Friday, June 27, 2014

More Fallout In Canada From Evils Of Contraception

Image credit http://theoatmeal.com/ with slight modification

We really are going to lose Canada if the Catholic Bishops continue to dither about Humanae Vitae and the Winnipeg Statement. And when I say "lose Canada" I really mean "lose the hard won blessings of God on our society." It pains me to think of what suffering and evil my children and grandchildren will have to endure in such a society. 

I know, I know, I sound like a broken record. Does every social evil in Canada have to lead back to the widespread use of contraception? Of course not, but that doesn’t mean we stop our critical examination of cause and effect in any particular area of  inquiry.

Look, after digesting the latest outrageous attacks on Christians in Canada—leaving aside the assault by Justin Trudeau—ask yourself if we are not entering into a new era of Christian persecution in Canada. A chill in the air seems all too real since the controversies over Trinity Western University and most recently over the Nanaimo city council.

Go here for a video intro by Ezra Levant on the Trinity Western battle and here for the scoop on Nanaimo. I support Ezra’s efforts entirely as he covers both these controversies on a new website dedicated to anti-Christian bigotry. My guess is that as Canada moves “forward” Ezra will need to seriously ramp up his activities in this regard.

For a more expansive look at what’s happening with Trinity Western, read a fine analysis which was posted just yesterday. The title of the posting is foreboding: If you don't support same-sex marriage, don't look for a legal career in Canada.

In our own local setting, where our metropolitan newspaper can’t find time for a word or letter about mass murderer Kermit Gosnell, the editorial team seems possessed of an urgent need to make room for condemnations of Trinity Western. Well, at least they gave Trinity Western a chance to say a few brief words of defense. Fair and balanced, right? And they wonder why readers are losing interest in traditional media (their newspaper ) and instead getting their news from unreliable online sources!! Apparently, they say, “the freak show is winning.”

Like I've been saying, what Bishops do and what they don’t do can move mountains but always their decisions filter down to the most ordinary facets of life.



Thursday, June 26, 2014

Is Cardinal Collins Admitting That Humanae Vitae Is Being Ignored In Toronto?

Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

In yesterday’s interview with Brandon Vogt of WordOnFire blog on the subject of Marriage, Divorce, and Communion, Cardinal Collins did a very fine job of reiterating and confirming the Church’s teaching on marriage. In expounding and defending the Word of Christ he fulfilled his duty as a Successor of the Apostles and I trust that whatever the consequences of the upcoming Synod His Eminence will continue to be faithful in proclaiming the same truth unwaveringly to his flock in Toronto.

However, very important questions relating to the evils of the contraceptive mentality must be raised as a result of statements arising from this interview. The Cardinal is quoted as saying:

But Christian teaching is based upon the natural law that is written in our very natures by God, and especially upon the revealed word of God. We discover God's will, and the scriptures and the living faith of the Church help us to do so. We do not shape God's will according to what currently seems best to us.

So when Pope Paul did not change what he could not change, but re-affirmed Christian faith, many, many people were upset, and simply decided to ignore the teaching. That is our present situation (my emphasis).  I certainly hope that we do not suffer a repeat of that, as unfounded speculation swirls concerning a change by the Church of the explicit teaching of Jesus on marriage.

When the Cardinal said, “That is our present situation”, was he indicating that in his Archdiocese the teaching of Humanae Vitae was likewise being ignored? Either it is being ignored in Toronto also or it is not. I think we have a right to know the answer to that question.

If it is being ignored in Toronto also then only Cardinal Collins can, and must, answer for that grave denial of the Catholic faith. As the Cardinal himself stated, “Pope Paul did not change what he could not change, but re-affirmed Christian faith.” If Toronto is ignoring Humanae Vitae, it is ignoring a divine truth that even a Pope dared not change, a weighty truth that was intimately connected with the Christian faith, according to Cardinal Collins.

But how would we evaluate whether Toronto was ignoring Humanae Vitae? By definition, to ignore is “to refrain from noticing or recognizing” and to “disregard.” If the Archdiocese functioned as though HV did not exist or as though it didn’t matter, then couldn’t we say that Toronto was ignoring Humanae Vitae?

In his encyclical Humanae Vitae, which Cardinal Collins noted “upset” many people, Pope Paul VI declared contraception to be a grave sin and intrinsically evil. Were the majority of practicing Catholics (those that generally seek to live out their Catholic faith) in Toronto ignoring Humanae Vitae, we should probably find that they, like Catholics from other prominent dioceses in Canada, disregarded the Pope’s characterization of contraception and that they failed to identify the behaviour as gravely sinful. As a result, we should also expect to see high numbers of Catholics engaging in the practice, as do high numbers of the general population.

Again, if Toronto were ignoring Humanae Vitae, we should probably find that it was due largely to a lack of emphasis by the Archdiocese on the subject matter of Humanae Vitae. That is to say, very little effort would be expended in teaching and preaching on the subject of contraception, either in homilies, statements by the Cardinal or in printed matter released by parishes or the Archdiocese. Very few, if any, seminars or workshops dealing specifically with the evils of the contraceptive mentality, as expressed in Humanae Vitae, would be taking place.

On a more basic and practical level, since the teaching of Humanae Vitae is so intimately connected with the marital act, one would expect to see very little emphasis on the “hard teaching” about contraception taking place in marriage preparation classes in the Archdiocese. More to the point, one would expect that the Archdiocese would rarely, if ever, highlight the practice of contraception as a grave (mortal) sin and again would rarely, if ever, characterize it as an evil practice. To further avoid the possibility that Catholics would take seriously the sinfulness of artificial birth control, as identified in Humanae Vitae, the Archdiocese would be very reluctant to insist on its priests requiring Confession of their parishioners who practiced this mortal sin, in contravention of the Vatican’s Vademecum for Confessors (Prop. 2.4).

