Paul Joseph
@pjfahey
Followers
2,232
Following
1,483
Media
225
Statuses
2,938
Lay catholic. Host of the Pope Francis Generation podcast. Contributor at . "Realities are more important than ideas."
Fowler, MI
Joined May 2009
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Rayssa
• 385123 Tweets
#BelgianGP
• 148717 Tweets
#พรชีวันep2
• 124690 Tweets
Lewis
• 116425 Tweets
Russell
• 93919 Tweets
朝倉未来
• 76771 Tweets
Perez
• 75855 Tweets
柔道決勝
• 48406 Tweets
Ferrari
• 46070 Tweets
阿部一二三
• 35704 Tweets
#HappyKeigoDay
• 33030 Tweets
#祝26歳_景瑚に鼓動がずっとRush
• 28783 Tweets
Serbia
• 27576 Tweets
Piastri
• 27128 Tweets
RIDDLE
• 22558 Tweets
スケボー
• 22034 Tweets
Embiid
• 20500 Tweets
Ángela Ruiz
• 20253 Tweets
景瑚くん
• 17929 Tweets
여자 양궁
• 17669 Tweets
女子バレー
• 17439 Tweets
Booker
• 15556 Tweets
Alejandra Valencia
• 13593 Tweets
Kaizer Chiefs
• 11993 Tweets
巻頭カラー
• 11212 Tweets
Mercedes 1-2
• 10935 Tweets
Ana Paula Vázquez
• 10200 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
Throughout this summer, I've been working on a resource for lay ministers and clergy (and any Catholic who cares about safe and healthy parishes) about how to recognize and respond to spiritual abuse and the abuse of conscience.
11
8
43
The Church teaches that workers have a right to
-unionize
-a wage sufficient for families, savings, and leisure
-that free agreement does not mean a wage is just
-and not paying a just wage is a grave sin
People before profit. Humanity before economy. Labor before capital.
29
343
2K
On the feast of St. Joseph the Worker and May Day, remember that the Church teaches that workers have a right to
-unionize
-a wage sufficient for families, savings, and leisure
-that labor takes priority over capital
-and not paying a just wage is a sin that cries to heaven
2
74
322
I suspect that most of the people leaving the Church have done so because of spiritual abuse, because God’s name was used to control, manipulate, and gaslight them into behaving a certain way rather than the Gospel being proclaimed in a way that respected their freedom.
44
29
225
The near-universal outrage in response to Ruffini's comments yesterday about why the Dicastery for Communication continues to publish Rupnik's art is about the only positive thing I feel about the whole ordeal.
But one thing he said stood out to me as especially disturbing. 1/
5
40
228
The Catholic Church understands Tradition as a growing tree, not static texts. The post-Vatican II Magisterium emphasizes development, deepening understanding over time. The Magisterium guides this development. Revelation remains constant, but our comprehension evolves. 🧵1/10
56
24
203
Abortion is not a solution to poverty - wealth redistribution is.
Abortion is not a solution to rape - holding men accountable is.
Abortion is not a solution to inequality - smashing the patriarchy is.
Justice—universal health care, living wages, parental leave—is the solution.
4
24
192
When the pope taught that the Eucharist "is not a prize for the perfect" but "medicine for the weak," he was saying something new and ancient.
Ancient in that he's drawing from the Church Fathers and that this teaching safeguards God's revelation of himself as Father.
🧵 1/9
19
17
185
Catholics: Complain that young people don't go to Mass or become priests
Also Catholics: Complain about every little liturgical detail at a Mass with 1.5 million young people
Also Catholics: Complain about those complaining about WYD liturgies
35
7
172
On the feast of St. Joseph the Worker and May Day, remember that the Church teaches that workers have a right to
-unionize
-a wage sufficient for families, savings, and leisure
-that labor takes priority over capital
-and not paying a just wage is a grave sin
8
47
166
First, it's spiritually abusive. It's the misuse of Scripture to try and manipulate others.
Jesus's teaching about not judging others has *nothing to do with justifying abuse.* Jesus repeatedly and publicly judged those who misused religious authority for their own gain.
3/
4
11
163
We Need Kids to Be Real Rebels | H.W. Crocker III: You want a restoration of America? You want more faithful, patriotic Americans? You want a happier America? Emulate Robert E. Lee.
