To Teach the Children

 

Today is the feast day (in the traditional calendar) of St. Jean Baptiste De La Salle, founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and patron saint of teachers. He founded free schools for the poor and teachers institutes to train those who would form the minds and hearts of little ones. His apostolate, like that of St. John Bosco later, was often attacked, especially by those who thought the poor should be raised only in trades and manual labor. His congregation focused on "lay" brothers who were not going to be priests, but whose work was to be in the classroom. 

Archbishop Cordileone Sends in the Cavalry!

The attack on Archbishop Cordileone for daring to uphold Catholic teaching in his schools and for supporting Fr. Joseph Illo's decision to use only altar boys continues. What's the archbishop's latest response? He's sending in the cavalry -- another orthodox priest to run Star of the Sea School and support his brother priests.

Three cheers for the archbishop! 

Five Pinocchios and two thumbs down to all the liars attacking him and calling for his removal. Join the "waves of global support" by sending a message to the Archbishop. We need to thank and encourage the heroes among the clergy. Those with the heart of a lion willing to enter the coliseum and face the ravening beasts are few and far between. Please support the ones who do. 

Church Mice Roar to Defend Archbishop Cordileone from the Dissenters' Snare!

The Church Mouse That Roared!

The "progressive" Catholic elite who hate Church doctrine might want to get their claws into Archbishop Cordileone, but their efforts appear to be backfiring. While 100 prominent, dissenting Catholics signed a full page ad in the San Francisco Chronicle stabbing the archbishop with their long knives and calling for his removal, a poll at SFGate found 86% supporting the archbishop. (The number of voters isn't revealed.)

VOTE NOW TO SUPPORT THE ARCHBISHOP!

What's particularly exciting is that faithful Catholics are organizing an Archbishop Cordileone Support Day Family Picnic at a popular park. The Missionaries of Charity are providing games for the children. There will be a mariachi band, a puppet show, and a bounce house. Attendees are urged to wear blue (for the Blessed Mother?) as a sign of solidarity. The group is providing drinks and asking families to bring their own picnic lunch. Videographers will be on hand to record messages of support for the archbishop or families can pen written messages instead.

What an exciting event! Makes me (almost) wish I lived on the West Coast.

Thank God for the wonderful Catholics who used evil to create an opportunity for good (just like our Blessed Lord does).

Pray for the success of this event and please sign their support petition!

Remember the fable about the mouse and the lion? The lion releases the little mouse when he begs for mercy and the mouse promises to help the lion sometime in the future? The lion laughs. What could a mouse possibly do for a lion? But when the lion is caught in the hunter's net, it is the little mouse who comes to the rescue gnawing the cords that ensnare the lion. Well...the mice are gnawing the snare set by the dissenters. Let us pray that the park is so full of "mice" on May 16th that the whole world hears their roar!

DON'T FORGET TO SIGN THE SUPPORT PETITION!

This Looks Promising...

Note at the end of the video the offer to review it risk free. This looks like CCD program that might be worth offering for teens. I hope many directors of religious ed will take a look at it.

Loyola Marymount: Flipping Off the Faith!

Finalists for Loyola Marymount dean both worked at Planned Parenthood

Jesuit universities, sadly, are all too predictable when it comes to flipping off the faith. That LMU would choose two candidates immersed in the culture of death as finalists for dean is horrifying but not surprising. Why would Catholic parents shell out $40,000+ per year to have their children scandalized and their faith undermined? Many probably aren't. Lots of Catholic schools these days have watered down the faith to pacify the large number of secular students in their ranks. But why would any parents want to promote the garbage at LMU? All parents who underwrite this school need their heads examined. And if you need more evidence of LMU's apostasy check out these links:

Threats to LMU's Catholic Identity

Presentation of 8, a play promoting same-sex "marriage" (N.B. read more about "8" which centers on the overturning of Proposition 8 in California, the law that protected traditional marriage. The play is sponsored by homosexual activist organizations.)

