Pax Christi - Wolf In Sheep's Clothing Coming To Montgomery County Parish

Here is more key data on Pax Christi USA, the spiritual predator that is being granted admittance to St Francis of Assisi Church in Derwood MD this coming Wednesday.

My Catholic Media Coalition colleague Stephanie Block wrote an article on Pax Christi USA in her newsletter Los Pequenos.  I link to the archive here; you'll need to go to page 14 of the pdf.  As usual, Stephanie has done thorough research.  For the rest of this piece I'll refer to Pax Christi USA as "PCUSA".

PCUSA is also linked to many dissident organizations.  From the program of their recent national conference we see that they allowed New Ways Ministry to be a vendor at their conference.  New Ways Ministry is solely dedicated to advancing the acceptance of sexual perversion by the Catholic Church.  Its founders have been censured by the DC bishops throughout the years (being headquartered in Prince George's County MD, within the Archdiocese of Washington).  To further document Pax Christi's own embrace of perversion, please review this page of photos from that same conference; about halfway down the page you'll see their slide projection stating quite openly that "if PC-USA is to remain relevant and on the frontier as a Catholic movement of peace-making with justice, it must intentionally welcome people of all gender identities and sexual orientations."

In August 2012 the fight over the HHS mandate was getting underway as various dioceses and Catholic organizations filed their suits in court.  A naive person might have believed that Pax Christi might have stood for religious freedom, respect for conscience, etc.  Well, think again!  When the Diocese of Erie (PA) filed its suit, four of the so-called "Catholic social justice" groups filed friend-of-the-court briefs siding with the Obama regime!  Two of them were Pax Christi (Pittsburgh area) and Call to Action.  Their reasoning?  They themselves dissent from Church teaching on contraception - pure and simple.

As the astute reader of this blog and others may have noticed, many of these progressive groups can be intertwined in lots of coalitions.  Pax Christi and Call to Action are both to be found in something called "Catholic Organizations for Renewal".  While the latter does not have a national website, some sites do exist and can be quite informative.  Take, for instance, this site in which its congratulations to Pope Francis on his selection as Pontiff is seen.  The various organizations - including Pax Christi - voice their "hopes" for Francis's pontificate.  Those "hopes" include "women's ordination", gay "rights" and unrestricted abortion.

Amnesty For Illegal Aliens Makes For Strange Bedfellows In Catholic Circles.

Let's take a look at Pax Christi.  We haven't done so in a while but in Montgomery County MD behooves us to do so.  They put on a nice pacifist front and they claim to be Catholic, but underneath that nice sanctimonious image they project lies an organization that is at odds with the Church on several key matters of faith and morals.

Over the years Pax Christi has cropped up like kudzu.  See some basic information here.   I won't rehash everything, but will highlight some key points.

• Two of its former presidents, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton and Bishop Gambino Zavala.  Both these prelates were forced to resign.  No, I don't mean just resign from Pax Christi; I mean resign from their posts as bishops, both for grievous causes.
• Three years ago, I blogged on the American Catholic Council, an organization thoroughly steeped in the heresy of Americanism.  At that time the ACC linked to member organizations, including Pax Christi.  Well, bust my britches, that link has disappeared!  Why, oh why, do you think that happened?   Hmmm!
• Discover the Networks has much information about Pax Christi and its sordid networks.

That's enough information for now - certainly enough to understand why the flyer below, inserted in yesterday's parish bulletin, caught my eye.

Let's ponder the subject matter of the flyer.  It regards immigration: illegal immigration to be precise.  Now let's think for a minute.  No Catholic in their right mind has any problem with immigration per se.  Most of us are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants.  So why the perceived need for all this "discussion"?  Ladies and gentlemen, in a very circuitous fashion these progressives are trying to get us to acquiesce to blanket amnesty for those who imperiously break our laws.  Of course they dare not say so openly, lest their disingenuous thought-reform gambits be laid bare for all to see.

I've been blogging a bit about this misguided effort to reward those who disobey our laws; see a montage of these posts here.  Please notice the June 22 post, where I quote Section 2241 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  The Catechism states that host nations should welcome immigrants to the extent that they are able.  Who determines that "extent"?  This question alone makes plain that the debate regarding the immigration matter falls within the realm of prudential judgment.  That is to say that good Catholics can have legitimate differences of opinions regarding the various facets of the immigration question.  There is no one "Catholic position" on this matter.  Moreover, Pope Benedict XVI reiterated that national bishops' conferences have no inherent authority per canon law.  For the USCCB to state that there is a "Catholic position" here is flat out presumptuous, if not downright deceitful.

