Edit: The NCR article says this is surprising. This isn't surprising at all. Wherever the Catholic Faith is preserved, defended and lived out is going to be attractive to people. This Carmelite house depicted below doesn't look like the kind of heavily endowed, big charity institution with massive inhuman structures by strange Hungarian architects. It looks like a group of men who aren't planning a vacation, they're on a vocation. In other words, men like a challenge, they don't want to sit around and sip camomile tea in Birkenstock sandles, having conversations with guys named "Bruce".
And they're not shy about enforcing a few rules:
“Now, about half the people who come to our Mass in the chapel on Sunday are Protestants. I don’t give them holy Communion, but they attend Mass, and I preach pure Catholic doctrine.”
Germany. Today the founder and General Superior of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, Abbe Gilles Wach, wanted to celebrate high Mass at the high altar in the Holy Chapel in Altötting. This was according to video portal 'gloria.tv'. The priest requested two weeks previously in writing for permission, but didn't receive an answer. As he discovered by wahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gify of telephone, a secretary explained to him that he may not celebrate Mass there. The Old Liberal Rector of Altötting, Msgr Gunther Mandle, is a known enemy of the Immemorial. Despite this, two priests of Vaduz were able to say the Immemorial there two weeks ago in the early morning on the side altar.
Lithuania. The Society of Saint Pius X has built a church in Kaunas. This is according to a report from the German website 'piusbruderschaft.de' with pictures. In Pius-Father Josef Persie of German descent is working in Lithuania, among others.
Edit: no word what the Cardinal thought of this, but he's been trying to smooth the way for those who are divorced and remarried.
Was this Habsburg-comedy Catholic? Or old-Catholic? Or Protestant? Or Orthodox? Or Buddhist? In any case there's a scandal taking place in God's house -- complete with television cameras.
(kreuz.net, Wien) On Saturday in a Franciscan, Minoritenkirche, a Catholic Church in Vienna's Old City, a marriage between two adulterers was organized.
An Honorable Professoress of Theology
The principle actors were adulterer Sandor Habsburg-Lothringen and adulteress Herta Margarete Öfferl.
The comedy appeared for 700 guests.
Mrs. Öfferl is the founder and President of the obscure "Union for the Promotion of Peace".
She has the academic degree of "Professor of Theology honoris causa" from a protestant grouping which calls itself "High Church Austria".
Sandor Habsburg-Lothringen is the organization's Vice President. He is also honored by "High Church Austria".
Flower Pedal of the Buddhists
The concubine appeared in a creme colored wedding dress with a green mantel in the style of a mountain girl.
Upon her dramatic entrance into the Franciscan Church she was accompanied by soldiers of the Austrian Army.
In the church the church rector, Father Wojciech Szczepanski, greeted them as reported in an edition of the "Lower Austrian News".
The former Reichsender Vienna [What ORF was called when it served Hitler] (ORF) participated described the participants of the abomination as members of the Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic Churches. Additionally, there appeared members of the Old Catholic, Protestant and Romanian Orthodox Churches.
Apparently, the Old Catholic cult leader simulated the act of giving the vows.
Both divorced people exchanged rings, putting them on the finger and swearing, "till death".
That was an apparent parody of the vows of their existing marriages.
After the laughable ring-ritual a Buddhist Abbot appeared and strewed flower peddles in the direction of the wedding parody couple.
The holy Franciscan church has been used for almost sixty years by the Italian community in Vienna.
Edit: UPDATE: Benetton has pulled their ad, recently, but the damage has been done.
The trendy, colorful and androgynous clothes of Benetton are famous all around the world for their ad campaigns which promote a promiscuous cultural melange and challenge the sexual norms of the world's religions. They also make light of the entire political spectrum from the Left to the Right side of the Seine or the Moscow. The ads seem to say, "this is how fun life can be without religion or politics." Despite their efforts to promote a world clique, and decisive social changes, they're also increasingly notorious for the unsafe conditions of their factories and exploiting their laborers. So, the sexually ambivalent Luciano Benetton and his company, despite being progressive about some things, still has a great deal of respect for Mammon.
