Grifters are a lot like social media "influencers".

There is a complete lack of correlation between ability/training/skill/qualifications and success/fame/money.
Even more so than in the "unfair World" in general. There has always been unfairness in the world, when it comes to fame, success, wealth, etc.

But Social Media has turned that up to 11.

Why should some idiot 12-year old girl make huge money, leading astray 3 million followers on youtube? My 12 year old daughter is better in every way, especially morally. She is better educated, and most importantly she has her purity and Fear of the Lord. Why does the world award fame and wealth to degenerate whores, instead of good and virtuous people of the same age and superior education? Goes to show you how messed up the World is.

But when it comes to Traditional Catholic grifters, there's another level to it. Because as I see it, if you wanted to live by the Gospel, (make that your living, your full-time job) you should have become a priest!

This hits close to home for me, and I'm qualified to talk about this, because the priesthood was actually my first choice of vocation. I never "quit"; I was dismissed. But I accepted that as God's permissive will. And I didn't feel called to become an Indulter or Sedevacantist, so my quest for the priesthood ended there, much to my disappointment at the time. I also had just enough wisdom at the time to know that some men seek the priesthood "at any cost" like a lion pursuing a gazelle. They go from group to group, increasingly dubious and shady, until some bishop ordains them. And I knew that wasn't for me as well. I wasn't going to make my own will into God's will, and play make-believe.

But I digress.

In the Catholic world, laymen are not pre-eminent. Maybe unless they have a Doctorate or high education, they could teach some specific subject -- but always subordinate to a Trad priest or bishop. Or with a much lesser education (say, a few years at a Trad seminary, and/or reading a lot of books), they could teach laymen at a popular level (volunteering at Church, etc.) But the Catholic world is SO FAR from the protestant world.

I maintain a chapel on my property. But without an ordained, trained PRIEST, it's pretty useless. If I were protestant (God forbid!), I could totally put up a sign and try to get a little church going. We could study the Bible, meet once a week, I could give some decent sermons  or conferences (by protestant standards), etc. But I'm not protestant, so that is obviously ridiculous.

As someone who has studied for the priesthood, and read many Catholic saints' writings on the priesthood, I know how different my life is now, compared to seminary life. If you're going to be a priest, working to convert souls, you need to have FULL FREE TIME to pray and study the Faith. It's not just a full time job, it's a 24/7 on-call job. It has to be your job AND YOUR LIFE. Even your free time needs to be spent preparing (praying, studying, thinking) for your next "shift". Not to mention preaching and talking to people, trying to convert souls, visiting the poor, sick, prisoners, etc.

I forgot to add to my original post --

Besides VOLUNTEER or low-key, low-cost teaching, I would also include any kind of good or service in the list of "things it's perfectly proper for laymen to do for the Faith"

For example, if you publish Catholic books, you're making and providing books. You are laboring and earning a living by the work of your hands. Priests don't have time to run a book publishing business. Same for altars, artwork, statues, rosaries, Church supplies and equipment, and dozens of other things. If you're MAKING SOMETHING and selling it to Catholics, of course laymen are the 1st choice for doing that. Not just acceptable, but actually the 1st choice.

Long story short, if you're a layman making money because the Catholic Faith exists, it better be because you're doing something with your mind and/or hands -- some kind of labor. Not just because you're "you", and that you hold some kind of lofty, exalted, respected position, such that people revere the words that fall from your lips -- like a priest.

Even digital things would qualify as labor: e-book publishing, media collections or conversions, phone apps, software, webhosting, etc. Priests aren't to be spending time keeping up with languages/libraries/trends in the software dev world -- that's a full time job. It's hard enough to stay a useful software developer as a layman doing it for your full-time career. Trying to engage in such constant study to stay up to date would be detrimental for the vocation of a priest or religious.

Also note that anything "Catholic" laymen made money off of, had to be more or less approved by the Church. Laymen were always under the authority of the Church in this regard. See: Imprimatur, Nihil obstat.

I had several opportunities to expand and become a bigger thing. I backed out, though.

To write or be online fifteen years ago was "safe." "It's the internet! A big social place where we all get together and talk and share ideas and opinions! Say what you want!" But now, to write or be public--there are stakes. There are things to lose. To be a public speaker isn't simply a conversation anymore, but an act of warfare on some level. When Kyle Seraphim came out a couple of years ago to tell us the feds were targeting Trad Caths, I closed up shop. Cultural warfare wasn't something I signed up for when I eased into blogging. It was always an outlet--purposeful, but nothing more--unless I crossed over a line and tried to make it a thing. But my real life was advancing, and focusing on me and mine takes priority over "a cause."

A lot of commentators don't have any other skill set, and that's a scary place to be in my opinion. Barnhardt, for example, lives off of donations. (I think. At least, that's what I gather from what she says about it.) I couldn't bring myself to do that. My kids are proud that I was a public writer and sort of wish I was doing it again, but my priority is raising them. 

Plus, bein' the prescient sort that I am, I knew that there would be and will be more crackdowns on speech. What is going on in Britain and Germany is horrible, but I'll add that Trump isn't what people think he is. This idea of deporting citizens who speak out on certain matters, for example, or the crackdown on universities does not bode well for the long trend.

For example, if you publish Catholic books, you're making and providing books. You are laboring and earning a living by the work of your hands. Priests don't have time to run a book publishing business. Same for altars, artwork, statues, rosaries, Church supplies and equipment, and dozens of other things. If you're MAKING SOMETHING and selling it to Catholics, of course laymen are the 1st choice for doing that. Not just acceptable, but actually the 1st choice.

Long story short, if you're a layman making money because the Catholic Faith exists, it better be because you're doing something with your mind and/or hands -- some kind of labor. Not just because you're "you", and that you hold some kind of lofty, exalted, respected position, such that people revere the words that fall from your lips -- like a priest.

Even digital things would qualify as labor: e-book publishing, media collections or conversions, phone apps, software, webhosting, etc. Priests aren't to be spending time keeping up with languages/libraries/trends in the software dev world -- that's a full time job. It's hard enough to stay a useful software developer as a layman doing it for your full-time career. Trying to engage in such constant study to stay up to date would be detrimental for the vocation of a priest or religious.

Also note that anything "Catholic" laymen made money off of, had to be more or less approved by the Church. Laymen were always under the authority of the Church in this regard. See: Imprimatur, Nihil obstat.

Yeah, I made a similar distinction with my last post before I saw you articulating it more clearly here.

I think it's analogous to relics, right?  You can't charge for the relic, but there is some work/expense involved in making the reliquary, preparing things, getting docuмents together, etc.

Similarly, there can be some remuneration that's proportionate to the amount of work or labor you put into something.

But sitting up there making $10,000 for BSing for 30 minutes per day, or charging $1,000 per yera for your "St. Thomas Institute" (Marshall), which consistes of a bunch of pre-recorded videos and a bit of access to Marshall on the side by phone/e-mail.  Meanwhile, I linked to that St. Thomas Insitute put on by the (Conciliar) Dominicans that's free (asking for donations) and is extremely well done, AND it's done by men who were trained thoroughly in St. Thomas / Aristotle, not some hack.

Marshall is essentially a professor. Laymen have been in Catholic universities for centuries.

Marshall is essentially a professor. Laymen have been in Catholic universities for centuries.

Meh, not with any degree that would have qualified him to teach CATHOLIC theology at a Catholic University.