This Is A "Clarification"??

Bishop Cupich "clarified" his position on his diocesan priests participating in 40 Days for Life.  Well, kinda!  I'm not sure how clear this "clarification" is.  Read it from the diocesan website.

Here's the first paragraph; I'll interject my comments in red.

"Surveys show that Catholics by and large mirror the general population when it comes to attitudes and decisions made about life issues.  That's because the clergy have failed abysmally in their God-given missions to teach Faith and Morals. The present political environment has become very toxic no more toxic than is abortion to babies and polarizing  Truth by nature is polarizing, for truth and falsehood are polar opposites.  Polarization is nothing to be avoided, to the point that people have become fixed in their positions the pro-life side SHOULD be "fixed in its position" because it is the truth, especially in regard to abortion, and are unwilling to talk to each other. The pastoral challenge is to get people to take a second look at the issue of abortion. Actually, the "challenge is to TEACH the truth of abortion clearly and courageously."

"While the 40 Days for Life program is not a Catholic initiative nor endorsed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, he concluded that participation in it and in vigils by individuals or associations of Catholics was possible My!  Isn't it pecular how "ecumenism" can so easily be jettisoned, when the effort in question is pro-life! . At the same time, he indicated that he would not consider it under the umbrella of the respect life efforts of the Diocese. The Catholic Church is concerned about a broad range of respect life issues Sounds like the "seamless garment" hoax is again providing a cloak for inaction by the chancery and has a pastoral tradition which shapes its approach. It is critical that we rely on programs initiated by the Church, lest our concerns and our pastoral approach be defined too narrowly. I strongly suspect that the unborn babies would appreciate a narrow definition of approach here"

"When visiting with the presbyterate, the Bishop asked the priests to approach respect life issues as teachers, for that is what they are. Teachers create new openings for learning and reduce obstacles. They must boldly proclaim the truth unabashedly, vigorously and often.  Their intense passion to share the truth leads them to greater patience and prudence and not frustration with and disdain for students who fail to respond appropriately. Their witness to the faith through teaching becomes all the more powerful when the presbyterate works together in unity and solidarity.  They also must teach by example.  That means going out to the abortuaries, where the crying need is.  That is REAL solidarity."

"As for the specific question of the priests’ participation in the 40 Days for Life vigils, the Bishop recognizes that a given priest in good conscience may feel the need to participate in the vigils and he should never be forced to go against a good and informed conscience.  The bishop sounds like he's giving a reluctant concession to his pro-life priests, instead of commending these priests for their concern and zeal!  Sheesh!"

Talk about a namby-pamby back-peddling!  In the bishop's meandering verbiage, we see reason why the Church has been so ineffectual in stopping abortion.

Why I Believe Cupich's Appointment To Chicago Bodes Ill For The Church

As most people know by now, Pope Francis has appointed Spokane's Bishop Blase Cupich as Archbishop of Chicago to succeed the ailing Cardinal George.  This appointment, particularly on the heels of the de facto sacking of Cardinal Burke to the hinterlands, causes much consternation to faithful Catholics.

It was exactly three years ago when Cupich forbade his Spokane priests to participate in the 40 Days for Life Campaign.  I wrote rather extensively about that disgrace.  Moreover, when the Messiah Most Miserable polluted the once-holy grounds of Notre Dame University, he did not join the protests of other US bishops against that debacle.

My friend at Les Femmes reported on what some progressive rags are saying about Cupich.  They are ecstatic.  Given what I wrote above, their glee (from their perspective) has basis.  Now we read how the gay rag, the Advocate, chortles over this appointment.  Ladies and gentlemen, they advocate mortal sin to the detriment of their immortal souls.  Why do you think they gloat?  Because they believe that they have in Cupich someone who won't trouble their consciences with the truth!

There also seems to have been some considerable - how do I say it? - political maneuverings within the Vatican to secure this appointment.  Rorate Caeli believes that Cardinal Oullet and the Congregation for Bishops were sidestepped by Pope Francis at the suggestion of the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.   Missing from the Congregation of Bishops, of course, is Cardinal Burke - removed by the Pope and replaced by Cardinal Wuerl.  Rocco Palmo of Whispers in the Loggia has key points to ponder (his post is long, but work your way through it).  He seems to think that Cardinal O'Malley and Cardinal Wuerl gave support to Cupich's nomination (I can see them also lobbying to keep Cardinal Burke away from that see).

