1 Peter 3:15

Take a look at this:

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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50 Comments

  1. HyacinthClare says:

    GOD BLESS THE MAN and protect him from Satan, who must be apoplectic.

  2. Dorcas says:

    This looks great, a big improvement on the mealy-mouthed taunts I have seen on his other videos. His deep conviction comes through in a much better way, and this is a wonderful call to build up the church instead of just trying to tear it up with malicious scorn for her problems.

  3. Hidden One says:

    Normally, I greatly dislike Michael Voris videos. [The one previous exception was the clip on the liturgy where he interviewed the Canadian priest Fr. Paul Nicholson… basically because Fr. Nicholson likes to talk at great length, and Mr. Voris wasn’t much for cutting him off.]

    This one I did not dislike. There was more lazy rhetoric than I think is prudent, principally at the beginning of the video, and I think he shouldn’t have hurried through the necessity of sanctity, but the rest of it I appreciated. Education is big. As one of the priests at AudioSancto complained in a sermon, it is far too common for ‘traditionalists’ to correct priests as to the liturgical rubrics [NB:] in the EF but be unable to rhyme off the Ten Commandments in order upon request.

    There is a good, small Catholic bookstore in my present diocese of residence. This Canadian diocese is in a horrible state. If all of its stock was sold on Monday to members of the diocese, I dare say most of its problems would have been fixed even before that bookstore had refilled its presently-overflowing shelves. The vocations crisis here might take a bit longer.

  4. taleger123 says:

    I typically like Michael Voris’ videos. True; some of the stuff he says about liberal Catholics is harsh, but seeing how bad things are in a lot of places can one really blame anyone for getting mad at it?

    However, I must admit that I am a bit worried about the whole “laity need to rise up and take things over” mentality he seems to sometimes promote. I realize he’s really only asking devout Catholics to make sure that the teachings of the Church are upheld, but a lot of what he wants the laity to do echoes what liberal laity have done and sometimes still do in pursuing their own agenda. In one video, he mentioned how laity should write letters, form groups, and even go and put flyers on people’s cars during Mass. That reminded me of the sort of mini-revolts laity have had against faithful priests for doing things such as getting rid of altar girls and celebrating Mass ad orientem. I mean, we all remember what happened to the Spanish priests in the Diocese of Madison a few months ago.

    Maybe I’m worried needlessly. I just think we should be careful with how we word things and be very clear with the reasoning behind writing letters, forming groups, asking questions, etc.

  5. shane says:

    I agree with Hidden One. I’m not a big fan of the Vortex but this video is spot on. For the last 40 years dissent has become so institutionalised in the Church (among theologians and especially the lay bureaucracies of episcopal conferences) that we sort of take it for granted. During the same time frame, Catholics who remained orthodox were not infrequently treated like common vermin. The increasing popularity of the Vortex is I think part of a wider backlash. So while I agree that Michael Voris goes over the top I’m kinda glad he does. It’s certainly much better than the opposite. When Commonweal and the Tablet whine about the lack of charity and tolerance on traditionalist blogs they often do have a point, but how much tolerance or charity did they exhibit to their opponents while they were in the ascendancy?

  6. benedetta says:

    Well I used to be not so much a fan but more and more I am happy to change that stance. This is on target and encouraging.

    Totally agree about that the citation to good works as in a program for ‘poverty’ is in all reality a total smokescreen for the neglect and acts of omission which have been going on in many places. The proof of that is in the very fact that these regimes have turned it into an ‘either/or’ equation when the fulness of the faith does not dictate that the faithful must so choose or elect. It is a false dichotomy.

