Washington D.C., Feb 19, 2021 / 03:02 pm ().- God commanded it, Jesus practiced it, Church Fathers have preached the importance of it – fasting is a powerful and fundamental part of the Christian life.
But for many Catholics today, it’s more of an afterthought: something we grudgingly do on Good Friday, perhaps on Ash Wednesday if we remember it. Would we fast more, especially during Lent, if we understood how helpful it is for our lives?
The answer to this, say both saints of the past and experts today, is a resounding “yes.”
“Let us take for our standard and for our example those that have run the race, and have won,” said Deacon Sabatino Carnazzo, founding executive director of the Institute of Catholic Culture and a deacon at Holy Transfiguration Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Mclean, Va., of the saints.
“And…those that have run the race and won have been men and women of prayer and fasting.”
So what, in essence, is fasting?
It’s “the deprivation of the good, in order to make a decision for a greater good,” explained Deacon Carnazzo. It is most commonly associated with abstention from food, although it can also take the form of giving up other goods like comforts and entertainment.
The current fasting obligation for Latin Catholics in the United States is this: all over the age of 14 must abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays in Lent. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, adults age 18 to 59 must fast – eating no more than one full meal and two smaller meals that together do not add up in quantity to the full meal.
Catholics, “if possible,” can continue the Good Friday fast through Holy Saturday until the Easter Vigil, the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference adds.
Other Fridays throughout the year (aside from Friday within the Octave of Easter) “are penitential days and times throughout the entire Church,” according to Canon Law 1250. Catholics once abstained from meat on all Fridays, but the U.S. bishops received permission from the Holy See for Catholics to substitute another sacrifice or perform an act of charity instead.
Eastern Rite Catholics, meanwhile, follow the fasting laws of their own particular church.
In their 1966 “Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence,” the National Conference of Catholic Bishops exhorted the faithful, on other days of Lent where fasting is not required, to “participation in daily Mass and a self-imposed observance of fasting.”
Aside from the stipulations, though, what’s the point of fasting?
“The whole purpose of fasting is to put the created order and our spiritual life in a proper balance,” Deacon Carnazzo said.
As “bodily creatures in a post-fallen state,” it’s easy to let our “lower passions” for physical goods supersede our higher intellect, he explained. We take good things for granted and reach for them whenever we feel like it, “without thinking, without reference to the One Who gives us the food, and without reference to the question of whether it’s good for us or not,” he added.
Thus, fasting helps “make more room for God in our life,” Monsignor Charles Pope, pastor of Holy Comforter/St. Cyprian Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. said.
“And the Lord said at the well, with the (Samaritan) woman, He said that ‘everyone that drinks from this well is going to be thirsty again. Why don’t you let me go to work in your life and I’ll give you a fountain welling up to Eternal Life.’”
While fasting can take many forms, is abstaining from food especially important?
“The reason why 2000 years of Christianity has said food (for fasting), because food’s like air. It’s like water, it’s the most fundamental,” Deacon Carnazzo said. “And that’s where the Church says ‘stop right here, this fundamental level, and gain control there.’ It’s like the first step in the spiritual life.”
What the Bible says about it
Yet why is fasting so important in the life of the Church? And what are the roots of the practice in Scripture?
The very first fast was ordered by God to Adam in the Garden of Eden, Deacon Carnazzo noted, when God instructed Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17).
This divine prohibition was not because the tree was bad, the deacon clarified. It was “made good” like all creation, but its fruit was meant to be eaten “in the right time and the right way.” In the same way, we abstain from created goods so we may enjoy them “in the right time and the right way.”
The fast is the weapon of protection against demons – St. Basil the Great.
Fasting is also good because it is submission to God, he said. By fasting from the fruit of the tree, Adam and Eve would have become partakers in the Divine Nature through their obedience to God. Instead, they tried to take this knowledge of good and evil for themselves and ate the fruit, disobeying God and bringing Original Sin, death, and illness upon mankind.
