Not-At-All Catholic Reporter Gets Its Undies Bunched Over The Traditional Latin Mass

 I came across this on Father James Martin's facebook page.  As you can imagine, he too got the vapors over the appeal of the Traditional Latin Mass.  Here is the article: "In Came Latin, Incense And Burned Books, Out Went Half The Parishioners".  It's not more than a glorified hissy-fit, and it's an admission of their own failures as much as the appeal of authentic Catholicism.

One Mad Mom did her own excellent critique of the NCR's hysteria, and I suggest that you read it.  I will supplement it with a few of my own observations.  

First, my own attendance at the Traditional Latin Mass had been slowly increasing in frequency before the pandemic.  When the mainstream bishops cowered before the magistrates during the onset of "restrictions", the Traditional Latin Mass literally became the only game in town, as it were.  Only those Masses was I able to attend, if only in my car, and receive actual Holy Communion.  For the first 8 weeks, I drove 2.5 hours each way to attend Mass.  Of course Holy Mass is worth it.  By God's grace I have not had to settle for spiritual Communion once on account of the pandemic and nonsensical "regulations".

The NCR piece starts by quoting Maria Lichtmann, a "religious scholar".  I googled her and discovered that she has a bit of a resume, peppered with all sorts of nods to her own dissidence.  What would an academic career be without a stint at Georgetown University?  On page 2 we see that there she taught a course called "The Problem of God".  On the same page we see her affiliation with the dissident bunch Pax Christi.  On page 5 we see that she authored a paper entitled "My Search For The Goddess" and on page 6, "Saint Paul Reexamined: The Case For Women Priests".  So of course this woman would find the presence of authentic Catholicism to be "strange" and perhaps even threatening to her shaky beliefs.

The parishioners who abhor tradition are conducting Mass in an auto body shop.  Like One Mad Mom, I hope the bishop clamps down on that.  Anyway, the article quotes Father John Hoover, one of the two priests who says Mass in this setting, probably illicitly.  He states that after the homily, he invites parishioners to talk of their spiritual struggles.  Not after Mass, but after the homily, as in "before the Creed" and "during Mass"?  These shenanigans are prime examples of why these parishioners don't value the Real Presence nor Our Lord's One True Church.

I could go on and on.  Suffice it to say that both Father Martin and the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter have given to the One True Church an unintentional salute, acknowledging that their efforts to dismantle and desconstruct the One True Church are being successfully opposed.

Not-At-All Catholic Reporter And Its Trump-Hating Temper Tantrums

Here's one of their pieces of horse-manure, sniffing that Catholics who supported President Trump need to (wait for it!) "confess our complicit in the failed coup".  They are shamelessly trying to make hay out of the violence that happened inside the Capitol.  It is unknown at this time just who instigated it, and why the Capitol Police actually opened the barriers to those people.  But left-wingers are not keen on letting facts get in the way of their pet presumptions.

They list a few Catholic leaders and alternative media outlets as "having blood on their hands" for daring to suggest the obvious - that the election was stolen not only from Donald Trump, but the millions of people that voted for him in a landslide.  I for one congratulate those organizations and individuals who drew the venom and ire of the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter; coming from them, such vituperation is a badge of honor.  

As an aside, another NCR whine-session took particular umbrage at Father John Zuhlsdorf.  Father has rightly dubbed NCR as "the fishwrap".  The author, Phyllis Zagano pouts because Father has criticized her and other dissidents.  Let us cry her a river.

They do let off with a few gems of pure silliness.  "a pro-life movement unwilling to exclaim 'black lives matter' is not a pro-life movement".  Oh, really?  Does that silly rag exclaim that all lives matter?  How about the black babies murdered via abortion?  How about the victims of black-on-black violence, or are those deaths only tragic if perpetrated by white criminals?

Then they have the audacity to call Joe Biden "a decent man".  Yes Biden - the guy who:

• unabashedly pro-abortion
• supporting the trashing of authentic marriage, to the point of officiating at a gay mockery of marriage
• can't keep his hands off little girls
• is in cahoots with his corrupt son Hunter

That list could be longer, but you get the point.  The NCR talks of the "long, arduous task".  Will Biden even be in office long enough to do anything long-term, or will the Camel take over in a matter of months?

