Update On Yesterday's #RosticaFactor Episode

The first wave of our protests must have been noted for today Father Dan Fitzpatrick released a letter withdrawing his threat to sue the blogger who authors FaithInOurFamilies.com.  On her post, Ms. Short published his letter.  While he also retracts his "female Holy Spirit" heresy, he still continues to insinuate that Ms. Short "insulted and harrassed" him.  In other words, he continues to slander her.

I recommend that we still alert the pastor and the bishop that the slanders continue.  Of course we will keep Father Fitzpatrick in prayer.

#RosicaFactor - Another Wayward Priest Threatens To Sue A Blogger

A British blogger, who writes the http://faithinourfamilies.com/ blog, is being sued by the associate priest in her parish.  Father Dan Fitzpatrick of the Durham Martyrs Church insists on referring to the Holy Spirit as female and the blogger rightly rebuked him.  See Father's twitter page and you'll see this (before it's taken down).

That's not Church teaching as handed down through the Apostles, who would have first-hand knowledge of Jesus' meeting.  A look at Ms. Short's blog indicates the despicable conduct of Father Fitzpatrick as he is rebuked.  He threatens suit, then claims that Ms. Rock pulled down her post when she did nothing of the sort. I suppose he was simply looking to back down from his suit threat and save face in the process.

A facebook friend coined the term "Rosica Factor" to describe this action; here is her blog post, on Keeping It Catholic.  This hearkens back to the episode several months ago when Vatican official threatened to sue the blogger behind Vox Cantoris.  Wind of it got into the internet and the suit blew up on Rosica's face.  We can make this happen again.  I see a post on this matter is already up on the Vox Cantoris blog.

The Church is Durham Martyrs Church.  Here is their contact page.  From the parish site, I gather that they're in the Dioces of Hexham and Newcastle, led by Bishop Seamus Cunningham.  Phone numbers are here, as well as facebook and twitter links.  Try them all.  If any from the North American continent calls, keep in mind that England's time is 5 hours ahead of the US east coast.

As we stood with Vox Cantoris, let us stand with  Faith In Our Families.  I will tweet this, using the hashtag, #RosicaFactor.

Our Picket Of Carafem Last Week

As announced in this post, we picketed Montgomery County's newest "abortion spa".  It was designed by pro-aborts to "take the stigma from abortion".  That's purely wishful thinking on their part, for there will always be stigma to heinous evils such as baby-murder.

On Saturday morning, May 23, we were in front of 5530 Wisconsin Avenue in Chevy Chase, displaying pictures of abortion victims and distributing informative post cards as you see to the right.  Earlier in the week, we had been informed that the mill would be open.  Later in the week, closer to the time of our picket, we were informed that they had decided to close for the day.  Indeed we saw no one enter the building.  That in and of itself proved the worth of our effort, for on that day no babies were slaughtered at Carafem.  Who knows how many children we were able save just by us being there?  That doesn't even count the people passing on the sidewalk who may silently have been contemplating abortion.

More details and pictures of the event are below the jump break, so,

Smoke And Wolves Inside The Church

In a post of mine three weeks ago, I touched upon several avenues by which the smoke of Satan is entering into the Catholic Church.  In this post, I'll deal with several of these avenues.  First we look at the various partnerships that the Vatican has struck with those opposed to the teachings of Jesus Christ (fifth bullet point).

Caritas is reputedly the main social organization inside the Vatican.  Yet as the Lepanto Institute and other organizations have pointed out, Caritas has been funding and even directing socialist organizations in their promotions of abortion, contraception, marxism etc.

Lepanto has discovered yet another squalid venture of Caritas.  An outfit called Cordaid is apparently a co-founder of Caritas, and remains as the representative of Caritas in the Netherlands.  As you read the link to the Lepanto expose, you'll see that Cordaid is directly involved in the distribution of contraception, sex education, condoms, etc to African countries.  They even gave money to Planned Parenthood of Siera Leone.  It appears that Cardinal Maradiaga stepped down as head of Caritas and was succeeded by Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines.  The Lepanto article ends with a suggestion that Cardinal Tagle be petitioned to separate Cordaid from Caritas.  That might be nice, but give what I've seen of Cardinal Tagle, one should not be surprised if these petitions are disregarded.

By the way - the Cordaid link contains a video report of the misdeeds of Caritas.  Accuracy in Media checked out the facts stated therein and found them to be accurate.  Caritas is promoting disobedience to the Church's teachings on life and sexuality, and also those regarding communism.

Now we'll address the second bullet point in my "smoke" post: advancement of the gay agenda.  First a shout-out to the Lepanto Institue for ferreting out all these snakes in the grass.  We'll now look at some mischief surrounding the Pope's visit to Philadelphia next September.  It's a big conference and as can be expected, there will be many exhibitors.  Someone has to decide what organizations will be allowed to exhibit at this conference.  Who might that someone be?  Lepanto found the answer and it is most disquieting to say the least.  Her name is Teresa Matozzo and she works for Talley Management Group.  She is also a gay activist in a lesbian relationship.  Do we see any potential for dissident bias in the decision-making process?  As critical as that question might be, that's not the most serious question here.  That would be, "what possessed the event organizers to allow a gay activist to have such a role in this papal conference?"

Today we learned from LifeSiteNews that in the wake of the Irish vote disaster and the "shadow council", that Cardinal Kasper wants the synod to consider "the question of same-sex couples".  Cardinal Kasper has written his own book called Pope Francis' Revolution Of Tenderness And Love.  (Since when is love a revolutionary concept in the Catholic Church?)  It's published by Paulist Press.  Father Janus, president of Paulist Press, gave to the pope a copy of that book along with a film about LGBT Catholics called "Owning Our Faith".  Watch the clip and you'll see immediately the heresies therein; (is the priest interviewed in that film still allowed to conduct himself as priest?)  If Father Janus is championing both the film and book, I can only surmise that the book is similarly oriented.

It sure seems we're being force-fed a raunchy diet of pro-sodomy propaganda.  I suspect it's part and parcel of the "maturation" that we're supposed to undergo before the next October sin-nod.  I might suggest a read of Lepanto's treatise on Fatima as it relates to sodomy.

Why It's Inherently Sinful For Catholic Groups To Accept (Let Alone Seek) Government Funding

And as we know, sin always has consequences in the afterlife and often in this present life.

Ladies and gentlemen, the basis of this post's title is found right in the Seventh Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Steal.  It doesn't matter if the stealing is sanctioned by law (after all, is not baby-murder and sodomy now sanctioned by law?), stealing is still sin.  It is NOT an acceptable venue for "charity", for true charitable giving must stem from an act of free will, not governmental extortion.

