Running Off At The Keyboard

OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS

posting will be light to non-existent, since I will be spending full-time in the real world (as opposed to cyberspace) until midweek.

I'm already having withdrawal symptoms!

RULES...THOSE NASTY RULES

On the campus of Siena (Catholic) College, the new rules for dorm room visitation are making students angry.

Some upperclassmen said that after living for a couple of years on campus with no such restrictions, they resented feeling that their responsibilities were being undermined. "I got the letter in the mail this week," said Katie Neville, 20, of Auburn. "I thought it was a joke, to be honest. I was angry. I felt like I was 12 again, basically."

Ah yes, the great wisdom of a 20-year-old. These rules must be terribly restrictive to arouse such animosity, right? Consider the logic of another student:

"Not everybody goes to a room to have sex at 1 o'clock in the morning," said Billy Whelly, a marketing and management major who will be a junior this fall. "This is going to be almost impossible to regulate. But I don't want to look over my shoulder when I go into a girl's room at 1:10."

That's right, it's really about working out this advertising strategy, and has nothing to do with biological experiments at all. Does he really expect to be taken seriously?

The college has co-ed dorms with segregated floors, but has not had restrictions on visitation until now, apparently. The official explanation for the change?

Catholic school, Catholic rules.

As in we're going to make it a little inconvenient but not impossible.

Gilroy [V.P. of student affairs] said the intent isn't to make students feel like children. And while the new policy clearly states that dorm sex is verboten, she said the rules aren't an attempt to devise an institutional chastity belt.

The logic, where is the logic? They are basically saying that a little sex is expected, just don't do it after 1 a.m. or get caught in the act, because you know then we would have to generate a response.

Instead, officials see the regulations as a way of reinforcing Siena's religious tradition.

"We wanted to emphasize the nature of being a Franciscan and Catholic college," Gilroy said. The policy, which is meant to enforce individual rights and promote respect, falls squarely within Siena's tenets, Gilroy said.

The new policy falls within the college tenets. Which means that the old policy didn't? Now that's got to make a parent feel better! How many other tenets are being ignored? Did the author of this statement think before writing this? They are supposed to be educating Catholic kids in exchange for tuition money. A lot of tuition money. They are not supposed to be setting up a near occasion of sin, for goodness sake!

Gilroy said the new policy also could help students whose rooms are overrun by unwanted visitors. Without a policy, she said, they might feel awkward bringing up the matter with their roommates.

Well duh...Now they can feel awkward until 1 a.m. but after that they don't have to feel awkward for the rest of the night. And at what time do visiting privileges resume in the morning? Daybreak?

Some schools formally enforce their visitor policies, but Siena will rely on an honor system. Punishment for violating the rule might be a warning, community service or more severe discipline. Students who don't register off-campus guests when they arrive could face a $150 fine.

Ah yes, the Catholic methodology. All the proper rules. No enforcement. They've been taking bishop lessons over there.

For every student miffed at the new policy, though, Gilroy said there's another applauding it.

"I've probably got an equal number of e-mails saying 'Bravo to Siena,' " she said.

Bravo? They've only gotten their act halfway together! When they end co-ed dorms and all opposite sex visitation on the sleeping floors, they deserve a "bravo." This half-baked policy deserves little more than a cynical laugh.

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO DOZE

A lighthearted look at sermons that put people to sleep.

REPORTS FROM THE GROUND IN IRAQ

World Magazine describes the situation in Catholic and Christian communities in Iraq in the aftermath of last Sunday's church bombings.

An interesting outcome of the destruction may actually be increased cooperation between Christians and Muslims.

Nevertheless, tomorrow our fellow Catholics in this war-torn nation will be faced with the decision to attend Mass and risk terrorist activity, or to stay home. A prayer for their safety would certainly be appropriate today.

PORTLAND DIOCESE EXPLAINS THE DISCREPANCY OF NUMBERS

in connection with the filing of bankruptcy. It would appear that discrepancy lies in the difference between civil law and canon law, in regard to who owns what property.

YOUNG, RELIGIOUSLY CONSERVATIVE, AND ORDAINED

Will they change the Church?

An article at ContraCosta Times discusses the new trend in younger priests...a trend toward orthodoxy.

Gonzalez seems to meld modernity and tradition in the same way he wears hip wraparound sunglasses with an old-fashioned cassock.

Unlike older priests who often complain about what they saw as the church's imperious rigidity before Vatican II, he says, priests like himself grew up amid social uncertainty and find beauty and solace in the church's 2,000-year-old disciplines.

That "search for a solid rock" is cited by Hoge and other researchers as one of the reasons many young priests today are more discernibly conservative.

Gonzales first went to the seminary right after high school. Instead of orthodox teaching he was met with novelty. He indicates that students were asking for more of the Pope's teaching, while faculty tended to see the Pope as regressive. Gonzales became disillusioned and left the seminary. He re-entered four years later and found a more congenial atmosphere accepting of orthodoxy. He was ordained in 1994.

Today he does not hesitate to teach what the Church teaches...all of it, including the message on birth control and premarital sex. Still, he believes in a pastoral approach of meeting someone where they are and explaining why the Church encourages them to proceed in a certain direction. His orthodoxy has offended some but found approval in others.

MEL GIBSON'S CHAPLAIN SUSPENDED

According to an article at The Remnant website, Fr. Stephen F. Somerville was suspended by the Archbishop of Toronto on July 15, 2004. The cause of his suspension was his saying of the Tridentine Mass for congregations affiliated with the Society of St. Pius X.

Prior to his suspension, Fr. Somerville had resigned from his position on the I.C.E.L. and apologized for his part in it. His letter of resignation contained this passage:

I am a priest who for over ten years collaborated in a work that became a notable harm to the Catholic Faith. I wish now to apologize before God and the Church and to renounce decisively my personal sharing in that damaging project. I am speaking of the official work of translating the new post-Vatican II Latin liturgy into the English language, when I was a member of the Advisory Board of the International Commission on English Liturgy (I.C.E.L.).

This is the priest who said Mass on the set each day during the filming of "The Passion of the Christ."

IT'S STILL UP THERE

Opus Bono Sacerdotii

HINTS OF A PRO-LIFE BREAKTHROUGH IN AUSTRALIA

From The Australian:

HEALTH Minister Tony Abbott believes there may be an emerging political constituency in favour of banning late-term abortions.

He said that leading feminists were now starting to express concern about the "downstream consequences of sexual freedom".

"Thoughtful feminists are starting to grieve," he said. ...

"When leading feminists such as Wendy McCarthy and Eva Cox are calling for a rethink about abortion, the moral wheel might not have come full circle but the times are certainly changing," Mr Abbott told a closed conference on Queensland's Sunshine Coast on the weekend.

