"Father Dale" Fallout: Life Teen Founder Indicted For Sexual Misconduct With Young Men Is At Odds With His Diocese

Dale Fushek, the founder of Life Teen, who has been indicted for predatory homosexual acts with minors, thinks it's okay for priests who resign in disgrace to officiate at non-denominational worship services. His diocese doesn't agree with him.

Before reading about the fallout, if you aren't familiar with the details of the case against Fushek, you can read about them here: For 20 Years Dale Fushek Was the Golden Boy of the Phoenix Catholic Diocese. Now, His Golden Boys Are Talking

See also: Fushek Sex Charges Aren't Tossed out

Here's the story: "Father Dale" Fallout

Here's a quote:

Father Dale Fushek is still waiting on the courts to decide if he is eligible for a trial by jury. But Fushek is not waiting to conduct services again. The former St. Timothy's priest has opened his own prayer and worship center, a non-denominational service at the Mesa Convention Center. More than 500 people attended his first service on Thanksgiving day and he plans on holding more services in December.

But according to the Diocese of Phoenix, Fushek is still officially a priest on administrative leave and he has been specifically instructed not to conduct public or sacred ministries.

Those concerns were also communicated to St. Tim's parishioners on Sunday, when current St. Timothy's Pastor Jack Spaulding told churchgoers "he could not and would not support him in this."

See also: Indicted Life Teen Founder Starts Non-Denominational "Worship Center"

My thoughts:

Fr. Dale is veering into schism through pride. He's got some pretty serious allegations being made about him, and one would think he'd be more concerned about facing that than trying to resurrect his glory days with Life Teen.

Any thoughts?

Comments

[Joseph-USA]

Who were his bishops during the "20 years" that he was the fair haired boy in Phoenix?

Do they now hide and pretend not to hanve known about his homosexuality?

Please name the names. ALL of these homosexuals in the Catholic clergy are known to one another and have "served" in or been promoted in the same diocese, and seminaries, etc.

There can be ZERO respect for the pope(s) until this obvious scandal is corrected completely from top to bottom.

Who reading this blog could not FIX this problem completely in one day, let alone thirty or forty years?

[Donald]

Most of the time it was, I think Thomas O'Brien...remember him? He's the jamoke that killed someone in a hit and run accident and here's some other excerpts about his previous activities...

Nothing--and No One--Is Sacred Anymore
UPDATE: September 2006: Thomas O'Brien didn't serve any time in prison for the hit and run accident for which he was convicted. The former bishop cut a deal by acknowledging that he had covered up reports of sexual misconduct by members of the clergy. He sentenced to four years' probation and 1,000 hours of community service. He completed the 1,000 hours of community service in 2006.

UPDATE: February 17, 2004: A jury today unanimousely delivered a verdict of guilty in the hit-and-run case involving Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien, making him the first Catholic bishop in U.S. history to be found guilty of a felony. His sentence has not yet been determined.

UPDATE-June18, 2003: Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien has resigned, and the Pope has accepted his resignation. O'Brien was the first American Bishop to be charged with a felony, the details of which are below.

Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien is in the news again. This may be the the final blow in a series of dark events involving the Bishop.

Apparently, on the evening of June 14, 2003 the Bishop struck a pedestrian who was subsequently hit by a second vehicle. The victim, Jim Reed, was 43 years old. He died from his injuries. A witness to the hit-and-run accident described the vehicle and provided the license plate number to the police. That vehicle and license plate belonged to Bishop O'Brien. According to the police report, the Bishop had been informed by the Church office that the police wanted to speak to him on Sunday, but he made no attempt to contact them prior to his arrest on Monday. It is also noted in the police report that he stated that he knew that his car had struck something, but he thought it was a dog or a cat, or that a rock had hit his windshield. He had made arrangements to have the windshield fixed Monday morning. There is no indication in the police report that Bishop O'Brien was driving impaired. Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien was arrested at his home. He was released on $45,000 bond, and his hearing on this matter is set for June 25, 2003.

