The American exorcist Chad Ripperger warned that the crisis the Church is going through should not be interpreted only in human or sociological terms, but as a spiritual punishment that God allows when his people move away from Him. His words were spoken during a question-and-answer session at the Call to Holiness Conference 2025, held in Michigan, as reported by the portal Life Site.
In response to the question of whether the world is currently experiencing a prophesied punishment, Ripperger answered straightforwardly: “Before any physical punishment, there is always a spiritual punishment”. And he added that this punishment is already present and manifests itself particularly in the poor spiritual and doctrinal quality on the part of the clergy.
“Bad priests are God's worst punishment”
To substantiate his claim, Ripperger turned to the teaching of St. John Eudes, who in his work The Priest: His Dignity and Obligations describes bad shepherds as the clearest sign of divine wrath. The French saint states that God shows his greatest severity when he allows his people to be under priests only in name, compared to “ravenous wolves” for their lack of charity, pastoral zeal, and fidelity.
Ripperger emphasized that this teaching is not a rhetorical exaggeration, but a spiritual reality that can be observed in key moments in the history of the Church. As he explained, when the shepherds stray, the damage reaches the entire people, since the corruption of the clergy always precedes periods of grave moral and doctrinal decay.
La Salette and the process of spiritual decay
The priest also related this situation to the prophecy of Our Lady of La Salette, where a punishment followed by “25 years of good harvests” is mentioned. That stage of prosperity, Ripperger noted, may have already been fulfilled, giving way now to a period of spiritual laxity, lukewarmness in the faith, and abandonment of Christian discipline. According to the prophecy, this process would precede the appearance of the Antichrist.
Although Ripperger did not set dates or make apocalyptic statements, he did warn that the current deterioration of the clergy and doctrinal confusion are signs that fit into the diagnosis of La Salette.
A spiritual response to a spiritual punishment
Faced with this scenario, Ripperger insisted that the reaction of the faithful cannot be limited to criticism or indignation. The exorcist emphasized that, if the punishment is spiritual, the response must be a more intense spiritual life. He listed concrete means such as more frequent attendance at Holy Mass, prolonged and regular Eucharistic adoration, and the daily recitation of the Rosary and other prayers of reparation.
These practices, he indicated, not only sustain the faithful in difficult times, but also attract graces for the entire Church, including those shepherds who have lost their way. “Reparation —he explained— is the way to lessen the severity of the punishment and ask God for holy priests”.