IS IT A PATHOLOGY THAT HAS CAUSED ARCBHISHOP VIGANO TO GO OFF THE RAILS? IF SO, PRAY FOR HIM

Sandro Magister is no flaming progressive. He is an Italian Vaticanista and worth reading. He is a traditionalist but not off the rails as some on either side of the orthodoxy spectrum seem to be.

Magister seems to think that Archbishop Vigano is losing it:

Archbishop Viganò On the Brink of Schism. The Unheeded Lesson of Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI promoted him to apostolic nuncio in the United States in 2011. The meek theologian pope certainly could not have imagined, nine years ago, that Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò - who returned to private life in 2016 but has been anything but hidden - would today be blaming him for having “deceived” the whole Church in that he would have it be believed that the Second Vatican Council was immune to heresies and moreover should be interpreted in perfect continuity with true perennial doctrine.

Because this is just the length to which Viganò has gone in recent days, capping off a relentless barrage of denunciations of Church heresies over the last few decades, with the root of it all being the Council, most recently in an exchange with Phil Lawler, editor of CatholicCulture.org.

Attention: not the Council interpreted badly, but the Council as such and en bloc. In his latest public statements, in fact, Viganò has rejected as too timid and vacuous even the claim of some to “correct” Vatican II here and there, in its texts which in his judgment are more blatantly heretical, such as the declaration “Dignitatis Humanae” on religious freedom. Because what must be done once and for all - he has demanded - is "to drop it 'in toto' and forget it.”

Naturally with the concomitant “expulsion from the sacred precinct” of all those Church authorities who, identified as guilty of the deception and “invited to amend,” have not changed their ways.
According to Viganò, what has distorted the Church ever since the Council is a sort of “universal religion whose first theoretician was Freemasonry.” And whose political arm is that “completely out-of-control world government” pursued by the “nameless and faceless” powers that are now bending to their own interests even the coronavirus pandemic.

Last May 8, cardinals Gerhard Müller and Joseph Zen Zekiun also carelessly affixed their signatures to an appeal by Viganò against this looming “New World Order.”

Just as to a subsequent open letter from Viganò to Donald Trump - whom he invoked as a warrior of light against the power of darkness that acts both in the “deep state” and in the “deep Church” - the president of the United States replied enthusiastically, with a tweet that went viral.

But getting back to the reckless indictment launched by Viganò against Benedict XVI for his “failed attempts to correct conciliar excesses by invoking the hermeneutic of continuity,” it is obligatory to give the accused the right to speak.

The hermeneutic of continuity - or more precisely: “the ‘hermeneutic of reform,’ of renewal in the continuity of the one subject-Church”  - is in fact the keystone of the interpretation that Benedict XVI gave of Vatican Council II, in his memorable address to the Vatican curia on Christmas Eve of 2005, the first year of his pontificate
.
It is a speech that is absolutely to be reread in its entirety:

> “Your Eminences, venerable brothers…”

But here in summation is how pope Joseph Ratzinger developed his exegesis of Vatican Council II.

READ THE REST THERE BY PRESSING HERE.

I LIKE IT! MIKEY LIKES IT TOO!

I have no problem with religious art inculturated. Keep in mind that the two on the road to Emmaus did not recognize the Crucified and Risen Lord. If the Risen Lord can look like Bread and Wine, He can look like anyone including a white supermodel or an African in dreglocks.

There is beautiful incultruated pre-Vatican II art that depicts Jesus and the saints of the Church as oriental or other races. I like this artwork from a black artist. My only critique would be that it is a bit too Hollywoodish. Too model-like, too beautiful. For the most part, these are from a glamour magzine and not rank and file looking people. But apart from that, it is a wonderful resource for Catholic art. There are white depictions that are the same way, too Hollywoodish but laity love like these two of Christ:

You can look at all the religious artwork at the ordinal Facebook post HERE.

THE DWINDLING NUMBER OF PRACTICING CATHOLICS: IT ISN'T JUST A LIBERAL PROBLEM

The number of practicing Catholics continues to dwindle in the west. What is unique is that they no longer even consider themselves Catholic when they cease to practice the faith, "once a Catholic, always a Catholic" notwithstanding.

Germany and its spiraling out of control liberal Catholicism is seeing phenomenal numbers of Catholics telling the state they are no longer Catholic. That's how it works in Germany as practicing religious people pay a church tax to the state that then gives money to the Church. Clergy in Germany are well paid. Heck, I'd go to an almost non existent parish for that kind of pay!

Why are Catholics leaving the Church or at least the practice of the Faith with Mass attendance being the measure?

Quite simply, they don't believe what the Catholic Church believes, teaches and proclaims to be revealed by God.

They leave for a variety of reasons. My personal opinion and it truly is a very humble opinion is that the post-Vatican II Church simply can't stand up to the cafeteria of secularism and its derision of religion in general and Catholicism in particular. The Church has bent over backwards to accommodate modern trends and the signs of the times and to what effect? My humble opinion is a Church in disarray not really knowing what it believes and trying to refashion it in ways that even the architects of the reinvented or re-imagined church can't figure out. Confusion reigns and a pontiff that seems  to delight in the mess the Church has become and is.

Let's face it, many Catholics leave the church over sexual issues, be it fornication, adultery, artificial contraception or the full array of LGBTQ issues or divorce and remarriage, to gay marriage and polygamy of whatever sex.

Even accommodating these people with openness and accompainement isn't bringing them back.

I am not sure how many are leaving today because of the manner in which the liturgy is celebrated. But I know that if I restored the EF Mass to all the Masses in my parish I would lose more than half of my parishioners who are attending in the COVID-19 age. They don't want an all Latin Mass although an EF Mass in the vernacular might keep most.

And COVID-19 has shown many Catholics that they really don't need the discipline of fulfilling the Sunday obligation. They can sleep in or do something else they like better. In my diocese the obligation to attend is suspended now at least through July if not beyond.

