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Perhaps one of the most obvious areas of concern involves the ongoing question of illegal immigration and the role of the U.S. bishops in pushing a globalist agenda — thinly disguised as something religious.

Last week, Church Militant visited with "controversial" congresswoman Majorie Taylor Greene in a wide-ranging interview where the topic of U.S. bishops profiting handsomely off the illegal immigration issue came up. Representative Greene, who represents voters in Georgia's 14th Congressional District, has become the object of much derision and hatred from the Marxist Left for simply saying it like it is.

For her, it's all clearly a spiritual battle, which is the foundation of everything she tries to get accomplished in Congress. At the bottom of today's political strife and national division is the attack on the family, particularly women's understanding of themselves and their roles in society. Likewise, the government (according to the congresswoman) has been a major driving force in the current meltdown of the culture.

Greene is a woman who, speaking plainly, gets it and doesn't hesitate to say it — which, of course, is why she is so maligned by the Marxist Left.

The entire interview is available by just clicking on the available link, and all this week we will be highlighting various portions of it — the first of its kind MTG has granted.

Greene is a trailblazer in what is becoming a new breed of politician arriving in Washington, D.C., and, among them, not a few are Catholic. That will be our focus tomorrow. Again, the interview, in its entirety, is available by clicking on the link.

Today's Vortex is a talk Michael Voris gave at this year's Retreat on Land.

Today's Vortex is a talk Michael Voris gave at this year's Retreat on Land.

Today's Vortex is a talk Michael Voris gave at this year's Retreat on Land.

One of the talks Michael Voris gave at this year's Retreat on Land.

One of the talks Michael Voris gave at this year's Retreat on Land, 2022.

TRANSCRIPT

We're in Frisco, Texas, just outside Dallas, with close to two hundred Catholics who have traveled here to be on retreat — a time to collect and be with Our Lord and away from the regular concerns of the world. And while the regular concerns of the world can be safely laid aside for a few days, they do not go away. We all know they are just beyond the borders of this retreat.

Holy Thursday, always a celebration of the priesthood and the Holy Eucharist, is also a day where we recall the beginning of Our Lord's Passion, set in motion by the betrayal of Judas Iscariot. Always important to keep in mind — his treachery unfolded at the Last Supper, during one of the most intimate moments Our Lord had with His Apostles.

While the events unfolded in the Upper Room, they began a year earlier in Capernaum, where Judas first denied Our Lord's Eucharistic self-revelation. In very clear terms now, Judas denied and betrayed Our Lord specifically because of the teaching of the Real Presence.

He was a thief, true. But his thievery was only a prelude to his treachery — a greasing of the skids, if you will, an apostolic denial of the source and summit of the Faith. While it would be splendid if this had only happened just once, the truth is, we see this exact same denial and betrayal on the part of many successors of the Apostles today.

Judas loved wealth and the power it brings with it, even to the point of stealing it. Those actions committed him to a prison of his own corruption and set the stage for his betrayal. In the Gospel account of the anointing of Our Lord's feet at Bethany (where Judas self-righteously objects to "wasting" such expensive ointment), Our Lord upbraids Judas, telling him to leave the woman alone who had anointed Him.

It was clear, in Judas' mind (having waited out the year since the Bread of Life discourse at Capernaum), that his time to profit from the Nazarene was drawing to a close. He decided, as Matthew's Gospel tells us, that it was this realization that sent him to the chief priests, asking, "What will you give me if I deliver Him over to you?"

Yet notice, Judas continued to keep company with Our Lord and the rest of the Apostles. He must have been very good at disguising his true feelings because, while Our Lord, of course, always knew, none of the others had the slightest clue.

Even as Judas slipped out into the night from the Upper Room, even after they had all asked who would betray Him, they still did not think it was Judas. Traitors always disguise themselves cleverly, acting with such stealth so as not to be noticed.

Is the same not true today among so many successors of the Apostles? For surely, there exist many Judases among them. Only the most faithful can discern them — and only then through deep reflection on their actions. Yet so terribly many Catholics today are led astray by Judas bishops, wanting to not deal with the truth of their treachery and its consequences.

Yet this lot hide in plain sight, committing, defending and even promoting sacrilege, as child murderers are treated by them as worthy to receive Our Lord's Body and Blood. They deny the Deposit of the Faith indirectly — as well as directly. They seek to use Christ as their own elevator to power and wealth, just as Judas did, yet they will end the same way.

