Without A Return To Catholic Tradition, Abortion Will Continue

Amidst all the discussion and controversy regarding the SSPX and the Traditional Latin Mass in general, one pro-life individual asked why there was so much focus on the difference between the Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo Mass when babies are dying.  He wondered aloud how much did the Mass form makes.  I don't remember where I saw that question or who posed it.  I would have to answer him or her that the form of Mass makes all the difference in the world, and it's way past the time that each and every Catholic pro-life person admits that truth.

Consider the Ten Commandments and in what order God gave them to Moses.  The prohibition against murder, including abortion is the Fifth Commandment.  Yet too many pro-life people carry on as though it's the First Commandment.

The First Commandment is this: "I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no strange gods before me."  (from the Douay-Rheims version, Exodus 20).  That one is to be at the forefront of our hearts and minds.  In the New Testament, Matthew 22: 33-40, we read "Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law?  Jesus said to him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.  And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."  Again, note the order - God first, then our fellow man.

In practice, often pro-lifers invert that order, be that inversion ever so inadvertent.  Such was my own mindset for far too many years. 

Many of us adopted such mindsets to facilitate working with non-Catholic pro-life people.  What we failed to consider was exactly what lay at the root of people being non-Catholic, and how those origins were directly responsible for the horrors of abortion and other sins against life.

The Protestant Revolt was a large part of that.  Consider that when Martin Luther led his revolt, a prominent defender of the Faith against Luther's heresies was none other than King Henry VIII of England.  Not too long thereafter, Henry allegedly worried about not producing a male heir to his throne.  His wife at the time was Catherine of Aragon, daughter of the Spanish king Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (who sponsored Columbus' voyage that discovered the American continents)..  Henry petitioned the pope at that time to annul his marriage, but was refused.  At that point, Henry formally broke from Rome and established the Anglican church, with him as head.

So now we have about 20,000 protestant variations or denominations (at last count), but only One True Church.  It was the Anglicans that legitimized divorce.  They struck again at their 1930 Lambeth Conference, legitimizing contraception.  Abortion was legalized in many countries earlier than the Roe v Wade ruling.  With the first "woman bishop" and then first "gay bishop", the Anglicans showed themselves to be less-than-stellar leaders.  Eventually all the major protestant denominations allowed for baby-slaughter in their doctrinal statements, with varying degrees of permissiveness.

The Catholic Church remains the one Church that opposes all abortion.  However, during Vatican II, the popes and bishops allowed her vitality to be compromised by the mutilation of the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass.  She has always held that the Mass is the sacrifice by which Our Lord offers Himself to God in an unbloody manner under the appearances of bread and wine.  That definition, by the way, is taken verbatim from Question 357 of the Baltimore Catechism.  The proceeds of the Vatican II pastoral council greatly mutated that understanding of the Mass, trying to turn it into some celebration of this, that and the other.  A primary force behind that Mass was Archbishop Annibale Bugnini.  There is well-founded belief that Bugnini was a Freemason.

I have written quite a bit about the stupefying of Holy Mass and invite you to read those posts.   In particular, please pay close attention to this one.  At the top, you'll see that two saints, both priests, are quoted as saying that civilization itself would collapse if it were not for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  Both of them offered the Latin Mass.

This brings me to a point that I believe Catholic pro-lie people need to accept.  We will NOT defeat abortion and other sins against life and family until we return to Tradition as it has always stood, not the bastardized mess that has come out of Vatican II.  Yes, I know that many changes in the Mass were not mandated by V2, but they wouldn't have happened without that jaded council.  No, I speak not only of Holy Mass, but all the Sacraments, for not one was unscathed by Vatican II.

I know this may make some of my friends uncomfortable, as they have sons who are Novus Ordo priests.  To them I say, "understand that owing to your pro-life activism, your sons already have targets on their backs.  Don't believe me?  You know how to contact me, and I will let you know what priests recently got canceled in the Archdiocese of Washington alone."  But you may well know them.

Let me also speak of another ancillary truth regarding ecumenism as found in the pro-life movement.  Many of us have worked with Protestants and others of non-Christian faiths and atheists.  No doubt these individuals are very good people and are often more zealous for life and family than are many Catholics today.  However, they still remain influenced by faulty doctrines and philosophies.  We therefore can work with them, but never under them.  We can take pointers from them regarding tactical matters, but never spiritual matters. 

