Growing Mariawald Trappist Monastery Gets New Altar

A new altar in the Trappist abbeys Mariawald

Webseite der Abtei Mariawald mit dem
 Bild des neuen Altares
© Screenshot

Dealing with the Past: The altar is the successor to a block of stone that was an eloquent testimony to the failure of the liturgical reform after the Second Vatican Council.

(Kreuz.net) Since the 6th of September there has been a new altar in the church of the Trappist Abbey of Mariawald. The Abbey is located in the vicinity of the 4400-population town of Heimbach - fifty kilometers southeast of Aachen.

A block of stone as a symbol of the pastoral council

The church was blown up in World War II. During a renovation in the years of 1963/64, a grinding table in the form of a rudely hewn stone block was installed.

In the neo-Gothic space of the church, it looked like chalk and cheese.

A gift from heaven has now been given to the Abbey, a neo-Gothic wooden altar with matching six chandeliers. It harmonizes perfectly with the church.

With its modest beauty it is appropriate in a special way to the celebration of the traditional rite.

Even then thought of as reform

The altar, according to the website of the monastery, is probably from a French-speaking region. Its exact age is unclear. It follows in the tradition of the Nazarene movement. This effort in the 19th Century was to reform the religious art.

The donor of the altar does not wish to be known.

The Coming Restoration of The World Caliphate

Diocese of Helsinki: No TLM for A Whole Year

How Innocent is the Pope

The Pope says some beautiful words about the reform of the reform.  Then he goes back and names Bishops who do the opposite. by Sari Hiltunen

(kreuz.net)  In the Diocese of Helsinki there hasn't been an Old Mass celebrated for over a year.

It's too expensive a Mass?

For the past few years, the Diocese was regularly visited by priests from the Society of St. Peter from abroad.

Then the Diocesan administration explained that the Catholic laity ought to finance these visits.

Actually, among the Traditionalists are mostly young families with many children.  They don't have the financial means.

The Old Mass as a Magnet 

For the spiritual formation this situation is a catastrophe.

Till now the Traditionalist of the Diocese have even produced vocations.

Many converts have found their way to the Church through the Old Mass.

The unbeneficial influence of Opus Dei

Bishop Teemu Sippo (65) rules the Diocese of Helsinki.

He runs a hard Old Liberal course.

It is no contradiction that his General Vicar is a priest of the Personal Prelature of Opus Dei.

He is the Spanish born Fr. Ramon Goyarrola (43).

Opus Dei has no potential for reform

Priests of Opus Dei are also active in the Diocesan administration.

It is a publicly stated goal of Opus Dei to succeed Bishop Sippo's Diocese.

With the introduction of the Personal Prelature into the Diocese things haven't improved in the least.

English Instead of Latin

The most recent step:  The Diocesan administration want to cancel the only Novus Ordo Eucharistic Celebration in the Latin Language, which has been held every Sunday in the Cathedral since the end of the Pastoral Council.

The service is well attended.  It takes place at 9:45.

In its place there will be an English Eucharistic Celebration, although there is already an English Mass on Sundays in Helsinki.

Everything upside down

Since the appointment of the Bishop and General Vicar, female ministers have been introduced.

The interior of a parish church in Helsinki was destroyed under the pretext of restoration.

New order children -- and youth -- were sent on a summer camp with the homosexual friendly Lutherans.

Even the Diocesan festival took place this year -- even on the Feast of the Assumption -- in a protestantic "church" building.

The Problem is in Rome

The Diocese of Helsinki finds itself in a difficult financial situation.  It doesn't receive the privilege of state taxes like the German church does.

Otherwise, it is stuck on the course with the Old Liberals, who are not know  to engage themselves for the Church.

Because of the financial need Msgr Sippo has to have his residence moved to the former retreat house "Stella Maris" outside of Helsinki.

From there he can indulge himself in his interest in a mindless ecumenism.

The current Pope has clearly authorized it.

Because he has named countless Bishops in the mean time, who think and operate similarly.

Link to kreuz.net...