Once he saw no more opportunity to personally profit from his association with God, he not only deserted Him, he betrayed Him. But unlike Judas, today's bishops show not even the slightest bit of remorse. At least Judas had remorse over his actions, coming to terms with the truth of his evil, saying, "I have betrayed innocent blood."

Remorse, by itself, is insufficient to bring about salvation. But it is the necessary first step. Too many bishops today don't even have that. They have not only made public their betrayal, they have reaffirmed it time and time again, unrelenting on their march toward damnation.

Judas committed one deed and, as despicable as it was, felt remorse for what he had done. On this score, today's bishops have far-outstripped Judas in treachery and, owing to their repeated deeds, feel not the slightest remorse. Heck, at least Judas wasn't homosexual and covering up the rape of teenage boys by the thousands.

Today's Judases sit quietly, as politicians they helped elect kill children by the millions, pervert the minds of others who escape the abortuary and destroy home and family on a scale never before seen in history — all with their blessing of silence and association.

The account is relayed to us by St. Irenaeus, told to him by St. Polycarp (a direct disciple of St. John), that on spotting the heretic Cerinthus in a Roman bath he was also in, John got up instantly and fled, exclaiming on the way out, "Let us fly, lest even the bathhouse fall down because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within!"

It is widely held that St. John wrote his First and Second Epistles in direct response to the heresies of Cerinthus. Can you imagine today's bishops actually getting up and causing a scene, leaving because a heretic was in the room — so much so that they didn't want to be under the same roof?

Holy cow, they'd probably offer him Holy Communion. Oh wait, they do. Joe Biden and the entire panoply of heretical, dissident, phony Catholics should be expelled from the Church without another thought. But modern-day Judases welcome them, embrace them because, at the bottom, they are just like them.

They have no love for Our Lord, truth, the Church or souls. They have run to the chief priests of the day (globalist politicians) and asked, "What will you give me if I deliver Him up to you?" While the glorious liturgies of the Triduum begin today, it is wise to never forget the thread of betrayal woven all through the tapestry of Our Lord's passion.

That betrayal continues today.

TRANSCRIPT

Almost everywhere you go in the Church today, you see all the signs of total collapse.

For example, in Detroit, in what has become emblematic of the destruction of the Church in the United States, yet another empty church has met the wrecking ball (All Saints) in a once-thriving Catholic area of the city.

These images were captured by Church Militant less than a day before the mural of Our Blessed Mother, which had been in the sanctuary for decades, was smashed by the demolition crew. Within the next few days, all of this will be torn down — a living testament to the death of the archdiocese under its corrupt archbishop, Allen Vigneron.

This is all fitting, of course, since the demolition of the Church in America began right here in Detroit under the notorious Cdl. John Dearden, the same man who ordained Vigneron. In 1990, there were more than 400 parishes here. When Vigneron hands in his retirement letter in about 20 months, he will have overseen one of the most unimaginable contractions of the Church in the whole nation — down to what amounts to about 50 parishes, thanks to a clever and canonically illegal scheme he calls "families of parishes."

Yet another example of "managing the decline" is what corporate America calls "going out of business."

It's a deceptive way of making it seem like there are more parishes than there actually are — yet more trickery from a trickster and a deceptive-minded hierarchy that has raised its craft to an art form. So looking to the future, where do we go? What exactly are we looking at?

As part of the overall managing of the decline, one thing bishops have done is invest heavily in what could be called the "joy movement." Bishops have used the inexperience and naivete of the youth to infect that group, attempting to fool them into a mindset of an almost saccharine approach to the Faith.

It's heavily feminine in its emotion-laden philosophy. Its first directive is to be sure to not offend anyone — or make them feel uncomfortable.

The movement itself is low on thorough catechesis and high on smiling, being full of joy — at least, supposedly. But what it is most lacking is any real, substantive knowledge of the actual condition of the Church, the massive corruption which persists at every level.

Not only are many of these "joyful missionary disciples" (a favorite term of the bishops) lacking in knowledge of the corruption, they are even more bereft of knowledge of the causes. It's almost as if the few remaining youths who were not raped, abused or lied to about the Faith got shuffled into these Stepford-wife youth movements within the Church structure and given gallons of joy Kool-Aid.

It comes across quite frequently as either a phony joy or one based on extreme naivete. Will the joyful disciples challenge their bishops or adult team leaders on the actual pressing questions of the day in the Church? Will they ensure that after they have finished talking to a fellow collegian or high schooler, for example, that he or she doesn't go back to a parish lacking reverence or, for that fact, a heterosexual priest?

