I SUSPECT SARAH IS NEXT

BREAKING - EXCLUSIVE IN ENGLISH: Pope dismisses Cardinal Müller from CDF

Cardinal Müller has been dismissed by Pope Francis

Corrispondenza Romana & Rorate Caeli

June 30, 2017

CORRISPONDENZA ROMANA and RORATE CÆLI have just learned that His Eminence Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Faith since July 2, 2012, has been dismissed by Pope Francis on the exact expiry date of his five-year mandate.

Cardinal Müller is one of the cardinals who sought to interpret Amoris Laetitia along the lines of a hermeneutic of continuity with Church Tradition. This was enough to put him among the critics of the new course imposed by Pope Bergoglio.

NOTE: Please, be sure to mention Rorate Caeli in all references to this exclusive breaking news.

[English text by contributor Francesca Romana]

THE MAIN PROBLEM WITH LUTHERANS ISN'T THAT THEY HAVE A HETERODOX UNDERSTANDING OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST, AS BAD AS THAT IS, BUT THEY HAVE AN INVALID PRIESTHOOD AND EPISCOPACY AND LACK APOSTOLIC SUCESSION WHICH MAKES THEIR "EUCHARIST" INVAILD NO MATTER THEIR BELIEF!

New Cardinal misses the point as to why there can't be inter-communion with Catholics and heterodox Protestant sects. But with that said, I think His Eminence will make an excellent Cardinal and good pope.

Press the headline for the full interview from Crux.

New Swedish cardinal says inter-communion with Lutherans ‘not possible’

• Jordi Picazo
  June 30, 2017
  SPECIAL TO CRUX

AThere is an obstacle [between Lutherans and Catholics] in understanding the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, together with the different understanding of the sacraments. Do you think it will be overcome?

Among people in the Lutheran Church, there are different visions on the Eucharist. Some members are very close to us, and that is very typical in our relationship with the Lutheran Church, while others have a very different outlook. That’s so because there is not a unity of faith within the Church of Sweden as a Lutheran Church. Maybe this is one of the major difficulties, to know what the position of the Lutheran church is as such.

Officially we know that Luther accepted the real presence in the Eucharist in actu, during the celebration only, but not after the Mass, and that is a great difficulty of course.

Many in the Lutheran Church now say, ‘We have come to an agreement, now we must celebrate the Eucharist together.’ Whereas we have to say ‘No, we haven’t come so far in our mutual dialogue,’ and, of course, this will create a kind of frustration among many of the Lutherans that we cannot possibly celebrate together.lthough newly minted Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Sweden is a convert from Lutheranism and believes in the press for closer ties with the Lutheran church, he's also realistic about the present limits of that quest, saying that given different understandings of the real presence in the Eucharist, right now Lutherans and Catholics "cannot possibly celebrate together."

AS WISE AS A FOX, THIS COMMENT WAS MADE ON THE PREVIOUS POST: "MY POINT IS THIS: WE HAVE CREATED A SONSUMERIST APPROACH TO FUNERALS (AND OTHER LITURGIES, SUCH AS WEDDINGS AND SPECIAL-OCCASION MASSES).

How apropos that Fr. Fox wrote this comment as I have been writing in my parish bulletin about the liturgy and the divisiveness we have today in our parishes over the kind of music and what is sung in our Masses. This is my bulletin letter, in part, from last Sunday:

One of the most unfortunate developments in the subjective approach to music in the Mass is that it has made music the single most divisive issue concerning the Mass, bar none. Vatican II did not intend this, but its subjective approach caused it. 

I am a teenager of the Folk Mass era of the 1960’s. It was very controversial even then but archaic today. This passing fad singlehandedly began the great music divisiveness in the post Vatican II Church. 

Prior to Vatican II only the actual Mass parts of a Sung Mass beginning with the Introit could be chanted with the option of simple or more complicated forms of Gregorian chant and polyphony. No one complained or demanded that their favorite style of music be used or extra Masses created to please the various tastes of parishioners.

The 1960’s Folk Mass with hand clapping, foot stomping and secular instruments like the tambourine led to great liturgical division not only in parishes but also families. When I could drive at 16, I went to the Folk Mass by myself not with my parents who despised this novelty. Vatican II can’t be faulted for this only its extremely poor, subjective and wrong implementation.

The folk music movement opened the door to fads in music in the Mass. We Catholics are now consumers of church music and church music has become a big business in the Church because fads and tastes are constantly shifting. Today the fad for some young people is “praise and worship music” borrowed from the non-denominational Protestant Churches. I had one well known muscian in the Church say that what we are doing by giving into these kinds of musical fads, especially of the non-denominational type, is that we are preparing the way for our younger generation to leave the Catholic Church for these non-denominational sects because their music and preaching and fellowship will always be better than what we do because they don’t have the Sacraments of the Church as we do, so they create the hook of slick music in the contemporary style to get and keep members and they constantly test the market to see what works best for their consumers!

We simply have to get away from the fads of church music and the plethora of new hymns and hymnbooks that are a part of the consumerists' approach to worship in the Catholic Church—a multi-million dollar business. We need to be united as a parish and as families in the manner in which we sing the Mass. That is the vision of Vatican II. Ideally each parish should only have one Sunday Mass that is packed to the rafters not multiple Mass designed to please a consumer’s convenience in Mass times or tastes in music and Mass style. But in multiple Mass parishes, like St. Anne, we need to be united in the manner in which we sing and worship. That’s Vatican II’s objective approach and thus mine.

WHEN WE LET OTHERS PLAN THEIR REQUIEMS AND TURN THEM INTO PERSONAL, PAROCHIAL CELEBRATIONS BY ALLOWING THE SUBSTITUTION OF THE PRESCRIBED PARTS OF THE REQUIEM WITH ALTERNATIVES, YOU COULD GET THIS!

I was reading a comment on my post about who should be denied funerals and this is what one commenter wrote:

A family chooses "Faith of Our Fathers" (two verses) as the opening hymn.
 
The priest chooses Opening Prayer B.
 
The family chooses Lamentations 3:17-26 (My soul is deprived of peace...), Psalm 23, Revelation 20:11-21:1 (I saw a large white throne and the one sitting on it...), and Luke 23:44-46, 50, 52-53; 24:1-6a (Emmaus.

For the Presentation of the Gifts the family chooses "Immaculate Mary" as the hymn.

