Great Prolife Website

Youth Defence in Ireland has put this together. Well done. You can even subscribe to their prolife news feed.

St. Giovanni Melchior Bosco

Today is the feast day of St John Bosco though his name in Italian is utterly cool. I mean really, having Melchior as a middle name. New advent gives a nice bio of this saint who devoted his life to the education of youth. Founder of the Oratory of St Francis de Sales, St. John Bosco's order includes Salesian fathers, brothers and sisters.

His advice to parents could be well heeded today as he warned them against a misdirected kindness that produced a well trained animal rather than a child whose will had been formed and character tempered. Opposed to harsh methods he was inspired that the way to reach his needy children was "not with blows, but with charity and gentleness must you draw these friends to the path of virtue." St. John Bosco encouraged daily Mass, and frequent Confession.

Tan has an excellent book from which excerpts can be read here. St.John Bosco is the patron of young apprentices and Catholic publishers. Above all he strove for the virtue of his students saying:

Da mihi animos; tolle ceteras or Give me souls, take away the rest.

2006 Catholic Blog Awards

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Vote early and often.

Chicago and the Case of McCormack

The case of Fr. McCormack continues to be in the news. It reads like the cases of the 60s,70s and 80s when we didn't know how to address these cases. Yeah.

Fr. McCormack's troubles apparently began in the Seminary. According to his roommate. But the Archdiocese refuses to confirm if the complaint was ever made to them.

Sounds like a yes to me.

An interesting article about Fr. McCormack and his career in Chicago. I will delineate the time line to show how quickly he was moving up the ranks.

Born in 1968, McCormack was the 5th of 9 children. He graduated from Quigley Seminary South and then Niles College of Loyola University with a degree in American and African American History. 1990 he received a Masters in Divinity from Mundelein.

From 1990-94 McCormack worked at St Martin of Tours, Our Lady of Peace and Old St. James

1994 Ordination and St. Ailbe until 1997.

In 1997 Fr. McCormack became a full-time faculty member at St. Joseph Seminary of Loyola acting as:

Director of Liturgy
Dean of Admissions
Dean of Student Formation and Direction (where he lived in the dorm w/ students)
History Professor
Sacramental Minister at Holy Family (where the first allegation is made and documented though in another case of poor recordkeeping that document cannot be found) Darn.

Strangely enough, Bishop Manz is said to have approached the Holy Family school to request that Fr. McCormack say Mass because he "really missed the kids". Now I have a friend who is the principal of a Catholic school and they have trouble finding a priest to say Mass for them. Of course they're not in Chicago.

In 2000, McCormack was made Pastor of St. Agatha's. Fr. McCormack is still listed as a Speaker for the Theology on Tap series sponsored by the Archdiocese here. They might want to change that. Though on the other hand that could be some excellent community service.

Cardinal George has really had a busy week. Fresh back from a trip to Thailand, New Zealand and Rome, he had to confront this public relations disaster. Then Saturday morning, after leaving the hospital, where he went because he thought he was having a stroke, he called a press conference to discuss the Archdiocese's handling of the case. The article is here.

Fr. McCormack's most recent promotion was as the supervisor to 20 westside parishes. A man rapidly moving up the career ladder makes one wonder, "what is it about Fr. McCormack that put him in the way of so many promotions so quickly in his fledgling career?" The spirit of Fr. Bernadin must have really been watching out for him.

A final quote from Fr. McCormack :

Because of the present crisis in the Church, we are a very wounded group of men. We gathered in support of each other and our ministries. But it was amazing, the talk was not about 'whoa is me' [sic] but how can we heal the church for the faithful. Our conversation revolved around you, the people of the church.

Fr. McCormack is in the custody of his brother who is a police officer and free on $200,000 bail. He faces 7 years in jail if convicted.

Parent 1 and Parent 2

This story about the successful efforts of two women to be listed as parent 1 and parent 2 on their adopted son's birth certificate from Virginia is a sad one. With the involvement of the Virginia ACLU, they were able to change the designations on the child's birth certificate from "mother" and "father" to parent 1 and parent 2.

The adoption of children by homosexuals is clearly an attempt to exploit these children in order to 1. gain sympathy 2. win legal rights 3. perpetuate their lifestyle for the next generation.

Boston Catholic Charities was allowing the adoption of children by homosexuals in this article. Thankfully they were straightened out by the Vatican but not before 13 adoptions by homosexual parents was permitted.

The website Colage found here is for the children of homosexuals. You need look no further than this poem to see the pathetic attempt by the homosexual lobby to accomplish their cultural aspirations.


The Word Marriage

by Julia Croteau, age 11

My mom's [sic]can't legally get married. This is only because some people just don't know the real meaning of marriage. Not the definition in the dictionary, but the definition that comes from someone's heart. A man and a woman who truly love each other can easily get married anywhere they wish, but two men or two women that truly love each other can only get a civil union in Connecticut and Vermont. The Connecticut government has no problem making a law for a civil union as long as the law says gays and lesbians will never legally get married. So the definition for marriage that comes from my heart, is the bond between two human beings who are madly in love with each other. So trust me, that is the definition of marriage. But hey, look at the bright side, the lesbians and gays of Massachusetts can now get legally get married. So never doubt that there will be change, because there already has been.