They may have good intentions (likely do), but they are ill-equipped to deal with the corruption and actual malice on the part of senior clergy who embrace homosexuality, refuse to tell the truth, pretend all religions are of the same worth and on and on and on. They are being emotionally abused by their elders, because they are being lied to every day.

It is not possible to authentically evangelize a person today and simply not know, to a sufficient degree, about the evil that resides in the hierarchy — as well as the lay leadership of these various youth outfits. You see it, on a local level, in thousands of parish youth groups, where faith is the last item on the agenda.

And you see it in the more far-flung national outfits, where adult leaders profit handsomely off the backs of kids who go out and earn money for them, all under the guise of bringing college-age kids or young adults to the Faith. The bishops and the adult organizers are banking on youthful optimism to keep them in the dark about their own dealings, wickedness and corruption.

By the time these youths have grown up and married and have toddlers of their own, the Church will have been wiped out, and they will have been unwitting instruments in its destruction.

The "joy" that the bishops and adult leaders have instilled in these bright young men and women is a superficial joy. Stay smiling, never give offense, always talk about the Holy Spirit and how He flutters around inside your heart. In fact, it's eerily similar to the presentation of religious belief exhibited by Protestant youth at their rock band, laser light show, praise and worship extravaganzas.

It's a naive understanding of Faith that, of course, is to be expected from most young people. They are naive about almost everything in the world. That's why the expression is "young and stupid" — because those two go together. At some point, a critical mass is reached as you age, and you realize life is not all strawberries and lollipops.

On the spiritual plane, what you come to realize is that there is a deadly war going on — brutal, vicious, demanding — a war with vast numbers of casualties and, most importantly, that the war effort has been hampered by the betrayal of many leaders.

Of course, it takes time to come to this truth. The problem is, by the time many come to it, they are already among the walking dead, having long since abandoned either the practice of the Faith or sufficient knowledge of it to grow in holiness.

No one is faulting young people for being where they are naturally as a result of being young. But regarding the adults, the lay leaders of the "joy movement" as well as the bishops who tirelessly promote it, they are a different story.

They capitalize on the ignorance and inexperience of youths and betray them. They use them as poster children (literally children) to conceal their own wickedness in having long-since abandoned the Faith.

Think back to the youth meeting, for example, where a young man challenged Cdl. Wilton Gregory in Washington, D.C., about the homosexual rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine, Msgr. Walter Rossi. Gregory, a key cog in the gay clerical network, feigned ignorance of the Rossi scandal, actually sitting on stage lying to an audience of young adults.

Rossi has been an active homosexual for decades (sharing luxury condominiums with a string of gay-lover priests) and has been protected by his homosexualist bishop, registered-Democrat Joseph Bambera of Scranton.

Likewise, he rose to influence under the oversight of the likes of disgraced homosexual-bishop Michael Bransfield, the lying and sexual abuse coverup of Cdl. Donald Wuerl and, of course, homopredator former-cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

And all of that is just one example of the wickedness of the hierarchy that (we're willing to bet) doesn't really come up very often at the "joy" coaching clinics young adults are tricked into believing. How are all these things related? Why does it matter, you may wonder?

Because the same wicked hierarchy and their corrupt counterparts in the world of lay leadership are the same ones "transmitting" the Faith to young adults. They are perfectly content to let them think the Faith is all rainbows and butterflies, with an accompanying encounter every now and then dealing with their peers.

They trick them into thinking they are changing the culture. Even if they do manage some success individually here or there, they aren't changing the culture. They are contributing to it, because of the feminized or sentimental approach young males learn in these youth movements. It's way too emotion-laden, too soft, too non-offensive.

If we need to see an example of changing the culture, look at the Apostles. They were all martyred or, in St. John's case, might as well have been, and it wasn't because they were non-offensive. It was, in fact, because they were offensive, unrelenting in telling the full truth. Their concern was not in smiling and being saccharine or presenting themselves as quasi-feminine.

They were brutally killed for the exact same reason Our Blessed Lord was — because they were unrelenting in openly opposing sin and wickedness in high places, places from which wicked men hurled down death, physical and spiritual.

The Apostles and first few centuries of Catholics understood, tacitly or not, the prevailing power structure had to be swept away, and, in order to be swept away, they would more than likely have to pay with their lives.

These youth movements, raised to their level of importance by the very men who need to be exposed for their evil, are not taught this — not by a large stretch. These "joyful missionary disciple" movements are a product of what is wrong in the Church, brought to you by the very men who helped bring this about.

Once again, the ancient philosophical axiom appears on the scene — you cannot give what you do not have. These "joyful missionary disciple" squads are constructed on the ignorance of their members and, therefore, have no ability to reform the Church because they have no understanding of what is corrupting the Church.

