A Crucial Time for the Laity

Posted on by Beckita

(Over these last weeks since learning of the revelations which gave rise to the current crisis in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in America, I hear, as most likely do you, many a lay person initiating a discussion with the question posed: “What CAN we do?” Many have been and continue to pray and sacrifice and, at the same time, do not wish to bypass concrete actions that contribute to setting things right. Enter Msgr. Charles Pope with an assessment of what is before us and with encouragement to pray and stand strong. In answer to that question which keeps popping up, Msgr. gives outstanding counsel to harness our anger, allowing it to be impetus for action. Emboldened text is my own in the excerpts presented. Msgr.’s full article is here. ~Beckita)

I am not sure how many of the bishops realize just how angry, disheartened and disturbed God’s people really are… Each day there are new articles published that cannot be simply dismissed as rantings in an overheated “blogosphere.” These are the thoughtful essays of good Catholics, faithful writers, journalists and lay leaders who love the Church and have spent most of their energy building and defending the Church and the faith. However, they cannot defend the indefensible nor simply repeat Church-issued statements insisting that no one knew anything. Doing so strains credibility, and they, to whom many Catholics look for guidance and information, have had to say so. Thus, they have written with saddened hearts, justifiable anger and sober concern.

I hope our bishops, especially the highest ranking and those closest to the epicenter of the Archbishop McCarrick case, hear just how angry the faithful are. I think it is hard to overestimate the storm that is brewing. If any of our prelates think this latest storm will soon pass, they should ponder the more likely case that these are merely the outer bands of a Category 5 hurricane that is closing in and will likely make landfall in Baltimore at the November meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)…

This is where we are today. As a Church hierarchy, we have worn on folks’ last nerve. We have come to a point where only penance and a complete housecleaning can restore credibility and trust. As a lower-ranking priest I cannot issue demands or send binding norms to those in wider and upper ranks of the hierarchy, but I do want to say to God’s faithful how powerfully aware I am of their justified anger and agree with their insistence that something more than symbolic action or promises of future reform is necessary.

I also would like to say to God’s faithful that this is a critical hour for you. I have learned from Church history that reform almost never comes from the top; it comes from religious life and from the grass roots, from among God’s people. Please stay faithful to the Lord and His Body the Church. Pray as never before. Realize that the devil would like nothing more than for you to walk away from the sacraments. However, please also feel freer than ever to confront Church leadership and insist upon reform. There is at times an unhealthy deference to authority that leaves those in authority unaware of the impact of their action or lack thereof.

I encourage each of you to write personally to your bishop. It is not enough to sound off on social media or in comments sections on the internet. Be old-fashioned: write a physical letter to your bishop and request a written reply, at least acknowledging receipt. Be brief and charitable, but also be clear about the crisis of trust in episcopal and clerical authority and your deepening concerns over what this means if trust cannot be restored…

I am grateful that many lay faithful love the Church enough to be angry. Sometimes one must be angry enough to be willing to act for change and to persevere in that work. I hope you will honor your anger and use it to creative ends: to tirelessly demand real reform in all the ways God gives you to see. Be careful to target your anger and speak it in love and for the good of all.

So, this is a crucial moment for God’s people. As a member of His clergy, I want to say that we need you now more than ever and to remind you that you will be essential to reform by insisting on it and refusing to accept a return to business as usual. Let us pray for one another and work for the reform we all know is necessary and long overdue. Many lay leaders are stepping up, leading the charge to insist on reform. For those of you who are on Facebook, Janet E Smith, moral theology professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, is using that platform to share articles and encourage action. She responded to Msgr. Pope’s piece with the following suggestions to incorporate in writing one’s letter to the local bishop:

1) Commend the bishop for the good works he has done. 2) Demand a clean up of whatever homosexual network exists in the diocese. Carefully give evidence if we have some, “I have heard; I don’t know if it is true but I have heard it enough to think queries if not an investigation should be made.” Demand that if there are credible accusations against priests and more evidence is needed, that private investigators need to be hired, 3) Tell the bishop that if cleaning up the homosexual network means that there will be such a priest shortage that parishes will close and services will be curtailed, say that we laity will stand by him and support his action.s 4) Insist that a lay board be set up to which priests and others can make charges of sexual harassment by the bishop himself and by priests and, particularly, that priests can report any mistreatment from the bishop without fear of reprisals. 5) Send the bishop copies of the best articles published expressing lay outrage. 6) Promise to pray and fast for your bishop. 7) Send copies of your letter to Cardinal DiNardo (President of USCCB) and the current papal nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre. 8) Get signatures of others who may not be inclined to write. 9) Ask for a reply. Be polite but firm. And write again every month until something is done. If we don’t get a satisfactory reply, we need to consider writing to the public newspaper.

As the Storm swirls, the mission, message and community of TNRS-ASOH becomes the more precious, ever inspiring action and instilling peace.

398 thoughts on “A Crucial Time for the Laity”

  2. Very well stated. However, this is going to take some patience, and then we may not get the results we pray for. This is Christ’s Church. These sins go deep and wide. Clergy that let this plundering begin are not here any longer, and once that ‘box’ was opened, it could not be shut. I see people befuddled and disappointed, because what we gave to our Church, (most of us) was love, respect, and devotion. Love for our clergy, a love that was Christ driven and innocent. Respect because that was what we were taught. From our parents and grand parents. And devotion, because these ‘holy’ men, were Christ and Mary’s pick for us on earth. We all know they are not perfect, no one is, but they did not even try once Satan took hold. The meaning of obedience lost its hold, as did humility. The one problem we have which is critical is time. It seems our Lord is aware of this dilemma, and knows how long it has been happening and when he will say “Enough!”. But he also sent an amazing Gospel, the Prodigal Son to help us understand His Love. You can feel, literally feel, the sadness resonating through our Churches and Masses. People who understand that this all about the Crucifixion and sacrifice won’t leave, they will stay and give what ever it takes. Because they don’t so much believe the man at the top, (he is very misguided,) but they believe the founder, the God, The Son, and The Holy Ghost, who founded this Church and who will not abandon us. From the Litany of Humility “…O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me…
    That others may be esteemed more than I , God, grant me the grace to desire it.”
    That, in the opinion of the world,others may increase and I may decrease,
    God, grant me the grace to desire it.”
    That others may be chosen and I set aside, God, grant me the grace to desire it.”
    That others may be praised and I unnoticed, God, grant me the grace to desire it.”
    That others may be preferred to me in everything, God, grant me the grace to desire it.”
    That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, God, grant me the grace to desire it.” Please, Lord forgive us our sins!

    Liked by 16 people

    1. Sorry, robill. Sometimes WP kicks some comments into the wrong category and I’ve just discovered this beautiful comment from you. Love the Litany of Humility and I’ll admit, I nearly choked on some of the lines when I first prayed it so many years ago. The truth within each aspiration is sweeter than honey.

      Liked by 8 people

  3. Love love love this, Beckita! Thank you. I had already begun a letter to my Bishop. This helps me complete it. God bless you!

    Liked by 7 people

  4. I sent my letter this morning to my Bishop and printed copies of it to give to my parish priest. I will be withdrawing my financial support until things change and will give it to other catholic ministries. Most important I will Pray an extra rosary each day and commit to more holy hours and little fasts throughout my day and week.

    Liked by 10 people

  5. Beckita, many, like Charlie, have asked why did no one say anything? I think we need to address this briefly.
    1.) We said something or reported something and nothing happened, we were turned around and found ourselves being threatened. or we were patronizing patted on the head like my old pal, Al Huntz by then Father Trautman.
    2.) We saw someone report something, like Father James Haley or a sex abuse victim, and witnessed the brutal retaliation.
    3.) We saw innocent priests, like Father Gordon McRae, get thrown under the bus and abandoned by their cowardly bishop.
    4.) We entered religious orders, like the Legion of Christ, and witnessed coverups.
    5.) We entered religious orders, like the O.F.M’s, and were hit on and promised advancement if we played for the other team.
    6.) We entered Catholic institutions of higher learning and were hit on by priests and told to be sensitive when we complained.
    7.) We met victims of priestly abuse back in the 1970s and 1980s, but did not beleive them when they cried for help.
    8.) We witnessed laity and priests who filed documented verified claims of abuse and suffered exile on Main Street.
    9.) We saw priests allowed to carry on affairs with men or women, and observed that usually it was the priest with the woman who was shown to the door.
    10.) We witnessed straight guys be chased from seminaries and find their way to the priesthood blocked by the lavender mafia in other dioceses.

    So, it is time to put on the armor of Christ referenced by St. Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians. Do your letters and document what you can by dates, times and anything else.

    The enemy is scared and his allies are, too. Many of the Bishops are truly delusional and want business as usual, hoping that this will blow over. If we sit by as we did in 1968, 2002, then we truly deserve to have our particular church die, as St Augustine’s church in North Africa did. But, the whole McCarrick episode has shaken their confidence.

    Some will ask, will this be co-opted by a left wing group, such as Call To Action? Not this time! And, I say that again- NOT THIS TIME!!! All to many of the enablers and supporters of groups such as this are now vulnerable and they know it! So say your prayers and prudently write your letters. If concerned, make a good confession before pitching in – “Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more!”

    Liked by 29 people

  6. Thanks for this, Beckita. It’s always good to see what Msgr. Pope has to say, and it is nice to have a set of concrete things that we laypeople can do in order to at least attempt to effect change.

    Liked by 10 people

    1. Snowy!!! I just saw your avatar in a “like” in my e-mail in-box. It’s so good to see you! I’ve missed you and have been wondering about you and hoping all is well with you and Bill and your kids/grandkids. Prayers for all of you. 🙂

      Liked by 4 people

  7. Withdraw financial support. THAT is the language everybody understands. Support the priest of your choice with a cash ‘donation’ every month. Have it understood that this money is to be used for his personal expenses. That’s my plan.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Christopher… While I agree that we need to control our donations better please remember that your local parish is MUCHmore than your priest. There are secretaries and support ministry staff in addition to the cost involved in supporting the building(s) and utilities. I dropped my Bishop Appeal donations years ago as I was not happy with the way it was being spent. I continue to support my local parish as I should. The only local event I did not support was the building campaign. I agreed that we need the building but the bishop started a share program where only 60% of our building donations actually stayed with our local parish. That diocese program squashed my donation right there.

      Liked by 10 people

      1. Thank you, prtx. Agree 100% with this and add to it the the cost of hosts and altar wine. Msgr. Pope also cautions: do not fail to remember the poor in our giving.

        Liked by 3 people

        1. I usually just lurk but wanted to post asking for clarification. My understanding, at least in my Diocese in western NY, is that for the extra collections parishes are assigned an amount that they are expected to donate. If they fall short of that dollar amount, it then comes out of the parish’s general collection.

          Like

          2. in our parish, the diocese collects for the one-bread-one body campaign. each parish is assigned a dollar amount that must be raised and given to the bishop. If that amount is not raised then it does come out of the parish account. The amount is not what parishoners want to give, it is an assigned amount, the $amount comes from the diocese. so even limiting your support to the local parish will eventually make it into the hands of the diocese.

            Liked by 1 person

          3. CM….that is true at our parish. We are assigned an amount that we are expected to donate to the diocesan campaign and if our parish’s contributions for the campaign fall short….we still have to cough up the full amount from our general collection.

            Liked by 2 people

        2. It’s not hard to find the “poor” who need our help right around us…..a widow in our parish asked for assistance with her son’s tuition for Catholic school……done.

          Liked by 4 people

      2. I get that but when enough parishes start feeling the pinch and appealing to the bishop for help, he (bishop) will ask what the problem seems to be. Priest’s answer: Well, all I can tell you is that I’ve heard from several people that they have had enough of the deceit, cover-ups (add your own complaint here) and the funds are drying up. At that point we have the bishop’s attention.
        Money talks, a firm yet respectful letter walks. So long as the finances sail along smoothly, I wouldn’t be holding my breath for any meaningful turn around.

        Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks, sapperdepitjes. Fr. Landry brings issues to light which are re-echoing via many Catholic writers concerning our current state. May we, as Church, stay the course, in prayer and deeds, to bring about the needed reform.

