A QUOTE FROM A VERY RELIABLE SOURCE:
"We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of the American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel and the anti-Gospel. This confrontation lies within the plans of divine providence. It is a trial which the whole Church… must take up" (Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (Bl. JOHN PAUL II) to the American bishops in 1976, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Nov. 9, 1978 (three weeks after his election as Pope).
Did you GET that?Did you HEAR what Pope John Paul II SAID in 1976 (before he was Pope)???
Let me repeat it slowly to make sure...(You know what I mean..I shall recopy , on separate lines, with emphasis, to REITERATE this VERY IMPORTANT message!)
"We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical
confrontation humanity has gone through.
I do not think that wide circles of the American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully.
We are now facing the FINAL confrontation
between the Church and the anti-Church,
of the Gospel and the anti-Gospel.
This confrontation lies within the plans of divine providence.It is a trial which the whole Church… must take up"
(Cardinal Karol Wojtyla to the American bishops in 1976, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Nov. 9, 1978 (three weeks after his election as Pope).
These are NOT idle words, my brothers and sisters!
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A MESSAGE TO CONCERNED CATHOLICS:
IF YOU ARE A CONCERNED CATHOLIC AND YOU TRULY LOVE YOUR FAITH AND YOUR CHURCH, THERE ARE SOME UNPLEASANT (actually they are AWFUL) FACTS THAT WE ALL NEED TO BE AWARE OF BECAUSE
WE ARE IN A SPIRITUAL BATTLE!
AND I BELIEVE AS JOHN PAUL II SAID,
THAT WE ARE IN THE FINAL CONFRONTATION!
WE CANNOT FIGHT THE EVIL IF WE DO NOT KNOW THAT IT EXISTS.
IN ORDER TO FIGHT EVIL,
THE EVIL MUST BE IDENTIFIED
AND THEN CONFRONTED !
HAVE YOU HEARD OF 'THE HOMOSEXUAL NETWORK'? OR 'THE GAY LOBBY'?
DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT FREEMASONRY IS?
DO YOU KNOW HOW THE TRUE GOALS OF FREEMASONRY RELATE TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH...OR TO ALL CHRISTION CHURCHES?
IF YOU DON'T, YOU NEED TO FIND THESE THINGS OUT!
I HAVE A WEBSITE WITH A FEW PROGRAMS AND SOME RESEARCH
ABOUT THESE THINGS FOR YOU AT THE END OF THIS MESSAGE.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO LOOK AT THE RESEARCH
AND LISTEN TO THE PROGRAMS THAT CAME OUT OF THE RESEARCH;
AND ONLY THEN,
DECIDE THE VERACITY OF THE FOLLOWING CLAIMS
AND MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND FOR YOURSELF.
FREEMASONRY:
THERE IS A VERY GOOD AND VERY GRAVE REASON THAT FREEMASONRY HAS BEEN CONDEMNED MORE TIMES AND BY MORE POPES THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN CHURCH HISTORY! WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT IT IS AND WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING BECAUSE THIS IS THE FINAL CONFRONTATION AND A MAJOR WEAPON OF SATAN'S ATTACK!
NOW, THIS NEXT PART WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE...
AND VERY PAINFUL! :'(
I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT OR LOOK AT IT FOR A LONG TIME...
BUT TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
HOMOSEXUALITY
THE CHURCH, THE PRIESTHOOD, TO BE SPECIFIC,
WAS PURPOSELY INFILTRATED BY HOMOSEXUALS DECADES AGO!
THIS GROUP WITHIN THE PRIESTHOOD,
GREW IN NUMBERS AND IN POWER,
BY MOVING UP (OR BEING MOVED UP),
IN THE CHURCH HIERACHY.
AND THEY PROTECTED THEIR FRIENDS.
(THEY ALSO WREAKED HAVOC FOR ANY OF THEIR PEERS
WHO WOULD NOT GO ALONG.
MANY GOOD PRIESTS DID NOT GET PROMOTED.
AND MANY GOOD MEN WERE EVEN DENIED
ENTRANCE INTO THE SEMINARY FOR MANY YEARS!)
THEY ARE THE CAUSE OF THE SEX ABUSE SCANDALS AND CRISIS!WE HAVE ALL ASKED OURSELVES HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?
THEY ARE HOW IT HAPPENED!...
AND HOW IT CONTINUED TO HAPPEN...FOR DECADES :'(
(This is not unrelated to or separate from the freemasonry problem.)
BELIEVE ME, I KNOW THIS IS HARD TO BELIEVE...
LIKE I SAID, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU GO THROUGH THE RESEARCH AND LISTEN TO THE PROGRAMS BEFORE YOU MAKE UP YOUR MIND ABOUT BELIEVING THIS OR NOT.
PLEASE!
BECAUSE THE SOUL OF THE CHURCH IS AT STAKE!
WE KNOW THAT THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL,
BUT THEY ARE SHAKING THE VERY FOUNDATIONS OF JESUS' CHURCH!
AND WE ARE THE WARRIORS THAT JESUS HAS PLACED
IN THIS TIME,
HERE AND NOW,
TO FIGHT FOR HIS CHURCH!
The ChurchMilitantTV website HAS THE BEST INFORMATION that I know of on these important subjects! The team of Catholic researchers and investigators at this website has done some outstanding, in depth research. These 2 topics are covered in their FBI series (Faith Based Investigations) which used to be called CIA(Catholic Investigative Agency). They shares ALL of their research for each episode in this series on a separate page. There are always 500 or more research hours that go into each episode. The website is extremely reliable. The issues are also covered in the live Wednesday night 'Mic'd Up' series. You can find all of the information on this website, related to the topics above, to give you an in depth understanding of the issues.
Freemasonry
http://www.churchmilitant.tv/cia/14freemasonry/
"OUT OF THE CLOSET" AND INTO THE CHURCH
http://www.angelusonline.org/index.php?section=articles&subsection=show_article&article_id=772
Homosexuals and Freemasons Inside the Church
http://new.livestream.com/churchmilitanttv/events/2406185
A still very serious problem in the Catholic Church that needs to be dealt with
http://www.lifesitenews.com/blog/a-still-very-serious-problem-in-the-catholic-church-that-needs-to-be-dealt?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=8ef7fc4b34-LifeSiteNews_com_US_Full_Text_07_26_2012&utm_medium=email.
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Why Catholics Can Vote No - Father Bob Pierson - YouTube
How can this be allowed? especially by the bishop and who is the bishop,anyway? Doesn't the fact that he does nothing imply that he is part of the homosexual network or is friendly to the homosexual network in the Church? Are any persons within this group still abusing teenagers or even smaller children? Doesn't anyone even worry about this. It is one thing to fight about the rules of whether a homosexual an be a priest or even publicly going against the teachings of the church when you are commissioned to spread the gospel and Church Teaching. That is bad enough all by itself. But it is quite another thing and a MUCH worse thing, imho, NOT to address the issue of pederasty and child abuse in regards to the openly gay, homosexual network among clergy and Church hierarchy, and/or the gay network friendly or 'silenced by fear of repercussions' clergy among the Church hierarchy. Do these people even have a faith especially THE faith in that they worry about the state of their immortal souls? It certainly does not appear so....To be fair, they may have a strong faith and a deep love for Jesus but it is NOT the Catholic faith that they hold! And what is even sadder and more frightening is that many truly do not realize that they do not hold the Catholic faith or see anything wrong with what they are doing. They are fighting HARD to change the Catholic Church into this!- their image of the gospel, God and the Church, their image for what is good in the modern world- the upside down heretical image! In many of their minds they are TRULY fighting for the good of the Church...I believe this is part of Satan's 'great deception' and many of these 'in the spirit of Vatican II' 'believers' have consciously or unconsciously formed the anti-Church and the anti-gospel of the great apostasy...and I fear their numbers are far greater than true believers...and I also fear that few/none of us have escaped being deceived by Satan in some way in this area! We must pray! We must all humble ourselves. We must all pray to be enlightened, cleansed and guided by the Holy Spirit ---every minute of every day!
