How some nations deal with anti-Christian blasphemy

Amid all the anti-Christian ravings going on this Holy Week (with PBS, as per usual, leading the way) it is good to know that some nations don't think it's a terribly good idea to insult Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

http://rt.com/politics/245197-russian-tannhauser-opera-scandal/

Our Lady of Pochaev

Our Lady of Pochaev, Ukraine

The Miracle of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God
( August 5, 1675 )

This Icon draws us into the heavenly realm is miraculous enough; yet because of the faithlessness of people throughout history, God has continued to work miracles through material objects, including holy Images. This is just a story about one miracle, performed through one single Icon: the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God.

The Pochaev Mountain is in western Ukraine and it is there in the 14th century that an appearance of the Mother of God with her Savior was granted to two monks and a nearby shepherd. After the vision, a single footprint remained in the mountainside, from which a spring emerged. The previously uninhabited mountain became the site of a monastery dedicated to the miracle. Over 200 years later, the monastery was visited by a Greek Bishop, Neophit, who left behind as a gift, an Icon of the Theotokos from Constantinople. This is the Icon which came to bear the monastery's name: the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God.

In 1675, a Turkish army made its way to the Pochaev Mountain, determined to expand the Dar al-Islam. The monastery, being a monastery, was incapable of withstanding an assault, and so despite the presence of armed defenders many gave up hope that Pochaev could survive.

On the morning of July 23 (August 5 in the modern, Gregorian calendar), Pochaev's abbot instructed the monastics to ask for the intercessions of the Mother of God and Job, a previous monk whose relics were laid in the monastery. With the Turks massed at the foot of the mountain preparing their assault, the monks began their Heavenly petitions before the Icon of the Mother of God:

"O Queen of the Heavenly Hosts ..."
With these words, a vision of the Mother of God appeared in the sky, with the monk Job beside her in prayerful petition, along with an army of angels, swords unsheathed. At this appearance, the defenders were over-joyed, whilst the besieging Turks were terrified. Such is the polarizing power of Heavenly Images.

In panic, the Turks fired arrows into the sky at the image but the arrows simply fell back to earth upon the attackers. Further panicked, the Turks turned to flee, trampling each other in the process. The defenders rushed out of the monastery to take prisoners from the routed army. These prisoners later found freedom in Christ, and many stayed on as monks at Pochaev.

The Icon above is a copy of the Pochaev Icon. The border of clouds represents the vision of Mary with her Child, Our Savior, being heavenly. Underneath is the footprint upon which the monastery (also shown) was founded.

The Pochaev Icon produced many other miracles over the years, and is still known as a wonder-working image to this day. Today is commemorated but one of these miracles.

Those who pray before your holy icon, O Lady,
Are vouchsafed healing and receive the knowledge of the True Faith,
And they repel the attacks of the Muslim horde.
Therefore, entreat remission of sins
For us who fall down before you.
Enlighten our hearts to thoughts of piety,
And raise a prayer to your Son to save our souls.
( Troparion (hymn) of the Pochaev Icon )

With thanks to theUniversal Living Rosary Association

Melkite Patriarch: NO military action in Syria

As everyone and their brother is demanding military action in Syria (music to the ears of the USA) the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch - who knows of what he speaks - says NO.

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/03/21/patriarch-rejects-calls-for-outside-military-intervention-in-syria

The USA under Barack Obama is itching to destroy Syria and its president because the Zionists demand it. When Netanyahu barks, Obama and the Neocons jump.  [The fact that there is a very minor rift going on between Obama and Netanyahu changes nothing.  It's merely a case of thieves falling out, no more.]

But the Patriarch knows full well that if the USA comes in it will be the end of the Christian population there. When Vladimir Putin (and the call to fasting and prayer by the Pope) stopped the invasion of Syria by the US in 2013 Israel and the United States, fuming mad, have been using every pretext in the book to find ways to bomb Syria anyway.  Hence they have created and financed ISIS and they have been sending millions of dollars to the Syrian opposition.  This is a perfect situation for the deranged US neocons: they create the monster called ISIS...and then they go to Syria to destroy this monster they have created.  And if, well, Assad and his government and his people happen to be bombed into the stone age at the same time....mission accomplished.

A Report on the Sodomy Synod, from Culture Wars

Well-informed Catholics the world over have a fairly good idea of what went on a few months ago in Rome but this summary, from Culture Wars, is a useful compendium of the facts that all Catholics should be cognizant of right now.  We have to know what we are dealing with.

http://www.culturewars.com/2015/Synod.htm

What we are dealing with is not pretty.  I can not see it as anything other than a full frontal assault not only on Catholic morality but on simple human decency as well.  And we would do well to understand what lies just underneath the surface, just below the radar screen, that which is unsaid but still very much a part of the assault.  As the author points out:

"It is not only the content of the final document but also its omissions which should cause grave concern. Even though the synod was called to deal with the crisis facing the family there is not one single mention of abortion, in vitro fertilisation, or euthanasia. Nor is there any mention of the serious threat posed to the civil freedoms of those who remain faithful to moral law and the teachings of the Church. Finally the section on contraception, far from strongly reasserting the Church’s teaching, is phrased in such a way that it would seem open to couples making a choice in ‘conscience’ to use contraception. This ambiguous sentence reads: “we should return to the message of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae of Blessed Pope Paul VI, which highlights the need to respect the dignity of the person in morally assessing methods in regulating births.”

Those "omissions" are the dagger that will be thrust into the heart of Catholic doctrine and practice, and which will send many, many souls to Hell.

It is an awful thought.  But that is the final outcome of the machinations of the traitors.

And yes, they are traitors, in the truest sense of that word.

Many of us are complacent in the belief that the gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church.  Yes, that is true, but how does one really understand the implications of that frightening phrase?  How, in the real workaday world, is that going to impact Catholics struggling to hang on to what the Church has always taught?  The phrase tells us by implication that something wicked this way comes; that "something" may have great success in obliterating almost the last vestiges of faith on this planet.

The phrase carries the further implication that our own, our fellow Christians, are poised to turn against us. If the Bastard Synod/the Sin-nod/the Synod of Sodomy has taught us nothing else it has taught us that we are on the cusp of a great demolition pf faith and morals.  This writer thinks of these things when he looks at his children and grandchildren.  How will they hang on when their own mother, their Church, conspires with the Enemy?

As October looms before us a few months from now what I fear is going to happen is that there will be few if any new deliberations at all and that the Bishops (and the world) will be presented with a fait accompli; the "new rules" as it were will merely be presented to them as a completed project based on last year's relatio and that the Bishops will therefore be expected to implement them.  It will be quite surprising if that doesn't happen.  Lest we forget, they haven't invested all this time and effort, and the lessons they learned from the Vatican II shenanigans, for nothing.  These are willful men.

Nevertheless we will oppose them until they stamp us out, and, frankly, I am reasonably certain that we will only have this internet option for a very short time to accomplish anything.  They will not allow free expression like this to go on much longer.  Whether they are conscious of it or not the Forces of Evil and Chaos in both government and Church are working toward the same end and because of that alternative journalism will be stopped.  Not may be; it will be.  Thus while we still have the time we should put it to good use.  Too pessimistic?  Perhaps.  We shall see.

