Bleak realism and supernatural hope from Michael Hichborn of the Lepanto Institute.
Apologies if the video has been showing “not available”, hopefully that is fixed now.
Month: October 2022
Archbishop Comensoli, won’t you ever learn?
Catholics gushing over Archbishop Peter Comensoli’s recent slightly-bishopy comments about the sacking of Essendon’s CEO, should perhaps have remained a little more circumspect. One pro-life comment maketh not the man!
For those who may not know, Andrew Thorburn was sacked from his position as CEO of the football club due to his supposedly conservative Christian worldview. (Thorburn’s rather colourful – and less than Christian – past seems to escape the notice of the majority of commentators.)
Premier Dan Andrews continued the public pile-on, then our favourite Bishop put in his two cents worth and was suddenly hailed as the new JPII.
Comensoli’s statement was released via the Melbourne Catholic website on October 5th, then later republished in mainstream media. That was only three days before the annual March for the Babies, so it would have been reasonable to expect that the Lion of Melbourne would lead his flock of pro-life warriors through the streets to boldly protest the scourge of abortion. The Greek Bishop certainly did. And Protestant pastors, bless their hearts, were out in force. A few Catholic priests dotted the landscape, in low-key fashion.
But sadly, Archbishop Peter was nowhere to be seen. Whether the good prelate had a prior engagement, or whether he was simply putting his feet up in front of the fire at Gembrook, is something unknown to this author.
However, a pattern began to emerge after it was confided to me that His Grace was, on two separate occasions, invited to celebrate Mass for a pro-life group on October 22nd, and not only did he not acquiesce, but he did not even respond.
So, to recap Archbishop Comensoli’s track record, he:
* allows pro-abortion Dan Andrews to receive Holy Communion at a State Funeral
* employs a pro-abortion feminist in his inner circle
* doesn’t attend his Archdiocese’s biggest pro-life event of the year
* won’t celebrate Mass for dedicated Catholic pro-lifers (and impolitely won’t even answer them)
So …… maybe he’s not very pro-life after all. At least, not in any meaningful way.
But believe it or not, the comments above aren’t really what this article is about. That’s just my preambular gripe. This article is actually about an upcoming Mass to mark 175 years since the Archdiocese of Melbourne was established. In a nod to Melbourne’s multi-cultural society, the Mass features music and prayers from various nations – a Filipino Lamb of God, a Torres Strait Islander Great Amen, a Croatian Psalm, and so on it goes.
The opening hymn was specially written for the anniversary, but – get this – it was composed for the combined 175th anniversary of the Anglican and Catholic Dioceses of Melbourne. It’s a catchy little ditty about God and justice and a treaty. There’s a didgeridoo solo to make the point even clearer.
The Mass setting, including the cosmopolitan hymns and prayers, is an entirely new one called The Melbourne Mass – also jointly commissioned for the 175th anniversary of the Anglican and Catholic Dioceses of Melbourne by both churches! Yes, for use in both Catholic and Protestant churches!
Mind-boggling. (On a lesser note, how much did this – the composition of a Mass – cost the Archdiocese?? It would not be cheap. No wonder parishes are being consolidated.)
Now remember, it wasn’t long ago that Archbishop Comensoli, whilst casually suppressing a few local TLMs, said that it was incumbent upon him and all of his priests to offer the Mass worthily and decorously. And yet now he has gone ahead and had a sacrilegious Mass composed for himself and his heretical Anglican buddies.
Archbishop Comensoli, won’t you ever learn?
“New exegesis” suggests sodomy is not a sin.
There’s never a shortage of controversy when James Martin is involved – now he’s featuring theologians who are trained in the art of de-abominising sodomy. It’s all on his new, heretical website, Outreach, of course: the place to be when you kind of want to go to heaven but have no intention of giving up your lifestyle of vice.
A less thorough treatment of God’s opinion on sodomy could not be found than the one given in this article. The story is only 600 words, and 200 of those are quoting St Paul’s Letter to the Romans! The only accurate sentence is the opening one: “Romans 1:26-27 is frequently cited as Paul’s blanket condemnation of homosexuality.” That’s something on which we can all agree.
But according to the “groundbreaking” theology of the author, Fr Thomas Stedman S.J., St. Paul abhorred sodomy only because that vice was frowned upon by the Jews of his time – and not because it is intrinsically disordered.
“Paul comes from a religious tradition that forbids same-sex relations (cf. Lev 18:22; 20:13). Like many Jews of his day, he regarded such relations as a quintessential vice among Gentiles.”
But to say that Paul’s prohibition means God also abhors sodomy is “unnuanced” in Fr. Thomas’ view. That’s because, compared with the number of times St. Paul talks about other sins, sodomy barely gets a mention.