Why don't Catholic charitable organizations accept that truth?  Lured by the smell of what they perceived to be "easy money" (and with the connivance of leaders with marxist mindsets), many Catholic organizations took the bait - and on account of their own shortsightedness and stupidity, fell into a rather obvious trap.  When President Bush rammed through his ill-advised "faith-based intiative" nonsense, many of us saw the pitfalls but failed to make others see them.  The fact that at the time a relatively benign president was at the helm lulled them into a false illusion of assurance and complacency.  Now that illusion has been shattered and the lemmings are now howling.

From ChurchMilitant.com we read news of the sprung trap.  Here's the first sentence: "A source within the federal government has informed the Friday Fax that the White House is quietly moving forward with a policy change that will require charitable humanitarian groups to accept LGBT applicants in order to qualify for government funding, even those religious groups that might have religious objections."  Naturally there's whining and gnashing of teeth.  Many of these "faith-based" recipients are crying "foul" when they've been playing foul all along by accepting funding that has been bilked from the wallets of already-strapped taxpayers.  Boys and girls, can we say "crocodile tears?"

We've seen in this blog alone many examples of the anti-Catholic actions of Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Campaign for Human Development.  It is no accident that these agencies derives a significant percentage, if not majority, of their funds from governmental agencies at various levels of government.  In order to keep the federal faucets flowing into their coffers, these organizations have literally sold their Catholic souls and in many cases are working to advance anti-life and anti-God agendas.  They probably have the blood of many unborn babies and the damnation of countless souls to their credit - all for the receipt of the proverbial "thirty pieces of silver".

The real solution to this dilemma is simple and necessary, although it won't be easy.  We see it in the first sentence of the article, particularly the underscored portion.  Here it is, spelled out.  Stop seeking after and accepting government funding - NOW!  These groups cannot have it "both ways"; you accept the government's money by accepting their rules.  That's a fact of life.  The charities must decouple from the feds at once if they are to maintain true independence from governmental interference.  They must stop playing the little piglets and  immediately wean themselves immediately from governmental teats.  They must accept the fact that if they cannot fund their ventures from voluntary donations, the venture is not theirs to undertake.  Of course they can stop paying salaries of several hundred thousands of dollars to their CEOs and other perks.

If they insist on salivating after government funds, they deserve all the grief from government that they can get - and not one red cent from true Catholics.

More Details On What Is Being Called The Shadow Council

I wrote yesterday of the Shadow Council that happened in the Vatican a few days ago.  Edward Pentin wrote a follow-up piece that listed some of the key invitees to that meeting.  He pointed out that there was not a variety of perspectives represented at the meeing.

One Peter Five linked to a translation of an Italian news source that gave some details of the discussion proceeds.  I link to it here but must warn you that some of the ideas expressed at that meeting appeared to border on pornographic.  If the transcripts of the meeting are indeed made public, we may have to rate them "x" or "r" as we do some movies.

Pope Paul VI is said to have lamented the "smoke of satan entering in the Church."  It seems that a large component of that smoke may be carbon monoxide.  Pray.

Monday's Secret Pow-Wow At The Vatican - A Harbinger Of Schism?

This past Monday, Cardinal Reinhard Marx hosted a closed meeting of various prelates and theologians at the Pontifical Gregorian University, reports Edward Pentin in the National Catholic Register.  This was held as a sort of brainstorming for the next October synod.  Among the "topics" discussed:

• how the Church can "better welcome those in stable same-sex unions"
• to "develop" the Church's teaching on human sexuality
• calling for a "theology of love" as opposed to "theology of the body"
• "the importance of the human sex drive"
• admitting remarried divorcees to Holy Communion (of course!)

One participant said that next October's synod would be a "failure" if it affirmed what the Church has already taught.  If that was the general attitude of all the attendees, perhaps all should be defrocked and/or have their teaching credentials revoked, but I digress.  Among those in attendance was Father Eberhard Schockenhoff, who vociferously opposes Humanae Vitae and favors same-sex relationships.  With that splotch to his name, one must wonder why he would have been included in this pow-wow.  Or maybe we know the reason all too well.

Father Z and One Peter Five both have commentaries on this meeting.  The latter blogger believes this is a harbinger of schism.  I believe he is correct.  Ladies and gentlemen, we need to pray for our Church.  In order to do so, we must cease playing pollyanna and remove our rose-colored glasses.  The rot is within the Vatican itself.

It's Hard To Part With Rose-Colored Glasses, But They Blind One To The Truth

Steve Soukup of the Culture of Life blog sounds the siren call for denial of reality when it comes to serious blunders by the Pope.  He repeats the tired yarn of "blame it on the big bad media for misquoting the Pope".  No.  Perhaps we might have ascribed credibility to that excuse early on in the papacy, but admittedly this spiel is getting rather old and worn.  Two years have gone by.  That should have been plenty of time for the Vatican press office to take control of the pope's messages to present them to the media.  After all, the mainstream media was no more friendly to Pope John Paul II or Pope Benedict XVI than they are to Pope Francis.

The previous pontiffs did take some precautions.  Rarely, if ever, did they do extemporaneous interviews.  They knew that the media would indeed make mincemeat out of their words.  Incredibly this pope engages in these interviews quite frequently.  He cannot claim ignorance regarding any potential misquote, given the fiascoes that have already occurred.  Therefore we must conclude that either: 1) he doesn't care about the damage caused by the media or 2) he actually desires the confusion.

I don't know how Soukup gets the erroneous impression that we rely upon mainstream media for our information. There is so much "first-hand" data from which to learn.  For instance, to learn just what poison was foisted upon us last October in the interim relatio from the sin-nod, we need only look at the report that is posted on the Vatican's own website.  And then there are video clips of the pope himself prounouncing horrible stuff that might well veer into heresy - such as the one below that smacks of the heresy of indifferentism (with that same stench being acknowledged by the pope!).  Both Creative Minority Report and Harvesting the Fruit have commentary.  Soukup et al can rail all they want against those of us who call a spade a spade, but that won't change the nature of the truth that daily slaps us in the face.

Al Carmines - Another Composer To Be Avoided By Catholics

Yesterday I attended the 9:30 Mass at St. John Neumann in Gaitherburg, MD.  I received an email later from a friend who attended the 11:30.  He advised me of a Communion meditation hymn that was sung then: "Many Gifts, One Spirit", written by Al Carmines.  He voiced concerns about the composer: concerns that I share.

