Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Picket That Didn't Happen..

Because the reason for it apparently disappeared!!  Click the "read more" to get further details!


As you know, the dinner announced by the Catholic Network of Volunteer Service to honor volunteers was scheduled to occur this evening at the St Francis Hall of the Franciscan Monastery.  We objected to their reprehensible choice of speaker - Chris Matthews.  We've said enough on that in previous posts. 

Having received no assurances of its cancellation, we arrived at the Monastery.  We appeared to be the only ones who arrived.  One of us went to the front door of St Francis Hall to find it locked.  Looking inside, she could see that nothing was ready; chairs were still stacked, etc.  We waited until 6:50 and still no one arrived: no staff, caterers, no one.

I suspect they simply relocated to another venue.  The attendees had to pre-register, so it's conceivable that they were told to go elsewhere.  I know for a fact that CNVS visited this blog and learned from previous postings that we were serious about picketing this event.

Below is a clip that I took while at the Monstery.  In it I misspoke when I said that the dinner was "to honor Chris Matthews".  In fact, he was not the honoree; rather, volunteers and the BB&T were the main honorees.  However, to have invited Matthews to speak was to confer on him a status that, in our opinion, he did not merit from a Catholic organization.  Now the video: (Click here if you can't see embedded videos)



We were pleased that the Monastery wasn't befouled after all (and hope that they didn't repair to another Catholic venue).  I did prepare a flyer that obviously didn't get distributed.  I'll now present the text of the message below.


First, we commend all who are here because they volunteer their services in Catholic and/or other humanitarian charitable outreaches. Those of us who are Catholic understand that the authentic charitable endeavor is one that is rooted in the various Works of Mercy: both Corporal and Spiritual. We also know that while one or few of these works may be emphasized in a particular endeavor, in no case can these works be held in contradiction to each other.


Catholic volunteer efforts are usually directed to service of those who are marginalized and with no voice of their own. Perhaps your particular outreach is for the benefit of unborn children, who are obviously the smallest and most defenseless of people. Such is the case with those of us who protest the appearance of Chris Matthews at this function this evening.


We have, in the past few weeks, protested the appearance of Chris Matthews at this event. Mr. Matthews, through his advocacy of the so-called “pro-choice” position, has in fact undermined the efforts of so many Catholic volunteers who seek to save babies from being butchered vis-à-vis the legalized murder known as “abortion”. From the Catholic Network of Volunteer Services we received no reply, although they have read our blog postings on this matter. From the Franciscan Monastery, the responses we received ranged from claims of ignorance to disavowal of responsibility for the usage of St Francis Hall.


On the back of this sheet (note: I've posted them on this blog) is a sampling of some of the pro-abortion comments that Matthews has made over the years. Moreover, to see the disgraceful way in which he treated Bishop Tobin when the latter was simply doing his duty as a bishop, google “Chris Matthews Bishop Tobin” and watch any of the “youtubes” that come up.


While Mr. Matthews does have the right to speak his mind (as do any of us), he should not be given a Catholic forum in where to vindicate his dissident beliefs.

6 comments:

  1. Dear ___________

    If I knew your name, I'd start with a Dear ____ but I don't know it... so I can't. Sorry.

    I want to tell you how wonderful it was to spend a couple of hours last night with faithful Catholics. It was a joy to witness the beauty of volunteering one's time to help others in the name of the Lord and of the Catholic (that's with an "i" for the spelling challenged) Church. I know you will find something wrong with that statement somehow but it is simply a fact.

    I want to thank you for writing about the Mathews event. I would never have heard of it otherwise. So I owe you a debt of gratitude for an experience that was, at its very core, the best of Christianity, the best of Catholicism.

    But it really wasn't a Mathews event. The whole presentation, including that of Chris Mathews, was inspiring for its goodness and its focus on helping others, something we Catholics can be pretty good at.

    It was particularly refreshing for me because, as you know, I've only recently discovered your blog and that of others like yours. I can't often find the Gospel in your writing but I did find it last night among other fellow Catholics.