      Liked by 5 people

  9. There is a bit irony here, when a Bishop, Cardinal, abuses/hits on an adult – the Church comes apart. However, the abuse to children/altar servers, etc has been going on for ever, but no one jumps up and down, except to pay to get rid of the prob, it should be the other way around. The hit upon adult should have just cold cocked the guy, (example: be a man) and the child abuser should have been strung up. We have it backwards. In fact, everything has become backwards and tragic. I think this is where the “good becomes evil; and evil becomes good” . Our lives have been touched in such way, that unless we take that ‘ancient path…the good path’…however inconvenient/discomforting it becomes, we will be lost. And the last part of that Scripture expression says; “They would not walk” Jer 6:16 ( chilling.). We can blame this on the hierarchy, or the Cardinals and Bishops, but really, actually, perhaps we should look deeper, and we will find our own souls on just that brink. After recently going back over some of the last 200 years of apparitions and visions from many visionaries, they did not give a good or a positive picture of our demise. Yet, God wins, this is His Church, He will make all things new. So this is not just about the cardinals, or bishops, or clergy, it is about the cornerstone, and the body of Christ. Christ our Lord, you and me. “One voice crying out in the wilderness…”. The voice of precious victims, who had no voice, or who were made sure to not speak. You can feel the sadness at Mass resonating throughout the people, now a-days. Part of reparation must be about setting all things right, for the Sacrifice of the world, so His giving of His Love and Life will not be in vein. Pray that our Blessed Mother will plead on our behalf, for our forgiveness, and that her Son will accept. For there will come a time soon when He will say “Enough!” and will be heard throughout Heaven. Pray that your lamp may be full of oil that night. Take care, be alert!

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Many thoughts here with which I agree, robill. At the same time, I think it important to see that this time of expressing anger and cementing resolve to set things right is different. These issues, which have evoked the ire of faithful laity, clergy and religious, are not only about clerics “hitting on” another adult. This time, from what I read, the faithful ones are looking with open eyes at abuse of hierarchical power, in ways so putrid that there have been actual blasphemies committed in the twisted perversion of their sexual sins. Also more clearly known are the layers of deception – with protection of perpetrators, sometimes by deeds and sometimes by silence – in the tangled web of homosexual networks throughout the Church in America and people are ready to see this through by quashing the current status quo and demanding reform.

      This is TNRS at its best, I think. The Bonhoeffer quote speaks to this time of revealing, not only for the perpetrators and those who provided cover by turning a blind eye or failing to speak and report the evildoers, but also for US who are watching this current unmasking in the Church unfold. If we simply pray and fast and fail to act, only noting that this has always been a problem – which it has – we are revealing our own hearts to God. Again, here’s where the message of TNRS is weighted as gold: we do the little we can right before us and when all the ordinary men and women of this world do the little each one can, VOILA! The Ballad of the Ordinary Man come to Life! By God’s Grace and our actions, change happens.

      God awaits the little we can do, for in this, we co-create with Him the New Beginning rising before our eyes.

      Liked by 11 people

      1. BECKITA,
        Great suggestions for leading the charge. That is what we need. Concrete ideas of action to take after prayerful consideration are much more productive than adding to the vitriol out in blogsfear🙃. If every person in every place pull the lever next to them doing his/her part, the wheel will stop turning. The bad news is that putrid pus is everywhere. The good news is that the boil has begun to be lanced and the People Of God say “Amen”.

        Liked by 3 people

  10. I sat on these comments of mine for a night sleep and wish I had posted upon reading this post. I believe this letter to the Bishop campaign will adversly affect the Church as a whole. Indeed if one knows of facts concerning impropriety or scandal, please do send a letter attesting to such. However, as much as I know everyone has good intentions, I see this campaign to ‘jump in’ with the group to bash the church.

    [Divine Office Evening Psalm-prayer Reading 8/13/18]
    Catholic Study Bible
    James 4:11-12

    11 Do not speak evil against one another, brethren. He that speaks evil against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

    12 There is one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you that you judge your neighbor?

    Also, it is your responsibility to support the Church.

    Catholic Study Bible
    Hebrews 7:1-9

    1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him;

    2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.

    3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest for ever.

    4 See how great he is! Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe of the spoils.

    5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brethren, though these also are descended from Abraham.

    6 But this man who has not their genealogy received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

    7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.

    8 Here tithes are received by mortal men; there, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.

    9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham,

    *******

    We all attest to the devils influence this past many years, yet here we are jumping on the bandwagon to say (#metoo). The above scripture readings pose a lot of insight, notably, “…he continues a Priest forever” (Heb 7:3)

    I do not agree with Janet E. Smith’s nine step plan in addressing this issue. Yes, a written letter of encouragement (1) or accusation with facts suffices. A follow up letter each month is too much, in my opinion. (4) A lay board of members where people may declare “charges of sexual harassment” ? Every lunatic with an agenda will make a circus of all entertainment circus’s.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. There *is* great caution which would need to be taken, Sean, for there is danger in lunatic-like activity. I maintain that Janet’s ideas are excellent, perhaps better thought of as a beginning. If, after further discernment, it is determined that her suggestions need refining, so be it. You are mightily blessed with a good bishop in your diocese, Sean. Too many other dioceses are not so well blessed. In the latter, continued pressure from the laity may well be, in good conscience, the needed action to bring about change, to stress to such a bishop that this current status quo cannot continue. God bless us one and all.

      Liked by 4 people

    2. Mr. Sullivan; I agree with you! The tragedy is that we love our prelates so much! An innocent child loves their father. We have come up against the purest of evil, and we just don’t know what to do. There are some who are very much aware of the issue, through involvement, discovery, or other methods. However, it is not everyone’s duty to react in such a way as to call these people into judgement. Once again, I go back to previous statement, “We can blame this on the hierarchy, or the Cardinals and Bishops, but really, actually, perhaps we should look deeper, and we will find our own souls on just that brink”. However, I cannot answer for any man’s soul but my own. We cannot step out of what is “Catholic” and our Church teachings. We did not just make up these rules…our magisterium of thousand years contributed to. We are falling into a trap, that we do not want to fall into. The anger we sense is from our own guilt of not acting early on. I see now why it is written our Church will become very small, and some will have to go into hiding. That the Holy Eucharist will not be made available. Or Mass will cease to exist. But Christ the King will never stop being Christ the King and his Church will not disappear. The Eternal Sacrifice will be right there. This church of evil will turn a different direction,(and not a good one) and we must be prepared. However, TNRS may not be writing letters, or becoming angry. The fasting and prayer needs to be about our faith, fortitude, and forgiveness. It will be crucial. Right now we are just throwing stones at a nuclear bomb. ” And he that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me: Write, for these words are most faithful and true.”. Rev 21:5. This is what we should be preparing for.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Amen, robill, about most of what you have written. Reparation, reparation and reparation comes to mind.

        A prayer which Our Lady of Fatima taught the three children to say when offering their personal sacrifices: Oh my Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

        Liked by 4 people

    4. Janet E. Smith has almost single-handedly defended Humane Vitae for years. She is Humane Vitae’s most outspoken defender in the Church. She is one of the good guys. She loves the Church and loves the Lord.

      What nine step plan of Janet Smith are you referring to, Sean?

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Yes, Frank. Janet surely has done exceptional work in defending Humanae Vitae. The suggestions she makes concerning letter writing to one’s bishop are in the second indented section in the most recent post under which these comments are appearing.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Thanks. I should have remembered that.

          The problem is much deeper and wider than priests having consensual or sex with adults or worse, being involved in criminal sexual activity with children, older minors, and seminarians under their control. For along with this behavior comes not only a weakening of moral theology but a concomitant threat to the fundamentals of dogmatic theology. That’s why a popular priest who has supported gay unions for over 20 years iteratively teaches that Christ’s Atonement was not substitutionary in nature. Christ didn’t stand in for our sins. This is a major assault to the Faith. Moreover, priests who abandon chastity or celebrate gay culture don’t give priority to the Sacred Scriptures. It is the Faithful who suffer. Is it any wonder that tens of millions of Catholics in Central and South America have moved to Evangelical and/or Pentecostal Churches?

          Christ will triumph! I just hope it’s sooner than later.

          Liked by 7 people

          1. So well said, Frank. So far reaching and invasive is the damage. This crisis alone – and we know there have been many more throughout salvation history – could have caused the profuse sweating of blood for Our Lord in the Garden as he took on all our sins. Such heartache! By His Wounds all of it can be healed.

            Liked by 6 people

            1. Interesting you would use that example of Our Lord sweating blood in His Agony, Beckita. I just last night told my husband the very same thing. As I prayed the Sorrowful mysteries yesterday, I felt sorrow as never before at each Mystery. And Mama cries, for the “stones will cry out”!

              Liked by 5 people

              1. Goosebumps, Annie. Two wee souls with hearts united. As I meditated on those Sorrowful Mysteries yesterday, I thought of Our Lady too. Our Co-Redemptrix. She told us that she, mystically, felt e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. in her Son’s Passion and Death. Of course. Those Scared and Immaculate Hearts are eternally inseparable. No wonder she wept profusely at La Salette.

                Liked by 4 people

            2. I have been heart sick all day about this whole mess.
              Two things happened to help infuse God’s joy into this day. One, on one of the radio stations I listen to the commentator was talking about depression. He said, first admit it, second, remember the times God has shown you His goodness and third, to talk to yourself about God’s goodness.
              Later, I cracked open scripture and there was Ps 74. The heading read, “A Prayer for a Devastated People”.

              A big thank you goes out to your wonderful ASOH and TNRSers…for all of the hope filled comments in these dark days. May God bless each and every one of you.

              Liked by 5 people

      2. I vaguely remember an article inferring she was denied tenure at Notre Dame years ago because of her authoring a book defending H.V. She lost the appeal but was awarded a settlement.

        On your beautiful feast day, Mother Mary, lead us out of the quagmire and bring healing to the victims, our church and country. Josh Groban with a children’s choir singing Ave Maria:

        Liked by 7 people

        2. A frind’s daughter had her third baby today. A girl, after 2 boys. Named her Bernadette Marie! Don’t ya just love it!?

          Liked by 4 people

    5. Respectfully, Sean, I must disagree. Maybe you are not making yourself clear. But, after reading through the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Report today, I would not recommend your course of action. First, the citation to the apostle James address the sins of gossip, detraction and judgmentally judging. James is not providing us an excuse to avoid bringing to the attention of the appropriate authorities or superiors when someone has done something seriously wrong.

      Secondly, following up may be necessary. Paperwork gets lost. And, as the above reference report shows, Bishops deliberately sat on cases, allegations, and claims and such inaction is shown to have allowed more injury, hurt, and damage.

      Third, that the accused is a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek is not grounds for inaction. We are not Donatists, and even those priests who have been laicized for their crimes are (a) still priests and (b) before they were laicized, they still confected valid sacraments. Rather, the reparation what Bekita spoke of is needed. We do not want these priests to suffer damnation, but to seek God’s mercy and be saved.

      I am aware of people who, when confessing sexual sins/improprieties found themselves blackmailed by the priest in the confessional, so that the penitent would be forced to keep quiet about some sexual sin of a priest, lest the penitent’s sin be “leaked.”

      I am aware of an action of Bishop Donald Trautman, when he was a priest of the Diocese of Buffalo in the 1980s. Had Bishop Head been willing to listen to the complaints of Al and Bonnie Huntz, he might never have been Bishop to preside over all that abuse in the Diocese of Erie, as shown in the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Report. But, Al and Bonnie were written off as “crazy Tridentine Catholics.”

      In the past, I was hit on by a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington. When I complained, I was told that Cardinal Hickey just saw it as games of “boys will be boys” and I was threatened. With no redress, what could you do?

      I saw a priest of the Diocese of Arlington engage in homosexual activity with another priest right in front of me – but, I was told by another priest that “Lavender Loverde” would instead make it difficult for me in the Church.

      So, in these cases, following your advice, we should just pray and offer reparation? I would grant in some cases, yes, but in others, people must speak up, and follow up in order that something might be done. In the past, there was often no redress for such actions, but now we have an opportunity that must be prudentially and charitably exercised.

      Liked by 8 people

      1. James,
        Your personal testimony is far different from mine. As related in the Penn. GJ report, this hurt doesn’t go away and affects life well after the event. To your questions posed to me:

        “When I complained, I was told that Cardinal Hickey just saw it as games of “boys will be boys” and I was threatened. With no redress, what could you do?”

        > A solid punch to the jaw would be appropriate.

        “So, in these cases, following your advice, we should just pray and offer reparation?”
        > I did not state we should just pray and offer reparation, though it is good. Here is my quote from above:
        “I believe this letter to the Bishop campaign will adversly affect the Church as a whole. Indeed if one knows of facts concerning impropriety or scandal, please do send a letter attesting to such.”

        > Hindsight. We are living in an era where the light is shining disclosing the dark habits and appetites. Clearly, as demonstrated by other publications those found abusing children were thought to be mentally disordered and could be ‘healed’ through psychological counseling. This strategy has proven false, as we all know child predators do not get better. Castration is a good option though

        I pointed out in other posts the actions the Church has taken in times past, notably the book on Sodom and Gommerah describing the events in year 1100 A.D. Punnishment consisted of public defrockment in the town square (disclosing to one and all the actions), banishment to a monastery, whereupon the accused was isolated in his cell for the remainder of his life and only escorted publically by two others held at the elbow, always.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Here is one of the institutions these pedophile priests were sent. It was originally designated for alcohol and substance abuse but over time became a place for these pedophiles to visit.

          https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_of_the_Servants_of_the_Paraclete#Warnings%20to%20the%20Church%20hierarchy

          The Founder, Fr. Fitzgerald, of congregation of the Servants of the Paraclete, in his (letters to Bishops throughout the USA) words addressing the scandal (1950’s etc):

          Click to access fitzgerald.pdf

          Fr. Fitzgerald (May God bless him) provides a succint analysis of the state of affairs as he describes them as Vipers, rattlesnakes and being unworthy of offering the Holy Sacrifice. He further ststes they should only offer the Mass within the confines of a cell in a Monastery.

