Webster Cook, the UCF student who took the Eucharist hostage and changed his stated motive from a political protest to just showing the Eucharist to a friend when the outrage ensued, was voted off the UCF Senate last night.
As reported by the Central Florida Future, UCF's newspaper:
"The vote on the charge of misfeasance was 22-7-1 against Cook. After the vote was tallied, Cook was officially removed from office.
...misfeasance, which is defined by SGA as a lawful act performed in a wrongful manner by a Student Government official in execution of his or her duties."
Maybe this will be a lesson learned for him. He believed that he could charm and lie his way of what he did. 22 members of the UCF Senate, his contemporaries, said that he couldn't. He might be a little less cocky this morning, but I doubt it.
It is worth noting how 20-year-old college students know what is right in their hearts and have the courage to act, but this can't be said of 50-year-old administrators at the University of Minnesota.
Showing posts with label Webster Cook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Webster Cook. Show all posts
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Webster Cook Will Not Be Suspended/Expelled; Still Faces Senate Hearing
From Fox News Orlando:
"The University of Central Florida student who stole something sacred from a Catholic mass will not be kicked out of school.
On Tuesday, a panel of four students and two administrators, voted unanimously to dismiss all charges against Webster Cook and his friend Ben Collard, saying there was no hard evidence that the two did anything which would merit expulsion or suspension.
...Tuesday's hearing took about seven hours, but the panel has two days to reverse that decision. Cook's impeachment hearing from the student Senate is scheduled for August 28."
No evidence but the meeting took 7 hours???
Okay, here is some evidence for the panel of Cook disrupting a religious service to make a political statement. Here are Webster's comments on the Orlando Sentinel posting right after the sacrilege, stating he did it as a protest, then switching his story... again... mid-post saying he did it only to show his friend (this excuse only emerged when outrage came his way):
"...the State of Florida is required to uphold this separation of church and state. All UCF Student Government Association funds are property of the State of Florida. Therefore, it is illegal to allocate funds to a religious organization, such as Catholic Campus Ministry..."
I guess this panel really didn't dig too deep, or have internet access, to have an understanding of his many lies and motives.
Once again, he plays the victim for sympathy in this post saying he was roughed up by little Michelle Drucker.
We still have the Senate Vote. The charge is he lied about his identity during the offense, which is easy to prove with witnesses there. If found guilty, he can be bounced off the Student Senate. Also, it is noteworthy that if found guilty of giving false identity, why did he feel the need to do this if he wasn't doing something wrong? We will see. Set your calendar for August 28th.
"The University of Central Florida student who stole something sacred from a Catholic mass will not be kicked out of school.
On Tuesday, a panel of four students and two administrators, voted unanimously to dismiss all charges against Webster Cook and his friend Ben Collard, saying there was no hard evidence that the two did anything which would merit expulsion or suspension.
...Tuesday's hearing took about seven hours, but the panel has two days to reverse that decision. Cook's impeachment hearing from the student Senate is scheduled for August 28."
No evidence but the meeting took 7 hours???
Okay, here is some evidence for the panel of Cook disrupting a religious service to make a political statement. Here are Webster's comments on the Orlando Sentinel posting right after the sacrilege, stating he did it as a protest, then switching his story... again... mid-post saying he did it only to show his friend (this excuse only emerged when outrage came his way):
"...the State of Florida is required to uphold this separation of church and state. All UCF Student Government Association funds are property of the State of Florida. Therefore, it is illegal to allocate funds to a religious organization, such as Catholic Campus Ministry..."
I guess this panel really didn't dig too deep, or have internet access, to have an understanding of his many lies and motives.
Once again, he plays the victim for sympathy in this post saying he was roughed up by little Michelle Drucker.
We still have the Senate Vote. The charge is he lied about his identity during the offense, which is easy to prove with witnesses there. If found guilty, he can be bounced off the Student Senate. Also, it is noteworthy that if found guilty of giving false identity, why did he feel the need to do this if he wasn't doing something wrong? We will see. Set your calendar for August 28th.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Webster Cook Impeached by UCF Senate!
The Orlando Sentinel reports that Webster Cook has been impeached by the Senate of UCF. The vote happened late last night by a vote of 33-2. They deliberated for only 15 minutes.
This impeachment now sets in motion an investigation that would remove Cook from his office of University Senator if the investigation concludes he violated Senate ethic rules.
The Senate will decide what sanctions are appropriate after the investigation.
This impeachment now sets in motion an investigation that would remove Cook from his office of University Senator if the investigation concludes he violated Senate ethic rules.
The Senate will decide what sanctions are appropriate after the investigation.
Webster Cook's Friend Also Faces Charges
Benjamin Collar, one of the votes against sending this incident to an impeachment vote, a close friend to Webster Cook, and someone who attended the "disrupted" Mass with Webster, is finding out you should choose your friends more carefully. Let me say that I have never believed in guilt by association, so we will give Benjamin the benefit of the doubt that he is innocent, until evidence is presented.