923
59
325
3
17
155
"Just abstain indefinitely" is an insufficient answer to NFP couples who can't risk getting pregnant again. I've seen priests tell couples, "Not having sex hasn't killed me."
The Magisterium itself recognizes that lack of sexual intimacy can harm other aspects of a marriage. 1/2
46
10
152
Overtly or subtly, we often talk about Catholicism in a way that says that right belief/behavior are a requirement for belonging.
I think Pope Francis reverses that. The Church is a home for all, then in the safety of belonging God can bring someone to right belief/behavior.
29
15
128
I think Francis believes that right beliefs/behavior aren’t a prerequisite to belonging, rather, when someone knows they belong they’re best able to grow.
So he softens whatever rules he can—without compromising essential doctrines—in order to welcome people as much as possible
47
15
131
The great scandal of the age is that those without the sacraments are so often superior in charity, courage, even laying down their lives for their brothers, to the “practicing Catholic” who partakes of the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist.
Dorothy Day
4
18
124
Jesus was referring to judging a person's soul, not their behavior and the harm it caused.
Christianity has a sordid history of misusing Scriptures like this (and the teaching on forgiveness) to spiritually coerce people into staying in abusive relationships.
4/
2
9
126
Pope Francis, in an interview about the synod.
Just joking, it's Cardinal Ratzinger in 2002.
12
16
124
I think Audrey Assad’s story is important.
First because her life and story are unrepeatable and infinitely valuable. But also because it is a prophetic call for the Church—all of us—to be better. Her story is an illustration of how we regularly abuse people’s consciences. 1/4
9
11
114
The proposal that Church teaching doesn't change is not something the Church teaches. In fact, not only does teaching change, but sometimes that change is so dramatic that it looks like a reversal.
1/5
17
13
110
I watched this w/o sound and saw her discomfort and his size/status. She’s not only uncomfortable, she’s in a position of powerlessness while he’s physically wielding power (not letting go and bringing her in for a hug despite her discomfort). Huge gender/power dynamics going on
I’m here with Sister Mary Juan at the Casa Santa Maria, which is not only a residence for priests but also the visitor’s office for Americans visiting Rome!
@thegnewsroom
706
54
842
28
9
109
DARVO is a common tactic by domestic abusers. It stands for "Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender" and is a way for the abuser to twist the blame off of themselves and put it back onto the person they're abusing.
Which is exactly what Ruffini is doing here,
6/
1
7
109
🧵
As a catechist, it would be inappropriate for me wield historical documents and present those things as if they were what the Church teaches and require the assent of the faithful. For example….
23
26
107
Second, Ruffini's comment is textbook behavior for when an abuser is challenged.
There's some research that shows similarities between domestic abuse and spiritual abuse, both in the depth of harm and in how the abuse plays out.
5/
1
5
106
In the early Church, evangelizing the world was like courting a new lover, but in post-Christendom, the Church is trying to win back a divorced spouse who left because they were abused. Today, any evangelization that smells like triumphalism or resembles manipulation is noxious.
15
13
99
He's essentially saying: "I'm not being unchristian for promoting the artwork of a credibly accused serial abuser, you're the ones being unchristian for asking me to stop. In fact, I'm actually the hero here for doing what Jesus told us to do."
7/
1
7
103
@Jolz_Aust
I’m so sorry that happened to you. It’s a huge problem that so many priests don’t understand the sacred ground that is Confession and stomp around with boots on instead of taking of their sandals and treading with care. They do grave harm
1
0
98
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church: The Dignity of Workers
3
11
97
I’m not living in an irregular union and I'm not a priest giving out blessings. So my reception of Fiducia Supplicans has been as an observer, not someone who is directly impacted.
But because FS is a magisterial teaching, I still believe it has something to teach me. 🧵 1/11
28
14
92
God loves every LGBTQ person with infinite love. Every one of their sins, and every sin against them, pierces his human heart. Can wielding the chief symbol of God's love as if it were a sword to cut down your culture war enemies be anything but blasphemy?
27
18
91
Thank you to
@ColleenDulle
and
@Guzik_Paulina
for confronting Ruffini with those questions and making him go on the record with his absurd and abusive justifications.
