The John-Henry Westen Show - November 18, 2022


Priest Calls Out ＂Lunatic Approach of Transgenderism,＂ Gets Cancelled by His Own Bishop


Summary

In this episode of the John Henry Weston Show, Father John Sheehy talks about the church's response to a homily that went viral and led to a priest being banned from public mass in Ireland. He also talks about sin and how we need to speak out against it.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 The church, in her spiritual works of mercy, says, admonish the sinner, see?
00:00:05.560 And I say, we don't do that out of a sense of superiority.
00:00:08.540 We do that because we care.
00:00:10.620 We don't want anyone to go to hell.
00:00:13.320 And the fact is that if we don't repent and if we don't seek forgiveness, we will go to hell.
00:00:18.520 And that's the reality.
00:00:21.740 Now, the council culture has been going on in the sexist society for some time, but we've seen it also affect the church.
00:00:28.420 We've got a huge movement in the U.S. of the cancelled priests.
00:00:33.440 And this is from people trying to do the right thing.
00:00:35.860 On social media, when you're saying something true that happens to be pro-life, pro-family, misgendering someone, as it's called, using the wrong pronouns, gets you banned.
00:00:47.640 Well, sadly, this is happening in the church.
00:00:50.960 Now, it's not only the U.S.
00:00:53.100 There's a priest in Ireland who gave a beautiful homily.
00:00:58.420 Pro-life, pro-family, but gave it in love.
00:01:00.820 It's not like it was, you know, about hating people who are, you know, call themselves homosexual or whatever.
00:01:08.580 No, it was about loving them.
00:01:11.040 Loving them enough to tell them the truth.
00:01:14.180 But that is not good, according to his bishop, who is now forbidden him from saying public masses.
00:01:24.380 Wow.
00:01:26.620 But for being faithful, this priest has made the front page of newspapers, because the prime minister, who is, by the way, an active homosexual, has actually reacted to the priest's comments.
00:01:41.100 And now it's all over the front pages of the papers in Ireland.
00:01:44.200 And stay tuned to this episode of the John Henry Weston Show, where we will be speaking with Father Sheehy himself.
00:01:51.040 The John Henry Weston Show, where we will be speaking with Father Sheehy.
00:02:21.020 John Sheehy, so good to be with you.
00:02:23.420 Thank you for the privilege.
00:02:25.880 Father, we always begin with the sign of the cross, if you wouldn't mind leading us, please.
00:02:29.840 Will I say it in Irish?
00:02:31.720 Yeah, please do.
00:02:33.000 In Anu Anu Anu, Agur, Agus and Vic, Agus and Spritnev, Amen.
00:02:37.880 Amen.
00:02:39.240 Amen.
00:02:39.720 And with that, I, you know, we really pray for Ireland.
00:02:43.700 Thank you.
00:02:44.360 This is a challenging time, Father, because you have done what I think most of the faithful Catholics in the pew would love and need.
00:02:55.080 We need to hear the truth from the pulpit.
00:02:56.760 What I'd like to do now is just play a clip from your homily, which went totally viral and led to the bishop canceling you.
00:03:07.640 Let's have a listen.
00:03:08.320 What is so sad today is you rarely hear about sin, but it's rampant.
00:03:16.880 It's rampant.
00:03:18.080 And we see it, for example, in the legislation of our governments.
00:03:22.600 We see it in the promotion of abortion.
00:03:25.640 We see it, for example, in the example of this lunatic approach of transgenderism.
00:03:30.980 We see it, for example, in the promotion of sex between two men and two women.
00:03:36.020 That is sinful.
00:03:37.360 That is mortal sin.
00:03:39.480 And people don't seem to realize it.
00:03:41.420 But it's a fact.
00:03:42.540 It's a reality.
00:03:44.200 And we need to listen to God about it, because if we don't, then there's no hope for those people.
