The DACA Drivel Of The Archdiocese Of Washington

Once again I missed an issue of the Catholic Standard.  Owing to some pressing personal matters, I didn't realize it until I saw it in the lobby of Blessed Sacrament (DC) this weekend.  When I saw page 3, I understood why it might have been omitted from my mail.  It was all about DACA and that insipid telephone campaign of the USCCB to beg Congress to extend de facto amnesty to the so-called "Dreamers".  The online version didn't have that precise article but here is an online article along a similar bent.  For more articles, search "DACA" on the Standard's website.

Several months ago I wrote a post explaining why I believe that support of illegal immigration is inherently sinful.  I still do.  For those reasons I believe that the USCCB's "call-in" campaign was likewise inherently sinful, for the specific reasons stated in that post.  In that post I wrote "One troubling aspect about the hierarchy's embrace of progressive positions is that church authorities too often strike hands with politicians who foment the Culture of Death."  That happened at Blessed Sacrament earlier today, as I learned in its bulletin yesterday.  The only difference is that this time it was not an errant politician, but an errant priest.

Go to page 3 of the linked bulletin, bottom left.  You'll see that this morning they hosted Father Peter Daly, former pastor of St. John Vianney from Prince Frederick, MD.  Because he's retired and no longer pollutes the pages of the Catholic Standard, I haven't had occasion lately to write about him, but in the past I sure did.  In one post, I commented on an article that he wrote for the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter, in which he publicly condoned homosexual acts.  This is the sort of person that Blessed Sacrament thought qualified to teach their parishioners.  They've hosted both Chris Matthews and Mark Shriver in prior years - appearances that we picketed.

Here's an oddity about Daly's selection as a speaker.  He lives in Prince Frederick Maryland.  That's southern Maryland.  Between that and Blessed Sacrament is a two-hour drive each way.  What?  Blessed Sacrament couldn't find a more local illegal-amnesty shill?  In loony-liberal Montgomery County, these people abound.  That truly puzzles me.  Why?

Bannon's Truthful Rebuke Stings The Bishops In Their...

Did you think that last word was going to be "consciences"?  Don't be silly!  That last word is really "coffers".  Steve Bannon might not have realized it, but he spoke the only language that the US bishops seem to heed: the language of $ka-ching$.  A video of Bannon's interview is found here.  When queried by Charlie Rose about Cardinal Dolan's displeasure with President Trump's actions on DACA, Bannon correctly responds that the USCCB's stance on DACA is not doctrine - progressive pretenses notwithstanding (I hold that it is the USCCB that stands in sin owing to its facilitation of illegal immigration).  Moreover, Bannon is correct that the bishops have an economic interest in illegal immigration.  However, he seems to limit that interest to the filling of church pews.  In reality, it goes much further for the Church hierarchy receives federal grants for the "processing" of aliens, and the amounts of those grants is proportional to the number of immigrants.

Cardinal Dolan, when he heard of Bannon's interview, got his knickers in a royal knot.  Breitbart has the low-down on that.  Dolan quoted Bannon as saying that the only reason they (bishops) care about illegals is for economic reasons.  You can see it in the first few paragraphs of the linked piece.   The title states that "Dolan bears false witness".  Well yes, but I think it's more than that.  I think Cardinal Dolan uttered a quintessential Freudian slip.  I've no bones opining that $$$ is a prime motivating factor in their shilling for illegal immigration.

Yesterday the pope got in on the act.  Of course the blather happened on a plane (mathematical equation alert!  plane+pope+reporters=insults+heresies+blasphemies).  He went so far as to cast doubt on the president's pro-life beliefs because of his termination of DACA.  Whatever happened to "who am I to judge?"  Does that apply only to those flaunting mortal sins of sodomy?  But I digress.

The pope said of Trump, "he presents himself as a pro-life man. If he is a good pro-lifer, he should understand that the family is the cradle of life and you must defend its unity."  A goodly number of pro-life leaders replied to that statement as they came to Trump's defense.  I might add one more key thing.  If the pope is pro-life, he will do all he can to protect and promote the encyclical Humanae Vitae.  He can start by dismantling that commission that was assembled to "study", that is, weaken this key encyclical.  Humanae Vitae must stand.  Contraception, an intrinsic evil, must be seen for what it is: a satanic instrument of death and destruction.  The pope casting doubts on the president's pro-life credentials?  Never did I think I'd see the day when I trust the White House more than the Vatican, but now that has come to pass.

