The sin within

No always means no

Well not always according to this story from The National Catholic Register.

No means no, except maybe when you’re talking to abortionist Abraham Hodari.

The abortionist in Michigan is being sued for allegedly forcing an abortion after the woman changed her mind and asked him to stop. The abortionist even reportedly instructed assistants to hold the woman down while he completed the abortion.

The whole story and a video news report is here.

The Pope's revenge!

I've just seen an article which appeared in The Telegraph this past Saturday, describing the appointment of ++ Jose Gomez as Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles as "...the Pope's revenge on Hollywood for filming The Da Vinci Code."

While that really is a pretty cool thought, I suspect the Holy Father had deeper reasons for replacing Roger Cardinal Mahoney with an orthodox shepherd!

The orginal article is here with a h/t to Is Anybody There?

St Philip Neri

26 May is the memorial of St Philip Neri.

The breviary says about him:

Born in Florence in the year 1515. He came to Rome and began to devote himself to work among the young men, while at the same time he led a Christian life and formed a brotherhood to look after the sick poor. In 1551 he became a priest and formed the Oratory in which he held services consisting of spiritual readings and hymns, as well as performing charitable works. He was outstanding for love of his neighbour, and evangelical simplicity and joyfulness in the service of God. He died in the year 1595.

More at his Catholic Encyclopedia entry here and his Wiki here.

The war in Heaven

Abortions R Us

Giles Pinnock at One Timothy four blog has a good commentary on Channel 4 taking blood money from the abortionists at Marie Stopes.

He also has 5 good suggestions:

1) Sign the petition against the Channel 4 abortion advert.
2) Contact Channel 4 in advance and after the ads are screened to protest:

Channel 4 Enquiries
PO Box 1058
Belfast
BT 1 9DU
Phone: (44) (0) 845 076 0191
Email using the webform page

3) Complain to the Advertising Standards Authority, the web site of which carries this rather mealy-mouthed statement.
4) Join the Society of the Protection of Unborn Children.
5) Contribute to and promote the work of LIFE, a charity which offers free, confidential information, counselling and support for women contemplating abortion, suffering after pregnancy loss or struggling to cope after abortion, and can can also provide financial and practical help and support before and after birth.

The cult of Moloch continues to grow

More evidence that our society is broken to the point of destruction comes today with the news that Channel 4 will be taking blood money from the eugenicists and child killers at Marie Stopes to show abortion adverts on television.

It's sickening that the Marie Stopes organisation, which already makes £30 million a year from the British taxpayer for it's part in the ongoing genocide, can advertise it's "services" on a publically funded broadcaster.

Truly the gates of hell have been flung open by Satan and as a society we continue to rush headlong towards him.

Some thoughts on the new translation and the South African experience

St Malachy and his family are just back from an extended holiday in South Africa.

The new English translation of the Missal is already (partially) in use in that country and I understand it's been a rough ride.

During our holiday we had the opportunity of attending Mass at two different parishes over 5 weeks, including the Easter Triduum. Also, St Malachy went to a number of week days Masses at both parishes. Our experiences at the two parishes (which are probably less than 5 miles apart) could not have been more different.

In parish number one it was evident before the greeting was over that the new translation was very much partially in use! I'd say the response to the greeting was a 50/50 split between "And also with you" and the new "And with your spirit". The Confiteor could best be described as interesting with most people having sinned through their own fault with a smaller number having greatly sinned through their threefold fault! And so it went on including use of the present translation of "pro multis" in the words of consecration as "...for all".

On the other hand, in parish number two, the new translation was very much in use. The responses of the people were clear and confident. The entire experience was utterly different. Incidentally parish 2 also seems a more welcoming place (although that's a very subjective view).

So what was the underlying reason for the difference between the two parishes? I would say two things:
1. Catechism - it was evident in parish 2 that the people had some explanation of the reason for the changes; and
2. The attitude of the parish priest. Clearly in parish 1 the priest - incidentally an important man in the diocese - is of the "What if we just said wait" variety.

I suspect we have interesting times ahead!

The new English translation of the Missal

There is a very interestting article on Insidecatholic.com by Fr Robert Johansen entitled The New Missal: Disaster or Opportunity?

He makes the point that many of the objections to the new translation are ideological objections [masquerading as something else]:

I have observed that "something more" before, writing and speaking about what I describe as "ideologized" liturgy -- that is, liturgy being made to bear ideological burdens that are extrinsic and, in many cases, inimical to it. The highly charged language of many of those objecting to the new Missal is frequently ideological: When I see words like "archaic" and "tyrannical," and phrases like "a great step forward" or "a major step backward," being used in complaints about the Missal, I suspect that the train of thought is carrying heavy ideological freight.

I use "ideology" here in the circumscribed manner of political theorists like Michael Oakeshott and Russell Kirk: to refer to the political fanaticism that results from elevating an abstraction to an absolute, all-explaining and all-encompassing concept, and making everything, including persons, subordinate to that concept. It is to take political concepts and impulses and make them serve ends that are properly religious.

