The Bland Leading the Bland

Today's homily from Our Lady of Ransom, Rayleigh, Essex, UK.

Do I spend my Sundays monitoring homilies so I can bring you the dodgy ones? No, of course not. But this horrendous mess of a homily was brought to my attention by a troubled parishioner.

You might remember Fox from this post where he denied the existence of hell. Subsequently he uploaded a video where he explained to his parishioners the Church has got it wrong and he has figured it out - he's figured out what Jesus really meant and it isn't the "horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible teachings punched into us as children". This homily follows some of the same themes and hits some of these same notes.

Soon after I posted that blog, the video evidence was removed and Fox appeared to have his preaching faculties removed as he stopped preaching homilies after the Gospel. It didn't really stop him though as he just gave his little lessons in abject heresy before the Mass started. Now he has started giving ranty homilies after the Gospel again. I've recorded this one and uploaded it to my own Youtube channel for posterity! And it is a corker!

Fox begins by explaining how the Catholic Church is not making us happy and this is a big problem because, according to Fr Fox, that's why we go to Church, right?

If you go to a Pentecostal or an Evangelical Church, you'll be much happier (apparently). So what's wrong with the Catholic Church?

According to Fr Fox it is all the regulations, rules, dogmas, doctrines, routines, rubric, regulations that are put upon us.

So many people will not come to Church - young people especially - because of the rules. They grind us down and that is not healthy. Perhaps Fox is not aware of the facts and what actually is attracting the youth. I hear there aren't many young people at Rayleigh these days!

People with big brains, who know the bible, who know doctrines and dogmas want to grind us down and this is why people are walking away from the Church.

These people who have big brains know nothing about life (apparently).

Keep it simple. The mark of healthy religion is one that doesn't say we know it all. Extremist Catholics are very, very dangerous. Don't hang around with them because they can trap our minds, It is OK not to know. What we can't do is say when I was a child Sr Mary-Therese taught me x, y and z - Sr Mary Therese was wrong, mummy and daddy were wrong and not just the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church can be just as dodgy in this way as well.

It helps no one if we know doctrine and the bible.

John 14:23: "Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them."

John 8:31-32: "Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”"

If we are to ignore the Bible, doctrine, dogma and just rely on life experience, how can we even know Jesus?

This is a priest who has lost he way and we must pray for him, but should he be allowed to continue like this without any correction? Without any help or guidance? 

The huge irony is that he has, himself, driven many away from this parish with his strange anti-catholic rants. You don't see many children at Mass in Rayleigh anymore. Fox does not distribute Holy Communion but leaves it to his Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion as you can see on the Parish livestream. He only says Mass in public on Saturdays, Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays according to the Parish website. Other Masses are "private".

Fr Paul Fox is a man in trouble. How much longer will he remain a priest one wonders? He seems to really dislike the Catholic faith.