Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Author and Mother of Three Excoriates UK Bishops

We were talking earlier about the meeting of the Austrian and Slovenian Bishops to discuss the sex abuse and take steps to prevent it, well, here's what the English Bishops are doing to "prevent" it, and it's what the American Bishops have done as well.

BRAGA, Portugal, June 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Fiorella Nash, Catholic author and mother of three, spoke to the Knights of Our Lady on the weekend of June 4-6, and upbraided the Bishops Conference of England and Wales for failing to sufficiently oppose explicit sex education in schools and even colluding with the "anti-life policies of the Government."

In her speech, "The State of Family Life in Great Britain," Nash called the government's aggressive promotion of sex education the "greatest threat to family life in Britain today."

"Sex education in Britain, as in many other countries, means the aggressive promotion of an ideology about human sexuality which is entirely at odds with Catholic teaching," she said.

Schools in Britain are currently pushing information about contraception and abortion upon children without parental knowledge or consent, and "this is happening with the co-operation of the Catholic authorities," she said.


Link to original...

Alice Cooper and the Fascination of Evil

The stage shows of American rock musician, Alice Cooper seek to shock and provoke. Indeed the reborn Christian will not show the mastery of evil, rather his fans will be shown the finality of Heaven and Hell.

The concert of the US-American rock musician Alice Cooper has shocking and provoking elements like scenes of torture and execution scenes. Indeed, Alice Cooper is Christian and wants his fans to think about the reality of Heaven and Hell. He said this in an interview with the "Cologne City Informer".

He was born in 1948 as Vincent Furnier in a Christian family and his father was a protestant minister. When he was becoming famous in his younger years, he was very far from his faith. He became an alcoholic and drove his marriage to ruin. 1983 he entered into a recovery clinic and became surprisingly quickly free of his alcohol addiction. "The doctors could not figure out how I had recovered so quickly. I knew, though, that God had helped me. Since then I've cared about the immortality of my soul", said the musician to the Koeln Statdtanzeiger Since his recovery, he's read daily from the Bible and goes Sundays to church.

In his music and in his stage shows, he keeps himself apart from evil, because it, even like death, works a powerful fascination. Alice Cooper actually said: "Whoever travels with a car on the street, and looks left at Disney World and then sees two autos crash on the right, will always look to the right. We have this morbid curiosity, because we know, that we will all finally die."

It isn't just a game with evil with him though. "This fascination is dangerous though. For that reason I try to make it clear to my fans, that Hell is final. Whoever wants to go to heaven, should not waste his life on earth." On his Homepage he has cited the words: "Evil will be punished. It will never win." In his various stage shows he puts himself in various bad guy roles, which come to a bad end.

On the question if his father and his current pastor are not horrified by his shows, he told the Koeln paper: "Certainly not. Both have seen most of my concerts and were impressed, how multifacetedly Alice Cooper embodies evil. For the most part many of my critics must admit after a concert visit, that I do not honor the Devil. On the contrary: I ridicule the Devil."

Original at Kath.net...

Vatican Angry Over New Film About Medieval Female Pope

Vatican Angry Over New Film About Medieval Female Pope

Austrian Catholics a thorn in Vatican's side

By VERONIKA OLEKSYN (AP) – 7 hours ago

VIENNA — Long a thorn in the Vatican's side, Austrian Catholics have ramped up their quest for a more liberal church in the wake of the global clerical sex abuse scandal.

And while much of the push for change comes from the grassroots, the country's powerful cardinal recently caused a stir with strong gestures in support of reform, raising the stakes in the confrontation between the Vatican and dissidents pushing to allow priests to marry and women to be ordained.

What is particularly troubling for Rome is that Austria — historically a major symbol of Catholicism in Europe and a bulwark against the Protestant Reformation — is losing worshippers in record numbers as calls for reform grow stronger.

Link to article...read further.

Pope calls for imitation of St. Thomas Aquinas' devotion to Eucharist :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

(CNA/EWTN News).- Basing his catechesis for a third and final time on the legacy of St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope Benedict highlighted Aquinas’ “masterpiece,” the “Summa Theologica.” He referred to the saint's devotion to the Eucharist, making the call for all people to "fall in love" with the Blessed Sacrament.

An estimated 7,000 pilgrims and faithful joined the Pope in the Paul VI Hall for Wednesday's general audience. Among those in attendance was a group from Malawi in tribal dress who performed a traditional dance for the Holy Father from their seats in the packed auditorium.

Referring to the "masterpiece" of the “Summa Theologica,” Benedict XVI noted the saint’s “serene confidence in the harmony of faith and reason, and in the ability of reason, enlightened by faith, to come to an understanding of God and his saving plan.”


Pope calls for imitation of St. Thomas Aquinas' devotion to Eucharist :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Chavez Says, "Let them Eat Cake" Bishops Protest

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's Roman Catholic Church is blaming the government of President Hugo Chavez for the decomposition of more than 22,000 tons (20,000 metric tons) of food inside a port.

Church leaders condemn what they call the irresponsibility of officials at the state-run company that imported the food, calling the scandal "a sin that Heaven is crying over."

Chavez has urged prosecutors to bring all those responsible to justice. Authorities have arrested the ex-president of the company and two other officials.

The Venezuelan Bishops' Conference said Tuesday the decomposed food is an example of government mismanagement. It complained of what it calls "the moral deterioration of public institutions."

Link to original at FOX News...

Quebec Won't Force Jesuits to Water Down Curriculum

Not to be too flippant, but won't the Jesuits do that for them?

Some good and bad news out of Quebec

Cardinal Kasper Will Retire Now Replaced by Koch

It could have been Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller when we talked about it earlier, but instead it will be Bishop Koch. This is very good news indeed.

The Anglo-Catholic has picked up on this, here. Here's what The Anglo-Catholic found on google.

Many people have signed a petition for the unqualified acceptance of the council. Right from the start, the expression "unqualified acceptance" irritates me because I don’t know anyone — myself included — to whom it would apply. A few arbitrarily chosen examples will suffice:

– The council did not abolish Latin in the liturgy. On the contrary, it emphasized that in the Roman Rite, apart from exceptional cases, the use of the Latin language must be maintained. Who among the vocal defenders of the council wishes "unqualified acceptance" of that?

– The council declared that the Church regards Gregorian Chant as the "music proper to the Roman Rite," and that it must therefore "be given primary place." In how many parishes is this implemented "without qualification?"

– The council expressly requested that governmental authorities voluntarily give up those rights to participation in the selection of bishops, that had arisen over the course of time. Which defender of the council advocates "without qualification" for that?

– The council described the fundamental nature of the liturgy as the celebration the paschal mystery and the eucharistic sacrifice as "the completion of the work of our salvation." How can that be reconciled with my experience, made in many different parishes, that the sacrificial understanding of the Mass has been completely eliminated from the liturgical language and the Mass is now understood only as a meal or "the breaking of bread?" In what way can one justify this profound change by reference to the council?

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Anglicans Consider New Alternatives

Here's what "the Anglo-Catholic" said about what's going on in the Anglican Communion:

When people see some disaster coming which is going to destroy their home, what do most of them do? Grab the family treasures if they can, gather up the things that mean the most to them, and then get someplace where it’s safe. I think the Latin phrase for that is “Anglicanorum coetibus.”


An Outsider's View

SSPX Seminaries are Significantly Outperforming The Jesuit Counterparts

The June Ordinands are on the Way

The Jesuits have just ordained 6 men from the Midwest, which is presumed to be Wisconsin Province, the Louisiana Province has produced 3. In a virtual Goofus and Gallant scenario, the Jesuits seem to be doing very little with the enormous gifts they've been given.

Now, compare that to the SSPX in Zaitzkofen which just ordained three to the priesthood this last Sunday on the 21st. They were ordained by Bishop Fellay and will say their first Mass on the 28th at the Seminary. Threats from the heterodox ordinary, Bishop Mueller, that it would threaten the reconciliation talks now going on in Rome notwithstanding, the ordination has gone ahead. Although the German Province of the SSPX lacks the access of big Universities, facilities and endowments possessed by the Jesuits they are tracking to overtake them in yearly vocations to the priesthood.

There have been no complaints from the local ordinary of Winona, Bishop Lavoir, however, to the new ordinations and the Saint Thomas Aquinas Seminary there has ordained 9. Last year, they had ordained 10 and are likely to continue a fruitful harvest of priests to fill up the increasing demand for the Mass of All Ages and alleviate the exttremely heavy work burden of their brother priests in the fields of the Lord.

Just a brief speculation: You'd think that the Jesuits with their heavily endowed and accredited Universities would be capable of producing more vocations with the overabundance of resources. No, the number of vocations seems inversely proportional to the number of concelebrants, in this case 300, at their ordinations.
We think that resources should follow success, and times they are a changin' as "newer rites" fall into disfavor for what was always done in older and finer times, and those who are, as Saint Pius X said, the true friends of the Church, the Traditionalists, will continue to carry out the Great Commission, while lesser men and those who lead them will certainly find creature comforts, the praise of their peers and neighbors, but will they please God?

