FEAR MONGERING OR TRUTH TELLING?

 

 

Bishop Athanasius Schneider: 

‘We are in the fourth great crisis of the Church’

During a trip to England the Soviet-born bishop says the Church
 today is experiencing ‘tremendous confusion’

By Sarah Atkinson on Friday, 6 June 2014

Bishop Athanasius Schneider celebrates Pontifical High Mass during
the Latin Mass Society pilgrimage to West Grinstead in Sussex (Photo: Joseph Shaw)

Liberals, collaborating with the “new paganism”, are driving the Catholic Church towards a split, according to Bishop Athanasius Schneider, the liturgical specialist who is carrying on a rearguard fight against “abuses” in the Church.

So serious are the problems, Bishop Schneider said in an interview last week, that this is the fourth great crisis in the history of the Church, comparable to the fourth-century Arian heresy in which a large part of the Church hierarchy was implicated.

If you have not heard of the Soviet-born bishop, you will. The sincere, scholarly clergyman is auxiliary bishop of the distant Archdiocese of St Mary in Astana, Kazakhstan. But this month he has received a rock star welcome from congregations across the country on his tour of England and he has embraced cyberspace to put over a trenchant, traditional defence of the Church. “Thanks be to God, the internet exists,” he said.

His views are not popular with everyone, especially not some of his liberal colleagues, or, he says, with the mainstream media of the secular world. But his audiences tell another story.

Bishop Schneider is best known for arguing that Holy Communion should be received on the tongue while kneeling, which he insists is the more efficient way to foster respect for the Sacrament and to prevent abuse of the Sacred Hosts. The 53-year-old bishop has called also for clarification (a new Syllabus of Errors), aimed at the clergy, to put a stop to liturgical and doctrinal freewheeling on a range of issues in the “spirit of Vatican II”.

In his interview, Bishop Schneider said the “banal” and casual treatment of the Blessed Sacrament is part of a major crisis in the Church in which some laity and clergy, including some in positions of authority, are siding with secular society. At the heart of the problems, he believes, is the creeping introduction of a man-centred agenda, while in some churches God, in the tabernacle, really is materially put in a corner, while the priest takes centre stage. Bishop Schneider argued that this situation is now coming to a head. “I would say, we are in the fourth great crisis [of the Church], in a tremendous confusion over doctrine and liturgy. We have already been in this for 50 years.”

How long will it last? “Perhaps God will be merciful to us in 20 or 30 years.”

In the autumn, the synod of bishops will meet in extraordinary session to discuss the family, in the light of the questionnaire which Pope Francis invited the faithful to complete, giving their views on marriage and sexuality. Expectations are growing that rules will be relaxed on a range of sexual matters and in terms of divorced people receiving Communion as a sign of “mercy” from the Church.

Such views, according to Bishop Schneider, reveal the depth of the problem. “I think this issue of the reception of Holy Communion by the remarried will blow up and show the real crisis in the Church. The real crisis of the Church is anthropocentrism and the forgetting of Christo-centrism…

“This is the deepest evil: man, or the clergy, putting themselves in the centre when they are celebrating liturgy and when they change the revealed truth of God, for instance, concerning the Sixth Commandment and human sexuality.”

Although he says talk of change is mainly coming from “the anti-Christian media”, he sees clergy and lay Catholics “collaborating” with what he calls the new paganism. Bishop Schneider is particularly critical of the idea that these changes should be made so as to be merciful to those currently barred from receiving the Sacraments. “[This is] a kind of sophism,” he said. “This is not mercy, this is cruel.”

He suggested this was “a false concept of mercy”, saying: “It is comparable to a doctor who gives a [diabetic] patient sugar, although he knows it will kill him.”

The bishop believes there are clear parallels with great crises of the past, when leading clergymen were complicit with heresies. In the Arian heresy, he said, naming them on his fingers, only a handful of the hierarchy resisted. “We [Christians] are a minority. We are surrounded by a very cruel pagan world. The temptation and challenge of today can be compared with the first centuries.”

He added: “Unfortunately there were … members of the clergy and even bishops who put grains of incense in front of the statue of the emperor or of a pagan idol or who delivered the books of the Holy Scripture to be burned. Such collaborationist Christians and clerics were called in those times thurificati or traditores.”

And today, he maintained, we also have those who collaborate, our “traitors of the Faith”.

Pope Francis is perceived to be at the forefront of a new liberal attitude coming from Rome. But Bishop Schneider says: “Thanks be to God, Pope Francis has not expressed himself in these ways that the mass media expect from him. He has spoken until now, in his official homilies, very beautiful Catholic doctrine. I hope he will continue to teach in a very clear manner the Catholic doctrine.”

The bishop said he hopes “the majority of the bishops still have enough Catholic spirit and faith that they will reject the proposal and not accept this”.

Nevertheless, he can foresee a split coming, leading to an eventual renewal of the Church on traditional lines. But, he believes, this will not be before the crisis has plunged the Church further into disarray. Eventually, he thinks, the “anthropocentric” [man-centred] clerical system will collapse. “This liberal clerical edifice will crash down because they have no roots and no fruits,” he said.

In the turmoil, Bishop Schneider, fears traditional Catholics may, for a time, be persecuted or discriminated against, even at the behest of those who have “power in the exterior structures of the Church”. But he believes those involved with the “heresy” will “not prevail against the Church”. And, in hope, the bishop said: “The Supreme Magisterium will surely issue an unequivocal doctrinal statement, rejecting any collaboration with the neo-pagan ideas.”

At this point, Bishop Schneider believes, the modern thurificati et traditores will leave the Church. “I can presume that such a separation will affect each level of Catholics: lay people and even not
excluding the high clergy,” he said.

Such comments are unlikely to win Bishop Schneider popularity in some circles, but he argues: “It is quite insignificant to be popular or unpopular. For every member of the clergy, their first interest should be to be popular in the eyes of God and not in the eyes of today or of the powerful. Jesus said a warning: ‘Woe to you when people speak well of you.’”

He added: “Popularity is false… Great saints of the Church, such as Thomas More and John Fisher, rejected popularity… those today who are worried about the popularity of the mass media and public opinion… will be remembered as cowards and not as heroes of the Faith.”

Bishop Schneider observes ruefully that there are many whose views coincide with those of the pagan world who “declare themselves Catholics and even faithful to the Pope”, while “those who are faithful to the Catholic faith or those who are promoting the glory of Christ in the liturgy” are labelled
extremists.

Such critics may assert that Bishop Schneider’s concern over Holy Communion is like worrying over the numbers of angels on a pinhead. But the bishop insists that treatment of the Eucharist is at the very heart of the crisis. “The Eucharist is at the heart of the Church,” he said. “When the heart is weak, the whole body is weak.”

He argued that receiving Communion in hand “contributes gradually to the loss of the Catholic faith in the Real Presence and in transubstantiation”.