But his interview to MyFoxOrlando is interesting. First, he says that he can not register for next semester classes, saying there is a hold on registration pending a discipline hearing. This means Webster is in this boat as well.
Next, there is the quote telling you everything he didn't do, pretty much telling you what Webster did, :“While the situation, disruption happened, I was sitting in my seat looking forward, I did nothing:”“I never spoke to a university official, I never lied about who I was,” Collard added. “I never engaged in any disruptive conduct..."
Webster is not going to have too many friends left. I hope for Benjamin's sake, if he did do nothing wrong everything is resolved for him. By the same token, the Campus Ministry filed charges against him, so we will wait to see.
But here is something else worth noting. Benjamin is, I presume, the friend that Webster stated he was trying to show the Eucharistic to. If this was a lie, which I believe, Benjamin is not going to support Webster's lie over his survival at this college. He could turn "state's evidence" against Webster in the hearing.
Another story says the Senate seat Webster could lose are highly sought after. The Senate controls distribution of $80 Million in school funds. Maybe that is how Webster knew exactly how much religious organizations were receiving. It was reported some students spend $10,000 of their own money on their Senate campaign to be elected, and receive a salary (probably minimal). Times have changed so much since I have been in college, I was worried about paying my $3,600 semester tuition.
But his interview to MyFoxOrlando is interesting. First, he says that he can not register for next semester classes, saying there is a hold on registration pending a discipline hearing. This means Webster is in this boat as well.
Next, there is the quote telling you everything he didn't do, pretty much telling you what Webster did, :“While the situation, disruption happened, I was sitting in my seat looking forward, I did nothing:”“I never spoke to a university official, I never lied about who I was,” Collard added. “I never engaged in any disruptive conduct..."
Webster is not going to have too many friends left. I hope for Benjamin's sake, if he did do nothing wrong everything is resolved for him. By the same token, the Campus Ministry filed charges against him, so we will wait to see.
But here is something else worth noting. Benjamin is, I presume, the friend that Webster stated he was trying to show the Eucharistic to. If this was a lie, which I believe, Benjamin is not going to support Webster's lie over his survival at this college. He could turn "state's evidence" against Webster in the hearing.
Another story says the Senate seat Webster could lose are highly sought after. The Senate controls distribution of $80 Million in school funds. Maybe that is how Webster knew exactly how much religious organizations were receiving. It was reported some students spend $10,000 of their own money on their Senate campaign to be elected, and receive a salary (probably minimal). Times have changed so much since I have been in college, I was worried about paying my $3,600 semester tuition.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Webster Cook's Impeachment Moving Forward and He's Covering His Tracks
A few updates tonight:
1) The Central Florida student newspaper reports that by a vote of 5 to 2, the UCF Legislative, Judicial and Rules Committee consented to send the complaint affidavit against Webster Cook to the SGA Senate, for possible impeachment and removal of Cook from the UCF Senate.
The riddiculous charges that Cook brought against the Catholic Campus Ministry of hazing and under-age drinking were formaly dropped by the Committee.
According to Catholic Campus Ministry worker Michelle Ducker's statement in the affidavit, Cook pretended to consume the Eucharist at the incident. (Blogger Note: Meaning he was trying to deceive people for some purpose... Michelle, God Bless her, was the person who tried to pry the Eucharist from Webster's hand. There is a picture of Michelle Drucker on the Ministry Web site. She does not look like any physical match for Webster. When he says he was roughed up by her, add it to the list of his lies.)
Senate member, Anthony Furbish, filled the complaint against Cook. Defend your Faith, Anthony!
2) WFTV is reporting today that Catholics present at this sacrilege, say Webster "disrupt[ed] their service by accusing Catholics of worshipping the devil during mass and talking loudly." This is interesting because their are now multiple witnesses to this. With this information it does not seem like Webster was taking the Eucharist to benevolently show a friend, which we never believed.
3) And in addressing the true reason Webster first gave before all his backpedaling, concerning why he did this horrible thing (to protest public funds), I mentioned in a blog to his father that he had a facebook detailing this as the true reason. He and his friends were trying to rally the troops by saying that Webster did this to protest public funds for religious groups. It listed Webster as the President of this activist page. Well, today his name is completely off the page, and so is the reason he did it in the first place. Now they point out only, much more subtly, that the host was paid for with public funds, nothing about the motivation. These modifications were purposely done as a cover up not to incriminate Webster at his trials. The truth has to be altered when the truth will bring your demise.
1) The Central Florida student newspaper reports that by a vote of 5 to 2, the UCF Legislative, Judicial and Rules Committee consented to send the complaint affidavit against Webster Cook to the SGA Senate, for possible impeachment and removal of Cook from the UCF Senate.
The riddiculous charges that Cook brought against the Catholic Campus Ministry of hazing and under-age drinking were formaly dropped by the Committee.