It seems increasingly clear that Pope Benedict is more likely to favor the scholastically trained militants coming from SSPX Seminaries to the kinds of men trained elsewhere with less rigour and esprit de corp.

Correction: The Jesuits ordained from the "Midwest" were actually ordained in Chicago and include boys from all over the Midwest. The Chicago Province alone has 386 Jesuits and four Universities with numerous other preparatory and high schools, here. Also there weren't 9 as we'd initially reported, but only 6.

Pound for pound, what dog do you want on your side in the battle for souls?

Lifesite News Says Cardinal Mahony is "Gay Friendly"

LOS ANGELES, June 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a videotaped deposition released last Tuesday, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony admits he did not think it necessary to contact police after learning of the sex abuse perpetrated by a priest in his diocese against two boys. Instead, Mahony transferred the priest to other locations, where the abuse could potentially continue.

The archdiocese had tried but failed to keep private the deposition, which was taken as part of a lawsuit that resulted in a $2.2 million settlement.

The five-hour videotaped deposition, the first to be released to the public, shows Mahony explaining his conduct after former priest Michael Baker confessed to him in 1986 that he had molested two boys. Baker, who has been accused of abuse by at least 23 individuals, is now serving a 10-year jail sentence on charges of molestation.

Link to original...

Asian Catholic Church is Growing

Seoul (AsiaNews) - For the first time, the number of Catholics in Korea has exceeded 10% of the total population. There are 115,997 more Catholics than in 2008.

It is the Church to bear witness to the considerable increase of the faithful in Korea, today 10.1% of the population. The statistics were compiled based on pastoral documents collected from 16 dioceses, seven universities and a number of Catholic religious institutes in Korea.

Of the 15 dioceses, which have a total of 5 million and 120 thousand faithful, the largest is the Archdiocese of Seoul, where 27.4% of Catholics live. The number of baptized in 2009 rose to 157 thousand, 10.9% more than in 2008. If the number of children baptized grew by 7.5% in one year, the number of those baptized before reaching one year, which decreased significantly, is of concern, indicating that it is still necessary to encourage the baptism of newborn infants.

Read further...

Asian Catholic Church is Growing

Seoul (AsiaNews) - For the first time, the number of Catholics in Korea has exceeded 10% of the total population. There are 115,997 more Catholics than in 2008.

It is the Church to bear witness to the considerable increase of the faithful in Korea, today 10.1% of the population. The statistics were compiled based on pastoral documents collected from 16 dioceses, seven universities and a number of Catholic religious institutes in Korea.

Of the 15 dioceses, which have a total of 5 million and 120 thousand faithful, the largest is the Archdiocese of Seoul, where 27.4% of Catholics live. The number of baptized in 2009 rose to 157 thousand, 10.9% more than in 2008. If the number of children baptized grew by 7.5% in one year, the number of those baptized before reaching one year, which decreased significantly, is of concern, indicating that it is still necessary to encourage the baptism of newborn infants.

Read further...

Archeologists Claim They've Found the Oldest Images of the Apostles

[Rome, Reuters] Archaeologists and art restorers using new laser technology have discovered what they believe are the oldest paintings of the faces of Jesus Christ’s Apostles. The images in a branch of the catacombs of St Tecla near St Paul’s Basilica, just outside the walls of ancient Rome, were painted at the end of the 4th century or the start of the 5th century.

Archaeologists believe these images may have been among those that most influenced later artists’ depictions of the faces of Christ’s most important early followers. “These are the first images that we know of the faces of these four Apostles,” said Professor Fabrizio Bisconti, the head of archaeology for Rome’s numerous catacombs, which are owned and maintained by the Vatican.

The full-face icons include visages of St Peter, St Andrew, and St John, who were among Jesus’ original 12 Apostles, and St Paul, who became an Apostle after Christ’s death.

Read further...

Will Father Feeney's SBC in New Hampshire be Regularized?


Just received this note from Brother Andre-Marie of the Saint Benedict Center in New Hampshire. Because some reports were leaked out on-line regarding talks with the local ordinary, Brother wants this to be made known. The Saint Benedict Center will with the knowledge of the local ordinary continue to follow the spiritual legacy of Father Leonard Feeney and has received, for the time being, a chaplain from the Archdiocese. Approval from the local ordinary of the work of the Center is possibly forthcoming, but the good Bishop is recovering from back surgery. Here's what Brother Andre-Marie sent us.

Stay tuned.

Dear Larry,

Thank you for doing the manly and Catholic thing in writing to obtain information from me directly on the latest scuttlebutt over SBC and our dealings with the Diocese of Manchester. As we earlier discussed, the cause of this recent round of rumors is the notice that appeared in the Cathedral parish bulletin. The pastor, who knew very little of what was going on, penned a poorly written paragraph that was also highly inaccurate. This got circulated around the Internet because the bulletin goes on the Cathedral web site, too. When I informed the Bishop's liaison about this, and sent him the text, he called me to tell me, "I feel sick right now." When I said that the paragraph was "misleading and vague," this priest corrected me, and said that it was "wrong," as in factually incorrect. The Cathedral pastor removed the bulletin from the site and apologized for misleading the faithful.

What would help clear this up is the press release we have written announcing that our chapel is formally approved by the Diocese, but our Bishop is recovering from a recent back surgery, and is under doctor's orders to do no work. Some important paperwork for our chapel's approval is therefore held up. Because of all this business, I’m not sure when the approval will be granted and the news made public.

Catholic prudence demands that, in light of present circumstances, I offer some explanations concerning these goings on. I certainly do not want my silence on the issue to give strength to the rumors and suspicions being circulated. Please feel free to pass this information along to those you said were concerned about the rumors they’d heard.

Here, in summary, it what has transpired.

It is not a secret to our local congregation that we have had a series of discussions with officials of the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire. These discussions have been ongoing since just before the Holy Father promulgated his Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum. Our local faithful have been kept generally informed concerning the progress of these conversations. I have put off addressing the matter in writing to our larger network of tertiaries, friends, and benefactors, because I did not want the noise of public discussion, especially online, to prejudice the outcome of our conversations with the Diocese. Such spectacles in the blogosphere and in the “cage-match” environment of online forums are not fruitful, but, rather, dissipating and enervating. Lots of heat and smoke, but no light. My intention all along has been to explain in writing to our supporters at a distance what our locals know. My desire was to do so when there were actual results to report, not just a series of possibilities.

Here are the facts:

1. I, Brother Andre Marie, representing Saint Benedict Center, Richmond (SBC), have been meeting with Manchester Chancery officials for the better part of three years.

2. I was encouraged to initiate this because of the change in atmosphere in the Church begun shortly after Pope Benedict XVI was coronated Supreme Pontiff, especially his initiatives in favor of liturgical tradition and orthodoxy.

3. During those meetings, I made clear to the chancery officials that the MICM and SBC will remain loyal disciples of Father Leonard Feeney, retaining our enthusiastic adherence to, and missionary promotion of, what is often termed the “strict interpretation” of the binding Catholic dogma, extra ecclesiam nulla salus. Further, we will continue to worship according to the traditional Roman Rite of the Mass, as the Holy Father has affirmed is the right of Latin Catholics. The diocese acknowledged our right to both of these things. In short, we will remain what we always were, and that does not present a problem to the diocese. This is an amazing development that would not have been possible until very recently. (What's more, our bishop submits his retirement on August 12. I am given to believe, through sources, that his successor will be a friend of tradition, as many of Pope Benedict's appointments are turning out to be.)

4. The Diocese carried out their meetings with us in consultation with the Holy See. The positive results of our cooperation with the diocese (see #6, below) have already been approved by the Roman officials.

5. The Holy See directed our Brothers and Sisters to make a profession of Catholic Faith before Bishop McCormack. We happily did so according to the formula prescribed by the Church — the Nicene Creed with three additional paragraphs naming and professing the appropriate adherence to the three levels of magisterial teaching. All those who assume office in the Church are required to make this profession. All priests must make it before their ordination. Additionally, we each submitted to the Bishop signed copies of the Athanasian Creed, an ancient Creed of the Church that thrice declares the doctrine we are dedicated to defend.

6. The results of this definitive meeting with Bishop McCormack are the approval of a chaplaincy for SBC, and the canonical approbation of our chapel as a Catholic oratory. (This is presently pending, as the “paperwork” is held up due to the Bishop’s convalescence.)

7. We assured the Diocese that we will treat the Holy Father and the Bishops in communion with him with all the respect due to them as the Vicar of Christ and successors of the Apostles. (As you know, the kind of rancorous criticism of the hierarchy so common in many traditionalist circles has really never been our MO. Brother Francis was certainly not that way.)

