Tweedle-Dee In, Tweedle-Dum Out?

Rumors are afoot that Cardinal Gregory is resigning his post as Archbishop of Washington.  He is 77 years old, and is already 2 years past the customary retirement age.  Furthermore, these same rumors peg Cardinal McElroy has Gregory's successor.  Again, these are just rumors, but for the sake of this post, we'll assume they are true for the purpose of commentary.

Gregory and McElroy are both part of the hierarchy that is undermining the One True Church.  I've written on McElroy before.  As you see in that collection of posts, he actually ordered his priests to disobey Canon 915.  He's also acquainted with the practice of canceling good priests within his diocese.  In 2017, after Wuerl's resignation, his name was floated as a possible successor before Gregory was chosen.  Now his name comes up again.

The next few weeks will tell the tale.

A Tale Of Two Vastly Different Masses

At long last, the third part of the Mass of the Ages trilogy has been released.  I posted both of the earlier episodes in previous posts, but that was several years ago.  You can watch the entire trilogy at the Mass of the Ages website.  I strongly urge that you do so, especially if you haven't yet seen the earlier ones.  Below this clip I will tell you of the other type of Mass.

This is a Mass that occurred at St. Teresa of Avila parish in Washington DC.  My blogging colleague at An Archdiocese of Washington Catholic alerted me to a series that he is doing regarding flagrant liturgical abuse there, based on a video taken by a friend of his at that Mass.  This blogger is breaking his expose down into several segments.  I have an idea of what those segments might be, for I cheated and watched quite a bit of the clip to which he linked.  Please be checking his blog during the next several days. 

Now what do you think the chances are that Cardinal Gregory will take corrective measures?  My guess is that those chances are slim to none.  However, he was quick to quash a thriving Latin Mass at St Mary's Church in the Chinatown area of Washington.  On the one hand, there is a dissident parish with a guy dressed in imam get-up reading the Gospel, followed by a woman giving the sermon, but the Latin Mass was a problem?

Please give not one more red penny to this diocese until they get their priorities in order.

Is Traditional Piety Being Belittled In Your Diocese?

As a background to what I am about to relate, as well as a general reminder to all Catholics who take seriously our responsibilities to secure our own salvation, I present to you some writings about the advisability of frequent confession.

From the Baltimore Catechism:

294. Why should we go to confession frequently?
We should go to confession frequently because frequent confession greatly helps us to overcome temptation, to keep in the state of grace, and to grow in virtue.

Note that one of the Precepts of the Church is to confess our sins once a year, if we have mortal sin on our souls.  One who does this and no more is depriving him/herself of much spiritual grace to effect their eternal salvation.  I strongly suspect that there are few people who would eat only the bare minimum needed to survive.  Rather, they would nourish themselves as frequently as possible (as far as they are able).  How much more should we receive the Sacraments as frequently as possible?

One benefit that question 294 did not mention is that one of the requirements for a plenary indulgence is to go to confession within a week of performing an indulgenced act.  Bi-weekly confession suffices to fulfill that requirement for plenary indulgences.  Therefore, I strive for bi-weekly confessions for the plenary indulgences for my deceased parents and other relatives and friends who have died.

Not too long ago, I was making one of my bi-weekly confessions in a parish in the Archdiocese of Washington.  I was there quite early so there were only two of us in line.  I went first.  I began my confession by telling the priest that it was two weeks since my last confession, when he interrupts me to say that I needn't confess so frequently unless there was serious sin.  As I confessed my sins, he tried to chalk them off as mere weaknesses.  I had to contradict him to tell him that there was indeed sin involved and proceeded to confess.  He wouldn't let me pray an Act of Contrition.  Instead he asked two or three questions regarding contrition then gave absolution.  He ended by advising me not to confess unless there were serious sins.  As I didn't think it appropriate to broach that Baltimore Catechism statement, I just left the confessional.  All in all, he was quite terse and dismissive towards me. 

Obviously I found this quite odd.  In light of the lackluster signals emanating from the Vatican, many of which seem to have the goal of deemphasizing consideration of eternity and thus care for securing eternal salvation, I wonder if similar incidents are happening in the Archdiocese of Washington and other locales?  If my readers have any similar situations to relay, please let us know in the comments.  If you would, please let us know the dioceses in which this occurs.

Gay Pride Mass Met With Prayer And Resistance

As mentioned in my previous posts, a "pride Mass" occurred at 5:30 this evening at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington DC (Georgetown neighborhood).  I was there and took the video and pictures that you'll see below (apologies for the choppiness of the video). In total, about 25-30 Catholics were gathered across the street from the Church to pray.  LifeSiteNews was also there, recording the event.  I will post their articles as they are made available.  In the meantime, they published a statement from Archbishop Vigano wherein he takes Cardinal Gregory to task for his promotion of homosexuality.