At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus abstained from food and water for 40 days and nights in the desert and thus “reversed what happened in the Garden of Eden,” Deacon Carnazzo explained. Like Adam and Eve, Christ was tempted by the devil but instead remained obedient to God the Father, reversing the disobedience of Adam and Eve and restoring our humanity.
Following the example of Jesus, Catholics are called to fast, said Fr. Lew. And the Church Fathers preached the importance of fasting.
Why fasting is so powerful
“The fast is the weapon of protection against demons,” taught St. Basil the Great. “Our Guardian Angels more really stay with those who have cleansed our souls through fasting.”
Why is fasting so powerful? “By setting aside this (created) realm where the devil works, we put ourselves into communion with another realm where the devil does not work, he cannot touch us,” Deacon Carnazzo explained.
It better disposes us for prayer, noted Monsignor Pope. Because we feel greater hunger or thirst when we fast from food and water, “it reminds us of our frailty and helps us be more humble,” he said. “Without humility, prayer and then our experience of God really can’t be unlocked.”
Thus, the practice is “clearly linked by St. Thomas Aquinas, writing within the Tradition, to chastity, to purity, and to clarity of mind,” noted Fr. Lew.
“You can kind of postulate from that that our modern-day struggles with the virtue of chastity, and perhaps a lack of clarity in theological knowledge, might be linked to an abandonment of fasting as well.”
A brief history of fasting
The current fasting obligations were set in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, but in previous centuries, the common fasts among Catholics were stricter and more regularly observed.
Catholics abstained from meat on all Fridays of the year, Easter Friday excluded. During Lent, they had to fast – one main meal and two smaller meatless meals – on all days excluding Sunday, the day of the Resurrection. They abstained from meat on Fridays and Saturdays in Lent – the days of Christ’s death and lying in the tomb – but were allowed meat during the main meal on the other Lenten weekdays.
The obligations extended to other days of the liturgical year. Catholics fasted and abstained on the vigils of Christmas and Pentecost Sunday, and on Ember Days – the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the Feast of St. Lucy on Dec. 13, after Ash Wednesday, after Pentecost Sunday, and after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in September – corresponding with the four seasons.
In centuries past, the Lenten abstention was more austere. Catholics gave up not only meat but also animal products like milk and butter, as well as oil and even fish at times.
Why are today’s obligations in the Latin Rite so minimal? The Church is setting clear boundaries outside of which one cannot be considered to be practicing the Christian life, Deacon Carnazzo explained. That is why intentionally violating the Lenten obligations is a mortal sin.
But should Catholics perform more than the minimum penance that is demanded? Yes, said Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P., who is currently studying for a Pontifical License in Sacred Theology at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C.
The minimum may be “what is due to God out of justice,” he explained, but we are “called not only to be just to God,” but also “to love God and to love our neighbor.” Charity, he added, “would call us to do more than just the minimum that is applied to us by the Code of Canon Law today, I think.”
In Jeremiah 31: 31-33, God promises to write His law upon our hearts, Deacon Carnazzo noted. We must go beyond following a set of rules and love God with our hearts, and this involves doing more than what we are obliged to do, he added.
Be wary of your motivation
However, Fr. Lew noted, fasting “must be stirred up by charity.” A Catholic should not fast out of dieting or pride, but out of love of God.
“It’s always dangerous in the spiritual life to compare yourself to other people,” he said, citing the Gospel of John where Jesus instructed St. Peter not to be concerned about the mission of St. John the Apostle but rather to “follow Me.” (John 21: 20-23).
In like manner, we should be focused on God during Lent and not on the sacrifices of others, he said.
Lent (is referred to) as a joyful season…It’s the joy of loving Him more.
“We will often fail, I think. And that’s not a bad thing. Because if we do fail, this is the opportunity to realize our utter dependence on God and His grace, to seek His mercy and forgiveness, and to seek His strength so that we can grow in virtue and do better,” he added.
And by realizing our weakness and dependence on God, we can “discover anew the depths of God’s mercy for us” and can be more merciful to others, he added.
