In case you haven’t heard yet, a Catholic priest in Detroit, Fr. Paul Graney, made the following remarks during a homily:

“Al-Qaeda’s goal was to come to the United States and kill Americans. Really just wanted to wipe America off the map. And they would have done it if they could,” said Graney, who has been a priest since 2016. “But today, those who we see wanting to bring down America are Americans, and they want to do it under the facade of justice, freedom and love,” the priest said. “But it is all a big bunch of baloney. It’s anti-Christian. It’s anti-family. It’s evil.” “Cars have been torched. Property has been destroyed. Businesses looted and burned, and police officers and other people have been intimidated, assaulted and even murdered. All in the name of justice.”

Fox 10 Phoenix

Of course, an apology was promptly issued by Fr. Bob McCabe. I find this abhorrent. What follows is my letter in support for Fr. Paul Graney.

A year ago, I graduated from Wyoming Catholic College. At my age, I’m keenly aware of the crisis of young people, other 20-somethings like me, leaving the church. As disappointing as it is, I can’t really blame them. All those young people are looking for something to stand for, and when the Church apologizes every time she takes a stand on a controversial topic, what kind of message does that send? Those young people are looking for purpose, and in moments like these, the Church sends the message that purpose isn’t found here.

Why are organizations like BLM so attractive to people my age? Because they’re unapologetic, even though they’re wrong. They do stand for something, they don’t apologize for it, and not only have conviction, but act like they have conviction. And so my fellow young people assume they’re the ones with the truth, and turn to organizations like BLM instead of, for instance, the Catholic Church. 

We assert that we possess the fullness of truth – if we sincerely believe that, how are we capable of being so cowardly? When did we forget that our call to true charity is more important than our inclination to keep everyone comfortable? When did we forget that the spiritual works of mercy include instructing the ignorant and admonishing sinners?

Fr. Paul Graney is calling evil what it is. We need more priests who are willing to do that – to do their jobs. There’s no debate about whether BLM is anti-Catholic. How can the Catholic Church support an organization whose primary goals include “disrupting the western-prescribed nuclear family structure” and “fostering a queer-affirming network?”

Fr. Paul Graney gives me hope, something difficult to come by right now.