Two days ago I placed a call to Cardinal Gregory's office at the Archdiocese of Washington.  Naturally no human being answered the phone so I had to leave a voice mail, leaving my phone number and asking for a reply.  Of course I knew that reply would never come, but I extended them the opportunity to do so.  I suspect I am not the only one to have called.  One lady who herself suffers from same-sex attraction placed a public tweet asking the Cardinal to have that Mass canceled.  She added that she doesn't celebrate the sin, but rather, her repentance and return to the Church.  Of course she too was denied the courtesy of a reply.  I commend Ms. Howell for speaking boldly on the matter.

The Daily Signal likewise looked askance upon Cardinal Gregory's silence on the matter, believing that silence implies consent.  I believe they are correct.  Recall that when Cardinal Gregory first took the helm at this Archdiocese, one of his first talks was to archdiocesan youth; therein he extolled praises to Fortunate Families, a gay-affirming cabal.  The Signal quoted the statement from Trinity's pastor regarding the Mass.  That statement made mention of "transforming lives".  Well, how are they transformed?  Given the "public displays of affection" that I got on video this evening, on the steps of the Church (you'll see them below), I'd say the transformation would lead them straight to hell.

My video now appears, and below that will be the pictures of the two pervert couples, obviously unrepentant, going to the Mass and most likely receiving Communion.  It dawns on me that the celebrant of that Mass may, owing to his obvious dissidence, may lack the proper intention to perform the consecration, rendering that Mass invalid.  Would any theologians reading this care to comment?  For the sake of those attending that Mass, I hope I am correct for they'd be spared the guilt of one less sacrilegious Holy Communion.

Here's the first picture, to the right.  These are two guys.  The one on the left had been waiting for his sodomite partner.  In the video, you see him chatting with someone else at the 0:32 marker, before the other one arrives.  After this, uhh, "enthusiastic greeting", they went into the church.

At the 2:08 mark, we see the lesbians arrive.  Just before they started up the steps, they noticed us across the street.  It certainly seemed that we made them uncomfortable, but they continued to hold hands as the guard ushered them into the church.

Pro-Abort Mark Shriver Named As President Of DC Area Catholic School

Mark Shriver, the pro-abortion ex-politician, has been named as President of Don Bosco Christo Rey School in Takoma Park, MD.  This appointment was announced and presumably made by both the Archdiocese of Washington and the eastern province of the Salesians.  The Catholic Substandard article to which I linked reports that Cardinal Gregory slobbered his praises of Shriver, saying among other things that Shriver is "dedicated to serving...children".  Well, yes, provided that they have escaped the clutches of abortion.  Most glaring for its omission is any mention whatsoever for Shriver's facilitation of abortion while in the MD House of Delegates and the fact that he ran for US Congress on a solid pro-abortion ticket.

One wonders just what kind of education those poor students will get.  Will they be allowed to have a pro-life club that will actually be involved in the struggle to save babies from being murdered in their mothers' wombs?  Will they discuss politics through the prism of "social justice warriors"?  And what might happen, should those students stumble across the history of Shriver's pro-abortion activities?  By no means will true Catholic education flourish at that school with a pro-abort at the helm.  Cardinal Gregory knows that.  We can only presume that he doesn't care.  After all, Shriver is a dyed-in-the-wool progressive.  Whether he knows it or not, Shriver will serve to further the Great Reset and the New World Order.  He is in an excellent position to corrupt many Catholic young people to that demented way of thinking.

But wait!  The Catholic Substandard had more enthusiastic slobbering to do all over Shriver.  The latter wrote a book, you  see, called "10 Hidden Heroes".  The editor of the Standard, Mark Zimmerman, penned the book review himself.  Except for his own parents, Shriver seems rather coy about who these "heroes" are.  The website isn't much help, either.  However, are some of these truly stalwart people considered heroes in this book?

• The faithful Catholics who kneel to receive Holy Communion on the tongue while others (including the minister!) mock them?
• The parents standing up at school board meetings to protest critical race theory in the schools, sexually explicit reading materials being thrust on their children, the insipid mask mandates
• The good people who may lose their livelihoods because they won't be de facto cannibals in accepting the abortion-tainted vaccines
• The ever-growing number of parents homeschooling their children rather than turning them over to godless schools (some ostensibly Catholic)
• The Catholics who drive many miles each Sunday to attend a Traditional Latin Mass rather than the clown Mass at their own parishes
• The pro-life people who spend hours in front of abortion mills praying in reparation for the baby-slaughter and trying to extend true help to desparate mothers?

Sadly, I think we know the answer to that.  I strongly suspect the "heroes" in this book will all tow a politically correct line or not be considered as "heroes".

Anyway, if the Catholic Sub-standard were at all concerned with the mission of the Church, that is, to save souls, it would evince some concern for Shriver's soul and those belonging to the students that stand to be scandalized by the placing of a pro-abort in authority over Catholic students.  The Archdiocese of Washington has yet another reason for shame.

