Running Off At The Keyboard

MENTAL HEALTH CHECKS

A reader sent in this article about children and pregnant women being screened for mental health in Illinois.

ETHER ZONE

My first look at it. And frankly I don't know what to make of it. The following article is part of the reason why. It's not Pope-friendly. In fact I can't tell what perspective it's coming from. It's anti-Zionist. Is it anti-Semitic? I don't think so. Even those who have been greviously wronged can set out to harm others. When they do, it's not wrong to call them on it. But I'm not political by nature, and so haven't followed the politics of the Mid-East. Some of you readers are. So what do you think? Is this website right out of Conspiracy Central, or are they closer to the truth than any of us want to believe?

SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN
VATICAN ADVANCES NWO

By: Paula Devlin

"And they that have coveted fields and taken them by violence, and houses they have forcibly taken away; and oppressed a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Therefore saith the Lord: Behold, I devise an evil against this family, from which you shall not withdraw your necks: and you shall not walk haughtily, for this is a very evil time." (Mich. 2: 2-3)

The recent ecumenical conference in Buenos Aires produced a most bizarre document: "Catholic religious leaders have signed on to a statement rejecting anti-Zionism as a form of anti-Semitism." (JTA, July 8, 2004)

Love me, love my cancer. It is like agreeing with a statement that says rejecting anti-PLO-ism rejects all Palestinians or rejecting Sinn Fein is rejecting the Irish. Every nation and ethnic group has good people and evil people, even the Jews, whether they admit it or not. Every ethnic group has those who lie, cheat and steal. Some are better at it than others. Does this mean that if we are wronged by a Jew we are to remain silent for fear of legal reprisals for demanding a redress of grievances?

As more shocking information about the Zionists becomes public, it is incomprehensible that the Zionists would have the temerity to have Christian churches sign on to their agenda. Have these churches not heard of Deir Yassin? Have they forgotten the gang-land style massacre of the 25 unarmed men seized by the Zionists in Deir Yassin and the atrocities committed against unarmed women and children?

Was the garden-variety Jew responsible for that massacre and the ugly reprisals against the Palestinians that have transpired since 1948? I see know reason to believe so. Yet, like their fellow-Semites, the Arabs, they maintain a deafening silence when their brothers misbehave. It is a sin of omission and they all will be held accountable by God, if not man.

Something ominous is lurking behind this deception. First, it plays on the essential good will of the goyim. It is presented as a good, but there is only one class of beneficiary. There is no reciprocity. It assumes that there is only one ethnic group ever to have been wronged by others. Ethnic hatreds are still a favorite pastime all over the world: Christians vs. Muslims in Sudan; Irish vs. Orangemen & the Crown; whites vs. blacks in South Africa; North Koreans vs. South Koreans; the list is long and painful. Hatred is big business; divide and conquer and make a fortune in the process.

Second, it is a necessary step in the march towards having the New World Order controlled by Zionism. The Catholic Church had to buy into their agenda. True to prophecy, Rome is ushering in the spirit of the antichrist. It is implementing the formation of the One World Religion. This document makes all religions inferior to Zionism and everyone inferior to Jews. If this were not so, would not the churches be seeking to reduce all hatred, not just that reserved for one group?

As the New World Order continues to impose its hideous agenda, those who oppose it will eventually be prosecuted as anti-semitic. The perfidiousness of having the UN approve anti-Semitism as a crime and then to have the churches equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism is unacceptable. This should come as no surprise. Those who hold the Babylonian Talmud in higher esteem than Sacred Scripture believe that they are not only God’s chosen, but the master race. They believe that the world was promised as their footstool. They consider non-Jews as beasts on an intellectual plane with cattle; that we are so stupid that we cannot see through this deception.

Third, this agreement established legal precedent for the persecution of those who will not worship the antichrist. The first step in this sequence was to get the Vatican to say that Jesus Christ was not the Jews’ Messiah; they are still waiting for him. In this statement, the Vatican put us on notice that the Great Apostasy (2 Thess 2:3) is here. They are deceivers. Bl. Joachim (d.1202) said "Toward the end of the world Antichrist will overthrow the Pope and usurp his See." The coup took place during Vatican II. The Primacy of Peter has been replaced by collegiality; each bishop a "pope" in his own diocese. This is not the Church of the Apostles, martyrs and saints.

An end times prophecy says that the man who is the final false Christ would come from the tribe of Dan. In that way, he will be accepted by the Jews. "Dan shall judge his people like another tribe in Israel. Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels that his rider may fall backward." (Gen 49:16-17)

A twelfth century private revelation says, "The Last Judgment will be preceded by the imposter Antichrist, who will try to deceive men in four ways:

1. By a false exposition of the Scriptures, wherein he will try to prove that he is the Messias promised by the Law.

2. By accomplishing miracles.

3. By the distribution of gifts.

4. By the infliction of punishments." ("Prophecy for Today", Edward O’Connor, Rockford, IL, 1984)

As we watch our world disintegrates all around us. Evil, the spirit of the antichrist, permeates even the smallest villages. The seven deadly sins seem to be goals for daily living. Man has become his own god and is so in love with himself he cannot believe what he does is evil

It’s not that these things have not been around since Adam and Eve, it just that they seem so much more pervasive today, at all levels of society, than I was ever aware. God is out, sin is in.

If people knew what is in store for them, would they reconsider? Before they will be converted, the saints will be "tortured with such an extremity of barbarity with all the old and newly invented instruments of pain as to exceed all past persecutors of the Church combined… and [Antichrist] will starve to death all those who refuse to receive the mark of the beast impressed upon their foreheads or right hands." (St. Cyril of Jerusalem) That probably won’t win too may converts.

Antichrist is the spirit of atheistic materialism and humanism. As that settles comfortably among us, the deceiver of the world waits in the wings for his grand entrance.

Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."

THE AGENDA BEHIND THE DA VINCI CODE

David Livingstone, at Media Monitors Network

believes he has the explanation for the agenda that fueled Dan Brown's popular novel. Among other things, he suggests:

The continuing objective of the Illuminati is to place a descendant of this sacred bloodline as dictator of a new world order. The Da Vinci Code is an attempt to introduce the unsuspecting public to the historical legends used to justify such a reign.

The doctrines of the Illuminati are those of the Kabbalah. These, they believe, were originally imparted to the Aryan race by the Sons of God of Genesis. However, the occult books specify that these "Sons of God" were the devil and his legions, who had been cast out of Heaven, and who intermarried with the descendants of Cain, to whom they taught magic and astrology. Thus they produced the Aryan race, whose mission it is to guard the "Ancient Wisdom", and to bring humanity to the peak of its evolutionary process, by implementing a one-world dictatorship, governed by occult doctrines.

Some of the readers of this blog will nod their heads in agreement. Others will snort and laugh. I think Livingstone may be right, but I haven't seen a consistent plan of action devised by a singleminded cohesive group. If the Illuminati are a force to be reckoned with, the evidence to identify it's members and structure has not yet come to light. The philosophy for such a plan, however, is identifiable and should not be scoffed at. It can be found in several places.

MESSAGES FROM GOD LEADS TO MURDER

It may be simply coincidental. Or maybe not. In any case, when I say that Pentecostalism can lead to dangerous spiritual delusions, I don't have something this grave in mind. Yet this Pentecostal pastor was either badly deluded or badly corrupted:

The Uppsala District Court ruled that Helge Fossmo, 32, a Pentecostal church pastor, convinced Sara Svensson, 27, to shoot his wife as she was sleeping in their house in Knutby, near Stockholm. She also shot Fossmos’ neighbour, Daniel Linde, who survived the attack.

Svensson, who was deemed mentally ill by a panel of judges, was sentenced to psychiatric care.

She admitted the shootings, but maintained that Fossmo convinced her to do it, in part by sending her text messages he claimed were from God.

Prosecutors said Fossmo wanted his wife and Linde, the neighbour, dead so he could start a new life with Linde’s wife, with whom he allegedly had been having an affair.

The story doesn't mention the children for whom the nanny was hired. Presumably, their mother is dead, their father is imprisoned for life, and their nanny has been declared insane. What will happen to the child or children in this horrible scenerio?

Blogger credit to Spirit Daily.

LETTER TO THE BISHOPS ON FEMINISM

More properly called

"Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in the World"

is up at the Vatican Information Service website.


Catholic News Service reviews the document.

