Archbishop Donoghue of Atlanta enforces Foot Washing Norms!

And people are whining because they have had their way with the liturgy for so long that they become angry when the norms are required to be obeyed. Many no longer understand the significance of Holy Thursday.

The Archbishop needs our prayers in trying times like this when so many nominal "Catholics" and priests have ignored the norms of the Holy See since 1988. (With much encouragement from the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy, it seems.)

Full article.

French bishops, following the elitists of America, denounce "The Passion"

Some people, even those in the hierarchy of the Church, do not understand.

French Roman Catholic bishops have officially denounced Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of The Christ, which opened in France on Wednesday, as potentially anti-Semitic and a distortion of Christian teaching.

The reaction in France to the graphic film about the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life has been hostile, with both secular film critics and Church leaders denouncing the extreme violence of the scourging and crucifixion scenes.

"(The film's) violence, which overwhelms the spectator, ends up blotting out the meaning of the Passion and the essence of Christ's person and message -- love carried to its perfection by the voluntary giving of one's self," said the bishops.

Appeasement! Christ's scourging was not violent or demeaning!? Neither was His crucifixion!?...

Article here for those who haven't seen it.

"The liturgy is not a battlefield, but the worship given to God."

So says Cardinal Arinze, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship.

Prelate seeks an end to liturgical abuses
Vatican, Apr. 02 (CWNews.com) - The prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship has called for "an examination of conscience" regarding the liturgical reforms since Vatican II.

Cardinal Francis Arinze addressed a news conference in Rome on April 2, as he introduced a new book entitled Spiritus et Sponsa. The book, produced by the Congregation for Divine Worship, contains the proceedings of a special conference held on December 4 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Vatican II statement on the liturgy, Sacrosantum Concilium.

Cardinal Arinze said that the Church now needs a new impulse toward liturgical reform, in recognition of the fact that "the liturgy is the highest expression of the mysterious reality of the Church." He said that the December conference was called in order to "bear witness to the validity" of the Council document, but also to "face up to the abuses that have appeared, against the wishes of the Council and of the magisterium, in the course of those 40 years."

Cardinal Arinze was closely questioned by journalists who saw evidence of an internal dispute among Vatican officials regarding liturgical reform. When one reporter suggested that discussions of liturgy sometimes became battles, the cardinal replied with a smile that "the liturgy is not a battlefield, but the worship given to God." He went on to say that "one can't stop men from having opinions."

Prodded about a more concrete sign of disagreements within the Vatican, Cardinal Arinze admitted that he could not give a date for the publication of a long-awaited document on abuses in the Eucharistic liturgy. That document, originally promised by Pope John Paul II (bio - news) more than a year ago, has been seriously delayed by critics.
© Copyright 2004 Domus Enterprises. All rights reserved.

Full article here.

Holy Father urges US bishops to shoulder duties

From Catholic World News:

Vatican, Apr. 02 (CWNews.com) - Pope John Paul II (bio - news) today told a group of American bishops that they must renew their own spiritual lives, as the first step toward rebuilding the Church in the US after the devastation of the sex-abuse scandal.

"The history of the Church demonstrates that there can be no effective reform without interior renewal," the Pope said. He continued: "The bishop must be the first to conform his life to Christ in holiness and constant conversion."

The Holy Father met on April 2 with bishops from the metropolitan provinces of Atlanta and Miami: the dioceses that cover Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. These bishops were the first American prelates to make their ad limina visit this year; the remainder of the US hierarchy will be visiting Rome, in similar groups, during the next few months.

In his addresses to the American bishops, the Pope said that he would "offer a series of reflections on the exercise of the episcopal office." While he voiced confidence in the US hierarchy, the Pontiff also left no doubt that he hoped for more effective leadership from the American bishops. He said that his talks would emphasize the threefold duty of the bishop to teach, to govern, and to sanctify.

John Paul II told his American visitors that he hoped their week-long visit to Rome had afforded them "a pause for reflection and discernment in the light of faith," and that they would return to their dioceses with a new dedication to effective leadership and a "missionary zeal for the spread of the Gospel."