So let us use it while we still have it.  To do that we need to know what we are talking about first.  And the article linked above is an excellent overview of the main facts neatly marshaled into one concise article.

Has-been actress thrusts herself back into the limelight

The ridiculous spectacle of a Catholic school and a Catholic Bishop cowering in fear of Big Buggery because one of the school's teachers made some innocuous comments on her Facebook page that supported simple human common sense with regard to males and females is, in one way, rather funny.

http://www.crisismagazine.com/2015/time-war

Portrait of an old actress who will do ANYTHING  to be noticed again

It is even funnier when one considers the presence of a has-been movie actress, the profoundly untalented Susan Sarandon, joining in the fray.  In her case it is tragically funny.  Forgotten for years, Mizz Sarandon is desperate to be in the news again, reliving her glory days when people knew who she was (Were there ever that many?).  One of her nephews attends the Catholic school in question and presumably began wetting his pants when he read these mild remarks about the sanctity of marriage on the teacher's Facebook page and went crying and screaming to Auntie.  Then the press agents were pressed into service and the horrified media, aghast at discovering a Catholic teacher who is Catholic, decided to act.

Bishop Bootlicker

So, when confronted by a chorus of badly-catechized Catholics and a Great Big Movie Star of a Bygone Era, the Bishop - also presumably wetting his pants - decided to chime in with his craven grovelling act. Bishop Paul Bootlicker - I mean Paul Bootkoski - wrote the usual scripted drivel about judgmentalism and all that bad stuff.  At least the media could rest assured that the Bishop wasn't acting like a Catholic. Looking at it from the Bishop's point of view, why on earth should he condescend to teach the Faith?  After all, he is a Bishop of the Catholic Church and should not be expected to pass along the Faith, whole and entire, which was given by Jesus Christ to His Apostles with instructions to teach all nations forever.  Looking at his portrait we can see that what he does pass along, or rather does not pass along, are the potatoes, the desserts and lots of high fructose corn syrup.  But the Catholic faith....well, that's something else again.

And Susan Sarandon.  Goodness, it's pitiful to see these people, like Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard", doing anything to keep their names before the public.

So, Your Excellency, where does that leave this totally innocent Catholic school teacher who is being hounded by International Poofdom and its yelping jackals?  Can she expect her father-in-the-Faith, her own Bishop, to come to her rescue and use the opportunity to teach the truth?

Hardly.

There is a word that describes cowardice in the face of the enemy.  Treason.

(Say at least one Hail Mary for Patricia Jannuzzi.)

(And if you can stomach it, say one for her cowardly Bishop.)

The Good Fight of the Polish Farmers

Here is a case study on why no one should allow themselves to get trapped into the phony Right Wing/Left Wing shell game.

"My son, beware the Right; but, my son, beware the Left", as the old French saying goes, and here in this excellent article by F William Engdahl, one of our favorite journalists, he shows how both the Right and the Left conspire to decimate the middle, in this case the farmers of Poland.  The Polish farmers are going against their NATO/IMF-friendly government demanding only what is just and what is right.  The Rightist government, now joining the lunatic US program to incite a nuclear war with Russia.among other great ideas, wants to open up ownership of pristine farmlands to internationalists and introduce GMO "products" into the land.

From the article:

Poland’s “pro-business” government is eager to lure foreign agribusiness giants into the country, something the Polish farmers know well will destroy them as well as the high-quality traditional Polish family farm. Already, Smithfield Farms of the USA, the world’s biggest pig producer, bought Poland’s Animex SA in 1999. Smithfield now runs a string of 16 or more huge hog farms where conditions have been described as “horrendous.” With growing environmental pollution pressures in the US against the massive fecal pollution of its factory farms that typically house tens of thousands of hogs in tight cages until they are slaughtered, Smithfield has sought countries where pollution laws are more lax such as Mexico.

As well, Aviagen, one of the world’s largest industrial factory farm producers of chickens, has moved into Poland. Their German parent company, PHW Group of Lower Saxony and its daughter, Lohmann/Aviagen Cuxhaven, were fined for massive violations of the German animal welfare protection laws in their facilities where day-old chicklings are run on assembly belts in the thousands, sorted, thrown out, feet cut off, others run through meat grinding machines live with feathers
First appeared:.

The Right and the Left may differ on some issues, but when it comes to certain others they are, as always, in perfect lock step.  Thus when International Finance tells them to jump they only ask "How high?"

The article is here:

http://journal-neo.org/2015/03/11/the-good-fight-of-the-polish-farmers/

Passion Sunday, the Finality

Jews attempt to stone Christ.  Leaf from Gospel manuscript, Belgium, c 1170-1175 AD (with thanks to saralipton.com)

This post was originally written three years ago.  Today being Passion Sunday it seemed like a good idea to re-publish it.

Christ's word's here are sobering indeed:

The Day the Decision Was Made

It is with the famous Gospel of Passion Sunday that Jesus Christ finally says the fateful words to his persecutors, the words that can give one goose bumps, so powerful and so majestic they are. It was with the speaking of those words that Our Lord’s doom was sealed.

In the great Missal of Dom Gaspar Lefebvre are quoted these thoughts, as a reflection prior to the reading of that Gospel: “Our Lord’s words in this place,” says St Gregory, “are awful indeed. He that is of God heareth the words of God. Therefore you hear them not because you are not of God.” St Gregory goes on: “There are some who do not even vouchsafe to listen to the commandments of God with heir bodily ears.”

The Missal continues: “It was thus that the Jews acted, for to their words of hate they added acts of enmity, showing that their father was the devil, a murderer from the beginning, nay, a murderer and a liar…All who hate the truth and try to harm their neighbour are the sons of Satan. Obeying his evil suggestions, the Jews hated Him who spoke the truth to them and sought to get rid of Him…Blinded by the divine Light which thus shone in all its brightness before them, they plunged of their own free will into the deepest darkness of error and sought to stone Christ, whom they had dared to accuse of blasphemy.”

It is with these sobering thoughts that we enter into the final days of Lent before the Son of God is to undergo terrible torments. The spine-tingling Gospel of St John for Passion Sunday is worth reading again, as we enter these final sad days:

At that time Jesus said to the multitude of the Jews: Which of you shall convince Me of sin? If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe Me? He that is of God heareth the words of God. Therefore you hear them not, because you are not of God. The Jews therefore answered, and said to Him: Do not we say well, that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Jesus answered: I have not a devil: but I honor My Father, and you have dishonoured Me. But I seek not My own glory: there is One that seeketh and judgeth. Amen, amen, I say to you: If any man keep My word, he shall not see death for ever. The Jews therefore said: Now we know that Thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets: and Thou sayest: If any man keep My word he shall not taste death for ever. Art Thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead, whom dost Thou make Thyself? Jesus answered: If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing: it is My Father that glorifieth Me, of whom you say that He is your God, and you have not known Him: but I know Him: And if I shall say that I know Him not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know Him, and do keep His word. Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see My day: he saw it and was glad.

The Jews therefore said to Him: Thou art not yet fifty years old: and hast Thou seen Abraham? Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am.
It was with the uttering of those terrible, final words to them that the Jews decided once and for all to kill Him. The gauntlet had been thrown down to them at last, and they no longer had any doubt as to who He was.

They took up stones therefore to cast at Him: but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.

