Why Don’t the Priests Blow the Whistle?

7/29/2018

From the Pastor:   Why Don’t the Priests Blow the Whistle?

      One question that was asked after last week’s homily was, “Why don’t ‘good’ priests and ‘good’ bishops blow the whistle on the abusive priests and bishops?” Many people still don’t (I believe most priests still don’t) understand just how evil the active homosexual or homosexual activist (AH/HA from here on out) priests and bishops are. Not understanding the extent of their depravity and wrongly thinking that they are simply “normal” men who just struggle with their sexual desires and sometimes might fail to remain chaste but are really, truly repentant when it happens and strive to “confess my sins, do penance and amend my life, amen”, they cannot possibly grasp the hellish depths to which the AH/HA clergy will go to persecute, lambaste, punish, humiliate and blackmail anyone who stands in their way or threatens their way of life. Let me be clear. The AH/HA priests and bishops treat their sexual mortal sin as if it is a “good” and a God-given good at that (if they even believe in God, something of which I am very doubtful, at least in the Catholic understanding of Who God is). Nay, more than “a” good, they are convinced that it is “the” good. They will go to any, repeat, any length to force others to engage in it, to accept it, or to, at the very least, ignore it and pretend that it doesn’t exist or that it is not harmful enough to mention or try to eradicate. They do not struggle with their disordered sexual desires as so many others do but rather revel in them. With that as my premise, let me explain why few “good” priests and bishops will openly challenge their brother priests and bishops when it comes to this particular sin. Next week, perhaps, I will take it a step further and write about why even priests who have left the active ministry (mostly to get married) cannot and will not come forward with what they know, with what quite often drove them out of ministry in the first place.
      As part of the application process to be accepted as a seminarian and throughout his entire formation process, a man is, and rightly so, asked to reveal an extensive amount of very personal information, including such things as his history of chastity or sexual activity, criminal activity (even if he was never caught or convicted), and his worst fears about where he might fail in living out his vows or promises (prayer, poverty, chastity, and obedience). His file grows thicker the longer he remains in the seminary and it continues to grow after ordination, and includes self-revealed and other-revealed (from formation directors, vocation directors, letters from parishioners, etc.) information regarding his struggles, mental issues, physical problems, and moral failings before, during and after formation, any perceived “hostility toward women” or “rigidity” or “uber Catholicism” or “hard preaching” and many more such things. That file never goes away, even when a man leaves “the system”, whether before or after ordination (this will be helpful to remember for next week’s column). This file is always meant to help him so that by working with his spiritual director he can improve in every aspect of his life, so that he can overcome fears and failings, so that he has a benchmark by which to gauge his improvements in holiness and competence. It is also meant to help his bishop and any of his future bishops understand the priest, to figure out where to place him on assignment or which assignment to keep him away from for his own good. But while a good seminary rector or bishop uses this intimate information wisely and well for the salvation of the soul of the man and those under his care, an AH/HA bishop uses it for evil purposes. How so? Let me give you a couple of completely made-up examples.
      Suppose a priest’s file reveals that as a teen he was sexually abused by an adult male. As a result of this formative abuse, he struggled with homosexual desires as an adolescent and into his early adulthood but always remained chaste. Once ordained as a priest he spoke out fervently against the acceptance and promotion and legalization of homosexual activity and other sexual sins. His AH/HA bishop, knowing his past, makes him the Boy Scout chaplain where he will be working closely with the bishop’s handpicked and openly active homosexual lay diocesan Scout leaders, hoping and even encouraging (vicariously, through his minions) him to finally fall to his boyhood abuse-induced homosexual desires and sexually abuse one or more of the Scouts. While a continual perpetuation of this sin is most greatly desired by the AH/HA bishop, even one “close call” is enough for a lifetime of blackmail. The AH/HA bishop will do the same with a formerly active (before his conversion to Catholicism, let us say) heterosexual priest who bucks the Lavender Mafia, though he would instead be assigned as chaplain of the girls’ High School or University for the same purposes, and “seducers” would be sent to tempt him. Think this is far fetched? Don’t be fooled.
      “So?” you might be thinking, ”What could the AH/HA bishop do with even a file full of blackmail information?” I will explain more about that next week and you will see why even the “ex” priests are not safe from such evil.

With prayers for your holiness,
Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka

Kathy

8/1/2018 02:35:44 pm

Father, You may be interested in another priests take on the same matter. It is very enlightening. Thank you for your explanation

Avatar
Fr. RP Mod • 15 hours ago
Let me say this, and please everyone pay attention to it for it is very real and a serious problem: Active sodomites in the clerical order often seek out a non sodomite orthodox priest for confession, with the sole intention of binding him to silence about them and their activities. They are not seeking to truly repent, they are effectively shutting him up permanently about their evil activities.

I have never seen this mentioned or reported anywhere, but it is very real. And it's one of the reasons why many 'good' priests and bishops are silent when it comes to specific clerics and their grievous sins. For they have been manipulated via the sacrament of penance to permanent silence on certain members of the clergy. And this is also how many of these deviants make it through seminary.

My advice to all good priests is that if a cleric wants to come to confession to you and you have any doubts or suspicions about them that are serious, then you must refuse to hear their confession. Don't get manipulated by these vile men! If you don't know them then refer them to someone else! And I promise you, every priest who has been around for a couple of years or more, and is known to be solidly orthodox, knows by experience what I am saying is true.

Father Palka

8/1/2018 03:44:46 pm

Kathy,
Somebody sent that to me earlier today. I sadly have to admit that he is absolutely correct. I brought out that point in a Catechism class one day and people were absolutely floored. People really don't know just how evil and manipulative the AH/HA priests and bishops are. These men know the way the Church works and they use that knowledge for their own evil ends. They are not "normal" men who just have a weakness for sex which they haven't been able to overcome. They have embraced evil. There is a huge difference between a weak man striving for holiness and a man who has sold his soul to the devil. And oftentimes the former appears to be "bad" because he admits his sin while the latter appears "nice" because he is as adept at lying as his father, the prince of lies, is.

I might also add that that type of priest will also use the confessional to see if he can pick up a new "date" by seeing how his confessor reacts to his revealed (not repented) sins.

Fr. Palka

TLM

8/5/2018 01:55:45 pm

These A/H...H/A men are so EVIL there are really no words. I believe this is all completely TRUE and they USE the Church and everyone in it to their EVIL DEMONIC lifestyle. The laity have very little recourse to this evil, but we may be able with God's grace to find a way to at least help GET THESE MEN OUT OF THE CHURCH!! The priests that have already been courageous enough to speak out are receiving supernatural grace from God. These evil sodomites need to be stripped of their vestments PUBLICLY, laicized and if appropriate turned over to authorities...if not, sent packing empty handed.

Ferde Rombola

8/10/2018 08:32:22 am

How about if AH/HA priests were given, as a condition of absolution, the penance to admit their active homosexuality publicly and to turn themselves over to the bishop? Of course there's a good chance the bishop will be on his side of the fence. In that case, watch what happens to the priest. If nothing, you have your answer.

8/17/2018 03:02:12 am

Fr. Palka, If a person were to confess a certain sin, then the confessor learns of the same person committing the same offense after the confession, is the priest able to report the events that took place after the confession?

10/5/2018 09:49:57 am

Kathy,

I'm very sorry that you are unable to understand the true nature of the abuse. It is overwhelmingly a homosexual problem. It is pederasty. Homosexuals have a mental illness, and until that is recognized and accepted, the problem will get continue.

God bless you.

James Risdon link

8/2/2018 01:41:51 pm

Kathy,

I would like to contact that priest, Father RP Mod, for comment on this issue for an article in LifeSiteNews. Would you happen to have any contact information for him?

I can be reached at [email protected].

Thanks.

8/2/2018 07:04:14 pm

Hi James. He is a moderator at the website 1Peter5. I copied his comment directly from an article on the site. I hope this helps. Kathy

8/17/2018 10:51:16 am

Ferde,
A priest may not force a public admission of guilt (or a private one, say, to his bishop) as part of a condition for absolution.

8/17/2018 10:57:33 am

JT,
If a priest were to learn of the sin outside of the confessional, he could use that, and only that, information to turn in an abuser. But it is very difficult to separate the two sources to be sure of not breaking the seal. It is also quite possible that less information and secondhand information is obtained from outside sources while details and firsthand information has been revealed in a malevolent confession. That would make it next to impossible for a priest to reveal what he knows, especially if there are any discrepancies in the stories. It really is a terrible position to be put in.

Kelly link

7/28/2020 08:34:12 am

Mental health is a excuse to justify the crime that is committed. Psychiatrists Are just another form of helping them cover up thing they should be in prison for. Psychiatry Got into the church back in world war 1 and they keep using it for cover up excuses. If it’s not your fault then you don’t have to take responsabilty for it. Plus then you can play the maryter.

Tim

8/4/2018 02:52:01 pm

This is a great assessment by a faithful priest. Check your tires and brake lines before traveling though. This reminds me of how Fr. John Hardon used to preach. God bless you Fr and please preach the Way, the Truth, and the Life no matter the consequences.

8/4/2018 10:40:18 pm

Tim,
I'm glad to mentioned Fr. Hardon. I learned more from his talks than I ever did in seminary. He was the first priest I ever heard state outright that some of his fellow professors sent several women to tempt him, sure that nobody could keep a vow of celibacy. Thanks be to God he was solid in his priesthood and resisted every evil attack. May God rest his soul and may he pray for all of us at this great time of need!

