These are priests who were laicized, or otherwise prohibited from their duties, because they were too political, or too conservative.
Coalition for Canceled Priests
Here’s a ChatGPT summary of very long email I got on the subject.
The Coalition for Canceled Priests, an organization founded in 2020, held its second annual conference in Rosemont, Illinois. The conference brought together dozens of Catholic priests who claim to have been “canceled” by the Church for expressing conservative views on issues like abortion, homosexuality, and politics. They feel betrayed by the Church and are critical of Pope Francis, whom they see as a “woke pope” leading the Church astray from its traditional teachings. The attendees seek a return to a more orthodox and rigid version of the faith, reminiscent of pre-Vatican II times. The conference reflects a growing divide within the Catholic Church over social and theological issues.
I’ve heard stories about bishops shutting down conservative priests, but I didn’t think there were enough of them to make a “coalition”! Wacky.
Is this the initiation of another reformation? Or, is this a collective of disgruntled priests using political/cultural rhetoric as a basis for expressing their gripes against the liberal establishment…possibly a religious version of Incels?
A focus group for complaining about Pope Francis maybe.
If so, what’s their purpose? Do they seek to merely grip to each other? Or, do they have an agenda to get the Pope to change or reform the Church? Albeit rare, it would be interesting to see how they’d respond if the things they oppose were considered ex cathedra statements.