Continued in St. Paul: Church of St. John's Gutted and Handed Over to Muslims

Mehmet IV Entering Hagia Sofia 1453

Whether unarmed or well-equipped, march on and fight for the cause of Allah, with your wealth and your persons. - 9:41

Edit: we'd reported on this in early June of this year when it happened.  St. John's was a fairly conservative presence in the Archdiocese.  Now it will be turned into a Mosque, it's cross hacked off its spire, to be replaced by the hateful symbol of Mohamedism.

This is something which should send a chill over those of us who are Europeans, because this is one of those symbolic events that accompanied the Muslim conquest of our cities.

It's unclear what's happened to rererdos, the portion behind and around the altar, but some men from another parish have come to take away the volks altar (Cramner Table), the altar in front of the reredos, but the confessionals have already been thrown into a dumpster.

There are many photos

Link ...   

Archdiocese Selling Historic Church to Muslims?

Update 19:26 GMT:  the sale has been confirmed by the listing agent, but the Archdiocese refuses to discuss it. City Council Member Kathy Lantry also confirms this:

I am writing to let you know that we have a Purchase Agreement on the Church of St. John's in Dayton' Bluff. The buyer intends to use the church for an Islamic worship center and the house as residency for the minister. They have no intended use for the school at this time.

Edit: it's a church that was active on St. Paul's East Side for 127  years when its pastor, Father George Welzbacher said its last Mass.  It's been a part of home, of homeland,  a consolation and a source of learning for generations of Americans, students, parishioners, pastors and the people of the neighborhood.    It was one of the more conservative parishes in the Archdiocese.  Soon, it will be another conquest by advancing militant Islam.

Now it looks like it's being sold to Muslims.  The asking price is less than a million dollars, which seems a bit on the cheap side.  We're contacting the Archdiocese, but haven't heard anything yet.

Listing here.

Thanks to liberal immigration policies, the streets are teaming with Muslims and their increasingly visible presence is taking advantage of the continuing decline of Christianity.

And don't ask where we got the information.

H/T: Brother Ass

11 Priests Ordained in Winona Minnesota

Edit: the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few…

Only 11 were ordained in New York, the legacy of Cardinal Mahony can be felt as only 2 were ordained in the Taj by Archbishop Gomez, while 10 were ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.


Here’s the report from a Catholic Life:

Fulfilling the mission of the Society of St. Pius X - to form holy priests - 11 new priests were added to its company on Friday, June 21st, along with one Dominican for the Avrille (France) community.

These young deacons were ordained to the Priesthood of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta during a beautiful 4-hour long ceremony that included the solemn Pontifical Mass. In attendance were 82 priests, many religious, and over 1,500 faithful, who travelled from all parts of the United States (and beyond) to witness this wonderful event for the Catholic Church, as well as to pray for the increased holiness of the ordinands.

Also, not to be forgotten on that day, was the ordination of 6 subdeacons to the diaconate, though they are not shown in the image gallery below.

Archbishop Nienstedt Puts Pressure on Lavender Basilica

Edit: In the past, the Lavender Basilica has been resisting the Archbishop's initiatives, keeping an ambiguous presence at Minneapolis' depraved Gay Pride Festival and fostering an atmosphere of disobedience to the Archbishop and opposition to the Catholic Church's teachings on a variety of issues. On Friday, there was a giant puff piece giving a lot of attention to some of the usual suspects on the subject of the Defense of Marriage Act that is up for a vote in the state of Minnesota in the anti-Catholic 'MinnPost'.   There is some resistance from 17 parishes in the Archdiocese, the most dissident and substantial is the Basilica of St. Mary's, to the Archbishop's initiative, but there is also a loss of nerve.

There is a presence on Facebook of "Catholics" who say "No" , which has a list of parishes resisting the Archbishop, but it only boasts about five hundred souls, many coming from the Lavender Basilica of St. Mary's, which is the Archdiocese's Co-Cathedral.  Yet even at this place, the pressure is increasing and there was a flier included in this week's church bulletin, complained one of the Basilica's parishioners on the Facebook group:

Another dissident is Father Bob Pierson whom the Archbishop doesn't want teaching in the Archdiocese any longer and is keeping his mouth shut for now, except that the Tribune did cite him.

Archbishop Nienstedt is still remaining firm on the issue.  He's getting one of the most dissident parishes to get the message out and others will soon be following in their continued efforts to get the message out.  His statement for the MinnPoste was as follows:

“But the reality is that marriage is not ours to redefine, just as another human life is not ours to take,” the archbishop continues. “God is both the author of life and the author of marriage. It is this most fundamental understanding of the natural order that animates who we are as Catholics. ... It is also why we fight to defend God’s plan for marriage, because his providence is as clear for what marriage is as it is for the dignity of each human life. ...

At present, the Archdiocese has given $1 million to defend marriage, something which should be encouraging to local conservative protestants and conservatives in general who don't want to see society further eroded by such legislation.

There's also no word from the noxious Father Mike Tegeder.  He's not even mentioned in this article.

Add caption

Modernist Abbey Steeped in Dissent and Deceit

Edit: We received a post from an observant reader about the "Catholic Association of Lesbian Gay Ministry".  This  is the same organization which was forbidden from using a Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of St. Paul last February as reported by Lifesite News:

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, February 23, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Fr. Leo Tibesar, a Catholic priest, was scheduled to host an upcoming Catholic Association of Lesbian and Gay Ministries (CALGM) Fund Raising dinner at his parish in Minneapolis later this month, until the event was suddenly cancelled yesterday.
 Fr. Leo Tibesar, dubbed a “well known and highly respected Same Sex Marriage and Gay Rights Activist” in official event announcements, has openly supported and been actively involved in movements that oppose the Catholic Church on the issues of marriage and homosexuality for many years.

