For a while now, I’ve been alluding to a new project that I have been working on. I want to tell you about that. But first, let me give you a little background.
I’ve written about my first impressions of Pope Francis, and how deeply disturbed they left me. Upon his election, I wrote a tentative piece, wherein I did my best to give him the benefit of the doubt. And though I ended the article on a hopeful note, as I go back and read it, I can see the deep concern I had seeping through my attempt at balanced tone.
“For the first time in over three decades,” I wrote, “we have a pope whom we do not know. I suspect that he will surprise us, and his will be a very different papacy in many respects than the last two that came before him, but also familiar.”
Seven months later, when I finally wrote my first post detailing my concerns about Pope Francis, I had a sense that it would touch a nerve, but I couldn’t have guessed the size of the door that I was opening, or where it would lead. Within days, I had inquiries from NBC News and the New York Times. I granted interviews to both, because I believed it was important to bring these concerns to light. More requests came in. CNN wanted me to go on live television to talk about my concerns. I heard from 60 Minutes Australia. I got a request to talk to a TV show in South Korea.
It was too much. I responded to the CNN producer:
I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m going to pass. Now that I’ve written on this topic and done a couple of media interviews, I’m quickly starting to be typecast. I haven’t really made it my mission to be “that guy who criticizes the pope.” The discussion is valid, and it needs to be had, but nuance is so lost in soundbites and short interviews. Further, my credibility as a commentator (I’m a “Catholic Blogger”, after all, and that’s about the only thing you could put on the chyron to give context) isn’t really much to stand on to a larger audience.
This is a grassroots conversation, I think. It’s happening on Facebook, in comment boxes, at friends and family get-togethers.
This blog was, for quite some time, not simply a repository of Catholic commentary critical of the papacy and the Modernist virus that spreads through the Church like spiritual Ebola, causing the Mystical Body of Christ to hemorrhage uncontrollably. I had other interests. I wrote about other things. I wanted to keep it that way.
But this was the thing. It was the thing that kept coming back. And since I’ve started posting on these topics, my traffic has skyrocketed. I’ve had over a hundred thousand pageviews in the past 60 days. I’ve never had a top Catholic blog. This place is literally where I publish anything I want to talk about that has no other outlet. I have posts about the paleo diet, barefoot shoes, social media platforms, my opinions on corporate communications strategy, and my little science fiction writing projects. None of those generated interest like this. I’ve heard from so many people, gotten so much encouragement (and no small amount of hate), and received lots of emails from people who want to speak up, but can’t, because they’re trapped in jobs that require them to toe the Catholic line. They ask me, “Please, keep writing what you’re writing. We need this out there. This conversation needs to happen.”
The level of interest in these posts tell me that people are worried about where the Church is going. That much is clear. Even people who want to pretend like they’re not. And I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the past year, since this all started. Something isn’t clicking. The nature of what I’m doing here is essentially critical. I’m not building up, I’m tearing down. And that’s not good enough.
I’ve been feeling called to do something more. Something inherently positive and productive in nature. The criticism of error that I and others on the Internet offer serves a purpose, and it’s needed. But if it becomes our whole focus, what are we doing? We’re just having an argument about whether the titanic is sinking while the icy waters rise above the deck. And we’re inviting a tendency to become cynical and off-putting. We need to do better. We need to offer more.
So I’m starting OnePeterFive, a resource aimed at building Catholics up in this time of crisis. OnePeterFive is the grassroots effort I was talking about, but with a different focus: to rebuild culture and restore the faith. The website will launch on August 1st, the feast of St. Peter in Chains. It will feature commentary from Catholics of all walks of life, lay people and religious alike. We will work together, looking at the problems we face in the Church and in the world, and try to re-establish a sense of the Christian community that must exist if we want reform. How many times in the last year have you heard (or asked) the question, “What do we do if things in the Church get really bad?”
There’s a storm coming. More and more of us are waking up, raising our eyes and seeing it gathering on the horizon. We have families, jobs, parishes, dioceses. We need to patch our roofs, check our foundations, and batten down our hatches. It’s like preparing for a hurricane.