ABORTION PROTEST TURNS VIOLENT

and this time it wasn't the pro-lifer who went to jail.

From The Flint Journal:

A graphic anti-abortion demonstration turned into an ugly physical fight as an abortion rights supporter began yelling at protesters and slapped a minister in the face, and he punched her and the pair wrestled to the ground.

The two were separated after the pastor's wife, holding their young child, got the female abortion rights supporter in a headlock and two more of their children and others intervened.

The argument erupted at about noon Thursday as demonstrators held anti-abortion placards, some depicting butchered fetuses, on the sidewalk in front of the Genesee County Courthouse, at S. Saginaw and W. Court streets.

I wonder if this is a sign that the Kerry/Eucharist debate is having an effect?

BARBARA KRALIS INTERVIEWS ARCHBISHOP BURKE

on the burning question of Canon 915 and Cardinal Ratzinger's statement to the bishops which was not delivered to them when they met to decide whether John Kerry is eligible to receive the Eucharist. She has asked the hard questions here, and Archbishop Burke has answered them with courage. Very interesting interview.

Thanks to a reader for sending this in.

KERRY HAS ONE STRIKE LEFT

NewsMax.com reports the second Director of Religious Outreach bites the dust.

After strong protests from Catholic League and other critics, a minister who supported the California atheist seeking to censor the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance has quit her post with the Democratic National Committee.

Out-of-touch party boss Terry McAuliffe had appointed the Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson just 13 days ago. As Catholic League's William Donohue said after investigating the astonishing appointment, "what we found will make people of every faith wonder whether McAuliffe and the DNC have totally lost their senses."

That's two layers of egg on Kerry's face. It must be getting really soft. As soft as the thinking behind these campaign choices. Should he be elected president, one wonders how this thought process would be applied in vital areas such as the infamous button that blows up the world.

Thanks to a reader for sending this link.

CRIMINALIZING STAY-AT-HOME MOTHERHOOD

Joseph Farah, at WorldNetDaily, offers some commentary on the stay-at-home mom:

Exhibit A is Gretchen Ritter, who apparently makes her living directing the Center for Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Texas and as associate professor of government and women's studies, who maintains stay-at-home moms are dangerous subversives and a plague on society.

"It is time to have an honest conversation about what is lost when women stay home," she wrote in the Austin American-Statesman earlier this month. "In a nation devoted to motherhood and apple pie, what could possibly be wrong with staying home to care for your children?"

Ritter goes on to tell us:

That choice by women denies fathers the chance to be involved;

Women lose a chance to contribute as professionals and community activists;

It teaches children the world is divided by gender;

It stresses children out;

It victimizes women who work because employers fear women professionals may opt for the same choice some day and quit their jobs;

It makes it tougher for families with two working parents because schools and libraries will neglect their needs;

Ritter pulls no punches. She comes close to calling for laws to outlaw full-time motherhood. ...

Should we just disregard nut jobs like Ritter? It is sorely tempting. If only we had the choice to do so.

Here's the problem: What Ritter teaches at the University of Texas is de rigueur of what is taught at colleges and universities across this country – at taxpayer expense.

In other words, this is the official government line. What Ritter teaches about stay-at-home moms being dangerous to society is considered culturally mainstream in academia. Women who choose to raise children are looked at as if they came from another planet.

[Stay-at-home wives certainly seem to be dangerous. Just ask Mark Shea about the trouble I cause right here in this blog! ;-) ]

Thanks to a reader for the link.

2-YEAR-OLD WALKS AWAY FROM 30 FT. FALL ONTO CONCRETE

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- It could be seen as a lucky landing, but the father of 2-year-old girl who fell 30 feet from a Santa Fe hotel window without major injury said his daughter was saved by a miracle from God.

"Her guardian angel let her down easy. We think that there was definitely some supernatural intervention," said Jeffrey Shaver of Edmond, Okla., a devout Roman Catholic who is vacationing in New Mexico with his wife, Amy, and their five children. "I think that when a child drops 30 feet you usually don't have a good ending."

Shaver said his daughter was playing with her twin sister in their room at La Fonda Hotel on Tuesday morning when she climbed up on the window sill and leaned on the screen. The screen tore, and the toddler fell straight down to the concrete, landing on her diaper.

MESSAGE TO O'MALLEY - IF YOU CAN'T STOP KERRY, REIN IN HIS PASTOR

A couple of readers sent in this story from LifeSite:

Kerry's parish is "where people who hate the Church go to church"

BOSTON, August 4, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Paulist Centre in Boston, is a hot-bed for dissenting Catholics who wish to counter the teachings of Roman Catholicism but yet remain within it. "It's where people who hate the Church go to church," according to The Weekly Standard's Jonathan V. Last, in an article published July 25.

Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com in January, said "These politicians should know that if they're not voting correctly on these life issues that they shouldn't dare come to communion." Although the Archbishop may not have direct sway over John Kerry's actions, he could have some authority over the priest who directs the Paulist Centre, Father John Ardis.

Well, why not? Yeah, sounds like a plan!

CAN THIS BE FOR REAL ?

A reader sent in this brief story from SABCnews.com:

Northern Cape veterinarians have taken a human-like baby creature, found inside a sheep, from Schmidtsdrif to Kimberley for examination. A Schmidtsdrif man was slaughtering the sheep when he found the dead creature inside.

THE SAN FRANCISCO SCENE

From San Francisco Weekly... Wheatgrass and burlesque, dancing and mysticism, school and art gallery, gemstone therapy and yoga, massage and Theosophy...if these are your interests, they can all be satisfied at the one-stop emporium of postmodernism called "One Taste of the Spirit", a transcendental Wall Mart of the new spirituality, touted as an "urban retreat center." Just be sure you are willing to substitute carrot juice for booze.

I have one question...what the heck is "orgasmic balancing"? No, forget I asked. I probably don't want to know. Where did I put that bottle of Glenlivet?

THE EMBATTLED CIPRIANI

is in the news once again at www.chiesa. The plots and disagreements go all the way to the Vatican, where once again "cover it up" seems to be preferable to "clean it up": But in the Vatican – Cipriani complains – they are afraid of unleashing a scandal, and want to block the judicial investigation. Last May, Giovanni Battista Cardinal Re, prefect of the congregation for bishops, wrote to the nuncio in Peru, Passigato, to “look for a peaceful resolution to this problem.” Cipriani comments: “They prefer to sweep it under the rug, for not facing the truth. They cannot block it, but they are trying.”

It would seem that some folks just never learn.