I do NOT agree with Fr.Bob , in this video , BUT I DO have great respect for the fact that he is doing what he thinks is the 'right thing' in a situation that he surely must know will, in the very least, put him in a difficult situation. This is more than I can say for some shepherds in the Church hierarchy from priest to bishops and archbishops who allow PUBLIC contradictions to Church Teaching in their jurisdiction to go uncorrected, unmentioned and even totally ignored. This can include many things; PUBLIC actions, teachings and stands by Catholic groups, agencies, nuns, sisters, catechism teachers, and laity to PUBLICLY contradict Church teaching. It is scandalous that these types of things are allowed to continue indefinitely and completely unimpeded!
As I was saying, I DO have great respect for the fact that Fr.Bob is doing what he thinks is the 'right thing' in a situation that he surely must know will, in the very least, put him in a difficult situation...and one that he will be greatly criticized by both those who disagree within the Church and its hierarchy AND by those who agree/support his views within that same group. Many of those who actually support him within Church clergy and hierarchy(and they DO exist!) will criticize him for drawing public attention from the media, the nation and the Church to something that is supposed to operate BELOW the radar. And, although his is considered to be the positive viewpoint these days in the media and nation, HE is STILL a priest which makes it a Church issue. The media can use this story in both the positive and negative ways.
FOR SAME SEX MARRIAGE: They can capitalize on the fact that some Church clergy also agree with same sex marriage even though this is going against the 'Vatican' supporting the view of it being behind the times and out of touch!
AND AGAINST THE CHURCH: They could even capitalize on the fact that He IS a priest and Church abuse scandals are STILL lurking in the background ready to spring forward at a moment's notice...
(uhhh...nevermind the respect part ...I have gotten past that... I just discovered some HORRIBLE things about Fr. Bob's order and the place he has lived , St John's Abbey. It has 23 monks PUBLICLY listed for credible sex abuse cases, though , I do not think that I saw Fr. Bob's name on that list. My God! 23 out of how many monks? That is a different post. BUT, I shall put the link into this post when I finish with it...)
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http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/minnesota-monastery-gone-wild-priest-urges-vote-against-marriage-amendment/
Minnesota Monastery gone wild: priest urges vote against marriage amendment
MINNESOTA, June 21, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) —Collegeville, Minnesota’s notoriously liberal Benedictine community of St. John’s Abbey is in the spotlight once again as one of its monks urges Catholics to oppose the cause for true marriage.
On June 10th, openly homosexual priest Fr. Bob Pierson, the guest-master at St. John’s, told over 200 people at a Methodist church in Edina, Minneapolis, that “Catholics can vote no” on Minnesota’s proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage. Pierson, who styled himself an “LGBT ally”, made his case by selectively quoting the Catechism of the Catholic Church and voicing disagreement with the Vatican on certain issues.
The event was organized by Minnesotans United for All Families (MUAF), a homosexual activist group campaigning to defeat the amendment.
“I knew that I was gay when I was ordained,” Fr. Pierson stated, after saying that he was “offended to learn” from a 2005 Vatican document that the Church has declared that men with deep-seated homosexual tendencies cannot be priests.
In defending homosexual marriage, Fr. Pierson quoted Catechism paragraph 2358: “every evidence of unjust discrimination [against people with homosexual tendencies]… should be avoided.” However, Fr. Pierson omitted to read the immediately previous passage that declares homosexual acts to be “acts of grave depravity” and “under no circumstances can they be approved.”
To defend voting “no” on the amendment, Fr. Pierson also argued for “freedom of conscience.” He quoted the Catechism’s doctrine that “a Catholic person must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience.” However, Fr. Pierson omitted the rest of the quotation, which states that the conscience must be informed by a higher authority.
Fr. Pierson’s talk occurred not long after St. John’s sponsored a retreat for ‘LGBT folks’ at the abbey. According to the Eponymous Flower blog, the retreat, in which students and monks were encouraged to “touch each other,” was to be conducted by Bob Pileggi, a pro-gay guru who allegedly teaches while he is naked and advocates mutual undressing as part of “erotic spirituality.”
Fr. Pierson apparently cancelled the retreat due to complaints and information about it has been removed from the abbey’s Guesthouse website. However, Behind the Pine Curtain, a blog dedicated to exposing “sexual abuse and misconduct” at St. John’s, has retained a screenshot of the guesthouse website, containing the retreat details.
More information on Pileggi’s retreats—including statements such as: “massage portions of the weekend will be clothing optional”—can also still be found at Pileggi’s website.
The monastery has been subject to numerous sexual abuse allegations.
According to America magazine, Fr. Pierson was listed as a priest in good standing in the 2011 Official Catholic Directory.
LifeSiteNews made numerous attempts by phone over several days to contact Fr. Pierson’s abbey, but St. John’s failed to reply.
Contact Information:
Congregation for Religious
His Excellency Archbishop Secretary +39. 06. 69884584
FAX +39. 06. 69884526
civcsva.segr@ccscrlife.va
St. John’s Abbey
(Abbot) Rt. Rev. John Klassen
FAX 320-363-3082
Br. Aelred Senna OSB, Abbey spokesman
PHONE 320-266-8119
asenna@csbsju.edu
Fr. Bob Pierson of Minnesota's St. John's Abbey
“I knew that I was gay when I was ordained,” Fr. Pierson stated, after saying that he was “offended to learn” from a 2005 Vatican document that the Church has declared that men with deep-seated homosexual tendencies cannot be priests.
In defending homosexual marriage, Fr. Pierson quoted Catechism paragraph 2358: “every evidence of unjust discrimination [against people with homosexual tendencies]… should be avoided.” However, Fr. Pierson omitted to read the immediately previous passage that declares homosexual acts to be “acts of grave depravity” and “under no circumstances can they be approved.”
To defend voting “no” on the amendment, Fr. Pierson also argued for “freedom of conscience.” He quoted the Catechism’s doctrine that “a Catholic person must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience.” However, Fr. Pierson omitted the rest of the quotation, which states that the conscience must be informed by a higher authority.
Fr. Pierson’s talk occurred not long after St. John’s sponsored a retreat for ‘LGBT folks’ at the abbey. According to the Eponymous Flower blog, the retreat, in which students and monks were encouraged to “touch each other,” was to be conducted by Bob Pileggi, a pro-gay guru who allegedly teaches while he is naked and advocates mutual undressing as part of “erotic spirituality.”
Fr. Pierson apparently cancelled the retreat due to complaints and information about it has been removed from the abbey’s Guesthouse website. However, Behind the Pine Curtain, a blog dedicated to exposing “sexual abuse and misconduct” at St. John’s, has retained a screenshot of the guesthouse website, containing the retreat details.
More information on Pileggi’s retreats—including statements such as: “massage portions of the weekend will be clothing optional”—can also still be found at Pileggi’s website.
The monastery has been subject to numerous sexual abuse allegations.
According to America magazine, Fr. Pierson was listed as a priest in good standing in the 2011 Official Catholic Directory.
LifeSiteNews made numerous attempts by phone over several days to contact Fr. Pierson’s abbey, but St. John’s failed to reply.
Contact Information:
Congregation for Religious
His Excellency Archbishop Secretary +39. 06. 69884584
FAX +39. 06. 69884526
civcsva.segr@ccscrlife.va
St. John’s Abbey
(Abbot) Rt. Rev. John Klassen
FAX 320-363-3082
Br. Aelred Senna OSB, Abbey spokesman
PHONE 320-266-8119
asenna@csbsju.edu
[The article has Fr. Bob's video "Why Catholics Can Vote No" here . Since I already have it posted above, I have deleted the one that was here.]
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OMG!
MONKS GONE WILD!
Sex Abuse, Monk Style:I WAS NOT READY FOR THIS!
