What To Do As Opposed To Suffering In Silence

The latest issue of Our Parish Times offered a predictably milquetoast response to perhaps the most significant Church scandal in recent history, if not in fact the entire history of the Church.  The issue in question is this August 2018 edition and the article is at the bottom right-hand corner of the front page: A Breach In Trust by Patricia McGann.

You'll have to follow the article to page 8.  There you'll see the problematic sentences in the last paragraph.  We're supposed to:

• "Do our best to live according to God's laws"  Fair enough, in and of itself.  But that is not all that is required.  What is not said is just as important as what is said.
• "Seek comfort and courage by praying together and in the silence of our hearts"  Oops!  Problems here in the underlined parts!  Forget this "seeking comfort" crap!  It's time to put on the big-boy and big-girl pants here and stop this incessant focus on emotions, particularly the weepy variety!  And again, let's forget the "silence" nonsense!  Let us listen to St. Catherine of Siena on the matter: "We've had enough of exhortations to be silent!  Cry out with a thousand tongues!  I see that the world is rotten because of silence!"
• "We won't waste our time judging or condemning Cardinal McCarrick or those who were complicit with their silence, because that's God's job and we trust He'll take care of it".  Did McGann write this before McCarrick resigned from the College of Cardinals?  Maybe so.  Anyway, while we don't judge or condemn McCarrick, Wuerl, et al as persons, we most certainly do condemn the rapes of young men and their cover-ups.  It is our job to root out this mess and shine the light on it relentlessly.  By the way - beware of the phrase "God will take care of it".  Often enough, that is simply a sanctimonious cop-out phrase used by people who just don't want to take up their responsibilities as Church Militant, for reasons of laziness and/or cowardice.

All that said, I'm happy to provide some evidence that some Catholics are indeed waking up and confronting the evil where it is to be found.  These are examples to be emulated.  Within the past two weeks, Cardinal Maradiaga, one of Pope Francis' "gang of nine" visited the Diocese of El Paso, Texas.  From Ann Barnhardt, we get a pictorial report of the greeting they provided to him.  Look at the pictures!  It'll do your heart good!

Below I post a video taken by the blogger behind Mahound's Paradise, a Chicago-based Catholic blog.  He cornered Auxiliary Bishop Bartosic and tried to interview him regarding the tyrannical behavior of his boss, Cardinal Cupich.  My!  Some people really do squirm under scrutiny, don't they?

These are the types of actions that we must all be prepared to emulate if we are to purge the various progressive diseases from our Church.  Prayer and reparation are useless if we aren't willing to undertake practical action.

Maryland To Investigate Archdiocese Of Baltimore For Clerical Sex Abuse Coverup

The Archdiocese of Baltimore released this today.

Where to begin?  There are so many places to start, it might be hard to choose!  There are several parishes that are gay enclaves, such as St Matthew's on Loch Raven Boulevard, St Bernadette in Severn, etc.  And who can forget St Mary's Seminary on Northern Parkway, aptly nicknamed the "pink palace"?

Who can forget also the travesties wrought against Catherine Cessnik, Joyce Malecki and other girls who died "mysteriously" who were associated with Baltimore Catholic schools?  This mess has got to get out into the open.

Remnant TV On The Vigano Revelations And Real Reform Needed

Michael Matt of Remnant TV shares some insights below.  It's necessary to emphasize a crucial point bout the dog-and-pony show that is to occur this coming February.  The point is something mentioned by Church Militant this past week.  This meeting ostensibly will focus on prevention of sexual abuse of "minors" and "vulnerable adults". The two terms, by definition, do not include seminarians. A goodly percentage of the targets have been seminarians, so they'd be excluded from consideration at that meeting. Seminarians were the "victims of choice" of ex-cardinal McCarrick. It can be argued that seminarians who submitted to de facto rape were so psychologically impaired that they would not have been suitable for the priesthood.  They obviously lacked the presence of mind to fend off their assailants - not at all excusable on their part.  I've repeatedly called upon them to come forth and bring this matter to justice, as their silence only served to enable their predators to continue attacking others.  Anyway, here is Mr. Matt's video.

From The Fox Guarding Hen House Department - Lori Investigates Bransfield

Bishop Michael Bransfield of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston (WV) is no longer the prelate of that diocese.  He is currently under investigation for alleged homosexual predation on young men.  He is 75 years old anyway and accordingly had to submit his resignation.  This diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.  Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore is leading the investigation into the Bransfield allegations.  He will also serve as apostolic administrator of Wheeling-Charleston until the pope appoints a new bishop.

