Posted on 07/26/2002 2:35:57 PM PDT by narses
As a traditional Jew, I'm deeply concerned over the plight of the Roman Catholic Church, which I consider to be the largest and most influential repository of conservative Judeo-Christian values in America today. I believe that those of us who care about the furtherance of a moral society have a stake in the future of the church as a moral force. The American church is under siege today, not only from the usual external forces but also from the weight of its own internal contradictions. The scandal of corrupt homosexual priests violating the innocence of minors in their care is, to put it mildly, a contradiction in Christian and Catholic practice and faith. When did this corruption inject itself into the system and why was the situation allowed to deteriorate to such a degree?
Much has been written regarding Communist methods of infiltration. The standard method was to "bore from within" which involved Communists disguising themselves as loyalists to an organization they sought to undermine. Once gaining entry, they would gradually and subtly change the values and principles of the targeted organization. The process of "change" can take a generation. Communists have exhibited unlimited patience and supreme confidence in the ultimate attainment of their goals. Examples in America include substantial inroads by Communists into organized labor, academia, the legal profession, race relations, cultural institutions, and the government itself.
When planning to infiltrate, the Communists probe for an institutional weakness to exploit and, in the case of the Catholic Church, perhaps they perceived the weakness to reside in the all-male celibate priesthood. Did Communists send their followers, particularly homosexuals, sexual deviants, and enablers, into seminaries to become priests in order to foster a homosexual culture within the church? Homosexuals, practicing their predilections in an overwhelmingly conservative Catholic community, while given protection by well placed minded superiors, could certainly contribute to the undermining of faith in Catholicism and could unquestionably shake the credibility and moral standing of the church itself down to its very foundations. Undermining Catholic authority has been a clear and often stated goal of the Communist left. Speculation regarding how the Communists attempted to implement their program is reasonable and necessary in order to better understand the present situation.
Two former Communists, Bella Dodd and Manning Johnson, spoke on Communist infiltration of the Catholic Church. Dodd, an important Communist party lawyer, teacher and activist, converted to Catholicism in April 1952 under the tutelage of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. Stating that the Communist infiltration was so extensive that in the future "you will not recognize the Catholic Church," Dodd also asserted that:
"In the 1930's, we put eleven hundred men into the priesthood in order to destroy the Church from within."
"Right now they are in the highest places, and they are working to bring about change in order that the Catholic Church will no longer be effective against Communism."
Manning Johnson, a former Communist Party official and author of "Color, Communism and Common Sense" testified in 1953 to the House un-American Activities Committee regarding the infiltration of the Catholic Church:
"Once the tactic of infiltration of religious organizations was set by the Kremlin ... the Communists discovered that the destruction of religion could proceed much faster through infiltration of the (Catholic) Church by Communists operating within the Church itself. The Communist leadership in the United States realized that the infiltration tactic in this country would have to adapt itself to American conditions (Europe also had its cells) and the religious make-up peculiar to this country. In the earliest stages it was determined that with only small forces available to them, it would be necessary to concentrate Communist agents in the seminaries. The practical conclusion drawn by the Red leaders was that these institutions would make it possible for a small Communist minority to influence the ideology of future clergymen in the paths conducive to Communist purposes This policy of infiltrating seminaries was successful beyond even our communist expectations."
As a radio talk show host and avid listener to talk radio in Boston, I've listened intently to comments by Catholics as the crisis has unfolded. Much has been said regarding the left dominance of the seminaries and a prevalence of the ideas of "liberation theology" which is a biblically contradictory Trojan horse within the Catholic gates. Establishment organs, such as the Boston Globe, continue to wring their hands over the homosexual activities of priests while supporting a homosexual agenda everywhere else. Hopefully, the Catholic flock will wake up and sweep the corruption out of their church in the same way that their founder, Jesus of Nazareth, swept the moneychangers out of the Temple.
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I don't think the priests involved in these scandals would have been the sleepers. But their superiors almost certainly would have been. The sleepers would be circumspect in every way in order to avoid suspicion. But when they were consecrated and given their dioceses, they would have used what they knew to manipulate and mold as many clones as possible.
Or the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Wouldn't that be the whole idea?
There are a couple of key goals involved with infiltration. One is to corrupt within, sowing confusion, creating social and moral chaos to cause Western civilization to implode, leaving a power vacuum and moral void to be filled by Communism (or whatever other ideology is intended). Another is to use the institutions and power of the Church to advance direct Communist goals. And, of course, it's just a very large labyrinthine bureaucracy for people who are up to no good to hide. Prior to, say, the 1960s, the hierarchical structure of the Church could be used in an authoritarian or dictatorial sort of way. A Communist infiltrator who attained a certain level of authority good give orders to people without question. Money could be hidden, stolen, and manipulated. Religious houses could be used to hide agents and so forth. It's a logical strategy. In fact, American and British intelligence agencies have not overlooked religious institutions as covers for various covert operations. One could certainly suspect that some aspects of the leftward turn in Church affairs was not just because intellectual clergymen had been convinced by the "brilliant" ideological arguments of socialism and liberalism. [irony alert]
The priest may be rock solid and thoroughly trustworthy, but I have no way to know for sure either way.
It's up to bishops to police apparition groups claiming to have special messages or prophecies. Legitimate supernatural events are sometimes obscured by other kooky or demonic distractions which surround authentic spiritual phenomena. No way to tell for sure just based on accounts in newspapers and magazines. It's unfortunate, of course, if anyone gets lured into something false. Just bashing the victims, as some religious vigilantes do, usually only spreads more discord and confusion.
I usually can spot 'em from a mile away. Don't they all carry hammers and sickles and that bulge in their jacket pocket would be the "Communist Manifesto" they are required to carry close to their hearts. And they always wear red no matter what liturgical season we're in. That's how you spot 'em.
Well that's just it. Communism is dying out. The replacement is Modernism. And there is a similarity of course between the two. However the Modernists are not as monolithic as the Communists. I mean where is the Modernists headquarters? Who is the president and leader of the Modernists? It's just sort of vague as to how they are organised, if they are. The Communists had a goal of a worker's state and no private property. But what are the Modernists really trying to do? What ultimately is their vision for the world?
They wouldn't have been much as far as communists are concerned if they didn't fool you and me. However, whenever I run across "liberation theology" communism jumps right to the fore. It certainly was and is, in the church. Do you agree?
Godspeed, The Dilg
Not nearly so effective: the Catholic Church is worldwide and hierarchical, so any negative influence could be spread further. There is not one Orthodox church -- the Orthodox churches are national and no one is authorized to speak "with one voice" for all of them.
Godspeed, Amen
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