Jesus Begged For What??!!?!

HT to Pewsitter, by the way.

I would not believe this otherwise, but since it's on the Vatican's own website the evidence is irrefutable.  This is the Pope's homily for this past Sunday, the Feast of the Holy Family.  Here is the line in question:  "Instead of returning home with his family, he stayed in Jerusalem, in the Temple, causing great distress to Mary and Joseph who were unable to find him. For this little “escapade”, Jesus probably had to beg forgiveness of his parents. The Gospel doesn’t say this, but I believe that we can presume it."

From the very first moment of the Incarnation, Jesus was and is God, the Second Person of the Trinity.  God does not beg for forgiveness for God does not sin; to insinuate otherwise is to commit heresy.  This gaffe that is embedded in the Pope's homily is not a harmless little "slip of the tongue" for this runs counter to the Divine Personhood of Jesus.  We're seeing way too many of these little "zingers and snippets".  (I'm thinking of the Matthew Kelly "half-brother" gaffe, too)  They occur so quickly that they can escape notice, but still the words and yes, heresies, are introduced into our minds - and all the more readily since we're often not on guard and vigilant against these.  Therefore, I will do my best to continue to call these out.

Operation Storm Heaven

An organization called Catholic Action For Faith And Family has inaugurated a prayer campaign called Operation Storm Heaven.  A key component of the campaign is for Catholics to pledge to pray the Rosary on the first of each month.   Cardinal Burke has lent his support and encouragement to this prayer effort.

Obviously the world is in desperate need of prayer.  This effort seems to dovetail nicely with the requests put forth by Our Lady of Fatima.  Let us all pledge to offer the Rosary on the first of the month at a bare minimum and to get others to do the same.

Matthew Kelly Poison In DC Parishes Again

After Christmas Mass we all received a Christmas present.  It was a book by Matthew Kelly called "Rediscover Jesus".  I've written about Kelly in the past as I have found his stuff to be, quite frankly, less than Catholic.  Because it was free (meaning I did not have to pony my cash to Kelly's wallet) I took one and glanced through it.  That one glance told me that Kelly's theology had not improved one iota.  I copied the page and post it below.

The problem is the last sentence of the third paragraph.  I tried to highlight it, but it is faint.  At any rate, that last sentence is enough to cause a sane Catholic to junk this book.  Ladies and gentlemen, note the phrase "half-brother of Jesus".  Jesus had no "half-siblings".  The Perpetual Virginity of Mary is defined Catholic dogma!  Please let no one delude themselves into thinking that this point is "just a technicality".  If Holy Mother Church thought it important enough to make the perpetual virginity of Mary a dogma, then it deserves all due consideration.

Whether or not Kelly intended it, he wrote heresy.  Perhaps this lapse can be chalked up to faulty formation that he may have received as a child.  We all know how far Catholic education has declined in the past 50 years or so.  But isn't that all the more reason for our parishes and chanceries to carefully vet these books before they're released to the Catholics in the pew?

There are other issues with this book (and his previous books).  While this book does state that sin hinders our relationship with God, it is quite selective about the kinds of sins with which it deals.  I see talk of "greed" and "losing one's temper", but nowhere did I detect any mention of mortal sins such as the support of abortion, contraception, gay #mowwidge.  But anyone with two functioning eyeballs can see that it's rampant in the pews - not only the support but the participation in these mortal sins.  That means we have Catholics in the pews who may well be hell-bound, and there's no mention of these real dangers.  Speaking of hell, I see no mention of that important reality whatsoever in that book (or his other books).  Why not?  Our Lord mentioned it often as a solemn warning.  In all fairness to Kelly, it can be argued that he's merely following the lead of the American clergy in not specifying mortal sins and the reality of hell.  In their misguided and dare I say feckless desire not to upset people, they are doing the Catholic congregation a gross disservice.

Another related issue is the overemphasis on "experience".  As I read the Gospels, I see no mention of Jesus calling people to "experience" Him.  Rather, there is the call for repentance and obedience, with the graces communicated through the Sacraments as administered by the Church.  Indeed, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus's first recorded word is "repent".  The soon-to-be-canonized Mother Teresa of Calcutta is said to have gone most of her life with no experience of God's presence.  She did count that as a cross, but still it goes to show that "experience" is not a necessary component of the Catholic's spiritual life.  One could call Kelly's approach "putting the cart before the horse", but without specific mention of the serious sins for which one should repent and obtain absolution, I'd have to say in this instance that "there's a cart but no horse".

Some might think my characterization of Kelly's materials as being "poison" to be a bit harsh.  They might say that the great majority (while somewhat vapid for its "peaches and ice cream tone") is decent enough.  But no one can gainsay the heresy that is there in plain sight.  For reasons that I stated in an earlier post, I don't think anything that contains heresy can be used as a spiritual guide regardless of other material contained within.

Is this book showing up in other parishes?

UPDATE - The answer to that last question is "yes".  Someone from St. Andrew the Apostle told me they have it.  That suggests impetus from the DC chancery.

UPDATE #2 - Per Jeff's comment below, the phrase I wrote above, "he wrote heresy" should be rendered "he published heresy".  Kelly says it's from another source but in his own book offered no correction nor clarification regarding the Church dogma.

O Holy Night

Celine Dion and Susan Boyle sang their own versions and they were mixed - not bad.  Have a blessed Christmas!

Caution! Trigger Alert! Watch At Your Own Risk!

Warning to the perpetually-offended-snowflake crowd!  It's time to grab your binkies, security blankets and teddy bears and head to your nearest "safe space"!  Why?  Because the following video is a racially-charged micro-aggression!

To the adults among my readers  I wish the preceding paragraph was just a spoof, but regrettably it's not.  A reporter took a fake petition to a college campus (he didn't specify but the video indicates that it was George Mason University) and got some students to sign a petition to ban "White Christmas" from radio stations because, well, it does mention the word "white".  Eek.  Eek.  How racist!

