Matt C. Abbott
Michael Voris persecuted: singin' the blues in Motown
By Matt C. Abbott
Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV.com is becoming persona non grata among the Church establishment. A talk he was scheduled to give on the property of the Diocese of Scranton has been canceled by the diocese, which posted the following statement on its website:
However, the real culprit in this situation is the Archdiocese of Detroit, where RealCatholicTV.com is located. The archdiocese has been trying to quietly destroy Voris' credibility for some time. In fact, one archdiocesan official reportedly referred to Voris as a "nutcase." Why, you ask? The article below, provided to me by a reliable source who's familiar with the archdiocese, should give you a big hint. (I've done some editing for prudential reasons.)
Welcome to the new springtime, folks.
All you can say at this point is, "They have no one to blame but themselves." After suffering for more than 20 years under the rule of closet liberals, clerical dissidents, poorly-instructed clergy, a chancery staff of near-heretics and pastors who refused to preach the truth, the chickens have finally come home to roost in the Archdiocese of Detroit.
In 2009, close to one-third of the chancery staff were let go. But what's killing the archdiocese more than a bad economy is the falling number of faithful Catholics. The question that needs to be asked, therefore, is what has caused Catholics in Detroit to walk away from the Faith — or, perhaps more to the point, an authentic expression of the Faith? The answer is, quite simply, the type of faith promulgated by the archdiocese for the past generation.
In 1976, thousands of liberals who called themselves Catholic met in Detroit under the ominous title of Call to Action, a group that would lay the groundwork for today's meltdown. They proposed a series of initiatives that many in the archdiocese would take up and spend their careers trying to implement.
Over the next 15 years or so, the seminary (St. John's) would churn out a prolific number of actively homosexual priests led by a "gay-friendly" rector, Monsignor Kenneth Untener. On his watch, homosexual pornography was shown on a regular basis under the guise of "sexuality" classes and was mandatory. Multiple reports from inside the seminary said these regular features resulted in an atmosphere that welcomed random and frequent sexual encounters between seminarians on an ongoing basis. St. John's was finally closed down by the Vatican in response.
This continued to be the case for a number of years until Monsignor Untener and the archdiocese's vicar general, Monsignor Thomas Gumbleton, were summoned to Rome to explain the situation. After what has been widely seen as a cover-up story accepted by the Vatican, both men were eventually promoted to bishop — Gumbleton as auxiliary of Detroit and Untener eventually to the Diocese of Saginaw, where he made quick work of destroying the Faith. He died in 2004.
Bishop Gumbleton remained in Detroit where he served for years as a functionary of the homosexualist agenda (his brother is homosexual), advancing the cause of homosexuality whenever possible. Bishop Gumbleton has in fact been forbidden to preach in some dioceses, yet he "ran wild" in Detroit, spreading decidedly anti-Catholic positions in the area of human sexuality. No effort on the part of the chancery was eve r exercised with enough diligence to rein him in.
Under the influence of Bishops Untener, Gumbleton and others, active homosexuality became rampant among the Detroit clergy. Some reliable estimates place the number at well over 50 percent. With the clergy thus compromised, it was only a small step to the near total collapse of the Faith among the laity in the coming years.
Enter the era of a man by the name of [name redacted], who was so influential during the past 20 years that friends and foes alike nicknamed the place the Archdiocese of [name redacted]. He was the power behind the throne during the term of Cardinal Adam Maida (1990-2009), promoting like-minded closet liberals and homosexual priests to positions of authority and influence throughout the archdiocese.
Under the reign of [name redacted], dissident theology ran wild in the parishes as well as the seminary. In truth, much of the blame of what has gone wrong in Detroit can be laid squarely at his feet. As homosexual priests and liberal lay people ascended the ranks of power, the faith life of the archdiocese sunk further into dismay. Parish after parish began being infiltrated with homosexual pastors as well as "gay-friendly" liturgists and music directors.
Catholic schools — such as the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan — became famous for delivering a "bang-up" education while graduating students who were pro-abortion atheists and Buddhists. Mass attendance began a precipitous decline, particularly among the young (ages 18 to 40). RCIA programs became a joke, with adults being offered coloring books and prayer shawls instead of Catholic teaching. CCD classes were reduced to nothing more than weekly baby-sitting operations for middle school students.
Inside the chancery, the decay was tolerated and even encouraged by the likes of high-ranking archdiocesan officials such as [name redacted], who famously lied for months about the existence of a homosexual-sponsored Mass at Holy Trinity Parish in downtown Detroit until his lies were eventually exposed in a scathing and revealing article [click here to read it] in Catholic World Report (1996).