That section of the Catechism states quite plainly that the immigrants have a duty to abide by the laws of their host countries and to recognize their "duties to their countries of adoption".  In other words, they should expect no consideration above and beyond that experienced by other citizens.  Some in the "immigrant rights" movement have trouble with the concept of "equal justice".  One such individual might be Salvador G. Sarmiento, one of the speakers; at least he demonstrated such trouble in a situation regarding his wife's traffic violations.

One hazard of the bishops flirting with pet causes of progressives is that they engage in unseemly partnerships with organizations that are at clear variance with Church teachings, sometimes to the point of dissent and disobedience.  In this flyer we see (yet again) another incongruous alliance, this time with Pax Christi.  It's quite likely that Pax Christi won't trot out their gripes with the Magisterium at St. Francis' on Oct 30th.  However, in this partnership, the Church is lending to Pax Christi - as an organization - credibility that it just doesn't deserve.

It is this alliance with Pax Christi that renders the upcoming "discussion" utterly unacceptable.  I am exploring the feasibility of a picket of this event.  I will keep you posted.

Why Pax Christi Is A Pox

(HT - Pewsitter)

The Not-At-All Catholic Reporter interviewed Rosemarie Pace, director of Pax Christi of Metropolitan New York.  In the interview she let loose with her heretical notions of Who God is (halfway down the article).  When asked how her image of God has changed and why, she answers, "Another way I conceive of God is Spirit, more than Father/Mother or Son/Daughter...I used to think of God as more of a person to whom to turn with requests and praise and thanks..Praying to God as if God were a separate entity is a fallacy.."

As you were reading it, didn't "may the force be with you" sound in your mind?  She is basically saying that God is not a Person, but rather some pantheistic energy field (for lack of better term).

Let's go to the Baltimore Catechism to answer the question, "Who is God?"  Answer: "God is the Supreme Being, infintely perfect, who made all things and keeps them in existence".  We also know (from questions 25-30 of the Baltimore Catechism) that there are three distinct Persons in God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  I won't go into a whole lesson here.  Suffice it to say that Pace is flat out wrong when she opines that God is not a "separate entity" but rather some force or energy that has been mishmashed into creation.  Such is the warped spirituality of a Pax Christi official.

Further down, when asked what distresses her about contemporary Catholicism, she replies, "Unfortunately, the Catholic church is known worldwide for its positions on sexual matters like abortion, contraception, same-sex marriage, and the child abuse scandal. It's not known nearly as well for its far more important mission-related positions on war and peace, torture, nuclear weapons, death penalty, immigration, poverty, climate change, and so forth, what we know as Catholic social teaching."

In terms of the teachings of Jesus Christ as found in Church tradition, she has things precisely ass-backwards.  She dares to insinuate that the progressive talking points are "far more important mission-related positions" than is opposition to the slaughter of millions of pre-born children or the abuse of our procreative powers.  Her priorities - and those of Pax Christi - are completely backwards if not antithetical to true Christian charity.

Now go back to the beginning of the article, when she is asked about challenges facing Pax Christi, she replies (in part), "Because we're Catholic, there are those who have a preconceived notion about us. They may expect us to be focused on issues that are too conservative.."

?!?!?!?!!

Eeeek.  The horror.  To be considered "too conservative".  Well, I'd like Ms. Pace to rest assured that most thinking individuals don't believe that Pax Christi is conservative to any degree.  Considering the interview, especially the points I outlined above, some of us doubt its claim to be Catholic.

Pax Christi At Burtonsville Catholic Church - Community Organizing

Here's the announcement from a newsletter that I receive:

Fund our Communities.  Presentation and discussion on ways the U.S. military budget can be cut to free up money for community needs.  Tuesday, May 17.  7:30 p.m.  Parish Life Center Room 210, Church of the Resurrection, 3315 Greencastle Rd, Burtonsville, MD 20866. Sponsored by Pax Christi Burtonsville.

Here's a little background information on Pax Christi.  Its founding president is Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, formerly the Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Detroit.  Yes, he's that one!  He's the gay-activist bishop that Rome had to force to resign.  He certainly is idolized by the left.

Its current president is Bishop Gambino Zavala, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.  I noted almost a year ago that he doesn't like blogs such as this.  Read why.  I suggest you read the entire post, and watch the clips of Bishop Zavala turning a Mass into an abysmal circus.

Bishop Zavala is also co-president of the board of Interfaith Worker Justice, an organization founding on Alinskyan principles.  Another director of that group is Tom Chabolla.  Where have we heard that name before?  Well, plenty on this blog.  He is a special assistant to the president of the SEIU - you know, the thugs that sent 500 people to stampede all over a bank official's front porch last summer?