Like Ruth Duck, Carmines was not Catholic, so one cannot say he was a heretic from the One True Faith.  However, he was a flaming gay.  This wikipedia write-up is quite telling.  He was an "ordained Methodist minister" who also had an interest in theater.  One of the themes of his "works" was something called "The Faggot".  One can only imagine what that was about!  The article says that when Carmines died, he was survived by his accomplice in sodomy.

Carmines was hired by Howard Moody to be associate pastor at Judson Memorial Church.  He was there quite a while, from the sound of the articles.  A look at Moody is quite revelatory, most notably his rather strident support for legalized baby-murder.  This write-up of Moody's life (done after his death) is most telling.  In addition to his advocacy of baby-murder, we read of the "flag arrests" involving both Carmines and Moody.  They were arrested for making "political statements" with the flag.  And what, pray tell, was the nature of the "political statements"?  The flag was folded/bunched to resemble male genitalia.  What a bunch of swell guys!  And this is the type of lemming whose music should be sung in a Catholic church?  I don't think so!  My friend opined that this hymn's selection was particularly irksome, given that the gay juggernaut just ran roughshod all over Ireland.  I agree and also would add that in light of Carmines' disrespect of the flag, a double-insult was offered over Memorial Day weekend.

What other anti-God folks are being validated with the performance of their music in Catholic churches?  I'm sure this is a wide-scale problem, perhaps even across national boundaries.

Some Helpful Information For The Vatican Envirowhackos

(Satire alert!)

You know, I've been thinking.  Perhaps I've been too harsh on the progressive lemmings individuals concerned about the environment in the Vatican.  The poor dears!  Climate change has been weighing so heavily on their minds that they've scarcely had the energy to utter a peep about what just happened in Ireland!  They need support!  Accordingly, I present the important information below, as they prepare to sell us out to the United Nations "population control" goons!  Who knows?  Perhaps it might be included in a last-minute revision of the environmental encyclical before it's released!  :-)

With Bishops Like Him, No Wonder Ireland Is Going Down The Sewer

The Archbishop of Dublin, Dairmuid Martin, stated that the Church in Ireland needs a "reality check".  What kind of "reality check" he has in mind is anything but reality.  He started out by saying "we have drifted away from young people".  Young people!  Not the truth, not Jesus Christ, who is the Way, Truth and Life, along with His teachings - but young people!

He said he voted "no" in the referendum (well we should hope so!), he said he wanted Irish society to be (get this!) "creative in finding ways in which people of same-sex orientation have their rights and their loving and caring relationships recognized and cherished in a culture of difference, while respecting the uniqueness of the male-female relationship."  Wow!  Talk about satanic double-talk!  Let's unpack this heresy, shall we?

• There is nothing "loving and caring" about sodomy.  Actual love happens when one  desires what is beneficial for another.  Sodomy is a mortal sin: one that will, unless repented, damn the sodomites to hell for all eternity.  How can sodomites claim to "love" one another when they act in ways that will facilitate the eternal damnation of those whom they claim to "love"?
• In saying he wants Irish society to be creative, well, let me translate. "We want Irish society to facilitate the mortal sin of sodomy".  Martin is also saying that he wants the Irish church to cooperate formally and materially in mortal sin - which would be its own mortal sin.  That is what we call the blind leading the blind straight into hell.

Here's the kind of "reality check" that the Irish Church really needs.  This vote happened the way it did precisely because of the de facto treachery of bishops such as Martin.  A real "reality check" will involve an admission that the Church has been wimpy and lackluster about proclaiming the Faith and moral teachings of Jesus Christ.  The Church should not concern itself with "drifting away from young people" but drifting away from Jesus.  It's time that the Catholic Church should drop all this fascination with "climate change" and progressive "social justice" (euphamism for socialism) and get about its real mission of saving souls.

Will the Church be ever so popular for doing so?  Probably not.  But Jesus was not crucified because He was popular.  We can expect no less - certainly not from a world that has become not only indifferent but murderously hostile towards Christianity.  We have been given a mission by Jesus Himself - a mission upon which hinges our own salvation.

The Serpents HAVE Returned To Ireland

Ireland, as a nation, has just voted to ensconce "same-sex marriage" into its constitution.  In so doing, it has sealed its fate as a nation by thumbing its nose at God, whom it once humbly acknowledged as its Lord.  Oh, the end won't come immediately as it will take some time for the traditions and social structures, once founded on Christian principles, to rot from within and crumble from without.  But unless there is speedy repentance and course correction, its ruin is inevitable.

Saints Patrick, Brigid, Columba and other noted Irish saints must be rolling in their graves.  This is a dark day for Christianity and western civilization.

Cardinal Wuerl Swills Down Climate-Change Kool-Aid

The Catholic News Agency reports that a forum on economic growth and "environmental sustainability" took place in Rome two days ago, and Cardinal Wuerl was in attendance.  Isn't it interesting how this forum occurred just weeks after the Sachs/Moon debacle?  But I digress.

This gab-fest was sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.  If that name has a familiar ring to it, it's because that's the council to which Pope Francis named the flaming dissident Fr. Timothy Radcliffe as consulter.

While there seemed to be no overt mention of "population control" at this meeting as there was three weeks ago, the Cardinal did refer to "sustainable development" as a "sign of the times".  We do know that the concept of  "sustainable development" does segue into population control and governmental growth.

While the Cardinal did acknowledge the role of "business interests", we see other sorts of "business" coming onto the scene.  Also at that meeting were representatives of World Resources Institute and New Climate Economy.  Take a look at the page listing all of WRI's "experts and staff".  It goes on and on and on!  What kind of operating budget does this outfit have?  Can we see that whole industries are growing out of the "climate change" schtick?  It doesn't seem to be limited to Al Gore's "carbon offset" swindles.

I took a look at the list of donors for WRI, having a suspicion regarding the identity of one of them.  Sure enough!  There it is!  The Open Society Foundations - in other words, George Soros.  I knew his paw prints had to be all over this.  Joining him we also see the Rockefeller Brothers Fund - all enemies of Jesus Christ and His Church and shills for one-world government.

In light of all this dangerous tomfoolery in which our bishops and even the pope seem to be engaging, I'd suggest careful study of this post from One Peter Five.  Above all, pray and receive the Sacrament frequently.

Catholic Relief Services Arrogantly Defends Its Disregard For Jesus' Moral Teachings

The Lepanto Institute reports on an interview between John Burger of Aleteia and Carolyn Woo, president of Catholic Relief Services.  Burger asked her about the many instances where CRS was caught partnering with organizations dealing in abortion, sterilization and contraceptives.  He also touched upon Richard Estridge, the CRS vice president who was exposed as being in a "gay marriage" for two years - and who still retains his position.