          Liked by 2 people

          2. Sean, I do not think there are any ecclesiastical prisons anymore. It would be a good idea, to revive this concept and to lock them up in a cloister like place generally confined to their room and being required to say mass every day and those who are compliant, the grace to say the office together. But otherwise a very penitential life, with no access to the internet, tv – sort of like what Father Fitzgerald was doing.

            Liked by 2 people

          3. Sean, final reply – Check out Father Z’s “Hardest Post” and also look at that link to Father Palka. I have lived/witnessed that pain.

            But you are and Beck’s are spot on about reparation. Look at Father Z’s post on reparation. Since the Bishops will not lead, then, we must follow Father Heilman’s lead and keep moving along on the rosary crusade. Let us keep it up through October 7, Sean and Becks!

            Liked by 3 people

        2. A punch to the jaw? Sure, that is what we would often like to do. However, that would have lead to my expulsion from Law School, blacklisted, and being saddled with a lot of debt with no job prospects.

          Liked by 3 people

      2. Ugh, blackmail from the confessional. I never would have thought of that possibility. *Groan*…is nothing sacred? The more I learn, the sicker I feel. Don’t get me wrong, I much prefer knowing about such ugly business — being ignorant won’t make it go away any more than not believing in God will make him not exist.

        Good Lord, help us, for we are sinful creatures.
        Tearful Virgin Mary, Mother of Sorrows, pray for us.

        Liked by 2 people

  11. I’ve been contemplating all the corruption coming to light in this time.
    Charlie prophesied that all the structures we are used to would collapse and sure enough, they have! But actually they had already collapsed, it’s our faith in them which we now see falling away.
    So where do we go from here?
    Some commenters suggest this moral delima is a “from the bottom up” flow or a “top down” one.
    I think it is both.
    It may have started as a bottom up but now it flows both ways with higher ups recruiting or converting them into the moral underbelly of society.
    People suggest a grass roots movement and a cleansing of the higher ups but who do we trust to replace them with? There seem to be so many “clubs” these days all advocating a movement, but a “self” movement with a moral void somewhere in each cause. There is even the thought that the Pope’s agenda seems to leave a void for those who are too traditional.
    I just read a post by a recent visionary.
    In it God the Father makes this statement:
    “You cannot compromise with sin, and you must pray against it, but do not take up swords against your brothers. Your words, unless they be My Own, are powerless to change the Hearts of evil men. You are children and weak. Rely on Me, and I shall change Hearts. My Presence alone changes the Hearts of Man.”
    The last line is key I think-” my Presence alone changes the Hearts of Man.”
    We who claim to be God’s people must carry His presence with us.
    The quote: “preach often and sometimes use words” is what He is inferring here. We must be vessels of His presence throughout our lives to bring about change and we for ourselves need His presence in the Eucharist to recharge ourselves for this purpose. The Eucharist is the spiritual “batter charger” God refills us with that carries His very presence to the people. Until we fully convert ourselves from evil and “take on” His image, we and those who meet us, will miss out on this presence.
    Mother Theresa said when she looked into the face of a dieing man, she saw Jesus and loved him so that when he looked up into her face, he saw Jesus too.
    We too need to see Jesus, hanging on the cross dieing, when we see our church falling into the kind of death it is experiencing right now. We need to love Her and show Her the saving face of the Savior in our eyes, actions and trust so that she will be ever our church no matter what and to seek the face of Jesus in each other once more.

    Liked by 9 people

    1. Yes, Phillip. I think the onus is on the entire Church to move forward in Justice and Mercy, removing prelates and priests, not in anger-laced revenge, but from positions from which they pose danger. Surely, striving for personal holiness ripples to bless the entire Mystical Body of Christ. Thinking, again, of Charlie’s long ago piece: “I Killed Christ… And so did you” I stand with Msgr. Pope’s observation: “I have learned from Church history that reform almost never comes from the top; it comes from religious life and from the grass roots, from among God’s people.” And we know it won’t be an easy journey, for truth must be acknowledged and decisions made to set things right with the Lord. For humans alone to accomplish this is impossible. With God, nothing is impossible.

      Liked by 6 people

    2. Very much in line with my thinking, Phil. We are called to holiness by God to light up the world. Who takes up this essential endeavor first and foremost whilst trusting in God?

      Contemplating Genesis 18:16 – 19:29 (yep, I was in a mood). We always see the little light… the one character or remnant… the evil shown for what it is under the illumination… then comes the Hand of God, not just to punish, but to restore.

      Plenty of ruckus and fretting at the homestead as the monsoons have driven the scorpions inside. Oh, it’s a doozy of a scorpion season this year. I’ve lost count of how many I’ve scooped up lately. One big, dead guy measured about 5 inches in length and I found him on the floor of my son’s room. I true horror indeed if he caught them crawling towards him across the sheets… but it’s really the little, almost invisible ones you have to truly worry about.

      No amount of assurances from dad that I’m on it seemed to quell the fears, so I finally told them to keep their doors open at night. Naturally that seemed counter intuitive to their minds. ‘Course I reminded them of our two cats and educated them on some of their unique talents. Hey, I sleep like a cat, so often hear them going quietly about their business in the wee hours. Who do they think is leaving those little dead scorpion trophies around the house?

      Finally, it was good to see my son snoozing last night with one cat snuggling and one cat standing watch at the foot of his bed. A week ago he “hated” those cats.

      No fish in that story, but I’m thinking about testing one out for bait.

      Let’s light it up.

      Liked by 7 people

      1. Cats ARE cool companions critters. I found it handy to have a mouser living in the tent with me to keep the varmints out, although sometimes they proudly bring them in.

        Thanks for the story, MP. In my mind, you’re like this Catholic cowboy poet who appears now and again to share a tale to take us away from our troubles and technology. It’s your colorful choice of words that I love — like a master with a paintbrush. You can weave stories as well as old Jim Thompson, a legendary broadcaster up in these parts. He loves the ranching and rodeo life, and he loves God and America. His long career has recently ended, but I did catch a couple years of his thoughtful, amusing stories, jokes, and poetry. His voice was rich and his style smooth and easy like Paul Harvey, like listening to an old friend.

        You ever think of doing a podcast?

        https://www.tsln.com/news/thompson-signs-off-after-50-years/

        http://www.cowboypoetry.com/livewithjt.htm

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Two things I swore I’d never do in life: politics and broadcasting. Podcasting included. Talking is exhausting.

          My wife would be the first to chuckle and tell you that I don’t have the slightest idea what I’m talking about, but I never let that get in the way of sharing a story. Also, she’s the one that brought the cats home. Don’t tell her, but it took me a long while to warm up to them. But, hey, I’m a dog guy.

          As for these horrific labor pains were all undergoing my advice is probably getting annoyingly redundant at this point. Breathe in, breathe out…

          Liked by 4 people

          1. Ha MP! If you swore to never do it, I bet you indeed have the gift of gab!

            Speaking of broadcasting, I’m just about to go on Real Presence Radio to promote the Spiritual Hospice Ministry. Ok, OK, I got this….breathe in, breathe out….

            Liked by 4 people

  12. Lord have mercy. On the news right now, the Pennsylvania grand jury found over 300 clergy involved with around 1000 victims.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The news about our catholic church is horrible and the story is on every network everywhere. I read through the huge file from the Pennsylvania Attorney General today, until I couldn’t stomach any more of it. It even documented a priest who went to a hospital to visit a 7 year old girl after having had her tonsils out, and raped her there. In my mind, I find myself questioning every priest I have ever known and cared about. I am a longtime convert, but I won’t leave the church….where would I go? Help us dear Lord, to straighten out this mess. Let’s blow out the smoke of satan.

      Liked by 6 people

  13. wdtprs.com/blog/2018/08/super-creepy-poster-for-gay-conference-reveals-agenda/

    Why is this upcoming conference not being cancelled?! Of course, Father Martin is involved.

    One line that jumped out at me from the post above by Msgr. Pope, was about the “hurricane” descending on the November USCCB conference in November! What a great opportunity for the laity to show up to make a statement. I can just imagine thousands of people praying the rosary in front of the building, maybe holding signs, calling on the bishops to act like shepherds!

    In my own diocese I’m afraid we have a wolf in sheep’s clothing, who promotes LGBT stuff instead of preaching the holiness that is called for. Please God, may the tide be turning and the evil continue to be exposed and eradicated! Please Mama!!

    Liked by 5 people

  14. Thank you for this post!!!

    I am totally sick from reading the Grand Jury report on the Pennsylvania Diocese.

    The stuff that went on! It sickens me! These guys should be in jail aling with those who did not report them to the police!!!

    I am writing my bishop and those who helped to perpetuate such injustice!!

    Additionally, i want to write to the victims to acknowledge their abuse and to apilogize for their treatment!!!

    Liked by 4 people

      1. I finished sections One, Three and Four of the Grand Jury Report, containing the Introduction, summary of the Church and recommendations of the Grand Jury. It reads well and is forth coming direct and speaks plainly of what transpired. I thank the Grand Jurors for thier service.

        Liked by 2 people

  16. Just a follow-up on recent conversations on dementia.

    My grandmother, nicknamed Honey, is turning 99 on Thursday. My aunt Judy was visiting her in WNY and decided to FaceTime me because Honey was having a “good day.”

    I haven’t seen her for about a year and the dementia is much worse – her affect is very flat and she couldn’t mimick simple words when asked, not even a “Hi.” She didn’t smile at all, even when we were laughing. She just stared blankly into the phone or at Judy.

    So Judy started an Our Father, but Honey couldn’t say a word. Then we tried a Hail Mary. Honey suddenly started speaking, saying the beginning OK but it broke down and she mumbled through trying to speak it the entire time.

    We then began a second Hail Mary, and — lo and behold — out the words flowed, the entire prayer, and quite expressively! She even closed her eyes a bit! (It was hard not to tear up at that moment.)

    Then she added a Glory Be quite well, though the Sign of the Cross proved to be too complicated.

    Thought I’d share this with you all. Honey’s mind is completely gone and she no longer has the use of language or control of her emotions, but somehow she can still offer up an Ave to Our Lady.

    I offered this mini-Rosary to you all here in the Sign of Hope.

    Blessings from me and Honey.
    Patrick

    Liked by 17 people

    1. Thank you, Patrick, for sharing with us these bittersweet moments that you spent with your Honey. She must love Our Lady very much. Prayers for Honey and all who love her.

      Liked by 7 people

    3. Very special story – thank you Patrick Daniel. The Catholic chaplain to the hospital here says that old altar boys whose minds have gone still give the Latin responses to the old mass.

      Liked by 8 people

      1. Fascinating, Joe. I knew a Turkish woman who moved to the U.S. who lost the ability to speak English in old age, reverting to her childhood language. She was angry and frustrated all the time because no one could understand her and everyone spoke to her in a foreign language. But to hear that a native English speaker would revert to Latin like that during Mass? Fascinating.

        Liked by 5 people

        1. My dad has been away from the Sacraments for over 50 years. But he always attends when one of my children receives a sacrament (he does not go to Holy Communion, of course). Nine years ago, when one of my sons made his First Holy Communion at a traditional Latin Mass, Daddy shocked us by saying all of the Mass responses in Latin without the benefit of a missal. Holding out hope (and praying like mad) that this good man will return to the Church someday.

          Liked by 10 people

            1. Oh my goodness, Jen! How amazing! My mom must be praying too, then. 🙂

              Thanks you for your prayers; you and your hubbie are in my prayers, too.

              Liked by 3 people

          4. Tucking your dear dad into my prayers, Mick, and all our community’s family members for whom our hearts await their return to the Sacraments. A beautiful fruit of reset it shall be!

            Liked by 3 people

            1. Ha, Dan! “Mick’s Dad” is rather awkward, isn’t it? Anyhow, my dad’s name is Clarence. Thank you for your prayers. 🙂

              Liked by 2 people

                1. Hi, Kim! My dad, his uncle, and his grandfather were all named Clarence. It caused a lot of confusion, so my dad and his uncle ended up going by nicknames. Of course, one of my dad’s nicknames was Clancy. 🙂

                  Liked by 1 person

    4. Patrick,
      The phenomenon you are telling us about is not new.
      There are many stories of comatos, paralyzed or otherwise incapacitated individuals doing amazing but brief things like your Honey.
      Seeing the children at garabandal walk backwards on Rocky terrain or the apostles speak Aramaic but multiple peoples hearing it in thier native tongues is another kind of this same phenomenon.
      The human person possesses a soul and spirit which is independant of the nature of the body but still in union with it.
      As the flesh falls into ruin the spirit remain fully active and vigorous, sometimes even more so than when the body was at its peak and the cares of the day were a distraction.
      Bathing themselves with grace through a life of virtue and, prayer only further strengthens these individuals who may even be found incorrupt after their death, having conformed themselves to the New Jeruselem while still on this side of the veil.
      Your Honey is showing some of this conformity and you should be so proud to be able to see what she has become, a living vessel of Our Lord!
      Some of DO get heaven before heaven!