Giving up good things may seem onerous and burdensome, but can – and should – a Catholic fast with joy?
“It’s referred to in the preface of Lent as a joyful season,” Fr. Lew said. “And it’s the joy of deepening our relationship with Christ, and therefore coming closer to Him. It’s the joy of loving Him more, and the more we love God the closer we draw to Him.”
“Lent is all about the Cross, and eventually the resurrection,” said Deacon Carnazzo. If we “make an authentic, real sacrifice for Christ” during Lent, “we can come to that day of the crucifixion and say ‘Yes Lord, I willingly with you accept the cross. And when we do that, then we will behold the third day of resurrection.’”
This article was originally published on CNA Feb. 20, 2016.
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Already up on WikiPedia –
On February 11, 2025, Weisenburger was appointed as Archbishop of Detroit, succeeding Allen Vigneron. His installation occurred on March 18, 2025.
Faculty Upheaval at Sacred Heart Major Seminary
In 2025, Weisenburger terminated three prominent professors of theology and Canon Law, Dr. Ralph Martin, Dr. Eduardo Echeverria, and Dr. Edward Peters, from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, effective immediately without explanation.
Dr. Ralph Martin had been a faculty member since 2002 and was instrumental in developing the seminary’s Licentiate of Sacred Theology Degree in the New Evangelization. A prominent figure in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement, Martin is the founder and president of Renewal Ministries, which organizes international missions and evangelization events in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Toronto, Ontario. He is also the host of The Choices We Face on EWTN and the author of several books, including Will Many Be Saved? What Vatican II Actually Teaches and Its Implications for the New Evangelization. Martin served as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization. In a statement, Martin expressed shock at his dismissal, noting that Weisenburger cited “concerns about my theological perspectives” without providing specifics.
Dr. Eduardo Echeverria taught philosophy and systematic theology at the seminary. A respected scholar, he authored works such as Jesus Christ, Scandal of Particularity: Vatican II, a Catholic Theology of Religions, Justification, and Truth. Echeverria confirmed his dismissal to the National Catholic Register , but declined further comment due to a nondisclosure agreement.
Dr. Edward Peters, J.C.D., a professor since 2005, and has been a leading canon lawyer known for his orthodox approach to ecclesiastical law. The first lay referendary of the Apostolic Signatura, he upholds orthodox Catholic doctrine through works like the English translation of the 1917 Code of Canon Law and Incrementa in Progressu 1983 Codicis Iuris Canonici. His website, canonlaw.info, and blog, In the Light of the Law, offer doctrinally sound commentary on issues like excommunication and marriage law, earning praise for his rigorous, faith-driven scholarship. On July 25, 2025, he publicly announced his termination on his X account: “My Sacred Heart Major Seminary teaching contract was terminated by Abp. Weisenburger this week. I have retained counsel. Except to offer my prayers for those affected by this news and to ask for theirs in return, I have no further comment at this time.”
The professors had previously critiqued certain statements and teachings of Pope Francis, particularly regarding theological clarity. For example, in January 2024, Martin wrote a column for the National Catholic Register arguing that Francis’s remarks expressing hope that hell is empty could inadvertently support the heresy of Universalism, which posits that all will be saved. The lack of a public explanation for the dismissals, particularly after the “Archbishop’s Gala,” an annual seminary fundraiser, led to speculation among Catholics about the motivations behind the decision, with some suggesting it reflected tensions over theological perspectives Weisenburger is personally at odds with while taking advantage of donors before terminating highly respected faculty members. A spokesman for the archdiocese declined to comment on the firings.
Positions
Extraordinary Form of the Mass
A month into his tenure as Archbishop of Detroit, Weisenburger announced that as of July 1, 2025, parishes would be prohibited from celebrating the Tridentine Mass, citing Traditionis custodes. The Mass will still be allowed in non-parochial settings like St. Joseph Shrine, which is under the care of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest as well as 4 other designated non-parochial settings. Weisenburger’s decison sparked deep backlash among Catholics, who called it a “bloodbath” and “a personal assault.”
