The Coalition for Cancelled Priests is a schismatic organization formed to provide support and funding for priests who rebel against their Bishops. They have chosen schismatic and heretical Carlo Vigano as their chief spiritual leader, instead of the Supreme Pontiff. Vigano continues to act like an antipope, speaking to the whole Church on doctrine and discipline, as if his word were the highest authority in the Church.

Communism

It is fitting that the Coalition for Cancelled Priests (CFCP, or more fittingly, CCP) chose the worldly term “cancelled” for their schismatic organization. It shows the true source of their mentality: sinful secular society. They are not behaving like disciples of Christ, nor like faithful sons of the Church. These priests are behaving like secularized faithless persons. When did Jesus tell “cancelled” priests to rebel against the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops who are in communion with him? What they are doing is not Christian or Catholic, but schismatic.

The world uses the term “cancelled” as when many anonymous persons online complain about something that does not deserve complaint or when they complain in an exaggerated fashion about a lesser error. Then the internet mob forces a person out of their job or out of a position of leadership. That is what cancelled means. And rather than the priests being cancelled by their bishops, a misuse of the term, it is the laity who are supporting this schismatic group and their schismatic priests who are attempting to cancel the bishops by the same type of grass roots (grass that has withered in the sun) rebellion that is found in the cancelling by sinful secular society. They are attempting to cancel their Bishops by holding Mass without faculties, by raising money to support priests who were suspended, so that they can violate their suspension, and by attacking the Roman Pontiff and the body of Bishops.

Our Lady has warned against communism at the start of the End Times. But she does not refer to political communism. Is the Blessed Virgin Mary concerned with politics? No. She is referring to spiritual communism, which is analogous to political communism. The laity and priests rebel against the Pope and Bishops, the latter having true authority in the Church from Christ. And the former seek to establish a kingdom where the laity and priests rule, and the Pope and Bishops must teach and decide according to the wishes of the masses. This seems to be a granting of power to the masses, and a removal of power from leaders who are claimed to be tyrants. But in the end, what happens in spiritual communism is the same as what happens in political communism. The few leaders of the rebellion against authority end up as dictators of what those who have rebelled may say and do. They rebel against Church authority, calling the Bishops tyrants, then they tell the laity: you may only receive Communion kneeling on the tongue; you must attend Latin Mass; priests must not concelebrate; and they also claim the right to determine what is and is not Catholic truth, imposing this on the Church without authority from Christ.

So this is the rise of spiritual communism, and those who rebel behave like the political communists. This organization is no better than the communists in China or the old USSR, who claim to be acting in the best interests of the masses, and, originally, to be rebelling against tyrants, but in fact they are the tyrants who will impose their own understanding of everything on others.

Are the Laity the Problem?

One article at Crisis magazine, in favor of the CCP, claimed that the laity are the problem, that they have been given too much power in the Church. That’s funny because a letter from schismatic bishop Carlo Vigano says that, in the End Times, the holy Church will save souls: “by the courageous contribution of the laity.” They have cut themselves from the vine that is Christ and His Vicar, who constitute one only head of the one Church. And now they wither away in schism and heresies.

Vigano claims we live in a time of apostasy, and yet he has rejected the Roman Pontiff Pope Francis, calling him “Bergoglio”, and has rejected the Roman Pontiff’s supposedly “false magisterium”, claiming that Francis has imposed a false Church over the true Church. This is severe schism and a heresy against the dogmas of Vatican I on the never-failing faith of Peter and his successors and the unblemished Apostolic See.

Vigano: “the mercenaries who occupy the highest levels of the Church”. This and many other expressions of malice directed at the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops in communion with him show that Vigano is in a state of public formal schism and public formal heresy. So it is not surprising that a schismatic communist group, CCP, would take up Vigano as their spiritual leader, in place of the Roman Pontiff. Vigano has been behaving like an Antipope for years now, issuing documents to the universal Church, and claiming to represent the true Faith in opposition to the Roman Pontiff Pope Francis, whom Vigano does not accept as constituting one Head with Christ, as having the charism of truth and of never-failing faith, as leading the Apostolic See which has never wandered from the path of Apostolic tradition — as the Church teaches.

