Wake Up, America - Diocese of Scranton

Who currently is the bigger threat to our liberty and way of life? Tehran or Washington D.C.?

“There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence. I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men and become the instruments of their own undoing.” - Daniel Webster

NDAA Bill Passes. What Next?

Democratic Germany 1934, on the basis of the new law, concentration camp Dachau was opened to protect society from ‘internal threats’.

First they came for the commies: the people did nothing.

Then trade unionists: the people did nothing.

Liberals were incarcerated: the people did nothing.

Homosexuals and the mentally impaired were next.

Then the Jews and the Gypsies. Eventually all people were candidates: but then it was too late.

Thank you Congress, for the NDAA bill.

Is More Of This On The Way?

Probably. Evil is positioning itself. Stand up! Don't let it happen. This is only more of the ongoing assault on our liberties.

Read about it here

Newt Has The Answers

Friday Morning

Well Traddy is off to have surgery Friday morning, so any prayers you have to offer would be grand! See you back here in a few days, God willing.

Saint Camillus is the patron saint of the sick. He was born in 1550 in Chieti in the Abruzzi region of Italy. He was a soldier and many sources say that as a young man he struggled with gambling, which was a common activity of the soldiers as they were traveling or simply to pass the time. At certain point in his life he came to a crossroads and the Lord touched His heart and underwent a deep inner conversion.

In 1582, when he was only 32 years old, he founded a society that would care for the sick and the poor. This society established hospitals and they cared for the sick with greatest care. It was devotion of love, which he carried out until his death in Rome in 1614. He is the patron saint of nurses, of the sick and of hospitals.

Dear friends, each of us, like Saint Camillus, is in need of conversion. Perhaps we need a moment of grace, a moment of great conversion, and of turning back to the Lord. Perhaps we are simply in need of that daily conversion, that daily turning to Christ. Conversion is all about turning from the ways of the world, and turning toward Christ; it is about turning away from our will, and turning toward of the will of Christ; it is about turning away from darkness, and turning toward the light of Christ; it is about turning from sin and death, and turning toward life in Christ. Yes, we need this at all times. Perhaps God may grant us a big moment, and that is very good, but let us pray that, through the intercession of Saint Camillus, we may each and every day turn to Christ and be converted in our hearts. One small step every day, and God willing, we will arrive at the great goal, the kingdom of God, our place of rest. Saint Camillus, pray for us! Amen.

+++++++

Hippie Utopia!

Ugh. I can smell the patchouli from here.

‘I’ve been here for 12 days, and I’ve put on 5 pounds,’ he said, sitting on the ground in front of a handmade sign that said ‘Class War Ahead.’ ‘I’m eating better than I do at home.’

All he had to do was amble toward a ramshackle cluster of tables and boxes in the middle of the park and, without paying a cent, grab a slice of pizza or a warm slab of homemade vegan casserole. Last Thursday he had encountered ‘a bunch of Katz’s Deli sandwiches,’ he said. ‘That was good.’

[. . .]

Tom Hintze, 24, was volunteering in Zuccotti Park last week. ‘Just now there was a big UPS delivery,’ he said. ‘We don’t know where it comes from. It just appears, and we eat it.’

Ah! The Utopia they wish for. "It just appears, and we eat it." Read more about the fleabaggers.

Novus Ordo - New Translation

I attended a Novus Ordo Mass in Luzerne county recently. The priest there obviously has gained a dispensation from Rome, allowing him to not read a single line from the sacramentary. He just happily made stuff up as he went along.

Makes you wonder if certain priests are even going to be phased by the new translation. I mean, if they can't be bothered to read the old old one, what's going to make them read the new one?

What has YOUR Novus Ordo parish done to prepare for the new translation of the Mass? Have you even heard about it? Leave comments.

Lesbian Parents Adopt Boy - Now He's A Girl!

Read all about it here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2043345/The-California-boy-11-undergoing-hormone-blocking-treatment.html#ixzz1ZSSMbzPC

Pray For Us Saint John The Baptist

Today is the feast of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist.

Here is the event as recorded in Matthew 14:1-12

[1] At the time Herod the Tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus. [2] And he said to his servants: This is John the Baptist: he is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works shew forth themselves in him. [3] For Herod had apprehended John and bound him, and put him into prison, because of Herodias, his brother's wife. [4] For John said to him: It is not lawful for thee to have her. [5] And having a mind to put him to death, he feared the people: because they esteemed him as a prophet.

[6] But on Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them: and pleased Herod. [7] Whereupon he promised with an oath, to give her whatsoever she would ask of him. [8] But she being instructed before by her mother, said: Give me here in a dish the head of John the Baptist. [9] And the king was struck sad: yet because of his oath, and for them that sat with him at table, he commanded it to be given. [10] And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.

[11] And his head was brought in a dish: and it was given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother. [12] And his disciples came and took the body, and buried it, and came and told Jesus.

Iran Destroys Bibles

This is not the beginning of this sort of persecution, and it certainly isn't the end. Expect it even here. Pray.

(CNSNews.com) – A Shi’ite cleric affiliated with the Iranian regime has warned about the “danger” of Christianity spreading in the Islamic republic. This come amid reports of an anti-Christianity propaganda campaign and the seizure of thousands of Bibles.

According to Mohabat News, an independent Iranian Christian news agency, Ayatollah Hadi Jahangosha expressed concern about “the spread of Christianity among our youth,” citing the availability of Christian satellite television programs, books and objects.

“Everyone in society should feel responsibility in this matter and play his or her role in spreading of pure Islam and fight false and distorted cultures,” Mohabat quoted him as saying during a presentation on Mahdism – the belief in the so-called “hidden” or 12th imam, prophesied to emerge at a time of future chaos.

Last week, Mohabat reported that authorities had seized 6,500 pocket-sized Bibles in northwestern Iran. It quoted a parliamentary advisor, Majid Abhari, as telling the Mehr news agency that Christian missionaries were out to deceive Iranians, particularly the youth.

“They have begun a huge campaign by spending huge sums and false propaganda for deviating the public,” Abhari said. “The important point in this issue that should be considered by intelligence, judicial and religious agencies is that all religions are strengthening their power to confront Islam, otherwise what does this huge number of Bibles mean?”

Mohabat recalled previous incidents of Bibles being seized, including one last February, when Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and security officials in a routine inspection of a bus near the Iran-Turkey border found 600 New Testaments, which they destroyed along with confiscated alcohol in a public burning.

A similar incident in the same area last October also saw officials seize and burn Bibles, it said.

In a third incident, in June 2010, Bibles were found in a town near the border with Iraq. Mohabat said the official IRGC Web site at the time accused the U.S. in neighboring Iraq of conspiring to smuggle Bibles into Iran.

The Barnabas Fund, an organization working with Christian minorities in Islamic societies, reports that Iranian authorities have been waging an anti-Christian propaganda campaign through state media in recent weeks.

“Last month, offensive caricatures depicting Christ and Christians were published in the [IRGC mouthpiece] magazine Javan,” it said.

“False and insulting stories about Christians have also appeared in government media. One such article that was published on the website Youth Online alleged that women evangelists were going into stores, using shopping as a pretext to enter into conversation with staff, and then suggesting sexual liaisons and insulting Islam.”

