"There are evils of a physical order..."

On June 7, 1986, Our Lady told Father Gobbi of the Marian Movement of Priests, "In these times, you all need to hasten to take shelter in the refuge of my Immaculate Heart, because grave threats of evil are hanging over you. There are first of all evils of a spiritual order, which can harm the supernatural life of your souls. Sin is spreading as the worst and most pernicious of epidemics, which is bringing sickness and death everywhere to many souls. If you live habitually in mortal sin, you are spiritually dead, and if you come to the end of life in this state, eternal death in hell awaits you. Hell exists; it is eternal, and today many are running the danger of going there, because they are being contaminated by this mortal disease. There are evils of a physical order, such as infirmity, disasters, accidents, droughts, earthquakes, and incurable diseases which are spreading about. Even in that which happens to you in the natural order, see a warning sign for yourselves. You should see a sign of divine justice, which cannot allow the innumerable crimes which are committed every day to go unpunished. There are evils of a social order, such as divisions and hatred, famine and poverty, exploitation and slavery, violence, terrorism and war. To be protected from all these evils, I invite you to place yourselves under shelter in the safe refuge of my Immaculate Heart...

But, in these times, you have need above all of being defended from the terrible snares of my Adversary, who has succeeded in establishing his reign in the world. It is the reign which is opposed to Christ; it is the reign of Antichrist....The hour is in preparation when the man of iniquity, who wants to put himself in the place of God to have himself adored as God, is about to manifest himself in all his power. Under the bloody scourge of this terrible trial, how are you to avoid being scattered and discouraged and to remain strong in the faith and faithful only to Jesus and to his Gospel? My Immaculate Heart will become your strongest defense, the shield of protection which will safeguard you from every attack of my Adversary."

And this is precisely what St. Louis de Montfort prophesied in True Devotion to Mary, "..Mary must become as terrible as an army in battle array to the devil and his followers, especially in these latter times. For Satan, knowing that he has little time - even less now than ever - to destroy souls, intensifies his efforts and his onslaughts every day. He will not hesitate to stir up savage persecutions and set treacherous snares for Mary's faithful servants and children whom he finds more difficult to overcome than others. It is chiefly in reference to these last wicked persecutions of the devil, daily increasing until the advent of the reign of anti-Christ, that we should understand that first and well-known prophesy and curse of God uttered against the serpent in the garden of paradise..." (True Devotion to Mary, 50, 51).

As the world economy continues to spiral out of control, as disasters multiply in the natural order, and as the darkness continues to advance, we - the faithful remnant - must take refuge in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

There are all too many people today - including Catholics - who have become puffed up with pride and who seek to justify their sins. Such people scoff at the notion of the natural order manifesting as a "sign of divine justice." But such people are really arguing with God Himself. For we read in Leviticus 18: 26-28: "You, however, whether natives or resident aliens, must keep my statutes and decrees forbidding all such abominations by which the previous inhabitants defiled the land; otherwise the land will vomit you out also for having defiled it, just as it vomited out the nations before you."

Related reading here.

"It is a diabolical disorientation..."

"Let people say the Rosary every day, Our Lady has repeated that in all of Her apparitions, as if to fortify us in these times of diabolical disorientation, in order that we not let ourselves be deceived by false doctrines...Unfortunately, in religious matters, the people for the most part are ignorant and allow themselves to be led wherever they are taken. Hence, the great responsibility of the one who has the duty of leading them..."

"It is a diabolical disorientation that is invading the world, deceiving souls! It is necessary to stand up to the devil."

- Sister Lucia of Fatima

Related reading here and here.

The Culture of Death displays its hatred...

The message of the Culture of Death is one of hatred and despair. Contrast that message with these words from Pope John Paul II given during a homily on Boston Common: "I want to meet you and tell you all - men and women of all creeds and ethnic origins, children and youth, fathers and mothers, the sick and the elderly - that God loves you, that he has given you a dignity as human beings that is beyond compare.."

The Moloch State is founded on an ideology which is rooted in hatred and violence. But wherever we find the presence of evil, we always find the presence of good by grace. Saint Paul tells us that, "The free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many." (Romans 5: 15). Redemption is ongoing. And where evil grows, there the hope for good also grows.

We will, with the help of God's grace, overcome evil with good and hatred with love. The message which the Culture of Death offers is not attractive to people of good will. And it never will be. For it offers no hope. Look at the picture posted by an abortion clinic and meditate on Matthew 12:34.

Related reading here and here.

"Top kill" fails

Our Lady to Fr. Stephano Gobbi,
November 15, 1990,
Malvern PA


"I announce to you that the hour of the great trial is on the point of arriving. The great trial has arrived for your country. How many times, as a concerned and sorrowing mother, have I endeavored to urge my children to follow the path of conversion and of return to the Lord. I have not been listened to. You have continued to walk along the way of rejection of God, and of His law of love. Sins of impurity have become ever more widespread, and immorality has spread like a sea which has submerged all things.

Homosexuality, a sin of impurity which is against nature, has been justified; recourse to the means of preventing life have become commonplace, while abortions - these killings of innocent children, that cry for vengeance before the face of God - have spread and are performed in every part of your homeland.The moment of divine justice and of great mercy has now arrived.

You will know the hour of weakness and of poverty; the hour of suffering and defeat; the purifying hour of the great chastisement. The great trial has arrived for your Church. How great is your responsibility, O Pastors of the Holy Church of God! You continue along the path of division from the Pope and of the rejection of his Magisterium; indeed, in a hidden way, there is in preparation a true schism which could soon become open and proclaimed...And then, there will remain only a small faithful remnant, over which I will keep watch in the garden of my Immaculate Heart.The great trial has arrived for all humanity. The chastisement, predicted by me at Fatima and contained in that part of the secret which has not yet been revealed, is about to take place. The great moment of divine justice and of mercy has come upon the world."

Related reading: Father Hebert and chastisement

Cardinal Marc Ouellet: Equating Marriage and Homosexuality in Schools is "Harmful to Children."

Speaking at the May 15 Congress of Campaign Life Quebec, His Eminence raised concern over the positive presentation of homosexuality and same-sex "marriage" in schools. With such questionable education, the Cardinal said, "You are deforming conscience. You are warping the processes of psycho-sexual and psycho-social identification processes of youth."

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in its document entitled Considerations Regarding Proposals To Give Legal Recognition To Unions Between Homosexual Persons, said that, "Allowing children to be adopted by persons living in such unions would actually mean doing violence to these children, in the sense that their condition of dependency would be used to place them in an environment that is not conducive to their full development." (No. 7).

Homosexual indoctrination is just another form of child abuse. Why is it that the media isn't sounding the alarm? What do you think?

Related reading here.

A Three Hour Tour...

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,

A tale of a fateful trip

That started from this tropic port

Aboard this tiny ship

The mate was a mighty sailing man,

The President lame and unsure

Five passengers set sail that day

For a three hour tour, a three hour tour

The weather started getting rough,

The tiny ship was tossed,

If not for the weight of the toxic sludge

The President would be lost, the President would be lost

The ship set ground on the shore of this unchartered lethal ruin

With Obama

The Skipper too

The BP Billionaire and his wife,

The professor and Janet N

Here on Obama's Isle

So this is the tale of the throwaways,

They're here for a long, long time

They'll have to fill that gaping hole,

It's an uphill climb

The first mate and the President too,

Will do their very best,

To make the others all forget

Who's responsible for this mess

So join us here each week my friend

You're sure to see a mile

Of poisonous slime and scorched wildlife

Here on Obama's Isle.

