Surprisingly it has garnered more hits than any other single page on my blog, on which there are some 2070 entries. And comments continue to come forward. I got one yesterday from someone who signed, "A Patient Investigator."
Morales was ordained in Puerto Rico and was head of a religious order there. Bishop Alvarez of Puerto Rico saw fit to respond to the article. Bishop Alvarez wrote
"he started a movement to try to divide the clergy against me. That led to the presentment of his canonical case of disobedience and violation of his ordination vows. He challenged the Standing Committee which recommended deposition. This was done and we have his full file to verify these acts. After that, he moved out of our property and established his own congregation with some former members of St. Hilda's and other congregations. After he saw he did not have the following he hoped for, he left the island for Quincy. I advised Bishop Ackerman who did not pay attention to my information about Alberto."
Apparently he was deposed in Puerto Rico. He then shows up in Quincy, where he is taken in by Ackerman and establishes the abbey there.
He was deposed again by the Diocese of Quincy (TEC) but by that time was already in the Diocese of Quincy Southern Cone.
So he is an apparently twice deposed priest. He also seems to holds a position in the Brazilian National Church (ICAB), and is, of course, elected bishop in ACNA.
The various comments on the article indicate a wide range of feelings about Morales, everything from loyal affirmation to accusations of wrongdoing, heresy and schismatic behavior.
Has ACNA really vetted Morales? It is clear that Bishop Alvarez' warnings went unheeded in Quincy. But here are some other questions:
- What is this business of Morales being the US representative of the Brazilian National Church?
- Is he also bishop for a "breakaway catholic church in Rhode Island?
- Is Morales also bound up with the Yerba / Santarista religious movement?
- Has he, as charged by one writer, "built ...churches in Mexico and of Mexican expatriots, including a mega church in Chicago, and a daughter abbey in Columbia, loyal to him alone and with no concern for the ACNA?"
ACNA has found an odd bedfellow in Morales. He raises passions beyond what one might expect. What gives?
Bishop Alvarez is brilliant (I lived/worshipped in the diocese of Puerto Rico for eight years during my most recent/past time in Puerto Rico). There is no doubt about this Morales fellow, he instigated unrest, prejudice and worse -- not a dependable kind of a guy he was trouble...pure trouble. Onward he goes (but it appears he is finally amongst equals).
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, because anonymous and pseudonymous claims are so delicious, especially against those we despise.
ReplyDeleteThe guy seems like the quintessential vagrante. Of course, the ACNA has a persecution complex, so anyone who questions the good bishop must be a member of the heretical TEC or whatever. These types pop up all over the margins of Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism, and Orthodoxy. Anyone claiming episcopal descent from Duarte (or anyone who feels the need to justify their episcopal lineage) is a vagante ( which is also what Continuing Anglicanism is. oh boy what a mess that is)
ReplyDeleteAC
I am not Episcopalian, but attended ACNA congregations. I hate writing on this blog post but feel compelled to warn people about Bishop Morales. I am writing specifically for any clergy or their wives interested in working under Morales. I recommend avoiding working under his leadership as he can be very difficult and unsupportive. You don't want to come here, upend your family and then have to leave a few years later. It's disruptive to the whole family.
ReplyDeleteBefore I came here, I would have dismissed someone like me as an outlier. Don't take my word for it. Do your homework and corresond or call the multiple priests and deacons who have left and ask them if they would work for him again.
Also, the Quincy area can be a difficult place to sell a house. At least rent for 3 years or so, so you aren't stuck here, unable to sell.
More than anything, pray for guidance.
EJ