Please pay close attention to this Vortex. With all due respect to LifeSiteNews, their petition for Fr Altman may have the undesired effect of causing petition signers to believe that their signing of the petition is all that needs to be done for Father Altman. Nothing could be further from the truth. Voris is also right in noting how many on the left are far more willing to work for their causes than are many good Catholics for the Church.
I agree that the danger of thinking that signing petitions is all one needs to do is altogether real, but to dismiss the usefulness of petitions outright and with apodicticity, as Voris does is presumptuous.
ReplyDeleteIs there any documented case where online petitions were a key factor in correcting an evil situation?
DeleteI have received some e-mails to that effect, but to be honest I cannot recall who sent them. To my best recollection, they concerned products of commercial vendors.
DeleteI think petitions can be useful. The LifeSiteNews petition encouraged me to write the CMC open letter to Bishop Callahan. Mike Voris and company have a penchant for criticizing any faithful organization that isn't them. I was shocked at their vicious attack on Michael Matt and The Remnant. That's when I decided not to promote them any more. Now they are after LifeSiteNews. Here's an article about some of their petitions and their effectiveness.https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/here-is-how-lifesite-petitions-have-been-very-effective?utm_source=featured&utm_campaign=standard
ReplyDeleteI am sick of the circular firing squads. It's time for Voris and company to holsters their guns. Some people like me are disgusted by it and think they need to develop a little humility and the ability to work with others who are on the same side instead of going after allies. I won't link to anything on their site any more. Too bad because some of it is worthwhile, but I can almost always find similar material somewhere else.
The petitions can be useful - if people aren't using them as a low-effort substitute for actually acting on their own. This particular Vortex resonates with me because I myself have run into Catholics who wax indignant about the state of the church, but when I ask them to join me in actually doing something (letters, lit-drops, coming to the abortion mills, etc) they always have some sort of excuse why they won't join, or they poo-poo the suggestion without offering any alternatives.
DeleteVoris is spot-on correct when he points out how people on the left are ready to be active for their warped beliefs, but too many of us are way too reluctant to step out of our comfort zones and take some basic actions. I am part of a facebook group ostensibly created to help Fr Altman and that regrettable tendency can be found in abundance there, although there are also others ready to act.
My $.02: I don't think petitions aren't as effective as they used to be. I remember when the internet was young, there were some good Catholics who got some things reversed through petitions, but it's been overused. I don't think there's any harm in signing one, provided you are smart enough to know that petitions aren't sufficient, which I think most people are, but at least it's SOMETHING. Mr Voris said Fr Martin was more effective because he uses public opinion, well a big enough petition drive may perhaps show a bishop where public opinion truly lies. I'll sign them, but I won't stop there. God Bless all!
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