At an upcoming Mass in Manhattan, Bishop Ronald Hicks will become the 11th archbishop of New York. But during the Feb. 6 installation in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Chicago native will also be the latest addition to another sort of lineage.
Archbishop-designate Hicks is set to become the fourth former deputy of Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich to be named to a major American see in just the past 13 months.
The three other prelates who fit the bill are Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee, Archbishop Michael McGovern of Omaha, and Archbishop Robert Casey of Cincinnati, each of whom was installed as an archbishop in 2025.
Along with Archbishop-designate Hicks, Cardinal Cupich promoted each to a key archdiocesan-wide position after his 2015 arrival in Chicago, like vicar general and chancellor; all but Archbishop McGovern went on to serve as one of his auxiliary bishops. And once the New York installation is complete, the four will account for more than 12% of all U.S. Latin Rite archbishops, the upper echelon of Church leadership in the country.
The significant number of new archbishops who have worked under and been elevated by Cardinal Cupich, a longtime member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops and one of the most progressive prelates in the country, underscores the considerable influence the Chicago cardinal has exerted on the U.S. episcopal landscape over the past decade.
“Cardinal Cupich has been very eager to take his role at the dicastery seriously, and we’re seeing the fruits of that,” said Michael Heinlein, a Catholic commentator and biographer of Cardinal Cupich’s predecessor in Chicago, the late Cardinal Francis George.
What’s more, the sizable and significant “coaching tree,” or episcopal network, which has formed around Cardinal Cupich, doesn’t just secure the 76-year-old prelate’s legacy as one of the most important American Churchmen of his generation. It also raises questions about how his influence will endure in the American hierarchy even after his active ministry ends.
In addition to Cardinal Cupich’s decade-long membership in the Dicastery for Bishops, which vets potential bishops and makes recommendations to the pope, his influence has been aided by his reportedly close rapport with the late Pope Francis. The Argentinian Pontiff saw the Chicago prelate as his “eyes and ears” in the United States and elevated him early on in his pontificate.
The relationship allowed Cardinal Cupich to influence appointments beyond those involving his former subordinates, such as Cardinal Robert McElroy’s placement in the Archdiocese of Washington after a Cardinal Cupich-led lobbying effort.
Cardinal Cupich’s influence has also come through in the sizable number of auxiliary bishops appointed to Chicago during his time there.
Since he became a member of the Dicastery for Bishops in 2016, the archdiocese has had bumper crops in 2018, 2020 and 2025, totaling 11 new auxiliary bishop appointments. By comparison, the Archdioceses of Los Angeles and New York combined have had only 10 new auxiliary bishops named during this same stretch.
The phenomenon provided a moment of levity at this past November’s U.S. bishops meeting in Baltimore, when the gathered bishops began to laugh as five Chicago auxiliaries in a row were named during the introduction of new bishops. The Windy City auxiliaries accounted for nearly 50% of the 13 new bishops introduced at the meeting.
The Vatican has drawn heavily from Cardinal Cupich’s auxiliary bishops when looking to fill diocesan vacancies. But some Chicago clerics, such as the Diocese of Peoria’s Bishop Louis Tylka, have also made the jump straight to diocesan leadership. Bishop Tylka was named to the Illinois diocese in 2020, after having served as the Cardinal Cupich-appointed chair of Chicago’s archdiocesan priest council since 2015.
Church watchers told the Register that when it comes to playing “kingmaker” in U.S. episcopal appointments, Cardinal Cupich has no present-day peer. His episcopal network is more expansive and includes more prominent postings than any other currently serving American ordinary…..
A source in Chicago said the cardinal vetoes so-called “culture warriors,” a derogatory term used to describe those who take public stands against progressive-backed departures from Christian morality in wider society and generate “negative press” for the Church. For instance, the “minor exorcism” performed by Springfield’s Bishop Thomas Paprocki in 2013 in response to Illinois legalizing so-called “gay marriage” was highlighted as the kind of action that “is not looked upon favorably” by Cardinal Cupich and would get a candidate blocked from advancement….
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was on the phone all the time asking Cardinal Cupich, ‘What would you do?’” regarding administrative challenges in New York, the source said, from personnel issues to parish closures.
The ongoing connection Cardinal Cupich is likely to maintain with his former deputies could be significant if he intends to try to influence American ecclesial affairs from retirement.
For instance, the cardinal could continue his long-standing push for the USCCB to no longer describe opposition to abortion as a “preeminent priority” in election-year guidance. Notably, all of the former Cardinal Cupich deputies mentioned in this article signed a 2021 letter co-authored by the cardinal that called for the bishops’ conference to suspend discussion on barring pro-abortion politicians from the Eucharist.
A proactive second act for an aged-out cardinal wouldn’t be unprecedented. Before his fall from grace, McCarrick played the role of “kingmaker” for years after his 2006 retirement. Rocco Palmo reported that Pope Francis considered the former cardinal-archbishop of Washington to be “a hero” of his, and McCarrick reportedly influenced the appointments of Cardinal Joseph Tobin to Newark and even Cardinal Cupich himself.
The presence of members of Cardinal Cupich’s network in the hierarchy could also help to protect the cardinal’s name and legacy. One instance of this kind of dynamic may have already been on display, when Archbishop Grob demurred when asked to weigh in on Cardinal Cupich’s controversial decision to give an archdiocesan award to Sen. Dick Durbin, a proponent of abortion rights. Durbin ultimately declined the award following the backlash….
From the National Catholic Register
And now Bishop Golka being transferred from Colorado Springs to Denver. Who will the Springs get?
“… the cardinal vetoes so-called “culture warriors…” In other words he will not do battle with the devil but stifle those who do, as in the curious case of Fr. Kalchik
who as pastor in Chicago permitted his parishoners to burn a large rainbow banner installed in the sanctuary by his predecessor, only to be on the receiving end of the good Cardinal’s wrath. And how are the Joseph Stricklands of this world ever to have a chance to influence episcopal thinking with such power granted to men of an inferior stamp? How will the power of the Lavendar Mafia be broken with men like Cupich in charge?
“Daniel Gallup” writes “Lavender Mafia” to describe the Catholic episcopate. This is not the “reverence” called for by Canon 212 when making known one’s concerns to the ministers of the Church. Really, the hypocrisy of these people is tremendous and terrifying.
