"Any Catholic who accepts, condones, promotes or defends abortion, homosexuality, radical feminism, Euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, a married priesthood and female priests or is willing to compromise his faith because he places greater emphasis in pleasing his fellow man rather than his Creator is a de facto practitioner in "Second-hand Catholicism" simply because one cannot have such views without having developed them through the influence of other, wayward and confused Catholics who have allowed non-Catholic and pagan ideas to cloud their thinking."

    We have all heard ad nauseum the warnings about second-hand smoke, which basically entails another taking in what surrounding smokers release into the air. Over the last 40 years, it has not been nicotine smoke but another kind of smoke that has greatly crippled the Catholic Church for she, in letting down her guard and not adhering to the absolute dogmas and doctrines passed down, allowed the smoke of satan to filter into the rank and file. This second-hand smoke of satan is so rankled that it has made the air of Catholic truth rancid in Rome and corrupted in the curia. So deeply has this second-hand smoke pervaded priests and parishes, and saturated schools and seminaries that it has become known by another name, one that the Apostle Saint John identified in Apocalypse 3: 16 with the Church of Laodicia. This second-hand smoke of satan has clotted hearts and souls so much so that it is known as "second-hand Catholicism."

What is it?

    "Second-hand Catholicism" is simply measuring and practicing one's Catholic faith by taking in what surrounding Catholics release in words, thoughts and actions. It is closely associated with what I call "Calculator Catholicism" which is practicing one's faith based on polls, statistics and public opinion and, of course, "Cafeteria or Buffet Catholicism" which is practicing one's faith based on a pick and choose selection of what one finds agreeable while ignoring the rest.

    "Second-hand Catholicism" fits nicely with this society's moral and ethical cowardice whereby what is right takes a back seat to the safety of numbers, regardless of the moral implications. History has shown us that it is far easier to go with the crowd than to stand alone as Saint John The Baptist, then Jesus Christ, and still later people like Saint Thomas More did, not to mention the millions of countless martyrs and saints who would not compromise, would not cave to mammon. Our great martyrs stood against the majority majestically, and so such courage and integrity is the sign of a deep, powerful and real faith. Only by standing with those who would not compromise can we be assured we will not be affected by the devastating, choking clouds that gather wherever the smoke of satan pervades.

    The typical practitioner of "Second-hand Catholicism" believes that he or she can merely run behind the crowd, pretend to be "taking it all in" in the interest of fairness and open tolerance, and eventually come to a "unifying decision". All of this is, of course, so much rubbish, for Christ showed us clearly that if what we are doing is widely popular or accepted, we are probably not following Christ. It gives one to pause and wonder about the popularity of popes and bishops and the praise lavished upon them from those who relish vice in a world practically devoid today of virtue.

Why "Second-hand Catholicism" is so dangerous

    Like the long-term symptoms of second-hand smoke, the long-term symptoms of "Second-hand Catholicism" are much more dangerous and clearly wrong for a number of reasons. First, it is founded in cowardice and hypocrisy and therefore has no place near Christ Who lambasted the Scribes and Pharisees as Hypocrites. Second, it is actually worse than open, arrogant defiance because at least such defiance, although wrong, does not pretend to be anything but what it is. Remember what our Lord says in Apocalypse 3: 15-16, "I know thy works: that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot: But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth." Lukewarmness and "Second-hand Catholicism" are synonymous for the latter is cowardice masked by treachery in that it pretends to be noble, honest, open-minded, unifying and peace seeking when it is merely a pathetic excuse for an even more pathetic moral laziness.

    Those who practice "Second-hand Catholicism" do so merely because they are too lazy to develop their own understanding and awareness of their faith. They prefer to merely latch on to a collection of other views and opinions and pretend that such elements comprise their developed moral positions. At the end of the day, these people are moral imbeciles because they have no firm foundation in anything they believe beyond saying "many people believe this" or "lots of American Catholics agree with me". They forget what Saint Augustine affirmed, "Right is right even if only a few are doing it, and wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it."

    Having a popular or common opinion or view has no connection to reality or truth since one surrounded by fools would do well to avoid being in common with them too often.

In Inherent Evil in the Damaging Effects of "Second-hand Catholicism"

    Any Catholic who accepts, condones, promotes or defends abortion, homosexuality, radical feminism, Euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, a married priesthood and female priests or is willing to compromise his faith because he places greater emphasis in pleasing his fellow man rather than his Creator is a de facto practitioner in "Second-hand Catholicism" simply because one cannot have such views without having developed them through the influence of other, wayward and confused Catholics who have allowed non-Catholic and pagan ideas to cloud their thinking.

    While many who believe in the above evils seem to have considerable foundations for their views, all of these foundations can be refuted in one way or another. While many wrongs developed through "Second-hand Catholicism" have some foundation at their initial creation, one often finds that as "Second-hand Catholicism" views go from person to person, the rational and logical support for each successive person's beliefs and views become increasingly weaker in much the same manner as the famous painting Norman Rockwell created of "Rumor" with various persons on the phone and how the story changed. It is not surprising then to find people with views who have no clue about why they believe as they do but simply insist that their views are valid. They haven't a leg to stand on and so they rely on their neck such as in sticking it into the sand in ostrich fashion for they don't want to know.

    Obviously, "Second-hand Catholicism" is yet another symptom and direct cause of a society run by the devil who is smoking out the lukewarm wafting ever toward perdition. Satan has been huffing and puffing spreading his smoke and suffocating the truth over the past half century. He is still frustrated that his hellish haze cannot contaminate True Catholics. That is because they stay close to the sacraments, and are not moral passengers to anyone or any belief. They stand close to Christ and hold firmly to Truth, Faith and Tradition. It frustrates the you-know-what out of lucifer and that is why he intensifies all the more his attacks on Traditional Catholicism by getting those who have apostasized to do his bidding in condemning what Christ commanded.

Conclusion

    Just as some people say that second hand smoke might be more dangerous than smoking, so too it is a known fact as Sacred Scripture attests that "Second-hand Catholicism" is far more dangerous to eternal salvation than original error. The practitioner in "Second-hand Catholicism" is a moral drone, a vessel empty of Christ ready to be filled by the devil who blows into these pathetic pawns of perdition the smoke that clouds their thinking and conscience; so much so that they lose all concept of the reality that they will have to account to God for their lukewarmness. The longer they remain so lackadaisical, the easier they are to be molded into the empty, blackened sepulchres satan fashions for his own purposes. Such people spill error and evil whenever they open their mouths. They are soldiers of perdition so clueless of their nature that they actually believe they are doing good, just as Christ said in the Gospels that they will think they are doing good when they persecute you for His name sake.

    When it comes to our eternal salvation and helping others find that same eternal paradise, there is no room for second hands. We must put on the Armor of Faith and all other acoutrements Saint Paul advises in Ephesians 6. That provides the anti-contamination protection every Catholic needs to prevent the smoke of "Second-hand Catholicism" from permeating the perimeter of his soul. "First-hand Catholicism" - TRUE CATHOLICISM - with no alternatives to the absolutes, no Protestant preservatives to poison the mind and soul, and no smoke to cloud the sensus Catholicus is the only way to go. This is so because our true destiny in Heaven requires only one Hand, which is the Hand of Christ showing us the way through all the haze created by His adversary. If we stand with Christ and stay close to Him, heeding His commands, He will blow the devil away into so much smoke that will shrivel and dissipate in the presence of a soul in Sanctifying Grace. That is the antidote to "Second-hand Catholicism."