The organizer of the event, a Father Bob Pierson is the treasurer for the sponsoring organization which features gay marriage.  Elizabeth D really summed it up beautifully, how this entire thing is interconnected and very much alive in the Archdiocese and the Monastery of St. John's in Collegeville.

The monk Fr Bob Pierson who was the contact person for this retreat is also Tresurer for the sponsoring organization "Catholic Association of Lesbian and Gay Ministry" and almost all the other board members of this group can be verified online to be involved in other organizations explicitly in favor of homosexual "marriage"; at least one board member (an "inferfaith minister") performs same sex ceremonies. Based on web searching, the retreat leader Bob Pileggi is apparently a fallen away Catholic, has been a staff member of the pro-gay-marriage "Lambda Legal Defense Fund" for outreach and as coordinator of "The Marriage Project", and he also offers his services as an interfaith minister conducting custom weddings and other ceremonies clearly including same sex "weddings".

According to the Abbey website, Father Bob Pierson is:

Father Robert Pierson OSB Born in Estherville, Iowa, 29 December 1955; ordained 2 June 1984 Father Robert earned his bachelor's degree in social science from Saint John's University and master of divinity degree from Saint John's University School of Theology/Seminary. He has served as a pastor, seminary rector, director of field education, spiritual director, vocations director, chaplain, director of campus ministry, faculty resident, member of the Saint John's Abbey Schola, cantor and abbey fireman.

Selected quotes and stories about Father Bob Pierson who organized this event:

On the Catholic Church, he writes in the Pray, Tell blog:

There are aspects of our life as a Church that need to die so that we can experience the power of the resurrected life that God holds out to us this Easter Day.

Father Pierson also lost his composure when an instruction was released in 2005 disallowing homosexuals from being in the priesthood.  He was justifiably ridiculed by Diogenes at Catholic Culture after Pierson resigned from the Campus Ministry at St. John's:  Brother Reinhart incredibly called the dissenting priest "courageous" and a man of "integrity".   Here's part of the what Father Pierson wrote:

"For quite some time I have wrestled with conflicting teaching by the church -- that gays and lesbians are to be respected, but that somehow we are not fit for work in the church," said Pierson, who announced his decision in an e-mail message Wednesday to staff and students.
"But with the new teaching, which says gay men are 'objectively disordered' and cannot relate properly to men and women, it became clear to me that I cannot continue in campus ministry," Pierson said.
"For me, I have decided that I am not disordered, that I can be an effective celibate gay priest, that I can relate effectively with men and women," he said. "I have chosen not to be dishonest about my thoughts and feelings, and to resign."

Despite frequent and vociferous dissent from Catholic teaching, Father Pierson, like many others at they moribund Benedictine Abbey continue their scandalous behavior and are permitted by superiors of all kinds to persist in creating a poisonous habitat for the students and laity they are supposed to be serving.

Satanic Graffiti Found on St. Paul Cathedral

Editor: Once upon a time churches throughout the Western world were open, often all night long, no matter where you were. You could often find in the late hours, the succour of the confessional and the peaceful glow of flickering beeswax candles under the watchful gaze of Christ, His Mother and the Saints.

Truly, it's difficult to say that the late Twentieth Century's been much of an improvement, the hearts of men have grown colder and more brutal in the encroaching darkness of this age.

Are the police considering this a "hate crime"? It would be embarrassing to invoke such things as the Archbishop or his staff.

[KMSP, Minneapolis-St. Paul] The graffiti is gone, but the questions remain after satanic symbols were found on the Cathedral of St. Paul over the weekend.

Police say someone spray-painted white upside down crosses on five of the six main doors to the church off of Summit Avenue.

The incident occurred sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Police are continuing to investigate.

Link to KMSP...

H/t: Stella Borealis

Local Minneapolis Progressivist Flips Out About Cancelling of Gay Event

Homosexual Enabler Par Excellence

Local publicist Peter Canisius is being taken to task by the local blog written by a man posing as a Catholic to promote the cause of Sodom.  Pretty Boy Peters got the word out to thousands of people, and the event got canceled by Archbishop Ninstedt.  Now the Wild Reed is having a tizzy, insisting his innocence and the innocence of the church's pastor, Father Leo Tibesar and the untruth of Canisius' statement:

Here’s one example of misleading and inflammatory language used by PC: The parish priest, Leo Tibesar, is described as a “well known and highly respected same sex marriage and gay rights activist.” Can you imagine members of a Catholic parish going public with such a statement – even if it was true? It’s just asking for trouble (and PC knows it).

This isn't the first time Tibesar has been in trouble or hosted unCatholic activities at his gathering space, even being on the board of Dignity.

Archbishop Nienstedt's predecessor, Archbishop Flynn, was understandably blasé about Tibesar's activism, and Father Z gave him a pass too.  C'mon, how many times do you have to have evidence that someone clearly doesn't represent Catholic teaching before you call him into the office and send him packing.

Surely, Father Tibesar would be more comfortable at Collegeville?   No, wait, they still claim to be Catholic?  Oh, well, putting them together might have advantages.