Bishop Schneider also rejected the idea that concern for the liturgy is less important than, or even separate from, concern for the poor. “This is erroneous. The first commandment which Christ gave us was to adore God alone. Liturgy is not a meeting of friends. It is our first task to adore and glorify God in the liturgy and also in our manner of life. From a true adoration and love of God grows love for the poor and our neighbour. It is a consequence.”

The bishop’s views have been shaped by his early childhood, growing up as a persecuted German Catholic in the Soviet Union, where he even had to attend atheism lessons at school. His book Dominus Est discloses
how the German Catholic community kept alive their faith despite severe hardship and persecution. In his own experience, his mother and great aunt took great risks for their faith and on behalf of others in the community. So Bishop Schneider and his family were horrified at the liberal attitudes and practices in the West, especially in respect of Holy Communion, which had been so rare and so precious to the persecuted German Catholics of the Soviet Union.

Seemingly like the little boy in the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes, the bishop now feels compelled to speak out and he cannot understand why others do not do the same. “It seems that the majority of the clergy and the bishops are content with this modern use of Communion in hand… For me this is incredible. How is this possible, when Jesus is present in the little Hosts?”

He continued: “There is the grievous fact of the loss of the Eucharistic fragments. And the fragments of the consecrated Host are crushed by feet. This is horrible! Our God, in our churches, is trampled by feet!”

Bishop Schneider admitted that he is “very sad that I am feeling myself as one who is shouting in the desert”.

He said: “It is time that the bishops raise their voices for the Eucharistic Jesus who has no voice to defend himself. Here is an attack on the Most Holy, an attack on the Eucharistic faith.”

But despite his concerns, Bishop Schneider is not pessimistic and believes that there is already a groundswell of support for traditional values that will, in time, renew the Church: “Little ones in the Church have been let down and neglected,” he said. “[But] they have kept the purity of their faith and they represent the true power of the Church in the eyes of God and not those who are in administration.

“I spoke with young students in Oxford and I was so much impressed by these students. I was so glad to see their purity of faith and their convictions, and the clear Catholic mind. This will renew the Church. So I am confident and hopeful also in respect of this crisis in the Church. The Holy Ghost will win this crisis with this little army.”

He added: “I am not worried about the future. The Church is Christ’s Church and He is the real head of the Church, the Pope is only the vicar of Christ. The soul of the Church is the Holy Spirit and He is powerful.”

Bishop Athanasius Schneider’s book Dominus Est: It is the Lord! is published by Newman House Press. His work Corpus Christi: Holy Communion and the Renewal of the Church, is published by Lumen Fidei Press

THE HYMNS OR SONGS THAT MUSIC DIRECTORS PICK FOR MASS ARE NOT THE HYMNS OR SONGS THE CHURCH HAS CHOSEN: THE CHURCH CHOOSES CHANTS! PENTECOST A CASE IN POINT

Should this sort of liturgical planning guide for music at Mass be anathema today? Will your Pentecost Mass be superficial razzmatazz or chant that propels you to contemplation and prayer, not to mention reverence and piety in the traditional understanding of that in Catholicism? Or will it be superficial hype masquerading as prayer and piety?

 
Is it going to be folk music, worship and praise music, Protestant hymns or newly created Broadway sounding ditties written in a contemporary style for Pentecost Sunday?

Or is it going to be the chants of the Church prescribed in the Missal and the Roman Gradual?

Whose taste will prevail? The music director's? The pastor's? Or God forbid, the liturgy committee's?

This is what the Church will choose for Pentecost Sunday:

The Entrance Chant, chanted in simple or complex chant or polyphony:


Refrain: The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world, alleluia; and that which contains all things, knows every language spoken by men, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Verse: Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; and let those who hate him flee before his face.

Or Will your music director or someone in authority pick this song for you as the entrance song?




The Sequence (Latin):



Or will you hear this?



The Offertory Chant:


Confirm, O God, that which you have accomplished in our midst; from your holy temple which is in Jerusalem, kings shall offer presents to you, alleluia.

Or will the one in music authority in your parish pick this?



The Communion Chant:


Suddenly, a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, in the place where they were sitting, alleluia; and they were all filled with the Holy spirit, and announced the great things God had done, alleluia, alleluia.

Or will the one in authority in your parish pick this as the communion song?



The Roman Gradual does not prescribe a recessional hymn. Tradition continued at Papal Masses is for the Regina Caeli to be chanted during the Easter Season and the Salve Regina outside of Easter and prior to recessing.

In addition to these chants, do our Catholics understand that the other hymns of the Mass are each and every part of the Mass to include the readings also? Do they see the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Our Father and Agnus Dei as the authentic hymns of the Mass or do they feel that Catholics really haven't sung at Mass if they haven't sung some king of hymn or song from a hymnal during Mass?

If these were chanted at Mass and it was understood these are the music or songs of the Mass and no one needs to plan otherwise or use their own tastes and preferences to select music or songs, how much more unified would we be as a Church? Truly Pentecost would have come!

But let's face it, the contemporary songs that I posted in the videos above get one's adrenalin rushing like at a rock concert. The English chant videos I post propel one to prayer and contemplation without razzmatazz.

Is razzmatazz liturgical? Ever? Or is is superficial hype?  

What music on Pentecost Sunday will be sung at your parish for the entrance, offertory and communion? Whose taste will have conquered the Church's selections? 

THIS ANONYMOUS COMMENT IS GOOD ENOUGH TO BE ITS OWN POST!

This is a comment that Anonymous had left on my post "HAS HORIZONTAL WORSHIP CORRUPTED AND DIMINISHED CA...": It was good enough for me to make it a regular post!

If there's one problem since 1965 it's been a general social loss of a sense of purpose for Catholic things.

We are creatures of our American Western culture which is informed by the Sexual revolution and the materialist presupposition in 'science' (although there's nothing scientific about presuming reality is just material).

What is our 'daily bread' in terms of media consumption? Most is secular: movies, sitcoms, commercials, music, theater, hobbies, news, magazines, blogs, etc.

Our general culture is dark because culture is based on or orbits whatever it is people ultimately worship as the basis of good and evil.... if you disbelieve in God then Man and man-made utopias will be worshiped as the criteria by which to judge right and wrong and all that hinders the pursuit of 'happiness' so defined will be rejected while all that promises to facilitate happiness will be promoted.

We worship sex, individualistic pleasure (including drugs, bread and circuses), thus as a society we think of nothing of subsidizing a billion dollar sports arena but would freak out with a cathedral! We accept abortion because pregnancy and parenthood was seen as a threat to the idol of individual pleasure. Anything that calls for self-control, discipline, or struggle is avoided, fought, and now called threats to happiness.

So when we go to Church on Sunday for a single hour of "religion" what sense does the Catholic thing have on our lives and presuppositions?

People are waiting to be called. They're waiting for someone to call them, personally, in the name of the Lord and put them to some useful task, some quest that will lead to total human flourishing.

