Comments Posted By M. Stankovich

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Stinkbomb II

Alright, then. The circling of the wagons would suggest that the question will not be answered.

I did not know of this situation until very recently, and those who informed me do not reside in the US – let alone Syosset – and have no interest in the OCA. They suggested the owner must be a “poor judge of character” or she was seriously taken advantage of. Regardless, they all insist that despite considerable complaint & embarrassment, there most certainly was no quick and decisive resolution.

I will now await a wordy, 3rd-person chastisement of you by Prof. Siewers & Mr. Michalopulos for the outrageous inappropriateness of your diagnosis of my “damaged inside.” I will not, however, be holding my breath. And a special note to FYI: in that you do not seem to grasp the concept, “feed the ego,” presumably as some sort of “lustful” attention-seeking affectation gained at the expense of others? Dude, do you see the insults of jamokes as fitting the bill? Seriously?

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 21, 2013 @ 9:28 pm

Pravoslavnie,

It was not my intention to disparage the March for Life or “indict” those who participate. My words were taken out of context and used for another purpose. Likewise, anyone with any common sense understood Fr. Schmemann’s comment – originally broader: “Let’s feed the poor and be back by 4:30 for wine & cheese” – as an “indictment”t of the pro forma, American “text-message-a -donation” form of “charity” mocking what the Lord asks of us (cf. Matt. 25:37).

I have seen this video before and it is beyond inspiring. It typifies what is missing in our American experience: a lack of creativity & encouragement which leads to the freedom & confidence to undertake what you described as taking “matters into your own hands”; what Fr. Alexey Karlgut so wonderfully described on this site as the sobornost which delineates leadership & organization, but as you described, the mutual responsibility to “bend over and pick up a chewing gum wrapper”; and the joy where, logically according to the reasoning of this world, there should be sorrow, as Fr. Michael explains, for those who really and truthfully trust God. Hopefully we are again on that path and we certainly have living witness to the possibility.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 21, 2013 @ 6:17 pm

Is this your card, Mr. Michaopulos? Yes! The Jack of Spades! And that is your signature? Yes! And what is written at that bottom? “Cowardice becomes you.” Yes! And written at the top? “Et tu, Brute?” Yes! Thank you! Thank you, ladies & gentlemen. It’s not magic or illusion. It’s simply the laws of the probability.

“From now on I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his lord does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.” (Jn. 15:15)

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 21, 2013 @ 2:00 pm

ChristineFevronia,

Months ago I told you that you are in my prayers – that God would grant you comfort and “relief” from this seemingly endless, circular argument that leads nowhere. I promise you, to this very day, you and your family remain in my prayers.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 21, 2013 @ 9:26 am

Mr. Michalopulos,

You are not asking me a question. You are making a statement. I have stated on numerous occasions that I resent this form of manipulation. You are the second person to inject yourself into what I considered to be a very simple question.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 21, 2013 @ 1:49 am

Mr. Michalopulos,

Fair enough.

You began this by stating:

It seems possible that someone has used the offices of two of our more loquacious correspondents to leak (fabricate?) information about that Institute’s report about Metropolitan Jonah’s “evaluation.”

There is no way this could be accomplished except by violating federal & state law regarding the confidentiality of patient medical records – and for the one you identify as a “state certified social worker” – violation of the ethical canon of practice. The only way to demonstrate you have not borne false witness against your brother is to name your “loquacious correspondents and prove your accusation.

Personally, I have nothing but time.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 21, 2013 @ 12:20 am

ChristineFevronia,

I accepted you at you at your word, and now you seem to have “amended” your word. Likewise, in your “amendment” you have validated my original concern which was to question whether an alcoholic Archimandrite with firearms was living in Blessed Vladyka Basil’s home/chapel/recording studio. Now, two others mention “questions about his drunkenness,” and “admittedly, they were big ones.”

Most importantly, I did not post this question to you to begin with, as you have a history of “spinning” timelines & history which are absolutely of no concern to me. Further, you seem to have conveniently “connected” me with “Syosset sources,” when the fact of the matter is that I was informed of the living arrangement by several members of Vladyka’s family and several individuals that had traveled with him to Russia & the the Holy Land who were outraged.

colette said the woman who owns the apartment draws a comparison between Vladyka Basil & the former Metropolitan, “If anyone knows these 2 men it is her.” I am not interested in your spin & polemic, ChristineFevronia.