The Most Prophetic Voris Yet

Monsignor Angelo Amodeo, Canon of Milan Cathedral is No More, RIP

Edit: there isn't much we can add but only that it's fitting that he died so close to the birth of the legislation he did so much to bring about.  God grant him rest and pardon.  Let us not fail him in death who did so much as a shepherd of souls and always carried a generous heart and pray for the repose of his immortal soul.  Here's a slightly edited google translation from the wonderful, Messa in Latino:

We have just been informed by telephone that recently fell asleep in the Lord at the age of 80 years, after a period of illness, Monsignor Angelo Amodeo, minor canon of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Milan, was a great lover of Tradition Ambrosian Liturgy and Roman.

He was ordained in 1957 by Cardinal Montini of Milan, and was priest of great humility. He always wanted to come to the aid generously to all those who needed him, in different parts of Italy (Rome to Imperia, from Venice to Meda) to celebrate Mass in the ancient rite of the Church or to play the role of assistant priest. always remember with immense gratitude that Monsignor Amodeo its September 14, 2007, the day he came into force the long-awaited Motu Proprio " Summorum Pontificum "of the reigning Pope, took a long journey to Loreto to play the role of assistant priest at the Pontifical celebrated by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos in the Basilica (bottom) of the Holy House.

Hurry, expiate his human faults, his soul will be received into heaven to sing with the angels for divine liturgies.

Link to Messa in Latino...

Today is the Anniversary of Summorum Pontificum and The Feast of the Holy Cross

Edit: Those of us who are Traditionalists wish to thank the Holy Father for the generous Motu Proprio related to the Immemorial Mass of All Ages. Today is not only the great feast of the Holy Cross, but it's also the anniversary of Summorum Pontificum:

Quaecumque vero a Nobis hisce Litteris Apostolicis Motu proprio datis decreta sunt, ea omnia firma ac rata esse et a die decima quarta Septembris huius anni, in festo Exaltationis Sanctae Crucis, servari iubemus, contrariis quibuslibet rebus non obstantibus 

We order that everything We have established with these Apostolic Letters issued as Motu Proprio be considered as "established and decreed", and to be observed from 14 September of this year, Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, whatever there may be to the contrary.

A h/t goes to the Messa in Latino blog for the information... It clarifies that this legislation is superior to all others related to the Liturgy surrounding the Novus Ordo and would forbid such Calvinistic practices as Communion in the hand.

The Mass of All Ages:

Announcing "Friends of the International Federation Una Voce"

Edit: we thought this might be of interest.

The FIUV has recently approved the creation of ‘Friends of the International Federation Una Voce’.  We hope that individuals of good will across the world will take the opportunity to support the work of FIUV and to keep themselves informed about its activities.  We are inviting them to send us a few contact details: name, e-mail address, Country of residence, and to make an annual donation through the FIUV website. In return, we will put them on a circulation list for FIUV publications and regular news bulletins and Mass will be offered for them each month, whether living or dead. 

It would be extremely kind if you could let the readers of your excellent blog know about this initiative.  This text might be a useful summary:

-----------------------------------------------

Become a ‘Friend of the International Federation Una Voce’.  It’s an easy way to support the work of the Federation for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and to keep yourself informed about its activities.

You can become a Friend by e-mailing your details to friends@fiuv.org and making an annual donation using the PayPal button on www.fiuv.org  Please give your name, e-mail address and Country of residence. 

You will be included on the mailing list for publications and regular bulletins but your details will not be shared with others.

Two Masses will be offered in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite each month, one for living and one for deceased 'Friends of the International Federation Una Voce’.

15 Sisters of the Community of St. John Took Perpetual Vows -- New Monastery in Cordoba

(Madrid) 15 Sisters of the Community of St. John have made their last vows on the last 29th June in the parish of La Rambla in Cordoba.  The solemn profession was on  the occasion of the 100th Birthday of Father Marie Dominique  Philippe who died in 2006, whom the sisters consider their founder. The sisters are from Austria, England, France and Spain, where many family members were on hand to celebrate and witness the festive occasion of life surrender and consecration to the Lord.

The Mass was celebrated by  the Bishop of Cordoba, Demetrio Fernandez.  Bishop celebrated in the presence of the Vicar General and the Rector of the Seminary of the Diocese. The sisters have settled recently in the Diocese of Cordoba. 25 sisters of the Community live in the monastery near Cordoba  and worldwide there are now 150 sisters who lead a contemplative life, but without examination. The female branch of the St. John's community was founded on 8 December of 1982 and has been recognized since 1994 as a diocesan congregation.

