The Wolves are Cozy on the Couch

This has been an awful week for the Catholic Church, hands down.  Can’t say I didn’t see it coming, but the trifecta of bad cardinal appointments stings like hell (and I mean that literally).  I was hoping the devastation would be offset by a Cardinal Chaput appointment, but my hopes were dashed.  The liberals won this battle, pure and simple.  So what are we to do?  What is happening with the Pope?  Why is this happening?  Etc., etc., etc.  These are just some of the questions my poor readers are asking. Sorry this post is going to stray far from the sarcastic norm.

Those of you who read the blog regularly have probably noticed that I don’t criticize the Holy Father.  I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I have questions and thoughts in my head that I don’t convey.  Why don’t I relay them?  Because what good would it do? It would simply  give comfort to the enemy.  He certainly is the Pope.  Anyone who believes a less than stellar pope is not THE Pope doesn’t know history all that well.  We’ve had some pretty awful ones, and we’ve also had great ones who have made less-than-desirable moves.  I mean, who was it again that elevated Cardinal Mahoney?  If that wasn’t an epic mistake, I’m not sure what was. Yet that pope was the guy whose right hand man was Pope Benedict.  Heck, he’s canonized! Everyone has a bad day.  I hope that’s what’s going on here with Pope Francis. 

So, what is the girl who sits on her hands and avoids all attempts to criticize the Pope going to say?  Well, first of all, I feel your pain and I’ll try to be a voice for you.  Yes, these were bad appointments that are going to give aid and comfort to the enemies of the Faith – namely Fr. James Martin, SJ, and his cohorts in crime.  There’s no way to spin it.  However, it’s one battle.  It ain’t the war, and we already know the outcome of that.  It’s just a matter of how bad things will be until we get to that outcome.

So what about Pope Francis?  I’m hardly Rocco Palmo, but my GUESS is that this is what you get when you have a cardinal from Argentina elevated to the papacy.  He was so far removed from the politics of Rome that he doesn’t know who the enemy really is. He has, frankly, Argentinian notions about the rest of the world, and I think he’s actually seen that some of these notions weren’t quite what he thought.  He was insulated there and he’s insulated now. He has no clue and simply trusts those that appear to be friendly really are.  Heck, I’ve seen that happen to great bishops right here in America.  It’s amazing how well the dissidents can gain confidence when they adjust those halos.  However, the faithful bishops and cardinals had better figure out a way to clue him in that he is being handled, or the Church that my kids have to live in is going to tank for the foreseeable future. 

One thing I notice here in the States is that we have this really weird view of collegiality.  Rarely do faithful bishops or cardinals take on a bishop who is undermining doctrine and morality. They’ll all get together on topics where they feel they can win in society, but not on the issues that affect all of us.  Or, at least, this is the view from the pew.  I mean, if the good guys really care about the laity, why don’t they something???  If my husband saw his brother abusing his family, he certainly wouldn’t sit there and say, “Not my problem!”  His brother’s family would also be his family, even if he isn’t the head of their household.  My husband would also lend a brother a hand if they were in crisis and needed back up when they were in the right.  Unfortunately, I don’t really remember the bishops around the United States rallying around Archbishop Cordileone when he rightly wanted to hold his teachers to Catholic standards.  A rally cry instead should have gone up from all the faithful bishops that he was quite right to try to protect the students of the Catholic schools.

Heck, from my point of view, it seems as if the bishops living 20 minutes from each other don’t even consult together.  SOMEBODY, please call for a national summit of faithful bishops, because the laity is dying here!  I mean DYING!  Where the laity is concerned, giving Cupich a red hat doesn’t just affect the people of his diocese.  It affects us all!  The liberal priests, bishops, and cardinals are what they are.  We need the more-than-a -few good men to help us out here.  Why is it the liberals can band together but you guys cannot? It’s almost like watching the Republican party flail around these days.  Meanwhile, over in National catholic Reporter land, they have no qualms about forming an army to put down one faithful priest, bishop, or cardinal at a time.  Then there’s the Catholic Alliance for the Common Good.  Anyone catch Wikileaks this week?  Yes, our conspiracy theories have been validated.

In all seriousness, I would like to see the guys who love their flocks, the Church, the lost, AND my children all get on a plane and knock on Pope Francis’ door and give him the real score.  There is strength in numbers, and this isn’t just a saying.  You can’t let Cardinal Burke do all the talking and be relegated to Malta for the unforeseeable future. When one of you does something necessary to preserve the Faith in one area, you should all be publicizing it in your own dioceses.  Back each other up! More importantly, unite for the sake of MY children. 

Sometimes I feel like we faithful are an afterthought to many of you. That might be unfair but I guarantee that’s how many of us feel. You need to stop worrying about your job, and I’m not saying that in the “That’s all you care about way!”  I know that you want to stay with your flock to affect the most positive of outcomes, but it’s not working. You are essentially being extorted because you’re trying to do it all by yourself.  Cupich and club are undermining you at every turn, and you guys are still plodding on and keeping your noses to the grindstones.  I get the intention, but I think you all need to start being as “sly as the serpent and as gentle as doves” in a little more proactive way.

Your eminences and excellencies, just stop for a moment and pretend you are a father with children (because you are). If another parent or your child’s teacher is telling your child that homosexuality is just another lifestyle choice or that sex outside of marriage was fine, or that it would be just fine for your child to get an abortion because “their circumstance” warranted it, what would you do???????  Would you simply say, “Well, what can I do?” or would you give them a stern talking to about influencing your child to commit spiritual suicide?  I know you don’t have biological children, but darn it, we are supposed to be your spiritual children, yet you are letting the wolves come in and gnaw on us.  You’re reaching out to the lambs already taken from the flock, and I wouldn’t want you to stop, but what about the rest of us? Think long and hard because that’s what’s happening to your flock.  Nobody wants to feel bad about their sin, so they will cling to anyone telling them that they are just peachy.  As a parent, I’m not going to let that happen.  We’re going to fight as a family to keep that from happening.