I repeat myself:

I was shocked & scandalized to be informed that this same apartment/chapel/recording studio was lent out to the alcoholic, gun-carrying Archimandrite at the center of the scandal so disturbing to the Synod of Bishops, as well as the neighbors and the DC Police Dept. I beg to be corrected that Vladyka’s home was not utilized in such a manner, colette.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 20, 2013 @ 12:49 pm

ChristineFevronia,

I very much appreciate the the correction and I accept you at your word that the Archimandrite who was serving the so-called “DC nuns” and at the center of the scandal was not living in Vladyka Basil’s home. It most certainly eases my heart.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 18, 2013 @ 9:03 pm

I was not talking about Syosset, I was talking about you and your lack of conscience in backstabbing your supporters.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 18, 2013 @ 11:53 am

Vladyka always spoke very fondly of Marilyn.

I was shocked & scandalized to be informed that this same apartment/chapel/recording studio was lent out to the alcoholic, gun-carrying Archimandrite at the center of the scandal so disturbing to the Synod of Bishops, as well as the neighbors and the DC Police Dept. I beg to be corrected that Vladyka’s home was not utilized in such a manner, colette.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 17, 2013 @ 9:02 pm

Kentigern,

My expertise is documented by the Courts of CA & NY, who accept my testimony as such. As to my public speculation of the mental health of anyone, document it, or you are a liar.

Secondly, in my very last conversation with Fr. John Meyendorff, my confessor and mentor for nearly twenty years, as we walked toward the education building where he was teaching & I was leaving, he inquired if I was interested in a casual group he was thinking of assembling to consider translations from Migne’s Patrologia Graeca. Unfortunately, he did not live through the summer. Apparently he was confident I knew something regarding Patristics.

I have not disrespected the former Metropolitan, and I have said nothing beyond what the Synod of Bishops have said publicly to the Church at large:

We knew already from past experience with Metropolitan Jonah that something had to change; we had hoped that change would come about as the result of Metropolitan Jonah fulfilling his promise to comply with the recommendation given him by the medical facility to which he was admitted for evaluation and treatment last November, as he assured us he would do at our last All-American Council in Seattle. That promise having gone unfulfilled, when this latest problem came to our attention at the end of June, we felt that we had no choice but to ask him to take a leave of absence or to submit his resignation. The moral, human, canonical and legal stakes were simply too high.

We cannot stress enough that while the most recent events are likely the most dangerous for the Church, these represent only the latest in a long series of poor choices that have caused harm to our Church. We understand and agree that an ability to work or not work well with others, or a challenged administrative skill set, or Metropolitan Jonah’s refusal to comply with the recommendations of the treatment facility, while not the reasons for his requested resignation, were fundamentally related to the consequences of his actions.

I had come to the realization long ago that I have neither the personality nor the temperament for the position of Primate, a position I never sought nor desired.

Let me repeat myself:

Fr. Regan & others on the Orthodox Forum challenged you for accusing me of unsubstantiated and unsupportable claims of unethical behaviour in my relationship with the Chancellor of the OCA; you apologized to me before the members of that site, and you said it would not be repeated. And now you come here to begin again because there is no standard for truth. This is disingenuous, you are dishonest, untrue to your word, and you should be ashamed of yourself. I will post the archive of that post if you wish.

I pray for you daily, Pavlos, but you will argue alone.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 17, 2013 @ 3:47 pm

Mr. Michalopulos,

Certainly you have mistaken my comment to refer to your ability to diagnose. In fact, I was referring to your ability to fabricate. And heaven forbid I ask for any substantiation for the fabrication that constitutes the premise for this post, because I know better. Likewise, I note the “careful” descriptions of your “Syosset-enlisted” loquacious protagonists, thinly veiled to serve your purpose, but anonymous so as not to openly charge the two by name. Because to do so in order to fit your your fabrication, you would be forced to accuse a compromise of personal integrity, professional integrity and ethics, violation of the law, and a willful choice to jeopardize vocation, professional licensing, income, and the ability to support ones family. And for what? To “win” an obsessive, dead-end argument with you that ended nearly a year ago? You are a “traditionalist” coward, and apparently are willing to backstab your own supporters. This is a personally disappointing turn of events.

