Yoo-Hoo! Francis! God's Mercy Does NOT Extend To Demons!

The average Catholic of yesteryear understood that the truly penitent could rely on God's mercy - provided that he/she was truly penitent.  The current occupant of Peter's chair, however, has cheapened the gift of God's mercy - a gift acquired through the Crucifixion of Our Lord - to imply universal and unconditional forgiveness for everyone, even if these persons. are without repentance even continuing in sinful conduct.

Now they are trying to convince us that God's mercy will be extended to demons.  You read that correctly.  The Vatican website states it quite plainly, in the "Spirituality of the Synod" document.  Look on page 31 of that pdf; it's right there, in black and white.

By the way, this cockamamie notion is literally hundreds of years old.  It is this idea that got one of the earliest great thinkers of the Church, namely Origen, condemned as a heretic.  This is one of the several heresies of this sin-nod that Bergoglio and company are trying to insinuate into the teachings of the Church and the thinking of Catholics.

Just think.  We're only one month into this dumpster fire of a sin-nod.  What more awaits us?

Francis Rebuked For Overt Heresy

Two events happened within the past few days.  While they were disjointed from each other, both served to make evident the heresy that the current occupant of Peter's chair is promulgating.  Bergoglio erroneously stated that Pelosi and others, in their present state of mind, could be admitted to Communion.  Several clcrgy and some prominent lay people spelled it out, utilizing Canon law, that Bergoglio uttered heresy.  The letter can be read here. From theologians, Saints and Doctors of the Church throughout the centuries, we have reasonable basis to believe that even if Bergoglio's election to the papacy was valid (and that is somewhat doubtful) that he has, by this heresy, forfeited the papacy.  We of course must pray for his immortal soul as well as those whom he led astray.

The other event revolves around Francis' participation in this "Congress of World and Traditional Religious Leaders" gabfest a few days ago.  The official purpose was the seeking of world peace.  In reality, it's all about the establishment of a one-world religion as part of the great reset.  Of course this "religion" would be solely focused on the world as we see it, with nary a thought about eternity beyond the grave.  They believe not in an afterlife, nor do they believe in any supreme being, let alone the One True God.  The Masonic pawprints are all over this as well.

So where does that leave us?

Another Angelus, Another Heresy

Actually, during Eastertide, we pray the Regina Caeli at noon in lieu of the Angelus, but you get the drift.  Anyway, today the pope mangled a sermon on the vine and branches narrative that is found in John 15:1-8.  While he correctly noted that we, the branches, depend entirely on Jesus for life, he plopped a stinker when he stated that Jesus likewise needs us - because the trunk would be bare or some other sort of nonsense.

He completely mischaracterized the Divinity of Jesus.  Jesus, being the Second Person of the Trinity, is God no less than God the Father is God.  God does not need anyone or anything.  He is all sufficient in Himself.  He lacks nothing, thus can need nothing.

It's a pity that we need to always be on the alert for tiny little heretical zingers interspersed with the pope's words, but it is what it is.  If nothing else, it teaches us to listen and to think about what is going into both our eyes and ears, to filter out the chafe and keep the good.

Why Did The Pope Go To Iraq?

 In regards to his recent trip to Iraq, Pope Francis was dismissive of those who said that in this trip, he flirted with heresy.  Well, truth be told, he's been making a career of flirting with heresy; this trip is not unique in that dismal respect.  Moreover, when the description of the purpose of religion (as he stated) given before muslim leaders doesn't even mention the word "God" but focuses on temporal matters, we can say that he's moved beyond flirtation.

On his return trip from Iraq to the Vatican, the pope gave an interview.  Like many of his previous plane interviews, it's a humdinger.  Catholic News Agency published the full text. Read the heretical nonsense in his own words.  He calls the Muslim leader Al-Sistani "a man of God".  What "god"?  He certainly doesn't worship the One True God as Catholics do.  Even he would admit that the Muslims worship a different being than do we Catholics.  It's worthwhile to consider the saint for whom the pope took his name.  St Francis visited the Muslims with the clear intent to convert them from their ways and have them come into the Church.  He wasn't successful, but neither did he call "a man of god" the leader who had martyered five Franciscans before Francis' arrival.

He then coined a new term "next-door saints", whom he defined as "men and women who live their faith, whatever it may be, with coherence".   So the Muslim suicide bombers are "next door saints"?  Whatever else they are, they are people who live their murderous creeds.  As we know, saints are those who have attained heaven, with some being put before us as examples of dedication to Our Lord and to His Church.  One is not a saint who does not acknowledge Jesus Christ as True God.

