Saw This Coming....

From innocence to:



This:




When Charlotte Church first became famous for her Traditional Catholic music I was thrilled that a modest, talented, Catholic young lady was setting a standard for the music industry. I happily bought 2 of her cds- Voice of An Angel and Dream a Dream. When her third CD came out with her posing nude on the cover I knew it was over. Well Lifesite breaks this story that Ignatius Press is discontinuing carrying her music because of her blasphemous and irreverent behavior on a television show. Disappointing but not terribly surprising. Let's hope she has a change of heart.

The problem:

The pilot for The Charlotte Church Show was recorded before a live audience on July 12 in London. During the show, the hostess Charlotte Church, dressed as drug-using nun, smashed open a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary revealing a hidden can of cider, and spoke about worshipping “St. Fortified Wine.” Along the same vein of comic blasphemy, the pop diva pretended to hallucinate while consuming communion wafers branded with Ecstasy smiley faces, and denigrated Pope Benedict XVI as a “Nazi”, even though she had performed for the late Holy Father, John Paul II, when she was a 12 year-old girl.

In an official statement, Ignatius Press stated, “It is with regret that we do this; Miss Church possesses a great gift from God, and in the past she has used her talent often to offer praise and glory to our Lord.” While Ignatius Press praised the sacred music Charlotte had done in the past, they said, “We cannot stand by a young woman who uses her stature in the media to mock the Eucharist, slander the Holy Father, and denigrate the vows of religious women. Therefore, our catalogs and website will immediately withdraw all compact discs, cassette tapes, DVDs and VHS tapes that feature Miss Church. Please join us in praying for this troubled young woman.”

The Holy Father visits the St. Bernards

I had been looking for this picture since I first read yesterday that the Holy Father had crossed the border into Switzerland to visit the Kennels of the Augustinian Fathers where the St. Bernard dogs have been raised for 100s of years.

As the owner of this breed of gentle giant I have to say there is no better nor more loyal dog.

My thanks to the blog In Nomine Domini.

Liturgical Abuses

The Inquisitor Generalis noted an interesting admission from the Head of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Archbishop Ranjith. To read some of the comments on this blog I was ready to conclude that I could emerge from my self imposed Traditional ghetto as illicit Masses and other liturgical abuses were nearly unheard of. Sadly this does not seem to be the experience of the Congregation. The relevant quote from CWNews:

"Every day, the archbishop [Abp. Ranjith] disclosed, the Congregation for Divine Worship receives new complaints about serious liturgical abuses, and complaints that local bishops have failed to correct them. If the Church fails to curb these abuses, he said, "people will attend the Tridentine [sic] Mass, and our churches will be empty."

But I still can't figure out what to do with Catholics who actually enjoy this type of buffoonery:

Milingo Update

...or a little salt in the wound. I ask myself as I read this- why is it that Rome does not know what is going on with Bishop Milingo? According to this article in the National Catholic Reporter in an exclusive interview with Bishop Milingo, Milingo has written to the Holy Father and apprised him of his actions and beliefs.

I also found this blog that has a very complete post on Milingo with lots of useful links. Fr. Joe is here.

According to Zenit, the Legionaire's news site:

ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome

Date: 2006-07-13

Holy See Comments on Archbishop Milingo

VATICAN CITY, JULY 13, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo is again in the news, this time reportedly to campaign for a change in Church discipline on priestly celibacy.

The Vatican issued a statement today, saying: "The Holy See has not yet received precise news on the purpose of the trip to the United States of Monsignor Emmanuel Milingo, archbishop emeritus of Lusaka, Zambia.

"However, if the statements attributed to him about ecclesiastical celibacy are true, there would be no alternative but to deplore them, the discipline of the Church in this respect being well known," concluded the brief communiqué.

On his return to the Catholic Church at the request of Pope John Paul II in August 2001, Archbishop Milingo, native of Zambia, acknowledged that, having gone through a crisis, he sought recognition for his work in the "Moon" sect.

A few months earlier in that year, he had entered a supposed marriage -- not recognized by the Catholic Church -- with Maria Sung, in Korean Reverend Sung Myug Moon's "Federation of the Family for World Peace and Unification."

Today, the Italian newspaper Avvenire reported that, after a few weeks of not knowing Monsignor Milingo's whereabouts, he appeared on Wednesday in Washington.

According to the Italian Catholic newspaper, the prelate said at a press conference that he has gone back to Maria Sung, that he has met again with Moon himself and that he is contesting priestly celibacy.

Crime and punishment

In the debate on the SSPX and the sanctions that have been enacted against them by Rome several detractors stated that NEVER will you find a priest or Bishop who blatantly defied Rome and was not corrected or excommunicated.

Well I offer you exhibit 1A:

Bishop Emmanuel Milingo of Zambia, Africa. Bishop Milingo, as you may remember married a woman named Maria in 2001 and went AWOL. They made a lovely couple don't you think? For this Bishop Milingo was not punished, censored or excommunicated. Bishop Milingo was welcomed back to Rome and retained his status as Bishop. Maria was sent away quietly. In 2003, Bishop Milingo went back to Africa in defiance of the Vatican. Again, there were no consequences.

About a month ago Bishop Milingo again vanished and his whereabouts were unknown. He has resurfaced in Washington, D.C. and held a press conference calling for the Church to end its discipline of celibacy for priests.

What will it take for the Vatican to correct him? Suspend him? Sanction him?

Seems that as long as Bishop Milingo does not make the mistake of saying the Latin Mass he will be fine, and recognized as fully in union with Rome unlike the nefarious, the devious, the contemptible priest of the SSPX.

It will be interesting if this post generates the same level of vitriol and condemnation. Somehow I don't think it will.

Obedience, remember, obedience.

Know They Neighbor instead of Love Thy Neighbor

Homosexuals, famous for their tolerance and compassion, are now the perpetrators of a hate crimes in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Ironic when they are probably the ones who campaigned and organized the most intensely to get those laws on the books. You know the laws, the ones that tell us how to think. But have no fear, though they are perpetrating hate crimes against Jamaicans and straight people, the police won't prosecute them. So it's all good.

This article in the Boston Globe mentions the incidents- Jamaicans being subjected to racial slurs and straight people being called breeders.

More interestingly, the article describes a group called Knowthyneighbor.org that is "outing" the the opponents of gay "marriage". The names and addresses of those who signed petitions opposing gay marriage are being posted on the internet website so that homosexual rights activists can target them for hate.

The article specifically mentions the Catholic Church, a warning shot over the bow if you will:

The names of 43 Provincetown residents are listed on the website. Most of the petition signers attend St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, which serves the Portuguese community and others in town. The Catholic Church has helped lead the fight against same-sex marriage.

One St. Peter's parishioner, Yvonne Cabral, was verbally accosted last Friday by Provincetown Magazine publisher Rick Hines after Hines learned that Cabral signed the petition, according to police.

Now the point of this article is not to expose the hypocrisy of the homosexual activists who are trying to intimidate those who don't support gay marriage and Jamaicans, remember this IS the Boston Globe. No, the point of the article is to warn the Catholic Church that it is in the sights of the activists and they will not rest until the Church has been silenced or destroyed in Massachusetts.

Remember that St. Peter the Apostle Church just burned down in January - a very strange coincidence if you ask me. Especially when knowthyneighbor.org has a special webpage dedicated to the sponsors of the petition. The Catholic Church receives special mention.. Found here.

Followup to Flesh of My Flesh

In the previous post there were interesting comments about the article by Dr. Peter Chojnowski. To illustrate the importance of the article I am going to highlight some quotes of especial interest that I think make the case for why this article had to be written:

One commenter wrote that the last thing we need is a man telling women how to be women. Well if we didn't have 4400 babies killed a day by abortion and all the other attendant evils of feminism I might I might agree with you. What do you think of this quote:

A husband's constitutional helplessness in the face of his wife's desire to abort their unborn child is one of the gravest manifestations of his legal and social castration.

