More Bad New from the Amazon Synod Files

Do you know the players at the Amazon Synod? We've already presented many of them in the Topsy and Tuptim discussions about the synod. But now we have more. Last Saturday the Vatican released a list of 22 participants personally chosen by the pope. SURPISE! They are mostly shills for abortion, contraception, and the "gay" lifestyle. Have you connected the dots yet with this pope?

Below is an article announcing the names. I plan to do some research on each one of the men below and will be listing it in the comments section. So keep an eye out for what's coming next.

Miscellaneous Meanderings from a Wandering Mind

My mind has been wandering all over the planet since I got up at 6:45 -- to Canada...to the Amazon rain forest...to Nashville and the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Wheeling...to Kazakhstan...Whew! I'm tired already.

Here are just a few miscellaneous meanderings from my wandering mind.

From Canada: We still have heroes among us and it's good to remember them when we are tempted to abandon hope. Remember, all discouragement comes from the devil. No matter how bleak things look, God is sending us prophets. One of them is Mary Wagner. Please pray for her and those whose lives she touches, both inside and outside of jail.

Topsy and Tuptim Hear a Voice in the Wilderness: Is Anyone Listening?

Bishop Athanasius Schneider

Topsy knocks on Tuptim's back door and enters carrying a take-out box with coffee and bagels.

Topsy: (Putting the goodies down on the kitchen table she gives her friend a good morning hug.) I just had to come by so we can discuss Bishop Schneider's statement on the Instrumentum Laboris (IL) for the Amazon synod. He reminds me of John the Baptist calling out "that fox" Herod.

Tuptim: (Ruefully) We sure have a lot of Herod look-alikes among the clergy today, a bunch of foxy-locksies aiming to gobble up the gingerbread people in the pews.

Topsy: Thank God for the remnant of faithful men like Bishop Schneider. We can always count on him to speak the truth! And we sure have plenty of Herods. I sure hope he doesn't get his head cut off.

Tuptim: Or his tongue cut out! (Spreading cream cheese on a bagle half) These look good. You know, I'm so sick of propaganda. The false voices from wicked bishops like Erwin Kräutler, need a response.

Thirteen New Cardinals: Bad Luck for the Church?

As soon as I heart Pope Francis was raising thirteen prelates to cardinal, my heart sank. Is this the Church version of "stacking the court?" Most of them will be able to vote in the next conclave and the clear majority will be Francis appointees. So what kind of men are they?

Topsy and Tuptim Wrap Up their Synod Study with Prayers to Our Lady of Good Success

Arriving at Natural Bridge, Topsy and Tuptim take the picnic lunch out of the car, pick up drinks at the snack bar, and go down to the path where they find a bench in the shade. Nearby is a simulated Monacan Indian village.

Topsy and Tuptim Ask if the Synod is a Bridge Too Far!

The Shenandoah Valley seen from Int. 81

Topsy and Tuptim travel to Natural Bridge and Safari Land to celebrate the twenty year anniversary of their friendship and finish reflecting on the Pan-Amazon Instrumentum Laboris. On the ride down, Route 81 they begin by discussing Part 3, chapter 4.

Tuptim: (Who's driving...) Did you know that Interstate 81 has a reputation as one of the most scenic interstates in the country? I love the Shenandoah Valley! It's so pastoral with all the farmland...and the mountains on either side. This year, with all the rain everything is sooooo green. Oh...look at the sheep. Aren't they sweet?

The War on Men in the Church: Where have all the Young Men Gone?

Where have all the young men gone?
Certainly not to the Knights of Columbus!

Remember the anti-war song, Where Have All the Flowers Gone? I read an article at Crisis Magazine this morning, No Parish for Real Men, that made me think of it and the war in the Church.

The song asks, "Where have all the young men gone?" Catholics could well ask that question of their bishops. The attack on the faith doesn't just involve an attack on doctrine, the liturgy, reverence, etc. It's an attack on manhood.

In my own parish, most of the lectors, cantors, and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist are women. We don't have altar girls, thank God, but adult men seem to have disappeared from most parish roles outside the Knights of Columbus. And even that organization looks more and more like a refuge for the geriatric set. In Europe the pews are empty except for old women fingering their rosaries. Thank God for grandmothers, but our boys need male role models vigorously defending the faith. There's a man crisis in the Church and that translates to a Catholic crisis in the family. [Read more here.]

Topsy and Tuptim Discuss the Synod's "New Signs" and "New Flesh" over Lunch

Tuptim: What a great idea to stop at the Wood Grill before going home from your eye exam. 

They sit down and order their drinks then go to the various food stations. 

Topsy: I enjoy this place a lot. Most buffets are low quality but everything here is so fresh. I always have a hard time choosing from the wide variety.

Tuptim: (Laughing...) Yeah, it makes me think of "diversity," another one of those buzz words. I wonder if they practice integral ecology where they grow all the veggies. And we can celebrate all the cultures here because they have Mexican food, American, Chinese, Greek, Thai, you name it!

