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“MISERABLE SERPENT” BISHOPS JOIN WITH THOSE WHO CONDEMN MEL GIBSON’S “Passion”
Roman Catholic Faithful ^ | December 6, 2004 | James Bendell

Posted on 12/06/2004 9:55:02 AM PST by Land of the Irish

    

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Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc.

P.O. Box 109
Petersburg, IL  62675
Phone 217-632-5920
Fax 217-632-7054
Web www.rcf.org

Press Release

Contact: Stephen G. Brady
Phone: (217) 632-5920

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
4 PM EDT, December 6, 2004

“MISERABLE SERPENT” BISHOPS JOIN WITH THOSE WHO CONDEMN MEL GIBSON’S “COURAGEOUS AND BEAUTIFUL EFFORT”

TO: Cardinal William H. Keeler
    Bishop Arthur J. Seratelli (Paterson NJ)
    Bishop John J. Nevins (Venice FL)
    Bishop Gerald Walsh (New York)
    Bishop John Nienstedt (New Ulm)
    All bishops of the USCCB

FROM: The Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc.

Recently, at the conclusion of one of your endless series of committee meetings (The Challenge of Mixed Marriage in American Life is Major Topic of U.S. Catholic-Jewish Consultation Committee), you issued the following statement:

The Consultation also discussed the state of Jewish-Catholic relations in the wake of the film, "The Passion of the Christ," which caused such deep and understandable concern within Jewish community world-wide. The film, it was noted, was in reality a modern version of the notorious medieval Passion Plays which so often over the centuries have triggered riots against the Jews of Europe. Happily, however, the film precipitated no such anti-Jewish violence. Rather, in many places it sparked discussions in which Catholics learned why Jews feared such dramatic depictions of the death of Jesus, and Jews learned that many Catholics today have taken to heart the teaching of the Second Vatican Council that the Jews collectively cannot be held responsible "then or now" for Jesus' death. It was noted as well that continuing work needs to be done among those who have not yet absorbed these official teachings of the Church.

Generally, we in the laity read your prodigious output of wordy, useless position statements and constant “pastoral” bloviating with a mixture of boredom and mild irritation. Occasionally, however, the U.S. Bishops come out with something that is so outrageous, so offensive, so truly malignant, that the laity cannot remain mute. And so it is with this, your latest piece of ecclesiastical drivel.

When we consider your words, we must reflect upon all that you have given the laity during the past several decades; to wit:

  • You have destroyed our precious liturgy and replaced it with a quasi-heretical and saccharine floor show.
  • You have corrupted our children with poisonous sex ed programs.
  • You have allowed our children to be raped by perverted monsters in the clergy and have done everything in your power to cover up these crimes.
  • You have destroyed our beautiful churches and Cathedrals and replaced them with ugly “churches” that resemble aircraft hangars or cement factories.
  • You have squandered billions of dollars on useless or harmful “ministries” that are little more than glorified havens for left wing activists.
  • You have persecuted holy and orthodox priests and nuns.
  • You have denied priests their right to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass, a right which no bishop or pastor of the Church can ever take away.
  • You have destroyed the faith of millions by promoting false catechesis.
  • You have turned away worthy candidates for the priesthood because they accepted the perennial teachings of the Church or because they opposed homosexuality.

The collective evil committed by the American Bishops dwarfs any harm committed in the Enron scandal, yet none of you have been sent to jail.

And now, when a man like Mel Gibson comes along and tries to glorify Our Lord with a movie, when he risks his personal fortune and reputation because Our Lord is despised by the World, you miserable serpents not only do not support him, but join with those who condemn his courageous and beautiful effort. Well, to you bishops, and to all the bishops of the USCCB, the Roman Catholic Faithful responds:

The movie The Passion of the Christ has done more to uplift the human heart, to bring souls to Christ, to increase holiness, and to glorify Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, than all the USCCB committees, subcommittees, documents, pastorals, letters, faxes and speeches put together.

James Bendell
Roman Catholic Faithful

-End-

 

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TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic
KEYWORDS: catholic; gibson; passion; rcf; usccb
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1 posted on 12/06/2004 9:55:02 AM PST by Land of the Irish
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To: Akron Al; Alberta's Child; Andrew65; AniGrrl; apologia_pro_vita_sua; attagirl; BearWash; ...

Ping


2 posted on 12/06/2004 10:01:40 AM PST by Land of the Irish (Tradidi quod et accepi)
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To: Land of the Irish

Wow... just wow.


3 posted on 12/06/2004 10:04:50 AM PST by Pyro7480 (Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, sancta Dei Genitrix.... sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper...)
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To: Land of the Irish
You have destroyed our precious liturgy and replaced it with a quasi-heretical and saccharine floor show.