Remi Fontaine: The Catholic View of the Death Penalty

[Note by Editor, The Eye Witness:  This article is from the Apropos website, reproduced with the kind permission of the Fraser family.  I have left Tony Fraser's comments intact.  In view of the recent remarks by high-profile Catholic publications concerning this question it seemed to us a good idea to present this dossier.]

(This dossier by Rémi Fontaine which appeared in issue 99 of Action Familiale et Scolaire 1 , February 1992, was translated for Apropos by Peter McEnerny. It appeared in Apropos No. 12/13, Pentecost 1992. It has been posted on the Apropos website: www.apropos.org.uk )

[The recent [1992, editor, The Eye Witness] controversy concerning the execution by gassing of an American convict has brought the question of the death penalty yet again to the fore. Some regard the starts and stays in that case as barbaric. Others have opined that one must oppose capital punishment if one is opposed to abortion. This displays a false line of reasoning, for it is wrong to equate the lawful killing, by public authority, of a guilty person with the unlawful killing of an innocent. One can find among the abolitionists those who have no qualms about supporting or demanding abortion. 

Nevertheless the recent spate of successful appeals against convictions in English courts, particularly by Irish men and women, has made many wary of endorsing the death penalty in Great Britain. The death penalty is for those guilty of heinous crimes not for those found "guilty" by means of shoddy or inept forensic science or by fabricated evidence. Many of those whose appeals have been successful would probably now be dead had the death penalty been available in English Courts. 

From time to time one has the distinct impression that some involved in the British system of justice are more interested in securing conviction than they are in arriving at the truth. A nation must be satisfied in its justice system if it has the death penalty as a sanction. Nevertheless the innocent person who is executed has a great example to follow; that of Our Saviour and the martyrs. 

Serious defects in one system of justice, however, cannot dictate the norm for all others. At a time when society is obsessed with the "rights" of criminals and is waist deep in the blood of aborted babies, we feel no embarrassment in presenting the following text for our readers. We hope that it will help redress much of the wooly thinking on the subject. - Editor, Apropos ] 


ARGUMENTS ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY 
by Remi Fontaine

Certain cases of particularly brutal assault have caused the question of the death penalty to be raised yet again... and just as quickly shelved, as it is known that a large majority of French people is in favour of it for the most serious crimes. Here, Rémi Fontaine avails himself of numerous quotations as he answers questions often asked about the death penalty: is it a safeguard, an efficacious deterrent, or an act of revenge? Does it not impair the dignity of man and the sacred character of human life?

Catholics too often forget that, for the repentant criminal, it is also a pre-eminent opportunity for reparation, and so for eternal life.

Is the death penalty an efficacious protection, a legitimate defence?

'The lives of some dangerous individuals are an obstacle to the common good of human society; hence these men must be eliminated by death from society.' (1)

'There are those so irreformably dangerous that their lives are a menace to their fellow-men. It is right to remove them in the same way as one puts down a wild animal'.

'The head of civil society is just and commits no sin when he executes a dangerous man in order to prevent the peace of the state from being disturbed.' 'The head of state can impose irreformable penalties, such as death.'

(St Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica) (2)

'The law grants the right of self-defence to every person who is the victim of an attack. A man may lawfully kill to save his life. A child, an old man or a tortured hostage have neither the means nor the possibility of exercising this right of self-defence. When society punishes their murderers with death, it merely exercises this right on behalf of the defenceless victims.' (André Giresse: Cahiers de Chiré No.5)

'Violence is just where gentleness is futile.' (Corneille)

'The death penalty is an act of violence taken for the sake of the legitimate defence of society as such, especially its weak members - women and children. The State may renounce it only if no harm is caused thereby to the right of women and children to life and survival on earth, nor to the duty of the community towards them.' (3) (P. de Margerie: 'Le Monde', 26 June 1978)

Is the death penalty really a deterrent?

'A logical argument (in the absence of a reply) is: .....if capital punishment is a deterrent, its abolition will bring an increase in the number of murders and, therefore, of victims. If the death penalty does not deter and it is retained, there will be unnecessary executions. Since, either way, a risk of death is incurred, I prefer that those incurring it should be the criminals, rather than honest people.'(5) (Francois Romerio: 'Présence Socialiste' 25 Sept 1977)

'It is advantageous that the ill-will of the evil should be repressed by their dread of punishments.' (St Augustine)

'When a bandit is hanged, it is because of others, so that the fear of punishment may stop their misdeeds.' (St Thomas Aquinas)

'He who is hanged is not corrected: others are corrected through him.' (Montaigne)

'The deterrent effect which a rigorous application of the law can exert on potential criminals is too easily forgotten. I am aware of the common objection: since you believe that even the irresponsible must be punished, how will their punishment serve as an example to other irresponsible people who are driven by, the same base inclinations? My reply: fear is a very powerful motivating force, often capable of arousing in the most hardened of hearts a resolution which counter-balances the criminal instinct. Animals are irresponsible; yet their behaviour can be altered by rewards and punishments. (6) In the case of hardened criminals, there is obviously no question of reward, but the threat of punishment retains all its force. "Fear is the beginning of wisdom" says Scripture. It is even the only wisdom for lawless and loveless creatures. This does not by any means rule out compassion towards criminals; but this compassion, which is directed at the criminal's soul, should not in any way hinder the exercise of penal justice, which is concerned solely with the social repercussions of crime.' (Gustave Thibon: Le billet de Waastmunster, February 1978)

'The person who kills with malice aforethought must be made aware that he risks death. The prospective criminal has to choose either to run this risk or not. Let criminals know that they shall no longer act under cover of an easy going indulgence, by virtue of which individuals and, in the end, society, are reduced to strife and disintegration. The death penalty must remain as the cornerstone of the range of punishments. It is the equivalent of the nuclear deterrent in our punitive apparatus.' (7) (André Giresse: 'Cahiers de Chiré' No.5)

 'There are murderers who are irreformable monsters, homicidal maniacs. By eliminating them definitely, we thereby save those innocent people whom they would not fail to kill, on emerging from prison, or if they escape, or even if they remain in prison, as has happened.' (P. Bruckberger: 'Sud-Ouest' 24 Feb 1979).

Does the Death Penalty not imply revenge rather than justice, a law of retaliation more than a law of civilization?