FIRST MAJOR EVENT IN BASILICA UNDER CARDINAL LAW

draws opposition from those who know his history, and indifference from members of his new flock who do not know it.

Law celebrated the Feast Day of the Rome basilica of St. Mary Major, resplendent in miter and white robes. This was his first public Mass according to Reuters.

One American visitor to St Mary Major was taken aback to see Law leading Thursday's service in the baroque basilica -- one of the most important churches in the Italian capital.

"I think it's a disgrace for him to be here," said David Adrian, a 22-year-old student from Philadelphia.

A middle-aged Catholic from Britain was even more outspoken. "It's an abomination," said Donald Lundy, who lives near Glasgow in Scotland. "He shouldn't be allowed to be a spiritual guide."...

Many Italians attending the service said they had no idea about Law's role in the U.S. scandals. Those who did know appeared unbothered. "I don't see the problem. It isn't for me to judge him," said Francesco Petrone, a publisher. "Too often nowadays the public sits in judgment of people. It's like the French Revolution, where old ladies knitted under the guillotine."

HAS AMERICA TURNED TO PAGANISM ?

The question is the subject of an article at "Christianity Today."

From the article:

Roe [vs. Wade] is now history. It is part of the furniture, as Justice Sandra Day O'Connor would put it. Now something far more important for the future of Christianity in the United States, and by implication for the future of the entire country and its people, has taken place.

A Ruling for Paganism

On July 8, 2003, the United States Supreme Court, by a vote of 6-3 (in Lawrence v. Texas) did not merely forget God: It turned the nation into a pagan state-not the people, of course, not all the lesser structures and institutions such as churches, schools, and businesses great and small, but the nation. The Supreme Court, in declaring all sodomy laws unconstitutional, has in effect declared the nation pagan-not in so many words, of course, but in terms that explicitly repudiate historic Christianity, the Bible, the Torah, and the principles of natural law that guided us so long.

The Court did not, of course, declare the legislature (i.e. Congress, the administration, the President, and his cabinet) pagan. It could not do so. Congress has Christian members, Catholics and Protestants, and Jewish members, some even observant and orthodox. The President and some members of his administration are Christians, some outspokenly so. But the nation, which has been slowly losing its Christianity, has now been in essence declared pagan, and all its institutions, agencies, and departments will follow, gradually or speedily.

Lawrence passed by a two-thirds majority. What were those justices thinking? The man who wrote the majority opinion is a Roman Catholic. Does he not know that his church, his spiritual leader the pope, the Bible, and all of the church fathers up to the present, consider the behavior that he now protects an abominable sin, an act against nature?

NEW OXFORD NOTES

at Crux News discusses "For fear of the Jews (if only)." The piece ends with a call for the Pope to fire Bishop Patrick McGrath (San Jose).

I think the laity has had it up to their eyeballs and isn't willing to tolerate any more nonsense. Preach the Gospel of Christ, or preach to the non-Catholics. Either be faithful to the authentic teachings of the Catholic Church, or earn your bread in some other occupation.

STORY STILL UP

I posted email yesterday from Opus Bono Sacerdotii indicating that "The article [announcing that Rev. Weeks has been cleared of charges] has since been removed from our site." In checking today, however, I see that the article is still up on their website. Hmmm.

VIET NAM VETS BLAST KERRY

A reader sent in a weebsite announcing a new book, Unfit for Command:

The new book UNFIT FOR COMMAND reveals dozens of shocking eyewitness accounts of questionable Kerry actions in Vietnam. Author John O'Neill, the man who took over John Kerry's Swift Boat, and co-author Jerome Corsi, Ph.D., have uncovered the bizarre truth behind Kerry's three Purple Hearts, his Bronze and Silver Stars, and the real reason Kerry served only four months in Vietnam.

RUDOLF STEINER AND THE HOLY GRAIL

One of the links I posted earlier which goes to a Masonic website where a paper by Robert Richardson discusses "The Priory of Sion Hoax" happend to mention Rudolf Steiner in connection with the Holy Grail. Searching for more information brought up this website.

Here you will find a list of reading material for the first year of teacher training for Waldorf teachers. The first entry:

Lit 100 Parsifal

W. von Eschenbach. Parzival (Mustard and Passage translation)* Rene Querido, The Mystery of the Holy Grail: A Modern Path of Initiation* Steven Roboz, ed., The Holy Grail Rudolf Steiner, The Search for the Holy Grail

Here is a brief description of Steiner's "Holy Grail":

The Holy Grail
The Quest for the Renewal of the Mysteries

From the Mysteries to Christianity; Death and Resurrection in Ancient Egypt - the Miracle of Initiation; The Mystery of Golgotha; The Mystery of the Higher Ego - the Holy Grail; The Grail and the Spiritual Evolution of Humanity; The Gnostic Crisis and the Loss of the Mysteries; Stages of Evolution - Archaic Clairvoyance; The Role of the Mysteries; The Secret of Evolution - the Holy Grail.

Also pertinent to material from the Masonic website is the book directly above the Grail book:

The Goddess
From Natura to the Divine Sophia

Rediscovering the Goddess Natura; Retracing our Steps - Mediaeval Thought and the School of Chartres; The Goddess Natura in the Ancient Mysteries; The Goddess in the Beginning - the Birth of the Word; Esoteric Christianity - the Virgin Sophia; the Search for the New Isis; The Renewal of the Mysteries; The Modern Isis, the Divine Sophia.

The ideas expressed in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" come out of Rosicrucianism/esoteric Christianity, and are related to esoteric Freemasonry, as the Richardson article indicates.

An overview of books discussing Grail/goddess/esoteric/Mary Magdalene/black madonnas subjects can be found here, including Steiner's lecture titled "Isis and Madonna" given in Berlin, April 1909. This lecture discusses Madonna figures in Christianity and also in other religions including Egyptian worship of Osiris. The material here is similar to what is contained in Ean Begg's "The Cult of the Black Virgin" which is used as a reference text at the Marian Center at Dayton University. But this is not Roman Catholicism. This is Rosicrucian Christianity. A whole different religion that includes some of those activities clearly forbidden by the First Commandment.

STOP SHOWING BODY PARTS

that are meant to be covered up because it contributes to the spread of AIDS advises a nun counseling Zambian young women.

Yup, and to the spread of a few other unpleasant unmentionables. Good for Sr. Petronella! I hope the young women listen to her. And I wish some American young women could hear her common sense recommendation!

PRIORY OF SION ARTICLE DISCUSSED AT MASONIC WEBSITE

The article is posted in three parts on the website of the From Darkness to Light" Masonic Library. The website is slow to load. The webmaster admits on the home page that he is in conflict with the Grand Master of the Missouri Grand Lodge, and not currently accepted in Lodge. Here is part one, the Foreword.

