Idle Musings on "The Fishwrap"

Today I have some idle musings on a question most readers of this blog have probably asked themselves: why does the National Catholic Reporter get a pass on being faithful to Church teaching?

Fr. Z just calls it the “Fishwrap”, and the print version of NCR is surely not worth any more than that, since its content only detracts from the value of the paper itself. The NCR misleads and misinforms faithful Catholics, blatantly presenting the antithesis of objectively and clearly defined teachings of the Church. Currently, of course, the issue of homosexual marriage is in the forefront, and “gay marriage” is cheerfully endorsed by the enlightened NCR. They’re pretty much on the same page as the dissident nuns, too.

NCR was established in 1964, and seems to have always been on the side of the “revolution”, as Anne Muggeridge terms it. In 1968, Bishop Charles H. Helmsing, NCR’s ordinary in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, publicly reprimanded the news organization for its heterodox ways, noting that the newspaper did not reflect the teaching of the Church, and in fact directly contradicted it in some cases. (See more history in this Wikipedia article.)

But NCR, of course, refused to comply, and here we are 44 years later with the same publication with the same name spouting the same often-heretical notions it always has…plus some.

NCR’s “Mission and Values” statement includes the note that “NCR is the only significant alternative Catholic voice that provides avenues for expression of diverse perspectives, promoting tolerance and respect for differing ideas”.  Puh-lease. Just like the liberal political left, they promote “tolerance”…as long as that which they are tolerating is in line with their own beliefs. I don’t think they’re known for featuring down-trodden “trads” on their pages.

The statement also claims that:

…We are concerned for all people and we are committed to shaping a world that recognizes the dignity of every human being, regardless of religious belief, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or other characteristic. Throughout our history, we have been a voice for the disadvantaged and the marginalized, and we have told the stories of injustice that others simply will not print.

Wow! Maybe they can help me out! I certainly feel “disadvantaged” every Sunday when I cannot find an EF Mass within driving distance; and I am definitely “marginalized” (as is anyone who prefers the EF Mass to the NO), having been ostracized in my own “parish community” for a variety of reasons and at the hands of the pastor. As for “stories that others simply will not print” – well, I can certainly identify with that, since it appears my “ultra-trad” view of NFP has made me an untouchable blogger. But…somehow…I just don’t think NCR is going to come to my defense.

Their Mission Statement says that NCR seeks to “renew the life of the Church”, and that

…[h]aving developed through the inspiration of the Second Vatican Council, our spirit is independent, our management lay, our vision ecumenical. We attempt to contribute to the Catholic conversation by supporting freedom, honesty, openness and shared responsibility within the NCR reader community, the communities in which we live, and in the church…

What strikes me throughout this mission and values statement is the way words have been redefined. “Dignity of every human being” means everyone except the unborn. “Openness” means “we want the Church to change”. “Freedom” means “dissent”. And “shared responsibility”? Hmmm…your guess is as good as mine.

Of course, NCR isn’t the only entity to engage in this deception; it seems to be something that runs rampant in society at large. Most notable is the phrase “pro-choice” – its most vocal proponents seem to recognize only one “choice”…which means no choice at all.

Still, this weasel-wording is a particularly egregious practice in the Church, where we should be all about truth, and honesty. According to Wikipedia, way back in 1964, Bishop Helsming

..."ask[ed] the editors in all honesty to drop the term 'Catholic' from their masthead," because "[b]y retaining it they deceive their Catholic readers and do a great disservice to ecumenism by being responsible for the false irenicism of watering down Catholic teachings."

Well, in a way, I suppose NCR isn’t really dishonest: their mission statement comes right out and says they want to “shape the world” according to their own purposes. And they never say they are faithful to the magisterium of the Church...

 
Caveat emptor.

But I guess I haven't even answered the question: why does the NCR get a pass?! Maybe it's just because they can.

Over the Top: Al Smith Dinner

Okay, I knew Obama had been invited to the Al Smith dinner/fundraiser thing, and I even signed the petition to disinvite him via the ChurchMilitant.TV page. Below is the Vortex episode that discusses this issue. Click here to sign the petition.

But in the meantime, now I see that, not only is Obama invited, he is the keynote speaker! (Okay, he’s one of two keynote speakers – the other being Mitt Romney.)