The Homosexual Hate Movement: Another form of totalitarianism

Pope John Paul II, in "Memory and Identity: Conversations at the Dawn of a Millennium," notes how, "If, on the one hand, the West continues to provide evidence of zealous evangelization, on the other hand anti-evangelical currents are equally strong. They strike at the very foundation of human morality, influencing the family and promoting a morally permissive outlook: divorce, free love, abortion, contraconception, the fight against life in its initial phases and in its final phase, the manipulation of life. This program is supported by enormous financial resources, not only in individual countries, but also on a worldwide scale. It has great centers of economic power at its disposal, through which it attempts to impose its own conditions on developing countries. Faced with this, one may legitimately ask whether this is not another form of totalitarianism, subtly concealed under the appearances of democracy." (p. 48).

The Homosexual Hate Movement is indeed totalitarian. It seeks to impose its agenda and to punish those who refuse to accept or condone illicit same-sex relationships. For example, British and Canadian homosexual activists want to punish the African State of Malawi because it will not recognize same-sex liaisons. See here.

Radical homosexual activists are engaged in a psychological attack in the form of propaganda aimed at those who are opposed to homosexuality. Their goal is to convert the mind and the will. As homosexual activists Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen explain in their book "After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear & Hatred of Gays in the 90s," "Desensitization aims at lowering the intensity of antigay emotional reactions to a level approximating sheer indifference; Jamming attempts to blockade pr counteract the rewarding 'pride in prejudice'..by attaching to homohatred a pre-existing, and punishing, sense of shame in being a bigot....Both Desensitization and Jamming...are mere preludes to our highest - though necessarily very long-range - goal, which is Conversion. It isn't enough that antigay bigots should become confused about us, or even indifferent to us - we are safest, in the long run, if we can actually make them like us. Conversion aims at just this...By Conversion we actually mean something far more profoundly threatening to the American Way of Life, without which no truly sweeping social change can occur. We mean conversion of the average American's emotions, mind, and will, through a planned psychological attack , in the form of propaganda fed to the nation via the media." (p. 153).

The Homosexual Hate Movement is, by its own admission, engaged in psychological warfare through the use of propaganda to convert people to its agenda. And even that this conversion is "profoundly threatening to the American way of life." And when these radical activists fail to get their way, as we've witnessed in California and in other parts of the country, they can become violent. Indeed, this hate movement will use and all means - including economic sanctions - to impose its ideology. And that is totalitarianism.

Related reading here.

Persecution Watch: Catholic priest and homosexual activist calls for a Super-Treaty Monitoring Body at UN

Professor (and Father) Michael O'Flaherty, a radical homosexual activist from Ireland, is calling for a Super-Treaty Monitoring Body at the United Nations. Fr. Flaherty promotes what is known as the Yogyakarta Principles. Read about this demonic plan to usurp parental rights and to indoctrinate children in gender-bending ideology here.

I've said this before. The new humanitarian religion of Antichrist will fully embrace homosexuality. Vices must be turned into gods in preparation for the Man of Sin who will regard Christianity as a "barbaric religion" which must be emptied of its supernatural content while its dogmas are reinterpreted to render them "more fit" for modern-man.

Persecution Watch: Catholic Church compared to Mafia

The European Parliament Platform for Secularism is accusing the Catholic Church of protecting criminals and is comparing the Mystical Body of Christ with the Sicilian Mafia. During a meeting on child abuse, the Platform for Secularism suggested that the European Union should establish an inquiry committee to monitor the Church.

What is the ultimate agenda of the European Parliament Platform for Secularism? To discredit the one institution - the Roman Catholic Church - which stands in the way of the Culture of Death. The EPPS has been engaged in a propaganda campaign against the Church, accusing her of hindering the "sexual and reproductive health rights" of women. See here.

Related reading here.

Do we honor veterans or do we simply forget about them?

There is an old saying: "Nobody loves a soldier until the enemy is at the gate." I have often reflected on that phrase and how at times it rings true. WBZ is reporting that the town of Hardwick has cancelled its Memorial Day Parade. Local veterans (and I'm one of them) are understandably upset. But then, the veteran has often been treated as something akin to a disposable razor: when he has served his purpose, he is promptly discarded. After returning home from Vietnam, Mr. Joe Szczepanek says, "people spit on me. I got hit in the head with a sign. I got called a baby killer." Many other veterans were treated with contempt or simply ignored altogether.

My own father served in Korea and during Vietnam. As a career military veteran, he was denied a hearing aid (he had become tone deaf after serving as a Tank Commander in Korea). And when he died, I had to fight just to obtain a flag marker for his grave. You cannot begin to imagine how that made me feel. In order to understand my hurt, you would have to know the depth of my love for a great man who consecrated his entire life to the United States military - both in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force.

The Church had a policy years ago which was discriminatory toward military families. I addressed this in my previous Blog post entitled Cardinal Sean's rationale which may be found here. A woman named Colleen took exception to my post in a comment left at this Blog. She wrote: "Mr. Melanson, may I ask how old you are? The reason I ask is that the Church USED to, MANY years ago have a policy that families needed to be residents of the Parish associated with the Catholic school where they chose to send their children...simply because the parishioners in those days funded the majority of the happenings in the school. This ruling has been changed for YEARS now and any/all students are welcome to attend. Please get your facts straight before you falsely leading people astray. There is already enough of that going on without your help."

To which I responded: "Colleen, I submit that it is you who are engaging in dishonesty. Either that or your English comprehension skills are sorely deficient.

Cardinal O'Malley, in his feeble attempt to justify his decision to find a Catholic school for the ward of lesbian parents who are engaged in an illicit relationship, wrote, "Catholic schools exist for the good of the children and our admission standards must reflect that. We have never had categories of people who were excluded." The key word in this passage is "never." The Cardinal's statement constitutes [by your own admission in the comment you left] a falsehood.
Which is why I responded, "But His Eminence is mistaken, As my parents can testify, I was denied admission into Catholic schools because my father was career military. My parents were told that five years of residency was required before I could be enrolled. But because my father would receive new orders every three or four years, I was denied admission. Many other children of military families were similarly denied admission into Catholic schools for this reason."

Military dependents were in fact denied admission. You admit this writing that, "..the Church USED to, MANY years ago have a policy that families needed to be residents of the Parish associated with the Catholic school where they chose to send their children...simply because the parishioners in those days funded the majority of the happenings in the school. This ruling has been changed for YEARS now.."

Children of military parents who were serving this great nation were excluded. This is all the more outrageous since their parents were making great sacrifices to serve this great nation.

As for the child of lesbian parents, as Archbishop Chaput so eloquently put it, 'Our schools are meant to be 'partners in faith' with parents. If parents don't respect the beliefs of the Church, or live in a manner that openly rejects those beliefs, then partnering with those parents becomes very difficult, if not impossible. It also places unfair stress on the children, who find themselves caught in the middle, and on their teachers, who have an obligation to teach the authentic faith of the Church.' If anyone needs to get their facts straight to avoid 'falsely leading people astray,' it is yourself. At any rate, I stand by my statement. The Cardinal's statement was incorrect."

I doubt my response will produce the slightest crack in Colleen's wall of conviction. Some people are anxious to accommodate those who "don't respect the beliefs of the Church" or who "live in a manner that openly rejects those beliefs." What a shame that my parents [cradle Catholics who remained faithful to the Church's Magisterium and who served this nation so honorably] couldn't receive at least the same level of respect as those who view the teachings of Christ's Church with contempt and or indifference.

Nobody loves a soldier until the enemy is at the gate.

Related reading here.

"...God is sending them a deceiving power so that they may believe the lie..."