'Spare the rod and spoil the child.' (8)

'Whenever the death penalty is discussed, the abolitionists condemn it as a law of retaliation, and thus the very depths of barbarity. I have yet to be shown why the law of retaliation is barbarous. Where a crime is concerned, I find it fully justified. In actual fact, it is never strictly applied: the murderer sentenced to death is never made to suffer the threats, the anguish and, sometimes, the tortures, which he himself inflicted on his victim.' (9) (P. Bruckberger: 'Sud-Ouest" 24 Feb 1979)

'Yet it must not be thought that the "law" is a mandatory prescription; it is only an extreme limit (not more than an eye for an eye), a non-obligatory rule of jurisprudence. That is how the Talmudic rabbis understood and transmitted it. In fact, in a famous commentary, the Jewish doctors show, by means of a 'reductio ad absurdum' that the ancient law is not to be taken literally, as Western minds are inclined to believe: "If a one-eyed person puts out one of your eyes, shall the tribunal order his remaining eye to be put out? He has only blinded you in one eye, and you seek to make him blind in both".' (P. Pierre Fourny: Promovere 1978) 'Hatred is not a useful quality if we want good avengers (redressers of crime), anymore than it is if we want good soldiers. What is required is total dedication to the common good. Being a juror in a criminal case is no picnic, but neither is war, yet it is sometimes necessary. Woe to the country which has no soldiers or cannot find judges!' (R.P. Bruckberger: Oui â la peine de mort)

'Without hatred or fear' (from the oath sworn by jurors in our criminal courts)

'It (authority) holds the sword with good reason: it is God's minister in executing vengeance upon the malefactor.' (10)

Commentary by Pius XII: 'Here, expiation is put in the forefront.The expiatory function alone enables us to understand the Creator's final judgement.' (3 Oct 1953.) 'Holy Scripture teaches that, as regards the implementation of the penalty, human authority, within the limits of its competence, is nothing other than the executor of divine justice.' (5 Dec 1954)

Is not the death penalty an attack upon the dignity of man - an act of barbarous cruelty?

'The most indispensable punishment for the soul is that which is due for crime. By crime, a man puts himself outside the framework of eternal obligations which bind each human being to all the others. He can.be reintegrated into it only by punishment: fully, if he consents; otherwise, imperfectly. Just as the only way of showing respect for a person who is suffering from hunger is to give him something to eat, so the only way of showing respect for a person who has placed himself outside the law is to reintegrate him into the law, by subjecting him to the punishment, which it prescribes…. Punishment should be an honour. (11) (Simone Weil, "L'enracinement")

'It is not barbarous to punish the guilty, but it is to deprive the innocent of protection...'

'I am for the retention of the death penalty in our laws. Imprisonment for life, or even for a long period, degrades the colnlvict once for all, even -and especially - in his own eyes. (12) The infliction of the death penalty safeguards his dignity. The death sentence may bring dishonour, but this is not always so. To deprive a criminal sentenced to death of the infliction of his punishment is, for the most part, to take from him the only hope he has of rehabilitating himself.

It is a thousand times better to die than to rot in prison for twenty years. At the moment of dying, the murderer inspires respect; the recluse risks rapidly losing his self-respect. It is to be feared that the abolitionists are unaware of the respect due to man, even one guilty of the most heinous of crimes. Death, above a certain level of guilt, ought to be desired, for it is the only way of emerging with honour.' (P. Bruckberger: L'âne et le boeuf and various articles.

'The death penalty is the consequence of a mystical idea, totally unappreciated today.The purpose of the death penalty is not to save society, at any rate, not materially. Its purpose is (spiritually) to save society and the guilty party. (13) For the sacrifice to be perfect, there must be assent and joy on the part of the victim. To give chloroform to a person sentenced to death would be an act of impiety, for it would take away from him the consciousness of his grandeur as a victim, and destroy his chances of gaining paradise...' (Baudelaire: Mon coeur mis à nu 1864).

'Certain crimes exclude their perpetrators, not from the group, the family or society, but from humanity. These crimes are so heinous that to commit them is to exclude oneself, to put oneself outside, to reject the human condition. Let us examine the situation of a man who has committed a crime and continues to live. If a criminal does not feel that a crime of this nature has put him beyond the pale, then he remains evil, and if does feel he has put himself beyond the pale, what secular procedure can free him from remorse, shame, despair and disgust. If he again becomes worthy to live, he should ask to die.' (14) (Jean Fourastié: Le Figaro 25 June 1979)

Is the death penalty not contrary to the Gospel spirit? Does it not infringe the sacredness of life, recognized by the Church: 'Thou shalt not kill'?

'Jesus answered: Thou shouldst not have any power against me (of life and death), unless it were given thee from above.' (John XIX: 11)

'And he said to his disciples (It is impossible that scandals should not come). But woe to him through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck and he cast into the sea than that he should scandalize one of these little ones.'(Lk XVII: 1-3)

'The New Testament combines the affirmation of the State's right to take life (cf. Rom XIII: 4) with the presentation of the twofold example of Jesus, God and man. Jesus is the God in whom all authority is vested to lead men to good and chastise evil (Rom XII: 1-5), even by means of the sword; but He is also the man whom, in circumstances of self-defence, gave no command to kill (John XVIII: 11:"Put up thy sword into thy scabbard"), but preferred to die for those who killed Him and for their eternal salvation. His example invites Christians, and even all men, to prefer to suffer violence, contrary to justice, rather than take violent action in conformity with justice, each time that the rights of others, especially the weakest, are not thereby infringed. Jesus never infringed the right of the weak to earthly life, not even indirectly; nor did He affirm any unconditional and absolute right of the guilty to this life. (15) (P. de Margerie: Le Monde 26 June 1978)

'Now then, my dear Camus, if there are Christian abolitionists, they must have a patron saint in the Gospels. I think I have found that patron saint: the bad thief. What did the bad thief want? Above all and exclusively, to save his skin, his miserable, earthly skin. He was lucky enough to be crucified with somebody who worked miracles. Why was He waiting before working one more - it was urgent! "If thou be Christ, save thyself and us." Justice? He did not think of it. The main thing for him was to escape punishment, to escape yet again. He came to a nasty end!'

As for the good thief: 'Having led the life of a bandit, he knew that he had wasted his life, and he had no intention of wasting his death, as it was all he had left; and what he had left was no doubt the most important thing in a man's life...

"For we receive the due reward of our deed." Where he attains an epic grandeur, as the Greeks understood it, and, amidst his own misfortune, perceives the difference between the innocent and the guilty, is when he turns to Jesus and says: "But this man hath done no evil". It was then that he suddenly became a Christian. He took pity on God, on divine innocence crucified, which he had the grace to recognize; and, as he recognized his incarnate God in the man next to him on the cross, hope welled up within him and he implored; "Lord remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom".' (16)
(P. Bruckberger: Oui à la peine de mort)

'The forgiveness of God calls for the forgiveness of man, but does not replace the task of judges.' (Cardinal Lustiger: Le Figaro Nov. 1991)

'As for the objection which says that the murderer, for example, can repent after his crime and thus recover the fullness of a sacred dignity rendering him untouchable, such an objection is not serious.... For the very nature of repentance after a crime consists not only in acknowledging one's guilt but in knowing that one deserves punishment... If repentance and even God's pardon were sufficient, why, we may ask, is the person who has received absolution bound to fulfil the penalty of penance? Thus, even a repentant criminal may be punished by public authority - provided, of course, that the latter deems it proper.' (cf note 2) (J.M. Vaissière: Fondements de la cité)

TO SUM UP 

'The intention of the avenger must be to effect at least the correction of the criminal and, perhaps, his repentance: at any rate, to render it impossible for him to do harm, preserve the peace to which the citizens as a whole are entitled, and promote respect for justice and the reverence due to God the Creator.' R.P. Bruckberger: 'Oui â la peine de mort.'

Protection, deterrence and, of course, correction ( in the sense of "repression", to "avenge", without hatred, a third party, to effect expiation by means of a merited punishment, proportionate with the irreversibility of the crime committed), perhaps to redeem - such are the social, political and moral arguments which provide the basis for the State's right to use the sword, in other words, for the legitimacy of the death penalty.

