CHICAGO (ChurchMilitant.com) – The Coalition for Canceled Priests is confronting the cardinal of Chicago.
The coalition mobilized Saturday on the steps of Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral in protest of Cdl. Blase Cupich’s heavy-handed attack on the Traditional Latin Mass — and shortly after at the Windy City’s Federal Plaza for the annual March for Life to protest his hypocritical stance on life issues.
The coalition prayed the Rosary, seeking the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor to win the battle for Tradition and the battle for life.
Coalition vice president Craig Holuj explained to Church Militant why they were invoking the help of the Blessed Mother: “We came to seek the intercession of Our Lady, as our leaders seem intent on fanning these flames of destruction. Canon 212 grants us the right and a duty to stand up against these injustices that are being undertaken against our priests and the Traditional Latin Mass.”
Holuj also addressed the group’s pro-life concerns:
We walked from Holy Name Cathedral to Federal Plaza to show our support for The March For Life Chicago. The Coalition believes that life is the pre-eminent issue and should not be hidden amidst a seamless garment of social issues. Sadly, Cdl. Cupich, who hid behind a mask while on stage, used the opportunity to talk about a myriad of social issues and the pandemic. Empowered by Canon 212, we respectfully remind His Eminence that life is the pre-eminent issue, and he should immediately cease his attack on the Traditional Latin Mass.
The coalition has a history of defending pro-life and orthodox priests like Wisconsin priest Fr. James Altman, Texas priest Fr. Clay Hunt and Michigan priest Fr. Eduard Perrone, among others.
Another canceled priest is Chicago’s Fr. Paul Kalchik, forced into hiding in September 2018 after Cupich sent two priests who threatened to have him taken away by police if he did not accede to the cardinal’s order to be committed to St. Luke’s Institute, a scandal-wracked priest rehabilitation center in Maryland.
The orders came only weeks after Kalchik’s parishioners burned a sacrilegious flag the depicts a cross entwined with a rainbow banner, which once hung in the sanctuary back when Resurrection Parish was dubbed Chicago’s “gay” church (long before Kalchik became pastor).
While Cupich tried silencing a faithful priest, he regularly promoted homosexualist clerics like Jesuit Fr. James Martin — who asserts chastity is not required of homosexuals while also supporting transgenderism in children.
Despite being a regular keynote speaker at the Chicago March for life, Cupich has a record of downplaying the slaughter of the unborn and the sale of their body parts — equating this barbarism with social justice issues in an op-ed in 2015:
We should be no less appalled by the indifference toward the thousands of people who die daily for lack of decent medical care; who are denied rights by a broken immigration system and by racism; who suffer in hunger, joblessness and want; who pay the price of violence in gun-saturated neighborhoods; or who are executed by the state in the name of justice.
His claim stands in stark contrast to the statements of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who have labeled pro-life issues the “pre-eminent priority.”
Cupich’s comments drew a rare public rebuke from then-Philadelphia Abp. Charles Chaput. In a 2015 article in CatholicPhilly.com titled “There is No Equivalence,” he wrote that Cupich’s aforementioned issues are serious, but not equivalent.
“The deliberate killing of innocent life is a uniquely wicked act,” he wrote. “No amount of contextualizing or deflecting our attention to other issues can obscure that,” Chaput responded. Cardinal Cupich never walked back his comments.
In addition to standing for a culture of life, the Coalition for Canceled Priests pledges a mission of standing up for faithful priests unjustly targeted or silenced by bishops like Cdl. Cupich. Those who wish to learn more may click here.
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