Does Church Militant represent a small % of Catholics?

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I have never once seen Fr. Martin even suggest that homosexuals should stick within the moral boundaries of chastity outlined by the Church. He’s always talking about celebrating it, rather than recognizing it as a disordered inclination…

This thread may not be about him, but it certainly relates considering that he’s one of the primary topics of discussion on CM… or he was until the McCarrick scandal broke.

In my mind, CM is well-meaning, but a little too forceful. They are not wrong a lot of the time, but their choice in how they present information is purposefully inflammatory.
 
I’m certainly not the kind of person who could live in a culture or religion represented by Church Militant.
 
For @halogirl, here’s a short, neutral summary. You’ll find plenty of info on the Michael Voris wikipedia page:

Mr. Voris runs a religious apostolate producing on-demand video programs, called Church Militant. Many of his videos are more teaching-focused, but he gets the most publicity for his controversial “Vortex” videos, which are very much direct and strong observations on current events in the Church or culture. His take on things is a mix of orthodox and traditionalism. He puts a large focus on LGBT issues (and has SSA himself) and confronting the bishops about various topics such as the sexual abuse crisis.

Now, onto my own opinion, as someone who has watched a lot of his videos and also seen him debate Mark Shea in person.

Halogirl, if you’re a new Catholic and still learning the faith, I’d recommend staying away from him. He’s at his best for people who need to be built up in their faith with strong words. On controversial matters, his approach outweighs the truth he has to convey in many cases. When learning, I think the best approach is to listen to those who know how to correctly present both truth and charity, i.e. priests.

Catholic1seeks, I doubt there’s any sort of solid numbers as to what percentage of Catholics would identify with his message and approach, but I’d say it’s pretty small. If you want to define Catholics as regular Mass-attending Catholics, I’d bet 95% have never even heard of him. Even among traditionalists, where he has a significant topical cross-over, I’d say a minority follow or identify with him. I know a lot of traditionalists in my city and only a couple of them agree with Voris.
 
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I honestly thank you for proving me wrong. It is good to see that he still knows and, at least this time, was willing to promote the true teachings of the Church.

That doesn’t change the impression I got from following him on facebook for all those years though, that the actual moral concerns were secondary in his eyes.
 
I got into a few twitter spars with Voris, until he eventually blocked me. I took that as a win, haha.

Seriously though, Voris is very immature and full of hate.
 
As I originally stated…they are spot-on, but hyperbolic.
Them exposing scandals is a high form of love for their fellow catholics. True charity demands it.
 
From the article:
Overall, the book was about dialogue and prayer, rather than moral theology. (As a Catholic priest, I have also never challenged those teachings, nor will I.)
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I too have been following him on Facebook and still do. I don’t really see the problem. That’s my own perspective. Whatever questions there may be, they are definitely overblown by the likes of Church Militant. I think Fr. Martin’s main approach is the same one he takes in his book. It’s not secret that the official Catholic Church and LGBT community or LGBT people in general are very far apart.
Building a Bridge intentionally steered clear of issues of sexual morality, since I hoped to foster dialogue by focusing on areas of possible commonality; and the church hierarchy and the majority of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics remain far apart on these issues. It also makes little sense to begin a conversation with topics on which the two sides are the farthest apart.
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From a pastoral perspective — he’s a priest, after all — I think that just makes basic sense when you are reaching out to the margins. You don’t start with the least accessible point. You accompany people and journey with them, wherever they are.

LGBT people are used to hearing certain things from Christian churches. Over and over again. And they surely know what Catholicism thinks of same-sex behavior. The point of a pastoral approach is reaching out and making known the concerns of real life people.
 
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RealisticCatholic said:
Knowing who I am, if CM represented the Catholic Church, I don’t think I could even remain Catholic
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They represent a small, insignificant, hate driven group of pharisees who claim the name of Catholic but are far from the Catholic spirit.

Bishop Barron won’t even acknowledge their existence. We would all do well to follow his example - they are unworthy of being seriously engaged with, since they are disinterested in open, honest, charitable dialogue. They are authoritarian, traditionalist polemicists. The type of people both Jesus and Pope Francis were and are HIGHLY critical of, for good reason.
 
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He puts a large focus on LGBT issues (and has SSA himself).
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I can’t psychoanalyze anyone.

But… I really hope the anger and focus and his methods are not influenced from some kind of inner insecurity or turmoil. Fundamentalism often sparks from these kinds of things.

Regardless, even having SSA doesn’t justify as setting oneself as some gay-saint-on-earth who knows how every single LGBT person thinks or acts or feels, whether inside or outside the church.
 
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No, they represent ardent believers who go overboard from time to time. As with most groups, some of what they do is good, and some is bad. As much as I dislike Fr. Martin, I have to admit he has done some good work. As annoying as I might find CM’s rhetoric, I also have to admit that they don’t bend on important principles, and have also done some good work.
 
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Bishop Barron won’t even acknowledge their existence. We would all do well to follow his example - they are unworthy of being seriously engaged with, since they are disinterested in open, honest, charitable dialogue. They are authoritarian, traditionalist polemicists. The type of people both Jesus and Pope Francis were and are HIGHLY critical of, for good reason.
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I love me some Bishop Barron.

And Pope Francis.

Oh, and Jesus.

I’ll take them over CM any day. 😊
 
0331 said:
What makes them Pharisees?
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If you have to ask, then you may not have eyes to see. I’m not God so I can’t heal blindness. Study and prayer joined to humility and charity will reveal the truth to you.
 
Typical response of someone who can’t actually articulate their thoughts. “If you can’t see it then I won’t bother explaining it to you.”

You’ve made a serious accusation, and someone asked you to provide evidence. Don’t just flippantly dismiss them.
 
RealisticCatholic said:
love me some Bishop Barron.

And Pope Francis.
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Your spirituality will deepen and you will become a better Christian following the path of His Holiness and His Excellency.

Your heart will harden and you will become a better pharisee following CM and their ilk.

You’ve chosen the better part, and for this I commend you.
 
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I think the point is that familiarity with Church Militant just gives a very obvious different vibe then the kind of Catholicism represented by Christ, the saints, the church, etc. It’s just a very different thing. And that’s why it’s frustrating when people can’t seem to differentiate between groups like CM and real Catholicism.

(Hence the thread’s question and OP above. Thankfully it doesn’t seem CM is that pervasive).
 
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ProdglArchitect said:
You’ve made a serious accusation, and someone asked you to provide evidence. Don’t just flippantly dismiss them.
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I’m not sure how else to say it though my friend.

If you’re familiar with the Scriptures and you’re familiar with CM and you can’t see how they’re imitating the Pharisees, I can’t persuade you with words. One who has that issue has an issue of the heart, not of the mind. Only God can open the spiritual eyes of a man’s heart.
 
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