In any event, now even the Wild Reed is trying to defend the innocence of the homosexual enabler, Father Leo Tibesar.

The Archdiocese released the following statement in the wake of one of the last controversies in December 2007 with Father Z's bolding: 

Various bloggers and websites have reported that Father Leo Tibesar, of Saint Frances Cabrini Parish in Minneapolis announced his intention to bless same sex marriages. Those reports are not true. Father Tibesar has never blessed a same sex marriage nor does he intend to do so, which would be a violation of his priestly vows and state. He made this very clear in a public clarification issued by Saint Frances Cabrini’s parish council and following a meeting with Archbishop Harry J. Flynn. 

During his meeting with Archbishop Flynn and Auxiliary Bishop Richard Pates, Father Tibesar also agreed to remove any language from the St. Frances Cabrini parish website that is in opposition to Roman Catholic Church doctrine and to refrain from statements in any form that are contrary to Church teaching. He confirmed these commitments to Archbishop Flynn in a letter following their meeting. Communications Office, Archdiocese of StP&M

 Father Z went on to say about Tibesar:

I am posting about this because I am pleased with content of the statement.  It is a very good thing that people know that a Catholic priest, in the midst of controversy, has never done what he was accused of doing.  He didn’t in fact do something so scandalously irresponsible as bless a same-sex "marriage".  [Heaven forfend, you OMIT to say that he was willing to do one and dissents from Church teaching on the issue in the first place] That should make people happy and relieved.  Also, steps are being taken to remove improper language from the website.  Moreover, Archbishop Flynn has taken the matter in hand.  All these are good things.

Actually, Tibesar broadcast his willingness to perform those evil ceremonies on his website.  Tada... Conveniently, Father Z left that part out.

Maybe Father Z thinks he can get back in the good graces of the Archdiocese by playing damage control for them when they get caught being less than honest?

What's clear to us in this case is that there are a lot of people out there who care about their Catholic Faith, and those people are not to be confused, necessarily, with the Clergy, who seems incapable of pleasing anyone, not the CCPSM people, nor the other alphabet soup Soviet-Style Acronym groups that don't like what the Church teaches.

Other efforts stopped in the past by CCCR,  and here.

H/t to Stella too, with appraisal of Archbishop Nienstedt, here.

On the World Scene

Virtually every single Diocese in the developed world has a parish like Cabrini, here, Australia's "acceptance Mass" here, and on +Schoenborn's watch in Vienna.

Twin Cities area priest called 'evil' by man who committed suicide

Editor: Fr. Baer was always a company man, even when the company was poor or less than savory. A seminarian known to the editor once had a spate of enthusiasm and foolishly decided to show the seminary rector, Father Baer, a draft he'd made for something he was excited about.  So Father Baer published the seminarian's building plan for a new seminary on a communal bulletin and attached a note which said, "someone has too much time on their hands".  Whatever you think of someone's ideas, you don't ridicule them in a public forum, especially when they were given in confidence. It's behavior reminiscent of those insecure clerics who have too much authority on their hands. Perhaps Fr. Baer is one of those guys...  But yes, Fr. Baer was always a company man, hailed by some as an improvement.  We were always skeptical of him; a bit too soft.  In any event, St. Paul Seminary is still ordaining males with deep seated homosexual inclinations.  That's really what the problem is here. Fr. Baer is another legacy of the Old Liberal administration of Archbishop Flynn and the ballyhooed Irish Episcopacy which has been the bane of American Catholicism for a century and a half.

By ROSE FRENCH, Star Tribune

Last update: February 9, 2011 - 10:00 PM

EA man who shot himself in front of a Kentucky church posted sex abuse accusations involving Catholic clergy on Facebook just before taking his life and referred to a Twin Cities area priest as an "evil man."
David M. Jarboe Jr., 23, singled out the Rev. William Baer, who was rector of St. John Vianney Seminary at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul when Jarboe was there for three semesters between 2006-08. Baer, 53, is now pastor at Transfiguration Church in Oakdale.

St. Thomas spokesman Jim Winterer said neither the seminary nor the Twin Cities archdiocese has ever received complaints about Baer.

The Facebook post was removed shortly after Jarboe's body was found in front of an Owensboro, Ky., Catholic church on Thursday. But several Kentucky media outlets have quoted excerpts of Jarboe's post, which criticized the Catholic Church's response to clergy sex abuse.

Jarboe did not accuse any priest by name but wrote that abuse in the church is "real" and that he hoped to "save at least one child from the pain and torment that I had to go through," the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.

Winterer confirmed that Baer was named in the note and said the priest was taken aback. Winterer said that Baer is not speaking to the media but that he is "very saddened" by Jarboe's death. Baer left the St. Thomas seminary in spring 2010 after serving there nearly 11 years.

"He does not know what motivated David's criticism," Winterer said. "He had positive conversations with David after he left the seminary."

Meanwhile, the Diocese of Owensboro has launched an investigation into Jarboe's post, according to a diocesan press release. Police are looking into Jarboe's death. The Twin Cities archdiocese and the seminary do not plan to investigate.

When reached by phone in Kentucky on Tuesday, Jarboe's mother, Karen, declined to talk about her son.

H/t: Stella Borealis.