Wow, what do you say to an eleven year old little girl? And that is just the reaction the activists are looking for.

Papal Visit to the Americas in 2007?

Catholic World News has the story.

Intolerance of Truth

A French MP has been fined for "hate speech" by denouncing homosexual acts, not persons. You can read the pertinent details here.

This is the future. Chilling.

The Case of Fr. McCormack

This recent case of an accusation of abuse being made against a priest and how it was (and is) being handled by the Archdiocese of Chicago is very illustrative of that fact THAT ABSOLUTELY NOHING HAS CHANGED. The Dallas Charter notwithstanding, allegations are ignored, priests are given the benefit of the doubt and allowed to continue to molest. But don't take my word for it- follow me here.

First we have the public statement by Cardinal George:

Some highlights:

Late Wednesday, Jan. 25, I returned to Chicago and was briefed on the allegations now being made against Fr. McCormack. In any such stories, the first concern is for those alleging to have been abused, and they are in my prayers. But others are also involved, especially in the effort to evaluate whether a story is true or not.

Now is it just me, or is the word "briefing" what you would expect from the shepherd of souls? Or is it what you would expect from a politician discussing a strategy meeting with his handlers? Just a thought.

When a second story arose over a week ago, the allegation was made to the Archdiocese.

Now the first allegation (of last August) was made to the police and NOT the Archdiocese. It wasn't taken seriously by apparently the police or the Archdiocese but see here boys and girls IF you take your complaint to the Archdiocese FIRST then we will take your complaint seriously.

Some have said that Fr. McCormack should have been immediately removed from ministry last August on the basis of what remains hearsay, without any sort of process. It seems to me morally wrong to insist that anyone should be punished on the basis of a story that could not be investigated. If this were the practice, no one would be safe.

Now this is a real kneeslapper. Did the Cardinal really say "no one will be safe" if abusers are removed based on hearsay? How revealing that we are concerned about the "safety" of the priest, the criminal abuser and NOT children. It's too rich. What is the meaning of zero tolerance if it doesn't mean that a priest is removed pending the investigation?

Along with my prayers for all involved, I would hope that anyone who has knowledge of the abuse of children by a priest or anyone else would report it immediately to IDCFS and to the Archdiocesan Professional Responsibility Administrator (312-751-5205). The Archdiocesan process works well when it is given a chance to be used.

And a final reminder to go to the Archdiocese first.

Now if a case of reported abuse is called hearsay by the Archdiocese what chance do victims have of being believed? Are they calling for the old standard of two eye witnesses?

To add to our disbelief we find that this priest had an accusation against him in 2000. You can read the story here.It's like deja vu all over again.

Gumbleton Made to Resign

If you are like me, you may know the name Gumbleton but may not be aware of his many talents. The founder of Pax Christi, author of The Peace Pulpit, a weekly series published by the National Catholic Reporter, pastor of St. Leo's in Detroit and former Bishop of Detroit under Cardinal Maida. Terms that define Bishop Gumbleton would include liberation theologian, pacifist, prohomosexual and all-round apologist for the Left. They say if you mix a little bit of the truth with a lie you get a more dangerous and powerful falsehood that pretty much epitomizes the career of Gumbleton and his attempted amalgamation of liberalism and Catholicism.

But the good news is that his resignation has been achieved. In an open letter Gumbleton states that he did not wish to resign and had been corresponding with vatican officials to "hang on". Thankfully his powers of persuasion were inadequate to the task.

Just before the news of the resignation came, Gumbleton stated that he had been molested as a teenager by a priest. Criticized for this by his admirers, he nontheless refused to reveal the identity of the priest- if indeed such a person exists.

Some of the more outrageous statements from his speeches and articles:

I know you realized that the laity are not as enraged by the fact that there are priests who are pedophiles, as much as the collusion in covering up and protecting the criminals disguised as men of God.

Personally I find it pretty enraging that some priests are pedophiles.

And on homosexuals in the school:

I believe our community would be enriched by the acknowledged presence of homosexual teachers in our schools.

[emphasis mine]


In a speech in Lexington, MA in 2005 Gumbleton called for "reforms" in the Church that included less homophobia, being more welcoming to homosexuals in the priesthood and the democratic election of Bishops by the people. But with the designation of retired it can be hoped that Bishop Gumbleton's mischief making days are drawing to a close. Surely the acceptance of this resignation is a sign that the days of tolerance by Rome of all manner of dissent, disobedience and the fostering of confusion among Catholics are ending. Let us hope.

In Case You've Been Wondering....

...what Michael Jackson has been up to lately. As if we needed any further evidence of why we needed the new Encyclical about authentic love.

