Et Verbum Caro Factum Est

If you ever find yourself wondering how much God loves us, try to recall the last time you didn't do something because you thought it was beneath you, or that you might get yourself dirty, or that it might cause you some kind of other discomfort.

God didn't let any of that stop him. We could decide to lower ourselves to become cockroaches, and it wouldn't even begin to approach the infinite condescension that we find in the Incarnation.

Yet despite our wretchedness, we find it almost impossible to humble ourselves for anything. You think it would be easy considering how often we screw things up. God, though, never screws things up but chooses to undergo a humiliation beyond all others to be one of us.

The reality of this should both chill us sbd warm our hearts at the same time.

Merry Christmas to you all.

Pre-Christmas/Pre-Epiphany Observation

We laud the Magi for presenting Our Blessed Lord with expensive gifts like gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We belittle, scorn, and excoriate churches, art, and the official trappings of Our Lord's anointed as pretentious and wasteful. 

Does it not seem that those who would deny such gifts these days (or even claim that they are sinful) either do not believe in His Presence and/or reject the special honor and effect of Holy Orders?

What Would You Fight For?

It's an amazing thing. ND promoting some kind of bizarre seminar on white privilege is big enough news to make a segment on The O'Reilly Factor and to get me a dozen emails from alumni about it. On a different note, ND's decision to cave on the HHS mandate and its embrace of faculty who promote heresy in the class and turn students against the Faith are regarded as either (a) not news at all or (b) proof of how great of an institution the school is.

Through the looking glass, folks. We are through the looking glass.

The Church Fathers Say The Darnedest Things

Another reason to like the Fathers is that, every now and then, you see a line that is just too awesome and that makes you appreciate their humanity and ability to take anything and make a teachable moment out of it. We've discussed this previously with writers like Lactantius, for example.

This time, it's St. Augustine:

We know, too, that some men are differently constituted from others, and have some rare and remarkable faculty of doing with their body what other men can by no effort do, and, indeed, scarcely believe when they hear of others doing. There are persons who can move their ears, either one at a time, or both together. There are some who, without moving the head, can bring the hair down upon the forehead, and move the whole scalp backwards and forwards at pleasure. Some, by lightly pressing their stomach, bring up an incredible quantity and variety of things they have swallowed, and produce whatever they please, quite whole, as if out of a bag. Some so accurately mimic the voices of birds and beasts and other men, that, unless they are seen, the difference cannot be told. Some have such command of their bowels, that they can break wind continuously at pleasure, so as to produce the effect of singing.

St. Augustine, City of God, Book XIV, Chapter 24

Is that not just a fantastic line or what?

The Omega Episcopalian

It's a done deal. The Barque of Elizabeth has finally gone all-in for women bishops. We knew this was an inevitability, made all the moreso by Archlayman Welby's ascension to the See of Cranmer.

The Church of England overturned centuries of tradition on Monday with a final vote allowing women to become bishops, with the first appointments possible by Christmas.

Approval of the historic change, which was first agreed to in July, was announced after a largely symbolic show of hands at the General Synod, the lawmaking body of the Church of England. The British Parliament supported the measure last month.

“Today we can begin to embrace a new way of being the church and moving forward together,” the archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Justin Welby, said after the vote.

Two decades after the first female priest was ordained, the issue of women taking senior roles in the church hierarchy remains divisive. As recently as 2012, the proposal had been defeated by six votes.

But Archbishop Welby, the spiritual leader of the church and the global Anglican Communion, who supported the vote from the start, had warned fellow church leaders this year that the public would find the exclusion of women “almost incomprehensible.”

Which public? Are you including the folks in Africa on that? I'm thinking that a behind-closed-doors confab between Archlayman Welby and Cardinal Kaspar would be a hoot.

Anyways, this is another mile marker on the path of the Anglican Death March and a significant one.

With that in mind, I direct your attention to some great articles by Philip Jenkins (who isn't Catholic in case you're looking for bias) entitled The Church Vanishes, as he focuses on the collapse of Episcopalianism in America. Part One can be found here and is noteworthy for the following comment:

In conclusion, I just offer one wholly scientific theory that I just invented: The numerical growth and success of a religious denomination is inversely proportionate to the favorable treatment it receives in major liberal media outlets (New York Times, Washington Post, Nation, New Republic). Examples? The Episcopal Church USA versus Mormons or Catholics; Episcopalians/Anglicans in North America versus Africa.

Heh. It's a pretty good observation, but plenty of people will shout about the difference between correlation and causation to ignore the obvious here. At least one of the Anglicans' own is recognizing that the road of public approval ends in self-annihilation.

The real gem from Mr. Jenkins comes in Part Two, though, in his discussion of the recent declines in Anglican faithful:

If we extrapolate that rate into the not-too-distant future, then the number of people attending Episcopal churches on a typical Sunday will be negligible by mid-century, typical of a tiny sect rather than a great church or denomination. It won’t reach zero for a while, but in effect, the church will cease to exist. We might need a new vocabulary of religious decline. How about church evaporation?

That mid-century date is really not far off. In fact, the baby baptized at my church last Sunday will by that point only be a young adult in her 30s.

Non-attending notional members will persist for a few years longer, but by the end of the century, we should be talking total disappearance.

In that scenario, America’s last Episcopalian walks among us today.

Holy smokes. I wonder if anybody has done the math on the rest of the mainline Reformed groups. I doubt they're in much better shape.

We need a History Channel production starring Katharine Schori as The Last Episcopalian On Earth, wherein she wanders around a landscape of Anglicanorum Coetibus converts, calling them freaks, and trying to burn their churches down.

Our Relationship With The Orthodox

This post from Rorate is worth reading in order to get some perspective on the recent events surrounding Pope Francis's visit to Turkey. Mark well the quotes from Bartholomew I, as well as those we have previously mentioned from Metropolitan Hilarion from Russia.

First off, the Orthodox have enough disagreements among themselves that we shouldn't treat of them like a monolithic body.

Second, these comments should spur us to further prayer for a miracle that will bring them back into the fold.

Third, we should appreciate their frankness regarding the distance between us, as well as their posture that Truth matters. Would that Catholic ecumenists be so honest, rather than engaging in endless glad-handing with poor unfortunates outside of the Church (to use St. John XXIII's term) and repetitive self-congratulatory drivel over yet another worthless document that either does nothing but create the illusion that we really have agreement or encourages the heretic/schismatic in their errors by making them think the differences don't actually matter.

As an aside, if you want to see people stop being nice and start being real about this topic, check out what I'm sure will be some epic responses over the anniversary celebrations for the liberation of the Ukrainian Church (which is being attended by Cardinal Schonborn of all people).

Cardinal Sarah Is Now Prefect Of The CDW

No, not the network with Flash and Arrow. The Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments. 

While a good thing to see in that  Cardinal Sarah is a good, holy, and orthodox son of the Church, it is also a weird pick to the extent that he is not a liturgist. This is sort of like taking a family practice physician and then telling him to work in a Level 1 trauma center. Sure, he knows some of the stuff going on. He can figure out a lot through experience. However, the whole environment just isn't his niche or area of expertise.

We will probably have a better handle on all this when we see what happens to his old job as the head of Cor Unum. 