““Daniel Gallup” writes “Lavender Mafia” to describe the Catholic episcopate.” False jon, I wrote the words Lavender Mafia to describe the Lavender Mafia, however and wherever it exists, within the Catholic episcopate. I did however, imply Cupich was part of this unsavory lot, with good reason, or so it seems to me. And now I ask you a question, jon. Do you deny their exists a Lavender Mafia within the episcopacy? And if you do not deny it, then you will be doing me a favor by explaining to me how to speak of it with reverence, so that I may learn from you.
By the way, Cupich condemns Trump for the racist part of a video put out by a staffer; the only thing is, Trump condemned it also:
“Asked if he would apologize for the video, Trump said, “No, I didn’t make a mistake. I mean … I look at a lot of, thousands of, things, and I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine.” Asked if he condemned the racist portion of the video, Trump said, “Of course I do.”
Cupich weighed in: “Our shock is real. So is our outrage.” Not to be outdone: ” Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder,” according to House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.
It is hard to speak reverentially of Cdl. Cupich with his opportunistic virtue signalling against a sitting President. But I shall try.
Beware of the wolves in sheep’s clothing, jon. Our Lord always called out hypocrites, fearlessly, among Jewish leaders. That is why they sought to have Him killed. Many Catholic clerics today, are hypocrites who do terrible damage to the Church. The Holy Spirit cannot work through hypocrites, only through those who accept God’s Will– and follow it. The Holy Spirit only works automatically, in valid, correctly performed Sacraments, by valid Catholic clerics. Aside from that– any priest or prelate may commit terrible sins and betray Christ, with false teachings.
In spite of “Reply’s” incessant, almost hysterical constant and irrational condemnation of Catholic clergy (you would think coming from “Reply” that all Catholic clergy is guilty), nonetheless according to the John Jay Report, of the total population of priests, a mere 4% were accused of abuse. And of that same total population of priests, 252 were eventually convicted of a crime: that’s a percentage of 0.23% (roughly 1 in 435 priests) who have been accused and convicted of abuse.
These percentages are very low compared to other institutions and other professions. Indeed, one crime is more than enough but people like “Reply” would love to hide the fact that the scale of abuse in other institutions may be significantly higher than in the Church. One prominent study by Charol Shakeshaft estimated that the physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse committed by priests.
In a study of abuse cases occurring in work settings, schools accounted for the largest portion (29%), followed by non-child-centric workplaces (22%) and professional caretaking services (18%).
Therefore people, whenever you hear “Reply’s” incessant non-nuanced belittling of Catholic clergy, put it in perspective against the hard facts and data that “Reply” never mentions.
The truth is that the situation in the Church is not as rampant as people like “Reply” would have you believe.
The efficacy of our seven Sacraments does not depend on the personal holiness of the priest nor the recipient— but rather, it depends on the principle of “ex opere operato.” As long as a valid priest correctly performs a Sacrament, the Holy Spirit works through it, and the Sacrament is valid and effective. It is a Divine action, not a human one– and belongs to God, not man. The fecundity, or full effect of grace, for the recipient of a Sacrament, depends on the recipient’s disposition– they should be in a state of grace, to receive full spiritual benefits. Mortal sin will automatically block the benefits of the Sacraments. Priests and prelates are humanly weak, and may fall into sin, so always be sure you are well-educated in Catholic teachings– look to Christ and follow Him Alone, take charge of your spiritual responsibilities for your own soul– and help your spouse, children, and family members’ souls, too.
Jon, there are some very dangerous wolves in sheep’s clothing, in our Church. One time at the SF Cathedral, about three decades ago, a Salesian priest (Fr. Bernard Dabbene– now deceased) who was (now deceased) then-Abp. Levada’s Vicar for Parishes and the Archdiocesan Board of Education, was suddenly caught in a heinous crime. One Sat. evening, he celebrated a Mass, and told us all that it was his 90-year-old mother’s birthday. We thought there would be a birthday party for his visiting mom, that evening. Instead, police called the Cathedral not long after Mass, as they had picked up the priest in a locked, parked car, clothes thrown aside, raping a boy! I said, “how on earth will they tell his mother?” It turned out, that the Salesian “educator” had been a serial rapist of young boys, and involved in a priests’ child pornography ring, for many years, also! His filthy sins and crimes were covered-up by the Church. Be careful.
In an earlier post (if it is posted) I asked what will happen to the Joseph Stricklands in the episcopacy with the power of men like Cupich. There is an amazing essay by Strickland himself at https://pillarsoffaith.net/podcasts/the-line-in-the-sand/. The podcast is accompanied by its transcription so one can simply read it. The man is eloquent and prophetic. His is a voice the Church needs to hear, but which has been silenced by Pope Francis and his minions here in America.
.. and Bishop Strickland is also humble.
The shocking clerical sex abuse crime that I described in my comment of Feb. 10th st 7:05 pm, was committed around the time of the turn of the 21st century, I think, about the year 2000. We also had two successive Cathedral pastors, who were gay clerical sex abusers– Milton T. Walsh (laicized) and Msgr. John J. O’Connor (removed from the job, died soon after). And much more terrible clerical sex abuse sins and crimes…. way too much… in the SF Archdiocese (and all other dioceses/archdioceses too, sadly). Too many innocent young souls, tragically destroyed– in God’s House. I think most of the clerical criminals were gay.
This is discouraging. Pray. With Cardinal Cupich over Mundelein Seminary (where the Diocese of San Jose sends its seminarians) and Archbishop Weisenburger already hard at work dismantling some of the good works of previous archbishops of Detroit (including at their seminary), we must remember that Christ is Head of His Church. Cardinal Cupich was the only bishop to have directed his priests and deacons not to participate in 40 Days for Life (when he was in Spokane). (He subsequently changed his position publicly.) Pray for these men and all bishops. God is still doing many good things in the Church. They should not be happening in spite of bishops, rather they should be happening with their encouragement.
With Chicago Fire, PD and Med being so popular, will Hollywood’s next series be Chicago Clergy?
Maybe Rev. James Martin SJ could be one of the stars? Martin is a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company and appeared as a priest, performing two baptisms, in Martin Scorsese’s 2019 crime film, The Irishman.
It could be another spin off from Chicago Fire, since Chicago is rapidly becoming a dumpster fire.
On the other hand… there are many good bishops. Dr. Ralph Martin who, with others, was inappropriately fired by Archbishop Weisenburger, has several good bishops who have agreed to serve on his episcopal advisory council. They include Bishops Battersby (LaCrosse), Boyea (Lansing), Caggiano (Bridgeport), Cozzens (Crookston), Dowd (Sault Ste. Marie), Gruss (Saginaw), Ricken (Green Bay), Toups (Beaumont), Archbishops Coakley (Oklahoma City and current president of the bishops’ conference), Hebda (Minneapolis-St. Paul), Sample (Portland, OR) and Bishop Joseph Espaillat (auxiliary Archdiocese of New York). Please pray for these men. And, God willing, may they rise to positions of greater influence in the Church.