There have been way too many ominous signs from the Vatican to ignore.  The enemy lies within and his minions wear clerical garb.  While we know that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church, in this struggle the forces of hell can wreak much havoc and cause the eternal damnation of countless souls.  Pray your Rosaries and beg God's mercy on His wounded Church.

New Chicago Archbishop - A Harbinger Of Disaster For The Church

In many ways, the Church hierarchy in the United States was already a mess, with liberals occupying the Sees of key dioceses.  By appointment of Pope Francis, one more such individual, Bishop Blaise Cupich as Archbishop of Chicago to replace the ailing Cardinal George.  Many of us recalled his abysmal wafflings in not standing for true morality.  I wrote over the years about his derelictions, including the forbidding of his priests' participation in the 40 Days for Life campaign and being one of the cowardly bishops who refused to protest Obama's appearance at Notre Dame in 2009.

It didn't take him long to get started on his progressive rampage.  He apparently wasn't pleased that more women weren't involved in his installation Mass and made quite plain that he wants more women involved in "leadership".  Well that should just inspire more priestly vocations (yes, that is sarcastic)!

This past Sunday on Face The Nation, Cupich said of pro-abortion Catholics receiving Holy Communion that "the grace would be instrumental in bringing them to the truth".  What grace?  Is not Holy Communion a Sacrament of the Living?  I'm no moral theologian, but it seems that no grace could accrue to someone in a state of mortal sin until that sin is properly confessed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Otherwise, instead of grace comes the guilt of the sin of sacrilege.

Two other things that he said during that interview are, to be frank, whoppers.  First he stated that "I would not use the Eucharist, or as they call it 'the Communion rail', as a place to have those discussions in which people should be excluded from the life of the church."  This language has a very familiar ring to it!  Go back five years.  When Cardinal Wuerl was asked about denying Holy Communion to Nancy Pelosi, he said he wouldn't because the Church "doesn't use communion as a weapon".  My!  They do have those talking points down pat, don't they?

Then Cupich said that "the Eucharist is an opportunity of grace and conversion; it's also a time of forgiveness of sins".  It sure does sound like His Excellency is getting some sacraments confused with one another.  The "time of forgiveness of sins" particularly mortal sins (as is the support of abortion), is within the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  It is that authentic forgiveness of sin (requiring real repentance, by the way) that is necessary to receive Holy Communion worthily.  Else what you have is an occasion of the mortal sin of sacrilege.  Period.

Last week I observed that the USCCB and many bishops seem to have forgotten that their first job as bishops is to save souls.  Read this post, particularly the first paragraph that quotes the Baltimore Catechism on this matter.  It seems that not only has Bishop Cupich forgotten that basic truth, especially with regards to so-called "immigration reform" but he even had the unmitigated audacity to declare that "immigration reform", as defined by progressives, is God's agenda!  In his nonsensical statement, he says that "God has called us to a better life".  What defines this "better life"?  A life lived for God, marked by obedience to His laws, prayer, reception of the sacraments - or merely a more advantaged life?  The two aren't necessarily opposed to each other, but neither are they equivalent to each other.  It seems His Excellency doesn't get it.

Under this current pontificate, must we dread similar episcopal appointments in the future?

Bishops In Bed With Progressives

For over a hundred years, the Church has always supported the rights of workers to form unions so that they could bargain more effectively with their employers.  Such support was enshrined by Pope Leo XIII in Rerun Novarum.  However, today's bishops seem to be somewhat compromised when it comes to the rights of workers not to join a union if that is their preference.  They have demonstrated their left-wing proclivities once again with a case that is now before the Supreme Court, Janus vs American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.  Mark Janus, an Illinois employee brought suit so that he wouldn't have to cough up the mandatory union dues even though he declined to join.  He rightly states that such compulsion to pay union dues is a violation of his rights.