This jaunt was gob-smacked full of religious indifferentism plus a total focus on this secular world to the exclusion of the spiritual realm.  Nowhere in that interview did I see mention of Jesus Christ and His commands to lead peoples to conversion for their eternal salvation.  Not a peep was said about that.

Another reason to avoid donating to your dioceses is that a portion of that will go to the Vatican to finance gabfests such as this Iraqi session.  Not another penny to them.

Antipope???

Pope Emeritus Benedict and Cardinal Sarah have released a book that defends priestly celebacy from apparent attempts by Pope Francis to admit married men to the priesthood.  Pope Francis has come out swinging against it, and that reaction has caused its own tumult.  So who does Pope Francis call upon to bail him out?  Eugenio Scalfari, of course!

Now wait a minute!  Isn't this the same Scalfari that the Vatican Communications office claims to be so unreliable as to miscontrue the pope's various remarks?  So why, oh why, does the pope keep going to him?  Can it be that we bloggers of the Great Unwashed were correct all along in calling out the Vatican's statements as mere smoke and mirrors?  It seems that they aren't bothering with that schtick anymore, validating Scalfari's accounts of his conversations with the pope.

In October, it came out that the pope told Scalfari that Jesus was not God while on earth.  In light of the pope's hightailing it to Scalfari, I can only believe Scalfari's account of the pope's beliefs. If such is the case, and it very likely is, the pope spouted heresy.

This, plus reputed irregularities of the papal election, raise the question of whether or not we have an anitpope on our hands.

Here Comes Some More New Sins!

A few months ago the pope announced that he was changing the catechism to declare the death penalty to be inherently immoral.  I wrote some pieces to explain why his attempt is itself the evil of heresy.  I needn't rehash them; see here and here.

From the Vatican News website we read that the pope is planning to add yet two other sins: the use of nuclear weapons and the possession of nuclear weapons.  Well, I for one am glad that these are sins that I won't have to confess.  I, like all the other Great Unwashed, simply can't run over to the hardware store and stock up on those things.  I know Home Depot doesn't carry them.  But enough of the well-deserved sarcasm.

Of course he bloviated in Japan.  Now if he said those things while wagging his finger under the nose of Kim Jong-Un or Xi Jinping, then I might be impressed.  The fact is, as long as the bad guys have them, we need to have them too.  That balance of power is necessary to discourage nuclear attacks.  That's common sense.  But progressive folk seem to be bereft of common sense.  Either that or they really want to force western civilization into a subservient position.  Given other recent actions of this Vatican, I believe it's the latter.

I anticipate that soon we'll hear that the use and possession of plastic straws is sinful, warranting its own addition to the catechism.

Amazon Sin-Nod - One Of The Final Touches Towards Schism

Archbishop Vigano himself is sounding this alarm, as are others.  I haven't gotten very far in my attempts to digest the Instrumentum Laboris, but from what I've read, it is an apology for both pantheism and environmentalism.  In trashing western culture, the authors of the IL are also denigrating the Catholic faith, the very basis of western culture.  In turn, they downplay Jesus Christ Himself, from Whom the Catholic Church sprung.

The archbishop sees it as an amalgamation of liberation theology, socialism, pantheism, and a deconstruction of the Faith in its insinuation of married clergy, female deacons and sexual license.  Cardinal Brandmuller flat out called the IL "heretical" and "apostacy".

We should point out that the proceedings of no synod are binding upon the faithful, especially when they run counter to Church Tradition.  In that case, they are heretical and must not only be opposed in our personal lives, but must be outwardly and forcefully resisted if and when they are brought to bear in our churches.

Cardinal Tobin Flunked Theology 101

No, Cardinal Tobin!  Jesus was NOT "reborn in grace"!  Jesus Christ, as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, was always God, a divine person.  He never needed to be "reborn".

I am so grateful that Tobin said he would not be replacing Wuerl.  Let's just hope we were being told the truth.  Below is the heretical tweet.

When Jesus was baptized by John, he stood with all of us sinners seeking redemption. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the sinless Redeemer was reborn in grace as an example for us, and his Father was well pleased.

