Friday, December 29, 2023

THE LITURGICAL MISHMASH OF JANUARY 1

By Tim Rohr

For anyone still sweating over having to go to Mass this past Sunday Dec. 24 and Christmas Dec. 25 (two days in a row!) you can breath easy now that the Archdiocese of Agana has issued a statement "abrogating" Jan. 1 as a Holy Day of Obligation. CONTINUED 

THE AFRICAN'S "AIN'T" HAPPY


Tuesday, December 26, 2023

CLING TO JESUS

By Tim Rohr

Okay. In the spirit of Pope Francis, I am going to "make a mess," and address this crazy stuff in a way I have not seen anyone else do. 

And since this pertains primarily to Catholic stuff, this post shall be continued on my Catholic blog. See you there if you want to follow. 

HERE

CAN THE POPE OVERRULE GOD?

But that’s the whole point. If a Christian leader said, “We are now blessing couples living in adultery,” there would be outrage.

FULL ARTICLE

Sunday, December 24, 2023

ARCHBISHOP CHARLES CHAPUT - THE LATEST TO GO "STRICKLAND"

By Tim Rohr

A few weeks ago, Pope Francis gave Bishop Joseph Strickland a "Texas boot" out of Tyler Texas. No reason was given, and maybe since Tyler, Texas, isn't a major diocese, maybe the pope figured he didn't need one. 

However, Archbishop Charles Chaput is another matter. Chaput is the former archbishop of both Denver and Philadelphia and is currently archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia, and he has just taken clear aim at the pope:

"Whether the hearer is delighted or angered by the latest Vatican text, the practical fallout is a wave of confusion in the bloodstream of the Church at Christmas—a season meant for joy, but now tangled up with frustration, doubt, and conflict."  

FULL ARTICLE

AT LEAST FR. JAMES MARTIN, S.J. IS HONEST

By Tim Rohr

In his Apostolic Administrator’s statement of Dec. 22, 2023 regarding Fiducia Supplicans ("FS"), Apostolic Administrator for Agana, Fr. Romeo Convocar, urges us to “carefully read the actual document, instead of relying on presentations or interpretations by media and other sources.” 

I did. 

And it doesn’t say what Fr. Convocar tells us it says. 

Fr. Convocar says that FS “refers to…the blessing of persons and not unions of persons or couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples.” 

Fr. Convocar’s “interpretation” absolutely contradicts the heading of Section III which is clearly titled: “Blessings of Couples in Irregular Situations and of Couples of the Same Sex.”

If Pope Francis wanted to make it clear that FS was only about “the blessing of persons and not unions,” as Fr. Convocar wants us to believe, then the title could have easily and clearly been: “Blessing of Persons in Irregular Situations and Persons in Same-Sex Unions.”

But it isn't.

In fact, FS uses the word “individual” only once, and not even in the singular: “the ordained minister could ask that the individuals have peace…” The blessing is clearly directed towards a “couple,” thus the Vatican’s clear use of the plural.  

FS uses the word "person" seven times, however, in the most critical part of the document, when the pope might have stuck with the singular to avoid confusion, he opts for the plural ("persons") and emphasizes that the blessing is for a couple and not a person by further using the word "themselves" instead of him or herself:

"...the ordained minister join in the prayer of those persons who, although in a union that cannot be compared in any way to a marriage, desire to entrust themselves to the Lord and his mercy..." (Par. 30)

When will these people stop lying to us?

At least Fr. James Martin is honest about what Pope Francis really wants:

Fr. James Martin, SJ, blessing a same-sex couple the day
after FS was promulgated

Friday, December 22, 2023

BISHOPS WON'T BLESS COUPLES

Forwarded to JungleWatch from David Sablan, President of Concerned Catholics of Guam, with a request to publish:


This document approved by Pope Francis is dangerous because it is trying to "define" the border between a Blessing of Repentance, which one receives in the Sacrament of Penance; and a General Blessing, which one receives at the end of Mass, for example.   That "border"  is too thin a line, and in the document too "gray" in its explanation.  The danger is one may construe (man is not perfect) that Blessing bestowed on same sex couples however way they want.  That "open door" is all the devil needs to convince the couple their living together or their sinful union is sanctioned by the Church through the Blessing of the priest or deacon.  

The crucial part of this document is:  It expects the Blessed to be on the same understanding of the Blessing as the priest or deacon.  

Here's a scenario of what I mean:  Before the priest bestows the Blessing on a same-sex couple, he explains what his Blessing is, why he is doing it, and what he expects the couple to take away from that Blessing, an enlightenment to live a celibate layman's life devoted to God.  But the devil tells the couple take the Blessing and flaunt it as an acceptance of the Church of your sinful lifestyle.  So the same-sex couple interprets the Blessing however way they want.  Scandals and confusion occurs in the family, the community, and before you know it, the Blessing's intent and purpose is distorted.  Devil wins.  Pope Francis needs to raise a high fence on the purpose of Blessings, and not just draw a border line on how to give a Blessing to same-sex couples.   Oy Vey.🕊️🙏🏻

Further. . .One must first repent (the Sacrament of Penance in confession) and give up living with a same-sex partner, then the Blessing can be bestowed to strengthen one's resolve.  And continue to go to confession and Mass, and receive the Holy Eucharist to avail oneself of the great gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

Mr. Sablan also provided the link to this video:


HOW MANY BUTTONS...?

By Tim Rohr


CatholicCulture.org contributor, Phil Lawler, begins an insightful analysis of Fiducia Supplicans by recalling a question by a fellow student asked during a Catholic high school religions class: “How many buttons can I undo on my girlfriend’s blouse before it’s a mortal sin?”

I smiled when I first read this because I recall similar questions in my Catholic high school religion classes in the early 1970's. (I am probably near the same age as the author). 