On June 12, 2025, Weisenburger issued a decree, accompanied by the Traditionis Custodes Implementation Norms for the Archdiocese of Detroit and a list of designated regional locations for the liturgy. The decree restricted public celebrations of the liturgy to four non-parish sites: St. Joseph Shrine in Detroit (Central Region), St. Irene Church in Dundee (South Region), Our Lady of Orchard Lake Chapel in Orchard Lake (Northwest Region), and St. Joseph Church in Port Huron (Northeast Region). St. Joseph Shrine, was allowed to continue as a personal parish offering daily liturgies. Priests not assigned to these sites could request permission to celebrate the liturgy on weekdays in non-parish settings, but only without lay attendance and under strict conditions, including annual renewal and a written affirmation of the validity of the Novus Ordo liturgy.
Despite any universal liturgical precedent, the decree also prohibited the ad orientem posture in the Novus Ordo liturgy, mandating the use of freestanding altars in all parish churches within 180 days.
Additionally, despite the rubrics of the liturgy, Scripture readings in the liturgy were required to be in the vernacular using translations approved only by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. These norms were framed as balancing pastoral care for the faithful attached to the liturgy with fidelity to Francis’ call for the Novus Ordo to be the “unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.”
Weisenburger’s actions sparked significant controversy. Critics argued that the measures marginalized vibrant communities, limited access to the liturgy, and suppressed legitimate liturgical diversity. Some expressed hope that Leo XIV, elected in April 2025, might relax these restrictions, as noted by Cardinal Raymond Burke’s appeal. Weisenburger defended the decree in a June 13 letter, emphasizing the need for unity under papal and episcopal leadership while acknowledging the “rich expressions of the Catholic faith in southeast Michigan.”
A report that a hamburger cafe in Detroit now offers ‘Big Beef Wisenburgers’ has not been able to be confirmed . . .
blessings and thanks.
What a great loss to those of us seeking the Truth. Why is it ok in the Church to end livelihoods of great followers of the Lord. I don’t understand how this improves Christ’s Church.
Exactly 💯 I personally met Ralph Martin in the early days of the Charismatic Movement in Newark ,NJ. St. Antonio’s Church the founding fathers bless his name Fr. Jim Ferry. My wife came into the Catholic Church as a result. She was of the Jewish faith. I’m saddened but now aware of the New Papa in Rome. Another liberal. But it was prophetic. We are in the end times
IT’S ANTONINUS
It would seem that there being no contradictions to Scripture, presented, that this is an administrative change.
I am not a Catholic but one of several of my dear friends, including a very senior priest, and I find it unfortunate that orthodoxy in philosophy is rejected by the left wing, socialist philosophy of the former Pope. I commend Leo for lowering the temperature. I know not where he lands on philosophy but he appears less divisive than Francis.
Thank you, Dr. Martin James Rice, for posting these further details. Sad. This new archbishop needs many prayers after having treated these good scholars so crudely.
For those who have noticed, Scripture “translations approved only by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops” are now very woke. For example,the Bishops go to great lengths to eliminate male pronouns. They have even changed the words of Our Lord Jesus’s “Our Father” prayer. Attend the Latin Mass.
Ticks all the boxes concerning a continuation of Francis vindicated paranoia from beyond the grave! A hatred of a popular exposition of Catholic thought and action, plus a hatred of traditional catholicism, etc. etc!
J Mcallion: Not a “hatred of traditional catholicism”, I’m afraid. Just a hatred of orthodox Catholicism.
I find, however, when you really scratch below the surface with those who are inclined to tear the Church asunder, you find sins and agendas we’re now much too familiar with in the Catholic Church; we find the “Ghosts of McCarrick.”
