How Groupthink And Political Correctness Are Damaging Faithful Catholics

Last Thursday at Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda, I attended a fascinating talk given by Stella Morabito-Green.  It was entitled "Living Faithfully In A Culture Of Fear", and it dealt with the threat of political correctness.  Her focus was on political correctness as it exists in secular culture and the very real threat it poses to faithful Catholics who seek to integrate their faith in all facets of their lives.  As I listened to her talk and related it to discussions I had been having on Facebook and elsewhere, I could see how even some faithful Catholics were embracing and even using some tenets of political correctness interlaced with groupthink.

Progressives have been quite adept at using political correctness, by seizing control of language and vocabulary to shape public thought.  Largely they've been successful because 1) most folks (including most faithful Catholics) don't understand the dynamics of group-think even though 2) they latch onto group-think as a means of social survival.  As she spoke, however, I could understand well what she was saying.  A little over twenty years ago, I had been involved with a "charismatic" group that had more and more assumed the characteristics of a thought-reform cult.  After many of us started questioning things AND the local church forced leaders to step aside, I left the group and started reading voraciously about thought-reform techniques, mostly from the Cultic Studies Journal.  Most cults exhibited similar behaviors.  The late Dr. Robert Lifton listed eight such characteristics.  As you read them, recall how the politically-correct left has hijacked certain words and phrases: "freedom of choice", "bigot", "homophobe", etc.  This is what Dr. Lifton would have called "loading the language".  Here is another summary on characteristics of cults.  As I go through the discussions in which I participated, I'l try to remember to point out these cult characteristics as I saw them at play.  You might want to keep these pages open and refer to them as I relate the examples in following paragraphs.

From The Niggers Of The New Age Department: Australian Catholic Forced Out Of Army For Expressing His Views

First a note: I know there are some who object to my coining of the phrase "niggers of the new age".  It describes exactly how the politically correct, God-hating culture is treating sincere Christians and particularly faithful Catholics.  If you think such a phrase "too harsh" or "not nice", it's time you wake up and remove the rose-colored happy-clappy glasses from your faces.  Are you really going to sit still for this and pretend everything is tolerable?  If so, you probably are compromising your faith to the peril of your immortal soul.  The rest of us need to pray and fight this - while we still can.

Why Are The Bishops Groveling For Immigration Reform?

Pope Expounding On Kasper's Mess With Divorcees And Holy Communion

Rorate Caeli has a quote from an interview in which the Holy Father is asked to clarify Cardinal Kasper's controversial remarks about Communion and remarried divorcees.  My colleague at the Tenth Crusade commented on the interview.  She got far more out of it than did I.  For the life of me, I still cannot make heads or tails of that verbal gobblygoop. Mea culpa!

Bending Over Backwards To Justify Pope's Kissing The Hand of Gay Activist Priest

For some background, please review this.

Did I say "bending over backwards"?  There might have been other choices like "comparing apples to oranges" or "lousy scriptural interpretation" or just "contortions of logic".  That just about sums up Simcha Fisher's piece in yesterday's National Catholic Register blog.

She desperately tried to compare the Pope's actions with De Paolis and St. Francis' actions with the sinful priest.  There are differences between the two accounts to render Fisher's comparison to be an "apples to oranges" comparison.

• The story indicates that St. Francis, in an infirm condition, was brought rather unwillingly to the priest.  The Holy Father was quite willing to be so engaged.
• St. Francis had no canonical authority over that priest.  The Holy Father most certainly does have authority over De Paolis (and every other priest for that matter).  Thus St. Francis had no binding responsibility to address the priest's problems.  The Holy Father has solemn responsibility over all his priest-sons.  To insinuate that it was appropriate for the Pope to (try to) imitate St. Francis in this matter is to deliberately disregard their very different roles and responsibilities to the Church.
• St. Francis never pretended the scandal didn't exist.  The Holy Father has given all appearances of pretending that there is nothing wrong about De Paolis's decades of in-your-face dissidence and promotion of mortal sin.