The Pope acknowledged that the ad limina visits are "taking place at a difficult time in the history of the Church in the United States." He said that in private talks, the visiting bishops had spoken to him about "the urgent need for rebuilding confidence and promoting healing" after the sex-abuse scandal. In this context, the Holy Father reminded the bishops that any reform must be based on spiritual renewal, and that the bishops should lead the way through their own personal conversion.

The scandal made it difficult and uncomfortable for American prelates to speak authoritatively on public issues, the Pope acknowledged. But he insisted that the bishops cannot ignore their duty to preach the Gospel, and to promote the moral teachings of the Church, even in a hostile climate. As secularism and selfishness make their inroads into American society, he said, the bishops must do their best to counteract those trends with the truths of the faith.

The Pope said:

The exercise of this prophetic witness in contemporary American society has, as many of you have pointed out, been made increasingly difficult by the aftermath of the recent scandal and the outspoken hostility to the Gospel in certain sectors of public opinion, yet it cannot be evaded or delegated to others. Precisely because American society is confronted by a disturbing loss of the sense of the transcendent and the affirmation of a culture of the material and the ephemeral, it desperately needs such a witness of hope.

Link is here.

Judge grills abortionist...

Excerpts from LifeSiteNews.com continuing story:

Judge Richard C. Casey did not let partial-birth abortionist Dr. Timothy Johnson off easy.

Partial-Birth Abortions often necessitate dismemberment of the live baby while the head remains entrenched in the womb. Judge Casey asked Johnson "Does the fetus feel pain?" Johnson replied that he was not sure, that he was not familiar with any research that suggested they do.

A doctor who testified a day earlier said that a baby does not necessarily die after its limbs are torn off. Casey pressed Johnson about whether he ever thought about the pain inflicted on the child during the procedure: "Simple question, doctor," Casey said. "Does it cross your mind?"

Johnson replied in the negative. "Never crossed your mind?" the judge repeated.

"No," Johnson replied.

"So you tell her the arms and legs are pulled off?" he (the judge) asked. "I mean, that's what I want to know. Do you tell her?"

"We tell her the baby, the fetus, is dismembered as part of the procedure, yes," Johnson replied.

Casey also wanted to know if women were informed that the abortion involved "sucking the brain out of the skull."

"I don't think we would use those terms," Johnson replied. "I think we would probably use a term like decompression of the skull or reducing the contents of the skull."

Casey said, "Make it nice and palatable so that they wouldn't understand what it's all about?"

Johnson said that he would not want to be insensitive, "We try to do it in a way that's not offensive or gruesome or overly graphic for patients."

The responses of the Evil One - the liar and the father of lies, a murderer from the beginning! We have become like gods, knowing good and evil - arbitrarily deciding for ourselves what is good and evil.

Surely, this cannot be true?

Chicago based researchers uncover previously unreleased portion of Nostra Aetate, the Vatican II document on interfaith relations
4/1/2004 8:41:00 PM
By Hugh Moore, Executive Director - St. Laphatdis Foundation (www.laphadisfoundation.net)

Mr. Hugh Moore, Executive Director of the St. Laphatdis Foundation (www.laphadisfoundation.net) in Chicago announced today at a press conference the discovery of a previously unreleased version of Nostra Aetate, the Vatican II document on inter-faith relations. The document outlines efforts by the council to reach some level of ecumenical understanding with the Church of Satan. In Germany, an ecumenical Cardinal who prefered to go unnamed gave ghostly praise to the new document, calling it "a breakthrough in the Catholic Church's journey toward fully reconciling herself with the many gifts that those who reject Christ bring to our cultural heritage."

###

NOSTRA AETATE (Part II): Declaration on the relation of the Church to Satan

In this age of ours, when men are are drawing more closely together and the bonds of friendship between different peoples are being strengthened, the Church examines with still greater care the relation which she has with Satan.
...
The Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy about Satan. She has high regard for his nature, office, dignity and faith. Although she differswith him on many points of doctrine, nevertheless he often relects a ray of that truth which enlightens all God's creatures. Let Christians, while witnessing to their own faith and way of life, acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found within the person of Satan as well as his social and religious life and culture.

Read it here...and pray...This "angelic" creature seems to have made his way into Christ's Church.

Seriously...Is Mr. Hugh Moore (Humor) really on to something?