The Synod of Bishops could care less about what happens to an administrator at SLI and you know it. This is contrived and fabricated by you for your own purpose. Jonah Pauffhausen will never be restored, never: “I had come to the realization long ago that I have neither the personality nor the temperament for the position of Primate, a position I never sought nor desired.”

It is over. Stop the fiction and the divisiveness. You are running out of tangents.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 17, 2013 @ 1:39 am

He who has ears, let him hear.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 16, 2013 @ 11:03 pm

Blessed Valdyka Basil wrote:

Our relationship to God is described in a saying of the of the Fathers of antiquity, in Greek, “hesychia” – this means silence. But not only the physical silence, but deepening himself in a way that the person becomes calm (В этом смысле слово греческое исихи по-русски может лучше всего звучать какспокойстви). In the stillness we find ourselves not only subjectively silent, but also objectively, because there comes a silence all around us. What silence? Divine. Divine silence, which gives us the strength to fight with all the temptations of this world and enter into the way that leads us directly to Heaven.

There is another expression of the Holy Fathers in Greek, which is “theosis.” What is it? In Russian it can be translated as deification (обожение. So this word means, according to Gregory Palamas means for us that we become children of God as we were in paradise. And, therefore, it is here now, at every Divine Liturgy, we may feel it, perceive this deification, this amazing way of hesychia, this amazing way to not only experience silence, but experience silence around us, heavenly silence, a joyful silence, silence, love and truth.

You need to seriously back off and chill, Kentigern. Fr. Regan & others on the Orthodox Forum challenged you for accusing me of unsubstantiated and unsupportable claims of unethical behaviour in my relationship with the Chancellor of the OCA; you apologized to me before the members of that site, and you said it would not be repeated. I will find the archive of that post if you wish. And now you come here to begin again because there is no standard for truth. This is disingenuous, you are dishonest, untrue to your word, and you should be ashamed of yourself. And if I am a liar as to my relationship or discussions, or the wisdom I claim to have received at the feet of Blessed Vladyka Basil Radzianko, I will answer to Almighty God, and certainly not you.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 16, 2013 @ 1:29 pm

Prof. Siewers,

If you would wish to refer to a fundamental lack of moral authority, the resignation of the voice of conscience, and the abdication of the proclamation from the final harbinger of Truth and morality that would repeatedly and silently allow the heterodox, lawyers, and judges to determine the course of moral direction in our country then, indeed, I disrespect & and mock. And I continue where Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann left off: one march a year is not moral authority; it is not “didactic,” metaphoric, symbolic, or even creative. It is pitiful and simply something “to do” with a minimal amount of effort, put the banners back in storage until next year, and as Fr. Alexander rightly knew, “be back in time for wine & cheese.” Tomorrow is another day… Where are the Orthodox reproductive health and abortion alternative services, Professor Siewers? Where are the Orthodox adoption and birth-supportive programs and services? With the exposure & conviction of Kermit Gosnell for murder, why don’t you go back to the Orthodox Forum & ask Fr. Seraphim Holland if he believes one march a year is “morally sufficient.” Is there something here I should actually respect in your opinion?

And let’s move on to the issue of same-sex marriage argued before the SCOTUS: I’ve watched both cases originate from here in California for several years, knowing where they were headed. Where was the Orthodox voice of moral authority, Prof. Siewers? Where were you? Where in heaven’s name was Jonah? I wrote on my blog that these cases were bound for the the SCOTUS more than a year ago when Gov. Brown challenged the constitutionality of Prop 8 . Silence. And you mocked me for seeing as foolishness a last minute “hastily assembled” handful of Orthodox who “marched” on the SCOTUS the day for the oral arguments? Sleep now in the fire. And draw up some new banners.

Venerable Bishop Basil pray to God for us!