They're also waiting for someone to map out how the Catholic doctrine etc. fits into the big picture and makes sense of life, the universe and everything.

I suspect this is why the WYDs were so beneficial - the Pope called the youth to meet him, preached to them in terms of a personal Lord who had a personal calling for their lives and then challenged them to go back to their homes with a sense of belonging to the Lord and the whole cloud of witnesses (angels, saints, Mary, etc.) to whom they had a relationship and thus identity that is more fulfilling than their relationship to fad, clique, ideology, or secular groups.

The faith is not a program, it's a romance. It's not a matter of externals so much as the internal being made visible.

Gut check time thanks to the Pope: do we believe Jesus is Lord and our joy can be found in Catholic discipleship.... or do we accept the secular sexual revolutionary premise that happiness is found here through material, human devices, a Babel or golden Calf of our own making?

The externals of worship matter, but only to the degree people understand the symbolism and purpose of the ritual and rubrics. After all, prior to Vatican II the Latin rite had the Tridentine rite on all altars but it didn't seem to halt the rise of atheism, communism, socialisms, world wars, modernism, etc.

If the rite reveals the Lord and we discover that all our joy comes only from discipleship in and with Him....then we'll be able to resist the alternative of today's culture with its very powerful enticements

I'M BEGINNING TO WONDER IF OUR HOLY FATHER, POPE FRANCIS HASN'T BEEN READING MY BLOG THESE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS! HE NAILS IT ABOUT SOME CATHOLICS HERE IN MACON AND ELSEWHERE, NAILS IT; I MEAN HE NAILS IT!

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican on Thursday. In remarks following the readings of the day, the Holy Father focused on the need to cultivate a real sense of belonging in and to the Church, and spoke of three temptations into which people who call themselves Christians (Catholics) often fall: “uniformism”, “alternative-ism” and “exploitation-ism”.

Taking his cue from the Gospel reading of the day, which was from the 17^th chapter of the Gospel according to St John, and contains Our Lord’s prayer for the unity of the Church, the Holy Father spoke of some people, who seem to have “one foot inside" and one foot outside the Church, so that they reserve “the possibility of being in both places,” both inside the Church and out of it. The Holy Father said that such as these do not really feel that the Church is their own. He said that there are some groups that, “rent the Church, but do not claim it as their home.” He identified three specific groups or kinds of Christians: he began with those, who would have everyone be equal in the Church, whom he called “uniformists”:

“Uniformity, rigidity – these are hard. They do not have the freedom that the Holy Spirit gives. They confuse the Gospel that Jesus preached, with their doctrine of equality. Christ never wanted His Church to be so rigid – never – and such as these, because of their attitude, do not enter the Church. They call themselves Christians, Catholics, but their attitude drives them away from the Church.”

The second group or kind of Christian the Holy Father identified is made up of those who always have their own ideas about things – people who do not want to conform their minds to the mind of the Church.  The Pope called these, “alternativists”:

"[They] enter the Church, but with this idea, with that ideology, and so their membership in the Church is partial. They have one foot out of the Church. The Church is not their home, not their own, either. They rent the Church at some point. Such as these have been with us from the beginning of the preaching of the Gospel: think of the Gnostics, whom the Apostle John beats so roundly, right?  ‘We are ... yes, yes ... we are Catholics, but with these ideas - alternatives.’ They do not share that feeling of belonging to the Church.”

The third is made of those, who call themselves Christians, but do not come from the heart of the Church. These are the “exploitationists” he said, “those who ‘seek the benefits’, and go to church, but for personal benefit, and end up doing business in the Church”:

“The businessmen. We know them well! They, too, have been there from the beginning: think of Simon Magus, or Ananias and Sapphira. They took advantage of the Church for their own profit. We see them in the parish or diocesan community, too, in religious congregations, among some benefactors of the Church – many, eh? They strut their stuff as benefactors of the Church, and at the end, behind the table, they do their business. These, too, do not feel the Church as a mother, as their own."

Pope Francis went on to consider that, in the Church, “There are many gifts, there is a great diversity of people and the gifts of the Spirit.” The Lord,” said Pope Francis, tells us, “If you would enter the Church, do so out of love,” in order “to give all your heart and not to do business for profit.” The Church, he remarked , “is not a house to rent,” the Church “is a home to live in.”

The Pope recognized that this is not easy, because, “the temptations are many.” Nevertheless, he stressed, it is the Holy Spirit, who achieves unity in the Church, “unity in diversity, freedom, generosity.” This, he said is the Holy Spirit’s task. “The Holy Spirit,” he added, “makes harmony in the Church - unity in the Church is harmony.”

“We are all different,” he noted, “we are not the same, thank God.” Otherwise, "Things would be hellish.” The Pope went on to say, “We are all called to be docile to the Holy Spirit.” Precisely this docility, the Pope said, “is the virtue that will save us from being rigid, from being alternativists, or exploitationists – or businessmen in the Church: being docile to the Holy Spirit.” It is precisely " this docility that transforms the Church from a rented house, into a home.”

Pope Francis concluded, saying, “May the Lord send us the Holy Spirit and may the Spirit make this harmony in our communities: parish communities, diocesan communities, the communities of the [ecclesial] movements – let it be the Spirit that achieves this harmony, for, as one of the Fathers of the Church said: the Spirit Himself is harmony.”

HAS HORIZONTAL WORSHIP CORRUPTED AND DIMINISHED CATHOLICISM?

I guess I am still shocked that Catholics don't practice their faith, up to more than 80% of them. These are shocking statistics. Normally the majority of this 80% or more who don't practice the Catholic faith still come to Mass at Easter and Christmas and usually a goodly number still want the sacraments for their children, although this is diminishing too. Most who cease practicing the Catholic faith do not join other Christian Churches or other religions. Instead they become "nones." They become secularists. And while the current generation of "nones" who are Catholic bring some moral and ethical principles of the Church with them, their children and their children's children won't.

Even more disheartening is the fact that the 20% who do remain, may or may not accept the Church's teachings on a variety of issues all the way from sexuality and marriage to the very clear social teachings of the Church. Some of the most staunch neo-conservative Catholics reject the Church's social teachings vehemently. Of course this is all part and parcel with cafeteria Catholicism, or the Walmart approach to the Church, the consumer taking some things and choosing not to take other things and returning what they did once consume for a refund. 

Our culture and society is in for a rough ride, so fasten your seat belts. More and more children of parents who are "nones" are caught up in the violence of the internet games they play and even two 12 year old girls can stab 19 times a 12 year old friend of theirs and not feel any remorse. This is a personality disorder of the highest degree, narcissism of our age. They see sex like going to McDonald's and a part of their relationships, casual and undignified.

As it concerns the Catholic Church and those who have left us, although they might still worship with us, isn't the main problem a tremendous loss of the fear of God and the narcissism that accompanies this?

At one time and not too long ago, and in fact still in my memory, it would have been unheard of for Catholics to public dispute the Church in the areas of faith and morals which all Catholics are bound to obedience.

