An Interview with Bishop Paul Petko

by Thomas A. Droleskey

[November 23, 2011, Notice: I made an egregious mistake by the posting of this interview despite having had reservations about doing. It would be wrong to remove this interview as it is part of the record. All I can do is provide readers with the link to Retracting Support For Paul Petko for the rest of the story. I am very sorry for the bad judgment that I used in proceeding to have posted this interview despite reservations and questions. I have very much for which to make reparation. I am sorry.]

I have known many priests over the course of my lifetime. Some of those priests, as I recognize now, were not ordained legitimately as the men who were posing as "bishops" at their putative ordinations had not been consecrated in a valid rite of the Catholic Church. Most of the men in the conciliar structures I met before coming to realize the truth of our ecclesiastical situation carried themselves as priests, though, seeking to try to serve Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to Whose image as priest and victim they believed had been configured sanctify and save souls. Only a relative handful of these men have to recognize that they were not true priests and that the conciliar officials are figures of Antichrist who appear to have the authority of the Catholic Church but who are, in actual point of fact, men who blaspheme God and do great harm to the souls redeemed at so high a price, that of the shedding of the Most Precious Blood of Christ the King, Our Eternal High Priest and Victim.

Those men who have come to accept the truth of our ecclesiastical situation have to negotiate the minefield that awaits suspicious minds and wagging tongues eager to serve as self-appointed "gatekeepers" in seeking to pronounce on the qualifications and background of men who they have met and with whom they have never spoken in their lives. Bits and pieces of information, frequently gathered from sources in the conciliar structures who have a vested interest in painting anyone who would dare to leave what they think, albeit falsely, is the Catholic Church to be suffering from this or that kind of "problem," are bandied about quite freely.

Such is the state of Holy Mother Church today in this time of apostasy when we need more priests to serve us that God is permitting those men who have the courage to break from the conciliar structures to suffer humiliation not only at the hands of the conciliar revolutionaries, men who believe that all religions can lead souls to God, but also, as is too sadly the case, at the hands of some in the sedevacantist community who make the conciliar officials appear to be truly jolly and charitable and kind-hearted by way of comparison.

While some in the sedevacantist community are concerned about their reputations as they prowl around the internet to see what is written about them by the omniscient folks who have never met them and have no knowledge of their background at all, others want to serve souls without regard to the rush to judgment and the gossip mongering that takes place without any of the judges out there in cyberspace bothering to contact the people upon whom they have passed judgment so readily. This is sickening, and it is one of the reasons that I, among others, must keep uppermost in my mind that Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI is indeed a figure Antichrist as I would yell running and screaming away from the madness, the clericalism and the exclusivism that I have encountered in the past five years since coming to realize that the conciliar officials do not hold offices in the Catholic Church legitimately.

Alas, I know that I must, despite my own many sins and failings about which I pray daily to live long enough to make reparation for before I die, persevere in the truth of our ecclesiastical situation no matter the difficulties.

There is, of course, perfection to be found nowhere in this passing, mortal vale of tears. All I seek for my family, though, is a place where I can go to Holy Mass in peace without fear of being thrown out for this or that alleged offense, real or imagined. That is all I want. And that is why we have settled near Our Lady of the Good Remedy Chapel in Lizton, Indiana, which is served by Bishop Paul Petko, whom I have known for twelve years and whose personal suffering at the hands of the conciliar officials I can attest to first-hand.

As Bishop Petko is not well known by many and, it appears, is being castigated publicly by at least one "priest" from the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter who has never met him and says that he never wants to meet him, all the while assuring the man who wrote to him that there is no need for "independent" chapels as the "Holy Father" is meeting the needs of traditional Catholics very generously, I thought it opportune today, the Feast of Saint Mark and the Commemoration of Saint Monica, to post this interview that I have conducted with Bishop Petko.

There may have to be, given the nature of the disinformation that passes for absolute truth on the internet, a follow-up article. For the time being, however, I did want to permit Bishop Petko an opportunity to introduce himself to those are not familiar with him, especially those who question his priestly training.