"And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. But the one who restrains is to do so only for the present, until he is removed from the scene. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord (Jesus) will kill with the breath of his mouth and render powerless by the manifestation of his coming, the one whose coming springs from the power of Satan in every mighty deed and in signs and wonders that lie, and in every wicked deceit for those who are perishing because they have not accepted the love of truth so that they may be saved. Therefore, God is sending them a deceiving power so that they may believe the lie, that all who have not believed the truth but have approved wrongdoing may be condemned." (2 Thessalonians 2: 6-12).

This scriptural passage is most important. For here Paul emphasizes that the power of the Antichrist is one of seduction. Antichrist is a seducer who seeks to draw people away from the truth. He will work from within religion to seduce people to abandon traditional Christianity and to worship him. How effective will he be? Father Livio Fanzaga, commenting on The Antichrist by Vladimir Soloviev, writes, "So great is the Antichrist's power of seduction over believers - and they never realize it - that he will openly pose as the savior and restorer of religion and universal peace. He will deceive many."

But a tiny remnant will remain faithful. As Pope Paul VI said, "It is enough if only a tiny flock, no matter how small, survives." These words are sobering and should speak loudly to us. Father Fanzaga continues, "In Soloviev, the remnant is defined by recognition of Jesus Christ, 'Himself and all that comes from Him. This is their total horizon and the inexhaustible meaning of life. The tiny flock is not made up of the avant guard intelligentsia - the intellectuals and the theologians have joined the emperor. Neither are they defined in terms of a moral code. Rather they are those who refuse to serve two masters.' I tend to regard them as ordinary people, the humble and those who remain faithful." (The Wrath of God, p. 33).

Pope Benedict XVI, as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, in an essay entitled, "A Final Reflection: Soloviev's vision of eschatological unity," reminds us that: "..the Antichrist has his followers, and always even among those occupying the highest spiritual offices.....Therefore, we should already, and always, be motivated by concern lest, with big Christian words and wrapped in a cloak of Christianity, we become servants of the Antichrist, who wants to set up his kingdom in this world and to render the future kingdom of Christ redundant."

Happy Birthday Padre Pio

"I have often raised my hand in the silence of the night and in my solitary cell, blessing you all and presenting you to Jesus and to our father, St. Francis of Assisi." - Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Novena to St. Padre Pio.

I am blessed to share a birthday with Padre Pio. And I pray to him often. Pio used to say, "Pray, hope and don't worry." We all need to heed his advice. Especially in our troubled times.

Meditation: Matthew 6: 25-34.

MacArthur: Appeasement but begets new and bloodier war

Update.

"...I now turn to the Korean conflict. While I was not consulted prior to the President's decision to intervene in support of the Republic of Korea, that decision from a military standpoint, proved a sound one, as we -- as I said, proved a sound one, as we hurled back the invader and decimated his forces. Our victory was complete, and our objectives within reach, when Red China intervened with numerically superior ground forces.

This created a new war and an entirely new situation, a situation not contemplated when our forces were committed against the North Korean invaders; a situation which called for new decisions in the diplomatic sphere to permit the realistic adjustment of military strategy.
Such decisions have not been forthcoming.

While no man in his right mind would advocate sending our ground forces into continental China, and such was never given a thought, the new situation did urgently demand a drastic revision of strategic planning if our political aim was to defeat this new enemy as we had defeated the old.
Apart from the military need, as I saw It, to neutralize the sanctuary protection given the enemy north of the Yalu, I felt that military necessity in the conduct of the war made necessary: first the intensification of our economic blockade against China; two the imposition of a naval blockade against the China coast; three removal of restrictions on air reconnaissance of China's coastal areas and of Manchuria; four removal of restrictions on the forces of the Republic of China on Formosa, with logistical support to contribute to their effective operations against the common enemy.

For entertaining these views, all professionally designed to support our forces committed to Korea and bring hostilities to an end with the least possible delay and at a saving of countless American and allied lives, I have been severely criticized in lay circles, principally abroad, despite my understanding that from a military standpoint the above views have been fully shared in the past by practically every military leader concerned with the Korean campaign, including our own Joint Chiefs of Staff.

I called for reinforcements but was informed that reinforcements were not available. I made clear that if not permitted to destroy the enemy built-up bases north of the Yalu, if not permitted to utilize the friendly Chinese Force of some 600,000 men on Formosa, if not permitted to blockade the China coast to prevent the Chinese Reds from getting succor from without, and if there were to be no hope of major reinforcements, the position of the command from the military standpoint forbade victory.

We could hold in Korea by constant maneuver and in an approximate area where our supply line advantages were in balance with the supply line disadvantages of the enemy, but we could hope at best for only an indecisive campaign with its terrible and constant attrition upon our forces if the enemy utilized its full military potential. I have constantly called for the new political decisions essential to a solution.

Efforts have been made to distort my position. It has been said, in effect, that I was a warmonger. Nothing could be further from the truth. I know war as few other men now living know it, and nothing to me is more revolting. I have long advocated its complete abolition, as its very destructiveness on both friend and foe has rendered it useless as a means of settling international disputes. Indeed, on the second day of September, nineteen hundred and forty-five, just following the surrender of the Japanese nation on the Battleship Missouri, I formally cautioned as follows:

Men since the beginning of time have sought peace. Various methods through the ages have been attempted to devise an international process to prevent or settle disputes between nations. From the very start workable methods were found in so far as individual citizens were concerned, but the mechanics of an instrumentality of larger international scope have never been successful. Military alliances, balances of power, Leagues of Nations, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. The utter destructiveness of war now blocks out this alternative. We have had our last chance. If we will not devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature, and all material and cultural developments of the past 2000 years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.
But once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end.

War's very object is victory, not prolonged indecision. In war there is no substitute for victory. There are some who, for varying reasons, would appease Red China. They are blind to history's clear lesson, for history teaches with unmistakable emphasis that appeasement but begets new and bloodier war. It points to no single instance where this end has justified that means, where appeasement has led to more than a sham peace." (General Douglas MacArthur, Farewell Address to Congress, April 19, 1951).

General MacArthur was warning that unless we achieved decisive victory against North Korea, we would face a "new and bloodier war" with that nation in the future. Was he wrong? I don't believe so. Time will tell.

Joe Melanson (my father) believed that we would return to Korea. Here.

Small wonder that Catholics United has been critical of Father James Rafferty's decision...

Shortly after Father James Rafferty, pastor of St. Paul's parish in Hingham, Massachusetts, denied admission to a student whose parents are lesbian, the dissent group Catholic United, which is highly partisan and supports President Obama, launched a petition accusing St. Paul's of engaging in discrimination. See here. Catholics United, at its website, describes itself as, "a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the message of justice and the common good found at the heart of the Catholic social tradition."

But the fact that Catholics United is anything but non-partisan is obvious to anyone who takes the time to visit the organization's website. For Catholics United promotes the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), an organization which was inspired by radical agitator Saul Alinsky, a Marxist who dedicated his Rules for Radicals to Lucifer, whom he called "the first radical."

According to American Life League's Michael Hichborn, "..no less than fifty organizations (one-fifth of all CCHD grantees from 2009) are, in some capacity, engaged in pro-abortion or pro-homosexual causes." See here. And James Salt, Director of Organizing for Catholics United, has worked for Pax Christi USA, another prominent dissent group which is rooted in New Age spirtuality.


Related reading on CCHD here.

Homosexual adoption subjects children to violence. See here.

"I am not a number, I am a free man.."

"I am not a number, I am a free man."

A Crisis Made To Order...

There are dark forces preparing the world for the Man of Sin and his Reign. An economic crisis has been made to order. And this crisis will be used to advance the New World Order and to set the stage for the Secular Messiah who will offer men "an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 675). Already the crisis made to order is being felt by millions of Americans.