AN OCCULT POLICE UNIT IN JOHANNESBERG, SOUTH AFRICA

describes a night on the job. Here's an excerpt:

Meanwhile, another call has come through. A survivor has been possessed by a demon and the volunteers at the centre have been unable to snap her out of it. We rush back, blue police light flashing. As we enter, the woman is on the floor shaking and convulsing in a condition described as "possession by an incoming astral spirit". Havinger pushes past the volunteers and kneels at her side to pray: "In the name of Jesus, we break the spirit tie." In under a minute, the woman comes round and woozily gets to her feet.

The woman, whom I will call Belinda, later tells me she was introduced to Satanism by her schoolteacher when she was 14. The teacher showed her what Satan could do. "It was nice," explains Belinda, now 32. "I could move things and levitate. It gave me a feeling of power. I was having fun." For two years, the fun continued and the bond between Belinda and the teacher grew stronger. But when the teacher took her to a party, Belinda remembers it as the evening that changed her life: "There was a lot of blood. I could feel strange powers. People screaming, running, eating and grabbing flesh. It was basically an orgy."

Belinda says that she then spent 13 drug-fuelled years in a coven. During that time she claims to have seen four human sacrifices. One, a woman, was fatally sexually assaulted with a dagger. Another, a 30-year-old man, was tortured to death on an altar. As he screamed, the onlookers whooped and hollered, excited by the sight of flowing blood. Belinda says that she was raped on an altar as a spectacle more times than she can remember. But for accepting punishments she would be rewarded with greater supernatural powers, and her need for power grew so strong that it overshadowed any other emotion. She says that she even ended up giving her own baby, conceived through rape by another member, up for sacrifice. Seconds after the birth, she says she watched as the high priest slit the child's throat.

Outwardly, however, Belinda appeared to lead a normal life. She married an army officer and, although she says it was a union intended to help her recruit highly placed members of the military to Satanism, they had three children together. Her husband never suspected a thing. But all the time she says she was fulfilling obligations to her coven. With the birth of each child she gave some of its blood to the high priest to bind its will to Satan and on high days she made her excuses and disappeared off to rituals. But when the coven began to get too close to her children, who she had sent to Christian schools, she finally left the movement with the help of a Christian "pastoral psychologist".

BBC COMMENTS ON THE VATICAN DOCUMENT ON FEMINISM

that is due out Saturday. This perspective on women may prove to be unpopular:

The document, signed by the church's guardian of doctrine Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, says women who work at home should not be "stigmatised by society or penalised financially".

It also says women who choose to work outside the home should not be forced to "choose between relinquishing family life or enduring continual stress, with negative consequences for one's own equilibrium and the harmony of the family."

Will the document have concrete suggestions for implementation of these concepts?

The Guardian offers preliminary comments as well, including this:

The Vatican's sights are trained in particular on the view that while people's sex is anatomically determined their gender identity and roles are entirely a product of conditioning. In a letter to bishops on the participation of men and women in the church and the world, the Pope's chief theological spokesman, the German cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, stresses, as the pontiff has done on several occasions, that the book of Genesis is unambiguous on this point.

CRISIS MAGAZINE E-LETTER

The Bishops' Questionable Questionnaire

July 30, 2004

**********************************************

Dear Friend,

I was afraid of this.

You'll probably remember that a few weeks ago, I told you that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was working on its presidential questionnaire. If you recall, the form asks the two candidates where they stand on a number of issues important to Catholics.

I had noted that the Left-leaning USCCB might try to bury the pro-life questions in with a bunch of irrelevant issues... thereby hiding Senator John Kerry's extreme pro-abortion voting record. They did something similar with the 2000 presidential questionnaire (wherein, they actually let Al Gore get away with claiming to be "pro-life"!).

Unfortunately, it seems that the same thing is happening again this election. The questionnaires are with the candidates right now, but CRISIS has been able to get an early look at the document.

Here's what we discovered...

First, the questionnaire makes no distinction between life issues -- clearly of primary importance to Catholics -- and particular policies that the conference supports on issues as wide-ranging (and non-binding) as rural development, housing, and immigration.

The document has 41 questions, broken down into sections by topic. The largest single section of the questionnaire is on... immigration. Yes, immigration. That category gets a full six questions.

The next-largest section is education (five questions). Abortion gets a total of three questions (tied with aid to low income families).

In fact, in the entire questionnaire, only eight questions deal with life issues -- including abortion, capital punishment, physician-assisted suicide, cloning, and embryo research. Amazingly enough, the section on broadcast communication had more questions than any of the life sections except abortion and capital punishment.

But there's more.

The structure of the questions is such that they only ask for a "support/oppose" response, which says nothing about the particular details of a candidate's position. Nowhere is there room for the candidate to explain, say, why he voted for partial-birth abortion (as Kerry did) or voted against the Defense of Marriage Act (another Kerry vote). In fact, neither are mentioned at all!

Of course, the conference did include this vital question:

"Will you support or oppose legislation to strengthen the reputation of broadcasters to ensure that they meet their public service broadcast license obligations?"

Look, it's not that I object to the questions per se. The problem is that they ignore the hierarchy in Catholic values and issues. Furthermore, this sweeping approach keeps the candidates -- particularly Kerry, who is almost always on the wrong side of the life issues -- from having to defend themselves or explain any of their choices.

Once again, the bishops conference has mixed up prudential issues (like the particular points of broadcast law) with hard moral absolutes (like the ban on abortion). In doing so, they've given ardently pro-abortion candidates political cover.

Hopefully, when they eventually release the results of the questionnaire, the conference will include some kind of commentary that assigns real weight to the life issues. Without that, this document is simply deceptive.

I'll talk to you again early next week,

Deal

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To learn more about CRISIS Magazine, visit
http://www.crisismagazine.com/subscribe.htm

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THE VATICAN DOCUMENT ON FEMINISM IS DUE OUT TOMORROW

A hint of what it will contain can be found at News24.com:

Rome - Pope John Paul II has fired a shot across the bows of radical feminism in a letter to Roman Catholic bishops to be published by the Vatican on Saturday.

In a letter to bishops "on the collaboration of men and women in the Church and in the world" the Vatican blames feminism for seeking to eliminate the biological differences between man and woman.

It says radical feminism's view of equality "has in reality inspired ideologies which for example call into question the family, in its natural two-parent structure of mother and father, and to make homosexuality and heterosexuality virtually equivalent..."

In the document, "On the collaboration of men and women in the Church and in the World," the Catholic Church said it was responding to "certain currents of thought which are often at variance with the authentic advancement of women".

ANY DAY BUT THIS ONE

If he wants to make nice with Muslims, couldn't he have chosen a different date? Choosing 9/11 not only sends a message to Islamics. It sends a message to Americans, and the message isn't a good one.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is to mark the third anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks by praising Islam in an address from the pulpit of an Egyptian mosque, reports the Sunday Times.

Rowan Williams has accepted an invitation to speak at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, considered by many to be the Muslim world's most important centre of learning, the newspaper said.

He will speak to his Muslim congregation of the common ground between Christianity and Islam with their shared inheritance as "children of Abraham".

Blogger credit to Novus Ordo Watch.

VOTE CATHOLIC - NOT KERRY

Website linked at Novus Ordo Watch.

JOHN ALLEN REPORTS ON THE AUSTRIAN SITUATION

The bishop appointed by the Vatican to conduct the apostolic investigation, Klaus Küng of Feldkirch, was in Rome this week for consultation with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. While the content of their conversation is not known, the meeting itself suggests the high level of interest in the Holy See in the Krenn saga. ...

While many Austrian Catholics regard Krenn's resignation as the lone exit strategy, sources in Rome say the handwriting is not yet on the wall. One option under consideration, sources say, is the appointment of a coadjutor bishop, who would have authority in certain specified areas such as seminary formation. Krenn, these sources say, is notorious for accepting seminarians that other dioceses have rejected, and a coadjutor would presumably exercise greater discretion.

And in another segment, Allen reports on the freeing in April of three hostages in Iraq, who had been working as security guards for a U.S. based company, being attributed to Padre Pio:

The other three hostages -- Umberto Cupertino, Maurizio Agliana, and Salvatore Stefio -- were freed by U.S. Special Forces on June 8.

