Deduction
The final cause is to be purified. Barron writes, “The new Israel of the Church has been handed over to its enemies, precisely for the sake of purification” (29). “Purification” as the “act or operation of removing impure, noxious or foreign matter” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 1845).
To purify is to remove impure, noxious and deceitful elements. But impure and deceitful priests are not being removed from the Catholic Church. For example, on May 3, 2018, Cardinal Cresenzio Sepe of Naples gave a list to the Vatican of forty actively inverted Catholic priests in Italy and none of them were removed. Further, on July 28 2013, Bishop Bergoglio said, “If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?” This is deceitful, since a Bishop of the Catholic Church has the duty to tell everyone in the world that promiscuity is unhealthy. Further, the Scriptures are very clear about noxious elements. “Outside [of heaven] are dogs, and drug users, and homosexuals, and murderers, and those who serve idols, and all who love and do what is false” (Rev 22: 15). Thus, because impure and inverted priests are not being removed from Naples, because Bishop Bergoglio failed to tell the truth about the specific characteristics inverted people, and because Barron fails to mention the last chapter in the Book of Revelation, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.The material cause is a set of “earthen vessels” (58). Barron writes, “The vessels are all fragile and many of them are downright broken” (59). A “vessel” is “a hollow and usually cylindrical utensil for holding something and especially liquid” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 2547). The vessels holding grace in the Catholic Church are many bishops and priests who are broken. Barron writes, “But we don’t stay [in the Church] because of the vessels. We stay because of the treasure” (59). Rather than telling the reader how the Church will purify itself, Barron suggests we should ignore the broken vessels and focus on the Lord’s grace.
However, a true view of the material cause of the noxious elements in the Church acknowledges that impure clergy are inverted. The Book of Revelation writes, “Outside [of heaven] are dogs, and drug users, and homosexuals, and murderers, and those who serve idols, and all who love and do what is false” (22: 15). Further, Archbishop Vigano writes, “Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone notoriously favored promoting homosexuals into positions of responsibility” in the Church (Testimony, 2018). Thus, because Barron is not honest about the material cause of noxious elements in the Church, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
The formal causes of impure elements and broken vessels in the Church are laziness, selfishness and cruelty. Barron writes, “In his laziness, self-indulgence, manipulation, and cruelty, David stands here as an icon of the abuse of power.” (33). Impure and broken clergy are like King David and lazy, selfish and cruel.
However, a true view of the formal cause of noxious elements in the Church acknowledges that 58% of inverted people have intestinal worms, 78% have sexually transmitted infections, 51% have domestic violence, and 75% have open, non-monogamous relationships. Thus, because Barron is not honest about the formal cause of noxious elements in the Church, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
The principal agent of purification is every Catholic bishop. On August 30, 2016, Richard Sipe wrote a Report about impure and broken clergy and said “Only a bishop can minister to these wounds.” “Minister” is defined as “one that acts under the orders or authority of another” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 1439). Every bishop has the “authority” and power to purify the Church and to remove impure clergy, noxious elements and broken vessels. Further, in 2018 the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury Report wrote, “Only the bishop can have the key” (2). Every bishop has the “key” to the archive where “abuse complaints were locked up” (2). Further, Randy Engel writes, “In his 1049 Book of Gomorrah, St. Peter Damian argued that bishops who failed to depose abusive priests were guilty as the offenders themselves for enabling the scandal.” However, Barron does not write about how the bishops have removed the impure elements and inverted clergy from the Church. Thus, because bishops are not using their power to remove impure clergy and broken vessels, because bishops are not using their keys to unlock abuse complaints for lawyers and law enforcement, and because Barron does not mention how bishops are deposing “abusive priests,” purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
The preparing agent that gets the Church ready for purification is apostolic nuncio. Barron writes, “The apostolic nuncio” is “the pope’s American ambassador” (11). The last four apostolic nuncios to the Unites States are G. Higuera (1998-2005), P. Sambi (2005-2011), C. Vigano (2011-2016) and C. Pierre (2016-Present). On August 22, 2018, apostolic nuncio Archbishop Carlo Vigano delivered a Testimony and a report of the abuse complaints in the Catholic Church. Vigano wrote, “If we truly want to free the Church from the fetid swamp into which she has fallen, we must: have the courage to tear down the culture of secrecy.” “Secrecy” is defined as “the habit or practice of keeping secrets or maintaining privacy” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 2052). Barron is keeping a secret and maintaining privacy by failing to mention Vigano’s 2018 Testimony and Sipe’s 2016 Report. Thus, because Barron continues the “culture of secrecy,” purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
The assisting agents helping the Church to become purified are competent lay people. Barron writes, “The involvement of lay people— competent in law, psychology, criminal investigation, etc.—assures that clergy are not judged simply by other clergy” (85). However, lay people lack authority to depose impure clergy. According to the 40th Statewide Report,”Priests were regularly placed in ministry after the Diocese was on notice that a complaint of child sexual abuse had been made” (66). Thus, because competent lay people lack the power of a bishop to depose impure clergy and broken vessels in the Church, and because bishops continue place “abusive priests” in ministry, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
