The Orphan and the Priest Chapter 1
#1 of The Orphan and the Priest
Warning, this first chapter contains details about the horrors of abortion. You may wish to skip it if you are easily made nauseous. This does contain some strongly Catholic imagery. I am a TradCat myself. All characters in this story are fictional, all resemblances to people alive or dead is purely coincidental.
I came to the orphage to hear confessions of the cubs. They were excellent cubs for the most part, gentle, intelligent, and true believers in the faith. There was one, however, who loved the Church more than others. His name was Steven.
Steven was a teenage gray wolf of about 14 when I met him. I, personally, am a middle-aged German Shepherd of 35 who is also an ordained priest in the Roman Catholic Church. Steven was shy and quiet, but very erudite and opinionated. When the other children were out frolicking on the grounds of the orphanage, Steven would be reading and answering his Baltimore Catechism.
Steven and I also shared one more thing in common, a great enjoyment of eating our heart's content. Since I had a vow of poverty, and since the orphanage was poorly funded, Steven couldn't enjoy it as often as he liked either. There was plenty to eat, but never an open pantry or enough food to completely fill all the children. But the other childen, when they were full, gave their extras to Steven, who they knew would eat them happily in exchange for a tutoring session or two. As a result of these things, Steven was not thin; and some would have said that he was overweight.
After I had heard the children's confessions, we went to the chapel for Mass. Steven was the thurifer and the sacristan, as all Masses were in Tridentine format, the reason I was called in the first place. The children all followed along and chanted beatifully acapella, with Sister Grace in her habit helping the children if necessary, which wasn't often.
After Mass, the children always had a Sunday feast, where I usually sat next to Steven to talk to him on matters of Theology which he like to discuss. The only time he was ever cold was at mealtimes when he wouldn't say a word until after he had finished eating. After stilfling a burp and saying he was full, he invited me to his room where he discussed a wide range of topics from Music to Theology.
Today, Steven had three helpings of pot roast with thick, rich gravy and mashed potatoes, one of his favorites. Whenever he did this, he seemed lost when I tried yo speak to him a few minutes afterwards.
When he finally came around, we discussed a very touchy subject: why he was allowed to be born when he didn't seem wanted. I tried to explain to him that I loved him like a son and loved the conversations we had together. I told him that he was a strong Catholic, and that with the grace of God and the capitalist American economy, he could do almost anything.
Then, I asked him if he knew what the Church teaches about abortion. He replied that under no circumstances is it allowed except if a mother's life was endangered. I told him he was correct, and then I proceeded to explain to him what goes on in a D&E, the primary method of abortion in the second and third trimester. "First, the cervix is dilated; second, the forceps, grilling tongs with sharp ends are wiggled in the cervix until the abortionist feels the child. Third, the child is torn limb from limb, by sheer torque, and the head is severed, and keep in mind that the child can feel pain at this time too. And finally, the dismemebered baby is reassembled outside the womb."
That left him speechless for five minutes. When he finally recovered, he asked me who legalized this; and I told him the same people who think you should be dead.