A matter of law and order

 

 

The charges here

Kaliko Estates, LLC and its Property Manager Douglas Pochini want to evict the widow of a career military non-commissioned officer

The French preacher Lacordaire once said that the vocation of a soldier is next in dignity to the priesthood, not only because it commissioned him to defend justice on the field of battle and order on the field of peace, but also because it called him to the spirit and intention of sacrifice.

It is the soldier's high calling to the defense of justice and freedom which makes him (or should) so loved.  It was a soldier who first spoke the words recalled by the Church during every Mass at Holy Communion: "Lord, I am not worthy to have Thee come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed." (Mt 8:8).

The Breviary, which priests pray daily, praises Judas Machabeus, who refused to surrender to superior enemy forces and died saying: "Far be it from us to do such a thing as to flee from them.  If our time has come, let us die bravely for our brethren, and leave no cause to question our honor." (1 Macc 9: 10).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that, "Those who are sworn to serve their country in the armed forces are servants of the security and freedom of nations.  If they carry out their duty honorably, they truly contribute to the common goodof the nation and the maintenance of peace." (2310).

One soldier who served his country selflessly for twenty years was Camille "Joe" Melanson, my father, a non-commissioned officer who served in two wars - the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.  See here: http://www.leominsterhigh.com/lhs-military00.htm

During peacetime, he was always accompanied by his loving wife Rita, who, as with other military wives, also sacrificed so much for both country and family.

Joe Melanson passed away on September 19, 2000.  My mother has been a widow for nearly fourteen years now.  She should be enjoying her remaining years in peace and security.  But instead she has been served an eviction notice from her landlord (she sold her home in 2001 to make life easier - or so she thought) simply because she has stood up for her rights.  The Notice to Quit was signed by Douglas Pochini, a real estate broker who serves as the Property Manager for Kaliko Estates. 

Kaliko Estates, LLC, a landlord management company which owns and operates townhouses in Athol, Massachusetts, has served her with a Notice to Quit because she found it necessary to file complaints with the local Board of Health because of maintenance needs which were not being addressed and because Kaliko Estates was billing her [in violation of Massachusetts law - M.G.L., Chapter 186, Section 22] for water and sewer services without a written rental agreement.

The Athol Board of Health charged Kaliko Estates for various issues such as mold growth over her shower and a toilet which would back up.  And they charged Kaliko Estates a second time for billing for water and sewer without a written rental agreement.  When my mother asked for the monies back, Mr. Pochini, a truly despicable individual, replied, "I'm not going to refund the monies."  She took him to Court and won the monies back.  Such was the animus agianst my mother that Kaliko Estates made her go without a working stove for nine months.  In order to cook, she found it necessary to purchase a griddle and a steamer.  Mr. Pochini also accused her falsely of "pounding on walls" in retaliation for her legitimate complaints - in essence: for wanting to live with some dignity.

And so a military widow, whose husband received a letter of commendation from President George W. Bush which reads: "This certificate is awarded by a grateful nation in recognition of devoted and selfless consecration to the service of our country in the Armed Forces of the United States," is being threatened with eviction by Kaliko Estates and Mr. Douglas Pochini.  This company wants to make a military widow homeless. 

This is not gratitude for selfless service to the United States of America.  This is ingratitude.  And it is shameful!

Update: Eviction failed, see here.

It's official: Military chaplains who propose the truth about homosexual acts will not be tolerated

Authentic Christians have always and everywhere accepted a "healthy pluralism." At the same time, such Christians have also understood that they have an obligation to acknowledge their beliefs and to preach the moral message given to them by the Lord Jesus. The follower of the Lord Jesus possesses a qualified certainty regarding the tenets of Natural Law and other truths which are revealed by God and help guide the conduct of man. Consequently, the authentic Christian understands that Christian ethical principles inform human society.


The authentic Christian will reject the sophism of those who declare that anyone who does not buy into the Dictatorship of Relativism (a pluralism of opinions which rejects any and all absolute truth or even its possibility) is a "fanatic" or a "fundamentalist." On the contrary, the authentic Christian will defend the truth in a positive manner. And while respecting persons and living out charity, such a Christian will proclaim the truth without fear.

