As Benghazi Issue Heats Up in America, Here’s an Overview on the Church and Libya
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Photo: Door of Hope (Click image for source)

Photo: Door of Hope (Click image for source)

The truth appears to be coming out on the failures of the U.S. State Department in regard to the attack on America’s diplomatic mission in Benghazi. In light of this, I thought you might like to have some information on the Catholic Church in Libya and a timeline of (mostly) Vatican news articles on Libya. Regardless of anything else, it is clear to me that Barack Obama should not have sought to depose Qaddafi to begin with…and regardless of what is decided in regard to the attack on the embassy in Benghazi, Libya has fallen to forces far more evil than Qaddafi was. Let’s not forget that. I have no opinion on the current president of Libya, but those who toppled Qaddafi have no concern for human life except among those who are Muslims. Most seem to be more interested in money and power than in “freedom.” This “revolution” has nothing to do with freedom whatsoever. There is no freedom where there is war against Christendom.

Background on Christianity in Libya

Click here for some fascinating details about the history of the Church in Libya from the very beginning of Christianity.

Here are some excerpts:

bulletPointCrossThe beginnings of the Church in Libya go back to the origins of Christianity itself. One recalls Simon of Cyrene who helped Christ carry the cross (Mk 15, 21). On the day of Pentecost, there were in Jerusalem, some devout men coming from Libya, belonging to Cyrene (Ac 2,10). After the persecution of Jerusalem, it was some citizens from Cyprus and Cyrene who carried the Good News of Jesus to the Greeks (Ac 11,20). According to the tradition of the Coptic Church in Egypt, St. Mark would be originally from Cyrene.

bulletPointCrossThe Church in Cyrene unfortunately became very famous because of the heretic Arius who came from Tolemaidis.

bulletPointCrossThe Church in North Africa reached its glorious climax with the appearance of St. Augustine, born in Tagaste (Souk-Ahras, Algeria) on 13th November 354.

bulletPointCrossThe rapid conquests of the arab-muslims, between the 7th and 12th centuries, gradually obliterated christianity from North Africa. The ecclesiatical history of North Africa under the Arab domination during these centuries is obscure and so scant as to make it extremely difficult even to delineate.

bulletPointCross In 1219 while St Francis departed to Egypt, his followers in 1224-25 went to Morocco where they were martyred. They were present although occasionally in Tunisia and from1628 permanently also in Libya to assist the Christian slaves. The Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels) in the Old City – Medina of Tripoli was foundedin1645 and, with the permission of the Sultan of Constantinople, the Church of the Immaculate Conception was founded in Benghazi in 1858. From 1641 the first Apostolic Prefecture was actually constituted with the series of Apostolic Prefects up to 1943 when the Apostolic Vicariate of Tripoli was constituted and from 1927 that of Benghazi.

Timeline of Vatican articles on Libya.

It is important to note for non-Catholics who, in my experience, are frequently unaware of this point, that news reports from the Vatican are not doctrinal statements. We Catholics don’t have to agree with statements made here, generally speaking, but it is wise to trust that these statements are being accurately reported. I offer here my own summaries. Click the links for the original articles.

May 13, 2011, Fides reports:

“Today is the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. May she help us free ourselves from the ‘plague’ of bombs and all sorts of violence. Blessed John Paul II suffered violence and Our Lady of Fatima saved him. As Pastor I invoke the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima and St. Francis so our leaders may convince themselves to take the path of negotiation and peace, ” Archbishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli says to Fides. Archbishop Martinelli also states that “the prayer to Our Lady of Fatima is important because it is also known by the Muslim world” The Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli declares, however, disappointed: “As far as I know, there is no attempt to dialogue. This worries me, because we want to solve everything with force. But force never brings positive results.” “Last night bombings were less intense than the two previous nights. The problem is that bombings provoke civil victims. The radio transmits appeals from mothers and children who asked not to be bombed, ” concludes Bishop Martinelli.

May 16, 2011, Pope Benedict calls for an end to the violence in Libya.

