I do not have a problem with restoring previously improperly cancelled priests. In fact I consider it a duty of simple justice. I do question the imposition of penalties on higher clerics who escaped accountability by their superiors. It is not that they don't merit judgement but rather gives rise to questions of whose authority is to be respected and whose not and winds up part of an endless chain that resolves little. Historically, monasteries located in areas suitable for contemplation for an extended period have served that purpose.
I cannot agree with you more. Look, for example, at Cardinal Donald Wuerl who lives in a multimillion-dollar DC residence and who has received since his retirement over $4 million for so-called"ministerial duties."
Let us pray that Leo XIV will seek to bring unity and the adherence to the faith back. May God and His Will be at the center of everything. May Leo XIV change the focus back on to God, His Will, His laws, His Justice and His Mercy. This means reaching out and placing the canceled priests back into public service. Asking (demanding) that those bishops, cardinal, priest, and religious who either do not believe and/or will not adhere to the teachings of the Church and Her magisterium, resign or be thrown out. This is not about vengeance, but justice and then mercy. To allow these corrupt men to continue on their bent and deviant ways, is neither just nor merciful. You are allowing them to dig themselves an ever greater deeper dark hole in Hell. This is both unjust and lacks mercy. Tot allow them to lead others to ruin is a grave injustice.
The Pope has a terribly difficult job. Many forces are in play against him. He has many cardinals and bishops who know well the teachings and laws, so they can bend, break and pervert them to promote themselves. I am hopeful and praying that Leo XIV will, with God's Grace, call for first the repentance and conversion of this evil men, and then if not, their resignations. For is also responsible now for their souls.
I am hopeful Leo XIV will appeal directly to the good, holy and devote religious and faithful and asking them to address their corrupt bishops and account for all the mismanagement, harm, evil and perversion of the faith. If he does that I believe many will come back. He must make it clear the Catholic Church IS Christ's Church. It is His Bride. It belongs to no bishop, no cardinal no Pope. In the end the goal is the salvation of souls. It is not making money, buying building, hiding the corrupt, public relations, popularity, awards etc. in fact is the world is not complaining about the Church, as it is properly taught, then something is wrong. From the inception, the greater world rejected the Church.
Perhaps we have to return to eleven faithful bishops and start again. We know we will not be abandoned. We know if we willfully and with charity do God’s Will great graces will be given us. Grace comes through the Catholic Church, if we want an increase in graces, we need to make and form the Church again into the beautiful, immaculate Bride of Christ.
Pray for these bent and broken bishops. Their eternity looks bleak. Pray they stop living in and for this world alone. Pray for their victims, many are martyrs, bloodless and with spilled blood. From them, and their suffering and sacrifices, the Church will be renewed.
Joe, You are always so right on! It remains to be seen if the pope will sacrifice Dolan and Lori for Gorgia and Walawender; Lucas for Roers; McElroy for Mastrogiacomo; Fisher for Biernat, etc.
You lay it all out perfectly as always, Fr. Gene, and undoubtedly Leo XIV already is aware of all of it. I do not like Steve Bannon, but I do believe he is right that the choice of a relatively innocuous American was to gain access to the deep pockets of wealthy American Catholics because they see their financial crisis as far, FAR more critical than their moral corruption problems, even though that is, ironically, a big cause of diminished donations. Unfortunately ( and as a 50 year Latin teacher I do love the Lingua Latina ) I fear that those big pockets may be easily opened up by crumbs like his chanting of the Regina Coeli, and so the abuse crisis, moral corruption, and cancelation of priests who speak out will, sadly, continue unabated.
Though I wonder if this is an example of Proverbs 28:1 - the guilty flee where none pursue.
There was Janet Smith's recent article in Crisis Magazine urging that the Lavender Mafia be purged. Judging from the comments on her article on Crisis's Facebook page, including mine, hardly anyone believes it will ever happen. Fr James Martin, SJ, declared on X that Prevost was a brilliant choice.....
IMHO, Martin has what he wants. Some priest will always be able to be found to do a "blessing", and there will be no explicit "repeal" of the permission under Leo.
The passage about Pope Francis using psychotropic drugs is fascinating. Going back to the linked article, it does not name any sources. As there have been reports down the years of Pope Francis' ferocious temper outbursts, the story is all too credible. Any more sources?
Given the huge variety of psychotropic drugs, the possible side effects could range from the minor to the catastrophic. It gives rise to the bizarre possibility of pharmacological theology. "Just ignore that encyclical, the Holy Father was stoned out of his skull when he wrote it".