At one time and not to long ago, and in fact still in my memory, Catholics would have understood the consequences of moral disobedience that became public and was flaunted, mortal sin on steroids, bad example given to others and leading them into sin.

At one time, Catholics kept quiet in Church in the presence of the Most Blessed Sacrament. At one time, Catholics would not have turned even to acknowledge their neighbor during Mass, lest the focus be taken away from Christ in His most splendid sacramental presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle. And once Mass began, the focus was on the actions of the Mass. No one got up to go to the bathroom or in any way distract others from prayer and contemplation. (How many people get us each week at some point of the Mass and go to the restroom as though they are in the living room or the movie house?

As a child, I was taught by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Corondelet never even to look backwards, ever, while in Church, to look forward to Christ and focus on Him and Him alone. Good advice! And my parents warned us to go to the bathroom prior to Mass and not eat or drink anything before Mass because no one left the pew until Mass was over for anything, I mean anything!

Not too long ago, I counseled a disgruntled Catholic on the verge of leaving the Church because of his fixation on Catholics don't live up to what it means to be a Catholic. There are so many inconsistancies he noted between pious Catholics at Mass (or not so pious) and how they live their lives the rest of the week.

I reminded him that as Catholics we are not to look at our neighbor and base our participation in the Church and attendance at Mass on what kind of Catholics they are. We are to focus on the Lord and the Lord only and in that way we will never be scandalized.

What has led to this sorry state of affairs when the horizontal experience of Church becomes so emphasized as some sort of Utopian experience of salvation, that when it fails and people disappoint, many leave the Church disillusioned and scandalized? Why is it that Catholics are now consumers of Catholicism and liturgy rather than participants in God's plan for their conversion and salvation?

And the loss of our popular Catholic piety, devotion and reverence for the Holy Eucharist especially before and after Mass but also during Mass contributes to this.

The loss of these contributes to a loss of the Fear of the Lord amongst Catholics:

1. Standing and receiving Holy Communion in the most casual and irreverent way possible

2. Indiscriminate selection and use of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion who in daily life do not accept the Church's moral teachings and maybe not even dogmatic teachings even concerning the Most Holy Eucharist

3. Mass turned into entertainment and feel good antics to accomodate the tastes of the consumers who approach the Church as some kind of Walmart

4. The momentum of prayer begun with the Entrance Chant and greeting disrupted by banal and secular sentiments of "good morning," "how are you," "I'm glad you are here" and the funny one-liners" and then a return to prayer and contemplation with the penitential act. I see this all the time from bishops to priests who celebrate the Mass. They are totally oblivious to how disruptive this is to the momentum of prayer and contemplation that begins when the Mass begins with the Entrance Chant, not their silly one-liners and banal acclamations. 

5. Priests becoming entertainers and welcomers at Mass with their personality  and warmth becoming the most important and when this is lacking some Catholics shop around for something they like better

So this brings me to my conclusion:

10 Advantages of [having Mass] Ad Orientem

1. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is experienced as having a theocentric direction and focus.
2. The faithful are spared the tiresome clerocentrism that has so overtaken the celebration of Holy Mass in the past forty years.
3. It has once again become evident that the Canon of the Mass (Prex Eucharistica) is addressed to the Father, by the priest, in the name of all.
4. The sacrificial character of the Mass is wonderfully expressed and affirmed.
5. Almost imperceptibly one discovers the rightness of praying silently at certain moments, of reciting certain parts of the Mass softly, and of cantillating others.
6. It affords the priest celebrant the boon of a holy modesty.
7. I find myself more and more identified with Christ, Eternal High Priest and Hostia perpetua, in the liturgy of the heavenly sanctuary, beyond the veil, before the Face of the Father.
8. During the Canon of the Mass I am graced with a profound recollection.
9. The people have become more reverent in their demeanour.
10. The entire celebration of Holy Mass has gained in reverence, attention, and devotion.

DON'T YOU THINK THAT THE TEN THINGS ABOVE WOULD HELP REVERSE THE ABYSMAL STATE OF THE LOSS OF CATHOLIC IDENTITY EVEN AMONGST CATHOLICS WHO STILL COME TO CHURCH?

RECOVERING CATHOLIC IDENTITY STOLEN BY GODLESS SECULARISM

This was for public school teachers in 1915. Maybe we can eliminate one or two of these for Catholic School teachers:

Oakland, Calif., and Cincinnati have introduced new language in their 2014-2015 contracts, strengthening their commitment to protecting Catholic identity in their schools.

by AL DONNER 06/04/2014 NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER

OAKLAND, Calif. — Diocesan schools in Cincinnati and Oakland, Calif., are withstanding criticism for contracts that require teachers to witness to the faith in the classroom, but also how they present themselves publicly.

Criticism of Catholic-school contracts that ask teachers to not contradict the Church in public have received sensationalized coverage from the mainstream media in California and Ohio, where a small number of teachers are opposing the contractual language.

But the dioceses in question are standing their ground, emphasizing the vital role teachers play in transmitting Catholic teaching and values to their students.

“We have to faithfully represent what Christ and the Church stand for,” Oakland Bishop Michael Barber told the Register May 29.

Bishop Barber made the language of the annual teaching contracts in his diocese more specific, clarifying that teachers should not publicly defy Church’s teaching on controversial issues such as abortion and marriage, a move that drew protests from a local lawmaker and small group of diocesan teachers.

Still, acceptance of the teaching contracts has been strong and widespread. Officials in the Diocese of Oakland report that all but three of the 1,400 school employees have signed the contract. Oakland’s Catholic schools serve nearly 20,000 students.

So-called “morality clauses” are nothing new in Catholic-school employment policies. In The Catholic Voice, Oakland’s diocesan paper, Bishop Barber said the new contract language amounted to “a very small change” that sought to “clarify (that each school) is an integral part of the mission and ministry of the Catholic Church.”

“Our school contracts are invitations to teachers to join in this mission and ministry of the Church,” explained the bishop. “All teachers are expected to join in the Church’s educational ministry, teaching and modeling the values and ethical standards of Christ and the Catholic Church.”

However, the change was met with hostility by some. Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, a Catholic with a daughter with same-sex attraction, characterized the contract as “Inquisition-style” tactics. Joined by public-school officials and homosexual-rights activists, she held a press conference in front of Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light.

Other protests against the Oakland diocesan contracts centered on some teachers, parents and students at Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School. On May 27, the bishop met with school staff and agreed to engage them in next year’s contract discussion. During that meeting, Bishop Barber told the Register, most of the school’s faculty expressed their agreement with the new contract language.

But O’Dowd’s affirmation of its Catholic mission should hardly be a surprise to anyone familiar with the school. Its website opens by declaring, “The school affirms the teachings, moral values and ethical standards of the Catholic Church.”

Bishop Barber emphasized that Catholic-school employees teach by example.