I get that the bishops are “leaving the ninety-nine to go after the one”, but in our present scenario, when you go after the one, a bunch more are lost.  We’re hemorrhaging the salvation of our young.  There’s no longer just one straying because the shepherds aren’t closing the gate when they go after the one and the wolves are getting in.  It’s a reality that those of us “real world” parents are experiencing.  We’re killing ourselves to make sure all the good you do isn’t undone, but we feel like we can’t get our spiritual fathers to support us because they’re busy with the other children.  You need to find balance like all parents.

Again, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go after those who are straying.  When kids stray in a family, mom and dad have to go after them relentlessly, but at the same time, they need to make sure that no more stray by presenting a mixed message.  The worst thing a parent can do is cave to emotional blackmail.  If I love my child, they are going to know it, but they are also going to know the truth and they will know that I have nothing but their immortal soul in mind.  You can be both firm and loving.  I’m not sure if this is a point lost on those with no biological children, but it needs to be understood.  Saying “No!” can often be the most loving thing you can say, and no, the wandering will not always like it.  So?  We just keep reaching out to them.

I once had a priest curtly ask me, “With all due respect, who are you?!” when I was expressing my concerns about the Pope’s in-flight interviews and the dissenting clergy exploiting them.  My answer?  “Who am I?  I’m a girl who’s concerned about the Pope’s in-flight interviews and the dissenting clergy expounding on them!”  Is that wrong??? Are we simply to keep smiling?  Can I not be concerned? Are we supposed to be in denial about how such things are being used?  I don’t claim to be anything special, but I’m betting I’m echoing the concerns of a good chunk of the laity.  I’m not going into schism and disobedience. I’m just terrified, and I want our fathers to know how terrified we are for our families. I’m not urging the bishops to go rogue.  I’m urging them to be strategic.  We really are in a war.

So, what is the laity to do?  Pray, fast, beg our bishops to fight for their children, and prepare for the next battle.  In other words, carry on.

Advertisement

Why Buy the Cow???

I just couldn’t pass up commenting on this but it hardly needs an ocean of ink.  

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-leaked-e-mails-show-george-soros-paid-to-influence-bishops-during

Can I just say that this is the worst money Soros ever spent?!  I mean, seriously, Archbishop Cupich and Bishop McElroy would have done exactly what Soros wanted for free and have on multiple occasions.  Doesn’t Soros have researchers???  Personally, I’m surprised they didn’t ask Soros for help.

 

I’m Sorry, So Sorry!

The Pope would like us to apologize? Why, yes, I am very happy to take the opportunity to do so.

I apologize for Fr. James Martin, SJ, and ilk who have spent a lifetime trying to advance the liberal agenda, which is the antithesis of Truth.  I apologize, especially to the homosexual community, that Fr. Martin has actively sought to drive a wedge between you and the Catholic Church.  I’m sorry that he’s tried so vehemently to get you to believe that Catholic Church has anything but your salvation in mind.  I’m sorry that he’s actively tried to undermine your salvation by twisting the truth.

I apologize for archbishops like Blase Cupich.  He has done much of the same to homosexuals.  I also apologize to the babies who weren’t saved because he shunned pro-life efforts whenever he got the opportunity.  Oh, I also apologize to those whom Archbishop Cupich has tried to actively shame for protecting themselves with a mean old gun.  I’m really sorry to any of those who have actually used a gun in self-defense, too.  I’m pretty sure that Archbishop Cupich considers you an unfortunate, overwhelming statistic.

I apologize for the Bishop McElroys of the Church for, really, anytime they open their mouths.  I mean, really, at least Martin, Cupich, and Reese try to be sly.  Bishop McElroy must have missed “Subtle Dissent 101” in seminary.  Sadly, we have to read pieces like this ten times to determine if they are satire or not: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2016/apr/23/sdqt-bishop-mcelroy-addresses-usd-drag-show/

Believe it or not, that was satire, so no angry posts on this parody.  There’s plenty of reality about which to rant.

I apologize for all of those bishops who didn’t bother to teach you the Faith, who didn’t give you a vision of what life would be if you embraced your crosses and rejected temptation, and who left you to your own devices to build your own “truth” which is contra to THE TRUTH and a twisting of reality.  These bishops strove for fame and likeability over your salvation.

To women, I’m totally sorry that bishops like Cupich and McElroy have marginalized your souls in their grand seamless garment plan.  They couldn’t possibly put birth control and abortion ahead of war or the death penalty. Nooooooo!  They have to be given completely equal treatment or not spoken of at all, or in reality, swept to the side in lieu of these issues so the spotlight could be totally on them and their overall “I heart peace!” agendas.  They never stopped once to think that if violence in the womb isn’t condemned, the rest of their agenda was a pipe dream. 

So, while these members of the clergy were laying down in front of weapons of war, society was waging a war on us women, and we lost.  We killed our children, gave ourselves cancer, strokes and mental problems.  We became hoodwinked into believing we weren’t becoming totally objectified by all of society, all while some bishops pretty much told us not to look because, well, we were killing death row inmates and waging wars.  I haven’t even mentioned porn, which stems from the devaluation of all life.  So, to you and my daughters, I totally apologize for these wimpy clergy who give little thought to women.

