Friday, August 16, 2013

A Depressing Discussion...But Necessary: Vortex

Tell it, Mike!
I hope you’ve been following the Vortex the last couple of weeks. Are you all signed up for at least the free subscription to the Vortex? If you have serious concerns about the state of our Church (especially in the US, but really, pretty much world-wide), then you need to have Vortex motivation to keep fighting the good fight.

Yes, it’s depressing at times, as Michael Voris admits in today’s Vortex (embedded below).  He says:

To be as kind and charitable as possible…it isn’t a pretty picture. We have actually shared some of the information privately with some clergy to get their initial reaction. One bishop – a very solid, faithful man – told us he found the report summaries downright depressing and startling, and even started questioning his own efforts at renewal in his own diocese – wondering if, in view of the actual realities on the ground, what he was doing was enough.

If there is a message we want viewers to get from all this, it isn’t that we should become despondent or depressed; it’s that we have to be realistic and look the problem squarely in the face and assess it correctly.

Here are a few more of the “money quotes” from today’s episode, with a little commentary from me. The full script is below the video.

Ignoring it – or more to the point, choosing to not confront it – won’t make the crisis go away. Informed people in the Church know this, and privately, are not only concerned, but growing increasingly concerned. There isn’t one indicator among any of the generally accepted institutional markers that anything is; in fact, many of the signs point to things becoming worse.  

This discussion has simply got to be had – and had in earnest. And since it doesn’t seem like anything of real substance is coming from the Establishment, it’s high time a discussion is had among the peasant Catholic crowd.

And by “peasant”, we don’t mean poor; we mean those who for a variety of reasons simply aren’t respected or considered in the day-to-day decisions by the Establishment types – the crowd that Pope Benedict labeled Professional Catholics.

Michael Voris is one of the “peasants”. I am one of them, too. If your letters to the bishop are ignored, you are one, too. If your parish priest ignores or criticizes your requests for correct liturgical practices, you are a “peasant” Catholic as well. Frankly, if you read this blog regularly, and like what you read, you’re a “peasant” Catholic.

The “Establishment” priests and bishops are not interested in what we think…even – or maybe especially – when we back up our “opinions” with references to Church documents.  The “Establishment” Church feels a need to pacify those who want guitar Masses and communion in the hand and altar girls; but they seem to wish the more traditional types would find a different parish. I really cannot understand why the people who want liturgical propriety are dismissed, while our shepherds bend over backwards to accommodate the (incorrect) liturgical desires of the “liberal progressive modernist crowd” (as MV often describes them).

Hmph. Well, back to the Vortex:

As Venerable – catch that…VENERABLE – Archbishop Fulton Sheen once told a large gathering: “Who is going to save our Church? Don’t look to the priests, don’t look to the bishops. It’s up to you, the laity, to remind our priests to be priests and our bishops to be bishops”.

Seriously. I think that for too many decades, the truly faithful Catholics have been beaten down, and they stayed quiet and put their heads down out of respect for the bishops. Well…the bishops, by and large, are betraying that respect.

Michael Voris and CMTV are promoting the upcoming “Retreat At Sea” (January 2014), which will have as its focus the “Reformation of the Church”. Here’s the link – check it out, give it some thought.


And here’s the Vortex, with the script below.



The script:

We are putting the finishing touches on an upcoming series of reports here about the decline of the Catholic Church in America that we are calling “The Demolition of the Faith”.

To be as kind and charitable as possible…it isn’t a pretty picture. We have actually shared some of the information privately with some clergy to get their initial reaction. One bishop – a very solid, faithful man – told us he found the report summaries downright depressing and startling, and even started questioning his own efforts at renewal in his own diocese – wondering if, in view of the actual realities on the ground, what he was doing was enough.

If there is a message we want viewers to get from all this, it isn’t that we should become despondent or depressed; it’s that we have to be realistic and look the problem squarely in the face and assess it correctly.

It’s true that there is occurring something of a slow waking up – like from a long Rip Van Winkle type slumber… like when Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York last year admitted to the Wall Street Journal that priests and bishops, including himself, had gotten “gun shy” – his words – “gun shy” about teaching the truths of the faith regarding the hot button issues – like contraception, for example.

And while admitting something like that is good, JUST admitting it – and still doing painfully little about it – isn’t good enough.

This is what we mean here at ChurchMilitant.TV when we say the confronting of the disaster is more like a long waking up from a deep sleep than acting like the house is on fire and springing from the bed into immediate action.

It is the second reaction that is needed; not the first.