— Joe Tobin (@CardinalJWTobin) January 13, 2019

Pope Francis Thumbs His Nose At Predecessors Regarding The Death Penalty

Pope Francis has for several years been advocating for an end to the death penalty, claiming that it is immoral.  Of course such opinions are in direct contradiction to the 2000+ years of Church Tradition.  I have long suspected that he has gone after that precisely because many good Catholics are ambivalent about usage of the death penalty today.  Perhaps he thinks that he can tinker with it to the point of heresy since he is not too likely to receive strenuous blow-back from such heretical attempts.  Therefore, if he weakens and compromises Church doctrine regarding that topic, he will have set a precedent for mutating other Church doctrine. 

Earlier today, the pope addressed a delegation from the International Commission Against The Death Penalty.  During that address, he dared to state that his predecessors "ignored the primacy of mercy over justice".  Of course he set up one of his infamous false dichotomies between "mercy" and "justice", as though justice is not an attribute of God's.

We must continue prayers for this pope.  While doing so, we must also study the Faith on our own, for many simply don't have access to faithful teachers of Church tradition.

Remnant On The Scalfari Hell Interview

A few days ago, another conversation between Pope Francis and Eugenio Scalfari happened.  As happened several times before, heretical statements were ascribed to the pope: statements that to date have not been specifically repudiated by either the pope or the Vatican Communications Office.  When Scalfari asked about the punishment of souls who die in mortal sin, the pope allegedly said that they aren't punished and they simply cease to exist.  Right there you have heresies against the existence of hell and the immortality of souls.

This conversation is all over mainstream media.  The pope needs to clarify his statements immediately if he never uttered those heresies.  If he did make those statements as reported, we will need to come to grips with the possibility that our pope has uttered heresies.

Debate Over. Amoris Laetitia Is Heresy

Below what I now write is a video from the Remnant's Michael Matt, commenting on the Profession Of The Immutable Truths About Sacramental Marriage.  When I first posted about this on January 2, only the three bishops from Kazakhstan, the authors, had signed it.  Now the number of signers is seven, including one cardinal.

Matt points out that this statement is not one asking for "clarification", as was the dubia.  Rather, this statement directly contradicts and rebukes the errors of Amoris Laetitia.  Some ambiguity remains, though.  Pope Francis is not merely erroneous in how he interpreted Amoris Laetitia, but the pope's more egregious error lies in how he wrote Amoris Laetitia.  His interpretation is not erroneous; it's the document itself that is inherently heretical.

The dubia have been answered.  They may not have been answered according to protocol, but let's be real.  If the pope holds God's immutable truths in disdain (and he does!), why on earth would we think that he'd give a rat's ass about the protocols of the dubia?  We have the answers; we have the clarity.  It's just not a clear answer that we might wish, but it is what it is.  The progressives who wrote Amoris Laetitia (that includes the pope!) will not stop with Communion for unrepentant adulterers.  They seek to undermine Humanae Vitae and other cornerstones of Catholic moral teaching.

So what are we faithful Catholics going to do about it?  As Matt says, we must resist.  No one gets to sit quietly on the sidelines.  We are all members of the Church Militant and we must pray and act like it.

Resist Error, Even When It Emanates From The Pope

Church Militant TV reported that on Monday evening, Cardinal Dolan shared a stage with flaming dissident Father James Martin at a fundraiser in New York City.  The latter, of course, is infamous for openly cooperating with the mortal sin of sodomy.  He is, however, a favorite of the pope's.  Sadly I suspect he is favored not in spite of his mortal sin (and cooperation with mortal sin is a mortal sin itself) but because of it.  A group of faithful Catholics prayed the Rosary in front of the hotel where the debacle took place.  Seven years ago, after her public support of the anti-life Obamacare bill, Sr Carol Keehan was the commencement speaker at a high school graduation in Washington DC.  The school was Jesuit-run (of course!).  We turned out to protest that - both outside and inside.

Two months ago, Church Militant relayed how another group of faithful Catholics prayed the Rosary in their Catholic church that was, at that very moment, being profaned by an "ecumenical prayer service".  They were displaying true Catholic courage.  I believe there have been other similar episodes.  Cardinal Burke and Bishop Schneider have articulated the need for resistance against heresy.

Two days ago, a group of Catholic pro-life leaders from around the world signed a "Pledge Of Fidelity To The Catholic Faith", refusing to follow erring pastors in the Church today.  More and more of these leaders are calling out the pope for the spread of confusion and ambiguity where we need the truth to be clearly and boldly proclaimed.  Until that situation is rectified, please be prepared to witness more demonstrations of resistance to the evil that poisons our Church hierarchy.  We are becoming more and more prepared to offer that resistance.

