The Cleveland Catacombs

2004-08-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

Diocese of Cleveland ex-CFO [accused of accepting more than $750,000 from an accounting firm he had hired to work for the diocese] to get Same Job with Diocese of Columbus

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/living/1093029328165640.xml?lrnew

Diocese ex-CFO to get same job in Columbus

Cleveland official resigned under a cloud of suspicion

Friday, August 20, 2004

James F. McCarty
Plain Dealer Reporter

The deposed chief financial officer of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese has a new job as the next CFO of the Diocese of Columbus.

Joseph Smith resigned from the Cleveland diocese in January under a cloud of suspicion, accused of accepting more than $750,000 from an accounting firm he had hired to work for the diocese.

The FBI is investigating the payments, and the diocese's insurance company reportedly has filed a claim against Smith to recoup the money - neither of which apparently deterred the Columbus diocese from hiring him as its new finance director.

A Cleveland diocesan official said the Columbus diocese was made aware of the criminal investigation, as well as the circumstances of Smith's leaving after more than 20 years of employment in the state's largest diocese.

"No recommendation concerning employment was requested, and none was provided," said spokesman Bob Tayek, reading from a news release.

Few people involved were willing to talk about Smith's hiring when contacted Thursday.

Several phone messages left with Smith were not returned. Real-estate records show he has listed his five-bedroom, 5½-bathroom brick home in Avon Lake for sale. Asking price: $579,900.

Tayek confirmed there is a criminal investigation but declined to comment further. FBI special agent Bob Hawk declined to acknowledge that an investigation exists.

Robin Miller, a spokeswoman for the Columbus dio cese, confirmed that Smith recently was hired as its director of finance, and that he would take over the job from the outgoing chief financial officer in October.

Miller could not confirm Tayek's claim that Columbus diocesan officials were told of the criminal investigation.

Bishop James Griffin, head of the Columbus diocese, previously served as assistant chancellor in Cleveland before taking over the Ohio capital diocese in 1983. He was attending a bishops conference in Michigan on Thursday and was unavailable for comment.

Several lay people with ties to the Cleveland diocese, but who asked not to be named, said Griffin is well-acquainted with Smith, 47, the Cleveland diocese's former highest-ranking and highest-paid lay employee.

Smith owns a marketing firm called Tee Sports Inc. that runs golf tournaments, including charity events for the Columbus and Cleveland dioceses.

Smith's downfall in Cleveland began after documents were sent anonymously in December to the diocese and a lawyer. The documents detailed the flow of money from a Mentor-based accounting business operated by Anton Zgoznik to companies affiliated with his friend, Smith. Checks for "consulting fees" totaling $750,000 were written to Smith's companies over six years.

The accounting firm of Ernst & Young recently completed an investigation of the Zgoznik- Smith transactions, and the findings were turned over to the diocese's insurance company for review, Tayek said. He declined to provide details.

A layman with knowledge of the case said the insurance company paid an unspecified damage claim to the Cleveland diocese, then filed a claim against Smith to recoup the money.

If Smith fails to pay, the insurance company likely would sue Smith for damages, the layman said.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
My thoughts.

To me, this sounds like a pay off for Joe Smith to keep his mouth shut. Could it have anything to do with the other FBI investigation into the actions of Bishop Pilla?

You might want to look at this story that appeared on Freerepublic a while back and start connecting some dots. But could these people really be so stupid...and so corrupt???

FBI Investigating Cleveland's Bishop Pilla?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

2004-08-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

Bishop Pilla on Communion
to Pro-abortion Politicians

Kathleen Willet Redle, M.F.A.

Pilla on giving Communion to pro-abortion politicians

On the topic of giving Communion to pro-abortion politicians, journalist Colette Jenkins, who was present at a meeting with the Bishop and 35 politicians, reported these words of Bishop Anthony M. Pilla:

“The altar is a place of unity, healing, nourishment and grace. It is not a place for confrontation ... In my view, the battles for human life and dignity and for the weak and vulnerable should be fought not at the Communion rail, but in the public square, in hearts and minds, in our pulpits and public advocacy, in our consciences and communities.'' (Colette Jenkins, "Politics, sacrament don't mix, Bishop says," in the Akron Beacon Journal, July 2004).

This vague language means that the Bishop would give Communion to so-called Catholic lawmakers such as John Kerry and Ted Kennedy, who for years have been writing and promoting pro-abortion laws while voting against pro-life laws that would save unborn babies.

In the same meeting, Pilla continued:

“The view of refusing Communion to politicians who support keeping abortion legal is not part of the pastoral tradition of the Church …. Given the long standing practice of not making a public judgment about the state of the soul of those who present themselves for Communion, the pastoral tradition of the church places the responsibility of such a judgment first on those presenting themselves for Holy Communion” (ibid).

What kind of “newspeak” and double talk is this? It is the same old post Vatican II ploy, claiming that it’s not “pastoral” to correct error and too “judgmental” to correct bad practice and false teaching. Let’s just move merrily along, holding hands and dancing into apostasy!

What does the Church really teach about giving Communion to notorious public sinners?

Code of Canon Law of 1983, canon 915 reads:

“Those upon whom the penalty of excommunication or interdict has been imposed or declared, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”

Canon 916 reads:

“Anyone who is conscious of grave sin may not celebrate Mass or receive the Body of the Lord without previously having been to sacramental confession, unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, which includes the resolve to go to confession as soon as possible.”

The law requires three grave elements before the sacraments are denied:

• That the person is in mortal sin, which indicates a serious offence against God. A procured abortion, objectively, is a mortal sin with the penalty of excommunication for the one who aborts and all who take part, including the doctors, nurses, and politicians who promote it.
• That the person overtly and publicly rejects the principles of the Church.
• That the person ““persists in his obstinacy”” and deliberately perseveres in his sinful actions.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

“Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature of office are obliged to teach and educate others.” Further, “They are guilty of scandal who establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of morals....” (§§ 2285-2286).

What did Jesus do to the money changers and how did he describe the Scribes and Pharisees of his day? He called these leaders a brood of vipers, like whited sepulchers outwardly beautiful but within full of dead men’s bones. Then he used a whip to clear them out of the Temple, declaring, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves!” (Mt 23:27,33, Mt 21:12, Jn 2:14-15). What is happening to God’s house of prayer today? Look around and you see the chaos and lack of clear teaching authority everywhere!

Some characteristics of Bishop Pilla’s “pastoral”

Who are these spiritual leaders today who shirk their responsibility to shepherd the Church? This article will illustrate one such remiss shepherd. You can probably think of several others yourself, given the level of spiritual and sexual abuse that is going on in the Catholic Church today. What did past Shepherds have to say about such negligent behavior in protecting the flock?

• Our Lord called these men “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

• Pope Leo I said, "He that sees another in error and endeavors not to correct it, testifies himself to be in error."

• Pope St. Felix III said: "Not to oppose error is to approve it; and not to defend truth is to suppress it, and indeed to neglect to confound evil men when we can do so is not less a sin than to encourage them."

One such Shepherd who does very little to protect orthodox teaching, while promoting heterodox practices, is Bishop Anthony M. Pilla of the Cleveland and former president of the USCCB. Pilla’s sanction of the homosexual dissident group “Dignity” is chronicled in Atila Guimarães’ book Vatican II, Homosexuality & Pedophilia (pp. 91-2) as well as various sexual abuse problems and unorthodox goings-on in his Diocese.

These include Bishop Pilla’s foot washing of a woman who had been abused by a diocesan priest, Fr. Marin Louis, when she was 8-years-old. It is a terrible thing that this woman had been abused (this Diocese has covered up many other sex abuse of minors by priests), but it was also wrong for the Bishop to wash her feet when it was forbidden by Rome, since the ceremony of foot washing is a symbol of the all male priestly ordination. Foot washing is a clear sign of ordination that Christ instituted at the Last Supper when he washed the feet of his Apostles.