The Catholic faithful – the fewer and fewer of them that there are – don’t have a clear picture of just how DEEP and pervasive the decay in the Church really is. And this isn’t just some hearkening back to the “good ‘ol days”. That line is thrown out like party favors by some in the Church every time the topic comes up – almost in an attempt to shut down any discussion because, if the discussion is allowed, then the crisis must be admitted.

After all, it was Cardinal Dolan himself nearly three years ago, on the day of his election as head of the bishops’ conference that said there was no crisis in the Church… and then doubled down on that statement a short while later at the annual Knights of Columbus national gathering when he jokingly dismissed the idea of a crisis.

Ignoring it – or more to the point, choosing to not confront it – won’t make the crisis go away. Informed people in the Church know this, and privately, are not only concerned, but growing increasingly concerned. There isn’t one indicator among any of the generally accepted institutional markers that anything is ; in fact, many of the signs point to things becoming worse.  

This discussion has simply got to be had – and had in earnest. And since it doesn’t seem like anything of real substance is coming from the Establishment, it’s high time a discussion is had among the peasant Catholic crowd.

And by “peasant”, we don’t mean poor; we mean those who for a variety of reasons simply aren’t respected or considered in the day to day decisions by the Establishment types – the crowd that Pope Benedict labeled Professional Catholics.

This has unfortunately become a showdown between the inertia of the Professional Catholics versus the alarm of the Peasant Catholics.

Well, if the establishment that runs the day-to-day of Church affairs won’t get on board with a discussion, then its high time the Peasantry do so. In so many ways, the peasant Catholics are actually better equipped to have this discussion, because they are the ones more impacted by the sleepy indifferent attitude of the professional bureaucratic establishment crowd.

As we said in Monday’s Vortex, this is exactly why this next Retreat at Sea this coming January will deal specifically with this topic: The Restoration of the Faith. What can the peasant Catholic – the faithful marginalized by the Establishment Catholic – do in response to such a indifference and lukewarm-ness on the part of the establishment. How can souls IN the Church, be won back TO the Faith? These are our loved ones, friends, family members, old college buddies, former high school friends – all of whom have been mowed down by the culture, in part because the Church Establishment simply didn’t care enough – because they were too “gun shy”, too concerned about their own rears, to do what needed to be done – AND STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE.

We’ve attached a link for you with all the relevant information about our 2014 Retreat at Sea and encourage you strongly to consider it. If you know someone who is among the Catholic Zombie crowd who you love and care about – but are concerned they haven’t gotten the authentic faith in plain speak – encourage them to come along. Tell them that even if they hate the message, they can still enjoy a nice time. We as a people have got to get back to BEING Catholic, and in the absence of any effective bold leadership – then it’s high time we tap into the graces from our baptisms and confirmations and do something ourselves.

As Venerable – catch that…VENERABLE – Archbishop Fulton Sheen once told a large gathering: “Who is going to save our Church? Don’t look to the priests, don’t look to the bishops. It’s up to you, the laity, to remind our priests to be priests and our bishops to be bishops”.

Please click on the link; get the info; pray about it; talk with other like-minded
Catholics; talk with loved ones who have strayed from or even have no real passion for the Church and try to bring them along.
We need to act, and we need to act while there is still something of a Church in the west left to save.

18 comments:

  1. "Michael Voris and CMTV are promoting the upcoming “Retreat At Sea” (January 2014), which will have as its focus the “Reformation of the Church”. Here’s the link – check it out, give it some thought."

    My thought is "Aaahhh."
    (Insert picture of Munch's "The Scream.")

    You knew that Catholic Answers had "jumped the shark" when they started offering their cruises a few years back. Now Voris is going down the same road. You cannot reform a church from a cruise line.

    Unless this cruise involves rowing the boat like a galley slave, people can only return worse than when they went. Spending 7 days in the Caribean eating, drinking and gambling cannot possibly help to reform the Church.

    It's hard to imagine a worse idea. (7 days in Vegas maybe?) But what is worse is what it reveals about the already existing reality of Voris' understanding (or lack thereof) of the spiritual life.
    -John G.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Two comments. I have been writing since 2007, beginning of, on the absolute necessity of having an adult appropriation of faith and not relying on priests, bishops, cardinals, even popes. I learned this from my parents. One must be obedient to the doctrines of the Church but not rely on others for one's personal salvation. We have our brains and the sacraments and I recently posted this and this.

    http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2013/08/the-church-is-imploding-from-within-for.html

    http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2013/08/the-weakness-of-church-is-laity.html

    As to John G., note on cruises, two points. First of all, Jesus agreed to meet Nicodemus at night, when no one was looking, for religious instruction. Now, Nicodemus, like Joseph of Arimathea, was wealthy and in a position of authority-high profile. Jesus also went to Peter's house and Peter, being a businessman, a fisherman with two boats and people working for him, would not have been poor.

