Synodisms, scents and solemn nonsense

"To search for that which the Lord asks of His Church, we must lend our ears to the beat of our time and perceive the 'scent' of the people today." Pope Francis

Solemn nonsense and more confusion; but who am I to judge?

Dangerous times, friend. Very dangerous. The Pope speaks of changing "epochs" and the "beat of the times." Even to the point of calling on the Synod to be another Pentecost. Yes, another new springtime, how's that working out for us, eh?

In his homily today, the Pope referred to the synod being the "dream of God" and that we can "frustrate" it if we "don't let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit." 

On Friday, in his usual non-magisterial musings at Mass, he said referred to "man-made commandments" and those who "buy their salvation" by following "man-made rules and regulations."

There are snake-oil salesmen such as Kasper and Tom Rosica; they are going to try to force this on the Church. If they can't change the doctrine directly, they will try to change it through pastoral stealth.

Will they succeed?

My prediction?

The bishops from Africa and Asia and the faithful bishops of Europe and the Americas will stop them. They will be outed, all of them. The doctrine cannot change. 

Parolin the fool and the Fool's Paradise of Islam

Last week, the Secretary of State of the Vatican City State addressed the globalist masonic United Nations and said, "Young people travelling abroad to join the ranks of terrorist organisations often come from poor immigrant families, disillusioned by what they feel as a situation of exclusion and by lack of integration and values in certain societies."

Right Eminence. Pure. Liberal. Drivel.

I'll give you the "lack of integration" but don't give me the poverty line. I can tell you that those distorted youths that left his country were not in "poverty" except a poverty of spirit or intellect or faith. 

Have you forgotten that the 9-11 monsters were mostly engineering graduates of fine universities?

There's no fool, like a Vatican fool.

What an scandal. What an embarrassment to those of us who cling to the Barque of Peter.

Read this.

Fool’s Paradise: The Appeal of Jihad

WILLIAM KILPATRICK

“As for the righteous, they shall surely triumph. Theirs shall be gardens and vineyards and high-bosomed maidens for companions.”  ∼ Koran 78: 31-33

According to the principle known as Occam’s razor, the best explanation of an event is usually the one that is simplest. Yet Western analysts persist in using the most convoluted hypotheses to explain Islamic terrorism. Take a recent address to the UN Security Council by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State. In encouraging the Security Council to address the “root causes” of terrorism, he observed:

Young people traveling abroad to join the ranks of terrorist organizations often come from poor immigrant families, disillusioned by what they feel as a situation of exclusion and by the lack of integration and values in certain societies.

Deposed Bishop in Paraguay -- Where is the truth?

With his usual adroit style, Sandro Magister tells us the other side of the situation regarding the deposed Bishop of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. All Rome has said was that there was an issue of unity and "communion" with the other bishops. But what if the problem is the other bishops? The media has built up that this is about a priest with a suspected background which the diocese defends against. Yet, Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X wrote to the Bishop of Scranton warning him of this very same priest.

When one reads the "facts" on the web page of the diocese, we see a diocese in growth of catechesis, charity, vocations and religious formation. Yet, we see the bishop of that diocese deposed by the Pope and convoluted reasons from the usual media spin-doctor, Lombardi. 

Where is the truth? 

The Bishop Deposed in Paraguay. The Defense Speaks

He has been removed without being able to read the charges against him. He has knocked at the pope’s door without being received. Here is his reconstruction of events, against the dramatic backdrop of the Church in his country

by Sandro Magister

ROME, October 2, 2014 – It is rare for a pope to depose a bishop. It is even more outlandish for a Jesuit pope to kick out a bishop of Opus Dei.

And yet this is what has happened in Ciudad del Este, the diocese of Paraguay overlooking Iguazù Falls on the border with Brazil and Argentina, in the territory that from three to four centuries ago was civilized and Christianized by the Jesuit missionaries of the “Reductions.”

Again I ask, why is Godfried Danneels at the Synod?

We have this from Sylvia's Site and this below. Why has the Pope, appointed Daneels a protector of pederasts to the upcoming Synod on the Family?

Belgian prelate perverts and their catechism kiddie porn 

The Vatican and the Belgian Catholic hierarchy are squealing like stuck pigs over the police raid last week on the home of the former head of Belgium's eight million Catholics. The cops seized a personal computer and documents belonging to Cardinal Godfried Danneels. Police also raided the archdiocesan palace near Brussels, and the crypt of the cathedral at Mechelen.They confiscated 450 files containing reports of paedophile offences by members of clergy.

