Church Environmentalism Is Phariseeism

Today is the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time and we are in Cycle B for Sunday readings.  Today's first reading is from Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-8.  Here it is.

Moses said to the people:
“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin upon you,
you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?”

Today's Gospel is from Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23.  I repost that.

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. 
—For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace 
they do not eat without purifying themselves. 
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. —
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” 
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

He summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand. 
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.

“From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.All these evils come from within and they defile.”

I emphasized in bold some points that I'll make in a minute.

Death-Camp Neighbors At Spring Street - Today's Nazi Citizens

For the last 10+ years, several of us pro-life activists have been outside the Planned Parenthood in Silver Spring MD to pray for an end to the barbarity occurring in suite 450 of 1400 Spring Street in Silver Spring MD.  We also offer real help to women going into that hell hole, aware that many feel they have no alternative due to difficult personal circumstances.  See here for some accounts of our outreaches.

We are in Silver Spring MD, a notorious nest of progressives and pro-abortion individuals.  Many of them are in the neighborhood just across the street from us.  I have written before of some acrimonious interactions between them and us.  I draw your attention to this piece.  In it I made mention of the Nazi death camps and their surrounding neighborhoods.  When the Allies invaded Germany and liberated the death camps, they forced the citizens of the neighboring towns to tour the camps and witness the carnage that they allowed to happen.  Here is an account of such an exercise.

You'll notice that an excuse that the Germans gave was "we didn't know".  Whether or not that is true we'll never know.  What we do know is that there is now no such excuse, especially when we who seek to inform are discounted and even hated for the information we bring them.  Such has been the case for the Woodside neighborhood just to our north.  It was evidenced in this incident five years ago and again today.

In the wake of the CMP videos regarding Planned Parenthood's murder of babies and selling of their bodies, we have launched an effort to defund Planned Parenthood.  One of our number arrived late today and parked her car in the neighborhood.  She was legally parked and put her "Defund Planned Parenthood" inside her front windshield.

Some time later a man from the neighborhood approached two of our number (neither of them the owner of the car) and voiced his objections to the sign. What were his objections?  Well, it seems that he was hosting a birthday party for his child and thought it "inappropriate" for the children to see.

Let's ponder the inane silliness of what this guy was saying.  First, let's forget about objections to "those gory pictures" for none were present on her car.

• Any kids I know who attend birthday parties would not notice such signage (no more so than other signs on other cars).  They'd be focused on ice cream, cake, gifts and games.
• We know who would find the signs "inappropriate".  It would be those who support baby-murder, so we can consider as potential "offendees" the man and/or his adult guests.
• If anything is "inappropriate for children", it's Planned Parenthood itself.  It is very "inappropriate" to murder tiny children and exploit their corpses for "research".

So the guy finally left.  An hour or so later, one of our number noticed that the windshield had been covered over so that the sign was blocked.  Boys and girls, can we say "vandalism"?  Consider the arrogance.  The guy had his grubby paws on my friend's car, arbitrarily and erroneously deciding that her First Amendment rights were not to be respected: most likely because what her sign said pricked his guilty pro-abortion conscience.

Fortunately - for the guy - it was not anything that could not be removed.  And it was removed by the driver's husband.  Afterwards I took some pictures and now post them below.

You can see that the car, with sign in front windshield, is legally parked.

This is the sign that the guy covered over.  His act of covering the sign is legally actionable.

It was parked in front of 8706 2nd Avenue, Silver Spring, MD.  The man who approached the two women said the car was parked "in front of his house", so this must be where he lives.

Planned Parenthood Protest At Falls Church VA

This Planned Parenthood is yet another location of Planned Parenthood Of Metropolitan DC.  850 showed up and hopefully will keep coming.

Planned Parenthood Travesty - The Archdiocese Of Washington Makes Its Mind Known

The Archdiocese of Washington has made a statement regarding Planned Parenthood's sale of babies whom they have murdered.  Click on the player to hear one of their spokespeople speak of the concern that the chancery has regarding this matter.



That's about the size of it!  Two weeks ago the Catholic Standard buried this blurb towards the back of the print edition when the first few videos were released.  Today I received the August 27th edition.  Bearing in mind that this is the first edition out since the massive Planned Parenthood protests this past Saturday, with 70 thousand pro-lifers in over 300 cities participating.  It was the largest protest of Planned Parenthood in history.  Yet not one peep was uttered in today's rag, even though two of the protest locations were within the boundaries of the Archdiocese of Washington.  Today we got to read how interesting Pope Francis is because he had a parakeet as a boy and some other silly drivel, but what did we hear about the massive protest effort this past weekend?  Zero-zip-nada!  This is why many faithful Catholics have long ago ceased to regard the Catholic Standard as a reliable source of relevant Catholic news.  Long-time readers might recall that the many failures of the Standard were motivating factors behind the start of this blog.

When I said in the title that the Archdiocese of Washington made its mind known regarding the video, I was not being facetious.  Their silence is most telling of their obvious indifference to the sale of murder victims.

With a few noteworthy exceptions, this silence of the shepherds has become the trend.  I list the exceptions below, regretting that this list isn't as long as it should be.

• Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield IL has called for a "day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer" to beg God's forgiveness as a nation.
• Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone led the San Francisco protest. 
• Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay WI was at the Planne Parenthood of Grand Chute event
• Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence RI spoke at the local event.
• Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Raleigh (NC) had this to say to his diocese

This list should be a LOT longer!  If I missed any bishop, please advise via comments.

Envirowhackos Prepare For Pope's Visit

From the Washington Post we read that several envirowhacko groups are planning to stage a rally on the Mall on September 24th, when the Pope is due to speak at the Capitol.  Their permit application reveals that they expect several hundred thousand to attend this thing.  Note on the Post site the picture of the poster thanking the pope for Laudato Si.  They intend to make "the moral case for reducing greenhouse gas emissions".

So they expect around two hundred thousand.  Alrighty then!  Now just how are all these environmentally-conscious activists planning to get to this rally?  I assume the great bulk will be from out of town and from different areas of the country.  In keeping with their aim of "reducing greenhouse gas emissions", will they eschew cars and planes?  Do they plan to hike on foot here?  Or maybe they'll come via horses and wagons?  Surely they don't plan to increase their own carbon footprints with gas-guzzling planes and cars now, do they?  Do they???  Well, I think we know the answer to that!

Noami Klein herself let the cat out of the bag regarding the real use that progressives have for environmentalism.  It's a ploy to foist socialism, with all its atheistic and anti-life underpinnings on humanity.  And yes, the pope is in on it; let's stop pretending that he's a naive but lovable ol' grandpappy.  Whatever else he is, he's not stupid.

We now have an idea why the United Nations has embraced environmentalism, along with Agenda 21 and all the socialist philosophies underlying them.  Why else would Ban Ki-Moon have attended the Vatican-sponsored environmental summits?  We have noticed these patterns and the Vatican tries to poo-poo our concerns.  Perhaps they protest too loudly.

From The Maturation Department - Scandal At The World Meeting Of Families

About 2.5 months ago, Lepanto Institute alerted us to the fact that a lesbian activist would be in a key role in deciding what entities would be allowed to set up exhibits at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia next month.  We also learned at about the same time that Philadelphia Archbishop Chaput said that "non-traditional families" would be welcomed at the meeting.  My blog post at that time gives more details.  At this time I have received no indication that these two matters have been rectified.  I must assume that they haven't.

Lepanto Institute has once again done stellar work in exposing a more significant scandal, one that centers around the president of the World Meeting of Families, Robert Ciaruffoli.  Over the years he has made contributions to various pro-abortion candidates for political office, including to the campaign of a former Planned Parenthood director.  See the above link for more details.

Now you might wonder about the "maturation department" reference in this post's title.  Recall that after last October's extraordinary sin-nod, Pope Francis said that we had a year to "mature" in preparation for this upcoming ordinary sin-nod.  Almost immediately a barrage of meetings, pronouncements, appointments and firings etc occurred, all with the theme of undermining the Church's teachings on family and life.  I firmly believe that the retention of the dissidents in the structure of the World Meeting of Families is part and parcel of this "maturation".

One of these "appointments" is Archbishop Blaise Cupich of Chicago.  He was dissident when he was Bishop of Spokane and then was appointed to Chicago by the Pope.  Last Sunday he was invested with the pallium at Mass.  He preached on the family at Mass, saying that "we must not settle for solutions that no longer work".  Given past history we can surmise his meaning.  Yes, that link is to the New Ways Ministry blog, and they in turn link to the entire homily.  It is a sad day for the Church when an organization that foments mortal sin waxes lyrical about the preaching of an errant bishop.  By the way, the pallium signifies unity with the pope.  Regrettably this union is real.

I suppose because the sin-nod is less than two months away, that all stops will be pulled in last-minute "maturation" measures.

Eighth Video Out - Planned Parenthood Is High Volume Producer

In this video, Cate Dyer, CEO of Stem Express, is quite open about Planned Parenthood's role in supplying "specimens" to "research labs".  Listen closely to the whole thing.  You'll understand why Stem Express engaged in legal maneuverings to squelch these videos.  You'll also understand why her sister "resigned" her cushy influential job in Speaker Boehner's office.  What thousands of us accomplished this past Saturday was a great start, but still just a start.  As Mr. McPherson said at the Spring Street rally, "Planned Parenthood must be destroyed".

Battle Lines Being Drawn For The Sin-Nod In October

We know how some of the pope's closest advisers seem to hold God's plan for marriage in disdain.  Cardinal Maradiaga has made his leanings clear - brazenly clear.  So has Archbishop Cupich, the newly-appointed delegate to the sin-nod.

Fortunately it seems that faithful prelates are also organizing themselves to keep the Vatican in line with traditions mandated by Christ.  Father Z reveals that eleven cardinals have collaborated on a book that has as it aims the stemming of the "protestantization of the Church".  Like the "five cardinals" book of last year, this promises to be of great help in preserving truth.  I do hope that, unlike the "five cardinals" book, that this book is preserved from progressive sticky-fingers.  I understand from that same article that several African bishops are publishing their own book in defense of marriage and other traditional teachings.  Speaking of African bishops the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference published a statement pledging resistance to the Culture of Death.