You have corrupted our children with poisonous sex ed programs.

You have allowed our children to be raped by perverted monsters in the clergy and have done everything in your power to cover up these crimes.

You have destroyed our beautiful churches and Cathedrals and replaced them with ugly “churches” that resemble aircraft hangars or cement factories.

You have squandered billions of dollars on useless or harmful “ministries” that are little more than glorified havens for left wing activists.

You have persecuted holy and orthodox priests and nuns.

You have denied priests their right to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass, a right which no bishop or pastor of the Church can ever take away.

You have destroyed the faith of millions by promoting false catechesis.

You have turned away worthy candidates for the priesthood because they accepted the perennial teachings of the Church or because they opposed homosexuality.

But they are in union with Rome and that's all that matters.

4 posted on 12/06/2004 10:09:14 AM PST by Grey Ghost II
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To: Land of the Irish; Pyro7480; Grey Ghost II; AAABEST

" * You have destroyed our precious liturgy and replaced it with a quasi-heretical and saccharine floor show.
* You have corrupted our children with poisonous sex ed programs.
* You have allowed our children to be raped by perverted monsters in the clergy and have done everything in your power to cover up these crimes.
* You have destroyed our beautiful churches and Cathedrals and replaced them with ugly “churches” that resemble aircraft hangars or cement factories.
* You have squandered billions of dollars on useless or harmful “ministries” that are little more than glorified havens for left wing activists.
* You have persecuted holy and orthodox priests and nuns.
* You have denied priests their right to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass, a right which no bishop or pastor of the Church can ever take away.
* You have destroyed the faith of millions by promoting false catechesis.
* You have turned away worthy candidates for the priesthood because they accepted the perennial teachings of the Church or because they opposed homosexuality."

Woooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

As Emeril Lagasse would say - BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!


5 posted on 12/06/2004 10:25:09 AM PST by Convert from ECUSA (tired of shucking and jiving)
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To: Land of the Irish
The film, it was noted, was in reality...

If you read all of text of the sentence above and what follows, you should note an apparent contradiction, bordering almost on irony or deliberate parody. The "it was noted" phrase is key to the jesuitical subtlety...leaving a loophole for wide interpretation. How Vatican II-like!!!

6 posted on 12/06/2004 10:27:23 AM PST by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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To: Land of the Irish

=== The movie The Passion of the Christ has done more to uplift the human heart, to bring souls to Christ, to increase holiness, and to glorify Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, than all the USCCB committees, subcommittees, documents, pastorals, letters, faxes and speeches put together.



Hear hear ... and none of the diabolism you risk ingesting with USCCB efforts.


7 posted on 12/06/2004 10:32:31 AM PST by Askel5 († Cooperatio voluntaria ad suicidium est legi morali contraria. †)
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To: Land of the Irish
Yes and no, James.

The statement that Bendall objects to is certainly not a ringing endorsement of the movie. However, the latter part actually acknowledges that some positive things have resulted from Gibson's work. It is not so much a condemnation of the film as it is the usual weak-kneed, politically correct type of platitude which emanates from these men.

In the spectrum of malfeasance committed by the US hierarchy, this is relatively minor. I'm sure Bendall enjoyed the film and all but the bishops' statement doesn't actually undermine anyone's faith, which is more than can be said for a lot of their work.

Moreover, Bendall's language is so intemperate that it seems that all out war has been declared between the US hierarchy and RCF. If it wasn't already declared, it is now. The language is of a nature which I have seldom read in a letter to the US bishops and is the literary equivalent of a kick in gonads.

I'm sure Bendall feels better for venting but this uncivil offering will achieve little.

8 posted on 12/06/2004 10:34:56 AM PST by marshmallow
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To: Diago; narses; Loyalist; BlackElk; american colleen; saradippity; Dajjal; Land of the Irish; ...

Bump for someone who knows how to write and tells the truth without beating around the bush. This letter gets right to the point. I only wish he could also write headlines, since the headline had me totally confused.

On his list of wonderful "gifts" we've received from the USCCB over the past few decades, he could have mentioned some of the outrageous documents they've issued like "Always Our Children," the pro-gay pastoral letter. If the USCCB were comprised of a gang of demons straight from Hell, would it be possible for them to do any more damage than is being done by this group? I seriously doubt it. If they had tails and smelled of sulfur, less people would be deceived by them. (Although there would always be that hard-core group who will justify anything.)

They deserve full credit for destroying the Catholic Church in the United States as fast as was humanly (and supernaturally) possible to do so. They get full marks for having achieved their maximum goal level at optimum speed. And their latest meeting last month indicates that they deserve further credit for not resting on their laurels, instead continuing full speed ahead with further continued devastation.

