Today at either our 7:45 AM Mass or 9:30 AM Mass someone placed small note card size fliers in our pews and on our information tables encouraging parishioners and others not to give to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. The last time I checked, St. Joseph Church was still a part of the Diocese of Savannah and still acknowledged the Bishop of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI to be the head of the Church The last time I read the Catechism of the Catholic Church we as a Catholic parish still operated other a hierarchical order.
This means that no one has a right to place any type of literature in our Church without seeking first the permission of the pastor, namely the author of this blog. In other words, St. Joseph Church is not a schismatic Catholic community based upon congregationalist principles or worse yet gnostic principles of taking the organization and discipline of the Church into their own hands. What if other groups who are are clearly dissident or gnostic and opposed to Catholic discipline decide to leave their leaflets?
Let me read for you what one so-called Catholic wrote on the back of the "No Thank You" leaflets left in our pews:
"I support CCHD. We need more initiatives like these that represent a loving, accepting and respectful approach truly in keeping with Jesus' teaching and model. I support a woman's right to choose. I support same sex marriage. I support contraception. I am a Catholic." I won't sign her name, but she did sign it with maiden and married name! This truly is grave matter for the confessional, but I suspect that she doesn't agree with going to Confession either.
Could you imagine this so-called "Catholic" taking matters into her own hands and leaving this misguided immorality in the form of fliers in our pews?
First of all, let me make this point, although CCHD has made some mistakes in funding different organizations, let it be crystal clear that CCHD does not support what is suggested in the flier and the woman's response I just wrote.
It is seriously sinful for a Catholic to show disrespect to the rightful pastor of the Church in choosing to place these in the pews without his permission. If one does not want to support the church or any second collection,that is a private matter between the person and God.
To the woman who wrote the note. Your beliefs are mortally sinful and indicate a direction in your life that is horribly misguided and away from the truth of Christ and His Church and thus leading to hell. All I can pray is that God's grace will bring repentance to you and that you will embrace the truth of Jesus Christ as contained in Scripture, Tradition and the living teaching authority of the Church, the Magisteriuum. When you said you were "Catholic" you needed to add the adjectives, mortally sinful Catholic. Confessions are heard each Saturday from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM or anytime by appointment.
The Catholic Church condemned in the second century the heresy of Gnosticism. Gnostics believe they have special information and direction about moral and spiritual truths that only they have and not anyone else in the institutional Church.They claim an infallibility about their position that would make the pope blush. This of course is lunacy. As Catholics we don't make it up as we go and we don't acquiesce to secular humanistic drivel.
So to these two persons, the one who left the leaflets in the pews and the one who wrote me a note on the back of one, repent!
7 comments:
Here, Here!!! Church is so much for sinners. Thank God they feel comfortable to come, and thank you for treating with them.
Father;
Since I posted my personal reservations against donating to the CCHD in a previous post, it might be natural to assume I may have had something to do with those fliers. Let me assure you that is not the case. I personally do not support the CCHD, but I would never take such a liberty of placing anything in the church without your expressed permission.
The question is, why do people who embrace beliefs so directly opposed to Church teaching remain in the Catholic Church? Why should they go to Confession if they are not going to repent of their error?
If they struggle inwardly with these issues, then fine. They should keep their mouths shut about it. If they are so opposed to Catholic teaching, they should go to another denomination. The Episcopalian church should be right up their alley...all the aesthetics and no demands on their conscience...all form and no content. I personally think that they just need an antagonist for their guilt and anger...but, no one reads Freud anymore.
Father, I don't think the person should have left those cards in your Church and you are quite correct in your critical observations about the woman's comments on the card. But I must respectfully disagree with your charge (and perhaps I read it incorrectly) that those opposing the CCHD publicly are involved in gnosticism. A LOT of research has been conducted by a number of reputable organizations and a lot of high-profile Catholic voices in the media have been questioning the CCHD. I don't think that Catholic Exchange, Bellarmine Veritas Ministries or Real Catholic TV, to name but a few, are gnostics.
Maybe this is deeper than just a person not wishing to support a second collection. If even a fraction of the information that has been coming out about the CCHD's poor choices of funding is true, then it seems to me that this is indeed a very public matter. Perhaps the person who left the cards was not doing so with the intent of subverting your authority or showing you disrespect, although I agree that he should have asked you.
If nothing else, these two anonymous people have provided you with a great teaching opportunity. Blessings often come disguised.
Brian is right, thank God they comfortable enough to come. As Father has said, and what a loving statement it is,"The Church is a hospital for sinners...".
Thank you Father for being openly frank about their need for the confessional. It's the ONLY way. For all of us.
To Robert Kumpel, the Gnostic comment was directed toward the pro-choice, pro-homosexual marriage, pro-artificial contraception Catholic. Her views are typical of our gnostic generation which unfortunately our educational culture, both in the church and the public system has perpetuated. We've praised our children for everything they do and given them the impression that the thought process leading to their conclusions is what is to be commended without challenging any of the erroneous conclusions.
As far a CCHD, I know they have funded organizations that oppose us. I think the bishops are trying to correct this. But let's face it, all of us fund things we shouldn't. Our rectories have cable from cox, comcast, etc and they all provide explicit pornography to those who want it. (Our rectory, just to be clear, doesn't have that "on-demand" capability, yet so much that is on TV today is soft porn.
And what about our banks. We have no idea where the money we deposit is being invested and yet we all gladly take the interest. So I think we need to be careful and less sanctimonious about the errors of CCHD.
Fr. Allan McDonald
When you explain it that way, I see what you meant.
I think it could be argued that, rather than gnostics, this woman is just a typical CINO (Catholic In Name Only). You know what I'm talking about--those who grow up and go through the motions of receiving the sacraments, even getting married in the Church, while privately, and eventually publicly, rejecting much of what the Church teaches and demands of us. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how widespread their infiltration is.
I like your blog Father. Keep up the good work.
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