Here is part two. Titled "The Priory of Sion Hoax" is written by Robert Richardson. This is a description of the establishment of the hoax, and the activities of Plantard, that I haven't read before. It includes the impact of FUDOSI and the esoteric groups on the scene that generated the Priory hoax, and places Plantard in "Catholic circles," and his activities at St. Sulpice. It indicates the book, "Treasures of the World" by Robert Charroux, was the launching pad for the Priory hoax.

Even more surprising, the article connects Paladin to the Order of the Rose Croix of the Temple and the Grail and to a real affair at Rennes le Chateau, and speculates that Saunniere may have been associated with the Rose Croix. Paladin and Martinism are often associated with Satanism. The article is footnoted.

It is possible that the real truth lies in Masonic records which are not available outside of the organization, which would mean that Masonic Research Lodges, if they can be found to tell the truth, would be the source of information on Rennes le Chateaux, the Priory hoax, and the real truth behind books like "The Da Vinci Code" and "Holy Blood, Holy Grail."

Here is part three. This is an article from the magazine "Gnosis" by Robert Anton Wilson, a recognized name in esoteric and occult circles. It mentions Archbishop Lefebvre, and the Catholic Traditional Movement. I have not yet read the article, merely printed it to read off-line, and so won't comment further.

BLOODBATH AT THE ATHENS OLYMPICS

is being predicted by a Norwegian pastor, as reported by Aftenposten: Pastor's Olympic 'vision' spurs debate An Oslo pastor from an evangelical Christian movement claims he had a vision in May that the upcoming Summer Olympics in Athens would result in a "bloodbath." The pastor's remarks have sparked criticism from other Christian leaders and even a local bishop.

Pastor Jan-Aage Torp wants to prevent the Olympics from being held.

The pastor, Jan-Aage Torp of the movement called "Oslochurch Apostolic Generation" (Oslokirken), claims he initially kept quiet about the vision he had that there would be a "bloodbath" at the Olympics. But then he changed his mind and called Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) to share it.

Other religious figures express skepticism.

Blogger credit to Spirit Daily

ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS

A story at the Assyrian Christians website recounts a drive by shooting on the morning and on the evening of June 7 as workers were going to and leaving work.

Another report on the website indicates Assyrian Christians will be denied the right to vote in elections.

THREE MORE BISHOPS DENY COMMUNION

to pro-abortion politicians, according to a report at Spirit Daily sent in by a couple of readers:

Because of the influence that Catholics in public life have on the conduct of our daily lives and on the formation of our nation's future, we declare that Catholics serving in public life espousing positions contrary to the teaching of the Church on the sanctity and inviolability of human life, especially those running for or elected to public office are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in any Catholic church within our jurisdictions: the Archdiocese of Atlanta, the Dioceses of Charleston and Charlotte. Only after reconciliation with the Church has occurred, with the knowledge and consent of the local bishop, and public disavowal of former support for procured abortion, will the individual be permitted to approach the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

The statement is signed by Archbishop John F. Donoghue, Atlanta; Bishop Robert J. Baker, Charleston; and Bishop Peter J. Jugis, Charlotte. Interestingly, these are bishops whose names we seldom hear. Could this reflect a changing of the guard?

WILL MISSIONARY WORK IN SRI LANKA BECOME ILLEGAL ?

From Inter Press Service News Agency

COLOMBO, Aug 4 (IPS) - In the midst of the continuing debate in Sri Lanka over the moral right of the Buddhist clergy to take on politics, fresh controversy has been created by a group of Buddhist monk-MPs who have proposed laws to ban religious conversions.

One of the main planks of the nine Buddhist monk-MPs representing the National Heritage Party (JHU) is to stop what they call widespread conversion of Buddhists by fundamentalist Christians.

As this law is being considered

Scores of Christian churches have been attacked or destroyed in the past two years by majority Sinhalese groups but the JHU has denied any involvement in the attacks.

Christian priests and rights groups are challenging the propposed law which they claim violates the right to choose one's own religion. While the law doesn't specifically mention Christians, it is understood to be directed against conversions to Christianity according to one political commentator. One of the clauses of the bill says that no person shall convert or attempt to convert another person to another religion, and no person shall illegally provide assistance or encouragement towards the religion change.

Senanayake said this creates a new criminal offence - the offence of converting a person from one religion to another. Offenders will be liable to a jail term of five years and a fine.

If Sri Lanka votes to make this law, the country will break with international conventions including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. And it will make missionary activity illegal.

ANOTHER INCIDENT OF SPONTANEOUS FIRES

this time in Africa. Sounds a lot like the Italian town that had a number of unexplained fires.

A HIGH-RANKING delegation from the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN) on Monday visited Theonila Kakaya (85) from Oshoogolo village near Oshikuku whose life and property have been devastated since June this year by a recurring and mysterious fire that has already destroyed a large part of her homestead.

Belief is that the fires are the result of demon activity. The woman is a Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic Congregation had previously come once to pray.

THE POLITICS OF HOMOSEXUAL PSYCHOLOGY

reported by Agape Press at AFA Online, sent in by a reader:

(AgapePress) - The American Psychological Association's recent endorsement of homosexual "marriage" is based on "flawed" beliefs, a secular humanist worldview -- and the recommendation of a "group of gay and lesbian clinicians." That's according to a group of psychiatrists and behavioral scientists who are dedicated to the treatment and prevention of homosexuality.

Last week the APA issued a press release announcing its official endorsement of same-sex marriage and homosexual adoption. The APA said denial of access to marriage to same-sex couples is "unfair and discriminatory." The resolutions adopted by APA were based on recommendations from the organization's Working Group on Same-Sex Family and Relationships, chaired by homosexual activist Dr. Armand Cerbone. (See Earlier Article)

But Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), says the APA is allowing "politics" to rule in this case. "They've let political activists take over the APA in this particular area," Nicolosi says, "and these activists are giving us their own, values-laden 'take' on the issues."

BOHEMIAN GROVE WEEKEND

This year's mid-summer event is nothing but a memory and a lot of bytes and column inches. Reporter Jane Stillwater describes Groving with the rich and famous disguised as a wealthy male worldling. The tongue-in-cheek report takes a serious turn near the end. Stillwater is not impressed by what she discovers.

A SERIOUS LOOK AT GROVE ACTIVITIES

From Free Press International

2000 government CEOs, movie stars and politicians arrive at the grove to stay in one of 125 camps. Click the link at the bottom here and you get a picture, and links to enough stories to keep you busy until the 11 o'clock news--in my time zone, anyway. The music itself is creepy enough for an Eyes Wide Shut sequal. There is also a media player description of rituals. The Owl 'n' Druid scene on the webpage looks like a movie set.

