The Rest of the Story

It was Plato who said, “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” The quote aptly describes the deceptively attractive photo submitted to the Island Sun by St. Isabel Church titled “Church Stages Charity Ball.” The picture purports to be “members of St. Isabel Catholic Church” who “held their Venetian Charity Ball recently.” Readers of the Island Sun might mistakenly assume that this event took place on the island of Sanibel, and that it was sponsored by St. Isabel Church. In reality, the event is annually sponsored by the Diocese of Venice, and it took place in Bonita Springs on February 3. Most of those pictured in the photo have had little or nothing to do with the Church of St. Isabel. I suspect that the thousands of dollars it took to purchase tickets to this event is the only real connection to St. Isabel, who no doubt sponsored a table for this Diocesan event.

What is pathetically sad about this picture is that St. Isabel submitted it under false pretenses. They obviously felt compelled to “say something,” even if that something was not true. The priest in residence, Fr. Gates, and so-called parishioners can smile broadly and pretend to be having fun while the injustice levied against the pastor of St. Isabel, Fr. Christopher Senk, continues into its seventeenth month. Let them pretend to have fun, as someone’s life continues to be in limbo while his bishop schemes to bring an end to his priesthood. Let them smile broadly like this is some kind of a game, while the parish continues to deteriorate into a shadow of what it once was. Those who aid and abet the powers that be must be so very proud of their church that engages in this kind of chicanery! I am proud to stand, with hundreds of others, on the side of Fr. Christopher, and I don’t have the time or the stomach for the kind of games the staff of St. Isabel desires to play.