Buffalo Pie

Growing up in Toronto we only had a six channels on TV. Two in Toronto, one in Hamilton and three from Buffalo. This was even before PBS and Goldy's fundraising. Who remembers Promo the Robot or Captain Tom a poor cousin of Captain Kangaroo?  Ah Buffalo, the Queen City as I recall. I have family there. South Buffalo, Lancaster, Cheektowaga. Ebeneezer. Uncle Sarkis. born in Lebanon, owned the Wehrle Drive-in Theatre on Transit Road and his brother Frank, The Willamsville Inn on Main Street. Together, they lead the building of St. John Maron Church. Buffalo was my second home. An auntie organised the Variety Club Telethon which was watched in our house all day those Sundays after Mass. How I remember Our Lady of Victory Shrine and all the stories Auntie Mary would tell of the great Father Nelson Baker. How Catholic Buffalo was. German, Polish, Italian, Irish. 

Some of the most beautiful churches in the northeast maybe in all of the United States of America, are in Buffalo. Many look like little Cathedrals. Most would put Toronto's to shame except for a handful. The faith in that Queen City is about as bad as everywhere else. Some say the Church "is not a building." But these buildings were built by the faithful who loved God, respected how to worship Him in beauty and in truth and gave Him their best. Not like those today.

I suppose there were no fires last night in Lackawanna for Irv Weinstein to report on. Wait, Irv's not on Channel 7 anymore? Well, if he were, he'd be reporting on this little dust up that "Jesus had two dads and he turned out just fine." 

That sign in front of Sts. Columba and Brigid Church in Buffalo, a far cry from what was built generations ago, has caused a lot of outcry. Catholic Family News, Father Z, here on this blog, we all wrote about it. The Bishop of Buffalo instantly saw the problem and ordered the phrase removed. The backlash to me includes a comment on the post and an email from the pastor, both of which I received this morning. Let us take a look at them.

Good Evening! It was with great interest that I read the comments that you all posted in the Guest Book of the St. Columba-Brigid Church website.  While I want to allay your concerns, I also find myself wondering where such hatred and vitriol come from.  Did you spend any time at all pondering the true meaning that our billboard was trying to convey?  Or did you snap to judgement as soon as you saw it or heard about it?  Did you hear about it second hand, without seeing it yourself, and join in the condemnation of it based on what someone else shared with you?  These are all things that you should consider. But my task is to provide you with some sense of understanding of our message.  You accept that Jesus Christ had two fathers, God the Father and Joseph - His foster father.  I don’t think that there is any argument there.  He had His heavenly Father and His human father.  Those are the two fathers that we are referring to on our message board.Due to broken marriages and relationships where no marriage occurred, there are literally millions of children in the world who are raised by two sets of parents. Again, there is no arguing this point. Some families actually achieve this quite successfully, with both sets of parents getting along if for no other reason than the benefit to their children. These children flourish in the love and support provided by the love to two families: two mothers, two fathers, several grandparents and shared siblings – a blended family. It is a win-win – wonderful and fulfilling for the children and the parents. This was beautifully exemplified recently on tv by the actions of two dads walking their daughter down the aisle. The biological father suddenly recognized that the stepfather had been equally instrumental in raising their lovely and amazing daughter, and he had him join in the happy ritual of ‘giving her away’ to her new husband.  And that act of love and acceptance resonated around the world.But sometimes children are ridiculed for this circumstance in their lives.  Some children hear snide comments from other children who are lucky enough to be growing up within nuclear families – one set of parents and siblings. The message on the board was put there in support of children who are growing up with two families – two dads- and who may be experiencing some conflict because of it. Your rush to judgement leaves us perplexed because as a good Christian and Catholic you know the Bible very well. Therefore you know that Matthew 7:1-2 says: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgement you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”Obviously you read other nuances into our message, things that we did not intend. It was only meant for children who have a step-father and a biological father - to give them understanding, support and encouragement and to let them know that they can have a healthy, normal life in the future.Thank you for your concern. And please keep these children in your prayers. God bless! Fr Roy 

My response.

Dear Father Roy,  

Given that you have publicly said that the sign referred to "step-children" I will accept your explanation and apologise publicly here for my rash-judgement and for insinuating otherwise.

However, your decision to put up such a sign was imprudent and careless. At a time when marriage is under attack by a sodomite mafia that is bent, not on marriage for its own sake, but in their own words, the "destruction of marriage and the family," the words you put up contained inflammatory language. Language is important as your fellow New York State priest, Father Tom Rosica (because we Canadians can take responsibility for Justin Bieber okay) likes to remind us. As an educated man you are aware that your sign is the exact dictionary definition of a double entrendre. You are surely aware of the "Heather Has Two Mommies" books. Given the rather "progessivist" nature of your parish and your late "Nun on the Bus," may she receive her just reward, you most certainly would know how the political left uses words to its advantage.