Life Is Good

My wife and I welcomed our newest addition this morning. She is beautiful, healthy, and already such a blessing. Mom is doing well. Everything is great.

This has been a difficult pregnancy. Thank you all so much for your prayers throughout this period.

Life is so good.

Cardinal Sarah Just Freaking Rules

We mention him every now and again here because of that simple fact. Whether it's defending the Church's teaching on marriage and the family or nuggets like the one below, he has shown himself to be a loyal shepherd and one worthy of our prayers.

Please note these recent comments from the CNA:

“It’s very important to express that the hunger we are suffering today is not having God in our life, in our society,” the cardinal said Nov. 7. He explained that Benedict XVI’s encyclical insists that charity is the way we express our faith. Although giving food is necessary, “the main food is God.”

He recounted a story from one of his two trips to Syria to visit refugees. He met a small child who asked him: “does God really exist? Why did he let my father be killed?”

This child had everything, the cardinal observed, including food and medicine, but still lacked the most essential thing, which is the assurance that God exists and is close to him.

“(So) charity today is not only to act for social work, for material assistance, but really to bring the Gospel to the people.”

In other words:

Cardinal Sarah, citing Benedict XVI, told CNA that “charity is very linked with the proclamation of the Gospel, and doing charity is not only giving food, giving material things, but giving God too. Because the main lack of man is not having God.”

How timely this message is, given the prevailing attitude that charity is essentially passing on stuff for temporal well-being, while souls are neglected. What does it profit a man that he has food for a few days (or the rest of his life) if he winds up in hell?

Social justice has long been the smokescreen of the heterodox *cough*nunsonthebus*cough*, Words like Cardinal Sarah's are a big deal because they correct against heretics co-opting the Church's message. It also helps that he's the head of Cor Unum so, you know, it's his job to lead charitable relief efforts.

Too Funny

The Eye of the Tiber does an excellent job with its latest effort:

Pope Francis Not Sure How To Make Sense Of What He Just Said

“I said what?” Francis asked those gathered. “There’s no way I just said that. OK, that’s just weird. Seriously, what the heck is it with me? Am I trying to change doctrine or something? How am I gonna explain this to my secular friends? Oh boy, I can see their faces now. I bet they’re just itching to ask when I’m gonna start allowing divorced gay Catholics to receive communion. This is great…just great. I’m so freaking pissed right now I think I’m gonna go blog about it.”

Well played.

Criticizing The Pope

Just a quick thought. We live in an odd world wherein one group calling for the Pope to defend the Church in order to resolve the faithful's confusion are considered slanderers on the verge of schism while another group who are overjoyed at the thought of the Pope agreeing with them as an outright heretic are somehow looked on as protecting his reputation.

The world no longer has any use for the concept of words having proper meanings or things having a specific essence.

Christian Pop Culture Characters

I was trying to cipher the numbers on something.

How many openly homosexual characters are on your major tv shows and movies these days?

How many openly Christian characters are in the same?

And let's add that said characters as such are shown in a positive light rather than as straw men or caricatures.

I'm not sure of the exact ratios, but on first blush, the closet for Christians seems way more crowded.

Of Vital Importance To Remember

Regardless of whom we elect, we will never see a renewal of society until we embrace the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ.

Lord, have mercy.

Whither Ecumenism For The Synod?

In the course of the Synod's proceedings, we heard a lot about folks trying to warp the notion of certain settled Church teachings, particularly on things like homosexuality and the indissolubility of marriage.

While we continue to hear a lot about the importance of ecumenism, the scandal being given to those of other faiths due to the Synodal proceedings is being ignored. You can do a few internet searches to see what I mean. Generally speaking, there are two groups involved.

First, you've got the folks who are looking for something to show that Catholicism's claims are false. After all, if the Church ever shows it was wrong about something, then the rightness of anything else is open for debate. This category is inhabited by lots of different groups ranging from militant atheists to virulently anti-Catholic Protestants.

Second, you've got fellow travelers in other faiths, from Protestantism to Islam, who have a certain amount of respect for Catholicism as the global standard bearer for morality on a global scale. These people hear what Cardinal Kaspar or Archbishop Forte are saying and are confused. Why is Catholicism folding in the culture war? What are these bishops/the Pope/the Synod doing? This has the additional effect of confirming to such people that Catholicism is "just another religion" and/or turning them away from the prospect of conversion altogether.

We've talked a lot about liturgical abuse (or just the existence of the Pauline Mass itself) as an ecumenical stumbling block for the Orthodox. Sure, you might have some of them that go with "three strikes and you're out divorce," but they are going to draw the line on homosexuality. Likewise, the Protestant churches that most would call "evangelical" are becoming less and less accepting of divorce (in my admittedly anecdotal experience) and are definitely going to hold anything looking like approval of homosexuality with disdain. And rightfully so.

My point in all this comes from multiple conversations I've had in the last week where I've had to deal with these new issues arising from people who otherwise might be accepting of the Church. Unfortunately, the modern notion of ecumenism, which is largely (and coincidentally?)  embodied in the works of Cardinal Kaspar, is only interested in action that results in an abandonment or compromise of Catholicism and not in the salvation of souls. Until the latter becomes the focus, real ecumenism will be ignored, and a false message of irenicism will result in the abandonment of many who crave the clear message of Truth.

Holy Innocents Will Stay Open

This is wonderful news. We mentioned a while back that this wonderful parish and home to the TLM in New York was under threat of closure. It appears to have survived that.

If you have a moment, send a word of thanks to Cardinal Dolan. Then pray for the inhabitants of New York for a resurgence of the faith that will allow for some of the parishes that are being shuttered to be re-opened or saved.

Pray For Them

Much is made of the poor and suffering. In thinking of those, do not neglect our brethren undergoing their final purification. They suffer. They aren't called "the poor souls in purgatory" for nothing. They deserve our love and our efforts to end their suffering just as much as the hungry or poverty-stricken here on earth.

It's All Souls Day. There are indulgences out there. Why not take advantage of them to help out someone who needs them? Someone who, I might add, will pray for you when they get to Heaven.

Just A Question

If we can't call Cardinal Kaspar a heretic, does the word actually mean anything anymore?

Synodal Hijinks (The Aftermath)

I'm a little late coming with this, but it's probably a good thing because there has been more of a chance for the information to sink in, and I haven't really had the time to throw anything up on the subject anyway.

By now, pretty much everybody knows that this whole thing followed the Vatican II playbook. Tight media control. A warping of perception. Sly maneuvering of document drafts. All this was set up for the final declaration of victory and return home to re-interpret sacramental dogma to fit the whims of the Prince of This World.

Then reality hit. Bishops began complaining about the media spin. Cardinal Erdo disavowed the interim relatio. The dominoes fell from there. Cardinal Kaspar lost his mind and basically said that the African and Asian churches had to be limited in the whole synodal discussion (that's my charitable way to put it), then lied about saying it, then apologized when caught in his lie. Cardinal Pell's demanded publication of the "small group reports" was the biggest deal, and I encourage everyone to read the efforts from Cardinal Burke's group, as well as that of Cardinal Sarah (a huge thank you to Stomachosus for the translation) who I gain more and more respect for daily.

