The recent case of Bishop Martin Holley bolsters your point. He was forced to resign as Bishop of Memphis. He was a good bishop. I was present at one of his Masses at a Confirmation when he was an auxiliary Bishop in Diocese of Washington, DC.
Makes you wonder just how many good priest worldwide have met similar fates. Maybe there wasn’t as much of a vocation shortage as though, but a crisis keeping or nurturing good men...at least over the last 50 years......
Yes it looks that way. It's a bit like someone only picking KGB agents for top FBI posts. It starts to make you wonder about who was doing the picking and why?
I am a recent convert and I still wonder why I remained outside the Church for so long. Even in the face of things now I am very grateful to have finally made it home. I trust in Jesus, he paid the price and made the promise to all those who believe. We all simply must have faith and trust in Him, even if it gets to the point that there is not a Mass available and I know not another Catholic soul. God forbid!
I have great troubles with this too as many others do. I think we have to make distinctions too though. If we were living in "normal" times and were dealing with a wayward priest, bishop or even group of bishops then it might be best to stand back and let the Church authorities deal with the situation while we pray for them. Under the current set of circumstances, I am not so sure silence is the answer. We are dealing with men who are destroying the very Church Herself. They are not merely wayward in their personal morals and behavior but are acting to lead to the loss of many souls and the destruction of the Church. Admittedly they will never be able to totally accomplish this, but they can still do great damage and cause the loss of innumerable souls. St. Catherine of Siena spoke up to the Pope himself. St. Athanasius and his followers were not silent. Perhaps I am wrong here, but it seems to me context is everything. If we see a priest committing a personal sin then perhaps it is best if we do not hurt his reputation and the Church by pointing it out to others in gossip, but rather resort to prayer for him. Are there not other circumstances though where out of Christian charity we are obliged to speak up? If he preaches a false gospel to his flock should we not point that out? If we know he is molesting young boys should we not warn others? Or should we let him keep on molesting children and teaching that sin is good while we pray for him? Somehow that doesn't seem right... Cardinal Burke, Bishop Schneider, and others are holy men and they speak up. They do so however with great charity and respect for the offices these men hold. I think we need to use them as role models. If we do speak it should be with charity and restraint. And only to outward facts, not personal motives. With the goal being to charitably warn the faithful, not to vent our anger. That to me is the key distinction between charity and sin. It can be an exceedingly thin line.
Yes of course charity, charity, charity. I am reminded of a beautiful document I believe the US Bishops brought out a while back on the need to balance Mercy and Justice. If ever there was a time to balance Justice and Mercy it is this. Very,very difficult times. I never thought I would live to see them.
There is a time and a season for everything under the sun. When God puts a person or a situation in front of us, we know it is our grace to speak to them. God knows, because I tell him every day that I love his ways, his truths and I love his laws and I am willing to speak to whomever for his greater glory. I almost find myself nagging at him to help me speak to those around me, especially family members. But, I find silence and prayer at this time is my journey. The time or the season is not here for me yet. I am busting at the seams some moments, but I wait. So, I come on this forum to talk to those in waiting as well. But, from what I can tell, we on this forum, from all over the country and world, have allot of the parts of the world in our grasp, if/when God wants to use us and I believe he will. This is real hard for me to wait, as I am no a patient person by nature. But somehow, he has given me the patience to wait......but I am busting at the seems for the moment when ears will be open to hear. Family members and people in my church and people I work with will be stunned with world and church events and they will then want to hear. But their paper doll world will have to turn first. Maranatha Lord Jesus.
Well I am no prophet but here is how I guess it will work out. The reason why I am particularly interested as are many Catholics in goings on in the Church in the USA is this. For one reason or another the USA seems to be the place where people are calling out the Elephant in the Room, namely heresy, corruption and cover up. You certainly don't get this in say Ireland, or Italy and you don't get it so much places like Italy, France or Germany. You do get it a little but compared to the USA which is pretty well shouting in the Vatican's face; I think of many heavy hitters of world renown like Cardinal Burke, EWTN, Archbishop Vigano, , Michael Voris, Dr MArshall.... and many top American Churchmen ...I could go on and on. This puts the USA in the extraordinary position of being at the forefront of Resistance or calling out on this awful stuff. Which is very wonderful and something to be very ,very proud off. But it does make the USA Church very,very vulnerable to attack. For if they can shut down the USA call out, Resistance, call it what you will they can shut up opposition. So I do believe those in the USA who stand up for the truth will come under sustained attack from the Vatican ably abetted by Benedict Arnold's in their won ranks. Fr Solanus Casey constantly warned Catholics of the danger of schism of the Church in America. I can see now how this could come about. With loyal USA Catholics being attacked by the Vatican for defending the very Church they so love. By the very people who should most defend them. There is no rat so dangerous as a cornered rat and we have lots of cornered rats in the Vatican at the moment..and elsewhere and it is American Catholics who have been doing the cornering.