Unlike other religious communities  St. John's puts both the same emphasis of importance the habits of both their female and the male branches.

The male branch, which now has some 600 brethren, arose from a merger of theology students to the Dominican priest and professor at the University of Freiburg in Uechtland, Marie Dominique Philippe, which was formed in 1975 and is recognized canon law since 1987. The mother house is in Rimont in France. He now has offices throughout Asia, Africa, America and Europe. In Austria, the Priory Queen Mary in Marchegg and in Switzerland, the Priory of Saint Jean in Geneva. In the Netherlands and Belgium, there are both brothers and sister communities of the Congregation.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Community of St. John

Link to katholisches....

Blair Witch Monastery in Collegeville

“We sit by and watch the Barbarian, we tolerate him; in the long stretches of peace we are not afraid. We are tickled by his irreverence, his comic inversion of our old certitudes and our fixed creeds refreshes us; we laugh. But as we laugh we are watched by large and awful faces from beyond: and on these faces there is no smile.” — Hilaire Belloc, This That and the Other (1912)

Edit:  The whole thing has an air of the Gnostic, legends of porcine craftsmen constructing dwellings, and of the lairs of fallen men who serve ancient and malevolent powers they fear but don't understand.  It's a tendency in public art to avoid representing anything, no battle, no spiritual triumph or even a mere scientific one, just a couple of disconnected inanimate objects whose purpose is to confuse you at best, at worst, lower your spiritual aspirations down to a purely material plane.

What do these rather amorphous and primitive structures have to do with Benedictine worship?   Perhaps a word from Catholic World Report's John Buescher can throw some light on these bizarre constructions, which reveal to our mind the gnostic associations of puritanism:

Nevertheless, there is a harder-edged answer to the question of the puppets’ purpose: If it is “Puritan,” why this explosion of celebratory paraphernalia in the puppets and costumes? It derives from the “apophatic” meaning of the puppets: as instruments in deconstructing traditional forms that stand between the individual and God. “Forms,” like “dogmas,” are, to the modern mind, idols, and must be taken down. The traditional form of the liturgy, thus, is the enemy of faith, and the puppets invade its sanctum, as agents of iconoclasm. In short, the puppets are intended as mockeries, speaking (mutely) truth to power (Silence = Death!), meant to pull down the temple in the name of the people, acting in the liberty of the free spirit. They are meant to unmask hypocrisy—regarded as the ancient tradition in its entirety.

Here's the article where it appeared from the above photo at 1240AM Radio:

COLLEGEVILLE – An unusual structure is going up this week at the entrance to St. John’s University.  Artist Patrick Dougherty is leading a project to build a series of five chapels made out of sticks, inspired by the campus.

He says he wants his artwork to be accessible to everyone.

Dougherty is spending a three week residency at the St. John’s Arboretum.  He says there are 10-15 people working on the sculpture each day.

Once it’s done, it will stand for about two years.

Dougherty works on about 10 of these types of projects each year all around the world

Surely, they're nuts at AM1240...

TFP Defends Marriage in Minnesota

Edit: The Society for Tradition, Family and Private Property has been campaigning fervently for the truth in Minnesota and has found a lot of support in various places, whether at the State Capital, the Suburbs or in one of the more troubled neighborhoods of St. Paul. They are surely doing good for the Archdiocese and helping the Archbishop get this timely and vital message to the public.

Way to go guys. Here's a video showing their work which is clearly not without its dangers. Be sure you go to their website and offer some support.

Polish Church Launches Magazine on Exorcism

(Warsaw) In Poland, the world's first magazine was published on exorcism, which is at news stands. The monthly magazine titled Egzorcysta (Exorcist), whose first edition was printed in an edition of 15,000 copies, has 62 pages.

Some Polish Catholic priests were brought together by a publisher to launch the magazine project, according reports by the Agence France Presse. The magazine costs 10 zloty, which works out at approximately 2, 3 Euros. The headlines of the first edition are "Satan, a Reality" and "New Age, the Spiritual Vacuum". Poland currently has 120 priests who are officially appointed as exorcists, as the priest Aleksander Posacki, professor of philosophy and theology, a demonologist and exorcist, explained on Monday at a press conference, in which the magazine was presented.

