Cardinal Wuerl! Will You Stand With Chick-Fil-A?

My friend at the Tenth Crusade alerted me to the fact that Cardinal George of Chicago publicly rebuked Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel for the latter's none-too-veiled threats against Chick-Fil-A's in Chicago.  That is truly heartening to hear.  I understand that DC mayor Vincent Gray likewise had some unflattering things to say about the restaurant chain's owner who stood for traditional marriage.  Dare I wait for DC Cardinal Wuerl to utter a peep?  I'm not holding my breath!  C'mon, your Eminence!  Prove me wrong!

Sr Carol Keehan - Chair Of Providence Hospital Gala???

Cardinal George of Chicago has voiced his opinion that the HHS contraception/abortifacient mandate will cause all Catholic hospitals to close their doors within the next two years or to cease operating as Catholic institutions.  This mandate, of course, was foisted upon us by "katholyc" Kathleen Sebelius, HHS Secretary, through mechanisms built into the 2000+ page monstrosity known as Obamacare.

Those of us who fought to stave off this disaster in March of 2010 were betrayed by Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, who wielded her influence to get the measure passed by the House of Representatives.  Oh, yes, she postured and waxed thoughtful when the mandates first came out - but then we learned that she actually facilitated the sham of a compromise.

Comes now the news that Sister Carol Keehan will be the "honorary chair" of Providence Hospital's 2012 Gala. The announcement is here.  (Should it "disappear", please advise via a comment and I'll make it "reappear")  Additional information is here.

Think of the horrid irony of it all.  Sister is her colluding with the Messiah Most Miserable to attack the foundations of Catholic health care.  But a hospital that is being threatened by Sister's treachery is allowing her to chair their fundraising event.  The hospital directors and staff are literally going to kiss the hand that stabs them in the back!

Please contact Providence and ask them to select another gala chair who won't accept their honors on the one hand and on the other hand, work to undermine them.  Contact information is on the links listed above.

Should they not reconsider, we may have to picket.  Sister Carol is somewhat familiar with our pickets, I might add.

Pandering To Gays At PG County Parish

A few days ago, I posted about the sorry mess that Cardinal George created with his implication that the teaching of Jesus Christ regarding the mortal sin of homosexual behavior was open to question.  Today I was given a copy of a letter written by Father George Wilkinson, pastor of Holy Redeemer Church in College Park, MD.  It is addressed to the parish at large and touches on the Church's opposition to gay "marriage".  You can read it here.  Written on December 28th, it predates Cardinal George's gaffe, but you'll see many of the same lamentable traits.

Cardinal George Apologizes - And Bungles Big-Time

Cardinal George of Chicago, a few weeks ago made a comparison between the gay rights movement and the Ku Klux Klan.  The quote was "You know, you don't want the gay liberation movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating in the streets against Catholicism."  The remark was made in the context of concern over the planning of next summer's gay parade, which had been scheduled to be in front of a local Church on Sunday morning.  Perhaps he had in mind the December 1989 incident at St Patrick's Cathedral in New York when gay protesters disrupted a Mass celebratd by Cardinal O'Connor, chaining themselves to pews, shouting and flinging condoms about.  (Read about the incident here, and scroll to the "legacy" section).

Yesterday the cardinal issued an apology for those remarks.  We'll leave aside for the moment the obvious calcium deficiency in his spinal column, for what he said next was truly breathtaking for the disregard for Church teaching displayed.  He said (and be sitting down for this!), "The question is, 'Does respect mean that we have to change our teaching?' That's an ongoing discussion, of course. … I still go back to the fact that these are people we know and love and are part of our families. That's the most important point right now."    

"Ongoing discussion"?!?!?!!   Really!?!??!!?   Seriously!?!?!?!   Ladies and gentlemen, this is a prince of the Church stating that the teaching of the Magisterium on homosexuality is subject to "ongoing discussion".    Could it be that the local power bosses leaned on him and applied the "Chicago way" to him (like they probably did with the Pfleger and CCHD situations)?  

Cardinal George, act as the bishop that you are, and tell those practicing the gay lifestyle that what they do is mortally sinful and that the teaching of Jesus Christ as transmitted through the Magisterium is not fodder for "ongoing disussion".  If the hacks of Chicago politics start sending you dead fish, it's just as well for Lent will soon be upon us.  Remember the words of your brother Cardinal during that disgusting display of gay gestapo tactics: "I must preach what the Church preaches, teach what the Church teaches."