“My desire is simply to make explicit in the contract the importance of being a public witness to the values and practices that are an integral part of the Catholic faith. I am not interested in examining a teacher’s private life,” Bishop Barber wrote in The Catholic Voice on May 19. Still, he cautioned that contemporary means of communications, such as Facebook and Twitter, are “public manifestations,” and opposing Church teaching openly on the mediums has “consequences on a teacher’s ability to fulfill his or her ministry as a role model in a Catholic school.”

Consistent and Clear

The change by the Diocese of Oakland to clarify its contract language is only the latest effort by bishops to ensure that Catholic schools and their employees consistently witness to Church teaching, both inside the classroom and outside of it.

Most dioceses have explicit statements of expectations for school employees, which both affirm the purpose of Catholic schools and advise prospective employees of the expectation. Generally, the language says that the school’s purpose is to teach Catholic values to its students and that school staff are an integral part of that effort.

Occasionally, the emphasis on upholding values has caused pushback.

Last year, Bishop Robert Vasa of Santa Rosa, Calif., asked teachers to sign contracts that included a clause acknowledging Catholic teaching. It generated mixed reaction. Bishop Vasa eventually delayed the new contract language, but still sees a need for a clear statement of Catholic principles and expectations.

And a few public actions by teachers that conflicted with Church teaching have resulted in dismissals.

In the Seattle Archdiocese, Mark Zmuda, vice principal of a Catholic high school, left his position last December after entering into a civil marriage with his male partner. He sued for discrimination, and, last month, a judge denied a motion seeking dismissal of the lawsuit on the grounds that it would violate the school’s First Amendment rights.

In Cincinnati, Mike Moroski was dismissed in 2013 after tweeting support for same-sex “marriage.”

“Each case refers to public actions,” explains Dan Andriacco, Cincinnati’s archdiocesan spokesman, “that would undermine what students are being taught in the classroom.”

“Very simply, teachers are ministers of the Church,” Andriacco emphasizes. “That is the reason we open our school doors every day.”

Supreme Court Precedent

There is strong legal basis defending the ministerial role of religious-school employees. A unanimous 2012 Supreme Court decision (Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC) upheld the dismissal of a teacher by a Lutheran school in Michigan on religious grounds.

The court held that the fired teacher could not sue for discrimination because the school considered her a minister. Barring the church from dismissing an employee “interferes with the internal governance of the church, depriving the church of control over the selection of those who will personify its beliefs," the justices wrote.

But there are limits to the ministerial protection. Christa Dias, an unmarried Cincinnati Catholic-school teacher, who was living in a same-sex relationship, was terminated after she announced she was pregnant through in vitro fertilization. Federal law provides strong protection for pregnant employees, and Dias won a $171,000 judgment in a jury trial. The ministerial exclusion was found not definitive in that trial, in part because she was a computer teacher.

In Oakland, the expiring 2013-14 contract said clearly that employee “shall perform his/her duties as a minister and steward of principles characteristic of an educator in a Catholic school, including, without limitation, teaching the doctrines, principles and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, conduct himself/herself in accord with these Catholic standards, respect for authority and others consistent with Catholic teachings.”

The language is virtually identical in the 2014-15 contract.

Cincinnati’s new contract for the 2014-15 school year specifies that teachers must agree “to exemplify Catholic principles and to refrain from any conduct or lifestyle which would reflect discredit on or cause scandal to the school or be in contradiction to Catholic doctrine or morals.”

Small demonstrations in Cincinnati in support of Richard Hague, a high-school teacher who has refused to sign his contract, have generated substantial media coverage. But Andriacco downplayed the controversy as “a tempest in a teapot,” noting that, in most of the archdiocese’s schools, “everyone signed” the new contract.

The Power of Influence

Soon after he was named a bishop by Pope Francis a year ago, Bishop Barber visited many schools in his diocese and produced an outline of his thoughts in a September 2013 column for The Catholic Voice.

“How do we encounter Jesus in our schools?” the bishop asked rhetorically, answering: “In the person of the teacher, staff member or coach.” Bishop Barber cited Cardinal John Henry Newman, who noted in his famous sermon that personal influence is “the means of propagating the truth.”

Bishop Barber reiterated this point in his May 29 interview with the Register.

“Every teacher is a role model for the students, whether they are teaching P.E. or math,” he emphasized. “The classroom is their pulpit, and they will help form their students as young adults.”

Register staff contributed to this story.

Register correspondent Al Donner writes from California

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/catholic-schools-stand-strong-against-criticism-of-teacher-contracts?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NCRegisterDailyBlog+National+Catholic+Register#When:2014-06-4%2015:06:01#ixzz33knjWaXy

STAND FOR MARRIAGE AND STAND FOR FAITH

Stand for Marriage, Stand for Faith

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde, Bishop of Arlington, VA

I wanted to take a moment to write to you about the continuing challenges to the nation’s traditional understanding and legal recognition of marriage. Indeed, due to activist lawsuits here in Virginia, the issue is more pressing than ever, and the Commonwealth may stand on the brink of a forced, dramatic and far-reaching break with history and Church teaching with regard to the definition of this basic building block of families and communities.

Eight years ago, the will of the people of Virginia was expressed clearly and decisively as citizens cast their ballots to safeguard in the state constitution the age-old definition of marriage as between one woman and one man. At that time, along with Richmond Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, I wrote to you about “the unique and vital role the institution of marriage has in society” and how the result of the referendum would have “profound significance for the future of the family, the most fundamental social structure of our society.” We noted that marriage “had a design and purpose long before any nation, religion, or law was established,” and that “the proper role of both church and state is one of stewardship, to preserve our Creator’s great gift of marriage from one generation to the next.” Now, these words are all the more true as the challenge seems ever greater.

March for Marriage 2013

 

In the time since the vote here in Virginia, when only Massachusetts, under pressure by state court order, had redefined its marriage law, seventeen states and the District of Columbia have legalized marriage between individuals of the same sex. It is true, we have seen public opinion shift to some degree under the relentless advocacy of those who would change marriage from its basic meaning and purpose. This is all the more reason for us to make the case for marriage and its importance to children, society, and, yes, God’s plan for us.

St. John Paul II spoke of the transcendent role of marriage this way:
In a marriage, a man and a woman pledge themselves to one another in an unbreakable alliance of total mutual self-giving. A total union of love.

Love that is not a passing emotion or temporary infatuation, but a responsible and free decision to bind oneself completely, “in good times and in bad,” to one’s partner. It is the gift of oneself to the other.

The love of husband and wife in God’s plan leads beyond itself, and new life is generated, a family is born. The family is a community of love and life, a home in which children are guided to maturity.
And Pope Francis affirms this basic teaching:

“Marriage now tends to be viewed as a form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will. But the indispensable contribution of marriage to society transcends the feelings and momentary needs of the couple,” (“Evangelii Gaudium,” n. 66).

