Monday, August 31, 2009
Danka!
Bishop Martino's Statement
Good Morning!
As you know, just over six years ago, on July 25, 2003, I was named the ninth Bishop of Scranton. My heart was filled with gratitude to Almighty God and Pope John Paul II for entrusting me with a flock to lead and accompany into greater holiness and mission. At the time of my installation as Bishop of Scranton on October 1, 2003, I cited the example of the late John Cardinal O’Hara, C.S.C., Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1952 until 1960. At Cardinal O’Hara’s installation Mass, he stated that he had no program to announce. He simply asked people to tell him their needs and to rely on him to do his best to meet those needs. In this way, the Cardinal said, “Together, we will save our souls.”
As I became more informed about the needs of the Diocese of Scranton throughout 2004, it became clear to me that, at the very least, something had to be done to halt the rapid financial deterioration of our Diocese. This situation had been caused by very high institutional expenses due to an excessive number of schools and parishes competing with one another and diluting Diocesan and parish resources. Even greater than the financial challenge of the Diocese was the fact that with so many schools and parishes, the clergy of the Diocese was not assigned in a strategic manner, with a view to leading a vigorous and successful New Evangelization of the Diocese, so dear to us all.
For some time now, there has not been a clear consensus among the clergy and people of the Diocese of Scranton regarding my pastoral initiatives or my way of governance. This development has caused me great sorrow, resulting in bouts of insomnia and at times a crippling physical fatigue.
The Diocese of Scranton needs to continue to respond to the call of our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, and of his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, to engage in the New Evangelization. To do so, however, the Diocese of Scranton requires a Bishop who is at least physically vigorous. I am not that Bishop.
Therefore, I have asked our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to accept my resignation as Bishop of Scranton. Today, it is being announced that the Holy Father has accepted my resignation and that he has named me the Retired Bishop of Scranton. I am deeply grateful to our Holy Father for his paternal compassion for me and, more importantly, for his pastoral zeal for the clergy and people of the Diocese of Scranton. While I have no immediate plans, I hope to be helpful and I will be residing for the most part in the Diocese of Scranton, specifically at the Fatima Center in Dalton, PA, when I am not visiting relatives and friends in Philadelphia.
At this time, I can also announce that the Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the office of Auxiliary Bishop of Scranton presented by Bishop John M. Dougherty, my right hand for the last six years. I am grateful that Pope Benedict XVI permitted Bishop Dougherty to stay on as Auxiliary Bishop, even though he had passed the age limit over two years ago, in order to assist me in the challenging task of governing pastorally the Diocese of Scranton. I have no words to describe the depth of my gratitude to Bishop Dougherty.
I also announce now that until a new Bishop of Scranton is chosen, Pope Benedict XVI has named His Eminence, Justin Cardinal Rigali, as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Scranton. I wish to express to His Eminence my prayerful wishes that he have a fruitful apostolate among us all as our temporary Shepherd. The Cardinal will add responsibility for the almost 350,000 Catholics of the Diocese of Scranton to his current care for the almost million and a half Catholics of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. This will be a great challenge for him, and I call on everyone in our Diocese to rally around the Cardinal and give him not only our cooperation but our hearts.
Finally, I thank everyone in the Diocese of Scranton who has collaborated with me, and as is customary on an occasion like this one, I seek forgiveness from anyone whom I may not have served adequately as Bishop, due to my human limitations. I invoke the prayers of Mary and all the saints and I close with these words from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians:
“Now may God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen”
And may Jesus Christ always be praised!
La Messa Italiana!
Justin Cardinal Rigali will celebrate his first Mass as Apostolic Administrator for the Diocese of Scranton this Sunday at Saint Peter's Cathedral at 10am.The Mass, which will be said in Italian, is part of the annual La Festa Italiana which will be held this weekend at Courthouse Square in Scranton.
News Conference
9:56 Stay tuned here for the latest from the Diocese.
10:01 Cardinal Rigali is here. Bishop Martino looks uneasy. Bill Genello opens up.
Bishop Martino is making a statement. I hope to have the text up shortly.
The Bishop has been suffering from insomnia and fatigue. He offered his resign. He will be staying at the Fatima Center in Dalton.
No one has been chosen to replace him.
Cardinal Rigali will be the administrator in the meantime.
He closed his statement with Paul's Letter to the Thessalonians.
The Cardinal is now speaking.
Bishop Timlin was thanked for his service and the good he did. There was no thanks for moving pedophiles from parish to parish...
Monsignor Bambera is Vicar General now, overseeing the day to day operations of the Diocese.
Monsignor Grimalia is now director of "Called to holiness and mission".
He also is making all new appointments of vicars.
Cardinal Rigali states the Diocese is filled with "people of vibrant faith". One can tell he hasn't spent much time here.
Bishops Timlin and Dougherty will be performing confirmations.
Bishop Martino thinks he sent his resignation around June 12. The Pope accepted it around July 29.
Bishop Martino tells us he thankfully does not have any chronic illness.
About a year ago, Bishop Martino thought the best thing he could do for the Diocese was to move on.
The Bishop spoke very well of the pro-life movement and the people involved in it.
The Bishop feels free. He is optimistic for the Diocese. He did "...the best I could and I did the right thing".
And there it is.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
News Conference Here at 10am!
Tomorrow morning at 10am there will be a news conference discussing the rumors swirling around that both Bishop Martino and Dougherty will be leaving the Diocese of Scranton. It will be broadcast live on CTV.If you do not have access to CTV, or a television tomorrow morning, I'll be blogging the news conference as it happens right here at 10 am. So be sure to check in starting at 10am to get the scoop.
You will need to refresh your page often to get the updates.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The Lion Speaks
Voted NO on defining unborn child as eligible for SCHIP. (Mar 2008)
Rated 100% by the HRC, indicating a pro-gay-rights stance. (Dec 2006)
Voted NO on prohibiting minors crossing state lines for abortion. (Mar 2008)
Voted NO on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Apr 2007)
Voted NO on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. (Jun 2006)
Voted NO on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. (Jul 2006)
Voted NO on criminal penalty for harming unborn fetus during other crime. (Mar 2004)
Voted YES on killing restrictions on violent videos to minors. (May 1999)
Voted NO on banning partial birth abortions except for maternal life. (Mar 2003)
Voted NO on banning human cloning. (Feb 1998)
Rated 100% by NARAL, indicating a pro-choice voting record. (Dec 2003)
Expand embryonic stem cell research. (Jun 2004)
Rated 0% by the NRLC, indicating a pro-choice stance. (Dec 2006)
Ensure access to and funding for contraception. (Feb 2007)
Voted NO on recommending Constitutional ban on flag desecration. (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
Voted NO on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions. (Jun 2000)
Voted NO on banning partial birth abortions. (Oct 1999)
Another Rumor
If you do not have access to CTV, I'll be blogging the news conference as it happens Monday at 10 am. So be sure to check in often to get the scoop.
Insert Vomit Sound Here....
What A Bishop!
