Diocese Of St Augustine Trips All Over Itself In Denials

Thanks to modern technology, the Diocese of St Augustine has been caught in their own snares and wiles as they try to disavow knowledge of McCarrick's presence.  Notice here an updated  statement from the diocese on the matter.  I saw the original and regret not copying it, where they do bad-mouth Church Militant for allegedly not having their reporter contact them.  CM did in fact do so, and the exchange was recorded and that is posted below.  Below that is an account in today's Vortex.  Again, Mr. Weigel, this is why we are needed.

Catholic Activists Save Theological College From Father Martin

Two months ago I posted that Jesuit heretic Father James Martin was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a symposium being conducted by Washington Theological College.  In that post, you'll see that commenter "kiwiinamerica" lamented that Martin would probably never be disinvited.  At the time, his/her doubts were well-founded.  He/she can now rejoice for now Martin is disinvited, thanks be to God.

Left-wing rags are wailing and bemoaning Martin's well-deserved comeuppance.  Take a look at this whiny pout from the Not-At-All-Catholic Reporter.  They interviewed Martin, who puts the blame on "far-right church websites such as Church Militant, LifeSiteNews and the blog run by Father Zuhlsdorf".  Of course those sites also include many other blogs run by faithful Catholics - such as this one.  I'll have more to say on this point later in the post.

Church Militant has some more details.  Not only was Martin dumped from the Theological College event, but he was also axed as a speaker for a gala to be held by the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.  In that situation, their leadership faced backlash from outraged knights.  Martin himself snivels and pouts about the cancellations on his facebook and twitter pages.

Despite the "poor widdle me" tripe that Martin exudes on his pages, the record tells the story of his attempt to normalize the mortal sin of sodomy.  In this clip he actually calls for "reverence" of sinful situations.  Note that his gay friend, who thinks he's "married" to his accomplice in sin, is the chair of the theology department at Fordham University.  Both he and Martin, unless they repent and confess their sins, will be accountable for leading many young souls down a path to perdition.  For clarification on that point, I now link to a piece by Msgr Charles Pope that summarizes Christ's teachings on homosexual conduct.

When I wrote my piece two months ago, I too didn't think there was much chance that Martin would be disinvited from the symposium, seeing how he enjoys the favor of both Pope Francis and Cardinal Wuerl.  In retrospect I believe there were several factors, and some lessons we can learn in combating similar threats to Church integrity that will present themselves in the future.  I'll list them in "bullet" format.

• Prayer for God's protection  Nothing of this sort can happen without God's grace.  We must continue to pray.  Frequent the sacraments and pray the Rosary daily.  Mention these threats by name when you pray.
• Social media  Martin himself alluded to that as he blamed "far right sites" for stopping his appearances.  Please watch not only the sites he mentioned but smaller sites as well.  Often it is the smaller sites that will carry news pertaining to their localities; these also deserve the attention of faithful Catholics local to those areas.  The mainstream media (including diocesan publications and faux-katholic liberal rags) are not reliable sources of information.  Of course when you see topics such as these, pass them along your own social sites and email lists.
• Action It is critical that when we are notified of these situations, that we not only pray but we must act as well.  Such action will include:
• Phone calls  Martin specifically blamed phone calls to Theological College as a primary cause for his ejection from the symposium.  If you called to protest his planned appearance, you share the credit just as much as any one of us bloggers.
• Boycotts I'd suspect that many callers to CU made plain that if Martin did appear, that they'd never contribute anymore to them.  Sometimes money talks louder than Catholic duty, so let's not be reticent about using that language.
• Protests/pickets One of my facebook friends, when she learned of the cancellation, remarked that she now "had the day off".  She was planning to protest the appearance.  Even the possibility of a protest is a strong deterrent to misbehavior.

Make no mistake about this.  The Theological College did not cancel Martin because they suddenly remembered that they were Catholics.  Far from it.  Take a look at their announcement below; they make plain why they earned the nickname "theological closet".  They cancelled because we behaved like the Church Militant (not the site) that we are.  Let's take heart from this and remember, for these situations will crop up again - although they might crop up with less frequency now.

Faithful Catholics Do Make A Difference When They Pray And Act

Earlier today Church Militant TV put out a call for action.  Someone within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles leased out some archdiocesan buildings to pro-abortion activists so that they could have a conference that featured Planned Parenthood.

