Video: New Archbishop in West Seattle for ‘World Day of the Sick’

The new Archbishop of Seattle, The Most Rev. J. Peter Sartain, was in West Seattle this morning to preside at the World Day of the Sick Mass at the Providence Mount St. Vincent Chapel today. He was joined by five other priests – Holy Rosary’s pastor the Very Rev. John Madigan, Rev. Lyle Konen of the Redemptorist Fathers of Seattle, Rev. Abraham Miller of The Mount, Rev. William Gallagher, and Rev. Richard Ward from the Order of Malta, which has a thousand-year history of devotion “to those who suffer, especially the poor and sick,” according to the program for this morning’s service.

Also participating: the Seattle University Choir:

The World Day of the Sick is commemorated each year “on the occasion of the memorial of the Blessed Virgin of Lourdes,” according to this year’s message from the Pope; holy water from the shrine at Lourdes was used in today’s service.

visitor February 12, 2011 (1:32 pm)

what about those who suffer as a result of sexual and spiritual injuries..no, violence… inflicted by priests on young boys and girls. Everything else is window-dressing until the church acknowledges its complicity in this institutional cancer.

Smitty February 12, 2011 (8:03 pm)

“violence… inflicted by priests on young boys and girls.”

Of the 4% of priests accused, 6% were substantiated (2 tenths of one percent of all priests were thus substantiated).

That’s 263 priests out of 109,694 over a 52 year period.

Your hatred of religion is exponentially inflating your hate-filled rant.

Focus on teachers, or firefighters, or doctors, or baby-sitters, or…well….you get the point. I’m sure the percentage is much higher but garners a relatively minor amount of media coverage or atheist scrutiny.

Catherine February 13, 2011 (10:17 am)

Smitty, While I share your frustration, no amount of statistics can take the pain or anger away from those who suffer.

As a Catholic it’s hard for me to convey to others the fact that we are both victim and perpetrator in the molestation scandals.

Smitty February 13, 2011 (11:56 am)

Well, as a non-Catholic, I just get frustrated by the media bias and slanted (over-played) coverage. It’s like they just can’t wait to yell “Hypocrites!”.

I understand what you are saying, but if resources (and news coverage) are a limited resource, we would all be better off if proportional time was given to the areas that have higher rates of molestation, not just focus on one specific area just to make a point.

Maybe “visitor” above was a molested boy (90% are gay clergy against young boys) and has every right to respond to anything remotely Catholic. Maybe “visitor” had an abortion when she was younger and now feels guilt. I don’t know, but it seems like the Catholics draw more ire than their share should allow.