Behind The Pine Curtain Website
http://learningmycatholicfaith.blogspot.com/2013/10/monks-gone-wild-sex-abuse-monk-stylei.html
http://www.behindthepinecurtain.com/wordpress/welcome/
MONKS GONE WILD! Sex Abuse, Monk Style: I WAS NOT READY FOR THIS! BehindThePineCurtain.com
This ONE abbey, St John's Abbey, Fr. Bob's home, has a list of 23 monks with credible sex abuse cases against them!
TWENTY THREE!!!!
How many live there?
Some of them have had 'treatment' and 3 are living there 'under supervision'.
Well...Do they STILL own the treatment center and go only to that one treatment center???
Inquiring minds want to know!
MY GOD! MY GOD! MY GOD!
This is not an old website! This is October 2013!
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?
HAVE WE NOT MADE ANY HEADWAY?
HOW MANY ABBEYS DO THEY HAVE?
AND HOW MANY BISHOPS ARE ALLOWING THIS TO GO ON?
THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE HERE?
IS THE 'GAY LOBBY' IN CONTROL here, or something?
I was just talking about this in my remarks above the video about Fr. Bob~========================================================================
OMG!
MONKS GONE WILD!
Sex Abuse, Monk Style:I WAS NOT READY FOR THIS!
Behind The Pine Curtain Website
http://learningmycatholicfaith.blogspot.com/2013/10/monks-gone-wild-sex-abuse-monk-stylei.html
http://www.behindthepinecurtain.com/wordpress/welcome/
MONKS GONE WILD! Sex Abuse, Monk Style: I WAS NOT READY FOR THIS! BehindThePineCurtain.com
Welcome | BehindThePineCurtain.com
This website is for the credible sex abuse cases against monks at St John's Abbey.
You remember? That is Fr. Gay's home, i.e.the openly gay priest, Fr. Bob Pierson, of the famous "Why Catholics Can Vote No" 2012 youtube video (for banning same sex marriage in Minnesota).
I WAS NOT READY FOR THIS!
This website is for the credible sex abuse cases against monks at St John's Abbey.
You remember? That is Fr. Gay's home, i.e.the openly gay priest, Fr. Bob Pierson, of the famous "Why Catholics Can Vote No" 2012 youtube video (for banning same sex marriage in Minnesota).
I WAS NOT READY FOR THIS!
There is more than one abbey involved(when you include the links and some of the articles) and way too many perpetrators to count! And I have barely scratched the surface of the website!
Why are these places still open????
Does this particular order of Benedictine Monks have a homosexual prerequisite or something? :o
Remember that sex abuse does NOT include the sex of consenting adults.
This is just from the children at their schools.
Remember that sex abuse does NOT include the sex of consenting adults.
This is just from the children at their schools.
This abbey also runs a guesthouse and offers retreats.
Some of which have been known to be LGBT 'touching' retreats, where the monks and the retreatants are 'encouraged' to touch. At least, they were, until they were 'caught' and called out on it, in which case, the retreat was promptly cancelled.
Some of which have been known to be LGBT 'touching' retreats, where the monks and the retreatants are 'encouraged' to touch. At least, they were, until they were 'caught' and called out on it, in which case, the retreat was promptly cancelled.
One retreat that I found still lists graduate students from their seminary who were specializing in 'evocative spirituality'.
Now, WHAT, PRAY TELL, IS THAT?
That sounds like it could be a touchy feely sort of 'spirituality' to me!
This ONE abbey, St John's Abbey, Fr. Bob's home, has a list of 23 monks with credible sex abuse cases against them!
TWENTY THREE!!!!
How many live there?
Some of them have had 'treatment' and 3 are living there 'under supervision'.
Well...Do they STILL own the treatment center and go only to that one treatment center???
Inquiring minds want to know!
MY GOD! MY GOD! MY GOD!
This is not an old website! This is October 2013!
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?
HAVE WE NOT MADE ANY HEADWAY?
HOW MANY ABBEYS DO THEY HAVE?
AND HOW MANY BISHOPS ARE ALLOWING THIS TO GO ON?
THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE HERE?
IS THE 'GAY LOBBY' IN CONTROL here, or something?
(and how much influence DOES it have? how BIG is this thing?)
I just don't know what to think anymore!
I found this website a couple of hours ago and I have mostly just skimmed through things.
I just don't know what to think anymore!
I found this website a couple of hours ago and I have mostly just skimmed through things.
I may not have some of these 'facts' quite right.
And frankly, I am still sitting here in SHOCK!...again
But it is all in the website.
But it is all in the website.
Have a look for yourself .
:'(
The gates of hell are shaking the foundations of the Church!
I think that I shall say a Rosary...
I REBUKE THEE, SATAN, IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD AND SAVIOR!
GET OUT OF MY CHURCH!
ST MICHAEL, MOTHER MARY, HELP!
CRUSH THIS FORMER ANGELIC BEING TURNED CONSUMATE EVIL DECEIVER AND HEAD HEATHEN!
SEND HIM AND HIS MINIONS BACK TO THE PIT OF HELL!
:'(
The gates of hell are shaking the foundations of the Church!
I think that I shall say a Rosary...
I REBUKE THEE, SATAN, IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD AND SAVIOR!
GET OUT OF MY CHURCH!
ST MICHAEL, MOTHER MARY, HELP!
CRUSH THIS FORMER ANGELIC BEING TURNED CONSUMATE EVIL DECEIVER AND HEAD HEATHEN!
SEND HIM AND HIS MINIONS BACK TO THE PIT OF HELL!
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http://theprogressivecatholicvoice.blogspot.com/2013/10/priest-calls-out-archbishop-over-sex.html
Priest Demands Nienstedt Explain Handling of Clergy Sexual Abuse by Madeleine Baran
Well, I just brought up this subject in my personal thoughts above the video!
Is this the same archbishop who is/was over Fr. Bob in the video above?
A popular St. Paul priest on Sunday accused Archbishop John Nienstedt of arrogance and demanded an explanation for the clergy sexual abuse scandal.
"He needs to stand before us and explain himself," the Rev. Stephen O'Gara, pastor of the Church of the Assumption, said in a Sunday homily. "Only then will we have the respect called to his office. It's about arrogance, and we all fall victim to arrogance in some degree or in some place in our lives. But this is more. This is not some small matter. This is a big deal. It's the first time, I must say, in 69 years that I'm embarrassed to be Catholic."
O'Gara's homily references the recent revelations of the handling of clergy sexual abuse allegations by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. An MPR News investigation has found Nienstedt and other church leaders failed to warn parishioners of a priest's sexual misconduct, did not turn over possible child pornography to police for nine years and gave special payments to offending priests. Many of the revelations come from former church official Jennifer Haselberger, who resigned in April after Nienstedt and others failed to follow the church's sexual abuse policies.
"These are difficult days," O'Gara told parishioners. "They are hurtful and painful, and I think it's time that we come clean."
A spokesman for the archdiocese was not immediately available for comment Tuesday morning.
Parishioners at the downtown St. Paul church applauded O'Gara's remarks, and someone uploaded an audio recording of the homily to YouTube.
Other priests have come forward in recent weeks to challenge Nienstedt's leadership.
The Rev. Mike Tegeder of St. Francis Cabrini Church in Minneapolis called for Nienstedt's resignation. The Rev. Bill Deziel of the Church of St. Peter, in a church bulletin, asked for a "do-over" of archdiocesan leadership. And the Rev. Michael Anderson praised Haselberger for revealing the archdiocese's actions.
"I think (Haselberger) is a heroic person who could no longer live with a duplicitous system that said publicly that it was following strict guidelines to protect children but privately withheld information and continued to move predators from parish to parish," Anderson, of the Church of St. Bernard in St. Paul, wrote in an Oct. 13 church bulletin.
As the scandal stays in the news, some priests worry that parishioners will stop donating money on Sundays, which could make it difficult for struggling parishes to stay afloat. The archdiocese recently delayed a capital campaign, and earlier this year, church officials met with bankruptcy experts in anticipation of lawsuits by victims of clergy sexual abuse allowed under a new state law.
The Rev. Rodger Bauman, pastor of Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Oakdale, sent a letter to parishioners this month encouraging them to continue giving to the parish.