Anyway, here is the horrifying video!  You've been duly warned!

Vatican Aligning Itself With Socialists For Population Control And Governmental Tyranny

About six months ago, I mentioned how Margaret Archer, president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (PASS) paved the way for socialists to influence Laudato Si.  My remarks concerning Archer were rather perfunctory.

Michael Hichborn of Lepanto Institute has released a piece in which he delves into Archer's past career, revealing her own Marxist mindset.  He also exposes the same in several other members of the PASS.  How is it that all these people, who espouse and promote ideologies at odds with Church teaching, were granted admittance to positions of influence?

Remember the plane interview that the pope gave last month, just as the UN summit on climate change was set to begin in Paris?  At that time, he said that the summit was "humanity's last chance to thwart climate disaster" and that the world was "at the limits of suicide".  Voice of the Family announced today that the pope is pleased with the final agreement that came from that gabfest, although the language contained therein promotes abortion and contraception.  I urge you all to read VOTF's excellent analysis.  I needn't rehash it here, but will now touch upon an American who was present at that meeting.

He is California Governor Jerry Brown and he's known in many circles as "moon beam".  What follows is just one reason why he so richly deserves that moniker.  In an address that he gave to the other attendees at the UN meeting in support of their objectives, he advised them to  "never underestimate the coercive power of the central state in the service of good".  Yes, he actually uttered that bald-faced endorsement of governmental coercion of citizens.  It is screed worthy of Josef Stalin or Chairman Mao: not of a governor of one of the fifty United States of America.

Now recall that the pope is pleased with the final outcome of this meeting, this "last chance for humanity"!  The pope cannot be blind to the rampant, overt socialism oozing forth from the Vatican and the summits that he supports.  Regrettably he seems to be of like mind with the Marxists.

Yes! Mary DID Know!

Christmas Music - Caution Is In Order

If you've gone into shopping centers these past few weeks, you've undoubtedly noticed music with Christmas-related themes.  In fact you might have noticed that if you've been in the malls anytime after Halloween.  We heard Silent Night, O Holy Night, Joy to the World, etc.  Of course public schools have exerted all kinds of efforts to expunge any mention of Christ from His own birthday.  The stores, though secular, aren't that stupid; they understand that this music often induces purchases at their stores.

Much of the music is indeed uplifting, such as the carols listed above.  But others, not so much.  Along with the music that does explicitly mention the Birth of Christ, there are other songs, popularly associated with Christmas, that simply talk of winter-themed pleasantries.  I have in mind songs such as Jingle Bells, Sleigh Ride, Deck the Halls, etc.  While these songs, in and of themselves, are harmless enough, their inclusion in the ranks of true Christmas Carols tends to adulterate the true focus of Christmas.

I mention this because I do hear among people genuine concern about the commercialization of Christmas and the loss of focus on its meaning.  Yet many of these same folks will insist that "White Christmas" is a true Christmas carol, right up there with Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming.  They believe that the loss of the sense of Christmas is a relatively recent phenomenon but I think it goes back a lot longer than that - and I mean like 70 years ago at least.  The "harmless" songs I mentioned are a clear indication of the distractions that have been allowed to worm their ways into our culture.

But I daresay there have been some "not-so-harmless" influences that have corroded our understanding of Christmas.  There are two songs that I have in mind.  How on earth any right-thinking Christian can consider these authentic "Christmas music" boggles my mind.  In fact, any decent society would have relegated these to the trash.  The first one is called "Santa Baby", made (in)famous by Eartha Kitt in 1953.  I will not dignify this by linking to it. I'm sure many can remember it and why I say that it is chock full of vulgar innuendos.  It was my understanding that radio stations back then were a bit more discerning about the morality of music played on their stations; obviously I was mistaken.

The other was released about five years prior to "Santa Baby".  It's called "Baby It's Cold Outside".  It is a man-woman duet, performed by many singers over the years and it was included in a movie.  I cannot even fathom how it's considered "Christmas music".  "Santa Baby" does mention Santa so I get that connection.  All "baby" does is mention some cold weather, but I guess that's enough to trigger "Christmas" in some minds.  Now again I won't link to this, but the lyrics reveal a conversation between the man and the woman, where the man is trying to seduce the woman into spending the night at his place and most likely to commit the mortal sin of fornication.  Please tell me - how does any right-thinking Christian equate the seduction into mortal sin with the birth of God Incarnate?  I don't get it!

Many of us see quite clearly how the culture has degraded and become more bestial as it has abandoned its Christian underpinnings and indeed God Himself.  However, we must be honest and realize that the rot started a bit earlier than we might care to admit.  The two songs I just mentioned above, along with the supposedly "Christian" public's initial enjoyment of them, were part and parcel of the corrosion of morality.  I know some will poo-poo this post, telling me to "lighten up".  Well, first - let's wise up, shall we?  When we're exhorted by Scripture to "always keep watch", that passage means what it says, with the operative word being "always".

We've heard of "custody of the eyes".  I suspect we need to practice some "custody of the ears" as well.  In the next post I'll put up a Vortex that exposes the heresy in a contemporary "Christmas" song that is quite the hit in "Christiian pop" culture.

Catholic Standard Sells Its Soul For Advertising Revenue

The December 17th issue of the Catholic Standard arrived in my mailbox today.  As all know, it is the official news organ of the Archdiocese of Washington, supposedly a bastion of all things Catholic.  At the very least, one would hope that everything published therein would reflect Catholic morality.  Today that assumption is called into question.

Please notice the two pictures of page 19, the advertisement page.  I'm unable to find the online version of it so I presume it doesn't exist.




Here is a shot of the entire page 19.  The ad in question is at the bottom left.  The next shot is a close-up of it.

Here it is.  Regrettably we've all seen these as spam ads in our email boxes.  Fortunately many of us have learned to filter these out with various firewalls and spam filters.  So now we find them in Catholic newspapers?  Who at the Standard is in charge of deciding what ads are permitted to be published?

