Non Tasarmi, Fratello!

“Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, There’s always laughter and good red wine. At least I’ve always found it so. Benedicamus Domino!” Hillaire Belloc

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Cardinal Dolan Was Unavailable For Comment

Father Gerald Murray weighs in on Amoris Laetitia, one year on:


Cardinals Brandmueller, Caffarra, Burke, and Meisner
What are we to make of Year One of the Amoris Laetitia era? We have had: papal silence on the dubia; papal approval of a draft statement by a group of Argentine bishops of the Rio de la Plata region that opens the door to the reception of Holy Communion by divorced and civilly remarried Catholics; affirmations by Cardinal Müller that Holy Communion cannot be given to those living in a state of adultery; the publication by the pope’s own newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, of the statement by the Bishops of Malta that couples in invalid second marriages can receive Holy Communion if they at are at peace in their conscience with that decision; the reaffirmation by the Bishops of Poland that the teaching and discipline enunciated by St. John Paul II in Familiaris Consortio have not changed, and that only those civilly remarried couples who live as brother and sister may be admitted to Holy Communion; the Archbishop of Philadelphia saying the same thing; while the bishops of Belgium and Germany agree with the bishops of Malta and Rio del La Plata, Argentina.

This is the current unholy mess. As the four Cardinals lament: “And so it is happening – how painful it is to see this! – that what is sin in Poland is good in Germany, that what is prohibited in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is permitted in Malta."


Geographically different doctrine within the same Catholic Church is not simply bizarre. It is impossible. If such is found to be the case, then we are dealing with error in one place and true doctrine in another. It is not that hard to tell which is which.


























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Think of This Song the Next Time a Phone Rings During Mass

I got a new phone yesterday. I will be careful with it.





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Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Tolerance Means Nothing Anymore

Or as Cardinal George said, "I expected to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square."


 City Won’t Let Farmer Serve Food to Everyone

Steve Tennes owns and operates Country Mill Farms, an organic apple farm located 22 miles outside of East Lansing in Charlotte, Michigan. Since 2010, his farm has participated in the East Lansing Farmer’s Market. While at the market, Country Mill has always complied with East Lansing laws, including its “Human Relations” law that makes it illegal for public accommodations to discriminate based on sexual orientation and other classifications and to publish any statement indicating someone is unacceptable because of these classifications.

As a Catholic taught to treat everyone with dignity and respect, Steve has gladly served and sold apples to all comers, regardless of their sexual orientation. Steve doesn’t discriminate. Okay, so what’s the problem then? Well, in 2016, Steve posted on the Country Mill Facebook page about his Catholic belief that marriage should be between one man and one woman and that his farm could only host weddings consistent with his faith.
Well, that did it. Normal rules go out the window when that subject comes up. Although his decision violated no law in Charlotte, it did violate East Lansing’s orthodoxy on that issue. After hearing about Steve’s beliefs, East Lansing officials expelled Steve, telling him that Country Mill could no longer participate in the Farmer’s Market. When Steve asked why, the officials responded that County Mill’s “general business practices” outside the city had violated East Lansing’s “anti-discrimination” law. As proof of his wrongdoing, officials pointed Steve to his Facebook post that explained his religious beliefs.

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Well, at Least They Didn't Behead Them

The Callanish Stones (or "Callanish I", Clachan Chalanais or Tursachan Chalanais in Scottish  Gaelic) are an arrangement of standing stones placed in a cruciform pattern with a central stone circle. They were erected in the late Neolithic era, and were a focus for ritual activity during the Bronze Age. They are near the village of Callinish (Gaelic: Calanais) on the west coast of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland.



According to one tradition, the Callanish Stones were petrified giants who would not convert to Christianity.

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Islamic Outreach, Part C

Part C as in 100.

From an earlier post on this blog:

Pope Francis spoke to the diplomatic corps and amongst other things, said, "Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam."

Meanwhile...


.- Last week, members of a terrorist group destroyed a Catholic chapel, desecrating consecrated hosts and religious icons, during a nine-hour long attack on the town of Malagakit in southern Philippines.
The June 21 attack was reportedly carried out by about 300 gunmen of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, known as BIFF, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. In the siege they also robbed houses and stores at gunpoint, causing the displacement of hundreds of residents.

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Sunday, June 25, 2017

Nativity of St. John the Baptist, June 24


 
Who knew....
 
A horse rears in the crowd during the traditional San Juan (Saint John) festival in the town of Ciutadella, on the Balearic Island of Menorca, on the eve of Saint John's day.