THE GROVE ROSTER

is covered in part here at this Free Press International website.

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLES

the grove and the other exclusive clubs members patronize. (I got bored quickly and didn't finish this one.)

OPUS BONO SACERDOTII

I have received a response to my email and have permission to blog it. Here it is:

Carrie,

Please include the following response for your blog and God bless you:

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, although we have no direct communication with the Reverened Weeks, we do include media stories on our website about priests cases that might have some relevance to other priest cases. In this case our researcher included it because of the belief that he was a priest in union with Rome. The article has since been removed from our site until we can veryify the validity of the Reverend Weeks as a legitimately ordained Catholic priest.

We assist Catholic priests that are in union with the Holy Pontiff in Rome. God bless you,

If you know of a priest in trouble, please let us know...

Joe

Opus Bono Sacerdotii

"Work for the good of the Priesthood"

3430 East Jefferson Avenue, Suite 309

Detroit, Michigan 48239

THE LINE-UP FOR THE 2004 CONFERENCE AT CANONBURY MASONIC RESEARCH CENTRE

The speakers and topics are listed on this Conference agenda for the 6th conference to be held this year in November. Notice particularly the title of the conference--"Freemasonry and Religion: Many Faiths - One Brotherhood." I see that some of the speakers are academics.

Also look at the Public Lectures webpage at Canonbury. The November lecture concerns the "Freemasonic and Rosicrucian Codes."

S. Brent Morris gave a lecture at Canonbury titled "The Folger Manuscript" from which the following is taken:

I am going to be talking about an aspect of Freemasonry - cryptography. I am going to be looking at cryptanalysis. I am going to be focusing at the art of cryptanalysis - the techniques we go through to analyse the secret coded messages. This is a science that has largely been kept in the dark, because you don't want anyone to know that you can read their mail. This had as you are probably aware a dramatic impact in World War Two - both in the European theatre and in the Pacific theatre. Alies were able to read German Enigma machine as well the Japanese Purple machine. And it was those successes that saved hundred of thousands if not millions of lives. For those reasons cryptography has largely been kept in the black chamber.

Well tonight I am going to talk about some of the 'black' skills that are used in the cryptanalysis. In masonic cryptanalysis - I don't know whether Freemasons that were making the signs that I will be talking about - really thought that they were doing something secure. More importantly, it was symbolic secrecy - in other words you have achieved another step in the ladder therefore we are going to teach you a new cipher to protect those secrets. Whether in fact we talk about what is known as classical masonic cipher, or some other cipher, is not of primary importance - it is the symbolism of secrecy that is important.

Did Dan Brown get the ideas for his novel from lectures like this one? We may never know, bit it is an intriguing question.

HOW IVF CAN CREATE A NIGHTMARE

A reader sent in this story from Mercury News about a woman who was implanted with the wrong embryo. She now has joint custody with the biological father of the child she bore who is 3 years old. This child also has a biological sibling, who was born to his biological father and the father's wife shortly after the child in question arrived.

It's in the hands of the lawyers and judges and doesn't promise to be resolved soon. Brings to mind the story of Solomon deciding who was the true mother of the baby one woman was willing to divide in half.

MUSLIM - CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORHOODS IN IRAQ

A reader sent in this story from the Washington Post...an anecdotal account of life in one of the neighborhoods where Muslims and Christians lived near one of the churches that was the target of last Sunday's car bomb attack.

This story presents a very different picture of the condition of Christian life in Iraq than do the stories at the Assyrian Christian website which I posted links to yesterday. And there is a subtle, or perhaps not so subtle, effort to paint the Americans as the bad guys in this story.

THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE

Crux News has linked a story at Insight on the News about this Catholic College, and this one does seem to be truly Catholic. The college offers a radically different classroom setting, placing students and professors in discussion groups instead of lecture halls. The object is a search for truth, and the method is a well-rounded liberal arts education. Instead of graduating students who have lost their faith, this college boasts students who attend Mass daily. What a novelty...a Catholic, Catholic college! And even more novel, the college is situated in Ojai, California. Why novel? Ojai is the home of Krotona School of Theosophy. Krotona is an international base for Theosophy. The chapel on the campus of Aquinas was designed by Notre Dame's Duncan Stroik and is a good example of contemporary church architecture that still retains a Catholic flavor.

APPEAL INJUNCTION ON PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN

From Catholic World News:

Washington, DC, Aug. 03 (CWNews.com) - The Bush Administration has filed an appeal of a federal court decision barring enforcement of the partial-birth abortion ban passed by the US Congress last year.

In papers filed on August 2, the Justice Department asked a federal appeals court to lift an injunction issued by Judge Phyllis Hamilton in a federal district court. The injunction, handed down on June 1, blocked the implementation of the first law passed by Congress to restrict abortion since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

MUSLIM PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS

From Inter Press Service News Agency:

YAOUNDE, Aug 3 (IPS) - Earlier this year, conflict in Nigeria’s central Plateau state – resulting in part from religious tensions – sparked concern about relations between Christians and Muslims in that country. Now, another West African state appears to be grappling with a similar problem: Cameroon.

Garga Aoudou, a community activist with a Dutch development organisation, says efforts are being made to create violence between Christians and Muslims in the country’s North and Extreme North provinces.

"At first, we thought people were just spreading rumors to try to terrorize Catholic communities. But then here in Garoua (capital of the North province), we’ve been literally inundated with fliers inciting Muslims towards a hatred of Christians," he noted.

"Religious fanatics exhort Muslims to increase the number of marriages between young Muslim men and Christian girls in order to convert them to Islam, to refuse to rent houses or sell land to Christians – or to get them to move by raising the rent," Aoudou adds.

Yves Steven, the Bishop of Maroua – capital of the Extreme North province – and the town of Makolo, says "Several Christian families have come to me to complain. They were subjected to physical violence. Some of them were forcibly evicted from their homes with bats and at knifepoint before they could collect their property."

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for Christians under persecution.

BUSH GOING FOR THE CATHOLIC VOTE

From NPR:

President Bush is in Dallas to address the Knights of Columbus in Dallas, a conservative Catholic group with 1.6 million members. The visit is part of an aggressive Bush campaign effort to win Catholic voters, who make up one-quarter of the electorate. There is an audio report by Steve Inskeep and Tom Roberts at the website.

LOUISVILLE'S NUNS

From AP Wire: LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Roman Catholic sexual abuse crisis has focused primarily on molestation by priests, but in Louisville, more than 20 people are now suing an order of nuns that staffed an orphanage decades ago.

