The Air Is Fresher In Germantown Now

..And in Hyattsville too, for that matter.  This week the Germantown Reproductive Health Services, along with its sister abortuary, Prince Georges Reproductive Health Services, ceased slaughtering babies as they have been bought and closed by the Maryland Coalition for Life.  Operation Rescue published a picture of a junk truck outside the Germantown mill.  I agree that it seems rather fitting.

For now, Leroy Carhart is not committing abortions, and the late-term ones are not happening in Maryland.  He and his fellow abortion ghouls are making noises about procuring another Maryland location.  Sadly we can understand why Maryland is a prime location, given the abortion-enabling politicians who slither through the halls of local governments here; Montgomery County is among the worst for that.

I salute my fellow activists who prayed, counseled and witnessed at that hell hole for many years.  Most of all we thank God for hearing our prayers. May God have mercy on us all and bring this nation to repentance for all the innocent blood it continues to wantonly shed.

Pope Francis Rejects Faithful Catholics, Honors Dissidents

LifeSiteNews advises us that Pope Francis appointed to the Pontifical Council for Life five individuals who are known dissenters from Humanae Vitae.  I have already pointed out on this blog how the pope essentially evicted all the members of that Council months ago, including pro-life stalwarts such as Josef Seifert.

Last April the dubia cardinals requested an audience with the pope so that they could discuss the concerns that they broached in their dubia regarding Amoralis Lamentia.  They have yet to receive a reply to that request, let alone the audience itself.  However, a relatively unknown individual named Stephen Walford and his entire family were granted such an audience.  While claiming to be a theologian of sorts, he appears to work full-time as a piano tuner.  However, he wrote an article that appeared in the Vatican Insider.  I wrote about this screed before but will now go into a few more details.  The contents of that article include:

• claims that the writings of faithful Catholic bloggers (such as myself) are "nothing short of satanic"
• chiding the dubia cardinals to "get with the times"
• stating that "the old ways of converting no longer work"
• accusing the dubia cardinals for being "role models for traditionalist blogs" - Walford probably doesn't understand that to be an actual compliment
• this - "We cannot preach hell to people who consider an eternity of heaven to be dull and pointless".  If he continues with that prattling, he may not have to worry about a "dull and pointless" eternity.

As you can see, he was invited to the Vatican precisely because he wrote pabulum that is nothing more than a shill-fest for both Amoralis Lamentia and situation ethics.  

So here are two clear instances of faithful Catholics being rejected and rebuffed while dissidents and brown-nosers are honored.  These are just the latest.  We simply have to have our eyes wide open and understand the reality of the anti-Catholic climate in the Vatican at this time.

Evangelical Christians School Defenders Of Amoralis Lamentia

Today's online issue of Crisis magazine featured a book review of Cardinal Coccopalmerio's attempt to justify chapter 8 of Amoralis Lamentia.  This chapter is one of the most troubling parts of AL as it erroneously states that adulterers can receive Holy Communion while still continuing their mortally sinful conduct.  The review is called, "A Cardinal's Implausible Defense Of Amoris Laetitia".  Implausible it is.

I don't need to add commentary to this good review.  I will add some context, though, considering this cardinal.  Most recently, a priest-secretary of his was busted for hosting a drug/gay orgy on Vatican premises.  At the time of the bust, Msgr Capozzi was so stoned that he had to be taken to a hospital for detoxification.  Coccopalmerio also said that some Anglican orders were valid.

So the good cardinal is trying to be ecumenical.  Well, here's an idea for him to promote ecumenism and to actually improve Amoralis Lamentia.  A group of American evangelical Christians stated some solid moral teachings regarding marriage in the form of articles.  They call it the Nashville Statement.  As far as morals go, it seems quite faithful to Traditional teaching.  It certainly is a vast improvement over the spiritual rot that is now embedded in this alleged papal teaching.  Why doesn't the Cardinal - in the interests of "dialogue", of course - suggest that chapter 8 be scrapped and this Nashville Statement be inserted in its place?

Seriously speaking, that replacement would be a vast improvement.

Why We Blog - From The Remnant

Coming from the Remnant, this is good to know.  It helps reassure us that we aren't speaking into a vacuum.

"Apparently, traditional Catholic bloggers have gotten under Francis’ thin skin. The underlying cause of the Pope’s angst is that the conservative Catholic bloggers and websites are making their voice heard by daring to promote the Catholic faith and exposing the papal plots and diabolical alliances."

I commend the entire article to your reading.  If you feel called to join us with your own blog or other writing apostolate, please do so.  There never will be too many of us.  Thank you.