Last week John Smeaton of Voice of the Family released a statement outlining why this sin-nod's Instrumentum Laboris should be recognized as a threat to authentic family life.  With all the pro-abortion folks being wined and dines at "shadow synods" and other gab-fests at the Vatican in anticipation of the sin-nod, can we still be in denial about the ruckus that awaits us in a matter of weeks?

How God Is Blessing Russia

It has been quite ironic to see how Russia has embraced Christian morality lately, especially in terms of honoring the family as God ordained it.  However, not all are happy about it.  Madonna, the so-called "Material Girl", has vowed never to perform in Russia again owing to the latter's refusal to capitulate to the gay nazis.

So you see, ladies and gentlemen, there are blessings to be had from obedience to God's laws!  Think how much cleaner and clearer will be Russia's air, without the Material Girl polluting it with her porn-performances!  I almost begin to envy Russia!

Traitorous Catholics Colluding With Planned Parenthood

First, some good news.  Speaker John Boehner's "health policy adviser", Charlotte Ivancic, has "resigned".  Recall that she is a sister of Cate Dyer, owner and founder of Stem Express, a partner with Planned Parenthood in the trafficking of baby body parts.  I strongly suspect that because the soon-to-be-released 8th CMP video will implicate Dyer, that Boehner doesn't want that albatross around his neck.  Now let's see if he can gin up enough spine and testosterone to do the right thing and divest Planned Parenthood of our tax dollars.

Now the bad news.

Several years ago the Cardinal Newman Society did an expose of Catholic colleges with ties to Planned Parenthood.  These ties usually entailed:

• faculty who were also affiliated with Planned Parenthood or some other abortion racket
• students who did internships with abortion perpetrators
• pro-abortion student groups on campus

They revisited their research in the wake of the CMP videos and found that not much improvement had occurred.  This is detailed in a report issued on August 18th.  In it is listed numerous such association.  It seems that Georgetown University won the dubious distinction of having the greatest number of such association in the whole cabal of them.

Two days ago I blogged that the new headquarters for Planned Parenthood of DC was being built by a Catholic-owned construction company called Pizzano Contractors.  Further research revealed that Robert Pizzano Jr, the CEO for the company, founded a charity in honor of his late son who had developmental disabilities.  It's called the Joey Pizzano Memorial Fund.  We know that many unborn babies are murdered when it is determined that they are disabled.  Therefore, on one hand Pizzano is memorializing his disabled son while on the other hand is facilitating the murders of babies who are targeted because they are similar to Joey in terms of disabilities.  Do we see the double standard, the mental disconnect displayed by Pizzano?  Pray for Pizzano and the faculties of these Catholic schools that they may remember to Whom they must give an account at the end of their lives.

I post below some video that I found of the rally at the new Planned Parenthood place in NE Washington.  As you listen to Pat Mahoney telling people to look into the rooms, consider that these rooms are being refurbished by a Catholic to be murder chambers.

Today's Protest At Silver Spring Planned Parenthood

Today the regular pro-life crew, along with 150-200 others, joined with thousands of other like-minded pro-life people in the US (and Ireland, I understand) in the effort to #protestpp.  Many came out in the wake of the seven (so far!) videos from Center for Medical Progress.

I post below video of our event and it's quite self-explanatory.  I did make a typo in the first title with the year, but because the youtube upload took so long, I didn't think it was worth the extra time to fix it.  I do repeat that similar scenarios were repeated at hundreds of other Planned Parenthood locations today.  As you'll hear one of the speakers declare, Planned Parenthood must be destroyed. Yes, defunding is an important step, but it is only one step towards destroying an organization that had racism and eugenics as prime motives of its founding by Margaret Sanger (go to www.maafa21.com for more info on that).

Catholic-Owned Construction Company Is Building Planned Parenthood's New Facility In Washington DC

Yes, you read that correctly!

Many of you knew that Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan DC Inc was planning to move its main location to 1225 Fourth Street NE,   A month or so ago, it closed its old 16th Street location although the new facility isn't ready for use yet.  So who is getting this new facility in NE ready so that Planned Parenthood of DC can get its baby-murder business back to "full-throttle"?

That would be Pizzano Contractors, Inc, headquartered in Alexandria, VA.  It is they who are currently constructing the murder den.  It touts itself as a "family business".  The owner/ceo is Robert Pizzano, Jr.  Yes, Pizzano is a Catholic.  Until very recently, the "partial client list" included the Diocese of Arlington.  After the diocese became aware of Pizzano's involvement with Planned Parenthood, they withdrew permission for their name to be used; for that they are to be commended.  I trust that any tentative work that the diocese may have had with Pizzano's has been cancelled.