The Man of Sin wants to make all men, great and small, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, bear a sign on their right arm and forehead as a sign of their worship (Revelation 13:16). No one will be able to buy or sell without this mark (Revelation 13:17). Only those who adore the new god will be able to enjoy riches or honors. In fact, the new god* will seduce many** through such riches: "For he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and all the preciousthings of Egypt." (Daniel 11:43).

* John 5:43.

** 1 Timothy 6:10

Related reading: Obama calls for New Order.

Does Cardinal O'Malley condone such violence toward children?

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in its document entitled Considerations Regarding Proposals To Give Legal Recognition To Unions Between Homosexual Persons, had this to say, "As experience has shown, the absence of sexual complementarity in these unions creates obstacles in the normal development of children who would be placed in the care of such persons. They would be deprived of the experience of either fatherhood or motherhood. Allowing children to be adopted by persons living in such unions would actually mean doing violence to these children, in the sense that their condition of dependency would be used to place them in an environment that is not conducive to their full human development. This is gravely immoral and in open contradiction to the principle, recognized also in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, that the best interests of the child, as the weaker and more vulnerable party, are to be the paramount consideration in every case." (No. 7).

But in the controversy which has erupted in the wake of Cardinal O'Malley's decision to help find a Catholic school for the ward of the lesbian parents who was initially denied admission on the basis of their illicit relationship, Cardinal O'Malley has not only advanced a false notion of compassion, but he has failed to address the violence which is done to children when they are placed in "an environment that is not conducive to their full human development." Why is this? Does Cardinal O'Malley condone this violence to children? If not, should he be finding a Catholic school for the ward of lesbian parents? Is this not tacit approval of an illicit relationship and the environment to which an innocent child is being exposed?

Is Cardinal O'Malley crippled by lukewarmness? Last year, when many faithful Catholics were scandalized over Senator Ted Kennedy's very public funeral liturgy, His Eminence responded by asserting that, "At times, even in the Church, zeal can lead people to issue harsh judgments and impute the worst motives to one another." How true. But, as Father Bede Jarrett, O.P., has reminded us, "Not only may I sin by being angry when I should not, but I may sin by not being angry when I should be. If my reason tells me that it is right to be angry, then I disobey God when I refuse to give place to wrath; for, as the New Testament teaches, it is possible to 'be angry and sin not.' (Eph 4:26). Our Lord Himself, when need arose, roped together a bundle of cords and drove from the Temple those who trafficked in the House of Prayer, and down the front steps He flung the tables of the money-changers. Perhaps for most of us, the fault is not that we are too angry, but that we are not angry enough. Think of all the evils that are in the world, that are known to all, admitted to exist by public press and on public platform. Would they have survived thus far, had folk all shown the indignant anger of Christ? Hypocrisy, cant, and the whole blatant injustice that stalks naked and unashamed in national life - may not our own weakness and silence have helped to render impotent all efforts to reduce these terrible things?" (Classic Catholic Meditations, p. 168, Sophia Institute Press).

Yes, zeal can sometimes lead to excess. But when James and John displayed an excess of zeal, asking our Lord to rain down destruction on those who wouldn't accept Him, He gave them evidence of his admiration for their zeal as he gave them the name Boanerges: Sons of Thunder. But, as Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer reminded us, we must "Fight against that weakness which makes you lazy and careless in your spiritual life. Remember that it might well be the beginning of lukewarmness...and, in the words of the Scripture*, God will vomit the lukewarm out of his mouth."

Lukewarmness in the Church has brought us nothing but disaster. Can we not see it? Yes, zeal must be tempered by the Cardinal Virtues of prudence and temperance. But God hates the lukewarm. It is a lukewarm Church which fails to deliver the Gospel with courage, with fortitude. The faithful are looking for shepherds, not for leaders who are crippled by lukewarmness and moral cowardice.


* Rev 3:16.

Cardinal O'Malley: False compassion supplies the sinner with the means to remain attached to sin

A further reminder to His Eminence Sean Cardinal O'Malley


At his Blog, Cardinal Sean wrote, "We need to present the Church's teachings courageously and yet in a way that is compassionate and persuasive." This sounds attractive on the surface. Until you dig a little deeper.

As I said in a previous post dealing with the Rainbow Sash Movement, "..while it is true that everything must be done to help sinners, this cannot include helping them to sin or to remain in sin. Because of human frailty, every sinner deserves both pity and compassion. However, vice and sin must be excluded from this compassion. This because sin can never be the proper object of compassion. (Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 30, a.1, ad 1).

It is a false compassion which supplies the sinner with the means to remain attached to sin. Such 'compassion' provides an assistance (whether material or moral) which actually enables the sinner to remain firmly attached to his evil ways. By contrast, true compassion leads the sinner away from vice and back to virtue. As Thomas Aquinas explains:

"We love sinners out of charity, not so as to will what they will, or to rejoice in what gives them joy, but so as to make them will what we will, and rejoice in what rejoices us. Hence it is written: 'They shall be turned to thee, and thou shalt not be turned to them.'" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 25, a.6, ad 4, citing Jeremiah 15:19).

St. Thomas Aquinas teaches us that the sentiment of compassion only becomes a virtue when it is guided by reason, since "it is essential to human virtue that the movements of the soul should be regulated by reason." (Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 30, c.3). Without such regulation, compassion is merely a passion. A false compassion is a compassion not regulated and tempered by reason and is, therefore, a potentially dangerous inclination. This because it is subject to favoring not only that which is good but also that which is evil (Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 30, a.1, ad 3).

An authentic compassion always stems from charity. True compassion is an effect of charity (Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 30, a.3, ad 3). But it must be remembered that the object of this virtue is God, whose love extends to His creatures. (Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 25, a.3). Therefore, the virtue of compassion seeks to bring God to the one who suffers so that he may thereby participate in the infinite love of God. As St. Augustine explains:

"'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' Now, you love yourself suitably when you love God better than yourself. What, then, you aim at in yourself you must aim at in your neighbor, namely, that he may love God with a perfect affection." (St. Augustine, Of the Morals of the Catholic Church, No. 49,

And by the way, His Eminence is implying that Archbishop Chaput failed to be "compassionate" in his response to a similar situation earlier this year.

Your Eminence, is it your contention that Thomas Aquinas is wrong in his teaching regarding authentic compassion? Is it your contention that Archbishop Chaput was failing to be "compassionate and persuasive" when he wrote, "Our schools are meant to be 'partners in faith' with parents. If parents don't respect the beliefs of the Church, or live in a manner that openly rejects those beliefs, then partnering with those parents becomes very difficult, if not impossible. It also places unfair stress on the children, who find themselves caught in the middle, and on their teachers, who have an obligation to teach the authentic faith of the Church"?

Your Eminence, when Pope John Paul II taught (inVeritatis Splendor, No. 113) that the faithful have a "right to receive Catholic teaching in its purity and integrity," was he joking?

Your Eminence?

Cardinal Sean's rationale

In a previous post which may be found here, I noted how the Archdiocese of Boston has decided to help find a Catholic school for the ward of the lesbian parents who was denied admission on the basis of their illicit relationship. Cardinal Sean O'Malley, at his Blog, has justified this decision writing that, "Catholic schools exist for the good of the children and our admission standards must reflect that. We have never had categories of people who were excluded."

But His Eminence is mistaken, As my parents can testify, I was denied admission into Catholic schools because my father was career military. My parents were told that five years of residency was required before I could be enrolled. But because my father would receive new orders every three or four years, I was denied admission. Many other children of military families were similarly denied admission into Catholic schools for this reason. Perhaps we would have been treated differently if our parents had been homosexual or lesbian.