A "case in point" is the Manhattan Declaration that was published in 2009.   It was the rage of all the pro-life social media pages, both Catholic and non-Catholic.  It was authored by both Catholic and non-Catholic thinkers.  We were all being urged to jump on the bandwagon for now this "new" unity would galvanize us to victory over abortion.  Many leaders glommed onto it immediately.

Others looked askance, and with good reason.

I was one of the latter.  I read the document, and at first glance, it did appear to be a comprehensive analysis of the spiritual, moral, and social ills of today.  But it didn't survive a second glance, for often, what is not said is just as important as what is said.

What was not said was that the acceptance of contraception ensconced in civil and religious thinking became the proverbial snowball on the hill that gathered both mass and momentum as it careened downward.  Indeed, I pulled it into Word and did a word search on "contraception" and found nary a peep.  That omission rendered the whole thing fatally flawed, for while it decried the sin of abortion, it erroneously condoned another, and probably more deadly, mortal sin - the use of contraceptives. That fad didn't last too long.  I believe it collapsed under the weight of its own deceit.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that the silence regarding contraception came about because of the non-Catholics who helped draft the Manhattan Declaration.  The Catholics allowed the Declaration to be published because they allowed their Catholic knowledge of the sin of contraception to be compromised for the sake of a specious consensus.

As far as worship goes, it's no secret that one key motive of the Vatican II authors of the Mass changes was to make Mass more appealing to Protestants.  But that happened by obfuscating the sacrificial nature of Holy Mass.  It was turned into some kind of communal meal instead of the sacrifice of Our Lord on the Cross.  Our Lord left instructions for how He is to be worshiped, and He left them through His Catholic Church.  After the Council of Trent (a dogmatic council as opposed to a pastoral council like Vatican II), Pope Saint Pius V issued Quo Primum (an Apostolic Constitution) that codified the Latin Mass and stated that no one was permitted to change it, under pain of divine wrath. I believe that we are experiencing that divine wrath today.

Again, I emphasize that I don't judge Protestant pro-life people.  Many of them are more solicitous for the babies than are the average Catholic in the pews.  That very zeal has led quite a few of them to convert to the One True Church.  Through their activism, they realized the shortcomings of the faith in which they were raised.  However, we too must keep those shortcomings in mind as we work alongside, never under them.  Keep them in prayer and never compromise the Truth.

Pope Leo XIV Breaks The Record For How Many Errors Can Be Crammed Into One Statement

Several weeks ago, Cardinal Blaise Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, announced his intentions to bestow upon pro-abortion and pro-gay U.S. Senator Dick Durbin a "lifetime achievement award" for his support of - you guessed it! - illegal immigrants crashing through our southern borders.  This award was supposed to have been bestowed in November  

Immediately Bishop Paprocki and Archbishop Cordileone urged Cupich to cancel that award.  Other bishops soon followed in their condemnation of that award.  In the words of Complicit Clergy, Cupich told them to "pound sand".  Of course Cupich holds the slaughter of babies to be of little importance.  Recall that as Bishop of Spokane, Cupich forbade his priests from participating in the local 40 Days for Life efforts in his diocese.

Pope Leo was asked about this Cupich-Durbin scandal.  He responded by adding his own verbal manure to the pile.  Not only does he trot out the "seamless garmet" tripe, but also slanders faithful Catholics and good pro-life people in the process.  Please watch below the jump-break.

The Cheapening And Commodification Of God's Children

In late autumn of 2022 in College Park Maryland, two women opened a late-term abortuary on Route 1, just across the street from the College Park campus of the University of Maryland.  The two gals are Diane Horvath, a long-time abortionist who was involved with a botched abortion at the now-closed Planned Parenthood facility in Silver Spring Maryland.  The other is Morgan Nuzzo, a certified nurse midwife.  Thanks to the abortion-adoring legislature in Annapolis, Nuzzo is authorized to kill babies, despite not being a physician.