Latin Masses Approved by the Archdiocese of St. Paul

MYSTERIVM FIDEI

“What earlier generations held as
sacred, remains sacred and great
for us too, and it cannot be all of a
sudden entirely forbidden or even
considered harmful.”
~ Pope Benedict XVI

Traditional Latin Mass in Metro Area

Here is where you can assist at the Ancient Use of the
Mass (1962 Missal) within the Archdiocese of St. Paul
& Minneapolis at local Catholic Parishes in Communion
with Archbishop John C. Niensted; Pope Benedict XVI:

Sacred Heart in Robbinsdale
Sunday 11:30 AM—Low Mass, Occasional High Mass
4087 West Broadway, Robbinsdale, MN 55422
Saint Joseph in Miesville
Sunday 8:00 AM—Low Mass
23955 Nicolai Ave., Hastings, MN 55033

Saint Augustine in South Saint Paul
Sunday 11:30 AM—Low Mass, Occasional High Mass
Tuesday & Thursday - 5:15 PM—Low Mass
1st Friday 7:30 PM—High Mass
408 Third Ave. N., South Saint Paul, MN 55075

Saint Agnes in Saint Paul
1st, 3rd, 5th Sunday 10:00 AM—High Mass
548 Lafond Ave., Saint Paul, MN 55103

Holy Trinity in South Saint Paul
Monday & Wednesday 5:15 PM—Low Mass
749 Sixth Avenue S., South Saint Paul, MN 55075


Immaculate Heart of Mary South St. Paul 
Masses Sunday 730am, 10am; Saturday 8am;
Monday at IHM School and sometimes
during the week.
875 Manomin Ave 
Saint Paul , MN 55107 
651-224-1856

Pro-Homosexual Pastor Fears End of Pension Plan

Pontificating from one of Minnesota's ugliest churches, Father Mike Tegeder, the Archdiocese's most outspoken non-Catholic has come out with guns blazing against the Archdiocese for its attempt to recover legal costs for an abuse claim against one of its alleged homosexual predators; he's right in a way, but wrong in so many others.  It's ironic how this demonstrates the tension which exists between the heterodox homosexual enablers within the official structure of the Church and the ACLU abetting Cultural Marxists on the outside.  The one provides a drum with which the other can perpetually beat.  As with the Scottsboro Boys, never mind them, the outrage of people against the Catholic Church caused by the abuse of innocent boys and children by homosexuals is priceless.

Father Tegeder goes on to also criticize the "Indian Liturgy" at Gitchitwaa Kateri, brainchild of hyper-relavent interior designer of ecclesiastical chic, the now mercifully retired, Father Notebaart:

Second, a letter was sent to all parishioners of the Native American Catholic parish in south Minneapolis, Gichitwaa Kateri, by their pastor suspending all Sunday Eucharists until further notice. He said he was doing it in the name of the Archbishop. The Archdiocese sent out the rather confusing clarification: “... due to a misunderstanding that resulted from efforts to address concerns proper to Gichitwaa Kateri, the Archbishop has directed that Mass not be offered ... until the pending matters might be resolved.” Denying the Eucharist over a “misunderstanding” is unprecedented.

In regards to that alleged "Liturgy," it's unfortunate that it wasn't closed down earlier or that it was allowed to exist for as long as it did.  It would  be an understatement to say of it that it constituted one continuous Liturgical abuse, and it is the only occurrence we know of today where the Archdiocese has closed down a modernist parish rather than the various conservatives ones, despite the false pretext offered that they were not financially sound.

 In any event, Father Tegeder goes on also to lament the issue of the pension plan that is drying up because of the collapse of the stock market.  A solution might be to cut liberal priests like Tegeder loose and let them fend for themselves on those Great Society programs they're so fond of campaigning for.  If you payed a settlement to liberal priests who refused to sign and solemnly swear to the Syllabus of Errors, that they hold none of those errors, some of them might actually not do it, and so, an enterprising and prudent Prelate could save tremendous amounts of money and we wouldn't have listen to insufferable sniping from the supporters of the Archdiocese's homosexual subculture.
 \
H/t: Stella Borealis. 

Read further about the Diocesan retirement plan cutbacks, here.

St. Paul Archdiocese Invites PR Problems: Then Drops Suit Against Victim Temporarily

Let's see, you get out from under a lawsuit where you may or may not have been negligent based on a legal technicality, in this case, statute of limitations, then you turn around and sue the alleged victim for court costs.  This may be standard operating procedure but is it vindictive, is it Christian?  It may discourage frivolous lawsuits, but will it help your public image?

We know that the overwhelming proportion of sex-abuse cases result from homosexuals preying on boys, we also know that the Archdiocese of St. Paul treats its homosexual enabling clergy with kid gloves and viciously attacks and systematically persecutes conservative clergy.  If anything, the Archdiocese should be sued for its Talking about Touching program and the verifiable fact that there are many clergy and educational institutions which do not hold the Church's teaching on a myriad of issues.

Is there any point at which this lawsuit against a former alleged victim can be considered good policy?  Perhaps if you're trying to discredit the Catholic Church you claim to represent it is.  Start cleaning the homosexual enablers and heterodox schools up and then we'll get a better idea of where you stand.

Even as we were writing this, the Archdiocese has "graciously" and wisely agreed not to follow through on the lawsuit, here.  But just the fact that they were willing to go through with this indicates a certain level of vindictiveness not uncommon in lavender seminaries and faculties dominated by inveterate homosexuals and their allies.

