Pope Once Again Trashes Faithful Catholics

Yesterday the Pope addressed the Congress of the International Forum of Catholic Action in Rome.  He took the occasion to lob insults at those of us who adhere to the Traditions of the Church, as promulgated by Christ Himself and obeyed by Saints (known and unknown) these last twenty centuries.

He groused at the notion of "proselytism", equating it with coercion.  Of course he contradicted one of the last commands that Christ gave to His apostles just before He ascended, to "make disciples of all the nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you".  I urge you to read the LifeSiteNews link along with its related links as I haven't time nor stomach to rehash all the nonsense.

I will comment on one choice phrase.  He said, "you cannot be more restrictive than the Church herself".  Is that what he thinks of the teachings of Christ Himself with regards to faith and morals?  "Restrictive"?   Then he says "you cannot be more papist than the pope".  If he is trying to intimate that our level of fidelity to Holy Mother Church shouldn't exceed his own, he's gravely mistaken.  Ladies and gentlemen, we all have the solemn duty to ensure that each and every facet of our lives is in conformity with Church teaching.  Our very salvation depends on it.  I say the following in all sincerity.  If we content ourselves to live our faith in conformity with the haphazard blatherings that the pope has put forth, we may place our souls in jeopardy.

Are Some Traditional Catholics Becoming Wimpy And Sappy?

The Remnant is known as a bastion for faithful traditional Catholics and generally brooks no nonsense from clergy who shirk their sacerdotal duties.  Last week I came across this article in the electronic edition of the Remnant, and it has me scratching my head.  I link to it now and ask you to read it - and the comments.

In a nutshell, a priest in Brazil regularly offers the Traditional Mass.  In keeping with those rubrics, Holy Communion is offered to the faithful on their tongues as they kneel.  On Ash Wednesday an unruly man entered the church during Mass.  He was disruptive throughout.  The ushers did nothing and let him continue.

When the time came for Holy Communion, the man refused to receive on the tongue.  Father ended up acquiescing to his demand for Communion in the hand.  He refused to consume the Host and began to shout and act out more.  At this point the congregation restrained him; in the meantime the man crumbled the Host, with Fragments of Our Lord's Body strewn on the floor.  It appears in the article that Father was mortified and I trust that means he learned from his errors.

I wish I could say the same for the discussion moderator (employed by Remnant, I assume) and some of the commentors.  They were all too ready to excuse the dereliction of duty on the part of both the ushers and the priest.  Judging from the language that the moderator used, I believe the moderator is a woman.  I cannot imagine a man engaging in a "poor Father!" type of pity party. It's bad enough when women get caught up in such emotions that they won't deal with the root issues (and I'm a woman, by the way) but it's downright disgusting when men engage in such maudlin talk.

Below the jump break I'll give you some snippets from the comments: things you can find for yourselves.

Is The TED Talk Replacing The Poop Videos?

The Pope gave an address utilizing a website called "ted.com".  This is being dubbed as a "ted talk".  This one was apparently released a day or two ago.  He rambled on about "the future you", a lame definition of "hope", a "revolution of tenderness" and other humanistic blather.  Only twice in passing did the Vicar of Christ mention Jesus and God.

As you read it, think of the old Baltimore Catechism question, one I learned in first grade: "Why did God make me?  God made me to know, love, and serve Him in this world, and to be happy ever after with Him in the next."  Do you notice how happiness, at least in its fullness, is not promised for this world?  Certainly there is a peace that comes with knowing that one is in the state of grace but even then that isn't perfect.  It won't be until we attain heaven (if we remain in the state of grace).  We shouldn't expect otherwise.

Here is the Church's definition of hope.  The following is how the pope defined "hope" in the "ted talk".

To Christians, the future does have a name, and its name is Hope. Feeling hopeful does not mean to be optimistically naïve and ignore the tragedy humanity is facing. Hope is the virtue of a heart that doesn't lock itself into darkness, that doesn't dwell on the past, does not simply get by in the present, but is able to see a tomorrow. Hope is the door that opens onto the future. Hope is a humble, hidden seed of life that, with time, will develop into a large tree. It is like some invisible yeast that allows the whole dough to grow, that brings flavor to all aspects of life. And it can do so much, because a tiny flicker of light that feeds on hope is enough to shatter the shield of darkness. A single individual is enough for hope to exist, and that individual can be you. And then there will be another "you," and another "you," and it turns into an "us." And so, does hope begin when we have an "us?" No. Hope began with one "you." When there is an "us," there begins a revolution.

