Free Will And Predestination

Free Will was given to man at his creation.  "The LORD God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die." [1]  The man, Adam, was handed the Forbidden Fruit by the woman, Eve.  He knew where it came from and he chose to eat it anyway. [*] What he said was proof of his knowledge: "Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat? The man replied, 'The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.'" [2]  Having made his personal choice, Adam blamed it on God for having created the woman and for putting her there with him.  The woman in his mind became an extension of the Serpent.  Regardless of the origin of the temptation, Adam was punished and banished from the Garden of Eden for disobeying God's one and only rule with full knowledge.  As a consequence of making the wrong wilful choice, God's promise of death for them (and their descendants) came true.

Was Adam's wilful choice was preordained?  There are countless questions like that throughout history up to the present day's moment to moment decisions.  How about Judas' betrayal of Christ? Was that also preordained even though nobody forced Judas into it?

Juxtaposing Free Will against Divine Predestination is the topic of this entry, an inherent conflict that is as mysterious as the ineffable magnificence of God.  There are many brilliant people who have consider this very conflict.  One concluded that "[k]nowing the outcome is not the same thing as forcing the outcome." [3]  Another concluded this: "I believe that God directs history. However, I do not believe that He micro-manages history." [4]  One used an example to illustrate: "We have freewill, but since God is well omnipotent and omniscient he already knows what choices we will make.  It['s] like asking a 6 year old if they want broccoli or ice cream.  We know that they are going to want the ice cream." [5]  Yet another gave a sophisticated but confusing (as least to this blogger) explanation [6] which either avoided stating the obvious or obfuscated it with irrelevant statements and skillful writing (which this blogger hopes that he had never done, not that there is even a hint of skill in his writing, and will never do in this blog -- if he had, he apologizes, and apologizes for all future pretentious posts).  What is obvious to this blogger is that the inherent conflict between Free Will and Divine Predestination is a mystery that cannot be comprehended by the human mind.

Having just concluded that the conflict between Free Will and Divine Predestination is not for the human mind to ponder, this blogger is going to contradict himself right off by pondering it.  Perhaps it is a defect to present Free Will and Predestination as a conflict to start out with since they do not have to be in conflict in the first place.  Going back to the Garden of Eden, if Adam and Eve had obeyed God, by choosing to reject the Serpent's temptation and not eat the Forbidden Fruit, then their respective Free Will would have coincided with God's Will which would have been for them an eternity of youth and fulfillment in Paradise.

Since that did not happen, then Predestination and Free Will supposedly came into conflict.  In a perfect world, they do not conflict.  Even now, Free Will and Predestination can be one and the same, provided that every single person chooses not to sin and conform everything he/she chooses to do and does to the Will of God.  This is not likely to happen; nonetheless, there is still Predestination.  

Predestination does not change.  If it can change, then Predestination is not Predestination but a "pre-estimation," a made-up term.  Predestination, as defined here, is the sum of all individual Free Wills, plus God's very own Free Will, culminating in large scale events that had occurred and will occur in the world.  Since Predestination does not change, and it is equated here to the sum of all Free Wills (man's and God's), therefore the sum of all Free Wills also does not change.

No man knows precisely what will take place in the future and when, but God does.  Man, however, can look to the past to know what took place.

For example, the 9-11 tragedy did not occur because several men decided to wake up one morning and thought it would be fun to commit suicide by hijacking airplanes and fly them into skyscrapers in the United States.  This blogger does not know the truth behind their concerted action but thinks that it was not a random act out of spontaneity.  Human behavior, this blogger postulates, is similar to a law of physics (applied loosely).  For there to be a reaction there has to be an action (or sometimes a series of actions) that precedes it, even though the initial action(s) is (are) sometime difficult to isolate, and even if isolated, would be denied or otherwise deemed as justified, moral or normal behavior.  This event was preordained not by God alone but by the Free Will of God and the aggregate Free Will of man over time.  There is not the least bit of doubt in this blogger's mind that this tragic event was predestined long before it occurred.

Some may be upset as to why God did not exercise His Free Will and override the combined Free Will of man in events such the one on September 11, 2001, that would lead to tragedy?  Man cannot tell God what God should and should not do.  In this case, perhaps God had decided to let man's Free Will take the lead without intervening, to let man suffer the result of his own predestiny.  Were there not innocent by-standers and heroes trying to save others who perished?  If so, why did God not save them from other people's predestiny?  Were not some saved from dying in this tragedy?  How can any sinner be absolutely innocent?  Can innocence be relative?  Is the laying down of one's life for another an act that one should blame God for?  Did Christ not lay down His life to save sinners?

One ought to accept that Predestination is not a punishment but a product of Free Will.

The foregoing example looked to the past.  A forward-looking example could be the advancement of biotechnology.  The long-term consequences of consuming genetically-modified (Satanically-transformed) and artificial (Satanic) foods that are not God's original creations by people and creatures of every kind can lead to new diseases and incurable cancers as well as the destruction of life cycles of creatures that support the very existence of mankind.  A further example could be the decentralization of the Catholic Church without the Vatican and a pope as a result of conflicting choices among clerics regarding sex abuse, sex abuse cover-up, divorce, gay marriage and adoption, chastity and on and on.  When the Catholic churches, clerics and laities around the world are no longer under the dictates of the Vatican, and when serious and unresolvable conflicts arise among different religions within a community, then not only will the local police force be called into action, but also military forces will eventually be at war with one another should such conflicts become large-scale and spread like wild fires around the world.  While these examples are imagined, the possibility that they may become reality is not foreclosed entirely.  Only God knows if such events will come to pass.  If they do, they will be subsumed under Predestination.  The ultimate Predestination is contained in the Book of Revelation with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Whether the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is God's plan alone or in combination with man's collective Free Will over time is not in question based on the conclusion to this blog entry.  The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is a combination of God's Free Will and the collective Free Will of man which together form Predestination.  In other words, man by his God-given Free Will is co-author of his own predestination alongside God, the first and main author of Predestination Who has created and permitted man to be Predestination's co-author.

[*] This statement conflicts with and corrects two wrong assertions made in a post entitled The Beginning, The Past, The Present, The Future And The End  published on August 29, 2018.  This blogger apologizes for those errors.

[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/2, 16-17.

[2] http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3, 11-12.

[3] https://www.wake-up.org/salvation/predestination-free-will.html,1st section, 3rd paragraph.

[4] http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/predestination.html, last section.

[5] http://www.islamicity.com/forum/printer_friendly_posts.asp?TID=11918, 1st reply.  It is interesting to find that Islam has this question as well.

[6] http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics-more/freewill-predestination.htm

Losing Oneself In God

How does one who is a sinner lose oneself in God?  This blogger does not know but tries to imagine it and puts down his thoughts as they enter his mind.

To lose oneself in God, one must know who God is, what God is and where God is.  Simultaneously, one needs to know how to fulfill "the first of all the commandments" [1]: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." [2]

Who is God?  Nobody knows for certain who God is exactly.  Man knows God as the Creator of all things and as the Almighty One, but he does not know God well enough to know what God is likely thinking and doing at any moment.  God is far more than what the mind can imagine.  Therefore, no words can describe God fully since words necessarily confine God within the limits of human knowledge and intellect.

What is God?  As stated in John 4:8, "God is love." [3]

Where is God?  This blogger believes that God is everywhere simultaneously in timelessness even though there is nothing in the Bible that confirms specifically God's omnipresence.  However, Matthew 6:6 hints at it: "[W]hen you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you." [4]

God's complete and amorphous existence is both definite and indefinite.  Not knowing God's definiteness and indefiniteness concurrently, one cannot lose oneself in God without God's assent.  Jesus had said,"'No one comes to the Father except through me.'" [5]

Definiteness of God is made as clear as can be for man to understand by the life of God's only Son, Jesus Christ.  To lose oneself in the definiteness of the words spoken by Christ Himself is difficult enough, let alone suffer as He did.  This definiteness is the physical part that belongs to the world.

Beyond definiteness, there is the spiritual dimension that is unseen, that connects worldly existence to other-worldly existences and the finality of time to the infiniteness of eternity which is Heaven (or Hell for those who are already dammed).   To lose oneself in God's indefiniteness requires more than imagination; it requires Divine intervention.