Bishop Edward J. Slattery, Ordinary of the Diocese of Tulsa has ceased the practice of Mass facing the people, and now celebrates facing the altar (ad orientem).His Excellency explains "From ancient times, the position of the priest and the people reflected this understanding of the Mass, since the people prayed, standing or kneeling, in the place that visibly corresponded to Our Lord’s Body, while the priest at the altar stood at the head as the Head, We formed the whole Christ – Head and members – both sacramentally by Baptism and visibly by our position and posture. Just as importantly, everyone – celebrant and congregation – faced the same direction, since they were united with Christ in offering to the Father Christ’s unique, unrepeatable and acceptable sacrifice.”
He here to read the rest of the excellent article. If only more Ordinaries would follow this example.
What A Circus
You gotta be kidding me.
But to his credit, as they began to recess out he did not go to shake Obama's hand, he went to the family instead.
I didn't see the whole thing, I'll try to catch it later on repeat. But I have reports that the Prayer of the Faithful was nothing more than a slew of liberal campaign slogans. But what did we expect? Something remotely Catholic coming out of Boston?
What I do know is that there were at least three eulogies given. The GIRM is specific on this:
382. At the Funeral Mass there should, as a rule, be a short homily, but never a eulogy of any kind.
But the Archdiocese of Boston has their own rules:
18. Following the prayer after Communion and before the Final Commendation, only one speaker, a member or a friend of the family, may speak for not more than five minutes in remembrance of the deceased.
It doesn't appear that the Archdiocese is able to follow their own policies. I heard three speakers and they spoke for around 45 minutes.
I've been told the camera's went to Placido Domingo during Communion. I will try to find out which baby killer was given the Eucharist.
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Government Can!
Bishop Martino Video And My Thoughts
Something is definitely up if, as the headline suggests, both Bishop Martino and Dougherty are leaving. Bishop Dougherty of course, should have been gone two years ago when he turned 75.
Bishop Martino, appearing in public without his clerical garb, responded to reporters questions today by saying "...you'll have to work with Bill Genello, ok?"
There will be a news conference Monday at 10am.
Everything we are hearing is nothing more than speculation, especially the rumors of Bishop Sullivan coming in to take over. I don't know who "Scranton Priest" is, which means I have absolutely no reason to believe he knows anything more than any of us at this point. If he wants to send me a private email he may do so, but take that post with a grain of salt.
Let me say to all of the people rejoicing over Bishop Martino's resignation: Pope Benedict is the most conservative Pope in 50 years. If you think he is going to name someone to this Diocese who is going to come in and undo everything Bishop Martino has done, you're crazier than a Protestant with a box of Ritz crackers. His Holiness has a plan for this Diocese, and that plan will be revealed more fully when Bishop Martino's successor is announced by the Holy See. Be patient and all will be revealed.
Bishop Of Scranton Sullivan?
Based on the information from "Scranton Priest" in the comment section of this post I present to you a story from 2004 on Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan from CNY.orgBased on his Wikipedia entry he was sent to the Dominican Republic after ordination in 1971 to learn Spanish so as to better serve the Hispanics in the Arch-Diocese of New York. This will no doubt leave the parishioners of St Nick's in a tizzy since they were hoping for someone who would do away with the Spanish Ministry.
Immersion in parish life has brought fulfillment to Bishop-elect Sullivan
By CLAUDIA McDONNELL
Bishop-elect Dennis J. Sullivan defines himself in one word: pastor. His heart is in parish life: in celebrating the sacraments, preaching, getting to know the people he serves and helping them in whatever ways he can. He has spent his entire priesthood serving in parishes, most recently at SS. John and Paul in Larchmont, where he has been pastor for the past year. For the previous 21 years he was pastor of St. Teresa's parish on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Perhaps it's because he thinks of himself first and always as a parish priest that the call to become a bishop took him by surprise. When Cardinal Egan gave him the news, he reacted with "unbelief, disbelief, he said.
"My heart began to pound, he added. "It was so out of the blue. But he says he is ready for the challenge that will begin on Sept. 21, when Cardinal Egan ordains him to the episcopacy together with Bishop-elect Gerald T. Walsh. "Whatever the cardinal presents to me, I'll give it my best shot, he said.
If he isn't sure how he was chosen to become a bishop, he knows exactly how he fell in love with being a parish priest. It goes back to his days as a deacon in the early 1970s, when he was studying for the priesthood at St. Joseph's Seminary in Dunwoodie. Transitional deacons - seminarians who were preparing for priesthood - spent about four days a week serving in a parish, "preaching, observing, living in the rectory, the bishop-elect said. Back at the seminary, they would discuss and reflect on their experiences with faculty and other priests.
He was assigned to St. Pius V parish in the South Bronx, where current development is transforming what was then a scene of urban decay and despair.
"The South Bronx was burning at the time, Bishop-elect Sullivan said. "It was drug-ridden. But in the parish there was hope and vitality, and he found a mentor who whom he describes as "an amazing priest - Father John C. Downes, pastor of St. Pius V from 1969 until his death in 1976. The experience of working in the parish among people who were poor, with Father Downes as model and guide, affected him powerfully and helped set the course for his priesthood.
Bishop Martino to Step Down
From the Citizen's Voice
Bishop Joseph F. Martino is expected to resign as head of the Diocese of Scranton next week, sources within the diocese confirmed to The Scranton Times-Tribune today.
Speculation about the bishop's future began earlier this week when The Times-Tribune reported that his belongings were being moved from the rectory adjacent to the diocese's mother church, St. Peter's Cathedral, to a retreat in Dalton.
Bishop Martino was installed as head of the 11-county Diocese of Scranton in 2003. A long-time auxiliary bishop in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, Bishop Martino arrived in October 2003, to become the diocese's ninth bishop, replacing Bishop James C. Timlin, who now serves as bishop emeritus.
Tradition dictates that should Bishop Martino step down, the diocese would be directed by Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali of Philadelphia, the metropolitan for this area, until a successor can be appointed by the Vatican.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Oppose Them Before It's Too Late
Can't wait to see the Glenn beck show tomorrow. He has been blowing the lid off of the Obama administration all week. Go visit his web-site and check out what the leftist fanatics are freaking out about.What we need to do is recapture the essence of how we all felt on 9/12/2001. We were united. We had a common purpose. It's time to boot these socialist dogs right in the ass and let them know we will stand together to oppose them.
"What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance."
- THOMAS JEFFERSON
More Scandal For the Church In America
Hopefully we all prayed for his soul, and the souls of the millions of children he has helped to murder, and also for the soul of Mary Jo Kopechne. May God have more mercy on Ted's soul than Ted had for Miss Kopechne while she drowned in that car.
It would seem Ted will have a Funeral Mass this Saturday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica. No word yet on which of our Bishops will scandalize the Church and say his funeral Mass.
UPDATE 12:40pm: There is a private "family Mass" being said right now for the Kennedy's. Why do these people feign loyalty to the Catholic Church? What's the point?