So now that we have an idea of the dissidents who've been shaping Pax Christi's goals throughout the years, the above announcement comes as no surprise.  Read their website and see that they are big on dismantling national defense.  Ladies and gentlemen, the pacifism they promote is not in conformity with Catholic social teaching - the teaching that does recognize that a state has an obligation to defend its citzens against unjust aggression.  Whatever one might think of current military engagements, there is no justification for the gutting of the military. 

Now as far as "funding the communities" goes, upon whon does that onus lay?  Hint!  Remember the principle of subsidiarity?  If you don't, that's no surprise, as the progressive, big-government lovers don't want you to consider this basic tenet of Catholic social teaching.  As we saw Friday, even the USCCB would like to sweep that under the rug.  Answer to the question?  It's not with the Federal government, as is implied in the announcement; it's with us Catholics in the pews.

To those of you at the Church of the Resurrection, please ask your pastor why this is being allowed on Church property.  By the way - I looked on your parish website.  Under "social justice" I see Pax Christi, Just Faith - but I see no pro-life committee!  Why is that???

The Pax Christi Event At St Francis Of Assisi This Evening

If you attended that event in Derwood Maryland and are visiting this site, no doubt you are doing so because this was left on your car.  The only difference between this online version and the paper flyer is that the hyperlinks are indeed "clickable".  I strongly urge you to study those links.  Please note that two of them are links to Pax Christi's own site.  The evidence of Pax Christi's dissent from Christ's teachings don't get any more "first-hand" than that!

I contend that any debatable benefit that you might have gleaned from this evening's event is far outweighed by the harm wrought by lending Pax Christi your audience and a moral credibility that it simply doesn't deserve.  I've no doubt that many people are genuinely unaware of Pax Christi's desire to undermine Church teaching in fundamental matters of faith and morals.  For any new awareness that has come about, I am thankful.

Help Stop A Travesty At Gonzaga Church In DC Next Weekend

Thanks to my colleague "A Washington DC Catholic", I learned of the planned retreat next Saturday, March 3, at St Aloysius Gonzaga Church.  It's to be conducted by heterodox Bishop Thomas Gumbleton and is sponsored by Pax Christi.  I found nary a peep of this on any of the Gonzaga pages - but the Pax Christi site announces it.

Below is the open email that I just sent to Father Clifford, Gonzaga's pastor.  I copied the Washington Archdiocesan Chancery.  Given Bishop Gumbleton's past practices, it's quite possible that the Chancery was never received notification, let alone request for permission.  Still, they need to be made aware of this and we need to urge them to take corrective action, should Father Clifford not see fit to do so.  Father Clifford's email address is tclifford@gonzaga.org and the chancery can be reached at chancery@adw.org.   Now the email, entitled "Please cancel Bishop Gumbleton's appearance at your church next weekend."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Father, it is with deep concern that we write to you with the above-cited request.  We only learned of it less than two days ago from the website of Pax Christi (see http://www.paxchristimetrodc.org/2012/02/12/retreat-with-bishop-gumbleton-march-3/).  His reckless disdain of the Magisterium's positions regarding women's "ordination" and gay "rights" are well-known.  How someone with so little regard for the truth can be deemed worthy of giving a retreat to the parishioners in your charge is beyond me.

As you can see, I am copying the Archdiocese of Washington's Chancery regarding this.  There has been an unfortunate pattern of Bishop Gumbleton entering another diocese to speak without giving the host bishop the courtesy of due notice.  Such happened a little less than two years ago when Bishop Alexander Samples had to publicly disinvite him from coming into the Diocese of Marquette (see http://www.dioceseofmarquette.org/upcarticle.asp?upcID=2123).  Just several months ago, a similar situation occurred when Bishop Gumbleton issued statements favoring the unions in the Wisconsin tulmult.  The local bishop, Robert Morlino, was forced to issue his clarifying statement (see http://ncronline.org/news/justice/wisconsin-exposes-bishops-split-unions).

Having now been made aware of Bishop Gumbleton's troubling pattern of spreading heterodoxy whenever and whereever he deems fit, won't you please do the proper thing and rescind that invitation?  Else the DC Chancery may face that unpleasant task.  Should his appearance go on as currently scheduled, there may well be a presense of some of our number to uphold the Majesterium of the Church.

Please be advised that this letter will be made open on the blog http://restore-dc-catholicism.blogspot.com.  Any responses - or lack thereof - will likewise be posted.  Thank you for your immediate attention to this crucial matter.


(end email)

Another Reasone Why the Underhanded Syndicate of Corrupt Communist Bishops Must Be Defunded

A few days ago, Donna Toliver Grimes, an official at the United States Conferenc of Catholic bishops, waxed lyrical about the selection of Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for Vice President.  She thinks that Harris will benefit marginalized people.  Obviously Grimes is not thinking of the millions of babies slaughtered via abortion, that Harris loudly applauds.  Some good people are stating that Grimes should be fired for these remarks.   Be that ever so true, Grimes simply demonstrated that she fits right in with the progressives who skulk about the halls of the USCCB.

