Free Republic

Albert Drexel, in Ein Neuer Prophet? (Stein am Rhein: Christiana, 1971) explains that: "The modernism or neo-modernism within Christianity, and especially within the Roman Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council, is above all characterized by a turning away from the supernatural and an exclusive predilection for this world, the Aggiornamento of Pope John XXIII interpreted one-sidedly and hence misapplied. Teilhard's ideology was was a definitive precondition for this. Inasmuch as he turned his back to the past, fused God and the supernatural with the process of a universal evolutionism, and proclaimed religion to be an active participation in a...

This may be a good website to acquire for those looking to inform the public about ant-Catholic groups.

A friend forwarded a column written by Regina Brett of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. I include the text: How far can church downsize?Sunday, February 11, 2007Regina BrettPlain Dealer Columnist Regionalism has hit the Catholic Church. You've heard of cities sharing fire trucks, water and taxes? How do you share Midnight Mass, choirs and church bulletins? Alternate years for Midnight Mass? Borrow the choir every other Sunday? Print one side of the bulletin for St. Malachi and the flip side for St. Patrick's? Like it or not, full-service parishes will soon perish. All 231 parishes in the Cleveland Diocese will...

FUTURECHURCH STATEMENT ON THE APPOINTMENT OF BISHOP RICHARD LENNON TO THE DIOCESE OF CLEVELAND FutureChurch welcomes Bishop Richard Lennon to the Diocese of Cleveland even though we are dismayed that he was named Bishop of Cleveland without any significant consultation process in the Diocese. In the past, Catholic lay leaders, women religious and priests were invited to give their views. Yet, this time, Catholics were given no opportunity to help identify qualities needed in the next bishop of Cleveland. Lay leaders were not asked to participate in the selection process, even though Fr. Wiatrowski, diocesan chancellor, indicated there would be...

FutureChurch Statement on the Ban of Gay Seminarians FutureChurch grieves that the recent Vatican statement banning gay men from the seminary will be wounding and alienating to many good priests who are gay. Like their straight brothers, most are dedicated, effective priests who are faithful to their celibacy promises. The Church needs priests. If the new policy is enforced, the Church will lose a number of good seminarians. This will worsen the already severe priest shortage, limiting even further our ability to meet the immediate and long range pastoral and eucharistic needs of our people. There are no data to...

It was reported in the St. Mark bulletin this weekend that Father Doug Koesel, Pastor at St. Mark Parish in Cleveland, has asked for - and received - a year off from his priestly duties. A very long explanation letter boiled down to "I'm worn out". He encouraged his parishoners to give the incoming priest a warm welcome and to be open to the changes he is likely to make. As has been widely reported, the national headquarters for the dissident group, Futurechurch is located at St. Mark's Parish. A brief history of Bishop Pilla, Futurechurch, St. Mark's, Pope John...

Spirit Daily ___________________________________________Chancellor Defends 'Nude' Statue and Meditations With Potential Occult LinksThe chancellor of a major American diocese has defended the use of both yoga and a form of esoteric therapy called "reiki" as ways of enhancing prayer and healing in a Catholic setting -- a view that appears to be in contradiction of the Vatican.The chancellor, Father Ralph E. Wiatrowski, of Cleveland, says that the diocese does not officially propagate the practices but sees nothing wrong with elements of them. His views first came to light in a letter to a local woman who had complained about  use...

Following years of vocal protests all the way to Rome concerning the existence of the heretical group Futurechurch's national headquarters on property owned by the Diocese of Cleveland, Bishop Anthony Pilla issued a phony statement condemning Futurechurch just days before his final ad limina visit with Pope John Paul II. Sadly, Pilla had no intent of enforcing the phony statement which was never enforced and the national headquarters of Futurechurch remains on diocese of Cleveland property From http://www.futurechurch.org/ : FutureChurch 15800 Montrose Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44111 USA Phone: 216.228.0869 | Fax: 216.228.4872 E-mail: info@futurechurch.org _______________________________ From http://www.cleveland.catholicnet.com/parish/stmark/ St. Mark Church...

Upholding the teachings of the Catholic ChurchWinter 1997-Spring 1998Volume XIII, No. 1-2 Vatican's May 1997 letter to the President of National Conference of Catholic Bishops on "sex education" revealed in November"Those responsible for sex education in Catholic schools must not surrender to the temptation to conform to the permissive mentality which is prevalent today. On the contrary, they must strive to follow faithfully the Church's teaching on sexuality, according to the school's educational project, which consists in the explicit reference to the values of Christianity and the Christian concept of man".-- From letter from Cardinal Pio Laghi to Bishop Pilla...

Meet Fr. George Smiga. Most likely, you’ve never heard of him, but you will know him now as a representative of FutureChurch – a heterodox assortment of Catholic misfits bent on break-ing as many ties with our Catholic tradition as pos-sible. In particular, Fr. Smiga’s specialty is show-ing his students how to accomplish the task by the use of Catholic “biblical scholarship,” that highbrow branch of modernism that has made the Bible into the play toy of the intelligentsia. On June 8, 2004, Fr. Smiga (pronounced: Smeega) gave a lecture to members of FutureChurch at John Carroll University near Cleveland...

Catholic politicians who support abortion rights may decide for themselves whether they are morally fit to receive Communion in the eight-county Diocese of Cleveland. In a statement Thursday that was also sent to area officeholders, Cleveland Bishop Anthony Pilla chose to align himself with the majority of U.S. bishops who favor persuasion over sanctions in the abortion debate. "The battles for human life and dignity and for the weak and vulnerable should be fought not at the Communion rail, but in the public square, in hearts and minds, in our pulpits and public advocacy, in our consciences and communities," Pilla...

Futurechurch and Pilla - Pilla and Future ChurchFearful Pilla flips-flops on Futurechurch days before Ad Limina visit with Pope Early last year, Futurechurch leaders were urging its supporters to support Bishop Pilla: Were Bishop Pilla to be forced out, we would be leaving ourselves open to a new bishop who would most likely be much more conservative and legalistic given the Bishop appointments that have been made in this papacy. The well-known litmus test for being appointed a bishop under John Paul II is that the person must be opposed to birth control, optional celibacy and women priests. I have...

Most found to favor discussion of mandate By TOM HEINENtheinen@journalsentinel.com Posted: Jan. 30, 2004 Lay volunteers are surveying diocesan and religious order priests in at least 52 of the country's 195 Roman Catholic dioceses to document how many think the requirement of mandatory celibacy for diocesan priests should be openly discussed by church leaders. The effort is being coordinated by two national reform groups that advocate the ordination of married men and of women - the Chicago-based Call to Action and the Cleveland-based FutureChurch. It is another in a series of ripples that were set in motion last year when...

      Taking on the Church Aired June 4, 2003  Audio Coming SoonChallenging tradition is one thing. Challenging theology is quite another. Yet there are people and organizations around the world, who for one reason or another, take issue with religion - usually their own. In Cleveland, one such person has waged her own battle against the largest church in America - the 62 million member Holy Roman Catholic Church. But it's not about anything that the church does - it's about what they don't. ideastream's Rick Jackson has this report. Christine Schenk: We have women who experience a...