On June 23, all three men, accompanied by their families, made a pilgrimage to San Giovanni Rotondo, the chief national shrine to Padre Pio, in order to give thanks to the Capuchin saint, who was famed for such marks of holiness as the stigmata, the "odor of sanctity," and bi-location. The three told reporters they had prayed to Padre Pio during their captivity and promised to make this pilgrimage if they survived.

"I'm very devoted to Padre Pio and I prayed often during our imprisonment," Cupertino said. "They too," pointing to Agliana and Stefio, "were united with me in prayer because they know Padre Pio."

In another twist, Cupertino's 10-year-old cousin Carmelina, after going with her parents to San Giovanni Rotondo on May 31, apparently returned home and wrote "freed" on a calendar hanging above the family telephone on the date of June 8 - exactly the day the Italians were liberated. She says the date came to her in a dream.

And lastly there is this comment made by Robert Royal, one of America's Catholic intellectuals, after discussing the debate over communion for politicos who support abortion:

On Europe, Royal worried aloud about the "troubling" incapacity of many Europeans to permit religion a space in public discussion. He noted that in one recent Scandanavian case, a Protestant minister has been charged with hate crimes for preaching from the pulpit that homosexuality is not Biblically justified. If such trends continue, Royal said, before long religious believers in Europe will automatically "be suspect as citizens of a modern democracy."

SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS REQUIRING REPORTING OF ABUSE

seems to be the conclusion one must draw from a recent judicial decision. LifeSite Reports:

WICHITA, Kansas, July 27, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a decision handed down Monday, a federal judge ruled that abortionists are not required to comply with a law requiring the reporting of sexual abuse or rape of minors to authorities.

U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten argued that most underage sex is consensual, thus a mandatory reporting of all underage sexual activity would constitute an invasion of privacy. He also reasoned that mandatory reporting would deter minors from seeking abortions out of fear of the abusive relationship being exposed.

Although the several media reports lead readers to think all underage reporting is of consensual acts, Marten's decision means that doctors committing abortions on child victims of abuse or underage rape victims would be exempt from reporting these crimes.

So, why is the abortion provider exempt while all other adults must comply? Why is an abortion provider entitled to confidentiality with his patient when a religious figure is not entitled to the same privilege? Medical issues are private, while spiritual issues are not? It really is outrageous. We have laws regarding separation of Church and State. We don't have laws regarding separation of Medicine and State. Just the opposite, in fact. There is no logic here.

One suspects a powerful lobby behind it. The same lobby that has made it possible for the school to procure an abortion for a minor while not being allowed to dispense aspirin or a band-aid to that same minor.

The hard cold reality is that girls can die from abortion while a band-aid hasn't ever caused a death that I know of. And abused girls who seek abortions are likely to be abused again unless something or someone puts an end to it. We are appalled that pastors and bishops did not report abuse. The idea that a medical doctor who performs an abortion he suspects is the result of sexual abuse of a minor, but is not required to report the abuse is reprehensible.

It is way past time to put lawmaking back into the legislature where it belongs!

Thanks to a reader for sending in the story.

NO MORE BINGO IN LITTLE ROCK PARISHES

Bishop J. Peter Sartain issued a letter telling pastors in his diocese to stop the games. At least one pastor is stunned since bingo has financed the school for 27 years. The article doesn't say what prompted the change, however gambling is illegal in Arkansas. The Knights of Columbus have also stopped using bingo as a source of income, though the head of the organization says it mostly provided a social venue for elderly women.

A social venue for elderly women should not be a source of income for a school or for a charitable organization. If the elderly women need an opportunity to socialize, they should not have to spend what is frequently meager income to get it, particularly not in a religious setting. There is something fundamentally unchristian about taking money from women who are frequently widows in order to fund private schooling for children who often come from economically well-off families. We have got to find a better way of doing it!

OUROBOROS AT BETANIA ?

Spirit Daily has a picture on the website this morning of light in Betania. It looks a lot like the ouroboros, an occult symbol of the snake swallowing its tail.

THE KABBALAH CENTER

made famous by Madonna, is coming under fire. An article from Cleveland Jewish News takes the center and its director, Rabbi Philip Berg, to task for exploiting Kabbalah for personal gain. The article refers to the organization as "Judaism-lite...a cult."

There are several reasons for categorizing the Kabbalah Centre as a cult, says Rabbi Daniel Olgin, who is trained to help families whose members have been sucked into cults and other problematic organizations like Jews for Jesus. K.C. members "focus on the leader of the organization (Berg), who has created an aura, a mystique around himself by, along with his (second) wife and their two sons, dressing all in white and being driven around in a limousine.

The law suits have started.

...the organization "has a reputation for suing people who speak out against them."

"The protocol is for Orthodox Jews to go to a beit din (religious court) when there is an issue with another Jew," noted one local rabbi. "The Kabbalah Centre does not abide by this, saying they don't think they could get a fair ruling from a beit din because it would be slanted against them - jealous of their success."

Indeed, a Chabad rabbi from Toronto is currently facing a lawsuit for libel after being instrumental in having the K.C. banned in South Africa, notes one cult watch Web site. It also states that the Orthodox community of Toronto declared a harem on Berg (divorced him from the community). This occurred after the Task Force on Cults and Missionaries, Jews for Judaism, and others charged him with "unethical conduct and fraud, manipulation and violent intimidation, cult-like exploitation, hard-sell tactics and profit margins of up to 500%."

Even though they are incurring the wrath of mainstream Judaism, others believe they are also doing some good:

Stuart Muszynski even made a donation to the organization to thank them for all they had done while his in-laws were alive.

Susan confesses, "When my mother was diagnosed with cancer, traditional medicine gave her a matter of months to live and offered nothing. My father began finding her alternative treatments and kabbala, and the truth is, the Centre offered a lot of hope and an amazing network of support."

Her mother lived four years after the diagnosis; years in which she was able to take cruises with her husband, celebrate their 50th anniversary together, and attend Stuart and Susan's 25th anniversary, as well as their grandson's bar mitzvah.

Maybe the alternative medicines and Kabbalah Centre were nothing more than a placebo effect, but for the extra years they gave her with her mother, Susan feels grateful.

There is the Center's version of holy water which sounds unethical at the price:

"Jews with respect for authentic Judaism would do well to ponder the brisk business the Centre does in its snake oil for the soul," warns Rabbi Avi Shafran in a recent column titled "Trinkets and Truth." Those trinkets would include: "K2Oils" at $10 for a tiny vial, made with "pure kabbala water"; $84 "Knitted Blanket Protection" - sheets and blankets with Hebrew lettering; and $20 candles that promise to "inspire strength and certainty."

There are two kinds of kabbala water - regular "for healing and rejuvenation at $40 for a case of 1.5-litre bottles and "Pinchus Water," made annually and blessed for healing energy. The latter costs $106.50 for a case of 1.5-litre bottles.

Blogger credit to Spirit Daily.

THEOLOGIAN OF THE PONTIFICAL HOUSEHOLD SPEAKS ABOUT SATAN

Cardinal Georges Cottier, talks about the devil in an article at Zenit:

Q: Will there ever be redemption for the devil, as some theologians affirm?

Cardinal Cottier: Let's articulate a premise: Man has fallen into sin because the first sinner, namely the devil, dragged him into his abyss of evil. What does this mean in substance?

The rejection of God is, above all, opposition to the Kingdom of God as Providence's plan for the world. This rejection that stems from the freedom of an altogether spiritual creature as the devil, is a total rejection, irremediable and radical, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church also says.

Q: There is no hope, then, that in the end the mercy of God will be able to conquer the devil's hatred?

Cardinal Cottier: The perfect character of the fallen angel's freedom makes his choice definitive. This does not mean putting a limit to God's mercy, which is infinite. The limit is constituted by the use that the devil made of freedom. It is he who impedes God from canceling his sin.

BISHOP VASA'S FIDELITY STATEMENT REJECTED

A cantor in a Portland, Oregon parish who was required to sign the "affirmation of faith" statement if she wanted to continue her role in the parish, opted instead to quit and announce her decision over the microphone:

Hens said she couldn't accept the document, which repeatedly states "I affirm and believe" the church's teachings opposing abortion, contraception, homosexuality and other issues. So she quit. Publicly.

She stood at a microphone at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Bend last month and told the congregation she was quitting her roles in the church because she could not accept the bishop's requirement.

"I could no longer pretend that I could ascend to some of those articles of faith any more than others can," she said Thursday.