The curious goings on can be read here. For anyone who has ever seen Lawrence of Arabia or lived in the Middle East, you know there is a reason why Jackson finds the this part of the world so welcoming. And it is a little more subtle than Thailand. I doubt he will be visiting Oklahoma anytime soon.

Vatican II in Perspective

The whole article by Brian Mershon is well worth reading. An interview with Bishops Bruskewitz and Corrado. Good stuff.

A few highlights:

Bishop Bruskewitz:

The majority of the Second Vatican Council fathers and the Popes never saw the council as discontinuous and as a rupture with the past. The emphasis was always in accord with the Council of Trent and the First Vatican Council — the unbroken continuity of Catholic Tradition, both in doctrine and in many other areas. There are those who understood, and still understand, the Second Vatican Council as some sort of revolutionary destruction of the past — a sort of French Revolution — that we are destroying everything in the past and starting new all over again, with a whole new [liturgical] calendar and everything.

The Periti (or experts)

What happened, however, is there was a para-council of periti, of experts, who all dominated through the whole matrix of media representation of what was going on at the council. Because of that, there were horrible distortions in the popular imagination, including the clerical imagination, including the priests. Even they saw this as a complete rupture. Emotionally and psychologically, people who intellectually might understand that the Mass is the same if you offer it in English or in Latin, [nonetheless] thought, "We have a whole new world here, and this doesn't really mean what it said."

The Mad Motorcyclists:

There are horror stories. For instance, Gregory Baum and some of these left-wing people who left the Church and dissented, they were going around [Rome] on motorcycles with Latin speeches in their saddlebags trying to find bishops who would say them.

And then some bishop would read them [publicly], they were in Latin, so he probably didn't even know what they said, and then they would blast them all over the newspapers: Things like 'The council says no more Purgatory,' among others. There was that sort of outrage that was going on. And in the area of the media, the left-wing liberal dissenting branch took over and prevailed.

Ecumenism:

It does not come from the directions from which so many other groups go on. You will find so many political parties trying to call ecumenical prayer groups and things like that. I think that is totally wrong. I think we need to re-center into true ecumenism, which is what the Church does, and not what other people do. We try to attract them to the fullness of truth. We try not to push them further away from the truth that they might still have either by natural revelation or by religious tradition. We try to bring them closer. I think that is what the Council was trying to emphasize. Ecumenism is what the Church does by bringing the truth to people through the aid of the Holy Spirit — the mission — so that those who are closer to the Truth come closer and that those farther away are not moving farther by our example or by our way of presenting the Truth.

And the finishing touch:

But the Truth is only one, and it is in the Catholic Church. We have to accept that.

Published in the January 26 issue of The Wanderer

Oklahoma Lawmaker to propose Death Penalty for Child Sex Abuse

The NAMBLA folks won't like this- legislation introduced in Oklahoma to make child sex abuse a crime punishable by the death penalty.

I was wondering how long it would take someone to propose this.

Now if we can only get people to see the connection between pornography and child sex abuse we can really make progress. But this is certainly a good start and I applaud it.

Benedict XVI's First Encyclical is finally here.

After anticipation, delays and speculation about translational difficulties the Encylical Deus est Caritas is here.

The Forward to the Encyclical was made public by the Holy Father on January 23rd and that text can be see here.

A Tale of Two Churches...

It is hard to think of anything than can be added to this article. The reporter does an excellent job laying out the parallels. While the Vatican is condemning the starvation of Terri Schiavo by her husband, Bishop Lynch of Florida is trying to justify Michael's starvation of Terri.

Now Michael Schiavo has remarried, in the Church of course, only 10 months after Terri's murder. His illegitimate children aged 2 1/2 and 3 attended the wedding.

Read it and weep.

The final line is especially chilling.

"It's unknown if Jodi Centonze Schiavo has executed a living will."

Lay the Axe to the Root....

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the tree, every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3:10

Today marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court decision that legalized the killing of unborn babies by any means and at any stage of preborn life. The pernicious root of this crime is yet unacknowledged by some prolife activists. That root would be birth control. Before 1930, all Protestant and Catholic religious leaders opposed its use. Luther and Calvin spoke explicitly against it. Currently most mainstream Protestant sects permit and even advocate the use of birth control.

The Catholic Church has consistently maintained its prolife and anti birth control stance and it is explained in the documents Casti Connubi (on Christian Marriage) and Humanae Vitae (On Human life.

According to Wikipedia a new movement of evangelical protestants have eschewed the use of birth control relying on the Biblical verse:

Sons are a heritage of the Lord. Children a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are son's born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they content with the enemies at the gates.

Once we decide to limit our family by the use of birth control we have diverted ourselves from obeying God's will and generously accepting the children that He would send to us; souls entrusted to their parents' care for their lifetime on earth. Souls that should be nurtured in the Catholic Faith and hopefully returned to God for eternity.

In a misguided and often abused attempt to "help" many Catholics rely upon and aggressively promote so-called Natural Family Planning to avoid bearing children. Unfortunately a marriage rendered partially or completely barren even with the use of NFP will later be a cause for regret as attested to in this article.

