Running Off At The Keyboard

FR. BILL McCARTHY WRITES... about the direction the Supreme Court is taking and the inevitable outcome if we do not change our ways. CarrieTomko@aol.com

CELEBRATE... One day long ago when our nation was new, We declared we were free from the English king's crew. So we set off our crackers and drink up our beer, Extolling ourselves with the utmost of cheer, While ignoring the fact, with our hot dog in hand, Now our main international ally is England. Oh yeah! CarrieTomko@aol.com

IT'S GETTING HARDER TO BE AN INNOVATIVE HERETIC as ECUSA Bishop Bennison is finding out. Most of the outrageous stuff has already been done, but the bishop has discovered one last innovation to keep his postmodern congregation from yawning on Sunday morning. Bishop Bennison has emerged in recent months as the leading exponent of post-modern "Christianity" in the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops, having supplanted Jack Spong the retired former Bishop of Newark. The bishop has written a Visigoth Rite of marriage for both heterosexuals and homosexuals; failed to affirm basic doctrines of the Christian Faith such as the bodily resurrection of Jesus, the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the only way of obtaining salvation, the authority of Scripture and more. No one has done Visigoths yet, so that might get some attention. But this will be the good bishop's claim to fame, I guess: "Jesus acknowledged his own sin. He knows himself to be forgiven," said Bishop Charles E. Bennison, in his column, "The Challenge of Easter" to Pennsylvania Episcopalians. Writing in the Pennsylvania Episcopalian, the wraparound to the nationally circulated Episcopal Life, the revisionist bishop who has denied a number of basic doctrines of the Christian Faith, said that while Jesus forgives sins, "He acknowledges his own sin. His call is to preach repentance and forgiveness." There is just one little glitch...if Jesus is a sinner, who is going to forgive Him since He and the Father are One? Or has Bishop B. implied something else that he isn't ready to say openly yet? "Shame on you God. Go stand in the corner while I think about your punishment!" CarrieTomko@aol.com

Is bishop Lennon packing for Phoenix? And a related question...Is the strategy for parish recovery a two-step plan--install a temporary bishop for a few months, and then bring in the permanent bishop who is thereby one bishop removed from the one the diocese has learned to disrespect? CarrieTomko@aol.com

A BANISHING RITUAL FOR HOGWARTS The East Lynn United Methodist congregation of Hoopeston, Illinois believes prayer saved their town from becoming the home to the first school of witchcraft. (When you get to the website, scroll down.) CarrieTomko@aol.com

ABORTED BABY BECOMES PARENT in the surreal world of the research lab. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff, Peter Smith, said there was grave concern about the prospect of scientists harvesting eggs from aborted foetuses. "There is something deeply wrong with a society that can even contemplate harvesting eggs from the ovaries of aborted foetuses," he said. "How is it that we can recognise that the aborted foetus is human enough to become a biological parent and yet not human enough to have the right to life?" Nuala Scarisbrick, a trustee of the anti-abortion charity Life, said: "This is grotesque, even by the low standards of IVF morality. "We are concerned for any child that may be manufactured through the use of an unborn baby's eggs _ when they find out that their mother was aborted and that their grandparents consented to that." And we thought Canada had redefined the family! Does this, too, stem from a rejection of Humane Vitae? CarrieTomko@aol.com

