After The Synod, Bishop Strickland Challenges The US Bishops - What Will It Take?

On Wednesday, November 13, outside the USCCB meeting in Baltimore MD, Defend Life coordinated a Rosary to pray for our bishops.  As he had in previous years, Bishop Joseph Strickland, Bishop Emeritus of Tyler, TX, led the attendees in that day's Rosary.  

Recall that His Excellency was ousted from his diocese by Pope Francis for daring to challenge the bilge that spews forth from the Vatican on a regular basis.  That happened almost exactly one year ago.  That was an insult to not only His Excellency but to all faithful Catholics.  A few days ago, we received word that the Traditional Latin Mass was banned from Bishop Strickland's former cathedral in Tyler.  The Latin Mass was also banned in four other parishes in the diocese.  This move happened exactly one year after Strickland's ouster.  Now, only St. Joseph the Worker parish, entrusted to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, is permitted to celebrate that Mass. I've no doubt this is a direct slap in the face to Bishop Strickland and the Catholics who have appreciated him.  The timing of this move is too coincidental.

Getting back to Wednesday's event, Bishop Strickland led the gathering in the recitation of the Angeles, and then the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary.

After the Rosary concluded, Bishop Strickland read an open letter to the bishops.  The text appears below, and a video recording of his verbal delivery is embedded in this article.  As you will see as you read below, Bishop Strickland rebukes the great majority of his brother bishops, not only of the US, but from other countries.  In particular, he excoriates them for their silence regarding the synod that just recently ended.  The pope's document is found here.  In his letter, Strickland points out the all-too-obvious truth that the pope has abdicated his responsibility to guard the Deposit of Faith, and is endeavoring to deform it into a monstrous mockery of the same.  Indeed, in this synod, Francis has attempted to shatter the structure of the Church into a disparate conglomeration of local "synods", facilitating Francis' abdication of his God-given responsibility as Guardian of the Deposit of Faith.  Indeed, we now see a so-called "Mayan rite" in Mexico, newly approved by the Vatican, replete with pagan rituals and trappings.  We will be hearing of future similar episodes.

Strickland asked the bishops, "what will it take" for the them to act in accordance with their own Divinely-ordained mandates.

We laity are also likewise challenged to take our responsibilities.  He asks "what will it take" for us to speak out if our shepherds won't.  Let's face it, Marylanders!  That is our situation.  Our shepherds aren't speaking out.  In fact, they are openly contributing to the decay of the Church.  I've written enough about that in this blog.  The latest just happened over this election cycle, with the Maryland bishops deliberately hobbling worthwhile efforts to stop the "reproductive freedom amendment", that sadly became a part of our state constitution.

Bishop Strickland is correct.  No more do we dare, in the face of episcopal malfeasance, look the other way and pretend that we don't see it.  We cannot go merrily along in our own parishes and pretend that this ever-worsening debacle won't impact our children and grandchildren.  We must learn our faith ourselves and teach it to one another ourselves, so that when it is preached from the pulpit that same-sex marriage is just an alternative lifestyle or that hell is not a reality or that the Sacraments are optional and so forth, that our loved ones can discern the error and not be afraid to rebuke the one spreading that spiritual poison.

My lay friends, it will cost us.  It may cost us friends in our parish.  We may find ourselves kicked off the parish council, the choir, religious education, Knights of Columbus councils, etc.  I believe that is what is known as "white martyrdom".  We cannot fear it, for we cannot deny the truth nor Our Lord. 

What will it take?  And now, Bishop Strickland's letter.

The Letter Is Delivered

Dear Bishops, 

You gather here today, present-day apostles, as the Church and, therefore, the world stand perched on the edge of a cliff. And yet you who are entrusted with the keeping of souls choose to speak not a word of the spiritual danger which abounds. Today we stand on the cusp of all that has been prophesied about the Church and the abominations which would come forth in these times, a time when all of hell attacks the Church of Jesus Christ, and a time when the fallen angels of hell no longer seek entry into her sacred halls but instead stand inside, peeking out of her windows and unlocking doors to welcome in more diabolical destruction.

I think that St. Jude had men such as many of you in mind when he described men who feast “together without fear, feeding themselves, clouds without water, which are carried about by winds, trees of the autumn, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own confusion; wandering stars…” (Jude 1:12-13).                     

Many people have asked what it will take for more than a few bishops to finally speak up against the false messages constantly flowing from the Vatican under the leadership of Pope Francis, and I ask myself the same question over and over: 

WHAT WILL IT TAKE? 