Overall I thought the article was about MEN and not women. It was demonstrating the massive and awesome responsibility that men have to society and the family. This section of what should occur with courtship and dating especially stood out for me because it just doesn't happen anymore. Women are running after men, trying to make up their minds for them and passive men wake up one day and find themselves married, strong men can't find a woman who won't throw herself at him first.

The quote:

Just as it was the male's place to work to establish the nascent relationship by indicating interest and by struggling to win the affections of the female, who should only reciprocate interest if he struggles in a manly way to get her attention so too must he be the one, in the social and economic ventures of the family are to suceed, who injects his ideas, talents, labors into both family life and the civic order.

I should say too that I don't see the role of raising childen, homemaking and being a wife as inferior or of less importance than manly endeavor. I think if you have that view perhaps subconsciously you will be offended by these statements.

And to the lady who objected to the article because the author lectured for the Society of Pius X I would say that if the Jews are our "elder brothers" and the Protestants are our "separated brethern" then surely there must be a place for the SSPX.

Flesh of My Flesh

Fascinating article on the role of men and women, philosophical but simply presented- in other words even I could understand it.

Dr. Peter Chojnowski, professor on Flesh of My Flesh.

The USCCB batting 1000

Diogenes points out another problematic movie review by the USCCB. In case there are any Catholics out there who are still guided by the movie reviews, and judging from the Harry Potter question there are a lot out there, here you go.

The title of the movie is "Loverboy". It's list of questionable elements:

Promiscuity, some brief sexual encounters, artificial insemination, partial rear and upper female nudity, breastfeeding, some crude language, an act of animal cruelty, suicide, and murder attempt.

This film is rated L for limited adult audience. Naturally those who would oppose the breastfeeding I imagine.

From Brokeback Mountain to The Passion of the Christ to Loverboy, at least they are consistent, though consistently wrong.The entire review is here.

What's Wrong with Harry Potter?

What's wrong with Harry Potter? After all they are all in harmless fun. Mildly entertaining and they are getting kids to read. And that is the important thing right? How can they be so appealing if they are truly evil?

These are the defenses that I hear from people who quite self-defensively promote reading the Harry Potter series. There are several objections. The first is aesthetic- the books are banal, poorly written and the American versions specfically "dumbed down" for our public school educated audience. I wouldn't lower myself but that is the snobby English major in me talking.

Morally is where the real problem lies and is the only reason that ANYONE cares who is reading Harry Potter. We hear they are appealing and therefore cannot be evil. When we made our Baptism vows we promised to avoid the "glamour of evil". So if evil were not glamourous it would not tempt us. That argument is easily dismissed. We cannot rely upon whether something is good based upon our feelings about it. I could easily convince myself to eat an entire box of chocolates. After all, food is good for you and nourishing, chocolate is high in iron and the box was a gift so it must be good to do show my appreciation in such a dramatic way? Feelings are no basis for anything except concern and suspicion. Our dedication to the good must be objective and overcome our inclinations.

There is the small matter of the subject of the books. After all they are about sorcery and witchcraft right? The sorcery does not represent grace as it does in the Lord of the Rings, written by the very devout J.R.R. Tolkien. Sorcery in Harry Potter represents power, and specifically power over "muggles" the normal, average people. In the Lord of the Rings, the normal people (or hobbits their representatives) are the means by which God shows his grace. The humans become conduits of His grace and cooperate with His divine plan. In Harry Potter the only plan is Harry's revenge. A bit of a difference, no?

In this article, the greatest threat or obstacle to evanglizing people with the Truth is sorcery and witchcraft. Strange to us who don't really believe in evil or sorcery and that is why we do not have the proper fear of books like Harry Potter. We think we are superior to them and any appeal they hold. These evangelists understand that this is not the case and witness the playing out of the battle between good and evil for souls. This article further explains that the Holy Father is on record as saying that the Harry Potter books are a type of seduction to evil. Fr. Gabriel Amorth, Rome's chief excorcist who believes very much in evil agrees. But what do they know?

There is also the consideration of what do you want to dwell upon in your mind? What is pure, godly, salvific, encouraging? Or what is evil masquerading as good? Women used to labor over their embroidery samplers that contained a pious verse, sing hymns while they worked, read the Bible on Sundays. Haven't we fallen very far indeed when our entertainment is watching Inside Edition, reading People magazine and watching sitcoms on TV? When you acclimate yourself to evil by immersing yourself in it you lose your ability to protect yourself from it. And you cannot advance spiritually.

I often think of the Bible verse, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." A good sentiment that rallies one to righteousness.

Boys Will Be Boys- Let Them

A must read for summer, "The Dangerous Book for Boys".

The Dangerous Book for Boys by the British brothers Conn and Hal Iggulden is a practical manual that returns boys to the wonder and almost lost world of tree houses and pirate flags. It celebrates the art of teaching an old mutt new tricks and accepts skinned knees as an acceptable risk for running through fields with the same dog yapping along.

As of July 3, The Dangerous Book is the number one seller on Amazon UK and it is holding steady at about 7,000 on Amazon in the U.S., where it was published on June 5. The Australian News reports that the book "has made it to the top five of…Amazon [Australia], after just a week."

Those results make publishers take notice. But social commentators are also reacting with both applause and condemnation.

Condemnation arises because The Dangerous Book breaks the dominant and politically correct stereotype for children's books. It presents boys as being deeply different than girls in terms of their interests and pursuits. Although it is highly probable that bookstores will sell the book to girls who then will go on to practice skimming stones, nevertheless the genders are separated within the book's pages.

The authors clearly believe that the majority of children interested in learning to build a catapult are boys. Girls are included only through a final chapter in which boys are admonished to treat them with respect.

snip

The brothers state, "In this age of video games and mobile phones, there must still be a place for knots, tree-houses and stories of incredible courage." They advise children to "play sport of some kind. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as it replaces the corpse-like pallor of the computer programmer with a ruddy glow."

Their vision is not utopian or even impractical. For example, a tree house requires only a blueprint, some scrap lumber and a willing parent. The latter requirement turns The Dangerous Book into something more than a work for boys. It is also a guide for parents, especially for fathers who wish to establish an old-fashioned connection with their children.

Indeed, since parents purchase most children's books, it is reasonable to assume that the run-away success of The Dangerous Book is partly due to their longing for a better connection.

One father describes his experience with the book, "I gave it to my 11-year-old son Charles and his friend…Then I stood well back." Raised on The Lord of the Rings, "they immediately turned to the section of the book that showed them how to create their own Legolas-style archery kit, using bits of old branch no longer needed by the Ents. When they began stripping the bark off with a big, shiny, sharp-bladed Swiss Army knife, I had to dig down deep in order to ignore the parental risk-ometer readings that were going off the scale, accompanied by vivid flash-forwards of the inevitable long, bloodstained-bandaged hours ahead in casualty."

Happily, the only injury was to evildoers who lurked in the garden shrubbery.

These days, the news about boys is not happy and often contains the word 'crisis.' The Education Sector, a non-profit think tank, offers a typical description of the perceived 'crisis' within education.

"After decades spent worrying about how schools 'shortchange girls,' the eyes of the nation's education commentariat are now fixed on how they shortchange boys. In 2006 alone, a Newsweek cover story, a major New Republic article, a long article in Esquire, a 'Today' show segment, and numerous op-eds have informed the public that boys are falling behind girls in elementary and secondary school and are increasingly outnumbered on college campuses."

