A Curious Kind of Catholic: A look inside Kerry's preferred place of worship, the Paulist Center.

The Weekly Standard ^ | July 25, 2004 | Jonathan V. Last

[quidnunc]

It's where people who hate the Church go to church.

Catholics are used to having people protest outside their churches. Because Catholics are one of the last socially acceptable objects of bigotry, it seems as though activist groups are always showing up at their churches. Gay and women's rights groups make up the usual crowd, although these days it's common to find hecklers there to beat up on Catholics for the priest sex-abuse scandals. However, today may mark the first time a Catholic church has been picketed by anti-abortion protestors.

Dozens of such protestors were gathered on Park Street in front of the Paulist Center an hour before Sunday's 10:00 a.m. Mass. They strummed guitars, sang hymns, drew slogans on the sidewalk in chalk, and carried placards saying "Stop Killing My Generation" and "You CAN'T be Catholic & Pro-Abortion." Some of the protestors hailed from Operation Rescue, other were from the American Life League. All of them were respectful and cheery as they stood in the morning sunshine, down the block from the Massachusetts statehouse.

The reason for their protest is that the Paulist Center is John Kerry's home church.

-snip-

[Fedora]

Ping.

[Conservative til I die]

It doesn't matter. The Democratic drones in my Church either agree with Kerry, don't care what the Paulist Center really teaches, orat the least, believe in "openness" (aka heresy.)

[maryz]

BTW, my 93-year old aunt is a retired IHM nun in Monroe, MI. Her screen name, if she had one, would be "maryz."

LOL! Give her my best, and let us pray for one another!

[maryz]

I think that perhaps he could remove official permission in the very least.

He could; it would be a media circus, of course. O'Malley is still pretty new here, and I have hope of him. He came in with a full plate, even without the Paulists. I trust and pray he'll get to them. (God have mercy and guide him!)

[maryz]

If they had no problem tolerating the pretense that Ted Kennedy & Co. were "Catholic" all these years, it seems unlikely they would get the urge to stand up for orthodoxy in a case like this.

It was abortion that changed everything beyond disguise. Before that, the Kennedys et al. were merely private sinners, like all of us. And many dems stayed pro-life (Kennedy, Daschle, Gephardt, etc.) until national politics in the dem party beckoned and NARAL took it over as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

[William Martel]

Hope is certainly good, and he is new. Rome wasn't built in a day, and I doubt that the problems in the Archdiocese of Boston can be solved in even a year! The best we can do is pray that he will rise to the occasion, for he has lofty tasks ahead of him (and, from what I've heard, I think he is worthy of those tasks). It will depend on the quality of his leadership to shepherd his flock towards Christ.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

A gradual process of withering away authentic Catholicism. But you have to ask what was it about the Kennedy types that made them ready and willing to compromise on abortion. They had already distanced themselves from real Catholic culture. Was it just for power? Was it a vain and shallow desire to be accepted in elite non-Catholic circles? These are sick and pathetic people.

You have something very wrong going on. Did they never really understand or even believe in the Catholic faith? Was it ethnic shame? Being ashamed of being Irish Catholics and not being accepted by Protestant-masonic Harvard creeps? Is THIS what this is all about? It certainly looks that pathetic.

[ZULU]

Political correctness crept into the Catholic Church years ago with the Berrigans - remember them? And the Mary Knolls, remember them? Even the Jesuits, once the rock of Catholic and Christian Orthodoxy have strayed into un-Christian (let alone un-Catholic) heretical grounds.

Like their correligionists in the Methodist, Episcopalian and Presbyterian Churches, these people neither represent the majority of their respective faiths on most issues, nor are they in keeping with traditional Christian values.

They have all surrendered in an orgy of political correctness. They have sacrificed the primary purpose of thiir existance - the salvation of souls - for social and political goals which never concerned Christ in any of his teachings.

[ArrogantBustard]

At times the Mass departs from the Catholic text. During the Nicene Creed, for example, the sections on believing in only "one Lord" ("We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God . . .") and only "one holy Catholic and apostolic Church" are excised from the prayer.

I see. They're not Catholics, any more than Lutherans, Presbyterians, or Methodists are Catholics. They're denying the divinity of Jesus; that makes them Arians.

St. Athanasius, Pray for us.

[ArrogantBustard]

But it raises an important question: Why does the Catholic Church allow this church to call itself Catholic?