To The Person Forced To Stand For Holy Communion Today

I refer to a specific incident that happened at a Mass in Montgomery County MD today, in the Archdiocesee of Washington.  I am an eye witness.  After Mass I was unable to locate the individual.

It is your right under canon law to receive on your tongue and on your knees.  Here is more on the matter.

If you wish to address this matter through Church channels, I'd be happy to stand as your witness.  If that is the case, please post a comment with the detais of today's incident, what you were wearing (so I can verify your account) and your contact information.  Your comment will not be published.  We can proceed from there.  I truly hope you will consider it seriously.  Failure to seek redress will only embolden errant priests to do the same, and worse, to others.

If other readers know of any resources to pursue such matters (such as canon lawyers), please list these in a comment box below.  Thank you.

Our Action Required - Another Actual Priest Thrown Under The Bus In The Archdiocese Of Washington

Thanks to Canon 212, I became aware of this situation in La Plata, MD.  Father Larry Swink, pastor of Sacred Heart parish, came to the defense of a pro-life student at Archbishop Neale school in Port Tobacco who was being bullied in the school for his pro-life stance.  Let that sink in for a moment.  The student was being bullied in a Catholic school for being pro-life.  

The parents of the bullies didn't take too kindly to Father putting a stop to the marauding of their darling little hellions.  They complained to the Archdiocese of Washington.  So what did the progressives at the ADW do?  Without so much as a decent hearing (hmm... sound familiar?), they barred Father Swink from the school.

A petition has been started to get the archdiocese to reconsider their actions.  The archdiocese really needs to stop undermining the One True Faith, starting at the top, meaning Cardinal Gregory himself.  Please go to that link and sign it, and then alert others to do so.

One might ask why I'd be inclined to believe the narrative as stated on the petition page.  It's very simple.  What happened in La Plata is typical of what's been happening in the Archdiocese of Washington for years now.  As Cardinal Wuerl behaved towards Father Guarnizo, so does Cardinal Gregory behave towards Father Swink.

Gregory joins Cupich in claiming that the USCCB was incorrect to highlight Biden's pro-abortion stance.  Remember when Gregory waxed so indignant when President Trump visited the JPII Center?  Get a gander of this picture of him presiding at a Mass with Pelosi as lector; the Mass, by the way, was a public funeral for pro-abortion Cokie Roberts.  This is blatant episcopal hypocrisy.

Sunday Homily Bumped To Accomodate Money Shake-Down

This morning I didn't feel well enough to make my regular early Mass, so I went to a later Mass - the 10:45 at Mother Seton in Germantown, to be precise.  At the start of the homily, Father announced that we'd be hearing a pre-recorded message from the Archbishop.  Truth be told, I was expecting this, since this Annual Appeal thing is kicking into gear.  It was of the same syrupy genre of sales pitches that Wuerl and McCarrick have shoved down our throats for years now.  Then the priest passed out the envelopes and had people complete them right then and there.

After the ushers collected them, we could now hear the real homily, correct?  I'm talking of the actual exposition and teachings based upon the Scripture readings just heard, or some other pertinent topic from Church teaching.  Well, we heard....

NOTHING!  ZERO!  ZIP!  NADA!

After a lame one-liner about how the appeal tied into the Scriptures, Father dove right into the Creed.  Section 65 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal states that "the homily is part of the Liturgy and is strongly recommended, for it is necessary for the nurturing of the Christian life. It should be an exposition of some aspect of the readings from Sacred Scripture or of another text from the Ordinary or from the Proper of the Mass.."  Furthermore, Section 66 tells us that "There is to be a homily on Sundays and holy days of obligation at all Masses that are celebrated with the participation of a congregation; it may not be omitted without a serious reason." (emphasis mine)  Thus the complete omission of today's homily at Mother Seton to accomodate this simpering sales pitch constitutes liturgical abuse.

Fellow DC Catholics, I'm quite certain that you too had to suffer through that recorded drivvel today.  But were your homilies also completely omitted as was the case at Seton today?  Please advise via the comment box, giving location and Mass time.  If enough homilies were likewise omitted, I must suspect that this omission - in other words, liturgical abuse - might have been ordered from "on high".  I look forward to your feedback.  Thanks.

Annual Appeal Damage Control

Catholics of the Archdiocese of Washington just saw, or will see, the flyer to the right at this weekend's Masses.  It is a list of "frequently asked questions" and some very lame attempts at responses.  Look at the questions.  They are all citing valid reasons why Catholics with common sense and a sensus fideli should boycott the collection.  The responses are farcical attempts to stymie the thinking of these Catholics and cajole them to giving anyway.

Case in point!  Take a look at the second question.  I quote, "I feel like the only way my voice can be heard is if I withhold support."  By including this in its list of "frequently asked questions", the DC chancery is admitting that it has lost the trust of faithful Catholics.

