The OP has a good premise, and a timely message. My first reaction was
"You could have posted this 9 months ago, just after the nefarious and
revolutionary General Chapter." And I still think that is the case, after
reading the whole thread.
It seems people in general are slow to act. "But there are exceptions."
(Cf. Cathechist99 post, below)
What happened in the Philippines when they got news of +Williamson's
exclusion from the GC? A large chunk of them dropped the SSPX like a
bad habit. No questions asked. And rightly so. It seems to me there is
something in the Catholic sense of the Filipino Faithful that a lot of the rest
of us are missing. Where does that come from? How is it they can have
the courage and fortitude of their convictions and we, many of us, can
even turn a blind eye to heresy and "support the local diocese?" (Cf.
Catechist99 post above)
Any organization (read: SSPX or whatever) that can be so improper as
to ILLEGITIMATELY exclude its most conservative if not outspoken bishop
from the internal affairs of said organization deserves NO SUPPORT.
Nada, zero, zilch.
Does that mean you can't attend their Masses? Well, no. It does not.
So the big problem in the mind of a Catholic is, how do you comply with the
5th precept of the Church, to contribute to the support of our pastors?
Catechist99 goes into this in some detail, in the post above to which
Matthew is replying in this post, below. Detail is good.
I agree Catechist99, except for one thing that has me scratching my head:
Support the DIOCESE?
For the most part I agree. But there are exceptions. Not every diocese is inherently evil and there might be a particular ministry or program that can be individually supported. This would not apply across the board obviously. Some dioceses have very strong and active ministries for unwed mothers who otherwise might opt for abortion. That could be supported without giving money to the diocese itself. How about a meals on wheels for the homebound? Or giving money to buy school uniforms for Native Americans who attend a Catholic school? Many dioceses have prison outreach. BTW, when was the last time an inmate spoke to a real Catholic and not a NewChurchian?
Maybe I didn't articulate my meaning well or maybe I'm off my rocker. I guess I am reminded of Christ's command
Matthew 25:40 And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.
I just feel moved to extend charity wherever it is needed. Father Pfeiffer teaches us that we will win souls to tradition not by our doctrinal arguments but by our charity and sanctity.
The necessity of supporting our pastors presumes our pastors are our
pastors and not wolves in the clothing of pastors. EEkk.. :shocked: Why
did Our Lord say "...in sheep's clothing" instead of "...in pastors' clothing?"
We need some posters with the Clothing of Pastors theme. But just try to
find a chapel that would display them! Ha - HA!
It seems to me that it's a weakness of man to just let someone else give
the answer to problems - like organizing a payment schedule for you. You
want, down deep, someone to tell you how much you ought to be
contributing to your pastors, don't you?
No? Well, if not, then you shouldn't have any problem setting up your own
payment schedule, as you see fit. And in so doing, you really ought to
draw a line through the term "local diocese."
Why? Well, because, Matthew gave a good, sample list in the post above.
He gave examples of the principle, that for the same reasons that any
so-called Traditional Catholic* would attend an SSPX parish regularly (that
is, before the Great Scandal Erupted!) and contribute there in the weekly
collection (that is, before the Great Scandal Erupted!), he would not now
attend OR contribute to the local diocese AFTER the Great Scandal Erupted.
In the days of slavery in this country, when the slaves were emancipated,
some of them chose to remain at their master's home, in many cases, if not
all, because it was their comfort zone. It was all they knew. The outside
world was too scary.
Fr. Pfeiffer touches on this topic of charity several times in the recent Family
Conference, held this past Octave of Christmas. At one point, he said:
...We have to bring back an Apostolic spirit, number one... Because right now, we’re discovering, the majority of the people we’re dealing with in this fight... The majority are pretty much focused on themselves. We’ve got to stop that.
The majority of our people, who hold the truth, are focused on themselves. And that includes priests. In other words, “I want to stand firm in the truth, I want to stand firm against the errors, but as long as my priest, or my place is comfortable, no problem. If it’s not, I gotta think about it. I gotta weigh it."
That’s why ... we have to rip that out! It’s either the truth or it’s not. It’s either necessary or it’s not, and if you have no Mass, well then you have no Mass. First, it’s gotta be necessary to hold the truth, it’s gotta be necessary to condemn the errors, it’s gotta be necessary to take whatever consequences come from that...
But... we have to have the mentality: WE’RE CHARGING! And if you want to come along, fine, if you don’t, well, stay home. We’re charging. So, we... have a war going on, and it’s a GLOBAL WAR. And we have to have the heart to want to spread the faith everywhere. That’s the first condition...
Fr. Pfeiffer takes the discussion to a higher level.
You can go around with your head in the sand, spiritually, and just worry
about your own situation, which is a most natural thing to do, and
something that your relatives will expect of you, but is it what God expects
of you?
Everyone has to make his own choices, but I would caution very much
against being involved with the local diocese when it comes to giving
support. Volunteering and donating hard goods is one thing, but you
really should not be putting any money in the collection plate at a diocese
event, including but not limited to their so-called liturgy.
You can be involved, for example, with the prison ministry, but you know,
you don't have to be part of any organization to visit the prisoners. All
you have to do is show up at the prison and wait in line to see anyone
that the prison guards are willing to allow you to see. You don't have to
be a certified member of a prayer group to pray the Rosary in front of any
abortion killing center. Just show up and do it. They'll love to have you.
You don't need to be a registered parishioner to donate canned food to
the local Food Pantry or parish food drive. Just do it. But it will be up to
you to KEEP IT UP. Don't expect any organizer to tell you it's time to make
a contribution. Set up your own schedule.
"Fortify your homes." --a recent EC.
"A loose association of independent priests.." --a recent EC.
Whether we like it or not, the future is coming, and it might not be quite
as "comfortable" as we would like to have it.....................
*Essentially all Catholics are traditional. To the extent that one is not
traditional, also, one is neither Catholic. It is a line that is becoming more
and more vague lately. And the blurring of distinctions is the work of the
devil. It is the grey horse of the Apocalypse. Ambiguity is more pernicious
than open heresy.