Also note that Pizzano was, again until very recently, a member of the Board of Governors for Bishop O'Connell High School.  See the picture just above.  His name no longer appears; the administration of O'Connell is to be commended for taking that corrective action.  The picture above does identify Pizzano's parish as being Our Lady of Good Counsel in Vienna VA.  Perhaps the parish priests and other parishioners may wish to prod their fellow Catholic to break off this dalliance with baby-killers.  There might be a question as to whether or not he should present himself for Holy Communion.  He knew all along that it was Planned Parenthood with whom he was about to strike a deal.  He is building their facility in which babies will be murdered.  If that doesn't constitute "formal and material cooperation with mortal sin", what does?

Below I'll post a video showing pro-life activists protesting at the Pizzano headquarters in Alexandria.  You'll also see Pizzano himself being confronted with his sin as he is also invited to repent and make amends.  Because he is far from the camera, his face isn't clearly seen; here's his picture on the Pizzano site.

From the Pizzano site, please take note of the phone numbers and email addresses.  Contact Pizzano and ask him to get out of the contract, to not facilitate baby-murder and not to endanger his own immortal soul.

Protest Planned Parenthood On Saturday August 22

In the wake of the videos exposing Planned Parenthood's trading of baby body parts and possible murder of live-born infants, several pro-life organizations are spearheading a protest effort tomorrow. Their website is www.protestpp.com.

This effort is nationwide and most events will start at 9am local time.  The Planned Parenthood locations in the DC metropolitan area will be protested.  Please see the website above for a location near you and join the effort.  We must make our voices and outrage known.  See you there!

By the way - August 22 is also Feast of the Queenship of Mary.  Please ask her intercession for the closing of Planned Parenthood and all murder dens!

7th CMP Video - Abortionists Toy With Aborted Baby's Heart

As horrid as the experiments performed by Nazi doctors were, they are beginning to sound humane compared with what is going on in Planned Parenthood facilities today.  In the seventh video released by Center for Medical Progress, the former Stem Express employee continues exposing what goes on behind those walls.  At 4:05, she recalls being called by an abortionist to "see something cool".  He/she pokes an aborted baby's heart and it starts beating.  Now ask yourself; how can the heart beat unless the child is still alive?  As the film continues, watch the baby at 10:35 in the dish; he is clearly alive as he is still moving.

What kind of ghouls are these people?  Moreover, what are we, as a nation, for allowing such barbarism to continue in our midst?

Climate Change BS - Literally!

Ladies and gentlemen, great progress has been made in our struggle against greenhouse gases as we combat these emissions for the survival of this planet.  A major source of the deadly substance has been identified.  "And what, pray tell, is this source?", you ask with bated breath.  According to England's Daily Mail, the dastardly culprits are..(trumpets and drums, please)

COWS!

Look - right off the bat the Daily Mail is being sexist!  Why do they blame the problem on the female of the species (if I may use that politically-charged term "female" anymore)?  Let's not let the bulls get off scott free here.  Call the culprits "cattle".

Here are some words of wisdom from the DM: "Cows have a huge flatulence problem that is damaging the planet."  Perhaps they haven't noticed, being so ensconced in urban areas, but cattle have been around for thousands of years.  In all that time, the planet has managed to survive their odoriferous scents.  I daresay that the planet will continue to thrive.

But that won't stop the progressive loons from tilting lances into windmills.  The Messiah Most Miserable is launching a "multi-pronged attack on cow flatulence".  In other words, this is more of our tax dollars at work.  Forget the lousy economy!  Forget that our inner cities are becoming balkanized jungles!  Forget about muslim terrorism!  The real crisis is cow flatulence!  When we say that Obama doesn't know apple butter from cow pie, we speak literally!   If he really is all that concerned about greenhouse gases, all he need do his curtail all the lavish vacations that he and his family appear to take on a monthly basis.

The Vatican can do the same.  Do others find it odd that the Vatican is hosting myriads of meetings on the "environment", causing so-called experts to fly in on jets?  How much carbon footprint is caused by all that jet-setting?

These folks can cut down on greenhouse gases simply by ceasing their endless prattle.  As an added bonus, noise pollution would also drop!  Sounds like a win-win scenario to me!

Naomi Klein Acknowledges Truth Of Environmentalism; Can We Acknowledge Truth Of This Papacy?

About six weeks ago it was reported that Naomi Klein had been invited to participate in a Vatican environmental summit.  At that time we all suspected that she was using "climate change" to promote socialism.  The Heartland Institute (a common-sense scientific organization that was denied access to the Vatican as they tried to offer their input) has discovered that Klein herself admitted her modus operandi.

They discovered this rather direct quote from her regarding climate change: "The really inconvenient truth is that it’s not about carbon—it’s about capitalism. The convenient truth is that we can seize this existential crisis to transform our failed economic system and build something radically better."  Could she possibly have made her aims more explicitly clear?

Here's another "inconvenient truth" that I'd ask my "pope-cannot-be-criticized" friends to consider.  Unless Pope Francis is a completely clueless moron, he understands quite well where Klein stands in regards to climate change and socialism.  The same can be said for the others that he has let into the Vatican: Maradiaga, Sachs, Schnellnhuber, etc.  Are we truly to believe that all this progressive infiltration can be ascribed to "bad advisors"?  Whatever else the pope is, he is not some naive lil' ol' bumpkin; one does not become bishop and cardinal with those traits.