What did Pope Benedict say about a "smaller but purer Church?"

Maybe orthodoxy, tradition and a strong sense of Catholic identity, beginning with the Magisterium down to the poor laity in the pews is the way to go even if the majority of Catholics don't want that and will leave over it.

What say you?

I JUST LOVE THIS PLACE

The church in the late 1800's with original pews with doors and middle partition:

The current pastor of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Augusta, Georgia has had the pews marked off for physical distancing.

What's interesting to me and I find a bit funny is that these pews are not the original pews from 1863 when this church was built but ones taken from the closed in 1970 Sacred Heart Church six blocks away. It is now a secular venue, Sacred Heart Cultural Center.

If you look, the blue tape cuts the pews in half. The original pews had a wooden partition now the middle. In fact the original pews had doors too! And back in the day you paid "pew rent" and God forbid anyone else sat in your pew. I think this was common in many places and in Protestant churches too.

As a young "Macy's" worker in downtown Augusta in the early 70's, I would often walk over to Most Holy Trinity for their daily 12:15 pm Mass. There was always a big crowd of downtown workers at this Mass on their lunch break and my lunch break too. I often went to the Vigil Mass on Saturday after work. It was at 6:30 PM at that time. Little did I know then, that I would be pastor of this same church from 1991 to 2004 and raise funds and oversee a major fundraiser to restor the "antebellum" new church which was begun in 1857 by the pastor who would become the second bishop of Savannah, John Barry, buried beneath the church with many other priests.

The church was completed in 1863 with slave labor, many of whom were baptized in the old church next to it built in 1810. After 1863 Catholic slaves were allowed, obligated, to attend Mass at the new church. Thus the parish was integrated during slavery. Interesting, no?

In 1970, the parish merged with two other downtown parishes which were closed making it a very integrated parish with a majority black population.

When I got there in 1991, the place was falling apart. By 1996 we began the restoration which took a year. It was completely replastered, repainted and redecorated. The crucifixion scene above the altar is original although restored with the side paintings new. The altar is the original altar and the Mensa was seperated from the reredos in 1967 thus used continuously even after Vatican II. No faux altar.

The three windows above the altar go back to 1863 and were restored. The side windows are from Meyers of Munich added in 1917 or so.

A new sacristy was added behind the church (altar) where the antebellum rectory mansion once was, torn town in the late 50's.

The choir loft was expanded and a second small bathroom added to the vestibule.

Conrad Schmidt and company restored the interior and used a new plastering technique that used a fiberglass mesh. They said this would prevent the plaster from disintegrating for 100 years. The interior still looks as new and fresh as it did after the restoration in 1997.

I ASK; YOU ANSWER!

Which way is the best way not to spread Covid-19, facing the congregation or not facing the congregation?

GESU CHURCH ROME AND ITS FAKE ALTAR AND FAKE EXTENDED ALTAR STAGE/PLATFORM

We all know Vatican II taught that magnificent churches needed this kind of altar and sanctuary. To question this is to question an infallible ecumenical council and the Magisterium, both ordinary and extraordinary and thus makes the questioning Catholic schismatic.

BEFORES AND AFTERS

Was it wise to hide the window half way?

Was it wise to move the ambo and baptismal font?

Was it wise to hide the Crucifix mural?

THIS IS WHY A GOODLY NUMBER OF AMERICANS ARE FUMING MASK MAD ABOUT MEDICAL EXPERTS AND POLITICAL LEADERS

Too many masks and mad as h....

Rich Lowry: Social Distancing Hypocrisy:

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had big news last week -- the city is opening up its iconic Lakefront Trail after months of being closed off as part of a COVID-19 lockdown.

That Lightfoot kept the trail closed even after Chicago had experienced large-scale Black Lives Matter marches -- thousands during the "Drag March for Change" -- is one small instance of the flagrant social distancing hypocrisy across the country in recent weeks.

If it's OK for throngs of people to pack the streets, and shout and chant to protest the death of George Floyd, it ought to be permissible for someone to ride a bike along the lakeside while keeping to him- or herself.

Yet, Mayor Lightfoot welcomed the protestors -- "We want people to come and express their passion," she said -- and still kept the trail shuttered.

Many of the same officials who were most zealous in locking down their states and cities instantly made an exception for Black Lives Matter protests. Their rigidity became laxity in a blink of an eye. Their metric for reopening wasn't the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines or any other public health measure, but the "wokeness" of the activity in question.

Visiting the deathbed of a loved one with COVID-19? Absolutely not. Having a proper funeral? No way. Gathering more than about 10 people at a graveside? No one should be allowed to put the public at risk in such a way.

Bringing thousands of strangers to march together for hours in spontaneous, disorderly groups? Thank you for your commitment to positive change.

Attending a church service? Well, maybe in a couple of months.

Holding a struggle session with religious trappings where people confess their racism and vow to work to defund the police? Please, let's have more.

To believe the leaders of Blue America, SARS-CoV-2 is the first virus in human history to have a social conscience -- virulent enough in the ordinary course of events to justify the most restrictive social controls; not such a big deal if it might get in the way of marches for social justice.

The likes of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have justified the different standards by arguing that fighting racism is important. Well, so is mourning your dead, keeping your business from being ground to dust and worshiping your God. It's a sign of a ludicrously blinkered worldview to believe that a protest march deserves more consideration than these other elemental human needs.

Another argument is that the protesters are willing to put their health on the line for their cause. But, until recently, it was said that anyone going outside wasn't just endangering themselves, but the most vulnerable people in our communities. Why wouldn't that be true of the Black Lives Matter marches, too?

Don't expect consistency, or even a serious attempt at it. More than 1,000 public health experts signed a letter calling the protests "vital to the national public health," thus immolating their credibility on a pyre of motivated reasoning. It's social distancing for people and activities they find uncongenial, and different rules for their ideological allies.

