To Prelates: “Don’t Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It’s Raining.”

I’ve just spent a few minutes in a hard-hitting piece about The Present Crisis at Crisis.  Here are a couple of outstanding paragraphs.

The apostle Paul certainly saw the redemptive side of scandal and division: “For there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized” (I Cor. 11:19). At least the laity, operating as Mary’s Heel, can say to a prelate like Cardinal Blase Cupich or a priest like James Martin, “We know who you are, and we know that you know that we know.

About those who persist in telling us that the problem is “clericalism”:

Prevaricating Priests and Prelates
The fervent devotion to the Idols of Honor and Power is reflected in recent bald-faced lies and gaslighting. The more desperate you are to defend your power and prestige, the more patently false statements you will make.

The priests and prelates sometimes remind me of a title from a Judge Judy book: Don’t Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It’s Raining. [US HERE] We’re told by Cupich (over and over), Francis, and Martin that the real problem is “clericalism” when a recent landmark study (and the John Jay Report) by Father Paul Sullins, a retired Catholic University of America sociology professor, refutes that thesis: “The data show that more homosexual men in the priesthood were correlated with more overall abuse and more boys abused compared to girls.”

And there is this:

We must remember that Athanasius was a minority of a minority. First he was in a minority of bishops who did not get seduced by the Arian heresy, and then he was in the minority within that contingent who raised a hue and cry.

Good men are not hard to find but good men with courage are rare. Fortitude is not the defining mark of the human species.

Ancient Hebrew wisdom tells us that the fear of man is a snare (Prov. 29:25), and no doubt many bishops don’t relish the idea of becoming a pariah, especially with the pontiff’s history of ousting, demoting, and marginalizing those who don’t conform to his agenda. Consequences can be severe: remember that both Archbishop Viganò and Fr. Kalchik are in hiding.

Serious times.  Sobering times.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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

  1. Benedict Joseph says:

    Quite honestly I’m beginning to believe we have seen nothing yet. After last weeks catastrophe it is now more than reasonable to believe anything can happen, and there is no constitutional fortitude in the worldwide episcopate to say no.
    As was said at another site today, “there is something sinisterly psychopathic in all this…”
    Indeed there is.

  2. Lurker 59 says:

    To those bishops who read this posting: Man up. You are a bishop and a sovereign of your own diocese. You do not need a committee to tell you what to do and the Pope is your brother, not your employer. Your authority comes from Christ and you are His representative and no others. Being in fraternal communion does not entail being a toady.

  3. JustaSinner says:

    Everyone is waiting for Hugo First to show up. Remember, if they are, they WILL follow your lead!

  4. Gab says:

    @Benedict Joseph I agree. Two whistle blowers (2 we know of!) have already gone into hiding, others including religious orders have been removed from their positions. And the sodoclericalism and abuse continues apace.

  5. Ace says:

    Fr. Z, the other day you wrote, “You lay readers have strong influence. Get organized. Find friendly priests. Form base communities and get to it.”
    What does this mean? How do we have an influence? Once we organize, what is our objective? We are already praying, fasting, attending TLM or trying to bring reverence back to our NO parishes, homeschooling our children and talking with those who are about lose their faith. But we want to do more, and we can’t figure out how to directly impact this crisis.

  6. dahveed says:

    I’m reminded of the travails that Saint Athanasius endured by the treatment of Archbishop Vigano and Father Kalchik, but I believe we’re just beginning the metaphorical road we will be traveling for some time to come. Were my Archbishop to read here my words, I would tell him that I pray for him, and that he must speak the truth no matter the consequences.

  7. SKAY says:

    A couple of years ago I thought we might have to hide our good priests from the government but thankfully that does not seem to be the problem at the moment.
    I never thought that possibility would come from within our own Church.

    “As was said at another site today, “there is something sinisterly psychopathic in all this…”
    Indeed there is.”
    Sadly, I agree Benedict Joseph.

  8. Olecrochet says:

    I agree but perhaps we should add that we are behind them and will support them any way we can. Maybe free legal advice? Giving them a voice on our blogs? Shelter? I have no idea really but they do need our support.

  9. hwriggles4 says:

    There was a vote taken on Tuesday or Wednesday by the USCCB that resulted 137 to 83. I would like to see these votes to see which bishops were for or against.

    By the way, I do applaud bishops (particularly Bishop Strickland from my neighboring diocese) for speaking out. Bishop Coyle from Burlington (Vermont) was another one who expressed concerns.

    I did see EWTN news Monday evening and Cardinal DiNardo expressed disappointment, but out of obedience he complied (yes, in the 9 to 5 world, we oftentimes can relate). There were probably more than one bishop who wanted to return to their diocese by Monday night, but didn’t out of obedience.

  10. Lurker 59 says:

    ~Olecrochet Yes, but bishops have been so ordained to stand-up even if they are the only ones in the room standing. They need to do what is right because it is right, not because they figure that they are supported by those that they have been ordained to protect.

    ~hwriggles4 Yes, but did those 83 bishops get together themselves and act, either independently or as a group? No, they did not. What they are doing instead is to act in concert with those 137 votes. The Lord is not going to give a pass to bishops just because ‘they didn’t have the votes’.

    We can see individual bishops who are trying, but collectively, that is another story; one of either malevolence or ineptitude. As a student of history, the collective harm that the bishops are doing to the Church can only be spoken of in terms of generations.

    As Father Z said, it is not raining, and you bishops get no quarter for saying that you tried but, having lost the vote, you are going to go along with the majority and tell us that it is raining anyway.

  11. maternalView says:

    It seems to me you do the things that form community. You be active and visible. Do the ordinary things that create bonds.

    It seems to me it’s all about doing the things we should have always been doing. Crisis or not. Be prepared so when the bridegroom arrives we’re ready.

    Tom Burnett died on 9/11 in Shanksville. On the phone he told his wife he was going to do something about the plane being hijacked. “Tom Burnett was a devout Catholic. He began attending daily mass in 1998. When his wife asked him why he was doing this he told her: ‘I feel like God is calling me to do something, and I don’t know what it is. But I know it’s going to have a great impact on a lot of people.  The reason I’ve been going to daily Mass is because I feel like if I can be closer to God, then I’ll know what his plan is for me.’”

    Work on getting closer to God. Do more than yesterday and keep going.

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