Posted on 03/23/2002 5:34:00 AM PST by father_elijah
SHALL WE GATHER AT THE RIVER?
We Catholic Americans are at a crossroads. Our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Light of the World is exposing all those who wound his sacred Body by abusing children and youth. Our Lord is also exposing rot and disease within the structures and leadership of the Church from within provinces of religious orders, Catholic universities, and diocesan chanceries.
It is time to clean house. Not only do the pederasts, sex abusers, and homosexuals need to be removed from leadership and the ranks of the ordained, but also the Church needs to excommunicate all Catholic politicians in the United States of America whose votes continue the holocaust of abortion.
PREPARATION
In order to serve Christ and his poor Church in this time of crisis, each of us are called to avail ourselves of the sacraments that we may trample the devil under our feet. Let each of us 1) make a good confession; 2) receive the Eucharist on the Feast of Divine Mercy and receive Christ’s promises to St. Faustina of mercy and pardon; 3) engage in works of mercy; and, 4) encourage others to do the same.
We lead by prayer, and we are made strong by Christ’s self-offering of his Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We have a great weapon for fighting evil in the rosary. We do not turn to prayer as a last resort, but we turn to prayer as the beginning, center, and end of all that we strive to do for Our Lord Jesus Christ. We engage in prayer for the Church knowing that when we pray we are not alone in prayer or in action. Our Lord, Our Lady, St. Joseph, and the whole communion of saints join with us in interceding for the Church.
We who long for the cleansing of the Church from these grave evils have the means of prayer through which we can grow in holiness even as we pray for the Church to be cleansed of evil and made holy as Christ is holy. Let us avail ourseves of these gifts of prayer:
The Daily Mass or a daily Act of Spiritual Communion
Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration
Benediction and Adoration
The Holy Rosary
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy
The Litanies
The Liturgy of the Hours
Other Chaplets and Devotions
Let every action we undertake be covered in prayer and overshadowed by the Holy Spirit so that only God’s will is desired and achieved through our efforts.
ACTION
For love of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to action against evil. Let each faithful Catholic offer themselves at Mass or at home to be the beginning point of the Church’s cleansing and renewal. Ask the Lord’s blessing that we may each speak the truth in love and walk in the Holy Spirit.
There are a variety of actions that one can undertake to be part of the solution. The following are suggestions that have been made on various internet discussion lists.
*Show up at your parish and pray at 3pm every day
*Show up at your diocesan Chancery and pray
*Show up at the nearest Chancery on the Monday after Easter
at 12 noon and pray the Rosary for the Cleansing of the Priesthood
*Write, telephone, and e-mail your bishops and priests and express your horror over the sexual scandals and tell them you expect full disclosure and immediate action.
*Write to the Holy Father -- write in Polish if you can -- and beg him to intervene and clean up the Church in the United States. Be sure to copy your bishop and pastor.
The following are some actions you may consider asking of the Holy Father(and recommending to your bishop):
1. Ask the Holy Father to lead the Church in a worldwide Day of Penance for the sexual sins of the Church’s leadership;
2. Ask the Holy Father to declare that homosexuals may not receive Holy Orders;
3. Ask the Holy Father to remove Cardinals, bishops, priests, and deacons who have covered up cases of sexual abuse.
4. Ask the Holy Father to give the Church in the USA new Cardinals especially elevating Archbishop Chaput of Denver
5. Ask the Holy Father to shut down religious orders or provinces of religious orders (like the California province of the Society of Jesus) that are a scandal in themselves.
6. Ask the Holy Father to give Cardinal Law, Cardinal Egan, and Cardinal Mahony new jobs at the Vatican.
7. Ask the Holy Father to suspend the US National Conference of Catholic Bishops and to appoint either a triumvirate to clean house or an Inquisitor General to root out evil and liberate the Church in the USA from error and crime.
8. Ask the Holy Father to restore the prayer “St. Michael the Archangel” to the close of every Mass.
9. Ask the Holy Father to extend the faculty to every priest in the Church to celebrate Mass according to the 1962 Missal.
10. Ask the Holy Father to excommunicate Catholic politicians who support the holocaust of abortion.
11. Ask the Holy Father to give the Cardinal’s red hat to Archbishop Chaput, Bishop Bruskewitz, Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J.