"In the wake of the terrible reports in the news, some parishioners here at Guardian Angels, and I would imagine in every parish in the Archdiocese, have expressed concern that none of their contributions to the church go to the Archdiocese," Bauman wrote. "The majority of your contributions to Guardian Angels stay right here to pay salaries, support programs and keep the doors open."
Nienstedt has responded to the scandal by creating a task force to review church policies on child sexual abuse. Although the archbishop has characterized the task force as independent, its members were chosen by a priest selected by Nienstedt who will also control access to church files.
"As head of this local Church, I accept responsibility for addressing the issues that have been raised and am completely committed to finding the truth and fixing the problems that exist," Nienstedt wrote in an email to MPR News on Oct. 23. "My highest priorities are to ensure the safety of our children and to restore the trust of Catholics and our clergy. I will do everything in my power to do so."
MPR News reporter Tom Scheck contributed to this report.
See also the previous PCV posts:Archbishop Nienstedt Does "Boilerplate PR"
To Regain Trust, Twin Cities Archdiocese Will Have to Come Clean
Catholic Coalition for Church Reform Votes No Confidence in the Leadership of Archbishop John C. Nienstedt
Can the Archdiocese Continue Under the Leadership of John C. Nienstedt?
Statement by Jennifer Haselberger
"Trust Your Shepherds"
Related Off-site Links:Wide-Ranging Reaction to Nienstedt Apology: Praise, Gratitude — and More Calls for Resignation — Beth Hawkins (Beth Hawkins, October 25, 2013).Revered for His Work with the Poor, McDonough Now Entangled in Abuse Cases — Baird Helgeson (Star Tribune, October 27, 2013).Task Force Supervisor to Control Group's Access to Clergy Abuse Information — Madeleine Baran and Tom Scheck (Minnesota Public Radio, October 28, 2013).When Will Pope Notice Trouble in Minnesota Church? — Minnesota Public Radio (October 25, 2013).
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MY COMMENT ON THE ABOVE ARTICLE
Thank You to this pastor, Rev. Stephen O'Gara!
Here is hoping that he becomes a bishop someday!
I was just doing a blog post on Fr, Bob Pierson of Minnesota and wondering about the deeper issue of pederasty and the 'gay lobby' and clergy that are silent about such things out of fear, being friendly or being in it.
It is more than just an issue of clergy and Church hierarchy publicly going against Church teaching. There is also the deeper issue of the Church sex abuse scandals.
Shouldn't these openly defiant clergy lead us to addressing the deeper issue of the sex abuse scandals and the question of whether or not these two issues could be related?.
It is not as if they are not at all related....
Homosexuality, pederasty and sex abuse scandals ARE related in the Church and these issues goes much deeper than most Catholics realize.
The Church was PURPOSELY infiltrated!
The house cleaning has been ongoing but it is NOT finished !
At least I THINK that it has...
http://theprogressivecatholicvoice.blogspot.com/
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OUR LADY OF FATIMA
(Just for the record: I am NOT one of those who believe that Russia had NOT been consecrated to the Blessed Virgin. I DO believe that it has as Russia IS part of the world and the Blessed Virgin did NOT specifically ask that it be consecrated all by itself. There are other reasons but that is not a subject for this post. The website that this article comes from has the point of view that it has not among other viewpoints that I do not necessarily hold, which is why I felt the need to clarify this point. I DID want to keep THIS particular article, though, because of the information it contains from the book by Father Enrique Rueda, The Homosexual Network, Private Lives and Public Policy .)
  OUR LADY OF FATIMA  Clerical Scandals and the "Negligence of the Pastors" by John Vennari TAKEN FROM THE FATIMA CRUSADER, SPECIAL ISSUE 71 IT is hard to imagine a more distasteful distasteful subject than pedophilia and homosexuality in the Roman Catholic priesthood. It is even more disturbing to consider that homosexuals successfully targeted the Catholic Church for infiltration. Yet these are the issues we are forced to confront at the same time Fatima revisionists claim that the 1984 Consecration of the world fulfilled Our Lady's request for the Consecration of Russia, and that we are now witnessing the triumph of the Immaculate Heart. If the current state of the Church is an indication of Her triumph, I shudder to think of what would be Her defeat.
Crisis Foretold
In 1981, Father Joaquin Alonso, who had many conversations with Sister Lucy, and who was the official Fatima archivist for sixteen years, said, "It is therefore completely probable that the text (of the Third Secret of Fatima) makes concrete references to the crisis of faith within the Church and to the negligence of the pastors themselves [and the] internal struggles in the very bosom of the Church and of grave pastoral negligence of the upper hierarchy."1 The scandals are also the result of what Sister Lucy called the "diabolical disorientation" afflicting "so many persons who occupy places of responsibility" in the Church.2 As will be demonstrated, the upper hierarchy has been so negligent and disoriented that it presided over a massive influx of homosexuals into the Catholic priesthood and religious orders.And homosexuality is the real issue. Most of today's clerical scandals are not true cases of pedophilia (preying on pre-adolescent children) but of priests preying on teenage boys.3 That's homosexuality. Further, the homosexual network by and large is favorable to pedophilia and same-sex liaisons with teenagers. This fact is admitted even by pederasts and many homosexuals. In 1998, for example, North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) representative David Thorstad eagerly proclaimed to a standing room only "gay" and lesbian group gathered in Mexico City that: "Pederasty is the main form that male homosexuality has acquired throughout Western civilization . . .4 Further, it is well known, though not often reported in the press, that NAMBLA is a welcome participant in "Gay Pride" parades nationwide.5
Church Targeted
Father Enrique Rueda documented in his 1982 landmark work The Homosexual Network, Private Lives & Public Policy that homosexuals successfully targeted religious organizations for infiltration, especially the Roman Catholic Church.The reason is clear. "There is no question" writes Father Rueda, "that the main stumbling block in the theoretical and practical acceptance of homosexuality by American society has been traditional religion. This has been perfectly understood by the leadership of the homosexual movement."6 Further, "the importance of gaining the support of the churches or at least neutralizing them is widely acknowledged by homosexual leaders."7 The New York Times, for example, ran a story on January 25, 1977, entitled "From a Quiet Seminarian to Homosexual Spokesman". Journalist Lucy Fosburgh interviewed William R. Johnson, a homosexual activist who was "ordained" in the United Church of Christ. In this interview, Johnson indicates several factors which are important for the advancement of homosexuality in the "church". (When Johnson says "church", he is misusing the term to mean all so-called Christian denominations as well as the Catholic Church.) Johnson's principles, explains Father Rueda, constitute a model program for the conversion of a "church" into an agent of the homosexual movement. The factors considered important to Johnson are:
The Hierarchy Let it Happen
Father Rueda then documents a vast homosexual network among various denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church. Significantly, Vatican II's encouragement of "inter-religious dialogue" is what made possible the pan-religious cooperation among homosexual groups.10 Today's high number of homosexual priests is one of ecumenism's first fruits.11Father Rueda chronicled five primary means by which homosexuals infiltrated seminaries, chanceries, and Catholic institutions. 1) Patterns of Collaboration, citing many instances of cooperation between Roman Catholic institutions and leaders of the Homosexual Movement. 2) Intellectual Infiltration: This is done by Catholic theologians and "experts" who publicly challenge the Church's condemnation of homosexuality, and suffer no ecclesiastical penalty for doing so. A few examples follow:
4) Homosexual Clergy: Father Rueda quotes a number of pro-homosexual clergymen, most notably, Christian Brother Gabriel Moran. While speaking to the 1977 Conference of Christian Brothers, Brother Moran intimated that religious communities were the ideal setting for homosexual relations.16 Then there's the following quote taken from Communications, a newsletter for homosexual Catholic clergy: "I am finishing up my theological studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Chicago. I was ordained last June. I work part time as assistant pastor of an inner-city parish in the Black community. I am gay. I have been out with my superiors since I was a novice, and aware of my gayness, they have approved me for vows and now for ordination."17 Father Rueda also explained the tactic of the homosexual movement to present "homosexuality and heterosexuality" as "two varieties of the same question". 5) Homosexual Orders: These are not formally approved orders in the Church, but groups that have organized while the local bishop looks the other way. Father Rueda lists a number of these, including Agape Community, The Christian Community Association, and Augustinians of Charity. One group of "gay Roman Catholics" called Emmaus House claimed to "work closely with our Roman Catholic parishes", visiting the sick, shut-ins and those in need. "We bring the Blessed Sacrament to them," said the Brooklyn-based organization.18 The two most successful of these "orders" are: the influential New Ways Ministry,19 an organization, complains Father Rueda, whose very existence is "more than passively tolerated" by the U.S. bishops; the other is Dignity International, whose purpose is "to unite all gay Catholics, to develop leadership, and to be an instrument through which the gay Catholics may be heard by the Church and society." Dignity makes no secret that its goal is to "promote the cause of the gay Community ... We move towards the time when a gay Catholic lifestyle is accepted."20 Father Rueda lamented that the United States bishops have taken no effective action against these organizations. New Ways Ministry and Dignity, he writes, are "more than passively tolerated" by the hierarchy. He further complained that in the case of these groups, "lack of action" from the U.S. hierarchy "can be legitimately construed to be 'passive encouragement'."21
