"Toronto 's archbishop tries to hide his gay purge, but the story gets out" - An early 1980's article on the goings on at Toronto's St. Augustine's Seminary

Toronto 's archbishop tries to hide his gay purge, but the story gets out

Cardinal slams the closet door

Tensions over the apparent presence of gay students in a seminary in Metropolitan Toronto has 

escalated, with the help of Gerald Emmett Cardinal Carter, into an anti-homosexual witchhunt which has led to the dismissal of three faculty members and the expulsion of two students.

Some details of the purge at St Augustine's Seminary in Scarborough, the preeminent school for the training of Roman Catholic priests in English-speaking Canada, were made public in two reports published by The Globe and Mail on September 7 and 8. The stories said that the Rev Brian Clough, St Augustine's rector, and the Rev Thomas Dailey, dean of studies, had been dismissed the first week of June and that the Rev John Tulk, a professor of church history, had been fired early in September.

Globe reporters Stanley Oziewicz and Peter Moon uncovered the following facts:

Carter, the Archbishop of Toronto, ordered the dismissals after an investigation of the seminary conducted at his request by the Most Rev Marcel Gervais, auxiliary bishop of London, Ontario; Carter asked Gervais to investigate after coming into possession of a document about "tensions" between gay and straight seminarians that were distributed to St Augustine's sisters, students and faculty by Clough;

(NOTA BENE: This was referred to in The Desolate City by Anne Roche Muggeridge - Vox Cantoris)

The tensions had arisen from allegations of homosexual behaviour at a party held in Tulk's rooms at the seminary. Beyond these few facts, little has been revealed about the origins of the dispute. Although he had reported the June dismissals when they occurred, Oziewicz first learned some of the details several weeks later from an anonymous letter.

In their September stories, Oziewicz and Moon wrote: "Sources, including members of the faculty and student body at the seminary, members of religious orders and laymen agreed to talk for this article provided they were not identified. Many feared for their future careers if their names were used. 

TBP's (The Body Politic-Vox) own investigation has encountered similar fears. Most of those interviewed said they feared retaliation by Cardinal Carter. A priest told TBP: "The diocese is actively trying to find out who gave that information to The Globe and Mail." And a member of a religious order commented: "He (Carter) doesn't show any sensitivity toward people, so they're afraid to speak out." When told TOP had been able to learn much of the story and would publish it, the member added, "It will do a lot of good because it shows how they really operate."

In addition to those quoted, TBP's account of the tensions leading to the dismissals and expulsions have been gathered from a well-placed source who wishes to remain anonymous, and from documents that have come into our possession.

Brian Clough could not be reached for comment. A copy of this article was sent to Margaret Long, Assistant to the Director of Communications of the Archdiocese of Toronto, for comment, but she did not return any of TBP's calls.

The presence of suspected gay students in Cardinal Carter: a secret operation against creeping Protestantism and homosexuality the seminary apparently first became an issue during the 1982/83 seminary year when some first-year students complained about the campy behaviour of some other students. The issue was taken up by an informal group of about a dozen conservative seminarians who were united by their dissatisfaction with the faculty's generally liberal interpretation of Catholic theology. They came to be known as "the machos." Defenders of those accused were dubbed "the effeminates," the group to which the two students who were expelled belonged. Most students belonged to neither. (According to Oziewicz and Moon, Gervais found that between six and 12 of the approximately 50 students were "homosexually oriented." Our source suggests that even Gervais's upper figure may be much too low.)

Gossip and paranoia flourished. Dennis Hayes, a seminarian says he belonged to neither group, explained: "When you group a number of people you have a fishbowl type of effect; when people start talking, these things spread...an innocent comment can turn into a vicious attack."



In March, 1983 several students were

criticized in their written year-end evalu-

ation by faculty for their "feminine

mannerisms."



A month later, the authors of an annual

letter from students to faculty complained

that the faculty was tolerating a "vigilante

group" that was harassing suspected gay

students. The letter also said that criticism

of some students for their mannerisms

had exacerbated the situation.



By September it appeared that the let-

ter had had some effect: at the week-long

retreat which starts the school year, most

of the faculty who spoke of the matter

called for tolerance of differences in the

seminary.



But the complaints continued. Charles

Lewis, a former RCMP employee said to

be in the "macho group" — an allegation

which he did not deny — told TBP he

himself had lodged a complaint about

sexual activity in the seminary: "guys do-

ing things they shouldn't be doing." But

he admitted he hadn't witnessed such ac-

tivity himself. On the other side, rumours

flew that "the machos" were searching

Toronto's gay bars for seminarians. TBP

has found no evidence to support this

allegation.



Tensions between the two factions be-

came so acute that, in the late fall,

Clough held separate meetings with mem-

bers of the two groups and with un-

aligned students in an attempt to cool the

dispute.



But after a party held in Tulk's rooms

following a joint religious service with

Anglican seminarians on January 26 of

this year, events started to spiral out of

control. Although Gervais later was to

find that nothing amiss had occurred at

the party, rumours circulated of drunk-

ness and homosexual activity.



