Fishwrap supports coalition of heretics asking Pope to apologize

The catholic Left will turn on Pope Francis when they finally realize that he is not going to conform to their liberal and heretical notions and agenda.   The cracks are already appearing.  Most liberals have been gushing about him since his election, because they took his folksy style and lack of papal decorum as a sign that he is a fellow traveller.   But this Pope is not going to, for example, give approval to the ordination of women.  He is not going to smile on gnostic ravings.  He is not going to give the nod to moving beyond Jesus.

And so today we read in at the Fishwrap (aka The National Schismatic Reporter) that a coalition has formed asking Pope Francis… get this… to apologize to the LCWR and to Sr. Elizabeth Johnson!

And the Fishwrap is supporting this.

My emphases:

Coalition calls for papal apology to U.S. sisters
Brian Roewe

An open letter to the pope has asked for an apology to U.S. women religious and an intervention on their behalf in their ongoing reform discussions with the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation.
It was with “respect and gratitude” but also “concern and dismay” that The Nun Justice Project, a coalition of 16 progressive U.S. Catholic organizations, wrote Pope Francis Thursday regarding recent comments from Cardinal Gerhard Müller to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. The organization, representing more than 90 percent of U.S. congregations of Catholic women religious, is currently under a reform mandate from the Müller-headed Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

[…]

In addition to the letter, the coalition has asked supporters to sign an online petition. As of Thursday afternoon, more than 800 people had signed. The Nun Justice Project also urged people to Tweet “We stand with the Sisters” to the pope, as well as mail him copies of their letter and Spanish copies Johnson’s books Consider Jesus and Quest for the Living God.

The coalition includes the American Catholic Council; Association of Roman Catholic Womenpriests; Call To Action; DignityUSA; FutureChurch; National Coalition of American Nuns; New Ways Ministry; Voice of the Faithful; and Women’s Ordination Conference.

The full Nun Justice Project letter is as follows:

Dear Pope Francis
We write with respect and gratitude for your extraordinary leadership in our Church.

Sadly, we also write with concern and dismay at the behavior that Cardinal Gerhard Müller recently exhibited toward women leaders of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and especially toward Dr. Elizabeth Johnson CSJ.

Cardinal Müller’s preemptive public criticism of LCWR leadership and Dr. Johnson, one of the most beloved and respected theologians in the world, [HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!] eclipsed any opportunity for public dialogue.

This communicates that faithful Catholic female leaders are disrespected and discounted in our Church.

On numerous occasions you have expressed a desire to expand leadership opportunities for women. We respectfully suggest that the place to begin is to listen to faithful women who are already exercising leadership.

We ask you to personally [split infinitives] intervene with Cardinal Müller and Archbishop Sartain and remove the unjust mandates imposed on LCWR over two years ago.

In addition, a public apology to Dr. Johnson and LCWR leadership would speak volumes about the institutional Church’s intent to truly listen to women and honor their voices.

In closing, we express our love and solidarity with you as together we joyfully proclaim the rich diversity revealed in the Good News of Jesus Christ, a message ever ancient yet ever new.

Sincerely yours,

The Nun Justice Project
American Catholic Council
Association of Roman Catholic Womenpriests
Catholics Speak Out / Quixote Center
Call To Action
CORPUS
DignityUSA
Federation of Christian Ministries/RCFCC
FutureChurch
National Coalition of American Nuns
New Ways Ministry
Pax Christi Maine
RAPPORT
Roman Catholic Womenpriests – USA
Southeastern Pennsylvania Women’s Ordination Conference
Voice of the Faithful
Women’s Ordination Conference

I think it is interesting that the Fishwrap is giving its support to those organizations in a contumacious attempt to make the Vicar of Christ apologize for the defense of Christian doctrine.

Remember: They will settle for nothing less than the ordination of women.  That’s their unholy grail… cup… thing.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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65 Comments

  1. iPadre says:

    I want one of the puppets! It would be great for target practice.

  2. Rachel K says:

    “The Nun Justice Project” ?! ha ha ha!
    Is that an anagram for something else?
    And, they manage to get the word “diversity” into their sign-off; brilliant!

  3. LarryW2LJ says:

    I saw this quote on whyimcatholic.com It was written by Whitney Belprez, an agnostic convert to our Church. This is what our dear Sisters of the LCWR need to learn and practice. This is what I need, what we all need to practice – every day.

    “Trust and obey. Always. Because He is God and I am not.”

    If we do this, we’ll all stay on the straight and narrow and not get all wonky.

