#1016 Leading the Frocks

“Young Priest To Be Defrocked After Tawdry Affair!” The headline caught my attention. The story itself was boring, another religious leader caught in the mire of sin. Why is it those who tell us most what not to do most often get in big to-dos over doing it?
But the good thing is it did get me thinking about two words. Tawdry and Defrocked. Did you know the word tawdry can be traced to throat cancer? Yep. Tawdry is a bastardization of St. Audrey. It’s shortened from “tawdry lace,” which is an alteration of St Audrey’s lace, a gaudy silk necktie for women. The “tawdry lace” is sold at the annual fair at Ely commemorating St. Audrey, queen of Northumbria back in the 600s. Apparently, St Audrey’s association with cheap lace necklaces is that she supposedly died of a throat tumor, which she considered God's punishment for her youthful fondness for expensive showy necklaces.
Interesting fact, huh? If it hadn’t have been for the soon-to-be defrocked priest I might never have learned it. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Which leads me to the term defrocked. In the old days it was relatively common to call a monk’s habit a frock. But these days a frock is something a cheap tawdry woman might wear who wants to make a habit of a priest’s illicit attentions. So the only defrocking being done is from her end.
Do you go up to a priest and say, “Nice frock Father.” I think not. Still, there aren’t as many alternatives that imply stripped of office and responsiblilty as well as defrocked.
Demoted? Pretty soft.
Priests wear robes. Should we say they are dis-robed? It makes for an uncomfortable mental image. Especially with some of the priests I have known.
Defrocked sounds weird though. Like saying de-pants.
But that only leaves one priestly garment to remove in my vocabulary. The habit. Can you de-habit someone?
Not as fierce sounding as defrocking them, but at least now we can re-habit them. Then we can do the Christian thing, go for the redemption, and shorten it to rehab.
St. Audrey would be proud.
America, ya gotta love it.