Michelle McDermott

8/16/2018 05:16:48 pm

"Servant of God" Fr John Hardon SJ , now that was a holy priest!

Stephanie L.

8/4/2018 08:35:44 pm

Kathy, thanks so much for this information; God bless you!

Julia link

8/5/2018 05:37:31 am

Father, refuse these people absolution. Question them if their occasion of sin is a one off, or regular sin. And use the authority conferred on you to direct them to the services of the local mental services. Their sin is a mental illness, though there are many who would tell you they have become possessed by demons. Maybe you could point this out to them in the confessional.
Remember Saint Padre Pio and other famous confessors sent unrepentant sinners away to reflect before absolution could be considered.
God help you all beloved precious sincere Priests. I do pray the Saint Patrick 'Lorica' for Priests every day. Saint Michael protect you.

Don't let the b...ers get you down. We the lay are all plugging for you. You are not alone anymore. Heavenly Mama, help your Priest sons.

8/17/2018 03:10:00 am

I suspect those who use the seal of the confessional to silence the confessor don't care whether they are absolved: the confessor is bound by the seal whether absolution is granted or not.

Joel Fago

8/6/2018 12:23:49 pm

Many priests are more interested in protecting the privacy of the predators than helping those preyed upon.

Paul Acerra

8/8/2018 02:00:58 pm

It seems then the Orthodox convlservative priest should withold absolution until a true confession and penance is made and that pennenace should be a demonstrable attempt to conquer the sin by openly “outing” oneself and seeking help publicly.

8/17/2018 11:01:09 am

Paul,
A priest may not impose a public outing of one's sins before absolution is given.

Malcolm Smith

8/16/2018 05:45:30 pm

I've writing this from the point of view of an Anglican, so I might be mistaken in some details. However, my understanding is that one of the key requirements of the sacrament of absolution is restitution. You can't , for instance, confess to stealing and keep the money. You must give it back. Surely, if a person confesses to sexually abusing someone else, he must make amends. Shouldn't the confessor insist that he bring the victim in for pastoral care? If he is not prepared to do this, then would it be a valid confession, protected by the seal of confidentiality?

8/17/2018 11:04:15 am

Malcomb,
No, the priest cannot insist that an abuser bring in his victim. If you were the victim of a priest abuser, would you go willingly with him to another priest with the supposed reason being that you need pastoral care? And, yes, even an invalid confession or one where absolution is withheld for good reason is still covered by the seal.

Arthur McGowan

8/25/2018 07:02:43 pm

What Fr. RP says here is totally untrue.

If Fr. Jones comes to Fr. Smith and confesses some crime, and Smith knows about that crime from some other witness, Smith is totally free to report the crime to the authorities, as if he never heard it in Confession. Penitents have no blanket power to silence a confessor about the subject matter in general or the particular sin that was confessed.

What the confessor cannot do is reveal anything said in Confession, or use that knowledge to the detriment of the penitent, or reveal the identity of any penitent.

Again, the Seal of Confession does not apply to knowledge acquired outside of Confession, even if the same information has been acquired within Confession.

Mary Jo Best link

8/1/2018 04:57:49 pm

It is kind of scary that predator homosexual priests and bishops can be- come unable to be called out in the open because the only authorities who learn of their sexual sins are the normal priests to whom they go to confession. That obstacle never occurred to me before.I will definitely pray more than I have.

8/1/2018 07:30:44 pm

Mary Jo,

That's not the only reason they are not called out, and it's not even the largest one, since they don't go to every priest with every sin. But is sure is devilishly clever.

Fr. Palka

John Carilli

8/17/2018 02:42:27 pm

Fr. Palka ... I just read this in an article ...
3 Steps That Must Be Taken To Eradicate Predators And Cowards From The Catholic Church ... By: MATT WALSH
Here is an excerpt...
"These are career-minded, not Christ-minded, men. They are worried about public relations, protecting the brand, and avoiding controversy above all — and they've done a catastrophic job on all three counts. This is why a sermon from a bishop oftentimes sounds like it was written by a focus group. If there is going to be any real improvement in the Church, it will depend on bishops rediscovering their spines. And their faith."

I have long said that I do not understand why the church withholds its condemnation to (any and all) politicians who profess "choice" but remain Catholic and continue to be allowed to receive Communion and all other Sacraments. This is abhorrent to our faith and like homosexuality amount the clergy is contrary to our faith and Christ's teaching, yet as the Devil takes a truth and twists it, they hide behind their positions and "public image" to maintain these sins. The Church fails to do anything about it and in their silence, the public finds cause to "excuse" such behaviour. This quote above clearly point to the issue of why this is still allowed.
The pulpit has long FAILED TO PREACH THE TRUE GOSPEL.
The devil has used priests and bishops who are simply DECIEVED and as was warned and prophicied, become ingraned inside our Church in these "End Times."
Please remain in His Word and preach the TRUTH.
Also email me so I can keep up with your ministry since you clearly understand where the Church is in these troublesome times. God Bless you and all true believers.
John Carilli

8/17/2018 03:47:27 pm

John,

"Email me..." Sorry, but I don't have a group email sending out these articles and you didn't leave an email address to send to, anyway! Also, most of my bulletin articles really are not all that exciting for those who are not from Epiphany parish. But if you want to keep up with them, you can always check back here. I publish them in the bulletin and sometime, usually within a few days, they appear here on the parish site.

Alan Stemp

8/1/2018 10:53:12 pm

I don't understand this.

Confession is supposed to be secret, private, and anonymous. So a gay-nster priest goes and confesses everything to a solid priest. The solid priest can say nothing. Good so far.

But if the solid priest finds factual information about this priest outside the internal forum, how is he prevented from doing anything with it?

Say a gay-nster priest confesses molesting little children. Solid priest can do nothing. Then child comes to solid priest,(outside of confession) and says he was molested by gay-nster priest?

YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT TELL ME THAT SOLID PRIEST HAS TO STAY QUIET!!!!

That simply cannot be.

And, may God always protect the seal of the confessional, how does it work that sexual propositions within confession result in excommunication and dismissal from the clerical state? How would we know?

8/3/2018 08:59:28 pm

As presented by the comments, what usually happens is that the good priest gets all of the details within the confessional from the molester priest but only gets rumors and secondhand information from outside. He cannot go to the one abused based on information obtained in the confessional, so he cannot counsel him in any way related to it. The victims, as you see in the news, almost never come forward and when they finally do, it is decades later. As for the sexual proposition in the confessional, that is a darned good question, one for which I have no answer.

kathleen driscoll

8/5/2018 12:55:17 pm

Father: If faithful and good priests would join the Marian Movement of Priests they would have the help from MMP priests who are living their vocation as priests as God would have them do. They would have the support and prayers of their brother priests and millions of laity all over the world. Visit www.mmp-usa.net to get more information.

8/4/2018 01:42:42 pm

Alan,
I found the answer to your question regarding propositions in the confessional and it is so simple I should have thought of that right away. If the priest confessor propositions the penitent, the penitent can turn him in since he is not bound by the seal. If the penitent is a priest and propositions the priest confessor, the confessor, being bound by the seal, cannot do anything except kick him out. He can't act on it beyond that. Hope that answers your question.

8/17/2018 03:20:19 am

Father, does the seal apply to everything said in the confessional, or only to sins confessed? The distinction between a sin confessed in the confessional and a sin committed in the confessional seems pretty clear, if it is at all relevant.

8/25/2018 07:05:29 pm

You are absolutely correct.

Kevin

8/3/2018 03:09:23 pm

Thank you Father for teaching the truth.

8/3/2018 09:02:48 pm

You are welcome.

Niles

8/3/2018 06:27:06 pm

I see homophobia is still alive and well in Holy Mother The Church. Indeed, To quote The Bard: "The Lady doth protest too much".

8/3/2018 09:02:10 pm

Niles, I have heard that "argument" since seminary days. Whenever a pro-homosexual talk was coming, they would pull out that quote to make sure that nobody could object without being labeled a closeted homosexual themselves.

Patti D

8/6/2018 08:59:27 am

“Homophobia”? Really? Then our Almighty Father God must be homophobic. Romans 1:26-28 really spells it out, then there’s also 1Cor 6:9, 1 Tim1:10, and in the Old Testament Leviticus, and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. Please pray for discernment on this and open your mind to what the truth is about this sin.

Jack Gordon

8/6/2018 09:49:46 am

This linguistically twisted neologism "homophobia" is nothing more than a propaganda tool cooked up by the pro-sodomy movement to shut down criticism of their pet perversion. To me, its use by anyone is a signal to stop talking with the party in question since they aren't honest brokers. They aren't searching for truth, they're looking for approval for sin.

Thomas

8/12/2018 01:40:21 am

A phobia is an irrational fear.

Richard A

8/27/2018 01:13:18 pm

True. "Homophobia" would properly mean "fear of the same thing". Which is idiotic, which we already knew.
Instead of "phobia", "miso" should be used, which means something like "hatred" or "loathing", and which, of course, would not be irrational. But that works better as a prefix, not a suffix.

12/28/2018 07:46:14 am

Everything is wrong with your post: The neologism "homophobia" is ridiculous whether one thinks it has a Latin or Greek base or even if it is supposed to be some kind of crossbreed. Beyond that, the notion that this sloppily concocted slur intends to convey is itself a lie; Catholics hate sodomy, not sodomites. No one seriously thinks, for example, that opposition to arson suggests hatred for pyromaniacs, for example, on the part of its opponents.