There is way too much error to unpack in that rambling mess.  Maybe I'll attempt it at another time - or commenters may take a stab at it.  Suffice it to say that there is not one mention of God nor of heaven.  The pope's discussion of "hope", in its sole focus on this earthly life, could lead one to question his attitudes regarding eternal life.  Hope is not a "door" that culminates in some "revolution".  It is a theological virtue, enfused at baptism.

This whole spiel is one big tome about life on this earth.  That wouldn't be such a bad thing IF there was also solid teaching on preparation for our final end.  Given the scandalous thrusts of Amoralis Lamentia and his coddling of those engaged in mortal sin, the silence on eternity might be deliberate.  I can't say for certain that it is, but it certainly is within the realm of possibilities.

Let us pray that the fullness of Christ's teachings be promulgated.

Lepanto Institute Exposes Sinister Effects Of False Mercy And Toleration Of Deadly Sin

Four Catholics organizations within the Diocese of Manila (Phillipines) produced a film on Easter Sunday.  Masquerading as a lesson on "mercy" and "acceptance", it is brimming with sacrilege, blasphemy and heresy.  First let's look at the film itself.

I now post a podcast done by Michael Hichborn of the Lepanto Institute as he analyzes this film, detailing why this seemingly lovely production is quite insidious.  For its seduction, I have no bones calling it satanic.

One of the organizations is headed by Cardinal Luis Tagle.  John Allen of Crud dubbed Tagle "the Asian Pope Francis".  I regret that analogy may be valid.  Now the podcast.

March For Pseudo-Science; With Idea On How Catholic Church Can Really Be Green

This is a "two-part" post as the title implies.  Both parts have as their common theme environmentalism.  First, I'll deal with the junk-science aspect.

It's obvious from the name that they dubbed for their latest media stunt "March For Science" that these people are in damage-control mode.  They understand that many people in the US are fed up with their bogus, hypocritical claims.  One "case in point" was their protest of the Dakota Pipe Line.  Their protests were ostensibly for the sake of the "environment" but in their wake they left mountains of trash that required a massive clean-up effort.

So now they claim to be upholding the banner of "science"!  Really??  What science?  Well, they hold in high esteem Paul Erlich, author of "The Population Bomb".  Remember that?  That book predicted that we would all starve ourselves to death.  But that mass starvation was supposed to occur at least twenty years ago.  His book might well have been entitled "The Bomb" for his predictions fizzled out.  It's worth noting that Ehrlich advocated abortion and contraception (even forced) to reduce the world's population.

They have the audacity to claim that their "science" is settled, that it is written in stone.  Other distinguished scientists beg to differ.  I've written before on the Heartland Institute and the Cornwall Alliance.  These two organizations have done much to demonstrate the frivolity of the claims of radical environmentalists.  We also salute Lord Christopher Monkton, who speaks truth to the harm done by environmentalism, and in particular to the harm being done by the pope's participation of that hoax.

I link now to one talk given by a so-called "illuminary" of yesterday's pseudo-science gabfest.  Perhaps this speaker didn't realize how honest she was.  She flat out states that "science, arts, etc" will wither away unless the federal government funds them.  Right there we see what that whole cabal wants - more of our money and more of our liberties.

As we've seen before, Pope Francis is in on the hoax.  I no longer believe that he is simply a naive dupe of the progressives.  He is one of them.  I mentioned Paul Ehrlich earlier in this post.  Long-time readers of this blog will note that Ehrlich was invited by the Vatican to give lectures on this topic, as were Jeffrey Sachs and other anti-life people.  We also know that Laudato Si is one giant envirowhacko screed designed to give the environmentalist movement a Catholic veneer.  I now link to one of my older posts that contains two videos that expose environmentalism and its advocates.

So much for my first topic.  Now let's move to the second topic, that is, how the Church can really do something worthwhile for the environment and reduce its carbon footprint.

