Raymond Arroyo On The Papal Savaging Of Marriage

Valuable insights are offered here, showing just how damaging the pope's remarks about marriage and cohabitation were.

Today's Abortion Ruling - A Smack On The Head For Some GOP Crybabies

By now most people have heard the Supreme Court's decision on Whole Women's Health Versus Hellerstedt, that essentially gutted Texas' HB 2.  It is a disaster for women as it essentially crippled common-sense regulations for abortuaries.  The ruling was 5-3, with Kennedy joining the usual pro-abort contingent.

If there is a "take-away" for the pro-life community (and all decent people), this underscores the absolute importance of this upcoming presidential election and the need for every one of us to work to defeat the Democratic nominee.  Both Clinton and Sanders have made plain their intentions to further ensconce baby-murder within the fabric of American society.  I fear that whoever the Democrat nominee is, he/she just might win the White House.  Moreover, I believe that if they do so, one leading cause will be the utter stupidity of some who are Christians and pro-life.

It now appears that the GOP nominee might well be Donald Trump.  In the primaries I voted for Ted Cruz because I believe that Cruz' pro-life credentials are far superior to that of Trump's.  Trump's are shaky at best.  There are those in the pro-life community who hold to the stupidly simplistic notion, though, that Trump is no less pro-abortion than the Democrats and thus they intend not to vote for him.  I will now address them directly in the "first-person".

You erroneously hold Trump and Hillary (presumptive Democrat nominee) to be equal in holding malevolent political views.  In doing so, you simply demonstrate that you have no sense of perspective whatsoever.  While there may be uncertainty regarding Trump's stances on abortion, there is absolute certainty regarding Hillary's positions; she has made no secret that she intends to pave the way for further bloodshed in this country.  Is that the certainty that you want to unleash on this country?

You state that your "principles" won't allow you to vote for the "lesser of two evils".  I've dealt so much with the principle of double effect, but will do so again.  A vote for Trump (or the GOP nominee) is not so much voting for "the lesser of two evils" as much as it is acting positively to reduce the harm to be done and to preserve as much good as possible.

Some of you have gone so far as to say that "if Trump is the GOP nominee we deserve Hillary" and you're just fine with Hillary waltzing into the White House; you've said so outright.  I think it's quite telling that from this crowd I see many "#nevertrump" hashtags but hardly ever see these (#neverhillary) tags.  You do so citing their "principles".  May I suggest that if their "principles" impel you to stand by and offer no opposition to Hillary, that your "principles" are not worth a pile of cow-poop?

Some of you have gone through ridiculous logical contortions to justify not voting this November.  Here's one gem I've seen rather frequently: "You say my non-vote for Trump is in Hillary's favor?  Well then my non-vote for Hillary is in Trump's favor".  That's not how it works.  Any reduction in the vote for the GOP nominee means that the Democrat will have fewer opposing votes to overcome to win the election - that's the simple math.

Thus far I've been addressing comments to the #nevertrump crowd, but another demographic group needs to cease their snit-fits as well.  The GOP convention has not yet occurred.  I've no idea of the various machinations that can occur in the conventions, but there is an outside chance that Trump will not be the nominee.  Similar to what I've been hearing from the #nevertrump crowd, I've been hearing from Trump fans that if the nomination is "stolen" from Trump, then it will be they who sit out the election.  Do you see how both camps are carrying on like they're still stuck in kindergarten?

You who are in either camp must get over your petty rivalries (and that is what they are, sanctimonious prattle about "principles" notwithstanding).  Hillary must be stopped and we must act positively to stop her.  Any who dare not vote or "vote third-party" may well find yourselves with the blood of innocent babies on your hands - oh, not to the extent of abortionist to be sure.  But if you refuse to act proactively to prevent the damage that Hillary will do if she's given the chance, you will bear some of the moral responsibility for that.

No matter who wins the GOP nomination, let's put on our big-people pants and vote for that GOP nominee so as to prevent a truly evil Democrat from taking the White House.

