Brethren, a scandal has broken out around the person of the noted exorcist and former president of Human Life International, Fr. Tom Euteneuer. You may read by yourselves the following reports:
Of Aquinas, Augustine, and Euteneuer: Reflections on Fr. Tom on the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, and,
The allegations are serious but, in my mind, unproven.
Let us pray for Fr. Tom Euteneuer who, by the nature of his ministry, has been a special target of the Enemy. Let us pray for his bishops and for all involved. That the truth may be revealed, and that all who need repentance, forgiveness, and healing, receive it.
*Update February 1, 2011 - Please read: Statement of Fr. Thomas Euteneuer: setting the record straight. Thank you.
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Father Tom Euteneuer: his hour of spiritual warfare
By Jenn Giroux
It has been said that if you defend the cross, you better be ready to take up the cross.
Lately I have been reading many disturbing things about Fr. Tom Euteneuer's departure from Human Life International (HLI), speculation on where he is, and outrageous theories and accusations circulating on the internet. As I sort through the speculation, gossip and hearsay, I see clearly that Father Tom has been handed his cross and is carrying it in silence.
Those with eyes to see and a Christian heart will understand that he is engaged in spiritual warfare. Let us review what we know:
As President of HLI, Fr. Tom traveled over one million miles around the globe to fight the culture of death.
Under his watch, the organization grew from 40 to 100 countries, assisting the pro-life movements in many third world countries against their own governments.
Fr. Tom initiated a campaign which led to the distribution of over 3 million "St. Michael the Archangel prayer cards around the globe.
Fr. Tom not only fought abortion without compromise, but he also courageously defended the Church's related teaching against contraception, including one memorable televised confrontation with a popular prime time talk show host.
Fr. Tom wrote two powerful books to help the faithful to better understand not only the power of Satan but, more importantly, the power and protection that we have through Christ's Church against him.
In addition to helping thousands of people grow closer to God, Fr. Tom conducted an exorcism ministry that helped hundreds of troubled people and this required direct confrontation with the forces of darkness.
Surely most of us have no idea what that exorcism ministry really involved and how much Satan and his minions have targeted Fr. Tom Euteneuer for destruction. Few priests have so publicly and willingly taken on such controversial and morally difficulty challenges. If we forever remain ignorant of why Fr. Tom has been temporarily removed from public life, we can probably still assume that he is suffering the most intense form of private spiritual warfare.
While few know the details underlying Fr. Tom's removal from public life — I certainly do not — ignorance has not deterred imprudent tongues and keyboards from casting dark innuendos toward Fr. Tom, his Bishop, and others. It apparently does not occur to such people that, whatever the facts, there will be unnecessary collateral damage in the form of innocent victims. Whether Fr. Tom is blameworthy or completely innocent, you can be certain that he would respect the reputations of others far more than others are respecting his.
Maybe, just maybe, we don't need to know the whole story.
Is Fr. Tom Euteneuer above sin? Surely not. None of us are.
Is he entitled to his good name? Yes, all of us are. If in some way Fr. Tom has fallen from grace, he needs our prayers, not our unhealthy curiosities.
In the Gospel reading on the eve of this feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, Jesus said to his disciples "Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you."
We would all do well to take care not only what we hear but what we speak.
Please join me in praying for Fr. Tom. We trust that he is under the protection of Our Lady, The Immaculate, whom he loves so much.
St. Michael the Archangel, defend him in battle!
Jenn Giroux
Jenngiroux9@gmail.com
© Jenn Giroux
Thank you for this post. It is clear that Father Tom was a clear threat to the Lord of This World and so he put a hit on Fr. Tom.
I think it's almost more scandalous how many authors (not Jenn, thankfully) who are heaping and piling on.
The one post by Tom O'Toole (titled "Of Aquinas, Augustine, ...") is particularly bad. It's basically a National Enquirer gossip hit-piece. I find it ironic that Tom felt he needed to spend the first few paragraphs explaining how this gossip he was about to smear wasn't really gossip.
If Fr. Euteneuer did bad things, that's bad, but we don't need full-on speculation and gossip right now. It's sufficient to say he did some bad stuff and he's working with is Bishop to set things right as much as is possible.
I remember reading Frank Weathers' posts on Facebook some time back regarding the authenticity of Fr.'s Marine Corps experience. He has recently placed those thoughts in a post: For Cults of Personality, Not! (Or My Brush with Fr. Thomas Euteneuer)
Chad ~ It's not gossip; it's the truth. Tom has spent hours talking to victims of Fr. E. In fact, one was issued death threats yesterday from Jupiter, Florida. This case is a lot bigger than you know.