The priest chooses one of the Prefaces for Funerals.

The priest uses Canon III with funeral inserts.

The family chooses "I Am the Bread of Life" for the Communion Hymn.

The priest chooses the Prayer After Communion.

The family chooses "Faith of Our Fathers" (Two different verses) as the closing.

My Response:

Why in the name of God and all that is holy would the priest allow the family to choose two different verses of "Faith of Our Fathers" as the closing when the prescribed hymn is "May the Angels lead you into paradise."

Does the priest require the chanting of the propers along with additional family selections. In other words in addition to the first two verses of "Faith of Our Fathers" is the actual and presecribed introit chanted.

At the Offertory, if the family chooses "Immaculate Mary" is the prescribed antiphon required as well?

At Communion, if the family chooses "I am the Bread of Life" is the prescribed antiphon jettisoned?

Does the priest allow the Responsorial Psalm to be substitute by a hymn, like "Sing to the Mountains?"

Is the Alleluia and verse allowed to be substituted with "Amazing Grace?"

How about the Sanctus, can the family substitute "How Great Thou Art?"

The Mystery of Faith, can the family choose "The Old Rugged Cross?"

The Great Amen, can the family substitue, "Yes, Lord I believe?"

The Agnus Dei, can the family substitute, "Let there be Peace on Earth and Let it begin with ME?"

At the Song of Farewell, can the family substitute, "Anchors Away My Friend?"

And can the family substitute a poem in place of one of the readings?

POPE FRANCIS AT VATICAN LITURGIES IS VERY REVERENT AND VERY MUCH LIKE POPE BENEDICT WAS, APART FROM MORE REGAL VESTMENTS

Say what you want, this liturgy is very beautiful. It was held today. I just wish the Holy Father would allow the larger crucifix on the altar when His Holiness celebrates Mass. The larger one fits and is not out of place as the smaller one. I can see how the smaller crucifix allows the Pope to focus on it with his eyes easily whereas the tall one in today's Liturgy would make is more difficult to do so. But it looks splendid.


And stay tuned on Thursday, June 29th for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul:


Honily for Wednesday's liturgy:

Marking yet another historic shift for the Pope's "Senate" – that is, Francis' "extreme makeover" of its composition and a banishment of the role's historic prestige – the pontiff underscored his intents in an address as brief as it is loaded, having chosen Jesus' Gospel warning against ambition as the Scripture reading for today's rites:

“Jesus was walking ahead of them”. This is the picture that the Gospel we have just read (Mk 10:32-45) presents to us. It serves as a backdrop to the act now taking place: this Consistory for the creation of new Cardinals.

Jesus walks resolutely towards Jerusalem. He knows fully what awaits him there; on more than one occasion, he spoke of it to his disciples. But there is a distance between the heart of Jesus and the hearts of the disciples, which only the Holy Spirit can bridge. Jesus knows this, and so he is patient with them. He speaks to them frankly and, above all, he goes before them. He walks ahead of them.

Along the way, the disciples themselves are distracted by concerns that have nothing to do with the “direction” taken by Jesus, with his will, which is completely one with that of the Father”. So it is that, as we heard, the two brothers James and John think of how great it would be to take their seats at the right and at the left of the King of Israel (cf. v. 37). They are not facing reality! They think they see, but they don’t. They think they know, but they don’t. They think they understand better than the others, but they don’t....

For the reality is completely different. It is what Jesus sees and what directs his steps. The reality is the cross. It is the sin of the world that he came to take upon himself, and to uproot from the world of men and women. It is the innocent who suffer and die as victims of war and terrorism; the forms of enslavement that continue to violate human dignity even in the age of human rights; the refugee camps which at times seem more like a hell than a purgatory; the systematic discarding of all that is no longer useful, people included.

This is what Jesus sees as he walks towards Jerusalem. During his public ministry he made known the Father’s tender love by healing all who were oppressed by the evil one (cf. Acts 10:38). Now he realizes that the moment has come to press on to the very end, to eliminate evil at its root. And so, he walks resolutely towards the cross.

We too, brothers and sisters, are journeying with Jesus along this path. I speak above all to you, dear new Cardinals. Jesus “is walking ahead of you”, and he asks you to follow him resolutely on his way. He calls you to look at reality, not to let yourselves be distracted by other interests or prospects. He has not called you to become “princes” of the Church, to “sit at his right or at his left”. He calls you to serve like him and with him. To serve the Father and your brothers and sisters. He calls you to face as he did the sin of the world and its effects on today’s humanity. Follow him, and walk ahead of the holy people of God, with your gaze fixed on the Lord’s cross and resurrection.

And now, with faith and through the intercession of the Virgin Mother, let us ask the Holy Spirit to bridge every gap between our hearts and the heart of Christ, so that our lives may be completely at the service of God and all our brothers and sisters.

BESIDES 'MARRIED" GAY COUPLES, SHOULD MOBSTERS BE DENIED CATHOLIC FUNERALS AND IS ANYONE PUBLICLY EXCOMMUNICATED TO BE DENIED A CATHOLIC FUNERAL?

 Press the title for the full story from the UK's Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: If child molesting priests get second chances, why don’t we? Gambino crime family heir slams Pope for wanting to ex-communicate the Mob and insists move will make Vatican more vulnerable to ISIS

UK"s Daily Mail

By JESSICA CHIA FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

The son of a New York Mafia boss has warned that the Vatican will come to rue the day it excommunicates members of the famed Cosa Nostra, due to its protective role in Italy.
Pope Francis has taken a hard line against mobsters, saying they are destined to hell, and the Vatican hosted a conference earlier this month to consider a new legal doctrine for the Catholic Church to drive out people convicted of mafia-related crimes
.
Giovanni Gambino, the son of a key figure in the Gambino crime syndicate, told Dailymail.com: 'Pope Francis considers excommunicating the mafia...in the meantime, priests accused of sex abuse get a second chance in South America.'

Gambino also added that the mafia has played a crucial role in protecting Italy from ISIS - and that without it, the Vatican would likely cease to exist.

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The Vatican (pictured left, Pope Francis) is considering a legal doctrine to excommunicate those convicted of mafia-related crimes. But Giovanni Gambino said efforts to do so would only harm Italy since the Sicilian Mafia helps ward off ISIS

 

Gambino has tried to court two powerful politicians high places and is deriding Pope Francis for wanting to excommunicate the Mafia because Gambino says the Pope is inconsistent when it comes to crimes.