Bishop Petko is a courageous man. He was one of the "Notre Dame 88" who were arrested for praying the Rosary at the University of Notre Dame du Lac in Notre Dame, Indiana, as the pro-abortion Barack Hussein Obama gave a commencement address at my own master's alma mater on Sunday, May 17, 2009, an "offense" for which he could, if convicted, face jail time. He is deeply devoted to the Mother of God.

It is therefore with great gratitude that I thank Bishop Petko for his taking the time to answer the following questions:

1. You Excellency, please provide us a bit of biographical information about yourself. That is, the date and location of your birth, some background about your parents (and when they died) and siblings.

Certainly, I was born at Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania on the third of September in 1956. I am the youngest of three boys. My mother and father are second generation immigrants of Austria and Czechoslovakia, respectively. My father died at seventy-two years of age on October in 1988. My mother died at eighty-two years of age in March 1998.

2. Where did you go to elementary and secondary school in Pennsylvania?

I attended our parish grade school from 1962 – 1970. My high school years were spent in public school, as my parents could not afford Catholic high school.

3. When did you discern a vocation to study for the Holy Priesthood?

I first desired to become a priest when I was in the second grade.

4. Please describe the application process to study for the Priesthood in the Diocese of Allentown (that is, who interviewed you, any conditions placed upon your acceptance, any use of psychological evaluations, etc.).

The processes began with an interview with the vocation director of the Diocese, Msgr. Vincent E. Lewellis. I was sent on various physical and psychological exams also.

5. Where were you sent to study for the Priesthood once you were accepted by the Diocese of Allentown? Why didn't you stay there?

I was sent to study at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. After my second year of college I asked to be transferred to another seminary because of the rampant homosexual activity. The other seminarians from my diocese wanted out too, but I was the only one who actually did it.

6. Please take a few moments to tell us how long you studied at Mary Immaculate Seminary in Northampton, Pennsylvania, and what problems you encountered while there (heterodoxy in course work, criticism of your “conservative” and “rigid” tendencies, general tenor of the seminary). I know that there was at least one or two classmates of yours who rose to some prominence in “conservative” conciliar circles. Could you discuss a bit of your own memories of these men?

After college graduation in 1980, I requested to attend Mary Immaculate Seminary. I had some physical health problems which necessitated four surgeries in the hospital. The course work was challenging, not only because of Mary Immaculate's reputation as the “West Point of Seminaries” but also because of liberal and extremely heterodox views of almost the entire faculty. We even had a “sister” who taught Liturgy; she was from Villanova University. She told us that if she didn't like the priest who offered Sunday Mass on campus, she simply did not go to Church: she was a feminist and extremely heterodox; she was the rule and not the exception The faculty prided themselves on being “open minded”; we even had a Lutheran minister in some of our classes

One man who has risen up to ecclesiastical ladder comes to mind. He was an Eastern Rite Franciscan who was told not to even wear his habit because the faculty did not want him to call “attention” to himself. Although he was rather conservative, the faculty left him alone, since he was kind of a “guest” there, and they were doing his Ordinary a “service” by educating him. We were also good friends.

7. When were you installed as a “deacon” in the counterfeit church of conciliarism by Thomas Welsh, the conciliar “bishop” of the Diocese of Allentown?

I was “ordained” a Deacon on the eighteenth of May in 1985. Then on February the fourteenth in 1986, just fourteen weeks away from Priesthood, the faculty voted not to recommend me to Holy Orders.

8. Why did not “Bishop” Welsh decide not to install you as a conciliar presbyter following the completion of your studies at Mary Immaculate Seminary? Did you receive your Master of Divinity degree?

Bishop Welsh said to me, “Paul, you haven't done anything immoral or scandalous; everybody likes you, but I can't go against the faculty and ordain you a priest.” While I completed all the degree requirements for my degree, I never actually received the degree because I was asked to have my things packed and to be gone immediately from Mary Immaculate before the seventeenth of February.

9. What prompted you to seek admission into the Society of Saint Pius X for priestly ordination?

My desire to become a priest.

10. Did you take additional studies while with the Society of Saint Pius X? What were these studies?

Yes, Father [Richard] Williamson at the time, ordered me to study an additional four years at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary Ridgefield, Connecticut. This first year was the year of Spirituality; then three years of dogmatic and moral theology.