It might have had something to do with the plaintiff's tearful request that the identities of the pederastic homosexuals still at large be exposed by the Archdiocese, here:

Also Tuesday, plaintiff James Keenan came forward at the office of his attorney, Jeff Anderson & Associates, and disclosed his identity. Known in his lawsuit as John Doe 76C, he said his legal action was an attempt to force the archdiocese to disclose the identity of known pedophile priests.

The Archdiocese needs to start getting tough with its internal problems and existing homosexual enablers and friends within its ranks, then perhaps, you can stop enriching the coffers of Jeff Anderson at law who sends significant contributions to the ACLU and Democratic Farmer Labor party.

The Results of the Diocesan Reorginization

Editor: As predicted, none of the parishes closed were the parishes which host a spirit of rebellion against Catholic teaching. This reorganization was purely logistical and "honored" the integrity of the childless but wealthy homosexual-friendly communities and their deplorable counterparts in the suburbs.

For the most part, the parishes which were closed were part of dying parishes peopled by the descendants of the good people of eastern European descent.

We think it's safe to say that this Archdiocese is increasingly and inexorably moving toward an attempt at the liquidation of whatever remains of its sensus catholicus. This, really, is another sign of the fruits of Vatican II. Perhaps there will come a time when most people don't know about it, don't refer to it and don't care about it. Until then, we have the Catholic Faith, unspoiled, which we have a duty to learn, even if our Shepherds are bedazzled by large, ugly modern facilities and have consigned the spiritual welfare of their flocks to Godless academic professionals and impenitent homosexuals.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, remote and not so remote, real Catholics continue to pray their rosaries, make salutary sacrifices and encourage their children to vocations in the religious life or to foster large, wholesome, fruitful families.


Here's a link, here. Here's the story from the local neo-Marxist newspaper, here.

The Barney Basilica Attacks: Defiant Liberal Catholics in Minneapolis

When St. Paul was talking about a "light on the hill" this wasn't what he had in mind. Rather, it's the kind of edifice that says something very definitive in an ambiguous way about what the Priests of the Archdiocese have long said about the importance of "sexual orientation". Instead, they tell us that there are other issues that are more pressing, like their heavily subsidized "social justice" ministries.

There were reports of a downtown Basilica in the News. Some people were wondering why the Basilica is "Purple". The last time we'd seen these lights was in the Spring of 2008. The Pastor, perhaps thinking that no one would remember the last time these lights were on, insists that they are glowing on behalf of "Breast Cancer Awareness", hardly a suitable use for a church, but then, Breast Cancer Awareness Month's color is pink, not purple. Purple is a color favored by homosexual activists.

But what of Father Bauer's alleged purpose? What other things do purple lights remind us of? Lucinda Naylor, Pro-Homosexual activist, catechist, Jaqueline of All Trades and former "artist in residence" whose degenerate and disturbing art adorn the walls of this most patrician of buildings?

This is the same parish that has a booth at the Gay Pride Festival in Minneapolis every year for the last 10 years.

The Basilica's Rector will never give a Sermon in condemnation of homosexuality, but he needs to. There are so many places he could be a pastor, why must he insist on maintaining this hypocrisy? Instead, he will continue as a termite, destroying the doctrinal beams and walls that support the Church.

Photos from the Spring of 2008 the last time the Basilica staff under the leadership of its Rector decided to gay things up a bit.

St. Stephens is a Parish in Transition: Catholic Tradition Reborn

Many of the members of this troubled inner city parish have left it for the suburbia of protestantism. It's part of an overall transformation going on in the Church where things that haven't worked seem to be getting replaced by things that have always worked, but were ill-used and discarded, like the High Altar that once graced this lovely Neo-Gothic edifice in the midst of post-modern decay and housed Minneapolis' finest and most Catholic families.

Father Williams won't deny it, he's definitely running behind, but Latinos are now making up the difference both in numbers and fervour, where the dwindling Irish and English descendants have mostly left. But Father Williams isn't exactly deterred by this, he's looking for a High Altar. You might think this bodes well for tradition and we'd like to think it does; for Father has trained in the Immemorial Mass of all ages, but says he likes to say the Mass according to the New Rite, however, he's a big fan of JRR Tolkien and has no doubt read Tolkien's thoughts on the matter.

In any event, the Immemorial Mass isn't a preference, nor should it be a cause for division, Father Williams has a very kindly demeanor and suffers fools gladly. He is even liked by his visible opponents who've left the Church to found their own social-justice community nearby. Not to be too naive, but there's hope in this as there is hope in the Catholic Faith, that no matter how terrible things seem, there is a game at play we only dimly understand but will be filled with Joy one day to see it in its fullness when we persevere in the truth.

Father Joseph Williams came to St. Stephen’s in April. “Some people said I was hand-picked by the bishops to dismantle the church. If I was, they didn’t tell me about it.”

By JON TEVLIN, Star Tribune


Father Joseph Williams came "from the farm to the hood" less than a year ago, to a congregation in a spiritual crisis and a neighborhood riddled with poverty and crime. He is only 34, but as he sits in a low-ceilinged office in the basement of St. Stephen's Catholic Church, it seems like the weight of the 110-year-old structure, and the centuries-old institution itself, sit squarely on his shoulders.

When Williams arrived in April, there were 350 families at the church, maybe more. On a recent Sunday, during the only remaining mass in English, coughs echoed off the empty pews as a couple of dozen people mumbled through the service.

That's it, he said.

The rest have fled, or just given up.