[Name redacted] continued his rampage against anything and everything even remotely orthodox by routinely slandering lay Catholic groups such as St. Michael's Media, an apostolate founded by lay Catholics dedicated to teaching authentic Catholicism by means of the electronic media. He worked discreetly behind the scenes to undo a contractual arrangement the apostolate had already signed with a Catholic TV outfit in Boston, as well as destroying a budding relationship between St. Michael's Media and EWTN.
The [names redacted] nexus, in fact, was responsible for a continuation of the "gay Masses" that continued unabated at the IHM property every Sunday on Six Mile Road in Detroit. (The article in Catholic World Report shed enough light on the sordid goings-on that the Dignity Mass was quietly moved to the property of the IHM sisters.)
Despite a steady stream of complaints from Mass-going Catholics, not a few priests throughout the archdiocese continue to counsel Catholics against Church teaching in areas such as contraception. Faithful clergy are examined with a rigor normally associated with the Inquisition, while heterodox clergy are given a pass or left to their own devices to preach whatever version of Catholicism they enjoy best — oftentimes from the pulpit.
All this heterodoxy has reached critical mass at the parish level, where an overwhelming majority of Catholics simply no longer see a need to attend Mass. Those who do are rarely instructed in the truth of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist or the need for frequent confession. Unchallenged to live lives of holiness with their priests as living examples, most Catholics in Detroit take a laissez-faire attitude to the Faith and the sacraments.
For close to 20 years, the [names redacted] nexus has installed its own version of the Faith in many subtle ways. The result is that the Faith has become so watered-down and indistinguishable from any other social-help organization that Catholics simply do not identify as Catholics in any meaningful way, and have become the worst of all religious adherents: lukewarm and indifferent.
Catholics in the Chicago area can see Michael Voris in person at an upcoming event on April 30. Click here for details.
© Matt C. Abbott
April 8, 2011
Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV.com is becoming persona non grata among the Church establishment. A talk he was scheduled to give on the property of the Diocese of Scranton has been canceled by the diocese, which posted the following statement on its website:
-
'The Diocese of Scranton has determined that Mr. Voris will not be allowed to speak in a Diocesan or parish facility. After these engagements were scheduled, the Diocese became aware of concerns about this individual's views regarding other religious groups. In videos posted on the Internet, Mr. Voris makes comments that certainly can be interpreted as being insensitive to people of other faiths. The Catholic Church teaches us to respect all people, regardless of their faith tradition. Although the Diocese shares Mr. Voris' support of efforts to protect human life, his extreme positions on other faiths are not appropriate and therefore the Diocese cannot host him.'
However, the real culprit in this situation is the Archdiocese of Detroit, where RealCatholicTV.com is located. The archdiocese has been trying to quietly destroy Voris' credibility for some time. In fact, one archdiocesan official reportedly referred to Voris as a "nutcase." Why, you ask? The article below, provided to me by a reliable source who's familiar with the archdiocese, should give you a big hint. (I've done some editing for prudential reasons.)
Welcome to the new springtime, folks.
All you can say at this point is, "They have no one to blame but themselves." After suffering for more than 20 years under the rule of closet liberals, clerical dissidents, poorly-instructed clergy, a chancery staff of near-heretics and pastors who refused to preach the truth, the chickens have finally come home to roost in the Archdiocese of Detroit.
In 2009, close to one-third of the chancery staff were let go. But what's killing the archdiocese more than a bad economy is the falling number of faithful Catholics. The question that needs to be asked, therefore, is what has caused Catholics in Detroit to walk away from the Faith — or, perhaps more to the point, an authentic expression of the Faith? The answer is, quite simply, the type of faith promulgated by the archdiocese for the past generation.
In 1976, thousands of liberals who called themselves Catholic met in Detroit under the ominous title of Call to Action, a group that would lay the groundwork for today's meltdown. They proposed a series of initiatives that many in the archdiocese would take up and spend their careers trying to implement.
Over the next 15 years or so, the seminary (St. John's) would churn out a prolific number of actively homosexual priests led by a "gay-friendly" rector, Monsignor Kenneth Untener. On his watch, homosexual pornography was shown on a regular basis under the guise of "sexuality" classes and was mandatory. Multiple reports from inside the seminary said these regular features resulted in an atmosphere that welcomed random and frequent sexual encounters between seminarians on an ongoing basis. St. John's was finally closed down by the Vatican in response.
