Question: Why Do Bishops Go Soft On Catholic Politicians Who Publicly Defy Church Teaching?

 Yes, why is that??

Another question: do the present cabal of bishops have any relationship with those Catholic Saint and Martyr bishops of days gone by? 

Remember the scene in the movie: A Man For All Seasons, when the bishops and other clergy met in the great hall and the representative of King Henry VIII arrived?

This character presented the choice of the "Catholics" in the hall of signing the oath of allegiance to the king, or??

He sweetened the pot and made the choice "easy" for them by offering about 100,000 pounds of filthy lucre...

(In today's money, that's about £27,469,870.00 (as of 2017))

The entire assembled group jumped at the chance to enrich their wallets and immediately apostatized from the Faith and became protestants!

Their agreement to sell-out the Faith, shows me that they never really held the Catholic Faith in the first place!

Is that the situation we are faced with today: bishops who don't hold the Catholic Faith??

The following article from lifesitewnews.com and written by Complicit Clergy Wed Jul 2, 2025 - 1:03 pm EDT; Why do bishops go soft on Catholic politicians who publicly defy Church teaching? - LifeSite

"(Complicit Clergy) — After being brutally killed by a gunman at their home on June 14, Melissa and Mark Hortman were laid to rest after a live stream funeral Mass held at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis on Saturday, June 28. This date on the Catholic calendar marked the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a memorial focused on the interior life of Mary, her virtues, and her love for God and humanity.

During his homily, the Mass celebrant, Father Daniel Griffith, eulogized the Hortmans as living “lives of purpose and meaning, lives lived in service of others, in community with those they loved.” Reflecting on the tragic circumstances surrounding the Hortmans’ death, Fr. Griffith stated that “Our nation is in need of deep healing,” going on to claim that Minnesota has been “ground zero for racial injustice with the killing of George Floyd” and is “now ground zero for political violence and extremism.”

“Both of these must be decried in the strongest possible terms,” exclaimed Griffith, “as they are a threat to human dignity and our democracy.” However, Griffith failed to mention the myriad of threats to human dignity posed by Melissa Hortman’s decidedly anti-Catholic voting record in the Minnesota state legislature (see Hortman’s voting record at the bottom of this post).

READ: Cardinal Zen: God is ‘disgusted’ by homosexual behavior

Melissa Hortman publicly professed to be a Catholic on her Minnesota State Legislator profile. However, Hortman’s 20-year term in office was marked by a vicious record against women, babies, and the nuclear family. She voted to codify abortion into state law, legalize same-sex “marriage,” and even voted to withhold life-saving care for babies born alive during a failed abortion.

But the influence Hortman wielded among her Democratic peers as Minnesota Speaker of the House far exceeded her influence as a mere lawmaker. Governor Tim Walz went as far as calling Hortman the most consequential Speaker in state history. During the 2022 Democratic caucus, it was Hortman who commanded the sweeping slate of grossly immoral and anti-Christian legislative priorities. Recognizing the need to act swiftly and forcefully, Hortman declared, “We only know that we have these two years, so we are going to make every minute worth it!” “Let’s f**king go” became the caucus’ rallying cry.

One could easily make the case that the rotten fruits of Hortman’s evil actions far outweighed any threats to human dignity caused by racial injustice and political violence Fr. Griffith mentioned in his homily. Given this, why would Archbishop Bernard Hebda possibly agree to provide the Hortman family the use of the sacred Basilica of St. Mary, with a televised funeral Mass and choose to be prominently present himself, contradicting millennia of church practice and tradition?

Non-negotiable issues for Catholic politicians

The Catholic Church authoritatively teaches there are certain moral acts that are called “intrinsically evil,” meaning that the acts are evil in and of themselves. They include:

• Abortion,
• Euthanasia,
• Embryonic stem-cell research,
• Human cloning,
• Homosexual “marriage.”

When it comes to public policy, Catholic politicians have the responsibility to vigorously oppose these measures. Catholic politicians are held to a higher standard than ordinary Catholics due to the public nature of their actions. Hortman’s record demonstrates that she violated Catholic teaching on nearly all of these issues.

Catholic eschatology

Catholic eschatology, or the study of the “last things,” focuses on what happens at the end of human life and the world. The Church teaches there are four key events: death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell, often called the Four Last Things. These teachings are rooted in Scripture, Tradition, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Eschatology provides Catholics with a framework to understand their ultimate destiny and purpose. It emphasizes personal accountability and the hope of eternal life with God.

While the Catholic Church has never declared that any particular souls are in Hell, it does teach that 1) Hell exists and 2) people can and do go there. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) specifically states:

• CCC 1033:“To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from Him forever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called Hell.”
• CCC 1861:“Mortal sin … results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of Hell.”