California Catholic School Disgraces Itself - Action Needed

"For he that shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man also will be ashamed of him, when he shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."  Mark 8:38, Douay-Rheims

The above passage came immediately to mind when I read the disgraceful news that San Domineco School in San Anselmo CA had removed almost all of its statues from view.  Why?  So that they could be "inclusive", of course!  Inclusive of what? They are a Catholic instution, charged with the mission of promulgating the Faith and teaching it to their students!  They seek to kow-tow towards the world, including all except faithful Catholics: you know, the ones who pay the tuitions.

Reading down this article, we see that this statue removal is merely their latest slap in the faces of Catholic parents.  Sacramental preparation has been removed from the curriculum.  The word "Catholic" was removed from the school's mission statement.

Let's look at some of the "movers and shakers" behind the obliteration of San Domenico's Catholic identity, shall we?  We start with Amy Skewes-Cox, head of the Board of Trustees.  A google of her name reveals that she is an "environmental and land use planner".  Well, that's nice but how does that qualify her to make pronouncements about Catholic identity? Moreover, how did that qualify her to take the helm of a Catholic school's board of trustees?  A search of the Federal Election Commission's database reveals that she contributed several hundred dollars to both Obama and Bernie Sanders and to an progressive political organization called America Coming Together.  This organization was heavily funded by George Soros and the SEIU.  This leads me to suspect that if anything, her opinion of Catholic identity may well be hostile.

Cecily Stock is the Head of the School.  Why do we see a 2015 facebook picture of her in the "celebrate pride" framework? (Don't bother pulling it down for I've already downloaded it!)  In the article, she states that San Domenico is both Catholic and independent.  She quite plainly states that they are suppressing Catholicism to emphasize their independence.  Independence from what? Catholic morality?  Given her obvious sympathies for gay perversion, a reasonable person could surmise so.

Let's look at the school's website.  At the home page, watch that initial slide show and you'll notice that there is not one hint of the school's Catholic background.  Click on the "Our Values" link.  They believe that their students are supposed to "discover our own beliefs and values" - no mention at all about learning the truths of the Catholic faith so as to aid them in saving their souls.  The "our community is comprised of families of many faiths" is a sanctimoneous ode to the heresy of indifferentism.  The "inclusivity and diversity" item on the left side bar leads to more of the same.

At the top stretches another sub-menu.  Select "student life" at the top, then "clubs and co-curricular" on the left side.  A glance at the club selection is most telling.  We see a "model united nations", "social justice", "yoga".  The first two are progressive pabulum; the "yoga" is nothing more than introduction to spiritual poison.  Now why don't we see a "pro-life" club? How about one focusing on Catholic devotions such as the Rosary?  Or were they uncerimoneously abolished?

We could go one and one, but you get the drift.  The article states that the school has heard from a number of good, concerned parents and has been dismissive of their concerns.  They might not be so nonchalant in the face of a massive outcry.  That is where we come in.  Here is the school's contact page.  In addition to the mailing address and phone numbers, we see the school's various social media sites.

In addition to contacting the school itself, I'd suggest contacting the Archdiocese of San Francisco.  Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone might be receptive to our concerns.  Please ask him to have the school embrace its Catholic heritage and if they refuse, to strip the school of its right to call itself "Catholic".

Be Careful - What You Sing You Will Believe

Today during the offertory we sang a hymn written by Carl P. Daw Jr., an Episcopal "priest".  In good conscience I had to cease singing at this line: "But God reveals to searching faith the truths that pious dogmas hide".   See the problem?  Authentic dogma does not hide truth; rather it proclaims and clarifies truth.

When I returned home, I did some research and learned that he is Episcopalian.  If he had in mind Episcopal tenets when he penned that line, well, I can concede that some of them do obfuscate truth.  All protestant denominations have as beliefs some forms of heresy, to varying degrees.

I'd wager, however, that many Catholics just passively sang the hymn without being aware of what they were singing.  Even more so do I believe that many did not think to do any research into the background of this song.  They could well have believed that the hymn referred to Catholic dogma.  Thus, in their subconscious minds was introduced the idea that authentic dogma and objective truth can sometimes be at odds with one another.

Music is a powerful tool.  As with anything else, we must subject to strict scrutiny what music we allow to form us.

Community Organizing - Jesuit Style

On Monday, Pope Francis gave an address in which he tried to cajole western nations into accepting even more unvetted immigrants, making the claim that migrants' "rights" trump national security concerns.  Yes, he said that explicitly.  It is said that he is ignoring critics who call his tocsin naive and unrealistic.  Well, not only are they naive, but they are inherently sinful, for he is calling on civil governments to ignore their first duties, that towards their citizens.  I will not rehash what I've already written on his contradiction of Summa Theologica; rather I'll link to it here.  The pope also contradicts the Catechism of the Catholic Church; see here.

In that first link (to Breitbart) the pope is said to have made immigration a "priority of his pontificate".  Odd!  The primary duty of the pontiff has always been to safeguard and promulgate the Faith for the eternal salvation of souls.  Since when do temporal political opinions trump matters of salvation, especially for one so charged?  But I do believe the pope when he says in essence that his priorities are skewed.