    Timely example, in my region this past week the local authorities are in spin mode to justify actions which have taken place and hit the news in the Catholic blogosphere with very good, sane reasons. And so what is trotted out, apparently in reply (since the elitists in power are apparently too busy or special or of a different class than the poor peasants to actually engage in meaningful dialogue on what average believers are upset about) are, yes, you guessed it (their propaganda is so predictable!) the contextually dislocated Mother Teresa quotations! As in, “We (as in the royal we) are on par with um, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta” No mind the um, significant differences between slums of Calcutta with, um, affluent, literate, socialist, suburbia…and, pay no attention (to that man behind the curtain!)…pay no attention to the fact that this holy nun and Blessed, in our own time, well, wore a habit, headed up an order which has booming vocations in our time, kept a Holy Hour daily, believed in Our Lord in the Real Presence. And strenuously criticized our bloated suburban Catholic worlds for our failure in addressing, spiritual poverty, cultural isolation, loneliness, alienation, and most terribly, the scourge of abortion…Oh, never mind all that! But that is the very point! Invoke the name of Blessed Teresa and…forget what she stood for, stood up to others about, aligned herself with…it’s all to make you feel good and make you feel like you are doing Good Things and certainly a form of the propaganda of the dissenting magisterium of the scrupulously formed individual conscience of the elite.

    The propaganda is served up but we never get the main course of mythical dialogue, and why is that? Where is this so-called openness? The willingness to listen to the outcast, the other?

    Hilariously the powers that be would spit out the starbucks and keel over to discover how so many so-called conservatives, traditionalists, homeschoolers, and assorted faithful Catholics take the whole message of Blessed Teresa to heart and seriously attend to the needs of the poor while still accepting the whole of what that blessed stood for. Some don’t just pay taxes, support the safety net, give to diocesan charities, bring in nonperishables for the soup kitchen and shelters. Some do all of that and much more besides. The much more part is, rightly so, not broadcast as self-justifying propaganda. But if you take the time to know these people you also meet the people who are in the extended networks, families, organizations, outreaches…and there you find the life of the Church at work in her fulness. But you have to give them the time of day. Word to the wise, if one shows up at your church tomorrow who wishes to receive, on the tongue, or, heaven forbid, kneeling, instead of demonizing, why not stop to chat? You never know, (wasn’t it Dorothy Day who alluded to this) when you may be entertaining angels, unaware?

  7. thickmick says:

    I am a BIG FAN of the VORTEX and of Mike. A great Irish Catholic in the spirt of Arch Bishop “Dagger” John Hughes of NYC, who tamed the wild Irish immigrants of NYC by teaching them the Faith.

  8. Allan S. says:

    What does the STB mean after his name? Is he a priest?

  9. shane says:

    Allan, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus (Bachelor of Sacred Theology). No, he is not a priest.

  10. jlmorrell says:

    Michael Voris does it again! Bravo!

    I disagree with those here who think Mr. Voris’s approach is off base. Yes, it may not be for everyone, but it’s about time more people stand up and start calling it like it is. I applaud his forthright and unvarnished manner.

  11. Hidden One says:

    @jlmorrell

    Plenty of Catholics who have called spades spades throughout history have not bettered the Church by their efforts. My question is if his normative methodology is one that the Saints approve of. I don’t think I could even argue for an affirmative response to that question. If you can, please do.

  12. Dorcas says:

    @Hidden One:
    Well, heh, I am in agreement with you about Voris’ usual vemon, but I don’t think you need to look too far to find creative bombast and venting of saintly spleen…just look back here: https://wdtprs.com/2010/12/st-ambrose-copycat-rookie-disliked-by-st-jerome/ to see an example…I think Fr. Z may even have been quoting some of the milder stuff.

    (See, Fr. Z, your hard work comes in handy) ;)

  13. Jim Dorchak says:

    Hidden one

    I agree with you entirely. Let the rest of the Church go to hell.

    Ut Oh…. I am sure the saint would approve… maybe not.
    Jim Dorchak
    http://qm2ss.blogspot.com/

  14. jlmorrell says:

    Hidden One,

    My main point is that I think people, especially Catholics, are far two sensitive these days when it comes to dealing with error. I would like to pull some examples of how various saints dealt with the errors of their day, but haven’t the time at this late hour.

    Although the quote below is not directly analogous to what Michael Voris is doing, it would certainly be interesting to hear the response of some Catholics if a similar anathema were given today. The following is an excerpt of an anathema from the Book of the Church of Rochester, given by Bishop Ernulf:

    “We excommunicate and anathematise him, malefactor, and from the thresholds of the Holy Church of God Almighty we sequester him, that he may be tormented, disposed and delivered over with Dathan and Abiram, and with those who say unto the Lord God, depart from us, we know not Thy ways. And as fire is quenched with water, so let the light of him be put out for evermore, unless it shall repent him and make satisfaction. Amen.”