11. Did the Officials of the Society of Saint Pius X accept your putative ordination to the diaconate by Bishop Thomas Welsh of the Diocese of Allentown? Did they demand that your receive the Minor Orders or conditional ordination to the diaconate?

They certainly did. All I was asked was, “Did the bishop use the book?” Those were the vice rector's exact words. No they did not ask me to receive Minor Orders or Diaconate .I was told it wasn't necessary.

12. When and why did you decide to leave the Society of Saint Pius X?

I left because they couldn't decide what to do with me. The “straw that broke the camel's back” so to speak, was when the District Superior decided to send me on a “tour” of Europe – a different country every three months You must remember that I was a already about thirty-six years old and had spent over fourteen years in classroom training I was extremely frustrated and had nearly given up.

13. What prompted you to join the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter?

I thought here was an opportunity to serve the Church and never have to say the Novus Ordo mass. You must remember that even though I began training in a relatively conservative diocese, I learned the evils of the postconciliar church through reading Archbishop Lefebvre's books, which I devoured between 1987 to 1988. I owe him very much for allowing me to see the truth about the crisis in the Church at the time. That is one thing that the Society gave me, along with a proper education, and for which I will always be grateful.

14. What were your responsibilities upon joining the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter? Did you teach in Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania? Did you serve as a deacon in any of the parishes that were administered by the Fraternity?

I was to be given three assignments. I taught German for a semester at Elmhurst, then I was sent to Rapid City, South Dakota, where I spent a great deal of time working in the Diocesan Tribunal. Canon law always interested me and I very much enjoyed working there. Along with my parish responsibilities. My third and last assignment was in Vienna, Ohio. It was while I was there as a Deacon, that I received the call to Orders.

15. When did your putative ordination to the priesthood take place? Who was the conciliar “ordinary” who attempted to ordain you?

I was ordained to the priesthood by Fabian W. Bruskewitz in Wigratzbad, Germany, on the Feast of the Precious Blood in 1995.

16. Please provide us with a review of your pastoral duties in the first few years of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter?

After ordination in 1995, I was the first full-time priest of the Latin Mass community in Omaha, Nebraska. It was a dual function parish and we were quite successful. I spent about sixteen months there. I was then assigned to the Latin Mass community in Maple Hill, Kansas. We were very close to St. Mary's and our job was to pull people away from the SSPX. I was only there for about eight months. It was there also that I spent Sundays in Kansas City in another dual function parish.

17. How long were you assigned in the dual function parish, Holy Rosary Church, in Indianapolis? Please provide some detail about your time there.

I began serving the Tridentine Mass Apostolate (TMA) in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis on September 14, 1997. I worked on the tribunal here too; mind you it was wasn't anything substantial, but I was getting my “feet wet” so to speak in learning more about the whole canonical process of Annulment. I didn't stay there long enough to really get into things, so to speak. I just generally helped where I was needed. Tribunal staffs are notoriously understaffed.

I spent well over a year at Holy Rosary parish after my time at St. Patrick in Indianapolis. Holy Rosary was to be the permanent assignment. I was in the position as Administrator, taking care of the needs of both the Novus Ordo and traditional aspect of the parish. I never simulated the Novus Ordo “mass”. I ran every aspect of the parish; I made no distinction between Novus Ordo and traditionalist because that was my duty, although all the sacraments I administered were on the old rite. I did everything for them except offer their “mass”.

18. Who directed you to stage the Novus Ordo service while at Holy Rosary Church?

With the advent of Protocol 1411, I could see the eventual outcome of it all. The FSSP did not have a clear identity of their mission at all. They were and still are very disorganized. There were many issues that were neglected which needed to be “ironed out” at the top; but our Superiors did have a very foggy notion of Tradition; even much more so, there were liberals in the highest places who were more interested in anything else except Tradition. I remember Fr. Devillers telling me this “I am much more liberal than most people think.” He may have presumed I was of the same mind.

19. How long did you stay in Australia? It is my understanding that your were carefully monitored while there? Is this so? If so, who was doing the monitoring?

Forty-three days. I do believe I was watched because Fr. Devillers knew everything, even conversations I had with the other Fraternity priest.