This is the mind of Christ. As Pope John Paul II taught us in his Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor, No. 95: "The Church's teaching, and in particular her firmness in defending the universal and permanent validity of the precepts prohibiting intrinsically evil acts, is not infrequently seen as the sign of an intolerable intransigence, particularly with regard to the enormously complex and conflict-filled situations present in the moral life of individuals and of society today; this intransigence is said to be in contrast with the Church's motherhood. The Church, one hears, is lacking in understanding and compassion. But the Church's motherhood can never in fact be separated from her teaching mission, which she must always carry out as the faithful Bride of Christ, who is the Truth in person. "As Teacher, she never tires of proclaiming the moral norm... The Church is in no way the author or the arbiter of this norm. In obedience to the truth which is Christ, whose image is reflected in the nature and dignity of the human person, the Church interprets the moral norm and proposes it to all people of good will, without concealing its demands of radicalness and perfection...

In fact, genuine understanding and compassion must mean love for the person, for his true good, for his authentic freedom. And this does not result, certainly, from concealing or weakening moral truth, but rather from proposing it in its most profound meaning as an outpouring of God's eternal Wisdom, which we have received in Christ, and as a service to man, to the growth of his freedom and to the attainment of his happiness."

But, as Mass Resistance is reporting: "Among the first casualties in the homosexualization of the US military caused by the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" (DADT) are the military chaplains who still profess traditional Christian (or Jewish) belief. And it's starting right away. It's becoming clear that any open disagreement with homosexuality will not be tolerated.


The latest news from the Center For Military Readiness (CMR). is extremely disturbing. CMR, run by executive director Elaine Donnelly, is the best source for information on the effects of the culture wars and political correctness plaguing our US military forces. She's exposing the speed and thoroughness of the transformation of the military since the DADT repeal. Their goal right now is to beat any possible subversion of it from a Republican Congress.

She reports that the Army is implementing "three-tiered LGBT training" for military chaplains. Tier One has already begun. As Donnelly explains:

CMR has obtained copies of the 'Tier One' training documents that the various services are already using to 're-educate' the troops. The training program for Army chaplains, in particular, makes it very clear that dissenters will have no option but to leave the service, if they are eligible and if they do not owe time to the Army.  See full article here.

This is the new military being re-tooled for a New Age; a military which will stamp out ortodox Christianity so that it may better serve its master when he comes.  Do I exaggerate?  Really?  Not long ago Lt. General Thomas Bostick said, "Unfortunately, we have a minority of service members who are still racists and bigoted and you will never be able to get rid of all of them...But these people opposing this new policy will need to get with the program, and if they can't, they need to get out. No matter how much training and education of those in opposition, you're always going to have those that oppose this on moral and religious grounds just like you still have racists today." See here.

The Testosterone-Free Church Does Not Appeal To Men...

How many of you have seen the Gregory Peck/Richard Basehart version of Herman Melville's classic novel Moby Dick?  Remember the fiery sermon delivered by the minister who was portrayed powerfully by Orson Welles?  The priests I grew up with (I was a military "Brat"), were of the same sort.  They were men who knew the Sacred Scriptures.  Men who inspired a sort of military-like zeal with regard to evangelization and the spiritual life.

In a previous post, I wrote that, "A testosterone-free Church is not appealing to men.  Effeminate priests and ministers do not inspire healthy young men to consider a vocation within the Church.."  An article which may be found here, is saying essentially the same thing.  The writer asserts (and I couldn't agree more) that, "All of the outward facing disciplines within Christianity, such as apologetics, theology, ethics, etc. are de-emphasized, censored or resisted in feminized churches. There is no place for rationality, moral judgments and boundaries, debates and disagreement, confrontations and persuasion, or other manly Christian practices."

I've personally encountered such resistance toward apologetics and spiritualities which are decidely masculine (such as the Ignatian model).  I'm convinced that the effeminization which has take place within the Catholic Church in this country is one reason I am not welcome at my own parish and have been (like so many other healthy young men who are not homosexual or crippled by effeminacy - see Michael S. Rose's book Goodbye, Good Men) excluded from consideration when expressing interest in pursuing a priestly vocation.