There was a time in the Church where the average Catholic in the pews had no idea what the pope was saying in Rome. It had no impact on them. They had the sacraments, their pastor, their daily work, their family life, their devotions, and the Deposit of Faith. The pope was like a far away star in the night sky, shining ancient light from across an unfathomable distance. If he had a message for the faithful, by the time it reached them, there was no certainty that his star was still shining. He could be dead and gone, even if his message lived on. The Church was always bigger than any particular pope.
The immediacy of communication in the modern world forces us to confront messages in real time. If something troubling comes out of Rome, we know within hours, and the world at large has already begun forming an opinion of what was said, and whether it has changed what the Church teaches, or what we are supposed to believe.
This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. It’s incredibly disruptive.
It is my purpose to help my brethren in Christ to turn our eyes to the permanent things. We will draw strength from that which cannot change. From the Church’s timeless teachings and treasures. We will talk about the traditions and devotions we find beneficial in our lives and families. We will discuss those parishes and pastors who are doing things that are invigorating the faithful. We will examine those religious communities experiencing real growth in vocations and seek to understand what makes them special. We will talk to artists, musicians, writers, architects, and others living in the world about how their faith informs their work, and how we can come together to begin rebuilding culture drawn from a Catholic ethos. We will examine the form of liturgy and sacraments, and how these nourish the life of faith. We will seek to understand and promote the proper relationship between the Church and the world.
We will not run from the crisis. We will lock arms and lean into the storm, gathering everyone we can along the way. We will pray for each other. We will encourage each other. We will not face the darkness alone. We will build our fortifications to weather what comes. And when the land has been ravished, we will take what we have learned and use it to rebuild. Our forefathers in faith built Western civilization. We have an obligation not to cede it to the enemy. If we have no choice but to start again from within the ruins, that’s where we will begin, placing stone upon stone. We are the Church Militant. This is our battle. A battle that starts at home, together with our families in prayer. A battle that wields Our Lady’s rosary as a sword, and draws its nourishment from the Blessed Sacrament. We — you and I — were chosen by God to live in these days. It’s no accident. We each have a role to play.
The Church and her teachings are for all men, throughout all time. Our age and its toxic zeitgeist seems overpowering, but it has no particular advantage or control over what is divinely revealed and immutably true, only over those of us willing to be seduced. Modernism is a vile disease, and it will winnow Holy Mother Church in ways we have never seen, but it will not kill her, even if it scatters many of her children.
I cannot build something like this without God’s help, and yours. I am, in so many ways, an unsuitable instrument, but despite my fear, I am a willing one. I believe this is something He wants me to do, so I’m taking the plunge, despite not being able to see very far down the path ahead. I am so excited to bring together so many amazing people who have so much to offer and bring their unique gifts to bear for the good of the Church. I’m excited precisely because they offer so much that I can’t.
The advice of St. Peter to the early Christians applies to us as well:
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed. Tend the flock of God that is your charge, not by constraint but willingly, not for shameful gain but eagerly, not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is manifested you will obtain the unfading crown of glory. Likewise you that are younger be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you. To him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
If you would like to stay up to date on our progress, you can subscribe to our mailing list, join the 200+ other fans we already have on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter. If you can, do all three! We’re building this from the ground up. We need all the support, prayers, and yes, financial assistance we can get. (For now, if you want to help out, hit my donate button on the sidebar. I will be paying the costs associated with starting the site directly until we grow big enough to take the next steps.) If you, or someone you know, should be writing for us, send me a note through my contact form. For the time being, this is an entirely volunteer effort, so I won’t be able to pay writers at this time. I sincerely hope we can change that in the not-too-distant future.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get started. See you at www.onepeterfive.com on August 1st!
Okay, Bud. I’m in. Today I got the nod from the local provincial for penance and and exposition on August 1st at the shrine for the persecuted in the middle east. Our prayers and efforts DO make a difference. Never doubt that for a second, folks.