Marlene

8/4/2018 11:22:26 am

Did George Weigel in his book, "The Courage to be Catholic" from 2002 discuss homosexuality in the church.

8/4/2018 11:23:44 am

Dear Fr.,
I found my way here from the recent article about you at LifeSite News, and I simply want to say THANK YOU for speaking openly and honestly. May God bless and strengthen you!

And as Bp. Athanasius Schneider recently pointed out, thank God for the internet in that we have access to the honest truth - in places like your page right here, or LifeSite, or 1Peter5, or Rorate Caeli - that we don't get any other way!

8/4/2018 10:48:45 pm

TJ,
You (and the Bishop!) are absolutely right. Not only do we have great sites like the ones you mentioned but we find out much more quickly which Bishops can be trusted (like Bishop Schneider, whom non of us in the US would have ever heard about or from were it not for the internet) and which cannot be trusted (and I don't have space to mention them all). It also helps to keep the real Catholics connected in some way. Too often they are in a cesspool and it is easy to believe that maybe nobody else actually holds to the Catholic Faith anymore. Through the internet blogs and sites, at least for now, they can see that there are still other small pockets of sanity.

Peter from Jacksonville

8/17/2018 11:41:07 am

I am so sad but not despairing .I entered the church a broken man with same sex attraction . No one was able to love me enough in my liberal community or in thr Episcopal church from which i came to help me leave this sin and choose chastity. I came to Catholicism by way of a wonderful program called Courage and a wonderful Priest, Fr Murphy at Immaculate Conception in Jacksonsville. One of the consequences of my sin is HIV .. I was loved, supported and shown the way of chastity . I hope this evil is purged from the Church .I cannot live without the Church and the sacraments and courageous Priests like Father Murphy.

8/17/2018 12:01:05 pm

Peter from Jacksonville,
Thank you for the personal testimony that true love is not accepting another's sin but rather helping him overcome it! The plug for Courage is welcome. Anyone can find information on this program at couragerc.org

Elizabeth

8/18/2018 02:37:25 am

I live in Pennsylvania. It has been hard for me to find well formed priests. I have had a priest tell me, in confession, not to talk to him about sexual matters and whether certain things are sins in marriage. By the grace of God, I have found a good priest who was, as I have heard, sent to this area to help clean things up.

I am glad I did not grow up here, as many I have met here used to be Catholics but lost their faith because of various abuses. If not for God's providence through the internet, specifically social media, I would likely have fallen away by now, or suffered some other sin of despair.

Thank you for your holy work.

B. Polus

8/4/2018 12:37:34 pm

"Immorality in the Church" - I Corinthians 5:1-13

Jimmy

8/4/2018 12:42:59 pm

Very interesting, I never considered the idea that the homosexual priests used confession as a means of silencing the true priests. I attended seminary, as an older vocation, and was surprised by the silent homosexuality that exists in the church. I remember sitting with a seminarian - who was a priest getting his doctorate - and he refused to hear confession of other seminarians, regularly. I understand now why. My personal (non-scientific) estimate was that 90% of the administration and faculty were homosexual, and 50% of the seminarians were homosexual. Sadly, I would estimate that only 20% of the seminarians were true vocations. Those truly holy individuals with vocations were rooted out and discouraged from becoming priests, and faced an extremely difficult path through the seminary. As a true vocation, If you didn't keep your head down and your mouth shut, you had little chance of making it through six years. I would expect that if you made it through as a true vocation, you are brain washed/conditioned to keep the homosexuailty problem to yourself. Plus, once ordained, you return to a fraternity of priests, where the homosexuality is entrenched as well. I will emphasize, the homosexuality is not open and outward, more like the don't ask don't tell in the military. The other thing that shocked me was the extreme support for Hillary Clinton and the Democratic platform. Like most universities today, the seminaries outwardly and vocally supported Hillary Clinton, and you better outwardly support her/them too, or you will have problems. In this case is was universal, there were no supporters of pro-life candidates among the administration or seminarians - which was scary too.

8/4/2018 10:58:22 pm

Jimmy,
I am glad you got to see a priest who had figured out that confession business and refused to get involved. Sorry about the rest, though. As for the Democrat supporters, every time somebody reports from the USCCB headquarters, they always mention that they only see a sea of bumper stickers supporting dems. Never any conservative people or causes. Hmmm... Any wonder? Which party supports their lifestyle? Which party openly claims to have the same lack of Faith which the AH/HA Bishops (who staff the seminaries with their own chosen "men") only pretend to have? Your eyes are open. Keep praying for others to see the truth, too.

Patricia Dilgard

8/5/2018 11:03:27 pm

WOW. We need some brave lay men to infiltrate these cesspool seminaries the way the police infiltrate gangs for the sole purpose of gathering evidence. One volunteer with a wire and hidden camera. A male prostitute outed over 40 priests in the diocese of Naples. Some of these priests are facing criminal charges for drug trafficking and extortion.

8/4/2018 03:12:40 pm

Dave

8/4/2018 03:13:06 pm

Nonsense! First, I don't disagree with their evilness, but the idea that all these men are just about all able to be blackmailed is just not true and if you haven't heard not a one has made their voice loud enough to get any attention. Not only that, but if you're trying to tell me that in any way a man abusing some boy scout because he was set up in an inviting environment is similar to a man having a heterosexual moment of weakness is pure nonsense. First, these aren't some weaknesses that are so strong you can't blame a man for really having them is just a lie. I've spent plenty of time with women other than my wife being a stay at home dad and not a single time have I nor would I ever try to add a notch in my headboard. It simply isn't in my realm for it EVER to enter any reality. Not because I couldn't, but because I simply wouldn't do it on principle. The principle that it would be an offense that I could not live with. They don't say anything because they have no supernatural faith. They don't truly believe in it. If they really had true belief in God they would have the stones to call out the disgusting sins that they are and would not in any part be a part nor worse be a participant in it. I don't buy this lame weak excuse one bit. If they believed in their culpability before God they would shudder in fear for not calling these disgusting evil perverts in the open. It has nothing to do with a mans weakness for their sexual appetite, none less a sexual appetite for pederasty or pedophilia. And quite honestly you should be embarrassed for suggesting this as an excuse because in the end -there is absolutely no excuse for it- NONE. No wonder the priesthood is in such a mess

8/4/2018 11:14:19 pm

Dave,
I think you might have misunderstood what I am writing about. I am by no means making excuses. But I am certainly explaining one huge reason (there are many more, but this is, after all, a bulletin article, not a book) the priests keep silent. The bishop doesn't have to even "win" in his battle, he just has to show the priest that there are no limits to what he will do to try to bring him down. He doesn't even have to do it to all of the priests, just to enough of them that everyone gets the message. Very similar to mafia tactics. Evil is pervasive. The demonic activity which the men are subject to 24 hours a day for years in the seminary and then to a greater or lesser extent in the rectory and "job" (depending on the priest's assignment) takes more of a toll than what most people think, for they discount or ignore that preternatural part of it completely, which results in treating this as a simple psychological issue or just a matter of will power. Once people start connecting the dots, though, all of it starts making sense, For instance, one small dot to connect is that most bishops don't have exorcists. Want to figure out why?

Kimberly

8/29/2018 04:13:51 am

Dave, as I read your comment I was compelled to go to this blog - http://www.olmctempe.com/blog.php?month=201808&id=1531312436&cat=249660100&pg=1&title=When+I+Wore+a+Younger+Man%27s+Clothes - written by a priest who grew up in an area controlled by the Mafia, so when he encountered the Lavender Mafia, he instantly recognized it as a cabal. I've seen the effects of Mafia control on people in my town who got caught up in the Big City Scene, so I understood what he was talking about. It didn't escape me, when I read Father Palka's reply to you, that he, too, compared it to Mafia tactics. Here's the thing: they don't have to fear being burned at the stake, and they have no compunction against doing great harm to others AND their families. Look what they did to Archbishop Nienstedt, who started a Courage chapter in the Archdiocese of Detroit before being assigned to New Ulm and then St. Paul and Minneapolis, where he forcefully preached against the sin of active homosexuality. Even the conservative Catholics are helping to keep him out of any ministry now. It's not proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he is not guilty of their allegations, but each time they chase him out of a ministry, he has humbly stepped away without a fight, without a trace of arrogance. Compare that to McCarrick and Wuerl. Evil bishops have had innocent priests imprisoned and have driven some to suicide. When I first learned of that, I thought it was just bishops being overzealous in fighting child sex abuse, but in light of these revelations, the pieces are falling into place. Please pray for our faithful hierarchy and clergy, and for our Church.

8/4/2018 08:15:00 pm

Thank you, Fr. Palka, for answering some of the questions I’ve had regarding this very serious problem; I had no idea! I will now offer my daily rosary for our sick Holy Mother Church, for you and all the good priests. We must overcome...it’s totally unacceptable! God bless you!

8/4/2018 11:25:36 pm

Stephanie,
Thank you for the prayers. This "sickness" has festered for a long time. It is high time the patient recovers! Our Lady promised that in the end her Immaculate Heart would triumph. Perhaps this is the end of which she spoke? Certainly your daily rosary is part of what she requested for the triumph.