To the Catholics who are withholding financial support, you are correct in surmising that your voice is now being heard.  By publishing this dribble, the chancery concedes the effectiveness of your boycott.  However, they don't want to change their ways one iota.  For example, my blogging colleague at An Archdiocese Of Washington Catholic points out that we still haven't heard one peep about the Msgr Rossi investigation.  There also exists that disgusting video of Archbishop Gregory at the Theology on Tap doing obeisance to gays and transgenders.  The swamp at the DC chancery continues to be deep and fetid.

Let's ponder the first question and its answer.  Basically the answer is "we know better than you how your charity dollars should be used."  You can be sure that some of these "critical services and ministries" include progressive causes such as "resettling" illegal aliens, etc.  Frankly I suspect these appeal funds are managed just as "well" as are the Peter's Pence funds in the Vatican.

Ladies and gentlemen, please keep starving this beast.  That yellow piece of paper might well be signifying some needed pain and even death throes.  Until the DC chancery realizes that the Catholic Church's FIRST business is the saving of souls, not one penny should go to them.

DC Prelates Kvell Over Reduced Donations - Grab Your Hankies

From the Washington Post we read how the DC chancery is bemoaning the drop in donations received by the Archdiocese.  Well, boo-hoo!  Cry me a river!  Just what the blankety-blank did they expect?

The Post is correct in citing the McCarrick-Wuerl-Bransfield debacles as causes for the drying up of local donations.  What they fail to mention is the utter lack of credibility that the Archdiocese of Washington still has.  When the current prelates waxes eloquent about Fortunate Families, when faithful Catholic reporters are stonewalled when questioning the Rossi mess, we Catholics in the pews understand that the swamp in the DC chancery is still fetid and deep.

So they can whine all they want.  Until these prelates understand that they are called to be priests before progressive "social-justice warriors", I hope and pray that the money flow continues to decrease.  That mens don't toss one penny towards the Archdicesan Appea.  Regrettably money - or lack thereof - is the only language they understand.  In the meantime, to obey the Church's sixth precept, we should direct our donation dollars to a traditional religious order, a pro-life charity, etc.

We'll Probably All Need To Do This

If you are in one of the few dioceses that has a strong, orthodox bishop who obeys ALL Church teachings and laws, please count your blessings and pray for the majority of us who are not nearly so fortunate.  Everyone else please keep reading.

I will now post a link to an open letter written by Eric Sammons to his bishop.  Once upon a time Eric and his family were members of my parish within the Archdiocese of Washington.  His letter is instructive, especially for us in the ADW who are still coming to grips with the fact that for so many years, predators and their enablers were our bishops.  In fact, an enabler is most likely our current bishop.  We should be prepared to speak words of truth to our prelates, as is Mr. Sammons.

ADW's Next Bumpy Ride Gets Underway

As of today, our archdiocese is now under the spiritual care (or lack thereof) of Archbishop Wilton Gregory.  His installation Mass and ceremony today was a mere harbinger of things to come.  From Catholic News Agency we see some snippets of insipidity.  To wit: "I want to be a welcoming shepherd who laughs with you whenever we can, who cries with you whenever we must, and who honestly confesses his faults and failings before you when I commit them, not when they are revealed"

No, no, NO!  Forget all this talk of "laughing" and "crying", Your Excellency!  You are our designated leader and shepherd!  Where are the promises to uphold the Sacred Deposit of the Faith?  Where are the promises to call dissidents to repentance and to discipline them when necessary?  Where are the promises to expunge the poisons of abortion advocacy and gay-coddling from the clergy and church structures? 

Enough of this talk of giggling and blubbering!  That is silly, effeminate, touchy-feely fairy-talk!  Such a squishy screed confirms our misgivings that the dissidence-coddling of your Atlanta days  simply changed locations.  For us in the Archdiocese of Washington, it portends at best that our episcopal leadership will be lack-luster at best.  I hope to be proved incorrect.

But alas, two other harbingers of continued mediocrity were at that Mass.  Those "signs" are now-disgraced Cardinal Wuerl and now-disgraced Cardinal Mahony.  Yes, they were right up there.  I wouldn't be a bit surprised if McCarrick was also in attendance.  Of course in his laicized state he would have had to be in the congregation.  But I digress.

Given the way that both Wuerl and Mahony have disgraced their own collars and robes, a normal person might have presumed that they would stay away.  But they didn't.  Were they defiantly sending a message that their vision for the Church in the US was being advanced by Gregory's placement as Archbishop of Washington?  I wouldn't be surprised for unfortunately they may be correct.  That is all the more reason to pray that our clergy return to the One True Faith.