What a contemptible betrayal of the public trust.

Rich Lowry is editor of the National Review.

(c) 2020 by King Features Synd., Inc

THE NEXT POPE

Highlights:



Full show:

I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT I AGREE WITH THE CONTROVERSIAL PRELATE IN THIS REGARD

Press title for full long article. My comments below.

Bishop Schneider: We shouldn’t reject Vatican II, but save what is ‘truly good’

'We have to evaluate and esteem all that is really and truly good in the Council texts, without irrationally and dishonestly closing the eyes of reason to what is objectively and evidently ambiguous and even erroneous in some of the texts'

My comments:

I think what the good bishop is writing makes perfect sense. Vatican II was a pastoral council carried out in the culture of the time, both religious and secular, that we can do anything and do it successfully. The space program of the USA in the early 60’s culminating with a man on the moon in 1969 was a part of this winning spirit of the times.

The triumphalism of those promoting Vatican II thought it would lead to a similar grand experience as the US space program, a new spring for the Church, not in heaven but on earth.

Much of Vatican II’s pastoral decrees are like a time capsule of the period of optimism. These are far from doctrinal let alone infallible, in terms of how to revise the Mass, sacraments, divine office as well as ecumenism, interfaith relations, religious liberty and dialogue with the world. 

Yet these things are presented in such a pre-Vatican II authoritarian way to make us think these are Infallible doctrines not just pastoral theology and in some cases pastoral theology run amuck.

But worse yet, is the “spirit of Vatican II” argument which exalts the commentary and opinion on Vatican II from bishops down to theologians and ordinary lay folk into a kind of infallible dogma. 

Let me be clear. We have a Tradition of authority in the magisterium of the Church and it is related to the pope and bishops in union with him. The Sensuum fideli has been used and misused to make democratic decisions concerning doctrine and pastoral responses. Another error. Of course, progressives take the opinions and commentary of the “faithful” not from the faithful, but the infidels. That’s not sensuum fideli, but rather sensuum infideli and the complete opposite of what faithful Catholics would promote and the official understanding of sensuum fideli,, which also is a theology, not a doctrine or dogma.

But when it comes to the implementation of a Council, the pope and the bishops are in charge. But that doesn’t mean that things can’t be reevaluated when good intentions go bad and the springtime of the Church which was expected becomes a long, dark winter. 

Critical thinking needs to take place concerning the documents of Vatican II and the good fruit that has come forth but also the deleterious results too numerous to list here. 

Pope Benedict in his brilliance, much missed, had the solution in his Christmas elocution to the cardinals and Curia of the church—renewal in continuity with what preceded Vatican II!

And Pope Benedict also said to the SSPX which he was trying to fully reintegrate into the Church that the older form of the Mass and sacraments and Divine Office and devotions were allowed under his continuity hermeneutic.

As well, the documents on ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, dialogue with the world and religious liberty were simply pastoral objectives and not matters of Catholic Faith and could be rejected for good reason.  

MORE ON PHYLISS OF THE NCR AND A QUESTION OF HISTORICAL ACCURACY

Phyllis in her somewhat good until the end article on the cult of the personality, both religious and political, writes this:

While married priests and women deacons might address the twin problems of language and culture just about anywhere in the world, the church needs something else. The added benefit to restoring married priests and women deacons, of course, would be to demonstrate belief that women do not defile the sacred and that women can indeed image Christ. But even that may not be enough.
 
The problem presents its own solution. Catholicism survives where it adapts to and is adopted by the local culture. Local languages and customs are the key. Respect for women must be unlocked.
We can only hope for today. Tomorrow may be too late.

I alluded to this in my earlier post but not explicitly. Prior to Vatican II, the culture of the Church was the Latin Rite culture and where the Latin Rite originated and developed, Rome and western Europe.

Through missionaries, this Latin Rite spread throughout the world, save those where the Eastern Rite and Eastern Orthodoxy existed.

Catholics embraced the universalism of the Latin Rite, its language, culture and ethos. However, on the popular level, vernacular devotions developed, called popular devotions which took into account many, many aspects of the culture most good, maybe in some cases bad, like overdoing physical punishment in some devotions.

Thus the Mass and the sacraments had a universal culture and language but everything else in the parish, especially popular devotions, were inculturated.

After Vatican II, inculturated popular devotions were pooh-poohed  and those in control, bishops, clergy and religious said those needed to be banned now that the Sacraments were in the vernacular and could have aspects of the local culture.

On top of that, ecumenism watered down the belief of most Catholics up to that point, that the Catholic Church was the true Church having the true Deposit of Faith. Ecumenism encouraged the laity to embrace Protestants, their ethos and culture and way of doing things, especially fellowship and following a strong preacher in a strong community. Eventually, these Protestant proselytized these uncritical Catholics and Catholics embraced the proselytizing in the name of ecumenism and seeing all religions as equal.

I can remember the way in which the charismatic movement spread like wild fire at the behest of Cardinal Suenens and many, many Latin and South American prelates. It was particularly evident in Augusta but all part of North and South America. Many left the Catholic Faith and Church for Pentecostal sects or formed their own closed-in communities. That would have been unthinkable prior to Vatican II and a very strong Catholic identity and cultural ethos.

In Augusta, the charismatic community there embraced much of the fundamentalism of Protestant Pentecostalism and its lack of Catholic ecclesiology and ordained priesthood. They also embraced the cult of the personality of their founders and set up an "ideology" of headship and submission, completely contrary to Catholicism where no lay person owes religious obedience to another lay person outside of canonically recognized religious orders which have strict parameters to this obedience. This headship and submission combined with Pentecostalism exaggerated emphasis on Satan and deliverance/exorcisms was fraught with profound problems and serious spiritual abuse.