‘Islamic justice and equity’

Iran’s government claims to uphold religious freedom, noting that the constitution recognizes Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, as permitted religious minorities.

When Iran went before the U.N. Human Rights Council early last year for a routine rights review, its official submission stated that those three minorities, “within the limits of the law, are free to perform their religious rites and ceremonies, and to act according to their own canon in matters of personal affairs and religious education.”

“The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and all Muslims are duty-bound to treat non-Muslims in conformity with ethical norms and the principles of Islamic justice and equity, and to respect their human rights,” it added.

When Iran in 2008 hosted a conference on “Religion in the Modern World,” attended by former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan and other dignitaries, the Tehran Times in an op-ed said Iran’s hosting of the event showed that its “ancient tradition of showing respect for different cultures and religions is still alive and well.”

“The reality on the ground in Iran is quite different from what is being propagated by certain countries and organizations in their disinformation campaigns,” it said.

“Due to the country’s religious and cultural traditions, in Iran there is no sign of the religious extremism and intolerance that have opened wounds in certain Muslim states and allowed the enemies to present a negative image of Islam to the world.”

Despite such claims, however, reports of religious persecution persist, including most recently the case of a pastor who has been sentenced to death for apostasy.

The Iranian Bible Society’s offices have been shut for decades, and authorities do not allow publishing or reprinting of Bibles in Iran.

Because of this, according to Mohabat, the only solution for Christians needing Farsi-language Bibles is to have them smuggled across the borders from neighboring countries.

One organization that provides Bibles for Iranians is Elam Ministries, which says it printed and distributed 100,000 Bibles and 100,000 New Testaments in 2010.

“Despite the limited support, well over a million New Testaments have been made available in recent years, and up to half a million whole Bibles,” the organization says on its Web site. “And despite the ferocious hostility of the government in Iran to the Bible, brave Christians there have risked their lives to see their fellow country men can read the Scriptures. Some are in prison now for their work.”

Elam was founded in 1988 by senior Iranian church leaders in Britain “with the vision of reaching Iran and the Persian speaking world for Christ.”

It says that at the time of the Islamic revolution in 1979, there were fewer than 500 known Iranian Christians from a Muslim background.

“Today the most conservative estimate is that there are at least 100,000 believers in the nation.”

Clergy AND First Responders Banned From 9/11 Ceremony

Are the Bishops going to say anything about this?

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the decision by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to ban the clergy from speaking at the 9/11 ceremony next month:

After the Twin Towers were leveled on 9/11 ten years ago, two steel beams in the shape of a cross were found; they were subsequently moved to St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church. Last month, when it was announced that the World Trade Center cross was being moved to its new home at the 9/11 Memorial Museum, American Atheists sued on church-state grounds to stop it.

Almost everyone, including non-believers, were critical of this mean-spirited gambit by American Atheists. Among those who could not summon the courage to condemn it was Mayor Bloomberg; without criticizing these activists on moral grounds, he simply affirmed their constitutional right to sue. But when it comes to granting the clergy their constitutional right to freedom of speech on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, he does not equivocate: he simply elects to ban them.

The reason given for this grand act of censorship is spurious: Bloomberg’s office says the focus should be on the families who lost their loved ones. According to this logic, when the clergy are invited to speak at public events, or to open ceremonies with an invocation, they are detracting—not adding—to the overall theme. There is little doubt that if the families were asked about the propriety of allowing the clergy to speak, most would gladly say yes.

Mayor Bloomberg should reverse his decision, allowing a priest, minister, rabbi and imam to make a short statement. This nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, thus the rationale for the presence of the first three clergymen; the inclusion of an imam—to the exclusion of the clergy of other religions—can be justified on the basis of a goodwill gesture to the Muslim community. Aside from kooks, is there anyone who would object to this proposal?

Contact Bloomberg’s Press Secretary, Stu Loeser: sloeser@cityhall.nyc.gov

More On Altar Girls

Just the other day I posted on the travesty that are altar girls. Here is an opinion piece appearing in the UK's Catholic Herald by William Oddie.

The 1994 statement permitting girl servers was a mistaken tactical retreat which led to a fall in priestly vocations. It’s time to withdraw it

Undoing the damage will take time: the sooner the Church starts to clear up the mess, the better

By William Oddie

The rector of the Catholic Cathedral of Phoenix, Arizona, has decided that girls will no longer be allowed as altar servers (though they will continue elsewhere in the diocese). His reason is simple: he thinks that an all-male sanctuary promotes vocations to the priesthood. “The connection between serving at the altar and priesthood is historic,” he says: “it is part of the differentiation between boys and girls, as Christ established the priesthood by choosing men. Serving at the altar is a specifically priestly act.” I’m not sure, to be pedantic, that that’s entirely orthodox (in the context of the Mass, only the priest himself performs specifically priestly acts), but one knows exactly what he means: what the server does is intimately related to the Eucharistic action and can be seen as an intrinsic part of it: the server is a kind of extension of the priest himself; if there were no servers, the priest would do what they do. According to Fr Lankeit, 80 to 95 percent of priests served as altar boys.

The question is, why shouldn’t that happen when there are also girl servers? There are two reasons: firstly because the causal link between servers and priestly vocations is weakened if some or most of the servers in the sanctuary are excluded from it. But secondly because as soon as girls appear, the supply of altar boys tends simply to dry up.

The first time this occurred to me was in the house of friends with whom I was staying in France. One of the guests at dinner one evening was Archbishop André Vingt-Trois of Tours (now Cardinal Archbishop of Paris). The subject of conversation at one point was the way in which, in the local Parish Church, presumably in an attempt to involve women in the celebration of the Mass, not only were all the readers women but so also were all the servers girls; my wife (not I) compared it to a farmyard, with the priest as the cock strutting about in the middle of a flock of hens. Archbishop Vingt-Trois said that the priest may have had no choice over the all-girls serving team: “Once the girls arrive, he said, the boys disappear: you can’t see them for dust” (his explanation was much more graphic in French). And he was adamant that though there were, of course other factors contributing to the decline in priestly vocations, the decline in the number of all-male sanctuaries was certainly one of them.

I suspect, though there’s no way to prove this, that many if not most Catholics, once they think about it, will have the feeling that this is either obviously true, or at the very least a plausible hypothesis. For what it’s worth, the US website Catholic Answers carried out a poll in which they asked the question “does having girl altar boys help with vocations to the priesthood?”

The answers were as follows:

YES, Girl Altar Boys help Vocations To The Priesthood: 2.98%
NO, Girl Altar Boys don’t Help Vocations To The Priesthood: 64.29%
Girl Altar Boys, Have No Effect At All On Vocations To The Priesthood: 32.74%
Voters: 168

It’s a pretty small sample, of course: but I would be surprised if it’s not true that almost nobody thinks that girl servers help vocations to the priesthood, that of the remainder, about two thirds think it doesn’t help, and another third thinks it makes no difference. If the question had been asked differently: if the question had been “does an all-male sanctuary foster vocations to the priesthood?”, I suspect that more than that two thirds would have replied “yes”, since historically it has observably done so. In the US, only one diocese now restricts serving at the altar to boys and men, Lincoln, Nebraska, and it is apparently the case that vocations there are higher than elsewhere.

