Will The Upcoming Sin-Nod Lead To Schism?

That is a very real concern being voiced by some faithful bishops and laypersons.  Before we watch a video dealing with these questions (ht: LifeSite News), let's digest a piece of news from Rome.  Within the city limits, a square will be dedicated to Martin Luther - with no opposition from the Vatican.  This is not "ecumenism" in any healthy sense of the word.  Martin Luther was a heretic who did much to undermine Christianity, leading to death and destruction - and not just in this life.  Now consider that lately the German Catholic Conference has been standing in open defiance of the Magisterium.  Who is the president of the German Catholic Conference?  Cardinal Reinhard Marx - the same who organized the "shadow council" (now occurring) and who is among the pope's closest advisers.  So now we have the Vatican sitting silently by, while a German heretic is being honored in Rome.  Might this be a nod to the current German heretics?  As you watch the video, notice the references to both Martin Luther and German bishops who are spreading heresy.

By the way - check out Cardinal Marx's crosier at 28:19.  What is that thing supposed to be??

The Rigging Of A Synod

At the sin-nod last year, we were treated to a circus of subterfuge and insinuation of heresy under the guise of "being pastoral".  Recall how Cardinal Pell pounded his fist on a table and demanded of the sin-nod father that they "stop manipulating this synod".  Even at that, the "fathers" still slipped in gay-friendly statements that were explicitly voted out by those in attendance.

Since then, we've seen:

• Episode after episode of the gay agenda being coddled at Catholic events - including this most recent papal visit to the United States
• Petitions begging the Pope to uphold Catholic teaching regarding marriage and family - as though a Vicar of Christ should require such petitions to fulfill his God-given mission
• The German Catholic Conference uttering statements that sound like they're ready to go schismatic should the gay agenda not be openly embraced by the Church
• Various meetings and "secret synods" quietly conducted in order to plot the mechanics of insinuating the gay agenda into Catholic practice, if not teaching

In light of these facts and the revelations found in Edward Pentin's book on the rigging of the extraordinary synod, why should we doubt the revelations that Rorate Caeli made public today?  Apparently there will be a secret "parallel synod", comprised mainly of Jesuits.  The article is coy about the "Argentine" but since I'm not one to play games, let's say out loud that this "Argentine" is none other than Pope Francis.  It is that cabal that will be producing documents to further the gay agenda and so-called "annulment reform".  This so-called "Ordinary Synod" will only be a front - puppets, if you will - for this other group.

Edward Pentin revealed that tomorrow "procedural changes" to the conduct of the synod will be announced.  These changes will most likely facilitate the doings of this "secret synod" and stymie any efforts that Cardinal Pell, the African contingent and other faithful prelates might make to prevent heresy from oozing forth from this upcoming "sin-nod".

Right now it looks like all we can do is pray and continue to shine the light on the skulduggery that appears to be underfoot at the Vatican now. 

Who Does The Pope Call When Bishops Disgrace The Church?

The scandals have been erupting at a rapid pace this week.  It's almost as if progressive bishops were vying with Planned Parenthood for the "outrage of the month award".  We read that in Germany, a flaming lesbian is running a Church daycare.  This is in the wake of weakened policies of the German Catholic Conference, chaired by Cardinal Reinhard Marx.  In fact, the debacle is occurring in his diocese.  He is one of the pope's top nine advisers.

Stateside, in the Archdiocese of Newark (NJ) an openly gay priest will be assigned to two parishes.  He was fired from Seton Hall University for posting a tweet sympathetic to gay #mowwidge.  As you look at this article from ChurchMilitant.tv, notice Father Warren Hall's picture.  He's not in clerics, but in the context of the picture it is a blessing for he does appear to be "flipping the bird".  How he came to be assigned to parishes, where he can spew forth his spiritual and moral poison, is beyond me.  Better for everyone - Father included - had he been reassigned to a monastery to spend a good chunk of time in prayer and reparation for his public embrace of mortal sin.