The Holy Father's Address to US Bishops of Atlanta & Miami

The full text of the Holy Father's address is here.

Pope John Paul II has stunned Catholic health care providers, ethicists and theologians by announcing emphatically that it is "morally obligatory" to continue artificial feeding and hydration for people in a persistent vegetative state, even if they remain so for years.

Stunned ethicists and theologians? What's new? Some people are stunned everytime moral truth is spoken by the Church.

Until now, the 565 hospitals in the Catholic Hospital Association (CHA) considered feeding tubes for people in a persistent vegetative state "medical treatment," which could be provided or discontinued, based on evaluating the benefits and burdens on patient and family.

Many public and private hospitals have taken this stance since 1990, when the Supreme Court ruled that feeding tubes are medical treatments "never intended to keep someone alive forever in an unconscious state," says attorney Bill Colby, who argued the case.

Of course, many have taken to following the laws of man rather than the laws of God. It's one of the reasons this country is in such a deplorable shape now. As God is removed from society, the society crumbles under its own weight of iniquity...

"I think we all would have withdrawn a feeding tube in her case — until this," says Laurence O'Connell, director of Park Ridge Center for Health, Faith and Ethics in Chicago. The pope's stance is "a stunner, to say the least."

This may be a place one would want to avoid...starvation and dehydration are, to them, perfectly acceptable forms of "dying with dignity"!

Pathetic, reprehensible, and sad! Link is here in USA Today.

U.S. Homosexual Activist Website Provides List of 'Gay Friendly' Catholic Parishes

This from LifeSite:

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A homosexual activist website has produced a state by state listing of 'gay friendly' Catholic parishes. Faithful Catholics who have seen the site suggest that it may make a good starting point for bishops concerned with dissent among their priests.

Here are those listed for Missouri:

Missouri
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception --Kansas City
St. Cronan's, St. Margaret of Scotland --St. Louis

Link to article.

Swiss Bishops Reject Call for Women's Ordination

How long did it take them to come up with this? This story was circulating late last year, as I recall. The Holy Father stated that this issue was closed for discussion 10 years ago. I know, some things take time to be understood in the proper context!

According to the bishops' conference, Paula Beck, author of the initiative promoted by the synod, has been the cause of schismatic conduct and has committed a serious infraction of the constitution of the local Church. She has exhorted the ecclesial communities to "go against the bishops."

The bishops' conference has asked the synod to explain Beck's public positions.

It sounds as if it has already been perfectly explained. It was posted all over the net some time ago. Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, as an infallible teaching of the Church, requires firm and definitive assent. The Catechism says something about this in # 2089:

Incredulity is the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it. "Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him."

Today has really been an exercise in the virtue of patience and charity!

Story is here at Zenit.

Kerry Planning on Playing the Martyr

Yes, aides for John Kerry say he is no different than the vast majority of "practicing American Catholics." Well, of course there may be some truth in this statement - primarily because most "Catholics" may not be aware of the Church's teachings or, perhaps they may actually refuse to assent to them - because they are too hard to accept!

But that's not all:

...According to other sources inside the Kerry camp, aides are attempting to identify a Catholic diocese, and perhaps even a specific priest and church, where Kerry could attend a Mass with reporters present, and be turned away at the altar attempting to receive communion.

They should not have to look very hard - Our own Archbishop Burke has stated that he would refuse Kerry if he presented himself for Holy Communion. He should come here to St Louis and display his hypocrisy and play the 'martyr'...How low can this man sink? Satan must be very proud!

[Full Article]

A way for Bishops to get tough with Kerry?

Diogenes has proffered a surprisingly brilliant way to entice the Bishops to come down firmly on John Kerry:

Spread a rumor that Kerry regularly attends a Latin Mass.

See the post here.

French Cardinal denounces "The Passion"

This is almost too much...you'll have to read the article.

It is hard to say who has been tougher on Gibson and his film, the secular film critics or the Roman Catholic Church.
"His 'Passion' seems to be based on an apocryphal Gospel according to the Saint Marquis de Sade," the left-wing newspaper Liberation wrote. "His faith is the Shi'ite version of Christianity, his religion soaked in blood and pain."

