Most Holy Family Monastery (MHFM / Vatican Catholic)

     This article is in reference to a sedevacantist organization operated out of a compound in Fillmore New York, upstate, south of Buffalo (VaticanCatholic.com).  I consider this an important topic, as this establishment is effectively radicalizing many people online against the Catholic Church.  They remarkably identify as Vatican Catholics, notwithstanding they’re not affiliated with the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church under the Jurisdiction of the Holy See.  Sedevacantist organizations are technically protestant in nature, as they’re essentially protesting the long-established Catholic Church.  According to Wikipedia there are approximately 45,000 Christian based organizations / denominations as of 2024.  For the most part, protestants tend to avoid that designation, preferring to be considered reformists.  For example; Martin Luther founded the Lutheran Church, based on the broad belief, held by nearly every protestant; That the Catholic Church went astray at some point in the past and the Lutheran Church returns it back to its origins, notwithstanding Luther’s doctrines are verifiably neoteric.  Luther utilized the term “reform” to rationalize his own personal novel doctrines, he broke away from the Catholic Church in the early 1500s.  There are tens of thousands of examples of protestantism, such as King Henry the 8th forming the Anglican religion, John Calvin forming the Calvinists, etc.  Sedevacantismists initially began separating from the Catholic Church in 1958.  They particularly abdicate the theological changes implemented after the 21st Ecumenical Council (2nd Vatical Council), as historically every previous Ecumenical Council had spawned groups disputing the settled outcomes.

      Our Parish on Long Island NY has a Rosary Altar Society, a group of about 40 women who pray the Rosary together in the Church pews before Mass.  One member has a son who was radicalized by MHFM, they aggressively consider Roman & Byzantine Catholics, as well as anyone who doesn’t accept their beliefs to be heretics.  During her birthday gathering she asked him why he hadn’t wished her happy birthday.  He replied that he would have to inquire the brothers at MHFM if it was permissible to wish a heretic happy birthday.  Likewise he boycotts Christmas with his family for the same reason.  He put these true MHFM heretics and schismatics above his own mother who gave him birth and changed his diapers.  When his parents took the computer away he became so violent that his father had black and blue marks for almost two weeks. The 5th Commandment is “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). Jesus said: “For certainly a tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33). A good tree will produce good fruit, but an evil tree will produce poison fruit. Forsaking God’s Commandments is certainly evil fruit. It’s beyond understanding how people can become so brainwashed by cult leaders.  There were Parents in Jonestown who obeyed Jim Jones giving their children cyanide laced Kool-Aid.  After watching their very own children die, they drank the Kool-Aid themselves, sacrificing their families and themselves to Jim Jones.  I have a friend who has been active with March-For-Life for many years, he is well recognized in the Pro-Life & Catholic Communities for giving speeches, seminars and talks.  He explained to me how his parents were radicalized by MHFM and sending them money.

      The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is a sedevacantist organization that gaffed themselves off from the Catholic Church in 1970.  It’s unclear why MHFM hadn’t simply merged with this existing organization in possession their own Churches, Bishops, Priests, etc., as their doctrine and ideologies appear identical.  MHFM’s compound houses only 5 individuals, it’s not a live in community that adherents can relocate to like Jim Jones’ Peoples Temple in Jonestown, or David Koresh’s Mount Carmel Center in Waco Texas.  This may change, as from Google Maps Satellite views they appear to be expanding with new buildings, and may eventually develop into a tiny village.  There are no Priests, Churches, Masses, Sacraments, etc.  They strongly advise their adherents not to receive the Holy Eucharist.  At the Last Supper Jesus said: “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).  That was not a suggestion, this was a Command by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Incarnate.  The same God who said so many years ago “Let There Be Light”.  “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you” (John 6:53). I am the vine; you are the branches. The one abiding in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from Me you are able to do nothing” (John 15:5).  We have 45,000 protestant churches that have big issues with Jesus’ Command, including MHFM splitting hairs over Eucharistic Prayers written in the seventh century, to the point of condemning Communion with Christ altogether.  Personally, I deem that the devil’s fingerprints are all over this.  It appears that MHFM’s primary activity is writing diatribes and producing videos hyper-critical to the Catholic Church.  One observed video portrays a Priest at the Altar dressed up like a clown, complete with the stereotypical red ball on his nose.  That grainy video looks like it was filmed in the 1970s.  I don’t know if it was a spoof on the Catholic Church, or an Episcopal Church being portrayed as a Catholic Church.  I was born in 1961, I’ve attended Catholic Masses throughout the entire United States, and all over the world for almost 64yrs, and I have never seen anything even remotely like that.  I have no clue where they are getting this stuff, but these pictures and videos look very old.  They propagate very typical protestant propaganda that saturates the majority protestant web forums.  These protestant forums frequently portray the Catholic Church as the whore of Babylon and that the Vatican as the City on 7 hills on which the harlot in the Book of Revelations sits.  Vatican City is not built on 7 hills, but only one: Vatican Hill, which is not one of the 7 upon which ancient Rome was built.  Those hills are on the East side of the Tiber river, Vatican Hill is on the West side.