According to Catholic Campus Ministry worker Michelle Ducker's statement in the affidavit, Cook pretended to consume the Eucharist at the incident. (Blogger Note: Meaning he was trying to deceive people for some purpose... Michelle, God Bless her, was the person who tried to pry the Eucharist from Webster's hand. There is a picture of Michelle Drucker on the Ministry Web site. She does not look like any physical match for Webster. When he says he was roughed up by her, add it to the list of his lies.)
Senate member, Anthony Furbish, filled the complaint against Cook. Defend your Faith, Anthony!
2) WFTV is reporting today that Catholics present at this sacrilege, say Webster "disrupt[ed] their service by accusing Catholics of worshipping the devil during mass and talking loudly." This is interesting because their are now multiple witnesses to this. With this information it does not seem like Webster was taking the Eucharist to benevolently show a friend, which we never believed.
3) And in addressing the true reason Webster first gave before all his backpedaling, concerning why he did this horrible thing (to protest public funds), I mentioned in a blog to his father that he had a facebook detailing this as the true reason. He and his friends were trying to rally the troops by saying that Webster did this to protest public funds for religious groups. It listed Webster as the President of this activist page. Well, today his name is completely off the page, and so is the reason he did it in the first place. Now they point out only, much more subtly, that the host was paid for with public funds, nothing about the motivation. These modifications were purposely done as a cover up not to incriminate Webster at his trials. The truth has to be altered when the truth will bring your demise.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Webster Cook Files Hazing Charges Against UCF Catholics
Webster seems very contrite about the whole thing, I guess desperate people grasp for desperate things:
WFTV Florida reports:
"A Catholic student group is facing hazing charges after a worshiper allegedly used force while trying to rescue a communion wafer from a student leader smuggling it out of Mass.
Cook said his hazing complaint cited a UCF anti-hazing policy banning the “forced consumption of any food,” in which the “initiation or admission into or affiliation with a University of Central Florida organization may be directly or indirectly conditioned.”
The rule presumably was intended to prevent fraternities from force-feeding pledges disgusting food. But Cook said the rule is clear, and applies to all UCF clubs, including the Catholic Campus Ministries religious group. He insists the group is guilty, because members ordered him to consume the Eucharist to remain at Mass.
Nearly two weeks after the incident, UCF spokesman Grant Heston confirmed the school was still reviewing the charges and had not yet decided whether they’d be dismissed or brought through a formal trial conducted by administrators with UCF’s Office of Student Conduct.
Recent groups convicted of hazing charges at UCF were fraternities, which faced several years of suspension as punishment.
Cook also filed charges accusing the Catholic club of violating the school’s underage alcohol policy by serving communal wine to underage students.
Cook is also facing a more public set of charges filed by one of his peers in UCF’s Student Government Association.
SGA Officer Anthony Furbush filed an impeachment affidavit against Cook claiming Cook violated SGA ethics when he announced he was an SGA official during Mass, and cited that reason, along with the fact Mass was held in a public campus hall, as why he didn’t have to leave when asked.
Cook denied that allegation. Hearings on the impeachment charge could begin Wednesday. If convicted, Cook would be stripped of his SGA position.
Cook, who said he decided to return the Eucharist after receiving threats against his life, and afterlife, from angry Catholics maintains he did nothing wrong, and still deserves an apology for being “attacked” during Mass. Cook also denied he apologized for his actions, as UCF officials claimed he did in a statement.
However, he said he’d be open to meeting with the student church members who filed the disruptive conduct charges against him, in hopes of working out a deal for both sides to drop the charges, before they end up in administrators’ hands, where suspension and expulsion would be on the table."
WFTV Florida reports:
"A Catholic student group is facing hazing charges after a worshiper allegedly used force while trying to rescue a communion wafer from a student leader smuggling it out of Mass.
Cook said his hazing complaint cited a UCF anti-hazing policy banning the “forced consumption of any food,” in which the “initiation or admission into or affiliation with a University of Central Florida organization may be directly or indirectly conditioned.”
The rule presumably was intended to prevent fraternities from force-feeding pledges disgusting food. But Cook said the rule is clear, and applies to all UCF clubs, including the Catholic Campus Ministries religious group. He insists the group is guilty, because members ordered him to consume the Eucharist to remain at Mass.
Nearly two weeks after the incident, UCF spokesman Grant Heston confirmed the school was still reviewing the charges and had not yet decided whether they’d be dismissed or brought through a formal trial conducted by administrators with UCF’s Office of Student Conduct.
Recent groups convicted of hazing charges at UCF were fraternities, which faced several years of suspension as punishment.
Cook also filed charges accusing the Catholic club of violating the school’s underage alcohol policy by serving communal wine to underage students.
Cook is also facing a more public set of charges filed by one of his peers in UCF’s Student Government Association.
SGA Officer Anthony Furbush filed an impeachment affidavit against Cook claiming Cook violated SGA ethics when he announced he was an SGA official during Mass, and cited that reason, along with the fact Mass was held in a public campus hall, as why he didn’t have to leave when asked.
Cook denied that allegation. Hearings on the impeachment charge could begin Wednesday. If convicted, Cook would be stripped of his SGA position.