The late Pope was opposed to the practice, and didn’t allow it in his own diocese of Rome: so why on his watch, in 1994, was the rule that only men and boys could serve at the altar (which had been firmly reimposed by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul himself) relaxed? It’s a puzzler. Some say it was inevitable since, especially in the US, it was already being widely defied: but all kinds of things the Church is against are indulged in defiantly by disobedient Catholics, and the Church quite rightly doesn’t give an inch. One theory is that it was a tactical retreat to avoid legal action. As the writer David L Sonnier explains it,

Take a moment to recall the circumstances under which this practice was allowed. We lived in a hostile political climate in 1994; the politicians in Washington were condemning the Catholic Church for not ordaining women, and ridiculing the Church for Her stand against abortion. It seemed that according to these critics at the highest level of the Clinton administration, the Catholic Church would not be qualified to address the issue of abortion until women were ordained.

In 1994 a document from the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts gave some room for the novel practice of “female altar servers” under political pressure from the U.S., but nevertheless insisted that “the obligation to support groups of altar boys will always remain…” due, of course, to the relationship between service at the altar and future vocations. Has there been any such support for “groups of altar boys?”

Well, no: of course there hasn’t, because as soon as the girls appeared, the “groups of altar boys”, as Archbishop Vingt-Trois put it, couldn’t be seen for dust. But could the document be withdrawn? It won’t be easy: there are already so many girl servers. But they tend to disappear when they grow up. And though no bishop may impose them on his priests, he does have the right to forbid them. This is the paradox; he may not impose girls—but he still may impose boys, as may any of his priests.

And this could be the time to start: radical feminism is much less of a threat than it was, and may be confronted more readily than it could, say, in the US in the eighties. I remember vividly arranging my notes before delivering a lecture on feminist theology in the General (Episcopalian) Seminary in New York, in 1983. I was approached by a male seminarian, who said simply, “Oh Dr Oddie, I just wanted to tell you, since I know your views, how much we admire your courage in coming here to explain them”. “I need courage”, I replied, slightly alarmed: “Oh yes”, he said, and disappeared. And so it proved: I was heckled repeatedly, but I think I gave as good as I got, and the evening was an exhilarating one in the end.

The church has not entirely given in on this, and little by little, girl servers could be phased out: a final date could perhaps be announced for this to be achieved, diocese by diocese, parish by parish. The tradition is still solidly there, beneath the surface. As David L Sonnier puts it,

Let’s take it one point at a time. First of all, the Holy Father does not allow Girl Altar Boys within his own Diocese of Rome. That should be enough to give pause to a number of people who currently see nothing wrong with the practice.…

Second, this practice of placing girls at the altar has absolutely nothing to do with Vatican II and was condemned in the strongest of terms twice following the council. In 1970 Pope Paul VI said in Liturgicae Instaurationes, “In conformity with norms traditional in the Church, women (single, married, religious), whether in churches, homes, convents, schools, or institutions for women, are barred from serving the priest at the altar.”

And in 1980 Pope John Paul II stated in Inaestimabile Donum, “There are, of course, various roles that women can perform in the liturgical assembly: these include reading of the Word of God and proclaiming the intentions of the Prayer of the Faithful. Women are not, however, permitted to act as altar servers.”

That is the tradition of the Church to which we should now return. To begin with, that 1994 statement by the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts (I bet you’d never heard of them) should be simply withdrawn. Why not? Its issue was a huge mistake, whose consequences have been disastrous: It’s time now to begin to repair the damage. It may take some time: so the sooner we start the better. Any priest who reads this can start on Sunday: a bishop could get on the phone today.

Progress!

I don't believe it's a secret that I am not a fan of altar girls. Especially when I attend a Mass somewhere and there is only one young person serving at the altar, and it's a girl. And what really pops my buttons is if there is an altar girl in cassock and surplice. She might as well be dressed like for the Pope, for how ridiculous she looks.

In 1983, seeking the ruination of the priesthood apparently, Canon Law was changed to allow for girls to serve at the altar. The reasoning was that the church had already opened to women other positions that were closed to them such as lector, cantor, etc. and it was deemed an anomaly to restrict young girls from serving.

As Jesus said "By their fruits you will know them." And we have certainly seen the fruits of this corruption of the Altar. Serving at the altar had been a training ground for priests. Now look at our once full seminaries. Altar girls are not the only reason ordinations are down, the secularization of the world is another. But you get my point. Reserve to men what always was reserved to men. Time isn't supposed to cause changes in a supposedly unchangeable church.

The church is suffering from a lack of masculinity, in many cases when you attend the NO Mass specifically you will see one male priest, 3 female EMHC's, two female altar girls, a female lector and cantor. Thats 7 girls roaming around the once sacred sanctuary and one guy. A good ratio? I think not.

That's why I was so pleased to see this article. Read. Enjoy. Discuss.

Girls no longer will be allowed as altar servers during Mass at the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, SS. Simon and Jude.

The Rev. John Lankeit, rector of the cathedral, said he made the decision in hopes of promoting the priesthood for males and other religious vocations, such as becoming a nun, for females.

Made up primarily of fifth- through eighth-graders the altar-server corps in American churches has included girls since 1983 in many places. Girls and boys regularly serve together at churches throughout the Phoenix Catholic Diocese.

Bishops and pastors always have had the option of restricting the role to boys, but only one diocese, Lincoln, Neb., and scattered parishes have done so. Before 1983, when church law was revised, girls were not allowed to serve.

At SS. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix, the girls will be offered the role of sacristan, the person who prepares the church and the altar area before Mass.

Lankeit said 80 to 95 percent of priests served as altar boys, but he could not state the percentage of altar servers who go on to be priests.

He made the decision on his own, he said, even though the cathedral is recognized as the home church of Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted and is used for some important church events.

"He leaves these decisions to me," Lankeit said.

SS. Simon and Jude is believed to be the first church in the diocese of Phoenix to ban girls from serving Mass, according to the diocese.

Altar servers have a direct role in the Catholic Eucharistic ceremony, assisting the priest, and are the only lay people directly involved throughout the entire service. Other lay people may serve as lectors or Eucharistic ministers, helping the priest distribute communion.

"The connection between serving at the altar and priesthood is historic," Lankeit said. "It is part of the differentiation between boys and girls, as Christ established the priesthood by choosing men. Serving at the altar is a specifically priestly act."

There appears to be little if any research connecting altar service to a later decision to enter the priesthood - or connecting other types of service for girls to religious life as a nun. Anecdotally, the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., is one of the stronger dioceses in developing new priests.

The Rev. Kieran Kleczewski, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas in Avondale and director of the diocese Office of Worship, does not expect other parishes following the cathedral's policy just because it is the cathedral.

"That's not the way things work in our diocese," he said. "The pastor has the authority over the parish's liturgical practices."

Kleczewski allows girls to serve Mass and has no plans to change.

Lankeit said there had been little reaction to his decision so far, but it was unlikely to sit well with many Catholics, especially those who have daughters who wish to serve.

"It is a shame on how the church continues to abuse the females," said Bob Lutz of Phoenix, a Catholic with three grown daughters. "Church attendance is shrinking now, and this adds more fuel to the fire on how females are treated as second-class citizens."

Carole Bartholomeuax of Phoenix, who attended St. Joan of Arc parish, said girls outnumbered boys as altar servers there.