Squeal? The bishops ought to be grateful the police weren't kicking in heads as well as kicking in doors. In April Cardinal Danneels' close friend, Monsignor Roger Vangheluwe, the Bishop of Bruges, admitted to having molested children for years, both before and after he became a bishop. In a country which has never recovered from the shock and shame of the Dutroux case, in which legal fumbling -- and perhaps corruption -- by police and prosecutors left a murderous, torturing paedophile loose for years to imprison and rape young girls, patience has run out.

Now increasing evidence of decades of rape and sodomy of children by Belgian's priests has pushed the law enforcement authorities to act with the kind of determination they should have used against Dutroux and his collaborators.

The arrogance of the bishops in dealing with years of worries by parents makes this action all the more satisfying. In the current issue of the on-line Brussels Journal, a member of the federal parliament, Dr Alexandra Colen, writes about her struggles, and struggles by other parents, to have a Church catechism stinking of paedophile propaganda withdrawn from Catholic schools.

Included were drawings such as the one above, in which a naked baby girl is saying: 'Stroking my p**sy feels groovy,' and 'I like to take my knickers off with friends' and 'I want to be in the room when Mum and Dad have sex.' Another drawing shows a naked little boy and girl that are 'playing doctor' and the little boy is saying, 'Look, my willy is big.'

Another drawing shows three pairs of parents. Those with the 'correct' attitude -- and remember, this meant to be an official handbook of Church teaching  -- reply, ' Yes feeling and stroking those little places is good fun.'

Dr Colen discovered this catechism among the school books of her 13-year old daughter in 1997. Dr Colen wrote to Cardinal Danneels, who was then still in office as head of Belgium's Catholics, and said: 'When I see this drawing and its message, I get the distinct impression that this catechism textbook is designed intentionally to make 13 and 14 year olds believe that toddlers enjoy genital stimulation.'

'In this way one breeds paedophiles that sincerely believe that children actually think that what they are doing to them is "groovy," while the opposite it the case.' She demanded the Church withdraw the book. Her protests, and protests by other parents, were dismissed by the Cardinal.

As she explains the Brussels Journal: 'Today this case, that dates from 12 years ago, assumes a new and ominous significance. Especially now that I know that Mgr Roger Vangheluwe, the paedophile child-molesting Bishop of Bruges, was the supervising bishop of both institutions -- the Catholic University of Leuven and the Seminary of Bruges -- whence came the editors in chief of this perverted "catechism" textbook.'

'Monsignor Vangheluwe not only entertained paedophile ideas, but also practised them on his 11-year old nephew.'

After Dr Colen started her campaign against such paedophile propaganda in schools, other parents came forward with accounts of children in Catholic schools being required to watch videos showing techniques of masturbation and copulation.

When hundreds of parents gathered in protest in from of the Cardinal's residence, he refused to meet them. Other protests demanded an investigation into these books and videos in the schools. The investigation was refused. When parents demanded to meet the Papal Nuncio, the Pope's ambassador in Belgium, he refused to meet them. Instead he alerted the police who moved in to guard his residence from the parents with water cannon. 

Meanwhile, some of Cardinal Danneels' friends -- was his good friend the paedophile Bishop of Bruges among them? -- started a press campaign against Dr Colen, claiming she was 'pestering the bishops'.  Finally the Cardinal's official spokesman rang her and insisted she had to 'be obedient' to the bishops.

But word of Dr Colen's campaign spread out to the Church across the world, and she received support from as far away as New Zealand. Letters of support for her arrived at the Vatican. Last February, the Belgian newspaper De Standaard wrote that these letters 'enhanced Rome's perception of the weak church leadership in Belgium.' The liberal Cardinal Danneels was replaced by Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard. Rome dropped him into the job in the hope he could restore the Church in Belgium. Léonard has already urged victims to take their cases to court.

Which is a start. But squealing about a perfectly correct police raid is not. The bishops need to shut up and just hand over the documents.

Cardinal Burke : Kasper's proposal is fundamentally flawed, it is against the LORD!

Those puerile and socially disturbed out there with their dyspeptic mutterings of incoherence who continue to defame and dance on the supposed episcopal grave of the Lion of Rome, need a good swift kick into the confessional.

Raymond Cardinal Leo Burke is a humble and holy servant of the Lord and of you and I.

May Our Blessed Lord bless him, Our Lady keep him close and St. Michael protect him from the enemies especially catholic laity and catholic priests in certain media circles that do the devil's work.

They know who they are.

We do too!

 +++

        

By Michael O'Loughlin For CRUX

National reporter September 30, 2014

Not only should Catholics who have divorced and remarried not expect permission to receive Communion following the upcoming synod of bishops, but any streamlining to make the annulment process easier is unlikely, too.

That was the message from Cardinal Raymond Burke earlier today, in which he blasted those who advocate for change to the church’s prohibition on divorce and the loosening of the annulment process. He said any changes would “only further encourage a defective view of marriage and the family.”