I mentioned the Planned Parenthood videos.  How have some of our, uh, "intrepid" bishops reacted?  Well, there's this from Archbishop Blaise Cupich of Chicago.  It starts out well enough but soon segues into "seamless garment" pabulum.  Ladies and gentlemen, can we agree that immigration concerns don't amount to a hill of beans in comparison to the butchery and sale of babies?  Apparently the good archbishop seems to be befuddled by that obvious distinction.

But at least Cupich made a statement, lame and silly that it is.  From the Archdiocese of Washington we hear crickets.  Oh, the Catholic Standard had a rather paltry blurb deep in the inside of the rag speaking of the impending Congressional investigation, but that's it.  That blurb is dwarfed by the "walk with Francis" hoopla.  By the way, if they really want to "walk" in service of the Church, why not promote some "walking" and prayer in front of the several abortion mills within the Archdiocese of Washington?

We saw that Bishop Farrell of Dallas, Texas seems to be suffering from the same confusion about the immigration issue as does Cardinal Dolan.  Both seem hell-bent on obfuscating the difference between those here legally, that is, respecting our rule of law, versus illegally, in defiance of our laws.  Why, a cynical person (ahen!) might be tempted to believe that Farrell and Dolan are receiving and spouting talking points furnished by some progressive sugar-daddy, since they sound so very similar!  But we know that's just pure coincidence, right?   Right?  (cough!)  The Archdiocese of Atlanta is taking the immigration nonsense a step further.  It is giving refuge to an illegal immigrant who cut her legally-ordered monitor bracelet from her ankle.  Lord only knows how many other criminals they are harboring.

Ladies and gentlemen, there are solid bishops out there.  I will touch on them in another post.  Suffice it to say for now that the clerics mentioned above (and many more) are making fools of themselves and casting dishonor upon Holy Mother Church.

Regrettably the pope is not helping much.  He seems to recognize the Church's utter lack of moral credibility in the eyes of the world, but what he proposes as a solution will only worsen the problem.

He has asked some prominent individuals to assist in improving the Church's image in the media, forgetting that the Church, being the Bride of Christ, is not to be concerned with worldly image but rather pleasing and being obedient to Jesus Christ.  Didn't Our Lord say that the world would hate us, that is, the Church, as much as it hated Him?

So who are these individuals?  Well, they include Oprah Winfrey, Matt Damon, and Ari Emmanuel: three of the people who are least qualified to counsel Catholic clergy on matters of Church "image".  I must admit when I first saw this news, I thought it was a spoof; sadly it isn't.

Winfrey has made no secret of her new-age dalliances, going so far as to announce the founding of her own "church".  Steeped in deadly spiritual error as she obviously is, she has absolutely no credibility to assist the Bride of Christ in anything.  She is in deep need of repentance herself.  Does the Church now literally take cues from someone under the influence of Satan?

Then there's Ari Emmanuel.  Besides being a prominent Hollywood agent, he's the brother of Rahm Emmanuel, mayor of Chicago and Obama-buddy.  Of all the Hollywood agents, why was this one picked?  On the other hand, should the pope reinstate the fish-on-Friday discipline, Emmanuel might prove to be helpful since his brother Rahm knows how to get his hands on lots of fish.

The pope's priorities are woefully misplaced.  The Church is not about "image".  It is about preaching the truth of Jesus Christ and saving souls from hell.  We know from Our Lord Himself that Satan wields power in this world; therefore, to seek a favorable "image" from worldly institutions is to coddle favor with minions of the devil.  Let our clergy (right up to the pope) start obeying Our Lord by proclaiming His Truth in its entirety and administering the Sacraments.  Period.

Don't Let Papal Visit Distract You From Next Month's Synod

The preparations for the pope's imminent visit are developing into quite a "dog-and-pony" show, with all the tee shirts, caps, cardboard cut-outs, etc.  Lots of excitement is afoot - so much so that many are becoming oblivious to the storm that is about to erupt at the Ordinary Synod of the Family this coming October.

