Eminence Front.

It's a put-on.

Right?

No, it's not: disgraced South African Bishop Reg Cawcutt has returned to active ministry. He has his own parish now.

Who's he, you may be asking? Why, Bp. Cawcutt was the moderator of the wonderfully affirming and joyous St. Sebastian's Angels website (link is to RCF's investigation--be warned, it is horrific)--porn, murder threats, the works--all in celebration of TLTDNHAMB.

Renowned for such pastoral counseling insights to brother priests as "if celibacy is your thing", his open-mindedness did not end there. Here's another sample of his pastoral wisdom, directed at brother priest and bishop Joseph Ratzinger:

Kill [Ratzinger]? Pray for him? Why not just f— him??? Any volunteers — ugh!!! ... I do not see how he can possibly do this — but . . . If he does, lemme repeat my statement earlier — that I will cause lotsa s— for him and the Vatican. And that is a promise. MY intention would be simply to ask the question what he intends doing with those priests, bishops (possibly “like me”) and cardinals . . . who are gay. That should cause s— enough. Be assured dear reverend gentlemen, I shall let you know the day any such outrageous letter reaches the desks of the ordinaries of the world.

Now, eighteen months after resigning, he's back in ministry at St. Patrick's in Mowbray, SA.

Well, I guess the men's ministry will be interesting.

[Thanks to Otto Hiss for this one--make sure to visit the ascerbic Yalie often.]

[Update, 1/4/04. Not to mention confirmation (scroll way down to three posts before the end):

Paul, congrats on yr 18 years and of course prayers tomorrow as I confirm yet another bunch of little bastards - cute ones this time i hope!

Then there's his tittering about his teen flock at WYD Paris:

I went to Paris two years ago wit the kids from Cape Town = the heat and just everything else was totally impossible. At the last minute they told the bishops we did not have to wear our cassocks (but of course we could be on the platform with JP only if we wore cassocks) - so the smart guys without cassock were "merely" in the front row of the 2 million kids. I went in jeans and T-shirt ! and had some gasps from my fellow episcopals. Of course all that was just one week before Diana did her thing. Mebbe Ratz will "do his thing" after al those screaming millions of kids will be fornicating in the Vatican gardens - as they bonked in the night in Paris - damnit man they spent the night before the papal mass sleeping in the park in sleeping bags!

Let us celebrate an alter Christus, indeed! Another selfless, inspiring example of what Andrew Sullivan pointedly reminded us is keeping Christianity afloat.

If I were feeling benevolent, he could do penance in a monastic cell until he assumed room temperature, should he desire to keep his "s--- job", as he calls it.

I'm not that benevolent.

In any sane Church, he'd have been loudly and publicly defrocked. Sent packing for his Nantucket Dream, so to speak. Along with the mitered moron who contemplated restoring him to ministry.

In ours, he's back on the job, sneering at his flock and glorying as their morality starts resembling his. Not to mention mocking his own putative calling with every word and deed.

Collegiality uber alles.

[Thanks to Diogenes for the Update link.]