Two counseling agents have wise counsel for bishops who wish to purify the Church of noxious elements. First, St. Peter Damian (1007-1073) gives sound advice concerning secretive bishops, impure clergy and broken vessels in the Church. St. Peter Damian writes, “Listen, you do-nothing superiors of clerics and priests. Listen, and even though you feel sure of yourselves, tremble at the thought that you are partners in the guilt of others…” (52). Concerning St. Peter Damian, Barron writes, “His greatest scorn—and how startlingly contemporary this sounds—was directed to bishops” (52). St. Peter Damian understood that bishops are the minister and key of purification in the Church. Second, Pope John XXIII wrote, “Advantage to religious vows and ordination should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and the priestly ministry would constitute serious dangers” (Religiosorum institutio, 1961). Pope John XXIII is very clear that inverted people are to be “barred” from the priesthood and religious life, since inverted people have trouble finding a virtuous balance in a community of men. Thus, because St. Peter Damian understood that bishops share the guilt of impure clergy and broken vessels, and because bishops are disobeying the rule of Pope John XXIII, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
History shows that saints have purified the Catholic Church. Barron writes, “On clear display was the familiar pattern of crisis and renovation” (95). He mentions St. Benedict, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Ignatius of Loyola. However, Barron fails to mention that the role of a saint is different than the role of a bishop. Saints cure illnesses, raise people from the dead and exorcise demons. On the contrary, bishops are the principal agents, “ministers” and “keys” of purification in the Church. Thus, because Barron confuses the job of a saint with the job of a bishop, and because Barron does not mention how bishops are deposing “abusive priests,” purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
An analogy states that the activity of reviewing the activities of impure clergy and broken vessels is like receiving an immunization. Barron writes, “Hearing these dark tales was a bit like receiving an immunization” (44). “Immunization” is defined as the “treatment of an organism for the purpose of making it exempt and immune from subsequent attack by a particular pathogen” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 1131). Dark tales about impure clergy are told by St. Peter Damian, Richard Sipe, and the 40th Statewide Report. Hearing dark tales are not helpful, since the dark tales are boring stories of unhappy and miserable people. Sadly Barron fails to mention the role of bishops as the keys to purification. Apostolic nuncio Vigano wrote, “The conspiracy of silence is that which bishops and priests have protected themselves at the expense of their faithful” (Testimony, 2018). Thus, because Barron maintains a culture of secrecy and because Barron highlights history and downplays clergy dismissals, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
A sign that the Church is not getting purified is the shuffle of abusers. Barron writes, "Bishops felt that it was it was permissible to shuffle offending priests from parish to parish” (87). “Shuffle” is defined as “to cause to mingle indiscriminately” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 2052). Bishops regularly move impure clergy and broken vessels to different parishes. According to the 40th Statewide Report, “If a predator’s conduct becomes known to the community, don’t remove him from the priesthood to ensure that no more children will be victimized. Instead, transfer him to a new location where no one will know he is a child abuser” (3). Thus, because bishops do not remove impure clergy and broken vessels from the Church, and because bishops shuffle and mingle inverted clergy with new locations, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
The motive for purifying the Church is morality. Barron writes, “Something in the moral compass of the men was haywire” (88). “Moral” is defined as “of or relating to principles and considerations of right and wrong” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 1468). The Catholic Church has very clear morals and principles of right and wrong and teachers that there are two basic rules that everyone should follow in order to be happy. The Lord said, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12: 31). Loving God includes obeying His Commandment about marriage. Further, loving thy neighbor includes being honest and telling the truth about Catholic morality. Yet Catholic leaders, such as Barron, are secretive and not honest about the specific type of noxious elements in the Church. Further, impure clergy are promoted. Vigano writes, “From the time of Pope Francis’s election, McCarrick, now free from all constraints, had felt free to travel continuously, to give lectures and interviews” (Testimony, 2018). Further, David Gibson wrote, “Now Francis is pope, and prelates like Cardinal Walter Kasper (another old friend of McCarrick's) and McCarrick himself are back in the mix and busier than ever” (NCR, June 21, 2014). Thus, because some Catholic bishops break the two laws from the Lord, and because Bishop Bergoglio promoted Cardinal McCarrick, a criminal and a predator, in 2013, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
I shall now use my freedom to review the above analysis. Hmm… I shall now use my freedom to choose my favorite two reasons. I have decided that I prefer the material cause and preparing agent cause. I shall now use my freedom to make a command. Because Barron is ignoring the noxious elements mentioned by Cardinal Sepe, and because Barron is promoting the “culture of secrecy” (Vigano, Testimony, 2018), purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
Deception
Aristotle writes, “We must grasp the number of aims entertained by those who argue as competitors and rivals to the death. These are five in number, refutation, fallacy, paradox, solecism, and fifthly to reduce the opponent in the discussion to babbling-i.e. to constrain him to repeat himself a number of times: or it is to produce the appearance of each of these things without the reality” (On Sophistical Refutations, c. 3).