"I believe Mary Magdalene set the example for women to be altar servers. I am so sorry to hear of this going backwards," she said, adding that she still loves her church, "warts and all."

But Michael Clancy, who heads the diocesan men's group, said girls never were supposed to be allowed to serve, based on his understanding of the rules of the Mass.

The Fall Of Europe Begins

Troubling numbers and facts from Soeren Kern at the Hudson Institute: “Islamic mosques are being built more often in France than Roman Catholic churches, and there now are more practising Muslims in the country than practicing Catholics.

Nearly 150 new mosques currently are under construction in France, home to the biggest Muslim community in Europe. The mosque-building projects are at various stages of completion, according to Mohammed Moussaoui, the president of the Muslim Council of France (CFCM), who provided the data in an August 2 interview with the French radio station RTL.

The total number of mosques in France has already doubled to more than 2,000 during just the past ten years, according to a research report “Constructing Mosques: The Governance of Islam in France and the Netherlands.” France’s most prominent Muslim leader, Dalil Boubakeur, who is rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, recently called for the number of mosques in the country to be doubled again – to 4,000 – to meet growing demand.

By contrast, the Roman Catholic Church in France has built only 20 new churches during the past decade, and has formally closed more than 60 churches, many of which are destined to become mosques, according to research conducted by La Croix, a Roman Catholic daily newspaper based in Paris.

Although 64% of the French population (or 41.6 million of France’s 65 million inhabitants) identifies itself as Roman Catholic, only 4.5% (or 1.9 million) of those actually are practising Catholics, according to the French Institute of Public Opinion (or Ifop, as it is usually called).

By way of comparison, 75% (or 4.5 million) of the estimated 6 million mostly ethnic North African and sub-Saharan Muslims in France identify themselves as “believers” and 41% (or 2.5 million) say they are “practising” Muslims, according to an in-depth research report on Islam in France published by Ifop on August 1. The report also says that more than 70% of the Muslims in France say they will be observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in 2011.

Taken together, the research data provides empirical evidence that Islam is well on its way to overtaking Roman Catholicism as the dominant religion in France.

As their numbers grow, Muslims in France are becoming far more assertive than ever before. A case in point: Muslim groups in France are now asking the Roman Catholic Church for permission to use its empty churches as a way to solve the traffic problems caused by thousands of Muslims who pray in the streets.

In a March 11 communiqué addressed to the Church of France, the National Federation of the Great Mosque of Paris, the Council of Democratic Muslims of France and a Muslim activist group called Collectif Banlieues Respect called on the Catholic Church – in a spirit of inter-religious solidarity, of course – to make its empty churches available to Muslims for Friday prayers, so that Muslims do not have to "pray in the streets" and be "held hostage to politics."

Every Friday, thousands of Muslims in Paris and other French cities close off streets and sidewalks (and by extension, close down local businesses and trap non-Muslim residents in their homes and offices) to accommodate overflowing crowds for midday prayers. Some mosques have also begun broadcasting sermons and chants of "Allah Akbar" via loudspeakers in the streets.

The weekly spectacles, which have been documented by dozens of videos posted on Youtube.com (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here), have provoked anger and disbelief. But despite many public complaints, local authorities have declined to intervene because they are afraid of sparking riots.

The issue of illegal street prayers was catapulted to the top of the national political agenda in France in December 2010, when Marine Le Pen, the charismatic new leader of the far-right National Front party, denounced them as an "occupation without tanks or soldiers."

During a gathering in the east central French city of Lyon on December 10, Le Pen compared Muslims praying in the streets to Nazi occupation. She said: "For those who want to talk a lot about World War II, if it is about occupation, then we could also talk about it [Muslim prayers in the streets], because that is occupation of territory. It is an occupation of sections of the territory, of districts in which religious laws apply. It is an occupation. There are of course no tanks, there are no soldiers but it is nevertheless an occupation and it weighs heavily on local residents."

Many French voters agree. In fact, the issue of Muslim street prayers – and the broader question of the role of Islam in French society – has become a major issue ahead of the 2012 presidential elections. According to a survey by Ifop for the France-Soir newspaper, nearly 40% of French voters agree with Len Pen's views that Muslim prayer in the streets resembles an occupation. Another opinion poll published by Le Parisien newspaper shows that voters view Le Pen, who has criss-crossed the country arguing that France has been invaded by Muslims and betrayed by its elite, as the candidate best suited to deal with the growing problem of runaway Muslim immigration.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose popularity was at 25% in July – worse than any predecessor less than a year ahead of a re-election bid, according to the TNS-Sofres polling group – has been spooked by Le Pen's advance in the opinion polls. He now seems determined not to allow Le Pen to monopolize the issue of Islam in France.

Sarkozy recently called Muslim prayers in the street "unacceptable" and said that the street cannot be allowed to become "an extension of the mosque." He also warned that the overflow of Muslim faithful on to the streets at prayer time when mosques are packed to capacity risks undermining the French secular tradition separating state and religion.

Interior Minister Claude Guéant on August 8 told Muslims who have been praying on the streets of Paris that they should utilize a disused barracks instead. "Praying in the street is something that is not acceptable," Guéant said. "It has to stop."

Meanwhile, France ushered in Ramadan by inaugurating a new mega-mosque for 2,000 worshipers in Strasbourg, where the Muslim population has reached 15%. Construction also continues apace of a new mega-mosque in Marseille, France's second-largest city where the Muslim population has reached 25% (or 250,000). The Grand Mosque – which at more than 8,300 square meters (92,000 square feet) will accommodate up to 7,000 worshippers in a vast prayer hall – is designed to be the biggest and most potent symbol of Islam's place in modern France.

Boubakeur, of the Grande Mosque of Paris, says the construction of even more mosques – paid for by French taxpayers – would ease the "pressure, frustration and the sense of injustice" felt by many French Muslims. "Open a mosque and you close a prison," says Boubakeur.

But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has implied that the construction of mosques and minarets actually is part of a strategy for the Islamization of Europe. Publicly repeating the words of a 1912 poem written by the Turkish nationalist poet Ziya Gökalp, Erdogan said: "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers."

Reflecting on the retreat of Catholicism and the rise of Islam in France, Archbishop Giuseppe Bernardini, an Italian Franciscan who heads the Izmir archdiocese in Turkey, and who has lived in the Islamic world for more than 40 years, has recounted a conversation he once had with a Muslim leader, who told him: "Thanks to your democratic laws, we will invade you. Thanks to our religious laws, we will dominate you."

Are you ready to take action, or will you continue to pretend that this isn't happening?

Tradition at World Youth Day

Did you know that the Mass Of All Times was celebrated at World Youth Day?

No?

Well it was.

Usually one finds at WYD abundant hugging, rock messes, birkenstocks, communion in the hand, and any number of liturgical abuses.

Times, they are a-changing.

The Walsingham Project

Once considered "Mary's Dowry", the nation of England has spiraled into the dustbin of spirituality. After 1500 years of Catholic faith and morals, King Henry VIII, formerly a champion of the Church split with Rome and formed his own church with himself as the head.

Now today the Anglican church in England and worldwide is literally falling apart. They have gay and women bishops, they have taken the most liberal of stances on matters of faith and morals, and now, even their priests and congregations (thank God) have seen their errors and are leaving en masse and returning to the Catholic Church.