Since that time, we've had much wailing and gnashing of teeth about how this is a set-back for the "updating" of the Church," albeit only a temporary one. With that summary, I give you my thoughts on the biggest things to come out of this.

1. First, for all the hand-wringing about the final votes on some of the more controversial language, keep in mind that this was a cherry-picked crowd. If ever there was a field ripe for the planting of this crap crop, it was there at the Synod. And it still didn't work.

2. Cardinal Dolan came back with strength. Whether or not he might "go wobbly" under the glare of spotlights again is up for debate, but his comments this time around were a far cry from his applause of Michael Sam or his posture on the St. Patrick's Parade.

3. I am in wholesale agreement with fellow blogger Boniface at Unam Sanctam re: his point #7 on Cardinal Kaspar. Is he racist? I doubt it. This is the same type of attitude he's always had with people who have dared to disagree with him. Is he a jerk? I think so. But now, he can go back to the hole Pope Benedict had buried him in. His entire reputation has been blown to hell right where his theology belongs.

4. Given that Cardinal Kaspar spent this whole time talking about how tight he is with Pope Francis and how any disagreement with him is an attack on the Pope, I figure Pope Francis has some fences to mend with those same African and Asian churches that were smeared.

5. Given Point #4, I think the ripples from this are going to last all the way to the next conclave. No way are the Africans going to throw their votes to anyone who is going to put them in this kind of position again. Ditto for the Asians. These are prelates who have spent a lot of time and energy to combating the regularization of homosexuality and the difficulty of the Church's teaching on marriage. They aren't going to let the Catholic Church go the way of the Anglican Communion. They will be looking for someone speaking with clarity and prudence on these matters.

6. We've seen the Pope come out with some pretty strong verbiage in the last few days. I assume some of this is in response to the backlash from the Synod.

7. While much attention has been given to Cardinal Muller's role in all this, I am much more fascinated by what Cardinal Erdo was doing. In a lot of ways, it was his action with the relatio that definitively proved that there was funny business going on with the drafting. I wouldn't say it forced the other bishops' hand to rise up, but it was a big step in clearing the way for them. We'll probably know more depending on what happens to His Eminence going forward. If he's tagged as Cardinal Burke's roommate in Malta, that will be a clear sign. Regardless, I think Cardinal Erdo is important. If he can be a European counter-weight to guys like Cardinals Marx and Schonborn, that would be a huge deal.

8. Speaking of Cardinal Burke, I'm not sure people are really appreciating what has happened to him. The level of his proposed demotion is ridiculous. Really, that is probably an understatement. Consider every prelate you know who has been implicated in sexual abuse and cover-up. None of them got a gut-punch like this one.

9. As we alluded to in another post, the notion that any substantive reform of the Curia is actually happening or going to happen is a pipe dream. If anything, the wolves are going to dig themselves in deeper and continue their war against the orthodox. Malta is going to get awful crowded before this is all over. The bottom line, though is that it's pretty difficult to see guys like Cardinal Danneels and Sodano getting special treatment or an institution like the German church being so influential in promoting heresy just to secure its cash flow, while guys like Cardinal Burke or the FFI or whoever are essentially cast into exile. Sure, we might get some reforms of the Vatican Bank, but this is all window dressing while the rot spreads.

So that's the way I see it for now. Pray for our bishops. Fast. Do penance. The recipe hasn't changed.

WWJD?

Well, there's always this:

Thanks to Matt Kozak for putting this on twitter.

An Interim Post And Prediction

We all know that Pope Paul VI is to be beatified at the close of the Synod.

I'm making a prediction now. Write it down. Remember where you heard it first.

After Pope Paul is beatified, new evidence will be "discovered" or old evidence will "resurface" to resurrect the rumors alleging that he was a homosexual.

I hope I'm wrong.

How We Got Where We Are

First, it's become obvious that the Synod wasn't some kind of modernist carnival with non-stop heretical hijinks. There were good things being said. They were just all being ignored in favor of giving free rein to The Adversary.

Hey, it happens.

Before we get into the more explosive events of recent days, I offer a few tidbits from the lead-up, per Zenit.

Humanae Vitae got great affirmation from some of the married couples asked to speak. Consider the testimony of Olivier and Xristilla Roussy from France:

When we were engaged, we chose to conform to the natural regulation of births. After the arrival of our third child, Xristilla was exhausted. We could no longer live peacefully our conjugal unions. So we decided that Xristilla should take a contraceptive pill for some months. The choice of contraception was supposed to calm us down; it had the opposite effect. We lived that period very badly. Xristilla was often in a bad mood, desire was absent and joy disappeared. In truth, we had the impression of no longer being ourselves. We were not united. We understood that we had closed a door to the Lord in our conjugal life. So we decided to take up again a natural regulation of births. It was seemingly a more difficult way that invited us to be continent during fertile periods at the same time that we desired more strongly to unite ourselves. It is often hard to accept and to choose it each time. However, we live it together. It is a joint adventure that pushes us to want the happiness of the other. Much more than a method, this way of life enables us to receive one another each day, to communicate, to know one another, to await one another, to have confidence, to be delicate. We chose this way, we do not suffer it, and we are profoundly happy despite the efforts it requires.

And then here from the Zamberlines, a Brazilian couple and the supporting comments from Cardinal Vingt-Trois:

At a Thursday morning session on the “Pastoral Challenges Concerning an Openness to Life,” Brazilians, Arturo and Hermelinda Zamberline gave a testimony on contraception. They concluded by calling on the Holy Father and the synod to help Catholics understand and obey Humanae Vitae, Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical that affirmed Church teaching against birth control, reported CNS.

The couple, who have been married 41 years with three children, are also country leaders of “Teams of Our Lady,” an international Catholic movement.

Saying that "often, contradictory advice only aggravates their confusion," they noted: "If couples, as well as clergy, could at least find illumination and support, that would already be a great encouragement."

"We ask, may the magisterium hasten to give priests and faithful the major lines of a pastoral teaching programme to help people adopt and observe the principles laid out in ‘Humanae Vitae,’” the Zamberlines said.

Then there was some great commentary about the connection between family life and vocations and the threat of secularism to both.

Africa, of course, looms large. Let's take a look at some of the initial comments. There are those here:

From various quarters there emerged the tendency of several states and organisations based in the Western world to present, especially in the context of Africa, various concepts (including abortion and homosexual unions) as "human rights", linked to economic aid and strong pressure campaigns for the promotion of such concepts. In this respect, it was highlighted that the expression "rights to sexual and reproductive health" does not have a precise definition in international law and ends up encompassing mutually contradictory principles such as the condemnation of forced abortion and the promotion of safe abortion, or the protection of maternity and the promotion of contraception.

And here:

Numerous interventions, especially in relation to Africa, drew attention to the many challenges the family must face in this continent: polygamy, levirate marriage, sects, war, poverty, the painful crisis of migration, international pressure for birth control, and so on. These are problems that undermine family stability, placing it in crisis. In the face of such challenges, it is necessary to respond with in-depth evangelisation, able to promote the values of peace, justice and love, an adequate promotion of the role of women in society, thorough education of children and the protection of rights for all victims of violence.

