Brother Peter Dimond (MhFM):
Fishing Without A License
"And he [Jesus] saith to them: Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men." - St Matthew 4:19
Those words attest to the fact that Christ “chose” (hand-picked) Simon Peter and his younger brother Andrew; “calling” them into His redemptive [evangelical] ministry.
Through that "divine vocation" those two Galilean "brothers" received licensed jurisdiction, a spiritual permit, a seal of approval from the highest of authorities (Christ), granting to them permission (the right) to preach, teach and administer in His holy name.
Metaphorically speaking, those "brothers" were issued a "fishing" license; signifying that they had been called, vetted, chosen, and granted admission through the front door into Christ’s ministry, and later sent out with the authority to evangelize as lawful “fishers of men”.
“Amen, amen I say to you: He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber” – St John 10:1.
"And how shall they preach [evangelize] unless they be sent?" - Romans 10:15
The Dimond Brothers’ Sedevacantist doomsday cult, MhFM, refuse to believe that those two biblical quotes apply to their purported Fillmore, NY, Benedictine religious community (Sanitarium). They hold that:
These are the prophesized “end-times” (end of the world),
The Roman Catholic Church has been eclipsed,
The antichrist is currently ruling over Vatican City, and
By Epikeia and/or some self-professed “divine vocation”, they have been entrusted, by God, to oversee His church and evangelize from out of their Sanitarium (MhFM) until Christ returns; which they believe is scheduled for some time in the very near future.
I don’t actually believe that Fred and Bob Dimond are anything more than two highly intelligent and clever telemarketing evangelists (conmen) who, since embracing Sedevacantism, have been running a lucrative internet based New York state not-for-profit business of religion.
No matter what the Dimond Brothers may claim … they have never provide any proof whatsoever of their having been called into Christ’s ministry, issued the metaphoric “fishing” license referred to above, and sent out to preach and teach (evangelize).
Simply put, they are evangelical "poachers" and the following is but one example as to why I believe that to be so.
Fishing Without A License
I recently ran across a July 2015 YouTube video entitled "Bro. Peter Dimond talks with potential convert" (https://youtu.be/bCK3Pdjdb40).
I was taken by surprise to learn that the video’s “potential convert” was a 58 year old Floridian man who, believing himself possibly in need of an exorcist, typed “Catholic Exorcism Miami Florida” into an internet search engine and stumbled across the Dimond Brothers’ (MhFM) website.
Why the 2015 video was published believing it would cast Robert (a.k.a. Brother Peter) Dimond’s “telephone-evangelicalism” in a positive light ... is beyond me.
What was most disturbing about the 2015 video was in listening to:
a man seeking help (exorcism),
describing symptoms of his having serious physical and/or mental health issues, and
not receiving the pastoral care (help) he was entitled to.
I will now present an abbreviated version of the video’s telephone transcript for you to decide as to whether or not Bob "Peter" Dimond possesses a valid evangelical “fishing” license?
Please note that I will refer to:
Peter Dimond as “PD”,
the Man Seeking Help as “MSH”,
Back To Video Transcript as "[BTVT]", and
"Reality Check" for my comments.
[Fair Use Notice: I present the video transcript in an effort to clarify and advance understanding of the political, human, religious, and social issues raised in his video. I believe presenting the video transcript constitutes a “fair use” of any possible copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.]
The Telephone Conversation
PD: Okay, what problem were you having?
MSH: Okay … I really don’t have anything that, you know, is dramatic. But uh … I started having insomnia in December, severe insomnia, and as I was falling to sleep I was experiencing images that were coming to me of an individual attacking me and the ones I love … ugly images. And since that time the images have subsided and the insomnia has somewhat improved. But I have been experiencing a lot of “depression” and “anxiety” and even a sense, on some occasions, of almost, kind of, not being completely attached to my body and wondering if I was going to lose my mind. And of course … you know … I got “fired” from my job during that period of severe insomnia. But, uh … [interrupted by PD]
PD: Well, what religion are you?
Reality Check: They say that hindsight is always 20/20. In this case, as PD is not a doctor and definitely not a priest, wouldn’t it have been more appropriate and fitting for PD to have asked MSH if he’d consulted with a physician and/or a mental health counselor concerning his prolonged bout with insomnia?
One doesn’t have to be a doctor to ascertain from MHS's opening statement that this “brother” was overwhelmed with certain temporal psychosocial events transpiring in his life that were negatively effecting his physical and mental well-being.
It is common knowledge that fear, stress, and anxiety are symptomatic with severe emotional tension that, if left untreated, can digress into Chronic Insomnia; which MSH indicated he was suffering from.
It is important to bear in mind that MSH had called MhFM, seeking help, based on the fear that he was possibly "possessed" by an evil spirit.
PD asking MSH what his religion was, after hearing MSH describe his problem, is absolutely out of place and utterly mindboggling.
It is a recognized medical fact that untreated Chronic Insomnia can lead to a Bipolar Disorder of which feeling "detached from one's body" and/or feeling "possessed" is but one characteristic behavior attributed to the illness.
One's left scratching their head and asking ... was PD actually listening to and/or understanding what MSH had just said?