Demonstrating their slavish devotion to unions, the USCCB filed an amicus on behalf of AFSCME.  To his immense credit, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield publicly disavowed the USCCB's stunt, correctly stating that no such consensus exists among Catholics regarding a matter on which reasonable people can disagree.  I thank him for not joining the USCCB's false pretense that compulsory union membership is enjoined by the Magisterium.  I suspect the USCCB benefits a bit from union largess as well as that of the feds.  How else do we explain the toadying to John Sweeney, former boss of both SEIU and AFL-CIO over the years?

Let's take a look at the latest stunt by Cardinal Cupich of Chicago.  A parish within his archdiocese, St. John Cantius, has conducted Mass in the Extraordinary Form and fostered traditional sacred music.  Some rather cheap allegations arose concerning the pastor, Father C. Frank Phillips.  With no regard to due process, Cupich slapped on him very draconian measures, including the suspension of his priestly faculties.  Meanwhile, Father Michael Pfleger is still pastor of St. Sabina's.  Remember him?  Remember how he threatened to "snuff" the owner of a local gun shop (because he hates violence so much!)?  How does Pfleger remain while Phillips gets thrown under the bus?  The answer is really quite simple; Pfleger and Cupich have very similar outlooks.  Father Phillips on the other hand embraces fidelity to the Magisterium.  So as he squashed the priests who participated in 40 Days for Life while he was bishop of Spokane, so too is he punishing Fr Phillips for his love of Tradition.

We will now move onto another dissident prelate who, like Cupich, was made a Cardinal.  I refer you to Cardinal Joseph Tobin (not to be confused with the relatively decent Bishop Thomas Tobin of Rhode Island).  In direct contradiction to a statement made by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, he voiced his opinion that the Church should not attempt to make herself more pure.  Well, at least he's honest about that.  At a meeting of close confidantes of the pope's at Villanova last week, the cardinal opined that the "church is moving on the question of same-sex couples".  Moving where, pray tell?  In her two-thousand years of existence, she has always held to the teachings of Jesus Christ on the matter (and by the way - it's NOT "complex").  The only way she could "move" would be away from the truth.  That is happening only in the minds of dissidents, progressives and outright heretics.  Those last few words describe the attendees at that gabfest.

One last word about Cardinal Tobin.  Three years ago, Tobin was an archbishop in Indiana.  Within his diocese, a Knights of Columbus council rented their hall to a lesbian couple to celebrate their #mowwidge.  I had suggested that all call the chancery and ask Tobin to have the thing cancelled.  At the time I was unaware of Tobin's true colors.  Needless to say, Tobin did nothing.  At first I chalked his inaction to mere apathy.  Now I consider the very real possibility that the KofC council caved to the lesbians under his order.

Above I mentioned Bishop Thomas Paprocki as a bishop who is upholding the truth.  Another is Cardinal Burke.  He too was at a conference, one quite different in tenor than the heretical snake-pit that Cardinal Tobin attended.  What he said deserves its own post and that post will follow this.

Cardinal Cupich Bans The Hail Mary And Prayer To Saint Michael After Mass

These two prayers are included in what is known as the Leonine Prayers, said after every Low Mass in the Traditional Latin Mass.  Many people today grew up without hearing of them, but before Holy Mass was trivialized by the "spirit of Vatican II", all Catholics were familiar with them.  Pope Leo XIII (an underrated pope if ever there was one) directed that they be said after every Low Mass to plead for protection of the Church against malevolent forces.  He gave this order following a vision that he had of the Church being attacked by demonic forces.  Understanding now how the Vatican II council was largely highjacked by Freemasons to undermine the Church, we can easily understand why they wanted those prayers discontinued.  And so they were.

After Pope Benedict's moto proprio allowing the Traditional Latin Mass to be prayed with greater freedom, other priests began to re-incorporate at least part of the Leonine prayers after the Novus Ordo Masses.

