Rejected!

I completely reject the ideas expressed in these two tweets. Why? Because they’re completely designed to shut us up. And, quite frankly, they are both complete lies. If this was going to increase Sr. Joan’s presence, Fr. Martin wouldn’t be whining about it. He knows that, good-hearted Catholics, well-catechized or not, will listen to their cardinals, bishops and priests and that terrifies him when his idols get smacked down.

“It’s just going to increase her crowds,” “The Church doesn’t want you thinking for yourself,” or “You’re immature!” is like having that little devil sitting on your shoulder trying to dissuade people from doing right.  It’s akin to Satan trying to tempt Christ. Trying to create doubt to silence people or prevent them from taking action is a HUGE tool in Satan’s tool belt and Fr. Martin uses them often. Nice try. 

As a woman, the comparison between St. Hildegard or St. Catherine and Joan Chittister is OFFENSIVE. These woman are my idols and Sr. Joan is the polar opposite of them.  They embraced wholeheartedly the truths of the Church and defended them. Sr. Joan? Not even close. She quite often rails against them, downplays them, or tries to drag them into the really big tent with things that are not truths of the Church.

Anyone who encourages people to dissent from Catholics teachings shouldn’t be given a platform, especially priests and religious. We have the world for that.  We don’t need people wearing the uniform (Just kidding, she rejects that) or bearing the title trying their best to confuse the faithful. It’s ridiculous to suggest that the Church should give them a stage. It’s like suggesting that Coke should let Pepsi advertise in their commercials.

Can we talk about the lame accusation that those opposed to Sr. Joan are somehow immature?  Well, I would be in very good company. How about every pope who has affirmed the all-male priesthood? Those silly little popes. Who’s immature one, Fr. Martin? “You’re immature because you disagree with me and my peeps!” doesn’t fly with most of the world, Fr. Martin and it’s intellectually dishonest. It’s simply an ad hominem attack with zero back up to quiet the masses.

Lastly, I’ll mention again his other argument that cancelling Sr. Joan will encourage bigger crowds. First of all, he knows that’s likely not true but let’s say for fun that it is? When, exactly, did the Church base anything on popularity? Christ lost followers speaking the truth. That’s the example we should follow. The Church’s goal should never be to do the popular or avoid the unpopular.  The Church’s goal should be do to what’s right to protect the faithful. Mission accomplished in this instance. Our Church hierarchy should have the same reaction to Sr. Joan as Nancy “I’m a Catholic” Pelosi.  Neither should be given any credence because they don’t actually agree or embrace many Church teachings. They just both self-aggrandizing babes. They promote bitterness against and rejection of Church teachings. They are about as necessary to the faith as, say, Madonna. They might be popular among the old feminist crowd but they are useless to faithful Catholics trying to get to heaven. They’re goals are to rule here on earth and they’re actually the ones that lack the maturity to see the big picture.

 

The Jesuit Identity Crisis

Gotta admit, it’s been entertaining watching some Jesuits spontaneously combust over this. Thankfully, there are still some Jesuits applauding the archbishop. I still hold out hope that the Society of Jesus ship will be righted someday.

Indianapolis archbishop revokes Jesuit prep school’s Catholic identity

Can we just say most of the Jesuits willfully turned in their Catholic identity a while ago?  I realize they still want the advertising perk of claiming to be Catholic, but really, those who don’t twist “primacy of conscience” are few and far between They can’t stand it when people point out the obvious, and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis did that in a big way.

Indianapolis, Ind., Jun 20, 2019 / 01:49 pm (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Indianapolis announced Thursday that a local Jesuit high school will no longer be recognized as a Catholic school, due to a disagreement about the employment of a teacher who attempted to contract a same-sex marriage.

Let’s be a little clearer. This teacher didn’t just enter into a same-sex marriage. He made it public on social media. The reality is that he flaunted and made his sin of sodomy public (probably with Jesuit encouragement) and expected Archbishop Thompson to sit on his hands like a good little boy. Thankfully, Archbishop Thompson showed some true fatherhood and held Brebeuf accountable for 1) never bothering to tell the teacher his immortal soul was in danger and 2) scandalizing the students by acting like there wasn’t a HUGE moral problem with his same-sex marriage.

‘All those who minister in Catholic educational institutions carry out an important ministry in communicating the fullness of Catholic teaching to students both by word and action inside and outside the classroom, the archdiocese said in a statement Thursday.

And before the whining ensues (too late, Fr. Martin’s been ranting on social media already), let’s be clear this wasn’t the Church “going into this teacher’s bedroom.” This was the teacher telling all on social media that he is sinning and dang proud of it. As you will see later, the “we’re all sinners” mantra will be tossed out. That’s totally true but some of us aren’t stupid enough to say that we’re not sinning or to purposely make it public. This is the difference.8` We embrace the teachings even when we fall short of them because we know they are truth. We pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off, get in line for confession and continue struggling against our foolish selves.

‘In the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, every archdiocesan Catholic school and private Catholic school has been instructed to clearly state in its contracts and ministerial job descriptions that all ministers must convey and be supportive of all teachings of the Catholic Church.

Teachers, the archdiocese said, are classified as ‘ministers’ because ‘it is their duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice. To effectively bear witness to Christ, whether they teach religion or not, all ministers in their professional and private lives must convey and be supportive of Catholic Church teaching.’

Regrettably, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School has freely chosen not to enter into such agreements that protect the important ministry of communicating the fullness of Catholic teaching to students. Therefore, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School will no longer be recognized as a Catholic institution by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.’