In a similar case which took place earlier this year in Denver, Colorado, Archbishop Charles Chaput explained that, "The policies of our Catholic school system exist to protect all parties involved, including the children of homosexual couples and the couples themselves,” he writes. “Our schools are meant to be ‘partners in faith’ with parents. If parents don’t respect the beliefs of the Church, or live in a manner that openly rejects those beliefs, then partnering with those parents becomes very difficult, if not impossible. It also places unfair stress on the children, who find themselves caught in the middle, and on their teachers, who have an obligation to teach the authentic faith of the Church."

Apparently Cardinal O'Malley isn't concerned about "all parties involved" in this matter. And His Eminence has forgotten the teaching of the Congregation for Catholic Education: "The implementation of a real educational community, built on the foundation of shared projected values, represents a serious task that must be carried out by the Catholic school. In this setting, the presence both of students and of teachers from different cultural and religious backgrounds requires an increased commitment of discernment and accompaniment. The preparation of a shared project acts as a stimulus that should force the Catholic school to be a place of ecclesial experience. Its binding force and potential for relationships derive from a set of values and a communion of life that is rooted in our common belonging to Christ. Derived from the recognition of evangelical values are educational norms, motivational drives and also the final goals of the school. Certainly the degree of participation can differ in relation to one's personal history, but this requires that educators be willing to offer a permanent commitment to formation and self-formation regarding a choice of cultural and life values to be made present in the educational community." (Congregation for Catholic Education, Educating Together in Catholic Schools: A Shared Mission Between Consecrated Persons and the Lay Faithful, No. 5).

Joe LeVangie may fly his American flag

Mr. LeVangie, thank you for showing our young people how important the American flag really is. You are one of its loyal defenders sir.



God Save the Flag
by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

Washed in the blood of the brave and the blooming,
Snatched from the altars of insolent foes,
Burning with star-fires, but never consuming,
Flash its broad ribbons of lily and rose.

Vainly the prophets of Baal would rend it,
Vainly his worshippers pray for its fall;
Thousands have died for it, millions defend it,
Emblem of Justice and Mercy to all:

Justice that reddens the sky with her terrors,
Mercy that comes with her white-handed train,
Soothing all passions, redeeming all errors,
Sheathing the sabre and breaking the chain.

Borne on the deluge of old usurpations,
Drifted our Ark o'er the desolate seas,
Bearing the rainbow of hope to the nations,
Torn from the storm-cloud and flung to the breeze !

GOD BLESS the FLAG and its loyal defenders,
While its broad folds o'er the battle-field wave,
Till the dim star-wreath rekindle its splendors,
Washed from its stains in the Blood of the Brave

New Hampshire Residents: Stand With Joe LeVangie

88 year-old Joe LeVangie, a World War II Navy veteran living in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, is "madder than hell." Why? Because the management company at his apartment complex ordered him to take down his American flag. EJL Management informed LeVangie that flag displays at the Maple Leaf complex violate the same rules that prohibit lawn ornaments and grills.

Lawn ornaments and grills? Is this what EJL Management thinks of the American flag? Our nation's greatest symbol is lumped with lawn ornaments and barbecue grills?

Now I'm madder than hell. Sometimes we are called to "be angry and sin not" (Ephesians 4: 26).

Mr. LeVangie said that he used to fly his flag, "In respect for all the troops serving overseas now and for those who never came back." One of those who never came back was my uncle Arthur Melanson. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. For him, the flag was something more than a lawn ornament or a barbecue grill. And he gave his life in service to country and flag.

Everyone who loves the American flag and the country it represents should be "madder than hell."

Duty, honor, country. For some of us, these are more than empty words.

Rainbow Sash Movement embraces contempt for the Church

As I explained in a previous post, "Pope Saint Pius X, in his 1910 Catechism, teaches us that sodomy ranks second in gravity to voluntary homicide, among the sins that 'cry out to God for vengeance.' According to this Catechism, these sins 'are said to cry out to God because the Holy Spirit says so and because their iniquity is so grave and manifest that it provokes God to punish with more severe chastisements.'

The Catechism of the Catholic Church published by the Vatican in 1994 teaches clearly that homosexuality is contrary to nature and that homosexual acts are among the 'sins gravely contrary to chastity.' (CCC, 2396). This Catechism teaches that homosexual acts are 'intrinsically disordered,' 'contrary to the natural law,' and that 'under no circumstances can they be approved.' (CCC, 2357)....Now while it is true that everything must be done to help sinners, this cannot include helping them to sin or to remain in sin. Because of human frailty, every sinner deserves both pity and compassion. However, vice and sin must be excluded from this compassion. This because sin can never be the proper object of compassion. (Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 30, a.1, ad 1).

It is a false compassion which supplies the sinner with the means to remain attached to sin. Such 'compassion' provides an assistance (whether material or moral) which actually enables the sinner to remain firmly attached to his evil ways. By contrast, true compassion leads the sinner away from vice and back to virtue. As Thomas Aquinas explains:

"We love sinners out of charity, not so as to will what they will, or to rejoice in what gives them joy, but so as to make them will what we will, and rejoice in what rejoices us. Hence it is written: 'They shall be turned to thee, and thou shalt not be turned to them.'" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 25, a.6, ad 4, citing Jeremiah 15:19).

St. Thomas Aquinas teaches us that the sentiment of compassion only becomes a virtue when it is guided by reason, since "it is essential to human virtue that the movements of the soul should be regulated by reason." (Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 30, c.3). Without such regulation, compassion is merely a passion. A false compassion is a compassion not regulated and tempered by reason and is, therefore, a potentially dangerous inclination. This because it is subject to favoring not only that which is good but also that which is evil (Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 30, a.1, ad 3).

An authentic compassion always stems from charity. True compassion is an effect of charity (Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 30, a.3, ad 3). But it must be remembered that the object of this virtue is God, whose love extends to His creatures. (Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 25, a.3). Therefore, the virtue of compassion seeks to bring God to the one who suffers so that he may thereby participate in the infinite love of God. As St. Augustine explains:

"'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' Now, you love yourself suitably when you love God better than yourself. What, then, you aim at in yourself you must aim at in your neighbor, namely, that he may love God with a perfect affection." (St. Augustine, Of the Morals of the Catholic Church, No. 49, which may be found here.

The Rainbow Sash Movement, part of the broader Homosexual Hate Movement, has failed to understand this teaching. Which is why the organization has accused the Catholic Church of advancing a "Theology of Contempt." See here. This charge is particularly ironic since the Rainbow Sash Movement (in the same article) calumniates Pope Benedict XVI, accusing the Holy Father of having "a Nazi past" and the organization has announced its plans to violate federal law and to show contempt for the celebration of the Holy Mass across the United States on Pentecost Sunday. Contempt (or deliberate hatred), as the Catechism teaches: "..is contrary to charity. Hatred of the neighbor is a sin when one deliberately wishes him evil. Hatred of the neighbor is a grave sin when one deliberately desires him grave harm.."(2303). And what is calumny but a remark which is contrary to the truth which harms the reputation of another and which gives occasion for false judgments concerning that person (CCC, 2477).

If anyone has shown contempt it is the Rainbow Sash Movement. Sadly, the misguided souls who comprise this disturbing movement intend to show the Catholic Church more contempt on Pentecost Sunday. And in so doing, they will be demonstrating their contempt for Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Is the United States Department of Justice Christianophobic?

Christian opposition to homosexuality is based upon Divine Revelation and the Natural Law. For Catholics, the Catechism clearly teaches that homosexuality is contrary to nature and homosexual acts are among the "sins gravely contrary to chastity" (CCC, 2396) and that "Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that 'homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.' They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved."

