Did the Last Supper enable the sex abuse scandal?

Posted on 27 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Ex-priest and Fishwrap beacon of light Eugene Cullen Kennedy, still alive, has a mundivagant piece at said Fishwrap (aka the National Schismatic Reporter) entitled “Did the Council of Trent enable the sex abuse scandal?”

No, really. He went there. He may have even been there, I don’t know.

I would return to the NSR with the following questions:

Did the Last Supper cause the sex abuse scandal?

Perpend:

Jesus knew Judas would betray the Church and sell it out for money and He ordained him anyway.

He knew that Peter, John and James would not be vigilant in the garden, and he ordained them anyway.

He knew that almost all the Apostles would abandon him, and he consecrated them anyway.

He knew Peter would deny him, and He made him Pope anyway.

The Council and Trent and sexual abuse… the mind boggles.

Look. If you don’t like Trent because you don’t believe anymore that the Mass is a Sacrifice and you are more or less Protestant, and because you don’t like the older form of Holy Mass and are angry that it has been derestricted, then, naturally, you go to the zoo and link the scandal to Trent and the Fishwrap is happy to publish the result.

Why can’t we just admit that Jesus was terrible at picking bishops and then blame the sex abuse crisis on the Last Supper?

Posted in Liberals, The Drill, Throwing a Nutty, You must be joking! | Tagged absurd, Council of Trent, Eugene Kennedy, ex-priest
20 Comments

Pope Francis’ Holy Week Schedule

Posted on 27 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In today’s L’Osservatore Romano I saw the Holy Father’s upcoming schedule for Holy Week.

Notice anything interesting?

What we won’t be seeing:

Posted in Francis, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, The Drill |
27 Comments

Economics of SEX

Posted on 27 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This video caught my eye, since I posted on the sidebar that I was reading Jay Richard’s Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and Not the Problem (which the people who helped Francis write Evangelii gaudium could benefit from).

There are a few limitations to the video’s argument, because it lacks a couple important starting points, but it is nevertheless useful. After all, economics describes a great deal of human behavior. We assign value to things and we exchange things of value with others according to our circumstances and needs.

NB: I especially liked the pesticide analogy and unintended consequences, and the technical aspect of the drawing is very cool.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Lighter fare, Our Catholic Identity, The Drill | Tagged economics, sex
12 Comments

JUST TOO COOL: Is there a way to put this on my wish list?

Posted on 27 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

If only I could put THIS on my amazon wishlist!

This is an 1849 Colt .31 caliber revolver made for the Pontifical Swiss Guards!

Documentation indicates that some of these revolvers were sent “either to Vatican guards or possibly to supporters of Pope Leo XIII who was embroiled in his predecessor’s interminable sovereignty dispute with the unified Kingdom of Italy over who ruled Rome (a dispute that would not be settled until 1929).”

Very cool. It still has some of the original nickle finish.

This is so cool, I can barely stand it.

Instead, so far all I have is my Swiss Guard Swiss Army knife.

These and a halberd would complete my day.

Posted in Just Too Cool, Lighter fare | Tagged Colt, Leo XIII
18 Comments

GUEST POST: The fruits of ‘ad orientem’ worship in a parish.

Posted on 27 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

My friend Fr. Richard Heilman, who seems to have mastered perpetual motion, has a great letter to a priest posted at his place.

You will recall that I posted photos of Fr. H dragging the table altar out of church and over to the rectory so that all Masses would be ad orientem. He makes the Combat Rosaries (see the side bar of this blog). He made the confessional/chapel in the front entrance to the rectory and created the app to tell you when he was there. He started the Knights of Divine Mercy. Etc. Etc.

Go visit his site, HERE, spike his stats and dig around, but here in the letter with my patented emphases and comments:

This is a letter I just sent to a priest friend. I wrote it because I don’t believe we priests should be frightened anymore. [OORAH!] I agree with a recent post that said, while we take our time, souls are being lost. We all know, in our bones, that God wants this … let’s simply obey and allow God to bless our obedience!!!

Dear Father,

I wanted to write to update you on the amazing things God is doing here …

A year is up and the results are in.

It’s been a little over one year since we removed the freestanding altar and committed to ad orientem worship for all of our Masses. Without a doubt, it was a leap of faith, as I simply trusted God would provide.

The initial response from some of the old guard was a bit nerve-racking. In fact, a handful of them decided to no longer attend here, as they dispersed to local parishes.

Beyond that, I don’t even know if I can begin to share all of the fruits of this move.