Just wondering…do any of these Bishops or Cardinals believe in hell?
Priests are set apart from society because they’re consecrated men.
The fact that even “4%” are guilty of abuse is appalling and has caused spiritual, moral, and financial chaos within the church that has impacted Catholic families worldwide. The fallout has also left faithful priests reeling.
You need to stop projecting and start listening to what we have to say.
God bless you, Daniel Gallup. Prayers for your recovery from that abuse incident! You mentioned that there was one other victim of the Jesuit criminal. Actually, the criminal priest may have a long history of abuse, with many suffering victims. Why not make a report to your diocesan office, and send a copy of your report to the Jesuit superior of the wicked priest? It may help other suffering victims come forward, and receive help. Also, if the criminal Jesuit is still alive– why not get a small group of his victims — and go confront the guy? I read of a group of poor victims doing that to a retired Jesuit criminal in the Jesuit retirement home, in Los Gatos, CA — and it worked.
“Heaps” is mistaken. It is not 4% of priests who are guilty of abuse according to The John Jay Report, but approximately 0.23% who have been convicted/found guilty.
Get that folks, a mere 0.23% of Catholic clergy convicted.
The Catholic Church in the US is now the safest place for children thanks to the work of the American bishops.
The truth and the proper perspective is that there is way more abuse going on in our public and private non-Catholic schools, more abuses within Protestant denominations, more abuses going on sadly within families perpetrated by people well-known and closest to the child. Why not focus your outrage over this heinous crime on those, people? The Catholic clergy is the most unlikely person who’d commit abuse. That’s not me saying this, but the John Jay Report itself says this.
It is high time that true faithful Catholics like myself speak the truth and put things in proper perspective in order to show that abuse is not as rampant in the Church as in other institutions and that the situation is not as dire as many of the commenters here would have you believe.
That’s the truth.
jon, you are correct, as far as I can see, about the 4% figure. For men aspiring to be an alter Christus, that 4% is a disgrace. But it is the .23% figure that needs a more careful look. At
https://www.pintas.com/practice-areas/sexual-assault/child-sexual-assault/what-percentage-of-catholic-priests-have-been-accused-of-abuse,
We find among a list of bullet points:
. Men are less likely to report: A joint study by the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that men are far less likely to report abuse than women are.
. Reporting rates are low: Regardless of gender, reporting rates remain low. The overall reporting rate of all sexual abuse cases to police in 2018 was below 30%.
. Police rarely contacted about clergy abuse: The John Jay study found that police were contacted in only 5.7% of incidents, while more than one-fourth of the incidents were not disclosed prior to the study’s release. If these numbers remain low, there is a slim chance that law enforcement can fully resolve this problem
If I may use myself as an example, and it is very hard for me to write this, but I was abused by a Jesuit priest back in the middle 80s but never reported this– and I know of at least one other man who was also abused by the same priest. I suspect if I had reported it that the Jesuit would not have been convicted but to give the reasons would involve divulging matters inappropriate here. jon, this is just to say that your .23% is a meaningless statistic, in my opinion. No one should ever be subjected to a manipulative priest as I was. I have to say my view of the Jesuits in general has not been very positive but I recognize there are some magnificent Jesuits out there. Meanwhile the under- reporting mentioned above has to be considered in any discussion of the priest abuse problem.
And finally, jon, it was hard for me to write this. I hope it was not hard for you to read this and ponder your .23% figure.
0.23% conviction percentage because the guilty priests either died before trial or were deemed too old for trial or settlement was reached and charges dropped.
Jon makes the common mistake that convictions are an accurate measure of crime rates. Typical of libs. That’s how they lie with statistics.
No, jon. This has nothing to do with prejudices against Catholic teachings. It is simply criticizing clerical criminals– such as evil clerical sex abuse criminals — and deceitful, spineless, cruel cover-ups, by Church leaders. These evils must end. Same thing with “Catholic” schools and universities who hire teachers and professors who are ardent supporters of terrible sins, against Catholic teachings, such as abortion, gay “marriage,” etc. Several notable professors recently resigned from Univ. of Notre Dame, after the “Catholic” university hired a huge feminist supporter of abortion, to lead its Asian Studies program. These evil hiring practices must end. I am sure you will agree, if you think about it, rationally. Too many innocent churchgoers, including children, have been seriously harmed. Even one clerical crime is intolerable, Satanic.
Jon– Sanctifying Grace flows from Christ in each of our 7 Sacraments, correctly performed. The Blessed Sacrament is the Real Presence of Christ, in the holy Tabernacle. The Holy Bible is the Word of God. But the priests in the church, performing the Sacraments correctly– are all weak and fallen men– in need of Christ’s Salvation. “The gates of Hell shall not prevail…” (St. Matthew 16:18) and Christ’s Church (all that He gave to St. Peter, the leader of the 12 Apostles, the Church that He founded through them) will prevail over all evil, nothing in all this world can harm or destroy it— it is of God, not Man. Did Christ make a mistake in choosing Judas, a very sinful disciple? No– he was easily replaced. The Church is a means to teach, sanctify and purify us as pilgrims on earth, preparing for Eternal Life with Christ in Heaven. Christ will come again, and it will all be over! Mission accomplished!
Good for you, Daniel Gallup.
Though indeed it takes courage to share one’s experience even anonymously, the 0.23% figure is certainly not meaningless. The 0.23% figure is about current allegations within a specific timeframe or jurisdiction. It is not “meaningless” because it represents the efficacy of modern safeguards in the Church; it’s a sign that the environment has fundamentally changed. What has changed is that…..
Unlike the 1970s, the Church no longer investigates itself in a vacuum. Every allegation must be reported to the police/DA. The 0.23% includes those reported to civil authorities.
The “net” is wider: Today, over 4.5 million children and 2 million adults are trained annually to spot grooming. This makes it significantly harder for an abuser to remain “underreported” in a modern parish compared to the past.
Independent oversight: These numbers are verified by StoneBridge Business Partners, an external forensic auditing firm. They aren’t “Church-made” numbers; they are audited data.
The ‘Zero Tolerance’ era has seen a massive decline in new cases precisely because the ‘culture of silence’ is being replaced by mandatory background checks and safe-environment training for millions of staff and volunteers.
