Meet the Opus Dei priest Pope Francis banned from saying Mass

(LifeSiteNews) — Today’s special guest on The John-Henry Westen Show is Father Jesusmary Missigbètò, a “canceled” Opus Dei priest from Ivory Coast.

Father Jesusmary may be familiar to many of you. LifeSite has published several of his open letters to Pope Francis, all of which stem from his refusal to retract criticism of the pope for supporting same-sex “civil unions.”

Most recently, Father Jesusmary received a notice from the Vatican affirming Opus Dei’s sanctions, which include a ban on saying public Mass, preaching, and hearing confessions.

On today’s episode, Father Jesusmary opens up to me about his motivation to continue speaking out amid the sanctions levied against him.

“My motivation is very simple. The Vatican has to speak clearly and follow the traditional path of the Church, not go out” he says. “Because tradition is the preservation of the truth, and it’s the way we must choose to go to heaven. So this is my motivation: to help Pope Francis understand that it’s better to follow the path of Saint John Paul II and Pope Benedict and all recent popes.”

Father Jesusmary adds later on that he considers himself “happy” despite the great trials he’s facing.

“I know that Mother Mary is with me because I’m her son and [Jesus’] son,” he says. “So with Jesus and Mother Mary, it’s not possible to be sad. No, it’s not possible. Even though we have our problems, I’m happy.”

Listen to today’s episode here:

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John-Henry is the co-founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews.com. He and his wife Dianne have eight children and they live in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada.

He has spoken at conferences and retreats, and appeared on radio and television throughout the world. John-Henry founded the Rome Life Forum, an annual strategy meeting for life, faith and family leaders worldwide. He is a board member of the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family. He is a consultant to Canada’s largest pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition, and serves on the executive of the Ontario branch of the organization. He has run three times for political office in the province of Ontario representing the Family Coalition Party.

John-Henry earned an MA from the University of Toronto in School and Child Clinical Psychology and an Honours BA from York University in Psychology.