Father Doyle's Warning
Making matters worse is the unwelcome testimony of Dominican Father Thomas Doyle, a Canon lawyer who formerly worked in the Vatican embassy in Washington.Doyle co-authored a 1985 report sent to the U.S. bishops and the Vatican that warned of the vastness of the clerical scandals and predicted an "ungodly mess". The report urged tougher measures against priests who sexually abuse others. This document proves that as far back as the mid 1980s, the hierarchy was aware of these continuing scandals, but took no effective action.22 Another prize example of "grave pastoral negligence of the upper hierarchy". On Fox News, April 23, Father Doyle further explained that even Pope John Paul II was made aware of the scandals "in '84 and '85. I know that". When asked how he knew, Father Doyle responded, "Because when I was at the embassy, I know the reports were sent over to the Vatican to inform him as to what was going on because of the media publicity that was being given to the situation in Louisiana as well as to other cases that were popping up around that same time frame."23 Father Doyle now appears as an expert witness for abuse victims, and complains of unscrupulous bishops who seem impervious to indictment. "I was involved in all the big cases," he said. "I saw the bishops lie on the stand. I saw the evidence, clear as a bell. But they survived. It's like a Teflon hierarchy."24 Granted, no one has ever accused Father Doyle of being a traditional Catholic. His sympathies are with the progressivists. His main complaint seems to be not homosexuals in the clergy, but "pedophiles" and bishops' cover-ups.25 Nonetheless, no one from the Vatican nor from the USCCB has challenged the truth of Father Doyle's testimony. Even Monsignor Francis Maniscalco, spokesman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, admits knowing of the report but denies that it was ignored. "The bishops did learn from him, and from other sources" and took many actions then and later, he said.26 The scandals surfacing nationwide indicate how effective were the bishops' "actions".
Seminary or Feminary?
At the April 23-24, 2002 extraordinary meeting of the Cardinals in the Vatican, which I traveled to Rome to cover, Chris Ferrara asked a key question that the panel dodged. At the final press conference, Ferrara asked the panel, "In page 2 of the Memorandum, (the Cardinals' final communiqué from the Vatican meeting) Item 3 acknowledges something that is important and long overdue: Nearly every single case has involved an adolescent and does not constitute a true case of pedophilia. So we're dealing with the acts of homosexual males who could not control their predilection. To avoid what would be a perpetual bumper crop of this type of scandal, is the hierarchy in North America going to enforce the Vatican's [1961] Instruction that homosexual males simply should not be ordained?"27Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's answer was astounding. He said that "no bishop he knows" and "no seminary he knows" would accept an active homosexual.28 This is balderdash, and everyone knows it. It leads me to ask, what is Cardinal McCarrick's game? Is it incompetence or collusion? I personally know two young men who left a major East Coast seminary because, in their words, "it was not a seminary, it was a feminary." The homosexual stronghold in Catholic seminaries has been an ongoing scandal for decades (especially since the destabilization of the Church since Vatican II) and is now documented in a recently released book, Good-bye Good Men. The author, Michael Rose, catalogs cases in which a homosexual subculture of both students and faculty in numerous seminaries deters the heterosexual man from continuing to study for the priesthood. "How many heterosexual seminarians," Rose writes, "have decided to leave the seminary and abandon their vocations because of the 'gay subculture' they were forced to endure, because they had been propositioned, harassed or even molested?"29 According to former seminarians and recently ordained priests, "this 'gay subculture' is so prominent at certain seminaries that these institutions have earned nicknames such as Notre Flame (for Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans) and Theological Closet (for Theological College at the Catholic University in Washington, D.C.) [Cardinal McCarrick's diocese]. St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore [under Cardinal Keeler] has earned the nickname, 'The Pink Palace'." Along with many ex-seminarians, Rose interviews priests who somehow made it through the living hell of pro-homosexual seminaries. Father Andre Walter, speaking of the seminary in the Patterson, New Jersey Diocese said the problem was so bad, "some of the students and the faculty used to get dressed up in leather to go to 'the block', Baltimore's equivalent to 42nd Street in Manhattan." Similar horrors are reported from the Chicago Archdiocese (Mundelein Seminary) where seminary professors "tell their students that they're gay and take some of them to gay bars, and gay students sleep with each other."30 This will have an influence far beyond Chicago. More than half of the seminarians at Mundelein are from other dioceses. Roses chapter entitled "The Gay Subculture" relates numerous accounts of the pro-homosexual agenda of many seminaries, and the persecution and harassment of heterosexual seminarians, even to the point of expelling the "straight" men. Joseph Kellenyi, former seminarian of Chicago's Mundelein Seminary, explained, "The issue was never one of my suitability for ordination. Rather it was the gay clique had been given veto power over who got ordained."31 Though I do not agree with the solutions proposed in Mr. Rose's final chapter (to rally around "conservative" Novus Ordo Bishops such as Bishop Bruskewitz, who, Mr. Rose may not know, is pro-Charismatic),32 the book serves a useful purpose in baring the plight of the heterosexual seminarian. Rose explains, "Seminarians who accept the Church's teaching on sexual morality have not only been dismissed from the seminary as 'trouble-makers', they have also been threatened by classmates and faculty, especially in religious houses, that if they did not submit to homosexuality — to espouse and defend homosexual acts, if not take part in them — their priestly careers would be in jeopardy."33 Many good priests are suffering this persecution today.
Saint Sebastian's Angels
In light of Mr. Rose's documentation, it is safe to say that over the past thirty years, these seminaries and their bishops are responsible for the ordination of active homosexuals who now lead double-lives in countless parishes.Stephen Brady, founder of Roman Catholic Faithful (www.rcf.org) has fought heroically to expose these homosexual priests and bishops, and was instrumental in removing Bishop Daniel Ryan from the diocese of Springfield, Illinois. One of the most disturbing of Mr. Brady's exposés is an international Internet chat-line of homosexual priests called "Saint Sebastian's Angels" comprising pornographic photographs and obscene language and conversations among homosexual Catholic clergymen.34 Particularly offensive is the foul-mouthed Bishop Reginald Cawcutt, the Auxiliary Bishop of Cape Town, South Africa, who expresses over this chat-line his homosexual fantasies. Brady exposed this network over two years ago, yet Cawcutt suffered no sanctions by the Vatican for his participation in St. Sebastian's Angels. He remained South African Catholic Bishops Conference's Episcopal Representative for AIDS and for Social Communications. Bishop Cawcutt resigned in disgrace only after The Washington Times ran stories that exposed his involvement with Saint Sebastian's Angels.35 Neither has Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, Prefect of the Vatican's Sacred Congregation for the Clergy, taken any effective action against the multitude of homosexual clergy in the U.S. or elsewhere. Rather, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos spends a great deal of time bullying Father Nicholas Gruner and his Fatima Apostolate, and riding roughshod over Tridentine seminaries.36 We now see the results: Cardinals and bishops who allowed homosexuals nationally to get a death grip on the clergy, who masterminded the inexcusable cover-up of priest-abusers, and who shifted these priests from parish to parish, and diocese to diocese, so that they could rape an even greater number of unsuspecting youngsters. The "diabolic disorientation" of the upper hierarchy has never looked so diabolic.