Pope Francis Toys With Heresy In His Hostility Towards Capital Punishment

Pope Francis has made known his animosity towards capital punishment, going so far as to condemn it outright.  Of course in doing so, he has directly contradicted centuries of Church teaching.  These teachings include proclamations by various popes and the Council of Trent.  Also read here, here, here, here, and a smattering of my previous posts dealing with this as the Maryland Catholic Conference repeatedly blundered on this topic.

In Evangelium Vitae, Pope St. John Paul II betrayed his personal distaste for capital punishment, but he respected Sacred Tradition enough to acknowledge that it trumped his personal proclivities.  In other words, he understood that as the Successor of Peter, his role was to safeguard and promulgate the Deposit of Faith in its entirety.

Today we heard from several sources that Pope Francis thinks the catechism should be updated to reject the death penalty.  See here and here.

Ponder these considerations:

• The pope is the guardian of Church teaching, not its judge.  He cannot alter it to his personal liking.
• The Teaching of the Church is immutable for it stems from God's word, which is as immutable as He is.  To pretend that God's word can change is to insinuate that God is subject to change.  That is impossible.  Such notions strike at the very nature of God Himself - a supreme blasphemy.
• "Heresy" is defined as by St Thomas Aquinas as being "a species of infidelity in men who, having professed the faith of Christ, corrupt its dogmas".  The morality of capital punishment has been promulgated by the Church for hundreds of years.  It will not change.  The attempt to change it is inherently heretical. 

If God's teaching can be held to be subject to change in this matter of capital punishment, then all topics of doctrine and morality can be seen as subject to change.  I believe this is the main goal of this latest papal move.  This proposed change to declare capital punishment to be anathema is a trial balloon.  If this "balloon" appears to be flying free, we'll see the heresies ensconced in Amoralis Lamentia being promulgated without nuance or apology within our Churches.

Thus far Pope Francis has opposed capital punishment as a matter of public opinion.  For canon lawyers and moral theologians out there, if the pope does attempt to alter the catechism, will that constitute an act of material and formal heresy that might render his papacy invalid?  I don't know, but it seems to me to be a reasonable question.

Be Careful - What You Sing You Will Believe

Today during the offertory we sang a hymn written by Carl P. Daw Jr., an Episcopal "priest".  In good conscience I had to cease singing at this line: "But God reveals to searching faith the truths that pious dogmas hide".   See the problem?  Authentic dogma does not hide truth; rather it proclaims and clarifies truth.

When I returned home, I did some research and learned that he is Episcopalian.  If he had in mind Episcopal tenets when he penned that line, well, I can concede that some of them do obfuscate truth.  All protestant denominations have as beliefs some forms of heresy, to varying degrees.

I'd wager, however, that many Catholics just passively sang the hymn without being aware of what they were singing.  Even more so do I believe that many did not think to do any research into the background of this song.  They could well have believed that the hymn referred to Catholic dogma.  Thus, in their subconscious minds was introduced the idea that authentic dogma and objective truth can sometimes be at odds with one another.

Music is a powerful tool.  As with anything else, we must subject to strict scrutiny what music we allow to form us.

Pope: "God Cannot Be God WIthout Us"?? Say WHAT???

In his Wednesday general audience, Pope Francis uttered the words above; see the LifeSiteNews article for more context.  This is utter heresy.  It strikes at the very nature of God Himself.   Any theologian worth his salt (and for that matter, anyone with common sense) will tell you that God is all-sufficient. He is all powerful and all-encompassing within Himself.  He doesn't need us to somehow "complete" Himself; to insinuate otherwise would be to say that there was a time when He wasn't as omnipotent as He is now.

Read what St. Irenaeus had to say about the matter.  It is worth noting that the excerpt comes from one of his works entitled "Against The Heresies".  Heresy is exactly what the Vicar of Christ uttered yesterday.  If his understanding of the nature of God is so flawed, it's no wonder that he flubs up so much else.

We must educate ourselves in the doctrines and truths of Our Faith.  Only very few - even our shepherds - will assist us in that.