You are the Orthodox Karl Rove.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 16, 2013 @ 12:11 am

Prof. Siewers,

Vladyka Basil was a friend of mine – which certainly was no benefit to him – on both coasts, and I honour him as a Saint of the Church. It saddens me each and ever time his name is “dropped” into a conversation for no other purpose than to bolster some self-serving, self-righteous claim or another. He loved the Orthodox Church in America and served faithfully and obediently until his last breath. While he initially was hurt by the Holy Synod’s request that he resign his diocesan position, he later admitted that it was his pride that prevented him from seeing that he was a very poor administrator, that it was not his calling, and this allowed him to pursue the most glorious, prosperous, and fulfilling years of his life, sourcing from the very apartment in which you sat: recording and broadcasting the Word of Truth to Soviet Russia and the entire Soviet Block. And nothing moved him more than the impromptu conversation he had walking on a country road outside Moscow with a man who told him, “I have a spiritual father.” Vladyka asked, “Oh, who is he?” The man replied, “Vladyka Vasilii from the Voice of America!”

You are perfectly capable of presenting as outraged, intelligent, well-read, really Orthodox, and junkyard vicious without dragging the Saints into your discourse. Venerable Bishop Basil pray to God for us!

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 15, 2013 @ 3:14 pm

Mr. Michalopulos,

What’s next? Will you be rating thoracic surgeons for Orthodox Yelp? Stick to throat lozenges on aisle 6. That way nobody gets arrested. “Dr Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard.” WAT!

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 15, 2013 @ 11:27 am

Director of St Luke’s Resigns

Fr. Andrei,

Indeed He is Risen!

I was not ignoring you, but I am reluctant to share personal information with you here lest it be trivialized into so much Forest Gump. Nevertheless, I will confirm for you the fact that Serbian officers felt it their duty to protect St. Nicholai and to secure for him the privacy – most often for himself alone – to serve the Liturgy (e.g. horse stalls or dilapidated equipment sheds) and either “casually” lead the faithful to him to receive the Eucharist, or “nonchalantly” accompany him as he went to the faithful, all without drawing any attention. One officer I knew personally told the story of being “caught” with another officer, though the authorities knew nothing more than they were “up to something.” They were dumped into a dry well and horse harnesses were dumped on them. I suspect we can only imagine such harshness.

When I was a child, Bishop Nicholai was buried next to the monastery church in Libertyville, IL, with simple white cross and candles people placed in the ground. My father cried like it was the end of the world.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 24, 2013 @ 7:51 pm

nit picker,

I apparently missed your response here and, dude, you have seriously mischaracterized my statement. I have NEVER and I will NEVER provide you with a diagnosis. I provided an example of a diagnosis that would be nullified IF… I could have easily said Adjustment Disorder with Disturbance of Mood & Conduct to the same effect. Who cares?

The point is this: I am not defending SLI the instution, nor am I concerned with disparaging or disrespecting the former Metropolitan Jonah. Seriously, why would I care or concern myself with his diagnosis? Someone sits with him for one or two hours, claims competency equal to mine, and declares “equality to the saints.” Who am I to say? It’s all good. This whole business has been drawn & quartered endlessly to no purpose other than to bore the living hell out of me. And to what end? Blah, blah, blather. It’s none of my business.

It is the principle, however, that is essential here, and I fear that those in a position of influence and assistance will take from this foolish, foolish discussion that you cannot trust mental health professionals because they all will diagnose you as “abnormal” if you believe in chastity, virginity, the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage, the disorder of homosexuality, prayer, fasting, hesychia, theosis, the Eucharist, confession, monasticism , and so on. AND, you are able to overcome all forms of mental illness without further intervention; and if you are unable, it is a consequence of your inability to commend yourself to the podvig. Needless self-loathing, needless suffering, and needless self-incrimination. This is not the “saving examination of the conscience” that leads to life, but the confusing self-abasement that leads to despair. And it is inexcusable that it is promoted here.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 19, 2013 @ 3:03 pm

Seraphim,

And let me make this simple enough that even you can grasp it: never, ever, not once – read it again – not one single time since entering this field in 1983 was I ever asked directly if I believed in God, was I a Christian, what are my moral beliefs, my opinion as to homosexuality, abortion, same-sex marriage, any resolution of the American Psychiatric/Psychological Association or the National Association of Social Workers with the exception of matters related to child abuse, elderly abuse, suicide, or the intention of harming others. Are you hearing me? Never. I have never ever heard the Christian values of chastity, virginity, prayer, fasting, or monasticism disparaged or referred to as “abnormal.” Never I have worked in the “therapeutic culture” of the United States military & the Veterans Administration; a private not-for-profit medical center sponsored by the Roman Catholic Church; local, state, and federal courts, probation & parole, and county and state prisons; a state university & medical school; in-patient & out-patient, and voluntary & involuntary services. My supervision has been observation by a team behind a one-way mirror, video-taped and critiqued, and live-observation by a “live” supervisior(s). Never once has anyone told me I must follow any opinion, philosophy, or “teaching” that is contrary to my own. Do you honestly believe I am alone?