20. You were advised by an elderly priest not to return to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter when you came back to the United States in 1999. Who was this priest?

Fr. John Quinn, God rest his soul. A venerable elderly priest who was absolutely Traditional

21. You settled on the property of Mr. And Mrs. Gary Ritter in Lizton, Indian, upon your return to the United States of America. Please tell us about your early years there, including the story of the roof coming off the old barn on the Ritter's property.

When I decided to leave the FSSP after returning from Australia, I had nowhere to go. Mr. Gary Ritter invited me to live with his family in a big, old farm house where I have my own quarters upstairs. Before his offer, I had absolutely no idea of where to go or of what to do next.

The roof coming off the old barn is a wonderful story of how Our Lord, along with His Mother, provides for her children. It was August 9, 2000, when a storm came out of nowhere as often happens in the Midwest. I was upstairs preparing for the 8:00 a.m. Mass was when Mrs. Ritter's son, Christopher, came running upstairs to tell me to “go downstairs now ” It was at that time that Mrs. Ritter showed me through the front door window the huge tree lying down in the front yard alongside the long drive way. Before I descended the stairs, Mrs. Ritter was looking out the front door to assess the weather situation and it was at that time that she saw a huge tree ascend into the air and turn towards the house, looking as if someone had opened an umbrella and then it was laid gently down on the ground. It was not until later that we discovered that it did not damage any of the trees around it. (Only a few days earlier, when Mr. Ritter was mowing the grass that he noticed that the tree was dying and wondered how was he going to be able to cut it down.)

We went around to the back of the house near the basement and looked out the window of the back door in time to see the big, heavy wheel barrel go straight up into the air, make several twirls and then come straight down (there were cars parked near the wheel barrel and none were damaged.) We were in shock especially when Christopher called out saying, “look the barn ” The barn had a white, bluish glow around it and bulged out which also made it look as though someone was on the roof throwing shingles off as if someone dealing a deck of cards. It was at that time that I saw the roof of this three and one-half story barn actually begin to “peel” off. I recall saying to myself that “this is serious” and then we went down into the basement. We were only down there perhaps five minutes when it occurred to me how quiet it was and how clearly I heard the birds sing. And so, as I ascended the stairs, I noticed that the sun was shining. We all went outside and that's when I noticed that the roof was lifted off the barn and placed on the ground next to the barn. A path was created by the rushing wind as it surged through the property by taking down the tree and tearing off the roof of the barn and making a path through the cornfield as it departed. It was breathtaking This was indeed a prayer being answered by Mrs. Ritter because she knew that the wind was sent by Divine Providence for a divine purpose. (I want the readers to understand that several people were praying along with Mrs. Ritter and that their prayers were answered.)

Mr. Ritter had often said that he would tear down the old barn but he would have to rent some very expensive equipment to remove the roof. Lovingly, Our Lord and Our Lady took care of it for us.

22. When did you realize the truth of sedevacantism? What prompted you to come to recognize the truth of our ecclesiastical situation?

When that was presented to me in an unemotional and rational manner. Once you do even a little research, the truth becomes as clear as day. I believe it was in 2005 (?) when I listened to a talk given by a priest on the liturgical Revolution but took place before Vatican II. I stopped offering the Mass of 1962 that very Sunday, as I realized that it is indeed the Novus Ordo Missae in seminal form and the revisions were meant to be temporary through the 1969 missal. The 1962 Mass is in fact, the Novus Ordo Mass.

23. Although you had received warnings about Ryan Scott, you did decide to associate with him. Understanding that the memories are painful, could you provide a brief description of your experiences with him. Did he convince you to be conditionally ordained by him or did you ask him for such conditional ordination?

That is true, but the reason I decided to associate with him is because I met him before I heard anything about him. I also believe you should not believe in rumors 'which is all anyone or so I thought was able to present to me concerning him. Ryan Scott at first seemed to be a friend; but he used me for his own ends. I spent much time at the Abbey' returning to my Chapel during weekends for Mass. He exploited our relationship for many months. There were very many occasions when I would “act” in his place, so to speak, in the Abbey. Since I was the only other priest, he gave me many duties that would have been his duties, i.e.., acting superior, and giving the Sister three classes every week on theological topics. He would play mind games with me, trying to convince me the Ritters were no good, that he was always treated as a victim; he even tried to convince me that my mother sexually abused me' which is why he said that I was depressed and suffering from PTSD. Looking back now three years later it is all very absurd.