In a speech delivered to St Augustine's

seminarians at a special house meeting six

days later, Clough criticized "the rumour

mill" and appealed for an end to gossip

about the party. And on February 8 he

met again with members of the factions

and other students, this time in a joint

meeting.



Then, on March 19, a three-page letter,

"A Diaglogue in Trust," apparently writ-

ten by someone who had been at the Feb-

ruary meeting, was distributed on

Clough's authority to the seminary's stu-

dents, faculty and sisters (see box next







Compassion

and the Cardinal



The Archbishop of Toronto

knows how to pick friends, and

if you 're not one of them. . . .







"CARDINAL CARTER AIDS DAVIS: No

Solidarnosc for T.T.C. Workers" — that

was the heading on a leaflet twitting

Gerald Emmett Cardinal Carter, arch-

bishop of Toronto, for backing strikes in

Poland while opposing a threatened transit

strike at home that would have cut into at-

tendance at, and profits from, the recent

papal tour.







Carter, a close friend of John Paul II,

was a supporter of the Second Vatican

Council, which reformed the Catholic

Church. Yet, his critics say, Carter is more

zealous for the letter of the reforms than

for their spirit. Last year, when the Cana-

dian Council of Catholic Bishops issued an

economic report that blamed the profit

motive for widespread poverty and unem-

ployment, Carter disavowed the docu-

ment, siding with the outraged bankers

and industrialists. And early this year he

authored a pastoral letter which con-

demned attempts to elaborate a Catholic

theology that would allow birth control,

abortion and the ordination of women.



( arter's record on gay issues is not com-

pletely black. He once wrote a report on

police/minority relations which devoted a







few lines of criticism to homophobic ver-

bal abuse. But he has also barred the local

chapter of Dignity, the gay Catholic or-

ganization, from the use of a church for

their meetings and has told homophobic

jokes to an audience of police officers.

The fear and silence surrounding the

purge at St Augustine's Seminary point

not just to the man's power, but to the

way he exercises it. "Insensitive" is the

word which most often comes to the lips of

his critics. But Carter may have inadver-

tently illuminated the issue when he

dismissed Thomas Dailey. According to

the press reports, he told the priest, "You

are much too compassionate." Perhaps it

is not others who are too compassionate,

but the Cardinal who is not compassionate

enough. KP



I







IIU BODY POl ILK NOVEMBER NS4







page). Although unsigned, the names of

Clough and three students appeared at

the bottom of the letter. A notable fea-

ture of this letter is its twice-stated con-

cern that news of the tensions within the

seminary might get beyond its walls. The

fearful reference to "having 'outsiders'

resolve those issues for us" appears to

have been an allusion to Cardinal Carter.



"A Dialogue in Trust" proved to be

the means of betrayal: within a few days,

a copy had been conveyed to Carter. And

by the second week of April, Gervais had

begun his investigation into theological

and sexual deviation at St Augustine's.



•

In the purge of St Augustine's, a harmo-

nious constellation of authoritarianism,

sectarianism and homophobia can be

seen at work.



Since the Second Vatican Council, part

of the Catholic clergy and laity have been

moving away from both the church's

traditional insistence on authority as the

source of truth and the concomitant par-

anoia about Protestant theologies. The

council suggested that truth is not abso-

lute, that a changing world can pose new

questions and demand new answers.



St Augustine's Seminary has been in-







fluenced by this new current in Catholi-

cism and has exposed its students to the

interaction of social activism and femin-

ism with traditional teachings. As one of

the eight theological colleges that jointly

make up the Toronto School of Theo-

logy, an ecumenical project, the seminary

has encouraged an open-minded compar-

ison of Protestant and Catholic beliefs.



But as the new Catholicism has devel-

oped, so has the conviction among some

Catholics that the revolt against authority

and the flirtation with Protestantism —

often the same thing to their eyes — have

gone too far. It is common knowledge in

the Diocese of Toronto that Cardinal

Carter and other conservatives are less

than fond of St Augustine's, where the

now thin trickle of future priests — the

seminary's approximately 50 students rat-

tle about in a building that could hold 200

— are thought to be in danger of contam-

ination by rebellion and creeping Protes-

tantism. Once Carter had indisputable

evidence that the place of homosexuals in

the priesthood was, however informally

and tentatively, being explored at the

seminary, he struck.



The purge was carried out in a secrecy

induced by fear: everyone who knew,







even the victims, was too intimidated to

speak out. To this day, Carter refuses to

say why the firings occurred. Gervais's

report remains a secret.



According to the Globe, although

Clough, Tulk and the tenured Dailey were

instructors at the Toronto School of

Theology, the Cardinal ordered them to

resign without any explanation to the

school. Carter told TST officials that any

protest from them over his neglect of due

process could result in the withdrawal of

St Augustine's from the joint project.



Some of the homophobia was blatant.

Gervais is reported to have asked students

about homosexual activity, but not about

heterosexual activity. And he told faculty

they should not admit gay students to the

seminary. When the teachers protested

that there is nothing in the rules about the

sexual orientation of priests, he backed

off slightly but still insisted that a gay

seminarian would have to have been

chaste for five years before admission.

Apparently he made no such stipulation

for heterosexual applicants.