 

In the meantime, here are some interesting photos of Gambino:

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Gambino (left with Bill Clinton) also raised the issue of over-populated prisons during the 2007 meeting

 

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Pictured Gambino with Hillary Clinton. He asked for his drug kingpin father to be released early from prison in exchange for votes during the presidential primary in 2007

 

DID THE HOLY FATHER ALSO GREET AND WARMLY EMBRACE THE FOUR DUBIA CARDINALS?

“There are those, who do not love us, who say that we are the ‘Gerontocracy’ of the Church. This is mere mockery.  

 After the Mass, the Holy Father greeted the Cardinal-concelebrants one-by-one.

Pope Francis marks 25 years as a bishop

Pope Francis, together with cardinals present in Rome, celebrates Mass for the 25th anniversary of his Episcopal Ordination - RV

MASS IS IN LATIN

27/06/2017 14:24

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Tuesday morning in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, together with the members of the College of Cardinals present in the city, in order to mark the 25th jubilee of his ordination to the episcopacy.

The Dean of the College of Cardinals offered greetings and best wishes to Pope Francis on the occasion, recalling the words of St. Paul the Apostle in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, “Make room for us in your hearts,” Cardinal Sodano said. “Holy Father, you need not tell us to make room for you in our hearts,” he continued, pledging him all the love and reverence due the Successor to Peter.

In remarks following the Readings of the Day, the first of which was taken from the Book of Genesis, recounting the episode in which Abraham and Lot part ways, Pope Francis focused on the three imperatives that God gives the Father of Faith: “Arise!” “Look out!” “Be hopeful!”

“When Abraham was called, he was more or less our age,” Pope Francis said to the elder statesmen of the Church. “He was going to retire, to go into retirement for some rest – he started out at that age.”

“An old man,” the Pope continued, “with the weight of old age, old age that brings pain, illness – but [God said to him], as if he were a young man, ‘Get up, go, go! As if he were a scout: go! Look and hope!’”

The Holy Father went on to say that the message God gave to Abraham in that day, He also gives to each of those present in this day: to be on the way, about the journey; to look toward the ever-retreating horizon, and to hope without stint, despite it all.

“There are those, who do not love us, who say that we are the ‘Gerontocracy’ of the Church. This is mere mockery. Whoever says so knows not what he says. We are not tired old fools [It. geronti]: we are grandfathers. And if we do not feel this, we must ask the grace to feel that it is so. We are grandfathers, to whom our grandchildren look – grandparents who, with our experience, must share with those grandchildren a sense of what life is really about - grandparents not closed off in melancholy over our salad days, but open to give this [gift] of meaning, of sense. For us, then, this threefold imperative: ‘Arise! Look outward! Hope!” is called ‘dreaming’. We are grandfathers called to dream and to pass on our dream to today’s youth: they need it, that they might take from our dreams the power to prophesy and carry on their work.”

After the Mass, the Holy Father greeted the Cardinal-concelebrants one-by-one.

I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT DENYING CATHOLIC FUNERALS TO PUBLIC SINNERS, WHICH TO ONE EXTENT OR ANOTHER IS ALL OF US

Maybe the post-Vatican II of funerals as canonizations is the reason that one bishop is banning Catholic funerals for homosexuals in same sex marriages. At least that is my opinion.

Prior to the complete perversion of the Catholic Funeral Rites by iconoclastic reformers after Vatican II, everyone knew that at a Requiem Mass, the Church was praying for the happy repose of the soul of the deceased. The rites were very somber, somewhat depressing (it's death after all!) and dirge like.

The Dies Irae is quite striking and strikes fear into the wayward soul, no? Where is this sober anthem in today's modern Funeral Celebration of Life and Canonization?

And black vestments, how appropriate for sinners but not in the modern Funeral Rite's Canonization and Celebration of Life--how off-putting!

In many places everyone wore black, black arm bans and widows wore black for an extended period of time when in public. Mourning was not dismissed, denied or trivialized as it is today and yes, there is no closure.

So I am a bit concerned that having completely thrown in the towel as the Catholic modern Funeral Rites are in actuality a canonization of one's life and a celebration of that lifestyle no matter how opposite from what the Church teaches, that a bishop in the Midwest is saying not to have a celebration of life and canonization for a deceased public sinner in a public same sex "marriage."

If the funeral rites went back to what these should represent, praying for the deceased sinner and not canonizing them in a "celebration of life" Mass, also known as the Mass of the Resurrection, then we should be happy to give notorious public sinners the funeral rites, all of them, of the Church. They need the Church's funeral prayers the most, no?  But wear black, chant the somber, sober Propers' chants to include the Dies Irae without any other hymns  and allow no eulogies whatsoever and yes, do not canonize or make the homily into a "celebration of life!"

A Priest Is REFUSING to Give Gay People Last Rites Unless They Repent

Ann-Marie Alcántara,Popsugar US Sun, Jun 25 10:00 AM EDT

Posted by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki on Friday, October 10, 2014

Pope Francis has repeatedly said he believes in treating gay couples with respect and compassion, but one Catholic bishop apparently thinks otherwise. Illinois Bishop Thomas Paprocki has issued a decree asking priests to deny gay people several religious offerings like communion.

The decree, which The Washington Post reports isn't public yet but was sent to staff, tells priests not to give gay couples communion or their last rites until they repent for their relationship. Paprocki has also said that church property can't be used for same-sex marriages and that no person in a gay relationship can become part of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, a program that lets adults convert to Catholicism and be baptized.

Paprocki, who is a bishop of the Catholic Diocese in Springfield, IL, isn't regretful of the decree. "These norms are necessary in light of changes in the law and in our culture regarding these issues," he said in a statement to The Washington Post.

One reverend, however, denounced Paprocki's decree in a poignant Facebook post on June 22. Reverend James Martin wrote: "If bishops ban members of same-sex marriages from receiving a Catholic funeral, they also have to be consistent. They must also ban divorced and remarried Catholics who have not received annulments, women who has or man who fathers a child out of wedlock, members of straight couples who are living together before marriage, and anyone using birth control. For those are all against church teaching as well." You can read his full post, which has more than 17,000 "likes," 2,000 comments, and 3,00 shares, ahead.

