Finally, priests are starting to stand up to those who are living in an objective state of sin – and their bishops are backing them up.
Democrat abortion-backer and Presidential hopeful Joe Biden presented himself for Communion at St. Anthony’s Parish in Florence, South Carolina and was politely refused admission to the sacrament. Biden does not deny it. (Laughably, the leftist Snopes claims it’s “unproven”). Meanwhile, Joe told a crowd of supporters “I got hairy legs that turn blonde in the sun. The kids used to come up and reach in the pool & rub my leg down so it was straight & watch the hair come back up again. So I learned about roaches…”. And yes, there’s video.
Not surprisingly, the press has abandoned the story. There’s no report about whether this self-described “devout Catholic” went to Mass or even received Communion this past Sunday – if Biden doesn’t want it covered, it won’t be covered in the main stream media.
Just as nature abhors a vacuum, so too does anti-Catholic sentiment.
On November 23, a judge who describes herself as “Catholic” and a lesbian who is “married” to another woman was called and privately informed by her parish priest, Fr. Nolan, that she was not to present herself for Communion. When she presented herself, she was denied.
Rather than seek spiritual counsel, she called the local television station. According to Wood TV, she is “lifelong Catholic”, “a beloved judge” who “comes from a family of prominent community members”, a victim of a “public shunning”. who claims the priest “has made it clear that gay people are not welcome”. The report also describes the decision to deny communion as “[Fr. Nolan’s] new rule”, as if he just made it up on the spot.
As for his backers at the parish, the site reports, “There are those who believe Nolan is in the right, but they would not go on camera. Others with kids attending school would not go on camera due to fear of reprisal, but all say they love the church and want healing.”
This was an opportunity for the faithful Catholics of that parish to stand up and support their priest. That they failed to do so is a testament to the power the gay lobby holds over everyone else.
Lifesite News uncovered the fact that the judge previously wrote a letter to “the judges in West Michigan” urging them to boycott the annual Red Mass (a Mass for judges and attorneys), arguing that Fr. Nolan had “publicly shunned” two “legally married women in the presence of their young daughter”, and his actions were “hurtful and humiliating”.
Intetestingly, Smolenski then wrote, “We acknowledge Fr. Nolan’s right, under the authority of the Church, to deny communion to those who are not in conformity with the teaching of the Church.”
Then, in a strange and fateful turn of events, she then presumed to lecture Fr. Nolan on his obligations as a priest, stating: “However, the pastoral letters of the Church and the encouragement of Pope Francis recommends the clergy to address the issue of participation in the sacraments in a manner that is just, private and allows spiritual direction.”
That bears repeating: she said, “Pope Francis recommends the clergy to address the issue of participation in the sacraments in a manner that is just, private and allows spiritual direction”.
So Fr. Nolan took her up on her offer.
He contacted her privately, He informed her of the nature of the problem. Her reaction was not to seek spiritual direction, but to run to the nearest friendly media outlet to accuse the priest of bigotry and causing harm and humiliation to her.
Of course, the ubiquitous Fr. James Martin has to make an appearance, claiming that denying the sacraments to those living in a morally objective state of sexual sin is discriminatory because it ignores other sins.
Father Scott Nolan, pastor of St. Stephen Parish, has dedicated his priesthood to bringing people closer to Jesus Christ. Part of his duty in pursuing that end is to teach the truth as taught by the Catholic Church, and to help it take root and grow in his parish. Mercy is essential to that process, but so are humility and conversion on the part of anyone seeking to live an authentically Catholic Christian life.
It is equally clear that those in Judge Smolenski’s corner do not seek reconciliation with the Church: they demand nothing less than total capitulation. As another parishioner noted: “We don’t see Father Scott changing; therefore we’ve come to the conclusion that it’d be better for him and us if there were a change in our pastors”.
Indeed, that is what they’ve been trying to do to Fr. Nolan for three years. We must stand by our good priests and our good bishops.
Fr. Jeffrey “Skip” Thompson delivered the hard truth at the CT Catholic Men’s Conference in Bristol, CT on October 19, 2019.
Men need to step up and lead their families in these difficult and ambiguous times.
But my heart is heavy— as perhaps many of yours are— about the future our kids will face — in a culture that is becoming anti-Christ and is losing its moral compass. Our “one nation under God” is crumbling. Psalm 11 laments: “Foundations once destroyed, what can the just do?” God help us. And He will. He promised that “against His Church the gates of hell will not prevail.” Amen! But in the meantime we’re in a fight.