And they have another issue to deal with in England.

Islam threatens to become the dominate religion on the island.

Will the English take up the defense of their ancient religion of Catholicism? Or will they allow Islam to finish the conquest they were denied during the crusades? Never before has Islam been so close to a Euro Caliphate as they are now. We must pray for them. And for us , because we face the same threat in America.

From the Walsingham web-site:

Europe and the West are in the death-throes of de-Christianization. Islam is blazing in from a tortured Middle East and either firing up Europeans with their vigorous creeds, or launching a conscious conquest by population increase.

Humanly speaking, the situation is irremediable. Except... Two hundred years of visions, prophecies and observations may hold the key to the salvation of the once Christian west. Raymond and Theresa de Souza have assembled a brief but gripping study of the situation.

Their conclusion? The conversion of England.

Click the link above to visit The Walsingham Project.

Happy Monday!

Something to start your week.

After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognisable. When the time for the Advent of the Antichrist approaches, peoples minds will grow cloudy from carnal passions, and dishonour and lawlessness will grow stronger. Then the world will become unrecognisable. Peoples appearances will change, and it will be impossible to distinguish men from women due to there shamelessness in dress and style of hair. These people will be cruel and will be like wild animals because of the temptations of the Antichrist. There will be no respect for parents or elders, love will disappear, and Christian pastors, bishops, and priests will become vain men, completely failing to distinguish the right hand way from the left. At that time the morals and traditions of Christians and the Church will change. People will abandon modesty, and dissipation will reign. Falsehood and greed will attain great proportions, and woe to those who pile up treasures. Lust, adultery, homosexuality, secret deeds and murder will rule in society.

-- St. Nilus, 430 AD

Refreshing

Traddy attended a Novus Ordo Mass at a Novus Ordo parish this Sunday. I am always interested to hear what the priest will say after the Gospel, and whether it will be a homily or a sermon.

Or both.

I got both. The anonymous priest, (to protect him from chancery retribution) did a fine job of explaining to the people Matthew 16:19, which is about the founding of the One Church. This priest was careful in how he worded it, but he almost fully upheld the dogma of outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation.

Bully for him, and if I knew the man smoked a pipe, I would send him 1/2 a pound of my special blend.

Pray for him and those like him. They are persecuted in this diocese when they explain to parishioners the fullness of the truth of the Catholic Church.

Pray

I have it on good authority that something long awaited for shall soon be coming from Rome. Perhaps it shall come about in mid-September. Be prayerful and watch.

I'll Have Cherry, Please!

Waitaminit.

Didn't Obama and his criminal gang just get done telling us that in order to avoid a stock market crash and a reduction in our credit rating, that we had to increase their credit limit?

More Kool-Aid for you, or just a bigger glass?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08/05/us-official-says-sp-reconsidering-us-credit-downgrade/

Wow

Never thought I'd write this: "Thank you Huffington Post."

It seems that even Dear Leader's strongest allies are seeing the truth.

Verboten!

Sorry, but there will be no more anonymous comments on this blog. While I deeply love to read the insults hurled at me by leftist, progressive sissy boys, I'm gonna have to put an end to it. Sorry.

I'll Bet A Diocese Of Scranton Ordination Looks Nothing Like This

This is his Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke ordaining priests for the Institute of Christ the King.

Bambera Statement

No mention of the abuse Rigali did nothing about until after a grand jury investigated those abuse claims, Bishop Bambera? Way to dance around the biggest scandal in the American Church in the 21st Century.

Here's the suspended priests and the years of their ordination. If I had the names of the victims, I would have posted those.

Rev. Philip Barr (1948)
Rev. John Bowe (1973)
Rev. George Cadwallader (1992)
Rev. Paul Castellani (1996)
Rev. Michael Chapman (1982)
Msgr. John Close (1969)
Msgr. Francis Feret (1962)
Rev. Mark Fernandes (2004)
Msgr. Michael Flood (1968)
Rev. Mark Gaspar (1998)
Rev. Joseph Glatts (1966)
Rev. Steven Harris (1980)
Rev. Daniel Hoy (1948)
Msgr. Joseph Logrip (1972)
Rev. Andrew McCormick (1982)
Rev. Zachary Navit (1994)
Rev. Leonard Peterson (1967)
Rev. Robert Povish (1990)
Rev. John Reardon (1973)
Rev. Thomas Rooney (1991)
Rev. Peter Talocci (1986)

Almost forgot, here's Bambera's statement:

"As required by Church Law, Cardinal Rigali submitted his resignation upon his 75th birthday in April 2010. Today's acceptance of the Cardinal's resignation by the Pope affords us the opportunity to reflect on the Cardinal's service to the Diocese of Scranton.

"While the time he spent as our Diocesan Administrator was short, it was significant as the Cardinal served us well during a period of profound transition in our Diocesan history. We are grateful for the Cardinal's leadership and his presence during his 16-plus visits to our region over a nine-month period of time in 2009-2010.

"Cardinal Rigali selflessly shared his gifts and talents with us as our Diocese began to navigate through a rather unique and challenging period of transformation and change.

"On a personal note, I am grateful to Cardinal Rigali for the advice, care and example he has provided to me during the past year and half. I wish him good health and happiness as he opens a new chapter in his life and extend a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the gift of his ministry to the Church and his life of service to His people.

"In recognition of the appointment of Archbishop Charles Chaput, I invite you to join me in offering prayers for the faithful of the Philadelphia Archdiocese and their new shepherd."

Would Bambera still be Bishop if Chaput were named administrator? What do you think?

Did You See This On The News?

From our friend Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs

We should take small comfort that the "extremists" Obama's Department of Homeland Security are referring to in this report are activated Musims, jihadists, and not the DHS usual pablum (ie grandmas, vets, patriots, and tea partiers.) Hey, for Obama's DHS that's huge.

A new intelligence report from the Department of Homeland Security issued yesterday warns "violent extremists have, in fact, obtained insider positions," and that "outsiders have attempted to solicit utility-sector employees" for damaging physical and cyber attacks.How did that happen and why wasn't DHS all over this before they got inside? Too busy groping 6 year olds at the airports and patting down 70 year old nuns in wheelchairs?

What appears to be missing from this report is that devout Muslims aka extremists have also obtained insider positions in the White House, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice etc.

New Terror Report Warns of Insider Threat to Utilities ABC News

DHS bulletin: "Extremists have, in fact, obtained insider positions.

Sabotage by an insider at a major utility facility, including a chemical or oil refinery, could provide al Qaeda with its best opportunity for the kind of massive Sept. 11 anniversary attack Osama bin Laden was planning, according to U.S. officials.

A new intelligence report from the Department of Homeland Security issued Tuesday, titled Insider Threat to Utilities, warns "violent extremists have, in fact, obtained insider positions," and that "outsiders have attempted to solicit utility-sector employees" for damaging physical and cyber attacks.

"Based on the reliable reporting of previous incidents, we have high confidence in our judgment that insiders and their actions pose a significant threat to the infrastructure and information systems of U.S. facilities," the bulletin reads in part. "Past events and reporting also provide high confidence in our judgment that insider information on sites, infrastructure, networks, and personnel is valuable to our adversaries and may increase the impact of any attack on the utilities infrastructure."