Another excellent case against the use of natural family planning birth control is made by Christopher Ferrara of Catholic Family News here.

Think about this. If you really love the children that God has given you, completely and wholeheartedly, why deny them more brothers and sisters? Why would you deny yourself the opportunity to grow in graces and learn ever new ways to sacrifice and perserve in the Catholic family life that God has called you to?

Our Lady say, "Fiat". She said yes to God and yes to life and yes to Our Saviour. As a young, betrothed but yet unmarried woman she had every expectation that she would not bear a child and still she said yes.

What will you say?

Family Life in the News

Two interesting stories in the news this week. The first is that married people build wealth. The whole article is here and makes you wonder if it is just that more successful people marry and their success translates into more wealth, an ability to commit and work hard at a marriage is their secret or if the challenges of marriage require people to work harder than if they only have a responsibility to themselves.

The second article says that short children perform less well in measures of their intelligence than taller children. The hypothesis is that increased stress in the home affects the intelligence of children negatively. Certainly food for thought.

Pope Tells Seminarian Be Courageous & Caring

From the Cathoic News Service:

World needs courageous, caring priests, says pope at Rome seminary

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Today's world needs courageous, caring priests who are not afraid to bring God's love to all people, especially to those languishing in poverty or struggling with difficulties, Pope Benedict XVI told members of a Rome seminary. But pastors must also be mature, lead holy lives and faithfully comply with the church's teaching authority if they are to be effective evangelizers and bring hope to the world, the pope said. The pope made his remarks Jan. 20 during an audience with some 60 members of Almo Capranica College, a diocesan seminary of Rome. "In order to respond to the expectations of modern society" and be part of the enormous task of evangelization, "prepared and courageous priests are needed, who without ambition and fear, but convinced of Gospel truth, make proclaiming Christ their first concern," the pope said.

The Holy Father makes it seem so simple. He tells his future priests to be:

1. Caring
2. Courageous
3. Mature
4. Holy
5. Obedient
6. Evangelists
7. Humble

The message is simple and direct. Some adjectives I don't see mentioned are "pastoral" which means wimpy, diverse which means gay, eccentric which also means gay, effeminate which means gay, or creative which means disobedient.

Pray for holy priests. And pray for vocations.

Encyclical Intrigue

The Times Online (UK) states that the Encyclical has been delayed and delayed again by problems with translation. Hmmmm.

The reporter claims:

There had been “unheard of tension” over the wording between the German section of the Secretariat of State, or Vatican Prime Minister’s office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pope’s German entourage, headed by Sister Ingrid Stampa, his housekeeper, and Father Georg Gaenswein, his secretary.

Even more interesting is speculation that the document is an attempt to fuse an unfinished work by John Paul II and writings of Pope Benedict XVI. How difficult must that be?

Vatican sources said that tensions had been exacerbated because the Pope had written the first part of the encyclical in German during his summer break and the second part was an adaptation of a document left behind in Polish by the late John Paul II. It had been passed to Vatican specialists for further revision but remained unfinished at the time of John Paul’s death ten months ago. The two parts had had to be “harmonised”.

According to the article those so-called "leaks" Vatican officials said the parts that have appeared in the news are inaccurate or speculative.

Pope Benedict will visit the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, the traditional venue for ecumenical celebrations, next Wednesday.

"Outside the walls", how very, very significant.

I don't know about you but this lead up is creating more and more suspense. It will be interesting to see exactly what is said and how. Here's the complete article.

Dr Thomas Drolesky opposing the Fairy Tale of Universal Salvation

Seeing some of the recent press reports that imply or state outright that all are saved we are reminded by Dr. Drolesky to work out our salvation in fear and trembling as St. Paul exhorted.

The teachings, the Tradition and the Scriptures are all here in the article.

I like the title- Refusing to Convert Souls.

Ann Coulter on the Alito Hearings & Demise of the Democrats

Coulter nails it again with a pithy piece about the Democrats and how they continue to plummet to news lows. Am I talking about their standards or their popularity? Both.

On Supreme Court Justice nominee Alito:

Besides being stunningly qualified, the characteristics of the current stellar Supreme Court nominee include these:

— His mother immediately told the press, "Of course he's against abortion."

— He had expressed support for the Reagan administration's positions on abortion in a 1985 memo.

— He refused to accede to the Democrats' endless browbeating and tell them that Roe was "settled law."

And the Democrats couldn't lay a finger on him. Sam Alito marks the final purging of the Bork experience.

On Ted Kennedy:

All the Democrats could do was scream about his [Alito's]inactive membership — back in the '70s — in CAP, Concerned Alumni of Princeton, which had a magazine called Prospect, which once ran an article, apparently satirical, complaining about Princeton admitting co-eds. In my mind, the only potentially disqualifying aspect of Alito's record was that he wasn't a more active member of CAP, a group opposed to quotas, set-asides and the lowering of academic standards at Princeton.

Then this week, we found out Sen. Teddy Kennedy still belongs to an organization that doesn't admit women. Oh — also, he killed a girl.