But ecumenism run amuck and the thought that all denominations are equal opens the door to what has happened in the Catholic Church as described by Phyllis.

What Phyllis does not analyze is that Catholicism was strong and powerful and embraced by many cultures under the pre-Vatican II format. That fell apart with her suggestions that I quote above.

THE NATIONAL CHISMATIC REPORTER (NCR) GETS PART OF IT RIGHT BUT THEN GOES OFF THE RAILS WITH ITS IDEOLOGY ABOUT THAT WHICH CANNOT HAPPEN, WOMEN DEACONS AND ULTIMATELY PRIESTS, BUT PART OF IT IS GOOD

Good old Phyllis of the NCR just can’t get over the infallible decree of Pope Saint John Paul II that the Magisterium of the Church has no authority to change the nature of the Sacrament of Holy Orders which Christ Himself instituted. In other words no council, no pope has the authority to allow for the ordination of women in Holy Order which is a part of the infallible ordinary magisterium of the Church.

She wants women deacons and by extension women priests. Ain’t going to validly or licitly happen, everrrr.

However, she has some good points about the “cult of the personality” in Church leadership with which I agree. I link her half way good article in the NCR  title below my commentary.

This is my commentary:

As a result of the overdone reform of the Liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the cult of the personality of the priest became front and center and mostly based upon the priest facing the congregation, engaging them with his personality, his looks, his affectivity and his way of doing things.

Prior to the changes in the liturgy there was little chance of improvisation in the Mass with its Latin language or the priest overwhelming it with his personality, except maybe at the homily. That collapsed with the vernacular Mass and the priest facing the people.

Prior to Vatican II, the institution of the priesthood was exalted and on a pedestal, not so much the personality of a priest, any priest although some priests were liked more than others depending on their personality and character apart from the celebration of the Mass. The Mass itself though leveled the playing field. 

The dangers of the cult of the personality is elevated in parishes and communities and the Church when the human leader, not his office, is exalted. I would say the Pope St. John Paul II created the papal cult of the personality, not with the trappings of the institution of the papacy, but with his personality. Pope Benedict reverted to the trappings of the institution to exalt the institution of the papacy but Pope Francis eliminated this as His Holiness isn’t humble enough to lower himself to use the trappings of the papacy as the truly humble Pope Benedict did, thus Francis personality has to fill the void, his much touted humility (which isn’t the institution of the papacy, but his idiosyncrasies).

Catholics now are seduced by  the cult of the personality because of the reformed Mass’s deformities and the manner in which Holy Orders is exercised today from the top down. They become "groupies" of the clergy that tickle their fancy. And because so few today believe that the Catholic Faith and Church are the true Faith and Church, they are willing to go over to Protestant (non-denominational sects) whose minister is exalted by the cult of the personality and even the cult of the personality of the entire congregation, in other words, a CULT!

Nowhere else has this happened on a more gigantic scale than in South America and the Amazon. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD PRIOR TO VATICAN II! The Catholic Faith and Church were viewed as the true Faith and Church and no one would leave the Church over the cult of the personality of clergyman Catholic or otherwise or at least not in significant numbers as today. 

So, Phyllis, get a grip and report the truth. The pre-Vatican II Church’s emphasis on institutions rather than personality was and is for the most part an antidote to the cult of the personality so prevalent in our society. The Church because of her liturgy and how Holy Orders is exercised is both complicit and seduced by general cultural shifts in this regard. 

The ties that bind: How the Catholic Church can respond to the cult of personality

Jun 25, 2020

by Phyllis Zagano

I CAN UNEQUIVOCALLY STATE THAT THIS ARTICLE IS AMORIS LAETITIA RUN AMUCK

Should I Kill Spiders in My Home? An Entomologist Explains Why Not To

Spiders are a natural and healthy part of your home’s ecosystem.

• Matt Bertone

He comes in peace. Photo by Matt Bertone, CC BY-ND.

I know it may be hard to convince you, but let me try: Don’t kill the next spider you see in your home.

Why? Because spiders are an important part of nature and our indoor ecosystem – as well as being fellow organisms in their own right.

WHAT A MESS LIBERAL PROTESTANTISM IS AND FOR SOME TIME; IT'S BECOMING MESSIER NOW! IS LIBERAL CATHLOLICISM FOLLOWING SUIT?

Swedish "churches" remove crosses so as not to offend Muslim migrants. What a great idea!

O MY!

SOMETIMES CHANGE HAS TO HAPPEN BUT CAN'T IT BE REDEEMED?

The Church, much to the chagrin of fundamentalist, puritanical Protestants, has been maligned through the ages for baptizing things from paganism and giving them a new Christian meaning, like Halloween, Christmas, Easter and a whole range of other things.

For the most part, these protestant iconoclasts, like the Jehovah Witness have created their own  sect devoid of Catholic accretions.

In the south, old stories are being picked up again as new.

I live in an area where neighborhoods, usually exclusive, are described as plantations. The Ford Plantation, Hilton Head Plantation and a bunch of others use the plantation name.

And now the storied "Masters" in Augusta is being challenged to change its name. Never mind that Tiger Woods is the greatest Master in the history of the tournament.

What to do, what to do, o what are southerners of the white class going to do?

WHY DOES THIS RESONATE WITH ME?

I do not want to be cavalier about this pandemic and the thousands upon thousands who have died and others in previous ages who have died of pandemics like the plague.

We are more sophisticated today and of course we feel we can beat this thing on our own with experts, the high priests of science telling us what to do, social/physical distancing and of course, wearing the ubiquitous mask.

I don't want to get sick or die just like anyone else, but I have buried a ton of people in my 40 years as a priest and what I have learned is that accident or sickness or old age will lead to the one thing none of us will escape, death, judgment, heaven and hell.