The Downward Spiral Of The Archdiocese Of Washington Is Now Officially Declared

The long-dreaded announcement came this morning.  Sodomite-enabling Archbishop Wilton Gregory will leave the Archdiocese of Atlanta and will replace Cardinal Wuerl.  Several things are accomplished by this move:

• This move makes plain that the Vatican pledges for reform have been nothing more than a joke, a sham.
• The faith-wrecking legacy of Bernardin, Wuerl, McCarrick et al will continue to march on - unless we put up a fight.
• Souls will continue to be led astray and into hell as the pro-sodomite juggernaut stomps through our schools and parishes.
• This one may be a blessing in disguise.  Faithful Catholics who have hitherto been reticent about speaking out and taking action will be forced by dint of duty to oppose the onslaught of evil that will continue and probably increase.  Either that or there will be a reckoning at Judgment Day.

For now, I direct you to a petition started by LifeSiteNews and ask you to sign it and to tell your friends about it.  By the way - as I read the list of travesties committed by Gregory, I must admit that he has nothing on Wuerl or McCarrick.  However, his appointment is an unmistakable indication that the pope approves of these insults to the Faith.

Stay in touch with both this blog and the website of Catholic Laity for Orthodox Bishops and Reform.  Therein you will find news of activities in which we must participate.  For now, please act on that petition and be praying your Rosaries.

Bishop Gregory's Assignment To Washington Would Be Another Disaster

On Thursday I passed on the news that Atlanta's Archbishop Wilton Gregory is the most likely successor to Cardinal Wuerl.  Please watch the video below for a synopsis of many troubling things about Gregory, and why his appointment to the Archdiocese would simply signal that the Vatican really isn't serious about addressing the sex abuse plague nor the heterodoxy that has led so many Catholics astray. 

Catholic Laity for Orthodox Bishops and Reform issued a press release when they heard what we hope are unfounded rumors.  Read that very closely.  We need to petition the apostolic nuncio and ask for a real faithful bishop.  The contact information is here.  One thing Christine Niles said is that we laity must raise hell if we don't have a real bishop in our chancery.  We agree.  We will be devising strategies to do precisely that if we must.

Same-Old, Same-Old In The Archdiocese Of Washington

According to the Catholic News Agency, it is rumored that Atlanta's Archbishop Wilton Gregory will succeed Cardinal Wuerl as Archbishop of Washington.  A formal announcement is anticipated next week.

Let's be real.  We all knew that whoever the new prelate was to be, that he'd be cut from the same cloth as both Wuerl and McCarrick.  Neither of those dissidents would have it any other way - and they both have the pope's ear, an ear also spawned from the same dissidence.  Some of us dreamed that it might be Cardinal Burke, but under this pontificate, that remained in the realm of pipe dreams.

What little I've written of Gregory points to someone who has evinced sympathy with the gay-nazi agenda.  Rorate Caeli has composed quite a comprehensive list of his dissident actions.  This bodes ill for the DC archdiocese.  But this is not news; we've been living amidst the damage caused by progressive prelates for many years now, and now we can anticipate some more.  But the new archbishop can also expect that we'll be watching him and calling him out if need be.  Of course we will keep him in prayer.  We might also invoke the intercession of St Thomas Becket, who became Archbishop of Canterbury with the help of some royal subterfuge, but who became such a heroic bishop that he met martyrdom.

Wuerl Knew. He lied. He must go.

LifeSiteNews summarizes the situation well.  Cardinal Wuerl claimed months ago that "I can report that no claim - credible or otherwise - has been made against Cardinal McCarrick during his time here in Washington."

McCarrick was Archbishop of Washington between 2001 and 2006.  Robert Ciolek was a seminarian during the 1980s when he was molested by McCarrick.  Ciolek settled with the Church on that in 2005.  Documentation in the offices of the Pittsburgh diocese shows that then-Bishop Wuerl was aware of these matters when the settlement was issued.  Wuerl was aware of that claim against McCarrick, then, in 2005, "during his time here in Washington".  This past August Archbishop Vigano stated that when he said that he himself broached these matters with Wuerl several times.

Of course the Archdiocese of Washington is in "damage control mode", as evidenced from this statement issued Jan 10.  Notice in that statement the attempt to deflect blame for the lie by claiming that the statement "referred to claims of sexual abuse of a minor by Archbishop McCarrick"?  Sorry, that doesn't fly - but it fits well with the general talking points that have as their aim the deflection of attention from the abuse of young vulnerable men.

All that said, Wuerl did report the matter in 2004 to the Papal Nuncio, who was Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo.  What did Montalvo, in turn, do with that report?  At the time, Pope John Paul II was on Peter's chair.  Did the information ever reach him?  These are questions that deserve answers.  For now, it is clear that we cannot rely on Cardinal Wuerl to be honest; Archbishop Vigano stated that succinctly when he said of Wuerl that "he lies shamelessly".

The blog "Complicit Clergy" is circulating a petition for the complete removal of Cardinal Wuerl from public ministry (as opposed to this sham "resignation" in name only that is now going on).  I have signed it and urge all readers to sign it.