Do you not know that Our Lord will send forth His avenging angels to heap coals of fire upon the heads of those who were called to be His apostles and who have not guarded what He has given unto them?

And yet almost all of you, my brothers, stood by silently watching as the Synod on Synodality took place, an abomination constructed not to guard the Deposit of Faith but to dismantle it, and yet few were the cries heard from you – men who should be willing to die for Christ and His Church.

The Synod’s final document has been released, yet with the sleight of hand which is so characteristic of the Francis-controlled Vatican. By drawing attention to the issues which worried many, they have slipped in what was always their real goal without anyone even noticing. What they were after in the first place was the dismantling of Christ’s Church by replacing the structure of the Church as Our Lord instituted it with a diabolically-inspired new structure of “synodality” which in actuality is a new church that is in no way Catholic.

We now see the prophetic words of Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen unfolding before our eyes: “Because his religion will be brotherhood of Man without the fatherhood of God, he will set up a counter church which will be the ape of the Church, because he, the Devil, is the ape of God. It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in reverse and emptied of its divine content, it will be a mystical body of the Antichrist that will in all externals resemble the mystical body of Christ …” (Radio Broadcast; January 26, 1947). 

With the push for “synodality,” we see that the enemies of Christ are putting before us, as Archbishop Sheen says: “a new religion without a Cross, a liturgy without a world to come, a religion to destroy a religion, or a politics which is a religion – one that renders unto Caesar even the things that are God’s.”

WHAT WILL IT TAKE? 

A rudimentary understanding of the papacy leaves us with the reality that Pope Francis has abdicated his responsibility to serve as the primary guardian of the Deposit of Faith. Every bishop makes this solemn promise to guard the Deposit of Faith, but the Petrine office exists primarily to be the guardian of the guardians and the servant of the servants. St. Peter received the office which bears his name when, after the Resurrection, Christ asked him three times, “Do you love me?” and St. Peter responded, “You know that I love you,” thus healing his betrayal as Christ endured His Passion. And Who is this Jesus Who Peter professes to love? He is of course Truth Incarnate; thus St. Peter is stating that he loves Truth. This leaves us with this question, “Does Pope Francis love the Truth that Jesus Christ incarnates?” Sadly, his actions and his policies which promote a relativized version of truth that is not truth at all propel us to a devastating conclusion: the man who occupies the Chair of St. Peter does not love the truth and seeks to reshape it in the image of man. 

There can be no bishop who is unaware of statements that Pope Francis has made that are unambiguous denials of the Catholic faith. For example, Francis has stated publicly that God wills the existence of all religions and that all religions are a path to God. In this statement, Pope Francis has denied an integral part of the Catholic faith. How many souls will be lost who will accept his erroneous statement that all religions will lead to salvation? What I find so difficult to understand is that modern-day apostles, men who are ordained to be guardians of the faith, refuse to acknowledge this and instead ignore or even promote this deadly falsehood. Every bishop and cardinal should publicly and unequivocally state that Francis no longer teaches the Catholic faith. Souls are at stake!

Therefore, I ask again: 

WHAT WILL IT TAKE? 

As successors of the Apostles, this situation must force the bishops of Christ’s Church to answer the pivotal question ourselves: “Do we truly love Jesus Christ, Truth Incarnate?” With a Pope who is actively opposing the divine truths of our Catholic faith, the responsibility falls to the bishops of the world to profess their own love of Our Lord, to guard the Sacred Deposit of Faith, and to oppose any attempt to dismantle the Truth.

Let us return to the fateful conversation between our risen Lord and St. Peter. When Peter responds, “Lord, you know I love you,” Jesus responds: “Feed my lambs” and again “Feed my sheep.” How is Peter to feed Christ’s lambs? With the Truth of course – with Jesus Christ Himself who IS Truth. 

And yet, where are those men whom the Lord has called to feed His sheep? Where are the successors of the Apostles who have promised to defend the sheep with their lives? They sit a few feet away, patting one another on the back, listening to words that they know beyond a doubt are not the Truth, frolicking with the darkness, and blaspheming the very Truth that the original Apostles died to preserve.

WHAT WILL IT TAKE?