Another skewed priority appears to be the toppling of Catholic teaching.  Amoralis Lamentia appears to have been crafted with that aim in mind.  Austrian philosopher Josef Seifert was a friend of Pope St John Paul II and is a staunch defender of Church teachings.  No doubt this was a factor in him being purged from the Pontifical Academy for Life during the draconian purge of several months ago.  He analyzed AL, particularly paragraph 302, and concludes that as it stands, Amoralis Lamentia will destroy the Church's moral doctrine if it is allowed to stand.

Pope Francis is a Jesuit.  Among other things, he evinces all the traits of a modernist.  I'd like now to link to a biographical sketch of another Jesuit who was instrumental in spreading the poison of modernism in that order - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.  I learned something new and not altogether surprising - that de Chardin is directly descended from Voltaire.  I'm not going to go through the whole thing.  Rather, I'll focus on one quote: "According to my own principles, I cannot fight against Christianity; I can only work inside it by trying to transform and convert it. A revolutionary attitude would be much easier, and much more pleasant, but it would be suicidal. So I must go step by step, tenaciously."(Letter, Mar. 21, 1941)

Sound familiar?  Similar sentiments were voiced by de Chardin's contemporary, Saul Alinsky: "True revolutionaries do not flaunt their radicalism. They cut their hair, put on suits and infiltrate the system from within."  I don't know if the two men knew each other but they both espoused the same evil ends: the deconstruction of Christianity and western civilization.

It seems that both de Chardin and the pope have "infiltrated the system" and are "converting it" (the pope's part still in progress).  Both the massive influx of potentially violent muslim immigrants and the fundamental compromise of the Church's teachings will have destabilizing impacts on civilization and the eternal salvation of millions of souls.  Let me now remind you of another fundamental concept - that of the Cloward-Piven Strategy.  My blogging colleague at Les Femmes pointed out as she was mentioning how the Charlottesville situation was so obviously contrived by progressive Democrats in high places of authority in Virginia government, that the whole thing was an implementation of that strategy.  I've written about it in the past.  Here is a more comprehensive treatment of that strategy.

It sounds like we have "community organizing" going on at the Vatican.  The "communities" being organized are muslim terrorists and dissidents of every stripe in order to bring western civilization to its knees.  We need to keep our eyes open and help others to do the same.

Action Alert - Especially For My Readers In Ireland (But Others Join In)

Via Facebook I became aware of this travesty. It occurred at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Menlough, County Galway, Ireland.  The occasion was the August 12th wedding of Rois Lydon and Paudie Mannion.  As you can see, the priest, Father John O'Gorman, takes it upon himself to trash the rubrics of Holy Mass to turn the church into a dance hall, cajoling the wedding party to join him in the sacrilege.

The congregation has the right to a reverential Mass true to the rubrics set forth by the Church.  It is through these rubrics that the congregation appreciates and understands the purpose of the Mass as an unbloody sacrifice of Our Lord.  We are in need of that participation for our very salvation - hence the need for the Third Commandment.  No other consideration - good though that consideration is in and of itself - can overrule the order of Holy Mass.

In another blog, there was some discussion about whether or not it does any good to spread this kind of "bad news".  Well, for it's own sake, or just because we want to gripe, I'd say "no".  But that's not why this blog exists.  One key thing we must recall is that each and everyone of us is part and parcel of the Church Militant.  We, each and everyone of us, has a duty to act in the face of these evils - no exceptions.  This scenario is no different.  Those of you in the British Isles are better able to place phone calls to protest this particular outrage.  However, those of us in different parts of the world can certainly send emails of protest to the Archdiocese of Tuam, in which this parish is situated.  I just sent one to both the chancellor and vicar general of that diocese.  Let's all raise our voices.

Venerable Fulton Sheen On Signs Of Our Times

Consider that he gave this talk in 1947.  He might as well have given it yesterday.

Austen Ivereigh - Water Boy For Papal Progressives

As the left wing in the US has been taking potshots at US history and those who defend our traditions, so too do their counterparts in Church circles snipe at those who defend the Teachings of Jesus Christ.  Recently a Crud commentator named Austen Ivereigh penned a diatribe called "Pope Francis And The Convert Problem".   In his second paragraph, he claims "I don't want to be seen as sniffy and condescending towards people who become Catholic.."  The italics are mine and for a reason.  He doesn't want to be seen for something he really is; what else do we call it when he coins the term "convert neurosis"?

I could take an hour to unpack that mess.  Suffice it to say that he is simply trying his level best to disparage faithful intelligent converts as a lame excuse for not paying attention to their common-sense questions and objections.  I, a cradle Catholic, have documented scores of this pontiff's misdeeds and gaffes, and I haven't been the only one.  It doesn't take a degree in advanced theology to understand that those living in adultery cannot receive Holy Communion, etc, etc..  By the way - that is one reason why it should have taken the pope only a few minutes to craft a proper reply to the dubia that were submitted by the four cardinals almost one year ago.

