L'Osservatore Romano Calls "Blues Brothers" a "Catholic Classic"

Edit: in line with attempting or at least entertaining the false hope that Andy Warhol was a more than cultural Catholic, is the endeavor to dub films of dubious moral quality as being substantially Catholic.

The justifiably maligned Vatican newspaper has praised such films as Harry Potter.

Already a must-see for Chicagoans, “The Blues Brothers” now also has the endorsement of the Holy See. L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s newspaper, cites the bluesmen’s mission to save a church orphanage in labeling 1980 John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd film “a Catholic classic.”

Link to...

First Old Mass For Tarento Brotherhood in 40 Years

Edit: Taranto is the third largest city in Italy.

(Taranto)  Last Sunday, the 15th of July, Msgr Marco Gerardo, vintage 1975, the director of the Liturgical Office and spiritual assistent of the Arch Brotherhood of our Beloved Lady of Carmel offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Immemorial Mass of all Ages.  The Mass was at the central Piazza Giovanni XIII before the church Maria Santissima del Monte Carmelo.  Before the beginning of the Mass the new members were formally admitted to the brotherhood and made their vows pubicly.

The Immemorial Rite was celebrated for the first time at confirmation in Taranto in 2010, at the church of St. Augustine, then in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine, where Monsignor Gerardo has been pastor since 2010 and implements the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI. The Brotherhood of Our Lady of Mount Carmel under the baton of Antonello Prior Papalia has a Choral schola.

Monsignor Gerardo received his philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and then earned a degree in liturgy at the University of Sant'Anselmo in Rome. Next to his duties as a pastor and in the Archdiocesan Ordinariate, he is professor of liturgy at the Institute for Religious Studies "Romano Guardini," Taranto and chaplain of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in the Archdiocese. By 2010 he was secretary of the Archbishop of Taranto, Monsignor Luigi Benigno Papa, OFM Cap.

Taranto has a strong community of tradition which has formed in the course of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. After 40 years, the Old Mass was celebrated again on Sunday for the first time as part of the festivities celebrating the brotherhood. The Brotherhood has more than 1,800 members and is a prayer alliance. Already established in the 16th Century, they reached their present form in 1675.

Text: Accion Liturgica/Giuseppe Nardi Bild: Don Walter Astorino
Link to katholisches...

Syria: Minister of Defense killed in an attack is Christian

A suicide bomber has targeted the building yesterday for National Security, in central Damascus. The Defence Minister, General Daoud Rajha, and his deputy minister, who is also the brother of Bashar al-Assad, were killed, as the head of the Crisis.

The defense minister, Daoud Rajha, was a Christian .

From le Salon Beige...

Traditionalist Group Spreads Catholic Faith in Moscow

Summorum Pontificum


A German Cleans up Moscow

Even in the capital city of Russia the little plants of the Old Mass are showing themselves to a greater and more powerful tree. -- kreuz.net

(kreuz.net)  Since January 2011 there has been a website 'summorum-pontificum.ru'.

In the sign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus


The web title page is published by the "Society of the Most Precious Heart of Jesus".

The society was founded in 2010 on All Hallows by Moscow Catholics.

Huber was born in the 30,000 population city Buhl -- about 10km south west of Baden-Baden in the immediate vicinity of the Elsace border.

For 10 years he has lived and worked in Moscow.

Destructive and sinful

"It wasn't until 2008 that I visited Holy Mass in the ancient Roman Rite for the first time in Moscow."

For him it is clear, "that this Liturgy is the complete unabridged Catholic Faith celebrated to the honor of God".

At the same time he was surprised that this Liturgy has been so significantly criticized in the Catholic Church:

"That appears to me completely senseless -- even destructive and sinful".

Maintain Permanently


The founding of the "Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus" was for Huber a consequential step back to Tradition:

"We experience much joy and gratitude in this work for the Catholic Faith."

Huber's society would like to organize and permanently maintain the worthy celebration of the Old Mass in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary in Moscow.

Additionally they promote the spiritual lives of members through Eucharistic adoration, the Holy Office, the ember days, the Rosary and spiritual exercises.