It is true and quantifiable that the Catholic Church today is one of the safest places for children, far safer than in other institutions like schools, protestant denominations, sporting leagues, and sadly even in homes. Focus on those, people; focus your outrage on those.
The goal of these stats (0.23%) isn’t to say ‘the job is done,’ but to show that the environment for children today is vastly safer than the one that failed those who were victims of clergy abuse prior to the “Zero tolerance” policy, which “Daniel Gallup” numbers himself as one.
If I may be so bold as to assert respectfully, even and including “Daniel Gallup”: I really do NOT think that going online and lambasting the Catholic clergy unjustly and anonymously is helpful to anyone, and certainly not helpful to someone who wants to heal from clergy abuse.
“… I really do NOT think that going online and lambasting the Catholic clergy unjustly and anonymously..” Anonymously jon? unjustly, jon? What I wrote is what happened to the real Dan Gallup back in real time 1984, the same one who writes on this forum. There was nothing anonymous about my post. I am beginning to wonder if the editors of Cal Catholic agree, that you would benefit if they gave you my email and if you so desired we communicated outside of Cal Catholic. What do you think? I think we could both benefit.
Anonymously or not there is no benefit for anyone in coming online to unjustly lambast the Catholic clergy, and certainly not for someone who is seeking healing from sexual clerical abuse.
How about Marko “Rapenik?” Will there be any justice in his trial? Jon is extremely naive about our Church leaders and clerical sex abuse crimes. It does not matter much, how many workshops are given on Child Safety and protecting children from clerical sex predators. The post-Conciliar Catholic Church is extremely lax on sin, and does not enforce Canon Law nor any Christian moral standards very much, any more. They have completely abandoned governance of Catholic schools and colleges, too. And a parish may have a “Gay” Mass, and host Jesuit Fr. James Martin, promoting the LGBT “lifestyle” — – with no penalties from the Church. Very untrustworthy.
Regarding my comment of Feb. 11 at 5:57pm– how many young, underage gay Catholics, who read Jesuit Fr. James Martin’s books, and attend his lectures, and also go to “gay-friendly” Catholic schools and parishes with “Gay Masses”– might actually decide that the “gay lifestyle” is “acceptable” in God’s eyes– and go out and try it? No, the evils of potential sex abuse crimes committed by clerical predators in our Church– are lurking everywhere! And the “Lavendar Mafia” among Vatican clerics is reportedly quite large.
Former Cardinal McCarrick was never convicted of any crime. I suppose according to jon that means McCarrick was an innocent man whom we should not disparage nor criticize; after all, he was never convicted and he was a high ranking prelate of the Church. That one clear example shows the absurd falsehood of jon’s claims and the flaws in his reasoning. I should expect a retraction and apology from him.
I have to wonder… It’s been reported that young priests are more traditional, conservative in a general sense, and orthodox than their predecessors from the 1960s through 1990s or so. I see that myself. But the bishops being appointed since 2013 are (with a few happy exceptions) more “progressive” (leftist and LGBTQWERTY-friendly) than those appointed under JPII or especially B16. Of course there will always be some “radical priest” types for a leftist-dominated Vatican to choose from when selecting bishops, but that will lock out the majority of orthodox priests from consideration. Are we setting up a situation where a small group of “elite” leftist bishops are placed over a much larger group of orthodox young and middle-aged priests? Won’t that result in an unhealthy divide between priests and their bishops? How can a bishop be a father to a majority of his priests when he has contempt for them?
To jon and Daniel Gallup. There were numerous instances when I was young that a parish priest made advances to my sisters and me. He was infatuated with every aspect of our lives. We were three females amongst many who were preyed upon by him. What did we do? Nothing. We tried to avoid him even when our parents were singing his praises. We kept making disparaging remarks about him until my mother cottoned on. No, he didn’t touch any of us but he was a predator all the same. He was one of the few percent of priests who went after females. There were more, are more, hidden stories like this. You don’t know what happens when a priest who has power gifted to him is out there alone with young people. Yet, I still defend the priests that I see are deeply good, and I have kept my faith after all these years, thank God.
Is the creepy pedophile priest still alive? Maybe retired? Even if he were dead, you and your sisters ought to make a big report on him to your diocesan Office of Child and Youth Protection. There might be cases of other kids that this pedophile priest actually molested. It seems that the clergy sex abusers all have a long history of theie crimes, not one attempt or one actual crime. If you three sisters all make a report, other victims may come forward, and receive help.
I just read, as follows: Incapable or severely limited empathy or compassion are primary symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) — often referred to as psychopathy or sociopathy, where individuals show callous indifference to the suffering of others. Other conditions featuring this trait include Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), Borderline Personality Disorder, and sometimes, Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Well, the Editor chopped off my final sentence in my comment of Feb. 11th at 8:54pm. This comment refers to someone who is too callous and too cruel, and needs to show empathy for victims of clerical sex abuse crimes and dishonest Church cover-ups of these heinous crimes. Honestly– we have had some terrible criminals hiding behind Roman collars.
Why do you print jon’s cruel comments? Especially, his cruelty to Daniel Gallup, after Daniel reported the terrible story of a clerical sex abuse crime committed by an evil Jesuit priest, on Daniel and another man? I cannot stand to see this cruelty of jon’s. Why on earth do you print jon’s horrible comments? I have read of victims of clerical sex abuse crimes who were so deeply hurt– they killed themselves. Suppose jon pushed someone to do this– not Daniel, but some other suffering Catholic commenter? Please stop jon’s comments.
Thank you No more jon February 11, 2026 at 11:39 pm, but I must say I felt no cruelty from jon. On the one hand much time has passed since 1984; on the other hand one never forgets something like this and I am not sure how it affects me to this day. But jon is defending clerics in general and I have to appreciate that Padre Pio would not hear/allow criticism of wayward bishops, at least I believe that to be the case. At issue is the difficulty of speaking reverently about clerics who have abused their calling. I felt I might learn something from jon, whicjh is why I offered to give him my email should he so desire to communicate. I would sooner gain a friend than abide an enemy.
As someone who has experienced abuse myself, I have no problems with jon’s comments. I don’t think they’re cruel at all. They’re appropriate and respectful. I appreciate this comments.
