The Ongoing Story of Catholic Traditionalist Hypocrisy

The conservative/traditional Catholic blogosphere has devoted massive amounts of cyber ink to condemning homosexuality,  especially whenever it is found in the Catholic Church.  They also have no use for anyone who shows the least compassion for those who struggle with same sex attraction, as witnessed by their unrelenting attacks upon Father James Martin.

The trads wasted no time last December in condemning a Milwaukee priest, Fr. Gregory Greiten, when he came out and admitted he was gay.  He described his struggle in great detail, confessing that he came very close to suicide at one point.  He was roundly condemned by those who consider themselves to be the only real Catholics left on planet Earth.  It didn't matter to them that Fr. Greiten had never once had a homosexual affair and did not intend to do so.  His crime was that he was homosexual and dared to be public about it.  Yet at the same time, when one of their trad heroes, Michael Voris, admitted that he was gay, he was applauded for his great courage, even though Voris was extremely promiscuous, unlike Father Greiten.  In fact, Voris himself condemned Father Greiten. How does that work?

The hypocrisy of the radical right traditionalists is again on full display in the story of Father C. Frank Phillips.  Father Phillips is/was the pastor of St. John Cantius in Chicago, a traditionalist parish. The trads have lauded and applauded Father Phillips and the parish of St. John Cantius for many, many years.  However, Cardinal Cupich recently removed Fr. Phillips from his church because there have been credible accusations against Fr. Phillips of being involved in at least one and maybe more "inapropriate relationships" with adult men.

What has been the reaction of the trads to this scandal concerning one of their own?  They refuse to believe it.  First of all, they concentrate on the fact that the words used by the Archdiocese are "inappropriate conduct."  I think this is a very kind way of the Chicago Archdiocese to deal with this, using a euphemism.  The traditionalists clearly know what that means, but they will not use the words "homosexual relationships."

The traditionalists' stand is now to attack Cardinal Cupich because he has been way too harsh in his treatment of Fr. Phillips.  The real reason Fr. Phillips has been removed is because Cardinal Cupich supports Father James Martin and hates the traditional Latin Mass, as we are told by retired Archbishop Renee Gracida.  It should be remembered that Archbishop Gracida, a staunch traditionalist, hopes and prays for Pope Francis to resign because he feels Pope Francis is a danger to the faith.

The following is from Archbishop Gracida:

Cardinal Cupich acquired a reputation in his former office as Bishop of Spokane as being totally opposed to the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese.  That fact combined with his welcoming of Father James Martin, S.J. to the Cathedral in Chicago to speak in support of the homosexual lifestyle that he promotes in his book Building Bridges, a lifestyle that sometimes involves the sin of sodomy, causes me to wonder if the removal of Father Phillips is not part of an elaborate plot leading to the suppression of Saint John Cantius Parish as a center for the promotion of the Traditional Latin Mass.  The hypocrisy of removing Father Phillips as Pastor based on a possible false accusation of homosexuality on the eve of Father Martins talk at the Cathedral promoting ‘respect’ for homosexuals  is too much for people of common sense to accept and to wonder about hypocrisy

So you see, this is an evil plot against the traditionalists by the evil Cardinal Cupich.  There is no way that their beloved Fr. Phillips could have ever done anything like this.

Father John Zuhlsdorf wasn't quite as obvious as Archbishop Gracida, but his was definitely the same message  This is what he wrote:

A letter from the Archbishop of Chicago was read at the Saturday evening Mass at St. John Cantius, so this information is now public.  In the letter that was read aloud it was clear that allegations against Fr. Phillips have nothing to do with minors!  According to my interlocutor, Fr. Phillips has not been accused of breaking any civil laws.  Instead, the allegation concerns an improper relationship with an adult male.  [Emphasis Father Zuhlsdorf]

See, even if it is true, it's not that big of a deal.  After all, Father Phillips didn't do anything criminal! He just had an "improper relationship with an adult male."  No biggie.  But, as Father Z tells us, even though this was a minor infraction, Father Phillips was still removed by the evil Cardinal Cupich:

However, Fr. Phillips has been removed as pastor of the parish and Superior of the Canons.  He also had to leave the parish. An interim superior has been chosen from among the group itself.  Given that Phillips seems not to have broken any civil laws the move against him seems pretty sudden and draconian, but I guess that’s what they do around there.

