Michael Coren and the Progression of Conservative Thought

In Saturday’s Toronto Sun, Michael Coren makes his prediction “that polygamy will be legal and accepted in this country within five years.” In a column subtitled “On the heels of gay marriage, polygamy knocks on Canada's door,” Coren argued that the redefinition of the institution of marriage to include people of the same gender has invariably led us to this point.

But he wonders why we find polygamy to be so frightening.

It is certainly jarring, but less so than the notion of people of the same gender, incapable of procreation without the abuse of science, parading as husbands and husbands or wives and wives. It is a perversion of the norm rather than a perversion in itself.

Well, at least he got to call it what it is…a perversion. More could be said but that’s not where I’m going with my posting.

Am I the only one who wonders whether today’s conservatives are really only yesterday’s liberals dressed up in today’s clothes? Don’t you have your own secret suspicions? [No? Give it some thought. Think Stephen Harper for just a moment.]

Today’s conservatives—and understandably a great percentage of them are Christians—have been aghast at the attack on the institution of marriage advanced by the sodomists. They can see clearly that “gay marriage” will logically lead to polygamy and they warn society accordingly. But having lost the ground of biblical marriage and having suffered a humiliating retreat, they are about ready to put their loss behind them. In a few years, as Coren notes, one major step closer to being cornered in the box, they will be busy trying to hold the ground against the polygamists. Fast forward a few more years and they will be the very ones defending, if not practicing, the latest liberal victory of yesterday, “gay marriage.”

Unconvinced? Ask yourself how often today’s conservatives tackle the subject of divorce—once upon a time an unheard-of option for the Christian—which today claims about half of all marriages across the board. For that matter, how many pastors will press two people who cohabitate to live apart until marriage, even when they are in the midst of planning their wedding day?

Ask yourself how often today’s conservatives hearken back to the days when Canadian society was protected from sodomists through legal sanction. Even the great majority of Christians are incredulous and distressed by any suggestion to criminalize the disgusting sex acts engaged in by sodomists yet it wasn’t that long ago when they got sick to their stomach to think such perversion might be de-criminalized.

But for the crowning illustration let’s go back to the first half of the 20th Century when Christians (and conservatives) were issuing the strongest possible warnings about a very pernicious and fundamental perversion of God’s sexual gift which was wooing society at the time. The Anglicans, who were in complete agreement with all other Christian bodies at the time, in response to much pressure, warned all members “against the use of unnatural means of avoiding conception.”

Yes, dear reader, less than one hundred years ago, Christians began to break away in great numbers from the constant teaching tradition of Christendom which prohibited birth control. Conservatives ever since have been defending that hard fought libertine (read “liberal”) success of yesteryear. I’ve posted recently and frequently on the same subject. But since I believe this to be the decisive fulcrum of today’s culture wars I hope readers will forgive me for singing the same old tune. I could use some accompaniment.

If we don’t address that fatal flaw—it will require doing business with God on our knees—the descent into chaos will continue unabated.

I respect Michael Coren and his oft-brilliant columns and he has huge appeal among pro-lifers and the more traditional minded Canadian populace. But unfortunately, like his conservative colleagues, I fear he’s a moral relativist. It’s time for all of them to decide whether they are first Christians or first Conservatives.

Let me put it another way. If two thousand years of constant Christian teaching tradition can’t be trusted to reflect the absolute truth of God’s or man’s nature [on birth control, divorce, and sodomy, as well as marriage and abortion], then there’s nothing left but moral relativity and the inevitable collapse of our once great society. And it can have only one end—the pit of hell. Otherwise God is made out to be a prudish fool for nineteen centuries.

Conservatives, I maintain, are like night caretakers at a construction site, ensuring the framing erected by the day shift remains intact until the grand project is finally complete. And the project foreman is a Liberal.

An even bigger question is whether Conservatives can ever be more than the caretakers and cronies of the Liberals. I say yes but that all depends on whether the national pool of Christian thought can recover its integrity—it’s faithful adherence to God’s revelation.

And that, in turn, depends on whether Canada’s Christian leaders, particularly the Catholic Bishops, can recover their integrity. I highlight the Catholic Bishops because on the matter of contraception the Catholic Church seems to be standing alone, at least in its official teachings, in the defense of this age old Christian doctrine. That should make a turnabout less traumatic.

In the meantime, the question remains: Christian first—or Conservative first? And if Christian, then which kind—the fifty year old kind or the two thousand year old kind?

Michael O’Brien on Moral Anarchy and Signs of Contradiction

Looks like another must read from Michael O’Brien.

From No Apologies website today:

Moral Anarchy

Michael O’Brien is a Catholic author and apologist. You may have heard of one of his first pieces; a little book he wrote more than 10 years ago called “A Landscape With Dragons“, which was basically a defence of the use of the fantasy genre in children’s literature as a teaching tool in Christian households. O’ Brien has turned into more of a cultural apologist these days, and he has a new essay on his website this month dealing with the notion of “moral anarchy”.

New Publications from the Catholic Bishops of Canada

Announcement today from the CCCB (Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops) on the availability of the following publications:

Parents: You, Your Children and their Catholic Faith (DVD)
Series of 7 talks said to be ideal for parents and educators bringing children to the Sacraments.

Anybody know anything about this material? I was able to find a little info and video trailer on this series here. It’s not much but more feedback on this series’ faithfulness to the Magisterium would be very much appreciated.

As some may know, serious questions have been raised previously—even by other Catholic Bishops—about some of the catechetical materials used by the Canadian Bishops.

Directory 2008
A yearly publication with loads of information on The Holy Father, the Apostolic Nunciature, the CCCB, the dioceses of Canada and other organizations of the Church.

Lexicon: Debatable and Ethical Questions Regarding Family Life
Published by Pontifical Council for the Family, Rome. According to the CCCB website,
The Lexicon clarifies terms regarding family life and ethical questions that tend to change meanings depending on context and ideology. A clear understanding of terms is presented by more than 80 international experts from various fields in this compendium of articles.

Looks like a helpful resource—and a very comprehensive one—and it should be sound doctrinally considering its source. Thank you, dear Bishops.

Delayed Reaction to Popular Movie Juno Looks Deeper into Cultural Morass

Remember when “Juno” was all the rage with pro-lifers and conservatives in general? Why, even the pro-aborts were condemning and lamenting it. So it must have belonged to our side, right?

Perhaps we just needed some time for the movie magic of Ellen Page to wear thin before we came to our senses. This week Phyllis Schlafly and Jean Strauss go a little deeper.

Thanks Hollywood. Keep us enthralled and entranced—even while we go down for the third time.

