Question 33 – How Should Lay People Combat The Growing Heresy In The Church?

Interview Organization: Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima
Interviewer Name: Christopher P. Wendt
Date: April 13, 2021
We must live out our faith through actions and promote it through evangelization, using tools like the internet and Church documents. Heresies, like poison, harm the faithful and require good shepherds to combat them. The Pope and bishops must address heresies, using charity and, if necessary, excommunication. Laypeople should report heresies to their local bishop for correction.
If you like what we do and want to regularly support our mission to build the Reign of Mary and/or assist the episcopal ministry of Bishop Athanasius Schneider, please consider becoming a Servant of Mary.

Transcript:

We must demonstrate our faith by our actions. The beauty and truth of our faith must also be promoted and evangelized. We can utilize the internet as a medium to evangelize the truth in the form of catechisms. The Pope’s encyclicals and other Church documents can be used as references to be fully knowledgeable. With this, we can, together with the Magisterium, combat the heresies in the Church. 

Heresies are like a poison that harms the flock, so to speak. To keep harmful doctrines from infiltrating our souls, we require excellent shepherds. The Pope in particular should be among these good shepherds since he must oversee and reprimand a heretical bishop who is openly promoting heresies. 

Locally, it is the Bishop's responsibility to reprimand heretics to stop the poison from spreading further. If they don't repent, it is probably wise to use the healing charity of excommunication. When lay people hear heresies, they should promptly contact their local bishop. In his diocese, the bishop is revered as a spiritual father, doctor, and shepherd who defends his flock.