While it is true I approached Ryan Scott for conditional ordination, I thought he was my only solution. I spoke to many other traditional priests bout this problem, and no one was able to give solid advice. I decided to ask Scott for conditional orders to help put my mind at rest, which it did, until I found out from Bishop Pivarunas that he was probably not even a baptized Catholic.

24. Bishop Daniel Dolan had explained to us in 2008 that he doubted Ryan Scott had conditionally ordained you because he could personally testify that Ryan Scott did not understand Latin and that this would have invalidated any conditional ordination even though it was believed at the time that Scott had been consecrated by a true bishop, Bishop Francis Slupski. Did you find any problem with Ryan Scott's Latin during his attempt to conditionally ordain you?

Scott did have a severe and constant problem with his Latin pronunciation. He told me it was because he was dyslexic. He also did not understand Latin very well at all; he claimed his teacher was the late Fr. Alfred Kunz, who among other things, taught him Latin. I listened very carefully to the Latin formula when he conditionally ordained me.

25. What were the circumstances that prompted you to break with Ryan Scott in 2008? What did you do thereafter?

He tried to close my Chapel, by convincing me to leave it and become a Benedictine and live at the Abbey full time. Ryan Scott is extremely dangerous to souls.

I realized how wrong I was in having anything to do with Scott and I regret it to this day. I came back to my Chapel and tried to undo the damage he had done. We are still paying the price of our association with him to this day.

26. Although it had been believed that Ryan Scott had conditionally ordained you, you were advised by others to make sure of your conditional ordination by visiting Bishop Mark Pivarunas, who had told me in 2008 that you would have known if Ryan Scott's Latin had been defective. He nevertheless agreed to meet with you, prompting you to fly to Omaha to meet with His Excellency in March of 2010. Please tell us what happened during your visit to Omaha?

It was a terrible misunderstanding. I stopped by my second day there to visit His Excellency who was not home yet from an ordination in Mexico. Fr. Gregory left him a message for me; I told Fr. Gregory that the Bishop should call me when he felt up to it, but Father thought I had said that I would contact the Bishop. I waited in vain for several days in my hotel to see the Bishop.

27. You learned upon your return to Indiana that Bishop Pivarunas had discovered that there was no proof of Ryan Scott's having been baptized, that the conciliar officials who received him into the Novus Ordo sect at the age of twelve did not conditionally baptize him. Without proof of Ryan Scott's baptism, of course, there is no proof that he is a Christian, no less a validly baptized priest or bishop. Given this evidence, did Bishop Pivarunas offer to conditionally ordain you? If not, who did he recommend that you approach for such conditional ordination?

No, he did not offer to conditionally ordain me. As a matter of fact, I asked him, and he refused, telling me that he did not know me and would need time to do so. He recommended that I see either Bishop McKenna or Bishop Slupski.

28. Explain your visit to Bishop Robert McKenna at Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel in Monroe, Connecticut, in May of 2010. What did His Excellency tell you? Did you seek to change his mind thereafter?

Bishop McKenna told me that he would not ordain me because of mistakes he had made in the past, i.e.., some of his ordinati had turned out badly and he saw this on a reflection on himself. Another traditional Bishop on the East coast told me to not even approach him, because I would be wasting his time. What was I supposed to do? I attempted to change Bishop McKenna's mind as I thought he was more favorably disposed to hear my case. I sent him all my academic files, along with all my personal papers, including a valid baptismal certificate. It came back to me unopened with a note attached, a verbatim copy of a note on his website, which said that he was imposing a moratorium on ordinations.