8. The diocesan officials and we discussed the confusion surrounding SBC’s positions on different matters. The local media, certain bloggers, and the publishing arms of ideological progressivists had manufactured a veritable mythology about our little community, characterizing us in a false light as a “hate group.” (You know all about this.) For obvious reasons, the chancery wanted to get at the truth of these issues. We obliged them, and they were satisfied.

9. These arrangements we made with the diocese entail a canonical (legal) normalization of our status in the Church. In no way do they indicate a “conversion” to the Catholic Church, to which our members already belonged as baptized Catholics. I mention this because critics from mutually opposing camps (progressivists, sedes, etc.) may choose to put some heavy "spin" on the fact that we made a profession of Faith.

If I had thought that these arrangements with the ecclesiastical officials would detract from our twofold Crusade to promote the dogma and work for the conversion of America to the true Faith, I would not have moved forward with them. I did so with the trust and confidence of Brother Francis, whom I kept abreast of things. I am of the conviction that we live in a new era in the Church, and many good things are happening that constitute, in broad outline, a reorientation toward tradition. (I am not naive: There is very much to do!) Given this authentic progress toward a more sane era in the Church Militant, I believe it possible and prudent to advance our apostolate within the canonical structures of the Church, thus helping the Church in Her sacred mission of saving souls and giving glory to the Blessed Trinity.

Some traditionalists, who virtually consider any and all dealings with the hierarchy to be formal cooperation with Satan himself, will not understand this. They will take scandal. They will accuse, criticize, deride, label me a traitor and a turncoat, a Judas, a Brother Elias. What can I say? I have to make decisions with a good and correct conscience, based upon the goals of our Crusade, the exigencies of or apostolate, and real life circumstances in the Church and the world — not on some "false clear idea" that folks craft to make the complexities of life easier to explain. Should some friends, benefactors, and tertiaries choose to part company with us over this, I would be saddened, but I will not fume and rant. We've seen friends come and go — and enemies pile up — since we began this work. 'Twas always thus, as Brother Francis would have assured us.

The Church thinks in terms of decades, centuries, millennia, not in the soundbites of the moment. I ask those who care to judge our actions to look at us after a few years at least. Then a clearer picture will emerge of what has happened. When it turns out that, by the grace of God and the intercession of the Immaculate Heart, we remain loyal to our Crusade, then the suspicions of the moment will prove groundless. I do not expect apologies.

God bless, and Mary keep, you and Sue.

Slovenian and Austrian Bishop's Conference Meet to Discuss Sex Abuse


[Vienna] The theme of abuse will be at the center of the discussions of the Austrian Bishops' Conference which will meet at Mariazell Abbey for their summer meeting. On the table there's a comprehensive introductory document which will be discussed, which is the work of around 300 experts [Yikes] which project group is overseen by the Viennese Generalvikar Mosgr Franz Schuster, according to the media representative of the Episcopal Conference, Paul Wuthe. In its highlights the paper establishes clear guildlines for all ecclesiastical workers including orders for the prevention of sexual abuse and violence. "The goal is an Austria-wide standardization of procedures and with that, clarity", said Wuthe.

The proposals will include the establishment of a Church Ombundman and a reinforced collaboration of all ecclesiastical and state organizations with sexual abuse and violence.

A chief role in connection with the last months of well known cases of violence and abuse is played by the Independent Victim's Attorney Waltrud Klasnic and the Independent Victim's Defense Commission. From this basis Waltrud Klasnic will report on the developments in this area, according to Wuthe.

It is also the first time that the Bishops' Conference of Slovenia will meet with that of Austria. Cardinal Schoenborn and Archbishop Anton Stres (Laibach) are meeting on the 23rd of June at 1:00pm in the Abbot's Council at the Abbey of Mariazell, in order to hold a press conference. Shortly before there will be a photo oprrotunity for all participating Bishops in front of the Basilica.

Archbishop Anton Stres of Laibach, Slovenia, will preside over the Mass and preach the sermon.

Link to original...

Vatican says Polish reports of archbishop's resignation unfounded :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Vatican says Polish reports of archbishop's resignation unfounded :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Orthodox Church in Bulgaria Opposes Homosexual Parade: British Ambassador Praises It

[Sofia]British ambassador to Bulgaria Steve Williams has sent a message of goodwill to participants ahead of the forthcoming Sofia gay pride festival on Saturday June 26, the third of its kind in Bulgaria.

"I wish to send a message of support to all those who will be celebrating diversity on that day. Respect for human rights is one of the core democratic values on which the European Union is based. Those human rights apply equally to all people, regardless of their race, gender, ethnicity, belief, or sexual orientation. Many excuses - such as respect for religious doctrine or traditional values - are given to justify homophobia. Let us be clear: in today's European Union there can be no excuse and no justification for homophobia, on any grounds," said ambassador Williams.

The full text of his goodwill message is available on the British embassy's website here.

Ambassador Williams was also one of the first ambassadors to endorse last year's parade. On that occasion he was criticised by Boyan Rasate, leader of the far-right Bulgarian National Union, who told reporters that "he (Williams) has no right to tell Bulgarians how to live in Bulgaria."

Last year, the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Maxim, also called on Sofia authorities to stop the parade and denounced homosexuality as the "fruits of darkness".


Read original at sofiaecho...
Bulgaria's 2008 parade, the first of its kind in Sofia, was marred by violence after more than 60 people, mostly identified as far-right protesters, tried to attack and harass marchers. A demonstrator also threw a Molotov cocktail at the crowd.

Obama Celebrates “Gay Pride” as HIV Cases Rise

Obama Celebrates “Gay Pride” as HIV Cases Rise

Vatican Emissary Wraps up Talks with Castro

Vatican Emissary Wraps up Talks with Castro

Cardinal Sepe Denies Corruption Allegations

A senior cardinal caught up in a corruption probe connected to his work for the Vatican has denied any wrong doing.

Crescenzio Sepe, who is also the archbishop of Naples, is accused of taking kickbacks when he headed the Propaganda Fide – that’s the body which handles the Vatican’s vast property porfolio which funds much of the Catholic Church’s missionary work.

Sepe says he will cooperate fully with the investigation which has pulled in former government ministers..its alleged Sepe sold a building at a quarter of its market value to a one time infrastructure minister.

Sepe asserts that during his time as head of the department until 2006, the Vatican always approved all the balance sheets and he was even congratulated on his management skills.

The Vatican has said its confident the cardinal will be found blameless in this matter.

Copyright © 2010 euronews


Link to original...

Most definitely connected to the phone tapping, here.

Kazak Bishop Recalls Soviet Persecution, Questions Communion in the Hand

[Catholic Culture] In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, the General Secretary of the Bishops' Conference of Kazakhstan recounted the persecution Catholics endured in the Soviet Union under the regime of Leonid Brezhnev. Between 1971 and 1973, when he was a child of ten to twelve, Bishop Athansius Schneider and his family would travel by train to the nearest church, which was 60 miles away.

“The Communist government forbade children from participating in the Holy Mass,” he recalls. “Only adults were allowed to go, but we were four children and therefore my parents chose to take the first train in the morning when it was still dark so we wouldn’t be visible to others to see us… And then we would return with the last train in the evening …The Sundays, we spent with our parish priest who had a little room only-- not a house, but just a little room; it was his kitchen, sleeping room, and library in this one room. We spent our time because we were the family who travelled from afar. There I made my first Confession and first Communion with this holy priest who was also imprisoned in Karaganda earlier.”

Read further... Catholic Culture.

Riga Gets a New Archbishop

The Catholics in Latvia are getting a new Archbishop. The Vatican reported this on Saturday. Zbignev Stankevics will be the new Archbishop of Riga. He was previously a spiritual director of seminarians and Director of the Science of Religion Institute in Riga. The Vatican received at the same time the resignation of Archbishop Cardinal Janis Pujats (79).

Link to original...Radio Vatikan.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Ave Maria University Gets Accreditation

Tom Monaghan is ahead of the game and eager to feed at the government trough. He announced this weekend at an unofficial alumni gathering that he was fairly certain that the AVE Maria would receive accreditation from SACS. Accreditation is important because it means that the school's credits will transfer and be recognized by employers like the US Government; it also means that Ave Maria will get access to America's tax money.

There is currently not any evidence that a school's accreditation was refused due to concerns of the school not having up-to-date hiring policies, such as those that include all "qualified" individuals regardless of sexual preference. We've seen Catholic institutions have their funding threatened with that scourge before and the question isn't so much, will the Government remove funding because Ave Maria refuses to hire homosexual or pro-abort faculty, but when Tom Monahan and Dr. Nicholas Healy will cave in to these requirements because they want a professional sports program and a "world class" (modernist) university.

It's no wonder that Ave Maria is happy at this news because they've been worried about getting accreditation and federal funds. Having semi-professional athletes on campus is a big priority, after all, almost as much of a priority as having high-profile Pro-Abort Politicians visit and leave significant amounts of money behind, like Tom Golisano. Is a visit from Obama out of the question? The accreditation has long been a concern at least since 2007 when the school was put on candidacy for full recognition.