Some of us are raising the alarm.  Ladies and gentlemen, there is real possibility - if not probability - for schism to result from this synod.  This tocsin is also being sounded by Cardinals.  Cardinal Reinhard Marx is on record of favoring the distribution of Holy Communion to divorced and remarried Catholics who have not obtained proper annulments.  Bear in mind that this heretical position is being espoused by the president of the German Catholic Conference and member of Pope Francis' "gang of nine".

Thankfully Marx is being opposed directly by two faithful Cardinals.  Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, called Marx's words "heresy and dangerous schizophrenia".  He made his remarks as he released his book "God Or Nothing - A Conversation About Faith".  His book was presented by Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, who explicitly warned of a schism owing to the antics of German bishops.

There's also heresy from Belgium.  Bishop Johan Bonny (where have we heard that name before?), recently voiced opposition not only to Humanae Vitae, but to natural law itself.  Consider that this heretic will be a sin-nod "father", as well as Bishop Cupich.

As I said, too many well-meaning folks are waxing giddy over the pope's visit.  We need to remain sober and at prayer for the future of the Church and salvation of millions.  I now post a video that suggests this pitting of clerics against each other might well be a fulfillment of the prophesy of Our Lady of Akita.  It also voices many other warnings and alarms regarding the upcoming sin-nod.

More Nonsense From The United States Hierarchy In Wake Of Sin-Nod

A few weeks ago we heard that the sin-nod fathers were batting around the idea of decentralizing the Church to place more authority in the hands of national conferences of Catholic bishops.  The world immediately realizes the ramifications for the German Catholics and I pointed out some similarly disastrous possibilities should the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops be imbued with undeserved authority.

Less than two weeks later we see evidence of damage that the USCCB will inflict.  Yesterday the USCCB put out a press release stating that Catholic and Lutheran leaders released a document entitled "Declaration on the Way: Church, Ministry and Eucharist".  I linked to the article and that in turn links to the statement.  It is a long tome.  These Catholics are operating under the delusion that doctrinal differences can be talked away.  What seems to be implicit in the notion of dialog is compromise.  That, of course is impossible.  The Roman Catholic Church has the fullness of truth because it comes from Jesus Christ.  We cannot compromise one iota of that for we cannot tamper with what Jesus has given us.  Yet such compromise is implicit throughout this document.

Yesterday I received news of another incident to occur this coming Monday.  With the sin-nod in the past, the progressives are focusing again on Laudato Si.  The Not-At-All Catholic Reporter announced that Cardinal Maradiaga will be featured at a panel discussion at Georgetown University.  Also featured in this panel will be John Podesta, former Obama official who is now chairing Hillary Clinton's campaign.  This dissent-fest will be moderated by John Carr.  Maradiaga's and Carr's names are hyperlinked for a reason; I've written about them in the past and if you follow the links you'll see why these men are dissenters if not outright heretics.  And yes, Maradiaga is one of the pope's top advisors; the pope has full responsibility for what he allows Maradiaga to utter.

Today I went to Mass at a parish that will remain unnamed.  In the bulletin I saw the above event being announced.  Knowing the priest to be faithful, I've no doubt that the announcement is in his bulletin only because its inclusion was dictated from "on high"; that is, orders came from the DC chancery and probably from the USCCB.  So yes, we are just beginning to see the progressives feeling their oats as a result of the sin-nod.  Those Catholics who are giddy simply because the "sin-nod wasn't all that bad" really need to remove your rose-colored glasses and start praying..

Kazakhstan Archbishop Doubts Voluntary Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI

Archbishop Jan Pawel Lenga, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Karaganda in Kazakhstan, has released a letter regarding the goings-on of the inner sanctums of the Vatican.  Rorate Caeli obtained a copy of this letter and they are making it public with the aim of awakening some Catholics who insist on looking at all things pontifical with rose-colored glasses.  Because I share Rorate's goals I will also post the entire text of this letter below the jump break.