Other ministers also have strong feelings about the policy:

Dolezal, a communion minister and lector, has not resigned from his positions. He said he plans to confront the bishop and see if the bishop forces him out of his job.

LESBIAN COUPLE SUES PAROCHIAL SCHOOL

that refuses to accept their daughter as a student. Perhaps it would have been more to the couple's liking of the school had accepted the child and then gone ahead to teach the Catholic beliefs on same sex relationships? I'll bet there would be a lawsuit no matter what the decision had been...unless, of course, the school had opted to accept the child and remain silent on the teachings of the Church.

In fact, it seems most likely that the lesbian couple knew exactly what was at stake here. It's possible that a lawsuit was the goal all along.

STATUES CRY FAKE TEARS AND BLEED FAKE BLOOD

at a Vietnamese Community Church in Brisbane according to Bishop Bathersby who has instructed the church to remove the statues. The Bishop has called for those responsible for the hoax to come forward.

FR. WILSON IS A GEM !

There's an article at Newsday.com about the Traditional Catholic communities that have developed in Dallas. The article includes some of the reasons why there is increasing fondness for tradition. It includes a comment from Fr. Wilson that is priceless and deadly accurate. I'm not going to post it. You've got to read the article from the beginning because the lead in is part of the humor of Father's comment.

I wish his parish were closer to my home!

THURSDAY EDITION OF CRUX NEWS IS UP

Matt C. Abbott has picked up Dr. Bond's recent letters and included them in his column.

There's is also a surprising article about the dangers of soy products, particularly for infants. From the article:

"Male infants experience a testosterone surge during the first few months of life and produce androgens in amounts equal to those of adult men. So much testosterone at such a tender age is needed to program the body for puberty, the time when a male's sex organs should develop and he should begin to express male characteristics such as facial and pubic hair and a deep voice. If receptor sites intended for the hormone testosterone are occupied by soy estrogens, however, appropriate development may never take place. To date, most of the evidence damning soy formula can be found only in animal studies, because investigations in which humans' sex hormone levels are lowered experimentally cannot ethically be done. However, in the years since soy formula has been in the marketplace, parents and pediatricians have reported growing numbers of boys whose physical maturation is either delayed or does not occur at all. Breasts, underdeveloped gonads, undescended testicles (cryptorchidism), and steroid insufficiencies are increasingly common. Sperm counts are also falling.

The obvious question that comes to mind is whether this would also contribute to a rise in homosexuality. Girls are not immune to the affects of soy either:

"Soy formula is bad news for girls as well. Natural estrogen levels approximately double during the first month of life, then decline and remain at low levels until puberty. With increased estrogens in the environment in the diet, an alarming number of girls are entering puberty much earlier than normal. One percent of girls now show signs of puberty, such as breast development or pubic hair, before the age of three. By the age of eight, 14.7 percent of Caucasian girls and 48.3 percent of African American girls had one or both of these characteristics. The fact that blacks experience earlier puberties than whites is not a racial difference but a recent phenomenon.

And then there is the reprint from NOR June in which the orthodoxy of Fr. John Neuhaus, John Wilkins and Fr. Joseph Fessio are compared and contrasted.

Lots of good reading over at Crux News this afternoon!

SENT IN BY A READER

Quote for the Day

"I had read a lot about the fashions and frivolity of Paris. These were in evidence in every street, but the churches stood noticeably apart from these scenes. A man would forget the outside noise and bustle as soon as he entered one of these churches. His manner would change, he would behave with dignity and reverence as he passed someone kneeling before the Virgin. The feeling I had then has since been growing on me, that all this kneeling and prayer could not be mere superstition; the devout souls kneeling before the Virgin could not be worshiping mere marble. I have an impression that I felt then that by this worship they were not detracting from, but increasing, the glory of God."

—Mahatma Gandhi, My Experiments with Truth: An Autobiography

LITURGICAL DANCE

Catherine Willet Redle has written an excellent article on liturgical dance for Tradition in Action that has been linked at Novus Ordo watch.

Her Scripture citations would equally apply to the matter of Hindu worship at the Fatima Shrine. In fact one of them contained in this passage of her article has been used in the criticism of the Hindu ceremony. But she adds even more evidence:

Scriptures is clear on this matter. Pagan worship is demonic as the Apostle Paul has pointed out very clearly in 1 Corinthians 10:20, and Romans 1:19-29. In 2 Corinthians 6: 14-18 he entreated us not to be yoked together with non-believers. In Psalm 96 David spoke: 5, "For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils." In Psalm 74: 3, he said, "See what things the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary."

Of more concern to me because I live in the Cleveland Diocese is this:

One town that is constantly disparaged for being the belt buckle of the rust belt is good ol' Cleveland - my Diocese. There are many good things about this city on Lake Erie, yet often times it is deridingly and falsely referred to by detractors as the "mistake by the Lake." Unfortunately, a true mistake is about to emerge from this area, for Bishop Pilla and Ms. Mihelick are trying to light the fuse of one of these liturgical time bombs to get this dancing blaze legalized in "the New Rite" by trying to persuade that liberal body of the USCCB to officially validate liturgical dance as an appropriate form of worship.

Will Rome cave in to these disrupting firecrackers, as she did with communion in the hand and the altar girl fiasco? St. Pius X tells us that to “make the laity (and their individual consciences) the factor of progress in the Church” is a “pernicious doctrine.” If Rome and the Bishops’ Conferences worldwide legalize liturgical dance, then everywhere we will see neo-pagan ceremonies taking place in the churches. Can you imagine the holy Pius X allowing an "indult" for dancing at Mass? He would have excommunicated anyone for such a thing!

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

PERHAPS IF THEY WERE HINDUS ?

I understand the logic Bishop Chaput used in refusing permission to the SSPX pilgrimage to say a Mass at the Mission of St. Isidore the Farmer. The SSPX is out of communion with the Roman Catholic Church, and this is a disciplinary move. Allowing the Mass to take place in the shrine would send a message of approval of the organization which would only increase confusion.

Nevertheless, when one notes a Hindu ceremony at the shrine in Fatima, it is impossible not to make the comparison, and ask the question why the Hindus with their non-Catholic ceremony are welcome but the Catholics who want to say a Tridentine Mass are not.

On further reflection, the only conclusion I can come to is that what took place in Fatima sent an even more muddled message than Bishop Chaput is trying to avoid. Organizations that try to nuance a situation such as this one only end up sounding hypocritical and foolish. Interreligious dialogue is making chaos of what it means to be Catholic.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Blogger credit to Novus Ordo Watch.

THE PLOT THICKENS IN AUSTRIA

A mysterious death investigation that had been deferred, in the death of a 53-year-old seminrian, has been reopened. Authorities are talking about "foul-play." The Vatican sent an investigator when the body first surfaced, but the investigator found everything in order.

Meanwhile, court records in the unsolved 1972 murder of a 13-year-old altar boy in Springfield, Mass have been released to the public. A defrocked pedophile priest was implicated in the death but not charged. One fact that has been revealed from this release is that the boy had a blood alcohol level twice the legal driving limit at the time he died. Other victims of this priest expect to use information in the investigation. Blogger credit to Crux News.

E-MAIL FROM DR. BOND

Dear Friends,

Over two months ago I called upon Bishop Joseph Martino to stop the Society of St. John from promoting and selling a book entitled "A Child's Missal." This book, which the SSJ has developed through its lay corporation, Patmos, attempts to rehabilitate predator priest Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity as "child friendly." Urrutigoity, who has now been accused of sexual abuse by four young men, appears in the child's missal as a model priest giving a sermon. Here is the photograph.

The spokeswoman for the Diocese of Scranton, Maria Orzel, has admitted that Urrutigoity is not to appear in public as a priest. Yet there can be no question that the photograph above presents Urrutigoity to the public as a priest in good standing.

Note the innocent and docile boy in the upper right-hand corner who is being guided by the guardian angel to "observe and obey" Urrutigoity. The text explaining the angel reads as follows:

"The Guardian Angel guides the boy Adam in his understanding and prayerful attention at Mass. Meditate on his words and follow his advice!"

What the text neglects to mention is that Urrutigoity will give this advice while sharing the same bed with Adam, who gets sexually molested as part of the SSJ's indoctrination into Catholic manhood. The text also omits the fact that Urrutigoity will first ply Adam with alcohol to weaken his natural aversion to homosexuality.

