Whatever Happens, We Will Stay In The Church Christ Founded
A deeply troubling questions, and some deeply troubling answers, transpire from a blog post written by Father Blake.
Father Blake quotes the message of an anonymous priest who is on record with the following statement. Emphasis in the original text.
One of my priest friends asked me during a conversation what I would do if the Church does formally approve what it previously formally condemned. I had to confess in all honesty that I’d probably have to leave priestly ministry. He admitted that he’d probably have no choice but to do the same.
I am deeply, deeply troubled by such statements.
Firstly, they sound to me as smart as to say that one would throw away his passport if his country were to engage in a war he does not approve. “I don’t like this, so I am out”. Erm, no. It is your Country, so you stay in. You have Holy Orders, so you stay in, too.
Secondly, it can only show a lack of faith in the Church that Christ found on Peter. To say “I will leave my priestly ministry if this or that happens” is tantamount as to say “if this and that happens the Church is, and always has been, a fraud; and I refuse to be one of the professional fraudsters”.
Now, the Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic or it isn’t. We know it is, because it is dogma. Therefore, we can never ever act as if the Church were an organisation like any other. Not can we consider the Sacraments as if they were in any way, shape or form disposable.
Heretical Popes have been inflicted on us already, but I have never heard that St Athanasius left the priesthood when the Pope forbade the recitation of the Creed at Mass. I am absolutely sure the thought never entered his mind. The Church is the Church, a Catholic can’t get out of it more than he could jump away from his own shadow. A priest is a priest, a Catholic can’t “de-priest” himself because he doesn’t like the work of the Pope. Is the Pope heretic? Say so, then!
Athanasius did not leave the priesthood. He fought against the enemies of the Church, but remained in it at all times. He disobeyed to the Pope to the point of appointing his own bishops, but this he did because the Pope was not to be obeyed, and that was that. He did not make of himself an alternative Pope, or found an alternative Church, or said he wasn’t a bishop, or was a different type of bishop.
The Church is the Church. We stay in the Temple. If the Pope is the enemy, so be it. If the Bishops and Cardinals are the enemies, so be it. There will be plenty of Athanasiuses, and plenty of priests and faithful proudly demanding that the merchants be chased away from the Temple, rather than leaving the Temple because there are merchants in it.
But it would be very grave, extremely grave if a priest were to declare the Church a fraud; because in doing so, he would declare Christ a fraud; and may God save his soul afterwards, but I honestly do not think He will.
The Church is the Church is the Church. A priest is a priest is a priest. Whatever dirt the Lord allows to accumulate inside the Church, as lay faithful and priests we stay in and fight to our last breath to clean it up, but we do not even think of leaving the Church; because if we leave the Church, or as priests leave the priesthood, we declare Christ Himself a fraud.
Pigs have entered the temple, and are routing around at ease. The Temple is on its way to looking like a regular pigstall. Our duty is to fight for the Temple and to get it to be clean again, not to leave it to the pigs. If we leave it to the pigs we are saying that it was never a temple. If it is the Temple we will forever fight to have it clean, and free from pigs.
Concretely: if the Church issue a wannabe formal statement in which what was formally condemned is now formally approved, this statement is heretical and is to be rejected by every Catholic, and that’s that. But how do we know, then, which one is the right statement? The right statement is the one that is in line with the Depositum Fidei. The wrong statement is the one that isn’t. It’s not complicated.
There is no need to leave the priesthood for that. It is, in fact, merely a case of “the pigs are routing in the Temple. Let’s get them out”.
Let me tell you once again: it is a dogmatic statement that the Church is One, Holy, Catholic or Apostolic. No priest, no theologian (there is a troubling statement of Ronald Knox in the comments, hopefully taken out of context and making clear it is not possible to leave the Church, but still flirting with such an absurd idea) is ever authorised to leave it, not in hypothesis and not in practice, not as a joke and not as a fact. In fact, to me the very mention of “leaving” indicates the residues of a Protestant mind form.
I was born a Catholic in a (then) deeply Catholic country. To those Catholics, “leaving the Church” because this Church is not… the Church anymore sounded as absurd as “selling one’s own skin on ebay”, “getting a third arm” or “becoming a citizen of Mars”.
Never, not for one second, do we doubt the Church as Institution. Whatever the amount of dirt, we love the Church more than our life, and fight to our last breath to have it cleaned up. Not for one moment we think of ever disassociating ourselves from Her in any way, shape or form. Take a deep breath and shout it with me out loud:
Credo la Chiesa una, santa, cattolica e apostolica.
There you have it. Dutifully shouted. Straight from the Creed, a dogmatic statement. Straight as an arrow. In beautifully sounding Italian. What do you want more…? Now, can anyone explain to me how a priest could ever say “I believe in the Church, but I just did not think that I could continue my priestly ministry in it”?
You never ever doubt a dogmatic statement. To do so is grave matter, and to deliberately do so knowing that this is a dogmatic statement is to commit a mortal sin.
The anonymous priest quoted in Father Blake’s blog post may have good intentions, but I smell the devil in his words. It can only be diabolical deception that persuades a priest to state that he would be contemplating leaving his ministry, ipso facto indicting the Church. If the likes of Athanasius had thought in this way, we would be sacrificing goats to the Green Elephant In The Sky by now.