12. Ask the Holy Father to disassociate the Church from those once Catholic universitiies and colleges that no longer affirm the magisterium of the Church or loyalty to the Pope.
13. Ask the Holy Father to make Fr. Benedict Groeschel the next Archbishop of New York.
Some will find these ideas too presumptuous, but it is clear that the Holy Father and the leadership of the Church in the USA need to hear from the rank and file faithful.
Finally, be sure to pray for the Pope, and write to the Holy Father a letter of encouragement. Assure him of your prayers for his intentions and for him personally. Also, write letters of encouragement to any deacon, priest, or bishop whom you know to be defenders of the faith and devoted to Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our good and faithful priests need to know that they are loved and cherished.
Jesus, King of the nations, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
Good Saint Joseph, pray for us.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.
I didn't realize that the Novus Ordo had removed the prayer to St. Michael at the end of Mass, too. How sad for them.
I would add one more item to your list:
14. Define as anathema all the changes made to the liturgy and the Church at Vatican II. Erase forever the Protestanized English Mass, get rid of altar girls, throw away that stupid table that replaced the altar as the center of adoration, no dancing, no guitars, no laymen on the altar, forbid Communion in the hand, no pop tunes - blot out forever of all those insults and the hundreds more that did nothing but produce a bland and souless Novus Ordo and restore the dignity and sanctity of the Catholic Church as it was before the liberal elements within the Church destroyed it.
Yes. Of course. We should keep them in the closet. You've figured us out.
(moron)
When I heard that stat, it made me wonder why it is being blown out of proportion to seem like it constitutes the majority of Catholic priests.
I agree, but I shudder to think of the field day the media would have with the appointment of an "Inquisitor."
Okay. How about "Facilitator General"?
The Catholic Church is NOT the church of the seven hills. The seven hills of Rome are on the East side of the Tiber River. The Vatican is on the West side of the Tiber River and itself sits on a hill. So, now we're talking about eight hills. I see geography is not you're strong point.
I really don't think the "Vatican II People" understand how devastating the act of stripping our rituals of their aesthetic heritage has been for us "post-Vatican II People" who are struggling with our faith. (Or maybe they understand all too well!!) The idea of "god" as fashioned by the Catholic Church down through the ages, and adorned with unmatchable musical, artistic, intellectual and architectural expression, was the best IDEA for a god ever imagined. I can't begin to express how the smashing of this tradition has hastened the loss of faith for many people. When the struggle came there was no ancient ritual to fall back upon for support.
The Mass, as it is currently "presented" in many parishes out in the "sticks" is an unbearable aesthetic affront. It amuses me (grimly) when I see pasty-faced old nuns being interviewed on TV asserting that Catholics don't attend Mass because they want to see women as Priests.
And don't get me started on the "music". To anyone with any muscial taste the thing that passes for music in most Churches it is an abomination. It is so bad that it makes me mad. It literally drives a person--whose faith is already in tatters--out the back door.
Also, don't get me started on the sheer insipidity of many priests in the pulpit. I know the crisis right now is about their abusive homosexuality. But the insipidity is also a terrible thing to behold. In most pulpits the priests could put on black face and do a fine imitation of Oprah.
Well, it's pointless to keep whining. And, I believe hopeless. The Church heirarchy has adopted the same suicidal cultural position as the Western Elite in general. For the political and economic Elite I can shrug my shoulders and survive on bitter wise-cracks from the sidelines. But, for some reason, my rage against the Church heirarchy knows no bounds. I think it has something to do with the fact that my parents died last year. And the memory of my grandparents and all of my great aunts and uncles and the way they practiced and lived their faith. The University heads (oh god, don't get me started on THAT subject) Bishops, Cardinals, yes, and the Pope have all spat upon their graves and made a mockery of their intelligent faithfulness.
As I said I appreciate your reasoned words. But I can't help fantasizing about using an old bull whip we've preserved from the family's first cattle ranch in this country on one of the "enabling" Bishops or Cardinals. Driving them out into the streets bloody and screaming while I utter some medieval incantation. ( But they'd probably enjoy it too much.)