Face it. We're being fooled and the vast majority of the time we haven't a clue as to how. We think as long as we can see an enemy we must be on the right side of things and we've just got to keep on fighting.

But there's only one enemy...and he's not visible.

Ottawa Archbishop Prendergast and Phony Catholics

Timothy Bloedow, Canadian author, culture warrior and guest columnist over at No Apologies, is peeved at phony Catholics.

What I can’t understand is why people who have rejected Catholicism still want to be considered a “Catholic”? The same goes for anybody, regardless of what classification we’re talking about. You have Evangelical Christians and people of other religions trying to pull the same stunt.

Timothy is chiming in on a news report centering on Ottawa Archbishop Terrance Prendergast—and to which I linked in an earlier posting. 

Bloedow is peeved at the response by certain “Catholic politicians” to the Archbishop’s recent comments about denying Holy Communion to pro-abortion Catholics.

So, what brings on this criticism of phony religion? It’s the responses of various Catholic Members of Parliament to Ottawa Catholic Archbishop Terence Prendergast’s recent statement that he would deny communion to pro-abortion MPs.

Some real Catholic MPs like Tom Wappel, Pierre Lemieux and Andrew Scheer answered like Catholics. But a number of Liberal MPs made it clear in their answers that they are Fundamentalist Secular Humanists, not Catholics.

Bloedow is not afraid to speak his mind and he regularly wages a strong campaign against what he believes are the evils threatening Canadian society. I agree with him on a good number of points.

Like Tristan Emmanuel, he is an Evangelical Christian taking on the huge task of trying to engage Christians in the public square. I admire their enthusiasm and tenacity. 

However, Stefan Jetchick recently took on Bloedow and his book “State vs. Church: What Christians Can Do to Save Canada from Liberal Tyranny” in this series of email exchanges, where he raised a number of concerns about Bloedow’s approach. Read the exchanges and see what you think. 

But at least these guys are trying hard to fix some of the monsters let loose in Canadian society due to the neglect of authentic Christian teaching by Catholic Bishops in Canada. Unfortunately, I’m of the opinion that only the Bishops themselves, after due repentance and reparation, are truly able to return Canada to a sound footing and future. After all, Bloedow and his colleagues seem to have tunnel vision in the matter of runaway sterile sex among Christians and political “conservatives,” a handicap that virtually cripples them in getting to the root of Canada’s present woes. 

I do think that Archbishop Prendergast has planted some rare and hopeful signs of change in his recent outline of Catholic teaching concerning pro-abortion politicians who call themselves “Catholic” but he will have to quite literally move some of the gates of hell which have been positioned in Canadian society over the last forty or fifty years. 

Is he up to it? I really don’t know but I have complete confidence that if he moves forward step by step, does not waver in his responsibilities as Bishop, and if he holds complete fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church, God Himself will move those gates. I think it’s very important for Christians, especially Catholics, to do whatever they can to encourage the Archbishop in the monumental task which he seems to be considering. 

Consider emailing the Archbishop right now and commending him for his statements so far. Then encourage him to keep moving this agenda forward. Remember that the Archbishop’s initiatives could trigger the very reformation that we so desperately need here in Canada to stem the tide of our demographic demise as well as the very culture of death which is daily smothering truth and our freedoms. 

Most Rev. Terrence Prendergast, D.D.
Archbishop of Ottawa
1247 Kilborn Place
Ottawa, Ontario K1H 6K9
Phone: (613) 738-5025 ext. 233 Fax: (613) 738-0130
email: archbishop@ecclesia-ottawa.org
Website: http://www.ecclesia-ottawa.org 

And finally, to get a sense of the frustration and cynicism that currently exists among Catholics on the subject of Canadian Bishops defending Catholic truth, take a look at Paul Gordon’s comments on Archbishop Prendergast’s “idle chatter.”

Reading and Reflecting on Holy Week and Easter

Well done and very appropriate article for Holy Week by Carl E. Olson

The Easter Triduum: Entering into the Paschal Mystery
A guide to the Easter Triduum, which holds a special place in the liturgical year because it marks the culmination of the yearly celebration in proclaiming the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And if you’re an Evangelical, here’s a bonus article from the same writer.

Lent: Some Catholics deface it while some Evangelicals embrace it
When Catholics embrace faddish falsehoods they usually manage to look both dull and dated. Case in point: "The Ecological Stations of the Cross" used in a prominent parish in North Carolina.

Benedict XVI on the Sacrament of Confession

In a posting I made yesterday, I stated how rare it was to find a mention of the subject of conversion—let alone an elaboration or a homily—from priests or Bishops in the Catholic Church in Canada. It is even rarer, in my experience at least, to find any mention of confession, otherwise officially known as the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Pope Benedict recently summed up the relationship between the two extremely well in a March 7 address on matters of conscience.

It must be a commitment of pastors and especially of confessors to highlight the close connection that exists between the Sacrament of Reconciliation and a life oriented decisively to conversion.

The entire address, entitled “Benedict XVI on the Sacrament of Confession” was published in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano and is found online through Zenit News service. It’s shorter than you expect so why not take a moment to read it through.

Jesus said to the shepherds, “Feed my sheep.” Catholics need to be fed and deserve to be fed by their priests and Bishops.

Benedict XVI Fed Up With the Hatred and Violence in Iraq

In an unusual posting today by Rocco Palmo detailing the newest—and only—Christian Church in Qatar, we hear the cry of a distressed Pope Benedict XVI.

After praising the "beautiful witness" of Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, whose body was discovered Thursday after having been abducted by local militants, the pontiff took up his "loud and anguished" cry, saying "Enough with the massacres, enough with the violence, enough with hatred in Iraq!" Noting Wednesday's fifth anniversary of the first strikes on Baghdad, Benedict called on "the Iraqi people, who for five years have been bearing the consequences of war that has provoked the disintegration of its civil and social life: dear Iraqi people, lift up your heads and be yourselves, in the first place, the rebuilders of your national life!"

Changing the Contraceptive Mentality

Suzanne, at Big Blue Wave, shared a few of her thoughts on my recent article which appeared on the Vote Life, Canada! blog and which was entitled “It’s Not the Homosex, Stupid.” That posting also appeared on Contra|Diction!

Eric at Vote Life, Canada! says that the root of our culture war is the acceptance of the contraceptive mentality. Conservatives, by accepting sterile sex, are complicit in fueling those very things they oppose.

I do agree. However, I think that moralism will only go so far on this point. I think that we are so compromised, we, as a culture don't get it-- at all.

Click through on the link and read the rest of her posting, which is only a couple of paragraphs. I’d like to see much more discussion on this critical subject.

Another superb example of the tunnel vision of conservatives in this area was seen in Saturday’s column by Marsha West, entitled “Sexually transmitted diseases are a result of liberalism.”