In the materials recovered after the Navy SEAL operation that killed Osama bin Laden in May, officials found evidence bin Laden sought to repeat the carnage of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on or around its ten year anniversary.

"The only way you can actually kill the large scale number of Americans that [bin Laden] literally was calculating was through the use of this critical infrastructure," Chad Sweet, former DHS chief of staff and co-founder of the Chertoff Group, told ABC News.

After gaining access to such sites, causing mayhem could be relatively easy, according to former White House counter-terrorism advisor and ABC News consultant Richard Clarke.

"There are a lot of very sensitive facilities where someone can get a job on the inside, get access to a control room, flip a switch, which causes an electric power grid to short circuit, causes a pipeline to explode," Clarke said.

[...]

'I am Taking This Plant Hostage

U.S. officials were stunned last year in Yemen with the arrest of an alleged American recruit to al Qaeda, Sharif Mobley, of New Jersey, who had been employed as five different U.S. nuclear power plants in and around Pennsylvania after successfully passing federal background checks.

"If someone is determined, and has the right access, they could do damage that would affect thousands of lives," Sweet said.

Al Qaeda has already put out the word in its online magazine, Inspire, for "brothers of ours who have specialized expertise and those who work in sensitive locations that would offer them unique opportunities to wreak havoc on the enemies of Allah."

Homosexual Ideology, Satanic Pride

By Luis Sergio Soliemo

June 11, 2011 saw one more parade to glorify the vice of homosexuality. Dubbed, Europride or Eurogaypride, it was held in Rome, once known as the Eternal City, the center of Catholicism. The expression, "homosexual pride" summarizes the essence of the homosexual ideology. Let us see how.

Pride and revolt against God

Sin is a revolt against the order established by God and, therefore, a revolt against the Creator Himself. The more this revolt becomes manifest, the greater is the sin.

Man can sin out of weakness and feel shame for his sin and desire to make amends; or he can sin with special malice and take pride in his sin. In this case, revolt against the Creator becomes more manifest; for, as Saint Thomas says, "[it] is characteristic of pride to be unwilling to be subject to any superior, and especially to God."[1]

For this reason, the holy Doctor presents "pride or self-love as the beginning of every evil."[2] According to Scripture, "pride is the beginning of all sin."[3]

Pride, the sin of Lucifer

Theologians commonly believe that the sin of Lucifer and of the evil angels was one of pride. Indeed, having no physical body, they could not be carried away by concupiscence as with man. Therefore, their sin had to be one of the spirit.

Two passages from Scripture are usually mentioned to describe this sin. The first is from Isaias:

How have you fallen from the heavens, O morning star [Lucifer],[4] son of the dawn! How are you cut down to the ground, you who mowed down the nations! You said in your heart: "I will scale the heavens; above the stars of God I will set up my throne; I will take my seat on the Mount of Assembly, in the recesses of the North. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will be like the Most High!"[5]

The second is from Prophet Jeremias:

Long ago you broke your yoke, you tore off your bonds, and you said: I will not serve.[6]

The homosexual ideology's Luciferian pride

To take pride in practicing the homosexual vice and to proclaim this in public in the streets and squares of the world's leading cities is a sin of the spirit, a challenge to the Law of God. It is a denial of reality as such and an adhesion to a utopia and to a pathological fantasy.

It is a manifestation of Lucifer's pride and a repetition of his desperate cry of revolt, "I will not serve."

Hatred of the Catholic Church

Let us return to Rome's "Europride." Italian newspapers and Internet blogs published hundreds of photos from the march. What stands out most—even more than the wild display of lust and the semi-naked bodies and obscene postures and gestures—is the hatred shown against the Catholic Church.

A homosexual sacrilegiously presented himself posing as Our Lord Jesus Christ in dark glasses.

The offenses against the Sovereign Pontiff could not be more vile: a large banner at the front of the march showed a photomontage depicting the Pope with woman's hair, wearing socks and skimpy lingerie. Below, the words, "[She] wears Prada but is a friend of Satan."[7]

Another banner showed a cartoon of Benedict XVI wearing a Nazi medal, holding a crosier with the Nazi symbol, and below the words, "Nazinger [Nazi+Ratzinger] attacks gays." Another banner read, "Ratzinger, love your neighbor but not as Hitler." And yet another, "Real Hell: The Vatican, mental Guantanamo."

Many homosexuals dressed up as bishops or priests in a ridiculous and debauched manner.

Destruction of the notion of good and evil

During the parade, the denial of all morality came across not just through the general in-your-face sexual license but also in scenes such as that reported on under the title, "Rome's Europride amid Angels, Devils and Spouses," by Italy's ANSA News Agency. It carried a picture of two men kissing, one dressed as a devil, with horns and a trident and the other like a good angel, with white wings and halo.[8]

The kissing "devil" and "angel" aptly represent the ultimate goal of the homosexual ideology: the complete denial of the difference between good and evil, right and wrong. Freed from morals and reason, man's will shall become the only rule; good will simply mean what gives pleasure to our instincts and senses; and evil, anything that crosses us.

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil"

Does this not remind us of the Prophet Sophonias and his rebuke to those "that say in their hearts: The Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil"?[9]

Unto them is the warning of the Prophet Isaias: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness."[10]

Here is where the satanic pride of the homosexual ideology leads us: it transforms light into darkness and darkness into light and wants to impose this darkness on the world, through the dictatorship of law and the propaganda coming from liberal media.

[1] Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 84, a. 2, ad 2. See also: Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, Revolution and Counter-Revolution, Chap. VII, 3, at http://www.tfp.org/tfp-home/books/revolution-and-counter-revolution.html.

[2] Ibid., ad 3.

[3] Ecclesiasticus [Sirach]:10:15.

[4] St. Jerome translated "morning star" into Latin as Lucifer, following the Greek translation of the Hebrew made by the Seventy: "phophorós", light bearer.

[5] 14:12-14.

[6] 2:20.

[7] We use "she" because the original Italian says "amica", girl friend, and not "amico," boy friend. "Il fotomontaggio del Papa in mutande e reggicalze. E, sotto, la scritta: ‘Veste Prada ma è amica di Satana.'" Grazia Maria Coletti, "Lady Gaga lo ringrazia Alemanno fischiato Europride, comizio della popstar al circo Massimo. Al corteo fotomontaggi del Papa in reggicalze" in Il Tempo, June 12, 2011, 05:30, at http://www.iltempo.it/politica/2011/06/12/1264536-lady_gaga_ringrazia_alemanno_fischiato.shtml?refresh_ce.

[8]ANSA, "Europride a Roma tra Angeli, diavoli e spose," Updated: Sat, 11 Jun 2011 22:16:00 GMT, at http://notizie.it.msn.com/fotostory/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=158209692&page=14

[9] 1:12.

[10] 5:20.

10 AM Announcement

UPDATE: Watch LIVE here.

In one hour there will be a press conference in Philadelphia to announce our new Archbishop.

I have been told our new man has been in Philadelphia since Saturday.

There will be a Mass at the Basilica at 12 noon with our new Archbishop who is scheduled to be installed September 8.

I wonder if Monsignor Bambera celebrated a Mass after he was named Scranton's next Bishop?

All in all this is very good news for us in the Diocese of Scranton.