Furthermore, when discussing abortion and pro-life matters, the Archdiocese would be very reluctant to highlight the incontrovertible connection between the practice of contraception and the resultant outcome of abortion, what some call the “evil twin” link, because contraception, in fact, does more to fuel abortion than any other phenomenon.

In short, the Archdiocese would, largely through silence, ignore that the “knowing choice to reject the definitive teaching of the Magisterium on an important matter of morality [in this case, contraception] is formal heresy.”

So I ask again: Was the Cardinal indicating that in his Archdiocese the teaching of Humanae Vitae was likewise being ignored? Either it is being ignored in Toronto also or it is not. If it is NOT being ignored then we should observe an entirely different dynamic—than the one described above—at work in the Archdiocese of Toronto in regard to the practice of contraception by Catholics. If the teaching of Humanae Vitae is being honoured in Toronto, let us understand what Cardinal Collins is doing there that other Bishops in Canada are not doing so that His Eminence might lead the charge and help to turn back the tide of the culture of death in our great nation.

However, if the teaching of Humanae Vitae IS being ignored in Toronto, then we have a right to ask the Cardinal why he is not, as a worthy Bishop, doing everything possible to teach the divine truth contained in Humanae Vitae and to spare the sheep under his care the temporal and spiritual judgments of a pernicious, evil practice?

Some Catholic leaders claim that, in respect to Humanae Vitae, the current state of affairs in our parishes is just too big a problem to tackle and fix. Presumably, Catholics are doomed to continue in the practice of behaviour which to God is repulsive and repugnant, which also is fatal to one’s faith and which also contributes to the deaths and murders of millions of innocent Canadians? Is it conceivable that the Cardinal also could be resigned to such a horrendous and preposterous notion?

If we examine more of the Cardinal’s statements in his recent interview, we are forced to ask more questions:

In a society in which permanent commitments are not valued - and that applies to the priesthood and religious life as well as to marriage - it can take great spiritual strength, and is certainly counter-cultural, to renew each day a sacred lifelong commitment, trusting in the grace of God. That must be our path as Christians, and anything that tends (even unintentionally) to re-inforce a culture that undermines fidelity to sacred permanent commitments must be resisted, as also any action that suggests that the Church does not take seriously the permanence of such covenants.

Our Lord's teaching on marriage, like his whole teaching on discipleship, can at times be very difficult. Especially in the world in which we live, but really in all periods of history, a certain heroism is required in the Christian life. We are all called to holiness; that is not just the vocation of the few who are canonized, but of all of us.

Could not the same challenges be put forth in regard to adhering to the Church’s teaching on contraception? Is not the grace of God sufficient and effectual for heroic living in terms of the full understanding of chastity, which forbids contraception? “We are all called to holiness; that is not just the vocation of the few who are canonized, but of all of us.”

The Cardinal stated well:

Many people who are divorced, and who are not free to marry, do enter into a second marriage. There are various reasons that can lead to this, and their fellow parishioners should not occupy themselves speculating about them. Catholics in that tragic situation can be involved in many ways in the life of the community, but they may not receive the sacraments, such as Holy Communion, since whatever their personal disposition is or the reasons for their situation, known perhaps only to God, they are continuing in a way of life which is objectively against the clear command of Jesus. That is the point.

Cardinal Collins says that Catholics who continue “in a way of life which is objectively against the clear command of Jesus” may not receive the sacraments. Humanae Vitae reiterates the clear command of Christ as well. Will he likewise forbid the sacraments to Catholics who obstinately persist, after clear instruction, in the grave sin of contraception? If not, then why not? He needs to explain this scandalous contradiction.

Was the Cardinal blinded to an obvious truth when he later said in his interview:

The Synod on the Family will surely deal with the whole range of issues facing the family today, not only this one issue of communion for those who are divorced and remarried. For example, one of the key problems we face now is that couples are more often living together without getting married. And there are many societal trends, especially in the western world, that undermine the family.

Notice that the Cardinal admits that it’s a “key problem” in the entire debate. He says “couples are more often living together without getting married.” Why is that? It would be both pointless and impossible for such a cultural norm described by the Cardinal to occur except for the widespread availability and practice of contraception. Your Eminence, why not attack the problem at its root? Why not re-examine the upcoming Synod in that light? Be bold, Your Eminence, and lead the way to a new future for Canada!

As Monsignor Foy said, “the greatest evil in the Church today is the contraceptive mentality.” It is, in fact, almost single handedly responsible for a host of other evils that we face, not the least of which is the crisis affecting the subject of this interview: Marriage, Divorce, and Communion.


Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Be Loud And Clear Concerning Evil

“Why is so called gay marriage sweeping across America? Because the only force on earth that might have stopped it, the Catholic Church, has not attacked the root evil, has not been clear, has not been loud. The coddling of active homosexuality within the Church has crippled Church leaders’ ability to respond."




Sunday, June 22, 2014

Feast Of Corpus Christ: I Affirm My Subjugation To Christ

Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

I affirm my subjugation to Christ, Victor over death, hell and my sins.  Before the Eucharist, Jesus my God and King, I am content to kneel until with His own hand He raises me.

O God, who bequeathed to us under a wondrous sacrament the memorial of Your Passion, grant to us, we implore, to venerate the sacred mysteries of Your Body and Blood in such a way that we constantly sense within us the fruit of Your redemption.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

FLASHBACK: Archbishop Collins Please Redress Schwarzenegger-McGuinty Scandal

Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

This is a timely reprint of a press release issued in June 2007 dealing with the ongoing scandal in Canada of Catholic politicians defying Church teaching and the indifference/inaction of Catholic Bishops on the matter.
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Vote Life, Canada! Calls on Toronto Archbishop to Redress Scandal Surrounding Governor Schwarzenegger's Stem Cell Deal with Ontario Premier McGuinty

MEDIA ADVISORY, June 4 /Christian Newswire/ -- "The scandal caused in Canada and the US by so-called 'devout' Catholic politicians who defy the true Catholic faith reached new depths of disgrace last week," says Eric Alcock, President of Vote Life,Canada!