Paris Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, who was born Jewish and converted as a teenager, denounced the film's violence as the opposite of Jesus's message of love and compassion.

"The Gospel is not The Gallic Wars or Napoleon's Memoires," he said last week. Love of God, he said, "is not measured in liters of hemoglobin and spilled blood."

Let us not dwell on the fact that God became Man so that He might take on all sin and suffer and die for our redemption. Let's pretend that none of this did in fact happen.

Lord, please grant me patience in order that I will not denounce people like this!

It's time to depose this heretic bishop...

Controversial S. African bishop speaks out in Hub
By Eric Convey
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
A soft-spoken South African Catholic bishop who made headlines worldwide by endorsing the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS in his homeland said the church would benefit from moving away from its hierarchical ways.

The Catholic church, said Bishop Kevin Dowling, should be ``about building the compassionate, caring, people-centered church.''

That means developing rules based on what the faithful believe they need rather than imposing rules from above, he said. ``We've got to continue the process of building a more people-centered and community-centered theology.''

Dowling, in a Herald interview before an appearance that was part Boston College's Church in the 21st Century Project, endorses condom use despite official Catholic teaching against it.

Catholics, he said, should ``keep on creating and re-creating a church which gives people the experience of this love-filled, compassion-filled God who is present in the human condition in order that it be transformed.''

``That is what I believe the church in Boston needs to do for its own people as we have to do in Rustenberg in South Africa.

This man has rejected both Christ and His Church. He wants to build his 'new' church in his own image. The faithful need to be rid of this heretic!

American Life League urges archbishop to ban Kerry

...in its statement issued Tuesday, the American Life League asked Archbishop O’Malley to go one step further and “to consider the example of Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, who used Church law to officially bar certain pro-abortion Catholics from receiving Communion.”

This needs to be done immediately especially considering that he made a special trip to Washington to vote against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

NRB calls for legal consistency in abuse cases

Members of the National Review Board--the watchdog group commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops--are calling for uniform regulations that would protect priests' legal rights.

Coming soon: Long-awaited Vatican document on liturgical abuse

From Catholic News Service:
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A long-awaited Vatican document on liturgical abuse has been signed by Pope John Paul II and is expected to be published after Easter.

The latest reports indictated that this was to be released on Holy Thursday...Now we might now see this until after Easter.

Almost as much as the content, the tone of the draft document alarmed some liturgists in Rome, including several who work with the Vatican on papal liturgies.

Servite Father Silvano Maggiani, president of the Association of Professors of Liturgy, read a message expressing the liturgists' fear that the liturgical reform movement opened by Vatican II was being closed down.

He also wrote that it would go against Vatican II to try and return to a "schism ... between lay faithful and ordained ministers."

There was a schism between the laity and the priests prior to Vatican II? Who is this guy and where does he come up with this? Maybe it's a translation problem?

Whatever the final form, the document takes aim at liturgical abuse, and it was written at the specific request of the pope. When he asked for its preparation almost a year ago, the pope said he wanted it to include "prescriptions of a juridical nature" regarding church rules for the celebration of Mass and adoration of the Eucharist.

Perhaps the delay is that the "prescriptions of a juridical nature" have to be removed so as not to offend the sensibilities of those who prefer the "do it yourself" Mass?

Homosexual Reporter for Nat'l Catholic Reporter Disrupts Mass

CANTON, Mass. - A gay man interrupted a church Mass on Sunday when he told congregants he objected to a video opposing same-sex marriage that was shown moments earlier.

Chuck Colbert created a brief disturbance when he stood up after the eight-minute video, identified himself as a Catholic and said he objected to the video, said the Rev. Michael Doyle of St. John the Evangelist church.

"I just found it to be such a scurrilous, scandalous piece of misinformation," Colbert said. "For me to sit there and take it is out of the question."

Some people can't stand the truth...

"My life is very similar to the people in there," Colbert told New England Cable News outside the church. "I want to be married, I have a wonderful partner, we're building a life together, it in no way threatens anyone else."

Building a life together?

"He's not even a member of that parish," he (Archdiocese spokesman the Rev. Christopher Coyne) said. "He doesn't even worship in Canton. He was obviously alerted and decided to disrupt that Mass."

