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East Boston state rep calls out local priest for what he says were biased comments about Colombians during mass

In both English and Spanish, state Rep. Adrian Madaro (D-East Boston) issued a statement this afternoon:

I’ve heard from members of our community about remarks made by a priest during mass at Our Lady of the Assumption Church last Sunday that were disparaging toward Colombian residents of East Boston. I am appalled at the nature of these comments, and disappointed in their use by a leader of faith. I have a deep appreciation for constituents of all backgrounds and identities. This diversity is a great and defining characteristic of East Boston, and all residents should know that they are represented equally by my office and should feel safe and welcome contacting me for assistance and support.

Madaro did not specify what was said. The church offers two masses in Spanish on Sundays, in addition to one in English (additional masses in English are offered on Saturdays).

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Comments

Adrian Madaro is a genuinely good dude. I work in East Boston and have crossed paths with him many times. He is hard-working, humble and truly seems to care about his constituents, which seems to be rare in his profession. I was not surprised one bit by this article.

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What were the purported remarks made that he is conveying as being "racist?" By whom? What is the national origin of the priest, as opposed to the people taking offense? All interesting stuff, because the Spanish Speakers are not a Monolithic Entity in Eastie.

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I don't know the parish or it's priest from Adam, but if he's in charge of a parish with such a big Hispanic population, it sounds out of character. Maybe the other side of the story is bad, but until we hear it, I don't know what to think.

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Until there is an answer to the question of what was said, then this is not a story.

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The religious person said something stupid?

Pot, kettle. This is like the Denver Broncos playing the Miami Dolphins: Can both sides lose?

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in common with this errant priest then?

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This isn't some random person griping on Facebook, this is a state representative. I don't want elected officials trampling on free speech, and I don't want elected officials meddling with religious services.

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The priest has a right to be a bigot and cloak his nonsense in GOD!!!

The state rep has a right to call him out on his racist and bigoted bullcarp.

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"The state rep has a right to call him out on his racist and bigoted bullcarp."

Citation, please...you have no idea what was said.

Occam's Chainsaw (I own several chainsaws) says it's probably a miscommunication caused by a multi-lingual congregation.

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Read the first amendment.

The Rep has every right to call out bigoted bullshit.

That chainsaw of yours ... you might study up on places to put it while you read up on logic.

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Maybe the state rep should threaten to revoke some press credentials over this!!

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"You have the right to remain silent."

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...I don't see interference with religion, here. The rep is calling out some very specific part of the service that doesn't (as far as I can tell) have any bearing on actual religious practices.

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The post is completely vague.

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Its OK to be racist and rape kids as long as you are wearing a silly robe and yelling about fairy tales. Can't interfere with that!

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I get it.
"Its OK to be racist and rape kids as long as you are wearing a silly robe and yelling about fairy tales. Can't interfere with that!"

Well, actually you can. It's called 'getting arrested'. Here are a few examples:

Cantor Stanley Rosenfeld
Rabbi Lewis Brenner
Cantor Joel Gordon
Rabbi Ephraim Goldberg (not to be confused with Rabbi Efrem Goldberg, who did nothing wrong. Or maybe they're the same guy. I dunno)
Rabbi Baruch Lanner
Rabbi Israel Grunwald
Rabbi Yehudah Friedlander
"The suspects, Rabbi Israel Grunwald, 44, the head of Congregation Tuldos Yakov Yosef, and his assistant, Rabbi Yehudah Friedlander, 44, were arrested as they stepped off a plane at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday on the basis of a complaint made during the flight by a sobbing girl and radioed ahead, Federal officials said."
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/02/nyregion/two-rabbis-are-charged-in-se...
Rabbi Ephraim Bryks

There are plenty more, but I don't have all day...
https://theawarenesscenter.blogspot.com/

The Church certainly has no monopoly on abusing children.

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every penny paid out to the victims came from those poor suckers that throw the coins into those collection plates.

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Which is why I find it difficult to get worked up about government-stomping-on-religion claims that are based on that vague post.

"You don't know that", indeed.

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Perhaps making assumptions is covered?

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How is the bigoted priests free speech being trampled??? State representatives are allowed to issue statements and it is their job to protect their constituents.

