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.
April 15, 2011 at 6:36 pm
The problem is simple: he is promoting a "pick your parish as you choose" mentality. I hate to say it, but he's wrong and defiant of the law of the Church. Voris is good about using truths and then throwing in his own little agenda in the end. But he is contradicting the law of the Church on where you should be going for Sunday Mass. In fact, this is a HUGE issue in the Church, where Catholics just go where they think the priest is the most orthodox. We are not here to pick and choose. Yes, there are crappy priests out there, but the sacraments are valid and I fear that Voris is edging himself (he is good about not going over the edge, but he is darn close) of falling into Donatism (a heresy that hasn't seemed to really be weened out of the Church despite the fact that it's, well, a heresy! You have a right to talk to your pastor, you don't even have to agree with their decision, and you can talk to the bishop. But that's about as far as it goes according to the law of the Church. It's funny when people pick and choose obedience…thus becoming the very thing they hate.
April 15, 2011 at 6:40 pm
To Rick and Not Spartacus—-Yes, Yes, Yes! The Catholic Church is not a democracy. It's not my job to make sure the Catholic parish I attend is orthodox—that is the job of the priest! If he has no interest in removing the liberal lay quacks that run the RCIA program or the CCD program, then one should reasonably ascertain that he is happy with the status quo. Why must faithful orthodox Catholics be subjected to ridicule when then kneel down and open their mouths to receive Our Lord in the Eucharist? Why must faithful and orthodox Catholics be subjected to sneers and jeers when they have 6,8 or 10 children? Why must faithful and orthodox Catholics be criticized when they request more sacred music at Mass? Answer—we shouldn't! Why should we be must faithful and orthodox Catholics be condemned because they leave liberal parishes for more orthodox ones? We shouldn't. To say that "we can't leave because some poor soul might come to RCIA and not learn the Truth without us" is down right delusional. What about the faithful Catholics in the pews??!! We left a long time ago for a Tridentine Mass.
April 15, 2011 at 6:42 pm
I hate to say it, but he's wrong and defiant of the law of the Church.
Can you give a citation for this?
I've found people saying they personally disapprove, but that it's not contrary at all, and other saying it depends on local custom.
April 15, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Here's a little clarification for you.
http://lisagraas.com/2011/04/15/mind-boggling/
I've never known such insanity from Catholics. Really.
April 15, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Those who are wrong and defiant of Ecclesiastical Law and direct Papal Motu Proprios are the Bishops but the popular apologist is not into criticising Bishops. They are into attacking safe targets.
Oncet, I was part of a group of men who obtained an audience with our Bishop. We were very respectful and we had all of our Liturgical Legislative Ducks in a row and they had no ruffled pin feathers. We made reasonable requests – the first Indult at the time -and the Bishop promised "I will meet with you on a regular basis to resolve these matters."
And then he refused to meet with us or even respond to our written and oral communications to him. In fact, I once spoke to the Chancellor of The Diocese and he told me, "We all laugh at you. We think you are insane."
(Ok, he was right, but, still, that was insensitive)
In any event, over at WDTPRS, Fr. Z, who used to be on the Ecclesia Dei Commission in Rome has written, more than a few times, that what happened to me was what happened to score after score after score of other Catholics who nevertheless, maintained the Bonds of Unity, in Worship, Doctrine, and Authority.
And so now I advise others who are in a similar situation – Flee that Parish like St John fled the public bath when the heretic, Cerinthus, entered it because he was afraid it might collapse due to the presence of such an infamous heretic
It is the Bishops who are in violation of the Law, not Mr. Voris. But Voris is easy to attack. What is he going to do, refuse an Imprimatur for your next book?
It makes absolutely no sense to remain in a Neo-protestant Parish if there is an FSSP or other Traditional Order Parish/Mass or Byzantine Rite Catholic Church in your area.
I used to go to a Maronite Mass in a local Hospital and I used to laugh at the idea that one of their Priests would tolerate their Divine Liturgy being messed with.
Ask yourself what would happen if the Bishop of an Orthodox Church told his Congregation, "We have a revised Divine Liturgy and so by next week we will have junked the Iconostasis; now everybody turn and greet your neighbor…"
They'd would STOP that nonsense ON THE SPOT.