How about creating sharecroppers in Africa through mini-credit?
Recently, as mentioned above, Benetton has attacked the Pope with a photo-shopped ad depicting him with a Mohammedan cleric embracing and kissing. The ad is decidedly exploitative and has once again raised people's awareness of this label, Mohammedanism and Catholicism.
And yet, despite Benetton's concern with the sexual outlook of the world's religions, and their own progressive sexual ethic, they continue to make the news for their bad faith in terms of their labor practices. Last year, 3,000 female textile workers rioted against what they felt were low wages and poor working conditions. This is obviously something which might interest the culturally progressive audience Benetton has cultivated in the last quarter century.
At least nine female garment workers were injured on Tuesday in clashes with Cambodian riot police who used shields and electric shock batons to try to end a week-long strike over the suspension of a local union official.
More than 100 police, at least 50 in riot gear and carrying assault rifles, tried to force an estimated 3,000 female workers back into their factory, pushing several to the ground and stunning them with batons, a Reuters witness said, which we found at Deceiver.
The clashes were the latest setback for an industry that was badly hurt by the global economic slump from 2008 and more recently has been plagued by strikes over low pay and working conditions.
The factory on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh, is owned by a Malaysian firm and produces garments for companies including Gap, Benetton, Adidas and Puma.
On 14 December 2010, 28 workers of the sportswear factory That’s It in Bangladesh went up in flames or jumped to their deaths when a fire tore through the ninth and tenth floors of their factory building. They were not the first ones whose lives had ended violently in the work place. Since 2000, at least ten Bangladeshi factories were razed by fire or simply collapsed on top of the workers, because the owners cared more about money than about the safety of their employees.
We might also add that Benetton is an avid supporter of unsavory sexual mores. His numerous ads depicting curious sexual poses valorizing aberrosexuality speak for themselves. Could it be that the Italian, and shamelessly Republican Senator, Luciano Benetton, shares with many anti-clerical Italians, a hatred of the Catholic Church? If the following paragraphs are any indication, it wouldn't be surprising:
The solution was one of the most controversial campaigns in advertising history. Under the banner, United Colours of Benetton, there appeared first mixed-race couples and later more shocking images. One showed the bloodstained uniform of a dead soldier in former Yugoslavia. Others highlighted social problems such as Aids. None used professional models.
Mr Benetton is coy about whether his goal has been to change the world or merely to hijack topical issues to promote his brand. "I'm not the so-called `creative' person in the company," he says. But he does vet all the images before they go out. "Our principles are not to offend people and not to lie."
We're not the only ones to have noticed this familiar duplicity. Three days ago, an article appeared in A Paper Bird has also noticed this as well, citing also how Benetton pays its female workers in Tunisia.
(Moskau) The Holy Girdle of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, which is one of the most honored relics of Orthodox Christianity, is in Moscow. The Russian capitol is the last stop of a tour which began its trip through Russia in St. Petersburg on 24th of October. Till the 27th of November, the relic which is also known as the cincture of Mary, will be displayed at the Moscow Christ the Savior Church, recently reopened for the first time since the break-up of Communism. In the first two days there were over 50.000 faithful who came to venerate it. Whoever was lucky only had to wait about six hours in the line. Many stood for over 18 hours in the snowfall and waited patiently, till they could visit the Icon.
For the protection of the relic the strictest security measures were undertaken because the installation of the Holy Girdle fell on the birthday celebration of the Moscow Patriarch Kyril I. Since the 18th of November, the faithful must first pass through a metal detector to see the symbol of the spiritual rebirth of the Russian Orthodox Church after 74 years of Communist dictatorship.