Perhaps this will be a wink and a nod from the powers and principalities since Ave Maria is willing to play ball with Pro-Abort politicians and host Frankenstein scientists as well. As Ave Watch website reports, the Pizza King and his pentecostal minions are willing to bend the rules in more than one situation and the facility is going to work on a new male pill.

It's no secret that the Wanderer's readership has been declining like all print media companies, so one wonders if some of that $4 million Tom Golisano gave to Ave Maria will find its way into Al Matt's depleted coffers?

Ave Maria has been eager to sacrifice Catholicism in the past when it fired Father Fessio from his campus ministry slot, the theologically impoverished Healy administration with its academic professionalism and pentecostal proclivities no doubt had something to do with that.

It reminds us of The Perelandra Series by CS Lewis where the University elites are the bad guys, who belong to a Satanic cabal.

Can you really trust someone from the Harvard smart set who's refused to repudiate the false ideas promoted by that institution, but rather revels in them and seeks to replicate them in an educational swamp in Naples Florida?

Byzantine, Texas: Pan-Orthodox Assembly of Bishops of the British Isles

Byzantine, Texas: Pan-Orthodox Assembly of Bishops of the British Isles

The Anglican Church is Dying: An Exchange

From Datechguy:

I got an e-mail from Smitty today that linked to this post at Samizdata. The meat of the story:


Bishop Spong is the “Save the bible from fundamentalism” person (a favourite of certain liberal people I know in York) – and by “fundamentalist” he really means this word in its original sense, i.e. the “fundamentals” of Christianity such as the empty tomb (although, of course, he would be happy if innocent minded people just thought he meant stupid-southern-redneck-preacher by “fundamentalist”, which is the impression the media love to give). In any case Bishop Spong assumes that, being a social gospel person like himself, Rowen Williams also does not believe in the basic doctrines of Christianity (i.e. that, like Bishop Spong himself, he is using religion as a cover for the service of the collectivist cause).

So Bishop Spong was rather taken aback by Rowen Williams teaching the doctrine of the empty tomb, so shocked that he stated that of course Williams can not really believe in such doctrines (he must just be pretending in order to get along with the ignorant scum who make up most church goers) – but it is Rowen Williams’ reply that interests me.

Archbishop Williams replies that he is not pretending to believe in things in order to get along with ordinary people – he actually does believe in these doctrines, “I do not know how to convince him [Spong] that I do, but I do”.

Read further at Datechguy...

Gunmen murder former party scribe in church

Gunmen murder former party scribe in church

Telegraph Makes Unfounded Accusation Against Bishop Mixa

The UK Newspaper joins attacks on Bishop Mixa of Augsburg. Although the news story contains no new information, it claims that there is a new round of accusations against him while he waits at his mansion for the decision on his resignation.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that Archbishop Zollitsch and Bishop Marx have stepped out of their way to feed him to the wolves. One thing this story is really showing up is how things are shaping up in the Church as Liberal Prelates become increasingly aggressive against Catholic Prelates, using the press corp as an effective bludgeon to destroy the credibility of the Church and the ongoing reform.

Meanwhile, the Vatican has agreed to cooperate with Italian authorities regarding the charges of corruption against one of its Cardinals. Sounds like this was the reason behind the Carabineri (Italian Federal Police) evesdropping "accidentally" on the Pope's phone conversations as reported earlier this Month. Speaking of scandal, wasn't it Damian Thompson who said the other day that we needed an outside to clean up the Italian dominated curia? The cleanup may well go on without the Australian Cardinal Pell who was said by various sources last week to have been bypassed for promotion to the powerful Congregation of Bishops owing to a smear campaign against him.

Link to Telegraph...

Bishops’ lawyer in court bid to halt sex education

Bishops’ lawyer in court bid to halt sex education

Pope reminds Catholic bishops of Brazil to 'teach the truth boldly' :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Pope reminds Catholic bishops of Brazil to 'teach the truth boldly' :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Military and Media mostly Clueless about Suicide Epidemic in the MIlitary

In a characteristically humanist approach, the NPR fails to address what is really a spiritual problem. The Army has an inkling that the problem is a spiritual one. They encourage soldiers to be religious, knowning that somehow the taboos against self-slaughter encouraged by the Catholic Church are beneficial. Unfortunately, the prevailing society, the law, our government are hostile to that spiritual reality. If there's an epidemic of suicide in the military, it's a spiritual problem.

Listen to the story on NPR, here.

Top Senate Republican Leaves Door Open to Potential Elena Kagan Filibuster

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The leading Republican in the Senate left the door open for a potential filibuster of pro-abortion Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. In a weekend interview with "Fox News Sunday" Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the initial information on Kagan has been "quite troubling."

In April, McConnell, a pro-life senator from Kentucky, said a filibuster of the then-unknown nominee would be "highly unlikely, however, unless the nominee is an extraordinary individual outside the mainstream with really bizarre views."


Top Senate Republican Leaves Door Open to Potential Elena Kagan Filibuster

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Ban on Gay Blood Donors in Canada Under Attack

OTTAWA, June 18 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A court battle brewing between the Canadian agency in charge of collecting blood donations and an active homosexual could result in a ruling that removes the ban on homosexuals giving blood.

Canada Blood Services (CBS), which collects, screens and ensures the safety of the blood supply, sued homosexual Kyle Freeman last fall after he admitted to lying in the pre-donation screening process and giving blood despite the lifetime ban on men who have sex with men (MSM) giving blood.

The ban was put in place in 1985 after the Canadian Red Cross, in charge of the blood supply at the time, failed to properly screen donors. The result was that thousands of Canadians were infected with HIV and hepatitis C from contaminated blood.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jun/10061801.html
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mammal Hair Found in 100 Million-Year-Old Amber

Palaeontologists have discovered two mammal hairs encased in 100 million-year-old amber.

While older 2D fossilised hairs are known, those preserved in the amber are the oldest 3D specimens known. The hairs, found alongside a fly pupa in amber uncovered in southwest France, are remarkably similar to hair found on modern mammals.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8734000/8734883.stm

H/t: kreuz.net
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Bishop Mixa's Second Resignation, "under duress"

It's not the enemy liberal media, or some of the backstabbing colleagues, but the Pope himself who has Bishop Mixa under pressure. This, at least is something some would have us believe.

According to the anti-Catholic 'Focus', Pope Benedict charged, through his nuncio to Germany Mons, Jean-Claude Perisset, on the end of April, to give Bishop Mixa a "time out". The Bishop is said by 'focus' not to have reacted because of the "time out".

April 28th the conspirators Archbishop Zollitsch and Bishop Marx had an audience with Benedict XVI where they gave him the useless information that Bishop Mixa is supposed to be a homosexual and a child abuser. In the heated atmosphere, the Pope was forced to contend with this information. According to 'focus', the Pope then personally sent the conspirator Bishops to discuss with Bishop Mixa at Basel and have him clarify his first resignation of April 21st on the same misleading accusations of sexual abuse as before.

Bishop Mixa has, in his own words, issued a second resignation, "under duress".

http://www.kreuz.net/article.11377.html
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Pope Benedict to Venerate Relics of Celestine V

[Kathnet, Italy] Pope Benedict XVI will visit the central Italian city of Sulmona on the 800th birthday of one of its Saints, Celestine V.

Pope Benedict will visit on the 4th of July the central Italian city of Sulmona. The reason is the 800ths birthday of Pope Celestine V, who has been an inhabitant of the Abruzzian city for many years.
The Vatican has reported that Benedict XVI will pray before the reliquary of the Saint int the Cathedral crypt.

Celestine was elected against his will to the Papacy in 1294 to be head of the Church. The hermit was 80 years old at this point and had a reputation for holiness. In a moment unprecedented in Church history, he gave up his Papal office in a few months.

The central event of the 19th inner-Italian papal trip is the morning Mass in the open air under the open sky in the inner-city of Sulmona.

After a meal with the bishops of the region he will meet in the afternoon with the youth of the program. In the evening, Benedict XVI will fly back to Rome on a helicopter.

The Saint has for Pope Benedict a special significance. Already in April 2009 the current Pope laid an stole of honor, a so-called pallium, upon the shrine in the Abruzzian capital, L'Aquila.

(C) kathnet 2010

http://www.kath.net/detail.php?id=27074
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Friday, June 18, 2010

Sympathy from the 'Mittelbayerischen': Liberal Paper Defends Episcopal SSPX Critic

Kreuz.net says about Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller of Regensburg that their criticism has aroused the anger of a German journalist from the liberal 'Mittelbayerische' paper and its editor. It seems that it's not only the German Bishops who wish kreuz.net would go away.

Caught in a crossfire: The neoconservative Potemkin-Bishop is receiving agreement from circles, who are actually his deadly enemies.

The head shepherd is said to be "vilified by conservatives" -- said liberal editor Chistine Schröpf

In 2007 Frau Schröpf published a children's book with private secretary Georg Gänswein. It was called "Why does the Pope Wear Red Shoes? Children's Questions for Benedict XVI."

