Termites in the Church...

During my middle school years, my parents rented a lovely home on Juniper Lane in Falls  Church, Virginia. The street got its name from an enormous Juniper tree that occupied a plot along the road. I think it was in the center and the road went around it on both sides, but that memory may not be accurate. At any rate, it was an impressive sight! Much more than the picture above.

Bishop Rene Gracida on the Attempted Assassination of Bishop Strickland's Ministry!

You can get the bishop's autobiography at Amazon Editor's Note: One of my heroes is Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi, Rene Gracida. He stands almost alone, being one of the few bishops who ever publicly refused the Eucharist to pro-abortion politicians. He urged his fellow bishops decades ago to do likewise, but you can guess how that turned out. Look to the reaction of the pathetic and cowardly bishops during the reign of Henry VIII and you'll see history repeating itself. Cowardly and feckless are words that pop into my mind.  I pray to see the fulfillment of the prophecy from this article by Charlie Johnston that the hour of darkness is ending before I die. Thank you, Bishop Gracida, for your faithful service to Holy Mother Church! The bishops website is well worth following!

What Do We Want to Know, Cardinal Wuerl? The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth!

Don't miss my show at the comedy club tonight!

Cardinal Wuerl could be a stand up comic, albeit a closeted one. The title of his soon Not-to-be-published book, What Do You Want to Know? A Pastor's Response to the Most Challenging Questions about the Catholic Faith, sounds like a joke in view of the Grand Jury report. Was the cardinal laughing up his sleeve when he titled it?

The fact is, Cardinal Wuerl has been a cover-up meister for years doing all he could to keep the coverup lid on evil and the duct tape over the mouths of his brother bishops who might be tempted to speak up and boldly condemn intrinsic evils. How embarrassing!

Did you know that in 2005, just a few short years after Dallas, Wuerl planned to introduce a Mechanism of Review via the USCCB. It wasn't, of course, a review of the bishops and their on-going efforts to hide their involvement in the sex abuse crisis.

Can the Pope Change Church Doctrine on Capital Punishment? Short Answer: NO!

We live in an era of papal confusion. Every time Pope Francis opens his mouth he throws a grenade at the faithful in the pews leaving chaos and flying shrapnel that obscures the teaching of the Church. On the one hand he will say something in conformity with Church doctrine; the next minute he acts in a way that contradicts what he just said. And then, refusing to clarify, he lets the confusion batter the faithful. One prudent friend said she just doesn't listen to him any more. What a situation for a Catholic where Peter, the chief teacher, bound to teach, govern, and sanctify has become a champion of confusion.  Pope Francis recently lobbed a grenade by saying that capital punishment is never admissible. That is a CHANGE in a perennial Church doctrine; not a development, not a clarification -- a break with past teaching. The papal posse on EWTN raises many troubling questions about the pope's actions in the video below. Raymond Arroyo observes that convicted murderers sometimes escape from prison killing more people in the process and gives examples of recent cases. How does that uphold the dignity and rights of their victims? It's a question that has always prevented me from jumping on the anti-death penalty wagon. How are prisoners and guards to be protected from homicidal psychopaths? Are their lives not worth protecting? How many murders does a criminal get before society can protect itself?

Cardinal Cupich and Fr. Frank Phillips, Merciful Accompaniment or the Mailed Fist?

What is really going on with Cardinal Cupich's
action against Fr. Frank Phillips?

It's all over the Catholic blogosphere. Fr. Frank Phillips of the Canons Regular and pastor of traditional parish, St. John Cantius, has been removed (very publicly) for unspecified "credible allegations" of improper behavior with adult men. Is it true? Who knows at this point. It's under investigation.

Bishop Emeritus Rene Gracida posted on his shock and disturbance at the way the situation is being handled:

I was stunned by the news....Thirty years ago Father Phillips, a member of the Resurrection Congregation, had founded at Saint John Cantius Parish a Diocesan Institute known as the Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius. Over the years the Canons Regular have grown in numbers and have made Saint John Cantius world famous as a church where the Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated in all its forms perfectly.

A Christmas Message from Bishop Rene Gracida

Thank God for faithful Catholic bishops. And pray for all those who are not.

Go here to see the Christmas message from one dear bishop who is a fearless truth-teller.

