Randall Terry versus Notre Dame

Randall Terry met with the Vice President of Notre Dame and security officials about upcoming protests at the University. He even helpfully wrote a "resignation" letter for President of Notre Dame, Fr. Jenkins, CSC.

As you read the letter and when you get to the part about "unwavering fidelity" does your mind automatically go to Mr. Terry's "wavering fidelity" in regards to his 19 year marriage to Cindy and his "wavering fidelity" to his 5 children of that marriage? And then there is the part about "duty", "scandal" and "confusion".

I just couldn't help it.

The letter:

The Resignation Letter of Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC

To the Board of Trustees:

When I took holy vows as a priest, I had high hopes and deep desires to serve Christ and His Church with valor, and without wavering in fidelity. [emphasis mine]

Regrettably, I have failed in my duty as a priest, and brought much scandal and confusion to the faithful.

My decision to acquiesce to the urgings of others to invite President Obama to speak at our 2009 commencement – even though I knew he was openly defiant of our Lord’s commandment, “Thou shalt not murder,” and that as President he has personally authorized the shedding of innocent blood in America and around the world – shows that my moral compass has been badly damaged.

It is clear that I do not possess the internal fortitude to resist the machinations of those who promote child-killing, and who seek to tear apart Christ’s beloved bride. I am not fit to lead this institution in the battles to defend God’s innocents, and Catholic orthodoxy.

After much reflection, as an act of contrition before our Lord, His Church, Our Lady, the holy men who founded Notre Dame, and the millions of innocent children who have been slaughtered by abortion, I hereby tender my resignation as President of Notre Dame University, effective immediately.

Please pray for me.



Signed:________________________________

Father John I. Jenkins, CSC

Randall Terry, not the model of Catholic Orthodoxy

I so called this: Randall Terry and his rebuke by Archbishop Burke.

And the Legionary's/Regnum Christi will have an Apostolic Visitation.

This is good news.

Good news for the LC/RCs and for the rest of us who believe that something is JUST. NOT. RIGHT.

Thank you Pope Benedict.

Medical Missionary Trip to the Philippines

My daughter, Anastasia is going back to the Philippines for a second Medical Missionary Trip.

Here is the Youtube video of the last one:



She is wearing pink at about 1 minute into the video.

A letter about this year's trip to Ana states thus:

First up, the mission on July 26-31 will be in Alabel, Sarangani Province again. It's a poor agricultural town where many of the residents do not own the land they till. The rich landowners do not live in the area. It is rare to find a home there that can accommodate local or foreign guests. So all volunteers shall be packed in the xxxxxx (5 or 8 or 9 volunteers per room). Some rooms will have malfunctioning airconditioners, and perhaps one or two volunteers will see a snake sneaking across the ground floor.

And another note:

Many of the people we will be serving will be Muslims and other tribal people who feel a certain hostility towards Christians. Therefore, volunteers must be in their friendliest best. Patience, patience, patience. But I do remember your patience and your friendly smiles from 2007, so I suppose you will manage.

There is a blog (what else?) documenting the kind of work they will be doing at Rosa Mystic Health Mission.

Please pray for the safety of the doctors, nurses and medical assistants who will be traveling to give free medical care to the people of the Philippines but most importantly sharing the hope that is within them.

"But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you."
1 Peter 3:15 Douay Rheims

What do Cardinal Sean and Bud Feldkamp have in common?

A source of income?

MEDIA ADVISORY, Mar. 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- Some of you may have seen the major news story of the private plane that crashed into a Montana cemetery, killing 7 children and 7 adults.

But what the news sources fail to mention is that the Catholic Holy Cross Cemetery owned by Resurrection Cemetery Association in Butte - contains a memorial for local residents to pray the rosary, at the 'Tomb of the Unborn'. This memorial, located a short distance west of the church, was erected as a dedication to all babies who have died because of abortion.

What else is the mainstream news not telling you? The family who died in the crash near the location of the abortion victim's memorial, is the family of Irving 'Bud' Feldkamp, owner of the largest for-profit abortion chain in the nation.