Let's take a look at Ms. Grimes history, shall we?  Open Secrets details her donations in 2008 to Obama's presidential campaign.  Eight years ago, she gave an interview to a Pax Christi publication, wherein she mentioned that she herself was on Pax Christi's national council, and in that capacity worked with Just Faith.  I have written about Pax Christi and Just Faith many times in the past.  Protestations of being "pro-life" aside, she has allied herself with progressive, anti-life forces for many years.  One might wonder how these facts escaped the scrutiny of the USCCB as they allowed her to take a position of influence.  I believe the USCCB is well aware of her proclivities, and far from finding them at odds with their standards, they believe her to be well-suited to their own mindsets and goals.  The powers-that-be in the USCCB embrace her dissidence because they themselves are dissidents.

If you are still contributing to your parishes, please make sure you are doing so in a way that no portion of your donations goes to the diocese.  Just as parishes are assessed by the dioceses, so too are the dioceses assessed by the USCCB.  They deserve not one red cent of your money.

"Just Faith" = Junk Faith

In my post this past Thursday regarding the "environmental events" in the Archdiocese of Washington, you noticed that Just Faith has a hand in all this nonsense.  In conjunction with this post regarding Just Faith, I'd suggest you review the posts about "progressives" - particularly the Real Catholic videos regarding the same.  The characteristics of progressives can all be found in the Just Faith program.  Indeed, the website of Just Faith unabashedly proclaims its progressive proclivities.  I also recommend the reading of an excellent article on the Just Faith debacle entitled "Just Faith Is a Big Part of the Problem", written by my friend and colleague, Stephanie Block, who regularly writes for Spero News.

Two or three years ago, the Just Faith program was introduced into the Archdiocese of Washington; that was before I operated this blog.  However, I was quite aware that a Trojan Horse was being introduced into the archdiocese and tried to sound an alert.  My warnings were rebuffed by people whom I thought would be keen to the dangers.  One told me that her parish implemented Just Faith without the ill effects, and that my warnings were destructive.  While I've no problem believing that her particular parish may have been successful in separating the wheat from the chaff, it is my contention that there is inherently much more chaff than wheat in the Just Faith program.  The writings and afilliations of the founder, Jack Jezreel, corroborate my conclusions.

Pope Francis, We MUST, On Pain Of Sin, Avoid Even The Appearance Of Communism

Pope Francis, this past Monday, claimed that Christians shy from the "social gospel" because they fear that the Church will look like the Communist Party.  Of course he is trying to cajole Catholics into disregarding their common sense so that they will indeed swallow the "social gospel" crap - and eventually socialism, if not outright communism.

In light of these shameless attempts by the pope and other quasi-socialists to induce false shame into us, we must stand strong and call them out for what they are.  Here are just a few facts about this "social gospel". He is a big fan of Dorothy Day and her Catholic Worker Movement.  I don't know just what Day's original intent was for the CWM, but it has veered into socialism and dissidence.  From this page of the DC affiliate, we see that they have allowed disgraced Bishop Thomas Gumbleton to speak at their events, as well as some Pax Christi individuals.  Of course, rabidly pro-abortion Jeffrey Sachs was often invited to the Vatican to craft Laudato Si, a thinly-disguided apology for socialism, as well as population-control and climate-change junk science.

In 1984, Pope John Paul II suspended a divinis the priestly faculties of Fr. Ernesto Cardenal, when the latter held a cabinet position in Nicaragua's Sandinista government.  Cardenal had always been a Marxist involved in "liberation theology".  Pope Francis lifted the suspension.  He noted that Cardenal accepted the suspension, but there was no mention of Cardenal seeing the errors of his Marxist and liberation theology mindsets.  In this and his various document, the pope displays an untoward affinity for socialism and even communism.

Previous popes have proclaimed quite different things about socialism and communism.  They are worth a study.  They emphatically declare those philosophies to be inherently evil.  So should Christians shy away from appearing to be communists, even if they aren't - for now?  Absolutely.  1 Thessalonians 5:22 is adamant about avoiding the appearance of evil - and that is what communism is.  The so-called social gospel is a spiritual and moral booby-trap.

USCCB To Spearhead Meeting Of Katholyc Social Justice Warriors

In February 2018, the USCCB will be hosting the "2018 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering".  What will they be discussing?  How about the wanton slaughter of thousands of babies everyday via abortion?  That's going on 2 million babies in the US alone that have been murdered since 1973.  But no, that's not going to be mentioned at this "gathering".  How about the encroaching of gay sexual perversions in our culture as these people maul and mutilate anyone who dares to live by their Christian principles?  That too doesn't rate a blip on this "gathering's" radar.

