Unpublished by St. Louis Review
Though many people on many occasions, have brought and continue to bring to our attention, that they have sent letters to the Review which were left unpublished, here is one that recently came to our attention.
The letter below, is a response to the Review editorial published, December 16, 2021. This response letter was never published by the Review, is from Bob Baker, a CREDO Member and former Board Member. Bob first learned of the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP) in 2019, when CREDO held a Rosary rally outside of their national conference in St. Louis. CREDO along with other St. Louis Catholics, were present on the hotel property, as Abp. Carlson offered AUSCP’s Mass (admittedly, at least his third annual AUSCP convention Mass) and Abp. Cupich gave the keynote address. With much of AUSCP’s mission seeming challenging to Church teaching, it is no wonder, all the clergy in attendance seemed to be aligned with all things homosexual, obvious in word and in deed. This summary of the convention environment, sadly did not exclude the aforementioned Mass.
From: Bob Baker
To: teakphillips@archstl.org <teakphillips@archstl.org>; jkenny@archstl.org <jkenny@archstl.org>
Cc: mrozanski@archstl.org <mrozanski@archstl.org>; mrivituso@archstl.org <mrivituso@archstl.org>
Sent: Tue, Dec 28, 2021 9:32 am
Subject: “Be Like Father Bob”
Dear St. Louis Review,
No, I do not want to “Be Like Father Bob” as you urge your readers in last week’s editorial in the St. Louis Review. A few years ago, Fr. Gettinger was highlighted on the web site of the Association of United States Catholic Priests (AUSCP) as a major financial donor to the organization. The AUSCP is a heretical group of priests that promotes actions contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church such as ordination of women and the decriminalization of abortion.
The article and editorial on Fr. Gettinger, while inspiring as regards his work to help the poor, would it not have been equally uplifting if the article addressed the generosity of the Salvation Army or the Shriners or any non-religious organization involved with the poor.
As a Catholic publication, should not the Review be focused on the work of evangelization and spreading the gospel of Christ and reporting on the generous work of Catholic organizations that help the poor and are also faithful to the teachings of the Church?
I do not understand the disconnect between helping people with their physical needs and also helping them with their spiritual needs. Saint Mother Teresa is a good example of how you can do both. No one did more to help the poor than Mother Teresa and yet she remained steadfast and faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church and on many occasions publicly condemned abortion.
If Father Gettinger can afford to donate generous funds to an association of heretical priests, many of whom promote homosexual marriages, then obviously he is no longer in need of contributions to help the poor.
While we must provide for the poor, Our Lord makes it abundantly clear in his last message to His Apostles that you should, “go, therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptize them…and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you.” Matthew 28:19-20.
The Church is much more than a welfare agency but rather its focus is on the eternal salvation of souls. At end times, you will not be asked how many bodies did you feed, but how many souls did you nourish and bring to the Lord in heaven.
Sincerely,
Bob Baker