Ladies and gentlemen, this is NOT the sort of ad that belongs in a Catholic publication, especially the official publication of a Catholic diocese.  Look at the wording of this thing.  "Love life"?  Right there we see the word "love" being cheapened as it is equated with sexual activity.  I shudder to think what these "seven secrets" might entail.  We hope and pray that none of these "secrets" has nothing to do with mortal sins against chastity.

The ad claims that "you owe it to yourself and to your lady".  Lady??  That's rather all-encompassing, wouldn't you say?  Could they not at least have used the word "wife" instead of "lady"?  After all, such matters should be occurring only between a man and a woman united in permanent, faithful matrimony.  It would seem that "lady" leaves the door wide open for fornication and/or adultery.

Some people at the Standard need to be set straight for allowing this debauched ad to be published.

Attention Vatican! Envirowhackoism Is NOT Magisterial Teaching

A December 3rd Acton Institute conference in Rome saw a close papal adviser make statements about the Magisterium that are, well, not in keeping with Church tradition.  The bishop in question is Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo.  He unabashedly stated that the politically correct and scientifically unsound envirowhackoism as espoused by progressives is to be considered part of the magisterium.  Why?  Because the pope included it in Laudato Si.  LifeSiteNews has a full report.

The bishop found himself contradicted by Acton president Father Robert Sirico and journalist Ricardo Cascioli.  Sorondo then uttered this incredible nonsense as the definition of the magisterium: When the Pope has assumed this, it is Magisterium of the Church whether you like it or not..

Got that?  According to him, mere assumption is enough to constitute Church teaching.  Of course that is poppycock.  At the very least, any such "assumption" must be in conformity with already-established Church teaching, and that teaching states that the pope can speak infallibly only on matters of faith and morals.

My Catholic Media Coalition colleague at Les Femmes also commented on this bishop's foolish pronouncement, one that Father Fessio called an "embarrassment to the Church".  As I mentioned in her comments, this bishop was merely parroting the pope.  I now link to a piece published by Catholic Citizens of Illinois (another Catholic Media Coalition member).  It is by Carl Olson, editor of Catholic World Report.  He writes about the many gaffes that this current pontiff has uttered and the damage done by them.  I daresay this latest nonsense by Bishop Sorondo claiming that Laudato Si is defined dogma of the Church is just the latest example of the havoc being caused by these regrettable papal statements.

Saint Teresa Of Calcutta

Today it was announced that Pope Francis recognized the second miracle needed for the canonization of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.  Please read the details of the miracle at the Church Militant site.  While she is rightly celebrated for her work with the poor and those dying in destitution, she was a staunch opponent of baby-murder, stating famously that "the greatest destroyer of peace is abortion."  She made that statement at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast, with pro-abortion President Clinton in attendance.  Pay special attention at the 13:30  mark.  Clearly she was not afraid to proclaim the truth.  Her resolute adherence to the teachings of Jesus Christ in matters of faith and morals were as much a part of her canonization as well as her works of charity.  In fact, her fidelity may be the greater factor as it was the foundation for her works of charity.

Let us ask her intercession for the conversion of the world to Jesus Christ through His Church.

Good Parents Taking A Stand In Virginia

In Augusta County Virginia, a public high school teacher, kowtowing to Islam, attempted to foist indoctrination on her students.  The school in question is Riverheads High School in Staunton.  It's a world geography class and the teacher got the less-than-bright idea to have the students copy some Arabic calligraphy.  What was the phrase they were to copy?  In Arabic it's called the shahada, the Muslim declaration of "faith" (actually idolatry): "there is no god but allah and Mohammed is the messenger of allah".  (Please note that I refuse to capitalize the first letter of allah).  Girls were also being encouraged to don hijabs.

Some of the students reported it to their parents and quite a few of them were understandably outraged that their children were being compelled to pay homage to islam in direct opposition to their own Christian faith.  The school was flooded with calls and emails from many of these parents, some demanding that the teacher be fired. The school sat up and took notice.  The shahada assignment was rescinded and the teacher was removed from that class.  School officials still were wary of reactions so they took the measure today of closing all their schools for the day.  Additionally, all activities over the weekend are cancelled.

To those readers who poo-poo the parents' concerns, can you imagine the uproar that would have ensued had the students been ordered to copy phrases such as:

• Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior
• In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

I for one commend those parents.  It goes to show us all that when we raise our voices and aren't afraid to do so loudly, we often will get results.  Let's not be afraid to use our First Amendment rights - no matter who gets their noses knocked out of joint.

Another Ambulance At Carhart's Germantown Mill

On Tuesday, Dec 15th, an ambulance took a woman from Germantown Reproductive Health Services to the hospital.  This is the fifth time an ambulance came to take one of Carhart's victims to the hospital.  It should be pointed out that in reality that makes six women who were mangled by Carhart; Jennifer Morbelli was taken to the hospital from her hotel room when her family couldn't reach Carhart; sadly she died as a result of her "safe and legal procedure".

The site prayforgermantown.com has more detail, with a picture of Carhart climbing into the ambulance.  As I said this is the fifth and probably not the last as long as Carhart remains there.

Why The Interest In Cardinal Wuerl's Living Arrangements?

Some have voiced concern that George Neumayr and others may be making "much ado about nothing" when it comes to Cardinal Wuerl's living quarters.  They ask why it's important.  For an answer, we'd have to ask Pope Francis himself for it is he who made quite clear his expectations for bishops to live simply.  Let us recall that he went so far as to remove German Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, commonly known as the "bishop of bling".

Did other DC prelates live there?  At most, only Cardinals McCarrick and Hickey could have.  Why do I say that?  Well, the one preceding them was Cardinal Baum and apparently he was implicated in his own dust-up back in 1974, according to this Church Militant report.  The price that he paid back then was $525k, but that was 1974 dollars.  At any rate, he unloaded the place and took up residence in the rectory of St. Matthew's Cathedral.