'He that loveth (his son) chasteneth him betimes': a moral and political virtue. Love: this is to be understood as being both for the person punished (his personal good) and for society, in other words, for the common good and for the criminal's salvation (which partly rests with the judge). To a person who, through his own fault, has lost what made him worthy and sacred, the possibility of the death penalty paradoxically offers him the opportunity of recovering that dignity at one go, by making him face up to his responsibilities and enabling him, at the supreme moment, ultimately to assume full responsibility for his acts.

A choice of expiation and amendment, while tragic (in the classical sense) ,is much more human, honourable, (17) probably more efficacious (18) and in a word, moral than the alternative - an irreducible sentence cruelly described as "for life".

This is why those duly authorised (judges and soldiers alike) can legitimately deprive a guilty man of his life, without encroaching upon the judgement of God. (19) That is after giving consideration to the forementioned alternative and the other advantages of the death penalty.


NOTES

1. This is the traditional jus gladii of the state- the power of life and death - recognized by the Church, and applicable only against the guilty, with this Thomistic specification, confirmed by Pius XII and summarized by Fr. de Margerie: 'The State never abrogates the right to life, but may take note of the renunciation of the exercise of this right by the guilty person. In other words, it may decide that the commission of the crime, and particularly the non-recognition of the absolute and unconditional right of the innocent to life, signifies, on the part of the criminal - even if he does not accept such an implication - the renunciation of the unconditional nature of his own right to life.' He then retains only the right not to be killed by private persons, nor prior to a verdict and subsequent death sentence. (cf. speech by Paul VI to Italian Jurists, 9th December, 1972). [We cannot see the direct relevance of Paul VI’s speech to the preceding text. The speech concerned the right to life of the unborn child - perhaps it is quoted in support of the absolute and unconditional right of the innocent to life. – Ed. Apropos.]

2. A condition which is evidently a matter of debate: has the law the means and the will to protect society, without capital punishment as the keystone of the penal system? (cf. Alphonse Karr's response to the abolitionists: 'Let our dear murderers begin!'). It is a question of political prudence, as distinct from doctrine. 'It is beyond doubt that the principle of the death penalty is accepted by Christian doctrine. This does not mean that the Church requires that the application of the death penalty should be part of the penal code of every nation. In other words, it is possible to accept the principle of the legitimacy of the death penalty, without being in favour of its application in particular circumstances, in a particular country. Once the principle of the death penalty is recognized by the Church, the state has full liberty to decide whether the actual application of the death penalty is opportune or not. That is a matter for discussion. It is in this sense that one may be for or against the death penalty. (J.M. Vaissiére, "Fondements de la Cité.)

 4. Beware of the fraudulent use of certain statistics in this question, as happens also in the case of abortion.

 5 Let us add that, in the (unlikely) event of the death penalty's not being a deterrent, it does (in the nature of things) "deter" the condemned man from offending again, an all too common occurrence today. A pointer which also turns the scale….

6 A crude image? St, Thomas, with and after Aristotle, did not fear to compare the criminal to a beast: 'By his crime, he renounces (recedo) this life of reason', which makes him what he is: a rational creature. Losing (relatively) this rational nature, he thereby loses (relatively) his human dignity. He thus falls (relatively) into the servile condition of beasts. (J.M. Vaissière, Fondements de la Cité ) And Pius XII: 'When a man unwarrantably refuses to submit to reason, he becomes, either by his tenets or his acts, as it were, a corrupting poison in relation to the public good, which is the very basis of all good in society. In that case he loses, in a certain way, his human dignity and no longer has the right to inviolability, which that dignity confers on every human being...' (13th September, 1952) See also Question 4. [We add the following observation by Bernard Levin in the London Times of 15th May 1989 - Editor, Apropos. 'The gang who destroyed the woman in New York (the infamous Central Park gang-rape), and the gang who beat up a blind man and broke his stick in Britain, have altogether shaken themselves loose from the human race. The difference is crucial, and can be seen in the terrible question that springs to mind of every fully human being: why did they want to do these things.' ] 

7 It should be noted that such a deterrent exists so as not to be used, or to be used as little as possible, relying upon its efficacy

8 There is personal vengeance and vengeance on behalf of a third party. If a mother reproves a child who has stolen a cake, the reason is not simply because he has deprived his little sister (whom she "avenges") of her snack. She punishes him above all out of love for him, so that he will not do it again and thus become a slave of his whims. She teaches him his liberty, his dignity as a man, which is co-extensive with his responsibility. And if we really understand that the punishment must be in proportion to the harm caused, we can also understand that the irreversibility of a crime must be compensated by the irreversibility of the penalty.

9 The idea of retribution or expiation expressed in the questionable law of retaliation of primitive societies is, nonetheless, the essence of penal justice (which is corrective justice at the community level). In that sense, the law of retaliation marks an improvement over the ancient practice of family vengeance, whereby the sanction bore no resemblance to the fault: '...I have slain a man to the wounding of myself, and a stripling to my own bruising. Sevenfold vengeance shall be taken for Cain, but for Lamech seventy times sevenfold.' (Genesis, 4:23-24) It puts an end to tribal vengeance, making the supreme punishment strictly individual and the penalty usually commensurate with the crime committed.

10 Is not "vengeance", without hatred or imprudence, but with discernment and reflection, the legitimate exercise of penal justice by the secular arm, in conformity with the Church's authorization? (cf. Fourth Lateran Council). See also Pius XII: 'Considered in its end, the deliberate breach of a law indicates an arrogant contempt for authority... And, since all human authority can, in the end, emanate from God alone, every deliberate infraction constitutes an offence  against God Himself….We declare that it would not be right totally and in principle to repudiate the vindicatory function of punishment.' And Pius XII rejects the thesis according to which St. Paul's formula contains merely 'ideas corresponding to the historical circumstances and culture of the period', maintaining that this verse has a 'general and perennial value', as it refers to the 'essential basis of penal authority and its immanent finality.' [5th Feb., 1955 – Discourse to Catholic Italian Lawyers].

11 Hence, capital punishment can be considered a signal honour, however little one may realize that 'what gives meaning to life, gives meaning also to death.' (Saint-Exupéry)When life is desacralised, sacrifice becomes absurd.

12 On this point, see the " Revue de science criminelle" (No.2, 1967, p.479): 'It is not humanly, equitably or practically possible to keep a condemned man of fifty in prison on the pretext that, twenty or thirty years. Previously, he was a vile murderer. Any law which ordained that a life sentence should mean this literally would, before long, be inevitably and justifiably abrogated. It would have served only to facilitate the abolition of the death penalty, by leading the legislator and public opinion to believe that an alternative punishment had been found.
13 History provides celebrated examples, from the good thief to Jacques Fesch, and including Francois Villon, Gilles de Rais and Buffet.