After praying the Regina Coeli, the Holy Father remarked that he continued “to follow with great apprehension the dramatic armed conflict in Libya, which has caused a great number of victims and suffering above all among the civil population. I renew a pressing call that the path of negotiation and dialogue prevail over that of violence, with the help of the international organisations that are seeking a solution to the crisis. I assure, furthermore, my prayerful and heartfelt participation in the local Church’s undertaking to help the population, in particular through consecrated persons present in the hospitals”.

May 26, 2011, a Catholic priest who helps refugees says European countries, USA, Canada, Australia must increase their quotas for refugees attempting to leave Libya. “We need to accelerate reception procedures.” A refugee camp is “assaulted from Libya.”

June 2, 2011, Vatican Radio reported that the UN-backed NATO campaign’s mission in Libya was to protect civilians during the rebellion to oust Qaddafi. It is reported that both sides, rebels and Qaddafi forces, have committed “war crimes” but that the Qaddafi forces’ war crimes are “more severe.”

June 4, 2011, Bishop Martinelli says, “We were astonished by the failure of international diplomacy and, perhaps, by its prejudice that makes dialogue impossible with the leadership of Tripoli,” and he warns, “Wanting to divide Libya means to create breeding ground for terrorist acts.”

June 6, 2011, Bishop Martinelli says that an Italian cemetery has been desecrated.

On June 3, unknown assailants attacked the Italian cemetery in Tripoli, causing extensive damage without being able to penetrate into the rooms where the ossuaries are. On the walls there were writings against NATO and the allied bombings in progress on Libya, as well as insulting and threatening messages.

June 14, 2011, Fides reports on a statement from Bishop Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, in Libya: “Speaking to some journalists one has the impression that Italy does not talk much of the war in Libya, an event that has become uninteresting. On many other occasions events are organized, for the war in Libya, no. I therefore believe that the war in Libya has been put in the background on behalf of NATO countries, although they still continue the bombings.”

June 24, 2011, Fides reports that Bishop Martinelli is saddened by a NATO strike on a family home.

According to radio Libyan there are 19 victims, mostly women”, says the Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, who concludes confiding: “I am more and more bitter because you cannot see the will to find a peaceful solution to the crisis”.

June 22, 2011, Vatican Radio reports that China is beginning to establish ties with Libyan rebels and that Italy’s foreign minister wants hostilities to end so that aid can start pouring into Libya.

June 27, 2011, Vatican Radio reports that the rebels are coming to Tripoli. “Gaddafi’s government remains defiant,” the report says. Libyans are arriving in Tripoli by ship from Benghazi while the Red Cross is transporting people by ferry from Tripoli to Benghazi.

June 29, 2011, the ICC wants Qaddafi’s government to hand Qaddafi over for trial, but NATO “does not have any mandate to carry out an arrest of Gadhafi.”

July 4, 2011, Fides reports, and Bishop Martinelli expresses that the people support Qaddafi. He is praying for reconciliation.

August 7, 2011: Pope Benedict says:

My thoughts also turn to Libya, where the force of arms has not resolved the situation. I urge international organizations and all who have political and military responsibilities to relaunch with conviction, through effective negotiation and constructive dialogue, the search for a plan for peace for the country.

August 9, 2011, Fides reports that Bishop Martinelli is praying that Qaddafi and the people of Libya are reconciled.

August 30, 2011, Vatican Radio reports “Libya faces distressing humanitarian situation” as “Libya’s rebels accused Algeria of an act of aggression for admitting the fleeing wife of Muammar Gaddafi and three of his children.”

August 31, 2011, Bishop Martinelli hopes for reconciliation between Qaddafi and the Libyan people. He expresses that reconciliation is what the people of Libya want.

September 13, 2011, Fides reports that Bishop Martinelli believes the new government will be “moderate” and he says that he is “eager and anxious to return to Libya” after a stay in Italy.

September 16, 2011, Fides reports that Bishop Martinelli believes that Libya has changed for the better, saying, “For the moment I can only speak for Tripoli, because I do not know what is happening in the rest of the country, but my first impression is positive: there is an atmosphere of tranquility and peace.”