Society is awakening to the possibility that boys have been disadvantaged. In past decades, what it means to be a boy has been redefined, deconstructed, reconstructed, politically analyzed and mathematically modeled. In the process, the meaning of being a boy's father has become jumbled as well.

The Black Legend

On the 4th of July it makes an interesting contrast to see how the Catholic country of Spain, ruled by Queen Isabella colonized what is now the United States and South America and how the English governed their settlements.

From this essay that appeared in Free Republic:

For almost 500 years there has been a campaign of defamation against the legacy of Spain in America. It is sad to find that this lack of historical perspective, along with an entrenched Hispanophobia, has been going on for centuries in the Anglo-Saxon countries and consequently has brought about a subconscious, almost automatic, rejection of Hispanic values. According to historian Dr. Powell: “Jaundiced views of the Hispanic world are taught very early in our schools and they are thoroughly inculcated by the time we enter college and university...The standard simplistic version of Spanish rule in America as a slavocracy, filled with tyranny, looting, bleeding taxation, and suffocating obscurantism, does not conform to the facts.” (1) (*) This attitude, based upon prejudices and ignorance, is damaging the image of the Hispanics in this country. Sometimes the Hispanics themselves, either by action or omission or simply because they were not aware of the truth of their history, have contributed to demean their own heritage.

Dr. Philip Wayne Powell, Emeritus Professor of history at the University of California, in his research on the "Black Legend" titled the “Tree of Hate” , (a book that every Hispanist should read) asserts that the study of 16th century Europe clearly reveals the universal pattern of cruelty, intolerance, and inhumanity which characterized the social, religious, and economic life throughout the continent...Examples of this were the reigns of Elizabeth I of England and her successor James I which were known for their most barbarous cruelty. However, Dr. Powell affirms "that the Spain of the conquest period was a deeply civilized nation by all discernible European standards of that day, ...In jurisprudence, diplomacy, monarchical, religious and imperial concepts, and total culture, Spain was a European leader throughout the sixteen century and in much of the next.” (2) (*)

To Summarize some of Spain's Accomplishments:

-Queen Isabella the Catholic took the Indians under her protectsion considering them subjects of the Spanish Crown.

-Fr. Bartolome de Las Casas, the Protector of the Indian and the first prophet of human rights in America.

- Pope Paul III declared that the Indian should not be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, eventhough they were outside the faith of Jesus Christ.

- The University of Salamanca and the College of San Gregorio of Valldolid, recognized the Indian's rights to keep their own laws and territories.

- Emperor Charles V (grandson to Isabella) reaffrimed the prohibition of the Indian's slavery.

Inspired Traditionalist

A new Traditional Blog- The Inspired Traditionalist by Ginny.

Her page has a beautiful quote from St. Ambrose:

"Ignorance is no excuse when we have neglected to learn what we are obliged to know."

Why Have Children?

Eric Cohen asks "Why Have Children?" in this chilling article about where we are headed given our anti-child attitude worldwide.

Once today’s childless generations grow old, they will face the prospect of their own mortality without children to care for them, comfort them, and mourn them. As the personal freedom of the past ends in isolation, euthanasia may come to seem the most rational, or perhaps the only plausible, solution to the debilities of old age.

You may wonder why I use such romantic depictions of children. It's because romanticizing family life helps us muddle through it, heroicly, patiently and successfully. Every family must have a vision of themselves as a group or subculture and every family member a view of their role as attractive and meaningful.

G.K. Chesterton understood this and says the following on romance and realism:

Romance is more solid than realism, and that for a very evident reason. The things that men happen to get in this life depend upon quite shifting accidents and conditions. But the things that they desire and dream of are always the same.

So by all means romanticize family life and the raising of children in order to draw adherents to this essential truth and confirm your own commitment to your husband or wife and children.

Fr. Euteneuer Calls it as He Sees it

Fr. Euteneuer: Buffett is 'Dr. Mengele of philanthropists'
Alliance with Gates foundation irks anti-abortion activists

NEW YORK (AP) -- Warren Buffett's new philanthropic alliance with fellow billionaire Bill Gates won widespread praise this week, but anti-abortion activists did not join in, instead assailing the two donors for their longtime support of Planned Parenthood and international birth-control programs.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to which Buffett has pledged the bulk of his $44-billion fortune, devotes the vast majority of its funding to combating disease and poverty in developing countries. Less than 1 percent has gone to Planned Parenthood over the years. And the Gates Foundation does not permit its gifts to Planned Parenthood to be used for abortion services.

"The merger of Gates and Buffett may spell doom for the families of the developing world," said the Rev. Thomas Euteneuer, a Roman Catholic priest who is president of Human Life International.

Referring to Josef Mengele, the infamous Nazi death camp doctor, Euteneuer said Buffett "will be known as the Dr. Mengele of philanthropy unless he repents."

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America issued statements praising Buffett and Gates for their generosity. Gloria Feldt, a former Planned Parenthood president, said she was appalled by the harsh attacks on them.


The foundation founded by Buffett, and now named after his late wife, Susan, came under fire from some anti-abortion groups in the 1990s after it gave $2 million to fund clinical trials of mifepristone, more commonly known as the RU-486 abortion pill. The foundation also has supported various abortion-rights and family-planning groups, and Susan Buffett was eulogized after her death in 2004 as a champion of women's reproductive health.

Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, wrote a commentary this week holding the Buffetts partially responsible for the approval of RU-486 in 2000.

"Since then, approximately 500,000 American babies have been killed with RU-486," Perkins wrote. "Buffett's billions have the potential to do damage like this on a global scale."

Planned Parenthood, which is the leading provider of abortions in the United States, has received $34 million from the Gates Foundation over the years -- out of a total of $10.5 billion in grants worldwide, according to foundation spokeswoman Jacquelline Fuller. She said the foundation does not fund abortion services, earmarking the grants for other Planned Parenthood programs.

Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul

June 29th Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul

In Spain, Chimps and Apes to Get Same Rights as Humans

Spain proposes legislation granting "rights" to man's closest relative.

SPAIN is not the first country that springs to mind as a land of animal lovers - it is better known for bullfighting and the large number of stray cats and dogs on its streets.

But that image is set for a change. Today, the Spanish parliament will consider a resolution granting higher primates the same rights to life and freedom as humans.

The resolution recognising the rights of apes, chimpanzees and orang-utans has been put forward by Francisco Garrido, a bioethicist and member of the Green Party. It has the support of the socialist PSOE party and seems certain to become law.

The resolution adheres to the ideals of the Great Ape Project, which recognises our closest genetic relatives as part of a "community of equals". If voted through, it will make Spain the first national legislature to give such rights to non-humans.

Under Spanish law, animals, including higher primates, are deemed to be "owned". Under Mr Garrido's resolution, they would come under moral guardianship, meaning apes could effectively be made "wards of the state" if they were under threat or being mistreated.

Any new laws protecting apes in Spain would put pressure on other European countries to follow suit.

The Catholic Church initially opposed the legislation, with Fernando Sebastian, the Archbishop of Pamplona, saying it was ludicrous to grant apes rights not enjoyed by unborn children - a reference to Spanish abortion laws.

However, he has since said his remarks had been taken out of context and that he now supported the resolution.

Yesterday, Greenpeace Spain added its backing to the proposed new law. "

The critics of this initiative are repeating the arguments of 150 years ago against the abolitionist movement that sought an end to slavery or when the suffragette movement wanted the vote for women," a spokesman, Miguel Angel Soto, said.

The Great Ape Project was founded in the United States in 1993 by philosophers Peter Singer and Paola Cavalieri. They said apes were so close to humans they deserved rights to life, freedom and not to be tortured. "When a loved one dies, they grieve for a long time. They can solve complex puzzles that stump most two-year-old humans," Mr Singer said.