In typical progressive fashion, Woo describes as "attacks" our discovery and exposure of CRS derelictions of Catholic duty.  When queried about CRS's squalid association with anti-life organizations, she replie (with my comments in red):

"The type of attacks come in three forms. The first is: Why do we work with other organizations which don’t follow Catholic Church teaching?… So when we have responsibilities for these types of activities, for the scope of these activities, if we don’t reach out to other partners who have coverage of those territories, we are basically leaving a big swath of population unattended. … If we don’t collaborate with other agencies, we are leaving those people without any hospitals or clinics or access to those medications"  Our first concern as Catholics is to save souls.  Any other concern, while important, is secondary and ancillary to the overriding concern for eternal salvation.  There is no indication of any such concern in Woo's remarks.  The activities of CRS, in legitimizing contraception and abortion, may well be leading souls to eternal damnation.

In dealing with the CRS vice president who is in a "same-sex marriage", Woo trips over herself during her verbal tap-dance.  "CRS has a senior person who is in a civil gay marriage, and the question is, Is that a violation of Church teaching?  I just want to say we are working through this."  As I said in a previous post, if the person was found to be a member of the Ku Klux Klan, there would be no "question", no "working through this".  He would have been out on his ear in a heartbeat.  If Woo really has to ask if it's a violation of Church teaching, she should be handed her pink slip as well.

Catholic Relief Services is showing itself to be a thinly-disguised front group for all sorts of progressives.  It can be argued that CRS is merely the international version of Catholic Campaign for Human Development.  Both are under the direct control of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  The whole apparatus is showing itself to be quite the devil's liar and should be unceremoniously scuttled at once.

Will The Snakes Return To Ireland?

It is said that when St. Patrick commenced his evangelization of Ireland in the 5th century, he drove out all the serpents that inhabited the island.  Many took it as a sign that the saint (and others to come after him) would drive out idolatry and many other evils - including homosexuality - from Ireland.  As today's Vortex relates, the referendum vote in two days could spell the end of Christianity in Ireland.  A country that did much to preserve western civilization from hordes of barbarians will decide in two days if they indeed have degraded from Christianity to barbarism.

If they go the way of perversion and immorality, they will in fact be inviting the deadly vipers to return to their once-Christian land and spread their deadly poison.  Sadly, not only are Ireland's Catholic bishops neglecting to speak forcefully about the proper Catholic vote in this referendum, but some are actually playing the role of Judas and are shilling for the mutation of the definition of marriage in Irish law.  Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry stated that Catholics "in good conscience" vote to legitimize "gay marriage".  Of course he's dead-wrong.  No one with a true Catholic conscience will vote for this measure.  I cannot see how this isn't rank heresy on McKeown's part.

Of course we must also ask just what kind of signal does the pope's appointment of Timothy Radclifee send to the people of Ireland as they prepare to go to the polls in two days.  In 2013, he wrote of gay sexual relationships, that is, sodomy, "it can be expressive of Christ’s self-gift. We can also see how it can be expressive of mutual fidelity, a covenantal relationship in which two people bind themselves to each other for ever."  This was in a publicly available report, published well in advance fo this appointment.

Let's offer our Rosaries for a Christian outcome to the vote in a few days.

What's With These Argentine Bishops, Anyway???

Last week we read of Archbishop Fernandez, the Argentine bishop who is an author behind the dreaded awaited encyclical regarding the environment.  In addition to spinning the envirowhacko progressive line, he also writes about kissing games and the such.  I thank the Lord for Cardinal Muller and the halt (albeit temporary) that he's put to it.

Breitbart.com details the interview that C-Fam's Stefano Gennarini conducted with Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sordono.  In addition to being the head of the Pontifical Academy for Sciences and the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences, he's from Argentina.  We've heard lots from those two academies before, right?  He sponsored the meeting three weeks ago that called for the implementation of population control.  I did not know this until I just read the Breitbart piece but it seems that former Senator Tim Wirth also attended that meeting, at Sanchez's invitation.  Wirth has been a proponent of "climate change", population control and abortion rights.

As Gennarini questioned Sanchez about the anti-life positions of Sanchez's invitees, the latter dodge the questions, choosing instead to take pot-shots at the Tea Party (Hey!  At least they're hearing of us in the Vatican!) and those who "live off oil", whatever the hell that means.  He made that crack when queried about his collaboration with proponents of baby-murder.  He said he took direction from his superiors who authorized him to do so.  His superiors!  And pray, to which specific superior(s) does he refer??   Hmmm????

When asked about the problems of population control within the meeting, Sanchez replied,"..the draft SDGs [new development goals replacing the MDGs] don’t even mention abortion or population control. They speak of access to family planning and sexual and reproductive rights."  So he claims everything is just hunky-dorry because it's only "reproductive rights"!  Talk about grasping at straws!  What he did with that ludicrous statement is create a distinction without a difference.  Well, maybe he outright lied, for the report that came out of that meeting specifically called for "reaching a level and sustainable population".  That direct quote can be found at the link to my earlier piece.

So now we have this Sanchez, we have Fernandez and Timothy Radcliffe has just been named to a Vatican post.  No one can pretend that Pope Francis is ignorant of the dissidence of these men, especially when two of them are his fellow Argentines.

Protest Of DC-Area "Abortion Spa" This Saturday

Some may have heard of the new "abortion spa" that recently opened in Chevy Chase, Maryland.  It is called Carafem and is featuring spa-like amenities to women as they cajole them to subjecting their babies to chemical abortion.  The Washington Post had a write-up on them; given the Post's own pro-baby-murder sentiments, one can imagine that the write-up was glowing.

Notice something as you read the article.  The mill is being lauded as "part of a trend to destigmatize the procedure".  I'm sure the authors didn't realize it, but they are making quite an admission.  Consider that there should be no impetus to destigmatize "the procedure" if there did not exist a stigma to it.  Of course there is; abortion is a heinous form of murder and will always have the stigma of evil and death about it, for such is the truth of abortion.  All the fluffy bathrobes and cups of hot tea this mill provides will only be the proverbial "lipstick on the rattlesnake".

This coming weekend, Created Equal (led by Mark Harrington) will drive home the truth in the last paragraph by a picket in front of Carafem this coming Saturday morning.  This link has pertinent details; please visit it.  For most of my readers, distance will limit your participation to financial contributions.  For those in the area, please plan to join them.  Again, visit the link.