Vigano: “Let us not forget that, if there was once a time in which the Sacred Ministers were respected for their conduct of life and for the example which they offered to the world….” Yes, that’s right. Priests used to obey their Bishops and they used to obey and reverence the Supreme Pontiff. Now these schismatic priests call their own bishops “tyrants” and do not accept the authority of the Vicar of Christ. Their conduct of life is deplorable today. They are not faithful to the Pope, as in past generations.

Priests used to be ridiculed by Protestants and by society by being called pope-worshippers, papists, and being accused of popolatry (idolatry of the pope). But now they themselves accuse the faithful supporters of Pope Francis of by means of these same taunts.

Vigano: “It is grievous that today we must number among the persecutors not only the enemies of God who are far from the Church but even those whom the Lord has placed as Shepherds to guard His Flock. We can tremble at the thought of the punishment that awaits them, which will be all the more severe in proportion to the level of responsibility of those who, placed in authority in the name of Christ, rage with cruelty on the innocent and show scandalous connivance with the guilty. ”

Wow! Someone buy Carlo Vigano a mirror. He is talking about himself and his supporters, unwittingly. (Someone give Vigano some wit.) When the Supreme Pontiff teaches or decides with his authority from Christ, his non-infallible decisions of doctrine or discipline are without grave error, just as Vatican I and the ordinary universal Magisterium have taught infallibly. So it is not possible for the Pope to be persecuting the schismatics by teaching and guiding them, with Christ, in the grace of the Holy Spirit. Calling the Roman Pontiff a persecutor and claiming that Pope Francis and his fellow Bishops “rage with cruelty on the innocent” is absurd. It is the former-bishop Vigano, who lost his jurisdiction and authority in the Church by many public acts of heresy and schism, who has been raging with cruelty against the gentle and mild Pope Francis, who is like is namesake, Saint Francis. And then this Coalition of Cancelled Priests call Bishops tyrants and try to pressure them to do the will of those with lesser or no authority by taking away donations to the Church.

It is a moral obligation to donate to the one holy catholic and apostolic Church. Refusing donations until the Church teaches and acts as the laity and priests demand is schism and is a sin against the positive precept to support the Church, to support Her both spiritually and temporally.

As for the punishment that awaits, Vigano has committed exceedingly grave acts of scandal, leading many persons away from the true Church, led by the successors of Peter and the successors of the other Apostles. He is also guilty of heresy and schism. His punishment will be all the more severe by the number of souls he has harmed and by the perversion of his authority, formerly, as an archbishop. Currently, as a heretic and schismatic, public and formal, he has lost all jurisdiction, as all the fathers teach (and as Saint Robert Bellarmine states).

Was it at Fatima or one of the other approved apparitions. The girl who was a visionary asked Mary about a girl who had died. Mary replied, “She is with me in Heaven.” Oh, that’s nice. And when the visionary then asked about another girl, who died at the rather tender age of 19, the Blessed Virgin Mary said, “She will be in Purgatory until the end of time.” This was a 19 year old girl, who died in the state of grace. The Judgment of God is terrible, that is to say, exceedingly just and exceedingly fine. What do you think the Lord Jesus, our loving Savior who is also a terrible Judge, will do to the elderly Vigano, with his extreme malice toward the Roman Pontiff and his sin of leading a schism and teaching many heresies? And he has the gall to rail against the Vicar of Christ and talk about the punishments due to the Bishops who remain faithful to the Pope.

Vigano: “for the conversion of the evil Shepherds and of those who, abusing their authority, persecute those who do good and preach the Catholic truth”. He sins gravely by counting the Supreme Pontiff among those he calls “evil Shepherds”. And the laity, priests, and a bishop who has lost his authority do not have the role to decide what is and is not Catholic truth. Vigano is abusing his own pretended authority.

Who Decides Truth?