Family Planning Associates was purchased four years ago by Irving Moore "Bud" Feldkamp III, owner of Allcare and Hospitality Dental Associates and CEO of Glen Helen Raceway Park in San Bernardino. The 17 California Family Planning clinics perform more abortions in the state than any other abortion provider - Planned Parenthood included - and they perform abortions through the first five months of pregnancy.

Although Feldkamp is not an abortionist, he reaps profits of blood money from the tens of thousands of babies that are killed through abortions performed every year at the clinics he owns. His business in the abortion industry was what enabled him to afford the private plane that was carrying his family to their week-long vacation at The Yellowstone Club, a millionaires-only ski resort.

The plane went down on Sunday, killing two of Feldkamp's daughters, two sons-in-law and five grandchildren along with the pilot and four family friends. The plane, a single-engine turboprop flown by Bud Summerfield of Highland, crashed into the Catholic cemetery and burst into flames, only 500 ft. from its landing destination. All aboard were killed.

You know what I keep thinking, "God will not be mocked" and now this abortion chain owner knows how David felt when his child died as a judgment against he and Bathsheba for their sin.

This abortion clinic chain "Allcare" seems to have been purchased by Dr. Feldkamp (a dentist)and located near this building.

It also appears that this is not the first tragedy for this family. In 2006 it seems that a grandson also died after suffocating. He was only 10 1/2 months old.

So, follow the timeline. In 2005 Bud Feldkamp buys the largest for-profit abortion clinic chain in the world. One year later his grandson dies. Three years later two of his children, two son in laws and five grandchildren are killed.

The fight has not been kept far from the walls. The fight is inside the house.

This is an article written by Mrs. Leila Lawler appearing at Catholic Culture, a lady as intelligent as she is beautiful and as uncompromising as she is orthodox. No one could have said it better.

There are those who refuse to acknowledge what is really going on. Probably because they are on the payroll of the Archdiocese.

Lest there be any doubt- we are talking about nothing but blood money.

The article from Catholic Culture:

Let’s take a moment to try to understand what’s going on in Boston, shall we?

To recap:

Caritas Christi, the health-care agency administered by the Archdiocese of Boston, has joined in a successful bid for a government contract to provide health services for low-income clients. The program requires coverage for abortion, sterilization, and contraception.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley says:

"While I appreciate the opportunity given to Caritas Christi to serve the poor through this agreement, I wish to reaffirm that this agreement can only be realized if the moral obligations for Catholic hospitals as articulated in the Ethical and Religious Directives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are fulfilled at all times and in all cases. In order to assure me that this agreement will provide for the integrity of the Catholic identity and practices of Caritas Christi Health Care System, I have asked the National Catholic Bioethics Center to review the agreement and to assure me that it is faithful to Catholic principles." [This is the cardinal's statement in its entirety, made on March 12, 2009.]

First, about serving the poor.

Caritas Christi is a failing business, the mission of which, in this bid, is to shore up an eroding bottom line. Serving the poor isn’t the issue. Winning a large government contract is.

One doesn’t serve the poor by providing them with abortions at the taxpayer’s expense. Even before the present debacle, the archdiocese should have been at the forefront of the (nonexistent) fight to prevent a situation in which the state (meaning its citizens) would be funding abortions.

Now, although the meanest intellect can tell you that by contracting for abortions (and other immoral acts such as sterilizations), Caritas will violate Catholic principles, not only will Cardinal Sean, a bishop, refer the problem to the National Catholic Bioethics Center, he sits on the Board of Directors of that institution.

So he is going to ask himself what he thinks?

If only.

Who are the NCBC? As a friend of John Haas, the president, I regret to say the NCBC compromises and equivocates on the issue of vaccines developed using cells from aborted fetuses, and they refuse to acknowledge any ambiguity on organ donation.

More importantly, the NCBC is not the bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston.

What is the teaching authority of the NCBC?

None.

They have one function in this case, and may God forbid they use it: to provide safe cover under language of “remote proximity” and “lack of material cooperation.”

The faithful need to be clear. Even lacking advanced degrees in bioethics, an ordinary person can figure these things out.

And any person without even a passing knowledge of Directives, Ethical and otherwise, knows that if so-called Catholic hospitals engage in referring for abortions, sterilizations, in vitro fertilizations, etc., then Catholic doctors, nurses, other health care workers, and patients of good conscience will have nowhere to go.