Cardinal Cupich has decided that these prayers are simply not acceptable, being the true progressive that he is.  He has been the subject of many posts of mine (and of others, too).  Consider his chequered history.  While Bishop of Spokane, he forbade his priests from participating in the 40 Days for Life campaign.  He was a key aide to Pope Francis in conducting the charade known as the Synod on the Family.  A parish in Chicago had the Traditional Latin Mass; Cupich quashed that by suspending the pastor's faculties.  I could go on, but don't want this post to get too long.

Now for Taylor Marshall's video on this latest Cupich scandal.

Apostate Clerics Share Blame For Mass Murders

"If we can accept that the mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"  That question was asked by Saint Teresa of Calcutta as she spoke at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast.  Those words have obvious significance today.

At Robb Elementary School in Uvalde Texas, Salvador Ramos entered with firearms and murdered nineteen school children and two teachers.  Many others were wounded as well.  Police dilly-dallied with their response to the shooting (more on that in the next post).  A Border Control agent shot Ramos dead, ending his killing spree.

Facts are emerging about Ramos and his past as I write this.  The progressives have predictably placed all the blame on inanimate firearms and none on Ramos.  They certainly ascribed to themselves no blame for driving God and godliness out of schools, for facilitating the murders of thousands of babies every day via abortion, for the tearing down of the traditional family, etc.  

When I say progressives, I also mean the majority of US Catholic bishops.  Earlier this week, these feckless hirelings failed - refused - to stand in solidarity with Archbishop Cordileone as he administered the sorely-needed medicine of church discipline to Nancy Pelosi, a chief cheerleader for baby-killers.  Some did, the majority did not.  By the way - owing to her facilitation of child slaughter and all sorts of homosexual deviancy, bears her share of the Uvalde victims' blood on her hands.  Father Stephen Imbarrato, a priest who has participated in several Red Rose Rescues, issued the following statement, with which I concur.

The Jesuit bird-cage liner known as "America" magazine featured a bunch of bishops waxing indignant and mournful about (wait for it!) guns!  Surprise - not!  All of these Jesuit-chosen bishops either want to : get to the "root cause" and/or ban guns altogether.  As for their pursuit of the "root cause", please note that not one of these swishops voiced support for Archbishop Cordileone's actions aimed at curing an actual root cause of the malaise in our culture.  Of particular note is the bloviating of Cardinal Cupich, yammering on and on about guns.  His archdiocese of Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, yet it is one of the most deadly cities in the US for all its shootings.  I might also point out that one of his noisier priests, Fr Michael Pfleger, called for the owner of a Chicago gun shop to be "snuffed".  Cupich did absolutely nothing in the face of that threat.

This is the main point.  The bishops who refuse to bestir themselves when it comes to the attacks on faith and morality from this secular culture have absolutely no credence whatsoever to pontificate about violence.  In many cases, these same bishops actually stand in the way of good people who are trying to bring some sanity to this culture.  For instance, the same aforementioned Cupich, while bishop of Spokane, refused to let his priests join in the 40 Days for Life campaign.  Bishops here in the State of Maryland have always dragged their feet when it comes to petition drives to fight horrendous abortion and/or gay agenda laws.  In Cardinal Gregory's first "Theology on Tap" talk, he sang the praises of Fortunate Families, a gay-enabling cabal. 

It is those clerics, with a few notable exceptions, who have a substantial share of the responsibility for the Uvalde shootings and other acts of violence.  They have failed - refused - to call their congregations and communities to repentance and conversion to the One True Faith.  It is they who refuse to protect the dignity of the Sacraments and the Mass of the Ages.  Instead of solid truth leading to salvation, they preach insipid homilies that are full of happy-clappy, fluffy-puff stuff.  I would ask whether or not they'll ever wake up, but I am becoming more and more convinced that many of them aren't so much weak as they are in actual cahoots with the Soros-led cabal that itches for a godless society.  Therefore I won't ask when they will wake up.  I ask, when will WE wake up??

Putting Catholic Pro-Lifers On A Seamless Garbage Leash

We've all seen some very disturbing things these past few weeks, in relation to the pro-life movement.