To the poor, I’m sorry that you became yet another casualty of the liberal agenda while we were being told by our liberal shepherds that most of what the Church tells us is totally subjective and that the lives of the innocent unborn are not paramount.  While closing our eyes to the Truth, nobody saw you naked, homeless and alone.  Many of us have no conscience because we’ve been told it’s wrong to judge.  Since there are no rights and wrongs anymore, you are pretty much just another thing we’ve become blind to.  Really, you just don’t make us comfortable.  You’re another cross we’re going to reject and truth to which we’re going to turn a blind eye.  For this, I am sorry.

To our homosexual brethren, again, I apologize for clergy who led you astray because of their own failures of chastity, humility and fortitude.  Misery loves company, and they apparently wanted more company in their egocentric boat.  You are the ones paying the price.  Rather than teach you to embrace your particular cross and to live chastely with an eye on the ultimate prize of everlasting life, they decided to become living examples of Luke 11:11:

And which of you, if he ask his father bread, will he give him a stone? or a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

I guess that would be you, dear liberal bishops.

If it makes you feel at all better (and I’m sure it won’t), they’ve done the same thing to the rest of us for our particular crosses.  “Use your internal forum!” they tell us. At least you’re not alone.  I feel for you deeply.  So many of us are trying to be your companions, your support, and your encouragement to live as Christ calls us to live, but we’re thwarted every turn by some of the clergy.  They’re being used by Satan to whisper in your ear (if whispering was using bullhorn), “They’re judging you!  They hate you!  They’re saying you’re not worthy!” which is totally and utterly the opposite of what’s going on with those of us not in the Westboro Baptist club.  They’re spending all of their time pitting us against each other.  They’re using us as pawns in their own narcissistic plans. 

You know, tragedies like the massacre in Orlando have a way of bringing people together, despite Satan’s best efforts.  The complete liberal, Bill Maher, while still possessing a flawed view, caught onto this a long time ago, and it seems that homosexuals are finally starting to embrace it, too.  They have made the realization that no matter what they’ve been told, Christianity is not their problem.  It’s the ugliness and hatefulness of Islam (and no, not all Muslims embrace that ugly side.)  Christians may disagree with the homosexual lifestyle and support traditional marriage, but it’s rather hard to deny that we believe ALL life is sacred.  While I am not a Trump supporter in any manner, and I don’t support the spirit of revenge, I think this video shows a turning point in the understanding of radical Islam:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2IoTQlDh9U  I’m hoping that this realization drowns out the Cupiches, McElroys and Lynches of our Church who seek to draw division among us in our time of crisis, and Archbishop Wenski is starting the flood when he really let Bishop Lynch have it here:  https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/miami-archbishop-rebukes-bishop-lynchs-claim-catholics-share-blame-for-orla  While McElroy and club whine about not using the term “LGBT”, I’m seeing tweets like this:

National security trumps gay marriage. Sorry. But you can’t get married if you’re DEAD. 

Despite the attempts of Bishops Cupich, McElroy, and Lynch, I’m hoping this crack in the door, the mere realization that Christians don’t want to kill homosexuals, might lead to more experiences like this man who came to the realization that he was loved:

 

Please listen to this man’s video!  It’s a beautiful and hopeful story.  Odds are all people suffering from same-sex attraction will not land exactly where he has, but he’s totally correct.  We’re all different.  Mercy and salvation is what we all should seek. These are the only things that well ever truly make us happy.

Lastly, I’m sorry to the faithful clergy.  Whenever you take two steps forward in bringing souls to Truth, you are immediately tackled by the liberal clergy and sometimes you actually lose yardage.  We’re praying you pump that spiritual iron and plow right through the liberal agenda.

Enough of an apology for you?!

 

Another Epic Fail by Bishop Lynch

I have always thought Bishop Lynch of St. Petersburg to be an awful bishop and he just proves that theory time and again.  He just re-affirmed my thoughts again this week. http://bishopsblog.dosp.org/?p=6644

I was with a group of friends when we heard about this massacre.  I should clarify that I was with a group of Catholic friends.  You know what we didn’t do?  Believe or not, we didn’t celebrate that there were 49 less homosexuals in the world and that 53 others were injured!  Shocker!  I know.  So what did we do?  We stopped, took in the horrible news, and prayed for the souls of the departed, the recovery of the injured, the families of all and our country.  You know why?  BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT CATHOLICS REALLY DO!  Why?  BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IN THE INTRINSIC VALUE OF EVERY HUMAN LIFE.  While we knew this was a “gay” nightclub, we didn’t give a thought to this when we prayed.  We didn’t pray for the “LGBT” community like Fr. James Martin, SJ and Archbishop (#noredhat) Cupich think we need to do.  We prayed for the people and their families, not the labels.  Labels are what divide us.  We see beyond the labels.

So, along comes Bishop Lynch with this stupid comment where he chose words which were divisive and didn’t help the country to come together in a tragedy.  He chose to take the opportunity to take people to task (people who had ZERO to do with murder) instead of comforting all of us in such a time of great sorrow.  He chose to lay blame at the feet of Christianity.

ORLANDO, ORLANDO WE LOVE YOU

Today I write with a heavy heart arising from the tragedy which occurred in the early morning hours yesterday at a Gay, Lesbian, Transgender night club in Orlando, our neighbor to the east. Yesterday, the best I could muster was to send these words by text message to my brother, Bishop John Noonan, bishop of Orlando: “John, I am so sorry. With love to and for all.” Today with a new dawn, I once again have some thoughts which I wish to share.

Our founding parents had no knowledge of assault rifles which are intended to be weapons of mass destruction. In crafting the second amendment to the Constitution which I affirm, they thought only of the most awkward of pistols and heavy shotguns. I suspect they are turning in their graves if they can but glimpse at what their words now protect. It is long past time to ban the sale of all assault weapons whose use should be available only to the armed forces. If one is truly pro-life, then embrace this issue also and work for the elimination of sales to those who would turn them on innocents.