Speaking with reporters on a conference call hosted by Ignatius Press, Burke said that restructuring the annulment process — which some say is church discipline open to adjustment and not core doctrine — would lead Catholics to believe that the church isn't serious about its prohibition on the “insolubility” (does O'Loughlin mean indissolubility?) of marriage.

“It’s a very deceptive line of argument,” Burke said.

Burke, who heads up the Vatican’s Supreme Court, upped his public feud with another cardinal, Walter Kasper, dismissing Kasper’s proposal that the church restructure its annulment process. “The Kasper positions have been discussed some decades ago,” Burke said, and “we came to the conclusion that the solution proposed by Cardinal Kasper is fundamentally flawed.”

Kasper said earlier this month that Pope Francis shared his beliefs.

 

“They claim to know on their own what truth is, but Catholic doctrine is not a closed system, but a living tradition that develops,” Kasper told the Italian daily Il Mattino. “None of my brother cardinals has ever spoken with me. I, on the other hand, have spoken twice with the Holy Father. I arranged everything with him. He was in agreement. What can a cardinal do but stand with the pope? I am not the target, the target is another.” (by inference, Pope Francis -- Vox).

Burke, who was removed from the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops last year by Pope Francis, bristled at this characterization.

“I find it amazing that the cardinal claims to speak for the pope,” Burke said. “The pope does not have laryngitis. The pope is not mute; he can speak for himself.”

Burke said proposals like Kasper’s are “disobedience to, or a non-adherence to, the words of the Lord himself.”

According to church teaching, Catholics who remarry civilly without an annulment of their first, sacramental marriage may not receive Communion unless they abstain from sexual relations, living with their new partners “as brother and sister.”

Critics say the annulment process can be expensive, demeaning and take too long. (This is not true, I've been through it, it is a lie; it was not demeaning, $900 charitable donation for which I received a tax receipt, done in a year, outright lies -- Vox.) Some Catholics have expressed hope that the synod may streamline the annulment process, and Kasper has been at the forefront of that movement.

“He is proposing a direction that in [its] whole history, the church has never taken,” Burke said.

James Hitchcock, a professor at St. Louis University, said that a change in the church’s prohibition on Communion for the divorce and remarried could alienate those living by the current teaching.

“There are people who have lived heroically by the teaching of the Church. They have not received Communion in living in the teaching of the Church, and they cannot be brushed away,” he said. Burke defended his public challenge to Kasper and other bishops.

“For everyone to simply be silent while they see things being said that are not true, how can this be construed as being charitable?” he asked.

Rev. Joseph Fessio, a Jesuit priest and head of Ignatius Press who also was on the call, agreed. He called the focus on divorced and remarried Catholics a “very important, but very small issue” that Kasper’s ideas have amplified. (why, the Council or Synod of the Media?")

Still, he said that the public dispute was a blessing for the church.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing these disputes are known; in fact, I think it’s a good thing,” he said.

“Remaining in the Truth of Christ,” which Ignatius Press will publish Oct. 1, includes essays in response to Cardinal Kasper’s proposal by three synod fathers: Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Burke, prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature, and Cardinal Carlo Caffarra of Bologna, Italy.

On the same day, Ignatius Press will also publish two other books in which synod fathers respond to Cardinal Kasper’s proposal: “The Hope of the Family,” an extended interview with Cardinal Muller; and “The Gospel of the Family,” which features a foreword by Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy. (Cardinal Kasper’s address, published by Paulist Press, is also titled “The Gospel of the Family.”)

Burke believes he said continuing the ban on divorce will strengthen marriage, and that the stakes are high.

“If the family is not strong, and the institution of marriage is not strong, society is in danger,” he said.

Material from Catholic News Service was used in this report.

Calling all Muslims, +++ Al Massih Yasou' Ibnollah +++

Back on July 23, I wrote the post copied below. Not surprisingly, some people did not like it.  Even some Catholics found it offensive.

Two months have past now and what has happened? 

More blood and beheading, even yesterday, another case of "workplace violence" which was actually another jihadist act against an innocent person. 

The Second Vatican Council documents and the Catechism refer to individuals who "profess" to be part of "Abrahamic" faith. Not the actual religion of Islam. That being said, Islam itself, is evil. Its founder, Mahomet, was a thief, a murderer and a child molester. On one day, this "prophet' beheaded 700 Jews. In one day, this religion beheaded 800 Catholics in Otranto whose relics are embedded in the walls.  How can we logically conclude that this comes from God? (and please, do not even think of comparing the Crusades or Spanish Inquisition, spare me.)

If you can pray five times a day at a mat to your god and then can go and cut off someone's neck, are you worshiping a god of good or one of evil? Not every Muslim is a radical jihadist. There are many wonderful decent people who are Muslim but it is not because of their religion, it is in spite of it. They are in darkness, deceived by a demon that wants them all his own and in Hell. 