    “May St. John the forerunner and Baptist of Christ, St. Peter and St. Paul, St. Andrew, and all other of the apostles of Christ, together curse him. And may the rest of his disciples and the four evangelists, who by their preaching converted the whole world, and the holy and wonderful company of martyrs and confessors, who by their holy works are found pleasing to God Almighty, curse him.”

    “May he be cursed wherever he be, whether in the house or the stables, the garden or the field, or the highway, or in the path, or in the wood, or in the water, or in the church. May he be cursed in living, in dying, in eating, in drinking, in hungering, in thirsting, in fasting, in sleeping, in slumbering, in walking, in standing, in sitting, in lying, in working, in resting, in pissing, in shitting and in bloodletting.”

  15. Hidden One says:

    @Dorcas

    Context. To quote Fr. Z, “In the ancient world, invective was a standard tool of debate. Interlocutors would often pour acid on each other in a way we today… well, perhaps not some who read blogs today… find quite unsettling.” Invective is, in the age we live, a standard tool of avoiding debate. Neither do gratuitous insults advance the Catholic cause at the present time.

    @Jim Dorchak

    The irony about your argument is that one of my chief justifications for attacking Mr. Voris’ method is that, whilte littering entirely unnecessary ad hominems directed at all and sundry in his speeches, he does little more than preach to the choir. When he speaks about how evil _insert_people_here_ are, he uses the slang and throw-away lines of the venom-tongued among the traditionalist movement. What dissenting Catholic is going to be swayed by personal attacks and extensive lists of negative adjectives applied to people and things that they like? Fr. Z. regularly points out and dismisses swipes taken by “liberals” at things and people traditionalists hold dear – and with good reason. Argumentation is replaced with verbal assault.

    As it happens, most traditionalists – like you and I – already agree with (at least most of) the content of his message, and even (at least many of) his estimations of _insert_people_here_. And if his method of delivery would get him to be appreciated by people who disagree with us, then it might save souls. However, his method is dramatically at odds with that end.

    It is entirely possible to speak straightforwardly on these issues, spare no truth from one’s words, get one’s message across, and do it all charitably. I dare say that I’ve done it myself a few times. Normally, Mr. Voris doesn’t, from what I have heard and seen.

    Contrast, for reference, Bp. Olmsted’s recent news conference about the ex-Catholic hospital with an average clip from Michael Voris. His Excellency genuinely got his whole message across and(even into the newspapers!), did not hold back the truth, was a stunning witness for fidelity to the Church, and committed nothing that could be labelled “detraction” in the process.

    Mr. Dorchak, to indicate, as you seemingly have, that venom is necessary for the reform of the Church, is to be wrong.

  16. Hidden One, what about the Founder of our Faith Himself, Who had some pretty choice names for His enemies? He called them:

    — Children of the devil (John 8:43-45);
    — Liars (John 8:54-55);
    — Hypocrites (passim)
    — Children of hell (Matthew 23:15)
    — Blind fools (Matthew 23:16-17)
    –Whited sepulchres (Matthew 23:27-28)
    — Brood of vipers (Matthew 23:33)

    I have yet to hear any little pleasantries out of Michael Voris that exceed these.

    Miss A., O.P.

  17. catholicmidwest says:

    Michael Voris is, as usual, spot on.

    My only comment is that when he talks about dissidents, he likens them to protestants, which is not really very accurate. Catholics, when they go off the deep end, usually sound more like pagans than average protestants. But then most Catholics don’t know very much about protestants and maybe that’s why they say things like this…..

  18. By the way, speaking straightforwardly and bluntly about the enemies of the Church may or may not be useful in converting these enemies (though who knows which of them are merely deluded, and may benefit from the shock of being called out for what they are). But there are other purposes to such language. Identifying the wolves in sheep’s clothing is an act of charity toward others in the flock who might otherwise be caught and eaten.