BAM! This is what EVERY bishop in the U.S. should be doing to protect the faithful from scandal. Are the Jesuits going to listen?Clearly not, but dioceses should still make it darn clear that this is completely inconsistent with Catholic teaching and therefore they are not considered Catholic.

School leaders said that despite the archdiocesan decision, ‘our identity as a Catholic Jesuit institution remains unchanged,’ in a June 20 statement to the school community.

Notice how they have to throw in Jesuit in there? They can’t simply say Catholic, because it’s in no way the same. I do have some news for them. Their Catholic identity is gone and was probably gone a long time ago. 

The conflict between the school and the archdiocese began with an archdiocesan request that the contract of a teacher who is in a same-sex marriage not be renewed.

The school became aware of the teacher’s same-sex marriage in the summer of 2017, according to a June 20 statement from Fr. Brian Paulson, SJ, head of the Jesuits’ Midwest Province.

Paulson said the archdiocese requested ‘two years ago that Brebeuf Jesuit not renew this teacher’s contract because this teacher’s marital status does not conform to church doctrine.’

Before we go on, can we look at several of the canons surrounding Catholic education?  I’m sure Brebeuf would like you to believe that it doesn’t matter, but it does.

Can. 798 Parents are to send their children to those schools which will provide for their catholic education. If they cannot do this, they are bound to ensure the proper catholic education of their children outside the school.

So, while the Jesuits are mostly a bunch of narcissists, not everything is about them. WE, as parents, have a duty to ensure our children’s proper Catholic education, and the archbishop has a duty to make it clear that it won’t be found at Brebeuf.

Can. 801 Religious institutes which have education as their mission are to keep faithfully to this mission and earnestly strive to devote themselves to catholic education, providing this also through their own schools which, with the consent of the diocesan Bishop, they have established.

They no longer have the bishop’s consent, because they clearly devote themselves to a Jesuit education, not a Catholic one.

Can. 803 §1 A catholic school is understood to be one which is under the control of the competent ecclesiastical authority or of a public ecclesiastical juridical person, or one which in a written document is acknowledged as catholic by the ecclesiastical authority.

• 2 Formation and education in a catholic school must be based on the principles of catholic doctrine, and the teachers must be outstanding in true doctrine and uprightness of life.

 Ouch!  That has got to hurt.

§3 No school, even if it is in fact catholic, may bear the title ‘catholic school’ except by the consent of the competent ecclesiastical authority.

Of course, forgetting all other canons, this will be what the Jesuits try their hardest to hang their hat on. “We’re Jesuits and are therefore under our guy, not the local bishop.”  Clearly Archbishop Thompson sees it differently. They better hope they’re right (and the odds of them being right are slim and none) because there’s a wee bit of a problem with “rejecting the legitimate governing authority of the local bishop exercised in accord with the universal law” as Ed Condin hilariously points out here.

Can. 804 §1 The formation and education in the catholic religion provided in any school, and through various means of social communication is subject to the authority of the Church. It is for the Episcopal Conference to issue general norms concerning this field of activity and for the diocesan Bishop to regulate and watch over it.

• 2 The local Ordinary is to be careful that those who are appointed as teachers of religion in schools, even non-catholic ones, are outstanding in true doctrine, in the witness of their christian life, and in their teaching ability.

Can. 805 In his own diocese, the local Ordinary has the right to appoint or to approve teachers of religion and, if religious or moral considerations require it, the right to remove them or to demand that they be removed.

Oh, did I mention that Archbishop Charles C. Thompson is a canon lawyer? Fr. Brian Paulson, SJ, is not. So, yeah.

The school leaders wrote that “After long and prayerful consideration, we determined that following the Archdiocese’s directive would not only violate our informed conscience on this particular matter, but also set a concerning precedent for future interference in the school’s operations and other governance matters that Brebeuf Jesuit leadership has historically had the sole right and privilege to address and decide.

More like “deformed conscience”, but whatever.

Paulson stated that Brebeuf Jesuit ‘respects the primacy of an informed conscience of members of its community when making moral decisions.’

Wrong. Cardinal Arinze has trashed this false notion, as I have written before.  rimacy of Conscience doesn’t trump objective evil. Please see Cardinal Arinze’s complete schooling here: https://onemadmomblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/primacy-of-conscience-the-arinze-smackdown-of-the-false-notions/  I realize the Jesuits absolutely need to twist the teaching of “Primacy of Conscience,” but they do it at their own peril and at the peril of those who follow.

‘We recognize that at times some people who are associated with our mission make personal moral decisions at variance with Church doctrine; we do our best to help them grow in holiness, all of us being loved sinners who desire to follow Jesus.’

Wait, what?! Really?! When was the last time you did this? The teacher entered into a same-sex marriage. How did you help him grow in holiness? Did you mention that was a sin or did you simply say “Welllllllllll, that’s “at variance with Church doctrine.’ Carry on!” Please. Does ANYONE buy this? And what’s with “loved sinner?” A little ambiguous. We’re not loved because we are sinners. We’re loved despite the fact. And does everyone really desire to follow Jesus? Or do many desire to follow their temptations?

He added that this problem ‘cuts to the very heart of what it means to be a Jesuit institution with responsibilities to both the local and universal church, as well as for the pastoral care we extend to all members of our Catholic community.’

Can you possibly tell me what it means to be a Jesuit institution these days? AMDG is pretty much gone, replaced by AMSJG.