The fact that I, and thousands of others, "read other nuances" into the sign is not our faults, it is the fault of those who put up a sign with those words. To assume that everyone would have seen the video to which you refer is a stretch on your part. To think in this day and age, something so inflammatory and potentially heretical would not make it to social media is foolish. Certainly, the person driving past the church would easily have interpreted the sign as a support for an abomination against the Catholic faith, the raising of children by two sodomite "fathers," well one father actually as the other is his fellow pin-cushion. Nobody is ridiculing any children here. I have children. I had step-children, I had a decree of nullity, I am a sinner. So don't go down that rabbit hole. That is a ridiculous statement on your part. As for "giving away" the bride. You should know, she is not "given away" in the Catholic Sacrament of Matrimony. She comes of her own free will, she is not her "dads" property to give to anyone. Some progressive you are. This is not about the children, it is about the sign you authorised to put up that contained a phrase that would be interpreted by the overwhelming majority of those who saw it as support for sodomite so-called "marriage." As for your liturgical abuses at the camp mess, please read Redemptionis Sacramentum. Please accept my apologies for the "rash-judgement) of misunderstanding your sign.

Vox.

Now, to Anonymous in the combox who judges me to Hell.

I just want to say that you and all of the others who have posted comments full of hatred and vitriol are going to burn in hell. People like you that (use) the word of Christ, which I was taught were words of love, and twist them for your own evil purposes. You are no better than the racist Trump, than the murdering members of ISIS, than rapists, than thieves. You name anything that's evil, and you are all worse. I always thought that God didn't make ugly, but I guess He did, because (he??? Vox) you made all of you hatemongers. How do you look at yourselves in the mirror?  God is everywhere. He was at that outdoor Mass, where we sang His praises to the skies. Mass doesn't have to be in a church, because church is not a building, or didn't you know that. To be able to praise God right there in the midst of His creation is a blessing. But you wouldn't know that because you wouldn't recognize a blessing if it hit you in the head. Oh, and by the way, have you ever heard of Kinte Cloth? Try and get a little bit of culture, it would serve you well. Remember that the only judge is God himself. And He will be judging you and using your hatred against you. You all need to repent and atone for the tons of sins that are burning your souls. I know you're not going to publish this because you don't have what it takes to deal with anything or anyone that disagrees. But God is watching you. Have fun in hell!

Dear Anonymous,

First, read the above response to Father "Roy."  Second, look up to your words of "hatred and vitriol," along with your accusations of my "judgement"  and then look in the "mirror" you speak of and consider what you see.  The "racist Trump" comment is calumny and rash judgement on your part. If you don't know what these mean, please contact Father Roy. I have publicly apologised for my rash judgement. As someone who is of Lebanese heritage, who sees my Christian countrymen in Syria butchered because of your derelict malefactor in the White House whom you probably voted for, I would hope that you are as forthright with those who advocate for the murder of babies in the womb as you are at me. For murderers and thieves, you can look at your own leaders.  As for the outdoor Mass, it was an abomination. I suggest you read Redemptionis Sacramentum linked above to see the sinful liturgical abuses committed by your priest. Plastic cups for the Eucharist, the Precious Blood, this is acceptable? Mass in street clothes? We are not in priest holes (you might need to look that up) nor in Vietnamese prison camps (look it up).

Would you like to compare your unholy sacrilege of the camp mess to this?

In honour of Canadian Remembrance Day today or your Veteran's Day on this 11th day of the 11th month, let us look back a few decades to this.

This is Father Emile Kapaun in Korea. He died in a prison camp and his cause is going forward for canonization. Did he disrespect the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as you people under a wayward priest did at Sts. Columba and Brigid?

Father Emile Kapuan in Korea

What about this one? If this priest could vest properly and dress a jeep on Omaha Beach on June 4, 1944, with an antependium, (you might want to look that up) and an antemension (you'll want to look that one up too), then why should we, with all of our modern conveniences, do any less for God.

All that effort in the midst of war and a thanksgiving offering on D Day for making it off the beach. How many did not?

As for Kente cloth, it may be "African" but African priests don't wear it  at Mass so don't patronise them in your arrogant white liberality. 

My South African wife is offended. Should Africans wear denim vestments as a tribute to America? Vestments such as these are not praiseworthy to God and they are insulting to Africans.

Do these look like Kente cloth?

 

Here is a google search for kente cloth vestments. I see no African Catholic priest wearing them but I see some old white guys.

I am shocked, shocked; that a progressive such as you would not see your statement as actually being racist and patronising.

Thanks for your comment.

Vox