Is Catholic TV Getting “Real”?

We hear enough about a "crisis in the Church." The 2002 clergy scandals in Boston were the jump-start for much of the Catholic blogosphere, as new voices emerged to confront the issues of the day. More recently, an Evangelical preacher by the name of Armstrong Williams maintains that the "American revival" must begin with the Catholic Church. It's time to start talking tough, boys and girls. Time for the long pants, time to bring out the big guns, time to take off the gloves, time to hunker down, time to call, raise, or fold. Listen to Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV.

Michael is right. He's absolutely right. And he knows just where the blame is, too, right at the top of the heap, with a bunch of guys who will never have to open their own car door, or have a bad meal, for the rest of their lives. But are they stupid? Oh, no! In fact, they've got the huddled masses in the pews at the Masses right where they want them. All the threats in the world from those who challenge them are easy enough to ignore, unless those challengers give them incentive to do otherwise.

You see, the American bishops have discovered, that they can effectively spread the blame for the scandals around, and still appear to have a handle on things, by making US responsible for ensuring that our children are safe, even from ourselves. They've managed to bully your Aunt Minnie, who's been teaching Catechism for the last fifty years without incident, into being subject to a background check as if she's interviewing for the CIA, and into being fingerprinted like a common criminal, so that she may continue teaching Catechism for the few years she has left.

The same goes for anyone who has "substantial contact with minors." By this definition, all of us are a potential risk, just sitting in the same pew with someone else's family. Maybe that's the idea. After all, they know that YOU don't know, that they may actually have no authority under canon law to put you through this. They also know that YOU don't know, that some of them are being challenged for this charade in the Roman Rota, the highest court of appeals in the Church, by their own priests!!!

Still, they have you believing they've got you over a barrel, alright ... or do they?

Mark Shea has made the observation, that if all the bishops were to be replaced tomorrow, very little would change, because their replacements would be the product of the same culture that wrought their predecessors. If that's true, we're not exactly off the hook either. You'll hear a lot in the Catholic media about "changing the culture." How does that work exactly? Obviously, it goes farther than merely changing ourselves.

We might look no farther than a segment of yesterday's report on Gloria.TV News, the one that appears at 01:19 into this clip.

FRANCE: Approximately 200 young Catholics came to the defense of the Cathedral of Lyons, France, during a "kiss-in" protest held by homosexuals in front of the building last month. The homosexuals reportedly came on the eve of the "World Day Against Homophobia" in May to kiss each other in front of the cathedral, presumably in protest against the Catholic Church's 2,000-year-old condemnation of homosexual sex acts. In a video recently released by ACI Prensa, the counter-protesters can be seen forming a line several layers deep in front of the cathedral, holding up crucifixes, the flag of Vatican City, and a large banner stating “No More Catholophobia.” The homosexual demonstrators were jeering, blaspheming, and insulting the Catholics, while the Catholic counter-demonstrators were kneeling, praying, and singing hymns.

You don't need a bishop's permission to attend Mass, nor to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. You also don't need his permission to make some noise. We can talk as tough as we like, but are we prepared to act on it?

The thing is, it could get ugly.
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