Make no mistake about it though: Marsha did an outstanding job of surveying the vast landscape of liberal deception surrounding modern “sexuality” which has so devastated our society. However, as I argued in my article, most Christians today and certainly conservatives like Marsha, seem entirely blind to the most devastating deception ever launched by liberals—the normalization of sterile sex.

When may we expect to hear Marsha tackle the subject of that "most unnatural wickedness?"

And one last reference to the matter of contraception: John Pacheco has posted Retract the Winnipeg Statement wherein he publishes a draft of

the letter to be sent out to all Latin Rite bishops of the Catholic Church on March 31. It calls for the retraction of the Winnipeg Statement, among other measures.

It covers a lot of ground and my signature is in there somewhere with the other 999 signatures on the petition.

Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to USA Less Than a Month Away

Benedict XVI will be making his long awaited first trip to the USA on April 15-21, touching down in Washington, D.C.

CAN reports that the Vatican Press Office has now published the itinerary for his visit.

There are also indications today that the Pope will make an issue of fidelity in his address to Catholic educators, including colleges and universities. Dissent from official teachings of the Church in academic circles is a problem of enormous proportions in North America.

A recent article I read which addressed this major concern was very helpful to me. Perhaps the reader will benefit from it as well. Keep in mind that it was written over ten years ago and I have read nothing to suggest that the question of fidelity has improved at all since that time.

If we know anything about this Pope, it is that his message will be unambiguous and quite pointed—as it should be, I believe, considering what is at stake. By this time the Holy Father has a very good idea of what it is that Jesus Christ, Son of God, wishes to say to the people of America at this stage in their history and, as His representative, Benedict XVI will be carrying that message.

I suspect that the Holy Father will also make strong and clear points on the subject of respect for human life, as he has on many previous occasions. In fact, it seemed to me that the Pope came out swinging on his trip last year to Brazil, zeroing in on pro-abortion politicians on his flight to Brazil and then shortly after even linking and condemning contraception in the same breath! Needless to say, there was real controversy generated and the usual push-back.

I won’t be at all surprised if the Pope’s visit has a significant effect on the US Presidential elections—if for no other reason, then at least because of increased debate generated on the issue of legalized child-killing in the US. Both Democratic candidates in the race for President, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, are extremely pro-abortion in their platforms.

Watch for the sparks to fly!

Euthanasia Creeping Up On Canada?

LifeNews.com is reporting that there may be another attempt to legalize assisted suicide after the next national elections. Euthanasia opponents in Canada are worried that the case of Robert Latimer, who was recently paroled from prison, could prompt another attempt.

Macleans,ca recently published an in-depth analysis entitled “Robert Latimer's angry crusade” which is eye-opening. If you’re hungry for more insight on what’s happening in Canada on this front, check out this blog posting.

Canada’s Catholic Bishops Pleading for Conversion

I don’t wish to sound cynical here but in my experience at Mass for the past four years in Canada, it has been a relatively rare occasion when a priest or a Bishop has issued a call to conversion, let alone a strongly worded plea.

Don’t misunderstand me. I hear the Pope constantly reinforcing the Church’s teaching and urging the daily spiritual conversion of all Catholics.

But for me it's been a lamentable concern that such a call is an uncommon thing in Canadian Catholic churches.

So when I saw this headline, it seemed misplaced. I clicked through to the news release on the CCCB website and the actual document entitled “Our Relationship with the Environment: The Need for Conversion.”

What do you think?

Muslim Radicals Add Martyr’s Blood of Archbishop Rahho to their Crimes

This story is a few days old but I’d like to post an entry on it with a couple of links. The savage and tragic death of the Archbishop of Mosul only points to the desperation of barbaric madmen. The blood of the martyrs is spreading on the ground of Iraq.

Father Raymond J. de Souza comments on the Archbishop’s death and gives an overview in the National Post of what’s happening to Christians in Iraq.

John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Holy Communion & Obstinate Persistent Sinners

It is common to find Pope Benedict XVI portrayed as the Enforcer or the Inquisitor, an “arch-conservative,” and so on. He has been attacked for his uncompromising defense of Catholic doctrine and tradition.

He is said to be extreme in his approach in dealing with dissenters and those who flout Catholic teaching. He is criticized for the strict position taken towards Catholic politicians who maintain their pro-abortion attitudes in “Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion.

John Paul II, on the other hand, is said to be conciliatory and flexible, a tolerant man who opened new doors of dialogue. So what did John Paul II say in regard to Holy Communion and obstinate, persistent sinners who refused to comply with Church teaching?

**********

ENCYCLICAL LETTER ECCLESIA DE EUCHARISTIA
OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on 17 April, Holy Thursday, in the year 2003

Excerpt

35. The celebration of the Eucharist, however, cannot be the starting-point for communion; it presupposes that communion already exists, a communion which it seeks to consolidate and bring to perfection. The sacrament is an expression of this bond of communion both in its invisible dimension, which, in Christ and through the working of the Holy Spirit, unites us to the Father and among ourselves, and in its visible dimension, which entails communion in the teaching of the Apostles, in the sacraments and in the Church's hierarchical order. The profound relationship between the invisible and the visible elements of ecclesial communion is constitutive of the Church as the sacrament of salvation.⁷¹ Only in this context can there be a legitimate celebration of the Eucharist and true participation in it. Consequently it is an intrinsic requirement of the Eucharist that it should be celebrated in communion, and specifically maintaining the various bonds of that communion intact.

36. Invisible communion, though by its nature always growing, presupposes the life of grace, by which we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4), and the practice of the virtues of faith, hope and love. Only in this way do we have true communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Nor is faith sufficient; we must persevere in sanctifying grace and love, remaining within the Church “bodily” as well as “in our heart”; ⁷² what is required, in the words of Saint Paul, is “faith working through love” (Gal 5:6).

