Matt C. Abbott
I want to commend the courageous efforts of pro-family advocates who opposed the "civil unions" legislation, including Cardinal Francis George and the Catholic Conference of Illinois, Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, and David E. Smith and Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute.
I fear we are approaching the day when faithful Christians will be imprisoned or even put to death by the devil's servants — and that includes some who claim to be Christian.
Remember, as the late Father John Hardon, S.J., once asserted, we really don't have separation of church and state; we have subordination of church to state.
Father Tom Euteneuer, former president of Human Life International and author of a book on exorcism that was pulled off the market not long after it was published and promoted (including in this column), has seemingly "disappeared."
As my regular readers will know, I've quoted Father Euteneuer often over the last few years. But in news that surprised even me, HLI announced in late August that Father was stepping down as HLI president.
Father was quoted as saying: "I have been utterly privileged to serve this great mission for a decade, and now I am called back to my diocese [by the bishop] to continue my priestly service in parish work, which was the original calling of my vocation. I have great peace about the road that lies ahead and about all that has been accomplished up to this point."
In addition to his rather abrupt departure from HLI, Father's book Exorcism and the Church Militant, which was being promoted by HLI in July, was essentially pulled from circulation not long ago, a vague reason given for doing so.
Strange, if you ask me.
In the months leading up to the book's publishing, I had sought, and obtained, permission to reprint in this column the book's entire Introduction. Given the circumstances, I decided it was best to have that particular column removed from RenewAmerica.
I've never heard from Father since all this transpired, and e-mails to three officials of the Diocese of Palm Beach, Father's home diocese, have gone unanswered. In my e-mail to those officials, I simply asked if Father Euteneuer is indeed a priest in good standing with the diocese. It's certainly easy enough for at least one of them to respond: "Yes, Mr. Abbott, Father Euteneuer is a priest in good standing here in the Diocese of Palm Beach. Thank you."
But, alas, I've heard nothing. Crickets.
I do know this: There's "more to the story," and whatever transpired is not the result of a bishop's persecution. There are at least a few individuals who know the whole story, but, right now, they're not willing, or able, to divulge the details. Perhaps they don't want me, or anyone else, to pursue the matter. Well, that doesn't sit well with me.
I hope to find out more in the coming weeks. Maybe I will, maybe I won't.
Matt C. Abbott is a Catholic columnist with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, Media and Theatre from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, and an Associate in Applied Science degree in Business Management from Triton College in River Grove, Ill. He has worked in the right-to-life movement and is a published writer focused on Catholic and social issues. He can be reached at mattcabbott@gmail.com
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/101202