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"...and it is their job to protect their constituents."

Nope.

It is their job to represent their constituents. That's why they're called 'representatives'.

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"...How is the bigoted priests free speech being trampled???""

We have no idea what was said, if it was bigoted or not.

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Keep reading for both what the priest said and the archdioscese's statement on it.

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Before the priest is crucified shouldn't we hear his side of the story. In regards to the state rep I would say "anyone who hasn't sinned or said something stupid cast the first stone."

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Adam,I call this story BS,until a second or third person comes forth with confirmation that a Catholic priest betrayed his faith.
Stories like this bring forth all the nihilists in the comminteriat here.
Which means pretty much means everybody here...

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Or ...

I don't know that much about Madaro, but he seems like a very low-key guy (one of the reasons I don't know much about him), and for him to publicly slam a priest like that seemed very newsworthy.

In any case, see the comment below.

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You really want to go down the path of people providing evidence on the moral shortcomings of priests?

And nihilist? Really?

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A guy posted a video saying that all Colombians from a specific region in Colombian look like drug dealers! From a region in Colombia called Don Matias

Source (you might have to scroll down a bit in the conversation to see the specific comment).

About Don Matias.

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Maybe there are more hidden, but I ain't seeing it. So, just what was said?

Your source: https://www.facebook.com/adrian.madaro.02128/posts/4142642484376?comment...

A lot of this:
"Sema Bekiroglu Did you attend the service Renee?
Manage
17h
Renee Scalfani
Renee Scalfani No but I seen the large crowd of people who attend mass every week."

"Felix Bezeredy What was said
Manage
15h
William Addonigio
William Addonigio What was allegedly said?
Manage
15h
Felix Bezeredy
Felix Bezeredy I don't know do you
Manage
15h
William Addonigio
William Addonigio I don't but, ide like to know...
Manage
15h
Felix Bezeredy
Felix Bezeredy Me to do you know who knows"

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Look for the "Felix Bezeredy I don't know do you" comment you mentioned. Directly underneath it should be "Arquimides Chinchilla replied · 13 Replies." Click on that, then scroll down the resulting thread.

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Is that most of the three to four thousand Colombians in East Boston are from Don Matias.

https://globalboston.bc.edu/index.php/home/immigrant-places/east-boston/...

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Guess which parochial vicar is about to get reassigned?

Moral of the story- don’t piss off your flock.

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Madaro didn't use the word "racist" - I came up with that all on my own. Based on what it appears was said, I'm not sure it's racist so much as appalling stereotyping about people from one specific city (I know, a fine line).

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So are we to believe you made up words in all the other posts here about racism? Why did you insinuate the priest was a racist when in fact you made that up? Are you sure you don’t work for the Globe?

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I never said the priest was a racist; I said he said something racist, which is not the same. In any event, when I make a mistake, I try to correct it. And in this case, Madaro himself did not say the priest said something racist, but that he said something horrible about a group of people and I just took it too far - hence the reason for changing the headline. From what we know of what the priest said, it would be like, oh, you, complaining that everybody from New York is a jerk - it's wrong, but not racist.

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Statement from the Archdiocese:
“It is regrettable that Fr. Urubiel Moreno’s comments caused pain and hurt for the community. The archdiocese addressed this as soon as we became informed. Fr. Urubiel has been contrite realizing his comments were wrong. He has apologized at the parish and plans to apologize at Mass this coming weekend. We appreciate Fr. Urubiel’s willingness to make amends and seek the forgiveness of the community."

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Fr. Urubiel Morena, is from Panama and spent time in El Salvador. He's been at the East Boston church for a little more than a year, according to this church bulletin.

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Maybe you should do some self-examination about why you are so touchy about discussions of racism.

Because if you don't think racism exists, you should maybe talk to some of the people who have to live with it on a daily basis.

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When a guy from Panama talks trash about a part of Columbia, it might be a lot of things, but it’s not quite racist. (And I did have the benefit of Adam’s recent comment on this as a guide, but perhaps a lesson in making assumptions is in order.)

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I guess, but I find individuals such as yourself and Adam are all too ready to pull the pin on race/ethnicity grenades.

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