      MHFM posts videos of Popes in compromising situations.  One is where Pope John Paul II appears to be on an evangelical pilgrimage to India whereas the Indian People were honoring him in many ways including their traditional dances.  I presume MHFM expected the Pontiff to cover his eyes in disgust and run out shouting anti-Indian condemnations.  Likewise, in the Bible the Doctors of the Law, Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes and Zealots were utterly scandalized suffering permanent psychological damage over Jesus eating in Matthew the Tax Collector’s house.  Moreover, eating in the Den of Iniquity, the mansion of the most infamous sinner Zacchaeus, the Chief Tax Collector.  Jesus’ response to the scandalized Jews was that the sick are the ones in need of a doctor, not the healthy.  I would suspect that the same answer would apply to MHFM being scandalized over the Pope behaving in the same manner as Jesus.  MHFM posts a 1999 picture of Pope John Paul II kissing a copy of the Quran.  The Church’s explanation is that the Pontiff was led to believe the group was handing him a copy of the Chaldean Book of the Gospels. Later Archbishop Raphael of Bagdad confirmed it was actually the Quran. an incredible oversight that led to a nightmare of headaches.

      In a cordial phone conversation with one of the five MHFM Brothers residing at their compound, it seems to appear that their ideology is founded upon Christ’s Church being vanquished, and that they themselves are the only remaining remnants.  When I asked if they honestly believed that they are the last five true Catholics on the Planet Earth, this Brother replied “There were only eight people on Noah’s Ark”.  They sincerely believe that anyone that doesn’t believe what they believe is going straight to hell.  In the Bible, Jesus replied: “And I say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall NOT prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).  Christ established His Church with that sentence.  I distress that protestantism may be lucifer’s answer to the impossibility of prevailing against it.  If it cannot be destroyed, perhaps souls could be lured away to something more ornamental, away from the Eucharist, away from the Sacraments, etc.  Only a Catholic Priest with Apostolic Successorship can give us the True Eucharist.  The evil one endeavors to lure souls away from The Holy Apostolic Catholic Church, bating with the shiniest protestant apples Snow White ever saw, but they are poison.

      There is a Lutheran church in my neighborhood, I noticed several of the Parishioners vehicles with bumper stickers that we are saved by faith alone.  I recognize that as from Paul, “And we know that man is not justified by the works of the law, but only by the faith of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16).  The only sentence in the entire Bible that contains both words “faith” and “alone” in the same sentence is “Do you see that a man is justified by means of works, and not by faith alone” (James 2:24).  This is an obvious contradiction, but which is correct?  James was Jesus’ cousin and was personally educated by Jesus for three and a half years, in addition to being taught by the Risen Jesus.  Paul saw Jesus in a vision for only a few minutes. We know from the Bible that Jesus will be the Judge: “For the Father does not judge anyone.  But he has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22).  Fortunately Jesus details with 8 consecutive paragraphs in the Bible exactly how He will Judge in Matthew 25:31, it’s essentially a litany of works, absent of any mention of faith. In Matthew 16:21 Jesus said that He would be put to death. When Peter opposed what Jesus stated, Jesus responded: “Get behind me, Satan; you are an obstacle to me”. Likewise, when MHFM espouses something contradictory to Jesus’ own words from His own mouth cemented in Scripture, even if one of the 266 Popes contradicted Christ, the response would be the same.