Thanks For The Giggle

This made me laugh:

Reverend James E. McGahagan, from Administrator, Saint Andrew Parish, Wilkes-Barre, to Pastor, Saint Andrew Parish, Wilkes-Barre.

Because he's done such a wonderful job there.

St Michael's Pastor O'Leary Accused

This reminds me of the scandal with the Society of Saint John. Anyone remember Rev. Carlos Urrutigoity and Rev. Eric Ensey and the fun we endured? Is this an opening to rid himself of these pesky traditionalists for Bishop Bambera?

It would seem that Saint Michael the Archangel Pastor Father Michael O'Leary allegedly furnished alcohol to a minor. Saint Michael's is of course, the only location one may attend a licit celebration of the Old Mass anywhere near Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Pray for this priest, as Satan seems especially committed these days to attacking our priests, and for the victims. Let's hope that furnishing alcohol was the worst of the crimes.

Diocesan statement follows.

Diocese of Scranton

Statement Regarding Father Michael O’Leary, F.S.S.P.

On Sunday, July 17, 2011, Diocesan officials were informed that Fr. Michael O’Leary, a member of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, allegedly furnished alcohol to two individuals, including an underage young adult and a minor. The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is a Clerical Society of Apostolic Life in the Church, established by Pope John Paul II in 1988 to offer the Traditional Latin Rite of the Mass and the sacraments to the faithful. At the time the incident was reported, Fr. O’Leary was serving as Pastor at St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Scranton, where Masses are offered in the Traditional Latin Rite. He has served in that capacity since January 2010. Diocesan officials have spoken with the parents of the two individuals and reported the matter to law enforcement. The incident was also reported to the appropriate superiors from the Fraternity of St. Peter. Fr. O’Leary has been removed from ministry and from St. Michael’s Parish pending the outcome of the investigation. Diocesan officials remain committed to fully cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation.

Requests for further information can be made to Fr. Eric Flood, North American District Superior, Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, at (570) 842-4000, extension 0.

Tamra Sexton

Anyone interested in "friending" John Corapi's accuser?

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000581533911

Seems she runs her own "ministry", the online catholic network.

Who To Replace Rigali?

Despite several fingers and toes being crossed in the Bishop's residence, I can say with some certainty that our Bishop Bambera is not on the short list to replace Cardinal Rigali.

In fact it won't be an Italian.

Sorry, Father Sica. I know how important that is to you and your cronies who fought for Bambera.

The Holy Father, not too happy with the Bishops in this country, has been on a roll replacing scandal ridden or dead wood Bishops with men of virtue and holiness.

Watch tomorrow for His Holiness to name Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput to head the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Scranton lost with the recent feel good appointment of Bambera, but now Philadelphia wins with the appointment of a conservative who publicly defends the faith.

More to come.....

Thank You, Mohammed!

This week's attacks are brought to you courtesy of the Prophet Mohammed!

2011-07-13 (Pattani, Thailand) - Two Buddhist brothers working as construction workers are brutally murdered by Muslim gunmen.

2011.07.13 (Mumbai, India) - An opera house and two other commercial areas are targeted by Religion of Peace bombers. Twenty-one are killed and over a hundred more maimed.

2011.07.13 (Tagab, Afghanistan) - Five French soldiers guarding a local council meeting are among six killed by a Shahid suicide bomber.

2011.07.12 (Abu Ghraib, Iraq) - A Fedayeen suicide bomber takes out two Iraqis.

2011.07.12 (Bajaur, Pakistan) - Women and children are among the casualties when radicals send a shell into a family home.
2011.07.11 (Maiduguri, Nigeria) - Hardliners detonate a bomb under a van, killing three occupants.

Check out The Religion of Peace for more info.

Breastfeeding Offends Muslims!

You read it here first, folks. When are we going to realize that multiculturalism doesn't work? You are always going to have some loss of liberty in order to appease some other person who finds what you do "offensive". I've just about had enough.

How about you?

Read the story here

"Nobody Can Out Debate Him"

How about my 3 year old Nancy? I bet she could.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/nobody-can-out-debate-him-pelosis-creepy-obama-worship-on-debt-crisis/

Obama Tells The Truth!

Obama admits his administration is the "most pro-gay in history".

Oh no, really?

A Proper Sanctuary

In stark contrast to the destruction most of the sanctuaries in this Diocese have gone through "in accordance with Vatican II", there is a church, The Brompton Oratory in London, which stands as a wonderful example of the actual changes to the sanctuary that were called for by the council:






















I know that there are those of you that have never seen a church look like this. Get the scoop here.

The Asolute Latest on Father Corapi

Terrible. Terrible.

http://www.societyofourlady.net/

July 5, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From: Rev. Gerard Sheehan, SOLT Regional Priest Servant Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Robstown, Texas

Fr. John A. Corapi submitted his resignation from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity ("SOLT") early in June. SOLT is a Society of Apostolic Life of Diocesan Right with its regional office in Robstown, Texas.

While SOLT does not typically comment publicly on personnel matters, it recognizes that Fr. John Corapi, through his ministry, has inspired thousands of faithful Catholics, many of whom continue to express their support of him. SOLT also recognizes that Fr. Corapi is now misleading these individuals through his false statements and characterizations. It is for these Catholics that SOLT, by means of this announcement, seeks to set the record straight.

A woman, well known to Fr. John Corapi, mailed SOLT a signed letter detailing allegations of Fr. Corapi's sexual activity with adult women, abuse of alcohol and drugs, improper sacramental practices, violation of his promise of poverty, and other wrongdoing.

After receiving the allegation, SOLT formed a three person fact-finding team to ensure that it handled this matter in accordance with canonical norms. The team included a priest-canonist, a psychiatrist, and a lawyer. Two were members of religious orders, and one was a lay Catholic. Two were men, and one was a woman. All three have national reputations and substantial experience in ecclesiastical processes related to priest disciplinary issues.

As the Society was engaging this team, Fr. Corapi filed a civil lawsuit against his principal accuser. He contended that she had defamed him and breached her contract. The contract, according to Corapi's lawsuit, contained a provision binding the woman to silence about him. He offered the woman $100,000 to enter this agreement.

SOLT's fact-finding team subsequently learned that Fr. Corapi may have negotiated contracts with other key witnesses that precluded them from speaking with SOLT's fact-finding team. Many of these witnesses likely had key information about the accusations being investigated and declined to answer questions and provide documents.

When the fact-finding team asked Fr. Corapi to dismiss the lawsuit, to forbear from foreclosing his mortgage, and to release her and other individuals from their contractual obligations to remain silent about him, he refused to do so and, through his canonical advocate, stated: "It is not possible for Father Corapi to answer the Commission's questions at this time."

SOLT's fact-finding team has acquired information from Fr. Corapi's e-mails, various witnesses, and public sources that, together, state that, during his years of public ministry:

He did have sexual relations and years of cohabitation (in California and Montana) with a woman known to him, when the relationship began, as a prostitute; He repeatedly abused alcohol and drugs; He has recently engaged in sexting activity with one or more women in Montana; He holds legal title to over $1 million in real estate, numerous luxury vehicles, motorcycles, an ATV, a boat dock, and several motor boats, which is a serious violation of his promise of poverty as a perpetually professed member of the Society.