‘I recognize this request by Archbishop Charles Thompson to be his prudential judgment of the application of canon law recognizing his responsibility for oversight of faith and morals as well as Catholic education in his archdiocese,’ the priest wrote. ‘I disagree with the necessity and prudence of this decision.’

So, the non-canon lawyer thinks he knows more about canon law than the canon lawyer.  Why does that not surprise anyone? You recognized the request and told him to shove it! Remember Ed Condon’s comments, Father. Are you really just disagreeing because he gave a command and you ignored. And, hey, you just might want to go with the archbishop who is a canon lawyer instead of your own silly notions.

The Jesuits maintain that their school’s internal administrative matters should be made by their own leaders, rather than the local Church.

Of course they do.

While the Code of Canon Law establishes that religious orders, like the Jesuits, ‘retain their autonomy in the internal management of their schools,’ it also says that the diocesan bishop has ‘the right to issue directives concerning the general regulation of Catholic schools’ including those administered by religious orders.

Well, somebody finally quotes the Code of Canon Law but it isn’t the Jesuits.

Can. 806 §1 The diocesan Bishop has the right to watch over and inspect the catholic schools situated in his territory, even those established or directed by members of religious institutes. He has also the right to issue directives concerning the general regulation of catholic schools these directives apply also to schools conducted by members of a religious institute, although they retain their autonomy in the internal management of their schools.

Canon law also says that the diocesan bishop “is to be careful that those who are appointed as teachers of religion in schools, even non-Catholic ones, are outstanding in true doctrine, in the witness of their Christian life, and in their teaching ability.

The Church’s law adds that the diocesan bishop “has the right to appoint or to approve teachers of religion and, if religious or moral considerations require it, the right to remove them or to demand that they be removed.”

The Archdiocese of Indianapolis policy, which says that all school teachers and administrators have a responsibility to teach the Catholic faith, is a common interpretation of those norms in U.S. Catholic dioceses.

Imagine that! A policy based on canon law. Silly Archdiocese! Who does that?! Not the Jesuits.

The archdiocesan June 20 statement notes that the archdiocese ‘recognizes all teachers, guidance counselors and administrators as ministers.’ The 2012 Hosanna Tabor v. EEOC Supreme Court decision established that religious institutions are free to require those it recognizes as ministers to uphold religious teachings as a condition of employment.

The school’s leaders claim that ‘the Archdiocese of Indianapolis’ direct insertion into an employment matter of a school governed by a religious order is unprecedented.’

PROVE IT! I know it’s super helpful to your cause to throw these fantasies out there, but can you actually back it up?  And can you cite a canon to prove your point?  As usual, nope.

Fr. Paulson framed the problem as one of “the governance autonomy regarding employment decisions of institutions sponsored by the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus.

‘Our disagreement is over what we believe is the proper governance autonomy regarding employment decisions which should be afforded a school sponsored by a religious order. In this particular case, we disagree regarding the prudential decision about how the marital status of a valued employee should affect this teacher’s ongoing employment at Brebeuf Jesuit.’

Your disagreement is with the Code of Canon Law and Catholic doctrine, which is par for the course for Jesuits these days. I love the way you try to make this about “marital status” instead of objective evil.  That’s so you.

The school’s leaders added that failing to renew the teacher’s contract would cause ‘harm’ to ‘our highly capable and qualified teachers and staff.’

Are you trying to tell me that there are no outstanding teachers out there who actually follow the teachings of the Church? I realize that’s not high on your priority list, but it is in the mission for Catholic education.

‘Our intent has been to do the right thing by the people we employ while preserving our authority as an independent, Catholic Jesuit school.’

Your intent has been to thumb your nose at the teachings of the Church, plain and simple. Your whining about authority means pretty much zip.

The leaders noted that they ‘are prayerfully discerning how best to proceed with the process of appealing the Archdiocese’s directive.’

Fr. Paulson said the province will appeal the decision, first through the archbishop ‘and, if necessary, [pursuing] hierarchical recourse to the Vatican.’

Appeal away, while I continue to pray for high turnover at the Vatican. And while all that’s going on, I hope parents will listen to what the Archbishop is saying and protect their children from a disastrous school like yours. So, I hope your enrollment will plummet until you get your Catholic identity back.

Canon law establishes that ‘no school, even if it is in fact Catholic, may bear the title ‘Catholic school’ except by the consent of the competent ecclesiastical authority,’ in this case, the Archbishop of Indianapolis.

Brebeuf was founded in 1962 by the Society of Jesus. Its 2019 enrollment is 795 students, and tuition at the school is $18,300.

The Archdiocese of Indianapolis has previously addressed similar issues.

In August 2018, Shelley Fitzgerald, a guidance counselor at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis, was placed on paid administrative leave. An employee of an archdiocesan school, Fitzgerald had attempted to contract a same-sex marriage in 2014.

At that time, Archbishop Thompson wrote that ‘the archdiocese’s Catholic schools are ministries of the Church. School administrators, teachers and guidance counselors are ministers of the faith who are called to share in the mission of the Church. No one has a right to a ministerial position, but once they are called to serve in a ministerial role they must lead by word and example. As ministers, they must convey and be supportive of the teachings of the Catholic Church. These expectations are clearly spelled out in school ministerial job descriptions and contracts, so everyone understands their obligations.’

He added that ‘When a person is not fulfilling their obligations as a minister of the faith within a school, Church and school leadership address the situation by working with the person to find a path of accompaniment that will lead to a resolution in accordance with Church teaching.’