More on Africa in a later post, thanks to Cardinal Kaspar.

This didn't keep there from being a certain amount of mushiness in how the proceedings were reported and summarized. Keep in mind that the individual interventions have been basically censured. We know very little about the specifics. Consider this particular item from the 7th General Congregation:

Firstly, it re-emphasised the indissoluble nature of marriage, without compromise, based on the fact that the sacramental bond is an objective reality, the work of Christ in the Church. Such a value must be defended and cared for through adequate pre-matrimonial catechesis, so that engaged couples are fully aware of the sacramental character of the bond and its vocational nature. Pastoral accompaniment for couples following marriage would also be useful.

At the same time, it was said that it is necessary to look at individual cases and real-life situations, even those involving great suffering, distinguishing for example between those who abandon their spouse and those who are abandoned. The problem exists – this was repeated several times in the Assembly – and the Church does not neglect it. Pastoral care must not be exclusive, of an “all or nothing” type but must instead be merciful, as the mystery of the Church is a mystery of consolation...

And then:

Similarly, while emphasising the impossibility of recognising same sex marriage, the need for a respectful and non-discriminatory approach with regard to homosexuals was in any case underlined.

Who is doing all this emphasizing and underlining? How much of it is there in each case? For example, Fr. Lombardi, at one point, went on record saying that out of around 265 interventions that had been given that he remembered one that mentioned homosexuality.

Likewise with this language from the 6th Congregation:

It was remarked that it is important to carefully avoid moral judgement or speaking of a “permanent state of sin”, seeking instead to enable understanding that not being admitted to the sacrament of the Eucharist does not entirely eliminate the possibility of grace in Christ and is due rather to the objective situation of remaining bound by a previous and indissoluble sacramental bond.

How absurd is it for the Church, Mother and Teacher on all things relating to faith and morals, to avoid making moral judgments?

By now, I'm sure most readers have heard the controversy over the Relatio that was circulated at the mid-point of the proceedings. It's a remarkable document that with all the theological promise of a Charles Nelson Reilly performance. If you are overly masochistic, the parts with the most disturbing language are #50 et seq,

Just keep those in mind for now. I will post on the more explosive events later. It is worthwhile to have in mind the above, though, to understand why things have happened how they have happened.

Bishop John Chrysostom Lan Shi, RIP

His Excellency, Bishop John Chrysostom Lan Shi has passed away. This brave shepherd has passed away at the age of 89. He spent 14 years as a prisoner in a Communist labor camp. 

What with ISIS and Boko Haram and such, it's sometimes easy to forget our bretheren in other places who are still being persecuted. Reminiscent of the AntiChrist, China has set up a fake church to deceive the people. Those who resist do not care well.

When you pray for our brothers and sisters suffering for the Truth, please remember the Chinese faithful in their number.

The Synod At The Half Way Mark

A couple of things should be noted from the outset, First, remember that you are only hearing from the Synod scraps and bits and pieces. This echoes what happened at Vatican II. Why would it be any different? This model has worked well for the revolutionary elements in the Church. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Second, it is truly audacious to see these kinds of comments:

This morning we will concentrate our attention and our debates on Chapters 1 and 2, which concern, more particularly, eight well-defined topics. First of all, in the framework of Chapter 1: God’s Plan on Marriage and the Family (1-7), a first topic addresses The Family in the Light of Biblical Gifts (1-3). Thus this permits a rereading if the gifts of Revelation on the family, from Genesis to its perfecting in the teaching of Christ, which offers as the foundation of spousal love irrevocable divine fidelity and participation in God’s creative work.

We are given a second topic on considering The Family in the Documents of the Church (4-7). In the course of the centuries, the Church has not failed to offer her constant teaching on marriage and the family. Closer to us, Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI recalled the fundamental lines of a family pastoral and of the presence of the family in society. Even more recently, His Holiness Pope Francis also addressed the bond between the family and the faith in his Encyclical Lumen Fidei.

Chapter 2: Knowledge and Reception of Holy Scripture and the Documents of the Church on Marriage and the Family, offers us the six following topics. First of all Knowledge of the Bible on the Family (9-10) and that of Documents of the Magisterium (11), which form the counterpart of what is presented in chapter 1 and completes it by combing faithfully the situation within the People of God.

When you look at the arguments posed by the revolutionaries, they pay absolutely no heed to Scripture as understood by the Church, the magisteria of any of the popes mentioned, or the Church's magisterium in general. What you do have is a thoroughly Protestant notion of revelation going on as Scripture texts are re-interpreted according to the whims of the speaker, rather than the Church. It's shades of Gene Robinson. This isn't a new thing:

As also in all his  [St. Paul's] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are certain things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction.

2 Peter 3:16

Notice what is the grounding of all this talk:

From many quarters, however, there has emerged the need to adapt the language of the Church, so that doctrine on the family, life and sexuality is understood correctly: it is necessary to enter into dialogue with the world, looking to the example offered by the Vatican Council, or rather with a critical but sincere openness. If the Church does not listen to the world, the world will not listen to the Church.

Wait a minute. Last time I checked, we've been "dialoguing" with the world for the last five decades. Is the world listening the Church any better? When does the world get to teach the Mother and Teacher? I suggest that it is irrational to think that the world has anything to offer that the Church hasn't been able to glean to this point. What more openness can the Church offer and what has that openness wrought? Good fruit or bad fruit?

Consider this also:

Furthermore, it was underlined that even imperfect situations must be considered with respect: for instance, de facto unions in which couples live together with fidelity and love present elements of sanctification and truth. It is therefore essential to look first and foremost at the positive elements, so that the Synod may infuse with courage and hope even imperfect forms of family, so that their value may be recognised, according to the principle of graduality. It is necessary to truly love families in difficulty.

Notice the classic formulas of ambiguity raising their head again. "Imperfect situations" rather than "sinful" just like "imperfect communion" took over from "outside the Church." "Positive elements" supplant the call for conversion. "Graduality" is the mechanism for holiness rather than penitence. It's a fantastic 1970s glossing over of Church teaching and straight from the revolutionary playbook. Again, if it ain't broke...

Finally, there was this marvel of rhetorical craftmanship:

Like yesterday afternoon, the debate focused on the need to renew the language of the proclamation of the Gospel and the transmission of doctrine: the Church must be more open to dialogue, and must listen more frequently (and not only in exceptional cases) to the experiences of married couples, because their struggles and their failures cannot be ignored; on the other hand, they can be the basis of a real and true theology. Again, in relation to language, some perplexity was expressed at the suggestion – included in the Instrumentum Laboris – to deepen the concept, of biblical inspiration, of the “order of creation” as a possibility of rereading “natural law” more meaningfully: it was added that it is not enough to change the vocabulary if a bridge to effective dialogue with the faithful is not then created. In this sense, the much foretold and widespread need for change may be understood, it was said, as pastoral conversion, to make the proclamation of the Gospel more effective.

The reason this is such a great paragraph is that it is pure modernism. It doesn't even try to hide it. Basing theology on sentiment and experience? Hell, why not just say "vital immanence" and get it over with? What "biblical inspiration" is in all this? One that allows a "re-reading of natural law." And all in the name of dialogue. Not Truth. Not salvation. Just talking.

