An Editorial by Br. Alexis Bugnolo
There are 4 different kinds of Catholic Apostolates on the Internet/Social Media, and CATHOLICS should take note to discern which kinds they are BEFORE SUPPORTING THEM FINANCIALLY:
1) Apostolates by Priests who have the care of souls (Pastors). These men have a Divine Mandate (munus) to teach, and if you find any doing it well, support these men first of all, since that is the will of Jesus Christ, and is scripture based (cf. St. Paul). — In this regard, we should give priority to Cancelled Priests, who are being persecuted by their own Bishops for preaching the truth. I highly recommend only one priest in the world, who by his writings, actions and counsel has shown himself to be one of few true Catholic priest warriors still among us: Father Walter Covens, a priest of the Diocese of Martinique (see his blog here or his FB page here).
2) Apostolates by Catholic Religious who are mendicants and live by begging, whether nuns or priests or brothers.
3) Apostolates by registered charities and organizations which espouse Catholic Faith and values, and are required by law to send all such funds to specific purposes.
4) Apostolates by private individuals who keep all the $ for themselves, since they do this as a business.
5) Grifters, who are a species of #4, but talk about all the problems and scandals to milk your outrage but NEVER propose any solutions, because their purpose is to simply ride the waves of discontent
6) Bishops, Priests or Lay men or women who start a “Catholic” apostolate to make themselves the center of all authority, found a sect, start a schism, or go rogue, to promote anything under the cover of the Catholic Faith, so as to steal Christ’s sheep from His Sheepfold, the Catholic Church, or who are govt. agents.
It’s obvious that #1 is the top and #4 should be your last choice. Since Vatican II a good number of clergy are left destitute and religious orders failed, because the laity stopped supporting their apostolates which were vital for Christian formation.
And obviously, we should never support #5 or #6
For the sake of transparency:
IN REGARD TO MYSELF: I am a mendicant, in #2 here, and FromRome.Info is my apostolate.
IN REGARD TO SAVE OLD ST. MARY’S INC., which receives all the donations I solicit for my needs, its a #3.
IN REGARD TO ORDO MILITARIS INC. AND CROSS AZURE UKRAINE: these are #3 organizations. The former is a US for profit corporation, which pays no salaries, and from which no one gets remuneration. The second is a Ukrainian Registered Charity, which supplies life saving materials to the victims of war and support our volunteers who work for the organization in Ukraine while they do this work.
For full disclosure, the Association, Ordo Militaris Catholics, which I and AJ founded, is a group of Catholics who found organizations which are #3 and which support groups of the kinds of 1, 2, and 3. — If you see us attacked on social media, its from groups which are 4, 5, and 6, and they do this because we are are #3. (This is my opinion, obviously).
By “association”, here, said in regard to Ordo Militaris Catholicus, we refer to a private association of the faithful not recognized and not seeking recognition of the Catholic Hierarchy. The Association itself is neither incorporated nor constituted in civil law; and does not receive funds or pay salaries. It exists to begin new initiatives and support the corporations founded by its members. One becomes a member of the Association by paying a subscription to the member services offered by Ordo Militaris Inc. or by supporting our humanitarian works such as Cross Azure Ukraine. The members try to live up to our Holy Rule, which is a document for the inspiration of members and which expresses the moral ideals we hold to in our on the ground works of mercy. To join, see here for more information.
The information here is current as of September 7, 2023: Obviously, with major support any of the four above mentions organizations might be able to hire staff.