     Anything that flies in the face of Christ’s own words in Scripture is from the evil one.  It is imperative to consider how Jesus defeated satan in the desert, though the use of Scripture. “It has been written: ‘Not by bread alone shall man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). It is also important to consider how satan accepts defeat from Scripture, he moves on to another topic, as there was no way to contest Holy Scripture.  There is another example when Jesus was confronted by a rich man who asks what is required to be saved?  Jesus answers: “if you wish to enter into life, observe the Commandments” (Matthew 19:17), its only when the rich man asks what more can I do, that Jesus says sell everything you own and give the money to the poor to be perfect and have treasure in Heaven.  From Jesus’ words, apparently some souls are fundamentally saved (going to Heaven), and there are some souls that in addition to being saved, are perfect and have additional treasure in Heaven.  Observing the Commandments are actions, deeds or works.  Again, works must be correct.  If anyone espouses contrary doctrine, it’s a safer bet to choose what Jesus is quoted teaching in Scripture.

      It seems that most protestants rely more on James, while Catholics more on Peter.  Peter and Paul had frequent disagreements.  One is known as the incident at Antioch in Galatians 2:12 whereas Paul publicly chastised Peter regarding eating with Gentiles.  But if you go back to Acts 10:1, remember that an Angel appeared to a Roman Centurion Cornelius telling him to send his servants to summon Peter at Joppa.  Peter was on a roof having a vision of God telling him to eat Gentile food considered by Jews to be unclean when they arrived.  The bottom line is that Jesus alone will Judge us, and according to Jesus as quoted in Scripture, His Judgement will be based upon our actions, and not so much on Faith or what we are eating. So, in addition to Jesus eating with Matthew and Zacchaeus, we have Peter eating with Cornelius, a Roman Gentile. When a Pope mirrors Jesus and Peter’s actions MHFM cranks out condemnation videos.

      MHFM professes that Saint Pope John Paul II was the antichrist, if this wasn’t so insanely ludicrous it would almost be comical. Their videos viciously smear Saint Mother Teresa (who seems to be a very popular target of protestants) and Saint Faustina, as they have major issues with God’s Mercy.  Like most protestants they discourage praying for the deceased, particularly the departed who didn’t adhere to their philosophy. Notwithstanding that nearly all Marian Apparitions ask us to pray for the souls in Purgatory.  MHFM is disturbingly anti-Semitic and refute the Holocaust.  They do believe in the Fatima Apparitions.  However, they have posted absurd videos arguing that the Catholic Church broke into the Convent and killed Sr. Lucia, replacing her with some kind of stunt double.  I suspect that Sr. Lucia said something that MHFM disagrees with, and they have no other way to explain it.  It’s impossible to imagine that anyone would agree to spend the remainder of their life in an austere Convent masquerading as Sr. Lucia.  It’s impossible to consider that the 60 other Nuns that worked with Sr. Lucia all their lives could’ve been fooled by an undercover imposter.  Notwithstanding, their preposterous videos claiming this lunacy are still accessible on their website.  This only proves how far MHFM will push a blatantly obvious false narrative.  I would propose to MHFM a hypothetical: As Michael Dimond is apparently their Leader, Sister Lucia was obviously the most notable in the Convert.  Every Nun knew exactly who Sister Lucia was, she was one of the three children that spoke with Mary, the Mother of God.  So if Pope Francis sent a battalion of Vatican Navy Seals into MHFMs compound at night and knocked-off Brother Michael Dimond and replaced him with an undercover imposter masquerading as Brother Michael Dimond; Would the other 4 monks realize that something wasn't quite right?  Absolutely!  And so would the other nuns in the Convent.  This is escaped mental patient stuff!

      In closing, MHFM appears to be a modern reflection of the Doctors of the Law, Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes and Zealots 2,000yrs ago. Considering themselves God’s representatives, superior to everyone else, while performing triple reverse pirouetting somersaults with semantics to nullify ancient Eucharistic prayers. In the place of the Eucharist, Masses and Sacraments, they seem to spend their time accusing their neighbors and pointing fingers at everyone else. 2,000yrs ago Jesus had some words for the self-righteous Jewish Leaders: “You brood of vipers, how can you say good things when you are evil? (Matthew 12: 34). And: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth” (Matthew 23:27). It doesn’t require a Brain Surgeon, a Nuclear Physicist or a Rocket Scientist to discern that anything separating a soul from Christ’s Church is lethal to that soul’s salvation.  “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown out like the branch and is dried up, and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and it is burned” (John 15:6).