Heretics book 3 - The Apocryphile Press

306 :: JOHN R. MABRY
this world, and I can personally attest to the fact that they
are successful in this. Do they have problems? Yes. More
than Bishop Van Patton? Perhaps. More than Bishop
Hammet?” He leveled a severe eye at the Texan prelate,
“That is not for me, or any of us, to judge.”
He looked away, and swept his hand around the rest of the
room, “Do they have more problems than anyone else in this
room? I have gotten to know most of you in the last couple
of years, and I don’t believe there is a single person here with
feet made of any more precious substance than clay. Our
Lord said, ‘By their fruits ye shall know them.’ I say look at
the Blackfriars’ professional track record. Look at the literally
hundreds of successful exorcisms they have performed—
at the people that have been restored to their lives, to their
loved ones, to their faith.
“Look at the trust placed in them by our sister communions.
Do any of you oversee ministries that your local
Roman Catholic Archdiocese employs? Or the local
Episcopal Diocese?” Tom watched the bishops slink into
their seats, looking for the first time a little sheepish. “No?
Instead, they look upon us with pity, often contempt for our
little parishes and—to their way of thinking—insignificant
ministries. But the Order of St. Raphael is routinely called
upon by the Roman and Episcopal authorities in the San
Francisco Bay Area, because they are good at what they do.
Because they are effective. Because they get results. Because
there is no one else of any communion that does it better.
No, when the Roman Archdiocese comes to the Berkeley
Blackfriars to perform an exorcism, it comes to a ministry of
the Old Catholic Synod of America to meet their needs. I’m
proud of the Order. And I want you to think twice about
expelling the most effective, the most celebrated, and the
most needed ministry in our communion. And the next time
you or the people you care for come to you with a demonic