Personnel is policy, and the pope knows his personnel.  Regarding the office of Vicar of Christ, all Our Lord promised us in that regard is that the pope would never solemnly promulgate error - and that's it!  A sitting pope can do much damage without invoking infallibility; it has been done in past centuries and there is no reason on earth to presume that the same cannot happen now or in the future.

Pope Francis recently decided to call September 1st a "World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation".  Well, consider that in light of Klein's self-revelation and her continued influential role at the Vatican.  This is nothing more than brainwashing maturation to disarm prepare us for the sin-nod and further UN encroachment on our lives.

Let me suggest an alternative prayer intention for September 1, and this is not an original suggestion.  Let us keep our pope and bishops in prayer and pray that they remember their high offices and to place the salvation of souls as their one and only priority to obey the God Whom they serve.

Maradiaga's Tweets And Concerts Tell All

As you read through the tweets below, recall that Cardinal Maradiaga is the leader of the Pope's handpicked advisors.  He will be attending the next "shadow synod" and will have a decisive impact on the October sin-nod.  From his twitter page we get a rather stark picture of the direction in which he intends to take the sin-nod.  I will probably unpack these tweets in a future post, but for the most part the heresies pronounced in these tweets cannot be missed.

By the way, these tweets are being exposed by other faithful Catholic bloggers too.  Once the Vatican gets wind of that, I might suspect that these tweets might get pulled down.  That's why I've saved these screen shots of them.

And now the concert!  Who else do we know who plays the saxophone?  Hint: his wife thinks she's the anointed heir to the Messiah Most Miserable.  Maradiaga is supposedly "jamming for justice".  True justice is being ill-served - in more ways than one.  Here's your earache for the evening.

Maryland Woman Convicted Of Murder Of Two Of Her Newborns

LifeNews broke the news of the Maryland woman who was convicted of the murders of her newborn boys.  She drowned them because she believed abortion was too expensive.  I won't rehash the article here since you can read the link.  I will make two points:

• Ten years imprisonment is way too lenient for the murders of helpless babies.
• She justified her murders by saying she couldn't afford abortions.  The fact is that one day prior to the births, she could have murdered the babies via abortion.  The only difference is that the state of Maryland would not be prosecuting her for murder.

Such is our contradictory justice system in Maryland.

Storm Clouds Gather In Preparation For October's Sin-Nod

As we saw last week, Archbishop Cupich was appointed delegate to next October's sin-nod almost immediately after he twisted Catholic moral teaching about in his statement that abortion was no more of an evil than capital punishment.  Most Catholics with at least two working brain cells know that while abortion is always intrinsically evil (and thus a mortal sin), capital punishment is not so and in fact can be morally licit.  My intention is not to reignite that debate in my com-boxes but to illustrate how Cupich prostituted his high office to push a progressive agenda.  I suspect that qualified him immediately as a delegate in the eyes of the sin-nod perpetrators, so off he'll go to the Vatican come October.  But there are more storm clouds.

Recall the "shadow synod" that happened last May.  I suppose they believe that it was such a rousing success that they want to repeat the damage benefit.  Who is a papal adviser that is invited to that?  Why, it's none other than Cardinal Maradiaga (ht to Lifesitenews)!  You've seen enough of Maradiaga's name on this blog, as well as a rundown on the mischief he's wrought in the Church (to date).  Read the Lifesitenews piece for the rundown on the other heretics who will be spreading their bile at that meeting in hopes of poisoning influencing the sin-nod.

Many good people are sounding alarms.  The Instrumentum Laboris for the sin-nod is out, and Voice of the Family finds within it reasons for grave concern.  As you read it, go all the way to the bottom where Voice of the Family states that we faithful Catholics "have a duty to oppose the direction being taken at the synod".  Bishop Athanasius Schneider has also sounded an alarm regarding the working document, saying "one is left with the suspicion that the authors of the Instrumentum Laboris try to push forward the agenda of a certain clerical pressure group in order to change the Divine law of the non-admission of divorced and remarried to Holy Communion."

The battle lines are being drawn.  I thank the Lord for courageous prelates like Bishop Schneider.  Pray for him and his fellow faithful priests and bishops, that they be protected from those who wish harm upon them.  Pray also for those who carry on like wolves in sheep's clothing for theirs' will be a horrible punishment if they don't repent.

Archbishop Cupich, Meet Archbishop Chaput

Several days ago I posted the story about Archbishop Cupich claiming that the murders of babies was no more heinous than unemployment.  I said in that post that many bloggers were appalled by this latest blunder from an archbishop.  Now another archbishop has taken public umbrage at the lunacy uttered by Cupich.  Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia lent some much-needed clarity to the situation.  He refuted Cupich's errors without mentioning his erring brother bishop by name.  Read Archbishop Chaput's words here.

Yet Another Reason Why Patheos Is Pathetic

One Peter Five (featured in my blog list) published a piece on why he doesn't believe women should be lectors.  For the record I, a woman, share that opinion and for many of the same reasons as enumerated in his post.  Owing to God-ordained differences in roles, I do not believe women have any business being in the sanctuary of a Church.