The Pope's Personnel Appointments Reveal His Hand

"Personnel is policy" as the saying goes.  Again and again, Pope Francis shows us how true that statement is.  See below for three examples.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga has been the subject of many of my blog posts (and that of other bloggers).  A heterodox progressive, he chairs the so-called "gang of nine", that inner sanctum of papal advisers.  Since Maradiaga has made no secret of his leftist leanings, we may safely opine that he has the pope's ear precisely because of those leanings.  Today One Peter Five detailed how Maradiaga, in an interview recently given, hurled insults against the four cardinals who issued the dubia in an attempt to mitigate damage being done by Amoralis Lamentia.  I won't rehash 1P5's post here.  Suffice it to say that because Maradiaga is so close to Pope Francis, we might have a decentl inkling of the responses that the pope might make to the dubia.

This past week the Pope appointed heresy-spewing Jesuit Father James Martin to handle the Vatican tweets.  Cardinal Wuerl celebrated the advancement of dissent by inviting Martin to deliver a Good Friday reflection at St. Matthew's Cathedral.  I suspected this reflection might be a spewing forth of pig slop.  True to fashion, Martin did not fail to disappoint us.  I'll highlight one heretical whopper below.

Consider this quote from LifeSiteNews: "Father Martin told those in attendance at the Good Friday liturgy that his favorite theological question to ponder is whether Jesus knew what was going to happen on Easter Sunday before He died."  In other words, Martin completely disregards Jesus' Personhood.  While He has two natures, human and divine, He is a Divine Person, the Second Person of the Trinity.  As such, He possesses omniscience.  To insinuate that Jesus didn't know He'd rise on Easter Sunday is to cast doubt on His divinity.

Both Pope Francis and Cardinal Wuerl were fully aware of Martin's embrace of heresy and immorality.  They did not do so in spite of  these serious flaws, but because of them.  He advances their common agenda.

John Zmirak pubished an article yesterday detailing the antics of Newark Cardinal Joseph Tobin.  Recall that he was recently given his red hat by Pope Francis.  Tobin is sponsoring, at his cathedral, a debacle called "LGBT Pilgrimage And Mass".  This affair is being conducted by several organizations that shill for perversion.  As Zmirak points out, there is no mention of the need to repent of the mortal sin of sodomy and to embrace chastity.  Long-time readers of this blog will recall that two years ago, while Tobin was still Archbishop of Indianapolis, we petitioned him to put a halt to a local KofC council's intent to allow lesbians to celebrate their debauched #mowwidge in their hall.  Tobin was utter silent.  Of course we lamented that silence.  However, I must now consider the possibility that perhaps Tobin did have his hand in that sordid affair, perhaps directing the council to allow mortal sin to be celebrated on Catholic property free of charge.

Almost concurrently, Tobin has drawn the long knives on Father Peter West, a priest who stands firm for Christ's teachings on life and marriage.  He was formerly associated with both Priests for Life and Human Life International before being called back to Newark.

One might ask, "how could Pope Francis select Tobin to be Cardinal, given his terrible record of fidelity to Christ's teachings?"  Regrettably, I believe Tobin's record is precisely the reason why he was selected.

We'll probably be seeing more and more of these squalid associations being foisted on the Church.

Pope Francis Demonizing Faithful Catholics During His Christmas Address To The Curia

The pope's Christmas Greeting to the Roman Curia this year was singularly lacking of any semblance of Christmas cheer.  National Catholic Register has some commentary on the address, but at the bottom of that article is the full text of the pope's address.  He speaks of the "reform of the curia" and making it "conform to the signs of our time".  Shouldn't it be conforming to God's immutable will?

We then see how he talks of "malicious resistance" to this reform, and how he says this resistance "takes refuge in traditions, appearances, formalities".  He's taking pot-shots at those faithful Catholics who adhere to God's teachings, particularly on marriage and family, and I believe he's taking deliberate aim at the four cardinals who promulgated the dubia.  Then he calls for "unconditioned obedience" to this "reform".  Where is his call for unconditional obedience to Christ's teachings regarding marriage and worthiness to receive Holy Communion?

Perhaps his ire against the dubia cardinals, particularly Cardinal Burke, may be a motivation behind another recent action of the pope's.  Recall that Pope Francis named Cardinal Burke as patron of the Order of Malta after he ejected Burke from some Vatican posts.  It seems that a senior official of the Knights of Malta was involved in the distribution of condoms.  For that he was ejected from the order.  Lepanto Institute did a very thorough investigation into the matter and found ample evidence that this official was indeed involved in that very anti-life activity.  His ouster was entirely justified.