The Funeral Mass will be from 10:30 - 12:30 Saturday. I called up there to the Basilica today, and admittance is by "...private invitation by the Kennedy's." The woman I talked to said they do not know who is going to say the Mass yet.
UPDATE 2:05pm: Thanks to the Catholic Caveman for posting this:
Can. 1184
§1. Unless they gave some signs of repentance before death, the following must be deprived of ecclesiastical funerals:
1/ notorious apostates, heretics, and schismatics;
2/ those who chose the cremation of their bodies for reasons contrary to Christian faith;
3/ other manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without public scandal of the faithful.
§2. If any doubt occurs, the local ordinary is to be consulted, and his judgment must be followed.
Jews Threatened By Catholics! Again!
Do we really care if they are offended? Should we care? Again I come back to the stupidity of inter-religious dialogue. What's the point? To renounce Christ and Catholicism , or to bring them over to our side? If the point is to pat each others relativist back and proclaim all is right with us and the world, then there is a major problem.
Did any Catholic really think the Jews were going to accept our view of salvation?
Puh-lease.
If you thought they would, you're dumber than a bag of hammers...
From AP
NEW YORK — Major Jewish groups and rabbis from the three largest branches of American Judaism said Thursday that their relationship with Roman Catholic leaders is at risk because of a recent U.S. bishops' statement on salvation.
Jewish groups said they interpret the new document to mean that the bishops view interfaith dialogue as a chance to invite Jews to become Catholic. The Jewish leaders said they "pose no objection" to Christians sharing their faith, but said dialogue with Jews becomes "untenable" if the goal is to persuade Jews to accept Christ as their savior.
"A declaration of this sort is antithetical to the very essence of Jewish-Christian dialogue as we have understood it," Jewish leaders said in a letter to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The signers were the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and rabbis representing the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements.
The statement fueling the tension was issued by the bishops in June to clarify a 2002 document called "Covenant and Mission." The bishops said the earlier document mistakenly played down the importance of sharing the Gospel and was therefore misleading.
"While the Catholic Church does not proselytize the Jewish people, neither does she fail to witness to them her faith in Christ, nor to welcome them to share in that same faith whenever appropriate," said Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., chairman of a bishops' committee on doctrine. He had said the revisions affirmed statements from the Holy See.
The tensions are rooted in a complex theological debate about salvation for those outside the Catholic Church. Discussion of the issue between Jews and Catholics focuses on the significance of the ancient covenant between God and the Jews.Pope John Paul II had spoken repeatedly of a covenant "never revoked." Many Jewish groups view the bishops' statement as stepping back from the pope's position.
Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the U.S. bishops, said Thursday: "Catholic-Jewish dialogue has been important to the U.S. bishops for almost 50 years. The bishops have just received the letter and currently are studying it."
Cathechism To Be Changed
Adult catechism going into second printing
Newer version clarifies teaching on Jewish covenant
Change approved in summer 2008 by bishops
From the USCCB web-site
WASHINGTON—The Vatican has given its “recognitio” to a change in the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, which is set to go into a second printing.
The change clarifies Catholic teaching on God’s covenant with the Jews. The first version, in explaining relations with the Jews, stated, “Thus the covenant that God made with the Jewish people through Moses remains eternally valid for them.” The revised text states, “To the Jewish people, whom God first chose to hear his Word, ‘belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ.’ (Romans 9: 4-5; cf. CCC, no 839)
The change was approved by the U.S. bishops following the bishops’ 2008 June meeting in Orlando, Florida.
The clarification is not a change in the Church’s teaching.
The clarification reflects the teaching of the Church that all previous covenants that God made with the Jewish people are fulfilled in Jesus Christ through the new covenant established through his sacrificial death on the cross. Catholics believe that the Jewish people continue to live within the truth of the covenant God made with Abraham, and that God continues to be faithful to them. As the Second Vatican Council taught and the Adult Catechism affirms, the Jewish people “remain most dear to God, for God does not repent of the gifts he makes nor of the calls he issues.” (Lumen Gentium, no.16).
The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults was approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 2004 as a basic and concise introduction to the Catholic faith. It is a catechetical text rather than a theological textbook.
A “recognitio” is a statement from the Vatican that a document is in keeping with Catholic teaching.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
NEWSFLASH!
More when I know it.
Be sure to pray for him.
UPDATE 8/27/09 6:07am: The only news I have been able to confirm is that yesterday some more of the Bishop's furniture was being moved to the former St. Pius X Seminary in Dalton.
Now They're After My Kids
Do you think the little girl to the left should know all about masturbation? Well, the United nations thinks she should.The United Nations, that group of Eurotrash who now are apparently also perverts, want to teach children as young as 5 all about masturbation. Why can't we just leave little kids alone?
Let me place my vote to get the hell out of the U.N. ASAP.
From Fox News
NEW YORK — The United Nations is recommending that children as young as five receive mandatory sexual education that would teach even pre-kindergarteners about masturbation and topics like gender violence.
The U.N.'s Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released a 98-page report in June offering a universal lesson plan for kids ranging in age from 5-18, an
"informed approach to effective sex, relationships" andHIV education that they say is essential for "all young people."The
U.N. insists the program is "age appropriate," but critics say it's exposing kids to sex far too early, and offers up abstract ideas — like "transphobia" — they might not even understand."At that age they should be learning about ... the proper name of certain parts of their bodies," said Michelle Turner, president of Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, "certainly not about masturbation."
Turner was disturbed by UNESCO's plans to explain to children as young as nine about the safety of legal abortions, and to advocate and "promote the right to and access to safe abortion" for everyone over the age of 15.
"This is absurd," she told FOXNews.com.
The UNESCO report, called "International Guidelines for Sexuality Education," separates children into four age groups: 5-to-8-year-olds, 9-to-12-year-olds, 12-to-15-year-olds and 15-to-18-year-olds.
Under the U.N.'s voluntary sex-ed regime, kids just 5-8 years old will be told that "touching and rubbing one's genitals is called masturbation" and that private parts "can feel pleasurable when touched by oneself."
• Click here to see the report.
By the time they're 9 years old, they'll learn about "positive and negative effects of 'aphrodisiacs," and wrestle with the ideas of "homophobia, transphobia and abuse of power."
At 12, they'll learn the "reasons for" abortions — but they'll already have known about their safety for three years. When they're 15, they'll be exposed to direct "advocacy to promote the right to and access to safe abortion."
Child health experts say they are wary of teaching about the sticky topic of abortion, but stress that as long as messages stay age-appropriate, educating kids at a younger age helps better steer them into adulthood.
"The adults are more leery of [early sex-ed] than the kids are," said Dr. Jennifer Hartstein, a child psychiatrist in New York. "Our own fears sometimes prevent us from being as open and honest with our kids as possible."
Hartstein, however, who didn't see much harm in explaining basic concepts that kids of all ages will have questions about, was baffled by some of the ideas the U.N. hoped to introduce to kids as young as 5 years old, who will be taught about "gender roles, stereotypes and gender-based violence."