2008 Art Exhibit on "Dissent" The artilce on the LMU website described it thus:

Certain works in the show examine gender issues and question mainstream media’s relentless reinforcement of rigid ideas of what it means to be masculine or feminine. Other pieces call for Black empowerment or challenge the many labels—ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality—used to pigeonhole people in our society today.(Is it any wonder Catholics mirror their secular brethren on issues like same sex "marriage" and "gender issues?")

Fr. Thomas Rausch, Professor of Theology at LMU. 

Time to Resurrect the Inquisition?

When you read what some Catholic universities are doing these days, it's hard not to pine for the good old days when Torquemada took a firm hand with heretics. He wouldn't have a hard time finding them today - just visit most Jesuit schools. Here's one example, Santa Clara, that recently hosted a "Rainbow Prom" to shill for same-sex marriage. The U.S. bishops may be defending traditional marriage, but this Jesuit school essentially says...well...I can't say it because I'm a lady. 

And then there's Gonzaga University, another Jesuit school, with a history of providing a platform to liberal speakers at its Flannery Lecture Series. No orthodox professors need apply. Among the featured heretics are the infamous Charlie Curran who led the rebellion against Humanae Vitae and may no longer teach as a Catholic theologian. Proponents of same-sex marriage are regularly welcomed including Father Bryan Massingale from Marquette and Michael Himes from Boston College (both Jesuit schools). Himes has reportedly said, “If it is true that there are people who are irretrievably homosexual, then it is vicious to tell them they can’t get married. To tell someone they have to be celibate is absolutely mad.” Wow! Anal sex good -- celibacy bad! This is Catholic?

Pope Francis and Notre Dame

So...what does the pope really think of Notre Dame? Is there any hope for Catholic higher education in the U.S. outside of a handful of orthodox colleges and universities?

Good News for Notre Dame, Bad News for Georgetown

A respected government professor is leaving Georgetown for Notre Dame primarily because of Georgetown's abandonment of its Catholic identity. Well, we all know what Georgetown has become: a politically correct secular institution. This is just one more indication. Sad, but good news for Notre Dame.

Why I Am Leaving Georgetown

Kudos to Catholic University for a Common Sense Policy!

Catholic University is reinstating men and women's dorms. Let's hear it for common sense! They are already being threatened with a lawsuit. Common sense these days is so foreign it must be attacked in court.

I remember the first time we visited our daughter at UVA where she lived in a co-ed dorm with single sex floors (only choice). It was a Saturday morning and as we walked down the hall to her room we passed a guy in his boxers coming out of one of the girl's dorm rooms heading to the girls' bathroom. Did I mention the reek of vomit as we entered the building? No wonder UVA had a rep as a "party school," orgy school would have been more accurate from our observation. Our son, who joined his sister two years later, ended up with a roommate who woke him up one night humping his girl friend across the room. When he called us about it distraught, he begged me not to contact the school. I acquiesced and told him to let his roommate know if it happened again he would turn on the lights, open the door, and tell his roommate he was going to sell tickets.

College administrators used to take seriously their role in loco parentis. They established policies for the protection of their students. Dorms had rules. Opposite sexes were restricted to the public portions of the dorms. Students had to sign in and out from campus so their whereabouts were known. If someone didn't return by curfew, somebody was concerned and looking for them. Now, young people, who may never have been away from home, before are considered instant adults with no supervision because they happen to be in college. And many become casualties of the license (which they call "freedom") they are not ready to handle.

So kudos to Catholic University. I haven't dropped a nickle in the annual diocesan collection for years. Maybe this year, with cautious optimism, I'll write a check.

"Most Outcast" Members of Catholic School are Catholics!

St. Mary's College of California graduating senior, Michael Bruer, writing at The Collegian On-Line describes his experiences as a Catholic on campus. Like so many self-identified "Catholic" colleges, St. Mary's is anything but. And as Bruer states, the "most outcast members of the school are the Catholic students, professors, and faculty."

Now why would any serious Catholic parent pay to send a child there?