The Callous Dallas Bishops Meeting
This disorientation continues despite the recent convergence of bishops in Dallas. The bishops, true to form, went into that meeting seemingly determined to make no link between the "pedophile" scandals and the vast homosexual subculture of clergy now rampant in the Church under their watch.The word "homosexual" appears nowhere in the bishops’ final "Charter for the Protection of the Children". Thus, the gay network of clergy and religious can breathe a huge sigh of relief. The bishops, once again, have shielded and protected them. But if the bishops have shown themselves savvy in protecting their gay subculture, they have also shown themselves inept at protecting children from perversion. This was brought home forcibly by Randy Engel who for the past 13 years has studied the problem of homosexuality in the priesthood. She was commenting on a statement at the April 2002 Vatican press conference. "As for the claim" says Mrs. Engel, "that the American bishops would never do anything to harm children, I think upon the millions of Catholic children in the United States who have been subject to more than thirty years of premature sexual seduction and spiritual and mental rape in the Catholic classroom via so-called ‘sex education’. By casting children as 'sexual beings' the bishops have primed Catholic youth for NAMBLA's ‘sexual tutors’. It is no coincidence that the rise in clerical sexual abuse has paralleled the removal of traditional doctrinal catechesis from Catholic parishes and schools, and the substitution of absolutely demonic 'sexual catechesis'."37 In short, the problem of homosexuality in the clergy continues unimpeded. The bishops themselves still flout pro-homosexual sex-education in parochial schools.38 The new "Charter for the Protection of Children" is nothing more than an insipid "gentleman's agreement", with no higher authority holding the bishops accountable. And as for the Vatican, it pretends the problem doesn't exist. Crisis Magazine Editor Deal Hudson traveled to Rome in early June to speak with Curia officials about the U.S. clerical scandals and returned home thoroughly shaken. On June 4 he wrote, "Most of the high-level Curia officials think there really IS no scandal. They told me it's just another case of media bias against the Church ... that secular news reporters are just blowing things out of proportion." As far as the Vatican taking any effective action against the present crisis, Hudson lamented, "After my meeting with the Curia, I'm not holding my breath".39
"Only I Can Help You"
In human terms, the situation appears hopeless. But Our Blessed Mother gave us the key to the reason for our current malaise. The scandals we now face are because Catholic laity and Catholic leaders have not fulfilled the requests of Our Lady of Fatima. We have ignored Our Lady, and as a result, we have been left without the protection She was willing to give us. The "diabolic disorientation of the upper hierarchy", under which we now labor, cannot co-exist with the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart. This triumph will only be realized when the Pope finally consecrates Russia in union with the world's bishops to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart. Let us beseech Heaven that the Pope and the upper hierarchy will finally orient themselves toward Our Lady of Fatima and do what She asked. Let us pray they will finally heed the words of the Mother of God who meant what She said when She warned, "Only I can help you". Footnotes: 1) See The Whole Truth About Fatima, Vol. III, Frère Michel, (Immaculate Heart Publications, Buffalo, NY, 1990) pp. 704-706. 2) Ibid., pp. 754-758. 3) An expert in this field, the internationally respected Father Charles Fiore, explained, "The problem is not clerical pedophilia, but homosexuality ... More than 90 percent of the cases involve the clerical molestation of teen-age young men." I. J. Toby Westerman "Suffer the Children", Catholic Family News, June 2002, p. 11. Likewise Stephen Brady, founder of Roman Catholic Faithful, places the ratio at 90%. See CNN: "Catholic Church Faces Subject of Gay Priests", transcript #061301CN. V14, June 13, 2002. 4) David Thorstad, "Pederasty and Homosexuality," speech to an audience of over 600 at the Sema Cultural Lesbica-Gay in Mexico City on June 26, 1998, and published on the NAMBLA web page. Quoted from "Saint Peter Damian's Book of Gomorrah, A Moral Blueprint for Our Times, Part II," Randy Engel, Catholic Family News, July 2002. 5) A sampling of articles that report NAMBLA as a welcome participant in "Gay Pride" Parades are: "Cultural Conditioning Produces the Media's Anti-Catholicism", Jack Kenny, The Union Leader (Manchester, NH), March 20, 2002; "Q: Would Vermont's Civil Union Law Be Good for Other States?, No: Same-sex Civil Unions Amount to One More Step in the Unmaking of Civilization", Don Feder, Insight on the News, June 19, 2000; "'Til Laws Do Us Part': Anything Other than One Man Marrying One Woman Is Wrong", Rep. March Paschall, Denver Post, April 9, 2000; "The Post Soft-pedals Perversion", Reed Irvine, Chattanooga Times, November 28, 1999; "We Are Now on the Cusp of Re-paganizing Our Culture", Richard Lessner, Union Leader, March 26, 1999; "The Art of Good Hate Crimes", Patrick J. Buchanan, The New York Post, August 8, 1998. 6) The Homosexual Network, Private Lives & Public Policy, Father Enrique Rueda (Devin Adair, Old Greenwich, CT, 1982), p. 243. Father Rueda's book is out of print and difficult to find. 7) Ibid., p. 244. For example, on the same page, Father Rueda writes, "At a Washington meeting of Friends for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (FLGC), a Quaker organization, concern was expressed for the apparent lack of support for homosexuality from the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), an important body within the denomination. (1) The meeting was attended by Steven Endean, director of the Gay Rights National Lobby, who apparently prodded the attendees to enlist the collaboration of their church in the homosexual cause. Endean, according to the official newsletter of FLGC 'outlined for us the significance that such a position of support from FCNL would have on national legislators and other church lobby groups — some of which would be less timid about supporting gay rights if the Friends (FCNL) were doing so. The support of these church lobbies led by the Christian Voice, the new lobby set up to wage their war against us.' The clear implication is that homosexual Quakers should use their resources to set their religious organization against other — more traditional — Christian groups and support the homosexual movement." Father Rueda cites as his source Friends for Lesbian and Gay Concerns Newsletter, 3 (Sumneytown, PA: Friends for Lesbian and Gay Concerns, Autumn, 1979):2. 8) Quoted from "From a Quiet Seminarian to Homosexual Spokesman", Lacy Fosburgh, New York Times, January 25, 1977. Cited from The Homosexual Network, pp. 249-250. 9) The Homosexual Network, p. 251. 10) Ibid., Chapter VII, "Relations Between Religious Organizations and the Homosexual Movement". 11) If the reader will excuse the pun. 12) America, June 25, 1977, p. 1558. Cited in The Homosexual Network, pp. 332-333. By contrast, for a superb compendium of the clear and unrefutable Scriptural condemnations of homosexuality, see Atila Sinke Guimarães, "The Catholic Church and Homosexuality" in In the Murky Waters of Vatican II, (MAETA, 1997) Appendix, pp. 353-415. 13) As provincial, Father Goergen was also the nemesis of both Father John O'Conner and Father Charles Fiore, and why these two fine priests were persecuted and left the Dominican Order. 14) The Homosexual Network, pp. 335-336. 15) Ibid. pp. 337-340. 16) Ibid., p. 343. 17) Ibid., p. 345. 18) Ibid., p. 351. 19) Founded by Father Robert Nugent and Sister Jeanne Grammick. 20) The Homosexual Network, pp. 362-363. 21) See The Homosexual Network, pp. 362 and 370. Interesting Note: Chicago's Cardinal Bernardin did what Rome asked, he did not give Church recognition to Dignity. Instead, he formed a group called AGLO (Archdiocese Gay and Lesbian Organization), practically identical to Dignity. Furthermore, various Dignity officers ended up as members of AGLO. In effect, Cardinal Bernardin ended up protecting Dignity by giving it a new and apparently "respectable" identity. 22) "Hundreds Sue Vatican Over Child Sex Abuse", Caroline Overington, Sydney Morning Herald, April 6, 2002. 23) "Fox: On The Record with Greta Van Susteren", April 23, 2002, Fox News Network Transcript #042303cb.260 24) "Former church insider helps victims of clerical sexual abuse", Colleen Barry, Associated Press, April 19, 2002. 25) It should be noted that the section of the report written by the late Father Michael Peterson takes an approach to homosexuality and pedophilia that is not consistent with Catholic Moral Theology, but more in line with a godless, naturalistic pseudo-science. 26) "Former church insider helps victims of clerical sexual abuse," AP, April 19, 2002. 27) The 1961 Document, "Careful Selection and Training of Candidates for the States of Perfection and Sacred Orders" was promulgated by the Vatican's Sacred Congregation for Religious on February 2, 1961. The key paragraph reads: "Advancement to religious vows and ordination should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and the priestly ministry would constitute serious dangers". This document is still the Law of the Church. The entire document is published in the Canon Law Digest, Volume V (Bruce Publishing Co, 1963). Quotation taken from page 471. 