Happy News! Extraordinary Rite of Mass Spreading in the Archdiocese

I was pleasantly surprised to see in today's parish bulletin a call for altar boys to come to a special training session.  This is being held to teach the proper responses for the Traditional Mass.  Of course the boys would have to learn the Latin and learn the movements, where to go, when to genuflect, etc.  The announcement made clear that there was no set agenda for instituting the Mass, but wanted altar boys to be prepared to implement this.  Also noteworthy was that the announcement made clear that "out of respect for the tradition, this is only open to boys."

If and when that Mass comes, I'll be there and be sure to announce it here.

Catholic Standard Report on Red Mass - Useless At Best

Today's edition arrived, with a picture of Archbishop Wuerl and Chief Justice Roberts taking the bulk of the front page. The article was a disappointment, but that disappointment is no surprise at all. Of course there is a picture of Justice Sonia Sotomayor schmoozing it up with the clergy - the same clergy that had ignored the plight of a faithful Catholic being denied her canonical right to attend Mass. It was quite nauseating to read that Sotomayor received a standing ovation at the brunch after the Mass.

I cannot say that the pro-life presence outside was completely ignored. The article took a good page and half. So how much of that space did our efforts merit in the editorial eyes? Two sentences! Count them! Two entire sentences!

Now one might think that it would be somewhat difficult to distort our message in only two sentences, but the Standard managed to accomplish that stellar feat. According to the Standard, we used pictures of "aborted fetuses". Do you notice the acquesence to pro-abortion language here? The word "fetus", although it means "little one" in Latin, has been used by pro-abortionists to de-humanize the tiny unborn child. Mark Zimmerman wrote this article. As an editor, he really should know better that he must be precise with language. Mr. Zimmerman, what we showed was pictures of murdered babies - plain and simple!

He also misrepresented the message that we were conveying. What he omitted was that we were exhorting the clergy to fulfill their obligations under Canon 915, in addition to urging pro-abortion politicians not to go to Communion. In omitting our exhortation to the clergy, Mr. Zimmerman tacitly (hopefully inadvertently) implies that Canon 915 binds on the laity. Not so. Canon 915 binds upon the minister of Holy Communion.

Now just take a guess as to how much space was devoted to the abysmal treatment that Ms. McKee suffered at the hands of Cathedral personnel. Not one word did Mr. Zimmerman write about the sorry behavior of the Cathedral! I might add that the clergy's behavior during that episode was less than exemplary. Ms McKee is known to Bishop Gonzales. In the video, she can be heard pleading to him by name for assistance. If my camcorder's microphone picked it up while she was facing away from it, surely the bishops heard her calling as she was facing them. How can this be ignored?

Perhaps you too are disgusted with this sorry excuse for reporting. Perhaps you'd like to make your disappointment known. As most of us know, the Standard ceased publishing "letters to the editor" around the time that Cardinal McCarrick made clear that he would disregard Canon 915 (but of course, that's just a coincidence - right?). Therefore, I remind you that you can comment on this posting, and other postings. The conditions to the right do apply. As soon as I review for these conditions, I'll release them for viewing.

Arrest at St Matthew's - Mainstream Media Blackout?

As you review the video that I posted a few days ago, you might notice the media and press stands around which I had to walk in the first part of that clip. There was indeed a lot of press, with fancy equipment, and they were also recording the incident.

However, when I google "arrest at St Matthews's" and other related terms, I come up with only this post, the Christian Newswire post, and other blog entries from colleagues with the Catholic Media Coalition. There is nothing whatsoever from the so-called "mainstream media". Nada-zippo! Oh, I think in one article, there was a one-liner about "anti-abortion demonstrators", but nothing about what happened to Ms. McKee. No wonder Obama and his ilk (including VP Biden, one of the attendees at the Red Mass) so desperately want to shut us up with that "Fairness Doctrine" crap. We need to watch this like hawks.

Now here's the QUESTION OF THE HOUR! We can be certain that the Catholic Standard was there. Will they mention the travesty that occurred at the Red Mass? Don't hold your breath! We'll keep you posted.

Double-Shame on the Washington Archdiocese and St. Matthew's Cathedral!

Today the annual Red Mass was held at 10am at the Cathedral of St. Matthew. It is held to commemorate the start of a new session of the US Supreme Court. Many priests and bishops concelebrate this Mass. As one might imagine, all sorts of dignitaries, mostly of a political bent, attend this Mass. Unfortunately many of these politicians, while Catholic, are also rabidly pro-abortion.

At 9am, approximately 20 pro-life activists gathered outside with posters showing the truth of abortion for three purposes. They were:

1. To educate the attendees of the reality of abortion
2. To urge pro-abortion attendees to repent of their sin of promoting abortion
3. To remind the clergy of their obligation under Canon Law 915 not to admit to Holy Communion those pro-abortion supporters who refused to repent of their sin

Most of the activists were constrained to remain across the street from the Cathedral. I was able to unobtrusively remain on the north side of the street to distribute flyers. All the Mass attendees were constrained to pass through metal detectors. While on one hand that was a strange infringement upon them, it did serve to make them wait outside. Even if they chose not to look at the posters across the street, they had no choice but to hear the pro-life exhortations of those of us who had bullhorns.
One of us, though, attempted to go in. She did so simply because she had to fulfill her own Sunday obligation. She simply wanted to attend Mass. Now as we know, all Catholics have the right to attend Mass provided they are properly disposed. Canon law 843 states this quite plainly.
She was wearing a pro-life tee shirt. At the metal detector booth, she was told - by Cathedral personnel! - that she couldn't wear it at that Mass. She regularly attends that Mass, and has regularly worn that shirt on other days. Can you just imagine being told that you cannot go into Mass while wearing a pro-life shirt? Moreover, at that same Mass are myriads of pro-abortion honchos. Were the Cathedral personnel afraid that the pro-abortion attendees might be offended by one pro-life shirt?
She asked to speak with a priest about the matter and waited for a half-hour for a priest that never arrived. She then left the line, went to a hotel to remove the shirt and got back in line. Everyone in front of her was admitted into the Cathedral. Just by coincidence (ahem!) they shut off admission right in front of her. Needless to say, she was rightfully indignant about being denied entrance to Mass. This video depicts the absolutely disgraceful way this woman was treated. As the video begins, you will notice the pro-lifers on their bullhorns calling out to the clergy who are lined up outside, waiting to process into the Cathedral.



The video ends just before she was taken to a police station. A few hours later, she was released (and yes, she was able to attend Mass!). This faithful Catholic was treated like dirt while inside the Cathedral, Our Lord was likewise treated as His Body and Blood were distributed to those engaged in mortal sin.

Shame upon the Cathedral of St. Matthew! Shame upon the Archdiocese of Washington! In fact, double shame upon them both! They allowed the sin of sacreligious Holy Communion to be committed, and they attempted to keep a good Catholic woman from going to Mass.

Please contact both these entities. Ask that any charges against this lady be dropped, as they are ridiculous farces. In fact, ask that they apologize to her for violating her canonical rights as a Catholic in good standing.

Cathedral of St Matthew
Msgr W Ronald Jameson
1725 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone 202-347-3215
(by the way - they seem to have an "Always Our Children" group!)

Archdiocese of Washington
Archbishop Donald Wuerl
PO Box 29260
Washington, DC 20017-0260
Phone 301-853-4500

If you write, please send letters via "certified mail, return receipt requested". Else, the letters will be lost! I'll post updates