So if they aren't taking of matters that are intrinsic evils and that threaten the very moral fabric of our Church and civilization, how do they plan to waste three days?  Why by talking up three of the favorite progressive fronts causes: racism, immigration, environment.

Go to the bottom of that and see who some of the speakers are.  Sister Patricia Chappell was at one time the Executive Director of the dissident Pax Christi USA.  Kim Daniels fancies herself to be an "apostle".   Here are some of the participating organizations.  Of course we'd expect CRS and CCHD to be involved.  We also see the Catholic Climate Covenant.  Look at what is included among the workshops: "Best Practices in Responding to Racial Unrest"?  Well, along that vein, I'm happy to remind one and all that the Messiah Most Miserable is gone from the White House and his anointed "heir" was roundly defeated; that should keep some pot-stirring at bay.  So there must be other workshops not listed.  In light of my previous post, I wonder if one of them might be "How SJWs can wisely use bribery"?  That would be taught by CCHD personnel.

I refer you now to an article entitled "Dissenting Catholic Charities: Organizing For The Left".  It perfectly describes these SJW-faux-katholyc groups.  This so-called "Social Ministry Gathering" is a "case-in-point" example of the efforts of which Mr. Warner wrote.  I may have more on this gathering later, especially since it's happening in Washington DC.

Rehumanize International - A Veritable Snake In The Grass

On Facebook I noticed that some pro-life friends of mine, highly respected, "liked" an outfit called Rehumanize International.  If you go to that page, you'll see that they oppose abortion, euthanasia, and other intrinsic evils.  They also oppose capital punishment and nuclear armament, which are not intrinsic evils.  Ladies and gentlemen, when both categories are mish-mashed together in one list, my "seamless garment" red flags start flying.  Therefore I did some research.  Regrettably my suspicions about RI's moral base are confirmed.  Notice that there are intrinsic, anti-life evils that they don't list: contraception, homosexual lifestyle, attacks on marriage and family.

Climate-Change Hoax Perpetrators Revealing Their Anti-Life Motives

I was informed yesterday that my Catholic Media Coalition colleague, Stephanie Block wrote an article about a UK-based outfit called Catholic Climate Movement.  It caught my eye because a few days prior, on the aggregater site canon212.com, I saw articles in which the authors question the "morality" of having babies as the world deals with "global warming".  In this latter article, we see the anti-life underpinnings of the "climate warming" hysteria becoming more manifest; the protagonists aren't concealing it anymore - or at least not as much.

As Ms. Block says, this "Catholic climate movement" things makes reference to Laudato Si, a papal writing that is fraught with difficulties, not the least of which is the false legitimacy it lends to leading proponents of population control, such as Jeffrey Sachs and others.  I've written about these in the past.  To refresh your memories, I suggest you read these posts and the linked material, paying special attention to this expose that Michael Voris did several years ago regarding the "global warming" hoax.

In the past several years that I've been looking at these outfits, I've learned that much can be gleaned from these outfits by looking at their members, directors, and other resources, usually readily available on their sites.  This "Catholic climate movement" is no different.  Looking at their member organizations, we see quite a few of the "usual suspects":

• Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
• Pax Christi
• Leadership Conference of Women Religious
• Franciscan Action Network - By the way, this November they are presenting a "Cardinal McCarrick award" to Karenna Gore, director of "Center for Earth Ethics".  They conveniently forget to mention that she is a daughter of Al Gore and most likely pro-abortion in her own right.
• Catholic Charities - Recall that its national CEO, Msgr John Enzler, donated to the the campaigns of two pro-abortion politicians.

That first organization, being a recipient of money from George Soros, makes me wonder how much Soros money is in this "Catholic climate movement" thing.  We know that Soros' money had a role in the murder of Terri Schiavo.

Take a look at these facts and understand how the "movers and shakers" of the climate-change hoax are playing the "social-justice" crowd for dupes.  Please warn your family, friends, etc not to swallow that kool-aid.  Ms. Block finishes her excellent article by stating that "you don't need to be Catholic to sign a climate petition".  I might have amended that to read "no real Catholic should sign this climate petition".

How Can One Tell When It's CCHD Collection Time?

One answer to that question is "when the CCHD and their supporters start their preemptive screeds against faithful Catholics concerned about their left-wing leanings".  For example, David Gibson of Religion News Service starts his piece by claiming that "conservative activists are threatening the social mission of the Catholic Church... by attacking the Church's flagship anti-poverty program with 21st-century style Catholic McCarthyism."  