00:03:49.500 And so God is also telling you and me today, look, you have a responsibility to seek out those who are lost.
00:03:56.360 You have a responsibility to call people to an awareness of the fact that sin is destructive, sin is detrimental, and sin will lead us to hell.
00:04:09.000 When we honor the saints on the first of this coming month, we honor people who are saints.
00:04:16.040 Why are they saints?
00:04:17.120 Because they repented and because they sought forgiveness.
00:04:20.500 As somebody said one time, heaven is full of converted sinners.
00:04:26.360 And so today, God says to us, I have come to call sinners.
00:04:30.540 But if you don't admit you're a sinner, then you're not listening to my call, and I can't do anything for you.
00:04:37.180 Because it's a two-way street.
00:04:39.180 Now, there are people, you see, who won't like to hear what I'm saying.
00:04:42.520 But the day you die, you will find out that what I'm saying is not what I invented.
00:04:47.400 It's not what I came up with.
00:04:48.700 It's what God is saying.
00:04:50.720 And the day you die, you will find out that is the truth.
00:04:53.700 Our prayer for people is that it won't be too late for people.
00:04:59.740 But how will people know that God wants to forgive them if we don't tell them?
00:05:04.720 How will people who are lost be found if we, as God's people, don't call them?
00:05:11.080 And say, look, God loves you.
00:05:13.640 He has come to call sinners, but he wants you to have life and have it to the full.
00:05:18.880 Because that's what he wants.
00:05:20.280 He wants you to live life to the fullest.
00:05:22.320 But since he's the author of life, we can only live it through, with, and in his grace,
00:05:28.860 through the power of his spirit.
00:05:32.700 So, Father, what you said was nothing hateful, nothing problematic,
00:05:39.260 at least from a Catholic perspective, a normal Catholic perspective.
00:05:42.300 What's the issue that the bishop had with you?
00:05:44.320 The issue basically was, because when he called me, he said, you have hurt so many good people.
00:05:50.300 He said that about three or four times, one after the other.
00:05:52.640 He said, you know, the parish priest actually was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and I was covering for him, actually.
00:05:59.880 And he said, you have ruined his pilgrimage.
00:06:03.560 You have ruined the parish.
00:06:04.900 I said, tell me how.
00:06:07.780 But he never responded to exactly how.
00:06:10.340 I said, what have I said there?
00:06:12.060 I said, that's contrary to the Gospels, the Scriptures, contrary to the Church's teaching.
00:06:17.640 I said, the whole thrust of the Scriptures was God called sinners to salvation, based on the story of Zacchaeus.
00:06:27.080 When Jesus said, today, salvation has come to this house.
00:06:32.540 And so I asked the congregation, I said, what is salvation?
00:06:36.340 And I said, salvation, I said, is the freeing of a person from sin that brings about it eternal suffering and death.
00:06:49.200 And then I said, what is sin?
00:06:51.680 I said, sin is any thought, word, or deed that's conscious of the will of God.
00:06:56.360 And I said, where do we find the will of God?
00:06:58.680 He said, we find it in the commandments, and we find it in the Beatitudes.
00:07:04.120 And I said, Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments into what he called the law of love, which is love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.
00:07:13.760 And I said, is there any one of us here today, you know, who does all these things completely?
00:07:20.180 Is there anyone here who loves God with all his heart, every day, with all his mind, every day, with all his strength?
00:07:26.040 I said, no.
00:07:27.260 And I said, that's why, actually, if we don't do that, then, actually, we are sinners.
00:07:32.360 That's why we begin every Mass calling ourselves sinners.
00:07:35.780 And I said, if we don't admit our sin, which is what Zacchaeus did, and ask for forgiveness, repent, ask for forgiveness, and make restitution for the damage they have caused,
00:07:49.620 then we shut ourselves off to the mercy and the love of God, which Jesus has made possible through the sacraments of his church.