From The Flighty Interview Department: Pope Says Christians Should Apologize To Gays For Not Coddling Them

Two days ago, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, one of the pope's nine closest advisers, claimed that the Church must apologize to gays because "we've done a lot to marginalize them".  He said that up "until recently, the Church has been very negative about gay people".  Did Marx intend to refute St. Peter Damian, himself a bishop as well as Doctor of the Church, when the latter combated the mortal sin of homosexual conduct in the ranks of the clergy?  Marx has been rather brazen about his attempts to "normalize" that mortal sin.

Yesterday as he was returning to Rome via plane, the pope gave another disastrous interview - by far not his first, but quite likely his worst to date.  When asked about Marx's remarks a day or so earlier, he echoed Marx as he stated that the Church as to say it's "sorry to the gay person" for "discrimination".  Not so. Anyone who engages in mortal sin, particularly unrepented and repeated mortal sin, marginalizes himself and discriminates against himself - in the worst way.  He/she deliberately cuts him/herself off from sanctifying grace and places him/herself in the position of being damned to hell forever.  Only by repentance and the Sacrament of Confession can that person find him/herself back in the friendship of God and in the communion of believers.  Or does the pope suggest that St. Paul should have apologized to that wayward Christian about whom we read in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13?

If there's anything for which the Church should be "apologizing" to gays, perhaps that shortcoming would be the refusal of so many clergy to preach to them that unless they repent they will most likely go to hell.  Perhaps it would be for the coddling of their mortal sin, causing false comfort and complacency as they careen towards eternal perdition.  Four years ago, when Father Marcel Guarnizo was thrown under the bus by the Archdiocese of Washington for denying Holy Communion to a lesbian, Bishop Knestout apologized to her.  For that, I truly believe that Knestout really owes her another, different apology.  He should apologize to her for coddling her mortal sin and for not displaying true pastoral solicitude in his refusal to call her to repentance.  Sadly that won't happen at this time for it seems that the pope has just confirmed Knestout in his cowardly statement to the lesbian.

If this is what the pope calls being "pastoral", we now have a problem of wolves dressed in shepherds' clothing.

More Info On The EU

I saw this on "American Catholic Thinker" and thought it so good that I decided to post it here as well.  One interesting aside regarding Switzerland: in addition to being free of onerous economic regulations, they are also solicitous for their rights to self-defense.

Why #Brexit Bodes Well For The Church And Western Civilization

Today the people of Great Britain voted to leave the European Union.  This was a vote that the progressive powers that be, from David Cameron to George Soros to Barack Obama to the EU gnomes in Brussels did not want to happen.  Today the British people voted to retrieve their national sovereignty.  The one-government, new-world-order leviathan was dealt a crippling blow.  May many more follow.

Recall in 2009 that Pope Benedict reminded leaders of the EU not to forget their Christian roots.  He did this because the EU flat out refused to refer to this crucial aspect of European history in its founding documents.  In 2003 the European Parliament passed a resolution to call on its member nations to legalize abortion.  The EU's so-called "Human Rights Commissioner" exerted pressure on Poland to mandate sex education and to provide unfettered access to abortion and contraception.  Malta has faced similar pressures.  The EU has also made plain its intentions to force its member countries to recognize same-sex #mowwidge.

The above paragraph makes plain why no Catholic can support the European Union as it currently exists.  Its very existence runs counter to the Catholic social principle of subsidiarity.  It does seem that when governmental bodies are granted too much power, then indeed they do assume behaviors that are characteristic of tin-horn dictators.  EU members have been subject to dictates to admit illegal immigrants and to regulate their industries to the wazoo.  Last year, the EU's "Council" chastised British mothers for the high crime and misdemeanor of (gasp!) staying home and raising their own children!  I'd be willing to bet that some of these mothers voted to leave the EU today.

Today the hulking beast known as the European Union was given some comeuppance. Its overreaching power has been curtailed to an appreciable degree.  This can only provide relief to those Catholics who've been struggling to practice Catholic morality under the threat of the thinly-veiled tyranny known as the European Union.

On LouderWithCrowder we see some benefits to the British vote listed.  We also see similar moves afoot in the U.S. to free ourselves from progressive international tyrants.  Last week Rep Mike Rogers introduced H.R. 1205, American Sovereignty Restoration Act, to cause the withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations and to cease our funding of the UN.  Owing to the UN's own embrace of anti-life and atheistic progressivism, it has earned the moniker that I gave it several years ago - Useless Nincompoops.