Wake up people. Islam is false religion and Mahomet was a false prophet!

It cannot be anything else.

If you accept that the Koran is right, then Christ is wrong and a liar. How much clearer can it be. If you, as a Catholic, hold that Islam is just another way to reach heaven, then you are deceived.

Islam denies the Holy Trinity.

Islam denies the Sonship of Jesus.

Islam denies the divinity of Christ.

Islam denies the crucifixion and death of Jesus.

Islam denies the resurrection of Jesus.

Islam is Arianism fused with moon-god paganism.

Islam is from Hell!

What is it you don't get about that?

We need to pray friends and return to the sacraments and the Holy Mass.  

We must call to our Muslim brothers and sisters to get out of this prison of evil in which they have become bonded. They must come to Christ and His Church.

We must proclaim it, even if our Pope and our Cardinals and our Bishops and our Priests and our expert theologians and our Catholic media sycophants won't.

My Muslim brothers and sisters. You are loved by the Triune God. You are loved by Al Massih Yasou' Ibnollah, the Saviour of the World. He is my Messiah. He is your Messiah. You are loved by Mother Maryam. She wants you for her own. She wants you (and us) out of the clutches of Shatan. 

Come, come to Jesus!

Get out of this bondage of evil that has you by its throat as you cut the throats of others. 

There are no black-eyed virgins. There is no paradise awaiting, there is only death. 

There is no other way.  

There is no other salvation for the world.

Only Christ and Him crucified!

WEDNESDAY, 23 JULY 2014

Let us all be Nazarenes!

The post below and the photo to the right show the Arabic letter "nun", the first letter of the world Nazarene which has been sprayed on the doors and buildings of homes and businesses of Christians in Mosul. This is reminiscent of the Nazi treatment of Jews in the years leading up to the war when the yellow Star of David was smeared on their businesses and the Jewish people were ordered to wear one. I have chosen, as have thousands of others, to change my Facebook picture to that in the post below as an act of solidarity with our Chaldean Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq and our Syriac brethren in Syria. 

We are witnessing a genocide and the world stands by.

An interesting report follows below of sincere Muslims holding signs; "I am Iraqi; I am Christian" as an act of solidarity, the report even identified the same "nun" on many facebook pages and below as a popular social-media act of solidarity.

You and I can do little directly but we can pray, we must pray; and we can also show our solidarity by this symbol and to show our politicians and these evil perpetrators that we stand with our sisters and brothers but also that we will not be moved.

Are there good Muslims? 

Of course there are, and there are bad Christians.

But, where there are good Muslims, it can only bebecause of natural law and a sense of justice and truth that is somewhere written upon their hearts in spite of; and not because of their religion. 

Islam's view of God is false, it cannot be otherwise. 

It's founder was a murderer, a child-molester, a thief and warlord. No "prophet" from God would do what he did, nor have put in a book the lies which exist in it (Mahomet himself was illiterate). There was no appearance by the Angel Gabriel and even the so-called prophet, disposed of the Satanic Verses from his own book because he believed that Satan had appeared to him disguised as an angel. Perhaps, he was always disguised as one, eh? 

Truly, we cannot both be right. If Islam is true, then Christianity is a lie. That is how opposed the two are.

Islam denies the revealed truth of the Holy Trinity, the Triune Godhead of FATHER, SON and HOLY SPIRIT: 

"O People of the Scripture! Do not speak lies against Allah, but speak the Truth. That Jesus Christ, son of Mary, was a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not ‘Trinity.’ Desist! It is better for you. For Allah is one God." An-Nisa 4:17

Islam denies the Divinity of Jesus Christ, His Kingship and His Sonship and His equal part of the Godhead.

The Apostle Paul tell us clearly:

"I wonder that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ, unto another gospel. Which is not another, only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema. As we have said before, so now I say again: if any one preach to you a gospel, besides that which you have received, let him be anathema." Galations 1:6-9.

The Second Vatican Council document on the Relations of the Church with Non-Christian Religions (Nostra aetate) has this to say about Muslims:

Church regards with esteem also the Moslems who adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself, merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, and has spoken to men take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God point of reference. Jesus whom, indeed, they do not acknowledge Him as God, they revere Him as a prophet, honour Mary, His virgin Mother; sometimes they even call on her with devotion. In addition, look for the day of judgment when God will reward all men raised. From that time, they value the moral life and God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting worship them. 

But if in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and for all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom. P3 Nostra aetate.