Mortal sin has become law — abortion, euthanasia, gay marriage so-called, to name a few. Our Lady of Fatima warned us that the final battle would be over the family. According to St. John Paul II, the family,defined as a husband, wife and child, is “the living icon of the Holy Trinity.” Thus, it is no wonder evil hates it and is at work, “to steal, kill and destroy” it
Father Thompson is the Vocations Coordinator for the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles. Prior to becoming a member of the MSA, he was a political lobbyist in the state of California. In addition to being the Vocations Coordinator, Father Skip also serves as the Dean of Men at Holy Apostles College and Seminary. During the summer he is frequently on the road conducting parish missions.
Fr. Thompson’s calling to the priesthood occurred later in life, so as a father and a Father he brings a unique perspective to the issues facing men today. A downloadable copy of his talk on Holiness, Masculinity, Defending the Truth, Faith and Family is available at the Connecticut Men’s Conference site, or is embedded here to view online.
We are very excited to get access to a series of articles written by Fr. Thomas Hickey, and published in his parish bulletin, all based on the work of Fr. Chad Ripperger, that analyzes the spirits of the past six generations and how those spirits have affected the Church.
These brief essays may or may not describe the church you are in.
They may or may not describe the persons sitting next to you in the pew.
They may or may not describe the persons living in your home.
They may or may not describe the person occupying your own shoes.
But we can assure you, the symptoms revealed in these essays exist in many churches… far too many churches. And the causes are not something that can be easily dismissed.
As an exorcist, Fr. Ripperger can vouch for the fact that demons are real, and that they have overtaken many churches, prelates, and many lay members of those churches.
As Fr. Ripperger notes, “It does not take a doctorate in moral or spiritual theology to recognize that the Church and the world are in a particularly bad state, morally and spiritually.”
Indeed. But there is hope. Read these articles for some insight into The Heart of the Matter.
There is no doubt that we need an intervention. The members of The Laity have been praying for one – indeed, many of us are praying for a Christmas Miracle, using the words of Monsignor Charles Pope:
I ask you, Lord Jesus, to inspire bishops and priests through the example of St. Charles Borromeo. Remove whatever fear or sloth keeps so many of us sinfully silent and strangely uninvolved while the culture and the Church collapse around us. May bishops attend carefully to the formation of priests and give them good example through clear teaching and heroic witness to the truth of the Faith. May priests and deacons, too, have a tender care for their people and a zeal to drive away, through preaching and teaching, the wolves of error, dissent, deceit, and half-truth. May we all celebrate the sacraments with devotion, respect for norms, and sacrificial love for our people.
In his homily, Archbishop Blair reflected on the day’s memorial of St. Charles Borromeo and read a description of the saint by Bishop Antonio Seneca of Anagni, Italy, who had lived in the same house with him.
St. Charles, the archbishop read, was “vigilant in rooting out vice, benevolent in correction, just in judgment, loving in punishment, patient of human weakness, quick to avenge disobedience, his justice was united with kindness, his severity with gentleness and peace. He was a diligent guardian of wholesome discipline both in priests and people.”
Archbishop Blair said that the Italian bishop’s description of the saint “took place in a church that had seemed to be failing, really failing.”
We at The Laity join Archbishop Blair in his closing word of his homily:
“I will close with one saying ascribed to St. Charles Borromeo that is perhaps the most important for us,” he said: “Souls are won on one’s knees. And we need to be men of faith and of prayer.”
This letter was recently distributed to members of St. Mary Catholic Church in Pinckney, Michigan.
In light of recent concerns that have come to me regarding the issue of modern gender theory, I write this letter as a means of helping you form and guide your children as you navigate changing cultural attitudes and norms pertaining to gender identity. This new gender theory denies the nature of God’s created order inasmuch as it denies that God has created us male and female. Instead, it proposes that gender is fluid and changeable and is determined by the choice of the individual rather than by biology. In other words, if, for example, your child was born as a biological male, it may be that he is actually a girl who is only physically male. As such, you won’t know his true gender until he is old enough to psychologically identify as a male or female. This theory will further tell you that your role as a parent is not to impose a gender on your child, but to allow him the freedom to explore either gender and choose for himself which is his true self. The same goes in the case of a child who is biologically female; should she choose a different gender than her biological sex, you, the parent are told that you ought to support her choice of a new identity as a boy. This new way of looking at gender can present itself to your family in many forms, from TV shows, to children’s clothing lines, to public school curricula, and so forth. This has caused confusion for some and questions for many regarding the legitimate role of parents and what they should teach their kids about their sexual and gender identity. I wish to reaffirm to you the eternal truth that God has intentionally created each child; each of us are a gift from God. This is true also of sexuality: “Male and female He created them” (Gn 1:27). God has entrusted you with a sacred task of affirming, nurturing, protecting, and educating your child in his or her sexual identity as God has created them.