• The USCCB announced that Cardinal Cupich is running to head the Pro-Life Office of the USCCB.  Archbishop Naumann of Kansas City, KS is also running.  Naumann has taken some very strong stands for life as opposed to Cupich.  The latter, while Bishop of Spokane, forbade his priests and seminarians to participate in the 40 Days For Life campaign.  Moreover, he is clearly a "seamless garbage" devotee.  Cupich is a papal favorite.  If he wins that election, the USCCB Pro-Life office will be worthless, at best.
• Archbishop Paglia announced that his newly-bastardized Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family will "revamp its pro-life efforts" to elevate "seamless garbage" crap to the level of importance due to abortion and other intrinsic evils.
• "Seamless garbage" groups such as Rehumanize International and "New Pro-Life Movement" are aggressively pushing the same stuff, diluting the true pro-life message and giving legitimacy to those promoting mortal sins against life and family.

All of these indicate to me that there is a renewed, coordinated campaign - orchestrated from on high - to bring Catholics in the pro-life movement under the thumbs of the progressives in Church hierarchy.  I say "renewed" because I believe there has always been an effort to "bring us to heel" as it were.  How many times have parish pro-life groups attempted to proclaim to their parishes the solemn obligation to defend life, only to be muzzled?  We in the parishes have perceived little (if any) real leadership from the archdiocesan pro-life office.  I don't know what they do, outside of the Mass and "youth rally" before the March for Life.  They never joined in any of the efforts against Carhart in Germantown if pictures of abortion victims were displayed.

Decades ago, I learned that if I was to work effectively in the movement, I had to do so outside the parish structure and under no auspices of any archdiocesan organization.  At the time, I was merely trying to circumvent archdiocesan inertia.  Now we need to work around something far more insidious.

Pope Enables Progressive Bishop To Select Other Heterodox Clerics For Episcopal Ordination

Archbishop Blaise Cupich of Chicago ranks as one of the most progressive (if not heretical) bishops in the United States.  His disdain for Catholic morality is all-too-well known.  To wit:

• As bishop of Spokane Washington he forbade his priests from participating in the 40 Days for Life campaign.
• When the Supreme Court passed a ruling on "gay mowwidge", the statement he uttered was, at best, limp-wristed lip service to marriage.
• He issued a statement claiming that gun control and immigration are equal in importance to baby-slaughter.
• He advocates violations of Canon 915.

Despite all these serious and blatant shortcomings, the pope personally invited him to participate in the sin-nod, where he opined that de facto unrepentant adulterers could receive Holy Communion..  Now it seems that the pope is doubling down on promoting this man to high position in the Church. It was announced today that the pope has named Cupich to the Congregation for Bishops  Yes that is the same committee from which the pope ejected Cardinals Rigali and Burke and also placed Cardinal Wuerl.  LifeSiteNews and Church Militant TV both have additional commentaries.

Ladies and gentlemen, this pope knows what he is doing  He knows very well that Cupich will lobby to have clerics of his own low caliber ordained as bishops.  They will most likely offer poor leadership to their own flocks.

I'm calling upon my willfully naive friends to cease their denial regarding this pope.  Yes, others have made mistakes during their pontificates.  But when "mistakes" happen with alarming frequency, common sense dictates that these "mistakes" are deliberate.

One Bright Spot In The USCCB Gabfest In Baltimore This Week

The USCCB held their annual Baltimore meeting this week.  What were the issues being considered by the shepherds of the Church in the US?  Here's a line from the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter: "The longest and most passionate discussion on the first day of the fall assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Nov. 13 focused on immigrants, on how to help them but also how to drive home the point that they, too, are our brothers and sisters and should not be demonized."

Got that?  The emphasis was not on the large-scale apostasy from the faith by so many Catholics, not the abysmal state of catechesis and priestly formation, not baby-murder and the encroachment of homosexuality in our culture - but immigrants.  Also notice the de facto demonization that occurred, that was directed at those of us who do not coddle the illegal border-crashers.  Cardinal Cupich slandered us by insinuating that we engage in "poisoning rhetoric".  Ladies and gentlemen, that was before he lost the Pro-Life Chair election to Archbishop Naumann.  One can only imagine how he might have been railing against our "rhetoric" with some choice rhetoric of his own!  More on that below.