I'll soon be dealing with DC's Catholic Sub-Standard.  I understand that they are belching forth similar noxious gases.

When Katholyc Progressives Become Unhinged

We've all seen how frequently Pope Francis sneers at those who love Jesus by loving the Traditions of the Church that He established.  I link now to a few of my previous posts; other bloggers have also taken note.  Hitherto I have seen this attitude to be merely one of contempt.  While it might entail contempt, I wonder if it might also entail fear?  Perhaps there exists fear that we traditional Catholics simply will not roll over and play the subservient mice while he and his cronies attempt the deconstruction of Holy Mother Church.  That might be doubly true for those of us who are active in social media.

Pope Francis is a Jesuit.  That order has unfortunately become a bit of a hornets' nest, inculcating and sheltering all sorts of progressives.  Within the past few days, other dissidents have lobbed their own potshots at faithful Catholics who engaged the culture in various social media outlets.  They too, in their lashing and snarling, betray much resentment and fear of the truth.

Today the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter plopped this pile of pig poop into the internet world.  The object of Michael Sean Winter's vitriol is Church Militant TV.  In his title, Winters opines that Church Militant is "not authentically Catholic".  Recall that NCR's physical location is inside the Diocese of Kansas City.  In 2013, the bishop was Robert Finn.  He ordered the NCR to cease holding itself out as a Catholic publication while reminding them that his predecessor ordered the same thing.  So consider the hubris of this publication, itself ordered to stop calling itself a Catholic publication, in pronouncing Church Militant to be "not authentically Catholic".  Earlier today I posted a comment on that article to that effect.  Lo and behold, my comment is no longer there!  Fancy that!   Winters goes on to defend his progressive accomplices against us who hold the True Faith and who rebuke their wrongdoings: the abortifacient-peddling Catholic Relief Services, the dissident Cardinals Wuerl and Cupich and of course Father James Martin.  Speaking of Father Martin, we've heard much of his unabashed promotion of sexual deviancy lately.  Of course we rebuked him, and he doesn't like getting rebuked at all!  No-sir-ee!  In fact, he released his own snit-fit yesterday.

His Facebook page is public so I think you should be able to see this.  He calls the post "Catholic mean tweets".  A little progressive lexicon pointer: whenever one of them misbehaves, either in word or deed, and they are rebuked, they call both the rebuke and rebuker "mean" and "hateful".  In other words, they redefined to words "mean" and "hateful" to disparage any well-earned rebuke so that they won't consider themselves obliged to actually pay attention to it.  One almost has to pity the man as they watch this as he has no real cogent argument for his positions.  All he can do is call his opponents "mean".  In addition to pity, he needs prayers for indeed he puts his own soul at risk.

That last sentence goes for all the progressives.  While we pray for them, we must refute their errors, even though they whine and pout and sniff about how "mean and hateful" we are.

From The Francis-Effect Department: John Gehring Carries On At NCR

"NCR" in my title stands for Not-At-All Catholic Reporter.  In his latest plop in the online edition of that rag, John Gehring had the hypocritical gall to call a pro-life governor a "cafeteria Catholic".  There are so many errors here one scarcely knows where to begin - but I'll give it my heroic effort.

Before I begin, have you ever noticed something odd about Gehring and other progressive "katholyc" authors?  They often chide Catholics who champion pro-life causes for not adhering to the (discredited) seamless-garment ideology.  Never have I ever read of them rebuking pro-abortion politicians for anything, let alone their shilling for baby-murder.  I find that to be rather telling regarding their own convictions about the lives of the unborn.  And get a load of Gehring's Twitter page!  But I digress!

The backdrop for Gehring's dribble is the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.  Right in the second paragraph is one whopper.  He claims that capital punishment, war and "other moral issues" clash with traditional Catholic teaching.  No, they don't.  There are conditions that must be met before capital punishment or war are engaged, but they are not the intrinsic evils that abortion and contraception are.  I'll link now to a very pertinent article written by Father C. John McCloskey, showing the place capital punishment has in the realm of Catholic moral theology.  And there is this, from the Catechism of Pope St Pius X: "It is lawful to kill when fighting in a just war; when carrying out by order of the Supreme Authority a sentence of death in punishment of a crime; and, finally, in cases of necessary and lawful defense of one’s own life against an unjust aggressor.”