You have words from those who spoke in Sacred Scripture, wisdom from the Sacred Tradition of the Church, and guidance from former Popes and a great multitude of saints that false teachers would come and that the holy faith would be attacked, and yet most of you have gone out into the battle wearing no armor, and have then reacted as one bewildered that his skin has been pierced by poison arrows. You have been given all that was needed to ensure that your heads were not turned by the lies of Satan. Why then have you gone out without the armor of God? It is YOUR responsibility, when you see poison arrows of falsehood falling upon men, to call out to them and say, “Put on the armor of Our Lord which is Truth, and you shall not be wounded.”  

And to the faithful, I put forth the same question –  

WHAT WILL IT TAKE? 

What if your shepherds do not rally? What if they have all accepted thirty pieces of silver, and they remain silent in the face of falsehood which further pierces the hands and feet of Our Lord? Then what will it take for you to speak up?

Many might say that it is not your responsibility; you can live Truth quietly in your heart. However, to speak Truth can never simply be the responsibility of someone else, because God has etched Truth onto the heart of every person. Therefore, Truth is each man’s property as a sacred gift from God. And never can anyone say that they had no Truth in them – and never can a man claim rightly that to find Truth he had to gather it from the wind, or he could only gather it from the words of another. The soul recognizes Truth and is nourished by it, and those who wither away from lack of Truth do not wither because they were given no portion of Truth in their own soul.

Indeed, Truth has instead been so suppressed again and again by such a person – and has been told so often to “stand down” – until it dares not raise its head. And this is why a man finds himself in such a sad state and why when he cries out, “It is not the fault of my own that I had no Truth or that I knew it not when I encountered it,” he speaks in error. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ, granting free will to those He loves, which is each and every person without exception, has given the gift of Truth to each and every one of us, so that if there is any predisposition in a man’s heart, then it is the propensity of the soul to vibrate to His Truth. Therefore, the soul when deprived of Truth lies dormant until it withers into something cold and hard. Have you not seen how even the angels of darkness recognize Truth and cannot do other than what Our Lord commands them – and yet they strive to hide Truth from every man unto each man’s eternal damnation? 

So I ask again – WHAT WILL IT TAKE? WILL YOU DIE FOR HIM? 

Bishop Joseph E. Strickland 

Bishop Emeritus 

As I bring to a close this letter that asks the question, “What will it take?” I would like to thank my collaborators, the Apostles and Evangelists, especially Saints Nathaniel and Jude. Why these two? Because they are not the most well-known or often cited of the Apostles and, therefore, I feel a kinship with them because I was an obscure bishop who should have remained obscure.

In the ballroom a few feet from here, men are meeting who could be described as a Catholic brain-trust. Many of them are brilliant, talented men who could have been at the top of any profession they chose, but they are bishops, successors of the Apostles.

Sadly, they are for the most part silent shepherds, unwilling to risk speaking up in the face of evil and destructive forces that threaten the Church. These forces have attempted to silence me, but there was no need to silence these men – they never made a sound.

I ask the faithful to pray fervently that all shepherds find their voices and say with me, “Que viva Cristo Rey – long live Christ the King, Truth Incarnate!”

Bishops Meeting In Baltimore Starts Tomorrow November 14 - It's Time To Call Them Out

Yesterday's Mass was the Memorial of St. Josaphat, bishop and martyr.  The first reading appears below.

Here John is exhorting the recipients to assist some missionaries.  Take note of the third line from the bottom, where it says that these missionaries "are accepting nothing from the pagans".  Dear readers, for the past several decades, our bishops have sold the collective soul of the US Catholic Church as they grovel and snivel before de facto pagan governments for huge sums of our tax dollars.  Of course many of these receipts are funneled to leftwing progressive organizations.  

We can rest assured that they will be strategizing ways to suck some more from the federal teats.  That will be high on the priority list along with the ongoing efforts to strangle the Traditional Latin Mass and marginalize faithful Catholics, while allowing pro-abortion politicians and other celebrities to receive Holy Communion sacrilegiously.  Baby-slaughter, gay perversions and loss of supernatural faith among Catholics will register mere blips on their radar screens - if that much.

Fortunately faithful Catholics are rising up and are calling our bishops to be the shepherds that they've been ordained to be.  Please see the flyer below.  This is a call for Catholic men to be actual men.  I know that many men have participated in the "That Man Is You" and the "Exodus 90" programs these past few years.  Now here's a golden opportunity to put some walk to all that talk.  Men in the Baltimore/DC area, be there!  If you are in distant areas of the country, organize your own marches.

