Last month, Detroit Archbishop Edward Weisenburger severely restricted the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass in his archdiocese—an archdiocese that has had some of the most flourishing Latin Mass communities in the country, if not the world. Not content, however, with one act of pettiness, this week Archbishop Weisenburger decided to double down on his attack on faithful Catholics, expanding beyond the typical traditionalist punching bags to target established and well-respected seminary professors.
On Wednesday night, news broke that Dr. Ralph Martin and Dr. Eduardo Echeverria had been removed from their positions as theology professors at Sacred Heart Seminary, which is based in Detroit but serves seminarians from dioceses and religious orders throughout the country. Sacred Heart, in fact, is considered by many Catholics to be one of the best seminaries in the country, and many of its faculty have served on Vatican committees over the years (including Dr. Martin, who served as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization).
Martin is well-known in the Catholic world and is one of the leaders of the Catholic Charismatic movement. He has written many books and is in high demand as a speaker at Catholic events. His book Will Many Be Saved? What Vatican II Actually Teaches and Its Implications for the New Evangelization is one of the best on a topic near and dear to my own heart: the salvation of non-Catholics.
Echeverria is less well-known than Martin, but he is also a formidable scholar. I have interviewed him on my podcast twice (here and here), and I found him to be a deep thinker who takes seriously all theological perspectives before reaching any conclusions. He has written many valuable books, including one on religious relativism titled Jesus Christ, Scandal of Particularity: Vatican II, a Catholic Theology of Religions, Justification, and Truth.
So why would two distinguished theologians, with no hint of scandal associated with them, be unceremoniously fired from their positions without warning or even explanation? Simply put, they dared to criticize the regime, and for that they must be purged.
What do I mean when I say “they dared to criticize the regime”? More specifically, what do I mean by “the regime”? By that I mean the men who rule the day-to-day workings of the Church, including many bishops and Vatican officials. I’m not speaking of the divine nature of the Church or of her infallible teachings. I’m speaking of petty men—like Archbishop Weisenburger, like Cardinal Cupich, and yes, like Pope Francis—who see their role not as keepers of a tradition handed down to them, but as tyrants who crave power and control. Men who abuse their authority in their attempts to remake the Church in their image, jettisoning thousands of years of tradition to slavishly imitate the surrounding cultural fads of the day. These are the men who make up the “regime” I’m talking about.
Through the years, both Martin and Echeverria have been willing at times to speak out in defense of the Catholic faith against these regime men. They have always been charitable and measured in their criticisms, always focused on explicating theological truth rather than attacking personalities. But for the regime men, that’s not enough. Men like Archbishop Weisenburger demand total submission to the regime (but not to Catholic teaching), and woe to anyone who dares step even slightly out of line. They must be eliminated, even if it means kicking two honorable and dedicated husbands and fathers to the curb with no warning or official reason given. Despicable.
Sadly, Weisenburger’s actions likely mean that the days of Sacred Heart Seminary being a beacon of orthodoxy are numbered. It is my hope that bishops from around the country—particularly bishops who send their seminarians to Sacred Heart—will speak out against this injustice and even send their men elsewhere if it appears that Sacred Heart no longer values faithfulness and orthodoxy in its professors.
One final thought: What about Pope Leo? Do these actions by Weisenburger mean that it’s true that “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”? I think it’s far too premature to say that. Weisenburger was one of Pope Francis’s final episcopal appointments, and like Bishop Michael Martin in Charlotte, he was clearly one of the late pope’s more ideological appointees. He was given a job by Francis, and he’s doing it. The question is: will Pope Leo intervene? And if he does not, does that mean he supports these actions?
Like I said, I think it’s too premature to come to conclusions in this regard. Popes traditionally don’t get involved in local affairs like the hiring and firing of seminary professors, so it’s highly unlikely that Leo will say or do anything about these specific firings, even if he personally thinks they are a bad idea. Yet it will be interesting to see what his own episcopal appointments do going forward: will they be regime men like Weisenburger, or will they cut a different path? Time will tell, but it is a good reminder that we need to continue to pray and fast for Pope Leo and also beg God to convert the hearts of the regime men to become true shepherds who care more about souls than power and control.
This article was originally published on Crisis Magazine.