The SSJ would like nothing better than to place this image of Urrutigoity in the minds of an entire generation of unsuspecting Catholic boys. What will happen when these boys eventually meet the real Urrutigoity to whom they will be especially vulnerable having already been introduced to him as an exemplary priest from the picture in their child's missal?

So what is Bishop Martino doing to protect Catholic children from Urrutigoity and the SSJ?

In the latest newspaper story about the latest priest in Scranton to be accused of molesting a young boy, Maria Orzel, had this to say:

"This is, indeed, a sad moment for the Diocese of Scranton - one which is being taken most seriously. The pastoral care of all victims of clerical sexual abuse is our utmost priority. Prevention of such incidents remains our principal goal, as we seek to protect the safety and welfare of children and young people."

Lies, lies, and more lies.

Does Maria Orzel really think a carefully penned press statement is proof of Martino's concern for children?

If the prevention of clerical sexual abuse is truly the "principal goal" of the Diocese of Scranton, then why are Urrutigoity and Ensey allowed to continue to present themselves as priests to unsuspecting Catholics?

If the Diocese of Scranton is really seeking the safety and welfare of children and young people, then why has Martino failed either to demand the psychosexual evaluations of Urrutigoity and Ensey or, if they have been destroyed, to send them for new evaluations?

Bishop Timlin admitted under oath that he sent Urrutigoity and Ensey for these evaluations to determine if they were dangerous to children. Yet Timlin claims he never read the evaluations because the attorney for Urrutigoity and Ensey intercepted them.

And Martino is now pretending that his hands are also tied.

Do not count on bishops like Timlin and Martino to protect your children. Spread this warning far and wide so that Catholic parents will avoid this child's missal like the plague.

Pax vobiscum,

Dr. Jeffrey M. Bond

RIGHT-WING ISRAELI EXTREMISTS PLANNING ATTACK ON TEMPLE MOUNT ?

According to Haaretz - Israel News there is a possibility such an attack is being plotted.

What did that Book of Revelation say, again...?

HOMOSEXUALITY AND HOPE

A new brochure from the Catholic Medical Association. If you don't want to read through all of the material here, there is a summary at Catholic Analysis, blogged July 23, 7:25 a.m. You will need to scroll down.

The brochure is being promoted by NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality). The organization offers information on their area of concentration.

Thanks to a reader for sending in the information.

INTERESTING

Check out the following website. Be patient, because it may take awhile to download due to heavy traffic.

KERRY AND DEMS RESPOND TO "NO EUCHARIST" WITH "NO BISHOP"

A story from EWTN News is one of many: In a break from tradition, the Democratic Party did not invite the archbishop of Boston to offer a blessing at the Democratic National Convention this week, reported the Boston Globe.

Instead, the party invited Fr. John B. Ardis, director of the Paulist Center, where the senator and his wife often worship. The Paulist priest has taken Senator John F. Kerry's side in the debate over whether pro-abortion politicians should receive Communion.

Ok, I confess I'm amused. The retaliation is blatant. I'd say my reaction is "ok, no Kerry vote" but I've already decided that. Of course I could extend my no-vote to include other Democrats considering this petty response. Hmmmm......worth considering, I think.

THE HEADLINE IS ABOUT AN ANGLICAN BISHOP DEFROCKED FOR CHILD SEX ABUSE

but that isn't what the story is about. David Hardaker interviews Professor William Marshall, an Australian academic and atheist who has advised the Vatican on how to deal with abusing priests. The advice he gave made sense to me. A nice desert island monastery would have been more in line with what was recommended. The advice wasn't heeded, of course.

FROM ARCHBISHOP PIERO MARINI

the Pope's liturgist, via Zenit:

For Archbishop Marini, the reform continues to inspire, as it proposes the model of encounter between fidelity to the roots and openness to new sensibilities.

"Papal liturgy after the Council has been an authentic liturgy, solidly rooted in Tradition and fully consistent with the indications of 'Sacrosanctum Concilium,' and integrated in the real situations of the assembly," the archbishop contends.

He described papal liturgy as "centered in the paschal mystery and projected toward the glorious Parousia of the Savior, but also a liturgy of compassion, attentive to contemporary man's pain, which seeks to give an answer to his legitimate aspirations."

Archbishop Marini believes that liturgical formation is of decisive importance, since the liturgy is the place par excellence for the transmission of the faith.

Incredibly, it would seem he believes the Pope's liturgies have never been controversial. Hmmmm.

Pope's Liturgist Defends Liturgical Dance in Papal Masses

Papal Master of Ceremonies Reflects on Liturgical Norms

Mother Teresa "Beatified" with Idolatrous Rites

Debates over Liturgy: In this corner and in that

Could be a case of selective memory. Or perhaps Vatican insularity. Or just in-your-face indifference to the opinion of others.

THE RAELIAN MOVEMENT'S VIEW OF CATHOLICISM

is expressed in an article announcing that they have named Bill Gates an "Honorary Priest" of the Raelian Movement:

The world should be aware that one of the world`s richest men is also the world`s biggest philantropist ! This is often the case - and it is the opposite of the Catholic teachings that "money is bad" and that all money should be donated to the Vatican which will only add this money from poor people to its unimaginable current wealth and use this money for converting more people to a religion which, among many other crimes, promotes aids by lying about the effectiveness of condoms, has always been against the development of vaccines and surgery, were supporters of slavery and money laundering (case filed by Jon Levy Esq. against Holy See). This type of thinking cannot help the poor. Money is good !

Don't like us much, do they? Oh well...

ROBERT DUNCAN INTERVIEWS JOHN ALLEN

The interview is up on the Santificarnos website.

First question concerns Allen's new project--a book on Opus Dei. Now that should be an interesting read! Duncan asks some other timely questions about the workings of the Vatican. If you are fond of John Allen's reporting, the interview is worth the time it will take you to go over there and read it.

E-MAIL FROM DR. BOND

Dear Friends,

Those who continue to insist on the complete innocence of the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) with respect to the Society of St. John scandal need to read attorney James Bendell's latest brief in opposition to the FSSP's request to be dismissed from the federal lawsuit. (This brief is posted on the PACER web site, but I will be happy to forward it to anyone who does not know how to navigate PACER and who does not mind receiving an email with adobe attachments.)

Just one of the many pieces of evidence presented in Mr. Bendell's brief is an email letter that I received from a priest of the Fraternity of St. Peter, Fr. Daniel Oppenheimer. (Although Oppenheimer has apparently been given permission by the FSSP to work on a project of his own, he is still a FSSP priest.)

While there are many explosive revelations in Oppenheimer's email (which I have attached below), the most crucial is the following statement:

"Urrutigoity's taste for boys was known at the FSSP headquarters and yet nothing was done, in true FSSP style, to rectify the situation other than covering it up."

Oppenheimer's claim has been corroborated by the deposition of Mr. Paul Hornak, a former teacher at St. Gregory's Academy. (This deposition is also cited in Mr. Bendell's brief.) When Mr. Hornak resigned from St. Gregory's Academy, he gave Fr. Arnaud Devillers this reason:

"Well, as I mentioned in the statement I strongly believed that the Society of St. John had engaged St. Gregory's boys in near homosexual activity throughout the term of their stay at the school."

When asked how Fr. Devillers took the news, Mr. Hornak testified:

"Well, he wasn't anywhere near shocked as I thought he might be. He said that the Society of St. John would change its ways when it was forced to fend for itself; that is, get away from the confines of the school and go it alone. And he also mentioned that it was his belief that perhaps some of the things the Society did was intended to win the favor of the boys so as to bring them closer to God."

Oppenheimer's letter below concludes with the claim that things are worse yet than I have discovered. Of that I have no doubt.