  19. catholicmidwest says:

    Truth-telling is not inherently uncharitable.

    This is something that some people just cannot grasp, unfortunately.

  20. Warren says:

    @ Anita Moore OPL

    You took the words right out of my mouth.
    And, I especially agree with your last sentence in your second post.

  21. Andrew Mason says:

    I never thought I’d say this, but I actually agree with about 90% of what Voris says here as well as with the tone in which he says it. It’s a good idea to pursue personal holiness before striving to change others (or, as Jesus said, mind the plank in your own eye before worrying about the splinter in the other guy’s), and I’m glad that he took the time out to say it because people need to hear that message. I just hope that he’s calling for Catholics to forge a greater knowledge of all of the Church’s teachings rather than just the ones that don’t challenge conservative notions of how the world should be. It would be a pity to learn Casti Connubii without also learning Rerum Novarum, or to learn Humanae Vitae without also learning Caritas in Veritate.

  22. tygirwulf says:

    I’ve seen several comments saying that Michael Voris basically is preaching to the choir. That is the whole point of the Vortex show. It’s not supposed to be catechetical or supposed to convince those who don’t already agree. It’s a polemical show where Voris can express his opinions in the way he wants to, similar to Bill O’Reilly can on his show, and we are free to agree or disagree with him or his methods of speaking. RealCatholicTV does have many excellent catechetical resources, most of which can’t be seen by non-subscribers.

  23. fwbear says:

    Nice sales pitch…sounds like the the used car salemen I see on TV occasionally…how much are his videos?

  24. benedetta says:

    Although it was a subtle dig towards Catholics who gain great inspiration from the words and actions of the Holy Father (just look at those over the last few weeks alone), I think that M Vorish exemplifies this notion celebrated in the propaganda wing of my locale: “[T]he lay vocation: to get involved in the issues of the day without waiting for directions from Rome or…pastor.” I agree. Get involved. If the authorities refuse to actively participate with the basic needs of average Catholics and prefer self-righteousness and ivory tower, read up, get educated, and keep working. Although the propaganda presents as front-and-center, there is much that we can do that has nothing to do with that agenda, many ways to resist, many ways to take hopeful, encouraging steps. Some entities may pretend all they desire that the Holy Father does not exist. Bully for them! There was radio free europe, and many other efforts. Lo and behold, against seemingly impossible odds, the wall fell…In our technological age, we have direct recourse to the sources of truth and beauty, to primary sources, and need not wait around for it to be re-broadcast whenever the authorities in control of the mouthpiece feel so moved.

  25. Young Canadian RC Male says:

    While it’s great that Mr. Voris is encouraging people to get more educated in the face of fighting their smug liberal counterparts, I forsee a problem. Many of the church’s educated liberals among clergy and those higher up at the parish level tend to have post-secondary studies in theology, divinity etc. and that might include studies of theologie/philosophy + theology combinations that that average pew person can’t understand, and because they don’t you can’t argue with them effectively. So what can we do about that?

  26. benedetta says:

    Young Canadian RC Male: Well, it is not so much the degree or credential itself, but, one, the value or quality of the degree (i.e., institution’s faithfulness itself) as well as the way in which the credentialed wield the degree. While there is much theoretical discussion about openness, dialogue and transparency from the dissenting establishment it is rarely actually practiced and those with credentials and degrees often wield it as a threat or club or to garner a presumption of some sort of authority.

    There do exist some excellent distance-learning programs at faithful Catholic institutions for Catholics seeking to grow in knowledge. Will the credentials from those places be respected by the powers that be? Since they do not care to hear from “Rome” generally then it goes without saying that this too would be studiously rejected. But I do not think it is Voris’ point that we need to become educated in order to become self-important or gain some sort of status.

  27. Leonius says:

    Hidden One: “My question is if his normative methodology is one that the Saints approve of. ”

    If you know the saints then I do not understand why you would think for a moment that they would not approve.

    The Christ the saints loved so much spoke in the same manner on several occasions and they both approved of and imitated His manner of dealing with those who would lead the faithful away from God.

