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Sunday, September 30, 2018
Fr. Rutler - Sept. 30th, 2018
Friday, September 28, 2018
The next big Church scandal is coming--SPREAD OF ISLAM
The next big Church scandal is coming
September 25, 2018 (Turning Point Project) – The clerical sex-abuse scandal has done grave damage to the Church. It may seem that the situation couldn't get much worse – but it almost certainly will. That's because another scandal is building which, when added to the first, will threaten the Church's very survival.
The second scandal is the facilitation of the spread of Islam by certain Church leaders – often the same leaders who have been implicated in enabling the sex-abusers.
As bad as the first scandal is, the second will be even larger. The victims will number not in the tens of thousands, but in the tens of millions.
The largest persecution of Christians in history is now underway, yet Church leaders have little if anything to say about the slaughter. Instead they have covered-up for Islam's murderous ideology, declaring it to be a religion of peace and justice.
Meanwhile, waves of Muslim migrants – most of them men – are bringing unprecedented rates of crime to Europe. One result is a dramatic increase in rapes, with tens of thousands of victims in England and Sweden alone. But once again, Church leaders have fallen silent. They rarely acknowledge the victims, but never miss an opportunity to remind endangered Europeans of their duty to admit even more migrants from cultures that are misogynistic, and violent.
Catholic shepherds provided no warning about the dangers inherent in Islam. And when the predictable crimes ensued, they covered up for them by insisting that they had nothing to do with Islam. Instead of alerting the flock, they invited the wolves into the sheepfold.
As the hierarchy's role in enabling the spread of Islam becomes more apparent, the sense of betrayal and anger will grow. Unless a decisive course correction is taken, the Church will be badly weakened. The outcome of the present crisis will have a profound effect on you, your children, and your grandchildren.
The Turning Point Project is one of the few Catholic voices that is speaking out about the danger.
Published with permission from the Turning Point Project.
Homosexual ‘cesspool’: Priest blows whistle on Ireland’s national seminary
Homosexual ‘cesspool’: Priest blows whistle on Ireland’s national seminary
September 24, 2018 (Lumenfidei) – A priest and former seminary vocational growth counselor in Ireland has revealed for the first time the real reason he resigned from the country’s national seminary two years ago.
Father David Marsden told Lumen Fidei in an exclusive interview about the existence of a powerful “gay” subculture in St Patrick's College in Maynooth, Ireland.
The trained psychologist, who specializes in priestly formation, said that a homosexual network exists among seminary council and spiritual directors. In the face of such widespread dissent from Church teaching on sexuality, it was no longer possible to conduct proper formation in the seminary, he said, and he felt compelled to resign.
Fr. Marsden relates in the interview how he became aware of the existence of the homosexual network and attempted, to no avail, to make it known to proper authorities.
The priest’s testimony suggests that an active and secretive homosexual subculture is being allowed to thrive in the Maynooth seminary, with the approval of the ecclesial authorities.
Same-sex 'marriage' referendum, a forbidden topic in seminary
The year is 2015 and debate in Ireland is dominated by the State’s plan to change the constitution to allow same-sex couples to “marry.” With such a blatant assault on God’s plan for marriage one might expect the Church to be vocal in promoting the natural law, yet, despite the intensity of the pro-LGBT campaign, there was silence from much of the hierarchy. Priests and bishops did not speak. Were they afraid, unsure or compromised, we do not know. But the silence was deafening.
Even in the country's heart of Catholic learning — the Pontifical University in Maynooth — there was silence...apart from one lone clerical voice supported by the small group of orthodox seminarians.
During a meeting of the seminary council and heads of faculty, months before the referendum, Fr. Marsden suggested that the seminary hold a Novena, or Holy Hour, or consider some other prayerful devotion so the seminarians and college staff could unite in prayer for a good outcome. He recounted how instead of support, his idea was dismissed...by the President. It was clear that the other priests did not want to do anything spiritual or temporal to defend the teaching of the Church. In fact, Fr. Marsden was left with the impression that many of the staff preferred to remain silent and not even mention the referendum, never mind speak out against it. The staff dining room became a place where the referendum was never mentioned, he said.
In the run-up to the same-sex “marriage” referendum, Fr. David Marsden delivered two homilies in the seminary in which he spoke out strongly in defense of marriage between a man and woman. He denounced from the pulpit the notion that people of the same sex could marry.