Clergy are sinners like laymen, before Almighty God. Christ was very strong in calling out the highest Jewish rabbi clerics of His day– the Pharisees– who were hypocrites, and greatly harmed people, in God’s Name– and in God’s House. Christ was the Son of God– and He would not tolerate these evils. I would normally give respect to most Catholic clergy. But I would never do as St. Padre Pio suggested, to give any special respect or reverence at all, to Theodore McCarrick or Marko “Rapenik”– who is still active, I think as a priest– not (yet) laicized. Only GOD is holy– so it says, in the Holy Bible. If a corrupt priest or prelate tries to harm or sexually abuse a child or young adult — the kids should be taught to immediately disrespect them, loudly yell at them to alert everyone, kick, scream, run for their lives– and notify parents and police, ASAP, as well as Catholic authorities.
To Daniel Gallup and “As somrone who”— Don’t allow yourselves to get cruelly manipulated by a twisted, egoistic, sadistic personality out there– whom you have never met. Don’t invite the Devil to cruelly manipulate you. Do not be Satan’s willing victim. Kick Satan and all his evil minions out of your lives. Serve only Christ.
“Don’t invite the Devil to cruelly manipulate you.” To Reply to Daniel Gallup and As someone who February 12, 2026 at 6:07 pm: I am getting up in years and in not the best of health, so I a trying to make peace with those who stand as adversary that I come across in life because I believe judgement is near for me. I don’t think the devil, the accuser of the brethren, appreciates peace makers, so I shan’t fear to extend what olive branch I can to jon even if no response is forthcoming. jon has done nothing to hurt me and in fact I have matured greatly in the time I have spared with him on Cal Catholic. A few years ago I was rather combative–pugnacious if you will–but now I have tried to bury the hatchet so to speak and genuinely wish him well. I owe a debt to Deacon Anderson for standing as a model for charitable dealing on this site. I shall strive to serve only Christ, but pray for me that this remains my true course.
jon has pushed me towards the Latin Mass and supporting the death penalty.
The thing about people like lower-case-initial-you-know-who is that they feed on criticism. They relish the attention. Just stop feeding the troll.
I grew up in an era of honesty regarding unchangeable, Divinely-ordained truths of Christian morality. People were used to living by truth, not lies– and were strong when facing human weaknesses and failures– and accepting consequences and penances. That’s life– you must live right, be mature– and pay for your mistakes, before God. In that era, California crooked businessmen, and crooked lawyers, political figures and Hollywood stars might commit some terrible sins– but they always acted like adults with their sins. For example– if one of them committed adultery, they would admit to their sins. And they also would say, “I know it is wrong, and I don’t want my kids to do that.” They respected the Church. But since the evil 1960s– even many prominent Church leaders have become corrupt– and lie about Christian morality. As my dad would say, “You simply cannot “live a lie,” before God.”
Our All-Wise God of Divine Love and of Divine Justice is known to order a one-way eternal ticket to Hell for the souls of some unrepentant Catholic clerics who have committed heinous crimes– such as evil clerical sex abuse crimes on children and vulnerable young adults.
It is totally distasteful and abhorrent this act done my many commentators here of essentially not mentioning, but in fact ignoring, the abuses perpetrated in other institutions and professions (such as Protestant denominations and schools) which have an astronomically higher incidences of sexual abuse, while unjustly, solely, and hysterically bringing our attention always at the alleged abuses in the Church—which according to reliable sources–is a mere 0.23% of the entire clergy of the Church.
Yes, just one incidence of abuse in the Church is one too many, but only focusing on that “one” while ignoring the multiple incidences in other places? Distasteful.
Who cares about other religions? Nobody here, knows anything about them, or their problems. A horrible crime of clerical rape of a poor, innocent child or adult– in God’s House— cannot be reduced to a statistic. God does not see sins and crimes that way. The blood of the innocent cries out to Almighty God for Justice! Just be thankful that Theodore McCarrick– a Cardinal Elector in the 2005 Conclave– was not elected as our “First American Pope.” Shame on our corrupt Catholic leaders.
It’s distasteful and disgusting, isn’t it people, that commenters like “No” would actually admit that they “don’t care” about children.
They don’t care about the safety of children; they “don’t care” about the fact that children are more vulnerable in other institutions; they “don’t care” about the truth.
If this is not about the safety of children, then might it be true that this seems to be more about “how can we batter the Church even more using the tired old demented clerics like McCarrick who are so demented they can no longer defend themselves”?
Is it really about anti-Catholicism, the last acceptable American prejudice?
Is it really about their anti-Catholic bigotry?
Why don’t you try to clearly listen to what others are saying? I have no idea as to problems of other churches. We were not discussing problems of other churches. All that commenters were saying, is that the Catholic Church needs to clean up its seriois problems — and children and vulnerable young people must be protected. I just read that a Catholic group of men in tthe Santa Fe Archdiocese have a Vatican case against Abp. John Wester (who is from SF), because he wrongfully re-instated a gay man who left the priesthood for nearly 30 years, civilly married a gay man– and divorced him 10 years later. Wester then wrongfully re-instated the man to the priesthood, invited him to live in his rectory, and gave him several prominent positions. The man is still promoting the “gay life.” He– and Abp. Wester– have broken serious Canon Laws. The gay man should have been laicized. The Vatican will now make its decision. Aren’t you sick of all these serious Church problems?
Sorry but “Reply” is the one not listening, because “Reply” brings up Wester’s situation which has nothing to do with sexual abuse of minors. Nothing. That’s a smokescreen; a straw man. It’s a pathetic point.
Honestly people, if you’re so concerned about the safety of children in the Catholic Church, why do you people “not care” (and not mention) about abuse of minors in other denominations and other religious groups and institutions—which have astonishingly more abuses?
Is it because you’re not really concerned about the safety of children?
Is it really because you’re more concerned about unjustly attacking the Catholic Church? Is it because you’re actually anti-Catholic bigots? Is it more about your homophobia?
One has to ask these important questions because your unjust and hysterical lambasting of the Catholic Church is DISPROPORTIONATE to the actual incidences of Catholic clergy convictions (0.23%) going on now compared to other institutions, religious groups, and denominations.
Abp. Wester is also in trouble for refusing to accept and support an important Vatican document from the DDF on Catholic teaching, regarding homosexuality, complaining that the Catholic Church calls gay sex “sinful.” He says he doesn’t agree wuith that, and that all forms of sexuality are “a gift from God.” Wester tried to erase his re-instated priest’s entire former history– but it didn’t work– his wrongdoings were all documented publicly. Many of Wester’s priests and laity are upset because the man that Wester re-instated to the priesthood, “Fr.” Steven Rosera, who lives in Wester’s rectory, is now Pastor of a parish and its school, leader of a Catholic Deanery (an area of the Archdiocese) and sits as a judge on the Church’s Marriage Tribunal. He supported the 2015 same-sex “marriage” SCOTUS ruling in an amicus brief, was in a legal domestic partnership (before gay “marriage” was legalized) for 10 years, to a gay man in San Francisco, then was legally “divorced,” in SF– and continues to support the gay lifestyle amd gay “marriage.” What an awful situation! What will the Vatican and the Pope do, on this case?