There is no way Obama should be given a platform to speak at this dinner. No way. It is wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

And I’m a little irate about it, too. 

The script:

We’d like to begin today with a section from the Church’s Code of Canon Law. It’s from Canon 212:

§2 The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.

§3 According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful…

Following on from this, we’d like to invite you to join a petition we are organizing for respectful submission to the Archdiocese of New York to request the leaders of the New

York Archdiocese to rescind their invitation to Obama to attend the annual Al Smith dinner. For Obama to be seen hobnobbing and glad-handing and all smiles and jokes and pats on the back with Cardinal Timothy Dolan will be a source of great scandal and confusion for untold numbers of Catholic faithful as well as many others of good will.

Therefore:

We the undersigned respectfully request that the invitation to Barack Obama to be a guest at this year’s annual Al Smith charity fundraising dinner be withdrawn immediately.

Barack Obama has proven himself to be an aggressive adversary of the Catholic Church with regard to numerous policies put forth under his administration.

These include, but are not limited to, his forceful efforts to advance the intrinsic evil of abortion on demand both domestically and internationally; his antagonistic and ruthless efforts to force the intrinsic evils of contraception and sterilization on poor nations through financial enticements and threats; his continued policy of directing US tax dollars to such organizations as Planned Parenthood which traffic in the currency of numerous intrinsic evils.

Moreover, Barack Obama has lied numerous times, including his controversial appearance at Notre Dame in 2009, about attempts to reach so-called common ground with the Catholic Church on matters including protection of conscience rights for health care workers.

His most recent legal efforts to force Catholic institutions to act against their consciences and pay for contraception and abortion inducing birth control products underscore his total belligerence toward the Catholic Church and Her teachings.

As such, the appearance of Barack Obama – such an openly hostile opponent of the

Church – at a Catholic gala attended by high-ranking Catholic clergy would be a massive insult to untold numbers of the faithful who have fought this man’s advancement of one intrinsic evil after another.

In addition to matters of life, Barack Obama has orchestrated a militant effort against the sacredness of marriage by supporting, promoting and advancing the intrinsic evil of same-sex so-called marriage at home and abroad. He has directed the full might and force of the federal government to impose its will on the Catholic Church in limiting and restricting Her rights and responsibilities to carry out the corporal works of mercy in the areas of adoption services, and ministering to US military personnel who are Catholic.

We therefore respectfully request that Barack Obama’s invitation be rescinded without delay and a sense of proper decorum restored.

Now, it’s very important to note that in 1996, Cardinal John O’Connor, the archbishop of New York at the time, would not allow then-President Bill Clinton to be extended an invitation to the Al Smith Dinner specifically because of his pro-abortion stance and policies.

So how is it that 16 years ago, a sitting president was denied an invitation to the dinner because he had the blood of pre-born children on his hands, but now that doesn’t seem to matter?

And recall that in 1996, Bill Clinton was exhibiting none of same intense anti-Catholic policies as Barack Obama is today. The bishops of the United States saw no need to sue their president. They saw no need to try and rally Catholics from coast to coast in a two-week effort of prayer and mobilization against the sitting president’s policies. They saw no need to launch an intense media blitz – writing articles and appearing on large numbers of TV and radio shows and newscasts.

The stakes were nowhere near as high 16 years ago as they are today. Yet in that relatively subdued environment, the then Cardinal of New York stood up and said, “NO, Mr. President, you cannot come to the dinner.”

Yet today, with seemingly everything on the line, and a president who has demonstrated nothing less than a thinly veiled disgust of the Catholic Church and Her teachings, who is actively involved in a lawsuit against Her – THIS man gets the red carpet rolled out for him. And yes, there is a red carpet at the dinner.

Obama is of course glad to mingle with those he considers his enemies because it fits perfectly well his political calculus. He gets the photo op he wants to shove in the face of those Catholic who oppose him, while at the same time giving him the perfect weapon to sow bewilderment among others.

In one fell swoop, Obama gets to make his opponents look like buffoons AND score political points by showing everyone the nice picture of him and Cardinal Dolan smiling and back-slapping.