The archbishop mentions that "..it is increasingly evident that the Vatican, through the Secretariat of State has taken the course of political correctness."   The rest of the paragraph warrants study.  It ends with "the meetings of the Bishops' Conferences often deal with issues which are foreign to the nature of the duties of the successors of the apostles."  Ladies and gentlemen, how often have you read posts on this blog and others that lend credibility to His Excellency's words?  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has been a particular menace to the Faith, minimizing true moral doctrines as they openly espouse illegal immigration and divert Catholic donations to pro-gay and pro-death outfits via the Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

As you proceed further down, you see the statement "it is difficult to believe that Pope Benedict XVI freely renounced his ministry as successor of Peter."  He is plainly saying what many of us have suspected; with his knowledge of what transpires in Vatican halls and offices.

It's high time that all in the Church open their eyes and see the plain truth that has been screaming at us these past several months.  And now, below the jump break, is the letter so..

Belgian And German Prelates Promulgate Heresy Unfettered

Last week it was announced that Johan Bonny, Bishop of Antwerp (Belgium) made public his dissidence from Catholic teaching by promulgating his opinion that same-sex couples should be recognized by the Church.  He has gone so far as to hint that these couples should be allowed to adopt children.  This post from Angelqueen has more details.

At the bottom of that post you'll see an equally disgusting quote from the rector of the Catholic University of Leuven, Rik Tors: "Do not underestimate the significance of this. Bonny advocates a change in long-held unshakable principles, something that the dogmatic pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI no bishop could afford to do."

Let's take a look at what Torfs said.  He said that Bonny felt free to mock his own bishop's miter under this pontificate, not being "free" to do so under the previous pontiffs.  There might be truth in that.  Both John Paul II and Benedict XVI upheld the teachings of Jesus Christ and, like true successors to St. Peter, expected the bishops under them to do the same.  I'll emphasize this also; what Torfs stated as being "long-held unshakable principles" are much more than that, as they have originated from God Himself and cannot be flouted without severe consequences, even if those consequences happen only in the afterlife.

The German Bishops' Conference, led by Cardinal Reinhard Marx (a key player in last October's sin-nod) issued an official statement calling for the admission of Catholics who have divorced and remarried without annulment, i.e., those living in adultery (let's call it what it is) to Holy Communion.  In other words, they want to facilitate for those Catholics the sin of sacrilegious Holy Communions.

Vox Cantorus has another quote from Bonny.  Note the theme of allowing polluted secular culture to dictate Church practices - a common theme these days.  The Germans believe they have particular impetus to do so, to increase their revenues from Germany's church-tax.

In September of 2013, the Holy Father excommunicated an Austrilian priest for conducting himself as one after his faculties had been suspended.  They were suspended because he advocated various heretical positions, among them "same-sex marriage".  In light of that, one must wonder why he lets Bonny, Marx et al carry on with their shenanigans while he has sacked Cardinal Burke who is an exemplary champion of the Church.

Final Relatio Synodi's Serious Errors

Yesterday LifeSiteNews published a piece in which Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that Pope Francis ordered the rejected paragraph on homosexuality to be published in the final SinNod report.  He is referring to the ones asking the Church to "learn to accept homosexual orientations".

Please see this link to the English translation of the final SinNod report; it is on the Vatican site.  I've read through this thing carefully; at least I think I did.  I do not see those paragraphs about "valuing the homosexual orientation" at all.  If I'm missing something, would a reader please be so kind as to cite the paragraph number?

It is quite possible that the heretical paragraphs are included in translations other than English. This example is not the only one in which the English translation differs from that of other translations.  Catholic Culture has an article stating that the Italian translation is quite different.  The difference is at the end of paragraph 4 of the introduction.  Notice that the English states "to discern how the Church and society can renew their commitment to the family."  Period.  However, the Italian version appends a significant phrase to the end of that sentence.  It reads "to the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman."  Rather telling, isn't it?  Catholic Culture, with tongue-in-cheek humor, quips that it's "an oversight".  Of course it isn't.  That was a deliberated omission, most likely done with the intention of muddying the true definition of marriage.  By the way - here's the Italian translation, again from the Vatican site.

Now here's the question of the hour.  Is there an English translation of the final "Relatio Synodi" that accurately reflects the original?  Obviously the one that's on the Vatican website leaves a lot to be desired.