Of course he refers to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.  Obviously Mr. Gibson is unaware that the CCHD, by policy, gives no money to organizations that directly perform the Corporal Works of Mercy.  Perhaps Mr. Gibson knows that and he doesn't give a hoot.  At any rate, CCHD has traditionally given grants - collected from Catholics during the in-pew collections - to organizations that seek to "change social structures and policies".  That quote is taken from one of their flyers.  More often than not, these organizations are socialist in nature, along the lines of Saul Alinsky.  Indeed, the CCHD was originated by Msgr Jack Egan, an associate (and disciple) of Saul Alinsky for the express purpose of syphoning Catholic resources to fund these community-organizing endeavors (Barack Obama cut his political teeth while working with the Gamaliel Foundation, one such group).  But this blog's previous posts have delved in detail into CCHD's sordid past - no need to rehash that here.

Gibson cites as his main source Faith in Public Life - you know, the progressive outfit funded by George Soros.  Here is the link to the 24-page report that snivels about the "growing threat".  If anything's a "growing threat", it's the tentacles of progressives that infest the bowels of the USCCB offices.  I count it as a high compliment to be among those they perceive as a "threat" to them siphoning Catholic money to their causes, but I digress.  

A perusal of page 2 of their report will give you quite a number of progressives and Obama supporters; many of these individuals and entities can be entered into this blog's search box for more information: Pax Christi,   Thomas Chabolla, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, Catholics United, LCWR, the disgraced Bishop Gumbleton, Stephen Schenk.  The rest of that report will need to be studied in greater detail.  

Getting back to Gibson's article, I must mention one line that is so silly as to be downright amusing.  He complains about the "well-financed network" that we are, in his third paragraph.  I think I can speak for many of my compatriots when I say that none of that "finance" has greased our palms!  On the other hand, when multi-billionaire George Soros has his paw-prints all over Faith in Public Life and its endeavors, it's not too hard to see where the cold cash really flows.

Lest anyone think that this Gibson piece is just a flash in the pan, I now link to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times by Mark Brown.  Recall that recently, a "gay marriage" bill was defeated in Illinois.  Now Brown is waxing ominous about the Church "playing hardball" with groups that supported perversion of marriage.  He's complaining that the CCHD there might cut off their funding.  Imagine that!  The Catholic Church expects those receiving Catholic money to honor Catholic principles!  Here's hoping they hold firm.  Anyway, we can see how the mainstream media is marching lockstep behind the progressives who are trying to leech money from Catholics to undermine Christian principles.

There will be more on this.  For now, I (and I'm sure my friends) take it as a high compliment that the CCHD apologists feel they have to do this preemptive "damage-control" to restore what at one time was an easy source of cash from unsuspecting Catholics.  We're "unsuspecting" no longer.  The truth is coming out.  Please read the FPL report, and also study the report put out by the Reform CCHD Now Coalition.

Not-At-All Catholic Reporter Gets Its Undies Bunched Over The Traditional Latin Mass

 I came across this on Father James Martin's facebook page.  As you can imagine, he too got the vapors over the appeal of the Traditional Latin Mass.  Here is the article: "In Came Latin, Incense And Burned Books, Out Went Half The Parishioners".  It's not more than a glorified hissy-fit, and it's an admission of their own failures as much as the appeal of authentic Catholicism.

One Mad Mom did her own excellent critique of the NCR's hysteria, and I suggest that you read it.  I will supplement it with a few of my own observations.  

First, my own attendance at the Traditional Latin Mass had been slowly increasing in frequency before the pandemic.  When the mainstream bishops cowered before the magistrates during the onset of "restrictions", the Traditional Latin Mass literally became the only game in town, as it were.  Only those Masses was I able to attend, if only in my car, and receive actual Holy Communion.  For the first 8 weeks, I drove 2.5 hours each way to attend Mass.  Of course Holy Mass is worth it.  By God's grace I have not had to settle for spiritual Communion once on account of the pandemic and nonsensical "regulations".

The NCR piece starts by quoting Maria Lichtmann, a "religious scholar".  I googled her and discovered that she has a bit of a resume, peppered with all sorts of nods to her own dissidence.  What would an academic career be without a stint at Georgetown University?  On page 2 we see that there she taught a course called "The Problem of God".  On the same page we see her affiliation with the dissident bunch Pax Christi.  On page 5 we see that she authored a paper entitled "My Search For The Goddess" and on page 6, "Saint Paul Reexamined: The Case For Women Priests".  So of course this woman would find the presence of authentic Catholicism to be "strange" and perhaps even threatening to her shaky beliefs.

The parishioners who abhor tradition are conducting Mass in an auto body shop.  Like One Mad Mom, I hope the bishop clamps down on that.  Anyway, the article quotes Father John Hoover, one of the two priests who says Mass in this setting, probably illicitly.  He states that after the homily, he invites parishioners to talk of their spiritual struggles.  Not after Mass, but after the homily, as in "before the Creed" and "during Mass"?  These shenanigans are prime examples of why these parishioners don't value the Real Presence nor Our Lord's One True Church.