Or, could it be that PD consciously opted to go “fishing” without a license with the firm intent of preying upon someone with an obvious mental health issue; which in most US States is against the law?
[BTVT]
PD: Well, what religion are you?
MSH: I was raised a Baptist.
PD: And have you been practicing anything?
MSH: Uh, no … just religious prayer every day. Actually I’ve been attracted to the Catholic Church since I was 17, I’m 58 years old, and I do an abbreviated form of the “rosary”. I say 10 Hail Marys a day plus all the other preceding parts of the rosary.
PD: And you found out about us [MhFM] through the link [search engine]?
MSH: I didn’t know where to go. I got on the internet and I typed in “Catholic Exorcism Miami Florida” but I wasn’t able to turn up much of anything.
PD: Well, what I would say to you is that you don’t necessarily need an exorcist. What I think that you need to do is become a traditional Catholic. Because Christ only founded one church and the rest of them are man-made break-offs (i.e. the rest of the Protestant religion). So in order to be in a right state with God, and most importantly to save your soul, you need to become a Catholic.
MSH: I see.
Reality Check: It is standard procedure within the Catholic Church that a person suspected of possession or believing themselves to be “possessed” must first be rigorously evaluated by physicians and mental health professionals in order to rule out a physical or mental illness before even considering an exorcism by a priest and/or bishop (trained as an exorcist).
PD’s prognosis that MSH wasn’t “necessarily” possessed was daft was equally a prognosis that there remained the possibility that MSH was.
I suspect that PD chose not to encourage MSH to hang up the phone and call back after having a complete and thorough medical examination because he was out “fishing” and had a Baptist dangling on the line.
Of course there remains the ludicrous “outside” possibility that PD actually believed that MSH’s physical, mental, and/or psychosocial issues stemmed from his being "Outside" the Roman Catholic Church.
In either case then … shame on PD.
Don't be deceived. Becoming a Catholic is not a miraculous “cure all” or an “immunization” against those physical and/or mental ailments that unfortunately and indiscriminately afflict people's lives.
[BTVT]
PD: And so, I would recommend praying the full rosary each day. Do you have a rosary?
MSH: Yes I do. I wear one every day.
PD: Do you know how to pray it?
MSH: Well, I used to know how to pray it. I have to review again the rite, the beads, and everything.
PD: Well, on our website we have a “How to Pray the Rosary” sheet.
MSH: Yes, I’ll do it.
PD: You have our website, right?
MSH: Yeah, I’m looking at it right now, yeah.
PD: Yeah, it’s probably half way down or so. And, yeah, that’s what I’d start to do each day.
MSH: Okay.
PD: Uh, I don’t know if you’re familiar with the basic Catechisms? We sell one for 5 dollars.
MSH: I see.
Reality Check: Generally speaking, one can’t fault a “business” entity for attempting to sell their products. But, in this case, PD is attempting to persuade MSH, who we know is “jobless” and suffering from the effects of “Chronic Insomnia”, into parting with a bit of the money he’s receiving from his meager “unemployment check”. That’s not very nice, PD.
I hope and pray MSH realized in time that various versions of the Catechisms of the Church, dating back to the Council of Trent, can be viewed, copied and/or downloaded “free of charge” from off the internet.
Concerning the Rosary … pardon me for being a bit of a cynic but I’d lay odds that if MSH had said he didn’t have one, PD would have tried to sell him one of those as well? But that’s pure speculation.
It is worth noting though, that no one actually needs or is required to have “rosary beads” in order to say its prayers. Simply having 10 fingers and/or a good memory … works just as well.
[BTVT]
PD: That’s something that you should familiarize yourself with. There’s teaching on the sacraments, the basic tenants of the faith.
MSH: Alright.
PD: Because it’s really critical to become a Catholic. And our material also gets into what has happened after Vatican II.
MSH: Right.
PD: I don’t know if you’re familiar with that at all?
MSH: Somewhat.
Reality Check: As a Baptist … MSH was baptized by water “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” … a baptism that is legitimately recognized by the Catholic Church.
It is important to note that true conversion to Catholicism cannot be coerced. True conversion requires “first and foremost” that the catechumen be of sound mind in order that he/she makes a validly conscious decision to enter the Church; which, in MSH’s case, is quite suspect.
What PD does next is pure and simple coercion not evangelism. PD sets out to poach a fish (make a sale) by casting out a bucket of MhFM conspiratorial end-time “chum” hoping to lure in a ”potential” catch.
[BTVT]
PD: Basically what’s gone on is a counterfeit religion has been promoted. They changed the Mass. They changed the teachings. And all these changes have been by men who were actually not real Catholics but enemies of the Catholic faith and apostates from it. And this whole situation is predicted to happen in “the End”.
MSH: It is?
PD: Yeah. It’s predicted in scripture. It’s predicted in Catholic prophesy. You may have heard of the “Whore of Babylon”?
MSH: Yes.