READ: Bishop Strickland: The lesson of Sodom and Gomorrah

Responsibilities of shepherds

The Catholic Church teaches that priests and bishops bear a grave responsibility for the salvation of the souls entrusted to their care. This responsibility is rooted in their role as spiritual fathers, shepherds, and ministers of the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist and Reconciliation.

While love and mercy are central to the Gospel, they cannot be rightly understood without the full truth of God’s justice. A cleric who speaks only of love, while neglecting the reality of sin and eternal judgment, is not being truly charitable. True charity comes by warning souls of their eternal destiny.

Several Church teachings and documents emphasize the duty of Catholic shepherds:

1. The priest’s primary duty: The salvation of souls

• Canon Law (CIC 1752): “The salvation of souls, which must always be the supreme law of the Church, is to be kept before one’s eyes.”
• Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1534, 1547): Priests act “in the name and in the person of Christ the Head” and are ordained for “the service of the faithful to lead them to salvation.”

2. The priest as shepherd and watchman

• Ezekiel 3:17-21(quoted frequently in Church documents): God warns the prophet (and by extension, all shepherds) that if he fails to warn sinners and they perish in their sin, the blood is on the watchman’s hands.
• John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, taught: “The priest is not for himself, he is for you … the salvation of souls is the supreme law.”

3. Preaching the truth, even when hard

Priests must preach the fullness of the faith, including moral teachings, even when unpopular:

• CCC 2032–2040: The Church’s Magisterium has the right and duty to proclaim moral principles and denounce injustice.
• Pope St. John Paul II, in Pastores Dabo Vobis(1992), wrote: “The priest cannot be content simply to be a passive administrator of the sacraments … he must be a fearless proclaimer of the truth.”
• Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that the priest must not be afraid to speak about sin and the need for conversion, as silence can be a form of betrayal.

READ: Catholics kneel to receive Communion on tongue at Mass with Charlotte bishop, other bishops present

4. Sacramental role in forgiveness and guidance

• Priests are ministers of mercy, especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). They have a duty to guide penitents toward genuine repentance and amendment of life.
• They must not condone sin or offer false assurance of salvation without conversion.

5. Accountability for souls

• Hebrews 13:17: Priests must give an account for the souls under their care.
• Gregory the Great, in Pastoral Rule, warns bishops and priests that negligent shepherds who fail to correct or teach will be judged severely.

The Church teaches that there are nine ways by which one can participate in the sins of another (CCC 1868). Shepherds who refuse to admonish politicians that attack Church teaching through their legislative and influential measures are guilty of participating in the sins of those politicians by way of concealment and silence. Shepherds know full well when a Catholic politician votes for an intrinsic evil (abortion, euthanasia, sodomitical “marriage,” etc.). These shepherds sin gravely when they conceal these votes and refuse to warn the faithful against them.

Hortmans’ shepherds

Who were the shepherds involved in the lives of Melissa and Mark Hortman?

• Father Joseph Whelan, pastor of Church of St. Timothy in Blaine, Minnesota, said the Hortmans were not currently listed as parishioners but people recalled Melissa Hortman teaching Sunday school there perhaps 25 years ago.
• We know that the Minnesota Bishops Conference (which currently includes Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Bishop Andrew Cozzens, Bishop Chad Zielinski, Bishop Daniel Felton, Bishop Patrick Neary and Bishop Robert Barron) met annually with Speaker-Emerita Melissa Hortman and that Archbishop Hebda knew her “to be an honorable public servant,” although they “disagreed on some issues.”
• Along with Archbishop Hebda, Bishop Richard Pates, a former resident of the archdiocese, attended the Hortman funeral Mass, suggesting he may have previously had a relationship with the Hortmans.
• During the funeral Mass, Fr. Griffith also mentioned Father Harry Tasto as being a “longtime friend of the family.”

WATCH: Open borders aren’t Catholic doctrine

Did these shepherds even privately seek to counsel and admonish Melissa Hortman regarding the teachings of the Catholic faith on non-negotiable moral issues? It would seem that any one of Minnesota’s six ordinary bishops would have had the opportunity to confront Hortman during their annual meeting at the State Capitol.

In particular, Hortman’s bishop, Archbishop Hebda, seemed to trivialize Hortman’s anti-Catholic positions by stating that they “disagreed on some issues.” Why would he have allowed Hortman to publicly profess to be Catholic while failing to confront her obstinate sins by employing the corresponding public remedies, such as the withholding of Holy Communion or excommunication? Did Hebda not recognize the public scandal he was helping to create by failing to act?