Father Z, with no knowledge of anything, then pronounces Father Phillips innocent of all charges:

For my part, I hope for a swift resolution to this especially because I don’t believe the allegation.   I just don’t.

And if the great, almighty and omniscient Father Z says it didn't happen, you better believe you can take that to the bank.

These are some of the comments left of Zuhlsdorf's blog, with which he seems to have no problem at all:

VanSensei says:

18 March 2018 at 12:23 AM  Methinks this is a smear job by Cardinal Cupich (if that man is ever pope, *shudders*) because St. John Cantius is a conservative parish and Cupich doesn’t want that. This is hideous.

tzabiega says:

18 March 2018 at 12:34 PM  Father Phillips is one of the greatest priests in the United States who founded one of the most unique religious orders in the world, which by itself has rejuvenated the Catholic Church in Chicago. What is interesting is that it is well known that there are multiple homosexual priests in the Chicago archdiocese and I highly doubt they are all perfectly chaste and haven’t had “inappropriate” acts with other homosexuals without any public statements from Archbishop Cupich. So to publicly accuse a priest of inappropriate conduct which is not criminal (where Archbishop Cupich is all for homosexual relationships and pro-homosexual priests like Father Martin) smacks of calumny. At the very least this should have been privately investigated and only if Father Phillips was found guilty by a canonical court should this have been released. After all: 1. This was not against a minor and 2. It was not a crime whatever he is accused off. So what was the hurry in publicly shaming Father Phillips. Lowest form of vindictiveness by Archbishop Cupich trying to destroy the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius who are at the forefront of fighting for traditional values, for life, and for the family. The Canons should try their best now to move their religious order to Springfield, Illinois, where they already have a parish and where the great Bishop Paprocki is in charge. Otherwise, the vindictive Archbishop Cupich will destroy them within a matter of a couple years like he has already destroyed their founder’s reputation.

Zuhlsdorf did get a little uncomfortable when one of his fans called him out on the true meaning of his post:

Anchorite says:18 March 2018 at 8:43 PM Your assessment of the matter is absolutely on the spot, Fr. Z. I’ve worried about the fate of this parish and anyone involved in running it from the moment Cupich was assigned to Chicago. Archb. Cupich is a great enemy of anything Catholic and has an unnatural aversion to tradional things. His own history of destroying sacred spaces is well-known, but, since Vatican is now occupied of the Vindictiveness personified, it was only a matter of time when good priests’ heads started to roll. Cupich and his ilk know that there is one sure way to destroy someone’s priestly career is to accuse them of inappropriate behavior. Then to start questioning the charism of the society they founded, and its very existence. Sad times indeed.

[I’ve “assessed” no more than that I don’t believe the allegations and that the move seems a little heavy. What I have emphasized is that the investigation ought to be swift so that the truth can get out and be put to rest, one way or another.]

I have absolutely no respect for anything Father John Zuhlsdorf says.  He is a bull in a china shop, throwing his weight around (and that weight is considerable - have you seen him lately?) with no respect for anything or anyone who doesn't help his agenda.  He attacks and destroys at will.  I truly do pray for him, because he has much for which he will have to answer.

Father Zuhlsdorf and Michael Voris

And what does Michael Voris have to say?  As far as I know, he has not personally said anything. However, his flunky, Christine Niles, has weighed in. Her thoughts are exactly as you would expect. She entitles her post, "CHICAGO PRIEST DEFENDS HIMSELF AGAINST ACCUSATIONS."  Niles reports that Fr. Phillips has been removed because of "credible allegations of improper conduct involving adult men."  She then goes on to tell us that:

Phillips founded the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in 1998 under Cdl. Francis George. The parish is known for its beautiful and reverent traditional liturgy, as well as its preaching of orthodoxy. Last year it undertook a historic Fatima procession through the streets of Chicago, in the 100th anniversary year of the apparitions.