September 20, 2011, Bishop Martinelli says, “We are ready to cooperate with the authorities for the sake of Libya.”

September 24, 2011, Fides reports that Bishop Martinelli is inviting the Apostolic Nuncio, who lives in Malta, to come to Libya.

October 3, 2011, the situation in Qaddafi’s hometown is “desperate,” according to the International Red Cross.

October 21, 2011, the Holy See Press Office issues a statement on the death of Qaddafi and reminds the world that the Vatican “recognises States and not governments.” Further, the Vatican states, “For this reason the Holy See has not proceeded in establishing a formal recognition of the National Transitional Council (CNT) as the government of Libya. Given that the CNT is now acting effectively as the government in Tripoli, the Holy See considers it the legitimate representative of the Libyan people, in conformity with international law.”

October 22, 2011, L’Osservatore Romano reports that the death of Qaddafi is “probably, the end of the war, to the point that NATO is considering announcing the end of the mission.”

October 27, 2011, Fides reports that Bishop Martinelli says, “Libya has a tradition of being a balanced country, religious, and that has never been fundamentalist.” Bishop Martinelli then goes on to say that he believes Sharia law as a basis for Libya’s constitution (which is a fundamentalist view) is a “positive” thing.

December 17, 2011, the ICG says 125,000 Libyans are armed and are fighting in militias.

December 22, 2011, Fides reports that Bishop Martinelli says, “the local population is serene.”

January 8, 2012, “Bombs, kidnappings and assaults in prisons: security in Benghazi, the capital of Cyrenaica (eastern Libya) still seems precarious after about 9 months since the end of the civil war and the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime.”

January 24, 2012, Fides reports “Explosions and gun shots near the Mahary Hotel” and “since Friday 20 there are shootings in Tripoli every night.”

May 9, 2012, We are told that many militia members were promised to be paid to fight against Qaddafi and they are now angry they are not getting the money.

“It was not the militants of Yafran to attack the seat of government, but those of Zeltan” say to Fides qualified sources from Tripoli, in Libya, where yesterday, May 8, a militia group attacked the headquarters of the Libyan government asking for the payment of fees owed to them for having fought for eight months against Muammar Qaddafi and his regime. The 200 militants had arrived on board of about 50 vehicles equipped with weapons of different calibers, including some anti-aircraft guns: they surrounded the seat of government, blocked all the surrounding roads and after firing the first gusts of intimidation and attempted to unnecessarily start a negotiation, they raided the building.

March 23, 2012, Fides reports that Bishop Martinelli says everything is fine. “Come to Libya to help us, the situation is not as tragic as some describe it to be.”

June 5, 2012, Fides reports that Bishop Martinelli says, “The situation is calm again. When we left this morning at 7 am after Mass, we did not notice anything special” after a conflict over control of a civilian airport. Bishop Martinelli echoes Pope Benedict XVI in calling for “courage” among the Christians of Libya.

June 12, 2012, Vatican Radio reports that an ICC legal team has detained after having attempted to assure a fair trial for Qaddafi’s captured son, Saif al-Islam Qadhafi. The report mentions that the British ambassador to Libya was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades.

June 13, 2012, Fides reports on bombs, blood…and Bishop Martinelli saying, “everything seems normal, shops are open…”

July 8, 2012, a Vatican news report that has since been removed from the website quotes Bishop Martinelli: “We must not be surprised if there are problems, but we trust the Libyans.”

July 10, 2012, Vatican Radio quotes Ian Martin, head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, who gives a hopeful report about the elections in Libya.

August 10, 2012, Fides reports generally on the election of Mohamed al-Magariaf as President of the National Assembly in Libya.

September 12, 2012, Vatican Radio reports on the US condemnation of the killing of Ambassador Chris Stevens. The article promotes the statement of the Council on American-Islamic Relations which makes the same false claim about an “offensive video” that was made by the White House.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Hooper, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says the mob which have attacked the consulate are just giving more publicity to the person they feel insulted the Prophet Muhammad.