The Society is also taking pains to promote the Old Mass in all Russian regions.

Invitation to Priests

Huber invites priests, who celebrate the Old Mass, to celebrate it in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

The Old Mass will be celebrated there every Sunday at 5pm in the large chapel of the Cathedral.

translated from: Link to kreuz.net....

Fulda Bishop Slapped

Even in Turkey those guilty of assault against Catholic dignitaries are gladly described as "mentally ill".

(kreuz.net) Bishop Heinz Josef Algermissen of Fulda was attacked around 1pm on the Pauluspromenade in Fulda.

This was reported by the website 'osthessen-news.de'.

A Shock

The female attacker (52) accosted the Bishop on the Pauluspromenade -- a street directly in front of the Cathedral square.

Then  she struck him with the flat of her hand in the fact.

This cause the gtlasses on his face to fall and break.

Msgr Algermissen was not injured.  He suffered a shock, though.

Attacker arrested

Witnesses of the attack immediately informed the police.

She was arrested shortly after -- with the help of employees of the Diocesan General Vicarate --- in the vicinity of the Cathedral.

It was -- according to official reports -- a mentally ill Fulda woman (52).

She claimed that she had long wanted to get the "attention" of the Bishop.

The woman was arrested and found herself free in the mean time.

Link to kreuz.net....

Christendom College Founder Dr. Warren H. Carroll Dies at 79

July 18, 2011
Warren H. Carroll, Founding and First President of Christendom College and Chairman of its History Department for its first twenty-five years, died on Sunday, July 17. Aged 79, he received last rites prior to his death in his home. Carroll was in a weakened condition having suffered several strokes in the last several years and was recovering from pneumonia. Cardiopulmonary failure was the official cause of death.

A native of Maine, Carroll was asumma cum laude history graduate of Bates College, achieved an M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Columbia University, and attended law school in 1962-64. Between 1955 and 1961 he served two years with the U.S. Army Signal Corps, worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, and worked as an assistant command historian for the Second Air Force, Strategic Air Command. In 1967-70 he was a member of the California State Senate staff, and in 1970-72 worked as a staff member for the U.S. Congress.

A convert to Catholicism, Carroll saw what was wrong in modern education a long time before he saw what was right about Christianity. He maintained that the people teaching in the university did not care whether truth existed or not, and it didn’t matter to them. But to him, it mattered a great deal.  In 1968, precisely when “everyone” was leaving, Carroll converted to the Catholic Church under the influence of his wife, Anne

Link to Christendom website...

Photo of the Week From Society's German District

The picture of the week shows a "Hardrock-Mass"  in the Cathedral of Tarragona (Spain) on the 8th of April 2012.  The celebrant is known as "Padre Jony", such is his stage name.   HIs real name is Joan Enric Reverte, and he is the Pastor of St. Peter Parish in Alcanar.

Why don't the superiors intervene here?  In the Seminary, Padre Jony had already formed his first band, "Seminary Rock".  In 2005, he released his first album.

Link to piusbruderschaft.de...

Catholic University of Leuven Withdraws Bishops' Voting Right

The five episcopal board members will only undertake an advisory function in the future, but may not decide on scientific projects like stem cell research.

Brussels/Leuven (kath.net/KNA)  In Belgium the Catholic University of Leuven has revoked its voting rights on the highest board of the University.  The five bishop members of the board will play only an advisory role in the future,  but may not decide over scientific projects like stem cell research, reported the Belgian media of the University's  leadership.  Among the 30 persons included on the board also belongs the President of the Belgian Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard von Mechelen-Brüssel.


The University explained in reports, that this decision took place after long consideration. The Catholic University was indeed founded by the Bishops, but now according to its new mission statement will continue independently regardless. For that reason the word "Catholic" in the name of the University also comes under discussion. The current board decided to use the official designation KU Leuven. The >>K<< should in any case not be obligatory. Internationally, the name "University of Leuven" will be used.

According to reports, the University stressed its independence in its new mission statement. An independent administration is an essential precondition for academic freedom.