While most experts agree the incidence of abuse by nuns has been much less frequent than with male clergy, the phenomenon has been gaining some attention recently.

The initial lawsuit against the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth was brought by seven plaintiffs July 15, just over a year after 243 people reached a $25.7 million settlement with the Archdiocese of Louisville over abuse claims.

Herman J. Lammers, a longtime Catholic Charities director who was accused by two of those plaintiffs, was the resident chaplain at St. Thomas-St. Vincent Orphanage, which the sisters ran from 1952 until it closed in 1983. Lammers died in 1986.

The recent complaints have been filed mostly by women who say Lammers raped or molested them. But there are also allegations against more than 10 nuns.

COMMUNIST PARTY USA - TOP TEN REASONS TO DEFEAT BUSH

From their website:

There's so many reason to defeat Bush. Here's our top ten. Just click link above to read them and download the PDF flyer in English or Spanish. Then print, and use with voter education and mobilization efforts.

Here they are:

1. Bush is destroying workers rights and outsourcing jobs.
2. Bush is privatizing Medicare, Social Security and public education.
3. Bush is bankrupting the Federal Government.
4. Bush is rolling back civil rights gains.
5. Bush is curtailing women's rights and choice.
6. Bush is abusing immigrant workers.
7. Bush is exploiting and ruining the environment.
8. Bush's war in Iraq is a disaster for our security and economy.
9. Bush is denying civil liberties and free speech.
10. Bush discriminates against Gays and Lesbians.

How many of these ten reasons are part of the Kerry platform?

Thanks to a reader for sending this in.

ITALIAN POLICE HAVE SMASHED SATANIST RING

Rome, Italy, Jul. 30 (UPI) -- Police in northern Italy say they have smashed a vicious gang of satanists that may have ordered the slayings of five young people.

Two alleged members turned state's evidence, making possible the arrests of three men. Five victims have been identified including those previously reported.

The story is also covered at Raiders, where more details are given. One of the victims was not a member of the sect, but was killed because she knew too much.

Thanks to a reader for the story.

CHECK OUT SAVE OUR CHURCH

where you will find this comentary: Brazen Attack on the Eucharist at FutureChurch Meeting

by St. Mary's Seminary Professor, Fr. George Smiga

Hard to believe a priest would say such a thing as you will find there, but the SOC website people offer a tape of it for a $5 donation. When you've picked your jaw up off the keyboard, check out the Bishop's response webpage where you will find this headline:

"Bishop Anthony M. Pilla Justifies Fr. Smiga's Future-Church Sponsored Presentation Which Plainly Claimed The First Church Had No Altar, No Sacrifice and No priests!" by David Webster.

Thanks to a reader for sending in the link.

OPUS BONO SACERDOTII - THE STORY OF ITS FOUNDING

is reported at the Detroit Free Press website.

The organization was established by Joe Maher who quit his job as a financial systems analyst to start it. The article quotes Maher:

"These priests need help," Maher of Redford Township said last week. "Once their names are in the newspaper, it's over for them. It's very difficult to overcome it."

It also indicates that twelve people sit on an advisory board that will consult on each potential client, according to Maher, who declined to name the members but said one is a bishop.

In addition to helping priests with their expenses, it supports abuse treatment facilities and research on sexuality.

It isn't clear from this article where the funding is coming from, but it's there. From the article:

Parishioners gave $15,000 to help the priest, also known as Father Felicien, and Maher, a business colleague named Peter Ferrara and an unnamed benefactor put up another $85,000, Maher said. A Wayne County jury acquitted the priest Aug. 30. ...

It has yet to register as a charity with the Michigan Attorney General's Office, though it plans to and has printed donation cards asking would-be givers to check off contributions ranging from $100 to $50,000. Maher also said he has not found any other organization like his in the country.

The article raises a concern about the funding:

The Rev. Robert Silva, president of the National Federation of Priests' Councils, said he has questions about Opus Bono Sacerdotii's financial backers and wished they'd consult with his organization, which provides resources to priests in two-thirds of the country's Catholic dioceses.

"I need to know more about who they are, what they're doing, why they're doing it. I have too much respect and too much concern for the dignity of the victims to simply make a comment about it," Silva said. "But if a priest who is unable to get any legal defense is getting help, then God bless them."

It's an old article, dated September 23, 2002. Hopefully, this has been resolved. In any event, the website for this organization has posted the notice about the dismissal of the charges against the Old Catholic priest Rev. Donald Weeks.

I have emailed the organization requesting clarification as to whether they are organized to help Roman Catholic and Byzantine priests who are in communion with the Pope, or if they also help priests who belong to denominations of Catholic groups who are not in communion with the Pope, and Protestant priests.

No one wants to see an innocent priest accused. No one wants to contribute money believing they are helping an innocent Roman or Byzantine Catholic priest when in fact they are helping a priest who belongs to an Independent Catholic Church that is out of communion with the Pope. Clarification is needed here.

FROM A COMMENTS BOX

I move in some of the relevant academic circles, and I have yet to find any *professional scholars with subject-matter expertise* who grant the pretensions of "The Da Vinci Code" much credibility - the same is the case with the earlier "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," which covers much the same ground from a "non-fiction" standpoint.

However, feel free to enlighten me if there are some whom I've missed.... Ben Jonson | 08.02.04 - 4:14 pm | #

I've moved it up here because it's easier to link in a larger window.

Are you samiliar with Steve Mizrach? He teaches at Florida International University.

Here is his paper titled " Mysteries of Rennes-le-Chateau and the Prieure du Sion".

Others do not deal specifically with Brown's book, but they do acclaim esoteric ideas. Esoterica Journal is an offering of the College of Arts and Letters, Michigan State University. Arthur Versluis is the editor. Here is one of his books.

Are you familiar with the California Institute of Integral Studies? Scroll down on the website to look at the faculty. If you're familiar with the Who's Who list of New Age faculty, you will recognize the names. This university has full accreditation. They publish a journal called "Inner Eye" Here is the April 5, 2002 issue. That eye at the top of the website is the "Eye of Thelema." If you look at the Conference on Spirituality & Learning, you will find presenters coming from the New Age perspective. You will also find the Association of American Colleges and Universities involved with this conference.

And there is NAROPA University professor Reginald A. Ray, who teaches tantra. Matthew Fox is involved with NAROPA.

U.S. CHURCH SERMONS BEING 'MONITORED' FOR ANTI-HOMOSEXUAL VIEWS

A reader sent in this article from LifeSite:

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The head of the Christian Seniors Association (CSA) asked U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate reported harassment of churches in Kansas and Missouri.

