“Lately, I have begun to feel differently about the way Michael Voris defends the Church…”

While it’s not unusual to find Michael Voris detractors on the interwebs, it is surprising to find one like this.

A woman who blogs as “Catholic in Brooklyn” has been an admirer and supporter of Michael Voris and his online apostolate.  But in a long blog post—one notable for its charity as well as its clarity—she says she’s having second thoughts:

Lately, though, I have begun to feel differently about the way in which Voris defends the Church.  He is a lot like talk radio in that he creates an “us versus them” mentality, and the “them”, more often than not, is not even those in the secular world world who actively oppose the Church, but our own bishops and priests.  Voris actually seems to relish pointing out the spiritual failings of the bishops and priests of the “Church of Nice” as he calls it…

…Voris describes the Church of Nice as follows:

the saccharine syrupy hand holding ultra-feminized altar girl protestant hymn singing social justice priest facing with his back to God staring at the people staring back at him Church – in short practically every parish in the western world.

Is this really what Our Lord wants us to do, to attack fellow believers?  I am also very concerned about the blanket statement Voris makes here:  “in short, practically every parish in the western world.”  By making this statement Voris is, in effect, setting himself up as judge and juror over the entire contemporary Church.  Painting the entire Church with one broad brush stroke is prejudicial to say the least and, as can be seen, leads to very judgmental thinking.  If we really believe that “practically every parish in the western world” is in spiritual trouble, shouldn’t we, with great humility and mindful of our own sinfulness, be reaching out to them with love and compassion and praying that they will turn from error instead of just gleefully pointing out how wrong they are?

…In [another] Vortex episode, Michael Voris actually makes the following statement about the hierarchy of the Catholic Church:

Too much of the establishment in the Church have turned to dead branches and the sooner they are cut off and become fuel for the fire .. the better for the rest of the vine.

Michael Voris is talking about priests and bishops – men ordained by the Holy Spirit – when he says they are dead branches who should be “cut off and become fuel for the fire.”  Michael might do well to look at the story of David and Saul.  Saul was anointed the first king of Israel and was a total failure at it.  David was then chosen to replace him, and Saul reacted by trying to have David killed.  At one point David had a chance to kill his mortal enemy, Saul, and David was urged to do so by his men.  But David’s answer to this was, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 

Our Catholic bishops and priests have been specially ordained by God.  We have no right in making any judgments about their souls and hoping for the day that “they are cut off and become fuel for the fire.”  We certainly need to call them out when they are disobedient to the Church, but we must never, never rejoice in their destruction.

There’s much, much more. It’s sane and sensible—and, even better, both constructive and instructive.   Read the rest.