But that was then and this is now.  As most readers know, I disagree with Pope Francis on many things.  However, no one can gainsay his authority over the bishops and how they are to conduct themselves.  Father Peter Daly, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington (and I've written about him) is a fairly regular writer for the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter.  Two years ago he wrote a piece in which he excoriated the "bishop of bling" and other prelates who (in his judgment) weren't in compliance.  However, no mention is made in that piece of the situation of Cardinal Wuerl.  That's not so odd when one considers that he serves under Wuerl, but the double standard is still obvious.

I'll close this with a link to a piece written by Phil Lawler.  While he decries Neumayr for being "shrill" (I might be "shrill" if I were ejected by police on someone's whim), he does acknowledge that Neumayr, as a journalist has a right to ask questions of someone who is obviously a close ally of the pope and who wields much influence.  As quoted in my original post on this topic, Neumayr's requests for an interview have been stonewalled by the chancery and now he's being chased away by police at the apparent behest of Cardinal Wuerl.  A reasonable person could surmise that indeed there is something to hide.

"Brain Death" - Flimsy Excuse For Murder Of Sick And Elderly

My blogging colleague Mary Ann Kreitzer (Les Femmes, see side bar) had a piece published regarding so-called "brain death".  She demonstrates how that is often just a flimsy excuse to murder patients for the harvesting of their organs.  Innocent human life is being attacked at both ends of the spectrum and we need to stand for the innocent, both young and old.  Please read the article here and spread it on your own email chains and social media accounts.

Is The Archdiocese Of New York Being Blackmailed?

If so, that would explain why Cardinal Dolan did his best to stonewall the parishioners who felt they had to recourse save for legal action.  I fail to see how that would explain Dolan's other "tips of his hat" to the gay agenda.  Michael Voris is currently investigating this whole sordid affair.  See today's Vortex:

Why The Vatican Light Show Was Utterly Evil

LifeSiteNews published a piece that analyzes in great detail the sinister symbolism used in the Vatican Light Show Debacle on December 8th.  As I stated last Thursday, I immediately recognized the new age influences in the music and noise.  However, when I watched the videos embedded in the LifeSite piece, I realized that I didn't grasp half of the evil that was contained in that horror show.

To think that Vatican officials - including the pope - were responsible for allowing this satanic sacrilege to besmirch St. Peter's Basilica is distressing.  Please read the article and watch the videos.  Then resolve to work and pray for the restoration of Holy Mother Church.

Breaking - Cardinal Wuerl Had George Neumayr Ejected From Basilica Of Immaculate Conception

The internet journalist George Neumayr related a troubling (but typical) incident that occurred today during a book-signing conducted by Cardinal Wuerl at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, located on the campus of Catholic University of America in Washington DC.  In his own words from his Facebook wall:

I attended the publicly advertised but sparsely populated event as a member of the press. I showed up in a suit and tie. I stood quietly near the table at which Wuerl was going to sign books. He arrived and I politely shook his hand. He gave me a serpentine grin and moved towards the table. A few moments later two police officers arrived and said to me that the Basilica bookstore was "private property" and that the Church wanted me "escorted off the property."

Why would Cardinal Wuerl have a member of the press removed from Church property by the police during a book signing? Because I have been investigating Wuerl's corrupt use of the faithful's money. He has been furtively using donations to finance a multimillionaire penthouse on Embassy Row. His press secretary has denied every one of my requests for an interview and so I have sought to interview Wuerl and priests with whom he has lived at the penthouse by typical journalistic means. Outrageously, Wuerl has used my mere reporting as a pretext to call the police on me. This is the "transparent," "accessible," and "accountable" Church of Pope Francis? May God help us all.

In all of my years of reporting, I have never seen a churchman as deviously insular and elitist as Wuerl. On the hard-earned donations of the faithful, he has lived like a Borgia-era cardinal, indulging his affluent tastes while eschewing his flock and ignoring or abusing his priests. His exploitation of the faithful's funds is made even more gross by his subversive heterodoxy, on display at the recent Synod on the Family and in his defense of Communion for pro-abortion pols and other checkered Catholics. He takes the faithful's money to bankroll his ecclesiastical perks while seeking to separate those faithful from the orthodox teachings of the Church.

Unbelievable?  Not so!  Consider Wuerl's treatment of Father Marcel Guarnizo over three years ago.  Let's shine some light on this misbehavior and not let these progressive clergy get away with this thuggish behavor.

Has The Christian West Lost The Will To Survive?

Cardinal Carlo Caffarra of the Archdiocese of Bologna retired this weekend, having reached the age of 75 (a few years ago).  He has been an opponent of the LGBT agenda that seems to be running amok in Church circles and even in the Vatican itself. He pointed out that no civilization has survived that has ennobled the vice of homosexuality.  He said, "Europe is dying.  And maybe it no longer has any will to live."  That last sentence has more than just a ring of truth to it, and it would explain a lot.

It would explain the utter carelessness and even hostility that so many in the west evince against their Christian heritage, history and customs, and yes, God Himself.  It would explain the lack of interest in having children, let alone passing on their cultural heritage to them.  It would explain their utter capitulation to socialism and progressivism in their midst.  It would explain their willingness and even eagerness to admit into their midst hordes of jihadists masquerading as "refugees".

It also sheds some light on some bizarre and quite frankly, anti-Catholic things that have been emanating from the Vatican lately.  A few days ago, the Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews put out a verbose document called "The Gifts And The Calling Of God Are Irrevocable".  We are basically being urged not to approach the evangelism of Jews with the same urgency as we are with other religions.  In a post on the National Catholic Register page, Jimmy Akin tries vainly to put a happy spin on it, but it falls flat on its face.  On the other hand, to their immense credit, the evangelical organization "Jews For Jesus" rightly denounced the document for the nonsense that it is.  More ominously, Pope Francis, during his African jaunt, visited the "blue mosque" and prayed towards mecca.  See this video; while I take exception with their "anti-pope" comments, they are quite correct when they say that the pope committed objective sin against the Faith.  All in all, at the very top, with the pope, we see a denial of the primacy of Jesus Christ and His Church, the foundation of Western culture.