Yippieee! We're Having A "Season Of Healing"!

In the wake of the Labor Day event at Little Flower this past Monday, Cardinal Wuerl announced that he was instituting a brand new band-aid for the gaping wound that both he and ex-Cardinal McCarrick caused and allowed to fester in this archdiocese.  It is worth noting that after the meeting on Monday, he didn't stick around for the picnic; he scooted away quite quickly.  Here is the letter, dated today, that announces this "season of healing".

Notice the focus of this letter; it's the same as was the focus of our parish "listening session" (the one that focused on feelings as opposed to opinions).  It's strictly on the victims.  Certainly it is important to minister to their needs, but that cannot be the sole focus so much that other facets of the mess are pushed from our minds.  I frankly suspect that we are hearing all about the victims precisely because the chancery doesn't want us to raise other questions or worse (for them), to propose solutions uncomfortable for them.

I am hearing from various sources that a goodly percentage of archdiocesan priests have called for Cardinal Wuerl to resign, owing to his sheltering of McCarrick during his time as Archbishop of Washington.  From the letter I get the impression that he has no intention whatsoever of resigning.  This is one instance where I hope to be proven incorrect.

Anyone in the healing professions will tell you that in order for proper healing to occur, there must be removal of the harmful agent that is causing the distress.  In the Church's present situation, that means that the removal of errant clergy - both the actual perpetrators and their enablers - must be removed.  They must be removed from their positions of power and they must be laicized.  I can think of three positive effects of such a move.

1. Their removal will help prevent further abuse from happening.  Some of the situations of which we are learning are rather recent - within the past five or ten years.
2. Their removal will assure the victims that there still remains in the Church a sense of justice.  That will have healing effects that will far exceed that of any "listening sessions" or "accompaniment".
3. The removal will have salutatory effects for the perpetrators themselves.  They will see that their crimes will not go unpunished in this life; perhaps that will cause them to repent and make good confessions before they die and go to their judgments.

As I said, this bogus focus in the victims is a trick to keep us from deliberating about how real healing and justice will happen.  It is designed from contemplating actions of our own since this archdiocesan chancery clearly isn't going to remove the perpetrators and the homosexualist elements from its midst.  Here are some humble suggestions from me.

• Obviously prayer and penance must be undertaken by each of us.  That certainly means the daily Rosary and remaining in a state of grace.
• Discuss this matter among your fellow Catholics.  Many are still quite oblivious to the current state of affairs.  Educate them.  That is one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy.
• If your priest strays from liturgical rubrics or preaches heresy, call them out on it.  Be respectful, but by no means be demure about it.
• If your diocese has a problem with pervert clergy and they still retain their positions, cut off all funding to your chanceries.  At the very least, that means boycotting any diocesan collections.  If your diocese assesses parish collections, explore ways to contribute to your parish in ways that don't benefit the chancery (assuming your parish is orthodox).  Don't be discouraged by talk of your boycotting hurting other charities; you can always contribute to the charities directly.

Let's get real.  This situation will most likely get worse before it gets better.  In fact, it is worse than it appears at present; we'll just have to face the ugly truth.  But sunlight is the best disinfectant.  We simply have to "man up" and "woman up" and deal with it.  The suggestions are, I hope, ways we can bring about real cleansing and healing.  Any other suggestions?

Archdiocese Of Washington Lends Little Support To Grassroots Pro-Life Activists

I have been involved in pro-life efforts for approximately 30 years.  As a Catholic, much of my earlier activism has been within the contexts of parish and diocesan structures and other affiliated organizations.  I was a founding member of our parish pro-life committee.  At the same time, I was also praying along with many other Catholics outside a Gaithersburg abortuary.  Many of us in several parishes shared frustration that the support we received from several parishes was tepid at best.  This included the Archdiocese of Washington.  However, as tepid as that support was, the archdiocese did not try to squelch any actvism on our part, provided that it wasn't carried out as a specifically Catholic endeavor.  McCarrick didn't bother about us, one way or the other.  If others have different experiences, please advise via com boxes.

But that was at the grass roots level.  Cardinal Hickey had created a pro-life office staffed by good pro-lifers.  After he retired and McCarrick took over, I noticed disturbing things.  The parish pro-life groups simply weren't receiving much in the way of leadership from that pro-life office.  The latter's time was being gobbled up by what I can only call busy-work.  Much of it centered around the archdiocesan "youth rally" that they conducted right before the national March for Life.  There were talks, concerts, and a Mass that were all scheduled to end immediately before the march began.  In other words, the archdiocesan Catholics did not participate in Nellie Gray's rally beforehand and thus weren't included in the counts conducted by the Park Police.  That bothered me greatly.  I recall asking one official (don't remember who) why they did that.  I told him quite frankly that we could do with a simple Mass without all that other "dog and pony show" stuff.  He responded (I kid you not), that some of Nellie's speakers weren't suitable for Catholic audiences.  He mentioned one of the speakers as being the now-deceased Jesse Helms.  I was aghast.  From then on I didn't attend those rallies.  Since my parish did, with the buses dropping off at the rallies, I started going separately via Metrorail and made sure that I was at the entire rally conducted by Nellie Gray.