Bishop Pilla was a pioneer in having altar girls even before a Vatican document permitted this condemned practice. Benedict XIV in the Encyclical Allatae sunt, July 26, 1755, summarizes the opposition of two Popes to women serving at Mass:

"Pope Gelasius in his ninth letter (chap. 26) to the Bishops of Lucania condemned the evil practice which had been introduced of women serving the priest at the celebration of Mass. Since this abuse had spread to the Greeks, Innocent IV strictly forbade it in his letter to the Bishop of Tusculum: 'Women should not dare to serve at the altar; they should be altogether refused this ministry.' We too have forbidden this practice in the same words ...." (n. 29).

Another point of the feminist agenda is the introduction of women on the altar by means of liturgical dance. Like Salome dancing for Herod, these dancers try to charm and convince the Bishops they are indispensable for the liturgy. Bishop Pilla allows liturgical dance in his Diocese. Altar girls were first forbidden, then accepted by the present day Vatican, as can happen with this other form of feminine presence on the altar. I hope it will not happen.

In the Cleveland Diocese, Ursuline nuns are teaching the following occult and pagan superstitions to Catholics: Jewish Kabbalah, Tai Chi meditation, Yoga, Shamanism, Chakras, Feng Shui and Reiki. Further they are promoting the Gnostic book The Da Vinci Code. This is one of four New Age “Health and Wellness” centers which the Bishop Pilla promotes. In the April/May 2004 bulletin these centers hosted “Healing Yourself Through Mandalas” (1).The official Diocese of Cleveland website has a page for its ambiguous "Gay and Lesbian Ministry." (2)

Whosoever would apply these principles to the concrete situation of Catholics who support or promote abortion would necessarily conclude that they are forbidden to receive the Holy Eucharist. Notwithstanding, Bishop Anthony Pilla teaches the opposite.

For this reason, after reading Bishop Pilla’s statements, I addressed a letter to the editor to the Akron Beacon Journal, with a copy sent to Bishop Pilla. I transcribe it as my conclusion to this article.

“Regarding Bishop Pilla’s favorable stand in giving Communion to supposedly Catholic pro abortion politicians:

“So how is it "pastoral" or in "Church History," as Bishop Pilla suggested, to allow pro-abortion politicians the privilege of receiving Our Lord’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in Holy Communion? Would his fellow Bishop Pope St. Peter have given Communion to a so-called converted Caesar who continued to make pro abortion laws?

“Any unborn life that is snuffed out because of the laws of pro-abortion politicians protected by Bishop Pill to receive Holy Communion (which condemns them) is worth more than Bishop Pilla’s empty and contradictory words or John Kerry’s actions. These two deserve each other. In contrast I give you Christ’s words, Mt 18:6 "But he that shall scandalize (harm) one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea.

“Finally, Bishop Pilla, look at the Diadache’s words (c. 65 A.D.) :2:2 ‘Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not corrupt boys, thou shalt not commit fornication, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not deal in magic, thou shalt do no sorcery, thou shalt not murder a child by abortion nor kill them when born, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods, thou shalt not perjure thyself, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not speak evil.

“This is what we are not seeing nor hearing in your words. There is too much heresy and scandal in this diocese and the buck stops with you.”

K.W.R.
Article originally appeared here:http://traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/a023htPilla.htm

2004-08-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

Group Seeks to Purchase Catholic Radio Station in Cleveland

From http://www.runningoff.blogspot.com/ :

We need Catholic Radio in Cleveland. And we are very close to getting it!

There are over 15,000 radio stations in this country.

Of these, over 1,500 are Protestant stations.

Less than fifty are Catholic stations.

In Cleveland, there are several Protestant religious stations and no Catholic stations.

The recent scandals have discouraged many Catholics in the Diocese of Cleveland.

We can sit back and condemn those who have failed or we can step up and help carry the cross.

Our Lord instructed us:

Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Hail Holy Queen Communications has been offered a wonderful opportunity to purchase a radio station in Cleveland. Your prayers are desperately needed for this effort.

Please visit the Hail Holy Queen Communications website to learn more about Hail Holy Queen and how you can support this effort: http://www.hailholyqueen.org

I have one more request. This e-mail is being sent to over 600 Cleveland Catholics. If everyone who receives this e-mail forwards it to 10 more Catholics and then those Catholics forward it to their friends and relatives, we can quickly spread this news to tens of thousands Catholics in the northeastern Ohio area. Here is a chance to evangelize and do something very positive in our diocese. Thank you for your help,

2004-08-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

Learn the truth about Kerry and his Band of Brothers:

http://www.swiftvets.com/

2004-08-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

Pro-abortion Dennis KUCINICH:
"I would refrain from Communion if Bishop Pilla asked me to, but the bishop has not done so."

Kucinich's press secretary, Kathie Scarrah, in May of 2003: "He absolutely believes in the sanctity of life and that life begins at conception."

Kucinich in a letter to the Plain Dealer: "I don't believe in abortion; few do. I do, however, believe in choice."

Kucinich in interview with the San Francisco Chronicle: "I am going to continue to take a thoughtful approach, and that doesn't preclude the poor from having the government support their right to choose."

Kucinich to Tim Russert after his flip-flop: "The position I'm taking now is an expansion; it's not a reversal."

From Kucinich for President website:

In a Kucinich administration, a woman's right-to-choose will be protected as essential to personal privacy and gender equality. Only those who agree to uphold Roe v. Wade will be nominated for the Supreme Court. Civil rights (and voting rights) enforcement will be intensified. Lesbians and gays will be afforded complete equality throughout society, including in marriage. Affirmative action will be maintained as a tool for racial and gender equality. Drug policy will emphasize treatment over criminalization, and not a rampaging war that erodes Constitutional freedoms, privacy, and law enforcement resources. An end to capital punishment will be sought.

From the July 23, 2004 Cleveland Plain Dealer :

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a Cleveland Democrat who became an abortion rights supporter last year, said he would abstain if his bishop asked him to, but that the bishop has not done so. Cleveland Bishop Anthony Pilla has said that Catholic politicians who support abortion rights may decide for themselves whether they are morally fit to receive Communion in the eight-county Diocese of Cleveland.

http://www.cleveland.com/religion/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/1090580133105680.xml

Ask Bishop Pilla to help save Kucinich's soul:

Main Cathedral Square Personnel Phone and extensions to 216-696-6525

Office of the Bishop: The Most Reverend Anthony M. Pilla ext. 2030Fax (216) 696-6547 * bishop@dioceseofcleveland.org

Rev. Ed Estok, Administrative Assistant to the Bishop ext. 2000Fax (216) 696-6547
Eileen Von Alt ext. 2030

Secretary for Parish Life: Sr. Rita Mary Harwood ext. 2200 rmharwood@dioceseofcleveland.org;

Liturgy Office:Rev. J-Glenn Murray ext. 4120

Interfaith Commission: Rev. Joseph Hilinske ext. 5110 Chancery Office: Rev. Ralph Wiatrowski ext. 2080 / Night: (216) 521-8379Fax (216) 621-7332

Vice Chancellor: Rev. David J. Walkowiak ex 2120 Clergy Personnel Rev. Larry Jurcak ext. 2440 ljurcak@dioceseofclevelandorg

Auxiliary Bishops:Most Rev. A. James Quinn (440) 244-2120 / (216) 579-0326 / Fax (440) 899-1122

Most Rev. Roger W. Gries (216) 361-0873 / Fax (216) 361-0877

Most Rev. Martin J. Amos (330) 762-9651 / Toll Free 1-877-406-1049 / Fax (330) 762-9655

2004-07-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

A great banner from the very funny http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/

2004-07-17T09:09:00.001-07:00

THE REMARKABLE PROLIFE WORDS OF JOHN EDWARDS

The following excerpt from a January 31, 2004 New York Times article contains some amazingly pro-life quotes made by Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards. The New York Times reports that once, as a trial attorney, John Edwards actually "channeled the words of an unborn baby girl." (Yes, it is also a minor miracle that the NYT would refer to a blob
of tissue as an "unborn baby girl.")

Referring to the unborn baby girl, Edwards states, "She speaks to you through me." Right now, that exact phrase only appears in google 502 times. Pro-lifers, we need to get John Edwards words about the unborn out there.