Pax vobiscum,

Dr. Jeffrey M. Bond

-------------------------------------------------------

March 12, 2002

Dear Mr. Bond,

I have followed your expose of the situation in Scranton for some time now, your letters being forwarded to me by someone to whom they are sent directly. I wonder if it occurs to you that the Fraternity of Saint Peter, in the person of its present Superior General, is not more involved in cover-up than has been allowed by your recent letter? Fr. Paul Carr is assuredly an honorable man, but his predecessor, someone I have known well and closely since 1982, is more adequately characterized by the brief exchange you quote as having taken place between him and one of the dorm fathers: the explanantion of the Society's "techniques" opening the Saint Gregoy's boys up "to the word of God". His response was more than preposterous. It is characteristic of an entire nexus of human dealings on Devillers' part that includes significant moral evil. I left the Fraternity of Saint Peter because of criminal conduct, public cover-ups, and accomadation of immorality, on the part of its superiors. I found, in my many aggravated dealings about the internal FSSP problems with Bishop Timlin, all of which were, without exception, the result of the priest you have referenced in your most recent letter, that Bishop Timlin could be relied upon to do nothing. He was always very good to me, and I am grateful to him for that. I was the priest who received from hime the first permission to bring the old mass mess there in July, 1992. In a telephone conversation with him about two months ago, I urged him to supress all of it. He laughed - I did not. I am unspeakably ashamed of what took place following my initiative. The constant tactic of ''traditionalists" in closing ranks from paranoia over being deprived of the old Mass while playing willing host to fraud, theft, wrong-doing, cover-up, outright human-rights violations, and immorality on a scale that ought to stagger people with authentic Catholic sensitivities is, in my mind, demonic. It is also indicative of a self-serving mindset that has absolutely nothing to do with ascetic Catholicism, what tradition really consists of. Father Carr has inherited the aftermath of a regime that was not honorable. FSSP knowledge of what you have bravely and tenaciously sought to expose certainly predates Bishop Timlin's knowledge of the situation. Effects derive from causes. The Society of Saint John's performance at Saint Gregory's did not occur in a vacuum. The FSSP high school, its flag-ship operation, was turned over to the SSJ by Arnaud Devillers without batting an eye and certainly against common sense. It was typical of a form of government that drove me, the first American ordained for the FSSP, to leave the institute. Urrutugoity's taste for boys was known at the FSSP headquarters and yet nothing was done, in true FSSP style, to rectify the situation other than covering it up. Why should anything have been done? After all, the ordinances of civil law are to be ignored, law being an American disease that traditionalist European priests generously endowed with arrogance and absence of functionaly intellects, certainly know better than law. Why? Because they say they do. Arnaud dixit ergo est. And, after all, the Society of Saint John says the "old Mass", the magic trump allowing any ordained misfit to do anything he wants as long as it does NOT conform to the norms of canon law or standard human conduct. If sexual impropriety was going on at Saint Gregory's Academy (like the middle-of-the-night underpants seances) the onus sits with the leaders and mothpieces of the FSSP that did nothing to deal with it. A great deal more than your recent quote from Arnaud Devillers was "preposterous" in his leadership. He bilked my parish $75,000. I gave copy of all the paper work to the Bishop in a final effort to achieve effective redress. It went nowhere.

I know the context of the situation you are dealing with exceptionally well. Things are worse yet than you have discovered. An honest investigation leaves no stone unturned: truth is liberating.

With prayers and best regards,
In Christ Jesus,
Fr. Daniel W. Oppenheimer

NCR REPORT ON BISHOP KURT KRENN

and the Austrian scandal covers mostly the territory other sources have covered, with this one addition: Whatever support Krenn may have enjoyed inside Austria, however, appears to be eroding quickly. On July 20, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna said on national television that the Austrian bishops had repeatedly warned Krenn that he had to change his style of governing, and specifically that he should not accept candidates for the seminary who had been expelled from seminaries in other dioceses. Schonbörn expressed frustration that the Vatican had not exerted pressure on Krenn in the past.

MARK'S BLOG AND "OUR LADY"

Mark (or perhaps it was Elliot) has a post titled "For People Given to Freaking Out about the Hindus Who Visited Fatima" in which he indicates "The only prayer offered by the Hindus was directed to Our Lady." He asks if Catholics ever consider that "it might be Faith that is infiltrating paganism rather than vice versa?"

First of all the website A Tribute to Hinduism reports on this event, and includes this quote: The Portugal News' October report. Sixty Hindus led by a high priest had travelled from Lisbon to pay homage to the Goddess Devi, the divinity of nature. In any event, I thought it would be interesting to see what Hindus mean when they pray to "Our Lady."

Hindus worship the Goddess of Learning and Wisdom called "Saraswati". Statues of this goddess are used in their celebrations:

In the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and the union territory of Pondicherry skilled craftsmen have been making beautiful icons of Saraswati since generations. Around the festival of Durga Puja in October, innumerable craftsmen move out from West Bengal to different parts of the country and display their artistry in making clay images of Saraswati and other deities that are ceremonially installed in the pavilions erected for the celebrations.

There are other goddesses. Shaktis are Mother Goddess figures. Do Hindus see Our Lady of Fatima as just another mother goddess figure?

Devi is another Mother Goddess. As the website indicates, "Devi, the Divine Female, revered by all, as is revered a mother, is better and universally known as the Mother Goddess."

Hindu painting idealizes motherhood. A mother and child image would fit right in here. Did those Hindus worshipping at Fatima see in Our Lady a Mother Goddess like Devi, Saraswati and the Shaktis? It's seems reasonable to assume they would find a resemblance.

They may even have had help. In recent years it has become a Catholic practice to compare these goddess figures with the Mother of God, particularly in relation to Black Madonnas. For example, at the website of the Marian Center at Dayton University, in an article about Black Madonnas, Michael Duricy says:

The other prominent theory is briefly summarized by Stephen Benko: "the Black Madonna is the ancient earth-goddess converted to Christianity." His argument begins by noting that many goddesses were pictured as black, among them Artemis of Ephesus, Isis, Ceres, and others. Ceres, the Roman goddess of agricultural fertility is particularly important. Her Greek equivalent, Demeter, derives from Ge-meter or Earth Mother. The best fertile soil is black in color and the blacker it is, the more suited it is for agriculture.

Duricy also refers to Ean Begg and cites his book The Cult of the Black Virgin in the footnotes. On p. 131, Begg writes:

For those who are able to make a leap of faith, our Black Virgin in the west has much in common symbolically with the other great goddess figures of the world. In her subterranean darkness she could be compared with the terrifying maw of death, Kali [a Hindu goddess of destruction - ct].

In her book Longing for Darkness: Tara and the Black Madonna, China Galland makes a similar comparison:

Mary is also God: unacknowledged, female and dark. She is the Mother God. God, as I am using the term, is both what we describe as female and male, both dark and light, and neither male nor female, nor dark nor light, nor any other term that we can use. God the Mother is just as real and as present today as any other human conception of a power which no huyman term can fully describe.... (p. 158)

The actual practices andunderstanding of the faithful are sometimes quite different from the formal teachings of the clergy. The worship of Mary is evidence of this phenomenon....I long to liberate Mary from the Catholic Church. We all need her. Perhaps then we can consider what it means to have the presence of God the Mother in our midst today. (p. 159)

...the Divine Shepherdess in Trinidad, the statue of Mary, is also called Soparee Kay Mai, which means Mother Kali. (p. 338)

She lists Begg's book at one of her sources.

Is this, then, what the Hindus see in Our Lady of Fatima--a divine Mother Goddess? Does this do her honor in her shrine in Fatima? Or does it blaspheme?

A reprinted article from the Bangladesh Observer titled "Kali Cuts Across Both Hindu and Muslims Cultures" offers this on "Fatima" in the Observer News:

The common people pray to Kali. She is the supreme goddess, the Mother of the World. Ganga is also a Mother, and Kali and Ganga are often seen as sisters, but Kali is always the most powerful of them, and Ganga may even be seen as a daughter of Kali. Many Muslims and Hindus agreed that Fatima is the Mother of the World for the Muslims, and Kali is the Mother of the World of Hindus. Allah is identical with Narayan or Krishna, Ali is identical with Shiva or Mahadev; the gods and goddess are the similar. Since there are two religions, the paths are different, Nevertheless, the content of the paths or the religions is identical, and there is only one God in the world although the names differ. One prays to Fatima in mosques and Kali in temples.

Is the example at the Fatima shrine a sample of morphing other religions into the Catholic religion, or is it an example of progress in the opposite direction. Since prosleytism and evangelism have become dirty words replaced by interreligious dialogue, I suspect there was much more of the latter than there was of the former.

When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to strange gods, and his heart was not entirely with the Lord, his God, as the heart of his father David had been. By adoring Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites, Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord. (I Kings 11:4-6)

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

BUDDHISM - PEACE LOVING OR MERCILESS PERSECUTOR ?

From Chiesa and linked at Crux News:

ROMA – In the West, Buddhism is synonymous with peace, compassion, wisdom, and ecumenical brotherhood. This is true also in the case of its most noted figure, the Dalai Lama.