Here's a post from Matt Abbott that doesn't say anything, yet it says a whole lot ...
A difficult time--or my crisis of faith?"
@Jeanette:
Gossip doesn't have to be false to be gossip. I didn't say I didn't believe any of it. I'm sure most, if not all of it is true.
It is enough to say that Fr. Tom was doing some seriously bad things and many people were hurt. It's enough to say that Fr. Tom is suffering consequences for those and that his Bishop superior is taking concrete action and that investigations are under way.
Tom O'Toole's gratuitous airing of dirty laundry like that helped no one and was only to get a rush from spreading gossip and scandal.
Tom wrote the story for one reason only and that is to protect the women involved. Father T is not being watched 24/7. That's covered in the article.
Well said Chad, well said. No one is served by Mr. O'Toole's articles - we can only pray that he awake tomorrow in the truth of Christ.
Unfortunately we ARE in need of information on topics such as this. How else do we answer those who gleefully attack the Church about the shortcomings of her servants if we ourselves are willfully blind?
Call it gossip, condemn it all you like. The same reaction was initially shown regarding the sexual abuse scandal and THAT willful blindness only made necessary placing the sordid details in a limelight.
You're kidding right?
Since last fall the rap has been that big bad Modernist Novus Ordo bishops have silenced valiant Fr. Tom because he's such a Truth Teller.
*Nothing* is going to put that to rest except articles like Tom O'Toole's. Catholics are such sheep when they choose a priest to be their hero. It takes a hard shaking to get them to see the truth. Case in Point: Legion of Christ.
How quickly fellow Catholics turn on each other when someone points out the obvious sin of gossip in their midst.
I'm not defending Fr. Tom. I'm not saying we should ignore it or allow him to continue.
Also, nice non-sequitur about the child abuse scandals. I'm not saying everyone should shut up.
What I'm saying is, the relevant, competent authorities, the victims and their families/caretakers, and those investigating the claims need to know this information. That would include relevant Bishops, Cardinals, maybe even the Pope, local criminal justice authorities (police, prosecutors, the D.A.), the victims, their families, and other people directly related or affected by his alleged crimes.
For the rest of is, it is sufficient to say that Fr. Tom did some very bad things and that he will suffer consequences and be punished by his superiors who are taking this whole thing seriously. It's also sufficient to say that the victims have been contacted, alerted, and are participating in the investigation.
There's more we could say and still be legitimate. But to air a bunch of dirty laundry and sordid details like Tom O'Toole (and several other bloggers) is simply wrong and, in this case, a grave violation of charity.
From Fr. Vincent Serpa, This Rock magazine, Volume 17, Issue 6:
"Unless the matter under discussion is a common news item, when someone’s gossip negatively alters the opinion another has regarding a third person, one has committed a grave action. If it is done with full knowledge and deliberate consent, the grave action then becomes a mortal sin. Gossip is a far more serious matter than most of us like to consider."
Your reliance on "the relevant, competent authorities" brings back memories of the sex abuse scandal and how it was initially swept under the rug. Reliance on authority figures played a prominent part in that. Here in the Dallas Diocese we know that all too well (Google Rudy Kos and see what our local bishop did about him).
The laity should have learned by now that our "leaders" are all too fallible and need to be prodded along to perform their duties. Thus the need for all of us to be aware of potential scandal.
Otherwise we'll once again find ourselves blindsided by another problem.
it is sufficient to say that Fr. Tom did some very bad things and that he will suffer consequences and be punished by his superiors who are taking this whole thing seriously.
Up till now, where had that been said by the competent authorities?
It's also sufficient to say that the victims have been contacted, alerted, and are participating in the investigation.
And you know this ... how? Some of the posts have inferred that Fr. E. still has unsupervised access to certain vulnerable women. That was the justification for writing the articles.
Is this not the case? Do you know otherwise?
I hope that the truth comes to ligth, the sooner the better. I'm afraid that is a complot against him. Or maybe he was a good priest but now has fallen down. Who doesn't fall sometimes?
In a way or another, he needs a lot of prayer.
God help him.
Thanks Jenn for the post. I am sadden by the news that Father has incurred an investigation in his ministry and his conduct. AS a member of the same body of Christ, I offer my prayers for him as I know he has done for me and countless others.
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