Ann Couler has done so brilliantly. And her recent article on Edwards follows a brief excerpt from the NYT.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/31/politics/campaign/31EDWA.html?ex=1090209600&en=deccf9dea272991f&ei=5070

In Trial Work, Edwards Left a Trademark

In 1985, a 31-year-old North Carolina lawyer named John Edwards stood before a jury and channeled the words of an unborn baby girl.

Referring to an hour-by-hour record of a fetal heartbeat monitor, Mr. Edwards told the jury: "She said at 3, `I'm fine.' She said at 4, `I'm having a little trouble, but I'm doing O.K.' Five, she said, `I'm having problems.' At 5:30, she said, `I need out.' "

But the obstetrician, he argued in an artful blend of science and passion, failed to heed the call. By waiting 90 more minutes to perform a breech delivery, rather than immediately performing a Caesarean section, Mr. Edwards said, the doctor permanently damaged the girl's brain.

"She speaks to you through me," the lawyer went on in his closing argument. "And I have to tell you right now — I didn't plan to talk about this — right now I feel her. I feel her presence. She's inside me, and she's talking to you."

The jury came back with a $6.5 million verdict in the cerebral palsy case, and Mr. Edwards established his reputation as the state's most feared plaintiff's lawyer.

In the decade that followed, Mr. Edwards filed at least 20 similar lawsuits against doctors and hospitals in deliveries gone wrong, winning verdicts and settlements of more than $60 million, typically keeping about a third. As a politician he has spoken of these lawsuits with pride.

"I was more than just their lawyer," Mr. Edwards said of his clients in a recent essay in Newsweek. "I cared about them. Their cause was my cause."

The effect of his work has reached beyond those cases, and beyond his own income. Other lawyers have filed countless similar cases; just this week, a jury on Long Island returned a $112 million award. And doctors have responded by changing the way they deliver babies, often seeing a relatively minor anomaly on a fetal heart monitor as justification for an immediate Caesarean.

On the other side, insurance companies, business groups that support what they call tort reform and conservative commentators have accused Mr. Edwards of relying on questionable science in his trial work. Indeed, there is a growing medical debate over whether the changes have done more harm than good. Studies have found that the electronic fetal monitors now widely used during delivery often incorrectly signal distress, prompting many needless Caesarean deliveries, which carry the risks of major surgery.

The rise in such deliveries, to about 26 percent today from 6 percent in 1970, has failed to decrease the rate of cerebral palsy, scientists say. Studies indicate that in most cases, the disorder is caused by fetal brain injury long before labor begins.

An examination of Mr. Edwards's legal career also opens a window onto the world of personal injury litigation. In building his career, Mr. Edwards underbid other lawyers to win promising clients, sifted through several dozen expert witnesses to find one who would attest to his claims, and opposed state legislation that would have helped all families with brain-damaged children and not just those few who win big malpractice awards.

In an interview on yesterday, Mr. Edwards did not dispute the contention that the use of fetal heart rate monitors leads to many unneeded Caesarean deliveries or that few cases of cerebral palsy are caused by mishandled deliveries. But he said his cases, selected from hundreds of potential clients with the disorder, were exceptions.

The Millworker's Son
By Ann Coulter
FrontPageMagazine.com July 8, 2004

I guess with John Kerry's choice of John Edwards as his running mate, he really does want to stand up for all Americans, from those worth only $60 million to those worth in excess of $800 million.

In one of the many stratagems Democrats have developed to avoid telling people what they believe, all Edwards wants to talk about is his cracker-barrel humble origins story. We're supposed to swoon over his "life story," as the flacks say, which apparently consists of the amazing fact that ... his father was a millworker!

That's right up there with "Clinton's stepdad was a drunk" and "Ted Kennedy's dad was a womanizing bootlegger" on my inspirational life-stories meter. In fact, I'm immediately renouncing my university degrees and going to work for the post office just to give my future children a shot at having a "life story," should they decide to run for president someday.

What is so amazing about Edwards' father being a millworker? That's at least an honorable occupation – as opposed to being a trial lawyer. True, Edwards made more money than his father did. I assume strippers make more money than their alcoholic fathers who abandoned them did, too. This isn't a story of progress; it's a story of devolution.

Despite the overwrought claims of Edwards' dazzling legal skills, winning jury verdicts in personal injury cases has nothing to do with legal talent and everything to do with getting the right cases – unless "talent" is taken to mean "having absolutely no shame." Edwards specialized in babies with cerebral palsy whom he claimed would have been spared the affliction if only the doctors had immediately performed Caesarean sections.

As a result of such lawsuits, there are now more than four times as many Caesarean sections as there were in 1970. But curiously, there has been no change in the rate of babies born with cerebral palsy. As the New York Times reported: "Studies indicate that in most cases, the disorder is caused by fetal brain injury long before labor begins." All those Caesareans have, however, increased the mother's risk of death, hemorrhage, infection, pulmonary embolism and Mendelson's syndrome.

In addition, the "little guys" Edwards claims to represent are having a lot more trouble finding doctors to deliver their babies these days as obstetricians leave the practice rather than pay malpractice insurance in excess of $100,000 a year.

In one of Edwards' silver-tongued arguments to the jury on behalf of a girl born with cerebral palsy, he claimed he was channeling the unborn baby girl, Jennifer Campbell, who was speaking to the jurors through him:

"She said at 3, 'I'm fine.' She said at 4, 'I'm having a little trouble, but I'm doing OK.' Five, she said, 'I'm having problems.' At 5:30, she said, 'I need out.'"

She's saying, "My lawyer needs a new Jaguar ... "

"She speaks to you through me and I have to tell you right now – I didn't plan to talk about this – right now I feel her. I feel her presence. She's inside me, and she's talking to you."

Well, tell her to pipe down, would you? I'm trying to hear the evidence in a malpractice lawsuit.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde on the death of Little Nell, one must have a heart of stone to read this without laughing. What is this guy, a tent-show preacher? An off-the-strip Las Vegas lounge psychic couldn't get away with this routine.

Is Edwards able to channel any children right before an abortionist's fork is plunged into their tiny skulls? Why can't he hear those babies saying, "Let me live! Stop spraying this saline solution all over me!" Edwards must experience interference in channeling the voices of babies about to be aborted. Their liberal mothers' hands seem to muffle those voices.

And may we ask what the pre-born Jennifer Campbell thinks about war with Iraq? North Korea? Marginal tax rates? If Miss Cleo here is going to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, I think the voters are entitled to know that.

While making himself fabulously rich by taking a one-third cut of his multimillion-dollar verdicts coaxed out of juries with junk science and maudlin performances, Edwards has the audacity to claim, "I was more than just their lawyer; I cared about them. Their cause was my cause."

If he cared so deeply, how about keeping just 10 percent of the multimillion-dollar jury awards, rather than a third? In fact, as long as these Democrats are so eager to raise the taxes of "the rich," how about a 90 percent tax on contingency fees?

For someone who didn't care about the money, it's interesting that Edwards avoided cases in which the baby died during delivery. Evidently, jury awards average only about $500,000 when the babies die, and there is no disabled child to parade before the jury.

Edwards was one of the leading opponents of a bill in the North Carolina Legislature that would have established a fund for all babies born with cerebral palsy. So instead of all disabled babies in North Carolina being compensated equitably, only a few will win the jury lottery – one-third of which will go to trial lawyers like Edwards, who insists he doesn't care about the money.

Despite the now-disproved junk science theory about C-sections preventing cerebral palsy that Edwards peddled in the channeling case, the jury awarded Edwards' client a record-breaking $6.5 million. This is the essence of the modern Democratic Party, polished to perfection by Bill Clinton: They are willing to insult the intelligence of 49 percent of the people if they think they can fool 51 percent of the people.

So while Michael Moore, Al Franken, George Soros, Crazy Al Gore and the rest of the characters from the climactic devil-worshipping scene in "Rosemary's Baby" provide the muscle for the Kerry campaign, Kerry picks a pretty-boy milquetoast as his running mate, narrowly edging out a puppy for the spot. Just don't ask the Democrats what they believe. Edwards' father was a millworker, and that's all you need to know.

