Romanian Doctor Addresses Ordinary Synod on the Family. Nails It!

…We, as Catholic doctors, defending life and family, can see this is, first of all, a spiritual battle.

Material poverty and consumerism are not the primary cause of the family crisis.

The primary cause of the sexual and cultural revolution is ideological.

Our Lady of Fatima has said that Russia’s errors would spread all over the world.

It was first done under a violent form, classical Marxism, by killing tens of millions.

Now it’s being done mostly by cultural Marxism. There is continuity from Lenin’s sex revolution, through Gramsci and the Frankfurt school, to the current-day gay-rights and gender ideology.

Classical Marxism pretended to redesign society, through violent take-over of property.

Now the revolution goes deeper; it pretends to redefine family, sex identity and human nature.

This ideology calls itself progressive. But it is nothing else than the ancient serpent’s offer, for man to take control, to replace God, to arrange salvation here, in this world.

It’s an error of religious nature, it’s Gnosticism.

It’s the task of the shepherds to recognize it, and warn the flock against this danger.

“Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God, and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The Church’s mission is to save souls. Evil, in this world, comes from sin. Not from income disparity or “climate change”.

The solution is: Evangelization. Conversion.

Not an ever increasing government control. Not a world government. These are nowadays the main agents imposing cultural Marxism to our nations, under the form of population control, reproductive health, gay rights, gender education, and so on.

What the world needs nowadays is not limitation of freedom, but real freedom, liberation from sin. Salvation.

Read the entire text

Lost in translation: The true “sense” of Catholicism

Donald R. McClarey at The American Catholic writes:

As the center of a global institution that includes one-sixth of the human race, one would have thought that the issue of translation of Church documents would have been something that the Vatican would long ago have mastered.  Alas no, apparently.

Joe at Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam has been doing yeoman work in attempting to correct the inexcusably sloppy translation from Spanish to English of Evangelii Gaudium.  Go here to read all about it.

Spanish and English are not minor languages in the Church.  One would have thought that the Vatican could easily have translated a Spanish document into English.  Apparently such confidence would have been misplaced.

This whole foul up reminds me of the words of Pope John XXIII when he was asked how many people work in the Vatican.  “About half.” was the Pope’s laconic response.

We can thank Pope Francis for highlighting some of the liberal, modernistic stuff hidden in the current Catechism of the Catholic Church.

What the Abortion President and the Modernist Pope
have in common

by Doug Lawrence

Pope Francis’ unabashed, unapologetic and unashamed public promotion of worldly, liberal and modernist religious concepts is working a lot like Barack Obama’s similarly unrestrained efforts at promoting abortion without limits.

It’s making people with authentically formed consciences think and respond – utilizing all the  truths of the faith, within the proper context of sacred and apostolic tradition – as opposed to the hermaunetic of chaos, corruption and disruption that has been the “norm” in the Catholic Church, over the last fifty years.

In the case of Barack Obama and abortion, we’re seeing more anti-abortion laws being passed, coupled  with long overdue enforcement, regulation and prosecution of abortion facilities and abortionists.

In the case of Pope Francis – which is not yet as far along – I predict that we will eventually see all the liberal and modernist errors and scandals in the church exposed – and we will then be called to participate in a genuine spiritual revolution that will demand (and get) a prompt return to the doctrinal sanity, traditional reliability and genuine Christ-centered holiness for which the Catholic Church (except for the last half century) has always been known.

An article at Catholic Vote by writer Tom Hoopes put me on to this idea.

I’m sure Mr. Hoopes means well and intends to fully support and defend Pope Francis in his continuing outbursts of catechetical curiosities, but for those of us who know and understand the catechism – including its many weaknesses, omissions and political calculations – Hoopes article accomplishes just the opposite.