Williams, under the direction of a new pope and new archbishop, has steered one of the country's most liberal churches in a more orthodox direction. No more services in the "egalitarian" school gym. No more laity saying mass or celebrating the eucharist. No more prayers to "our father and mother in heaven."

The collection plate is down 90 percent. This spring, the priest who not long ago led a congregation in an idyllic small town, will tell the charter school known for a peace-and-justice curriculum that it must go because the church needs more rent.

Please read further...

Pro-Homosexual Keillor to Speak at Catholic Education Conference in St. Paul Archdiocese

What's really a reminder about the depressing state of Catholic Education in the United States, and the failure of lay-leadership in general, a suitably inter-faith-like event is about to take place in April, and pro-abortion/pro-homosexual Garrison Keillor is its Keynote Speaker.

Garrison Keillor is the man in Minnesota, and he's the goto guy if you want to host something that demeans Catholicsm and promote smug scandanavian liberal values. The Modernist Benedictine Monastery in Collegeville loves him and trots him out to assuage the anger of the local populace whenever they have PR troubles.

Well, NCEA, an organization founded, suspiciously, around the same time the forerunner of the USCCB was founded, is hosting a convention dealing with "education" this April. There will be talks by David Haas and some heretical Taize music.

"9 am to 1015 am – Keynote address – Garrison Keillor – Convention Center
1015 am to 1045 am – Meet & Greet/Photo Op with Garrison Keillor – Invitation Only"

The real question is whether or not Garrison Keillor will be permitted to speak at a Diocesan event featuring the Catholic Church in Archbishop Nienstedt's Archdiocese, given the speaker policy in place which is selectively enforced, if it is enforced at all, and you'd hope that it would prevent a pro-homosexuality, pro-abortion Garrison Keillor, at least from speaking. After all, other Bishops disinvited pro-homosexual +Gumbleton, why not condemn the NCEA?

In any event, Colleen Perfect has already contacted Archbishop Nienstedt and he has responded with his complaint:

It is scandalous that Garrison Keillor has been invited to be a keynote speaker for the National Catholic Education Convention. It is only right that Mr. Keillor's invitation be rescinded and that he be removed as a speaker from the Convention this April.

We have already contacted Archbishop John Nienstedt. He was very gracious and responded immediately to our concern. He reported that the decision was made at the national level of the NCEA and he was only informed of it afterwards. The Archbishop told us he has contacted the NCEA with his own criticism of their decision to select Garrison Keillor as keynote speaker.

The Archbishop also encouraged us to contact the NCEA and express our opinion. He included the following address:

Dr. Karen M. Ristau, Ed.D.
President, National Catholic Educational Association
1005 North Glebe Road
Arlington, VA 22201

Interestingly, teachers can use title-II funds associated with "No Child Left Behind" to attend the parts of this conference which are secular. It all looks secular, so perhaps it can all be written off?

Lasallian Catholic High School In Minneapolis Invites Anti-Gay Lutherans to Use Space

THEN

The religious society of lay brothers, known as the Lasallians, founded by Jean Baptiste de la Salle in 1680, was famous for its approach to education. Not too far from the place where Father Hennepin discovered the massive Saint Anthony Falls, is Nicolette Island where a centenarian Catholic Highschool dwindles into post-modern obscurity and scandal. In the French tradition of the area of Minneapolis, the school of DeLaSalle was founded in 1900. It was once a place of education for 1654 boys just after the Vatican Council, but it has since decayed into a modern, co-educational body of a bit over 600 students, many of whom are not confessionally Catholics. It's also not clear that the school has a strong attachment to the Catholic Church and there are more than a few indicators that this once vibrant Catholic, Lasallian, institution which was once a matrix of vocations, soldiers and leaders for the Church and the United States, has fallen adrift of its mission and is now confused.



NOW

We say "confused" because the school administration has chosen to invite a small community of protestants, namely three pastors devoted to what is described as the "Lutheran Tradition" and an ecclesial body known as the Lutheran Congregation for Mission in Christ (LCMC) which, despite splitting from the 4.2 Million strong Evangelical Lutheran Church this year in November over the issue of homosexuality, still ordains women. We've seen what diversity has done for the school and for the Church throughout the world, especially in the western world.

The current team is using the facilities at DeLaSalle for weekly 5pm services, which might be relatively innocuous if short lived, since they must be growing their ministry till they can afford to buy a larger church space once their pastorate grows; but the presence of a female minister will no doubt, raise the oft demanded but impossible notion of women priests, despite the group's laudible opposition to homosexuality. Additionally, we expect that there is relatively little difference in their religious services and the Catholic ones held there, for there might be more than a little confusion as the Novus Ordo Mass instituted by Paul VI in 1970 has a lot of similarities to the Lutheran service both in music and in liturgy.

If it's not confusing enough that LCMC which has as we pointed out above, split off from the ELCA recently over the issue of homosexuality, are still separated from the Catholic Church and the Missouri Synod Lutherans, neither of whom ordain women but still differ about a great many other things. Even with these explanations, which should be self-evident, it remains unclear how the offer to permit this Lutheran splinter group to use Catholic facilities, will not create confusion and be a cause of scandal, or whether they will be even using the school chapel. They are helping to give the impression that the Catholic Faith, which our ancestors fought hard to preserve, doesn't matter so much and can be dispensed with out of misplaced amity and false unity. Will these Lutherans freeze to death if they have to hold their heretical services elsewhere? Or will De La Salle have to close if they can't charge the rent they will presumably receive from the LCMC for the use of their chapel. (We'd hate to think this was free)



Surely, the three man Lutheran pastoral team, which includes one woman, must understand matters of principle since they themselves are part of an organization that split with the ELCA over homosexuality.