“You don’t serve God by saying: the Church is ineffective, I’ll have none of it. Your pain at its lack of effectiveness is a sign of your nearness to God. We overcome this lack of effectiveness simply by suffering on account of it. To expect too much is to have a sentimental view of life and this is a softness that ends in bitterness. Charity is hard and endures.” Flannery O’Connor
“You must not shirk your duty. This war is unavoidable and you must either fight or die.” from The Spiritual Combat by Fr. Lorenzo Scupoli
Wow, Steve, what a HUGE Blessing this is! Have already signed up for email subscription, I am so TOTALLY on board!! VERY exciting, and oh so necessary for support in the coming storm. Thank you for answering God’s call. This has all transpired because of your ‘yes’ to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit I’m sure you know. Interestingly, I have within the past several years been reading about Catholics forming their own little ‘communities’ of prayer and support for the coming storm. This will be our online ‘community’, but will, as you say, blossom along the way. God is faithful, He will NEVER leave us alone, and I do believe He is starting to gather His children to ‘higher ground’. God Bless this endeavor. Thank you again!
I’m grateful, if my gratitude means anything, for your humility that you don’t profess to have all the answers. Yet another person hollering, “Tridentine will solve this!” or “It’s all the fault of receiving in the hand!” It’s like the beginning of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; I’m just waiting for someone to suggest that we never should have abandoned Aramaic.
I know you prefer TLM; I’m much more comfortable with a reverent Novus Ordo, myself, but I respect TLM. It’s not a magic bullet. There *is* no magic bullet in our fallen world–not for weight loss, not for curing disease, not for happiness, and certainly not for solving the mess the world is in where it’s always the Demonic versus the Divine. To pretend one exists, or that a single person knows what it is, to me is evidence of the contrary.
It’s going to take hard work and time. Prayers, Adoration, reception of the Sacraments, fasting. We all ought to be doing more of that anyway; now we have a purpose to it.
I agree that there’s no silver bullet. You’re correct: prayers, adoration, sacraments, fasting, etc. All necessary.
That said, you’ll be unsurprised to learn that I believe a combination of the TLM and the abolition of communion in the hand would move us lightyears ahead of where we are now. And I am looking for writers who share this belief, insofar as it is possible.
I also have full and complete respect for Catholics belonging to the Eastern Rites, and want to bring their perspective to the table. I appreciate that their liturgies are designed to share the same respectfulness and theology of worship found in the TLM, along with a similarly deep reverence for the Eucharist.
OnePeterFive will have an editorial position that shows a clear liturgical bias. I don’t believe the two forms are equal whatsoever, but we obviously need to continue to do a better job making that case.
Even so, I won’t discount that there are good Catholics, like yourself, who are still more comfortable with the Novus Ordo. There’s a discussion to be had there, and there are things you no doubt have to offer which have nothing to do with the debate over liturgy. I don’t want to lose your perspective simply because of that.
1P5 will be, I hope, holistic in our approach. We’d prefer to appeal to people who are ready to take their faith to the next step, even if we aren’t all in the same place. I’m not interested in bashing, snark, and cynicism. On the same token, I’m OK with controversy if something is controversial because it’s true but unpopular.
We’ll do our best to walk that line. Charity in all things. Or, as 1 Peter 5 says: “Tend the flock of God that is your charge, not by constraint but willingly, not for shameful gain but eagerly, not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock. … Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Firstly, thank you for the forum. I have to say I discovered you via PEWSITTER. It’s the first news portal I go to in the morning. It has earned the ire of the Neo-catholics for very good and holy reasons. I had almost given up writing against the dark side because EVERY SINGLE ONE of the Neo-catholic sites had forbid me access. They can win no arguments, so all they do is Shea you. I’m not a Voris fan anymore (he kicked me out, too), but I learned about PEWSITTER through it’s ad during the “Vortex.” Thank you for being charitable enough to hear all voices.
That said, with much gratitude, I would like to point out that many other venues have launched similar laudable efforts. We do need to support each other. However, if we are not careful, we can turn into a self-congratulating Catholic ghetto. I’ve seen it happen to other good people with the best intentions
May I suggest, that as this nascent apostolate forms, it be very specific about exposing and eviscerating the base idolatries supporting the Great Apostasy.