When I saw things going horribly awry within the leadership of the Catholic Church, I started the website and this blog.  I knew they weren't compatable with my membership in the Church-affiliated groups so I resigned my affiliations with the latter.  By that time I had also become involved in sidewalk counseling and protests using the abortion victim pictures.  Both of these activities the archdiocesan pro-life office (under different leadership) were loathe to support.  I began to see the wisdom of conducting pro-life work outside the context and restrictions of parish and diocesan affiliations.  When McCarrick retired and Wuerl came in, things became quite strange.

Several years ago I and other sidewalk counselors came across an announcement from the archdiocesan pro-life office that they were holding sidewalk-counseling training sessions, assisted by the Helphers of God's Precious Infants.  On one hand, I was quite pleased that the archdiocese was finally seeing the wisdom of offering help to women before  they did the deed and slaughtered their babies to their everlasting regret.  On the other hand, I was rather puzzled that they didn't ask those of us who had been in front of mills every week for the past twenty years and who have saved hundreds to attend, let alone offer the benefit of our own experiences.  We were being excluded and, I think, marginalized.  I don't think much ever came of their efforts.  A few counselors who I think were trained by the Helpers still remain, but I believe they are not operating under diocesan direction.

The archdiocese also thumbed their noses at the idea of associating with those who took leadership roles in dealing with Leroy Carhart when he first came to Germantown.  When "Pray For Germantown" held rallies and protests on Wisteria Drive, the archdiocese did not send official representation.  We are grateful for the individual priests who lent their support over those several years, but regret that the archdiocese did not join the other churches and grass-roots prolifers.  I learned why when archdiocesan emails were mistakenly forwarded to me.  They eschewed any affiliation with Troy Newman and Operation Rescue, claiming that OR's "reputation" (whatever that meant) was the reason.  I also know that the archdiocese is very squeemish about the usage of pictures of abortion victims.  To be clear, the archdiocese did conduct their own candlelight vigils, etc  along Wisteria Drive.  Still, their standoffishness was lamentable.  I understand that now that Carhart has moved to Bethesda, the archdiocese still lends no support.

We noticed something else in relation to crisis pregancy centers.  There are a number of them in Montgomery County - some run by Catholics, others by protestants under the Carenet network.  Generally we tried to utilize the Catholic ones when we had the opportunity to take women there, owing to their understanding  of the inherent evils of contraception.  When they weren't available, we would resort to the carenet cpcs, as time was of the essense in securing assistance for the women.

When we started counseling at Spring Street, two Catholic cpcs were nearby.  Centro Tepeyak at the time was located on Apple Avenue, within walking distance of the (now closed) Spring Street Planned Parenthood.  We walked at least two women to that cpc, where they received immediate assistance.  We also took women to Wheaton Birthright, located on Grandview Avenue.

A few years ago, however, very strange decisions were made.  First, Birthright moved away from Wheaton further north into Glenmont.  They moved into an archdiocese-owned building dubbed the McCarrick Center (I pray that they will rename that place, given recent revelations).  A short while later, we learned that Centro Tepeyak also moved there.  In other words, the location of both Catholic centers became less convenient to us.  Moreover, we found that their hours were cut back.  We couldn't depend on them being open when most of the area's abortions occur.

It certainly seemed odd to have two pregnancy centers located in the same building.  That situation didn't last, as Birthright was moved to Olney.  Frankly, I am not aware of any abortuary in Olney that would warrant such a move.  If in fact there is such an abortuary, please advise.  Well, at least the two protestant centers were open and (usually) available.  But they are further away than the other two were.

So there you have it.  In the space of a few years we see:

• the archdiocesan pro-life office cutting loose the individual parish pro-life groups and not dealing with real issues of the day.  Did they ever do anything to prevent the passage of Obamacare, for instance?
• the de facto marginalization of veteran sidewalk counselors during the archdiocesan efforts to institute their own program (that seems to have fizzled)
• the archdiocese not joining with other churches in the efforts against Carhart in Germantown and Bethesda
• coaxing two crisis pregnancy centers away from sidewalk counseling sites 

I had debated over the years whether or not to bring all this in the open.  Given recent revelations over the past few days, I must admit the possibility of a desire to hamstring the local pro-life movement.  I'm sure certain donors would have wished that very much.

Another Inadvertent Admission Of Truth? - With Update.

In today's bulletin was an insert from the Archdiocese of Washington containing Cardinal Wuerl's statement regarding Cardinal McCarrick's situation.  This probably went into the bulletins of all the ADW churches.  It is to the right.  Click on it to open it in a new window if it is too small to read.