Secondly, in accepting any new patient into practice, I carefully explain to them a process whereby we will interview each other to determine whether I believe I may be of help to this patient, and the patient determines if they believe I may be of help to them. For my part, having conducted a diagnostic assessment I am honest as to my ability and appropriateness. Two examples: one patient sought the necessary counseling under CA law for gender reassignment, and the other sought support in seeking a “therapeutic” abortion. In both cases I indicated that morally I could not assist them and offered to refer them, which they both declined. Presumably there is a vague licensing risk with the state, but my agency never questioned me. Do you honestly believe I am alone?

There is no question in my mind that there are an abundance of Orthodox nurses, physicians, psychologist, social workers, marital & family therapist, counselors, and allied healthcare professionals whose experience is identical to mine, regardless of what a professional organization to which the belong – probably just for inexpensive malpractice insurance – or union, or “therapeutic culture” as expressed by a department head or administrator, neither obligates them or requires them to compromise their faith or their ethical practice.

Seriously, my friend, I am not trying to be disrespectful, but you speak of a body, modern psychiatry, “it,” as a singular entity that expresses itself singularly and commonly. This is hardly the case. I wrote a series on the history of “diagnosis” and “un-diagnosis” of homosexuality beginning here and I wish it were as straightforward as you would suggest. But then again, you would think the weather would the easiest thing in the world to predict in America’s Finest City, San Diego. But it’s exactly why we wear the short pants…

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 19, 2013 @ 12:41 am

Seraphim,

Your essential point will “stand” when you demonstrate is it is accurate. And you will not because you cannot. I attempted to make this point several weeks ago: I collected sixty random articles I found in the National Library of Medicine between 2009-2013, searching for a correlation between “religion” and psychopathology” – the premise being, as you say, “modern psychiatry finds certain aspects of Christian morality and practice as disordered and mistaken to greater or lesser degree.”

I have only had the time to read a third of the full articles, but I have read the abstracts, methodologies, and discussions of all sixty studies. With the single noted exception of the frequency of “seasonal” mania in Bipolar Disorder I & II (periods of florid mania are often characterized by grandiosity, creativity, and “religious” thoughts & expressions), spiritual & religious beliefs & practices are seen as protective factors and something to be actively encouraged and supported; patients with spiritual/religious beliefs and who practice according to their beliefs generally have better outcomes in treatment. In fact, several of most current studies caution clinicians that a change in spiritual/religious practice must be carefully pursued as a possible symptom of relapse in mood-disordered patients. I have no idea what you mean by “certain aspects of Christian morality and practice as disordered and mistaken,” but the suggestion that any ethical clinician would even question the “morality” of a patient’s church is ridiculous. I challenge you to find this acceptable in any state’s ethical guidlines for mental health professionals.

And what, exactly, is a “therapeutic culture?” I worked in a county-contracted inner-city psychiatry clinic servicing the homeless and the chronically & persistently mentally ill. There were 3 psychiatrist, and 5 clinicians. The program director was a militant atheist, vulgar, spoke about female patients (particularly uninsured young women from the community college, referred because they had no health insurance) in vulgar terms, was insulting to clinical staff in case review, insulted support staff, and never responded to a code when there was violence in the building and someone was in trouble. Our clinical staff was one of the most respected in the county. Our charts were audited by the state and the federal Medicare/Medicaid systems and were near perfect. We had one of the best records for responding to emergency and crisis notifications. We had more homeless patients enrolled in pharmaceutical company’s “patient in need” programs saving nearly $500,000 from our budget in the first year alone. We had more therapeutic groups and more patients enrolled (e.g. psychosis, mood-disorder, chemical dependency, dual-diagnosis, women, men, young women, seniors) then programs 2-3x larger. And ultimately, when I closed my door, no one told me how to provide individual psychotherapy with any given patient. No one. Never. Anywhere. The director was a despicable human being and perhaps set the “mood” of the clinic, but the culture is set by the integrity, the training, and the ethics of the clinicians.