In January 2006, First Things published a piece written by Pope Benedict XVI entitled "Europe And Its Discontents".  He briefly summarized the history of Europe, from the Roman Empire up till present times.  The article also expounds greatly upon the statement by Cardinal Caffarra quoted above, with the Pope Emeritus stating that "Europe is infected by a strange lack of desire for the future."  I commend Pope Benedict for his comprehensive view of these serious problems of western civilization and the ramifications they pose for all of humanity.

So now we can see that the Western world is, by apathy and collective self-hatred, committing suicide.  Its Christian soul is withering away. The Western world by and large has rejected the One True God.  In slaughtering millions of babies and making a mockery of marriage (and in many other ways), we as a whole have ejected God from our lives (in addition to robbing ourselves of our own progeny). But nature abhors a vacuum. We still yearn for something greater than ourselves, and the evil one will move to fill that yearning with his counterfeits.  Thus we now flirt with, and are enslaving ourselves to, progressivism and Islam.  Read that link.  On the surface, it would seem that progressivism and islam should be at odds with each other - but they're not!  They share the same lust for centralized power whereas Christianity embraces the dignity of the individual.  Thus they unite against Christians in order to subjugate people to their unholy domination.  In our mad self-loathing, we are not so much submitting ourselves to these onslaughts as much as we are rushing head-on to our own slaughter.  Why else would the progressives in the USCCB join the constant braying for the indiscriminate opening of our borders to islamic terrorists?  Why else would the USCCB be silent as the Kim Davis' of the nation are vilified?  Why else do the Dolans and Wuerls of the Church allow reprobates to take communion while they maltreat faithful Catholics (see the post following this)?

We need to get serious and pray for God's mercy on His Church and our civilization.  We must speak and act as well.  Ora et labora.

New York Pervert Priest Resigns In Wake Of Parishioners' Lawsuit

ChurchMilitant.com has announced a new development in the currently-unfolding scandal.  The priest who allegedly funneled millions in parish donations to support his accomplice in sodomy has resigned.  The article is here.  The article links to the lawsuit document as well as some rather graphic accounts of the priest's romps with his criminal accomplice.  I would suggest reading through the lawsuit to acquire some appreciation of the insults endured by the parishioners.

It is apparent that Dolan knew about this debauchery for some time now.  Because of the scrutiny under which he now finds himself, thanks largely to ChurchMilitant.com,  Dolan is now in "damage control" mode.  Part and parcel of that is the resignation of Father Miqueli.  I've no doubt that had the spotlight never shone, that Miqueli would still be in his position.  Do these two clerics hope that this will blow over so that Miqueli can be quietly assigned to another parish?  That is how the pervert priests were handled twenty years ago before the secular press blew the lid off that scandal.

For this reason I hope and pray that the plaintiffs in this suit will see it through to the end and not settle for some quiet settlement.  For too long corruption has been allowed to fester in the Archdiocese of New York.  It must be brought into the open, under public scrutiny.  Otherwise there is no hope for healing and reform.

Faithful NY Catholics Are Suing Cardinal Dolan

I've posted about Cardinal Dolan many times now, but this latest scandal puts all the others in a new light.  Many of his outrages involve kowtowing to the gay agenda:

• Being a grand marshal in a gay-infested St Patrick's Day parade
• Applauding gay facilitators during a Church service
• Congratulating a sports figure for "coming out" during a televised interview

Now a group of faithful Catholics are suing Dolan and the Archdiocese of New York for allowing millions of Church dollars to be embezzled for the financing of a gay priest's acts of perversion.  Voris suggests, and it's highly likely, that this priest was able to get away with his crimes for so long precisely because he has dirt on Dolan.  Well, light scares the cockroaches so let's pray that the truth come out, no matter how ugly.  Only then is there a ghost of a chance at righting some wrongs.  Now the Vortex:

Deconstruction Of Church Tradition Under Pope Francis

After the grotesque display of satanic idolatry at St Peter's Basilica on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, we continue to see increasingly blatant attempts to deconstruct Church teaching.  Many of these attempts are from high Church officials, including Pope Francis.

Thanks to Toronto Catholic Witness, I was directed to the homily that Pope Francis gave on December 8th to inaugurate the "jubilee of mercy".  This is on the Vatican's website.  Here is the troubling passage: "Before all else, the Council was an encounter. A genuine encounter between the Church and the men and women of our time. An encounter marked by the power of the Spirit, who impelled the Church to emerge from the shoals which for years had kept her self-enclosed so as to set out once again..." (emphasis mine)

I agree with TCW that in that phrase, Pope Francis spit in the eye all his predecessors, some of them saints, blesseds and doctors of the Church, precisely because they acted as shepherds who guarded their flocks.  While this pope might prefer that we take the "smell of the sheep", his predecessors (by and large) sought to preserve the Church in the odor of sanctity.

In a recent interview, Cardinal Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said that "some form of birth control" might help with "overpopulation" and resultant "food shortage".  He also stated it could help with "climate change".  He then reminded us all of the shameful way in which Pope Francis treated the woman who was expecting her eighth child.  It would be an interesting thing if that eighth child were to confront the pope and tell him a thing or two, but I digress!

He must have realized his Freudian slip for he tried to backpedal, saying only "natural forms of birth control" were acceptable.  I don't buy it; else, why would he have used the general, nebulous "some form" descriptor for birth control?  More importantly, periodic abstinence from marital relations cannot be equated with what is commonly referred to as "birth control".  Voice of the Family is correct in opining that Turkson's remarks do lend credibility to the attempts to divorce marital relations from the procreation of children.  They certainly do make plain the linkage between "climate change" junk science with population control.