Now, she is defending the Archbishop of Regensburg like a flaming angel:

"They call him "Bishop-heretic" question his theological reputation and put his loyalty to the Church in question: Bischof Müller stands in the crossfire of ultraconservative Church circles" -- complains Schröpf


Msgr Müller has proposed the giving of Holy Communion to unbelievers and public sinners.

He denied the perpetual virginity of Mary as well as the sacrificial character of the Mass and and opined the notion that Adolf Hitler (+1945), Winston Churchill (+1965) and child molesters finally are recompensed with heaven.

Open Lies

Frau Schröpf believes that the critique of the theological errors of Msgr Muller are a "bill" for the episcopal bluster against the previously occurring priestly consecrations in the Pius Seminary in Zaitzkofen near Regensburg.

She disseminated also the open lie, that these consecrations by the Vatican are "forbidden".

Frau Schröpfs anger directs itself however in the first line against Europe's largest Catholic Internet Platform, 'kreuz.net'.

"The authors can best be described as fundamentalist" -- as she portrayed the Portal with cliches.

What she -- or her very rich Media Boss -- wanted to say with that, she left unclear.


Why the Solo-Pirouette of Bishop Müller?


Frau Schröpf maintains that Pope Benedict himself. -- in opposition to Bishop Müller -- is endeavouring, to bring the Society of Saint Pius X back to the bosom of the Church."

The Society has "separated" itself from the Church out of protest against the "modernization"-- are pieces of misinformation with which she has entertained the public.

Then the Regensburg Communications Director, Clemens Neck steps forward.

He maintains, that Bishop Müller is absolved in his rampage against the Society of Pius X, "by being in unity with Pope Benedict".

The Bishop has been invited to an audience with the Pope in Rome -- he mystifies.

Then did the Pope also authorize the Episcopal rampage against the Society of Saint Pius X?

Cross examination Question: Why only in Regensburg? Why also have not the other Bishops not objected to the coming priestly consecrations this 26th June?

Neognostic Theologian

The Diocesan Communications Director also commented about 'kreuz.net' -- Articles, which have accused Bishop Muller of heresy have been brought to the light of day.

The "tit-for-tat" of a splinter group-- he said encouraging himself.

Bishop Muller has been "in the first line of those saddened" by the reaction of the Society of Pius X-- said Frau Schröpf with sympathy.

Now the irreconcilable Bishop hopes, that the process of reunification -- curiously because of
lèse-majesté -- "in danger".

Like his master, the Regensburg Communications Director plays the importance and reality of the perpetual virginity of Mary in conflict accordingly:

The real heart of this doctrine is "NOT" resolved by questions of a gynecological speciality, rather -- diffused -- in the "Mystery of the Birth of Christ".

More Slander from the German Bishop's Conference

The Church circles and thoroughly popular portal 'kreuz.net' is -- according to the opinion of the Regensburg Communications Director-- "in Church circles famous-infamous".

According to information from observers, the portal has for years broken through the wall of silence put up by neoconservative and old liberals and takes no political position in the Church.

The Bavarian Bishop's Conference would rather have 'kreuz.net' silenced before the 'Mittelbayerischen': "no comment" - writes Frau Schröpf.

The German Bishop's Conference are well known for their slanders given by the notorious official functionary Matthias Kopp.

He clarified for the 'Mittelbayerischen' (Middle Bavarian Paper), that 'kreuz.net' has in the past been guilty of "more than questionable" statements before.

The site has no official character: "... continual anti-Semitic suggestions and ponderous cheap-polemical shots against the German Bishops are unbearable" -- intoned Kopp

Even the press speaker for the German Society of Pius X, Father Andreas Steiner, distanced himself from the "form" of the criticism on 'kreuz.net'.

Another Bishop Witholds Funding from CCHD

GAYLORD, Michigan, June 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Another United States bishop is taking precautions in light of continuing allegations that the U.S. bishops’ domestic anti-poverty arm, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), is funding groups that support abortion and other activities contrary to Catholic teaching.

Bishop Bernard Hebda of Gaylord, Michigan has decided to delay sending funds to CCHD from the 2010 collection while the organization is under review, LifeSiteNews has learned.

Candace Neff, communications director for the Gaylord diocese, emphasized that the bishop has not “discontinued” the collection for CCHD. “A tremendous amount of very important work is accomplished through the Catholic Campaign for Human Development,” she said.

Read further...

Thursday, June 17, 2010

‘Absolute catastrophe’ in Kyrgyzstan: Nuncio

The Vatican ambassador to Kyrgyzstan has described the situation in the country as chaotic as ethnic violence pushed up the number of refugees and displaced people.

“In Osh, there is a situation of absolute humanitarian catastrophe: There are no lights, no gas, no water and no food in the markets,” Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia, Vatican nuncio to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, told Vatican Radio June 15, Catholic Review notes.

He said it was impossible to accurately count the injured because the Uzbeks are afraid to go the hospital. He reported dozens of deaths in Osh and said that as of June 13, 47 were dead in the border city of Jalal-Abad. Two Jesuits are responsible for the church in both cities.

Read further...

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Cardinal Pell is the victim of a smear campaign designed to stop him reforming the world's bishops

There's at least one reason why you'd not want to trust Cardinal Pell with such a sensitive post that don't stem from his tenuous interaction with Deacon Alcuin Reed. Isn't the fact that he tolerated such an open source of dissent in his diocese related to homosexuality cause enough? You can read the story, here.

Still, it's all too easy to see that a very unsavory cluster of individuals might not want him in this sensitive position.

Cardinal Pell is the victim of a smear campaign designed to stop him reforming the world's bishops

LA bills address ObamaCare, abortion clinics (OneNewsNow.com)

LA bills address ObamaCare, abortion clinics (OneNewsNow.com)

Hootenany Mass at the Lateran



Courtesy of Rorate Caeli, here.

Argentinian Bishop Challenges State-Run Liberal Media

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jun 16, 2010 / 04:45 am (CNA).- Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata in Argentina criticized the ideological slant in Argentina’s official state-run media, which, he explained, saturates “viewers and listeners with their ideology.”

The archbishop noted that some channels have “very good programs. But the strong ideological line and one-sidedness is noteworthy. No pluralism exists, as corresponding to the country, especially in the state-run media,” he added.

During the program, “Keys to a Better World,” Archbishop Aguer noted that many of the programs “are technically very good … but nevertheless the ideological virus is present. It is just another one of the defects of the media,” he said.


Read further... CNA.

America Magazine Pines Away in Defense of CINO University Appointment : You Mean RIght Wingers!

The new President of the Catholic University of America was introduced to the university community at a well attended gathering on campus yesterday. Professor John Garvey, previously the Dean of the Law School at Boston College, will take up his duties at the 15th President of CUA later this summer.

It did not take the conservative blogosphere long to impugn this man’s fitness. Never mind that he is, as Archbishop Alan Vigneron, Chairman of the CUA Board, said, “an accomplished jurist, scholar and teacher.” Never mind that his appointment had just been approved not only by the bishop-heavy CUA Board but by the Holy See. Never mind that he has devoted his life as a scholar to studying the ways that faith informs the law, his area of expertise. Never mind that his five children have a total of 92 years of Catholic education.

Garvey’s crime? He donated, over the course of three years, $1,750 to the campaign of his home state Senator John Kerry. And, while Dean of the Law School, he oversaw the awarding of an honorary degree to home state Congressman Edward Markey. Both Kerry and Markey are pro-choice. Now, I can think of a bunch of reasons to vote for or against John Kerry but I do not see how that support, or lack thereof, would disqualify a person from the post of a university President at a Catholic college. And, more than a year ago I let my feelings be known about the awarding of honorary degrees at commencement time. I think both Kerry and Markey are wrong on abortion, but I cannot judge their entire careers based on that fact alone anymore than I can judge George W. Bush’s career simply because he sanctioned the use of torture against suspected terrorists. That, too, is an intrinsic evil.

Link to America Magazine...

Bishop Mixa is Fighting His Forced Resignation in Rome Against Liberal Prelates

Archbishop Zollitsch, who faces his own problems related to sex abuse, sold his colleague down the river when it came to an uncredible accusation against him. The Bavarian Bishop is not overly friendly to tradition, but perhaps his current experience with cut-throat liberal Bishops will instill a stronger sense of who his real friends are, the Traditionalists.

Mixa wants his case reviewed by Vatican - The Local

USCCB to Give More Money to Alinskyite Groups

While some USCCB members are sunning themselves and relaxing, there will be serious business. The Bishops have authorized funds to go to various Alinskeyite groups who allege to help oil spill victims, USCCB site, here.

Pro-Abortion Democrats Are in Trouble Says NPR Poll

There isn't a single Republican whose seat is in trouble according to the poll.