The reason for the initiative was brought among other things by statements of Archbishop Leonard in 2010. The Bishops' President had described AIDS as a consequence of misconduct and described it as a form of >>imminent justice<<.
Link to original....

The SSPX Has Doubled Itself in 20 Years - 569 Priests

(Menzigen)  The Society of St. Pius X finds itself in a decisive turning point in their history.  While the reconciliation talks with the Holy See finds itself at a standstill, the Society's General Chapter has been held since the 8th of July in Econe. From the start it is important to take a look at the development of the personnel of the Society since its founding in 1970.

As the General house imparted at the beginning of July through its information service DICI, the Society, which has lacked ecclesial recognition since 1975, today has 569 priests.  In the last 20 years the number of priests has doubled.

In June 18 priests were ordained in the northern hemisphere.  Bishop Tissier de Mallerais ordained six priests in Winona in the USA, Bishop Fellay on June 29th 10 new priests in Econe in Switzerland and Bishop de Galerreta on the 1st of July two priests in Zaitzkofen in Germany.

Translated: Tancred
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: DICI

Link to katholisches...

Turkish Government Threatens to Destroy Most Ancient Monastery in All Christendom

Edit: the drama continues in Turkish occupied Christian lands.

We'd reported earlier  last year in May that one of Christianity's most ancient and hallowed monasteries was being threatened by the Turkish government.   Amazingly, they're destroying the place by increments, using the legal system and the usual arbitrary despotic pretenses.  

It looked like a fait accompli then despite the outcry from Europe's politicians.

This is one of the reasons why we (Catholics) went on Crusade in the first place.

(ANSAmed) - ANKARA, JULY 12 - The Mongolians failed to destroy it 700 years ago despite the massacre of 40 friars and 400 Christians. Yet the existence of the oldest functioning Christian monastery in the world, the fifth century Mor Gabriel Monastery in the Tur Abdin plane (the mountain of God's servants) near the Turkish-Syrian border, is at risk after a ruling by Turkey's highest appeals court in Ankara.

 Founded in 397 by the monks Samuel and Simon, Mor Gabriel in eastern Anatolia has been the heart of the Orthodox Syrian community for centuries. Syriacs hail from a branch of Middle Eastern Christianity and are one of the oldest communities in Turkey.

Today the monastery is inhabited by Mor Timotheus Samuel Aktash, 3 monks, 11 nuns and 35 boys who are learning the monastery's teachings, the ancient Aramaic language spoken by Jesus and the Orthodox Syriac tradition.

Link to ANSA...

Germany's Catholic Publisher 'Weltbild' Sells Sadomasochistic Tripe

Who can wonder?  In the area of sadomasochism the German cringer and Church-persecutor Bishops have no limits.

(kreuz.net, Augsburg)  Since the 9th of July the English publication of  the pornographic "Shades of Grey" is available in German.

The violence dominated piece of tripe has appeared at the tripe publisher 'Goldman'

The private fantasies of a house wife

The author of the book is Britin Erika Leonard (49), who is also known as E.L. James.

She is the mother of two sons and worked briefly for a television broadcaster.

Time Magazine indentified Mrs. Leonard in 2012 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

The more primitive, the better

From 2009, Mrs. Leonard published her tripe on the Internet.  The it appeared in a small publisher in Australia.

Since April she has been operating from a US publisher in grand style.

In English there are already 10 million copies that have been sold.

Depraved History

The porn involves a literature student (21) who becomes enslaved to a millionaire (27).

The millionaire was abused as a child and is psychologically disturbed.

The book excessively describes the violence, with which the student is inflicted.

Sado-Rubbish in 'Weltbild' branch

In German the book is also available from one of the affiliates of 'Weltbild'.

At the same time the publisher has distanced itself then as it writes in its website:

"The description of the oppression women in this book is contrary to the world- and human image, which we want to portray as a book seller."

This hypocritical distancing will hardly interest anyone.

On the website of 'buecher.de', which belongs to 'Weltbild' in any case, the tripe is available without a hypocrisy warning.

Slaves of the Market

A speaker of 'Weltbild' sees that her publisher for the Old Liberal 'Katholischen Nachrichtenagentur' (Catholic Information Agency)  is in a dilemma.