Further, any attempt to safeguard conscientious objection will be rendered moot, sterile, useless, and futile. Such attempts on a national level, going on right now, would have no standing if Catholics in Massachusetts were in the business of providing “reproductive services.”

All the while, we will be able to accuse ourselves of removing the absolute last resort of Christian conduct, since retreat – which is what conscientious objection is – should be recognized as the final refuge of the battle, not its first stage.

The battle has indeed breached the walls of Catholic sanity, ethics, and right conduct. May Cardinal Sean wake up in time.

For the Record

Over the weekend I saw the news article about now Catholic Randy Terry and his trip to Rome. His goal seemed to be a publicity stunt aimed at trying to get Bishop Wuerl and Bishop Loverde removed because they will not refuse Communion to pro-abortion politicians.

[And because that is usually the way it works, lay people fly to Rome, call the press, demand to see Bishops and then dictate the terms of what they want.]

A very fine goal I am sure: you can send your contributions here.

However, my skepticism about Randy Terry given his track record prevents me from being too enthusiastic and I thought no more about this until... I received the following email this morning from Mr. Joseph Landry:

Randall Terry's previous marriage was annulled by the Roman Catholic Church. If you know what an annulment is then no further explanation is necessary and I request the removal of your slanderous and calumnious remarks. If you are not Catholic I would be happy to explain an annulment to you.
God Bless,
Joseph Landry

The name Joseph Landry struck a faint chord and then I remembered he was one of the "pilgrims" that accompanied Randy Terry to Rome.

I wasn't sure what blog post Mr. Landry meant but I found this that I wrote upon the article by the National Catholic Register about Randy Terry entering the Church.

When I first read the email from Mr. Landry I wondered, "Have you considered working for the Legionary's? They could really use someone like you. And something tells me they pay better."

But on to my "caluminous statement" about poor maligned Randall Terry. The facts are thus (however you will not read them in the National Catholic Register). Randall and Cindy Terry were married for 19 years and had 5 children. When Randall was running for office he met a 22 year old woman who was a campaign aide and I guess they "fell in love". Randall's protestant church censured and sanctioned him and rightly so I must say. Apparently to them it was obvious that 1. God hates divorce 2. Abandoning your wife and 5 children is wrong since the man who will not care for his family is worse than a nonbeliever. 3. Cindy and he WERE actually married.

Now we fast forward to the present where Randall Terry is remarried to Andrea and apparently with the seal of approval of the Catholic Church. Well, even though it's Lent permit me to say it, "Glory Hallelujah". Congratulations Randy on receiving a declaration of nullity. Tough luck Cindy but maybe you can find someone to marry- oh but after 19 years of marriage and five kids, maybe not so much. Well at least her protestant Church stood by her and condemned the divorce and abandonment. And more the pity that the Catholic Church did not do the same.

Randall Terry remains a controversial figure for many reasons.

His fundraising and financial dealings for example have been a cause of concern as well as the family values he has attempted to promote which have not borne fruit in his own life.

I will be happy to make the correction that Randall Terry has indeed received a declaration of nullity for his 19 year marriage to Cindy.

Who Am I?

What Have I been doing this week?

Well, the kids had school vacation so that mean some sleeping in.



And I fought the urge to remain obsessed with the American Papist coverage of the Legion/Regnum Christi debacle.

And the boys played in a basketball tournament and lost. But honorably.



And I worked in the convoluted world of bottled water label legal compliance.



{N.B. Drink bottled water. Keep me in business}

And I tried to think of some good ideas for the group I am now the Ladies Coordinator of. (those who voted for me have no idea what they've done....)





And my sister still didn't get engaged. (What is Valentine's Day for anyway?)



N.B. My sister made me CHANGE this image because THIS is the ring that she likes/loves.


And I did hardly any housework and not much cooking.

But I did wallpaper.

And I fretted about bills and my old car, and the rising MA taxes and the economy and my son's lyme arthritis amd my children's future.

And cursed the snow.




And I neglected the Latin Mass Network.

Do you ever think you see a glimpse of God's Grace...

... in the most unlikely of places?