Ladies and gentlemen, godless progressivism can be beat back.  We must pray and hold fast to our Catholic faith, both in our reception of the Sacraments and in the public square.  Obviously we need to come en masse to the polls in the presidential election.  Some have cynically claimed that we shouldn't bother to vote because the results are already stacked.  Well, if any vote should have been rigged, it was the Brexit vote.  If indeed it was rigged, the number of decent people voting was enough to offset any rigging.  Will we have the resolve to do the same in November?  Will we also have the resolve to combat progressivism in the Church?

Jesuit Kiss-Up To Islam In Wake Of Orlando Massacre Follows Progressive Script

In the Jesuit progressive rag known as "America", we read an article - on the heels of the Orlando shootings - entitled "Shall We Fast In Ramadan?".  Of course it's written by a Jesuit.  In a saner time, the majority of Catholics would have responded to that question along the lines of "HELL, NO!!"  Leaving aside (for the moment) the tenets of Islam that call for butchery, rape of women, jihad, etc, we as Catholics cannot affirm in the slightest one single act of idol worship.  And yes, "allah" is a false idol, if not an actual demon.

Yesterday Attorney General Loretta Lynch let loose with the preposterous claim that the motive of Omar Mateen "may never be known".  She preferred to use this massacre to shill for "gun control".   She also announced that when transcripts of Mateen's conversations are released, they will be scrubbed of any references to his Islamic mindsets.   Got that?  She claims that Mateen's reasons "may never be known" while at the same time obfuscating all evidence that make his jihadic motivations obvious to any but the most self-deluded progressive (such as the writers and staff of America).

This isn't the first time she's done damage-control for Muslims.  Last December she hinted that the Justice Department could investigate speech "hostile towards Muslims".  After that went viral on the internet, she had to do some damage-control for herself and attempted to back-pedal.

It really is disappointing to watch Catholic publications fall lock-step behind the most godless administration in the history of the United States of America.  Sadly it's not surprising.

#DontBeMeanGiveBackSheen

The canonization process for Archbishop Fulton Sheen is at a point where his body needs to be moved back to his place of birth, but Cardinal Dolan is petulantly refusing to release it.  I've written about the many ways he has insulted and injured both the Faith and the Catholics entrusted to his care.

See this report from Church Militant TV about this mess.  In it is contact information.  If you are on Twitter, please go to @CardinalDolan and @NY_Arch to tweet the above hashtag to them.  Please spread the word.

Gianna Jessen Rightly Rebukes The Pope - Father Z, Take Note!

My post from Friday stated quite clearly that there would be immense fall-out from the heresies regarding marriage and fornication that the pope recently uttered.  Father Zuhlsdorf also posted that day; while he seems to understand the nature of the errors, he takes a recklessly dismissive attitude regarding the harm that not only will but is in fact happening right now.  Behold his closing statement: "Don’t have a spittle-flecked nutty.  Just shake your head with a smile as you flip to another page and say, 'Bless him, he sure likes to gab with people, doesn’t he!'”

Bear that most irresponsible suggestion in your mind as you read this statement from Gianna Jessen from her twitter feed.  Many in the pro-life movement are familiar with Ms. Jessen,  In the late 1970s she survived her mother's attempt to abort her via saline abortion.  She has since gone on to be an advocate for the pre-born and for disability rights (she has cerebral palsy as a result of the abortion).

never thought a pope could make me cry. and PLEASE don't tell me i am really not reading what i am reading. pic.twitter.com/P48JZGvrZv

— Gianna Jessen (@giannajessen) June 17, 2016

Is that what Father Zuhlsdorf would call a "spittle-flecked nutty"??  I don't believe Ms. Jessen is Catholic but I can be fairly certain her sentiments are echoed by thousands who, attempting to live Christian lives (Catholic and Protestant), have once again found themselves mocked by the current occupant of the Chair of Peter.  We should be able to expect far better than that.  Recently, when Bishop Robert Lynch announced his retirement, Bobby Schindler issued his own statement saying, "in my family's experience, Bishop Lynch was like the man spitting in the hand of a person in need."  When the pope puked out the heresies regarding both marriage and fornication, he too spit into the hands of those looking to him for spiritual nourishment.  In Matthew 7:9-10, Our Lord spoke of those parents who give bread and fish as opposed to stones and serpents.  Last Thursday we were all handed a bunch of stones and serpents.