Losing oneself in God's indefiniteness is to experience other-worldly experiences, but not all such experiences come from God--they can originate from Satan too.  Satan can mimic and mock God.  Therefore one has to be careful to not make a mistake and lose oneself in Satan, one that is easy to do because Satan is so smart in being deceitful.  Telling the difference between them requires unyielding faith in God and humble prayers.

Faith in and humility before God are two prerequisites needed to fulfill "the first of all commandments" which is to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." [6]  Together they form the "second" simultaneous part to losing oneself in God.

By fulfilling these prerequisites, one is still unable to choose to lose oneself in God because of sin.  As a sinner, one is predisposed to sin.  Predisposition is not inevitability.  In other words, while one can fall easily into sin, one can choose not to.  How some people can avoid sin entirely, if they exist presently in this world, this blogger has no idea.  He can only assume that God has given them an abundance of grace.

The "Collect" part at the Latin Mass on Sunday, September 23, 2018, the Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost, reads in part as follows: (in English) "O Lord, direct our hearts: for without Thee we are not able to please Thee."  "Dómine, tuæ miseratiónis operátio: quia tibi sine te placére non póssumus." (in Latin) [7]

Thus, only by God's grace is a one who is a sinner able lose oneself in God.  There is no other way.


[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/12, at 28.  See also http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/22:1517, at 36.
[2] Ibid, at 30.  See also http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/22:1517, at 37-8, and http://www.usccb.org/bible/dt/6:5#05006005, at 5.
[3] http://www.usccb.org/bible/1john/4, at 8.
[4] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/6, at 6.
[5] http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/14, at 6.
[6] Refer to footnotes [2] & [3] above.
[7] The Roman Catholic Daily Missal 1962. (2004). Kansas City, Missouri: Angelus Press, at 794.

Apostolic Succession In China Is Now A Consensus Between Church And State

From BBC NEWS, dated September 22, 2018:

"Pope Francis has recognised seven bishops appointed by China as part of a historic accord to improve ties between the Vatican and the communist country."  [Emphasis original.] [1]

When did Christ ever ask Pontius Pilate to choose His disciples in order that He could approve or disapprove of them?  He never did.  Why then has Bergoglio, supposedly the Vicar of Christ, agreed to the involvement of a government in choosing bishops for the Catholic Church?  Details of the agreement are kept away from public scrutiny (see below, quoted in part from an article dated September 22, 2018, entitled Holy See, China reach accord on appointment of bishops  published by CatholicCulture.org [2]):

The Vatican has signed an agreement with China, giving the Beijing government a role in the appointment of new bishops. 

Although the terms of the accord were not made public, informed sources at the Vatican have confirmed that under the agreement, the Beijing government will name candidates for episcopal office, with the Pope allowed a choice from among the government’s nominees.

Perhaps one thing good may result from this accord without regard to whether it is well-balanced or lopsided.  With central government oversight and enforcement, it may be less likely that sexual predator clerics and those who cover up for them will not have to answer for their inaction and actions than without.


[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-45613668
[2] https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=38721

Transubstantiation - No, Not Again! Yes, Again

Someone on Twitter tweeted this [1]:

Some wonder how an abuser priest could have the “power” to consecrate the Eucharist. I think it’s something else. The Eucharist isn’t an example of a priest’s power. It’s a demonstration of God’s unfathomable humility.

This blogger is disturbed by the tweet.

The use of the phrase "'power' to consecrate" in the tweet above is a "red herring," meaning that the phrase serves to distract the reader from the main concern which is sexual abuse by a predator priest and replacing it with a secondary concern which is any priest's "'power' to consecrate."  Every Catholic realizes that no ordinary human, holy and unholy priests included, is able to (or has "the 'power' to", if preferred) transubstantiate ordinary bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ without the Holy Spirit being present.  If the reader is distracted, then the "red herring" had served its purpose.

The tweeter then sets up a "straw man" which is yet another tactic to distract the reader.  The straw man here is this sentence: "The Eucharist isn’t an example of a priest’s power."  This is a statement that seeks agreement from its readers; yet, at the same time, it begs readers to disassociate the "abuser priest" from his diabolical acts of sexual abuse from the holiness of consecration.

The fact is that it is not possible to separate an ordained priest's ability to consecrate the Eucharist from the ordained priest himself because only an ordained priest is able to become the instrument through which the power of the Holy Spirit can flow in order that bread and wine can be transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ. [2]

The tweeter omits this salient fact, notwithstanding the new 280 character limit on tweets, and ends his tweet with yet another distraction unrelated to sexual abuse, seeking agreement: "God’s unfathomable humility", whatever that means.  Then the tweeter had this to say: "It's [referring to the Eucharist] a demonstration of God’s unfathomable humility."  Again, the reader is made to forget about the predatory priest's perverted sexual acts but left to fathom the unfathomable mystery from the author's inscrutable mind: "God's unfathomable humility".

Forgetting for the time being the sexual predator priest, when is the consecration of bread and wine ever "a demonstration"?  Consecration of bread and wine allowing for their transubstantiation into the Body and Blood of Christ is never  a demonstration, God's "unfathomable humility" (again, whatever that means) notwithstanding.  Transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is, according to this blogger, the gift of Christ of Himself at the Altar of Sacrifice out of Love, God's love.  "'God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him' (1 Jn 4:16)." [3]

It is difficult for this blogger to accept that a sexual predator priest is one who abides in love and in God, and that it is possible for a sexual predator priest who has caused so much pain (in some cases repeatedly) in others to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit during consecration.  If it is possible, then can any priest who has chosen to become a Satanist be an instrument of the Holy Spirit and consecrate bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ for desecration?  He thinks not.

Therefore in conclusion, the tweet quoted above is either one to be quickly forgotten or one so profound and steeped in mystery that is beyond the capacity for this blogger to comprehend.

As an aside, this blogger suggests that the reader imagine some things and think if consecration can still take place.  Imagining these things is going to be repulsive.  If readers do not wish to be repulsed, they should stop here.

What the reader can imagine during consecration are the perverted and disgusting acts of a predator priest when he is with a child (a boy in most cases) who is a relative or a neighbor, then imagine him using the same abusive hand which he cannot wash clean spiritually to administer the Holy Eucharist, and then ask, would the Holy Spirit not know that this priest is taking advantage of It during consecration to give him an appearance of holiness in order to deceive parents and guardians so that they would place their trust in him to allow their kids to be alone with him?  Or is everything forgiven and forgotten during and after consecration?

Imagine further that the child who was sexually abused had grown up and is now the adult reading this, how painful it will be to attend a predator priest's Mass and to receive from him Holy Communion?  Will this adult with so much pain from childhood believe that God is with this sexually abusive priest at the Altar of Sacrifice and that the Holy Spirit will use him as an instrument knowing that he will be preying on innocent children causing them irreparable harm?  If this adult is able to separate the pains of sexual abuse from the holiness of consecration by a pervert priest, then there is no need to discipline sexual predator priests.  They simply continue with their priestly activities as if no harm was ever done.  Whether such priests remain sexually unchaste and abusive should therefore be irrelevant since (borrowing words from the tweet) God would still use them to "demonstrate God's unfathomable humility" and allow bread and wine to be transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ, a "demonstration" that is central to Catholicism but without any regard whatsoever to the victims of sexual abuse; in other words, the hell with the sexual abuse victims so long as there is an ordained Catholic cleric, regardless of his sexual perversions, to consecrate the Eucharist, which is what Bergoglio and his den of obsequious Mephistophelian underlings want.


[1] Source not cited on purpose.
[2] http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass/liturgy-of-the-eucharist/the-real-presence-of-jesus-christ-in-the-sacrament-of-the-eucharist-basic-questions-and-answers.cfm
[3] http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est.html

Christ Waits Patiently - It Is Not Too Late To Live The Truth

Fox News 11  published a letter by Robert F. Morneau, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Green Bay, admitting his failure to disclose a sexual predator priest [Emphasis  original] [1], as follows:

The Compass published a copy of Morneau’s Sept. 14 letter to Ricken. It reads:

September 14, 2018

Dear Bishop Ricken,

I write to you today with a heavy heart and great sorrow. In light of the recent public revelations of past abuse in the church and the call for more accountability on the part of bishops, I feel that my own actions are no less subject to scrutiny than those of other bishops. I failed to report to local authorities an incident of abuse of a minor by a priest in 1979 and, as a result, this priest was able to abuse again several years later. Because of this, I voluntarily request a withdrawal from all public ministry. I intend to spend my time in prayer for all victims and survivors of sexual abuse and I will do corporal works of mercy in reparation for what I failed to do.