This teaching, as the Catechism makes clear, is based upon Sacred Scripture, Tradition and the Natural Law. But for homosexual activists and others who support the radical homosexual agenda, moral opposition toward homosexuality is something evil and is rooted in mental illness. The word "homophobia," as explained here, is employed by homosexual activists as a semantic weapon in the cultural war.

The United States Department of Justice, as this article explains, has categorized Repent America as a "hate group" because of its Biblical opposition to homosexuality. And the USDOJ has an article at its website which asserts that "homophobia" is rooted in a "toxic masculinity." This article says that, "Toxic masculinity is the constellation of socially regressive male traits that serve to foster domination, the devaluation of women, homophobia, and wanton violence...According to Connell, contemporary hegemonic masculinity is built on two legs, domination of women and a hierarchy of intermale dominance...It is also shaped to a significant extent by the stigmatization of homosexuality...Today's hegemonic masculinity in the United States of America and Europe includes a high degree of ruthless competition, an inability to express emotions other than anger, an unwillingness to admit weakness or dependency, devaluation of women and all feminine attributes in men, homophobia, and so forth...Toxic masculinity is..socially destructive...proclivities associated with toxic masculinity include..a strong need to dominate and control others....a readiness to resort to violence, and the stigmatization and subjugation of women, gays and men who exhibit feminine characteristics." (See here).

The USDOJ seems anxious to categorize Christian opposition toward homosexuality as a form of mental illness, a "toxic masculinity" which is prone to violence and domination. But the Church's teaching isn't an attempt to "dominate" or "stigmatize" homosexual persons. The Church teaches clearly that homosexual persons, "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided." (CCC, 2358). The Gospel is not a dominating force. It is a liberating force. It liberates from the slavery of sin. Meanwhile, the Rainbow Sash Movement (part of the Homosexual Hate Movement) has announced its plans to violate federal law by interfering with the First Amendment rights of Catholics. Will the USDOJ take action? Or will radical homosexual activists be allowed to terrorize Churches as they did in California over Proposition 8? Have radical homosexual activists shown respect for Christian believers?

Is the stage being set for persecution? President Obama has already asserted that Christians and others who oppose homosexuality are clinging to worn out ideas. See here.

Pope Benedict XVI on the dangers of abortion and same-sex "marriage" here.

Remember the Domestic Extremism Lexicon fiasco? Read here.

Homosexual Hate Movement: Radical Homosexual Activists Announce Plans to Violate Federal Law

Radical homosexual hate activists, members of the "Rainbow Sash Movement" within the larger Homosexual Hate Movement, have announced their plans to disrupt the celebration of the Holy Mass throughout the nation and to terrorize Catholic Churches. The Civil Rights Division's Criminal Section [United States Department of Justice], in conjunction with U.S. Attorney's Offices around the country, is responsible for prosecuting violations of criminal civil rights statutes.

These statutes include 18 U.S.C., 241 (conspiracy to deprive a person of his or her civil rights); 18 U.S.C., 245 (criminal interference with federally protected activities); and 18 U.S.C., 248, which makes it a crime to, "by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injure, intimidate, or interfere with or attempt to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship."

The Rainbow Sash Movement is conspiring to interfere with the First Amendment rights of Catholics at their places of worship. Will the Department of Justice treat this matter with the attention it deserves?

Related reading here and here.

Why is America in such turmoil?

"For the hope of the wicked is as dust, which is blown away with the wind, and as a thin froth which is dispersed by the storm: and a smoke that is scattered abroad by the wind: and as the remembrance of a guest of one day that passeth by." (Wisdom 5:15).


Years ago, Father Albert J. Hebert, S.M., warned that because of abortion and homosexuality and "the many other sins that abound today, personal, familial, social and political, we can expect that there will be expanding natural disasters and new man-made ones. Such things as California fires and Florida freezes will increase. Hail, rain and river floods, tornados, typhoons, todal waves and the hurricane will continue increasingly to be God's cleansing tools. volcanos will spout red lava and hot ash, mud slides and avalanches will roar down mountain sides. Acid rain, chemical pollution explosions too will take their toll...

Depressions, financial collapses, hunger marches, strikes, panics and riots, all will come as also more Ethiopias of famine and deprivation. Satanic and occult cults, conspirators and secret society members will grow more active. Walls of prisons and jails will bulge even more. False philosophies and isms of all kinds [such as Socialism, my note] will flourish....

But there is the good side also, which, of course, is mainly for repentant people and the suffering good. A message from the Guardian Angel and Protector of the United States of America to Sister M., Aug 22, 1981, gives consolation and encouragement: 'If the people of this land carry out faithfully the instructions and pleadings of the Lord Jesus and the Virgin Mother then they will be following me to the hour of peace. With this sword of the Divine white flame of Love and the lightning bolts of His Infinite Justice God will strike down His enemies and heal the repentant sinner. This nation and all who follow in the pursuit of peace will know the protection of God and the destruction of those, who fight and seek to destroy them through the evil powers of the infernal spirits of darkness and hate.'...

It is as simple as that!....This is a time for making great efforts that the Chastisement be mitigated. When the biggest catastrophes break it will be too late. For instance, Sister Rose Asdenti of Taggia (19th century) foretold: 'A great revolution will spread all over Europe...' (Rev. Albert J. Hebert, S.M., Prophecies: The Chastisement and Purification, pp. 141, 142).

Fr. Hebert's book was written back in 1986. How much of what he said would occur has come to pass? I am struck most of all by what he had to say about man-made disasters (think of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico) and volcanic ash - which is (once again) proving to be a major problem for Europe.

And what of Sister Rose Asdenti's prophecy of revolution spreading all over Europe? What is happening right now with the Euro? Witness the fear and discontent as economic problems continue to plague that continent.

Pray and work to mitigate the Chastisement. Offer your Holy Mass, your Rosary, your Mercy Chaplet. Prepare yourself now as the storm clouds continue to gather.

Does Elena Kagan also believe that judicial power is unlimited?

During her time as Dean of Harvard Law, Elena Kagan referred to Aharon Barak , a professor of law who served as a judge on the Supreme Court of Israel from 1978 to 1995 and as President of that Court from 1995 to 2006, as "my judicial hero." Kagan added, "He is the judge who best advanced democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and justice." But, as C-FAM has noted, "Barak is known amongst both conservative and liberal legal minds as one of the most activist judges on record." Kagan's own views are so disturbing that C-FAM notes, "Based on a review of the rather meager writings and public statements by Kagan, a picture still emerges of a liberal activist whose sympathies for foreign law raise serious questions about how she would follow the U.S. Constitution if she is confirmed."

Just how radical is Elena Kagan's "hero" Aharon Barak? Professor Amnon Rubinstein of Israel has been quoted as having said that, "..in many respects the Supreme Court under Barak has become an alternate government." And Richard Posner, a judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals as well as a highly-respected authority on jurisprudence, has been critical of Barak's view of the separation of powers, arguing that, in effect, his view is that "judicial power is unlimited and the legislature cannot remove judges."

Does Elena Kagan share this view? In our own time, many federal judges have strayed from their constitutional role of interpreting the law to actively legislating from the bench in order to impose their radical vision for America. This violates the separation of powers, that political doctrine by which the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government are kept distinct in order to prevent an abuse of power. What is Elena Kagan's vision for America?


Related reading here. And here.

Does the Archdiocese of Boston respect those evangelical values which provide the basis for educational norms?

As reported here, Father James Rafferty, pastor of St. Paul's parish in Hingham, Massachusetts, denied admission to a student whose parents are openly homosexual. LifeSiteNews is reporting that the Archdiocese of Boston, rather than backing up this courageous priest who cares for souls, will help find a Catholic school for the ward of the lesbian parents who was denied admission on the basis of their illicit relationship. See here.