William

8/4/2018 10:51:19 pm

I read the self-publish ebook “Priesthood In Crisis”, by Fr. Matthew Despard (an active priest in the UK) a few years ago. He detailed many of these issues with being pressured by the AH/HA priests in his diocese and how they ruined him when he refused their AH/HA advances.

If you search for “Priesthood In Crisis” by Fr. Matthew Despard you will see past reviews of the book and some news reports.

8/4/2018 10:56:53 pm

http://torontocatholicwitness.blogspot.com/2017/08/fr-matthew-despard-priest-who-exposed.html?m=1

8/5/2018 12:04:25 am

William,
I have neither read nor even heard of the book you quote but going to the link provided (which leads to other links, too) shows that nothing has changed in the past few years. The comments to articles supporting him shows exactly the same mentality which allowed uncle Ted to stay in power, namely "I condemn you for believing rumors and personal reports. You are vile unless you have video and audio of a whole bunch of mortal sins, showing not just a one time thing but a lifestyle of perversity, and, by the way, you better also have a signed affidavit from the perp testifying that your evidence is all on the up and up."

Amazingly, though it seems that he as written yet a second book, Amazon doesn't carry either one. I was able to get to some reviews of his original book through links but clicking on his name or his book on the review pages leads to nothing! Hmmm....

8/5/2018 05:24:13 am

Dear Father Palka, there is something good Priests can do when they are faced with sexual perverts looking for absolution for their crimes against the 6th Commandment. The Priest can refuse absolution, and tell the penitent to reform their behaviour sincerely before they present themselves again before the justice seat of God in the confessional.
The good Priest, has the chance to call these perverts out, and demand repentance the way Saint Padre Pio used to do.

I believe what you have written about, why would you make such a thing up. I learned about all this from Church Militant. I think God has sent Michael Voris to call out these perverts and come to the aid of the good holy sincere Priests who are truly men of God.

I always dedicate the third decade of Divine Mercy Chaplet for "Those wounded when the Chosen ones fall or fail" What was my shock to hear it is not only children caught in this evil net but Seminarians. I was sick to the stomach hearing this, and very grateful to God to have been praying unknowingly for the Seminarians as well. Merciful Jesus, I trust in Thee.

8/5/2018 04:33:27 pm

Julia,
You are correct in what the good priest can do but he is still bound by the seal of the confessional even if he refuses to give absolution. Even so, may St. Padre Pio beg graces upon us to do what we can!

Mary A. Gibson

8/5/2018 01:45:54 pm

This is very disheartening. I’m surprised there are any good priests at all!

8/5/2018 04:35:57 pm

Mary,
It is, indeed, disheartening but don't get discouraged or the [expletive] win. There still are good priests and bishops and they need encouragement to fight back. Pray, pray, pray.

Michael link

8/5/2018 11:25:44 pm

Dear Father Palka,

You hit the nail on the head! In 2010 I was accepted into a religious order and began my Pre-The at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philly.

When I first visited the order, my 'Gaydar' was on high alert, a few of the Priests and brothers sent my alarm bells off. However, the Postulant master was a young good Priest and I truly felt that I was called to that community.

I entered on August 15th 2010 and I went through unspeakable harassment. One of the brothers (who professed final vows 2 yrs ago), took a particular interest in me and my entire novitiate was a fight to keep him at bay. I spoke to my Postulant master many times on the harassment this guy was giving me, he was overtly gay and kept trying to make moves on me. My postulant master took me out on a walk one day and told me "My Hands are Tied Michael, Br. X is protected by those above me, there is nothing that I can do.. keep your head down and just ignore it". Word got back to the brother and he doubled his attacks on me.

When I returned home in the summer of 2011 I was broken .. and yet I still wanted to persevere, I had applied to and had been accepted to the Novitiate which was in another house. While home I met with my spiritual director who was an Opus Dei Priest, he told me not to go back unless the order guaranteed me that the brother would not be allowed to make his temporary vows again and they'd kick him out.

I told my postulant master this by phone and after a few calls he told me that yes the order was getting rid of the brother and that I could come in.

I entered in July 2011 and after receiving my habit.. I heard the announcement that the brother had just remade his temporary vows and I realized that I had been lied to.

I left Novitiate in Sept. 2011. I almost lost my faith when I left. Seeing first hand the Lavender Mafia, the many gay brothers and Priest hiding out in the monastery and their damage to myself and the Church as a whole was almost to much to bear.

It was only because of 2 very holy diocesan Priests from my local Church that helped me get through the difficulties and aftermath.

Thank you for speaking the Truth Father! I will pray for you!

8/6/2018 07:59:05 am

Hey Father Palka,

I wanted to add something to my post from last night on my time in the monastery in Philly. You mentioned blackmail and why men are silent, I experienced this first hand myself. After I left in 2011, I was very angry about what I went through, I had a blog and I wrote 2 blogs that didn't name any names or the monastic community, but anyone that knew me would know whom I was talking about.

The order got wind of my posts and they formed a council against me, I didn't know about this until a year later when one of the brothers that I stayed friends with told me.

I was systematically cut off from everyone in the community, everyone that I had been friends with were told not to contact me or reply to any of my emails. I was banished from any connections to the community. But something more serious happened, in 2014 I felt called back to the Priesthood. I met with several Priests who recommended that I meet with my Diocesan Vocation Director. I indeed set up a meeting and it went ok, the Vocation Director asked that I reach out to my community and ask them to send over my file to the Diocese.

I was really hesitant because I knew how awful these guys were. I called up the chancery and asked to speak with the Vicar Provincial. The first time I called they hung up on me, the second time they finally got the Provincial on the phone. This was a guy that was a Priest at the time in another country, he had never met me. He got on the phone and listened as I asked for them to send over my file and paperwork to the Diocese.

Then he spoke and he told me that I had brought great harm to the order and that I had a simple choice, right then.. right there. He told me that if I apologized to him and begged his forgiveness on the phone, that he'd send over a good recommendation, however if I didn't, the paper work they were going to send would be so atrocious, no one would ever accept me to religious life or the Seminary again.

I was flabbergasted.. I was being blackmailed. I paused and I could hear his deep breathing on the phone. And then I apologized. He told me that it was good that I did that and he's forward my apology to the members of the order and the other houses in the US and to the Motherhouse in Rome.

I felt relieved and yet at the same time I didn't trust him and I was soon to find out.. for good reason.

Two months later I again met with the Vocation Director and he absolutely ripped me a new one, it was like I was meeting with someone else. The Priest told me that it was the worst report he had ever seen from a religious community, that they said that I should never ever be allowed into a religious house or Seminary again and all sorts of awful things.

I was devastated. They won. I never should have apologized. It was all a ruse.

At the end of that meeting with the vocation director, I asked him if he felt that I had a vocation and he said yes, but not to his diocese.. to go somewhere else and he wished me good luck with the file that the community has one me.

So when you tell people about the blackmail, it is absolutely correct, I have experienced this myself. If I had just kept silent in 2011, not written those blogs, I would very likely if it was indeed Gods will, I'd be in a Seminary right now (if I persevered and again on Gods will).

The lavender mafia is real and they are very very powerful!

8/6/2018 11:02:14 am

Michael,

Nobody of Faith can help but hurt deeply when hearing of stories such as this. I am truly sorry you had to experience such evil. I have been receiving many calls and messages from others with similar stories. Nobody in the past knew who to approach to get any action. Today that is still the case except that everyone can go public with it. Your blogs from years past would have been much easier to avoid then than now. I have hope that steam is picking up as one after another seminarian,priest and bishop, those active and those who were removed or left starts speaking up loudly and publicly. The [expletive] can pick us off one by one and people will believe their lies but when the overwhelming evidence that they have been doing this for years comes to light from so many multiple sources, the tide finally starts turning!

Through the grace of God you didn't lose the Faith. Many were not able to hold on and their very salvation is at risk due to the demoniacs among the clergy. May God be merciful and may the Blessed Mother continue to pour upon her lost sons whatever graces they need for a complete return and healing.

Don't keep your story just here in the comments of a small parish's web site. Tell it as publicly as you can as many places as you can and invite/encourage others to speak up, too. God be with you.

Sharon

8/6/2018 10:43:24 am

Terrible, maybe they shouldn't delve so deeply into the seminarian's life, so that it's not on paper? I don't know what the answer is but these evildoers make me sick.

8/6/2018 11:12:56 am

Sharon,

The information they collect is, indeed, necessary and it is good that they do so. Proper formation to the priesthood absolutely must be predicated on the man opening up completely so that he can be first healed of all old wounds from previous sin but then filled completely by Jesus Christ, Whom he will be standing in the person of. Deep honesty and deep intimacy with a trusted faculty is the only way I know of to assure that a man is cut out to be a priest and is taught how be be the best one possible. I would never suggest that intimate information, the good, the bad, and the ugly, be withheld or that any prospective seminarian lie his way in or purposefully give a less than honest account of himself. Starting that way would almost assure that he would be a lousy priest. But the system only works when, as it should be, the teachers, bishops and priests all the way through, but especially in the beginning of his formation process are themselves holy and morally upright. That is why it is so important to actually get rid of the rot, not just ignore it or, worse, approve it! Please keep praying that we can follow through on this holy mission!

8/6/2018 11:36:37 am

Fr. Palka,

Honestly, I literally weep for all of the good, holy men, seminarians and priests. Michael's posts rip my at my heart!