15 years ago there were only four official exorcists in Poland, says Posacki. This large increase was put in context by the priest that has tried in one of the most Catholic countries in Europe to expel Godless Communism with turbo-capitalism after 1989. Capitalism creates a market of opportunities and with it the opportunity to make the occult shops.

Aleksander Posacki is a member of an international Exorcist Commission of the Catholic Church. At the press conference he pointed out the inability of the various schools of psychology and psychiatry to deal with the phenomenon of possession and Umsessenheit because conventional treatments do not help.

Another Exorcist and staff of the new journal, the priest Andryej Grefkowicz, said that there were so many requests that the waiting time in Warsaw amounts to three months. The priests work with psychiatrists to first rule out the possibility of a mental illness. "I always consult a psychiatrist, if I have doubts then we often come together to the conclusion that it is a mental illness and not a form of obsession," said Grefkowicz.

In contrast to swindlers or providers of occult practices who may even be the cause of an obsession, who are paid substantial amounts by gullible or desperate persons, there is the offer of help from the Church through prayer, confession, forgiveness, or by exorcism, which is completely free, say the two priests.
Link to Katholisches....

French Bishop Criticizes Government's Policy Attacking the Family

The plans of French Government for the introduction of gomorrist marriage were an attack on one of the pillars of society. It is wrong to promote a relationship that is sterile by nature in the same way as marriage.

Ajaccio (kath.net / LSN / jg) Olivier de Germay, Bishop of Ajaccio in Corsica, has spoken out against the plans of the French Government on the introduction of gay marriage. This was an attack on one of the pillars of society, he writes in an article on the diocesan website.

With the introduction of same-sex marriage, according to de Germay it is not about equality, but privileges. It makes no sense for any state to grant a partnership that is "sterile by nature" the same benefits as marriage. The permanent connection of a man and a woman with the purpose of having and raising children is not the invention of a particular type of society, but deeply inscribed in human nature. The State has an interest in protecting marriage, because this is the natural shelter for children and contributes in this way to build up society, wrote the bishop. The ideological background for the introduction of gay marriage, which is gender theory, the sex that reduces the identity of the person concerned to the biology. Gender theory contributes to the destruction of the family and would ultimately lead to the dissolution of the person himself, writes Bishop de Germay.

© Photo: Diocese of Ajaccio

Italian Director: Catholic Influence Prevents the Legalization of Euthanasia in Italy

The Italian director Marco Bellocchio is convinced, that the Catholics of Italy were able to dominate the political landscape so that euthanasia could not be legalized.

 Rome (kath.net / LSN / jg) The influence of the Catholics of Italy is too strong to enable the legalization of euthanasia.

"When the power of Catholics is so great, as in Italy, it is almost impossible to get a secular law through" that authorizes euthanasia, the Italian director Marco Bellocchio told the AFP news agency. Bellocchio was at this year's Venice Film Festival with the film "Bella Addormentata" (Eng. "The Sleeping Beauty") represented.

The film is based on true events. In 2009, the then 38-year-old Eluana Englaro had died after 17 years in a vegetative state after a court had allowed her father to stop the artificial feeding of his daughter. The case had then engaged the Italian public for weeks. He would take no position in the film, but showed the state of Italian society. He could answer the question of whether he was for or against euthanasia, neither with a clear yes or no, said Bellocchio, who described himself as not religious. "I am in any case for life. But what one must decide one's life for himself," he said, according to a report by the "Wiener Zeitung".

  From Kath.net...

Edit: Coupled with more militant films like Spain's "The Sea Inside", there is a film with a similar aim, with a more subtle and ponderous approach to changing hearts and minds.  For if you can't fight something head on, it's better to chew on the edges with a film which panders to people's emotions while showing tremendous respect for the deep-seated Catholic sensibilities you face.

SSPX Situation Update

The Split is a Mistake

Germany. According to 'kreuz.net' on Tuesday evening it was made ​​known that Pius-Bishop Richard Williamson of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X. is to be expelled, more recently, the German 'Catholic News Agency' inquired after the speaker of the German district, Father Andreas Steiner. The priest sees two possible scenarios. A firing or a peaceful separation is possible. He also did not exclude a compromise.