2004-07-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Ambiguously GAY Duo

See Drudge http://www.drudgereport.com/kerryk.htm

2004-05-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

WILL CARDINAL GEORGE DENY BISHOP PILLA HOLY COMMUNION

From Bishop Pilla's website:

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/images/rnbwtile.gif

We wonder if Cardinal George has ever visited Bishop Pilla's website and seen Bishop Pilla's "Index of /gayandlesbianfamilyministry/images."
If so, Cardinal George will see that Bishop Pilla not only flies the Rainbow Gay Pride Flag or Sash on his website, but that bishop Pilla also has such Gay Pride symbols as Pink Triangles, headless Rainbow doves descending into Hell, and spinning Rainbow balls. You will have to contact Bishop Pilla directly to find out what that last one means.

Why should Cardinal George care? Well look at his most recent actions against other pseudo-Catholics sporting Gay Pride spirit wear:

From Diogenes at the Catholic World News blog, http://www.cwnews.com/offtherecord/offtherecord.cfm :

Gay Catholics are planning to make Pentecost Sunday into an agit-prop fest by presenting themselves for communion wearing rainbow sashes. Chicago's Cardinal George has instructed his priests to refuse them, and his reasoning is on target (thanks to Otto-da-Fe for the link):

Tthe cardinal wrote that wearing the sash indicates disagreement with church teaching that gay ual relations are sinful, and therefore those who wear the sash should not receive communion.

"The Rainbow Sash movement wants its members to be fully accepted in the Church not on the same conditions as any Catholic, but precisely as gay," the cardinal wrote. "With this comes the requirement that the Church change her moral teaching which is from the Lord and his Apostles."

This of course raises an interesting question. If wearing the rainbow sash "indicates disagreement with church teaching," what then does it mean if a Catholic Bishop flies the Gay Pride Rainbow Sash on his website.

When you visit the Diocese of Cleveland website for gays and homosexuals, you are greeted by numerous gay pride symbols. The index for these images can be found by following this link:

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/images/

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/images/glfmlogo.gif

2004-05-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

Still Silent: The Bishop of the Other Pro-Abortion Catholic Presidential Candidate

From the pagans at "Catholics" for a Free Choice to Kill Children:

At the same time, the movement has not made the most of the change. It is barely mentioned in speeches and newsletters. Unlike the biblical feasts and fatted calves that prolifers rolled out for Bernard Nathanson and Norma McCorvey, the reception to Kucinich's conversion has been far more muted.

That is probably to his liking, but not necessarily helpful in our efforts to convince more middle grounders to shift their priorities more sharply to a prochoice stance. Kucinich's evolution is what we Catholics call a "teaching moment" and one that needs to be used.

Clearly the Catholic bishops understand the significance of Kucinich's conversion. While Senator Daschle has been publicly chastised by his bishop, it is as if Kucinich's bishop, Anthony Pilla of Cleveland, is hoping no one will notice any change.

More enigmatic is the relative lack of notice in the Catholic press. A cursory Google search turned up only one mention in a Catholic paper--Our Sunday Visitor. Neither America nor Commonweal has written a word.

One would expect that this would be seen by both as another opportunity to beat the drum against the Democratic Party and bemoan the personal pain of Jesuits who no longer know for whom to vote. To raise again the specter of the late governor of Pennsylvania, Bob Casey, who we are repeatedly and falsely told was denied the "right" to speak at the 1992 Democratic Convention because he was prolife. In reality Casey was denied a speaking role because he refused to endorse the Democratic ticket, a perfectly reasonable criteria for speakers, but one that does not fit the simplistic antiabortion editorial line of either America or Commonweal.

At best, these publications, along with the National Catholic Reporter, might have seen the Kucinich case as an opportunity to look beyond the stale stereotypes of prolife and prochoice towards an articulation of a position that respects that which is best in both prochoice and prolife.

I am convinced that if those Catholic clergy, theologians, public intellectuals and others who know there is no theological basis for the current hierarchical assertion that fetuses are persons from conception would come clean, the Catholic community could make a significant contribution to a public policy and US culture that was both prolife and prochoice. It remains to be seen if Dennis Kucinich will play a meaningful role in that quest.

I know, almost of all of what this group says is a lie. But they got this one right, "it is as if Kucinich's bishop, Anthony Pilla of Cleveland, is hoping no one will notice any change."

Since the comments above, the diocesan spokesman has commented on the Kucinich controversy:

Kucinich changed his longtime anti-abortion position to pro-abortion several months before announcing his presidential bid, said his spokesman, Doug Gordon.

"He has not been banned from communion" Gordon said.

Since Kucinich departed from the church's position on abortion, his bishop has communicated with him, said Robert Tayek, spokesman for Bishop Anthony M. Pilla of Cleveland.

"We are aware that (Kucinich) knows that the diocese is quite disappointed and that we disagree with his positions (on abortion) which are inappropriate," Tayek said. "He understands that there is grave sin. We have not spoken of this publicly before."

How sad that Bishop Pilla has not seen fit to speak about this publicly except through a spokesman to a St. Louis newspaper.

Any bets on what he will end up saying? If anything?

2004-04-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

Futurechurch and Pilla - Pilla and Future Church

Fearful Pilla flips-flops on Futurechurch days before Ad Limina visit with Pope

Early last year, Futurechurch leaders were urging its supporters to support Bishop Pilla:

Were Bishop Pilla to be forced out, we would be leaving ourselves open to a new bishop who would most likely be much more conservative and legalistic given the Bishop appointments that have been made in this papacy. The well-known litmus test for being appointed a bishop under John Paul II is that the person must be opposed to birth control, optional celibacy and women priests. I have this information directly from several bishops who are in positions to know. Bishop Pilla is one of the few remaining "pastoral" bishops who were appointed under Archbishop Jean Jadot. If he doesn't outlast the Pope we can expect to have our next Bishop be less open to lay participation in decision making than Bishop Pilla. It will be a given...and something we need to prepare for, IMHO.

In fact, the relationship between Futurechurch and Bishop Pilla appeared to be one of mutual admiration. Teachers at the bishop's seminary are active supporters of Futurechurch. The national headquarters for Futurechurch resides on diocesan property. Last month, in March of 2004, a Futurechurch event was even advertised in the parish bulletin of St. John's Cathedral:

http://www.saveourchurch.org/cathbishotten.pdf

---

(Note the shared address below:)

From http://www.futurechurch.org/ :

FutureChurch
15800 Montrose Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44111 USA
Phone: 216.228.0869 | Fax: 216.228.4872
E-mail: info@futurechurch.org

_______________________________
From http://www.cleveland.catholicnet.com/parish/stmark/

St. Mark Church
15800 Montrose Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44111
E-mail: doughk@aol.com
Rev. Doug Koesel, Pastor

---

So why the sudden announcement from the diocese that Futurechurch "promote(s) an agenda that is not consistent with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church," and that the group's activities are "not appropriate" at church institutions or facilities?

Afterall, Catholic bloggers like Domenico Bettinelli, Mark Shea, and Kevin Miller have been very outspoken about Pilla's failure to act on the Futurechurch issue as have been the so-called Freepers at freerepublic.com. The organization "Save our Church" was formed in Cleveland for the sole purpose of exposing Futurechurch.

So why did Bishop Pilla finally take action?

The answer appears on the Diocese of Cleveland website today, less than two weeks after the stunning Futurechurch announcement. It is time for Bishop Pilla's ad limina visit with the Pope! Bishop Pilla certainly knows that for months now folks have been writing Rome and influential Cardinals about the state of the Cleveland Diocese. Bishop Pilla's lasty second acknowledgment of the heritcal ways of Futurechurch is a "Hail Mary" pass attempt. Will Pope John Paul II by this belated attempt by Bishop Pilla to paint himself as an orthodox Catholic Bishop?

Let us hope not. After all, the Rainbow Gay Pride Flag still flies on Bishop Pilla's website.

