How to Excommunicate Your Priest

Some people are wroth with Michael Voris. It seems he has given a mildly acerbic one-minute summary of what Archbishop Burke praised a book for explaining - that Catholics priests and bishops are driving people away from the Faith by abusing their positions and abusing the Mass.

Now, the usual suspects in the Catholic Media (tm) are attacking Mr. Voris.

Why would anyone attack Voris for his remarks?

The reason is obvious - the usual suspects are interested in maintaining their income, and their income is based in no small part on being smiled upon by bishops, so commentators who attack Voris are playing to the deep pockets they hope is their base: the bishops.

Such commentators take great pains to explain that only the bishops are the Magisterium, and Michael Voris is not a bishop. And yes, it is true that Michael Voris is not a bishop. But these commentators do NOT point out another relevant fact: neither are parish priests bishops. And, they fail to point out yet a third fact: to be honest, even bishops are sometimes not bishops.

You see, it is unfortunately the case that, while any bishop (or anyone else, for that matter) may wield the Magisterium, the bishops are not necessarily part of the Magisterium. A bishop is only part of the Magisterium when that bishop teaches in union with all the bishops who have ever lived (always keeping in mind that the Pope is the bishop of Rome). Insofar as any bishop doesn't teach in union with the Magisterium, he has no authority over any Catholic, since he then teaches on his own authority and not Christ's. And, a bishop can easily step back and forth across that line several times in the same homily.

So, a bishop might be part of the Magisterium at noon, be out of step with the Magisterium at 12:15, and back in union with the Church at 12:45. We are bound to follow his orthodox teachings from noon to 12:15, bound to ignore his lunatic posturings from 12:15 to 12:30, then bound to obey him as he returns to orthodoxy again from 12:30 to 12:45. That's life for a Catholic.

But, have our usual suspects explained any of that?

Of course not.

It wouldn't be expedient.

You see, when the usual suspects caterwaul about people not being the Magisterium, there is usually only one reason they scream: the person they attack has taken a position they don't like but can't refute, and they are trying to curry favor with a bishop who doesn't like that person or that person's position.

What's Not To Like?

And it's understandable why no one wants to take on Michael Voris' position directly. No one has succeeded in pointing to an error in anything he said for a simple reason: in this video, Michael Voris hasn't said anything wrong.

If your priest or bishop finds Earth Day a more important topic to preach about than Easter, then your priest/bishop is a freaking heretic, whom even Arius and Nestorius would have tossed out of church for blasphemy. After all, even theological nutcases like Arius and Nestorius recognized Jesus as divinity and both recognized His death and resurrection is the source of our salvation. Even those unrepentant heretics would have found the idea of elevating Earth Day over Easter to be a return to pagan insanity.

Catholics don't worship Gaia.

Now, what of Michael Voris' advice to "resign your parish"?

Well, when we consider that 80% of Americans live in urban areas, Voris' advice is not unreasonable. If you live in such an area, and you hear your priest preach such elevation of our earth over Our Lord, you should immediately resign from that parish, stop all contributions to it, and find another Catholic parish to attend.

Unfortunately, of course, you might be part of the 20% of the American population who live in rural areas and who therefore have no real access to another Catholic parish. Indeed, the bishop may have exiled the heretic to your parish precisely because your parish is out of the way, and he doesn't want that priest affecting larger portions of his diocese. Bishops often send their most difficult priests to the farthest reaches of the diocese. You can often tell what kind of a bishop you have by examining what kind of priests have the small rural parishes.

Now, if you are trapped in such a situation, you obviously should continue attending Mass and confession (the priest may be a heretic, but the sacraments are still valid). However, you should stop all donations to that parish. Give your money directly to Rome, or to a reputable seminary or Catholic charity somewhere else in the world.

We are required to support the work of the Church, not the work of the local parish, especially when the local parish is headed by a semi-pagan nutcase who preaches Earth Day instead of Easter.

But, what if your bishop falls for this insanity?

It would seem unlikely that any bishop would be stupid enough to publicly preach Earth Day instead of Easter. Cell phone evidence is all too easy to send to Rome these days.

But if he is, you would of course stop giving to the diocese directly, and also consider curtailing donations to the local parish, since every parish in every diocese has to pay a "diocesan tax" to support the diocesan chancery office.

Again, we are bound to support the work of the Catholic Church, not necessarily the work of the local diocese, especially if the local bishop is theologically insane.

Michael Voris may not be the Magisterium, but what he teaches in this video is precisely and exactly correct. The only thing pagans really understand is money - cut off their supply and they suddenly get religion.

In fact, since the priests and bishops who fall for this insanity worship liberal "theology" and the money that comes from being in step with it, you are really dealing with a case of idol worship.

In that sense, you can think of cutting off their funds as your opportunity to personally excommunicate a heretic for purposes of bringing him back into communion with the Faith.

Addendum:
If you have a nutcase for a priest and don't want to keep him, there's an even quicker way to get rid of him then cutting off your donations.

Video him with your cell phone as he makes atrocious remarks or engages in liturgical abuse, then send a copy of the video to your bishop. If the bishop isn't impressed, send a copy on to the apostolic nuncio or the CDW.

Technology is going to shine a light on the reptiles in a way never before possible.
The heretics will not last much longer.