This is another case of the fox guarding the hen house.  Church Militant articulated their own concerns about this development.  In addition, I have written quite a bit about the homosexual infiltration that has been allowed to fester within the Archdiocese of Baltimore.  Much of my writing has been focused on St Matthew's on Loch Raven Boulevard.  Its pastor, Father Joseph Muth, has been defiant in his promotion of the mortal sin of sodomy, going so far as to lead his parish as they march in Baltimore's "gay pride" parade year after year.  Over the years I and others have written to Lori to ask him to replace Muth, as he is leading many in this parish to hell.  A friend pointed out to me that in addition to St Matthew's, Muth is now scandalizing the parishioners of Blessed Sacrament on Old York Road as well.  That is a recent assignment and had to be Lori's doing.

Lori is probably yet another prelate who should be thinking of early retirement.  He is not qualified, by dint of his own facilitation of gays in Baltimore, to be investigating anybody.

Let Us Pray This Happens Soon

Please continue with your rosaries that his resignation is finally accepted.

Listening Session At St Mary's In Rockville

This evening St Mary's Church in Rockville MD held a "listening session" inside the church.  Unlike the "small-group" format at my parish, everyone had a chance to address the entire gathering via open mike.  Many did so.  The general consensus among those gathered (including me) is that Cardinal Wuerl must resign as archbishop of Washington.  A few chided the clergy for "not speaking truth to power" and for covering for him.

I regret that two people used their speaking times to shill for female ordination.  However, I was also pleased that some acknowledged the homosexual aspect of these crimes against young people.

Most people acknowledged the need for prayer and fasting.  One lady astutely observed the emphasis on those to the exclusion of practical action.  I was wondering if someone was going to mention the withholding of donations to the chancery, but none did.  Many people got up and it was not my parish so I didn't think it appropriate to float that suggestion.  I might do so at the next session that I attend.

Yippieee! We're Having A "Season Of Healing"!

In the wake of the Labor Day event at Little Flower this past Monday, Cardinal Wuerl announced that he was instituting a brand new band-aid for the gaping wound that both he and ex-Cardinal McCarrick caused and allowed to fester in this archdiocese.  It is worth noting that after the meeting on Monday, he didn't stick around for the picnic; he scooted away quite quickly.  Here is the letter, dated today, that announces this "season of healing".

Notice the focus of this letter; it's the same as was the focus of our parish "listening session" (the one that focused on feelings as opposed to opinions).  It's strictly on the victims.  Certainly it is important to minister to their needs, but that cannot be the sole focus so much that other facets of the mess are pushed from our minds.  I frankly suspect that we are hearing all about the victims precisely because the chancery doesn't want us to raise other questions or worse (for them), to propose solutions uncomfortable for them.

I am hearing from various sources that a goodly percentage of archdiocesan priests have called for Cardinal Wuerl to resign, owing to his sheltering of McCarrick during his time as Archbishop of Washington.  From the letter I get the impression that he has no intention whatsoever of resigning.  This is one instance where I hope to be proven incorrect.

Anyone in the healing professions will tell you that in order for proper healing to occur, there must be removal of the harmful agent that is causing the distress.  In the Church's present situation, that means that the removal of errant clergy - both the actual perpetrators and their enablers - must be removed.  They must be removed from their positions of power and they must be laicized.  I can think of three positive effects of such a move.

1. Their removal will help prevent further abuse from happening.  Some of the situations of which we are learning are rather recent - within the past five or ten years.
2. Their removal will assure the victims that there still remains in the Church a sense of justice.  That will have healing effects that will far exceed that of any "listening sessions" or "accompaniment".
3. The removal will have salutatory effects for the perpetrators themselves.  They will see that their crimes will not go unpunished in this life; perhaps that will cause them to repent and make good confessions before they die and go to their judgments.

As I said, this bogus focus in the victims is a trick to keep us from deliberating about how real healing and justice will happen.  It is designed from contemplating actions of our own since this archdiocesan chancery clearly isn't going to remove the perpetrators and the homosexualist elements from its midst.  Here are some humble suggestions from me.