Talk about killing two birds with one stone…and at least one of those birds will be a Cardinal.

Please sign the petition and encourage anyone and everyone else you know to sign it and pass in on as well.

We keep hearing from Church leaders today to reclaim our Catholic identity which has been stolen from us because THEIR predecessors did not pass on the faith. Well, here’s a very easy way to begin to assert that identity.

Just click on the link to sign.

Divine Justice?

I noticed in the almost-local news yesterday that lightning had caused a fire at a church in Bend, Oregon, the other day; I didn’t know which church, and assumed it wasn’t either of the Catholic churches in that city or I’d have heard about it more directly (and it wasn’t). Here’s the news item:

A lightning strike caused a fire Sunday evening at Bend’s First Presbyterian Church, the Bend Fire Department said.

The fire department responded to a report of the fire after Sunday’s thunderstorm.

Witnesses reported seeing lightning hit the church, across from Bend High School, and hearing fire alarms. Fire crews were able to access the church roof and extinguish the flames.

The fire caused about $75,000 in damage.

Even had I read that, I wouldn’t have known “the rest of the story”.  A correspondent knows the history, however, and gave me a few details. I’m told that this was the church that hosted the first, organizing meeting for a local chapter of the dissident group, Voice of the Faithful.

At that meeting, a former priest of the Diocese of Baker gave his sob story, and Bishop Vasa was insulted to his face. The priest went on to cause more trouble in the diocese, and has since left the priesthood. He lives an openly homosexual lifestyle, and reportedly was to “marry” his same-sex partner in September of 2011. The story at the link also says he’s a member of St. Andrew Catholic Church in Portland – not exactly an orthodox parish.

So…a belated chastisement?!

Reasons for Generous Parenthood

This article is from the Population Research Institute, which gives permission to share it freely. But please visit their website for information to fortify you against the myth of overpopulation! And see also "America Needs a Baby Boom".

Ten Great Reasons to Have Another Child

Reason #1: Have another child to join with God in the creation of an immortal soul.

Parents are given the incredible opportunity to assist God in the creation of an immortal soul. As the late Cardinal Mindszenty said, even the angels have not been given such a grace. 

“The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral—a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body...Even the angels have not been given such a grace! What is more glorious than this—to be a mother.” Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty

Reason #2: Have another child to bring joy into your life.

There is no joy like the joy of welcoming another child into your life. You will marvel anew at how perfectly formed your little one is, and over how quickly you will fall head over heels in love with him. You will be enchanted with every tiny aspect of her appearance. The color of her hair, the shape of her nose, and the winsomeness of her smile will occasion endless happy debates about from which side of the family (yours, of course) she got that adorable trait. 

The birth of a child will bind you to God more tightly than ever before, in awed gratitude. “She was the most miraculous thing that had ever happened in my life,” Whittaker Chambers wrote about his new daughter in Witness. And in the lives of most of us.

I thought that one day
I would be a famous artist
and create great works of art

Instead, God made me a mother,
and my children are His masterpiece.

The design of their lives
will live on after me.
What is painted on their hearts
will last an eternity
- Anonymous

Reason #3: Have another child to grown in holiness and virtue.

For those who marry and have families, children are the primary means God uses to help them grow in holiness and virtue. Children teach their parents patience, perseverance, charity, and humility. They give their parents the opportunity to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. They come into the world naked, and we clothe them, hungry and we feed them. Thirsty, and we give them drink. All of the things that we are required to do for the “least of these our brothers,” we do first and foremost for our own children. St. Catherine of Siena once had a vision in which God took her to a roomful of crosses and told her to pick one. St. Catherine went to the largest, heaviest cross in the room and would have chosen it. But God told her that it was not for her: That was reserved for the parents of large families.

“Mary gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes.” Luke 2:7

Reason #4: Have another child to help end abortion.

When Mother Teresa of Calcutta was asked by a young mother about the best way to proceed with pro-life work, she responded emphatically, “Have a big family. That is the best way to end abortion!”

How this works is not difficult to understand. As children become more rare due to contraception, sterilization and abortion, whole segments of society become less and less familiar with the sense of joy and hope that only babies and children can give. In this climate, contraception and abortion feed on themselves, as the increasingly selfish few further reduce their number.