00:07:59.740 And I said, especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
00:08:03.200 But I said, even today at this Mass, I said, we're actually being saved by God from our venial sins if we have a repentant and forgiving heart.
00:08:13.560 And I said, here in this country, I said, you know, it seems to me that the notion of sin is lost.
00:08:22.200 I said, and so sin has become embedded in our culture.
00:08:25.520 It's become enshrined in our legislation.
00:08:27.840 And so, as examples, I said, look, for example, people are permitted to have abortion.
00:08:33.260 They're permitted to have same-sex marriage.
00:08:35.240 I said, transgenderism now is perfectly acceptable.
00:08:38.240 I said, there was a dash ban that came to release sponsored by this so-called health service, handing out condoms to teenagers.
00:08:45.700 I said, supposedly health education.
00:08:49.320 I said, all of these things are sinful.
00:08:52.000 They're all contrary to the word of God.
00:08:54.200 They're all contrary to the love of God.
00:08:55.980 And that's when, I guess it must be about seven or eight people stood up and walked out.
00:09:01.960 I continued with the rest of my homily.
00:09:04.480 It was interesting, though, Father, you were able to maintain your composure when they stood up and walked out.
00:09:10.740 Good for you on that, but please continue.
00:09:13.140 Yeah, and then, you know, I continued, you know, by highlighting what actually forgiveness does for us.
00:09:21.020 And I gave a story of a mother that I talked to, and a little boy had made his first confession.
00:09:26.960 And when he came back after being with the priest, the mother said, you know, how do you feel?
00:09:32.060 He said, Mommy, he said, I feel so much lighter now.
00:09:35.740 And I said, that's what forgiveness does for us.
00:09:37.840 And I said, that's an expression of God's mercy.
00:09:39.920 It's an expression of God's love.
00:09:41.260 But I said, if we don't identify our sin, then we're not going to repent.
00:09:47.460 And if we don't repent, we're not going to receive forgiveness.
00:09:50.280 And that's the reality.
00:09:51.920 And so, and I said to the congregation, I said, each one of us here has an obligation to bring that good news of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet.
00:10:00.380 And I quote Ezekiel, I said, Ezekiel, I said, God said to Ezekiel, I said, if you know somebody who's doing something wrong, and you don't call them on us, and they die in that sin, then you're responsible for that sin.
00:10:12.460 I mean, I said, to me, that's frightening, because it's an awesome responsibility.
00:10:17.280 I also said, the church in her spiritual works of mercy says, admonish the sinner.
00:10:23.460 See, and I said, we don't do that out of a sense of superiority.
00:10:26.260 We do that because we care.
00:10:29.160 We don't want anyone to go to hell.
00:10:31.760 And the fact is that if we don't repent, and if we don't seek forgiveness, we will go to hell.
00:10:37.000 And that's the reality.
00:10:39.540 You know, it's amazing to hear the basics of the truth.
00:10:45.480 And people are so hungry for it, because we're not hearing it.
00:10:51.040 And so, you know, God bless you on that, Father.
00:10:53.480 But what is with the bishop?
00:10:56.560 So he wouldn't explain to you, this is the Bishop of Cary, the Diocese of Cary.
00:11:01.680 He said, then, you see, he didn't say this to me at all, but he said that to the press.
00:11:06.980 He said that my, what I said was not the Christian stance.
00:11:12.940 And I thought, that means then that the scriptures, both from wisdom as it was, and from the gospel, and even Paul who said, you know, he said, are you worthy of your calling?
00:11:25.840 You know, and so when he said that, when they called, when some of the press people called me, I said, well, you know, either he doesn't know his catechism, or he doesn't know the scriptures.
00:11:36.060 But I said, if that's not the Christian response, then I want to know what is.
00:11:41.820 Yeah.
00:11:42.620 We should be reminded that St. Paul mentioned on the teachings of the church that if I, speaking for himself, if I or an angel from heaven were to come and preach to you another gospel, let him be anathema.