A word to all seminarians at Sacred Heart Seminary: Before it’s too late, I’d encourage you to transfer out of Sacred Heart Seminary. If you stay, you will work for an Archdiocese that will constantly wage war against orthodoxy. Instead, make application to one of the better religious orders/congregations – ones that are noted for their orthodoxy. Just remember one simple fact: if you get ordained for the diocesan priesthood, you never will get to have a say in who your bishop is. Popes like Francis will be choosing your bishop. And be very clear, certain kinds of bishops can make your life hell. On the other hand, if you are a priest in a religious order and are fully professed, you will gèt a say in the election of your superiors. Now is the time to opt out of the diocesan priesthood.
Take care! You advocate disobedience to God’s call? God’s absolute control
Is questioned?
The spongy theology of “l’m okay, you’re okay.” Recalling, here, the nun of years gone by who had just met favorably with her bishop—a successor of the apostles…
Said she with dewy eyes: “he affirmed my okayness!”
Not a problem. Francis is most likely being subject to the same scrutiny.
Jeremiah 23:2
“Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.”
The Archbishop has provided a perfect example of Synodaling:
All are welcome! Let’s talk. Blah, blah, blah…
Purge the opposition.
Promote and protect sycophants.
Are we witnessing the rise of Franciscus II?
“Even the Holy Father himself would say the arms of the Church are broad and wide, and there’s a place for almost everybody. And so I think he was OK with people who ask questions,” Weiseburger said. “And I’m kind of OK with them, too.”
Except if you’re asking questions as to why you got fired…. Sorry, couldn’t resist
The need for reform is urgent when it is better to be a priest convicted for distributing child porn films working at the Vatican than a layman fired for faithfully teaching for decades at a Seminary.
Pope Leo, the ball is in your court….🎾
God’s Fool,
I agree. The need for reform is urgent. There are many synodaling members of the Uncle Ted McCarrick fraternity in the hierarchy.
Praying for Pope Leo to address this need in a prudent and effective way.
Excellent point. One can hope that, as Pope Leo is a canonist, the firing of Ed Peters will get his attention. (Firing three highly regarded professors at a major seminary at one swoop should in itself get the attention of the Pope, but you never know.)
As far as Archbishoo Weisenberger, the expression “tin-pot dictator” comes to mind. He wouldn’t be the first one.
Traditional Catholicism, Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, And The Teaching Of The Magisterium, Grounded In Sacred Tradition And Sacred Scripture, The Deposit Of Faith Christ Has Entrusted To His Church For The Salvation Of Souls, Is From God, the counterfeit magisterium that is attempting to subsist within The One Body Of Christ, while denying The Deposit Of Faith is from man, and is ipso facto anti Christ.
“Penance, Penance, Penance.”
“It is a sin to accommodate an occasion of sin, and cooperate with evil”, by accommodating a counterfeit magisterium that is anti Christ and calling it Catholic.
So now young people will have another reason to not attend a seminary – get rid of the thinkers that teach there!
“Excellency” Weisburger is unjust and untruthful, in imitation of the late Pontiff Francis.
He is a fitting successor in the long line of false shepherds presiding for decades in the AD of Detroit, the spawn of the false shepherd Bishop Deardon.
These three Catholics are hardly far-right sedevacantists. They are widely respected, established, orthodox, faithful Catholics. I had a feeling that Dr. Peters was next. The firings say more about the archbishop than they do about those who were fired. I can only hope and pray that Pope Leo starts to rein in those on the far left, and that any other bishops who send their seminarians to Detroit will pull them out of there before it’s too late.
At one point in recent years, the former Pope Francis warned der Synodal Weg that we don’t need two Protestant churches in Germany. And, now, today we’d like to think that HE would warn the Lone Ranger weisenheimer’s within the USCCB that we don’t need a wedge between a past pope and the current Pope Leo XIV. An ecclesial “Saturday Night Massacre”.
Two points:
FIRST, one task facing the American-born Pope Leo is to reconcile a legitimate “ecclesial assembly” (not a “synod of bishops”) with a real Synod of Bishops in conformance with the “hierarchical communion” proclaimed by the Second Vatican Council (Lumen Gentium, Ch. 3).