SOLT has contemporaneously with the issuance of this press release directed Fr. John Corapi, under obedience, to return home to the Society’s regional office and take up residence there. It has also ordered him, again under obedience, to dismiss the lawsuit he has filed against his accuser.

SOLT's prior direction to Fr. John Corapi not to engage in any preaching or teaching, the celebration of the sacraments or other public ministry continues. Catholics should understand that SOLT does not consider Fr. John Corapi as fit for ministry.

Father Sheehan will not be available for comments as he is attending the SOLT General Chapter from July 5-23.

Bishop Paprocki Rocks!

A local ordinary with the fortitude to do whats right and good for the souls under his care. Bravo and thank you! Let us pray to God that we will see more like him!

Bishop Paprocki authorizes St. Michael Prayer after Masses

His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, has authorized the public recitation of the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel - originally composed by the Holy Father Pope Leo XIII in 1886 - following the dismissal at the end of Mass and before the recession.

He announced this authorization to the priests of the Diocese at a dinner preceding the Chrism Mass Tuesday evening and to the people of the Diocese at the conclusion of the Chrism Mass.

Prayer cards with the text of the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel were distributed after every Mass with the newly blessed and consecrated oils to be place in the pews of the parish churches throughout the Diocese.

In a letter to parish leaders accompanying the cards, Bishop Paprocki explained the reason he has authorized this practice. He wrote: One of Satan’s greatest assets is his camouflage, the belief that he doesn’t exist. Disbelief in Satan and the forces of evil leave us unable to resist them. That is why it is good to remember the Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel. We need to remember that each time we pray we work to defeat our real enemies, not each other, but rather the devil and his evil spirits...

In recent years, a number of parishes have begun reciting the prayer once more, and many individual Catholics have kept up the practice. Both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have urged the faithful to pray it daily, and especially after Mass.On the back of the prayer cards to be placed in the pews, Bishop Paprocki explains his vision for the Diocese, using some of the homily he preached at the Masses of Welcome celebrated in each of the Diocese's seven deaneries:

I envision a local Church where Catholics seek to grow in holiness, attend Mass every Sunday and participate regularly in the sacramental life of the Church. I see Catholics, who love God with all their heart, mind and soul and love their neighbors as themselves. I see the faithful who bear witness to Jesus Christ in their daily lives and promote respect for all human life from conception to natural death.

I envision an abundance of vocations with priests sufficient to staff and serve our parishes with virtuous commitment. I see dedicated deacons, nuns, brothers and lay people teaching the faith, caring for the sick, reaching out to the poor and dying. I see communities where family life is valued, homes where mothers and fathers love their children and whose children love them. In short, I envision God's kingdom already foreshadowed in the life of the Church and a foretaste of the heavenly banquet in the Eucharistic feast.

Everything that I have described is attainable. The only real obstacle in our lives is sin. Original sin is our inherited condition. The spiritual treasures of paradise were forfeited by our human ancestors. While Jesus Christ's death and resurrection have restored the gifts of heavenly treasures for us, we also have to recognize that the devil, Satan, is real, and he will do everything in his power to deflect us from our goal, which is eternal life with Christ in His kingdom. This reality should not frighten us nor lead us to despair, for Christ is more powerful than Satan.

Prayer and the sacraments are an essential part of what Saint Paul called the "armor of God" in his letter to the Ephesians. The Saint Michael prayer can help us "stand against the deceits of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11) by "taking the shield of faith" (Ephesians 6:16). God permits us to be tempted by the devil but gives us the grace to resist him through prayer in our daily lives. We can and should say the prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel at church with the assembly or on our own during the day for spiritual protection for ourselves and for others.

May God bless our diocese and our mission with every grace we need to grow in faith, hope and love. May Saint Michael the Archangel protect us from all evil, harm and temptation.

Goings On

I certainly hope that all of you have had a truly blessed and holy Easter!

So tell me about the abuses you witnessed around the Diocese. Any women getting their feet washed? Any Easter Vigils at 5pm? Keep the news flowing!

And did you all see this? The news bit about how our new Bishop has been "accessible"?

There was a great comment on the fluff piece Mark Guydish wrote. From Rebel4God: "Are you kidding me? The Wilkes-Barre area seems to be in a "no-go" zone in this diocese. There has been absolutely no apology or effort to make amends for the abuse of members of the diocese for various incursions of misabuse. This diocese is a spiritual desert unless you live in Scranton. Priests are upset with the changes soon to come in the new Roman Missal, and the Catholic poplulation has not moved (as stated in this article) but have rather chosen to either not go to mass and put up with all the negativity, or just merely scorn the Church for lack of forthrightness, compassion and concern as it regards to the issues facing the average parishioner. I love my faith, but have had to turn to on-line resources for spiritual nourishment from various Catholic websites. And forget calling any of the offices at the diocescan center as no one ever returns phone calls. I suppose that is because everyone (at the center) are busy answering to the media!"

Yes indeed, a no-go zone. Take away the Old Mass, and even when one is arranged, the Diocese will not allow it. Dirty pool, Bishop Bambera.

And of course not to be outdone, the Citizens Voice had to speak with the Bishop as well, and oddly enough, as Catholic identity shrivels away, the Bishop is actually proud of the 4 "Catholic" universities in our Diocese! I kid you not!

However, I was heartened that the Bishop has called the new translation of the Novus Ordo "a beautiful translation".

Pentecost comes June 12, and with it, comes his Excellence's plan for the Diocese which has been based on your letters. I hope you are all writing in charity.

That's all for now. Enjoy your leftover kielbassi and ham this Easter week!

Good Friday

O My people, what have I done to thee? Or wherein have I afflicted thee? Answer Me. Because I led thee out of the land of Egypt, thou hast prepared a Cross for thy Savior.

Because I led thee out through the desert forty years: and fed thee with manna, and brought thee into a land exceeding good, thou has prepared a Cross for thy Savior.

What more ought I to have done for thee, that I have not done? I planted thee, indeed, My most beautiful vineyard: and thou has become exceeding bitter to Me: for in My thirst thou gavest Me vinegar to drink and with a lance thou hast pierced the side of thy Savior.

O holy God!
O holy God!
O holy strong One!
O holy strong One!
O holy immortal One, have mercy on us.
O holy immortal One, have mercy on us!

For thy sake I scourged Egypt with its first-born: and thou didst deliver Me up to be scourged.

I led thee out of Egypt having drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea: and thou to the chief priests didst deliver Me.

I opened the sea before thee: and thou with a spear didst open My side.

I went before thee in a pillar of cloud: and thou didst lead Me to the judgment hall of Pilate.

I fed thee with manna in the desert; and thou didst beat Me with blows and scourges.

I gave thee the water of salvation from the rock to drink: and thou didst give Me gall and vinegar.

For thy sake I struck the kings of the Chanaanites: and thou didst strike My head with a reed.

I gave thee a royal scepter: and thou didst give My head a crown of thorns.

I exalted thee with great strength: and thou didst hang Me on the gibbet of the Cross.

O my people, what have I done to thee? Or wherein have I afflicted thee? Answer me

Bambera VS Voris!

Would anyone like to see a debate between his Grace the Bishop of Scranton, and Michael Voris this weekend?

I don't know what topic they would debate, maybe ecumenism. I would pay money to see that.

Mother Angelica would take them both out though, don't you think?

Good night, dear readers! :-)