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Post by frdavidm on Sept 20, 2019 2:35:38 GMT
Friends, full disclosure: I am an Orthodox priest. I have never met nor had any contact with Ambrose Moran. I have no grudge against him, no reason to wish him ill, and no dog in the inter-traditional Catholic fight. However, since it seems that most of the information about Ambrose/Basil/William Moran has been supplied by the man himself, I wanted to contribute a bit of anecdotal evidence that I learned from a person who did know him several decades ago.
My father grew up in Passaic, New Jersey. He knew “Fr. Bill” Moran when he was a young man. Ironically, my father even has a distinct memory of being at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Passaic when Cardinal Slipyj visited in the 1970s. “Fr. Bill” stood in the choir loft. (Of course, this must have been to stay undercover as Slipyj’s coadjutor!)
While my father was raised in the Catholic Church, at the age of 17 he decided to become Orthodox. He was received into the Orthodox Church on February 17, 1979. Now calling himself “Archimandrite Basil” (archimandrite is an honorific title given to monastic priests) and claiming to be Orthodox, Moran showed up uninvited to the service of reception into Orthodoxy. It is important to note that Moran was what we in the Orthodox world often term “uncanonical”—he was not a member of a recognized Orthodox body. However, Moran knew the priest of the (canonical) church, and that priest did allow him to stand at the front of the church without actually participating in the service.
I am attaching two photographs from this event. While untrained eyes may think he is dressed as an Eastern bishop since he is in mantya (mantle) and klobuk (black hat with veil) and holding a staff, he is in fact dressed in an archimandrite's choir dress, with two pectoral crosses. A bishop would wear an “engolpion” or “panagia”, a round medallion with an icon. So, at least on this occasion in 1979, he was not presenting himself as either Catholic or a bishop.
I am also attaching a photo of an interesting inscription he wrote in a service book he gave to my father on that occasion, congratulating him on being received into “the Church.”
Now, all this begs the most important question: if Moran was consecrated by Slipyj in 1975, was always staunchly Catholic, always commemorated the Pope, etc., why would he attend (in full regalia) an event wherein someone very publicly "apostatized" from the Catholic Church? The service itself included abjuration of Catholicism. Why would he offer his congratulations for this and even put this into writing? On February 17, 1979, it seems Moran believed that the Orthodox Church was THE Church, and that the Catholic Church was not. This obviously does not square with his repeated claims.
My father and I were surprised when, after many years, Moran resurfaced for a time with “Archbishop” Gregory Abu-Asaly of Dormition Skete in Colorado. After he faded into the background again, we were even more amused to see him appear among traditional Catholics claiming to be Cardinal Slipyj’s hand-picked yet secret successor!
I have no idea whether Moran was ever validly ordained a bishop by independent Ukrainian bishops, but that is really a moot point. He behaves like a typical “episcopus vagans”--constantly seeking validation anywhere he can find it. Moran seems quite intelligent, has a vast knowledge of the Orthodox and Catholic worlds, and knows how to tailor himself to his audience. When he sought a place in traditionalist Orthodoxy, he claimed amazing things like being tonsured a monk by St. John Maximovich of San Francisco. Once he set his sights on traditional Catholicism, he began to weave a narrative specifically for that purpose.
If Ambrose Moran reads this post, he may respond (in a video denunciation?) that an "apostate" from the Catholic Church cannot be trusted, and/or that my message is part of a grand conspiracy of the Orthodox to defame him for joining the Catholic Church. However, I hope those who already doubt or discount Moran's claims will see this small bit of information as confirming their correct assessment.
With best regards,
Fr. David
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2019 11:37:57 GMT
Thank you for this - another piece of the puzzle showing that Ambrose Moran is a fraud and liar!
Fr. Pfeiffer, when are you going to publicly denounce Ambrose Moran for the fraud and liar he is???
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Post by Admin on Sept 20, 2019 13:30:07 GMT
Fr. David,
Thank you for this. May your fraternal charity in sharing this help dispel the dust Moran has continually created.
Though, you must know Fr. David, that you may be the next one Moran "excommunicates" for speaking against him and stating the facts!
God bless!
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Post by bethcline on Sept 20, 2019 15:48:33 GMT
The OLMC faithful will, no doubt, be convinced that this Fr David is just attacking because OLMC is holding the truth and the demons are furious.....spiritual planes....spiritual battles...on and on. I remember it all...it makes you feel as though you are part of something huge and fighting for the Faith while everyone is against you. The only problem is it is shocking to face the reality that we've been hoodwinked and it's all a sham.
If Fr Pfeiffer truly believed this man was a bishop then why did he stoop to using tactics that are normally reserved to the immoral such as lies, insults, denial of facts, explanation changes, and the planting of seeds of hate and distrust during hours of one on one conversations late into the night with many of the faithful?
I saw the same dissolving of morals in the poor OLMC seminarian that visited us while in town this past summer, shamefully using the same con man tactics to try to discredit Fr Hewko. Far from noble and very far from anything that Our Blessed Mother would be a part of!
I was thinking the other day how beautiful it would be for Fr Pfeiffer and Pablo to rise above it all, take the high road, repent, and tell the truth. To think if any of those seminarians truly have a vocation to the priesthood and now that may be lost too. It's really devastating. But God is allowing it all....and He always knows best.
Is there a happy ending to it all? Only eternity in Heaven after this life during the great apostasy.
Dear God , have mercy on us and help us all!
Prayer and penance always....
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Post by bethcline on Sept 20, 2019 17:05:44 GMT
I've recently thought that we, the poor and trusting faithful, were more apt to turn a blind eye to the problems swirling around Moran because we had been conditioned to absolutely ignore and even accept in a way the problems swirling around poor Pablo. I was actually told that I wasn't fighting for the Faith if I was complaining of the gross immorality frequently viewed on the very same youtube channel that Fr Pfeiffer chooses to upload his sermons, thus advertising the immorality, and becoming nothing more than a video version of the same style found on cathinfo over the years. Why I chose to stay away from cathinfo yet view a channel just as demoralizing I find very unnerving to this day.
In hindsight, I regret and see clearly the mental manipulation that I allowed myself to be subjected to. I understand that morality and the Faith are intimately linked and we must not settle for them being separated, which only causes us to digress in our spiritual journey.
I will continue to pray for Fr Pfeiffer and Pablo....they are quite the pair!
My Mother, my Confidence!!
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Post by frdavidm on Sept 20, 2019 17:44:22 GMT
Fr. David,
Thank you for this. May your fraternal charity in sharing this help dispel the dust Moran has continually created.
Though, you must know Fr. David, that you may be the next one Moran "excommunicates" for speaking against him and stating the facts!
God bless!
If that happens, I will be ready with popcorn in hand to watch the YouTube video of my Moranic excommunication!
I am glad that this post is proving helpful to those seeking the truth. I really respect those who are struggling for tradition in the Catholic Church, and thus I hate to see good, sincere people get duped.
Fr. David
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Post by Admin on Sept 23, 2019 11:28:56 GMT
Another excellent point in this 'Moran saga' that was made recently on the Ecclesia Militans site in relation to the above OP by FrDavidM: |
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