Even as Governor Schwarzenegger met with Premier McGuinty to contract a deal which underwrites $30 million in public funds for the willful destruction of embryonic human beings, both politicians brazenly affirmed a staunch Catholic faith.

Catholic teaching condemns embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) as a crime against the dignity of embryonic human beings since they have a right to the same respect as the child already born. Furthermore, Alcock noted, "ESCR is a worse crime than abortion since no mother sets out from the beginning to abort her child whereas ESCR always envisions the purposeful, willful destruction of human life at the embryonic stage."

"Canada has descended a path of barbarism and secularism, even sponsoring the monstrous evil of abortion, thanks to a succession of 'devout' Catholic politicians and Prime Ministers," says Alcock. "Their testimony confirms the spiritual apathy and neglect of Canada's Bishops, practically all of whom continue the cowardly policy of leaving the defense of innocent Unborns to a persecuted minority of 'fundamentalist' pro-lifers."

Ironically, Alcock disclosed that in Toronto on the same day of Schwarzenegger's and McGuinty's scandalizing actions, Toronto's Archbishop Collins was delivering a speech entitled "The Contribution of Religion to Society." One point the Archbishop made was that religion contributes to the common good of society by bringing to bear on current social issues the insights arising from religion's ancient heritage of wisdom.

Alcock also pointed to an interview in December past when Archbishop Collins inferred that he would not rule out excommunication for politicians who defied Church teaching. Father Raymond J. de Souza judged in an article in the National Post that "the sheer size of Toronto and its status as the nation's media capital make the Archbishop the sine qua non of the Church's presence in Canadian public life."

Therefore, for the sake of Canada's Unborn, Vote Life, Canada! calls on Archbishop Collins to reverse the trend of deadly silence among the Bishops, to immediately and publicly address this scandal through reaffirming Church teaching on ESCR and to initiate Church Canon law discipline for all professing Catholics who refuse to make their consciences correct with Magisterial teaching, starting with Premier Dalton McGuinty.



Msgr. Foy To Catholic Bishops: Repudiate Contraception Or Lose Canada

Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

98 year old Monsignor Vincent Foy, the longest serving Catholic priest in Canada, has been much in the news lately and has compiled notes from recent interviews. It’s a wonderfully direct diagnosis of the moral malady in Canada.

In a very short space he references everything from the Winnipeg Statement to sex education to Justin Trudeau to Islam.

1. What effect do you think the Winnipeg Statement had on Canada in the late ’60s and 1970s?

First of all, it was a major cause of the suicidal birth rate. It was also a major cause of the contraceptive mentality and the “slippery slope” of adultery, fornication, venereal diseases, homosexuality, AIDS, pornography, radical feminism, sterilization, violence, child abuse, abortion, disintegration of marriage, increase of divorce, corrupt sex education (such as the “Fully Alive” sex instruction program in schools), euthanasia and the catastrophic loss of faith and morals that I have written about. This has contributed to the decline in our economy. The error of the Winnipeg Statement is quoted often in marriage preparation courses, in the confessional etc.

2. What effect, if any, do you think the Winnipeg Statement is having on Canada and Canadian Catholics today?

Today we are suffering from the evil effects (some of which I mentioned above) of the Winnipeg Statement. Couples often say ‘We know the bishops allow us to use contraceptives.’ Likely they have never heard of the Winnipeg Statement as such.

3. After “Liberating Potential” was released in 2008, do you think there will ever be any political will in the CCCB to revisit Winnipeg a third time? (I believe it was revisited in ’69 too.)

I pray that the CCCB will have the courage to admit and retract their previous error. Perhaps the newly appointed bishops will have the courage to repair and stop the damage.

4. Why do you think it’s important that the CCCB repeal Winnipeg today, even though it’s been 45 years?

It is essential that the error of the Winnipeg Statement be corrected. As Dietrich Von Hildebrand, one of the best theologians of the twentieth century, said: it is essential not only to assert the truth; it is also necessary to correct errors. The CCCB is morally obligated to officially retract the Winnipeg Statement.

5. Recently Justin Trudeau, a prominent Catholic, publicly dissented from Church teaching on abortion. Do you think this is a consequence of the Winnipeg Statement? If yes, why? If not, why do you think some Catholics have gotten to a point where they feel so comfortable blatantly opposing Church teaching?

I think it is one of the effects of the Winnipeg Statement. Justin Trudeau’s views and policies are heretical and anti-Catholic.

6. How would you answer those that say, “We don’t need to repeal the Winnipeg Statement because we have Liberating Potential, and other texts, that offer Catholics sufficient teaching on life issues?”

Currently, over 80% of women of childbearing age are using contraception. There are six times as many abortions through contraceptive use as there are through surgical means. Liberating Potential is a positive affirmation of Humanae vitae. As well, Dietrich Von Hildebrand says, it is necessary not only to teach the truth; but also to correct error. The Winnipeg Statement has never been specifically repudiated. I am very edified that we have so many current bishops in Canada, who had nothing to do with the publishing of the Winnipeg Statement and who preach and fully support Humanae vitae.

7. If the Winnipeg Statement is repealed, do you think it would have an effect on Canadian Catholics? And if so, what form would that take and how long of a process do you see that as being?

Yes, if with the repeal the doctrine of Humanae vitae were preached from every pulpit on frequent occasions. A repeal would take the form of a specific acknowledgement of the error of the Winnipeg Statement by the CCCB. It would help if the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would condemn the Winnipeg Statement by name. We know now that the heresy of Winnipeg Statement could not be repeated because the Holy See demands that any statement of a doctrinal nature by a bishops’ conference; must be approved by the Holy See. The Winnipeg Statement of course was and never will be approved by the Holy See. The Holy See speaks on behalf of the Pope to express the teaching of Christ and His Church.