The Spanish parliament's move today will set a precedent for greater legal protection for other animals, including elephants, whales and dolphins, according to Paul Waldau, the director of the Centre for Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University in Massachusetts. "It isn't easy for us to see how far that expansion will go, but it's very clear we need to expand beyond humans," he said.

Note the name Peter Singer. Remember him? He is a Princeton professor who advocates allowing parents 21 days (a trial period if you will) to kill their newborns. Especially useful if the child is handicapped or in some other way fails to meet his parents' expectations.

What next? Interspecies marriage? Employment rights for animals? Voting rights? I noticed also that the Church now supports this measure? What an outrage.

And We Have....

...a winner! Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the new Secretary of State for the Vatican.

In addition to being heavily involved in addressing the sexual abuse crisis in the Church, Cardinal Bertone, 71, has been outspoken in his defense of life and family.

In a 2001, prior to the Vatican's recent reiteration of the teaching that men with homosexual inclinations should not be permitted to enter seminary, Cardinal Bertone stated in an interview with the Catholic News Service, "persons with a homosexual inclination should not be admitted to the seminary." He explained that while not sinful, the inclination to homosexuality "evokes moral concern" since it is a strong inclination to actions that "are always in themselves evil."

In 2000 then-Archbishop Bertone spoke out strongly against the complacency of Catholics in affluent countries in defending life and family. Speaking to the Pontifical Academy for Life in February of that year, Bertone said: "Unfortunately, in the great societies of today's world, where numerous unjust laws are enforced, many Catholics do not comply adequately with their duty to oppose these laws. The fundamental reasons are the weakness of faith and Christian commitment, and the poor distribution of tasks between pastors and the laity."

In January 2004, Cardinal Bertone took part in an event called "Dialogue in the Cathedral" at the Basilica of St. John Lateran. There the incoming Secretary of State commented on the breakdown of the family and particularly the absence of fathers saying, "If there is no father, the entire architecture of the family is destined to crumble." During the address he commented on the low birthrates in the West saying, "In Genoa, we have the best hospital for infants, but we have no infants."

Love This!

From monkallover.blogspot.com

Marriage: an ever-fixed mark?

Roman Marriage Relief

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

William Shakespeare Sonnet CXVI

I recently entered into a discussion about the Sacrament of Marriage. The question came up, if a Catholic is divorced should she be encouraged to date and remarry? At first I thought that the person who was advocating dating and remarriage had failed to realize the individual was divorced and had a child. I said that this person, a convert should attempt to reconcile her marriage, raise it to the level of a Sacrament, restore the family for her child and be true to her marriage vows. This is the path of sanctity. I was told that I was mistaken because perhaps, maybe, it was possible after all, that the individual had received a declaration of nullity. It was treated as a mere formality. After all how many Catholics stop to think that they should not divorce, apply for the annulment and remarry? Far too few.

Annulment is viewed as the rubber stamp on their declaration of independence. Independence from their marriage vows and independence from the Church's teaching on the indissolubility of marriage.

Annulment has become the loophole expanded to fit a tractor trailer comfortably. The reasons that the Church permits annulment can be found here. Funny, you don't see "immaturity" or "failure of communion of life and love" or "I found someone new" in this list. And why do we always give the benefit of the doubt to the person divorcing his or her spouse and never to the spouse abandoned? Why is the person encouraging restoration of the marriage bond the villain, and the person encouraging the divorcing spouse to date and remarry the "hero"? Because there is something wrong with our thinking. It is Americanist, individualist and not in the least Catholic. Marriage is a path to sanctity not self satisfaction, self fulfillment, wealth, respectability, ease, comfort or peace. It is far too important a societal construct than that. Once, that was recognized. No more.

Bai McFarlane has launched a movement to encourage Catholics to reject no fault divorce and re-establish marriage bonds and not encourages annulment and remarriage. She has been abandoned by her husband, had her children taken from her custody to be put in daycare and public schools (after homeschooling them for ten years, ordered to sell the family home, find a job and pay her husband child support. She is arguing that her marriage was formed not be virtue of the State but is under the jurisdiction of the Church. Therefore the Church is the arbiter of custody and separation. Bai seeks a restoration of her marriage and recognition by the Roman Rota that her marriage is valid. This she hopes will encourage her husband to honor his marriage vows. Her website is here.

Warning- Offensive Images

This post may contain images that disturb you. It may contain images that make you uncomfortable. It may contain images that you find profane.

If so, too darn bad.

Images known as Our Lady of La Leche





The reason that I post these images is because of this story. A woman was kicked out of Victoria Secret's because she wanted to nurse her baby in the dressing room. Now at first I was tempted to think, well what were you thinking of going into a Victoria Secret store anyway??????? But it does illustrate the hypocrisy of a culture that can condemn a woman for feeding her baby and at the same time exploit her. Why do we allow this? And then I learned this:

Massachusetts is one of the few states that doesn’t have laws to protect breast-feeding women. Women who breast-feed in public in Massachusetts can be charged with indecent exposure or lewd and lascivious conduct.

Let them try it.

The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Episcopalians Refuse to Assert Saved by Name of Christ

My first thought, when I read this was, "Is this news?" Could you find one Catholic in a hundred who believed that by no other name are we saved? Could you find one Catholic in a hundred who doesn't believe that everyone except maybe Hitler will end up in heaven? But you will find plenty who will argue even that point! Remember the assurances that "the Church cannot say that anyone is in hell"? Our Lady of Fatima, in showing the children the vision of hell, lined with the skulls of bishops would seem to disagree. The Old Testament account of Lazarus and the rich man would seem to disprove that error as well. Throw in common sense and you've got point, match, game.

To affirm that everyone or even most people are saved is the heresy of naturalism, and indifferentism which are condemned in the Syllabus of Errors. To argue the esteemed Syllabus is the equivalent of the nuclear option I've been told by a very knowledgeable source which makes it all the more appealing.

According to the debate not only is it wrong to affirm that Jesus is the only Name by which men will be saved it is also, anti-semitic:

"This type of language was used in 1920s and 1930s to alienate the type of people who were executed. It was called the Holocaust. I understand the intent, but I ask you to allow the discharge to stay," said the Rev. Eugene C. McDowell, a graduate of Yale Divinity School and Canon Theologian for the Diocese of North Carolina.

A few voices of reason were heard and shouted down (figuratively of course):

But the message was clear to the Rev. Donald Perschall, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Centralia, Illinois, as he left the convention hall Tuesday, shocked by the events of the day. "On top of leaving the Anglican Communion, we've decided to leave Jesus Christ behind as well."

and

"If we cannot affirm the unique salvific power of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are no longer a Christian church." Switching to a sarcastic tone, Howell declared, "We have no need for a Creed. Why do again what we did in the past?"

"This clearly shows that we are of a mind that does not affirm Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And we should not be surprised that our church is dying spiritually," said Howell.

Warning- professing the Creed of Catholicism is anti-semitic and believing it much less preaching it must be a hate crime. By the way are they tired of saying that by being Catholic we are anti-Semitic? Because I'm tired of hearing it.

From Syllabus of Errors (Pope Pius IX)

III. INDIFFERENTISM, LATITUDINARIANISM

15. Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true. -- Allocution "Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862; Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.

16. Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation. -- Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1846.

17. Good hope at least is to be entertained of the eternal salvation of all those who are not at all in the true Church of Christ. -- Encyclical "Quanto conficiamur," Aug. 10, 1863, etc.

18. Protestantism is nothing more than another form of the same true Christian religion, in which form it is given to please God equally as in the Catholic Church. -- Encyclical "Noscitis," Dec. 8, 1849.

Sex Ed Removed from Schools in Philippines after Church Protests

In the Philippines the Catholic Church protects the innocence of children.

In the Philippines under protest from the Catholic Church a pilot sex education program in the public schools has been discontinued by the government.

