Bishops Caving in to Secularism, Modernism, and Scientism

'Jesus Christ did not die a horrible death to save us from a virus or to save the planet.  He came to save souls from hell.  That’s every cleric’s #1 job.'

From Catholic Stand

By Michael Vance

One has to wonder what’s wrong with some of our Catholic prelates these days.  Instead of trying to save souls they seem to be fixated on saving the planet or other worldly matters.

A case in point is Archbishop Dermot Farrell of the Archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland.

As the Catholic News Agency reported on Sept 1, 2021, “In his first pastoral letter since he was installed in Dublin in February 2020, Archbishop Dermot Farrell encouraged his flock to undergo an “ecological conversion” [emphasis added].

A Liberal Bishop

Writing about the new Archbishop in The Irish Catholic, Michael Kelly said, “The appointment of Archbishop-elect Farrell signals a new chapter for Dublin and for the Church in Ireland at large. He is a man of huge energy unafraid of embracing reform and new ways of doing things.”  The headline on the story is “Dermot Farrell is the right man for a challenging appointment in Dublin.”

The phrase “unafraid of embracing reform and new ways of doing things” should be an alarm.  It’s a tip off that the incoming bishop is a liberal prelate.   And it certainly didn’t take long for Farrell to show his colors.

Considering that Ireland over the last 40 years has descended from being one of the most Catholic countries in the world to being “open, progressive, liberal, outward-looking and dynamic” as Aer  Lingus proudly proclaims, one can’t help but wonder, “What was Ferrell thinking?”

Instead of getting a man of God as their prelate, it seems Dublin Catholics got a man of the world. The words of 1 John 2:15 come to mind:  “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Ireland’s Fall from Grace

An article in The Guardian concisely sums up that changes that have taken place in Ireland, so I won’t belabor them here.  And now the Catholics in Dublin have an archbishop who is encouraging them the “to undergo an ecological conversion.”  He should be trying to re-evangelize them.

Certainly we all have a duty to care for the planet we live on and for each other.  But first and foremost we have duty to keep God’s Commandments.

As Dom Cingoranelli wrote recently, we should all be following our Blessed Mother’s example in saying to God, ‘Thy will be done.’  We say this every time we pray the Our Father, but how many of us truly mean it?

Farrell’s keen sense of what the faithful need to hear is certainly being felt.  Just four men entered seminary in all of Ireland’s 26 dioceses this year.

Vaccine Stupidity

And then there is Bishop Robert Anthony Daniels of the Diocese of Grand Falls.  Grand Falls is in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Bishop Daniels “issued a letter stating, “Effective October 22, 2021, it will be mandatory for all persons 12 and older wishing to attend Masses or Services in our churches to demonstrate proof of vaccination by using the Vaccine Passport.”

As noted at Catholic World Report, however, Grand Falls is not the only Canadian diocese requiring vaccinations.  The Catholic bishops of Quebec have also “accepted the province’s imposition of COVID-19 vaccine passports as a requirement to attend religious services . . .”

Someone might want to point out to these bishops that the Covid vaccines do not stop the spread of Covid.  In Ireland, where 91 percent of the population over 12 years of age has been vaccinated, the number of patients in Irish hospitals with Covid recently reached the highest level in seven months.

Ireland’s health director, Dr. Tony Holohan, did not divulge the breakdown of vaccinated vs. unvaccinated hospitalizations.  Instead he only offered that a “substantial amount . . . are not fully vaccinated.”  This is called being ‘intentionally vague’ so as to not spread information that is counter to the approved conversation.

Of course when any information that is counter to the prevailing approved new speak comes out, censorship rears up.   The mainstream media and social media censor or otherwise try to stop the information from being shared.  So it’s possible  the Canadian bishops do not possess the necessary information to justify civil disobedience.

In any case, telling folks they must violate the dictates of their fully formed consciences to attend Mass is unconscionable.

Greenlighting Sodomy

But the topper here has to be Jesuit Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich.  He is the Archbishop of Luxembourg.  He’s also president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE).  He was also appointed by Pope Francis as Relator General of the 2021–2023 “Synod on Synodality.”

Hollerich says he believes Catholic teaching on homosexuality “is false.”

“I believe that the sociological-scientific foundation of this teaching is no longer correct” he said.  Say what?  Jesus did not become man to instruct us in sociology or scientific matters.  The foundation of His teachings, and, by extension, the teaching of His Apostles, is truth.  And what Jesus and His Apostles said was true 2,000 years is still true today.

Why has Hollerich not been called on the carpet for proclaiming that Catholic teaching on homosexuality is false?

Some Advice for Bishops

So to all the priests, bishops and archbishops who are caving in to secularism and modernism or becoming ecology warriors, here’s a bit of advice.  Remember the words of Luke 19:10:  “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

Jesus Christ did not die a horrible death to save us from a virus or to save the planet.  He came to save souls from hell.  That’s every cleric’s #1 job.