We Need More Priests Like Fr. Peter West
By REY FLORES
“…But since you are neither hot nor cold, but only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth” — Rev. 3:16.
On February 9, NJ.com published a smear piece against Fr. Peter West written by Mark Mueller, who obviously has a liberal bias in his writing, judging by his body of work which is published on his Facebook page.
Apparently it’s been a slow news week in New Jersey because Mueller had nothing better to do than stalk Fr. Peter West’s Facebook page, scrounging for any “incriminating” evidence that Fr. West is too…conservative. Gasp!
Fr. West has been a longtime pro-life warrior who served as vice president of missions at Human Life International in Front Royal, Va., and is currently the associate pastor at St. John’s Catholic Church in Orange, N.J.
On his Facebook page, Fr. West has made it no secret that he is passionate about our Catholic Church and about pro-life efforts, and he has railed against the many anti-Catholic social agendas, including, of course, abortion, crybaby liberal millennials, former President Obama, and recently the ridiculous anti-Trump rioters known as Social Justice Warriors (SJWs).
Most awesome I think is that Fr. West, like President Trump, is not afraid to call the Islamic Muslim terrorist threat exactly what it is…a threat. Worse yet is that if you look at Europe and even here in San Bernardino, Calif., and Orlando, Fla., we have seen the evil Islamic threat manifest itself into actual deadly acts of terror.
Fr. West has also been very supportive of President Donald J. Trump, during the presidential election and now as well. Father will express himself in no uncertain terms about Trump’s detractors and those who refuse to accept his presidency or any of Trump’s policies and cabinet nominations.
As far as I know, this is still a free country and Fr. West has every right to share his thoughts, views, and perspectives on social media as long as it isn’t anything that goes against the Church.
A friend of mine on Facebook pointed out that “isn’t it strange how the left never gets upset when the bishops push for socialism or open borders? Or, when the Pope oversteps his authority and preaches the climate change doctrine?”
It is my absolute belief that if we had more courageous priests like Fr. West, we wouldn’t have Catholics using contraception, still aborting some of their babies, and supporting the perverse homosexual agendas which many parishes across the country openly promote.
Why isn’t Mueller writing about that? I have seen rainbow flags hanging in Catholic churches in California, New York, Chicago, and Atlanta, but no one in the liberal biased media seems to be shocked by it.
Like a little tattle-tale, Mueller runs to liberal clergy in the Archdiocese of Newark and pointy-headed professors who say that what Fr. Peter West is doing is wrong. Of course, people who think like Mueller, clergy or not, are going to say Father has stepped out of bounds. I say the complete opposite. I say we need more priests like Fr. West.
Also, according to Mueller’s piece, Jim Goodness, a spokesman for the Newark Archdiocese, stated to NJ Advance Media that the archdiocese would move to curtail West’s political comments.
“Certainly, a priest doesn’t give up his civil liberties when he is ordained, and he maintains the same right to freedom of expression as anyone else in the United States,” Goodness said. “That said, we are concerned about Fr. West’s comments and actions, and will be addressing them according to the protocols of the Church.”
For more on this, see:
www.thechristianreview.com/a-pro-life-priest-faces-possible-sanctions-by-his-archdiocese/
Our problems come from lukewarm priests who would rather preach Kumbaya sermons about being “nice” and making Jesus your friend than remind us about the timeless truths of God and His one holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church.
I was thoroughly disgusted many times when I still lived in Chicago and saw a handful of parishes actively campaigning on behalf of pro-abortion Barack Obama, hosting Planned Parenthood fundraisers in their parish halls, and performing ceremonies in parish halls for same-sex couples. Of course nobody in the liberal news media would bat an eyelash at any of that because it’s politically correct.
One of my former parishes even hosted then-State Sen. Barack Obama to speak at the parish on behalf of his campaign.
On the other hand, I love it when I hear priests talking about Heaven, Hell, the burning flames of Purgatory, and all that we need to do to save our eternal souls. Praying, fasting, Confession, penance, adoration, works of charity and mercy — you know, being authentically Catholic.
I find it refreshing to my soul when I hear priests courageously talk about the absolute spiritual warfare we are in, and about how demons constantly seek the ruin and destruction of our souls and the souls of our wives and our children.
In a recent Facebook post Fr. Peter posted: “The Satanic Temple is hosting a pro-abortion fundraiser on Valentine’s Day titled ‘Hugs and Kisses for Satan’.”
That “Temple,” according to dailycaller.com, is seeking to raise funds in support of two pro-abortion lawsuits filed against the state of Missouri. Both are filed on behalf of a pregnant woman seeking an abortion in the state. She objects to laws requiring a 72-hour waiting period before the abortion procedure and that she must be given reading material saying the procedure ends a human life. The suits are filed at both the state and federal level on religious grounds.
That post was neither offensive nor controversial: What Fr. West did was inform us of yet another attack from the enemy, and when I read that post, the first thing I said was a St. Michael prayer. So Father both kept me abreast of the enemy and motivated me to act through prayer.
While Facebook is a tool which has been used for objectionable purposes, it can be used to help get people engaged in what we believe in and are willing to fight for. In this case I am writing to support Fr. Peter West and asking you all to keep him in prayer, and to post this and all of your comments of support on social media everywhere.
Rey Flores can be reached at reyfloresusa@gmail.com.