  4. Sonshine135 says:

    I am so glad that the Vatican came down so heavily on the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate Conception. It is just more and more obvious every day that this is the most important group of schismatics they should be focusing on right now. They are such a heretical Catholic Organization. (Tongue is firmly in-cheek).
    UGH!
    Me thinks that they should have just changed their name to the Franciscan Friars of Progressive Social Justice. They would have been left alone for a lot longer.
    How much longer must we wait until the church silences these ruiners of souls? This “Non-Justice Project” and its associated member organizations are ridiculous. The very fact that these organizations have been allowed to run a muck for so long really has me questioning why. Mercy is one thing. Allowing people to hang themselves with a very long rope is also understandable, but at the cost of how many souls?
    Please don’t tell me that LCWR really represents “more than 90% of U.S. congregations of Catholic women religious.” If that is the truth, we are in some serious trouble.

  5. Josephus Muris Saliensis says:

    This is so funny. If I read this on Eye-of-the-Tiber I would think it was an amusing ironic spoof. But it’s on WDTPRS, so it’s FOR REAL!!!! They are beyond bonkers, as this is beyond parody.

    These poor, poor women. One should not laugh, they really need our prayers, but I’m grinning ear-to-ear as I type nonetheless.

    St Jude, patron of lost causes, pray for them.

  6. ts says:

    Okay. Enough is Enough! “…Truly listen to WOMEN and honor their voices.” LCWR, you do not speak for ALL women! All of this rambling on and the making of your own little universe and then expecting all to bow down to YOU as creator of this universe….when everyone doesn’t agree with you and holds a mirror to you the gnashing of teeth and squealing (like Gollum when the Elven rope was around his neck…”but master, it hurts us master, take it off”) goes into full effect!
    LCWR. You do not speak for all women! You have had too much of the koolaid. Just lay down the pride and slowly back away. Spend an hour in adoration. pray the office. hide yourselves in the wounds of Christ and beg for Mercy. Desire to be invisible in the world so that you may shine bright in the eyes of God. I refer you to Jeremiah 17 beginning with v. 5 and then to Psalm 1 for starters. This is from a woman who literally lives in the world, married. LCWR, there is truly a hierarchy, established by God, and what your proposing AIN’T it! Let me put it another way: you’re barking up the wrong tree…meaning…what you’re looking for isn’t up the tree at which you think it is. Just stop barking, sit down…no lay down and allow the Holy Spirit to counsel you. You have allowed yourselves to be counseled by the enemy of our Lord! Do you think that God’s bride is just now being realized because you have EVOLVED your ?consciences?
    Enough is Enough LCWR. NO ONE owes YOU an apology. You owe an apology to Jesus, the Christ; His Holy Bride; the Mystical Body of Christ; all who, in good will, desire your salvation. Enough already!
    May the most Holy , most Sacred, most Adorable, most Mysterious, and Unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in heaven on earth and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen (the Golden Arrow prayer).
    Lord, have Mercy. Christ, have Mercy. Lord, have Mercy.

  7. Elizabeth D says:

    yes, the link among all these groups is they all are activists for “women’s ordination” and radical editing of Catholic beliefs on sexual morality. NCR is basically the public mouthpiece for this dissident movement whose desires are irreconcilable with the Catholic faith. “Nun Justice Project” was formed at the time the LCWR doctrinal assessment was released and they collected signatures on a petition “in support of the nuns.” Here in Madison, I witnessed that that petition was circulated at the local farmer’s market [?!?] by the notorious former-Catholic, non-Catholic sect Holy Wisdom Monastery, to unsuspecting passersby who just think nuns are good and didn’t want to sign after I explained more to them. This is like politics to them, the media blitz in favor of their preferred “candidates” is simply standing up for their dissident “political party” (which consists roughly of those groups listed above) and its agenda.

    According to an email, FutureChurch wants its supporters to do things like “Tweet Pope Francis @Pontifex “We stand with the Sisters!” 3. To help Pope Francis learn more about feminist theology, send him copy of Sr. Elizabeth Johnson’s book, Consider Jesus, in Spanish. AND/OR Send Pope Francis a copy of Sr. Elizabeth Johnson’s book, Quest for the Living God, in Spanish. ” All action suggestions were things one would do as a political activist. They didn’t ask supporters to pray, perhaps they know that would not be helpful for advancing a cause against the Catholic faith.

  8. Gregg the Obscure says:

    To date these LCWR nuns have been the recipients of extraordinary permissiveness. I very much support the idea that some justice should be brought to bear in this regard*, but the justice I envision for them is quite the opposite of what this letter seeks.

    *to the end that the sisters repent at which point copious mercy should be offered them.

  9. slainewe says:

    These poor women do deserve an apology, maybe even a papal one, for being allowed to stay in heresy for decades.

    I could not even comment on the posts about the heresies these women have embraced because it so sickens me that their bishops lacked the mercy to correct them early in their stumbling and prevent them from corrupting their flocks.

