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Thursday, September 23, 2021

A BOMBSHELL DISCLOSURE(S)? FROM THE NCR:

 


Cardinal Pell says he 'never really approved' of Benedict XVI's decision to resign

29 comments:

Thomas Garrett said...

For years, various journalists have tried to put Cardinal Pell in a box. He is undefinable, so labels like "liberal", "conservative", etc., just don't fit.

What a great quote:

"No computer program forecasting the future of climate change has been accurate. Not one of them", which reminded me of this little chat with Jordan Peterson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOfZgf-YecQ

Whatever Cardinal Pell might be criticized for, you can always count on him for one thing--one thing we could use a lot more of from our bishops and cardinals: Brutal, unadorned honesty.

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

Another "bombshell" in the news...?

"Arizona ‘audit’ finds Biden won (by more votes) and no evidence of fraud"

"After months of work and some $6 million spent, a so-called audit that Trump supporters claimed would show that the election had been stolen from the defeated president found that Joe Biden actually won Arizona by more votes than the official tally — and it found no conclusive evidence that the election had been influenced by fraud. Draft reports from the review that Senate President Karen Fann commissioned of Maricopa County’s election results declared that a hand count of nearly 2.1 million ballots from the November 2020 election found Donald Trump had 261 fewer votes than the county’s official canvass gave him, while Biden had 99 more. All told, Biden gained 360 votes in the Senate “audit” hand count — which was criticized by election experts as fundamentally flawed — giving him a victory of 45,469 votes in Maricopa County."

https://www.azmirror.com/2021/09/23/arizona-audit-finds-biden-won-by-more-votes-and-no-evidence-of-fraud/

TJM said...

Speaking of bombshells, Father K, you and Nancy are on the side of this:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushes back an archbishop’s comment against abortion, saying women have the right to choose. During a news conference on Thursday, the archbishop of San Francisco said Pelosi’s backing to codify Roe v. Wade is “child sacrifice.”

The Women’s Health Care Protection Act would essentially protect women’s abortion access. While the archbishop criticized the legislation, Pelosi, whose Catholic, said her views on abortion differ.

“The archbishop of the city, that area of San Francisco, and I have a disagreement about who should decide this,” said Pelosi. “I believe that God has given us a free will to honor our responsibilities.”

Free will to kill the unborn may merit hell

William said...

"Pagan people like something to be frightened of". Our present hysteria is largely pagan; and our elite are ready to sacrifice much and many to appease their gods.

John said...

Fr K
The outcome of the last Presidential election is history. As a Catholic priest, you should regret that the winner is a Catholic who prizes gain of power higher than living up to a fundamental tenet of his faith. That is not something a Catholic priest should gloat about ever.

You claim to be a trained biologist, so you must know that life begins at conception. Your winner states he does not now but claimed he did even during the recent presidential campaign. (Just curious, do you ever observe the traditional feast day of the Holy Innocents?)

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ByzRus said...

A bombshell? I don't know. More likely, a day late and a dollar short.

Congress moving to outlaw the sale/consumption of bacon.....That would be a bombshell!

Michael A said...

Breaking News!

Biden creates employment , paper, sugar, chicken, electronic chip and car shortages. More on the way! He’s determined to solve these by paying people not to work. He believes he can alienate at least three more allies before year end. His inflation target is 10% by January 1st and he regrets that he’s only 60% of the way there. He’s hoping he can get the death rate a little higher on Covid. Even after 60% of the population has been vaccinated and another 30% has natural immunities people are still dropping like flies. He can’t figure out why masks aren’t working but he and St. Fauci say keep wearing them. He’s preparing another shipment of arms to Islamic fanatics, but they asked that he hold off because they are overwhelmed with what he’s already given them. He plans to tax trillionaires to pay for it all, but he’s dismayed that discover that none exist. An impressive record to have achieved in 8 short months.

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

John - Posters here advised a few weeks ago that the election is NOT over and that the "fraud" would be revealed by the audit in Maricopa County and that everything would be straightened out, meaning Trump would be declared the winner. THAT is what I was responding to. I am not gloating, just pointing out that poster was wrong.

Just curious, do you recall that post on this blog?

I do not claim to be a trained biologist. I am one. BA Biology with grad work in fresh water entomology before entering seminary. (Think springtails, mayflies, dragonflies, lacewings, giant water bugs (aka toe-biters), and everyone's favorite, mosquitoes.)

I have stated here my opposition to abortion repeatedly.

Jerome Merwick said...

Fr. K, I HAVE to ask--what kind of priest are you?

This was a post about Cardinal Pell, and OUT OF THE BLUE, you start posting about politics? What kind of priest forces this kind of obsession upon anyone who will listen?

You apparently have a LOT in common with our current purported pope. All spiritual things take a back seat to the more "important" worldly concerns.

This is pretty disappointing--and I taming my language down.

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

Jerome, how is it that you note my topic jumping and not that of TJM who regularly introduces completely unrelated news stories?

What's sauce for the goose...

