A social observation - 2 Church crises

Hello, everyone and Happy Mother's Day.

I've been reading a behavioral psychology book and it allowed me to look at the current state of the Church in a different manner.  Unfortunately, for this blog post, it's going to force me to bring up an issue in the Church that most of us would like to believe has been dealt with but hasn't.

I looked at the recent comments from Bishop Stika as well as the usual apologist comments from "professional Catholics" and typical laity regarding Bergoglio, or any clergy for that matter, and I thought to myself - why is there such a disparity of opinion in the Church?  Why do so few people actually understand the gravity of the situation? 

Then I realized something - the current opinion matches the early opinion of the priest sex abuse crises from decades ago. 

In the spirit of charity, I will offer my personal opinions and observations of this crises at the time.  I remember going to Catholic high school and having a very clear, straightforward opinion of a priest.  I believed in his moral clarity, his commitment to his mission and to his service to the faithful and the Church.  Though I had known from history that some priests had done evil acts, I never personally came across a priest in my younger years that had me question my opinion of a priest. (Nowadays, I consider myself lucky.) 

So when the crises was breaking, it wasn't that I didn't believe it, but I had difficulty believing, from my own experience, that it was far reaching.  I felt that any abusers would have been exposed and dealt with by the hierarchy.  As evidence started to mount, and it included bishops, archbishops and cardinals (and even speculation on the Pope), I became very sad.  I never became a denier, and I certainly believed that there was more to this than just straightforward abuse (on both sides), but I became increasingly suspicious of the clergy and saw that something dramatic had to be done for the sake of the Church.

It goes without saying that I have been disappointed by the reaction by the hierarchy of the Church to this crises and to deal with it with the harshness it deserves.  These were crimes against God, first and foremost, and then toward our fellow man, the vast majority of them boys who will never have the solace of peace again. 

But many in the Church, life long Catholics, refused to accept this problem.  Maybe they had never come across a suspicious priest; or that they had but because of their loyalty to the Church, would not contribute to the gossip; or maybe that one of their family members was in the priesthood.  No matter the explicit excuse, many Catholics stood by the advertising of the Church and refused to accept that something was rotten in the state of Denmark.  And many leaders in the clergy were able to hide behind this wall of "faith" and didn't face the issues that needed to be faced. 

Now transport yourself to the present day and think back over the past 7 years. 

According to the official story, a Pope resigned, a new Pope was elected.  We have 2 Popes at the same time; the Church is trying to say that women can be deacons and priests, that homosexual unions are a blessing, that divorced and remarried individuals can receive the Eucharist based upon their conscience, that we should celebrate Ramadan with Muslims, that Hell doesn't exist, that you can sin against the Earth and that you don't have to be Catholic to go to heaven. 

Suffice it to say, it hasn't been easy to be Catholic these days.  But still, the vast majority of Catholics, who have seen and heard all of these things, continue to believe that nothing is wrong in the Church.  Just like a generation ago, we are being presented with elements in the Church that are clearly demonic, yet many are refusing to admit there is even a problem. 

I would argue that the reason most Catholics are not willing to accept the nature of our challenge now are for the same reasons that they refused to acknowledge the gravity of the situation then. 

We all have in our minds a vision of the Church.  It is built with our ideas, opinions, hopes, and visions of the Church.  Whether it's an idea of parish life and it's expression of Catholic community.  Or it's the idea of the Mass being the same around the world, no matter where it is being conducted.  Or it's the hierarchy of the Church, it's formal organization and order in a chaotic world.  Or it's heritage going all the way back to Pentecost nearly 2000 years ago. 

But the Church has never been that idealized case.  It is made up of humans that choose, many times, to engage in their selfish wants versus the listening to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  It is a wonderful gift from Our Lord, but routinely we take it for granted.  We don't believe the Church could ever be brought down and humbled.  We are about to be proven wrong. 

Regardless of what will happen to the Church over the next few years and decades, we have to accept the fact that the Church will never reflect what we know it is until we are resolved that we will do everything in our power to identify evil in it's ranks and to address it.

That is why I have the following on Twitter:

• Pope Benedict is still Pope.
• Bergoglio is an usurper and an AntiPope.
• There is a fundamental homosexual problem in the priesthood going back decades and has infiltrated the priesthood at every level all the way up to the Vatican.
• To be Catholic you must accept the Real Presence in the Eucharist
• The vast majority of bishops are heretics, apostates, and sexual deviants
• The real number of Catholics in the world is well under 100 million
• For the clergy to start listening to the faithful, we must starve them of money.  It is their slush fund and they will disregard us as long as they have it.
• The Vatican is a pit of vipers that must be put down. 
• The Novus Ordo has no relation to the TLM and serious questions regarding it's efficacy must be answered immediately.  
• Proper reception of the Eucharist is on your knees on your tongue.  (If Bishop Stika wants to know why, have him call me.  I can't tell him myself, he blocked me like many others.)
• The Church must be beautiful to reflect the beauty of Heaven.  Ugly churches must either be significantly remodeled or torn down.
• Evangelization is the primary purpose of the Church.  
• A review of everything done in the Church to the Mass and all rites (Exorcism, Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, etc.) since WW2 must be done immediately.  

Just because we can begin to understand why so many Catholics refuse to accept the dire situation doesn't give us reason to excuse that opinion.  We must engage other Catholics.  We must re-evangelize them.  We must teach the Faith that our priests have chosen not to pass on.  

How many Catholics won't return once the "crises" is over?

How many Catholics won't raise their kids in the Church after this?

How many Catholics will accept this new, post-Christian normal? 

Souls are at stake.  Personally, I refuse to accept the ranks of Hell gaining when we can do something to stem the tide and at least get them to Purgatory.  

The Catholic Church is the great ballast against the rule of Satan on Earth.  We cannot accept Judases compromising it.  As I said recently in a tweet, what is Our Lord going to do with us when we could have done more and didn't?

Wake up.

Thank you and God bless.