    The longer a man embraces a heresy, the harder it is for him to let go, because he has invested so much of his short life in believing it.

    It is this papal habit of the last decades of allowing heresies to flourish that, in my eyes, makes the recent papal canonizations a bit awkward. It would seem to have been more polite to have at least waited until the wolves in the sheepfold were finished gnawing the bones of the lambs.

    Saints John XXIII and John Paul II, pray for us.

  10. RobS says:

    It boggles my mind that “Voice of the Faithful” uses that terminal word when it’s clear that they’re anything but. At least be honest and call yourselves something like “Catholics for Change” or “Catholics Against the Catholic Church.”

  11. aviva meriam says:

    I love this quote:
    “Trust and obey. Always. Because He is God and I am not.”

    Well, at least they’ve identified themselves so the CDF and bishops know where to focus.
    Pray for these lost women, and for those who strive to instruct them. I couldn’t do it.

  12. Dr. Edward Peters says:

    Fr. Z and his relentless pursuit of split infinitives. :)

    [It’s a dirty job.]

  13. CrimsonCatholic says:

    Ugh, It’s sad to see that there are younger people a part of this delusional group.

  14. Suburbanbanshee says:

    Slainewe, we’re thinking the same things. The only apology needed is something like this:

    “Dear Sr. Elizabeth Johnson,

    “As Christ’s vicar on Earth, I sincerely apologize on behalf of your bishops, mothers superior, professors, and laypeople for allowing bad shepherds to lead you to poisonous weeds disguised as grass, alkali water, and hungry dens of wolves. You have been badly treated, and I can see the results. Your soul is not well, your mind is full of dishonest scholarship and objectively crazy ideas, you think the wolves are your friends even while they gnaw away bits of you as snacks; and you are being allowed to spread your sickness to others in the flock. This is sad, because I know you must have joined your order’s flock in all good faith, expecting to be given help to become strong and keep your wool white.

    “It is one of history’s cruel ironies that those with the best intentions often end up with the worst results. But you ended up exposed to one of the worst possible environments for growing in holiness. It is very common for captive victims of abuse or peer pressure to rewrite their values to those of their victimizers, in order to resolve the intolerable strain of events and opinions around them. I believe this sort of Stockholm Syndrome is what happened to you and your sisters; and we, your shepherds, did not step in and save you from it. You are living a lie, and it is partly our fault.

    “During this period of rest and reflection, I will be sending you some shepherds, decent fodder, clean water, medicine for parasites and infections, and soothing ointment. Please do not attempt to play with theology or scissors.

    “Sheepishly yours,

    “Francis, from my room down the hallway in St. Martha’s, where that guy upstairs who takes showers at 3:32 AM is giving me plenty of opportunities for offering stuff up.”

  15. acardnal says:

    “Coalition of heretics”

    Bishops should have the list nailed on the front doors of Catholic churches in their dioceses: The Nun Justice Project
    American Catholic Council
    Association of Roman Catholic Womenpriests
    Catholics Speak Out / Quixote Center
    Call To Action
    CORPUS
    DignityUSA
    Federation of Christian Ministries/RCFCC
    FutureChurch
    National Coalition of American Nuns
    New Ways Ministry
    Pax Christi Maine
    RAPPORT
    Roman Catholic Womenpriests – USA
    Southeastern Pennsylvania Women’s Ordination Conference
    Voice of the Faithful
    Women’s Ordination Conference

  16. rusynbyz says:

    It is simply stunning how loving, kind, and generous the CDF has been with these dear ladies. I suspect that if they were rogue brothers the hammer would have fallen fast and hard some time ago…

  17. JonPatrick says:

    The letter could have been simplified to:
    Dear Holy Father,
    Please apologize for asking us to be Catholic.
    Sincerely,
    the LCWR.

    I’m curious – how are the heads of the LCWR determined – are they appointed by the Holy See or are they elected by the constituent orders that make up the LCWR?

    I assume that if it is the latter then the Holy See cannot do anything to depose them but has to wait for the orders to get fed up with this charade and act. Which I suppose they won’t do as too many of them have drunk the Kool-Aid.

  18. basis says:

    Fr. Z and his relentless pursuit of split infinitives. :)

    [It’s a dirty job.]

    Creeping Protestantism! No one worried about them in English until Alford. ;)

  19. Bob the Ape says:

    Infinitives I love to blithely split –
    You may wish to pedantically object,
    Or rashly throw a nutty (spittle-flecked) –
    Rage how you will, I plan to never quit.

  20. NBW says:

    I say cut the line and let them float off into Barbara Marx Hubbard’s “conscious evolving” space.