Now I admit that I am big basketball fan. I am especially a fan of any team that one of my children plays for. And even more so, am I a fan of a team that one of my children plays for that is a winning team or a team with a lot of heart.



This is such a great story. God uses the weak, isn't that always the way?

Fr. Maciel, founder of the Legionnaires of Christ and Regnum Cristi Exposed

For those of us who had dealings with Regnum Christi and the Legionnaires of Christ these allegations will confirm what we have long believed and understood. That the movement is one based on lies, duplicity, aggressive fundraising and recruiting tactics, a positive, carefully crafted public image and very little else.

Are there good people who have become involved and who will be disappointed? Of course.

Some good blogservations:

Carol McKinley of Boston.

Inside Catholic

Steve Skojec: a recovering member

Phil Lawler for Catholic Culture

How the Wikipedia War is being waged

I wonder what Fr. Jonathon over at Fox News is saying? Probably something very pastoral.

The spokesperson for the Legion has stated that:

“We can confirm that there are aspects of his life that weren’t appropriate for a Catholic priest."

Inappropriate behavior seems like a bit of an understatement to me. So, in the week that the excommunications of the SSPX bishops have been lifted we may be watching the beginnings of the suppression of the Legionnaires of Christ and Regnum Christi. What a strange time we live in.

Zenit, which is owned by the Legionnaires has this to say about the canonical censure of Fr. Maciel in 2006 go here.:

Very chilling are the comments being left by some apparent members of RC/LC- it still has not hit them that this movement was founded by a drug addicted, homosexual, deviant who was fathering children, stealing money and all the while exhorting Catholics to be just like him, give us your money, your children and your blind unquestioning obedience and we will give you... this.

A sad day and no one takes joy in it. But if this means that some families and individuals will not suffer the abuse of this movement then we can only thank God that the truth is finally being revealed.

So much for choice

Remember when "choice" was the watchword of the day. Everyone deserves "choice". It represented freedom, progressiveness, democracy and indulgence (which, by the way, is no longer a bad thing in the current popular lexicon).

But choice has gone by the wayside. Because choice represents actual freedom and we can't have that. Fascism simply will not allow it.

Usher in the new thought/behavior police:

drug possession- yes
freedom from sex education in school and Diocesan Catholic catechism classes- no

NFP- yes
babies- no

abortion- yes
babies- no

stds - yes
babies - no

Do I see a theme running through these trends?

And to the current, day- what is hip, now, besides Nancy Pelosis, "catholic" mother of 5 and grandmother to 6 (I guess the exponential thing isn't happening there), authorizing and defending contraception in the budget stimulus bill; because babies are burdens and an economic drain on the country you know.

Nancy Pelosi and the green gurus have determined that only 2 babies shall be the limit. Bad news for the mother of octuplets.

Now this should strike you as very indulgent indeed. After all China allows only one child. How magnanimous we are. How prosperous.

I have a very simplistic view of life. And I cling to it. I believe the concept that babies are good and even a gift from God. In fact we named one of our sons, Nathaniel which means in Hebrew- "gift of God".

Clinging to your principles is all you have at the end of the day. And an appreciation for family life. A good glass of wine. A well cooked meal, no matter how simple. Happy faces around the dinner table. A good joke. Bills you can't pay. Good books you hope to read. Library books that are overdue. A beautiful view from your dilapidated farmhouse windows. A friend who understands. The hope of a tax return.

Some people say that resistance is futile.

Resistance is everything.

George Obama, brother of President Obama arrested for drug possesion

In Kenya.

It really is a shame because here in Massachusetts marijuana possession is completely legal.

How backwards our African brothers are with their antiquated legal system.

I'm thinking that George Obama will not be in the Obama family Christmas picture this year.

Catholic Reluctantly Redux

I feel famous.

The Culbreath's of CA and their interpretation of Don McClean's "Castles in the Air"

Eventhough I am on the East Coast and the Culbreath's are on the West it is so great to know such cool people. Jeff posted this on Facebook and I quickly stole it so that you can enjoy it here. To become a follower of the Culbreath Cult, you can read Jeff's work here at Stony Creek Digest.

Could it be?

The Excommunications Lifted?