The Vatican has recently released a document entitled Male and Female He Created Them: Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education[i], addressing the issues stemming from the new gender theory. It was released to assist those involved in the education and formation of young people, especially parents and teachers. This document states that the new gender theory attempts to “cancel out the differences between men and women, presenting them instead as merely the product of historical and cultural conditioning.”[ii] The text then quotes Pope Francis, who states that modern gender theory directly opposes God’s design for our sexuality:
“[Modern gender theory] denies the difference and reciprocity in nature of a man and a woman and envisages a society without sexual differences, thereby eliminating the anthropological basis of the family. This ideology leads to educational programs and legislative enactments that promote a personal identity and emotional intimacy radically separated from the biological difference between male and female. Consequently, human identity becomes the choice of the individual, one which can also change over time.”[iii]
The Vatican has called this an “educational crisis,” in that curricula are being developed that supposedly present a “neutral conception of the person and of life,”[iv] devoid of sexual difference. Gender theory, rather than portraying a neutral conception of the person, has put forth an “anthropology which is opposed to faith and right reason.”[v]
One way that the proponents of gender theory propose this “neutral conception of the person” is by telling parents that they should not affirm the sexual identity of their children. To do so, the thinking goes, would be to impose upon them a sexual identity that they ought to be free to determine for themselves. One instance of this thinking comes to us from the French-Canadian singer, Celine Dion, who has launched a new gender-neutral clothing line for infants and children by the name of Celinununu. The commercial launching this line of clothing depicts Miss Dion breaking into a hospital nursery where babies are dressed by gender in pink or blue; Miss Dion then sprinkles black glitter onto the children and the babies suddenly appear in gender-neutral black and white clothing. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch it here.
The clothing line touts that “fashion has the power to shape people’s minds.”[vi] Their company’s mission is to “inspire your children to be free and find their own individuality through clothes.” According to their website, they have created a “clothing brand that breeds equality and freedom of spirit, serving as a platform for a new humanistic education. Celinununu liberates children from the traditional roles of boy/girl.”[vii]
The efforts of Celine Dion and those at Celinununu are by no means arising out of a vacuum. The overnight cultural acceptance of gender theory has become somewhat of a movement, with many facets and many different incarnations. There is the American Library Association’s embracing of “Drag Queen Story Hours” for children. There is the ability, in the Canadian province of Ontario at least, to choose a non-binary option on birth certificates. There is the emergence of pediatric gender clinics, which often encourage patients to “transition” after a single visit.[viii] One local incarnation of this movement is the reading of I Am Jazz in the classroom. For those who don’t know, I Am Jazz is a TLC show about a girl that was born inside a boy’s body. The program was recently turned into a children’s book and has been read in the classroom to area kids as young as pre-K. While some have not opposed this being read to children in the name of teaching kids how to love and respect others, it is becoming clear that this is not simply about teaching tolerance. This is not only about the loving acceptance of someone who is experiencing gender dysphoria; it is also a concerted effort to undermine the sexual identity of children and popularize transgenderism. Should your children lovingly accept everyone in their school and learn how to honor and respect them? Yes. Is that what is really going on here? No. At least not entirely.
The problematic nature of gender theory is also seen in the medical practices that arise from it. Doctors are prescribing powerful hormone blocking drugs for twelve-year-olds in order to prevent puberty from occurring naturally.[ix] This is being done despite the fact that most children who express gender dysphoria will grow out of it. The social commentator, Ryan T. Anderson, has pointed out the incredible dissonance in his best-selling book When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment:
“There is no acknowledgement that the vast majority of children with gender dysphoria—eighty to ninety-five percent—naturally grow out of it, if they aren’t encouraged to transition . . . blocking puberty may interfere with the developmental mechanisms that help children accept their bodies, or that virtually none of the children put on puberty blockers grow out of their gender dysphoria.”[x]
Considering this fact, it would seem highly irresponsible to begin interventions involving hormones. Yet this is pushed as a solution, often with the claim that it will reduce the risk of suicide for the young person who is experiencing gender dysphoria. This does not really seem to address the risk of suicide, since the suicide rate for those who have undergone gender reassignment surgery is nineteen times higher than the general population.[xi] This doesn’t mean that the reassignment surgery is the cause of such a high rate, but simply that the surgery does not seem to lower the risk.
This is very sad in itself, and it ought to give us pause when we think about the way that we treat those of our friends, family, co-workers, or anyone in our lives who is experiencing that identity struggle. It ought to move us to a deep compassion for them and reflect on the way in which Jesus desires to love them through us. Just because someone has gone through a reassignment surgery, does that mean that they are less precious in God’s eyes? Does that mean that they are no longer made in His image and likeness? Does that mean that they are somehow unlovable? No. I hope you know those are lies. And while you may agree with my point here on a surface level, have you allowed the truth of their goodness to change your heart and actions to be those of love and compassion? Words don’t bring healing if they are only virtue signaling or lip service, and sooner or later people know whether they are truly loved as they are. It is true that this authentic love does not amount to a mindless approval of someone’s wrong course of action. You’ve heard me say many times that real love desires to be rooted in the truth, because real love always desires what is truly good for the beloved. We must also remember that to authentically love someone always involves a genuine delight in them, and a very basic acknowledgement of their goodness in the eyes of God; this is still true even if someone is embracing something they shouldn’t. These heartbreaking statistics regarding suicide should stir up in us a desire to love and protect those who experience gender dysphoria; to affirm their goodness, and to encourage them in the truth of their identity.