  21. Mike says:

    Feminism and similar Hell-spawned swamps are as expressive of “rich diversity” as 2+2=5 is expressive of mathematical “diversity.” Not to name and condemn this sort of contradiction of Catholic Truth is to be complicit in the work of the Father of Lies.

  22. LeslieL says:

    This article is disingenuous in many respects as we all know…but I actually laughed out loud when I read that the LCWR represents more than “90 percent of U.S. congregations of Catholic women religious.” Last week, it was 80%. Guess they’re growing by leaps and bounds…..and one would assume by reading this that the LCWR is representative of the membership of these orders….however, the membership of the LCWR actually is comprised of LESS THAN 3% of the actual women religious (in 2011). I am certain that not all women religious agree with the dicta of the LCWR……actually, I am certain that not all the congregations that belong to the LCWR agree. It’s seems it is more like a professional association that looks good on a resumè. Anyway, Wikipedia (I know – but their references for the following seem to be pretty solid) states the following:
    “The membership of LCWR is confined to the women who are the superiors, or leaders, of their respective congregations; it may be considered a consortium of executives rather than as an organization of representatives of religious women generally. In 2011, the approximately 1,500 members of LCWR constituted less than 3% of the 55,944 women religious in the United States. However, the congregations which the members of the LCWR led included 46,451 members, or 83% of the women religious in the United States.

    The membership of the congregations in the LCWR declined rapidly in the early 21st century, both through a lack of any new members in most member congregations and the increasing age of the women who remain. According to the Study on Recent Vocations, the average median age of women in LCWR institutes is 74. Among those who entered since 1994, 56% were over 30 by 2009. For these reasons, the membership of the congregations in the LCWR declined from 60,642 in 2007, to 46,451 in 2011, to an estimated 43,664 in 2012.”

    I pray the Pope files this letter in the circular file – but with today’s instant media access and bullhorn tactics, I’m sure he will draft a conciliatory tone in his response that will confuse the masses…..oh dear.

  23. BLB Oregon says:

    “These poor women do deserve an apology, maybe even a papal one, for being allowed to stay in heresy for decades.”–slainewe

    My thought was for the professed sisters in these orders who have had to endure the errors and silly novelties thrown onto them by their fellow sisters within their own religious communities. Some have undoubtedly died in faith, having prayed for this day and yet not living to see it. Shall the Holy Father apologize that these prayers have been answered in even this small way? Is there any doubt that the founders of some of these orders have also been interceding for this day to come?

    May the full extent of their prayers for the reclamation of their religious orders be answered.

  24. Athelstan says:

    If we are going to parcel out apologies from the Holy See, I would like to see one to a truly deserving party – Fr. Stefano Maria Manelli (who remains under virtual house arrest) and the Franciscans of the Immaculate. Nothing being done to the LCWR comes close to what is being inflicted upon them.

    Otherwise, as far as these women religious are concerned, I agree with slainwe: “These poor women do deserve an apology, maybe even a papal one, for being allowed to stay in heresy for decades.” Not just allowed, but sometimes even encouraged.

  25. jbas says:

    I’m surprised by their concern. What’s the worst the CDF could realistically do to the group?

  26. Mandy P. says:

    I counted four womynpriest orgs in that signature. Yeah. I’m sure the Holy Father is going to get riiiiight on that apology. Top of the agenda, that is.

  27. alanphipps says:

    “Remember: They will settle for nothing less than the ordination of women. That’s their unholy grail… ”

    Well, what’s interesting is that if you dig deep enough, you’ll find that what some of these groups want, particularly the “Womenpriest” movement, is to eliminate the need for “ordination” completely so that anybody who “feels called to preside” can step up and do so without hindrance. If you peruse their writings and speeches (if you can stomach it), they are quite open about the fact that the only reason they’re pushing for women’s ordination specifically at this point is merely to temporarily “redress the wrong” that was done to women by excluding them from Holy Orders. However, they look forward to a day when they can dispense with ordination altogether.

    Really, what these groups want is complete license to do whatever they want with the sacraments, including eliminate them if need-be. Hence the lack of believe in personal sin and need for confession, grape-juice liturgies, bizarre modifications to the Creed. Welcome to crazy-town.

  28. Mario Bird says:

    Re: Split Infinitives

    Can anyone reckon the damage done by William Shatner and Patrick Stewart in this regard? I can give Shatner a pass, but Stewart, as a Shakespearean, should have known better. Then again, Shakespeare had no problem ending sentences with prepositions, apparently. Such is the prerogative of the poet.

    In the final analysis, the nuns’ penchant for splitting infinitives confirms that their liturgical inspirations do, indeed, spring from Star Trek.