Further down Gehring whines, "But when a national Catholic event that attracts leading Republican politicians and Catholic bishops consistently sends a message that being pro-life or pro-family can be reduced to a narrow agenda that aligns with one political party, that is a problem."  If he believes that is a "problem", did he bother to ask how that "problem" came into being?  Which of the two main political parties has abortion rights and "gay" rights ensconced within its official party platform?  It's simply fact that the pro-life position is more closely aligned with the GOP platform - but that's only because the Democrats formally reject all things having to do with protecting innocent babies in their wombs!  Why does Gehring ignore that?  I believe there is a deliberated reason for that!

At the bottom of the article we read that Gehring is Catholic Program Director at Faith in Public Life.  My Catholic Media Coalition colleage Stephanie Block did several exposes of FPL (see here and here) several years ago, exposing its rather squalid alliances with dissident organizations such as Dignity and Call to Action and their own nefarious activities.

Three years ago The Blaze ran an article that revealed the funding that FPL received from George Soros.  It also detailed a "behind the scenes" media campaign that Gehring undertook to undermine the bishops' efforts to combat the Obamacare contraception mandate.  A prior position Gehring held was Communications Director for Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good.  I've written about them and their undermining of Catholic teaching and the funding they've received from (guess!) George Soros!  Are we sensing a pattern here?

At the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter, John Gehring is quite at home, for many (if not most) there, when it comes to matters Catholic, don't know apple butter from cow pie.

Ken Hackett, Former CRS Head, Demonstrates Why He's Obama's Ambassador To The Vatican

It didn't take Ken Hackett long to do the bidding of the Messiah Most Miserable.  Of course he had the slavish cooperation of the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter.  You can read his interview here.  Notice how he talks about us as "those who don't have mud under their toes because they haven't been working in the tough places."    LifeSiteNews commented about the interview and published some rebuttals against Hackett's ignorant remarks.

Monica Miller's reply bears some thought.  She said, "He should go with pro-lifers who help the most needy and broken women in the most dangerous and depressed neighborhoods such as pro-lifers do every week in Detroit. And he should have the experience of retrieving the dead and dismembered bodies of the innocent aborted unborn from trash containers.  Such pro-lifers may not have ‘mud under their toes’--instead they have the blood of the innocent under their finger nails-- rescuing them from their trash dumpster cradles-- a tragedy I personally know, having come face to face with the victims of abortion."

I might also add that in lieu of this "mud" we have had spittle upon our faces, spray paint upon our signs, coffee thrown at us, along with threats and assaults.  I suspect none of these can be found in Mr. Hackett's ambassador credentials.  Moreover, Michael Hichborn of American Life League points out the rather handsome salary that Hackett has drawn from CRS; the links to the evidence are found in the LifeSiteNews article.  As for the contributions to the Messiah Most Miserable, here's the evidence, bearing in mind that CRS is headquartered in Baltimore.

I suspect this performance of Hackett's with the NCR gives us a glimpse into one of the reasons why Obama chose him as ambassador.  He wants someone willing to trash-talk pro-life activists and faithful Catholics (that is, those whose opposition to Obama's death-dealing policies is most adamant) to the Holy Father's face.  Hackett is already demonstrating his "bona fides" as a true Minion Most Mindless - and has been doing so for quite some time.

Catholic Pastor In Southern Maryland Publicly Condones Homosexual Acts

We rightly warn of wolves in sheep's clothing.  True enough, but there is a greater danger - wolves in shepherd's clothing!  Can this describe Father Peter Daly, pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Prince Frederick Maryland?  His own words have made plain that his influence is a danger to those placed in his care.

The Not-At-All Catholic Reporter published an article of Father's, entitled, "Catholic Church Should Support Boy Scouts' Decision on Sexual Orientation".  The first part of the article is a lame attempt to cajole us into thinking that the Boy Scouts will remain the healthy, morally-straight organization that it once was.  After all that meandering, Father lets loose with can only be called moral poison.  I will quote the pertinent segment below, leaving out only the paragraph breaks.