By having another child, you demonstrate once again to the world that children are God’s greatest gifts. “Children build up the life of the family and society,” as Pope John Paul II has said. “The child becomes a gift to its brothers and sisters, parents and entire family. Its entire life becomes a gift for the very people who were givers of life and who cannot help but feel its presence, its sharing in their life and its contribution to the common good and to the community of the family.”

The more children there are in society, the more pro-life that society will become, and the easier it will be for the great evil of abortion to be eradicated once and for all.

“Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19

Reason #5:  A) Have another child so your sons will have brothers and your daughters will have sisters.

Children who have siblings learn early to share. They learn to take turns and to put the needs of others before their own. The bond formed between brothers and sisters is lifelong, and stronger than the bond between the closest friends. 

“How good it is, how pleasant, where the brothers dwell as one!” Psalm 133:1-2

B) Have another child so your sons will have sisters and your daughters will have brothers.

Boys who have sisters learn the dignity of women. They learn to treat other girls and women with respect, as they consider how they would like their own sisters to be treated. Girls who have brothers learn the complementarity of men and women, both fashioned in the image and likeness of God.

“Love begins by taking care of the closest ones—the ones at home.” Mother Teresa

Reason #6: Have another child so you (and your parents) won’t be lonely in old age.

People who have children don’t have to rely upon strangers to care for them in their old age. Children also become the parents of your grandchildren. Grandchildren bring joy, happiness, and laughter, while still allowing you to get a good night’s sleep! “Grandchildren are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their parentage.” Proverbs 17:6

Reason #7: Have another child because people are our greatest resource.

Humans are blessed with the gifts of an intellect and free will. It is human ingenuity that discovers creative solutions to the problems which confront us. People without children should remember that it will be someone else’s child who will become the doctor that performs their life-saving operations. Someone else’s child will become the firefighter that saves their house. Someone else’s child will become the railroad engineer.

“How can there be too many children? That’s like saying there are too many flowers.” Mother Teresa

Reason #8: Have another child to contribute to the economy.

Families with children are fuel to the economy, purchasing houses and cars and college educations. Without young people to enter the workforce, social security systems fail. Without children to attend school, teachers are jobless. Many industries, from fast food restaurants to toy stores, obviously rely heavily upon business from and for children to stay in business. But ultimately the whole economy does.

“Like a fruitful vine your wife within your home, Like olive plants your children around your table.  Just so, will they be blessed who fear the Lord.” Psalm 128:3-4

Reason #9: Have another child to counter global depopulation.

Anyone who has traveled from coast to coast in the United States and seen the vast empty spaces should know that America is not overpopulated. In fact, the entire population of the world could live in the state of Texas, in single-family dwellings with front and back yards. Fertility rates are falling everywhere. The world’s population will never again double. If current trends continue, world population will peak by the middle of this century and then begin demographic freefall. Our long-term problem is not too many children, but too few children. Having another child will help offset the coming population implosion.

“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth.” Genesis 1:28.

Reason #10: Have another child to help populate heaven. 

The child that you and your spouse have been generous in accepting from God was created to return to Him, after a life of love, service, and obedience on earth, to spend eternity with God in heaven. Our Lord Himself said that there was plenty of room for those immortal souls. There is no overpopulation problem in Heaven!

“There are many mansions in my Father’s house.” John 14:2

“Ten Great Reasons to Have Another Child”
Permission to reprint granted.
Redistribute widely.
Credit requested. http://www.pop.org

The Transfiguration of Our Lord

This is from the Office of Matins for the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord.

From the Sermons of Pope St Leo the Great.

On the Transfiguration.

The Lord taketh chosen witnesses, and in their presence, revealeth His glory. That form of body which He had in common with other men, He so transfigured with light, that His Face did shine as the sun, and His raiment became exceeding white as snow. Of this metamorphosis the chief work was to remove from the hearts of the disciples the stumbling at the Cross. Before their eyes was unveiled the splendour of His hidden majesty, that the lowliness of His freely-chosen suffering might not confound their faith. But none the less was there here laid by the Providence of God a solid foundation for the hope of the Holy Church, whereby the whole body of Christ should know with what a change it is yet to be honoured. The members of that body whose Head hath already been transfigured in light may promise themselves a share in His glory.