    “And seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them: Ye brood of vipers, who hath shewed you to flee from the wrath to come?” – OLJC

    “You serpents, generation of vipers, how will you flee from the judgment of hell?” – OLJC

    “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.” – OLJC

  28. Torkay says:

    For those who are wringing their hands worrying about a takeover of the Church by the laity, here’s a famous quote by Archbishop Fulton Sheen on the subject:

    “Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops, like bishops, and your religious act like religious.”

    Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, before the Knights of Columbus, June 1972

  29. catholicmidwest says:

    Young Canadian RC Male,

    University degrees are only as good as the material they’re built upon. If a person doesn’t learn to think critically during their college training, and just tows the party line, the degree is only a resume decoration. And since you don’t care about their resume, you shouldn’t have a problem with it. I’ll tell you a little secret: What really matters is your ability to THINK, and your KNOWLEDGE of background & history. So read, read and read some more. And then think, think and think some more. Then pick your battles. Use some prudence and brains. :)

    Oh and give God something to do. Stay faithful, read some scripture and pray, so you’ll have that prudence and some grace going in. =) Just like Voris says, keep your own house clean first.

  30. catholicmidwest says:

    In the church, we have laypeople trying their damndest to act like clergy because people have been led to believe that everything, but everything, has to come from clergy. People believe that you have to have a “ministry” to participate in the church, and if you don’t have a ministry you’re nobody. I’ve heard this over and over and over from average laypeople.

    Look, if we (normal laypeople as normal laypeople not on the ministry pretense) don’t stand up and insist that the faith gets lived out and continues properly, who’s going to do it? Our bishops? Yeah, right. You all see how that’s worked out. Our nuns? Ditto. Our exalted pseudo-clergy, the “lay ministers?” Yeah, right. They’re too busy consolidating their power and getting their noses good and brown.

    Anyone can see it, but yeah, even Fulton J Sheen said it (for those who just have to have clergy approval for every possible brain pattern they might have):
    “Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops, like bishops, and your religious act like religious.”

    Thanks Torkay, for the quote.

  31. I like the guy, God bless him. He is polishing his presentations and I am sure he is a man of good will. He is doing the best he can and at least he is trying to be a warrior for Christ.

  32. irishgirl says:

    I like Michael Voris-he’s the layman’s version of Father John Corapi (IMHO).
    I heard about the video about Bishop Hubbard and Andrew Cuomo from a friend of mine who went to see Father Z at a conference in Detroit back in 2009.

  33. Jim Dorchak says:

    Hidden One
    I think you missed my point.
    I will teach my children the faith and pass it on to them, and to Hell with those who plug their ears to the Church’s teaching (some of my own family fall into this group). I stongly believe that an 80% smaller more faithful population of the Catholic Church is preferable to what we live in now.

    My it sure would be nice to go to Mass on Sunday and not attend a stand up comedy show, the sermon according to garfield, my sisters and brothers……

    It would be nice to see whole heterosexual families praying in reverent silence before and after Mass. As opposed to the sports scores gabbing, back slapping, good time, funkey bananna, hand holding rot that I have to endure each Sunday here in SC.

    I no longer have the energy or will to fight “Fellow Catholics” about the truths that the Church teaches (is supposed to), and how those truthes have been bastardized.

    It comes down to this, “TOO LITTLE TOO LATE”. Let them implode as they are supposed to and let them rot until what is left over has been distilled down to a Faith Filled Catholic Church. It is time to clean out the net and throw some back!
    (insert loud flushing noise here)
    I am only one person, I am not lazy, I am just tired and realistic. The Catholic Church as we know it, is not ….. Catholic (Universal) any more. (I went to 4 Catholic Churches in the past 4 Sundays. Each of them were so different from the other that my wife and I had to ask if we were really in a catholic church, maybe we misread the sign. It was mayhem at each church er.. facility)

    As to Mr. Voris, I agree with him. Catholics need to get out of their comfort zone. If it takes pissing them off like he does then so be it. After all it works or we would not be having this discussion.

    Nice guys finish last. Lets hope that the Good Guys finish at all.