  29. TomG says:

    Mario Bird:
    Dangling prepositions? “That is a situation up with which we should not have to put.” Winston Churchill (who else?)

  30. JustaSinner says:

    Nuns UNDER the bus, anyone? Heck, I’ll drive…still have my Class B CDL!

  31. Traductora says:

    I greatly admire anyone here who has the intestinal fortitude to wade through the writings of these “theologians,” a term that now seems to describe anybody’s granny who has gone through a course on how to gaze at a candle flame and think you’re really grooooooovy and privy to the secrets of the universe.

    To me, this all goes back to two things: the complete failure of the bishops after Vatican II (well, bishops have always been wusses); and the miserable level of formation in seminaries which left us with hordes of clergy who may have been sort of orthodox and meant well, but had absolutely no intellectual ammunition and couldn’t combat these things. It all went downhill when they no longer needed to know Latin or be able to learn it, IMHO…but that’s just me.

    In any case, once upon a time the LCWR would have been called to heel a lot faster. They have probably destroyed not only many religious orders, but many souls since that time – since apparently their “curriculum,” including Johnson, is used in many Catholic colleges.

  32. Amateur Scholastic says:

    Dear me, some of these names are hilarious.

    The Nun Justice Project (the Non-Justice Project)
    Association of Roman Catholic Womenpriests (why not ‘priestesses’?)
    Call To Action (a heretical group on this side of the pond, too. You can tell they’re all aging, because they hold their meetings on weekdays, in the middle of the day.)
    CORPUS (as in hoc est enim, not that they believe that)
    FutureChurch (Tagline: “We were the future, once!”)
    New Ways Ministry (‘new’ as in ‘made up’)
    RAPPORT (“Rapport: We talk, you listen!”)
    Roman Catholic Womenpriests – USA (again, what’s wrong with ‘priestesses’?)
    Southeastern Pennsylvania Women’s Ordination Conference (Tagline: “The biggest progressive group in this part of Southeastern Pennsylvania!”)
    Voice of the Faithful (in what, we don’t know)
    Women’s Ordination Conference (of everywhere except Southeastern Penn?)

  33. This is fascinating.

    First, this is a classic political-left move. For whatever reason, groups on the political left always have this herd mentality. Whether it’s some sort of demonstration, or event, or public statement, they come up with these lists. If it’s a political thing, they’ll be very sure to sprinkle it heavily with religious organizations. I may have missed it, but I don’t see as much of that on the right.

    Second, as Mandy P. points out, this isn’t a list that is likely to impress the holy father. I don’t know that they’d do it, but the papal household could have a betting pool on which name coincides with the first Petrine eye-roll.

    So–third–I’m thinking, what’s the point of this? Obviously to score points off the pope, and rally the lefty troops. This is 100% domestic consumption. And who knows, maybe they think the U.S. bishops will be impressed?

    Fourth. While neither the pope or bishops are likely to do this, what if someone came out, with this letter, and said:

    “My, isn’t this useful? We certainly knew some of these groups were prone to heresy — but this one, and this one, and this one? We didn’t know about them…but now we do!

    “Thank you folks!”

  34. Frank Gibbons says:

    The Gathering of the Tribes….

  35. A.D. says:

    As I read the list of the heretical groups and the sisters who continue in their disobedience to the Pope, I am reminded of the parable of the 10 virgins and the words spoken to the five who who had let their lights go out. “Amen I say to you, I know you not.” Perhaps this is all the Holy Father needs to say.

  36. mrshopey says:

    Fr. Fox, it reminds me of the Alinsky style – grassroots – gather enough support for your cause (don’t forget that hired demonstrators count too), then do it publicly and play the victim card (demanding an apology for something that doesn’t deserve one).
    Or, when I see these pop up, political groups, you can bet Step 1 will be gather the troupes – if you have to pay them that’s ok too…

  37. mrshopey says:

    Here is briefly the Alinsky style as put by Fr. Pacwa:
    “The key to starting an (Alinsky) organization was to find an issue that united the people. The issue should be small enough to win a victory, but large enough to matter to the folks. Second, after choosing the issue we had to identify an enemy the community could recognize as the personification of the issue. Usually this was some politician or businessman. Third, an action had to be designed by which the people could attack the enemy and force his or her hand on the issue, thereby giving the folks a victory. That would motivate them to take on bigger and more important issues, while the leaders among the people could emerge. This was a means of bringing power to the people.”

  38. Jackie L says:

    With friends like this…

  39. benedetta says:

    What’s quite interesting lately (maybe last five years ago) is that despite these Alinsky informed unethical and immoral tactics leading to some political power, armed with apparently nearly limitless means of technology and media, over time the demands have become strident and frozen in lockstep along pretty much one obsessive animus.