This is most unfortunate. For, as Father William Breslin of Sacred Heart Church in Boulder, Colorado made clear during a similar case which took place earlier this year, "It is not about punishing the child for the sins of his or her parents. It is simply that the lesbian couple is saying that their relationship is a good one that should be accepted by everyone; and the Church cannot agree to that." (See here).

Father Breslin is right. The Church cannot condone what is an illicit relationship or even appear to do so. She teaches in fact that, "There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law. Homosexual acts 'close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved." (Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons, No. 4).

What is it exactly about this teaching that the Archdiocese of Boston does not understand? By declaring that it will find a Catholic school for the child in question, the Archdiocese of Boston is providing a tacit acceptance of a homosexual relationship. Additionally, the Archdiocese of Boston has forgotten that, "The implementation of a real educational community, built on the foundation of shared projected values, represents a serious task that must be carried out by the Catholic school. In this setting, the presence both of students and of teachers from different cultural and religious backgrounds requires an increased commitment of discernment and accompaniment. The preparation of a shared project acts as a stimulus that should force the Catholic school to be a place of ecclesial experience. Its binding force and potential for relationships derive from a set of values and a communion of life that is rooted in our common belonging to Christ. Derived from the recognition of evangelical values are educational norms, motivational drives and also the final goals of the school. Certainly the degree of participation can differ in relation to one's personal history, but this requires that educators be willing to offer a permanent commitment to formation and self-formation regarding a choice of cultural and life values to be made present in the educational community." (Congregation for Catholic Education, Educating Together in Catholic Schools: A Shared Mission Between Consecrated Persons and the Lay Faithful, No. 5).

Let's all pray that the Boston Archdiocese will rethink its decision to find a Catholic school for the student in question. It sends the wrong message. And such an attitude fails to respect those evangelical values which provide the basis for educational norms.

Chief Justice John Roberts: Elena Kagan claim "startling and dangerous."

In an article written by Jacob Sullum entitled "Elena Kagan Looks Wobbly on Freedom of Speech," Jacob Sullum explains that, "Defending a 1999 federal ban on depictions of animal cruelty, Kagan boldly asked the Supreme Court to recognize a new category of speech that, along with such historical exceptions as defamation, incitement and obscenity, is entirely outside the scope of the First Amendment. 'Whether a given category of speech enjoys First Amendment protection,' she wrote, 'depends upon a categorical balancing of the value of the speech against its societal costs.'

Writing for the 8-to-1 majority, Chief Justice John Roberts called this claim 'startling and dangerous,' adding: 'The First Amendment's guarantee of free speech does not extend only to categories of speech that survive an ad hoc balancing of relative social costs and benefits. The First Amendment itself reflects a judgment by the American people that the benefits of its restrictions on the Government outweigh the costs. Our Constitution forecloses any attempt to revise that judgment simply on the basis that some speech is not worth it.'"

Knowing that socialists view orthodox Christianity as an enemy and an obstacle to their program, how would Christian speech which expresses moral opposition toward abortion and homosexuality fare under Elena Kagan when placed within "a categorical balancing of the value of the speech against its societal costs"? We know that socialists make special efforts to gain control of key communications media in society. Already, FCC "Diversity" Chief Mark Lloyd, who is inspired by Saul Alinsky, has argued that government is the "only" institution that can manage the communications of the public. See here.

The Obama administration, as this Blog post details, is overrun with socialists, communists, sexual radicals, Alinskyites and globalists. Where is all this leading? It was Pope Pius XII who warned, in his Encyclical Letter Summi Pontificatus, that, "Once the authority of God and the sway of His law are denied..the civil authority as an inevitable result tends to attribute to itself that absolute autonomy which belongs exclusively to the Supreme Maker. It puts itself in the place of the Almighty and elevates the State or group into the last end of life, the supreme criterion of the moral and juridical order, and therefore forbids every appeal to the principles of natural reason and of the Christian conscience." (No. 53).


Related reading: Vatican Cardinal: New World Order gaining ground.

Pope Benedict XVI: Same-sex "marriage" an insidious and dangerous threat

At Fatima, Pope Benedict XVI called abortion and same-sex "marriage" some of the most "insidious and dangerous" threats facing the world today. See here. Indeed, Dutch psychologist Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg, Ph.D., a specialist on homosexuality, writes: "The term neurotic describes such relationships [same-sex] well. It suggests the ego-centeredness of the relationship; the attention-seeking instead of loving...Neurotic, in short, suggests all kinds of dramas and childish conflicts as well as the basic disinterestedness of in the partner, notwithstanding the shallow pretensions of 'love.' Nowhere is there more self-deception in the homosexual than in his representation of himself as a lover. One partner is important to the other only insofar as he satisfies that other's needs. Real, unselfish love for a desired partner would, in fact, end up destroying homosexual 'love'!" (Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg, The Battle for Normality, Ignatius Press, 1997, pp. 62-63).


"Van den Aardweg says that the claim that homosexuality is normal is one of those statements that are "so foolish that only intellectuals could believe them." It is like saying that anorexia nervosa is healthy. And he denies that homesexuality is caused by the genes, or the structure of the brain; the evidence shows that it is acquired. Nor is it a necessary result of effeminacy; it is the child's "self-perception as masculine or feminine" that makes the difference. It is caused by pressure to develop an opposite-sex role. Often mothers do not view or treat their sons as "real men," and fathers do not view or treat their daughters as "real girls." (From the Catholic Insight book review of "The Battle for Normality." Read the entire book review here.

The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in its document entitled Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons, teaches clearly that:

"..one needs first to reflect on the difference between homosexual behavior as a private phenomenon and the same behavior as a relationship in society, foreseen and approved by the law, to the point where it becomes one of the institutions in the legal structure. This second phenomenon is not only more serious, but also assumes a more wide-reaching and profound influence, and would result in changes to the entire organization of society, contrary to the common good. Civil laws are structuring principles of man's life in society, for good or for ill. They 'play a very important and sometimes decisive role in influencing patterns of thought and behavior.' Lifestyles and the underlying presuppositions these express not only externally shape the life of society, but also tend to modify the younger generation's perception and evaluation of forms of behavior. Legal recognition of homosexual unions would obscure certain basic moral values and cause a devaluation of the institution of marriage." (No. 10).

The homosexual movement is not a civil rights movement. It is a moral revolution. There is nothing "gay" about the homosexual lifestyle. Behind the cheerful facade, it is a lifestyle plagued by violence*, infidelity and trauma.

* For example, a study published in the December 2002 American Journal of Public Health stated that: "Rates of battering victimization among urban MSM [men who have sex with men] are substantially higher than among heterosexual men and possibly heterosexual women. Public health efforts directed toward addressing intimate partner battering among these men are needed." (Gregory L. Greenwood et al., "Battering Victimization Among a Probability-Based Sample of Men Who Have Sex With Men," American Journal of Public Health, December, 2002, Vol. 92, No. 12, pp. 1964-1969).

The denial of the Ascension is as grave a departure from Christian teaching as is denial of Christ's Resurrection....

An insert in the parish bulletin of Saint Patrick's Parish in Jaffrey explains nicely that, "The Ascension of Our Lord, which occurred 40 days after Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, is the final act of our redemption that Christ began on Good Friday. On this day, the risen Christ, in the sight of His Apostles, ascended bodily into Heaven (Luke 24: 51; Mark 16: 19; Acts 1: 9-11).

The reality of the Ascension is so important that the creeds (the basic statements of belief) of Christianity all affirm, in the words of the Apostles' Creed, that "He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead." The denial of the Ascension is as grave a departure from Christian teaching as is denial of Christ's Resurrection.

