Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Canadian Sniper Identified, Still At large

Rev. Ronald Trojcak is a Roman Catholic priest in London, Ontario, but was compelled to publicly condemn the actions of a fellow Catholic, Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska. April 25th, In a comment on the online version of the Lincoln Journal Star's coverage of Bruskewitz, Trojcak left this remark:

"I suggest that this bishop's stance, not only on this matter, but on several, provides plausible justification for abandoning the Roman church, in which I have been an active priest in the 43 years since my ordination."


A request for a clarification from Rev. Trojcak has so far been unanswered. So, the next best thing would be to take other public musings from Rev. Trojcak to find the source of his discontent. Maybe he's a Rad Trad, and is unhappy with Bruskewitz' latae sententiae excommunication of SSPXers.

On his personal website, Rev Trojcak has links to several National Catholic Reporter stories, The Tablet's online edition, and (drum roll, please)
"Voice of the Faithful (VOTF). Indicate Your Support by Sharing your Email".

Under his "Great Books" banner, Rev. Trojcak has these gems:

Sacred Silence: Denial and Crisis in the Church by Donald B. Cozzens
The Changing Face of the Priesthood: A Reflections on the Priest's Crisis of Soul by Donald B. Cozzens
She Who Is:The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse. by Elizabeth A. Johnson

Okay, I guess that since the 1964 Missal is not on his list, he's not an SSPX booster. From the pages of the Purple Pew (just guess), Rev. Trojcak can be found commenting on this article:

“By virtue of being intrinsically disordered, homosexuality is not a human act, but is a depravity and an abomination as Sacred Scripture, the Church and the Catechism all state so clearly,” Rev. Jeffrey T. Robideau of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing, Mich.


Trojcak's respose to the article:

"I am a Roman Catholic priest, engaged in university teaching for 35 years, and in university chaplaincy for 28 years. I am appalled by the inept, uninformed, and anything but Christian remarks of this priest. I have been teaching the Jewish-Christian scriptures, and unhappily, it seems that the priest has not read recent scholarship on the Bible and homosexuality. Unhappily, he seems also to have missed the all-inclusive ministry of Jesus.
Comment by Rev. Ronald Trojcak, Ph.D. — November 2, 2005 @ 9:34 pm"


I'm sensing a pattern here, and am perceiving Rev. Trojcak's objections to Bruskewitz's strident orthodoxy. But what gives a priest permission to snipe at a bishop in another country?

In a review on Amazon.com for Cozzen's Sacred Silence: Denial and the Crisis in the Church, Trojcak goes on so:
I am a Roman Catholic priest, ordained 40 years, and I am more grateful than I can say, for Donald Cozzen's latest book. It is the most plain-spoken, insightful, exhaustive, profound, and above all, honest book on the Church and its current parlous state, than any of the many I've read. I hesitate to call it courageous, though it surely is that. For this book followed his earlier book on the priesthood, and he was pilloried by many for that. But, fatuously, I'm afraid, I would like to think that anyone, cleric or lay, would have been, if not able, at least willing to say what Cozzens has said here. Unhappily, this is far from the truth. Now, if a bishop would be willing.......


So, Rev. Ron find Cozzens inspirational and Bruskewitz abhorrent. Let's see what Trojcak thinks about the late pope, JP II. In a Google cached page of PressEtc, a post was written called "Pope to saint: Seven sins of John Paul II" and listed these accusations (mostly pertaining to upholding Catholic Doctrine):
Sin 1: HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa
Sin 2: Genocide in Rwanda
Sin 3: Beatification of Mother Teresa
Sin 4: Over population and poverty
(And continued onto a non-cached page)
To which this reply is appended:

rev. ronald trojcak, ph.d. (a roman cat
Written by Guest on 2005-06-05 21:06:55
I appreciate this statement about the late pope.


Ahh, things are coming into a sharper focus...let's see what else we can find. In a review of John Cornwell's book A Pontiff in Winter, Trojcak concurs with his subject:

I say all this in order to provide the basis for Cornwell's central assessment of John Paul's papacy: namely its intolerance for pluralism. Here, pluralism extends to almost every element of the church: the authority of local bishops; the integrity of episcopal synods; the liturgy and liturgical texts, and perhaps most consequentially, theological diversity. Recall John Paul's treatment of a number of prominent theologians: Charles Curran, Leonardo Boff, Jacques Dupuis, and Hans Kung, among many others.

But strictures on diversity ignore the massive historical developments in the church's life and thought which have constituted the church. Such developments have been the hallmark of the history of the church from its very beginning. Moreover, much intolerance enforces a stultifying uniformity in a world whose cultural diversity we know now more clearly than ever before.

I believe that the greatest merit of Cornwell's book is its implicit demystification of the papacy.


By this time, it's clear to see why Rev. Trojcak felt compelled to assail Bruskewitz as he did: Bruskewitz is against those practices that really get people to leave the Catholic Church. And make no mistake, Rev. Trojcak, just because they may warm a pew on Sunday doesn't mean they're Catholic, and physically taking the Eucharist isn't a guarantee of Communion with the Church.

Bishop Bruskewitz, and his orthodox example, has given "plausible justification" for men and women to take Holy Orders, not "abandoning the Roman Church", as Trojcak suggests.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jesus' "all-inclusive" ministry included the line, "Shake the feet off your dust."

Anonymous said...

Good old Fr. Trojcak. I am ashamed to admit that this dissident priest is in my diocese actually teaching his evil ways at our (so-called) Catholic University and shriveling Seminary. Please pray for us here in London, Ontario and all of Canada really.

Brother James said...

At every mass we pray for all the Church, both those who enjoy orthodox worship and teaching, and those who suffer through heterodoxy and liturgical abuse.

"May the Lord accept this sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of His Name, for our good, and the good of all His Church."

Be of good disposition, regardless of where you are, for Christ is our hope.

epicentre said...

Ok, I'm glad you are all reading. This Father Trojcak has read nearly everything written anywhere by anyone. He's a most wonderfully pious radical, with a remarkable, unequalled Christ consciousness. He should be the Pope.

Brother James said...

Epic,
The good reverend may start out by reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, where He will find this:

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

Based on Rev. Trojcak's apparent opposition to this teaching, he'd make a poor candidate for Pope. The Pope can only teach in accord with the Magisterium of the Church, and cannot change doctrine at his whim.
As for his 'Christ consciousness', I would beg to differ on the grounds of his public statements and alliances with heretical movements. These heretical movements do not honor Christ, but attempt to elevate the self and its sinful nature, to Christ. Jesus was pure, called all sinners to repentance, and was obedient to the Father unto His Death on the Cross. If Rev. Trojcak's theology reflects these truths, in apparent contradiction with his public statements listed in this post, I'd love to be corrected.