She then tries to liken the Pope's actions to that of the father of the prodigal son.  She goes so far as to claim, "Francis is speaking and acting precisely like the prodigal son's father".  No.  Not by a long shot.  Why not review Luke 15:11-32?  The choice of translations isn't particularly important.  Note that the boy's father never went on a search for him.  It wasn't until the father saw the son making the gesture of returning that he went out to greet him.  Also note that the boy acknowledged his sin and publicly repented.  De Paolis promoted heinous sin for decades in flagrant manners; did he repent at least as openly as he dissented?  Remember that he sinned not only against papal authority but against the Church, leading many into sin and probably even eternal damnation by his words and examples.

Did Jesus eat and associate with public sinners?  Yes.  Did He ever invite them to join Him as He preached and worked miracles if they had not repented?  Of course not.  Why should that now be presumed to be oakie-doakie today?

Catholic Clergy Continue To Lick The Boots Of Pro-Abortion Politicians

There are two incidents that bear mentioning.  The one incident already happened in Boston.  The second is a local event scheduled for mid-June.  We might be able to prevent that second debacle.

Last week at its commencement ceremonies, Boston College, an ostensibly Catholic institute of higher learning, honored rabidly pro-abortion John Kerry.  Instead of rebuking the college and boycotting the scandal, Cardinal O'Malley joined in the boot-licking.  Boston Catholic Insider has more details, with pictures of the detestable schmoozing.  The article asks why the Cardinal boycotted Enda Kenney last year but not Kerry this year.  One of the commenters seemed to have the answer: " I had a feeling he’d do this, as he is now part of the pope’s “special staff” he must feel that rules don’t apply.  As for BC, it’s just another Jesuit school that seems to have a problem with the Magisterium of the Church.  In both cases, the Vatican will do nothing and the cardinal and the school know it."

My blogging colleague, An Archdiocese of Washington Catholic, alerted me to the second.  He refers to a fundraiser to be held for the San Miguel School Annual Scholarship Benefit on June 19th at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda.  My colleague holds a high opinion of the place.  In looking at the school website, I see the language "breaking the cycle of poverty".  It sounds lovely - but it's also Alinskyian language.

But the main problem is that a pro-abortion politician is being honored at that fundraiser: Muriel Bowser.  My colleague is right.  It only took me one search to learn that during one of her races she had the endorsement of Emily's List.  That right there should have alerted Msgr John Ensler and the others working with the fundraiser of her ineligibility to be honored at the fundraiser.

The Idol Of Diversity Worshiped At Mass

Today I attended 9am Mass at St Martin of Tours in Gaithersburg MD - a neighboring parish.  Towards the end of Mass, the priest announced that next week was their annual picnic and that at that Mass, he wanted foreign-born parishioners to give the Prayers of the Faithful - in their native languages.  Of course the whole idea is to "celebrate diversity", but frankly I believe that Holy Mass is not the proper venue for "diversity worship".  The focus is on the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ - that and that alone.  Once other ancillary things start being insinuated therein, the people's proper focus is distracted and diluted.  Besides, what's the good of listening to what amounts to gibberish?  If they're serious about wanting prayers, they'll put them forth in the common language of the locality.  That common language is English.  To my readers who regularly worship at the altar of "political correctness", please get over your attack of vapors.  It's simply a fact that English is the common language of the United States of America.

When I returned home, I saw an account of something similar at Connecticut Catholic Corner.  I won't rehash her piece here. I suggest you read it.  I think she's spot on when she speaks of the focus being removed from Jesus Christ and placed on mutual back-slapping.  No good comes from that - certainly none that will make a difference in the eternal salvation of anyone.  We need to stop tolerating this nonsense in our parishes.

Pope Francis: "Muslims Worship..One True God"

I don't know how I missed that but yes the Holy Father did utter those words last year.  He uttered those words as part of an address he gave to an "ecumenical" address at the beginning of his papacy.  I now link to the English translation as found in Zenit.

Was he coached/directed by Cardinal McCarrick?  (FYI, that was a facetious question.) Recall that almost nine years ago His Eminence also disgraced his calling by invoking "allah" three times while addressing some Jordanian dignitaries.  Guess how many times he invoked Jesus Christ, the One True God, for whom he was ordained?  Zero-zip-nada!.  The text of the disgusting screed can be found here.

A Catholic Media Coalition colleage, Orlando Truth, wrote an excellent piece exposing the errors and perils of Islam.  I link to it here. I will also link to an article written by Joseph Farrah, explaining just why the Holy Father's (apparent) naivete regarding the nature of Islam will lead to incredible peril unless he opens his eyes quickly.   Would those in the Vatican who are reading this blog be so kind as to make sure His Holiness gets and reads copies of these immediately?  Thank you.