But then again, The Orthodox ain't into feminism and trying to act like protestants
April 15, 2011 at 7:35 pm
@Harrison: Re: "The problem is simple: he is promoting a "pick your parish as you choose" mentality. I hate to say it, but he's wrong and defiant of the law of the Church."
Donatism is indeed a heresy – I agree. I don't know much Canon Law so if you can inform me where it says I have to go to the parish closest to my home. I do know that I am primarily responsible for my spiritual life and growth therein. And I will drive 10 miles to hear a holy priest preach if he will inflame my heart with fervour. God knows I need all the help I can get.
April 15, 2011 at 7:40 pm
The Vatican believes in global warming — while you say "check" to it being contra-Catholic. I can check you off as an ignoramus now!
April 15, 2011 at 7:44 pm
http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=24053
Stop being anti-Catholic and listening to demagogues who follow the religion of the GOP as an excuse to denigrate the successors of the Apostles.
April 15, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Bravo to Michael Voris, and Bravo to Patrick Archbold for stating the obvious and standing up to these dishonest bloggers who purposely misrepresented Voris' position!
April 15, 2011 at 7:53 pm
It requires a bit of going around the Code, but here we go (I know this from my Canon law class as our prof, who is as solid as can be, admonished people for going to different parishes by disobeying the law of the Church).
Can. 212 §1 Christ's faithful, conscious of their own responsibility, are bound to show christian obedience to what the sacred Pastors, who represent Christ, declare as teachers of the faith and prescribe as rulers of the Church.
Can. 519 The parish priest is the proper pastor of the parish entrusted to him. He exercises the pastoral care of the community entrusted to him under the authority of the diocesan Bishop, whose ministry of Christ he is called to share, so that for this community he may carry out the offices of teaching, sanctifying and ruling with the cooperation of other priests or deacons and with the assistance of lay members of Christ's faithful, in accordance with the law.
§3 They have the right, indeed at times the duty, in keeping with their knowledge, competence and position, to manifest to the sacred Pastors their views on matters which concern the good of the Church. They have the right also to make their views known to others of Christ's faithful, but in doing so they must always respect the integrity of faith and morals, show due reverence to the Pastors and take into account both the common good and the dignity of individuals.
Can. 100 A person is said to be: a resident (incola) in the place where the person has a domicile; a temporary resident (advena) in the place where the person has a quasi-domicile; a traveler (peregrinus) if the person is outside the place of a domicile or quasi-domicile which is still retained; a transient (vagus) if the person does not have a domicile or quasi- domicile anywhere.
Can. 102 §1. Domicile is acquired by that residence within the territory of a certain parish or at least of a diocese, which either is joined with the intention of remaining there permanently unless called away or has been protracted for five complete years.
Can. 107 §1. Through both domicile and quasi-domicile, each person acquires his or her pastor and ordinary.
Thus, they have the legitimate care under their pastor where they find domicile. If they go to the parish 10 blocks down the road and it is not part of their parish, that is not their parish. The only parish that allows for anyone to be a member of it is the Diocesan Cathedral for it is the Church of the Diocese. To say that one is going to another parish is to say that they are rejecting the pastor the bishop has given said parish, a right which the bishop holds.
At the same time, as you can see from the canons, there is freedom to offer concerns to the pastors and other ecclesial authorities if we find the law of the Church not being fulfilled. So you have rights to ensure that your rights as Christians are being fulfilled. But, canon law obliges you obedience to your pastor, which means submission to the fact that they are your pastor. To go to another parish is to say to the bishop that you refuse to be obedient to the choice which, under the law of the Church, he has every right to make. Some of the greatest Catholics I know are ones who, despite the good or bad actions of their pastor, remained and were faithful. How do you expect parishes to grow if we are moving everywhere.
I can say, too, that Dioceses are finding ways to ensure that people stay in their parishes, because you are required to be at the parish where you have domicile or quasi-domicile. The CHurch is not a democracy. It`s funny how we claim to be obedient to our bishops, but when we have a pastor we do not like, we are openly going against the free action of the bishop. So much for the virtue of obedience among the faithful…
If you want holiness in your priests, perhaps begin by trying to be faithful to them. Pray for them, offer sacrifices and fasting for them. Its funny how, really, we treat the parish like any political entity, something the Church is not.