Jerome Merwick said...

Father K,

Your personal animus towards another person who posts here is not an excuse for your embarrassing obsession. YOU'RE A PRIEST, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!

Lay people aren't impressed by this. And we sure as heck don't like watching priests gloat about political issues--especially when they are gloating about the election of a pro-abort.

Oh yes..."I have stated here my opposition to abortion repeatedly." Uh huh. You, and Cardinal Cupich and Cardinal McCarrick and Cardinal Bernardin and... all the other prelates who clink glasses with the enemies of the Church. Boy, that lip service REALLY helps save lives!

Again, I am restraining myself and your cavalier snobbery isn't making it any easier.

Thomas Garrett said...

Not sure what some people are reading here about Biden winning bigger in Arizona. According to the just-released Executive Summary & Recommendations of the Arizona State Senate from the Audit Report we have this:

"In the 2020 presidential election, the margin of victory was only 10,457 votes, a small fraction of the 57,734 ballots with known issues. Again, this is almost 6 times the margin of victory in the Presidential race and is multiples of the margin of victory in other races. Based on these factual findings, the election should not be certified and the reported results are not reliable."

Major issues are then listed, including numerous voter integrity issues, failure to abide by proper voter registration procedures, back dating of registrations, corrupted ballot images, and numerous other violations and anomalies.

Of course, what this means remains to be seen. No doubt Trump backers will demand decertifcation and Biden backers will call the Cyber Ninjas who conducted the audit as well as the State Senate into question. Our country, sadly, is locked into a track of instability that appears unhealable.

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

Have a read, Jerome and Thomas. This is why it matters.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/23/robert-kagan-constitutional-crisis/

TJM said...

My job is done. Others see what I see. Deo gratias!

TJM said...

Fr. K fails to realize that I posted my response after HE posted his non sequitur to the topic at hand!

John Nolan said...

'What's sauce for the goose ...' It's a bit petulant to say in effect 'I'm only doing what my opponent does'. Still, as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

What everyone is missing is that today everyone has their own truth and this must be respect. President Trump and his supporter’s truth is that his election loss was fraudulent. Who are we to judge and get all bent out of shape.

Other have their “truth” too, like democrats and President Joe Biden—life does not begin at conception, it’s morally justifiable to murder a completely innocent child in the womb and even hire hitmen to kill these children. And their “truth” include the morality of same sex unions and all that goes with it and binary approaches to human sexuality.

Why anyone, including FRMJK, thinks that Donald Trump’s truth is not as important as the Democratic “truths” is beyond me.

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

John - "What's sauce for the goose..." It may surprise you to learn that the phrase has more than one meaning.

Fr. ALLAN McD - You faux defense of moral relativism falls flat, as usual.

Thomas - As expected, you offer the, "But...! But...! But..." response. You may be joining now with the My Pillow Guy who asserts that Trump will be "restored" to office at Thanksgiving. (I suspect there will be more than a few "turkeys" around that day.) How many predictions are his return to office have we seen now? Five? Seven? Nine? And the "Cyber Ninjas" were in question from the day they were hired. No extra effort is needed to discredit their reports.

Trump's supporters have done a masterful job of creating an air of suspicion about elections. This has been part of the plan since Karl Rove's "A Permanent Republican Majority" did not come to pass. If you can't win by legitimate means, then...

TJM said...

The plot thickens:

"The audit released Friday afternoon through painstakingly technical testimony concluded the final count of votes in the state's largest county of Maricopa showing President Joe Biden won Arizona was accurate, but it also included tens of thousands of ballots that were suspect and require more investigation.

The more than 50,000 ballots flagged by auditors for more investigation involved concerns ranging from people voting from addresses from which they had already moved to residents voting twice. The total in question was nearly five times the 10,400 vote margin that separated the two presidential candidates, giving Donald Trump's troops fresh reason to call for more scrutiny."

Jerome Merwick said...

Father K:

Your responses remind me of a 12 year old who is trying to explain why he got in a fight with someone else:

"Well, HE did it first!"

"He thinks he's right! Well he's WRONG!"

My first point stands and you are answering it in a most embarrassing and cringeworthy way: WHAT THE HECK KIND OF PRIEST ARE YOU?

This post was about Cardinal Pell. The responses started to be about Cardinal Pell, then out of the blue, you post your "HA HA I TOLD YOU SO!" rant about your interpretation of a county's audit report. Your little tantrum dance was and is utterly irrelevant to the subject we were discussing and utterly unworthy of your dignity as an ordained Catholic priest. What scares me even more is your inability to grasp that.

It doesn't matter if me, TJM, ByzRus, or the Polish Army veer away from the topic in the comment box, it doesn't justify YOU doing so and even more so, doing so for such a petty reason: To rub someone's nose in your perception of vindication.

This is not the kind of behavior the public wants to see from their priests. It's certainly not behavior worthy of a priest. Then again, it's quite obvious: What do YOU care? You've answered that pretty clearly too.

Thomas Garrett said...