We also read in Matthew 18:6-7 Jesus' rebuke of those who cause scandals, saying that "it were better for him had a millstone be hanged about his neck and that he should be drowned.."  Was Our Lord simply having a "spittle-flecked nutty"?  He took scandals quite seriously.  It would behoove us to do the same.

Pope Confuses Marriage With Cohabitation

Yesterday at a pastoral conference on the family, the pope made remarks that can only be called "ridiculous" at best.  More accurately, they are quite scandalous coming from a Vicar of Christ.  One one hand he said that the "great majority of Catholic marriages are null", and on the other hand, that some cohabitation situations are "real marriage, they have the grace of a real marriage because of their fidelity."

He urged priests not to tell cohabitating couples to marry, but "to accompany, to wait".  However, such "waiting" would constitute formal and material cooperation with mortal sin.  There is no way on God's green earth that they have "the grace of a real marriage".  Mortal sin drives away grace, and such situations are a twisted caricature of real marriage.

As for this business of most Catholic marriages being null, he thinks that the majority of people don't understand what real marriage is.  Must spouses obtain advanced degrees in theology to have a modicum of knowledge as to what constitutes real marriage?  I believe the vows have always been pronounced in the vernacular.  What is so confusing about the language of the marriage vows?  Is the pope so condescending to people that he doesn't think they comprehend the vocabulary and language that they regularly use?

As Damian Thompson of England's Spectator points out, the pope just told millions of Catholics that they aren't validly married.  What kind of signal does this send to those who may well be struggling with their marriage commitments?   Rorate Caeli today published the first part of their analysis regarding these heresies and how they dovetail with Amoralis Lamentia.

Here's a question that needs to be addressed.  If the pope thinks the majority of Catholic marriages are null, what does that say about the children born of these alleged "pseudo-marriages"?  Are they bastards in the pope's eyes?

In this "marriage versus cohabitation" discussion, the pope essentially called the good "bad" and the bad "good".  I cannot divine his intentions for making these wild statements, and quite frankly, his intentions are irrelevant.  The harm to souls that will result from yesterday's terrible statements cannot be underestimated.  Again, we must pray but we must also speak out.

Lynch, Other Weak Bishops Spout Liberal Talking Points In Wake Of Orlando Murders

Bishop Robert Lynch of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, FL once again showed himself to be a puppet of the progressives when he blamed the Orlando gay club massacre on - the Catholic Church!  Long-time readers of this blog may recall the many times that he's run afoul of the teachings of Jesus Christ.  He is most infamous for his conduct when Terri Schindler Schiavo was being systematically starved and dehydrated to death (that is, murdered) within the bounds of his diocese.

This Brietbart article links to Lynch's blog post in which he attempts to throw the Church under the bus, saying that the Church "breeds contempt for gays, lesbians and transgender people".  As the Brietbart article points out, Lynch made no attempt to explain how the Muslim jihadist could have been motivated by the Church in anything since he was a devout Muslim who wouldn't have dreamed of setting foot in a Catholic Church.

There might be a reason why Lynch is trying to discredit the Church's teachings regarding homosexuality.  Randy Engel pointed out that Lynch had to deal with his own scandal regarding homosexual dalliances fourteen years ago.  Given his own obvious proclivities, we can guess at the motivations behind his dissent from Church teaching about marriage.  Could it be that this massacre provided him an opportunity to try to discredit the Church?  That seems to be more his focus as opposed to the actual Orlando situation itself.

Recently Lynch retired from leadership of the St. Petersburg diocese.  Read here to see commentary from Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Schiavo whose murder was aided and abetted by Lynch.  Regrettably Lynch is not the only progressive prelate to start spouting the progressive talking points like a good little puppet.

In addition to praying for the salvation of all the souls who died in Orlando (for many of the victims as well as the murderer were engaging in mortal sins), we need to pray that these wolves in sheep's clothing find repentance and conversion themselves.