Link to kreuz.net....

Photo Credit

San Antonio Priest Endorses Two Pro-Abort Candidates?

Edit: in the mayoral and state congressional race in San Antonio, Texas, Catholic incumbent Mayor Julian Castro and Representative Joaquin Castro are running on a pro-abort Obama-style platform. It's unlikely that these two brothers were chastised about their pro-abort positions.

Enter center stage is what looks and claims to be a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. So far, the sleepy Catholic electorate of the city hasn't paid much attention to an apparent endorsement being given to this man by Zeitgeist-Priest Father Jimmy Drennan. At this point, it also appears as though the local ordinary, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller tacitly approves of this endorsement.

We don't know if this Bishop is the kind who sues his faithful priests for teaching the Catholic Faith or whether he's one of the growing number of Bishops who are reigning in dissenters and scandalmongers. He certainly loves at least one Liturgical abuse and appears below in a +Mahonyesque setting with carafes. He did in fact receive theology training in Los Angeles in the early 70s, according to Whispers in the Loggia.

Here's the source for the photos and the prayer service where Father Drennan blesses this pro-abort Mayor's campaign.

King Richard III Should be Reinterred According to the Roman Rite

Edit: He was Catholic after all. One correspondent writes about the possible discovery of the remains of King Richard III who fell defending his crown at Bosworth field.

We are also told by a reader that perhaps it could even be said in the Sarum Rite by his Lordship Bishop Conti.

I hope they'd do the decent thing, and let the Catholic church handle the remains. And Richard III I think has been treated unfairly by propagandists. I think the hatred mostly comes from a few powerful men who didn't want him to carry out what he had begun to set as a pattern: a preference for the poor, and growth of trade.

Here's the article from the Telegraph:

So Richard III’s body has (possibly) been found, and while he had scoliosis (a curvature of the spine), “the skeleton was not a hunchback". In your face, Tudor propaganda machine!

Well, perhaps it's him, and it's exciting news. The last Plantagenet still rather fascinates the public; the last English king to die in battle, he was one of Shakespeare’s greatest monsters – but there have always been questions about how bad he actually was. On the one hand he was cast by the Tudors as being a usurper, but, worse still, the killer of his two young nephews. (It is striking how, even in eras when violence was widespread, the murder of children still holds a particular horror. In the story of the last days of the Third Reich, as shown in Downfall and The Bunker, the Goebbels’ murders of their six children are still the most shocking scenes.)

But no one has ever successfully identified the bodies of the Princes in the Tower and many believe that Henry VII killed them. Certainly Henry and his son had no qualms about bumping off various relatives, the finale to a century and a half of fratricidal strife, although they tended to be adults. And Henry Tudor certainly gave the impression of believing young Edward and Richard to be dead.

Link to Telegraph...

Bishop Williamson Will Be Expelled

The only conceivable result of the Vatican negotiations with the Society of St. Pius X consists in that Rome in the future will have two Societies to confront.

Bischof Williamson bei der Distriktswallfahrt
der Deutschen nach Fulda, 2006 

(kreuz.net) Society Bishop Richard Williamson (72) will be shut out of the Society of St. Pius X.

This was learned by kreuz.net and reported recently.

A Hot Potato

The last cause for the exclusion was an unauthorized Confirmation by the Bishop in South  America in the past August.

Already for years, the General Superior of the Society, Bishop Benard Fellay, in vain, had put a muzzle on Msgr Williamson.

So also it was expected of him that he would cease his weekly e-mail commentary.  But the Bishop continued to publish.

Another Society?

It is yet to be seen that the Bishop will found another Society with other exiled priests.

Then it may be only a question of time, till he will ordain Bishops.

It is still in question, if he has the necessary organizational talent and energy to build a new structure.

Besides it passes as egocentric.

In view of the expected scenario many observers regard the shutting out Bishop Williamson as a fatal mistake.

Link to original...kreuz.net....