I recall that our audacity to ask such questions was encouraged by both the "fresh air" of a recently concluded Vatican II and religion teachers (usually still nuns or priests) who were "hip" and "with it," or who wanted to be. 

"Enjoy" Mr. Lawler's column:

At my all-boys Catholic high school, one day’s religion class during senior year devolved into a discussion of an issue that was apparently on the mind of at least one student: “How many buttons can I undo on my girlfriend’s blouse before it’s a mortal sin?”

Readers can make their own judgments about the prudence of the adult teacher who let that conversation take place in a classroom full of teenagers. For now I want to focus on the attitude behind the young man’s question—an attitude which is unfortunately widespread. What is the minimum that I have to do in order to avoid damnation? How much can I get away with? How far can I indulge myself without risking my immortal soul? CONTINUED

Thursday, December 21, 2023

FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS

By Tim Rohr


As many now know, Pope Francis has authorized priestly blessings for couples in "irregular unions," including same-sex unions. Most of what is in the news is filtered one way or another so you are encouraged to read the source document as posted on the Vatican website.

Saturday, December 16, 2023

HOW MUCH LOWER CAN WE SINK?

By Tim Rohr

Text of a talk given to the Latin Mass Society in London on November 24th, 2023. Mr. Sire’s audio of this talk can be heard here.

MY NOTE: The following is a copy of the text from the original article. However, I have segmented it into paragraphs for easier reading. Added links and emphases are mine. I share my final comment at the end.

+++++

When Joseph Shaw proposed this talk to me in early September, I suggested the title “Pope Francis: how much lower can we sink?”, but the fact is that since then we have been overtaken by events. 

Over the past eleven years we have all seen Pope Francis’ pontificate in a trajectory of accelerating descent into more and more overt betrayal of Catholic doctrine, but I must say I did not foresee the Gadarene rush we have seen just within the last three months. 

If we want to assess the very grave events that are happening around us, we need to try and understand the man we now have sitting on the throne of Peter. 

So before I comment on recent developments I would like to add some details to the picture of Pope Francis which I gave in my book The Dictator Pope, which was first published six years ago.

The Dictator Pope

To give you some background on this book, I should explain that I arrived to work in Rome in April 2013, less than a month after the election of Pope Francis, and I lived there for the next four years. I was working for the Order of Malta, an organisation which has close links to the Holy See, and I quickly began to hear the reports that were privately coming out of the Vatican. 

They showed a very different Francis from the genial, liberal figure, who was being presented by the world’s media. Insiders were saying that, as soon as the publicity cameras were off him, Francis became a different figure: arrogant, dismissive of people, given to foul language, and notorious for furious outbursts of temper which were known even to the Vatican chauffeurs

Over the next couple of years I continued to hear inside information, for example from the late Cardinal Pell about the internal politics involved in the two Synods on the Family in 2014 and 2015. Let us bear in mind that in his first years Pope Francis had barely shown his hand and that people assumed he was the liberal reformer that the Church supposedly needed. 

Friday, December 15, 2023

THE 12TH DAY

By Tim Rohr

The following was printed in the Guam Daily Post on Dec. 14, 2023.

Each year, as soon as we get into the “ber” months, there begins the usual tug-of-war over when to begin Christmas.

Retail establishments, anxious to make it or break it for another year, typically begin decorations and promotions as soon as the “ber” months begin or at least immediately after Halloween – since Halloween is a retail event in itself. 

CONTINUED AT THE POST

Thursday, December 14, 2023

CAN YOU GIVE COVER TO EVIL ACTS UNDER THE GUISE OF JUSTICE?

 (Posted by Frenchie)



  • This title might sound like a philosophy subject for a High School Senior Paper. Sadly, in our moral vacuumed intellectual environment, it appears obvious that questions of morality, right and wrong are being lost by most of our neighbors and friends, who appear to be sucked in a Vortex of lies, innuendos, unverified news, which in turn are used to justify the unjustifiable.
The majority of our ancestors had a clear understanding of what is right and wrong. Should you were confused, you could always refer to the 10 commandments for simple referral. Our "sophisticated" society, in turn, made it its mission to convince people of the superiority of human science, and reasoning, which led us to where we are now. A rudderless society, with little to no bearing on important issues, like life and death (both as humans understand it, and as Jesus taught us)

This is very obvious with the lack of debate, or even the beginning of the framing of an argument, when it comes to the latest conflict to engulf the psyche of most of the world population.

Strangely it is yesterday's advocates of freedom of speech, freedom of thoughts, and freedom of worship, who have morphed into mindless zombies, swallowing whatever nonsense, half truths and bold lies that are fed to us by a war propaganda machine, bent on justifying Ethnic cleansing and mass murders.

We certainly are very far from the teachings of Pope Pius XII about conflicts in the Holy Land. Most likely the large majority of Catholics don't even know what these teachings even are, just as they have no clue about the essential teachings of the Catholic Church.
To make it easy for the unwise, Pius XII made it clear, that any conflict on the Land of Jesus Christ could only be solved through peace and justice under God.

This is very far from the racist and racialist theories of Zionism, just as it is far from the heretical beliefs of the Muslim Brotherhood. (Except for their deference to Mary, which Our Lady of Lasalette prophetised would be their narrow way to salvation)
Meanwhile as in previous wars, horrors were attributed to Hamas, which so far have not been confirmed by either the ICC (International Criminal Court), the UN, or NGOs on the ground like Doctors without Borders, Amnesty International, Human rights watch, and many others.
Accusations of mass rapes, beheading, burning of bodies and other atrocities, seem to fall along the same lines as the Butcha massacres, Timisoara, Kosovo, the weapons of mass destructions in Irak, the nursing babies of Koweit, or the mass murders of civilians by Khadafi, or Assad. Urban fables at best, plain bold lies at worse.

