A Crisis of Spiritual Fatherhood
Just last week, another controversy has broken out in the Catholic Church. Father James Altman, a priest of Jesus Christ, from the Diocese of Lacrosse, publicly denied the legitimacy of Pope Francis’ pontificate. In doing this, Fr. Altman has placed himself in direct opposition to the Catholic Church, and has in fact, committed the canonical crime of schism. However, as much as many are focusing directly on the scandal and his refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff, I wish to dedicate this article to the reason I believe Fr. Altman, and many others, are brought to this extreme conclusion.
There is a crisis in the Catholic Church. Almost seventy percent of Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist.[1] For every person that joins the Catholic Church almost seven people leave.[2] There are movements, in some instances led by clergyman, advocating for a softening of the Church’s position on sexual morality.[3] Some have outright called the Church’s teaching “false”.[4] The plunging numbers of vocations to the priesthood and religious life.[5] Baptism are down.[6] Catholic marriages are down.[7] I can go on, but you get the picture. These, including Fr. Altman’s actions, are a result of the absence of our spiritual fathers’ leadership and discipline. In that absence, many talking heads on social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, have moved to fill that void. Some have provided clarity, but others have sowed division, confusion, despair, dissent, and schism. In the chaos of commentary on the happenings in the Church, camps have been formed and leaders chosen. Bickering among themselves like children deciding which sibling is more right. This reminds me of St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians: “for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving in an ordinary human way? (1 Corinthians 3:3-4) In this admonishment, St. Paul provided the paternal leadership that is desperately needed from our bishops today.
You might be asking, why does this correction and discipline need to come from the bishops? Isn’t it enough that there are competent and qualified individuals commenting and critiquing those who are in error? To which the answer is, no. These individuals, although capable, do not possess what a Successor of the Apostles possesses, authority. In the document Christus Dominus, St. Pope Paul VI says that “individual bishops who have been entrusted with the care of a particular church - under the authority of the supreme pontiff - feed their sheep in the name of the Lord as their own, ordinary, and immediate pastors, performing for them the office of teaching, sanctifying, and governing.” Likewise, Lumen Gentium states that bishops “are authentic teachers” “endowed with the authority of Christ”. They “bring forth from the treasury of Revelation new things and old, making it bear fruit and vigilantly warding off any errors that threaten their flock.” Notice that it is the bishops, not social media talking heads, that have the authority and responsibility to teach, correct, discipline, and govern the flock. With all due respect to every bishop, whom I love and submit to, that is not happening in a balanced way. The fact that a Cardinal publicly says that the Church’s teaching on sexual morality is false but is then allowed to act as the relator general for the Synod of Synodality, is evident of this. Another example of imbalance is noted in the restriction of the celebration of Holy Mass according to the missal of St. Pope John XXIII (1962). This form of the Holy Mass is to be suppressed out of concern that it is being weaponized by some against the legitimate authority of the Church. However, the German Synodal Way votes to allow Church blessings on same-sex unions in direct contradiction to Pope Francis’ Magisterium and no disciplinary action is taken.[8] Not by bishops, nor the Holy See.
We need our spiritual fathers. We need correction and discipline to be imposed on Catholics who are dissenting against the legitimate authority of Holy Mother Church, and Fr. Altman is not the only one who falls into that category. Since we don’t, confusion is running rampant and causing a reactionary response of dissent. Both from radical-traditionalists and progressive-Catholics. For those wanting to go down the road of dissent, I beg you to look to St. Padre Pio: “God’s will be done … The will of the superiors is the will of God.”[9]
[1] Smith, Gregory A. “Just One-Third of U.S. Catholics Agree with Their Church That Eucharist Is Body, Blood of Christ.” Pew Research Center, August 5, 2019. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-rhttps://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/08/05/transubstantiation-eucharist-u-s-catholics/eads/2019/08/05/transubstantiation-eucharist-u-s-catholics/.
[2] Hadro, Matt. “What’s Going to Bring the ‘nones’ Back to the Church?” Catholic News Agency, June 13, 2019. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/41555/whats-going-to-bring-the-nones-back-to-the-church.
[3] Silva, Walter S. “Priest Responds to Jesuit Fr. James Martin, Supporter of ‘Gay Pride.’” Catholic News Agency, June 4, 2021. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247906/the-clear-response-of-a-priest-to-fr-james-martin-for-supporting-gay-pride.
[4] “Key Synod Cardinal: Catholic Teaching on Homosexuality Is ‘False’: News Headlines.” Key Synod cardinal: Catholic teaching on homosexuality is “false” | News Headlines | Catholic Culture, February 3, 2022. https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=53759.
[5] Jones, Kevin J. “Decline in Vocations to the Priesthood Is Worse Where Priests Serve Larger Flocks, Report Says.” Catholic News Agency, August 27, 2023. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253787/decline-in-vocations-to-the-priesthood-is-worse-in-dioceses-with-larger-flocks-report-says.
[6] News, Fredrick NzwiliOSV, Gina ChristianOSV News, Giovanna Dell’orto, and Julie AsherOSV News. “New Vatican Statistics Note ‘downward Trend’ in Catholic Baptisms Worldwide.” National Catholic Reporter, June 1, 2023. https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/new-vatican-statistics-note-downward-trend-catholic-baptisms-worldwide.
[7] Nguyen, Lily. “Dating Crisis Fuels Freefall of Catholic Marriages - Biweekly Newspaper for the Diocese of Richmond %.” Biweekly Newspaper for the Diocese of Richmond, March 9, 2023. https://catholicvirginian.org/news/dating-crisis-fuels-freefall-of-catholic-marriages/.
[8] Liedl, Jonathan. “German Synodal Way Approves Same-Sex Blessings, Lay Preaching, and Reexamination of Priestly Celibacy.” Catholic News Agency, September 15, 2023. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253842/german-synodal-way-approves-same-sex-blessings-lay-preaching-and-reexamination-of-priestly-celibacy#:~:text=The%20German%20Synodal%20Way%20has,the%20Latin%2Drite%20Catholic%20Church.; Card. Ladaria, Luis F. “Responsum of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to a Dubium Regarding the Blessing of the Unions of Persons of the Same Sex, 15.03.2021.” Responsum of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith to a dubium regarding the blessing of the unions of persons of the same sex, February 22, 2021. https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2021/03/15/210315b.html#:~:text=But%20he%20does%20not%20and,leaves%20us%20as%20we%20are%E2%80%9D.
[9] Kosloski, Philip. “How St. Padre Pio Responded When the Vatican Silenced Him.” Aleteia, July 13, 2021. https://aleteia.org/2021/07/13/how-st-padre-pio-responded-when-the-vatican-silenced-him/.