8. Some Catholics today, such as Trudeau Jr., oppose Church teaching on contraception, abortion, and euthanasia. How does the Church change the hearts and minds of its members to better reflect the teachings of Humanae vitae, Veritatis Splendour, the Catechism of the Catholic Church etc.?

By frequent teaching of the truth by bishops and priests.

9. Where do you see the Church in Canada in twenty years — as it relates to the core issues of abortion, contraception, and euthanasia — as it stands in contrast to the secular culture’s embrace of these social issues?

Unless contraceptive practice by the majority is overcome, the Church in Canada will continue to decline. Muslims will gradually attain ascendency in terms of population increase and political power. While Muslims may be against abortion, contraception and homosexual acts; the Koran condemns Christianity. Sharia law and anti-Christian persecution would lead to the closing of our churches. Already there are more mosques in France than there are churches. More children attend mosques than churches. However, in other places where there are true Christians, the Church is growing in numbers, for example, in Africa and parts of India and other parts of the Far East. Vocations to the priesthood are increasing worldwide.


Visit Msgr. Foy’s website posting here.

Why Is Judie Brown Of American Life League Hopping Mad?

Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

Judie Brown of American Life League is hopping mad. I totally understand why. It’s time for many more Catholics to get hopping mad. It won’t be a day too soon.

So Judy, you’ve caught my attention. I’m interested…and curious. Please tell us what your new strategy will be.

Here’s some of what her email said:

Dear Friend of Life, 

Pro-abortion 'Catholic' politicians like Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry and Andrew Cuomo ought to be ashamed of themselves.

So should their bishops----Cardinal Wuerl of Washington, DC, Cardinal O'Malley of Boston and Cardinal Dolan of New York!

How dare these politicians vote for abortion and Planned Parenthood time after time after time?

And how dare their bishops not discipline them, thereby scandalizing and demoralizing good Catholics?

You bet I'm mad at both. I'm angry for all the babies who die while 'Catholic' politicians and bishops hobnob and dine and issue statements about peace and justice all the while the holocaust of the unborn goes on, directly aided and abetted by their action and inaction.

The blood of the babies is on the hands of the pro-abortion politicians for their sins of commission! The blood of the babies is on the hands of the bishops for their sins of omission!

This isn't that hard, really.

Earlier in my own life, abortion was illegal.

And Catholics who wanted to go into public life as politicians, or those called to the priesthood and were elevated to becoming bishops, knew that abortion was always and everywhere wrong and anyone who voted for it or participated in this crime would be excommunicated, denied communion, and denied all of the Sacraments until they repented of their evil ways!

This is in fact the most merciful way to help sinners change, so that they don't burn in the fires of hell!

At American Life League, we have been fighting every day since 1979 to end abortion. We are scandalized that the American bishops of the Catholic Church are not doing their job! It is within my rights as a Catholic to first ask, and then demand that our shepherds, our bishops take action now!

For decades we complained about Mario Cuomo and Teddy Kennedy, as two of the earliest prominent pro-abortion 'Catholic' politicians. Their horrible track records of voting for abortion and for Planned Parenthood's filthy and evil ways were a matter of public record. Despite that, they were celebrated by their bishops and were ultimately buried with full honors in a Catholic Church, with their respective Cardinals watching on.

And since they weren't corrected, admonished, shunned and excommunicated, their sinful support of abortion and Planned Parenthood is now touted and expanded by their own kids and family members!

A whole new generation of Cuomos and Kennedy 'Catholics' are in public life right now voting for and advocating for abortion and Planned Parenthood!

Had only Ted Kennedy and Andrew Cuomo's bishops acted then, maybe their progeny----and millions more American Catholics----would have said "I don't want to be embarrassed and excommunicated like Mario Cuomo and Ted Kennedy. There must be something seriously wrong with supporting abortion and Planned Parenthood. I'll find out more, and do more, and I'll be pro-life."

But that didn't happen! What a shame! What a wasted opportunity of saving so many souls! How many Catholics were led astray, putting their own immortal souls in jeopardy!

Don't tell me it didn't matter then, or doesn't matter now. In fact, today, if you ask 'sweet, Church-going little old ladies' from Ted Kennedy's home state of Massachusetts about him, they'll tell you what a wonderful man he was. And good-hearted New York Catholics still say what a fine man Mario Cuomo was, so why not vote for his son Andrew?

Since the bishops didn't speak, the people in the pews think abortion and Planned Parenthood are a-ok!

And the only one saying it's not ok is American Life League and a few other voices crying in the wilderness! Enough is enough! It's time for the American bishops to put their mouth where their money is and come out in favor of LIFE!

I love my fellow Americans and my fellow Catholics too much to let these sins that cry out to heaven for justice go on any longer. I have followed biblical precepts of approaching pro-abortion 'Catholic' politicians and bishops quietly and privately first, and then returning with others to persuade and point out the error of their ways.

But they're not listening! So now, we must do like the bible says, and expose them for what they are until they change or get out of the way of righteousness! As Christ Himself counseled us to do:

If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ---- Matthew 18:15-17

In short, all Catholic politicians must vote against abortion and against Planned Parenthood funding, and if they don't, Catholic bishops must act swiftly and publically to explain why what they are doing is wrong and declare them excommunicated, to save all other Catholics from being led astray.


Every Catholic Diocese Needs A Faith Movement

Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

"The Faith Movement exists to explain the Catholic faith to our contemporary world. It does this through an apostolate which seeks to answer the questions that young people are asking today about their faith. It runs residential conferences which give young Catholics the opportunity to meet and make friends with others while learning about their faith and coming to meet Jesus Christ through the sacraments of the Church; particularly the Holy Mass and Confession."



h/t EM via Tim Finigan 

Are Lost Souls Drawn To Christ By The Church Of Nice?

Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

You're a sincere and authentic Catholic trying to keep your head above water in the Church of Nice. You've been witnessing to your neighbour for a long time about Christ and His Church. You knew this day had to come, the day when you invite your neighbour to Church. Michael Voris finishes the story.  