What thing is sure for us Catholics: We are called to not fall for the lies of people or parties with genocidal tendencies like it has been the case in Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Iraq, Lybia or Syria, where millions of innocent civilians were killed for the benefit of evil, faceless, scavenging oligarchs and their minions.
We are not allowed to become complicit in the rationalisation of mass murder and Ethnic Cleansing. We have to be discerning, and able to cut through the lies of ill intentioned evil individuals. We have to be advocating for Peace and Justice through Christ, as Pius XII taught us.
Already our silence or our acquiescence have been the root cause of the attacks of our Christian Brothers in Palestine, who are the first victims of extremists of both sides. This is not new with the uptick of the conflict, but it has been going on for decades.
Lets pray for discernment, truth and Peace through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

GUAM: THE WORST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO GROW UP CATHOLIC?

By Tim Rohr


The Diocese of Sacramento, California, is the latest Catholic diocese to declare bankruptcy in the face of an overwhelming number of clergy sex abuse lawsuits. 

The bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento, California, announced on Saturday that “after careful consideration and consultation,” the diocese will be filing for bankruptcy amid a slate of over 250 clergy abuse lawsuits.- CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY

Per the website for the Diocese of Sacramento there are "over One Million Catholics in the Diocese of Sacramento." 

NOTE: Since its website has suddenly stopped functioning, here is a screenshot of a google search:


Using the One Million number and the 250 lawsuits, that's 2.5 clergy sex abuse suits per 10,000 population.

Guam


The 2020 Census found the total population for Guam to be 153,836 and that Catholics comprised 87.72% of the population: 134,945 persons. 

Per a report by the Guam Daily Post on May 21, 2022 there are "more than 270 Guam clergy sexual abuse claims..."

That's approx. 20 clergy sex abuse suits per 10,000 Catholics - nearly TEN TIMES the diocese of Sacramento. 

So the question for us in Guam is how could a population, so Catholic, and so devoted to the Blessed Mother and all things Catholic, become, statistically, one of the WORST places in the entire western Catholic World to be a Catholic?

(Note: Guam clergy sex abuse crisis is 14 times larger than that of the Archdiocese of Boston which was the basis for the Academy Award winning movie "Spotlight.")

And then, beyond the horrific clergy sex abuse numbers, there is the glaring fact that Guam "Catholics" - the majority of voters - continue to elect and re-elect the most radical pro-abortion and anti-Catholic politicians in all the nation to both our legislative and executive branches. 

The real question now is who will be the next Archbishop of Agana? 

For all that has come before and all that has been presented to us for more than half a century - we see nothing but a statistically catastrophic failure. 

God is not sleeping. Given our previous blessings, my thought is "Catholic" Guam is now on a very short leash. 

Prepare. I will.

RETURN OF THE DEVOURER

By Tim Rohr

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 2012, I wrote a column for the local archdiocesan newspaper titled RETURN OF THE DEVOURER to commemorate this Feast. Thanks for reading.



Sunday, December 10, 2023

THOUGHTS ON WHY YOU NEED A LEGAL EDUCATION - EVEN IF YOU NEVER WANT TO BE A LAWYER

By Tim Rohr



Pursuant to a 2018 Superior Court of Guam case, a father's parental rights to three of his biological children were permanently terminated.  On Nov. 29, 2023, after the father appealed, the Supreme Court of Guam affirmed the lower courts decision terminating the father's parental rights.

Things look pretty bad for the dad (A.H.), and for the mother too. In fact both of their parental rights were permanently terminated due to a multitude of problems including neglect, sexual abuse of the children, and both parents having criminal records. 

It is clear from the Supreme Court's opinion that both parents have lots of problems. It is also clear that both appear to be indigent (they were living in an abandoned house with the children), and neither parent speaks english. 

Yet, for someone with apparently little to no money, in prison at the time of his appeal, and unable to speak english, A.H. ends up before the Supreme Court in a sophisticated and probably very expensive case, wherein, as the Court opines, A.H. fails in his appeal because "A.H. has “fail[ed] to provide this [c]ourt with any cogent legal or constitutional analysis to support this argument.”

And this is the part that caught my attention. A.H. had counsel (a lawyer), and it was his lawyer's job to provide the "cogent legal or constitutional analysis to support this argument." It's what the lawyer was being paid to do (by who, I don't know). And it is quite clear that A.H. probably had no idea what was going on - as most of us, even if we speak english, would have no idea either which is why we hire lawyers. 

In issuing decisions, orders, and opinions, the Court always addresses the party and not counsel. And if counsel is negligent or even engaged in intentional malpractice, in the Court's eyes, that's the party's business and not the Court's. 

When a party is injured by his or her own counsel, the injured party can file a complaint for ineffective assistance of counsel, but good luck finding an attorney to represent you against another attorney. You're about out of luck as your bank account is out of money. 

After four years, four lawyers, tens of thousands of dollars, an empty bank account, and the loss of custody of my children, I decided I had no option but to go it alone. So I bought a book from NOLO titled REPRESENTING YOURSELF IN COURT and began to study. 

I also began to watch hours and hours of YouTube videos on how to do this, particularly videos put out by the channel titled THE PROPER PERSON. These videos were particularly helpful because in addition to much needed knowledge, I needed encouragement, and the guy behind THE PROPER PERSON had represented himself for eight years before finally getting permanent custody of his son - and this was against his ex who always had counsel.

I also subscribed to a course titled HOW TO WIN IN COURT WITHOUT A LAWYER. To be clear, it's not that I did not want a lawyer, I had four (and would ultimately have five), but what do you do when you're out of money and you've lost your children?