Now why, oh why, does Pope Francis find it necessary to create an entire commission to investigate the matter?  It seems rather simple to me; an official in a Catholic organization was caught in activities not becoming a Catholic.  He was ejected from his post as a result.  Granted, when other such scandals have been unearthed, it's only when public scrutiny occurs that the offending party is disciplined (and sometimes the offender is retained).  But Cardinal Burke is at the helm of the Order of Malta, and I think it's likely that he took immediate and proper action.  So why does the pope seek to meddle after the fact?  Is he that much of a micro-manager or is this just an excuse to take out some long knives against Cardinal Burke?

In an interview with Catholic World Report, Cardinal Burke pointed out that any pope who professes formal heresy would automatically cease to be pope.  In that article, Burke goes into the provisions in canon law for such a scenario.  He also voiced hope that the pope will answer the dubia, to allay possible schism.

Cardinal Walter Brandmuller, another of the four dubia cardinals, granted an interview to Der Spiegel.  He too was questioned about the dubia and its implications.  Brandmuller pointed out that "whoever thinks that persistent adultery and the reception of Holy Communion are compatible is a heretic and promotes schism.”  As we read the article, we are reminded that Pope Francis, in his letter to the Argentinian bishops, did make allowance for unrepentant adulterers to receive Holy Communion; in other words, Pope Francis gave approval for sins of sacrilege to occur.

Now consider both these interviews together.  On the one hand, Cardinal Brandmuller states that someone allowing for Holy Communion to be given to unrepentant adulterers is a heretic and promotes schism.  In that same article, Pope Francis is fulfilling that definition of "heretic" in his letter to the Argentinian bishops.  On the other hand, Cardinal Burke points out that a pope formally professes heresy automatically ceases to be pope.

Faithful Catholics, do we understand the gravity of the situation?  Depending on how Pope Francis treats the dubia, the Catholic Church might well find itself in schism.  If he states formally the heresy that those in public mortal sin can receive Holy Communion, it seems that he will have ejected himself from Peter's chair.  The Church might well find herself in schism.  As hard as it is to admit, schism would be far preferable than the Church being led into error.  As you read further down the LifeSiteNews piece, Pope Francis himself seems to understand that he could well divide the Church.

Gianna Jessen Rightly Rebukes The Pope - Father Z, Take Note!

My post from Friday stated quite clearly that there would be immense fall-out from the heresies regarding marriage and fornication that the pope recently uttered.  Father Zuhlsdorf also posted that day; while he seems to understand the nature of the errors, he takes a recklessly dismissive attitude regarding the harm that not only will but is in fact happening right now.  Behold his closing statement: "Don’t have a spittle-flecked nutty.  Just shake your head with a smile as you flip to another page and say, 'Bless him, he sure likes to gab with people, doesn’t he!'”

Bear that most irresponsible suggestion in your mind as you read this statement from Gianna Jessen from her twitter feed.  Many in the pro-life movement are familiar with Ms. Jessen,  In the late 1970s she survived her mother's attempt to abort her via saline abortion.  She has since gone on to be an advocate for the pre-born and for disability rights (she has cerebral palsy as a result of the abortion).

never thought a pope could make me cry. and PLEASE don't tell me i am really not reading what i am reading. pic.twitter.com/P48JZGvrZv

— Gianna Jessen (@giannajessen) June 17, 2016

Is that what Father Zuhlsdorf would call a "spittle-flecked nutty"??  I don't believe Ms. Jessen is Catholic but I can be fairly certain her sentiments are echoed by thousands who, attempting to live Christian lives (Catholic and Protestant), have once again found themselves mocked by the current occupant of the Chair of Peter.  We should be able to expect far better than that.  Recently, when Bishop Robert Lynch announced his retirement, Bobby Schindler issued his own statement saying, "in my family's experience, Bishop Lynch was like the man spitting in the hand of a person in need."  When the pope puked out the heresies regarding both marriage and fornication, he too spit into the hands of those looking to him for spiritual nourishment.  In Matthew 7:9-10, Our Lord spoke of those parents who give bread and fish as opposed to stones and serpents.  Last Thursday we were all handed a bunch of stones and serpents.

We also read in Matthew 18:6-7 Jesus' rebuke of those who cause scandals, saying that "it were better for him had a millstone be hanged about his neck and that he should be drowned.."  Was Our Lord simply having a "spittle-flecked nutty"?  He took scandals quite seriously.  It would behoove us to do the same.

