Things I trust more than the Catholicity of Fr. Thomas Rosica's theology

Me in a store that sells high-quality cupcakes.

Me at a Sacred Liturgy when a priest's homily is heretical or daffy women are running around the Church competing with what's going on in the Sacred moments between Gethsemene and the Resurrection.

A theology course at Boston College.

An invitation from the Chancery

Catholicity at Patheos.

Me at Arch Street.

A column written by John Allen and Margery Eagan

When a bishop asks me to be on a committee.

Gender theology at National Catholic Reporter.

It's a long list but I think you get the point!


I spent a little time reading up on statements Fr. Rosica has made over the last five years or so.

This guy has some nerve to make a federal case out of Catholics who don't trust him or the bleep show he is putting on in Rome.

I don't have time to do a full-blown expose on why practicing Catholics do not trust his opinions and resources as consistent with 2000 years of the Doctors and Saints of Christ's Church, but I did feel an urgent need to talk about the relationship between what priests say and do and judgments families make about spiritual safety based upon those presentations.

Somebody is going to have to do it. Maybe several of us.

Fr. Rosica's threat of litigation against faithful Catholics is far more than the usual and customary attempts of Catholic hierarchy to threaten whistleblowers of their corruption.

It is similar in some ways. We are getting down and dirty into the belly of the beast that protected ordained pedophiles. Namely, a high-ranking prelate's misuse of his appointment and power to prevent practicing Catholics from exercising their Canonical rights.

In this case, it is about our Canonical right to faithful education of the Deposit of Faith by the people forced to rely upon them to give it to us.

Receiving our right to a faithful Catholic education requires that we report priests who contradict or undermine Church teaching, mislead the faithful, turn a liturgy into a circus or a weekly talent show or simply deprive us of our religion. We have to rely upon superiors to take actions against those priests. That system has been broken for decades. There is no system of discipline in the brotherhood, even when the rape of children is involved.

Here we are experiencing this same brotherhood dynamic when the controversy is about Church teaching.

Fr. Rosica, in effect, is making a civil claim that his own statements and his salt and vinegar show are part of the infallible Magisterium of the Church which Catholics are unable to question. He claims the infallibility of his own statements have to be substantiated in civil court because when publicly compared against 2000 years of Church teaching, his statements are found not to be credible and he is losing subscribers to his shows.

No kidding. When you contradict Church teaching, you need look no further than the mirror to find the person responsible for the loss of your credibility.

Is the Holy See going to start suing us for their mistakes?

This is one of the dumbest things they've ever done.

I smell a rat.

Somebody in my comments section mentioned this a Canonical problem we have on our hands and when I thought about it, I think they may be absolutely correct.

I've been thinking that if Fr. Rosica proceeds with this charade, perhaps a countersuit should be filed. A class action countersuit against Fr. Rosica while simultaneously trying to get his allegations switched to a canonical court.

Think about it. They now have a Pope marching heretical ideas around St. Peter's Square, into our synods, into our parishes, into our homes and families -- with the instructions that Catholics are to spend the next ten months debating them.

Fr. Rosica follows the Pope's instructions and produces shows that demonstrate he is gaga for political advocates of gay marriage and the Holy Family was against the canonical laws of Christ's Church on marriage. When when mothers and fathers take up the debate, the Pope's spokesperson threatens them with a lawsuit.

Let that percolate for a bit and let me point out a few statements Fr. Rosica is trying to claim are infallible pronouncements of Church teaching.


Fr. Rosica used his media apostolate to invite a gay marriage advocate, whom he referred to as a 'real model of hope'.

Fr. Rosica sees in those orthodox, the “pseudo-orthodoxy” who “are among the most unhappy and sad and angry that I’ve ever met.”

Salt and Light CEO fails to mention Baum’s decades-long dissent from the teachings of the Church. Fr. Rosica astonishingly goes on to state, “I’ve certainly admired very much your theology,

Last year, Fr. Rosica referred to Catholic theology as 'ideals' and criticized Cardinal Burke for 'sticking to 'em instead of ministering to people'.

One is left to conclude that Fr. Rosica is suggesting that priests leave a soul in a state of mortal sin as a 'ministry'. Not surprising. This is the ministry the Pope is suggesting priests switch to.

One of the most offensive things I have ever read was Fr. Rosica's caricature of the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph and Christ as a canonically irregular family, thereby cheapening their holy and sanctified virginity and the Incarnation of God into a rebellion against religious law on the family and sinful state.

The Catholic meaning of an irregular family is one where sins are being committed and the require changes to comply with Church law.

We are not simply 'allowed' to make a judgment upon Fr. Rosica's statement--it is a right and a duty. As to Fr. Rosica's suggestion that the Incarnation of Christ into the womb of a Virgin was against the laws of Christ's own Church and was consequently canonically irregular: The statement is blasphemous.

When Fr. Rosica makes public statements that affect the judgement of Catholics or Church teaching, they are subject to comparison against 2000 years of Church teaching. If during that comparison, Fr. Rosica's statements are found to be inconsistent with 2000 years of theology and he loses his credibility, it means in the opinion of educated Catholics, he was found to be presenting theological errors.

You want to talk about a public relations mess?

Pope spends two years building a manifesto of insults against faithful Catholics.
Pope parades in heretics and tells us all to debate their ideas.
Pope's spokesperson states he admires the ideas and the ideas give him hope.
Pope's spokesperson states Catholics holding onto 'ideas' manifested in 2000 years of theology are angry people who are not ministering.
Pope's cabinet advisor suggests people who won't accept ideas of said heretics are dissenters of Church teaching.
Pope's spokesperson publishes this slander on his twitter.
Pope's spokesperson threatens to sue Catholics debating ideas.


This is exactly how dissenting priests shut down Church teaching in our parishes, schools and apostolates isn't it?

They present heresy under the claim the Church is a big tent of ideas and not an institution that guides us and gives us the tools to make right judgments. When their errors are corrected, all hell breaks loose.

When a lay person, priest, bishop, Cardinal, Pope or the people he has appointed to speak on his behalf as the Roman Pontiff - talk about theology in the public square, in our parish, in our schools and apostolates -- Catholics are going to ensure it's Catholicity by comparing it to the Deposit of Faith.

If and when it contradicts Church teaching, scandalizes or undermines It or its teaching or practice, it is the right of every Catholic to point out its errors, flaws and scandal.

Nobody is exempt. It is the free exercise of our religion and our duty as a baptized Catholic. The Pope and his team of luminaries may wish to reconsider opening up this war.


It reminds me of an old knock/knock joke.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Alpaca.
Alpaca who?
Alpaca your suitcase.