Looking back, I should have handled this situation differently than I did at the time. At the time, I was asked by the family of the victim to arrange an apology from the offending priest, which I did. I felt at the time I had done what was asked of me by helping the parties to reconcile. The measures taken were ultimately insufficient to protect others from abuse from this same priest. I very much regret and apologize for this, especially to those victimized following my mistake in this regard.

I take full responsibility for my failures in this matter and ask for forgiveness and prayers for healing for all who were harmed. I apologize to all those who put their trust in me.

Peace in the Risen Lord,

The Most Reverend Robert F. Morneau

Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Green Bay

[1] https://fox11online.com/news/local/auxiliary-bishop-withdraws-from-public-ministry-over-handling-of-priest-abuse-case

Sex Abuse Recounted By A Priest In His Homily In San Jose, California

The National Catholic Reporter  published an article entitled In homily, Calif. priest says he was abused, hears from dozens of victims  on September 21, 2018.  Parts of it are quoted below [1]:

WASHINGTON — To be a voice for victims of clerical sexual abuse, Fr. Brendan McGuire realized he had to come to terms with the abuse he suffered at the hands of a priest when he was 18. It was a secret he had held for 35 years.

He told the story of his abuse in a homily delivered at five weekend Masses Sept. 8-9 at Holy Spirit Church in San Jose, California, where he is pastor.

...

Since the homilies, McGuire said, he has heard from 45 men who told him they also had been abused. Five of the men were priests, he added, and four of those had been abused while they were seminarians.

"One man was 95 years old. He'd been holding it for 60-plus years, 70-plus years," the priest said. "I thought 35 was a lot."

Growing up in Bray, Ireland, near Dublin, McGuire said he first met his priest-abuser when he was 14, and did not recognize the four years of "grooming" by the priest for his "final play," with the priest saying during the attack that he had waited until young McGuire had turned 18 "so it wouldn't be child abuse."

While the future priest successfully fought off his abuser -- "I was one of the lucky ones," he said in his homily -- others were not so lucky. The priest, who was not named in the homily, had preyed on dozens in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, was imprisoned in 2004 and died in prison two years later. 

... 

"We cannot defend priest-perpetrators and those bishops and others who enable or protect them," McGrath said. 

... 

"... Let us speak the truth."

...

But obsequious Blase Cupich supports his boss Bergoglio who wants these matters silenced and recalled only in prayer.


[1] https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/homily-calif-priest-says-he-was-abused-hears-dozens-victims

Chilean Bishops Take The Lead And Should Be Followed And Words From Papal Nuncio Christophe Pierre

Quoted from Catholic News Service  on Twitter [1]:

#PopeFrancis accepted the resignations of 2 more Chilean bishops, bringing to 7 the number of bishops who have stepped down since June in response to the clerical #sexabuse scandal in #Chile https://bit.ly/2Nru0qd  via @FloridaCatholic

The pope, Cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests around the globe ought to take note and follow suit.

Also quoted from  Catholic News Service  on Twitter [2]:

“We are the church, if there’s need for a conversion it starts with us,” said the papal nuncio to the US. https://bit.ly/2NuxgAV  #Vencuentro @ENAHVE

This somewhat bold statement from Archbishop Christophe Louis Yves Georges Pierre, appointed "nuncio to the United States on 12 April 2016[,]" [3] ought to be restated this way: "We are the church.  There is a need for conversion.  It starts with us."


[1] https://twitter.com/CatholicNewsSvc/status/1043290278050770944
[2] https://twitter.com/CatholicNewsSvc/status/1043302860652306434?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christophe_Pierre

Is Transubstantiation Possible By Judas Iscariot After His Betrayal?

This blogger believes that Judas Iscariot could not have consecrated bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ after his betrayal because Satan had entered him.  Likewise, priests who have betrayed Christ are no different than Judas Iscariot.  When Satan enters a priest, he is spiritually defrocked and is no longer a servant of God even though he may be dressed as one and say Mass as one.

Accordingly, he is unable to consecrate bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.  Of course, this blogger has no theological basis for his conclusion, nor do those who argue that a priest who has betrayed Christ continues to be able to transubstantiate based on the assumption that Christ is willing to be present even though the priest has voluntarily allowed Satan to enter him.

A priest who has betrayed Christ, in this blogger's opinion, is no different than a lay person in his/her inability to transubstantiate.  A lay person dressed as a priest, says prayers of consecration, cannot transubstantiate bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.  The bread and wine remain as bread and wine.  Nothing has changed.

If the Catholic Church holds the position that a priest who betrayed Christ cannot consecrate bread and wine, then it would be far more vigilant, making sure that priests remain chaste and celibate, and that they do not lie to faithful Catholics by their secrets and denials.  Those who cover-up for the betrayer-priests are equal to them and Judas Iscariot by imputation.

Recommendation: A Vatican Synod On Children

The Vatican will have a Synod on young people in October, 2018. [1]  In addition to the "29 bishops appointed personally by Pope Francis to participate in the synod" [2] are two delegates from the United States, namely, "Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago and Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark." [3]

Something is missing and that is the "elephant in the room"-- the sexually abused.  Before people become young adults, they were children first.  By the time some of them reach adulthood, they had already been sexually abused by clerics, such as former Cardinals Pell and McCarrick.

To protect the vulnerable and innocent boys and girls from sexual perverts in the Catholic Church and those who protect them, they ought to be taught what to expect in the "real world" and learn to protect themselves from sexual abuse.  This idea is not revolutionary.  Kids in school are taught fire preparedness [4] and earthquake safety activities in areas prone to have earthquakes [5].  Therefore it makes sense to teach them how to stay safe and away from sexual predators and how to report them to the appropriate authorities without delay.  Teach them about DNA evidence and how to preserve it as proof of sexual abuse, if applicable.

In addition, there should be an advance warning system, a website accessible to all that lists the names of those who are sexual predators and those with a history of sexual predation, and tells when sexual predators are being transferred from which diocese to which diocese.  This is similar to warnings of an impending hurricane and the destructive path it will be on.  Naming names of the clerics who are responsible for their transfers is useful as well.

This blogger recommends that Bergoglio convene a synod for children.  He should appoint the sexual perverts themselves to educate the innocent children, recounting the truth of what took place in detail, episode by episode, no matter how sickening and repulsive, how they were able to put each child in a situation so that he (in most cases) could be abused in secrecy, how they exercised their power over him (in most cases) to remain quiet, how they were able to continue the abuse, time and time again in some cases.

Another suggestion is to include in the course of studies at seminaries on sexual predation to be taught by sexual predators, teaching seminarians the strategies sexual they use to obtain their prey. The seminarians can discuss among themselves and find ways that such perverse sexual attempts can be thwarted.

While these sexual perverts are on the loose, they each would be required to wear an ankle monitor [6] so that their whereabouts can be tracked.  Should they refuse, they will be on their own without any financial support from the Church whatsoever.  Enforcement will come from the Vatican, as if that would ever happen. 


[1] http://www.synod2018.va/content/synod2018/en.html
[2] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cupich-tobin-appointed-by-pope-francis-to-october-synod-on-young-people-60112
[3] Ibid.
[4] https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/sfm/programs-services/Documents/School%20Inspections/SchoolInspChecklist.pdf
[5] https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1508-20490-6311/fema-527.pdf
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankle_monitor

Apostolic Succession Corrupted - Time To Mutiny

If the Lord Jesus Christ can be thought of as the Tree of Life that gave His Church roots in Jerusalem, then His disciples, except Judas Iscariot, can be thought of as the first branches that reached beyond it.  Following in their footsteps, the apostles' hand-picked successors, and their successor's successors and so on went even farther, reaching the rest of the world.  Somewhere along this line of apostolic succession Satan corrupted it with Its selections.