Link here.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Bishops Gather to Watch Communist Propaganda and Relax in St. Petersburg

According to the Petersburg Times, the Bishops are still "wrestling" with the sex abuse crisis. It doesn't sound like they'll be having meditations on the Spiritual Exercises of the great St. Ignatius of Loyola and as far as we know they won't be discussing the new Pro-Abortion President of Catholic University, as far as we know. According to Bishop Lynch, they're going to watch Invictus, a pious homage to the alleged beneficence and wisdom of hard -core Marxist, Nelson Mandela.



Bishop Lynch had this to offer about the retreat:


The media was not allowed at the retreat, but Bishop Robert N. Lynch, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, which spans Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties, offered an insider's peek at the weeklong gathering in his May 31 blog.

"It is relaxed and informal," he said.

"It is something like five days of continuing education and this year the general theme is 'the bishop and his priests' … Relationships between bishops and priests is an important topic because it has changed for the worse since the sexual-abuse controversy of 2001 and following. In many places priests don't trust their bishops any longer and are terrified that they will receive a call and be asked to come and see the bishop for fear it might be a complaint or something of that nature," Lynch wrote.


Maybe the Bishops could discuss the injustices heaped upon some priests by their colleagues in the last 50 years, like Father Mclucas, or all the Seminarians whose lives were made hell for no good reason, or perhaps the dissident priests teaching at their colleges and Universities. Sometimes, a priest can get dismissed by teaching unpopular things to their flocks, and sometimes priests even get hung out to dry by their ordinary.

Bishops assemble to refresh, reflect at St. Petersburg retreat - St. Petersburg Times

Catholic Priest and Exorcist Thomas J. Euteneuer on Performing Exorcisms

[Opposing Views] Obscured by rumor and myth, and confused by exaggerations and outright falsehoods in popular movies, the Catholic Church's ancient rite of exorcism is not only still practiced today, but is needed more than ever, writes pro-life leader, Catholic priest and exorcist Reverend Thomas J. Euteneuer in his new book, Exorcism and the Church Militant.

"The Church has good reason to avoid popularizing exorcism, and affirming the sensationalist or dismissive accounts of the culture at large," said Father Euteneuer. "At the same time, this necessary discretion has led to the rite being neglected in many areas, at precisely the time when it is most needed to deliver those who have succumbed to the increasing deceptions of the devil in these troubling times."

Father Euteneuer, President of Human Life International, has conducted exorcisms in several dioceses around the United States and spoken to thousands of people on this subject. He seeks to build up the faith of people through accurate teaching on this controversial topic.

"With Exorcism and the Church Militant I hope to undo myths and misunderstandings surrounding exorcism, and issue a call to my brother priests and our faithful bishops," said Father Euteneuer. "Our culture is ever more saturated with enticements to the occult and other dangerous spiritual and moral choices. Clarifying what exorcism is and underlining the urgency for both clergy and the faithful is key if we're going to start confronting Satan where he is making so much headway, in our homes and communities."

With Exorcism and the Church Militant, Father Euteneuer is also releasing Demonic Abortion, the first of two companion works. This 120-page booklet is a meditation on the evil nature of the abortion industry, from the perspective of a priest and exorcist who has been fighting in the pro-life trenches around the world for well over a decade. With a release date of July 7, 2010, Demonic Abortion is now available for pre-order.

More information about both Exorcism and the Church Militant and Demonic Abortion can be found at www.exorcismbook.com.

About the Author:
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer was ordained a priest in 1988 for the Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida and served in parishes in that diocese for twelve years before being given permission by his bishop to work full-time in pro-life ministry with Human Life International, where he has served as President since December of the year 2000. Father Euteneuer has been performing exorcisms for seven years with approval from numerous dioceses in the United States. His interest in the ministry was a natural outgrowth of his work in the pro-life field, which deals with the organized power of evil on a global scale.

Link to original...

The Bishop of Essen warns Perverse of Eternal Damnation

Bishop Overbeck is friendly with the traditional Society of St. Peter, and doesn't intend on backing down when it comes to the teaching the traditional Catholic Faith given to us by Christ and passed down to the Apostles.

Whoever dies as an unrepentant homosexual, goes to Hell. The Bishop of Essen can not abolish the 10 Commandments: homosexual perversion is a mortal sin.

[kreuz.net, Essen,June 10, 2010] Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen had delineated his diagnosis of homosexual perversion in a talk show on an evening in April, and yesterday during a town-hall meeting in his Cathedral

In April the Bishop had said "the first" on television: "Homosexuality is a sin, we know this very clearly and precisely, that it is that. It contradicts nature. The nature of man is applied in the unity of man and woman."

The Gruesome Homosexual Perversion is a Mortal Sin.

Msgr Overbeck specified then, that it would have been better to say, that "expressed" homosexuality is a sin.

That's how it is written in the "Catechism of the Catholic Church."

The Bishop continued, that he holds the Church's traditional Faith, which holds that the married unity of partnership and love is between a man and a woman.

He sees also "an opposition" between Catholic moral and degenerate western society.

The Church must, therefore, specify how a happy life could led.

It occurs not as a life-style choice and freedom from all norms. It must come from Christ within God-given norms in order to life a fulfilling life.

Anti-Democratic Homosexuals Rioted in the Cathedral

While the Bishop spoke about Sodomy, some unnatural homosexual storm troopers attempted to rob the Bishop of freedom of speech in his own Cathedral.

The Homosexuals shouted and heckled during the Bishop's explanation.

The moderator attempted to explain to the sodomites the limitations. A talk with the public was not planned impossible because of the acoustics in the Cathedral make it impossible.

The naive Bishop offered the anti-democratic homosexual hecklers, to meet at another time.

Link to original...

Federal Panel: Ban on Homosexual Blood Donations Should Remain

Federal Panel: Ban on Homosexual Blood Donations Should Remain

West’s ‘Puritanism’ of perfect chastity can discourage Catholics from dating, writer warns :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

West’s ‘Puritanism’ of perfect chastity can discourage Catholics from dating, writer warns :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Bishop's Paper Deplores Plight of Mideast Christians

http://detnews.com/article/20100607/LIFESTYLE04/6070347/Bishops--paper-deplores-plight-of-Mideast-Christians

Monday, June 14, 2010

Archdiocese and City of Vienna to Scrap "Pope's Cross"


The City of Vienna and the Archdiocese want to tear down a giant metal cross and replace it with an ugly memorial by sculptor Oscar HÖFINGER. There's an initiative to renew the so-called "Pope's Cross" which has been estimated to cost around 400,000 Euro. It wouldn't be surprising if it were the cost of the sculptor's commission.

One commenter has already pointed out on kathnet that the universally hated St. Restituta statue cost the Vienna Archdiocese 100,000 Euro.

[Kath.net, Vienna] The Cross is going to be scrapped and replaced by a small monument. This has angered many Catholics who were there at the time. They are planning their own initiative "Save the Pope's Cross".

In the Archdiocese of Vienna there is an uproar about the planned destruction of the "Pope's Cross" in the Danube Park. The 40 Meter high and 65 ton metal cross was erected for a Eucharistic Celebration with John Paul II on September 11, 1983.

Recently, a placard has been put on the fence around the cross. It reads: "For statistical reasons the present Pope's Cross, which was erected on the first pastoral visit of John Paul II on 12 September 1983, in agreement with the Vienna City Parks and the Archdiocese of Vienna and in the the Summer of 2010 will be replaced by a small memorial. The piece will be by sculptor Oskar HÖFINGER and will represent the risen Christ." [It will most assuredly be ugly socialist art.]

For some days Kath.net has dialed the phone in order to discover what is to become of the cross. The director of the Park Office of the Vienna Magistrats was very friendly, but clueless. He didn't know that there was such a cross. Then, after some further calls, Kath.net got the answer: "the cross is rusty" and "must be taken away." Sadly, nothing more could be said.

It constitutes a danger of collapse, one would have to reinforce the construction to make it safe, as is maintained by the Mayor's office, as the "Crown" reports. City Park Director Rainer Weisgram has tried to find all the information for a possible renovation.

"This would cost an estimated 400,000 Euro." One such investment with tax money is not sensible, because "with that you could make a giant playground with the works".

This statement really brings everything to hand, for the "Pope's Cross" has enduring value and high symbolic value. This estimate is "on one hand surely exaggerated" , and it states the other side "laughable on the face of millions, who pay their tax money in a 'Lifeball' which is about to be given away in a few days," incites a Catholic woman in the Archdiocese of Vienna to write to Kath.NET.

The cost for the planned "little memorial" should come by the way of the City of Vienna and the Archdiocese of Vienna and be used for the same , Kath.NET has learned from well informed circles of the Archdiocese of Vienna.

In the meantime there is a spontaneous initiative "Save the Pope's Cross". which forms a petition group, in a do-it-yourself effort to raise the allegedly necessary 300,000 to 400,000 Euro.



Link to Kath.net...