It was after the second homily, he said, that he was called into the President’s office and informed that a complaint had been made against him. The identity of the individual was not revealed to him. Fr. Marsden told Lumin Fidei that he strongly suspects it was a friend of a homosexual seminarian who made the complaint as the Mass was on a Sunday morning and therefore open to all the students from Maynooth University.
Culture of fear
It was during this meeting that the President aired a concern that Fr. Marsden was becoming a ‘one issue person,’ the priest related. The implication was, he said, that the President was becoming anxious that the priest was speaking out too much about the referendum and homosexuality in general. Fr. Marsden said he responded by saying the only reason he could be called a ‘one issue person’ in the seminary was because he was the only person saying anything about the referendum or homosexuality. He told Lumin Fidei that this was likely because other staff members were either afraid to speak out or were homosexual themselves.
Despite the opposition from the staff, Fr. Marsden received much support and was admired by many of the seminarians, he recounted. But he was also aware of an active and vocal "gay" subculture operating freely in the seminary. When the referendum was passed in May 2015, the priest recounted how this group became emboldened to the point of having no fear in letting others know they were homosexual, sexually active, and in the seminary with the full knowledge and support of their bishops.
Against this backdrop, a group of faithful seminarians became concerned that the seminary not only seemed to take a liberal view of Catholic teaching, but also encouraged a “gay” subculture to develop within the seminary. Exasperated and at the point of desperation, one of the seminarians decided enough was enough and wrote an anonymous letter to the Bishops’ Conference pleading with the bishops to intervene. The letter named seven active homosexual seminarians.
It is understood that this letter was sent back from the bishops’ office to the President of the seminary Monsignor Hugh Connolly. But, rather than take action to investigate the claims in the letter, the seminary council began a witch hunt to discover the author. In the end, a completely innocent seminarian was accused, based on the fact that he had reported two seminarians – one of them his close friend – when he found them in bed together. No proof was given that he had written the letter. He was simply accused and thrown out of the seminary.
Notorious seminarian threatens Fr. Marsden
Fr. Marsden recounted how he challenged one of the most notorious homosexual seminarians about his disordered lifestyle. He was given the response: “My bishop knows, the seminary council knows, my spiritual director knows – none of them have a problem with it so neither should you.” The priest said he realized that he was being told to essentially shut up since this was none of his business. It was after this encounter that Fr. Marsden said he realized that it was now no longer possible to conduct proper formation in the seminary in the face of such widespread dissent from Church teaching that was blatant among the seminary council and the spiritual directors. It was at this point, he said, that he wrote a letter to Mons. Connolly tendering his resignation.
When Fr. Marsden tried to raise the problems he was seeing in the seminary with the Church authorities, the response he received was to not only ignore his concerns, but, to ridicule him for raising them in the first place. He recounted how one high-ranking cleric stated that “you see gays under the bed.”
In the end, Fr. Marsden said he could no longer work in the seminary and retain his integrity. He chose to resign from what he describes as an “institution riddled by systemic disobedience to Church teaching.”
It was reported in the secular press during the summer of 2016 that the reason for his resignation was a conflict of theological outlook. But, the priest said, this reason was incorrect. There certainly was a divergence of theological opinion. In fact, many of Fr. Marsden’s friends related to him their amazement at how long he managed to stay in the seminary. But, it was the issue of homosexuality within the seminary which brought matters to a head.
The seminary has long been a “cesspool of liberal theology and heterodoxy,” Fr. Marsden said. Because of this, those few staff members who, down through the years, maintained a fidelity to the Magisterium were often isolated and subtly persecuted, he added.
Dictatorship of blandness
Fr. Marsden described the model of formation in the Maynooth seminary as a “dictatorship of blandness,” by which he means that any sort of vibrant or orthodox expressions of the Faith on the part of seminarians were harshly dealt with and suppressed. Seminary staff resented students who used the internet for alternative, i.e. orthodox, sources of information about the faith. In fact, the term for such alternative sources that was bandied about on a regular basis during staff meetings was “shadow formation.”
“The tripe they were getting served up by the theology faculty was in most cases utter drivel,” Fr. Marsden explained.
“It is my honest assessment that the formation and academic staff in Maynooth are either liberal or homosexual and a significant number are both,” he added.
The Irish McCarrick?