Maybe someone needs to point out to Fr. Thomas that most people aren’t tempted to actively engage in homosexual acts, whereas everyone struggles with the common sins that Paul mentions more frequently? His theological number-crunching leads the deluded Fr. Thomas to the conclusion that “same-sex relations are not the main issue—failure to recognize and honor God is.“
Being a good progressive, Fr. Thomas undoubtedly believes in man-made climate change and experimental COVID treatments. But since St. Paul didn’t preach about those, would he say traditionalists have a better understanding of what God really thinks of those issues? I doubt it.
If Scriptural numerology was all Catholics had to rely on, then we wouldn’t believe in the Trinity (That word is mentioned precisely ZERO times in the Bible.) Nor would we believe in Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception and Assumption. Nor would be have faith in countless other elements of Catholic teaching which Scripture either veils in meaning or which are explicit but commonly misinterpreted by non-Catholics.
But even if all we Catholics had was Scripture, and there was no comforting support of Tradition, which in His Providence, God supplied for our salvation, then the meaning of St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans would still remain crystal clear: sodomy is a vice, and the blindness of the understanding experienced by Fathers Thomas and James is the consequence of wilful attachment to that abomination.
24 Wherefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness, to dishonour their own bodies among themselves.
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie; and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God delivered them up to shameful affections. For their women have changed the natural use into that use which is against nature.
27 And, in like manner, the men also, leaving the natural use of the women, have burned in their lusts one towards another, men with men working that which is filthy, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due to their error.
28 And as they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness, full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity, whisperers,
30 Detractors, hateful to God, contumelious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Foolish, dissolute, without affection, without fidelity, without mercy.
32 Who, having known the justice of God, did not understand that they who do such things, are worthy of death; and not only they that do them, but they also that consent to them that do them.
(Rom 1:24-32)
A “hypothetical” papal resignation
Is good old Rome Reports providing some predictive programming?
Protocols surrounding papal resignations have been around since the time of John Paul II, and Pope Bergoglio has made no secret of the possibility that he could resign at some stage. Liberal Catholic media outlets love to throw the cat among the pigeons (usually on slow new weeks) by suggesting that such a resignation is imminent.
The eighty canon lawyers who have gotten together to discuss what a resignation protocol would look like, “theoretically” of course, might be enjoying their all-expense-paid confab, but it does raise the question how it was possible for Pope Benedict to do it all on his own. His resignation was not without controversy, but it was above board and not an eighty-lawyer-job.
Why on earth should anyone want to discuss resignations when it is obvious that an elderly and unwell Pope will not live forever? What DOES Francis have up his sleeve? Is he about to introduce fixed terms for the papacy, as with our political leaders? Is this another step closer to the One World Masonic Humanist religion?
Or is this just another distraction from the main event, like the “restructuring” or the Curia and “cleaning up” of the Vatican finances? Red herrings both, if you ask me.
Stay tuned for more apostasy. When whatever is about to happen happens, there will be no going back.
Catholics to invoke any old god for Climate Justice
“There’s no justice, there’s just us.” That barely-relevant slogan once graced the side of a building I had to pass by frequently and it came to my mind as I pondered the latest time-wasting venture from Australia’s failing hierarchy: prayers for the end of fossil fuels.
Who on earth comes up with these ideas? Most likely it was a couple of highly-paid professional Catholic women who met at a Laudato Si’ conference.
“Hey Karen, let’s have a multi-faith service at the Cathedral (Perth – no surprises there) to ask God to stop approvals for new coal and gas projects and for an end to public subsidies for fossil fuel industries.”
“Susie, that is a fantastic idea. Spirit is really moving today, isn’t She? Let’s do some chanting, congregational singing, meditation and prayers from a range of traditions. We’ll get Hermione from the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change to organise everything and we can be welcoming to people of all faiths and none.”
“But Karen, what if our supporters don’t live in Perth?”
“No problem, Susie – we’ll hold similar events all across Australia and the Pacific in a day of action showing grassroots endorsement of the climate action open letter already sent to the PM. Supporters can hold prayer, meditation and fasting vigils throughout the night. We’ll also remind everyone about the Vatican’s Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty!”
“Awesome, Karen. But what about those pesky trad climate-deniers who are sure to make a fuss about us not using the Church for something …. you know …. Catholic?”
“Easy-peasy, Susie. We’ll be sure to arrange it for an important Marian feast day to teach them a little lesson about priorities.”
“Right. They’re always talking about hell – don’t they know that in just a few short millenia, the temperature will have crept up another 1.5 degrees, which is literally hell on earth?!”
You get it. They don’t. More than ever, penance is needed on behalf of Holy Mother Church.
Italian Bishop has no scruples about going to the Lodge
According to LifeSite news, the Bishop was “astonished” at the backlash he received after cutting the ribbon at the opening of a new Masonic temple. “Synodality”, he cried.
“…. astonishment, bewilderment and bitterness are aroused by the instrumental reading, deliberately misunderstood and misinterpreted, of Bishop Soddu’s presence at this circumstance.” The diocese further claimed that the bishop’s purpose at the ceremony was “witnessing fidelity to the Gospel and to the Church, especially in this time of the Synodal path that characterizes it.”
Ecclesiastical Freemasonry 