But to speak of discrimination is mere-

ly to scratch the surface; the homophobia

here is deeper and subtler than that. The

Catholic hierarchy is one of the largest







A trust betrayed



The confidential dialogue that

didn *t stay confidential







What follows is the complete, unedited

text of ' 'A Dialogue in Trust, ' ' the letter

circulated by St A ugustine 's Seminary

Rector Brian Clough to students and fac-

ulty on March 19 of this year.



The following are reflections on discus-

sions that occurred during the past year in

regard to issues and tensions that were

present in the house. These discussions

were alluded to in Fr. Clough's address to

the house in February. Initially, Fr.

Clough met with three distinct groups

composed of second, third, and fourth

year students. These groups represented

different viewpoints on tensions that were

growing within the first few months of the

seminary year. The three distinct meetings

allowed students to articulate their percep-

tions of what was occuring within and be-

tween emerging factions. These meetings

were completed by the end of the first

term. A collective meeting of the three

groups took place a week after Fr.

Clough's February address.



The purpose of the collective meeting

was to provide a forum for dialogue and

for the definition of issues that each group

perceived. A second issue was to receive

feedback on Fr. dough's February inter-

vention in regard to the house social with

Trinity College. It was hoped that the

meeting would be an initial step toward

resolution of various problems. The meet-

ing began with an attempt to identify what

the problems were. The general consensus

was that there was misunderstanding of

viewpoints, attitudes, and behaviors. This

was characteristic of all, not of a certain

few. It was recognised that many of us did

not know each other well enough and were

unsure about positions held, which genera-

ted unease and, perhaps, a little suspicion.

Within an institution there will be a broad

range of personalities and attitudes. Such a

situation can all too easily lead to conflict,

which itself produces intolerance and in-

sensitivity. It was felt that we were categor-

izing each other as to lifestyle and orienta-

tion. It should be noted that in Fr. Clough's

February address there was mention

made of a general nosiness of other's busi-

ness and a consequent break -down in







trust. The problem, then, was one of mis-

understanding and unfamiliarity that led

to insensitivity and intolerance.



Discussion ensued with each group ex-

pressing its feelings on the problem. It was

felt that each group was given a free and

equal opportunity to express their views.

As the discussion progressed, it became

evident that group boundaries were break-

ing down and that each was expressing his

views as an individual, rather than as a

representative of a group.



It became clear that the issue would be

lost if the discussion were limited to the

surface problem: that is, a tension between

those perceived to be "macho" and those

perceived to be "effeminate". It was

agreed that such exclusive terms are dam-

aging and denigrating. It is all too easy to

categorize someone because he acts differ-

ently. The issue was then not how to limit

those who act differently, but how to come

to know the other with greater apprecia-

tion and understanding of his uniqueness.



Five main points were made during the

discussion:



1 : to equate homosexuality with effemin-

ate behavior is false. A person's sexual

orientation should not become a preoccu-

pation for others. The issue is not one of

homosexuality or heterosexuality within or

outside the seminary, but one of sensitiv-

ity to others who may be different than

ourselves.



2: it is important to be sensitive to the

effect that our behavior has on others and

the possible effects or perceptions that can

result from the cumulative effect of group

behavior in a particular situation.

3: it should be recognized that feelings of

being threatened by another's uniqueness

have their source within ourselves and

must be resolved within ourselves. The

problem should not be 'how can I change

the other', but 'how can I come to terms

with myself so that I can appreciate the

other more'.



4: out of an ignorance of another's pain

can come a desire to avoid that individual

because he is different. Thus the challenge

must be recognized: to confront someone

with a problem is harder than not dealing

with him.



5: the seminary community has a right to

resolve its own issues without having them

communicated outside the house or having

"outsiders" resolve those issues for us.



The immediate results of the meeting

were generally positive. It was felt that dia-

logue which occurred within the context of







the meeting could be transferred to a less

formal setting. Much misunderstanding

was identified and corrected. It may be

correct to say that tolerance was learned

and that out of that learning came a

greater appreciation and comfort with

others who were different than ourselves:

that is, a tolerance that was embedded in

charity and mutual respect. With the re-

duction of tension through the expression

of difficulties came a more relaxed atmos-

phere in the house. An important result

was that the "silent majority" spoke-up

and took an active part in the discussions.

It was agreed that the meeting was an in-

itial step to the resolution of the issue.

Though the issue was not totally resolved,

the meeting provided an opportunity to

dialogue in trust.



The less immediate results were just as

important. The meetings that occurred this

year served as a first step to dialogue that

can and will hopefully occur in years to

come. It was recognized that there will al-

ways be problems in institutional living

and that these problems should be ad-

dressed. Thus, the path was opened to fu-

ture dialogue. It was suggested that the ser-

vices of professionals, such as Sister Dick-

son, be employed in addressing issues such

as sexuality, spirituality, tolerance, etc. It

has been suggested that an opportunity be

provided for year groups to reflect on the

year with their representatives to the ex-

tended faculty meetings. It was also sug-

gested that new students precede returning

students at the start of the year by a day or

two inorder to better prepare them for

seminary life and to ease the process of as-

similation. In all, these discussions came

out of an experience of grace; an experi-

ence that was felt by the whole seminary

community. The meeting of collective

closed with the hope and the positive anti-

cipation of greater interpersonal commun-

ication and friendship.