April 15, 2011 at 7:55 pm
Dear Mrs. Graas. "I hope that someone more capable than I am could explain to Mr. Voris that Jesus is present in all the tabernacles of the world."
What a thoughtful and judicious and reasonable and irenic use of snark.
Say, instead of snarking at Mr. Voris, who was perfectly within his rights to say what he said (See Canon Law), please tell us what a Priest would have to do to get you to abandon a Parish?
Massive Puppets Mass ? Clown Mass? Anything?
And is your personal preference in this matter normative?
If you ain't seen anything this crazy, it is because you are a convert.
On any captious issue, the Faithful bring with them bad memories of more than fifty years of the mayhem and madness this modern revolution has stirred-up in the Church and because it was a revolution imposed by The Hierarchy it can only be ended by The Hierarchy and it is a bit off-putting to hear the victims of the revolution being told that the sound of their emotional blood is making a mess of our pretty and nice Church.
Well, Sister. That's the way it is in our modern Church and more and more men, especially male men, are getting really fed-up and it is a time of monumental importance.
The future direction of the Church is being fought over. Right now. Men are created as warriors and you can not expect them to act and sound like Mr Rogers (Really, he was a man?).
The Catholic Church needs everyone in it – lovely female converts like you and bold men like Mr Voris.
April 15, 2011 at 7:58 pm
Harrison said: "If you want holiness in your priests, perhaps begin by trying to be faithful to them. Pray for them, offer sacrifices and fasting for them." That, and pray that more young men called to the priesthood will accept their vocations!
April 15, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Dear Harrison. My expert can beat-up your expert 🙂
http://www.ewtn.com/library/liturgy/zlitur158.htm
April 15, 2011 at 8:47 pm
If I read Mr. Shea's post aright, he's under the impression that Mr.
Voris was advising his viewers to not just leave their heterodox parish,
but to leave the Church entirely.
Nope. That's not what I thought he said and it's not what I said he said.
April 15, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Little too much jumping around for my peace of mind, even if there'd been a link to see the quotes in context; the EWTN link from IANSpartacus seems much more solid.
April 15, 2011 at 8:51 pm
As a Director of RCIA at a "liberal" parish for 12 years, I have finally concluded that I cannot remain. If the Pastor does not want to teach church doctrine, then it will not be taught. You can do what you can do, but in the end, you are helping no one. You are leading put in a position of omitting Doctrine & leading people astray, or you just openly defy your pastor. Reporting it to the Bishop does nothing. Because the Bishop does nothing. I once felt I could make a huge difference. But now I just find myself angry (wrath is not good) and I feel like you give only enough information to people to be a danger to their souls, while I personally have been specifically told NOT TO TEACH certain things because Fr does not like it. No matter that Christ likes it. For those of you who say you must stay, I disagree. It has taken a toll on my own soul.
April 15, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Anon-my mom was in a similar situation with a priest that would come in and tell her high school religious classes that it was just fine to sleep with someone without being married "if you really loved them."
April 15, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Simon, I think you have a very reasonable point of view, but Protestants leaving the Church did force the Church to clean up abuses and more clearly state Its case, as has always been true throughout the Church's history.
As to the "Think of the Civility!" arguments. Yeah, because if there's one thing the prophets of the Old Testament were, it was civil. Everyone knows that God’s definition of civility is “Let civilization do whatever it wants at all times.”
Whew! Good thing Jesus came and now all we’re doing is smearing the divine gift of His Mercy with the greater good of perpetually letting our neighbors be ignorant of Christian teaching and live in whatever mortal sin personally appeals to them.
Someone needs to go back and tell Jesus that denying the Devil's temptation to rule the world was a mistake, because just think of how much money we'd be getting in the collection plates!
April 15, 2011 at 9:14 pm
Foxfier, my priest told me to stop having kids & get my tubes tied. I do pray for him everyday though.
April 15, 2011 at 9:15 pm
I already voted with my feet. I couldn't find an orthodox parish in my area, so I left for the Byzantine Catholics. The weather's fine over here. Now I don't have to worry about liturgical abuses and heterodox sermons. By the way, I do like Michael Voris. He makes very good, succinct and factual points about the state of the Church. For those who listen to him, even if they disagree with his conclusions, his facts are well documented and researched and his loyalty to the Church and Christ is unswerving. Hats off to you, Michael! Keep fighting the good fight of Faith!