When many of us go to Mass, we probably use the missalette in the pew.  It's probably made of paper, and is changed periodically, to coincide with liturgical seasons, etc.  Many people who pray the liturgy of the hours probably also use a paper booklet; Magnificat is one of the more popular ones.  Then we also see the various weekly handouts that give the hymns for the day.   Readers, does that not strike you as a considerable waste of paper, not to mention the money to print those things?  Solution?  Return to the use of the missal, the breviary, and the hymnal.  I mean the permanent ones that can be used day after day, year after year.  Yes, it will involve an initial outlay of cash, but think of the savings throughout the years in reduced subscription and printing costs.  As an added bonus, there will be less need to cut down trees.  I've had my breviary set for well over twenty years, my missal ever since the changes promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI.  What do you all think of that?

Yippee! It's Earth Day!!

Yes, it's that annual day set aside by envirowhackos to engage in gaia-worshiping debacles.  Sadly, but not too surprisingly, some progressive katholycs (like Catholic Climate Covenant) are participating in the idolatry.

Oh, I can see that some are going to whine and complain about how "mean-spirited" I am, and that I never help them out.  Well, let me set things straight.  Here are some videos to help us all get in the proper frame of mind to celebrate this most solemn of days.

Here we have Earth First teaching us, by example, how to snivel over trees.


Here's some music that shows the (lack of) beauty of the envirowhacko mindsets.  This is from a "people's climate march" three years ago.  I understand one will happen today downtown.  Hopefully the music will be better than what you see below.  I can't see how it could possibly be worse.


Finally, we'll end with an ode to Laudato Si by Louie Verrecchio.

The Pope's Personnel Appointments Reveal His Hand

"Personnel is policy" as the saying goes.  Again and again, Pope Francis shows us how true that statement is.  See below for three examples.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga has been the subject of many of my blog posts (and that of other bloggers).  A heterodox progressive, he chairs the so-called "gang of nine", that inner sanctum of papal advisers.  Since Maradiaga has made no secret of his leftist leanings, we may safely opine that he has the pope's ear precisely because of those leanings.  Today One Peter Five detailed how Maradiaga, in an interview recently given, hurled insults against the four cardinals who issued the dubia in an attempt to mitigate damage being done by Amoralis Lamentia.  I won't rehash 1P5's post here.  Suffice it to say that because Maradiaga is so close to Pope Francis, we might have a decentl inkling of the responses that the pope might make to the dubia.

This past week the Pope appointed heresy-spewing Jesuit Father James Martin to handle the Vatican tweets.  Cardinal Wuerl celebrated the advancement of dissent by inviting Martin to deliver a Good Friday reflection at St. Matthew's Cathedral.  I suspected this reflection might be a spewing forth of pig slop.  True to fashion, Martin did not fail to disappoint us.  I'll highlight one heretical whopper below.

Consider this quote from LifeSiteNews: "Father Martin told those in attendance at the Good Friday liturgy that his favorite theological question to ponder is whether Jesus knew what was going to happen on Easter Sunday before He died."  In other words, Martin completely disregards Jesus' Personhood.  While He has two natures, human and divine, He is a Divine Person, the Second Person of the Trinity.  As such, He possesses omniscience.  To insinuate that Jesus didn't know He'd rise on Easter Sunday is to cast doubt on His divinity.

Both Pope Francis and Cardinal Wuerl were fully aware of Martin's embrace of heresy and immorality.  They did not do so in spite of  these serious flaws, but because of them.  He advances their common agenda.

John Zmirak pubished an article yesterday detailing the antics of Newark Cardinal Joseph Tobin.  Recall that he was recently given his red hat by Pope Francis.  Tobin is sponsoring, at his cathedral, a debacle called "LGBT Pilgrimage And Mass".  This affair is being conducted by several organizations that shill for perversion.  As Zmirak points out, there is no mention of the need to repent of the mortal sin of sodomy and to embrace chastity.  Long-time readers of this blog will recall that two years ago, while Tobin was still Archbishop of Indianapolis, we petitioned him to put a halt to a local KofC council's intent to allow lesbians to celebrate their debauched #mowwidge in their hall.  Tobin was utter silent.  Of course we lamented that silence.  However, I must now consider the possibility that perhaps Tobin did have his hand in that sordid affair, perhaps directing the council to allow mortal sin to be celebrated on Catholic property free of charge.