Alexander Tschugguel In Virginia

Last evening, November 12, I was fortunate to attend a presentation given by Alexander Tschugguel.  He is, of course, the young man who cleansed that church in Rome that had been polluted by the pachamama idols.  His talk was hosted by the Washington Bureau of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property.

Tschugguel explained his reasons for his actions and went into more of the underpinnings behind the Amazon Synod.  In brief, the synod was a step in the establishment of a one-world government that is, among other things, completely antithetical to Jesus Christ and His One True Church.  They are advancing their causes under the covers of environmentalism and borderless societies.  James Bascom, an official of the local TFP, made similar points in his remarks following Tschugguel's.

I recorded these two presentations and am in the midst of processing that footage.  I should be able to post the video by tomorrow.  The video was cut short simply because my camcorder battery was exhausted, but I believe the salient points were captured.  Please watch the entire thing.  What is discussed there is not just an interesting story of occurrences in Europe, but will have major impacts on your own parish.  At this very moment, the US bishops are conducting their semi-annnual meeting in Baltimore, and they are being strong-armed into implementing the pope's progressive goals.  Of course a goodly percentage of the bishops are on board with him anyway.  I will have more on that tomorrow when I publish the video.

Prayer Needed At USCCB Meeting Next Week

From my blogging colleague at Les Femmes

Dear Friends,

   Please join me next Tuesday, November 12 (Sorrowful Mysteries) and next Wednesday, November 13 (Glorious Mysteries) to pray the Rosary outside the Marriott Waterfront Hotel where Bishops from across America will be having their Annual Fall Meeting.

   Our intention is to honor Our Lady of America who, according to reliable sources, appeared numerous times to Sister Mildred Mary Neuzil in Rome City, Indiana.  On September 26, 1956, Our Lady appeared to Sister Mildred holding a scale Model of the Shrine of The Immaculate Conception, then under construction in Washington, D.C. It was completed in 1959. Her request was that her sons and daughters dedicate themselves to living lives of Purity. 

   Her specific request was that her statue as she appeared to Sister Mildred be processed into the Shrine where it could be properly venerated. If that request was fulfilled, our Beloved America would become a Role Model for Purity around the World. Also, the miracles that would follow in America would exceed those of Fatima and Lourdes combined!

   So please join myself, other PRO-LIFERS, and Catholic Media Coalition members both days, Tuesday and Wednesday, at 12:40 pm on the water front side of the Marriott Waterfront Hotel, 700 Aliceanna Street, Baltimore 21202.

   On Wednesday, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas will tentatively lead us. We are trying to have another prominent Catholic Leader lead the Rosary on Tuesday. Come both days if you possibly can!
 

Long Live Christ Our King!

Thus End Another USCCB Dog And Pony Show

I concluded my previous post about the USCCB gab-fest with a question for which I believe we now have an answer, and a rather unsurprising one at that.  With a handful of exceptions, they are about the deconstruction of the Faith, the transformation of the Church into a shill for "social justice", i.e. anti-God socialism.  I won't analyze all the insults to the Faith that have just happened, lest I be here till doomsday doing all that.  I will summarize.

Cardinal Cupich flat out tried to defend his utter disregard for Canon 915.  His lame excuse?  "Sanctions..don't change anybody's minds".  Do you see what is completely omitted from his thinking?  He disregards his responsibility to protect the Blessed Sacrament from sacrilege and to keep these unrepentant pro-aborts from burdening their souls with yet another mortal sin, that of sacrilege against the Blessed Sacrament.

The bishops ostensibly had as a major point of their agenda (the one that didn't even mention Jesus Christ) the mechanisms by which they purport to address the sex abuse crisis.  If you're looking for a list of new and innovative actions that they'll be taking, there isn't any list for there are no real changes.  The bishops will continue to police themselves.  It's the same-old-same-old.  Surprise!

Ah, but there is one change, one that will ensconce heresy into the American catechism.  They are going to tweek it to refer to the pope's erroneous statement that the death penalty is "inadmissible".  Nope!  The Church, in her entire history, has always acknowledged that the death penalty is a legitimate means by which the state can protect its citizens.  No pope can say what Tradition deemed right centuries ago is now a moral wrong.  Make no mistake.  This death penalty stunt is their chosen trial balloon.  Since many good Catholics are adverse to it, the Vatican believes they will put up little resistance to this one little tinkering with Church teaching.  They reason that if they can get away with this heresy, that the acceptance of other heresies will be easier to get faithful Catholics to swallow.

