An update on Badger Catholic maleficence

Fr. Dismas Becker & his wife
I posted on a Fr. Groppi last week who worked with a Fr. Becker in the civil rights movement..  It has come to my attention that they weren't who we thought they were.  From a reader:
Groppi left the priesthood and got married and had children. In 1985, he died of brain cancer. At one point, Groppi was seriously thinking of joining the Episcopal Church and seeking holy orders there. However, he decided against this and stayed in the Catholic Church. The Milwaukee Common Council honored Groppi for his accomplishments in civil rights but Milwaukee Mayor Henry Maier declined to go the ceremony-bad feelings. Groppi was dying of brain cancer by then.

Fr. Dismas Becker was from Milwaukee and ordained to the priesthood for the Carmelite order. He was with Groppi during the civil rights movement and took part in the Capitol demostrations.  Becker like Groppi left the priesthood and got married; he and his wife adopted a child. Becker was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly and served as Democratic minority leader. Becker died in 2010 of cancer and like Groppi remained in the church. Both of them were buried from the Catholic Church.
Also a commenter set me strait if you read the comments from the post from last week.  Interesting that Groppi retained "Rev." on his headstone.

For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"Interesting that Groppi retained "Rev." on his headstone"

Well, it is true that holy orders leaves an indelible mark on the soul.

I think a better role-model in the current pro-life movement is clearly Fr. Frank Pavone, who, despite his current difficulties with the Bishop of Amarillo, passionately pursues the cause of life while not, to my knowledge, violating the law.