As you can see from the linked article, CMTV produced a fairly detailed analysis of the planned conference and of all the key players involved.  They closed their post with a plea to contact Archbishop Gomez and ask him to have the event ejected from Church property.  I had planned to have this post be another vehicle to spread the word and to encourage my readers to participate in this effort.  Happily I can now amend the purpose of this post.

The update at the top of the CMTV link was put there within the past few hours.  Apparently enough faithful Catholics raised the alarm at the LA chancery so that they canceled the event.  This incident is evidence that we faithful Catholics do make a difference when we pray and act for God's honor and the upholding of Holy Mother Church.  Each and every phone call and email to that archdiocese played a critical role in preventing the planned sacrilege.

When events like this happen in the future (and they will), please take heart and act.  Make that phone call.  Send that email.  Boycott that collection for progressive causes.  Picket that pro-abort who speaks on Church property, or that enemy of marriage who is honored by Church officials.  Let the Church authorities know you will act.  Sometimes the specter of your planned action may cause the troublesome event to be cancelled.  Even if the event goes on, your action will at least make the recalcitrant officials uncomfortable in their sin.

Never sit back in indifference and apathy, believing that your voice and actions and prayers won't matter in the midst of so much evil.  It will, even if it may not be evident at all times.

From The Niggers Of The New Age Department - Two Katholyc Lap-Dog Groups For Hillary

Last week we learned from WikiLeaks that John Podesta helped establish two faux-Catholic groups to usher what he called a "Catholic spring".  Those two outfits are Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good.  We've known for a long time that these two groups are inimical to the One True Faith.

Church Militant dug out an expose they did six years ago on these two outfits and others.  I agree that the material therein needs to be reviewed.  Just bear in mind that this video was made while Benedict XVI still occupied the papal throne.  I'm linking to my six-year old post as it has other relevant links.  At the time I wrote it, the expose hadn't been put in youtube format; since then it has, allowing me to post it below.

Classic Case Of Shooting The Messenger

From Church Militant we read of their attempts to address an article found at Catholic News Agency (controlled by EWTN) that quite frankly is a major kiss-up to Tim Kaine, the Democrat nominee for Vice President.  Kaine, of course, is rabidly pro-abortion.  CM addressed inquiries to Archbishop Chaput; for their efforts they were rather rudely rebuffed by Chaput.  Two comments to the CM post voiced wonderment as to the attitude of Chaput; they believe he has been more attune to faithful Catholics in the past but not now. I cannot say for certain, but I suspect that Chaput knows what side of the bread has been buttered, given what the climate is like in the Vatican.

EWTN controls Catholic News Agency.  Mother Angelica must be spinning in her grave to see a branch of EWTN shilling for a "katholyc in name only" pro-abortion politician.  Chaput's obvious resentment of the truth being brought to light only adds to the shame of a once-reputable organization.

Below I'll now post a video of a keynote address given by faux-katholic Kaine to a dinner hosted by the Human Rights Campaign.  The HRC is a leading promoter of the gay agenda.  Archbishop Chaput and other leaders of EWTN, watch closely.  Take note especially of the times between the 12-minute and 18-minute marks, as Kaine openly trashes the Catholic faith.  For that you sell your individual and corporate souls??

What The Hell Is Going On At Church Militant TV???

Several of us have commented on the Vortex cited in my post yesterday.  We have found our comments removed.  My blogging colleague at Connecticut Catholic Corner is one of them - us.  Please read her account.  My one tiny disagreement with Julie is that I think the behavior of Church Militant personnel - particularly those on the comment page - portend something far more ominous.  Rather than "laugh and let it go" I think some of the stench there needs to be exposed, as many good people are contributing to CM's "premium" program.  They deserve to know what they are supporting.

Before I commence, I'd like to extend an invitation to those others who have also found their comments deleted by the moderator of that page.  You may post your comments here - provided, of course, that they are respectful and in accordance with the Magisterium of the Church.

One hardly knows where to begin so I'll start with the little scolding tossed in my face by the moderator.  If one goes to that comment page, you can find this original posting. (Note - if these pictures are too small, just click on them and larger images will appear in their own windows.)