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/contact_us/index.htm

Here is today's announcement by the Diocese of Cleveland - Pope Do Not Be Fooled:

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/news/bishopstovatican.htm

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN …

Bishops from Ohio and Michigan are traveling to Rome for

“ad limina” meetings with Vatican officials and with the Pope

It’s a trip they make
every five years and it’s that time again for the bishops that oversee the
dioceses in what’s known as U.S. Region 6 (Michigan and Ohio) to meet with Pope
John Paul II and various Vatican officials for ad limina meetings. The Most
Reverend Anthony M. Pilla, Bishop of Cleveland and his brother bishops from Ohio
and Michigan will visit Rome from May 1-8 to make themselves available to the
offices of the Holy See to report on the state of their respective dioceses.
This will be the fifth time that Bishop Pilla has participated in these meetings
each time representing the Cleveland diocese.

These regularly scheduled
meetings follow the submission of detailed statistical information from each
diocese that the Holy See requires in what is known as the diocesan Quinquennial
Report. The visits give Vatican officials the opportunity to dialogue with
bishops directly regarding information appearing within the reports. It also
allows the bishops the opportunity to explain to Vatican officials about the
major activities going on within their dioceses.

Often during these visits, Vatican officials will raise specific issues with the
visiting bishops. Recently, Australian bishops were asked to stress to the
faithful the importance of keeping Sunday (the Lord’s Day) holy. Their concern
is that Australian Catholics are putting sports events, recreational activities,
and work ahead of weekly Mass attendance and resting on the Lord’s Day.

The visit will also be a
time for the bishops to celebrate liturgy at all of the major basilicas for the
people of their dioceses. Highlighting the trip, the bishops will have the
opportunity to meeting directly with Pope John Paul II. In recent years these
opportunities for meetings with the Holy Father have become more limited in
frequency and duration because of the Pope’s declining health.

2004-04-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

Diocese of Cleveland Urges Local Catholics to “Celebrate and Honor” Leading Abortion Activists

A few years ago, the Diocese of Cleveland sought to give a $30,000 Campaign for Human Development grant to an organization linked to the National Abortion Rights Action League. (See http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=15930 ) Only after it became national news and thousands of Catholics voiced their outrage to the diocese was the grant withdrawn.

Was it an accident? Did the Diocese with a rainbow Gay Pride flag on its website simply not know that it was indirectly attempting to subsidize the billion dollar abortion industry with money from faithful parishioners?

Well, if the current message on its website is any indication, it was likely no accident.

Currently, on the Diocese of Cleveland website, female Cleveland Catholics are urged to “celebrate and honor” some of the leading pro-abortion activists in the country. (See http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/parishlife/women/Voiceandvisibility.htm )The website states as follows:

Join the women of the United States in recognizing the role of women in history. Celebrate and honor the recipients of this year’s awards: Sarah Buel, Edna Campbell, Jill Ker Conway, Marian Wright Edelman, Maxine Hong Kingston, Susan Love, Vilma Martinez, Leslie Marmon Silko.

Many of you will recognize immediately the name of longtime friend of Hillary Clinton, Marian Wright Edelman. According to Randy Engel in an article appearing on the American Life League website:

We believe that both Marian Wright Edelman and the Children's Defense Fund stand in direct contradiction to everything the Catholic Church holds and teaches on major family life issues including fornication, contraception, abortion, and family life policies.

Some of the others we are being asked to “celebrate and honor” are just as bad. One of the others, a Dr. Susan Love, recently said the following concerning the well –established link between abortion and breast cancer:

Should you be concerned? Yes, not about breast cancer risk, but about the way in which anti-abortion groups are exploiting women's fear of breast cancer.

In an article in Harvard Magazine, Jill Ker Conway describes as someone who “values freedom of choice.” The article goes on to quote Conway:

Blaming the Puritan legacy for people's discomfort with homoeroticism, and further noting the long existence of homosexuality, Conway essentially told complainants "that this is a fact of life." Although this seldom satisfied homophobes, Conway asserted her presidential conviction that adult women can make their own decisions about sexuality, about education, and about their futures.

2004-04-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

Answering Scandal with Personal Holiness

A homily delivered at Espirito Santo parish in Fall River, MA on the Fourth Sunday of OT, Year A Zeph 2:3, 3:12-13; 1Cor1:26-31; Mt 5:1-12

The headlines this past week did not focus on the Patriots' march to the Super Bowl, or on who would QB, Drew or Tom, or even on the President's state of the union address and his comment that there are many Al-Qaeda operatives in the US like "ticking time-bombs." None of these was the top story.

The headlines were captured by the very sad news that perhaps up to seventy priests in the Archdiocese of Boston have abused young people whom they were consecrated to serve. It's a huge scandal, one that many people who have long disliked the Church because of one of her moral or doctrinal teachings are using as an issue to attack the Church as a whole, trying to imply that they were right all along.

Many people have come up to me to talk about it. Many others have wanted to, but I think out of respect and of not wanting to bring up what they thought might be bad news, have refrained, but it was obvious to me that it was on their mind. And so, today, I'd like to tackle the issue head-on. You have a right to it. We cannot pretend as if it didn't exist. And I'd like to discuss what our response should be as faithful Catholics to this terrible scandal.

The first thing we need to do is to understand it from the point of view of our faith in the Lord. Before he chose his first disciples, Jesus went up the mountain all night to pray. He had at the time many followers. He talked to his Father in prayer about whom he would choose to be his twelve apostles, the twelve he would himself form intimately, the twelve whom he would send out to preach the Good News in His name. He gave them power to cast out demons. He gave them power to cure the sick. They watched him work countless miracles. They themselves in His name worked countless others.

Yet, despite all of that, one of them was a traitor. One, who had followed the Lord, who had had his feet washed by the Lord, who had seen him walk on water, raise people from the dead, and forgive sinners, betrayed the Lord. The Gospel tells us that he allowed Satan to enter into Him and then sold the Lord for 30 pieces of silver, handing him over by faking a gesture of love. "Judas," Jesus said to him in the garden of Gethsemane, "Would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" Jesus didn't choose Judas to betray him. He chose him to be like all the others. But Judas was always free, and he used his freedom to allow Satan to enter into him, and by his betrayal, ended up getting Jesus crucified and executed.

So right from the first twelve that Jesus himself chose, one was a terrible traitor. SOMETIMES GOD'S CHOSEN ONES BETRAY HIM. That's a fact that we have to confront. It's a fact that the early Church confronted. If the scandal caused by Judas was all the members of the early Church focused on, the Church would have been finished before it even started to grow. Instead, the Church recognized that you don't judge something by those who don't live it, but by those who do.

Instead of focusing on the one who betrayed, they focused on the other eleven, on account of whose work, preaching, miracles, and love for Christ, we are here today. It's on account of the other eleven — all of whom except St. John was martyred for Christ and for the Gospel they were willing to give their lives to proclaim to us — that we ever heard the saving word of God, that we ever received the sacraments of eternal life.

We're confronted by the same reality today. We can focus on those who betrayed the Lord, those who abused rather than loved those whom they were called to serve, or we can focus, like the early Church did, on the others, on those who have remained faithful, those priests who are still offering their lives to serve Christ and to serve you out of love. The media almost never focuses on the good "eleven," the ones whom Jesus has chosen who remain faithful, who live lives of quiet holiness. But we, the Church, must keep the terrible scandal that we've witnessed in its true and full perspective.

Scandal is unfortunately nothing new for the Church. There have been many times in the history of the Church when the Church was much worse off than it is now. The history of the Church is like a cosine curve, with ups and downs throughout the centuries. At each of the times when the Church hit its low point, God raised up tremendous saints to bring the Church back to its real mission. It's almost as if in those times of darkness, the Light of Christ shone ever more brightly. I'd like to focus a little on a couple of saints whom God raised up in these most difficult times, because their wisdom can really guide us during this difficult time.

St. Francis de Sales was one saint God raised up after the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was not principally about theology, about the faith — although theological differences came later — but about morals. There was an Augustinian priest, Martin Luther, who went down to Rome just after the papacy of the most notorious pope in history, Pope Alexander VI.

This pope never taught anything against the faith — the Holy Spirit prevented that — but he was simply a wicked man. He had nine children from six different concubines. He put out contracts against those he considered his enemies. Martin Luther visited Rome just after Alexander VI's papacy and wondered how God could allow such a wicked man to be the visible head of his Church. He went back to Germany and saw all types of moral problems. Priests were living in open relationships with women. Some were trying to profit from selling spiritual goods. There was a terrible immorality among lay Catholics. He was scandalized, as anyone who loved God might have been, by such rampant abuse. So he founded his own Church.