Today we see that Mr. Ivereigh moved on to other faithful Catholics who have taken issue with the immorality that is sanctioned by Amoris Laetitia (or Amoralis Lamentia).  Today's Crud piece is called "Papal Confidante Says Amoris Critics Locked In Death-Trapped Logic".  That "confidante" is none other than Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, a.k.a. "Bishop Kissy-Face".  I dubbed him that because of a porn piece book that he wrote called "Heal Me With Your Mouth - The Art Of Kissing".  The article states that Fernandez helped draft Amoris; indeed they do have similarities to things he wrote long before the two synods: so much for Amoralis Lamentia stemming from all this "collegiality" of the bishops.

Going further down the article, we are treated to some very faulty theology from the bishop (surprise!).  To wit:"In the case of norms forbidding killing and stealing, for example, the norms are absolute, admitting of no exceptions; yet it is questionable, he said, whether taking life in self-defense is killing, or taking food to feed a hungry child is stealing."

We will do a little unpacking here.  The Fifth Commandment forbids murder.  Not all homicide is murder.  Thus the homicide in self-defense would not be any sort of violation of the Fifth Commandment.  The Seventh Commandment forbids the taking of property against the reasonable will of the owner.  If the taking of food is the only way to feed a starving child, the reasonable will of the owner would be to give the food.  In both cases, the Commandments are not violated.  See how these progressives attempt to justify situation ethics by obfuscating the language?

In the following paragraph he attempts to continue the obfuscation in order to justify the mortal sin of adultery.  In this case, both parties in adultery are endangering their own souls and each other's, as well as inflicting scandal upon the children.  That is what is being touted in Amoralis Lamentia.

Now who are these "amoris critics locked in death-trap logic"?  That august number might include the converts whom Ivereigh vilified in his earlier article.  They most certainly include the dubia cardinals who seem to be preparing a formal correction.  Ivereigh appears to have a new job - damage control for the Vatican progressives.

Tsk! Tsk! George Soros Is Behind On His Payments! For Shame!

And Anitfa is none too happy!  When one employs barbarians, one must make sure there is no discord in the ranks lest they do to you what you directed that they do to others!  By the way - The twitter account to which the video was posted is a satire account.  That doesn't indicate whether or not the video account itself is authentic.  Still, it's good for a laugh.

What isn't satire is that Soros funds not only this bunch of neanderthals, but close to two hundred other progressive cabals.  Here's the list.  Please note that the Campaign for Human Development partners with many of these.  Here's a "rule of thumb" that I follow; I donate to nothing that has any affiliation whatsoever with any of these sordid outfits.

Cardinal Burke: Formal Correction Now Necessary

As we all know, the pope has not responded to the dubia issued by Cardinals Burke, Branduller, Caffara, and the now-deceased Meisner.  The dubia were five very simple questions, requiring a mere "yes" or "no".

Cardinal Burke, in a recent interview, has stated that in light of the pope's unresponsiveness, a formal correction on some areas of the pope's teachings (particularly as found in Amoris Laetitia) is now necessary.  The pope will then be obliged to respond.  As Burke points out, the Church is being divided over various interpretation of Amoris Laetitia.  Recent comments from the Vatican favor interpretations that fly in the face of Church Tradition, i.e., the Teachings of Jesus Christ.

LifeSiteNews has summarized twelve points about this situation.  The text of the interview (at least the pertinent section) is here.   Meanwhile, Cardinal Brandmuller (another dubia cardinal) published an article about a tradition of popes reciting a declaration of faith upon their ascents to the char of Peter; it's high time that tradition was reinstated.

Let us pray that these Cardinals can proceed with all due haste, and more importantly, that the pope will respond to this correction in such a way that will preserve fidelity to the Church's timeless teachings on marriage, family, sexuality, and the sacraments.

James Alex Fields May Not Be Guilty Of Intentional Homicide

Hitherto many people (myself included) believed James Alex Fields to be guilty of murder in the death of Heather Heyer.  Certainly the progressives are milking that tragedy for all they can.  Videos and pictures have surfaced that indicate that Fields may have been acting in panic, even fear for his life when he accelerated into the crowd.  The video is below:

Now here is a "still" of the instant when Fields' car was hit - note the plates, it is his car.

Are they the same scene?  Between the video and the picture, compare the stances of the striker, the knee-length pants, shoes and socks, baggy shirt, flagpole, the man standing on the other side of the road.  They are the same scene.

This post, because it is a long one, will continue after the jump break, so..

What Really Happened In Charlottesville?