"Three times in my 27 years as a priest, I have had to sit across the room from young men who tried to commit suicide because they were gay. Three times, I have heard their anguish as they told me that their church regarded them as "intrinsically disordered" and their love as seriously immoral. Three times I have had to hear them say that part of the reason for their despair was our preaching.  Conservative Catholic theologians would no doubt demand that I condemn all homosexual acts as immoral. They would want pastors to insist that all gay boys must learn to carry their unique cross of perpetual life-long chastity, a burden we would never dream of imposing on heterosexuals. They would want me to say that all gay acts are evil and all inclinations are intrinsically disordered.  Well, let them say it. Let them say it to those boys who tried to commit suicide. Let them say it to the frightened little Scout who is still figuring out himself."

Let's unpack this mess, shall we?  We'll do this, "bullet style".

• Three times, I have heard their anguish as they told me that their church regarded them as "intrinsically disordered" and their love as seriously immoral.  Father, did you remind them that the Church doesn't consider them - as persons - disordered, but rather their homosexual inclinations?  Moreover, their "love" is not true love at all.  If you have confirmed any of them in their confusion, you have done them gross disservice and may well be confirming on the path to eternal perdition.
• Conservative Catholic theologians would no doubt demand that I condemn all homosexual acts as immoral.  Well, not so much "conservative" as much as "Faithful to the moral teachings handed down by Jesus Christ Himself through the Church's teaching magisterium".  It's a mouthful, but we get the point.  And yes, Father!  It IS the teaching of Holy Mother Church that all homosexual ACTS are immoral.  Notice that it's the ACTS, not PERSONS, lest there be silly attempts to conflate the two.  You will not be permitted to get away with it!  At any rate, the "theologians" don't demand that you condemn these acts.  That charge is laid upon you by virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders.  You are called to proclaim the Gospel, to call sinners to repentance and to administer the Sacraments.  Without all these elements, the unfortunate homosexual will find him/herself bereft of the graces needed to conquer these disordered inclinations.  Father, knock off this politically correct schtick and administer some real help and compassion to these souls in your care.
• They would want me to say that all gay acts are evil and all inclinations are intrinsically disordered.  Well, let them say it. Let them say it to those boys who tried to commit suicide. Let them say it to the frightened little Scout who is still figuring out himself.  There are four sentences here.  In the first sentence, let's substitute for the word "they" and rightly put in its place Jesus Christ Himself, for that is His teaching as revealed through His church.  So in the first sentence, Father properly states what is his solemn duty as an ordained Catholic priest.  In the following sentences, Father declares that he is abdicating his duty to proclaim the truth and to do all he can to save the immortal souls of those afflicted with homosexual inclinations.  God help him if he doesn't reconsider the error of his current disposition for in addition to his own salvation, he imperils that of many others in his path.

The Cardinal Newman Society points out that this is not the first time that Father has coddled those who engage in self-destructive behaviors.  This past year he gave scandal to gay students at Catholic University of America, instead of true compassion.

Of course all this begs the question, "Should Father Daly continue in his post while he is still of a mindset to lead confused souls to destruction?"   We should at least contact the Archdiocese of Washington and petition for his removal, if only for his own salvation.  The chancery has demonstrated its ability to move with extreme alacrity when it so desires; witness the speed with which they threw Father Marcel Guarnizo under the bus.  Granted, Father Guarnizo's case was a bit different.  Father Guarnizo acted in complete obedience to the Magisterium; he just happened to ruffle the feathers of the DC-area gay community and the latter simply got noisy.  Father Daly, on the other hand, is thumbing his nose at the Magisterium.  Will the DC chancery find the spinal fortitude and moral clarity to deal with him appropriately?

CCHD Damage Control Attempts Continue

Next "up to bat" is the uber-liberal Not-At-All Catholic Reporter.  Michael Sean Winters leads his screed with "the witch hunt must end".  I might point out to Mr. Winters that when the progressive groups flout their anti-Catholic and anti-God proclivities for all to see, there is no need for a "hunt".

He too comments about the Ilinois CCHD's decision to cut funding from groups who support same-sex perversion.  The groups in question are in alignment with the USCCB position on immigration reform and in fact were organized specifically for immigration issues.  Winters does question why they found it necessary to espouse perversion of marriage, but claims that doesn't "let CCHD off the hook".  My question is, "what hook"?