Niles then posts a video of the Church, "Restoring the Sacred."  As you can see, she is telling us that Fr. Phillips is a good guy who has done only good things in this life, with the clear inference that these charges could not possibly be true.  In fact, she goes on to quote from a member of St. John Cantius saying that very thing.  What a surprise.

After this, Niles goes into a rant against - you will never guess - Father James Martin, that evil priest who actually believes in compassion and mercy for sinners.   Niles makes totally untrue statements about Father Martin, such as that he supports gay marriage and transgenderism- an absolute lie.  Father Martin has made it very clear that he completely supports the teachings of the Church in this matter.  Also, Niles states that "he has also claimed that the virtue of chastity does not apply to homosexuals."  That is blatantly untrue as Fr. Martin has specifically said that everyone is called to a life of chastity.  For the record, one other accusations Niles makes, Fr. Martin endorsing Sr. Jeannine Gramick, is true, and I am definitely in disagreement with Fr. Martin on this one.

But my question is, what in the world does Fr. James Martin have to do with Fr. Phillips?  The traditionalists' answer would be that Cardinal Cupich has invited Fr. Martin to speak in Chicago. Therefore, that shows hypocrisy and bias on Cupich's part. Cardinal Cupich condemns one priest accused of homosexuality while he supports another who promotes homosexuality.  This is, of course, comparing apples with oranges.  Fr. Martin supports showing mercy, compassion and kindness (three nasty words to the traditionalists) to those caught up in sin, i.e., homosexuals.  I have no doubt in my mind that Fr. Martin will show that same compassion to Fr. Phillips should be it proven that he, too has same sex attraction.

Niles includes a quote from one member of St. John Cantius, that once again sums up the attitude of most traditionalists in regard to this matter:

I think very few people at SJC were actually surprised that the Diocese took action against Fr. Phillips and SJC. Given the Traditional/Modernist divide, to many it was never a matter of if, but only when.

Ah, the traditionalists.  They just love whipping out the victim card.

There is one more traditionalist reaction I would like to share with you.  It is a YouTube video by a young trad, that group which the trads tell us is the future of the Church:

It has been made known clear that Cardinal Cupich is an enemy of the Catholic faith and an enemy of tradition. . .remember, the Bible says the enemies are in the high places. . .we have to be mindful that just because we have the cardinals, just because we have the pope, just because we have these priests, bishops, prelates, monsignors, doesn't mean they are always good.  It doesn't mean they always have the Catholic faith. . .I think it needs to made known that we do not want Cardinal Cupich.

This young man then makes an out-and-out threat against Cardinal Cupich, for which, if the Cardinal so wished, the young man could be prosecuted.

Cardinal Cupich, the traditionalist movement is coming after you. You best hide.   

In all of these posts and comments, no one seems to really be concerned for Fr. Phillips at all.  They just assume he is completely innocent and our only concern should be about all the evil prelates who want to destroy traditionalism a/k/a True Catholicism.  In the statement from St. John Cantius, we are told this:

Fr. C. Frank Phillips, C.R. our founder, has been pastor of St. John Cantius for 30 years and our superior for 20 years. As soon as Fr. Phillips became aware of the complaints he has been open and transparent with us, his community, and the Archdiocese of Chicago. 

To me, the words "he has been open and transparent with us, his community and the Archdiocese of Chicago", say that Fr. Phillips has finally come to terms with who he is.   I can only imagine the guilt and shame he has lived with during his entire ministry, especially in serving a group of people who don't even try to understand someone like him, but who only condemn.  This poor priest must have been in constant misery, trying to be one thing and his mind telling him something entirely different.  If Fr. Phillips had been able to be honest about who he is, if he had found people who accepted him with compassion and mercy, he probably never would have had "inappropriate relationships."  It is when we try to hide things under the rug that they eventually come out and bite us.

I see no compassion at all coming from these best-of-all Catholics.  It never enters their minds that Fr. Phillips may need their support not in fighting the Catholic hierarchy, but in fighting his own demons, just as we all do.  Fr. Phillips will never find the true support he needs from those who are only intent on fighting the Church.  And neither will anyone else.

As far as I am concerned, the Catholic blogosphere is all sound and fury, signifying nothing.