A “refutation” is the “the proof of an error” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 1910). For example, Barron asserts that the abuse cases were caused by “clericalism.” Barron writes, “We have to look beyond the explicit offenders and raise some serious questions about the clerical culture that made this kind of abuse and its cover-up possible” (88). Further, Bishop Cupich in Chicago writes,”The decision before us is to recapture a holy order for the church, that has been corrupted by a culture of clericalism, which lies at the root of the present crisis the church is facing” (NCR, July 2, 2019). However, “clericalism” is not the cause of the “crisis in the church.” Inversion is the cause of the crisis in the Church, makes “abuse and its cover-up possible,” and “lies at the root of the present crises.” Thus, because Barron and other Church leaders state that the noxious elements in the Church are infected with “clericalism,” and because Barron and other Church leaders are not honest about the specific type of noxious elements in the Church, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
A “fallacy” is defined as “something that misleads the mind; a deception” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 818). For example, Barron quotes Cardinal Newman who wrote, “The whole course of Christianity is but one series of troubles and disorders” (42). This is a broad generalization and misleads the reader away from the fact that all Catholic bishops were told by the Pope to refuse to accept specific types of people to the seminaries. Pope John XXIII wrote, “Advantage to religious vows and ordination should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and the priestly ministry would constitute serious dangers” (Religiosorum institutio, 1961). Thus, because Barron focuses on history and fails to identity the specific type of noxious elements in the Church, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
A “paradox” is defined as “a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 1636). For example, Barron writes, “And the plain truth is this: these institutional changes have made a substantial difference” (85). However, the institutional changes from 2002 have not made a big difference. To illustrate, David Gibson wrote, “Now Francis is pope, and prelates like Cardinal Walter Kasper (another old friend of McCarrick's) and McCarrick himself are back in the mix and busier than ever” (NCR, June 21, 2014). Thus, because Barron states a fallacy and asserts something “seemingly contradictory” to common sense, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
A “solecism” is “a deviation from the rules of syntax; a minor blunder in speech” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 1636). For example,(Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 1636). For example, Barron writes, “A better and stronger laity shapes a better and stronger (and less clericalist) priesthood” (93). “Clericalist” is an odd term and seems to suggest that clericalism is the specific type of noxious elements in the Church. However, an honest view of the noxious elements in the Church realizes that bishops who ignored Pope John XXIII’s rule from 1961 brought about the impure clergy in the Church. Further, the “laity” did not cause the impure elements in the Church. Further, “a better and stronger” (93) bishop is needed to fumigate the Church of error. Further, the inverted clergy and the secrecy of bishops are the specific types of noxious elements in the Church. Further, inversion and not clericalism is “the root of the present crisis the church is facing” (Cupich, NCR, July 2, 2019). Thus, because Barron deviates from an honest view of the specific type of noxious elements in the Church, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
“Babble” is “to utter meaningless sounds as though talking” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, 1966, p. 156). For example, Barron repeats the sound of “2002” and writes, “Since 2002…, in 2002…, of 2002…, after 2002…, after 2002” (13, 82, 83, 85, 86). Further, Barron seems to claim the Church was purified in 2002. However, the Church was not purified in 2002, since Bishop Bergoglio gave a job to McCarrick in 2014. David Gibson writes, “Now Francis is pope, and prelates like Cardinal Walter Kasper (another old friend of McCarrick's) and McCarrick himself are back in the mix and busier than ever” (NCR, June 21, 2014). Further, Barron himself writes, “What was particularly galling about the McCarrick situation was that Catholics had heard, since 2002, that protocols and reforms were in place that would prevent abuse going forward” (13). Barron admits that the 2002 reforms have failed. Thus, because the “protocols and reforms” of 2002 did not follow the protocol of Pope John XXIII, and because the 2002 reforms failed to address the specific type of noxious elements in the Church, purification is not taking place in the Catholic Church.
Final remarks. Barron is maintaining the culture of secrecy and fails to acknowledge the clear problem outlined in Bishop Carlo Vigano’s “Testimony” on October 19, 2018 and fails to promote the simple solution in Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Letter on July 7, 2007, “Summorum Pontificum.” Two simple things need to be done in order to purify the Church: remove noxious elements that break the Sixth Commandment and promote the Latin mass.
© By Theodore Faulders, June 19, 2019.