We've always encouraged our son to be open to the vocation if God is calling him, but my husband and I are absolutely sickened and so angry about the evil that has perpetrated the Church. We've had priests and seminarians over for dinner countless times over the past 10 years to be a source of encouragement to them and to show our kids that priests are "regular" guys. On the one hand, yes, we need courageous and holy men to run into the fire. But on the other hand, what parent wants their son have to put up with the likes of such evil as we are learning about now?

We just don't know who to trust anymore. We are questioning ourselves and our judgment of each seminarian, priest and our own bishop. I'm still putting finishing touches on my letter to our bishop because I've been praying about it. The sad truth was that my own family of origin suffered at the hands of predatory AH/HA priests from an order which so many parishioners still recall with such fondness, respect and love (including my mom). No matter how often one thinks the memories and pain have been put to final rest, they pop up again.

Question: Would it be sinful for us to withhold monetary donations to our diocese? We are planning on doing so, while giving those funds instead to local projects like pregnancy help centers, etc. Sadly, no matter how many letters, emails or phone calls go out, it seems that withholding $ may be the only thing that might be understood that the laity DEMANDS visible changes. Do you think that the Church will or can be swept clean?

Thank you for being so courageous. We are praying for you.

8/6/2018 12:11:15 pm

PJ,

Thank you for your prayers. What a terrible trauma to know what is in the family background and have the wound continually opened up with every sickening news article about abusive priests or gushing reports from unsuspecting friends and neighbors. And the angst over encouraging your sons to consider the priesthood? I have that angst while speaking to the boys at the parish, too. But I have to turn to our heavenly Father Who sent His Son to suffer and die for our salvation. The Blessed Mother suffered greatly watching it all play out, yet she did not stop Him from fulfilling the Father's plans. If your boys are called to be priests there will be suffering involved. Some they will be responsible for themselves. Other sufferings come with the "job." And yet still others come from evil people. God allows it all in His Divine Providence for He knows it to be good for us somehow, even if we are unable to understand how. So don't discourage your sons if God calls but certainly warn them and keep an eye on them and remain on your knees so as to give them the best shot of becoming the next priest Saints!

As for what to do with money, well, my guess is that only those Catholics with good moral consciences are paying attention to what is going on. They want to withhold money from the Diocese and often for good reasons. But the diocese will take what is owed (the Annual Pastoral Appeal goal set for each parish) directly from the parish bank account if the people do not give to it directly so nothing is accomplished if they thought the diocese would suffer financially. Then there is also the good possibility that those same good Catholics have already run away from the worst parishes and are congregating in the best ones available. If they withhold money from the parish collection while those who are quite happy with Fr. Lightintheloafers down the street keep giving to his parish, the good parish has financial troubles while the bad ones look strong. The good pastors are then blamed ("See? I told you your preaching about Catholic morality was alienating everyone!") and when parish closing next occur, the good parishes close, the bad ones remain. The good pastors then have no more opportunity to lead a flock of their own but are relegated to, at best, nursing home duty. You have a precept to support the pastor or the Church or the parish (depending on which list of Church precepts you find) but how you do so is left very much wide open. So pray, think and then act as best you can. Sorry I don't have a better answer for you!

Charlotte

2/14/2019 02:45:46 pm

I am so disgusted, angry, and saddened by the disgraced state of the infiltrated, bloody, beaten, Holy Mother Catholic Church. I now better understand why America's families and institutions and nthe whole world is spiralling down into the abyss. Rome is a cesspool leaking into the wider Church., contaminating even the innocent. Evil reigns in the souls of Many ordained to lead us to God. This is the Passion of the Mystical Body of Christ. We are on the road to our Crucifixion . The only thing that really matters is saving our souls and Jesus showed us how. God will save His Holy Church in the end but the spiritual war for our souls is now exploding everywhere in our faces. We must stay the couse lest we experience a second death, ( that of the soul.) My brother and sister Catholics, do not abandon your Savior Jesus. Be firm in belief of what you know to be the Sacred Truths of the one True Church. Sick and wounded, exhausted, and demoralized, we the Faithful, will cooperate with God to purge and purify Her of the puerile, vile infection of grave sins, and continue on our Way of the Cross to our Calvary with Faith, the love of God as our strength and our hope. Nothing else really matters.

Donna Ploof

8/6/2018 12:13:07 pm

Dear Father, Thank you for sharing this information. I've been reading several articles on the clerical issues but nothing was written this this amount of frankness. My Faith in the Church Jesus created is not shaken by this. We know don't we that among the Pharisees there were issues so why not among our own priests and Bishops? I did not know how pervasive and certainly how the Sacraments Jesus gave us were being manipulated. Those who do so have no love for Heaven. God bless you and keep speaking the truth. This really just brings home how much we need to pray for our priests.

8/6/2018 12:19:01 pm

Donna,

I am glad your Faith is not shaken. Just because bad priests and bishops want to go to hell doesn't mean that you have to accompany them! Keep up your prayers for the cleansing we need, for not everybody is able to withstand the temptation to despair.

Donna

8/7/2018 11:36:23 am

I really believe it is so important to know what our Church teaches, what Jesus teaches. We must know our faith and we must pass it on to our children. That is how we can discern the Truth and love our Church even when there are sinners around us (including ourselves). God bless you Father!!!

Astounded

8/6/2018 09:59:42 pm

Hope that is what many would be , from reading this - astounded !

The parallels in homes would be men of similar mind sets , in what can be called ' perfect possession ' of hardened hearts ( true , from whatever wounds in own lives ) , husbands seemingly incapable of admitting their primary role for inducing fear in the woman they are to protect , thus coercing them into choosing against life ,with all its sequels .

Both sins are like satanic rituals, thus the hold of the lust for seeing ongoing evil , in those to whom the enemy handed over the power .

Another pertinent issue in this whole realm could be , if many persons who confessed sins against life are still under excommunication , thus receiving the sacraments in sacrilege - having read how confession itself can be invalid under such a circumstance , unless the priest has said the prayers to lift the excommunication before the confession .
The negligence if any in The Church in this area - could there be a serious connection with the topic at hand , same then reinforcing the other .

Thanking our Lord that He gives you strength , to share this in the open , to thus also help may be many families too where in such abusive ways can be prevalent by those in power .

Hoping that the families who have been through such experiences would be a powerful force to side with the priests , calling on the Blood and Water , to help bring repentance in all who need same .

Agree too with most of what you share , except the part about the need for the extensive interviews and record keeping on the seminarians .

Our faith is that the sins that are confessed are wiped away ; would such record keeping not make it like a hook of fear that the enemy can use , to afflict both the seminarian ( as you seem to mention ) as well as those who have any power over him ; seemingly that is the format of hell where in the lust to induce torture and shame and fear gets unleashed .

Would it not be far better that the seminarians are well taught in the ways and themes of 'gentle deliverance ' such as in the
' Unbound ' ministry format , to be thus well prepared in these realms , instead of living in fear of being blackmailed .

Had wondered why St.John Vianney was allowed by God for so many occasions of having to deal with the enemy - being destined to be a Patron for parish priests , now can see why !

May the prayers of all the holy innocents be a powerful help , many of whom likely lost their lives through similar wickedness of lust and even envy against mothers / women for being life bearers ,from those who have been also afflicted by the lies about own identity - just as in priesthood .

In the mystery of evil that St.John Paul 11 refers to , would it be that , both these sins are well connected , one reinforcing the other , the 'death spirits ' , in the 'death culture' in both calling out to each other , like night speaking to night .

Hopefully , all such families too now can see better the need and reasons to persevere , in trusting hope in Him , for all the good from same .

Thank you and God bless .

8/7/2018 10:35:11 am

Astounded,

Thanks for your input and for the prayers. Your comments on the excommunication and failure to lift it is an especially good argument against "automatic" excommunications, for if you have a written decree of excommunication, after you repent and are going to your priest to be restored to full communion with the Church, both you and he would know that the documented decree must be lifted. The way it is now, most people have no clue that they are excommunicated for some serious sins and the priest don't know to lift the un-decreed excommunication. My understanding is, though, that the excommunication is not binding on those who are not aware of it in the first place. But, just to be safe, might you suggest to those you reach out to that they go to confession in a church wherein the priest uses the old form of absolution? Built into the formula for absolution is the lifting of excommunications and interdicts and suspensions to the extent that they are needed and for which the priest has faculties. And, yes, that would include lifting automatic excommunications for performing or procuring or assisting others to perform or procure abortions or being complicit in it in other ways as described in the Catechism. As to the things for which we keep records, our current system of file keeping is all predicated on those with access to the files being men of integrity, morality and true Catholic Faith. It is, sadly, often not the case.

8/7/2018 07:31:05 pm

Thank you very much Rev.Fr.Palka, for the care and wisdom in the response , along with your prayers and blessings for all in your life .

May the God of Abraham , Isaac and Jacob help us all, to see our family connections as an ever present reality so that no life is thought of in solitary, but like the olive tree with its shoots around , priests too seen as part of own families as well as with the flock, the Blood and Water invoked often , seen as flowing in and filling all the persons in one's lives , to bring ongoing cleansing from all enemy spirits , filled in by His Fatherly Spirit of light and true love , in holiness .

Thank you again and God bless .