Keeping these invisible bonds intact is a specific moral duty incumbent upon Christians who wish to participate fully in the Eucharist by receiving the body and blood of Christ. The Apostle Paul appeals to this duty when he warns: “Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Cor 11:28). Saint John Chrysostom, with his stirring eloquence, exhorted the faithful: “I too raise my voice, I beseech, beg and implore that no one draw near to this sacred table with a sullied and corrupt conscience. Such an act, in fact, can never be called 'communion', not even were we to touch the Lord's body a thousand times over, but 'condemnation', 'torment' and 'increase of punishment'”.⁷³

Along these same lines, the Catechism of the Catholic Church rightly stipulates that “anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion”.⁷⁴ I therefore desire to reaffirm that in the Church there remains in force, now and in the future, the rule by which the Council of Trent gave concrete expression to the Apostle Paul's stern warning when it affirmed that, in order to receive the Eucharist in a worthy manner, “one must first confess one's sins, when one is aware of mortal sin”.⁷⁵

37. The two sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance are very closely connected. Because the Eucharist makes present the redeeming sacrifice of the Cross, perpetuating it sacramentally, it naturally gives rise to a continuous need for conversion, for a personal response to the appeal made by Saint Paul to the Christians of Corinth: “We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). If a Christian's conscience is burdened by serious sin, then the path of penance through the sacrament of Reconciliation becomes necessary for full participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

The judgment of one's state of grace obviously belongs only to the person involved, since it is a question of examining one's conscience. However, in cases of outward conduct which is seriously, clearly and steadfastly contrary to the moral norm, the Church, in her pastoral concern for the good order of the community and out of respect for the sacrament, cannot fail to feel directly involved. The Code of Canon Law refers to this situation of a manifest lack of proper moral disposition when it states that those who “obstinately persist in manifest grave sin” are not to be admitted to Eucharistic communion.⁷⁶

[emphasis mine]

St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke Excommunicates Rebel Women “Priests”

If ever there was a Catholic Bishop in contemporary times who—were he to take the Magisterium seriously—acted like we might imagine he should, that Catholic Bishop must be the Most Reverend Raymond Leo Burke.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis is on my bookmark list under daily visits and I profit greatly by my visits there. It’s truly a gold mine of fervent and effectual Catholicism. I encourage readers to visit and explore this website at length and delight in a glowing example of episcopal oversight.

Here's the content of a recent interview with the Archbishop that helps us appreciate his goals, and unique style, in ministry for Christ.

This week the Archbishop announced a number of excommunication orders in accordance with his duties as a Catholic Bishop and in keeping with Canon Law. First, there is a declaration of excommunication for three women who rebelliously engaged in a ceremony to be ordained as Catholic priestesses.

Also there is an excommunication order for the most recent Board members of Saint Stanislaus Kostka Corporation, who, even after being warned by the Archbishop, had knowingly joined a church that held and professed views outside the communion of the Catholic Church.

Here are two recent links to get you started:

Questions and Answers Regarding Excommunication of Those Involved in Attempted Ordinations

Declaration of Excommunication of Patricia Fresen, Rose Hudson, and Elsie McGrath (621.44 Kb PDF file)

Like Christ in Everything but Our Lies?

In a must read commentary from Catholic Culture entitled Lies, Union and Prayer, we are challenged to tackle the fundamental obstacle to a life of holiness: our reluctance to root out and forsake the lies in our lives.

The examination covers much ground, including God’s demand for radical detachment from the ideals and goods of this world, the need for sacrifice, developing a counter-cultural mindset and lifestyle, and the vital necessity of personal Christian prayer.

Given that it’s an exceptionally short exposition, it packs a good punch. Considering we have arrived today at Palm Sunday, and that we face Holy Week, this is a timely meditation which, if taken seriously, can help us prepare for very significant days ahead.

Archbishop Prendergast Following in the Footsteps of Archbishop Raymond Burke?

I wish.

But we can’t rule it out. Perhaps what Dr. Mirus said a few days ago is true. Perhaps we are seeing an emerging trend and we’re “on the edge of something great, something prepared by God Himself in response to the suffering prayers of countless faithful,” a Wave of the Future.

In any case, Ottawa’s Archbishop Prendergast is ratcheting up the rhetoric and stirring the hornet’s nest a little more. [See two previous posts this week.]

In a lengthy news report from the Ottawa Citizen yesterday, entitled “Catholic MPs stand ground on abortion despite threat,” we were all reminded that the Archbishop

told the Citizen last week that politicians who "obstinately" support access to abortion should be refused communion. He reiterated his position in a radio interview this week.

What did the Citizen do?

The Citizen asked nearly three dozen Catholic MPs to respond to the archbishop's remarks. Ten of them -- seven Liberals and three Conservatives -- did so. The rest either didn't respond or refused comment.

Click through on the link and read some of the unflattering things said of the Archbishop by “Catholic” politicians. Some accused him of blackmail; some said forcing religious views on politicians was doing them a disservice; others advised him that politics and religion don’t mix. [Read the latest official Church statement about the latter claim here.]

Bottom line?

Regardless of their views of the archbishop's position, virtually all the MPs agreed that it would not influence their stance on abortion.

LifeSiteNews got an exclusive interview with the Archbishop yesterday and what a surprising set of his statements indeed! Good Grief! The Archbishop was sounding like the Archbishop of St. Louis, the Rgt. Rev. Raymond Burke, whose record I briefly reviewed in this posting. He even emphasized the crucial role that denial of Holy Communion played in the reformation of the sinner’s ways, a key component of A/B Burke’s education strategy in this controversial matter. Archbishop Prendergast described this as the “medicinal measure,” which indeed it is.

He also emphasized the importance of the Church’s role in this matter in coming “to the assistance of those who serve the public good.” And then finally, a truly unusual and distinguished conclusion to the interview: an Archbishop in Canada discussing the concept of scandal:

If one were to allow Catholic political (or other public) figures to freely espouse abortion without drawing to their attention that this is a grave evil," explained Archbishop Prendergast, "other believers might be tended to accept this, not knowing any better and be led on the wrong path: that is what 'scandal' is. One must do everything possible to prevent others from falling away from the path of Christ - i.e. from being scandalized.

Yes, this is plainly and simply age-old Catholic teaching, but how rare these days to hear a Canadian Bishop discussing the subject when Catholics, especially politicians, have been so busy scandalizing Canadians for decades by their defiant attitudes towards official Catholic teachings. When a Bishop raises this issue, one must wonder where it will end—which is why so few Bishops will be found uttering the “s” word.

Archbishop Burke, on the other hand, makes the “s” word one of the strongest planks in his platform for shaping and reforming Catholic thought in his diocese and in America.

It will soon be time for the Archbishop of Canada’s capital city “to do or to die.” A showdown of sorts is coming. Will the Archbishop act, or will his words soon vanish into fresh Canadian air as he settles into the politically correct chair of his predecessor?

It’s time to write that letter to encourage Archbishop Prendergast to push forward his own “Wave of the Future” and begin to change the moral landscape of Canada.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
[Matt 16:19; Matt 18:18; and in communion with the Holy Father]

Archbishop Prendergast: Do you believe it?

Taken to Task by Some Culture Warriors over Homosex and Other Evils

Today I posted to the Vote Life, Canada! blog an entry entitled The Fight Against Homosex—and Other Evils and here’s how it started:

I’m not surprised that some culture warriors are disappointed with my recent article entitled “It’s Not the Homosex, Stupid.” The article didn’t make much of a splash but one or more outlets at least linked to it. Most of the feedback I have received has been positive, but discussion of “sterile sex” sharply divides the population into two camps and I must confess that only the smaller camp seemed impressed.