If bishops ban members of same-sex marriages from receiving a Catholic funeral, they also have to be consistent. They...
Posted by Fr. James Martin, SJ on Thursday, June 22, 2017

EPOCAL CHANGE IN SOCIETY: CHILD HAS THREE PARENTS AND LGBTQIA

 Do you know what the acronym, "COTROAITOOCAOPUAWAORITFCOTCC" MEANS FOR SHORT? CHECK OUT THE ANSWER AT THE END OF THESE TWO STORIES IN THE NEWS!

AND HOW SHOULD THE CHURCH RESPOND TO THIS, JUST IGNORE? THROW IN THE TOWEL? OR GO DOWN IN A BLAZE OF ACRONYM GLORY?

 

Modern family

More courts allowing 3 parents of 1 child

By Jennifer Peltz Associated Press

NEW YORK — Sixteen-year-old Madison’s family clustered for a photo in a California courtroom, commemorating the day it finally became official that she has three parents.

The adults she calls Mom, Dad and Mama were all there for her birth, after the women decided to have a child together and approached a male friend. They shared time with Madison and input on raising her. Their Christmas Day traditions involve all of them.

But legally, Victoria Bianchi became her daughter’s parent only this fall, joining a small but growing number of Americans who have persuaded courts and legislatures to give legal recognition to what’s sometimes called “tri-parenting.”

“I just felt like I’ve been holding my breath for the last 16 years,” Bianchi said. “She’s already been my daughter … she’s finally, legally mine.”

Bianchi made use of a 2013 California law declaring that a child can have more than two parents. A similar law took effect in Maine last year. Courts in at least 10 other states, including New York just this winter, have designated third parents in recent years, even as some courts and experts have raised qualms that more parents means more potential conflict.

American courts have for decades granted some rights to grandparents, stepparents and others in children’s lives, but parents have uniquely broad rights and responsibilities.

Advocates say acknowledging a third parent – whether on a birth certificate, by adoption, or in a custody or child support ruling – reflects the modern realities of some families: gay couples who set out to have a child with a friend of the opposite gender, men seeking to retain paternal roles after DNA shows someone else is a biological father, and other situations.

The landscape is only getting more complex. For instance, new techniques designed to avoid some rare diseases now allow for a child to be born with a small amount of DNA from a third person.

Without legal rights, some parents and kids face being cut off from each other, says Cathy Sakimura, of the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights, which helped draft California’s law.

But some courts have rejected extending the bounds of parenthood. A 2014 Wyoming Supreme Court decision wondered about parents multiplying as a mom or dad had new relationships.

While there’s little if any research directly on tri-parenting, experts are divided on how it may affect children.

Anita Jones Thomas, a University of Indianapolis professor who heads the American Psychological Association’s child-and-family section, sees potential pluses. “That extra sense of social support has really been found to be beneficial for children,” she says.

But W. Bradford Wilcox, a University of Virginia sociologist, points to research – not on tri-parenting specifically – showing that children in stable, two-parent families do better on average educationally, emotionally and otherwise than kids who aren’t.

“This is going to be a family form where children are exposed to more complexity and more instability,” he says.

When a quip about having a baby together turned into a serious discussion, Kitty Stillufsen, her longtime friend Darren Greenblatt and his now-husband, Sam Hunt, didn’t foresee how complex tri-parenting would get. 

JEFF CHIU/ASSOcIATEd PRESS On June 8, Madison Bonner-Bianchi (center) legally became the daughter of three parents, Mark Shumway (from left), Kimberli Bonner and Victoria Bianchi. The American legal system is grappling with demands from groups who seek to have more than two parents legally recognized.

Why abbreviation continues to grow

By Bill Daley Chicago Tribune

LGBT is an evolving abbreviation, a process that, in and of itself, isn’t so remarkable. Language morphs all the time, but what’s happening with LGBT – like nearly all things pertaining to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, hits on age-old struggles around issues of sexuality, identity, gender and freedom of expression.

What should people be called? Members of what had long been the gay community have likely grown up hearing some pretty nasty words and labels.

So, now there’s LGBT, which has turned to LGBTQ in a growing number of circles, with the “Q” standing for “queer” – a controversial word given its past derogatory use – and/or “questioning.” Also becoming more prevalent is LGBTQIA, the “I” stands for “intersex” and the “A” for “asexual” and/or “allied.”

“It’s very culturally and generationally driven,” said Margo M. Jacquot, founding director of The Juniper Center, a psychotherapy practice in Park Ridge, of the ever-longer abbreviations coming to the fore.

The question is just how abbreviated should this initialism be?

Debate about this topic isn’t new – take a look at a 2012 posting on Michael Hulshof-Schmidt’s Social Justice for All blog, co-authored with his husband, Robert, titled “What’s in an acronym? Parsing the LGBTQQIP2SAA community.”

Using LGBT “explicitly calls out key components of a diverse group,” they wrote, adding that “as shorthand goes, it’s fairly effective, recognizing the spectrum of sexual orientation and gender identity in four simple letters. Of course, it can’t please everyone, and like most compromises, leaves plenty of people feeling unheard.”

Orange Is the New Black actress Lea DeLaria addressed this issue in a 2016 interview, saying she favored using “queer” for all of the various communities under the LGBT umbrella.

“This is the biggest issue we have in the queer community to date and will continue to be the biggest issue until we learn to accept our differences, and that’s the issue,” she told PrideSource.com. “And part of me believes that this inclusivity of calling us the LGBTQQTY-whatever-LMNOP tends to stress our differences. And that’s why I refuse to do it. I say queer. Queer is everybody.”

MICHAEL HULSHOF-SCHmIdT said his views on labels haven’t changed much since that 2012 post. They’re “somewhat unwieldy,” said the executive director of EqualityWorks, NW, a Portland, Ore.-based company that works with other organizations on issues involving racial and gender equity, and “intersecting” identities to create what he calls “a level playing field.”

What’s important, Hulshof-Schmidt added, is “for people to self-identify and for us to believe people when they do identify.”

“Identity is huge,” said Jacquot, a lesbian, when asked why these letters, these labels, are so important to people in the LGBT community.

While Jacquot said some will see LGBT as a “unifying umbrella term so people who feel marginalized, usually around their sexual being, have a home,” she is concerned that when people “talk about LGBT, they talk about it as one community,” when in actuality, there are “very, very different communities,” some of which overlap.

