Roman Catholic Blog

Pro-Abortion Liberal, Alan Colmes, Is Offended By Christians Who Believe That Christianity Is The Truth

It's always interesting to hear a lecture on authentic Christianity from people who support legal, elective abortion and claim that choosing abortion is a fundamental human right.

Alan Colmes' statements here are an example of the slippery slope created by the dictatorship of relativism and religious indifferentism.

Mr. Colmes also quoted the New Testament out of context and even added some of his own words to the words of Christ (when he said, "not the rude and arrogant") during his failed attempt to embarrass Ann Coulter.

Here's the actual text Alan Colmes referenced:

"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17-20)

I wonder what Alan Colmes would think of the Gospel texts quoted after the jump?

If This Is How The Clintons Treat Their Friends...

Any thoughts?

Heresy At St. Mary's by the Sea Parish

Fresco of the "Deeds of the Antichrist" (detail) by Luca Signorelli (c.1501) in the in Orvieto Cathedral, in Italy.

Fr. Martin Tran has been away from St. Mary's by the Sea in Huntington Beach on an extended trip to Vietnam. In his absence, other priests have been filling in at St. Mary's by the Sea, including Fr. Christian Mondor, O.F.M., of Sts. Simon & Jude Catholic Church, the parish nearest St. Mary's by the Sea. Sts. Simon & Jude parish in Huntington Beach is one of the most progressive parishes in the Diocese of Orange.

During Fr. Daniel Johnson's time as pastor of St. Mary's by the Sea, Fr. Johnson never criticized the priests or parishioners of Sts. Simon & Jude, and his employees were not allowed to be critical of that parish or any other parish in the Diocese of Orange. Fr. Johnson was extremely charitable about such things and strongly discouraged any attempt to denigrate Sts. Simon & Jude.

There was a lot to complain about. Sts. Simon & Jude Catholic Church does not have kneelers, and hasn't had any for more than thirty years. Aside from the lack of kneelers and the fact that the congregation remains standing through the entire Eucharistic Prayer (including the Consecration of the Sacred Species), the parish was (and still is) rife with liturgical innovations. Here is a litany of some of the things observed by faithful Catholics at Sts. Simon and Jude over the years: Sunday evening Mass on the lawn on the other side of the parking lot, changing the words of liturgical prayers formulated by the Church, substituting readings (not necessarily from Sacred Scripture), using non-approved texts for liturgical prayers and Mass readings, liturgical dance during the Mass, skits during Mass – some of which involved clowns, homilies or "reflections" by lay people in the place of a homily by a priest or deacon, rock music at Mass – even using the rock song "Gloria" by Them (written by Van Morrison) in the place of the traditional Gloria, and singing songs like Pray by M.C. Hammer, "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood, and "Imagine" by John Lennon all during the context of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, using Protestant praise music such as "Awesome God" by Rich Mullins (with elaborate hand gestures made by the entire congregation during the song), and using illicit (and possibly invalid) matter for the Hosts during Mass (including leavened bread, and bread that included sweeteners such as honey and flavorings, such as cinnamon).

Parishioners at Sts. Simon & Jude parish have (in the past, when the concept was a liturgical fad among heterodox liturgists) been discouraged from kneeling in prayer after receiving Holy Communion. They were told to return to their pews and stand and "face the community".

Catholics have also heard erroneous teaching from the priests at Sts. Simon & Jude, from the pulpit and in the bulletin. I have personally heard Fr. Christian Mondor say, during a homily, that Scriture indicates that Jesus did not know all things because of the passage where Jesus speaks of the end of the world and the General Judgment, saying, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." (Matthew 24:36). Fr. Alex Manville, O.F.M. the former pastor once wrote in the parish bulletin that a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary without Jesus is "bad theology"). I personally witnessed Fr. Gus Krumm, O.F.M. throw an unconsecrated, large host on the floor during one of his homilies for shock value and to prove a point. I saw another priest put a bag of garbage on the altar during his homily for shock value and to prove a point.

The Nicene Creed was frequently omitted, and when I asked Fr. Gus Krumm why this happened, he told me that if you eat corn flakes for breakfast every day, it gets old and stale real fast.

So, upon reading all of these things (and I could have mentioned many, many more), I will share with you the wisdom imparted by Fr. Christian Mondor during a recent homily at St. Mary's by the Sea.

