Hope for Those Who Have Broken - The Lenten Carbon Fast

PARODY ALERT!    PARODY ALERT!   PARODY ALERT!

For those of you who have already broken the Lenten Carbon Fast, there's hope!  You can confess your sins against Mother Earth to (drum roll, please!)

FATHER LEFTY GOODVIBES!

Observe a sample of Father's wonderful work!

(Father Goodvibes sits in his confessional.  A rather distraught woman enters..)

Woman: Bless me, Father, for I have sinnned.

Father: My daughter, so that I can have perspective in giving spiritual advice, tell me a bit of your background.

Woman: Well, I left my husband and three small children.  You see, I determined that I'm gay, and have moved in with my girlfriend, whom I met at our monthly wiccan-activists meeting.  I'm also studying to be ordained a priestess.  I also spend Saturday mornings at the local women's health center to combat those rigtht-wing extremists who want to deny women their right to choose.

Father: Why, that's wonderful, my daughter!

Woman: But what brings me here is this.  I've (sob!) broken the lenten carbon fast!  I let my car idle while I checked my mail box, emitting green house gases.  I have not properly recycled my garbage.  I have not converted my lamps to those squigly, mercury-filled bulbs.  I've wasted hot water in my daily showers.  I have not let my dishwasher breathe!

Father: Why, that's terrible, my daughter!

Woman: Oh, Father, I am so ashamed!  I have put Mother Earth in the emergency room! (starts to cry unconsolablely)

Father: You must make amends!  For your penance, you must sit through ten showings of Al Gore's movie "Inconvenient Truth" and buy at least three carbon offsets.  Now go out to the parish compost pile, breathe in the fragrance of recycling.  Now go, and be at peace as you become one with the Earth.

Woman: Thank you, Father!

Minutes later, we see that this woman has joined other penitents circled around the parish compost pile.  They are holding hands, singing "Polar bears drownin', Lord!  Kum-bye-yaaaah!"

Thus ends our parody!  At least, I hope it's a parody.  I fear, though, these days, the above scenario may, in some confessionals, resemble fact more than fiction!  During this time of Lent, I would urge the use of the Sacrament of Confession to truly put yourselves aright with God and His Church, as has been done for hundreds of years.

Pro-Abortion Speaker to Address Catholic Education Convention

The National Catholic Education Association (NCEA), at its annual convention, is featuring Garrison Keillor as its keynote speaker.  Keillor is well known as a humorist and the host of A Prairie Home Companion.  He is also unabashed in his approval of abortion and gay marriage.  The Lifesitenews site has many samplings of his anti-life and anti-decency comments.  In fact, according to Keillor, we who speak out for the Magisterium are "shrieking ninnies and pompous blowhards".  So the obvious question is, "What business does the NCEA have, inviting an anti-Christian such as Keillor to address Catholic educators?  How dare the NCEA waste the time of Catholic educators to toady up to someone to curry favor?"  Rather, it's folks like Keillor who need to be listening to authentic Catholic educators, not the other way around.

The convention is to occur from April 6-8, at the Minneapolis Convention Center.  There is still time to protest this unseemly appearance so as to prevent it.  The contact information for NCEA can be found here.  To our neigbors in the Diocese of Arlington: the NCEA is right in your midst.  To those of us in the Archdiocese of Washington: Archbishop Wuerl is the board chair of the NCEA.  This is happening on his watch!

Dutch Clergy Turn Tail, Betray Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament

On Feb 19th, I wrote how a priest of the Netherlands took a stand for the Blessed Sacrament.  I wrote in a congratulatory tone, extolling his courage.  Sadly, I must retract my congratulations, as the Dutch clergy, to a man, are playing cowards in the face of gay threats.

I've no doubt that the bishop is most likely ordering the priest to capitulate.  However, an order to do that which is inherently wrong is invalid on its face and not to be obeyed.

St. Tarsisius, pray for us!