"I'm a convert to Catholicism for a number of years now and what you say about the church of nice is spot on. The Catholic Church I attend bears no resemblance to the Catholic Church I read about while I was in the process of converting. It is extremely disappointing."




Friday, June 20, 2014

New Uprising Of Faith For Archdiocese Of St. John’s?

Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca


From a blog entry dated September 1, 2005, St. John’s NL:

I find it very sad and awful that in our own archdiocese of St. John’s, Newfoundland, a tremendous amount of effort has been put into the preparation of a document entitled A Challenge To Change. This report was commissioned due to very serious problems being faced by the Archdiocese because of shrinking population and shortage of priests.

A whole host of comments, suggestions and speculation was offered as to the causes and cures for this crisis, the major solution advanced being the clustering of parishes. The report clearly acknowledges that Newfoundland, a province where a high percentage of the population is Catholic, has the lowest birthrate in Canada. The report concludes with a summary of the “responses” and “other comments” offered by parties involved in the process, the very last comment stating in an eerie, prophetic sense, the following: “At best this is a stop-gag measure. With one new priest every 3-5 years the end is in sight. We need to be preparing for a non-clerical church.”

What’s the most surprising, even shocking, and obvious omission in this report? Nowhere does it even mention that Catholic failure to follow Church teaching regarding the evil of contraception is an inevitable cause of low birthrates and dwindling populations.  And can there be any doubt that an apathetic and disobedient community of Catholics (as evidenced by this attitude) fails to inspire young men to the priesthood?

The Church is dying, and rather than allow the fresh breath of the Holy Spirit to speak new life by means of the Truth given to the Church, we prefer to discuss how we should dress the dead body and make final preparations for the funeral.

The video shown above appeared in a newscast last month on NTV News, on May 21 to be precise. On the same day, The Telegram released its story on the financial woes of the Archdiocese of St. John’s. Some relevant portions include:

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s has appealed to its parishioners because of the state of its finances…
And as part of long-range planning, it will also examine its holdings to see which churches can be closed and buildings sold. For example, St. Paul’s and Mary Queen of Peace are close to one another, he said.

Among the 38 parishes, there are also a number of rural churches that no longer have large enough congregations to sustain the ex­pense.

“Sometime we have to ask some tough questions,” (Archbishop Martin) Currie said of the future.
Currie acknowledged the younger generation is not as active in church matters, including donations.

“Hopefully, we can have a new uprising of faith,” he said.

A new uprising of faith? “But faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Can faith be separated from obedience to the Word of Christ? A certain Christian hymn declares, “By the pathway of duty flows the river of God’s grace.” And again, in Holy Scripture, “If ye love me keep my commandments.”

And Christ speaks today, revealing His commandments through His Church, through Her Magisterium. Through the medium of the Church’s teaching we know the will and mind of God to all those who call themselves followers of Christ. These foundational truths of the Word of God and the Catholic Church confirm for us that the Archbishop will not see any new uprising of faith in the context of this appeal because the basic problem being addressed here is adverse social consequences directly resulting from decades’ long disobedience to Church teaching on artificial contraception.

I’ve appealed to readers here, there and everywhere to examine the basic connection between our coming demographic crunch and the contraceptive mentality, particularly emphasizing the Catholic Bishops’ failure to communicate Catholic teaching on this subject.

There are profound effects upon a man and upon a society when he engages in an unnatural behaviour, that is, an action contrary to the natural law. Psychological effects, spiritual effects, social effects are chief on the list. Which, do you think, are the more significant effects, i.e. the ones with the longer term consequences? A true Catholic, in response, would doubtless point to the spiritual effects. According to Father John Hardon, S.J., the spiritual effects of contraception are fatal to the faith. According to Monsignor Vincent Foy, the denial of the Church’s teaching on contraception is “a crime…leading our beloved Church in Canada deep into the Valley of Death.”

Unnatural behaviours are objectively evil, that is to say they are fundamentally opposed to God and His nature and are repugnant to him. Now here’s where we connect again with the news report from the Archdiocese of St. John’s. Don’t you think that someone who represented the person and interests of God in a community would be careful to warn people of the dangers of offending God by such actions and the risks to their eternal salvation? After all, we are talking about sin and evil, plain and simple, regardless of the great numbers of people in favour of such behaviour or even practicing it. Clearly, widespread participation in sin hardly absolves the leader from his responsibility to warn the people.

Let’s ask ourselves how God views such behaviour carried out by His own people? Does he just see a happy clappy bunch of Catholics, a little bit ignorant but just trying to do their best, or does he want to vomit for the most part? The average Catholic is guilty in this matter, no doubt, but in all the condemnations Jesus issued he reserved the worst judgments for the religious leaders of his day who, in addition to themselves, were leading many others into the ditch.

There are social and national consequences to sin. Thousands, if not millions, of people are impacted and may suffer greatly, or even perish, as a result. Consider Sodom and Gomorrah, the Flood in Noah’s day, Nineveh, Israel in captivity, etc. Do some Bishops not grasp this concept? Or is it simply that they do not believe in sin, or don’t believe that their denial and apathy concerning Church law constitutes sin?

Indeed, the tormenting fact is that millions are already perishing due to the sin of contraception, a practice which became pervasive in the 1960’s and which paved the way for the legalization of abortion in Canada. There is a direct link between these two great evils and so far abortion has resulted in over 3.5 million deaths, to say nothing of the unimaginable numbers of little souls, who, over the same time period, have lost their bodies to spontaneous abortion in the womb due to use of the contraceptive pill. This is truly the most tragic social outcome of the Bishops’ silence. And, still, the killing continues day after day.

So let’s never forget proper perspective in this matter. Declining numbers of the faithful showing up for Mass and fewer dollars in the collection plate is hardly the real news story because hidden beneath the ink are more complex—and deadly—social consequences of the “sterile sex” phenomenon. Too many Bishops steadfastly refuse to discuss the link to the practice of this socially destructive behaviour let alone point to spiritually destructive aspects of the practice. Even when it is destroying a Bishop’s own flock and the surrounding society so many are content to say nothing and hope the ship won’t go down. Could we imagine a more severe case of compromise in spiritual leadership?