Cook, who said he decided to return the Eucharist after receiving threats against his life, and afterlife, from angry Catholics maintains he did nothing wrong, and still deserves an apology for being “attacked” during Mass. Cook also denied he apologized for his actions, as UCF officials claimed he did in a statement.
However, he said he’d be open to meeting with the student church members who filed the disruptive conduct charges against him, in hopes of working out a deal for both sides to drop the charges, before they end up in administrators’ hands, where suspension and expulsion would be on the table."
Sunday, July 13, 2008
The Webster Cook Logic: Inconsistently Inconsistent
Sept. 2006 Brent Matthews in Lewiston, Maine, rolled a frozen head of a pig through an open door, across a store-front Mosque's floor. Mr. Matthews said that the incident was "a prank." Mr. Matthews was indicted on criminal charges and charged with a misdemeanor for defacement and desecration of a place of worship.
Sept. 2007 Peggy Davidson and Judy Overby, of Syracuse, were indicted by a Grand Jury for disrupting services at two local temples by becoming verbally "loud and obnoxious." Each pleaded guilty to ... two misdemeanor counts of disrupting a religious service
July 2008: UCF Student Webster Cook disrupts worship at a Catholic Mass by stealing and desecrating the Holy Eucharist. Absolutely no problem... legal charges or University action would be such an over-reacting... I mean you have to consider, it was only done against Catholics...
It is either everything listed above is wrong, or nothing listed above is wrong. Which one is it?
Sept. 2007 Peggy Davidson and Judy Overby, of Syracuse, were indicted by a Grand Jury for disrupting services at two local temples by becoming verbally "loud and obnoxious." Each pleaded guilty to ... two misdemeanor counts of disrupting a religious service
July 2008: UCF Student Webster Cook disrupts worship at a Catholic Mass by stealing and desecrating the Holy Eucharist. Absolutely no problem... legal charges or University action would be such an over-reacting... I mean you have to consider, it was only done against Catholics...
It is either everything listed above is wrong, or nothing listed above is wrong. Which one is it?
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Webster Cook's Father Checks in Again
Below is a post by Webster Cook's father and my reply:
Dr. Cook-
I was going to take the night off from posting, but thought you post deserved a reply. I am in full agreement with you in regard to violence never being appropriate. Over the past few days I have deleted more posts than I ever thought I would in my life. One post had the phone number, and personal information of your son. I did not post this for the protection and safety on your son and your family. I do not promote violence. In the same breath, I would also say that if someone is desecrating something, people have the right to restrain him or her. You or I can do this legally in our society.
I am in total and complete disagreement that your son’s action is not comparable to desecrating a Star of David. Please realize in my view it is worse. A Star of David is a symbol of God to our Jewish brethren; the Eucharist IS our God. It would be the difference between desecrating a statue of Christ, vs. the person of Christ. There is a belief among Catholics that the one accepted religious bigotry allowed in America is anti-Catholicim. I posted this comparison on purpose. Saying that if you son disrupted any other religious denomination service in America, I don't think you would be defending him as much as you are now. I don't think you would call the Anti-Defamation League press statement condeming your son's action if it was in a synagogue, "A Bully". Would you Dr. Cook? See you remove Roman Catholicism out of the equation and the incident becomes more vile.
In reading carefully your comments, I think there are still some problems not being faced. First the conflicting stories. One story said he was taking the Eucharist to protest public funds being used. In this story his action was premeditated. When everything started to implode, your son’s story changed to the more benevolent “I was just showing an interested friends.” This change in story makes it hard to believe it was not premeditated. It was totally premeditated and I think someone is not being honest. Did you know right now your son’s close UCF friends have a facebook page supporting him saying that he took the Eucharist to protest public funds? Your son is listed as the President of this page. You can’t say this was not premeditated.
The second problem with your comments is that the apology was not a true apology. It had many qualifiers to the point it sounded he was still making his point while apologizing. It was not contrite. “I didn’t want to hurt innocent people,” so he wanted to hurt people that were not innocent? Do you see what I mean?
You sign your post the "hostage-taker's" father. It still seems to be a big joke for you. As the apology is for us Devout Catholics.
Please understand that the are so many Catholics who feel your son affronted our Savior who suffered for us. Our love for Jesus and the Eucharist is on par with the love we have for our children. Do you think any parent would have let your son leave with malice holding their child without stopping him with every breath they had?
All this being said, I can image this has not been an easy week for your family. If you ever feel that your son wants to truly apologize without qualifications, I will broker this apology with the Catholic League, if you wish and put this chapter behind him. As a father of three, I know that kids do not think through their actions completely. Most adults don’t. I don’t believe your son’s intent on this action was on the level of a hate crime in his head, but it was an affront to the Holiest of Holies of our Catholic Faith and definitely maligned our Christ, our religion and all Catholics beliefs deserving of a response action.
Webster Cook's Father:
I would like to thank you for including my post in your blog. The dialog is worthwhile. I am confused as to why Webster's receiving the Eucharist is a breathtaking insult. He was raised Catholic and received his First Holy Communion, as did my other two children. There are church documents to confirm this.