First, the spiritual benefits are palpable. Our parish has a sense that we are truly worshiping, and it simply feels so right. This is visibly seen in such things as the altar boys who are more reverent and precise. People are coming early to pray the rosary, and many are staying afterwards to offer prayers of thanksgiving. Everyone is offering the “proper” gestures (bowing, etc.) at the appropriate times. Virtually everyone began, mostly in just the past year, really dressing up for Mass. It seems every Sunday another woman has decided to veil – AT A NOVUS ORDO! And, we just had over 300 people go through the 33 Days of Preparation for Consecration to Jesus Through Mary!!!

Our choir has doubled in size over the past year, and they are chanting and singing polyphony so beautifully that I am thinking they should make a CD. Even our men’s schola went from 7 members to nearly 20 in just this past year. And, these men have become quite a “band of brothers” as they also gather once a month in my man cave for what we call, “Pipes and Pints” … Virtually all of them enjoy a nice pipe and brew as we discuss church related issues and try to solve all of the problems of the world. Virtually all of these men are young professionals. [I’ve been. It is a great time and the men in the group are fantastic.]

I haven’t looked at any statistics, but it seems that, over just this one year, the average age of our parishioners went from 65 to 35, as so many young families are discovering us and joining the parish. It is so wonderful to hear the squeaks and squawks of little ones throughout the Mass!!! My secretary commented that it seems a new young family appears here every week.

Last year, our finance council was recommending that we begin a special giving campaign, as we were feeling the effects of the economic downturn of the past five years. I asked them to give it one more year, as we see the effects of ad orientem worship. They reluctantly agreed. A year later, we just had a finance council meeting and – get this! – Contributions are up 45% IN ONE YEAR!!! [Father likes exclamation points!!!! To my mind, the more powerful point is the “45%”.]

I can’t say this is what will happen in every parish that decides to take the risk and move in this direction, but I wanted to be, at least, one more story of a parish that put their trust in God, and witnessed how God blessed this move to offer greater reverence in the Mass, especially by celebrating ad orientem.

Ad majorem Dei gloriam!!

Father told me yesterday that they should any day be installing the new Communion rail.

Also, he is learning the TLM and wanted to be ready to say one by Ash Wednesday.

This is the new Evangelization.

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, "How To..." - Practical Notes, Be The Maquis, Brick by Brick, Fr. Z KUDOS, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Just Too Cool, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Mail from priests, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Priests and Priesthood, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM | Tagged ad orientem, communion rail, D. Madison, Fr. Heilman
23 Comments

From the Religion of Peace: 9 Year Old Christian Girl, Raped For 19 Days

Posted on 26 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Via the European Freedom Initiative:

Muslims Capture 9 Year Old Christian Girl, And Brutally Rape Her For 19 Days

A nine year old Christian girl in Jordan was captured by Muslims who brutally raped her for 19 days.

She was from Iraq and lived in Jordan as a refugee. After 19 days of sexual torture, she was rescued by Sister Hatune Dogan, an Eastern Orthodox nun, who payed 33,000 US dollars to ransom the tormented girl.

We are currently working with Sister Hatune to rescue Christians in Syria and Iraq, and other parts of the Middle East, who are being oppressed just as this little girl was oppressed by the evil jihadists.

She is also helping Iraqi Christians who have escaped the hell that is now Iraq and fled to Turkey. In numerous cases, Christian Iraqi women living in Turkey are hired by Muslims to be servants only to be sexually abused by them, and the victims are unable to make pleas to the police, because if they do, their Islamic abusers will report them since they are living in the country illegally. Also, many women are so starving that they are prostituting their bodies jut to earn money and feed their children. As our contact, Sister Hatune, says:

Several reports are found for sexual abusement also from the house owners where they work. But there is no legal remedy for the harassment since they are living illegally and if they complained to the police, the victims will be sent to jail. Starvation and sickness is dominating due to unemployment and adverse living condition. It is very pathetic to see the helpless unhealthy mothers struggling to breast feed their hungry children since no milk is available on them because of starvation. It is true that starvation is the most painful affair in human life and several mothers are forced to sell themselves for food and for shelter. I met several families they sell themselves for a piece of bread.

Out of the 13,000 Iraqi Christian refugees living in Turkey, 10,000 of them are being supported by Sister Hatune, and the majority of them have suffered from kidnapping, rape, robbery, and other horrors, as Sister Hatune herself says:

Most of the families are coming as refugees and have heart breaking stories of kidnapping, ransom, rape, humiliation and robbery. About 10000 refugees are the beneficiaries of the activities of the Sister Hatune Foundation in Turkey.