Like all decent people of all stripes, I am appalled at the wanton vehicular murder of the young woman in Charlottesville VA this past Saturday, August 12, 2017.  Let us pray for the repose of her soul, as well as consolation for her grieving family.  We also pray for the conversions of all perpetrators in the strife this past Saturday that led to the murder of this woman, as well as to injuries to others and the helicopter deaths of the two troopers.

Antifa poster found in Portland OR

I regret though, that the truth behind what happened is deliberately being obfuscated by progressives, not only in the media but in high places in both the governments of Charlottesville and the State of Virginia.  Two opposing factions share blame, in truth.  On the one hand, there was the so-called "alt-right", composed mainly of neo-nazis, white supremists and ku klux klan.  On the other hand there were the "black lives matter" crowd along with antifa.  Joining both groups were individuals of various political convictions.

To listen to the progressive shills, one would think that the "alt-right" was responsible for all the hatred while the blm/antifa people were pure as the driven snow.  Some, including the mayor of Charlottesville, went so far as to blame the president, while others blamed the NRA and gun rights advocates (despite the fact that not one shot was fired during the melee).  Regrettably some in Catholic circles are swallowing that kool-aid - or simply parroting the required "talking points".

To refresh your memories about the violence perpetrated by antifa and "black lives matter", I'll post links to some videos: here, here, here

A facebook post that I read sums up the sequence of events.  I'll paste it below and beneath that post some corroborating links.

So here's what happened in VA. People protesting removing of monuments got a permit to protest at 12:00. Early that morning Antifa was being flown and bused in from around the country. At 8:45 The govenor sends State police in to cancel a protest that hadn't started. They forced the protesters out in the streets to a waiting mob of Antifa and BLM. The police were given orders to stand down and let the protesters be attacked. This was a set up by the governor to take away protesters first amendment rights. It doesn't matter what the protesters had to say. They had a right to say it. Please share!

The alt-right rally was planned in advance; this is corroborated by WTOP..  They were protesting the planned removal of a statue of Robert E Lee from city grounds in Charlottesville.  They had a permit that was rescinded at the very last minute, quite possibly so that Democrat officials could appease their progressive bosses.  They were forced to the area where antifa and blm counter-protesters were and were attacked.  The police had been ordered to stand down, despite having cordoned the opposing parties in the same area. Whoever gave the order(s) for police stand-down was complicit in the violence that occurred, quite possibly deliberately so.

The left-wing media pins sole responsibility for the violence on the alt-right, while it appears that there is plenty of blame to go around.  The ACLU of Virginia acknowledged that in one of their tweets.  Right now I'll link to some background information on Black Lives Matter and Antifa; that is necessary for understanding their mindsets and their methodologies.  After the car murder, a reporter incurred the arbitrary wrath of one such leftist; fortunately he has been arrested.

The left-wing is proceeding with all due haste to rewrite history.  In Durham North Carolina, protesters pulled down a statue of a Confederate leader.  They are desecrating graves of Confederate leaders.  They are issuing calls for more violence.

Today the president criticized the violence from both factions.  At a press conference, he rhetorically asked reporters if George Washington and Thomas Jefferson should have their statues removed since they were both slave owners, correctly pointing out the left's attempt to rewrite history and culture itself.  Michael Farris of Alliance Defending Freedom addressed the situation, particularly the attempt to squelch what some might call "hurtful speech".

I am now linking to a facebook video presented by Avialae Horton, who attended the rally and who experienced things that aren't reported in the media.  It, and the pictures in the comments section, are worth watching.  I might differ on a few points. She alludes that a goal of the left is "white genocide"; rather, I suspect their goal is the destruction of Western civilization.  She also believes that the federal government was in on the collusion.  Had Hillary won the White House, that would have been the case.  Clearly though, both the Charlottesville and Virginia officials were colluding with the leftists.  She mentioned an alt-right leader being mobbed at a press conference; here is that video.

Before this post gets too long, I'll close it with a video from Reality Check.  I haven't seen a whole lot on this matter from other Catholic bloggers (with the exception of Creative Minority Report), save a few things stating that "hatred is on both sides" and "prayer is needed".  While that is true, I think we have to grapple with the details of what really happened this weekend and not be reluctant to acknowledge the differing levels of responsibility.  Not all are equally guilty and we must acknowledge that.  We have to learn not only to pray but to speak and act in decisive manners.  Clearly the leftwing is on a rampage to destroy any vestiges of Christian bedrock from our civilization.  That will only lead to more loss of life, not to mention the eternal damnation of countless souls  Let's acknowledge that without fear of offending them.  We must pray, but we also must resist with the authority that is ours, lest we have to face Our Lord at the end of our lives and have to answer for cowardice.

CCHD Collection Today

My apologies!  With different things going on (some of them personal), I forgot completely about the attempted in-pew shakedown that occurred today in the Archdiocese of Washington.  Yes, it was the CCHD collection, in which the donation dollars of many Catholics are diverted to various and sundry anti-God, anti-life and progressive organizations.

