Faithful Catholic Subculture Needs to Evangelize

Russell Shaw is warning faithful Catholics not to withdraw from the culture but to participate in the "new evangelization." He sees signs of the orthodox pulling out with a "ghetto" mentality. Don't do it, Catholics, he warns. And I shout a loud AMEN! We need to engage the culture. The pro-life movement shows how. Take the battle to the market place even if we're ultimately driven to the catacombs. But the ghetto? Never! Here's a selection from Shaw's piece:

In recent years, however, a reaction has set in. Disgusted with the secular culture, growing numbers of individuals and families, both Catholic and non-Catholic, have begun taking steps to withdraw from what they judge to be a morally destructive environment.   

Some home-school their children to avoid the sex education imposed in schools. Some have given up on television and take great pains to police internet use. Still others have made the radical move of quitting big cities and their suburbs in favor of smaller,  more tradition-minded and culturally homogeneous communities making fewer assaults on their eyes, ears, and morals. (Thomas Monaghan’s Ave Maria, Florida is a high-profile prototype of this.)   Meanwhile, the infrastructure of a new Catholic subculture has begun to emerge. It can be seen in a handful of proudly orthodox Catholic colleges and universities, media ventures like the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) and rapidly expanding Catholic radio stations, a growing number of websites and periodicals and a few publishing houses, and organizations and movements dedicated to promoting Catholic spirituality—especially, a spirituality of the laity. In other cases, older Catholic institutions and programs have begun taking steps to reaffirm their Catholic idenity. Often, these things happen with encouragement from a new generation of bishops and priests who have gotten the message and taken it to heart.   This is all to the good—up to a point. But note that when I speak of the desirability of a new Catholic subculture, I do not mean a self-regarding, inward-looking ghetto. Unfortunately, signs of such a thing already can be glimpsed here and there. They seem likely to spread if steps are not taken to discourage that from happening.   Here is where the new evangelization comes in. It provides rationale and  motivation for Catholics to set their sights on something far better than a Catholic ghetto—the creation of a new, dynamic American Catholic subculture specifically designed to be a source of creative energy for preaching the gospel far and wide, with particular attention to former Catholics and nominal Catholics who are teetering on the brink.   This is asking a great deal—a subculture able to nurture and sustain a strong sense of Catholic identity without turning in on itself. Can it be done? No one really knows because up to now it hasn’t been attempted. Evangelization is the key. Meanwhile, one thing does seem certain: If it cannot be done, or if no attempt is made to do it, the situation of the Catholic Church in the United States is likely to become increasingly troubled in the years ahead.  

Tough Love from St. Francis and Michael Voris

And You Thought Ireland Was Safe from the Madness?

If you thought "Catholic" Ireland was safe from the madness of the gathering storm, just check this out. Pretty soon Catholics won't be allowed to open their mouths about anything without being accused of "hate."

Bishop accused of incitement to hatred in homily

Some Common Sense from an Uncommon Priest

My friend, Fr. Tom Collins, always has a direct and no-nonsense way of looking at things. His article below makes it obvious, I think, how much damage has been done by the failure of our shepherds to speak clearly and unequivocally about the evils drowning our culture. It's long past time for the bishops to implement Canon Law 915 and deny Communion to pro-abortion and pro-contraceptive politicians who scandalize (up to now) without consequence. The rock of persecution has started its dangerous roll down the mountain and we better act now because the avalanche is coming.


The Auschwitz Option

It seems that with the latest HHS directives, which were issued with the authority given to it by the Obama "Health Care Act",are requiring Catholic institutions to provide free contraceptive, abortifacient and sterilization services Such a directive directly violates the Church's teaching on the sacredness of all human life. Sadly, we have been so seriously degraded by years of dialogue with the Culture of Death that we are now at a point of pulling back on our unequivocal support for the sanctity of all human life. Instead, we seem ready to concede that it is OK for secular hospitals to provide these services, just so long as we are dispensed" by our most benevolent government from the requirement to violate our own consciences. This is analogous to German Catholics in 1943 conceding the "right" of the Reich to operate Auschwitz, provided that Catholics not be required to run the trains that brought new "residents" to that camp. Or it may be likened to high priests in Jn 18:28, who wanted to be exempted from going into the praetorium lest they defile themselves.

