More on the Father Gravel Story

The story of Father Raymond Gravel's candidacy in the upcoming by-election in Repentigny has sparked quite a bit of reaction in the blogosophere (both Canadian and American).

Here are some posts I found worthy of note:

College Catholic.

Annunciations of a New Springtime

Anh Khoi Do's blog: Point of view

Waiting in Joyful Hope

Angry in the Great White North

Off the Record/Catholic World News

I'm blogging on this because there seems to be the feeling in the blogosphere that, as Annuciations put it, there is something more to this story. Badda-bang badda-bing, a renegade priest announces he's running in a by-election, and faster that you can say "this is my body", the Vatican produces all the require permissions.

Hm...

As one commenter put it, it at Catholic World News, it's strange for a dissident priest to ask for permission for anything.

Diogenes at Catholic World News is suspicious that he the bishop made "tactically expedient omissions" when making his case to the Vatican. Another commenter seems to think that he did not get the right permission, and Father Dowd of Waiting in Joyful Hope agrees. He says that canon law forbids priests entering political life. Steve Janke remarks that the only time a priest will be allowed to enter politics is when a layperson couldn't do the job.

Something just really stinks here.

I think the Apostolic Nuncio or Fr. Gravel's bishop should come out with a public clarification. The optics are bad.