Here's the bottom line, Mr. Winters.  While you read, take deep controlled breaths so you don't hyperventilate as your eyes ingest some truth.  The Catholic Church may never give aid and assistance to those who support actions that are inherently evil and mortally sinful.  Period.  It doesn't matter what other nice things they may do on the side; we don't "look the other way" and dole out money indiscriminately.  Such money is Catholic money and the Church must answer to Jesus Christ Himself for its stewardship of resources.  If that doesn't suit your politically correct ideas, you'll just have to deal with it.

In one of the later paragraphs, Winters writes, "there is reason to worry deeply about the Church's identity".  It is noteworthy that this is found in the publication that calls itself "Catholic" even as its own local bishop cautions it against taking positions contrary to the Magisterium.  In other words, Winters et al have no credible basis for opining about the "Church's identity".  They may spout all the nonsense they want, but no Catholic of good sense will take them seriously.  The fact that the Not-So-Catholic Reporter champions the CCHD might itself be a clear indication that the CCHD collection should be boycotted.

NCR Article Likens Martin O'Malley To Jesus Christ

Please do not have any food or drink in your mouth as you read this NCR dribble, for you may wind up spitting it all over your monitor and keyboard as you laugh out loud.

Tom Gallagher of course celebrates the abolition of the death penalty in Maryland.  However, he takes the Maryland Catholic Conference to task for "not mustering up a simple thank you to the leadership of O'Malley.."  He then draws a parallel of this imagined slight of O'Malley to the ingratitude of the nine lepers healed by Jesus.  I'm not kidding!  He just compared aborto-phile and homo-phile Martin O'Malley to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

One must wonder why Gallagher sees fit to engage in such unabashed boot-licking for O'Malley.  Yes the latter is posturing for the White House.  Is the former posturing for some cushy administrative position?  If not, why the mindless pandering?

By the way - "NCR" means "Not-At-All Catholic Reporter".

Catholic Morality And Right To Self Defense

Thanks to Pewsitter today, I found an excellent treatise on the right to self-defense as found in Catholic tradition.  The author refers both to Summa Theologica (click here and go to Article 7) and the Catholic Catechism, summarizing the conditions under which the use of lethal force may be allowed and even mandated.

I suggest that all read it.  One interesting point he makes is why so many abortion proponents seem keen on depriving us of the means of self-defense - and he makes perfect sense.  The progressives who push for abortion and the destruction of the traditional family wish to make the state into a de facto deity.  The right to self defense comes from God - a source outside the state.  Thus they perceive this right as a supreme threat to their state-idol. Their puppets in the USCCB and various chanceries are merely doing their bidding to make people more dependent upon, and subservient to the state-idol.  Why are these preceding sentences italicized?  You'll see below!

A perfect "case-in-point" occurred yesterday in the online edition of the Not-So Catholic Reporter.  The bloviations typical for that rag run rampant throughout the article, calling for disarming the citizen (What?  Do you  think crooks are going to obey gun laws and surrender their arms?)  One source of the whining is John Gehring of Faith in Public Life.  My Catholic Media Coalition colleague, Stephanie Block, exposed Faith in Public Life for the left-wing front organization that it is.  Here's another piece that she did.  Faith in Public Life has taken money from George Soros.  So much for their credibility when it comes to things Catholic.

Another key whiner is none other than the USCCB.  They issued a statement that says in a footnote (tucked away so we nasty right-wing bloggers don't notice!), "However, we believe that in the long run and with few exceptions -- i.e., police officers, military use -- handguns should be eliminated from our society."  Now compare this statement to the italicized sentences two paragraphs prior to this one.  The USCCB is indeed spouting the talking points of their progressive puppet-masters.  They are doing so even to the point of dissenting from Catholic moral teaching in regards to the right to self defense.  To me, that means that the push to disarm that may come from "social justice" arms of chanceries and conferences must be opposed and resisted as the departures from morality that they are.

NCR - Where Is Easter For Those On The Cross?

That is the title of an article in the NCR - that is, Not-so Catholic Reporter.  The first tear-jerk individual is not a person.  The first 4-5 paragraphs focus on the plight of Fiona - a stray dog who was rescued.  The next several paragraphs carry on about folks who are suffering and how that suffering was brought about by mankind heaving around all those "environmental toxic pollutions".