Fr. Marsden also revealed that there may have been an Irish version of seminarian and priest abuser now-ex Cardinal McCarrick. Fr. Ronan Drury, a priest of Meath diocese, lived in the seminary until his death last year. Reading his obituaries and the praise heaped on him by bishops and the current President of the Seminary, Father Michael Mullaney, one might picture Drury as a learned and jovial priest, popular with all in the seminary which was his home for 42 years. He was Professor of Homiletics there since 1977 until his death last year. He was also editor of the liberal Furrow magazine for 40 years.
However, Fr. Marsden said he discovered a dark and secretive side to Drury. Known by his nickname “Kitty,” he was a notorious figure among the “gay” subculture in St Patrick's College. His behavior was such an open secret among the students that even the normally cautious Mons. Connolly felt it necessary to inform Fr. Marsden that a credible allegation of molestation had been made against Drury by an individual. The complaint was regarding inappropriate touching by Drury of this person. Later, a priest also confided to Fr. Marsden that Drury had molested him as a first year seminarian. Monsignor Connolly never suspended Drury.
Fr. Marsden’s testimony suggests that a place like Maynooth seminary is a playground for the likes of Drury. He had daily one-to-one access to young male students. Many questions remain. Who knew about his abuse? Was his bishop informed? If Mons. Connolly was concerned about his behaviour, what did he do to protect seminarians? Why was Fr. Drury allowed to continue living in the seminary with open access to vulnerable young men?
Fr. Marsden’s testimony also suggests that an active and secretive homosexual subculture is being allowed to thrive in the Maynooth seminary, with the approval of the ecclesial authorities – some of whom Fr. Marsden suspects are also same-sex attracted themselves.
Lumen Fidei reached out to various bishop trustees of the college for comment on Fr. Marsden’s testimony prior to publication, but no response was given. The current President of Maynooth seminary was also contacted, but he refused to answer any questions about Drury’s behaviour.
It would appear that the circle of secrecy is protecting its own.
But the faithful will not accept cowardice or silence. An open and transparent investigation into the various scandals which have afflicted Maynooth seminary for at least 30 years must take place. Questions that need to be address include: Were payments made to silence victims, and who were the key figures behind the culture of cover up and secrecy?
The only sure way to end the disease in Maynooth seminary is to send the remaining small number of faithful seminarians to the Irish College in Rome and to close the seminary for a year or more until such an investigation is carried out and the recommendations from it are fully implemented. If this cannot be accomplished, then the seminary should simply close. Fr. Marsden’s testimony suggests that Maynooth seminary is no longer fit for its purpose of forming Catholic men to be future priests. Parents should do all in their power to dissuade their sons from going there.
The long suffering faithful and those seminarians who have been abused and persecuted deserve action and transparency. This is a defining moment for the Church in Ireland. Faithful Catholics should not rest until every bishop stands up and takes direct action to purge the filth from the Church.
Note: The Catholic Voice encourages any of Drury’s victims to come forward with the possibility of speaking in confidence about any abuse they experienced during their time in the seminary. Please email: info@catholicvoice.ie. You will be listened to in the strictest confidence.
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at LumenFidei.ie. It has been edited and published here by permission of the author.
GOSNELL MOVIE--SERIAL KILLER
See the movie Hollywood does not want you to see. See the story the media would not cover. They are the crimes the government tried to cover up. See the true story of how abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell hid in plain sight for nearly twenty years, to become America’s biggest serial killer. And see how a Philadelphia detective and the District Attorney office took on a system bound to shut them down to put Kermit Gosnell in prison for life.
GOSNELL: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer
In Theaters Friday, October 12th
Visit http://gosnellmovie.com/ for more information.‘I hope that all of our viewers watch this movie.’
Tucker Carlson – Fox News‘Everyone needs to see the Gosnell movie particularly young people. I can’t recommend this movie more strongly.’
Marjorie Dannenfelser – Susan B. Anthony List‘After watching the Gosnell movie, I’m angry, I’m sad, and I’m more motivated than ever to end abortion.’
Kristan Hawkins – Students for Life of America‘This movie is amazing!’