Just how “encompassing” labels should be is explored in classes taught by Gregory Ward, a professor of linguistics, philosophy, and gender and sexuality studies at Northwestern University in Evanston.

“What can the public use successfully, and what will exclude people offensively,” he said. “How do we strike that balance between maximum inclusiveness and coming up with a label that can be used without ridicule, and respect the community being referred to.”

Ward pointed to the “tortured history” of words used to denote African-Americans over the decades. One should defer to the community itself in terms of designation, he said, but that’s not the only factor in play. 

DREAMSTIME The letters LGBTQIA refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual or allied.

“It’s a shared language. We all have a say in it,” Ward said, noting that while there is a history of specific groups taking ownership of a designation and saying, “This is how we see ourselves,” the rest of community is free to use it or not. And that poses a question on the rest of society: What word do you use?

“Some people don’t like that,” he said. “A choice means a decision must be made.”

ANd THAT CHOICE “reflects our orientation, reflects our sympathies,” said Ward, who used this example: “A terrorist for you could be a freedom fighter for me. It’s an extreme example, but it demonstrates how perspective plays a role.”

While Ward says there seems to be a “holding pattern” right now between LGBT and LGBTQ in public discourse, it is also a fact that as labels evolve, so do words take on new meanings. And words once taboo are finding a redemption of sorts. Take “queer,” whose reputation is such that journalism stylebooks offer a caution on using it outside of a quotation.

But “queer” is how Hulshof-Schmidt identifies himself. It was, he conceded, a “slow evolution within me.”

LGB

“I’m 50 years old. It was pretty harmful when I was a young child, and I’ve now become quite fond of it,” he said. Asked why, he said, “I think it’s a lovely piece of resistance against the dominant discourse.”

 "COTROAITOOCAOPUAWAORITFCOTCC" is short for: "Celebration of the rite of acceptance into the order of catechumens and of the rite of welcoming baptized but previously uncatechized adults who are preparing for confirmation and/or Eucharist or reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

Everyone knows that!

TURNS OUT TRUMP IS TRUTHFUL! CNN IS VERY FAKE NEWS!

You ask what this has to do with Catholicism? It has to do with not breaking the Commandment, Thou shalt not bear false witness!

Yes, CNN is now FNN: Fake News Network!

3 journalists resign at CNN after online story is retracted

NEW YORK — CNN accepted the resignations Monday of three journalists involved in a retracted story about a supposed investigation into a pre-inaugural meeting between an associate of President Trump and the head of a Russian investment fund.

The story was posted on the network’s website Thursday and was removed, with all links disabled, Friday night. CNN immediately apologized to Anthony Scaramucci, the Trump transition team member who was reported to be involved in the meeting.

The story’s author, Thomas Frank, was among those who resigned, according to a network executive who requested anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss personnel issues. Also losing their jobs were Eric Lichtblau, an assistant managing editor in CNN’s Washington bureau, and Lex Harris, head of the investigations unit.

CNN, in initially taking down the story, said it didn’t meet its editorial standards. The story never made it onto any of CNN’s television networks.

The story had been quickly questioned both internally and externally, including by the conservative site Breitbart News. It was determined that the story was posted without going through the expected checks and balances for a story of such sensitivity, the executive said.

THEN THERE IS THIS TRUTH TELLING:

Shouldn’t it go both ways?

After months of accusations from the left, some scrutiny in return

What if Republicans investigated Democrats the way that Democrats and the media investigate Republicans?

Not sure we’ll ever get there – especially since the media seem to have no appetite to investigate Democrats – but Republicans and independents and law enforcement at least ought to level the scales of justice just a little, don’t you think?

What about Benghazi, in which four Americans died in an attack on our consulate in Libya – the cause of which the Obama administration flatly lied to our faces about?

What about the Fast and Furious gun-running scandal, in which the Obama administration intentionally ran guns to ultra-violent drug cartels in Mexico, leading to the deaths of untold numbers – including U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry? No one died in Watergate, by the way.

What about the IRS scandal, in which partisans in the Obama administration used the frightening power of the federal government’s most feared agency to harass and intimidate conservative nonprofits prior to the 2012 presidential election?

No private citizens were targeted in Watergate, by the way.

What about the Obama administration’s admitted spying on Americans, including reporters with the Associated Press and Fox News?

What about Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who not only met in secret with Bill Clinton on an airport tarmac while his wife was under investigation for national security breaches with her rogue computer server, but also told FBI Director James Comey to call it a “matter” rather than an investigation?

And what about that investigation? How could Comey have determined that Clinton compromised classified documents – but recommend she not be charged? It defies logic. And to this point, it – and Comey – has defied scrutiny.

When are Republicans going to figure out that Democrats have all but declared war on them? When are the media going to play it down the middle? Every Republican’s every move and utterance is now under the microscope – for example, did Attorney General Jeff Sessions happen to run across the Russian ambassador at the local diner? Meanwhile, no curiosity whatsoever about the multiple still-unaccounted-for scandals of the past eight years.

Finally comes a solitary ray of sunshine: The Senate Judiciary Committee announced last week that it will investigate Lynch’s ill-defined role in the bizarrely botched Clinton email investigation.

“In a letter to Ms. Lynch,” writes the Washington Times, the committee asks her to detail the depths of her involvement in the FBI’s investigation, including whether she ever assured Clinton confidantes that the probe wouldn’t ‘push too deeply into the matter.’”

Comey has admitted that Lynch’s order to refer to the investigation as a matter “gave the impression the attorney general was looking to align the way we talked about our investigation with the way a political campaign was describing the same activity.”

Imagine if Donald Trump or Jeff Sessions had done such a thing. The Chattering Class would be going ballistic!

This should just be the start. The Trump administration may have naively thought Democrats would let bygones be bygones. But they have done everything short of declaring war on the administration.

Maybe it’s time the questions and investigations went both ways.

ALL I CAN DO IS SIGH

INDISCRIMINATE DISTRIBUTION OF HOLY COMMUNION TO INFIDELS AT MEGA MASSES IS A PROBLEM BUT NOT THE MAIN PROBLEM WITH MOST MASSES TODAY EVEN SMALL ONES; SO DON'T MISS THE MAIN POINT OF CARDINAL SARAH'S ASTUTE REMARKS IN A RECENT BOMBSHELL INTERVIEW THAT IS SURELY TO GET HIM SACKED!