28) For a more complete report of the Rome meeting see "Teflon Cardinals Visit Vatican", J. Vennari, Catholic Family News, June 2002. 29) Good-bye Good Men, Michael S. Rose, (advanced review copy, Aquinas Publications, Cincinnati, 2002) p. 93. 30) Ibid., p. 91. 31) Ibid. 32) Though I have been critical of Bishop Bruskewitz's conciliar policies, (See "Bishop Bruskewitz Diocese Oozing with Pentecostalism, Ecumenism and Polka Masses", J. Vennari, Catholic Family News, January 1999) it also must be noted that Bishop Bruskewitz is the only bishop in the U.S. that openly regards the so-called "pedophile" scandal as ultimately a homosexual problem. For this he deserves credit. 33) Good-bye Good Men, p. 111. 34) When researching for this article, I saw Saint Sebastian's Angels web site. It is unspeakably horrid and obscene. 35) See "Bishop Spokesman Shielded Gay Priests", The Washington Times, June 13, 2002; "One Priest Defends, Another Apologizes for Chat Room", The Washington Times, June 25, 2002; "Bishop Resigns Under Pressure", The Washington Times, July 19, 2002. 36) The point: Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos spends tremendous amounts of time and energy casting stones at good traditional priests who are doing nothing wrong. See www.fatima.org for details. Look under the heading, "The Truth About Father Gruner". 37) See "Saint Peter Damian's Book of Gomorrah, A Moral Blueprint for Our Times", Part II, Randy Engel, Catholic Family News, July 2002. 38) See "The Sodomization of Innocence: Homo-Church Invades Catholic Kindergarten" by Randy Engel, Catholic Family News, April 2001. It is a documented expose of a pro-homosexual sex-ed course (starting at Kindergarten level) called Growing in Love, a perverse course that enjoys the Imprimatur of Archbishop Jerome Hanus of Dubuque, Iowa. 39) "Rome Says There is no Crisis in America", Deal Hudson, Crisis Magazine e-letter, June 4, 2002.  E-MAIL HOME--------------MARY INDEX www.catholictradition.org/Mary/fatima36.htm |
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http://kcsweb.kcstar.com/projects/priests/folo1.htm
 Concern grows over AIDS rate among priests By JUDY L. THOMAS - The Kansas City Star Date: 11/04/00 22:15Concern within the Roman Catholic Church about the number of priests who have died of AIDS-related illnesses is growing, as is evidence that the death rate exceeds earlier estimates. In January, The Kansas City Star reported that hundreds of priests had died of AIDS-related illnesses and that hundreds more were living with the virus that causes the disease. The controversial finding was based in part on estimates from AIDS experts and priests and an analysis of health statistics. The three-day series also reported that many priests thought the church could do more to address the issue. Since then, The Star has documented more than 300 AIDS-related priest deaths nationwide through death certificates and interviews with family members and religious colleagues. Because death records are closed in nearly two-thirds of the states, experts say that the exact AIDS death toll among U.S. priests will never be known. But the newspaper was able to examine documents in 14 states in which thousands of death certificates were available. The Star found that the AIDS death rate among priests was more than double that of all adult males in those states and more than six times that of the general population in those states. Those AIDS death rates exceeded the estimates and projections reported earlier this year by the newspaper. To calculate and compare death rates, the newspaper sought statistical assistance from a medical epidemiologist and AIDS expert with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. "The available data shows that the HIV death rate is higher among priests than it is in the general population of men 25 and older," said the CDC's Richard Selik. In light of the latest evidence, more voices of concern are urging the church's hierarchy to open a dialogue on how to prevent priests from dying of AIDS. "The fact that you have priests having very active sexual lives, that you have priests contracting HIV and dying of AIDS and that they have refused to come to terms with this and tend to deny it, I don't see how you look at this and not say that these are symptoms of an unresolved sexual problem within the church," said Eugene Kennedy, a former priest and biographer of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago. "These are human tragedies piled upon human tragedies," Kennedy said. The Rev. Jim Walsh, executive director of the seminary department for the National Catholic Educational Association, said he was surprised by the latest findings. "We need to talk about celibacy and do it in the sense of people witnessing to how they're living it ... and where it's not working for them," he said. Since the series was published, the newspaper has received more than 3,000 responses from around the world. Scores of priests and lay Catholics praised The Star for examining the sensitive issue. Others, however, called the series an attack on the Catholic faith and publicly denounced the newspaper's findings. Some questioned the projections, arguing that they believed priests were dying of AIDS at a rate equal to that of other adult males. Some even rebutted The Star's estimate that many priests, who are required to be celibate, had died of AIDS. One of the harshest critics, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a memorandum sent earlier this year to all U.S. bishops that "the series extrapolated from a handful of tragic but isolated cases to manufacture a crisis that does not exist." In light of such criticism, The Star pursued other methods of documenting the scope of the deaths. The most statistically accurate -- and time-consuming -- approach was a state-by-state examination of thousands of death certificates over several years, aided by consultation with the CDC in determining death rates and comparisons. In states where records weren't available, the newspaper interviewed dozens of family members, doctors, colleagues and religious superiors who had firsthand knowledge of priests' deaths. The latest examination reveals that there is no longer any question that hundreds of priests have died of AIDS and that many bishops were aware of their plights. Several who died held positions of authority within the church. The newspaper found that one of the priests who died served as an AIDS consultant for the Vatican. Another was the rector of a Midwestern seminary. Two were seminary vocation directors. Three were college chaplains. Others included the spiritual director at a Catholic seminary, a Catholic prep school principal and a former employee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. "When I have spoken with the bishops, I always ask, 'How many of you have had a priest (with AIDS)?"' said the Rev. Ed Kilianski, a California priest and board member of the National Catholic AIDS Network, which works with the conference of bishops. "And every hand goes up all the time. ... I'm sure -- absolutely certain -- that every diocese has had at least one," Kilianski said. On Friday, Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the conference of bishops, said the number of priests who have died is small when compared with the total priest population. Still, Walsh said, "Three hundred priests dying of AIDS are 300 personal tragedies ...." Walsh said the church has been active in dealing with the AIDS issue and that seminary formation programs today are doing a better job of educating priests about sexuality issues. "Of course, ordination does not immunize you from temptation," she said. "I wish there were no one else who died of AIDS. But the reality is, it happens. It shouldn't happen. People fail. It's part of the human condition."Examining the problem Signs of concern about sexual issues and AIDS are slowly emerging at many levels within the church. Among the ongoing efforts:•The National Federation of Priests' Councils is updating a 93-page document about AIDS that it published several years ago. It contains a section on how dioceses and religious orders should deal with priests who contract AIDS and addresses whether priest candidates should be tested for AIDS. Brother Bernard F. Stratman, the federation's director, said his organization remained committed to helping colleagues who have the disease. "If anything, this update demonstrates that we're still trying to keep the conversation alive on the reality of the issue," Stratman said.•A major study -- endorsed by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops -- is under way to examine problems facing priests in their first five years after ordination. The study is being conducted by the National Federation of Priests' Councils and was launched because of concerns raised by priest treatment centers and priests' superiors. "The reality is that the number of clergy continues to decline," Stratman said. "And the trend seems to be developing that a greater number of more recently ordained priests are ending up in treatment for issues that could be chemical related, alcohol related, personality problems, psychological issues or sexuality dysfunctions." Stratman said the study would try to determine whether there is a need for more practical training about sexuality and celibacy. Dean Hoge, a sociologist at The Catholic University of America and the principal investigator for the study, said celibacy would be addressed. "I can already tell you from the interviews we've done that it's a pretty big factor," Hoge said. "It might be No. 1. If it's not No. 1, it's right up there."