Who am I to contradict this document?  Well, we cannot place a non-doctrinal document which was loaded with politics above revealed truth as in Holy Scripture. Reading St. Paul and then reading Nostra aetate, who are we to believe? Clearly, there was a desire to have the Council reject any antisemitism of the past directed towards are "elders brothers in the faith;" but in order to achieve this, there was a negotiation with the Catholic bishops, Latin and Eastern Rite of the Arab countries -- something needed to be said for them living in the midst of the Islamic world. Something else about Nostra aetate? It was the ranked as a "Declaration" not a "Constitution" and does not carry the same weight.  

Not only is Nostra aetate not doctrinal, it is political and it cannot be placed over Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.

There are some that believe that Islam's god is the ancient moon-god of the pagan Arabs, clearly, Mahomet knew this "god" from his own pagan background and he mixed this paganism with what he knew of Judaism from trading with the Jews and what he learnt from Bahira, a heretical Christians monk fused with Arianism and Nestorianism. Bahira was the one that put the poison fruit of false Christianity in the mind of the young "prophet." There can be no doubt as Catholics; we must not call Mahomet anything other than what he is -- anantichrist!

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that Antichrist cometh, even now there are become many Antichrists: whereby we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us; but that they may be manifest, that they are not all of us. But you have the unction from the Holy One, and know all things. I have not written to you as to them that know not the truth, but as to them that know it: and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar, but he who denieth that Jesus is the Christ? This is Antichrist, who denieth the Father, and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father. He that confesseth the Son, hath the Father also. As for you, let that which you have heard from the beginning, abide in you. If that abide in you, which you have heard from the beginning, you also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father. 

1 John 2:18-24

Islam will explain this simply, -- the apostles were liars and there is a mask on the real Jesus.

What we are seeing in all of this violence and bloodshed is in fact, the true Islam.  Islam was founded by the sword and spread by the sword. Mahomet was an antichrist, his book is the same and those who would preach to you that they are not ignorant of history. 

Throughout history, Islam has been the purveyor of death and murder. We are seeing the early centuries of it replayed before our very eyes.

Our governments are impotent because they have no understanding of the Social Kingship of Christ. They cannot deal with this because they cannot understand its roots. 

Our people are suffering and dying. 

Will we at least be strong enough to stand up for them?

God grant us courage and peace.

17th century pulpit, sculpted in wood by Mattheus van Beveren from the Church of Our Lady in Dendermonde, Flanders showing Mahomet and the Koran crushed by two angels.

Pope allegedly calls Kasper: "discerner of the spirit"

According to this Cardinal, the Pope has told him that he is a man "who discerns the spirit." Well, I can't say the Pope said that but Kasper said that he did, My question is "which spirit?"

To even hint that the Church should open the door on artificial contraception is heresy and from some kind of "spirit" but not one from heaven. 

To utter that couples who remain continent at times and choose not to have children for valid reasons -- grave reasons, is the height of arrogance and deceit. In fact, being continent at times takes struggle, to be abstinent is a test in controlling ones appetite and lusting after ones spouse. This, is in faith and harmony to the Church's timeless teaching and the Magisterial teaching of three Popes in Casti Connubii and Humanae Vitae and Familaris Consortio.

The Cardinal knows this; but he is trying to manipulate the debate that would put "artificial" contraception on the same level as nature.   

To state that those who abstain at certain times are using the equivalent of "artificial contraception" is an outright lie.

See here and the original which follows.

The case for mercy

18 September 2014 by Christopher Lamb

The leading proponent of relaxing the ban on Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics tells Christopher Lamb that the Church too often appears rule-bound

Given pride of place  on a mantelpiece in his apartment, a stone’s throw from the colonnades of St Peter’s Square, is a photo of Cardinal Walter Kasper as a day-old baby lying next to his mother. “We all start from the same place,” joked the cardinal pointing to the picture. The question of family is the hot topic in Rome with next month’s extraordinary synod on the matter fast approaching.

An eminent theologian with a down-to-earth pastoral style, the president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has won many admirers over the years, not least Pope Francis. At the start of his pontificate, the Pope praised Cardinal Kasper’s book on mercy, which, he said, had “done him so much good”.

The Pope and Kasper are agreed on the importance of the mercy of God, and for the Church to demonstrate this to the world. In February Francis asked the 81-year-old theologian to address a gathering of cardinals ahead of the Synod on the Family.

Cardinal Kasper gave an eloquent speech looking at how marriage was understood in the early Church, and the pressures facing married couples today. He then offered suggestions on how the Church could find an opening to its blanket ban on divorced and remarried Catholics receiving Communion.

Relaxing the ban – a suggestion the cardinal first aired in 1993 when he was Bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart – has unleashed fierce opposition from some inside the Vatican, including his fellow German, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. So what did he make of the reaction?