Eventually God raised up many saints to combat this wrong solution and to bring people back to the Church Christ founded. St. Francis de Sales was one of them. At the risk of his life, he went through parts of what is now Switzerland, where the Calvinists were popular, preaching the Gospel with truth and love. Oftentimes he was beaten up on his way and left for dead. Once he was asked to address the situation of the scandal caused by so many of his brother priests. What he said is as important for us today as it was for his listeners then. He didn't pull any punches.

He said, "Those who commit these types of scandals are guilty of the spiritual equivalent of murder," destroying other people's faith in God by their terrible example. But then he warned his listeners, "But I'm here among you to prevent something far worse for you. While those who give scandal are guilty of the spiritual equivalent of murder, those who take scandal — who allow scandals to destroy their faith — are guilty of spiritual suicide." They're guilty, he said, of cutting off their life with Christ, abandoning the source of life in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. He went among the people in what is now Switzerland trying to prevent their committing spiritual suicide on account of the scandals. I'm here to preach the same thing to you.

What should our reaction be then? Another great saint who lived in a tremendously difficult time can help us further. The great St. Francis of Assisi lived in the 1200s, which was a time of terrible immorality in central Italy. Priests were setting horrible example. Lay immorality was even worse. St. Francis himself while a young man even gave some scandal to others by his carefree ways. But eventually he was converted back to the Lord, founded the Franciscans, helped God rebuild his Church and became one of the great saints of all time.

Once one of the brothers in the Order of Friars Minor asked him a question. The brother was very sensitive to scandals. "Br. Francis," he said, "What would you do if you knew that the priest celebrating Mass had three concubines on the side?" Francis, without missing a beat, said slowly, "When it came time for Holy Communion, I would go to receive the Sacred Body of my Lord from the priest's anointed hands."

What was Francis getting at? He was getting at a tremendous truth of the faith and a tremendous gift of the Lord. No matter how sinful a priest is, provided that he has the intention to do what the Church does — at Mass, for example, to change bread and wine into Christ's body and blood, or in confession, no matter how sinful he is personally, to forgive the penitent's sins — Christ himself acts through that minister in the sacraments.

Whether Pope John Paul II celebrates the Mass or whether a priest on death row for a felony celebrates Mass, it is Christ who himself acts and gives us His own body and blood. So what Francis was saying in response to the question of his religious brother that he would receive the Sacred Body of His Lord from the priest's anointed hands, is that he was not going to let the wickedness or immorality of the priest lead him to commit spiritual suicide. Christ can still work and does still work even through the most sinful priest. And thank God!

If we were always dependent on the priest's personal holiness, we'd be in trouble. Priests are chosen by God from among men, and they're tempted just like any human being and fall through sin just like any human being. But God knew that from the beginning. Eleven of the first twelve apostles scattered when Christ was arrested, but they came back; one of the twelve sinned in betraying the Lord and sadly never came back. God has essentially made the sacraments "priest-proof," in terms of their personal holiness. No matter how holy they are, or how wicked, provided they have the intention to do what the Church does, then Christ himself acts, just as he acted through Judas when Judas expelled demons and cured the sick.

And so, again, I ask, "What should the response of the Church be to these deeds?" There has been a lot of talk about that in the media. Does the Church have to do a better job in making sure no one with any predisposition toward pedophilia gets ordained? Absolutely. But that would not be enough. Does the Church have to do a better job in handling cases when they are reported? The Church has changed its way of handling these cases, and today they're much better than they were in the 1980s, but they can always be perfected. But even that is not enough. Do we have to do more to support the victims of such abuse? Yes we do, both out of justice and out of love! But not even that is adequate. Cardinal Law has gotten most of the deans of the medical schools in Boston to work on establishing a center for the prevention of child abuse, which is something that we should all support. But not even that is a sufficient response.

The only adequate response to this terrible scandal, the only fully Catholic response to this scandal — as St. Francis of Assisi recognized in the 1200s, as St. Francis de Sales recognized in the 1600s, and as countless other saints have recognized in every century — is HOLINESS! Every crisis that the Church faces, every crisis that the world faces, is a crisis of saints. Holiness is crucial, because it is the real face of the Church.

There are always people — a priest meets them regularly, you probably know several of them — who use excuses for why they don't practice the faith, why they slowly commit spiritual suicide. It can be because a nun was mean to them when they were nine. Or because they don't understand the teaching of the Church on a particular issue. There will doubtless be many people these days — and you will probably meet them — who will say, "Why should I practice the faith, why should I go to Church, since the Church can't be true if God's so-called chosen ones can do the types of things we've been reading about?" This scandal is a huge hanger on which some will try to hang their justification for not practicing the faith. That's why holiness is so important.

They need to find in all of us a reason for faith, a reason for hope, a reason for responding with love to the love of the Lord. The beatitudes which we have in today's Gospel are a recipe for holiness. We all need to live them more. Do priests have to become holier? They sure do. Do religious brothers and sisters have to become holier and give ever greater witness of God and heaven? Absolutely. But all people in the Church do, including lay people! We all have the vocation to be holy and this crisis is a wake-up call.

It's a tough time to be a priest today. It's a tough time to be a Catholic today. But it's also a great time to be a priest and a great time to be a Catholic. Jesus says in the beatitudes we heard today, "Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of slander against you falsely because of me. Be glad and rejoice, for your reward in heaven is great." I've been experiencing that beatitude first hand, as some priests I know have as well. Earlier this week, when I finished up my exercise at a local gym, I was coming out of the locker room dressed in my black clerical garb. A mother, upon seeing me, immediately and hurriedly moved her children out of the way and shielded them from me as I was passing. She looked at me as I passed and when I had gone far enough along finally relaxed and let her children go — as if I would have attacked her children in the middle of the afternoon at a health club!

But while we all might have to suffer such insults and slander falsely on account of Christ, we should indeed rejoice. It's a great time to be a Christian, because this is a time in which God really needs us to show off his true face. In bygone days in America, the Church was respected. Priests were respected. The Church had a reputation for holiness and goodness. It's not so any more.

One of the greatest Catholic preachers in American history, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, used to say, that he preferred to live in times when the Church has suffered rather than thrived, when the Church had to struggle, when the Church had to go against the culture. It was a time for real men and real women to stand up and be counted. "Even dead bodies can float downstream," he used to say, pointing that many people can coast when the Church is respected, "but it takes a real man, a real woman, to swim against the current."

How true that is! It takes a real man and a real woman to stand up now and swim against the current that is flowing against the Church. It takes a real man and a real woman to recognize that when swimming against the flood of criticism, you're safest when you stay attached to the Rock on whom Christ built his Church. This is one of those times. It's a great time to be a Christian.

Some people are predicting that the Church in this area is in for a rough time, and maybe she is, but the Church will survive, because the Lord will make sure it survives. One of the greatest comeback lines in history happened just about 200 years ago. The French emperor Napoleon was swallowing up countries in Europe with his armies bent on total world domination. He then said to Cardinal Consalvi, "I will destroy your Church." "Je detruirai votre eglise!" The Cardinal said, "No you won't." Napoleon, all 5'2" of him said, "Je detruirai votre eglise!" The Cardinal said with confidence, "No you won't. Not even we have succeeded in doing that!"

If bad popes, immoral priests and thousands of sinners in the Church haven't succeeded in doing so from the inside — he was saying implicitly to the general — how do you think you're going to do it? The Cardinal was pointing to a crucial truth. Christ will never allow his Church to fail. He promised that the gates of hell wouldn't prevail against his Church, that the barque of Peter, the Church sailing through time to its eternal port in heaven, will never capsize, not because those in the boat won't do everything sinfully possible to turn it over, but because Christ, who is in the boat, will never allow it to happen. Christ is still in the boat and he'll never leave it.