Here’s an example: 

Love, not Legalism

“If the Christian is a restorationist, a legalist, if he wants everything clear and safe, then he will find nothing. Tradition and memory of the past must help us to have the courage to open up new areas to God. Those who today always look for disciplinarian solutions, those who long for an exaggerated doctrinal ‘security,’ those who stubbornly try to recover a past that no longer exists­—they have a static and inward-directed view of things. In this way, faith becomes an ideology among other ideologies.”

Rejecting ideology, even religious ideology, is another central teaching of Francis. And it’s a critically important teaching for our time, which turns everything into ideology. It is also a teaching of the Catechism.

1972 The New Law is called a law of love because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear; a law of grace, because it confers the strength of grace to act, by means of faith and the sacraments; a law of freedom, because it sets us free from the ritual and juridical observances of the Old Law, inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity and, finally, lets us pass from the condition of a servant who “does not know what his master is doing” to that of a friend of Christ – “For all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” – or even to the status of son and heir.

******

This totally ignores the fact that it is impossible to create true disciples without a certain amount of discipline – just as it would be virtually impossible to live a good, holy, Christian life absent regular prayer and study – along with full, faithful and active participation in all of the applicable work, worship,  sacraments and devotions of the Catholic Church. 

The liberals and the modernists attempt to quickly discredit and then discard all that is tried and true in the Catholic Church, in favor of untested novelties that appeal primarily to the inflated human egos of persons who typically possess a distorted sense of charity, equality, diversity and prudence.

They also seem to totally forget that sin is the reason for most of the world’s evil – and that traditional Catholic teachings, practices, disciplines and philosophy remain the best antidote to sin that the world has ever known.

If that’s ideological, legalist and/or restorationist, then so be it!

The Catholic bishops have already experimented with the modernistic approach to corruption in the priesthood and it has cost the church much of its moral authority, along with at least $2.6 billion dollars that could otherwise have been used to feed, clothe and house the poor. This constitutes a colossal breach of essential Christian charity as well as an almost total failure of prudential judgment by ordained persons operating at the very highest levels of the Catholic Church!

Remember … with the close of the 2nd Vatican Council
“CHANGE” had come to the Catholic Church …
and it came to the Catholic Church FIRST!

It was only after the Church of the Ages
was totally disrupted and taken out of the way
that global terrorism, big government, radical feminism, abortion,
homosexuality, the destruction of the family
and many other types of evils and immorality
were allowed to proceed, virtually unchecked!

Should Pope Francis and his supporters succeed in their efforts to further “modernize” the Catholic Church, there’s no telling what new evils might be in store for the church – and for the world.

A number of problematic erroneous concepts discovered in the official U.S. Catechism

For those who have followed the saga of the US Catechism since the exposure of its unorthodox treatment regarding the Jewish Mosaic covenant, there is more to reveal. In over two dozen places the US Catechism makes unorthodox or highly suspect statements. It thus becomes a spiritual minefield for the unsuspecting reader who does not know Catholic dogmatic theology and is not able to judge the veracity of the catechism’s assertions.

Read more

Explore the Catechism on-line

Editor’s note: I’ve had at least one bishop explain to me that the Catechism should be considered an infallible work, much like the Bible. I knew that could not be true … for a number of very good reasons. While this article deals with specific problems with the text, more extensive problems regarding various omissions also need to be addressed.

More problems with the new Youth Catechism. Recall petition drive in progress.

Visit the site

This Week’s Smoke of Satan: Errors of Modernist Churchmen

In 1972, Pope Paul VI observed,
“From some fissure,
the smoke of Satan
has entered the Temple of God.”

The purpose of this weekly column is to help wake
the bulk of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics
from their self-imposed slumber
and powerfully remind them of who they are,
and what they are called by God, to be.

This week’s story: Jesus Christ Crucified by unknown assailants.

(CNA).- Germany’s Passion Play at Oberammergau – an event which only takes place every 10 years – was recently lauded by New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan and Rabbi Gary Greenebaum as more balanced and less prone to what has been viewed as anti-Semitic stereotypes in the past.