Lastly, I listened closely to certain close friends who I trusted, and without whom I'm not sure any of the knowledge from the books, videos, and courses would have mattered. 

In short, and as the resources I accessed maintain, everyone should have enough legal education to at least know how to find the right lawyer and how the judicial process works so you can keep your case moving forward even if you have counsel. Not knowing this in the beginning, and depending on my lawyers to do what I was paying them to do, cost me, not just money, but years with my children I can never replace. 

GEORGIA V. GUAM: THE BATTLE OF VOID AB INITIO

By Tim Rohr


The Supreme Court of Georgia has issued an opinion on a matter that was extremely similar to a matter that was recently before the Supreme Court of Guam.

The matter before the Georgia Court was whether or not a 2019 law which regulates abortion procedures was "void ab initio," meaning null from the beginning, because the 2019 law was enacted while Roe was still in effect.

This was the exact same question put forth by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero for declaratory judgment by the Supreme Court of Guam:

Petitioner Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, I Maga’hågan Guåhan (“the Governor”), filed a Request for Declaratory Judgment under 7 GCA § 4104 requesting that this court declare P.L. 20-134 void ab initio...

- In Re: Request of Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, I Maga'Hagan Guahan, Relative to the Validity and Enforceability of Public Law No. 20-134, 2023 Guam 11, CRQ23-001, October 31, 2023, Pg. 3

The majority opinion (Justices Torres and Manglona) opted to declare P.L. 20-134 of "no effect" on the basis that it was "impliedly repealed" by subsequent abortion legislation, and declined to address the Ultra Vires question.

We Decline to Address the Ultra Vires Question

- In Re: Request of Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, I Maga'Hagan Guahan, Relative to the Validity and Enforceability of Public Law No. 20-134, 2023 Guam 11, CRQ23-001, October 31, 2023, Pg. 27

 (Ultra Vires meaning that in 1990, and under Roe, the legislature did not have the authority to pass the subject law and was void ab initio - null from the beginning.)

The third Justice, Justice Carbullido, while concurring with the majority, opted to "address the Ultra Vires Question," holding that the law was void ab initio and spent twelve pages doing it, one page more than the majority spent (beginning on Pg. 19) arguing that the law was impliedly repealed:

I agree with the majority on its jurisdictional analysis and its conclusion that Public Law 20-134 was impliedly repealed. I further agree that 7 GCA § 4104 confers upon this court discretion to decline to provide relief even when its jurisdictional test is met. Where I part ways, is the decision to use that discretion in this case. In her ultra vires Question, the Governor properly asked this court to answer an important question about the scope of the power and authority of the Guam Legislature. This question merits an answer. I agree with the Governor that because Roe v. Wade was the law of the land in 1990, P.L. 20-134 was void ab initio, and the Legislature acted ultra vires in passing it. (Emphases added)

- In Re: Request of Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, I Maga'Hagan Guahan, Relative to the Validity and Enforceability of Public Law No. 20-134, 2023 Guam 11, CRQ23-001, October 31, 2023, Pg. 30

Back to the Supreme Court of Georgia and copying directly from Pg. 21 of its Opinion issued on Oct. 24, 2023, just a week before the Supreme Court of Guam (per Justice Carbullido's Concurrence) issued its very different Opinion on Oct. 31, 2023. 

It is clear from these well-established principles of Georgia law that a Georgia court must look to Dobbs — not Roe — in determining whether the LIFE Act was void ab initio when enacted in 2019. In Dobbs, the United States Supreme Court overruled its earlier decision in Roe, declaring that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Dobbs, 142 SCt at 2242-2243, and Georgia courts are “not permit[ted] . . . to persist in an error of federal constitutional law” when that error is clear under controlling United States Supreme Court precedent, Lejeune v. McLaughlin, 296 Ga. 291, 297-298 (2) (766 SE2d 803) (2014) (emphasis in original) (holding that we could not adhere to our precedent interpreting the United States Constitution, even though our interpretation had been based on a decision of the United States Supreme Court, because a subsequent Supreme Court decision clarified that our precedent was “simply wrong”). Accordingly, the trial court erred in analyzing whether the LIFE Act was void ab initio under now-overruled Roe-era precedent that controlled before Dobbs issued, rather than under the now- controlling Dobbs decision.

The foregoing needs no interpretation. It's quite clear that the Georgia court, instead of finding the 2019 law void ab initio, in effect, found Roe itself (pursuant to Dobbs) void ab initio.

The questions before the Supreme Court of Guam were for declaratory judgment only and it is unclear to what effect this judgment will have as the matter over the constitutionality of P.L. 20-134 goes forward to the Ninth Circuit - which will have the Georgia court's opinion before it.

Meanwhile, it would behoove the self-declared pro-lifers in the Guam legislature to grab a hold of "Belle's Law, get rid of the "speech" provisions, and reintroduce it. 

Friday, December 8, 2023

WE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO CLAIM WE DID NOT KNOW

 (Posted by Frenchie) 


St Porphyrius Church in Gaza

As we are now in our Theological New Year, and we have entered the Advent period, which is supposed to be a period of penance and reflection before we can celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; it is appropriate that we reflect in the momentus events we have gone through over the last three years, as well as the earth shattering conflicts we are faced with right now.

Today December 8th 2023, Catholics of the Island of Guam celebrate the Immaculate Conception of our Lady. This mystery that we share with the Orthodox Church and all what we loosely term the Eastern rites of the Christian Church, is one of the deepest divide that we have with our reformed brothers and sisters, who do not recognised the Virgin Birth of our Lord, and often refer to our deference to the mother of Christ as idolatry and corruption.