Dereliction Of Duty By Bishops Harms Priests

In this Vortex episode, you'll hear from a priest who is pained by the sloppiness of his bishop.  While he suffers, he is not suffering the greatest brunt of episcopal dereliction.  Who might be?  Probably priests such as Father Pfleger.  Thanks to Cardinal George's utter lack of backbone, Father Pfleger (and his congregation) are encouraged in their sinful rebellion against Holy Mother Church.  They may suffer eternally due to lack of guidance.

Click here if you can't see embedded video.

Cardinal George Caves, Reinstates Pfleger

This latest example of spineless capitulation is as disgusting as was the capitulation of John Boehner during the budget situation last month.  They both will have inflicted long-term damage upon our cultural landscape.  Having dealt with the Boehner debacle as it occurred, I'll focus on this.

I saw the news on my Facebook wall, as a friend had posted this Chicago Tribune link to it.  Cardinal George, former president of the USCCB, has given cheer to all dissidents today - or at least those within the Chicago archdiocese.  Of course he has also given terrible example to some of his fellow bishops who also suffer from SDS (spinal deficiency syndrome).  Mind you, despite all that nicey-nice talk attributed to both men, anyone with two brain cells firing in syncopation knows that George blinked big-time.  In doing so, Cardinal George failed all the Catholics within his archdiocese - including Father Pfleger, who stands in dire need of repentance, not vindication.  This little poem comes to mind when I think of this:
   Disobey!
   Have your way!
   Then one day
   They'll say ok!

Good Riddance To Father Pfleger!

Finally!  Cardinal George has suspended the faculties of Father Michael Pfleger, pastor of St Sabina.  Fr Pfleger has earned his dubious distinction of being "Obama's other pastor".  Apparently the straw that broke the camel's back was Pfleger's refusal of the Cardinal's transfer of him to a local Catholic high school.  Because Pfleger threatened to leave the Church, the Cardinal informed him, "if that truly is your attitude, you have already left the Catholic Church, and therefore are not able to pastor a Catholic church", and, "this conflict is not between you and me ... You are not a victim of anyone or anything other than your own statements."

Time and space prohibit me from detailing all of Pfleger's antics throughout the years.  I will highlight a few of them with links to previous posts:
http://restore-dc-catholicism.blogspot.com/2010/04/cardinal-george-to-honor-race-baiting.html
http://restore-dc-catholicism.blogspot.com/2010/04/real-catholic-tv-on-father-pfleger.html
http://restore-dc-catholicism.blogspot.com/2011/01/father-pfleger-joins-disarm-citizens.html

One lady did bemoan his suspension; she said that Pfleger "has done important work such as trying to stop gun violence."    Hmmm...  Important work!  Does that "important work" include threatening to "snuff out" the owner of Chuck's Gun Shop?

Let us hope and pray that this suspension of priestly faculties will be a wake-up call to Father Pfleger.  In so many ways he has insulted the God to whom he is vowed to serve.  His immortal soul is in grave danger of eternal damnation.  Pray for him and his misguided adulators, that they will repent and return whole-heartedly to Mother Church.

UPDATE - The full text of Cardinal George's letter to Father Pfleger is available online.

New Ways Ministry - An Old Dinosaur Sneezes

New Ways Ministries was one of those gadfly outfits that rose out of the stench of the so-called "spirit of Vatican II" in the 1970s.  Founded by Father Robert Nugent and Sister Jeannine Gramick, their self-styled "mission" was to be "a gay-positive ministry of advocacy and justice for LGBT Catholics.."  In 1984, the Vatican clamped down on this bunch and forced Nugent and Gramick to separate from New Ways.

Now what does this "mission" entail?  They certainly have published no works detailing how the LGBT-afflicted Catholic might be freed of his/her cross.  There have been no exhortations from New Ways urging them to live chaste lives according to the teaching of the Church (as does Courage, a truly worthwhile ministry).  No, they are about dissent and the promulgation of dissent.  Namely, they want all the Church to pretend that the gay lifestyle is just as acceptable as adherence to tradtional Church teaching.

They're headquartered in Prince George's County, MD - within the Archdiocese of Washington.  A few months ago, New Ways plopped one of their booklets upon the public at large entitled "Marriage Equality: A Positive Catholic Approach".  Of course the release of that booklet would coincide with the recent gay-marriage struggle that occurred in Annapolis.  Make no mistake - it was designed to obfuscate the Catholic voice in that struggle.

This past February, then-USCCB president Cardinal George issued a statement denouncing the position of New Ways on marriage as being at variance with the Catholic Church.  He went on to say that "in no manner is this organization authorized to speak on behalf of the Catholic Church or to identify itself as a Catholic organization."   On March 11th, two committee chairmen of the USCCB, including Washington's Cardinal Wuerl, issued a statement reaffirming that of Cardinal George's.