The schismatics claim that they are preaching truth, and that the Roman Pontiff and his Bishops are preaching heresy. But who decides that is and is not Catholic truth? The answer of Catholic dogma is the Roman Pontiff and the body of Bishops led by him. What is and is not true doctrine and good discipline (or good liturgy) is not decided by the majority opinion in a conservative Catholic subculture, nor by a group that forms in order to usurp the decision making authority of the Pope and Bishops.

Fr. James Altman: “How dare [Bishop Malloy] not permit [Father John Lovell] do his job, to bring grace to the people…. Malloy better be shaking in his boots … we are done with the little tyrants” [Source]

How dare a Bishop exercise his Christ-given authority over a priest! How dare a Bishop do the work assigned to him by God. How dare Fr. Altman make himself judge over what Bishops should and should not decide. Has he never heard of the promise or vow of obedience? Describing a priest as merely bringing grace, when the priest is disobedient to the Bishop is a rebellion against Christ-given authority in the Church.

Then the expression that a Bishop “better be shaking in his boots” is entirely schismatic, as is the term, directed at Bishops, “little tyrants”. This is not filial correction. The document called “filial correction” was a mask of holiness over schism and heresy. But now the mask has fallen away, and they do not even pretend to be filial. They say that Bishops should treat their priests like sons. Right. You first. Treat your Bishop like a father, and obey him. Support him.

Altman spoke out against the Church, in favor of a certain rebellious spirit on the far right, and he found instant fame and riches. So he continued down that path. He is not following Christ, but rather fame and money.

What do you think Christ would say, if he heard one of the 72 say to one of the Apostles: you better be shaking in your boots, you little tyrant, or we laity and priests decide what is and is not Catholic truth, not you Apostles — what would Christ say?

{7:15} Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
{7:16} You shall know them by their fruits. Can grapes be gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?
{7:17} So then, every good tree produces good fruit, and the evil tree produces evil fruit.
{7:18} A good tree is not able to produce evil fruit, and an evil tree is not able to produce good fruit.
{7:19} Every tree which does not produce good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire.
{7:20} Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.
{7:21} Not all who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does the will of my Father, who is in heaven, the same shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
{7:22} Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and perform many powerful deeds in your name?’
{7:23} And then will I disclose to them: ‘I have never known you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.’
{7:24} Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and does them shall be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.
{7:25} And the rains descended, and the floods rose up, and the winds blew, and rushed upon that house, but it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
{7:26} And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them shall be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.
{7:27} And the rains descended, and the floods rose up, and the winds blew, and rushed upon that house, and it did fall, and great was its ruin.”
{7:28} And it happened, when Jesus had completed these words, that the crowds were astonished at his doctrine.

Fr. James Altman is a false prophet, in sheep’s clothing, that is, in the clothing of a priest. He is inwardly and outwardly a ravenous wolf. His open threat (“better be shaking”) and clear malice against Bishops (“little tyrants”) is an objective mortal sin. Altman is in grave danger of the fires of Hell. He is leading many who are weak in faith to rebel against the Roman Pontiff and the successors to the Apostles.

Does Christ speak the way that Altman speaks? Not at all. Altman is not imitating Christ. He speaks like a dragon, not a lamb. He breathes threats against the Church, as Saul did before his conversion.

The CCPs first event was a fundraiser, of course, as it is a secularized pseudo-religious group. And the three main speakers were two suspended priests and a lawyer (whom I know nothing about). The article at Crisis magazine says the goal of the organization is to “restore the proper roles of bishops, priests, and laity in the Church.” Right. The proper role is for priests to obey their Bishops. And the laity should not be supporting the rebellion of suspended priests against the Bishops. And the proper roles must include the authority of the Supreme Pontiff over the whole Church.

The Crisis mag article ends with this rant: “Bishops, get back in your lane! Stop persecuting priests for being priests! Return to preaching the Gospel! And step aside as the laity reclaim our role in the Public Square!” The same article claimed that the laity taking roles not given to them was the problem. And this reference to the public square shows the secularization of these schismatics. Bishops speak with the authority of Christ.