Erstwhile Mayor of College Park

They are located within the bounds of the City of College Park.  So what kind of city government is down with nearly-full-term babies being butchered?  Well, I think we got a hint this past week.  The (ahem!) "recently resigned" mayor of College Park is Patrick Wojahn.  He has recently taken up residence behind bars, being held without bond as he faces multiple charges of child pornography: 40 counts of possession and 16 counts of distribution.  After his arrest, he resigned his mayoral office this past Wednesday, which I believe would be March 8.  Since he already served four terms as mayor, and several terms on the City Council prior to that, we may surmise that he was conducting his little porn business while governing the City of Collage Park.  In fact, Wikipedia states that his work email was used as a recovery email for the account on which child porn was found by investigators.

Wojahn is quite chummy with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whom he seems to hold as a mentor.  That shouldn't surprise anyone!  He received his law degree from Georgetown University.  I would opine that he neglected to pick up any Catholic morals from Georgetown, but recalled that there are probably no Catholic morals left at Georgetown anyway - but I digress!  He considers himself "married" to Dave Kolesar, a WTOP engineer.  I pray he too is being investigated.

So we see how a long-term mayor of College Park views children - as commodities to be abused and exploited.  Truly he is a kindred spirit to Horvath and Nuzzo of abortuary notoriety.  I understand that if Wojahn is convicted, that he may face 360 years in prison.  If that happens, I pray that it is without possibility of parole.  I only wish he'd take Horvath and Nuzzo with him.

"I Do Not Say Person Because This Is Debated But A Living Human Being

Did this nonsense come from Joe Biden or Nancy Pelosi?  We'd expect such distortions of logic to come from them or some other pro-abort now, wouldn't we?  Nope!  It comes from the current occupant of the chair of Peter, Francis.  This came from a recent interview that he gave to the Jesuit kitty-litter known as "America".  Please see the tweet below.

❌ @Pontifex on unborn children: "I do not say a person, because this is debated, but a living human being."

✅ CCC: "From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person..." (para. 2270). https://t.co/HmHxhwtVnd

— Matt Gaspers (@MattGaspers) November 28, 2022

In past years, I never could understand how the bishops could be so spineless when it came to making a stand for innocent human life and rebuking pro-aborts in their midst.  I thought they were just being weak and/or currying political and financial favors.  Then their masks started sliding off and I realized that many if not most of the bishops are just as pro-abortion as Biden, Pelosi, Ted Kennedy et al.  I now believe that Francis just tipped his hand in that regard - if he bothers to hide his cards in the first place.

We simply must stop blindly taking this man's prattling as though it were God's word, lest we find our souls in danger.

Apostate Clerics Share Blame For Mass Murders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maryland House Bill 1171 Just Passed The House Today

Last month I sounded an alert regarding Maryland House Bill 1171, a proposed amendment to the State Constitution to enshrine abortion as a "right".  Today it passed the House and now moves to the State Senate.  I understand that because it is framed as a constitutional amendment, that it will bypass Governor Hogan altogether if passed and will be placed on the ballot for popular vote.

Please work and pray that this bill dies in the Senate.  If it passes, we will have quite a battle on our hands to get Maryland voters to reject the amendment.  We, as a state, stand to have more blood on our hands and will probably see an influx of abortionists to set up their murdering establishments.

By the way, SB 669, the legalization of post-birth infanticide, is also in the works.  We'll watch that too.

Maryland Citizens! Call For Immediate Action!

Almost two months ago, I touched upon Maryland's abortion fight in 1991 and 1992 with bill SB 162.  As horrendous as that law is, it is still merely a law, vulnerable to court action.

No doubt the pro-aborts in Annapolis see some "writing on the wall" as far as the Dobbs case goes, for now they are attempting to enshrine Senate Bill 162 into the Maryland State Constitution via amendment.  The vehicle is House Bill 1171 to create a Maryland constitutional "right" to fully-funded abortion on demand.  The State of Maryland's information on the bill is here, along with the text of HB 1171.

Hearings on the bill are scheduled to commence Tuesday February 22.  We need to stop this now, lest abortion become irrevocably enshrined in Maryland's constitution.  Maryland Right to Life has an action page that goes into the bill; on the right side is a letter-writer.  Send your letters AND call your representatives.

The Men's March Against Abortion - Now What Follows?

It happened in Washington DC this past weekend.  Given that the event was put together with relatively short notice, I understand that the attendance was quite respectable.  LifeSiteNews covered it and I now link to their post.