This continued to be the case for a number of years until Monsignor Untener and the archdiocese's vicar general, Monsignor Thomas Gumbleton, were summoned to Rome to explain the situation. After what has been widely seen as a cover-up story accepted by the Vatican, both men were eventually promoted to bishop — Gumbleton as auxiliary of Detroit and Untener eventually to the Diocese of Saginaw, where he made quick work of destroying the Faith. He died in 2004.
Bishop Gumbleton remained in Detroit where he served for years as a functionary of the homosexualist agenda (his brother is homosexual), advancing the cause of homosexuality whenever possible. Bishop Gumbleton has in fact been forbidden to preach in some dioceses, yet he "ran wild" in Detroit, spreading decidedly anti-Catholic positions in the area of human sexuality. No effort on the part of the chancery was eve r exercised with enough diligence to rein him in.
Under the influence of Bishops Untener, Gumbleton and others, active homosexuality became rampant among the Detroit clergy. Some reliable estimates place the number at well over 50 percent. With the clergy thus compromised, it was only a small step to the near total collapse of the Faith among the laity in the coming years.
Enter the era of a man by the name of [name redacted], who was so influential during the past 20 years that friends and foes alike nicknamed the place the Archdiocese of [name redacted]. He was the power behind the throne during the term of Cardinal Adam Maida (1990-2009), promoting like-minded closet liberals and homosexual priests to positions of authority and influence throughout the archdiocese.
Under the reign of [name redacted], dissident theology ran wild in the parishes as well as the seminary. In truth, much of the blame of what has gone wrong in Detroit can be laid squarely at his feet. As homosexual priests and liberal lay people ascended the ranks of power, the faith life of the archdiocese sunk further into dismay. Parish after parish began being infiltrated with homosexual pastors as well as "gay-friendly" liturgists and music directors.
Catholic schools — such as the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan — became famous for delivering a "bang-up" education while graduating students who were pro-abortion atheists and Buddhists. Mass attendance began a precipitous decline, particularly among the young (ages 18 to 40). RCIA programs became a joke, with adults being offered coloring books and prayer shawls instead of Catholic teaching. CCD classes were reduced to nothing more than weekly baby-sitting operations for middle school students.
Inside the chancery, the decay was tolerated and even encouraged by the likes of high-ranking archdiocesan officials such as [name redacted], who famously lied for months about the existence of a homosexual-sponsored Mass at Holy Trinity Parish in downtown Detroit until his lies were eventually exposed in a scathing and revealing article [click here to read it] in Catholic World Report (1996).
[Name redacted] continued his rampage against anything and everything even remotely orthodox by routinely slandering lay Catholic groups such as St. Michael's Media, an apostolate founded by lay Catholics dedicated to teaching authentic Catholicism by means of the electronic media. He worked discreetly behind the scenes to undo a contractual arrangement the apostolate had already signed with a Catholic TV outfit in Boston, as well as destroying a budding relationship between St. Michael's Media and EWTN.
The [names redacted] nexus, in fact, was responsible for a continuation of the "gay Masses" that continued unabated at the IHM property every Sunday on Six Mile Road in Detroit. (The article in Catholic World Report shed enough light on the sordid goings-on that the Dignity Mass was quietly moved to the property of the IHM sisters.)
Despite a steady stream of complaints from Mass-going Catholics, not a few priests throughout the archdiocese continue to counsel Catholics against Church teaching in areas such as contraception. Faithful clergy are examined with a rigor normally associated with the Inquisition, while heterodox clergy are given a pass or left to their own devices to preach whatever version of Catholicism they enjoy best — oftentimes from the pulpit.
All this heterodoxy has reached critical mass at the parish level, where an overwhelming majority of Catholics simply no longer see a need to attend Mass. Those who do are rarely instructed in the truth of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist or the need for frequent confession. Unchallenged to live lives of holiness with their priests as living examples, most Catholics in Detroit take a laissez-faire attitude to the Faith and the sacraments.
For close to 20 years, the [names redacted] nexus has installed its own version of the Faith in many subtle ways. The result is that the Faith has become so watered-down and indistinguishable from any other social-help organization that Catholics simply do not identify as Catholics in any meaningful way, and have become the worst of all religious adherents: lukewarm and indifferent.
Catholics in the Chicago area can see Michael Voris in person at an upcoming event on April 30. Click here for details.
© Matt C. Abbott
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