As I also explained in the posting, I thought it was important to go into further detail on the subject.

For those who did read the article—thank you!—but who remain unconvinced and disappointed, I offer the following additional commentary, hoping it will prompt a careful re-read and maybe even trip the switch leading to the new paradigm shift in thinking which I maintained was necessary to make gains on the culture war.

[Aside from our ongoing and constant dependence on God,] I believe our future truly rests on a momentous shift in our current thinking and practice regarding God’s gift of sexuality. I could launch into an argument about how this all depends on the preaching and teaching of Catholic Bishops, who alone possess access to the Magisterium, wherein can be found the mind of Christ on all matters of consequence to man—including the gift of sexuality.

But I won’t. I’ll save that for another day.

Take a look at the post here if you are so inclined.

Radio Interview with Ottawa Archbishop Terrance Prendergast

Ottawa Archbishop Terrance Prendergast has been in the news this week and he’s been turning quite a few heads. More background can be found in my previous posting. He subsequently did a radio interview yesterday on CFRA. You can listen to the interview here. There’s quite a bit of chatter about the whole affair.

I think it’s a great time for all concerned Catholics to contact the Archbishop [write a letter] and ask him for clarification on his remarks. We should try to get assurance from him that he will tackle the problem of pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians in accordance with Church teaching, i.e. following the example of Archbishop Raymond Burke, as I touched upon a few days ago. Anything less simply won’t be effective.

If the Archbishop won’t agree to stand in full accord with the instruction of the Magisterium on this matter, you can expect this whole incident to blow over in a week or two and not a thing will change.

Dialogue with Your Bishop Can Be the Start of a New Era

You’ll forgive me if I point out yet another article by Dr. Jeff Mirus of Catholic Culture.

This latest one is a posting to the Catholic Culture blog entitled “The Wave of the Future.” It deals with some fairly recent events at the hospital of St. John & St. Elizabeth in London, England.

If you take a moment or two to read it I think you will be encouraged to some degree and also forced to agree that when Catholics make a serious commitment to hold their Bishops accountable to Catholic teaching, some pretty amazing things can happen. The posting by Dr. Mirus is more proof for my argument that communicating concerns to your Bishop [or to the Pope, if necessary] can be the most productive and earth-shaking exercise on earth. This should not be surprising, given the God ordained role of Bishops and the authority granted to them from Heaven.

So start giving some serious thought to writing/meeting with your Bishop. And in case someone misunderstands, I am not suggesting that such action is a substitute for prayer. We must have BOTH if we are to be victorious in seeing God’s will accomplished on earth.

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Remember?

Update for Those Interested In My Current State of Affairs

A number of individuals have requested I keep them abreast of developments in my current circumstances, particularly with regard to employment and the possibility of any move related to it. I also indicated updates would be forthcoming.

I am happy to report that I have secured employment in St. John’s area and therefore I do not anticipate a move out of the province. I started my new job yesterday and I will be working in the field of business marketing and promotions for a local St. John’s owned business. It’s a full time position, the pay is quite reasonable and it will no doubt prove to be challenging.

Thank you for your prayers and other expressions of support during this time of change. I know they have all helped to contribute to this outcome.

I will be making a serious effort to keep regular postings to the Contra|Diction! blog because I believe it’s an amazing way to share my journey with God and particularly, at this stage of my life, to share the glories of the Catholic faith.

I may post at times to the Vote Life, Canada! blog as well but it may not be very frequent. Over the last year I posted more than 600 entries to the Vote Life, Canada! blog but it demanded extreme focus and of course I was engaged full time with pro-life work. But thankfully there are still other Canadian pro-life bloggers who are continuing their great work in defense of the Unborn. My pro-life activities will be more restricted to the local level.

Thanks for your interest and concern and be sure to visit Contra|Diction! again.

Ave Crux, Spes Unica!
(Hail to the Cross, our only hope!)

Bishops Scandalizing the Faithful?

Here's another snapshot of what is taking place around us in the world of episcopal oversight. Dr. Mirus gives his take on some aspects of the kafuffle which has taken place at the USCCB over the “Dallas Charter” which sounds like the American version of our own CCCB’s “From Pain to Hope.”

It’s good to find another piece of the puzzle. But please, dear reader, this is not simply information for the sake of information. Put this to good use. Sharpen your understanding of what’s happening in Christ’s Church and take on your own mission (however pint-sized) to purify the Church.

The Pope on Secularization and the Culture of Images

On Monday of this week, Benedict XVI addressed a conference taking place in Vatican City.

Note firstly that the conference was “organized to address the increasingly secularized state of the world.” I’m encouraged to hear that such urgent conferences are being hosted by the Holy See. I guess what is most encouraging about it is that such meetings take place in a setting and spirit of co-operation with the Successor of Peter.

I realize that a great many Christians, as well as Catholics, might discount this element as irrelevant, claiming that the outcome of a discussion on secularization has nothing to do with the Pope—or his blessing. However, it must be pointed out that Catholic teaching makes the Pope to be the vital link on this earth with Christ Himself. For this reason, among others, the Pope is said to be the Vicar of Christ.

I suppose the point I am making is simply that if Jesus Christ the God-Man wishes to provide to His Church a solution to the gargantuan threat of secular humanism—and I can’t help believing that He does—then He will provide it through His chief, and duly appointed, representative on earth, the head of His earthly flock. In turn, the Pope will guide Christians to mount a successful campaign against the evil of secularization—if they but listen and obey.

All this, of course, is rather elementary Catholic doctrine, but I point it out simply for perspective.

But the fact is that there are conferences and discussions taking place all over the world on the subject of secularization and which have no connection to the Pope and are not “in communion,” so to speak, with the Pope. I hold very little hope for such conferences to achieve their goals.

To illustrate my misgivings, I point to the recent article I posted entitled, “It’s Not the Homosex, Stupid.” If you care to read it and then imagine how much easier it would be to deal with our demographic decline, which is directly related to a falling birthrate caused by a contraceptive and sterile sex mentality, if the participants in a conference were willing to accept the Pope’s teaching on birth control.

But I really didn’t intend to go off quite as far in this direction.

What I found especially interesting—and unique—about the Pope’s remarks in the CNA report was his emphasis on the role of images in the establishment of a secular society.

According to Benedict XVI, secularism spreads its Godless worldview by conditioning people with a "culture of images which imposes contradictory models and impulses, with the effective negation of God". Hence people come to believe "there is no longer any need for God, to think of Him or to return to Him", said the Pope. "Furthermore, the predominant hedonistic and consumer mentality favors, in the faithful as in pastors, a drift towards superficiality and selfishness which damages ecclesial life".

