"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people." (I Corinthians 5: 1-11)
Two weeks ago, I had never heard of Milo Yiannopolis.
My introduction to his story was a convergence of two events; a new podcast from an apostolate that I support, and the purchase of a book. The podcast was cancelled at the last minute because something had "come up." The book I bought had a forward written by Milo. Since I saw his name twice in two days and had never heard of him, I decided to investigate who he is.
I have tried to be diligent to support Catholic apostolates that are orthodox theologically. I don't read any material that is consistent with the "spirit of Vatican II." I can get leftist propaganda any time I want, simply by watching mainstream secular news. I have found that liberal "catholicism" lacks the power to change lives, and robs people of hope. My recent findings about Milo Yiannoplis and the role he has been roped into playing in our Church, have reinforced a belief I have had for quite some time about the Catholic Church: among its members it is sometimes difficult to tell who are friends, and who are enemies.
What began this "adventure" was this book, ordered from Amazon.com:
I don't normally care about book endorsements. I read a book solely because I am interested in the contents. This book arrived at exactly the same time as the announcement of an upcoming interview with Milo at Coffin Nation, an apostolate I support. It became apparent that some leaders of these apostolates know each other, and sometimes discuss issues together.
Another Apostolate I support is Church Militant. I visited their website to see if I could find any material on Milo. Sure enough, this article popped up, which quotes Milo's "fondness for black dudes," in the same paragraph with quotations from St. Augustine. Michael Voris calls out members of the clergy every day for their moral failings. I am utterly puzzled what role this article about Milo is supposed to play at such an apostolate. Voris' disclaimer that he disagrees with just about everything Milo says does little to relieve my confusion.
There is a cultural bias among Catholics that if a member of the clergy says it, it must be correct. This bias apparently comes into play when evaluating material published by conservative Catholic apostolates. Among the comments from viewers at the end of the Church Militant article, one can find the products of strenuous intellectual gyrations attempting to square the text of the article with orthodox Catholicism and its moral teachings. We saw a similar phenomenon when Amoris Laetitia was released. The climate this creates seems like that of an old fashioned alcoholic family: The children in the house must come up with all kinds of explanations and excuses for the addict's crazy making behavior. I am beginning to think that the Catholic Church as I have come to know it, is not necessarily good for one's mental or spiritual health.
There is a cultural bias among Catholics that if a member of the clergy says it, it must be correct. This bias apparently comes into play when evaluating material published by conservative Catholic apostolates. Among the comments from viewers at the end of the Church Militant article, one can find the products of strenuous intellectual gyrations attempting to square the text of the article with orthodox Catholicism and its moral teachings. We saw a similar phenomenon when Amoris Laetitia was released. The climate this creates seems like that of an old fashioned alcoholic family: The children in the house must come up with all kinds of explanations and excuses for the addict's crazy making behavior. I am beginning to think that the Catholic Church as I have come to know it, is not necessarily good for one's mental or spiritual health.
One can only wonder what motivated three apostolates within the timeframe of a year, to suddenly feature Milo Yiannopolis. Was it an attempt to evangelize Milo? He already considers himself an orthodox Catholic. It seems that somehow, the leaders of these apostolates are tacitly confirming Milo in this belief.
Are these apostolates holding Milo up as an example of orthodox Catholicism? If so, then his life and example are completely consistent with some ordained leaders in the Catholic Church today.
Was the motive something less noble, such as a utilitarian attempt to gain more viewers through sensationalism? If this was the motive, where is the love of Christ for Milo?
All we have to do, is ask ourselves how Milo would have fared publically in the early Church. Would the Apostles or Church Fathers have published material of the sort we are seeing today?
Is anyone weeping for Milo Yiannopolis? He has publicly stated that he was a victim of clerical sexual abuse in his youth and has suffered a lot in life. What about his partner or his "black dude" hookups? Is anyone weeping for them?
