The Voris Kerfuffle

I am perplexed. Some of my blogging confreres are a in such a tizzy over the latest missive from the baron of bombast, the kaiser of choleric, Michael Voris. (Apologies to Bill Donohue)

Voris, about whom I am conflicted, did his daily soliloquy on the topic of a letter by Global Warming Inc. requesting that pastors devote the Easter Sunday homily to the topic of Earth Day.

Voris pointed out that global warming is a scam (check) by the forces of population control (check) to encourage people to contracept and abort their way to a greener planet (check).

Voris noted that all of this is in direct contradiction to the teaching of the Church. Check again. He goes on to say that Catholics should abandon a Church that promotes such anti-Christian nonsense for the simple reason that this Church is not Catholic in any meaningful way.

He is, of course, right on all counts. But it is his suggested remedy that has unleashed the Catholic blogoshpere’s ever ready desire to scold.

Voris suggested that if one hears a homily about Earth Day on Easter, that you should forgo the collection plate and resign from the Parish on Monday.

Even the hyperbolic suggestion of such incivility has given some bloggers the vapors.

Voris makes the case that any local Church that embraces such anti-life and anti-Catholic tomfoolery, especially on Easter Sunday, has probably lost its Catholicity. His conclusion may be questionable, but I think he at least has a point.

I am particularly amused by bloggers who make frequent use of hyperbole as a rhetorical cattle-prod are now so overcome with the brazenness of it all. One even used the hyperbolic and very misleading title “Did Michael Voris Instruct Catholics to Leave the Church?” as a launching point to discuss Voris’ incivility. Apparently incivility is ok when deriding the uncivil. One day I will write the best-selling “Irony for Dummies”.

While I do not entirely embrace Mr. Voris’ remedy, I think he makes some really valid points. So what is all the hubbub about? Mark Shea accuses him of delusions that he is a Bishop. Mark makes a larger point about avoiding talking heads who think they are the arbiter of all things Catholic with which I generally agree, but I don’t really see how Voris is supposed to be delusionally usurping the role of Bishop. I don’t think he is.

Voris says that if your priest talks to you about global warming on the holiest day of the year instead of our resurrected Savior that your parish is likely so far gone that you should run, not walk, to an orthodox parish. What is so wrong about that?

When I ran into such craziness at my parish, the diocesan Director of Worship advised me to switch parishes, which I did. Was he playing bishop too?

Like I said, I am not sure that bypassing the collection plate and resigning from the parish is really the right remedy in this situation. I had tar and feathers in mind**.

**For those of you that have not yet read my soon to be published “Irony for Dummies”,please note that the “tar and feathers” comment is hyperbole which is usually defined as an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally used to make a point. Get over it.