With its "pilgrimage" through Russia the Girdle of Mary had to leave its home in the Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos in Greece where it is guarded. The special permission to allow the relic to leave the Monastery in the little Monastic Republic in Greece, falls upon Vladimir Yakunin, the Chief of Russian state transportation. "A reason, is the demographic situation in our country.," explained Yakunin to the Press. "We're hoping that this will lead to the spiritual rebirth of Russia, which is calling for Christian values and above all, the family."
The Vatopedi Monastery dates back to the 10th Century. Which tradition states was a Monastery reestablished there from the 4th century. There is a similar tradition of veneration for the stole of Mary in the Oriental and Latin Churches.
There has been a substantial amount of negative response from the laity as well as a recent news report from Lifesite, about United States Catholic Council of Bishops [USCCB] and its questionable relationship with the Girl Scouts. Despite the fact that Girl Scouts USA partners with and supports Catholics for choice, there is the typical non-response from the USCCB. They express concern about the the grievances of Catholics involved with the program, but don't actually do anything about it. (http://www.nccgscf.org/NFCYMPositionStatementOnGSUSAIssuesJan282011.pdf), (GSUSA supports "Catholics for Choice" on pg 2 of the article). Here's the non-response:
Many Catholic Girl Scout leaders are feeling torn between their commitment to Girl Scouting
and their commitment to their Catholic teachings because of the real or perceived relationship
between GSUSA and organizations like Planned Parenthood. The NFCYM approach to this
complex issue has been one of engagement, rather than detachment or withdrawal. NFCYM,
through NCCGSCF, needs to stay connected to GSUSA not only because thousands of Catholic
girls and Catholic adult leaders are involved in scouting, but because Girl Scouting—like Boy
Scouting—provides excellent character development for young people through their programs.
NFCYM can only influence secular organizations by staying in relationship with them . . . by
being at the table.
In addition to releasing their public statement, GSUSA has taken two other actions:
1. On Thursday, January 27, GSUSA conducted a conference call with their council
executives to assist them in working more closely with faith based organizations.
NFCYM sees that as a significant action in promoting our religious recognition
programs.
2. GSUSA has agreed to a follow-up meeting between their national leadership and
NFCYM leadership this summer to continue to review and access our relationship and
the critical issues.
NFCYM will continue to closely monitor any new issues that arise and, through our NCCGSCF,
continue to engage GSUSA leadership in their active support of NFCYM religious recognition
programs
More recently, there is another story related to Girl Scouts USA where, true to their essential character, they are making accommodation for a child who is undergoing a sex-change operation. It's indisputable that there are those within the USCCB who have difficulties articulating and acting on the Church's teachings regarding sexuality and it also seems unlikely that any change will take place from within. Here's the recent National Review Story:
‘Bobby identifies as a girl, and he’s a boy,” a Denver mother told a TVstation in a news story about her son, who has been accepted as a Girl Scout.
“He’s been doing this since he was about two years old. He’s loved girl stuff, so we just let him dress how he wants, as long as he’s happy,” she explained.
When she first approached the Girl Scouts’ local troop leader about joining, the answer was pretty sensible: But he’s a boy.
Father John Echert, Pastor of Holy Trinity and St. Augustine churches in So. St. Paul, has invited The Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), the Very Rev. John Berg to offer the 11:30 Traditional Latin Mass at the Church of St. Augustine (408 3rd St. N. in So. St. Paul) on the 27th of November. The Fraternity of St. Peter is an international priestly fraternity established by Pope John Paul II to provide the traditional Mass and Sacraments to Catholics around the world under the provisions established by the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei.
There will be a reception for Father Berg in the church hall immediately after Mass, at which time he will also offer a brief presentation on the general mission of the Fraternity of St. Peter. So please--tell your friends and family members, forward this email to your Catholic contacts, pray for the success of this event, and mark your calendars for the 27th of November.
Argument of the Month 408 3rd Street North South Saint Paul, MN 55075
Some may remember this parish as the site of a possible Eucharistic Miracle.