    Whereas within the world of orthodoxy there is an ever broadening, genuine diversity of thought, worship, culture, joy animated by Christ, and while certainly absorbing certain events, not solidified in reactive mode.

  40. Kathleen10 says:

    Why would they expect the Holy Father to consider “Dr. Johnson” an actual theologian, when they have just been told they are way out in outer space and this is not Catholicism. There is not one trace of humility in this letter. On the contrary, this is assertive and bold, while cloyingly manipulative.
    They use his words about leadership for women against him. More annoying. But, they are right, those were his words.
    “We ask you to personally intervene…”. Really, somebody’s nervous, because this is desperate.
    “A public apology”. Blatantly desperate now. This is a bold move, to convince the other you’ve been wronged and thereby get on the other side of things, hopefully convince the other to back off. I don’t know what will happen in this chess game, but this seems very, very unlikely. Only desperation would make you ask for it.
    They close with the killer.
    “We wish to express our love and solidarity with you (cloying) as “together” (we’re with you Holy Father, if you’re with US), we joyfully proclaim the rich diversity revealed in the Good News of Jesus Christ, a message ever ancient and ever new”.
    That’s the real clunker. It is really annoying to see them pull out a mention of Jesus Christ, hiding behind him at the last moment when up til now they have made it clear they have “moved past Jesus” and their babblings never mention him. That is really manipulative. They have used the name of Christ as a dodge to hide behind, at the last minute.
    Well now the whole world is watching, so we will see if heresy is going to be further tolerated by the church and taught by the heretics who have used the Catholic church to fund and support teaching heresy and error and leading souls to the abyss.

  41. Luvadoxi says:

    LarryW2LJ–that’s just awesome. That’s been something the Lord has been telling me too. Trust and obey. That’s orthodoxy and pastoral together in a nutshell. We are living in the age of Divine Mercy for sure.

  42. The Cobbler says:

    A couple quick and only barely relevant thoughts.

    One, in science and statistics “representative” usually means (if I’m not mistaken) that an example would not be notably distinguishable from any other random sample of that which it represents, but in politics it usually means someone who claims (accurately or not is rarely relevant) to speak for another in order to take the other’s influence and/or tax dollars… one of these uses of the terms seems more accurate than the other as applied to this Leadership Conference.

    Two, and this is just my impression of character so take it with a grain of salt, but I don’t think Pope Francis is likely to roll his eyes at this sort of thing — I suspect, rather, that he very well may use a gesture that today is called a “facepalm” but has really been around far longer than the term “facepalm”…

  43. djmarine81 says:

    I hope that the Holy Father does respond. I hope it is similar to a response given by a brave American commander to the German commander at a place called Bastogne in 1944. It would go something like this:

    To: The Commander of the Dissident Sects of Nuns
    From: Pope Francis

    “NUTS”

  44. Elizabeth D says:

    I was a very active political progressive prior to returning to my Catholic faith about 8 years ago. I was in the thick of “alinsky” type organizations and received their training.

    The thing about progressive organizing is that it works. They had large numbers of committed volunteers on the ground doing all manner of laborious outreach to spread their message and accomplish their goals. People made it a lifestyle and devoted all their free time to it. There were many different ways and levels on which to be involved, you were certain to find a way of helping out the cause that fit your abilities and life. They went beyond their own comfort zone to do doorknocking, collect petition signatures, etc. They continually kept informed about politics. Their social life was organized around it. They had a sense of urgency, and they found camaraderie and often had fun. Not just a handful of people–rather a lot of people.

    Meanwhile back in the Catholic Church, which is the universal sacrament of salvation according to Vatican II, and of which Jesus Christ our Lord and God is the head, the new evangelization can often seem like all talk and no actual initiatives of outreach. Often Catholics seem to decide that for them the new evangelization can consist solely of developing better parish programs, but approximately no actual outreach and no training for evangelization. I have struggled with being scandalized about this. The pastor is the pastor of everyone in his parish territory. There is no other source of salvation for those people than through Jesus and His Catholic Church. The current thing holding up the new evangelization at my parish is that everyone read a book by Sheri Weddell proposing that most practicing Catholics don’t really have a personal relationship with Jesus and we need to all become “intentional disciples” and do things like a “called and gifted” inventory of personal gifts.