It would certainly be one explanation of Evangelii Gaudium, para 253 (Islam is a religion of peace). I am not sure if it is more acceptable than the alternatives - oil money corruption or the Holy Father honestly believes it.....
I just read on Father Briese’s page that he has been “retired” by his superiors, without the decency of a conversation with him.
I am really struggling with the deception and corruption within the Holy Catholic Church. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been totally in the dark about most of this. Your pieces need to be picked up by more mainstream sites. It’s really unsettling.
I pray that Pope Leo will be fearless in addressing these issues and the wrongs perpetrated by Francis’ twelve years. I’m not terribly optimistic, but I will pray.
My take? The Big Fags think he's tractable and will do their bidding. The plan is to virtue signal 'traditional values' to the right until the Vatican coffers are nice and full again. Oh and the Pontifical Pro Life organization will be quietly phased out because they can't afford the population controllers anymore. Ditto the Synodality Staffers.
Concur on the "big fags" comment. Not necessarily because it isn't warranted, but serves to drive away anyone living / struggling with same-sex attraction who otherwise would be persuaded to support the work of Mr. Gomulka or other truth & justice seekers. The truth may indeed hurt, but we don't need to bludgeon our brothers and sisters in Christ who need to be converted.
Of course, it's Jesus' way. How can you red letter Christians have missed that He calls the Pharisees a brood of vipers? He nonchalantly refers to them while in their presence as "evil." I have to admit Beverly's term for them made me laugh, not because I am sure it's just another defamation of the Church but because I am sure it's not.
Let's not mince words. Mincing is for Big Faggotry.
Does it ever occur to you that sometimes it can be an effective stay against evil to laugh at it? There would in any period of time be few such occasions, and only once per generation, maybe twice, might it be appropriate to direct laughter at an individual. But no, I don't think Beverly's term is crude.
Is it perhaps crude that there has come to be a Lavender Mafia? Might that reflect discredit upon the Church? If a Christian young man with overwhelming attraction to other men wants to serve God, why would he seek a position in life which would put him in constant contact with other similarly inclined young men? Maybe he would find within his soul an inclination to teach in a school, parochial or not, or to become a nurse, or one of a hundred other possibilities.
My view of this is similar to my view of women who want to be priests or if Protestant, pastors. Which do they want, a position of imagined public status, or to glorify God, an inclination which, if present, tends to lead not to self seeking but to self abnegation?
NBC has a digital network which you can see on YouTube. This past week, they presented a seriously investigated, soberly reported, forty - one minute video about an Assemblies of God preacher who abused teenaged girls for over thirty years. I don't know what will happen to him legally, but he will never again speak under the auspices of the Assemblies of God.
It's unlikely you have been following the weird and disheartening story of Josh Buice, a young man who was president of something called G3. I'm not even sure what G3 does principally, but know that every year, they hold at least one huge conference which classically Reformed laity from all over the world attend. They've canceled this year's because about ten days ago, it became incontrovertible that for several years, Buice has been using other names online to defame men who are prominent within the classically Reformed world, and whom he has seen as rivals. He, too, is out, likely to be permanently disqualified for public ministry.
But why should ministering in the name of Christ have EVER brought with it a license for personal ambition, or for sexual access to teenaged girls, or for the free reining given to the lust for primacy in a congregation, or for the instantiation of a permanent network of gay men within the Catholic Church?
Do you ever read the Epistles? Do you notice the scathing quality of Paul's appraisal of churches which have drifted into tolerance of sin? What does the Lord Jesus Christ have to say to the seven churches in Revelation? Most don't come off too well, do they?
I'm sorry the term, "Big Faggotry," upsets you. I hope you have something more intense in your capacity for reaction to the gaification of the leadership of the Catholic Church. I hope you have rage.
Lately i have been inspired to read the Catechism of the Council of Trent on the Sacraments. It emphasizes that their holiness demands reverence and holiness of those who handle them. It also says that unworthy sinful cleric endanger their own souls. Does the modern clergy even believe this any more?
“The season of arbitrariness is over. We can begin to rely on a papacy that can guarantee stability and rely on existing structures, without overturning and upsetting them.”
An odd comment for AB Ganswein who was largely responsible for the blasphemous Met Gala some years ago under Pope Benedict.
I do not have a problem with restoring previously improperly cancelled priests. In fact I consider it a duty of simple justice. I do question the imposition of penalties on higher clerics who escaped accountability by their superiors. It is not that they don't merit judgement but rather gives rise to questions of whose authority is to be respected and whose not and winds up part of an endless chain that resolves little. Historically, monasteries located in areas suitable for contemplation for an extended period have served that purpose.