We'll have more up later today that should bring us entirely up to speed. I do ask for your prayers, bytthe way. My wife's pregnancy has been a difficult one. We are nearing the end, so any prayers offered would be most appreciated.

The Looming Synod

A couple of items as the Synod draws nigh.

First, in the interest of some of the items we posted here, we are going to try to step back from some of the focus given to ecclesiastical politics. Scandal is easily spread, and there are many who flirt with despair because of the corruption/naivete/blindness of churchmen.

Second, I want to throw out these recent words of Pope Francis to the bishops of Chad with regards to the doctrines of the Faith vis a vis the focus many have on "pastoral" issues or matters of social justice:

“The civil authorities are very grateful to the Catholic Church for her contribution to society as a whole in Chad. I encourage you to persevere along this path, as there is a strong bond between evangelisation and human development, a bond that must be expressed and developed in all the work of evangelisation. Service to the poor and the most disadvantaged constitutes a true testimony of Christ, Who made Himself poor in order to be close to us and to save us. Both the religious congregations and lay associations who work with them play an important role in this respect, and they are to be thanked for this”. 

“However”, he observes, “it is certain that this commitment to social service does not constitute the entirety of evangelizing activity; the deepening and strengthening of faith in the hearts of the faithful, that translates into an authentic spiritual and sacramental life, are essential to enable them to withstand the many trials of contemporary life, and to ensure that the behaviour of the faithful is more coherent with the requirements of the Gospel. … This is especially necessary in a country where certain cultural traditions bear considerable weight, where less morally demanding religious possibilities are present everywhere, and where secularism begins to make headway”. 

Therefore, “it is necessary for the faithful to receive a solid doctrinal and spiritual formation. And the first locus of formation is certainly catechesis. I invite you, with a renewed missionary spirit, to implement the catechetical methods used in your dioceses. First, the good aspects of their traditions must be considered and accorded their due value – because Christ did not come to destroy cultures, but rather to lead them to fulfilment – while that which is not Christian must be clearly denounced. At the same time, it is essential to ensure the accuracy and integrity of doctrinal content”.

So there's that.

Third, there have been some questions coming in about the Synod itself.

We will report on events there to the best of our ability. However, everybody should prepare for Humanae Vitae, The Sequel. We aren't the only ones making that comparison, so I doubt anybody is seeing it here for the first time. The amount of hype given the Synod has been ridiculous and worthy of mockery from anyone familiar with Catholic teaching. But most have no such familiarity or either ignore what they do know in favor of the gods of their bellies.

Pray. Fast. Then pray and fast some more. And when you think you've prayed and fasted enough, redouble your efforts to pray and to fast.

On another question as to a good saint for intercessory prayer for the Synod, there's always the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, and St. Michael for these kinds of things. Outside of them, I offer the example of St. Leo the Great, or our more recently canonized pope, John Paul II. Consider that the wolves promoting the Synod as one of "change" have as their primary goal the complete overthrow of the moral laws that were most championed by him.

Just my suggestions.

Thou Shalt Not Have Strange Gods Before Me

We've talked about America's creepy obsession with sports before. The non-stop trou-dropping over Derek Jeter's imminent retirement has called the issue to mind again.

First, let me deal with the inevitable accusations that I'm a hater. I actually like the Yankees. There aren't any major league teams around here, so I pretty much had my pick of teams to follow over the years.

Second, I don't have anything against Derek Jeter. Granted, there is this:



But that isn't really a problem with Jeter. It's the overall problem that I'm talking about in this post.

People tend to blow off the First Commandment. The typical thought process is "Hey, I'm not bowing down to a gold calf or anything, so I'm ok."

That's a pretty restricted view of what worship is, I think. If you look at this whole phenomenon surrounding Jeter's departure, it's about one half-step down (maybe) from burning incense in front of an image of Caesar. It's pretty shameful stuff.

Let's recall some words from The Master:

For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.
Matthew 6:21

When you watch the time, resources, expense, and energy that is being poured into the rituals of Jeter's farewell, take a moment to think about where those swept up in such euphoria have their treasure. It's not a golden calf. However, if we consider this adulation and reverence given to a baseball player and contrast it with what is offered to The Almighty, doesn't it seem a bit creepy? Consider the words of the Liturgy of St. James:

Let all mortal flesh keep silent, and with fear and trembling stand. Ponder nothing earthly-minded, Let all mortal flesh keep silent, and with fear and trembling stand. Ponder nothing earthly-minded, for the King of kings and Lord of lords advances to be slain and given as food to the faithful. Before him go the choirs of Angels, with every rule and authority, the many-eyed Cherubim and the six-winged Seraphim, veiling their sight and crying out the hymn: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

I'm sure Jeter could demand that kind of respect.

God? Probably not so much, and therein lies the tragedy of our time.

It's A Curious Thing

It's a weird thing to consider when you think about all the recent stuff we've seen in Church news lately. Tacit approval of homosexual behavior, advocating for Holy Communion for the remarried divorcee, ridiculous levels of praise for Islam, etc have all made headlines.

To think that every saint in the history of Christ's Church (who voiced an opinion on these matters) was on the wrong side of history with these issues but somehow made it to the right side of the Beatific Vision should be enough to give the modern proponents of such insanities pause.

It should. But it probably won't.

DILLIGAF

I've been seeing the above acronym with increasing frequency. For those who don't know, it stands for "Do I look like I give a flip?" except where "flip" is an obscenity instead of "flip."

It strikes me that the ability of people, especially young people, to use this phrase is one of our major problems. It's almost as though we are raising whole generations to have little or no idea of things like modesty, scandal, or the feelings of others.

It's on every talk show. "Whatever! I'll do what I want!" It's in the resigned "Whatever..." that makes up about 85% of the teenaged lexicon. It's in the vulgar dress of the masses. It's in the words of prelates willing to proclaim their opposition to the Magisterium. And so forth.

Now, it's good to have a detachment from the world. We certainly don't want our faith life governed by others' opinions. However, like with anything else, this can be twisted to the ends of The Adversary.

What has happened is that we have completely forgotten the concept of scandal. Nobody pays any mind to the sorts of stumbling blocks they set up for their brothers and sisters in the world. Whether it's a refusal to dress modestly and shrugging off the temptation of others as "their problem" or the raging would-be apologist who casts perpetual pearls before swine and serves to do nothing more than give atheists or anti-Catholic bigots opportunities for blasphemy and insult to God.

We have forgotten humility in all this. At some point, we have to be willing to constrain our fashion sense out of love for others. We should consider how our words and actions might damage the faith of others or even drive them to despair. We have to be willing to shake the dust from our feet and leave those poor souls to the mercy of God, hoping that we've planted a seed that can sprout with the Holy Spirit's assistance.

Remember Our Blessed Lord's words:

And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold.
Matthew 24:12

And we definitely seem to lean to the chilly side these days. Perhaps this is another case of losing our understanding of the essences of things. True charity is love for others FOR THE SAKE OF GOD. Love is the willing of good for another, with the highest good being God Himself, of course.

Sometimes the things we prefer are not good for these others and certainly aren't for God's sake. 

Thank You All

For your prayers and such. He's doing much better, but we still are having difficulty locating the origin of the problems.