Imagine you had a mother whom you loved more than anyone else in the world. You loved her so much your heart ached a little when you looked at her. But suddenly out of the blue you saw that her behaviour was erratic and cause for concern. You found she was an alchoholic, that she was stealing money and leading the family into debt, that she was betraying your father and many, many otehr wrongs. You decide in Justice and Mercy to call her out on these faults, but she becomes withdrawn, refuses to answer ignores your pleas. So in love and Justice you continue to call her out. One day you fall asleep but wake up in an Intensive Care Unit in Hospital. You are informed by the police and doctors that you mother has attacked and tried to murder you with a baseball bat. Where does love go from there? I feel we are at the turning point on all this and the baseball bats are about to come out. For what ele can these wicked, wicked people do really. They had hoped that by ignoring things and pretending they would go away. But, far from it, the guard dogs are barking worse then ever? What to do? The only thing to do from these wicked people's perspective is to kill the guard dogs that are barking by killing it with baseball bats. Believe me considering the really wicked things they have done and are doing attacking loyal Catholics with a baseball bat will not cause them a single pause. I can see the knives coming out from folks in the Vatican. Lots and lots of knives.
Sadly you have pointed out reality. This Saturday the bishops of the US are meeting here at the seminary in Mundelein. Also in Mundelein Steven Brady/RCF and others are having a meeting here in Mundelein to basically be going after the evil Cardinal Blaise Cupich. However I will not be attending as I have lost any sense of respect for the cardinal, Vatican, and pope. These people are evil and have sold their souls. Yes, I pray for them but there is no turning back for them. My faith is not in the Vatican and when it is all said and done I believe the Vatican will be dismantled and we will all be better off for it.
Saint Bellarmine's life reflects on these issues. Its a great lesson and illuminates the problems in the Papacy, the Bishops and Cardinals in his day as well. He never wanted to be a Bishop or a Cardinal but was commanded to by the Pope.
Padraig, this entire papacy has been about providing cover for apostates, especially apostates in Germany and in US Jesuit colleges, who operate as agents for the Freemasons or the US Democratic Party. It would take written proof to convince me that Podesta's Catholic Spring wasn't a Jesuit brainchild. You would have to be living in lala land not to recognise that the change in the Catechism making the death penalty "inadmisstable" was designed to provide cover for the same apostates because now they can claim that support for the death penalty is as bad if not worse than supporting abortion. The Pope's latest attack on Catholics who try to live the faith is aimed at daily Mass goers. This time he's ranting against Catholics who go to daily Mass and hate the world. Whenever I go to Mass on a weekday, the only daily Mass going Catholics I see there are people praying for the Pope's intentions and people who bring Holy Communion to the sick and housebound. When I read his latest rant, it occurred to me that Pope Francis was actually describing himself. Sadly, that doesn't seem to have occurred to him. I'm reminded of what Jesus said about the Pharisees "do as they say, not as they do". I would say this to the Holy Father: You spent a small fortune renovating the Vatican's guest house so you could project a humble image to the world. How modest was that, and did you say Mass beforehand? You began your papacy by using your atheist friend to tell the world that you don't like Catholics. How loving was that, and did you say Mass beforehand? You stabbed pro-lifers in the back when you set up a notorious abortionist as a role model. How prudent was that, and did you say Mass beforehand? You downgraded the Sacrament of marriage when you told the world that two people shacking up are a channel of God's grace. How faithful to the Gospel was that, and did you say Mass beforehand? You encouraged sacrilegious Communion when you had your priest in the Vatican insist on giving Communion to Lutheran ministers. How scandalous was that, and did you say Mass beforehand? You overruled the decision of a priest in Argentina when you told by telephone a woman living in an adulterous union that she could receive Communion while continuing to commit adultery, reassuring her that "at little bread and wine never hurt anyone". How does that fit with your papal duty to defend the Deposit of Faith, and did you say Mass beforehand? You badmouthed Catholics with a preference for the perfectly valid Traditional Latin Mass. How charitable was that, and did you say Mass beforehand? You made a mockery of Catholic teaching on marriage in your sneaky footnote in the