 The reorganisation of the churches and parishes of Menorca by King Jaime II of Mallorca in the late XIII century included that of St John the Baptist, situated five kilometres south of Ciutadella. This parish had its name changed following the Christian conquest of Menorca from the parish of Artruix (a name designating the whole of the south of Ciutadella) to being known as the parish of St John the Baptist. Today, it is known as Sant Joan de Missa, the little parish church which lost its parochial rites on being linked to the parish of Ciutadella, the home of Menorca’s cathedral.

The fiesta’s Medieval origins are also apparent in the group of horsemen and their attire that lead the proceedings. The municipal council of Ciutadella would elect a committee from different social sectors to administer the religious buildings and charitable works. This was led by a nobleman and included a priest, two farmers and an artisan, and the committee members were known as ‘Caixers’. The committee also organised important festivities, the most important being the birth of St John the Baptist on 24 June, the eve of which a pilgrimage was arranged to the hermitage. After mass everyone returned to the town at sunset when bonfires were lit and people celebrated by dancing in the streets. The following morning mass was held in honour of the saint.

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Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Cardinal Tobin Walks the Tightrope

The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark 
.- Last month Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark welcomed a pilgrimage of self-identified LGBT pilgrims, with an archdiocesan spokesman saying it should be seen in the context of welcoming everyone, not as archdiocese sponsorship of the event.
Cardinal Tobin

“I think that the central point that is missing from the majority of the media coverage and blog postings about this pilgrimage is that the cardinal was asked whether he might welcome a group of pilgrims who identify as LGBT. He said yes, we welcome all in the name of Christ,” James Goodness, communications director for the Archdiocese of Newark, told CNA.
“This was not an event sponsored by the archdiocese, and we did not promote or advertise it,” Goodness said. “It was a purely private event.
Some news coverage of the pilgrimage depicted it as a shift within the Church.


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Monday, June 19, 2017

And Then Pigs Flew

Holy Cow! A Jesuit Talking Sense!

The Church should not defend Islam “at all costs” and seek to “exonerate it from the horrors committed every day in its name” or else “one ends up betraying the truth,” a leading Jesuit scholar of Islam asserted.


Greek Melkite Jesuit Father Henri Boulad believes that when it comes to dealing with Islam, the Catholic Church has succumbed to a “liberthal left ideology which is destroying the West” based on the pretext of “openness, tolerance and Christian charity.” 
In a June 10 interview with the Register, Father Boulad reveals that he shared these sentiments with Pope Francis in a letter he wrote to him last August, telling him that many think the Pope’s own views on Islam are “aligned with this ideology, and that, from complacency, you go from concessions to concessions, and compromises in compromises, at the expense of the truth.”
“Christians,” he wrote, “are expecting something from you other than vague and harmless declarations that may obscure reality.”  


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That'll Show 'em!

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Francis has long railed against corruption and the mafia, but now the Vatican is considering developing a whole doctrine around excommunicating corrupt and mafia-tinged Catholics.
The Vatican this week hosted its first conference on corruption and organized crime, inviting 50 prosecutors, U.N. officials, bishops and victims of organized crime for a day of talks.
Organizers said in a statement Saturday that the time had come to develop a new legal doctrine for the Catholic Church around "the question of excommunication for corruption and mafia association."


Michael Corleone could not be reached for comment.

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Friday, June 16, 2017

The Scarecrow Will Have To Look Elsewhere

.- A relic of St. John Bosco, which had been stolen from an Italian basilica two weeks ago, has been recovered, the local Prosecutor's Office reported.

An urn containing a relic of St. John Bosco’s brain was discovered missing on June 3. The reliquary was kept in the Basilica of John Bosco in Asti, the saint's birthplace, fewer than 20 miles east of Turin.

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Beer is a Gift From God

.- It was God and beer sales that helped sustain the Benedictine monks of Norcia, and it is God and beer sales that will help them rebuild.
Last year, in August and again in October, strong earthquakes rocked the town of Norcia, Italy, killing hundreds of people and destroying the 14th century Basilica of St. Benedict, where the monks of Norcia dwelt.
Miraculously, their brewery, where they produce Birra Nursia, was mostly left intact.
The monks were forced to dwell in tents and cabins through a particularly cold Italian winter while they began rebuilding a new, earthquake-proof monastery in San Benedetto in Monte, just outside the walls of Norcia.
Now, the monks  have announced a special project that will help them rebuild: Leffe, a Belgian brewery, has agreed to partner with the monks for a special edition brew, the proceeds of which will go directly to the monks’ new monastery.

Unfortunately, it will only be available in Italy.