• Obviously prayer and penance must be undertaken by each of us.  That certainly means the daily Rosary and remaining in a state of grace.
• Discuss this matter among your fellow Catholics.  Many are still quite oblivious to the current state of affairs.  Educate them.  That is one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy.
• If your priest strays from liturgical rubrics or preaches heresy, call them out on it.  Be respectful, but by no means be demure about it.
• If your diocese has a problem with pervert clergy and they still retain their positions, cut off all funding to your chanceries.  At the very least, that means boycotting any diocesan collections.  If your diocese assesses parish collections, explore ways to contribute to your parish in ways that don't benefit the chancery (assuming your parish is orthodox).  Don't be discouraged by talk of your boycotting hurting other charities; you can always contribute to the charities directly.

Let's get real.  This situation will most likely get worse before it gets better.  In fact, it is worse than it appears at present; we'll just have to face the ugly truth.  But sunlight is the best disinfectant.  We simply have to "man up" and "woman up" and deal with it.  The suggestions are, I hope, ways we can bring about real cleansing and healing.  Any other suggestions?

Wuerl's Appearance At Little Flower Today

Yesterday I suggested that concerned Catholics gather outside Little Flower Church this evening to pray a Rosary and to let the cardinal know that we won't let this matter of him harboring a criminal be forgotten.  I realize it was short notice, but unfortunately I was the only one there - well, not entirely.

At The Mass Ave entrance

I arrived at the Massachusetts Avenue entrance about 4:30, hoping to greet the cardinal with my bullhorn.  At the top of the driveway I saw a Montgomery County police cruiser (see photo).  This officer was looking into each and every car that pulled in.  One might have thought they were pulling into a military base containing secret weapons, the way that the cars were being scrutinized.

I too watched the cars for Cardinal Wuerl; later I found out that he had already scurried in.  I was praying the Rosary when a woman walked down from the parish grounds to chat with me.  Apparently she is a registered parishioner and tried to stop inside the Church to visit the Blessed Sacrament.  She was told she couldn't do so, as there was a "private function" occurring.  I don't recall whether or not she was aware of Wuerl's presence.  Regardless, does Canon Law permit the barring of Catholics from praying in their own Church?

At Chesterbrook

As we were talking, several men came over to us.  They had heard that George Neumayr was there and were trying to locate them.  They mentioned that they saw police at every entrance to the parish grounds.  They and the lady went off to find Neumayr.

At about 5:15 I headed to my car and drove to the other entrances.  Both were towards the back, away from Mass Ave.  I took pictures.  Here's one to the west of the church,   Yes, you are looking at three county cruisers.

The bottom picture is the last entrance to the east of the church, at Kirkwood and Jordan.  Two cruisers block that entrance.

At Kirkwood and Jordan

So there you have it - six cruisers in total!  I didn't know that Montgomery County was so crime-free that they could spare six or more officers to basically sit in the parking lot of Little Flower and twiddle their thumbs.  I certainly hope no real crimes (you know, things like rape and murder and theft, etc) happened with these cops just sitting there.

Of what was the chancery and/or parish afraid?  Were they afraid that Neumayr or I or someone else might have dared to (gasp!) ask the cardinal a question?  Neumayr asked one of them who called them there.  The officer said their lieutenant ordered them there.  That makes sense; those officers really had no say; they were dispatched to Little Flower so off they went.  The question is, who requested their presence, and why?  We Montgomery County citizens have a right to know for that was paid by our tax dollars.

So what happened inside that meeting?  Were the priests allowed to voice their concerns?  Or did they have the pope's sanctimonious demands for "silence" (see here and here) cast into their teeth?

Fear Grip$ The Vatican! They Quake In Their Boot$!

The video below was released today.  Attorneys general from several states are considering investigations similar to the one undertaken by the state of Pennsylvania into the subterfuge conducted by prelates who enabled pervert clergy and who may themselves have raped young people (mostly young men) in their charges.  This raises the possibility of the US Department of Justice launching its own investigation into RICO violations.  Should the Church in the US be found guilty of RICO violations, they would immediately lose millions in federal funding.  That impact would be felt at the Vatican for they in turn receive large amounts of money from the US Church.

So now we see the root cause of the Vatican's panic.  It's not the widespread scandal and subsequent loss of souls to hell that is the main concern, but the loss of $$$.  The Vatican is sending over Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta to head its investigation efforts.  It was his investigation into Chile's scandals that led to the mass resignations of many bishops there.  If it's the loss of money that causes the Vatican to take this matter seriously, well, so be it.