These words truly convey the Lord’s plan for those called to marriage. It is the ideal, yes, and one we pray that all who enter into this union may achieve. Of course, there are failings sadly visible all around us — adultery and high rates of divorce, broken and suffering families — but that does not change the intrinsic worth of marriage and family willed by the Lord and proclaimed by the Church. Further, we know that traditional marriage bolsters society and is best for children. The social science is clear that children do best when raised by a mother and father in a stable marriage.

I know that some you have resigned yourselves to the redefinition of marriage, or perhaps are not convinced that defending the true definition of marriage is essential to the well-being of society, but I urge you, by example and prudent and thoughtful words, to stand for marriage at this critical time in our history. This is a fight worth having, and the time is now! As I wrote to you when we voted on marriage here in Virginia, “Preserving and promoting marriage is an integral component of our shared civic responsibility.”

Finally, I would encourage you to participate in the March for Marriage 2014 in Washington, D.C., being held this year on June 19th. The unchanging reality of marriage is being tested right now, perhaps to the point of no return, and our diocesan participation is very necessary. To learn more, go to marriagemarch.org

Editor’s Note: In anticipation for the March for Marriage later this month, the Forum will feature a number of articles related to the fight for traditional marriage. While the following column is particularly written for those in Virginia, it is a message for each one of us. This column originally was printed by the Arlington Catholic Herald. Reprinted with permission.

POPE FRANCIS SPEAKS ABOUT THE GIFT OF PIETY

Piety, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, means “our belonging to God and our profound bond with Him, a bond that gives meaning to all our lives and helps us stay firmly in communion with Him, even in the most difficult moments”.

The Pope explained to the tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square that this union is not and should not be a duty or an imposition, but is instead an exchange, “something that comes from within, a relationship experienced with the heart: it is our friendship with God, given to us by Jesus, a friendship that changes our life and fills us with enthusiasm and joy. Therefore, the gift of piety arouses gratitude and praise, first and foremost. Indeed this is the reason and the most authentic meaning of our worship and our adoration. When the Holy Spirit makes us aware of the Lord's presence and of all His love for us, this warms our hearts and moves us almost naturally to prayer and celebration. Piety, therefore, is a synonym for authentic religious spirit and filial trust in God, for that capacity to pray to Him with the love and simplicity of those who are humble at heart”.

This gift, which enables us to live as true children of God, also leads us to love our neighbour and to recognise him as our brother. “And so we are moved to sentiments of piety – not pietism, or outward religiosity. Why do I say 'piety' and not 'pietism'? Because there are those who think that piety means closing ones eyes, assuming an image or a saintly face”, commented Pope Francis, using a phrase typical of Piedmont, the Italian region from which he originates: “Fare la mugna quacia” (feign ingenuousness, Ed.). “This is not the true gift of piety. The true gift of piety makes us truly capable of rejoicing with those who are joyful, of weeping with those who weep, of being close to those who are in anguish, of correcting those who err, of consoling the afflicted, of welcoming and assisting those in need. There is also a close relationship between piety and quietude”, he observed. “The Holy Spirit makes us calm and patient, in peace with God and meekly at the service of others”.

The Holy Father concluded by quoting from St. Paul's letter to the Romans. “All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father!'. Let us pray the Lord that this gift of the Holy Spirit may conquer our fears, uncertainties and also our restless, impatient spirit, and make us joyful witnesses of God and His Love”.

A MELODRAMA BUT IS IT TOO MELODRAMATIC? IS THERE ANY HARDCORE EVIDENCE OR PROOF TO CONVICT US OF BEING CATHOLIC?

Hats off to CS for putting this onto me! PLEASE SHOW THIS TO YOUR TEENAGERS AND THOSE ADULT CATHOLICS WHO LIVE THEIR CATHOLICISM LIKE TEENAGERS!

COULD IT EVER BECOME ILLEGAL TO CALL THOSE WITH SAME SEX ATTRACTIONS TO CHASTITY?

Who are we to judge if a Catholic with same sex attractions who is sincerely striving to follow the Lord as the Catholic Church teaches and fully accepts the Church's teaching on sexuality and chastity as well as marriage? This is basically what Pope Francis said about Catholic priests who might have same sex attractions although the liberal media and those with agendas against the Catholic Church's sure and certain truths quote the Holy Father out of context to undermine the Church and her teachings.

So should the Catholic Church hire someone for a position as a music director or teacher or pastoral worker who has same sex attractions? Certainly if that person is qualified and can uphold the Church's teachings in all the areas of Church teaching including sexual morality. If the person is not a Catholic, and we hire many non Catholics for church work, that person should understand what the Church teaches and in no way compromise it in any public way. I have found our Protestant and Jewish teachers over the years to be exemplary in this and quite respectful even when they don't accept many points of Catholic teachings on a variety of areas.

But the chilling fact is that there are some countries that would consider the following video which I posted previously to be illegal. One can't even call a person with same sex attractions to chastity, meaning to change their way of life and to conform to the Gospel as the Catholic Church teaches it in truth and in love. That is chilling and I think possible in Great Britain and Canada and other places of the world.  Will it happen here? I think it could and it might!

The Third Way from Blackstone Films on Vimeo.

Do you think that this film could be banned in America?

SUPERFICIAL CATHOLICISM OF THE KUMBAYA ERA

A caricature of 1970's trendy and superficial Catholicism can be summed up in two songs, both touchy-feely and both extremely superficial but both regularly sung at Mass in the 1970's. Both are caricatures of that era, the hippie generation, the drop out generation, the flower power generation.

People my age and older either remember it with their stomach's churning at its superficial Utopianism  and immature sentimentality or they remember it fondly as it brings them back to the past and the happiness of the drug induced euphoria of that age.

The first is Kumbaya My Lord and this was best accompanied by holding hands. I won't print the words, but they are simple and superficial enough to recall.

The second is "We Are One in the Spirit" which I will print.

I wonder if these songs and songs like them and people who have embraced them as young, immature people who now approaching their 60's and 70's are still stuck in that immaturity and sentimentality as it concerns the hard truths of Catholicism?

I wonder how many Catholics formed exclusively on this tripe in the 1970's and unfortunately beyond, still believe what the Catholic Church teaches in all areas, without cherry picking like in a cafeteria only that which they like and makes them feel warm and fuzzy?

It strikes me that the following song is Pelagian and seems to forget that loving can be an atheistic characteristic or apply to any of the great religions of the world. Christians have no monopoly here. It is a human trait because we are made in the image and likeness of God regardless of our religion.

It strikes me too, that our way of loving is what gets us into heaven, our works rather than God's action. So apart from its superficiality and ethnocentric sentiments in implying that love is what makes people know we are Christians when they could be atheists, Jews, Hindus or members of the Kiwanis Club.  