About five or so years ago, some of us picketed a meeting that New Ways conducted in Silver Spring.  There were only five of us picketing.  However, we outnumbered the meeting attendees!  It was a clear sign to us that these dissident groups are in their death throes.  However, just as a dying cockroach often flails its legs about in its final agony, these groups also let loose their sputters during their last gasps.

Cardinal George, What Did You Say?

A few days ago, it was reported that Cardinal George, president of the USCCB, criticized the Catholic Health Association for lending support to the Obama Hell Bill.  Frankly, I was rather pleased to hear that.  Yes, it was "too little too late", but at least some protest was uttered - or so I thought!

Today we hear that Helen Osman, secretary for communications for the USCCB, charged the Catholic News Agency with dishonesty in its coverage of Cardinal George's remarks on the Hell Bill.  She claims that the Cardinal never made such remarks.

Alejandro Bermudez, director of the CNA, challenged Osman to release the recording of Cardinal George's talk.  She refuses to do so because it's "confidential".  I echo my friend at Les Femmes as she asks, "what's the big secret?"

Wisdom from Dietrich von Hildebrand

Back in 1973 von Hildebrand called the bishops' dereliction of their duties to be "one of the most horrifying and widespread diseases of the Church today."  Of course he had seen the outright rebellion to Humanae Vitae and the Land O' Lakes rebellion staged by Catholic colleges.  Von Hildebrand then rebukes those same bishops for persecuting those who try to speak out for the True Church.  I've no doubt that Von Hildebrand himself suffered at the hands of more than one derelict bishop.



The latest example of such a strange prelate is perhaps Cardinal George of Chicago.  Recently he bestowed an award on notorious race-baiter and dissident Father Michael Pfleger (see several previous posts on this blog) while trying to silence Tom Roesser, a faithful Catholic writer.

Real Catholic TV on Father Pfleger

There will be four youtube clips.  Because the youtubes won't show if they're put before a jump-break, I'll put that break after this sentence, so this post doesn't take the whole main page.  Please click "read more".

Cardinal George's Incoherent Defense of Father Pfleger

Lifesite News captured the essense of the debacle that did occur on April 7th.  His Emminence displayed monumental silliness in his praise of Pfleger and his criticism of faithful Catholics for having memories greater than those of earthworms.  Among other things, he said "Fr. Plfeger has spoken in anger, sometimes unjustly or uncharitably; and anger is easier to capture on the camera than is love. But Fr. Pfleger is a Catholic priest and a pastor, and in that capacity, like all good priests and pastors, he acts out of love"  Love?   Oh, really?  In those clips that I posted a few days ago, how much "love" did Fr. Pfleger exude?  How much "love" did Pfleger show the owner of a Chicago gun shop owner when he threatened to "snuff out" the owner in June 2007?  Here's a clip of him defending Jeremiah Wright.  (An aside - You'll notice that Father Pfleger is not wearing clerics.)  Click "read more" to see them.

Cardinal George to Honor Race-Baiting Father Pfleger

On April 7, Chicago's Cardinal George will bestow upon Father Michael Pfleger the Office for Racial Justice Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his life "of service in pursuit of dismantling racism, injustice and inequalities on behalf of African Americans and all people of color."

Does that name "Pfleger" ring a bell?  Think back during the 2008 Presidential campaign.  To jog some memories, here's a sampling of his "service in pursuit of dismantling racism."  (Click here if you can't see embedded video).



What class!  Such dignity befitting a Roman Catholic priest, an "alter Christi"!  Here he is now, defending fellow racism-mongerers such as Louis Farrakham and Jeremiah Wright.  (Click here if you can't see embedded video).




There are more clips, but you get the picture.

Now what on earth could be motivating this "Office for Racial Justice" in its rather dubious choice of honoree?   Is it just politically-correct stupidity - or something much more insiduous?

Meanwhile, Cardinal George is apparently trying to silence Tom Roesser, a decent man who has had things to say about the Chicago archdiocese.  Read Mr. Roesser's account here.

Quite a dichotomy, eh?  Go figure!!!

To contact Cardinal George:
FRANCIS CARDINAL GEORGE, O.M.I., Archbishop of Chicago
PO Box 1979
Chicago, IL. 60690-1979
Phone: 312-534-8230, Fax: 312-534-6379
E-Mail: archbishop@archchicago.org

US Bishops Still Seduced by Obamacare

The Nov 12th issue of the Catholic Standard, on page 5, reprints an article from the so-called "Catholic News Service." It's entitled "Successful Inclusion of Abortion Ban Spells Sucess for Health Bill." Click on the link and read the thing in its entirety, nauseating though it may be. I no longer believe that the USCCB et al are simply naive. They cannot be that stupid. They truly are fixated upon establishing socialism in this country (and the rest of the world, of course).