By contaminating good yeast with bad yeast, the bread that comes out is no longer the bread of life but the bread of death.  In order for the Catholic Church to be pure and holy as it once was, the Satanic successors must go, except that they are now power players at the Vatican and they are not about to depart voluntarily any time soon.

If the Satan's picks are not going to step off Peter's boat, then those who had indeed been called by Christ to be fishers of men must mutiny.  They will be few in numbers but by who they are, what they do and say will remind people that they are a direct link back to Christ Himself, the very foundation, the Rock, on which He built His Church.  They, however, will not be able to stand alone, and will require assistance since none of them will have a parish and a church.

Assistance will have to come from benefactors who do not seek status, power and fame but who are humble and are ready to serve others in the same way that the Son of God had washed the feet of His disciples.  They will have to be joined by men of all ages from all walks of life and return to the Catholic Church, and take time out from being bored, drinking, eating, snacking, watching television, texting and indulging in different vices to assist the few good and holy shepherds in doing God's work.

Attention of Catholics in the local communities will then turn away from the Vatican and will instead be focused on the poor and humble local shepherds who will no longer have salaried assistants to cook and clean for them.  Instead, he will have a family of faithful local Catholics to care for him and he for them with humility and sacrificial  love.

Donations will cease flowing into the Vatican and it will be forced to auction off its art collection and real estate to pay its bills.  Soon the Vatican Gardens will be overtaken by weeds and the rooms and hallways inside the Vatican will be vacant, locked and filled with cobwebs.  Eventually tourism to the Vatican City State will end since nobody would want to go see a pope who has lost all his moral authority and credibility.

If this imagined scenario takes place under this papacy, then there would be no need for a pope and Saint Malachy's prophesy would be fulfilled.  This, however, does not mean that the Church that Jesus Christ had built is no longer in existence.  Rather, the opposite is true.  It still stands venerably and unwaveringly through time, not on layers and layers of hypocrisy and Satanic deceit but on Christ's unchanging Truths just as it was at the beginning, when the Church was vibrant, when it was in the hands of martyrs and holy men with abiding faith.

Is The Matter On Sex Scandals Within The Catholic Church Laughable?

The answer to the question posed in the title is apparently yes according to a photograph released by the Vatican.  The photograph was published by The Sun in an article entitled SOMETHING FUNNY? Vatican releases ‘shockingly inappropriate’ photo of Pope Francis and cardinals laughing during sex abuse scandal meeting on September 14, 2018 [1]:

The following two paragraphs are quoted from the above-cited source:

THE Vatican has been slammed for posting bizarre images of Pope Francis laughing along with religious leaders at an emergency meeting to discuss the sex scandals which have rocked the Catholic Church.

The shocking pictures feature top church officials including US cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, LA archbishop Jose Horacio Gomez and monsignor Brian Bransfield of Philadelphia.

The levity with which these Catholic Church leaders had shown at a meeting on a matter gravely critical to the continuing existence of the Catholic Church paves the way towards the Church's demise.  Given this dose of reality, the sooner this Satanic church collapses, the sooner the wounds of Christ will heal.



[1] https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7260306/vatican-photo-pope-francis-cardinals-laughing-sex-abuse-scandal-meeting/

Saints Are Not Exclusive To The Roman Catholic Church

Monastery Experience  and Ancient Wisdom in Modern Times  were two recommendations on You Tube. [1]  At the end of each video, Hieromonk Alexii Altschul mentioned in his prayer, among other Orthodox saints, Saint John of San Francisco.  A search online for Saint John of San Francisco led to an article published by Orthodox Christianity  entitled LIFE AND MIRACLES OF ST. JOHN (MAXIMOVICH) OF SHANGHAI AND SAN FRANCISCO—ONE OF THE GREATEST SAINTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY. [2]  (It is a worthwhile read even though it is long relative to text message standard but it is brief relative to traditional biographical standard.)

A further search revealed that "[t]he relics of St. John—the Miracle-worker of Shanghai and San Francisco and the twentieth century's great ascetic, archpastor and man of prayer--were found to be incorrupt in 1993, on the threshold of his glorification. The relics were transferred from the burial-vault beneath the church into the very Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos, the "Joy of All Who Sorrow", in San Francisco, during the glorification of St. John in 1994. His relics are the only intact relics open for veneration in North America. Numerous pilgrims come from all over the world  to pray at St. John's relics. On Saturday nights, before the Vigil, a moleben is chanted before the relics, This moleben is open to all. Oil from the continually burning lampada is sent globally to all those that seek St. John's assistance.  The Liturgy is performed daily in the Cathedral and there is access during all services to the holy relics." [3]

In the midst of a self-obsessive city where Christ is largely being relegated to a place of obscurity in the hearts and minds of its inhabitants, there happened to be an Orthodox saint who had once lived in it.  Christ's saints are therefore not confined within the outermost reaches of the Roman Catholic Church but are also present in other branches of Christianity.

Through St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, the light of Christ shone and continues to shine today in and from one of the most spiritually dark corners of the world.  May this light also pierce through and dispel the darkness in the soul of this blogger.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjh-TzKddfE

[2] http://orthochristian.com/54575.html

[3] https://www.sfsobor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=68&lang=en

Contamination, Transubstantiation And Possible Fraud

Transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ by contaminated hands at the Altar of Sacrifice was addressed in the last post on the sex scandals that were uncovered in Germany. [1]  This entry delves further into it.  The question is two-fold.

First is whether fraud have been committed by unchaste and abusive Catholic sexual-predator priests, bishops, archbishops and Cardinals against faithful Catholics who receive Holy Communion believing it to be truly Holy since it represents Christ in His entirety.

Second is whether fraud have been perpetrated by the Vatican and those within its hierarchy, including the pope, by failing to disclose to faithful Catholics that known sexual-predator priests, bishops, archbishops and Cardinals have been permitted to continue to serve in their capacity as clerics despite their repetitive immoral and criminal acts (compounding the fraud), thereby misleading them to believe that such sacrilegious sexual predators are holy men of Christ, representing Christ.

"Fraud is generally defined in the law as an intentional misrepresentation of material existing fact made by one person to another with knowledge of its falsity and for the purpose of inducing the other person to act, and upon which the other person relies with resulting injury or damage. Fraud may also be made by an omission or purposeful failure to state material facts, which nondisclosure makes other statements misleading." [2]

Based on the foregoing definition of fraud, it would be correct to conclude that fraud has been perpetrated by both Catholic sexual-predator priests, bishops, archbishops and Cardinals as well as the Vatican and those within its hierarchy, including the pope, against faithful Catholics because the faith they have in the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ has been damaged.  They, therefore, can no longer be assured that the very clerics they trust to be chaste and holy live up to their vows of chastity, and that they are not sexual predators committing acts in secrecy that are not only sacrilege but also criminal.

They also cannot be certain that hands that had been contaminated (Satanized) by sexual perversions are able to transubstantiate bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ at the Altar of Sacrifice.  If bread and wine do not become transubstantiated by the contaminated (Satanized) hands of sexual perverts, then all Catholics are defrauded by believing faithfully that they are receiving the Body and Blood of Christ when in fact they are being given ordinary wafers and wine.

To permit sexual perverts say the Holy Mass is to let them mock Jesus Christ at His Last Supper. 

Worse than the perpetration of fraud against the world's faithful Catholics by the pope and all the clerics who remain silent as to all the sexual perverts who are active within the Catholic Church is the Satanization of Roman Catholicism.



[1] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/leaked-german-study-documents-thousands-of-sexual-abuse-cases-73773
[2] https://definitions.uslegal.com/f/fraud/

Sex Scandals Documented in Germany

Catholic News Agency  reported the following on September 12, 2018, as quoted below [1]:

The study documents sexual offenses against “3677 predominantly male minors” between 1946 and 2014, Der Spiegel reported

“1670 clerics are accused of the deeds,” the German magazine reported, saying researchers had “examined and evaluated more than 38,000 personnel and other files from 27 German dioceses.”