      Liked by 7 people

      1. I am so full of joy, Phillip, after seeing this remarkable sign again. Honey always had a strong faith. Christmas and birthday cards always made reference to “Our Lady” and “Our Blessed Lord.” (While I was hoping instead that money would fall out of the envelope). She signed her name “Honey” and added a heart that curled down to form a drop of blood — which I now understand the meaning of. She always prayed the Rosary for us AND the Divine Mercy (before it was cool 🙂).

        When I came back to the faith about 10 years ago, I was finally able to speak and write to her about God and Jesus, in “her language” as it were. And now instead of her words being merely the old fashioned sentiment of grandma, it was now the beautiful and comprehensible language of our shared faith. It must have filled her with so much joy after all those years. Today, I am the only devout Catholic in my family, so it is now my job to pray for them the way Honey prayed for me.

        As a hospice nurse, I’ve seen this phenomenon with dementia time and time again. The worst was a woman reduced to the equivalent of an animal: severely contracted into the fetal position, she would scream wildly if you touched or moved her. It was a nightmare for caregivers. I was shadowing a nurse who noticed a Rosary on the lady’s nightstand, and she began a Hail Mary. I joined in. Miraculously, the woman calmed, relaxing so much we could clean her up. But most remarkable was watching her mouth the words of the prayer with us. They were just mumbles of sounds, but the cadence was following ours. What hope! What joy for us to witness…

        Liked by 11 people

        2. I love what you have told us about your Dad and Honey. More importantly, you picked up that you are called to be the Prayer in your family. My father actually blessed me one day and said I would be the next Prayer. So. I have stepped into the shoes, like you.
          Also, regarding our families, Susan Skinner has a great novena/litany for families over at her website, Veil of Veronica.😀

          Liked by 4 people

  17. Happy and Blessed Solemnity of the Assumption to us all with a beautiful reminder of Hope from the Office of Readings this morning:

    Ant. 2 The Lord has chosen her, his loved one from the beginning. He has taken her to live with him.

    Psalm 46
    God our refuge and strength
    He shall be called Emmanuel, which means: God-with-us (Matthew 1:23).

    God is for us a refuge and strength,
    a helper close at hand, in time of distress,
    so we shall not fear though the earth should rock,
    though the mountains fall into the depths of the sea;
    even though its waters rage and foam,
    even though the mountains be shaken by its waves.

    The Lord of hosts is with us:
    the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

    The waters of a river give joy to God’s city,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
    God is within, it cannot be shaken;
    God will help it at the dawning of the day.
    Nations are in tumult, kingdoms are shaken:
    he lifts his voice, the earth shrinks away.

    The Lord of hosts is with us:
    the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

    Come, consider the works of the Lord,
    the redoubtable deeds he has done on the earth.
    He puts an end to wars over all the earth;
    the bow he breaks, the spear he snaps.
    He burns the shields with fire.
    “Be still and know that I am God,
    supreme among the nations, supreme on the earth!”

    The Lord of hosts is with us:
    the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

    Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
    — as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

    Ant. The Lord has chosen her, his loved one from the beginning. He has taken her to live with him.

    Liked by 6 people

  18. The Tick,Tock-n-Drip, Drip MUST end & Quick. The PA Affair is a Grand Jury and not a trial but, after near 30 years, of denial, victim bashing, pay-offs and whole Dioceses in bankruptcy thanks to Criminal Homosexual Predators ….. ;-( …. Time for People of Faith to “Pull Theirs Heads Out” and “Raise Hell”!! Top to Bottom Clean-Out and a much leaner and more vibrant Church:

    “The Latest: Report IDs over 1,000 victims of priest abuse”

    https://apnews.com/3d94fbe0e5864a1f826dae470a38da50/The-Latest:-Report-IDs-over-1,000-victims-of-priest-abuse

    “The scale of the Catholic Church’s criminality still shocks”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-scale-of-the-catholic-churchs-criminality-still-shocks/2018/08/14/779c5f38-a006-11e8-83d2-70203b8d7b44_story.html

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 8 people

    1. I am not an apologist for sexual abusers by any means, CD. AP and WP are not sources of *fair and balanced* reporting, as I am sure you know.
      When I worked on the Chicago Archdiocese Pastoral Council during the height of the priest scandal, it was common for the group S.N.A.P. to coach the *said* victims, who seemed to use similar talking points in their personal accounts of abuse. The stats reported for the number of priests involved reflected those who had allegations waged against them (some deceased, who obviously cannot defend themselves). The numbers were not based on convictions. http://legacy.archchicago.org/factcheck/
      One of my favorite jobs was in the insurance industry as a statistician. I’ve had role in most of my career reporting statistics/numbers, which I love. Some say numbers do not lie. I disagree and can surely say that the *stories* behind the numbers surely can and do lie. Let us not forget the 2016 election poll numbers for HRC. The majority of my reporting numbers was in healthcare. Talk about the *doctoring* of information. 😉
      I’m attempting to stay grounded in *reality* as the truth in these matters may be extremely difficult to find as I pray, discern and act with prudence.
      ❤

      Liked by 10 people

      2. Thanks, Jen, for the cold splash of water. I needed your perspective because I’m shaking with rage and outrage. Of course the devil would not miss every little opportunity to milk this atrocity for all it’s worth! In this environment, lies will be accepted as truths without question. And all this mess strikes at the core of Christ’s Church — such evil is so dear to satan’s rotten void of a heart.

        I love numbers, too, Jen, and they can be used to mean whatever the wielder of those numbers wants. They can be twisted or omitted. How about the recent poll that a majority of Americans support abortion as just one example. Numbers can indeed deceive.

        Liked by 6 people

        1. You’re welcome, Patrick. Sadly, my musings do not make matters any better. It only helps to quell the outrage and add another perspective. We should be cautious and not fall into a trap of one extreme or the other, imho.

          ❤

          Liked by 4 people

    1. Fr. Rick is doing a fine job! My Pastor spoke of this 54 day Novena immediately after mass, recommending everyone to pray the Rosary at home, etc. I stayed and prayed the Novena Rosary in my pew. Hopefully, more will join in the upcoming weeks.

      Liked by 6 people

  20. I hope we can all be respectful in writing to our Bishops.

    We need to let them know our concerns, and ask them to assure us of their intention to address this horrible situation that has been allowed to fester in the Church for decades.

    I intend writing to my Bishop in the UK. I have told my Parish Priest and said I will let him have a read of the letter so he knows it is respectful; and God willing…..to the point.

    I was thinking to ask my own Bishop to write a letter to be read in all the parishes assuring us he is putting in place safeguards for all Seminarians in our diocese.

    I do believe there are safeguards already in place for children and youth.

    I am going to suggest that if there are any ‘gay’ Masses, these should be renamed ‘born again virgin Masses.’ Because in my humble opinion accompanying gays in their perversion is accompanying them to hell. So born again virgin Masses is the only real way these poor sinners can be redeemed. And by that I mean the gay people need to repent, go to confession and sin no more.

    And I hope to ask why is the Sixth Commandment of God ignored by those who have taken a vow of celibacy. Any Priest who offers Mass practising sodomy or sexual behaviour is committing sacrilege if he has not confessed his sin and repented. Repeated perpetual sin is a sin against the Holy Spirit, and unless sinners Priest, Prelate or Lay fight this temptation they are damned to hell.

    Liked by 2 people

  22. Joanne 1950, I found some pics of your father’s vessel, the USS Seahorse (SS-304). Can you point him out in this picture?

    This last pic is not of the Seahorse, but it gives us a good idea of the kind of boat he served on. (USS-Wahoo SS-238, roughly the same length and width)

    Your father served on the 11th most successful submarine in WWII! His crew sank an amazing 20 enemy vessels and over 72,000 tons of shipping under Captain Cutter.

    http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08304.htm

    There is an old video on YouTube called Secret Service that reenacts one particular patrol of the 8 the Seahorse conducted.

    And as a reminder of those currently serving who follow in the footsteps of men like your father…

    God bless America.

    Liked by 6 people

    2. Thank you Patrick. I was scrolling through the comments and had a “what the” moment as the sub picture emerged. The large seated man in front is Capt. Slade Cutter. He was very tall @6’4″ and those subs were tight. My father in law is in the first standing row behind the seated men, third from the left. It is hard to believe that all those men fitted into that tiny sub. He was one of 10 children, a graduate of West Catholic High School in Phila. He & his buddy volunteered at graduation; it was the start of the WWII. He was an electricians mate. One of the tasks was keeping the air pure on the submerged sub. After leaving the navy, he got his engineering degree from Drexel University and rose in the ranks of Western Electric (aka AT &T). What he learned in the Navy was his career. Once when he was visiting with us (he was about 80), I had prepared his bed. As he sat on it, I noticed I had forgotten the pillow. I mentioned it to him and started to go for it. Then as I turned my back I heard him say, “Joanne, I don’t need it, I use to sleep on a torpedo skid.” I got him one anyway! Shaped by his faith and his time, he was a most ethical and kind man.

      Liked by 6 people

      1. Thank you, Joanne!

        What poise and presence in the captain. He was sure given a tough-guy name! His original goal was to become a professional flutist 😀, but became an intercollegiate football and boxing star. He entered submarine school in ‘38 and was eventually awarded FOUR Navy Crosses for his service. Some say he had an abrasive leadership style….I sure wouldn’t mess with him!

        I cannot imagine what it was like to live beneath the waves of the Pacific in a 300-foot tubular vessel waging war against the skilled and ferocious Japanese navy. Well, hats off to those boys who chose to get in harms way for our country. This was a time when America became a great nation – and I cannot say enough about that.

        (….and what do you say, Governor Cuomo?)

        Liked by 4 people

        1. Dear Patrick: My husband has said many times that Slade Cutter’s name was right out of a Hollywood movie script. Jim really had only admiration for him and so too the men who gather over the decades to remember. With all the sadness around us it was good to remember your father and all those who truly loved our country. And now our poor church….

          Liked by 3 people

  23. Luz de Maria has provided enlightening comments on our times. Of late, the messages have repeated descriptions of the Warning to come.

    Interestingly, August 5th is declared to be Mother Mary’s Birthday as also related by Medjugorje visionaries Jacov & Jelena

    “Oh Jacov, my dearest little one, you don’t need money for my birthday presents! Tonight when you go home, no matter what your feelings tell you, no matter how you are stimulated, rather than speak the pain in your heart, run outside and look at the heavens, and cry out
    ‘It’s all for the love of You, Dear Jesus.’”

    Jelena:
    “Do not work- Fast & Pray”

    Beginning of August 1984
    To Jelena:
    “This message is dedicated to the Pope and to all Christians. Prepare the second millennium of my birth which will take place August 5th, 1984. Throughout the centuries, I consecrated my entire life to you. Is it too much for you to consecrate three days for me? Do not work, on that day, but take up the rosary and pray.”

    *******

    https://www.revelacionesmarianas.com/english.htm

    The Warning:

    https://www.revelacionesmarianas.com/en/warning.html

    Liked by 3 people

  24. The below in my in-box today. None of the “opinion providers” below can be classified as a Usual Suspect Christian/Catholic Hater. In fact, The Usual Suspects must tread very carefully as they do NOT want to tread on the toes of the LGBTQ “Community” and a favored “Victim Group” of the Democrats & Global Left. This sad situation is NOT going to Go-Away and we should Pray that it does not for the sake of The Faithful and The Faith of our Fathers!!:

    MILINET: Articles for Christians 16 August
    ==========================
    “The Catholic Church’s Rotherham”

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/08/catholic-churchs-pennsylvania-grand-jury-report/

    “Sins of the Fathers”

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/08/sins-of-the-fathers/

    “Opinion-What Must Survive a Corrupt Catholic Church”

    “Opinions-What would Jesus do? Clean house in the Catholic Church.”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-would-jesus-do-clean-house-in-the-catholic-church/2018/08/15/d2e0f496-a0cc-11e8-93e3-24d1703d2a7a_story.html

    Voris ain’t going away either … and that’s good too. We need Pit Bulls on the job!! Now! I’ll say again. I’m not a huge fan of Voris and I imagine after 30 minutes in his presence I’d have an overwhelming desire to Kick his A** … like every other, insufferable, “Born-Again” type that I’ve had to deal with ….but he is what we need on this subject.

    https://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-raid-all-the-chanceries?mc_cid=c53ca5a12f&mc_eid=2a0b6c7ef6

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 6 people

  25. From Fr. Matt Fish comes an article with personal experience shaping it.

    Two excerpts:

    “You see, as a seminarian, I was close to Cardinal McCarrick. He often visited us seminarians, and for many of us, he became a grandfatherly figure. In fact, it was in part because of a homily he preached that I decided to enter seminary.