LITURGISTS...hrumph! In an interview with Zenit, Dionisio Borobio, author of Culture, Faith, Sacrament published by the Center of Liturgical Pastoral Care of Barcelona, and teacher of liturgy and the sacraments at the Pontifical University of Salamanca, concentrates his comments on the word "celebration." I think that to explain the liturgy to the people one can start from the categories of "celebration," "communion," "festivity" making explicit, as the Catechism does, the elements it implies both from an anthropological as well as a liturgical point of view: "what" is celebrated, "who" celebrates, "how" one celebrates, "when" one celebrates, "where" one celebrates. The celebration of the Christian community, which acknowledge in praise and thanksgiving that God continues to love and save us, is expressed in the Church through liturgical action.... After Vatican Council II much has been gained in the celebratory sense of the liturgy, understood as common action, as participation of the assembly, as a community celebration. "After Vatican Council II" indeed! Nowhere does he even hint at the word "sacrifice." Every thought is about "celebration." Before Vatican Council II the Church taught that: "The Mass is the unbloody sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ" (Baltimore #917) "A sacrifice is the offering of an object by a priest of God alone, and the consuming of it to acknowledge that He is the Creator and Lord of all things." (Baltimore #919) "The Mass is the same sacrifice as that of the Cross because the offering and the priest are the same--Christ our Blessed Lord: and the ends for which the sacrifice of the Mass is offered are the same as those of the sacrifice of the Cross." (Baltimore #921) "The ends for which the sacrifice of the Cross was offered were: 1st To honor and glorify God; 2nd, To thank Him for all the graces bestowed on the whole world; 3rd, To satisfy God's justice for the sins of men; 4th, To obtain all graces and blessings." (Baltimore #922) From the time of the Council of Trent, in an unbroken and unadulterated teaching, the Church taught that: "This Sacrament is not only a treasure of heavenly riches, which if turned to good account will obtain for us the grace and love of God; but it also possesses a peculiar character, by which we are enabled to make some return to God for the immense benefits bestowed upon us." (Trent Catechism p 254-255) "...the Eucharist was instituted by Christ for two purposes: one, that it might be the heavenly food of our souls, enabling us to support and preserve spiritual life; and...that the Church might have a perpetual Sacrifice, by which our sins might be expiated, and our heavenly Father, oftentimes grievously offended by our crimes, might be turned away from wrath to mercy, from the severity of just chastisement to clemency....Nor could our Saviour, when about to offer Himself to God the Father on the altar of the cross, have given any more illustrious indication of His unbounded love towards us than by bequeathing to us a visible Sacrifice, by which that bloody Sacrifice which was soon after to be offered once on the cross, would be renewed, and its memory daily celebrated with the greatest utility, unto the consummation of ages by the Church diffused throughout the world." (Catechism of the Council of Trent, p 255-256) "With regard to the institution of this Sacrifice, the holy Council of Trent has left no room for doubt, by declaring that it was instituted by our Lord at His Last Supper; while it condemns under anathema all those who assert that in it is not offered to God a true and proper Sacrifice; or that to offer means nothing else than that Christ is given as our spiritual food." (Trent Catechism p 256) "...it must be taught without any hesitation that, as the holy Council (of Trent) has also explained, the sacred and holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not a Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving only, or a mere commemoration of the Sacrifice performed on the cross, but also truly a propitiatory Sacrifice, by which God is appeased and rendered propitious to us." (Trent Catechism p 258) But our liturgist, Dionisio Borobio, knows better. In responding to the question about how the celebrations can be improved, he says: "No one has a 'magic' solution in this respect. If we look at those responsible for the celebration, especially the priests, it must be said that we must 'improve the offer': the preparation, the celebratory frame of mind, the ability to communicate and adapt, etc." I would suggest, Mr. (Fr.?) Borobio, that the Sacrifice of the Mass would be greatly improved if the liturgists would teach what the Church believes! CarrieTomko@aol.com

INTRODUCING...SHEMALES from Yahoo News. MADRID (Reuters) - Scientists in the United States have created hybrid human "she-males," mixing male and female cells in the same embryo, outraging fertility experts and anti-abortionists. Dr. Norbert Gleicher of the Foundation for Reproductive Medicine in Chicago and a colleague injected male cells into female embryos in research which they believe could lead to better treatments or cures for single gene disorders. But their work provoked revulsion when they presented it to the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). Now you always knew a day would come when names like "Mel" (Melanie/Mel), "Gene" (Gene/Jean), "Kelly" (it's obvious, isn't it?), and "Phil" (Phyllis/Phillip) would come in handy, didn't you? "Honey, do you want a boy or a girl when we have our kid?" "I don't know. A girl would be so sweet, but a boy would carry on our family name." "I know, we could have a shemale and you can have even days and I'll have odd days. We can paint the room blue on the bottom and pink above the chairrail. You can buy all the frilly dresses your heart desires, while I can buy a baseball bat and sign shim up for little league. What do you think?" "Hmmm. Maybe we should give this a little more consideration. However would we solve the hairstyle problem?" CarrieTomko@aol.com

OVER AT THE ENVOY BLOG There are some great pictures and links to a virtual tour of Jerusalem, to pictures of the Temple Mount and computer imaging of the Temple in Jerusalem. Worth a look! CarrieTomko@aol.com

ABOUT THE LAWRENCE DECISION... A reader has emailed some disturbing concerns about the Lawrence decision that are not making mainstream news. It seems that the Supreme Court looks outside of the American judicial system when there is no American precedent to guide their decision. Normally that would include the countries of U.K, Canada, Australia or South Africa since their legal system is similar to ours. In this case, however, Kennedy found the EU law from the European Commission of Human Rights to be more authoritative than U.K. law and thus cited it as a way to proceed. But the EU is not a sovereign nation. Further, the Pope's efforts to have the Christian foundation mentioned in the EU constitution have mostly failed. It seems that those drawing up the Constitution would like not to be reminded of Christianity. It's no secret that globalists tote out the word "fundamentalist" and use it in a way that includes Christians, especially Catholics, who believe theirs is a religion which holds the fullness of truth. The word as used is pregnant with contempt. In the globalists' opinion, it is the fundamentalists who are the cause of war, and who impede the peace process. A precedent has been set to look to the EU--and ultimately the laws of the ICC?--when making judicial decisions in America. It's not likely to go away any time soon. CarrieTomko@aol.com

THE DARK SIDE OF PAGANISM is beginning to make the news in England where horse mutilations are causing problems in villages and the countryside. Slashing incidents and sexual attacks as well as dead animals are being found, some of which appear to have taken place in daylight according to WorldNetDaily. CarrieTomko@aol.com