Our puritanical society wants everyone to follow lock-step in preventing or delaying the four last things. Why? a profound lack of faith and an easy life up until now where medical science, the new god, tells us how to save ourselves and others but leaves the true God and the four last things out of the equation.

I'm not saying not to wear a mask, isolate from everyone or whatever you wish to do to save yourself or others, but ultimately the only One who will save you is Jesus Christ.

This is from CS Lewis in 1942, Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction:

From the book: “The Devil's Letters to His Nephew”by C. S. Lewis(1942)

“And how did you manage to bring so many souls to hell at that time? -Because of fear. -Ah, yes. Excellent strategy; old and always current. But what were they afraid of? Fear of being tortured? Fear of war? Fear of hunger? -No. -Fear of getting sick. -But then, no one else got sick at that time? -No. -Yes, they were sick. -I'm sorry. -Nobody else was dying? -Yes, they died. -But there was no cure for the disease? -There was. -Then I don't understand. - Since no one else believed and taught about eternal life and eternal death, they thought they had only that life, and they clung to it with all their strength, even if it cost them their affection (they did not hug or greet each other, they had no human contact for days and days); their money (they lost their jobs, spent all their savings, and still thought themselves lucky to be prevented from earning their bread); their intelligence (one day the press said one thing and the next day it contradicted itself, and still they believed it all); their freedom (they did not leave their house, did not walk, did not visit their relatives. ...it was a big concentration camp for voluntary prisoners! They accepted everything, everything, as long as they could overcome their miserable lives one more day. They no longer had the slightest idea that He, and only He, is the one who gives life and ends it. It was like that, as easy as it had ever been.”

From the book "Letters of the Devil to His Nephew" by C.S. Lewis, the Christian author of “The Chronicles of Narnia”...The book published in 1942.

THUGS ON THE LOOSE AND POLICE DECAPITATED BY CHARGES OF RACISM BECAUSE OF THE THUGGERY OF A FEW OF THEM

Here we go, copied from the Deacon’s Bench:

CROSS AND GRAVES VANDALIZED AT CATHOLIC COLLEGE CEMETERY

From CNA: 

A man has been arrested and charged with vandalism and assault after swastikas were painted on the graves of several Dominican friars and a security guard was assaulted at Catholic college on Monday evening.

A statement from Fr. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., and Fr. Kenneth Sicard, O.P., the president and president-elect of Providence College, Rhode Island, said that around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, public safety officers were alerted to the presence of a “suspicious man” at the on-campus cemetery. The cemetery contains the gravesites of deceased Dominican friars who taught at the school.

“Officers approached the individual to question what he was doing and to confirm the vandalism when they noticed the suspect had painted swastikas and anti-Catholic language on the cemetery’s central cross and on several of the headstones, and was actively burning American flags that stood at some of the gravesites,” said the statement from Shanley and Sicard.

In total, seven headstones were defaced, along with the central cross in the cemetery.

The man proceeded to hit the security officer in the head and run away. He was later discovered hiding in bushes on campus, where he was subsequently arrested.

Read more.

The college posted the following statement: 

On Monday, June 22, 2020, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Providence College public safety officers on patrol responded to a suspicious male subject in the Dominican Cemetery on campus. Officers searched the area and located a male subject in the process of defacing grave headstones and burning gravesite flags.

Officers approached the individual to question what he was doing and to confirm the vandalism when they noticed the suspect had painted swastikas and anti-Catholic language on the cemetery’s central cross and on several of the headstones, and was actively burning American flags that stood at some of the gravesites. The central cross and seven headstones were defaced. The College has repaired that damage.

While officers attempted to question the suspect, he struck one officer in the head and fled the scene. The College’s public safety officer was treated for his injuries at the hospital and later released.

The campus was locked down with a shelter in place order once it was confirmed that the suspect may have been hiding on campus. At 10:39 p.m., officers and K9 units from the Providence Police Department and PC Office of Public Safety began searching the campus. The suspect was located hiding in bushes on campus and was subsequently arrested by Providence police. An all-clear was issued to the campus at 11:17 p.m.

We loudly and unequivocally condemn this racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-Catholic action, and the desecration of the gravestones of our beloved, deceased Dominicans who served Providence College so well and so faithfully for many years. In addition, we condemn this action in support and solidarity with the Jewish members of our community, many of whom enjoyed the friendship of those late Dominican friars. PC has a long and proud history of collaboration with the Jewish community in Rhode Island.

Our Jewish-Catholic Theological Exchange is a significant part of campus life, and has promoted interreligious learning, understanding, and friendship between Christians and Jews for decades. Our community embraces love and mutual respect for all people; there is no place for hatred on our campus.

Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80
President

Rev. Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P. ’78 & ’82G
President-elect

COMMENTARY ON COVID-19 ONGOING SPREAD AND CHURCHES FROM A HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINE PERSPECTIVE

As everyone knows, my perspective on COVID-19 is that it is quite serious and something not experienced since 1918. People die in pandemics, many do and hospitals are overwhelmed and then it passes.

What annoys me the most about this pandemic is the politicization of it and fake news about it, meaning, incomplete news.

There is an increase of cases because more tests are given. I've had a test and was negative although I was exposed to someone with it in close proximity to me. I and he were maskless and he shook my hand.  We had about a 5 minute conversation up close and personal.

Many people with it have no symptoms and recover very well and thus have an immunity. We only hear of those who contract it and those who die but nothing about the overwhelming majority who recover from it and with strengthened immunity.

I have a 95 year old parishioner who broke his hip a week ago. He had successful surgery and is on the mend. He was diagnosed this past Friday with COVID-19. He has no symptoms as of today and they don't expect him to have them. In five days they can declare that he is over it and with an immunity.

The media is playing on the greatest fears of those who can't deal with sickness and death, theirs or others. They have made this class of citizens paranoid. Self righteous talk about wearing a mask in public to keep others calm is exactly that pandering and self-righeousness.