A priest who attempts marriage, including a civil union or domestic partnership, gay or straight– is
automatically suspended from the priesthood, and faces removal from the priesthood— being laicized. (Canon 1394) He cannot receive Holy Communion until he repents of sin, and the marriage, or civil union/domestic partnership is legally dissolved. To break and violate promises of celibacy, for diocesan priests — or to break vows of chastity, for priests in religious orders — is a very serious mortal sin.
Our Catholic Church needs reform and good leadership. There are far too many serious problems. If you had poor leadership, irresponsibility, tons of lies, illegal actions, crimes and cover-ups at your job, and if all the workers’ salaries were cut to partially cover the costs of the crimes and cover-ups to millions of poor victims– and if your job was a place where you or your wife or kids risked getting assaulted and raped– you would quit. That’s common sense. Surely you know that it is wrong to lie, cover-up crimes, and deliberately allow innocent kids and adults to be seriously harmed, by criminals your employer deliberately hires, supports and promotes. And that it is wrong, for bad clerics– like Wester and his bad gay priest– to promote homosexuality to Catholic families.
Jon, kids in school must be taught Christian Morality, right from wrong, and to rise above childhood idealistic emotional thinking, and petty personal likes/dislikes– to see the truths of life, and deal with them objectively. They will tragically see many aduls who are corrupt and immoral– even priests and prelates in their own Church. They must learn to stand up against all evils, and as adults, protect their families and societies. This world is dark and sinful. We all are called to serve God alone, and stand up to sin, lies and evils of all kinds, harming and destroying the innocent. Christ stood up to the evil Pharisees, and He drove the wicked money-changers out of God’s holy Temple. The wicked, hypocritical Jewish Pharisees, and all the religious leaders, hated Christ because of this. And they had Him arrested and killed. All true Christians put aside comfort, selfishness, and fear, accept painful persecution– and follow courageously in Christ’s footsteps. Rebuke evildoers, and defend the innocent. Always.
What on earth would Abp. Wester do– if he caught his bad gay priest, “Fr.” Steven Rosera– sexually abusing an underage Catholic boy? What a horrible thing! And why are these two clerics– Wester and Rosera– such good buddies, living in the rectory together?
“Reply’s” responses above prove my point. “Reply” brings up cases that have absolutely nothing to do with clergy sexual abuse of minors.
This is deflection and obfuscation on their part. Covering-up abuse of minors in other denominations. Disgusting.
Why do you keep harping on about abuse in “other denominations”?? I’m worried about abuse in OUR denomination. You’re obfuscating by deflecting onto others the sins of our own. You remind me of a priest who, after our diocese filed Chapter 11, walked in and told us all, Hey, what about all those other institutions with far more abuse cases? You remind me of him.
You make me so angry. You sound like you’re part of the Good Ole’ Boys’ Club of dunces. You have two hundred priests at their annual diocesan soirees, patting each other’s backs, nodding at everything and covering their own behinds. Abuse? Just look at all those other institutions, they snort. They’re much worse! A child comes home with bad grades and says to his parent, My grades might be bad, but you should see how much worse the other kids’ grades are! Ring a bell?
No, jon. Put aside your emotions and belligerence and see the objective truth– the Church has some dishonest and criminal clergy. Be smart about that. Next, you might pray and ask God what He wants us to do about it. Jesus Christ had many very bad, dishonest Jewish religious leaders — the powerful Pharisees– in His day. They were corrupt– and had Him wrongfully put to death, for publicly severely criticizing them. Christ is our leader in courageously standing up against sin and corruption in our Church, in today’s era.
Jon, the focus of many us here is the Catholic Church because this is the environment we live in and sometimes work in. So it is natural for us Catholics to express concern about what goes on in our spiritual home, the only home most of us are familiar with, and let the Baptists worry about their immoral clergy issues. And with the single exception I shared earlier, I am generally impressed with the priests I have come to know. Having said that, I must admit those who see a danger of homosexual priests having access to children/teenage boys–even men– is a real one. These men have an unnatural attraction to other males; some exercise the discipline of chastity and some do not. As Thomas More said to Richard Rich, “A man should go where he won’t be tempted.” More was advising Rich to avoid the affairs of state, which in fact later would become for Rich a great snare, and become a teacher. Men with strong homosexual tendencies are asking to be tempted. Fr. Paul Shaughnessey has a thoughtful article discussing this and related issues which can be found at http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=12047.
“Dan Gallup’s” obsession with the ‘nature’ of the clergy is a smokescreen that ignores the triumph of Zero Tolerance. While he is busy quoting Thomas More and Fr. Shaughnessy to pathologize priests, the hierarchy has already built a rigorous framework of background checks, mandatory reporting, and immediate removal.
“Dan Gallup” is deflecting from the success of the reforms by trying to revive a narrative of ‘unnatural attraction.’ By doing so, he ignores the fact that the Church’s conviction rate is low precisely because the institution has cleaned house. Don claims to love his ‘spiritual home,’ but he is ignoring the very locks and alarms—the Zero Tolerance policies—that the owners of that home have installed to keep it safe.”
He attacks the character of these clerics when they represent a demographic he dislikes, yet I suspect he’d be the first to cry ‘persecution’ if a secular critic used that same logic against the Church as a whole.
Attacking the messenger to avoid the message—especially when those priests are simply advancing Catholic social doctrine—isn’t ‘housekeeping’; it’s a character assassination disguised as piety.
He continues to turn away where rampant abuses of children happen (which is in other institutions and denominations), and keeps on hypocritically and unjustly the Church’s ministers.
““Dan Gallup” is deflecting from the success of the reforms by trying to revive a narrative of ‘unnatural attraction.’ By doing so, he ignores the fact that the Church’s conviction rate is low precisely because the institution has cleaned house. ” jon, you sure make it hard for someone to engage you in common sense discussion. I would of course hope that you are right, but what I see in Rome and see the kind of men advanced by Pope Francis and Pope Leo does not engender confidence. Or the recent statement released here supporting LGBT youth, which appeared recently as a thread in these pages. You add this about me: “He attacks the character of these clerics when they represent a demographic he dislikes…” I cannot recall attacking anyone’s character, only their stance supporting LGBT persons when that stance contradicts Church teaching, and to say I dislike LGBT persons is a complete falsehood. I do dislike their conduct when it too contradicts Church teaching. jon, why do posters here have to defend themselves from your overzealous generalizations?