I do not know what you do for for a living, but you are not qualified to speak to this issue, and you refuse to learn. Your “opinion” is not informed, it’s foolish; filled with trite, unsupportable & unsubstantiated claims. I truly mean no disrespect, but if you truly would like to “debate,” start by supporting some of your claims with research.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 18, 2013 @ 11:50 am

Fr. Andrei,

I don’t know if you are interested, but I just finished the second of two recent and fascinating books dealing with the history of the City of Detroit: Detroit: An American Autopsy, which is the personal family story of Pulitzer Prize winner Charlie LeDuff (2013), and the second is Detroit: A Biography by Scott Martelle (2012). As I have mentioned here previously, my maternal grandparents were Serbian and Russian immigrants respectively who owned a small restaurant catering to auto workers in Detroit; my father was a Chetnick officer liberated from Dachau and allowed to immigrate through Italy to Detroit; and I was baptized in the original Ravanica cathedral. They are, obviously, not “happy” readings, but they are fascinating.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 17, 2013 @ 11:37 pm

Seraphim98,

What don’t you get about this being a contrived & fabricated issue? What evidence do you have of a “prevailing professional opinion there?” Obviously, they accept health insurance as payment, so they are accredited by the Joint Commission. Are you aware of the voluntary scrutiny necessary for accreditation? They are a state licensed facility. Are you aware of the criteria for licensing?If they accept Medicare & Medicaid that is another significant layer of qualification. Each clinician is trained, licensed, and re-certified individually according to statute, including the necessity to meet all ethical qualifications.

What is my point? SLI is not a “Christian,” or a Roman Catholic, or even a “religious,” facility. It is a Roman Catholic sponsored psychiatric hospital. The only thing that matters is its professional credentials. I was a resident in a Roman Catholic medical center in lower Manhattan sponsored by an order of nuns; the CEO was a priest, many nurses & staff were nuns; religious art decorated the corridors, every patient room had a large crucifix on the wall; there were numerous chapels and mass every morning, & priests came to every room every morning to offer communion, etc. I was never asked if I believed in God, my religious affiliation, my opinion as to homosexuality, abortion, nothing. A friend, the Chairman of the Dept. of Cardiology, was a Jew, and another friend, Chairman of the Dept. of Anesthesiology, was a Muslim. I ask you of what clinical consequence to me would it have been to if the CEO – whom I saw once from a seat in a large auditorium – was upstairs in his office making sacrifice to Molock? Do you figure it would be reduced to “small dust?” Seraphim, you do not have vaguest notion of what you speak and you are simply adding another “tangent” to this already foolish discussion.

I have personally witnessed hundreds of times that when one is faced with the dire circumstance of an emergency related to the life of a parent, a spouse, or a child. one will beg for the best clinician and their God-given, God-guided talent to save their loved one. And the last thing on their mind is this clinician’s “opinions” of 2000 years of Christian tradition. They can return to anathematizing later.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 17, 2013 @ 10:26 am

Mr. Michalopulos,

I must confess to a certain awe at your mastery of the ability to repeatedly create something from nothing, then “stir the pot” of your own creation, “shocked” at the indignation of anyone who would disagree with your obsessions and inability to move on. You are not angry & bitter? Would not you be equally wise to “take heed of the counsel of people of sterling character. Even if you cannot find yourself able to agree with them, you should stop and ask yourself why it is that such people have taken you to task?”

I deplore, regardless of qualification, any speculation, assumption, ascription, application, conjecture, unfounded accusation, undocumented & unsupported hearsay, and worse, murderous gossip. If I have said this once, I have said this a hundred times. But that is the “standard” and threshold for truth you have established here, and it seems to me it is too late to complain of the outcome. It strikes as quite blatantly disingenuous to be “outraged” at speculation regarding the former Metropolitan while allowing the comment, “Stankovich suffers from most of those!” I tolerate such foolishness from convicted felons all day long – c’est la vie – because it’s my job. But I have asked the question at least three times previously that I recall: “Have you not put a hedge around him?” (Job 1:9) You apparently would wish to have it both ways and continue to claim integrity. I say you are fooling yourself.