    Wow, Dr Ed Peters and all who thought it was pastorally irresponsible to claim 50% of people aren’t validly married, how about the claim that only 5% of Catholics “really” have a personal relationship with Jesus? I really, really thought I did (I am vowed to celibate chastity in singleheartedness for Him after all), but I wasn’t one of the ones handpicked to be in the “intentional disciples/new evangelization” leadership group so AM I in the top 5% who do know Jesus and might be able to evangelize? And if I AM can the Catholic Church please put me and the rest of the (alleged) 5% to work one way or another (if I am that bad at interfacing with people, have me handwrite postcards to local households, whatever–we did a TON of that for political campaigns when I was a progressive) to tell people that our parish exists, and about my friend Jesus? And who else among the people I know who appear to me to have a personal relationship with Jesus, which includes pretty much all the Catholics I know, aren’t really “intentional disciples”? Is there really a frightening lack of actual follower of Jesus who could possibly evangelize? And why is there so much fear (even by those in charge) that someone might be offended if we did actually evangelize the public?

    I am sorry if this is imprudent but I am thinking aloud and I really want to see Jesus Christ proclaimed and people invited to know Him and receive the grace He wants to give.

  45. Elizabeth D says:

    Also, a huge thing that needs to be much better developed, and this is totally not what political progressives do, we need to pray for people to be disposed and open to the message to the Gospel, open to Jesus and open to conversion and the Mercy of God, we need to pray for the success of evangelization efforts and pray for the evangelizers. There can and must be a “contemplative” side of the new evangelization effort that should be considered just as important as those who are communicating the message and engaging in a ministry of Christian friendship.

  46. Tantum Ergo says:

    I’m all for LCWR power! (gasoline is way too expensive.)

  47. Federico says:

    Split infinitives is nothing. I’m disappointed Fr. Z let the faux verb “disrespected” pass with nary a correction or comment.

  48. The gaudy, goofy, tacky, utterly ridiculous puppets in the back say it all.

  49. Josemaria says:

    Elizabeth D., please be scandalized by the lack of evangelical effort, so much so that it inspires you to relentless evangelical efforts! Don’t forget that the Holy Spirit does most of the word, and that you are just an unworthy vessel leading others to Christ Our King.

    Also, “This communicates that faithful Catholic female leaders are disrespected and discounted in our Church.”

    “Faithful Catholic!?” How shockingly blunt in its falsehood! Are many of the faithful truly deceived by this Conscious Evolution absurdity?

    I hope this letter goes straight into our Holy Father’s hands so he gets a reminder of just how insane things still are in certain circles in the U.S. Perhaps having a copy of Sr. Johnson’s “theology” will also be a daily impetus for him to keep fighting the good fight and recommit himself to the spread of authentic Christianity.

  50. Josemaria says:

    *work, not word.

  51. Matthew says:

    The whole ‘womenpriests’ thing is hilarious until you realize they are serious.

  52. mrshopey says:

    Did anyone else read where Pope Francis touched on heresy at his audience?
    From CNA:
    “Ideas by themselves do not lead anywhere and those who pursue the path of their own ideas end up in a labyrinth from where they can’t get out again!” the Pope stated in his May 16 daily Mass.”

    “Noting how often times those who pursue their own ideas end up trapped in them, the pontiff pointed out that “It’s for this reason that heresies have existed from the very beginning of the Church.”

    “Heresies are this: trying to understand with our minds and with only our personal light who Jesus is,” he observed, adding that “A great English writer wrote that a heresy is an idea that’s gone crazy.”

    “That’s right! When they are ideas by themselves they become crazy…This is not the right path!”

    I do think it is wise, if the Pope gives an answer, that it is published just so the answer isn’t lost in translation.
    To Cardinal Mueller’s credit, he did apologize for being blunt, but sometimes it is necessary to cut to the heart of the matter and identify directly what is out of bounds with what we believe and a very old heresy to boot.

  53. Kathleen10 says:

    Elizabeth D, I feel your pain. It is frustrating at times to imagine what could be, and then see what is. “Victory” often goes to the one that wants it most, for all the reasons you mentioned. They simply work harder to achieve their goal. Our culture has rolled over and become post-Christian, and our church has largely let it, or, led it. Our Bishops seem inspired more by social gospel than actual gospel, and the people have lost their way. Souls are being lost, but it doesn’t seem to concern our church as much as distributing money to the materially poor does, or happily allowing immigrants to flood the country, and not “judging” anyone or anything.
    Let’s carry on, and do whatever we can. One person can make a difference.

  54. danube-bosphorus-moskva says:

    Wow, this is really something. They acctually think that Pope is schizophreniac? There is one Pope who is telling to CDF to continue investigation on their theology, and there is another one, who is unaware of whats all fuss about LCWR?
    Meh, it seems that theology of sexual revolution is form of cognitive disonance.
    But on serious note, I cant really get why RCC did not excomunicate those nuns, two decades ago?

  55. JViktor says:

    “Dr. Johnson, one of the most beloved and respected theologians in the world,”
    Never heard of her. I guess it’s because she is probably quite unknown outside the USA. Those LCWR nuns should go back to school and learn that there are five other continents besides North America.
    I think this is not only very stupid but highly offensive. Pope Francis is not going to be very happy when he realises that his native Buenos Aires, Rome and the rest of the world do not exist on the LCWR map.