You can't make a project out of changing the culture if you don't first change the Church. You cannot give what you do not have and you cannot cure what you have not diagnosed. For anyone in one of these groups, consider this a type of wake-up call, an invitation to become aware and focus your good intentions on the real evil — the corruption of the hierarchy.

TRANSCRIPT

It's been going on for awhile already, with painting concerned parents as "domestic terrorists" for caring about their childrens' classroom instruction. Likewise, labeling anyone in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 as "insurrectionists" keeps the narrative of "crazy" going.

Hate illegal immigration? You're a xenophobe or racist. Popping off about gas prices? You're too unsophisticated to realize it's Donald Trump's fault. Inflation and supply chain shortages? You're too stupid to realize it's only temporary and not really that big a deal.

The only response the Left can muster in the face of things collapsing is, "You're crazy." That is why, in the past couple weeks, we've started to see attacks on religion starting to take center stage — specifically, focus pieces in The New York Times and The Washington Post zeroing in on the increasing involvement of Christians in the political process.

The "Jesus movement" is what The New York Times sneeringly labels it. But while insulting political conservatives over their economic policy preferences (and what could loosely be called "America first" worldview) is uncalled for, the label of crazy Christian might get some traction.

Why? Inevitably, when the leftist media strike out at Christianity, it's fundamentalism or conservative evangelicalism they are shining the spotlight on. The stories or articles always seem to revolve around the emotion-driven version of Protestantism and, truth be told, it is whacky.

Claims that Donald Trump is messianic or approaching some kind of savior status might be well intentioned, but they are poorly reasoned. And, at least partially, they find their roots in a faulty understanding of Sacred Scripture — something that has fueled the Protestant heresy since the revolution back in the 16th century.

Fundamentalists are convinced that Israel must be allied to the United States so that the Temple can be rebuilt and Christ can return. They incorrectly associate modern Israel with Old Testament Israel. They have absolutely nothing to do with each other — other than their geographical location. Likewise, the Temple does not need to be rebuilt in order for Christ to return.

Protestants, because of the heresy, have always gotten Scripture wrong overall and here too, again. What their notions about Israel and America's role in the world do is feed the Left's narrative that Christians really are crazy. Most journalists know nothing about religion because they are, almost to a man, atheist, gay or communist (or pick your poison).

So they look at the "Jesus movement" and think, incorrectly, that that is Christianity when, in reality, they couldn't be more wrong. That is, at best, flawed or incomplete or insufficient Christianity and, in some cases, not Christianity at all.

The fact that some moral teachings happen to align with authentic Christianity does not make it Christian. And (being very clear) authentic Christianity is Catholicism and only Catholicism.

And, here, we are talking about Catholicism and Protestantism, not, repeat, not, individual Catholics (some of whom are rotten to the core) and individual Protestants (some of whom are wonderful, caring people). But the media delights in taking a caricature of Christianity and proposing it is the real deal and then, ascribing a high degree of insanity to it.

With that firmly in place, the media then go on to smear all conservative politicos as nutty because their followers are nutty. What's interesting in all this is that almost nowhere in the ongoing narrative are liberal Protestants brought into the picture. Tellingly, Catholics are also never brought up.

The reason, of course, is that all visible high-profile Catholics (most of whom don't know bupkes about the Faith) and liberal Protestants share what amounts to the same values as the media — or close enough. They wouldn't know morality, in most cases, if it smacked them in the face. 

The sad reality is that, when America was reshaping itself immediately in the aftermath of the Second World War, Catholics had a chance, a small window, to step into the forefront and lead the country to a place of righteousness. But the American hierarchy was, in many ways, already on the way to selling out — exchanging the Faith to become "Americans."

So when America changed for the worse, so too did the Church, whose leaders had previously thrown their lot in with prevailing culture. What would have been a somewhat-easy fight to save the nation has now become a fight to the death, and the odds don't look all that good.

Nevertheless, today's generation of faithful Catholics — what few young there are among them — must now stand up and be counted. As is usual when it is dark and there seems little hope left, if there is to be salvation, it always comes from the least-anticipated quarters.

Praise and worship nonsense, rightly mocked by the Left, will not provide the necessary refuge or intellectual firepower. It must be Catholic — with no exception.

The Left is unhinged. Fundamentalist Protestantism is crazy and can provide zero in terms of defending whatever actually remains of the country. For those counting themselves or styling themselves as America first, that's only true naturally. It's actually faith first, supernaturally. 