For the strengthening the Apostles and bringing them forward into all knowledge, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias, that is, the Law and the Prophets talking with Him. Before five witnesses did His glorification take place, as though to fulfill that which is written: “At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established” (Deut. xix. 15). What can be more certain, what can be better attested than this matter, which is proclaimed by the trumpets of both the Old and the New Testaments, and concerning which the witness of ancient testimony uniteth with the teaching of the Gospel? The pages of either Covenant strengthen one another, and the brightness of open glory maketh manifest and distinct Him Whom the former prophecies had promised under the veil of mysteries.

The unveiling of such mysteries roused the mind of the Apostle Peter to an outburst of longing for the things eternal, which despised and disdained the things worldly and earthly. Overflowing with gladness at the vision, he yearned to dwell with Jesus there, where the revelation of His glory had rejoiced him. And so he said, “Master, it is good for us to be here. If Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.”

To this proposal the Lord answered nothing, this signifying, that what Peter wished was not wrong, but out of place, since the world could not be saved but by the death of Christ. And the Lord's example was to call the faith of believers to this, that albeit we are behoven to have no doubts concerning the promise of eternal blessedness, yet we are to understand that, amid the trials of this life, we are to seek for endurance before glory.

Ann Barnhardt Nails It: What They've Stolen

I’m stealing this post from AnnBarnhardt. I hope she doesn't mind. I think she wants the world to know this stuff as much as I do. You can find the original if you go here and then scroll down to July 29, 2012. 

For more posts on the Mass on this blog, click on the "TLM and Liturgy" tab at the top of the page.

This is what they have stolen from you.

Posted by Ann Barnhardt - July 29, AD 2012 6:10 PM MST

I can tell from my email box that the vast, vast, vast majority of people out there have absolutely no fathom what the Mass looked like before 1968. Most Catholics think that the Mass was pretty much like it is today, except in Latin.

Um, that would be very, very, very wrong. The Mass today, the Novus Ordo Mass, has been so radically altered, you can only tell that it is even related to the Tridentine Mass by a few phrases here and there, namely the Gloria, Creed, Orate Fratres (Pray, my brothers and sisters), Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) and the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God).

As I explained it to one person, the Novus Ordo Mass is FAR closer to Superfun Rockband church than it is to the Tridentine Mass. His reply? "I was afraid you were going to say that."

Indeed.

I stumbled across a set of videos made by EWTN, the Catholic cable channel out of Alabama. The videos demonstrate the Low Tridentine Mass (not sung, and with only one server). What is so cool about these videos is the camera work. It is wonderful being able to see the priest's hands and everything that is going on upon the altar.

In these videos the server is an adult. Please understand that in most Masses in Latin Mass parishes today, the servers are young boys - altar boys. I would guesstimate that the youngest boy I have seen serve a Low Mass alone was probably eight or nine years old, and I have seen boys who were probably seven years old serve a Low Mass with another older boy as a team. That includes every movement and every response you see in these videos, memorized in Latin, performed not just by boys, but by sometimes quite young boys.

The sight of boys and teenaged young men not just doing something, but doing something fairly complicated, and doing it with stone-cold excellence is so rare today that it is shocking and beautiful when you see it. Boys have been run out of almost every activity except sports by girls, and they are now even trying to make sports "co-ed". Additionally, boys are hated by the Marxist-lesbian education mafia and are submitted to psychological castration from the time they enter pre-school. One of the big reasons the Marxist-homosexualists hate the Tridentine Mass so much is because it fosters and develops boys into masculine achievers and allows them to attain disciplined excellence.

Now watch this and see, perhaps for the first time in your entire life, what the Mass was for 1900 years, and what the Marxist-homosexualists have stolen from you, and are desperately trying to keep hidden from you. Look at the reverence, the solemnity, the MASCULINITY, the profound humility, the dignity, and the loving care and intricacy. Watch these videos and then contemplate what goes on at your Novus Ordo Mass.  