From The Francis Effect Department: The Pope Openly Affirms Dissenters

With yesterday's post by Father Clovis fresh in our minds, we must consider even more manifestations of the progressive rot that is within the Vatican, regrettably validated by the Holy Father himself.  Today came the news that the pope appointed Father Timothy Radcliffe to the post of Consulter for the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.  Father Radcliffe was a former Master General of the International Order of Dominican Preachers.  He came under fire for his advocacy of gay sexual relations and women's ordination.  Below I'll post a Vortex video from some years back that details the many problems of Father Radcliffe.  I suppose his appointment is not too surprising, given what the typical Jesuit these days considers the concepts of "justice and peace" to be.

In the United States we see the "Francis Effect" emboldening more progressive bishops to act out in their disobedience.  A few days ago we learned that Bishop Robert Lynch of the Diocese of St Petersburg (FL) has effectively stopped the offering of Mass in the Extraordinary Form in two of the three parishes in which they were offered.  Essentially he is acting in disregard to the Summorum Pontificum enacted by Pope Benedict in 2007.  I've written before about Bishop Lynch's many derelictions and lapses of judgment - including his enabling of the murder of Terri Schindler Schiavo in his diocese.  Why that man still sits as bishop is beyond me.

The Vatican's embrace of envirowhackoism - and population control - on which I reported copiously last week, is costing the Church credibility in the eyes of reasonable people.  We see in Western Journalism how Cliff Kinkaid wonder if "The Catholic Church Has Gone Socialist".  Mr. Kinkaid's concerns are quite understandable.  While the Church in her Tradition roundly condemns socialism, the recent actions of this pontiff betray a seeming sympathy, if not allegiance, towards that anti-Chrisitan mindset.

Sadly, I'm sure this won't be the last such post.  We must pray and speak out.  Now the video regarding this new "Consulter for the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace".

Liberal Bishops! Before You Wax Indignant About The Boston Bomber Sentencing, Look At Yourselves!

Most people by now have heard that today a jury has sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death for his role in the Boston Marathon bombing two years ago.  I will not offer my opinion on the sentencing or on the death penalty.  Suffice it to say that the evidence of his guilt is incontrovertable and that Tsarnaev received due process of law.  The jury has decided.

I'm surprised that the progressive bishops haven't yet started braying and kvetching about the sentence.  No doubt that will start within the next few hours but before they whine and bitch about how this sentence will only lead to a coursening of culture, perhaps they might address some other causes for that coursening. Today, over 3,000 innocent people were brutally put to death in this country; and that has been the case now for decades.  In the US alone, over 50 million babies have been slaughtered by abortion, legal in this country through all nine months.

Many of the enablers of this barbarism are Catholics.  Yet because they are wealthy and wield much worldly influence, these same progressive bishops will cozy up to them to curry all manners of favors.  Such was the case when Cardinal Dolan allowed Obama to come to the Al Smith Dinner, long after the latter said he wouldn't want his daughters "punished with a baby" and who promised Planned Parenthood to allow for abortion.  Just this week he stated he would veto the 20-week abortion ban just passed by the House.

The progressive bishops also enable baby murder when they refuse to obey Canon 915 and don't proclaim the truth to these errant politicians.  They certainly do so when they punish their priests who have the integrity to withhold Holy Communion from anti-life politicians and other dissident individuals - and yes, dear DC cardinals, that means you!

Two weeks ago, Vatican officials gave their nod of approval to the culture of death as the Pontifical Academy for Sciences published their report calling for "population control", i.e. abortion, sterilization and contraception.  Will the pope rebuke them or give his own tacit approval to the death message of Sachs and Ki-Moon?

I have an idea!  If these liberal bishops want to have candlelight vigils and prayer services and protests for Tsarnaev, let's challenge them to expend that same amount of time and energy for each and every baby within their respective diocees who will be murdered.  Do you think they'll be down for that??  Neither do I!  More is the pity and disgrace.

Father Linus Clovis Exposes The Harm Of The Francis Effect

Father Linus Clovis is a priest of the West Indies.  Speaking at a seminar for pro-life leaders in Rome last week, Father speaks clearly and unambiguously about the harm that Pope Francis is doing as he tries to accomodate the world at the expense of the Gospel.  Please listen to it and do so several times.  I thank Father for speaking forthrightly and GloriaTV for making this video available.

The Timidity Of Clergy - A Thin Disguise For Progressive Leanings?

On Tuesday 5/12/15, Obama spoke at a "Catholic-Evangelical Leadership Summit On Overcoming Poverty".  This hot-air exchange occurred at Georgetown University.  I'd opine that Georgetown is once again frittering away its credibility as a Catholic institution, but after years of such nonsense, Georgetown has no Catholic credibility left to squander - but I digress!

The Messiah Most Miserable took the opportunity to take swipes at Christianity.  The main theme of his nonsense is that we Christians should care less about abortion and more about poverty.  Well, I have to hand it to him - he's fulfilling the role as Planned Parenthood lapdog perfectly.  He also took jibes at families who send their children to private schools (Note!  We wait with bated breath for the announcement that he'll soon withdraw his children from Sidwell!)  Why?  Well as you see in the link and its embedded video, these children start to develop (gasp!) an "anti-government ideology"!  The horror!  He continues, "and that, in part, contributes to the fact that there's less opportunity for our kids.."  Our poor Dear Leader!  He can't seem to make up his little mind!  In another excerpt from the same gathering, he blames Fox News for the failed "war on poverty".

Now listen closely to this clip.  Notice how he says that regarding poverty, "we'll have to change how the media reports on this issue.."  Beg pardon!  Leaving aside for the moment that most of the mainstream media is firmly ensconced in the progressive camp, just who is going to do this changing?  Since most of the mainstream crowd is the de facto press office for the Dems, who are the others who will be targeted for such "change"?  Would those targets include bloggers such as Yours Truly?  The First Amendment has become, in the eyes of the Messiah Most Miserable, an inconvenience to be trashed.  Political correctness stifles free speech everywhere, small Christian businesses are being ruined for not licking the boots of gay-rights tyrants, so why shouldn't "freedom of the press" be the next facet of the First Amendment to be jettisoned by these thugs?

Now onto another seemingly unrelated matter.  There's a reason I put "seemingly" in italics; we'll get to that later.  The Daily Caller reports that yesterday some bishops met behind closed doors with some US Senators to discuss the anticipated roll-out of the pope's environmental encyclical.  That's odd, don't you think?  Why, oh why, would Catholic bishops find it necessary to meet with elected officials to discuss the roll-out of any papal encyclical?  Will there be some attempt to utilize the encyclical for envirowhacko legislation?  My goodness!  The timing of this meeting and the Georgetown gab-fest is so coincidental, don't you think?  It's almost as if the bishops scurried to show the Messiah Most Miserable that they are willing to forget baby-murder for a while to and to embrace pet causes of the progressives.