I think everyone who posted on here has been sexually harassed or abused some time in his/her life. I was never sexually abused, just harassed. By “harassed”, I mean inappropriately touched.. By “abused”, I mean statutory rape. One of my first employers was a business man who helped judge a prom queen contest at my high school. I was judged a princess, and he hired me as an afterschool clerk. Although he was married with children, he kept trying to get me into a sinful relationship. I did not, but have always been suspicious of such contests for that reason. Only told my mother decades later before she died. The other time a man harassed me in a theater when I was underaged.
“I think everyone who posted on here has been sexually harassed or abused some time in his/her life.” No, that is not true. Where do you get such dumb ideas? I doubt if jon was ever sexually harassed or abused. Are you a woman? Some girls are vain “beauty queens,” not intellectuals, in high school, who waste time seeking aattention from the opposite sex– instead of studying hard and developing their minds. They find out sooner or later, that they are not valued, beyond their looks. Then there are innocent young girls and boys who become cruelly sexually harassed or abused by bullies who are either normal heterosexual or gay adults– including clergy. That is a very serious criminal situation. Police should be called to remove the bully and throw him in jail.
A seminarian once made a pass at me (I’m male). I was weirded out so much.
I am an elderly woman. I was not in the contest for homecoming queen because I sought it out. I was an “A” student at the time, and the orchestra class I was in chose me to represent them, nor did I dress seductively. I dressed like the other girls did in my high school at that time. Our dresses and skirts were almost down to our ankles, so the poster who answered me was not right about my particular situation. Most women I have talked to have been harassed. No men in my family ever molested me, but one of my distant nephews was abused by his own uncle. Back them the situation was solved mostly by slapping the hands or faces of perpetrators. The 1950’s and before were not all that innocent.
You can’t generalize your family situation to everyone else. Your experiences are not universal. Also, I was speaking in general terms– but it is not always true– that some very pretty high school girls, that are very physically-developed early– waste lots of time trying to get attention from boys, in the wrong way. They should instead be studying in school and developing their minds. I wasn’t necessarily referring to you, though. Anyway– everyone is different. No, not all girls– or boys– are sexually harassed or abused. That is not a universal experience.
I had a bullying incident once, in childhood. Our family doctor had a home, and a family of five kids, across the street from where we lived, in a semi-rural area. Whenever it snowed heavily, and the streets were too dangerous, we all got to skip school. All the kids would go out and play, and build snow forts and make snowmen, etc. The doctor had a boy my age, Tommy, who was kind of dumb, always trying to get attention. He threw snowballs at us girls– with a nasty little rock hidden inside each one. I complained to my mom, and she said that Tommy was young, and actually might like girls– but didn’t yet know how to show it, and didn’t know how to play nicely with others. Our mom had a talk with Tommy’s mother– and the bullying stopped.
These are disconnected, worryingly emotionally detached, and disassociated comments. They ignore the higher number of abuses in other places and institutions, not even acknowledging them.
How heartless. Perhaps revealing their anti-Catholic bigotry?
A threat to a child in one place is a threat to a child everywhere.
Focus on where these abuses are more rampant. Care for children everywhere!
No, jon. Since the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, long ago– mankind has suffered in sin. In Christ’s day, the Jewish leaders of Christ’s own religion– the Pharisees– were full of sin. And Christ had one terribly sinful Apostle– Judas Iscariot. God gave to mankind the great gift of Free Will– the power to willfully choose Good or Evil, to obey or to disobey God. Because of the gift of Free Will, we have had some very sinful as well as very saintly Catholic clergy. Christ had the exact same problems, in His day, with corrupt Jewish religious leaders– many of whom conspired to kill Him. Our era is no better. The People of God, all through history, have often been very faithless and sinful– but God tends His “sheep” patiently, and faithfully. He has wonderful Divine Plans for us— and He will never abandon us. We are called to fight sin and corruption lifelong, for Christ– even among our own religious leaders– just as He did– even if we, like Him– must face persecution or death, for His sake..
The comparison to Judas and the Pharisees is a distraction from the point I made. My point wasn’t that ‘sin exists,’ but that the ‘indignation of many commentators here including yours is selective.’
To constantly call out the inadequacies of one institution (the Catholic Church) while remaining silent on the deadlier statistics in others is the definition of a double-standard, hypocrisy, and anti-Catholicism.
If a threat to a child in one place is a threat to a child everywhere, then your focus should be where the threat is greatest.
Until you apply the same scrutiny to secular schools or other religious groups, yours isn’t a holy crusade—your comments and the comments of others here is just anti-Catholicism masked as piety.
Jon, I agree. My female cousin was touched inappropriately by her private piano teacher at his home when she was about nine or ten. Her mother made the mistake of leaving her there by herself, probably assuming his wife was home. Someone had to go with her after that to discourage his behavior. Hopefully he never did it again to another child. Of course, not all male teachers would do that, but one never knows, so, yes, to protect the children and the adults involved, no child should be alone with a stranger or persons living bad lifestyles.
Several prominent Notre Dame Univ. professors have left their jobs, criticizing the decision to hire an abortion promoter, Susan Ostermann, as head of their Asian Studies program. Some prominent Notre Dane alumni have protested and mailed back their diplomas, and refuse to donate to their alma mater ever again.
Sorry to hear of your cousin’s experience with the pedophile piano teacher. There have been a few horrific cases in the news, of pedophile.music teachers, that got caught and sent to prison. Several years ago, an Orange County pedophile piano teacher got sent to prison for 100 years to life, for molesting childen over several decades– and using his students to produce child pornography. His students included little girls. But there are also gay pedophile music teachers who have gone to prison for their crimes.
My comment of Feb. 18 at 10:22 pm was cut short by the editor. I mentioned the Notre Dame Univ. scandal because our Church has been suffering from too much evil. These problems need to be fixed. That has been the whole point of my comments, here— our Church needs to be fixed. And that’s all. Millions of Catholics are hoping for these serious problems to be fixed. The editor should cut short savage, thoughtless trolls like jon, who attack other good, sensible Catholic commenters, with mindless, made-up unintelligible garbage that has nothing to do with others’ comments.