Contemplate how your priest probably stands outside the sanctuary in the narthex, fully vested immediately before AND immediately after Mass, and gladhands and socializes with people as they walk in and out - again, desacralizing the Mass AND drawing attention to himself as the "STAR of the SHOW". Because you clearly go to Mass to see Father Liza-Judy, right? I mean seriously, WHO ELSE could you POSSIBLY be there to see if not Father Liza-Judy? Hmmmm?

Contemplate the priest ad-libbing during the Mass, chatting, delivering multiple "homilies" before the readings and after Holy Communion. Compare how the priest carries himself in the Tridentine Mass to the casual and effete comportment of almost all Novus Ordo priests.

Finally, compare the orientation of the Tridentine Mass and priest 100% toward Our Lord in the Tabernacle, or upon the altar, to the self-referential and performance-driven orientation of the priest in the Novus Ordo, who is always facing the people as if on a stage, and thus has his BACK to Our Lord in the Tabernacle for the entire Mass.

The homosexualist priests will never, ever relinquish their ability to "perform" and be "on stage" as the "star of the show" - and the same goes for the lesbian nuns, who rage at the fact that they are denied full "performance" rights. They WILL schism the Church, and it will be over the Mass itself. Homosexual "marriage" and "gay rights" are merely wedge issues designed to get the ball rolling. The final schism will be over the rubrics of the Mass because it HAS to be all about THEM. It HAS to be the "Father Liza-Judy Show", and the Marxists, who recruited the homosexualists, gleefully approve because the Marxist objective is to destroy the Mass and the Church from within by desacralizing the Mass, and eliminating the priesthood. (Remember, no priest, no Mass. No Mass, no Eucharist.) They do this by denying the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist by making the whole Mass so casual, sloppy, sacrilegious and self-centered that the people who WERE taught the faith lose it by the very example of the clergy.

Finally, after four decades, the objective has been achieved - there is absolutely no denying that. The laity has NO IDEA that the Mass is Calvary made present, and are clueless that Jesus Christ is actually, physically present in the Tabernacle, upon the altar after the consecration, and in the Eucharist which they casually receive thinking It (He) is a mere "symbolic community meal".

When you watch these videos, you should feel awe at the beauty - even though this is a mere instructional set, and you should also feel burning ire at what has been stolen from you, and what is being actively hidden and suppressed by the majority of bishops yet today. THIS is how Mass was said in EVERY CATHOLIC CHURCH ON THE PLANET UNTIL 1968 - exactly, precisely like this. A person could walk into any Catholic Church anywhere on the planet and be 100% oriented and comfortable, because every priest said the Mass exactly like this every day - from the tiny little town in Kansas to the largest cathedral in Europe to the remotest chapel in South America or Asia. Every word, every gesture, every prayer - completely consistent and unified, JUST. LIKE. THIS: [She embedded several videos here.]

These videos just cover the actual rubrics. They do not cover the MASSIVE meaning and referential symbolism contained in literally every word and gesture. If you want to learn about that symbolism, St. Thomas Aquinas covers it all in the Summa Theologica.

If you want more info, a great resource is SanctaMissa.org, and I also recommend everyone buying a 1962 Hand Missal, which contains EVERYTHING, including every Mass for the entire year with English translations. Baronius Press is the main publisher these days, and 1962 Missals can be purchased easily through Amazon and most online booksellers.

But there are also many other things which Jesus did; which, if they were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written.

John 21:25

Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 

Entire post by Ann Barnhardt

Bishops' "Hair-splitting Double-Speak": The Vortex

Michael Voris hit another homerun with the Vortex yesterday. (Follow the link to become a premium subscriber, or to make a one-time donation.)

Voris is right: the “hair-splitting double speak” we experience from the mouths of our bishops and their spokesmen is frustrating, damaging, and disgusting. There are so many “nuanced” points made by our shepherds! Where is the clear, firm, and edifying language of previous times? I think the creeping modernism that preceded Vatican II has become a raging monster that has crippled the ability of the Church to teach clearly on important issues.

But Michael Voris says it so much better (and the script is reproduced below):

For other Vortex posts, click on the "Vortex" tab at the top of the page.

The script:

What’s the problem? What’s the problem with the various levels of leadership in the Church in the United States these days? Clearly something flat out stinks…and those in charge look the other way.