    I looked up to him, and was inspired by his kindness, and what seemed to be his dedication to prayer and service. Because of this, I asked him to come and speak at my first Mass.”

    AND

    “The lens has now turned to the bishops themselves. What in the world, so many have asked, have they been doing all this while? Instead of standing up for the truth, rooting out corruption, confronting the wicked, and protecting the weak, they have covered up the truth, ignored corruption, protected the guilty, and abandoned the innocent, again and again.

    Even now, some bishops continue to make excuses, saying that, this news is disappointing, but it’s not a crisis.

    Of course, the people of God know better. This is easily the worst thing to happen to the Catholic Church in the United States in its 400 year history. And we are only beginning to see how deep the rot goes.

    And yet, even now, good bishops are rising up to challenge their brothers. They are joining the voices of many in the Church, calling for investigation and accountability, the many priests and lay faithful who have become that voice in the desert crying out, demanding conversion, pledging their own efforts in bringing about the reform of holiness and accountability that the Church so desperately needs, to root out these dark secrets from the life of the Church.”

    Full article: https://medium.com/@matthewjfish/homily-on-john-6-and-the-crisis-in-the-church-be1585f3a0e2

    Liked by 7 people

  26. A priest at my former church was removed a couple of years ago for abuse allegations. My son attended school there was he was 7-8 and I removed him at the end of the year after he become withdrawn, despondent. I questioned him at the time – and still – and he denies any wrongdoing – but he was a changed person after that year – and now is living in a homosexual relationship. Only God knows – but in my heart and mind – I know something happened there that year that changed him for the worse. Please pray for him – and his ‘partner’. Thank you.

    Liked by 11 people

    1. Praying for your dear son and his partner, Debra. May all the events yet to unfold find us busy, laboring in the great harvest of souls who will make a return to the Lord.

      Liked by 7 people

  27. You’ve probably noticed how I’m pretty much avoiding the current topic at hand. Guess it’s a defense mechanism, killing time before the Fall semester starts up. Hopefully this post will bring you some joy.

    Our Lady’s Choir at the cathedral is about to have it’s first rehearsal. The director has a gorgeous high soprano voice, so we decided to open our first performance with the Ave Maria. In fact, I intend that every performance will.

    So which version of the Ave Maria? The Schubert or the Bach/Gounod? Hmmm….

    Well, how about the Vavilov/Caccini!

    Yeah, I got the goose bump, too.

    https://libera.org.uk/

    Liked by 10 people

    3. Yowser, Patrick! That just totally blew my son and me away. He asked me to send him the link (I wonder if he’s going to add it to his playlist–or whatever it’s called–at Spotify).

      The Schubert Ave Maria has for over two decades been my favorite; it was sung at my wedding and at my mother’s funeral, and I told my kids that I wanted it sung at my funeral someday. Not anymore. Vavilov/Caccini all the way.

      Liked by 5 people

          1. That’s in the works, at least somewhere in my mind. I’ll know more over the next few weeks, but yes, I do intend to make recordings. (I’m so excited about this project that I’m getting butterflies in my tummy) 🦋

            Liked by 3 people

            1. I bet! (About the butterflies, I mean). Do please keep us posted; I bet that a lot of us here will be waiting with bated breath to hear a recording of your choir. 🙂

              Liked by 3 people

                1. Yes, Patrick, it was also truly beautiful. But my son and I both agree that we like the first one better. Is your choir going to do one closer to the original or to the “modified” version (for lack of a better term)?

                  Liked by 1 person

                  1. Thanks Mick. Not sure what we’ll do because of copyright laws and all that, but we like the first one too. So here’s an amusing snippet for you and your son, with a slightly religious theme. “Grazie, Signore.” 😀

                    Liked by 1 person

      2. I’ve been doing some digging, Mick. It looks like this Ave Maria was written by Robert Prizeman, a British composer and founder of Libera. His piece is “in the style of Caccini”, and I finally found the sheet music. Stay tuned….

        (little pun there, get it? 🎼)

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Ah… I see what you did there, Patrick. But I didn’t see it until you pointed it out (it’s almost midnight here, and I’m falling asleep). 🙂

          I’m confused: did you find the sheet music Ave Maria in the first video, or the one in the second video?

          Like

    5. Lovely video, Patrick. My husband was in the St. Francis de Sales Boys’ Choir in the late 1950’s when Father Angelo della Picca was his choir director. Father was from Italy & didn’t speak much English. He was at DeSales because it was the bishop’s residence. In any case, he use to practice his English by having the choir members sing songs from the hit parade after practice. Christmas was quite an event in the parish. The choir sang at Midnight Mass and then again at the 11:00 AM High Mass. Father had quite a career in church music and passed away Dec. 23,2007 at 84. I think that Christmas of 2007 he was directing choirs in Heaven. I experienced a choir like the one in the video many years ago at the then new cathedral in San Francisco. After Mass, some of the boys stayed and continued to sing. What an experience!
      I too am avoiding the current topic. It is so darn painful. At morning Mass the other day, Father went on and on about forgiveness. But how do you forgive this? Like the victims of sanctuary city policies, communism/socialism aka Venezuela, the victims it seems just don’t count. Seek forgiveness from Heaven, but don’t ask me or their victims to exonerate. Plus they hardly seem repentant at all.
      Connected to all of it is the hidden purpose of demoting the Eucharist as the body and blood of Christ. You can see it everywhere in the politics of the church – case in point, Cardinal Wuerl of Washington, DC. Wuerl rebuked a visiting priest who was accosted by a gay women (and her self described “lover” to the priest) in the sacristy as he was dressing for a funeral Mass for the woman’s mother. The woman announced she was gay, her “lover” blocked the entrance to the sacristy and demanded that Father give her communion. Father explained that she was not in the state of grace and he could not. (For me, breeching the protocol of the sacristy was the first indication of a problem.)
      The woman proceeded to make a stink in DC through many blogs and newspapers. Wuerl in stead of defending the Eucharist and the priest, sent him packing back to his home country and apologized to the woman.
      I’m sure there are many who receive Communion not in the state of grace which this woman very well could have done. In stead she attacked the priest and Wuerl threw the Eucharist overboard for the sake of what, I don’t know. Political Correctness, I guess. I do know that thousands of us went – Wait, a minute? How does that compute, Cardinal Wuerl? The American Spectator has a story on it as it was breaking news March 19, 2012. You can google it. At that moment I knew there was “something rotten in Denmark”. Other Catholic sites are now referring back to it in addition to Wuerl’s covering for the exploits of many gay priests.
      I just want to thank the Lord, Jesus for stripping away all the hypocrisy in both this country and in the church and ask him to restore our church. There are good and faithful servants out there like Archbishop Chaput and Father George Rutler of Saint Michael’s NYC who preach truth.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. I’m now up to speed on the Fr Marcel incident. I spoke about it today and this current/decades-old scandal with a parish priest. Forgiveness is something I struggle with personally, a trait which my mother sadly handed down to me: She grips resentment like nobody’s business. But I suppose I must answer the question with, “How can we NOT forgive?” Every once in a while we hear a striking story where the family of a murdered loved one forgives the killer. We also have a Christ-like example in Saint Maria Goretti, martyr, who forgave the young man who attempted to rape her and then stab her to death. St. Maria truly loved her assailant and wanted him to go to heaven. Boy, that is incomprehensible to most all of us BUT the saints.

        The priest I spoke with today said that forgiveness in this current case is incredibly difficult. If the men who committed these atrocities have asked Jesus with a sincere and penitent heart, though, to forgive them their sins, then Our Merciful Savior has already done so. (In fact, I suppose I must assume this has happened.) Truly, no sin is greater than his infinite mercy. There may yet be a sizable measure of justice to be administered, but these sinners are forgiven, if they did indeed seek forgiveness.

        It’s annoying not to have an appropriate outlet for this anger like a punching bag. A letter to a bishop simply won’t bring relief. These past few days I’ve suppressed violent desires to visit physical torture upon these men because they inflicted evil upon the innocent or concealed serious crimes, and they have damaged Mother Church. But that’s not God speaking these desires into my heart at all…it’s that other fellow who delights in my righteous — and self-righteous — anger. It is dissipating with time, Joanne, but it’s not happening very quickly. I will/must eventually forgive these men, but I will never forget.

        **************

        Thank you for sharing about your husband singing in a boys choir! We had our first rehearsal today of OUR LADY’S CHOIR….and it went exceptionally well. Beautiful, modern sacred music sung with fine voices. And they were very keen on singing the Ave Maria that you heard in the Libera boys choir….although our version will be much, much lower. 😲😮😧

        Liked by 3 people

        1. Patrick my point about Wuerl is that he did not defend Father Marcel because what Father Marcel did was entirely correct. And, yes, I wonder about Wuerl’s belief in the Eucharist and how much it is tainted by his support of homosexual priests. His thought process seems disordered to me. And I am not judging how the Father in heaven decides justice or/and or forgiveness. And I don’t think it is up to me to forgive Wuerl or McCarrick or all the others who have perpetrated this on our children, our teens and on the laity. Can you forgive Hitler, or Mao, or Stalin or Pol Pot? I’m angry but feel so very betrayed. And I know personally that the church has lost a generation of good young adults who just want to run away for all of it. Trust is gone. Let the abusers ask Him for forgiveness but especially the ones who they abused. I don’t want to punch anyone but I sure as do want to close a door on them all. Divorce myself from them all. It would be like being physically abused by a husband and continually putting myself in his path. I retreat into the Rosary. I also point out that years ago when the report came out about the Philadelphia archdiocese I commented even then that the report was not honest because 90% of those abused were boys and teen boys who have natural adult physical responses to eroticism. To me as a mother of all boys it was simply homosexual indoctrination. And now all of this indoctrination is coming out in multiple reports. But what Beckita has said about the validity of the sacraments by priests in mortal sin is exactly what my mother told me back in the 1960’s. Don’t know why she told me that then, maybe some rumor was floating around. But I do remember as a teen whispers among the teen boys I knew about priests being moved around for “you know” problems with boys in their parishes. I was a teen from 1963 to 1969. Do I date myself or what?

          Liked by 2 people

          1. Sometimes it is just plain tough to forgive and, sometimes, it’s the hardest thing in the world to do. Very often, it can only be done by an act of the will with prayer to Our Lord that He will heal the emotional impact of horrific sin. It remains true that *not* to forgive does absolutely nothing to or for the evil doer… but it has great potential to poison our own souls. We know the one prayer which came straight from the lips of Jesus includes this: “Forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us.” Lord have mercy on us all.

            Liked by 1 person

          2. A friend told me yesterday that his buddy went to Rome to discern a calling to the priesthood. He was hit on so much he said, “forget it!” I wonder how many good men we lost?

            Liked by 2 people

          1. Yes joanne, there are many good and faithful servants of God. I came across Father Mike’s candid response yesterday. I imagine that there are many more clergy who can relate to him than when we know. So we lead, in prayer, letter writing, fasting, gathering… as disciples. ❤

            The Pennsylvania Sex Abuse Scandal https://youtu.be/AdR8eyaDCHg

            Like

    6. TY for the diversions, Patrick! They are needed. I read some of the PA report and had to stop. It made me feel filthy. I just don’t need those images swirling in my head. God Bless the grand jury who had to deal with the facts. Pray for them.
      I think on many levels the Eucharist is also under attack by some Cardinals in the church. I refer to Cardinal Wuerl and an incident that happened in the much published case of Father Marcel Guarnizo, a visiting priest in 2012. He discretely refused Communion to a lesbian woman who accosted him in the sacristy as he was dressing for Mass. You can read about it here: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/Cdl.-wuerl-censured-priest-who-denied-lesbian-communion-but-let-predatory-clergy-remain-active
      Since the Eucharist goes to the heart of our Faith, what do Wuerl’s actions say to you? I know what they say to me.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Shoot, Joanne, the link is gone.

        I found this quote off the Huff Post: “ “I did the only thing a faithful Catholic priest could do in such an awkward situation, quietly, with no intention to hurt or embarrass,” the Rev. Marcel Guarnizo said of his decision to withhold Communion …”

        If this quote is true, then I like this guy…. A LOT. He was primarily thinking of the woman’s endangered soul. If a priest were to deny pro-abortion Catholic politicians in like manner, he too would be protecting them from a second grave sin.

        My agnostic and non-Catholic family members likely received communion at my father’s funeral and again at another memorial service I did not attend. What am I to do? Sigh. Yeah, I should bring it up, but they’d collectively give me hell for that and shut me down, and they would feel embarrassed so would undoubtedly receive anyway. Sigh again.