Shamazon Leaders - Putting Dirt In Their Ears

This coming Sunday the Sham-azon Sin-Nod starts.  Quite frankly, I believe it poses a colossal threat to the Church and to western civilization.  Many leaders in faithful Catholic media are in Rome right now to cover this mess as it goes down.  Church Militant posted a press conference headlined by Cardinal Claudio Hummes, hand-picked by the pope to lead the gabfest.  Right out of the gate he said that the Church "must listen to the cry of the earth and the poor".  Sheesh!  Could he not at least have put "the poor" before the earth?  At least they are people, and in God's eyes take precedence over the planet.  That quip is nothing more than an insinuation of pantheism as it ascribes personality to a planet.   During that interview, sin-nod organizers said the IL shouldn't be judged because it is "the voice of the earth".  The voice of the earth?  What did these people do?  Cram dirt in their ears and hear funny little voices???

Church leaders are speaking out.  Last June Cardinal Brandmuller (one of the two surviving dubia cardinals) called the Instrumentum Laboris "heretical" and "an apostasy".  The LifeSiteNews piece has a copy of his entire address in which he lists his reasons.  Likewise, Cardinal Burke (the other surviving dubia cardinal) also called the synod itself "apostasy" and a "direct attack on the Lordship of Christ".  It's worth noting that he was including the German synod in his denunciations.

Cardinal Sarah, in his latest book, stated that if the Sin-Nod succeeds in introducing women deaconesses into the Church, that we would see a "break with tradition".  He's quite right.  Previous pontiffs (the most recent being Pope St John Paul II) stated in no uncertain terms that the Church simply hasn't the authority to permit women to be priests.  However, Bishop Erwin Krautler of Brazil had the chutzpah to state that what previous popes have said in that regard is not dogma.  Bear in mind that he is credited with spewing forth the Instrumentum Laboris.  Note the Brazilian bishop with a German name.  The connections are quite visible between the German and the Shamazon sin-nods, are they not?  As Michael Voris notied in a recent Vortex. the pope and company seek to use the church to advance the left's globalist agenda.

So what do we do?  Yes we pray and fast for the Church.  If you aren't praying your rosaries daily, please start immediately!  Let us also do our part to spread the truth about what is happening in the Church to those who are as yet still unaware.  Among other things, that means the intelligent use of social media.  You who are reading this obviously have access to social media.  Learn how to use facebook, twitter and other outlets and use them.  Talk to your friends and fellow parishioners.  The time for passivity is long over.  Take a cue from Bishop Strickland who is taking to twitter to proclaim the Faith.  You can do it too.  I joked earlier about the sin-nod leaders putting dirt in their ears, but let's take the blindfolds from our eyes and the gags from our mouths - now.

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Cardinals Burke And Muller Speak Truth To Rogue Prelates

LifeSiteNews published some excerpts of an interview that Cardinal Burke gave two months ago to them.  I link to it now and urge its study.  He points out the absurdity of:

• Trying to claim that there is some "redeeming" value to homosexual acts
• The use of contraception to be "responsible stewards of the earth"
• The many anomalies of the sin-nod

Similarly, Cardinal Muller had some words of truth for his fellow German bishops, stating quite clearly that local bishops' conferences could not decide for themselves what constitutes dogma and discipline, stating that it was "an absolutely anti-Catholic idea that does not respect the Catholicity of the Church".  He also stated that "the president of an episcopal conference is nothing more than a technical moderator" and that a country's dioceses are not subsidiaries of that country's episcopal conference.  I recall that Pope Benedict XVI also made the point of stating that these conferences have no inherent authority in and of themselves.  This only serves to strengthen my belief that these bishops' conferences are snakes in the grass and should be immediately dismantled.

I pray that the words of these two good cardinals are heeded and studied, as antidotes to the "maturation" that is being shoved down our throats to make us susceptible for more doctrinal poison that no doubt is planned for the sin-nod that will occur in October 2015.