On this Holy day, again I have witnessed several of these disrespectful statements here on Guam, but also,in the USA and around the world. In itself it is just another of the many persecutions we Catholics have been subjected to in a sea of Protestant, Masonic and Atheist majority where our beliefs are threatening to the manipulators, and false prophets of all kind. I am old enough to remember the bitter discourse preceding the election of John F Kennedy, the first Catholic US President. Nothing much has changed below the surface, except that the 2nd Catholic President, is what could be best described as a CINO, and our current Pontiff is more worried about climate change, that he is about saving souls, or defending his Church against renewed persecutions.



Of course not a single of these things happens in a vacuum. 

During the last quarter of a century, ( a lifetime for most of our children) we have witnessed an intensification of the attacks on the freedom granted to us under the US constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. This led to a massive spying of US citizens by our own government. All this was done under the guise of better protecting us from "Muslim extremists" . Our representatives in DC were almost all on it from "the get go". Later we were sold two major wars (Afghanistan and Irak) under fabricated evidences and false narratives. These wars lasted for at least 20 years and costed the country blood, and treasure, but most of all moral rectitude, when we chose to ignore the 100s of thousands of innocent victims, classified under the gross euphemism of "collateral damage". Curiously, our Church leaders except for a few rare and courageous voices in the desert, were silent on these inequities, which we will be asked about on judgement day.

This is bringing us to our current issue, which is the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. I shall not dwell on the alleged atrocities, that are used to justify the current onslaught on the innocent civilian population of Gaza.

Two wrongs never justify a right. They never did, never do, and never will. St Thomas Aquinas is very clear in his analysis of justification for war.  Our silence, acquiescence, and in some cases embrace of the eradication of a foe that is being described as less than human, or barbaric, not civilised cannot hide the ugly, putrid side of this issue. How can one pretend to be pro-life and endorse the wonton eradication of tens of thousands of innocents. Perhaps we forgot the warning: Matthew 25.40 "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me"



As of today, 1.9 million out of 2.2 million have been "displaced" over 17 000 have been killed over 38000 wounded. more than 7000 children have lost their lives. All this in the name of Justice.

Meanwhile most of the oldest Christian denominations have disappeared from the Middle East, except in Egypt. The same protestant Christian Zionist who are pushing for war, to bring their narrow and blasphemous interpretation of the Bible, and support mass slaughters, are disparaging the Catholic Church here on Guam, and across the world.

We have a duty to save souls, we will not do that by endorsing murder and persecution, and certainly by remaining silent when confronted by full lies and half truths. The saying that  Evil prevailed because good people remained silent, should not apply to us. I shall make sure it won't apply to me. Pray that you won't













Thursday, December 7, 2023

CRUSHING SATAN'S HEAD

 By Tim Rohr


This is a personal "Catholic Rant," so I posted it on my "other" blog. Thanks for reading if you care too. 

Monday, December 4, 2023

ZIONISM: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

By Tim Rohr


I don't know enough yet to comment much about this, but the more I study and understand, the more I am convinced that the heresy of Christian Zionism is "the elephant in the room" in everything relative to Israel vs its neighbors since 1948. 

I previously posted a short course on the matter here.

Meanwhile, though, I have begun to question whether Kiko and his clan are Zionists. 

Per Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Kiko's "religion" is a "Jewish-Protestant heresy," but is Kiko-ism Zionist?

In 2012, a certain Rabbi David Rosen gave an address at one of Kiko's seminaries in Boston. In his talk, Rosen extolled Zionism and went on to say:

It is here that the role of educational and formation structures is so important and where the work of the movements, in particular the Neocatechumenal Way, has become so critical. As one of the most powerful Catholic movements...

Rosen bolsters his argument for the Catholic support of Jewish Zionism with several references to the words and actions of recent popes. 

However, probably due to his audience at the time (Kiko's), Rosen conveniently leaves out a devastating commentary by then-Pope Benedict XVI.

I'll probably come back to this - given its prominence on the world stage. But for now, feel free to educate yourselves...as I educate my own self.

Note: While preparing to publish this post, I received a message from a knowledgeable confrere re Kiko's history. It was this:

Kiko is from a converted Jewish family, that never abandoned their original beliefs. Conversos.

That could explain a lot.

 

TEN YEARS: A MILLION VIEWS PER YEAR

JungleWatch 12/4/2013



JungleWatch 12/4/2023 

Saturday, December 2, 2023

WHO KILLED JEFFREY EPSTEIN?

By Tim Rohr

There are more important things in this world going on than "who killed Jeffrey Epstein?" However, I have been watching the Epstein thing out of the corner of my eye for several years, not because I care much about the case, but because I knew at some point the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands would be implicated. It was just a matter of time. 

I lived in the V.I. in the early 80's for four years. And they were four years of "high adventure!" Stories I may tell another time. And, because I "married" into the Virgin Islands, I have remain connected to the goings-on there for many years thereafter. 

As you may know, Epstein ran his "Fantasy Sex Island" on his own private island, located just a swim away from the main island of St. Thomas. 

The U.S Territory of the Virgin Islands consists of three main islands, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John. And there are many smaller islands within the territory. "Little St. James," Epstein's island, is one of them.

Over the more than three decades I have either lived in or been in one way or another connected to the U.S. Virgin Islands (particularly St. Croix), I have made and retained some of my most treasured friendships, but also saw first hand a corruption that would make similar "corrupters" in the government of the sister territory of Guam blanch. 

So when the Epstein thing first broke, and long before "someone" killed him, my first thought was "how long will it be before the government of the VI is called out?" It was just too obvious. How could such a blatant, high-profile sex trafficking operation operate for years just a swim away from Government House?

On Nov. 22, 2023 - the 60th anniversary of the assassination of JFK by the way - a suit against some of the biggest names in the USVI government, including current Congresswoman, Stacey Plaskett, was filed.