"I want to know how you teach that to a 5-year-old," Hartstein told FOXNews.com.
Despite those challenges, the U.N. insists that "in a world affected by HIV and AIDS ... there is an imperative to give children and young people the knowledge, skills and values to understand and make informed decisions."
UNESCO officials said the guidelines were "co-authored by two leading experts in the field of sexuality education" — Dr. Doug Kirby, an adolescent sexuality expert, and Nanette Ecker, the former director of international education and training at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.
Their report was based on a "rigorous review" of sex-ed literature, "drawing upon 87 studies from around the world," said Mark Richmond, director of UNESCO's Division for the Coordination of U.N. Priorities in Education, in an e-mailed statement.
Richmond defended teaching about masturbation as "age-appropriate" because even in early childhood, "children are known to be curious about their bodies." Their lessons, he added, would hopefully help kids "develop a more complex understanding of sexual behaviour" as they grow into adults.
But Michelle Turner, of Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, said that such roles should be left up to parents, and worried that children were being exposed to too much information too soon.
"Why can't kids be kids anymore?" she said.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
See? Segregation Works!
It would seem segregation does work - in Northern Ireland, at least.
First started in in the early 1970's in response to "The Troubles", so-called "peace lines", more than 40 in number still separate Catholics and Protestants.
The "peace lines" are actually walls averaging 25 feet in height, are made of steel, brick, concrete, and iron, and stretch over 13 miles. Most of these walls are located in Belfast.
The Berlin Wall separating East and West Germany stood for 28 years. The British ruled Northern Irish have managed to beat that record.
And from the reports I have, the residents of these segregated towns don't want the walls to come down.
So we see Britain's response to social strife and animosity - build walls, build more bad blood.
The Brits certainly have learned how to keep the peace.
For how long?
Priest Booted Out Of His Church
Something Foul Is Afoot In Red Springs!
Or as The Bard would say - "something's rotten in Robeson County"
WARNING! Harsh Language Alert.
Alas, poor Father Ospina I knew him well. No... really. I know Father Ospina. I've had a couple of "disagreements" shall we say, with him in the past, but I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Well, there are a few (OK, a lot) that I would wish this on, but not good ol' Father Ospina.
Here's some of the article from The Fayetteville (NC) Observer; (Emphasis and comments mine.)
Red Springs parishioners lock out priest in protest
RED SPRINGS - A large group of parishioners of the Iglesia Catolica San Andres padlocked their pastor out of the church Sunday morning to protest his continued assignment to the Spanish-speaking Catholic community of Robeson County. (Any specifics as to why they were muy PO'd at Father? Read on.)
Father Walter Ospina, who is 33, tried to enter San Andres, or St. Andrew Catholic Church, by a side entrance before morning Mass.
In addition to the lock that had been bolted outside the side door, a sign on the glass read, "Iglesia Cerrada hasta que tengamos nuevo parroco. Justicia!!" That loosely translates to "Church closed until we have a new priest. Justice!" (Now I'm just a college edjumacated retired Gyreen, but this has all the signs of a direct challenge to the Bishop of Raleigh. Just my opinion.)
This is getting my Irish up. Read the rest here.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Filthy Animal To Rot In Hell - I Hope
THERE MAY BE HARSH LANGUAGE IN THIS POST!You may not have heard the story of Channon Christian and Chris Newsome's grisly rape, torture, and murder at the hands of the 5 black animals shown below.
Why haven't you heard of this case? Because the victims were white. And they weren't gay.
The main stream media gleefully covered the Duke Lacrosse team when it was alleged they had raped a black stripper. Matthew Sheperd was beaten and killed, supposedly for being gay, so that was naturally a hate crime. But a young white couple is carjacked, raped, tortured, and murdered by a gang of blacks who did not know the victims - but that isn't a hate crime?
Well it seems that at least one of the murdering animals is getting his day in court. The trial started yesterday for Letalbis Cobbins. The death sentence is too good for him. May he rot in hell for what he has done.
From the Wikipedia of the case:
According to news reports, Christian and Newsom had gone on a date at a local restaurant on Saturday, January 6, 2007, but did not return home. During their night out, the couple was "hijacked, bound and blindfolded and taken back to Lemaricus Devall 'Slim' Davidson's rented house on Chipman Street."[4]
Christian's parents found her abandoned Toyota 4-Runner two blocks away from the Chipman Street house the following Monday with the help of her mobile phone provider. An envelope recovered from the vehicle yielded fingerprint evidence that led police to Lemaricus Davidson and 2316 Chipman Street. When police went to the address on Tuesday, January 9, they found the home unoccupied and Christian's body in a trash can in the kitchen.
According to the testimony of the Knox County Acting Medical Examiner Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan at the subsequent trial of Eric Boyd, Newsom was repeatedly raped and then blindfolded, gagged, arms and feet bound and his head covered. Barefoot, he was either led or dragged outside the house to a set of nearby railroad tracks. He was shot in the back of the head, the neck, and the back, and his body then set on fire. Christian's death would come only after hours of sexual torture, medical examiner Mileusnic-Polchan testified. Christian suffered horrific injuries to her vagina, anus and mouth. She was not only raped but savaged with "an object," possibly a broken chair leg, the doctor testified. She was beaten in the head. Some type of chemical was poured down her throat, and her body, including her bleeding and battered genital area, likely scrubbed with the same solution - all while Christian was alive, the forensic expert said. She was then "hog-tied," with curtains and strips of bedding, her face covered tightly with a small trash bag and her body stashed inside five large trash bags before being placed inside a large trash can and covered with sheets. Christian died slowly, suffocating, the medical examiner said.[5]
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Lady Gaga - Gay Champion?
Pop "singer" Lady Gaga told gay magazine Out that she isn't gay, but wishes that there were more gays.From Fox News
What's wrong with these people? Any clues?Lady Gaga is saying it loud, she's not gay and she's proud!
But she wishes everyone else was. Gay, that is.
In the September issue of Out magazine, the scandal-baiting singer poses semi-nude in a Goth-inspired photo spread and drops the following bon mots.
I had a few gay piano teachers. I was in acting class and ballet from a very young age, and I remember being around a lot of gay boys in dance class. I feel intrinsically inclined toward a more gay lifestyle.
Yet, despite some same-sex experiences, Gaga says she's straight.
I myself am not a gay woman -- I am a free-spirited woman: I have had boyfriends, and I have hooked up with women, but it's never been like 'I discovered gayness when I was dot dot dot.'
However, her relative heterosexuality aside, Gaga wishes the rest of the world leaned the other way!
I very much want to inject gay culture into the mainstream. It's not an underground tool for me. It's my whole life. So I always sort of joke the real motivation is to just turn the world gay.
We're so confused.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Major Garrett Rocks!
I for one receive emails on a regular basis from the DNC. Now I did sign up for updates a while back to learn what they say about us before it hits the state run media, but with several attempts to get off of their mailing list under my belt, I think there is something to this. The DNC is like a good case of herpes...