Topsy and Tuptim Start Part 3 of the Synod Working Document at the Opthalmologist's Office

Topsy and Tuptim sit in the opthalmologist's waiting room.

Topsy: Thanks for driving me. I have a terrible time seeing when they dilate my pupils. All this studying the document has done a number on my eyes. Last night while I was reading Part 3 everything went blurry. Thank God I was almost finished. I just needed to review a few footnotes from the last chapter. But the page looked like the Russian alphabet. I think I probably need a stronger prescription.

Tuptim: (Sarcastically...) Gosh, do you think the Russians are colluding in the synod and conspired to make your eyesight deteriorate so we couldn't finish critiquing the working doc?

Topsy: (Laughing...) No... it was the Germans in collusion with the South American liberation theology gurus.

Topsy and Tuptim Discuss the Synod Doc as a Propaganda Piece Outside the Washington Post

Washington Post building on K Street

Tuptim: It's kind of appropriate that we're sitting at an outside cafe near the Washington Post building. I always call it Pravda East! Did you know that K St. is a big center for lobbyists?

Topsy: Really?

Tuptim: Yup! When Mitt Romney was running for president, he called K Street the center of "influence peddling." What better place to talk about the Amazon synod. Influence peddling... that's what it's all about -- peddling the influence of the (making quote sign with her fingers) "progressive" wing of the Church.

Topsy: (Rollling her eyes...) Hmm...You mean the heretic wing!

Why I'm Not Contributing to the Topsy and Tuptim Posts: the Instrumentum Laboris Has Driven Me Crazy

Going indigenous means no tan lines.

FYI - Mary Ann is Topsy and I'm Tuptim (T&T) and it used to be that I'd contribute a bit in writing the T&T posts. I had spoken to Mary Ann and we agreed that I'd also read the Pan-Amazon Synod Instrumentum Laboris and send her my remarks however it didn't turn out that way. As I finished Part I, Chapter 2, she was far ahead with Chapter 4 already posted. I just couldn't keep up with her. 

But another thing happened - a very weird thing where I couldn't control my mind. Instead of being upset at what the document was telling me, my mind kept showing me hilarious images of what was leaping from the page into it, preparing me to "go indigenous". Cast off all the shackles and "go native", free at last. Playalinda Beach here I come! 

Reading Part 2 of the Amazon Doc: Topsy and Tuptim Bewail Bureaucrat Bishops who Act Like Politicians

The crypt church at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Topsy and Tuptim attend noon Mass in the crypt Church at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in D.C. It's the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene and after Mass they pray the rosary together asking St. Mary to intercede for the protection of Holy Mother Church. Finishing their prayers, they go out into the lower lobby and visit the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes to light candles, they continue conversing as they walk over to the shrine cafeteria, get lunch, and select a table.

Tuptim: Things are in such a mess. We sure need the help of Our Blessed Mother to clean things up and give us bishops who are real shepherds who will protect the family of the Church!

Topsy and Tuptim Take Time Out to Examine the Amazon Synod Team and its Game Plan

Topsy and Tuptim meet in the bleachers at the local high school to watch Topsy's grandson try out for the football team.

Topsy: (Giving the football time out sign...) I think this is a good place to talk about the team planning the Amazon Synod. If you ask me, the synod was designed to be a game-changer and the players aren't even hiding it any more. Let's pause for some background. I've been thinking about the "coaches" on the synod and their "playbook." With my suspicious mind I'm going to make some observations.

Tuptim: I have some too. Why don't you start.

Topsy and Tuptim Read Part 2 Chapter 1 of the Instrumentum Laboris and Plan to Send Pope Francis a Chicken Little Hat.

Add caption

The library meeting room has nothing scheduled so Topsy and Tuptim spread out and make themselves comfortable at the conference table. Tuptim disappears and comes back with two steaming cups of coffee.

Tuptim: I volunteer here so I have coffee privileges. The gal who does the coffee actually buys a good brand of Columbian dark roast. You'll like it.

Topsy: (smiling) Even if I do ruin it with cream?

Tuptim: (shrugs, sits, and turns to Part II of the document.) I had to shake my head when I looked at the Table of Contents for Part 2 and saw how long it is -- NINE CHAPTERS! That's more than twice as long as Part 1. And then there's Part 3. This thing isn't a sprint; it's a marathon!

Topsy and Tuptim Meet at Chik-Fil-A to "Dialogue" on Chapter 4's "New Paths to Dialogue"

Synod Dialogue!

Topsy and Tuptim meet in the Chik-Fil-A parking lot and walk toward the building together.

Tuptim: Wow! It's great to see you again, Topsy. I missed you. How was the reunion?