00:11:55.140 So, there is no changing Christ's teaching.
00:11:59.340 There's no changing the teaching of the church.
00:12:01.180 There's no changing the scriptures.
00:12:03.500 So, we have this situation.
00:12:06.420 And do you know where the bishop is coming from on this?
00:12:09.580 Do you have any understanding of where, you know, what he suggests is the Christian teaching?
00:12:14.800 I have no idea.
00:12:15.780 He never said.
00:12:16.880 Because I asked him, I actually sent him a copy of my homily.
00:12:19.540 And I said, point out to me where I have said something that's contrary to the scriptures or contrary to the teaching of the church over the last 2,000 years.
00:12:29.980 But I had no response.
00:12:33.100 And I would love for, and I did say to the congregation, if I have said something that does go against the gospel, I said, I will apologize publicly to everybody.
00:12:42.240 Because that's not, I'm not here at all, I said, to give you my gospel, you know, and my word.
00:12:49.260 I'm here to give you God's word.
00:12:52.020 Yeah.
00:12:52.920 And it was, it was beautiful.
00:12:55.260 And I think beautifully delivered.
00:12:56.500 Because you did so in love and with obvious concern for those people who are practicing that way and encouraging our own Catholic brothers and sisters to reach out in love for the concern of the souls of those very people.
00:13:10.020 So there wasn't a problem with the message nor with your delivery.
00:13:15.000 But I think obviously the problem is with what the popular culture believes and that popular culture, an antichrist culture seeping into the church itself, in her leadership at least.
00:13:26.440 But as our Lord would have it, I think when the officials in the church who are shepherds doing what they shouldn't be doing, when they try and shut you down, our Lord will sometimes amplify your voice.
00:13:43.040 Anyway, how did you end up on the front pages of the newspapers?
00:13:47.860 What went on there?
00:13:49.040 That was my question.
00:13:49.860 I mean, here I am, you know, I'm a tired priest in a relatively small town, comparatively speaking, you know, preaching, you know, to a congregation, you know, and I thought, what is this that seems to have affected the whole country?
00:14:06.580 So what, you know, one man said to me, he said, you know, you realize you open, this is the way he put it.
00:14:12.460 He said, he didn't say you open a can of worms.
00:14:15.860 He said, you open a can full of worms.
00:14:18.640 That's the way he put it.
00:14:19.540 And also he said, you obviously, what you said touched a nerve center, you know, because the thing that struck me was, you know, if you believe in something, it doesn't matter what somebody else says.
00:14:31.520 And I thought, why are all these people getting so defensive, you know, because, you know, I said that sin is embedded in the culture.
00:14:41.040 It's embedded in the legislation.
00:14:42.680 That's a reality.
00:14:44.260 See, too.
00:14:45.260 But you see, what we have here, somebody actually sent me a video.
00:14:48.740 I don't know where it came from.
00:14:49.940 But the heading of the video was, Bishop sanctions priest because of the woke anti-Catholic mob.
00:15:00.540 But it also shows to me here, though, you see, how confident the culture is to totally try to eliminate the preaching of the word of God.
00:15:14.180 And why did it become like that?
00:15:16.500 Because basically, as one man, you know, one man said to me, he said, he said, do you realize, he said, that it's a shock to what you said is a shock to the people because they have never heard it like this.
00:15:27.740 And I thought, maybe, and I said, if that's the case, and this is, this is a sad parody on the leadership of the church in this country.
00:15:40.780 A priest said to me not too long ago, he said, you know, you can't preach the gospel, he said, anymore because it might offend someone.
00:15:48.380 Now, this came from him personally, but it seems to me that that kind of reflects a lot of the mentality among the hierarchy and clergy, maybe here, maybe in America, because I spend a lot of my time in America, might be in America as well.
00:16:06.900 And it's all over Europe, actually.
00:16:09.160 It is indeed.