These pictures capture the problem and solution for today's crisis of faith brought upon by the law of prayer and the law of belief. One picture captures the true essence of Catholic worship, spirituality, devotion and the capturing of the religious imagination leading to awe and wonder and the strengthening of the orthodox Faith, the other destroys all of that. Which one would you guess does what?

In the article I post below, Cardinal Sarah decries the mega Masses that are celebrated and mostly in Saint Peter's Square. I have distributed Holy Communion at approximately five of these Masses with upwards of 100,000 faithful and unfaithful present. I have done so at the periphery of the Piazza. I can tell you that I have no clue as to who is Catholic or simply a pagan tourist seeking a relic from their vacation.

While we are told by Vatican Mc's not to distribute Holy Communion in the hand, it is quite common for communicants to receive in the hand both in and outside of the Basilica. The worst experience I had, and I pray it wasn't captured on camera by me doing it, even unwittingly, is that tourists and or pilgrims pass the Host back to those who can't manage to come forward to the Communion station. God only knows who is receiving worthily and unworthily. I left it to God to take care of Himself. I am sure He can; but we mere mortals must help with the reverence that is due Almighty God, no?

No modern pope has tried to rectify this situation, protest as Cardinal Sarah does, not even Pope Benedict who I believe lamented the same thing. It would be easy to do, simply cordon off a section for pre-selected FAITHFUL to sit and only offer Holy Communion to this small group with the Sacrament of Confession available prior to the Mass for this group. Everyone has to be present very early prior to one of these mega Masses.

But the true problem that Cardinal Sarah highlights aren't these mega Masses, as bad as they can be from the viewpoint of how to consecrate so many Hosts and indiscriminate distribution of Holy Communion, but this more destructive problem in many/most Ordinary Form Masses which His Eminence also highlights:

Cardinal Sarah also regrets that some "unfaithful priests in the memory of Jesus" insist more on the festive aspect of the Mass than on the bloody sacrifice of Christ on the Cross."The importance of the interior dispositions and the necessity to reconcile with God accepting to allow us to be purified by the sacrament of the confession are no longer in fashion," concludes the prelate.

  

The first picture above is simply blah and banal and captures no one's imagination whatsoever and it isn't festive but it is completely destructive of authentic Catholic liturgical spirituality and devotion. The second makes clear that the priest is a priest offering the Sacrifice on behalf of the Church and that the emphasis is on the "bloody sacrifice of Christ on the Cross", offered as its re-presentation but in an unbloody, glorified, eternal way. That alone is enough to capture the imagination of those behind the priest facing the same direction--the symbolic liturgical east or the actual east!
 

Cardinal Sarah denounces mass masses "with thousands of attendees"

INFOVATICANA

June 24, 2017

"Men and women in adultery and unbaptized tourists who participate in Eucharistic celebrations of anonymous crowds can receive without distinction the Body and Blood of Christ." This is the situation that warns Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, in his book The Force of Silence.

Cardinal Sarah emphasizes the need for the Church to study with urgency "the ecclesial and pastoral opportunity of these multitudinous Eucharistic celebrations with thousands of attendees." For the Guinean cardinal, today there is an immense danger of converting the Eucharist "into a vulgar verbena" and of desecrating the Body and Blood of Christ.

"The priests who distribute the sacred species without knowing anyone and give the body of Jesus to anyone, without distinguishing Christians from non-Christians, participate in the profanation of the Holy Eucharistic Sacrifice," says in his book The Force of Silence.

The prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship warns that "with certain voluntary complicity," those who exercise authority in the church are guilty in permitting the sacrilege and desecration of the Body of Christ "in those gigantic and ridiculous self-celebrations, where There are very few who realize that the death of the Lord is announced until he comes. "

Sarah also regrets that some "unfaithful priests in the memory of Jesus" insist more on the festive aspect of the Mass than on the bloody sacrifice of Christ on the Cross."The importance of the interior dispositions and the necessity to reconcile with God accepting to allow us to be purified by the sacrament of the confession are no longer in fashion," concludes the prelate.

MORE OF THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM MASS AT ST. ANNE'S MARTHA AND MARY CHAPEL FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS

The altar boys and men are from the Cathedral EF Community.

This image was taken prior to the celebration of this Mass! A sign from God?????

I don't recognize the old priest!

CONFLICTED IN RICHMOND HILL

Not since the mid to late 1960's has the Extraordinary Form of the Mass been celebrated in the old St. Anne Church, also known as the Martha/Mary Chapel built by and attended by Henry Ford who named it after his mother and mother-in-law in the 1930's. In the mid 1950's it was acquired by the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta and renamed St. Anne Mission and later Church.

We had about 150 in attendance on a Friday night at 7 PM for the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, many from the Cathedral's EF Mass Community.

I have been celebrating the EF Mass for almost 10 years. I continue to see it as a "boutique" Mass appealing to a small number of Catholics who can become a leaven in the Church to fight against the secularism that is infiltrating the actual beliefs of Catholics over the God given beliefs of the Church.

I continue to prefer a "renewal in continuity" approach to the EF Mass, but doing what Sacrosanctum Concilium actually desired, noble simplicity, maintain the chant and Latin patrimony of the Church and allow for some vernacular and expand the Scriptures in the lectionary.

I am perfectly happy with our lectionary as is but would prefer Graduals rather than Responsorial Psalms with its useless repetition.

These norms already allowed in the Ordinary Form's GIRM should be mandated with no other options:

1. Mandate the Official Propers, Introit, Offertory and Communion Antiphons.

2. Mandate Ad Orientem for the Liturgy of the Eucharist

3. Kneeling for Holy Communion and only intinction when the Precious Blood is offered.

Apart from these three things which are already allowed but some bishops unfortunately stranglehold, I'll let others decide on what parts of the Mass should be mandated to be said or sung in Latin. I personally believe a little Latin goes a long way and all Latin is way too much.

Finally, we have the template for a true renewal in continuity of the OF Mass in the Ordinariate's Divine Worship, the Missal! USE IT AS THE TEMPLATE FOR OUR RENEWED IN CONTINUITY ROMAN MISSAL! PLEASE!