 Editorial: My years at Saint Mary's College

Catholic Schools for Scandal: Trinity D.C. is one of them

Is there any common ground between the largest abortion killer in the world, Planned Parenthood and the Catholic Church? Hell no! And I mean that literally. Is there any common ground between heaven and hell?

And yet the Cardinal Newman Society has found over 150 so called Catholic schools partnering with Planned Parenthood, one of the most diabolical organizations on the planet. Not included in the Newman list is my own college (now university), Trinity in Washington, D.C. Perhaps they haven't had any internships at Planned Parenthood though it wouldn't surprise me. While Trinity may not be on the Newman list, they deserve exposure as an unfaithful Catholic school. So I'll include some data to warn Catholic parents who may consider sending their girls to this "Catholic" school.

Ave Maria University Gets a New President

Pray for Ave Maria University. We need faithful Catholic schools, but it's been a rocky ride in Florida according to a local resident and reporter. See her take on the new president and the state of the school.  I've always thought that monstrosity of a church, designed by Tom Monaghan, looks like an upside down boat, not a particularly inspiring visual for a community that supports the bark of Peter.

Pray for Students: Most College Campuses are the Devil's Workshop

Yesterday while marching I had a conversation with a gentleman, a Catholic from Baltimore, carrying a little boy on his shoulders. I commented on the number of young people at the march and the danger of them being perverted when they go to college. He agreed. Yes, sad to say, colleges today are hell holes where student dorms are more like brothels than homes and classrooms are indoctrination centers for liberalism and relativism. And they've been that way for a long time. I could tell some dicey stories from my oldest two's experience of dorm life at the University of VA! Even most Catholic colleges scandalize students and lead them down the "primrose path of dalliance."

One example: Next month The V-Monologues will be produced on many college campuses leading students to grunt and groan in simulated sex and fill their minds with filthy images under the masquerade of fighting violence against women. How a play that glorifies lesbian seduction can be seen as non-violent is beyond me. The play is about making young women animals in heat -- for each other. Psychological and spiritual violence can be more deadly than the physical kind. A soul alienated from God is a sad thing. (Read Dr. Faustus.)

The Cardinal Newman Society which addresses the problems on Catholic campuses solicits prayer warriors to support them in their battle to restore the faith on campuses darkened by the secular world's fascination with depravity. Go here to sign up and offer prayers and encouragement for their work. If you can make a donation all the better.  Pray for our young people. Those who embrace the culture of death mostly don't have children; they want yours. Don't make it easy for them!

The Death of Catholic Parochial Education in Boston and the Message of Akita

If Boston area laymen are correct, real Catholic education is dead in the Catholic archdiocese with the imminent release of a policy mandating the admittance of children of same sex parents. The most recent draft of the Diocesan policy available is dated September 16th. It mandates non-discrimination: "We do not discriminate against or exclude any categories of students." If this draft policy is close to the one adopted, the scandal will be severe. One local Boston blog itemized the problems of the policy in this list:

1. Identity and Purpose of Catholic Education is Never Stated


2. Cardinal O’Malley’s Direction of Non-Discrimination is Flawed

3. Issues of Partnering with Gay Parents are Ignored

4. Protecting Innocence of Children is Impossible

5. Inherent Contradiction: Catholic School Education for Kids of Gay Parents is Ignored

6. Policy Mandates Implicit or explicit recognition of the gay/lesbian relationship as valid

7. Policy Creates Scandal of Giving Implicit Recognition to Gay Partnerships

8. Policy Creates Slippery Slope for Future Undermining of Catholic Identity

9. Policy Enables False Compassion on the Sinner

10. Use of Holy Father’s Quote is Deceptive

11. Draft Policy Violates Principle of Subsidiarity

If, in fact, the blogger is correct and the policy is implemented Cardinal O'Malley has recognized by implication the legitimacy of gay "marriage" and ordered pastors, principals, teachers, band directors, janitors, etc. to play along. The policy itself doesn't say one word about gay parenting. It doesn't have to. The controversy grew out of a pastor refusing admittance to the child of lesbian "parents." The pastors will be instructed and, once gay students begin attending, silence will be imposed out of fear of lawsuits.