I guess they are implementing Hitler's addage: "If you repeat a lie often enough, they will believe it."  Our job is to make sure that doesn't happen.  I'm posting below a Vortex regarding the Church hierarchy and their attempt to continue the lies.  Of course Church Militant isn't the lone organization pursuing truth.  There are others, such as Lepanto Institute, Remnant TV, LifeSiteNews and quite a few others.

Useless Gabfest In Baltimore

Yes, the USCCB is having its semi-annual swanky gum-flap session in Baltimore as I type this.  I just learned this a few days ago; usually their November meeting is in Baltimore and their June meeting is elsewhere in the country.  I wonder what prompted this venue switch?

At any rate they are in Baltimore and they are trying to carry on as though it's business as usual.  There are rumblings of some common sense - not much, but not non-existent.  Bishop Robert Baker of Birminghan noted that in the "strategic priorities" and "emphasis areas" documents that were distributed to the bishops contained not one mention of the name of Jesus Christ.  Oh, pish-posh!  How neo-pelagean of him!  Is Bishop Baker clinging to ashes of the past?  Goodness!  Enough sarcasm.  Bishop Baker is correct.  They are bishops of the One True Church founded by Jesus Christ.  How can it be that a key document of an ostensibly Catholic gathering doesn't once mention the words "Jesus Christ"?  Anyway, Bishop Baker's point received no acknowledgment from Archbishop Vigneron.

Likewise ignored was Bishop Strickland, when he stated that the bishops needed to hold CINO pro-abortion politicians accountable.  Again, the response to his point was crickets.  In reality, I think some of these prelates were seething at him for he politely called out their boot-licking for what it is.

So here we have it.  Two bishops made rather modest suggestions on how the US bishops could actually act as bishops, and the response to both was crickets.  They also had no word of rebuke for Cardinal Wuerl, who was caught lying multiple times.  So just what are they jabber-jawing about in Baltimore anyway?  For what are they squandering thousands of dollars this week?

The Pope's Hatchet Men

Towards the beginning of the debacle known as the USCCB meeting in Baltimore, Cardinal DiNardo, president of the USCCB, announced the pope's orders to shelve any vote on measures to deal with the episcopal sex abuse scandals.  It was apparent the DiNardo made the announcement with much chagrin and some of the bishops were likewise displeased at the announcement.  Right away Cardinal Cupich stood up and declared that the pope was taking the matter seriously.  It was clear that he knew of the pope's intentions and his mission was to run interference for the pope.

Throughout the meeting it was apparent that Cupich was the de facto head honcho of the meeting, along with Cardinal Wuerl.  A few months ago Wuerl elicited well-deserved scorn for suggesting that bishops should investigate one another: specifically, an accused bishop should be investigated by his metropolitan, as Archbishop Lori is ostensibly doing with Bishop Bransfield.  In other words, the foxes should guard the hen houses.   That is precisely what Wuerl and Cupich tried to cram down the throats of the other bishops.  Here is a video, but more follows this video.



Another henchman is Cardinal Joseph Tobin.  As Tobin was checking out of the hotel after the meeting, George Neumayr intercepted him and asked him several questions.  Tobin didn't bother to deny that Italian actor Francesco Castiglione was living in his rectory - but didn't give any plausible reason why.  It may be reasonable to opine that he was the intended recipient of the "nighty-night baby I love you" tweet.  I pray that Tobin was being honest when he said that he wouldn't be foisted upon the DC archdiocese as its next bishop.

A few bishops - but only a few - spoke up with some truth at that meeting.  See the video below.  Meanwhile, Legatus, an organization of Catholic businessmen, announced that they would be withholding their annual donations to the Vatican in light of their abysmal performance.  No doubt they want reassurances that their donations won't be used to cover up the mortal sins of clergymen.  We need to do that as well - withhold our donations until they get serious and clean the filth from their own ranks.

USCCB Ponders Canonical Penalties Against Defenders Of US Borders

Eeeekk!!  The USCCB is having their semi-annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale this week!  And they've already plopped a massive stinker!  This one centers around "immigration".  In other words, they are all for the coddling of those who crash our borders, entering illegally.  By definition, those who sneak into our country and break our laws are criminals.  But the bishops have historically been awarded millions of federal dollars throughout the years to "resettle" those who crash our borders.