But this was one day.  What about the rest of the year?  I haven't found any talks that hint of any follow-up, so I pray that these men will go back home with concrete plans to bring about a culture of life in their own localities.  As the saying goes, "think globally, act locally."   One rally, by itself, will NOT suffice to protect babies and restore Godliness to western civilization.  It will require regular, disciplined prayer and action throughout the year.  That is where the rubber will really hit the road.

Proof That Abortion Is Linked To Satanism

Many of us have been discussing the links between satanism and abortion.  Quite often we have been mocked by pro-abortion activists as conspiracy nuts for so doing.  Well, here is irrefutable proof, from the horse's own mouth, so to speak. 

Governor Abbott of Texas recently signed a bill requiring a sonogram before an abortion.  A satanic temple has filed suit against Texas, claiming that this bill impedes a "religious abortion ritual".  It is not every day that I link to a satanic site, but they are quite up front about this lawsuit, and more importantly, the role that abortion plays in their worship of the devil.  All this serves to underscore why baby-slaughter must be eradicated and pro-abortionists - including those in Catholic church hierarchy - must be defeated.

I learned of this suit from this week's episode of the Inner Circle from Lepanto Institute - lots of good information therein.

On This Eve Of St Patrick's Day

Last weekend when I walked into the grocery store, I saw green bagels.  For a moment, I thought they had gone bad and wondered how the management could have let them be put on display.  Then I looked around and saw balloons with shamrocks on them and realized that the bagels had simply been dyed a sickening green in light of March 17.  I almost said that they were dyed green to honor St Patrick's day, but I realized that honoring the patron saint of Ireland and the Faith for which he labored was most likely the last thing on their minds.

A few years back I published this post, lamenting the trivialization of St Patrick and his feast day.  Please read it.  Now for an account of Catholics truly honoring St. Patrick.

I am happy to relay this story to you from LifeSiteNews, regarding the street activism of Catholics in Ireland who are protesting that country's ridiculous shutdowns.  We know that in recent years, Ireland as a nation has abandoned the One True Faith.  These Catholics will speak for the Faith on March 17 as they protest both the lockdowns and the government's embrace of baby-slaughter. 

Pray for our fellow Catholics in Ireland, that this protest be instrumental in turning that country around.  Moreover, let us take opportunities to speak the truth in our own communities.

Soon-To-Be Cardinal Gregory: Focus On "Full Panoply Of The Church's Social Teachings"

This interview that Gregory gave demonstrates that he intends to follow in the steps of Cupich, Farrell, Joseph Tobin and other progressives as they promote the now-debunked "seamless-garment" crap of the late Cardinal Bernardin.  Gregory is quite unabashed and blatant here.  

• He wants to "broaden the concept of pro-life" so that "other pressing issues might be on a par with the ongoing slaughter of 3500+ babies daily in this country.
• He commented on the language of the USCCB's voting guide that called abortion "our preeminent priority".  He said that language "could benefit from rephrasing".
• He wants to include the "history of black Catholics in the US" as part of Catholic school curriculum.  I wonder when he plans to include modules on "history of Irish Catholics" or "Italian Catholics"?  But I digress
• He commented on recent firings of openly "gay-married" employees of Catholic institutions by saying "it's not a one-size-fits-all situation".  So when is the retention of a flagrantly disobedient Catholic not a scandal?
• He said that LGBT individuals should be treated with respect.  That is true enough as they are made in the image and likeness of God.  But one could wonder what Gregory meant by "respect" given his overly-cozy relationship with Fortunate Families.

Of course he bad-mouthed Father James Altman for having the chutzpah of acting and speaking as an actual priest of Jesus Christ and proclaiming the truth.  He called Altman's remarks "egregious and unhelpful" and that Catholics should base voting on "the full panoply of the church's social teaching".  I remind his excellency that the true social teaching of the Church is to be found in Father Altman's words, not his progressive interpretation of it.  Now Gregory had to know whom he was defending in that remark.  He is responsible for leading souls astray and into formal cooperation with Biden's own support of baby-slaughter.

One can only suspect for whom he voted this past Tuesday.  Let us keep praying that the various voting frauds come to light and that Trump claims his rightful victory.

Corona Highlighting Need For Repentance

I urge one and all to listen to this.  I do have a few comments.

First, he is correct about the need to vote pro-life.  However, elections only happen every few years.  We need to be engaged between elections as well.  An excellent way is to be in front of abortion mills praying and/or offering assistance to women on a regular, committed basis.