According to the Guardian, a Vatican document (name unknown) exhorts Catholics not to attempt to convert Jews to Christianity.  This document is from the Vatican commission for relationships with Jews.  Boys and girls, can you say "ecumenicide"?  You probably noticed during Triduum services that the traditional prayer for Jews to come to Christianity has been scuttled in recent years, so this manifestation of ecumenicide predates the current pontiff.  Now what was that again that we read in the Bible, at the end of several Gospels, where Jesus commands (not "suggest", not "request", but "command") the Apostles to baptize all "in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"?  Or did the "god of surprises" change his mind?

As I read of this, I think of what St Paul wrote in several of his letters, how he wished that all his brother Jews would be converted.  I also think of St. Vincent Ferrar, who once marched into a synagogue, started preaching and converted thousands of Jews on the spot.  Paul!  Vincent!  Naughty-naughty!  Stop that now!  Leave the Jews (and others) to wallow in darkness!  Don't you know that we must be ecumenical?  Seriously though, how can one talk with a straight face about a "year of mercy" and yet not seek to bring others to the font of mercy, that is, Jesus Christ, who acts through His Church?

My blogging colleague Julie at Connecticut Catholic Corner put up a piece today entitled "The New Age Of Pope Francis' Church".  Read it for I concur with her.  I too pray for a holy pope who will save souls.  At this time, it appears that this pope will not be Pope Francis, but only God knows.  Let us pray.

Vatican Allows Evil To Dance On St Peter's Grave

Collective Self-Portrait Of The Honchos
Behind This Sacrilege

On Saturday I posted about the "light show" at the Vatican which has since happened.  I and many others voiced apprehension at the thought of desecration.  Sadly we were correct.  What happened on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception was an unmitigated abomination.  On a day that the Church is to honor the Mother of God, the Vatican did homage to the false idol "mother earth" and worshiped many other idols at the same time.

 LifeSiteNews has some commentary that is worth reading, as does ChurchMilitant.TV.  The latter had the full you-tube of the debacle, and I repost it below.  Note: You may want to skip to the 9:30 mark to get past the useless footage of the set-up and people milling about.

When it does start, you'll notice immediately the new-age influence of the music (that is, when you don't hear animals roaring or birds chirping).  The candle sequence at 14:15 strikes me as quite luciferian and I can swear that it sounds like Darth Vader breathing in the background.  It goes on like this with a "city zoo" cacophony of animal noises, etc.  At the 37:00 mark we hear some ominous music and we watch (wait for it!) icebergs melting!  What new-age envirowhacko agitprop would be complete without one of those scenes?  We're then treated to so-called evidence of the havoc that we awful humans have wreaked upon mother-gaia-earth.  At the 58:00 mark, we see bees coming at us, no doubt to exact vengeance upon us dastardly humans.

Obviously this thing was put together to lay upon us a major guilt trip for our "carbon foot prints" and how they're destroying the "poor animals".  But consider the "carbon footprint" that was generated in the production of this agit-prop.  Boys and girls, can we all say "hypocrisy"?

By the way - did you see one, just one, picture of Christ or the Blessed Mother or other saints?  Neither did I.  Not one, even though this was held in the Vatican.  This thing was unmitigated evil.  The basilica is where the bones of Peter are.  In allowing this evil to be cast upon the basilica, the Vatican allowed idolaters to dance upon the grave of the first Vicar of Christ.

Pro-Aborts And Vatican Progressives Lash Against Those Who Speak Truth

It seems that if Archbishop Fisichella has his way, Yours Truly (and others) will be excommunicated for speaking the truth about the grievous errors that are pouring forth from the Vatican on a daily basis, with a goodly portion of that error coming from the pope.  In the same breath with which he spoke of this "year of mercy", he said that those who speak out against the pope's errors are guilty of "physical violence" and might require the ministrations of these specially-commissioned "missionaries of mercy".   Fortunately, this nonsense from Fisichella appears to be its own collection of many errors; Dr. Ed Peters, canon lawyer, did an analysis that showed Fisichella's claims to be in contradiction to canon law.

While I'm sure that won't stop Fisichella, it does show how hollow are his veiled threats.  I suspect that won't stop him or his buddies from attempting to silence us and prevent us from upholding Catholic truth.  Similar things were accomplished in the Archdiocese of Washington over three years ago.  In my own parish, at the beginning of Lent, Father Marcel Guarnizo denied Holy Communion to a flagrant lesbian, thus upholding Canon 915.  When she went pouting to the Washington Post, Bishop Knestout - with the approval, if not direct order, from Cardinal Wuerl - stripped Father Guarnizo of his faculties and apologized to the lesbian for the attempt to prevent her from committing sacrilege.  She made no secret that she wanted to destroy Father Guarnizo.  Had Father been incardinated in this diocese and not elsewhere, I'm sure that the cowards of the DC chancery would have fallen all over themselves to do her bidding and laicize Father.

On another front, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch (a Minion Most Mindless if ever there was one) threatened to "take action" against "anti-muslim speech".  Apparently the Messiah Most Miserable is quite adept at picking officials who neither know nor respect the US Constitution that they are sworn to uphold.  Now, after a well-deserved drubbing after her tyrannical remarks, she appears to be back-peddling a bit.  Too late, Toots!  You're wise if you don't overreach yourself but now we know how your brain ticks (using the word "brain" loosely).

Do you see a pattern here?  Progressive lemmings ensconced in high places, be it the Vatican or Washington DC, are lashing out against those who are exposing their chicanery.  When the light shines, cockroaches run and they resent those who shine it.  Perhaps we prick their consciences when we do, or simply make it harder for them to do their misdeeds under scrutiny.  By God's grace, we must be doing something right; their rage and venom is proof.  Hopefully they'll learn and be converted to real Christianity.