Colbert acknowledged he was alerted about the video, but that he's free to attend any Mass.

"I wanted to see how it was presented," he said. "I've never seen anything like that."

Of course he hasn't seen anything like it before. When one lives in the dark, one usually avoids the light of truth. How sad this is for the parishioners who had to go through this. How sad for this man who chooses to be shackled by the Evil One. May God have mercy on him!

John Kerry, Bible Scholar and Preacher?

Yes! He can add this to his CV now, in addition to that of supporter of the murder of innocent unborn children.

Sen. John Kerry brought his presidential campaign to a St. Louis church Sunday, mixing preaching with politics, and Scripture with soul.
...
Kerry's aim was to appeal to the largely African-American crowd - generally loyal to the Democratic Party...

Of course...those who suffer the most from the scourges of abortion.

Kerry, D-Mass., departed from his prepared text when he took to the lectern. He praised the worshippers: "Thank you for telling the truth here. And as the Bible also tells us, the truth shall set you free."

Unfortunately, one who is enslaved by sin will be unable to understand what is meant by true freedom. But, I suppose it sounds good.

"The Scriptures say, 'What does it profit my brother if someone says he has faith, but does not have works,'" Kerry continued. "When we look at what is happening in America today, 'Where are the works?' For it is also written, 'The doers of the word are no hearers only.'"

Yes, and they also say "Thou shall not murder", and "He who hears you, hears Me and the One Who sent Me."

Perhaps, now that he has become a biblical expert, and since he claims to be "Catholic", some of the local parishes may want to invite him to conduct Bible Studies or something?

Story here.

Kerry won't be bossed around by the Pope (or by Jesus, either)

No puppet of Pope, Kerry says
By DEREK ROSEDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

John Kerry says he is a proud, churchgoing Catholic, but the former altar boy insists he won't be bossed around by the Pope.

Hmmm, there is the first clue in the word "proud". So proud, in fact, that he is rejecting the authority of the Holy Father, huh? In effect, then, he is saying, in union with Satan, "I will not serve!" What a guy! A born leader!

St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke said last month he would refuse to give Kerry Communion if he went to his church.

Kerry was in St. Louis yesterday but sidestepped the issue by praying and speaking at a Baptist church, New Northside Missionary. He cited Scripture and an African proverb, "When you pray, move your feet."

A good, practicing Catholic, eh? Didn't go to Mass? I'll bet he did not want to be refuse Holy Communion here in St. Louis, publicly.

I suppose he doesn't recall our Blessed Mother's advise, "Do whatever He tells you!"?

More Problems at St. Stanislaus

The meeting at St. Stanislaus yesterday, from the account in the paper, must have really been something to see.

Surely there is more to this story than what we know. There is something else about the group of people who are running the parish as well. The story relates this:

Some church members have also investigated the option of hiring their own priest from the Internet at www.rentapriest.com if they lose their priest.

Now this really speaks volumes! Any Catholic who would actually consider an action such as this, is certainly in need of help.

It would certainly be nice to be able to get the details of what this controversy is really about and why it has come to the attention of the Archdiocese. And why has it been allowed to continue for so long?

Full story here.

"Same Sex" Unions starting in St. Louis?

This was in Sunday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Two women wed in county church in union of politics and tradition
By Aisha Sultan
Of the Post-Dispatch
03/28/2004At the solemn moment before the rings were exchanged Saturday afternoon, the minister performing the wedding ceremony misspoke.

He described the rings as symbols of enduring love which the couple entered as "husband and wife," to which the crowd of about 200 guests burst into laughter.

"Excuse me - life partner," said the Rev. Daniel O'Connell. "I guess my ceremony needs an update."

O'Connell performed a wedding ceremony at Eliot Unitarian Chapel in Kirkwood for two women - Lesley Proud, 55, and Sally Nelson, 50, of Creve Coeur. While the ceremony has no legal standing, the couple said they wanted to open it to the public to raise support for gay marriages.

This is an affront to a civilized society - but then, it may be a stretch to call our society civilized. As a society, in general, we have rejected the fundamental precepts of our Creator and continue to murder His unborn little ones. This is nothing more than the fruit which comes from our rejection of the Divine Law and the natural moral law.