The policy claims that Catholic teaching will be upheld. Nonsense! Can you imagine homosexuals tolerating the school teaching that their relationships are immoral and sinful? What are the practical implications when same-sex parents attend school events and parent-teacher conferences? Will anyone say a word if they are holding hands or meet and greet after school with a kiss on the mouth? Is anyone going to challenge the parents for their immoral lifestyle? Can anyone imagine a teacher saying a word of criticism about a situation that they've been mandated to accept? How about other parents? What happens to the Catholic identity of the school when the homosexual parents are heading committees and even running for PTO president?

No one wants to see children harmed, but the children living with same sex "parents" are already in harm's way by living in perverted situations. The children are further harmed by being put in a situation of conflict in school where, if the truth is told, they are constantly confronted with choosing between the truth or their parents. Children love their families no matter how dysfunctional. To put them in a continual situation of stress sounds to me like a recipe for psychological disaster.

So is the alternative for everyone from the principal to the parents to accept and be silent? That's the likely outcome, but it's hard to claim it has no consequences. In fact, it hurts everyone. The entire school must live the lie that homosexuality and homosexual parenting is normal and good and must be respected. Anyone who refuses to play the game and confronts the situation will be accused of homophobia and bullying. Unfortunately, most Catholics today, raised with almost no understanding of the faith, would probably accept the situation without batting an eye. Tolerance of everything, except intolerance, is the modern mantra.

Children are the most innocent victims of the gay lifestyle. You see them at gay pride parades exposed to all kinds of perversion including men masturbating in the streets. You see them shouting profanities on gay YouTube videos. There are many who exploit children for their own perverse purposes. Gays use children to pretend their playing house is real.

At Akita, an approved apparition, Our Lady told Sr. Agnes Sasagawa that a time would come when bishop would fight against bishop and cardinal against cardinal:

The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against other bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres (other priests). Churches and altars will be sacked. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.

We have already seen too much of this prophecy fulfilled. Another part of it offers a terrifying warning:

if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never have seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and the priests.

Must we see this part of the prophecy fulfilled before we wake up? I pray not, but the actions of so many of our bishops are leading us to disaster. They appear to have no faith in or fear of God. Those of us who do must do all we can through prayer and penance to hold back the wrath the world so richly deserves. I'm saying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy tonight as my bedtime prayer.

Jesuits at Georgetown Considering "Gender Blind" Housing

Now we all know that Jesuits have a hard time speaking ordinary English since they adopted the language of political correctness, so you may be confused at the phrase "gender blind" housing. Let me translate for you. It means putting students together regardless of sex.* So a pretty 18-year-old Freshman girl could pair up with her 18-year-old boyfriend. Or two self-idenfied LGBT students could room together. What a thought! And for this, parents spend almost $40,000 a year plus room and board? Here's what the Newman Society is reporting:

According to The Hoya, Jesuit Georgetown University’s student newspaper, officials at the University have said they are willing to broach the topic of “gender-blind housing,” which would “not take into account gender when assigning housing to students.”

This past Sunday, Georgetown student senators voted to “take a closer look” at this suggestion for on-campus housing, the article reported, which “could lead to a more accepting atmosphere for LGBTQ students.”

Regarding the proposal, Todd Olsen, Vice President for Student Affairs, reportedly told The Hoya, “I am open to discussing ideas and interests with students as they pursue this dialogue.”

Georgetown should be stripped of its Catholic identity. It is actually less Catholic than most secular univesities. I suspect Fulton Sheen was thinking of Georgetown when he said parents should send their children to secular schools where they would have to fight for the faith rather than so-called Catholic schools where their faith would be taken from them. There are plenty of those around these days. And their graduates are exiting the Church in droves. Jesuit schools are especially adept at destroying the faith. Congrats, guys!

*I refuse to use the term "gender" which traditionally is used in grammar to identify masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns to determine the form of adjectives. For example, the the French word for window, fenetre, is feminine taking the feminine article "la" vs. the masculine "le". 