Perhaps they believe, like Cardinal O'Malley, that they can't speak out in the public square on any issues because they’ve lost their moral authority over the sexual abuse crisis.” If so, I say “Resign” immediately and make room for worthy Bishops who will not remain silent on the evils of the day.

When will Bishops acknowledge the word of Christ on this evil, do their duty by preaching and warning the people and so save their dioceses from sure collapse? And on that same day the killing of the innocents will abate.





Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Michael Voris, It’s Called Pseudo-Catholicism

Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

And Canada is likewise rife with this disease. Hating on Tradition: Another tough talk by Michael Voris.

It seems as if, in addition to bad prudential decisions, loss of supernatural faith and other considerations, that something sinister is also at work. And the object to the sinister actions—the heart of it—is always a dismantling of the church's tradition…and by this we mean a somewhat slow, seemingly calculated approach, to simply remake the church—to refashion her.


Monday, June 16, 2014

The Heart Of The Problem In The Catholic Church Is Tradition


Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca
"The Church in America is on her last legs and the Battle Royale is on; the fight for the soul of what's left. On the one side is the small but growing population of Catholics; in fact the only place where there is growth—the tradition minded. Unfortunately they have no power. That's because the protestant-minded, homosexual-friendly, man-centered crowd that took over the Chancery, parishes, seminaries, hospitals, and universities in the 1970’s  has never been dislodged, but they are falling victim to their own success…"




Sunday, June 15, 2014

UPDATED: Julian Barkin A Zealous Fighter For Toronto’s Cardinal Collins

UPDATE: In order to protect my sources I have removed from this posting the contents of an email sent by Julian Barkin to the Bishops of NL. The reader can easily click on this link to one of Barkin's blog postings to get a good idea of what he said to the Bishops about me.
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Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

It has come to my attention that Mr. Julian Barkin of the Archdiocese of Toronto has contacted the Bishops of this province, in an attempt to silence me from further criticism of his Cardinal Archbishop, Thomas Collins. The email communication which he sent out to the Bishops of Newfoundland and Labrador can be viewed below and in many ways is self-explanatory. Barkin lays some very serious charges against me, including slander, detraction, and calumny and claims that “the damage this man is unleashing online is gravely sinful”.

Interestingly, he does admit that “some of the arguments in the postings are coherent and well thought out” but nevertheless insists I must not say such things as I do about Cardinal Collins. My blog postings, he states, constitute a “façade of critical discussion using pro-life rhetoric, Scripture, etc.” which seems a very convenient tactic to diminish the weight of crucial elements of my argument. In addition, he labels me a radical traditionalist although I am altogether at a loss to understand how he arrives at such a label, unless he means a Catholic radically (as in “fully”) persuaded of the power and validity of Tradition in the Catholic Church.

Sadly, much of Barkin’s warrant is ill conceived, reactionary and illogical, not to mention replete with ad hominem attack. My criticisms of Cardinal Collins and other Catholic Bishops were quite objective and detailed and demand a thoughtful response, not a knee jerk reaction. I invite the readers of this blog to visit the postings he has referenced in his email below and discover for yourself whether Barkin’s barking makes any sense.

However, even though Barkin needs to do much more homework on the subject of my postings, his communique has been effective in getting the Archbishop of St. John’s, the Rgt. Reverend Martin Currie, to request a meeting with ME, the author of Contra|diction blog two members of the executive of the local Latin Mass community, Una Voce St. John’s, presumably to put some pressure on them to keep me on a shorter leash. Except I am not a member of that group and all of my writings, articles and social media messaging is 100% my own, without collaboration with anyone else. Nevertheless, for what it's worth and for the sake of full disclosure, I do attend the weekly Sunday Latin Mass.

As a final comment in this posting, I commend Barkin for his zeal in defending his shepherd, Cardinal Collins. All Catholics should be so quick and bold to do the same if only their Bishops were worthy and faithful shepherds. Barkin simply cannot—will not—consider the serious criticisms I have levelled against Cardinal Collins, regardless of the evidence I have provided. This is bound to cause him further distress down the road when his understanding deepens and he loses his rose coloured glasses. How much better though if his spiritual shepherd owned up to his full responsibilities and began to set his See in order!

For the reader’s information, and for the fuller picture, here is a complete listing of all relevant posts authored by me on this blog (and elsewhere) referencing Cardinal Thomas Collins.

Toronto Cardinal Collins Risks Charge of Hypocrisy 

Imagine A Conversation Between Cardinal Collins And Adolph Hitler

What Catholic Bishop Is Watching Over Justin Trudeau’s Soul?

Letter To Justin Trudeau From Cardinal Collins Fails Catholic Test

Canada’s Catholic Bishops Debated The Denial Of Holy Communion To Renegade Politicians 

FLASHBACK: Archbishop Collins Of Edmonton Would Withhold Communion

On Catholic Bishops Withholding Communion: Can Religion and Politics Coexist?

Is The Archdiocese of Toronto More Concerned About Saving Paper Than Saving Souls?

FLASHBACK: It’s Time For Pro-Lifers To Change Their Strategy In Canada

Archbishop Prendergast Must Go the Whole Nine Yards

Vote Life, Canada! Calls on Toronto Archbishop to Redress Scandal Surrounding Governor Schwarzenegger's Stem Cell Deal with Ontario Premier McGuinty

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Julian Barkin's email to the Bishops of NL:

Removed


Catholic Bishops of Canada Helped Pave The Way For Global Communion In The Hand


Strange timing in a way: Last week Michael Voris unveiled  a shocking expose on the deceit foisted upon American Catholics by liberal Bishops in the 70’s who wanted to ram Holy Communion in the hand upon the faithful. At the same time Monsignor Vincent Foy was honoured at a special 75th Anniversary ordination celebration in Toronto where he was toasted in a homily by Cardinal Collins for his perseverance in calling Canada’s Bishops to orthodoxy, not only in regard to the rejection of Humanae Vitae by way of the Winnipeg Statement, but also in regard to the imposition in Canada of Holy Communion in the hand. Msgr. Foy was a fierce opponent of this practice, warning of its dangerous consequences and claiming that it was “introduced by deceit in the USA and Toronto.”