00:16:09.660 Because now there's disunity within the leadership.
00:16:13.220 Cardinals are contradicting cardinals, bishops contradicting bishops.
00:16:17.100 They're saying things that, you know, would be considered heresy, you know, are creating, I mean, causing apostasy.
00:16:25.640 But like, I don't know, there doesn't seem to be any central authority now that says, this is the truth.
00:16:33.040 This is the gospel.
00:16:34.660 This is the teaching of the church traditionally.
00:16:36.840 One man said to me today on a radio interview, he said, you know, you base what you're saying, he said, on the scriptures.
00:16:45.820 He said, but that was written 2,000 years ago, he said, by men.
00:16:49.800 And I said, look, it's the same old stuff that I heard umpteen times by people who don't want to listen to the scriptures.
00:16:56.140 They try to undermine its authority, you know, too.
00:16:59.440 But I said, it's interesting, isn't it, that if the scriptures were only written by men, why have they lasted 2,000 years?
00:17:06.840 Despite all the attacks, despite all the sin, even within the church herself, the scriptures continues.
00:17:15.260 And I said, they did so because they're the inspired word of God, and they don't change.
00:17:21.540 Indeed not.
00:17:22.280 And as St. Paul said, you know, preach the truth in season and out of season.
00:17:26.820 It certainly seems to be out of season now.
00:17:29.500 But doing that will grant you the promise of our Lord.
00:17:33.660 If they hated me, they will hate you.
00:17:35.280 If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.
00:17:36.900 And that came to me, you know, for, you know, and otherwise, he said, if they persecuted me, they'll persecute you, too, you see.
00:17:44.900 And then you don't realize, I mean, there was nobody more shocked than I was when all this furore, you know, came about and so on and so forth, you know.
00:17:53.160 But then you see, on Tuesday, when I celebrated Mass, you know, in the church, and a man came to me Monday, and he said, you know, after Mass this morning, a group of people congregated in the back of the church.
00:18:10.160 And they were going to write a letter, and they would all sign it and send it to the bishop complaining about what I said on Sunday, you know.
00:18:18.340 So Tuesday, after Mass, I said, I want to say something to you, I said.
00:18:23.260 I said, it was brought to my attention yesterday that all this took place.
00:18:27.080 And I said, look, I challenge any of you to show me that what I said was not in accord with the teaching of the scriptures or the teaching of the church, you know.
00:18:35.880 And if you can, I said the same thing to the bishop, then I'll apologize.
00:18:39.300 I said, but I want you to know this.
00:18:41.320 I said, God hates hypocrisy.
00:18:44.700 Now, there was a standing ovation by the people.
00:18:49.840 I mean, it was unbelievable.
00:18:52.800 I mean, the contradiction is unbelievable.
00:18:55.060 But you know what I've heard so far?
00:18:56.980 So, so, so many people have called and said it was high time that this was spoken.
00:19:02.680 So I thought, look, Holy Spirit, you don't make it easy for us, you know.
00:19:06.600 But you can't be shut up, you know.
00:19:08.040 You can't be muted.
00:19:09.840 You're going to use us in any way you want to.
00:19:13.860 And I said, look, I guess in humility, I should be grateful, you know, that you use me.
00:19:19.140 Just a quick note before we return.
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00:19:43.560 And now, back to the video.
00:19:45.220 Let's talk about Leo Vradiqar, the prime minister there.
00:19:51.380 Who is he?
00:19:54.120 What did you say about him that garnered the headlines?
00:19:56.900 And literally, we're going to show an image now of the newspapers.
00:20:00.140 On the front pages of the newspaper, the prime minister responding to yourself.
00:20:03.960 I said, nothing, you see, about him.
00:20:07.120 Nothing at all.
00:20:07.960 What I said basically was that the church doesn't reject people who have a homosexual orientation.