Regular blogging to resume soon.

Request

Please offer some prayers for my father and his health.

Thank you all in advance.

Reform?

Tancred has posted some of the roster for the folks invited to the upcoming Synod on the Family. Ignoring the invites to all the non-Catholic observers, let's focus on the individuals who wear the "Catholic" label. I'm also ignoring that Cardinal Kaspar will be there, despite the fact that all of his preliminary input on the subject has been shown to be false.

Anyways, two names on the list caught my attention immediately, not just because they are on the list, but because they were personally appointed to the Synod by Pope Francis. Allegedly. These are Cardinals Danneels and Sodano.

The former presided over a country where the concept of life and family are absolutely rotting away and who has made bizarre statements about the Church sanctioning pseudo-marriage-ish unions for homosexuals. This is all secondary to the fact that he ignored the problem of child molesting priests to a pretty egregious level.

As to the latter, many indications are that Cardinal Sodano was a long-time protector of Marcel Maciel, who used the Legionaries of Christ as his own personal bank account and brothel. I get that +Sodano is the Dean of the College these days. I don't get why that merits an invitation.

On a side note, both of these guys resigned their real jobs years ago.

Anyways, I point this out to show that real "reform" as was envisioned by everyone to some extent following the last conclave still isn't going much of anywhere. In so many cases, the new help appears to be the same as the old help.

Re: Bees

Because bees are awesome.

"The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others." 

St. John Chrysostom

Thanks to Zenit for the quote.

Stuff Jesus Never Said

It's funny because it's true. I don't know anything about ChurchPop, but this was too good to pass up:

























And a bonus from the comments:

Since It's The Beginning Of Football Season

I wonder what ND will be "fighting for" this season, given that Catholicism hasn't made the list for so long.

On a related note, it is interesting that the school has no issue with punishing students who cheat, yet there are no negative consequences for professors who go out of their way to insult God, degrade His Church, and wreck the souls of students.

Country Music And The Signs Of The Times

First, let's provide the following video from YouTube entitled "Why Country Music Was Awful In 2013":




Anyone being honest would admit that you could basically have made that same video for any year of country music since about 1992.

Next, we invite all our readers to peruse this article (or any of the other multitude that have come out on the same subject) regarding the abomination of "bro country." Ignoring for a moment the individual crimes being committed in association with such crappy music, let's focus instead on the general theme of self-indulgence and narcissism.

Finally, let's take a look at some recent comments by Merle Haggard, known by many for making actual country music, unknown to many for the same reason, regarding the current state of the industry:

Haggard also notes that he doesn't listen much to the radio these days, saying, "Once in a while, I'll scan it and I don't understand what they're doing. I can't find the entertainment in it. I know these guys, occasionally play shows with them and they're all good people. But I wonder if that record they're making is something they can actually do. Too much boogie boogie wham-bam and not enough substance."

Let's recall how country music formerly tended to treat the issues of alcoholism, adultery, and sin overall. While there were some light-hearted efforts that treated such topics with levity ("I'm Gonna Hire A Wino To Decorate Our Home" for example), the typical flavor on these topics was one of self-loathing and the participants as pathetic losers. It wasn't a good thing to be boozed out of one's mind or partying all the time, etc. The new theme of country music is the opposite. Now, there is nothing more pleasant than getting hammered.

Anyways, we present these as illustrations of how the crap that currently gets played on country music stations reflects the shallowness of our world as a whole. The deeper thoughts driven by the more profound songs of yesteryear are abandoned in favor of the same self-glorifying drivel that has characterized rap/hip-hop for so long.

Just a symptom of the larger disease of pride that has infected pretty much everything.

For good measure:

An Odd Thought

Is it just me, or is the secular obsession with Pope Francis and casting him as the repudiation of all things Catholic (along with the +Kaspars of the world), a bizarre form of clericalism?

The Authentic Interpreters Of Pope Francis

It's hard to escape the insane mass belief that the authoritative interpretation of Pope Francis is to be found everywhere except within the parameters of Catholic thought. For example, we've previously discussed the Scalfari claims that His Holiness had "abolished sin."

The latest bit is from agnostic philosopher Massimo Cacciari, who is asserting that Pope Francis has initiated a cataclysmic shift in Church teaching by abandoning the Catholic notion of just war and entrusting the United Nations with the job of being the sole arbiter of whether or not a military action is legitimate. This, all based on a single paragraph's response to an interviewer. You can read the whole thing on Rorate.

First, let's ignore Cacciari's, shall we say, tenuous, comments like international law being "created by agreement among national positive laws," which ignores the whole role of things like custom and realpolitik in how international law actually works.

Second, holy smokes. I've had this sentiment thrown at me from multiple sources today. It is amazing to me how secularism, atheism, Protestantism, any -ism imaginable can be used for a Pope Francis hermeneutic, except Catholicism. Do these people really think what he said means overthrowing the idea of a just war? Even if he did say such, do they think it possible to re-write Church teaching in an interview?

I very much doubt they really think such things. And if they don't really think such things, their agenda is pretty clear. It's a sad state of affairs that so many people are falling for it.

The Readings From A Couple Of Weeks Ago

On August 10, I was fortunate enough to be in an area where I could attend a TLM. A couple of bits and pieces from the readings then stuck with me, and I keep rolling them around in my head.

First, consider the words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians. He basically gives a long litany of things that our forerunners, the Israelites, did in the Old Testament and how the record of all those bad things was kept so that we wouldn't do likewise. Then he drops this nugget:

Now all these things happened to them in figure: and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall.

1 Corinthians 10:11-12

We don't hear that line much these days. In fact, we are basically drunk with our self-assurance that we're ok. When people talk about death, the last thing that gets brought up is the condition of their
soul. People will make sure that their alma mater gets a fat check and that they are buried in a custom coffin reflecting their allegiance to their favorite NFL team, but they lack any concern at all for the afterlife.

I happen to have a job where I'm around when folks die. The presumption of salvation is staggering. And no, I'm not talking about hope. Being certain of awesomeness in God's eyes means you don't have to hope because you have put yourself in God's position as judge. It's scary stuff to listen to. So let us pray for a holy fear of death and of God's judgment.

Here's the other bit that has been nagging me. From the Gospel:

And when he drew near, seeing the city, he wept over it, saying: If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace; but now they are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side, And beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee: and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone: because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation.

Luke 19:41-44

Consider in this passage Our Lord's sorrow over the unbelief of the Jews. He is literally crying. In our age of illuminated minds, though, we have a Christianity that looks upon attempts to evangelize Jewish people as bigoted, hateful activity. Yes, a sin. What a horrible thing that we would make a virtue out of neglecting something so dear to The Master.

It is a screwed up worldview that would willingly leave an entire group of people blinded to the greatness of the Gospel.

Just A Thought On The Middle East

These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth a service to God. And these things will they do to you; because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things I have told you, that when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you of them. 

John 16:1-4

Not a whole lot has changed, I guess.

The Antidote To Trashy As Classy

I recently read a book called Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites by Professor Plinio Correa de Oliveira, the founder of Tradition, Family, and Property. It was an interesting work on several fronts.