Fr. Christian sought to illustrate why Catholics who continue to kneel during certain parts of the Mass are in error.

The sections below were sent to me by a parishioner of St. Mary's by the Sea and are essentially recollections of what was said, but not a transcription:

1. The reason why the Church is moving in the direction of standing instead of kneeling is to show our identification with the people of God - this has been what Vatican II has brought to our Church. 2. We do this in obedience to our pastors and bishops.

3. Of course the church does not prevent those who kneel from doing so; while the church is moving toward standing [he never differentiated about WHEN during Mass the standing was that he was talking about].

4. Some time back when Temple [I forgot their name] outgrew their temple, and were searching for a place to hold their service, we said that since we didn't have anything on Saturday evening, other than afternoon weddings, they could use our church. They were so grateful. So we cover up our statues and the cross on Saturday evening for their service. When I went to one of their services I noticed that they mostly stood at their service - it was so good to see that we [the Catholic Church] have borrowed so many liturgical practices from Jewish customs - - such as standing.

5. All this was supposed to relate to Luke's gospel reading today about Jesus being accused of healing the woman in the synagogue on the sabbath. "When I think of this reading I'm reminded of the people at Temple [so-and-so] and the fact that they outgrew their small temple . . ." This is the context in which he brought up kneeling versus standing.

Rather than write a lengthy criticism of Fr. Christian Mondor, who is a very nice priest (and a surfer) in his late seventies or early eighties, I will link the section on kneeling in Pope Benedict XVI's book, The Spirit of the Liturgy: The Theology of Kneeling

Any thoughts?

Saint Padre Pio Has Been Smeared In A New Book

This is the London Telegraph's "objective" headline: Italy's Padre Pio 'faked his stigmata with acid'

Here's a quote:

Padre Pio, Italy's most-loved saint, faked his stigmata by pouring carbolic acid on his hands, according to a new book.

The Other Christ: Padre Pio and 19th Century Italy, by the historian Sergio Luzzatto, draws on a document found in the Vatican's archive.

Padre Pio exhibited stigmata throughout his life, starting in 1911
The document reveals the testimony of a pharmacist who said that the young Padre Pio bought four grams of carbolic acid in 1919.

"I was an admirer of Padre Pio and I met him for the first time on 31 July 1919," wrote Maria De Vito.

She claimed to have spent a month with the priest in the southern town of San Giovanni Rotondo, seeing him often.

"Padre Pio called me to him in complete secrecy and telling me not to tell his fellow brothers, he gave me personally an empty bottle, and asked if I would act as a chauffeur to transport it back from Foggia to San Giovanni Rotondo with four grams of pure carbolic acid.

"He explained that the acid was for disinfecting syringes for injections. He also asked for other things, such as Valda pastilles."

The testimony was originally presented to the Vatican by the Archbishop of Manfredonia, Pasquale Gagliardi, as proof that Padre Pio caused his own stigmata with acid.

It was examined by the Holy See during the beatification process of Padre Pio and apparently dismissed.

I knew London and Europe were Godless, but I'm still disappointed to see how desperate they are to justify their abandonment of Christian values and reckless pursuit of the ephemeral pleasures of this life without any thought about how those pleasures came to exist (as though they can be had apart from God or could even exist without God). People seem to think that God's gifts can be enjoyed without advertence to their nature. They ignore the fact that violating the natural law by using any being in a manner inconsistent with its nature harms the user (and often the person or thing being used improperly). They simply pursue every perceived good as though it was due to them by divine right and genuinely seem to believe themselves to be the true arbiters of the nature of good and evil, which (for them) always conveniently coincides with whatever most pleases them at any given moment, regardless of inconsistencies in their logic. They often don't care if they hurt other people, and they'll tolerate evils like abortion for expediency's sake, but are the first to complain of any perceived injustice, and they'll still deny any talk of an objective moral law with a straight face right after complaining that something isn't fair or just (as though such concepts could exist without a standard with which to measure the justice or fairness of a thing).

The only thing that stands in the way of their insane delusions about the nature of reality is the sound human philosophy and divinely revealed Theology contained within Catholic teaching. The Catholic faith is a genuine threat to such people, and they will not rest until they convince themselves and as many other people as possible that they are not living evil lives. It is a sad state of affairs when the only way to make yourself look good is by trying to make others look worse than you are, and that is the motive of lies like this.