Deacon Kandra who pens the Patheos-hosted blog "Deacon's Bench" took issue with the piece, holding it up for ridicule.  What were his reasons?  Well, he didn't quite get around to articulating his case.  Since he doesn't have a comments section, he apparently doesn't want discussion and debate abut his writings.  My suspicion is that he didn't like the nod to tradition evinced in One Peter Five but knew he had no sound basis.  So he quotes the piece, says it's stupid and thinks his readers will fall in lockstep.  Such is the intellectual vacuity of many of the Patheos pieces.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers - At A Planned Parenthood Near You

There are some uncanny parallels between the horror movie and the horror situations created by Planned Parenthood.  The PP people are much like the heartless "pod people" who make deadly use of their hapless victims.  However, the video below does not depict fiction.  That this ghoulish practice occurs in our own communities should fill us all with horror and disgust and motivate us to end the scourge of abortion - one that is the cause of 3500 legalized murders every day in our country.

Pope Leads Others In Swilling Environmentalism Koolaid - One Courageous Catholic's Response

Recently the institution of marriage as God ordained it has suffered egregious insults in both Ireland and the United States.  Christians in the Middle East are undergoing horrific persecution, being murdered in the most barbaric fashions.  We have seen (and continue to see) revelations that Planned Parenthood is harvesting and selling parts from the babies it murders, with assistance from our federal government and funded in part by tax dollars extorted from citizens.  Of course there is the murder count of babies killed via abortion - 54 million and increasing every day.

Anyone of these would constitute its own fundamental moral crisis, worthy of the attention of the Vicar of Christ.  However, we've heard nothing regarding these current events from the pope.  Instead, we have received word that Pope Francis has designated September 1st as "World Day For Prayer For Care Of Creation".  Trees and rainforests are receiving much more solicitude from this pope than are poor babies and persecuted Christians.  Lest anyone think the preceding sentence was a tad too harsh, be advised that a few days ago, the pope voiced his displeasure against the clearing of forests in order to plant soy.  Excuse me, but with all the kvetching about "feeding the poor", one might think he'd be happy that more soy would be available to them.  So just where are his priorities?  By the way; when you read that link, go to the comments for it seems that some are waking up.

Now for the bright spot in this morass.  An envirowhacko conference was held in a Catholic church in the Diocese of Orange.  Yes, that architectural monstrosity is a church; the ugliness without was mild compared with the heresy spouted by those conducting the brainwashing conference.  Listen closely to the sister's prattling; she is promulgating nature worship.  Keep watching for the man doesn't stand up till the latter part of the clip.  He uttered the only words of truth spoken there.  At least he got them to pray some traditional prayers for a few minutes.

From The Maturation Department: Cupich, Harbinger Of Looming Sin-Nod Disaster

I have documented the ways in which Bishop - now Archbishop - Blaise Cupich has disgraced his miter and crosier.  The latest crack that was supposed to be his statement regarding the Planned Parenthood videos was simply the latest.  I needn't rehash it all here; please review this anthology of posts.

Several of my blogging colleagues have expressed their dismay over Cupich's words and deeds:

• From ChurchMilitant.TV
• From Tenth Crusade
• From St. Corbinian's Bear
• From Vox Cantoris

No doubt we are just a sampling of those sounding the alarm regarding Cupich.  In the light of the evidence regarding Cupich's progressive, as opposed to truly Catholic mindsets, what does Pope Francis do?

Pope Francis appointed Cupich as a delegate to next October's Ordinary Synod on the Family.  We all knew that he would be an alternate delegate to replace any regular delegate who might be rendered unable to attend.  But now he's a full delegate.  Is this disgusting appointment part of the "maturation" that the pope said we had to undergo at the close of last October's sin-nod?  If nothing else, this appointment is a harbinger of the mess that will the sin-nod that will happen two months from now.

Special Alert For Archdiocese Of Washington

My profuse apologies!  This did slip my mind until someone reminded me of this earlier today.  This weekend's second collection is for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, or CCHD.  Again they're trying to get clever by calling it "Communication and Human Development"; who they think they're fooling is beyond me.  I've written extensively on CCHD in the past; here is an anthology of posts for your review.

At any rate, please say #no2cchd by not giving them one penny.  In the second collection tomorrow drop them a note explaining why there is no money enclosed.  If you go to the link cited above and scroll down a bit, there is an example of a note that you can print out and put in your envelope.

Please pass this post along to others in the Archdiocese of Washington as soon as you can.  Thank you.

Who Does The Pope Call When Bishops Disgrace The Church?

The scandals have been erupting at a rapid pace this week.  It's almost as if progressive bishops were vying with Planned Parenthood for the "outrage of the month award".  We read that in Germany, a flaming lesbian is running a Church daycare.  This is in the wake of weakened policies of the German Catholic Conference, chaired by Cardinal Reinhard Marx.  In fact, the debacle is occurring in his diocese.  He is one of the pope's top nine advisers.