•Several new books have included chapters on the issue of gay priests and the church's stance on homosexuality. Among clergy, the one receiving the most attention is The Changing Face of the Priesthood by the Rev. Donald B. Cozzens, the highly respected president-rector of St. Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Cleveland. It is an insider's reflection on the state of the priesthood near the close of the 20th century. Though Cozzens' book deals with a broad range of issues facing the priesthood, it is his discussion of sexuality in a chapter containing sections titled "Homosexuality and the Seminary" and "The Priesthood as a Gay Profession" that is causing the greatest stir. "For more than a decade now, voices have been heard expressing concern about the growing numbers of gay priests and seminarians," Cozzens wrote. "Their call for serious reflection and candid discussion of the issue has largely gone unheeded. ... Clearly, the issue is real." Cozzens said the quandary posed for the church by the considerable number of gay priests and seminarians is "perhaps more critical than the graying of the clergy."Breaking the silence The Rev. Thomas Doyle, a Dominican priest and canon lawyer who spent five years working at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, said the church hierarchy should not remain silent about AIDS in the priesthood. "With any other organization, by analogy -- the military, the American Bar Association, a corporation -- if you have a number of people such as in the 300 to 500 range dying of some strange disease like AIDS, I would say that would cause you to stop and say, 'We've got to take a look at this,' and at least start asking some serious questions as to why it's happening and what are we going to do about it," Doyle said. Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of the Archdiocese of Detroit said that new proof of the high rate of AIDS deaths among priests should cause concern for every Catholic bishop. "You can't dismiss it," he said. "Even if it is a small percentage ... I see no reason to minimize it or to hide it." Gumbleton noted that the latest death statistics didn't even take into account the numbers of priests now living with AIDS, or those who have left the priesthood. "These are all terrible tragedies," he said. Next week, the U.S. bishops will gather in Washington to discuss issues facing the church. Those who will attend the conference Nov. 13-16 said that, while AIDS among priests has been the topic of much discussion in recent months at the grass-roots level, the issue is not on the bishops' agenda. "I think what they figure is that they're doing something about it, each one in his own diocese, and there's no need for any national action," Gumbleton said. The bishops had an opportunity to discuss the issue at their conference in June, when they unanimously approved a document called "The National Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests." Crafted by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' Priestly Life and Ministry Committee, the document examines concerns priests need to deal with in various stages of their vocations. But in the bishops' brief discussion of the document, the topics of AIDS and homosexuality never came up. The document does, however, discuss sexuality and celibacy, acknowledging that "even the very best seminary program cannot prepare priests for a lifetime of celibate living in the context of priestly ministry." Gumbleton said the document showed that the bishops "are trying to move in the right direction." "But I still don't think we're doing nearly enough," he said. One denomination trying to deal openly with AIDS and other sexual issues is the Church of England, which revealed this year that it had lost at least 25 of its priests to AIDS-related illnesses. In late September, the church announced that all Anglican bishops in southern Africa would undergo AIDS testing. The bishops said the decision was reached because of the enormity of the AIDS pandemic in southern Africa, a concern that the church has not been viewed as being at the forefront in fighting the spread of the disease, and as a way to demonstrate the church's solidarity with those who are HIV-positive. Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane said the Anglican Church "has set the ball rolling in terms of breaking the steel band of silence which makes so many people feel the need to keep quiet about being (HIV) positive."Searching for solutions In recent months, The Star interviewed dozens of priests, AIDS experts, doctors, psychologists and educators. Virtually all agreed that more education and dialogue was vital in efforts to stem the tragedy of priests dying of AIDS. The Rev. Thomas Reese, editor of America magazine, a national Jesuit publication, said one of biggest problems was the silence surrounding the issue of gay priests. "The silence highlights a tension in a church that defines homosexuality as ntrinsically disordered' but relies on many gay men to celebrate the sacraments and carry out the work of the church," Reese said. "And how can the church proclaim the redemptive value of suffering if it fosters an atmosphere that forces its priests, of all people, to deny that they suffer?" The Rev. Don Whipple, a Holy Cross Father in Cocoa Beach, Fla., has been trying for years to get the church to acknowledge the existence of gay priests. "I've sent over 58 position papers on homosexuality and religious life, and no response," said Whipple, who is openly gay. "They have been into a huge denial, while many of their men are infected and dying." Jon Fuller, a Jesuit priest and physician in Boston who specializes in AIDS, maintains that open dialogue is crucial. One obstacle, he says, is that the Vatican doesn't want frank discussions on sexuality. While the church teaches compassion and forgiveness, it also considers homosexual relations a sin and opposes the modern practice of "safe sex." "They (church leaders) clamp down on it; they discipline people," Fuller said. "It's going to take some people taking risks and just saying that we need to talk about this, despite the fact that you say we can't." Others said that, while there's no question that the Catholic Church has been a leader when it comes to AIDS programs and care for those with the disease worldwide, the church's stance on homosexuality sends a mixed message. "The Catholic Church is a major provider of AIDS services in this city," said the Rev. Jim Mitulski, co-pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco, a predominantly gay congregation. But Mitulski, who learned he had AIDS in 1995, added: "It's compassion that comes with a price tag. ... The irony is, here's this institution that does have a heart for sick people, but at the same time, it's fostering a climate where HIV continues to be spread." David McEwan, a Honolulu physician who specializes in AIDS and founded Hawaii's AIDS Foundation, is equally frustrated. McEwan said he had treated 10 priests with AIDS -- or one in every 60 of his patients. "They (the church) need to face up to the truth," McEwan said. But Chris Matthews, a physician and founder of the Owen Clinic, an HIV//AIDS facility at the University of California-San Diego Medical Center, doubts that the church will change its theology any time soon. And because of that, Matthews, a former seminarian who has treated priests with AIDS, recommends that the church teach priests about condoms and safe sex. "It needs to acknowledge that people are sexual beings, and you need to deal with the consequences of failure," Matthews said.Epilogue Since "AIDS in the Priesthood" was published in late January and early February, at least four more priests have died of AIDS. Only one had been open about his illness to colleagues and parishioners. That, critics maintain, painfully illustrates not only that priests continue to die of AIDS, but also that they continue to suffer in silence. All the more reason, they argue, for the bishops to confront the tragedy openly. Sister Maureen Fiedler, coordinator of the church-reform group Catholics Speak Out and host of the nationwide radio talk show "Faith Matters," thinks the bishops need a national policy on priests with AIDS. She said the policy should emphasize compassion toward those dying from the disease, no matter how it was contracted. Yet the underlying issues run much deeper, Fiedler said, entwined in centuries-old church stances on sexuality and celibacy. "Theology tells us that gay and lesbian people are creations of God. If this is true, how can church teaching continue to call a part of God's creation intrinsically disordered?" Fiedler asked. "The ultimate solution for all faiths is a positive, wholesome view of human sexuality that recognizes the goodness of God's creation and welcomes all people fully, in all aspects of their being, into loving and inclusive communities of faith."-- The Star's database editor, Gregory Reeves, contributed to this report.To reach Judy L. Thomas, call (816) 234-4334 or send e-mail to jthomas@kcstar.com
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