“I was a little surprised,” he told me in the living room of his flat, its walls covered with shelves of books on theology. “But I did not say you can admit all [divorced and remarried] to Communion. There are different situations: there are those who abandon a marriage and those who are the innocent party. I am not abandoning the indissolubility of marriage – we cannot do that! But a Christian can fail.”

Referring to his time in Stuttgart, he added: “I remember a situation when I was a bishop, a pastor came to me; there was a mother who was divorced and remarried and he said she prepared her daughter in a wonderful way for First Holy Communion – much better than the others. And then he said, ‘Now I must say to the daughter that you can receive Holy Communion but not your mother.’ If a second civil marriage is solid and there is real metanoia [change of heart] then I think sins can be forgiven.”

Kasper’s latest book says that the concept of mercy has been badly ignored by theologians and needs to be rediscovered both by the Church and by society at large.

“It has been neglected because the main concept was justice,” he said, adding that mercy is not just about forgiveness but a sign of God’s sovereignty. Some, I ask, might see an appeal to mercy as a way of condoning bad behaviour?

 “No, no” he replied. “Justice is the minimum and mercy is the maximum. Mercy presupposes justice and does not abolish it.”

In his book, Mercy: The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life, he is critical of the Church for failing to express mercy. Too often, he explained, it can appear as rigid and rule-bound: “It is scandalous that the Church is often seen as not merciful. It is a vocation of the Church to be merciful to sinful people. Mercy does not justify the sin but the sinner. The Church should try to share in people’s situations, and find out why people might behave in a certain way. It cannot simply condemn: it must understand first and then accompany and help people.”

All of this sounds remarkably similar to Pope Francis: the only difference between Cardinal Kasper and other bishops who might say similar things is that he was talking about mercy before Francis was elected. And given that this Pope is not a professor like his predecessor, it could be argued Kasper is the closest we have to Francis’s theologian.

The cardinal refuses to give himself such a title – “that would be too arrogant” – but admits that Francis has told him: “You are a man who discerns the spirit.”

And where is the spirit leading the Church in relation to the family? The synod next month is the start of a process of discernment that will culminate in another synodal gathering in 2015 where proposals will be made.

Cardinal Kasper, who will attend the synod as a nominee of Francis, says his first hope is that the Church can bear witness to the beauty of marriage and family life that is in a crisis in the Western world. He says economic and labour systems are “anti-family” and too focused on the individual. Fathers have to be away from their families for long periods of time due to work and there is a lack of adequate housing in cities.

“The Church needs to have a prophetic voice in this area,” he said. “Society needs to support family and not be anti-family. Many people simply cannot afford more than two children.”

Then there are the “hot-button” issues. Does he think there will be an opening on Communion for divorced and remarried?

“I do not know. I am not a prophet! I hope that bishops will listen to the voice of people who live as divorced and remarried – the sensus fidei. They should listen and then next year they should decide what is possible and what is not possible,” he said, adding that his “impression” is that the Pope also wants an “opening”.

In his address to the cardinals in February, he cited Cardinal Newman’s essay “On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Faith”, which argued it was the faithful, not bishops, who preserved the faith during the controversies of the fourth and fifth centuries. This emphasised a teaching that each Catholic has a sense of faith by virtue of their Baptism. This sense of faith, the cardinal argues, must be taken seriously.

One area of teaching where many Catholic consciences are at odds with official teaching is on the Church’s ban on artificial contraception articulated in the encyclical Humanae Vitae. Cardinal Kasper said he had no solution and he hoped the question would be discussed at the synod. “To promote a sense that to have children is a good thing, that is the primary thing. Then how to do it and how not to do it, that is a secondary question. Of course the parents have to decide how many children are possible. This cannot be decided by the Church or a bishop, this is the responsibility of the parents,” said the cardinal, pointing out that natural family planning methods can also have an “artificial” element.

It is clear that Cardinal Kasper is a man whose teaching is informed by practice. It is a similar approach to that of the Bishop of Antwerp, Johan Bonny, who has called on the synod to listen to the experiences of laity and be mindful of the gap between Church teaching and practice. 

Cardinal Kasper would also like to see a rediscovery of the family as the domestic Church and for networks of Christian families to support one another in an increasingly secularised Western world.

“The family is the place where children learn their faith: I did not learn my faith by reading encyclicals! We prayed together and it was normal,” said the cardinal who, as one of three siblings, grew up just outside Stuttgart and has vivid memories of the Second World War. “We spent many nights in the basement during air raids. It wasn’t easy.”

As the start of the synod comes closer, it is far from clear whether Cardinal Kasper’s proposals on Communion for the divorced and remarried will be accepted. But whatever the outcome, the cardinal is offering a simple and obvious approach to the vast array of family situations we see today: stop condemning and start understanding.