They have their kindred progressive spirits in liberal areas of the country - Maryland being one of them.  In particular, Montgomery County is a liberal loony bin.  You might recall the debate among the candidates for County Council President.  I recorded that and posted the entire thing here.  Listen to these lemmings brag that they will order local police not to cooperate with ICE in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.  This debate happened in a Catholic church; Msgr Enzler (president of Catholic Charities, by the way - the same Catholic Charities that was the recipient of the aforementioned billions of our tax dollars) was just beaming at these arrogant pronouncements.

Yesterday the USCCB ranted against the Trump administration's moves to protect our borders.  They went so far as to say that this matter is a "right to life" issue.  Some bishops even suggested "canonical penalties" for those who implement the administration's new rules.  More on that in a moment.

Here's one gem of a paragraph:

Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, N.J., proposed that a group of bishops be sent to the border to inspect the detention facilities where children are kept as a “sign of our pastoral concern and protest against the hardening of the American heart.” Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces, N.M., suggested “public gestures” such as prayer vigils in front of federal courthouses.

This is the same Cardinal Tobin who, as Archbishop of Indianapolis, turned a deaf ear to us when we pleaded with him to forbid lesbians from using a KofC hall to celebrate their fake "marriage".  In light of his subsequent receipt of his red zucchetto, I entertain the possibility that in fact he ordered that concession to the perverts.  Where was his "pastoral concern" when perverts and their enablers were allowed to flaunt their mortal sins on Catholic property?

Here's another:

Bishop Edward Weisenburger of Tucson, Ariz., made a bolder suggestion, raising the possibility of implementing canonical penalties for Catholics “who are involved in this,” referring to children being separated from their families at the border.Canonical penalties can range from denial of sacraments to excommunication, though Weisenburger did not specify what he intended beyond referring to sanctions that already exist for “life issues.”

Weisenburger was appointed Tuscon bishop by Pope Francis.  Certainly canon law is not one of his strong points for canonical penalties cannot be levied in the absence of canonical offenses.  Disagreeing with some clergy on matters of prudential judgment is not a canonical crime.  Bishops cannot wave the threat of "canonical penalties at their whims and fancies.  Sheesh!  Where's the "separation of church and state crowd" now?  Oh, that's right!  They only come out when non-negotiable matters of morality are the topics of interest.

Now here's an interesting question regarding canonical penalties.  We know that they are completely disregarded when pro-abortion politicians strut up the Communion line and receive, in direct violation of Canon 915.  So will all these prelates who thumb their noses at this unmistakable canon law now wax stern and forceful if Weisenburger has his way?

Speaking of "life issues", how much attention will baby-slaughter receive at this meeting?  Not much, but I digress.

Maryland bishops and their Annapolis cronies have been particularly hard at work to make Maryland a haven for illegals.  With these illegals have come hispanic gangs such as MS-13.  I link now to a video detailing how dangerous they have made it to attend public schools.  The Maryland bishops, to an uncomfortably large extent, are culpable for this state of affairs.

One Bright Spot In The USCCB Gabfest In Baltimore This Week

The USCCB held their annual Baltimore meeting this week.  What were the issues being considered by the shepherds of the Church in the US?  Here's a line from the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter: "The longest and most passionate discussion on the first day of the fall assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Nov. 13 focused on immigrants, on how to help them but also how to drive home the point that they, too, are our brothers and sisters and should not be demonized."

Got that?  The emphasis was not on the large-scale apostasy from the faith by so many Catholics, not the abysmal state of catechesis and priestly formation, not baby-murder and the encroachment of homosexuality in our culture - but immigrants.  Also notice the de facto demonization that occurred, that was directed at those of us who do not coddle the illegal border-crashers.  Cardinal Cupich slandered us by insinuating that we engage in "poisoning rhetoric".  Ladies and gentlemen, that was before he lost the Pro-Life Chair election to Archbishop Naumann.  One can only imagine how he might have been railing against our "rhetoric" with some choice rhetoric of his own!  More on that below.

We do know that the bishops are going to issue a "presidential statement", since they don't appreciate that President Trump is actually behaving as, well, a president.  Goodness!  With all this passion and angst expended to flout the nation's immigration laws, why, the bishops haven't had much time to devote to their other pet issues - like "climate change and "gun control".

But this event hasn't been a complete progressive jabber-jaw session.  The USCCB's Pro-Life Office will be headed by Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Kansas City Archdiocese and not by the uber-progressive Cardinal Cupich.  I cannot think of two many other bishops who are more polar opposites than these two.  The former has chided pro-aborts, obeyed Canon 915 and expelled the Girl Scouts for their moral lapses whereas the latter has done his utmost to bog down the pro-life cause in seamless-garbage morass.  Cucpich, when Bishop of Spokane, went so far as to forbid his priests to participate in the 40 Days for Life campaign.