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Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Catholic Beard Balm

I just ordered the Crusader package - three different scents. You can order here. It's fun and a worthy cause.
.- What do you do with an excess of chrism and a plethora of Catholic men with beards?
Tony Vasinda, a director of faith formation at a Catholic parish in Seattle, Wash., was faced with that dilemma three years ago when he ordered some of the fragrant, liturgical oil for his confirmation students.

“I love it when people can actually engage with the materials of the sacrament in advance, so I wanted to have some non-blessed chrism we could use for the candidates to smell and help cement in their memory the different lessons we were teaching,” Vasinda told CNA.
When he went to order essence of chrism, Vasinda only needed an ounce. But the minimum amount he could order was enough to make three gallons.
“So I had a little bit of an excess of chrism,” he joked.
Around that same time, Vasinda had been making beard balms for himself and his bearded friends, and he had an idea for what to do with his surplus.
“I thought hey, wouldn’t it be funny if I made some chrism-scented Catholic beard balm?”


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Monday, June 12, 2017

African La Raza

.- Pope Francis met on Thursday with a delegation from a Nigerian diocese which for the last four and a half years has refused to recognize the bishop who was appointed as its shepherd.
Bishop Okpaleke
He demanded that the clerics of the Diocese of Ahiara accept the bishop appointment that has been made, or face suspension and loss of office.
Fr. Peter Okpaleke was appointed Bishop of Aasiara in December 2012 by Benedict XVI. But the Ahiara diocese is dominated by the Mbaise ethnic group. As an outsider from the nearby Diocese of Awka, Fr. Okpaleke was rejected by much of Ahiara's clergy and laity, who wanted one of their own to be appointed bishop over them.

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Tuesday, June 06, 2017

Stuck On Stupid

.- Pope Francis on Monday challenged the Consolata Missionaries to give a “new impetus” to their missions work, including by inculturation of the Gospel, promoting family values, and dialogue with Islam.

Don't get stuck on stupid.



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Islamic Outreach Part XCIX

From an earlier post on this blog:

Pope Francis spoke to the diplomatic corps and amongst other things, said, "Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam.",

Meanwhile...


Days after the Islamic State reportedly kidnapped 15 people from a church (including a priest and nuns) in Marawi, Philippines, the terrorist group released a video showing showing the destruction of a Catholic Church.
The terrorists can be seen smashing statues, tearing a picture of Pope Francis and finally setting the church on fire.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/videos/footage-shows-isis-backed-militants-destroying-catholic-church-26172
The militants belong to the Maute terror group, which pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2015.
The same Islamic State-allied militants in the Philippines took a Catholic priest and a group of church-goers hostage on May 22-23, threatening to kill them if the nation’s military does not cease its current offensive against them. They also burned the Catholic cathedral of Marawi. ISIS has destroyed numerous Catholic Churches in the regions they control.

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Brainless Thief Steals Brain

ROME (RNS) Police set up roadblocks in northern Italy after a thief posing as a pilgrim stole tiny fragments of the brain of John Bosco, one of the country’s most revered saints.
St. John Bosco

The thief entered the church, named after the 19th century saint in Castelnuovo, near Turin, last Friday (June 2), and left with a glass case containing the relic of the saint, who is also known as Don Bosco.
Devotees often visit the church to pray before the relic kept behind the altar. On Sunday, pilgrims gathered at the Don Bosco Basilica to pray for its return.

Great Saint...but his name reminds me of...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B2tmETjWsKo&feature=youtu.be

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Saturday, June 03, 2017

Noted Theologian Nancy Pelosi Explains How God Thinks

Apparently,God thinks just like Noted Theologian Nancy Pelosi. Besides, I thought the polluted air crisis of the future is resolved through abortion and gay marriage!



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13th Annual Clericus Cup

.- Upon winning the Vatican's annual soccer championship last week, the victorious team honored Christians in Egypt who have faced increasingly brutal persecution in recent years.
“I would like to dedicate this trophy to our friends from the Coptic Church,” said Deacon Sama Joan Romeo of Cameroon, the team captain of the Urban Lions.
Catholic seminarians and clergy drew soccer teams from the pontifical universities and colleges of Rome May 27 for the 13th annual Clericus Cup competition.
African players are  heavily represented on the team from the Pontifical Urban University, nicknamed “The Lions of Africa.” They hail from countries including Uganda, Cameroon, Tanzania and Botswana.
“All the world is playing in the field, not so much to highlight the word of soccer, as that of the Gospel,” Alborghetti said.
Over 400 players competed, but the May 27 finals came down to two teams: one from the Pontifical Gregorian University, called “Gregoriana,” the other from the  Pontifical Urban University, the “Urban Lions.”

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