Please see their reporting on Ruffini:
America:
OSV:
10/end
1
8
93
Priests are not the gatekeepers of Communion. Pastors are to supposed to accompany people and help them form their conscience, but they are not the judges of another person's standing before God.
23
12
91
Ruffini defended the ongoing promotion of Rupnik's art against those who believe that continuing to publish it is insulting and harmful to survivors of abuse in the Church by saying:
“As Christians, we are asked not to judge.”
Two things to notice about this response:
2/
4
6
89
Hoping in universal salvation isn’t just allowed within orthodox Catholicism, it is orthodox Catholicism.
Hoping for anything other than that is hoping for something less than what God wills.
13
10
84
The Church makes the radical claim that *every* human being has *infinite* dignity.
This means:
One person is not worth less than one hundred.
A person can never be used as a means to some perceived greater end because no end has greater value. 1/3
6
15
82
I suspect everyone will be underwhelmed with the results of the synod. I laugh at the things that are being reported from the synod:
Round tables! Talking with women as peers. Going on retreat. Attending Mass together. And did I mention the round tables! 1/2
11
6
82
Vigano���s 2018 letter about McCarrick was an ideologically power play that used survivors as pawns for the archbishop’s own ends.
The pain and betrayal of the abuse scandal was used to advance ulterior agendas, and so many Catholics went along with it.
1/
18
7
82
The bishops at Vatican II made the profound proclamation that human beings are “the only creature on earth which God willed for itself” (GS 24).
A 🧵
1/5
2
10
77
In fact, Jesus strongly commands his followers to prioritize the vulnerable and marginalized: "Whatever you do for the least of those, you do for me." And God promises to "cast down the mighty" and "lift up the lowly."
8/
2
3
79
LGBTQ Catholics, what is your experience of this new document from the pope? What are your feelings and reactions to it?
40
4
74
Prioritizing the clearly stated desires of abuse survivors and those deeply wounded by the betrayal of Church leaders covering for abusers is *more important* than whatever Ruffini's desires are for publishing Rupnik's art with his articles instead of any other stock photo.
9/
1
5
76
There are two ways to interpret the pope saying that the Church’s teaching on sex is “still in diapers.”
1. Think he’s trashing the traditional teaching and embracing the sexual revolution
2. Think he means that the Holy Spirit can always teach us more
12
3
77
For those who are experiencing real grace in the processions and celebrations, please don't view your angry brothers/sisters as hostile, but as hurting. And try that see the anger as prophetic truth-telling, a refusing to pretend that everything is fine.
8/end
15
2
75
This is an excellent summary by
@roselymeregis
of what make’s Pope Francis’s approach different
18
19
75
The Church does not exist to condemn people but to bring about an encounter with the visceral love of God’s mercy.
Pope Francis, The Name of God Is Mercy
3
7
72
The CA senate introduced a bill that would make it a crime for clergy to have sex w/ a parishioner, regardless of consent.
This is similar to laws governing doctors/therapists.
My initial reaction to this is "About time!" But I'm wondering what people argue the downsides are?
48
3
73
I'm not saying that sometimes indefinite abstinence isn't the answer.
I'm saying that giving that answer w/o acknowledging the hardship/risk, and w/o willingness to accompany them thru that hardship, is laying burdens on people’s shoulders and not lifting a finger to help. 2/2
8
2
72
It is catechetical malpractice to wield historical documents and present those things as if they were what the Church teaches.
This can do real harm to people as well as damage the reputation and credibility of the Church.
END 🧵
16
7
71
A 1976 letter from Pope Paul VI to SSPX founder Archbishop Lefebvre
13
14
68
It’s always necessary to check popular Catholic books against actual magisterial teaching.
The Baltimore Catechism here does not reflect current Church teaching. The Eucharist wipes away venial sin and it’s not only food but also medicine.
(These sources are the CCC and EV)
A reminder from the Baltimore Catechism.
44
75
626
26
3
70
It’s so wearying to exist in a Church whose sacraments and teachings I love, but who, at every level, continues to display a preferential option for the institution over a preferential option for those who have been harmed by clerics. 18/19
3
4
68
We make up moral laws that the Church does not teach. We ostracize people for not following the made up laws. We threaten others with hell (i.e mortal sin) for their weaknesses. We exploit people’s scrupulosity for the sake of conformity and legalism.