Take care of the supernatural, and everything else falls into place. This is easily understandable, and the opposite is also true. Fail at the supernatural and your country falls apart. Faith comes first, and that means the Catholic Faith.

TRANSCRIPT

It's been going on for awhile already, with painting concerned parents as "domestic terrorists" for caring about their childrens' classroom instruction. Likewise, labeling anyone in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 as "insurrectionists" keeps the narrative of "crazy" going.

Hate illegal immigration? You're a xenophobe or racist. Popping off about gas prices? You're too unsophisticated to realize it's Donald Trump's fault. Inflation and supply chain shortages? You're too stupid to realize it's only temporary and not really that big a deal.

The only response the Left can muster in the face of things collapsing is, "You're crazy." That is why, in the past couple weeks, we've started to see attacks on religion starting to take center stage — specifically, focus pieces in The New York Times and The Washington Post zeroing in on the increasing involvement of Christians in the political process.

The "Jesus movement" is what The New York Times sneeringly labels it. But while insulting political conservatives over their economic policy preferences (and what could loosely be called "America first" worldview) is uncalled for, the label of crazy Christian might get some traction.

Why? Inevitably, when the leftist media strike out at Christianity, it's fundamentalism or conservative evangelicalism they are shining the spotlight on. The stories or articles always seem to revolve around the emotion-driven version of Protestantism and, truth be told, it is whacky.

Claims that Donald Trump is messianic or approaching some kind of savior status might be well intentioned, but they are poorly reasoned. And, at least partially, they find their roots in a faulty understanding of Sacred Scripture — something that has fueled the Protestant heresy since the revolution back in the 16th century.

Fundamentalists are convinced that Israel must be allied to the United States so that the Temple can be rebuilt and Christ can return. They incorrectly associate modern Israel with Old Testament Israel. They have absolutely nothing to do with each other — other than their geographical location. Likewise, the Temple does not need to be rebuilt in order for Christ to return.

Protestants, because of the heresy, have always gotten Scripture wrong overall and here too, again. What their notions about Israel and America's role in the world do is feed the Left's narrative that Christians really are crazy. Most journalists know nothing about religion because they are, almost to a man, atheist, gay or communist (or pick your poison).

So they look at the "Jesus movement" and think, incorrectly, that that is Christianity when, in reality, they couldn't be more wrong. That is, at best, flawed or incomplete or insufficient Christianity and, in some cases, not Christianity at all.

The fact that some moral teachings happen to align with authentic Christianity does not make it Christian. And (being very clear) authentic Christianity is Catholicism and only Catholicism.

And, here, we are talking about Catholicism and Protestantism, not, repeat, not, individual Catholics (some of whom are rotten to the core) and individual Protestants (some of whom are wonderful, caring people). But the media delights in taking a caricature of Christianity and proposing it is the real deal and then, ascribing a high degree of insanity to it.

With that firmly in place, the media then go on to smear all conservative politicos as nutty because their followers are nutty. What's interesting in all this is that almost nowhere in the ongoing narrative are liberal Protestants brought into the picture. Tellingly, Catholics are also never brought up.

The reason, of course, is that all visible high-profile Catholics (most of whom don't know bupkes about the Faith) and liberal Protestants share what amounts to the same values as the media — or close enough. They wouldn't know morality, in most cases, if it smacked them in the face. 

The sad reality is that, when America was reshaping itself immediately in the aftermath of the Second World War, Catholics had a chance, a small window, to step into the forefront and lead the country to a place of righteousness. But the American hierarchy was, in many ways, already on the way to selling out — exchanging the Faith to become "Americans."

So when America changed for the worse, so too did the Church, whose leaders had previously thrown their lot in with prevailing culture. What would have been a somewhat-easy fight to save the nation has now become a fight to the death, and the odds don't look all that good.

Nevertheless, today's generation of faithful Catholics — what few young there are among them — must now stand up and be counted. As is usual when it is dark and there seems little hope left, if there is to be salvation, it always comes from the least-anticipated quarters.

Praise and worship nonsense, rightly mocked by the Left, will not provide the necessary refuge or intellectual firepower. It must be Catholic — with no exception.

The Left is unhinged. Fundamentalist Protestantism is crazy and can provide zero in terms of defending whatever actually remains of the country. For those counting themselves or styling themselves as America first, that's only true naturally. It's actually faith first, supernaturally. 

Take care of the supernatural, and everything else falls into place. This is easily understandable, and the opposite is also true. Fail at the supernatural and your country falls apart. Faith comes first, and that means the Catholic Faith.