I cannot agree with you more. Look, for example, at Cardinal Donald Wuerl who lives in a multimillion-dollar DC residence and who has received since his retirement over $4 million for so-called"ministerial duties."
Let us pray that Leo XIV will seek to bring unity and the adherence to the faith back. May God and His Will be at the center of everything. May Leo XIV change the focus back on to God, His Will, His laws, His Justice and His Mercy. This means reaching out and placing the canceled priests back into public service. Asking (demanding) that those bishops, cardinal, priest, and religious who either do not believe and/or will not adhere to the teachings of the Church and Her magisterium, resign or be thrown out. This is not about vengeance, but justice and then mercy. To allow these corrupt men to continue on their bent and deviant ways, is neither just nor merciful. You are allowing them to dig themselves an ever greater deeper dark hole in Hell. This is both unjust and lacks mercy. Tot allow them to lead others to ruin is a grave injustice.
The Pope has a terribly difficult job. Many forces are in play against him. He has many cardinals and bishops who know well the teachings and laws, so they can bend, break and pervert them to promote themselves. I am hopeful and praying that Leo XIV will, with God's Grace, call for first the repentance and conversion of this evil men, and then if not, their resignations. For is also responsible now for their souls.
I am hopeful Leo XIV will appeal directly to the good, holy and devote religious and faithful and asking them to address their corrupt bishops and account for all the mismanagement, harm, evil and perversion of the faith. If he does that I believe many will come back. He must make it clear the Catholic Church IS Christ's Church. It is His Bride. It belongs to no bishop, no cardinal no Pope. In the end the goal is the salvation of souls. It is not making money, buying building, hiding the corrupt, public relations, popularity, awards etc. in fact is the world is not complaining about the Church, as it is properly taught, then something is wrong. From the inception, the greater world rejected the Church.
Perhaps we have to return to eleven faithful bishops and start again. We know we will not be abandoned. We know if we willfully and with charity do God’s Will great graces will be given us. Grace comes through the Catholic Church, if we want an increase in graces, we need to make and form the Church again into the beautiful, immaculate Bride of Christ.
Pray for these bent and broken bishops. Their eternity looks bleak. Pray they stop living in and for this world alone. Pray for their victims, many are martyrs, bloodless and with spilled blood. From them, and their suffering and sacrifices, the Church will be renewed.
Joe, You are always so right on! It remains to be seen if the pope will sacrifice Dolan and Lori for Gorgia and Walawender; Lucas for Roers; McElroy for Mastrogiacomo; Fisher for Biernat, etc.
You lay it all out perfectly as always, Fr. Gene, and undoubtedly Leo XIV already is aware of all of it. I do not like Steve Bannon, but I do believe he is right that the choice of a relatively innocuous American was to gain access to the deep pockets of wealthy American Catholics because they see their financial crisis as far, FAR more critical than their moral corruption problems, even though that is, ironically, a big cause of diminished donations. Unfortunately ( and as a 50 year Latin teacher I do love the Lingua Latina ) I fear that those big pockets may be easily opened up by crumbs like his chanting of the Regina Coeli, and so the abuse crisis, moral corruption, and cancelation of priests who speak out will, sadly, continue unabated.
Great article, Father Gene. Chilling in its detail. Praying and pushing for justice.
Thanks very much, Fr Gene. One piece of happy news - Father Rupnik has allegedly felt forced to flee to Brazil now that he has lost his protector:
https://www.complicitclergy.com/2025/05/17/rupnik-reportedly-flees-rome-after-bergoglios-death/
Though I wonder if this is an example of Proverbs 28:1 - the guilty flee where none pursue.
There was Janet Smith's recent article in Crisis Magazine urging that the Lavender Mafia be purged. Judging from the comments on her article on Crisis's Facebook page, including mine, hardly anyone believes it will ever happen. Fr James Martin, SJ, declared on X that Prevost was a brilliant choice.....
https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/the-new-pope-must-purge-the-church-of-the-lavender-mafia
IMHO, Martin has what he wants. Some priest will always be able to be found to do a "blessing", and there will be no explicit "repeal" of the permission under Leo.
The CC article cited above has been clarified as a piece of humor and it is not true that he has left.
Fr Gene,
The passage about Pope Francis using psychotropic drugs is fascinating. Going back to the linked article, it does not name any sources. As there have been reports down the years of Pope Francis' ferocious temper outbursts, the story is all too credible. Any more sources?
Given the huge variety of psychotropic drugs, the possible side effects could range from the minor to the catastrophic. It gives rise to the bizarre possibility of pharmacological theology. "Just ignore that encyclical, the Holy Father was stoned out of his skull when he wrote it".