Both the New York prelate and rabbi watched the play, which runs from May 15 to October 3, last Thursday in the Bavarian village where it has been performed for more than 400 years.

The Passion Play, considered to be one of the most famous in the world, supposedly began in the 1600s to thank God for preventing Oberammergau from undergoing the Black Plague. Held every 10 years, the event is performed by some 2,500 people, around half of the town’s population.

In separate phone interviews, the two religious leaders told the Associated Press (AP) that this year’s performance was more sensitive in avoiding what has been viewed as anti-Jewish stereotypes in past events.

“I have always been sensitive to Jewish concerns that the play could perpetuate the ancient and tragically unjust misunderstanding that the Jews are responsible for the killing of Jesus,” Dolan told the AP.

“But thanks to the courage of the directors, the villagers and the Jewish leaders,” he added, “the script has gradually been renewed.”

Link

Excerpt from the original “script” (known as the Bible):

Matthew 27:11-26  And Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying: Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus saith to him: Thou sayest it. And when he was accused by the chief priests and ancients, he answered nothing. Then Pilate saith to him: Dost not thou hear how great testimonies they allege against thee? And he answered him to never a word, so that the governor wondered exceedingly.

Now upon the solemn day the governor was accustomed to release to the people one prisoner, whom they would. And he had then a notorious prisoner that was called Barabbas. They therefore being gathered together, Pilate said: Whom will you that I release to You: Barabbas, or Jesus that is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

And as he was sitting in the place of judgment, his wife sent to him, saying: Have thou nothing to do with that just man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and ancients persuaded the people that they should ask Barabbas and make Jesus away. And the governor answering, said to them: Whether will you of the two to be released unto you? But they said: Barabbas.

Pilate saith to them: What shall I do then with Jesus that is called Christ? They say all: Let him be crucified.

The governor said to them: Why, what evil hath he done?

But they cried out the more, saying: Let him be crucified.

And Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, taking water washed his hands before the people, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just man. Look you to it.

And the whole people answering, said: His blood be upon us and upon our children.

Then he released to them Barabbas: and having scourged Jesus, delivered him unto them to be crucified.

*****

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but should be? Let us know about it!

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“Dispersing the Smoke of Satan”

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Two terms you won’t find mentioned in the current Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Church Militant

The Church Triumphant

From the Catechism of Trent (Circa 1902-1907):

The Church consists principally of two parts, the one called the Church triumphant; the other, the Church
militant.

The Church triumphant is that most glorious and happy assemblage of blessed spirits, and of those who have triumphed over the world, the flesh, and the iniquity of Satan, and are now exempt and safe from the troubles of this life and enjoy everlasting bliss.

The Church militant is the society of all the faithful still dwelling on earth. It is called militant, because it wages eternal war with those implacable enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil.

We are not, however, to infer that there are two Churches. The Church triumphant and the Church militant are
two constituent parts of one Church; one part going before, and now in the possession of its heavenly country;
the other, following every day, until at length, united with our Saviour, it shall repose in endless felicity.

Why were these terms “cast off”? Was it an oversight? An intentional deletion? Politics? Something else?

How are Catholics expected to act, when they cannot even define themselves (or the church) according to traditional and (at least, previously) well recognized and universally accepted criterion?

I suggest you ask your local bishop to explain it for you.

In the mean time, it’s important to realize that while the Catechism of the Catholic Church is an excellent, well written document, it has already been subject to substantial revisions … so it’s not inherently without error.

Now that the most glaring errors in content have been corrected, it’s high time someone started correcting the ERRORS of OMISSION … which still remain … and are far more numerous.

*** More on this in future posts ***

Comprehensive article explains Catholic approach to healing homosexual disorders

At the present time most Catholics have little to no understanding of the emotional causes of homosexual attractions and behavior nor of the powerful role that Catholic spirituality can play in the healing of this disorder. The reasons for this state of ignorance are numerous and include the scant literature available on the value of the Catholic Faith and the sacraments in the resolution of homosexual attractions and acts; failure of traditional therapy to resolve homosexual behavior; views within the media and educational, social service, health and political fields. In addition, there are many factions within the Church herself that are opposed to and are attempting to undermine traditional Catholic moral doctrine on this issue.