I'm fairly certain I've mentioned that before — I don't recall, Mr. Chairman — but I don't understand why everyone doesn't mention it every time Senator Drunkennedy has the audacity to talk about how "troubled" and "concerned" he is about this or that nominee. I bet Mary Jo was "troubled" and "concerned" about the senator leaving her in trapped in a car under water while he went back to the hotel to create an alibi.

It's not as if Democrats can say: OK, OK! The man paid a price! Let it go! He didn't pay a price. The Kopechne family paid a price. Kennedy weaved away scot-free.

Just can't get enough? It's all here.

Is it just me or.....?

is there something terribly wrong here? When I first read the Reuters story I thought- now that's odd. Because the concept of men knitting seems like one small step up from wearing women's underwear.

So I checked out the internet and found this . The headline says, "You are Not Alone". No, well maybe you should be. Here is another site dedicated to men and their attempt to get in touch w/ their feminine side here.

So, I guess it is really no surprise to see how the feminization of men continues in the Western world. The Christian Science Monitor noted it in 2003 and CBS moves the trajectory along its headline advocating knitting by men and boys. [shiver]

Lord, when the Psalmist said, "You knit me together in my mother's womb..." this is NOT at all when he meant! Fathers, husbands, sons I appeal to you. Bring back fencing, boxing, go carting racing but leave the knitting to the women.

Supreme Court Upholds Oregon Euthanasia Law

What a huge disappointment. John Robert, newest justice and the chief justice, voted correctly and was joined by Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. They are apparently the only voices of sanity on the court. It is frustrating to note that O'Connor and Kennedy were both Republican appointees. Souter, Stevens and Ginsburg are beyond hope having been appointed by Clinton.

CNN gives the basic outline here.

So, what does the future hold? The death mongers are already planning other state legal initiatives to expand euthanasia. Even the people at the American Bar Association recognize it is a short jump from assisted suicide to coercive murder.


In Britain doctors have admitted to killing 1000s of patients (whom they took an oath to treat and cure).

Those most at risk of being exterminated by the State are of course the poor, the vulnerable and the disabled. The courageous group Not Dead Yet is speaking out but is anyone listening?

Martin Luther King Jr and Planned Parenthood

As if we needed another reason not to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Here is an article from Planned Parenthood's own website. Interesting the names of people honored with awards from Planned Parenthood.

Here is the whole article, straight from the mouth of hell.

Some Courage from the Bishop

The Church needs to rediscover a political voice and stop cowering before the apparatus of government and its politically approved doctrines.

Nice to see a spirited defense of the right of the Church to be politically active on issues of moral importance, in this case the adoption of children by homosexual individuals who think they are a family. Here is a bishop who when his son asks for a fish is giving him a lobster dinner! Only one question, is the bishop available to chair the USCCB, select all new future bishops, visit the seminiaries, lobby the Legislature, .... well you get the idea.

You may find yourself re-reading this article all day. It's that good.

Water Turned to Wine

"The conscious water saw its God and blushed"~by Richard Crashaw

For more artwork depicting the Wedding at Cana.



For a place to email postcards from the Web Gallery of Art. Voila. Just select postcards at the top of the page.

And to research just the right poetic quotation. Find it here.

Famous Frauds

One of the most famous and fascinating frauds perpetrated in this century is certainly "Piltdown Man". A skull "discovered" in 1912 by Charles Dawson in Piltdown, England it was said to provide the missing link to evolution. Well, in reality it was fragments of a human skull and an intact orangatuan jaw. Teilhard de Chardin studied the "artifact". Rudyard Kipling left clues in his story "Dayspring Mishandled" that he knew of the fake. You can read more about it here.

Big Foot was debunked and you can read the sad truth here.

Crop Circles are another elaborate hoax.

The Cardiff Giant and P.T. Barnum an interesting read.

The Tourist of death photo that began as an inside joke among friends but became a phenomenon on the internet.

The truth about Amityville; after the owners of the home discovered grisly murders had taken place they made up the stories of the haunting with their lawyer, profited handsomely from book and movie deals until their lawyer revealed the truth.

But the Cottingly Fairies I still want to believe in. Francis says the first 4 photos are faked but the fifth was real. You can read more and see if you believe. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes believed fiercely in the fairies and if that isn't enough for you, what is?

Though on a more serious and disturbing note another famous fraud whom political correctness has given their own American holiday is Martin Luther King Jr. He is said to be a champion of equality, committed to civil rights for black Americans, a Christian and nonviolence advocate. In reality King was a Communist, womanizer, plagiarist and all around fraud. Go here and read about the reality and evaluate for yourself if Martin Luther King Jr. day is cause for celebration or only another hoax.

Tertullian and Against All Heresies

Well unbeknownst to me when I started this blog the title "Against All Heresies" is actually the name of a document authored by Tertullian somewhere around 200 AD. I could pretend I knew that and that is why I picked it, but I decided that before the fraud was exposed I would just admit to it.

