Tom Roeser, Chicago’s ultimate curmudgeon, continues to bull his way into readers’ hearts and minds.  Or at least their minds, after which he is confident, I am sure, hearts will follow.

His latest incursion into Chicago consciousness, especially its Catholic consciousness — forget conscience, which may follow or may not, who’s to say? — is his “personal aside” of today in which he reports Robert Novak-like but with more verve, gusto, in-your-facedness, whatever, that the Catholic Diocese of Rockford is pulling its seminarians from St. Mary of the Lake University, Mundelein, otherwise and generally known as Mundelein Seminary.

Why?  Because “Two upperclassmen propositioned a Rockford youth for homosexual favors.”

Uh-oh.

This is not good, in itself and in its public relations aspect.  At the heart of this debacle, not counting chancellor Jimmy Lago, is the archbishop — “the parser” in Roeser’s lexicon, he who must be obeyed but who, in the words of “an authenticist bishop in another diocese,” i.e. conservative, given to conserve Roman Catholic identity, “can’t run a two-car funeral” and should be gotten to a university, where he can parse things, says Roeser.

Later: Pardon me for second-guessing myself, but what’s a blog for, anyhow?  In this case I am wondering about the quote from Tom Roeser, “Two [Mundelein seminary] upperclassmen propositioned a Rockford youth for homosexual favors.”

2nd guess: a Rockford seminarian?  We have to presume that from the context, but commenter Charles Goodacre (DDS? of Loma Linda U.?) doesn’t.  I have asked Roeser for help on this.  Goodacre seems to have missed the point, but I’d rather be sure.

I have also asked the official Rockford diocesan newspaper, The Observer, to confirm the Roeser report that the Rockford bishop, Thomas Doran, will no longer send candidates to Mundelein.  More later, I hope.

Yet later (12 days later): Nothing yet, nor anything expected.  Cat has tongue of both teller and told-about.  Sorry.

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