Here's what they are writing on Hilton Head Island about churches copies from the Island Packet Newspaper:

Congregations should have appointed by now pandemic committees that will look at everything from potential budget shortfalls to how to reopen and when, as well as what restrictions to place upon clergy and congregants in public worship until the time when it is safe to begin to open the doors.
One of the most important issues she discussed was choral singing.

At this time, choirs are out of the question because this virus can linger in the air and with the force of many voices singing, the droplets that come out of mouths of singers with even more potential to infect than an individual talking.

She explained that this virus is spread by smaller than normal flu particles that remain suspended in the air in larger respiratory droplets in contrast to normal virus conditions. One singer on the pulpit may be tolerable, but a choir is a health hazard.

Let’s not forget that many houses of worship have Sunday schools for the children. Educators, clergy and their committees have to figure out different models, depending on the current situation of spiked infection rates, to spread out children and protect faculty in order to have classes. Dr. Bell recommended that all Sunday school classes refer to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control protocols on educational settings for more specific instructions.

Another important point she raised was that it was not the role or responsibility of the congregation to take temperatures or determine who is physically fit to enter services.

The role of the house of worship is to set up strict and clearly-defined procedures and protocols for managing traffic flow into the church or synagogue, have supervision to make sure that parishioners follow them, and to make sure that the facility is properly disinfected before and after the services.

Nightmare scenario

Dr. Bell said that clergy and their congregational leadership should be more proactive in providing direction to our community, both inside our congregations and to the community at-large.
Moreover, she seemed to advocate a more aggressive posture toward those organizations and businesses that violate longstanding rules of social distancing and wearing masks.

In other words, I took from this conference call that Dr. Bell wants the religion community to consider not patronizing public places, including businesses, that disregard these protocols that are intended to save human lives.

Clearly this is a problem that DHEC is struggling with as it engages different communities throughout the state.

Finally, her greatest concern was anticipating the nightmare scenario this fall when the normal flu season arrives combined with the resurgence of COVID-19.

We all need to make sure we get flu shots as soon as is possible.

The silver lining I see is that technology today gives us lots of options that aren’t perfect but are effective in connecting our congregations in public worship and education.

This is a time to think outside the box. It is a time to think what is possible and to experiment with ways to engage congregants in services like Livestream and Zoom.

If possible, it is time to spend the money to provide resources in a new way. The challenge, especially for folks who are not computer literate, is to work with them to do what we can to make sure that our congregants know we are thinking of them and doing what we can to stay in touch — and to bring as much as is possible of our congregational family to them.

Rabbi Brad Bloom of Hilton Head Island writes on matters of faith.

Read more here: https://www.islandpacket.com/living/religion/faith-in-action/article243707192.html#storylink=cpy

THIS IS A HEADLINE FROM TODAY'S VATICAN NEWS

The term development of doctrine is a loaded term. It could be good on one hand, but used by "spirit of Vatican II" ideologues, it could lead to the changing of defined doctrines and dogmas. Thus a pope or a council in union with the pope could hijack Catholicism and make it into something it is not.

The clergy and laity are protected when there is a defined "Deposit of Faith" out in the open and available to all. If doctrine and dogma can change under the smoke screen of "development of doctrine" then all of us could be victims to a Neo-Gnosticism from the highest level of the Church. Not good to say the least.

The development of doctrine is fidelity in newness

Certain critiques of the current pontificate challenge the Second Vatican Council and end up forgetting the Magisterium of Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Sergio Certofanti
Certain doctrinal criticisms of the current pontificate show a gradual but increasingly clear-cut separation from the Vatican II Council — not from a certain interpretation of some texts, but from the Council texts themselves. Some interpretations that insist on contrasting Pope Francis with his immediate predecessors thus end up openly criticizing even St John Paul II and Benedict XVI, or by passing over in silence some fundamental aspects of their ministry that represent evident developments of the latest Council.

The prophecy of dialogue

One example of this was the recent 25th anniversary of the encyclical Ut unum sint, in which Pope St John Paul II stated that ecumenical commitment and dialogue with non-Catholics are a priority of the Church. This anniversary has been ignored by those who today propose a reductive interpretation of tradition, closed to that “dialogue of love,” beyond the doctrinal, which was promoted by the Polish Pope in obedience to our Lord's ardent desire for unity.

The prophecy of forgiveness

Equally overlooked was another important anniversary: the request for jubilee forgiveness strongly desired by St John Paul II on 12 March twenty years ago. The prophetic power of this Pontiff who asked forgiveness for the sins committed by the children of the Church was overflowing. And when one speaks of “children” the popes are also included. As we know, those who ask forgiveness for mistakes made put themselves in a risky situation of scrutiny. Saint John Paul II prophetically chose the path of truth. The Church cannot and must not be afraid of the truth. The then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, underlined the “novelty of this gesture,” a “public act of repentance of the Church for the sins of the past and today,” a “mea culpa of the Pope in the name of the Church,” a truly “new gesture, but nevertheless in profound continuity with the history of the Church, and with its self-awareness.”

The Inquisition and violence: a growing consciousness

Many dark stories have been stirred up about the inquisition, burnings and various forms of intolerance of the Church throughout history, exaggerating, falsifying, slandering and decontextualizing in order to erase from memory the great and decisive contributions of Christianity to humanity. And historians have often restored the truth in the face of so many myths and distortions of reality. But this does not prevent us from making a serious examination of conscience in order “to recognize past wrongs,” as John Paul II affirmed, and “reawaken our consciences to the compromises of the present.” From this came the request for forgiveness, in 2000, “for the divisions which have occurred among Christians, for the violence some have used in the service of the truth and for the distrustful and hostile attitudes sometimes taken towards the followers of other religions.” “With the passage of time,” he said in 2004, “the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, perceives with ever clearer awareness what she needs in order to conform” to the Gospel, which rejects the intolerant and violent methods that have disfigured her face in history.