Christ's bodily Ascension foreshadows our own entrance into Heaven not simply as souls, after our death, but as glorified bodies, after the resurrection of the dead at the Final Judgment. In redeeming mankind, Christ not only offered salvation to our souls but began the restoration of the material world itself to the glory that God intended before Adam's fall."

And so, Christ's Ascension fills us with hope. Even in the midst of a fallen, broken world filled with errors, vice and scandals. We have hope because "'Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.' Christ's Ascension into heaven signifies his participation, in his humanity, in God's power and authority. Jesus Christ is Lord: he possesses all power in heaven and on earth. He is 'far above all rule and authority and power and dominion,' for the Father 'has put all things under his feet.' Christ is Lord of the cosmos and of history. In him human history and indeed all creation are 'set forth' and transcendently fulfilled." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 668, citing Romans 14:9; Ephesians 1: 20-22; Ephesians 1:10).

The Lord Jesus has Ascended into Heaven. He is Truth. And as Pope John Paul II reminded us, "The truth of Jesus is capable of reinforcing all your energies...You may still be vulnerable to attack from the pressures of the world, from the forces of evil, from the power of the devil. But you will be invincible in hope: 'in Christ Jesus our hope'(1 Timothy 1: 11)."

Many have lost hope because of the sex abuse scandals. Many have become fearful because so many have been anxious to rise up against the Church and to unjustly condemn the Mystical Body of Christ. But our hope is in the Risen Lord and in His power and authority. What shall we say to those who, like Father James Scahill, have lost this invincible hope in Jesus Christ and His Mystical Body the Church? We will reiterate the teaching of the Church as outlined in Vatican II's Gaudium et Spes: "Examining his heart, man finds that he has inclinations toward evil, too, and is engulfed by manifold ills which cannot come from his good Creator. Often refusing to acknowledge God as his beginning, man has disrupted also his proper relationship to his own ultimate goal as well as his whole relationship toward himself and others and all created things. Therefore, man is split within himself. As a result all of human life, whether individual or collective, shows itself to be a dramatic struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness. Indeed, man finds that by himself he is incapable of battling the assaults of evil successfully, so that everyone feels as though he is bound by chains. But the Lord himself came to free and strengthen man, renewing him inwardly and casting out that 'prince of this world' (Jn 12:31) who held him in the bondage of sin (cf. Jn 8:34)." (Gaudium et Spes, No. 13).

Jesus has assured us that the gates of Hell will never prevail against His Church. And God is truthful. It is by faith that we accept what God has told us as absolutely true. Jesus Himself tells us that, "The one who sent me is truthful, and what I have learnt from him I declare to the world." (John 8: 26). And St. Paul writes to Titus that God "does not lie" (Titus 1: 2) and that indeed "it is impossible for God to lie." (Hebrews 6: 18). Therefore, since God is absolute truth or Truth itself, He cannot lie or deceive.

What the Church needs now: A fifth marian dogma

Our Lady of Fatima told us, "I will never leave you; my Immaculate Heart will be your refuge, and the way that will lead you to God." With attacks against the Holy Father and the Catholic Church increasing, now more than ever the Church needs to solemnly declare that our Blessed Mother is Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. Once again this is being considered. What are we waiting for? An infallible definition of these three roles of Mary will unleash graces on the world such as one cannot imagine.

It was Saint Maximilian Kolbe, priest and martyr, prophet pointing the way to a new civilization of love, who said (in the early 1940s, before the Nazis put him to death):

"In the Catholic Church they have not yet officially declared in public as certain belief that the Immaculata is the Mediatrix of all Graces. But it is a certain truth. It has been well known from the time of the advent of Christians....But when the faithful voice a desire requesting to admit it as a public belief, the Church must verify this truth and declare it....The source of all graces is God. Everything begins in God. But the graces given to human beings are not given directly from God but through Mary. If you have time to discuss or debate the issue, you should rather pray more. Holy Mary will be pleased if we pray for the early announcement that she is the Mediatrix of all Graces."

There are graces which Our Lady wants to give us but will not be able to until the Church infallibly defines her as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. What better time to do so than the present hour when the Church finds herself under vicious attack and the Pope is subjected to false accusations issued by enemies of the Church?

Perhaps we should all listen to Saint Kolbe and "pray more" for such an announcement. And as we do so, we can meditate on these words spoken by Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima: "Continue to say the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace for the world..for she alone can save it....Sacrifice yourselves for sinners; and say often, especially when you make some sacrifice: 'My Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.' You have seen Hell - where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them God wants to establish throughout the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart..."

Related reading on a Fifth Marian Dogma here.

The United States: En Route to Totalitarianism

The following are 20 signs that the United States is rapidly becoming a totalitarian "Big Brother" police state....

#1) A new bill being pushed by Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman would allow the U.S. military to round up large numbers of Americans and detain them indefinitely without a trial if they "pose a threat" or if they have "potential intelligence value" or for any other reason the President of the United States "considers appropriate".

#2) Lawmakers in Washington D.C. working to create a new immigration bill have decided on a way to prevent employers from hiring illegal immigrants: a national biometric identification card all American workers would be required to obtain.

#3) Barack Obama is backing a plan to create a national database to store the DNA of people who have been arrested but not necessarily convicted of a crime.

#4) Just to get on an airplane, Americans will now have to go through new full-body scanners that reveal every detail of our exposed bodies to airport security officials.

#5) If that wasn't bad enough, the Transportation Security Administration has announced that airport screeners will begin roving through airports randomly taking chemical swabs from passengers and their bags to check for explosives.

#6) Starting this upcoming December, some passengers on Canadian airlines flying to, from or even over the United States without ever landing there, will only be allowed to board their flights once the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has determined they are not terrorists.

#7) Organic milk is such a threat that the FDA has been conducting military style raids on Amish farmers in Pennsylvania.

#8) An NYPD officer has broken his silence and has confessed that innocent citizens are being set up and falsely arrested and ticketed in order to meet quotas.

#9) A growing number of police departments across the U.S. are turning to mobile camera systems in order to fight motor vehicle theft and identify unregistered cars.

#10) For decades, Arizona has been known as "the sunset state", but lately many frustrated residents have started calling it "the surveillance state".

#11) Judges and police in Florida have been caught using "secret codes" on tickets in the state of Florida.

#12) An extensive investigation has revealed that between 2003 and 2007, that state of Texas quietly gave hundreds of newborn baby blood samples to a U.S. Armed Forces laboratory for use in a forensics database.

#13) A 6-year-old girl was recently handcuffed and sent to a mental facility after throwing temper tantrums at her elementary school.

#14) One 12-year-old girl in New York was recently arrested and marched out of her school in handcuffs just because she doodled on her desk.

#15) In Florida, students have been arrested by police for things as simple as bringing a plastic butter knife to school, throwing an eraser, and drawing a picture of a gun.

#16) When a mother on a flight to Denver spanked both of her children and cussed out a flight attendant who tried to intervene, she suddenly found herself handcuffed and headed for prison. Why? She was charged with being a domestic terrorist under the Patriot Act.

#17) A new global treaty may force U.S. Internet service providers to spy on what you do online.

#18) A leaked Obama administration memo has revealed plans for the federal government to seize more than 10 million acres of land from Montana to New Mexico.

#19) 56 percent of Americans questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll said that the U.S. government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens.

#20) But one other recent poll found that 51 percent of Americans agree with this statement: "It is necessary to give up some civil liberties in order to make the country safe from terrorism."

Source: The Coming Depression Blog.



Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas once commented on the way that oppression can subtly arise in our midst: "As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there's a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness."

We are still in twilight. But the darkness is growing. Soon, we will be enveloped in a general darkness. Pray.

Related reading: Concern for national security or preparation for silencing the ideologically unwanted? Here.