In other words, this puff-piece is an exercise of apologetics for the pseudo-religion of environmental worship.  The question is asked, "When will the plundered earth and stripped-away rainforests have their Easter mornings of resurrection?"  The author places the "plundered earth" and "rainforests" on a par with Our Crucified Lord!

Then they start quoting a Sister Paula Gonzalez - an "environmental spirituality educator"!  Interesting title!  She invited all to "see the Earth Charter as a prayer we need to practice".

I cannot continue writing about this nonsense.  You have to read it to believe that this is the sort of crap that is being taught in supposedly Catholic media.  Part of Cardinal Dolan's efforts at cleaning up Catholic catechesis might be to shut down this NCR rag.

The Winners Of The 2011 Moloch Awards Are....

First, what are the Moloch Awards?  They are awards given to deserving (?) individuals by the American Life League who have plumbed the depths of serving the demagogues of abortion.  Moloch was a false deity worshipped by ancient peoples.  They did so by sacrificing newborns to it.  We have way too many people today serving in blind obedience to the murderous idol.

Now the American Life League has announced the "winners" of the awards in various categories.  I need not "reinvent the wheel", as it were.  On the ALL page can be found all the "winners".  No doubt there were some tough decisions to be made, as any number of scoundrels could have taken these awards, but there's always next year, I suppose!

Why The DREAM Act Is A Booby-Trap For Maryland's Catholic Church

Through Pewsitter, I came across this article from National Catholic Reporter - Michael Sean Winter's blog, to be precise.  Herein lies a perfect example of the dangers of Catholics flirting with progressivism.  Winter unabashedly spews forth progressive apologetics and calls upon Maryland hierarchy to sell their credibility, if not their souls, to progressivism.

Winters asks this question of the Maryland bishops: "Can they - and will they - fight as strongly for the DREAM Act as other hierarchs have fought gay marriage proposals?"  My reply another question: "Why should they?"   We all know, whether or not we care to admit it, that there is absolutely no justification whatsoever to promote a lifestyle that goes against God's plan for marriage, sexuality and human relationshops and only causes physical and spiritual damage to those who practice it.  If gay activists think that they are acting "in the finest tradition of American politics" and "civil-rights achievements", it's high time that they be informed that they are just plain wrong - on many levels.

On the other hand, good people can disagree as to the means in pursuing less fundamental areas of caring for disadvantaged.  I stated in a previous post that DREAM Act opponents have legitimate concerns that this act may have the effect of undermining the well-being of other segments of the population. 

That brings us to the point of Mr Winters besmirching these legitimate concerns as "anti-immigrant xenophobia".  With all due respect, Mr Winters et al, who do you think you are in dismissing our concerns in such a perjorative manner?   Regretably, Msgr Mark Brennan voiced similar sentiments in the Catholic Standard article last week.

In Mr Winter's first question, I perceive an additional message.  Might it be, "Look, you dissed off your liberal and progressive money-bags and sugar-daddies in opposing gay marriage!  You need to make it up to us!  Therefore, we expect you to deliver Catholic support to the DREAM Act to bolster our votes at election time!  And by golly, you had damned well better squelch all opposition and even questioning from those pesky, conservative tea-party elements within your pews!  Otherwise, expect government funding for your pet projects to dry up in a heartbeat!"

Whatever the underlying intent of that question, without a doubt the progressive elements in the chanceries are getting with the program with all due haste.  Having squelched dissent within the ranks of clergy (and I know some of them do not support the DREAM Act), they have made it clear that they are on the job!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the Maryland hierarchy showed the same resolve and alacrity when it comes to ending abortion, or at least Catholic support for abortion?  It would mean that they'd obey Canon 915 instead of treating this binding law as a "pastoral option".  It means that the DC pro-life office would not eschew important ongoing pro-life efforts simply because the truth of abortion is vividly portrayed (yes, you know what I'm talking about!).

Once again, I'm not making a case, "pro or con", for the DREAM Act - at least, not at this time.  For now, I just want to ensure one and all that this question is one in which Catholic moral teaching allows for honest differences of opinion.  Contrary to implications of the Catholic Standard, you are not a "xenophobe" if you dare to differ from the chanceries and conferences.

