Posted on 01/30/2025 10:54:51 AM PST by ebb tide
(The American Spectator) — “A religion that doesn’t interfere with the secular order will soon discover that the secular order will not refrain from interfering with it,” the venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen predicted over a half a century ago. That dark prophecy has, unfortunately, been proven true by the modern world. In Spain, considered a devoutly Catholic state not 50 years ago, a Catholic priest is facing prosecution for denying Holy Communion to a dissident politician.
Earlier this month, a parish priest in Torrecaballeros, a small town less than a hundred miles north of Madrid, refused to give Holy Communion to Mayor Rubén García de Andrés, who maintains a public same-sex relationship. According to García, he had previously been removed from his role as a parish lector due to both his homosexual relationship and his affiliation with the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party. He accused his parish priest and the diocese of Segovia of “HOMOPHOBIA.”
Spanish Equality Minister Ana Redondo, a fellow member of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, subsequently threatened legal action against the parish priest for his decision. “You can not discriminate against an LGTBI citizen and require him to choose either his faith or his sexual condition. This is clearly discriminatory and I hope there will be a [legal] challenge,” she said.
Redondo further claimed that denying Holy Communion to an individual “is contrary to the Spanish constitution.” Referring to the Catholic Church’s teachings on both worthy reception of Holy Communion and sexual morality, the Equality Minister added, “There is no law that forbids ecclesiastical rules, but these ecclesiastical rules must be interpreted under the Constitution and under the principle of equality.”
For far too long, whether in Europe or in the United States, the leaders of the Catholic Church – of all ranks and levels, from celebrated cardinals and bishops to parish priests and pastors – have shied away from “the secular order.” Consider, for example, November’s monumental presidential election. In a contest that would, surely, have significant implications for the U.S. bishops, their excellencies remained resoundingly silent. Precious little, if anything, was said of then-candidate Kamala Harris’s blatant anti-Catholicism and her extreme opposition to every value and virtue championed by the Church.
Yet there is no doubt (at least not in this author’s mind) that a President Harris would have broken the back of the American Catholic Church. The weaponization of the Justice Department would have worsened, targeting American Catholics and pro-life advocates. The mandatory worship of sexual sins – whether it be pornography use and masturbation or the most depraved and unnatural of acts categorized as LGBT – would have not only continued but would have been armed with its own office of the inquisition. The wanton slaughter of innocent unborn children would have been enshrined as the most sacred and fundamental of “rights,” and woe betide any who dare challenge that hallowed error.
Nature abhors a vacuum, the old proverb observes. The Catholic Church must be prepared to defend itself when the secular order knocks upon her doors. No vacuum will hold secularism at bay. Rather, secularism will fill that vacuum, encroaching more and more nearly on the domain of the Catholic Church. In fact, history and current events demonstrate that we have passed this point. The servants of the secular order, dominated by leftism, have already knocked on the Church’s doors. But no bold saint has forbidden the enemy entry. Instead, they have kicked the doors down and are now ransacking the Church.
Catholic bishops must understand that a nuanced challenge to the ascendant Trump administration’s immigration policy is not what the Church needs. Instead, the Church needs men wise enough to heed Archbishop Sheen’s warning and men bold enough to “interfere with the secular order.”
Reprinted with permission from The American Spectator.
Ping
We have many young, orthodox priest coming up and I see signs of hope here and there, but the laity should expect no help from the older, 60’s and 70’s malformed, and entrenched (for now) hierarchy in the near future. As the faithful, we have to address this mostly our own and locally, much like we are now continuing the pro-life fight. Don’t be a bitter quitter. Persevere and maintain the joy of the Lord in yourselves and pass it on to others. Look for a good parish, even if you have to drive far to get there. Support good priests and good apostolates. Speak out where it will do most good—locally and one on one. Stay close to Jesus and be a saint. It’s the only way.
Oh, I've found a good parish. TLM's masses exclusively with Confessions before every Mass.
Excellent.
Mr sneakers and I have found a good TLM as well. It’s a 40 to 45 minute drive but worth it. Been attending since 2020.
Good for the both of you. You’re very fortunate.
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