The Galileo case

A particularly significant case was that of Galileo Galilei, the great Italian scientist. A Catholic who, said John Paul II, “suffered a lot - we cannot hide it - from men and ecclesial bodies”. Pope St. John Paul II examined the story “in light of the historical context of the time” and “the mentality of the time”. The Church, though founded by Christ, “remains nevertheless made up of limited men and women linked to their cultural epoch." She too “learns by experience,” and the history of Galileo “allowed a more just maturation and understanding of Her authority." The understanding of the truth grows - it is not given once and for all.

A Copernican revolution

Saint John Paul II recalls that “the geocentric representation of the world was commonly accepted in the culture of the time as fully consistent with the teaching of the Bible, in which some expressions, taken literally, seemed to constitute statements of geocentrism”. The problem posed by the theologians of the time was therefore that of the compatibility of heliocentrism and Scripture. Thus, new science, with the methods and the freedom of research that it presupposed, forced theologians to question their criteria for interpreting Scripture. Most were unable to do so. Paradoxically, Galileo, a sincere believer, showed himself on this point “more discerning than his theologian adversaries” who had fallen into error trying to defend the faith. “The upheaval caused by the Copernican system” thus had “repercussions on the interpretation of the Bible.” Galileo, not a theologian, but a Catholic scientist, “introduces the principle of interpretation of sacred books, beyond even the literal sense, but in accordance with the intent and the type of exposition proper to each of them” according to their literary genres. This position was confirmed by Pius XII in 1943 with the Encyclical “Divino afflante Spiritu”.

The theory of evolution

A similar growth in the Church's awareness occurred with the theory of evolution which seemed to contradict the principle of creation. A first opening was that of Pius XII with the Encyclical “Humani generis” of 1950 (its 70th anniversary will be on 12 August). St. John Paul II affirmed that “creation places itself in the light of evolution as an event that extends over time - as a ‘creatio continua’ - in which God becomes visible to the eyes of the believer as the Creator of Heaven and earth”. Pope Francis underlines that “when we read the story of Creation in Genesis, we risk imagining that God was a magician, complete with an all-powerful magic wand. But that was not so. He created beings and he let them develop according to the internal laws with which He endowed each one, that they might develop, and reach their fullness (…) The Big Bang theory, which is proposed today as the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of a divine creator but depends on it. Evolution in nature does not conflict with the notion of Creation, because evolution presupposes the creation of beings who evolve.”

The development of the concept of freedom

In the New Testament, but not only there, there are very deep calls to freedom that have changed history; but they are discovered slowly. Pope Boniface VIII, with the Bull Unam sanctam of 1302, reaffirmed the superiority of spiritual authority over temporal authority. It was a different era.
Almost 700 years later, John Paul II, speaking in Strasbourg before the European Parliament, observed that medieval Christianity still did not distinguish “between the proper spheres of faith and that of civil life”. The consequence of this vision was the “integralist temptation to exclude those who did not profess the true faith from the temporal community”. Even as late as 1791, in a letter to the French bishops, Pius VI criticized the Constitution passed by the National Assembly that “established as a principle of natural law that a person living in Society must be completely free. That is, he or she must not be disturbed by anyone, and can freely think as he or she likes, and write and even publish in print anything in matters of Religion."
And in 1832, Gregory XVI's Encyclical Mirari vos spoke of freedom of conscience as a “most poisonous error” and “delirium”; while Pius IX in the 1864 Syllabus condemns among “the principal errors of our age” the idea that it is no longer appropriate “that the Catholic religion should be considered the only religion of the State, excluding all other religions, never minding what one wants” and the fact that “in some Catholic countries it has been established by law that those who go there are entitled to have public worship proper to each one." The Second Vatican Council, with its Declarations “Dignitatis humanae,” on Religious Freedom; and “Nostra aetate,” on Dialogue with non-Christian Religions, makes a leap forward that recalls the Council of Jerusalem of the first Christian community that opened the Church to all humanity. Faced with these challenges, St John Paul II affirmed that “the pastor must show that he is ready for authentic boldness”.

When does tradition stop?

In 1988 the schism of the Lefebvrian traditionalists was confirmed. They rejected the developments brought about by Vatican Council II, saying that a new Church had been created. Benedict XVI used a strong image when he exhorted them to not "freeze the Church’s teaching authority... in the year 1962.” Something similar had already happened in 1870, when the so-called “old Catholics” condemned the First Vatican Council on account of the dogma of papal infallibility.
The Catholic Church has journeyed through more than twenty Councils in history. Each time there was someone who did not accept the new developments and stopped. Pius IX in 1854 proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. But a great saint, Bernard of Clairvaux, though one of the most ardent propagators of Marian devotion, expressed his opposition to this truth some centuries earlier. “I am very concerned, since many of you have decided to change the conditions of important events, such as introducing this feast unknown to the Church, certainly not approved by Reason, and not even justified by ancient Tradition. Are we really more erudite and pious than our ancient fathers?” This was in the 12th century. The Church, since then, has introduced other unknown feasts that probably would have scandalized many of the faithful who lived in previous centuries.

The way of Jesus: new and old things

Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the Law, “but to fullfill it” (Mt 5:17). He taught us not to break “even the smallest of these precepts” (Mt 5:19). Yet he was accused of violating the mosaic rules, such as the Sabbath rest or the prohibition of associating with public sinners. And the apostles took the great leap: they abolished the sacred obligation of circumcision, dating back even to Abraham and in force for 2000 years, and opened the door to the pagans - something unthinkable at that time. “Behold,” says the Lord, “I make all things new” (Rev 21, 5). It is the “new wine” of evangelical love that always suffers the risk of being put in the “old wineskins” of our religious security, which so often silences the living God who never stops speaking to us. It is the wisdom of the “disciple of the kingdom of heaven” who seeks the fullness of the Law and justice that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, bringing out “new and old things from his treasure” (Mt 13:52). Not new things only, nor only old things.
(This is a working translation from the original text)

AFTER YEARS OF BEING TOLD WE DON’T HAVE THE ARTISANS OR THE ABILITY TO BUILD CHURCHES LIKE THIS, WE LEARN THAT WAS A LIE TOLD TO US FOR THE PAST 50 YEARS OR SO

I hope the antinomian radicals of the Democratic left don’t vandalize this chapel like they have done twice to St. John Protestant Episcopal Church across from the White House which they would like to storm, vandalize and burn down.