The Schism In The Church Cannot Be Denied

Crisis Magazine published last week a very thoughtful article by Dennis Prager entitled "Why Judaism And Then Christianity Rejected Homosexuality".  I'd urge all to read it carefully - several times.  I think he's correct about the benefits of instilling Godly discipline of the procreative powers.  One might do well to intersperse that reading with the reading of Humanae Vitae.  One thing we can notice right off the bat is the correlation of the abolition of sexual restraint and the increase of coarseness and even violence in our society.  Interestingly enough, we even notice a proportional increase in the clamoring for governmental intervention in our lives, almost as if we (as a society) both crave the controls from government to replace our own abandoned self-control and the facilitation of hedonism.  That is why the Democrats, the party of baby-slaughter and sodomy, is also the party of socialism.

That article underscores the grave nature of the errors embodied in Amoralis Lamentia, particular Chapter 8 of the thing.  On February 3, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German Bishops' Conference, declared that priests and clergy can conduct "blessing ceremonies" for homosexual couples.  I put "blessing ceremonies" in quotes for it is impossible to bless mortal sin.  The attempt to do so is both blasphemy and sacrilege.  He stated this an in interview during which he also shilled for female deacons and married clergy.  Why didn't he just throw abortion in there for good measure?  Cardinal Marx still retains his position - unlike several faithful priests who were kicked to the curb for upholding the Church's teachings on homosexuality, etc.

Not only does the pope fail to utter one word of correction (let alone rebuke) against this flagrant disobedience to God's commands, but he gives honor to yet another dissident cleric.  Father Jose Tolentino Calaca De Mendonsa (hereafter just called Fr. Tolentino for obvious reasons) is rector of the Cathedral of Lisbon.  He recently wrote the introduction to a book called "Feminist Theology In History".  That book sounds like a hoot, doesn't it?  It's written by a faix-nun who is both pro-abortion and pro-sodomy.   LifeSiteNews has details of the gibberish found in this "introduction".  Now consider that Pope Francis selected Tolentino to preach at his 2018 Lenten retreat.  One can only imagine the kind of poison that will be served to the pope and the others at that retreat - not that they are unaccustomed to this poison for they produce enough of it themselves.

At One Peter Five we read an article entitled "Approval For Blessings Of Homosexual Couples Equivalent To Founding A New Church".  The logic behind that statement is very simple.  In the authentic Church, mortal sin can never be blessed.  To insinuate that such is possible is to concoct an alien moral theology.  It would attempt to redefine moral truths.  In order to do that, it would have to redefine a different deity, for the One True God, immutable as He is, cannot change His word.

So now we see an attempt to deform the Catholic Faith, the One True Church, into something completely alien to the Bride of Christ as He established her.  Is this part and parcel of creating a "one-world religion" for a "new order"?  This is not the first attempt that progressives made towards this goal.  I believe they floated a trial balloon with the issue of capital punishment.  This current pope and many progressives espoused a position to abolish capital punishment altogether - a complete divergence from Church tradition.  Enough people are ambivalent about capital punishment so they weren't alert to the danger this posed to the Deposit of Faith.  Now they are getting more brazen.

Will some of us now take off the rose-colored glasses to admit that this pontificate is dangerous?  In the face of the overwhelming evidence, their denial of the facts can be considered willful - and sinful.  I ask them to please stop being part of the problem and to pray and speak out for the Church.

Cardinal Sins - And Their Papal Enabler

In today's Vortex, Michael Voris clearly lays out the case that many cardinals are deliberately flouting the Church's authority to coddle those in sexual sin or those who profit from sexual sin.  Missing from his analysis, though, is a forthright admission of why they are allowed to retain their red hats (what are they called?).  More to the point, there is someone who is allowing them to continue their chicanery and perhaps is orchestrating it.  I speak, of course, of Pope Francis.

To be fair, many of these cardinals started carrying on when the Pope's predecessors occupied his chair.  After last October's sin-nod, though, it became quite clear that this current pontiff at least approves of their dissenting behavior - if he's not outright ordering it.  I realize it is the policy of Church Militant TV not to criticize the pope's actions.  That's their decision.  I and many others hold a different opinion.  We will call the spade a spade.  I'll now analyze some statements of Voris' and point out some obvious papal connections.  I'll go in order as they occur in the video.