They way around these lies is to point to the myriad of other miracles and mystical phenomena within the Church. Let's see them explain the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano, the incorrupt bodies of the saints, the miraculous cures attributed to the intercession of those who have been canonized and beatified, the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius, the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, the miraculous cures at Lourdes, or even the fact that the Catholic Church has outlasted every human institution in all of recorded history, including those that began before the Church was founded. Let them try and explain away the fact that the apostles were martyred for their proclamation of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which they, in an effort to salve their consciences, have to pretend to have been a hoax. Would you let people kill you to perpetuate belief in something you absolutely knew for a fact to be a lie? Before anyone tries to say so, that's not the same thing as being a suicide bomber for the glory of Islam. Such people may genuinely (albeit erroneously) believe their convictions to be true, but they did not invent their errors, whereas the apostles would have had to do so, since the articulation of the Resurrection originated with them.

Once the Divinity of Christ is established, it's a small step to establish the infallible authority of the Church He founded, promised to preserve in Truth and promised to remain with until the consummation of the world.

From thence we can move to the infallible authority of St. Padre Pio's canonization and realize that lies like those being spread about St. Padre Pio are another desperate attempt to justify the immoral lifestyles of those who spread them.

Any thoughts?

ABC's 20/20 – Report By John Stossel On Global Warming

The Conversion of St. Augustine, Pornography & Sexual Incontinence

Source credit: John Piper, St. Augustine, and Pornography

Quote from the excellent, St. John's Valdosta Blog:

This is from a sermon by a BAPTIST MINISTER using St. Augustine of Hippo's Confessions as his text. When was the last time you heard a homily at Mass quoting St. Augustine and examining his words? Why have we traded in the riches of the Catholic Church Fathers for trite little ditties like Chicken Soup for the Soul?

If you haven't read The Confessions of St. Augustine, you have missed the opportunity of befriending a holy and wise Catholic saint.

Get the book here: Confessions of Saint Augustine

Take it and read!

Ann Coulter On The O'Reilly Factor

In this segment, Ann discusses The San Francisco Sacrilege, Christianity & Judaism, and politics.

Any thoughts?

Harry Potter Author, J.K. Rowling, Says Dumbledore Is "Gay"

Here's the story: Rowling Says Dumbledore Is Gay

Here's a quote:

J.K. Rowling, author of the world-wide best-selling Harry Potter series, met some of her American fans Friday night and provided some surprising revelations about the fictional characters who a generation of children have come to regard as close friends.

In front of a full house of hardcore Potter fans at Carnegie Hall in New York, Rowling, sitting on the stage on a red velvet and carved wood throne, read from her seventh and final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," then took questions. One fan asked whether Albus Dumbledore, the head of the famed Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, had ever loved anyone. Rowling smiled. "Dumbledore is gay, actually," replied Rowling as the audience errupted in surprise. She added that, in her mind, Dumbledore had an unrequited love affair with Gellert Grindelwald, Voldemort's predecessor who appears in the seventh book. After several minutes of prolonged shouting and clapping from astonshed fans, Rowling added. "I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy."

My thoughts:

Sad and disappointing. This will only encourage people who were already critical of the books.

Before this news about Dumbledore, I never had a big problem with the Harry Potter books, and I'll admit that I've read them all.

I never understood why Catholics went along with fundamentalists in fearing the magical elements of the series. I know people have compared the books to The Chronicles of Narnia and even The Lord of the Rings trilogy (and, I suppose The Hobbit), primarily because those books also involve magic, but I hold those works in higher esteem.

Here's what has always confused me (before the Dumbledore bombshell): Why are fundamentalist types so bent out of shape about Harry Potter, while not uttering so much as a peep of protest about The Wizard of Oz?

The Wizard of Oz has "good witches" and "bad witches" and contains imagery rooted in Theosophy and the occult (crystal balls, etc.). L. Frank Baum, the author of the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and it's thirteen sequels, was a theosophist.