These are the words:

We are one in the Spirit
We are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit
We are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity
May one day be restored

And they'll know we are Christians
By our love, By our love
Yes, they'll know we are Christians
By our love

We will walk with each other
We will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each other
We will walk hand in hand
And together we'll spread the news
That God is in our land

And they'll know we are Christians
By our love, By our love
Yes, they'll know we are Christians
By our love

All praise to the Father
From whom all things come
And all praise to Christ Jesus His only son
And all praise to the Spirit
Who makes us one

And they'll know we are Christians
By our love, By our love
Yes, they'll know we are Christians
By our love.

REV. DR. R. KIRBY GODSEY HARSHLY JUDGES ORTHODOX CATHOLICS AND USES THE NUCLEAR OPTION AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE POPE, HE IMPLIES THAT THE CHURCH'S TEACHINGS AND THOSE WHO HOLD THEM ARE BIGOTS, PREJUDICE AND HATE MONGERS! OF COURSE THIS IS SECULAR RELIGION'S VERSION OF HELL FIRE AND DAMNATION THAT COULD LEAD TO SOCIAL EXCOMMUNICATION IN THE MACON COMMUNITY! SOME MIGHT ASK, WHO IS REV. GODSEY TO JUDGE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?

Basically, the Rev. Dr. Godsey, a Baptist Minister/Preacher has implied that Pope Francis is a bigot, prejudice and hate monger for this statement he made a few years back:

What could have been a good article and conciliatory turns into a very transparent anti-Catholic diatribe by a highly respected member of the Baptist clergy and chancellor of Mercer University who desires to change the Catholic Church's teachings on sexuality and marriage, which he calls bigoted. But he goes beyond that to lobby for changing the Catholic Church's teaching on who gets ordained priests. This is stunning from the perspective of ecumenism and respecting the legitimate differences that various ecclesial communities bring to the table. His diatribe is one of the main reasons that ecumenism on so many levels and worldwide is dead in the water and currently just about tea and crumpets, occasional  prayer services and receptions (which I like by the way, it is better than nothing) and striving to work together to help the poor in a variety of ecumenical and interfaith endeavors, Daybreak in Macon a good example.

He also quotes out of context Pope Francis' now infamous "Who am I to judge" completely oblivious to its context. He either does this intentionally to promote his own agenda against Catholic teaching and maliciously using the Pope to do it or he has not done his homework in discovering the context. In either case it is unacceptable for an academic to do this. He must do his homework. Need I remind the Rev. Dr. Godsey that just yesterday, Sunday, the same day as this editorial appeared, Pope Francis speaking to more than 50,000 charismatic Catholics at Rome's soccer stadium said that it is the devil who is working against the traditional marriage, sexuality and  family and trying to destroy it. He said this in the context of traditional marriage, one man and one woman, where children are born of this natural and complimentary union and who need both a mother and a father. The devil, he said, is working against this because he knows that the traditional family is the Church in miniature.

I reprint this editorial printed in the Macon Telegraph on Sunday. Comments that make personal attacks on the author will not be printed, but I would like to see thoughtful comments supporting the Catholic Church's infallible teachings on sex, marriage, right to life of the unborn, artificial contraception, and the nature of the Catholic Church and the priesthood (Church as bride, Christ as bridegroom and the sacraments of Matrimony and Holy Orders as visible signs of this spiritual reality). My comments are in RED in the body of Rev. Dr. Godsey's editorial below:

GODSEY: Bigotry, prejudice and grace

By R. KIRBY GODSEY

Special to The TelegraphJune 1, 2014 

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2014/06/01/3126190/godsey-bigotry-prejudice-and-grace.html#storylink=cpy

Religion has been a source of great human good in our world. Families have been strengthened. Scores of men and women have been educated. Whole societies have advanced because of the light of learning and discovery that has been disseminated.

Even so, we have to face up to the dark side of religion as well. Atrocities have been committed, violent and deadly religious crusades have been spawned, prejudice and hostility have been defended all in the name of God. So, while noble religious initiatives have been inspired, cruel and demeaning religious abuses continue to take place. It turns out that churches and religious assemblies are, after all, human institutions that have the capacity to bring hope, but, from time to time, become champions of hurt. They, and consequently the institutions they foster, become victims of religious prejudice and find themselves justifying wrong-hearted and wrong-headed behaviors by covering them with a mantle of faithful devotion. (My comment: I might remind Rev. Dr. Godsey that secular, political  ideologies such as fascism and communism have slaughtered more people in the 20th century than any negative results of religious practice has over the past 20 centuries. The Church's teaching on marriage and sexuality contained in Pope Paul VI's Humanae Vitae that also upheld the Church's teaching that artificial contraception goes against natural law, if followed by Catholics and others of good will would have protected marriage, the family and the health of human beings by curtailing sexually transmitted diseases some of which have led to the deaths of scores of men and women. As it stands and as Pope Paul VI prophetically predicted in 1968, women are disrespected, used and promoted as sex objects more so than ever, (and now men are as well) divorce is rampant, family life is destroyed, people have died from the promiscuous use of sex disconnected from natural law, love, family and life.)

When it comes to overcoming prejudice and discrimination, the secular culture often races ahead of the religious culture. In our own land, the church had to confess belatedly to its own sins with respect to slavery. The church was among the last and the loudest voices heard in defense of segregation, only later to have to kneel in shame. Now, the church battles within itself and with civil society concerning the treatment of gays and lesbians and the distinctions between the social and religious definitions of marriage. I suspect that in the distant days ahead, the church will have to struggle again to reorder its doctrines and apologize for its mistakes.

It is an odd, even uncomfortable, reality when the secular culture has to reintroduce our religious assemblies to the ways of grace. It is not surprising, therefore, that fewer and fewer people take religion seriously. While we understand that church doctrine is clear and that the bishops of the church have the right and the authority to act without regard to the sensibilities of the communities they serve, we also understand that whenever their actions place doctrine above people, they face the prospect of having turned good religion into bad. (I might remind Rev. Dr. Godsey that liberalism in the mainline Protestant denominations has emptied those churches, First Baptist Church in Macon a primary example when compared to the more conservative Baptist Churches in Macon such as Ingleside Baptist and Mable White Baptist, the two most conservative and thriving, booming Baptist Churches in Macon. Liberalism has been the death knell for the Anglican Communion, its Episcopal Branch in the USA on life support fueled only by the extremely wealthy in that denomination. The same has happened in the Catholic Church, liberalization has emptied our seminaries, religious orders and churches over the past 50 years. Only those orthodox and conservative orders and seminaries are doing well and orthodox and conservative candidates joining. The problem Rev. Dr. Godsey is your ideology that is destroying once strong and faithful Protestant denominations).