Funerals for manifest sinners

Canon 1184 of the Code of Canon Law (1983) states:

1. Unless they gave some signs of repentance before death, the following must be deprived of ecclesiastical funerals:

• Notorious apostates, heretics, and schismatics;
• Those who chose cremation for reasons contrary to Christian faith;
• Other manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without public scandal of the faithful.

Canon 1185 adds that no funeral Mass is to be celebrated for a person excluded under 1184. The focus is on “manifest sinners” (those whose sin is publicly known) and when a funeral would cause public scandal (i.e., when it would appear the Church is condoning the sin).

Kennedy funeral parallels

After the death of Senator Ted Kennedy in 2009, a number of leading Catholic voices spoke out against the funeral Mass provided for him in Boston.

At a dinner sponsored by InsideCatholic.com, Cardinal Raymond Burke stated:

To ignore the fact that Catholics in public life, for example, who persistently violate the moral law regarding the inviolability of innocent human life or the integrity of the marital union, lead many into confusion or even error regarding the most fundamental teachings of the moral law, in fact, contributes to the confusion and error, redounding to the gravest harm to our brothers and sisters, and, therefore, to the whole nation. The perennial discipline of the Church, for that reason among other reasons, has prohibited the giving of Holy Communion and the granting of a Church funeral to those who persist, after admonition, in the grave violation of the moral law (Code of Canon Law, c. 915; and 1184, § 1, 3º).

It is said that these disciplines which the Church has consistently observed down the centuries presume to pass a judgment on the eternal salvation of a soul, which belongs to God alone, and, therefore, should be abandoned. On the contrary, these disciplines are not a judgment on the eternal salvation of the soul in question. They are simply the acknowledgment of an objective truth, namely, that the public actions of the soul are in violation of the moral law, to his own grave harm and to the grave harm of all who are confused or led into error by his actions. The Church confides every soul to the mercy of God, which is great beyond all our imagining, but that does not excuse her from proclaiming the truth of the moral law, also by applying her age-old disciplines, for the sake of the salvation of all.

READ: Vatican report reveals most bishops did not want Pope Francis’ Latin Mass crackdown

Bishop René Henry Gracida also condemned Kennedy’s funeral. Writing on his blog, Bishop Gracida stated:

There was so much wrong with the funeral liturgy celebrated in Boston last Saturday for Senator Edward Moore Kennedy that I hardly know where to begin.

Catholic commentator Phil Lawler also blasted the Kennedy funeral Mass, stating:

The great, unanswered question hanging over the congregation in Mission Church, and in the minds of the millions who watched the funeral Mass on television, was how the Catholic Church could arrange such a highly public tribute to a man who, over the years, was arguably the most powerful political opponent of the Catholic position on the central moral issue of our time: the battle to protect human life.

Lawler went on to state:

Unlike private sins, which can be absolved in sacramental Confession, serious public sins require some form of public amendment, to address the scandal that they create. Ted Kennedy never recanted his support for abortion, and so he remained in open conflict with his Church. To allow a public funeral for him meant allowing for the perception that the Church is not really serious about the abortion issue, and thus creating a new public scandal.

Conclusion

The Catholic Church always hopes for God’s mercy and never presumes to definitively judge the destiny of souls. If there are any signs of repentance (even interior or indirect), the Church may decide to grant a funeral Mass for manifest sinners. However, in ambiguous cases, pastors are required to consult the bishop (Canon 1184 §2).

In the case of the Hortmans, Archbishop Bernard Hebda elected to allow a Catholic funeral Mass at a prominent basilica in his archdiocese,  potentially causing grave scandal with a publicly televised Mass and the presence of several priests and at least two bishops.

Regardless of one’s political views, faithful Catholics should fervently pray for the repose of the souls of Melissa and Mark Hortman, with the hope that in God’s infinite mercy, their eternal salvation shall be accomplished. Every bishop in this nation likely has at least one elected official who publicly professes to be Catholic but supports an anti-Catholic agenda in public policy."

(Reprinted with permission from Complicit Clergy.)

End of very disturbing and revealing article...

Notice at the novus ordo funerals how those deceased are automatically placed in heaven with God and His angels?

Where is the JUSTICE?

There isn't any, but it's all about "love" and "mercy"...

These funerals are a massive scandal to the faithful!

Pray for the defeat of the modernist monsters and pray for strength and honor!

Viva Cristo Rey!  Bl. Fr. Miguel Pro, Fr. Emil Kapaun and Fr. Vincent Capodanno, pray for us...

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...

St. Joseph pray for us!!

Gene DeLalla