Stateside, in the Archdiocese of Newark (NJ) an openly gay priest will be assigned to two parishes.  He was fired from Seton Hall University for posting a tweet sympathetic to gay #mowwidge.  As you look at this article from ChurchMilitant.tv, notice Father Warren Hall's picture.  He's not in clerics, but in the context of the picture it is a blessing for he does appear to be "flipping the bird".  How he came to be assigned to parishes, where he can spew forth his spiritual and moral poison, is beyond me.  Better for everyone - Father included - had he been reassigned to a monastery to spend a good chunk of time in prayer and reparation for his public embrace of mortal sin.

I mentioned the Planned Parenthood videos.  How have some of our, uh, "intrepid" bishops reacted?  Well, there's this from Archbishop Blaise Cupich of Chicago.  It starts out well enough but soon segues into "seamless garment" pabulum.  Ladies and gentlemen, can we agree that immigration concerns don't amount to a hill of beans in comparison to the butchery and sale of babies?  Apparently the good archbishop seems to be befuddled by that obvious distinction.

But at least Cupich made a statement, lame and silly that it is.  From the Archdiocese of Washington we hear crickets.  Oh, the Catholic Standard had a rather paltry blurb deep in the inside of the rag speaking of the impending Congressional investigation, but that's it.  That blurb is dwarfed by the "walk with Francis" hoopla.  By the way, if they really want to "walk" in service of the Church, why not promote some "walking" and prayer in front of the several abortion mills within the Archdiocese of Washington?

We saw that Bishop Farrell of Dallas, Texas seems to be suffering from the same confusion about the immigration issue as does Cardinal Dolan.  Both seem hell-bent on obfuscating the difference between those here legally, that is, respecting our rule of law, versus illegally, in defiance of our laws.  Why, a cynical person (ahen!) might be tempted to believe that Farrell and Dolan are receiving and spouting talking points furnished by some progressive sugar-daddy, since they sound so very similar!  But we know that's just pure coincidence, right?   Right?  (cough!)  The Archdiocese of Atlanta is taking the immigration nonsense a step further.  It is giving refuge to an illegal immigrant who cut her legally-ordered monitor bracelet from her ankle.  Lord only knows how many other criminals they are harboring.

Ladies and gentlemen, there are solid bishops out there.  I will touch on them in another post.  Suffice it to say for now that the clerics mentioned above (and many more) are making fools of themselves and casting dishonor upon Holy Mother Church.

Regrettably the pope is not helping much.  He seems to recognize the Church's utter lack of moral credibility in the eyes of the world, but what he proposes as a solution will only worsen the problem.

He has asked some prominent individuals to assist in improving the Church's image in the media, forgetting that the Church, being the Bride of Christ, is not to be concerned with worldly image but rather pleasing and being obedient to Jesus Christ.  Didn't Our Lord say that the world would hate us, that is, the Church, as much as it hated Him?

So who are these individuals?  Well, they include Oprah Winfrey, Matt Damon, and Ari Emmanuel: three of the people who are least qualified to counsel Catholic clergy on matters of Church "image".  I must admit when I first saw this news, I thought it was a spoof; sadly it isn't.

Winfrey has made no secret of her new-age dalliances, going so far as to announce the founding of her own "church".  Steeped in deadly spiritual error as she obviously is, she has absolutely no credibility to assist the Bride of Christ in anything.  She is in deep need of repentance herself.  Does the Church now literally take cues from someone under the influence of Satan?

Then there's Ari Emmanuel.  Besides being a prominent Hollywood agent, he's the brother of Rahm Emmanuel, mayor of Chicago and Obama-buddy.  Of all the Hollywood agents, why was this one picked?  On the other hand, should the pope reinstate the fish-on-Friday discipline, Emmanuel might prove to be helpful since his brother Rahm knows how to get his hands on lots of fish.

The pope's priorities are woefully misplaced.  The Church is not about "image".  It is about preaching the truth of Jesus Christ and saving souls from hell.  We know from Our Lord Himself that Satan wields power in this world; therefore, to seek a favorable "image" from worldly institutions is to coddle favor with minions of the devil.  Let our clergy (right up to the pope) start obeying Our Lord by proclaiming His Truth in its entirety and administering the Sacraments.  Period.

Scandal Disguised As Hope

Fox News has a summary of what Pope Francis said in his general audience today in regards to divorced Catholics who remarry civilly without proper annulment of their first marriages.  Let's be clear at the onset.  Such individuals are living in a state of adultery - mortal sin.  Such are the words of Jesus Christ Himself.

Let's unpack the Fox News summary, assuming those are the pope's words.

• Pope Francis says divorced Catholics who remarry and their children deserve better treatment from the Catholic church.  Of what specific treatment does the pope speak?  These innuendos are not at all helpful; they are in fact quite harmful to the faith and thus to souls.
• But he said these couples' children suffer because estrangement from full participation in the church makes it harder for the parents to raise their children as Catholics.  The onus for such "suffering" and "estrangement" lies squarely on the shoulders of those living in de facto adultery.  Moreover, it is the terrible examples being set by these parents that are hindering the raising of these children as Catholics.  If the parents don't live by Catholic teaching, how on earth do they expect their children to do so - assuming that's their priority?
• He said pastors shouldn't "add more weight" to what these children suffer from failed marriages.  It's not the pastors "adding the weight" but the adulterous parents who are doing so.