Almost concurrently, Tobin has drawn the long knives on Father Peter West, a priest who stands firm for Christ's teachings on life and marriage.  He was formerly associated with both Priests for Life and Human Life International before being called back to Newark.

One might ask, "how could Pope Francis select Tobin to be Cardinal, given his terrible record of fidelity to Christ's teachings?"  Regrettably, I believe Tobin's record is precisely the reason why he was selected.

We'll probably be seeing more and more of these squalid associations being foisted on the Church.

Randy Engel: All The Men Behind The Opus Dei Curtain

A few years ago, E. Michael Jones wrote a book called "The Man Behind The Curtain", which was basically a hit piece on Michael Voris of Church Militant TV.  I read the book, too.  One thing that immediately took me aback was the admission that Jones got some of his material from conversations with Voris's spiritual director at the time.  I thought to myself, "what kind of spiritual director reveals information divulged to him in confidence?"  If the information was gleaned during the Sacrament of Confession and the director was a priest, then said director violated the Confessional Seal and incurred automatic excommunication.

I did find it odd that Jones never mentioned Opus Dei, even though I clearly recall when Voris touted it on one of his Vortexes (I blogged about it at the time).  Randy Engel, author of "Rite Of Sodomy", today released her piece "All The Men Behind The Opus Dei Curtain".  In it, she details not only Voris's connection with Opus Dei, but that of Jones himself (why he never mentioned OD)?

As you read the piece, you'll see how Opus Dei puts out its tentacles into all sorts of ventures, each of these hiding under various names but all having common directors (not unlike the various progressive organizations sharing their "usual suspects").  I share her conclusion that Opus Dei is a cult that engages in destructive thought-reform control of its members.  By far it is not the only organization with a Catholic veneer to do so.  We all recall how the Legionnaires of Christ / Regnum Christi empire went down in flames as Father Marcel Maciel was disciplined by Pope Benedict XVI.  I myself was a member of a charismatic cult so I've experienced first-hand the tactics employed by these outfits.

Ladies and gentlemen, even though the Catholic Church is under vicious attack, even from the papacy, it is she who bestows the Sacraments and Teachngs.  Anything else is, at best, extraneous.

Thank You, Bishop Morlino

Bishop Robert Morlino of the Diocese of Madison (WI) has asked the faithful in his diocese to receive Holy Communion on the tongue and while kneeling.  He wishes to have this transition accomplished by next autumn.  I haven't heard any talk of this, but I don't see how this can be accomplished without the restoration of the communion rails.

Bishop Morlino has also increased usage of the ad orientem position and he has returned the tabernacles to front and center of the altar.

This good bishop is to be thanked and emulated.  I believe the Latin phrase goes like this (forgive any misspellings): lex credenti, lex orandi, lex vivendi.  We are not going to have any real return to the Faith until the Mass is restored.  Bishop Morlino has taken important steps.  I hope and pray that many more bishops will follow his lead.

Cardinal Wuerl Honored Gay-Promoting Priest On Good Friday

See the previous post below.  Now read this tweet of Father Martin's.

Thanks to everyone who came to the Seven Last Words at St. Matthew's Cathedral in DC and thanks to @Cardinal_Wuerl for inviting me to preach pic.twitter.com/HcikLCq8uO

— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) April 14, 2017

I believe him when he says Cardinal Wuerl invited him to St. Matthew's to preach.  We might ask "why"?  The question is rhetorical.  Cardinal Wuerl and Father Martin clearly think very much alike on key doctrinal and moral issues.  If they didn't, the Cardinal would never have asked him to preach at his Cathedral.

Fr. Martin Handling Vatican Tweets - What Could Possibly Go Right?