Just like in the United States.

Oh yeah.

Guess not. In the U.S. we can't even keep sex ed out of the CCD classes.

A Local Tragedy

A Massachusetts State Trooper and father of seven killed while on duty in car accident.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

A New Co-Conspirator

Another worthy volunteer in the war against heresies. Totus Pius. Their banner- "Because when a pope takes Pius, playtime's over."

The Evils of Tradition Put Forth

An amusing little diatribe which only shows we're winning. The cause of tradition is gaining strength and the progressives/modernists are getting desperate.

From the Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese - Catholic Register


Another Perspective
Beware The Bathwater!

06/12/2006

By: Monsignor Timothy P. Stein, Editor

A long out of print book, The Enthusiast, tells the story of Father Ignatius of Llanthony.
Father Ignatius was one of the more colorful, if not controversial figures of the 19th century Anglo - Catholic revival in England. Ignatius (Joseph Leycester Lyne) wanted to restore monastic life in the Church of England. He sought to establish a monastery of Anglican Benedictine monks. What he made, was a mess.
Father Ignatius was without a doubt a man of deep faith, and was a well - known missionary preacher and evangelist. But in working to establish a monastery, he simply played at being a monk. He was more concerned with the external trappings of monasticism than he was with the interior conversion that should be the result of living a religious life. Father Ignatius was more in love with his religious habit than he was with the discipline of religious life. He loved to surround himself with statues, pictures, crucifixes, altars, sacred vessels, and all sorts of pious geegaws. If one candle on an altar was good - - two dozen candles were even better. In fact, two dozen candles were not enough for Father Ignatius; contemporary accounts state that there were no less than 250 candles on the high altar at Llanthony Abbey. Father Ignatius loved what some have irreverently termed “smells and bells.”
The Father Ignatius’s of the world are with us still. They are the ones who charge that the Catholic Church, following the Second Vatican Council, threw out the baby with the bathwater. They have made it their mission to retrieve the bathwater. They would like us to be drowning in it.
Trappings of piety - - external symbols of religiosity - - are all well and good. They have nourished the faith of millions. But they are not an end, in themselves. They are but a means to an end. The bathwater is not more important than the baby.
“Smells and bells” and other assorted paraphernalia are supposed to help us nurture our relationship with Jesus. When they become a stumbling block, and prevent us from seeing Jesus, knowing Jesus, walking with Jesus, or when they obscure the path to Jesus for others, they must be put aside, or at least, reassessed. There were good reasons for throwing out so much of the bathwater. It had become murky. It was no longer serving a good purpose. It was time to take the baby from the bath, and move on.
Beware the bathwater! Hidden in its depths may be a dose of pretty poison - - the temptation to idolatry - - the temptation to worship fleeting forms while ignoring lasting, enduring substance. Don’t mistake devotion to exterior signs for an interior conversion to life in union with Jesus.
Just be sure to keep a tight grip on the baby.

We are never told what horrible things Fr. Ignatius has done? Too many candles? ahhh. The water was murky? And now all things are clear? hmmmm

Traditionalists consider yourselves warned and put on notice. Ignore it and carry on.

Catholics in Kerala Face Dramatic Future Population Decline

Lifesite News has a special report about the population decline that the most Catholic part of India is facing, Kerala in the south. It is not disease or starvation that is causing such a calamitous decline but birth control and abortion practiced by Catholics. How ironic that among the most educated people of India who have strong vocations and a Catholic presence the people will not follow the Church's perennial teaching.

The whole article is worth reading and can be seen here.

The Problem:

In North America and Europe the two and now even one child family has been rapidly becoming the norm. That is not surprising considering the gross materialism, weak or corrupted churches and widespread rejection of Christian beliefs in the West. It has therefore been easy to convince the public to swallow population control propaganda. It is, however, much harder to understand how a still fervent, unified Christian minority in India with a high level of religious practice and thousands of young, faithful priests and sisters to serve them, is now also experiencing a rapidly plummeting, below replacement level birthrate.

Days Numbered:

What is noticeably different about Kerala is the highly visible presence of Christians, especially Catholics, in the state, the exceptional friendliness and courtesy of its people and Kerala’s strong family life culture. However, the still fervent Christians of Kerala are facing a real danger that they will become practically extinct in a few generations because of their two or less child birthrate, certain to later become an even lower rate as is happening elsewhere.
Despite the above, one cannot help note a disturbing contradiction: fervent Christians, but only one or two child families, and most commonly a boy and a girl in each family. Christian couples here, along with the Hindus, now clearly exclude God and their Church from having any role in determining the number or even sex of their children. New life has strict conditions attached to it. They are practicing not only contraception and sterilization but, in order to achieve the one boy, one girl norm among Hindus and Christians, abortion has to be widely practiced.

The Bishops and Priests have preached:

Kerala Hindu templeCatholic Church leaders are alarmed and practically resigned to what they see as the inevitable near disappearance of their flocks in India as a result of this demographic trend. They worry about the rapid rise of Islam because of the far higher Muslim birthrate. Kerala’s priests and bishops do not know what to do. They say they have preached from the pulpits on this but it has not had any effect.

The conclusion of the article is that there are no programs or education from laity and secular organizations combatting the goverment and Planned Parenthood propaganda. I disagree. Human Life International, Priests for Life and the Missionaries of Charity are all present in India. All groups that encourage the use of NFP and the practice of limiting the family size. And if the Church leaders in Kerala say they are preaching against contraception and abortion but no one is listening the solution is not more preaching. Clearly you have a problem of obedience.

A more realistic view is that it has become impossible to see a difference between Catholics and those of no faith who all seem to believe that a smaller family is a positive development. Some conservative Catholics argue that smaller is better and if the correct means are used (i.e. NFP or even strict abstinence) because it is desirable to have fewer children. This seems contradictoray to Catholicism. I think people are seeing a consistent message that fewer children equals a better life, more prosperity, more education, happiness, freedom and individuality.

Catholics with big families know what kind of reception they receive and what impression they make among other Catholics and even the clergy. Until the mindset changes and large families are welcomed rather than called selfish, lacking in self control, harmful to the environment and providentialist, openness to life will not return. Catholics open to life are accused of fostering a "fertility cult", believing they are better than others who have smaller or no families, insensitive to the feelings to those who have not been blessed with children or many children, irresponsible and arrogant or ignorant of NFP which many believe is their duty to adhere to.

The Tawdry Bride

Since the attack on the dignity of women continues apace and is being helped by our total lack of resistance I suppose this is the next logical step.

Brides as porn stars on their special day. Makes me long for the days of Bridezilla.

From the article entitled: "Brides who don't blush" in the Sunday Times:

WEDDING photography, once a restrained art, is becoming a risqué business. A growing number of American brides are marking their big day by commissioning portraits of themselves in raunchy poses and lingerie, writes John Harlow.

The American wedding is changing fast. Traditionalists have already lamented a switch to homemade vows, such as “to stay together so long as we make each other laugh”, and a large-scale abandonment of white since Sarah Jessica Parker, the star of Sex and the City, got married in black.

snip

“She wants to remind her spouse why he married her. It was not just because she looked radiant in white — underneath she was downright dirty and dangerous in a black garter or red-sequinned bra.

“It’s more Las Vegas showgirl than blushing bride.”

Well, then and just in case we believe this is a strange, anomalous event here is another article on the same topic.

From the Wall Street Journal:

The multibillion-dollar wedding industry is offering a revealing new twist on the old bridal portrait. Catering to older and more independent brides -- and reflecting popular culture's turn toward the risque and voyeuristic -- more photographers are setting up in dressing rooms to immortalize unguarded, preceremony moments. Wedding albums and public photographer Web sites alike are filling up with a different view of the bride -- daddy's little girl cavorting in lingerie, adjusting a bra or hiking her gown for a bathroom break.

