Cleansing Fire

Defending Truth and Tradition in the Roman Catholic Church

The Repentance of Fr. David Palmer

October 20th, 2020, Promulgated by Diane Harris

I was delighted to receive this email from a friend, verifying the words attributed to Fr. David Palmer, a Catholic Priest in Wales, of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His very simple and clear words are the essence of confession. He has examined his conscience, recognized and admitted his sin, and made a firm purpose of amendment to never do it again. In his courage, and by his confession, Fr. Palmer confronts the overwhelming pressure of filial obedience to the bishop, who ordered him to deny the sacraments to souls, with the reality of what he was ordained to do — feed souls.

Consider what Christ said to Peter. Thrice the Lord asked if Peter loved him, and then Christ followed Peter’s three declarations of love with three orders to tend and feed the lambs and sheep. Non-negotiables. Christ didn’t say “Build Churches” or  “Write the Bible.” First of all, Peter was to feed the flock. And The Lord’s Prayer specifically tells us to ask for our “daily [supernatural] bread.” Does a Father hand his child a scorpion? Doesn’t a priest feed his flock by his own hands?

Read all of Chapter 34 in Ezekiel, and see how God Himself came to feed the sheep because of the failure of the Levitical priests to care for the sheep. Notice how many of the current news articles show an awakening to the failures of the bishops en masse, badly using their own priests by succumbing to governmental pressures and fraternal pressures within their own brotherhood. That every single US bishop caved to the shutdown of Churches and Eucharist is an indictment of their intent. And each is totally responsible for the bad fruit of his own closure decision, which each had canonical power to resist.

The keyword in Fr. Palmer’s writing is ‘repent’ and it must be as public as he is making it because a public sin can’t be properly atoned privately.

It is sad when prideful obedience to hierarchy starves the sheep, a 75 day shutdown in feeding the flock. That very lack of care of the flock by the priests of Jeremiah and Ezekiel’s time led to loss of the Levitical priestly status. I am reminded of the day’s Gospel reading from Luke, Chapter 12, answering Peter’s question: “And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?'” And what is the proper feeding time for the sheep? It surely is not every 75 days. It is ‘daily’, as mentioned in the Lord’s Prayer.

It seems we are in for a rough ride as our own priests and bishops struggle with their consciences, without expressing repentance. But all is essential preparation for the next government lockdown, sure to come and probably soon.

For an expanded version of these words, before Fr. Palmer’s declaration, see the posts:                                                                 https://www.cleansingfire.org/2020/09/when-the-flock-isnt-fed-it-starves/

and: https://www.cleansingfire.org/2020/10/dear-bishops-hurry-up-please-its-time/

Do not misunderstand this brief post; much more is covered in the links above. This is not a tirade against bishops or their priests. I have come to understand that it is not possible to love the Eucharist without also loving the priests who confect the sacred sacrament. My sadness is about the pressure so many committed priests are under to ‘obey’ when every bone of their body fights against starving the flock. Some have been pushed into sin not of their creation, but of their surrender. Pray for our priests, we say over and over. Love them. Forgive them. But most especially pray for them, that they seek forgiveness for any element of complicity with civil or ecclesial power, or any element of self-shriving. Our being fed well depends on their holiness.

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