The hypocrisy and lack of self-awareness is incredible: “the Church is dealing with open schism, and there are no indications that anything at all will be done about it,” says Steve Skojec, founder of OnePeterFive. His publication has carried many articles by schismatic Bishop Vigano. One of his other top authors is Peter Kwasniewski, who has rejected Vatican I and II, and who has accused many Popes, including the Apostle Peter, John Paul II and other Pope Saints, of grave errors of teaching and grave failures in faith — contrary to the promises and teaching of our Lord Jesus (Mt 16:18; Lk 22:32).

Skojec runs a website that harms the Church by openly rejecting the dogmas of Vatican I on the charism of truth and never failing faith given to each Pope, on the protection from grave error of the Apostolic See, on the indefectibility of the Church. And as he himself has pointed out, his articles attacking the Bishops and the Pope are much more popular than his articles (the articles on his website) on Catholicism. If he were to stop attacking the Popes and Councils, the body of Bishops and the Magisterium, he would lose most of his following and most of his money. Schism is a business, and business is good. There’s money to be made by conservative Catholic outlets in attacking their own Church. Anger is expressed in donations, which bends these outlets against the Church even further.

And now Skojec is complaining about the impending liberal schism. The liberals do not want to accept the teaching of the Pope on same-sex unions. They do not accept Church teaching when it contradicts their own understanding. And that is exactly the error of Skojec, Vigano, Kwasniewski, Schneider, Marshall and others. Skojec wonders why the liberal Catholics will not accept Church authority over doctrine. Neither does he accept Church authority over doctrine. He just disagrees on other points.

So while the liberal schismatics are shouting that the Pope is wrong, the conservative schismatics are shouting the same thing. At the same time, the con-schismatics berate the lib-schismatics for the very same error they themselves commit. Is there a room with a better view for conservative schismatics, as compared to liberal schismatics, in Hell?

When you are the founder and leader of a schismatic publication that continually calls the faithful to distrust and reject the authority of Popes and Councils, that continually accuses the Church of having defected, Popes of having failed in faith, and the Apostolic See of being blemished by grave error, you are no different from the liberal head of America magazine or National Catholic Reporter. You are no different from Martin Luther boasting about how he understands the faith better than the Roman Pontiffs and the Bishops.

There’s no light at the end of the tunnel, Steve. Where do you think all this is leading? There is no conservative Pope who is going to “set things right” and reject Vatican I and II, correct all the alleged grave errors of so many accused Popes, nullify Francis’ Pontificate, and turn the Church into a far-right religious pseudo-utopia. Because if a liberal Pope can err gravely, then so can a conservative Pope. If a liberal Ecumenical Council can lead astray, then so can a conservative one. And so, once you have rejected the freedom from grave error and freedom from failure in faith of the Popes, the body of Bishops, and the Ecumenical Councils, you’ve destroyed anything that might fix the problems you imagine in the present-day Church.

Teaching the faithful not to trust Pope Francis is teaching them not to trust any Pope, even Peter. Teaching the faithful not to trust Vatican II is teaching them not to trust any Ecumenical Council. And the same is true for the body of Bishops. The Pharisees were the conservatives of Jesus’ day, and the Sadducees were the liberals. He corrected them both. So it is not possible to found a new Church on conservatism or on liberalism. That is not Christianity. It is political idolatry.

Liberals who reject papal authority are no different from conservatives who reject papal authority. If you can’t accept any Church teaching that differs from your own liberal or conservative understanding of the Faith, you are not Catholic. And just possibly, you might not have the infused theological virtue of faith at all. Believe only what you yourself think is right, and you are essentially a faithless atheist. Believe only what the liberal or conservative culture teaches, and you are an idolater, not a Christian. When did Christ teach conservatism? When did Christ teach us to distrust Peter? When did Christ teach us that the Church will go astray from the true Faith? Never. Never. Never.

Conservatives deciding which Popes and Councils they will reject are like Martin Luther, deciding which books of the Bible he will reject. “Oh, that Epistle of straw, I mean that Council of straw.” You don’t get to decide which books of the Bible to accept, which verses, which dogmas, Popes, Councils. Be a follower of Christ, or go found your own church.

You liberals who can’t accept that the Church will not bless your extra-marital tryst with a person of the same or opposite sex, leave. You conservatives who can’t accept what a liberal Pope or Council teaches, leave with them. Go find a Church that has no teachings. But stop pretending to be more Catholic than the Pope.