Anyway, if there is a god, I'm glad he allowed my parents to pass away before the full force of this corruption hit the news. That's the first time all year I've been able to think that. It's one hell of a way to find comfort......
Not necessarily. Only if they're excessively ugly and stupid--which unfortunately describes many of the most visible "churchwomen" today.
Women like my great-grandmother, grandmothers, great aunts, aunts and mom--all of whom I have seen in action--were smart, tough, good-looking and loved the Church.
Unfortunately they're all dead.
But, let me also add that the problems of the Church do need to be exposed and justice needs to be done. That is the way to healing.
***** * ******!!! Was there some section of Vatican II that outlawed testicles?? Screw the news media!! Instead of teenage boys.
Get in their face. Can't we learn anything from our black brothers and sisters? Embrace the stereotypes and prejudices. Become their worst nightmare. And smash their bigotry right into their quvering little blubbery faces.
Inquisiton now!!! Is there, by any chance, a priest named Torquemada on the roles? Put him in charge.....
For later reading
My dear, I know how you feel...
Consider. Statistics show that the molestation factor is a factor across the board, protestant, catholic, what have you. But the only newsworthy molestation is that done by an RC Priest. Why? All religions stand nominally against this sort of thing, but only the Catholic Church embodies All That They Hate. It is against Abortion, it does not Ordinate women, it is ruled almost as a monarchy, thus the 'will of the people' is not observed. Moreover, for a millenium it has fed the starving, clothed the naked, and so forth, but all in the name, not of human rights, but of Jesus Christ.
This is intolerable.
Thus the targeting of the Church.
While I am no member of the "Latin or Nuttin'" crowd, I do believe that the heirarchy in the Developed Nations has abdicated much of their authority. Mostly in rosy hopes of better things to come. Much of the current controversy stems from the fact that twenty years ago, the heirarchy was confronted with a shameful abomination, but they were told by men of great secular learning that the men who had committed these acts could be 'cured', 'rehabilitated,' to again lead a productive life.
We now see this for the idiocy it is. You might as well put an alchoholic through AA, and then tell him to work in a distillery.
Moreover, the Catholic problem allows the 'progressive' types a way out. If a minister of a protestant church molests a teenage boy, what is the excuse? He is permitted normal sexual relations, his desires have not been stymied by an antiquated moral code. No, there is left nowhere to run. Only the truth remains. That a man in authority over a boy took advantage of him.
What does that sound like to you? I believe the term is Chickenhawking?
Ah, but with the Catholic Church, we have an out! It's not that this priest was a homosexual, and took advantage of his flock, no! He was a Forced Celibate! If only he were allowed all the sexual freedom that he needed, this would not have happened.
It's not his fault, you see, it's the fault of that Sex-hating, Homophobic, Mysogynistic Church of his. If only they'd come into the twenty-first century, he'd have been fine. Maybe he would have had a wife or a life partner; it's not his fault; it's not the fault of the gay guy, it's the fault of the church!
I personally foresee a massive housecleaning. And it ain't gonna be pretty. But what Lithasis fails to note is that this is primarily a problem in Euro America. The church still has her strong priests, but they are, naturally, the one's who's faith has been tested by more stringent means than 'sex' and 'what do I give up for lent this year'. Look to the priests of Asia, Africa and South America, the ones who's positions bring them threats of imprisonment and death, to see the steel in the Church.
Stand fast, fellow Catholics.
If they be guilty, remove them.
Let not the innocent be tarnished with this scandal. For many Priests (my own confessor included) are brought to tears by this state of affairs.
Lithasis' former comrades may believe they have beaten us. Let them join the ranks. Hitler, Stalin, Attila, how many other tyrants, schisms, heresies throuout history? And yet after two millenia, the church founded upon the Rock still stands.
And they refuse to report on an institution which has even a greater problem with sexual abuse of kids: government schools.
Click on my screen name for over 125 FR posts on the subject. A kid is sexually assualt by a school employee, on average, once a day in the NYC school system. Been tracking it for almost a year and there are several cases a week reported in the media. But few ever go national.
If they report it at the school, it's a personal issue, but if they report it at the church, it's the Pope's fault!
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