And it's "juicy." Here are a couple of pertinent excerpts:

Government officials, including but not limited to Defendants First Lady Cecile de Jhong, Governor Kenneth Mapp, Senator Celestino White, Attorney General Vincent Frazer, Governor John de Jhong, Stacey Plaskett, and Senator Carlton Dowe facilitated Epstein in his ongoing sex trafficking operation by ensuring that Epstein received preferential treatment and unfettered, unmonitored freedom while in the USVI, and by providing Epstein and/or his companies instruments which further enabled his sex-trafficking ring and related crimes.

the USVI government leaders, staff, and officials benefitted by receiving generous financial donations, financial advice, support, loans, access to lines of credit from Epstein and his entities, and that crucial financial support allowed Epstein to successfully rape, sexually assault, coercively sex traffic Plaintiffs and numerous other women freely and openly, access to underage and other women, and a haven to act without government scrutiny -- by customs, police, or airport personnel -- or public knowledge.

I don't know if this will do it, but I have always longed for the Virgin Islands to be "cleaned up." It is such a magnificently beautiful place, but because of the corruption at every level (despite good people at every level) it is one of the most dangerous places in the world. The island of St. Croix, alone, ranks 7th in the world, per capita, for the most murders - most of which occur within a two mile radius of where I lived.

For decades, the crime and the danger has encouraged a real "brain drain" - the exodus of some of the VI's best people, many of whom are my former students.  And I, myself, had to make a fast "exodus" from the VI "back in the day" for "disturbing" a drug ring operating in a local Catholic high school, and whereafter my life was on the line. But that's a story for another day. 

Thursday, November 30, 2023

SACKING ROME - FROM THE INSIDE

By Tim Rohr


I previously opined about why I believed it took so long to get the Vatican to act on the Apuron case, and why, when the Vatican did act, it had to create a legal apparatus to address clerical sex abuse by a bishop. 

The Vatican had to do this because the usual offenders were almost always priests and they were dealt with by their bishops. 

But who deals with an offending bishop? At the time, no one - which is probably why Apuron became infamous for whispering "no one can get me" to people he thought were his confidants. 

As we know, it was only due to pounding public pressure (more than a year of pickets, almost daily news stories, the millions of visits to this blog, and ultimately the enactment of a law which enabled victims to sue the archdiocese) which brought the Vatican to Guam in the person of Cardinal Raymond Burke in February 2017. 

A year later, March 2018, Pope Francis removed Apuron as Archbishop of Agana and prohibited him from physically returning to Guam. 

It can be assumed that before the Pope forcibly removed Apuron that he most likely asked or even begged Apuron to resign. 

Francis - at the advice of his legal counselors - most likely hoped Apuron would resign because by forcibly removing him, Francis (i.e. "the Vatican), in effect, would be acting in the capacity of an employer and thus opening the door for institutional liability to the Vatican.

Prior to the Apuron affair, popes removed problem bishops from their dioceses but it appears to have always been via a request to resign (and probably promises of a cushy Rome pad and other perks). 

In Apuron's case, we can assume that he refused to resign due to the support of the second most powerful person in the Vatican at the time, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, who was the Neocats' inside guy. 

The Neocats had a lot to lose if Apuron fell. So they propped him up and created conspiracy stories. (One such conspiracy was reportedly led by "Tim Rohr and Associates," and it's still "a thing.")

Given the pressure from Filoni and the legal realities of liability, the pope most likely did not want to forcibly remove Apuron. And, the fact that he did anyway, is a sort of silent witness to just how serious Apuron's crimes were, especially after the pope himself denied Apuron's later appeal. 

Nevertheless, removing Apuron opened the door for lawyers to paint the Vatican as an employer, and we've seen several lawsuits here in Guam naming The Holy See (the Vatican) as a Defendant. 

But probably because Guam is a distant and small diocese, and because Apuron's crimes were so heinous, there is little support to sue the Vatican. Most people are quite thankful that the pope stepped in.

However, the same is not true in Tyler, Texas where the pope has forcibly removed a bishop from his diocese and named no crime. And according to Catholic writer John Zmirak, the pope has really stepped in it this time.

During the clerical sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, the Holy See deftly escaped direct criminal liability in US courts — for potentially hundreds of billions — by arguing, amongst other things, that a pope doesn’t have the power to remove a bishop against his will.

This was necessary to demonstrate that bishops aren’t employees of the Vatican. Many years later and [Francis ] has just done precisely that by sacking the holy Bishop Strickland.

Read more at: Pope Francis May Have Just Accidentally Saved My Church … by Bankrupting it.

NOTE: Speaking of Filoni, I came across this JW post from 2017 about Filoni himself exposing the Vatican to liability due to his micromanaging of RMS - which was exposed after the Laity Forward Movement banged on the RMS front door. 

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

POPE: "CARDINAL BURKE IS MY ENEMY"

 

Cardinal Burke is my enemy, so I take away his apartment and his salary,” the pope had said at the Nov. 20 meeting, according to Bussola’s undisclosed Vatican source. 

FULL STORY

THE BISHOP STRICKLAND THING BRINGS BACK MEMORIES


The facts surrounding Pope Francis' removal of Bishop Strickland as Bishop of Tyler, Texas reminds me of Apuron's removal of Msgr. James Benavente as Rector of the Cathedral in 2014.

---Bishop Strickland Not Given a Copy of the "Charges" Despite His Multiple Requests---

"I was read a list of the reasons I was being removed.  I would make these reasons available to you if possible; however, I was not given a copy of this list at that time, and I have not been able as of yet to obtain a copy despite my requests."