The issue is further complicated by Church leaders continuing to give a "free pass" to those "Catholics" who seek to abuse the Eucharistic Christ by receiving Holy Communion as a tacit endorsement of their pro-actively pro-abortion efforts. If the incarnate teaching of the Church (i.e., actual Church praxis, in contrast to the formal doctrinal teaching of the Magisterium) continues to give legitimacy to the idea that
Jesus Himself, as the Holy Eucharist, is giving an approving "thumbs up" to the barbaric practice of promoting the butchery of millions of of innocent children, how can we deceive ourselves into thinking that the Church is giving credible witness to the sacredness of all human life? Lip service to the Gospel ("This people honors Me with their lips . . .") is not adequate. Decisive convictions require decisive actions, not the perpetuation of dialogue with the demons of depravity and death.

As long as Church leaders give a "free pass" to such ongoing desecration of the Blessed Sacrament (and tell their priests and deacons to follow in the tradition of Judas by handing over the Eucharistic Christ for desecration in the hands of those committed to killing the innocent), our witness to life will be continue to be an object of scorn and ridicule.

Sometimes the Pressure Gets Results

You can count on the mainstream media to illustrate press bias with their coverage of the March for Life. I've attended about 34 of the the 39 marches and I've rarely seen a fair story. The photos almost always show close ups for the marchers to hide the size of the crowd and then the tiny group of counter protesters gets all the coverage with long quotes, etc. My biggest laugh was the year they reported that there were 10,000 pro-lifers and a "smaller crowd" of protesters. Yeah, the smaller crowd was about two dozen. Well, this year was no different, but CBS got deluged in negative comments and relented with a few long shots of the crowd. I guess hundreds of negative posts calling you blatantly biased is embarrassing. I'm surprised. I didn't think they had the capacity to be embarrassed by their dishonesty. Surprise!

It's this type of bias that has misled so many Americans into believing the leftist rhetoric about "choice." Those of us who know and love the truth need to keep the pressure on dressed in the armor of God and holding our ground. So suit up, Church Militant, and never give up an inch to the liars who believe their job isn't to report the news but make it up. 

Under hail of criticism CBS relents, adds some photos of pro-lifers to March for Life album

Nearly a Cool Million in Back Taxes Owed by Obama Staff

When Obama supports the Occupy Movement do you think he includes his staff in the 1% of greedy schmucks? He should. Think he'll put them on notice to pay their taxes or else? Don't hold your breath.

36 Obama aides owe $833,000 in back taxes

Rebel Against the Culture: Value Virginity

We've reached a point in moral degradation where the only counter-cultural rebellion is to practice moral virtue. Nowhere is this more true than in sexual relationships. Women these days are, to many men (little boys really), nothing more than a board with a hole in it....or is that "broad." The term "hook-up" says it all where, on the morning after, one may not even remember the name or sex (in modern parlance "gender") or number of last night's "partners." Sadly, virginity has become a virtue of ridicule.

Yes, in the brave new world of sexual orgy, there's only way to rebel. Stay a virgin until marriage. Respect all the people you meet enough to focus on getting to know them intimately without touching. The "meeting of minds" is the beginning of true love, whether it's eros (sexual love) or filial (friendship) or the highest love, agape (love between God and man). We can only truly love the other who is known intimately. The lover who is not first a friend of the mind and heart is unlikely to be the true love.

The only way that true intimacy comes about is for minds and spirits, not bodies, to communicate intimately. Deep friendships are possible without sex and, in fact, sex can get in the way of developing deep friendships. When that happens sex becomes a danger because it can fool a person into establishing a permanent relationship, i.e., marriage (well, it used to be permanent) to the wrong person. The false intimacy of sex without true love goes a long way toward explaining the reluctance of young couples to marry and the breakdown of so many marriages after a short time. I know of too many marriages that don't last as long as the wedding planning. What does that say about the quality of those relationships?