I hope the Bishops especially are listening because it is certain that "as go the Bishops so goes the Church" and "as goes the Church, so goes our society."

The Pope is on to something here. Where did he come up with such a novel insight? I wonder.

[I do remember he said something similar at the beginning of Lent. I remember thinking at the time that this was an extraordinary call from the Pope to fast from TV and other such image-dominating influences in our lives.]

To make a final push for the point of my post, take a look at the very last paragraph of the CNA report and you’ll note the Pope concludes by calling on the Bishops to conduct a tireless mission (is that like a crusade?) to fight secularization.

"Above all", he added in conclusion, "I exhort pastors of the flock of God to a tireless and generous mission to counteract - in the field of dialogue and meeting between cultures, of announcement and testimony of the Gospel - the worrying phenomenon of secularization which weakens man and hinders his innate longing for the entire Truth".

As my own personal quest to join the Pope in his world-saving strategy continues to unfold, I am thinking that the way to get the Bishops moving is to have the Holy Father squeezing on one side and to have the laity squeezing on the other side. How can that be done? How about writing your Bishop, reminding him (in detail if necessary) of what the Pope said and asking him what his plan is to combat secularization. And let that first letter be the first of a regular series of letters.

Too busy to do that? If so, you really have no reason to think anything will change and you can add your own name to the list of those who have given up.

One more thing. You needn’t bother with those other kinds of conferences.

Benedict XVI Broaches Euthanasia with Luxembourg’s PM

Last Friday Zenit reported on Benedict XVI’s meeting with Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg. The Pope broached the topic of euthanasia which will soon be legalized in that country.

Here’s what was truly disconcerting to read in the article:

Luxembourg, a country of some 480,000 people, 87% of whom are Catholic, is the third country of the European Union to legalize euthanasia.

I will speak my mind clearly on this: The greatest crisis facing our world today, bar none, is the extreme incompetence and dereliction of duty of the successors of the Apostles, the Catholic Bishops.

How a nation with 87% of the population permitted to call themselves Catholic [this could only happen with the permission of Bishops!] could be passing laws so fundamentally opposed to human dignity and to Catholic teaching, is absolutely stupefying! What the majority of these so-called Catholics represent cannot possibly be the Catholic faith. It must be a counterfeit or “pseudo-catholicism” like we have in Canada—only perhaps slightly worse.

God help these Bishops!

Veritatis Splendor For Those Enamoured by the Truth

Last week I finished my reading of John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor.

Veritatis Splendor is Latin for “The Splendor of Truth.” It basically deals with the Church's role in moral teaching. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it extremely edifying and even exhilarating in certain places.

According to Catholic Insight, when the encyclical was first published in October 1993, it produced howls and a firestorm of protest from Canadian Catholic theologians who scolded the encyclical for having too many condemnations; for not being "open to the people;" for ignoring thirty years of theological development!

It’s definitely not an encyclical for moral relativists!

It's less than about 150 small pages in length so it's not too long to tackle. Go ahead and reward yourself. If you love the whole notion of "truth" this encyclical will do your heart good. Even if you're not Catholic, you'll find this a rewarding read!

It’s Not The Homosex, Stupid

WARNING: This is commentary and it's lengthy.

With all due respect to savvy Mark Steyn who quipped “It’s the Demography, Stupid,” I wish Steyn would have pushed back for us the curtain of Western society’s bedroom a little further in order to give us a glimpse of the smirking elephant in the closet. Heaven knows we desperately need a paradigm shift in our thinking about sexual “freedom” in the bedroom.

Is it my imagination or do you notice that a great many “conservative” culture warriors—individuals and organizations, Christians and otherwise—have taken to lobbing grenades at those promoting and engaging in homosex, making that the defining strategy, if not obsession, of their war? According to them, among the top threats to our civilization is the “homosexual” agenda.

So let me ask you. What would you think of drivers who ignored red lights but who regularly demonized speeding drivers as the real enemies on the road? Comical? Yes, but consider this. Heterosexuals who rail against homosex, which indeed is a particularly odious variation of sterile sex, are—with strikingly few exceptions—themselves egregiously addicted to their own pleasurable variety of sterile sex. Equally comical, of course, if you consider sterile sex per se to be in a league with dangerous behaviours such as running red lights.

But please don’t jump ship at this point. Hear me out. I know that our post modern society, parroting the relativism of its enlightened pulpiteers, considers this subject settled and entirely off limits. Any suggestion to re-open it is probably constituted an offense in itself—a possible relapse to a prudish repressive sexual ethic of Victorian times.

But we believe in real marriage, the traditional kind, one man and one woman for life, and sex only in that context. That’s the correct standard because it’s God’s standard. A married man and woman can make their own decisions in good conscience about the kind of sex they engage in. It’s nobody else’s business.

Indeed, that’s the claim, but tragically these days it rarely goes beyond a claim. For too many conservatives, yes, and Christians also, who normally relish opportunities to expose politically correct speech, the lack of reasoned debate and evasions of the truth, a remarkable about-turn takes place when the truth concerning sexual disorders gets a little too close to home.

Whoa there! Truth? Disorders? According to who?

Can it be a shock to the reader that throughout two millennia of Western civilization—as well as nearly two millennia of Jewish thought which preceded it—the moral consensus on sterile sex could be summed up like this: All sexual activity, both heterosexual and otherwise, practiced with a view to circumvent procreation constitutes a perversion of God’s order and an abomination.

Here we could take our pick of sources, from the Early Fathers through to Martin Luther, John Calvin, or any other reputable preacher, bible scholar or theologian, right up to the early and mid 1900’s. All—without exception—considered these acts as “a most unnatural wickedness, and a grievous wrong.”

Thus we had the American and Canadian laws which prohibited the sale and distribution of devices that aided in such perversity and which were not rescinded until the 1960’s. Thus we record the witness of some of Western society’s most public figures, such as U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, who matter-of-factly labeled the practice of birth control as “the capital sin” against civilization.

But are such ideas peculiarly Western, or even Christian? A surprising number of non-Western cultures throughout history fully squared with Christian teaching on this point. Mahatma Ghandi, a world famous reformer and Hindu, condemned sterile heterosex as a corrupter of morals, a destroyer of marriage and a further degradation of women.

But regardless, truth—the old-fashioned objective kind—is no respecter of cultures and the fallout in our society from a denial of this particular truth has been debilitating. Take note of the Anglicans, the first Christian denomination to break rank with the faith of their fathers on this major doctrine. They formalized the opening of a Pandora’s Box in 1930 by allowing certain exceptions for sterile heterosex and are now being rent asunder by the practice of sterile homosex in the bedrooms of their Bishops. Coincidence?