Edit: this story from Sicily is of interest. It was reported in Messainlatino a few days ago on the 18th.
A layman wanted to receive Communion in the hand, but the pastor of Acquaviva Platani is opposed to this practice. There was a confrontation after Mass in the Sacristy and the police were called.
CALTANISSETTA - The police were called 'to intervene and restore calm to a faithful Pastor in Acquaviva Platani, Don Francesco Novara, had refused delivery of the Host in his hand.'
This priest only gives Communion on the tongue. This decision by Don Novara has already split the community between those who believe it's the correct decision by the parish priest and those who think it's exaggerated. The man who had been denied the Host, came to the Sacristy after the church service, as reported in the edition of the Journal of Caltanissetta of Sicily, and railed against the priest. The police were called shortly after that by others in the Sacristy. The police arrived and convinced the offended layman to desist from his protests and to return home.
source: the Repubblica.it / chronicle of Palermo
Bravo, Don Francesco Novara! Communion only in the mouth!
Edit: ever since we discovered that Jeff Anderson, an attorney who has settled but never won, numerous cases for sex-abuse against the Catholic Church, has donated substantial sums of money to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Democratic National Committee, we've felt it's a pretty clear indication of the kind of credit this systematic and mendacious attack on the Catholic Church deserves.
Homosexuality and the Church Crisis
11/14/2011http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif By Brian W. Clowes -RenewAmerica.com http://catholiccitizens.org/press/pressview.asp?c=53420
Abstract: Due to clergy sex abuse scandals centered primarily in the Northern hemisphere, the moral authority of the Roman Catholic Church has been subjected to an opportunistic siege by prominent individuals and organizations who see the chance to advance their goals, including the ordination of women and the suspension of the requirement for priestly celibacy.
There is also a strongly defensive element to this strategy. Opponents of the Church know that there is a well-documented and strong correlation between male homosexuality and child sexual abuse, but claim that there is no evidence supporting this connection.
And, of course, those who are currently attacking the Church hope that they can undermine its moral authority to preach on the sinfulness of homosexual behavior and weaken its opposition to ersatz homosexual "marriage."
This paper demonstrates that there is indeed a very strong link between male homosexuality and child sexual abuse. It also shows that there is a similar rate of child sexual abuse among other very large groups of adult males (e.g., Protestant clergy, who are usually married), thus proving that celibacy is not the root of the problem - homosexuality is.
Edit: the fact of the matter is that the presence of altar girls and women readers destroy vocations. The presence of women on the altar indicates a progressive and revolutionary outlook which are antithetical and toxic to authentic Catholicism. But a cursory look at the actual practice will show that Diocese which don't allow this don't have vocations problems. Once upon a time Northern Virginia didn't have altar girls, then Bishop Loverde came along, but that's another story.
Once the few women of the parish calm down, or decide to become Unitarian or some other religion more suited to their mentality, some vocations to the priesthood should come of this.
[Washtington Post] Mass had just begun at Corpus Christi Catholic Church when Jennifer Zickel, a Sunday school teacher, glanced at the church bulletin and saw something that made her sick to her stomach.
Tucked in with announcements about a new electronic donation system and a church dinner at Margarita’s Mexican restaurant was news that Zickel, the mother of two girls, had been dreading: Corpus Christi would no longer train girls to be altar servers.
Edit: Andrew Greeley, who says he knows the identity of the infamous Chicago Boy's Club pederast ring is still recovering from an "accident." Matt Abbot's been covering the story from Chicago for almost a decade:
[Renew America] Thomas R. Hampson, an Illinois licensed private investigator and founder of the Truth Alliance Foundation, is determined to expose corruption — in the church and in society at large.
"It's clear to me that the crime problem has expanded as our collective values and character have deteriorated," says Hampson. "We need to address that core problem, and the church — defined as the people of God, not the institution or denomination — needs to take the lead. The first challenge is to clean up our own house."
