One More Reason to be Concerned about Bishop Cupich -- CTA loves him!

Call to Action is thrilled with Bishop Cupich's appointment to Chicago where their national office is based!

Now if you don't know about the dissidents at Call to Action, you have been deprived of many head-shaking experiences: the puppet Masses (See ridiculous video below.), the endorsement of abortion, contraception, sodomy, etc., the frequent rabid dissent at their conferences where nuns beat the drums (literally). Yes, a Call to Action's endorsement definitely makes a person suspect. Now, I wonder what Bishop Cupich thinks of the Chicago-based group. Someone should ask him. Catholic Citizens of Illinois, a faithful group of Catholics, has the press release on their website.

Press Release: A Humbler, More Pastoral Church

Now a little history....

Call to Action (CTA) is a group I'm all too familiar with. They were organizing in our Arlington diocesan parishes back in the early and mid 90s. The northern Virginia chapter was actively undermining the faith with the aid of liberal pastors. At their meetings they distributed flyers for CORPUS, a group of ex-priests who left to get married without being laicized and another for PROMISES, a support group for women in sexual relationships with priests. (Yes, you read that correctly!)

After protesting at their second parish meeting at Blessed Sacrament in Alexandria, a group of us went to the third meeting at Christ the Redeemer in Sterling to challenge their presence. It was standing room only because an orthodox pastor urged Catholics to go and protest. Among those present was a young parochial vicar named Tom Vanderwoude, now a pastor, who tried to engage in "dialogue" with the organizers. (Don't liberals love to dialogue? Not really, except with themselves.) They shouted him down.

Did I mention they were ready for us with the police out in force? I think there were five officers there from this little community. Ooooo....intimidate your opposition.

The pastor had run for the hills and left the Director of Religious Education (DRE), a supporter of the group, to handle things. But she had apparently delegated her business to Charlie Davis, not even a parishioner, who went around pointing saying, "Arrest her, arrest him, arrest her, etc." when we questioned their right to be spreading dissent in our churches. They called us "violent" which was nonsense. The police said it was a "heated argument."

Presumably CTA believed police intimidation would end their problems and give them a free rein to continue their scandalous actions, but they didn't realize they were dealing with a group of pro-life rescuers who both know the law and aren't afraid to be arrested. I asked the police officer who ordered me to leave on whose authority he was acting. He didn't know. I replied, "I'm a Catholic and I have a right to be here!" and sat down. They went to pick up my chair and I sat on the floor. So they picked me up and carried me out along with five others. We ended up in court and subpoenaed our bishop, (John Keating at the time) as the owner of the property. The upshot of the story is that the bishop sent out a directive that no groups that opposed Church teaching could meet on parish property. CTA went off to protestant churches more in keeping with their beliefs.

And now almost twenty years later, I'm happy to say that the Northern Virginia chapter which was so active is apparently defunct. There is no NOVA chapter in CTA's list. Bridget Meehan, faux nun, left to get herself "ordained" as a priestess and then a "Catholic" bishop. She was always a fruitcake, but she's moved into the beyond the Twilight Zone world with a prayer that reads in part, "Womb of Creation, Shekinah, She-Who-Dwells Within, God, the breasted One, Woman Mentor, Sophia, Holy Wisdom..." You get the gist.

At any rate, I'm sorry to say there is a chapter out here in the Valley in Harrisonburg which is in the Diocese of Richmond, a nest of dissent for years. But at least Arlington is free of them and I think Les Femmes, by the grace of God, was instrumental in their eviction! Sometime you just gotta be confrontation with evil.

I still pray for the CTA folks. Charlie Davis actually came to a tongue-in-cheek "cast party" we had after the trial. I sent him an invitation thinking he would never accept, but he and his wife did and we were all cordial and had some interesting discussions. When he told me he was glad we could get together and respect each other's positions, I replied with a big smile. "Don't misunderstand, Charlie, I don't respect what you stand for. I think you're a heretic, but I like you." And I did.

The bee in Charlie's bonnet was always divorce and remarriage. The wife he brought to the party was his third. He supported Sheila Kennedy's book, Shattered Faith, protesting her annulment and even appeared at some press conferences with her. Fulton Sheen used to say if you want to see what moves someone who has a problem with the Church look at his sin. This is pretty timely considering the upcoming synod on marriage. Please pray for Charlie and all the CTA dissenters who are so attached to a particular sin that they absolutely will not accept Church teaching on it. For another member of the group I spoke to a number of times it was contraception.

I continually ask little Jacinta of Fatima for the grace to have her compassion for poor sinners. Today, I'm remembering my friends from Call to Action. Perhaps the term "friend" seems strange, but as I remember them my heart aches for them as it does for family members I love who have gone astray. Please join me in praying for them.