Gloria Hartman link

8/7/2018 11:16:43 am

Fr. Palka, I am afraid to send my comments on the "Butch" female that was put in leadership at our recent women's retreat. The home office over these retreats is said to be "liberal". Someone is protecting homosexuals in lay leadership positions as it is happening in other churches around us. Please give me some advice. It's not just priests and bishops and sisters who scandalize us. Who can I trust?

8/10/2018 09:09:05 pm

Gloria,

I wish I had an easy answer as to who you can trust. I find it much easier to be certain that I cannot trust certain people than it is to be certain that I can trust other specific people. So mostly it boils down to a simple question of, "Who might get hurt if I don't speak up?" The graver the possible hurt and the more innocent the one who might be a victim, the more important it is to just speak up to the most trustworthy person you can find who might be in a position to put a halt to it. If you guess right, you have saved one or more victim. If you guess wrong you will be punished to varying degrees but you will be able to face Our Lord with a clear conscience.

Paul

8/10/2018 12:49:09 pm

Father,

Thank you for your witness in this present darkness. The evil which the AH/HA Cardinals, bishops, and priests do seems to indicate something beyond a lack of faith. I read long ago about a supposed enthronement of Satan in the Vatican and South Carolina back in the 1960's. Are we dealing with an organized lucifarian/Satanic network of AH/HA clergy?

Imagine destroying the most innocent minds with sexual depravity, then destroying their faith (which is infinitely worse, imho). Then, to put icing on the cake, the local bishop robs the trusting faithful (who thought they were making contributions to the Church for upkeep and charitible works) in order to pay off the victims, all while the guilty clergy disappear without a trace of remorse. This has to be an organized effort in league with Satan.

If there is an organized cabal, THAT needs exposure too.

Thank you for your committment to your vocation and to God,
Paul

8/10/2018 09:31:34 pm

Paul,

I don't think there is a well formed network of AH/HA priests and bishops. I think they certainly network together and put out plenty of signals that they are part of the good ol' girls club. It is pretty obvious when they not only allow but praise such things as LGBT clubs and cross dressing prom dates in Catholic schools, rainbow coalition meetings in parishes, public preaching about the goodness of immoral activity, and religious and clergy leading pride parades. They have like minded friends and get together with them at meetings, conferences and what have you. But I don't think they have something like an anti-Knights of Columbus group with monthly meetings and dues. That said, I think it is very easy to connect the dots to see who is "in league" with each other just by observing them as you would your own children on the playground. Who do they spend time with? Where do they vacation and with whom? At the bishop's meetings or deanery meetings, who do they sit next to and squeal with delight versus who sat down and got a stony reception? Whose Priest Convocation were they invited to speak at? Whose episcopal ordination did they attend? Which ones were they prominent at? All you need to do is start connecting the dots. Start with the one who is caught and work your way out. No official network needs to be infiltrated to see how the web is woven. As for satan, I think anyone can see that he is calling the shots.

8/11/2018 12:05:57 am

Thank you for bringing me back to Earth, Father. I didn't really want to go down the conspiracy path, but it just seemed like there is one. That isn't to say that this isn't all part of the devil's plan to destroy the Church, of course. But what you say makes much more sense (Occam's razor and all). Thank you and God bless all you do!

In Christ,
Paul

Catherine Bissonnet

8/10/2018 09:11:46 pm

Dear Father,

I saw your bulletin posting on SpiritDaily.com and am so happy to see a priest speaking about this subject. I have found the long form of the St. Michael prayer to be extremely efficacious in situations where demonic influence is suspected and protection is needed. Sad to say, seminarians need to arm themselves with this incredibly powerful prayer, as well as diocesan priests like yourself. I can send you some if you wish - just let me know; a printable version is also available on johnleary.com. I cannot recommend this highly enough, and I will pray for all of you. Our priests are the treasures of the Church too!

Catherine

8/11/2018 05:33:08 pm

Catherine,
That is a powerful prayer but strict limitations on its use have recently been officially placed (or acknowledged) upon it. Here is the link to see what I mean. Since demons are very legalistic, someone using a prayer against the express authority of the Church, even if unknowingly, open the gates for the demons to enter, even when using an exorcism prayer! https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2018/01/dubia-answered-warning-for-priests.html

Mary Reynolds

8/17/2018 04:02:33 am

Hi, Fr. Palka,

I am just in shock and horrified that this is happening, and will be sure to pray for priests. May God bless you.

One quick question, though. I pray the St. Michael prayer daily. How do I know it's not the wrong version? It's the same one they say at the end of Mass is my parish church.

Thank you, and God bless you! +JMJ+

8/18/2018 08:02:19 am

Should laity not be saying the St. Michael prayer at all? Or is it just the long form that we should avoid?

Eric H. Bowen link

8/11/2018 08:41:46 am

I am not a Catholic; I am a Southern Baptist. But I weep when I see such evil perpetrated in the name of that which is holy and good. This I am convinced of: God Will Move. I believe that he is holding back, deliberately, allowing the Seed of Evil to come to full flower so that all rational beings above and below might look upon the fruit it bears and never, ever be tempted to plant it again for the rest of all eternity. But I believe that we can look forward to intervention, and true justice...high and low, civil and criminal...and that those who have offended will not be released until they truly have paid the last penny. Which will be longer than our human minds can comprehend...if ever.

May God reach out to and support those within the Roman church who truly do desire to live holy, and give them the encouragement to stand up for what is good and right and highest and best until the day of His appearing.

8/11/2018 05:41:33 pm

Eric,

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. God is certainly allowing this evil, even though not willing it, and we can have confidence that greater good will come out of it, as we see so clearly in the Passion of Our Lord. But, just as in the Passion, it will be extremely painful to endure! But persevere to the end we must. When it is all done, perhaps those faithful in the Church and those of faith who are separated from her who stayed the course will find a way to join once again as the one Body of Christ and re-unite as He prayed shortly before His Passion, that we may all be one.

Mary Ann Parks

8/16/2018 09:54:41 am

Thank you!

Joe

8/11/2018 10:57:53 am

A loose theme here seems to be that the minority of priests are "good" ones and the fear is that, under such pressures, even they might lose their faith. I don't understand what faith is being discussed here - faith in God and the holy scriptures or faith in the integrity of the Catholic church as an institution? A calling to serve God is from the Holy Spirit. It is a 'higher' calling and perseverance is a requirement. On the other hand, losing faith in the ability of the Catholic Church to promulgate the intentions of God seems quite appropriate.

8/11/2018 05:47:28 pm

Joe,

Fear is such a part of our fallen human nature that Jesus uttered the words "be not afraid" more than any other phrase. We know that perfect love drives out fear so that is a great thing to pray for. Beg God to show the fearful priests (and I don't exclude myself from this group) His divine love in whatever way they need to become the true Spiritual Fathers they set out to be before getting beaten down and discouraged.

Dena Fredrickson

8/15/2018 08:56:02 am

It may be that there is no organized body of evil priests but there certainly should be an organized body of faithful, good, courageous ones. I don't understand why the institutional Church is more vigorous in rooting out this evil. Fear itself be damned. Unless there are no "good priests" in positions of power, the idea that the bad must be tolerated or soft-peddled is not credible. What I have heard said is that these things can't be exposed to the laity lest they lose faith. Well that ship has certainly sailed. What are the "good priests" waiting for? It's time the gloves come off. Only priests can clean this house. To fail to do so is an abdication of responsibility and perhaps the greater sin.

8/15/2018 04:20:32 pm

Dena,
Sorry to say, but the "good" priests have been wusified. Years surrounded by feminized men in the seminary, years being evaluated on getting along with women (never men), years being scolded and punished for any show of masculinity in the pulpit or elsewhere, has turned the "good" priests (I include myself in this category) into wuses. We are like abused dogs, ready to tuck our tails and back off, all the while trying to please our masters (bishops, priests, and laity--while rationalizing that pleasing them pleases our true Master, Jesus Christ) and not even realizing that we are not true dogs any more. We are lost and need to be waken up. This might be the time it really happens. Pray for it, please!

8/16/2018 09:53:10 am

In the case of abuse of a minor, I would think that the same rule for absolution could apply as for theft. One has to pay back, make reparation, as a condition for absolution. The way one would make reparation for stolen innocence/stolen family would be to have to confess to the family so t hey could help the child get help. And of course, turn the priest in, which he himself would also have an obligation to do. Once priests learned they could not get absolution from a good priest for this crime without outing themselves, the good priests would be freed to speak of what they know from other sources.

8/17/2018 11:17:21 am

Mary Ann,
Even with theft, a priest is limited as to what he can insist upon as far as reparations go. He cannot insist that reparations be made publicly, for instance. Many times reparations cannot be made even to the person wronged (say you stole from you next door neighbor and you moved or she died or what you stole was an irreplaceable antique given to her by her beloved grandmother 50 years prior and it has now been fenced and untraceable). Reparation must be made but not in any particular way, for there is no "one size fits all" solution. If reparation for such a simple-seeming thing as theft cannot be directly insisted upon, how much less can something so complicated as messing up (to put it very lightly) someone's life be given the proper and exact reparation? The repentant sinner, should he actually be a repentant sinner, will do all in his power to repair the damage without ever being able to do so. But the priest hearing his confession cannot insist on any particular mode of reparation.

Kristin Grose

8/16/2018 03:53:15 pm

I would like to receive your columns, Father. Please add me to your email list. Thanks!

8/17/2018 11:17:57 am

Kristin,
Sorry, but I do not have an email list!