The sadomasochistic book is 'omnipresent' on the market.

'Weltbild' will not promote the title and its distribution in any way.

They have distanced themselves from its content and given critics room.

But it will be sold all the same.

Link kreuz.net...

Haunted Minnesota Monastery

Modernist Collegeville

St. John's University [1] - An angry mother haunts the campus of this Catholic school for men. During construction of Abbey Church in the 1880s, a young monk fell from a scaffold and was killed. The mother of the monk was never satisfied with the Abbott's explanation. After a heated argument at the dedication of the church, the woman was killed when her buggy overturned in a nearby lake. Afterwards strange, wet footprints were regularly found down the center aisle of the church and people complained of feeling an agitated presence there. Years later, when a new church was built on the same spot, a huge crack formed down the center aisle on the day of dedication. [The New and improved Abbey Church] Wet footprints are also left behind by the ghost of Brother Anselm Bartolome, who drowned at nearby Sagatagon Lake. He haunts the shores of the lake as well as the halls of the university where he taught.

 From, here...

Article about Jewish Hungarian architect of the Abbey church....here.

Another Benedictine Abbey Closes

Blue Cloud Abbey, a monastery and retreat center in northeast South Dakota, is closing.

Benedictine monks have voted to close the center in Marvin, with a farewell gathering to be Aug. 5. The vote was May 29, sponsors said today.

An announcement from the abbey said the facility is closing because of a lack of vocations and the aging of community members. The abbey has succeeded as a retreat center for groups and individuals, but the monastery has not been able to draw enough new members. No public liturgies will occur after Aug. 5, and all scheduled retreats will be canceled, sponsors said.

Argus Leader...

Holy Mother Russia Defends Christians Against Perfidious UK Government

 Edit: even if government officials can't abide by the standards of free speech, the Russian government is seeing fit to remind them.  Russia once again steps in as a defender of Christians. H/t Daniel Lieuwen. From English Pravda:

The Russian Orthodox Church is going to challenge in court a ban on wearing crucifixes, which was recently introduced in the UK. Russian priests, together with Russian lawyers, intend to help two UK women who were recently fired from work for wearing crucifixes and refusing to take them off.

 The case of stewardess of The British Airways Nadia Eweida and nurse Shirley Chaplin is considered to be unprecedented by many people. Ms. Eweida and Ms. Chaplin have appealed to the Strasburg Court, calling their case a violation of freedom of religion. Earlier, the women tried to defend their rights in a British court.

But while their case was being investigated, the UK authorities worked out a draft law which, in fact, allows employers to sack employees who do not conceal that they are Christians. Moreover, the UK authorities are going to defend their position in the European Court of Human Rights.

“It sometimes looks like Europe’s secular authorities are trying to totally expel Christianity from Europe,” a representative of the Russian Patriarch’s Office in the Council of Europe Father Philip Ryabykh said in an interview with the Voice of Russia. “The Russian Orthodox Church cannot watch this without expressing its protest!”

Read further....english pravda 

H/t: Catholic Vox

Red Chinese Kidnap Catholic Bishop

Edit: Can American Bishops be far behind?
By Leslie Hook, Published: July 10
BEIJING — Tensions between Beijing and the Vatican are mounting after Chinese authorities detained an outspoken Catholic bishop who has defied state control of the church, a move that highlights the Communist Party’s deep mistrust of religious organizations.

Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin was whisked away just hours after he announced his resignation from the leadership of the Patriotic Catholic Association, or PCA, the government body that controls China’s state-sanctioned version of the Catholic Church, according to two people close to the PCA.
Link to WP...

News Stories from the German Speaking Zone

German Jesuits Run Tea-House Mass

Germany.  The chapel which is run by the Jesuit educational house, Lasalle -- in the 4,000 population community of Menzigen in the Canton Zug in central Swizterland -- looks like an Asian tea house.  The supper table is carelessly pushed aside.  In its place stands a small table for a tea ceremony.  There the priest sits cross legged and presents the New Rite of the Mass. The irony of fate:  the General Council of the SSPX is located in Menzigen.