FIRST EXTRAORDINARY FORM MASS, AKA, THE ORDINARY FORM UNTIL ADVENT 1969, TO BE CELEBRATED AT SAINT ANNE CATHOLIC CHURCH, RICHMOND HILL, GEORGIA, SINCE THE 1969 MISSAL WAS IMPOSED UPON THE CHURCH

(Sometimes I wonder if we should rename Saint Anne Church in Richmond Hill, Saint Anne Catholic Church on the Hill--we have an "On the Hill" (St. Mary's that is) in Augusta! What do they have that we don't have?)

FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE MID 1960'S THE TRIDENTINE MASS NOW KNOWN AS THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM MASS WILL BE CELEBRATED IN THE OLD SAINT ANNE CATHOLIC CHURCH ALSO KNOWN AS THE MARTA AND MARY CHAPEL BUILT BY HENRY FORD: MASS OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS--BE THERE AND BE A FORD LINCOLN AND NOT A FORD EDSEL!

PROPERS FOR THE FEAST OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS,
FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017, AT 7 PM, IN THE HENRY FORD'S MARTHA AND MARY CHAPEL OF SAINT ANNE CATHOLIC CHURCH, RICHMOND HILL, GEORGIA

INTROIT: Psalm 32: 11, 19
Cogitatiónes cordis Ejus in generatióne et generatiónem: ut éruat a morte ánimas eórum et alat eos in fame (Ps. 32: 1) Exsultáte, justi, in Dómino, rectos decet collaudátio. v. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancti sicut erat in principio et nunc, et semper, et saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Repeat Cogitatiónes cordis Ejus...

The thoughts of His heart to all generations: to deliver their souls from death and feed them in famine. (Ps. 32: 1) Rejoice in the Lord, O ye just, praise becometh the upright. v. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Repeat:The thoughts of His heart...

COLLECT
Deus, qui nobis, in Corde Fílii tui, nostris vulneráto peccátis, infinítos dilectiónis thesáuros misericórditer largiri dignéris: concéde,quæsumus; ut illi devótum pietátis nostræ præstántes obséquium, dignas quoque satisfactiónis exhibeámus officium. Per eúmdem Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti,Deus,
Per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.

O God, Who in the Heart of Thy Son, wounded by our sins, dost mercifully vouchsafe to bestow upon us the boundless treasures of Thy love: grant, we beseech Thee, that we who now render Him the service of our devotion and piety, may also fulfill our duty of worthy satisfaction. Through the same our , Lord Jesus Christ who livest and reignest with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God,
Forever and ever.
R.Amen.

EPISTLE: Ephesians 3: 8-19

Léctio Epístolæ beáti Pauli Apóstoli ad Ephésios. Fratres: Mihi ómnium sanctórum mínimo data est grátia hæc, in géntibus evangelizáre investigábiles divítias Christi: et illumináre omnes, qual sit dispensátio sacraménti abscónditi a sæculis in Deo qui ómnia creávit: ut innotéscat principátibus et potestátibus in cæléstibus per Ecclésiam multifórmis sapiéntia Dei: secúndum preefinitiónem sæculórum quam fecit in Christo Jesu Dómino nostro, in quo habémus fidúciam et accéssum in confidéntia per fidem ejus. Hujus rei grátia flecto génua mea ad Patrem Dómini nostri Jesu Christi, ex quo omnis patérnitas in cælis et in terra nominátur: ut det vobis secúndum divítias glóriæ suæ virtúte corroborári per Spíritum ejus in interiórem hóminem: Córdibus vestris: in caritáte radicáti et fundáti: ut possítis comprehéndere, cum ómnibus sanctis, qual sit latitúdo, et longitúdo, et sublímitas et profúndum: scire etiam supereminéntem sciénties caritátem Christi, ut impleámini in omnem plentitúdinem Dei. Deo grátias.

Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians. Brethren: To me, the least of all the Saints, is given the grace, to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ: and to enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath been hidden from eternity in God, Who created all things: that the manifold wisdom of God may be made known to the principalities and powers in heavenly places through the Church, according to the eternal purpose which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord: in Whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him. For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom all paternity in Heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened by His spirit with might unto the inward man, that Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts: that being rooted and grounded in charity, you may be able to comprehend with all the Saints, what is the breadth and length, and height and depth: to know also the charity of Christ which surpasseth all knowledge. That you may be filled unto all the fulness of God. Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL: Psalm 24: 8, 9

Dulcis et rectus Dóminus, propter hoc legem dabit delinquéntibus in via. V. Diriget mansuétos in judício, docébit mites vias suas. Allelúja, allelúja. V. (Matthew 11: 29) Tóllite jugum meum super vos et díscite a me, quia mitis sum et húmilis Corde, et inveniétis réquiem animábus vestris. Allelúja.

The Lord is sweet and righteous: therefore He will give a law to sinners in the way. V. He will guide the mild in judgment: He will teach the meek His ways. Alleluia, alleluia. V. (Matthew 11: 29) Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. Alleluia.

GOSPEL: John 19: 31-37

In illo témpore: Judæi, quóniam Parascéve erat, ut non remanérent in cruce córpora sabbáto, (erat enim magnus dies ille sábbati,) rogavérunt Pilátum ut frangeréntur eórum crura et tolleréntur. Venérunt ergo mílites, et primi quidem fregérunt crura et altérius qui crucifíxus est cum eo. Ad Jesum autem cum veníssent, ut vidérunt eum jam mórtuum, non fregérunt ejus crura: sed unus mílitum Iáncea latus ejus apéruit et continuo exívit sanguis et aqua. Et qui vidit testimónium perhíbuit: et verum est testimónium ejus. Et ille scit quia vera dicit, ut et vos credátis. Facta sunt enim hæc ut Scriptúra implerétur: Os non comminuétis ex eo. Et íterum ália Scriptúra dicit: Vidébunt in quem transfixérunt.
Laus tibi Christe.

At that time: The Jews (because it was the parasceve), that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath day (for that was a great sabbath day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken: and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came: and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him. But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers, with a spear opened His side, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he knoweth that saw it, hath given testimony: and his testimony is true. And he knoweth that he saith true, that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture might be fulfilled: "You shall not break a bone of Him." And again another Scripture saith: "They shall look on Him Whom they pierced."
Praise be to Christ

OFFERTORY: Psalm 68: 21
Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Impropérium exspectávit Cor meum et misériam, et sustínui qui simulmecum contristarétur et non fuit: consolántem me quæsivi et non invéni.