Redirect CCHD Money to Catholic Schools!

I received an email letter today that I've printed below and it gave me an idea. Without a good education, many are condemned to lifelong poverty. So instead of putting money in the collection basket this week for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, donate instead to a faithful Catholic school serving the poor. If we really want to end poverty (the stated goal of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development), educating the children of the poor is a powerful way to do it.

Not a penny to community organizers - every cent to grants to make Catholic schools affordable for the poor. In inner cities Catholic schools are often the only alternative to failing public schools that put out functional illiterates. The $200 million dished out over the past 40 years by CCHD and funnelled into community organizing groups like ACORN was often spent to undermine Catholic teaching. Think of the impact if that money had instead been used to educate young people to be the future leaders in their communities as well as exposing them to the truths of the Catholic faith. 

And now the letter:

To whom it may concern,



I attended a meeting on Monday evening with about a couple of hundred others including Mayor Amicone, Councilwoman Gronowski, Councilman Murtagh among others. This meeting concerned the designation by the Archdioces of NY of Christ the King,school, Yonkers (along with St. Bartholemew and St. Mary locally) as "At Risk" of closing due to the Archdiocese possibly ending subsidy.


The Catholic Church has a three fold mandate from it's Founder, Jesus Christ, to teach, to govern and to sanctify. Clearly, the idea of closing schools in order to strengthen them is Newspeak and has no foundation in reality. One of the questions that evening was "Where is the money from the Cardinal's Appeal? If it went to the needy-tell them we need it!"


Those funds may be long gone, however this Sunday(Nov 21st) the Church will ask everyone to contribute in a second collection to something called the "Catholic Campaign for Human Development"or CCHD. Ostensibly this money is for the poor. However, it's real purpose is funding Socialist community orginizations which "empower" people to revolution along a path developed by Saul Alinsky who dedicated a book to "that first revolutionary -Lucifer!"


I would ask you to print or publicize this letter in the hopes that those who read it shall refrain from the second collection for the CCHD and instead send the money they would have donated to one of the above mentioned "At Risk" schools. Kindly make it clear that the money you send is marked "for the school".


Thank you in advance,


Denis Giannelli


The Fr. Fahey Institute


Yonkers

Archbishop Chaput discusses the case in Boulder of the lesbian couple with children in school

Catholic schools: Partners in faith with parents
by Archbishop Charles Chaput
Denver news media have reported in recent days on the case of two children of a lesbian couple in Boulder. The couple was informed by Sacred Heart of Jesus parish school that the older child, whom they were enrolling in kindergarten for next year, would be allowed to attend kindergarten but would not be able to continue into first grade the year after. Their younger child would be welcome to finish preschool, but not continue into kindergarten. Many have wondered why. Sacred Heart of Jesus parish has borne the difficult publicity surrounding this issue, but archdiocesan policy was followed faithfully in this matter, and the policy applies to all Archdiocese of Denver schools. (Read complete column....)

Education Week in the Church Calendar

The saints this week seem to draw our attention to the search for wisdom. Sunday showed us the three wise men who bowed to the infant savior. They looked for him first in the palace of King Herod, but weren't too high and mighty to bend the knee before the baby enthroned in a feedbox for animals. What does that tell us about wisdom? It's humble.

My favorite pictures of the three kings illustrates an elderly king, crown removed, kneeling and kissing the Christ Child's foot as if to say, like St. John the Baptist, "I am unworthy to go higher than the sole of his foot." We grow in wisdom through humility.

Then on Monday and Tuesday the Church sets before us St. Elizabeth Seton and St. John Neumann, pioneers of Catholic education, especially for the poor. Education in the faith is crucial, these saints show us, to grow in wisdome and holiness in imitation of Christ. Then tomorrow we are brought back to humility with the optional memorial of Bl. Andre Bessette, a humble brother who could barely read or write. He was the doorkeeper for 40 years at the College of Notre Dame and then at St. Joseph Oratory in Montreal for the rest of his life. He was so sought after for spiritual counsel that he was assigned secretaries to help him answer his correspondence. This teaches us that education is not primarily a matter of degrees, but of humility of heart. The charwoman who cleans the college offices may be theologically smarter than the apostate head of a Theology Department or the Catholic Theological Society.

