Fr. Justin Belitz, OFM, has recently been in Perth, Australia, giving his "Success: Full Living" mission at various schools and parishes. Never heard of him? Well…you might consider
that a blessing. He was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska; entered the
Franciscan Order in 1954; and was ordained a priest in 1961. See his website here; his “Franciscan Hermitage” in Indianapolis, Indiana is described as:
...an international, inter-faith,
life center dedicated to the spiritual, emotional, physical, intellectual and
professional growth and formation of persons of all persuasions and
circumstances. We offer a variety of workshops, lectures, classes and support groups, each designed to empower individuals on their journeys of faith and wholeness.
It’s not even Christian, let alone Catholic. In a video
on his website, Fr. Belitz justifies the non-Catholicity of his organization by saying
that Vatican II told us to “reach out to other traditions” because no one
religion has a monopoly on the whole truth. (Funny…I thought Catholicism had
the fullness of the truth!) Fr. Belitz is all about "personal success and fulfillment". I don't see much about sacrifice on his website, or about happiness in Heaven rather than "happiness" on earth. There's not much to support a Catholic identity, and much to undermine it.
Before
we go any further, let’s look at what Fr. Belitz has been up to Down Under.
Fr. Belitz has led retreats entitled “Success: Full Living” at several
parishes in the Perth (Western Australia) area. For instance, the Parish of
Sts. John and Paul in Willetton advertised the September 1-5 event at their parish/school
website, saying in part:
Fr. Justin is
able to help people of every age, race or religion to find their way to a full
happy life, promised to us by Jesus. He shares how relaxation, meditation and
prayer are keys to achieving that goal by integrating mind, body and spirit.
Most of all, he is a very engaging and entertaining speaker who helps us all to
cope and thrive with the daily challenges that life throws to us.
Similarly, there was Fr. Belitz-led “Parish Mission and Renewal” at
Floreat Wembley Parish (an “amalgamation” of two parishes) from Sept. 15-20. A
description of the event appears on the parish
website; it says, in part:
The integration of mind, body and
spirit will form the agenda for Fr. Justin over the course of our parish
mission and renewal. It is his belief that meditation is a key tool in dealing
with life's problems. Through the use of meditation and quietly turning inward,
one is able to tap into a source of unlimited energy.
There are certainly some red-flag type words there…but of course, it’s
all intentionally vague so as to avoid any hint of not-quite-Catholic teaching.
Fr. Belitz’s background is hardly that of a priest any faithful Catholic
would want to listen to! For one thing, his participation in a blasphemous 2004
film entitled “Jesus and Her Gospel of Yes”…that’s right, Jesus portrayed as a
woman. You can see the trailer here (though I
don’t really recommend watching it; still, I leave you the choice); the closing
line is something about “a gospel of hope from God’s little girl”. Ugh.
The director’s summary of the film is available here and leaves no
doubt that the film is intentionally blasphemous! Further, the director
describes Fr. Belitz:
Fr. Justin Belitz gives us an erotic sermon. Fr.
Justin is, admittedly, a bit of a guru to me and possibly the most profound influence
I've had in my life. He is certainly not a typical priest and in short, his is
an avant-theology. Many of his homilies focus on sensuous spirituality and
meditation. Fr. Justin also never refrains from displaying a sense of humor and
here we have all that in abundance.
Flame Ministries International,
which is a canonical Public Association of Christ’s Faithful headquartered in
Perth, has an article
about Fr. Belitz; the article touches on everything that is wrong with this
man’s “theology” and “ministry”. It’s a long list, including a history of
involvement with Silva Mind Control. The article begins with a quote allegedly
from Fr. Belitz: “I
think that the Christian tradition has done a great disservice to organized
religion by concentrating on adoration of Jesus Christ.”
With
that background, one wonders why the hierarchy in the Perth area has
essentially condoned Fr. Belitz’s appearances there. In fact, here we see “Justin”
(as he calls himself) with Archbishop Timothy Costello.
And the sad fact is, Fr. Belitz has been offering this non-Catholic (if not anti-Catholic) twaddle to CATHOLICS with the consent of their bishops, for decades.
But Michael Voris? Naaah. He doesn't have the right "tone".