Vatican II: “For bishops are preachers of the faith, who lead new disciples to Christ, and they are authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach to the people committed to them the faith they must believe and put into practice, and by the light of the Holy Spirit illustrate that faith. They bring forth from the treasury of Revelation new things and old, making it bear fruit and vigilantly warding off any errors that threaten their flock. Bishops, teaching in communion with the Roman Pontiff, are to be respected by all as witnesses to divine and Catholic truth. In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent. This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra….” [Lumen Gentium 25]

These priests were not “persecuted for being priests”, obviously. The other priests in the same diocese had no problem working with their Bishop. Altman’s rants were popular with the far right, with the same group of Catholics who reject the authority of Pope Francis. He preached on politics and on medicine. That is not a priest being a priest. It is a priest telling a cult on the far right of the Church what they want to hear, so that he can have fame, influence, and money. A fundraiser for Altman raised over $360,000. I’m not saying that Altman spends that money on himself. I’m saying the money gives him influence and power, as he decides how it is spent, within rather broad limits.

Vigano: “It is with extreme satisfaction that I have heard the news of the praiseworthy initiative in which you are involved, together with Reverend Father James Altman, in the defense of priests persecuted by their superiors due to their fidelity to the immutable Magisterium of the Church and the venerable Apostolic Liturgy.”

The teachings of Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture constitute the one Sacred and immutable Deposit of Faith. The living Magisterium teaches from Tradition, Scripture, and natural law (although all of natural law is found in Tradition and Scripture). It is a distortion to call the Magisterium “immutable”. Essentially, this terminology seeks to prevent the Magisterium from teaching anything to the faithful, as they can claim that what is taught is somehow new and therefore a change to be rejected. To the contrary, the Magisterium teaches new insights into the Deposit of Faith. It was not until the 19th century that the Immaculate Conception was defined, and not until the 20th century that the Assumption was defined. Therefore, the Magisterium has the right, duty, and absolute authority from Christ to teach new definitions of dogma.

Then the term Apostolic Liturgy is just a lie. The article on liturgy in the old Catholic Encyclopedia summarizes the situation well:

“From what date was there a fixed and regulated service such as we can describe as a formal Liturgy?”

“With regard to the first question it must be said that an Apostolic Liturgy in the sense of an arrangement of prayers and ceremonies, like our present ritual of the Mass, did not exist. For some time the Eucharistic Service was in many details fluid and variable. It was not all written down and read from fixed forms, but in part composed by the officiating bishop. As for ceremonies, at first they were not elaborated as now. All ceremonial evolves gradually out of certain obvious actions done at first with no idea of ritual, but simply because they had to be done for convenience. The bread and wine were brought to the altar when they were wanted, the lessons were read from a place where they could best be heard, hands were washed because they were soiled. Out of these obvious actions ceremony developed, just as our vestments developed out of the dress of the first Christians. It follows then of course that, when there was no fixed Liturgy at all, there could be no question of absolute uniformity among the different Churches.”

The Lord Jesus Christ established the ordained priesthood and the holy Mass. However, He did not establish the Mass in immutable specifics. The Church has the authority to decide the form of the Mass, its language, its rubrics, and the words and deeds of the Mass. The far right conservative Catholic subculture does not have the right to usurp Church authority over doctrine and discipline, to decide what is and is not Catholic truth, to accuse the Pope and Bishops of erring gravely, nor to determine what is and is not proper liturgy.

Then it is absurd to claim that priests who disobey their Bishops and are therefore suspended are somehow being “persecuted”. This demand that the Pope and Bishops obey the conservative Catholic subculture and its leaders is schismatic, heretical, and a rebellion against the authority of Christ given to the Pope and the body of Bishops.

[Isaiah]
{5:20} Woe to you who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light, and light for darkness; who exchange bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
{5:21} Woe to you who are wise in your own eyes, and prudent in your own sight!

These words apply to the schismatic and heretical group Coalition for Cancelled Priests.

Ronald L. Conte Jr.

Please consider reading my new book, Reply to the Papal Accusers: Volume One, available in print and in Kindle formats.