Parish busybodies online.

Monday, Monday.

Every parish has a busybody, sometimes several, which is where we get the tradition of  'church ladies'.  They can be men, too.

Of course some will protest the title of busybody, but they are the same people online who usually complain they are ignored by chanceries or banned from St. Patrick's day parades.  They complain a lot.  They correct priests.  Hunt for scandals to uncover.  They inform on parishioners who may not be as holy as they are, and so on.  Of course they have their place in the life of the Church, but they are a minority in parishes and by extension, in the Church universal.

I came to that conclusion today after searching for a priest in the Archdiocese of NYC.  He's an excellent priest and he is assigned to St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan.  So?  Think of it.  Church Militant, The Remnant, 1P5, a couple staff members from a seminary in Michigan, and a few other crack pot bloggers decry Cardinals, bishops, priests and religious in union with the Holy Father as 'wolves in sheep's clothing'.  They accuse them of misleading the flock, they call them the very worst names and accuse them of horrible - sometimes unspeakable sins.  For that reason they themselves will admit that they are banned from websites, and/or have become persona non grata at rectories and chanceries.  Yet St. Patrick's is a parish, a large parish in a larger archdiocese, served by many excellent and holy priests, with a Cardinal, albeit frequently attacked and criticized by a vociferous few.

They are an extremely small group.  They like to think they are THE remnant and more Catholic than the Pope.  When in fact, they are a parochial group of very vocal, angry, disgruntled, parish busybodies.  Now that they are on social media, they seem more numerous and influential than they are, but most Catholics never heard of them much less know who they are.

What?