It appears that Canadian Bishops were one of the first, if not the very first, to start agitating for this permission from Rome. No doubt their success inspired and emboldened certain US Bishops to keep pushing for their permission.

Watch the Michael Voris expose here.

You may wish to get more background on the issue here before watching the video above.

P.S. The reader may say, "But we don't hear much conversation these days about this subject. Are any others talking about it? Surely there must be some prominent voice today sounding a warning." Yes, there is.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Are Catholic Liberals Uppity And Sanctimonious?

Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

"Did you ever wonder why there are so many liberal causes pushed so hard by so many in the Catholic Church these days? Here’s why. Because liberal causes like fighting climate change give the guilty unfaithful a place to shelve their guilt. That interior voice nagging their consciences is in need of a place of refuge so they find other causes besides repentance to feel good about themselves because repentance would mean a change in their lives and the turning away from sin…a “conversio”. Ever wonder why they get so uppity and sanctimonious about their causes? Because they have to make themselves feel superior to the actual faithful in the hopes that their consciences will quiet down. That’s why they get so uppity and superior about their causes.  They pour themselves into earthly man centered issues because they have neglected the spiritual."





Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Toronto Cardinal Collins Risks Charge of Hypocrisy

Image from Socon.ca
Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

On Sunday past, at the 75th Ordination Anniversary Celebration for Monsignor Vincent Foy, Cardinal Collins presided over Mass in the Extraordinary Form and delivered the homily. According to this blogger, Cardinal Collins

…spoke of the fortitude and perseverance we need to have as Catholics in our current culture and to fight the temptation to leave and reject her solemn teachings. He praised Msgr. Foy’s fidelity and persistence in preaching the truth of Humanae Vitae.  ++Collins noted that it was our duty to challenge and evangelize our culture, to get out and spread the good news of the Gospel of Jesus and the Gospel of Life.”

This is rich indeed considering the Cardinal rarely mentions the word “contraception”, or the phrase “Humanae Vitae” in his day to day oversight as Bishop of the Archdiocese of Toronto. If you doubt that statement please go to the Archdiocesan website and do a word search. You’ll find two or three search results from 2008 and 2009 pertaining to a community talk at St. Michael’s college on the medical consequences of contraception and a parish seminar on the “Contraception Deception”. Then go to the Archdiocesan blog and do the same.  With over 660,000 page views you’ll find basically one article on Humanae Vitae out of over 550 blog postings and that was not an article with a prominent Toronto Catholic’s name attached. It was a reprint from an article in the Irish Independent.

Cardinal Collins, like every other Canadian Bishop as far as I can see, has done nothing significant to promote the teaching of Humanae Vitae on an Archdiocesan-wide level. Have any of the Bishops instructed their priests to require Confession for this evil behaviour? The Cardinal has failed to teach and to warn his flock of the sinfulness of the practice of contraception and its contribution to the culture of death in Canada. He recently held a campaign to get people back to Confession yet took no steps whatever to ensure that Catholics had an opportunity to cleanse their souls of the pervasive and intrinsically evil practice of contraception. Is this the work of a worthy Bishop?

Apparently, in light of his comments in his homily at Msgr. Foy's ordination celebration, Cardinal Collins knows full well the scope of the problem in Canada about contraception yet refuses to address it in any concrete fashion in his own See. Rightly, he praised Msgr. Foy for his doggedness over orthodoxy for five decades or more yet he takes no steps himself to imitate that godly determination in his own powerful sphere of influence. What a sham! Unless of course we see a drastic and immediate turnabout in the Cardinal’s approach on this issue.

Isn't this hypocrisy? Isn't it very much like what Jesus described regarding the leaders of his day whose fathers killed the prophets but who pretended that they themselves would never have participated in such persecution?

Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; that build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the just, And say: If we had been in the days of our Fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore you are witnesses against yourselves, that you are the sons of them that killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. You serpents, generation of vipers, how will you flee from the judgment of hell? Matthew 23:29-33

And isn't there similar application for what Jesus said about those same leaders earlier in that same chapter who expect the faithful to live devout Catholic lives yet won't lift a finger to help them in crucial ways?

All things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do: but according to their works do ye not; for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy and insupportable burdens, and lay them on men's shoulders; but with a finger of their own they will not move them. Matthew 23: 3-4

Why isn't Cardinal Collins doing his part to support Msgr. Foy in his valiant fight to reverse the culture of death in Toronto? Why isn’t he making Humanae Vitae an issue in his diocese? And very conveniently, the Cardinal did not mention Ground Zero for the collapse of morals in Canada, the infamous Winnipeg Statement. This brazen attack in 1968 on the Pope and the Magisterium by the Canadian Bishops has led to an actual false church of sorts in Canada, and a dangerous pseudo-catholicism which is sending countless souls into hell…

To say nothing of spawning a culture of death responsible for over 3.5 million children killed by abortion in Canada.

Cardinal Collins and his fellow Bishops need to come clean. These men need to stop their dissimulations, repent and do their job as Apostles of Christ, or RESIGN. After such outrageous behaviour in this life as Successors of the Apostles, do these men imagine they'll get into heaven with a wink and a nod from God? Either God has played a cruel joke on all of us or these men are gravely compromised in their callings.

Who knows, maybe what they’re counting on is a very long time in purgatory first? 


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

The Fourth Great Crisis In The History Of The Church


Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

"The Internet has become the only organ of communication to the masses that liberals in the church cannot control. Ha Ha, and His Excellency is well aware of that. Hence his praise for the internet.  See, he gets it. The establishment church also known as the Church of Nice does not like clarity. Being clear earns you enemies and earning enemies means headaches and loss of income."