And Cain had no idea of an assault weapon when he killed Abel with a rock.  Get it through your thick skull.  Guns are not to blame here.  Evil is to blame here.  Do you focus on that at all?  No.  Let’s see what you do next.

Second, sadly it is religion, including our own, which targets, mostly verbally, and also often breeds contempt for gays, lesbians and transgender people. Attacks today on LGBT men and women often plant the seed of contempt, then hatred, which can ultimately lead to violence. Those women and men who were mowed down early yesterday morning were all made in the image and likeness of God.

Well, you got one small section right.  We truly are all made in the image and likeness of God, but where you go wrong is the fact that it’s not religion that is bad and it’s never the Catholic Faith that is bad.  It’s evil that drives men to do evil things.  IT’S THE DEVIL, plain and simple.  The Catholic Faith doesn’t breed contempt for people with homosexual orientation and, personally, I think the Holy Father should give you a time out for suggesting so.  The Catholic Church is the answer to the World’s problems, not the cause of them.  If you don’t believe that then what are the heck are you in the Church at all?  My guess?  Undermining it from within.

We teach that. We should believe that. We must stand for that.

Really, Bishop Lynch?  YOU are being totally hypocritical here.  Do you remember Terri Schiavo at all?  Honestly, how do you sleep at night?  You made it ever so much easier for someone to be starved and dehydrated to death.  You didn’t fight for Terri who was made in the image and likeness of God.  You whined about civility in a “Can’t we all just get along?” moment.  You made no effort to protect her life.  You just wanted the “family” to agree on ending it.  So, please, spare your quotations of Church teaching when you refused to protect even the most vulnerable. Your lack of cogent teaching is one of the reasons this country is in this mess.

 Without yet knowing who perpetrated the PULSE mass murders, when I saw the Imam come forward at a press conference yesterday morning, I knew that somewhere in the story there would be a search to find religious roots. While deranged people do senseless things, all of us observe, judge and act from some kind of religious background. Singling out people for victimization because of their religion, their sexual orientation, their nationality must be offensive to God’s ears. It has to stop also.

Uh, Bishop Lynch, MURDER is offensive to God PERIOD!  This is what you fail time and time again.  You preach against religion and you preach against guns.  How about you do the right thing and put the blame squarely where it lies with people who listen to Satan?  How about you fight Satan?  How about you preach against MURDER and leave out the qualifiers?  How about you stand for life in your own diocese?  Hey, how about you stand for God in general?  I mean, you are the man who banned perpetually adoring God in the Eucharistic (For those of you who didn’t know that, google.  It happened and yet he can’t see why these horrors keep occurring!)    

Third, responding by barring people of Muslim only faith from entering the country solely because of their stated faith until they can be checked out is un-American, even in these most challenging of times and situations. There are as many good, peace loving and God fearing Muslims to be found as Catholics or Methodists or Mormons or Seventh Day Adventists. The devil and devilish intent escape no religious iteration.

First of all, you were likely jumping to conclusions.  This murderer was already here.  Has nothing to do with Muslims entering.  Next, lots of indications the murderer was, himself, homosexual.  Lastly, do you really think your lack of distinction and reverence for the Catholic Faith is going to make matters better here?  Nope.  The Catholic Church is the institution Christ left us to aid in the salvation of the world.  If you were smart and really wanted to end evil you would encourage to the hilt the Catholic Faith.

 Will we ever learn? I hope so but until the above three points are taken seriously by society, sadly, tragically, we can expect more Orlandos. May the souls of those faithful departed who met their God early Sunday morning rest in peace, and those recovering from deep wounds heal, help and hope.

+RNL”

Apparently you will never learn.  You can’t even get the definition of faithful right.  What we need to do is pray for God’s mercy on their souls and to bring all souls to Him.  Again, Bishops like you are the reason we have such a disregard for life and for God.  You’re on your way out the door to retirement.  I hope that you spend this final portion of your life making up for the lives you haven’t defended as a shepherd of the Church and that you give much thought to Our Lord – maybe even in Perpetual Adoration.

May God protect and heal our country and may our fellow countrymen see that Christianity is the solution and not the problem.  Thanks to those cardinals and bishops who sought to unite us in this aftermath rather than to divide.  May your voices be heard above all others.

 

 

You Keep Using That Word!

Word of the Pontificate: Integration

What in the heck does it mean to the Church? To the liberal dissenter, it means to make everyone the same (like any good socialist would think). Everyone gets to do the same thing no matter what they’ve done. It seems to be their new word for moral relativism.

Integration actually means to combine or bring together. It doesn’t mean we’re all the same, but we come together and make up a whole. Or at least, this is what Pope Francis appears to mean by it. Whatever the meaning, it certainly doesn’t mean Communion for all. How do I know? The Pope said so.

Despite this, Fr. Antonio Spadaro (editor of La Civiltà Cattolica) and Archbishop Blaise Cupich continue to make such fantastical statements as “without limits on integration, as appeared in the past” or “I wouldn’t bar anyone from Communion!” By the way, I totally take Archbishop Cupich at his word, which is why he should never be a cardinal. I’m pretty sure someone could walk up to him wearing a “Gravely depraved and proud” tee-shirt and Cupich would hand Our Lord them because, you know, they need to be “fully integrated,” too.

What has been the Pope’s only direct statement on “integration” and the Eucharist? Well, people seem to have forgotten that one, so here’s a reminder for them, as well as Fr. Spadaro and Archbishop Cupich:

http://aleteia.org/2016/02/29/communion-for-divorced-and-remarried-catholics-how-might-pope-francis-handle-it/

Being integrated into the Church does not mean “taking communion.”

Yeah, liberals, that was from the Holy Father less than two months before Amoris Laetitia dropped. As usual, you oh so conveniently overlooked that one and went for your own interpretation. Also notice the example he gave of a couple in an “irregular situation” who are integrating WITHOUT receiving Communion.