00:20:16.100 I said, what the church and the scriptures condemn is a sexual relationship between two men, two women, just as she condemns a sexual relationship with a man or a woman who is in a relationship outside of the marriage.
00:20:29.260 I said, the same principle applies, you see.
00:20:32.100 And I said, and so I said, if they do not repent, I said, this is the reality.
00:20:37.720 If they do not repent, I said, and do not seek forgiveness, then they will go to hell.
00:20:42.600 And that's the reality.
00:20:43.980 And I said, better to find out that now than the day you die, you see.
00:20:48.940 So I didn't single out any individual at all.
00:20:52.980 Because my whole thrust was basically, look, God calls us to seek, to repent and seek forgiveness for our sins.
00:21:01.180 He does that out of love.
00:21:03.740 So be able to name your sin.
00:21:07.140 And then you have the opportunity to repent because he'll give you the grace.
00:21:11.100 And then he certainly would be more than happy to forgive you.
00:21:15.060 As St. Paul said, God is more willing to forgive you than you are willing to ask for forgiveness.
00:21:19.980 And lo and behold, you see, but you see, they try to bring everything in, you know.
00:21:26.320 They do.
00:21:26.780 They do.
00:21:27.200 But it is amazing that the prime minister takes it upon himself then to respond to your comments.
00:21:36.060 As you said, you're a priest filling in for another priest at his parish.
00:21:41.500 And it's not a huge parish, is it?
00:21:43.500 No, not at all.
00:21:44.700 Not at all.
00:21:45.240 So here is a perfect example of our Lord's amplification such that the prime minister of
00:21:53.100 the country responds and has gained international interest as well.
00:21:58.140 Because the truth, spoken as it should be, speaks so loudly, despite the best efforts of
00:22:05.120 those who want to squelch it, it can't be squelched.
00:22:08.400 I mean, it's incredible.
00:22:09.000 There's a group here that call themselves the Association of Priests, where they're promoting,
00:22:15.620 you know, married priesthood, you know, they're promoting ordaining women, you know, all those
00:22:21.000 old things that have begun way back in the 70s and are continuing, you know, to today.
00:22:27.360 So somebody, one of the radio people told me today that, you know, the Association of Priests,
00:22:33.160 you know, have condemned you, you know, and maybe I should, maybe it wasn't very loving
00:22:38.040 on my part, you know, I said, actually, the Association of Priests, I said, are Judas's
00:22:43.500 to the church.
00:22:45.460 Because, and I said, they're leading the people, they're causing confusion to the people,
00:22:48.960 because they're not in line with the teaching of the scriptures and the teaching of the
00:22:52.780 church itself, the catechism.
00:22:54.560 So this guy, anyway, he said, oh, the catechism, he said, well, that was just made up after
00:22:58.880 Vatican II.
00:22:59.440 So one of the things, John Henry, here is that the understanding of church is almost
00:23:08.180 zero.
00:23:09.820 It's like one other organization that's supposed to make people feel good.
00:23:15.680 And the other thing is that the understanding of church here, unlike America, is that it's
00:23:21.140 the hierarchy and the clergy, that's it.
00:23:23.960 A lot of the people you see, they don't see themselves as church at all.
00:23:27.700 And as a result, then, you see, I suppose, the understanding of church, like, I think
00:23:34.700 that all the bishops and the priests should definitely have courses in ecclesiology.
00:23:41.500 Because if we don't see the church as the body of Christ, or the bride of Christ, you
00:23:46.260 know, then we don't see Jesus as her head, saving her from every wrinkle and every spark and
00:23:53.780 stain and so on and so forth.
00:23:55.020 And saving the church from every spark, wrinkle and stain means saving us, her members, her
00:24:00.820 stones from every spark, wrinkle and stain.
00:24:04.600 And as a result of that, then, the people do not see themselves as sinners in need of forgiveness.
00:24:09.200 Very often in penance services over the number of years, people have come up to me and said,
00:24:14.800 Father, I have no sin.