Nicholas VS Arius - Another Consideration

Today, Dec 6 is the Feast of St. Nicholas.  Today the feast is subordinated to the Second Sunday of Advent.  Still, the bishop is being celebrated today.  He is considered to be  the inspiration behind "Santa Claus", with that name being a mutation of St. Nicholas.

He is also known for his confrontation of the heretic Arius at the Council of Nicea.  Thus, on Facebook I'm seeing things like "Happy Slap-A-Heretic Day" and a song starting with "I saw Santa slapping Arius".  I just got done with a Facebook discussion in which I held (still do) that Nicholas's slapping was a definite moral lapse.  From an account of the event found on "St Nicholas Center", it seems that the sainted bishop himself would have concurred.  Note that it says Nicholas was ashamed and asked forgiveness.  Only after he did that did Our Lord and His mother appear to Nicholas and he was later restored.

Arius was committing heresy, no doubt.  Had Nicholas refuted him verbally in the course of the council, there would have been no problem.  But Nicholas slapped him - an act of violence.  The ends don't justify the means.  St. Nicholas realized that later so I'm not troubled by this episode.  What does trouble me is the undercurrent of glee that I detect in many of my friends as they ponder the incident.  Any reader of this blog (and thank you for the half-million hits, by the way!) knows that I share their displeasure at so much heresy, blasphemy and scandal pouring from the highest echelons of Church hierarchy.  However, we cannot let that frustration impel us to view with glee any violence inflicted upon any dissidents.  The ends don't justify evil means.

So many of us are up to our eyeballs in fighting the rot within the Church that we can find ourselves defeated by it if we aren't vigilant over ourselves.  I speak to myself as well.

Happy St. Nicholas Day and blessed Advent.

A Primer On Alinskyian Organizing In Virginia

My friend Stephanie Block was in Virginia last week to give some background on Alinskyian organizing, particularly as it is rearing its head in northern Virginia through VOICE and other tentacles.  Please listen and spread this abroad.  We must educate ourselves and each other.

Vatican Officials To Profane St. Peter's Basilica With Light Show Abomination

"When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth let him understand." Matthew 26:15, Douay-Reims

Will next week's planned light-show farce be the abomination about which Our Lord prophesied?  While we hope not, that is a possibility that I wouldn't be quick to dismiss.  What cannot be disputed that it will be a true abomination, a deliberate foisting of profanation and idolatry upon St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

I first saw the news in LifeSiteNews.  This farce, spearheaded by the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization and its head, Archbishop Fisichella, is scheduled to happen on December 8th, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and is meant to usher in the "year of mercy".  The main theme of the garish spectacle will be environmentalism.  In the words of Fisichella, "these illuminations will present images inspired of mercy, of humanity, of the natural world and of climate changes".

LifeSiteNews uncovered the plethora of progressive and pro-abortion organizations that have their hands in the production of the idolatry.  Several of them are named after Roman and Greek idols; I refer you to the LifeSiteNews link for further details on these.  I'd also suggest you take a look at this anthology of posts I've done over the years concerning environmentalism.  Included in these posts is an expose done by Michael Voris a few years ago detailing the anti-life and idolatrous underpinnings of environmentalism.  What will happen in a few days ago is nothing short of a celebration of idolatry, and it literally will be thrust upon the facade of St. Peter's Basilica.

If this is what Fisichella considers to be part and parcel of "new evangelism", perhaps the "new evangelism" needs to be pitched in the trash.  The "old evangelism" worked quite well until progressives infested the clergy with the sort of modernist trash that will sully the image of the Vatican next week.  When that is expunged from the Church, the truth can be proclaimed with clarity and no gimmicks.  Then we'll see conversions.

The fact that the debacle is occurring on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is also a supreme insult to Our Lady.  But there could be a silver lining on that cloud.  That day is a Holy Day of Obligation.  Let's offer up our Mass that day in reparation for the profanation and idolatry that will have occurred.  We can also storm heaven now for a miracle that will prevent this scandal.

Fundamentalism: Benedict XVI Vs Francis I

I had forgotten about Pope Benedict's homily given during April 2005, but was reminded of it by Vox Cantoris.  Benedict too spoke on fundamentalism.  However, his thoughts give appropriate due to Tradition and objective truth.  He acknowledged "fundamentalism" to be a positive good, as it denotes fidelity to immutable truth.  During his homily, the Pope Emeritus said:  "Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine, seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times. We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires."

Regrettably, we hear in Pope Francis' denunciation of fundamentalism the very "dictatorship of relativism" decried by his predecessor.

When Bishop Gracida Thwarted Then-Bishop Wuerl

As one might imagine, the information relayed by this Vortex is particularly heart-warming to me.  I live in the Archdiocese of Washington, and in the parish from where Father Guarnizo was expelled after he defended the Blessed Sacrament from profanation.

Cardinal Wuerl has now reached the age of retirement.  Has he submitted his resignation, as per canon law?  Since he disregards Canon law in matters of Holy Communion distribution and washing women's feet on Holy Thursday, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't.  But maybe he did anyway, believing (understandably so) that the pope won't let a close ally be unseated.  Anyway, here's the video.  God bless Bishop Gracida and all the faithful prelates and clergy.

San Bernardino Shootings: Will The Vatican Finally Wake Up?

First, I extend my prayers to the victims of yesterday's mass shootings in San Bernardino yesterday. Regrettably, there are those who would accuse me of "microagression" by the mere suggestion of prayers for others: more on that in a moment.

When I heard the accounts of how the assailants did their deed, it seemed quite obvious to me that this was a jihadist action, fueled by Islam.  Some had bandied about the idea of someone getting their nose knocked out of joint at the conference and then shooting up the place.  Common sense would have shown that to be impossible.  The shooters were clad in body armor.  They had multiple weapons on them, including explosive devices.  They carried out the shootings in a manner indicative of some military training.  Their entry and exit to and from the building was obviously well-planned (although their planning for the aftermath seems to have gone awry).