Fr Johnson also makes reference in the article to the South African experience and I shall post some thoughts on that shortly. In the meantime his whole article is well worth a read.

Good old Gordon

Or should that be poor old Gordon?

Italy to ordain the first woman priest

The Times is carrying a story here about the "ordination" of a wimminpriest in the Old Catholic Church in Italy.

Italy’s first woman priest is to be ordained a close to the Vatican later this month.

Maria Vittoria Longhitano, 35, a member of the Italian Old Catholic Church, a breakaway group not recognised by the Vatican [you don't say!], will be ordained at All Saints Church, near the Spanish Steps in Rome, on 22 May.

A spokeswoman for All Saints Church said Ms Longhitano, who is married, was not being ordained as an Anglican. “We are offering our church as the venue because the Old Catholics have no venue of their own in Rome,” she said. “They use our facilities for their regular worship.”

The Old Catholics, founded in the early 19th century in an attempt to set up a national Italian denomination separate from Rome, do not accept a number of central Catholic doctrines including papal infallibility and the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

Ms Longhitano, a teacher in Miian with a degree in philosophy and theology, became a deacon last year. She will be ordained by Bishop Fritz-René Müller of the Union of Utrecht, to which the Italian Old Catholics are affiliated.

She said that she had dreamed of being a priest since childhood, and her ordination “represents a great opportunity for women of faith”. She hoped that it would “stimulate a debate among Catholics” on female ordination, which has been definitively ruled out by successive Popes, including Pope Benedict XVI.

Surprisingly for The Times they've not squeezed in their customary anti-Catholic jibe! You do have to wonder though why the byline reads "Richard Owen in Fatima" and not "Whom so ever in Rome". Co-incidence that the Holy Father happens to be in Fatima?

I'm sure "the Vatican" will be quaking at the thought of Ms Longhitano playing dress up in an Anglican Church.

They just don't get it do they?

The Guardian on 8 May carried a laughable opinion piece from the Anglican "dean" of Southwark.

The Anglican communion is in freefall and yet this buffoon sees fit to lecture Catholics. Here is a taster:

Roman Catholics far and wide have been writing articles that tell how they are hanging on by their fingernails. [Really? I must have missed those but then again I don't take The Tablet!] But they do not need to: there has been a church in this country for 400 years where a high doctrine of episcopacy and sacrament has been preserved. [Har de har] For instance, it is not commonly realised that sacramental confession was cunningly preserved [I have a cunning plan!] by Thomas Cranmer within the Book of Common Prayer service for the visitation of the sick. <...> The clergy can marry or enter civil partnerships [and what does that tell us about the Anglican view of marriage?] and live with affection and stability; women are being ordained, and may soon become bishops [the final nail in the coffin of the communion], and there is the flexibility of doctrinal boundaries [enough said!] that makes a lay Roman Catholic's double life regarding contraception unnecessary.

Read the whole thing here - it's sure to raise a chuckle!

The day for fence sitting is over

ST. LOUIS, May 4, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Speaking to a crowd of more than 7,000 faithful during an intense day-long event in St. Louis on Saturday, renowned Catholic preacher Fr. John Corapi warned, "The day for fence-sitting is over; the days to be a lukewarm Catholic are rapidly coming to an end."

In a wide-ranging discourse, sponsored by the international Catholic businessmen's organization Legatus, Corapi called Christians to task for dropping the ball and losing the culture to "neo-pagan" elements.

"The unraveling of Christianity has led to the unraveling of the world," he explained. "We are at war [for souls], so we don't have the luxury to sit on our complacent rear ends."

Urging attendees to examine the current political climate, he said that "socialism is not in conformity with biblical teaching. Socialism doesn't profit the poor, but only brings poverty and misery. Socialism is about the seizure of power. It only brings everyone down to the lowest common denominator."

In his final segment, Fr. Corapi said that in all of his years as a priest, he's never seen such fear in people. "There's a lot of anxiety, a lack of trust in government, elected and appointed officials. There's a crisis of trust," he said. Then quoting from the Gospels of Mark and Luke, he advised "fear is useless; what is needed is trust."

Fr. Corapi's biography on his website states that his life experiences went "From small town boy to the Vietnam era US Army, from successful businessman in Las Vegas and Hollywood to drug addicted and homeless, to religious life and ordination to the priesthood by Pope John Paul II, to a life as a preacher of the Gospel who has reached millions." Corapi regularly appears on the EWTN television network.

The original of this article is here.

Catholics unfazed by child abuse

Well if the red tops can make up misleading headlines so can this blog.

What the title should say is "Practicing Catholics unfazed by abuse scandals; Pope’s popularity increasing" as per this report on CatholicCulture.org.


I'm not really surprised by the findings as it's evident that the Church is serious and has been serious for some time now about safeguarding children and other vulnerable people. I am, however, rather disturbed (but again not surprised) by these two items:

the majority of Catholics (54%) believe that the Vatican is “out of touch” with Catholics, while 60% believe that local priests are “in touch”

<....>

58% of practicing Catholics say that they “would let priests marry”; a smaller majority (54%) “would allow women priests”

Read the whole report on the Catholic Culture website.