Article about ex-priests who run "Rent-a-Priest" and perform (play act) the sacraments:
[Ex-priest] Shuster . . . still performs occasional weddings and other services, including hosting an annual Christmas Mass at his home for about 30 people.
"People come in. We sing carols. I get some pita bread and wine and have my chalice. I dress in my vestments. It's like the old midnight Mass Catholics used to go to."
Shuster is vice president of CITI (Celibacy Is The Issue) Ministries, a national organization of men who left positions with the church, most because the church doesn't allow priests to marry.
CITI claims 2,500 members, several hundred of whom make themselves available for weddings and other services through the group's Web site, www.rentapriest.com.
Recently, when a gathering of bishops at the Vatican supported continuing the church's rule of celibacy for priests, Shuster was not surprised. He expects the church under Pope Benedict XVI to be at least as conservative as it was under his predecessor, the late Pope John Paul II.
"The institutional church has it wired, totally wired. They're not going to change," said Shuster. "But a lot of Catholics today are just not into the pay, pray and obey mentality."
At the heart of CITI's identity is a provision in the church's Canon Law that says priests remain priests even if they leave their positions as clerics.
Gotta love that last sentence: "We like this part of Canon Law, so we'll use it. That other stuff? We know better."
I've had to deal with the "non-government" folks before (the type who believe the IRS doesn't legitimately exist, that all payroll and income taxes are unconstitutional, and that people don't need to get license plates for their cars). Their M.O. is much the same: pick and choose, take out of context, do whatever it takes to satisfy their mental needs.