19 MARCH 1984



M.CENERINI



FR. B. CLOUGH



J. MURPHY



D. REILANDER



This document has been distributed to the

sisters, faculty, and students of St. Augus-

tine's Seminary. Its purpose is specifically

for the members of the house, i.e. the doc-

ument is confidential to members of the

house. This is why the document has not

been posted on the bulletin board.







single-sex institutions in the world.

Homosexual activity is inevitable; that a

certain fraction of its members will be gay

is inevitable. Yet it remains a great un-

spoken concern. Mary Malone, a St Aug-

ustine's faculty member, says : "The

presence of gay students among seminar-

ians is not new. Until recently, we pre-

tended it wasn't there."



The St Augustine's purge was directed

not so much against gay seminarians as

against those, gay or straight, students or

faculty, who dared to break the silence —

to push or pull open the closet doors just

a crack. The purge would be a warning to

those still in the closet to stay there.

That's perhaps why only two students

were asked to leave the seminary, al-

though Gervais estimated that there were

as many as 12 "homosexually inclined"

students there. That could be the mean-

ing of Carter's explanation to reporters

of Clough's dismissal: "To talk about it is

one thing, but to put it in print (in "A

Dialogue of Trust") is a problem."



Malone describes Clough and Tulk as

"honest, compassionate men." "Their

integrity," she says, "helped something

come into the open that others would

have preferred to keep secret." Clough,

Dailey and Tulk are gone from St Augus-

tine's, but those responsible failed in their

goal. The secret is now out in the open.

The Lion of Judah

The Lion of Judah is known to us. His people of Israel still do not know Him. We know that they will come to Him. Given the news, it may be sooner rather than later.

The events of October 7 are a disgrace. The Hamas and the Palestinians who support them have no sense of humanity. As someone whose blood is that of Mount Lebanon, I know a little history of what that curse did to the Lebanese since that desert bedouin walked. I know where I stand.

I deplore all the suffering, all the deaths. The suffering in Gaza is the fault of the Gazans. Period. I am cognizant of the gravity of October 7 and that there is no such thing as a proportional response, not when the other guys want you all dead. I am also well aware of history and whose land this is. And before any of my nasty Trads opine and rail that the Jews killed Christ, I say, you killed him, I killed him, we all killed him by our sins. So, leave your tropes for somewhere else because comments are off. 

For true peace, these cousins, children of Isaac and Ismael must seek the real Lion of Judah. 

The article below from Hillel Fuld on Facebook deserves to be read.

If you care even slightly how Jews around the world are feeling today, I’d love to tell you.

“How can I speak on behalf of all Jews?”

Because I can.

That offends you? That’s fine. Keep scrolling.

So this is how we feel. These are only some of the many things that are making us scratch our Jewish heads, some of the things that simply don’t add up.

The biggest one is this.

Israel and the Jewish people, on October 7th experienced the most inhumane, barbaric, heart wrenching, and savage attack on our people we have ever known. I say ever because even the Nazis were ashamed and hid what they were doing. Hamas-ISIS live streamed it.

That means that not only did they act like actual real life monsters but they took pride in murdering babies and decapitating them, raping kids and mothers, murdering holocaust survivors, and taking almost 250 innocent people hostage.

That, in my book, makes them worse than Nazis.

Yes, the Nazis killed more Jews. They had years. There was no IDF. The world sat that one out. Thanks for that, world.

So we experienced this unparalleled national tragedy and it could not possibly be clearer who

 the moral side is and who the monstrous side is.

Someone said “You know how you know which side is right and which side is wrong? Look for the side that rapes women and then drives them around in the back of a pickup truck to show off what they’ve done.”

That should be a good indication.

I’m going to make a confession. After October 7th, somewhere deep down, very deep, I felt a sort of relief. I told myself “Finally, FINALLY, the world will see the truth. Finally they will see what we’ve been seeing and saying for decades. There is no scenario in which the world doesn’t side with Israel now.

And now, here we are just a few weeks later. Lynches being carried out publicly on Jews, Jewish homes being marked (again), signs declaring no Jews allowed, and universities giving students extra credit for attending anti Israel activities.

THIS DOESN’T ADD UP!

This isn’t the world I knew one month ago.

How can this be? Where is the logic?!!

Just when we expected the world, the media, the academic world, the liberal world to see the true nature of the Palestinian agenda, just when I had some optimism that the world would come to its senses, they’ve completely lost their collective mind.

It makes no sense!!

Secondly, I never thought that in my lifetime, in the western world, I’d ever see an open call for genocide of Jews. Never in my wildest dreams.

But we’re seeing it and we need to stop looking away.

Calling for a global intifada, declaring From the River to the Sea, proclaiming that Hiter was right, these are literal calls for the murder of Jews.

On what planet, in what universe, do you think I, or Jews imagined they’d see otherwise intellectual, moral, ethical people side with rape,  pedophilia, murder, and kidnapping?

This just doesn’t add up!!!!