So, about the three dismissed theologians in Detroit, maybe the Cardinal Archbishop Cupich can clear things up. Or, maybe Cardinal McElroy in DC, whose appointment is otherwise seen by many as simply a political maneuver to offset a Presidential Election in the secular domain.
SECOND, about the secular domain, another and broader challenge for Pope Leo is to maintain the crucial doctrinal distinction between proclaiming the Gospel in its entirety and, yet, morally influencing related matters of urgent prudential judgment to be made by those directly responsible for the common good (Gaudium et Spes).
SUMMARY, about the papal election last May, someone in the USCCB please make sure that Bishop Weisenburger (appointed earlier in February and who is surely acting alone) gets that memo.
As for “acting alone”:
From The Detroit Purge
July 26, 2025
[Conclusion]
The movements are evil, and the intent is clearly to tear down one of the most faithful dioceses in America. There will be much more evil coming from the top. Our prayers for the faithful and the clergy now subjected to a bad 1970s rerun of a horror movie.
*For instance, Josh Mansfield on X says the following, which Rorate has been able to corroborate independently: “In regards to the Detroit/Weisenburger/Sacred Heart seminary situation, what I’ve been told from people with the connections to know is that the Archbishop did these firings extra-juduically, going over the head of the Rector and without consulting the Board of Directors in the removal of multiple professors. In addition, the other bishops of Michigan are LIVID at the situation!”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/detroit-archbishop-fires-renowned-conservative-professors-from-sacred-heart-seminary/
Is Detroit and Weisenberger a red flag warning of greater darkness or marker for papal intervention? Or silent approbation?
Abp Weisenberger is avowedly in his own words a convinced progressive in the mold of Francis I, which produced Cdls McElroy, Tucho Fernandez. It’s not productive to go into a detailed quai treatise in defence of three of our [those of us beleaguered Apostolic traditionalists] finest. Assuredly there’ll be an avalanche of unfavorable response to Weisenberger’s despot decision. Surely a milepost for good or evil worthy of repeated address.
These men Martin, Echeverria, Peters are orthodox and fair minded, meaning they were willing to embrace homosexuals under condition that they repent. They were willing to admit divorced and remarried outside the Church under condition that they abstain from receiving the Eucharist. Obviously Weisenberger rejected the conditions. What he advocates is Queerdom and cohabitation as legitimate forms of living Christianity.
Pope Leo, in the interests of unity, which he avows cannot remain silent or issue a meaningless rationalization. It’s a watershed moment for the Church. He has openly admitted to being a Francis I follower. Now it’s time for him to clarify exactly what that means. And for us to pray, sacrifice, and hope.
It’s not Weisenberger. Weisenburger.
Dr. Martin has been vocal in his criticism of Pope Francis’ lack of clarity, but, in his own work, he has not shown the clarity that a philosophy and theology professor needs to exhibit.
Take this quote from the above article: “a heresy called ‘universalism,’ which teaches that perhaps — or certainly — everyone will eventually end up in heaven.”
Universalism asserts that we can be certain that all will eventually be in heaven. Holding open the possibility that each person may choose redemption is a different idea entirely and is not heretical.
This may seem like a minor point, but philosophy is essentially the business of making distinctions and seemingly small inaccuracies lead to erroneous conclusions.
Maybe the bishop had entirely different reasons for firing Dr. Martin, but Dr. Martin ‘s inability to see such a simple point on the nature of universalism, about which he wrote extensively, is reason enough to think that it was at least time for him to retire.
I suspect that if bishops were to examine every professor that carefully and fire all who made similar errors, that they would have no professors left in seminaries.
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/01/18/on-the-relevance-and-reality-of-the-development-of-doctrine-today/
Those whose competence it is, must call for a Council to declare the authority of Jorge Bergoglio null and void, as according to Catholic Canon 750
And
Canon 188 §4 states that among the actions which automatically (ipso facto) cause any cleric to lose his office, even without any declaration on the part of a superior, is that of “defect[ing] publicly from the Catholic faith” (” A fide catholica publice defecerit“).