We should also be moved with a desire to protect our children from confusion about their own identities. Given the fact that the vast majority of children who express interest in a cross-gender identity will eventually come to embrace their biological identity, we should not be seeking to undermine their biological identity. Most children who experience confusion in this regard can be spared a great deal of confusion and pain if we simply affirm the God-given goodness of their sexual identity. I believe that if we thoughtfully consider what is going on with gender theory, we will reject it, and rightfully so.
There are many problems with the gender theory. In the first place, we don’t simply determine our own identity by choice. Each one of us was born either as a biological male or a biological female. This is true also of those termed “intersexed”, who all still possess either XX or XY chromosomes. Each one of us were created by God as a male or a female, and our bodies are a gift from Him. We should receive the body as such; we should accept ourselves the way we were created. We also ought to be loved and affirmed by others as we have been created.
This affirmation is particularly important, because a human being is a body-soul composite. As a body-soul composite, it is impossible to separate my body from myself. It is wrong to suggest that my body is not me. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the following concerning the matter:
“The human body shares in the dignity of the image of God: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Holy Spirit, and, as such, we may not despise (our) bodily life. Rather (we) are obliged to regard (the) body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it on the last day.”[xii]
In short, this means that 1) God made you very good, and 2) you includes your body. You, the parent, have a right and a responsibility to teach your children how to love, honor and respect others, including those who are experiencing gender dysphoria. You also have the job of teaching your child the truth of who they are.
But the statement that we don’t simply determine our own identity by choice applies beyond the biological level. Each one of us receives our own identity through the love and affirmation of others. A child discovers that she is lovable because her parents lavish loving attention upon her. A child knows that God has created him “very good” because his parents delight in him. The affirmation of what God has created is essential to childhood development.
“Affirmation is not something we do but something we are. The root of the word ‘affirmation’ is ‘firm’. We cannot become our true selves until another person affirms us. We become our true selves when we see our goodness reflected back to us in the eyes of another person who loves us.”[xiii]
This affirmation is important to the arena of a child’s psychosexual development, without which, a child could face a lot of confusion.
For Walt Heyer, a former self-identified “transgender woman”, it is important for parents to know the role that affirmation plays in their development. Walt, born a male, struggled with the gender issue for forty years, and spent eight as a self-described “woman” before de-transitioning. As Walt speaks about the moment his gender struggle began at the age of four, he mentions that his grandmother would encourage him in wearing dresses and affirm him in being a girl. Walt states, without qualification, that affirming a boy as being a girl is not truly affirmation; “In the very same moment that you are affirming that person, you are telling them there is something wrong with them. It’s not affirming a child. It’s causing them to be depressed and anxious about who they are.” After forty years of dealing personally with the transgender issue, Walt understands that, “there is absolutely nothing good with affirming someone in a cross-gender identity, because it will destroy their life.” I encourage you to learn more by hearing about his story here.
Healthy affirmation is an important aspect of your role as a parent. The way in which a girl is delighted in as a daughter helps to establish her identity as such. The way in which a young man is affirmed as a son helps to establish him as such. This affirmation of the sexual identity of your child is a blessing to them. This blessing is very important for them to receive both from their same-sex parent and their opposite-sex parent. The affirmation of a child in their sexual identity helps them to establish a secure identity as a young man or a young woman, and it allows them to experience the joy of being delighted in as they were created. This is what our children truly desire; boys want to know that they have what it takes to become men. We should affirm them in their ability to do so. Girls want to know that their strength, compassion, and beauty blesses those around them. We should affirm this blessing of their femininity. This need not lead us to shallow stereotypes unless we desire to impose them ourselves. In fact, over-restrictive stereotypes can undermine affirmation and cause confusion. When we offer healthy affirmation to children and young people, it is an affirmation of what God has done:
“You formed my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works. My very self you know. My bones are not hidden from you” (Ps 139).
God the Father has declared that He has created you and me and each person “very good” (Gn 1:31). We are invited to receive our own selves as sacred gift. It should be obvious that absolute self-determination of the new gender theory stands in opposition to all that God has revealed to us in His Word. As such, gender theory must be rejected by all Catholics, and especially by parents.