This thread is another dead-end memorial to grandstanding, self-pity, re-hashing old hash, and again gnawing at the carcass. The facts are plain: the misconduct of an administrator has no bearing on the clinical integrity of a respected treatment & research institution; it has absolutely no bearing on assessment & conclusions reached regarding one former Metropolitan of the OCA; it reveals nothing new or insightful since Mr. Michalopulos’ previous incursion into the land of speculative innuendo; silence continues to imply consent; and the OCA continues it’s march to destiny, God is our Father & the Holy Spirit goes where He wishes. What did we learn here? Nothing. Was anyone edified? Hahaha.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 15, 2013 @ 2:02 am

Knows the Score,

M. Stankovich says:
January 8, 2013 at 7:41 pm

As for the letter [STINKBOMB] that seems to be driving you to the brink of sanity, I have not been shown evidence that it is a lie beyond conjecture, speculation, and assumption. The only person who will change my mind is Jonah himself. When he confirms it to be founded on misinformation or fabrication, I will change my opinion. Until that time, silence is consent. In every case, it is moot, a footnote to Jonah the footnote.

What is up with you anonymous characters? You can’t seem to read or remember? See your doctor.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 14, 2013 @ 2:18 pm

Sue,

The problem with your “research” is that it is one-dimensional, leaving the impression that it is St. Luke’s Institute for “Sexual Deviancy & Paedophailia.” This is a false impression in that it places “our dear sane Jonah” among a band of sexual deviants with clinicians set on “discovering” deviancy. SLI is a licensed & accredited psychiatric facility which happens to provide a specialized research & treatment program for sexually-offending clergy.

Secondly, in my estimation, the only reason you could be “horrified” by anything you have presented is because you are completely ignorant of the reality of the theories of etiology, assessment & diagnosis, treatment, actuarial prediction of recidivism (which in many cases includes prediction of safety & dangerousness), and community placement & monitoring of sex offenders. And while your “horror” sources from Google, I quickly approach 500 face-to-face diagnostic assessments with felony sexual perpetrators – 80% of which are child sexual perpetrators, and the remaining 20% are rapists, sexual torturers, “users of foreign objects” and the like. I will save you time by saying there is no unifying theory for the cause of paedophilia; there is no correlation with homosexuality; measured with the single criterion of recidivism (re-offense), there is no treatment modality or program in this country that provides even a moderate amount of success; St. Luke’s Institute has consistently provided the best means of assessing & predicting clergy who will re-offend and who will be a danger to the community; and no one has demonstrated any form of treatment that better protects the safety of the community than incarceration.

My point is that yours is an amateurish “witch hunt” through Google because you do not have any reasonable criteria by which to measure “inadequacy.” I suggest you search for SLI and the prediction of dangerous & recidivism among Catholic priests who are paedophiles. You will find a respected and valued research contributor. I would suggest that before you undertake “research” again, you at least establish some form of honest comparison.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 14, 2013 @ 11:12 am

Mr. Michalopulos,

Let me see if I understand the logic here: St. Luke’s Institute is an Institute held in the highest regard among it is peers (objectively evaluated, for example, by its H-Index) for its continuous contribution to the body of scientific evidence and its seminal & pioneering work among impaired clergy. Nevertheless, because its CEO – an administrative position as opposed to a clinical position – is accused of financial impropriety and an improper relationship with an adult (for a celibate priest), this is sufficient to “nullify” SLI’s clinical expertise & judgment. More specific to your purpose, however, is that if this respected and renowned Institute had concluded that Jonah Pauffhausen, for example, was the proud father of an Axis II, Cluster B, Personality Disorder, this would be “grave error” in light of the new “revelation.”

You are aware that Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski, head of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office for the US Air Force, was arrested last week when, while intoxicated, he “allegedly approached a woman in a parking lot in Arlington, Va., and grabbed her breasts and buttocks.” Wow, what an unlikely event. So much for our air defense.