My heart goes out to those who are in an “irregular situation.” The Church does need to help them and, quite frankly, leaders like Archbishop Cupich are a huge reason why many people find themselves in the situation in the first place. They failed to educate them big time, and when they do get educated, they realize that they are now in “irregular situation” and they become quite bitter. The liberal pastors spent so much time trying to instill their doctrine of moral relativism into people that they lead them into more and more “irregular situations” despite the perennial Church teachings to the contrary. They insisted from the get-go that doctrine was going to change, and the faithful paid for it, just as they did with Humanae Vitae. The consequences of the lack of authentic teaching have been devastating for the family.

I wonder if these liberal dissenting members of the clergy realize that they could quite literally have hell to pay for the destruction of the family? Their agenda is going to mean nothing on judgment day, and they’ll suddenly realize, “Hey, there is a difference between wheat and chaff and sheep and goats. We’re not all the same!”

Let’s all pray that those finding themselves in “irregular situations” can find true integration into the Church instead of what’s being peddled by Fr. Spadaro, Archbishop Cupich, most of the Jesuit order, etc., which puts them further at odds with the teachings of the Church.

 

Cupich: He’s back!

I guess Archbishop Blase Cupich wasn’t getting enough attention and wanted to make a big splash. What’s the matter, Archbishop, were the Vatican light show and Cardinal Turkson stealing your thunder? So what has he said now? In case you haven’t heard the collective groan of the faithful, try this on for size: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archbishop-cupich-again-insists-people-in-homosexual-unions-can-receive-com

When asked if the same “internal forum” could be used to secure Communion for sexually active homosexuals, he said that it could. “When people who are in good conscience working with a spiritual director come to a decision, then they need to follow that conscience. That’s the teaching of the Church. So in the case of people receiving Communion in situations that are irregular that also applies. The question then was: Does that apply to gay people? My answer was: they’re human beings too. They have a conscience. Thy have to follow their conscience.

He continued: “They have to be able to have a formed conscience, understand the teaching of the Church, and work with a spiritual director and come to those decisions. And we have to respect that.”
“It’s not up to any minister who is distributing the Eucharist to make a decision about a person’s worthiness or lack of worthiness. That’s on the conscience of those individuals,” he added.”

There are sooooooooooooooooo many things wrong with this one. First and foremost, the “internal forum” was brought up in regards to the annulment process. It was not brought up in regards to active homosexual relationships, nor even to the simple divorced and remarried case. To even imply that these are in any way comparable to each other is totally and utterly ridiculous. Cupich is pretty much trying to nullify sin in general.

So what is all this “internal forum” talk in regards to annulments? I didn’t know what the heck it was, but there was a very narrow possible scenario given to me as an example. I’m sure there are others examples, but at least it explains to me why anyone is even still using it in a sentence. I was thinking about giving the scenario, but it was conjecture at best, even though I suspect good conjecture from a knowledgeable Catholic.

Before I go on, I would like to point out that Cardinal Burke has said the Synod did not and cannot approve the internal forum for divorced/remarried to receive Communion. Marriage is indissoluble.  And, here’s the biggie, the Pope hasn’t put forth any document yet.  Cupich is speaking WAY out of turn and trying, once again, the old “put the cart before the horse” method of trying to sway the Holy Father.

The “internal forum” regarding annulment scenario presented to me was a “failure to administer justice” scenario. Sorry to be vague but I wouldn’t want to lead anyone into error by stating the scenario knowing that there is a possibility it might be incorrect, even if I think it sound.

If my friend’s scenario is correct, suffice it to say, it would be super rare (as any use of the “internal forum” would be) and it would be limited to something that COULD be a rectifiable situation IF the annulment were eventually granted. It does nothing to alter the indissolubility of marriage, though. In contrast, there is NOTHING that could ever rectify an active homosexual relationship. There is nothing that can make homosexual acts not intrinsically depraved, and, as the Catechism states (Archbishop Cupich might want to crack it open every once in a while), “Under no circumstances can they be approved.” http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2357.htm

Do you see the difference in the two scenarios? There’s a gap the size of the Grand Canyon in between them. In one scenario, a couple would be trying their best in accordance with the teachings of the Church to live in accordance to the Church teachings. The scenario with a couple continuing in an active homosexual relationship is them failing the teaching of the Church (and, really, them failing themselves).
Cupich is floating something not even close. He’s saying, if a couple doesn’t think the teachings of the Church are correct, they can just use their very poorly formed conscience to decide if they are committing a sinful act. I guess he’s also saying they need to shop around for a spiritual director like him who goes with the “I’m OK. You’re OK.” mantra. It’s just a tad bit different.

Next, the “minister” distributing Communion certainly does have the duty to protect the Eucharist from defilement. If someone walks up with an “I’m an atheist!” t-shirt, they have made a public statement and shouldn’t be given the Communion. Remember a few years back when the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence approached Archbishop Niederauer for Communion in full clown drag dress? It was a “gotcha” moment where he failed, and he admitted that. (http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/archbishop_niederauer_apologizes_for_giving_communion_to_sisters_of_perpetual_indulgence_at_san_francisco_parish/) Yes, the minister can and should protect Our Lord’s Body and Blood from the sacrilege of the Eucharist. Public obstinate sinners are in a special class. So, you see, the “I’m sinning and I’m going to keep sinning no matter what the Church says” without public repentance club can be denied Communion to avoid scandal. The “minister” denying Communion to the public obstinate sinner, despite what Cupich might decree, might REALLY be where the “internal forum” comes in.

So Sorry, San Diego!