Established wedding photographers say they're taking racy photos at events of all price levels. At a $250,000 affair at the Chicago Four Seasons, photographer Steven Gross -- he charges $10,000 and up a day -- took nearly 8,000 shots, but one that made it into the bride's wedding album was a close-up of her waist and prominent cleavage. Southern California photographer Brian Kramer's portfolio includes black-and-white photos of darling children, classic portraits -- plus an underwear-clad bride chatting on her cellphone in a suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Chris and Mary Jo Prinos of Lancaster, Mass., whose packages start at $3,000, recently captured a bride discussing last-minute details with her officiant while wearing a camisole, sheer boy shorts and a garter belt. (It's not just women: Grooms, too, are caught brushing their teeth or having their necks shaved.)

Brides are revealing themselves at a time when popular culture has pushed the limits of privacy with boundary-blurring reality TV shows and dating sites that let users swap revealing photos. Some of the relaxed vibe had already seeped into wedding culture, of course, as brides started hitting Vegas on raucous bachelorette parties and, more recently, began choosing minimal-coverage gowns from designers like Vera Wang and Monique Lhuillier.
snip

Brides and photographers point out that the pictures almost never depict full nudity, and say they're rarely any more salacious than those in a Victoria's Secret catalog. Still, they may be the wedding-day equivalent of a tattoo -- something that seemed like a good idea at the time but has the potential to haunt later. And in some families, the images can create awkward moments between generations.

Hours before her son's wedding in New York City two years ago, Lisa Brettschneider was a little taken aback by the scene in the suite of her daughter-in-law-to-be at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. A twentysomething male photographer was snapping photos of the bride, Alison, and her 12 bridesmaids in their underwear. At one point, the bride-to-be posed on the bed in a silky robe. "It was like a Playboy shoot," says Mrs. Brettschneider, who lives in Larchmont, N.Y.

When the family got the proofs, Mrs. Brettschneider deemed a few images inappropriate for public consumption, including one of Alison's favorite shots, which showed her G-string and back tattoo. "My in-laws weren't too happy about that," says the bride, now 29, who owns a women's clothing showroom in Manhattan. "But it was such a cool shot." Adds her mother-in-law: "I kept saying, 'You're going to have to show them to your kids one day. She didn't put any of those pictures in my album."

snip

But at the same time, many independent-minded brides are poking fun at so many white bouquets and demure poses. "Being like a virgin is very different than being a virgin," says Julie Albright, a marriage therapist and sociology professor at the University of Southern California. For the many brides who have been living with their fiances for years before taking the leap, mugging for risque shots can be a way of playing up the irony of donning a traditional dress. "The white gown and veil is a kind of performance or drag -- like Madonna in her video for 'Like a Virgin.'"

It all makes posed bride-and-groom portraits seem like a sepia-toned memory. In the early days of cameras, fin-de-siecle couples would pose stiffly in studios. The post-World War II wedding boom created a cottage industry for bridal photographers, and the prevailing style -- staged eye-gazing, the cake-cutting shot -- remained the standard for decades. While Hollywood and royal weddings provided tabloid material, candid shots didn't start taking off until the late 1990s. Many credit Atlanta photographer Denis Reggie with coining the term wedding photojournalism, and his black-and-white images of the 1996 John F. Kennedy Jr.-Carolyn Bessette wedding are often cited as the style's signature shots.

For older women, boudoir shots may also represent something of a declaration of independence. Through the early 1970s, the average age for a college-educated woman's first marriage was about 22. Now it's a shade over 26, according to Claudia Goldin, an economics professor at Harvard who has studied social indicators related to marriage. As a result, she says, today's brides -- and their fiances -- have usually lived away from the parents for some time, they're making many of the decisions about the ceremony and, often, they're footing the bill.

As the mother of five sons I can only redouble my prayers for their vocations to the priesthood and religious life. The women's movement? liberation? Women have never been more demoted to slavery. We're embracing a powerful message that women are only of use when we are "sexy" and that is our only source of power and influence.

St. Margaret of Scotland, June 10th

The Feast of St. Margaret of Scotland. Patron of large families, the death of children, learning, queens, widows and Scotland. You can read more here and here.

And a very Happy Feast Day to my second favorite Sister.

"Medicine Babies"

From Zenit

Swiss Bishops Decry Use of "Medicine Babies"

Call It "Shocking Eugenics"

ZURICH, Switzerland, JUNE 9, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Swiss bishops' conference has called the practice of creating babies solely for medicinal purposes a "shocking" and unacceptable development in eugenics.

In a message of the bioethics commission of the episcopal conference, released Wednesday, the bishops refer to Switzerland's first "medicine baby," born in Geneva in January 2005, as "shocking eugenics, enveloped in good sentiments."

The baby girl was conceived through artificial insemination, and was selected in a Brussels laboratory to become a compatible donor of bone marrow for her 6-year-old brother.

"Although it is not prudent to criticize the subjective intention of the parents who have suffered and rejoiced with the cure of their son, it must be recognized that the technique of 'medicine babies' constitutes a worrying form of eugenics," stated the document.

"For this 'medicine baby' girl to be born, Mrs. Hilde van de Velde's Brussels laboratory deliberately produced 20 to 30 human embryos for the purpose of selecting them," the bishops said. "One of them had the good fortune to survive. But the rest were eliminated and destroyed as vulgar merchandise."

The document explained that the practice is inadmissible for two reasons.

First, because we are faced with "human embryos voluntarily produced and eliminated."

The message of the bishops continued: "A noble end does not justify killing embryos, which are individuals of the human species. Here the embryo is not treated as an end: It is used as an instrument and considered as merchandise.

"This practice is a regression of humanism, which is particularly insidious as it camouflages with the emotion aroused by the sick child and the parents' suffering."

Second, the letter stated, the selection of human beings is an act of eugenics.

"Eugenics is an odious practice, which consists in selecting the children that will be born according to utilitarian criteria that does not respect their intrinsic dignity," the bishops wrote.

"In this case, an exterior demand, medical and technical, decides who deserves to live and who deserves to die," the message said.

The note added: "This embryo deserved to live because it is genetically compatible with the recipient of the bone marrow, while the other numerous embryos were killed for the sole reason of not having the required characteristics."

The Swiss always were on the cutting edge of every pharmaceutical advance. And neutral in war, even the war on abortion it seems.

Sheehan Distraught: Democrats Lose Candidate

Cindy Sheehan is upset that Zarqawi is dead.

The real problem is that now the Democrats won't have a presidential candidate to run in 08.

Iraqi Archbishop: Zarqawi's Death Brings Hope

From the article:

Baghdad, Jun. 08, 2006 (CNA) - Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch of the Caldean Catholic Church in Iraq, told AsiaNews today that while Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s death brings hope for the future, ultimately dialogue and the way of love must conquer the hearts of the Iraqi people. The death of the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq was confirmed by US and Iraqi officials today.

Officials of both governments were overjoyed at killing the most wanted man in Iraq, who was the mastermind of several terrorist attacks and multiple violent murders in Iraq.

President Bush, commenting on the death said, "The ideology of terror has lost one of its most visible and aggressive leaders. Zarqawi's death is a severe blow to al Qaeda."

However, while the killing does deal a blow to the major terrorist organization in the world, the threat of terror still exists in a very real way in Iraq and abroad and Archbishop Delly hopes that new ways are found to bring peace in his country

“This is a great hope for the end of violence which torments,” the Archbishop said. “but we repeat that the best solution is always in dialogue and not in killing. Killing each other for personal reasons can not bring anything good,” Delly continued, “loving each other and not killing - this is the way to keep in mind.”