It would certainly be one explanation of Evangelii Gaudium, para 253 (Islam is a religion of peace). I am not sure if it is more acceptable than the alternatives - oil money corruption or the Holy Father honestly believes it.....
I just read on Father Briese’s page that he has been “retired” by his superiors, without the decency of a conversation with him.
I am really struggling with the deception and corruption within the Holy Catholic Church. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been totally in the dark about most of this. Your pieces need to be picked up by more mainstream sites. It’s really unsettling.
I pray that Pope Leo will be fearless in addressing these issues and the wrongs perpetrated by Francis’ twelve years. I’m not terribly optimistic, but I will pray.
My take? The Big Fags think he's tractable and will do their bidding. The plan is to virtue signal 'traditional values' to the right until the Vatican coffers are nice and full again. Oh and the Pontifical Pro Life organization will be quietly phased out because they can't afford the population controllers anymore. Ditto the Synodality Staffers.
“Big Fags” is not very charitable.
Concur on the "big fags" comment. Not necessarily because it isn't warranted, but serves to drive away anyone living / struggling with same-sex attraction who otherwise would be persuaded to support the work of Mr. Gomulka or other truth & justice seekers. The truth may indeed hurt, but we don't need to bludgeon our brothers and sisters in Christ who need to be converted.
Thank you. I’m appreciate your understanding and support.
They don’t deserve any
kindness.
That’s not Jesus’ way.
Of course, it's Jesus' way. How can you red letter Christians have missed that He calls the Pharisees a brood of vipers? He nonchalantly refers to them while in their presence as "evil." I have to admit Beverly's term for them made me laugh, not because I am sure it's just another defamation of the Church but because I am sure it's not.
Let's not mince words. Mincing is for Big Faggotry.
I’m well aware of what the Bible says; I think BFs is crude, coarse, and unChristian, not unlike like your own. We are called to a higher standard.
Does it ever occur to you that sometimes it can be an effective stay against evil to laugh at it? There would in any period of time be few such occasions, and only once per generation, maybe twice, might it be appropriate to direct laughter at an individual. But no, I don't think Beverly's term is crude.
Is it perhaps crude that there has come to be a Lavender Mafia? Might that reflect discredit upon the Church? If a Christian young man with overwhelming attraction to other men wants to serve God, why would he seek a position in life which would put him in constant contact with other similarly inclined young men? Maybe he would find within his soul an inclination to teach in a school, parochial or not, or to become a nurse, or one of a hundred other possibilities.
My view of this is similar to my view of women who want to be priests or if Protestant, pastors. Which do they want, a position of imagined public status, or to glorify God, an inclination which, if present, tends to lead not to self seeking but to self abnegation?
NBC has a digital network which you can see on YouTube. This past week, they presented a seriously investigated, soberly reported, forty - one minute video about an Assemblies of God preacher who abused teenaged girls for over thirty years. I don't know what will happen to him legally, but he will never again speak under the auspices of the Assemblies of God.
It's unlikely you have been following the weird and disheartening story of Josh Buice, a young man who was president of something called G3. I'm not even sure what G3 does principally, but know that every year, they hold at least one huge conference which classically Reformed laity from all over the world attend. They've canceled this year's because about ten days ago, it became incontrovertible that for several years, Buice has been using other names online to defame men who are prominent within the classically Reformed world, and whom he has seen as rivals. He, too, is out, likely to be permanently disqualified for public ministry.
But why should ministering in the name of Christ have EVER brought with it a license for personal ambition, or for sexual access to teenaged girls, or for the free reining given to the lust for primacy in a congregation, or for the instantiation of a permanent network of gay men within the Catholic Church?
Do you ever read the Epistles? Do you notice the scathing quality of Paul's appraisal of churches which have drifted into tolerance of sin? What does the Lord Jesus Christ have to say to the seven churches in Revelation? Most don't come off too well, do they?
I'm sorry the term, "Big Faggotry," upsets you. I hope you have something more intense in your capacity for reaction to the gaification of the leadership of the Catholic Church. I hope you have rage.
Lately i have been inspired to read the Catechism of the Council of Trent on the Sacraments. It emphasizes that their holiness demands reverence and holiness of those who handle them. It also says that unworthy sinful cleric endanger their own souls. Does the modern clergy even believe this any more?
“The season of arbitrariness is over. We can begin to rely on a papacy that can guarantee stability and rely on existing structures, without overturning and upsetting them.”
An odd comment for AB Ganswein who was largely responsible for the blasphemous Met Gala some years ago under Pope Benedict.