        Liked by 1 person

        2. You can’t help that, Patrick. It is up to their conscience to receive or not to. Maybe at the moment of decision they asked Jesus for their forgiveness for any short comings. I hope we all do that.

          Liked by 3 people

    1. I have just listened to the Sensus Fidelium talk, and it is the first time I have been totally disgusted by any sermon in my life. For shame on you Sensus Fidelium.

      The speaker has given the impression that it is all the fault of the flock that Clergymen who have become diabolically possessed exist in the first place. The impression I get from that talk is that God sent Clergymen to rape the flock as a chastisement to the lay people for contracepting.

      I am not on a guilt trip because I had used artificial contraception, because I did not use any. I used NFP, and he even mocks that option which was allowed by Human Vitae.

      Does this speaker not know the Holy Father has called people who have big families rabbits. People feel shamed by such remarks. Now you claim the people have to breed…..CONFUSING.

      I suggest the speaker find the testimony on Father Sheier, if I have spelled his name correctly. He had an NDE and he would have been damned to hell for serving himself in his Priesthood. Now I am pretty certain this Priest was not an abuser. So God only knows how culpable the abusing perverts are.

      I remember years ago young women I knew who used the contraceptive pill because the Bishops in Canada said it was allowed. People here in the UK believed it was ok because of those disobedient Bishops. Don’t you people realise the damage done by the Church Hierarchy. People were misled by the disobedience of those Bishops.

      Of course you can argue people who listened to the Canada Bishops back then should have been listening to their own Bishops. Well, guess what. No voices hit the headlines to contradict the Canadian ‘I WILL NOT SERVE’ brigade.

      I made my decisions based on approaching my then Parish Priest and asking his advice about contraception. His wise advice was why I chose to use NFP. There was no clear direction coming from the Church to back up the Holy Father Pope Paul VI. So Sensus Fidelium should not use the heavy hand against what has become the norm as a result of corruption in the Church 50 years ago. And corruption it was when those Canadian Bishops threw their weight about and defied the Pope.

      Yes, I fear it will take a Heavenly Chastisement to correct the conscience of Clergy and Lay after all these years of irreparable damage; it is like the ripple effect coming home to roost. And guess what, the Shepherds are now fleecing the flock to pay the cost of raping them. Sorry Sensus Fidelium. You are bang out of order.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Shelia, I understand your reaction to this sermon. I gave this talk a double thumbs down. When I listened before clearing the video, I thought Father was harshly shortsighted in his overemphasis of focusing guilt on the laity. The problems that have come to light and need to be resolved are complex and multi-dimensional in their scope. I believe Father’s talk is an example of the very kind of approach that would NOT promote the reform that’s needed. Like you, I think this priest failed to acknowledge the very real personal sins of those clergy who have been perpetrators as well as the clear failings of the hierarchy which enabled thousands of victims to be hurt. Why, even the head of the USCCB, Cardinal DiNardo, spoke yesterday owning the failures, the sins, of the priests, bishops, archbishops and cardinals in this current crisis and invited a Vatican-led investigation into the Church in America which would include not only clergy but also laity “with expertise in law enforcement, psychology, investigation, and other relevant disciplines.”

        All of this said, there IS a connection between the sins of our times and the widespread use of contraception. And Sensus Fidelium does great work. The Apostolate is led by a group of exorcists and the majority of their videos are filled with knowledge and wisdom. But boy! This one was a MAJOR flop.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Just a quick acknowledgement Beckita. Yes of course Sensus Fidelium is usually a great source of faithful Catholic spiritual watching and listening. I should have acknowledged this in my reaction.

          Before internet days, we Catholics depended on sermons and catechesis to grow in Faith. And it was in those days so many Catholics who had homes and families and jobs to do, not leaving much time to research and develop our faith; depended on public statements and sermons for guidelines.

          It was in this same period, and I speak about the last 50 years that the faith was no longer being taught in our schools. Ordinary people were oblivious to the changes in education as regards the Holy Catholic Faith. I too am guilty of not realising what my children were being taught because I trusted the Catholic school to be handing on the faith I was taught.

          My children were in their teens before I questioned the way the faith was being taught to them. it seemed like a socialist type of baloney which was alien to me, and when I questioned it was told, I was out of touch with the modern world. This is not just about sexual depravity among Priests or Bishops. The whole Apostolic tradition is corrupted by Apostates in the Hierarchy who allowed the corruption of the Faith by changing traditional INSTRUCTION to ‘education’ and then confusing the youth with every religion under the sun. The latter was what I found out when I went to see for myself what was going on in RE. This responsibility falls square in the laps of the Bishops end of.

          How many of those deluded perverts got the same hogwash for religious education as my kids got. No wonder there are so many who don’t even believe in the devil or hell, I guess that is another way of expressing how I feel. And Yes, we need to beg God to forgive our own failings and direct us in how to repair the damage and get back on track again.

          Sorry, I have gone on too long.

          Liked by 3 people

          1. Added to your reflection, Julia, is the high correlation between sexual abusers having been abused themselves in childhood. These things clearly point to a major purpose of this Storm: We must rely totally on God.

            Liked by 5 people

      2. Who is this priest and to whom was he speaking when the audio was recorded?

        The Church was wiped out in North Africa during the first hundred years of Islamic expansion. This was a center of Christianity, the home of St. Augustine, St. Athanasius (the “Father of Orthodoxy”) St Alexander of Alexandria (who excommunicated Arius), etc. What was the reason for this chastisement? By the way, over 1,000 years have elapsed and apparently the Church hasn’t learned it’s lesson because not only has it been virtually eradicated, but in those few areas were it still exists, it is severely persecuted. What were the faithful doing wrong back then (I assume they were not contracepting). What are they doing wrong today? These rhetorical questions are advanced to show that unless this priest is authentically prophetic in the OT mode, he’s not necessarily correct in his cause and effect analysis.

        The main challenge facing the Church is that many of its members, including the clergy, do not know Jesus in an intimate way. They do not have a personal relationship with Him which, as JPII, Benedict XVI and the CCC all point out, is a vital requirement to live the Faith. The Church didn’t fall apart overnight because of VII (which, having read its major documents, I support) or because of the wholesale rejection of Humane Vitae. The Church has imploded in places like Quebec and Ireland because it relied on a cultural, nominal Catholicism to keep the Faith alive. Catholics need to understand who Christ is, the immensity of His love for us and His desire for us to know him intimately. He wants us to know Him through the Eucharist, personal prayer and Scripture. This sounds like an easy antidote for the Church to implement to combat the crises that challenge it. But there are clergy, lay theologians and “professional catholics” who are threatened by this remedy of love. We need holy (not perfect) Catholic evangelists from among the laity and clergy who will boldly proclaim the unsurpassable love of the Person who gave us the Church

        *****
        Julia,

        You mentioned the Bishops of Canada in your post. The Bishops of Canada equivocated on Humanae Vitae because they were party influenced by the prominent theologian Gregory Baum. Baum was always drawn to men but kept his orientation secret because he thought it would discredit his arguments Eventually he left the priesthood and married an ex-nun. However, he fell in love with a former priest of whom he says, “his unwavering love, which has given stability to my life as a theologian, has been a gift from God.” I site this not to castigate Baum but to show how the Church’s moral theology (and by extension her dogmatic theology) has been influenced by priests / theologians who are writing from their own subjective needs and desires.

        Liked by 2 people

  29. Prayers aplenty are needed with this announcement: US bishops invite Vatican investigation into McCarrick scandal

    “DiNardo ended the bishops’ statement with an apology:
    “I apologize and humbly ask your forgiveness for what my brother bishops and I have done and failed to do. Whatever the details may turn out to be regarding Archbishop McCarrick or the many abuses in Pennsylvania (or anywhere else), we already know that one root cause is the failure of episcopal leadership. The result was that scores of beloved children of God were abandoned to face an abuse of power alone. This is a moral catastrophe. It is also part of this catastrophe that so many faithful priests who are pursuing holiness and serving with integrity are tainted by this failure.”

    “We firmly resolve, with the help of God’s grace, never to repeat it. I have no illusions about the degree to which trust in the bishops has been damaged by these past sins and failures. It will take work to rebuild that trust. What I have outlined here is only the beginning; other steps will follow …”

    “Let me ask you to hold us to all of these resolutions. Let me also ask you to pray for us, that we will take this time to reflect, repent, and recommit ourselves to holiness of life and to conform our lives even more to Christ, the Good Shepherd.”

    https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/us-bishops-invite-vatican-investigation-into-mccarrick-scandal-48713

    Liked by 5 people

      1. It absolutely is, Patrick. And I found the statements of Cardinal DiNardo a good sign of willingness to admit the truth of errors for what they are: naming sin as sin, naming this as a spiritual crisis, expressing the need for “protections that will hold bishops to the highest standards of transparency and accountability,” inviting the Apostolic visitation – a critical move, for as Cardinal DiNardo notes, in Church law, *only* the Holy Father has legitimate authority to dismiss a Bishop, Archbishop or Cardinal. (Boyo! Pope Francis deserves our fervent prayers as this burden lands in his hands.)

        Cardinal DiNardo also accurately owns: “Previously the U.S. bishops did not ‘make clear what avenue victims themselves should follow in reporting abuse or other sexual misconduct by bishops,’ acknowledged DiNardo, who called for the development of ‘reliable third-party reporting mechanisms.’” And more… it’s all there in the article, that is, naming exactly the problems and the start of what is needed to cleanse, heal and overcome the mess we’re in.

        May Our Lady intercede unceasingly. If ever there was a time to fulfill what Our Lady of America requested, it is NOW. Let us pray that somehow, some way, Holy Spirit will inspire the hierarchy in America to do as Our Lady asked: On November 15, 1956, Our Lady asked Sister Mildred to draw a picture of her first appearance and requested that a statue be made according to this likeness and that it be placed, after being solemnly carried in procession, in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. Our Lady wishes to be honored there in a special way as “Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin”.

        Our Lady knew how we would need her exhortation:
        On September 26, 1956, Our Lady appeared to Sister and called her children in America to dedicate their lives to her purity. She said: “My child, I entrust you with this message that you must make known to my children in America. I wish it to be the country dedicated to my purity. The wonders I will work will be the wonders of the soul. They must have faith and believe firmly in my love for them. I desire that they be the children of my Pure Heart. I desire, through my children in America, to further the cause of faith and purity among peoples and nations. Let them come with confidence and simplicity, and I, their Mother, will teach them to become pure like to my Heart that their own hearts may be more pleasing to the Heart of my Son.”

        Our Lady of America, help us!

        Liked by 9 people

        1. My heart aches for the many good bishops at this time. It seems that the US Church has been brought to her knees – a perfect place and time (did I see a General Assembly mentioned for November?) for the USCCB to acknowledge the desire for Blessed Mother’s intervention and to carry out the request you mention Beckita. What a thoroughly resounding cheer will emerge from the waiting throngs who have marched from all over the country (if this indeed turns out to be the Jericho March) for the downcast bishops.

          Liked by 9 people

  30. Becks, Pat, Mick, Charlie, Sean, Jlynnbyrd, Doug, Joe and everyone:

    Something uplifting from Evagrius’s Kephalaia Gnostika:

    1.40 “There was a time when evilness did not exist, and there will be a time when it will no more exist, whereas there was no time when virtue did not exist, and there will be no time when it will not exist. For the germs of virtue are impossible to destroy.”

    Liked by 14 people

    3. SO beautiful, James. Love it. Thank you so much. I have to say, my feelings of anguish wash over me as tears and it’s not a permanent state. I also feel gratitude and joy because I know these revelations are, for me, a sign that we are well on our way in making this transition into the full Triumph of our Mother’s Immaculate Heart.

      Liked by 7 people

  32. I think this is a brilliant, remarkable piece, not to be missed:

    “After the allegations against Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, Cardinal Donald Wuerl told an interviewer: “I don’t think this is some massive, massive crisis.” Bishop Robert Barron has said that describing the priesthood as a “cesspool” would be “deeply unjust”.

    Such claims miss the point. Men at the highest levels of the Church knew the rumours about McCarrick and took no action. As a result, the allegations have gravely damaged the credibility of the whole hierarchy. If bishops expect to be taken seriously as witnesses to Christ, the crisis is massive indeed – as the revelations from Pennsylvania underline.

    Bishop Barron also cautioned against what he called an “ideological” response. According to the bishop, those who raise concerns about Humanae Vitae, priestly celibacy, or “rampant homosexuality in the Church” may be riding a “hobby horse” and causing a “distraction”.

    No one cares for the endless Catholic culture wars, but we should be wary of attempts to shut down frank discussion of how we got here. Bishop Barron’s list of taboo topics suggests that he – like most bishops – is keen to preserve the settlement of 1968.

    In that year, Pope Paul VI famously reaffirmed Catholic teaching on birth control in Humanae Vitae, but then declined to discipline the many bishops and priests who rejected that teaching. The result was an uneasy truce: the teaching was formally upheld, but obedience to it was not demanded.