Moreover, Buddhism has a reputation as a persecuted religion, and Tibet is the emblem of this.

But the latest Report on Religious Liberty in the World, released in Rome on June 25, 2004 by Aid to the Church in Need, contains striking evidence of a contrary nature.

In almost all of the Asian states in which Buddhism is the majority religion, there is cruel religious repression. And this strikes all of the non-Buddhist religions.

The most egregious case is, perhaps, that of Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. The June edition of the American monthly magazine “Crisis” published an account by Benedict Rogers of the implacable persecution of the Christian and Muslim religious minorities, with many forced conversions to Buddhism.

A WICCAN IS PLEASED THAT THE TOWN COUNCIL NOW "VALIDATES" HER

by removing the words "Jesus Christ" from the opening prayers of Council sessions, after a court rules in her favor.

When did America become the democracy of minority rule? I must have missed that election.

"SHADOWMANCER"

reviewed by the New York Times:

When "Shadowmancer" was first published in Britain last year, it was soon dubbed the Christian alternative to "Harry Potter" and surged to the top of the paperback best-seller list, outranking its secular rivals, the "Harry Potter" books, for 15 weeks in a row. And in May when "Shadowmancer" was published in the United States by G. P. Putnam's Sons, it beat "Harry Potter" for six weeks straight on the children's chapter-book best-seller list of The New York Times. There are 300,000 copies in print, and now booksellers are eagerly expecting a similar success when the sequel, "Wormwood," is published here in September.

A CONCERT OF PRAISE

and a 40/70 window to defeat the queen of heaven has been ongoing in several countries, and will take place in Spain in August. The story comes from CharismaNOW, a website of Charisma Magazine. This is a practice I haven't heard of until this article.

The location for this prayer campaign is the Santiago de Compostela, where some Catholics believe St. James is buried.

In this event the queen of heaven is a Pagan demonic goddess: Diana, Artemis, Cali, a Japanese sun goddess, or a moon god or goddess. Often the Blessed Virgin is called the Queen of Heaven. The confusion is obvious considering that the event location is a Catholic cathedral.

Are Catholics participating in this event? The article doesn't say. It does refer readers to this book titled "Clean House, Strong House."

MURDER OF PRIEST LINKED TO SATANISM BY ARCHBISHOP

Father Faustino Gazziero de Stefani, age 68, was slain in church immediately after celebrating Mass. His throat was cut by a young man who then knelt by his side and invoked Satan's name. The murderer subsequently turned the knife on himself, and is currently in the hospital. The murder was reported yesterday.

Today Zenit reports the Archbishop's remarks about the murder:

The cardinal lamented that legislative proposals to curb Satanic groups have not been addressed with greater care.

"They have killed Father Faustino also for reasons of faith, for being a priest of Jesus Christ," the cardinal said.

"Satan, the prince of darkness, continues his struggle against the light, as though forgetting that he has already been defeated by Jesus Christ who resurrected after his death and is now the life, hope and light that illumines every human being," he added.

REPORTS IRAQI CHRISTIANS LIVING IN FEAR

can be found here (Notre Dame), and here (Baghdad).

CRITIQUE OF PRAYER CIRCLES

and the Catholic Charismatic Movement by a former member who now associates the prayer circles with Witchcraft.

Incidentally, he maintains that there is no Scripture passage defending prayer circles and circles are only mentioned once in Scripture in the Book of Isiah. The citation he gives is the only one for circle in my Concordance.

ALICE VON HILDEBRAND'S ARTICLE FROM NEW OXFORD REVIEW

has been posted by someone in its entirety at Free Republic, and is linked at Seattle Catholic. Title, "The Second Vatican Council: Why Pope John XXIII Would Weep." If you don't subscribe, it's worth reading.

PUB AT THE SIGN OF THE SINFUL SEMINARY

is the new name of Otzi's Venison House in Vienna. I'm sure you can guess the source of its new name. The source of this tidbit is Abuse Tracker.

There is also a notice in the website about Arnaudville (LA) Catholics standing behind their priest who was removed from St. Francis Regis Catholic Church since it was discovered the church has one of those porn computers that are popping up all over the Catholic landscape these days. (Have I already blogged this one from a different source? I can't keep 'em all straight anymore.)

Kathy Shaw calls Archbishop O'Malley a "Mixed Blessing" in Tracker, saying: "...his point about being ignored is an important one. It's precisely the treatment many Catholics believe they're getting from O'Malley.

Since his installation one year ago this month as the sixth archbishop of Boston, the 60-year-old Franciscan friar has proved not quite a disappointment, but certainly not the healing savior Catholics expected."

Tough crowd in Boston, I guess.

THE VATICAN'S CURIOUS ENTHUSIASM FOR THE UN

An article at Catholic World News

I printed this article earlier and read it after lunch. It was probably linked at Novus Ordo Watch. Anyway...

It documents the Vatican/Pope's approval of the UN, which most Catholics who surf Catholic news on the web are aware of anyway. Then it goes on to document the UN's contempt for the Catholic Church, and UN policies that directly oppose Catholic teaching. But it doesn't offer even a suggestion why the Pope supports it. It just leaves the question hanging there and the reader wishing someone would explain this very oddly placed enthusiasm.

And didn't I read just the other day that Catholic World News is the reporting arm of the USCCB?

MOTHER TRINITY

According to Zenit (click "encouragement for a new church group") a new Ecclesial Community called "Mother Trinity" of the "Holy Mother Church" has received the pope's approval:

The institution was founded in 1963 by Spanish-born Mother Trinity of the Holy Mother Church. The Holy See in 1997 declared it an institution of pontifical right.

The Work, in which priests, lay people, consecrated and non-consecrated individuals, married couples, young people, and children participate, has opened more than 40 houses in several continents. It has more than 2,000 members, including 80 priests.

They spread love based on a theological mystical experience according to the article.

Mother Trinity lives in Rome and has been visited by the Pope and blessed in her own rooms.

The Zenit story offers a link to a website for this group which is not written in English, unfortunately. Google doesn't seem to know they exist.

Needless to say I'm SKEPTICAL.

ANOTHER PRIEST IN SCRANTON

has been removed for sexual misconduct.

FESS UP FR. GREELEY

Woman attorney implores Fr. Andrew Greeley to expose "ring of predators"

Matt Abbott

The following is a recent e-mail letter sent by attorney Sheila Schreiber-Parkhill of Bismarck, North Dakota, to sociologist and author Father Andrew Greeley (I wrote a commentary on this very subject some time back; but Sheila has acquired a few additional details that I find very interesting.):....[go to the website to get the rest]

CHECK OUT THE STORIES AT NOVUS ORDO WATCH

I don't want to blog all of them and can't decide which is more interesting.

The headliner is a bombshell - "Cardinal Ratzinger has admitted that the Vatican has not released the entire third secret of Fatima"

YIKES!

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!


UPDATE

I've just checked the Novus Ordo Watch website at 7:45 p.m. The Ratzinger headline about the Fatima Secret has disappeared. Couldn't find anything else about it on the web anywhere today, either.

WAR IN THE PEWS

The defense of Fr. Lastiri is turning ugly, calling Roman Catholic Faithful "vigilanties" and their website showing a court document "a jet stream of invective and growing hatred under the guise of Christianity." The article claims RCF wants to "get rid of Lastiri because of his liberal teachings in the church."

Sort of looks like the liberal fangs coming out. The reporter is obviously biased.

Blogger credit to Crux News.

ANOTHER PRIEST ACCUSED

of having porn on his computer has been removed, and the parish is turning out for the usual support.

His defenders say that someone else downloaded the porn onto his computer. Hmmm. What if they're right?

Blogger credit to Spirit Daily.

CARDINAL ARINZE SPOKE IN PITTSBURGH

His remarks about the number of children a couple decides to have are interesting:

Arinze is an enthusiastic advocate of the church ban on artificial contraception. But in reply to a question about what to do when one spouse wants more children and the other doesn't, he insisted they decide together.

"Although a child is a blessing and not a curse, it is for them to decide, in all responsibility, when the next child will come," he said.

Spacing of births must be done though natural family planning based on the woman's fertility cycle, and the couple cannot rule out children all together. But "there can be no mathematical formula" for decisions about when to have a child, he said.

Blogger credit to Spirit Daily.