I would agree with most of what has been said against Webster if he had premeditated the removal of the host from the church. That simply is not the case. Even so, I have told him that two wrongs do not make a right. He should not have compounded an inappropriate handling (physical force without calm reasoning) of a situation by walking out with the Holy Eucharist. I am positive that he would handle that situation differently if he had it to do again. He did not set out to make a mockery of your religious beliefs or to debase them.
This is not analagous to debasing a star of David as suggested above. What continues to disturb me, and why I vehemently protest your portrayal of this situation, is that physical violence and force should always be a last resort. The church has no excuse of being "young and impulsive." I hold the Catholic Church to a higher standard than a college student. Incidently, the college student has apologised, publicly. He has posted letters and gone on the televised news to do so.
Indeed, he publicly recognized that he caused innocent people pain, and that he wanted to stop that. How has the integrity and courage of church leaders been demonstrated in this? Perhaps some consideration that the handling of this situation might be examined for better results in the future might have mitigated the image of extremism that I see in much of the reaction to this event.
Finally, my personal respect for the free exercise of religion by others does NOT extend to violence. I do not support the right of suicide bombers to enforce their view of religion on others. I do not subscibe to either Jihad or Crusade as a legitimate means of worship. I might just as well make the comparison of the behavior exhibited by Catholics in that church with those acts as accept the portrayal of my son's behavior as a "hate crime." Both comparisons are patently absurd. Both behaviors demand apology and deep reflection.Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,Brian W. Cook, MDThe "hostage taker's" father.
Dr. Cook-
I was going to take the night off from posting, but thought you post deserved a reply. I am in full agreement with you in regard to violence never being appropriate. Over the past few days I have deleted more posts than I ever thought I would in my life. One post had the phone number, and personal information of your son. I did not post this for the protection and safety on your son and your family. I do not promote violence. In the same breath, I would also say that if someone is desecrating something, people have the right to restrain him or her. You or I can do this legally in our society.
I am in total and complete disagreement that your son’s action is not comparable to desecrating a Star of David. Please realize in my view it is worse. A Star of David is a symbol of God to our Jewish brethren; the Eucharist IS our God. It would be the difference between desecrating a statue of Christ, vs. the person of Christ. There is a belief among Catholics that the one accepted religious bigotry allowed in America is anti-Catholicim. I posted this comparison on purpose. Saying that if you son disrupted any other religious denomination service in America, I don't think you would be defending him as much as you are now. I don't think you would call the Anti-Defamation League press statement condeming your son's action if it was in a synagogue, "A Bully". Would you Dr. Cook? See you remove Roman Catholicism out of the equation and the incident becomes more vile.
In reading carefully your comments, I think there are still some problems not being faced. First the conflicting stories. One story said he was taking the Eucharist to protest public funds being used. In this story his action was premeditated. When everything started to implode, your son’s story changed to the more benevolent “I was just showing an interested friends.” This change in story makes it hard to believe it was not premeditated. It was totally premeditated and I think someone is not being honest. Did you know right now your son’s close UCF friends have a facebook page supporting him saying that he took the Eucharist to protest public funds? Your son is listed as the President of this page. You can’t say this was not premeditated.
The second problem with your comments is that the apology was not a true apology. It had many qualifiers to the point it sounded he was still making his point while apologizing. It was not contrite. “I didn’t want to hurt innocent people,” so he wanted to hurt people that were not innocent? Do you see what I mean?
You sign your post the "hostage-taker's" father. It still seems to be a big joke for you. As the apology is for us Devout Catholics.
Please understand that the are so many Catholics who feel your son affronted our Savior who suffered for us. Our love for Jesus and the Eucharist is on par with the love we have for our children. Do you think any parent would have let your son leave with malice holding their child without stopping him with every breath they had?
All this being said, I can image this has not been an easy week for your family. If you ever feel that your son wants to truly apologize without qualifications, I will broker this apology with the Catholic League, if you wish and put this chapter behind him. As a father of three, I know that kids do not think through their actions completely. Most adults don’t. I don’t believe your son’s intent on this action was on the level of a hate crime in his head, but it was an affront to the Holiest of Holies of our Catholic Faith and definitely maligned our Christ, our religion and all Catholics beliefs deserving of a response action.
Webster Cook's Father:
I would like to thank you for including my post in your blog. The dialog is worthwhile. I am confused as to why Webster's receiving the Eucharist is a breathtaking insult. He was raised Catholic and received his First Holy Communion, as did my other two children. There are church documents to confirm this.
I would agree with most of what has been said against Webster if he had premeditated the removal of the host from the church. That simply is not the case. Even so, I have told him that two wrongs do not make a right. He should not have compounded an inappropriate handling (physical force without calm reasoning) of a situation by walking out with the Holy Eucharist. I am positive that he would handle that situation differently if he had it to do again. He did not set out to make a mockery of your religious beliefs or to debase them.