“It’s not Muslims in general”, he said. “It’s a tiny minority of Muslims who are reacting in the wrong way to intentional provocation.”

September 12, 2012, the Holy See Press Office releases a statement from Fr. Lombardi on peaceful co-existence among people of different religions.

September 13, 2012, Vatican Radio – Vatican: Firm condemnation of US consulate attack in Libya.

September 13, 2012, an unfortunate article from L’Osservatore Romano blaming the video and stating: The United States ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, an official and two marines were killed yesterday night when the American consulate in Bengasi was attacked. According to the international press the ambassador and the other three Americans were killed by a rocket fired at their car. The Libyan authorities state that the victims died inside the consulate.”

Fr. Lombardi pitches the side of Islamists and the White House in strong condemnation of the video, blaming it for the attack, arguably more so than the people who actually did the attacking.

“The serious consequences of unjustified offence and provocations against the sensibilities of Muslim believers”, he stated, “are once again evident in these days, as we see the reactions they arouse, sometimes with tragic results, which in their turn nourish tension and hatred”.

September 14, 2012, an unfortunate article blaming the video for the attack and saying arrests have been made by Libyan authorities. The report relies on information from BBC reporter Nathan Morley.

September 22, 2012, another unfortunate article blaming the video and mentioning both “protestors” and “militias.”

December 17, 2012, the borders with four other countries are closed as southern Libya is declared a “closed military zone” by the Libyan General National Congress.

January 25, 2013, Fides reports “Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia have urged their citizens to leave Benghazi immediately for fear of imminent terrorist attacks”

January 31, 2013, Spero News reports that Christians are fleeing Libya due to threats from Islamists. The article quotes Bishop Martinelli.

January 31, 2013, Fides reports that the Congregation of the Holy Family of Spoleto and the Franciscan Sisters of the Child Jesus are driven out of Cyrenaica by Islamists.

February 11, 2013, Middle East Online (not a Catholic source) reports:

“Not a day goes by without tombs being vandalised,” says Dalmasso Bruno, caretaker of the Italian cemetery in the Libyan capital where Christians fear rising Muslim extremism.

“Human bones have been taken out of their tomb and scattered across the cemetery” in central Tripoli, he said. “The Libyan authorities came and took pictures. They promised to take measures but nothing has been done.”

Since the 2011 fall of Moamer Gathafi’s regime, the small Christian community’s fears for its safety have increased, especially after a church bombing in December killed two people in the Mediterranean town of Dafniya.

March 15, 2013, the Coptic Church in Benghazi is set on fire by “unknown assailants.” The Copts were reportedly being punished for “proselytizing.” Fr. Lombardi calls for “dialogue” and “shared and peaceful coexistence among religions and peoples”.

April 24, 2013, a car bomb explodes at the French embassy in Tripoli, and two nuns, Little Sisters of Jesus of Charles de Foucauld, are killed in a car crash near Tripoli.

God help Libya.

Live Action Releases Fourth Video in ‘Inhuman’ Investigation
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Pro-"choice" activists call Leroy Carhart a "hero." PHOTO: JillStanek.com

Pro-”choice” activists call Leroy Carhart a “hero.” PHOTO: JillStanek.com

Today, Live Action Films has released a fourth video in the “Inhuman” investigation series which documents the brutality of late-term abortion in America. The latest video features Dr. Leroy Carhart of Nebraska being visited by two separate undercover Live Action investigators, both of whom were pregnant women at 22 and 24 weeks gestation. Carhart is one of four late-term abortionists in America “canonized” at the Sundance Film Festival.

Watch Live Action’s investigation of Leroy Carhart in the video below:

Carhart described his practice as a late-term abortionist in a 2011 interview as the will of God.

I was brought up in a family that was religious. My wife and I were active in the church until it became too dangerous for us to go— George [Tiller] and I used to joke about that. I went a couple of times with him, but I don’t go to any church actively now. I don’t think you have to go to a church to be a religious person. I think if you’re asking do I believe in God, yeah, I do. I think what I’m doing is because of God, not in spite of God.