Michelle Malkin
Based on the NY Times Bestseller — Gosnell: The Untold Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer.The film stars Dean Cain, Sarah Jane Morris, Nick Searcy, Michael Beach and Earl Billings as Dr. Kermit Gosnell.The film is the shocking true story of the investigation and trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell – his 30-year killing spree and the political and media establishment that tried to cover it up. Originally investigated for illegal prescription drug sales, a raid by DEA, FBI & local law enforcement revealed crimes they could not have expected within the clinic.The film was crowd funded on Indiegogo by over 29,000 people, who gave over $2.3mm to make sure this story was told. It’s an uplifting story of justice and the men and women in law enforcement who helped bring Kermit Gosnell to trial. While taking a hard look at the facts, the movie is not graphic or explicit. It’s rated PG-13 and is appropriate for teenagers. If you can handle an episode of Law & Order or NCIS you can see Gosnell.The film has faced opposition from the very beginning when Kickstarter kicked the campaign off their platform. It aced opposition in the production of the film. And recently NPR refused to run advertising describing Kermit Gosnell as an abortion. See the movie that shines a light on a story the mainstream media refused to cover.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Learning to Blame Others for America’s Opioid Epidemic
http://www.tfp.org/learning-to-blame-others-for-americas-opioid-epidemic/
The opioid crisis has thus evolved from a medical to moral to legal to ideological problem. People will do anything to avoid putting the blame on themselves.
Learning to Blame Others for America’s Opioid Epidemic
Learning to Blame Others for America’s Opioid Epidemic
There is talk that the government will soon file lawsuits against the pharmaceutical firms that make opioid painkillers. They claim that these companies have failed to warn patients about the addictive nature of their product, which in turn allowed them to amass huge profits.
This is not the only plan to solve the opioid crisis. Others are calling upon doctors to taper off doses of medications after one year to prevent addiction and abuse. Such schemes promise to slay the opioid-abuse dragon that is wreaking havoc upon countless individuals, families and communities.
The problem with these solutions is that they do not address the causes of the problem but only suppress the effects. In this case, it just makes the problem worse.
Opioid painkillers are not the problem. They have a proper role in the care of individuals. They are legal drugs needed by patients with chronic pain conditions. They do carry a risk of dependency, which can be mitigated by their correct use. However, if their doses are curtailed or eliminated, many individuals will suffer much and needlessly.
Those Who Abuse Opioids
The vast majority of proper users do not abuse these painkillers or suffer from overdoses. According to one study, the risk of opioid overdose by chronic pain patients who use them as directed is very low. It accounts for less than 0.3 percent of prescribed doses annually. This is hardly the kind of abuse responsible for all the dire headlines that talk about the destruction of lives and communities.
The next category of users is made up of those with mental illnesses or major medical conditions that can overdose because of impaired judgment or lack of supervision. This is still a medical problem that comes from lack of care. However, it is not the cause of the epidemic.
The real problem comes from those who abuse painkillers by making wrong choices. This is no longer a medical problem but a moral one. It is caused by bad personal decisions, vices and behaviors.
Eternal and Natural Law: The Foundation of Morals and Law
According to research by Kaiser Permanente and the Denver Health Medical Center, most abuse of opioids occurs when compounded by moral problems. Patients in the midst of chaotic personal conditions are one high-risk category. Yet others are those who mix their opioids with other sedatives, drugs and alcohol. Those suffering from high emotional stress will also tend to abuse.
These abusers also include those who engage in fraud. Patients will purchase pills via over-prescription or illegal pill mills. People use Medicaid funds to buy and resell them to addicts who crave them.
A Moral Problem Becomes a Legal One
Thus, most abuse stems from moral choices between the correct use of opioids as prescribed by doctors and patients’ desire to escape personal stress and suffering by increasing their use. Abuse involves intemperance, in which people allow their appetites to rule. It happens when people abandon virtue and allow families or relationships to break up. Others wish to profit off the vices of others by selling opioids. These are all moral problems that have medical consequences.
Science Confirms: Angels Took the House of Our Lady of Nazareth to Loreto
As a result, abusers suffer when their lives break down. Their families suffer. Communities suffer. Government officials are pressured to take action.
Thus, the medical problem that became a moral issue now becomes a legal case. Officials propose legislation that seeks to limit the supply of opioids but not the desire for them. They will provide educational programs to tell people how dangerous abuse can be—even though most people know abusing any drug is dangerous.
The Failure of Legal Measures
These solutions do not involve developing moral character and virtue. In fact, they create a hell for abusers and non-abusers alike. They impose a mountain of regulations on society to limit access to opioids. Such measures can be helpful, but addicts usually find ways around the rules by immersing themselves in a hellish subculture. They can then resort to more desperate and illegal means to feed their frenzied addictions.