Fortunately, I could see as the basket came my way that it was quite empty.  I fully hope that by now faithful Catholics are getting the word that their contributions to this organization actually harms the true mission of the Church, that is, the salvation of souls.

I also noticed that they dropped that silly schtick about calling it "Communications and Human Development Campaign" and were at least honest about calling it the collection for Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

Despite my memory lapse, I pray that this collection fizzled, for the sake of Holy Mother Church.  Most of the nation's CCHD collections will happen in November (original nationwide date).  Let's be sure to boycott those collections too.

In The Face of Opposition From Church Of Nice, Stay Alert And Active

Let me cut immediately to the chase.  The evidence is clear and irrefutable in indicating that Pope Francis is angry at those faithful Catholics who are not blindly following as he attempts to deconstruct the Faith and Western civilization.  He is especially irritated when we call him out, along with his lackeys, as they make their moves.  On one level this saddens me, but on another level it tells me that the light we shine is having beneficial impact.

More and more people are waking up.  The Remnant commented on a piece put out by Fox News.  That piece pointed out that the pope's disdain for Trump and his policies is obvious.  By extension, those of us who supported Trump over Hillary also warrant the papal stink-eye.  I pointed out two pieces of evidence yesterday.  Those are just the latest; there will undoubtedly be more.

Today Michael Voris released a Vortex in which he summarizes some "talking points" of the "church of nice", i.e. the progressive-infested hierarchy.  Please look at those points and consider a few things.

• The thinking behind all these "talking points" runs rampant through Amoris Laetitia, or as I call it, Amoralis Lamentia.  This post from One Peter Five links to an in-depth analysis of the errors of Amoralis Lamentia; it is worth a read even though it's rather lengthy.
• They stem from the heresy of situation ethics.

Voris rightly rebukes the prelates who are destroying the church and jeopardizing their souls.  Whether or not it is Voris' thinking, I believe that the pope must be included in that number and must also receive our prayers for clarity of thinking and preaching, if not salvation itself.

We need to be aware of these matters so that, at the very least, we can pray intelligently for our Church and, if appropriate, take action.

A Psychiatrist Examines Insults From The Vatican

Today's LifeSiteNews features an article written by Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons, a psychiatrist.  He read the article in La Civita Catolica (linked here, at the bottom of the page) in which the two authors are trash-talking the alliances between faithful Catholics and Evangelicals who share common concerns for western culture.  He brings his professional training and experience to bear as he detects issues of anger and control-seeking in the writings of the authors.

Might these issues be factors in some of the pope's own words?  Antonio Spadaro, one of the two La Civita authors, is close to the pope.  It isn't unreasonable to believe that the pope at least indirectly influenced the writing of that article.  Moreover, in yesterday's homily, the pope lobbed yet another insult against "Catholics who think they are perfect and scorn others".  Notice how once again the pope is fashioning a "straw man" out of Catholics who are trying to adhere to the Church's traditions, painting them as hypocrites who despise others.  In doing so, he attempts to hold us up to ridicule and scorn.  This is just the latest; in that first link to my article I link to other sources where the pope's slanderings of faithful Catholics are chronicled.

Yesterday a group of these evangelicals who were belittled by La Civita wrote an open letter to the pope, asking him for an audience so they could discuss these issues.  Now the pope is supposed to be game for ecumenism and dialogue, is he not?  Will he agree to an audience?  It would be grand if he did, but I'm not holding my breath.

Another Tale Of Two Bishops: Burke Versus Cruz

On July 22 in Louisville KY, Cardinal Burke spoke at a forum called "The Church Teaches".  That day he said two key things.  First he stated a point that was similar to one uttered by Bishop Schneider.  He warned against "idolatry of the papacy", an error that leads people to ascribe papal infallibility to every utterance that comes from a sitting pontiff.  In reality, the pope only speaks infallibly under very special circumstances.  Of course other teachings of the pope bear weight when they conform with Church Tradition.  One corollary error that attends this papal idolatry is a belief that the pope, never erring, can never be contradicted nor questioned even by faithful Catholics.

Burke also said during that same conference that "confusion and error" coming from shepherds at the highest level in the Church (i.e. the pope) "realistically seems to be apocalyptic".  Our Lady of Akita stated something very similar when she said that shepherds would be opposing one another.  She uttered the same concerns under her title Our Lady of Good Success.

As an example of confusion flowing forth from a bishop, I link now to an article in Crud, regarding Bishop Antonio Carlos Cruz Santos, a bishop of Brazil.  I won't go through the entire tome.  but during a recent homily, he said that "homosexuality is a gift from God".  We know that the homosexual orientation is inherently disordered.  If one acts upon that inclination, he/she mortally sins and also leads his/her accomplice in mortal sin.  In that homily Cruz both blasphemed God by saying that God gifted to mankind the occasion of mortal sin.  He also scandalized the congregation by his approval of mortal sin, possibly deceiving them into thinking that they could mortally sin without eternal consequences.