You seem fond of St. Peter. We all can relate to him and his early failures. I am a great admirer of St. Elijah, the work he has done, and will do soon enough. The Culture is base because society serves the practical fanaticism of baal, moloch, baphomet, and others. Society serves these ideas because of the altars, in every aspect of life, idolaters have built to these beasts and their diabolical lies.
St. Elijah mocked the priests, prophets, and fanaticism of these idolaters, before calling down fire to destroy their esoteric temples, pseudo-mystery, and carefully crafted covers for devil worship. Rhetorical fire is always at our disposal.
I’m done dialoguing with devils. I want no more of Ahab or Assisi concessions. I want the sweet smell and sight of leviathan burning, and it’s lodge members mourning, to fill all my senses.
Perhaps others feel similarly.
SALVE REGINA, MATER DEI, ORA PRO NOBIS! VIVO CHRISTO REY!!!
“I’m done dialoguing with devils. I want no more of Ahab or Assisi concessions.”
Me too. JD, I also agree with all of what you wrote.
Steve, a couple of things.
One, there is no way I can financially support you. Our budget is stretched to the limit with no corners left to cut.
Two, I have, several times, either signed up for follow-up comments or to be notified of a new thread. I’ve even sent you a personal e-mail. No response from you, nor does WordPress notify me despite the fact that i have signed up.
Lorra, don’t worry about the financial support. I put it out there for those who can, and want to.
The technical issues are very strange. I’m not sure why that’s happening. I spend way too much time troubleshooting and not nearly enough time writing.
I’ve searched my email and I do not have anything from you. This is the first I’m hearing about the notify checkbox not working. Have you subscribed via my “subscribe” page above? That puts you on my mailing list. I manually send out the posts to the list when I publish them.
I am pretty sure I already did subscribe, but I will do it again.
I did send you an email about two months ago and didn’t know what to think when you never replied. Glad I brought it up lest my imagination run wild.
🙂
For a while now I have been following your blog posts with attention, and especially with respect because of your honesty and willingness to open your soul. I agree with almost everything you say, probably with everything. I agree especially with your recent insight that calling attention to the dangerous things coming out of the Church under this papacy, while absolutely necessary, is itself dangerous and seems to do nothing to help the situation. I achingly sympathize with your effort to find a way to do something positive to safeguard the Church. Yet I must tell you that an on-line community, of any sort, is not going to do it. An on-line community is a community connected only be convictions, thoughts, for lack of a better word, by ideology, by what we believe about a certain situation. The trouble with this type of community is twofold: 1) Because it is based solely on ideology, it necesarily leads to further and further division. People’s thought rarely coincide completely. In fact, they have a way of diverging the more people discuss the same things. Somehow, emotions always come into play here—resentments, hurt feelings, indignation. Communities that can accomplish something positive are always also based on concrete things, on interests if you will. Things like common econonomic interests or familial bonds (which themselves are weak without common economic interests). 2) And because such a community has no power, it can never accomplish anything. Power is not something bad. It is neutral. And necessary to get anything at all done.
The answer to this problem is that to accomplish anything ideological there has to be an organization. Something that binds people even when they disagree, a collective entity to which people feel a certain loyalty, to which they are willing (to one extent or another) to subordinate their own ideas. And ideally, a something in which they have a certain concrete interest. Or at least an emotional interest.
And this is the seemingly insurmountable problem for the defenders of tradition within the Church. Any attempt to organize is met, correctly from a strictly technical point of view, by charges of disloyalty from the official organization of the Church. In fact, someone who is in any way integrated into the official organization, as a simple parish priest, or even something as “lowly” as a CCD teacher, understands this potential conflict of loyalties if he is to associate himself with a real organization whose purpose was to oppose the current official line of the Church. Even worse is the fact that even traditional, orthodox Catholics who have no office within the Church understand this conflict of loyalties, and that is why there has been such a fissure in social settings between those who are willing to verbalize their concerns about Pope Francis and those who insists on seeing no evil and hearing no evil. Rather than “hear any evil” they will cut you off socially.
