I very much enjoyed reading a piece at the Fishwrap (aka National Schismatic Reporter) about some local news, here in the Diocese of Madison.
A Catholic parish in the small Wisconsin town of Muscoda has for years allowed an annual… wait for it…
The event was held in an unused parish school.
It seems that a retired Catholic school teacher, Paul Wysocki, saw a sign for it, clutched his pearls, and contacted Fishwrap from his fainting couch to stir up a little trouble.
The young activist writer (his other work is about climate change and environmental racism… of course) added something that caught my interest:
The gun show has angered Paul Wysocki, a local Catholic, who argues it counters church teaching against violence. [Demonstrating that he doesn’t know what he is talking about.]
Wysocki, a retired Catholic school teacher, learned of the event a few years ago[!] through a bulletin posted in a restaurant. Wysocki told NCR he “couldn’t believe it” when he realized church property was being used to sell firearms. [I’ll bet a steady diet of Wisconsin parish fish fries has killed more people than guns sold in that gun show.]
In the years since, Wysocki has sent letters voicing his concern to multiple bishops around the country and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“When a Catholic Church hosts a gun show, what is the message that is being sent from that Catholic Church and the Catholic Church in general?” he wrote to the bishops’ conference in 2017.
[…]
So this nose-sticker has been at this for years.
The report continues:
The latest Muscoda Gun Show took place in December 2019. [And this is coming up now?] Last year, in his first in the diocese, Madison Bishop Donald Hying learned of the event and allowed it to happen “without conveying any strong opinion either way,” King said.
Hooray for Bp. Hying. I suppose that this agitator with Fishwrap figured they would take a stab at the new bishop.
I wish I had known about the gun show. The next time they have one, I try to go to give them support.
BTW… the way things are going, we are all going to need guns soon.
As the old phrase goes when questioned:
“Why do you carry a gun?”
“Because a cop is too heavy.”
Pretty soon there won’t be any cops, and then where will we be?
Loading ...
“Paul Wysocki, a local Catholic, who argues it counters church teaching against violence.”
I wonder if Mr. Paul Wysocki ever heard of the crusades? Quite a bit of violence occurred then in the name of the Church.
Wonder what he would say about Wyoming Catholic College…
where cell phones are banned but guns are allowed.
Apparently no one can be trusted to act accordingly or maturely unless you have the urge to riot
A Catholic school in Alaska had a gun show every year as a fundraiser.
Hope they still do —- I was able to acquire a Ruger Bearcat ( 22 revolver ) at one of their shows.
Freedom of Religion and the 2nd Amendment on full display.
Got to love it !
Good for Bishop Hying to recognize a crank when he sees one.
When is Wysocki going to protest to the bishops about the annual 3 Days of Darkness convention, in LA ? That gathering does far more harm to everyone. And it is FAR, FAR more opposed to Catholicism than a little gun show.
“When a Catholic Church hosts a gun show, what is the message that is being sent from that Catholic Church and the Catholic Church in general?”
Maybe: that the Catholic Church is in favor of law and order? After all, the Eternal Law, and Divine Law, and Natural Law, and Ecclesiastical Law, are also in favor of law and order.
For somewhat more recent news (i.e. “new” news, rather than old news), perhaps Fishwrap can report on bishops violating liturgical law on communion on the tongue? Or bishops caving in to civil leaders’ diktats to minimize the sacraments? Nah, they couldn’t do that, could they? Some of their readers might have a heart attack.
I think a friend of mine up in Alaska has talked about what @monstrance mentioned. Wasilla, maybe?
I bet my life savings that this guy doesn’t see any issue with the message being sent over “LGBT” masses.
It’s unfair to attack the diocese or the bishop. They are allowing an outside group to have the gun show on Church property. Many parishes have allowed the hall or former parish school to be used or rented by an outside group.
As long as the conduct of the group is not sinful or immoral, what’s the problem. The purchase of a firearm or ammunition is a morally neutral act. Catholic teaching has never forbidden people to purchase or have a firearm.
I don’t live in the diocese of Madison but I am beginning to like Bishop Donald Hying the more I read about him.
Perhaps having the gun show in an unused Catholic school in a small parish is a way to put a few more dollars into the parish coffers. Looks like the guy complaining has way too much time on his hands. Of course the fact that he contacted Fishwrap speaks volumes – just saying.
[I’ll bet a steady diet of Wisconsin parish fish fries has killed more people than guns sold in that gun show.] *chuckle*
Deo gratias for that Catholic parish and the Second Amendment.
Wysocki is uninformed. Self-defense is not only legitimate, says the Catechism, but a “grave duty.” The First Crusade, for example, was a necessary counterattack after centuries of Muslim aggression and invasion.
Wysocki could also look closer at the battles of Tours, Lepanto and Vienna. And at Just War Theory (despite uneducated hand-wringing, the destruction of the Saddam Hussein regime met Just War criteria and was necessary. The occasional rumblings out of the Vatican and elsewhere about abandoning Just War Theory reveal that they have not considered the consequences of that abandonment).
Wysocki has written on “environmental racism.” One wonders what is his opinion on penguins and whether they should be cancelled.
Anyway, off to buy another Lepanto battle flag.
[I’ll bet a steady diet of Wisconsin parish fish fries has killed more people than guns sold in that gun show.]
Father, please don’t give our illustrious leadership in this great state any ideas. The way they’re going with face diaper mandates, they could be coming for your fish fry next.
Josephus Corvus says: they could be coming for your fish fry next
As a transplant here, my impression is that they would have to pry their fish fries from their cold, dead cheeseheads.
Father,
Sigh. What is about guns that freaks out these beatos? (aka people who view life as some kind of angelic outlook) Would they react similarly if it was swords and other assorted culterly.
I’m just fed up with these fake pacifists.
xavier
My only concern (and this is coming from me wearing my attorney hat) would be the possibility of being crosswise with the parish’s or diocese’s liability insurer in the event a purchaser at the gun show were to end up using the weapon to commit some crime. As long as that clearance is assured, I see no potential legal pitfall.
As the old phrase goes when questioned:
“Why do you carry a gun?”
“Because a cop is too heavy.”
Or: “When seconds matter the police are minutes away.”
johnr ,
Wasilla would make sense –
But no, the school was in the middle of Anchorage.
Pingback: THVRSDAY EDITION – Big Pulpit
Re Father’s comment about everybody needing guns if the “defund the police” movement gets what they want: In New York City, the blatantly socialist mayor has actually issued militia guidelines, that is, when a private citizen with a gun should stand down and when he should take action…and his guidelines are, shockingly, actually good ones!
.
On another topic, am I the only one who’s noticed that the only statues that are being vandalized are religious ones? I haven’t heard one word about vandalization of secular statues or monuments. [Follow the news a little more closely.]