Monday, September 21, 2015

The Litmus Test Of Today's Catholic Bishop?

Recent news stories from Europe and from the Vatican have once and for all exposed the nature of the dissent that oiled the engine of the Sexual Revolution which continues to ravage the West and which now threatens even a schism in the Church. No surprise to readers of this blog, it’s that Trojan Horse called contraception, only now the purveyors of that heresy seem no longer to be afraid of revealing their hand!  

These are some of the headlines to which I refer:


This explosion of boldness and shocking disobedience, along with common everyday observation, should leave no doubt in our minds that any Catholic Bishop that does not proclaim the teaching of Humanae Vitae is hamstrung with a full blown crisis of fidelity in his diocese on matters of sexuality. In no way can such a Bishop be considered “pro-Catholic” let alone “pro-life” regardless of fine sounding rhetoric and token gestures. Not only is such a Bishop hamstrung but he is actually facilitating the ongoing destruction to society that the sexual revolution spawns and is also complicit in the mounting insurrection which threatens a schism in the Church. Furthermore, and more importantly, a vast number of individuals in our society are losing their eternal souls due to the sexual chaos and confusion which reigns, due largely to the silence and/or denial of so many Apostles of Christ.

What exactly is involved in a Bishop’s campaign to proclaim the teaching of Humanae Vitae in his diocese? Based on the example of other truly orthodox prelates, I believe at least three outcomes would emerge:

1. At a minimum, that Bishop must give evidence that he believes, heart and soul, in the magisterial teaching on contraception, as expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and as presented in the encyclical Humanae Vitae. Such belief would compel a pastoral letter introducing a broad and high profile program of catechesis designed to educate and save Catholics from the intrinsically evil practice of contraception for the eternal good of their souls.

2. In pastoral practice, the Bishop must require that his priests read and implement the Vademecum for Confessors Concerning Some Aspects of the Morality of Conjugal Life, wherein is emphasized "The Church has always taught the intrinsic evil of contraception, that is, of every marital act intentionally rendered unfruitful. This teaching is to be held as definitive and irreformable." Engagement in such gravely sinful behaviour necessitates the Sacrament of Reconciliation for restoration before God and reception of Holy Communion. Marriage preparation must affirm the absolute incompatibility of contraception with the sacrament of marriage.

3. A strong emphasis on natural family planning (NFP) within the diocese within the context of Pope St. John Paul II’s teachings on the Theology of the Body.

We see in our own backyards in Canada the disgraceful and devastating effects of dissent from Catholic teaching on contraception. Most prominently we see in the Archdiocese of Toronto a hypocritical—perhaps even schizophrenic—approach to the matter, with Cardinal Collins at one moment admitting that Humanae Vitae is being ignored virtually everywhere (including Toronto?), then praising a priest who has been one of the only sane and consistent voices supporting Humanae Vitae, and then on the other hand saying and doing nothing to alert his flock as to the grave dangers of contraceptive use. This calamitous failure of duty by the Cardinal likely explains his “see no evil, hear no evil” policy in regard to the wicked sex-ed program instituted in Ontario schools by Premier Kathleen Wynne. Ignoring evil gets to be habit forming.

Yet the pro-life movement in Canada—especially the largest pro-life media conglomerate—somehow considers Cardinal Collins a “pro-life” Bishop and heaps praise and honour on him when he attends the March for Life. Furthermore they are very careful not to criticize him to any great extent or to implicate him in failure. This must stop. The Cardinal is the de facto leader of Catholics in English Canada and is grossly negligent in the matter of the salvation of souls under his watch. How difficult can it be to face up to this very tragic reality and report accordingly?

Similarly, pro-life leaders across Ontario and Canada cling obstinately to Archbishop Terrence Prendergast as an even stronger example of a “pro-life” Bishop yet this Bishop’s diocese is awash with out of control dissent and heresy, much of it aimed directly at Humanae Vitae. Homosexuality is a flourishing enterprise in Ottawa, even in the priesthood, so much so that one can only wonder if perhaps the Archbishop is a victim of blackmail. To say that the Catholic School Board under his rule flouts Catholic teaching is a great understatement and reveals only a small part of the Archbishop’s timidity in dealing with his “Catholic” educators.  And what of the pro-choice “Catholic” politicians who endlessly haunt and taunt not only the capital city but all of Canada with their blatant and murderous ways? Have any ever been denied Holy Communion? Has the scandal been redressed? Surely the faithful Catholics in Ottawa are justly impatient with their shepherd, having waited so long for him to live up to his promises and finally take control of all the renegades.

Do these Bishops not accomplish some good undertakings in their dioceses? Of course they do; in fact some of their efforts are highly commendable. However, that fact cannot excuse their abject failures and lukewarm attitudes when it comes to the salvation of souls, which is the Supreme Law of the Church.

Again I say, the forces in the Church aligned with evil have boldly shown their hand and the line in the sand is (still) very clearly Humanae Vitae. If a Catholic Bishop wishes to save his flock from the snares of satan and ensure they escape the culture of death, he must enshrine the truth and practice of Humanae Vitae in his diocese. Until he does every faithful Catholic has a duty to treat him not only suspiciously but as an unfaithful steward, perhaps a hireling, or worse still a wolf. To withhold judgment or criticism and especially to hold him up as an example—pro-life or otherwise—is to invite further scandal and to confirm that Bishop in his obstinacy and disobedience.

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