Matthew Kelly Poison In DC Parishes Again

After Christmas Mass we all received a Christmas present.  It was a book by Matthew Kelly called "Rediscover Jesus".  I've written about Kelly in the past as I have found his stuff to be, quite frankly, less than Catholic.  Because it was free (meaning I did not have to pony my cash to Kelly's wallet) I took one and glanced through it.  That one glance told me that Kelly's theology had not improved one iota.  I copied the page and post it below.

The problem is the last sentence of the third paragraph.  I tried to highlight it, but it is faint.  At any rate, that last sentence is enough to cause a sane Catholic to junk this book.  Ladies and gentlemen, note the phrase "half-brother of Jesus".  Jesus had no "half-siblings".  The Perpetual Virginity of Mary is defined Catholic dogma!  Please let no one delude themselves into thinking that this point is "just a technicality".  If Holy Mother Church thought it important enough to make the perpetual virginity of Mary a dogma, then it deserves all due consideration.

Whether or not Kelly intended it, he wrote heresy.  Perhaps this lapse can be chalked up to faulty formation that he may have received as a child.  We all know how far Catholic education has declined in the past 50 years or so.  But isn't that all the more reason for our parishes and chanceries to carefully vet these books before they're released to the Catholics in the pew?

There are other issues with this book (and his previous books).  While this book does state that sin hinders our relationship with God, it is quite selective about the kinds of sins with which it deals.  I see talk of "greed" and "losing one's temper", but nowhere did I detect any mention of mortal sins such as the support of abortion, contraception, gay #mowwidge.  But anyone with two functioning eyeballs can see that it's rampant in the pews - not only the support but the participation in these mortal sins.  That means we have Catholics in the pews who may well be hell-bound, and there's no mention of these real dangers.  Speaking of hell, I see no mention of that important reality whatsoever in that book (or his other books).  Why not?  Our Lord mentioned it often as a solemn warning.  In all fairness to Kelly, it can be argued that he's merely following the lead of the American clergy in not specifying mortal sins and the reality of hell.  In their misguided and dare I say feckless desire not to upset people, they are doing the Catholic congregation a gross disservice.

Another related issue is the overemphasis on "experience".  As I read the Gospels, I see no mention of Jesus calling people to "experience" Him.  Rather, there is the call for repentance and obedience, with the graces communicated through the Sacraments as administered by the Church.  Indeed, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus's first recorded word is "repent".  The soon-to-be-canonized Mother Teresa of Calcutta is said to have gone most of her life with no experience of God's presence.  She did count that as a cross, but still it goes to show that "experience" is not a necessary component of the Catholic's spiritual life.  One could call Kelly's approach "putting the cart before the horse", but without specific mention of the serious sins for which one should repent and obtain absolution, I'd have to say in this instance that "there's a cart but no horse".

Some might think my characterization of Kelly's materials as being "poison" to be a bit harsh.  They might say that the great majority (while somewhat vapid for its "peaches and ice cream tone") is decent enough.  But no one can gainsay the heresy that is there in plain sight.  For reasons that I stated in an earlier post, I don't think anything that contains heresy can be used as a spiritual guide regardless of other material contained within.

Is this book showing up in other parishes?

UPDATE - The answer to that last question is "yes".  Someone from St. Andrew the Apostle told me they have it.  That suggests impetus from the DC chancery.

UPDATE #2 - Per Jeff's comment below, the phrase I wrote above, "he wrote heresy" should be rendered "he published heresy".  Kelly says it's from another source but in his own book offered no correction nor clarification regarding the Church dogma.

Maradiaga's Tweets And Concerts Tell All

As you read through the tweets below, recall that Cardinal Maradiaga is the leader of the Pope's handpicked advisors.  He will be attending the next "shadow synod" and will have a decisive impact on the October sin-nod.  From his twitter page we get a rather stark picture of the direction in which he intends to take the sin-nod.  I will probably unpack these tweets in a future post, but for the most part the heresies pronounced in these tweets cannot be missed.

By the way, these tweets are being exposed by other faithful Catholic bloggers too.  Once the Vatican gets wind of that, I might suspect that these tweets might get pulled down.  That's why I've saved these screen shots of them.

And now the concert!  Who else do we know who plays the saxophone?  Hint: his wife thinks she's the anointed heir to the Messiah Most Miserable.  Maradiaga is supposedly "jamming for justice".  True justice is being ill-served - in more ways than one.  Here's your earache for the evening.