I am sure there is not a single healthcare professional at SLI who questions their own education, training, capability, competency, clinical judgment, or simple common sense based on the actions of Monsignor Edward J. Arsenault. Whatever they concluded regarding Jonah Pauffhausen was measured, sound, evidence-based, and accurate. You insult them without cause.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 13, 2013 @ 12:50 pm

Do These People Count as “Sexual Minorities”?

Prof. Siewers,

So when when Met. Anthony (Bloom) quotes St. Methodius of Olympus

when man and woman looked at one another they did not see two persons as it were, they did not speak in terms of `I’ and `the other’, but each of them, seeing whom he could call the other, said: this is `alter ego’, `the other myself’, `the second myself’, and in that respect, the promise of God and the longing of man was fulfilled. `Helpmeet’ is an approximate translation of something which means one that will stand face to face with him, one who is an equal and more than an equal, not an equal in the sense of being equal but alien, but one who is him and therefore equal to him and who is so much him that it is a revelation of him to himself. It was he and she, it was man and woman, and each of them was a revelation of fulfillment for the one who gazed at his other self. ‘And they were both naked, the man and his wife and they were not ashamed’ is a full, a complete assertion of this identity of man, of one unique personality in two persons because as he says, one can be ashamed only of the other and there was no other at that moment because again, as for us Adam and Eve, man and woman, he and she are two, for both of them, they were one. `This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh’ does not mean `This originates in me’; it means, `I recognize myself, it is I’. And the other – whom we would call the other – says the same thing. It is only when the tragedy of the fall broke the oneness that the [realization of] nakedness appeared.

what do you imagine he is saying about sexual orientation and sexual identity? My thought? Nothing.

Will not the end reflect “as it was in the beginning?” “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” (Mat. 22:30) In fact, as it was in the beginning, in the Resurrection there will be no heterosexuality, no homosexuality, no sexual minorities, no Witt , no Bulgakov, No Foucault, no queer theory, no feminist theory, no Englehardt, and no California Prop 8. And as Fr. Alexander Schmemann noted, “the voice of this world is endless discussion, debate, argument, dissertation, presentation, and reports.” But, Prof. Siewers, in the Resurrection, “the voice of the Kingdom will be blessed silence.”

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 13, 2013 @ 11:32 pm

Albert,

You seem to have missed me saying “I do believe your original question is legitimate,” so the only thing I am “forced” to admit is that you managed to avoid all the questions I posed entirely, which I must admit does not please me. While your question is, indeed, legitimate, the answer(s) to my questions may mitigate “a blatant wrong committed at the very heart of the OCA.” I suggest it is you who are judgmental here, not me, because if you actually knew the answers to my questions I would bet real money you’d have been in my face with the answers.

Mr. Kraeff picked you out immediately from your first Pharisaic question as a disingenuous, self-righteous creep who heard gossip, cannot answer my questions as to the “spiritual life” of the person in question, yet would anonymously throw stones at the Chancellor and Metropolitan claiming a “moral high-ground.” No one needs to judge you, Albert. You are transparent & accountable.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 13, 2013 @ 6:29 pm

I suggest before you mock the Holy Tradition and the Patristic way you humble yourself and read the transcriptions of the Ecumenical Councils to see how the Fathers defended the “validity” of Truth. As Frs. Florovsky & Pomaznsky both note, the phrase “joing with the Holy Fathers before us” was not a matter of “lining up quotes” or “proof texts,” but exercising “strict forms for the expression of the truths of faith: [utilizing] the fortresses of truth for the repulsion of influences foreign to the Church.”

When I say “you obviously have no clue of the enormity of what you suggest,” I refer to, for example, your statement, “I no longer believe or say that same sex attraction is a sin.” I would remind you, Mr. Bauman, that this is a concept for which over a year you referred to me as a heretic, separated from from the saving Grace of the Church, “in the fast lane to hell,” and as an “underminer of the morality of the Church,” on this site and elsewhere. Did I not ask you continuously for Scriptural & Patristic authority for my heresy? And now you have changed and I am no longer in heresy. May I have my integrity back as well?

Yes, Mr. Bauman, the one who would correct & admonish, and go so far as to label the “heretics” must be prepared to defend their statements by the Holy Scriptures, Tradition, The Fathers, and the Liturgy. They must. And you are not prepared.

» Posted By M. Stankovich On May 12, 2013 @ 7:25 pm