My sincere apologies to San Diego. While we weren’t thrilled about Auxiliary Bishop McElroy being an annoying, backstabbing kind of guy in our area, we really weren’t looking to inflict him on anyone else, either, much less have him elevated to any real public area.  Sadly, here he is:  http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/faith_and_values/2015/11/20/u-s–catholic-bishops-new-voter-guide-ignores-key-causes-of-pope-critics-say.html

I’m sure he’s being joined by Archbishop Cupich, the National catholic Reporter, America Mag, and the rest of the usual seamless garment gang, but he’s the one flapping his gums this go around.

“I believe that this document is gravely hobbled,” said McElroy, who was an outspoken advocate of the church’s social-justice teachings even before Francis named him to lead the large and growing southern California diocese this year.

“Specifically, I think the pope is telling us that alongside the issues of abortion and euthanasia — which are central aspects of our commitment to transform this world — poverty and the degradation of the Earth are also central,” McElroy said. “But this document keeps to the structure of the worldview of 2007. It does not put those there.”

Umm, no, Bishop McElroy. Absolutely nothing is more paramount than life itself, and, thankfully, the majority of your fellow bishops understand that.  “Poverty and the degradation of the Earth” may be important, but they are not “central”.  We’re talking murder here.  Murder and hunger are not the same.  Murder and pollution are not the same.  You also don’t have to take the same actions to respond to either of these situations as you do to stop murder.  Murder must stop, plain and simple.  We wouldn’t look at a 3-year-old with a gun to her head and say, “Hey, we really need to look at carbon emissions that might cause her great-great-great grandchildren to have to endure an ice age or 150-degree heat (or whatever the argument of the day is)!” Hunger or pollution can be fixed in a myriad of different ways, and making people understand the basic right to life, first and foremost, is a pretty darn good way to start fixing the rest of what ails us.  History tells us that many civilizations, if not all, that have perished had one very important thing in common – murder became an accepted part of their society.  This doesn’t bode well for us.  The biggest question on our minds should be, “How long will God hold back His wrath?”

Downplaying the gravity of murder is one of the reasons why, in this country, we have an every growing issue with poverty. If there is no value to human life, why would people worry about people going hungry?  It’s easier to let them die, or worse, just kill them.  Think about it.  That really was Margaret Sanger’s solution.  Kill the poor people and keep them from reproducing.

I also found McElroy’s comment about the “worldview of 2007” pretty darn interesting. I don’t give a flying fig about the worldview, period.  This is one of the things I find rather troubling about McElroy, Cupich, et. al.  Their focus is the world when it should be God.

Here’s a novel idea. What if we all worked like hell to end abortion and euthanasia?  What if every homily we heard in our churches was about how and why abortion and euthanasia are mortal sins?  How about if we heard murder used as a synonym?  What if we heard about the intrinsic value of every human life?  Don’t you think that would be transformative in the rest of the areas of the Catholic Church and the world once they saw us following through? Don’t you think, starting with the faithful (or at this point, AKA the uneducated), the rest of the world might start thinking, “Wow!  If this is this serious, and every human life has value, then this human life or that other human life must have value too!”?  Want to talk “trickle down?”  That tactic might act as a dang waterfall!

As it stands now, many Catholics don’t even value life. Forget the rest of society.  Like everything else, it’s all about how someone’s life affects them.  If it’s hard, if it’s inconvenient, if it’s not perfect, then it’s better that it didn’t exist.  Of course that’s going to bleed into all other areas of our society.  When you are killing babies in the womb and the elderly because they are burdens, you’re devaluing life, so you’re going to turn a blind eye to anyone else who’s a burden. We (that’s the societal we) have spent an exhaustive amount of time telling our youth that they are valuable and they should have self-worth.  For the life of me, though, I can’t understand why they’d believe us when we show them by example of how to treat a burden.  Of course we’re going to have suicides, mass killings, bullying, etc.  We kill the most vulnerable.  Why should they believe their lives have worth anymore, when just about everything in society says the polar opposite?  They know society is telling them that their existence is simply about their parents being fulfilled, not that they have intrinsic value.  And guess what, Bishop McElroy, your minimizing murder by trying to water it down with all of your other pet issues is to blame for this mentality.  Congratulations!  Remember that when we have the next school shooting.  While you and your merry mob continue to talk about the immorality of hunger and “climate change” when you can’t even manage to teach that life is sacred is beyond me.  Why would God ever bless these peripheral issues?

So, yes, I will continue to prioritize my voting with life at the top, and a hearty thank you to the USCCB for telling the seamless garment crew to take a hike. They laid out the non-negotiables, and despite what you think, Pope Francis has never put these on par with anything else as much as you wish he would.  Now if we could only hear these things more than once or twice a year!!!  This can’t go the way of “The Fortnight of Freedom” which only a handful of us have even heard about.  The laity needs to be hit upside the head on these issues on a regular basis.  If we can’t end the atrocities of abortion and euthanasia, none of our other social ills will ever be straightened out.  We will be doomed.

One last note, there is no direct quote from Bishop McElroy in the article, so I’m going to try my hardest to give him the benefit of the doubt, but whoever is floating this nonsense needs to stop.

McElroy’s position was supported by a number of other bishops, some of whom also were dismayed by the number of times the draft mentioned same-sex marriage, even though the U.S. Supreme Court effectively settled the issue by legalizing gay marriage in June.

I might remind whoever inspired this lamest afterthought ever that the Supreme Court said slavery and abortion were legal too. What the heck does it matter what the Supreme Court decides if it’s completely immoral?  Again, I’m sure there is just a small “number of other bishops” who want us just to drop it.  Thanks to God we didn’t stop fighting against slavery and that we haven’t stopped fighting against abortion, despite the losers who suggest this mealy-mouthed garbage.  Have they learned nothing from history and the saints who have been martyred for opposing bad laws? We must never stop fighting evil and the destruction of life and family!  That might be the only reason God has held back his wrath thus far.