00:24:16.280 I'm just here for a blessing.
00:24:18.720 And I think, God help us all, you know, I mean, I mean, I guess facetiously, you know,
00:24:25.840 I said to one person, you know, you shouldn't be here.
00:24:27.700 You should be in heaven because that's the only place where there's no sin.
00:24:30.100 So that's the state, you know, that we're in.
00:24:35.260 The other thing that's really sad to me is that I know priests, actually, who would love
00:24:40.160 to speak the truth as they find it in the scriptures and the catechism, but they're afraid
00:24:46.340 because of the backlash and because they think they might not actually get backing from their
00:24:52.540 superiors.
00:24:54.580 And to me, because like Tuesday, I thought, this is not really a national affair.
00:25:01.960 This is a family affair.
00:25:03.680 And we need to resolve it within the family.
00:25:06.860 You know, we don't air our dirty laundry outside to people who really have no interest
00:25:12.080 in us at all.
00:25:13.300 See, but he went to the press, you see, he went to the radio station.
00:25:17.460 And I thought, well, you know, it's out there now.
00:25:20.140 But people did actually say to me, you know, refuse all interviews.
00:25:24.160 I said, well, why would I refuse all interviews?
00:25:27.740 I mean, I really have nothing to be ashamed of because what I said was not mine, even though
00:25:34.300 I totally believe it.
00:25:36.440 It's the Lord's.
00:25:39.420 And I said, the day I die, whenever that might be, that's what he's going to say.
00:25:43.160 You know, were you, did you faithfully proclaim my word?
00:25:48.140 And Father, the only dirty laundry in this affair is actually the bishops, which he went
00:25:55.480 and aired in the first place.
00:25:57.320 The story, in a way, doesn't have very much to do with you, although you're the focus of
00:26:02.020 it.
00:26:03.220 It's really unbelievable.
00:26:05.600 Yeah, because people said to me, you know, they said, do you realize that the people didn't
00:26:08.740 walk out on you?
00:26:10.280 They walked out on Jesus Christ because you were giving his word, you're undilusive.
00:26:16.460 Mm-hmm.
00:26:18.540 Yeah.
00:26:19.200 I mean, what are your thoughts for Prime Minister Vradhikar?
00:26:24.880 I understand he fancies himself, or is he Catholic?
00:26:29.080 Oh, yeah.
00:26:29.880 He is.
00:26:30.380 And see, he's in an active sexual relationship, you see, so-called marriage, you see?
00:26:35.940 But he's the same man, you see, before the Eighth Amendment here, before they got rid of the
00:26:39.280 Eighth Amendment, which protected the child in the womb, you see?
00:26:42.420 Mm-hmm.
00:26:43.160 He was all, he was definitely pro-life.
00:26:45.480 Then he switched to be so-called pro-choice, you see, too.
00:26:49.380 Yeah.
00:26:49.800 So that's what we have, you see.
00:26:51.280 I think, I think basically, you know, you know the old saying, you know, you can't be
00:26:55.660 a little bit pregnant.
00:26:56.700 You either are or you aren't.
00:26:58.600 I think Jesus said, didn't he be a yes?
00:27:00.420 Let a yes be a yes and a no be a no.
00:27:02.620 You know, we're either Christian, you know, in our worldview, in our beliefs and so on,
00:27:08.040 or we're not.
00:27:09.220 There's really, I don't think anyone, there's really any in between.
00:27:13.600 We're not half Christians or just a bit Christian.
00:27:17.040 We either are or we aren't.
00:27:18.580 And so that's what we're facing here, you see.
00:27:21.020 But the other thing about it in Ireland, you see, the bishops were mute during the whole
00:27:25.920 pre-Eight Amendment, during the whole referendum, you know, to legalize same-sex marriage.
00:27:33.300 There wasn't a word, you know, like when we had here in Kerry, we had the, as I said
00:27:40.500 earlier, the HSC sending a dash van, supposedly offering condoms.
