What Are Catholics to Do When Our Clergy Let Us Down? – Part 2

Part 1 of this series focused on cowardly clerics who do not make good shepherds.  There are, however, members of the clergy who are even worse than the cowardly ones.

This second group of clerics are like wolves in shepherd’s clothing.  They are clerics who don’t merely fail to feed their sheep with the truth found in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, but consciously leave their flocks open to getting lost or becoming fatally tormented.

The cowardly, laissez-faire type of shepherds discussed in Part 1 are too cowardly to speak out about provocative topics like abortion, sex, and hell.  The second category of tainted clergy, however, put their flocks’ eternal souls at risks by loudly and rebelliously deceiving the faithful.

Wolf-like Clerics

These men of the cloth seem to have lost sight of the Church’s mission statement to save souls. Instead, they spend their days promoting modernism and pushing social justice issues like illegal immigration and climate change.

This tainted type of clergy are indeed acting like wolves in shepherd’s clothing. They are ordained to protect and guide their flocks in following God’s commands. But they turn out to be wolves who put their people’s souls in danger, leading them on the wrong path.

These wolf-like priests and bishops sow confusion and bring about despair instead of offering hope to their flocks.  They vocally push erroneous and evil thinking instead of enduring, orthodox Catholic truths.  They purposely preach falsehoods contrary to the perennial teachings of the Church and knowingly confirm people in their sins

There are plenty of present-day examples of clerics who are wolves in shepherd’s clothing.  Two in the hierarchy who have aggressively demanded that Catholics stop a posture of adoration that has been normative throughout most of Church history and instead obey unorthodox orders for how to receive the Eucharist are Bishop Mark Brennan and Cardinal Blase Cupich.

Both of these prelates have refuted both tradition and common sense.  They stipulate that one should not kneel before and during the act of the reception of Holy Communion. These wolves disrespect Catholic religious tradition when they direct their flocks to water down their reverence given to the Body of Christ. These clerics who, upon meeting Jesus, will have to confess, “I kept people from kneeling to You!”

False Teaching

Cardinal Cupich was also loudly vocal in defying the Church by promoting the allowance of improperly remarried or actively homosexual Catholics to continue receiving Communion. Additionally, he insisted that Catholics who are publicly promoting abortion should also continue receiving Communion. These stances are in conflict with Church teaching, and Catholics who follow Cupich’s instructions are being led to sin.

Bishop John Stowe is another wolf-like shepherd.  He consistently speaks counter to Catholic doctrine regarding intrinsically disordered sexuality.  He infamously issued a “prayer” card that celebrated homosexual “pride.” He also endorsed modernism when he commented that Church teaching is “dated.” And he went against God when he said, “LGBT persons did not choose their identity…[and] cannot and should not change.”

Stowe also approved the idea of blessing so-called same-sex couples.  He stated, “A blessing can still hold great significance to queer couples because they act as prayers for God’s presence and help. It almost signifies God’s approval.”

Then there is the shameful shepherd, Cardinal Robert McElroy. As bishop a few years prior to his promotion, he went out of his way to praise parishes in his diocese who openly flew rainbow flags. Thes flags champion anti-God debauchery and sodomy.

McElroy also publicly advocated known, active homosexuals employed in his diocese’s ministries.  One such individual ran the cathedral’s faith formation program for children.

The secular culture may approve of McElroy’s actions, but the Church definitively should not.

Scandal

Currently, we are seeing that many U.S. bishops have abandoned the USCCB’s longtime stated position that abortion is the preeminent moral issue the Church faces today. This is evident by how there was no uproar from the majority of bishops when a Catholic president in recent years funded and forcefully pushed for abortion access. This is a scandalous act according to Church doctrine.

These same bishops rapidly and rabidly responded in opposition to our non-Catholic president when he put in place a stricter policy regarding illegal immigration.  They were also unhappy (the say the least) when he halted funding of non-governmental organizations connected with Catholic-run charities.

These bishops were derelict in that they were more concerned with immigration and government largess than abortion.  Abortion is intrinsically evil and always and everywhere wrong.  Immigration policies are matters of prudential judgment and not considered the Church’s preeminent issue. (Some thoughtful explanations of this controversy can be read here and here or listened to here.)

All of the above cases of shameful shepherds could cause faithful Catholics to throw up our hands in disgust and resignation. But what we must remember is that the Catholic Church, throughout its 2,000 years, has always had disordered and erroneous leaders. Even the first pope betrayed Christ (Mathew 26:69-75) at the moment it counted most when he insisted three times, “I do not know the man!”

A Divinely Established Church

Despite having pathetic priests and bad bishops, and even poor popes, the Church and Her truths have survived and even grown. This is a testament to Catholicism’s resilience. While we are to believe in the divinely-established Church and the Office of the Papacy, we can also acknowledge that both have been harmed and degraded by mortal men.

We faithful must not base our faith on men wearing collars. We are not in the Catholic Church for the clerics. Both current times and past history have taught us they can be unreliable if not downright unfaithful. When one places one’s faith in men, one will surely  be disappointed . . . and may eventually lose said faith.

Part 3 of “What Are Catholics to Do When Our Clergy Let Us Down,” addresses what Catholics should do after realizing we have inept, corrupt, and/or disobedient men of the cloth among us.

Part 1 in this series is here; Part 3 is here.