The article lauds the inclusion of the Stupak/Pitts Amendment that was intended to bar federal funds from paying for abortion, making note that if this amendment weren't included, then the USCCB would have opposed it. Well, that's nice. However, since this amendment is included - for now - does that mean that the USCCB is behind this bill? It would seem so, for reasons that I'll explain a little later.

The article ends with a quote from Patrick Whelan, president of Catholic Democrats, "This reform represents progress in helping our nation to realize the Gospel imperative of making health and healing available to all Americans." Catholic Democrats! I wonder if Pope Nazi Pelosi herself is a card-carrying member of that cabal! Unfortunately Mr. Whelan is betraying his own unfortuate propensity towards letting his socialistic aspirations blind him to the reality of the machinations of the pro-abortion cabal in Congress. This Stupak/Pitts Amendment is simply a treat that disguises the arsenic of Obamacare.

Mr Whelan also advises all to follow the example of Anh "Joseph" Cao of Louisiana, the lone Republican to vote for the Obama-mess. We read in that same article that Cao is a Catholic - and a former Jesuit! Well, shades of Robert Drinan! Why, oh why, does this revelation about Mr. Cao not surprise me a bit? Mr. RINO Cao needs to receive his pink slip in 2010.

Here's why I opine that the USCCB is behind this bill. News is now coming from several sources that the bishops were VERY influential in Pelosi's decision to allow the Stupak Amendment to be brought to the floor last Saturday. Again from Catholic News Service, we read that Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the USCCB, praised the passage of the bill last Saturday in the House. The article revealed that "Cardinal George had been among those in contact with members of Congress as they moved toward a vote on the legislation; for instance, he urged Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Nov. 6 to allow Stupak's amendment to come to the floor for a vote." Well, Cardinal George is from Chicago; he must have learned a few political tricks there.

Another bishop involved in the wheeling-and-dealing is none other than Cardinal McCarrick, former DC archbishop. We learn from Catholic Culture that Pelosi called him - not the other way around! Now what is that about???

Ladies and gentlemen, I've said it before and I'll say it again (in concert with many truly pro-life organizations and people). The Stupak/Pitts Amendment is not a victory for us. It is a doggie bone, perhaps even a narcotic to keep some naive folks mollified into swallowing socialistic poison. The very concept of socialized anything is inherently anti-life, as it cedes to civil government authority that is not rightly within the purview of the government. In this case with Obama-death-care, the feds will be given the authority who receives care and who doesn't: in other words, life-and-death authority over innocent people.

We need to disregard the seriously misguided promptings of the USCCB and the Catholic Democrats, and shove this Obama-mess down to hell from which it spawned.

Cardinal George Congratulates (!!?!?) Obama for Peace Prize

After the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano stuck its editorial foot in the mouth when it congratulated Obama's receipt of the Nobel Prize, it retracted itself and rightly criticized that presentation of the award. However, it did so only after the hue and cry of faithful Catholics flooded its mailboxes, filled its email server and melted the fax lines.

Perhaps the USCCB needs to receive similar feedback from American Catholics, because Cardinal George, president of the USCCB, has displayed similar foot-in-mouth tendencies.

Part of the Cardinal's boot-licking included the comment, "the President of the United States has already changed the international conversation." Yes, the Messiah Most Miserable certainly has - I'll give the Cardinal credit for that statement. Obama has apologized for the US all over the globe while kissing up to insane tyrants. He has rescinded the Mexico City Policy. He is ramrodding through Congress one of the most pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia bills ever known. He is similarly ramrodding through Congress measures to change the definition of marriage to include all manners of deviancy. For this the Cardinal congratulates Obama? He should be decrying this disgrace.

If nothing else, this is just another reason why the Catholic Campaign for Human Development collection should be boycotted by all thinking Catholics this November 22nd. The USCCB has demonstrated, time and time again, that it doesn't know apple butter from cow pie. I posted a few days ago some revelations about CCHD grantees from the last collection.

To communicate to the USCCB about:
1) your concern at Cardinal George's ridiculous statement
2) why you won't contribute to the CCHD collection
Write/email here..

3211 Fourth Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20017
(202) 541-3000

Francis Cardinal George
Archbishop of Chicago
PO Box 1979
Chicago, IL. 60690-1979
Phone: 312-534-8230
Fax: 312-534-6379
E-Mail: archbishop@archchicago.org

Hey! He is the archbishop of Chicago, the same town that spewed forth Obama. Coincidence?