On Wednesday I posted the sad news that Father James Martin, Jesuit heretic (was that redundant?), was appointed as Consultor to the Vatican Communications Office.  Cal-Catholic informs us that Martin will be handling the Pope's twitter account.  Well, Martin certainly is prolific with his tweets, so no one, not even the pope, can claim ignorance of his heresies.  To wit:

Irish archbishop: St. Patrick was an 'undocumented migrant' https://t.co/sbGjhvZgam

— America Magazine (@americamag) March 16, 2017

Martin retweeted a complete botch-job of the story of St. Patrick.  He is not to be likened to an illegal immigrant sneaking across our borders.  He was captured as a slave and brought to Ireland against his will.  As for being "undocumented", his capture and enslavement was probably quite legal, relative to the laws of the Irish chieftans of the time.  This lame attempt to justify amnesty for illegal immigrants would be quite humorous if people were more educated regarding Church history and less inclined to swallow that tripe "hook, line and sinker".

Here is a tweet of Martin's, that someone saved.  It no longer appears in his twitter feed.  One can see why he did so, as this would not be the sort of thing that would be an asset on the resume of a Vatican official.

No wonder New Ways honored him.  He is the poster boy for perversion-enabling clergy.  This particular tweet was pulled, but anyone can go to his feed and see all sorts of nonsense.  In fact, while looking for this "trans" tweet, I stumbled on his St. Patrick gaffe.  Anyway, you'll see all kinds of tweets blathering on about "immigrants"(never differentiating between law-abiding and law-breaking), "climate change", even one claiming that Hillary really won the election.  Not once did I see anything dealing with baby-murder or contraception.

Now that Martin will have his hand in papal twitter feeds, they'll probably become even more heretical.  The Vatican knew about this when they brought him on staff.  Now no one can claim that the pope is "at the mercy of poor translators".  He owns this mess.  Instead of cleaning it up, he's dirtying it even further.

This Easter season, pray for wide-spread conversion to the One True Faith within the Vatican walls.

Dissident Father James Martin Appointed By Pope Francis To Foul Up The Vatican Communications Office

Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, recently elected Superior General of the Jesuits, has proven himself to be quite the water-carrier for Pope Francis.  He voiced approval of the Pope's treatment of the dubia and of the Cardinals who published them.  He has recently caught some flak for his attempt to cast doubt on Jesus' words concerning marriage (in what probably is an attempt to boost the credibility of Amoralis Lamentia).  In a saner time, any priest who cast doubt upon Sacred Scripture and Tradition would have been defrocked.  Instead though, because he is obviously of the same mind as the pope, he remains head of a major religious order.

Today we learned of another Jesuit dissident being rewarded for his heresy.  Father James Martin, another Jesuit (yes, this one), has been named a consultor to the Vatican communication office.  To my friends who insist on blaming the pope's statements on "bad translations", you can no longer invoke the "mistranslation" canard and maintain integrity.  Bear in mind that Martin has shown himself, over and over again, to be a shill for the gay agenda.  He is just another voice, like Abascal, to aid in the deconstruction of Christ's teachings on marriage, sexuality and family life.  Personnel is policy, as they say.  With personnel such as these two Jesuits, we know what the Vatican policies now are.

Here's another consideration regarding Martin's appointment.  Recall that he is editor of the Jesuit dissident rag called America.  One of Martin's predecessors in that role was Father Thomas Reese.  Reese was editor when Pope Benedict XVI assumed the papacy.  One of Benedict's first acts was to eject Reese from his editor position because of his dissidence.  Now we see another dissident editor of America exalted because of his dissidence.  Might this appointment by Pope Francis be a disguised insult to the Pope Emeritus?

Stations Of The Cross At Carhart Abortuary

Blasphemies And Outrages Pouring From The Vatican

Three months ago, I wrote that the bishops of Malta are allowing divorced/remarried Catholics, that is, Catholics embroiled in the mortal sin of adultery, to receive Holy Communion while continuing with their adultery.  They compounded their sin by ordering their priests, on pain of suspension, to imperil their own souls by thus complying with mortal sin and sacrilege.  What was Pope Francis' response to it?  Why, he thanked them for their interpretation of Amoralis Lamentia.  If nothing else, he at least removed any reasonable doubt as to what he intends Amoralis Lamentia to do.