The issue is this: While certain bishops tromp up and down the nation preaching and speeching about the desperate need for Catholic identity, admitting the failures of the past in presenting the faith clearly, at the end of the day, THEY DON’T DO a blessed thing about it!

And more to the point, they actually DO things that send clear signals of mass confusion to the faithful. Need an example? The annual Alfred Smith dinner in New York, a fundraiser for the Church [where] various politicians are invited for a night of lampooning.  Each presidential election year, generally the major party candidates are invited as well. Not every time, but most.

So this year, right in the middle of a lawsuit over OBAMAcare, who does the sponsoring Archdiocese of New York invite other than the mastermind of Obamacare himself: Obama.

Imagine the photo op that will make. Cardinal Dolan shaking hands with Obama, each all smiles and happy faces. Wanna take a guess at the caption?

And talk about an awkward moment. What on earth do two bitter legal adversaries say to each other – one proposing himself to be the defender of religious liberty, and the other the destroyer of them.

“Hey Mr. President, nice to see you again. Get ready for a beat-down in court next week.”

What makes this photo op even more weird is that it happened because the Archdiocese of New York MADE it happen. It didn’t have to come close to being a reality.

Imagine: 83 bishops protest Obama’s appearance at Notre Dame back in 2009. A massive internet protest petition is organized and hundreds of thousands of Catholic laity sign it. They don’t want Obama being recognized because of his virulent culture of death political poison. AND THEN, out of the blue, he turns up at a Catholic fundraiser dinner at the invitation of the most recognized Cardinal in America.

JUST HOW EXACTLY is that picture, which will be splashed across millions of headlines and internet pages, to be interpreted by the tens of millions of people who see it? The only logical way it could, which is: “Well…this whole Obamacare birth control thing can’t possibly be THAT BAD a problem.”

And when Obama stands up to make his jokes, what exactly does he say to a room packed with people who disagree with him on child-killing ? What does he say? “A funny thing happened on the way to Supreme Court today”?

There is a never-ending stream of this “say one thing, do another” approach. It never ends. Bishops freely disregard canon law about giving holy Communion to pro-abort, pro-same sex marriage catholic politicians. They allow dissident nuns and university professors and homosexual clergy to run hog wild all over the faithful. Their precious SO-CALLED social justice initiatives have been for decades little else than a thinly-veiled disguise for pushing every modernist progressive agenda that came across their desks, all in the name of fighting poverty.

Now the latest dustup with the Catholic Relief Services scandal where 5 million dollars was given to CARE, an international organization which promotes contraception. CRS quickly rolled out their hair-splitting argument that CARE also does nice things and the money is never used for bad things and we never do anything against Church teaching.

  

OH REALLY?????

Turns out: yes they do…and they do so in SPADES. CRS is a dues-paying member of a group called CORE, which actively promotes and pushes family planning contraception programs all over the world. We’ve attached relevant links to the story [here and here]. You heard right! They just don’t pay dues to the group – give Catholic money to it – officials of CRS ACTUALLY SIT ON THE BOARD OF THE GROUP. As such, they MORE than just sit on the board; they actually OVERSEE programs supporting the culture of Death.

More than that, they actually have INPUT in the programs. That’s right: CATHOLIC

Relief Services personnel…sitting on the board of an outside group…directing and delivering input into programs DIRECTLY opposed to Catholic Church teaching.

This type of rotten behavior has been going on for decades inside the Church in America, from the top down…and its revolting.

Remember that the Bishops Conference funded ACORN, the community organizing group that was eventually busted up by the feds – but not before millions of Catholic dollars had been funneled to it – again, all under the name of fighting poverty.

And the song-and-dance press releases and speeches that come out in defense of this garbage, with all their nuanced hair-splitting doublespeak is even more revolting; it’s downright disgusting.

It’s high time those in charge make a clear definitive statement one way or the other: are you with the Church or are you not? And if you are, it’s time to get a great big broom – the one you’ve been using against concerned faithful Catholic laity for years – and clean out your liberal offices from their modernist progressive staffs.

And please spare us all the speeches and books and articles and interviews and the PR media blitz about how we have to reclaim Catholic identity and fight the anti-Catholic forces in the world.

You got enough anti-Catholic forces in the Church.