This, incidentally, is why many of us who paid no attention to the SSPX before, are taking sideways glances at them. As a possible last resort. But also because the SSPX illustrates that only an organization, a real organization with property and schools, can achieve anything.
I don’t know if you can find a way around this conundrum. I hope and pray that you or someone can.
(I couldn’t quite figure out how to post a Comment, so I may have done this twice.)
The way I see it is this: the Church is by nature a hierarchical organization. It is not a democracy. A grassroots movement to reform the Church, therefore, is by definition going to be somewhat counterproductive.
But a grassroots movement to help people learn how to reform themselves, their families, their parishes…that’s got a shot. What can we do to restore the traditions of the home? What can we do to build a more Catholic culture by the work we do in the world? What devotions are particularly effective? What religious orders would be worth sending our children to? How can we as Catholics get involved again in patronizing the arts?
And so on.
The online community is good insofar as it can bring together writers and thinkers from all over the world to offer their perspectives and suggestions.
But the only real community effort that’s going to matter starts in the home, and branches out from there.
Right now, Catholics are scattered in a way that makes me think of Babel. Many of us (especially traditionalists) don’t have any real sense of community in our own parishes, if we have a parish we can even call home. Those of us who are Gen X or Gen Y may have no idea what traditions and practices nourished families and parishes in the days when the Church was a driving force of Western Civilization, but we’ve found the Latin Mass and we realize it’s the tip of a much deeper iceberg. We need to talk about what we should be doing. Parish priests who want to bring tradition back and face bureaucratic obstacles need to hear from priests who have managed to find the right approach.
We need to work together to share what we know and what we have learned. We can’t just complain, and we can’t all be divided. That’s the point. And where it will fall short — and it WILL fall short, because it’s a human endeavor — we’ll do our best to muddle through.
Yes, these are all worthwhile and potentially fruitful directives in order to ultimately bring the Church in line with truth. Working from the ground up has at least a shot at doing just this, at least with those of us who adhere to a more traditional Church. I cannot help but think, however, that as Bishop Schneider from Germany has indicated, that the Church is headed for a split. Whether or not the upcoming Synod on the Family will be the catalyst for this divide is yet to be seen, but the indications are clearly there for a rupture of some sort. At the very least, however, I do think that a fostering of traditional Catholic teaching in the homes, communities and parishes will go a long way to fortify true Catholicism, and as time goes on perhaps this effort will open hearts and minds that may have been lost in the chaos of modernism. (only with the help and grace of God) We can only pray and sacrifice for this effort. The Church has been whittled down to almost nothing with the ‘no holes barred Spirit of Vatican ll’ for the last 50 years and counting. We were graced with the direction of Pope Emeritus Benedict’s at least trying to steer us back to some sanity and solid ground for a time. Just maybe it will be as foretold that the laity will be a main player in righting the ship. But you are so correct, we have our work cut out for us. As far as the teaching of our children, most of it should be done in the home, because the Church hasn’t properly catechized our youth since Vat ll. In all actuality it would benefit every Catholic to re familiarize themselves with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. ( A good place to start) Before you can live out the faith, you have to know what the faith actually teaches. You may be surprised how many people have been more or less ‘dummed down’ in the last half century. Families also used to pray the ‘Family Rosary’ if not every day at least once a week…….together. ‘The family that prays together stays together.’ Remember Fr. Peyton? I am sure I am dating myself, but:) The point of the matter is that families that pray together have a fighting chance to at least equip themselves to resist the evils of the culture. And the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal, if only people would utilize it. The praying of the Rosary has the power to stop wars and change the direction of cultures. I will promote this devotion with my dying breath. An indispensable prayer tool, coming in only behind the Mass and the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. I don’t know, but I guess I would call this: ‘getting back to basics’. ‘Catholicism 101. That’s where we need to start, IMHO.
