CBCP should cleanse its ranks of disobedient priests

It seems that for most of this week, I’ve been writing articles about the Catholic Church, more so with the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Last Monday I wrote a commentary about the front-page headlines of the Freeman, which said, “Bullying puts off Catholics” taken from a GMAnetwork.com report. I said this should be taken as a wake up call for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that their job is cut out for them to cleanse their ranks of priests who no longer believe in the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. God did not make a perfect Catholic Church!

The article stemmed from a blog by a certain Fr. Joel Tabora, SJ who wrote, “People have been leaving the Catholic Church… People are tired of being treated as if they were younger than adolescents, of being scolded. People are tired of obstinate claims to absolute truth, when the thinking world continue to see the truth.”  Is this bullying in the pulpit? Of course, it doesn’t have to be said, that Fr. Tabora no longer believes in the Magisterium of the Catholic Church… just like that other Jesuit priest turned columnist, who turned his column into his own pulpit to sow more confusion in the church.

In truth… these priests are the ones confusing Catholics by presenting a different view instead of the view of the Catholic Church! But when they are asked direct questions whether they support the Reproductive Health Law or not… they will never give you a straight answer. As my good friend, Michael Voris of ChurchMilitant TV.com clearly pointed out, “Ask these priests for a yes or no answer… but they never give you any.” But for those in the clergy that remains faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church… they are the ones who will definitely answer you with a yes or a no!

But are the Catholics leaving the Catholic Church because of bullying in the pulpit? I hope Fr. Tabora can give us a well-researched statistics on this because he just might be talking off his hat. The truth is… today, thanks to the emergence of Catholic Lay communities, the Catholic Church is still growing. But those who are leaving the Catholic Church are not joining our other Christian brethren. No sir…they are the ones who maintain their Catholicism in name, yet succumb to the lure of materialism, modernism and liberalism promoted by the Communists who have shed their communist ideology for one that people accept or embrace…and that is atheism.

Whether you believe it or not, the folks that claimed victory when the RH Bill was passed were the people who put the interest of human beings first…and put our love of God away from their sight. Fr. Tabora is right in one thing… the Catholic Church is in trouble these days because as pointed out by Pope Paul VI, “The smoke of Satan has entered the church.”

Why is this happening? I can only guess that this is due to smart theologians who sell their ideas of the Catholic Church, but have strayed so far away from the Magisterium… they have lost their childlike faith. Lest you have forgotten, our Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven to become like one of us… in order to save sinners… not the self-righteous.

Again let me point out very clearly, the door of the Catholic Church is wide open. If those baptized Catholics no longer want to be counted from amongst the sheep of our Lord Jesus Christ, because they insist on being goats, they are free to leave… and this also goes to those in the Clergy.

Indeed, all Catholics are part and parcel of the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered for our sins. Yes even today, the Catholic Church is called a Suffering Church because so many of our ignorant brethren cannot accept the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ especially about eating his body and drinking his blood in the Holy Eucharist. Let’s read where upon hearing our Lord talk about his being the Bread of Life said in John 6: 60 “Then many of his disciples where were listening said, “This saying is hard: who can accept it? In verse 66, “As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.”

If today, Russia has not been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as she requested through the three little children in Fatima on July 13, 1917, it is because of disunity in the clergy. I too wrote an article a month ago asking for the consecration of the Philippines to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but the CBCP has not heeded our request, even if CBCP President Archbishop Jose Palma wants it to happen. This is just one proof of disunity even within the ranks CBCP. What’s wrong with consecrating our nation?

But why do millions of Catholics still remain faithful to the Mother Church? It is because of the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ that you can read scripture, specifically in Matt. 16: 18, “And so I say to you, you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” I hope the CBCP wakes up and cleanse their ranks of disobedient priests and clear the smoke that has entered the church.

*  *  *

For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.