"What everyone is missing is that today everyone has their own truth and this must be respected."

Great point Father! A nice (sarcastic I hope) demonstration of relativist reality.

I'll take it a step further: On Judgment Day, those who submit to God's Truth will be set aside for their preference for eternity. The rest, who defined truth for themselves, will get to embrace their versions of truth for eternity in their own special place, where everyone's truth is respected while they make each other miserable. Forever.

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

Jerome - I'm not trying to justify veering away. I'm simply pointing out that "veering" happens frequently here, but you and others only seem to be stirred into reacting when the "off topic" post causes you consternation.

Veering isn't what bother you, I think. That I and others don't share your views, is what seems to get your shorts in a knot.

Jerome Merwick said...

What I or others think (or what you assume we think) is irrelevant.

You know what you're doing and it's scary that you're incapable of any shame or embarrassment. I wish someone could get through to priests like you what a demoralizing effect this has on the people in the pews.

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

Jerome - So disagreeing, seeing a different point of view, offering a different perspective, is now "demoralizing"? I don't think it is, and I wonder why you do.

Jerome Merwick said...

Father--that's what I mean when I write that you know what you are doing--exactly what deflection artists do when they are cornered.

I made it very clear that what is so demoralizing is priests and pontiffs who are more interested in politics than anything else and are so obsessed with vindicating themselves that they take shots at others.

I'll give you one thing: you're slick.

ByzRus said...

Wow. This escalated quickly...Maybe not.

With regularity we deviate on this blog from the posted topic. At times it's a refreshing meander if the topic has run its course; other times it distracts from the conversation but, oh well. Maybe we should be more disciplined? I'll leave that decision to our host? Maybe it's just our thing as many of us have been posting here for years now. No one's salvation is jeopardized and no sacraments have been invalidated because of some minor straying.

TJM - I know this will displease you and I'm not trying to "buddy up" to Fr. MJK - I've never met him!!

I'm not sure what those who post here want - A statement of affirmation every time a topic like abortion arises. Fr. MJK is a Catholic priest. As such, he should be against abortion and, in fact, he confirmed as much again in response to being chided by others. How many times must this be stated? I don't think a haughty affirmation with recitation of Church dogma from our priest commenters is necessary except to teach and/or provide clarification/correction - it's discussion group. Then, what if they do? Are we all to then orbit the priests with breathless shouts of "Oh Father - Your words give me sustenance"? I don't want to disparage those who behave that way with sincerity but, I think we're perhaps a bit beyond that, don't you?

Voting: I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories and regarding certification/decertification, that ship has long since sailed, rightly or wrongly. Such focus on "sights and wonders" regarding audits is, to me, misplaced energy that will result in nothing but agita. To me, energy would be much better focused on election reform to provide better and more consistent controls, accountability and transparency. Does Congress and/or the electorate have the willingness to consider and find a middle ground? I seriously doubt it and that's the problem that should bother more folks than it does.

BTW, Nancy Pelosi, the Catholic, should be obedient to her bishop and, in turn, her bishop should be working with her to correct her understanding of her responsibilities as a supposed practicing Catholic. That correction in attitude/behavior should then follow her when she assumes the role of Speaker Pelosi. It would appear that isn't happening, it's unfortunately playing out publicly and I hope/pray for both her and Abp. Cordileone.

Mark said...

I have only just now been able to read today’s comments. As I was reading, I was beginning to compose a defense of Father Kavanaugh when I came to the last comment, by ByzRus. This was indeed refreshing to read. Thank you ByzRus. There is not much more to be said except that as Catholics we should all be committed to truth in all its forms (factual, moral, spiritual) and should be prepared, as Father Kavanaugh is, to correct inaccuracies and resist those who, wittingly or unwittingly, distort the truth.

And we should be prepared to make the effort to verify or discover the truth and then share it with others or at least challenge them to share our commitment to the truth and find out for themselves. That is a service that all Catholics can perform at this historical moment when we are in grave peril of losing our Republic because those who seek power value that power more than they value the principles on which the Republic is founded. But this requires effort—verify asserted facts and do research (by which I mean proper research before we accept some claim uncritically).

As it is under discussion, take the Arizona audit as an example. I have heard different narratives, also on this Blog. So, last night I read through the primary source material—the report itself. I invite everyone here to do the same. None of the “opposing” narratives I have heard so far is fully vindicated. In sum, the count confirmed that Biden won Maricopa county by a larger margin than the official count indicated (by just under three hundred votes or so). And yes, there were concerns expressed about some of the voting. BUT those concerns were hedged around with many caveats, indicating that most or perhaps even all these concerns might have a benign explanation although further investigation was suggested. But please don’t take my word, or anyone else’s word, for it; go do the research yourself and make your own independent judgment if you really want to know the truth of the matter and if you have the fortitude and grace to perhaps have your previous views disconfirmed.


Mark said...

On a lighter note, in case you missed Boris Let’s Get Brexit Done Johnson enlighten the U.N. General Assembly about Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y4FrhQHZ3I