Today's Orlando Massacre - Ignoring The Obvious

By now most people heard about today's shooting at a gay nightclub called the Pulse in Orlando Florida.  Fifty people were killed and another fifty or so wounded.  Local police killed the gunman, Omar Mateen, an American citizen born to Afghan parents.  The FBI is investigating this as an act of domestic terrorism and stated that Mateen bragged about his ties to Islamic organizations.  The Islamic State is claiming responsibility for the shootings.

Clash Daily investigated Mateen's voting patterns and discovered that he was a registered Democrat.  I mention this only to showcase the foolishness of some ACLU lawyers who are immediately laying blame for this massacre on the GOP and the "Christian right".  They accuse the latter of creating an "anti-queer climate" while conveniently ignoring the Koran's call for the execution of homosexuals.

Other progressives are making similarly politically correct noises in complete disregard of the Islamic terrorists who are bragging about their commission of this slaughter.  Joy Reid of MSNBC is carping on gun control as she opines that the core issue is "how easy it is to get a gun".  Earth to Joy!  Earth to Joy!  Might it be ever so possible that the Islamic State armed Mateen?  There are indications that indeed a terrorist organization did direct the massacre.

Of course the Messiah Most Miserable got in on the act.  In his own shilling against guns, he asked "if that's the kind of country we want to be".  Well, if we don't want to be that "kind of country", we need to acknowledge the Islamic cancer for what it is - something that progressives are loathe to do.  It's high time that the United States wakes up to this jihadic plague.  How long will we ignore the obvious?  For all their heinous faults, the jihadists are more honest than many in US leadership about the impetus behind these acts of terrorism.

We must also address this matter from another angle.  As mentioned earlier, the attack took place at a gay hangout.  It's therefore all too reasonable to surmise that many were engaging in mortal sins.  Let us pray that at least some of those found the grace of perfect contrition before they died so that they could at least attain eternal salvation.  Sodomy is one of the "sins that cries to heaven for vengeance".  Of course the murders cannot be condoned, but did we see some of that vengeance today?

When The Pope Calls Evil "Good" And Good "Evil"

That is essentially what happened in the Pope's homily today.  He took the occasion to (again) vilify faithful Catholics as "rigid" and therefore "heretical".  Read this LifeSiteNews report, along with commentary.  He claims to decry an "all or nothing" attitude that he perceives in us, forgetting that Our Lord Himself often took an "all or nothing" stance, particularly when it came to obedience to His immutable commandments.

Last November, in a plane interview (Yep!  Pope Francis and planes are a bad combination!), the pope seemed disinclined to view the usage of condoms in light of the Fifth and Sixth Commandments.  First He cited the pharisees' question, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath" as a roundabout way to justify using condoms to prevent the spread of aids.  What he fails - refuses to understand is that there is a world of difference between "healing" (a good act) with usage of condoms (inherently evil act as it frustrates God's intentions for sexual relations).  The latter can never be justified.

He then segues into a screed about what he calls "big wounds": social injustice, environmental injustice, etc.  His remarks during his interview are really quite explicit.  To summarize, the pope - chief shepherd of the Church, can't be bothered with mortal sins of the flesh, even though they most likely will cause the eternal damnation of millions.  These poor souls don't amount to a hill of beans when it comes to this "social gospel".  He shows that he has his priorities exactly ass-backwards.  Please read the above link thoroughly, for it is an excellent treatment on why each person must conform to God's moral demands before he/she can even begin to address "social issues".

About six weeks ago, Msgr Charles Pope offered commentary on wise words uttered by Cardinal Robert Sarah during an interview, detailing why the concept of the "social gospel" is complete anathema to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.  At about the same time, the Cardinal spoke at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.  He warned that "today we are witnessing the next stage and the consummation of the efforts to build a utopian paradise on earth without God."

Regrettably, the pope's poo-pooing of the immutability of God's commands and disregard for the same in preference to focus on temporal matters seems to be part of these "efforts to build a utopian paradise on earth without God."  If we are to counteract this spiritual poison, it is vital that we not be cowed by attempts to marginalize us as "rigid" and even "heretical".

Confusion Of Amoralis Lamentia Strikes In Surprising Venues

Preface: "Amoralis Lamentia" is the nickname that I have given to Amoris Laetitia.  I believe that more aptly describes the nature of this exhortation.

Consider the following excerpt from a commentary on AL that was just published.  This excerpt has to do with Holy Communion being given to those in adulterous situations:

Because of the format in which it was published, I'm unable to copy/paste it.  If it is too small to read, here is the link and you'll want to look in the right-hand column.

