The Goal of the Synodal Takeover of the Church Is the Corruption of Priests! Thank God for the SSPX!

Remember Good-Bye Good Men, Michael Rose's book about the attack on orthodox men aspiring to the priesthood? Corrupt seminaries welcoming homosexuals bearing nicknames like The Pink Palace (St. Mary's in Baltimore) had gatekeepers to make sure only those who supported women's ordination, homosexuality, changes in moral teaching on sexuality, etc. were accepted. Those "rigid" Catholics, men who loved the faith as taught over the millennia, were blacklisted, excluded, and expelled especially if they had the temerity to tell seminary rectors about being approached by their gay classmates. Actually, sometimes they were approached by faculty. And they often ended up being told they were unfit for the priesthood. 

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?

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! 

Topsy and Tuptim Slog Through Part 2 of the Amazon Document with its Community Organizing Focus

Topsy and Tuptim meet at the Christmas in July 5K and Fun Run to support their children and grandchildren who are participating. They stage their chairs near the finish line then get iced coffee and muffins at the snack bar.

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 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?