    We meet people where they are-the Gospel is for everyone, the rich as well as the poor.

    Second point is this, not all retreats need to be bread and water. One can spend a lot of energy absorbing religious ideas and praying intensely and need breaks. Most people are not ready to go into the desert 24-7.

    A cruise does not appeal to me as a retreat for several reasons, and I am far from being in the economic bracket to afford one. But, if there are those who are desiring to come closer to Jesus and meet other like-minded people in a relaxed atmosphere, why not?


    ReplyDelete
  3. Come now, there's nothing wrong with a nice cruise! I've never been on a cruise myself but would LOVE to go with Michael. I don't think it's a bad idea.

    No need to shoot Michael here. He's doing the best he can and he's doing a heck of a good job at it.

    God bless!

    ~Hannah

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fred, your comment was just too rude, so I have removed it. Kev, thank you for defending MV; I removed your comment only because it was primarily a response to Fred's which is now gone. It didn't make sense to leave yours without his.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Understood, Dr. Jay.

    Understood.

    No worries my fellow Jeremiah! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jay- it's your ball so you can obviously do what you want and play with those you like. Deleting comments that don't agree with the blessed position is common for those who think they are always right. Excuse me for not towing the line. Hope you have a nice cruise.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't think it's too much to ask that you be respectful of others and avoid name-calling and ad hominem attacks. Your comment was completely lacking in charity, offered only your opinion, and offered nothing substantive to the conversation.

    ReplyDelete
  8. These are challenging times :Holy Mother Church is in a terrible CRISIS...I belive that with my whole heart.
    It is time to get real and pray for this time in the history of the Church and Her Crisis of the TRUTH.
    Yes we are peasants ...
    I have never written to my local Bishop ....
    My Parish Priest is holy and we are traditional Catholics who embrace the TLM ...I am blessed.
    Michael Voris is to me a Bright Light and speaks plainly and clearly of the Crisis ...yes let us hold our heads up and be the LIGHT for those around us...this is not the time to hide our heads under the bushel basket...let us Shine and bring others to the TRUTH .

    ReplyDelete
  9. What's so bad with a cruise? When did being a good Catholic become synonymous with being miserable all the time?

    ReplyDelete
  10. "What's so bad with a cruise? When did being a good Catholic become synonymous with being miserable all the time?"

    St. Robert Bellarmine wrote a famous book, "The Art of Dying Well." Chapter 1 tells us that in order to die well, we first must live well. Chapter 2, which is really Chapter 1 in terms of living well, is titled, "TO DIE TO THE WORLD." Here is an excerpt:

    Now, that we may live well it is necessary, in the first place, that we die to the world before we die in the body. All they who live to the world are dead to God: we cannot in any way begin to live to God, unless we first die to the world. This truth is so plainly revealed in Holy Scripture, that it can be denied by no one but infidels and unbelievers. But, as in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand, I will quote the holy apostles, St. John, St. James, and St. Paul, witnesses the more powerful, because in them the Holy Spirit (who is the Spirit of Truth) plainly speaketh.

    St. John adds also in his Epistle: " Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the concupiscence thereof. But he that doth the will of God abideth for ever."

    Let us now hear how St. James speaks in his Epistle: " Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world, becometh an enemy to God."

    It is our bounden and serious duty to go forth from the world, not in word and in tongue, but in deed and in truth: yea, to die to the world, and to exclaim with the Apostle, " The world is crucified to me, and I to the world." This business is no trifling matter, but one of the utmost difficulty and importance:

    To live in the world, and to despise the pleasures of the world, is very difficult: to see beautiful objects, and not to love them; to taste sweet things, and not to be delighted with them; to despise honours, to court labours, willingly to occupy the lowest place, to yield the highest to all others in fine, to live in the flesh as if not having flesh,
    --------

    I don't think anyone can deny that the essence and purpose of a cruise ship is to take all the pleasures of the world and to condense them down into one small location where we can enjoy unlimited hedonism for a short period of time. A cruise ship is designed to be a floating version of Pinocchio's "Pleasure Island" where gluttony, lust, sloth and pride can be unbridled.

    This is true all the time of every cruise, but to take a "Catholic retreat" and to combine it with a cruise increases the hypocrisy level beyond comprehension.
    -John G.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think it would be possible to go on a retreat on a cruise ship and yet remain in the "hermitage of one's heart"; but it would be difficult. The distractions would be great, and of course the spirit of the world would definitely be present and quite active.

    I wouldn't go so far as to accuse Michael Voris and company of hyposcrisy, though. I have no doubt that the participants in the retreat could immerse themselves in Catholic teaching and thought, and that this is the intent and hope of MV in organizing the event.