Reading about Tertullian, I was amazed at what an interesting person he was. Raised a pagan he converted due to the impressive example of the early Christians who approached martyrdom with bravery and abandon. He was described as aggressive, sarcastic, brilliant and funny. Clearly he was a choleric. He is known as the first "Latin" Christian and published prolifically. (today he would have been a blogger)He was the first to use the word Trinity. His writing was mainly in response to local actions, persecutions being experienced by the Catholic Church and heresy. Hence his text, "Against All Heresies".

In it Tertullian named several early heretics and explained what their particular heresies were. For example the Ophites worshipped serpents, some denied the physical resurrection and then there were the Cainites. And the reason they attracted my attention was because of their belief that Cain was superior to Abel and also their attempt to defend and even elevate Judas by stating that it was through his actions that mankind was offered salvation.

Isn't funny how some things never change? This article describes a current attempt to do the same thing for the "son of perdition". I see it as an attempt to claim that everyone is in heaven. God couldn't possibly be so mean as to send anyone to hell, not even Judas. Of course all this is unspoken but you get the drift.

But Tertullian is most well known for his Apologeticum- or defense of Christianity. It is brief, bold and spirited.

Sadly, Tertullian succumbed to the heresy of Montanism and was denounced by St. Jerome and St. Augustine. Montanists believed that the Holy Spirit was giving new inspiration to contemporary prophets. The new beliefs did not involve dogma but practical matters of resisting persecution, avoiding remarriage after the death of one's spouse, austere fasting and a hostility to compromise with sin. It was not the belief in these things that consituted the heresy but the idea that the Holy Spirit (whose direct inspiration ended with the apostles)was in a sense reactivated. Tertullian left the "mainstream" Montanists and formed his own sect that became known as Tertullians. After his death the remnant of this group was reconciled with the Church by St. Augustine.

For famous quotes by Tertullian:

and a few of my favorites are:

He who lives only to benefit himself, confers on the world a benefit when he dies.

The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.

The first reaction to truth is hatred.

See how these Christians love one another.

Prevention of birth is a precipitation of murder.

A Nice LIttle Montage of Heresies

Here at Suicide of the West. I guess more people are becoming interested in the subject of heresies.

You Have to Read Ann Coulter Today

Not afraid to say this:

With all their hysteria about Valerie Plame, I had nearly forgotten what the Democratic Party stands for. It's good to be reminded that the sole item on the Democrats' agenda is abortion.

And this:

In the history of the nation, there has never been a political party so ridiculous as today's Democrats. It's as if all the brain-damaged people in America got together and formed a voting bloc.

This is just the kind of hit and run, take no prisoners conservatism I like. To read every last word- here ya go!

Part of me is outraged and part of me says they are playing right into our hands...

By reducing Mrs. Alito to tears yesterday. Way to go defenders and protectors of women (as the Demononcratic, I mean Democratic Party bills itself). With these types of enemies, who needs friends?

Senator Biden, D (for Duh)

Made somewhat of a fool of himself. Even his supporters are saying so here.
And then there is that picture of him wearing a Princeton cap, after trying to score some cheap points in the class warfare game by making Alito out to be an elitist by sending his daughters there. Little did Biden remember, or think it would come back to haunt him, that he had said in a speech to Princeton that he wished he had had an opportunity to go to Princeton. National Review Online picked it up immediately.

The Heresy of Antiquarianism

The misguided idea of bringing the Liturgy (and the Sacraments for that matter)back to "Biblical times" and attemping to recreate "Last Supper conditions" is one that has the heresy of antiquarianism at its roots. This is the rationale given by those progressives who want to see the Sacred Mystery of the Mass reduced to the banality of a meal. "Cook up some hamburger helper Honey, and let's eat!"

Discussed at length in this excellent article by Cornelia Ferreira from Catholic Family News, the heresy was condemned by Pius XII in the encyclical Mediator Dei. Pope Pius XII, references the illegal Council of Pistoia which attempted to bring about Mass in the vernacular, a reduction of all religious orders to one with a common habit and rule, eliminating perpetual vows, and requiring each Church to have but one altar. (The modernists have simplified their attack on the religious life in merely calling for a reduction).

So the next time the Liturgy committee tells you they are making a change to reclaim our roots or restore authentic liturgy, you will know that this is an idea that has been tried before. In 1786 by the Jansenist Bishop who called for the Council of Pistoia, in 1947 when Pius the XII saw the danger and identified it as a heresy and even now in the present.

"So then brethern, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter." 2 Thessalonians 2:15

Real Men, Real Priests

Ernest Hemingway has nothing on these priests. What a pleasure to see masculine priests having a guys' weekend that includes not only the Rosary, Mass, hiking but hunting as well! There is hope.

This inspirational message brought to you by Catholic Ragemonkey.

Senator Coburn, R Oklahoma

Read Senator Coburn's statement during the Judge Alito hearings.

Wonderful!

March for Life, January 23rd- Come!!!

March for Life, January 23, 2006

Bus Transportation from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C. found here.