No stranger to legal difficulties and national news lately, the Bishop recently acknowledged that he allowed priests who were accused of sexual misconduct to work with children. He also admitted that on many occasions he had transferred priests who might have been accused of sexual misconduct to protect them. He has since provided reams of documents to Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley. The County Attorney and the Bishop came to an agreement that in exchange for immunity from criminal prosecution, Bishop O'Brien would create a special unit within the Diocese to handle matters relative to allegations of sexual misconduct. According to Alan Cooperman of the Washington Post, "The prosecutors described the agreement, signed on May 3 by Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien, as the most serious legal admission of personal wrongdoing by a Catholic prelate since the sexual abuse scandal erupted in the United States."

So there you have it...something about "birds of a feather"...

[Conrad-USA]

Donald -

Thank you. I would never have guessed this level of outrage.

When does the Church membership rise up and demand accountability from the POPE????

How many incomprehensible situations, ALL CRYSTAL CLEARLY RELATED TO THE HORRIFIC ERROR OF ORDAINING ANY ANY ANY HOMOSEXUAL MALES TO BE CATHOLIC PRIESTS???

When will the pope be "forced" to act and DISMISS ALL homoseuxals from the Roman Catholic Church clergy?

[Atlanta Catholic]

Wow! It certainly looks like Donald has done some homework! What a disgrace. These western Bishops were all classmates of Cardinal Mahony. Look how these wolves have dismantled and shamed Christ's Church.

These "corporate" men have not even had the false decency to run things like a top corporation. No winning corporation would have kept this losing team in charge. They would have been kicked to the curb the minute their deceptive practices were discovered. It is time for a big housecleaning! Throw out the money changers and the layers of wolves that support them.

The Catholic Church is definitely experiencing the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary. There is no mystery that there is a problem with clergy acting out their homosexual tendencies on unsuspecting and trusting sheep. Michael Rose's book, "Goodbye Good Men" was a window into this turbulent evil. The Glorious Mysteries will eventually come. In the End My Immaculate Heart Will Triumph! There are many good priests who remain faithful to their promises to Christ. "Where evil is, grace abounds more".

[Frank]

Hey

Where are the Sheas and Akins reportins such?

Oh I forgot they are back from their trip to Ireland and England collecting their money from their speaking engagements and coddling up with these homosexuals and talking about UFOs and torture

How can these lame men win these blog awards

Are you voters lame?

[Jimbo]

I didn't know the founder of Life Teen is also the moderator of Meet the Press, Tim Russert!

Ya gotta admit the resemblance is uncanny.

[youngfogey]

"Irreverence in the sanctuary means perversion in the rectory." Readers of this blog are probably familiar with the title of one of the ugliest Church dissident groups - "We Are Church"; a perfect description for the ego of this creep who probably thinks he's more important than the Pope.

[Thomistic]

Whenever I hear, "We Are Church", I think of this passage:

Then they arrived at the country of the Ger'asenes, which is opposite Galilee.

And as he stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons; for a long time he had worn no clothes, and he lived not in a house but among the tombs.

When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech you, do not torment me."

For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him; he was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters, but he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the desert.)

Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?"

And he said, "We are Legion"; for many demons had entered him.

And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them leave. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. (Luke 8:26-33)

Pax,

Thomistic

[Me]

Shame on You!

[Thomistic]

Shame on who?

Fr. Dale?

Pax,

Thomistic

[sheron]

Who are we to judge anyone? God is the only judge here. Fr. Dale is innocent until found guilty in a court of law. He and only him will have to answer, face to face to our Lord our God. If we could bring 1/10th of the people to Christ as Fr. Dale has we would have accomplished what God has asked us to do here on earth. The most important thing God asks is to love and love unconditionally...let's try it with Fr. Dale. I love him and I will pray for peace and justice.