Hampson knows it will be a daunting task, but he's ready, willing and able. His résumé is impressive: In the 1960s he worked for the U.S. Air Force Security Service as an intelligence analyst. In the 1970s and early 1980s he worked for the Illinois Legislative Investigating Commission as a chief investigator. From 1983 to 2004 he served as president of Search International, Inc., a company he established as an international investigation and security agency.
On August 8, 1990, Archbishop Lefebvre wrote a personal letter to a Society priest in France who had written to ask him about the meeting with Padre Pio. Here are extracts from the letter:
For several years now this slander, a fabrication from start to finish, has been circulating in Italy. I have already refuted it, but lies die hard; there is not one word of truth in the page of that magazine you photocopied for me.
The meeting which took place after Easter in 1967 lasted two minutes. I was accompanied by Fr. Barbara and a Holy Ghost Brother, Brother Felin. I met Padre Pio in a corridor, on his way to the confessional, being helped by two Capuchins.
I told him in a few words the purpose of my visit: for him to bless the Congregation of the Holy Ghost which was due to hold an extraordinary General my Chapter meeting, like all religious societies, under the heading of aggiornamento (up-dating), meeting which I was afraid would lead to trouble...
Padre Pio kissing Archbishop Lefebvre's ring.
Then Padre Pio cried out. 'Me, bless an archbishop, no, no, it is you who should be blessing me!' And he bowed, to receive the blessing. I blessed him, he kissed my ring and continued on his way to the confessional...
That was the whole of the meeting, no more, no less. To invent such an account as you sent me the copy of calls for a satanic imagination and mendacity. The author is a son of the Father of Lies
Thank you for giving me the chance to tell once more the plain truth.
From Rorate Caeli, continuing reports of Cardinal's support for Medjugorje:
In a repeat of last year's scandal, a 'seer' of Medjugorje has been invited once more to the Stephansdom of Vienna to give his 'testimony'. The whole-evening event (which will be live-streamed on the Internet) will culminate in a live 'apparition' followed by a Mass celebrated by Christoph Cardinal Schonborn. This event is in line with Schonborn's repeated gestures of support for this strange phenomenon, which is supposedly under investigation by the "Ruini Commission".
France. Approximately two dozen Traditional youth spontaneously enriched an inter-religious event by their self-composed music at a Parisian church. This was reported by the Catholic weekly 'La Vie' yesterday. The paper portrayed this beautiful action as a 'disturbance'. There were Christians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists gathered in the church for an inter-religious abomination. The religious participants closed in a ring around the youth. These were open to reason and gathered in the back of the church. After a discussion with the organizers of the event, they left the Church.
The young Catholics are associated with Civitas and the Society of St. Pius X.
A google translation of the French article reads what the Catholic youth wrote in leaflets denouncing the event which is closely tied to the inter-religious meeting at Assisi:
A leaflet summarized their hostility to interreligious dialogue: "Assisi, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice ...". Or: "Pius XI condemned the interreligious meetings because the proponents of this view reject the same time the true religion and pour gradually into naturalism and atheism."
Edit: Yoga is a violation of the First Commandment.
[Mumbailaity]Straight forward answer is “YES”. They know more on Hindu and Buddhist occult spirituality than Authentic Catholic spirituality. They know Hindu Sanskrit Shlokas better than Bible scripture. Why are you targeting only MUMBAI, Why not Bangalore, MANGALORE. It is the same story in India and around the World. There is a great demand for Christian YOGA teachers around the World.
FATHIMA RETREAT CENTRE MANGALORE conducts Christian YOGA retreats. St. PATRICKS Church campus Bangalore used for YOGA and PRANAYAMA, INFANT JESUS SHRINE MANGALORE OCD priests promotes YOGA classes. In Mangalore Diocese every parish promotes YOGA classes for children. Our religious institutes, Campus, Schools, colleges are used to promote SATANIC Spirituality.