When I first suggested that faithful Catholics in the pews withhold their donations, naysayers mocked the idea by saying that "the bishops don't need our donations".  Well, they might feel our denial now, since they stand to lose the millions of federal dollars upon which they had been relying.  Voris hints that the USCCB and state conferences would be severely crimped, if not forced out of existence.  To that, I say, "bring it on"!  The USCCB and its state satellites have been absolute shills for every progressive agenda that the left puts forth: amnesty for border-jumpers, climate-change junk science, death penalty abolishment (complete contradiction to Church tradition), seizure of guns from law-abiding citizens.  These conference-beasts need to be starved out of existence.

While we pray and fast for the situation in this Church, we should also withhold any donations from our chanceries and instead redirect it to truly worthwhile organizations that do the real work of the Church.

UPDATE: I originally posted the youtube, but that seems to be removed.  It still exists here on facebook.

Washington Archdiocese In Full Panic Meltdown

In an earlier post, I observed that the local Catholic prelates were in "damage control mode".  Well, now the "damage control" has morphed into "full panic meltdown".  Earlier this week, the ADW launched a site called "The Wuerl Record".  From what I understand, it was an attempt by the Cardinal to say that "golly gee-wizz, I'm not such a bad guy after all, yada-yada-yada."  It sounds like it was an exercise at pure self-aggrandizement.  I never got to see it for it didn't take too much time for the site to be laughed off the internet.  Ed McFadden, Communications Director for the ADW, took responsibility for the fiasco; when he took it down, he announced "in hindsight, it was a mistake".  One wonders if McFadden really is to blame for the bomb, or if he's just "taking it on the chin for the team".  He is correct that it was a mistake.

That was how the Archdiocese of Washington tried to handle its public image.  However, the Archdiocese sees the aggrieved Catholics who are angry at the Cardinal for allowing them an/or loved ones to be victimized.  So what does a Prince of the Church do in that circumstance?  Why, he seeks legal refuge!  Will that work before God's Judgment Throne?

The skeptical reader might ask why I make such a big deal of these developments?  Let me begin to answer by asking my own questions: How is all this being financed?  Who is footing the bill?  Hint: if you live in the Archdiocese of Washington, you can answer these questions by staring into your mirror.  Consider that the next time you hear or see any whining and sniveling from your pastors about the "harm done" by denying the chancery your donation dollars.

By the way - in yesterday's Washington Post is an editorial entitled "Cardinal Wuerl Must Go".  It is a rare occasion when I agree with the Post, but this is one of them.

Blessed Sacrament In DC Tries To Salvage Church Donations

When I went to a weekday Mass at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in DC during last week, I saw their Aug 5 bulletin and an item caught my eye.  It's a letter from the relatively new pastor, Father Bill Foley, addressing the congregation about the McCarrick mess.  Here it is.

At first it starts out in a relatively conciliatory tone, but it isn't long before we get to the real heart of the matter.  Notice how he says that those harmed by the Cardinal might be "filled with rage" and "seek revenge".  That's rather pejorative language, don't you think?  That's a thinly-veiled attempt to cajole good people who've been hurt into not seeking redress for the harm done for them.

Regrettably, the only way we can do that is to withhold money.  Otherwise, the bishops will continue to brush off our concerns.  Cardinal Wuerl demonstrated that quite amply with his dismissive attitudes towards the laity, suggesting that:

• bishops investigate themselves and each other and 
• that we are not in a "massive, massive crisis"

Why does Father Foley not recall that?  Does he too think the laity are naive little bumpkins?  Moreover, if he's concerned about limiting "what the parish does to serve you", why doesn't he simply divulge to the congregation the donations that aren't assessed by the Archdiocese?  After all, he does opine that the withholding "will not in any significant way affect the Archdiocese", so what harm would assessment-free support do?  Yoo-hoo!  Are you listening, Father Foley??

I already laid out a strategy to starve the chancery beasts while supporting decent parishes.   One question that each Catholic will have to answer for themselves is whether or not their individual parish warrants support.  There is a matter of justice if you're attending Mass there, sitting in their pews, using their bathrooms, etc, that might require some minimum, even if the parish is lackluster.  By the way - Blessed Sacrament has been known to host pro-aborts, celebrate dissidents, etc.  In all fairness to Father Foley, these insults to the Faith occurred prior to his arrival there.

I haven't done too extensive a search, but I haven't seen any such dribble in any other parish bulletins.  Has anyone else?