Just a few examples as how we have lost direction: A large number of our Priests in recent years actually discouraged praying the Rosary. Not too many years ago one of our Pastors put the kibosh on praying the Rosary before Mass for a few of his different ‘reasons.’ He indicated that it was ‘distracting’ to people who wanted to pray in silence before Mass (which was half way understandable) until he finished the explanation with saying that people put too much emphasis on Mary anyway. People were able to half way tolerate that until he just wouldn’t allow the parish as a group pray the Rosary at ANY TIME. Also in the same period of time there were no scheduled times for Confession AT ALL. In my area until just about 5 years ago, one had to look high and low to find a parish that had regular confession times. The tide has of course taken a turn since then, thankfully, but these are all examples of how we fell away from ‘Catholicism 101’. We need to work to help to ‘reincorporate’ our faith traditions and devotions. The truth of our faith is attractive and I do believe would attract many. It would at least be a start.
I also think a split is likely. Which is why we need to get people ready to handle it, and to hold on to the permanent things.
The faith of many will be shaken. People will be incredibly scandalized. We need to do what we can.
Dear Steve,
So happy to read that you are starting this. It has gotten very lonely for tradition-minded Catholics, and I find myself craving the online “conversation” of others in the same boat. Although the FSSP parish we drive to on Sundays has helped, our family is surrounded by Catholics who think we should just fall in line and blend into society, never questioning the disconnect of the last fifty years. I am also happy that there will be a bias toward the TLM. After really studying the differences between the two rites, I am unable to see the Novus Ordo as anything other than a protestantized abridgment of something that was never broken in the first place.
Judy,
A few years back, I attended a Lutheran Service and commented to my wife: ” This was very similar to a Catholic Mass”. Of course as a Catholic convert going back to 1973, my only orientation was the Novus Ordo with all of it’s twists and turns and personal preferences of the presiding Priest and respective Liturgy Committees. But with that said, having been directed to a TLM a year ago and discovering what I now personally refer to as “Authentic Catholicism” I realize the err in my statement about the Lutheran Service being similar to the Catholic Mass. In obvious reality, the reverse is what is true. The Catholic Mass became similar to the Protestant Service, and of course Francis wants to blur those distinctions even more so, which was why Kenneth Copeland and the late Tony Palmer ( Francis’s “Fellow Bishop”..thats another story altogether) gleefully stated that under Francis, “The Protest is over”. There is no doubt the split is here already, and what remains is us, the Remnant Church.
The movement to squelch the TLM and it’s proponents, is alive and well. We are witnessing it personally here in Wisconsin, where our TLM has been discontinued by the local Diocesan Bishop, forcing a very robust and growing TLM community to once again be “Roaming Catholics” in search of a place to worship, with the matter having been turned over to a Canon Lawyer willing to take our cause all the way to Rome if necessary. There are now only two Novus Ordo masses offered in our Parish (4:00 Saturday, and 11:00 Sunday) The rest of the week the church sits empty and musty. The Parish is dying, and the only population that was on the increase was the TLM community (financially, spiritually, activities, etc). Pope Francis envisions an ecumenical feel good, all encompassing church, and sees tradition as an obstacle. Don’t be shocked and surprised as the “Chrislam” movement (among others) takes hold or some other form of one world religion that diminishes the Eucharist even more than it is already is embraced by the masses (forgive the pun). For those who support and love Tradition, don’t be surprised when that choice is forced underground. Its very close already.
Steve J.
To sum it up, it seems to me that Vat ll did a great job of turning the Mass more into a protestant service. Seems that Benedict XVl tried to some extent to pull us back, but now with Francis we are full steam ahead. And you are correct, he sees tradition as a stumbling block.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me (Paul). Then the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9)
Love the idea of you new project and will be praying for its success and paying attention to every thing on the new Blog.
You are right about a split coming. ABS assisted at new mass today and after the Gospel, he whispered to the Bride; Here it comes, the Priest will tell us we are the pearl of great price, not Jesus – as Tradition teaches.
Sure enough, that is what we heard for man has supplanted Jesus in the shadow church; He must decrease, we must increase is an unwritten motto for the cult of man (Pope Paul VI Dec 7, 1965 – hope my memory is accurate)
These novel heresies are so easy to anticipate….
O, loved your quote from the great Dom Propser Gueranger the other day – about the duty to defend the Faith
Pax tecum
O, I heard about this project from the redoubtable, and funny, Mr. Dale Price; God speed….