The extreme break with Christian tradition represented by this acculturated disorder raises serious questions about just how much hostility towards God we have harbored this past generation or two. Some say our rejection of God—played out in this sexual arena—has so cursed our Western society as to account for not only our sex-crazed degeneracy but also family and marriage deformities and breakups, the abortion holocaust, dangerously higher quotas of immigration due to falling birthrates, the growing threat of Islam, the secularization phenomenon with its evil twin Christianophobia and a mounting civilizational self-loathing.

This is a hard pill for many to swallow. But can we admit this much at least: Steyn got it perfectly right when he prophesied the death of Western society due to reproductive sterility. Not for a moment did he suggest that even ten thousand new conferences and/or books on Islam, the tyranny of homosex, the battle for marriage and the family, secular humanism or Christophobia would save us. No, very clearly he stated that it was the question of birthrate which we have refused to address. That alone will cause our society to implode. Steyn put his finger on the precise nature of the problem. Likewise the solution, if it was any closer, might jump up and bite us.

The yearning of many contemporary Christians for a cultural fix through revivalist and “biblical” calls to repentance must also take the birthrate—and sterile heterosex—into account. Though some will contest the point, it must be admitted that any conversion wrought through the preaching of a Whitefield, Finney, et al will not only demand our hearts get right with God but will necessarily reinstitute cultural prohibitions and taboos supporting the age old and exegetically superior biblical interpretation of the sin of Onanism.

The very thought makes many shudder and some to say,

Surely, God, we can instead pay women to have babies, still hold on to our hard earned sexual “freedoms” and save our future. Otherwise, God, this is really going to hurt!

The suggestion that our future hinges on the abandonment of sterile heterosex is utterly disconcerting. It’s too much to grasp—let alone admit—that old fashioned traditional Western wisdom on sexuality was spot on.

But no, it was much more than that. It truly was a civilizational bulwark.

Preachers and pundits would do well then to cease from their various crusades against homosex, Islam, etc. in order to refocus their energies and resources to formulate a new strategy which targets the real enemy. By attacking the ideology and behaviour which is directly fuelling our demographic demise, our odds of making gains in this war are markedly improved.

Another point must be raised. The defense of current phony and lethal sexual “liberties” may be worthy of the label progressive but hardly worthy of the label conservative, and certainly unworthy of the name Christian, at least historically. Such perversions of true liberty were legitimized by the victories of yesteryear’s liberals yet they currently enslave us because they are defended by today’s “conservatives.” Conservatives must seriously examine their own complicity in the sterile sex agenda—which has aided in the destruction of society and has rightly identified them as co-conspirators—and be encouraged to instead stand in defense of established Western wisdom.

Conservatives must decide what it is that they are fighting to conserve. Indeed, what else deserves conservation, other than the collective wisdom and institutions central to Western thought and civilization? Isn’t this precisely why conservatives fight unhesitatingly against abortion, attacks on marriage, disintegration of family, pornography, lowering of morals, etc? Yet why have we not been fighting the one mortal enemy which Western wisdom has explicitly warned—in loudest fashion this past 100 years—would spawn precisely such an epidemic of evils? Sterile heterosex is a beguiling demon of tremendous significance and must be opposed with all our energies and by all possible means.

Instead, we have been trying to beef up our society in order to withstand the intense battering spawned by our own endorsement of sexual license: Educate about the radical homosexual agenda. Expose the dangers and tyranny of secular humanism. Equip Canadians to confront the threat of Islam. Bolster the family and marriage and fight those who attack it.

It’s like trying to engineer more impact resistant cars rather than require drivers to stop at red lights. At this stage, it seems we have even forgotten the red light is there, or perhaps by now we have removed it entirely from the intersection. Is it any wonder the “culture war” is being lost?

So yes, it is the behaviour and specifically it’s sterile sex—of all brands. With great courage, it needs to be identified as such, properly condemned and duly proscribed.

Which again brings us back to Steyn’s famous line and his sober closing:

It's the demography, stupid. And, if they can't muster the will to change course, then "What do you leave behind?" is the only question that matters.

Demographic Winter is the Fruit of Sterile Sex

Have you discovered MercatorNet.com?

They claim to be “navigating modern complexities” and in my opinion their articles are above average if not exceptional.

One of their current pieces is by Don Feder who covers some Q&A on a sobering new documentary film entitled Demographic Winter: The Decline of the Human Family.

Feder claims the

film aims to wake us up to the fact that the decline of the stable, intact family over the past four decades threatens whole societies with decline and chaos.

But what I find strikingly absent from the discussion is any mention of the only true remedy for falling birthrates: the defeat of the contraceptive mentality. There was no indication in the article that the documentary covered this phenomenon.

The practice of sterile heterosex is a shockingly taboo subject in our society.

And as long as it remains so, the coming chaos is inevitable. Why bother making such a film if the reluctance to discuss the root cause of our demise is insurmountable?

Pro Golfer Faces Charges After Killing Bird With Ball

Trick question: If a pro golfer faces misdemeanor charges and possible jail time after hitting and killing a hawk with a golf ball, what is a “doctor” likely to face for killing an unborn child by cutting, slashing or suctioning?

Answer: In North America, he may get Abortionist of the Year Award.

Archbishop Prendergast Must Go the Whole Nine Yards

Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast has caught the attention of the MSM (mainstream media) who, as John Pacheco and other bloggers have pointed out, have once again provided space galore for commentary from the dissenters. LifeSiteNews also reported on the Archbishop’s comments. Also, John did an interesting follow up posting on the subject, found here.

I don’t rate the Archbishop‘s comments as very newsworthy really. His carefully worded statements might have sounded tough but there were no teeth in them at all. In fact, in a very important sense, his words misrepresented the teaching of the Catholic faith, which insists that the Minister of Holy Communion has a solemn obligation to deny the Eucharist to those "Catholics" who continue to obstinately reject Church teachings.

Vote Life, Canada! noted in their Open Letter to the Catholic Bishops of Canada the following tragic fact: 

Up until last year, except for a five month break in 38 years, "Catholic" Prime Ministers have managed the affairs of Canada. Every one of them without exception has flouted Catholic teaching on sexuality through their pro-contraception, pro-abortion, pro-sodomy agendas. And every one of them considered themselves good Catholics and regularly presented themselves for Holy Communion. During that 38 year reign of social devastation and spiritual ruin too many Catholic Bishops failed to take steps to deal with this epic scandal. Despite the fierce defiance of Catholic teaching exhibited by the Prime Ministers there is no record of even one single occasion when a Catholic Prime Minister was denied Communion.