I think it’s no different than with someone who has had a heart attack: If we were to save their life are we going against God’s will because if medicine didn’t intervene, the patient was going to die? Is that what God wants, for a person to die? That’s not an issue, not a question. It’s the same thing with a flawed pregnancy. People wouldn’t think God created a flawed pregnancy to punish or test the parents. I think that it’s just like any other medical condition, something that happens. God has provided us with a way to educate people to help take care of it. I think that because a certain, small group of people don’t believe in it doesn’t mean that it’s not the right thing to do.

Father Marcel Guarnizo wrote in February of this year:

Carhart has been described to me by his own staff as the “most evil person” they have ever encountered. Even Mr. Stave [an owner of the Maryland clinic where Carhart works], who continues to be instrumental in the damage and death of women and babies in Maryland, has described how he loathes Carhart. But I guess Carhart pays the rent.

Please share Live Action’s “Inhuman” investigation with others to show the world what “choice” in abortion really looks like, and be sure to sign the included petition.

Click here to read articles about Leroy Carhart by pro-life nurse and blogger Jill Stanek.

Click here to read articles about Leroy Carhart at Live Action.

Click here to read articles about Leroy Carhart at Life News.

Lord Alton to bring blind Chinese human rights lawyer to Westminster
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Rome, 7 May 2013 (Dignitatis Humanae Institute) – A year after his release from Chinese confinement, Chen Guangcheng, the blind human rights activist who gained international recognition for his stand against the one child policy and forced abortion, shall (visa pending) be visiting Britain this month.

It was this time last year that Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, Honorary President of Dignitatis Humanae Institute, and Lord Alton, Chairman of the British Parliament’s Cross-Party Working Group on Human Dignity, united in a plea for compassion, appealing to the Chinese authorities to allow Chen Guangcheng and his family to leave China.

Though Chen lost his sight at an early age, he managed to teach himself law and gained world-wide renown for his campaign of exposing the practice of forced abortions in China. In May 2012, after a period in prison, intimidation, and house arrest, Chen was finally granted permission to leave with his family for America.

Undeterred by his past treatment, and the continuing difficulties his relations in China endure, Chen continues to be a champion for human dignity and will bring this message to London later this month. In addition to meeting representatives of the British government, Chen shall also be hosted by Lord Alton and the Cross-Party Working Group on Human Dignity, at an event within the Palace of Westminster.

In anticipation of Chen’s visit, Lord Alton stated: “Whilst the world’s most powerful nations dare not challenge China’s shameful record of gender-based, forced abortions, Chen has risked all to speak out and expose the practice of gendercide. His personal tale of bravery and sacrifice, as well as his account of the gendercide in China, is something that desperately needs to be heard in Britain.”

In addition to meetings within Westminster, Chen shall also be presented with an award from the Parliamentary Pro-Life Group and Right to Life in recognition for his defence of human rights and human life. Jim Dobbin MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group, said “It took this blind man to see and to challenge what political leaders chose not to see. His bravery and his suffering, in the cause of human rights and human dignity, shames those who implemented these polices and those in the West who have aided and abetted them.”

A special fundraising page has been launched by Right to Life Trustee, Chris Whitehouse: who has made this urgent appeal for donations: “Chen’s wider family continue to suffer persecution and intimidation in China. This must stop. Please help us to make this trip possible so that the international community is urged to intervene. Subject to flight availability and visa clearance, Chen hopes to be in London week commencing Monday 20th May, so the need to raise funds is urgent.”

www.justgiving.com/BringChenToLondon

Public events with Chen and details of the Cross-Party Working Group on Human Dignity event shall be published shortly on www.dignitatishumanae.com

Dear Everybody: Trenton And Newark are Different Dioceses
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Archbishop John Myers of Newark

Archbishop John Myers of Newark

There is a public smearing of Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark that is now ongoing because of something that occurred in the Diocese of Trenton without the approval of either Archbishop Myers or Bishop David O’Connell of Trenton. People engaged in this campaign against Archbishop Myers would do well to understand the jurisdiction of a bishop is within his own diocese and that the civil authorities are ultimately responsible in ensuring that Michael Fugee live up to the terms of his agreement with them.