14 There is the example of Buffet, asking President Pompidou not to reprieve him: 'You will be aware that the function of a defence counsel is to get his client, at whatever cost, out of his position as a condemned man, even if his client is guilty and dangerous, as I am. My conscience is deep rooted in my situation, and I declare most sincerely that I cannot see myself ending my life in such circumstances. Now, I am not one to commit suicide myself. Since I have killed, the only way out for me is to be killed. That is my morality.' And in his last letter he wrote: ' To give myself voluntarily, to God, in death that would be my life's wish, the supreme reward. ' - the grace of the good thief transforming his punishment into a reward. [Added note by Editor Apropos: Prisoners subject to life imprisonment have also recognized the enormity of their crimes and have rejected appeals made by others for their parole. Ian Brady, the "Moors Murderer", in a letter to the Sunday Times of 16th May 1982, stated: 'Noting the alacrity with which the quality and popular press publish Lord Longford's lamentably frequent utterances re the question of parole for Myra Hindley and myself, it is not widely known that he does not and never has represented my opinion on this subject. The weight of the crimes both Myra and I were convicted of justifies permanent imprisonment.' – Although recognizing the weight of the crimes, Brady has apparently never expressed regret for them and has expressed the wish to kill himself through starvation. He has been force-fed by his incarcerators as a ‘mental patient’.]

15 Fr. Margerie adds: 'Let us note emphatically that, to our knowledge, no episcopal conference ( nor even any bishop) has said that it recognized such an unconditional and absolute right to temporal life on the part of an unrepentant criminal. No doctrinal declaration of the universal Church can be quoted in this sense: on the contrary the constant teaching of the ordinary magisterium of the Roman Pontiff in the course of the centuries, and particularly in the course of our own, restricts the recognition of an absolute and unconditional right to earthly life to the case of the innocent.'

Pius XI even specifies: 'It is absurd to invoke against innocent human beings the right of the state to inflict capital punishment, for this is valid only against the guilty.' (Casti Connubii, 1930). And [Pius XII states]: ' It is reserved to public authority to deprive the condemned man of the gift of life, in expiation for his fault, after he, by his crime, has already deprived himself of his right to life!' [Address to the First International Congress of Histopathology of the Nervous System] (14th September, 1952).

16 It is no parable that Fr. Bruckberger relates here. It is what really happened at the most decisive moment in our human history. Christ did not reply to the bad thief on Calvary. He did not miraculously suppress his punishment. To the good thief he said: This day thou shalt be with me in paradise.' This is the reality which, two thousand years later, is still producing "good thieves", just like Jacques Fesch, one of the last to be sentenced to death in France: 'The nails in my hand are real, and they are accepted. You see (he is writing to his wife), I am certainly going to go through a deuce of an agony, and the preparation for this gory masquerade is horrible. Well, if it makes me tremble, it is not through physical fear but because I understand better the total purity of Christ by contrast with my abjectness. In spite of everything that will happen to me, I shall be saved solely and uniquely by grace. A few moments ago, the thought occurred to me that, whatever I did, heaven would never be for me. It was Satan who inspired that thought. He wants to discourage me. I threw myself at the feet of Mary, and I am better now Holy Virgin, be with me!

I AM HAPPY! GOOD-BYE!'

Here is this man, condemned by the city of men, and no doubt welcomed, like the good thief, into the city of God. Fr. Bruckberger writes: " If the condemned man is worthy of it, and if he can seize his chance, then whatever crimes he may have committed, he is suddenly invested with an unassailable sovereignty: a justice of a different kind, a justice from the next world, comes into this world, passes through it and carries off its prey, as it were, on a fiery chariot Do not take away from criminals this final chance to escape from us, step into the fiery chariot and be carried away on it.”

17 'Death, beyond a certain level of guilt, ought to be desired, for it is the only way of acquitting oneself with honour - if only from the temporal point of view, to say nothing of eternity. To leave a man to rot in a cell for forty or fifty years is moral bankruptcy. All those lawyers who declaim against the death penalty do not know what a man is. You will see whether Mesrine will not prefer to die rather than be put back behind bars. There is more dignity in dying like Bontemps than in languishing like Patrick Henry.' (R. P. Bruckberger: " Valeurs actuelles", 25th December, 1978.)

18 It is hard to imagine that Buffet would be the same man, after twenty years of detention (in a penal system which some describe as a school of crime, on account of the conditions of promiscuity and life which make it a great disgrace), as he was at the time of his death.

The Jew who wants to incinerate 7 million people...all at once

The question is always asked: do Jews have any sense of irony?

After decade upon decade of reminders to everyone how they suffered during World War II many influential Jews see no contradiction in calling for the extermination of seven million innocent people.  The other day Jewish neoconservative Joshua Muravchik opined in the Washington Post that in order to stop Iran from making an atomic bomb (which, he fails to tell us, Iran has no intention whatsoever of manufacturing) it will be necessary to drop atomic bombs on Tehran which, according to general estimates, would obliterate seven million people all at once.  That's a much faster kill than the Nazis were capable of.

Yes, that appeared in the supposedly impeccable Washington Post.

Muravchik's father was a shirt-tail Communist so I suppose we could say, "like father, like son". Joshua himself is a rabid Zionist who cheers on people like war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu and was no doubt elated at his reelection victory on Tuesday.

This is the type of monster that people in our government look to for advice, and who shower him with praise.

But there is something even worse than that: some good, solid Catholics also back these monsters and are elated by their success.  And that is the saddest thing of all.

"Radiant as the sun"...and stupid as a box of rocks

Fat, jolly Timothy Dolan, Clown Prince of the Catholic Church, described himself as "radiant as the sun" as he disgraced his cloth, his Church and his God prancing down the streets of New York during the St Patrick's parade today along with his cherished homosexual friends.

Radiant as the sun....I thought that's how we are supposed to address the Pharaoh.

Perhaps Dolan believes he is Pharaoh.

But he is not a Pharaoh.  Nor is he much of a Cardinal.   He is a fake.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-dolan-marches-with-homosexual-activists-at-nyc-st.-patricks-parade

This man is again bringing shame and ridicule upon Christ and those who follow Him.

Go away, Your Eminence, and don't ever come back.

Clarity from a European politician

The words "clarity" and "politician" do not usually belong together, being sort of an oxymoron when seen side by side.  But in Mr Nigel Farage of Britain's UKIP we get clarity, as seen here in remarks directed to his fellows in the European Union.  While we are unable to share all of Mr Farage's views on certain issues, it would be hard to find fault with what he says here.

This brief, five-minute example of truth is, as they say, like a breath of Spring:




(With thanks to LewRockwell.com)

Roberto de Mattei: A "Peronist Pope"

Interesting comments from Roberto de Mattei:

http://www.robertodemattei.it/2015/03/15/la-rivoluzione-impossibile-del-papa-lo-storico-de-mattei-cosi-ci-sara-uno-scisma/

The computer translations are pretty dreadful, but you will get the gist of it quite well.  DeMattei makes some interesting statements here, among them:

"In October, the Pope met with popular movements, giving himself an image Peronist, very close to social issues. Yet for those who need the Vatican to certify the financial statements of the IOR? An institute of globalism-capitalist as Ernst & Young. Again: Bergoglio speaks of decentralization of power in the Church, and then proves to be a strong centralist '.


"Francis is presented as a conservative, not to pronounce against the dogmas, but his pastoral strategy itself is revolutionary, because it makes the truth to the practice, for more about a topic as incandescendente lafamiglia. In this way marks a profound discontinuity in the history of the papacy not seen for fifty years. "

Our ally, al-Qaeda??