3/4
3
1
67
Two years ago, I was on the receiving end of my former pastor abusing his power in some really public and ugly ways. The betrayal was like a bomb went off in my parish and my relationship with the Church.
There were times last year where I really struggled to go to Mass… 1/
12
9
68
Overlooking a cleric’s actions because he “is a good priest”, “believes the right things,” or “has done so much good” is clericalism
The need to center survivors over clerical deference cuts in all ideological directions, & is maybe more necessary when the cleric is on “my side”
3
9
67
I think many of us orient our faith around the belief that God is secretly out to get me. Quietly disappointed. Perhaps waiting for me to mess up.
But what if he isn’t?
What if he’s the Good Shepherd who searches for me and celebrates when he finds me? What if God is good?
9
6
64
This failure is seen every time bishops, priests, and lay people prioritize institutional reputation, access to the sacraments, or healthy bank accounts over the dignity of the vulnerable and marginalized.
5/5
1
1
63
Can Catholics have sure and certain hope that everyone will be saved? I believe so.
A 🧵
1/9
51
7
61
When someone has faith in God, and in institutions and people they believe represent God, they are vulnerable to abuse. Yet we seem to not think twice about trampling on people’s consciences by wielding “Church teaching” like a club.
2/4
2
1
62
@crean_fr
Your argument falls apart when you change the issue at hand:
If slavery is always unjust then either:
1. God did not inspire the whole of the Law of Moses; or
2. God commanded injustice.
Both 1 and 2 are heretical. Therefore slavery is not always unjust.
32
1
63
Why would a priest vehemently argue— against the Catechism—that unbaptized babies go to hell? And why would CA publish this?
What's the name of the vice that would cause someone to take pleasure in feeling technically correct about a piece of trivia despite what's actually True?
27
7
60
St. Thomas Aquinas, please pray for the Church that we stop pitting your teaching against the Catechism and papal magisterium.
5
0
57
All of this does real harm. All of this is spiritual abuse.
Here is a recent interview with her:
4/4
5
1
59
Before telling her to “go and sin no more,” Jesus put himself—his reputation and safety—at very real risk in order to defend the woman’s dignity and life.
6
7
56
This was only ok.
The panelists recommended
- Have more dialogue with Jesus
- Be friends with people you disagree with
-Examine your intentions before you tweet
Yes to all of that. But I think it misses the gravity of division in the Church 1/
13
7
57
@Joeinblack
It’s my experience that when someone gives a group of Catholics permission to talk about terrible/spiritually abusive confessions that the dam breaks and there’s a glimpse of just how bad things are.
I especially appreciate here that you, a priest, gave people that permission.
1
0
54
100%. And when pro-life black Catholics are deplatformed for promoting all of the Church’s social teaching.
It’s almost as if folks care more about ideological identity than holiness.
You know what scandalizes/radicalizes me? When unrepentant loud people are given platforms and touted as great converts while chaste, virtuous LGBTQ+ people are demonized and driven out
8
7
111
6
1
56
But here we are, celebrating with processions and huge conferences. And it feels like we're collectively choosing to ignore and walk around the giant crater in the middle of our Church. A collectively pretending that there's nothing deeply ugly and wrong here. 5/
8
1
53
I think I’ve become convinced by Scripture and Tradition that possessing excess wealth is gravely evil regardless of how someone came to possess that wealth.
Which isn’t to say every wealthy person is culpable for this sin, simply that merely having excess wealth is unjust.
13
4
52
A human being is not a means to some greater end. Rather, states, economies, organizations, and Churches serve the human person, not the other way around.
Vatican II went on to recognize that respecting human dignity is even a greater priority than spreading the Gospel. 2/5
3
5
49
Treating gay men and women with extra suspicion is a prime example of the unjust discrimination that the Catechism not only condemns, but says “every sign” of such discrimination needs to be avoided
15
7
52
In my latest podcast, I talk about how this is no longer what the Church teaches and how it contributed to some seriously distorted ideas about holiness.
60
4
50
Fernández, Rupnik, and not prioritizing the wounded
🧵
When it was announced that Archbishop Fernández is the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), I was pretty excited. 1/19
6
12
51
1. That Catholic parents are "forbidden" to send their kids to public school without the permission of their bishop (Divini Illius Magistri 79, 1929AD).
12
0
50
In hope, the Church prays for all men to be saved.
