Dissidence-Fomenting Jesuit Euologized In Catholic Standard

My colleague at An Archdiocese of Washington DC Catholic raised his eyebrows at a eulogy printed in the current Catholic Standard for Father Charles Currie.  Let's take a close look, shall we?

Here's a line from that online Standard link: "This work also led him to be a cofounder of the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice".  So who was the other founder of this "teach-in"?  We learn that from the Georgetown Voice.  He was ex-Father Bob Holstein.  He passed away about 16 years ago; here is his obituary.  He left the priesthood in 1967 because he thought the Church was "not progressive".  According to the obituary, he was involved in the Democrat Party and "liberal causes" for the remainder of his life.  He counted among friends California's Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown.

The two men were involved in the Ignatian Solidarity Network.  Also involved, or at least accepting awards for them were dissidents such as:

• Father James Martin
• Sister Helen Prejean
• Father Greg Boyle
• Sister Carol Keehan of the Pen of Perfidy

I suppose this could go on and on, but you get my point.  We should, of course, pray for Father Currie's eternal repose and that God have mercy on his soul.  He should not be eulogized in a Catholic newspaper.

Social Media Pressure A Factor In Apologies Of Bishops To Covington Boys

This afternoon Bishop Roger Foys of the Diocese of Covington finally issued an official apology for throwing the boys under the bus at the behest of the leftie hyenas.  While a tad weak, the words "I apologize" appear therein.  I regret that is more than the March for Life leadership has done to date (no doubt causing Nellie Gray to spin in her grave).  The apology and some analysis can be found on LifeSiteNews and elsewhere.  Archbishop Kurtz of Louisville has followed suit and also apologized on his blog.  So too did the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

My colleague at Les Femmes advises us that some high profile lawyers, acting on behalf of the students, are planning lawsuits against some of the barbarians who issued slander, libel and even threats against the boys.  I for one hope and pray that they are successful beyond their dreams.  That said, there exists the very real possibility that these three Catholic dioceses issued apologies to escape being targets for legal action; I wouldn't be surprised if that is the case.  At least something gave them cause for pause.  One Kentucky bishop, John Stowe of Lexington, continues to pile on the boys.  Lepanto Institute reveals that Stowe embraces just about all things heretical.  Perhaps the less-than-good bishop will find himself in legal cross hairs.

While I've no doubt that these prelates might well fear more lawsuits, we cannot discount the role that faithful Catholics all over the nation have played in this.  I'm sure many readers have joined in calling and/or emailing these dioceses to voice your displeasure.  Moreover, in Kentucky some have no doubt informed their prelates of their intentions to reduce or suspend any future donations.  Your voices, each and every one of yours', have played a pivotal role.  You probably heard of this atrocity over various blogs, facebook,etc - in short, through outlets that are independent of mainstream media.

However, there are Catholics who, for whatever reason, are encouraging us to eschew social media, claiming that "it doesn't matter what we say".  I have seen this mainly on facebook and have captured screenshots of those jaded sentiments.  The key player in this knows who he is, and may well be reading this post.  If I continue to see any more attempts to get us to stifle our voices, even if you believe your reasons to be spiritual and noble, I can promise you that you will be vociferously and publicly opposed.  If there is one thing for which I commend the left, it is their astute use of social media.  We are just starting to learn its power.  What a sin it would be for us to abandon this tool - and yes, I do mean to use the word "sin" in all its aspects.  It has proven to be of benefit to the Covington boys and I for one will take issue if other Catholics mistakenly deny their voices to these young men.

Nathan Phillips, General All-Around Fraud And Rabble Rouser

Nathan Phillips, the activist who accosted Nick Sandmann, is touted as a "native American elder" and a Vietnam Veteran.  Regarding the latter title, Phillips has not acted to dispel that misconception.  Had the press done some research and some basic arithmetic, they would have known it was impossible for Phillips to have served in Vietnam.  Right below this paragraph I will post video that shows copies of his service records; the video makes plain that while Phillips did not claim outright to have fought in Vietnam, he really expended no effort to correct the media's spin.  Indeed he most likely found it quite useful.