First, I notice that the moderator has adopted the same condescending attitude towards faithful Catholics evinced on one of the first Vortexes in which Voris castigated his colleagues for questioning the doings and sayings of Pope Francis.  In reading this, one might think their readership is comprised of delicate snowflakes similar to those on college campuses who scurried for "safe places" after seeing Trump's name chalked on sidewalks.

Ironically the condescension is applied to Festus, for for according to the moderator, he wouldn't have "succumbed to the temptation to respond".  Is the moderator saying that Festus does not have the intellectual and spiritual fortitude to control himself?  Well, given what Festus wrote on my last post, I can see from where the moderator draws his/her apprehensions, but that is the responsibility of Festus.  By the way, I don't see any similar scolding directed to Festus.  Does anyone else?


But there are some other comments that make me wonder whether or not Festus might be a CM insider.  Here's one:

Why, oh why, would Festus "have to say that"?  Where does that come from????

Here's another.  As I read this, it appears that Festus speaks rather authoritatively regarding the Download and its features and purposes.  I could very well be incorrect about this, but Festus appears to be quite familiar with the Download; his tone speaks of someone who is "in the know".

As I said earlier, my comments on that vortex were deleted.  Ostensibly what can get comments deleted are if they contain criticisms of the pope.  Apparently that's not the only criteria for deletion.  I can only suppose deletion can happen simply due to the caprices of the moderator.  How else do we explain the following?

Here is a discussion during which Festus trash-talked LifeSiteNews, Voice of the Family, Rorate Caeli.  You'll notice in the middle of this picture a notation advising that a comment was deleted.  It was mine.  I have my deleted comment posted below the discussion.

You'll notice that my comment had no mention whatsoever of the pope.  Therefore it cannot be said that the comment was in anyway critical of the pope.  So why was it removed?  Is it because I called out Festus for his slander of the other sites?  For the record, I believe that LifeSiteNews and Voice of the Family did a yeoman's job of unpacking the messes known as Laudato Si and Amoris Laetetia.  But getting back to why my comment was removed, and not Festus' slanderous one, is it because I rightly rebuked their buddy?

There's more where all that came from, but I don't want this post to get too long.  I'll close this one with a comment that Festus sent to me last evening.  I alluded to it this morning as I replied to what Festus left on my post last evening.  Here it is...
"Is that what you told the Nuncio when he tried to navigate your blog to get the details together?
No, you didn't even do him that courtesy - you just gave in a link to your home page and suggest that he trawl through your blog to find the relevant details. Presumably while doing that he found what you were saying about the Pope. Have you considered tha t perhaps you and your blogger friends might have had something to do with what happened the priest?  As you say it was "after" you and your blogger friends pubished dirt and no doubt publically castigating those who issued an apology to Ms Johnson that more serious charges were raised.  When I do a search on key words blogger does not allow me to control the order in which the posts appear"Do you know what that is? That is a bad workman blaming his tools.  I don't need to discredit you. Your sloppy blog is more than adequate for that job."

Does this sound like a rational person engaging in calm and reasonable discourse or the rantings of someone who has some very serious issues?  But this is the person that the CM Moderator allows to puke all over their comment page while deleting the comments of others offering cogent thoughts (and I reiterate my invitation to them).  I pray that he is not affiliated with Church Militant TV.

As I've said before, I respect CM's right to exercise their own policies in the governance of their apostolate.  However, when they display disrespect for our policies in the governance of our apostolates, then they must be called out.  Whether or not this is the last such post that I'll write is largely up to them.

Church Militant On Mother Angelica

Church Militant TV posted today a panel discussion on Mother Angelica's history and the legacy that she left faithful Catholics, especially those of us who engage the Church and culture in electronic media.  Again we pray for her repose and for her intercession and guidance as we carry on.

Catholics Of Archdiocese Of Baltimore - Is This Scenario Playing Out In Your Parishes?

I have written about Cardinal Dolan and his chicaneries within the Archdiocese of New York many times.  Church Militant has been at the forefront of exposing the slime and corruption within that archdiocese.  In particular, they helped shed the light on the sex-and-embezzlement case regarding Father Peter Miqueli.  This case, combined with the stonewalling by Dolan et al that parishioners received as they attempted to seek redress in accordance with canon law protocols, has caused these parishioners to resort to legal action.  I hope they prevail in court.