On France: We Should’ve Followed the Lead of Pope St. Pius V

Our hearts are broken. A country that was once considered one of the most Catholic countries in the world has been overrun by Islam and attacked by jihadists. Can we just forget about climate change now? Get your heads out of the sand (I’m talking to you, liberal Catholics!) and realize that there are FAR more important things in our world. We can sit and worry about the weather, or we can worry about what’s really going to affect our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

You see, Islamists have long known what liberal Catholics have forgotten. We were supposed to be an army of God, and we were supposed to be raising an army of God. However, we’ve pretty much birth-controlled that out of our population in the last century. We’ve become narcissistic, we’ve become secular, and we’ve certainly given up on raising up an army. Children are now just here to give us pleasure. If they don’t give us pleasure, we don’t want them. Islamists know what God told his people all along. God-fearing children are arrows in our quivers, but Islamists know we’ve given up all our ammo – no faith, no family, and the Rosary has become an antiquity of the past rather than a weapon against our foes. They’re striking us now because they think we are weak. They are completely right. So, while the liberal Catholics continue to push for climate control measures, false mercy, and gay marriage, Islamists laugh at us and plan their revenge for Lepanto. Is it any wonder why we’re seeing this? While they promote their false teachings as truth, our liberal religious and priests are promoting truth as mutable.

Don’t believe me, Cardinal Kasper, Thomas Reese, Father Rosica, Father Martin, Joan Chittister, Archbishop Cupich, and all of you other heterodox religious and clergy? Watch this video: http://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2015/09/23/muslims-warn-nj-school-board-were-going-to-be-the-majority-soon-n2056048. The woman toward the end is totally right.  While they’re building an army for their false God, liberal Catholics are celebrating our unencumbered lives and how great that is for the environment. You tout that the “majority” of Catholics don’t follow Church teachings, as if this is a reason they should be changed. God gave us a roadmap for the spreading of his people. “Gen 1:28 And God pronounced his blessing on them, Increase and multiply and fill the earth, and make it yours; take command of the fishes in the sea, and all that flies through the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.” You kind of forgot about that when you were plugging “civil unions”, women priests, gun control, climate control, and Communion for the divorced and remarried. Talk about misplaced priorities! Congratulations, you’ve aided and abetted these jihadis. Try picking up a history books. ISIS did.

While you liberal Catholic “leaders” are pushing for climate control, women priests and gay marriage; while you are advocating for Communion for the divorced, gun control; while your ilk floats this “coexist” mantra only hours before the Paris attacks:

the jihadists are salivating, because they know it means our death, both physically and spiritually.

One more thing: you college kids around the country who are whining about words and thoughts that are counter to yours “invading your safe space,” you don’t have a clue what an unsafe space is. You are pampered, privileged, and haven’t a modicum of understanding about the reality of this world. How do I know this? Because you probably haven’t bothered to pray for the dead in France. Instead, you take the time to send out ridiculous tweets like this:

What you deserve is to have some sense knocked into you. Again to all of you liberal religious and clergy out there who are promoting a false view of mercy and reality and encouraging the use of situation ethics, you’re created an entitled society like this.  You’ve already swayed a whole generation who are cooperating with you about the next one. What comes next is all on you.

Our Lady of Lepanto, Our Lady of Victory, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

Primacy of Conscience? The Arinze Smackdown of the False Notions

Here’s an important little lesson that apparently was rarely taught in the Catholic schools around these San Francisco Bay Area (or maybe it was taught in a purposely twisted manner): https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/video-cardinal-arinze-rejects-effort-at-synod-to-excuse-objectively-evil-ac

Well, this a tad bit awkward for the San Francisco liberals. Somebody just told them they were way off base with that new “primacy of conscience” argument they’ve been trying to float this past year. Heck, it was a complete smack down of their feeble attempt.

Most recently, it was Archbishop Cupich trying this argument, but San Francisco is always ahead of the curve in the dissent game. Here we find Father Jack McClure floating the same argument almost a whole month earlier:

“I feel bad about this. I feel bad for the parish. I feel bad about this silencing,” said McClure. “But I want to make it known I appreciate the generosity Archbishop Cordileone has shown me and my religious community for allowing us to serve in his archdiocese. However, in conscience I needed to break my silence.” https://onemadmomblog.wordpress.com/2015/09/24/martyrdom-doesnt-become-you-or-you-aint-a-martyr/

Some of the “Concerned Parents” also gave it a stab way back in May. I really don’t hold them totally responsible, because I suspect there are some good old (and I do mean old) Jesuits from USF trying to coach them.

Parents and teachers noted that the Archbishop has many platforms from which to educate faculty, students, parents and other members of the school community regarding his interpretations of Church theology, other than an employee handbook. Serra High School parent Lynn Schuette said, “While the Archbishop’s ‘short compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church’ may be appropriate for a religious treatise, it is not acceptable for a faculty handbook. His selective list of Catholic catechism fails to reflect a fuller understanding of the Catholic tradition, let alone the centrality of the primacy of conscience and the “sense of the faithful.” https://onemadmomblog.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/the-archbishop-vs-the-red-herrings/

Yeah, Lynn, it’s the Archbishop who doesn’t understand “Primacy of Conscience”. I guess Cardinal Arinze doesn’t either. (Insert your favorite eye-rolling emoticon here.)

On the contrary, ladies and gents, the term “good conscience” kind of means you need to actually have a good conscience! There’s a shocker! What it doesn’t mean is “because my poorly formed conscience says it’s fine and dandy!”

Dear liberals, please note Cardinal Arinze’s correction of your misconception or falsehood.  I’m not exactly sure which it is.