The magnitude of this scandal might be such that you may find it difficult to trust priests in the same way you have in the past. That may be so, and that might not be completely a bad thing. But never lose trust in Him! It's His Church. Even if some of those he chose have betrayed him, he will call others who will be faithful, who will serve you with the love with which you deserve to be served, just like after Judas' death, the eleven apostles convened and allowed the Lord to choose someone to take Judas' place, and they chose the man who ended up becoming St. Matthias, who proclaimed the Gospel faithfully until he was martyred for it.

This is a time in which all of us need to focus ever more on holiness. We're called to be saints and how much our society here needs to see this beautiful, radiant face of the Church. You're part of the solution, a crucial part of the solution. And as you come forward today to receive from this priest's anointed hands the sacred Body of your Lord, ask Him to fill you with a real desire for sanctity, a real desire to show off His true face.

One of the reasons why I'm here in front of you as a priest today is because while I younger, I was underimpressed with some of the priests I knew. I would watch them celebrate Mass and almost without any reverence whatsoever drop the Body of the Lord onto the paten, as if they were handling something with little value rather than the Creator and Savior of all, rather than MY Creator and Savior. I remember saying to the Lord, reiterating my desire to be a priest, "Lord, please let me become a priest, so I can treat you like you deserve!" It gave me a great fire to serve the Lord.

Maybe this scandal can allow you to do the same thing. This scandal can be something that can lead you down to the path of spiritual suicide, or it can be something that can inspire you to say, finally, "I want to become a saint, so that I and the Church can give your name the glory it deserves, so that others might find in you the love and the salvation that I have found." Jesus is with us, as he promised, until the end of time. He's still in the boat.

Just as out of Judas' betrayal, he achieved the greatest victory in world history, our salvation through his passion, death and resurrection, so out of this he may bring, and wants to bring, a new rebirth of holiness, a new Acts of the Apostles for the 21st century, with each of us — and that includes YOU — playing a starring role. Now's the time for real men and women of the Church to stand up. Now's the time for saints. How do you respond?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Fr. Roger J. Landry. "Answering Scandal with Personal Holiness." Unpublished homily.

Reprinted with permission of Fr. Roger J. Landry.

THE AUTHOR

Fr. Roger J. Landry was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, MA by Bishop Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap., in 1999. After receiving a biology degree from Harvard College, Fr. Landry studied for the priesthood in Maryland, Toronto and for several years in Rome. After his priestly ordination, Bishop O'Malley sent him back to Rome to finish graduate work in moral theology and bioethics. He is presently parochial vicar at Espirito Santo Parish in Fall River Massachusetts and chaplain at Bishop Connolly High School.

Copyright © 2002 Fr. Roger J. Landry

2004-04-12T16:44:00.001-07:00

WAFFLES

From today's leftwing USA Today:

Some jokers who don't like the Democratic presidential candidate are trying to make his campaign Web site, johnkerry.com, the first answer to a search of the word "waffles" on Google, the No. 1 Internet search engine.

They've nearly succeeded on the No. 2 search engine, Yahoo. By Sunday, eight days after the prank began, johnkerry.com was listed second among 703,000 results of a Yahoo search of the word "waffles."

At the No. 3 search engine, MSN Search, johnkerry.com was also the second Web page result of a search Sunday for "waffles."

On Google, johnkerry.com was not in the top 1,000 of the 556,000 results of a search for "waffles."

Authorities on search engines say the joke's quick impact on Yahoo and MSN, though, is a sign that the campaign is working and that Google will be affected soon.

And here's a link to the guy who started it all:

http://esoteric-diatribe.blogspot.com/

2004-04-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

CATHOLICS AGAINST KERRY

2004-03-21T17:10:00.000-08:00

Poll: 'Passion' may be reducing anti-Semitism

A new poll suggests fears that "The Passion of the Christ" would trigger anti-Semitism were unwarranted.

A nationwide survey conducted for the Institute for Jewish and Community Research finds that 83 percent of Americans familiar with the film say it's made them neither more nor less likely to blame today's Jews for Jesus' crucifixion.

Nine percent said Mel Gibson's film actually has made them less likely to blame today's Jews, while less than 2 percent said they're more likely to fault modern Jews or Jewish institutions.

The Institute's president, Gary Tobin, adds that discussion of the issue has probably been good for Christian-Jewish relations.

2004-03-21T17:02:00.000-08:00

A Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions About The Passion of The Christ

Now #9 on Amazon!

It's cheap. Buy several and give to friends and family.

2004-03-21T04:30:00.000-08:00

Your Catholic Diocese May Soon be Welcoming the Author of "Prayers to Sophia"

But of course, she first will be in the Diocese of Cleveland.

This morning's parish bulletin informed me that New Age radical feminist, Joyce Rupp, "will present 'The Liberated Heart, An Inner Journey, Day of Retreat' on April 3 at St. Joseph Center, 3430 Rocky River Drive...Sponsored by the Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph, Sprituality Committee. For more information and/or to register, call Sister Joan Keating, CSJ, at (216) 252-0440."

And so, heretics continue to be welcomed into the Diocese of Cleveland, Home of FutureChurch. The pro-abortion Guerrilla Girls speak at John Carroll University just days after JCU students were "enetertained" by the Vagina Monolouges. Now we have an order of Nuns bringing in a Sophia-worshiping heretic.

And what do we get from our leader, Bishop Pilla, warnings about the dangers of "The Passion of the Christ." Be sure to read Kevin Miller's great blog on this point.

Lord, send us a St. Francis!!!

2004-03-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

BREAKING NEWS

"SAVE OUR CHURCH" calls for removal of Bishop Pilla!!!

Read more, click here!

While the heretical FUTURECHURCH backs Bishop Pilla despite ongoing scandals:

"Were Bishop Pilla to be forced out, we would be leaving ourselves open to a new bishop who would most likely be much more conservative and legalistic"

FUTURECHURCH ON THE SCANDAL

(A letter from Chris Schenk, Executive Director of FutureChurch. Thanks, Chris.)

I spoke with Kathy Burke [Editor's note: Kathy heads up St. Malachi's Task Force on Sexual Abuse.] about FutureChurch's positions re: the Bishops' scandal and said I would send along our thinking so far. But first let me say that I am glad to see the Community (as usual) is monitoring this important issue in the life of our Church

Here is a copy of our media release [Editor's note: It follows this letter.] that went out right before the Bishops' meeting. It pretty much delineates our position. ...

Of course the closed clerical system remains just that, but that is another aspect of our mission...for now, we must try to work with the system we have while sowing seeds for a broader systemic change which will serve the 21st century church...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She thought some people felt the Community should call for Bishop Pilla's resignation. May I say that FutureChurch would not support this...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kathy mentioned that she thought some people felt the Community should call for Bishop Pilla's resignation. May I say that FutureChurch would not support this for the reasons I list below:

* * *

4. The last reason is admittedly self serving: Were Bishop Pilla to be forced out, we would be leaving ourselves open to a new bishop who would most likely be much more conservative and legalistic given the Bishop appointments that have been made in this papacy. The well-known litmus test for being appointed a bishop under John Paul II is that the person must be opposed to birth control, optional celibacy and women priests. I have this information directly from several bishops who are in positions to know. Bishop Pilla is one of the few remaining "pastoral" bishops who were appointed under Archbishop Jean Jadot. If he doesn't outlast the Pope we can expect to have our next Bishop be less open to lay participation in decision making than Bishop Pilla. It will be a given...and something we need to prepare for, IMHO. In any case, why rush things, I say?

Please know we stand ready to work together around both the monitoring and financial disclosure issue as seems appropriate.

With best regards,

-CHRIS SCHENK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FUTURECHURCH

Full letter here:

http://www.stmalachi.org/communio/2003/01-26-03.htm#scandal

2004-03-13T04:47:00.005-08:00

Diocese of Cleveland Steps Up Its Losing War Against "The Passion of the Christ"

A few weeks back the Cleveland Plain Dealer featured a front page story, 'Passion' movie raises religious fervor, fears. The article informed readers that "The Diocese of Cleveland sent a February memo to all its parishes asking Catholics to be aware of the potential for anti-Semitism."

In addition to this memo, there was a letter sent out to area religious leaders by Father Joseph Hilinski, the Director of the Interfaith Commision, Diocese of Cleveland.