This is on the Left Coast, St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel, Santa Paula, California. I wonder if all the cities in California with Catholic saints’ names Or named by Catholic missionaries will be renamed Like Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco to name but three.

A VIRULENT FORM OF ANTI CATHOLICISM IS A PART OF THE ANARCHY DEVELOPING IN THIS COUNTRY; WILL THEY TRY TO TOPPLE THE POPE WHO CANONIZED THOSE THEY HATE?

Who is St. Junipero Serra and why are California protesters toppling his statues?

Serra in 2015 was canonized as a saint by Pope Francis during a trip to the U.S.

"Serra is not the historical hero people thought when this landmark statue to him was erected, one of many throughout California, as a historical emblem, he is toxic and should be removed,” the petition reads.

SHOULD POPES HAVE A RETIREMENT AGE OR SHOULD THEY REMAIN IN OFFICE UNTIL DEATH?

There is a danger in having retired popes. They can still use or be used by their former status as the reigning pope.

We have seen this tension in Pope Benedict's retirement. Perhaps he doesn't like the direction of the Church under his successor and has made veiled points about it in his writings and meetings with various people.

Or others use him for their theological and ideological purposes. Pope Benedict's recent visit to his homeland to go down memory lane with his dying brother (let's face both are dying) was used as a diatribe against the reigning Pope Francis, all fantasy of course, or is it?

What if Pope Benedict leaves a testimony after he dies that calls into question the papacy of the reigning Pope Francis.

Thus having retired popes can created division and schism in the Church.

We have been living through the "Benedict Option" or should I write "experiement." It is an experiment in the retirement of popes. What has it told us and should this experiment be institutionalize do or abolished?

If popes remain for life, we will be dealing with an incapacitated pope, similar to Pope St. John Paul's last years and months.

If a pope has a debilating stroke but a healthy body, he could live for years in a totally vegetative state. The same with demential or Alzheimer's disease or other diseases of that type.

Is there a way to have a "Vice Pope" that is simply a caretaker who makes sure that the Curia does it job without overstepping their purpose?

Should popes have a retirement age or should they remain for life no matter what?

And what can be done with a pope who goes crazy but is not incapacitated. Should there be canon laws to deal with a rogue pope who might be a heretic?

Or should we just trust the Holy Spirit who eventually uprights the ship that lists?

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE AND THE CURRENT CRISIS OF FATHERLESSNESS, SEXUAL INDENTITY CRISIS AND CRIMINAL REBELLION

James Dean's next to the last movie in the mid 1950's was "Rebel without a Cause."  It is a commentary on youth of that period and the angst they go through. It deals in an implied way with what happens to boys in general when they grow up without a strong father figure. Implied too is latent homosexuality because of this and there is also flirtation with incest or disordered affections in this regard with the female lead and her relationship with her father.

Let's start with the female, Natalie Wood's character, going through her teenage angst transitioning from a child to a beautiful adult woman. She wants the flirtatious childhood relationship with her father but he slaps her in the face when she gets too affectionate with him as a blossoming young teenager. Implied, of course, is that the dad finds his daughter sexually attractive and he wants to avoid acting on any disordered affections and thus comes across to his daughter as no longer loving her which leads to her teenage angst.

James Dean's character is going through angst on many levels and much of his rebellion has to do with his father who is weak, female-like and henpecked. He is not a masculine role model for his son, so Dean creates that model within himself and his courageous attempts to deal with bullies in a gang and a car scene that turns out to be deadly for his rival whom he comes to like.

Sal Mineo's part is that of a bit younger teenage boy grappling with same sex attraction but based upon his father leaving the family, his mother absent most of the time and his black maid who becomes his surrogate mother who loves him and he her. He sees in the James Dean figure the father he hasn't had, the masculinity he exudes which is Dean's character  overcompensating for his fathe'sr lack of  masculinity and courage.

There is certainly an implied hero worship in their relationship. Dean's character loves the younger teenager's affection and adulation, but dean's character is no homosexual.  He is a father-like character for Mineo's character.

Nonetheless the fatherlessness of these characters leads to the tragic conclusion of this motion picture.

While the main stream media focuses in on racial inequality in this country and how some in law enforcement have over-reacted to blacks they come into contact with, there is no concern about black on black crime in this country and our larger cities like Chicago.

Some influential black men are speaking out, thanks be to God. They diagnose the crime rate in the black community which is primarily black on black crime and murders, as a result of young men who have no strong father figures or absent fathers. Strong women take their place, but this is not effective in a boy's life, a teenager's life, or a young adult's life.

This leads to drug abuse, belonging to gangs where courage and masculinity is measure by crime and illicit sex and fathering of children only to become an absent father too.

The Church has much to say and teach on this subject but is now marginalized and must focus on other issues that the main stream media desires to do, that of racism in the white community.

But there is no focus on the root cause of problems in black community which began to escalate in the late 1950's and well into the 70's, the break down of the once strong black family in the USA and in the south which has nothing to do with racism but everything to do with the media's promotion of sexual immorality, a neglect on those who promote the drug culture and a welfare system that enables immoral behavior to get more money.

Blacks have to solve this problem and they have the wherewithal to do it. They don't need whites telling them what to do or how to do it.