The Orlando Truth article, plus authentic Catholic teaching, make plain that "allah" and the One Triune God that we worship are not the same.  For all their many grievous faults and errors, even the Muslims understand that what they worship is not the God whom we worship; they don't accept (yet) that their "deity" is false.  Why will not our Church leaders acknowledge that "allah" is a false idol?  Are they so seduced by the siren calls of political correctness and the poisonous doctrines of the "church of nice"?

One line in that papal address is, "the Catholic Church is aware of the importance of promoting friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions."  That's nice; but are Church leaders aware of the even greater importance of bringing these men and women to the One True Faith?  That is their charge, since they are in Holy Orders.  However, I've reason to believe that proclamation of the Truth is the last thing on their minds as they serve their idols of "political correctness" and the "church of nice".

Feminism In The Washington Archdiocese Chancery - Why Sister Jeannine Gramick Has Free Rein Here

My fellow Catholics of the Archdiocese of Washington, as you listen to the definition of feminism as being the abandonment of true masculinity by men, you cannot help but recognize this stench in what has proceeded from the DC chancery these many years.  When priests have had the courage to defend the faith like men (not only Father Guarnizo but other priests whom I cannot mention lest they suffer even more repercussions), the chancery - from the very top - drove them away to maintain the facade of the "church of nice".  Below the video I will delve more into the latest scandal from Sr. Jeannine Gramick.

Sister Jeannine Gramick is a co-founder of New Ways Minstry, a dissident "katholyc" organization founded expressly to flout the Church's teachings on homosexual conduct.  There was another co-founder, the late Father Robert Nugent.  The tribute to him mentioned that he ceased involvement with New Ways in obedience to directives he received in 2000.  Not mentioned is that Sister also received those directives but continues her involvement in direct disobedience to the Church.

I have a friend in local pro-life circles who maintained that Sister opposed abortion.  I hope she is now aware of the truth regarding Sister Jeannine and abortion.  On May 14 she joined others in signing a letter asking Obama to expand overseas abortion; the letter is HERE.  So there it is: prima facie evidence that Sister Jeannine Gramick supports the murder of unborn babies.  How can there be any doubt that New Ways Ministry isn't so influenced?  She signed as "coordinator for National Coalition of American Nuns"; they must be similarly corrupt as well.

New Ways is located in Mount Rainier, MD.  That means Sister Jeannine lives in the Archdiocese of Washington.  Granted this letter was just announced, but should we not expect a prompt response - in terms of appropriate discipline - from the DC chancery?  We might - if this was the Diocese of Springfield IL, but sadly not, coming from that agency of the "church of nice".  But perhaps I'm too cynical.  With prayer, we might see a miracle and see authentic masculinity return to the DC chancery.

Pope Affirms Renegade Priest In His Dissidence

Yesterday we noted with appreciation the excommunication of the "We Are Church" founders by Pope Francis.  I perceived the beginnings of a message that dissidence from Church teaching by prominent Catholics would be treated in helpful and decisive manners.  Unfortunately that message became (once more) garbled and muddied.

News came (via LifeSiteNews) that last week Pope Francis concelebrated Mass with and kissed the hand of Father Michele de Paolis.  This priest has been a long-time activist for "gay rights" and is a founder of a dissident "katholyc gay rights group in Italy called Agedo Foggia.  That group's website advertises one of Paolis' books as being written to "help people get out of the quagmire of biblical precepts".  (Note: Many people don't need help getting out of that "quagmire".  It's quite easy to do; but then they wind up in that nastier quagmire called hell.).

De Paolis is 93 years old.  His time is drawing near; with that his time for repentance is growing short.  One might hope that the Holy Father would perceive the eternal peril that looms over one of his spiritual sons and take appropriate measures to encourage repentance - even defrocking and/or excommunication.  Some might opine that the pope is acting out of misguided sympathy for his age and is trying a lenient approach.  But what happened last week is not mere leniency; it is outright affirmation of a wayward priest as he apparently careens towards eternal damnation.

Please keep Father de Paolis in prayer, that he come to repentance and that he makes a good confession.  Our prayers may be the only source of grace for him.