Meanwhile, those who suffer the most from the opioid crisis are the patients that need them. They are the ones that must comply with all the new regulations and rules designed to stop the abusers. The hysteria around opioid abuse has prompted many doctors to play it safe and under-prescribe them. They will try to eliminate opioid use or suggest painful alternative treatments that may not be proper for the malady. Some sufferers find an ever smaller pool of doctors who are willing to prescribe needed medications leading to what are called “opioid refugees” who wander about the country looking for experts willing to treat them.
Inevitably, the strong government measures fail to stop the problem. Then, the next phase of the cycle begins. It consists of finding someone to blame—other than the addicts.
Finding a Scapegoat
In this case, the culpable are the pharmaceutical companies who ruthlessly seek profits from the weaknesses of others. As in all things, there may be some abuse by the firms, but it is often exaggerated by leftist media. The legal problem becomes an ideological one. The crisis is dressed up in terms of Marxist class struggle. Let the rich companies pay the bill for the ruined lives of those poor unfortunate people who abuse their products.
The opioid crisis has thus evolved from a medical to moral to legal to ideological problem. People will do anything to avoid putting the blame on themselves.
Such is the fate of a society without virtue. When people live lives of unrestraint, their passions take over and throw them into the misery of stress, broken relationships and loneliness. When they reject all suffering which is the result of their follies, they go to the extremes to escape the pain. When the pain cannot be subdued, they look to throw the blame upon others and seek recompense for it.
Saturday, September 1, 2018
“Lord, to Whom Shall We Go?”
“Lord, to Whom Shall We Go?”
We are deeply saddened by the news that comes in daily about the sexual abuse involving the hierarchy (cardinals, bishops, and priests) in the Catholic Church. We certainly believe that those found guilty should be punished and live out their lives in prayer, penance, and reparation. We hope and pray that the persons who have been abused will find support, love, and healing.
Our thoughts turn to all of those wonderful men in the hierarchy who love the Church and are faithful to her teachings, who must be going through their own Calvary with each report of the above. We think of the religious who have given their lives to the Lord and who were helped in their vocation discernment by some wise counsel of a priest. We think of the laity who are trying themselves, and also trying to raise their children, to love the Church and live by her teachings in a culture which gives very little or no support for so doing.
There will probably be many, weak in the knowledge and living of their Catholic Faith, who will use clerical abuse as an excuse to leave the Church, but hopefully [it will] make others stronger in the Faith. “Lord, to whom shall we go?” The Catholic Church has the fullness of faith, with all the means to lead men and women to holiness of life and to eternal salvation. The history of the Church has always been through crises, and at these times great saints were raised up. A good example of this was St. Thomas More, who was martyred for defending the Church of Rome when many of the hierarchy were defending King Henry VIII, who declared himself the Head of the Church in England. Thomas More is the one who has Saint before his name. Or we look to St. Catherine of Siena, who worked so hard to help bring Pope Gregory XI from Avignon to Rome.
In 1969, when Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was Professor Joseph Ratzinger, he gave a radio talk, “What Will the Future Church Look Like?” I will quote a few sentences from this talk. “From the crisis of today a new Church of tomorrow will emerge—a Church that has lost much! She will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning…. But in all [this] … the Church will find her essence afresh and with full conviction in that which was always at her center: faith in the triune God, in Jesus Christ, the son of God made man, in the presence of the Spirit until the end of the world.” I certainly think that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s words are surely applicable today.
So what should our response be to this crisis in the Church today? It calls us all to strengthen our own faith, to pray, practice virtue, fast, and sacrifice not only for those who have been abused but also for those who have caused this scandal in the Church. We desire all to receive the love and mercy of God.
The tree is being pruned radically only to put forth more healthy and stronger shoots. If we are looking at a smaller Church, perhaps the best example we could take would be the mustard seed—the smallest of all seeds, but when grown becomes the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so big that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches. (MT 13:31,32). So if all of us in the smaller Church are planted deeply in the belief and practice of our Faith, the Church will grow stronger and stronger and many will come to be embraced in the loving arms of their Mother.
Mother Mary Assumpta Long, OP
Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist
Ann Arbor, Michigan
https://www.hprweb.com/2018/09/lord-to-whom-shall-we-go/
www.sistersofmary.org
Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist
Ann Arbor, Michigan
https://www.hprweb.com/2018/09/lord-to-whom-shall-we-go/
www.sistersofmary.org
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