Traditional Institute Starts House Study

Germany.  The traditional Instute of St. Philip Neri in Berlin is going to begin a house study for its far flung candidates.  The Institute reported this on its website.  The theological education will be called "Baronius-Akademie".  It will be a branch of study for priestly education, which will principally open to all.  The study direction falls upon Father Thomas Jatzkowski.  He is a former Prior of the Society of St. Pius X, who changed over to the Institute of St. Philip Neri in November of 2010.

Society Shut Out

Germany.  The Society of St. Pius X may not use any of churches in its pilgrimage to Altötting. Prelate Ludwig Limbrunner is the administrator of the pilgrimage locations responsible for the decision.  He already let the Society stand in the rain last year.  This year the Society will allow a priest to say his first Mass -- in a meadow.

Ray of Light:  Morocco rejects homosexual plague ship

Morocco.  Recently a ship with 1,600 homosexually touched wanted to weigh anchor in Morocco.  This was reported in the online edition of the magazine founded by a former National Socialist- Journalist, the boulevard magazine, 'Spiegel'.  Actually, the authorities refused the plague ship to land.  In Morocco, homosexuality is a crime punihable with six months to three years in jail.

Good Morning, Lord Auxiliary Bishop:  Homosexuals are sex offenders

Austria.  The homosexual disorder is not the worst of all sins.  This thesis was suggested by Salzburg Auxiliary Bishop Andreas Laun on Wednesday in the commerce site 'kath.net' in a guest article.  Msgr Laun told a tale of true homosexual sex offenders.  He values the "sins of homosexual people, who, all in all, go along with love for each other" not as bad as "the sins of people who exploit those in the third world, the sins of sex offenders and many, many other crimes."

Link to kreuz.net...

Vatican Wins Case Against "Titanic" in German Courts

Bonn (kath.net / CBA) success for the Vatican: The Hamburg Regional Court on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction against the current edition of the satirical magazine "Titanic". As the court on Tuesday the Catholic News Agency (KNA) confirmed must "Titanic", the front and back not the current issue

The Vatican Secretariat of State had previously commissioned a law firm with the enforcement of a cease and desist order. "The cover and back of the current edition Titanic are illegal. They violate the Holy Father in his personal rights", says Matthias Kopp, spokesman for the Bishops' Conference.

The current edition of the Frankfurter magazine is apparently referring to the Vatileaks affair. It shows under the title "Hallelujah in the Vatican - The leak is found!" Saluting a photo of Pope Benedict XVI. with a means of image manipulation, there is a urine stain plastered on the cassock. "Titanic" oversteps any degree of reasonable criticism, says Kopp. [There was also a picture of the back of the Pope with a brown stain on the back cover of the magazine] "This is already a legal review which is confirmed." For that reason, "Titanic" was invited to deliver a cease and desist declaration.

In an apparently satirical intentioned initially by saying "Titanic"-editor Leo Fischer, the title show a Pope celebrates after the revelation of the spy affair "Vatileaks" and in exuberance spills "a glass of lemonade" over his cassock. They would not sign the cease and desist for the time being.

"Titanic" also a spread letters signed by Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the substitute of the Vatican Secretariat of State, to the Bonn lawyer Gernot Lehr, who specializes in media law. Thus the Pope asked him, "to proceed against the violation of his privacy rights." Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi also confirmed the injunction on Tuesday to request, but referred for more detailed information to the German Bishops' Conference. 


From kath.net...

Pioneer of Same-Sex Unions Arrested for Child Porn

Gomorrism

Edit: he was one of the pioneers.  It's noted that several of the stories we've read in the sparse coverage this item has received in the national news has avoided associating him with anyone sacred to the cause.

San Francisco is a small place and all of these people know each other.  It would be interesting to see what happens when the sun shines.

Yet it's also interesting, if not to say discouraging, to see the thing perpetuate itself, evidence notwithstanding with the entertainment figures, media personalities and "educators" who are being put in jail.  Despite all of the evidence, figures like San Francisco's own Allen Ginsberg, who served on the board of NAMBLA, still escape the infamy they well deserve.