This is not analagous to debasing a star of David as suggested above. What continues to disturb me, and why I vehemently protest your portrayal of this situation, is that physical violence and force should always be a last resort. The church has no excuse of being "young and impulsive." I hold the Catholic Church to a higher standard than a college student. Incidently, the college student has apologised, publicly. He has posted letters and gone on the televised news to do so.
Indeed, he publicly recognized that he caused innocent people pain, and that he wanted to stop that. How has the integrity and courage of church leaders been demonstrated in this? Perhaps some consideration that the handling of this situation might be examined for better results in the future might have mitigated the image of extremism that I see in much of the reaction to this event.
Finally, my personal respect for the free exercise of religion by others does NOT extend to violence. I do not support the right of suicide bombers to enforce their view of religion on others. I do not subscibe to either Jihad or Crusade as a legitimate means of worship. I might just as well make the comparison of the behavior exhibited by Catholics in that church with those acts as accept the portrayal of my son's behavior as a "hate crime." Both comparisons are patently absurd. Both behaviors demand apology and deep reflection.Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,Brian W. Cook, MDThe "hostage taker's" father.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Another Teenager's View of the Same Eucharist
"A tradition dating from the sixth century says that St. Tarcisius was an acolyte whose fidelity and courage so impressed the leaders of the Church during the persecution of Valerian that he was entrusted with taking the Blessed Sacrament secretly to the Christians who awaited martyrdom in prison. This custom arose when the priests who ministered to the prisoners would be easily discovered, while the acolytes were less known to the heathens.The Roman Martyrology, based on the fourth-century poem of Pope St. Damasus, gives the story of the "boy martyr of the Eucharist" in these words: "At Rome, on the Appian way, the passion of St. Tarcisius the acolyte, whom pagans met carrying the sacrament of the Body of Christ and asked him what it was he was carrying. He deemed it a shameful thing to cast pearls before the swine, and so was assaulted by them for a long time with clubs and stones [and martyred.]"
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
A Roadmap to Save Webster Cook
As some might know, Webster Cook's father posted on my blog this A.M. He blamed everyone for the mess his son is in, The Catholic League, me, etc... except the real cause:
You should be more diligent in your understanding of facts before making such hostile statements about another person. My family respects the freedom of all to worship as they see fit. Someone who publicly claims to "bring Fortune 100 companies to their knees" should examine their own arrogance, rather than casting aspersions on teenagers. Your hostility and thirt for vengence is quite unchristian.I'll bet that you are too arrogant to risk posting this comment as well?!
Brian W. Cook, MD, FACEP Father of Webster Cook
Driving to work this morning, and thinking about his father’s post, I started to feel sympathy for Webster for the first time. He is getting himself deeper and deeper into this mess and doesn’t have the tools or parental guidance to get himself out of it.
So in realizing this Webster, being a devout Catholic and knowing how we think, here is a blueprint for your way out:
1) This first step will be the most difficult from what I am seeing and the success of all the other steps will be contingent on it. Come to a sincere understanding of the horrible act you did and take full, 100% responsibility. None of this, "I was wrong, but still believe…"; "I was wrong, but so were they…"; "after everything, I still don’t think state money should be used for this…"; and the "I still just wanted to show my friends" nonsense. As you saw by the first apology, a half-hearted apology just gets you in deeper. We need a 100% contrite apology accepting responsibility for your actions and not, "I was not aware of this or that…". When Mel Gibson said those hateful words against our Jewish brethren, his apology was something like, "there are no excuses and my actions were despicable, period." The apology should be address to all Catholics everywhere and asking for their forgiveness.
2) Type up copies of this apology. Give one to the head of the campus ministry, one to the bishop of the diocese, and send one to Bill Donohue at the Catholic League to be distributed nationally. I know Bill Donohue. He is the most tenacious person you will ever meet, but when a sincere and complete apology is given he turns charitable instantly. He is very street smart and if he smells there is some reservation or insincerity in the apology, he will continue his campaign relentlessly.
3) Sign up voluntarily for 6 months of "sensitivity" counseling.
4) Tell the Catholics on Campus you will volunteer for a certain amount of hours of public service, offering your services for the desecration you did to their Faith. They probably won’t trust you with anything liturgical, but you can do something. Sell tickets to something, do some gardening around the chapel, give an elderly person a ride to Mass. Describe this as your "penance" to them a term that Catholics will relate to.
5) When all this is done, give the final letter of the apology to the Catholics on campus you are bringing the phony charges against. Tell them how wrong you were, and you will drop all charges against them immediately. Also tell them that you will accept any judgement coming to you without any protest. Put your trust in their kindness. Most likely after all these gestures, no one will feel good about expelling you and you might have saved yourself of a reputation that would have followed you the rest of your life. UCF would love to have this issue resolve itself without them involved. They have been flooded with e-mails from Catholic League members for the last few days and know this is high profile and requires some punitive action if there is no resolve between the parties.
This is the advice I would give my son if he screwed up as bad as you did.