    The same dynamic played out in 2005, when the Vatican decided that men with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies” should be barred from the priesthood.

    Countless bishops ignore this guidance; some even tolerate discreet romances. They only require that the priests not openly challenge Church teaching.

    Both traditional and liberal Catholics are unhappy with this settlement. Under it, holiness and truth are sacrificed for a superficial peace. This arrangement is fair neither to the people who want to live by Church teaching, nor to those who would rather do without it…

    We will not be able to begin real reform until we admit that the triumphalist narratives pushed by Catholic flacks are false. Depending on whom you ask, the Catholic Church is in the midst of either a new springtime of evangelisation, initiated by St John Paul II, or a fresh paradigm of pastoral accompaniment, brought about by Pope Francis. The most skilful will explain that we are in the midst of both, and they wonderfully complement each other.”

    http://catholicherald.co.uk/issues/aug-17th-2018/a-truce-that-cannot-hold/

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Amen, Beckita—years ago I watched the “Catholicism” series that Bishop Barron did and I was impressed, but when he came out with the statement that “there is a reasonable hope that no one is in hell”…he lost me. If Cardinal Wuerl is not removed soon, it will be a travesty. I am in Memphis, which has been called one of the most homosexual friendly diocese in the country. Our current Bishop inherited this mess. I have implored him to clean it up, regardless of the backlash that may occur. I know it is hard for good clergy to do the right thing when the lavender mafia is so powerful and in control, but they must act fearlessly and be prepared for persecution, as we all must. I watched Cardinal Burke on EWTN last night. He has always been a hero of mine–but my mind started going to thoughts like, how could there have been any Cardinal or Bishop who would not have known about McCarrick? His evil was so widespread and went on for so long–it’s just hard to comprehend that it wouldn’t have been common knowledge among the clergy.

      Liked by 7 people

      1. Yes, Kim. I remember that statement by Bishop Barron and was reminded by a priest friend that many a theologian had an error or two in his work which was corrected over time. My friend’s advice was to look at the whole of Bishop Barron’s work. Cardinal Wuerl’s moves show, to me, that he is frightened. When he knew the grand jury report was coming, his staff launched a damage control website to preserve his reputation. Within the day that this news was made known, the website redirected people to the Archdiocesan website. Cardinal Wuerl has also retained legal counsel. I pray for him and all those shepherds who are facing the truth of their errors. I get your closing remark about wondering how pervasive these ills have actually been, Kim. It is a sobering time.

        Liked by 5 people

        1. Yes, Beckita–it is beyond amazing. I don’t feel angry or despairing–I actually feel great hope that our beautiful Church will be cleaned and fresh and new. It is an exciting time even though it’s really difficult to withstand the horrible information coming out and the surgery needed for a restoration of health to the Church. Talk about a storm! I feel like I’m living in a crazy suspense novel!

          Liked by 7 people

          1. Kim, a lot of people knock Bishop Barron. While he is not my cup of tea, he is fundamentally orthodox. More than a few saints have espoused heterodox ideas, Thomas Aquinas and Augustine among them. Reading Bishop Barron’s works is not something I would worry about.
            The heresy of universalist goes back to Origen and his erroneous theory of the apocatastasis and is mediated through Hans Urs von Balthasar, whose works Barron studied.

            Liked by 3 people

            1. Yes, James, my spiritual advisor says the same thing, but I don’t read him anymore. I just can’t get why he would make that statement when it seems that in Scripture as well as approved messages of Our Lady has given us, there are souls in hell. I would love to believe there are none there, but I would hate for people to hear that and then think that they can do anything with no fear of damnation.

              Like

        2. I have been struck by a correlation in the habits of some of these bishops. Many years ago I subscribed to the Wanderer newspaper. (That’s where I first heard of Father Z’s column.) Those who wrote for the paper were very loyal and well informed Catholics. At any rate, i would read about bishops such as Wuerl, Trautman, etc. and some of the unorthodox things they did regarding worship and Holy Mass, in other words, liturgical abuse, etc., etc. At this point in time, it does not surprise me in the least that the same bishops are part of the horror continuing to be exposed. Holy, reverent clergy who take seriousle being an “alter Christus” will most likely not be those who commit evil acts.

          We have to get through the storm and look forward to the “Son” coming out. Yes to a procession of Our Lady of America by the bishops, placing her where she belongs!

          Liked by 5 people

      2. Ditto on Wuerl. And as bad as his coverup is, his demotion of the Eucharist as mere bread and wine with his censure of Father Marcel Guarnizo goes to the heart of the Faith.

        Liked by 3 people

          1. I’m clearing it, Kim, for those who, with an informed mind and conscience, believe this is the next right step for them. I, personally, am not there yet in regards to Cardinal Weurl. My gut says he *must* have known a LOT but I must read more in order to make an informed choice about him.

            Liked by 2 people

    1. Beckita, the author of this article is the brother of a fantastic priest from my diocese. He is the pastor of a parish about 25 minutes from us. We have friends who are parishioners there, and we have been blessed on multiple occasions to attend his Masses and hear his rock-solid homilies. God bless Fr. Mattson, and God bless his brother for having the courage to write the above article.

      Liked by 5 people

  34. I expect there will continue be a who haw and Rome will be involved and complexities and scholars and Theologians and shrinks will be swirling around for God only knows how long. Books will be written and films will be made.

    The whole shebang comes down to three little words in the end. And if everyone from the Holy Father to the simplest little friar or nun, as well as the flock learn it and follow it; All this will be resolved in one afternoon.

    THE PENNY CATECHISM. And it is still in print.

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Just sent my email to them, Karen. I started saying the prayer of Our Lady of All Nations after every decade of the Rosary years ago. It was after I heard a woman speak of the whole devotion on EWTN. I even ordered some of the prayer cards. Wow, doesn’t our wonderful Catholic faith give us so many beautiful weapons, devotions, and warnings too!

      Liked by 3 people

  36. My opinion: this will get worse before it gets better.
    The scandle of 2002 never really got to the bishops; mostly just the priests. Now we are getting a re-hash of some of the 2002 scandle and the bishops are being exposed.
    This may go right into the Vatican; perhaps even to the doorstep of the Pope. Be prepared. I’ve reminded people many times, “We believe in the papacy NOT because we believe in the pope; we believe in the papacy because we believe in Jesus Christ.”
    I don’t think the pope himself is involved; but would it shock us if some of his friends and closest advisers are?
    The Church may have to “die” in order to rise.
    And, if that’s the case, the resurrection will be glorious! We may not see the resurrection right away; it wasn’t until Pentecost that the first of the people heard what happened. But then it began to explode.
    The springtime is coming. And there may be persecutions after it from the outside; but the inside will be clean, new, powerful, and unstoppable.

    There is infinite hope! I don’t know if I’ll see it, but it’s worth sacrificing everything.

    That said, there is much work to do. 2 generations have been / are being scandalized. Many are turning away from religion altogether. I think that was the plan of the enemy – infiltrate, scandalize, destroy from the inside, and claim the reward of disalussioned souls. I find it can help if we remind people: you don’t judge a faith by its’ disobedient sinners; you judge it by its’ obedient saints.
    And the work of building will be overwhelming. Imagine if we have mass conversion of many lay people, but the same number of priests? Huge task ahead. Brick by brick.

    Liked by 11 people

    2. Very well stated Robert Squared. My husband is ready to throw in the towel. His uncle was a priest(deceased) and he feels betrayed wondering what he knew. It cuts to the core.

      Liked by 3 people

    1. Our Bishop says he can’t release a statement until he has permission from the USCCB. I’ve seen a lot of statements from priests and bishops and I doubt they all received permission first. Frustrating!

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Sad… to be an Apostle of Christ, who is under the direct authority of the Pope, and believes he must ask permission of an unelected body of other Bishops. He and he alone is Responsible.

        Liked by 5 people

      2. The nuns used to call it “wishy, washy” character but pray for him because he is either knee deep in it or so embarrassed by it all as to not know what to say. Maybe wishing it all would go away.

        Liked by 3 people

        1. Joanne– he has been so under attack by those very liberal clergy aligned with the previous Bishop and they’re still on the warpath. He’s been under threat of removal and I think that is the problem. I have encouraged him to speak truth and clean up the place regardless of consequences.
          Orthodox clergy are not popular right now in our church and the liberals here can cause lots of trouble since they have support higher up. But I say” damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead”!

          Liked by 5 people

  38. First of all I would like to say”Charlie you were right on from the beginning”. My history is different from anyone on this site as I come from a back ground of Judaism and a love of GOD from my earliest years.I have always and still am very passionate about life and Ifeel a great responsibility for all the blessings GOD has given me..He is my life.I never knew JESUS but when I Ibegan to study GODS word along with my curiosity about JESUS I would have long in depth conversations with my Greek Orthodox friend after work. I wanted deeply to know the truth and I fell in love with my Jewish messiah..14years ago I entered theCatholic church ..his church and I love the mass my tears I cannot stop as I go to receive him in the Eucharist.There is nothing more beautiful than the innocence and trust of a child for their parents and family and after that for the priest or Rabbi or minister..to take this trust and deliberately destroy that child for their own self satisfaction is beyond comprehension to me,it is nothing short of pure evil.I ask all of you how do you restore that beautiful little soul back to who they were ? I am having difficulty writing this through the tears and the outright heartache I am consumed with for the children and the state of this country and the world..Each day I pray the rosary and thank GOD for him and for his beautiful SON ..my LORD and my GOD..without him I could not go on..I know GOD is in control and I know he has a plan..I pray He will use me to be a light to follow his SON and be all he created me to be before I was ever born..”I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE” ..IT is way past time to be complacent may we have more priests like Father Heilman and May the people of GOD rise ..time is growing short and the darkness is growing..I am truly having difficulty believing what I am seeing..and worse it is being accepted..

    Liked by 18 people

    1. God Bless you, Robin. You put my cynicism to shame. Your beauty is in your recognition of truth. We are all having difficulty reading about all of it. I cling to the Rosary, Mass and the Sacraments. It truly is all that I have to stable my sails. One minute I sing Hallelujah that the hypocrisy is uncovered but the next minute, I am so saddened by the corruption in OUR Church because I know how it will be used against us. I haven’t been confronted yet but will I be Peter and deny Him? Naw…I don’t think so…too much Irish in me ( and some Greek (Orthodox) too.). I loved reading what you wrote and now just thinking about it, I’m tearing up a bit.

      Liked by 4 people

        1. Then why didn’t he defend Father Marcel? Maybe it’s just a bridge too far at the moment for Father Wuerl to say anything else but what the church teaches about the Eucharist. But you might notice the date on the article you noted. The Father Marcel incident was in 2012 and he got blow back. Is repeating Church doctrine a cover? And in light of
          what now is being exposed….Actions speak louder than words. The incident made me suspicious of him and now his history is being exposed.

          Liked by 1 person

  39. I hope someone here can convince me that The World has NOT turned up side, down. All the unpleasant news is just due to instant communication or “social” media and Words of Jesus and The Prophets are meant for a Time in the distant future!!??

    “Modi speaks out against ‘menace’ of mob attacks for first time”
    https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2018/08/modi-speaks-out-against-menace-of-mob-attacks-for-first-time/

    “Christians face ethnic cleansing in Burma”
    http://video.foxnews.com/v/5823485938001/?#sp=show-clips

    “Apartment Manager Orders Pastor to Cease Bible Studies or Face Eviction”
    https://townhall.com/columnists/toddstarnes/2018/08/17/apartment-manager-orders-pastor-to-cease-bible-studies-or-face-eviction-n2510815

    “Colorado’s anti-Christian hostility showing itself once again”
    https://www.onenewsnow.com/legal-courts/2018/08/16/colorados-anti-christian-hostility-showing-itself-once-again

    “Satanic Temple Rally at State Capitol Targets Arkansas Lawmaker”
    https://www.fox16.com/news/local-news/satanic-temple-rally-at-state-capitol-targets-arkansas-lawmaker/1376928022

    Anti-Semitism is on the rise everywhere to and this should also ring alarm bells. The Rise of Islam, Muslim Invasion of Old Christendom and the Global Left’s (including Democrat Party USA) embracing Muslims as a favored “Victim Group” whilst kicking a once favored “Victim Group”, Jews, to the curb is partly to blame … but … the above has encouraged the indigenous anti-Semitism back to the surface. Likewise the Pontificate of Francis and the SCANDAL has brought out Anti-Catholicism in Bible Belt USA in particular and elsewhere as well ;-(.