His Excellency, Bishop Rifan

I love the green gloves- what is the significance I wonder. His Excellency, Bishop Rifan of Campos, Brazilia! Bishop Rifan processes in to say Mass in the Traditional Rite of Braga at Holy Name in Providence, RI. For more photos- enjoy.

Pope's Address to the Diplomatic Corps

Sandro Magister in Chiesa recounts the highlights of the Pope's address to the Diplomatic Corps.

Some highlights:

“Truth can only be attained in freedom. This is the case with all truth, as is clear from the history of science; but it is eminently the case with those truths in which man himself, man as such, is at stake, the truths of the spirit, the truths about good and evil, about the great goals and horizons of life, about our relationship with God. These truths cannot be attained without profound consequences for the way we live our lives. And once freely appropriated, they demand in turn an ample sphere of freedom if they are to be lived out in a way befitting every dimension of human life.”

On Iraq:

“the cradle of great civilizations, which in these past years has suffered daily from violent acts of terrorism,” with an unequivocal identification of what, for the pope, is the true enemy in that country.

It is interesting to note that according to Catholic World News the number of diplomats who has representatives in the diplomatic corps nearly doubled under the pontificate of John Paul II. In 1978 it was 92 and is now 168. Still not represented are China, Saudi Arabia and other islamic countries.

Curt Jester pitches Reality TV to EWTN

The Curt Jester is just too much with his latest- Extreme Makeover- Church Style. You'll laugh and if the before picture is your Church, you'll cry that it is only parody.

Thrilling WWII story- the transcendence of the Mass

The Altar Boy
By Richard H. Kiley

We had made a rapid advance across Northern France from the Normandy beachhead.
Historians say it was the fastest opposed advance in the history of modern
warfare. Now, our 105-millimeter howitzer battalion was bivouacked in an
abandoned castle on the outskirts of a small Belgian town. The exact locations
of occupied and unoccupied territory were not well known, and due to an error in
map reading, we learned at daybreak that we were close to a German infantry
unit. Watching our artillery battalion attempting to act as infantry was
laughable, but we had no choice. Using our pieces at close range with time
bursts, we caused the enemy to retreat.

Later that morning, I ventured away from the castle and observed the local
townspeople walking to the center of the village to the sound of church bells. I
realized that it was Sunday and people were on their way to a Catholic mass. I
followed them.

Inside the church, when the priest appeared from the sacristy, I saw that he was
without an altar boy. I was only nineteen years old, not too far away from my
own altar boy days in Philadelphia. So almost by rote, I went into the
sanctuary, knelt down next to the priest and, still in my uniform, started to
perform the normal functions of an acolyte:

"... Ad deum qui laetificat juventutem meam ..." [To God, the joy of my youth].
"... Quia tu es Deus fortitudo mea ..." [For Thou, O God, art my strength].
"Confiteor Deo omnipotenti ..." [I confess to Almighty God].

The priest and I went through the whole mass as if we had done it together many
times before: water and wine; lavabo (the ritual of washing hands after the
offertory); changing the book; suscipiat (a prayer of acceptance); and the final
blessing.

As prescribed, I preceded the priest into the sacristy and, as is the custom,
stood apart from him with my hands in the prayer position while he divested. He
removed the chasuble, then the cincture. When his arms lifted the alb, I saw
that he was wearing a German uniform. My heart stopped: The priest was a German
officer!

The man was a German chaplain and though he had realized immediately that he had
an American sergeant as an altar boy, during the entire twenty minutes of the
mass, he had given no outward sign of recognition.

My German was rather rudimentary, and the only thing I could put together was,
"Gut Morgen, Vater" ("Good morning, Father"). Evidently, his English was
nonexistent, for somewhat flustered, he only smiled at me. Then, we shook hands,
and I left.

I walked back to the castle strangely exhilarated. Two strangers, enemies at
war, had met by chance and for twenty minutes, without any direct communication,
had found complete unanimity in an age-old ritual of Christian worship.

The memory of this incident has remained with me for over fifty years. It still
brings the same elation, for I know firsthand that, even in war, our common
humanity - under the same God - can triumph over hatred and division.

Worshipping Ourselves and all our errors

These stained glass windows
are really something. Let's see how many heresies do I see- indifferentism, narcissism, secularism.... The list is long. This Church is St. Ambrose of Buffalo, NY. I tell you so that you will never have to go there.

Our Lady of Good Success and Our Lady of Fatima: Prophecies for Our Times

"Our Lady told Mother Mariana that in our lamentable times, heresies would abound, the corruption of manners and customs would be almost complete and the light of the Faith would be nearly extinguished."

From an article by Marian T. Horvat, PhD

To read more...

Our Lady of Good Sucess and Our Lady of Fatima: Prophecies for Our Time

Pope Attacks "Culture of Death" at First Baptisms

Pope attacks "culture of death" at first baptisms
Sun Jan 8, 2006 9:40 AM ET14

By Crispian Balmer

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict performed the first baptisms of his pontificate on Sunday, using the occasion to launch an impassioned denunciation of irresponsible sex and a "culture of death" that he said pervaded the modern world.