You should be more diligent in your understanding of facts before making such hostile statements about another person. My family respects the freedom of all to worship as they see fit. Someone who publicly claims to "bring Fortune 100 companies to their knees" should examine their own arrogance, rather than casting aspersions on teenagers. Your hostility and thirt for vengence is quite unchristian.I'll bet that you are too arrogant to risk posting this comment as well?!
Brian W. Cook, MD, FACEP Father of Webster Cook
Driving to work this morning, and thinking about his father’s post, I started to feel sympathy for Webster for the first time. He is getting himself deeper and deeper into this mess and doesn’t have the tools or parental guidance to get himself out of it.
So in realizing this Webster, being a devout Catholic and knowing how we think, here is a blueprint for your way out:
1) This first step will be the most difficult from what I am seeing and the success of all the other steps will be contingent on it. Come to a sincere understanding of the horrible act you did and take full, 100% responsibility. None of this, "I was wrong, but still believe…"; "I was wrong, but so were they…"; "after everything, I still don’t think state money should be used for this…"; and the "I still just wanted to show my friends" nonsense. As you saw by the first apology, a half-hearted apology just gets you in deeper. We need a 100% contrite apology accepting responsibility for your actions and not, "I was not aware of this or that…". When Mel Gibson said those hateful words against our Jewish brethren, his apology was something like, "there are no excuses and my actions were despicable, period." The apology should be address to all Catholics everywhere and asking for their forgiveness.
2) Type up copies of this apology. Give one to the head of the campus ministry, one to the bishop of the diocese, and send one to Bill Donohue at the Catholic League to be distributed nationally. I know Bill Donohue. He is the most tenacious person you will ever meet, but when a sincere and complete apology is given he turns charitable instantly. He is very street smart and if he smells there is some reservation or insincerity in the apology, he will continue his campaign relentlessly.
3) Sign up voluntarily for 6 months of "sensitivity" counseling.
4) Tell the Catholics on Campus you will volunteer for a certain amount of hours of public service, offering your services for the desecration you did to their Faith. They probably won’t trust you with anything liturgical, but you can do something. Sell tickets to something, do some gardening around the chapel, give an elderly person a ride to Mass. Describe this as your "penance" to them a term that Catholics will relate to.
5) When all this is done, give the final letter of the apology to the Catholics on campus you are bringing the phony charges against. Tell them how wrong you were, and you will drop all charges against them immediately. Also tell them that you will accept any judgement coming to you without any protest. Put your trust in their kindness. Most likely after all these gestures, no one will feel good about expelling you and you might have saved yourself of a reputation that would have followed you the rest of your life. UCF would love to have this issue resolve itself without them involved. They have been flooded with e-mails from Catholic League members for the last few days and know this is high profile and requires some punitive action if there is no resolve between the parties.
This is the advice I would give my son if he screwed up as bad as you did.
Monday, July 7, 2008
UCF Webster Cook in Way Over His Head
VCR Friend, Bill Donohue and the Catholic League now is monitoring this story:
FLORIDA STUDENT ABUSES EUCHARIST
"To protest student fees for religious services at the University of Central Florida (UCF), a student walked out of a campus Mass on June 29 with the Eucharist. Webster Cook, a student senator, finally returned the Host this past weekend.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue offered the following remarks today:
“For a student to disrupt Mass by taking the Body of Christ hostage—regardless of the alleged nature of his grievance—is beyond hate speech. That is why the UCF administration needs to act swiftly and decisively in seeing that justice is done. All options should be on the table, including expulsion.”
Contact UCF president John C. Hitt at jhitt@mail.ucf.edu "
The Catholic League has brought Fortune 100 companies to their knees. Webster won't last make it through this unscathed. It is a shame he did not give a sincerely apology when he had the chance. As my previous post showed he is still an arrogant fool impressed with himself. A contrite apology would have been accepted by Catholics and he viewed as a young person who made a bad mistake. It would have saved his enrollment at UCF.
FLORIDA STUDENT ABUSES EUCHARIST
"To protest student fees for religious services at the University of Central Florida (UCF), a student walked out of a campus Mass on June 29 with the Eucharist. Webster Cook, a student senator, finally returned the Host this past weekend.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue offered the following remarks today:
“For a student to disrupt Mass by taking the Body of Christ hostage—regardless of the alleged nature of his grievance—is beyond hate speech. That is why the UCF administration needs to act swiftly and decisively in seeing that justice is done. All options should be on the table, including expulsion.”
Contact UCF president John C. Hitt at jhitt@mail.ucf.edu "
The Catholic League has brought Fortune 100 companies to their knees. Webster won't last make it through this unscathed. It is a shame he did not give a sincerely apology when he had the chance. As my previous post showed he is still an arrogant fool impressed with himself. A contrite apology would have been accepted by Catholics and he viewed as a young person who made a bad mistake. It would have saved his enrollment at UCF.
Eucharist Returned at UCF
From WFTV Florida:
"Orange County, FL -- One week after a University of Central Florida student snatched something sacred from church, armed UCF police officers stood guard during Sunday Mass to protect what Catholics call “The Body of Christ.”