National Catholic Reporter Rails Against Faithful Catholics

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

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

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

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

Notre Dame Newspaper Rejects Column by Charles Rice

I read from my friend at Les Femmes that Dr. Charles Rice, renowned for his fidelity to the Church and who has for some time written a regular column for The Observer (campus newspaper)  had his column rejected because he presented correctly the Church's teaching on homosexuality.  The Les Femmes article has all relevant contact information.  I wrote to the editor.  Because I highly suspect that my letter won't be printed in that paper, I reproduce it below:

"Mr. Gamber, I read the correspondence between you and Dr. Rice regarding your rejection of his article. Need I remind you, sir, that you edit a Catholic newspaper? Accordingly, you are solemnly charged with presenting the teaching of the Magisterium as such. It is not just a "viewpoint"; it represents God's will with regards to the topic of the disorder known as homosexuality. Apparently the liberal powers-that-be do not consider Holy Mother Church to be politically correct - but so what? You, as the editor of a Catholic newspaper, are charged with presenting Church teaching, not with spouting politically correct pabulum. If that is disagreeable to you, perhaps you should resign as editor. Thank you."

I then advised him that the letter is reproduced here. Please write your own.

"Catholic" Democrats Urge Pro-Life Congressmen to Fast From "Bipartisanship"

Catholic Democrats is yet another cog in the left-wing "catholic" socialist machine that is undermining the true Catholic voice in political arenas.  Witness this press release that they issued a few days ago to urge Catholics to "provide leadership in wake of bipartisan summit."  Now read this thing!  Notice to whom it is addressed.  It is addressed only to the Minority Leader, John Boehner.  Why isn't this admonition to "bipartisanship" addressed also to the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi?  I find this curious!  This statement ostensibly urges bipartisanship, yet it is addressed only to one party - the one opposing the Hell Bill.  The Democrats are conveniently let off the hook here!  I find that very, very partisan on the part of the Catholic Democrats!  Don't you?

Also notice that this release was issued in the name of Lent!  The Republicans (not the Democrats!) are being admonished to "fast" from bipartisanship, yet this release is itself partisan.  How stupid do they think we are?

Perhaps the Catholic Democrats should go back to the "lenten carbon fast" and stop killing the trees by their press releases and cut down on greenhouse gases by closing their mouths.

Bishops & Obamacare - "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"

The USCCB simply will not cease their pipe dream of socialized health care in this country.  In numerous places in this blog (and others - look to the right sidebar), it has been amply demonstrated how nationalized health care will be inherently anti-life, as government bureaucrats take authority over our health decisions.  The USCCB, and the rest of the left-wing contingent in the Church hierarchy and establishment, think that if abortion funding is removed and some other tweeks occur, then the Hell Bill will be hot to trot!

In the Feb 25th issue of the Catholic Standard, page 8, we see an article written by Richard Doerflinger, an associate director of the USCCB's Pro-Life Office, entitled, Health Care Reform and the Pro-Life Agenda.  By the way - I don't see it on the Standard's web page, but the exact article is on that of the Arlington Catholic Herald - that's why I linked to that.

When I first saw that title, I suspected that there would be an attempt to wed inextribly the unborn children and the Obama Hell Bill.  Unfortunately I was correct.  The bulk of the article can be summed up in this paraphrase: "Gee whiz, Congress!  Please, oh pretty please, don't accuse the Church of being obstructionists!  All we want is abortion funding removed; you're the meanies!  Just take abortion funding out and we'll be ecstatic, and we'll love and worship and be grateful to you forever!"

The last few sentences are especially telling. "To Catholics, abandoning helpless unborn children is not an option. Nor is abandoning millions of people who lack access to health care."  Notice the none-too-subtle equating of the murder of the unborn with the situation of some uninsured people.  Mr. Doerflinger, please do not equate the two, especially when one of them is cold, calculated murder.  He then says (wait for it!) "Members of Congress made some progress last year toward reform that respects the life, health and conscience of everyone."  You mean the Stupak Amendment?  The one that most with the brains of billygoats knew would be scuttled - as it was?  Please, oh please, take off those rose-colored glasses!  But wait!  Could all this be its own ruse?  This article is coming from the USCCB, that stellar, sterling, prestigious institution infested with liberal Democrats who funnel donation dollars to their liberal pro-abortion chums.

The Road to Hell Is Paved with Good Intentions

I often hear as I work at the abortuaries, from honorable people, that "we need to consider that the doctors and escorts probably have good intentions".  Why they feel the need to point that out, I don't know.  I don't even doubt what they're saying.  I'm not there to judge whether or not the slaves in the service of death (that is what they are) have good motives or not.  Why they do what they do is irrelevant.  Catholic moral theology states that before one considers the why of a given action, we must first examine what the action is.  If the action is inherently evil in and of itself, the motive of the action is of minor consideration.  For instance, do we really think that the unborn baby gives a rat's ass about the motive of the individual who is literally tearing his/her body to pieces, or the motives of the others who are assisting in his/her murder?