I wish a split would come. For once, I wish the hierarchy would be completely honest and just lay their cards down on the table instead of dragging their feet and trying to appease everyone. Except traditionals. But they are kept around because got the sake of money.
Speaking for myself, I would be greatly relieved if the church split. The sooner, the better.
This has been going on for way too long as it began decades before VII. The sooner everything completely collapses, the sooner we can rebuild. And let this be a lesson that this is what happens when error isn’t squashed out completely at its onset. This is what happens when heretics are given a slap on the wrist and a wag of the finger and sent on their heretical way to further spread their error(s).
The early Church had an absolute horror of heretics. We lost that a very long time ago.
Steve, could you please post this in a hyperlink format to link to the website? I don’t know how to make my family take any of this seriously- I’m given theological explanations for all of the extraordinary utterances and behaviour of this papacy, and yet even these explanations are beginning to sound very thin. Why are people so afraid to consider the unthinkable?
posted on Rorate Caeli in the last couple of hours:
La Stampa: Police now Used to Intimidate and Censor Critics (and their family members) of Persecution of Franciscans of the Immaculate – Freedom of the Press Under Threat by Church Authorities
By the senior religious correspondent of Italian daily La Stampa, the startling news: those responsible for the intervention on the Franciscans of the Immaculate, after silencing their innocent victims inside the Church, now use the Police to intimidate journalists and bloggers — and their family members ! — in Italy.
It is probably the most serious attempt by an ecclesial authority to make use of the police forces (and police that are members of the military forces) to limit the freedom of the press or public free speech by laymen in Italy in living memory — the attempt is based on scraps of a couple of past posts, but the intent and likely result is obviously to intimidate and limit (even by the sheer weight and cost of litigation, and the fear of having family members summoned by the military or the police) the future activity of the media on covering some suspicious ecclesial activities. The end practical result is plain censorship. It is a shocking new chapter in the grotesque soap opera of the intervention in the Franciscans of the Immaculate.
(Note: Exactly one year ago, the terrible news of the Intervention was first made public — July 29, 2013: see Sandro Magister and Rorate.)
Your comment has been updated to link to the post (see the words “Rorate Caeli”).
And wow. Just…wow.
I too am…………………..without words after going to Rorate Caeli.
None of this should come as any surprise let alone shock. The train is out of the station and is going at full speed, as prophesied. Be prepared for a choice to go along for the ride, or stay back and comprise the Remnant Church. My Father in Law, who is a Permanent Deacon in the Church scoffs at my suggestion that the October Synod may foster significant changes under Francis and his group of 8 Cardinal/Advisors. He says: “Impossible” “not gonna happen” despite the working document that points in that direction. Francis got a setback on his Ecumenism mission, when his “Fellow Bishop” Tony Palmer was recently killed in a motorcycle accident. The same Tony Palmer who recently stated that true communion was not bread, but brotherhood, and he inferred that Francis agreed with him on that matter. He didn’t come right out and deny the Eucharistic Presence, but stopped just short of saying that, which of course is the Protestant view of “Symbolic Eucharist”
Hang on folks
I guess one by nature (at least with me) never expects the ‘train’ to be going at full speed (faster than the speed of light in all actuality) ahead quite so quickly. But, I too am waiting for the October Synod. That, I believe, just may be the watershed. And no, I will not ‘go along to get along’ like possibly some will. I’m staying behind in with the rest of the ‘remnants’, however many that may be.
Your father in law has probably bought the idea that they will somehow try to change doctrine. That of course ‘ain’t gonna happen’. But they will change the way it is perceived and acted upon. (Pastoral Direction) After all, they are looking at the way ‘Natural Law’ is “interpreted”. It will all boil down to “interpretation, and Pastoral Direction.” And it will be left up to the Bishops and the cultural ‘needs’ of their individual Diocese.
I guess Frankenchurch wants in on the New World Order thought-police fun. Maybe they can fold the Swiss guard into the Carabinieri, whose outfits are way cooler (weren’t they designed by Armani?)
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