This champion of unnatural unions was paved the way for same-sex marriage legislation when he was involved in a highly public case against Union Pacific Rail when his partner in depravity died and he was deprived of bereavement  leave.

The San Francisco examiner also left out reports about his e-mail exchanges involving racist diatribes.

Gay rights icon Larry Brinkin has been arrested on charges of child pornography, according to San Francisco police.

Brinkin, 66, best known for fighting for equal rights on behalf of the LGBT community, was booked into San Francisco County Jail on Friday night. He posted bail and was released Saturday, SF Weekly reports.

The San Francisco Police Department seized computers, videos, VHS tapes and a floppy disc from Brinkin and his husband’s [sic] home, according to a search warrant obtained by SF Weekly.

Will others be implicated?  We're sure of it.  It's times like this when if we aren't encouraged by the media, we're at least encouraged by the perseverance of this police.

Note the complete silence on this.  If it had been someone more, say, fitting, we'd probably be hearing more of it.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/larry-brinkin-san-francisco-gay-rights-icon-arrested-child-porn-charges-police-article-1.1102539#ixzz20Hm3Q4Ng

This parallel case involving a white male is getting more coverage.

Another high profile case involved a white male, which was prominently featured by MSN.  It's unfortunate that neither of these men were allowed to marry.  Maybe, somehow, their situation would have been different.  

Barry McOwen, 67, was charged with 651 total counts including multiple rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual abuse of children, endangering the welfare of children, aggravated indecent assault, corruption of minors, invasion of privacy and drug violation charges.

Archbishop Refuses Burial to Mafia Boss

In Agrigent in Sicily, the local Bishop has refused Church burial to a known mafia boss.  For the "number two" of the Cosa Nostra in the area of Agrigent provincial city of Siculiana, Giuseppe Lo Mascolo (73), whose memory has been kept by the Archbishop of Francesco Mongtenegro to prayers for the dead, only according to the Roman newspaper "Il Messaggero" on Thursday.  Mafia figures were refused Church burial for the first time in Agrigent said "Il Messaggero".  Lo Mascolo who'd died three days earlier had been in the custody of Italian Police the previous week.  Shortly thereafter he was brought to a hospital for a heart arrhythmia.

 In Agrigent Pope John Paul II had spoken 19 years earlier on the 9th of May in 1993 in a stirring speech condemned the crimes of the Mafia and called for resistance against organized crime.

From kath.net....

Is Holland's Liturgical Winter at an End?

(The Haag)  In the Netherlands the Latin Mass is drawing future priests.  Already in April 2011 the blog "Paix Liturique" asked if the "Long Dutch Winter Was at an End".  The reason for that was the readiness of the Rector of the Seminary of the Diocese of s'Hertogenbosch (Herzogenbusch) to faithfully and fully implement the Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI.  Since then the German Canon Lawyer, Gero Weishaupt, has been celebrating three times a week the Holy Mass in the classical form. [For obvious reasons we prefer to call it what it is, The Immemorial, our point of departure to heaven]  All seminarians are free to participate.  This is so that the outgoing new priest is made familiar with the Old Rite.

The seminary of the Diocese of s'Hertogenbosch has since 1987 been revitalized from the desolate situation of the Catholic Church and its priestly formation, to promote in the Netherlands a faithful and Rome true movement.

As blogger Mark de Vries reports, at the beginning of June in the cathedral of s'Hertogenbosch, of the two of the nine new priests in the 9 who were ordained for Holland: Patrick Kuis and Geoffry de Jong.  Both are through their education, made familiar with the Old Mass at Sint-Janscentrum.  Patrick Kuis , 27 years old, celebrated his first Sacrifice of the Mass with a pontifical Mass in Amsterdam's St. Agnes Church at which the Society of St. Peter is active.

A sign that the Old Mass has a rising influence on priestly formation and radiating also upon the once so modernistic Dutch seminarians, priestly candidates and new priests.

The documentation by Paix Liturgique of 2011 about the liturgical situation in the Netherlands is still available on the internet.

Translated Katholisches by Tancred
Text: Riposte Catholique/Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Riposte Catholique