Now we are hearing confirmations that the dead man and woman were husband and wife, and radical jihadists.  They had been in communication with groups that are on the FBI watch list.  As this young lady says on The Blaze, "if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it IS a duck"!  Isn't it odd that last week so many of the lame-brain-main-stream media, along with their Democrat/progressive employers, were falling all over themselves to portray Richard Dear as "just another pro-life right-wing nut job" with no evidence whatsoever, but in the face of overwhelming evidence, they can't bring themselves to acknowledge yesterday's shooting to be an act of muslim terrorism?  ISIS does - gleefully of course.  In fact, they created a hashtag #America_burning to celebrate the slaughter.  Now see this from Breitbart how this shooting refutes so many progressive talking points.

But wait!  It gets even more ridiculous as the progressives scurry for some way to use this tragedy to justify their anti-Christian bigotry.  Take a look at the latest screed plastered all over the front page Of the New York Daily News.  Let me say this right off the bat to the creators of this journalistic pig slop.  There is a reason why God "isn't fixing this".  It's really quite simple and the blame for this lies squarely on the shoulders of those who mock Him and pillory His followers.  For decades now, progressives such as the Daily News leadership have done all they could to expunge Christianity from public life in the United States.  They have banned public prayer from schools and other public gatherings.  They have removed placards with the Ten Commandments from public court houses.  They have crammed sodomy down the throats of those who want to obey God in their commercial affairs.  They have - and are - murdering millions of babies, willed into being by God, via abortion and contraception.  The picture of the Daily News shows not only mockery of those who invoke God, but unbridled hatred of God Himself.  When God is so widely rejected, He will withdraw and let mankind experience the logical consequences of the rejection of His providence - a providence that includes His moral precepts.  This is not rocket science!

NOT a "revolution of tenderness"!

We need a real national, world-wide conversion to God and to His Church.  Several days ago, the Pope called for a "revolution of tenderness".  No - a thousand times no!  The last thing the world needs is for Catholic clergy to carry on like a bunch of whiny, metrosexual wussies who yammer on about "tenderness" while the world careens towards hell in a handbasket.  We need our prelates to conduct themselves like real men, such as St. John the Baptist and the Apostles and other martyrs who boldly proclaimed the truth, no matter who got their "poor widdle feel-bads" knocked out of joint.  By the way - if the phrase "revolution of tenderness" sounds sickeningly familiar, it's because that is part of the title of a book written by dissident bishop Cardinal Kasper; see my earlier post for detail on that.

So will the pope continue to rail against "fundamentalist Catholics" (in this video, the pope sounds like he's of the same mind as the Daily News) or will he finally realize he is the Vicar of Christ and get back to the basics of the Catholic faith himself?  Perhaps he'll ditch Kasper, Maradiaga, Wuerl and listen to prelates like:

• Cardinal Lopez
• Archbishop Schneider
• Cardinal Burke

Let us pray (despite what the Daily News says).

Some Interesting Tidbits Regarding The UN Climate Summit In Paris

Yep!  This is the same one that the pope praised during his screed interview on the plane a few days ago.  Remember?  He said the summit was "humanity's last chance" because the world is "at the limits of suicide".  Well, let's see what happened?

Bear in mind it was so important the Messiah Most Miserable was there.  He talked.  And talked.  And talked some more.  The speakers were given a 3-minute limit.  Despite several prompts that his time was up, he kept right on bloviating for 14 minutes in total: that is, almost 5 times the allotment.  But...he's Obama, and the rules that bind the rest of us mere mortals don't apply to His Nibs.  Watch it here.  I'm not sure who embarrasses me more: Obama or the pope.

I understand that in the spirit of reducing carbon footprints and all, that the working meals were frugal and simple.  See this as a sterling example of how to live simply.  Neat, huh?  Did you catch the $380/head price tag?  Who paid for that?

Now I understand that 151 leaders were present at that meeting.  How many of them, in order to reduce their carbon footprints, traveled in less-than-luxurious styles?  The estimate would be very close to zilch-zero-zip-nada.  Obama's round-trip flight itself spewed about 370 tons of carbon into the air - the equivalent of driving 72 cars for one year.  But again, the expectations that are laid upon us poor peons simply don't apply to Obama and cartel.  I wonder how many tons of carbon the entire summit belched into the air?

The whole thing was an abysmal joke.  And yet the pope thinks this was mankind's last hope lest the world commit suicide or something.  Gee whiz!  Did the pope forget about Jesus Christ being the Way, Truth and Life?

Corrupt, Weak-Minded And Weak-Willed Lechers Occupy High Offices In Maryland

So many pro-lifers in Maryland are at a loss to understand how sloppy and murderous abortionists like Leroy Carhart are given a free pass to ply their grisly affairs.  The answer to these dilemmas is both disgusting and simple.  Watch how Maryland Deputy AG Thiruvendran Vignarajah tries to seduce an undercover reporter.  In the process, he discloses how he'd like to strip law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights and give the Messiah Most Miserable assistance in growing an ever-encroaching governmental behemoth.  He repeatedly states how these are top-secret affairs.  Well bust my britches!  Isn't the AG's office supposed to be about public business?  If so, by what logical contortion do these demagogues justify shielding their doings from public scrutiny?  And guess what?  The AG is married, so he's obviously of a mind to commit adultery.

If this isn't a clear indication of the correlation between "big-government progressivsm" and "sexual immorality", I don't know what is.  It is an indication of why the Church establishment (that means you, Maryland Catholic Conference!), should stop cozying up to these depraved individuals, for "if you sleep with dogs, you will get fleas".

At any rate, please share and make this go viral.  Hopefully Maryland citizens will recall this the next time Annapolis comes up for a vote.  Meanwhile, Maryland Conservative Action Network suggests that we call the AG office (Brian Frosh) and demand that he discipline his deputy: (410) 576-6300 or 1 (888) 743-0023.  Kudos to Project Veritas for their important work.