Epic smackdown of “We know he’s not the pope but there’s nothing we can do”

My it is funny how a man given to such weakness can turn angry on a dime, isn’t it?

Case in point: I had a conversation a few days ago with not one but two priests of a certain diocese (not my own). These two men (one just ordained) are decent men to be sure. And I am sure that in another age they would have shone for their virility. But this is the current year and the fan has stopped spinning for the shit clogging it. Unfortunately in hard times, most men – yes, MOST men – latch onto their comforts.

Remember the definition of effeminacy. It is, in a nutshell, failure to act because of the fear of the loss of one’s comfort. This is different from sloth which is failure to act because something is hard to do. No, effeminacy strikes at the heart of the very sex of man. God created us fellas to be hard and to do hard and to struggle and to fight hard. He made us thus to protect and to provide. And yet we still lapse back into that sin of Adam. He didn’t give into the serpent. He gave into his wife. And then he threw her under the bus. We do the same. We fail to speak up. We fail to protect. We fail to do what is right; not because speaking truth is hard but because we might lose the easy life.

In my conversation with these two young priests, the Argentine Jesuit came up in an oblique manner. One of the two men mentioned the TLM and then said, “Well I say it but I’m not allowed to say it publicly.” My reply was, “Have you not read Quo Primum?”

This lead to a back and forth where the final rejoinder from both priests was – wait for it…

“Yes, yes, we know all that but we have to live in this diocese.”

They said this with the same anger I’ve seen on the snarling face of my dog when I have to corner him for his monthly heartworm pill.

Friends, this isn’t the first time a priest has said to me those words. “We know he’s not the pope but there’s nothing we can do about it,” or “We’re just waiting for him to die,” or “What do you want me to do?”

I want you to act like a man.

I’ve been there. It’s hard. But see above about virility. It suck’s when you have to confront the principal because she doesn’t want you to teach Catholic morality in a Catholic high school. It sucks when you have to walk away from a job because you won’t just take the jab. It sucks when family turn on you because you won’t just let the cousin’s same-sex “partner” come to dinner. These have happened to me and to my friends over the past few years and I am sure to a number of you readers. But you know you did the right thing.

If you want to make a cogent argument for the validity of a papacy then make it if you can. But for heavens sake, don’t tell me I’m right but you don’t want to give up your paycheck. And I say this with the utmost respect for these dear men (all priests) whom I believe feel trapped and uncertain. But guys, the time to wake up and fight has come and gone.

If you want to know where to start, take a look at the stellar work of Dr. Ed Mazza. He has a piece up on NonVeni Mark’s blog right now here:

https://nonvenipacem.org/2024/12/11/is-francis-pope-dr-mazza-lays-it-out-to-fr-brian-harrison/

If you want to equivocate and argue that keeping mum and playing it sly is the prudential thing to do in order that you may continue to offer the sacraments in this climate for your people as one friend of mine has argued, I at least respect that and you may have merit to that argument.

But jumping headlong into the logical fallacy of dead-ending the argument in that manner? “We know all that but we have to live in this diocese…” In other words, you’re telling me I’m right but you’d lose your job. I’m right but you’d lose your insurance. I’m right but you’d lose your housing. In other words, I’m right and you’re weak. It sounds cruel but it’s really charitable. Again, I’d love to have the argument but not when you cede my point on the grounds that you’re afraid. What kind of a fight is that?

Pray for our priests – the good, the bad, and the really bad. If you think Satan wants your soul, know how much more he wants any one of theirs.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!