_context":{"text":"2019 Transitions in Tacoma","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/2019-transitions-in-tacoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Holy-Rosary.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Holy-Rosary.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Holy-Rosary.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Holy-Rosary.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Holy-Rosary.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":105716,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-end-of-holy-rosary-parish\/","url_meta":{"origin":105834,"position":2},"title":"The End of Holy Rosary Parish","author":"Thom","date":"14 August 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Holy Rosary Parish in Tacoma is being suppressed as of August 31, 2020. This parish began through the hard work and vision of German immigrants, who gathered in the Fall of 1890 to persuade the Bishop to grant them a new parish. Over the next year, they pooled their money\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2020 - the end of Holy Rosary"","block_context":{"text":"2020 - the end of Holy Rosary","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/2020-the-end-of-holy-rosary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-14-at-09.42.13.png?fit=815%2C841&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-14-at-09.42.13.png?fit=815%2C841&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-14-at-09.42.13.png?fit=815%2C841&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-14-at-09.42.13.png?fit=815%2C841&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100104,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/today-im-just-here-to-pray-with-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":105834,"position":3},"title":"Today I’m Just Here to Pray with You","author":"Thom","date":"08 September 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"was out of town this weekend, so of course I missed Archbishop Etienne's first Sunday Mass as Archbishop of Seattle. It was celebrated, rather improbably and unexpectedly, at our parish of Holy Rosary. He reportedly began by saying, \"today I'm just here to pray with you.\" How I wish I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2019 Transitions in Tacoma"","block_context":{"text":"2019 Transitions in Tacoma","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/2019-transitions-in-tacoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/69889258_10156729006963262_5850791221559033856_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/69889258_10156729006963262_5850791221559033856_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/69889258_10156729006963262_5850791221559033856_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/69889258_10156729006963262_5850791221559033856_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/69889258_10156729006963262_5850791221559033856_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":106452,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/orphans-no-longer\/","url_meta":{"origin":105834,"position":4},"title":"Orphans No Longer","author":"Thom","date":"01 July 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"July 1 2021, is the effective date of my parish of Holy Rosary merging into the parish of Saint Ann. It is a bittersweet moment. On the one hand, I am told that a decree officially suppressing Holy Rosary parish and merging it into Saint Ann will be published today,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2021 Transitions in Tacoma"","block_context":{"text":"2021 Transitions in Tacoma","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/2021-transitions-in-tacoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/image0.jpeg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/image0.jpeg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/image0.jpeg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":106071,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-10-most-popular-posts-of-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":105834,"position":5},"title":"The 10 Most Popular Posts of 2020","author":"Thom","date":"30 December 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"it's time for our annual look back at the year that was. And what a year! Plague, lockdowns, crazy elections, murder hornets, you name it! But instead of looking at the crazy out there, we're concentrating on the crazy in here, in the form of a top ten. Who doesn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2020 - the end of Holy Rosary"","block_context":{"text":"2020 - the end of Holy Rosary","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/2020-the-end-of-holy-rosary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-09-13-18.39.12.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-09-13-18.39.12.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-09-13-18.39.12.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-09-13-18.39.12.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105834"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105844,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105834\/revisions\/105844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}