Presumably many, if not all of these 1,670 clerics (those who are still living) are still holding positions in the Catholic Church.  No wonder Bergoglio wanted silence.  The only decent action for him to take would be to laicize all of them, leaving some dioceses short-handed or without clerics entirely.  This is far better than having pedophiles, active or not, transubstantiate bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ on the Altar of Sacrifice with their sexually deviant minds saying prayers that they perform perfunctorily and touch Christ's Body with their sexually abusive (Satanic) hands, assuming that such hands would be able to transubstantiate at all.  If not, then these pedophiles (not just in Germany, but around the world) are committing fraud against all Catholics who receive Holy Communion believing it to be the Body of Christ when pedophile priests had not able to perform the transubstantiation.

The article cited [2] also mentioned subsequent shameful and sinful acts by some in the Catholic Church:

Der Spiegel reported that in many cases evidence was found by researchers to have have been “destroyed or manipulated.”

The destruction and manipulation of evidence in sex scandal cases in Germany could have already taken place, or perhaps are presently taking place, in other countries as well.



[1] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/leaked-german-study-documents-thousands-of-sexual-abuse-cases-73773
[2] Ibid.

The Painful Truth

Truth unfolds at every moment in one's life, denied or not.  When denied, a truth is hidden.  It is denied because it is painful to admit to, and therefore it is rationalized intellectually (self-deceitfully), consciously or not, in order to escape the pain.  When denial of one's truth becomes a routine, one is oblivious of one's conscience, as if it did not exist.  In the face of pressure to uncover one's truths, one becomes defiant and buries them deep under more and more layers of denials and rationalizations, and diverts attention to other matters and remains silent.  This is not a peaceful silence that one retreats to; rather it is one fraught with anxiety mixed with pride.  The contrast is clear.  One who lies (pun unintended) with Satan finds no rest.  One who lives in the light of truth lives in Christ and rests in peace.

Predictions Of Father Joseph Ratzinger - Before He Was A Cardinal And Later Pope

By happenstance, a video came across as a suggestion on You Tube [1] with a link to the article quoted below, dated June 13, 2016, entitled When Father Joseph Ratzinger [49 years ago in 1969] Predicted the Future of the Church, published by Aleteia [2] [italics original]:

He didn’t pretend he could tell the future. No. He was much too wise for that. As a matter of fact, he tempered his initial remarks with this disclaimer:

“Let us, therefore, be cautious in our prognostications. What St. Augustine said is still true: man is an abyss; what will rise out of these depths, no one can see in advance. And whoever believes that the Church is not only determined by the abyss that is man, but reaches down into the greater, infinite abyss that is God, will be the first to hesitate with his predictions, for this naïve desire to know for sure could only be the announcement of his own historical ineptitude.”

But his era, brimming with existential danger, political cynicism and moral waywardness, hungered for an answer. The Catholic Church, a moral beacon in the turbulent waters of its time, had recently experienced certain changes of its own with adherents and dissenters alike wondering, “What will become of the Church in the future?” 

... 

And so, in a 1969 German radio broadcast, Father Joseph Ratzinger would offer his thoughtfully considered answer. Here are his concluding remarks,

“The future of the Church can and will issue from those whose roots are deep and who live from the pure fullness of their faith. It will not issue from those who accommodate themselves merely to the passing moment or from those who merely criticize others and assume that they themselves are infallible measuring rods; nor will it issue from those who take the easier road, who sidestep the passion of faith, declaring false and obsolete, tyrannous and legalistic, all that makes demands upon men, that hurts them and compels them to sacrifice themselves. To put this more positively: The future of the Church, once again as always, will be reshaped by saints, by men, that is, whose minds probe deeper than the slogans of the day, who see more than others see, because their lives embrace a wider reality. Unselfishness, which makes men free, is attained only through the patience of small daily acts of self-denial. By this daily passion, which alone reveals to a man in how many ways he is enslaved by his own ego, by this daily passion and by it alone, a man’s eyes are slowly opened. He sees only to the extent that he has lived and suffered. If today we are scarcely able any longer to become aware of God, that is because we find it so easy to evade ourselves, to flee from the depths of our being by means of the narcotic of some pleasure or other. Thus our own interior depths remain closed to us. If it is true that a man can see only with his heart, then how blind we are!  

“How does all this affect the problem we are examining? It means that the big talk of those who prophesy a Church without God and without faith is all empty chatter. We have no need of a Church that celebrates the cult of action in political prayers. It is utterly superfluous. Therefore, it will destroy itself. What will remain is the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church that believes in the God who has become man and promises us life beyond death. The kind of priest who is no more than a social worker can be replaced by the psychotherapist and other specialists; but the priest who is no specialist, who does not stand on the [sidelines], watching the game, giving official advice, but in the name of God places himself at the disposal of man, who is beside them in their sorrows, in their joys, in their hope and in their fear, such a priest will certainly be needed in the future. 

“Let us go a step farther. From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge — a Church that has lost much. She will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning. She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes, so it will lose many of her social privileges. In contrast to an earlier age, it will be seen much more as a voluntary society, entered only by free decision. As a small society, it will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members. Undoubtedly it will discover new forms of ministry and will ordain to the priesthood approved Christians who pursue some profession. In many smaller congregations or in self-contained social groups, pastoral care will normally be provided in this fashion. Along-side this, the full-time ministry of the priesthood will be indispensable as formerly. But in all of the changes at which one might guess, the Church will find her essence afresh and with full conviction in that which was always at her center: faith in the triune God, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, in the presence of the Spirit until the end of the world. In faith and prayer she will again recognize the sacraments as the worship of God and not as a subject for liturgical scholarship. [Emphasis added.] 

“The Church will be a more spiritual Church, not presuming upon a political mandate, flirting as little with the Left as with the Right. It will be hard going for the Church, for the process of crystallization and clarification will cost her much valuable energy. It will make her poor and cause her to become the Church of the meek. The process will be all the more arduous, for sectarian narrow-mindedness as well as pompous self-will will have to be shed. One may predict that all of this will take time. The process will be long and wearisome as was the road from the false progressivism on the eve of the French Revolution — when a bishop might be thought smart if he made fun of dogmas and even insinuated that the existence of God was by no means certain — to the renewal of the nineteenth century. But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret.

“And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already, but the Church of faith. It may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but it will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death. [”]

The Catholic Church will survive in spite of men and women, not necessarily because of them. And yet, we still have our part to do. We must pray for and cultivate unselfishness, self-denial, faithfulness, Sacramental devotion and a life centered on Christ.

(The italicized words in bold lend support to the blog post dated 9/7/18 entitled What Will Make The Pope Speak - Inaction And Total Silence By The Whole Catholic Community.  Here was the conclusion, referring to the article entitled Legatus Withholding Vatican Tithe :

This blogger hopes that this will inspire Catholics around the world in their own communities to organize and withhold their periodic donations to their respective Catholic churches, emptying their coffers until the pope takes decisive action in reforming the Catholic church by stepping down and abandoning the papacy.  From there, small local Catholic communities will form anew, led by priests whose primary goal is to lead followers to Christ.  A good example for them would be Saint Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney.

If a large number of priests would want to leave the priesthood because living a life similar to the one led by Saint Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney would be too harsh for them, then let it be.  This just proves that they had not been called by God in the first place but had been put in place by Satan to ruin the Church built by Christ from within it.

This will bring to pass the prophesy of St. Malachy. [3])



[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f1dWbn3lgI
[2] https://aleteia.org/2016/06/13/when-cardinal-joseph-ratzinger-predicted-the-future-of-the-church/
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes

The Catholic Clergy - An Analysis

Christ had twelve disciples.  One of them betrayed Him.  In mathematical terms, that is one-twelfth or approximately eight percent (8%).  Would it be reasonable to extrapolate and conclude that 8% of all Catholic clergy are betrayers of Christ?  The 8% took place when Christ was Himself present.  Without Christ being in the flesh, the percentage could very well be far greater.