Interview With Tea Party Organizer Scavo
You'll remember the other day I posted this about an upcoming Tea Party scheduled to be held at the Lackawanna County Court House tomorrow at 1pm. Since then I have conducted an interview with Mr. Frank Scavo the organizer. Here it is for you.
Can you tell us a little about your background and how you got involved in political activism?
I am currently in management in an auto parts distribution company, LKQ. I have 25 years plus experience driving sales and responding to the customer. The key to success in business is listening and serving the customer. That is how I dominate my market, talk is cheap, but performance produces result.
What prompted you to organize a Tea Party for the area?
What prompted me to organize the tea party is that the moves our government is making are UNCONSTITUTIONAL!! Plus, when I saw Sebelius/ Specter's disdain and not being honest with the people at the first town hall meeting that was televised. We pay these guys!! I knew then that the people had to act quickly to exert our voices, our pressure to stop the carte blanche, open check health care initiative! I sent out the e-mail to over 400 on my contact list, and then proceeded to make arrangements with the Lackawanna county for the Saturday event. I invited Specter, Casey, Carney and Kanjorski to talk to the people. All have since declined, and only Carney has a town hall meeting in the Scranton area. I will have empty reserved seats for them!
What is the schedule for tomorrow's Tea Party in Scranton?
What do you hope to accomplish tomorrow?
The end result is to coordinate a march of 100 people to the Scranton offices of Kanjorski, Casey and Specter to STOP this health care fiasco and have our reps vote no until. The people must exercise free speech and fight for liberty! By leading this resistance, my hope is that the people unite to change the direction of government and stop wasting our had earned tax dollars.
Can you explain to my readers why it is important to get involved and why they should support tomorrow's Tea Party?
It is vital for us to be engaged in large numbers! We must show the leaders of our representative republic that the health care system must not be scrapped and taken over by the goverenment! The government does not add value to the economy or the health care system! The government adds cost and expenses, which will result in zero competition and less health care! Exactly the opposite of what they are trying to sell. I am not buying it. The last business that had no competition was television cable companies...and they made a movie about it...do you remember the Cable Guy? Is that how we want our critically important health care to be handled???
Thanks to Frank Scavo for taking time to speak with us today. Be sure to do your part if you are frustrated with the way Washington is dealing with the people. This is our country, these guys work for us. So get out there and let your employees know what you think about the so-called "health care reform".
Violence Escalates
With the Orange Parades in the near future, Belfast has exploded into protests and violence in the past 30 days. Protests calling for the end to British rule in Ireland have closely resembled The Troubles that raged from the 70's through to the late 90's.Pray that the British government finally listens to the people of Ireland and returns the country. Isn't it time?
Why is it that Britain is allowed by the world to stay in Ireland when the majority of Irish clearly don't want them there?
Did you know that Britain has more troops stationed in Northern Ireland than they do in Iraq?
Just thought you might like an example of how the Brit Parliament is more interested in oppressing the Irish than defeating terrorists in the Middle East.
Obama Hogging "Town Hall" Meetings?
From FOX NewsRead the rest right here.Much has been made of the chance for true, interactive democracy offered by the freewheeling town hall format that lawmakers are using in health care forums across the country.
But what the White House is calling a "town hall meeting" does not quite follow in the tradition of the public-driven forums that sprouted centuries ago in New England.
It's more like a press conference for the public.
In an orderly fashion, selected members of the audience pose brief questions, and the president elaborates.
And elaborates. And elaborates.
A look at President Obama's health care "town hall" Tuesday in Portsmouth, N.H., shows the president out-spoke his audience by a ratio of nearly 9-to-1.
Here's the scorecard.
Obama: 8,619 words.
Audience: 1,186 words.
That's hardly the kind of even-handed exchange of ideas that marked the town meetings of colonial America.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Tread Lightly
It seems that whenever Americans actually choose to exercise their rights to keep and bear arms, and to peaceably assemble the left wingers go crazy. Here is a snippet from a piece on Yahoo. If you want to read it all, go here.WASHINGTON – Militia groups with gripes against the government are regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly, according to an organization that tracks such trends.
The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a black president are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says. Conspiracy theories about a secret Mexican plan to reclaim the Southwest are also growing amid the public debate about illegal immigration.
Bart McEntire, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told SPLC researchers that this is the most growth he's seen in more than a decade.
"All it's lacking is a spark," McEntire said in the report.
It's reminiscent of what was seen in the 1990s — right-wing militias, people ideologically against paying taxes and so-called "sovereign citizens" are popping up in large numbers, according to the report to be released Wednesday. The SPLC is a nonprofit civil rights group that, among other activities, investigates hate groups.
Last October, someone from the Ohio Militia posted a recruiting video on YouTube, billed as a "wake-up call" for America. It's been viewed more than 60,000 times.
"Things are bad, things are real bad, and it's going to be a lot worse," said the man on the video, who did not give his name. "Our country is in peril."
The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages viewers to buy one.
I Have A Better Idea
It's been reported that Will Smith wants to play Captain America in the upcoming film version.Why not let the REAL Captain America give it a shot?
Who Are The Political Terrorists?
You know all about the liberals in Congress calling Americans exercising their right to protest all sorts of names like "un-american" and "political terrorists". What must really frustrate these leftists is the way conservatives fail to behave the way they do when THEY protest.From Fox News via Michele Malkin
I'm always pleased that the lefties do our dirty work for us.News outlets that are focusing on the incendiary rhetoric of conservatives outside President Obama’s town hall meeting Tuesday ignored the incendiary rhetoric — and even violence — of liberals outside an appearance by former President George W. Bush in 2002.
When Bush visited Portland, Ore., for a fundraiser, protesters stalked his motorcade, assailed his limousine and stoned a car containing his advisers. Chanting “Bush is a terrorist!”, the demonstrators bullied passers-by, including gay softball players and a wheelchair-bound grandfather with multiple sclerosis.
One protester even brandished a sign that seemed to advocate Bush’s assassination. The man held a large photo of Bush that had been doctored to show a gun barrel pressed against his temple.
“BUSH: WANTED, DEAD OR ALIVE,” read the placard, which had an X over the word “ALIVE.”
Another poster showed Bush’s face with the words: “F— YOU, MOTHERF—ER!”
A third sign urged motorists to “HONK IF YOU HATE BUSH.” A fourth declared: “CHRISTIAN FASCISM,” with a swastika in place of the letter S in each word.
Although reporters from numerous national news organizations were traveling with Bush and witnessed the protest, none reported that protesters were shrieking at Republican donors epithets like “Slut!” “Whore!” and “Fascists!”
Frank Dulcich, president and CEO of Pacific Seafood Group, had a cup of liquid thrown into his face, and then was surrounded by a group of menacing protesters, including several who wore masks. Donald Tykeson, 75, who had multiple sclerosis and was confined to a wheelchair, was blocked by a thug who threatened him.
Protesters slashed the tires of several state patrol cruisers and leapt onto an occupied police car, slamming the hood and blocking the windshield with placards. A female police officer was knocked to the street by advancing protesters, badly injuring her wrist.