That notable Irishman, Barak Mendelsohn, of the famous Council on Foreign Relations (the baby of the Rockefeller boys), is instructing us to openly support Al-Qaeda.  Journalist Daniel McAdams has the dope on this:

https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/al-qaeda-our-ally/#more-542435

Now we have been saying since this blog began that it is the US and Israel that have been financing, supplying and training the very terrorists they are now (supposedly) fighting.  With Mendelsohn's call to openly support them now vindicates this conclusion most nicely.  The real goal is complete Zionist control of the Middle East, and to accomplish this those countries that support the humane treatment of the historic inhabitants of the Holy Land, aka the Palestinians, like Syria and Iran, must be obliterated.  The state of Israel demands it.  And they demand that the USA do their dirty work for them.  And as in Iraq and Lybia, US soldiers will go on to die for Israel.  If you think this is too radical a statement I refer you to the chorus of trained seals in Congress who recently gave war criminal Netanyahu umpteen standing ovations as he gave America its marching orders the other day in Washington.

And if it takes proxy armies like Al-Qaeda and/or ISIS to do some of the fighting, to at least soften up the governments prior to US troops and bombs, then all the better.  Hence Mr Mendelsohn, now openly giving the game away by suggesting we simply support the terrorists no questions asked and drop this phony mask about "fighting them".

Of course anyone else that might be thinking about supporting Syria and Iran must also get a taste of regime change.  I leave it to the reader to guess which country has openly stated that they support both Syria and Iran and its Christian populations, and is now finding itself turned into a worldwide villain by a mass media owned by Mr Mendelsohn's fellow Irishmen.


UPDATE:
http://news.antiwar.com/2015/03/13/wounded-al-qaeda-from-syria-received-treatment-in-israel/

No surprise there.

When Peter sued Paul....or David Domet vs Goliath

Peter's Denial - Caravaggio

I am reasonably certain that David would chastise me for that headline yet its hyperbolic wording does contain some grains of truth.  It actually contains more than just a few.  David does not see himself as a St Paul nor does he necessarily see his adversaries as Goliath.  Yet I am willing to bet there is a little bit of both of those two personalities in David Domet and the man whose very words he has exposed to wider public scrutiny.

Regarding Goliath, that could mean the armies of reptilian traitors in Rome, their cultists in the Neo-Catholic media and clueless Catholics in the pews who no longer see anything incongruous about having balloons on the altar of God.  In a way that's a formidable Goliath to contend with.  Entrenched ignorance about the Catholic Faith and its two millennium history has helped enormously.   But we are speculating a bit here.

After an exhaustive search I have uncovered no evidence that St Peter took St Paul to court after Paul had to "resist him to his face".  But that was in the old days, I guess.  These days if you say something a cleric doesn't like he may drag you through the courts.

By now many in the Catholic alternative media, e.g. the blogosphere, are aware of the ungentlemanly, indeed unCatholic manner in which David Domet was threatened with legal action by a priest who is vaguely connected to the Vatican.  Mr Domet's offense was to quote the exact words of this priest (who I sincerely hope does not see himself as a St Peter!), words that reflected the priest's somewhat hazy idea of Catholicism and then comment on those words.  The story has been thoroughly told by David on his blog and, of course, in subsequent interviews he has given and other blogger's articles.  We wont go over ground already well covered, other than to add our words of relief that the priest in question is now back-pedalling faster than a centipede confronted with Lysol .

Via telephone and email David and I had a discussion about the ramifications of this whole fiasco.  Given what happened to him in light of his publicizing the very words of a priest I wondered if he thought that we should perhaps be more circumspect about publishing their words.

"Absolutely not, we can and we must continue. It is important whenever we do so on our blogs that we provide links to the original or an image of the original, for example from Twitter. This is critical in order to ensure that we maintain our credibility and ensure that we are giving “fair comment” [which is a legal term in Canada in these matters]. Furthermore, it is our right and our duty under Can. 212 §3. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they (i.e. the laity) possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.

The looming - God help us - October Synod, Part Two will be upon us in a very short time.  Already a number of blogs have been on this story and give every indication that they will keep on it.  One thinks, for example of the exemplary work on this being done by Restore DC Catholicism and a few others.  Looking at the forces at work in the Synod and at the agenda they are no longer even shy about maintaining, it is easy for good Catholics to get somewhat discouraged.  Not Mr Domet, however

"There has been a lack of understanding of blogs by those in position in the Church and by Catholic media in general. A journalist and author friend of mine who writes regularly in Catholic media has said to me directly “the future is in the blogs.” We can respond quickly to anything out there much more so than the Catholic media. I take a story and put my view on it and you take it and add yours and some new information that I may not have been aware of. Blogs also represent a “light” and I use that word for a purpose and with all its meaning. I’ve read somewhere a comment that some bloggers have turned the “blogosphere into a black hole of vitriol, anger and profound sadness.” I certainly don’t see it that way. So to answer your question, yes; I think some will go on the offensive and it will also come not just from Churchmen directly but from their friends in the “mainstream” Catholic media; I’ve seen that quite clearly recently."

He has good advice for other bloggers as well, this one very much included:

We need to blog almost daily as we all have different readers in different parts of the world – we can’t leave it to others. The secular media will take the side of those that would attempt to change doctrine and sadly most in the Catholic media will take a soft approach because they know who it is that butters their bread.

We need to be prepared and we need to study the documents leading up to the Synod and the writings and sayings of those bishops and cardinals who will not be swayed by the potential heresy and those who would attempt to change doctrine by changing practice.

With these demonstrations by personages such as Rosica and now the placid Catholic press it will be interesting to see just how low the defenders of this lunatic Synod might be willing to go.  The lawsuit threat was in and of itself pretty low.  Says David:

The threat of the lawsuit has been “dropped” and let me be clear it was a “threat;” let us make no mistake about that. I think this is not the lowest that some could go. I think we could see personal attacks, intimidating letters even perhaps an attempt to remove us from volunteer work in various apostolates, some may even try to undermine our employment in Catholic institutions. Now one might think by me making that statement that I am wearing a tin-foiled hat, but not all things have come into the light.

As is becoming more obvious, those Catholics who are more "in tune" shall we say to the current zeitgeist yet nevertheless share the concerns of many who watch in horror some of the outrageous remarks of those such as Cardinal Godzilla Marx will nevertheless feel the need to take a pot shot or two at any blogger who doesn't toe the line.  One such is the normally level-headed Phil Lawler who could not, it seems, fight the temptation to denigrate the work of Vox Cantoris even while pointing out the silliness of Rosica's threatened lawsuit.  His article was a sad performance unworthy of a serious writer on Catholic topics but is, I believe, perhaps the opening salvo in a long series of similar pieces to come.  perhaps the reason behind this embarrassing article is the fact that Lawler's boss is Dr Jeff Mirus.  [I ceased taking Dr Mirus seriously when after writing him a courteous letter asking him to stop using the perfectly innocent word "gay" to describe sex perversion - which he does incessantly - he wrote back a note - dripping with condescension - telling me that since the homosexual "community" prefers to call themselves "gay" he is going to respect that (!?)]  Dr Mirus has distinguished himself among those Catholics who refuse to see the things that are staring them squarely in the face. I would tend to believe then that Mr Lawler's article is in keeping with what his boss would want and is a taste of what is going to be coming more and more.