In this letter, Father Hilinski expresses "grave concern" over the movie and states that "to stimulate intolerance in order to promote a movie is reprehensible."

Catholic World News responded with the following commentary:

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Ponder this

The Diocese of Cleveland issues a warning to Catholic parishes that seeing a movie which illustrates the events of the Gospels, may lead to the rise of anti-Semitism in churchgoing Catholics. Meanwhile, a local Catholic university allows the production of the "Vagina Monologues" on campus with proceeds going to a pro-abortion group. The diocese's response when told about this immoral play supporting the murder of babies? "No comment."

Evidently, according to the Diocese of Cleveland, the greater threat to society is a movie about the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, not a play that promotes sexual immorality and the funding of pro-abortion groups.

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe (in me) to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea." (Mark 9:42)

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Now, the Diocese of Cleveland is at again.

The Diocese is bringing to town Sister Mary Boys perhaps the most hyperbolic and ridiculous critic of "The Passion of the Christ."

And if you don't believe me, the Catholic League has the quotes to prove it.

But first, brought to you by the Diocese of Cleveland website, here is the information on the upcoming diocesan sponsored appearance by Sister Mary Boys:

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/parishlife/schedule_and_events.htm

Catholic-Jewish Colloquium, Monday, April 19, 2004, 7:30 pm at Tifereth Israel

Sr. Mary Boys of Union Theological, as part of the Catholic-Jewish Colloquium, will speak on Monday, April 19, 2004 at 7:30 pm. The presentation will be at Tifereth Israel, 26000 Shaker Blvd., Beachwood. She will speak on the theme of the challenge of dealing with anti-Semitism in dramatizing the passion narratives of the Gospels on stage and screen. In part, this will be a Catholic response to the Jewish communities questions concerning Mel Gibson's movie, Passion. For more information, contact the Interfaith Commission at (216) 696-6525, Ext. 5110.

WHAT SISTER MARY BOYS HAS TO SAY ABOUT "THE PASSION" AND MEL GIBSON

Cybercast News Service, November 7, 2003;
Sister Mary C. Boys:

"Boys noted that the movie is already 'dividing evangelicals and Catholics—Catholics and Catholics, and Christians and Jews.

"'I don't believe that [given the divisive] result that he [Mel Gibson] could claim that the Holy Spirit is behind this. ...

"'Our concern is what happens after people see the film? Will anti-Semitic actions happen or will attitudes against the Jews be exacerbated by this film?'"

The Jewish Week, September 19, 2003; Sister Mary C. Boys:

"'One of the problems is people are going to see this film and are going to conclude that's the way it is because they don't know anything different, it's part of the religious illiteracy in our country,' Sister Boys said. 'We really have to find ways to educate them about interpreting Scripture more thoughtfully.'"

The Times Union (NY), September 19, 2003;

Sister Mary C. Boys:

"'It's not understanding,' she said of Gibson's script. 'He wouldn't know a scholar if he ran into one.'"

The Evangelist (Diocese of Albany, NY), September 11, 2003;

Sister Mary C. Boys:

"The average Christian goes to see this film, which is going to be incredibly graphic, and [thinks] the people that do this to Jesus are the Jews. This does not do well for Christian-Jewish relations."

National Public Radio, "All Things Considered," September 3, 2003; Sister Mary C. Boys:

"Will this film exacerbate divisions between Christians and Jews? Will this film exacerbate differences between traditionalist Catholics and those who see themselves more in the mainstream? Will this film exacerbate divisions between, say, Catholics and evangelicals? And I think if it does any of those, then I find it difficult to believe that the Holy Spirit is at work."

Associated Press, August 9, 2003; Sister Mary C. Boys:

"For too many years, Christians have accused Jews of being Christ-killers and used that charge to rationalize violence.... This is our fear."

Kansas City Star, August 9, 2003; Sister Mary C. Boys:

"Our fear is that if the film is based on the script we read—which is possible but not necessarily the case—it could promote anti-Semitic sentiments."

The New York Times, August 2, 2003; Sister Mary C. Boys:

"When we read the screenplay, our sense was this wasn't really something you could fix. All the way through, the Jews are portrayed as bloodthirsty. We're really concerned that this could be one of the great crises in Christian-Jewish relations."

Dramatizing the Death of Jesus: Issues that Have Surfaced in Media Reports about the Upcoming Film, The Passion; by Mary C. Boys, Philip A. Cunningham, Lawrence E. Frizzell, John T. Pawlikowski, June 17, 2003:

"We understood from the outset of our review of the script that our report did not represent an official statement of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops….

"Anyone who composes a script for a dramatic presentation of the death of Jesus must draw upon four distinct passion narratives in the four gospels in the New Testament. One cannot assume that by simply conforming to the New Testament

The Jewish Week, March 28, 2003; Sister Mary Boys:

"As a member of the Catholic Church, I regard his thinking as bizarre and dangerous, and suggest that Jews judge them similarly. ...

"We seem to have at best fringe Catholics if not heretical with ... a tragically twisted understanding of the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. It is compounded by the arrogance great wealth makes possible in producing a film that will reopen wounds of history."
that antisemitism [sic] will not be promoted."

2004-03-07T15:10:00.000-08:00

2004-03-05T14:08:00.000-08:00

Bishop Pilla, TEAR DOWN THAT FLAG!

[What follows is an open letter to Bishop Pilla concerning homosexual abuse in the Diocese of Cleveland. Be sure to forward it on to other Catholics who might be interested. You may also want to share your thoughts with the diocese by e-mailing Bishop Pilla at bishop@dioceseofcleveland.org and with a cc to his staff at rtayek@dioceseofcleveland.org and ljurcak@dioceseofcleveland.org . ]

An Open Letter to Bishop Pilla

Dear Bishop Pilla,

The March 1, 2004 Washington Times reports:

Eighty-one percent of sex crimes committed against children by Roman Catholic priests during the past 52 years were homosexual men preying on boys, according to a comprehensive study released yesterday on the church's sex abuse crisis.

A chart reflecting this fact was strangely missing from your recent letter to the Diocese of Cleveland. A good one is available here from Catholic World News.

Not long ago, a Cleveland Detective recorded the following conversation at a “gay bar” with Father McBride, a homosexual priest who recently plead guilty to abusing a minor:

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"Back in the 1960s, would you have ever come to a place like this?" Burkhart asked. "I mean, in this town, where you were working?"

"Probably not, no," McBride said. "Realistically, in 1960, no."

"And in certain places it looks like the seminary on Saturday night now," Burkhart joked.

"Yeah, that really is how it is," McBride said.

They compared notes on seeing clergy in gay bars. Then Burkhart stammered as he asked McBride a personal question: "So, whenever you had sex . . . were you bound to go to confession and confess it before you said Mass, or . . .?"

"Well, you were supposed to, yes," McBride said.

"Do you think all these priests do?"

"No," McBride said. "I think they changed their minds and decided it's not a sin."

(Read the complete story of Father McBride here. )

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Clearly, the abuse crisis does not stem from any teaching of the Church; but rather, the crisis is a direct result of dissenting priests deciding that sins are no longer sins.

As you know, The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states:

Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,141 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

As you also know, in addition to homosexual acts being a grave depravity, Pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

So why is there a Rainbow Gay Pride Banner flying on the Diocese of Cleveland website?

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/contact_us/index.htm

How could a Catholic Diocese possibly be PROUD of a “grave depravity”? The Rainbow Gay Pride Banner on your website is an abomination, particularly in light of the hundreds of innocent boys who have been homosexually molested by gay priests in your diocese.

And by the way, what the heck is this thing and why is it on your website?

. http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/images/glfmlogo.gif

Married men and women are sometimes tempted to covet thy neighbor's wife. Can we expect an Adulterer Pride symbol next on your website for those who are tempted to cheat on their spouse?

The continued presence of the Gay Flag on the Diocese of Cleveland website sends a clear message to everyone that you still are not serious about addressing the problems that caused hundreds of boys to be homosexually molested by diocesan priests.

Bishop Pilla, TEAR DOWN THAT FLAG!