What caught my eye is the statement that is the third line from bottom in the body of Wuerl's statement.  The Cardinal asks prayers for "the survivor who stepped forward".   Survivor??  In order for a person to be a "survivor", there must be a traumatic event that he/she survived.  So just what did this individual survive?

I suspect this choice of language was probably not well-considered from the chancery's perspective precisely because it indicates that the allegations are true.

UPDATE - A friend pointed out to me that Cardinal Wuerl's comment about no case being lodged against Cardinal McCarrick here only pertained to abuse of minors.  No reference - including denial - is made to any abuse of seminarians or adults.  That means there could be cases.  They do have a way with words, don't they?

ADW Set To Implement Amoralis Lamentia, To The Detriment Of Countless Souls

I'm in the Archdiocese of Washington and didn't hear of the impending storm until I saw the news on Canon 212.  This webmaster in turn cited the Tablet and the Catholic Herald - both British websites.  I find it most peculiar that the news broke on foreign sites, not American.  But it's not the first time this has happened!  But I digress!

The "pastoral plan" (there's that word "pastoral" again!) is on the archdiocesan site.  I'd suggest that we all download it for safe-keeping.  It's a 58-page tome, but quite a bit of it is blank space and pictures.  The thing is rife with talks of "pastoral accompaniment".  For example, on page 11 of the pdf, right-hand column under "step by step", we read "In considering a pastoral approach toward people who have contracted a civil marriage, who are divorced and remarried, or simply living together, the Church has the responsibility of helping them understand the divine pedagogy of grace in their lives and offering them assistance."  The Church does that by telling them in no uncertain terms that they must quit their sinful situations and go to Confession.  Why, oh why, is that not plainly stated?  Their eternal salvation hangs in the balance.

On page 13 of the pdf, we read "If there is a breakdown that leads to separation or even divorce, that loving accompaniment by the Church needs to continue, said the Holy Father. “It is important that the divorced who have entered a new union should be made to feel part of the Church".  There is so much wrong with this.

• If a Catholic divorces and civilly remarries, they have ejected Our Lord from their lives by their mortal sin.  The Church cannot "accompany" them in their sin.  The Church must practice the Spiritual Works of Mercy.  That entails "rebuking the sinner".
• Notice the word "feel".  Feelings often have nothing to do with reality.  The goal of making them "feel part of the Church" when in fact they have separated themselves from sanctifying grace would be to engage in deception that can only have disastrous consequences for the souls of these divorced Catholics living in adultery.

As with Amoris Laetitia itself, probably the most egregious "poison pill" is found towards the end of the document.  In this case, it is on page 53 of the pdf, bottom right.  To wit:  "At the core of accompanying people on the faith journey and helping them appropriate the Church’s teaching stands the humble recognition that the culpability of any of us does not depend solely on exposure to the teaching. It is not enough simply to hear the teaching. We have to be helped to grasp and accept it. We must have “experiential” and not just “objective” moral knowledge, to use the language of Saint John Paul II in his encyclical letter, Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth). Priests are called to respect the decisions made in conscience by individuals who act in good faith since no one can enter the soul of another and make that judgment for them. As Pope Francis teaches, “We have been called to form consciences, not to replace them”

Let's be plain-spoken, shall we?  This gobblygoop is nothing more than an attempt at a disclaimer of responsibility for those who are literally hell-bent on thumbing their noses at God's moral teachings on marriage, family, sexuality, etc.  I'll point out some of the more obvious nonsense.

• culpability of any of us does not depend solely on exposure to the teaching. It is not enough simply to hear the teaching. We have to be helped to grasp and accept it.  Would the same excuse be given if the teaching in question regarded the topic of theft?  If someone hears the teaching "thou shalt not steal", they simply must obey it.  No one has to "help them to accept it".  If a thief is caught and tried, that defense (in most cases) will be laughed off.
• Here is the link to Veritatis Splendor from the Vatican website.  I looked up the word "experiential" and couldn't find it.  Is anyone else able to cite the specific section of that encyclical where this term "experiential moral knowledge" exists?  If not, I must assume that either Pope Francis fancied something that wasn't there OR it's a cheesy attempt to misuse the name of Pope Saint John Paul II to lend undeserved credibility to both AL and this "pastoral plan".
• Priests are called to respect the decisions made in conscience by individuals who act in good faith since no one can enter the soul of another and make that judgment for them  Let's not kid ourselves.  Anyone whose "conscience" directs them to disobey God's commands is NOT acting in good faith, absence of "acceptance" notwithstanding.

This "pastoral plan" is not the only thing written by the Cardinal regarding Amoralis Lamentia.  More can be found here.  I believe some fallout is soon to be manifest in the parishes.  Please advise in the comments if and when that happens, with details.