PD: Okay. Uh, certain non-Catholics believe the Catholic Church is the “Whore of Babylon” mentioned in Apocalypse 17 and 18 ... and that’s not correct. Because, the Catholic Church is the one, true church … the bride of Christ. What it is describing is this “counterfeit” bride, this “counterfeit” Catholicism, at the end of the world…
Reality Check: What an idiotic thing for anyone to say to a person suffering the effects of sleep deprivation, night terrors, and the bipolar pangs of a chronic anxiety disorder.
Rather than give this poor brother hope ... PD hits MSH over the head with MhFM’s insipid conspiratorial doomsday theory where the Roman Catholic Church (MSH’s envisioned saving grace) has been taken over in “coup d’état” and that the world is about to “End”.
What PD did instead and would continue to do is tantamount to “non-assistance to a person in danger”.
[BTVT]
PD: … and that’s why actually some of the external features of this “Whore of Babylon” correspond to the external features of the Catholic Church. It says this “Whore of Babylon” is clothed in purple and scarlet.
MSH: Uh, huh.
PD: Bishops wear purple and Cardinals wear scarlet.
MSH: I see.
PD: And the point is, this counterfeit church, this apostate church, has the externals of the true church but actually isn’t the true church. And the true church is reduced to a remnant. And this is all predicted in second Thessalonians 2 as part of the great apostasy. Jesus, in Matthew 24, talks about the “abomination of desolation” as being in the holy place and a Mass of spiritual deception; which leaves a situation where even the elect would be deceived, if that were possible.
Reality Check: Hold on a minute. PD conveniently excludes the fact that Jesus also said in the Mt Olivet sermon (St Matthew 24:34): "Amen I say to you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done."
Sedevacantists love to side-step and/or ignore that verse because Christ is actually referring to (prophesying) the Destruction of Jerusalem that would take place in 70 AD, 37 years after his crucifixion, and not the Second Vatican Council’s break from tradition (1962-1965) .
[BTVT]
MSH: Uh, hum. How does the Most Holy Family Monastery see ... the last pope?
PD: John Paul II?
MSH: Yeah.
PD: We have a whole video on him. We have pointed out that he taught many, many heresies; which were condemned by the Catholic Church.
MSH: Is he considered a conscious enemy of the church or an accidental enemy of the church?
PD: Conscious. The things he did were revolutionary. He went into a synagogue; which is condemned by Catholic teaching. He went into a Buddhist temple. He constantly expressed respect for false religion.
MSH: Uh, huh.
PD: He kissed the Muslim Koran; which rejects the Trinity. He taught that non-Catholic religions have saints and martyrs; which contradicts Catholic teaching. He taught that non-Catholics can receive Holy Communion … on, and on, and on. And so the church teaches that if you deny a dogma of the faith you become a heretic...
MSH: Uh, huh.
PD: … and you cease to be a member of the church.
MSH: Right.
PD: … and you lose any authority you hold in it if you’re a Bishop. And the same thing goes for a man who claims to be the pope.
MSH: I see.
PD: And so, actually, the very principles of Catholic teaching, which leads one to the position that there is no pope reigning right now. The “Chair of Peter” is actually vacant right now.
MSH: Oh.
PD: So actually in order to convert to the one true Catholic faith of all times, which you need to, you actually have to reject this post Vatican II counter church. It’s sort of a unique period.
MSH: Yes.
PD: And you can’t go to this new Mass.
MSH: Uh, huh.
PD: I don’t know if you know the difference at all?
MSH: Yes. Yes.
PD: Yes … we have a whole package which gets into all the details on this. I would strongly encourage you to get it. It’s only 10 bucks (dollars). You can get 10 DVD programs. You get 3 books, audio tapes. You get audio discs for only 10 bucks.
MSH: Right.
Reality Check: PD believes MSH is nibbling on the “sedevacantist bait” and he tries to hook him.
[BTVT]
PD is “preying on” not “praying for” MSH.
PD: And I would start praying the rosary. We actually have a section of the website called “The Steps to convert to the Catholic faith”. And that gives simple instructions about the steps to follow:
If you haven’t been baptized and you’re trying to convert, or
If you haven’t been baptized and you’re trying to convert, or
If you’re not sure that you have been baptized.
MSH: Uh, hum.
PD: So I would look at that.
MSH: Okay. Alright, I’ll check out the website.
PD: But, the two things I would say that you should get, that you really need to see, is the “Penny Catechism” and this 10 dollar DVD packet. Because you really contains the DVD’s to find out what’s going on.
MSH: Right.
Reality Check: PD tries one last time to sell his wares rather than offer ... true Catholic pastoral care.
[BTVT]
PD: And I would start to pray the rosary every day. And, basically, we can help you with any specific questions you have and what exactly you need to do.
MSH: Okay … alright. Well, I thank you very much, sir, and I’ll look at this on this website.
PD: Okay. And if you’re ready to go from there, whatever, then give us a call back.
MSH: Okay … you got it.
Reality Check: Though we don't know for sure ... I hope and pray that MSH's story ended with him rejecting Sedevacantism, continuing his search, and obtaining the proper physical, mental, pastoral care he was in need of and entitled to.
What we do know for sure is that the Dimond Brothers (MhFM) are evangelical "poachers" and not licensed "fishers of men".
- Pax Tecum