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I don’t worry abut the separatists (aka heretics). The Truth will out in the end. This is why we consider Protestants to be “separated brethren” — they are genuinely seeking Truth. At least Luther & Co. were honest enough to leave the Church and start their own version instead of trying to hijack the extant Church. the fact that such heretics are in error is, in the long view, a minor detail. God will eventually bring all heresies to naught (as he is doing with the Protestants today). I suspect that within a century or so (should the Lord tarry) the heretical movements will all have collapsed under the pounding of increased persecution by non-Christians, and their members will return to cling to the Rock (Peter) as a matter of survival. In the end, there will be only the Church, united against the Anti-Church.

It’s the so-called reformers-from-within that are the real problem. Their goal is not to leave and start a “true” Church, but to subvert and change the True Church into something other than what it is. Their master knows that the Church is the Real Thing, and that if he can succeed at corrupting it entirely he will have proved our Lord a liar and will have defeated God. Of course, we know that they can never succeed in this, but even so they can lure a large number of good Catholics into a life of error and suffering in the attempt; therefore, they are to be fought.

The battle we face is akin to that of a human body resisting a viral infection. The subversive ideas of the enemy operate as a virus within the Body of Christ, hacking the “DNA” (belief system) of “cells” (individual Catholics) and using them to manufacture more bad ideas to spread throughout the Church. We must strengthen and improve our spiritual immune system — our ability to recognize and kill bad doctrine - at the parish level in order to fight this infection.

Why the parish? Because the parish is the “organ” of the Body of Christ in which the immune response is centered. In the human body, the marrow is the arsenal of immunity; there, white blood cells are produced and released into the body’s various tissue; when the body is invaded by a foreign “enemy”, such as a virus, these cells seek out, consume and destroy cells that have been subverted into producing enemy viruses by the invaders, In like manner, the local parish is where believers acre created — “cells” that are sound in doctrine and fearless in battle, seeking out and destroying bad doctrine wherever it appears. As members of the Body of Christ, we must strengthen our “immune response” by strengthening our “marrow” — the local parish.

This immune response must be created; it will not happen on its own. It begins with the anti-virus of sound doctrinal teaching — including “vaccinations” of catechesis among youth and converts — and continues with regular “booster shots” of Bible study and incisive, fearless preaching all believers. As deliberate exposure to viral materials (in the form of vaccines) is used to strengthen the body’s immune system, so must parish leaders “vaccinate” the parish immune system, testing and strengthening it by deliberate exposure to toxic doctrines. To this end priests and teachers within the parish should organize regular group discussions, publish journals, and conduct other activities in which specific doctrinal topics (life issues, philosophy, theology, etc.) can be debated and discussed by knowledgable and orthodox speakers and writers for the benefit of parish members. Above all, priests and lay leaders must create organic unity within the parish, joining together the disparate “cells” within the membership into a unified “organ” capable of acting as such. This organization of response requires that priests and leaders,establish and nurture a true sense of Christian fraternity among parish members — making the parish central to the lives and daily activities of those who comprise it. The local parish should be the first place its members turn for companionship, consolation, and spiritual and physical help in time of need, not the last; a parish must be a second family to its constituents, not just a meeting place. A parish that exists only on Sundays and days of obligation is not a parish at all. This means organizing regular parish activities (hikes, dances, festivals, etc.), establishing parish-based aid services (financial aid, counseling, Christian education, welfare, etc.), and, most important, centering the parish on the Person of Jesus Christ and His mother Mary in a serious, reverent, and regular way. Frequent Adoration, an emphasis on the Sacraments (especially Penance), and a return to sober and traditional liturgical practice are all vital if the parish is to be a healthy organic unit, capable of producing “white blood cells” to fight the infection of the enemy.