Just days later comes the news that one of the Maltese bishops, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, is stating that contraception is permissible.  Oh, yes, right now he's stipulating that only married couples should use it, but we see how that worked out in 1930 for the Anglicans, didn't we?  Remember - this is just days after the Pope approved their interpretation of Amoralis Lamentia.  It is reasonable to believe that this lurch into immorality also meets with the Pope's approval.  Has Amoralis Lamentia paved the way for the Catholic version of the 1930 Lambeth Conference?  Remember - at that time, the Anglicans allowed for disobedience to God's commands for sexuality and marriage "only in limited circumstances.  Eighty years later they celebrate baby-murder, sodomy, etc.  They've gone so far as to recognize lesbian "bishops".  God forbid that this poison progresses much further in Holy Mother Church.

But the poison has manifest itself in another, more insidious way.  One Peter Five has news of a troubling homily that the pope gave within this past week.  I ask you to read it in its entirety as it features a translation of the homily by my friend Andrew Guernsey.  Both men are correct in saying how the theology is mostly accurate, but for the gross error thrown in there.  In other words, we're talking of a healthy, nutritious meal laced with just a little bit of arsenic.  In a nutshell, the pope isn't merely saying that Christ took on our sins for our redemption, he's saying that Christ became the devil.  This is both a horrid blasphemy and a logical absurdity.  Let's not kid ourselves.  He knows exactly what he is saying.  While he may wish to hide under the "lovable bumpkin who gets his words jumbled sometimes" veneer, one must admit that excuse is getting rather old.  You might recall that the pope once said that the boy Jesus probably had to beg forgiveness from His parents when He remained behind in Jerusalem.  Last month he joked that "the Holy Trinity is arguing behind closed doors".

Yes, these quips are blasphemous, but they also betray an abysmal lack of appreciation for Who God is.  If that is lacking, is it any wonder that doctrinal errors spew forth from the Vatican on a regular basis?  Without an adequate intellectual and philosophical understanding of God and His Holy Nature, there will be no sound basis for proclaiming the laws dictated by God.  With that kind of willful ignorance at the helm of Holy Mother Church, it behooves us all to pray, frequent the Sacraments and educate ourselves regarding the tenets of our Faith.  We will also have to actively resist error as it slaps us and our loved ones in the face.  Read some words of wisdom from Venerable Fulton Sheen on this topic.  Now I'll end with a recording of a homily regarding Amoralis Lamentia.

Cardinal Wuerl Trips Over Himself While Celebrating Amoralis Lamentia

Amoris Laetitia

One year ago today, the world was scourged with Amoralis Lamentia, a piece of pig poop that has already cast doubts upon the teachings of Jesus Christ Himself, leading to the peril of many souls and most likely the damnation of more than a few who have passed to their judgments during this past year.

Many of us have been sounding the alarm regarding this spiritual poison while its shills have been "circling the wagons" around Amoralis Lamentia as they attempt to put some lipstick on that pig.  One of those lame attempts was published by Crud, authored by Cardinal Wuerl who played a pivotal role in tweaking the results of the two sin-nods to justify the publication of AL.  Please have this link open (should be in separate window) as we unpack this mess.