“Conscience, according to Catholic teaching, is the dictate — immediate — of what is to be done or not to be done. Conscience directs the individual. Nevertheless, conscience has to be educated to see the ways of God, the Commandments of God, as authentically interpreted by the Church, which means conscience has to be educated, has to be trained,” he said.

Arinze went on to quote portions from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) that deals with conscience and to provide commentary on what the passages mean.

CCC Paragraph 1790: “A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed.”

Arinze: “Which means, conscience does not make objective right and wrong, but only directs the person in what the person should do or not do. That conscience has to be educated, trained, if you wish,” he said.

CCC Paragraph 1791: “This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man ‘takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin.’ In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits.”

Arinze: “That means it isn’t enough that conscience says, ‘I can do this’ if that conscience has been made blind by repeated acts that are evil. Then the person is responsible for that erroneous conscience. That is also clear,” he said.

CCC Paragraph 1792: “Ignorance of Christ and his Gospel, bad example given by others, enslavement to one’s passions, assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, rejection of the Church’s authority and her teaching, lack of conversion and of charity: these can be at the source of errors of judgment in moral conduct.”

Arinze: “You can see then, if a person is always stealing, if a person is always telling lies, if a person is always committing acts against chastity, the person may begin to get accustomed to such acts and no longer call them by their names. But a priest or bishop has to help them, to call good ‘good’ and evil ‘evil.’ Which means, although conscience should be followed, conscience should be educated,” he said.

Arinze said that there are “objective norms of right and wrong,” no matter what the personal conscience may dictate to an individual.”

Wait, what?! I’m sure liberals all over the Bay Area and the U.S. are smacking themselves in the forehead right now! There’s lots of good stuff in this interview, and I hope you all keep it bookmarked for future reference, because the dissenting folks are hardly going to stop using their highly delusional argument. I’m also reasonably sure everyone from Archbishop Cupich down to the misled high school students railing against Archbishop Cordileone are going to cling to it regardless of the fact it’s been shot down with a Patriot missile.

Speaking of Patriot missiles, this is hardly rocket science.  It’s written very plainly in the Catechism.  It’s Catholic 101.  Please, just crack the cover every once in a while.  You don’t even have to buy it!  http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

Too bad many in the clergy don’t recognize Cardinal Arinze’s explanation of true mercy.  This is really the remedy for most problems that plague us:

“Now, the best way we can help a person is with truth. So, it will be necessary in some charitable way, nice way, to help such people to realize their condition. It is not enough to leave them with their conscience,” he said.

The cardinal used the analogy of a medical doctor aiding a wounded patient to make his point.

“A good doctor who receives a patient with a big wound, a sore, knows what is to be done. Maybe clean some parts. Maybe some injections. Maybe medicines are to be administered.”

“But if the doctor says, ‘the patient says he doesn’t like these measures, he’s happier with a bandage’ and gets a nice bandage and bandages the wound, is he a good doctor? Does the wound get healed because the patient’s conscience tells him that this is the nicest way to approach it?

“You see, reality does not respect what [a person and his conscience] thinks. So the doctor should treat that wound with the best medical science.”

“That’s the way the doctor will show mercy to the patient,” he said.

Amen and thank you Cardinal Arinze!

The Synod on Twitter – It’s Way Better!

Twitter. I’m on Facebook and WordPress, and don’t take Google Plus seriously, but Twitter has always been a bit difficult for me. I mean, it’s really hard to be sarcastic in 140 characters or less. It, normally, just doesn’t do it justice. Trying to emulate all the blogging greats, however, I sucked it up and started a Twitter account. Since WordPress and Facebook have taken off on their own, I turned my attention to Twitter and found a bunch of great folks who manage to combine sarcasm and truth in a nice, concise 140 characters. Here’s hoping to learn from them!

I’m pretty sure everyone knows that there’s this little thing called a synod going on right now and that we’re in the final week (thank heavens!). Anyone who has read this blog knows I’m mildly annoyed with Cardinal Kasper, the Germans, and America’s own Archbishop Cupich, mainly over the chaos they’ve created about Communion for the divorced and “remarried.” Rather than spending page upon page to sum up why they’ll never get their way, no matter how much confusion they try to sow, this tweet does it nicely, and in fewer than 140 characters!

Bam!  Thank you, Ryan!  How is that for succinct??? Allowing the supposed super narrow admittance of those committing adultery to receive Holy Communion (what the liberals say they are peddling) or the wholesale reception of Communion for these adulterers (what the liberals are actually trying to get in the end), it all really comes down to this tweet. The idea is an affront to the Eucharist, an affront to the Sacrament of Confession, and an affront to mercy.

Why are these misguided clergy looking for a loophole and not looking for a better way to teach people about God’s true mercy? That is what’s really missing. Doubling down on sin isn’t going to help. They can’t just keep telling the child, “Go ahead! Touch the hot burner.  You won’t get hurt!”, although I’m sure some will try. Bottom line, it is eventually going to cause permanent damage.

Where would Kasper and his ilk like to go next? Making sure everyone’s marriage can easily be invalidated? Forget “adjusting” the Sacrament of Confession!  The marriage rite could go something like this:

Let’s just skip the intentions part so nobody knows you had any!

and

I, N., take you, N. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life unless you break your vow, abuse me, get sick or it’s not just not working for me anymore.

Heck, this would really streamline the annulment process. No more pesky valid, indissoluble marriages. In fact, let’s just eliminate any Church teaching that makes life hard. Forget that whole cross thing. Redemptive suffering?  Meh.  Yeah, there’s some mercy for you!

For all those who tweet, thanks to @RyanFitz1111 for letting me share.  Follow him or follow the less Twitter skilled me at @OneMadMomBlog.