I could go on and on.  Suffice it to say that both Father Martin and the Not-At-All Catholic Reporter have given to the One True Church an unintentional salute, acknowledging that their efforts to dismantle and desconstruct the One True Church are being successfully opposed.

Archdiocese Of Baltimore Social Ministry Convocation Needs To Be Picketed

The 44th Annual Social Ministry Convocation, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Baltimore, will happen on February 25 at Mercy High School on Northern Parkway in Baltimore.  You'll notice that the website url shows that it is on the server of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Take a look at the workshops.  The very first one is being conducted by members of Pax Christi, a dissident group if ever there was one.  Look who their Board President is - Bishop John Stowe of Lexington Kentucky - yes, him!  He threw the Covingoton Boys under the bus, never apologizing after they were exonerated.  During "pride week" in 2020, he apologized to gays for the Church's teachings on sinful relations.  I don't have time to examine the other board members at the moment.  Upon further examination of the workshop's description, we notice that little part about "cooperation with other like-minded groups"?  Just what groups might that be?  Why, other anti-God and leftist cabals, of course.

Moving further down, we see an even worse workshop entitled "Come And Listen: Transgender Catholic Families And Individuals Share Their Experiences Living In A Catholic Parish".  Were these individuals mistreated?  I would venture to say "yes" IF they were not encouraged and/or admonished to repent of sinful sexual conduct and avail themselves of the Sacrament of Confession.  However, I suspect their definition of mistreatment might be some actual proclamation of truth necessary to their salvation.  In other words, it will be a perversion-coddling sob-story session.

The next one appears to be advising border-crashers how to evade the few immigration-control laws that we have.  The description in its original Spanish is "Lo que necesita saber sobre la ley del Real ID y las implicaciones para la comunidad indocumentada"  Pope that into Google Translate and we have "What you need to know about the Real ID law and its implications for the undocumented community"

"Undocumented community" is just a polite way of calling these people "cabals of border-crashers showing utter disregard for our laws.

To sum up, we see in these workshops such topics as environmentalism, racism, coddling illegal immigrants, and so on.  Now what do we not see?  You guessed it!  Nary a peep is uttered about the baby-slaughter known as abortion.  The fact is that Maryland is now an abortion-mecca, with two late-term butcher shops to our disgrace.  We also see nothing about euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research.  I might point out that the Church, in its insane push for Covid vaccination, actually participated in the sin of embryonic stem cell research, but I digress.

As much as many good people want to eradicate abortion from our cultural landscape, we will not succeed until we purge the advocacy of abortion from our Church hierarchy.  We can make a jab at it on Feb 25.  The gabfest is slated to run between 9am to 3pm.  As we finalize courses of action, we will communicate them to our readers via a future blog post.

St Rose of Lima And The American Catholic Council

St Rose of Lima Church in Gaithersburg has a well-deserved reputation for harboring and promoting dissent.  However, this is beginning to take on more ominous undertones, as my colleague at An Archdiocese of Washington Catholic pointed out a few days ago.

This parish has been harboring a Voice of the Faithful group for several years now, going so far as to announce VOTF meetings in its bulletin that occur on parish property.  The most recent bulletin announces such a meeting, but with an insiduous little advertisement.  Look on the second page, under the "community" column, second item from the bottom.  You are invited to "share and dialog with fellow Catholics on your hopes and recommendations for the Church.   Your voiced thoughts and hopes will help shape recommendations of an American Catholic meeting in Detroit MI next June."

What meeting?  Quite frankly, the St Rose VOTF seems rather cagey about the nature of this "meeing in Detroit".  That's because the Archbishop of Detroit, Allen Vigneron, has denounced the American Catholic Council in general, and the planned meeting in Detroit in particular.  He made quite plain that this "council" does not at all speak for the Catholic Church and has asked them to cancel any plans for a meeting in Detroit.  Thank you, Archbishop Vigneron!

Let's take a look at the American Catholic Council's website.  They are quite unabashed about their goals.  As you read its various sub-pages, you'll notice the none-too-subtle influence of the heresy of americanism - that is, the heretical opinion that the Roman Catholic Church must let itself be influenced by the secular American culture, rather than lending its truth to the culture.  Click on the links subpage and see an entire list of the "usual suspects", openly dissenting organizations: New Ways, Women's Ordination Conference, Take Back Our Church, etc.  The "declaration signatories" reveals more: Pax Christi, Dignity.. You get the picture!

I suggest you keep an eye out for this sort of thing going on in your parishes.