At the same time, we must acknowledge there are also some adults who experience gender dysphoria, and we ought to strive to know how to love them well and affirm them in the truth of how God created them, just as we would for any other person. It is true that we should not affirm anyone in a cross-gender identity, but it we can be present to them in love as a friend. It is also true that someone experiencing gender dysphoria should not be blamed for their identity struggle. Bear in mind as well, that those who are struggling with this issue are not necessarily the ones who want this to be in the forefront of the minds of children. To forget this simple fact could lead to the scapegoating that has plagued our culture relentlessly. Each person who has experienced gender dysphoria is infinitely loved and desired by the God of the universe, who created them “very good.” We must participate with Him in affirming their goodness as being made in His image and likeness. They have an equal human dignity to you and me. Lest this be forgotten, I ask that we all spend some time praying with Matthew 25:31-46 with a special attention to whether we are treating everyone as we would treat Jesus.
Jesus also warns us not to be a stumbling block for children. He tells us that if we bring confusion to children and cause them to sin, it would be better for us if a millstone were hung around our neck and we were thrown into the sea. This is found in Matthew 18:6-7. We should spend some time praying through this with a special attention to whether we are acting out of a desire for the true good of children or whether we are acting out of a desire to win the approval of the world. If we desire the approval of the world, we will become a stumbling block for some of Jesus’ little ones.
To close, I would like to share with you a few resources on this topic. First, I highly encourage you to read and reflect on the Vatican document, Male and Female He Created Them. This ought to form our understanding of the human person and help to root us in the truth of who we are as God’s children. If you wish to delve more fully into the topic of gender dysphoria as a whole, I recommend Ryan T. Anderson’s aforementioned book. This book touches on many things that I cannot address in this brief letter. One of the most important resources that I have come across in recent years, though, is not something that deals directly with gender dysphoria or struggles with sexual identity in particular, but something that deals with inner healing in general. Even if we do not struggle profoundly with our sexual identity, we all, in some form, struggle with identity wounds that can affect any arena of life. It is important for us to remember that we believe in a God who is a Healer. We believe in a God who restores the broken chapters of our lives. Jesus Christ, the Divine Physician, desires permission to heal these broken places. It is for this reason that I am continually telling you about the ministry of Dr. Bob Schuchts and the John Paul II Healing Center as well as his book, Be Healed. This book and his ministry have blessed many people with an array of different interior wounds, enabling them to experience the loving gaze of God the Father.
You who are parents are given the sacred task of caring for God’s children, of revealing Him to them, and of revealing to them their own blessedness as sons and daughters. Know of my constant prayers for you in this task. Do not be afraid to speak the truth of your child’s blessedness as your son or your daughter and that their masculinity and femininity are beautiful God-given gifts.
[xiii] Dennis Linn, Shelia Fabricant Linn, and Matthew Linn, S.J., “Belonging: Bonds of Healing and Recovery,” (Paulist Press, NY, 1992), 89-90.
Fr. Dan Kogut is the pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Pinckney, Michigan. He formerly served as chaplain of Fr. Luke M. Powers Catholic High School in Flint. He is a graduate of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
Financial abuses come in all shapes and sizes. If you’ve given any thought to the issue, the first thing that may come to mind is someone within the church “dipping into the poor box” or grabbing a few dollars out of the collection plate.
But for some, it’s go big or go home.
First, we have the sad tale of Bishop Michael J. Bransfield, who was apparently dipping pretty hard into the till. The WaPo has published an in-depth review of the abuse – financial and otherwise – from this errant prelate. In one case Bransfield created a charity nominally intended to help the poor in West Virginia (in the words of one witness, “a discretionary fund”) and instructed “a church official” to route money to this fund from church and charity accounts. He then wrote numerous checks from the charity to some of his favorite bishops to curry their favor and “burnish his reputation”. Among these gifts included approximately $30,000 to Cardinal Kevin Farrell, as “gifts” to help him renovate his Rome apartment.
In fact, he sent more than 600 cash gifts to fellow clergy members, none of whom saw a problem with receiving $10,000 or more at a time from this bishop. Archbishop Lori, who was assigned the task of investigating Bransfield’s sexual abuses, acknowledged that he himself had received cash gifts totaling $7,500 from Bransfield. He has now returned that money to the diocese. Apparently, this wasn’t a problem for the archbishop at the time.
As ChurchMilitant reports, Farrell was “widely mocked by Catholics after he told Catholic News Service he had been “shocked” last year on hearing the allegations against McCarrick”. Farrell was also “shocked” at the reports of sexual abuse by Legionnaire’s founder Fr. Marcial Maciel. One might well guess that he is equally “shocked” that a fellow bishop with no source of income aside from his diocesan salary was stealing from the diocese and a charitable hospital in one of the poorest dioceses in the United States.