00:27:45.760 Not a word from the shepherds, you know, calling parents to be vigilant about what's been given
00:27:53.540 to their children and so on.
00:27:55.000 Not a word.
00:27:55.740 And ironically, the van actually was in the grounds of the Kerry Diocesan Youth Center
00:28:03.720 in Tralee.
00:28:06.100 You know, whether that was deliberate or accidental, I don't know, but certainly it was not a very
00:28:10.780 good message for the people.
00:28:13.680 Any final thoughts for us, Father?
00:28:16.040 A lot of people watching what's going on there will be praying for you, for Ireland.
00:28:21.640 Great, that's fantastic.
00:28:23.100 And any final thoughts for us?
00:28:25.740 I guess, you know, one of my heroes is the Curie of Ars.
00:28:30.100 The Curie of Ars, when he went to Ars, you know, was told by his fellow priests, you know,
00:28:34.320 you're destroying the parish because he was emphasizing the importance of repentance and
00:28:39.180 forgiveness.
00:28:40.340 Well, guess what?
00:28:41.480 The parish grew and grew and grew and grew.
00:28:45.040 And he spent all those hours in the confession.
00:28:46.960 And I'm convinced that if the bishops and the priests preached repentance of sin and the forgiveness
00:28:55.500 that God wants to administer through his mercy, that the churches would be full because no one
00:29:04.140 can forgive except God.
00:29:05.800 And you know yourself, and I know myself from my own experience, that when I go to confession,
00:29:12.180 for example, and the priest prays the absolution that was over me, to be able to say to myself,
00:29:19.680 God has completely forgiven me.
00:29:22.520 He has given me a grace now, you know, to strive to be a better person, to be more loving,
00:29:28.700 more merciful, and also to be more truthful, to be more honest as well.
00:29:33.160 That is the greatest high that cannot be offered by any drug or any man-made thing.
00:29:41.680 And so I'm convinced, actually, that even I hear young people.
00:29:45.640 I had an email from a young woman in Dublin, and she said, if repentance and how to repent,
00:29:53.360 you know, and what is a sin was preached, that the young people would flock back
00:29:58.680 to the church, because we all need to know that we are unconditionally loved by God.
00:30:05.720 And that, you know, as you know yourself, the Canticle of Zechariah, which says that actually
00:30:10.820 the knowledge of salvation is experienced in the forgiveness of sins.
00:30:15.760 And I said it's the congregation.
00:30:17.160 I said it's in the forgiveness of sins that we actually see and experience God actually loving
00:30:24.240 and be merciful to us.
00:30:27.220 Yeah, absolutely beautiful.
00:30:30.860 Father, I can't thank you enough.
00:30:33.140 I am so glad our Lord chose to amplify your voice and to bring you not only to all over
00:30:39.820 Ireland, but also to all over the world.
00:30:42.360 May God bless you.
00:30:43.620 Thank you so much.
00:30:44.980 And so may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit descend on
00:30:49.780 us and remain with us forever.
00:30:51.480 And Lord, may your Holy Spirit please trust the spirits of all those who feel for whatever
00:30:58.440 reason that the word of God was offensive, that they would be converted and come to know
00:31:03.280 the love that you so want them to experience, a love they cannot find anyone else except from
00:31:09.920 you.
00:31:10.220 And so for this, Lord, we thank you.
00:31:12.620 Also, thank you, John Henry, for being a voice through which Jesus Christ can speak.
00:31:20.820 God bless you and all who work with you.
00:31:23.880 Tim as well.
00:31:25.220 Thank you very much.
00:31:25.920 It was a privilege.
00:31:26.340 Thank you.
00:31:28.840 And God bless all of you.
00:31:30.660 We'll see you next time.
00:31:33.660 Hi, everyone.
00:31:34.460 This is John Henry Weston.
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