I was thinking about priests the other day and I came to the conclusion that they must be either the holiest or the most evil men alive and never in between. None of them are regular guys, they are either saints or unspeakably evil. If they are evil men, it is impossible for them to be just a little evil because of their duties and responsibilities. They say Mass every day and to say Mass in mortal sin is one of the most horrible and unforgivable sins, and a bad priest does this almost every day without the least scruple. Not to mention the guilt they bear for spreading heresies in their sermons and leading the souls under their care to Hell. And this is before you even consider the New Mass, allowing Eucharistic ministers, communion in the hand, and giving Holy Communion to so many in mortal sin. It seems like many priests have become leaders of a club that comes together to torture Jesus. I don't think God will have much mercy on these priests. I wonder if it would be better if the sedevacantists are right and the priests are not really priests anymore and they don't really bring Jesus to the altar to torture him.

But the priests who are good must be incredibly holy, because saying Mass properly is one of the greatest things a man could ever do and good priests do this every day and every time they give good advice in they help save souls from damnation. I have met one priest who I would call incredibly holy and I have met a few others who seemed good. But is it even possible to be a good priest in the regular church? If there were a priest like John Vianney today he would probably be locked in a basement somewhere and forbidden to speak to anyone.

An unrelated point. A year and a half ago my brother died. I figured that he probably went to Hell because for him to be saved the way he died would have required a miracle. But a few days ago my grandmother called my mother and was very upset. She said that she had a feeling that my brother really needed prayers and was lighting extra candles for him. So I am happy because if my grandmother is right my brother was saved by a miracle and is in purgatory now. Do you think miracles like that happen often? Sometimes I read things that say that such miracles are very rare, but some people think they happen all of the time. I hope they are common because it seems like the only people who go to heaven these days are baptized infants and those who are saved by miracles, because almost everyone is evil.

No, there are still good people left.  One of the reasons we love our CMRI priests so much is because the imitate Christ so well.  It is the good image of Christ in them that we love.

St. Theresa of Avila dealt with a sinful priest.  But Jesus showed her that he was still a priest and the sacraments were still valid through him.  We believe they are not valid through the NO priests because they have ditched the proper words which pass on the power of the keys.

I hope, I always hope, that there are myriads of miracles getting people like your brother into salvation.  The thought of anyone going to hell is unbearable.

Belloc, you may be right, I may be speaking too harshly. Thank you.

Patman, there are a lot of things I do not know. I admit I may be wrong, I am a bit of an imbecile, though I used to be considered intelligent. How would I know that the Church never said anything like that? You don't know that either and are just saying that because you do not agree with me.

I admit I was mistaken in saying that priests could only be very evil or saints. A priest can attain many different levels of goodness. I see now that a priest can also be lukewarm, sinning often, but then confessing. My main point was that because the priest says Mass often, and saying Mass while in mortal sin is one of the greatest sins because it is torturing Our Lord, once a priest falls into sin he will become more and more evil every time he says Mass until he is completely evil. Thank you for correcting me.