Our Persecuted Priests

Can you guess what these persecuted priests all have in common?

A strange phenomenon is occurring in many dioceses throughout North America.  Some priests are beginning to courageously speak-out against evils in society with new boldness and passion, almost as if someone’s (eternal) life depends upon it.  One would expect these faithful priests to be persecuted by the purveyors of evil, which certainly happens with some frequency.  However, you might be surprised to learn the greatest threat to these priests come from their own bishops.

A column by Mary Ann Kreitzer describes the problem facing orthodox priests in the United States:

How do bad bishops punish good priests? Let us count the ways: exile, silencing, mandatory evaluation at pseudo-psychiatric facilities like St. Luke’s, frequent reassignment, making them permanent parochial vicars with no hope of becoming pastors, marginalization, driving them out (to other dioceses or the military vicariate), whispering campaigns designating them “mentally unstable” or “unfit for ministry,” etc.  The ultimate punishment, the bishop’s sword of Damocles, so to speak, is suspension. It hangs over the head of a good priest who knows his “spiritual father” will use it. How many good priests hear variations of the threat, “You have no idea what I can do to you!” But the good priests do know. They’ve seen the sword fall on their brothers.

We have reported on the cases of eight individual priests who have been persecuted by their bishops over the course of the past two years.  Our list is by no means comprehensive as there are many additional priests who being privately persecuted by their bishops. Here’s a brief rundown of the stories we have reported.

PriestDescriptionSuperior

Fr. Robert Altier

Publicly admonished by his bishop for his viral homily, “.Coronavirus - The Truth Revealed.Archbishop Bernard Hebda
Archdiocese of
St. Paul and Minneapolis
651.291.4400
archbishop@archspm.org

Fr. James Altman


Publicly rebuked by his bishop and forbidden from broadcasting his homilies after he issued he viral video "You Cannot be a Faithful Catholic and a Democrat."
Bishop William Callahan
Diocese of La Crosse
608.788.7700
dbrannon@diolc.org

Fr. Mark Goring


Told to stop speaking out by an unnamed superior about the Church’s sexual-abuse scandal. Goring issued an appeal to Pope Francis for permission to keep talking about the crisis.Archbishop Terrence Prendergast
Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall
613.738.5025
Arch@archottawa.ca

Fr. Daniel Nolan


Publicly humiliated by his superiors who stated they were “evaluating” Fr. Nolan after an off-handed comment about face masks during a catechesis lecture.Father Father Michael Stinson
Fraternity of St. Peter, North American District
570.842.4000

Fr. Paul Kalchik


Forced to flee when his bishop ordered him to be removed from his parish for allowing his parishioners to burn a rainbow banner found in the parish.
Cardinal Blasé Cupich
Archdiocese of Chicago
312.751.8200
bcupich@archchicago.org

Fr. James Parker

Kicked to the curb by his bishop for encouraging his parishioners to inform themselves before making a decision on vaccination.Bishop David Malloy
Diocese of Rockford
815.399.4300
TWhite@RockfordDiocese.org

Fr. Eduard Perrone

Falsely accused of sexual abuse and removed from his parish.  Has sued his diocese for defamation.
Archbishop Allen Vigneron
Archdiocese of Detroit
313.237.5800
vigneron.allen@aod.org

Fr. Theodore Rothrock


Removed from his parish after issuing a column in his parish bulletin critical of Black Lives Matter.Bishop Timothy Doherty
Diocese of Lafayette, IN
765.742.0275
bishop@dol-in.org

Fr. Mark White


Silenced and removed from his parish for speaking out on the handling of the sexual abuse scandal by the Church.Bishop Barry Knestout
Diocese of Richmond
804.359.5661
bishop@richmonddiocese.org

So what’s the one thing all these persecuted priests have in common?  They have an Orthodox interpretation of the Catholic faith.  This makes them especially reprehensible to liberal ‘Catholics’ who cannot bear to hear the truths of the faith spoken with clarity and boldness. It’s simply amazing that faithful priests like these men seem to be always silenced by their bishops, while dissident Judases like Fr. James Martin are allowed to roam the country spewing their heresies to anyone who will listen.

Please contact the bishops of these persecuted priests and express your opinion regarding the actions the bishop has taken against them.  Please also be sure to pray for our persecuted priests and ask God to raise-up more clerics who will courageously proclaim the Truths of the Holy Catholic Church for the salvation of souls.

Share