St. Raymond of Penafort is the final saint for the week. He was a brilliant Dominican priest who was an authority in canon law and a college professor. At the time, the writings on canon law were confusing and contradictory. St. Raymond's work was so clear that the pope declared in a papal bull that they should be the only ones taught in the schools. (Doesn't this remind you of the battle in catechesis with the coloring books published by Benziger and Sadlier with the marshmallow Jesus who taught about luv, without doctrine?) It was at the suggestion of St. Raymond that Thomas Aquinas wrote the Summa Contra Gentiles.

With all these wonderful saints, this week is a great one to contemplate the importance of Catholic education and to remember that fear of the Lord (being humble before God) is the beginning of wisdom. These saints had different talents, but they used them to advance the knowledge and understanding of the faith. Wouldn't they be great friends to take into final examinations?

Is Ave Maria University Crazy?

We need every faithful Catholic college we can get. But there's one relatively new school that seems ever bent on demolishing itself. They've fired Fr. Fessio again because of a private conversation he had with the former head of the board last November. Are they nuts? Or is this just one more example of MCF (Management-by-Control-Freaks)?

Pray for Ave Maria, especially that the administration will imitate the woman for whom the university is named. Maybe they need to "ponder" a little in their hearts as she did before making stupid decisions!

In the Wake of Obama at Notre Dame

Sunday, May 17, 2009, fifteen members of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society (CPLS) were arrested when they entered the parking lot of the Joyce Center on the campus of the University of Notre Dame where the commencement took place. Twenty-five CPLS members actually entered the parking lot of the Joyce Center, carrying photographs of victims of abortion. These were aborted babies who bodies were retrieved from trash dumpsters behind two Michigan abortion clinics in 2008. Read more here...

Fr. Jenkins, Notre Dame betrayed true goal of Catholic education, archbishop Chaput says "We also have the duty to oppose him when he’s wrong on foundational issues like abortion, embryonic stem cell research and similar matters. And we also have the duty to avoid prostituting our Catholic identity by appeals to phony dialogue that mask an abdication of our moral witness. Notre Dame did not merely invite the president to speak at its commencement. It also conferred an unnecessary and unearned honorary law degree on a man committed to upholding one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in our nation’s history."

Obama Scored Big at Notre Dame (Wall Street Journal) "We cannot blame the president for this one. During his campaign for president, Mr. Obama spoke honestly about the aggressive pro-choice agenda he intended to pursue -- as he assured Planned Parenthood, he was 'about playing offense,' not defense -- and his actions have been consistent with that pledge. If only our nation's premier Catholic university were as forthright in advancing its principles as Mr. Obama has been for his."

Dr. Obama of Notre Dame: ‘Irreconcilable Views’ call for a New Catholic Action

ND rally celebrates graduates, praises 'sanctity of life'

Bishop Finn Interviewed on Notre Dame Commencement "We’re fighting for our lives – literally. We are attempting to protect real unborn children by the thousands. We’re fighting for the right to exercise a rightly-formed conscientious difference with public policy. We shouldn’t underestimate the danger of dragging our feet in this effort, or taking a “wait and see” approach. If we are not ready to make a frontal attack on the protection of conscience rights, the overturning of Roe v’ Wade, and the primacy of authentic marriage, we will lose in these areas. I think the rug is already being pulled out from under us. If we sit back and allow ourselves to be lulled into a false sense of peace and cooperation in regards to these things, then we will lose these battles and, later, wonder why."

The Clash between Catholic Culture and Catholic Colleges "If Notre Dame is shaky--if the most identifiably Catholic place in America doesn't seem Catholic--then the old connection between Catholic culture and Catholic institutions and the Catholic Church really is broken beyond repair."