CSA Executive Director James Lafferty said a report by the Associated Press and the website of a group calling itself The Mainstream Coalition says it has over 100 members who "monitor" sermons and worship at targeted churches.

Lafferty said he has delivered letters to Attorney General Ashcroft and to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division asking that federal agents be dispatched to Kansas and Missouri to observe the coalition's activities against churches there.

ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ

Ken Joseph Jr. reports:

"Commentary: Secret Document Details Ethnic Cleansing in Iraq!" Baghdad, Iraq - One of the results of the fall of Baghdad is the treasure trove of hitherto secret documents that have come out. One that has just come out documents in stark terms a decades long pattern of ethnic cleansing in Northern Iraq.

Entitled `The Settlements And Villages Of The Christian Assyrians In The Region Of Kurdistan Iraq` the document which goes to 104 pages is a shocking view of a previously mostly unknown campaign of terror against a tiny minority in Iraq.

Documentation totaling 290 villages in the Northern part of Iraq read page after page next to the village name `destroyed`.

The Document with `Confidential For Internal Use Only` and subtitled `The Contribution Of The International Non-Governmental Organizations To The Islamization of Assyrian Villages` goes into great detail on the destruction of the indigenous people of the region.

Go to the website to read the whole story.

This was taking place during the time when John Paul II opposed war with Iraq and promoted delay and negotiation. If this is the fate of Christians in Iraq, what was the Pope defending? Certainly not Christians apparently, if this report is accurate. He didn't support the one nation left in Western civ. which still claims to be Christian, either. His arguments were in support of negotiations with the tormenter of the Assyrian Christians, if this report is telling the truth. The Pope's position on Iraq makes even less sense in light of this report.


A second report by Ken Joseph, Jr. (There are pictures here of the children.)

"Commentary: Christians Targeted in Iraq!

Massacre in Baghdad: Children 6 and 16 killed at Home!"

Baghdad, Iraq - Two Assyrian Christian children have been killed in Baghdad. Raneed Raad 16 and her sister Raphid 6 were slaughtered in their home.

The family who are well known Assyrian Christians had been threatened. While the family was out terrorists entered and shot the two Children at point blank range.

`We are doing our best to get out to the world the simple message that the Assyrian Christians who are the indigenous people of Iraq are being intimidated, threatened and killed simply because they are Christians. The world must not stand by and watch. The last time this happened during the Assyrian Genocide nearly 2/3rds of our population were killed` says Amir George from Baghdad.

`We appeal to the world to help us at this critical time so that we can attain autonomy in our homeland as guaranteed in article 53 of the new Iraqi Constitution as the only way to for us to survive. We urgently need help in moving back to our villages from where we were forcibly uprooted by Saddam.` he continues.

The European Union in a recent report concluded that aid and infrastructure assistance was not getting to the Assyrian Christian community in Iraq in spite of massive amounts of support being distributed throughout the country.

Go to the website to read the rest.

Why is this not making the news here? Something isn't right. There has got to be more to this story!

UPDATE ON CHARGES AGAINST REV. WEEKS

In March/April, 2004 I linked a number of stories about Rev. Weeks. After yesterday's email, I looked online this morning for more information. I found this about the arrest and charges. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

OAKLAND/Sex charges against priest are dropped/Insufficient proof alleged victim had affair as a minor By: Jim Herron Zamora, Chronicle Staff Writer - San Francisco Chronicle -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, April 21, 2004 (SF Chronicle) Alameda County prosecutors dropped molestation charges Tuesday against an Oakland priest who briefly had given shelter to convicted sex offender Cary Verse.

Deputy District Attorney Tim Wellman said there "was insufficient evidence" to prove the alleged victim was a minor when he had sex with The Rev. Donald Weeks.

At Wellman's request, Judge Winifred Smith dropped all 24 counts of oral copulation with a minor that had been filed against Weeks on March 30.

Wellman said that Weeks might have had a sexual relationship with the alleged victim in the 1990s, but "we felt we could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that sex occurred while the victim was still a minor."

Weeks, who is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, was arrested at his St. Patrick's Abbey in East Oakland on charges he had oral sex with the boy from April 1994 to March 1996.

The alleged victim, now is now in his mid-20s, said he had met Weeks while he was a troubled teenager and had sex with him at least once a month for about two years.

But Weeks and his attorney, John Burris, said after court Tuesday that they had presented prosecutors with evidence showing the priest had been in San Diego until September 1996 and therefore had not had a sexual relationship with his accuser as a minor.

"Any reasonable investigation by the Oakland Police Department would have shown that it could not have happened in the location or the time period in which the allegations were made," Burris said. "There was no crime. There was no underage victim. This all could have been proven without arresting Father Weeks and ruining his life. ...

"Any reasonable investigation by the Oakland Police Department would have shown that it could not have happened in the location or the time period in which the allegations were made," Burris said. "There was no crime. There was no underage victim. This all could have been proven without arresting Father Weeks and ruining his life." Weeks told reporters that during the March 30 search of the abbey, police had violated its sanctity, scattering sacred relics and the wafers of bread that represent the body of Jesus Christ in Catholic tradition. Weeks and the abbey are affiliated with the Old Catholic Church, which broke away from the Roman Catholics in 1889.

Go to the website to read the rest of the article.

CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Also indicates that charges against Weeks have been dismissed:

OAKLAND - Unlawful sex charges were dismissed this morning against the Rev. Donald Weeks, who drew a storm of controversy last month for allowing convicted sex offender Cary Verse to live at the monastery and halfway house he directed.

Deputy District Attorney Timothy Wellman told an Alameda County Superior Court judge this morning there was "insufficient evidence" to support the 24 counts of oral copulation with a minor that had been filed against Weeks, 60.

The decision prompted defense attorney John Burris to say Weeks' March 30 arrest was the result of a "targeted, selective police investigation aimed at ruining" Weeks' ability to operate St. Patrick's Abbey. , Weeks directed for five years the transitional housing facility for recovering addicts, parolees and others. ...

Burris [Week's attorney] said the dismissal came after he submitted documents showing allegations at the center of the case could not be true.

A 26-year-old man who accused Weeks of engaging in sexual acts with him when he was a minor told police investigators that the illegal acts took place in 1994, 1995 and early 1996 at Weeks' prior residence on 73rd Avenue in Oakland, Burris said.

But Burris said he was able to show that Weeks lived elsewhere during this time period and did not move into the 73rd Avenue residence until August 1996 - when the accuser was 18.

This website that has run the article from Contra Costa Times is interesting. Here is the home page for the website: Opus Bono Sacerdotii where they indicate that they "help Catholic priests with problems." One would assume the website were dedicated to innocent Roman Catholic priests, since it talks about the Holy Father, cites a Vatican document, and the Dallas Charter. Yet the article from Jim Herron Zamora, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer, indicates "Weeks and the abbey are affiliated with the Old Catholic Church, which broke away from the Roman Catholics in 1889."

