The Catholic Register just published an article about our concerns for renewal at NTC. You can read the article here.
LifeSite News just published an article about our petition and rally. You can read the article here.
Since the petition was made public, we've had a few posts that were contrary to the spirit of the petition, so I wanted to dispel a claim that has reached my attention. It has been claimed that some people were posting "positive" comments that were being censored. It apparently needs to be restated that this is a petition, not a forum or a comment thread. People with views contrary to the petition shouldn’t sign it as if they agree with it. We don't want to falsely inflate the number of signatures. A more productive way to provide an alternative narrative would be through a counter-demonstration at our next rally.
But the other reason those posts were deleted is because they were from one person entering different names and fake emails as if to appear to be multiple people.
How do I know? When a signature is added to the petition, it logs information about the user who submitted it, such as their IP address, their country, their operating system, their browser, and other technical details. Every single one of the "positive" comments came from a range of IP addresses from countries like Germany (obviously through the use of a proxy) and were posted with email addresses that couldn't be verified or were just clearly invented. The fake entries were posted by the same person trying to hide their identity in order to make it appear as though they were part of a crowd that disapproves of our concerns.
But since they have complained of censorship, I’m willing to share some of their comments below.
This one was submitted from "Germany" by
"My name is Bryan Holier-than-thou-worth. I put together this petition. I instigated the protest yesterday. I make money out difussing half-truths (or half-lies, depending on how you wanna see it) for attention. I used to be on the NTC board and tried to use my role to advance my schismatic personal agenda with my friends. Now that my initiatives have been crushed and my agenda is no longer at the centre of attention, I am upset. I am upset and I am acting out. I need attention. I am a scared schismatic who wants to be an anti-Archbishop. I am using this opportunity to get clicks, grow my following and, who knows, perhaps stage a spiritual coup. At any rate, I want a nice bishop hat. As usual, I have no idea what I am doing or talking about. I am deeply in love with my sense of self-righteousness. I will now go comb my hair. Grooming makes me feel like a gentleman. I hope I can start my new church."
The screenshot is posted below.
Here is another with a German IP address:
"Show us the severance agreement, Brian Holdsworth. Are you simply doing your friend's work of defaming NTC because he is not allowed to? Usually severance agreements require not trashing a former employer in exchange for money. Why can't we hear the story from the horse's mouth? Let him speak. What are you two hiding? Why are you so invested in creating divisions in the Church. Anti-Christ! Dishonest fool."
Some of the other comments that were left indicate that this person has inside knowledge of the institution. For example, they seemed to know information about Dr. Topping's dismissal. I won't post those comments here as they may be in breach of confidentiality. For my part, this experience has only deepened my resolve to seek reform of this institution and to hold people like this accountable for their lack of Christian conduct - for the good of the Church! Remember, this is where our future priests are educated. It's a scary prospect to know that voices like this have this kind of influence.
- Brian
On Wednesday, October 2nd, the community held a rally to promote the good of Newman Theological College. The demonstration was joyfully attended by a true cross section of faithful Catholics wanting to express their hopes for NTC and the Church in Edmonton. Our hope is that Archbishop Smith will recognize that this was a faithful representation of his flock and that he will be inspired to stand with us in harmony with Pope Francis' advice for bishops: "This is what I am asking you — be shepherds with the smell of sheep."
After the news of Dr. Topping's departure from Newman Theological College, Member of Parliament Garnett Genuis recognized his outstanding accomplishments in his career as an academic. It would be a welcome change of course if leadership of NTC could also recognize these immense contributions by starting with an apology for dismissing him.