St. Theobald Society

I've noticed a lot of people are organizing prayer and action in response to this scandal.  Here's one by the blog Catholic All Year.

The group Roman Catholic Faithful, seen as a nutty fringe group, whose site shut down in 2010 it looks like, had been reporting on sexual abuse, cover ups and sexually active priests.  The group was on to something.  It says something about our institutional Church and all the divisions within it, that stuff like this gets disregarded or glanced over. 

Here it is from CNN.

This is an honest and insightful commentary by a gay man and why he thinks men with 'deep-seated homosexual' tendencies shouldn't be ordained. 

So vile and disgusting.  There are no words. https://www.washingtonpost.com/regional/

I see a lot of people blaming homosexuality for the horrible mess the Church is in right now.  I think though this thinking is really skewed, understandably so, because of the nature of the abuse and flouting of Church Teaching.    And I am completely orthodox on the Church's teachings on sex.  So I in no way condone homosexual behavior.  However, something is amiss here.  I was hearkening back to to my days of formal logic.  You know those syllogisms that go All men are mortal Socrates is a man Therefore, Socrates is mortal I think the premise in a lot of people's arguments against men with same sex attraction goes like this: All priests should be celibate Homosexuals are incapable of being celibate Therefore no homosexuals should become priests. The flaw I see in this argument is that the Church asks those with same sex attraction to remain celibate whether they are priests or laity.  If you are burdened with same sex attraction, you can't act on that attracti

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/08/10/cardinal-omalley-calls-investigation-asks-boston-seminary-rector-take-leave

It seems to me the Eucharist is constantly blasphemed in our current day.  It isn't just ranting atheists desecrating hosts on YouTube videos.  It isn't just people in the pews who decide they deserve to receive whether they believe or not.  The actual Church blasphemes against it too. Think of all these bishops and priests who are in a state of mortal sin.  Go to Bishop Accountability and check their lists of prosecutions and accusations.  This is an incomplete, not up to date list.  So it's only a partial listing.  There are a thousand priests out there that were/are committing mortal sin.  I get that they think they are protected by the fact that the are not themselves but in persona Christi at the moment of consecration- though their flagrant sinning seems to indicate they don't really believe at all - but then, after they speak the words of consecration,  they must consume the Eucharist themselves.  And right there, they are committing blasphemy which they mus

I really like and admire so much of what he says and does:  Here's his statement.

I'm glad some people can joke about this.  I'll find it funny, just as soon as I stop sobbing. Bishop press release bingo

Someone alerted me to the fact that there is already an organization that is devoted to praying in support of priests.  It's only a few years old.  Foundation of Prayer for Priests .

Here's an article from Crux Now about the horrible abuse and cover up in Chile.  Napa Institute supports a corrupt bishop. What's going on in the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska. One of the six dioceses in Pennsylvania that is releasing names of alleged abusers is Harrisburg with a list of 71 accused clerics.   The Diocese of Pittsburgh as well . Abuse survivors in Ireland. Two bishops are calling for a lay-run investigation into the scandals and cover up.  Bishop Doherty Bishop Scarfenberger

(NB:  The article I'm linking to might make some people really angry.  As a Catholic I am called to love everyone, my neighbors and my enemies.  And to face this crisis down, we must be honest and open and examine everything.  So if you are angry, please don't comment in anger, just state your opinion in a dispassionate way. Not that anyone is commenting here anyway.  LOL.  It's probably a moot point.) Here's an article by a priest who is very un-pc and calls homosexuality the main cause of the scandals. Please read it in its entirety.  It is true homosexuality does seem to be a prominent feature of the scandals.  And it does seem logical to think that the reason why the bishops excluded themselves from the Dallas Charter might have been because the homosexual networks were so deeply ingrained it would render the Church's organization unsustainable to weed out every homosexual bishop or priest. I am trying to think through all this.  My natural inclination is to

The Short Reading from today's Lauds is from Ezekiel 36:25-27 I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed.  I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols.  I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you.  I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead.  I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. The idea of cleansing reminded me of something I'd seen earlier in the week.  I like to watch some homesteading YouTube channels.  I'm rather enamored with the idea of going back to the land and a simpler life.   It will never happen.  I am firmly ensconced in suburban life.  But  I find this kind of 'reality TV' far more compelling then the canned version offered on commercial TV.  Anyway, one channel I watch is called The Swedish Homestead .  This farmer lives in Sweden and is trying to incorporate more environmentally friendly, permac

I couldn't let this day go by without an acknowledgement of St. John Vianney the patron saint of parish priests.  St. John Vianney, pray for us.  Help your Church heal; help the good and faithful priests who are caught up in the tawdriness and disillusionment of the scandals, who are despairing because the Church they work for is working against them and against it's own mission to make disciples of all men.  Teach them patience, forgiveness, propriety, perseverance.  Help them be strong. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

I'm actually reading a book about the Jewish roots of Catholicism.  It is quite good.  It's called The Crucified Rabbi; Judaism & the Origins of Catholic Christianity by Taylor R. Marshall. Marshall was a brand new Anglican priest when he discovered that Jews invoke the name of a deceased person's mother when praying for the dead.  He immediately saw a connection to the relationship that Catholics see with Mary, the mother of Jesus.   This led him on an exploration of Catholicism that resulted in his conversion.  I felt kinship with Marshall over this because though I am a cradle Catholic I left the Church for a number of years.  I mark the beginning of my reversion from a Passover seder I was invited to by a Jewish law school classmate.  I remember thinking:  but this is just like the Mass!  And then it suddenly dawned on me that in spite of all my disagreements with the Church and despite the fact that I really didn't know if I believed in God or not, I h

St Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us! I'm a Judeophile.  Actually, I'm literally a Judeophile since my husband is Jewish.  But also, even before that I've always had a place in my heart for the Jewish people.  It probably stems from Fiddler on the Roof and Anne Frank's Diary and the many holocaust books I read as a teen.  I remember reading Exodus by Leon Uris as a teen and being totally caught up in it (the movie with Paul Newman is good too).  One book I read ages ago was called The Last of the Just.   It's a French holocaust book by Andre Schwarz-Bart.  I don't actually remember much of the plot of the book, only it deals with the deep despair and the feeling of abandonment by God that Jews suffered through during the Nazi attempt at exterminating them.  I remember it was powerful.  And I remember I learned about the legend of the Lamed Vav.  These are the 36 righteous men who because they exist keep God from destroying the world.  These men are not obviou