But it seems that the Miqueli situation is simply one tip of the iceberg.  Again, Church Militant has attempted to get clarification from the New York chancery.  Of course the chancery has engaged in their usual stonewalling.  Meanwhile an employee of the Archdiocese of New York agreed to an interview with Voris under cover of anonymity.  I present the video below.  Because the voice distortion may make some of "Bob's" remarks difficult to understand, I now link to the transcript.

As you listen to "Bob", you'll hear him remark that the New York scenario is most likely being repeated all over the country, if not the world.  With that, I ask you to review the findings regarding the de facto gay occupation that exists within the parish of St. Matthew's in Baltimore (Loch Raven Boulevard).  I have reason to suspect that indeed a very similar, if not identical situation exists within the Archdiocese of Baltimore, as evinced within the Archdiocese of New York.  I know for a fact that the revelations of the debauchery in St. Matthew's have ruffled many feathers, causing certain individuals to lash out.  At this time I am not at liberty to divulge details.

Faithful Catholics of the Archdiocese of Baltimore (and elsewhere), please keep your eyes and ears open.  There is a saying that many of us see displayed over interstates from time to time: "If you see something, say something."  Please do so.  If you get no satisfaction from official church channels, please start organizing among yourselves and take some actions, such as organized collection boycotts.  You are not helpless, especially if you stick together.  Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said that it will be up to the laity to save the Church.  That time is most likely now.

Why Does CMTV Urge Us To Blindfold And Gag Ourselves?

First, as you read the following, I ask that you keep the post from Friday in mind.

Last week ChurchMilitantTV (fronted by Michael Voris) replied to some alleged criticisms from other well-respected Catholics.  The latter allegedly criticized Voris for not taking public issue with Pope Francis for missteps and blunders during this first year of his papacy.  The other leaders are Chris Ferrara and John Vennari.  I say their criticisms of Voris are alleged because the Church Militant article linked to no source for them.

Louie Verrecchio, on behalf of Vennari and Ferrara, issued a rebuttal to Voris in the form of a spoof of the Vortex episodes.  I respect Michael Voris highly, and as regular readers know I post almost all the Vortexes in this blog.  However I must concur with Verrecchio on this occasion.  I post the two documents now, urging study of both of them:

• Church Militant statement: http://www.churchmilitant.tv/faq/papalcriticism.php
• Verrecchio reply: http://www.cfnews.org/page88/files/751b83874a7bdfab126e65e854b51207-193.html

To be honest, I think the CMTV statement is so full of logical flaws as to be rather nonsensical.  I'll point out some of them, and I won't necessarily go in order of the document flow.

I read the articles that it cites.  While they do take exception with objectively questionable things that were done and said by the Holy Father, nowhere do I perceive personal attacks on the Holy Father or his papacy per se.  I wish to point out that "voiced disagreements with the merits of Pope Francis' actions" and "attacks on the pope" are NOT equivalent.  I take a dim view of the obfuscation of that difference.

The author of that CMTV piece (and it may not be Voris!) goes on to say that "it is our judgment that most Catholics should not read these articles".  I beg his pardon, but who does he think he is?  He's entitled to his opinion of these pieces - so let others form their own.  Here are two of the pieces:

•  http://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/90-quo-vadis-franciscus
•  http://www.cfnews.org/page88/files/065837621bedf51d45b91a5e75699ef5-174.html

These, and a piece written by my friend at the Tenth Crusade (also touching on this exchange) begin to list our concerns with Pope Francis.  It bears mentioning again that no one is taking issue with any solemn pronouncements by His Holiness.  Regarding lower-level matters, though, we must raise alarms when we see them, for some will regard his actions as having the weight of solemn declarations.  I'd also like to call to mind my blog piece from Friday (to which I linked at the top of this piece).  In it is cited the example of St. Paul confronting St. Peter's erroneous behavior; Peter was the first Pope.

Moving on, we read this head-scratcher.  "Assume, for the sake of argument, that everything one learns from ecclesiastical porn sites and articles is true. Every claim, every allegation, is true. Bad news all around for the Church. Question: how are you a better Catholic for knowing all this, and what is the proper Catholic response?"  First, I take exception to CMTV describing Ferarra's and Venneri's works as "ecclesiastical porn".  Now let's reply to the questions.  First, we are better Catholics for knowing the complete "lay of the land".  We know precisely for what we should pray and we contemplate what action would be advantageous to correct poor situations.  Second, the proper Catholic response is never willful ignorance; that itself may constitute sin against prudence.