Proportionate response? Give them water? Give them internet? Give them electricity?

HAVE YOU ALL LOST YOUR MIND?????

Where is the logic here?? In what war ever did anyone demand that one side provide infrastructure to the other side, especially when there is hard evidence that that water and electricity is going to terrorists and not the people themselves?

You can’t make this stuff up.

Israel agreed to let in food and water with one condition, that the trucks be checked for weapons.

They let in the trucks and they “forgot” to check? Are you actually kidding me?!

How is this logical in any way?!! These are not natural occurrences.

We are all watching these protests, that are more like pogroms at this point and we’ve all just shrugged our shoulders. “Oh look, another Jew hating fest in the streets of London and NY. Oh man that stinks.”

Are we actually insane?? How did we accept this! How did those governments accept this? Are there actually no red lines? What has to happen for those governments and for regular people on the streets to stand up to this hate and put an end to it by any means necessary?

Where is the UN?? The head of the UN literally publicly justifying what Hamas did by saying it didn’t happen in a vacuum?

How are you not seeing how ludicrous this is?

UN and UNWRA whose schools are literally being used by Hamas as terror bases are just sitting there with their fingers in their ears yelling “Lalalalalala I can’t hear you.”

The tunnels. We know what they are. We’ve all seen them. We know how much they cost to build. The lighting. The plumbing. The cement.

Billions! Where did that money come from? We know where. From the world. From the UN. “Humanitarian foreign aid.”

On what planet does it make sense that you give someone billions of dollars for one cause, they use it for another cause, in this case terror, and you’re like “Oh yea, oh well. Let’s just send them more.”

Where on earth is the logic?! How is this a thing that’s happening in real life? You couldn’t even make up this script if you wanted to.

If someone pitched a movie studio the story of Israel and this war, the script would be immediately rejected with the response, “Sorry. This needs to be a little more realistic for people to watch this movie. Go rewrite it.”

In what universe does it make any sense that the west is trying to forcefully apply their western values to radical Islamic terrorists who say, proudly, every chance they get, that they want one thing? Dead Jews.

Someone said this to me yesterday.

In our western mind, we have some basic fundamental beliefs. Treat people well and they’ll treat you well. Everyone wants to live in dignity. People are intrinsically good.

Stop it!!

This isn’t the way they think.

You can treat them as well as you want! They want every non Muslim to either become Muslim or die! Read their damn charters for God’s sake! Listen to their leaders! Why won’t you listen?!!

No, not all humans want to live in dignity. Some people have other goals and those goals are what drive them. Stop thinking if you treat Hamas well or even send them money, that they won’t come after you next. Stop lying to yourself.

People are intrinsically good? Yes, most people are. Except those people who have been indoctrinated to be evil from age zero.

Do you understand that the west looking at Hamas or ISIS through a western lens is the equivalent of looking at a spider and wondering how it it that he’s not acting like a snake!

They are not the same! They don’t have the same anything. They are not the same!

The west and radical Islam have one thing in common. They both breathe oxygen. That’s basically where our similarities end. Stop expecting them to act like you and I act! They won’t. They never will.

Listen, the inconsistencies here are endless.

Genocide? Their population has grown 6x!!!

Apartheid? A country that has literal anti Israel Arabs in its parliament and Arab supreme court judges?

Occupation? What occupation? We dug up our dead in Gaza before we left. There was not one Jew there, dead or alive! Yes, we DUG up our dead. You read that right.

Why? Because we knew deep down what they’d do if we didn’t. And today we see how right we were.

They want a state? Give them a state. Are you flippin kidding me?

They. Don’t. Want. A. State!!!

Stop it. How can you keep repeating something when they hear you saying it and think to themselves “Why do they keep repeating this whole ‘We want a state’ thing? Who wants a state? We had a state. Many times.

We don’t want a state. We want no Israel. I mean it’s not like we hide our goals so I’m not sure why the world keeps putting words in my mouth, but ok, whatever floats their boat. 🤷‍♂️”

I can go on and on. This whole conflict and especially this war is like a movie with tons of holes in the plot. You finish the movie and start to think about it and you say to yourself “Wait a second. That actually makes zero sense. Am I the only who noticed that? This whole movie makes no sense.”

So are we doomed? Do we now live in a world in which hatred of Jews is so powerful that facts don’t matter?

“We occupied a Palestinian state.” 😂

What Palestinian state??? Palestine was Israel! We have coins that say Palestine on them alongside a Star of David!

What Arab Palestinian state ever existed??? What was the national anthem? Who was the president?

It doesn’t matter if it happened or not, does it? The world says it happened so it happened.

So are we indeed doomed?

No, we are not.

And I’ll tell you why.

The fact that the world we live in is a world of lies, has no bearing on us, the Jewish people, and our millions of supporters around the world.

We still have our moral clarity, our lenses are still clean, and we are able to see the truth, even if others are not.

But on a deeper level, the logical inconsistencies and the moral relativism that the world so loves to apply to this war, to me, those things tell me one thing.

If I am going to look at current events through a human lens, I will, indeed lose my mind, and start believing that I am actually clinically insane.

But if I shift focus, and I realize I cannot understand what is happening, because God is in control, and I can’t understand God, to me, this answers all the questions.