I give the Archbishop credit for even bringing up the subject, but unfortunately he has only muddied the waters with his confused equivocation.

More than two years ago, and again, about a year ago, Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto went on record with what seemed to be an even stronger position on the matter of pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians. Again, it was a press release by Vote Life, Canada! which raised disturbing questions about the integrity of Archbishop Collins’ position and his dedication to his duty to defend the Catholic faith and deal with scandal.

Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, Mo. is one of the few Bishops in North America who gives us a clear, unequivocal demonstration of what is demanded of a Catholic Bishop in these circumstances. He has ruffled many feathers by reaffirming the teaching of then Cardinal Ratzinger in Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion which instructs that a pastor is to first meet with his parishioner when such questions arise, “instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist.”

So to summarize, Archbishop Prendergast must take this matter to the next level, i.e. the level of complete adherence to Catholic teaching, in order to win any respect for his recent statements or to accomplish any desperately needed change regarding the scandal of pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians in Canada.

If you’re in the mood for more browsing on the subject, follow these links or go to the Vote Life Canada! blog and do a blog search for “Archbishop Burke.”

Archbishop Burke: public figures must receive Holy Communion worthily

A Primer on Canon 915

Association of 600 Priests and Deacons Support Archbishop Burke in His Denial of Holy Communion to Renegade Catholic Politicians

Archbishop Burke Right to Deny Communion to Giuliani

In re the Eucharist: Cdl. McCarrick vs. Abp. Burke

Bishop preaches tough Communion rule

 

Proper Role of Papal Discipline in Church Reform

I referred the reader just two days ago to Stefan Jetchick’s recent posting on The King and the Pope. The next day I learned that Catholic Culture has another article published on Church Discipline. Dr. Mirus says:

Yes, I've finally done it. A month or so after writing a blog entry on why popes don't discipline, I've followed up on my promise to address the proper role of papal discipline in Church reform. There's not much I can do about this, of course, but if you believe—respectfully and on balance—that more discipline would be better, you've got a friend. See my most comprehensive treatment yet: The Pope, Reform and Discipline.

As usual, I think the Dr. has offered a fair and balanced assessment.

Una Voce, Diocese of Lafayette, Indiana

Are you familiar with this branch of Una Voce? I thought the website to be a well organized effort. Some good postings. Here’s one, for example, on The Good Friday Prayer and another on Archbishop Raymond Burke’s sanctions against Reverend Marek Bozek, which has been coming for quite some time.

On that same story there's more here from Archbishop Burke’s diocesan website:
Click here for questions and answers about the status of Rev. Marek Bozek.

Thousands Make Their Way to St. Joseph's Oratory

I found this press release offensive. There's really nothing wrong with it as such but, honestly, I have a real problem with Bishop Gilles Lussier, of the diocese of Joliette. Should a Bishop stand by and watch an entire nation be scandalized and Catholics everywhere disgraced?

Isn't this where the Pope is supposed to come in?

US Secret Service Looking Out For Benedict XVI

I’m very glad to see that the US Secret Service is having nothing to do with political correctness.

I can’t quite wrap my mind around the concept that a dagger could be the de facto symbol of a religious faith.

The Anglican Appeal to Catholic Order

There’s some really crazy stuff going on in the Anglican community. It strained my imagination last week to hear that Bishop Michael Ingham was threatening Dr. J.I. Packer with suspension.

And here’s a theologian’s take on another aspect of the ridiculous antics of the bishops of Anglican Church in Canada (ACiC). He makes a good point—and he's Baptist.

The Anglican Appeal to Catholic Order

The King and The Pope

Stefan has his latest entry posted to Inquisition.ca entitled The King And The Pope. This website is definitely worth perusing. Notice he's on my links list, short as it is.

In Confession We Experience the Joy of God’s Forgiveness

Pastors, and especially confessors, must, said the Holy Father, "emphasize the close link between the Sacrament of Penance and an existence decisively oriented to conversion.”

Wonderfully expressed. Truly Catholic. Benedict XVI is impressive. Because he's a man he's not perfect—but, make no mistake, there's none better.

The Holy Father shared some great wisdom as well today on the historical sciences:
Historical Sciences are of Great Interest for Church Life
This in turn leads to "a society which, heedless of its own past and hence lacking criteria acquired through experience, is no longer capable of harmonious coexistence or joint commitment in realizing future aims. Such a society is particularly vulnerable to ideological manipulation.

Catholic Hospital Offers Breast Implants to "Transsexual" Patient

Seton Medical Center has announced that it will allow "transsexuals" to receive breast implants after previously refusing to perform such surgeries, due to its Catholic identity.

Where else but San Francisco? Same place where the Bishop freely gave the Body and Blood of Jesus to members of the sodomy loving “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence?” Ugh!

Receiving Jesus On Your Knees And On Your Tongue

This morning I received an email message from a fellow Catholic pointing to an online video interview with the Auxiliary Bishop of Karaganda, Athanasius Schneider, in Kazakhstan. The Bishop sharply criticizes the practice of communion in the hand. He says, "As a bishop I cannot be silent".

For those interested, there’s also an article appearing on Catholic Culture by the same Bishop, entitled "Cum Amore Ac Timore" which translated means “With Love and Fear.” The article, as Catholic Culture notes, “provides a compelling argument for receiving the Eucharist on the tongue while kneeling (a predominant custom by the sixth century). Bishop Schneider's thesis is supported at the highest levels, according to Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, secretary to the Holy See's Congregation for Divine Worship, who wrote the foreword for Schneider's book, Dominus Est (Vatican Press)."

While you’re at it, Dr. Mirus at Catholic Culture blog has posted two helpful commentaries in the last couple of days which describe what’s happening in our rapidly collapsing society. Take a look first at Ideology, Totalitarianism, and the Public Schools and the follow-up post today entitled Secularism, Acculturation and Creeping Totalitarianism.

This Blog Will Now Be “Home Base” Once Again

Welcome.

Today I notified all devoted supporters of the pro-life campaign Vote Life, Canada! that its work has been suspended, effective immediately, due to a serious lack of funding. I also posted a message to the Vote Life, Canada! blogspot announcing this sad moment.

I advised my closest supporters and friends that those who may have an interest in keeping in contact or staying informed of my future activities are invited to visit this personal blog.

We shall see where God leads from here. I would greatly appreciate the aid of your prayers as I seek employment and face the major changes which lie ahead.

On Earth Peace to Men of Good Will

A useful form of the word "Xmas" based on the Chi Rho Christogram for all those Christians so animated by their Christian identity that they wish to make a practical faith statement to the world in their use of the word "Christmas."

The oft used form "Xmas" simply makes matters worse.


Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.
Luke 2:14