Phillips was born February 22, 1954.  In order for him to enlist at the age of 18, he could have done so no later than Feb 22, 1972.  He would have had to undergo basic training, a 13-week process.  After that, he would have gone onto the School of Infantry, another 8 weeks.  We're talking approximately 5 months before he would have been ready to deploy to a combat situation: that is, July-Aug 1972.  At that time, the Marines were being withdrawn from Vietnam; the last troops left Vietnam in March of 1973.  It's inconceivable that he would have gone to Vietnam as the bulk of US troops were leaving.  So much for that schtick!  Boys and girls, can we say "stolen valor"?

Phillips is quite adept at street theater - and video too, for that matter.  Here is an article that details some of his chequered past; be sure to watch that Skrillex video for some insight into his various attitudes. 

Mr. Phillips was a busy little bee that weekend.  After he wreaked havoc at the Lincoln Memorial (a feat that could still have bloody consequences), he attempted to barge into the Mass being held at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception the following Saturday's Mass at 5:15, all the while chanting and drum-banging.  Security guards had to lock the doors to keep the Phillips mob from disrupting Mass.  I pray that neither Wuerl nor Rossi will throw the Shrine guards under the bus for keeping that mob from disrupting Mass, but given the lack of moral conviction and courage of today's prelates, one cannot be too sure.  Will Phillips try to claim that he was surrounded by mean security guards?  I wouldn't put it past him.  But the truth is, he and his cabal are the real terrorists. 

President Trump, to his immense credit, has come to the defense of the Covington students.  Isn't it sad when we start to expect more charity and justice from our secular leaders than from our shepherds?  It sickens me to see that the Diocese of Covington and the Archdiocese of Baltimore saw fit to basically grovel before Phillips.  Foy and Lori played the feckless cowards.  We must hold them accountable. 

My Open Email To Covington High School

Here is my open letter to Covington High School.  Begin letter

Dear Principal Browe, if there was anything that disgraced your school over the past few days, it is that wretched “apology” that you now have on your website.  You immediately start off by condemning the actions of your students at the March for Life.   To your miniscule credit, you do promise an investigation, but should not your investigation have preceded your apology and your immediate condemnation of your own students? 

I would hope by now that you would have looked at the plethora of videos of that incident.  They clearly show Mr. Phillips and his friends approaching your students.  Then Phillips proceeded to get within inches of your student’s face while chanting loudly and beating his drums.  In other words, Phillips accosted your student; yet you hold your student to blame.  Under the circumstances and given his age, I believe your student showed remarkable restraint.  Your student, Nick Sandmann, who had the drum shoved in his face, has released his statement.  Have you read it?

I’ve no doubt that this “apology” was nothing more than a groveling attempt to cower from politically correct harping by the media.  I regret that your local bishop has decided to join in the braying for the heads of these young boys.  Will you be prepared to issue another apology, this time to the students whom you wronged?  I trust you are aware of the gravity of slander, and that is what you are committing against your students.

Should you be so foolhardy as to expel the boys, I hope that their families avail themselves of all legal recourse and sue your school for the maximum amount possible.  It is your conduct thus far that calls into question your claim to be a Catholic institution.

I hope that by the time you see this email, that you will have reconsidered your actions and the injuries that you have inflicted on your students. 

End of letter  I will advise when I get a response (as if that will happen!)

The young man has released a statement to CNN to give his perspective.  I link to it now.

Tomorrow I will also draft an email to the Covington diocese.  Their site remains down but here is their contact information.

The Covington High School Fiasco

And that is just what the administration of Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky is making of this.  I refer to the viral video clips going through the internet that portray students from that school, attending the March for Life, to be racists.  That groveling apology simply went up too quickly for any reasonable person to believe that the administration actually investigated the matter before they bad-mouthed their students and threatened them with expulsion.

There are other clips that tell quite a different story.  They show the school group on the steps of the Lincoln Monument as they await their bus.  In the rather long one below, you'll see that Nathan Phillips, the so-called "harassed Native American", approaches their group while banging his drum (about one hour into the clip).  He and his friends plow right through them and pick one young boy to target.  Phillips gets within inches of the boy's face while chanting and drumming.  The boy remains motionless and looks at him; since when is that "harrassment"?  If anyone was harassed, it's the boy who now is unjustly threatened with expulsion.



Now watch this one.  Who is uttering racist screed in this one?




The guy telling the boys to "go back to Europe" has his camcorder at the ready.  How convenient!  By the way - please notice that the boys eventually left (presumably to get their bus).