Second, there is the issue of sodomy.  Both abortion and sodomy "cry out to heaven for vengeance" and both stem from the wanton disregard for Christ's teachings regarding marriage, sexuality, life, family - particularly those found in Casti Connubi and Humanae Vitae.  Our Lady of Fatima told the children that most people go to hell because of sins of the flesh and that the final battle between God and Satan will revolve around the family.

Right now, the Church's response to the covid matter has been abysmal.  At a time when we need more prayer, more Sacraments, the leadership has by and large cut off the faithful from the Sacraments.  They cite the need to attend to physical health, but fail to prioritize spiritual health over the physical.

In addition to the courses of action recommended by Terry, we must also stand against the encroaching tyranny directly.  While the tyranny might be being allowed by God, still the tyranny remains an intrinsic evil.  That cannot be passively accepted anymore than other evils.

Too Good To Be True

My post from Tuesday, regarding the closing of Maryland abortuaries, was based on information that has now been shown to be faulty.  Of course we expected more violations than compliance, but I was rejoicing that Maryland might have banned abortions officially.   Such is not to be.  Maryland can shutter churches, close legitimate businesses, but still let the blood of innocent children flow.  It is for sins such as this that our world is undergoing the punishment from God that is now our common experience.

Several other states, though, have banned abortions as "non-essential procedures".  I hope more states are added to that list before this cornona curse is lifted.

Progressives Believe That Billionaires And Babies Should Not Exist

As most of you know, I live in the liberal loony bin known as Montgomery County, MD.  It is quite common around here to see cars with bumper strips that tout allegiance to some progressive demigogue-wannabe, such as Bernie Sanders.  That is what you see to the left.  But notice that there are two strips.  I couldn't read the lower left of the one on the right side of the car, but I believe that originated from the Sanders campaign as well as the other.  You can click on it and it should open in a new window.  Then you can expand the picture.  It says "Billionaires should not exist".  Can't you just feel the loovvvee?  The "tolerance"??  Can Sanders be a tad envious of billionaires?  After all, he himself is only worth a paltry two million dollars.  I don't know about you, but I think I could struggle by on a mere $2M, but I digress.  I was going to ask why didn't he say "millionaires should not exist" but I suppose I answered my own question.

What do they propose to do with any hapless billionaire that should cross their paths?  Rob him/her of his/her wealth on the spot?  Or perhaps they have some sort of Hitler-esque "final solution" in mind for these souls who dare to be wealthier than Sanders himself?

One class of individuals whom Sanders and indeed the whole gamut of Democratic presidential candidates would consign to the final solution is unborn children.  Maryland, being cursed with progressives in Annapolis and weak or even complicit bishops in chanceries, is a mecca for child killers.  Not only is Leroy Carhart permitted to continue his slaughter business in Bethesda, but apparently unlicensed abortionists are allowed to slaughter babies while civil officials look the other way.

We had long been aware that Delhi Thweatt was a threat to women as well as their children.  Operation Rescue has recently learned that his licence expired over three months ago, yet he still does his butchery at the mill in Hagerstown MD.  On the OR sight is a video of a city council meeting where Christians try to point out this mess and ask for correction.  Somehow I had hoped that Washington County had more sense of decency and responsibility than Montgomery County, but alas, I appear to be mistaken.

We have our work cut out for us.  We must continue to pray the Rosary, as Our Lady requested.  We must also work to take back our culture from the dung heap.

School Shootings And The Church

The article posted below is the work of Jim Fritz, a colleague of mine in the Catholic Media Coalition.

It was February 15^th and I was driving down to the abortion clinic in Hagerstown, Maryland, where, at the request of a friend, I had started a sidewalk counseling group some 11 years ago. We have a good group now, working two days a week. Since we started, the number of women going into the clinic has been cut in half, and the clinic  business has dropped from three days to two days a week.

              While driving to Hagerstown I listened to our local Catholic radio station. The host was interviewing a Monsignor, who is the president of a Catholic college. They were talking about the school massacre the day before in Florida.  Seventeen people were killed by a mentally deranged young man. He did not have living parents and he had an interest in automatic weapons. He legally owned the weapon he used in the school shooting.