Ash Stark

8/16/2018 06:30:09 pm

I found this article both heartbreaking and enlightening. Perhaps this is not the place for it, but I have a question-- I have heard before that much of this abuse and the prevalence of AH/HA priests & bishops is the result of a direct push from the LGBT community to infiltrate the church ministry back in the 70s. I have not yet found any evidence to corroborate that, but I believe it makes sense. Is that claim true?

8/17/2018 11:21:19 am

Ann,
Church Militant has covered this from the side of communist infiltration. I have no doubt that other groups and individuals have done this very thing. Men with no faith becoming priests for various nefarious reasons seemed like a conspiracy theory to most people until recently. I think this current round of scandals might help them see the truth. I don't know if that will stop the infiltrators, though!

Joseph

8/16/2018 08:54:00 pm

It is a mistake for the pastor to 'blame' homosexuality. Not only are the victims from both sexes, but psychologists do not find a link between homosexuality and having a tendency toward child sexual abuse. Blaming sexual inclination is the wrong approach and doesn't help finding a solution; in fact, it hurts it.

8/17/2018 11:47:31 am

Joseph,
I am sorry for you on several levels. First, you didn't read or understand what I wrote. I never blamed "homosexuality" but rather Active Homosexual and Homosexual Activist priests. Homosexual priests are to be blamed for homosexual abuse at the hands of priests. There really is not much more to say and there is no rational way of claiming that such is not the case. The John Jay study, the most comprehensive one done to my knowledge, showed very clearly that 80% of all known abuse by priests (males) was against post-pubescent males. Homosexual priests were responsible for homosexual abuse. It couldn't be more clear. Homosexual Activist priests, on the other hand, whom I also blame because they allow this to continue, remain silent in its face, or openly and defiantly (though cheered on as "progressive" rather than defiant) promote homosexual activity, don't necessarily have to be homosexual. Often they are heterosexual priest living an immoral life themselves so they cannot denounce other sexual sins or deviancy without risk that someone (or some group) they "out" will soon "out" them. Evil will not stay at that level but always seeks to get worse, so soon, instead of just remaining silent about sins for which they have no temptations, they actively start promoting them. Other homosexual activists may even be completely chaste but they don't believe in Church teaching and so promote heresy (and almost always, I would venture to say, sexual immorality rears its ugly head among heretics).

Another level for which I feel sorry for you is having bought into the absolutely and utterly ridiculous implied notion that blame is equally spread around to both homo- and heterosexual priests by claiming that there were victims of both sexes. That is the same sad story told by people who insist that AIDS is "not a homosexual disease" because some few percent of people with AIDS are not homosexual. They will point out a happily married mother of four children who has AIDS and passed it on to her last child and smugly say, "See, it is not a gay disease!" Of course what they fail to point out is that she got it from her husband who got it from a prostitute who got it from a guy who got it from another guy. (Do I have to point out that that is homosexual activity?) They will point out the straight person who got it from a blood transfusion without admitting where the tainted blood come from. You get the picture. Anybody who knowingly passes on such false information to cover for the real perpetrators is a vile liar. Anyone who cannot see the falsehood of the lies is not too bright. I feel sorry for both groups. NOT blaming sexual inclination is the wrong approach and doesn't help finding a solution; in fact it hurts it.

8/20/2018 02:23:28 am

Father,

Your last sentence directly contradicts your first point. To wit, "I never blamed "homosexuality" but rather Active Homosexual and Homosexual Activist priests," is followed by, "NOT blaming sexual inclination is the wrong approach and doesn't help finding a solution; in fact it hurts it." So you do believe that homosexuality (even just the inclination) is the root cause?

To the core of your rebuttal:

- Per the Jay Report, 22.6% of cases involved a child aged 10 or younger. 47.2% involved a child aged 12 or younger. 60% involved a child 13 or younger. This is not limited to hebephilia as you imply.

- Per the Jay Report, fewer than 7% of the priests involved reported having physical, sexual, or emotional abuse as children. The example in the last paragraph of your original post is not the norm.

- How can you claim 80% of the victims were post-pubescent boys when only 81% of the victims were male, per the Jay Report?

- The male-female breakdown of victims (81%-19%) seemingly matches the typical ratio of interaction between priests of the 1960s-80s and youths of the time. Remember, there were no altar girls. It's reasonable to hypothesize that those priests who sought to fulfill hebephilic or pedophilic inclinations were less concerned with gender than they were with age, vulnerability, and availability of victims.

- Lastly, to your central claim, i.e. that priests with homosexual inclination, or who participate in homosexual activity, or who support others engaged in such action, are the root cause of both the abuse of children and its cover-up; Where is your psychological evidence linking child sexual abuse to homosexuality? Further, even if there were a link, the hypothesis that homosexuality is the culprit would remain unprovable without data on the sexual inclination of the priests accused of abuse.

Regardless of the root cause, what's important is standing up for victims, prosecuting the offenders (civilly and ecclesiastically), and having open and honest discussions about practical methods of preventing the occasion of abuse from even being possible. This would include better screening, better preparation and education, as well as programs for any men in her ministries who currently suffer the biological affliction of any immoral inclinations.

God bless.

8/20/2018 05:26:15 pm

Joseph,
I am sorry I caused you confusion by putting a NOT in front of your statement. Those were your words, not mine. As for your stats, let's look at them a little closer. I should have checked mine for accuracy. Here is what is reported widely: 70 % of acknowledged abuse cases were against youth over the age of 10. Of those, 81% were against males. Sorry for my inaccuracies but I stand by my conclusion that this indicates a homosexual problem. Very few altar boys are under the age of 10 so throwing that into the mix doesn't significantly change any of the stats, though I agree with you that the true pedophile seems more interested in "young" rather than in the "sex" of the youngster. As for your last paragraph, I agree with your 100% as to what we need to do, it's just that we will find ourselves in the same position again if we don't get to the root cause., which is where you and I disagree.

Christy

10/5/2018 09:35:34 am

Hi Father Palka,

I am appalled at the way you perpetuate the myth that abuse in the church is because of HA/AH (as you refer to them) priests! Are you aware that pedophilia is sexual interest toward children???!!! PEDOPHILIA AND HOMOSEXUALITY ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS. Please quit perpetuating these lies regarding homosexuality versus PEDOPHILIA.

Please do your research, and correct this misleading information, which only further confuses the issue. I was appalled to continue reading the comments and did not discover anyone but Joseph who challenged you on this.

It's called PEDOPHILIA. LOOK IT UP.

I am stunned that people don't know the difference! This IGNORANCE is part of what perpetuates the abuse! In all walks of life, no matter if you're in the church or not, there are socially skilled pedophiles who infiltrate any system, in roles of power, whether it be the Catholic Church, coaches, teachers--anyone who has access to children--who can abuse them if they are so inclined.

I am not addressing the accuracy or plausibility of what you've mentioned as possible scenarios in the church for concealing abuse and manipulation of priests, but I lost interest in your argument once I realized you are perpetuating the myth that homosexuality and pedophilia are the same thing!

This misinformation hurts the church because there are many things parents and adults can do to protect CHILDREN, namely, being aware and to READ about the psychology of pedophiles. An excellent resource is The Socially Skilled Child Molester by Carla Van Dam.

Please, stop, and this revisit before you do more damage.

10/5/2018 02:34:06 pm

Christy,
You are absolutely correct in stating that homosexuality and pedophilia are two completely different things. It is quite apparent that very few of the scandals which have been revealed in the Church deal with pedophilia and the vast majority deal with homosexuality (although the pedophile priests generally have staggering numbers of victims compared to either the homosexual or heterosexual abusive priests). I am not sure how you got those two things mixed up but the more information that comes out, the clearer it becomes. Unfortunately, the majority of media outlets refuse the use the correct terms and persist, against all evidence, in using the wrong terminology. Perhaps this is where you have gotten your incorrect information from?

Frances

8/17/2018 11:23:08 pm

Fr. Palma,
Wow! You really pointed out some things that I haven’t seen anywhere else. My heart and prayers go out to all priests. No wonder Our Lady keeps encouraging us to pray for our priests. Your front line position in spiritual warfare even among so called brother priests is the red hot zone. I had never connected the reason why there aren’t exorcist priests in every diocese to this possibility. Wouldn’t it be something if our Pope would do a “live” exorcism for the whole Church? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our Bishops would place a statue of Our Lady of America in the Washington DC Shrine of the Immaculate Conception? Our Lady is asking for purity and promises great graces. But perhaps the AH/HA is why that hasn’t happened. I’m praying for Divine Intervention for it all. And yet, I am glad the Church is being purified and also for the merciful Hand of Our Lord on these priests, so that they may have the opportunity to convert. Pope Benedict was so prophoand insightful. I thank Gid for you and your priesthood. These are the battles that produce Saints!! Mercy Lord!

8/20/2018 04:43:54 pm

Frances,
Thank you for the prayers! This "red hot zone" isn't nearly as "red hot" as the eternal "red hot zone" and I want to make sure I don't end up there! The only way for a priest to avoid hell is if he teaches his people to avoid it, too! Our Lady, Mother of Priests, pray for us!

Jack

8/17/2018 11:52:55 pm

No matter how hellish the higher ups are, a priest must stand up for what's right and blow the whistle, even if at his own expense. If a priest does not do so, he's not that good of a priest. We're called to be Christ-like. We're called to be saints. Martyrs if need be. When so called "good priests" can't walk the walk then it undermines the message of the Gospel.

