+Listecki Delivers Body-Slam to Fr. Connell

This was no mere slap on the wrist.

Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, stripped a priest of his faculties to hear confessions after the priest publicly endorsed a bill that would force Catholic clergy to break the seal of confession. ...

...The archbishop denounced the priest’s position and declared the seal of confession absolutely inviolable, admitting of no exception. Reaffirming Church teaching, Listecki unequivocally stated, “Such assertions are gravely contrary to the definitive teachings of the Catholic Church about this sacrament.  The Catholic Church firmly declares that the sacramental seal of confession is always, and in every circumstance without exception, completely inviolable. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee fully assents to this fundamental tenet of the Catholic faith.” 

Lamenting the disquieting effect caused by the priest’s statements, the archbishop informed the faithful of the diocese that he was stripping Connell of all faculties to hear confessions and grant sacramental absolution, a disciplinary measure that holds even outside the archdiocese.  ...

You guessed it!!  Connell was ordained by the disgraced +Rembert Weakland, OSB, whose legacy lives on to bedevil Milwaukee Catholics with chaos.  (See post below.)