The Church prays that no one should be lost…If it is true that no one can save himself, it is also true that God ‘desires all men be saved’ and that for him ‘all things are possible’.
CCC 1821 & 1058
4
7
49
2. That receiving interest on a loan (usury) is gravely evil and those guilty of usury should be denied Christian burial unless they repent (Second Lateran Council, 1139AD).
11
2
50
Certainly, avoiding scandal is important. But it seems to me that Jesus was way less concerned about appearing to endorse someone else’s immoral actions than he was about letting the person in front of him know that they are loved and wanted by God. 5/11
3
3
48
The feast of St. Joseph the
Worker is a good reminder that
the Church teaches that workers have a right
-to unionize
-a wage sufficient for families, savings, and leisure
-that labor takes priority over capital
-and not paying a just wage is a sin
that cries to heaven
3
14
48
We are in living memory of parish priests refusing to bury unbaptized infants in the Catholic cemetery, and this Sunday the Church is beatifying an unbaptized baby. This feels important.
14
5
48
Clerical abuse and—more betraying—ongoing coverup has felt like a series of betrayal bombs. The moral injury from which has hardly been acknowledged, let alone repented of and atoned for. Instead, leaders point to the outside culture as what's driving people away from Mass… 4/
3
3
49
We can't understand, let alone impose on others, historical texts isolated from the Living Magisterium. The living Magisterium is our only sure guide and interpreter of Scripture, Tradition, and historic documents and councils (cf. CCC 85).
4
4
49
Feels like Catholic Twitter could benefit from this reminder about what things the Catechism teaches can reduce a person’s knowledge and freedom (and therefore their culpability)
10
5
47
1. Throws out absurd moral rule
2. States that the rule is Church teaching and that anyone doing otherwise is a sinner
3. Cites saints from centuries ago
4. All citations are in Latin
If this isn’t actually a trad satire account, I’m just going to pretend it is. Brilliant.
Kissing and hand holding before marriage are forbidden according to Catholic moral theology.
324
82
957
4
1
47
I believe it was Chesterton who talked about how the heart of paganism was control, that if I say the right words and make the right sacrifice then I will get what I want from the gods.
This same mentality is reflected in Butker’s speech. A 🧵
1/8
2
3
47
The advice essentially came down to "be more kind.” Which is important, essential. But it’s insufficient.
It misses the depth of the problem and it misses the systemic / structural nature of this division.
3/3
5
1
48
The Church’s teaching about slavery, usury, and the possibility of salvation for non-Catholics are all further examples of areas where what the Magisterium now teaches looks, in many ways, like a reversal from what it taught in the past. 5/5
7
3
46
Food/water/secure shelter can’t be denied to the undocumented, unhoused, or unborn out of fear of what caring for them may cost the community.
Suffering doesn’t diminish a person’s dignity. Neither does any crime they committed.
Our social/political activity must begin here 3/3
7
8
47
Invoking “coresponsibility of the laity” to tell lay people they need to do more to fix abuse problems in the Church, without also acknowledging how little authority lay people have in the institution if clerics don’t concede authority to them, is a kind of gaslighting 1/2
9
5
46
However, our weaknesses do not separate us from the Church. The Church and the sacraments exist precisely to heal and transform us. Our weaknesses are the very thing that keeps us running back to the embrace of our Merciful Father to receive more of his love and strength. 9/9
5
1
44
The Church teaches that the Magisterium, the pope and bishops in communion with him, teaches on behalf of Christ and are the sole interpreters of Divine Revelation (CCC 85 & LG 25).
The Church doesn’t say that any saint or theologian, not even Aquinas, has that same authority.
9
4
43
The Church is clear that providing every person with sufficient food, shelter, safety, healthcare, etc. for them to flourish (the common good) isn’t a utopian dream, but is actually attainable in this life. And that the state has an essential role in achieving this goal.
2
5
45
Paul VI emphasized that tradition is not static, but tied to the living Magisterium. The Magisterium discerns how to best communicate Revelation to each new generation without compromising the faith. This development clarifies revealed truths, it does not create new ones. 2/10
4
8
43
Jesus appears to prioritize encounter over avoiding scandal. Pope Francis does to. That has been reiterated throughout his magisterial teaching since the beginning of his papacy. 6/11
2
1
42