Pope Benedict, abandoning his prepared sermon, compared the wild excesses of the ancient Roman empire to 21st century society and urged people to rediscover their faith.

"In our times we need to say 'no' to the largely dominant culture of death," Benedict said during his improvised homily in the frescoed Sistine Chapel where he was elected Pope last April.

"(There is) an anti-culture demonstrated by the flight to drugs, by the flight from reality, by illusions, by false happiness ... displayed in sexuality which has become pure pleasure devoid of responsibility," he added.

Benedict did not spell out what he meant by a "culture of death", but the phrase was a rallying cry of his predecessor John Paul who regularly used the term to define abortion and artificial birth control.

With Michelangelo's dramatic depiction of the Last Judgment as a backdrop, Benedict attacked the "thing-ification of mankind", suggesting that people had become little more than objects to be traded, picked up and discarded at will.

He singled out ancient Rome's Colosseum amphitheatre and the gardens of the emperor Nero, where Christians were once martyred, as a "real perversion of joy and a perversion of the sense of life."

"The anti-culture of death was a love of lies and of deceit. It was an abuse of the body as a commodity and as a product. Even in our times there is this culture and we must say 'No' to it," he said.

It was the first time since he became Pope that Benedict has ignored the prepared text of his homily, sent to the media beforehand, and instead spoken at length off the cuff.

The official speech focused on the significance of baptism, which marks the admission of a person into the community of Christians.

Benedict was following in John Paul's footsteps by performing baptisms in the Sistine Chapel on the day when Roman Catholics remember Christ's own baptism in the river Jordan.

"This is a 'yes' to Christ, a 'yes' to the victors of death, a 'yes' to life," Benedict said before carefully pouring water on the heads of the babies - 5 girls and 5 boys.

John Paul baptised almost 1,400 infants during his 26-year reign, but was forced to miss the Sistine Chapel ceremony in the last two years of his pontificate because of ill-health.


© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved

Happy Epiphany!

And they're gonna have a field day w/ this one...

what the anti-catholics say

Limbo and Why We Should Care

By now, everyone knows that a International Theological Commission was, well commissioned, to study the question of Limbo and more specifically, what happens to children who die before receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. (that's right Sacrament NOT initiation!)

When a report, or if a report will be issued, we do not know. Time Magazine has picked up the story :

Time on Limbo


Time accurately states what is at stake and that is the Church's teaching on Baptism and its necessity for Salvation.

New Advent treats the topic comprehensively and gives the Scriptural and traditional teachings on Limbo :

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09256a.htm

So don't be fooled into thinking that there is no Scriptural basis for Limbo.

On the topic of the fate of aborted babies you can read here:

www.saintbenedict.com/publications/point_jan2001.php

I think a statement will be released that says we trust in God's mercy (which is really what Limbo is all about) and we hope for God's mercy and people will draw their own conclusions. Will this result in fewer babies being baptized? I hope not.

Heresy of Naturalism

Well, it didn't take much looking and here is the pertinent quote that defines Naturalism, which is actually a precursor to Pelagianism (a more commonly known heresy. This is taken from an online Archive of Fr. John A. Hardon SJ's works- what a treasure trove!

http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Christology/Christology_023.htm

"Pelagianism against the Necessity of the Redemption. The principal heresy of naturalism in Christian history was born of Stoic philosophy that infected certain writers from apostolic times. Yet, the full-blown system of Pelagianism into which it developed did not arise until the beginning of the fifth century. A British lay-monk, Pelagius, first popularized the theory, together with his disciple Celestius. Little is known about the life of Pelagius, except that he was born in England about 354 A. D. (the year of Augustine's birth) and came to Rome where he became alarmed by the low morality of priests and people. He concluded that the only hope of reform lay in placing all the responsibility for sin on the free wills of men, to the point of denying the necessity of Christ's redemption or of divine grace.

The premises served as basis for Pelagius' thesis. Arguing from the principle that "a person is free if he does what he wills and avoids what he wills to avoid," he said that heaven is attainable by use of our natural faculties alone, since nothing but the free will is needed to practice virtue and keep out of sin." [emphasis mine]


So basically, anyone who thinks they can get to heaven on natural goodness is wrong. You must keep the Faith of the Catholic Church, whole and entire.

Halloooo out there!

Well this is my first post, of my second blog. (The first I let sit idle and I think they deleted me) You know who "they" are- the blog people. Anyway, I want this blog to be informational and fun and if I ever feel like it is then I might even tell people about it. ;)

Recently, I was discussing heresies w/ my vastly better educated younger sister and we were trying to think of the name of the heresy that states that all nice people go to heaven. She knew it began with an "N". I tried researching heresies and all I came up with was a bunch of sites listing the "heresies" of the Catholic Church. Now since the Catholic Church is the One, Holy and Apostolic Church I knew that wasn't right!

So I thought I would start a blog discussing the different heresies- since clearly there is no shortage of them. I think the name of the heresy might be Naturalism. Any thoughts?