Betrayers are not limited to sexual deviants, homosexual and heterosexual, who break their vow of chastity.  (Here is what Christ said about oaths: "'Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, "Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow."'" [1])  A betrayer is also one who condones and/or covers up for another who does not abide by the vow of chastity.  A pope, priest, bishop, archbishop or Cardinal does not have to commit a sin personally to have the sin attributed to him (this applies equally to nuns).  They should know this from reading the Gospel of Matthew:

"'You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.'" [2]

Catholics must not live in hypocrisy, or in a fantasy world believing that one who wears a habit is necessarily holy.  After all, even saints had their share of sins otherwise Augustine would not have written out his confessions.  One has to wonder what kind of confessions John Paul II, canonized a saint by Bergoglio, would have written, about what he knew about the sex scandals and what he did to allow such acts to continue and what did not do to stop them.  This, of course, would have been just the tip of his iceberg.  Only he and God know all that were beneath it.

Tolerating hypocrisy of those in charge of the Catholic Church cannot be easy since it requires one to ignore Christ's truths and to abet their deceits.  Yet, there are many who are willing to be co-conspirators, reclassifying a matter between good and evil into one between liberal and conservative.

The teachings of Christ are clear but not easy to follow but one must despite repeated failures, and never give up trying.

Live by the truth and pray for God's mercy; live by deceit and fall into Satan's welcoming embrace.


[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5:27, at 33.
[2] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5:27, at 27-8.

What Will Make The Pope Speak - Inaction And Total Silence By The Whole Catholic Community

The pope will speak, loud and clear, when the entire world's Catholic community falls silent just as the pope wants, and stays home to pray.  Catholics should along with their silence, do nothing, including skipping Mass and withholding donations until there is reform.  (Meanwhile, maybe Catholics should begin attending an Orthodox church's Divine Liturgy.)  The withholding of contribution has already begun.  Quoted below (with hyperlink) is an article entitled Legatus Withholding Vatican Tithe  published by The American Conservative  dated September 6, 2018 [1]:

This is significant. Legatus is a national organization of Catholic businessmen. It was started, and is still run, by Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino’s Pizza. It’s pretty conservative. Monaghan informed the national membership that the Legatus board has decided to withhold its annual $1 million tithe to the Vatican for the time being. Here’s the text of the letter:

September 6, 2018

Dear fellow members –

Events over the past few weeks have prompted many members to contact the national office and members of the Board of Governors regarding the current crisis in the Church.

This is a time when each member of Legatus is truly needed.  Our mission to study, live and spread the Catholic faith in our business, professional and personal lives is more crucial now than ever.

We are certainly blessed with the leadership of Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the USCCB, who has called for a “prompt and thorough examination,” into how the recently uncovered moral and ecclesiastical failings have persisted and what steps are to be taken to remedy this indescribably difficult situation.

We have also had discussions regarding our (Legatus’) annual tithe to the Holy See, specifically pertaining to how it is being used, and what financial accountability exists within the Vatican for such charitable contributions.  The Board has begun a dialogue along these lines, and in the meantime has decidedto place the Holy See annual tithe in escrow, pending further determination (by the Board). We certainly pledge our continued devotion to Holy Mother Church, and recognize the tithe has been an important commitment of Legatus since our founding.  However, in light of recent revelations and questions, we believe it appropriate to respectfully request clarification regarding the specific use of these funds.

Please join the Board as we continue to pray for healing and clarity during this troubled time: for our Church, for all victims of abuse and injustice, and for our clergy.

Sincerely in Christ,

Thomas S. Monaghan

Chairman & CEO

This blogger hopes that this will inspire Catholics around the world in their own communities to organize and withhold their periodic donations to their respective Catholic churches, emptying their coffers until the pope takes decisive action in reforming the Catholic church by stepping down and abandoning the papacy.  From there, small local Catholic communities will form anew, led by priests whose primary goal is to lead followers to Christ.  A good example for them would be Saint Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney.

If a large number of priests would want to leave the priesthood because living a life similar to the one led by Saint Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney would be too harsh for them, then let it be.  This just proves that they had not been called by God in the first place but had been put in place by Satan to ruin the Church built by Christ from within it. [2]


[1] https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/legatus-withholding-vatican-tithe/
[2] With the sex scandals news taking place, this article appears: 2 priests caught allegedly having sex in car in Miami.  See https://abc13.com/2-priests-caught-allegedly-having-sex-in-car-in-miami-/4151406/

Pope's Rather Amusing Words

Quoted from an article entitled Pope Francis says response to division should be silence, prayer  by By Hannah Brockhaus for EWTN News/CNA [1]:

Pope Francis said Monday that to division and scandal the answer should be silence and prayer; and asked the Lord for the grace to discern when it is better to speak or to remain quiet.

“With people who do not have good will, with people who seek only scandal, who seek only division, who seek only destruction, even within families,” the answer is “silence. And prayer.”

Bergoglio who is in the hot seat as a result of sex scandals wants, of course, Catholics to pray away sexual sins committed by the clergy in silence and in secrecy which, ironically, is mindful of the inappropriate, despicable and forced-upon sex acts that had taken place or perhaps are still taking place within the Catholic church.

Bergoglio also speaks of division.  He does not specify what it is, deliberately to obfuscate.  Is the division between those who would want everyone to forget about the scandals while permitting tacitly the scandals to continue in silence and secrecy and those who want transparency and full accountability out in the open?

Bergoglio is too sly, but Satan is far worse.

Letter To Bergoglio (Updated)

Catholic Men United For Christ has a letter on its website addressed to the pope and the bishops of the United States that can be signed digitally, quoted below [1]:

September 5, 2018

Dear Holy Father and Bishops of the United States:

As Catholic laymen, we are faithful husbands, fathers, business leaders, lawyers, tradesmen, medical doctors, professors, teachers, artists, and leaders of Catholic lay apostolates. But most fundamentally, we are men in love with Christ and His Church, and it is for this reason that we beseech you to purge the corruption which has so grotesquely disfigured the face of Christ’s Bride. The present scandals have placed our wives, sisters, brothers, and children in danger. Therefore, echoing the words St. Catherine of Siena addressed to Pope Gregory XI, we beseech you to “sleep no longer, and raise the standard [of Christ] courageously.” The Church needs purification, and by virtue of your offices as our shepherds, no one is more qualified to bring about this purification than yourselves. We beg you to do so without a moment’s delay.

Taking courage from St. Paul, and knowing that “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rm 5:20), we are appalled by the recent abuses. We have read of the allegations against Archbishop Theodore McCarrick; the grand jury report regarding the Church in Pennsylvania; the horrific abuse in Honduras and Chile; and the rampant reports of clerical homosexual activity, pedophilia, and ephebophilia throughout the global presbytery. Most recently, we have read Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s testimony alleging that bishops in senior leadership positions within both the Holy See and the United States have covered up sexual abuse, evidencing widespread and systemic corruption throughout the Church’s hierarchy.

Holy Father, we come to you for answers. You personally have been faced with allegations. These allegations have been leveled by a high-ranking church official, Archbishop Viganò. Further, many bishops in the United States have publicly stated that they believe these allegations should be investigated. We implore you to address them. Specifically, we request that you answer the questions posed by our sisters in their letter to you, issued on August 30, 2018.

Moreover, regardless of the veracity of Archbishop Viganò’s allegations, our concerns about corruption remain. Your Holiness, Your Eminences, and Your Excellencies: Amidst widespread global abuse, coverups, and hierarchical failure, what are you doing and what will you do to protect the people of God? We urge you to answer this simple question because the cost of the episcopal corruption is catastrophic. At present, many families are reluctant to send their sons to seminary. Efforts at evangelization have been crippled. And distrust from donors jeopardizes the Church’s ability to serve the poor, promote environmental stewardship, and carry out works of mercy. One Catholic mother has said that this crisis will either reinvigorate the Church or cause an exodus. We beg you to encourage reinvigoration through radical purification, realizing that you are at risk of losing credibility in the eyes of millions of Catholics.

Holy Father, we are personally committed to our own purity and the purification of the Church. We are reminded of the words of our Lord in John 8:7: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.” All sin, including our own, weakens the Church. As men, we must all have the strength to seek the Lord’s healing. For this reason, we will begin with ourselves, examining our own consciences and renewing our own commitment to chastity. We will work to build up our own families, especially our sons, and our own communities. Further, the signers of this letter commit to serious and difficult fasting for the next seventeen Fridays, beginning this Friday, September 7 through the end of the calendar year. We will not relent. We will embrace suffering as penance for our own sins and the sins of the Church. We desire nothing more than to become saints amidst scandal.