The failure to understand the actual causes of homosexuality impacts those who counsel teenagers and adults with this disorder. Therapists regularly tell those seeking help that the Church’s teaching on homosexuality is insensitive to homosexuals, unscientific, and erroneous. They are advised to accept themselves as being created homosexual by God. Unfortunately, those giving such counsel usually have little awareness of the emotional conflicts leading to homosexual attractions nor of the healing power available with forgiveness and the Catholic spirituality.

In my clinical experience over the past twenty years I have witnessed the resolution of the emotional pain which caused homosexual temptations and behavior in several hundred males and females. Their process of healing occurred, first, through insight-oriented psychotherapy to identify the origins of their conflicts and then through the use of forgiveness and Catholic spirituality. Such a treatment approach is similar in ways to the employment of spirituality in the treatment of substance abuse disorders. In fact, major breakthroughs were made in the management of addictive disorders only after a reliance on God was made the cornerstone of the treatment plan. Prior to that time, traditional psychotherapy alone resulted in minimal improvement. The use of Catholic spirituality in the treatment of homosexuality follows a similar pattern.

Read more

Shroud of Turin Researcher: “Very close to proving the shroud was used to bury the historic Jesus.”

Iannone pointed out that this showing is the first since 1988 carbon-dating results, which purported to show the shroud was a medieval hoax, were debunked. “The public exposition provides a vehicle for getting the truth about the shroud to the world that was misled, in a major way, by the media reports of 1988 and following years,” he said. Schwortz said the 1988 research “has always been the primary piece of scientific evidence that disputed the shroud’s possible authenticity.”

In a video made shortly before his death three years ago, Ray Rogers, a chemist from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, said that despite wishing to prove the shroud a fake, he found that the “worst possible” sample of the shroud was taken for the 1988 carbon dating. The research, he said, was performed on an area of the relic that was repaired in the 16th century.

Rogers, who helped lead the Shroud of Turin Research Project and had once strongly argued in support of the carbon dating research, said in the video made in March 2005 that after dismissing the carbon-dating claims, he came “very close to proving the shroud was used to bury the historic Jesus.”

Schwortz said that since Rogers’ discovery, “several more peer-reviewed articles” have corroborated Rogers’ findings.” In 2008, he said, nine scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory independently re-examined Rogers’ work and further corroborated his conclusions. The findings, he added, are also very significant because the bulk of scientific evidence gathered before 1988 favored the shroud’s authenticity, but all of it was summarily discarded after the carbon-dating finding. Rogers’ work “is probably the most important scientific contribution made supporting the shroud’s authenticity in more than 20 years,” Schwortz said, adding that any future carbon dating, if it is to be taken seriously, must be “accomplished openly, with complete transparency.”

Read more

Archbishop Chaput speaks of JFK – and Baptists more friendly than Catholics

Fifty years ago this fall, in September 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy, the Democratic candidate for president, spoke to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association.

He had one purpose.  He needed to convince 300 uneasy Protestant ministers, and the country at large, that a Catholic like himself could serve loyally as our nation’s chief executive.

Kennedy convinced the country, if not the ministers, and went on to be elected.  And his speech left a lasting mark on American politics.  It was sincere, compelling, articulate – and wrong.

Not wrong about the patriotism of Catholics, but wrong about American history and very wrong about the role of religious faith in our nation’s life.  And he wasn’t merely “wrong.”  His Houston remarks profoundly undermined the place not just of Catholics, but of all religious believers, in America’s public life and political conversation.  Today, half a century later, we’re paying for the damage.

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Erroneous Teachings About the Jews/Israel by Some Catholics, Other Christians and Jews

Read the article (PDF file)