Bransfield has also been identified by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò as part of the “corrupt gay mafia” plaguing the Vatican.
Bishop Bransfield’s theft (which may have exceed $21 million rerouted from a single entity alone, Wheeling Hospital, in additional to thefts from other sources) is child’s play when it comes to financial abuse on an international scale.
Vatican officials have become implicated in the potential theft and/or misuse of hundreds of millions of euros from Vatican coffers, used in various shady real estate dealings, or simply missing altogether. Some of these officials have already been convicted of theft and laicized. One, Cardinal Decaminada, “had a reputation for leaving the IDI’s offices near the Vatican with shoeboxes full of cash”. No one thought this was a problem until he got caught. As the article reports, any who tried to stem the tide of thefts were dealt with in an appropriate manner.
Closer to home, ChurchMilitant has reported on the alleged embezzlement of million of dollars by Fr. Peter Miqueli, which he used to “fuel” his homosexual lifestyle. and who was allegedly being “coached by” Msgr. Gregory Mustaciuolo, the vicar general of the Archdiocese of New York. That Cardinal Dolan knew all about it, and did nothing to stop it, is commonly accepted.
Financial abuses are nothing new. Even the National Catholic Reporter reported in 2011 that it would be “the next big thing”. However, as expected, the gay-friendly Reporter (and gay-friendly priest Richard McBrien, the James Martin of his generation) makes no connection between the financial and the sexual.
Unless and until the bishops step up and clean house, the world, the flesh, and the devil will continue to be the real rulers of “the Church in America”.
A “panda cafe” in which Chow Chow dogs are dyed to look like panda bears “has triggered a heated online debate over the treatment of animals“. Simply dying the fur of these animals – changing their outward appearance to make them look like something they’re not – is being perceived as “harming” the animals, and the mere possibility of causing harm has rankled the PETA crowd and their many allies.
Meanwhile, in Texas, a woman petitioned a court to force her 7 year-old to undergo treatment to “turn him into a girl“. The history and background of this case is horrifying. The father reports that the mother would lock the boy in a room (when he was 3 years old) and tell him that “there’s a monster that eats little boys”. She has forced him to dress and act like a girl when he otherwise dresses as a boy and plays games in what we would all expect to be a boy-like manner.
Despite the boy’s own preferences (which, as the article notes, he has made well known), the mother took this to a Texas jury, which agreed with her demand to force him to pretend to be a girl. He will eventually be forced to take puberty blockers. He will eventually be forced to take female hormones. Right now, the mother is forcing the father of the boy (and everyone else) to refer to to the boy as a girl. Eventually, James will be forced to “fully transition” to a female in appearance, which may even require surgery to mutilate his body. This brings Munchausen’s Syndrome to a new level.
Yet, other than the usual conservative Catholic websites, there’s no heated online debate, no discussion, no dialog whatsoever. Just acceptance.
Others have spoken out most vehemently against the violence being done to this young boy, referring to it by the name we date not speak: child abuse.
The President of the American College of Pediatricians, Dr. Michelle Cretella, says encouraging transgender identity is child abuse.
“Indoctrinating pre-school kids with the lie that you can be trapped in the wrong body, again, that’s disrupting their normal reality testing and cognitive development. Those things are abusive,” Cretella stated during a Heritage Foundation forum about transgenderism.
Ten years ago you could not have imagined a world where people get upset at the “harm” caused by a dog pretending it’s a panda bear by having its fur dyed, yet raise no alarm whatsoever at the court-enabled decision to force a 7 year old boy to pretend to be a girl through the use of court orders, drugs, surgery and psychological warfare.
This is mass delusion. Those dogs will never be pandas.
Kudos from everyone here at The Laity for the brave souls who took five “Pachamama” statues from a Roman Catholic church of Santa Maria in Transpontina and threw them off the edge of Ponte Sant’Angelo into the Tiber. This is a kind of “liberation theology” we can get behind.
While those associated with the Amazon Synod pretend it’s something else, Pachamama is an Inca goddess – a false god – who was an evil god who turned into a good god at some point, like a bad professional wrestling skit. The cult of Pachamama has also made inroads into Catholicism. As the Wikipedia entry linked above states, “Many rituals related to the Pachamama are practiced in conjunction with those of Christianity, to the point that many families are simultaneously Christian and pachamamistas. Pachamama is sometimes syncretized as the Virgin of Candelaria.”
One of the things we stress at The Laity is that you have to know the Mass in order to know when something has gone terribly wrong in the Mass. It’s also an unfortunate reality that most Catholics in the pews don’t recognize when the Mass has gone off the rails. So how can we spot a liturgical abuse when it occurs, and what should we do about it?