The Catholic Church is plagued by homosexuality and effeminacy.  These cancers are metastasizing and rotting the Church from within.  It is time to remove these plagues from the House of God.


Related reading here.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio Warns of Immoral Consequences of 'Dont Ask' Repeal

"There are areas in which it is not unjust discrimination to take sexual orientation into account, for example, in the placement of children for adoption or foster care, in employment of teachers or athletic coaches, and in military recruitment." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Some Considerations Concerning the Response to Legislative Proposals on the Non-Discrimination of Homosexual Persons, No. 11).

The Archbishop expressed his concern that troop morale and unit cohesion would suffer if homosexuals were allowed to serve openly in the military. Additionally, His Excellency said that a firm effort must be made to avoid injustices that develop because people are put "in living situations that are an affront to good common sense." (See here).

The repeal of DADT also represents an act of violence toward Christian soldiers (and others). How so? Because "Christian purity requires a purification of the social climate" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2525) and "purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person....It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2521). But the sexual liberation movement undermines the sense of modesty, which protects chastity.

A repeal of DADT represents an act of violence against chastity, modesty and temperance. Openly homosexual men and women will share the same barracks, showers and restrooms with heterosexual men and women with whom they wish to have sexual relations. And that is unjust because people are thereby put in living situations which make them uncomfortable. This should be common sense. The early Church apologist Tertullian, in his treatise On Modesty which is an apology of Christian chastity, wrote, "But all the other frenzies of passions - impious both toward the bodies and toward the sexes - beyond the laws of nature [homosexual], we banish not only from the threshold, but from all shelter of the Church, because they are not sins, but monstrosities." (See here).

They should likewise be banished from the military.

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).

Air Force Academy Creates Wiccan Worship Space

For years I've warned about the encroachment of occultism at U.S. Military installations. Late last year I was criticized for this - read this Blog post and the ensuing comment from "MD." This represents a real prayer need.

While "MD" might wish to portray me as being somehow less than patriotic for expressing my concerns over recent developments in the military (and particularly the Air Force), I would mention that I am an Air Force veteran and served honorably as an Intelligence analyst. But I am a Catholic first.

Related reading here.

Persecution Watch

As explained by the Associated Press, "Americans entering the military often receive Bibles, courtesy of the Gideons International. But the Gideons have been told that while they can leave complimentary Bibles at most military induction stations, they cannot stay there to proselytize or preach to the recruits."

Remember Navy chaplain Lt. Gordon Klingenschmitt and his battle with the U.S. Navy over praying in his naval uniform and invoking the name Jesus? See here. As I stated in a previous post, "In the name of 'tolerance,' the New World Order seeks to impose its rebellion from truth on all. It will not tolerate any dissent, any disagreement. Coercion is an acceptable tool in a dictatorship. Soon, the New Order will use violence to achieve its goals and not just coercion and propaganda. In the end, every dictatorship must rely on violence in its vain attempt to hold onto power."

I served this nation honorably in the United States Air Force. I have always been proud of my service to America and proud of the United States military. But this new policy doesn't fill me with pride. It only makes me sad.

And what of the Posse Comitatus Act?

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878

June 18, 1878

CHAP. 263 - An act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, and for other purposes.SEC. 15. From and after the passage of this act it shall not be lawful to employ any part of the Army of the United States, as a posse comitatus, or otherwise, for the purpose of executing the laws, except in such cases and under such circumstances as such employment of said force may be expressly authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress; and no money appropriated by this act shall be used to pay any of the expenses incurred in the employment of any troops in violation of this section And any person willfully violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished by fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or imprisonment not exceeding two years or by both such fine and imprisonment.

10 U.S.C. (United States Code) 375

Sec. 375. Restriction on direct participation by military personnel: The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to ensure that any activity (including the provision of any equipment or facility or the assignment or detail of any personnel) under this chapter does not include or permit direct participation by a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps in a search, seizure, arrest, or other similar activity unless participation in such activity by such member is otherwise authorized by law.

18 U.S.C. 1385

Sec. 1385. Use of Army and Air Force as posse comitatus Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act ofCongress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise toexecute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

Note: The only exemption has to do with nuclear materials (18 U.S.C. 831 (e)