    I'm not real familiar with the organization that sponsored it but I intend to become familiar with it! I love their web site and I love what I saw last night. I looked long and hard for, but I didn't see, any blood money anywhere. Just good Catholics who are committed to serving the poor among us, following the teaching of the Church, and living the Gospel the best they can. And, unlike so much of what I've read lately, it wasn't just talk (and ugly talk at that) .... it was Christian Love in action.

    You are fond of using such artful terms as "befoul" and "soil." Truth be told, I have indeed felt soiled these last weeks, but mostly because I've been reading your hate-filled words. Last night, by contrast, I was with those who love ... How refreshing. How very Catholic.

    I don't know what has made you so angry and sot unhappy that your goal in life seems to be to make others angry and unhappy with you. Do you really detest yourself so much that the only way you can feel good about yourself is to be so ugly to those around you? I fervently pray that the Lord's Good News may at some time touch you and heal you. Is it arrogant of me to pray for you? Probably. But I refuse to give you the satisfaction of joining you in hating anyone, including you.

    So anyway, dear _______, I'm sure you won't believe much of what I told you or find some way to ridicule it, but since you weren't there, and since you invited those who were p to share a comment with you, I thought I'd let you know how wonderfully Catholic it was.... And actually, I do wish you were there so you could have seen it for yourself. It really wasn't that hard to find out where it was being held. I'm sorry you made the trip to the seminary instead.

    God bless you.

    Sincerely,
    Audrey Strong

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  2. They must be crazy to honor such a lunatic. On a related note, the Catholic Business Network of PG County just had State Senator Jim Rosapepe speak at their monthly breakfast today. He is a pro-abortion legislator who wrote a book about Romania. A review of his book mentions that he talks about their orphanages overcrowding and the reason for that is lack of abortion and birth control. He & his wife, apparently, are active members at the Catholic Business Network of Prince George's County

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  3. Ms. Strong, thank you for writing, Actually, it was my colleague at An Archdiocese of Washington DC Catholic who invited comments on his blog, but nonetheless you are most welcome.

    Just now (June 24th at 8:15pm) I looked again at the CNVS site, and the announcement still states that the event's venue was the St Francis Hall. My colleague asks some very good questions, one being, "if they were really, really, convinced they were doing the right thing, why didn't they stand firm"? You said "it really wasn't that hard to find
    out where it was being held", but why did they feel impelled to conceal it at all? Even now, you don't volunteer where it was held. That's no surprise to me.

    You talk about us being angry? Did you watch the video of Mathews as he vents his spleen at Bishop Tobin? That's not what I call "Christian love in action". That is, however, vintage "Mathews".

    You object to the term "blood money". Actually, you have a point. "Hush money" would have been more appropriate, as in lots of money being paid to hush up about Mathews' support of baby-murder (that's not a "hate-filled" term, it's simply accurate language for a terrible crime).

    You say you feel "soiled" by reading our blogs. Perhaps it's because we're shedding light on pre-existing soil, and making it a tad more difficult to deny it? Is that a possibility? But not to worry, because no one is forcing you to read our words! There are lots of strange "gospels" around that will
    tickle just about anyone's ears.

    No, I do not think it arrogant for you to pray for me; I welcome prayers, as we all need them. Accordingly, I'll pray for you, and wish God's blessings on you.

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  4. Kudos to you for standing up to speak the truth and driving the pollution out of the Sanctuary and holy ground.

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  5. Dear Audrey (if that is your real name):

    First, it is spelled Matthews.

    Second, if it was so wonderful, then please, share with us the details of the location, his remarks, who represented BB&T, etc.

    Third, I invited comments on my blog and you are welcome to come and comment.

    To be quite honest, I don't believe you even were there.

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  6. 10 to 1 that "Audrey Strong" is a fraud trying to get your goat. In any case, one thing is for sure: her true religion is sarcasm.

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