First, there is the structure. It began with a general discussion of Church social teaching but with a focus on what the author calls the "preferential option for the nobility," which is really just another way of saying the Church's attention to the care and formation of the noble classes for the betterment of society and the salvation of souls. It then moves on to the particular allocutions delivered by Venerable Pius XII to the Italian nobility, as well as comments made by other popes on the same theme. Finally, it moves into a summary of American and Brazilian history from the perspective of the aristocratic types of the citizenry. The rest is largely reference material supporting the overall argument.

Second, that overall argument has enormous implications for our here and now. Professor Correa makes the point that, in any given society, a certain group will inevitably be granted a higher station relative to others. After demonstrating this, he offers that much effort must be exerted to make sure that this group is of a sort that will focus on the common good and be a worthy model to the lower classes. It has a sort of Thorsten Veblenish ring to it in that sense.

Anyways, what we have done in our civilization, is to become so obsessed with egalitarianism, that we have shelved the values of greatness in the common good and instead allowed the worst of every sort to rise into these aristocratic positions, all the while denying that such positions exist.

Think about it. How is it that the Kardashians are still on TV? Why does anyone listen to what someone like Lady GaGa has to say about anything? In what sort of culture are the features of TMZ actually newsworthy? Why are so many professional athletes scumbags, yet worshiped by the masses?

It's because we've traded elevating the virtues of true greatness and the acknowledgement that those who exercise those virtues to a high degree should be honored for the crass, the crude, and the sensational. When that is accomplished, the lower classes choose to reflect that in their own lives and things decay further.

We have aristocrats without the nobility. This is all very important with Pope Francis's pontificate. Yes, the poor are a huge concern, but we so many of the virtues that were formerly associated with poverty have been destroyed by a barren culture that has been spawned and is sustained by our elite class. It is all one huge materialistic morass, with no room for beauty, charity, or even good manners. Perhaps a recollection of the preferential option for the nobility is an unexplored remedy for our current desolation.

On a side note, I'd recommend this book even if I could just get people to read the American history parts, as Professor Correa does a good job of showing what is so often forgotten in the democratic myths ingrained in our worldview. The Founders were elites and expected the nation to be governed by such a class. I know. Shocking, right? Yet, it's amazing how many people completely ignore this in their consideration of our nation's past.

I Lost A Follower

Is that good or bad?

Remember When?

Remember when we sent troops into Somalia on a humanitarian mission ?

Remember when we talked about "moral imperatives" before bombing Yugoslavia for almost 3 months to protect Kosovo?

Remember when we went to war just because we needed to ... I don't even know what?

Remember when helping out the Arab Spring was a good enough reason to get involved in Libya?

Remember when we at least made noise about "red lines" in Syria and called on the world to overthrow Assad?

Remember when we did all these things to prevent a genuine genocide in Iraq?

To Those Who Revel In Criticizing Venerable Pius XII

You know, the guy who gave sanctuary to thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, provided fake documents so they could escape persecution, and basically saved hundreds of thousands of lives in the process, will you be heaping similar criticisms on Pope Francis?

For clarity, I am directing this against all the proponents of the absurd "Hitler's Pope" thesis. This is not a rock thrown at the Holy Father.

For those who giggle with glee now that we have a papacy without temporal power or the means to mount a military campaign, behold the ultimate fruits of such status. Our brothers and sisters being murdered by the thousands, while the rest of the world barely even offers words of consolation, much less actual intervention. 

This is where the Church's decline has been heading. Towards death.

A Plea From The Chaldean Patriarch

Thanks to Rorate for providing. We reproduce the germane parts below but ask that you please read the whole thing and pray for our brothers and sisters in the Middle East:


As for the Church, she finds herself completely alone, more than ever; nevertheless her leaders are strongly required to react before it is too late in applying the necessary pressure on the international community as well as those other decision-makers in view of fundamental answers necessary to the scandalous crimes and the destructive conspiracies that affect, above all, unarmed citizens in Iraq, Syria, and in Palestine - Gaza.

It should be noted that the motivation for all of these killings is the lust for everything that lies beneath the earth like oil and gas...what else explains this war so curiously radicalised and, as if following an excellently premeditated plan, does not take the least account of the destinies of the people.

We are equally shocked and indignant with the absence of a vigorous position taken by Muslims and their religious leaders, not the least because the actions of these factions represent a menace for Muslims themselves.

In fact, speeches are good for nothing, so too declarations that rehash condemnations and indignation; the same can be said for protest marches. In addition, while appreciating the generosity of our donors, we would say that donations and fundraising too are not what will solve our problems. We have to demand a large-scale administrative [governmental] operation on an international level. There is in fact the need for awareness, in conscience, regarding this simple human principle: the demand for real actions and solidarity because we are before a crisis related to our very existence, facing the fact that "we will be or we will not be."

This is an appeal from the bottom of the heart in the search for a solution that lies uniquely in the hands of the international community and above all with the great powers. We address ourselves profoundly to their consciences and that they should review their positions and to re-evaluate the impact of the situation of today.

Louis Raphael I Sako Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans

The Pill Means Higher Risk Of Breast Cancer

As stated in a recent study. Don't worry, ladies, they say. It's only about a 50% higher risk. No big deal. Just keep on feeding the pharmaceutical machine. Not that such a study amounts to planting a flag anywhere. This link has been known for a long time. We've mentioned it in other posts, along with all the other nastiness that goes hand-in-hand with contraception. Even Ricki Lake has figured it out.

So again, we must wonder. How much worse does it have to be shown to be before women and men stop insisting on self-sterilization?

Honesty Is The Best Policy

I wasn't going to mention this originally but recent events have changed my mind. We posted about the mutual apologies that have been offered between the Pope and a random Pentecostal minister.

In contrast to this, Rorate provided a statement from another group of Protestants who, in a striking display of intellectual honesty, made it clear that they have severe problems with the Catholic Church.

Good for them. They deserve major kudos for not falling victim to the temptation of back-slapping ecumenism where the inevitable attitude adopted is "I'm ok/You're ok." It is refreshing to see a group who is actually concerned enough with the salvation of others that they will make a statement designed to point out where someone might be led astray and risk their eternal soul.

They might be total bigots who are completely ignorant of the Church, historical fact, and simple reason, but hey, at least they seem to care about peoples' souls.

Would that we Catholics could be so honest. If only we could respect the beliefs of others to the point where we could talk about them seriously, rather than shuffling them away so that we can play at being "charitable." Instead of doing that, we will continue in the fruitless exercise of yelling in an echo chamber so that we can hear ourselves in agreement, even as the heresies widen and schisms deepen. Don't believe me? Every time you see a report on an ecclesial community sanctioning homosexual activity or the Anglicans spawning some new insane innovation or the further spread of anti-Trinitarian blasphemy, ask yourself if we are really moving closer together or if our separated brethren are indeed just flying farther and father apart.

Please Pray

For my sister and her husband.

Russia

We talk about Russia here a lot and for good reason. While we utterly reject the madness of their "Third Rome" claim, it is stupid to ignore that, while not de jure, they are the de facto leaders of Orthodoxy. That makes them important.

A couple of our main points re: Moscow can be summed up as follows:

1. The world should have been preparing itself for the return of Imperial Russia with the full backing and support of the most powerful ecclesial force in the East.