Defining liturgical abuse
Simply stated, a liturgical abuse occurs when the priest intentionally deviates from the norms of the Mass, substituting his private alterations for the liturgical norms and rubrics of the Mass, as set forth in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (the GIRM).
Most errors are minor and can be overlooked, and forgiven. The priest may forget to open the Mass with the sign of the Cross, or may forget to include the Kyrie. While these minor errors may detract from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, they do not render the Mass invalid or illicit. Accidents do happen, and even the most reverent and careful priest may make a mistake during the course of the Mass. While we should expect piety and reverence from our priests, we should not expect perfection, even in the celebration in holy remembrance of the Lord’s most perfect sacrifice.
The Liturgy is sacred and sacramental. It is also a public, communal celebration in accordance with the entire Church, a “sacrament of unity”. It is not a private act of the priest in which he is the celebrant and we are merely observers. We are active participants in the Mass. When abuses occur, everyone – the priest, the congregation, and the entire unity of the Church – is harmed.
All liturgical abuses are, by their very nature, serious offenses against the Body and Blood of Our Lord. As Pope St. John Paul II observed,”Fidelity to the rites and to the authentic texts of the Liturgy is a requirement of the Lex orandi, which must always be in conformity with the Lex credendi. A lack of fidelity on this point may even affect the very validity of the sacraments.” Apostolic Letter VICESIMUS QUINTUS ANNUS of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II.
In this regard it is not possible to be silent about the abuses, even quite grave ones, against the nature of the Liturgy and the Sacraments as well as the tradition and the authority of the Church, which in our day not infrequently plague liturgical celebrations in one ecclesial environment or another. In some places the perpetration of liturgical abuses has become almost habitual, a fact which obviously cannot be allowed and must cease.
The harm caused by liturgical abuses ought to be self-evident; at best it detracts from the sacramental nature of the liturgical celebration. At worst, it destroys the sacrament, rendering the Mass invalid or illicit. It is a cause for confusion and grave scandal in the Church. It causes the laity to lose understanding and appreciation of Christ’s sacrifice for us, and has caused untold thousands to abandon the Church, for if Christ is not present on the altar, the pew sitter’s perceived “needs” can just as easily be fulfilled by the local non-denominational church down the street.
This article draws no distinction between the Novus Ordo (Post-Vatican II or New Mass) and the Tridentine Mass (Traditional Latin Mass) and is not intended to be an argument for or against either. The members of The Laity attend one or the other, or both, as befits their preference for the celebration of the Mass.
How to spot and take action on liturgical abuses
First, become familiar with the Mass. Every Catholic church has missallettes in the pews. The missallette contains the actual word-for-word structure of the Mass and is easy to follow, beginning with the Entrance Procession and proceeding through the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and ending with the Concluding Rite. Pick up the book and follow along. Eucharistic Prayer 1 is usually used on major feast days, 2 is the shortest and usually reserved for daily Mass, 3 is preferred for Sundays and holy days, and 4 is the lengthier version that includes a fuller summary of salvation history. This site is a great resource for understanding the Mass.
Second, actively participate in the Mass. Learn the prayers, learn the sequence of the Mass, and gain a greater understanding of what you need to know as a full participant in the sacred liturgy. The USCCB has some good resources on understanding the meaning of each section of the Mass; better yet, attend a “teaching Mass” or explanatory Mass”. If you can’t find one, ask your priest to do one, usually in conjunction with an RCIA class.
Third, if you see something that doesn’t follow the rubrics of the Mass, or something just seems out of place, then you have every right to ask your priest for an explanation. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to the priest, then ask a fellow parishioner. Unless/until you absolutely know something is wrong AND you know there can be no other explanation, never accuse the priest of a liturgical abuse. Not only may it have been an honest mistake (many priests are horribly overworked), but there may be a good explanation. For example, if the priest neglects to purify the sacred vessels after the Liturgy of the Eucharist, you may ask, “I couldn’t help but notice that you did not purify the vessels at the end of Mass. Is there a reason why it could not have been done during the Mass?” (In some dioceses, the local bishop may permit a priest to forego the purification during the Mass, particularly if the Mass needs to be shortened or if it was a long Mass with many vessels to be purified, as long as it is done immediately after the Mass).
Even better, before speaking the priest, go to another Mass with him and see if the same thing occurs. If so, you have a greater basis to engage with the priest on that issue. Don’t be a part of the problem: always act with charity towards the priest – his hands have been blessed by the bishop, and even in egregious circumstances involving an allegation of liturgical abuse you must not act without charity, and always with the hope of correcting the abuse. This is not about being right or winning arguments. If the priest can’t or refuses to explain, and does not correct the abuse, accurately note the circumstances and contact the bishop.
Remember, it’s not just priests who can commit liturgical abuses. Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, deacons, lectors, altar servers, and even the choir are fully capable of ruining a Mass.