Minutes before the Mass began, Student Senator Webster Cook returned the Holy Eucharist he was holding hostage in a Ziploc bag ever since smuggling the blessed wafer of bread out of the Catholic Mass service Sunday, June 29.
Cook said he just wanted to show the Eucharist to a friend he brought with questions about Catholicism before consuming it. But outraged Catholics across the globe didn’t believe him, and suspected he intended all along to steal the Eucharist, and bloggers sent out e-mail messages damning him to Hell.
“I am returning the Eucharist to you in response to the e-mails I have received from Catholics in the UCF community,” Cook wrote in a letter to the church. “I still want the community to understand that the use physical force is wrong, especially when based on assumptions. "However, I feel it is unnecessary to cause pain for those who are not at fault in this situation.”
Cook said some threatened to break into his dorm room to rescue the Eucharist. Brinati said the Diocese of Orlando didn’t condone those threats, but was happy Cook had a change of heart and returned it.
...It’s still not clear if the controversy is over. There is no word yet if either the Catholic students or Cook will drop their separate complaints filed against each other with UCF’s student court. The violations each side accused the other of could result in suspension or expulsion.
Cook still disagrees with the more than $40,000 in student funds distributed annually to support Catholic and other religious groups on campus, but seemed conciliatory in his letter. "I want to thank the individuals who explained the emotional and spiritual pain my possession of the Eucharist caused them to experience,” he wrote. “They have demonstrated that the use (of) reason is more effective than the use of force."
Cook said he still hopes to meet with the local Bishop to discuss prohibiting the use of force to recover the Eucharist. He also wants an apology. "
Ol' Webster still doesn't sound so remorseful, he is not at the completely submissive stage yet. Somehow he positions himself as the good guy and the victim still. The Catholic League will get him to an unconditional apology.
"Orange County, FL -- One week after a University of Central Florida student snatched something sacred from church, armed UCF police officers stood guard during Sunday Mass to protect what Catholics call “The Body of Christ.”
Minutes before the Mass began, Student Senator Webster Cook returned the Holy Eucharist he was holding hostage in a Ziploc bag ever since smuggling the blessed wafer of bread out of the Catholic Mass service Sunday, June 29.
Cook said he just wanted to show the Eucharist to a friend he brought with questions about Catholicism before consuming it. But outraged Catholics across the globe didn’t believe him, and suspected he intended all along to steal the Eucharist, and bloggers sent out e-mail messages damning him to Hell.
“I am returning the Eucharist to you in response to the e-mails I have received from Catholics in the UCF community,” Cook wrote in a letter to the church. “I still want the community to understand that the use physical force is wrong, especially when based on assumptions. "However, I feel it is unnecessary to cause pain for those who are not at fault in this situation.”
Cook said some threatened to break into his dorm room to rescue the Eucharist. Brinati said the Diocese of Orlando didn’t condone those threats, but was happy Cook had a change of heart and returned it.
...It’s still not clear if the controversy is over. There is no word yet if either the Catholic students or Cook will drop their separate complaints filed against each other with UCF’s student court. The violations each side accused the other of could result in suspension or expulsion.
Cook still disagrees with the more than $40,000 in student funds distributed annually to support Catholic and other religious groups on campus, but seemed conciliatory in his letter. "I want to thank the individuals who explained the emotional and spiritual pain my possession of the Eucharist caused them to experience,” he wrote. “They have demonstrated that the use (of) reason is more effective than the use of force."
Cook said he still hopes to meet with the local Bishop to discuss prohibiting the use of force to recover the Eucharist. He also wants an apology. "
Ol' Webster still doesn't sound so remorseful, he is not at the completely submissive stage yet. Somehow he positions himself as the good guy and the victim still. The Catholic League will get him to an unconditional apology.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Eucharist Desecration at UCF
As many of you have read, a student at University of Central Florida named Webster Cook took Communion with the thoughts of not consuming it, but holding it for his own purposes. Here is the full story. Htip to Creative Minority Report
I wrote the President of the University, Dr. John Hitt, an e-mail tonight sharing my outrage, and he replied:
I am vacationing outside Florida with my children and grand children, and have not had an opportunity to discuss this matter with staff, but have seen a press account and had the benefit of an email from our student judicial officer.
Rest assured that the university takes this matter very seriously and is working with the Catholic diocese to assure that university rules of conduct and Florida statutes are upheld. The Catholic campus ministry is a vibrant and respective part of university life.
John C. Hitt President, UCF
We will see what happens here.
I wrote the President of the University, Dr. John Hitt, an e-mail tonight sharing my outrage, and he replied:
I am vacationing outside Florida with my children and grand children, and have not had an opportunity to discuss this matter with staff, but have seen a press account and had the benefit of an email from our student judicial officer.
Rest assured that the university takes this matter very seriously and is working with the Catholic diocese to assure that university rules of conduct and Florida statutes are upheld. The Catholic campus ministry is a vibrant and respective part of university life.
John C. Hitt President, UCF
We will see what happens here.
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