The archbishop concluded: ‘Let us pray that everyone will respect and defend the dignity of all persons as well as the truth about marriage according to God’s plan and laws.’

Yes, let’s all pray for this. I’m skeptical that the Jesuits involved are actually going to do that but I will hope.

Thank you, Archbishop Thompson, for your courageous leadership. I hope and pray that all bishops in our Church will stop allowing morality to be trounced in our schools and that they, too, will take their duty under canon law seriously.

Our Common Disaster –All Around Mismanagement, Not “Climate Change”

Rome is burning and we’re going to encourage the bad science, stewardship and ecology that is causing California to literally burn? Seriously?  30,000 words spilled on stuff that you can simply Google and find immediately debunked?  This is ridiculous.

First of all, please remember, I live in California.  I realize this might all seem factual to the people outside our state, but to the people who live here, this is a load of bunk.

Here’s the long and short of why California, probably one of the greatest states as far as resources, suffers:  liberal mismanagement, plain and simple. It has zero to do with climate change and everything to do with environmental wackos doing far more harm than good.  We aren’t allowed to clean up our forests, and even Governor Brown, SJ, admitted this helped fuel our devastating wildfires.  We’re not allowed to dig big holes in the ground or dam rivers to store water to match our previously growing population and farming needs. More deference is given to a small fish than to farmers and their crops and livestock in the Central Valley. Oh, and let’s not forget the new third world problem in our cities of using the sidewalks for a bathroom and garbage dump.  None of this is caused by “climate change.”

I’m going to snip a lot of the babbling here.  Nobody can deal with all of the bunk in this piece.  It would be a 100 page blog post. I’ve gone long but this would be ridiculous.  I read the whole thing but I’ll just go with the first few pages to make my point.

https://www.cacatholic.org/common-home

God Calls Us All to Care for Our Common Home

June 18, 2019

California Catholic Bishops Issue Call to Protect Our Common Home

<snip> In short, California is gorgeous.

We are publishing our Pastoral Statement on the fourth anniversary of Laudato Si’ with a two-fold vision in mind: To animate and energize the implementation in California of what Laudato Si’ calls us to do, and to offer a dynamic teaching and evangelization tool for our Catholic faith community and beyond, especially for young people”

Umm, I kind of think the two-fold vision is to distract the people and to try to look relevant. Please stop it, You Excellencies.  It’s rather embarrassing. It pains me to say it because I’m guessing “my guys” signed off on this.

We propose a practical application of the Laudato Si’ message of ecological spirituality—that the ecological well-being of California is meant to be deeply embedded in a spirituality that unites all creatures and all creation in praising God.

Blech.  You know what?  Faithful Catholics are likely not the people ruining California’s “ecological spirituality.”  In fact, the faithful Catholics are probably the ones who show proper stewardship of most things.  We value the fact that God gave this world to us to care for and, oh, by the way, who wants to live in a hell hole? That’s usually the liberals’ choice.

<snip> St. Francis.

To live out integral ecology with joy and authenticity, we are called to recognize the interrelated character of our existence—its environmental, economic, social, and cultural dimensions—and to practice care for all that God has created (LS 10).

Again, the bishops of California might want to look at themselves as the cause for this mess.  For too long they’ve rubber stamped the California politicians who are the real cause of this mess.  How about you lecture them and not us? They stink at the environmental, economic, social and cultural issues, and they always have.  They continue to run our state into the ground because they can’t take an honest look at what they’ve done. It’s always someone else’s problem.  And if you want to look at our poorer areas, “The Valley” and our urban ghettos, the politicians are the ones who devastated those areas. You dare to mention the plight of the farming communities and then try to blame it on “climate change.” This is either stupidity or willful ignorance.

<snip>

Part 1: A Canticle of California

Oh, my gosh.  St. Francis isn’t going to save this cruddy document. This whole thing is such a sappy, sophomoric mess. What is the point?!

<snip>

Starting with the first human settlers, California’s Indigenous peoples, our state’s ecological bounty has attracted immigrants throughout California’s history. What is now California was once home to the greatest concentration of Native Americans, who flourished here due to its ecological bounty. Immigrants of all kinds have brought their cultures, technologies, foodstuffs, and entrepreneurial spirit.

St. Junípero Serra encountered the wild beauty of the landscape, the flowers and the vegetation, as he walked the coast, valleys, and deserts of California.[iv] This pioneering Franciscan provided some of the first documentation of the complex biodiversity and climate of our state, including periods of drought. With humility and mercy, he brought the Gospel to this land and to the native people whose harmonious relationship with the fertile resources of California even now shape our connectedness to creation and our commitment to its protection.

Well, I will say this, they are bold to bring up St. Junipero Serra.  Seriously, if you actually go to the mission he founded, you really need to look in the gift shops.  The books found there are appalling.  In California, St. Junipero Serra is vandalized and villainized more than any other Catholic. The Church here in California really doesn’t talk too much about him, even though he was amazing and brought many souls to the Church.

I went to 12 years of Catholic school.  Elementary school was spent building models, but learning about St. Junipero Serra and what he did for the indigenous people? Not so much.

<snip>

Today, California is the top farm production state in the U.S., generating more than twice the production of any other state. California agriculture is astonishingly diverse and productive. The noble vocation of farming offers an essential service to the human family, but the benefits of agriculture here have not always been shared equally. Technology continues to advance production and harvesting of food, while the rights of workers have not always been protected and advanced.