I am deeply dismayed by the continued attack on Tradition, foundational truths, and the Holy Spirit under Pope Leo. By his own words, he seems intent on following the path of Pope Francis, which has often been one of confusion and heresy. Who will be drawn to this degenerate, new gospel? It will attract those who claim to believe in Christ but whose hearts are far from Him. This is the Lord’s Church, and He is Master and Lord. Those who act against His will shall face His judgment. Let us hold onto faith, knowing we still have reason to rejoice in our God.
*A Letter to Your Holiness Pope Leo XIV*:
Dear Holy Father,
Many of us Catholic Faithful have suffered greatly under the heavy weight of the papacy of Pope Francis. Many of us have been saddled with bishops who fail to teach the Catholic Faith as handed down to us for over two millennia. We have long suffered with bishops who have sexually abused the Faithful- including children under age eighteen. We have suffered with bishops who have been involved in homosexual relationships. We have suffered with bishops who have shielded priests who sexually abused minors among the Faithful. We thought, Holy Father, that our suffering under Pope Francis would end with your election. We had hope. But now we learn that one of the Archbishops appointed by Pope Francis has summarily fired three faculty of the Archdiocesan seminary of Detroit. These were faithful men who have long served the Church. They did nothing to justify their being fired by one of your Archbishops. Holy Father, an injustice has once again been done to the Faithful.
Dear, Holy Father, we the Faithful of the Catholic Church will be watching closely to see how you handle this injustice. When elevated to the papacy, you prayed for peace. However, there can be no peace in the Catholic Church as long as we have bishops who gravely and unjustly abuse the Faithful. We are like sheep without shepherds.
In peace,
A Catholic Faithful
“I hope no one goes to hell” who does? Everyone should praise God in Heaven for all eternity. For those committing sins on earth is “to err is human and to forgive is divine.”
More accurately weisenheimer.
I have heard that the bishops of dioceses near Detroit (who probably send seminarians to Sacred Heart) were… extremely displeased with the firings.
I know bishops have a say in which seminary they send seminarians from their diocese to, but I don’t know if it is 100% their choice.
Possibly they should look into exercising that choice. These firings will almost certainly have a chilling effect on orthodox teaching at the seminary.
A Diocese north of Detroit, which is desperate to correct both a laity (de)population bomb–Mass attendance has dropped 40% in the past ten years–and rapidly worsening priest shortage–sends two of their four seminarians to Sacred Heart.
This Archbishop sounds like he is conducting a purge. Further he appears to be cut from the same mold as Francis, which is unfortunate. However the new Pope is probably free to call him in and set him straight. It would be exceedingly unfortunate if the Pope did nothing, and will allow the same reign of terror to course through the church as we have experienced these past several years.
Those who rightly hold to Catholic orthodoxy should not be treated as extremists, nuts, or anything else. To allow Bishops to conduct their diocese as a personal fiefdom is not only bad policy but makes it seem the Pope fears exercising authority and discipline. Even for a Bishop, “do whatever you want” is not an acceptable attitude.
Perhaps the Detroit Archbishop is trying to reflect positions suggested by the Pope or imagines that he is going to achieve them; and considers that the outlooks of those he fired from Seminary, are not only incompatible and contrary but will intrude and divert.
But we do not know; and from where things are at the moment can’t tell what he’s thinking. Which are also parts of the trouble.
See the CWR links concerning tips for priests and for Pax Christi, from the Pope.
Perhaps these comments by the Pope DON’t foil or upend Weisenburger’s firing moves?
What a time it is indeed, that we live in, that coincidentally is disproving that mad-hat quibble and fixation, “Time is greater than space”.