I've noted many times in the past that the Catholic Church is in even worse shape in other countries, especially in Europe, which might indicate that the national conferences of demons in those countries have done an even better job than the US bishops. But the reality is that the spiritual condition of those countries was already in a much more advanced state of rot at the time of Vatican II than the US church which was young, strong, vigorous and growing. So despite the even greater evidence of depravity, apostasy and decrepitude in Europe, the US bishops win top honors for having taken on a much more challenging task, and accomplished it magnificently.

The Catholic faith in the United States was so vigorous at the time of Vatican II that it was clearly beyond human powers to eradicate it in just a few short decades. But the leaders of this project knew that they did not need to rely simply on natural human powers. Only the supernatural forces of Hell could possibly have achieved what has been done here since then.


9 posted on 12/06/2004 10:39:02 AM PST by Maximilian
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To: Land of the Irish

Passion Marker BTTT


10 posted on 12/06/2004 10:40:45 AM PST by ApesForEvolution (You will NEVER convince me that Muhammadanism isn't a death cult that must end. Save your time...)
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To: Land of the Irish

I need help!
When I clicked on your link, this was written on the top of the page....

< corpus of feast the to us bring will which adoration, eucharistic or and fasting rosary, praying by days 7 next for prayer in unite country throughout more hundreds asking are we maida. cardinal graces special presence jesus? before been have people pm, 7:00 at evening every days, two last country! rest on affect an this cathedral, its adoration get able is detroit />

Could you please go to your link and tell me what it actually says? My hubby has recently put me on a linux computer and some things do not come through.

Do you belong to The Roman Catholic Faithful??

Stacie


11 posted on 12/06/2004 10:43:41 AM PST by netmilsmom (Zell on DEM Christianity, "They can hum the tune, but can't sing the song.")
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To: Land of the Irish
Happily, however, the film precipitated no such anti-Jewish violence.

Great rejoicing among the USCCB staff.

12 posted on 12/06/2004 10:48:46 AM PST by siunevada
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To: xsmommy; dubyaismypresident

putittothemasqueradingbishops ping.


13 posted on 12/06/2004 10:59:26 AM PST by hobbes1 (Hobbes1TheOmniscient® "I know everything so you don't have to" ;)
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To: Land of the Irish

LORD HAVE MERCY. ANATHEMA MARANATHA. Even so come LORD JESUS


14 posted on 12/06/2004 10:59:40 AM PST by pachomi33
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To: netmilsmom
Whoever coded / wrote the page (using Microsoft Front Page) included that.

It shows up in Firefox, Galeon, Netscape 7.2 on Linux and Firefox on Windows XP. It doesn't show up when I use Internet Explorer v6 to view the page. It doesn't show up if I view the page with Konqueror on Linux.

It's a poorly coded page, that's all.
15 posted on 12/06/2004 11:00:46 AM PST by Mike Fieschko ("Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?")
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To: Land of the Irish

Wow, what a letter! The Bishops will probably form a committee to study and reflect on it.


16 posted on 12/06/2004 11:01:10 AM PST by Gerish (Choose God, he has already chosen you.)
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To: Land of the Irish
Recently, at the conclusion of one of your endless series of committee meetings...

LMAO

17 posted on 12/06/2004 11:02:46 AM PST by DBeers
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To: Land of the Irish
Generally, we in the laity read your prodigious output of wordy, useless position statements and constant “pastoral” bloviating with a mixture of boredom and mild irritation.

-and again, LMAO

18 posted on 12/06/2004 11:07:52 AM PST by DBeers
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To: Land of the Irish

Oh, that had to hurt.

My only critique of this letter is that it didn't come in the form of a petition.

All the anti-semitic violence, etc. the ADL and other Jewish leaders anticipated before this movie hit the theaters offended me greatly. I can only gather that they believe all Christians are rabidly anti-semitic just below the surface and 'The Passion' would be just that little push we needed to show our "true colors."

Apparently many of our own Bishops believe this is true as well. The verdict is in: The movie is a masterpiece - the fruits of which have been good and abundant. The Jewish leaders and our own Bishops owe Gibson and all Christians the world over an enormous apology.


19 posted on 12/06/2004 11:08:51 AM PST by sempertrad
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To: sempertrad
The movie is a masterpiece - the fruits of which have been good and abundant. The Jewish leaders and our own Bishops owe Gibson and all Christians the world over an enormous apology.

Indeed. The fruits are just now starting to ripen. I'm hoping that with all the strong Marian imagery in the movie, many non-apostolic Christians will come to believe all that the Church has traditionally taught about the Blessed Virgin Mary.

20 posted on 12/06/2004 11:11:52 AM PST by Pyro7480 (Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, sancta Dei Genitrix.... sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper...)
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