    As to me, I follow Peter. Let the rest of them rot. I have no problem dropping off the grid and paying a retired priest to live at my “Finca / Estancia” and offer Mass to my family on a twice daily basis at our privat chapel for the rest of my natural life.
    Hey I’ll pray for them with charity!

    Jim Dorchak
    http://qm2ss.blogspot.com/

  34. becket1 says:

    My biggest problem is when he said “go to Mass”. Well what if that “Mass” is controlled by the liberals your trying to get rid of. They will call the Mass a “celebration” and will treat it like one. I call it the “The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass”, big difference!. This of course only applies to the Roman Rite. My answer would be “go to a Mass that is offered by clergy who follow the Pope’s example. If not than try a different Rite”

  35. catholicmidwest says:

    becket1,

    In some places it can be difficult to find a mass that isn’t filled with progressive nonsense because in some places it’s difficult to find clergy that aren’t full of progressive nonsense. People have to do the best they can. And believe it or not, in many parts of the country, particularly rural parts, there are no different rites to be had for hundreds of miles. Don’t make light of it. It can be a real cross for some people to bear.

  36. Jim Dorchak says:

    Becket1
    “The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass”,
    Yep I sure do agree with you on this one. Thanks

    http://qm2ss.blogspot.com/

  37. Hidden One says:

    @all who have responded to me:

    I’m not advocating that spades not be called spades. It’s the how. Prudence dictates one response in one situation, another in a different one. I have read your comments, and I retain my respectful disagreement with your positions… with the exception of the commenter who agreed with me in saying that Michael Voris preaches to the choir. Tygirwulf I agree with.

    @Jim Dorchak

    In your latest comment, you put forth exactly the attitude I wish to avoid. I am no stranger to heresy and liturgical abuse. At the Mass I attended today, for example, the priest repeatedly implicitly denied the divinity of Jesus in his homily. Curses and wrath and whatnot are exactly what I wish to avoid in dealing with the problems in this diocese.

  38. Young Canadian RC Male says:

    benedetta and catholicmidwest. Thank you for your replies.

  39. catholicmidwest says:

    Wait. Hidden One, the priest openly denied the divinity of Christ in his homily? And you didn’t corner him afterward and yell in his face? What???? I’d be yelling and writing letters, if it were me.

  40. catholicmidwest says:

    Young Canadian RC Male,
    You’re welcome.

  41. Jim Dorchak says:

    Ok Hidden one, I would not have yelled at him either (at this point in my life), but I would have quickly helped him get fitted for a mill stone. I would have sent him a gift certificate! No joke. Maybe you can send your priest one too? I am sure that they have his size.
    Sorry I am just tired of getting my head brusied by asking pleading or complaining, or begging, to my priest, and my bishop. It is apparent to me they do not care about souls, just money and power.
    http://qm2ss.blogspot.com/

  42. QMJ says:

    I do not normally like Mr. Voris’s videos, but this one was definitely better. I do wish that he had spent more time on sanctity though. Our life of prayer founded on the sacraments is absolutely of the utmost importance. Without it you will not have a correct understanding of the faith nor will you live the life of Christ as we are called to.

  43. Caroline says:

    Mr. Vorris is unquestionably a most courageous man.. I wouldn’t have the stomach for a fraction of the criticism he must get thrown at him..

  44. justMe says:

    Hidden One,

    Please tell me you’re joking or mistaken or I’m dreaming this ….

    “ At the Mass I attended today, for example, the priest repeatedly implicitly denied the divinity of Jesus in his homily.”

    No I would not have confronted him afterward, I would have stood up right then and there and asked every Catholic to leave now and find another Mass. That is blasphemous – plain and simple!

    Where did this happen, what is his name and who is the Bishop responsible for this man?

  45. Hidden One says:

    I met personally with the bishop in the spring, about that priest and other matters, but was unable then to give specifics of problems with the priest’s homilies (and His Excellency rightly called me out on that one). Now, having Sunday heard the worst heresy I’ve ever identified from the pulpit, I can. (I used to tune out for most of his and other homilies.) In fairness to the priest, whose seminary education ruined him, the last minute or so of his homily was right on target and very useful and his personal kindness helped last year get a friend of mine into RCIA who is now a very orthodox serious Catholic.