2. Ecumenism with pretty much every Christian sect in the world other than the Orthodox is worthless. Ergo, all such efforts should be directed to them and basically them only.

These topics are merged in a recent article in the Catholic Herald in very interesting fashion. First, you have the events in Ukraine birthing a new round of saber-rattling from Moscow with regards to the Eastern Catholics tied to Kiev. Never, never forget that "ecumenism" in the mind of the Russian church these days includes the idea that Stalin's attempts to annihilate Catholicism were legitimate.

Second, there is the concern that recent events in Catholicism, whether accurately reported or not, have signaled to Patriarch Kyril that Rome is looking to back off in the fight against the world's secularism. I'll add that the focus Pope Benedict had on the liturgy was probably the most positive ecumenical outreach we could have had with the Orthodox and even that is pushed to the back burner.

Overall, it's a grim picture. Read the whole thing.

A Jesuit View Of Heresy

To avoid any confusion, remember these words if you happen to notice a member of the Society downplaying the harm done to souls by heresy:

Seeing the progress that the heretics have made in so short a time, spreading the poison of their evil teaching throughout so many countries and peoples, and making use of the verse of the Apostle to describe their progress,and their speech will eat its way like gangrene, it would seem that our Society, having been accepted by Divine Providence among the efficacious means to repair such great damage, should not only be solicitous in preparing the proper remedies but should be ready to apply them, exerting itself to the utmost of its powers to preserve what is still sound and to restore what has fallen sick of the plague of heresy, especially in the northern countries.

The heretics have made their false theology popular and presented it in a way that is within the capacity of the common people. They preach it to the people and teach it in the schools, and scatter pamphlets that can be bought and understood by many; they influence people by their writings when they cannot reach them by preaching. Their success is largely due to the negligence of those who should have shown some interest, and the bad example and the ignorance of Catholics, especially the clergy, have made such ravages in the vineyard of the Lord. Hence it would seem that our Society should use the following means to end and cure the evils which the Church has suffered through these heretics.

In the first place, sound theology, which is taught in the universities and must have its foundation in philosophy and which requires a long time to acquire, is adapted only to alert and agile minds; because the weaker ones, who lack a proper foundation, can become confused and collapse, it would be good to prepare a summary of theology dealing briefly with topics that are essential but not controversial. In matters controversial there could be more detail, but it should be accommodated to the present needs of the people. It should solidly prove dogmas with appropriate arguments from Scripture, tradition, the councils, doctors, and refute the contrary teaching. It would not require too much time to teach such theology since it would not go very deeply into other matters. In this way, many theologians could be prepared in a short time, who could attend to preaching and teaching in various places. The abler students could be given advanced courses which include greater detail. Those who do not succeed in these advanced courses should be removed from them and placed in the shorter course of theology...

Not only in the places where we have a residence, but even in the surrounding neighborhood, our better students could be sent to teach Christian doctrine on Sundays and feast days. Even the extern students, should there be suitable individuals among them, could be sent by the rector of the same purpose. Thus, besides teaching correct doctrine, they will be giving the example of a good life, and by removing every appearance of greed they will be able to refute the strongest argument of the heretics—a bad life, namely and the ignorance of the Catholic clergy. 

The heretics write a good many pamphlets and booklets, by which they aim to remove all authority from the Catholics, and especially from the Society, and set up their false dogmas. It would seem imperative, therefore, that Ours also write answers in pamphlet form, short and well written, so that they can be produced without delay and purchased by many. In this way the harm done by the pamphlets of the heretics can be set aright and sound teaching spread. These works should be modest, but stimulating; they should point out the evil that is abroad and uncover the deceits and evil purposes of the adversaries. Many of these pamphlets could then be gathered in a single volume. Care should be taken, however, that this be carried out by learned men well grounded in theology, who will adapt the content to the capacity of the multitude. 

With these measures it would seem that we could bring great relief to the Church, and in many places quickly apply a remedy at the outset of the evil and before the poison has had a chance to go so deep that it would be most difficult to remove it from the heart. We should use the same diligence in healing that the heretics use in infecting the people. We will have the advantage over them in that we possess a solidly founded, and therefore an enduring, doctrine. The most gifted students will then be able to follow a course of study in the Roman College and in other colleges of upper and lower Germany, also in France. Later, when they are sent to different places where Ours have residences, they will become the directors and instructors of others.

St. Ignatius Loyola

Poison. Evils. An emphasis on sound theology and a knowledge of the Faith. A voice crying out for Truth and for people to be protected from heresy.

Like I said, just in case there's any confusion.

And Another Apology

Looks like we're getting one coming back our way.

Full of clanging and sentiment, signifying nothing.

Apologies

Most of us probably remember the apology tour that St. John Paul II conducted towards the end of his life. I wondered then exactly what good such a gesture was supposed to do. Pope Francis has me wondering again.

“Catholics were among those who persecuted and denounced the Pentecostals, almost as if they were crazy,” Francis said. “I am the shepherd of the Catholics and I ask you to forgive my Catholic brothers and sisters who did not understand and were tempted by the devil.” 

First, I'm assuming that there was some sort of "persecution." Considering what is going on in the Middle East, I am somewhat loathe to use the word here, but I'm taking the comments at face value.

Second, considering that the modern Pentecostal movement typically goes out of its way to target and convert Catholics, oftentimes those most uneducated and poverty-stricken, are we not supposed to denounce their false beliefs? Latin America has been ravaged by this scourge, usually through "prosperity gospel" claptrap. Is the Pope somehow unaware of this? Given the hyper-aggressive proselytization that so many Catholics face, perhaps we are due an apology.

Third, what good do these gestures really do other than to confirm the worst black legends of false religions?

Rewinding a bit to the second point, has England ever apologized for its thievery during the reign of Henry VIII? I ask because I don't know. Maybe they did. I don't recall the US government ever apologizing for assisting the Mexican government in trying to exterminate Catholicism. Perhaps it's because they know that such empty actions are meaningless.

On a similar note, will we get a separate homeland for persecuted Christians in the Middle East? Of course not. There probably won't be any left anyway. Maybe just an apology then?

I Love This Picture

Permissible Genocide

Got this from the Rorate twitter feed:

Sad, but true. And remember that it isn't just Iraq. Syria, Nigeria, China, etc. We are being murdered all over the world. 

And nobody cares.

Did You Need Another Reason To Think Leo XIII Was Awesome?

If so, check out this story from Tancred:

Going by the pseudonym “X,” Pope Leo XIII anonymously crafted poetic puzzles in Latin for a Roman periodical at the turn of the 19th century.

The pope created lengthy riddles, known as “charades,” in Latin in which readers had to guess a rebus-like answer from two or more words that together formed the syllables of a new word.

Eight of his puzzles were published anonymously in “Vox Urbis,” a Rome newspaper that was printed entirely in Latin between 1898-1913, according to an article in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

A reader who submitted the correct answer to the riddle would receive a book of Latin poetry written by either Pope Leo or another noted Catholic figure.

I think that's pretty great. When you're a prisoner in the Vatican, I guess you have to find something to take up your time. And we know he was a brilliant guy.

Just a cool story.