One time, a good, elderly Pastor (now decessed) of a grand, prominent church told me that he was looking for a new organist. He said that recently, on an afternoon when his new organist was practicing, he went up to the Choir Loft to talk to him about upcoming liturgical matters. Lo and behold— when he got up to the Choir Loft, he found the new, young male organist half-dressed, making out with a young, hired male soloist! The poor Pastor was totally in shock! Then, he said, he sternly reprimanded and fired the two men, and ordered them both to leave immediately, and never return! I felt badly for this elderly Pastor, to have to endure such a horrific shock. I hoped he would not have heart problems or other symptoms of illness and stress, due to this. Dedicated Catholic clergy and laymen have been put through too much potentially dangerous stress, with immoral situations in the Church, in this era.
Many Choir Lofts in older Catholic churches are very large. The Choir Loft at Old St. Mary’s Church in SF is like a second story of the church, and wraps around the main floor. It even has its own traditional Confession box. Sometimes, singers who are very disrespectful of the Catholic Church, are guilty of doing mischievous things– reading the newspaper, knitting, reading a book, talking, etc. when they are not singing, at Mass — and are usually terminated for this bad behavior. Anyway, I saw this bad behavior (in adult choirs) happen a couple of times, many long years ago.
There are some smart-aleck musical artists, gifted and well-trained, who are hired for their musical services– but are non-believers, with little respect for the Church. I used to hurt very badly, long ago, singing with this one particular, well-trained choral director for the Tridentine Latin Mass, who would sort of make fun of the Consecration (performed silently) and the Eucharistic bells rung– and prepare us to sing the “Benedictus” a second time (first time is in the”Sanctus”). Christ had now miraculously come– and was Truly Present on the altar– and this finely-trained musical expert in Gregorian Chant and Catholic sacred choral music, did not believe it to be true at all. Very hurtful.
You people mustn’t forget the fact that your beloved SSPX does not fall under the “Zero tolerance” mandate of the Catholic Church, because your beloved SSPX has been in schism all this time. They have removed themselves from the physical and spiritual boundaries of the Catholic Church.
Consequently, there have been troubling and alarming cases and investigations surrounding your beloved SSPX concerning the abuse of minors. Their chapels are not safe, people.
Why isn’t your outrage focused on your beloved SSPX?
Why are you hiding this by not mentioning it at all?
What is this nonsense about the “beloved SSPX,” jon? If you don’t like them, then go tell them. There are no SSPX churches here. Besides, nobody cares. Do you also hate the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses and Unitarians? They don’t believe in the Trinity, and believe Christ was only a good man. Want to start an argument with one of them over that? The pope would throw you out. That’s bad for Vatican II ecumenical relations and Christian unity. Better try to be friendly towards the SSPX too, for the sake of Christian unity.
Why do you bring up the situation of the SSPX? Are you a member of one of their churches? Or a member of an anti-SSPX “hate” group? Who cares? Nobody at the Vatican cares, either. The SSPX is involved in an intellectual theological dispute, not anything “emotional,” to “love” or to “hate.” Ridiculous. Do you know how many Orthodox churches are in centuries-long intellectual theological disputes (not a few decades of intellectual theological disputes, like the SSPX) with the Catholic Church? Especially, the Russian Orthodox Church? So what? Do you “hate” the Russian Orthodox, too? Ridiculous. Nobody cares. Oh– how about Russian Orthodox clergy? Any pedophiles? You could report on that, and any other evils, if you want.
I am trying to figure out who is supposed to be talking about the SSPX. The only one that I find here talking about the SSPX is jon. There are some people that I just can’t figure out.
Regarding your snit about the focus on Catholic clergy — here’s an excerpt of Fr. Shaughnessy’s article that might explain how we feel:
” Sodomy is a mortal sin, and this sin is compounded on the part of the priest because it involves a further violation of his promises of chastity, in addition to the hypocrisy implicit in his acting against his role of moral teacher and helper of souls. Silence on this subject on the part of bishops and religious superiors is baffling to lay Catholics, who naturally wonder whether there is a double standard in operation that censures laypeople but excuses clergy, that censures heterosexual but excuses homosexual vice.”
You people shamefully ignore the multiple cases abuses perpetrated by your beloved and schismatic SSPX which you people love.
Instead you heap unjust and overblown attention on the Catholic Church which has made great accomplishments in making Catholic parishes and schools enormously safe for children since 2002.
Fr. Arnaud Rostand, the your beloved schismatic SSPX’s former US District Superior, was sentenced to 12 months in a French prison after admitting to molesting seven boys across France, Spain, and Switzerland over a 15-year period. And this is after he had informed his SSPX superiors in a letter that he is attracted to minors.
A 2017 Swedish investigation documented additional cases of the beloved SSPX clerics molesting at least a dozen young people across several countries, with evidence kept secret and priests left in ministry.
In Kansas, a four-year Kansas Bureau of Investigation inquiry into abuse across the state’s Catholic dioceses and the beloved SSPX resulted in 30 cases referred to county prosecutors.
Three priests formerly incardinated in the Diocese of Scranton (one of whom was credibly accused of sexual abuse) were discovered to be ministering illicitly to the breakaway Carmelite nuns in Arlington, Texas, in 2024. Such priests, referred to as “friends of the SSPX” do not formally belong to the society, but serve SSPX congregations.
These are all from a recent article in WherePeterIs.
Why isn’t your outrage visited on your beloved SSPX if you really care about children?
You may be putting your own children at risk if you take them with you to a beloved SSPX chapel, people, because these beloved SSPX chapels are not under the “Zero tolerance” rule.
Why is your outrage selective and prejudiced against the Church which has made great improvements in making American Catholic parishes and schools much safer thanks to the American bishops?
Your hypocrisy and true lack of care for children everywhere are terrifying.
“You may be putting your own children at risk if you take them with you to a beloved SSPX chapel, people, because these beloved SSPX chapels are not under the “Zero tolerance” rule.”
Some might say that about our current and nominative “Zero Tolerance rule” Catholic Church. It’s all talk. It’s ineffectual because of the moral failures of many clergy who allowed, even fostered, a homosexual culture within. It will get worse as gay clergy will dominate and more of our young people will fall prey to these recreants.
jon, you fail to understand– nobody here is involved with the SSPX group! So what? We have nothing to do with them. They are Pope Leo’s and DDF Prefect, Cardinal “Tucho” — pornographic teen writer– Fernandez’ problem. (Howcome Cdl. “Tucho” didn’t get excommunicated and laicized for writing and selling pornographic books for kids? Did Abp. Lefebvre ever write teen pornographic books in French– and sell them? Nope.)
Don’t feed the troll. Just don’t. Just stop it.
Absolutely one hundred percent agree with you!