I linked to Covington Catholic High School above.  In the lower part of that main page is their contact information.  No doubt the left is flooding them with demands for the blood of the boys.  We need to issue a few of our own demands, too.  We need to demand that they actually examine all the facts, that they retract their wimpering apology and show their students how real men handle these situations.  Lord only knows that the Covington administration is failing to demonstrate that.

NOTE - While the school principal's email has "disappeared" from the school site, it was published on facebook.  Here it is: browe@covcath.org.  Let 'em have it!

I truly hope that if these boys are expelled and kicked to the curb as politically correct sacrificial lambs, that their families avail themselves of all legal recourse and sue that school to the whazzoo.

PS - If these videos "disappear", I've taken the precaution to download them.  I suggest that all do the same.

PPS - I'm a little confused. Despite that "apology" on their webpage, their facebook page indicates that the school is standing behind its students.  Now I'm hearing this page may be fake, as the school may have taken down their real page.

Some Thoughts And Information On Church Music

Witchcraft In New Pro-Life Movement?

HT: Canon 212

I've written before about the so-called "New Pro-life Movement" that I had redubbed the "Non Pro-Life Mutation".  It seems that my nickname is more accurate than I had originally imagined it could be.

Rebecca Bratten-Weiss is one of the co-founders of this group.  If you look at some of the articles (and related links) in the first link of this article, you'll see some expose on her.  However, even these don't reveal the true horror than what she herself wrote.  It was released a few days ago.  Just read the first sentence.  "wondering what I could burn as a sacrifice to Hecate"?  "Contemplating witchcraft"?  The rest of the article is quite revelatory.  But please have a strong stomach before reading it.

Mahound's Paradise and Austin Ruse have even more details of Weiss and some of her friends who may also be witches.

In light of these revelations, particularly the one that Weiss herself provided, I cannot see how any decent person, let alone a faithful Catholic, can associate with the New Pro Life Movement.  It should be avoided at all costs.

We Have Been Heard - Wuerl Not Presiding At Youth Rally Mass

In my previous post I wondered if Cardinal Wuerl would exhibit the bad taste and tone-deafness so as to preside at the Youth Rally Mass before the March for Life on Friday Jan 18.  I'm sure you share my delight in learning that he will not preside. The main celebrant will be the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre.  The CNA article did not indicate whether or not Wuerl will be a concelebrant, but I hope not.

We can take a lesson from this, namely, when we speak up we can be heard.  Our voices (and yes, our money) do matter.  We must never be afraid or reluctant to take action to defend our Faith.  Will we be successful every time we try?  Probably not.  However, we will fail every time we decline to act.  Ora et labora.

In related news, our erstwhile bishop continues to make a fool of himself vis-a-vis his refusal to accept responsibility for allowing McCarrick to continue his predations for years after he learned of them.  First he asked for "understanding".  Now, in a word, he denies the denials that denied the denials.  Got that?  I trust that is as clear as mud.  Anyway, he can run at the mouth all he want's; faithful Catholics are no longer buying the, uh, "bovine excrement".

But the fecal matter continues to flow.  He tried to pin blame on a "memory lapse"?  A decent, sane human being doesn't have "memory lapses" about such weighty matters.  Perhaps he doesn't remember what he had for lunch on the day he learned of McCarrick's horrid crimes, but he would never forget the crimes themselves.  What we are seeing in reality is a "credibility lack".

Keep your eyes open, your rosaries in hand, and act.

Vigano And Strickland To McCarrick: Repent Publicly For Your Soul's Sake - And A Theme Song For Cardinal Wuerl

Archbishop Vigano, whose testimony was key in finally obliterating the charade carried out by ex-cardinal McCarrick, has issued an open letter to McCarrick to urge his public repentance.  He was joined by Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, TX.  Some might recall that it was Bishop Strickland who came and joined "The Bishops Knew" rally during the USCCB meeting two months ago.

Meanwhile Cardinal Wuerl is still engaging in sophistry to wiggle out of the mess his lie has caused him.  What a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive!  He asks for "understanding", you see?  Oh, we understand quite well!  We understand that you lied and can not be trusted.   As I read that piece, I couldn't help but be reminded of the song below.  Perhaps he can learn it and sing it as a "theme song" at the youth rally Mass, if he still has the audacity to be there.