Archbishop Nienstedt hosted Dissident Jesuit Against His Own Policy

This is a recap of the aforementioned event at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Edina, Minnesota, a large, white trimmed, church campus that looks more like a protestant megachurch in a disneyfied colonial style. It's actually difficult to descry a church structure amid the cluster of buildings.



Controversial, pro-homosexual speaker, Fr. Kevin Burke led a retreat at a Catholic Parish earlier this month in opposition to Archdiocesan Policy established by the allegedly conservative Archbishop Nienstedt (Who also supports Socialized Medicine and the CCHD). The response from the Archdiocese to this problem was not decisive and it wasn't in line with its own directives.

As a response to this problem, we just received an e-mail from a probable local yokel named, Peter Canisius, which was written by the Communications Director of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis; which seems to be directed at us, reproduced here in its entirety:

You and I both know who you really are and that you are not a dead Jesuit saint but a poor deluded soul who has tried to serve as some kind of avenging angel to the Church and the Archdiocese over the years. Now I know who disrupted my afternoon with your phone call and your unwillingness to listen to facts.

How dare you defame Archbishop Nienstedt with a fake news release like this that is totally untrue. He issued no "document" to Our Lady of Grace or its Adult Formation Office affirmation that Father Kevin Burke SJ is a priest in good standing and that Liberation Theology is fully in line with the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church." This is not only false, but you have committed the sin of calumny in distributing this falsehood.

Since you are such a self appointed guardian of our Church's teachings and the "Magisterium[''s" edicts, you must know that Archbishop Nienstedt is always a faithful follower of both. He has, as you must know, again, prohibited a number of scheduled speakers who did not conform with the Church's teachings from speaking at some of our parishes. At his direction, I personally called the office of the provincial for the Jesuit Order in California and was told that Father Burke is absolutely a priest in good standing with their order. Who are you to deny their authority?

And Archbishop Nienstedt has never approved Father Burke's appearance nor issued any proclamation. I presented him with the information he had asked for and he has not chosen to interfere in this priest's appearance at the parish. We have, however, also been in touch with the parish and directed them to speak with Father Burke in advance to assure that he does not make statements that conflict with the teachings of the Church.

How dare you accuse the Archbishop of violating both the terms of the Manhattan declaration and his own Speakers Policy? Shame on you!

Dennis McGrath
Director of Communications
Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

It is a confusing letter, not to mention strident, and is confused about the Archdiocese's own policy regarding Catholic speakers which forbids them from speaking on Diocesan property (which did occur) if their writings are not harmonius with Catholic teaching; and we've already demonstrated that the Jesuit speaker, Fr. Kevin Burke is far from problematic, indeed, his writings reek of heresy. We've also demonstrated that the organizer of the event, Terry Grieb, is a member of the CCCR (Catholic Coalition for Church Reform). In the course of our phone call, Mr. McGrath did mention this organization and said that he and the Archbishop had cancelled several events sponsored by them. Why indeed have they permitted this to take place?

It makes the Archdiocese look bad if it has policies that it isn't enforcing. It almost looks as if the Archbishop isn't really serious about combating error. We made Mr. McGrath aware of the event and he became very angry. In any event, he admits in the letter that he was aware of Father Burke SJ, he admitted that he knew Liberation Theology was bad (and that Fr. Burke promotes it in his writings) but insisted that merely getting a verbal agreement was sufficient to ensure that no error would be taught at the retreat on the 7th and 8th of December. Mr. McGrath accused someone of calumny, we're not sure who, but is he aware there is a commandment against lying?

We've also heard that a local Bishop actually said the event had been cancelled, but we were there. Fr. Burke SJ was present, so the talk went on as planned, against Archdiocesan Policy.

All that taken into account, the current pastor, Father Bob Schwartz, by virtue of his assocation with the aforementioned CCCR, Father Kevin Burke SJ, and his assigned reading list featuring books by dissident authors should be sufficient to demonstrate the problematic nature, not only of the talk which recently took place, but of Father Bob Schwartz himself, who by his assigned writings, promotes an environment of dissent and departure from Catholic teaching, writers like Sr. Joan Chittister (women's ordination, homosexuality) and Fr. Richard Rohr would not be welcome speakers at the Archdiocese of St. Paul, that is, if the policy in place were actually enforced at least as we understand it.