The farm workers are hurting right now because our farmers are hurting right now.  The farming communities have been devastated by our state legislators and the lack of water, which has ZERO to do with climate change and everything to do with cutting off water to them to save the Delta Smelt and other ridiculous reasons. Even our gas taxes hurt our farmers and farm workers.  They actually drive places, unlike the urban dwellers that vote for these things. Even they’re not happy with the gas taxes, but the state played with the wording on the repeal referendum so much that nobody understood what they were voting for.  Now that it’s in place, whining has ensued, but gas prices always seem to drop the months preceding an election!

People from around the country and the world have come to California for its promise of a better life, natural beauty, and economic opportunities in everything from farming and industry to Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Together, we have created an economy that continues to attract even more people. California has become one of the most urbanized states in the country, with some of the world’s most fertile farmland now under pavement.

I’m sorry, have the bishops somehow missed the Mass exodus? We had far more people leave than enter the last few years.  I can’t tell you how many people I know who are leaving this state.  I’m still waiting for the backlash that happens every 30 years or so.

California faces significant new challenges as we seek to find balance between welcoming new residents and creating the infrastructure necessary to provide housing, water, education, and jobs, while at the same time preserving our fertile farmland and protecting the integrity of our natural resources.

While they are still wrong about the entrance and exit levels, they are not wrong about our poor infrastructure.  We have not had enough water storage to accommodate our population in quite a while.  It’s not because we have had a drought.  It’s because we allow most of our snow pack to run right out to the sea.

Urbanization and the resulting high housing costs lead to pronounced hunger and homelessness. Shortsighted land development practices and policies further the loss of farm and wild lands—without adequately addressing our shortage of more than half a million low-income housing units.[vi] In many ways, we have failed to uphold the common good.

The nanny state, rampant drug use, and now legalization of drugs have probably had a greater impact on homelessness.  I live in the ‘burbs.  We have more housing than we need and it’s much cheaper, yet we still have homelessness.  The exodus of companies to cheaper, well-managed states does not help.  If you think that loss of farmland comes from urban sprawl, you might want to make farming a bit more attractive instead of putting old family farms and ranches out of business by taking away their water. During our greatest “capitalist” years, we also had our greatest breadbasket years.  Those have both gone bye-bye with the out of control management/lack of management.

We urgently need a humanism capable of bringing together the different fields of knowledge, including economics, in the service of a more integral and integrating vision. Today, the analysis of environmental problems cannot be separated from the analysis of human, family, work-related and urban contexts, nor from how individuals relate to themselves, which leads in turn to how they relate to others and to the environment. (LS 141)

I just want to provide context here for the complete and utter financial and environmental mismanagement that has gotten California where we are now.  Not only did we cut water to our farmers, we took their land away to build a train they didn’t want. California has become one big Ponzi scheme, and the only people who will ever be taken care of are the people at the top of the pyramid.  The endless lectures to the rest of us in silly documents like these aren’t going to help.

Laudato Si’ calls us to eradicate hunger and homelessness, which reflect a pronounced moral failure in a place blessed with such bounty.

Some forms of pollution are part of people’s daily experience. Exposure to atmospheric pollutants produces a broad spectrum of health hazards, especially for the poor. (LS 20)

A Catholic perspective on environmentalism is expressed by concern for creatures and land, but also for where people live, work, play, and pray. Land-use decisions play a crucial role in environmental justice—the integration of social justice and environmental protection—and in public health.

It’s grand to mention all these things, but unless you’re going to actually put forth a solution, you are only encouraging these issues to be used to keep the poor poorer and the rich richer.  It’s like saying the world is a terrible place for some, then watching, say, Venezuela happen.  If the Church is going to dive into the science arena, then they’d better start employing some scientists who are faithful to the Church teachings to work on the problems.  A bunch of bishops spouting off with no solutions is just going to make the problems worse.

<snip>

Recently, however, California wildfire behavior has begun to change in ominous ways, harming humans and public health at an unprecedented scale. Firestorms now explode across our landscape with more intense and longer-lasting winds, literally burning through our state starting in spring and extending into winter. Millions of Californians are now forced to breathe hazardous smoke from wildfires, a violation of the common good that we can taste.

Again, forest mismanagement in the problem. This isn’t a natural disaster, it’s a human disaster.  We stopped allowing the forest floors to be cleared (supposedly because of habitats of this or that), which leads to WAY too much fuel. We also put every fire out instead of letting a natural fire burn and clear out the debris.  This creates mega fires, and the mega fires of the last few years have been devastating to our environment. Of all places, I was in Muir Woods on a field-trip with my kids, and the rangers said they were terrified of highly fueled fires from not allowing smaller ones to burn and clean out the debris. This is environmental extremism gone a muck and we’re paying for it dearly.

But as you will see, the bishops get it wrong yet again and blame “climate change.”

The immediate causes are clear: Drought leads to dry vegetation, which is susceptible to burning. Lower-than-normal patterns of rain and snow prompt longer periods of lower humidity. Even though no single event can be attributed to climate change, the broad changes we see in fire behavior are consistent with scientific predictions dating back many years.[viii]

<snip>

While the acute character of wildfires captures our immediate attention, adapting to our changing climate will require our awareness of many different dimensions of life on earth. In the future, a changing climate might make some parts of our state unsafe to inhabit. There is a great need to prepare together to protect the health and safety of all Californians, especially those most vulnerable to instability.