National Catholic Reporter's Editor Dies

Joseph Feuerherd, head of the National Catholic Reporter, passed away from cancer this past week at the age of 48 years.  Other blogs wrote about his passing; I highlight two of them and invite all to do their own comparisons.

The first is from the American Papist blog, and is actually quite a glowy write-up - perhaps overly so.  In it, Mark Stricherz refers to him as a gregarious individual, and commented on the deceased's "commitment to the poor".

To answer the question why I put his "commitment to the poor" in quotes, it's worth taking a look at the second of the two blogs - that of my CMC colleague, Les Femmes.  She points out that Feuerherd placed his erroneous concept of concern for the poor above (or at least on a par with) concern for the thousands of unborn children murdered each day - so much so that he announced his support for Obama during the 2008 campaign.  Need I remind anyone of the immense menace that Obama continues to pose for these truly defenseless amongst us?

It may well be that Feuerherd was a gregarious individual.  So what?  Ted Kennedy was reputed to have an outgoing, afiable personality - and no one disputes how he played in integral role in ensconsing the Culture of Death in the fabric of modern society.  Feuerherd caused similar damage via the dissent and pro-abortion propaganda promulgated through the National Catholic Reporter while he was at its helm.

Stricherz concludes his piece by saying, "Whenever you feel like criticizing someone, just stop to think if you would reach the same conclusion if you met and talked with the person. Charity goes a long way."  Criticizing the person is not the issue; his deeds (and misdeeds) are.  We can, and must, look at and speak honestly of the ways in which Feuerherd et al helped to foster a dangerous culture that wars against its unborn.  It is the complete antithesis of true charity to gloss over the truth, for then we may not be so urgent to pray to God that he have mercy on the soul of Joseph Feuerherd - as well we should.

The Passion According To National Catholic Reporter

Well, thank heavens for this Nominal Catholic Reporter article by Jamie Manson.  It's only appropriate to have this sort of tome plopped between Lenten Carbon Fast and Earth-Day Easter.

Here's the first line of the article, to give you a flavor:  I’ve had more than one Catholic who grew up either before or on the cusp of Vatican II tell me horror stories of how they were taught that Jesus died because of their sins.

"Horror story"?  Hmmm...  One of the first things that comes to mind is from the Bible: 1 Corinthians 1:18.  That link will take you to that verse.  What does that say about Ms Manson??  The real horror story will come to those who do not avail themselves of the free gift offered by Our Lord, which this day signifies.

Going on through the article (recommended if your lenten penance has been somewhat lacking), we see progressive poison permeating her thinking of the crucifixion.  She rattles off an endless lists of evils, some real and some contrived by liberal-think, that are included in the "smaller-scale deaths of God" encompassed by the crucifixion.  Well, I should say the list is almost endless, as there are a number of omissions: abortion, euthanasia, contraception, abuse of embryos and homosexual behavior are curiously absent!   Hmmm!!!

Now get this line of hers.  Whenever a creation is killed, whether through our continued ravaging of the earth or through atrocities like genocide and war, God is crucified.  Does that mean that if we used plastic bags, used incandescent bulbs or drove suvs, that "we crucified God" - but the murder of babies is okie-dokie??

I have to thank Pewsitter for directing me to Father Z's piece on this.  Read Father Z's piece to the bottom, as he did a little parody on what Ms Manson might think of the Stations of the Cross.

I hope all have had a truly blessed Easter.

We Are "Taliban Catholics"?

Apparently that's what some in the progressive/liberal circles of the Church are dubbing us faithful, traditional Catholics who actually live by the teachings of the Church.  The Vortex clip elaborates on this below.  In the clip, Voris states that "out of charity" he won't name the journalist who coined this term "taliban Catholic".

Not finding myself in agreement with Voris's concept of charity on this occasion, I will go ahead and name this individual.  It wasn't difficult to determine that; all I had to do was google that term (and Voris must have known we'd do that!).  The delightful fellow is John Allen, a "reporter" from the National Catholic Reporter (no surprise there!).  Here's Father Z's take on the issue - I love that picture!  After a little more web-searching, I think I determined the identity of the priest to whom Voris was referring.  He is Fr Norm Tanck of Blessed Kateri Church in the Diocese of Rochester (NY).  Here's a link to the offending homily.  If Fr Tanck is not the priest whom Voris had in mind, then the "taliban Catholic" phrase is becoming very popular.

