Heretics in the Pulpit: It's Past Time for Discipline!

If you wonder why over 50% of Catholics voted for the most evil man ever to run for president, a man who advocates infanticide for babies who survive abortion and whose administration provided guns to drug lords in Mexico terrorists in Syria (were American guns used in the embassy attack?) just check out this Baltimore priest, Fr. Richard Lawrence. This Baltimore pastor promulgated heresy in this "sermon" and according to reports received a standing ovation from his flock. Will he be disciplined by Bishop William Lori? So far the bishop's response was a general message on the diocesan website about priests not giving their own opinion from the pulpit. The correct response would have been immediate suspension. It is high time bishops were as vigorous acting against heresy as they are condemning faithful Catholics who dare to criticize their actions (and inactions). Send the bishop a message asking him to discipline Fr. Lawrence for the good of the people of God..And if you want to know why, read Dietrich von Hildebrand's The Charitable Anathema.



And now a quote from von Hildebrand:

To deplore disunity as such, instead of deploring heresies, instead of condemning these and calling them by their name, implies first of all that one would keep unity even at the cost of truth. But, of course, true unity presupposes unity in truth. Error, falsehood, can never be the basis for true unity....If we are truly concerned for unity among Christians, I submit that there is only one way to restore it, and it is the time-honored way: the anathema against all heretics. This is the way the Church has survived, kept her identity, through all centuries...True unity can be restored only by the conversion of the heretic -- or at least his submission -- or by his excommunication.

And here's a message from Jeff Mirus of Catholic Culture suggesting the proper response is to immediately defrock this heretical priest. I second it!

The Plot Thickens in Connecticut

Seems that the bill introduced in Connecticut to put lay boards in charge of Catholic parishes has its roots in Voice of the Faithful. The Fratres blog and the National Catholic Register have interesting articles outlining the connection. For those who haven't kept up with VOTF, the group aims to democratize the Church along the lines of protestant denominations. You know -- lay election of pastors and bishops, lay control of parishes, ordination of women, etc. Like Rahm Emanuel VOTF believes in never wasting a crisis. Thus the sex abuse scandals are useful, not as a call to restore orthodoxy and fight dissent, but an opportunity to further undermine the faith of our fathers and bring the Church more into line with the vision of Martin Luther and his fellow revolutionaries.

Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, addressing a group of Catholic school principals, warned, "If this bill were to be enacted, your bishop, would have virtually, virtually no real relationship with the 87 parishes…they could go off independently, some of them could break off from the Church if they wished, and go their own way as has happened, for example, with the Episcopal Church. And the pastors would be figureheads, simply working for a board of trustees." The power of the purse is the power to control.

That's exactly why dissent groups like VOTF and Call to Action want laity to control Church finances. Unfortunately for them, Bill 1098 is unconstitutional on its face and the Connecticut bishops aren't their only adversaries. In an article on Courant.Com's Capitol Watch page, Senate Republican leader John McKinney is calling on democrats to cancel the hearings. "That bill is patently unconstitutional,'' McKinney said Monday. "I don't know any lawyer who would argue otherwise.'' McKinney, an Episcopalian, called the law "offensive to Catholics and non-Catholics alike."

I'm really interested in finding out more about Tom Gallagher, the "devout" Catholic who started all this. I found an article he wrote on Church finances in the National Catholic Reporter (NCR), the Catholic dissenter's favorite mouthpiece. That doesn't necessarily disqualify his views, but it certainly puts him in the company of many who have attacked fundamental doctrines of the Church. Is he only concerned about financial accountability or does he share NCR's pro-abortion, pro-contraception, pro-same sex marriage, etc. views? Does he see Church finances as the lever and fulcrum to shift the Church toward the VOTF model? It's a possibility in search of supporting data.

Read more articles:

Catholic bishops angry over proposed lawDebate rages on church bill

Animosity continues over proposed church bill

Connecticut considers bill