We do know that the bishops are going to issue a "presidential statement", since they don't appreciate that President Trump is actually behaving as, well, a president.  Goodness!  With all this passion and angst expended to flout the nation's immigration laws, why, the bishops haven't had much time to devote to their other pet issues - like "climate change and "gun control".

But this event hasn't been a complete progressive jabber-jaw session.  The USCCB's Pro-Life Office will be headed by Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Kansas City Archdiocese and not by the uber-progressive Cardinal Cupich.  I cannot think of two many other bishops who are more polar opposites than these two.  The former has chided pro-aborts, obeyed Canon 915 and expelled the Girl Scouts for their moral lapses whereas the latter has done his utmost to bog down the pro-life cause in seamless-garbage morass.  Cucpich, when Bishop of Spokane, went so far as to forbid his priests to participate in the 40 Days for Life campaign.

The vote is a curious one.  Cupich is clearly a darling of the progressive Vatican.  Yet he was defeated in his bid for this rather influential post.  Usually a cardinal occupies that position, but this time tradition has not been followed.  Yet the vote spread itself still remains a bit troubling; a 54% to 46% split cannot be called a landslide.

Let's go on to other matters, one of which is particularly nonsensical.  Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo NY spoke as a representative of the Bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.  He was asked by a member of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property whether or not Amoris Laetitia allows Catholics living in adultery to receive Holy Communion.  Malone refused to answer the question, saying (among other things), "it is not in my providence to respond to that question right now".  Remember - Malone is on a committee for marriage and family life, and he refuses to answer a question that the average Catholic of 50 years ago could answer in a flash.  The answer (of course) is that Church teaching has always forbade those living in mortal sin to receive Holy Communion.  Period.  This committee is tasked with coughing up a "pastoral plan" to implement Amoralis Lamentia, i.e., to devise some "wiggle room" to cajole Catholics to accepting sacrilegious Holy Communions.  The ones who would be the most imperiled are those adulterers who would be given false comfort while they commit sacrilege on top of their adultery, confirming the trajectory of their souls towards hell.

I believe this year's extravaganza is over.  If it wasn't financed by our donation dollars, it was by federal lucre (they receive quite a few bucks in government grants) which stems from our tax dollars.  Either way, we footed the bill for it.  What a waste!

Dispelling Media Myths Regarding Trump's Immigration Order

This weekend President Trump signed an executive order to institute vetting for incoming immigrants and refugees.  Less than ten countries are of interest, and he has temporarily suspended the admission of those from Syria.  Well, while the Messiah Most Miserable is history, the Minions Most Mindless aren't.  Don't we all think it rather remarkable that so many of them could be so quickly mobilized to show up at airports and make oafs of themselves?  If this seems to have the paw prints of George Soros all over this, that is a reasonable hypothesis.  Legal efforts have been launched to block the order, and these lawyers are from groups funded by Soros.

To hear these people carry on, one might think that President Trump is lining immigrants up and having them shot by firing squads.  Not to be outdone, the USCCB is jumping on that bandwagon.  Here's a "statement" from Cardinal Cupich, in which he blubbers about this "dark moment in U.S. history".  Cardinal Cupich knows a thing or two about "dark moments".  He certainly caused one when, as bishop of Spokane, he forbade his priests from participating in the 40 Days for Life campaign.

Just so that my readers don't have to rely on second-hand accounts, I make available the full text of the order.  Please read it.  To the right are some highlights.

The mainstream media is being dishonest.  The USCCB and many of our bishops are being dishonest.  The latter may well have some, uh, "ulterior motives", shall we say.  Over two weeks ago, well before the inauguration, Brigitte Gabriel of Act For America released some information about the handling of refugees in the U.S. under the Obama administration.  Pay close attention to her between the 0:32 and 1:47 marks.



Did you catch that?  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Migration and Refugee Service is the largest private refugee resettlement agency in the US.  That means lots and lots of $$$$$$ have been flowing into USCCB coffers, and it has been coming from your  tax dollars - $82 million in 2014, to be precise.  Doesn't this remind us all of the opening of the Mexican border, and how Catholic Charities (particularly the Texas affiliates) made out like bandits with our tax dollars while they were handling those pouring over what was our border with Mexico?  Deja vu?