One thing's for sure, you won't be in danger of getting instruction on the Catholic Faith by reading Father Bob's Book List, which we will reproduce here:

FR BOB'S RECOMMENDED Book List

General Spiritual Enrichment:
Finding Sanctuary - Monastic Steps for Everyday Life
By Abbot Christopher Jamison - Liturgical Press [not a reliable publisher]
Finding Happiness - Monastic Steps far a Fulfilling Life
By Abbot Christopher Jamison - Liturgical Press
Forgotten Among the Lilies - Learning to Love Beyond Our Fears [meaningless self-help]
By Fr. Ronald Rolheiser - Doubleday
The Holy Longing - A Search for Christian Spirituality
By Fr. Ronald Rolheiser - Doubleday (Also almost anything else by him)

My Life With the Saints
By Fr. James Martin, SJ - Loyola Press
A Jesuit Off-Broadway [campy]
By Fr. James Martin, SJ
For an even deeper look at the Spiritual Life:
A Blessed Life: Benedictine Guidelines for Those Who
Long for Good Days
By Wil Derkse - Liturgical Press
For Men/ Fathers. Sons and Grandfathers:
Wild at Heart - Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
By John Eldredge - Nelson Books
The Way of the Wild Heart-A Map of the Masculine Journey
By John Eldredge - Nelson Books
Adam's Return - The Five Promises of Male Initiation
By Fr. Richard Rohr - Crossroad Book
For Anyone Over Sixty:
The Gift of Years - Growing Older Gracefully
By Sr. Joan Chisttister - BlueBridge
"I recommend all of these books very highly. The last one is especially good
reading for anyone who experiencing the troubling questions of aging." [How about preparing for death by having a good confession?]

Pro-Homosexual Jesuit Speaker in Archdiocese of St Paul, Minnesota

There is going to be a "Retreat" by a Jesuit who promotes the moral and psychological normalcy of Homosexuality and Liberation Theology and despite warnings from concerned individuals, the Archdiocese has steadfastly refused to do anything about these dissidents speaking in its jurisdication this evening and all day tomorrow.

Dennis McGrath, Communications Director for the Archdiocese of Minnesota who even warned us of the "Catholic Coalition for Church Reform", insists that he's been doing everything possible to keep Michael Bayly, a local homosexual activist, and speakers friendly to him off of Archdiocesan property as speakers or people involved officially with the Archdiocese in any way. We think that he would prefer there weren't any Catholics in the Archdiocese at all, you know, no oversight.

We've just been informed that Terri Griep, a freelance writer, who is organizing the talk is a close collaborator with Michael Bayly and is herself not "harmonious with Catholic teachings" regarding Homosexuality and Liberation Theology. She describes her mission with the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform this way.

Is it consistent with the Gospel message of transforming love and abundant life to construct and promote a theology that justifies denying lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons full expression of their sexuality and the human good of partnering? What might an alternative theology, one informed by the findings of science and the experiences and insights of LGBT people, look like?

The Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Work/Study Group of the 2010 Synod will explore the historical, biological, and psycho/social aspects of human sexuality – with particular emphasis on homosexuality. It will also make recommendations for the adoption of a theology that values and celebrates the lives and relationships of LGBT people.

The abovementioned event took place at Our Lady of Lords Catholic Church, Edina, Minnesota.

Link to original...

Related Articles:

Perhaps Archbishop Nienstedt isn't a "real" conservative?

And he's soft on Marxism too!

Another... Jesuit...

The Guidelines aren't so Strict, Minnesota Archbishop Soft on Marxism

Dennis McGrath, the mouthpiece of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul, Minnesota, insists that a controversial speaker, Father Kevin Burke SJ, who is about to speak at a local parish, Our Lady of Grace in Edina, is a priest in good standing and there is no cause to invoke any sanctions against his coming visit and talk. While Mr. McGrath admits that the Church has admonitions about Liberation Theology, he won't admit that it condemns this Marxist ideological approach. McGrath insists that, "condemnation is much too strong a word." In reality the Church has condemned Liberation Theology and even if a specific condemnation weren't available at this point, many of its underlying principles. The Communications Director of the Archdiocese is wrong, the Church has condemned Liberation Theology and the Archdiocese (link) is hosting a well-known advocate of Liberation Theology and Homosexuality in opposition to his own rules not to host speakers whose writings are not in harmony with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Father Burke SJ has written and not retracted various treatises on Liberation Theology in praise of Marxists like Ignacio Ellacuria, who became a casualty of war when he assisted Soviet backed guerrillas in the Salvadoran civil war.

He also heads a faculty in Berkeley that features "Queer Studies". It's hard to see how this amounts to "being in harmony with the teachings of the Church."

When we brought this to the McGrath's attention, he accused the interviewer of not "loving homosexual persons" and went on for a while, insisting that they are certainly welcome in the Archdiocese.

We'd suggest that the Communications Director, given the large salary he receives to represent the Archdiocese in these matters, actually read the directives and teachings of the Church and Archdiocese he claims to represent.

At this point it seems clear where the Bishop and Dennis McGrath, ever eager to make false allusions himself, stand with regard to the teachings of the Church. We would in no way, of course, say that Archbishop Nienstedt or any of those under his leadership are Marxists or Homosexuals, naturally.

Related Articles:

Stricter Guidelines for Catholic Speakers.

Kevin Burke SJ.

Archbishop Nienstedt defends CCHD.

Stricter Guidelines for Catholic Speakers in Archdiocese of Saint Paul, USA

Minneapolis-St. Paul is a test market. It was a test market for Mass said versus populum in the 30s, for Communion in the hand, for female altar servers, and now, almost paradoxically, it is a test market for Ultramontanism and authoritarianism. How this happened is a mystery to us, but perhaps, wherever evil thrives, good abounds.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Only individuals in good standing with the Catholic church can be invited to speak at churches or other Catholic venues or be considered for an award from the church, according to a new policy issued by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

"The speaker's writings and previous public presentations must also be in harmony with the teaching and discipline of the church," it said.

"A priest who left the ministerial priesthood without dispensation would not be eligible for consideration. Those in irregular marriages or those living a lifestyle at variance with church teaching would also not be eligible," it said.

Read further...