With clear eyes, we should see that when we hurt or injure in the name of earnest belief and protecting the religious order, we are missing the mark of radical grace that Jesus embodied. Jesus said that we should love God and one another without condition. “Do this and you shall live,” he said. Perhaps the grace of loving without condition should trump following church doctrine without condition. (The implied case that Rev. Dr. Godsey refers only tells part of the story. We can certainly improve the manner in which people are dismissed from their positions in religious institutions, and clarify our contracts and employment policies when these become outdated because of new situations in secular society, but make no mistake, people are dismissed from their paying jobs in religious institutions every year, including Mercer University and often for reasons much less serious than undermining the mission of the school with political and social ideologies that are opposed to their mission. Most who are dismissed have serious grievances but do not make this public or go to the press with their grievances and normally if there is any breach of civil law, settlements by law are confidential and no one can comment. It was not any Catholic institution or person in Macon that made the dismissal of one of its employees public it was the employee himself.)

Our willingness to act with grace becomes betrayed by fear -- the fear that God will not approve of us unless we believe the right things, the fear that unless we abide by the rules of the church we will be unacceptable, the fear that unless we believe the Bible is literally true or that church doctrine is infallibly right, we might land in the grips of an angry God.

Fear is all that it takes to fuel bigotry and hateful prejudice. And there is no bigotry quite so virulent or unforgiving as religious bigotry. Bigotry is a wrong that can be righted, even though our first human reaction is to defend, without quarter, the prevailing religious mores and the established church doctrines. Only years later are we likely to discern that our aggressive defensiveness was on the wrong side of history and the wrong side of grace. ( I might remind the Rev. Dr. Godsey that fear of God is not what is at stake here but the tyranny of political ideologies, the dictatorship of relativism and the fear these forces in the elite news and entertainment media and leftist political ideologues use to instill fear in rank and file conservative Christians to keep quiet if they can't or won't conform to these ideologies. What you are doing in this article is reminding all who have orthodox beliefs about marriage and sexuality to keep quiet or else you will get nuked by being called a bigot, prejudiced hate monger and out of step with secular ideologies that know better than stupid Christians who hold tight to their beliefs and the evangelization of the world with these. Let me tell you that your name calling might work to keep some of us quiet out of fear of being labeled wrongly by you as a bigot, but it doesn't work with this Catholic priest. And yes I fear God more than the censure coming from your ideological position.)

I am confident, however, that bigotry and hatred and abuse ( If you are referring to faithful Catholics and Christians and Jews of goodwill, striving to uphold the mission of their educational institutions, you are extremely judgmental and very mistaken) will not be the last word. All of us are on a human journey that began thousands of years ago, a journey of learning to live with more civility, more respect, to live with more grace toward one another without regard for life conditions or religious beliefs or personal histories.

Sometimes the church helps us move forward. Sometimes our actions in the name of belief set us back. Our progress is not steady or even. Overcoming prejudice remains a long and uphill battle and climbing out of the valley of religious prejudice always requires courage. There are glimmers of change, even signs of courage, in our established religious traditions, including the Roman Catholic Church. When asked about gays in the church, Pope Francis replied, “Who am I to judge?” The shepherds of the corporate church were quick to try to “walk back” the pope’s stunning words. Even when we least expect it, the light can dawn even in the church. We can learn to embrace one another regardless of race or ethnicity or religion or sexual orientation. (Just as fundamentalist Protestants striving to proselytize Catholics quote Scripture out of context to prove that the Catholic Church is the "whore of Babylon" to us Catholics, so too do those who oppose the Catholic Church's teachings on sex, marriage, the right to life, quote Pope Francis out of context to make their points to proselytize  Catholics to their ideological agenda that Pope Francis doesn't care about the Church's teachings on sexuality or marriage or the right to life if it impinges on the me-generation's agenda about fierce individualism and personal fulfillment to the detriment of the common good. This is the context of Pope Francis much abused "Who am I to judge" comment: So, what did the Pope say? In the context of his larger remarks on homosexuality and the priesthood, Francis was attempting to explain that a homosexual “lobby” within his church is entirely unacceptable. The Vatican has been reeling from a report issued under Pope Benedict XVI that identified a “gay lobby” with inordinate power and influence within the church. Francis told the reporters that he saw gay individuals as distinct from a gay lobby. “I think that when we encounter a gay person, we must make the distinction between the fact of a person being gay and the fact of a lobby, because lobbies are not good. They are bad.”

We can learn to embrace one another, sinner and saint alike. We can learn to be open to the blessings of the Holy Eucharist served by both men and women priests. For ours is not to judge. Ours is to live with outrageous grace. (Rev. Dr. Godsey, please don't be hypocritical! You have judged the Catholic Church and those of us who believe and uphold what the Church teaches. You have judged us bigots, prejudice and hate mongers. And in doing so you are bullying us with your version of hellfire and damnation, social shunning. Who are you trying to kid?)

Grace will ultimately prevail. Only courage will determine whether its prevailing will occur in the stewardship of our time or a time yet to come.

R. Kirby Godsey is the chancellor of Mercer University.(also an ordained Southern Baptist Preacher)

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2014/06/01/3126190/godsey-bigotry-prejudice-and-grace.html#storylink=cpy

TO SANCTIFY, TEACH AND GOVERN--WHO DOESN'T KNOW THIS ABOUT THE THREE-FOLD MINISTRY OF BISHOPS, INCLUDING THE BISHOP OF ROME?

I was reading a comment by a Catholic about the situation at Mt. de Sales and she wrote that she had no idea that Mt. de Sales Academy was under the Bishop of Savannah when it comes to its Catholic identity and that if the Bishop of Savannah became concerned about this educational institution's Catholic identity as it concerns the Church's teaching on sexuality and marriage, that he could intervene and use his authority to either confirm or remove the Catholic identity of the school.

Southerners in a congregationalist Protestant culture sometimes think that the Catholic Church operates as Protestant Churches do, independently of one another. They also seem to think that a Private Catholic School is independent of the bishop. It isn't. Of course the bishop defers to the board of trustees in the administration of the school and its policies but if something goes off track or policies are made that compromise the Catholic mission of our institutions the bishop can intervene. His role is to govern his diocese and the Catholics in it as well as its institutions.

While I am not opposed to the additional Eucharistic Prayers for Mass, and in fact use Roman Canon infrequently, I do realize that most Catholics very seldom hear what was once the only Eucharistic Prayer for Mass, the Roman Canon also named the First Eucharistic Prayer.

As I prayed it this morning for the Solemnity of the Ascension, given the controversy in Macon over our private Catholic High School, I was struck by the following which is prayed prior the the Epiclesis:

"...Be pleased to grant her [the holy Catholic Church] peace, to guard, unite and govern her throughout the whole world, together with your servant Francis our Pope and Gregory John our Bishop, and all those who, holding to the truth, hand on the catholic and apostolic faith..."

The other Eucharistic Prayers in no way convey this truth as clearly as the Roman Canon does. Just imagine if Catholics heard that each and every Sunday at Mass and every day at daily Mass. The law of prayer is the law of belief. But if it is missing or seldom prayed or heard, how can we believe--"the law of prayer is the law of belief" even for corrupt prayers or prayers that omit what is important!

How many of our Catholics simply don't know or believe that part of the Roman Canon I emphasize because they've never really heard or prayed it?