The vote is a curious one.  Cupich is clearly a darling of the progressive Vatican.  Yet he was defeated in his bid for this rather influential post.  Usually a cardinal occupies that position, but this time tradition has not been followed.  Yet the vote spread itself still remains a bit troubling; a 54% to 46% split cannot be called a landslide.

Let's go on to other matters, one of which is particularly nonsensical.  Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo NY spoke as a representative of the Bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.  He was asked by a member of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property whether or not Amoris Laetitia allows Catholics living in adultery to receive Holy Communion.  Malone refused to answer the question, saying (among other things), "it is not in my providence to respond to that question right now".  Remember - Malone is on a committee for marriage and family life, and he refuses to answer a question that the average Catholic of 50 years ago could answer in a flash.  The answer (of course) is that Church teaching has always forbade those living in mortal sin to receive Holy Communion.  Period.  This committee is tasked with coughing up a "pastoral plan" to implement Amoralis Lamentia, i.e., to devise some "wiggle room" to cajole Catholics to accepting sacrilegious Holy Communions.  The ones who would be the most imperiled are those adulterers who would be given false comfort while they commit sacrilege on top of their adultery, confirming the trajectory of their souls towards hell.

I believe this year's extravaganza is over.  If it wasn't financed by our donation dollars, it was by federal lucre (they receive quite a few bucks in government grants) which stems from our tax dollars.  Either way, we footed the bill for it.  What a waste!

USCCB = Underlings of Soros Conducting Communist Business

That does seem to be the order of business at the USCCB meeting that opened in Baltimore yesterday.  They opened their meeting by asking President-Elect Trump, in oh-so-thinly-veiled language, to adopt a policy of blanket amnesty to illegal immigrants.  This, of course, is right out of the progressive marching orders.  As pointed out in the anthology of previous posts, there is plenty of money to be had with regards to illegal immigration (hopefully Trump will shut off that cash spigot).  The bishops are doing the bidding of their puppet-masters; that's why they've put their bid for amnesty front and center.

When a sane, faithful Catholic thinks of issues for which the bishops might petition for governmental action, one thinks of intrinsic evils that pollute our culture.  These evils include:

• The wholes-scale murder of helpless babies, aka, abortion
• The growing threat of euthanasia
• The enshrinement of homosexual perversions as societal norms that no one may question
• The marginalization of Christians who live out their faith in their businesses

I don't know where the meeting is happening, just that it is in Baltimore.  Would someone who knows please advise via comments?  Perhaps someone in the vicinity can go and lodge a protest there.

One thing we can all do to send the USCCB a message is to boycott the CCHD collection this coming weekend.

From The Maturation Department - Another Reason Why Cdl Kasper Might Be In Town?

Call me cynical, but I find it hard to believe that Cardinal Kasper would take the time and trouble to fly across the Atlantic just to receive one bauble and make one speech at Catholic University of America on November 6 (see previous post).  It dawned on me just this morning that I should check out the precise dates of the USCCB's annual November meeting in nearby Baltimore.  Sure enough!  The scheduled dates are Nov 10 - 13, at the Marriott Waterfront in Baltimore (Inner Harbor area).

So Kasper's CUA appearance is the evening of Thursday the 6th.  The USCCB meeting starts the following Monday.  Will he be putting in an appearance at the meeting?  Here's the USCCB info about this meeting.  Am I the only one who finds this agenda to be rather curious for what's NOT on it?  Two weeks ago occurred one of the most controversial meetings in recent church history.  Yet the word "synod" is not to be found on the USCCB page that's dedicated to this meeting.

I'm willing to go out on a limb and opine that the SinNod most certainly will be discussed at the meeting that will start one week from tomorrow.  After all, there is only this meeting, with next summer's meeting, to browbeat faithful bishops "help" faithful bishops to "mature".  I also think that the main reason for Kasper's trip is to attend that meeting OR, at the very least, to drive some of the preparation for that meeting during the preceding weekend after his CUA appearance.  I understand that this CUA award is prestigious, but it cannot be so wondrous as to justify a transatlantic trip!

By the way - would Cardinal Burke be invited to this USCCB meeting?  I'd be pleasantly surprised if he was, but I think not.