By the way, regarding the point she was making about Saudi Arabia, they do have the capability of handling refugees.

There are several reasons why the progressives aren't interested in pursing the option to the left.
First, the refugees can't vote for the Democrats over there.  Second, they cannot serve as the cheap labor to which Ms. Gabriel referred.  Third, over there they are less likely to contribute to the collapse of western civilization, a prime goal of the progressives.

I hope this sheds a balanced perspective on the latest snit-fit of the progressives, especially those in high places in the Church hierarchy.

Francis Effect - To Proudly Embrace Worldly Corruption

In this Vortex, Michael Voris rightly decries the accommodation of Church leaders to the immoral and anti-God standards of this world.  It's apparent from the video that at the time of its creation, Church Militant had not yet received word that the Boston KofC council pulled out of the now-defiled Boston St Patrick's Day parade.  Their press release is here.  While the council did the right thing, no one can gainsay that they did so willingly.  They got caught with their hand in the cookie jar and they hate it.  I hope it's because many good Knights threatened to withdraw membership and their membership dues.  I have more discussion below the video.



Voris insinuated that Church leaders, e.g., Dolan, are simply dupes of the worldly powers-that-be.  I for one don't believe they are that innocent.  They did not attain their positions by being dunces.  They knew what they wanted and used some considerable smarts to attain it.  Their "jolly-bumpkin" demeanor is simply an act.  They know they're undermining the faith and betraying their God.  They love their cushy situations more than the souls in their charge - and maybe their own.  Pray for them that they truly convert.

Let us now turn our attentions to this US News article, that talks of the Pope's shakeup of Vatican personnel.  At one time, many Catholics seemed to think that the Pope was just a lovable guy who wouldn't harm a fly, what with his clown-nose and all.  Save for a few pollyannas who persist in wearing rose-colored glasses with respect to the pope, that "aw-shucks!" image has been, well, shucked by the pope himself.  The US News article, in its left-wing way, is quite up front about the "madness behind the method" at the Vatican.

All kinds of Catholic left-wing hacks are quoted.  One of them is John Carr, former head of the USCCB social justice division.  He remarked that "personnel is policy".  I don't agree with Carr on most things, but on this point he is spot-on correct.  Commenting on changes regarding American bishops is another progressive, John Gehring of Faith in Publc Life.  He says, "you are going to see some of these Francis bishops really start to change not just the image of the church but the substance of the church and the direction moving ahead."  As you can see from this unabashed declaration, the progressives, emboldened by Pope Francis, are no longer couching their agendas in nuanced language.  "Change the substance"?  What is the "substance" of the church if not her identity as the Mystical Body of Christ entrusted by Him to save souls by proclaiming His eternal and immutable Truths?  While the pope cannot solemnly proclaim error, much deliberate damage can be done under the guise of being "pastoral".

The article talks of changes at the Congregation for Bishops.  Cardinals Raymond Burke and Justin Rigali were removed from that college.  Burke is a champion of orthodoxy.  In their places he installed Cardinal Wuerl and reaffirmed Cardinal Levada - not champions of orthodoxy.  A third left-winger is cited: Michael Sean Winters, dissident hack at the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter.  Says Winters, "instead of two culture warriors and one non-culture warrior, you have two non-culture warriors as the Americans on that congregation".  These are strange times when I find myself agreeing with these progressives, but it's only because they are "letting down their hair" and admitting who they really are.  When we look at the sick, demented worldly culture that now infests western civilization, is it not evident that we need culture warriors?  Both Wuerl and Levada, like Dolan, openly facilitate the infestation of Holy Mother Church with the poison of secular culture.  And no, they aren't simply being wimps.  Witness the draconian treatment meted out to Father Guarnizo at the behest of Cardinal Wuerl and his underlings at the DC chancery.  They moved with great alacrity and purpose as they threw Father Guarnizo under the bus - draconian, but not wimpy.