I am a human being, and I therefore have at least a basic understanding of the human mind.

If I understand the human mind, and I am seeing what is unfolding around the world, then I have to throw my hands up in despair and quit.

But if I realize that, while I understand the human mind, I lack complete understanding of God and His plans, then I am comforted by the thought that, of course, it makes no sense to me, because I don’t understand God‘s ways, and to Him, this is all part of a bigger plan.

There is a famous story of a rabbi who was on his deathbed. His students came to say goodbye, and gave him a list of questions to ask God when he went up and met Him.

After he died, he appeared to his student in a dream, and told him that he unfortunately would not be able to answer the questions that they asked, because up in heaven, the questions weren’t even questions. It’s not that they had answers, the questions themselves made no sense.

I know that it is hard to understand with our finite human brains, but that is exactly the point, we are human, and we can only understand other humans.

Looking at the world today, it is clear that this is not being run by humans, because no human mind can come up with the twisted reality in which we find ourselves.

Why God does what He does? Again, I have no clue, we have no clue, we do not have the tools to decipher why God does what He does.

Some people view that as a cop out, I view that as the only possible way to look at the world.

The only tool that I have in order to try to understand God‘s ways, and perhaps what is coming next, is history, is the Torah.

I look at the different miracles and stories we have learned our entire lives, and I know how this ends.

God watched over us in the desert with the clouds of glory. He accompanied us and held our hand until we reached our destination. He watched over Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, and all the rest of our forefathers and mothers.

He chose us, He gave us the Torah, He loves us, He is our father, and that I know beyond any shadow of a doubt.

How could a father allow this to happen to His kids?

I don’t know. I struggle with this question every day.

I don’t know.

But I do know, that throughout our history, we were the victims of endless persecution, and we always, always came out on top. Why we needed persecution in order to come out victorious? I have no clue.

Anyway, I started off by letting you know how Jews feel around the world, and out of all of the things I said above, to me, what I am seeing is, that Jews are strengthening their faith around the world, coming back to their tradition, remembering their heritage, and so many are understanding that God is in our corner.

You, the world, the anti-Israel world, you will go down in history, along with the Nazi sympathizers, and the people who sided with the Jew haters throughout our history, and were wiped off the map and forgotten forever.

How are Jews feeling today?

Devastated. Broken. Depressed. Hopeless.

And at the same time?

Unified. Strong. Optimistic. Confident.

“Israelis will never forget October 7th.

Jews will never forget what came after.”

I know Hashem is here with His clouds of glory again. I know He is marching alongside us into Gaza to do the impossible work we need to do there. I know that God’s version of today’s clouds of glory is the Iron Dome.

I am endlessly grateful and proud of the IDF. The IDF is God’s vehicle by which we will win this.

God has our back. We are marching into a man made hell on earth but right behind us is God, and if history teaches us anything, God does NOT look favorably on people or nations that mess with His children.

I promise you, this has a good ending.

The sadness won’t disappear.

The loss won’t ever be forgotten, but we will win this and this will all end with the Jewish people victorious!

Am Yisrael Chai. Now and forever!

Haman was hanged

Father John Zushlsdorf has a post this morning writing about the Introit and Offertory. The Introit is from the Book of Esther and the Offertory Antiphon (there is also one in the Novus Ordo) is from Job.

From Father Z:

You know the story of Esther during the Babylonian Exile. Wicked Haman plotted to get the King to kill all the Jews. Esther foiled his plan and instead, the Jews were able to slay their enemies.

You know the story of Job. He was a righteous man whom Satan tormented with God’s permission to test and strengthen him. He remained faithful in extreme misery and loss. Eventually, Job was rewarded by God with an even better condition than he had before. 

The figures of Esther and Job invest our Sunday Mass with their presence. The Introit Antiphon is from Esther and the Offertory Antiphon is from Job. There is a message embedded in the chants: things can go sideways very fast and mortal peril can arise. The agents of Satan and even Satan himself are at work. We must persevere, for only God is our salvation. Only He can save us, but we, like Ester and especially Job, must do our part both to defend ourselves from the Enemy and then also go on the offensive with prayer: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

I admit to not having read this scripture. I read it this morning about Esther and Haman.

Esther 7

New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition

7 1 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. 2 On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, ‘What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.’ 3 Then Queen Esther answered, ‘If I have won your favour, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me—that is my petition—and the lives of my people—that is my request. 4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king.’[a] 5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, ‘Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?’ 6 Esther said, ‘A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!’ Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. 7 The king rose from the feast in wrath and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that the king had determined to destroy him. 8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman had thrown himself on the couch where Esther was reclining; and the king said, ‘Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?’ As the words left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, ‘Look, the very gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, stands at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.’ And the king said, ‘Hang him on that.’ 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated.

Hamas, I mean, Haman, was hanged.

Is your heart on fire for demons? No? How about Reptilians? Then you are not Synodal!

You just can't make this shite up.

Sin-odd, schmynod!