Virginity protected by modesty is the greatest insurance against marital unhappiness. The idea that one can try marriage out by shacking up is an illusion borne out by the higher divorce rate among those who cohabit. So all you teenage rebels out there, fight against the prevailing culture by embracing virginity. It not only offers the best promise of marital happiness later, but it preserves you from sexually transmitted diseases and premarital pregnancy with its consequent temptation to abortion. Nothing illustrates the false love of fornication and adultery more than the eagerness to murder the "love" child conceived as a result of it.

Catholics United Shills for Contraception

In the interests of truth in advertising, Catholics United (CU) should be called Heretical Catholics United or  Hypocritcal Catholics United or Cafeteria Catholics United or perhaps all three. One thing they surely are not is a group of faithful Catholics united. CU's latest foray into la-la land is a press release saying there is a "silver lining" in Obama's mandate forcing religious institutions to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees. Here's what the faux Catholics say:

Today's ruling requires Catholic institutions to provide their employees with access to contraceptive services. Despite the Catholic Church's teaching that contraception should not be used to prevent pregnancy, 98% of sexually active Catholic women use some form of birth control.

CU's spokesman then states:

 “Increased access to contraceptive services will dramatically reduce the abortion rate in America. Reducing abortion should be a goal recognized by both sides of this highly polarized debate. “Furthermore, we look forward to working with the administration in finding a win-win solution that will both meet the medical needs of women while protecting the religious liberty of Catholic institutions.”

One big question for CU. If 98% of "sexually active Catholic women" are already using birth control and, according to the Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood's research arm, 89% of all sexually active women who don't want to be pregnant are already using birth control...........please explain how more plugs and drugs are going to "dramatically reduce the abortion rate."

The fact is that contraception leads to abortion either directly or indirectly. If the so-called contraceptive isn't abortifacient in itself like the drugs that operate to prevent implantation of the new baby, it creates in the mind of the woman the idea that she has a right not to be pregnant. It's not her fault if her contraceptive fails so she should be able to be not pregnant by any means possible. Contraception leads to abortion as many sociologists have stated since abortion became legal. More contraception leads to more, not fewer, abortions.

But this is all beside the point with regard to Catholics United. These wolves in sheep's clothing pretend to oppose abortion while they were founded to give a religious veneer to their support for the most pro-abortion president in history. When Kathleen Sebelius, a radical abortion supporter, was named to head the Department of Health and Human Services, they leaped to her defense. And, while accusing others of partisanship, they unabashedly shill for the radical left. And they are so useful to politicians who want to point to a Church divided on the issue. After all, just see all these "Catholics" who support their immoral legislation. CU has absolutely no credibility, of course, they are simply a front group, along with another faux Catholic group, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good,  of socialist billionaire George Soros.

The Catholic bishops would do well to demand that Catholics United and its fellow traveler, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, cease their false advertising by removing the word Catholic from their names. They were founded to oppose Catholic teaching and they do it with zeal. The only "silver lining" in the HHS mandate is the metaphor it represents for those who betray Jesus Christ and Soros-funded Catholics United are experts at that.

Next Doctor of the Church: St. John of Avila

He was born in 1500 and influenced both St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. He re-evangelized the Andalusia section of southern Spain which had suffered so long under the Moors. In Spain, St. John is honored as the patron of priests. Read more here....

Auschwitz in Orlando

Returning to Pray at the Abortion Clinic Where My Babies Died

They call them "clinics." That's like calling the chamber of horrors where Josef Mengele performed his gruesome experiments a laboratory. No, the places where babies are deliberately murdered should be identified as what they truly are - extermination camps. As for Dr. Mengele, he may have continued his pursuit of the master race in Brazil creating "twin town."