Such thinking stems, I believe, from a desire to be "nice" and "sweet".  As I look through the Bible and Sacred Tradition, "nice" and "sweet" are two words that are tellingly absent from the recognized lists of virtues.  I am often told that we must "win people over" as did Jesus.  Wrong!  Jesus never tried to "win people over".  Had He so attempted, He never would have been crucified.  He loved them.  He displayed true agape-charity towards them - a charity that is often diametrically opposed to being "nice" and "sweet".

As I see this on the sidewalk at times, we also see this within the inner workings of the Church.  In this segment of Real Catholic TV, Michael Voris tells how too many Catholics have given into the fault (dare I call it sin?) of extending too much "benefit of the doubt" to those who are clearly dissident towards the Magisterium.  Such wimpishness has contributed to much evil and perhaps to the damnation of many poor souls.  What we really need is clarity of vision, calcium in our spines and to expunge the cancerous elements from our places of influence - for their sakes as well as that of the entire Church.

Baltimore Archdiocese and Its Participation in Climate Change Hysteria

This Saturday, March 6, the Archdiocese of Baltimore's 31st Archdiocesan Annual Social Ministry Convocation will take place (click link for time and venue).   The theme of this session is (drum roll, please!): Peace, Poverty and Mother Earth.  Already we know that it is a groaner.  A glance at the workshops will reveal the typical left-wing climate-change pabulum.  For example:

• Workshop #2 will teach how to "resist energy exploitation" such as those nasty "nuclear resurgences" and "mountaintop removal".  It will focus on the "role of arts in inspiring the movement".
• Workshop #3 will teach its attendees how to "live more responsibly on our fragile Earth" (Why, oh why is that E capitalized?)
• Workshop #5 - "Eat simple!  Live simple!  Save the planet!"  Perhaps they think their use of poor grammar will get their point across more effectively.  However, let's give them a break.  After all, the education system that brainwashed these people into believing the global warming hype is the same system that didn't bother to teach proper language skills.
• Workshop #6 tells us that "Earth is in the emergency room".  There is a "call for healing", for "earth is now in desperate need of that healing care."

The keynote address will be given by Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, who is the executive director of NETWORK.  Just before the 2008 presidential election, Sister wrote a piece called, "What Does It Mean to Vote for the Common Good?"  We see in this brief excerpt a bunch of convoluted gobblygoop about "balance of power", "the use of fear in our time", ad infinitum ad nauseum.  In reality, it was really quite simple.  The Messiah Most Miserable never had bones admitting his allegiance to his pro-abortion puppet-masters.  Is that what Sister may have been trying to obfuscate?

NETWORK!  Now what is that?  On the front page, we see that they "lobby for economic and social transformation."  Hmmm...sound familiar?  Can we all say "Alinskyite"?  Its "issues" page features "peacemaking" (love those nebulous things!), "comprehensive immigration reform", "healthcare access" (of course!) and "ecological justice".  Now what's missing?  How about "justice for the unborn", "the indispensible role of traditional marriage", "the destructive consequences of contraception"?  I guess there's no room for them on an already-crowded agenda!

To whom do you make payments for this?  "CCHD/Archdiocese of Baltimore"!  I think what we have here is a big community-organizing session going on this Saturday, around the de facto religion called "climate change hysteria".  I'd be willing to bet that while sob stories about "climate change" will abound, there will be heard not one peep about the tragedy in Argentina that is mentioned in the post below this one.

Baltimore faithful Catholics, I urge you to make your protests heard on this matter.

Global Warming Hoax Spurs Murder-Suicide

An Argentine couple, who apparently were hoodwinked by the global warming hysteria, were so distraught that they sought to end their own lives and those of their two children.  This account from the Daily News states that neighbors noticed a stench from their home.  Authorities found the couple dead, as well as a two-year old boy.  Miraculously, a seven-month old girl survived the bullet wound to her chest.  A note left on the table expressed the couple's anger at the government for "not responding to the environmental crisis."

This "global warming" and "climate change" hoax, this hysteria, has now gone so far that people are taking leave of their senses and committing acts of despair and violence.  It is my contention that all the players in this mess, from Al Gore on down to the Archdiocese's Environmental Outreach Committee, have blood on their hands for disregarding reason and perpetuating this scam.  So yes, my friend from IPL!  The "lenten carbon fast" is indeed crap!  If you don't like the terminology, know that I prefer accuracy to prissy delicacy.