Don't believe me?

https://www.synod.va/en/highlights/towards-a-spirituality-for-synodality.html

Super flumina Babylonis

The Offertory Antiphon for today, the 20th Sunday after Pentecost is, "Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept: when we remembered Sion." It is also the Offertory for the 26th Sunday in Ordered Time according to the modernist Missal. Oh, you didn't know there was one?

Think about the text. "Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept: when we remembered Sion." Why did they need to "remember Sion?" Because they were taken from their land against their will. 

Where was their land? 

Israel.

The last two lines of this imprecatory psalm, "O daughter of Babylon, miserable: blessed shall he be who shall repay thee thy payment which thou hast paid us. Blessed be he that shall take and dash thy little ones against the rock" speaks of the prayer of Israel against those who would destroy her.

When did you expect that we would tolerate signs and protests, "gas the Jews," or "death to Israel" on our western streets and the Star of David painted on the homes of Jews?

We've been here before.

As a son of Mount Lebanon, I know where I stand. 

Never again!

Never!

Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept: when we remembered Sion:
On the willows in the midst thereof we hung up our instruments.
For there they that led us into captivity required of us the words of songs. And they that carried us away, said: Sing ye to us a hymn of the songs of Sion.
How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten.
Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee: If I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy.
Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom, in the day of Jerusalem: Who say: Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
O daughter of Babylon, miserable: blessed shall he be who shall repay thee thy payment which thou hast paid us.
Blessed be he that shall take and dash thy little ones against the rock.

Oseh Shalom

He who makes peace in His high places

May He bring peace upon us

And upon all Israel

And say ye Amen.

May He bring peace, may He bring peace

Peace upon us and on all of Israel

May He bring peace, may He bring peace

Peace upon us and on all of Israel.

To which, I say.

Through Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen! 

Vox

Bergoglio is "consciously breaking with the Church's tradition."

Some of us have been on to this Peronist for a decade. It is now so obvious that the full plan of this wicked man is so clear that everyone can see it.

'The assumption must be faced that Pope Francis is consciously breaking with the Church’s tradition' - Catholic Herald

Members of the Sinod on Sinodality dispense with Doctrine!

 

To Toronto Priests

 Are you going to bless sin?

Cardinals issue Dubia, again

Blogging has been slow even though the news is coming a mile a minute. Honestly, I just don't have the energy, brain power, or inclination to write about the antics of Bergoglio or his meetings on meetings filled with deviants, perverts, heretics, and malcontents. Now, we find that five Cardinals have issued a dubia. I have neither the time nor inclination to read it or write or rant on it. 

Father Z has covered it well.

New “DUBIA” Submitted to Francis about the Synodality (“walking togetherity”), same-sex blessings, ordination of women, shifting doctrine | Fr. Z's Blog (wdtprs.com)

I note that at all blogs, Father Z included, comments are down significantly. I don't write this to enlist comments but it does tell me something. People are exhausted by it all.

Do not lose your peace in all of this.

Stay close to Jesus.

On this Sunday at Mass your urgent prayers and donations are requested for our good friend, Andrew Rivera!

Dear Friends,

Andrew Rivera has been a friend of mine for many years. He has been a collaborator with me on the organization of many Masses in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite across the Greater Toronto Area. He is known to many here both in the diocesan traditional community and the Society of St. Pius X. Andrew is a single father of a five-year-old boy, pictured with him above, his wife having passed away three years ago. 

GiveSendGo - Supporting Andrew Rivera and Son: The Leader in Freedom Fundraising.

Just after Easter, Andrew had a serious attack and went into a diabetic coma. The next few weeks were like an episode of House (without the cursing and such). Every time I spoke with his mother there was another issue. Infection. Kidney failure and dialysis and the usual things and indignities that accompany such a situation. The most shocking and profound was a stroke caused by clots that can happen due to inactivity. (No jab here folks, so let's leave that one alone). However, it turns out that the cause of the clots may have been a previously undetected "hole in the heart." more properly known as an atrial septal defect and is from birth. In addition to this, there is ongoing neuropathy from the stroke.

GiveSendGo - Supporting Andrew Rivera and Son: The Leader in Freedom Fundraising.

Tomorrow morning, Monday, September 18, Andrew will have PFO Closure surgery. Please remember Andrew today at Mass and in your prayers, that God will guide the surgeon's hands so that all will be well and grant a full recovery in all these things to Andrew.

Now, the recovery from this is going to add to the other maladies. It is simply not known when Andrew will be able to return to work.

Thus, I am asking you to be generous with our fundraising campaign.

Your help is most appreciated, Andrew has seen all the data from the GiveSendGo and you are all in his prayers.

God bless you.

David Anthony Domet

GiveSendGo - Supporting Andrew Rivera and Son: The Leader in Freedom Fundraising.

Sharing a name with Bergoglio - Frank Walker is recovering well. Being snarky as ever, must be okay. Okay?

 Wonderful news!

Is that the fear of Hell in the eyes of this maggot, Mr. McCarrick the Pervert

 

Archbishop Fernandez Kiss My Arse declares the Doctrine of Francis supersedes the Doctrine of Christ

Edward Pentin reports:

https://www.ncregister.com/interview/exclusive-archbishop-fernandez-warns-against-bishops-who-think-they-can-judge-doctrine-of-the-holy-father

My ability to write reasonably seems to have deserted me.

