Recently, I was featured in an article at Baptist News called The Harrison Butker story is so much weirder than you know. It was a hit piece against several high-profile American traditional Catholics, including myself. The featured image to their hit piece is reproduced above (photo credit to the lefty Baptist News) capturing many people I respect including Archbishop Viganó, Bishop Strickland, Fr. Ripperger, Fr. Heilman, Candace Owens, Josh Charles, Kennedy Hall, Michael Hichborn, and yours truly right in the middle with a not-very-flattering picture (when my face was fatter than it is now.) I was honored to be featured with so many of my heroes and heroines in maintaining the Apostolic Faith amidst so much confusion.
The Protestant author was informed by ex-trads like Basil Dannebohm. Regarding most of the traditional Catholics targeted, they used exaggerations. However, true to form for me, they used all out lies, as per usual. The author, Rick Pidcock (yes, that’s really the poor man’s name) wrote two lies about me that are demonstrably false. In the above link, he lied about me, writing: “A priest removed from active ministry in the Archdiocese of Denver, David Nix, was instructed to become a hermit but instead became a podcaster…”
There are two actionable-acts of libel in that single sentence. First, I was never removed from active ministry. I still get letters of suitability from the Archdiocese of Denver when I travel to do the sacraments as you can see towards the bottom of my About Padre page. Secondly, I was never “instructed” to become a hermit. I asked for this state in life in 2020. I wrote into my rule of life that I wanted some time in contemplation and some time in the active apostolate. It was modified and accepted by the Archdiocese of Denver as seen here with pictures of official Archdiocese letterhead in that article. In fact, it was recently renewed in 2024, as seen on the Archdiocesan website here (or here if they try a fast one.)
I complained to a friend about this, bemoaning how most my high-profile trad friends were simply exaggerated about, where I was blatantly lied about. She laughed at me and reminded me of this line from the Bible: Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.—Mt 5:11-12.
Notice again, Our Lord says Blessed are you when others…utter all kinds of evil against you FALSELY on My account. REJOICE and be glad. So… please pray that I can truly rejoice and be glad, because the above line is a direct command from Our Lord. I have to admit it’s almost funny at this point how many lies God allows to be spoken and written about me.
Still, Pidcock and Baptist News wrote actionable-libel against me. So, I have forwarded his article to my attorney. While St. Paul says that Christians should not sue other Christians (1 Cor 6) I do not consider lefitsts like Pidcock who lie about other Christians to be Christian at all. Yes, Pidcock may see this article and scramble to remove his lies about me, but he should know they’re all saved on the trusty ole web archive.
“Do not try to please everybody. Try to please God, the angels, and the saints. They are your public.”—St. John Vianney
“Let the priest aim for joy, rather than respectability.”—St. Philip Neri