Cardinal Tobin Flunked Theology 101

No, Cardinal Tobin!  Jesus was NOT "reborn in grace"!  Jesus Christ, as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, was always God, a divine person.  He never needed to be "reborn".

I am so grateful that Tobin said he would not be replacing Wuerl.  Let's just hope we were being told the truth.  Below is the heretical tweet.

When Jesus was baptized by John, he stood with all of us sinners seeking redemption. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the sinless Redeemer was reborn in grace as an example for us, and his Father was well pleased.

— Joe Tobin (@CardinalJWTobin) January 13, 2019

Important Rally On Friday January 18 2019

A group of concerned lay Catholics in the DC area have formed a group called "Catholic Laity For Orthodox Bishops And Reform".  I have hyperlinked to their website.  I learned of their existence via Canon212.

They have launched a petition for the complete removal of Cardinal Wuerl from the DC chancery, as opposed to him retaining de facto bishop's authority here.

On January 18, beginning at 10am, they will hold a rally at the Papal Nunciature located at 3339 Massachusetts Ave, NW in Washington DC.  There they will appeal for Wuerl's removal and for the appointment of a real bishop (as opposed to some Wuerl clone like Joseph Tobin). 

Please be there and invite friends.  Also, please visit that site (and this blog) for word on future actions to root out the rot in the Church.

Wuerl Knew. He lied. He must go.

LifeSiteNews summarizes the situation well.  Cardinal Wuerl claimed months ago that "I can report that no claim - credible or otherwise - has been made against Cardinal McCarrick during his time here in Washington."

McCarrick was Archbishop of Washington between 2001 and 2006.  Robert Ciolek was a seminarian during the 1980s when he was molested by McCarrick.  Ciolek settled with the Church on that in 2005.  Documentation in the offices of the Pittsburgh diocese shows that then-Bishop Wuerl was aware of these matters when the settlement was issued.  Wuerl was aware of that claim against McCarrick, then, in 2005, "during his time here in Washington".  This past August Archbishop Vigano stated that when he said that he himself broached these matters with Wuerl several times.

Of course the Archdiocese of Washington is in "damage control mode", as evidenced from this statement issued Jan 10.  Notice in that statement the attempt to deflect blame for the lie by claiming that the statement "referred to claims of sexual abuse of a minor by Archbishop McCarrick"?  Sorry, that doesn't fly - but it fits well with the general talking points that have as their aim the deflection of attention from the abuse of young vulnerable men.

All that said, Wuerl did report the matter in 2004 to the Papal Nuncio, who was Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo.  What did Montalvo, in turn, do with that report?  At the time, Pope John Paul II was on Peter's chair.  Did the information ever reach him?  These are questions that deserve answers.  For now, it is clear that we cannot rely on Cardinal Wuerl to be honest; Archbishop Vigano stated that succinctly when he said of Wuerl that "he lies shamelessly".

The blog "Complicit Clergy" is circulating a petition for the complete removal of Cardinal Wuerl from public ministry (as opposed to this sham "resignation" in name only that is now going on).  I have signed it and urge all readers to sign it.

Multiple Instances Of Cross Being Mocked

At the end of March, the pope is scheduled to visit Morocco.  The Vatican released the logo that was designed for this visit.  Ostensibly, the cross and crescent are drawn to symbolize their "unity".  Here it is.  Let's set aside for the moment the obvious fact that there can be no authentic unity between truth and falsehood.   Do the cross and crescent at least look like they are equal?  Absolutely not.  Clearly the crescent is depicted as surrounding the cross - the cross being surrounded by and subsumed into the crescent.

Just a coincidence?  Well, remember this?  That monstrosity is the logo for the 2019 World Youth Day.  So we see two Vatican-selected logos: one shows the cross being surrounded by the muslim crescent.  The other shows the cross being poisoned and/or devoured by a serpent.  These logos are both designed to demonstrate contempt for the One True Faith and Our Lord Himself.

After the Angelus on New Year's Day, the Pope did not bless the people.  He uttered the Old Testament part, but stopped short of the "in the name of.." part.  There was no sign of the Cross.  These incidents of downplaying the Cross are increasing.  Why?  Might 1 Corinthians 1:18 offer a clue?