Paperback Writer
Thanks to Absolutely No Spin.For those of you who would like to have a Douay Rheims Bible without the high price, Tan Books has a long-awaited paperback edition of this awesome Bible. Check it out here.
I have not had a copy of it in my grubby little hands yet, but it certainly looks good and Tan is a trusted publisher of items for traditional Catholics.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Patriots!!!
I do not know Mr. Scavo personally, but I do know him by reputation, and I feel this would be a good time for those of us locally to get involved. Especially since Paul Kanjorski and Little Bobby Casey are afraid to hold town hall meetings and see their constituents face to face. It seems the more the people protest, the more they ignore them.
I might even advocate protests outside Kanjorski's home on Hanover street in Nanticoke and Casey's palatial villa on Webster street in Scranton if these guys stay sequestered away from the people who pay their salaries. What do you think about that?
Should the Traddy organize protests? You let me know.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Happy Birthday
to me!
And to celebrate, the Boston Red Sox decided to break their losing streak when they tamed the Detroit Tigers last night.
About time boys.
Don't scare me like that!
Little Joey Biden!
“When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television.............." ~ Joe Biden
Monday, August 10, 2009
Depravity Hits Kirby Park
Well the public park where my little daughter plays was host to the so-called "Pride Fest" yesterday afternoon. Nearly 1,ooo homosexuals gathered to celebrate their depraved lifestyle.
I really haven't said much on the gay lifestyle here on the old blog.
But I really wish I would have known this was going on yesterday.
I would have gone down to photograph the disordered behavior I expect was going on. Based on the documented evidence I have seen elsewhere whenever gays get together to celebrate their "diversity", it usually turns into a semi-dressed love fest.
There were also vendors and "Sponsors". I'd like to know who the sponsors of this anti-family event were.
The Times Leader reported indoctrination: "...Designed to be family-oriented, PrideFest offered a children’s tent with games and activities such as balloon animals and face painting by Outrageous Entertainment. Adult entertainment, in addition to the drag queen show, included solo and duet singers and instrumentalists, a magician, a poet, disc jockeys and a tarot card reader."
So as we can see, at a event run by gays, where children are expected, they have face painters and drag queens performing all your favorite hits. I'm sure their rendition of "I'm every woman" was a high point of the afternoon.
What do you all think of this? Did anyone go?
I await the comments accusing me of gay bashing.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
More Czars Than Russia!
The latest presidential appointment of another "Czar" unaccountable to the American people? Can this be too far off?In case you were keeping count, Obama has appointed 33 "Czars" who are in charge of various aspects of the country. And these people only answer to The One.
Not me.
Not you.
Not Congress.
What's next?
Don't ask.
I Threw Up A Little In My Mouth Right Now
I think this guy has some gay man-love feelings he needs to deal with...
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Baby Update!
Last month I got to see the first ultrasound, got to hear his or her fast little heart beat!
Yesterday she went back to the doctor and all is well. Your continued prayers would be appreciated!
Baby Traddy is the size of a lime right now, just past the looking like an alien phase.
I think next month we get to look at baby again. I'll keep you all posted.
Can You Believe Anything Obama Says?
"We should reduce the tax burden on working people. The middle class...needs a government that is working to create jobs and opportunity."This was President Obama on April 15 reinforcing his pledge to not raise taxes on the middle class, and to focus on job creation.
But on Sunday, Obama's advisors began laying the groundwork for a middle class tax hike that will end up killing more jobs.
Failing to defend President Obama's pledge not to raise middle class taxes, White House economist Larry Summers said "it is never a good idea to absolutely rule things out no matter what." This was echoed by Treasury Secretary Geithner, saying the administration is "going to have to do what it takes" to decrease the deficit.
The White House has begun to backtrack, but their determination to pass a $1 trillion healthcare bill and a $1 trillion energy tax that will affect every American makes it pretty clear how unconcerned they really are with raising taxes on the middle class. With almost 10% unemployment, this doesn't seem to be the right time to start thinking about raising taxes.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The Pains of Hell - Part Three
No Relief
Picture in Hell a place where there are three reprobates. The first is plunged in a lake of sulfuric fire, the second is chained to a large rock and is being tormented by two devils, one of whom continually pours molten lead down his throat while the other spills it all over his body, covering him from head to foot. The third reprobate is being tortured by two serpents, one of which wraps around the man's body and cruelly gnaws on it, while the other enters within the body and attacks the heart. Suppose God is moved to pity and grants a short respite.
The first man, after the passage of a thousand years is drawn from the lake and receives the relief of a drink of cool water, and at the end of an hour is cast again into the lake. The second, after a thousand years, is released from his place and allowed to rest, but after an hour is again returned to the same torment. The third, after a thousand years, is delivered from the serpents; but after an hour of relief, is again abused and tormented by them. Ah, how little this consolation would be – to suffer a thousand years and to rest only one hour.
However, Hell does not even have that much relief. One burns always in those dreadful flames and never receives any relief for all eternity. He is forever gnawed and stricken with remorse, and will never have a rest for all eternity. He will suffer always a very ardent thirst and never receive the refreshment of a sip of water for all eternity. He will see himself always abhorred by God and will never enjoy a single tender glance from Him for all eternity. He will find himself forever cursed by heaven and Hell, and will never receive a single gesture of friendship.
It is an essential misfortune of Hell that everything will be without relief, without remedy, without interruption, without end, eternal.
The Kindness of His Mercy
Now I understand in part, O my God, what Hell is. It is a place of extreme pain, of extreme despair. It is where I deserve to be for my sins, where I would have been confined for some years already if your immense mercy had not delivered me. I will keep repeating a thousand times: The Heart of Jesus has loved me, or else I would now be in Hell! The mercy of Jesus has pitied me, for otherwise I would be in Hell! The Blood of Jesus has reconciled me with the heavenly Father, or my dwelling place would be Hell. This shall be the hymn that I want to sing to Thee, my God, for all eternity. Yes, from now on my intention is to repeat these words as many times as there are moments that have passed since that unhappy hour in which I first offended You.
What has been my gratitude to God for his kind mercy that He showed me? He delivered me from Hell. O, immense charity! O, infinite goodness! After a benefit so great, should I not have given Him my whole heart and loved Him with the love of the most ardent Seraphim? Should I not have directed all my actions to Him and in everything sought only His divine pleasure, accepting all contradictions with joy, in order to return to Him my love? Could I do less than that after a kindness that was so great? And yet, what is it that I have done? Oh, ingratitude worthy of another Hell! I cast You aside, O my God! I reacted to Your mercy by committing new sins and offenses. I know that I have done evil, O my God, and I repent with my whole heart. Ah, would that I could shed a sea of tears for such outrageous ingratitude! O Jesus, have mercy on me; for I now resolve to rather suffer a thousand deaths than offend You again.