Does anyone have a rational answer?

For the same reason that "Old Catholic", "Liberal Catholic", "Evangelical Catholic" and "Independant Traditionalist Catholic" outfits can used the term: Because the Catholic Church does not hold copyright or patent on the word "Catholic".

[Straight Vermonter]

I always laugh at the idea that being tough on doctrine will be "pushing people away from us". How many liberal churches are growing? How many very conservative ones are?

Being tough, stopping the hand wringing and showing that the teachings of the church are words to live by and not lip service will bring people into the fold. It will also solve the vocations problem. Young men and women will be eager to be part of something great. They are not eager to be part of something wishy washy.

[Arthur McGowan]

O'Malley could suspend them all today. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that a priest can live in a diocese if the bishop wants him out.

[dighton]

“The Democratic Party is asking a Paulist priest instead of the archbishop of Boston to bless its national convention, the Boston Globe reported Monday.”

[dangus]

The Paulists may be infecting your parish soon! Their primary ministry as of late is "Parish missions," by which they have infected thousans of parishes with their apostasy.

[dangus]

Hmmm... what is that church's mission statement?

[dangus]

O'Malley is not one of the "good" bishops (like Burke or Rigaldi), one of the "fair bishops" (like George or Gregory), one of the "poor bishops" (like McCarrick or Loverde), but is in the mainstream of the apostate horrors, like Egan and Monaghan.

He has forced parents to have their children submit to heretical and sexually desensitizing sex-education programs, or else be denied the sacraments. Incredibly, the group which created the program was originally established to promote legalized prostitution.

He has used parish closings to punish dissident priests, making the faithful suffer for the perceived sins of their pastors, including the church which is credited with bringing the Christmas tree to America and founding the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

He has rallied leftist bishops to the cause of giving the sacraments to apostate politicians.

He has refused to squelch the horrific heresies which have made Boston Catholics world-reknowned for apostasy.

He has cracked down against the faithful of his diocese with a vengence and ruthlessness never before seen in the Catholic Church.

[maryz]

And not just any Paulist priest -- Ardis himself!

The campaign of Democratic presumptive presidential candidate John Kerry has announced that it has asked the Rev. John B. Ardis, director of the Paulist Center, to deliver the traditional invocation at the four-day national convention beginning Monday night, the Globe said.

[dangus]

Incidentally, the Paulist center is practically next door to the world headquarters of the UUA. I know. I attended mass at the Paulist center, and had a friend who worked at the UUA. They are on opposite sides of the statehouse.

[maryz]

Have at it!

Paulist Center Community Mission Statement

Attentive to the Holy Spirit, we are a Catholic community that welcomes all, liberates the voice of each, and goes forth to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ

* * * * *

VISION STATEMENT
The Paulist Center Community aspires to express the good news of Jesus in contemporary society. In gathering together for prayer, especially Eucharistic liturgy, we raise our hearts, minds and lives to God. Moved by the Holy Spirit, we seek to manifest God's love for all. In concert with the Paulist Fathers we understand this to include efforts toward:

working for justice and peace within society and Church;
strengthening ecumenical and interreligious relationships;
reaching out to marginalized or alienated Catholics;
building a loving, caring and compassionate community that welcomes all; and
developing programs to nurture each member's spiritual growth.

VALUE STATEMENTS

Participants examined their personal and organizational beliefs to determine those values that are foundational to the organization. The Paulist Center Community expresses its core values through the following statements:

We value Christian hospitality and aspire to be a welcoming community.

We value the Catholic tradition and are committed to celebrating a Eucharistic liturgy that draws on the gifts of the community.

We value outreach to those persons searching for a spiritual home and those who have been alienated from the Catholic Church.

We value the Paulist charism of Evangelization as we work with them in Initiation, Reconciliation, Christian Unity and Interreligious relations.

We value the Catholic faith and are committed to continual conversion of heart, ongoing faith formation and ministering to those seeking Christian initiation.

We value Catholic Social Teaching and commit ourselves to act for justice and peace.

We value servant leadership expressed through collegial ministry grounded in the spirit of our common Baptism.

We value and steward God's gifts in us of time, talent and treasure.

[narses]

Thank you, but, unlike the "Old Catholic", "Liberal Catholic", "Evangelical Catholic" and "Independant Traditionalist Catholic" outfits, doesn't the Paulist Center have permission from the Ordinary to say public Mass?