Holy Father and Bishops of the United States, we plead for justice for the victims of abuse. We add our voices to those of the bishops who have called for an investigation of the Church hierarchy, both in our own country and in the Vatican. This investigation should be carried out by faithful lay men and women. Further, we encourage other groups to make their voices heard by writing more letters of this nature.

Finally, we praise our Lord Jesus Christ, who in His abundant mercy founded the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We affirm our hope for the future of the Church. We ask you to be courageous and not afraid. We affirm our affection and gratitude for the holy priests and bishops who have served us faithfully as stewards of the mysteries of Christ. The Church’s history has seen many seasons. Nevertheless, after the dark season of winter comes spring, and we pray that the difficulties of the present time will be surpassed by the victories to come. Trusting in our Lord Jesus Christ, we have full confidence that the light of the Holy Trinity will break through this present darkness revealing the full beauty of our beloved Church.

We promise our lives, our talents, and our resources for the purification and renewal of the Catholic Church. Relying on the intercession of the Blessed Mother, we will fight for this cause to the very end.

Your sons and brothers in Christ,

This blogger hesitated in signing the letter.  Under the contact tab, he submitted his concerns, subjected to a limit of 800 characters:

Dear Sirs,

I am Catholic but am neither a scholar nor an expert in Catholicism or in theology.  I was planning to sign the letter but something troubles me.  I quote: “… echoing the words St. Catherine of Siena addressed to Pope Gregory XI, we beseech you to ‘sleep no longer, and raise the standard [of Christ] courageously.’”

Is Christ’s standard not a perfect standard that man ought not to raise, lower or change in any way?  In other words, in order that man finds it necessary to alter Christ’s standard, must man not think that the standard set by Christ was subpar, that he is superior to Christ and that he is the one to correct, perfect and/or complete Christ’s teachings?  Is man so blinded by pride that even in the face of Christ, his humility remains elusive?

Please edify. Thanks.

* * * * * * * * * * * 

An Update - September 7, 2018

A reply was received:

We do not intend to change "Christ's standard in any way."  The sentence implies sort-of "raising the banner of Christ," as THE standard for all men. 

In Jesus, 

Catholic Men United

My reply --

Catholic Men United:

Thank you for your reply.

Why "sort-of" imply and create an ambiguity when a point can be expressed clearly?

Wouldn't this be a slight improvement (even though imperfect still):  "We beseech you to 'sleep no longer,' echoing the words St. Catherine of Siena addressed to Pope Gregory XI, and to ask all Catholics to live up to the standard set by Christ."?

I do not expect Catholic Men United to change its letter.  The above is merely a comment.

Peace in Christ.

[1] https://catholicmenunited.org/#sign, accessed September 6, 2018, at approximately 16:10 PST.

Splitting Hairs

Below are two paragraphs excerpted from an article published by Catholic News Agency  on September 3, 2018, entitled Benedict, Viganò, Francis, and McCarrick: Where things stand on nuncio’s allegations [1]:

While Viganò has claimed that Benedict imposed “canonical sanctions” on McCarrick, Pentin reported a source close to Benedict telling him that, as far as the former pope could remember, “the instruction was essentially that McCarrick should keep a ‘low profile.’ There was ‘no formal decree, just a private request.’"

Pentin, who broke the story of Viganò’s testimonial, had reported in his initial coverage of the memo that a source told him the former pope remembered issuing restrictions of some kind, but could not remember exactly how the matter was handled. His Aug. 31 report elaborated, with a source saying that McCarrick might have been the recipient of a “private request.”

Whether words spoken by a pope are meant to be a "request" of some sort, or have the force of a "canonical sanction" amounts to splitting hairs.  When a pope speaks, he speaks on behalf of Peter, the Apostle, appointed by Christ Himself to be the rock of His Church, unless of course, a pope takes on the form of a two-headed snake and speak out of both mouths in order to mislead.

Here, Benedict XVI, had allegedly "forgotten" (equivalent in meaning to "as far as one can remember") what he had precisely told McCarrick regarding a matter with such gravity.  Who is he kidding?  Is he suffering from Alzheimer's disease?  Or is he senile?  This blogger believes that Benedict XVI is as mentally sharp now as he was before he resigned as pope.

Is Benedict XVI scared of embarrassing Bergoglio?  After all Benedict XVI is living in comfortable surroundings under Bergolio's acquiescence, or perhaps more like an uneasy but tolerated acquiescence, who has the power to make his life miserable, or even end it surreptitiously and murderously (metaphorically speaking, or could even be literally).  If an unexpected death were to happen for real, the public would not know for sure if it was a result of natural causes.  Autopsies are done perfunctorily at best [3].  After all this is the Vatican, where secrets remain confidential and where the pope can be judge, jury and executioner if he wanted to since nobody is above him except God.

National Catholic Register’s Edward Pentin relied on hearsay in his reporting.  According to the article cited [3]:

Pentin reported a source close to Benedict telling him that, as far as the former pope could remember, “the instruction was essentially that McCarrick should keep a ‘low profile.’ There was ‘no formal decree, just a private request.’"

Is it possible that Edward Pentin could be fearing for his life just as Benedict XVI could be fearing for his, and therefore he is walking back ever so gingerly on his earlier report?  According to the article cited [4]:

Pentin, who broke the story of Viganò’s testimonial, had reported in his initial coverage of the memo that a source told him the former pope remembered issuing restrictions of some kind, but could not remember exactly how the matter was handled. His Aug. 31 report elaborated, with a source saying that McCarrick might have been the recipient of a “private request.”

All of this imagined fantasy could be a start for a Dan Brown-like fiction.  Sometimes fiction is not far from reality.  All truths will be known, if not in this life then surely after it.  There is nowhere to hide in the presence of God.

Bergoglio must know that man was made in the image of God.  In other words, one can look at man and one will have a bit of an idea of God could be like.  Since man seeks truth, so does God.  Since man can be merciful, so can God.  Since man can and will mete out justice, so can and will God.  The fact that Lucifer is now Satan is evidence that God's mercy has its limits.  This blogger's advice to Bergoglio and his hand-picked supporters and all those who reject God by their gravely sinful actions and their deliberate lies and who are unrepentant: be very, very afraid.


[1] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/benedict-vigan-francis-and-mccarrick-where-things-stand-on-nuncios-allegations-42199
[2] https://opentabernacle.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/autopsy-on-archbishop-accused-of-sexual-abuse-coordinated-by-the-same-man-who-performed-the-disputed-autopsy-on-two-murdered-swiss-guards/
[3] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/benedict-vigan-francis-and-mccarrick-where-things-stand-on-nuncios-allegations-42199
[4] Ibid.

Words Of A Concert Pianist

The words quoted below are profound [1]:

"It is not a profession to be a pianist and musician. It is a philosophy, a conception of life that cannot be based on good intentions or natural talent. First and foremost there must be a spirit of sacrifice." - Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli 

These words, when extrapolated, extend to all professions and all walks of life.  Life is indeed a philosophy, one that ought not to be based solely on one's innate abilities, translated into observable good deeds and published words, however well-intentioned.  As Maestro Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli said, a "spirit of sacrifice" must be "first and foremost," otherwise (conjecturing further) any performance, any action taken, any word spoken and any body of work, notable or not, would merely be an exercise in vanity.

This is perhaps a good example of Maestro Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli's spirit of sacrifice: he played a sonata written by a relatively unknown composer, Baldassare Galuppi, Sonata No. 5 in C major, not to showcase his exceptional God-given talents but to bring them to bear on a humble piece of composition to showcase it. [2]

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was remembered by John Bell Young in an essay entitled THE MAN WHO WOULD BE SCARBO: REMEMBERING ARTURO BENEDETTI MICHELANGELI  [3].

