Sheesh! I wonder if the video below was done before or after the allegations of problems with the staff of Real Catholic TV came to light. It is so far off the deep end, as you'll see. Anyone with access to books can refute this asserted notion in under two minutes.
That the Priscillianists were heretics is undisputed. But alas, Priscillian and his staff were excommunicated (and executed, by the way) not because they were "taking communion in the hand," as alleged in this video. Unless, that is, you mean they took Our Eucharistic Lord by the hand and carted Him home with them, which was (and is now) an abuse. You see, Priscillianists wouldn't communicate inside church at all, had weird ascetic practices, orgies at night, and assorted other troubling routines. Take a look,
The doctrines held by the Priscillianists were a mixture of Manicheism and Gnosticism.. They denied the Trinity of Persons and advocated Dualism and Docetism. They held the use of flesh-meat and marriage to be unlawful, but permitted sexual intercourse, on condition that generation should be prevented. They celebrated their orgies with great debauchery, and principally at night. For the suppression of this abominable sect, stringent laws were enacted by the Synods of Astorga and Toledo, in 446 and 447. Even as late as the year 563 the second Council of Braga found it necessary to adopt measures against the Pricillianists. After that, the sect disappears from history.And there is this, and this, and this.
This would seem to me to be spinning an erroneous narrative from out of a tiny thread of truth. Isn't that some new word that Stephen Colbert coined? Yes. Truthiness. And as everyone knows, books are the sworn enemy of truthiness, as Stephen explains here (forgive any commercials please).
Go with your gut—not! And seriously, once again, stuff like the RCTV video at the top of this post leads folks, who presume that what Mr. Voris is saying is factual, to doubt their appointed leaders. I've already covered that topic once before, remember? Follow your bishop.
This is where the YIMCatholic Bookshelf earns it's keep, see? Because if what I found there supported Mr. Voris's assertions, this post would have been written to reflect that. But, as my research shows in this particular matter, the Priscillianist heresy has nothing whatever to do with what he purports it has to do with. So this latest video, then, is much ado about nothing. Zilch. Nada. Zippo.
But you don't have to take my word for it. Using the search window of the YIMCatholic Bookshelf will bring you at least 27 books explaining this heresy in varying detail. Want to see what St. Alfonso Maria de' Liguori has to say about them? Please do! While you're there, look up assorted other information alluded to, like the Council of Sarragossa, etc. And then, there is Google.
Got reference questions? Want to do some fact checking? Fight "truthiness!" Stop in to the YIMCatholic Bookshelf. It's open 24/7 and all at the low, low, price of "free."