    I think I would be more tempted to attend myself if the venue were different. Maybe a retreat at a monastery perhaps?

    ReplyDelete
  12. "I wouldn't go so far as to accuse Michael Voris and company of hyposcrisy, though. I have no doubt that the participants in the retreat could immerse themselves in Catholic teaching and thought, and that this is the intent and hope of MV in organizing the event."

    I agree, and I did not intend to accuse Michael Voris personally or his organization of hypocrisy. It's the objective situation which is problematic, but I'm sure that they personally just haven't yet given the question sufficient thought to realize the implications.

    My intention in pointing out the problems with a Catholic Retreat Caribbean Cruise is not to attack anyone or criticize anyone who went last year, for example, but simply to make people aware of the reality of what is necessary to have a positive influence on one's own spiritual life and on the crisis in the Church.

    "These devils are cast out only by prayer and fasting." We cannot make progress for ourselves or help anyone else while we are eating, drinking, dancing, gambling, etc. Only God can do any real good to improve the situation of the current crisis, and God works through those who are mortified, not through those who are enjoying the pleasures of the world.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for the clarification, Mr. Galvin. I agree with your point that "God works through thouse who are mortified". On the other hand, a conference can be motivating, and lead to an understanding of that principle. What do you think about the "Catholic Identity Conference" the Remnant is advertising? (see www.CatholicIdentity2012.com)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Well, Weirton WV would certainly be a lot more penitential than a Caribbean Cruise, lol. A conference like that would probably be very helpful for some people. It might give them the information they need to make progress in finding the true Faith amidst the confusion of our present day situation. There is a bit of focus on the food and drinks, although nothing like what you would find on a cruise ship. So I do not oppose it.

    However, I do not encourage it either, for this reason: these conferences start to become too much like EWTN -- platforms for promotion of self and promotion of book sales and promotion of personalities instead of promotion of Christ and Him crucified. Each tiny drop of personal gain is a drop of poison which ruins the effect of the medicine and turns it from something good into something bad.

    The benefit of something like the Auriesville pilgrimage is that while you are talking about the Faith, you are actually practicing it by fasting, and suffering, and mortifying yourself. Walking 70 miles and sleeping on the ground and eating nothing but oatmeal and granola bars involves a lot of blisters and real pain. But that way talk of mortification is not just vain words.

    Even in that case, however, which is pretty much a best case scenario, it's easy for all the spiritual benefit to be wasted, and even to make it into an opportunity for sin. Many people return from these pilgrimages worse than when they went.

    Three of my children attended the Chartes Pilgrimage in France at different times. They had a wonderful time and drank a lot of wine and saw Catholic sites in France like LaSallette and Lourdes and so forth, but they did not come home with any supernatural benefit. Besides the fun parts there was also the suffering and blisters and pain of walking 70 miles and sleeping in tents, and so forth, but it's just like Jesus says about the Pharisees, "You have already received your reward here on Earth."

    ReplyDelete
  15. Interesting perspective. I guess, in a way, it's the same argument I have made against WYD and all the extravaganza that goes along with that.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I would personnally encourage Mr. Voris, of whom I greatly respect, to above all NEVER - NEVER offer cruises during Lent again. I love the man, but that was a mistake. In general I think he should avoid too much emphasis on cruises or retreats at sea. If he could replace the idea with something else I'd be happier.

    Ultimately I can't say theres anything specifically wrong with a cruise, so as long as it's not during lent or advent I don't mind.

    However, it is true that Catholics with large families could never afford to go one one of those, unless they offered a serious discount.

    Perhaps Voris could start a festivity oriented towards large families. Hmm..

    Food for thought. He does enough as it is.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Mr. Voris, whom I greatly respect, should above allNEVER offer cruises during lent and claim they are "lenten retreats".

    In general I'd encourage him to avoid too much focus on cruises. If he or his associates could think of a more affordable alternative festivity for those with lower incomes and larger families, it would be welcome. Someone claimed he was either in Opus Dei or close friends with those who are. Opus dei does have a reputation of catering to upper class lifestyles...

    I dearly love Mr. Voris, but like all of us, he makes mistakes.


    ReplyDelete
  18. I agree with you about World Youth Day too.

    The church did well without it about 1900 years.

    World youth day was some sort of attempt to compete with secular media/entertainment industries infiltration of youth.

    What they should have instead is a world family day. better yet use the feast of the holy family for it. Go back to all the traditional catholic practices and older lifestyles and you dont need any special days or novelty experimental approachs.

    Experiements are stupid, we need the time tested traditions.

    ReplyDelete

Please be courteous and concise.