A Message from One of My Heroes: Bishop Rene Gracida Calls the Laity to "Rise Up" -- Literally!

If we don't do it, "the Church is doomed." What are you doing, laity, to defend the faith? Note what Bishop Gracida says about mercy (beginning at minute 4:48). Mercy is not the essential attribute of God as the Kasperites say. "The essential attribute of God is love....We are in a crisis comparable to the Arian heresy." St. John says, "God is love, not God is mercy." Bishop Gracida calls the laity to rise up and say to our heretical shepherds, "NO! That is not true." If heresy is preached from the pulpit the laity should rise up and say, "NO!" A priest will think twice about preaching heresy again out of fear another courageous person in the pew will stand up and resist.  Listen to the entire interview at Church Militant.

The Vortex and One of My Favorite Bishops -- Rene Gracida...

...and one of my "least favorites," Cardinal Donald Wuerl.



Right on, Michael!  And for those who want to hear straight talk from Bishop Gracida including naming names of Catholic clergy who helped institutionalize the culture of death, watch this video on the "Virus of Proportionalism."

The Scandal Continues: Biden and Pelosi Committed Sacrilege at Papal Mass

Well, the White House has confirmed it: Pelosi and Biden went to Communion sacrilegiously at the papal installation Mass. (Huffington Post article.) What I found especially hypocritical, however, was Cardinal Wuerl's statement:

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, part of the conclave that elected Francis, has said he would offer Pelosi communion despite her views on abortion because he didn't believe communion should be used as a weapon. "We never -– the Church just didn't use Communion this way. It wasn't a part of the way we do things, and it wasn't a way we convinced Catholic politicians to appropriate the faith and live it and apply it; the challenge has always been to convince people," Wuerl said in a 2010 interview. His position would logically extend to Biden. The vice president's bishop, Francis Malooly of Wilmington, Del., has also said he would not deny communion to Biden.

Denying Communion to a public heretic (a person who denies at least one doctrine of the Church)

Bishop Gracida's Blog Post on Fr. Corapi

I have great regard for Bishop Rene Gracida, so I think his comments on Fr. Corapi's situation are
worth reading. Let us continue to pray for God to use this terrible situation for good.

A FEW THOUGHTS ON FATHER CORAPI’S ANNOUNCEMENT YESTERDAY

Bishop Gracida on the Kennedy Funeral

While Cardinal Sean O'Malley and Fr. Thomas Rosica ripped into Catholics who dared to criticize the Kennedy funeral which not only scandalized by honoring, no - nearly canonizing, the roaring lion of death but also included numerous liturgical abuses, one good bishop supports faithful laity. Bishop Rene Gracida, bishop emeritus of Corpus Christi, TX posted several thoughtful statements on his blog as well as a number of great articles from others. His words encourage the laity to continue fighting to uphold Catholic truth.

Thank you, Bishop Gracida, for being a beacon of light in the dark which is particularly black in many dioceses around the country where the shepherds are hiding their lights under a bushel basket in a closet in the basement. Thank you for being a true teacher who exhorts us to be soldiers of Christ in the Church Militant not burger flippers at the Church picnic.

THE SCANDAL OF THE EDWARD MOORE KENNEDY FUNERAL IN BOSTON

WHAT A DIFFERENCE IT WOULD MAKE IF TED KENNEDY HAD RECANTED HIS DISSENT FROM CHURCH TEACHINGS

THE SCANDAL OF THE TED KENNEDY FUNERAL, REVISITED – HOPEFULLY FOR THE LAST TIME

Bishop Gracida reacts to Fr. Newman's letter with "admiration and awe"

A number of Church leaders have chimed in on the action taken by Fr. Jay Scott Newman in warning his parishioners of the spiritual danger of voting for pro-abortion politiicans. LifeSiteNews reports on reactions including this one from retired bishop of Corpus Christi, Rene Gracida.

"Bishop Emeritus Rene Henry Gracida of Corpus Christi, TX, told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) his reaction to Fr. Newman's letter 'is one of admiration and awe. I find nothing in what he has written that is at variance with the Magisterium of the Church. He is to be congratulated.'"

Thank you, Bishop Gracida. Let us pray for all those priests with the courage to speak the truth in love to save the flock from destruction for "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul in the process."

Listen to another good priest, Fr. Paul Weinberger, preach on abortion and pro-abortion politicians.