The quote below is taken from The Wizard of Oz as a Theosophical Allegory:

At a faculty colloquium presented by David B. Parker, Assistant Professor of History, at Kennesaw State University, he suggested a relationship between certain themes, episodes, and characters in the Oz stories and L.Frank Baum's theosophical beliefs. Theosophy was a sort of New Age occult religion that was popular among certain groups of people a hundred years ago; Baum was a theosophist. Parker explains that the basic tenets of theosophical thought are relatively simple and included such notions as cosmic unity, planetary chains, human evolution within seven planes of existence, reincarnation, etc. It was upon re-reading Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that led Parker to discover the relationship between Baum's Oz writings and his theosophical beliefs. Parker states that given its closeness to Asian religion, theosophy might help explain Baum's "dainty China country", the title of one of the chapters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Through more research, David Parker came across John Algeo's work on Baum and theosophy. Finally, Parker gives some specific examples to illustrate how Baum's belief in theosophy could have several other implications for his writings. These include: 1) Many early theosophists were feminists and theosophy stressed a basic equality of the sexes. And, most of the major characters in the Oz series were female; 2) One can see a similar possible theosophical reflection in Baum's anti-intellectualism. For example, as Parker explains, the Scarecrow, who mistakenly thinks he needs brains ("head-learning"), actually gets by very well without brains, and is in fact the "smartest" of the travelers on the Yellow Brick Road; 3) The theosophical belief in reincarnation can be seen in how Baum's characters sometimes change identities which is the case of Tip, the young boy who is the main character in The Marvelous Land of Oz. At the end of the book, Tip is transformed into Ozma. And, furthermore, as Parker points out, "Ozma" is similar to "Atma", the theosophists' name for the Spirit, the highest level of man's evolution; and 4) Colors were also important to early theosophists says Parker. Charles M. Leadbetter, an important shaper of early theosophical thought, came up with a list of colors and their correspondences with the astral body. Yellow meant "intellect" while emerald green stood for "versatility, ingenuity and resourcefulness". So, as Parker explains, Dorothy on her quest, follows the Yellow Brick Road (intellect) and discovers, at the end, only a humbug (the Wizard)--"head-learning" alone is useless. Only after Dorothy applies the lessons of the Emerald City--"versatility, ingenuity and resourcefulness, applied unselfishly"--does Glinda tell Dorothy that she always had the power to return home.

I've known people who've banned Harry Potter from their homes, but have never thought twice about The Wizard of Oz.

Why the inconsistency?

Any thoughts?

More On Bill O'Reilly, The San Francisco Sacrilege & Archbishop George Niederauer

As readers of this blog know, Bill O'Reilly didn't tell his audience everything he knew about Archbishop George Niederauer and Most Holy Redeemer Parish when he covered the San Francisco Sacrilege. See: Bill O'Reilly Didn't Do His Homework When Reporting On The San Francisco Sacrilege

It's refreshing to see that Canada Free Press gotten it right on both Bill O'Reilly & Archbishop Niederauer: Is San Francisco Archbishop an “elderly man taken by surprise” in Communion incident…

Here's a quote:

The story of the “Sisters” mocking Communion at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church has been picked up by major media, including Bill O’Reilly at Fox News.

“...But it really is not the archbishop’s fault--he is an elderly man who was taken by surprise,” O’Reilly says in today’s Talking Points. “The fault here lies with the leadership of San Francisco. Mayor Newsom has consistently avoided criticizing behavior that is harmful. He hides under his desk and attacks messengers like me.”

“Incredibly, the San Francisco media has blacked out the story, refused to report it; with the exception of KNEW Radio.”

Though he didn’t mention his name, O’Reilly must have meant Michael Savage, as Savage Nation had the story first, posting it from its source, the often enterprising, Toronto-based http://www.LifeSite.net.

LifeSite.com was writing about George Hugh Niederauer back in 2005 when he was waiting to be installed as the new Archbishop, as successor to Archbishop William Levada, formerly of the now-bankrupt Portland diocese. Levada’s appointment by Pope Benedict XVI as head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith--making Levada among the three most powerful prelates in the Church--came as a shock to many Catholics aware of problems stemming from Los Angeles.

It was on December 22, 2005 when Niederauer soon to be installed as the new Archbishop of San Francisco, told a local news outlet that he is opposed to the Vatican’s prohibition of homosexuals in seminaries.

“Some who are seriously mistaken have named sexual orientation as the cause of the recent scandal regarding the sexual abuse of minors by priests,” Niederauer said in an interview with the Intermountain Catholic News.