              The Monsignor did not dwell upon it, but he did discuss gun control. This has been the routine with every school shooting.  I thought this was interesting because, when I was a boy, almost everyone owned and used guns, but there were never any school shootings. We used guns to hunt as we needed the food. This was in the 1930’s. Once in a while one would hear about a single shooting during a quarrel in a business and even at a government organization, but this was very unusual.

              But what has changed? We do not have more guns per citizen -- maybe even less per citizen. The Monsignor and others become too focused upon the weapon used and not the real cause of the problem. All of these assassins appear to have mental problems and would have committed some mass killing even if they used another means such as fire, which would be even more deadly.

              Let’s look at the real problem. What has changed in the past 100 years? In my time I grew up in the depression and then World War ll.  One change has been the percentage of people receiving money from the government and providing nothing in return. During the depression people were at least required to work for the Work Project Administration (WPA), the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) or some such group to receive income. Now we have a record number on welfare, giving nothing in return for money and food stamps, and the clergy is advocating for an increase.

Another change, which the Monsignor should be aware of, has been absence of God in our culture and in our families. There has been a huge decrease in the percentage of people attending church services. He did not mention this. What has caused this decrease and what does he and other clergy suggest we do about it?

Other changes have been the TV, radio, print media, movies and communication devices/methods such as smartphones and Facebook. These have had a tremendous effect on the younger generation. An even greater change since the days of no school shootings has been the legalization of both abortion and assisted suicide. Both of these legalizations of death have had a tremendous impact on the devaluation of human life.

What else to look at? What about the fact we have taken God out of school? We do not teach or give humanity dignity by teaching we are made in the image and likeness of God and that human life is therefore precious. Kids in the public school system have been taught about abortion. They are taught it is perfectly acceptable for a female to deliberately choose to kill her own baby in her own body for any reason whatsoever. Some girls still in school have already aborted their babies and in some cases, the schools have helped them do it. They are taught euthanasia is merciful. And the list goes on and on. Our schools are a problem. NBC asked a student who was in the Florida school during the shooting if guns should be banned. He answered, ”I think it has to do with mental health though. If he’s been expelled three different times, from three different schools, I think he should (have been) helped out.”

The problem needs to be more intelligently analyzed. If we do nothing we will continue to have mass killings. Even if guns are totally banned, a different, and probably worse method will be used.

Getting back to my trip to Hagerstown, I started thinking about the past week when, coincidently, we had the same number of babies, 17, killed in the Hagerstown Abortion Facility as were killed in the school mass shooting. I thought if I were at Mass, instead of driving to the facility, I would surely hear about the mass shooting of 17 students, but I would not hear anything about the estimated 2,800 babies killed by paid abortionists on that very same day and every other day of the year. Why is this? Why do we have Catholic politicians voting to continue supporting abortion in the United States? Why do we have Catholic politicians using taxpayer money to support the abortion business? Is this lack of respect for human life a part of the cause for school massacres? It surely must be.  If our own government actually subsidizes the organizations which kill human beings which should be safe in their mother’s wombs, how can it help but reduce the respect for any human life? Some mentally challenged teenagers are going to think it is ok for them to choose to kill.

The clergy seem to be pre-occupied with justifying the vagaries of the cocaine- addicted homosexuals in the Vatican and Venezuela, fornicating in self-defense, adultery for the sake of the children, fighting a non-existent climate change, etc. rather than doing something about the disintegration of families and respect for God as our Savior. Our Church is becoming more and more irrelevant in guiding us in accordance with what Jesus Christ taught.

I challenge our clergy to do much more to teach our faith and to keep members in the Church. This includes not doing things to drive them out of the Church. We do not need to accept those unfaithful such as homosexuals, who Jesus would reject. We do not need to retain unfaithful clergy, for example, pedophiles, who should be ejected from the Church. We do not need modernist clergy to weaken Jesus’s teaching so it is easier for us to understand. We need clergy to do more and ask more of us.

Jesus did not ask us to spend an hour a week in the temple. He asked much, much more of our clergy and of us. He expects us to take on challenges even though they may be unpopular and he asked us to fight to the death for our faith.   

A New Name For The Pontifical Academy For Life

Let's call it by something more accurate.  How about "Pontifical Acrimony Against Life"?  I believe that describes the mindsets of those who now infest that once-useful organization.  See these posts for more background: this, this, this, this.