Yet Another Good Priest Stifled By The Church Establishment Mafia - Updated

SEE BELOW FOR UPDATE

Cardinal Wuerl, although technically no longer archbishop of Washington owing to his complicity in covering for the now-disgraced pederast bishop McCarrick, still carries on like he did nothing amiss.  To the disgust of faithful Catholics, he was the main celebrant at Christmas Mass at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  He is now slated to take center stage at the Youth Rally and Mass that usually occurs before the March for Life in January.  A petition is afoot to ask the archdiocese of Washington to rescind the invitation to the cardinal for that event.  Truth be told, I don't know how that can fly for Wuerl is still the administrator for the Archdiocese of Washington.

Some important comments about the "youth rally".  These have been going on ever since the archdiocese began to support the March for Life (yes, there was a time when the archdiocese ignored the march - surprise!).  When I first became involved in pro-life work, I attended those things (at the time, held at DAR Constitution Hall).  I soon stopped attending them.

• They occurred during the same time that the main rally was happening on the Ellipse.  That prevented the Catholics at DAR from being included in the Park Police's crowd size estimate.
• When I pointed that out to diocesan pro-life officials, it was admitted to me that the bishops didn't want Catholics to listen to some of the speakers that Nellie Gray and others had invited.  He specified that the now-deceased Jesse Helms was one such speaker.
• For many of the clergy, including the prelates, the rally was the only time during the year that they uttered one peep about abortion - nothing for the rest of the year.  In other words, they could use the rally as their token "pro-life activism" when we would chide them for their silence during the rest of the year.
• The rally and the Mass took an incredible amount of work and expense to throw together.  The pro-life office was staffed with good people, but they were ordered to waste many months on what was essentially a dog-and-pony show.  That time could have been better spent in providing leadership, goals, etc for parish pro-life groups that literally foundered and atrophied for lack of guidance.

Therefore, my advice is to eschew that extravaganza at the Verizon Center.  One can find a Mass at a local parish and be at the general rally - the entire rally.

Enough of that sad history - back to the present.  Cardinal Wuerl is going to strut through that rally as though nothing is amiss and pretend that he prioritizes pro-life matters.  Catholics are rightly outraged.

A priest of the Companions of the Cross, Father Mark Goring, put up a very fine video expressing what many of us believe, and urging us to take action.  Well, lo and behold, he was forced to take it down.  I regret that I did not get to it soon enough, for I would have downloaded it to prevent it from fading; I hope that other faithful Catholics were able to do so. Church Militant has an account of his video, and some snippets of Father's address are quoted therein.  Father put up another video explaining why he removed that video, and I did archive that.  Listen very closely; I'll offer comments below that.



Notice how he said - repeatedly - that he removed the video out of obedience to superiors.  As a priest and religious, he is vowed to obey his superiors, provided that the ordered action is not inherently immoral.  Never did he say that he agrees with their reasoning.

Now what else is going on this week?  YES!  The bishops are holed up in a seminary, supposedly on retreat to focus on how badly they botched up with their own sexual misbehviors!  Father Goring is director of the Catholic Charismatic Center in Houston TX (Wanna bet how long that will last?  But I digress!)  That is DiNardo's diocese.  We all know how he got railroaded at the USCCB meeting last month.  Either he contacted the superiors of the Companions of the Cross, Cupich and/or Wuerl beat on DiNardo to do that, or the two contacted the CC superiors themselves.  Father Goring repeated said the order came from his superiors; he mentioned no bishop.

Father Goring's facebook page is quite revealing.  It appears that he has issued several videos that detail the sad and sordid truth of episcopal scandals within the Church, all the way up to Pope Francis.  Scroll down the page and notice how many of those videos have been removed.  They've been removed at the behest of his superiors.

While Father Going is indeed vowed to obedience and had no choice but to assume silence, we the laity are under no such constraint.  Indeed, silence for us is NOT a morally valid option.  We must speak out, we must write, we must picket.  In short, we must make errant clergy squirm with discomfort on account of them dragging Holy Mother Church through the mud and scandalizing poor souls into hell.

To protest the treatment of Father Goring and the suppression of truth, contact:

• Cardinal Daniel DiNardo at 1-713-659-5461 (Bishop of Galveston-Houston)
• Very Reverend Allan MacDonald CC, General Superior of the Companions of the Cross, 1-613-728-3175
• Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the US, 1-202-333-7121

UPDATE: None too surprisingly, the video is gone - but only from Father Goring's page, that is.  I have a copy.  Once something is posted on the internet, it never really goes away.  I will explore ways to promulgate it myself.  The truth will NOT be suppressed. 