“From 1992 to 1994, Niederauer resided in West Hollywood’s St. Victor’s parish which is identified in the homosexual press as “sizably gay”. “Gay men never felt ill at ease dealing with him,” said Monsignor George Parnassus, a St. Victor pastor emeritus. Parnassus added, “We would be invited to their homes in West Hollywood.”

“Niederauer, ordained to the priesthood in 1962, is a prominent member of what some Catholic writers have dubbed the “Camarillo Mafia”, a group of liberal and dissident prelates who graduated from and/or taught at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California, and who were ordained in Los Angeles in the 1950s and `60s.

“The LA Times wrote that the “trail of abuse” in the Los Angeles Archdiocese and its surrounding area dioceses “leads inevitably” to St. John’s. According to the Times, 10% of St. John’s ordinands for Los Angeles from 1950 to ‘65 have been accused of molesting minors. In two classes, 1966 and 1972, a third of the graduates were later accused of molestation,
“Niederauer is a long-time political activist in the “gay” cause. In 1986, Niederauer wrote a letter to an Orange County Judge asking that a priest convicted of 26 counts of felony child sexual abuse be spared prison time. He wrote that the boys involved might have mistaken “horseplay” for molestation, Niederauer later admitted that the letter had been a “mistake”.

“In 1996, as bishop of Salt Lake City, he helped form a coalition of religious leaders opposing the ban on high-school “gay-straight alliances” proposed by the Utah legislature.

In 2002, Niederauer told the National Catholic Register, “What I don’t want is some kind of link between being homosexual and being a molester of minors.”

In 2004, he joined other clergy leaders in publicly opposing a Utah ballot initiative that constitutionally banned same-sex marriage. Niederauer said he was troubled that the amendment banned any union beside marriage, a position in direct opposition to Catholic teaching.

Sam Sinnett, national president of Dignity USA, the dissident homosexual activist organization that opposes Church doctrine on chastity and marriage, said, “He is seemingly coming from a position of clearer knowledge of human sexuality than we’re hearing from the Vatican.”

Is 71-year-old Archbishop Niederauer, as described by Bill O’Reilly “an elderly man who was taken by surprise” when he gave communion to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence?

Or is he a longtime gay activist dressed in a bishop’s mitre?

The pastor of "gay-friendly" Most Holy Redeemer Parish has responded to the controversy: Pastor: Reaction to archbishop giving Communion to 'nuns' overblown

Meanwhile, Archbishop Niederauer is still in damage control mode:

Phone call from the archbishop; Niederauer tells pastor to remove thank-you note in parish bulletin received from member of Catholic-mocking transvestite nuns

My perspective is that Archbishop Niederauer has a permissive attitude about homosexuality.

I'm not the only one to think so. The article in the Canada Free Press demonstrates that. LifeSite News has been covering the issue for some time now.

The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, expressed concern about Archbishop George Niederauer's homosexual advocacy back in 2005: Noted priest concerned over archbishop's pro-gay stance

Archbishop Niederauer has been enabled in his homosexual advocacy by apathy on the part of most Catholics. Despite multiple reports of his statements on issues associated with homosexuality which were, at best, of dubious orthodoxy (including support for the homosexual advocacy film, Brokeback Mountain), most people did nothing about it. Now, since the San Francisco Sacrilege, and all the negative attention it has received, people have noticed, and there is less of the apathy Archbishop Niederauer has counted on to further his advocacy. So Archbishop Niederauer is scrambling to look like a Catholic bishop for the cameras.

See: Archbishop Niederauer team spinning damage control

The official statement from the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" that prompted Archbishop Niederauer's phone call is after the jump...

Senator Larry Craig Interview

Here's the story: Sen. Larry Craig's interview with Matt Lauer

I'm sorry to say that based on what the officer claims happened, with Craig peering in his stall to the point where the officer could see his eye color, as well as the elaborate ritual of gestures that reportedly give clear signals to those in the know that the signaler is soliciting sexual activity (which Mr. Craig explained was due to his having "a wide stance"), to Mr. Craig's decades long history of rumored homosexual activity (how unlucky of him to have had such rumors swirling around him and then be arrested for this if he was innocent), and the fact that he pled guilty all seem to indicate to me that Mr. Craig has some issues.

I feel sorry for his wife and his kids.

Any thoughts?