Report: Frank Walker of Canon212 suffers a stroke!

Ann Barnhardt is reporting the following:

"Gina Walker just let us know that Frank had a stroke Thursday night. He is heavily sedated in ICU. The prognosis is for a full recovery, but it’s going to be a long road back. So, we’re all going to be without Frank’s amazing service and hard work of combing the web for every interesting link for a while."

Frank has been a good friend of this blog. His work on Canon212 has been valuable.

Let us pray that Frank has a full recovery.

God bless you, Frank.

Pope Francis restores Tiara!

 

Mug Shot!

 

For Andrew Rivera the need is still there!

GiveSendGo - Supporting Andrew Rivera and Son: The Leader in Freedom Fundraising.

 

Dear Friends,

First, I want to thank you for all your donations thus far for Andrew Rivera. You are very kind. May God bless you abundantly.

It is August 16 and it has now been over four months since that Easter Week incident that sent Andrew and his family into this crisis. I spoke with him yesterday and he is making great progress. I'm sorry I am not disclosing here all the medical circumstances, I am trying to respect his privacy as much as possible given the circumstances and I am sure you understand. Andrew is not yet "out of the woods." There are more tests to go because as is often the case, when a medical crisis happens and one is exposed to all of these tests and interventions, causes or sometimes new issues are discovered and that is the case. It is too early to say how it will be dealt with and while Canadian health care will cover the medical needs, there is no indication as yet, when he will be able to return to work. If further surgery is required, it will be many, many months. 

On behalf of Andrew and his family, thank you again and God bless you. 

David Anthony Domet

GiveSendGo - Supporting Andrew Rivera and Son: The Leader in Freedom Fundraising.

 

On the Viganò comments regarding the Conclave of 2013

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has recently made comments that a Cardinal present at the Conclave in 2013 which gave us the Bergoglio has made statements that the election of Bergoglio was fraudulent.

CFN INTERVIEWS VIGANÒ: Francis, Trump, Ukraine, Child Trafficking, and More - Catholic Family News

It is entirely believable given the actions of Bergoglio and his sycophants and the machinations of Mr. McCarrick and the rest of the mafia. 

The alleged Cardinal is concerned about coming forward due to the "pontifical secret." Well, if true, he already broke it. Further, if Bergoglio is not the pope, then there is no "secret" to maintain.

If this is true, the Cardinal must speak out. He must clear the air and call on those present to do likewise.

It really is that simple. 

If not, then he can go to his grave and throw himself on God's mercy for not interventing to save the Church and the faithful for he would be a complicit coward and an accomplice to the destruction.

Ave Maria - Robert Parsons

I've sung and heard many Ave Maria's in my time as a member of the Toronto Oratory Choir, Sacred Music Society, and the award-winning Victoria Scholars. If there is a more sublime setting of the Ave Maria, I do not know it. Schubert? Bach- Gounod? They can't touch this. Victoria? Yes, comes close, but this is by far, the best!

A blessed Feast of the Assumption to all.

Most Blessed Mary, ever-virgin, intercede for this writer and his readers. Amen.

 

Guilherme Peixoto, Satanic Priest of Bergoglio's WYD

More here at CatholicConclave.

DJ priest at WYD satirised traditional priests in betting advert- you could not make this up (cathcon.blogspot.com)

Father Guilherme Peixoto at DuckDuckGo

More Bergoglian WYD Lisbon sacriledge and scandal - absolutely demonic

 

I use these to store Christmas lights.

Four people take Him seriously.

Clown

Bundle of sticks

https://twitter.com/davidsm74079804/status/1688259930594140161?s=12&t=7PR15aW5AYG9od63qZQBtA

To Bergoglio and his WYD sycophants, the value of Blessed Sacrament is a (plastic), sorry, cheap ceramic bowl from IKEA!

I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

But the Latin Mass is the problem.

Toronto priest, Neil Pereira, 33, arrested and charged for sexual crimes against a minor!

A Toronto priest on loan to the Diocese of Peterborough, Neil Pereira, 33, has been arrested and charged with sexual crimes against a minor. Prior to leaving for campus ministry at Trent University and Sir Sandford Fleming College. Ordained in June 2020 by Thomas No Mass For You Collins, Pereira was Associate Pastor at St. Isaac Jogues in Pickering.

Peterborough priest, Father Neil Pereira, was arrested for alleged sexual assault of a minor (thepeterboroughexaminer.com)

The man must be presumed innocent. Sources familiar don't believe he did anything inappropriate. Who really knows anymore?

See how long Neil keeps this up.

Not long! Good work, Neil. 

What kind of man thinks a woman receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, whilst veiled, is a sexual fetish?

 I don't know who this D.J. Lafferty is. A short search reveals he is featured on web pages called, Future Church and Where Peter Is. No links to these, they can be found if you must and the fact that they feature him, reveals much about him. He allegedly is a Ph.D., though I hardly find that impressive. He states he is a Catholic. 

D.W. Lafferty (@rightscholar) / Twitter

Removing the veil, this is how I received Holy Communion last Sunday. Does that make me "gay."