Support Of Illegal Immigration Is Inherently Sinful

If a parent steals something and gives it to his/her child, is the child penalized when he/she is compelled to return the stolen goods or make other reparation?  Common sense - and Catholic moral theology answer "no", for the child should never have come into the possession of the goods in the first place.  Let's add another dimension.  Say the child receives the contraband as a minor, then becomes aware of the theft when he reaches the age of majority.  Is he/she required to make restitution?  Again, the answer is yes, for he/she may not knowingly accept benefit from the commission of sin.  Should they do so, they themselves become guilty of cooperation with the sin of their parents.  I link now to a post that I created several months ago; therein is a video that explains the nine ways in which a person can become an accessory to the sin of another, thus incurring guilt for his own sin.  Bear all this in mind as you read the account below.

We all know that President Trump has decided to undo the patently unconstitutional stunt initiated by the Messiah Most Miserable known as DACA (Deferred Action for Child Arrivals).   Compare the screed spewed from the USCCB to the statements issued by both the White House and the Department of Homeland Security.  While those impacted are children of illegal immigrants, it is important to note that they are now adults as opposed to non-emancipated minors.  They are now responsible for their own lives.  If they haven't taken measures to correct their own immigration status, they have no one to blame for the consequences but themselves.

I became aware of this account of a "dreamer priest", Father Rey Pineda, through a facebook friend of mine.  As I read this account, I detected no trace of him trying to rectify his status.  He went to school in Georgia and then discerned a vocation; "he felt God was calling him to be a priest but his spiritual path was blocked.  He was a dreamer".  Excuse me, but isn't part of priestly preparation to remove moral impediments from one's life?  He knew he was here in disobedience to legitimate national laws: laws that have basis in Section 2241 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Now recall the video that I mentioned in the first paragraph, and count the ways that Father Pineda actively cooperates with the sin that his parents committed:

• Consent - That is evident in the absence of any steps to correct his status.
• Defense of evil done  No where does he express regret for the flouting of U.S. law.
• Partaking as a "dreamer".  If his seminary formation was facilitated by the dream act, then his priestly formation would be an ironic act of cooperating with sin.  I hope that's not the case

Other ways that he might be cooperating with the sin of evading US immigration laws would be counsel, provocation, praise.  We cannot say "silence" is a chosen means of such cooperation, for he is quite strident in his crowing about his sin.

So his deportation would be a loss to his flock?  Really?  Who would really seek him out in the confessional, knowing he doesn't give a whit about legitimate civic law?  We Catholics are called to obedience to such laws and not only when convenient.  The sacrament itself would be efficacious since it doesn't depend on the worthiness of the minister, but his counsel might be suspect.

One troubling aspect about the hierarchy's embrace of progressive positions is that church authorities too often strike hands with politicians who foment the Culture of Death.  Father Pineda did precisely that by his partnering rabidly pro-abortion Dick Durbin.  Thanks to Pineda's own celebration of his sin, he lent to Durbin a credibility that the latter simply doesn't deserve.  By the way - this is the same Dick Durbin who questioned the Catholic faith of an Appeals Court Nominee.  Got that?  Durbin is very supportive of the Catholic faith of a potential puppet, but takes a dim view of the Catholic faith of a Trump nominee.  That's whom Pineda - this shill for illegal immigration - helped to legitimize.

Let's get back to DACA and illegal immigration in general.  If you haven't yet, please read the linked press releases of the USCCB, White House, and DHS.  If you noticed the USCCB waxing hysterical, you are quite correct.  I won't rehash it all, but the USCCB and Catholic Charities are funded by the feds.  Part of that funding has to do with the number of immigrants - including illegal - that they process.  The amount of funding is based on headcount!  Yes!  If the number of illegal immigrants in this country declines, so too does the amount of funding that the Church hierarchy receives.  Maybe the USCCB's overly-vaunted concern for "the strangers we must welcome" is not completely altruistic.

DACA as promulgated by Obama was patently unconstitutional.  Congress needs to act on this matter, and act first and foremost for the citizens whom they represent - who voted for them and who pay their salaries.