So that's Fox's take on the matter.  Here is the English translation as it appears on the Vatican site.  Truth be told, I don't see where Fox's take is all that different from the original.  We do see talk of the Church holding adulterous couples "at arm's length" and nowhere at all do I see one mention of the couples' responsibilities to repent and to abide by Church teaching.  The doors of the Church are open; but first they must enter through the doors of the confessional, with firm purpose to amend their situations and their lives.  Any attempt to minimize that truth is the true disservice to those who need to hear the truth before it's too late.

Fifth Planned Parenthood Video - "Intact Fetuses Just A Matter Of Line Items"

I am amazed how these Planned Parenthood people can just chomp on their food like it's no big deal that they are talking of butchering babies and selling their poor little bodies.  The Nazis had nothing on these Planned Parenthood ghouls and barbarians.  As William Wilberforce said, "you may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know."

On The Blocking Of The Planned Parenthood Videos

It seems the judge who granted the restraining order has pre-existing ties with the abortion industry.  Judge William H. Orrick III was nominated to his position by the Messiah Most Miserable himself.  Perhaps that appointment was a token of gratitude since Orrick raised almost a quarter of a million dollars for Obama's reelection.  Not only that, but his wife is a pro-abortion supporter.  I link now to a site that details her facebook page with its telling series of "likes".

Owing to massive conflicts of interest, Orrick had no business issuing any ruling.  It should be noted that the ruling came down only hours after the National Abortion Federation filed the motion.

Pope Francis - Doing Damage Control For Terrorists

I saw this on Facebook so I'm not sure when this airborne interview-disaster occurred, but either the pope is woefully misinformed or he is doing the bidding of progressive hacks.  In this interview he claims that Islam is a religion of peace.  Well, let some facts tell the truth - here, here.

It is true that the pope isn't saying himself that the Quaran is a "book of peace"; he's merely repeating the words of muslims who claim to be offended by being lumped in with the terrorists.  But think on this for a minute.  I've heard this talk before.  These alleged "moderates" talk themselves blue in the face by telling us that "not all muslims are like that".  I'm not impressed.  When was the last time you heard these so-called "moderates" publicly rebuke their terrorist-cousins for their crimes against humanity?  I do mean publicly address their rebukes to them as opposed to rebuking non-muslims for acknowledging that the Quran calls for the conversion or murder of "infidels".  I can't think of any, either.

Could it be that these so-called "moderates" are simply conducting another facet of jihad, that is, disarming of their opponents via guilt and appeals to "non-bigotry"?  They are the "damage-control" branch, designed to keep us from seeing the light and repelling them.  Regrettably the pope is aiding and abetting these "moderates" in their public relations "damage control" operations.

A Tale Of Two Dolans

This past Wednesday Cardinal Dolan opened his mouth and inserted both feet via a hit piece that he penned in the New York Daily News that targeted Donald Trump.  Trump made it clear that he doesn't favor the de facto "open borders" policy of the Obama cartel (you know, Dolan's accomplice in guffaws at the Al Smith Dinner just before the election).  By the way - as you read the piece please also read the comments; most of the commenters see through Dolan's chicanery.

Like most progressives, Dolan conveniently obscures the fact that most common-sense people simply oppose the influx of ILLEGAL  immigrants (notice the emphasis?), not all immigration.  He then calls Trump a "nativist" and invokes the specters of the Know-Nothings and the Ku Klux Klan.  For now, we won't discuss the roots that these two entities have in the Democratic party.

This is not the first time that Dolan has shed his overly-jolly image.  He can be quite vicious when he believes it will suit his progressive proclivities.  Lest anyone forget how he threw Father Justin Wylie under the bus, please refresh your memories here.  Let us also recall how Cardinal Dolan had Michael Voris ejected from his presence at the same parade where he marched with gays in New York.  Cardinal Cheeshead can play the cut-throat well.

But sometimes the "cheesehead" persona will get the job done, it seems Dolan would think.  In addition to the Al Smith Dinner, there is the "Meet The Press" interview that he did in March 2014 when Michael Sam came out as gay.  What did a Prince of the Church have to say about the celebration of mortal sin, the kind that can damn a soul to hell?  "Good for him.  I would have no sense of judgment on him. God bless ya. I don’t think, look, the same Bible that tells us, that teaches us, well about the virtues of chastity and the virtue of fidelity and marriage also tells us not to judge people. So I would say, ‘Bravo.’"

So he has no "sense of judgment" regarding someone wallowing in intrinsic moral depravity and endangering his immortal soul.  However, when someone voices an opinion that differs from him regarding some pet progressive cause - about which good people can disagree - well, he breaks out the long knives with all alacrity, decisiveness and I daresay vindictiveness.  In a Mic'd Up last year, both Michael Voris and Judie Brown took the cardinal to task for this very two-faced defense of warped priorities on his part.

I called this post "tale of two Dolans".  In reality, they are the same; only the facade changes to further the progressive agenda.