SSPX

David Clayton, Iconographer, Artist and Engineer

I had the privilege of meeting the new head of Thomas More College's Art Department this past weekend, David Clayton. On David Clayton's myspace page he has an interview about his conversion to the Faith and how he has studied and now teaches iconography. He was trained in Oxford and Florence and also has a master's degree in Engineering. He was even offered a job at a nuclear power plant.

This YouTube interview is fascinating.



Really an amazingly talented guy. I found this interview and comicly David Clayton is compared to the Archbishop Lefebrve of the art world! I found this coloring book about Angels illustrated by David Clayton and to order go here.

The art school founded by David Clayton is called the Ressource school of art and it is described here:

Traditional skills taught with rigour and discipline: naturalistic drawing in the academic method as used by the Old Masters; traditional principles of compositional design and sacred geometry; Byzantine iconography. Site contains information on teachers, the programs, and traveling tours. (Oxford, England UK)

Catholic Reluctantly

No, not me- this book.

You really should order it here. You will not be sorry.

First let me say that this book review is so long overdue that I'm feeling a lot of pressure to make it my best book review ever which almost guarantees it will not be very good at all. So I appreciate your forbearance.

When I first found out about the book reviewer program with the Catholic Company I was excited about the chance to read new Catholic books and then write about them.

This is a great book. The characters in it are familiar because we all know people like them and for those of us who remember the difficult teenage years, we sympathize with the struggles of these young Catholics. The intention of these books is to acknowledge a Catholic culture that the past two generations of Americans are trying to re-capture. A culture where big families of modest means know how to have fun and who are always having so much fun they are the secret envy of every neighborhood.

There is action, mystery, drama and suspense in this book and I understand it is to be the first of many volumes. It was one of those books that you had to read through in a few days because you just wanted to know what happens next.

The main characters Brian Burke, George Peterson, Allie and Celia are likeable, real and heroes in the oldest literary sense of the word. They are characters trying to overcome what is bad and seize the good. I understand from the author that Brian is also a Traditional Catholic. So, what's better than that? Modern Traditional Catholicism!

Anyway, the book is aimed at a teenage audience but like other books in this genre I enjoyed reading them just as much as my daughters did. This book does not shy away from real issues. There are no pollyannas here.

The characters are so real that you want to reach out and text them. Or IM them. They are people you would like to have as friends. They are people we would like our teenagers to be and maybe people that we wish we had been.

Maine Bishop Threatens to Excommunicate Protester

The man is protesting- the abuse of children.

Fiend.

How did I miss this?

Maine is also know as the only diocese to have instituted the "Pay to Play" Traditional Latin Mass ponzi scheme.

If the Catholics in Maine want to attend a Traditional Latin Mass they owe the Bishop $52,000 for a once a week Mass. I figure that works out to be $1,000 a week.

Deal.

Got this from my friend the Cannonball.

Seventeen Random Things

I was tagged with this meme for Facebook and since I can't figure out how to post it there- voila!

1. The more people disparage Sarah Palin, the more I love her.

2. I only pretend to like the ceilings in my house, so that I can have some peace.

3. I have a lot of books that I SHOULD read.

4. I'm re-evaluating whether I really like antique houses and am thinking reproduction antique is the way to go.

5. I worry that we will lose power again.

6. I dread getting the mail.

7. I think New England is the most beautiful, wonderful place to live in the world.

8. When I'm nervous I do the alphabet in sign language. Compulsively.

9. I'm surprised that I do like the Miss Marple mysteries by Agatha Chrisie.

10. I'm constantly amazed at the odd trivia my kids know.

11. I love exotic cooking- Indian, Arabic, Vietnamese, Syrian, Greek.

12. I've missed more doctor/medical appointments in this past year than my whole life I think.

13. I hope that I am able to travel some day.

14. I wish I had the time to get back into quilting.

15. I'm surprised it's hard to think of 17 things.

16. I hope that at the end of the day that working hard, trying to do the right thing and doing my best will have been enough.

17. The really materialistic side of me would love a summer home in Chatham, Massachusetts near the National Seashore.

Rosa Mystica : Another Medical Mission to the Phillipines

This is a picture of my daughter Anastasia, it was her job to hold the patient's head while the patient was having teeth pulled.

She's going back this August!

For a link for more information- go here.