Face it, our state has been a dangerous place to live for years now.  The most vulnerable are in the womb, but hey, let’s focus on “climate change.” Never mind, of course, that it will be used to promote more killing in the womb.

<snipping more dramatic stuff that isn’t really the problem>

 The Laudato Si’ call to live integral ecology means listening to creation and observing what is happening in it. The unprecedented scope and harm of wildfires across California gives notice that something in creation is awry, out of balance, and this calls us to explore how to better care for our common home. To live out a spirituality of the common good, we must recommit ourselves to fostering greater harmony in our relationship with the earth.

Here’s an idea.  Stop telling us to be stupid and listen the environmental idiots.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Water

This is an easy fix.  Dig big holes.  Shore up and add dams. One of our biggest dams is about to crumble and flood the downstream communities.  Talk about an environmental mess!  What’s California doing about it?  That’s about right, nothing.  We’re spending money on a myriad of insane things, but not this.

In California, you can actually find reservoirs managed by the Nevada Irrigation District filled to the brim, while not that far away, one managed by the Army Corps of Engineers is almost empty.  Why?  Because one agency is stupid with their water release schedules and another is not. Thankfully, after the last severe drought, they finally figured out that maybe they shouldn’t release the same amount of water every day if it hasn’t rained.  Big “duh!” there.

<Snip>

As California becomes warmer, the most alarming implication is appearing in our mountains, where more precipitation is falling as rain, not snow. Increased winter runoff threatens more floods, and the Sierra snowpack is melting earlier, reducing water supplies. California’s four warmest years on record have all occurred since 2014, with all predictions suggesting even greater warming.[x] The Colorado River Basin, an important source of water for parts of Southern California, is warming and drying even more quickly.

Whoever drafted this drivel should have at least checked the news!  This is completely inaccurate pretty much since 2017, but especially this year.  It’s June and we’ve still had snow falling!!! Some ski resorts have plans to stay open until August!!!  Why?  Because climate does change.  It’s cyclical.  https://ktla.com/2019/06/03/california-sees-biggest-june-snowpack-in-nearly-a-decade-thanks-to-spring-storms/

<snip>

I can’t possibly deal with the other 60+ pages.  Suffice it to say that they get most of the reasons why we’re in trouble wrong, and while they tell us something we’ve only heard thousands of times, they don’t provide one answer.  Oh, yeah, solar.  Really? In another 20 years as our solar panels start to kick off, we’re going to see one more environmental disaster.  I’m not really against solar panels, but if you think they’re “green” wait until you see the toxins that end up in our soil when people start chucking those – and, yes, they are consumables.  Whatever.  You’ve really said nothing differently than the people who brought us to this horrific environmentally idiotic state.  Disappointing.

Blah, blah, blah… I just find it hard to believe this is where you’re going to spend the moral capital, Your Excellencies, at this moment in time.  I appreciate the small head nod to the vulnerable killed by abortion and euthanasia, but that’s a far bigger danger to our world than the same lecture we get every day from the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Gavin Newsom.

 

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Heresy of the Day: Dualism

Fr. Martin always tries to play the martyr card when people use the heresy word. Many people have spelled out his errors elsewhere, but I offer one of his latest posts as to why people might think this. Bottom line, he’s really suggesting a form of dualism below. Yes, yes, I know. He never uses the word, but then, he never does, always preferring to remain ambiguous.

So, what is the heresy of dualism (and my priest friends tell me it’s Gnostic Dualism but they’re way more in the know) in very simply non-super philosophical terms? It says that the body and the soul are two separate things which can be in conflict with each other. What is the Catholic teaching of body and soul? The body and soul form once substance, not two. Body and soul are not in conflict. They are one.

Now, those with anything but authentic Catholic thinking are trying to fracture people not just into body here, soul there, but they are now trying to split the person into gender, biological sex, thought, experience, etc., as shown by the post below. It’s ridiculous but it all amounts to dualism.

This post is just a small snippet of Fr. Martin’s load of hooey found here:

What does the congregation propose? Essentially, and unsurprisingly, its document restates the traditional Catholic view of sexuality: Men and women are created (as heterosexuals) with fixed sexual and gender roles. This traditional view, however, is contradicted by what most biologists and psychologists now understand about both sexuality and gender. These contemporary advances in understanding human sexuality and gender have been set aside by the congregation in favor of a binary understanding of sexuality. Even the term “sexual orientation” is put into quotes in the document, as if to call that very notion into question.

So, the Church “view” is contradicted by “most biologists and psychologists”? PROVE IT! And for the sake of argument, let’s just suppose the numbers bear that out (which he fails to prove), IT DOESN’T MATTER IN THE REALM OF TRUTH. Dualism is still wrong.

Before I go on, I have to tell you that James Martin, SJ, is either falling down in research or he’s lying, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that it’s the former. His suggestion that no psychologists were consulted is bunk. Giuseppe Versaldi, the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, actually does have a degree in psychology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He ran a counseling center and he taught psychology. The Secretary, Angelo Vincenzo Zani, has a degree in social science. Oops! Not sure how Father Martin feels competent to let us know who or who did not weigh in on this document, but he’s been a wee bit off.

This article explains Fr. Martin’s and America Magazine’s problem well:

Have your kids ever peppered your phone’s intelligent personal assistant with random questions? Mine do all the time. It’s a lot a fun when we do it together—the kids get a kick out of it, especially when they start asking potty questions.