8/20/2018 04:39:49 pm

Jack,
You are correct. But even in "good times" in the church we might only find one priest Saint per country for generations!

Maria Aznar

8/18/2018 01:48:25 pm

We MUST clean the filth that has infiltrated the Church and start anew. We MUST protect the innocent and saves souls. The time has come to call a spade a spade and not to cover up the satanic behind a cloud of confusion, empty words, and half-truths.
Lord, have mercy on us! I pray for all priests every day. We need many more holy priests like you. Thank you, and may God bless you, Father Palka. +

8/20/2018 04:40:31 pm

Maria,
Thank you for the prayers!

Marc

8/18/2018 08:34:36 pm

Thank you, Father. An excellent explanation of the Church’s abhorrent inability to police itself. I am bookmarking this article next to another one, which I think also tells it well, from slightly different perspective.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news/2003_07_15_Mankowski_WhatWent.htm

Unfortunately the other one is 15 years old now. :(

8/20/2018 04:38:17 pm

Marc,
As shown in the article you link, liturgical abuse and sexual abuse often have the same root causes and often are simply indications of the deeper problem and they cannot be solved by others with similar disorders. Lack of Faith, a very warped Faith, or very real demon worship are the three roots which immediately spring to my mind. Those clergy who have no Faith, who do not really believe in God, Heaven, Hell or any of the moral teachings of the Church, are in it only for themselves and what they can get in this life. Nothing more. Those who have a warped Faith can be twisted in various ways. They may believe in God, Heaven and Hell but not in mortal sin (making hell pretty empty). They may believe in Church social teachings but not Her moral teachings. They are smarter and holier than God Himself and therefore feel justified in making up their own rules. And finally, those who actually worship demons will do everything they can to mock the Mass, to mock real sex, to mock real love, to mock real social teachings, etc. All of this is usually pretty apparent for those willing to look for it. Now, once again, like the 15 year old article, is an opportunity for people to take off the blinders and really look at what is going on. I hope they do. I pray they do. Most failed to do so last time. Sigh.

brightdark

8/19/2018 11:30:56 am

Father,
When you spoke of these files that contain everything that a priest has experienced in their lives, especially all of their "dirty secrets", and how its then used against them it sounded familiar.

Its just about the same way scientology works. You are to tell them every secret you have to 'cleanse yourself'. If you make waves or dare to leave they have material to blackmail you.

8/20/2018 04:24:55 pm

Brightdark,
You are correct up to a point. The scientologist sect purposefully keeps highly detailed records of sins, similar to if we would record all confessions (and force you to confess!). They keep the files, though, for evil purposes right off the bat. The files we keep are not nearly so full of details as the scientologist files are and they are kept for good reasons. When these priest files are used for evil it is a perversion of their original purpose. For the scientologists to use their files for evil is to use them as they were meant to be used.

Jacqueline zurawski link

8/26/2018 12:30:38 am

Please see this website. Our Stations of the Cross in Reparation can be found on Youtube.

Phil

8/26/2018 06:35:29 pm

When will the Pope do the right thing and step down?

Romanus

8/27/2018 03:22:11 pm

Father, you write: "As part of the application process to be accepted as a seminarian and throughout his entire formation process, a man is, and rightly so, asked to reveal an extensive amount of very personal information, including such things as his history of chastity or sexual activity.." I'm afraid I can't agree with the words "rightly so." Asking people to reveal secret sins in the external forum is an abuse: no wonder it is giving rise so easily to much worse things. At the seminary where I teach (not diocesan), applicants are asked whether they have homosexual tendencies, but never to reveal secret sins. I would accept it if a seminary or diocese were to say on the form: "By submitting your application you confirm that you have lived chastely for 1 year/2 years /whatever interval is decided upon," but they should never ask an individual to disclose sins. The distinction between the internal (non-sacramental) and external forum must be properly respected.

8/27/2018 09:33:36 pm

Romanus,
You missed part of the sentence you quoted. This information comes not all at once as if they have you write it on the application form, but "throughout his entire formation process." Working at the seminary you must know, but others reading this may not, that the men have both a spiritual director (internal forum) and a formation director (external forum), both of which gain much intimate information. The men are required to (external forum) write a new account of their lives, faults, failings, successes every semester or year. We also had pop psych exams such as the Myers Briggs (external forum) which were required. You are correct that there should be a clear delineation of what is internal and what is external to a much greater extent than there is, for often I had no idea what was what or why it mattered while I was in the seminary and even as a priest. But there are certainly things that should be both external and internal, and the ability for the Church to know (external forum) if a man has a disorder, whether it is toward alcohol, sexual perversions of various kinds, PTSD, or what have you, is essential in making a decision to either ordain him or ask him to leave.

8/28/2018 08:17:48 pm

Wrapping you in prayer and calling on Prayer Warriors of the Church Militant engaged in Spiritual Warfare in Today's World -- we've been ready for this, Father Palka. That's not a major organized group, just individuals connected on Facebook prayer groups. A solid block has been preparing calmly with trust in our Lord. May He guard and guide you!

8/31/2018 05:32:33 pm

Kimberly,
Thank you for being a part of the Church Militant here on Earth. Priests can lead the battle only if we have troops behind us!

Anne

9/4/2018 01:42:04 am

I wonder if requiring all priests to speak out against homosexuality one Sunday would expose these men? I know looking at various church websites and seeing the information or lack of information; the strange focus and lack of feeling and understanding about the real problem is very enlightening. I will be avoiding some parishes.

9/4/2018 02:17:13 am

I've done the same thing! I've seen some mealy mouth responses from some clergy and a bishop that jshows they ust don't get it.

Jacqueline Zurawski link

10/5/2018 12:16:23 pm

To find a vocation of reparation please see Reparatrix.org. We are lay women and men, Priest/Reparators and Deacon/Reparators who make reparation first for our own sins, and then for priests not living their vows. We have a beautiful Stations of the Cross with specific Intentions for these priests on Youtube. Go to Praying the Stations in Reparation. This is not a new vocation in the Church. We have a Rule of Life and Constitutions theologically reviewed and a sponsoring archbishop.

Latin Rick

12/28/2018 07:24:29 am

Somebody with authority in the Church needs to come forward and state the obvious: That the root of the abuse crisis is the celibacy mandate. If the majority of abusers (and their enablers) within the Catholic Church are gay men, and in fact the majority of priests and bishops in the Church are gay men, it is because the celibacy mandate has always made a vocation an attractive option for timid young gay men who didn't have the courage to come out of the closet and tell their families that they're gay (can't embarrass grandma!). So they find a great excuse for justifying why they are not dating women, much less making plans to marry one: They are going to serve God!

And if they've been raised devoutly religious, entering the priesthood and thinking that they are going to make some sort of sacrifice serves as a sort of atonement for the "sin" of their feelings.

But what happens? Nothing other than the raw human need not just for sexual release, but for physical closeness and body-to-body contact surfaces. They can read scripture and tell themselves that they're being a eunuch for the kingdom of Heaven, but this visceral, innate need just won't go away, and if anything, it is made more acute by their self-hatred, a self-hatred fed by the religion they have been raised in and in which they serve.

Now put such lonely, agonized, internally conflicted individuals among the company of mostly fatherless adolescent males, with their own needs and vulnerabilities, and there, you have a perfect recipe for this current disaster.

As a side note, if the numbers of men seeking to become priests have dropped to almost nothing in the last few decades, it is largely because the gay civil rights movement has made it easier for young gay men in Catholic families to come out and not have to run for the cover of the collar.

david jones

1/17/2019 09:08:53 pm

I have read your comments

djones

1/17/2019 10:13:42 pm

have read all your posts about gay priests in usa
one of your posts estimates about 50% priests as having homosexual tendencies
I am afraid the problem is far bigger than you can imagine
the reason why the churches are full of gay and bisexual men and women is because there is a world wide movement of homosexual and bisexual people taking control using corruption deception and
lies to take over all the money in the world and control the food chain.
They have decided that people that are 100% heterosexual are inferior beings and they intend to wipe us all out like vermin
this is the new world order of the homosuperior as they call themselves
People like Madonna and David Bowie are heroes to these people as they flew the flag for bi and homosexual practises

Watch the TV series Prison Break and Theodore Bagwell the bisexual murderer and Paedofile is a typical indication of where their evil society is going

It is a time for heterosexual people to unite and remove these people from power
The problem is identifying them as they can be married with lots of children and bringing them up to be bisexual or homosexual like
themselves

Anybody reading this will think it is the ramblings of a madman
but i am afraid not
I discovered over the last 40 years that my father and mother and the majority of my family were all bisexual people ---some of them involved with incest and some paedofiles
Men I have worked with were all bisexual and some jokingly said they thought it was ok to have sex with children
I am disgusted with them all and they have threatened me and my family if i do not join them in their wicked ways
I do not know what my fate will be but I will not join them and open my door to lucifer
this is what they call homosexual practises----opening your door

I am afraid to tell you that I believe all your top people in entertainment to be either bi or gay
some have admited it
eg james dean---marlon brando-----paul newman
the truth is that they are all sodomites-----from John Wayne---Elvis---to Bob Hope and Laurel and Hardy
This also includes most of the women who are lesbian or bi

Try your best to alert people on the street as to what is going on
and try and wipe this sick plague out

good luck to any true good people left out there in the usa

dave

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He only shuts up when he is writing!