Rancid Souposiums

A monthly email from the Archdiocese of Washington's Department of Charity and Justice is promoting something called "Sunday Souposiums" put on by the Franciscan Monastery.  Some further research indicates that the "soup" might contain just a smidgen of rat poison.

The Franciscan Mission Service gives some insight about past "souposiums".  One held in January featured as its main speaker Sister Margaret Mary Kimmins.  She is the board president of  Franciscan Action Network.  Now read that home page for an eyeful of dissent.

Maryland Catholic Conference Errs (Again) With Death Penalty

In today's Catholic Standard, page 3 in print and online here, the Maryland Catholic Conference is beating its chest over its faux-victoire regarding the abolition of the death penalty in Maryland.  I stated my case clearly how the abolition of the death penalty actually runs counter to Church teaching and Evangelium Vitae in particular.  I needn't rehash all that here.

I also stated in that post that there is an effort underway to petition this abolition to the next Maryland referendum.  I signed that petition, no doubt to the consternation of Mary Ellen Russell.  In the Standard article, read that little insert of hers that's designed to cajole faithful Catholics into eschewing the referendum petition.  She talks of the repeal of the death penalty as "an integral part of our pro-life efforts to uphold the sanctity of all human life."  No, it is not!  I'd strongly suggest that she study Evangelium Vitae and notice that there is a world of difference between the inherent evil of taking the most innocent human life - that is, murder and the exercise of legitimate authority a charge laid upon it by God Himself.

She then takes a direct pot-shot at the referendum effort itself, saying "the referendum will only divide the prolife community and drain scarce time and resources from other more important prolife goals".  Well, guess what, Ms Russell?  On both counts here, it's the Maryland Catholic Conference (under your less-than-stellar leadership) that stands guilty as charged!

Bishop Gambino Zavala Admits Paternity Of Two Teenagers, Resigns His Post

Much has been written on this blog about Bishop Gambino Zavala, former auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles.  We know he's a former president of both Pax Christi and Interfaith Worker Justice.  He's presided at  the "closing liturgies" of the 2010 religious education conferences in Los Angeles - "liturgies" that are more accurately called farcical circuses.  And yes, he's whined about us bloggers who shine the light on progressive shenanigans within the Church.

I emphasized the word "former" in the previous paragraph for Zavala's resignation from his post has been announced - for cause.  He has disclosed that he fathered two children who are now teenagers.  They live in another state with their mother.  Let our prayers be with them.

There is a phrase "lex orandi lex credendi lex vivendi".  The (loose) translation from Latin yields "the law of prayer is the law of belief; the law of belief is the law of life".  Bishop Zavala's sad story is testimony to the truth of that Latin phrase.

Pray for him.  Also pray for Archbishop Gomez who has a bit of a mess to clean up in Mahoney's wake.

"Cathlyc" Perspective on Nuclear Weapons

The Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies will have a panel symposium to discuss the "ethics of Obama's nuclear weapons policy".  It will occur this Monday April 26 at Catholic University.  We could save them lots of time and money be advising them that putting "Obama" and "ethics" in the same sentence is an oxymoron and that there would be nothing worthwhile to discuss.  However, progressives always like to look serious and studious and important, as they distribute their white papers and talk on and on.  How do we know they're progressives?  Did you notice the Pax Christi and Global Zero people in the line-up?

Anyway, they'll talk, and talk, and talk.  Perhaps they'll come up with a paper to present to the Messiah Most Miserable.  It will be full of convoluted prose, with all sorts of language both flowery and technical.  May I be so bold as to propose what I think the gist of this hypothetical statement might be?  Now it may sound simplistic, but I think that will be more than compensated by accuracy.  Here goes.

The statement of the symposium participants: (my guess, now!)
" Mr. President, we'd like to start by thanking you for passing your health bill.  And don't worry about those right-wing nutcases; abortion isn't so important after all!  That being said, sir, we ask you to get rid of all those nasty bombs.  They're really loud and icky and..and mean-spirited!  We don't mind if we have to lie on our backs while the world's tyrants put their feet on our throats, for we are gentle souls - meek, mild doormats, one and all!  Thank you, Mr. President, for helping in our quest for change we can believe in!"

Perhaps the Messianic reply might proceed as follows: "Thank you for your heartfelt grovelling before my feet!  I hear you, and I will gladly condescend to your request.  I promise you and the world that we will disarm; I will make that point on my next Apology Tour!"

Now - once again - the dialog above is purely hypothetical.  At least, I hope it is.  I hope that there is no way that this predicts reality.  However, such is my fear.  Moreover, symposium-jokes such as the one that will occur this Monday, will give Obama the perfect "faith-based" cloak for his dirty work, in much the same way as Sister Carol Keehan and her cabal did for the Hell Bill.