rubbish Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia. How did that fit with your obligation to defend the Deposit of Faith, and did you say Mass befoehand? You lied when you pretended you didn't remember the footnote. How honest was that, and did you say Mass beforehand? You promote sodomy at every opportunity you get both in the people you entertain in the Vatican and the people you promote to influential positions in the Church. How does that fit with your obligation to defend the Deposit of faith, and do you say Mass before each scandalous episode? You bad mouthed the victims of sex abuse in Chile, and only came clean when called out by the secular press. How hateful was that, and did you say Mass beforehand? You bad mouthed faithful Catholic parents who welcome into the world all new life that God sends them. How scandalous was that, and did you say Mass beforehand? You invited and gave a platform in the Vatican for anti-Catholic population controllers to spread their anti-life message. How scandalous was that, and did you say Mass beforehand? You had non-Christian advocates of population control and abortion collaborate in writing Laudate Si. How scandalous was that, and did you say Mass beforehand? You replaced pro-life Catholics with pro-abortion non-Catholics on the Pontifical Academy for Life. How scandalous was that, and did you say Mass beforehand? You sold out the underground Church in China, handing to an authoritarian, brutal Communist regime the choice of candidates for promotion to the Episcopacy. How true to the papacy is that, and did you say Mass beforehand? The above is just a short list. If I were to add all the heresies you have spread via your atheist and apostate mouthpieces, it could stretch into volumes. In short, Holy Father, it's time for you to start practising what the Church teaches. You're supposed to be the Vicar of Christ, not a UN High Commissioner or politician. If Jesuit priests can't be bothered saying Mass daily, or if you are planning to exempt married priests in the Amazon from saying daily Mass, why don't you come clean and say so, and leave believing Catholics alone? Then, read what Jesus said about hypocrites, because while you point your finger at Catholics there are three fingers pointing back at yourself. Take a look in the mirror and examine your own evidently very elastic conscience. Those daily Mass going Catholics would be justified in saying "After you, Pope Francis".
I think in some sense Dolours; in a vr curious sense the walk towards Christ and particularly I think the walk towards out Blessed Mother , wile it opens our eyes to the good all around us, also opens our eyes to the reality of evil. We see this so much in representations of Our Blessed Mother. For instance in that of Our Lady of Guadalupe and that of the Miraculous Medal, where Satan is really represented strongly. Once our eyes are opened to the reality of evil in the world and in the Church it is impossible to go back to sleep again. I am afraid the entire world and most of our sisters and brothers in the world, including our Bishops are sleep walking towards destruction. I do wonder if the Patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe is responsible fpr giving so many of my American sisters and cousins such very Eagle eyes to what is going down than people, say, in Europe? But once woken up it is impossible to go back to sleep again. I am a natural sleep walker. I have always been a loner, since childhood going from Church to Church and praying and reading the lives of the saints It was only very, very late in life my eyes were opened to the great evil around me and in the Church itself. I was very,very, very naive indeed. . Very innocent. But, as I say once woken up it is impossible to roll over and go back to sleep again. The old of very great evil is all around us. Who can sleep? I think what woke me up was that the evil was grown so very great it had become the huge elephant in the room I could no longer ignore. It became far too cold with evil to doze on. But these people will become attack dogs. They have nowhere to hide. Plus they have everything on their side. The money the organisation, the World, Governments, the media. In the USA things are beginning to swing back towards the Democrats. There is less and less need for them to hide. So they will come out swinging. I am astonished at the ture evil I see on the faces of some of the Cardinals whose faces I see. The more evil they are the more powerful they get. But on the other hand I am inspired by the great goodness and holiness and courage of so very,very many I see as well. As St Paul said ,at the end of the day, who will separate us from Christ? We can only become evil if we choose to become evil. We have also Christ's promises and the rpomises of Our LAdy that Christ and His Bride , Our Holy Mother Church will , in the End, Triumph; we must cling to this. Romans 8:35-39 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