    If I have the opportunity to speak with His Excellency again, I will mention the homily. Believe me when I say that this diocese needs help. Also, I need your prayers, because the liturgies around here are too often difficult to bear. All the priests are quick to hear one’s Confession upon request, though, which I appreciate immensely.

    Anyway, I actually came to check up on this thread to post the following quote:

    “I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it.”
    Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman, C.O., 1851.

    I just wanted to emphasize “not rash in speech, not disputatious”. In toning down in this video, and simultaneously encouraging the substance of the rest of the quote, Mr. Voris did a good service to the church.

  46. Hidden One says:

    PS: In case anyone has gotten the opposite impression, I really do take heresy seriously. Please, believe me. But in this diocese, what we really lack is humble, fervent prayer, particularly for our priests. As St. Jean Vianney said, there really are no bad priests. There are only priests for whom there hasn’t been enough prayer. I would really appreciate it if everyone who is outraged by my report from the Sunday Mass would pray a rosary for that priest, and perhaps also another one for his bishop, and if you are so generous, one for me. Among my many other sins, I, shall we say, have not always been prudent in attempting to deal with problems in this diocese.

    In conclusion, it might well be easier to tie a millstone around the priest’s neck than to pray a whole rosary for him, but I’d rather meet that priest (and his bishop) in Heaven, and we must first all get there.

  47. Aaron B. says:

    For those who feel Mr. Voris is too abrupt in the Vortex, or who wish he would go into more detail about things: go to his website and listen to the podcast versions of his show The One True Faith. They’re free to download (they charge for the DVD and CD version), and the 45-minute format gives him time for a much more thoughtful and thorough treatment.

    There are about a hundred episodes now, and they make up an excellent catechism for the average Clueless Catholic. There are theologically deeper speakers out there, but for those of us who were taught virtually nothing about the faith growing up (as Voris says, we can make a heck of a banner with construction paper and glitter, but all we know is “Jesus loves me”), he speaks on a level we can understand.

  48. jflare says:

    I’m seeing many comments here from people who strongly dislike Mr. Voris’ shows. If I were still 18 and coming from the mindset of my diocese–which I ultimately discerned to be “soft liberal”–I might agree.
    However, I’ve grown into my 30s and noticed that I won’t live forever. I’ve also lived in a diocese with rampant abuses being inflicted in several churches. In one church I visited for Mass, I literally checked the church bulletin about halfway through; I needed to verify that I’d found the right place and hadn’t stumbled into a Protestant church by mistake.

    Essentially, Mr Voris’ generally reminds us that a liberal establishment DOES exist and won’t give way easily. We WILL need to be very stubborn and insistent that we receive the faith appropriately. Tragic, but liberals don’t seem to like Traditional teaching and practice so much…

  49. THREEHEARTS says:

    We are all supposed to question ourselves daily, do we?
    Is Michael right? I think as I read the comments some of you who say his attempt is too abrupt should admit in the same line he is not wrong and do something about it. At least he puts his money where his mouth is. Do you?
    Is he right 4, 000, 000 hits a year on his blog tells me there are many who believe. Tell you what print it off and send his words to your local liberal priests and gauge their reaction. Will you do that, no you won’t, that is a certainty.

  50. capebretoner says:

    Michael Voris is a light in the wilderness for me. I love his videos for the most part. And when he does realize he may have gone too far, he apologizes. You don’t see that very often.

    The diocese I live in is in a shambles to say the least. Our new bishop came into quite a quagmire given the circumstances under which the former bishop had to leave. He as well has to deal with the promotion of the “new emerging church” which alot of the clergy, religious and “professional laity” believe will fix all the problems. The circumstances of the former bishop added alot of fuel to that fire. There have been some small signs of change though, and I give credit to our bishop for those changes. Prayer is indeed a necessity in these times. It also helps to know that there are people like Michael Voris out there giving a voice to concerns that may otherwise be completely ignored.

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