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2025/07/25/pope-leo-xiv-gives-priests-3-tips-to-build-a-solid-catholic-formation-on-rock/
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2025/07/26/pope-leo-xiv-tells-u-s-pax-christi-group-spread-peace-in-neighborhoods-parishes/
Perhaps this will be a wake up call for those who still aren’t sure if Leo is a continuation of Francs. To make it more apparent- the seminary also offers what are called ecclesiastical degrees, which means their theology department/program is overseen by Rome, barring any unusual exceptions in their case. It is almost certain that this was run by Rome, if not their official permission obtained, especially for such a major move- firing three long time professors, at once. (The hiring or firing of faculty is usually subject to the approval of the Holy See; though the degrees at sacred heart are issued through affiliation with the U. of St. Thomas/Angelicum in Rome, but which in turn is subject to the Holy See.) As such, there’s also a good likelihood, especially since this is in America, that Leo was made aware of it.
Even otherwise, Weisenberger would probably not do so unless he knew rome had his back. The same goes for his actions toward the “TLM.” Further, it makes no sense unless Leo is a continuation of Francis- if the problem was criticism of Francis, but Francis is gone, and Leo supposedly is different and will amend things…But if the objects of criticism are going to remain- Amoris L., F. Supplicans, etc., and the aim is to eliminate american voices of criticism in particular- it makes perfect sense.
The Church of Abandonment strikes again!
Leave the diocese and go elsewhere. If you can’t give money to any charity. Nothing for the diocese. Evil gets nothing
We read: “…I think [Pope Francis] kind of just reflected something of the great prophets of Scripture, who would allow the Holy Spirit to well up within them, speak the words, and let it fall on whatever ears would listen.”
A “great prophet of Scripture”? Papolatry? But who are we to judge?
So, no comment here about any pope as a possible “great prophet” of old; just noticing that at another time and place the Christian cousin of Khadijah (Muhammad’s wife) suggested to Muhammad that his intense experiences in the cave of Mt. Hira (A.D. 610) seemed a lot like the prophetic revelations of “the law” by an “angel.”
Muhammad, thusly, discovers that he’s a new prophet (!)—chosen to restore a monotheistic religion said to have been abandoned by apostate Jews (the Golden Calf thing), and then corrupted by polytheistic Christians (Muhammad’s triadic misunderstanding of the Triune One). T.E. Lawrence wrote of Arabia: ““The fringes of their deserts were strewn with broken faith . . . .The Arabs said there had been forty thousand prophets: we had record of at least some hundreds” (Seven Pillars of Wisdom). And one of these today has 1.8 billion followers.
That went well. But, unlike Muhammad, and unlike a modernday anointing by Bishop Weisenburg, there’s no record of Pope Francis ever thinking of himself as one of the “great prophets of Scripture.”
SUMMARY: The singular Incarnation and the Mystical Body of Christ—inseparable from the Father or from the Spirit—replaces any cinematic rerun of the prophets of old. Yes?
To all commenters here: May God Almighty 🙏 pour out His grace upon each of you, drawing you back to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Do not despair over the language of the Mass—whether Latin or the vernacular—for the Holy Eucharist remains the same divine miracle, the true Body and Blood of Christ, transcending all human speech. The Lord hears the prayers of His faithful in every tongue, for He is the Good Shepherd who understands every heart.
Yet let us also remember that Christ established His Church upon the rock of Peter (Matthew 16:18), granting the Pope—the successor of St. Peter—and the Magisterium, in union with him, the full authority to bind and loose (Matthew 18:18). When the Pope speaks “ex cathedra” on matters of faith and morals, or when an Ecumenical Council teaches in union with him, their authority is absolute, for they are guided by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). To reject their God-given authority is to risk schism and error, for as St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote, “Where the bishop is, there let the people be; even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church.”
Let us submit with filial devotion to the successors of the Apostles, praying always for Pope Leo XIV and all bishops, that they may shepherd the flock with wisdom, fidelity to Tradition, and the courage to uphold the Deposit of Faith.
“He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me.” (Luke 10:16)
Read some Dante.