29. Although we had personally implored Bishop Daniel Dolan to conditionally ordain you both before your association with Ryan Scott and thereafter, he put us off repeatedly by saying, “Well, he has to come to see me. I need to get to know him personally as once I ordain a man to the priesthood he belongs to me. He is mine.” He also told us in the summer of 2008 that Father Anthony Cekada had been in contact with a man who is now a presbyter in the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (Jonathan Romaowski), who passed along what he thought was “damaging” information about you, dampening Bishop Dolan's interest in your case. It is, however, my understanding that, despite being in possession of the "information" given to him, he used one of his parishioners, whom you know, as an intermediary in 2010 to tell you that he would conditionally ordain you and that he would even go to Indiana to do so without your having to meet with him in Ohio. Is this true? If it is true, would you agree that Bishop Dolan was admitting that you were well qualified to be conditionally ordained to the priesthood without having to interview or examine you before doing so?

To answer your question completely, you have to know a little of Canon Law. I don't understand why Bishop Dolan would think that I would be “his” after he conditionally ordained me. As a traditional Bishop, who according to the law, is functioning “outside” the Church, he has no jurisdiction. This means that I would not and do not “belong” to him. Any traditional Bishop who claims jurisdiction has his head in the clouds. Jurisdiction can only come from the Holy See. The Holy See is vacant. How can any traditional Bishop who is outside the official Church anyway, have jurisdiction if there is no one to give it to him?

It is true that Bishop Dolan offered me conditional ordination less than a year ago. The offer came through an intermediary, who said that the Bishop would be even willing to come here to Indiana to ordain me if I liked. At the time the message was given to me, there was no mention of any conditions placed upon me. Yes, I would agree that Bishop Dolan thought I was well qualified to be conditionally ordained.

30. You eventually contacted Bishop Francis Slupski, who was ordained to the priesthood for the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, the Redemptorists,  in Poland in 1961. Bishop Sluspki agreed to conditionally ordain you to the priesthood. Please describe your initial meeting with His Excellency. Did he express any regrets over some of the mistakes that he had made that have, as he has noted publicly, damaged his reputation in the eyes of many?

Yes, I did. I sent him exactly the same material I sent Bishop McKenna. He actually read it and said that he was very impressed and called me on the phone and said “you know that if you have the truth you are a winner. I know some of these men personally, and I will help you”. He came to my hotel room the night before my ordination where we spoke at length for about three hours. He expressed deep regret over one mistake he had made in consecrating a man to the Episcopate.

31. What was your impression of Bishop Slupski upon meeting him? When and where were you conditionally ordained by him?

He is an extremely kind and humble man. He conditionally ordained me at St. Joseph Chapel in Rock Falls, Illinois on the 15 of January 2011.

32. You explained on Saturday, February 12, 2011, that Bishop Slupski had offered to consecrate you as a bishop and you had accepted. What prompted Bishop Slupski to offer this to you? Did you have any doubts or reservations?

I am not sure exactly when I accepted his offer to be consecrated. The material that I mentioned earlier, which is my curriculum vitae along with all my academic records is probably what prompted him to offer me Episcopal consecration After some prayer and reflection I made my decision. No I had no doubts or reservations.

33.  When and where did Bishop Slupski consecrate you?

Friday, March 11, 2011 at St. Joseph's Chapel in Rock Falls, Illinois.

34. One priest to whom I spoke after your consecration said “We don't need more bishops.” Could you comment on this observation?

I respectfully disagree. We need more Bishops who want to save souls. We need more and more Bishops who care about what is right, fair and just in the eyes of God, rather than trying to protect their own reputation by simply doing nothing, or who are motivated by earthly considerations rather than eternal ones. There are good Bishops who do serve souls with great generosity and tirelessness at this time. It with the help of God and the prayers of Our Lady that I want to be one of those Bishops so that our battered sheep can feel a bit of restful shelter in the arms of the Good Shepherd Himself in these difficult times.

35. Bishop Slupski said at your consecration that he was charging you to provide priests and, if necessary, bishops, for Holy Mother Church at this time of apostasy and betrayal. How do you intend to fulfill this charge?

By doing exactly that. His Excellency charged me with a most serious responsibility, one that I intend to carry out to the best of my ability with God's help.

Finally, Your Excellency, is there anything you would like to add or you think needs more elaboration?

If anyone has any questions they can email me at frpspetko@gmail.com. I would be happy to answer any questions that anyone might have. Also, please pray for me

[Thomas A. Droleskey afterword: I thank Bishop Petko for his thoroughness in taking the time to answer these questions. Please pray for him at this time.]