Now we see that a Jewish rabbi who sits on that council has claimed that Scripture allows for abortion in the cases of:

• Life of mother being endangered
• Anencephaly or other poor fetal diagnosis
• Rape

Why, oh why, is a Jewish rabbi sitting on a council that is intended to inform Catholic thought?  What are his "stellar" qualifications?  Absolutely none, as he has made clear.

He has committed blasphemy by insinuating that God's word permits murder.  Given the make-up of this pontificate, it is safe to assume that Rabbi Szlajen will retain the council seat that should never have been given to him.  How on earth can fidelity to Catholic teaching be expected from someone who does not accept the fullness of Catholic faith and doctrine?  The linked article briefly touches upon the pro-death leanings of other members of the newly-warped Academy.  Their teachings are false and are spiritually poisonous.

We must now be wary of anything that proceeds from the Vatican while continuing to pray and speak out for Jesus Christ and His Teachings.

Msgr John Enzler - Making Allowances For Some Abortions?

Msgr John Enzler is CEO of Catholic Charities.  He's a former pastor of Blessed Sacrament parish in Washington DC (Chevy Chase neighborhood).  He writes regularly for Our Parish Times.

Unfortunately his leanings are quite progressive.  We've had occasion to comment on the evidence in the past.  In this latest issue of Our Parish Times he wrote a column entitled "Celebrating Life, Equality and Education".  Regrettably it is much worse than the usual progressive screed.  Please go to page 16 of that pdf.  In one paragraph he wrote glowingly of the March for Life.  However, he started the next paragraph by saying "I take a pastoral view of this issue".  Uh-oh!  There's that word "pastoral"!  We know now that it has ominous undertones, thanks to the way Pope Francis has used that word to camouflage all sorts of dissidence and heresy.  Msgr Enzler merely followed suit.  Here is the rest of Enzler's "pastoral view".  To wit: "Let’s start by admitting it’s wrong and admitting that abortion is in fact taking the life of an innocent baby. At the same time, let us as a Church be welcoming to all who may be considering or have had abortions. We don’t condone it, but we need to meet them where they are, recognizing that people are forced to make decisions in all kinds of circumstances. While we don’t agree with the decision, they still need to be welcomed and loved in our Church as part of God’s family."  Shall we unpack all this "pastoral" double-talk?

Let's do this "bullet style".

• The phrase "at the same time" sets the stage for the treatment of a pro-abortion mentality as being equivalent to reverence for life.
• "we don't condone it, but we need to meet them where they are"  It sounds nice, but "where they are" is literally hell-bound.  Where is the acknowledgment that the Church must immediately call such people away from abortion to immediate repentance?
• "people are forced to make decisions" Wrong.  No amount of "force" can ever justify a choice for an intrinsically grave evil such as abortion.  Enzler doesn't acknowledge that those "decisions" are impermissible.  What does that say about his own beliefs regarding abortion?
• "while we don't agree with the decision" It's not a mere difference of opinion.  Abortion is a mortal sin against God's commands.  Where is the truly pastoral concern?  Where are the Spiritual Works of Rebuking the Sinner, Instructing the Ignorant?
• "they still need to be welcomed" If one has committed the sin of abortion, they will find this welcome as they enter the confessional and confess this (and all other) mortal sin.  No other "welcome" will do.

If the topic of Enzler's article was "racism" as opposed to "abortion", would he be evincing such moral relativism?  Of course not!  But consider what was written of him in my previous posts.  We see that at the very best, he is less concerned about the murders of 3500 babies daily than he is about amnesty for border-crashers, etc.  Of course there are big bucks to be had from the latter.  The tiny babies?  Not so much!

I've been blogging on such mess for several years now.  Still I find it difficult to believe that a Catholic priest could vomit forth such pablum.  Consider that he's CEO of Catholic Charities.  Does he occupy this position despite his position - or because of it?  I suspect the latter.  This, and other problems with Catholic Charities, makes it an organization not worthy of one penny from faithful Catholics.

Excellent Homily On Humanae Vitae

The Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary have on their website various pages that link to homilies of certain priests.  One of those priests is Fr. Joseph Rogers, pastor of St. John Neumann Church in Gaithersburg MD - my parish.  I was unable to attend Mass two Sundays ago.  On that Sunday (16th Week of Ordinary Time) he gave a homily on Humanae Vitae.  I link to it now.