Please be praying your daily Rosaries.

The Scourge Of Silliness From Our Religious

When I wrote this post about the priests break-dancing for the sake of spectacle, I posted it to Twitter.  Since Father Patalinghug hurled flippant snark at some who voiced concerns for the dignity of the priesthood, I suspected that I too might have some flung in my direction.  Sure enough, here it is.

I have no idea what "drop the rocks" means.  Would someone enlighten me and tell me if that is language typically used by priests?

Most people I know don't make a habit of swiveling their hips.  I certainly don't.  I think our hips function adequately.  Why would we need to swivel our hips to ascertain that?

Quite frankly, the jocularity and mockery that Father is dishing out to us smacks of incredible hubris.  I understand that he is popular and pray that he snaps out of it on his own accord.  Else he might find himself brought crashing down owing to his celebrity going to his head.  If that happens to him, he wouldn't be the first one.  I understand that otherwise his ministry is orthodox and would hate to see another good priest trip himself up.

In another incident, a fully-habited sister, during a fund-raising event, got into a dunking booth.  She too made light of her consecrated state.  While the fund-raising might have been a noble goal, we know the ends don't justify the means.  Below are some comments, and I think some of them hit the nail on the head.

Note how Mr. Magee states that the Church is participating in "bread and circus".  He's quite right.  Never before in the Church's history has any religious ever made a joke of their vowed states.  They may not take themselves seriously, but they MUST take seriously their states as consecrated religious.
Note what Ms. Ranz says about the elements of malice and bullying (even if subconscious) and of humiliating one's superior, or one whose state in religion is more solemn than a lay person's.  Think about it; why else would the sight of dancing/rocking/goofy priests or religious be more enthralling than if the performer were a lay person?

These commenters are rightly lamenting how the concepts of reverence, dignity, etc have fallen off the radars of too many Catholics.  Not only are they not valued, they aren't even considered  at all.  You might recall from the earlier post how one person scoffed at the mention of St. Joseph Cafasso's book, as though the concepts of dignity, reserve, reverence were somehow obsolete.  That is how silly and shallow our youth-worship culture is, and that malady has infected the minds of even sincere Catholics.

I'm going to continue to call out the perpetrators and rebuke them.  How can we ask others to take the Church, and Our Lord, seriously when too many Catholics consider our traditions as fodder for infantile silliness?

A Homophile Meme Backfires

The poor dears!  Sometimes the progressives can't keep the truth out of their propaganda, best efforts notwithstanding.  The Royal Dutch Airlines tried, but despite themselves actually made the truth known.  Behold this tweet of theirs:

It doesn't matter who you click with. Happy #PrideAmsterdam 🏳️‍🌈 pic.twitter.com/ZTBHvCx1Pp

— Royal Dutch Airlines (@KLM) August 5, 2017

Anyone with one scintilla of common sense knows that only one of the combinations will lead to the proper function of seat belts.  That is, of course, the one where the two opposite but complementary  ends meet and then fasten together.  The other two just won't work.  This is an excellent analogy to marriage and sexual relations; only the combination of one biological man and one biological woman will form the union designed by nature and nature's God.  To attempt either of the other two will be to engage in an act of inherent futility at best and at worst lead to the damnation of the eternal souls of both parties.

If that is really how the Royal Dutch Airlines thinks that seat belts work, I'd suggest not flying with them.

Excellent Homily On Humanae Vitae

The Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary have on their website various pages that link to homilies of certain priests.  One of those priests is Fr. Joseph Rogers, pastor of St. John Neumann Church in Gaithersburg MD - my parish.  I was unable to attend Mass two Sundays ago.  On that Sunday (16th Week of Ordinary Time) he gave a homily on Humanae Vitae.  I link to it now.

I'd urge you to both download it and listen to it.  It is an excellent homily, especially in light of the fact that we hear so little of that pivotal encyclical.  Pray that more priests would speak clearly of this most crucial matter, for the salvation of souls.

Bishop Scheider: Catholics Not Called To Blind Obedience To The Pope

LifeSiteNews posted an interview with Bishop Schneider done on behalf of Rorate Caeli.  In this interview he touches upon a wide variety of topics:

• Communion in the hand
• The erroneous adulation being heaped upon Martin Luther
• The fact that Vatican II was a pastoral council, not dogmatic council
• The fact that Catholics are not called to blind obedience to the pope

Other topics are also treated.  I'd advise you to watch it in its entirety.  Please pray for protection for Bishop Schneider.  It does seem that those who don't march to progressive drums sounding forth from the Vatican are being mistreated badly.