Sunday, June 08, 2014

Sixty Issues Bringing The Catholic Church To Its Knees

Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

Michael Voris and ChurchMilitant.tv have a good series of Vortex episodes centred on sixty issues that the Catholic establishment media won't touch when it comes to urgent coverage and analysis. These are the very issues that have contributed to the wholesale apostasy of the Church over the last few decades.

Watch the videos in order presented.

Here’s the PDF for the actual list of 60 issues.










Divorce Is The Suicide Of A Family


Read an outstanding piece by Phil Lawlor on divorce, the breakdown of marriage and the breakdown in a Church that permits it. It’s really not rocket science. One wonders when Priests and Bishops will take the teaching of Christ seriously.

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Needed: Speed-Bumps On The Road To Divorce
By Phil Lawler

The “empty-nest divorce” threatens to become a familiar rite of passage in American life. During the first few years after graduation from college we are regularly invited to the weddings of our classmates and friends. A few more years pass, and we hear about the birth of their children. Another decade or two, and we may receive invitations to those children’s weddings. Then, sadly, we hear that the couples, our old friends, are breaking up.

Every divorce is a tragedy. Lawyers and legislators may speak glibly of “no-fault” divorce, but in practice there is plenty of fault on both sides. Except in the most unusual circumstances—those rare cases when a civil divorce is the proper response to legal problems—a divorce is a public proclamation that two people have failed at the most important business in their lives. Divorce, as Peter Kreeft has observed, is the suicide of a family. But in this case the suicide may claim innocent victims: the children, if there are any; the unwilling partner, if only one spouse wants to end the life of the marriage.

Yet as sad as divorce always is, it is even more heartbreaking to watch the disintegration of a marriage that has endured for 20 or 30 years, and produced a handful of children. How is it possible that a couple could live together for decades, appearing to all the world like the happy heads of a healthy family, and then suddenly abandon the project they had been working on together?

It happens even among Catholic couples, even among active church-goers and model parishioners. Something goes terribly wrong, the couple cannot fix the problem, and a family is destroyed. Ordinarily, I fear, the pastor does not know about the problem until the lawyers have already drawn up the divorce documents.

As the world’s Catholic bishops gather for their Synod meeting in October on the family, the hottest topic in public discussions has been pastoral care for Catholics who are divorced and remarried. No doubt that is a valid concern, but another question should take precedence: What can the Church do to prevent the tragedy of divorce?

Yes, yes, I know that there are times when a civil divorce is the best solution to an intractable problem. I know that divorce, taken by itself, is not necessarily sinful. But surely we should not presume, in each case, that divorce is a wise choice, that the parties are blameless. Catholics, who see the marital bond as a reflection of Christ’s love for his Church, should do everything possible to preserve that bond.

When a marriage breaks down, someone (in all likelihood both spouses) has done something (probably some things, plural) seriously wrong. Pastors should remind married couples frequently that they have a solemn obligation, incurred by their vows, to preserve and strengthen their relationship. The failure to work on a marriage, to act with love toward one’s spouse, may be a gravely sinful matter. Regular homilies about marriage, including some practical advice, might help keep couples together.

Of course the best opportunity for dispensing advice comes before the wedding, and the Church can certainly show greater diligence in preparing couples for Christian marriage. Church tribunals now routinely find that young people married in the Catholic Church did not adequately understand the commitment they were undertaking. Those findings should be understood as a scathing indictment of our marriage-prep courses.

Or else, perhaps, those findings are an indictment of the tribunals themselves. Is it really likely that more than 90% of the American Catholics who apply for annulments were never validly married? Have diocesan officials become infected with the thoroughly un-Christian belief that ordinary people are not capable of lifelong commitments? Still more puzzling, to me, is the willingness of tribunals to annul marriages that have lasted for years and produced multiple children. If someone was too immature to form a lasting bond in his 20s, and never acquired the necessary maturity through his 30s and 40s, he should not need an annulment in his 50s, since he is unlikely ever to be mature enough for marriage!

Should the Church be demanding, in questioning couples who want a Catholic wedding? If they show no sign of understanding what Christian marriage entails, no interest in doing more than going through the motions, should they be advised against marriage? That sort of rigorous approach would be effective only if all pastors adopted it. Too often, when a couple is discouraged by one conscientious pastor, they find another priest, in another parish, who will officiate as long as all the forms are properly filled out.

And before we leave the subject of preparation for marriage, it is vitally important to stress that young couples should be presented with the full, uncensored teaching of the Church regarding the integrity of marital love. A love that is open to life is the best insurance against marital breakdown; among married couples who do not use artificial contraceptives, the rate of divorce is statistically insignificant. The Catholic Church has the antidote to a disease that is plaguing our society; it is not charitable—it is certainly not pastoral-- to keep that remedy secret.

Priests might be better equipped to help save marriages—to intervene before problems became irreversible—if they heard more about marital difficulties in the confessional. Regrettably, many Catholics rarely or never approach the sacrament of reconciliation. By encouraging more frequent confession, and probing carefully for signs of domestic friction, priests might find new ways to encourage couples to help each other.

The willingness to ask forgiveness and the readiness to start anew are keys to overcoming marital difficulties. They are also, not coincidentally, virtues that are nourished by sacramental confession. Moreover, someone who has recently been absolved of his own sins should be more disposed to forgive his spouse’s offenses.

”The family that prays together stays together,” runs the old adage. A household founded on faith has a better chance of absorbing shocks, an insurance policy that protects against the inevitable setbacks that mark family life. Pastors should encourage families to pray together in their homes: to pray for each other’s needs, to pray as a family, for the family.


In a society in which half of all marriages end in divorce, the enduring love of a married couple is a powerful form of evangelization. The Church should do everything possible to highlight the witness of faithful married couples—and to ensure that there are more of them.