Just to show you what type of violence Christians are going through in Iraq, here are a number of photos showing the aftermath of a suicide bombing in a church:

Read More

Posted in Modern Martyrs, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices, The Religion of Peace | Tagged European Freedom Initiative, Islam, Muslims, Sr. Hatune, The Religion of Peace
23 Comments

Could Pope Francis be the one to reconcile the SSPX?

Posted on 26 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At CMR Pat Archbold offers that, if Pope Francis can reach out so cordially to Protestants gathered at a conference, even send a video, then why shouldn’t he reach out to the priests and bishops of the SSPX.

A darn good question.

The Protestants, doctrine-challenged as they are, are much more distant from us than the SSPXers – who still are us, until some time when the Holy See officially declares them to be in schism.

It is interesting to note that Archbold had originally posted this at the National Catholic Register. But the Register removed the post. That’s something you might expect of the Reporter (aka Fishwrap), but of the Register? Pat Zummo described what happened at American Catholic HERE.

I don’t understand what the problem was. I am left scratching my head: does the Register not want greater unity of Catholics in the Church if that unity includes the SSPX?

Here is what Archbold wrote:

I have great concern that without the all the generosity that faith allows by the leaders of the Church, that this separation, this wound on the Church, will become permanent. [He is right to be concerned about the SSPX. I think that a lot of the priests would welcome greater manifest unity (and faculties). But now there are children of SSPX followers growing up who have never known clear union with their local churches.] In fact, without such generosity, I fully expect it. Such permanent separation and feeling of marginalization will likely separate more souls than just those currently associated with the SSPX. I have also come to believe that Pope Francis’ is exactly the right Pope to do it. In his address to the evangelicals, he makes clear his real concern for unity. So here is what I am asking. I ask the Pope to apply that wide generosity to the SSPX and to normalize relations and their standing within the Church. [Is that what got Archbold’s post removed?] I am asking the Pope to do this even without the total agreement on the Second Vatican Council. [Right! If the Fr. Feeney and followers could be reconciled, why not the SSPXers?] Whatever their disagreements, surely this can be worked out over time with the SSPX firmly implanted in the Church. I think that the Church needs to be more generous toward unity than to insist upon dogmatic adherence to the interpretation of a non-dogmatic council. [Is that what got Archbold’s post removed?] The issues are real, but they must be worked out with our brothers at home and not with a locked door. Further, Pope Francis’ commitment to the aims of the Second Vatican Council is unquestioned. Were he to be generous in such a way, nobody would ever interpret it to be a rejection of the Council. How could it be? This perception may not have been the case in the last pontificate. Pope Francis is uniquely suited to this magnanimous moment.

I don’t see anything wrong with this desire. Do you? Of course the SSPXers would need to cooperate. They would need to submit to the Holy Father’s authority. But were the Pope to reach out to them, directly, in the manner in which he reached out to that Protestant group… what bad could happen?

I say:

¡Vaya lío!

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, Fr. Z KUDOS, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Our Catholic Identity, SSPX, The future and our choices, Vatican II | Tagged National Catholic Register, Pope Francis, reconciliation, SSPX
54 Comments

Had this been a photo of Benedict XVI…

Posted on 26 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

… the mainstream media would probably have written:

POPE MAKES KID CRY, ENJOYS IT

Instead, it is Pope Francis, so people just go “Awwwww….”

Posted in Lighter fare |
13 Comments

Pres. Obama to ObamaCare comrades: “The work you’re doing is God’s work.”

Posted on 26 February 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This from WSJ:

President Says ObamaCare Volunteers Doing ‘God’s Work’ [?!?]
Barack Obama speaks to his old campaign comrades [That’s the right word.] at Organizing for Action.

HOLY OBAMACARE

Last night in Washington President Obama addressed the national meeting of Organizing for Action, the outfit formerly known as his re-election campaign. [If he can’t be re-elected to the White House, why is this organization still around? For this sort of dreck.] Young OFA volunteers have been redeployed to the task of persuading Americans to sign up for new health insurance plans created by the President’s Affordable Care Act. [“Affordable”… right. Have you lost your health care yet?] Mr. Obama urged his young fans to sign up as many people as possible before this year’s March 31 enrollment deadline. “The work you’re doing is God’s work,” he said. [I cannot express the depths of my contempt for his hypocrisy.]

The irony is particularly rich given that under a mandate issued under the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Obama is still trying to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to violate their religious beliefs. The Little Sisters are nuns who run a nonprofit nursing home and hospice and are resisting the government’s order to pay for birth control, which they oppose.

[…]