And of course the attacks have been coming, so far in comment sections of blogs and on one or two neo-Catholic websites.  Some denigrate the Vox Cantoris blog out of a misguided sense of "doing the right thing" while others are motivated by malevolence.  It will do credit to David Domet as he continues to keep a cool head during these onslaughts which he surely realizes are only just beginning.  Many of these attacks can be safely ignored since the more astute readers can usually see through the venom, a venom which could possibly be described as "a black hole of vitriol and anger".

We have learned something by this affair.  We are the despised ones, I guess, the ones who have to be the bearers of bad news.  Yes, that can get depressing at times which is why our blog occasionally likes to remind readers of the beauties still in the world be they visual or aural.  Moreover we have to often "tell it like it is" not, to be sure, that it will make us many friends in certain Church circles but that it will remind us of how it used to be in the Church, and how it will be once again after the good God decides to begin the restoration.  Until then we will do what St Anthony, that Hammer of Heretics, once felt compelled to do.  St Anthony was never one to mince words.  Preaching once at a synod in Bourges, France he began his sermon by turning directly to the Archbishop, Simon de Sully saying, "And you, O mitred one, it is about you I shall be preaching now!"  The rather stunned Archbishop listened in chastened silence, and by the grace of God and the firm words of Anthony he ultimately repented of his errors.

This is an example that we poor laity must needs follow.  We are not in Saint Anthony's class but that cannot prevent us from telling men like Wuerl and Dolan what they need to hear, and the firmer the better in my opinion.  It is just possible that if the laity emulate Anthony in this way that God will awaken the courage in priests and Bishops to do the same.  Indeed we are seeing the small beginnings of this already.

Alas that must also include Popes.  When Saint Bruno, Bishop of Segni, opposed Pope Pascal II on the question of investiture he wrote to him saying,

"I esteem you as my father and lord...I must love you; but I must love still more Him who created you and me...I do not praise the horrible, unnatural accord [signed by the Pope] made with such treachery, and contrary to all piety and religion".  (Quoted by Bouix, "Tract, de Papa," Vol 2, page 650.)

So we have learned and will no doubt continue to learn as new devices are used to silence the laity.  David, perhaps sensing this, suggests a sort of "linking" of blogs in order to keep on message with regard to the threats coming our way:

This past few weeks has introduced me to literally hundreds of blogs around the world in various languages previously unknown to me and I dare say, Vox Cantoris to them. Every one of them is solidly Catholic and we are all onside with the issues of the Synod. What can we all do to ensure that we are sharing the latest information and how can we link up in this? I’ve just come across Veri Catholici (http://vericatholici.org/) but have not had time yet to research them; perhaps this may be a vehicle of common cause.

An interesting idea and one which we at The Eye-Witness can support without reservation.  There is something to be said for a united front, something that has been notable by its absence in Catholic circles for at least half a century.  More prosaically, there is safety in numbers; they can't sue everybody.

I asked him if he thought we bloggers are doing enough right now:

All of us can always do more. Remember the words from scripture that Saint John Paul II used from the loggia “Do not be afraid.” If these last few weeks have shown us anything it is the power that we have even though our keyboard does not make us a “bishop or liturgist” as I’ve heard it said. I prefer to remember Venerable Fulton Sheen’s address in June 1972 to the assembled Knights of Columbus: “Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops and religious. It is to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act as priests, your bishops like bishops, and your religious act like religious.” Those in the Church that think and speak otherwise are clericalists.

Carry on, Vox Cantoris, and carry on, David.

A Terrorism Anniversary

Seventy years ago today:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/firebombing-of-tokyo

From the article:.

The denizens of Shitamachi never had a chance of defending themselves. Their fire brigades were hopelessly undermanned, poorly trained, and poorly equipped. At 5:34 p.m., Superfortress B-29 bombers took off from Saipan and Tinian, reaching their target at 12:15 a.m. on March 10. Three hundred and thirty-four bombers, flying at a mere 500 feet, dropped their loads, creating a giant bonfire fanned by 30-knot winds that helped raze Shitamachi and spread the flames throughout Tokyo. Masses of panicked and terrified Japanese civilians scrambled to escape the inferno, most unsuccessfully. The human carnage was so great that the blood-red mists and stench of burning flesh that wafted up sickened the bomber pilots, forcing them to grab oxygen masks to keep from vomiting.

Occasionally we write about these things so that we who take our religion seriously keep a proper perspective on world events past and present, and also, perhaps, to keep us humble, to keep us from viewing ourselves as the "indispensable nation"

[More: http://www.dw.de/tokyo-firebombing-survivors-recall-most-destructive-air-raid-in-history/a-18300080]

Hildegard von Bingen: Veni Creator Spiritus

Archbishop Shevchuk, please note: the Rape of Ukraine by the Bankers has begun

Archbishop Shevchuk is a man for whom I have the greatest admiration.  He is the head of the Ukrainian Catholics in Ukraine, and has, I know, the interests of his nation at heart.  But there is, I think, a chink in his armour, a chink which refuses to see who are the real villains in the Ukranian crisis.

As a venerable anti-Communist and as one who knows how the Soviets starved to death millions of Ukranians in the 1930s (far more deaths than Hitler was responsible for) the Archbishop harbors still a distrust for Russians, even after the old Soviet/Bolshevik system collapsed.  While he is closer to events than I am it is often true that those who look at events from far away often (not always, but often) have a clearer view of the problem.  It is not my intention to publicly disagree with this good man about events in his beloved country but I will offer for his consideration, and those of our readers, the following articles by the perceptive F William Engdahl:

http://journal-neo.org/2014/12/18/foreign-bankers-rape-ukraine/

and this:

http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2014/08/20/bfp-exclusive-the-eu-and-imf-rape-of-ukraine-agriculture/

The rape of this country is being done by that most usual of suspects, the Money Power.  I can only hope that the Archbishop takes a closer look as to who is friends are, and who his enemies are.

And I hope that all other countries under the American thumb - Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, etc. - also take note and watch the rape as it happens.

If the Washington-backed coup regime prevails Ukraine can also expect the introduction pf sex perversion as a "norm" that must be accepted.  Or else.

Archbishop Shevchuk is, as I said, a man of integrity.  Yet even the most well-meaning of men can be guilty of sometimes not seeing the elephant in the living room.

Slovenia, what have you done?

Slovenia, a country with a majority Catholic population has done this:

http://rt.com/news/237785-slovenia-allows-gay-marriage/

You have just condemned your innocent children to destruction.

You have gone from this, to a homosexual Hell.

Christians and Syrian Army together push back AlQaeda at Muharda

Good news for a change:

http://www.syrianperspective.com/2015/03/hundreds-of-terrorists-killed-in-hama-alqaeda-defeated-by-syrian-army-and-christians-at-muharda-in-hama-33-villages-liberated-in-hasaka.html

Here the Christians helped the Syrian government root out and overwhelm the US/Israeli-backed terrorists who are bringing so much destruction to that unhappy land.

I link to this site because it is extremely well-informed about what is happening in Syria and the continuing war against it.  The writer of the blog does not mince words, by the way.  Hence you will find the terrorists referred to as "rats", "rodents", etc.  The site is a refreshing change from the mainstream media coverage which leaves everyone both confused and hopeless.

The site is also not shy at all about pointing out who it is who is supplying the terrorists who are massacring Christians and other innocents.

He has the evidence, too.