• "avoiding the constraints of a perspective that focuses solely on certain aspects"  That's the end of the second paragraph.  Now just what might be these "certain aspects"?   Might these "certain aspects" include minor details such as the Sixth Commandment and the Church's laws on marriage and receiving Holy Communion worthily?
• "This apostolic exhortation, which follows on the Synod of Bishops that met in October of 2014 and another in 2015 to discuss the challenges to marriage and family today, reflects the consensus of those meetings and many voices."  Whom does he think he's fooling?  We all know that the final report of the extraordinary sin-nod contained three paragraphs that were voted out by the bishops in attendance.  We all know these reports were compiled too quickly after the discussions; the only logical explanation is that these reports were created before the discussions, if not before the synods themselves.
• "Holy Father points the way to how the Church might take steps to support married couples and families in their lives, and to mercifully bring hope and healing to those who find themselves in broken and wounded situations, with a sensitivity toward the diversity of particular relationships and cultures,"  Are we truly to believe that for the past 2000+ years of Christianity the Church has not known how do deal with these "broken and wounded situations"?  Those means of healing remain exactly the same for the words of Jesus Christ Himself are immutable.  We'll spell it out.  Any underlying sin must be eradicated and confessed to a priest.  The occasion of sin must be abandoned.  God's Commands transcend "particular relationships and cultures".  Therefore, these "relationships and cultures" must be brought to conformity with God's commands, not vice versa.
• "Even for those in a marriage that does not reflect entirely the Church’s teaching, continues the Pope, Christ inspires the Church to turn to them with love and affection to assist them in overcoming the trials they face."  Again, this is no mystery.  The underlying sin must be eradicated and repented of in the Sacrament of Confession.  The occasion of sin must be eradicated and/or abandoned.  Important edit: If this "marriage" involves a "spouse" who was married to another and was civilly divorced without a proper annulment, then no real "second marriage" exists.  Rather, the situation is an adulterous shack-up.  Any priest worthy of his collar will tell the parties in no uncertain terms to immediately cease and desist their mortal sin of adultery.
• "Without claiming to present an entire pastoral plan, the Holy Father calls for a family apostolate that offers more adequate catechesis and formation, not only of engaged and married couples and their children, but also priests, deacons, seminarians, consecrated religious, catechists, teachers, social workers, medical professionals, and other pastoral workers."  If that catechesis involves absolute and unwavering fidelity towards the teachings of Holy Mother Church as she has taught over the past several hundred years, this might be one tiny silver lining to an otherwise very gloomy cloud.
• The hermeneutic required for a fruitful appropriation of the document’s teaching on this point is based on the understanding that none of the teaching of the Church has been changed: This includes the doctrine on the indissolubility of marriage, the directives of the Code of Canon Law, and also the role of individual conscience in the determination of personal culpability. If that individual conscience acts in disobedience to God's commands, even if it is aware of the demands of God's law, full culpability exists.  If the sin is inherently serious, in the case of full knowledge that sin is very likely mortal.  No "hermeneutic" will change that.
• "The exhortation does not create some sort of internal forum process in which a marriage can be annulled, or in which the objective moral order can be changed. Instead, the exhortation places greater emphasis on the role of the individual conscience in appropriating those moral norms in the person’s actual circumstances".  Got that?  We give the perfunctory nod to the "objective moral order" but if it contradicts these "actual circumstances", well, "objective moral order" be damned.  That's what's really being said.
• "In this context, the role of the priest in listening and offering affirmation or challenge to persons as they work through their own understanding of their situation becomes central to the type of pastoral work with married couples needed today. It is the very heart of the ministry of accompaniment that the exhortation calls for."  Let's cut through the flim-flam, shall we?  Working through the situation boils down to conformity with God's laws and nothing else.  If these laws are being transgressed, that transgression must cease immediately, and the sin be confessed, along with the resolution to avoid the near occasion of that sin.  If the priest eschews these simple truths in the pursuit of this "ministry of accompaniment" he will likely find himself in the unenviable position of cooperating with mortal sin via his silence.  By the way, can anyone tell me just where in the Church's 2000+ years of tradition can this phrase "ministry of accompaniment" be found?
• "The apostolic exhortation calls for a compassionate pastoral approach to many people - married, single, and divorced - who are struggling to face issues in life, the teaching of the Church, and their own desire to reconcile all of this."  Desire to reconcile - or - desire to justify the continuance of mortal sin?

I'll close this piece with one last quote. "In the action of going out, encountering, sharing, and accompanying, moreover, we also recognize that in the journey, we - ourselves - are also drawing closing to the Lord."  I'm copying/pasting these excerpts right from the article so I guess "drawing closing" is a typo that was supposed to mean "drawing closer".  If so, that statement is brashly presumptuous. Amoralis Lamentia is one giant screed designed to exalt man's faulty, unformed and uninformed conscience over God's transcendent, immutable commands.  Any deviance from those Divine commands is sin, "hermeneutics" and "accompaniment" notwithstanding.

I pray that the four "dubia" Cardinals see their way to issuing the formal correction since it is apparent that the pope has no intention of answering the dubia.  Cardinal Wuerl's piece, for what it's worth, reflects the intentions of the pope regarding Amoralis Lamentia.  To follow this path that the pope and his collaborators set forth is to flirt with eternal damnation. We must pray, speak the truth and resist this evil onslaught.