In similar fashion, Msgr. James, in July 2014, was hauled in before Apuron, David the Tall, and The Adrian, read a list of charges, and told to get out of the Cathedral. Like Bishop Strickland, Msgr. James asked for a copy of the charges that were read to him but was denied. (For more on that story, see APURON V BENAVENTE.)

What is it with these guys (including, now, the pope)? Don't they know that secrecy around something so public breeds scandal? And that breeding scandal is a sin? And possibly a mortal sin? If they have real charges against a cleric then go ahead and nail the list to the door of every church.

Ultimately, while Apuron would not give Msgr. James a copy of the charges, he would later give a copy to the media. In my opinion, that was Apuron's fatal mistake, and here's why. 

Apuron's removal of Msgr. James happened well before the allegations of Apuron's sex abuse of minors. Apuron's public attack on Msgr. James awoke a guy living in San Francisco named John Toves. And that's when all hell broke loose. It's pretty much all documented in the series titled ORCHESTRATED and later rehashed in HIGH DRAMA IN THE AOA.

Following is a copy of Bishop Strickland's letter dated Nov. 27, 2023:

An Open Letter to the Faithful from Bishop Joseph E. Strickland:

As I am sure you have heard by now, I have been removed as Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler.  I was asked to meet with the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, and in that meeting I was read a list of the reasons I was being removed.  I would make these reasons available to you if possible; however, I was not given a copy of this list at that time, and I have not been able as of yet to obtain a copy despite my requests.

In the reasons that were read to me, no mention was made of administrative problems or mismanagement of the diocese as the reasons for my removal.  The reasons given seemed to be related, for the most part, to my speaking the Truth of our Catholic faith, and to my warnings against anything that threatened that Truth (including things that were being brought up at the Synod on Synodality).  Also, mention was made of my not walking alongside my brother bishops as I defended the Church and her unchangeable teachings, and of my not implementing the motu propoio Traditionis custodes, which were I to have implemented, would have required me to leave part of my flock unfed and untended.  As a shepherd and protector of my Diocese, I could not take actions which I knew with certainty would injure part of my flock and deprive them of the spiritual goods which Christ entrusted to His Church.  I stand by my actions as they were necessary to protect my flock and to defend the Sacred Deposit of Faith. 

This is the time for everything now covered to be uncovered, and everything now hidden to be made clear.  In fact, it was in a time when things were being hidden regarding disgraced now-former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and the Church sex abuse scandal that it seems I first entered the Vatican’s radar. My main crime, then as now, seems to always have been about bringing to light that which others wanted to remain hidden.  Sadly, it now seems that it is Truth Himself, Our Lord Jesus Christ, that many desire to be hidden.

Although I am now without a diocese, I am still a bishop of the Church and therefore a successor of the apostles, and I must continue to speak Truth even if it requires my very life.  I want to say this to all of you today – DO NOT ever, ever leave the Church!  She is the Bride of Christ!  She is now undergoing her Passion, and you must resolve to stand resolutely at the cross!  It is important to attend Mass every Sunday and as often as possible, to spend time in adoration, to pray the Rosary daily, to go to confession regularly, and to call always upon the saints for assistance!  I urge you to persevere that you might say in the end, “I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith.”  

May Almighty God bless you, and may our Holy and Blessed Mother intercede for you and point you always to her Divine Son Jesus as we enter this Advent season.

I remain your humble father and servant,


Bishop Joseph E. Strickland 

Friday, November 24, 2023

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DID DARWIN GET IT RIGHT?

By Tim Rohr


I email subscribe to the History Channel's "This Day in History" newsletter and today there was this:

“Origin of Species” is published

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, a groundbreaking scientific work by British naturalist Charles Darwin, is published in England on November 24, 1859. Darwin’s theory argued that organisms gradually evolve through a process he called “natural selection.” In natural selection, organisms with genetic variations that suit their environment tend to propagate more descendants than organisms of the same species that lack the variation, thus influencing the overall genetic makeup of the species. CONTINUED

The post brought to mind a column I had written for our local Catholic paper 23 years ago. It was titled HOW HENRY VIII GAVE US RU-486, which, despite, its weird title, was centered on the common Genesis v Evolution debate. 

I had never had a problem with the theory of evolution, and from what I knew then, my Catholic Church - at least per John Paul II - was okay with it. However, in the year 2000, and when I wrote the aforesaid column, I had come across a book titled Did Darwin Get It Right-Catholics and the Theory of Evolution by George Sim Johnston. 

Johnston's questions blew my mind and led to my writing of the column HOW HENRY VIII GAVE US RU-486. 

Even though I was a weekly columnist for the local Catholic paper, the then-editor refused to run the column. I remember arguing with him on my cell phone sitting in a parking lot at Kings Restaurant. 

I don't remember what the objection was, and within a few months both him and I were fired by "the chancery" (another story I may tell someday), but I uploaded my story to my blog and forgot about it...until now. 

It's worth a read, but much more, a better read is "Did Darwin Get It Right?

THE WORLD WILL HATE YOU

By Tim Rohr



STORY: Pope Francis bonds with transgender women invited to Vatican luncheon: ‘I send the pope a big kiss!’

I'm not even going to get into the transgender thing here, nor the reported words and actions of the ever elusive pope. Instead, the more important thing is this (emphases added);

“Carla Segovia, a 46-year-old Argentine sex worker, said for transgender women like herself, being a godparent is the closest thing she will ever get to having a child of her own. She said that the new norms made her feel more comfortable about maybe one day returning fully to the faith that she was baptized in but fell away from after coming out as trans...This norm from Pope Francis brings me closer to finding that absolute serenity,’ she said, which she feels is necessary to be fully reconciled with the faith..."