It is an approach that Pope Francis clearly endorses and also, one cannot help thinking, in tune with Christ’s words in Matthew 9:13: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

Catholic faithful catechise Cardinal Dolan

New York Cardinal Archbishop Timothy Dolan has tired in vain to explain his absurd decision to be Grand Marshall at next year's St.Patrick's Day parade where an out and proud group of homosexualists suffering from SSAD (same-sex attraction disorder) from NBC will march proclaiming the appropriateness of their lifestyle.

Yes, people deserve respect but when an individuals personal sin becomes a linchpin to  undermine the culture, we need to call it out. Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, "go and sin no more." He did not say, take a sign and stand up and proudly proclaim "Look at me, I am an adulterer!"

Dolan wrote an explanation of his decision in the Archdiocesan paper with a copy on his Facebook page. 

It is amazing how the laity have taken him on and how right they are in comparison to His Eminence.

"Why was there a Judas? To prepare the Church for apostate bishops" Father John Hardon.

The Lion of Rome

A few years ago, I read a story on the Internet, which I can no longer find; it was written by a man that once suffered from same-sex attraction.

He wrote that he was outraged that then Bishop Burke of LaCrosse in Wisconsin would speak out firmly against sodomy. This man sent letters to the Bishop, hateful and spiteful letters. A few years later, he had a conversion to Christ and His Church. By then, Raymond Leo Burke was the Archbishop of St. Louis, in Missouri. The man that harassed him so many times sought him out in St. Louis and was surprised when the Archbishop accepted his request for a meeting. He came to the Archbishop and apologised. Archbishop Burke then went to a closet to retrieve a shoebox. Inside the shoebox were all the letters of harassment and hate that the man had sent to him. Archbishop Burke explained that he would regularly pray over the letters for the man and gave him back his letters with his blessing.

I have a personal friend that knows Cardinal Burke personally, I told him this story and his reply was, "I don't know that I've ever heard that but I believe it because that is exactly the kind of thing that Cardinal Burke would do." 

As we digest the news, or rumour, that this holy man is about to be purged from the Curia and demoted, let us remember that God is in control and will not be mocked.

When I wrote my disgust last night to a priest friend, he responded, "The boat is Peter's and Christ is asleep, wake Him with prayer and penance."

There is nothing good that I can say about what is happening in Rome and I should say as little as possible or nothing at all; but my conscience will not allow it, I will therefore attempt to be as temperate as I can be.

The Church is in crisis as at no time in the last 500 years. Not since the protestant revolution have we been at such risk of another schism. We see daily a Vatican spin office polish an apple that is well beyond its freshness. Quotes and pictures and "rock-star" imaging. I am sick from it and sick of it. True humility is shown in the second paragraph above, not in daily issuances by hirelings in the Church of Christ over the daily action of a humble Bishop of Rome. True humility is submitting oneself to ones state in life and showing respect for those who have duties to fulfil. True humility is respecting that which came before and passing it on. True humility is not treating the Church as if it is nothing more than a political game that would make Ottawa, Washington or London blush. True humility would mean that you would do everything in your power to not scandalise the faithful. True humility would prevent one from engaging in a persecution of the most faithful followers of the Church. True humility would accept the place where you are asked to live rather than spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to make another place your own because you feel better there. True humility would not compromise the safety and security of your staff and innocent people around you by following the need to be prudent in a dangerous world rather than insist on the adulation. True humility would put on red shoes made by a local cobbler, subsidiarity it is called, and understand the symbolism behind them -- walking in the blood of the martyrs.

I could go on, but I need to stop now before I take a speckle-fitted nutty or become a Trad Behaving Badly, except for this:

They may think that they have set us back, that they will undo all that has been done for restoration. They are wrong. We will not be moved. We will not be silenced and they cannot hide. We are not our parents or our grandparents that had no knowledge and no tools. They were raised to "pray, pay and obey" and that allowed these rats, these wolves to destroy the liturgy and faith and the tolerated pederastic infiltration. We will not tolerate this anymore.

They will be outed in this life and judged by God in the next.

Do you miss him yet?

PostScript: Conclaves happen, this will not go on forever. Doctrine cannot be changed, the Holy Spirit will not allow that, though He will allow man to not listen to Him and put in the Chair someone who will tickle their ears. The day will come when there will be another Pope, a true restorationist.

A Lion in Rome.

Canadian Bishops and Durocher -- full of gas

In a move reminiscent of former Winnipeg Archbishop Weisgerber's plastic water-bottle sermon-from-the-mount, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishop's President Paul-Andre Durocher has now decided that the greatest ill in Canada is its potential of becoming a global energy "super-power." 

Retired Archbishop of Winnipeg, Weisgerber

Quoted on Radio VM, Durocher states that while it is not a "position" it is a "working tool and reflection on issues of social justice. It is made for the education of adult faith on the social doctrine of the Church."