What are some prime examples of liturgical abuses?
Many of us at The Laity have seen our fair share of liturgical abuses, and most of us can name three or four that we’ve seen repeated many times in the course of our lives. The most common liturgical abuses include:
Turning the Mass into a personal theatrical performance. At least one priest in the Archdiocese of Hartford breaks the Eucharist with his arms extended over his head, then slowly brings them down in a circle to meet over the paten. Meanwhile, pieces of Our Lord are sprinkled liberally over the altar in this “performance”; some may even end up in his hair or on the floor. Others take performance to a different level: You would be hard-pressed to believe this is a Catholic Mass.
Changing the Eucharistic prayers. This is not as rare as you might think. A visiting priest at St. Alphonsus in South Glastonbury actually typed out (or had a small book) and brought his own prayers with him, laying them on top of the Lectionary as he gleefully read them to us. (Not a valid Mass). Another priest at a different church told us that he “prided himself on memorizing the Mass” and then proceeded to completely butcher the wording of the Eucharistic Prayer to the point where the Mass appeared invalid.
Omitting sections of the Mass. We’ve seen some priests who have skipped entire sections of the Mass, one even laughingly stating afterward, “I forgot to say [the penitential prayers]. Oh well.”
The Happy Clappy soliloquy. “I’d like to thank the choir for that wonderful rendition of On Eagle’s Wings (claps). And the ushers (claps). And we couldn’t have done this without our lectors (claps).” A priest in another church interrupted his homily to explain, apparently “moved by the spirit”, “I’m feeling real good. Let’s all sing a song. ‘If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands (clap clap)…’”. All the way through. Yes, this really happened. And the “audience” (perhaps 90% who knew no better) clapped and sang along.
Refusing to administer the Eucharist except in the hand, or refusing to give the Eucharist to those in a kneeling posture. This happened to yours truly at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, in this case by an extraordinary minister of the Holy Eucharist. I was so shocked and embarrassed I accepted it; I would have a different response today.
Requiring postures not set forth in the GIRM. There are churches in the Archdiocese of Hartford that do not have kneelers. While yours truly was not told to stand with the other parishioners during the times we are all supposed to kneel in adoration of Our Lord, it was clear that kneeling at any point in the Mass was highly discouraged.
Administering the Eucharist to those the priest knows are not eligible to receive. This most often happens during Christmas, Easter, funerals and weddings. “Prudence” is often given as the reason why the priest knowingly administered the Sacrament to non-Catholics (don’t want to cause a scene), but there comes a point where the priest must prevent scandal and keep the Holy Sacrament from being profaned. Unfortunately, and while we are not aware of this occurring in this Archdiocese, there have been occasions where the (non) recipients have complained to the bishop, and the bishop threw the priest under the proverbial bus.
Permitting (or arranging for) extra-liturgical celebrations during the Mass. Liturgical dancers… Enough said.
Permitting or encouraging non-liturgical music at Mass. It’s not about taste in music. Music is liturgical, or it’s not, and non-liturgical music has no place in the Mass. Sacred music must embrace our communio with God in Heaven, not with each other. As Fr. Paul Scalia has noted in an erudite article on the subject, today’s modern music is merely a self-centered conversation about us: “He humbles Himself to dwell among us under the form of bread and wine, while we ignore Him and sing about ourselves and to ourselves.”
Homilies that do not address the Gospel. While it is permissible to address the homily to any part of the readings, and it’s also permissible to omit the homily (only during a daily Mass, or on other days for extraordinary circumstances), and it’s also permissible to give a bad homily (not every priest can be St. John of the Cross), it’s not permissible to give a homily that ignores the readings altogether. “By means of the homily the mysteries of the faith and the guiding principles of the Christian life are expounded from the sacred text, during the course of the liturgical year; the homily, therefore, is to be highly esteemed as part of the liturgy itself.” (Constitution On The Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium). Father, we understand that you want to get folks to show up for the parish picnic and get some hamburgers and hotdogs, but first feed your lambs with the Word of God.
McCarrick’s abuse was an “open secret” amongst the heirarchy. At least 16 men who were under the age of 16 at the time of their abuse have given evidence against McCarrick.
“I am not even sure I know what ‘open secret’ means,” Doe wrote in an essay published online on Oct. 17. “What I do know is that no one ever talked about McCarrick and the boys.”
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As previously reported by CNA, during that same period, McCarrick already had a well-established reputation among seminarians as a predator, with one former student at a New York seminary telling CNA last year that “the dean of our theology school was a classmate at CUA with McCarrick, and he knew about the rumors.”
The priest told CNA that so well-known was McCarrick’s reputation, the priest said, that when McCarrick would accompany Cooke to visit the seminary there was a standing joke that they had to “hide the handsome ones” before he arrived.