No - your eyes are not deceiving you!  The source of this really is the Marians of the Immaculate Conception!  I've found them to be a devout order, dedicated as they are to spreading the Divine Mercy message, particularly through the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as given to St Faustina.  I might have expected such sloppiness from America or the National Catholic Reporter, but not at all from the Marians.  This is indeed sad.

Under the "For example" heading we see the author of this article clearly engaging in "situation ethics".  Look at the example.  The author doesn't even ascribe ignorance of the Church's teaching to his hypothetical woman.  He talks of the tough issues about which the Pope and bishops have been agonizing recently.  That last word is key, for I clearly suspect that such situations have existed for hundreds of years.  Why "recently" is there so much "agonizing" that hasn't been seen for the rest of Church history?

It's really quite simple.  (Note: I said "simple", not "easy".  The two words are not synonyms.)  If this hypothetical woman were to attempt to receive Holy Communion while still living in an adulterous situation, she would incur the guilt of making a sacrilegious Holy Communion.  Any priest and/or bishop who advises her that such is permissible is in fact lying to her and goading her into actions that can imperil her eternal salvation.  No amount of "agonizing" will change that eternal reality.

Two prominent clerics have publicly and rightly decried this attempt to introduce this spiritual poison that is found in Amoralis Lamentia.  Bishop Athanasius Schneider has directly said that parts of AL are "objectively erroneous".  He said quite a few other things about AL as well.

We also should recall what Cardinal Burke said four months ago.  He flat out said that if the Pope should move in the direction of giving Holy Communion to de facto adulterers, that "I will resist".  Not only he, but we faithful Catholics must resist as well.

In other Marian-related news, yesterday the Pope canonized the founder of that order, Blessed Stanislaus Papczynski.

Pope Gives Awards To Three Culture Of Death Proponents

This happened last week at the pontifical foundation that Pope Francis founded.  He presided at a ceremony last week.  During that ceremony, three American actors, enemies of the Church's moral teachings, received the "Olive Medal for Peace".  They are George Clooney, Richard Gere, and Salma Heyak.  I needn't rehash why these three are most unworthy of any recognition by the Church.  See here and here for their dismal track records.

Our real focus should be why the Pope allowed such anti-life individuals to be the recipients of any award from a Catholic institution.  Ostensibly it was due to their activism for "climate change", terrorism and war.  Somehow I suspect the first - "climate change" - was the real driver behind this regrettable decision.  The pope and the marxist henchmen in the Vatican have been using the climate change hoax for some time now to justify their glomming onto the UN's population control agenda - an agenda that incorporates abortion and contraception into its plans.  All three "stars" advocate for these evils (Clooney being the most prominent).

In allowing these awards to be bestowed by a Catholic organization, the pope is sending a clear message that those babies who will be threatened by the UN and by Planned Parenthood are of no worth to him.  The author of the LifeSiteNews piece holds forth the possibility that the pope acted in ignorance.  While I understand their attempt to hold him blameless, I cannot condone it.  It attempting to hold him blameless, they are in fact displaying a patronizing, condescending attitude towards him in pretending that he's too ignorant to know the public stances of these American.  Too much has happened over the years for us to play these "pretend" games in regards to the pope.  We need to face reality so that we can do what is needed to preserve the Faith for ourselves and those whom we love.

Carhart Abortuary Caught Operating Without A Lab Permit

Operation Rescue announced yesterday that Germantown Reproductive Health Services was caught on September 25, 2015 operating without a valid medical laboratory permit.  This was revealed during an inspection of the abortuary.  The permit they displayed expired in August 2013; at the time of the inspection the permit was already two years obsolete.  GRHS was also cited for failing to ensure that its employees were proficient in testing women for the Rh blood factor.

Both Carhart and GRHS have already been subpoenaed to appear before the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives.  Its chairperson Marsha Blackburn stated that this panel has already determined that Stem Express and its partner abortuaries (I suspect most of them are Planned Parenthood abortuaries) have violated federal patient privacy and informed consent regulations.  When Carhart et al are set to appear in a few weeks, I hope that these latest derelictions of professional duties are addressed.