The WM Review

Dear @StephenKokx and @TheWMReview, I listened to your “Where Is the Church?” podcast today, hoping for a substantive answer to that very question. After nearly an hour and ten minutes, you finally addressed it as follows: youtube.com/watch?v=5EbeX9… Stephen: “What sort of light can you shed on those thorny questions, when it comes to jurisdiction and where the Church actually is?” Seán: “…in a sense, the Church is where she’s always been. She is the body of men who are baptized, who profession the Faith, and are subject to legitimate pastors where they are — where they are. Now, as I said earlier on, they’re not here.” Seán went on to say he does “believe there must be, indeed, living legitimate successors to the Apostles. Exactly where they are, that’s a difficult question. It’s not one that I’m afraid to answer, but it’s a long question; it’s a long answer; it’s a complicated answer; and it requires an element of good will on the part of people who you’re speaking to — and if someone doesn’t really grasp the nature of the crisis, they’re just going to hear that kind of explanation and think, ‘That’s just totally contrived,’ or, ‘That’s just impossible.’ So, I’d be happy to discuss that, but I think it does need a full treatment.” I’m confused. The title of your show was literally, “Where Is the Church?” and yet you chose not to provide any sort of substantive answer. Why? Because only those who “really grasp the nature of the crisis” and are of “good will” are able to understand your explanation? With all due respect, that sounds rather gnostic and patronizing to me. Also, Seán, the fact that you “don’t see a problem” with your inability to identify “living legitimate successors to the Apostles” is astounding. You claim to accept Fr. Berry’s teaching (as all Catholics should) that “the Church must have a legitimate, or formal, succession of pastors to transmit apostolic authority from age to age” (The Church of Christ, p. 78 amazon.com/Church-Christ-…), yet you are unable to identify even a single such pastor on earth today — and you don’t find that even a little problematic? But back to “the nature of the crisis.” What is it, according to you both? Based on your comments during the show, I think it can be summed up as follows: (1) Vatican II was a revolutionary event that established an entirely new religion. (2) As a result, and since 1965, the Catholic Church has been “obscured” by an entirely separate entity, the “Conciliar/Synodal Church,” which holds and teaches the new religion established by Vatican II. Well, my question remains: Where is the Catholic Church today, which you claim still exists on earth? Let’s make it even more practical: To whom should someone go who wants to be received into the Catholic Church today? The SSPX? The CMRI? The RCI? What about someone who has cut himself off from the Church by heresy, schism, or apostasy? Who currently has the authority to lift the censure and receive such a person back into the Church? These are not “gotcha” questions, gentlemen. This is me engaging you in good faith, seeking real answers to very serious questions on which the salvation of souls depend (extra Ecclesiam nulla salus).

It’s basically Gaspers retweeting Abbate the clueless cheerleader 500 times. That said, if Sede Inc. had bothered responding as I advised, instead of brushing it off, it could have been prevented. But if they want to ignore the issue and let Gaspers run victory laps go right ahead. Sede Inc. has no ability to get out in front of an issue and no idea how to effectively respond. No media sense. They should have done immediate response videos. Individual sedes have given responses but they don’t have the platforms and have been drowned out. Meanwhile those sedes that do have big platforms have so far acted too above the fray to respond, so what do they expect? If they ever get around to a response it will be way too late and the opportunity will have passed. @realsedepicante who has 30 viewers is putting Sede Inc. to shame and giving a very informative and entertaining response to the Gaspers interview as we speak. youtube.com/live/_WbRk2qBn… But Sede Inc. would rather let Gaspers, Siscoe, and Salza define the narrative. Mind blowing.

Might be time the families have a sit down and hash things out. Maybe we get this crew together? Can do it on AB on Monday. @AmericanReform_ @TheWMReview @CathFamPodcast @StephenKokx @BigModernism @MattGaspers @EsquireCatholic