My heart hath expected reproach and misery: and I looked for one that would grieve together with me, but there was none: and for one that would comfort me, and I found none.

SECRET
Réspice, quæsumus, Dómine ad ineffábilem Cordis dilécti Fílii Tui caritátem: ut quod offérimus sit tibi munus accéptum et nostrórum expiátio delictórum. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.

Have regard, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to the inexpressible love of the Heart of Thy beloved Son: so that what we offer may be a gift acceptable to Thee, and an expiation for our offenses.Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, Forever and ever.
R.Amen.

PREFACE OF THE SACRED HEART

Vere dignum et justum est, æqum et salutáre, nos tibi semper, et ubíque grátias ágere: Dómine sancte, Pater omnipotens, eatérne Deus: Qui Unigénitum tuum in cruce pendéntem lancea militis transfigi voluisti, ut apértum Cor, divines largitatis sacarium, torréntes nobis fúnderet miserationis et gratias, et quod ambre nostri flagrare nunquam déstitit, piis esset réquies et pceniténtibus patéret salútis refúgium. Et ídeo cum Angelis et Archángelis, cum Thronis et Dóminatiónibus, cumque omni milítia coeléstis exércitus, hymnum glóriæ tuæ cánimus sine fine dicéntes:

SANCTUS, SANCTUS, SANCTUS...

It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God Who didst will that Thine only-begotten Son, while hanging on the Cross, should be pierced by a soldier's spear, that the heart thus opened, a shrine of divine bounty, should pour out on us streams of mercy and grace, and that what never ceased to burn with love for us, should be a resting-place to the devout, and open as a refuge of salvation to the penitent. And therefore with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominations and with all the hosts of the heavenly army, we sing the hymn of Thy glory, evermore saying:

HOLY, HOLY, HOLY...

COMMUNION: John 19: 34
Unus militum láncea latus ejus apéruit, et contínuo exívit sanguis et aqua.

One of the soldiers with a spear opened His side, and immediately there came out blood and water.

POSTCOMMUNION

Oremus. Præbeant nobis, Dómine, Jesu, divinum tua sancta fervórem: quo dulcíssimi Cordis tui suavitáte percépta, discámus terréna despícere, et amáre cæléstia: Qui vívis et regnas, cum Deo Patre in unitáte Spíiritus Sancti, Deus,
Per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.

Let us pray. May Thy holy mysteries, O Lord Jesus, impart to us divine fervor: whereby having tasted the sweetness of Thy most loving heart, we may learn to despise earthly things, and to love what is heavenly: Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God,
Forever and ever.
R. Amen.

A MUST READ ARTICE FROM THE UK'S CATHOLIC HERALD ON ROBERT CARDINAL SARAH, POPE PIUS XIII

Why Cardinal Sarah terrifies his critics

Cardinal Sarah’s ‘apocalyptic beasts’ speech at the synod polarised Catholics (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Cardinal Sarah's opponents have attacked his views and called for his sacking. His response has been a gracious silence

PRESS THE PARAGRAPH FOR THE FULL MUST READ ARTICLE:

 In his newly published book The Power of Silence, we hear Cardinal Sarah's stifled cry of anguish:

I painfully experienced assassination by gossip, slander and public humiliation, and I learned that when a person has decided to destroy you, he has no lack of words, spite and hypocrisy; falsehood has an immense capacity for constructing arguments, proofs and truths out of sand. When this is the behaviour of men of the Church, and in particular of bishops, the pain is still deeper. But … we must remain calm and silent, asking for the grace never to give in to rancour, hatred and feelings of worthlessness. Let us stand firm in our love for God and for his Church, in humility.

SHOULD CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND NUNS BE GRAND MARSHALLS IN A GAY PRIDE PARADE? PRIESTS AND NUNS ARE IN AUGUSTA, GA, EPISCOPAL ONES THAT IS

Grand marshals for this year’s parade will be Sisters from the Convent of St. Helena. Once located in south Augusta, the convent is now located in North Augusta, but has served as a place of prayer, reflection and retreat. In the early days of the Metropolitan Community Church, the sisters provided a worship space for members of the congregation.

Are these Episcopal priests and nuns pictured above (yes some of these women are priestesses) onto what Pope Francis wants through the culture of encounter not condemnation? It creates goodwill toward their religious community, but does it open the door to conversion of mind and body to the truth of Jesus Christ and His Church? I ask; you answer.

Augusta Pride celebration is meant to inspire unity

By Charmain Z. Brackett Correspondent

The eighth annual Augusta Pride celebration set for this weekend features two days of events including a dance party, parade and festival downtown.

“Pride is a very electric, high-energy event. There’s a strong sense of community when you walk around the Common,” said Eric Dryer, public relations coordinator for Augusta Pride.

Festivities kick off on Friday, June 23, with the Beats on Broad celebration at the Augusta Common. It’s billed as Augusta’s largest dance party, and Bebe Rexha will headline the event with DJ Kaos from Savannah playing a set before the 8 p.m. concert.

Beats on Broad does have a cover charge. It’s $10 for adults with children under 10 years old admitted free with a paying adult. Gates will open at 6 p.m.

Beats on Broad is the only event that has an admission charge with the rest of the festivities free and open to the public.

The Pride parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 24, with a route down Broad Street from 11th to Eighth streets.

Dryer said he expects about 20 floats in this year’s parade. Each year the parade gets bigger and will likely last about 25 to 30 minutes.

Grand marshals for this year’s parade will be Sisters from the Convent of St. Helena. Once located in south Augusta, the convent is now located in North Augusta, but has served as a place of prayer, reflection and retreat. In the early days of the Metropolitan Community Church, the sisters provided a worship space for members of the congregation.

In addition to the sisters, Georgia Sen. Harold Jones II will serve as a grand marshal for the parade.

The festival will begin at 11 a.m. at the Augusta Common.

There will be a variety of food vendors and other retailers. Also, there will be free HIV screenings.

Dryer said that many people will be wearing orange at this year’s event.

“Orange is a symbol of healing,” he said.

Last year, just a few days before the Augusta pride event was the shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.

“It was a shock to us all,” he said.

He said he hopes others will join in wearing orange and attending this year’s activities.

“We encourage people to come downtown and leave a positive message of unity,” he said.