Bishop Finn's Alleged Crimes Magnified While Real Predators Roam Free

Edit: while the New York Times, and quite a few other leftist media publications are going after Bishop Finn for allegedly failing to report child sexual abuse, and clucking their tongues sanctimoniously about clericalism and the Church's need to change, or even gloating a bit, like at the supposedly Catholic publication which can be counted to regularly to distort the teachings of the Church it claims to represent, there are other stories, far more damning, which get swept under the rug and conveniently ignored. Apparently, this faux Catholic magazine is calling for Bishop Finn's resignation. Why don't they resign from Catholic journalism? I daresay they haven't written an authentically Catholic story since 1968. As one semi-popular clerical blogger points out:

I don’t remember seeing National catholic Reporter‘s editorials demanding the resignation of Archbp. Rembert Weakland or Card. Mahony. They were into some truly deep problems, but there was no high dudgeon from NCR about them.

Bp. Finn got what we can only describe as a hand-slapping by a court. He received suspended probation the record of which is then to be expunged from his record. If what Finn did was truly a massive crime, would the court have done this?

We strongly suspect that the situation in the US is similar to Germany's where public figures, even clergy in the Catholic Church who are Old Liberals, are protected by the media umbrella.  Bishop Finn is no Liberal and was in the process of reforming his Diocese, which made not a few people unhappy. Meanwhile, the anti-clerical New York Times and their witting and unwitting allies strike up a chorus of "sadness" and despair about the sex-abuse scandal which is spiraling out of control ... Never mind that your children are safer with Catholic priests in Catholic schools than they are anywhere else in today's parsimonious culture.

Meanwhile, a US government official has been smiled upon and no one, especially not those who are attacking +Finn, think to comment on that obvious double standard, but there are many others besides.

Those calling for the resignation of Bishop Finn when there are actual examples of cover-up and corruption, need help.

Remember Obama's Safe Sex With Kids Czar, Kevin Jennings? This is from an editorial about the Buggery Czar himself:

The media is trying to keep this story in the closet, but it’s important not to wink at all the serious problems surrounding President Obama’s controversial “safe schools czar,” Kevin Jennings.

Mr. Jennings is the moral malefactor who gave a speech about how he merely advised a 15-year-old high-school sophomore who was having sex with an older man that, “I hope you knew to use a condom.” He knew the boy had met the adult in a bus-station restroom. Mr. Jennings also expressed admiration for Harry Hay, a notorious and extremely prominent supporter of the North American Man Boy Love Association. “One of the people that’s always inspired me is Harry Hay,” he said. Despite numerous requests to the Obama administration and Mr. Jennings, we have not received any answers to inquiries about these troubling issues.

Now revelations have surfaced that Mr. Jennings not only thought there was nothing wrong with boys having sex with older men (or girls having sex with older women), but he also played a role in promoting such relationships.

Indeed, most of the Liberals pointing their fingers at Bishop Finn have probably heard of St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, where more than ten sexual predators roam free "under restriction". The obvious disconnect stems partly from the fact that people still trust their Leftist media outlets, and follow the glaring spotlight focused on Bishop Finn and arouse all of their anti-clerical impulses. Meanwhile, in other Diocese under Liberal prelates, homosexual predators roam free.

Even smut novelist Father Andrew Greeley knows there are sexual predators in the Chicago area and claims to know who they are but he's not talking, either. Should he be arrested for protecting sexual predators as well? This from Brian Hehir Exposed turned out to be a revealing citation:

According to his girlfriend, Pellegrini had had a homosexual relationship with a Chicago priest and was part of a secret clerical “Boys Club” that not only included homosexual assignations, but also ritualistic, occult worship and the sexual abuse of young boys garnered from low income ethnic families in the city. Pellegrini’s girlfriend told the police that Frank had told her that he wanted out of the Club and had scheduled a meeting with Chancery officials on the matter shortly before his death.

Two young private Chicago investigators, Bill Callaghan and Hank Adema, were hired to look into the Pellegrini murder. They were able to confirm the existence of a clerical homosexual/pederast ring operating out of the Archdiocese of Chicago. It appeared that the alleged homosexual ring they had uncovered was the same one mentioned by Father Andrew Greeley in the paperback version of Furthermore! Memories of a Parish Priest written in 1999.