Why I Trust The White House More Than The Vatican

Five years ago, the Messiah Most Miserable was polluting the White House while Pope Benedict XVI was the pontiff.  If anyone had told me then that there would come a time when I'd trust the White House more than the Vatican, I would have thought that they had taken leave of their senses.  Well, lo and behold, that day is upon us.

Michael Matt of the Remnant posted an article in which he remarks how some in the Trump Cabinet are engaging in Bible studies and being none too demure about it.  Meanwhile the US Catholic establishment gives mere token lip service to serious moral concerns while they eagerly pursue their socialistic agenda at the bidding of their progressive puppet-masters.

These puppet-masters include Vatican officials, who themselves are engaged in the same pursuits.  From LifeSiteNews we read that there will be another progressive gab-fest at the Vatican this coming November, called "Health of People, Health of Planet and Our Responsibility: Climate Change, Air Pollution and Health".  Isn't that a mouthful?

If it sounds familiar, it should.  This sort of schmooze session has occurred multiple times at the Vatican, particularly as Laudato Si was being formulated.  The LifeSiteNews piece gives a detailed description on the "usual gang of suspects" who will be giving presentations, etc.  I've written about many of these before; you need only to put their names in the search box at the top left.  All of them openly advocate for "population control" (including contraception, sterilization, abortion), one-world government (socialistic of course), climate-change junk science.

Remember when the pope criticized the president for being "not Christian"?  Perhaps it was an attempt to minimize Trump's attention to the Christian heritage of this country since his own leftist agenda showed reckless disregard for the Deposit of Faith.

Pray your Rosaries and stay informed.

Sacrilege In Ottawa

Archbishop Terrance Prendergast of the Archdiocese of Ottawa recently decided that the archdiocesan cathedral would participate in celebrations pertaining to Canada's 150th anniversary.  Such participation included allowing a giant mechanical spider to be perched on the cathedral.  Normal, sane people saw that as sacrilege.  The poor dear archbishop was just baffled that there were Catholics who take seriously the holiness of a Church in which the Blessed Sacrament is sheltered.

From Crud we read,  The archbishop of Ottawa expressed regret that several Catholics were shocked at the sight of a giant robotic spider perched on Notre Dame Cathedral.  Archbishop Terrence Prendergast said he was surprised by the negative reaction to an artistic initiative after critics called the spider’s placement “sacrilegious,” “demonic,” and “disrespectful” of a sacred space.

He is utterly clueless regarding his responsibilities as a successor to the Apostles.  What?  Did he think that faithful Catholics would sit in silence as a cathedral was prostituted for such a garish display.

Yesterday I wrote about a debacle in Steubenville in which priests performed garish dances to the hoots and applause of impressionable kids.   On facebook I read of a religious sister who allowed herself to be dunked to raise money.  All these instances are indicative of a mentality in which religious seem to hold their offices in little esteem, regarding their dignity with jocularity and even ridicule.  They think they are attracting attention.  In reality, they only make themselves gazingstocks.  Whatever their ends, those ends in no way justify the means.

Breakdancing Priests - Why Celebrity Priesthood Is An Oxymoron

A Catholic youth conference at Steubenville University concluded recently.  I'm not certain of the timing, only that it was a fairly major event.  Someone who attended posted video to her twitter account regarding one of the concerts that occurred.  It featured two priests breakdancing.  Here it is.

priests are boring & teens aren't invested in their faith, said no one who has ever been to a Saturday night at @go2steubenville #SteubieOTL pic.twitter.com/9wq03CYuGZ

— KatiePrejean McGrady (@KatiePrejean) July 23, 2017

Some good people objected to these priests carrying on in this fashion.  There has also been some discussion of this matter on facebook.  Many of the comments there betray a lack of appreciation for the dignity of the priesthood - and these come from faithful Catholics no doubt.  I'll post some of them below so you can get a flavor of them.  Below that I'll post some of the twitter conversation.

A little update - Since I started this post, I issued a few reply tweets to that video.  That apparently was enough for Katie Prejean McGrady (original tweeter) to block me from her twitter page.  Therefore I can only see it from here.

In looking back to see what I wrote on these matters at other times, I was reminded of this post that I wrote two months ago.  That is a post in which I address the lack of esteem that even good Catholics seem to have for dignified adulthood and the futility of emotion-based evangelism.  Many of them really do believe that young people won't pay attention to the truth unless priests disregard their own sacerdotal orders.  I'm also linking to another post that I wrote: while that post's topic isn't really germane to the topic of this post, the second paragraph has an analogy regarding "spiritual poison".  I've no doubt that many good things do occur at that conference.  However, this video teaches young people, and all ages for that matter, that emotions and "feelings" should take precedence over intellect, reason and will.  After the jump break I'll put up some of the facebook comments and why I believe they are emblematic of the mindsets that see such juvenile behavior as actually desirable.