Just last night we were having fun asking Siri a variety of questions, and I told my children to ask, “Are you male or female?” to which Siri responded, “I don’t think that really matters.”

I acknowledge that Siri is correct, since artificial intelligences don’t have sexed bodies. But her answer does give us something to consider, since it’s the mantra of the modern transgender movement. Let’s think this argument through.

Two “-isms”

Advocates of transgenderism argue that our sexed bodies have nothing to do with our personal identity, which is why they think it’s possible that a person’s identity as male or female doesn’t have to be in conformity with his or her biological sex. If a person thinks such disharmony exists, they argue, then he or she should be able to harmonize it by conforming to his or her desired identity.

Only heard this a million times. And Fr. Martin suggests in his tweet that biologists, psychologists, or life experiences that support gender dysphoria somehow makes it not a heresy?

It’s a form of dualism, and the idea is not unprecedented. It dates back as early as the writings of Plato and became predominant in modern philosophy with the writings of the seventeenth-century philosopher Renes Descartes. Descartes made this view so popular that it is now known by his name: Cartesian dualism.

See? I told you. Love it when I find really smart guys to back me up.

Descartes taught that the human person is divided into two separate substances: a mental substance (the soul—res cogitans) and a corporeal substance (the body—res extensa). For Descartes, the substance that constitutes who you are as a person is the res cogitans—“the thinking self.” And rather than the body being essential to a person’s identity, as understood in the views of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, it is merely accidental (not belonging to the essence). For Descartes, the body is merely a machine in which the soul exists as a ghost—hence the phrase “ghost in the machine.” 

Like I said earlier, I think that modern day dualists are actually splitting the person even further. Would that make it quadruple-ism or quintuple-ism? Just kidding. It’s pluralism, and philosophers have already covered that.

Constructing your argument

Cartesian anthropology has seeped into the well of our culture, so to speak. Since transgenderism—which holds that a person’s sexed body is separate from the person—entails Cartesian dualism (the body is separate from the person), we have to ask, “Is Cartesian dualism true?” If Cartesian dualism is not true, then transgenderism is also not true.

Of course, it’s a no-brainer for the devout Catholic who embraces the teachings of the Church.

Following the lead of philosopher Scott Sullivan, in his recent book Why Transgenderism is Wrong: A Critique of the Philosophical Assumptions Behind Modern Transgender Theory, we can construct the following syllogism:

P1: If transgenderism is true, then Cartesian dualism is true.

P2: Cartesian dualism is false.

Therefore, transgenderism is false.

I will focus on premise two, and to do that I’ll give two arguments that favor the view that the body is not separate from a person’s identity.

From the inside

The first is from the inside. Notice that as you read this article you sense the words on the screen and at the same time you understand their meaning (unless, of course, I haven’t expressed myself clearly enough). It’s not as if you understand the words but only your body sees the words. In the technical jargon, there is one subject of action, you, who both sees and thinks.

It is this fact of human experience that led St. Thomas Aquinas to conclude that the body is not separate from a person but is essential:

It is one and the same man who is conscious both that he understands and that he senses. But one cannot sense without a body: therefore, the body must be some part of man (Summa Theologiae, I:76:1).

Obvious if you ask me, and yet missed by so many. Fr. Martin appears to say that person and body can be separated and put at conflict by thoughts or experiences. Wrong.

If you are reading the words on the screen and sensing the words involves the body, then it necessarily follows that your body is not separate from you—like a car is separate from a driver—but your body with its biological design is you. In other words, the body that allows you to sense the words is essential to your identity as a human person, along with your rational soul that enables you to understand the meaning of the words. You are not your soul alone, nor are you your body alone, but you are both body and soul. Philosophers call this view hylemorphism (Greek, hyle, “matter”; morphe, “form”).

From the outside

The second argument is metaphysical—it takes a third-person point of view by looking at the relation between the body and soul. On a basic level, the soul is that which makes a thing living (ST I-II:75:1). This is the distinguishing factor between animate and inanimate beings.

But as we inquire further, we discover that the soul also makes a living thing the kind of living thing it is with its unique powers. If the soul of a living thing is its vital principle, which it is, then it necessarily follows that the soul is also the principle of that thing’s vital activities. And since it is obvious that there are different living things with different types of activities, then there must be different types of souls.

For example, plants take in nutrients, grow, and reproduce but do not have the powers of sensation and locomotion like animals. Therefore, plants must have a different kind of soul than animals. This is a vegetative or nutritive soul. Non-rational animals have the powers of sensation and locomotion, along with all the vegetative powers, but do not have rational powers—namely, intellect and will.

So not only do non-rational animals have a different soul than plants, they have a different kind of soul than humans. This is a sensory soul. Human beings stand at the pinnacle of living organisms, embodying all the powers of the vegetative and sensory souls plus their distinct powers of intellect and will. Philosophers call this kind of soul a rational soul.

And this is one area where Fr. Martin and his ilk like to lead people astray. He tries to make everyone a slave to their proclivities. We are not.

Now, just like the vegetative soul is the principle of all the powers of plants, and the sensory soul is the principle of all the powers of animals, the rational soul is the principle of all human powers: vegetative, sensitive, and rational (ST I:76:1). As Aquinas concludes, since the vegetative and sensitive powers belong to the human body, and the rational soul is the principle of those bodily powers, the soul is the “form” of the body (ST I:76:1).

Uh, yeah. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Fr. Martin quote the Summa in the context of same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria. Doesn’t fit the narrative.