I'm going to take a "leap in evaluation" and try to glean the thrust of the following paragraphs of the CMTV tome in one sentence: "We know the Church is in crisis; the proper Catholic response is to focus solely on our personal holiness - nothing else."  If that is the case, CMTV is incorrect on this matter.

Here's another series of incredible sentences from the CMTV piece: "While we greatly admire and are the beneficiaries of the work of those on whose shoulders we stand in the work to help restore the Catholic Church to its authentic glory, we can neither support nor encourage their ongoing, unnecessary and harmful attacks on the Church and the Holy Father. Most Catholics are not even aware of the many disconcerting words and deeds of Pope Francis and his predecessors. Most Catholics have no idea that there were ecumenical events at Assisi or that Pope John Paul II kissed the Koran. Most Catholics, including most bishops and priests, don’t even know that there is a crisis in the Church today. They do know, however, that the Pope is the head of the Catholic Church and, presumably, the guardian and protector of Catholic orthodoxy. Who benefits from attacks on the Rock on whom Our Lord established His Church (Matt 16:18)?"

Unpacking this might require its own post, but I'll give it a try in this one post.  We'll do this "bullet-style".

• At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'll state once again that "voiced disagreements with the merits of Pope Francis' actions" and "attacks on the pope/church" are NOT equivalent.  CMTV, please stop the disingenuous blurring of that difference.
• This paragraph couples the wide-spread ignorance of the crisis in the Church with knowing that the pope is head of the church.  It seems to be accepting, if not condoning, this ignorance.  However, that is a far cry from the message conveyed in a previous Vortex episode in which Voris completely denounced the mental oblivion of the Catholic in the pew regarding the real crisis.
• Can another question be asked?  How about "who benefits from Catholics being kept in the dark regarding ills within the Vatican?"

This post could go on and on, but I'll close it now where the CMTV closes their's - with commentary on Genesis 9:18-27.  CMTV rightly praises the actions of Sem and Japheth.  Does it dawn on the CMTV author (I don't think it's Voris himself), that the two honorable sons would not have known their father needed their ministration had it not been for the tattling (call it "ecclesiastical porn") of their errant brother?  Cham's motives aside, he did alert his brothers to a dire situation, which they then addressed and corrected. Else, Noe might have died of exposure (drunkedness increases the risk of hypothermia).  Similarly, we need to sound the alarm over anomalies that we see in Church life, regardless of their source, so that appropriate actions can be taken.

Actually, there's another more fitting close.  I started this post by citing a Dominican Doctor of the Church - St Thomas Aquinas.  I'll close it with a quote from another Dominican Doctor of the Church - St Catherine of Siena: "We've had enough of exhortations to be silent! Cry out with a hundred thousand tongues. I see that the world is rotten because of silence!"

Our Church is rotten.  We must have the courage and holiness to confront the rot where it occurs.  This blog will remain part of that choir of "a hundred thousand tongues".  We need more, not less, such tongues.

Michael Voris In Bethesda MD

On Friday, Jan 11, 2013, Michael Voris of ChurchMilitant.TV (whom you see on the Vortex clips frequently posted here) gave an address at the Rock Creek Council KofC Hall in Bethesda, MD.  His address was part of an ongong lecture series conducted by Defend Life.  I recorded it and post that video below.  Please watch it and pass it along to your contacts.  Click here if you can't see embedded video.

Second Part Of The Voris-Carlin Interview

Click here if you can't see embedded video.

Michael Voris Interviews David Carlin

David Carlin wrote a book called "The Decline and Fall of the Catholic Church in America".  Below is the first of a two-part interview.  The second part will air Wed Jan 2nd.  I read that book and suggest that you all read it, too.  It's helpful to get some insight as to how the culture of death and secularization spread so rapidly during the 20th century.  Click here if you cannot see embedded video.

Perils Of Being "Nice"

A friend of mine once said that "nice is a word NOT found in the Bible".  He was spot-on.  Yet so many in the Church are obsessed with being "nice" - to the point of actually undermining the salvation of souls.

See what ChurchMilitant.tv (formerly known as Real Catholic TV) has to say of the matter.  Click here if you can't see embedded video.