USCCB's Upcoming Catholic Social Ministry Gathering

This year's gabfest is scheduled for Feb 10-13 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.  With John Carr, Ralph McCloud and Mary Wright of Just Faith on the Planning Committee, one can safely assume that the stench of progressivism will drift throughout the meeting halls and workshops.

Among the featured speakers is Mark Shields of PBS.  Of course that means his salary is paid in part by you and me via our tax dollars.  Therefore, is it any wonder that he complained that "no Republican in the House or Senate for 22 years has voted to increase taxes"?  No tax increase, no raise - the poor fella!  But that was in December.  Now he must be breathing sighs of relief after the GOP capitulation over the "fiscal cliff" deal.  In this clip you'll hear him say, "losing their virginity on the issue of tax cuts is an important thing to these Republicans who have not voted to increase taxes...".  Actually, the GOP lost their virtue with the fiscal cliff deal, but I digress.  I certainly hope that such metaphors will not spew forth from Shields' mouth at this USCCB session.  The clip is below the jump break so

Fellow Bloggers! We ARE Making A Difference!

Thanks to my friend at Throw the Bums Out for picking up on this.

Here's the acknowledgement right here.  It does appear that the author doesn't particularly appreciate it, but at least he does acknowledge our role, something that the head-in-dirt bishops refuse to voice.

So to my fellow "Taliban Catholics": keep up the good work!

Kicanas' Defeat Causes Liberal Spastic Reaction

If today's post by Kathy Reeves on RH Reality Check is typical fare for them, may I suggest that the term "Reality Check" is a misnomer?  She states that she is "disgusted by the conservative smear campaign that labeled Kicanas a homosexualist, and I’m disappointed in the USCCB for taking such claims seriously."

The "conservative smear campaign" that Reeves decries is simply the telling of truth.  The fact that the truth may not suit her proclivities does not render the telling of that truth a "smear campaign".  Case in point is Kicanas' handlng of the McCormack matter.  Kicanas never disputed that he knew of McCormack's pederast tendencies; he simply (and unconscionably) defended his handling of the mess - which facilitated McCormack's horrific abuse of numerous children, including his own relatives

Rainbow Sash Has A Hissy-Fit Over Dolan's Election

Here's the whine-fest.  http://www.rainbowsashmovement.com/files/New_Strategy.pdf

According to the sashers, we should be thanking them for Kicanas's defeat.  Well, it's true that God works in mysterious ways sometimes, but I'll direct my thanks to God, all the same.

It's rather ironic to hear the sashers complain about the bishops "breaking with tradition" to defeat Kicanas.  Of all people, why are they concerned with anything traditional, since they're so wont to throw into the trash all the authentic traditions of the Church?  They're also kvetching about the election of Archbishop Joseph Kurtz as vice president; he has spoken out against same-sex marriage.

As the sashers sob tears of sorrow into their rainbow-colored hankies, we pray that their tears don't cause all the pretty colors in the hankies to run.  We also pray that they, and other dissidents, may repent of their ways, as they are flirting with eternal damnation.

Kicanas Defeated! Deo Gratias!

It has been a long-held albeit informal tradition at the USCCB that the sitting vice president would be elected president at the annual USCCB meeting.  Thus all expected that Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tuscon would be elected president of the USCCB.  Many faithful Catholics have voiced concern over that probable election.  Not only has Kicanas cozied up to progressive elements and towed the Bernardin "seamless garment" party line, but his enabling of a pederast seminarian under his watch rendered him unfit to assume any more authority in the Church.  Many of us were praying and lobbying so that such an election would be thwarted.

Well, thanks be to God, it was.  New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan was elected president.  While I am not overjoyed at his election for reasons well-voiced by my colleague at Les Femmes, I am heartened that the progressive wing amongst the bishops was dealt a long-needed rebuke.

Here's an artcle from the Catholic World Report.  I love the title: "Cardinal O'Connor's Revenge: The Seamless Garment Unravels".

And another "Deo Gratias!" moment.  On November 15th, Catholic Culture published some words spoken by Pope Benedict XVI to some bishops in Brazil.  He reminded them that the conference “must avoid becoming a parallel reality or substituting for the ministry of each individual bishop. The counselors and structures of the episcopal conference exist to serve the bishops, not to replace them.”   Ladies and gentlemen, it is no accident that the Holy Father uttered these words just as the American bishops were gathering in Baltimore in preparation for the meeting now occurring.  Dare I opine that His Holiness was seeking to put pompous progressive bureaucrats in their place?  God is good!