God pressures us to get rid of the old to make room for the new. We just need to make sure that we do not throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water.
Now it is more important to pray than ever.
Will be going to confession and mass for the upcoming Sunday, tomorrow.
Evil men are in control. Evil hasn’t won, but it’s sure hard to find any good in today’s situation.
“Recite five decades of the Rosary”
A lot of people will die of old age before that is done. I would be 109 if I did it, for instance.
I hope someone can point out something more hopeful than anything I’ve seen. Here’s all I’ve got:
First, the secular press (I wouldn’t know about the religious press) is steadfastly lying about what the problem in the Roman Catholoc Church is. I keep reading about the Roman Catholic “pedophillia” scandal. The Roman Catholic Church doesn’t have a pedophillia scandal, and never did. The Roman Catholic has a homosexual rape scandal.
In all the reports of priests hitting on their parishioners that I’ve seen, there was exactly one instance of a priest hitting on a pre-adolescent – one instance of pedophillia, in the entire United States. There was exactly one that involved a woman, and exactly one that was consensual (the same one, if I’m remembering this right). Until I saw reports of the recent investigation in Pennsylvania that priests had been assaulting girls as well as boys, I had only one instance of heterosexual abuse, and I still haven’t seen the details of that, so I don’t know what was involved. All the others were of homosexual priests rapping post-adolescent (though many times, still underage) males. This is, definitionally, not pedophillia.
The secular press is militantly determined to not mention the actual news, and is simply lying about what it’s reporting on.
When I’ve seen any report of anyone in the Roman Catholic Church trying to reform the organization, they have spoken of ending the “pedophillia” scandal. Generality: No problem is solved while the people who are supposed to be solving it, refuse to state what the problem is. This gives me very little hope that any reform effort is going to go anywhere.
Note: In my mind–others may disagree–the real problem with a homosexual priest rapping one of the boys in his congregation is not the “homosexual” part. I would not be so very much happier if heterosexual priests were rapping the girls in their congregations.
I think it’s generally accepted that rape is a horrible crime and perversion, but in this case, there is also an additional dimension of problem. The parishioners do not exist to serve the priest, the priest exists to serve the parishioners. The fundamental role of a priest is, in the archaic, to edify the parishioners. The fundamental role of a bishop is to see that the priests do so. For a priest to rape his parishioners is a fundamental betrayal of what it means to be a priest. For a bishop to cover for priests who rape their parishioners, and enable them, is a fundamental betrayal of what it means to be a bishop. These role are critical to the functioning of the Roman Catholic Church as an institution, and they have been about as thoroughly corrupted as they possibly can be.
As best I can tell, the rapist conspiracy completely permeates the Roman Catholic Church in the western world. Essentially, every functionary in the organization knows about this, and is either a conspirator, or, with a few courageous exceptions, has been cowed into silence. The entire organization is thoroughly corrupted.
The Roman Catholic Church is a very authoritarian organization–the Pope is in charge. Yet a reform-minded Pope, Benedict, was not able to defeat the rapist conspiracy, and, ultimately, was not able to withstand it. Now, the Pope is one of the conspirators. Necessarily, the conspiracy is now much stronger than it was when the Pope opposed it–and it was already too powerful for a Pope to oppose.
Praying for a church is never a bad idea, but in this case the need seems to have extra force. We have to hope that God will save the Roman Catholic Church, because who else can? The, bluntly, depravity of the Roman Catholic Church has gone beyond what anyone else that I can see, could stop. I see no hope for the Roman Catholic church, coming from a temporal direction.
Although I am not Roman Catholic myself, I regard the corruption of such a large slice of Christendom with horror. I hope some of the posters on this thread can point out something important that I’m overlooking. What am I missing, here?
I realize this is awfully long. Apologies for taking up so much space.
Parishes that have the first Saturdays are so fortunate and blessed.
Thank you to these blessed priests!
Let us pray to St Michael, Archangel as directed by ope Leo XIII to defend the Church:
O Glorious Archangel Saint Michael
Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and Powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil. Come to the aid of man, whom God created immortal, made in his own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil.
Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven.
That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan, who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of his Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.
These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered.
Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and Patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious power of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen
Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.
The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, the root of David.
Let thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.
As we have hoped in thee.
O Lord, hear my prayer.
And let my cry come unto thee.
O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon thy holy name, and as suppliants we implore thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel Saint Michael, thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of souls. Amen.