Click here if you can't see embedded video.



CORRECTION: I now have reason to believe that Voris may have been referring to Fr Thomas Rosica, a dissident Canadian priest. Please visit this Lifesite News page for more details.

How Well Do You Know Your Local Eco-Whacko Pabulum?

(Thanks to Acts of the Apostacy for this)

Well, boys and girls, forget about the Baltimore Catechsim!  I remember when I started school, our days would start by Sister calling upon us to answer those questions - such as "Where is God?"  That's now deemed to be "irrelevant".

From the National Catholyc Distorter, we are now encouraged to ponder deeper, more "relevant" matters.  So now I link to (drum roll, please!)...

THE BIOREGIONAL QUIZ!!!

Ponder such great matters, as:

1. When was the last great fire in your region?
2. What kind of food was usually consumed by the ancient cultures in your region?
3. When is the rut of deer and when are the fawns born?
4. Which species of your region are already extinct?

Warning!  If you flunk this, you'll have to do the Lenten Carbon Fast!

The priorities that these people have!

Mainstream Catholic Media Mess

Michael Voris of the Vortex nails this right on the head with L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's own newspaper.  Not only did it deliberately disobey Vatican instructions by releasing snippets from the Pope's new book, but it has made brainless claims such as the Simpsons (that's a cartoon, folks!) being Catholic and praising Michael Jackson and the Beatles.

Actually, there's quite a list of Catholic mainstream media that needs some cleaning up.  Certainly the Catholic News Service and the National Catholic Reporter have some progressives spewing forth nonsense.  Sadly, many of the archdiocesan newspapers suffer the same maladies.  To the extent that they are directly controlled by their respective chanceries, the staff of those newspapers may have reduced culpability - but not completely eliminated.  I speak of those publications that insist on praising pro-abortion Catholic bigwigs and being utterly silent about doctrinal matters such as contraception, etc.  Yes, the Catholic Standard is included in that mix!

The statements above, and this Vortex video, make achingly plain why alternative sources for Catholic news are needed - such as this blog and those listed on the right tool bar and the Vortex itself.  Click here if you can't see embedded video.

First The Koran Is Being Burned - And Now, This????

The Horror!  The Shame!  What are we coming to?  Ladies and gentlemen, some crazed fiend is planning to burn (I can hardly bring myself to say this!) The National Catholic Reporter!  Read about the planned travesty here!  Oh, No!   Say it isn't so!
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Ladies and gentlemen, if you haven't figured it out by now, this post, and the linked post, were parodies.  Why burn that newspaper - and waste perfectly good kitty litter-pan liner?

National Catholic Reporter Rails Against Faithful Catholics

On February 22, I blogged about us having the right kind of enemies.  I did so to make clear that we are being successful at either 1) pricking some consciences and/or 2) cutting off support for nefarious elements within the Church.  We are called to exercise the Spiritual Works of Mercy.  One of them is "rebuke the sinner."  We are also advised to expect opposition from those in opposition to the Church.

Today the National Catholic Reporter, a very liberal catholyc (I'm going to use American Papist's spelling when referring to these CINO types) magazine, today released a snit-fit called "An Indecent, Unchristian Witch Hunt."  As did Catholics United, they sally forth to the defense of their favorite USCCB cash cow, namely, Catholic Campaign for Human Development (gotta keep those dollars going to the Dems now, don't we?)  By name, the vent their spleens at: Catholic Advocate, American Life League, Reform CCHD Now, Bellarmine Veritas Minsitry, Real Catholic TV.

Among other things, notice that we are accused of being partisan.  Its proof?  Well, apparently a staff member of Richard Nixon noticed the left-wing proclivities of the CCHD, so therefore, anyone else who also has functioning eyeballs and brain cells must be "partisan"!  Get the logic?  Well, if not, you too are engaged in an indecent witch-hunt!

Fellow witch-hunters, we've got them on the run!  Let's keep it up!