McBrien: Messed Up

Fr. McBrien,in his undiminished capacity as leader of the heterodox, crystallizes for us his pet peeves with the direction the Church is going in.

Fr. McBrien's disappointments:

Father Andrew Greeley, a distinguished author and sociologist, has frequently pointed out that it was not the Council but Pope Paul VI's 1968 birth-control encyclical, Humanae Vitae, that opened the breach within the post-conciliar Church. If the pope had sided with the 2-1 majority of his Birth Control Commission and modified the official teaching on contraception, the post-Vatican II history of the Church might look entirely different.

Now I wonder what practical difference it makes. If the number of Catholics who use contraception in violation of the Church's teaching is as high as it seems to be- why does Fr. McBrien care? He cares because he wants the Church to capitulate to modernity. That makes Fr. McBrien a prophet and not just the aging, bored and boring dissident that he remains.

And McBrien attempts to warn us about Bishop Finn, of Kansas City, Missouri, lionized here on this very blog, he says:

And yet the new bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Robert Finn, a member of Opus Dei, has been dismantling much of what had been put in place by his three immediate predecessors: Charles Helmsing (1962-77), John Sullivan (1977-93), and Raymond Boland (1993-2005).

Priests, nuns and lay people who have served in various diocesan offices and agencies established and supported by these three bishops have, in a matter of months, been fired or resigned, and programs have been closed down or suffered cuts in budget and staff (National Catholic Reporter, May 12).

Were Bishops Helmsing, Sullivan and Boland unworthy shepherds, like the hired hands mentioned in the Fourth Gospel (John 10: 12-13)? Did they lead their flocks astray or throw them to the wolves? Were they grievously wrong in their pastoral teachings, policies and appointments? If so, how is a Catholic to know when any bishop is to be respected and obeyed, and when he is not?

Actually, it's very easy to decide when a bishop is to be obeyed. There are a few indicators- a shepherd of souls is vocal in support of human life, dedicated to catechesis, a preserver of tradition and is no slave to the changing winds of political correctness. True it is a select, elite group but they shine like stars in the sky.

Macy's Supports Gay Pride

Macy's Department Store advertises its support of "Gay Pride Week" in Boston with a window display depicting two men holding hands, one is wearing a skirt and a rainbow flag wrapped around his waist. Complaints to the company resulted in the display being removed. I wonder that they didn't display a man holding hands with a young boy to show their support for diversity. How intolerant they are.


The "pride parade" is going to be held on June 10th and the organizers are expecting 8000 marchers up from 5000 last year. If you happen to be in Boston during this depravity, (though I would urge you not to be) you will think that the gates of hell must have opened up. Watch for the hometown favorites- North American Man Boy Love Association (the pedophiles) who march with their victims while cops stand by and protect their right to break the law.



This is the picture of a past parade from the Boston Herald. Now come on. We all know this is not the most interesting picture they have on file.

New Document: Old Truths

Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, head of the Pontifical Council on the Family, has released a 57 page document that reiterates what the Church has always taught. The news article is here.

Condemned again are abortion, contraception, in vitro fertization, same sex "marriage", homosexual adoption, embryonic research.

Hello, this is nothing new. What is new is when the media tries to confuse people by spinning some new twist, some rare exception and says that the Vatican is considering changing its position. Well, guess what, the Vatican can't change it's position because it's God's position. Remember when a few weeks ago the Vatican was set to change its position on condoms? Before that the Vatican was going to abolish limbo.

Some quotes from the document:

"Man of modern times has radicalised the tendency to take the place of God and substitute him," it states. "Never before in history has human procreation, and therefore the family, which is its natural place, been so threatened as in today’s culture."

and

"The human being has the right to be generated, not produced, to come to life not in virtue of an artificial process but of a human act in the full sense of the term: the union between a man and a woman."

Saving the best for last:

From Lifesite news:

The document specifies that abortion is a crime which must be punished. "Today people want to trivialise abortion with the claim that authorities must not penalise this abominable crime," says the 57-page document signed by Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, the head of the Pontifical Council. "It is not acceptable that a crime should remain unpunished."

Though it's raining here in New England, I'm going to be smiling about this all day.

In Honor of Whistleblowing Priests

Great as His mercy is His punishment; He judges men, each according to his deeds. Sirach 16:12

For the priests whose only reward will be in the next life.

Fr. James R. Haley of Arlington, Virginia

Fr. John Nesbella of Altoona-Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Fr. Gerard McGinnity of Ireland

Fr. Andrew Dowgiert of Miami, Florida

Fr. John Conley of San Francisco, California

Fr. Michael Madden of Bridgeport, Connecticut

Fr. Bruce Teague of Springfield, Massachusetts

The Dignity of Labor

The Dignity of Labor
by Fulton J. Sheen

The Catholic position is that working is to some extent like eating-it is a means to an end, and that end is freedom to develop oneself as a child of God and an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven. As we do not live to eat, so neither do we live to work; we work to live, not only physically as the cows and camels, but spiritually as persons endowed with an intellect and a will who seek the perfection of their personalities in Him for Whom they were made.

Work is a condition of developing our personality, because through work man establishes relations with God; his neighbor; and nature. Work is a means to the salvation of our souls, the betterment of society, and the advancement of civilization.

First of all, work unites us to God. Not only by its ascetic character does it impose discipline on man by subjugations of his lower passions to order and reason; but more than that, through the intention of the worker the material universe is brought back to God. St. Paul tells us; "All are yours; you are Christ's and Christ is God's." All are yours: the rivers, the seas, the birds and beasts, the gold and steel, the earth and the fullness thereof. All belong to man, but as such they are not to be turned to his selfish ends, but to be used as a menas to lift both him and them to God through Christ. The universe is thus a kind of scaffolding up through which man climbs to the Kingdom of Heaven; It is also a kind of sacrament-a material thing used as a channel of spiritual sanctification. Flowers and trees, metal and machines are dumb and inarticulate. Flowers have no other voice than their perfume, and trees no other speech than the whispering of their leaves. Their mute gaspings need a mind and a voice to lift them out of their materility and give them utterance before the throne of God.

The man who labors does this. When he goes down into the bowels of the earth and says to the gold; "Praise ye the Lord" and hammers it into a chalice to contain the redemptive wine of Calvary, he has united himself to God in one of the noblest of human prayers. The worker in the automobile factory who adds only a screw to an engine, can, if he uses his will, make that act a prayer. If in his own mind, he says: "Propter te Domine," he has made a piece of steel a prayer, and his act will be far richer for his salvation than the carrying of a sick man for miles in the name of science. The Catholic philosophy of life is that not all the best prayers are said on our knees; some of them are said not at work but by works. And just as the flower of a garden can take an added value when plucked out of love for our mother, so a street cleaned by a worker can take an added value when done out of love for God. The kind of work we do has nothing to do with its value; its value comes from the One in whose Name it is given. A drink of cold water in His Name receives reward a hundredfold. The professor at his desk, the scientist in his laboratory, are not nobler men if they work for a salary and human glory than the bootblack or the delivery boy who did their appointed tasks not just to live, but to live for God.

There are millions of Catholics in the world today who are doing these very things, though no one except probably their confessor knows anything about it: typists who in their souls breathe the Divine Name of Jesus every time they put a sheet of paper into their typewriter; iron molders who mark with their thumbs on their great ladles the sign of the cross; night watchmen who make their rounds saying their rosary; nuns and nurses and doctors in hospitals who open sick doors to face in each sickbed in human disguise the suffering and bleeding Christ; policemen and firemen who begin their daily rounds of duties by climbing Calvary, offering its mystical renewal in the Mass as a consecration of their whole day to Christ; mothers feeding, nourishing, and watching over their children as future citizens of the Church and members of the family of the Blessed Trinityh; and athletes offering an aspiration to the Blessed Mother before their race. So the litany of historical cases might go on but of them the rest of the world is ignorant, because it has forgotten that work is not an end but first and foremost a means to the salvation of one's soul and the glory of God.