Comparing the Church Militant with a Cruise Ship


Msgr Charles Pope wrote an interesting blog post for the Archdiocese of Washington recently where he compared the Church to a battleship. There is a lot of symbolism in scripture and tradition to compare the Church militant to a ship, an ark or even a battleship. The dream of Dom Bosco was a kind of vision of the Church Militant engaged against Her enemies. The symbolism is powerful, although some may object to it today, they are only expressing vicarious doubts borrowed from the false doctrines of secular humanism. If they look to what the Church has always been and stood for, the Church is like a battleship, She's militant and prepared for war against the Powers and Principalities of this world.

Pope Benedict Promises More Discipline: Will Dissident Bishops Come to Canossa?


Holy Father promises greater Church discipline. Authentic Church life requires the values of obedience and forthrightness. In his sermon on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart last week, he promises greater discipline, the rod, to keep wolves at bay.

This falls in line with other concerns he's had more recently regarding heresy. It's going to be increasingly the case that Church leaders who do not ascent and teach the orthodox tenets of the Catholic Faith are going to find themselves out in the cold, like various Cardinals who have been finding themselves sidelined when it comes to important Curial meetings. It may go beyond that, however. Will the rebellious Austrian Clergy walk the road to Canossa?

"Your rod and your staff – they comfort me": the shepherd needs the rod as protection against savage beasts ready to pounce on the flock; against robbers looking for prey. Along with the rod there is the staff which gives support and helps to make difficult crossings. Both of these are likewise part of the Church’s ministry, of the priest’s ministry. The Church too must use the shepherd’s rod, the rod with which he protects the faith against those who falsify it, against currents which lead the flock astray. The use of the rod can actually be a service of love. Today we can see that it has nothing to do with love when conduct unworthy of the priestly life is tolerated. Nor does it have to do with love if heresy is allowed to spread and the faith twisted and chipped away, as if it were something that we ourselves had invented. As if it were no longer God’s gift, the precious pearl which we cannot let be taken from us. Even so, the rod must always become once again the shepherd’s staff – a staff which helps men and women to tread difficult paths and to follow the Lord.


Read the entire Sacred Heart Sermon, here.

h/t Rorate Coeli.

Photograph: New York Times, of a mostly neutralized but vocal, Archbishop Rembert Weakland.

Americanist Bill Buckley, a Review

There's a new book on the CIA Agent who worked in Mexico, graduated from Yale and belonged to the Skull and Bones.

Americanism, here.

Lee Edwards calls William F. Buckley Jr. “The St. Paul of the conservative movement.” No other 20th century figure made such a vast contribution to the intellectual force of political conservatism. He paved the way for the likes of Ronald Reagan and all of those political children of Reagan who credit the former president for bringing them into politics. He achieved what no other had done and that was his ability to bring traditional conservatives, libertarians, and anti-communists together under the same umbrella. Late in life, when asked why he continued working so hard despite fame and wealth, a surprised Buckley said, “My Father taught me that I owe it to my country. It’s how I pay my debt.”

Lee Edwards offers an excellent story of Buckley’s founding and overseeing of the modern conservative crusade in William F. Buckley Jr.: The Maker of a Movement. Edwards traces the roots of those who influenced Buckley, from libertarian author Albert Jay Nock, conservative political scientist Willmoore Kendall, the anti-communist Whittaker Chambers, and political theorist James Burnham. Buckley fused together these right of center factions that were often feuding with each other more than with their common foes, the statists. Kendall, Burnham, and Chambers were all closely associated with National Review, launched by Buckley in 1955. Russell Kirk was also an essential conservative voice in the mix who agreed to become a contributor to the magazine. Buckley purged Ayn Rand and her anti-Christian and morally bankrupt philosophy of Objectivism from mainstream conservatism. He dismissed anti-semitism from the movement by dismissing it from his publication. The conservative historian George Nash simply said, “Much of the history of American conservatism after 1955 is the history of the individuals associated with the magazine William F. Buckley Jr. founded.”

A significant aspect of this book, and one that has received more attention since the death of Buckley, was his magnanimous personality and financial generosity. It is estimated that since he was paid a nominal salary by National Review, he diverted $10 million to the magazine because he forwarded speaking fees, lecture fees and other fees to National Review’s coffers. He waived his speaking fee for the Acton Institute in 1992 because according to Edwards, “He was taken with the idea of an organization dedicated to explaining the relationship between-free market capitalism and Christian morality.” Edwards offers other points of generosity...


Read further...

Analyst Sees Tought Times for the Catholic Church in America

Washington D.C. (CNA) -- An “anti-Catholic storm” is looming in the United States because of the Church’s stance against “postmodern ideologies” and because well-funded Catholic supporters of President Obama provide cover for Catholic politicians who dissent from Church teaching, says Catholic analyst Deal Hudson.

Hudson, who has served as an advisor to Republican leaders on Catholic issues, wrote at InsideCatholic.com that a “relentless barrage” of reporting in the mainstream media is intended to force changes demanded by dissenting Catholic groups.

Revelations of clerical sexual abuse in Europe have provided “Catholic bashers” the opportunity to attack Church teachings about abortion and same-sex “marriage,” he added. A call to arrest Pope Benedict XVI in the United Kingdom should have been regarded as “a crank call” but has led to speculation about whether the papal trip to Britain should be canceled.

Read further..CNA

Pope Beatifies Slovenian Student Killed by Communists

CELJE, Slovenia (AP) — A Slovenian student who was captured, tortured and killed by communists during World War II was beatified on Sunday by Pope Benedict XVI's state secretary at a Mass attended by thousands.

Lojze Grozde, who died at the age of 20, is the first beatified martyr in the predominantly Roman Catholic country where the church was long suppressed. Grozde, a high school student, was captured in Jan. 1943, when Slovenia was occupied by Italy and Germany. Communist-run antifascist rebels — known as partisans — reportedly found a Latin prayer book in his possession and suspected him of collaborating with Italian fascists. His mutilated body was found a month later in a forest.

Tarcisio Bertone, the secretary of state of the Holy See, declared Grozde a martyr of faith before 32,000 of the faithful and 750 priests — many from abroad — at the Celje football stadium.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/06/13/vatican-beatifies-slovenian-student-killed-communists-wwii/

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Cardinal Pell Doesn't Get the Promotion

CARDINAL George Pell, whose promotion to a top Vatican job was expected this month, has been dropped from consideration because of former abuse allegations against him, according to informed sources in Rome.

Cardinal Pell stood down as Archbishop of Sydney in 2002 after he was accused of abusing a teenager at a church camp in the 1960s, but an independent investigation by a retired non-Catholic judge cleared him.

Vatican watchers now say important officials have worked to undermine Cardinal Pell as the next head of the Congregation of Bishops, partly from concerns over negative publicity about the abuse allegations and partly for internal political reasons, including the desire for an Italian to take the job.


Read further...

Hello Rome- Not only yes and amen- Catholic youth of Linz protest against the Pope

More Communist Agitprop.

Hello Rome- Not only yes and amen- Catholic youth of Linz protest against the Pope

Pope Blames the Sex-Abuse Scandal on Heresy

It's the elephant in the room and many have avoided saying it in the past, but the Holy Father has said it. This comment ought also to be at the heart of the Vatican's defense against Sex Abuse claims.

Rather than go after the Vatican, subrogate those individuals that failed in their roles as Bishops.

Archbishop Weakland, for example, should be held liable, not least for his negligence as a pastor, but for his unwillingness in protecting Catholics from homosexual predators. He doesn't need a monument, he needs to have someone tap into the revenues from his book sales.

By Hilary White

VATICAN CITY, June 11, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Sin, satanic influence and the toleration of heresy lie at the root of the priestly sexual abuse scandals, Pope Benedict XVI said today. Precisely because it is an institution erected by God to make himself sacramentally "present to all men and women," the devil is interested in destroying the priesthood, he said.

Referring to the line in Psalm 22 ("Your rod and your staff - they comfort me"), Benedict became explicit about the need for the "rod" of discipline to correct errors in the Church.

"The Church too must use the shepherd's rod," he said, "the rod with which he protects the faith against those who falsify it, against currents which lead the flock astray."

"Today we can see that it has nothing to do with love when conduct unworthy of the priestly life is tolerated. Nor does it have to do with love if heresy is allowed to spread and the faith twisted and chipped away, as if it were something that we ourselves had invented."

Pope Benedict spoke today to 15,000 priests at the closing Mass of the Vatican's Year for Priests at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The priesthood, Pope Benedict said, is not "pleasing to the 'enemy,'" (the devil).

"He would have rather preferred to see it disappear, so that God would ultimately be driven out of the world. And so it happened that, in this very year of joy for the sacrament of the priesthood, the sins of priests came to light - particularly the abuse of the little ones, in which the priesthood, whose task is to manifest God's concern for our good, turns into its very opposite."

With evident personal sadness, the pope again extended his apology to the victims of sexual abuse, saying, "We too insistently beg forgiveness from God and from the persons involved."