Do not be deceived. Pigs rout and shit around for a while. At some point they die. The Temple stays.
Whatever happens, we will stay in the church Christ founded. Stench and all.
We were never promised a pig-free Temple.
M
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Posted on March 12, 2015, in Catholicism, Conservative Catholicism, Traditional Catholicism. Bookmark the permalink. 17 Comments.
Mundabor's Blog 
Bravo, Mundabor!
But isn’t it okay to follow faithful shepherds? I’m a sheep and like my old shepherd Pope Benedict. If he can only hang on a few more years all will be well IMHO. Meaning, if he honors Francis as the supreme pontiff, I will too. If Benefict dies soon, to whom do we look?
What will Cardinal Burke do if the outcome of the synod is Luciferian? Do we go underground? Do priests give communion to known adulterers and if they resist do we read about their excommunication in the New York Times religion section? Do we all join the SSPX? (Even though they have a “mission” in my neck of the woods with infrequent Mass.) Or, do I continue to attend the Novus Ordo and avert my eyes when the Rainbow Coalition present themselves for communion?
The Benedict one is, I think, rather a moot point. Benedict is not the reigning Pope anymore, when he dies the situation will be exactly like now: a horiible Pope is trying to tear Catholicism to pieces as the lukewarm and disingenuous applaud, and a very strong army of staunch Catholics oppose the madness.
When I am in need of example, I prefer to look at the past. What would Padre Pio do? What would St John Vianney do? Would they live the Church? Certainly not. Would they leave the ministry? You got to be kidding me. Would they refuse to obey sacrilegious orders? You bet.
M
Mundabor,
In this post you remind me of the Roman centurion who sought a cure for his servant and who was praised by Jesus for his firm faith. After 2000 years we still repeat his words three times before each communion: ” Lord, I am not worthy that Thou should come under my roof, say but the word…..” Even the Novus Ordo has not removed this simple yet profound profession of faith.
I join you in encouraging faithful clergy to stand firm, we need to know that they are still there.
The faithful clergy need the persistence that their adversaries are never lacking.
Bravo M!!
Well said. I just wrote very much the same thing, only to find that you’ve done a better job of it. Though, the Italian gives you something of an unfair advantage….
Thank you for your kind words.
I have read your blog post and see that we have both had the same reaction.
M
Yes, yes, Mundabor, As for being a cradle Catholic and remaining one until I die, there is no other choice. As you so forcefully point out, the Church is Christ’s Church even when prelates are heretical. Ultimately, Jesus Christ never fails, and we put our faith in Him when His representatives fail: “Therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame” (Isaiah 50:7).
Yes, it’s not that complicated. God gave us a Faith that is clear, understandable, does not conflict with reason and does not change. Those who try to complicate things are trying to hide the truth, or turn people from the truth – as is happening in respect of the most fundamental moral truths that have been rejected by the secular powers.
Bishops, priests, religious and lay people have a most grave duty to remain true to the a Faith no matter how many bishops, cardinals, religious or laymen reject the truths of the Faith and the moral law, or if the pope does so.
I don’t read leaving “priestly ministry” as leaving the priesthood, but I could be wrong. I see it as resigning as a Parish priest rather than be forced to give communion to those in grave sin, which is a sentiment I have seen in comments elsewhere. But if one resigned from the diocese, if that is possible, they are still a priest, no?
Of course, I am prone to being overly optimistic almost to the point on naive delusions.
A priest will, in those cases, simply refuse to give communion to public adulterers. If the bishops wants to remove him, it will have to be out of initiative of the bishop, who will then bear the consequences of it.
M
Well said, sir
Bravo Mundabor !
amen
Excellent, Mundabor. Dispair is always lurking within our hearts because we forget what you have pointed out: it doesn’t matter if almost every Catholic apostatizes as long as there are however few who don’t. Will Cardinal Burke leave the Church after the horrors of the upcoming October debacle? No. Will he resist? He has said he will. I pray that poor priest will look to our fighters instead of our cowards.
I can see Pope Francis is causing great discord and upheaval in the Church.
What is our response to be when two men in drag kiss and fondle each other on their way to Communion and the bishop does nothing, because Francis dictates that all sinners are welcome to receive? Don’t discount the depravity of the enemies of Christ in these matters. I suspect some bishops would be wearing the rainbow mitre as soon as they could possibly have one custom made.
What of all the children who would suffer because the Church, who should be their protectress, enables divorce and remarrying, saying their remarried parent is A-Okay–nothing to see here folks! All the poor, faithful abandoned spouses! It’s utter insanity and chaos looming.
If all the above comes to pass, (and I’m not kidding myself that homosexuals in drag and the divorced and remarried have not already received Holy Communion by renegade priests) and doctrine does change, because praxis changes, how is the deposit of faith maintained?
Okay, it has not happened yet, and I am praying mightily against modernism, but it’s as if all of Catholicism is holding their breath, waiting for the results of the next Synod.
Priests and all who feel discouraged might like to look up St. Louis de Montfort’s “Fire” or “Firey” prayer. A beautiful, long prayer that predicts the battle and the routing of the enemy in Our Lady’s decisive battle. Priests will band together as Our Lady’s heel and they will crush the devil’s head.