What this means is that the soul is so united to the body that the two make one substance: a human being. Converse to the idea of Cartesian dualism, humans are not a “ghost in a machine.” Both your soul and your body make up who you are as a human being.

Yup.

Our sexed bodies do matter

If my body and soul together make up the one substance that I am, then it necessarily follows that my male body together with my soul makes me who I am. My male body is not an accident to my personal identity that I can change like my hair color (that is, if I had hair). My male body is essential to who I am as an individual human person.

Although we can excuse Siri for dodging the male-female question, we cannot do so for embodied real intelligences—namely, human beings. Genesis 1:27 was right all along: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

It’s beyond me how a Catholic priest can inflict so much confusion on the faithful, but he’s going to keep giving it the old college try. Sadly, he will one day be held accountable for the souls he leads astray.

One last thing. I ran across this article by Robert George. He basically says the same things pointed out here but he neglects to be blunt and use the “h” word – heresy. He’s basically making the same mistake that Fr. Martin makes with the faithful although I imagine for far different reasons. He fails to do the tough thing and admonish the sinner. I mean, this is seriously dangerous for the soul of Fr. Martin as well as the faithful he leads astray.  He needs to speak the hard truth.  It’s not pleasant but if he loves his friend he will get real and get real fast. They ain’t getting any younger.

 

Mia! You Live in a Glass House!

Well, that was exciting!  Bishop Thomas Tobin (not to be confused with the infamous Cardinal Joseph Tobin) tweeted this, and the Twitter world lost its ever-loving mind:

.

I had to marvel at all the profane, accusatory responses that basically said, “Hate! Hate! Hate! And hate!” while not exactly dripping with love themselves.  Then there were the rather hypocritical ones like this:

Did your ex pop into your head at all, Mia?  You know, Woody Allen?  How about Roman Polanski, who you’ve defended and of who you still speak highly? And what about your brother? But, hey, let’s forget about all those pillars of Hollywood. It’s really Bishop Tobin who is like a molester because he spoke out against a lifestyle that our Faith says is harmful to our souls and which science says is harmful for our bodies? Give me a stinking break, Mia. Maybe if more people in your life practiced the Catholic Faith you’d be surrounded by less sexual abuse.Believe me, I’ve known a few abusers in my lifetime, but the vast majority of priests and bishops aren’t.

Again, are you really the expert on when kids are in danger??? Puh-lease! And, seriously, most of us in sane America know exactly what goes on at these events. I don’t know, maybe “gay pride gathering” means something entirely different in, say, Amana, Iowa, then it does in San Francisco, where homosexual sex on the street, masturbation and nudity in front of children means absolutely nothing to them. And that’s not necessarily at a “pride event.” that can be any given day. It’s just stepped up a notch and protected during the “pride parade.” Is that just peachy with you, Mia, as long as nobody actually touches a kid there? Geez. So, please, get a clue.

And here’s one that tugs at the heartstrings:

Listen, Patty.  I won’t allow you to think that you’re the only one who has a close relationship with a transgendered or same-sex attracted person.  You’re not. I love my friends and relatives and will continue to do so until I die.  Just because I don’t agree with their lifestyle and find it quite dangerous for them, spiritually and physically, doesn’t mean that I don’t love them. It means I love them enough to not accept what is harmful to them. That might be the takeaway from your brother’s life. I don’t want my friends or relatives to end up like that. I’m not going to be a cheerleader for a lifestyle that will likely cause them mental, physical and most definitely spiritual grief.

That’s how I treat all people and I hope that’s how they will treat me because we’re all sinners. Believe it or not, you can disagree with people and still get along. You can even judge their actions and not condemn them to hell. Again, hating someone you feel has an affliction isn’t Catholic ideology. You cannot point to a Catholic clergy member or teaching that says anything to the contrary. And loving people doesn’t mean you should encourage them to live a harmful lifestyle. Catholic teaching is to love a person no matter what their sin. And, more often than not, it’s the Catholic Church that cares for the physical victims of a myriad of immoral lifestyles when all those who initially cheered them on have left them. 

Of course, there was also the usual barrage of twits who throw out “Judge not!” but I can tell you that they couldn’t be more wrong. We are never to judge someone’s immortal soul, but we are totally obliged to judge actions. Everyone likes to point to Christ saving the woman who was to be stoned, but they NEVER seem to remember Him telling her to “sin no more.” Nor do they remember him calling out the woman at the well. So unless you’re going to say it’s fine to shoot heroin, rape someone, or have sex with a child (oh, wait, there’s a push among liberals to accept that as another lifestyle choice), don’t tell me I can’t think same-sex physical relations aren’t a sin. You have your line of morality and I have the Church’s.

So, famous people trying to take Bishop Tobin to task, you might want to not throw stones in your glass house. You’re the ones who endlessly gave kisses to Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Kevin Spacey, and the like. (I’d also include Michael Jackson, but I darn near broke Twitter mentioning him in the list. Apparently, he’s a saint with no credible accusations even though some of them were actually prosecuted. Maybe we could at least agree that it’s twisted of him to sleep in his bed with children? Probably not.) Remember we have a nice standing O on video tape for Roman Polanski. Do we have Bishop Tobin lauding a convicted rapist? Oh yeah, no. Only your club does that.

Bishop Tobin, thanks so much for not letting the Judases in the Church silence you. I’m relatively sure you knew 80+ thousand people were going to respond to you, yet you chose to instruct the faithful and especially tried to protect children.  May you never waver in doing so.