Originating as a Jesuit document, its English release is set for this week in Toronto. It is good to know that the Sisters of Sainte-Anne de Lachine, the Sisters of IBVM (Loreto in Toronto), the Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland and Sisters Foundation St. Joseph of the Diocese of London all support the document. Considering that each of these former Orders are on their literal death beds, what they think is hardly relevant to the Church.

CCCB President, Bishop Durocher

This is nothing more than Marxist drivel coming out of our Bishops Conference and our debauched and corrupted religious orders, particularly the Jesuits. They would prefer perhaps that North America should continue to buy its energy needs from the same people chopping. What can we expect, when the Bishop of Rome, himself a Jesuit, makes an absurd statement that the greatest problem facing the world today is "youth unemployment."

Where did these clericalists learn their economics; or do we already know?

Canada continues to be have no law protecting children at any stage from abortion. Catholics contracept at the same rate as everyone else, Mass attendance is in decline, our schools are threatened by the homosexualists and our Catholic brothers and sisters are being slaughtered. Yet, the greatest economic development is the concern of our bishops? Development that will lead to security and prosperity for our country and our native peoples in a sustainable manner? 

What poppycock! 

What drivel!

They are an affront to the Christ and His Church and to we the Catholic people.


PostScript: for more on Mario Bard, the author of the Radio VM report, read this little ditty on "sacred meals."

Thanks to New Catholic for the tip.

Bill Donahue and the Catholic League - Blowhards, Hypocrites and Irish Mafia Dons

The scandal caused by the Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan continues with its big apologist Bill Donahue and the Catholic League.

Call these two clowns, "The Gangs of New York."

Last March, he spoke openly against those homosexualist groups that desired to take part as a "group" in the St. Patrick's Day Parade rather than be happy with their own June festivities proving that it's not about the parade, its about destroying Catholic culture and faith. 

Timothy Dolan is wrong to sanction the parade's decision and he is more wrong to act as Grand Marshall. This Prince of the Church with his smiles at the "gay-friendly" parish of St. Francis Xavier, his "bravo" to an athlete that came "out" has scandalised faithful Catholics around the world.

Donahue sided with Dolan and now is distancing himself because of a technicality. The parade will not permit a prolife group to March as a "group" so therefore, the Catholic League will withdraw. He is withdrawing not because of the presence of the homosexualists but because the pro-lifers are barred.

His hypocrisy is blatant and open.

The Catholic League and Bill Donahue have lost all credibility. 

The knives in New York are out

Matt C. Abbot reports on the "case of the missing Monsignor" and it includes and an update about Father Wylie formerly of Holy Innocents Parish.

With this column by Father Rutler, one can wonder, is he next?

 

September 14, 2014

I do not like most jargon, as it diminishes the creative power of the noble English language rightly used. For instance, I do not like to be told by bureaucratic sorts to “prioritize.” (Apparently, the first recorded instance of its use was in the 1972 presidential campaign.) As with all things, Christ the Living Word put it better when he said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). God and his promise of eternal life should have priority over every other desire or concern.

Recently, many television viewers complained about a news bulletin covering the beheading of the journalist and devout Catholic, James Foley. Their objection was not to the horror of the news, but that it had interrupted the broadcast of a soap opera. We are learning quickly that people with that defective kind of priority will soon find out the hard way that life is not a soap opera. We are now engaged in a war, whether or not some politicians hesitate to call it that, and it must have priority over all other interests. The war is being fought by enemies of God, deluded by the conceit that they are fighting for God.

This is so hard for an indulged and selfish culture to accept, inasmuch as it means acknowledging that good and evil exist, though many would prefer to ignore the latter. Christians are being martyred in the Middle East, and public officials still find it hard to mention that those who are being crucified, beheaded, and driven from their homes are suffering because they are Christians.

The auxiliary bishop of Baghdad, Shlemon Warduni, said on Vatican radio: “We have to ask the world: Why are you silent? Why do not you speak out? Do human rights exist, or not? And if they exist, where are they? There are many, many cases that should arouse the conscience of the whole world: Where is Europe? Where is America?” The genocide of Christians, who have been in Iraq since shortly after the Resurrection, does not seem to have priority in the attention of many in our country.

As this suffering continues, many in the United States are willing to tolerate heresy and moral decadence in a vain attempt to “get along” with others. While Christians must “love the sinner and hate the sin,” there are an increasing number of people who are intimidated into enabling the sinner to advertise his sin. In 1992, Cardinal O’Connor said that compromising Catholic truth for the sake of political correctness “was not worth one comma in the Apostles' Creed.”

The holy martyrs in the Middle East honor the Church and atone for our degeneracy. Their bishops are willing to struggle and die with them. They must be amazed that people in other places have their priorities so wrong.