What does the Dallas Charter have to do with the Old Catholic Church? Does this organization defend priests who are not Roman Catholic? If they do, one wonders which ones, and where do they get their money?


The San Francisco Chronicle/April 5, 2004 ran an article by Chip Johnson about Weeks. It's a background investigation, of sorts. Since Rev. Weeks has indicated he is going to involve his attorney in regard to my website, I'll let you read it yourself and draw your own conclusions.

REACTIONS TO THE POPE'S STATEMENT ON FEMINISM

Some of the commentary on the recent letter to the bishops on feminism: From the BBC From the Toronto Star Blogger Credit to Crux News.

CHRISTIANS UNDER ATTACK IN IRAQ

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- At least 11 Iraqis were killed and dozens injured yesterday in separate car bombings outside Christian churches packed for evening services. The coordinated terrorist strikes from Baghdad to the northern city of Mosul were the first directed at the country's Christian minority.

Two of the blasts came just five minutes apart at dusk outside Baghdad churches in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Karada. Two more explosions followed shortly afterward outside churches in other parts of the capital, sending plumes of thick black smoke over the early-evening sky.

IN RE PAULA DEVLIN'S ARTICLE LINKED PREVIOUSLY

Here is the original Haaretz.com article.

When I read it and posted it, it jogged my memory of this Zenit article.

The same reference to anti-Zionism being equated to anti-Semitism according to "Catholic figures in Buenos Aires" is contained in the following articles:

ArutzSheva

Coincidentally or not, just this week for the first time in history, the Catholic Church equated anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Haaretz reports that the Church's announcement was made at a gathering of leading Jewish and Catholic figures in Buenos Aires. "We oppose anti-Semitism in any way and form, including anti-Zionism that has become of late a manifestation of anti-Semitism," the statement said.

Jewish News.com

(JTA) - Vatican: Anti-Zionism = anti-Semitism

Vatican leaders signed on to a statement identifying anti-Zionism as a form of anti-Semitism. A statement expressing "total rejection of anti Semitism in all its forms, including anti-Zionism as a more recent manifestation of anti-Semitism," was released at the end of the 18th International Liaison Committee meeting between Jewish and Catholic leaders in Buenos Aires, held Monday through Thursday. The Vatican officials and Jewish officials, who came to the meeting from around the world, also committed to joint efforts to work for justice and charity. "We came to Latin America and brought about a profound change. The government and the Catholic church, the two most relevant institutions of the region, are supporting us," Elan Steinberg, World Jewish Congress executive vice president, told JTA. The World Jewish Congress officials also met with Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, who agreed to press other Latin American presidents to sign a petition against anti-Semitism.

Forward Newspaper Online

The Presbyterian resolutions came just as Jewish organizations were hailing the results of a historic international interfaith meeting in Buenos Aires last week, where Roman Catholic officials for the first time signed on to a document equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism.

Bellaciao.org

Take Your Pope Hat & Pope Mobile & Shove it! Catholic Church Position: 'AntiZionism is AntiSemitism'

Lo, these past twenty odd years of my adult life defending, in leftist circles, the indefensible, the Catholic Church. No more. Perhaps the only thing more puzzling than the RCC's position on Israel/Palestine, is the Church's mystical and cult-like belief in transubstantiated Eucharist.

Lest anyone think I'm going off half-cocked, I had the misfortune yesterday of speaking by phone with none other than Dr. Eugene Fisher, Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, based in Washington, D.C. In my opinion, and I don't believe opinions are actionable, what an unmitigated church boob. What a dunderhead. What an ill-informed rube.

The reason I called the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is two fold. My emails advocating for Palestinians throughout the years have gone unanswered, and I wanted a clarification on the Ha'aretz article of July 7, 2004 which stated that 'the Catholic Church condemned anti-Zionism as a cover for anti-Semitism by means of a joint statement issued by a forum of Catholic-Jewish intellectuals.'

Israel Line

Catholic Church Equates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism
The Catholic Church condemned anti-Zionism as a cover for anti-Semitism in a joint statement issued by a forum of Catholic-Jewish intellectuals this week, HA’ARETZ reported. The announcement was made at a gathering of religious, academic and other leading Jewish and Catholic figures in Buenos Aires. "We oppose anti-Semitism in any way and form, including anti-Zionism that has become of late a manifestation of anti-Semitism," the statement said.
This is the first time that anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism have been equated by the Catholic Church. The statement also includes a stern condemnation of terrorism, particularly terror in the name of faith.
Ilan Steinberg, director of the World Jewish Congress, one of the forum's organizers, described the joint statement as "an historic moment." "For the first time, the Catholic Church recognizes in anti-Zionism an attack not only against Jews, but against the whole Jewish people." Senior Jewish figures called the announcement a significant, public statement of support by the Catholic Church in the face of anti-Zionism.

Cleveland Jewish News

BUENOS AIRES, July 8 (JTA) -- In an unprecedented step, Catholic religious leaders have signed on to a statement rejecting anti-Zionism as a form of anti-Semitism.

A statement expressing ``total rejection of anti Semitism in all its forms, including anti-Zionism as a more recent manifestation of anti Semitism," was released Thursday at the end of the 18th International Liaison Committee meeting between Jewish and Catholic intellectuals and religious leaders in Buenos Aires.

E-MAIL FROM DR. BOND

Dear Friends,

The article below from the Scranton Times reports that Urrutigoity's and Ensey's appeal to the 3rd Circuit Court will delay their trial. Their psychosexual evaluations, which they are desperate to protect, must not be pretty.

Pax vobiscum,

Dr. Jeffrey M. Bond

Briefs

_______________________________________________________________________________

07/29/2004

_______________________________________________________________________________

Priest sex abuse case delayed

SCRANTON -- A sexual abuse suit filed by a former St. Gregory's Academy student against the Society of St. John and the Diocese of Scranton will not head to trial in September.

[Go to the website to read the rest of the article. - ct] http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12527773&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=416046&rfi=6

E-MAIL FROM THE REVEREND DONALD WEEKS, OSB

The Reverend Donald Weeks, OSB

August 1, 2004

Hello,

I recently came across two articles you posted about me and Saint Patrick Abbey. Your accusations in those articles are complete lies. I do not know who you are but I am turning your articles over to my attorney tomorrow morning. While I was arrested, the charges were dropped when the matter went to court and the what you wrote about the men that lived at the Abbey is stupid. You were not there.

Weeks, OSB