A Vicious Consensus

The National Consensus Process on Sexual Health and Researching Sexual Behavior which began in April of 2004, has concluded. You may ask what do the Alan Guttmacher Institute (research arm of Planned Parenthood), the National Organization for Women, the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have in common. Apparently, after a 2 year process far too much.

Fr. Michael Place, STD (apparently a natural choice) represented the USCCB. Known for his advocacy of socialized (oops I mean universal) medicine and consistent life ethic (read the death penalty and elimination of poverty)he is now the head of the Internation Federation of Catholic Health Institutions.

Their "Consensus" included a definition of sexual health: "A state of physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and social well-being related to one's sexuality and sexual activities."

But alas,

"They said, however, that they were unable to agree on a definition of the term, "sexual orientation."

The most telling statement comes from the wisdom of the Guttmacher Institute- naturally:

"So in a way, you could say that traditional foes learned that consensus is possible and that we believe that consensus can contribute to development of a coherent public health policy," said Dr. Sharon Camp, president of the Guttmacher Institute.

Other areas which they agreed should be subjects of research are:

— The content of school-based sex education.

— Connections between violence and sexual health.

— The impact of religion on sexual practice.

— The sexual health of military personnel, persons with disabilities, prison populations and the aging.

— Barriers to parent-child communication about sexuality.

— The impact of the Internet on sexual health.

Some participants realized the problem with this program and though they began the "Process" with good intentions bailed out. The group "Concerned Women of America" released a statement about the efforts here. Focus on the Family also parted ways with the group.

So, taken for granted is that we must have school based sex education in spite of what Canon Law says, that such education is reserved to the parents. I guess that is water under the bridge with the Talking About Touching and Virtus Programs Dioceses are implementing in spite of parental protests. On every other topic that research is called for it is obvious what the agenda is- the agenda of Planned Parenthood and every other proabortion lobby that represent. Didn't the term "Consensus Project" set off a few warning bells? Didn't anyone at the USCCB think- maybe we shouldn't be involved? Apparently if anyone did show concern, those good instincts were suppressed.

"...for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" 2 Corinthians 6:14

Dr. Johnson Feels a Chill

In a recent Commonweal article entitled After the Big Chill: Intellectual Freedom & Catholic Theologians, you get the distinct feeling that someone is itching for a Vatican smackdown. Maybe it's time to change the editorial leadership of Commonweal as was done with America Magazine?

Make no mistake, Commonweal and those who subvert the Faith through its propaganda venue are the enemy, like the author of this essay, Luke Timothy Johnson, ex-priest and Benedictine monk. But sometimes it is diverting to read their angst filled entreaties. Think of it as a House of Horrors themepark ride which is a pretty good preview of what would become of the Church if they were in charge.

I've snipped a few interesting sections:

The effort by the Vatican and its allies to control theological debate reflects little trust in the capacity of theologians to criticize one another-something they have never been reluctant to do-and even less trust in the best-educated laity in Catholic history that is hungry for intellectual engagement with the faith that is not condensed and condescending. Defenders of the CDF’s actions like to say that theology is an ecclesial, not merely an academic, vocation. I agree. It is precisely because theology is done by and for the church that it requires the highest gifts of theological intelligence and imagination. Some of the best theological talent available to the church today is found outside the clergy. If these lay theologians teach in Catholic colleges or seminaries, they are placed under strict control; if they teach in Protestant or secular schools, they are largely ignored. Many in the hierarchy seem indifferent to the academic theological community, while others seem hostile to the climate of intellectual freedom that theology needs.

The problem Dr. Johnson is not that theologians are criticizing one another but that they are criticizing the hierarchy and especially the Holy Father. Nice try though. And when I read "the best-educated laity in Catholic history" I would have choked on my gum if I chewed gum. Thankfully as ladies do not chew gum, I was safe. And take this statement- some of the best theological talent available to the church (sic) today is found outside the clergy"- oh Mr. Johnson how self aggrandizing of you. I was happy to read that the theologians teaching in protestant colleges are ignored- a nice system- heretics preaching to heretics, somehow fitting.

Like Aquinas, theologians today ask hard questions in the language of our own age concerning the truth of the gospel, not in order to erode or compromise that truth, but to allow its splendor to become more powerfully manifest. Theologians of this age, as of every age, are obliged to inquire into the ways in which the structures and processes of the church itself best serve the truth of the gospel. In every age, Christians must struggle with deep intrinsic tensions that derive from the church’s peculiar and paradoxical character. On one side, there is what we might call the resurrection principle: the powerful gift of the Holy Spirit that comes from the exalted Lord Jesus and pushes believers toward transformation and growth, toward the exercise of spiritual gifts and of responsible freedom in response to the urgings of the Spirit. “The Lord is the Spirit,” declares Paul, “and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17). In Jesus, all previous human understanding of the law and prophets is transcended. And because this spirit of freedom comes from the Lord and not from humans, its exercise must ultimately be responsible to the Lord rather than to humans.

Here we have the crux of what the liberals are longing for- the ability to act freely, engaging in vice, indulging the passions, and as if that were not enough they want the seal of approval from the Church for their misdeeds. What do they mean when they talk about acting "freely in the spirit"? They aren't talking about vague, abstract theological enquiry but about impure and immoral behavior. Behavior always and everywhere condemned by the Church beginning with the New Testament.

It follows that revelation is open and ongoing in the world, specifically in human experience. If God acts in human stories, both within and outside the structures of the church, then the church’s relationship to revelation is not simply that of protector and purveyor. The church must also find a way to become an effective interpreter of God’s self-disclosure in the world. This is not a plea for the privileging of every private human experience. Not every human story reveals God. It is a plea to consider the theological implications of the millions of stories of believers (such as women and homosexuals) whom the church has persisted in regarding as “objects” to be “explained” rather than subjects, that is, persons through whose struggles the Holy Spirit speaks a word to the church.

Ahhhh, now I see. If only we had more homosexual priests and women priests- we could have God disclosing himself to the world through stories. Profound. And what are the theological implications of this as Dr. Johnson suggests- a religion that replaces divinity for humanity. We will worship our "stories" instead of the almighty God. So we replace the heroic lives of the Saints with modern day soap operas.


The Church according to the sad and troubled Dr. Johnson:

The theological impoverishment of the church today is real and if something is not changed, it will undoubtedly get worse. Perhaps it’s too much to hope that the present model of the church as household can open itself to a healthy conversation with the image of the church as the living body of the resurrected Christ, particularly if the present heads of household think that theirs is the only model that is true to revelation. But they are wrong. The alternative (and, I insist, complementary) image of the church is, if anything, truer to the good news as found in Scripture. Those of us who long for a church in which it is possible to be both smart and holy, both loyal and critical, live in hope that something of this vision may gain recognition. Still, suppose the big chill continues, through the papacy of Benedict XVI (despite our fondest hopes) and the papacies to follow. What can theologians do? They can continue to speak prophecy and to practice discernment among God’s people. What is at stake is the integrity of the church’s witness to the living God.

Here Dr. Johnson comes right out and says "the present heads of household" i.e. the hierarchy and Holy Father are wrong. 'Course it's at the end of a long essay. I suppose he saves it for the end so as not to ruin the plot for us. Consider carefully what he states- those who are holy are unintelligent and those who are loyal are dupes. Dr. Johnson ends with a call to arms (though merely theoretically speaking as liberals do not believe in violence of any kind, merely disloyalty). And have you ever noticed that the people who are constantly insisting on integrity seem to have no idea what that word really means?