Vennari: Amoris Laetitia And Situation Ethics

John Vennari, editor of Catholic Family News, passed away yesterday after a bout with cancer.  Catholic Family News, along with the Wanderer and the Remnant, was at the forefront of Catholic media who told the truth about the massive deconstruction of the Faith that was being masterminded by progressives during the 20th century.  They started their work long before the advent of the internet.  Faithful Catholics owe men like Vennari much gratitude.  Let us pray for the eternal repose of his soul and for consolation for his family and friends.

Below is a talk that Vennari gave sometime last year in Chicago.  It may well be the last public address that he was able to give.  Anyway, he exposes the foundations of Amoralis Lamentia as being the heresy of situation ethics, and why acceptance of AL would greatly undermine Catholic moral theology.

I urge all to watch this, but first let's engage in a rather amusing digression.  Vennari and others helped pioneer the new Catholic media, of which this blog is a small part.  Not all greet us with enthusiasm.  The mainstream progressives, with their loyal lemmings, take great umbrage with us for depriving them of their monopoly over the public forum of Catholic ideas.  Take, for instance, this piece posted on Crud.  Notice how we are described as "cornered animals who snarl and bite"?  Then Longenecker quotes from Father Rosica, who in his suit against Vox Cantoris, did indeed play the biting and snarling animal.  Perhaps John Vennari can read this from his vantage point and have a chuckle while praying for us as we pray for him.

Trump Defunds UNFPA Over Forced Abortion

President Trump has removed US funding from the United Nations Population Fund.  He did so because the UNFPA participates in China's policies of forced abortion.  LifeSiteNews has more details.  At the very least, US tax dollars will not be used to drag women into abortuaries so that their babies can be violently ripped out of their wombs.  It is very possible that quite a few babies will be saved on account of the abortion apparatus being cash-crimped.

One can now hear the screeching and howling of feminazis and population-control wonks everywhere.  By the way - about which population-control guru have we been hearing?  That's right!  Paul Ehrlich!  This forced-abortion shill was invited by the Vatican to address its "biological extinction" conference last month.  I suppose the "biological extinction of the human race" is near and dear to Ehrlich's heart, but I digress.  Given the bevy of pro-aborts who have been invited to speak at the Vatican and who have lent input into Laudato Si, we can imagine that they are not enthused about the defunding of the UNFPA.  Never have I thought that I'd see the day when the White House would be more pro-life than the Vatican, but such seems to be the case these days.

The population-control ghouls are not the only ones who sense that the gravy train is pulling into the station.  Church Militant has an article about an association of witches who are casting hexes on Trump.  The invocation of demons is very serious business.  At least they grasp the magnitude of the spiritual battle, albeit from the wrong side.  Do we?  Pray for protection of Trump and for all good people.  Pray for conversion of those embroiled in sin.  Do so now.

Deconstructing The Faith With Amoralis Lamentia

I need not spend too much time reinventing the wheel as it were.  Suffice it to say that if one has had their eyes open and if they haven't been given over to a pollyanna-esque happy-clappy self-deception, they will understand the dangers to souls that have been coming from the Vatican, at the apparent instigation of the pope.  The Wild Voice put together a chronology (not all-encompassing, by their own admission) of doings and sayings of Pope Francis that have been, at best, most unseemly for a Vicar of Christ.

I will post after the jump break two videos.  One is a talk given by John-Henry Weston, one of the two co-founders of LifeSiteNews, given at the same conference at which Michael Hichborn spoke when he spoke of "Catholic Charities and the Culture of Death".  Weston addresses the various things that the pope has done to undermine the Faith and he does so from the perspective of the Fatima predictions.

The one following that is a homily posted by Sensus Fidelium entitled "The Road To The Dubia: Amoris Laetitia".  In it the priest lays out just why that document is a deliberate attack on three Sacraments: Confession, Communion, Matrimony.  He calls Amoralis Lamentia "a Henry VIII moment in the Church".  In the very beginning, he also gives definitions of Church Tradition, public revelation, etc.  Please invest the time to listen to these talks and to be informed.  If some, particularly parents, claim not to have the time to do so, understand that the eternal salvation of your children may well depend on you being informed about the spiritual wolves that are waiting to devour your children.  As Weston states, we must be informed so that we can both pray properly and speak in defense of the truth.  Now the videos:

Some Food For Thought, Given Today's Date

Given today's date, this might be worth a re-read.