  56. majuscule says:

    Kathleen10’s comment “and not ‘judging’ anyone or anything” brings to mind a troubling (to me) meme that has been circulating on Facebook. It’s attributed to the Dalai Lama.

    “Love is the absence of judgment.” ? Dalai Lama

    Perhaps it’s been taken out of context like the Holy Father’s “Who an I to judge” comment.

    Have we moved beyond Matthew 18:15-20 and Luke 17:3?

  57. PA mom says:

    Elizabeth- Do you teach? I have found that catechists are always in demand (dire desperate need, actually) and that a lot of evangelization can take place one one is in a position of this kind. In addition to teaching the children, one can send home emails with links and worksheets, call parents with questions, lead volunteer activities for students needing hours, etc.

    After a bit of time, one comes to know the director, some of whom are open to improving the system. Our program has been bringing the students out of the classroom and right into the Church for a number of events/ lessons for the year, trying to build up the comfort level of the students and their families with both BEING PRESENT in Church, and BEING SOCIALLY members of the community.

    Teaching religious Ed is a bit like a missionary, no pay, costs a bit of money, no prestige, but on the front lines with those who really need you. People , both the children and their families, who are often struggling to participate even in the smallest way.

    If the parish hierarchy won’t take you where you think you would be best put to use, the Lord may wish your strengths to go elsewhere. And I only mean for now. I deeply agree that the Church needs to learn to visit people in their homes again, not just when they are dying ( which also probably happens at a hospital anyway), but just for the encouragement of each other.

  58. Elizabeth D says:

    PA Mom, I am a catechist (I taught 6th grad this year that just ended). However, I do not have access to email addresses, and many of the parents do not know much if any English (the families in our catechism program are mostly immigrant Hispanic families who come from far and wide, this parish has the most popular Spanish Masses in our diocese). I am doing what I can and being creative in doing extra things, going broke buying the kids Bibles and books (which they don’t always necessarily read) etc but limited in what is possible for me. The DRE does speak Spanish, and there are classes for the parents concurrent with the kids, which many parents do apparently participate in. All this is important. I am concerned that there is much talk about new evangelization but this has not led to any new outreach to the people in our parish territory.

  59. MikeM says:

    I wonder what they think Cardinal Müller said about Sr. Johnson. Because his specific complaints in his remarks were about the LCWR’s decision to 1) select someone for the role without following through on their agreement to include Archbishop Sartain in the selection process, and 2) to further select someone who was in conflict with the USCCB. He made these complaints specifically because it’s inconceivable that they did not know that their actions would be widely seen as an insult to the Church and, therefore, because they were acting in bad faith. His complaints would have been just as valid if Müller had thought that Sr. Johnson was the world’s greatest living theologian.

    While there are clearly issues with Sr. Johnson’s work, those weren’t really the focus of Müller’s remarks.

  60. PA mom says:

    Elizabeth-there you go. Those are all wonderful efforts, and they probably feel small (well, mine do to me) but, theycare the basics of what they need and sometimes there is no one else to do them, even for these members already within the Church. With the percentage of the Church who leaves it every year, I have become convinced that some of these members need more support and care in order to remain faithful within.
    Also, I have an Our Lady of Guadalupe statue in a box that I send around to the families with rosaries and little materials to encourage family prayer time too.
    Keep your eyes and ears out though. Having seen your posts, I would be willing to bet God’s got quite the work for you yet. :).

  61. Elizabeth D says:

    PA mom, this pertains to those already within the walls of the parish. My comments above express how concerned I am that there is no outreach to our neighbors, and that “Often Catholics seem to decide that for them the new evangelization can consist solely of developing better parish programs, but approximately no actual outreach and no training for evangelization.” We surely do need good parish programs and catechesis. But those political progressives I’m talking about weren’t just spreading their message to their own and educating fellow political progressives who came to meetings. Why do we think it’s enough to proclaim Jesus Christ to the people who are already at church?

  62. Stephen McMullen says:

    If the pontiff apologizes that will tell us volumes of who we are as a church. Waiting…..tick tock…….

  63. av8er says:

    the hutzpah!
    They look like sweet innocent little bunnies but are actually incredibly destructive to the faith. Time for the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. Just make sure you count to three.

  64. Pingback: Divorce & Adultery: What Bible Really Says - BigPulpit.com

  65. wmeyer says:

    I wonder… is it to much to hope that the Fishwrap might issue an apology to the Pope, and to its bishop present, and his predecessors, for obstinately persisting to call their scandal sheet Catholic?

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