Father Pius Pietrzyk does a good job of explaining that a report on the case of Michael Fugee which casts harsh blame on Archbishop Myers represents anti-Catholic media bias in that it raises no questions of the civil authorities who are responsible in this particular case. There is only one problem with Fr. Pius’ article and that is that he doesn’t acknowledge, maybe because he wasn’t aware of it when he wrote the article, that these violations occurred outside Archbishop Myers’ diocese.

Why was Fugee in the Diocese of Trenton? Was he sent there by Archbishop Myers or approved by Bishop O’Connell of the Diocese of Trenton? No. He was not sent there by Archbishop Myers nor approved by Bishop O’Connell. He was invited by a priest and two youth ministers within the Diocese of Trenton. All three of them have now resigned, but the attack on Archbishop Myers in the media continues.

Despite there being no involvement by either the Archbishop of Newark or the Bishop of Trenton in the decision to allow Fugee access to children, Archbishop Myers is being attacked as if he has done something wrong. Even some prominent Catholic bloggers are saying Archbishop Myers has failed in his duty to ensure the protection of children. Bishops and Archbishops are not omnipotent, and they don’t have the role of putting tracking devices on people like Michael Fugee. The prosecutor may have the authority to do that, but the bishops don’t.

If anyone is responsible here, it is the prosecutor and Fugee himself, along with those who have now resigned who invited Fugee to have access to children. Having said that, it isn’t clear how much they were aware of Fugee’s record when they invited him.

I grow weary of the rush to smear Catholic bishops, but especially when Catholic bloggers jump on board with it. Let’s try to use our brains more, folks. If I’m wrong about anything I’ve written here, I am happy to be corrected, but these are the facts of the situation as I understand them.

To Mock Cardinal Dolan, ‘Gay Rights’ Activists Intentionally Dirty Their Hands To Go to Mass
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Intentionally dirtied hands of "gay rights" activists at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Photo: New Civil Rights Movement

Intentionally dirtied hands of “gay rights” activists at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Photo: New Civil Rights Movement

In New York City, early today, “gay rights” activists intentionally dirtied their hands before attempting to enter St. Patrick’s Cathedral for Holy Mass. This was an attempt to mock Cardinal Dolan for a blog post he wrote on April 25 explaining the Church’s teaching that homosexual acts are sinful. In that post, he had shared a story from his childhood about washing our hands before eating a meal.

I was so proud and happy.  Freddie was welcome in our house, at our table.  We both rushed in and sat down.

“Freddie, glad you’re here,” dad remarked, “but . . . looks like you and Tim better go wash your hands before you eat.”

Simple enough . . . common sense . . . you are a most welcome and respected member now of our table, our household, dad was saying, but, there are a few very natural expectations this family has.  Like, wash your hands!…

So it is with the supernatural family we call the Church:  all are welcome!

But, welcome to what?  To a community that will love and respect you, but which has rather clear expectations defining it, revealed by God in the Bible, through His Son, Jesus, instilled in the human heart, and taught by His Church.

Photo: New Civil Rights Movement.

“Gay rights” activists present their intentionally dirtied hands at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Photo: New Civil Rights Movement.

The activists are reporting that the NYPD barred them from entering the cathedral unless they washed their hands. They refused.

How do you talk sense into people like this? Imagine, running to get your hands dirty ON PURPOSE before meeting Jesus (in the Eucharist.) Of course, no one who loves Jesus would do that. Consider the story of Martha’s sister Mary and the perfume.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Laz?arus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Laz?arus was one of those at table with him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it. Jesus said, “Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist at Mass. You do not intentionally get yourself dirty before meeting Him…if you truly love Him. If you truly love Him, you will present yourself as clean in body and spirit as you possibly can.