BUSH TAKES ORDERS DIRECTLY FROM GOD Somebody has been talking to George Bush, telling him to make military decisions with grave consequences. Who might that "somebody" be? Surely if it was the Trinitarian God, Rome would be on the same side, wouldn't you think? Yet Rome's approval lies elsewhere. One of them must be talking to the "other side" because it isn't likely God disagrees with God, is it? Hmmm. According to Abbas, Bush also said: "God told me to strike at al Qaeda and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them." There is a link at the website for the full story from which this quote is taken. CarrieTomko@aol.com

BISHOP WILTON GREGORY made a statement about the Lawrence decision that may have implications for our better understanding of Humane Vitae: "Sexual activity has profound social consequences which are not limited to those immediately engaged in sexual acts. For this reason, the larger society has always shown a concern about what is and is not acceptable in sexual behavior between individuals." This is not typical of the way that we think about sex. Most Americans are used to the attitude that the court expressed, namely that sex is a private matter and the state has no business getting involved. Does that color the way we look at HV, prompting many Catholics to say that they will not be influenced by the Church in matters sexual? Is Bishop Gregory's point the one that we have been missing which has caused such dire consequences in our Church? The statement seems so simple and so obvious, yet he is challenging a lot of assumptions in making it. CarrieTomko@aol.com

ATHEISTIC MATERIALISTIC REGIMES that are affecting our lives in ever greater ways is the subject of Dwight Longenecker's blog at Envoy Magazine's Encore today. He makes a lot of good points that are worth reading. CarrieTomko@aol.com

WHO TEACHES CORRECT CATHOLIC DOCTRINE? is a question on the mind of Tim Drake, reporter for US Catholic News. During the next several months the Register will publish its ongoing investigation of Catholic colleges and universities featured in U.S. News and World Report�s college guide and ask the question: Are parents allowed to know whether those who teach theology even intend to teach in communion with the Church? Or has the opposite happened - is the canon law mandatum being used to protect dissenters? Far too many parents send their Catholic children to Catholic colleges only to have their children's faith unmade by the time they graduate. CarrieTomko@aol.com

WE SHOULD LISTEN TO THE EXORCIST! AN EXORCIST yesterday called for a �crusade from the pulpits� against the growing power of the occult. Father Jim McManus said paganism and witchcraft were intertwined with evil and needed to be stamped out. The 62-year-old priest - the only Catholic clergyman to perform the service of "deliverance" regularly - said devil worship could only lead to tragedy. The profile of paganism will get a boost next month with two festivals and an academic conference on the subject are held north of the Border. It is often said that J.K. Rowling is a Christian from Scotland. But Scotland, as well as having a largely non-practicing Christian population, has a Pagan population that is growing. The story linked above shows a picture of Edinburg's Beltane Festival. Mention is also made of the Wicker Man Festival, and a policeman being burned to death at one of them. The Wicker Man is a larger than life effigy of a man constructed of flammable materials. At one time it was stuffed with Christians and then set on fire. This is a festival that should send chills down the spine of every practicing Christian. The story also indicates that Glasgow University, under the leadership of Dr. Benjamin Franks, will be holding a "Rituals, Readings and Reactions" academic conference. Dr. Franks has given the conference the usual "spin" of innocence. The laws against witchcraft in England were repealed in 1954. That was the year that Gardnerian Wicca came out of its hiding places and has been spreading around the world ever since. Gerald Gardner, its founder, is claimed by some sources to have been a member of satanist Aleister Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis. As the picture with the above-linked story indicates, Pagan festivals are not averse to sexual rituals. CarrieTomko@aol.com

FROM THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE CITIZEN, A STORY ABOUT PAGANISM ON THE RISE and particularly Druidism since this is England, afterall. To the casual observer these religious movements appear to be a piecemeal assortment of diverse deities and different dogmas. And yet, on closer inspection, all these manifestations of paganism are connected and have certain controlling ideas in common. So, what are these controlling "big" ideas? Simply that around us and above us, or alongside us, exists another dimension or "plane". This parallel universe is controlled by cosmic forces and inhabited by supernatural beings, which have been given a variety of labels and names throughout human history, and across different cultures. Whether you consider ancient Egypt, Greece, South America, Britain, or wherever, these forces and beings were seen to exist. The aim of paganism is to "connect into" this dimension in some way and harness the powers for the individual practitioner's own purposes. It does not matter what particular technique is used, only that it works for the individual. Hence paganism does not see all these different approaches, whether they be ritual, (as practiced near Stonehenge) crystals, mediums, idols, meditation, or whatever, as contradictory, but as complementary alternatives. After reading this story, read the one below about St. Vincent Ferrer's prophecy. CarrieTomko@aol.com

ST. VINCENT FERRER (1350-1419) MADE A PROPHECY IN 1419 that seems to speak to our times. I'm skeptical of prophecy. Particularly so since reading the history of the Pentecostal movement. Still, there is a lot of Catholic prophecy around which seems to be speaking to our present times. This is one such prophecy. Is the comment about confirmation true? Do parents consider this sacrament unnecessary for their children? Could it be the reason so many young people fall away from the practice of the faith? I don't know, but it has me thinking. CarrieTomko@aol.com