UPDATE AS OF 1-13: Indeed the truth is not suppressed, as I found the video elsewhere.

Pope Francis: McCarrick's Atrocities Not That Bad

You might recall from the November USCCB meeting this past November that not only did the pope forbid action on the episcopal sex abuse crisis, but the convened bishops voted against asking the Vatican to share its documents pertaining to disgraced Bishop McCarrick.  Think about it.  At the beginning of the meeting, at least some bishops moved to take action on the sex abuse crisis.  Towards the end, they voted to continue the de facto cover-up for McCarrick.  Doesn't that seem like a drastic change in their stances?  What - or who - was behind such an extreme swing in collective attitudes?

But even Cupich and Wuerl were taking their queues from higher-ups.  The main higher-up appears to be Pope Francis himself.  Church Militant has discovered that the Vatican's so-called "investigation" into McCarrick's crimes of perversion is turning into a smear campaign against his former victims, now accusers.  They are actually trying to say that because 1) the boy may have been 16 at the time and not a minor and 2) the sex may have been "consensual", that somehow McCarrick's culpability and guilt may be mitigated.

Of course that theory is shot full of holes.  If you look at the Church Militant link, you'll notice another link at "Taylor Marshall".  It is to a video wherein Marshall interviews James Grein, who was molested by McCarrick starting at age 11.  Was the Vatican referring to yet another boy?  Even if so, that makes not one whit of diffference.  The Vatican, in its statement, seems intent on conflating civil law with moral and Church law.  It is the latter two laws, both higher than the first, that is the Vatican's only concern.

Some are expressing shock, and rightly so; I'm not sure about their reasons.  They state correctly that McCarrick took a vow of celibacy, but celibacy has nothing to do with these crimes.  The laity do not take vows of celibacy, but still the actions that McCarrick took are mortally sinful for them as well.  Homosexual acts are mortal sins, whether committed by lay or celibates.  As far as consensual, I would wager that a cleric holds much sway over a young person, particulary a vulnerable person.  Any solicitation to sin would be coercive in that context.  If the victim were female, no one would contest that statutory rape occurred.  Why the contest in this case?  Answer - to deflect culpability from McCarrick.  The lengths to which the Vatican is going to defend McCarrick indicate that 1) they don't want any continuing investigation to be directed at them, and/or 2) McCarrick has a lot of dirt on them and is forcing this ludicrous attempt.

But the Vatican is also doing all it can to have themselves held harmless.  The Catholic Standard published an article that essentially tried to shift moral responsibility for the pope's delay order onto the bishops themselves,  In other words, the Standard is in cahoots with the cover-up.  Nice try, guys, but no cigar!  Yes, the US bishops have plenty of guilt owing to their ongoing coverup attempts, but much blame for this mess lies with the Vatican and Pope Francis himself.

By the way - I mentioned Taylor Marshall's interview with James Grein.  Please take the time to watch the entire thing.  It is very informative regarding McCarrick's early years, as he got his start in undermining the Church.

Please be discussing these matters with your friends at Church.  Please make sure not to contribute to any archdiocesan collections, particularly those headed by dissident bishops.  Now we must also urge boycotts of the Peter's Pence collections.  Simply contribute directly to worthwhile charities and the more tradition-minded religious orders.

Pope - Better To Skip Mass Than Be A Hypocrite?

That was the gist of today's papal homily.  See here and here.  The problems with this lousy advice are many and myriad.

• Missing Mass without a truly pressing and valid reason is a mortal sin against the Third Commandment and one of the Six Precepts of the Church.  Being a hypcrite and "hating others" are not valid reasons for absenting oneself from Mass.
• Whatever happened to the Church being a "hospital for sinners"?  Was that lovely phrase meant only for some sinners?

Let's assume for discussion's sake that there are those who do indeed go to Mass while gossiping about others.  In counseling them to stay away from Mass, he is counseling them to commit mortal sin.  Such counseling, being on of the nine ways to cooperate with the mortal sins of others, is its own mortal sin.

Will we soon hear the pope give this less-than-sage advice to those living in fornication or those embroiled in the gay lifestyle?  Somehow I doubt it.  That's quite a double standard.