In the end, this is why the Church is under attack on this issue of “gay rights.” They hate what they do not understand, and so they attack. They consider themselves to be holy saints even as they are intentionally dirtying themselves. St. Paul had something to say about those who believe we can make “grace abound” by intentionally committing sin (dirtying ourselves).

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin.

We are all given the grace to be able to turn from sin, and we are all expected to try to do just that. That trying is a suffering. That suffering is our “dying” that the faithful do every day for Christ. We stumble and fall, every day, but we do not glory in sin. We do not TRY to dirty ourselves and then present ourselves before Christ and demand He save us. We try NOT to sin, and we know that if we intentionally sin, we are rejecting His grace.

The idea of intentionally dirtying your hands before Mass is simply appalling to me…because I love Jesus and can’t bear to see Him treated that way. That is a failing of mine. It is the problem St. Peter had with not wanting to see Jesus treated badly. I have to work through that. We all have to work through our failings, not glory in them.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

Cardinal Aviz Complains He Wasn’t Consulted on Vatican Reform of LCWR
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NOTE: This post has been updated. See the update at the end of the post.

Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, is complaining that he was not consulted in regard to the Vatican’s reform of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).

Fishwrap:

At one point the cardinal even called for wide-ranging review of structures of church power.

“We are in a moment of needing to review and revision some things,” Braz de Aviz said. “Obedience and authority must be renewed, re-visioned.”

“Authority that commands, kills,” he continued. “Obedience that becomes a copy of what the other person says, infantilizes.”

“Authority that commands, kills?”

Do you suppose that view is why he wasn’t consulted? Just a guess.

Incidentally, Cardinal Aviz’s coat of arms displays “Omnes Unum Sint” – That they may all be one. A form of the same term is the title of an encyclical by Pope John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint from which I now quote:

For a whole millennium Christians were united in “a brotherly fraternal communion of faith and sacramental life … If disagreements in belief and discipline arose among them, the Roman See acted by common consent as moderator”.

In this way the primacy exercised its office of unity. When addressing the Ecumenical Patriarch His Holiness Dimitrios I, I acknowledged my awareness that “for a great variety of reasons, and against the will of all concerned, what should have been a service sometimes manifested itself in a very different light. But … it is out of a desire to obey the will of Christ truly that I recognize that as Bishop of Rome I am called to exercise that ministry … I insistently pray the Holy Spirit to shine his light upon us, enlightening all the Pastors and theologians of our Churches, that we may seek—together, of course—the forms in which this ministry may accomplish a service of love recognized by all concerned”.

This is an immense task, which we cannot refuse and which I cannot carry out by myself. Could not the real but imperfect communion existing between us persuade Church leaders and their theologians to engage with me in a patient and fraternal dialogue on this subject, a dialogue in which, leaving useless controversies behind, we could listen to one another, keeping before us only the will of Christ for his Church and allowing ourselves to be deeply moved by his plea “that they may all be one … so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:21)?

It seems to me that acknowledgment of the primacy of Peter and his successors in the Chair of Peter is foundational in any dialogue with the Pope, and that there is no place for “useless controversies” in any dialogue with the Pope.

UPDATE: Vatican says its congregations collaborate, including on LCWR decision

Bishop Zubik Takes Issue with Carnegie-Mellon Student Mocking Papacy While Half Naked in Public
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mockery

To me, this is just more proof that it was the Catholic Church who built Western Civilization and is continuing to stand for civilization, and that it is the Left that is hell-bent on destroying civilization. Good luck, barbarians. You’ll need it. Barbarians never maintain control of a society for long. People grow weary of it, before long.

CBS Pittsburgh:

Students at Carnegie Mellon say it’s freedom of expression, but the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh calls it inappropriate and disrespectful.

At an annual art school parade, a female student dressed up as the pope, and was naked from the waist down while she passed out condoms.

Even more, witnesses say the woman had shaved her pubic hair in the shape of a cross.

There is a photo online showing this woman with papal costume from the waist up and naked from the waist down.

Here is a video with the statement from CMU, interviews of Bishop Zubik of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and interviews of CMU students defending this public nudity and mockery of the Pope.