In Europe, only one out of three trusts their church.
Moscow (kath.net/KNA) 68 percent of the Russian people have shown in a recent questionnaire that they have trust in the Orthodox Church of their land. Only twelve percent have mistrust for the Church, as a public poll conducted by the religious information service >>Sreda<<.
A subscriber poll of the "Reader's Digest" (Stuttgart) of Europeans in 16 countrie shows that 38 percent distrust their churches, while 59 percent on the other hand have little or no confidence.
30 percent of Russians surveyed see a strong dependence of their church on the State, 25 percent see it as low. 30 percent of respondents want the official state religion to be Orthodoxy. The majority of 48 percent, however disagrees that church and state should remain separate.
53 percent appreciate the work of the Russian Orthodox Moscow Patriarch Kirill I very much; another 40 percent rate it as mediocre, however, the remaining 7 percent below average.
In contrast, Europe (16 European countries including Russia), the Churches and Ecclesial Communities and their representatives, enjoy in comparison to other institutions, below-average confidence. This came from the aforementioned consumer survey by "Reader's Digest" (Stuttgart) which appeared at the end of March 2011. 38 percent of the approximately 33,000 respondents trust the churches there, 59 percent have little or no confidence in them.
The trust shown for churches in Germany is about a third (34 percent), while in the previous year was 40 percent. Even more dramatic is the fall in their trust in the Switzerland where it fell from 43 percent to 34 percent. There was only a slight loss in the prestige churches in Austria - from 37 percent to 36 percent.
In this pan-European survey, Russia was also included at the time, because the investigation "Reader's Digest European Trusted Brands" (Reader's Digest trusted brands) since 2001, has been conducted annually in the following countries: Belgium, Germany, Croatia, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Hungary.
Note: just remember that there were two dissenting votes against the Dogma of Papal Infallibility and one of them was from Little Rock.
[Little Rock, AK] The abuse-hoax has claimed yet another victim. A French priest of the Fraternity of St. Pehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifter has been suspended pending an investigation by his Bishop, Anthony Taylor, for disciplining a child by slapping her. His Latin Mass community is going to be on hold. It's not certain where his sheep will go to Mass, but if we may be so bold as to suggest this place, here.
Father Demets spirits are high. He is unrepentant and almost unmoved by the accusation. The gallant French priest writes:
And if America has become a country of sissies, it is not my fault.... well... it's the same in Europe now ! The all Western civilization is messed up. You can kill babies as Emily said, but you cannot smoke. You can say heresy in the Church, but cannot discipline a kid..... O tempora o mores !
Ho Chi Minh City (Agenzia Fides) - "Hope for the new generations of Vietnamese youth is faith in Christ: the young people who look to a market economy, consumerism, the civilization of looking for new answers for their thirst for truth and new ways of life": this is what the theologian Fr. Joseph Do Manh Hung, Vice-Rector of the Major Seminary in Ho Chi Minh City and Secretary of the Commission for the Clergy of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam said in an interview with Fides. The Secretary has confidence in the Christian community’s future in Vietnam, noting on the one hand "the government’s signs of openness " and, on the other hand, the flourishing of vocations (over 1,500 seminarians) and 80 thousand young lay people committed to pastoral care.
What are the prospects and hopes for Christians in Vietnam? Hopes for the Christian faith is based mainly on young people. The Church in Vietnam has a population of 87 million people, it has 7 million members. And young people are the majority. In 7 major seminaries (2 in the north, 2 in the center and 3 in the south) we have over 1,500 seminarians, and this abundance of vocations is a boost of confidence for us. Faith is strengthened, but at the same time, there is the challenge represented by the opening of a market economy, consumerism, by the civilization of image. This challenge mainly affects young people, including seminarians and future priests who need adequate formation. This work of formation passes through the use and development of modern techniques.