I'd urge you to both download it and listen to it.  It is an excellent homily, especially in light of the fact that we hear so little of that pivotal encyclical.  Pray that more priests would speak clearly of this most crucial matter, for the salvation of souls.

Dissident Sr Helen Prejean In The Catholic Standard

Sister Helen Prejean, author of "Dead Man Walking" (a tome against capital punishment) was featured in the February 23rd issue of the Catholic Standard.  This particular piece is only found in the paper edition, not online.

Apparently her book was made into an opera and she gave a presentation on it at the Washington National Cathedral.  This presentation that included a panel of leaders of various religions was sponsored by "Catholic Mobilization Network To End The Death Penalty".  Isn't that a mouthful?  While we can be grateful that this gabfest didn't occur in a Catholic facility, we can wonder why the Standard staff saw fit to devote an entire page to it.

Sister claims to be opposed to abortion, but other problems abound as evidenced here.  At the 2008 Democratic Interfaith Gathering, she said “And in the Christian tradition, there are those who say God allowed or even willed his own son, Jesus, to be sacrificed and killed on the cross in payment for our sins!  And when we kill criminals we have chaplains in death houses!  And when we kill criminals for their crimes God accepts their death in payment for their sins so they can go to heaven!  What kind of god do we believe in?!  What kind of father would demand the death of a son?  Is this a god?  Or is it an ogre, a monster, created by our own violent impulses?  We project so this is God who wants vengeance, like we want vengeance.  Truly there are contradictory images of God in the Bible.  On which one will we model our lives?"  She blasphemed against God the Father and the Crucifixion.

She "officiated" at the wedding of Susan Sarandon's daughter.  Only clergy do that.  Does this point to dissidence regarding women and the priesthood?  It would appear so.  She also seems to condone the normalization of homosexual perversions in society.  I state all of this to demonstrate that Sister Helen Prejean has not one shred of credibility whatsoever to lecture Catholics on anything, let alone moral issues.

Several years ago, Judie Brown of American Life League touched upon Sister's seeming indifference to the murders of tiny children.  There does seem to be a lack of proportion in Sister's mind when it comes to the importance of both abortion and capital punishment in comparison to each other.  I've blogged about the matter in the past and now link to those posts.  In the first post in that anthology, I highlighted some statistics showing that for every convicted criminal executed there were 42,000 babies legally murdered.  In the third post I pointed out that the effort to eliminate all capital punishment might well be an act of disobedience to God Himself for it was He who charged civil governments with that responsibility.

Some might be understandably befuddled as to why so many of those who seek to abolish capital punishment actually applaud the murders of tiny infants.  I was among that number until the answer dawned upon me almost instantaneously.  The repugnance that pro-aborts feel towards capital punishment actually stems from both guilt and fear.  In a saner time, these same pro-aborts, precisely because of their support, if not cooperation with and even commission of the crime of baby-murder, would themselves be eligible for the death penalty.  As it is, they are in grave danger of damnation unless they repent.

What I still fail to understand is how any reliable Catholic news outlet could devote an entire page of newsprint to someone who deviates from Catholc morality.  This article is just the latest example of why the Catholic Standard connot be considered a reliable Catholic news source.  Regrettably we'll see new reasons in the not-too-distant future.

To End Abortion, We Must Eradicate Contraception

From ChurchMilitant.com we have an excellent program today detailing how contraception and abortion are inextricably intertwined.  In the first few minutes, they briefly skim over the history of contraception just prior to that dismal 1930 Lambeth Conference.  For a more in depth treatise of contraception and eugenics in the United States, I'd suggest watching Maafa 21.  I'll post that video below the Church Militant one.

Around the 14:00 mark, Christine Niles states what should be an obvious point: that without contraception there would be no abortion, yet pro-lifers won't discuss it.  Indeed, many pro-lifers actually support contraception, a completely nonsensical stance.  The usage of contraception stems from the same anti-life mentality as does abortion.  My blogging colleague at Les Femmes asks why we don't march on June 7, the anniversary of the Griswold v Connecticut ruling that unleashed contraception on America.  That's a good question.  We should also ask why the bishops will not allow their priests to preach on its evils.