The Urgency of Hell
It is of faith that Heaven exists for the good and Hell for the wicked. Faith teaches that the pains of Hell are eternal, and it also warns us that one single mortal sin suffices to condemn a soul forever because of the infinite malice by which it offends an infinite God. With these most positive principles in mind, how can I remain indifferent when I see the ease with which sins are committed, sins that occur as frequently as one takes a glass of water, sins and offenses that are perpetrated out of levity or diversion? How can I rest when so many are to be seen living continually in mortal sin and rushing in this blind manner to their eternal destruction? No indeed, I cannot rest, but must needs run and shout a warning to them. If I saw anyone about to fall into a pit or a fire, would I not run up to him and warn him, and do all in my power to help him from falling in? Why should I not do this much to keep sinners from falling into the pit and fires of Hell?
Neither can I understand why other priests who believe the selfsame truths as I do, as we all must do, do not preach or exhort their flock so that they might avoid this unbearable eternity of Hell. It is still a source of wonder to me how the laity – those men and women blessed with the Faith – do not give warning to those who need it. If a house were to catch fire in the middle of the night, and if the inhabitants of the same house and the other townsfolk were asleep and did not see the danger, would not the one who first noticed it shout and run along the streets, exclaiming: "Fire! Fire! In that house over there!" Then why should there not be a warning of eternal fire to waken those who are drifting in the sleep of sin in such a way that when they open their eyes they will find themselves burning in the eternal flames of Hell?
Checking Up On The Traddy
I feel all cool now that the opposition is checking me out...
The Merging of Parishes - Not Rosy
I am a member of a parish merging with a more trad parish in the Cleveland diocese. The trads both kneel at the altar and have a line for those receiving standing, and receiving on the tongue seems to be the norm for their communicants.
Our parish church will be where the newly-merged parish will worship, and our priest is vehemently opposed to kneeling for Communion (please note this opposition is not coming from our parishioners - I think most of us love and respect the people from the trad parish.) As members of merger committees, we contacted the Diocese for some kind of guidance (which served to anger our priest, unfortunately), and we were given documentation from the USCCB stating that the norm in the US is to receive standing, but that anyone who kneels cannot be denied, and of course, receiving on the tongue is perfectly correct.
Our priest appears to think he will be named the new pastor, and we are hoping the parishioners from the other parish will not be discouraged, because I think we will be a strong parish - we need each other, and each parish has fine attributes and good, decent parishioners. Please pray for us.
I believe this is a scenario we will see played over and over throughout the country. Be sure to remember this parish in particular and all parishes going through these transitions in your prayers.
Kanjorski has "Telephone Town Hall Meeting" planned
It seems that Paul Kanjorski is afraid of having a real town hall meeting with his constituents.They are planning a "telephone town hall meeting" tomorrow evening at 7pm. You have to call his office to get on the list and they will call you prior to the meeting. You will then be connected in a conference call with him. Call his office and and plan to holler at Kanjorski with the Traddy!
(202) 225-6511
(570) 825-2200
(570) 496-1011
(570) 895-4176
What a wuss.
Tell your Senator Oppose Sotomayor!
Earlier today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the next Justice on the US Supreme Court to the full Senate for a vote. That vote is expected to happen in the next few days.
During the hearings on her nomination, I hoped that she would repudiate the radical views of the pro-abortion legal advocacy group on whose board she sat for 12 years - the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF). During that time, the PRLDEF filed six amicus briefs before the Court arguing that any limitation on abortion should be struck down.
Unfortunately, Judge Sotomayor did not offer any reassurance that she will be anything other than a strong promoter of abortion if confirmed to the Supreme Court.
So, I provided testimony before the Committee and explained why it was necessary for us to oppose her confirmation to the Court.
Now, I need you to join your voice with mine.
Will you contact your Senators and ask them to vote against the confirmation of Judge Sotomayor to be the next Justice on the US Supreme Court?
We've set up a page on the AUL Action web site that makes it easy to do. And then, please ask your friends and family to do the same.
This is a crucial time. Thank you for helping.
For life,
Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D.
President & CEO
AUL Action
Monday, August 3, 2009
Can you?
As my regular reader has learned, two of my biggest pet peeves are communion in the hand and laymen distributing communion.Oh, and altar girls. But that would make it my biggest three pet peeves.
For some time now His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has required that communicants receiving from him do so only on the tongue, kneeling. As we see in this picture here.
Pope Benedict is not one to coerce, he teaches. This is exactly what he has been doing his entire Pontificate. And now he continues to teach us the proper way to receive our Lord.
So it would seem now that the Pope would like us to begin on our own, without an edict from him, receiving in the tongue, kneeling. Can you do this? In your Novus Ordo good time parish? Can you obey your Holy Father?
I can.
Leave me a comment if you can too.
From Newsblaze
"Whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and of the Blood of the Lord... For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord" - 1 Corinthians 11:27,28Pope Benedict to Catholics:
Kneel and Receive on the Tongue OnlyPope Benedict XVI does not want the faithful receiving Communion in their hand nor does he want them standing to receive Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. According to Vatican liturgist, Monsignor Guido Marini, the pope is trying to set the stage for the whole church as to the proper norm for receiving Communion for which reason communicants at his papal Masses are now asked to kneel and receive on the tongue.
The Holy Father's reasoning is simple: "We Christians kneel before the Blessed Sacrament because, therein, we know and believe to be the presence of the One True God." (May 22, 2008)
According to the pope the entire Church should kneel in adoration before God in the Eucharist. "Kneeling in adoration before the Eucharist is the most valid and radical remedy against the idolatries of yesterday and today" (May 22, 2008)
The pope's action is in accord with the Church's 2000 year tradition and is being done in order to foster a renewed love and respect for the Eucharist which presently is being mocked and treated with contempt. The various trends and innovations of our time (guitar liturgy, altar girls, lay ministers, Communion in the hand) have worked together to destroy our regard for the Eucharist, thus advancing the spiritual death of the church. After all, the Eucharist is the very life and heartbeat of the Mystical Body around which the entire Church must revolve.
Kneeling also coincides with the Church's centuries old ordinance that only the consecrated hands of a priest touch the Body of Christ in Holy Communion. "To priests alone has been given power to consecrate and administer to the faithful, the Holy Eucharist." (Council of Trent) This teaching is beautifully expressed by St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica: "Because out of reverence towards this sacrament, nothing touches it, but what is consecrated; hence the corporal and the chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest's hands, for touching this sacrament."
It is for reason that Pope Paul VI in his May 1969 pastoral letter to the world's bishops reaffirmed the Church's teaching on the reception of Communion, stating that: "This method on the tongue must be retained." (Memoriale Domini) This came in response to the bishops of Holland who started Communion in the hand in defiance of the centuries old decree from the Council of Rouen (650 A.D.) where this practice was condemned as sacrilegious. "Do not put the Eucharist in the hands of any layperson, but only in their mouths." To date this prohibition has never been overturned legally.
Today Communion in the hand is carried on illegally and has become a major tool of the enemy to destory the Faith throughout the world. For this practice serves no other purpose than to warp our conception of Jesus Christ and nourish a contempt for the sacred mysteries. It's no wonder St. Basil referred to Communion in the hand as "a grave fault."