This was followed by a promise to "do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again" by more scrutiny and better formation of those who apply for the priesthood.

Statistics on the abuse scandals have found that the abuse cases are overwhelmingly homosexual in nature and occurred between the 1960s and 1980s, at time in which psychological and theological trends were against excluding men with homosexual inclinations from the priesthood.

Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger, was clear with a 2005 document issued from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office that had oversight on the abuse scandals around the world, that men with such inclinations should not be admitted to seminaries.

Benedict also made more subtle references to the movement from the Church's extreme left wing to open the priesthood to women and to married men. Among the opening lines of his homily, Pope Benedict laid out the nature of the priesthood, saying it is not a matter of mere functionality but a sacramental reality derived from Christ himself.

"The priest is not a mere office-holder," he said, "like those which every society needs in order to carry out certain functions."

Video clip from Rome Reports
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ_588cHu50

Moldova Puts Orthodox Religious Instruction in its Schools

“When Mr. Pasat puts his mind to something, nothing stops him until he gets the job done. And this is only the beginning.”

With these words, a well-known Moldovan journalist, Dmitri Chubashenko, who recently became the politician's spokesman, announced the start of a new era in Moldovan politics.

But who is Mr. Pasat and what, exactly, is he up to?

Valeriu Pasat is a former Moldovan spy chief who wants to increase the “fundamental” role of the Orthodox Church in the country while simultaneously bidding to become Moldova’s new president.

Last week, he initiated a referendum to introduce orthodoxy as a compulsory subject in all Moldovan schools. To promote the idea, he plans to form a political party and run for president this fall, when fresh general and presidential elections might be held.

Read further...

Foreboding and Strange Lights Appear above the Vatican

Men of an anti-aircraft battery saw and filmed strange lights in the sky. We don't know what these things are. They may be aircraft, or they may be something else. In former, more sensible, times the appearance of strange lights in the skies was often a sign foreboding evil times.

Oftentimes, too, those lights were considered to be the manifestations of preternatural beings, the elves, faeries and so forth, or devils.

There's a not so famous story of a Bishop who confronted a host of elves that was parading through his diocese at night. He met the elvish host with his staff and holy water, whereupon it promptly disappeared.

If the Vatican is being visited by strange inexplicable lights that can't belong to NATO air units, it should be confronted with holy water and exorcism.

The late Father Malachi Martin said that there were evil forces in the Vatican, enemies of Christ, as he said, "you either serve Christ or you serve Lucifer." As he maintains, there was an enthronement of Satan in the Vatican which can only be cast out by the owner of the house, the Pope. Listen to the interview with Fr. Malachi Martin, here.


Iranian Republican Guards Burn Hundreds of Bibles

[Iran ANS] A spokesperson for FCNN told the ASSIST News Service (ANS), “This action [of burning the Bibles], which has been confirmed by informed sources, was aired on a site belonging to the Pasdaran paramilitary organization, is nothing less than shameful and the persons responsible must be identified and exposed to the whole world.”

The report said that on Saturday, May 29, 2010, Ati News, a site belonging to Morteza Talaee, the previous head of the security forces and the current member of the Tehran's city council, “in its usual anti-Christian propaganda” reported that their social-life reporter had disclosed that shipments of so called, “Perverted Torah and Gospels” had entered Iran through its Western borders.

Two days later, on Monday, May 31, 2010, the same report was reiterated by the official anti-crime website of the Pasdaran Army called “Gerdaub” which said that a large shipment of Jewish and Christian Scriptures had entered Iran through the Western Azerbaijan province and, according to security officials of that province, the “occupier forces” that operate in the Western regions of Iraq were responsible for such activities.

Read further...

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Gene Robinson, Former Ugandan Bishop Hail Sexuality without Boundaries

Gene Robinson, Former Ugandan Bishop Hail Sexuality without Boundaries

Jeff Walton

June 10, 2010

Decrying as "missionaries of hate" U.S. Christians who preach in Africa against homosexual practice, a former bishop of the Anglican Church of Uganda spoke June 8 at a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C. Christopher Senyonjo was hosted by Bishop Gene Robinson of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, the first openly gay bishop to be consecrated in the Anglican Communion. Robinson has served as Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP) since March. The two spoke about anti-homosexuality legislation in Uganda, which they blamed upon U.S. evangelicals. They also called for a broader effort to decriminalize homosexual practices in Africa. Senyonjo's appearance at CAP was part of a six-week speaking tour of the United States, sponsored by Integrity USA, an unofficial homosexual caucus in the Episcopal Church.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The Relativist Media's Treatment of the Catholic Church

Study looks at media coverage of Catholic sex abuse scandal

1. It's exaggerated when compared by the increasing amount of sexual abuse against children and adolescents on television and in the education system. It's also interesting that the news and entertainment media, whose agents are far and away mostly moral relativists, should complain about the Catholic Church's record in this, when their own record is so abysmal.

2. It's not very popular either, despite the climate of moral relativism among political and media figures, to point out that most of the abusers are homosexuals and liberals themselves.

No one seems to complain much about Woody Allen and Roman Polanski has all kinds of defenders who otherwise have at one point or another made disparaging remarks about the Catholic Church.

What we have at play here is a rival magisterium to that of the Catholic Church which while it promotes an atmosphere of moral chaos, can play on the emotional heartstrings of people to arouse hatred for a the easily recognizable bad buy, while it advocates the same sorts of things.

Like Liberals in Germany, the American Democratic Party, here is moving for the legalization of sex with children taking barely perceptible steps. It shouldn't be hard to see that with the prevalence of moral relativism, that the barbarism of the pagan world we'd left behind centuries ago is not far behind.

Here's the citation from Catholic League explaining the story of how the Democrats in 2009 passed hate crimes legislation protecting pederasts, for it bears repeating:


“The House of Representatives will vote this week, possibly tomorrow, on a hate crimes bill championed by gay groups that includes pedophiles under the rubric of sexual orientation. This is the ultimate confession: liberal Democrats think of pedophiles as indistinguishable from homosexuals.

“When this subject came up last week in the House Judiciary Committee, an amendment to the hate crimes bill that would have excluded pedophilia from the definition of sexual orientation was defeated by Democrats along party lines, 13-10. This was considered good news by gay organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, left-wing groups like the ACLU and various Jewish groups like the ADL.

“The debate is over: for liberals, child molesters should be given the same rights as homosexuals. Moreover, they should be given more rights than pregnant women and veterans; the latter two categories were explicitly denied coverage under the hate crimes bill. Even worse, an amendment that would bar prosecution based in whole or in part on religious beliefs quoted from the Bible, the Tanakh (Judaism’s sacred book) or the Koran was defeated by Democrats along party lines, 11-8. In other words, religious speech may be denied First Amendment protection.

“There would be national outrage over this if the media were to report on it and the public were allowed to weigh in on it. But the clock is ticking and freedom and morality are hanging in the balance.”


In any event, it's important to discuss these stories within the context of how the media and its putative allies, the Democrats, have treated the Catholic Church in the past and how they are likely to do so in the future.

By William Wan

After months of church officials questioning, even attacking at times, the media for its coverage of the Catholic sex abuse scandal, a new study delves into exactly how much ink newspapers devoted to the scandals and how it compares to the coverage in 2002.

The report comes at a interesting time when officials have begun backing off their criticisms of media and begun a round of apologies and assurances that they are aggrieved and addressing the situation. Most recent example: Pope Benedict's statements last night. (One fascinating side note to Benedict's comments...as John Allen points out, Benedict for the first time blamed the devil, at least for the timing of the sex abuse scandals amid the Year of the Priests.)

For the most part, the new media study, conducted by Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, just puts into numbers a lot of assumptions people already had about the coverage (i.e. there was a lot of it, rivals 2002 scandal coverage, much of it this time focused on the Pope).


Read further...

Traditional Houses Give Substance to the Psalm: Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam

The Energies of God and the Progress of Traditionalism

Anthony Mazzone

. .the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. (Apocalypse 21:2)

Just as laws of nature may be generalized from empirical observation, laws of the supernatural are discernible from the imprint of God upon events. The material universe is, if you will, the fundamental text perceived by man’s senses. Sacred Scripture contains the preeminent written record of the history of salvation. Both, under the eye of faith, speak clearly of the intelligibility of creation and of the Creator’s plenary goodness. The philosopher Boethius writes: “The mind of God set down all the various rules by which all things are governed while still remaining unchanged in its own simplicity.”

The Book of Genesis and the Book of Nature should be read in conjunction with each other, as they are two parts of the same volume. So the first thing we need to comprehend is that in the beginning there was absolutely nothing apart from God. Though there was no deficiency in an eternal immeasurable present, out of no other motive than His infinite and unprompted love He created all things. In doing so He gave laws not only to Adam and his descendants but to the cosmos as well: "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?" (Job 38:33). God Himself likens His fidelity to Israel to the covenant He has set with day and night, the fixed patterns of heaven and earth.


Read further...Remnant...