I've noted that in other incidents, it appears that progressives within the Church seem emboldened in their efforts to turn the Church into a religous front for socialism.  As you read the report from the envirowhacko meeting two weeks ago, you cannot help but notice the open call for population control, i.e., abortion, contraception and sterilization.  I am one of a number of pro-life activists who have been fighting for an end to those aforementioned evils.  Many of us have been baffled by the weak and often non-existent support from our Catholic clergy.  To be fair, many good priests and bishops have stood with us and led the way; sadly they are the exception and not the rule.  Many of us thought these clergy were just timid; and yet we've seen these same clergy pounce on their traditional-minded comrades with all the viciousness and efficiency that would have been the envy of Hitler and Stalin.  Therefore I pose this question: Might the lack of clerical assistance and support with which we met over the years have been deliberate attempts to stymie our pro-life efforts?  That's a question deserving of an honest answer.

Pope Francis Needs To Fire His Current Ghostwriter

Apparently Pope Francis has been using the services of a ghostwriter.  From One Peter Five we read that Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, also from Buenos Aires, is the ghostwriter behind this much ballyhooed environmental encyclical that we all await with bated (?) breath.  He and the pope go back a good bit, as the Glora TV clip will illustrate.  Fernandez apparently had a hand in the writing of the Evangelii Gaudium encyclical.

Now it seems that this environmental encyclical will be delayed by Cardinal Gerhard Muller in his capacity as Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith owing to theological deficiencies.  As the Cardinal stated in an interview, the mission of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith is "to provide the theological structure of a pontificate".   Moreover, the Apostolic Constitution states that the Congregation must "promote and safeguard the doctrine on faith and morals in the whole Catholic world".

Cardinal Muller is to be commended for putting the breaks on this encyclical.  Besides the many serious shortcomings of this new papal envirowhacko fad (and I'll elaborate in a few minutes), I wonder if Muller is concerned about some of Fernandez's other mindsets,such as the ones evinced in Fernandez's book entitled "Heal Me With Your Mouth: The Art Of Kissing".  My!  He certainly is a man with, uh, many interests!  Or is he just getting the "smell of sheep" on himself?

I wrote a bit about that one-day envirowhacko meeting hosted by the Pontifical Academy for Sciences last week.  Elaborating on that, I penned an article on this topic that will appear in a local pro-life publication.  When it comes out I'll link to it.  Meanwhile I'll post below an excerpt from that article that elaborates upon the anti-life screed (see here) that is the report from the meeting.

(begin excerpt)
A thorough read of the document makes plain that it is nothing more than an apologia for the United Nations Sustainable Goals initiatives.  The authors make no attempt to disguise it.  Another key attendee at this summit was none other than UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, who also has been known to advocate for abortion.  I refer you to this UN link: http://www.unece.org/sustainable-development/sustainable-development/home.html.  Interestingly enough, scrubbed from this link is any mention of Agenda 21, an action plan that arose out of several meetings with regard to “sustainable development”.  Wikipedia gives some details of it, albeit rather sympathetic, owing to wikipedia’s own leftist bias: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_21.   Many see Agenda 21 for the snake in the grass that it is and are sounding the alarm; see http://www.teaparty911.com/issues/what_is_agenda_21.htm  and http://www.freedomadvocates.org/.
The information available about “sustainable development” and Agenda 21 makes clear the betrayal of the Faith that the Vatican hierarchy is committing by lending its moral voice to “one-world-government” and even to “population control”.  It is particularly scandalous that these Vatican agencies signed onto a thinly-disguised apologetics effort for abortion – in the name of the “environment” – just a few weeks prior to the anticipated papal encyclical on the environment.  Catholics are reminded that while the Magisterium can pronounce infallibly only on matters pertaining to Faith and Morals, it does not have the same authority regarding matters scientific and/or economic.
(end excerpt)

Did Cardinal Muller see similar issues in the encyclical itself?  Now the link to the GloriaTV expose of Archbishop Fernandez..

Francis Effect: Dissidents Emboldened In Their Attacks On Christianity

LifeSiteNews and the Cardinal Newman Society both report that several left-wing outfits, most of them pretending to be Catholic, met in Chicago last month for the express purpose of stifling the teaching of Catholic faith and morality within Catholic institutions.  These outfits are:

• Dignity USA
• Catholics for Choice
• Call To Action
• Catholics In Alliance For The Common Good
• New Ways Ministry
• Human Rights Campaign (only one not pretending to be Catholic)

In their immediate cross-hairs is Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco.  The archbishop is requiring teachers in his Catholic schools to conduct themselves in manners that are not in opposition to Catholic morality.  In a saner time, such a move would be seen as common sense.  But common sense isn't so common anymore, as much of the unthinking public accepts gross immorality and are perhaps wallowing in it themselves.  The fact that a bishop upholds the law of God is an inherent rebuke to their own guilty consciences.  They seek to silence Christian morality since the truth behind it is something they won't accept.  That's why they've gone to great lengths to hire a public relations firm and to enlist California lawmakers (so much for separation of church and state!) against His Excellency.  But perhaps smarting consciences is not all that impels the animus against Christians.

The Human Rights Campaign bankrolled much of that little gab-fest.  The HRC was founded by a sodomite named Terry Bean.  The Eye Witness relates that Bean and his ex-accomplice in sodomy were arrested a few months ago for allegedly raping a 15-year old boy.  Can it be that Bean has a, uh, "vested interest" in keeping youth away from Christian teaching on morality?

Has anyone else noticed that these dissident groups don't even bother to couch their anti-Catholic bigotry behind benign veneers?  As recently as five years ago, they would have at least exercised some discretion about their malevolent intents, but no more!  Why?  Can it be that they are receiving what they perceive to be favorable signals from the Vatican?  I think that to be a reasonable hypothesis.  Consider the now-notorious interim relatio released during last October's sin-nod: apparently with the pope's prior approval.  Yes, he approved it, including paragraphs 50-52.   According to that thing, we are supposed to value the gay sexual orientation: you know, the orientation that allegedly instigated Bean's rape of the adolescent boy.

Thanks to the so-called "Francis-effect" of obfuscating Church teachings, we can expect more of this undermining of Christianity from within the Church hierarchy.

From The Francis-Effect Department: John Gehring Carries On At NCR

"NCR" in my title stands for Not-At-All Catholic Reporter.  In his latest plop in the online edition of that rag, John Gehring had the hypocritical gall to call a pro-life governor a "cafeteria Catholic".  There are so many errors here one scarcely knows where to begin - but I'll give it my heroic effort.