That is to say, Communion in the hand is not tied with Catholic tradition. This practice was first introduced to the Church by the heretical Arians of the 4th century as a means of expressing their belief that Christ was not divine. Unfortunately, it has served to express the same in our time and has been at the very heart of the present heresy and desecration that is rampant throughout the universal Church. If we have 'abuse' problems today it is because we're abusing the Sacrament - it's backfiring on us!Thanks to Communion in the hand, members of satanic cults are now given easy access to come into the Church and take the Host so that they bring it back to their covens where it is abused and brutalized in the ritualistic Black Mass to Satan. They crush the Host under their shoes as a mockery to the living God, and we assist it with our casual practice? Amongst themselves the satanists declare that Communion in the hand is the greatest thing that ever happened to them, and we do nothing to stop it?
Hence, the Holy Father is doing his part to try to purge the Church of abuse and we as members of Christ are called upon to assist him. For your encouragement we include the following quotation from Cardinal Llovera, the new prefect for the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments speaking to Life Site News on July 22, 2009: "It is the mission of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Sacraments to work to promote Pope Benedict's emphasis on the traditional practices of liturgy, such as reception of Communion on the tongue while kneeling."Also worth considering is the recent decree from Cardinal Caffarra, the Archbishop of Bologna Italy, forbidding the practice of Communion in the hand: "Many cases of profanation of the Eucharist have occurred, profiting by the possibility to receive the consecrated Bread on one’s palm of the hand... Considering the frequency in which cases of irreverent behavior in the act of receiving the Eucharist have been reported, we dispose that starting from today in the Metropolitan Church of St. Peter, in the Basilica of St. Petronius and in the Shrine of the Holy Virgin of St. Luke in Bologna the faithful are to receive the consecrated Bread only from the hands of the Minister directly on the tongue." (from his decree on the reception of the Eucharist, issued April 27, 2009)
Technically all bishops and clergy are bound to follow the Holy Father's directive on this issue, but in the meantime the faithful are not obliged to wait for the approval of their bishop in order to kneel for God. The directives of the Holy Father are not subject to the veto or scrutiny of the bishops and therefore all pastors and laity have a right and duty to put these directives into practice for the edification of their communities.
Pornapalooza!
Does anyone remember the outrage?
"How dare they open a strip club right on the main drag, so close to the arena and area shopping centers?"
Why has that furor died down?
How come no one asked why the "Adult" Playtime Boutique which shows pornographic movies in little booths where men go to engage in impure activities remains open? And right there across from Denny's, too.
And don't get me started that Cinema 309 is located right next to Kmart. Men regularly post ads on Craigslist to met up there for sex.
No outrage there?
I think it's time we take back our towns from these purveyors of porn.
Anyone agree?
Are you in a different Church?
Ponder the writing of Saint Thomas Aquinas:"'One faith,' St. Paul writes (Eph. 4:5). Hold most firmly that our faith is identical with that of the ancients. Deny this, and you dissolve the unity of the Church ... We must hold this for certain, namely: that the faith of the people at the present day is one with the faith of the people in past centuries. Were this not true, then we would be in a different church than they were in and, literally, the Church would not be One." – St. Thomas Aquinas
The Pains of Hell - Part Deux
A Hundred Kingdoms
"Ah!" you would say, "If you offered me a hundred kingdoms I would never be so foolish as to accept your brutal terms, regardless of how grand your offer might be, even if I were sure that God would preserve my life during those moments of suffering."
Second, I ask you: If you already had possession of a great kingdom and were swimming in a sea of wealth so that nothing was wanting to you, and then you were attacked by an enemy, were imprisoned and put in chains and obliged to either renounce your kingdom or else spend a half-hour in a hot furnace, what would you choose? "Ah!" you would say, "I would prefer to spend my whole life in extreme poverty and submit to any other hardship and misfortune, than suffer such a great torment!"
A Prison of Eternal Fire
Now turn your thoughts from the temporal to the eternal. To avoid the torment of a hot furnace, which would last but a half-hour, you would forgo all your property, even things you are most fond of; you would suffer any other temporal loss, however burdensome. Then why do you not think the same way when you are dealing of eternal torments? God threatens you not just with a half-hour in a furnace, but with a prison of eternal fire. To escape it, should you not forgo whatever He has forbidden, no matter how pleasant it can be for you, and gladly embrace whatever He commands, even if it be extremely unpleasant?
A most terrible thing about Hell is its duration. The condemned person loses God and loses Him for all eternity. Now, what is eternity? O my soul, up to now there has not been any angel who has been able to comprehend what eternity is. So how can you comprehend it? Yet, to form some idea of it, consider the following truths:
Eternity never ends. This is the truth that has made even the great saints tremble. The final judgment will come, the world will be destroyed, the earth will swallow up those who are damned, and they will be cast into Hell. Then, with His almighty hand, God will shut them up in that most unhappy prison.
From then on, as many years will pass as there are leaves on the trees and plants on all the earth, as many thousands of years as there are drops of water in all seas and rivers, as many thousands of years as there are atoms in the air, as there are grains of sand on all the shores of all seas. Then, after the passage of this countless number of years, what will eternity be? Up to then there will not even have been a hundredth part of it, nor a thousandth – nothing. It then begins again and will last as long again, even after this has been repeated a thousand times, and a thousand million times again. And then, after so long a period, not even a half will have passed, not even a hundredth part nor a thousandth, not even any part of eternity. For all this time there is no interruption in the burnings of those who are damned, and it begins all over again.
Oh, a deep mystery indeed! A terror above all terrors! O eternity! Who can comprehend thee?
The Tears of Cain
Suppose that, in the case of unhappy Cain, weeping in Hell, he shed in every thousand years just one tear. Now, O my soul, recollect your thoughts and suppose this case: For six thousand years at least Cain has been in Hell and shed only six tears, which God miraculously preserves. How many years would pass for his tears to fill all the valleys of the earth and flood all the cities and towns and villages and cover all the mountains so as to flood the whole earth? We understand the distance from the earth to the sun is thirty-four million leagues. How many years would be necessary for Cain's tears to fill that immense space? From the earth to the firmament is, let us suppose, a distance of a hundred and sixty million leagues.
O God! What number of years might one imagine to be sufficient to fill with these tears this immense space? And yet – O truth so incomprehensible – be sure of it, as that God cannot lie – a time will arrive in which these tears of Cain would be sufficient to flood the world, to reach even the sun, to touch the firmament, and fill all the space between earth and the highest heaven. But that is not all.
If God dried up all these tears to the last drop and Cain began again to weep, he would again fill the same entire space with them and fill it a thousands times and a million times in succession, and after all those countless years, not even half of eternity would have passed, not even a fraction. After all that time burning in Hell, Cain's sufferings will be just beginning.
This eternity is also without relief. It would indeed be a small consolation and of little benefit for the condemned persons to be able to receive a brief respite once every thousand years.