Friday nights at 8:00 at St. Mary Catholic Church in Fredericksburg holds a Holy Hour with an Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
Those of you who are former Holy Land pilgrims, RICA members, or parents, prayer is probably the single best way to help. Please come out to St. Mary this Friday and pray for Fr. Buckner, Bishop Loverde, and all those involved. It’ll be a great way to catch up with one another as well!
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The Free Lance-Star has reported on the allegations, and it didn’t take long before one of our readers picked up on the anti-Catholic sentiment:
A girl posted a terrible comment on the FLS website this morning under the story- stating that [Father Buckner] hung around the ER where she worked and that rumors were well known that he “liked little boys” – She also slammed the Catholic faith. It was pretty bad.The Free Lance Star removed the comment in 10 minutes.
And rightly so…
Naturally, all of the anti-Catholics will come out to play. They need our prayers too. Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, it is the perpetrators of “the last acceptable prejudice in America” who will make the most hay.
Posted in father buckner, investigation, press, st. mary church fredericksburg | 3 Comments »
Hello and welcome to the inaugural post of PrayforFatherBuckner.wordpress.com!
If you are like many of us, we heard about the allegations against Fr. Bucker at Mass on Sunday, May 6th during Fr. Rooney’s homily. Not exactly the way anyone wanted to hear about such news at St. Mary, but a stunned congregation quickly shifted modes from disbelief to incredulity.
For those of you who do not understand what is occuring, click here.
An unidentified accuser has charged Fr. Buckner with “inappropriate conduct” between the years of 1992-1995. Fr. Buckner in turn has been placed on administrative leave, which means no public Masses, suspension of his duties at St. Veronica in Herndon and at the Catholic Distance University, as well as the public scrutiny of those less than disposed to be friendly to Catholic priests.
In short, Fr. Buckner’s reputation has been tarnished — whether deliberate or not. Even if (and we pray, when) he is exonerated, it will be extremely difficult to rebuild. Which is what makes this specific instance so much more painful, because those know know Fr. Buckner know him to be a good and holy man.
This blog is being created for several reasons:
We are not here to presume innocence or guilt, nor presuming to know more than our fellow laypeople in Arlington. Moreover, we ask that any and all prayer intentions are said for all those involved — not just for Father Buckner, but for the accuser, the investigators, and most of all for Bishop Loverde himself. This blog is not a “fanclub” of any sort, nor was this website asked to be created.
Many of us will praise Fr. Buckner far beyond what he would ever feel he deserves, but it is not our intent to build a cult of personality, or even suggest one exists. Rather, our purpose is to let the truth be known about a good and holy priest of God — and let the reader be the judge.
In the meantime, we are asking folks to contact the Chancery and let them know of your personal experiences with Fr. Buckner. Write your stories here so others can read them. Tell people about the Holy Land and how it changed your life. Let people know about his impact during homilies, as a teacher and professor, as a priest.
But most of all, let people read and judge for themselves what a good and holy man Father Buckner really is in the eyes of those whom he ministered to.
TO CONTACT THE CHANCERY, PLEASE WRITE TO:
Rev. Terry W. Specht
Director of Child Protection and Safety
200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 914
Arlington, VA 22203
In the meantime, please pray for Father Buckner! Feel free to lodge your letters or comments of support below, and we’ll do our best to keep you posted.
God Bless,
Posted in CDU, Holy Land, bishop loverde, father buckner, investigation, press, st. mary church fredericksburg, st. veronica church herndon | 75 Comments »