What is Scarbo?  "Gaspard de la nuit: Trois poèmes pour piano d'après Aloysius Bertrand is a suite of piano pieces by Ravel, written in 1908. It has 3 movements, each based on a poem by Aloysius Bertrand. It premiered in 1909. The work is famous for its difficulty, and Scarbo is considered one of the most difficult solo piano pieces ever written." [4]

You Tube has a performance of Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit by Maestro Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli in 1960 in Prague, and in 1987 at the Vatican. [5]


[1] https://www.azquotes.com/author/33809-Arturo_Benedetti_Michelangeli
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRVg_qqcRSw
[3] https://www.forte-piano-pianissimo.com/MichelangeliMonograph.html
[4] https://musopen.org/music/4693-gaspard-de-la-nuit/
[5] 1960 (no advertisement):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTxX2WYYblo&t=853s; 1987 (with advertisement):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1NkdnilwQk

Tip Of The Iceberg: The United States Catholic Church Sex Scandals

Bergoglio should be afraid, very afraid, so should Cardinals, Archbishops, bishops and priests who were and are part of the sex scandals themseles and who have participated and are participating in the cover-up.

Sex scandals inside the Catholic Church that had been uncovered elsewhere in the world would make news but soon the news would soon be forgotten just like the weather forecast from a few days before.  The dirt on the sex scandals that had been uncovered within the United States is not so easily swept under the proverbial rug.

Despite having political problems, the United States is largely unashamed and unafraid of scandals, and Americans have both the resources and the determination get to the bottom of them, those that are within its jurisdiction.  Since these scandals had taken place and are taking place within the state, it is the state that would exercise jurisdiction over them.  Every state within the United States is basically a sovereign [1] and is not subject to the dictates of the Holy See.  Of all people, Donald William Wuerl should know.  It was not to his boss, Bergoglio, at the Vatican that he ran to when evidence showed that he had lied, it was under a law firm, Jones Day, that he ducked, to seek protection. [2]

Sex scandals inside the Catholic Church are neither confined within the State of Pennsylvania nor to the east coast of the United States.  Such cases are probably in all 50 states.  In the Midwest, the Attorney General's office in the State of Nebraska is beginning its investigation of sex scandals. [3]  In the south, "[a] Texas priest [who has been] accused of molesting teens and stealing from his parish has gone missing." [4]  On the west coast, Dan Noyes of abc7news  reported on August 20, 2018,  that "[he] contacted California Attorney General Xavier Becerra's press office to see if he would begin a similar investigation [to the one that took place in Pennsylvania], given the long history of abuse in the Catholic church in this state. Here's the answer: ‘Thank you for your inquiry. To protect its integrity, we can't comment on, even to confirm or deny, a potential or ongoing investigation.’" [5]

Time will tell if State Attorney General offices across the United States are on the side of sexual victims of the Catholic Church or on the side of the corrupted Vatican that would likely do everything in its power to hang on to its moral authority despite its proven hypocrisy.

[1] https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1231&context=law_lawreview
[2] https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2018/08/15/as-sexual-abuse-scandals-mount-dc-cardinal-turns-to-jones-day/?slreturn=20180803021339
[3] https://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/nebraska-ag-s-office-interviews-men-alleging-abuse-by-lincoln/article_6b124866-e5f2-537d-a6bd-e2a0d9b2b067.html
[4] https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article217011675.html
[5] https://abc7news.com/religion/will-calif-officials-investigate-catholic-church-sex-scandal/4010096/

Catholic Gardens

Imagine having Catholic gardens without fences everywhere around the world where people could enter into and spend time with God in silent prayer day and/or night without fear of danger.  Gardens of Eden they are not, nor are they reminiscent of Monet's Garden at Giverny [1], nor the grounds of Peterhof in Saint Petersburg [2].  Rather, these gardens ought to be intimate, simple and low-maintenance without ponds and bridges, fountains and palaces and an abundance of blossoms that distract from the tranquility and peace that they are intended to provide.  In each, a crucifix and a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary would be present.

Trimming of trees, manicuring the bushes, maintenance of sprinklers and weeding would be done by volunteers.  A collection box to pay for water will be inside the Catholic church nearest to the garden.  Solar-powered landscaping lights and maintenance parts will come from donors.

A sheltered traditional Nativity scene would be placed in every garden during Christmas.  Trees and shrubs would be decorated using donated solar-powered Christmas lights.

When there can be someone in attendance at all times to accompany the Body of Christ placed within a monstrance, Eucharistic Adoration would be possible inside a garden.

Finally, there would just be some draconian rules that need to be observed:  no smoking, no pets, no food, no drinks, no music, no telephone and other sounds, no talking, no whispering, no crying children, no coughing and no saying the rosary out loud.  After all, these Catholic gardens are places where people go to be with God, to be at peace without distraction.



[1] Photograph of Monet's garden below is from http://giverny-france.com/ (this is picture number 9 counting from left to right, down on the third row):

[2] Photograph of Peterhof's Grand Cascade below is from https://en.peterhofmuseum.ru/multimedia (click on Peterhof on the left, and under Peterhof, click on Grand Cascade, go to number 10 of 50):

Joy And Torment

In between eternal joy and eternal torment is life, with its ups and downs.  None of its ups is comparable to eternal joy and none of its downs is comparable to eternal torment.

Everyone’s life is unique with unique challenges.  The rich ones are not exempt from torment and certainly cannot buy their way out of the worst of it, nor are the poor ones blessed with constant joy when they do not have the minimum amount of food and creature comfort that only those with some means can afford.

Torment is the result of Original Sin and its manifestations. When torment is accepted with this understanding and humility, it begins to wash away Sin's derivatives but not Original Sin. Original Sin is indelibly embedded in every sinner that only Christ was able to take away, which He did by His suffering and His resurrection.  Therefore, man needs only be concerned with his own sins, not the Sin of his first parents, Eve and Adam.

When man refuses to accept the pains of his torments and commits suicide, thinking that he has ended all sufferings would find out that the thought that compelled him to end his own life was a Satanic temptation that opens the door to Hell. God gave man his life and it is for God, not man, to end it.

Therefore suicide, assisted-suicide, along with capital punishment, murder and euthanasia are Satan's ways to steal from God what belongs to God which is life by ending it with a sinister form of death that is not natural.  Those who advocate such forms of death or participates directly and indirectly in them are under Satan's influence.  Torment could very well be their eternity.

Of all the creatures, Satan understands torment most of all because It is engaged in a war against God that It cannot win. For this reason, Its torment is eternal.  Since misery loves company (as the saying goes), therefore Satan wants to ruin as many souls as It can so that they will end up in Hell to accompany It.

Life is punctuated with bouts of torment, and Satan is there with Its temptations to help man to numb the pain and to forget about it temporarily.  Wanting a quick fix, man indulges in drugs, alcohol, sex and other vices that eventually defeats the man then ruins his soul, unless he turns to God for help in his battle against Satan.

God is not here to take away man's pains since the pains of torment are reminders of man's own selfish and sinful existence.  By recognizing them as such, and enduring them with humility, man is transformed and perfected ever so gradually.  This transformation, however, will not turn a sinful man into a saint overnight but it is progress nonetheless, nor will it replace man’s torment with lasting joy.

Joy does not come easily for this blogger.  As he begins to age and to experience more and more intense difficult periods in his life, as he is being forced to no longer live in his dreams, as he begins to see more and more of the truths and the pretenses, while his romantic side had dissipated ever so imperceptibly, he is hardly able to imagine joy and express it.

He now experiences joy vicariously through the joy of others or so it seems.  Ironically, he finds this joy mainly in music composed by Ludwig van Beethoven who was tormented by what this blogger believes to be agonizing tensions between his personality and physical limitations on the one hand and his God-given musical genius on the other.

Joy, in the music of Beethoven, is not always apparent. Beethoven's joy seemed elusive.  In some of his compositions, his joy appeared to be shrouded in a mist of sadness, if not completely blotted out by his wrath.  Perhaps this joy, as it shined through a diaphanous veil of deep sorrow, was the true joy of the spirit that Beethoven presented to God through his music, that the listener can only share a moment of with his eyes closed.

An expression of Beethoven’s quiet and unspoken joy, tinged with sadness and resignation but cradled by a sense of interior peace, was revealed in depth by members of the Lindsay String Quartet in their performance of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130, Movement V: Cavatina. [1]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC26f1XBKjQ