The article goes on to state how the Pope ushered in Blaise Cupich as Archbishop of Chicago.  Lauding Cupich's "more civil tone on divisive topics like same-sex marriage and birth control", the author somehow forgets to mention that while Bishop of Spokane, he forbade his priests to participate in the 40 Days for Life campaign.  Apparently the pope also played a direct role in the placement of Robert McElroy as Bishop of San Diego.  My blogging colleague at A Blog For Dallas Area Catholics reports on McElroy's dissidence.

Please read the entire US News article.  We must keep our eyes open and prayers forthcoming.

So Now The Revelry Starts

Right now I'm just talking of the disgusting behavior of Catholic clergy, as they slobber all over President Plugs and the Kamel.  First the USCCB released a statement, which for them was actually relatively decent.  While they slathered it on thick with their congratulations and enthusiasm about progressive issues, they at least acknowledged, albeit weakly, that Biden's support of baby-murder, gay #mowwidge and anti-Catholic bigotry "would advance moral evils.."

Weak as the  statement was, it was direct enough to knot the knickers of Cardinal Blaise Cupich, a favorite of both Pope Francis and the now-disgraced Theodore McCarrick.  He harrumphed about it all over Twitter.  Apparently the statement didn't reek of enough "collegiality" for him.  Too bad!  By way of background, I remind my readers that this same Cupich, while Bishop of Spokane, would not allow his priests to participate in the 40 Days for Life campaign.  He almost carries on like he's pro-abortion!

Then before the actual inauguration, there was the Mass at St Matthew's cathedral in northwest DC.  Besides Plugs and Kamel and their spouses, several Congressional leaders were in attendance, at this invitation-only Mass.  Wanna bet that Plugs and Pope Pelosi marched right up to Holy Communion?  The homily was given by Fr Kevin O'Brien, president of Santa Clara University and a Jesuit (of course!).  You can read that drivel here.  By the way - take a gander at those pictures.  I don't see much "social distancing" happening!  Do you?

In related news, Biden has saddled us with the Paris Climate boondoggle and will strike the Mexico City policy and let illegal immigrants in.  This is just the first 24 hours!

Spokane Bishop Forbids His Priests From Engaging In Pro-Life Activism

Today, on this Solemnity of the Triumph of the Cross, comes the news that Bishop Blaise Cupich of the Diocese of Spokane (WA) has forbidden his priests and seminarians from engaging in pro-life activism.  I suspect Peter Kreeft had him in mind when he made the statement featured in my post from yesterday.

They are forbidden from praying in front of Planned Parenthood or any other abortion mill.  Moreover, they are forbidden to promote such activities.  He went so far as to name the "40 Days for Life" effort as one of the forbidden activities.  He went on to forbid the distribution of any pro-life materials on church grounds, save for those published by the Washington Catholic Conference.  I suppose that means that advertisements for post-abortion healing are also forbidden?  Such materials are allowed in my church; they fly off the literature racks.  That should give us an idea of how many Catholics hurt from abortion.  Is the bishop really cutting off that avenue of help for these poor people?

Now what are his reasons?  He allegedly said that he doesn't want anyone who "represents him"  to be associated with "extreme" pro-lifers who use graphic pictures of aborted babies.  If this is true, this statement is an utter disgrace for a bishop.

It is supremely ironic that news of this is breaking on this Solemnity of the Triumph of the Cross.  We celebrate the Cross today, with His Precious Blood shed for us.  We do not flinch from the Cross, in all its raw pain and brutality, for such was the price paid for our redemption.  How then does a bishop of Jesus Christ order his priests to turn from the babies who are being slaughtered in his diocese?  He doesn't want his priests to be "extreme"?  Does he not realize that Jesus seemed "extreme" to Caiaphis and the other religious leaders of Jerusalem?  With whom does Bishop Cupich identify - Jesus or Caiaphis?

In all fairness to the bishop, there has been no public statement from his diocesan offices.  However, it would be incumbent upon him to clarify any misunderstandings (if indeed this is merely a misunderstanding).  To that effect, I urge all to contact him.  The diocesan site is http://www.dioceseofspokane.org/; contact information is found therein.  First let's ascertain the truth and then we'll go from there.  More later.