One of the puzzling mysteries surrounding the murder involved Cardinal Bernardin. According to the police who were present at the crime scene, shortly after Pellegrini’s body was discovered, Cardinal Bernardin arrived at the murdered man’s home to quiz the officers about the killing. The cardinal told police that he did not know the murdered man. This raises the obvious question of how he learned of the killing so quickly and of what special interest was Pellegrini to him since he did not know the victim. The Pellegrini case was reopened in the early 1990s, but to date, the crime remains unsolved and Father Greeley remains silent.

More soon....

Anniversary of the Battle of Vienna 1683

Edit: awakened by the Austrian Empire's conflict with a Hungarian Protestant, Imre Thokoly, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet IV chose to intervene on his behalf and promised him the lands of the Hapsburgs for his assistance in conquering these his greatest enemies.  Meanwhile, the French not only refused to send help, but attacked Hapsburg possessions in Alsace at the same time.

The great victory which ensued on September 11th and 12th, under the leadership of the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold and thanks to the generous outpouring of support from the Polish King and his people, is largely unsung in the American Republic, and even most American Catholics are woefully ignorant of it.

Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I 1683

Photo, from Chesterton and Friends, blog...

A nice historical summary, here...

Fans of Conservative Catholic Blogs Sack US Catholic Poll on Vatican II

We're Avid US Catholic Readers!

Edit: because a large number of non-subscribers participated in a US "Catholic" poll about Vatican II, the results were not quite what the editors were looking for, we think. The difference was striking.  It seems that several popular Catholic blogs encouraged their readers to vote, and US Catholic decided not to include some 1650 votes in their final analysis as to whether or not Vatican II was a  success.  Of course, according to the 350 readers who were formed by US Catholic, the Church was in great shape and, ironically, a lot bigger than it would have been otherwise.  (No small thanks to US Catholic)

It didn't take long to figure out who at least one conservative blog was.

It reminds one of accounts of how the Japanese high command would use wargames to plan out their military exercises during WW II not so much as objective attempts to assess the relative capabilities of both sides, including logistics problems, but was primarily conceived of as a propaganda tool to build consensus among the naval commanders. High Command aimed to skew results in the course of play even, to reflect the most hopeful outcome.

US Catholic skews its own poll results to obtain an unrealistic appraisal of Vatican II by chopping non-subscribers out of the results.

Interestingly, US Catholic's results show that most of its readers were born before 1950, since most of them were attending High School when Vatican II took place in 1962 - 1965.

Obviously, there is a lot more enthusiasm for Vatican II among the older readership of the moribund US Catholic than there is among the presumably younger, conservative 1650 or so blog readers who participated in the poll with humorous results.

Which points to another thing.  It seems that conservative Catholics are not only more fervent and certain of victory, but more numerous as well.

While US Catholic faithfully acknowledged the participation of non-subscribers and the polarity which exists in the Church, it continued its article considering the results only of its readers as if the poll numbers reflected the overall perception of Catholic participants who took the poll in the first place. It was somewhat confusing if not blatantly dishonest.

Actually, what we assume are the subscriber poll numbers show a blissful ignorance of the actual situation of the Church after Vatican II, as well as a buoyant expectation of the future, despite all indicators to the contrary.

Another significant change since 2005 is the way U.S. Catholic conducts its reader surveys. Once collected only through questionnaires mailed to subscribers, the admittedly unscientific survey is now open to anyone who wishes to respond at uscatholic.org. More than 2,000 Catholics took the survey, about 350 of whom are subscribers to the magazine. Many responses, however, came after conservative Catholic bloggers encouraged their readers to complete the survey.

When non-subscribers are included, the number who think Vatican II is “the best thing that’s happened to the church in centuries” dips from 74 percent to 37 percent. Among subscribers, 81 percent think the church needs to go farther or get back on track with the reforms. But among all respondents, 52 percent say the church went too far.

The divide among respondents reflects a growing polarity in the church—one that was predicted and feared by U.S. Catholic readers in 2005. But both groups share a knowledge of and passion for the church. Eighty-six percent of subscribers and website visitors have read at least one document from Vatican II. Only a handful of respondents said Vatican II was “ancient history” or had no opinion of it.

Link to US Catholic....