Topsy: (laughing) I was only gone five days. The reunion was great! I met some of my husband's relatives for the first time and what a testimony to family! There must have been 200 people there! We were celebrating the reconnection with a young man given up for adoption 53 years ago! It meant a lot to me because my own mom was adopted and we never knew anything about her family. Those were the days when adoptions were closed. Maybe someday one of these DNA ancestry groups will bring a re-connection to my mom's family of origin. That would be exciting!

(They enter the building.)

Green Agenda - The Real Reason St Peter's Bones Were Given to the Eastern Orthodox

In her book RELICS Joan Carroll Cruz writes that the bones of St Peter, Prince of the Apostles, lie under the altar of St Peter's Basilica. In 1968 his bones "were examined geologically and anatomically and were found to have been the bones of a large man who lived in the first century." Additionally, St Peter's feet are missing. Since he was crucified upside down, the soldiers, to make it easier to remove the body from the cross, hacked off St Peter's feet instead of removing the nails. 

Nine of St Peter's bones from his 2,000 year-old grave were put in a reliquary and kept in the Chapel of the Apostolic Palace. It was this reliquary, containing those nine bones, that Pope Francis took on June 29th, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, and gave to Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople - or as it is called today by its Islamic name, Istanbul.

Wherein Topsy and Tuptim discuss Chapter 3 of the Synod Working Document and Expose the Dissenting Bishop Behind It

Bishop Erwin Kräutler, primary
author of synod working doc.

It's such a beautiful afternoon that Tupsy and Tuptim meet at the pool with some of their grandchildren and stake out a picnic table under the trees to study chapter 3 of  the Instrumentum Laboris for the Amazon synod. Topsy opens her cooler and takes out water bottles, a plastic container filled with apple slices, and a big bag of chips. She puts them them at the end of the table. And piles a stack of towels on the bench.

Topsy: The kids will be running back and forth for snacks. This will make it easy for them while we study the document. I decided not to bring any of the little ones so we wouldn't have to worry about doing lifeguard duty.

Tuptim: Great day to be outside. Not too hot and not too humid. (Looking up) Thanks, Lord!

Topsy: Amen to that! Oh...before we start I've been doing some research on the bishop behind the working document. It's always helpful to know the players. Do you remember the controversy over Always Our Children here in the U.S. about homosexuality?

Are Malaria-Carrying Mosquitoes Beautiful? Topsy and Tuptim Study Chapter 2 of the Instrumentum Laboris

The Congo peacock is nothing like its beautiful
cousins, the green and Indian peacocks. 

Tuptim: (Knocks at Topsy's kitchen door and comes in). Hey, Topsy. (Holds up a bottle of merlot.) Since we're meeting in the afternoon I brought some red wine. I thought we could use something a little stronger than coffee to get through Chapter 2.

Topsy: (putting a plate of crackers and cream cheese covered with chutney on the table.) Good call! I'll get the glasses. (She reaches in the cupboard and brings out two wine glasses. One has a gold peacock on it and the other has a pink chateau.) I love to pick up a glass when we go to a vineyard. Individual glasses are better than wine charms. Here, you can be the peacock.

Tuptim: (admires her glass) Do you think they have peacocks in the Amazon?

"Life, Territory, Time and Dialogue": Topsy and Tuptim Discuss Chapter I of the Amazon Working Doc

The Amazon River Basin

Tuptim welcomes Topsy who settles in at the kitchen table with her notebook and highlighted copy of the working document. Tuptim sets a steaming cup of coffee in front of her friend with a little pitcher of cream.

Tuptim: I never understand why you want to ruin a good cup of coffee by putting in cream!

Topsy: (smiling) Hey, I like it that way. Different strokes for different folks. (Takes a sip.) Mmm, this is good.

Tuptim: It's fair trade coffee from the Amazon basin of South America. I thought that would put us in the mood for talking about the synod document. (She sits at the table and flips over a page on her stapled copy of the document.) I got this off the Vatican website. I love having access to all encyclicals, exhortations, etc. (pauses) So... what did you think about chapter 1?

Topsy and Tuptim Read the Working Document for the Pan-Amazon Synod: Introduction

Yes, there really are purple frogs!

Topsy and Tuptim meet at a local vineyard with notebooks, highlighters, and pens at the ready to study the Instrumentum Laboris for the Pan-Amazon Synod. Topsy orders a bottle of merlot at the counter and a plate of cheese and crackers and carries them to the table.

Topsy: Since you're a red wine girl you should enjoy this merlot and aren't the glasses cute with the purple toad? I wonder if they have purple toads in the Amazon? 

Tuptim: Funny you should say that. I've been studying up on the rain forest since I heard about the synod. They have all kinds of incredible species including poison dart frogs. I think the synod will bring its own version of poison to the faith and the poor people of the Amazon. (Rolling her eyes) After all, God wills different religions, even paganism presumably. But maybe I'm just being a pessimist. Let's take a look at the doc and see.