    “Anti-Semitism is so bad in Britain that some Jews are planning to leave”
    https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/17/uk/uk-anti-semitism-intl/index.html

    Catholic League Prez Bill Donohue is not doing himself and Catholics any favors by trying to use the 20+ year old playbook of denial, downplay, finger pointing, percentage crunching and distraction. I have no doubt that some of the accused clergy are not guilty but de Cat is outta de Bag, Pandora is outta de Box. There will be Hell to Pay, Tears to Shed! The Faithful will have to Pay ….. then pick up the pieces whilst in hiding from the Thought Police who will use the SCANDAL as an excuse to persecute Catholics:
    https://www.catholicleague.org/scapegoating-cardinal-wuerl/
    https://www.catholicleague.org/pennsylvania-grand-jury-report-debunked/

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 7 people

    1. We knew it would be bad, but WOW! AND these things must come, for all that is hidden is being revealed.

      You’ve got a point here, Crew Dog, that has not escaped my noticing. The revelations of Catholic Church rot ARE horrific. At the same time, our stats, well, in the words of a Matt Walsh headline: “If You Think Sex Abuse Is A ‘Catholic Problem,’ You’re Fooling Yourself.” His piece: https://www.dailywire.com/news/34641/walsh-sex-abuse-epidemic-matt-walsh

      Very interesting is this article about a manufactured pedophile priests scare during the Nazi days. Seems the same demons driving the Nazi attack on the priesthood are at it again today. https://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/how_the_nazis_engineered_a_paedophile_priests_scare/ Often being overlooked is the political agenda to make the stats concerning priestly sexual abuse a pedophile problem when it is actually a pervasive problem of homosexual sin. Oh but wait! That would do damage to the current narrative which has promoted active homosexuality as a good thing. https://www.romancatholicman.com/stephen-herreid-interviews-george-neumayr-dont-let-abuse-investigations-be-rigged/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork

      Liked by 6 people

      1. Beckita, you’re exactly correct that the problem is not being labeled correctly! Back in ’02, was it, when the John Jay report came out, it was homosexuality, not pedophilia, that was the primary culprit for that crisis. It was never cleaned up and just got worse because the bishops were part of the problem!! We now know how much they were involved from letters like the one from Father Palka. No, it’s not politically correct to denigrate or criticize the homosexual lifestyle!

        Some of you may remember Roman Catholic Faithful and Steven Brady, i believe was his name. He fought so hard to expose the homosexual ring in one area, and the bishop (Ryan?) who was part of the problem. None of this is new; it just took too long for all of it to come out. We know there’s hope because of Mama’s revelations and promises lately! Keep praying and hang on to her and Jesus.

        Liked by 5 people

    3. I agree Crew Dog and the hatred from the Bible Belt will be much especially from the Baptist community. I know through a family member raised Baptist that they are taught that Rome is the Beast and Catholics will not go to heaven. This will be proof to them that they are right. Was working to bring them into the church and at least send their children to catholic school and now this…..

      Liked by 6 people

    4. Sorry, Crew Dog — but the world has indeed turned upside down, where evil is good and good, evil. But now it’s also turning inside out — so the filth and rot and entrails are exposed. Mild words compared to the stench from what’s changing about the world.

      Yet hope remains…

      Our Lady of All Nations, pray for us.

      Liked by 5 people

    1. Thank you for alerting us to this, AudieMarie. I’ve wondered what had happened to him and am glad to see he is alive and well and doing good. 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    1. While Bill does makes some valid points, he fails miserably in accurately describing all the important points of what is unfolding before us. Only noting part of the story, he draws attention away from the need for reform. Laity, clerics and religious must face the truth of how horrendous have been the episcopal failures of the Catholic Church in America. And the revelations concerning this crisis have only just begun. There are serious concerns about a gnarly, twisted underground network of homosexual clergy aka Lavendar Mafia who have been abusing power and trashing our faith. Good Grief, Mr. Donohue. Please acknowledge how serious this scenario truly is. The leadership of the USCCB has had the forthrightness to request an Apostolic Visitation from the Holy See. That is a really big deal. The President of the USCCB, Cardinal DiNardo, has named this for what it is: a “moral catastrophe.” We’ve recently seen the Holy Father request that ALL the Bishops in Chile tender their resignation. I wonder what the Pope Francis will do to tend to the same problems in America. Praying very much for him as he is the *only* one who has power to remove and/or discipline any bishop.

      Liked by 8 people

      1. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I have to work harder at the be angry but do not sin side of this. I want to see these guilty priests/bishops etc. suffer because these poor victims will their whole life. The Weurl comment saying something like this isn’t a major crisis floored me. The minimizing made my hair stand on end. I have to take a deep breath and repeat over and over…vengenous is mine says the Lord!

        Liked by 3 people

        1. I get it, HTTP. Point well taken about Cardinal Weurl’s minimizing comments. Interestingly, it is the magnitude of what we now face which Donahue also minimizes in his released statement. As others have noted, the revealing of this crisis’ depths, most likely, has only just begun.

          Liked by 3 people

            1. And our Holy Mother Church will rise again in splendor as we become one flock under one shepherd with, I do believe, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” becoming a hallmark of the period of Peace which Our Lady of Fatima promised us. May it be… sooner rather than later.

              Liked by 5 people

  43. Bishop Morlino excellently, with clarity, expresses the crisis in our Church in his pastoral letter:

    “But to be clear, in the specific situations at hand, we are talking about deviant sexual – almost exclusively homosexual – acts by clerics. We’re also talking about homosexual propositions and abuses against seminarians and young priests by powerful priests, bishops, and cardinals. We are talking about acts and actions which are not only in violation of the sacred promises made by some, in short, sacrilege, but also are in violation of the natural moral law for all. To call it anything else would be deceitful and would only ignore the problem further …

    ***It is time to admit that there is a homosexual subculture within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church that is wreaking great devastation in the vineyard of the Lord.***

    The Church’s teaching is clear that the homosexual inclination is not in itself sinful, but it is intrinsically disordered in a way that renders any man stably afflicted by it unfit to be a priest. And the decision to act upon this disordered inclination is a sin so grave that it cries out to heaven for vengeance, especially when it involves preying upon the young or the vulnerable. Such wickedness should be hated with a perfect hatred. Christian charity itself demands that we should hate wickedness just as we love goodness. But while hating the sin, we must never hate the sinner, who is called to conversion, penance, and renewed communion with Christ and His Church, through His inexhaustible mercy.” -Bishop Robert Morlino”

    Full Letter: https://www.romancatholicman.com/bishop-morlino-does-not-skirt-issue-in-abuse-scandal-almost-exclusively-homosexual/

    Liked by 7 people

  46. My God, is there no rest, these evils keep pilling up right up to Heaven…

    I accept “climate change” as God’s punishment for the world, not everyone else’s BS for rejecting God.

    I see Beast & Harlot as generals of the devil few who influence humanity, but they cannot be defeated by us. The beast influences science, communism, history, and secret societies like freemasonry; and Babylon influences Europe, democracy including republics, and feminism…

    Sad life we live…

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Don’t get me started, Al, either about the evils or about leftist rhetoric. For those who might still accept it:

      Climate change (or changing climate) is a directionless, redundant phrase, kind of like saying cold ice ❄️ or wet water💧. Climate is dynamic and never stops changing (3rd grade science class). Over millions upon millions 🗿upon millions of years, 🦕 the earth’s average temperature frequently and continuously goes up, and then it goes down, and back again…🦖

      What is implied in that overused phrase is actually: “🕺Man-induced Global Warming🕺” — and THAT phrase is a man-invented political tool, plain and simple. And it also serves as a false morality.

      How is any warming trend different from any of the tens of thousands before it? Say, the one about 120 years ago? Or the one 300 years ago? or the one 430 years ago? or 672? or 900? Or 1180? Or 13,000 y.a. or 52,000 y.a…..All those occurences pre-date the industrial revolution.

      The media can use their man-made phrase “Climate change” amidst the 🌞drought and fires 🔥 in California a million-billion times over and over and I will still only hear Leftist politics.

      [Question: What’s the #1 greenhouse gas? Answer: Water vapor 🌧, by a vast percentage. And in a very distant second? Carbon dioxide, of which man contributes a puny 3-4%.]

      🚀 NASA and NOAA and NWS 🛸 just got busted for fabricating satellite and ground climate data out of thin air. And guess which direction the temperatures were deliberately adjusted? Why UP ⬆️, of course! But if “global warming” was genuinely happening, why would they falsify data and tweak their statistics? Because there is NO evidence of significant warming, even after decades. The data is a flat line and our coastal cities are still here 🏨🏭🏢🏫⛪️. And Al Gore is, well…he’s Al Gore (formerly known as the “Dunce of the Senate.”)

      No, God is not punishing us with His planet’s weather or it’s climate. He is punishing us by making us listen to morons in the FAKE news media and Hollywoodland movies repeating their mantra of “Global COOLING ❄️” (1970s) er, uh, I ‘mean “Global WARMING🌞” (1990s) er, duuuuh….um…I mean “CHANGING Climate.🤪” (2000s).

      We. Don’t. Buy. It.

      Liked by 9 people

  47. A quick poll please. Please respond in the affirmative if you awake at 03:00 AM.

    Spirit Daily posted this article of an Apparition in 1634 of Mother Mary to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres. Beyond the prophesy of what I believe we are living, the following quote caught my eye:

    “Such brings to mind recent articles we have carried on widespread reports of strange rumblings as spiritual war peaks in our own time and as we hear of Christians of all denominations who are inexplicably awakening at 3 a.m. and feeling the urge to pray.”

    I wake up at 03:00 AM for a few years now. I pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for my usual intentions and figured I would join with those in the Philippines or Thailand, depending on daylight savings

    https://spiritdaily.org/blog/news/archives-did-quito-prophecy-predict-church-crisis

    Liked by 7 people

    1. Very often awake at 3am, Sean. Having read, quite a few years ago, the prophecies of Mother Mariana and the biography of her life, I often ask Mother Mariana to pray for me and all of us.

      Liked by 8 people

    2. I’m sometimes awake at 3am — I actually was last night. I’ve read that that was the hour of the Ressurection on Easter morning.

      Liked by 6 people

    3. Sean, I often wake at 3 am. I ask all the wholy souls in purgatory to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy with me for all who need it.

      Liked by 7 people

    6. Funny you ask, Sean! I woke this Sunday morning precisely at 3am. We had several requests to pray for dying souls yesterday (as you know – and thank you for joining our team, BTW). Just before bed I prayed another Chaplet because a late request for John came in. So when I snapped awake at 3am, I laughed because I knew it was deliberate: probably my Guardian Angel nudged me. So I prayed the Chaplet because when this happens I always assume someone needs it. I fell asleep before finishing, but completed it immediately when I woke at 6.

      Liked by 3 people

    7. I too often wake at 3:00 am. It happens often enough that when I cannot remember something during the day I will joke about having a clear mind and memory when I wake at 3:00. I had never heard of Mother Mariana until Sean’s post and the chain of replies. I thought my waking was just part of growing older. I will now make it a point to pray and joint all of you who are also awake and interceding at that hour. There is always more to learn.
      Thank you Sean.

      Liked by 4 people

  48. Responding to your poll Sean. I begin my nighttime prayers around 1:30, and usually end with the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 AM. Have been doing that for at least the last 7 years.

    Liked by 7 people

  49. Update:
    The Unbound Conference was wonderful. I had a very stressful week leading up to it. I guess that is to be expected. I’m very grateful and am excited to be part of our Unbound team.
    Thank you all for your prayers!

    Liked by 6 people

  50. I was thinking today about the rebellion which occurred after Humanae Vitae was issued and how this rebellion led to further rebellion and especially a breakdown of teaching on sexual morality which allowed a toleration of sin including sin in the church. As 1 Samuel 15,23 reminds us “Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft” and thus as Paul VI said “The smoke of satan entered the church”.

    Liked by 6 people

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Published by Beckita

Beckita, widow, mother and grandmother, lives in Missoula, Montana. After more than thirty years of service, she retired from two careers: elementary school educator and director of liturgical music ministry in a local parish. Serving the Catholic Church in many capacities since early childhood, she now provides care for a nearly 90 year old priest of Chinese origin and collaborates with him in evangelizing the Chinese people. For more than twenty-five years, she has welcomed words from heaven concerning these sobering times in which we live and, like so many, takes seriously Our Lord and Our Lady’s call to intercede for the return of souls to God. Responding to heaven’s call for prayer, for her, included making pilgrimages to shrines in Europe, Asia and South America. She says these travels, added to her years as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa in the mid-seventies, have expanded her heart to hold dear all peoples of the world. She is a longtime member of TNRS community and when she began reading Charlie’s posts, immediately, she found that his mission and message harmonize well with Church approved private revelation of our times. In September 2015, she accepted an invitation to become part of TNRS Answers Team. As events of the Storm evolved, last fall (2016), she accepted Charlie’s invitation to become managing editor of TNRS should he need to leave the site. With great gratitude to and for Charlie, founder of TNRS, and with great respect and admiration for the lifelong experiences and God-given gifts he brought to bear on his work at this site - she knows we all know he’s irreplaceable – still, she considers it a great privilege to serve the TNRS community.