Before I begin, have you ever noticed something odd about Gehring and other progressive "katholyc" authors?  They often chide Catholics who champion pro-life causes for not adhering to the (discredited) seamless-garment ideology.  Never have I ever read of them rebuking pro-abortion politicians for anything, let alone their shilling for baby-murder.  I find that to be rather telling regarding their own convictions about the lives of the unborn.  And get a load of Gehring's Twitter page!  But I digress!

The backdrop for Gehring's dribble is the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.  Right in the second paragraph is one whopper.  He claims that capital punishment, war and "other moral issues" clash with traditional Catholic teaching.  No, they don't.  There are conditions that must be met before capital punishment or war are engaged, but they are not the intrinsic evils that abortion and contraception are.  I'll link now to a very pertinent article written by Father C. John McCloskey, showing the place capital punishment has in the realm of Catholic moral theology.  And there is this, from the Catechism of Pope St Pius X: "It is lawful to kill when fighting in a just war; when carrying out by order of the Supreme Authority a sentence of death in punishment of a crime; and, finally, in cases of necessary and lawful defense of one’s own life against an unjust aggressor.”

Further down Gehring whines, "But when a national Catholic event that attracts leading Republican politicians and Catholic bishops consistently sends a message that being pro-life or pro-family can be reduced to a narrow agenda that aligns with one political party, that is a problem."  If he believes that is a "problem", did he bother to ask how that "problem" came into being?  Which of the two main political parties has abortion rights and "gay" rights ensconced within its official party platform?  It's simply fact that the pro-life position is more closely aligned with the GOP platform - but that's only because the Democrats formally reject all things having to do with protecting innocent babies in their wombs!  Why does Gehring ignore that?  I believe there is a deliberated reason for that!

At the bottom of the article we read that Gehring is Catholic Program Director at Faith in Public Life.  My Catholic Media Coalition colleage Stephanie Block did several exposes of FPL (see here and here) several years ago, exposing its rather squalid alliances with dissident organizations such as Dignity and Call to Action and their own nefarious activities.

Three years ago The Blaze ran an article that revealed the funding that FPL received from George Soros.  It also detailed a "behind the scenes" media campaign that Gehring undertook to undermine the bishops' efforts to combat the Obamacare contraception mandate.  A prior position Gehring held was Communications Director for Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good.  I've written about them and their undermining of Catholic teaching and the funding they've received from (guess!) George Soros!  Are we sensing a pattern here?

At the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter, John Gehring is quite at home, for many (if not most) there, when it comes to matters Catholic, don't know apple butter from cow pie.

The Smoke Of Satan Within The Church

Pope Paul VI is said to have uttered the phrase "the smoke of Satan is within the Church".  I believe he said this in the wake of the Vatican II conference and the wholescale destruction of much of Church tradition done in the so-called "spirit of Vatican II".  These days I believe we are seeing such smoke coming through several key avenues:

• The Vatican embrace of climate-change envirowhackoism as evidenced by last week's conference hosted by the Pontifical Academy for Sciences
• The willingness of prelates to kowtow to the gay-mafia agenda, as evidenced by last October's sin-nod
• Vatican acquiesence towards Islam, as displayed by the pope's allowance of muslim prayers on Vatican property and by other strange behaviors towards islam (as evidenced by Cardinal McCarrick).
• Malevolence towards those upholding authentic tradition, evidenced in the suppression of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate and treatment meted out to faithful clergy such as Cardinal Burke and Father Guarnizo
• The involvement of the Vatican in partnerships with organizations that fund abortion, contraception, sterilization to the point of directing these organizations in their malevolent activities.
• The denial of the above-mentioned evils by obstinate pollyannas, who delight in denouncing the messenger rather than addressing the message

As an example of the last bullet-point, I present to you an article by George Weigel.  He seems to take great amusement, if not scorn, at the concerns raised by faithful Catholics regarding ominous signs that point towards Vatican embrace of UN climate-change and population control goals.  What he thought he was accomplishing with his mutation of the Gospel of Luke is beyond me.  He sneeringly points out that no one has read the soon-to-be-released article.  I must wonder if he bothered to read the report that was issued by the Pontifical Academy for Sciences (probably written by Jeffrey Sachs).  This report openly calls for embrace of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and population control.  I suppose the answer to my rhetorical question is "no", for that might force him to remove rose-colored glasses.

Looking at the second point, we are dismayed to learn that in London next Sunday, Cardinal Vincent Nichols will celebrate Mass especially for gays.  Nowhere in this article do we read that these homosexuals are living chastely and not engaging in perversion.  Nowhere do we read that they are receiving real pastoral help to live according to God's laws.  This is kowtowing to political correctness - at the expense of the souls of those gays who need the truth for their salvation.

In yesterday's Vortex, Michael Voris dwells on the loss of England to protestantism.  At 1:25 he asks how England could have fallen so quickly, then answers:  "Cowardice and political machinations of the bishops at the time."  The church was corroded from within by the smoke prevalent at that age.  We must pray that the smoke be removed and shine the light through it.

Year Of Mercy Logo: Throw-Back To The 1970s

As you gaze upon the felt-banner leftover from that decade, you might opine that the this post's title be changed from "throw-back to the 1970s" to "throw-up of the 1970s".  It is an eye-sore.  Speaking of eyes, do you notice anything?  Yes!  Jesus and the badly-contorted guy seem to share an eye-ball.  So are they supposed to be Siamese twins, cojoined at the eye-ball?    It's not only grotesque but also quite new-age, hearkening to Hinduism, Taoism and theosophy; read this write-up.

Heretic Father Richard Rohr also seems to be interested in "third eye" gobblygoop.  I've written a bit about him previously.

Didn't the Vatican learn anything from the artistic disaster point forth from the Pontifical Council for Culture three months ago?  To refresh memories, I refer you to a prior post.  I suppose we can be grateful that this "year of mercy" logo doesn't hearken to BDSM activites as the below logo does.  But really!  Why won't they use real art treasures from centuries back - ones that inspire true piety and love of Our Lord, His Church and our fellow man?

For an example of real art, I refer you to the Divine Mercy image incorporated into this blog's logo.  While it dates back only to the 1930s (coming to us via Saint Faustina), it depicts the true nature, source and communication of mercy.  It comes to us via Our Lord Jesus Christ and is communicated to us through the Sacraments and ministry of the Church.  May all come to know authentic mercy through Christ's Church and sacraments.