SHAMANIC EXPERIENCES

A research project at Western Oregon University places speaking in tongues and other Pentecostal experiences in the Shamanic category:

shamanic mediation

- Charismatic or Pentecostal Christian experience of "baptism in the Holy Spirit;" a "Spiritual Gift" such as healing, prophecy, exorcism, speaking in tongues, etc.
- A Charismatic or Pentecostal tradition and/or a specific leader.
- A tradition of miracle working saints (living or dead), relics, icons, etc.

CONFUSION IN THE PEWS

I have no explanation at all...why is it there?

Website of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, Southern Oregon Vicariate - (if you look at this link you can see that this is Roman Catholic.)

In this website is a webpage dedicated to a "Schedule of Retreats" where you will find, on Sept. 3-5 a retreat at Ashland Unity Church.

Website of Ashland Unity Church.

I was unable to find the Sept. retreat in their website, but their webpage describing their philosophy is enlightening. Note especially what they believe about Jesus and Satan.

If you look at the links webpage, you can see that Unity Churches are affiliated through the Association of Unity Churches. This is an organized movement.

They believe in angels. In fact, you could have learned how to channel them at Seattle Unity Church, in 1998, from Doreen Virtue, Ph.D., according to Evergreen Monthly. Scroll down to the bottom of the article where you will find:

Doreen Virtue, Ph.D. (yes, that is her real name) is a metaphysical doctor of psychology who works with the angelic realm. She is the author of Angel Therapy, The Lightworker’s Way, and the audiotape, Chakra Clearing. Doreen will speak about angels and give audience angel readings at the Seattle Unity Church on July 11, during "The Messengers Symposium" with Nick Bunick. For information on this symposium, please call (888) 228-5637 or (503) 246-6085.

Here is the website for Seattle Unity Church. Needless to say, this is anything but Roman Catholic theology. So why is a retreat at a Unity Church listed on the website of the Archdiocese of Portland?

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

E-MAIL FROM DR. BOND

Dear Friends,

New court documents filed by James Bendell, the attorney for John Doe, confirm that a fourth founding member of the Society of St. John has been accused of homosexual conduct: Fr. Bernardo Terrera. Terrera now joins the ranks of Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity, Fr. Eric Ensey, and Fr. Marshall Roberts.

Confirmation came from Urrutigoity himself who acknowledged in his deposition that Terrera was accused of homosexual conduct while he was a seminarian at the SSPX seminary in La Reja, Argentina. Terrera was accused at the same time that this charge was made against then seminarian Carlos Urrutigoity.

And where is Fr. Bernardo Terrera now?

He is working as a priest at a Fraternity of St. Peter parish in Lyon, France.

This is not the first time that the Fraternity of St. Peter has allowed an accused SSJ priest to work at one of its parishes. The Fraternity has also allowed Fr. Marshall Roberts to work at St. Michael's in Scranton.

The Fraternity of St. Peter is already being sued for negligence in the federal lawsuit filed by John Doe for sexual abuse while he was a student at St. Gregory's Academy. Among other things, the Fraternity of St. Peter failed to do background checks on the SSJ priests before allowing them to work as chaplains at St. Gregory's Academy. The Fraternity's Superior General, Fr. Arnaud Devillers, claims in his deposition that it was Alan Hick's duty, as headmaster, to do the background checks. In Alan Hicks' deposition, however, he claims it was the Fraternity's duty to do the background checks. And Bishop Timlin in his deposition insists that it certainly was not his job to do background checks on the SSJ when he welcomed them into the Diocese of Scranton. Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil.

Bishop Timlin actually states in his deposition that he does not even know who Bernardo Terrera is. Nonetheless, the new court documents reveal that Bishop Timlin wrote a letter on June 3, 1998 to the Immigration and Naturalization Service to request a temporary visa as a Minister of Religion on behalf of Terrera. In setting forth Terrera's duties to the INS, Timlin wrote that Terrera "will be of service to our community by serving as a chaplain at St. Gregory's Academy, a Catholic high school in our diocese. In this function, he will be required to say Mass, hear confessions, and offer spiritual guidance to the youth."

Timlin, ever the liar, states elsewhere in his deposition that the SSJ priests were never made chaplains at St. Gregory's Academy:

"They were never assigned as chaplains of St. Gregory's. I never assigned them to anything up there as far as that goes. There were in residence there and the idea was that they were to have a place to live and that they were able to become regularized in the Catholic Church because their situation when they came into St. Gregory's was that they were not regularized and that was what happened. I never assigned them to any duties there. Now the priests of the Fraternity of St. Peter may have asked them to do something here or there. When they were regularized, they had the faculties of the Diocese of Scranton, then they may have been asked to hear confessions or to say mass for them or do whatever they wanted them to do for them, but that was all kind of unofficial."

So, was Timlin lying to the INS or was he lying in his deposition? Either way, whether the SSJ priests were official chaplains, as Timlin tells the INS, or whether they were "unofficial," as Timlin claims in his deposition, the SSJ priests used their authority as priests to groom and molest boys. Neither Timlin, nor Devillers, nor Hicks protected these boys from the predator priests of the SSJ.

And now, having learned nothing from its past negligence, the Fraternity of St. Peter is once again harboring an accused SSJ priest.

Pax vobiscum,

Dr. Jeffrey M. Bond

REMEMBER FR. GREENHOUSE ?

the marijuana-growing pastor of Prince of Peace church in Barberton, Rev. Richard Arko? He's still around:

Arko contends the plants were being grown for medical use. In April, he received two years probation on convictions of illegally cultivating marijuana and possession of criminal tools used to grow the plants.

Prosecutors and a review board of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland are also investigating sexual abuse allegations against Arko, who could not be reached for comment.

But that's not all. He has found a new church home at the Chapel of Light in Tallmadge where he spoke at 9 and 11 a.m. today:

The Rev. Kathleen McKenna is willing to risk criticism and controversy to help someone build a stronger relationship with God.

That's why she didn't hesitate to invite the Rev. Richard Arko -- a Roman Catholic priest convicted of growing marijuana in his church rectory -- to preach to her congregation.

Here's another website about the Chapel. The church is located in a suburb of Akron, Ohio. (Ahhh, no, I don't have a relative or friend named Vivian Tomko, just in case you were thinking of asking.)

At the What is Unity? link I found this:

Unity denies the existence of any power or presence opposed to God. It sees that there are evil appearances and suffering in the world, but attributes these to man's ignorance and erroneous use of God's law of life.

Unity proclaims the divinity of Jesus, but goes further and assures that you, too, are a child of God and therefore divine in nature. Jesus expressed his divine potential and sought to show us how to express ours as well. Salvation is then the expanding of one's understanding of his/her innate divinity and perfectibility through living the life demonstrated by Jesus Christ.

So much for that devil business, I guess. Since we are all divine, nothing we do could possibly be wrong, could it? I mean, what's a little garden in the closet after all? The page also talks about having no dogma, rituals, or credal requirements. It teaches that different religions are like spokes on a wheel with God as the hub. (A few readers of my blog might remember someone else who gave this description of a wheel, and spokes representing all of the faiths coming closer together at they neared the hub.)

Their calendar of events features "Basic Shamanic Concepts and Practices" on June 5, and Healing with the Tao on June 9. They have a 12-step class. This may be the program developed by AA. Tibetan Buddhist monks are on the program on Sept. 11.

They pray for extra income, and seem to consider it a sign of God's blessing. They also have a church directory that lists what everyone does so that their members can be patronized.

The church belongs to a larger organization Association of Unity Churches.

Returning to the original article about Arko:

Dam Halm, a parishioner at Prince of Prince, said that under Arko's leadership, the parish thrived. Halm said he plans to visit Unity Chapel of Light on Sunday to hear Arko speak. His wife, Fran, is a member at Unity.

``I don't think I've ever heard anyone who is as sincere as he is. He is able to capture the audience and get his point across,'' Halm said. ``He just has a way of taking a spiritual message and relating it to everyday life. The man has a gift, and I'm glad he is continuing to share it with people who appreciate it.''

Halm said that although he doesn't condone what Arko did, he doesn't condemn him, either. He said Arko's felony conviction shouldn't detract from his message.

Apparently Arko was not getting a Catholic message across to his parishioners, since this one will follow him to this new church home at least for one Sunday.

It's interesting to note that the article indicates that Unity subscribes to the philosophies of Hinduism, Spiritism, Theosophy, Christian Science and Christianity.