That Ms. Segovia believes she has to feel "comfortable" and find "absolute serenity" before she can feel "fully reconciled with the faith," is not the fault of Ms. Segovia. It is the fault of decades (post-Vatican 2) of Catholic pastors elevating the idea of a "welcoming church" above The Cross of Jesus Christ because it is easier for them to do and ultimately makes them happy with themselves. 

And all of which is in absolute contradiction with Jesus himself who told us: The World will hate you." (Jn. 15: 18-25)

Thursday, November 23, 2023

THOUGHTS OF MY FATHER - ON HIS 91ST BIRTHDAY

By Tim Rohr


On this day, on what was probably a cold November day in 1932, my dad was born in a farmhouse on Mudbrook Road outside of Massillon, Ohio. He was the 11th of 14 children, 11 of whom would make it to adulthood. 

It was called Mudbrook Road because a mud brook crossed under the road and dead-ended in a pond on my grandfather's farm. 

My dad grew up in a tough depression-stressed time, and like all of his siblings, was put to work on the farm as soon as he was useful.

He attended St. Mary's Parish School in Massillon where behind the church is a cemetery with about a third of the headstones bearing the name "Rohr." 


He attended Jacksonville High School, down at the end of Mudbrook Rd., where he was a standout Jacksonville Tiger halfback. 

After high school he joined the Navy, was stationed in San Diego, and served in the Korean War, during which time he met my mom. Eight children came from that union beginning with me. 

My dad was the first generation in a long line of both sides of his family to leave farming and move into the industrial world. And the move was complicated by moving from a quiet, stable, German farm family life to the noise, hustle, unstable, and anonymous big city life of a place called Los Angeles. 

It was a tough world. Dad only had a high school education in an age when a college degree meant a lot. However he could outwork anyone and everyone and he did. 

From my youth, I remember when he was a milkman, delivered newspapers, hand dug and installed sewer lines, tore down houses, built houses, moved houses, climbed power poles for Southern California Edison, and ultimately became an ironworker (placing rebar) for many of the freeways that crisscross Los Angeles today.

In the mid 1970's he started his own rebar company with my brother and I as his only workers. I won't say employees because he never actually hired us. He couldn't afford to do that. But he'd give us 10 bucks here and there - and sometimes buy us lunch. 

Later, as his business grew and Dad established a rebar fabrication yard, my brother and I became employees and then my youngest brother, Chris, joined the team. (Chris owns and runs Rohr Steel today - a very successful and very busy operation.)

Those were very hard years. My dad wasn't one to drink and party with the guys who handed out contracts. And the farm boy in him caused him to take many handshake deals that led to damaging losses. But he pressed on. 

Becoming a father doesn't come with a manual - something I was to become acutely aware of when raising my own 11 (children). So he made his mistakes (as I have). 

I never begrudged my dad his mistakes. Working next to him in smoggy LA ditches for several years taught me how to work and how to bleed without complaining, but more so, how to respect my father. 

He accumulated more than a million dollars in wealth before he died in 2014. Not bad for an Ohio farm boy who never made it past high school at the end of Mudbrook Road.



Wednesday, November 22, 2023

AN OPEN DOOR FOR DEMONS

By Tim Rohr

Anonymous on November 22, 2023 at 1:36 PM asks:

Michael Voris of Church Militant has fallen. Thoughts? 


Following is my reply:

I was an early supporter and premium subscriber of Voris and what was initially called RealCatholicTV (later Church Militant). 

On local radio and press, I was essentially doing the same thing as Voris - pointing out the unbelievable that was happening in our Church, though in my case, it was mostly about our local Church.



However, after awhile, I noticed that Voris’ best people appeared to be leaving, so I sensed something was wrong. More so though, I was growing tired of the constant negative - even though I was doing some of that myself. 

Plus, I didn’t like what appeared to be a rather ridiculous looking toupee that seemed to be purposely unkempt to hide that it was a toupee. (I don't know if it was or not, but if it wasn't, he should have at least combed his hair.)

So after a few years, I dropped my premium membership but still listened to him from time to time, though as time went on, I sort of felt that he was growing ever more radical to keep an audience. 

Then at one point, he did a whole segment on his homosexuality and past homosexual relations. It was well done actually. Voris' "coming out" was noted in a recent AP story

In 2016, Voris acknowledged that when he was younger, he had for years been involved in “live-in relationships with homosexual men” and multiple other sexual relationships with men and women, actions he later abhorred as “extremely sinful.”

In the same AP story, Voris is reported to have said: “I need to conquer these demons,” he said, adding that they are “like spiritual terror” to him. 

Given Voris' present resignation from Church Militant and the other stuff he's involved in, I can only assume that his homosexual past and passions have come back to haunt him. 

Homosexual or heterosexual, whichever: unless one is married to a person of the opposite sex and the nuptial act is absolutely open to new life (a baby), then sexual acts of any kind are mortally sinful. That’s the Catholic teaching anyway, though you won’t hear it much. 

So I don’t know about Voris. And per the AP story, he’s not talking. My guess is that like Fr. Corapi, Fr. Frank Pavonne, and so many others - including a number of EWTN personalities, pride and fame is an open door for demons.

SO THIS GUY WON - DON'T CRY FOR MY ARGENTINA

By Tim Rohr

This past September, I authored a post titled: THE MOST POPULAR MAN IN ARGENTINA COMMENTS ON ABORTION AND THE POPE.

It's worth a read (or a re-read) now that Javier Milei is the new President of Argentina. 

As a side note, just about every story you can google about him turns up the words "right wing," "far-right," or something of the sort. 

It's sort of funny. This dude, a TV personality, looks more like a leftover hippie straight out of 1966 than anyone from the stereotyped "Right." 

Meanwhile, on a serious note. If Argentina is willing to elect a man who is willing to stand up to Pope Francis and the Far-Lefts of the world and speak so clearly against abortion, then there's a message there.