Dubious Rewards Of Striking Hands With Progressives

These past few days I've been writing about the meeting last week spearheaded by the Pontifical Academy for Sciences; read here and here.  In a nutshell, the Vatican is openly embracing the UN's "Sustainable Development Goals", with all that entails: abortion and contraception.  There are some voices of sanity being raised, namely through internet initiatives by Catholic laypeople to sound the alarm.  The Vatican is embracing progressive, anti-God positions, for which the Holy Father must take ownership and responsiblity.  Indeed, I cannot see how he isn't approving of it, if not outright orchestrating the debacle.

All sorts of leftwing personalities are fawning all over the pope regarding his de facto elevation of climate-change junk science to a level of importance that trumps all recognized dogmas pertaining to faith and morals.  Yesterday he hosted a meeting with the so-called "primate of the church of Sweden", Antje Jackelen - a woman who calls herself "archbishop".  Yes, she's a woman claiming to be clergy, but on the other hand she's with a protestant sect anyway; none of their clergy are ordained.  The Holy Father called her "my sister".  One can only wonder on what basis he calls her that.  To his credit, the Holy Father said, "The issue of the dignity of human life which must be respected always, urgently needs to be addressed, as do issues relating to the family, marriage and sexuality, which cannot be played down or ignored for fear of jeopardising the ecumenical consensus already obtained. It would be a shame for new denominational differences to form around such important questions."  If there are differences, they will only arise if these "denominations" dissent from the Traditions of the Church that are in turn given by Christ Himself; the responsibility for "differences" lies with dissenters and the differences can only be cured by their repentance.  Jackelen, for her part, pointed to two areas of "common concern": 1) refuge problem and 2) (wait for it!  Bet you can't guess!) climate change!  Not the whole-scale slaughter of babies, but climate change!  Why am I not surprised?  But wait!  There's more!

Guess who's thnking of converting to Catholicism based on the pope's swallowing the climate-change Kool-Aid?  Better sit down!  AL GORE!!!  He said so much during remarks made at University of California Berkely last week.  There was probably a good amount of hyperbole in his remarks, but it exemplifies what happens when progressives sense (and with good cause) that Catholics are being swayed by their jargon.  Happily Cardinal Muller reminded one and all that Catholic doctrine will NOT change to suit the preferences of given individuals; indeed it can't for the Teachings of God is immutable as is God Himself.

I post now a video from Michael Matt of the Remnant with their take on the disaster that occurred at that PAS meeting last week.

Accountability Software For The Church

That's what Michael Voris dubbed the social media ventures of faithful Catholics who've taken it upon themselves - or ourselves I should say - to shine much-needed light on misdeeds within the Church and committed by those on high.

Important note: as one of his examples of misdeeds of Catholic institutioins, he pointed out the on-going stonewalling, uh, I mean, "deliberations" regarding the sodomite Catholic Relief Services official who still retains his position.  Since then, we've had the earthquake in Nepal, and many people have contributed to CRS, wanting to assist the victims but not considering that they are also lining the pockets of the corrupt upper eschelon of the CRS structure.  ChurchMilitant.TV alerted us to an alternative that does place proper emphasis in fidelity to the truth, as well as funnel much-needed resources to the striken areas.  It is called Caritas In Veritate.  It does seem to be an outfit that will not forget its Catholic mission any too soon.

Here's today's Vortex.

Pope Francis, We May NOT Kneel Before Any Person

Note: To the title statement above, there are obvious exceptions when the person receiving homage is acting in the place of Christ and the Church as defined by sacramental rite or canon law:

• Kneeling to receive Holy Communion
• Kneeling in the confessional as the priest acts in personae Christae
• A religious kneeling before a superior as he/she is professing vows
• A man kneeling before a bishop as he is being ordained

There may be others of which I'm unaware.  Otherwise, to kneel before another, particularly in church, would seem to be tantamount to idolatry.  

Over these past two years, much mention has been made of the lack of kneeling and/or genuflection displayed by Pope Francis after he pronounces the words of Consecration at Mass or engages in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.  The writer to whom I just linked speculated that there might be some physical problem that precludes kneeling.  However, as Epnomous Flower points out, he knelt as he allowed himself to be "prayed over" by charismatics.

On Tuesday April 28, speaking on the topic of poverty, the Pope said "that Christians could kneel in veneration when a poor person enters the church".  NO!  That's tantamount to idolatry.  Why on earth he uttered that b.s. is beyond me.  Did he give a nod to "liberation theology"?  Who knows?  Does it matter?  It's still wrong and I will call out the error.

Voices Of Reason Contradict Pontifical Acadmeny Of Sciences Regarding Climate Change Junk Science

Thanks to the blogosphere (of which this blog is a small part), the world has been alerted to the joke of a conference that occurred last week regarding "climate change".  As revealed, anti-life population-control advocate Jeffrey Sachs had a disproportionately large amount of influence over the proceedings of that meeting - and the report that was obviously written before the meeting happened.

I posted on it last week; in my reply to one of the comments I mused aloud my suspicions that the "climate change" hoax might play a role in the maturation that the pope wants to inflict upon Catholics as they prepare for the brain-rot that will spew forth from next October's sin-nod.  The PAS report included the Vatican's endorsement of "population control", i.e., contraception, abortion and possibly euthanasia.  This anti-life poison may well be woven into the October meeting.

Again, thanks to the blogosphere, true scientists are making their voices and concerns heard.  On April 27, the Cornwall Alliance released "An Open Letter To Pope Francis On Climate Change".  It is signed by reputable individuals such as Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Father Paul Acton, Gary Bauer, Donna Bethel, retired MD State Senator Nancy Jacobs, Lord Christopher Monckton, Steven Mosher, Austin Ruse, Thomas Sheahen, John Zmirak.  The gist of this letter points to the reasons why popular models have failed, based on empirical data.  It also points to Biblical reference regarding the relationship between man and the created universe - and points out why any attempt to restrict fossil fuel consumption would be harmful to poor people.  If the pope insists on dabbling into scientific matters (over which he has no special authority), he needs to weigh real data, not just emotional rhetoric.

However, with some prelates, facts don't sit very well.  Cardinal Maradiaga, a chief advisor to the pope (and I've written plenty about him, too), had this to say while visiting Washington DC last week in response to a question regarding the expected encyclical about the environment: "Do not expect statistics, numbers and theories.  He will go directly to the baptized."  Pardon my french, but what the hell does that mean????  Disregard of real scientific data seems to be habitual among progressives, and Maradiaga isn't even trying to conceal it.  He's opining that the pope will rely on emotional "mob-appeal" to push through the population control heresy.  Remember - he's a key advisor, de-facto leader of this "gang of nine", for the pope.  He may be a nut, but one to be taken seriously.

Again, we all must watch what proceeds from the Vatican and measure it agains the timeless traditions of Holy Mother Church.