Tuesday, October 31, 2023

MEANWHILE, AFRICA RISES

By Tim Rohr


In a recent post (yesterday, actually) I re-reported what the NY Times was reporting about the conclusion of Pope Francis' weird Synod on Synodality.

In short, the conclusion was a massive DUD - at least for the progressives, given that said Synod, after a three-year build up, held their best hope ever for the (Catholic) Church to change its teaching on all things "sacred" to them: everything from homosexual relations to the ordination of women.

However...!

However, not reported by the Times is probably the REAL REASON Francis backed down from his much-trumpeted synodal agenda: simple math, or more specifically, demographic math.

It's no secret that the Catholic Faith, if not all of Christianity, has been waning in The West for a very long time. 

True, the decline of the Christian Faith in The West can be blamed on everything from modernity to the exposition of the the rot of Catholic clergy sex abuse. 

However, the real bottom line for The West is that we just aren't reproducing - not just converts, but babies, children - the next generation.

Western Christian churches are not so much empty because of scandals or watered-down doctrine, but because western clergy, including many Catholic clergy, since the 1960's, have embraced and have quietly allowed for - if not promoted -  artificial contraception.

Whether one is for or against contraception, the fact is: Nature doesn't care. 

Contraception means less children and a smaller future for whoever embraces it - while cultures which eschew it, continue to "be fruitful and multiply."

This is why some experts believe Europe will be mostly Muslim by 2050 (and the U.S. mostly Latino). 

Europe will not be Muslim by Jihad. There is no need. Christians, mostly white, European Christians, are simply contracepting themselves out of existence. 

But back to the Synod and its conclusion. 

Just a few days before said conclusion of the Synod, the Catholic News Agency posted:

Vatican statistics: Africa had biggest increase in Catholics, while numbers fell in Europe

This isn't news and it isn't new. This has been going on for decades. 

In fact, the most powerful person in the universal Catholic Church, probably much to Francis' consternation, is a Black Man, a Black African Man, a certain Cardinal Robert Sarah - who many thought would be the next pope after Benedict quit The Chair in 2013.

After Benedict quit, Sarah was sidelined, and Francis was elected under suspicious circumstances - which is why some, if not many, question the legitimacy of his papacy.

Upon his election - in almost Banana Republic style - Francis would be quick to get rid of his most powerful adversaries: the likes of Sarah (who, at the time was Prefect of the very powerful Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and (Cardinal Raymond) Burke (who, at the time was Prefect for the Apostolic Signatura - the "Supreme Court" of the Vatican) from the papal halls of power.

But, as the saying goes, "it's not nice to fool Mother Nature." And, in fact, it's not only "not nice to fool Mother Nature," it's impossible. As the great-late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once said: 

"God will forgive, man may forgive, but Nature never forgives." 

In short, and by way of analogy, a habitual drunkard, may, at the end of his life, repent for his drunkenness. And while he may find forgiveness from God and his wife (if he still has one), he will not find forgiveness from Nature. 

It will kill him anyway.

For nearly 70 years, Europe, followed by the rest of The West, has been preaching, teaching, and providing for a chemically, surgically, and mechanically "spaded" population...and mostly limitless access to abortion in case any of that fails. 

Meanwhile, Africans, Muslims, (and in The West) Latin Americans, continue to do what Nature manufactured them to do: reproduce...which is what all of Nature seeks to do unless it is "chemically, surgically, or mechanically" impeded by "bright" human beings. 

Certainly there are the concerns relative to the "quality of life" of those children who make it through the womb. But Nature cares nothing for that. In the end, "quality of life" will find its own measure: there will be no quality of anything if there is not life to work with. 

In the End

In the end, at least for Francis and his Synod, the reality is that the progressives of The West are old and soon to be dead - leaving, via their own decree, a just-as-dead lack of progeny. 

Meanwhile, Africa will rise...and probably already has.

Sunday, October 29, 2023

THE SYNOD AND THE FLOOR OF HELL

By Tim Rohr

Well, it appears the Synod on Synodality is over. And while the final session was a monthlong meeting (this month), the whole process took three years and caused a serious ruckus in the Catholic Church (the Church) from all sides. 

However, in the end, at least as the New York Times reports, Francis has "kicked the can down the road."

Note: As this post concerns mostly "Catholic stuff," the full post is continued at my "Catholic blog: "TheMassNeverEnds.com"


Thursday, October 26, 2023

FR. SEAMUS O'FLYNN...RIP. PLEASE PRAY FOR ME.

By Tim Rohr


Fr. Seamus O'Flynn. 

Could there ever be a more Irish or Catholic name than "Fr. Seamus O'Flynn?"

Fortunately, for me, and my then-small family, in 1986, there was not. 

Fr. Seamus literally kept me, my young wife, and my then-one year old son, from starving.

If memory serves me, I first met Fr. Seamus on a hot Florida day in August 1986. 

Fr. Seamus was then serving as the administrator of a Catholic high school in St. Augustine, Florida: St. Joseph's Academy. 

I had been hired to teach music at St. Joseph's, not by Fr. Seamus - who was the Administrator, but by the school's principal, whose name I choose not to share for this story. 

Sometime in August of 1986, my wife and I and our young son arrived in St. Augustine after a 3000 mile trip across the states in a 1972 Datsun pickup with a camper shell on the back and a bunch of camping stuff. 

In fact, at the time I first met with Fr. Seamus, my wife, son, and I were "camping out" in a nearby St. Augustine campground - cuz we had no place else to go. And just in case you've never had to camp out in August in Florida - just know it is heat and mosquito hell. 

But we had no choice. 

We were clean out of money and could only afford the $10 a night campground and hoped that the $2 chicken we had bought at the local Publix (grocery story) would keep us alive until my first paycheck. 

Ah, youth...when you don't think you are going to die!

Fortunately - and I don't remember how - I ended up in Fr. Seamus' office for an interview a few days after our landing in St. Augustine. 

I don't know if he liked me or I liked him, but we hit it off immediately. And while I didn't intend to tell him of my financial hardship, one way or another it came out. 

Fr. Seamus took out a $50 from his pocket and handed it to me. Given that I had spent my last $2 on what was left of a chicken at Publix, $50 was a veritable gift from Heaven. What's more, Fr. Seamus saw to it that I got an advance on my first paycheck which allowed us to move into a small apartment - even if we did not have the extra to turn on the power.

(As a BTW, our "small apartment" had to be about 10 miles from town given that "the town" was then still seriously racially segregated - another story.)

With whatever was left, I bought a roll of screen and nailed it over the front and back doors. We were living next to "the woods," and if you know what "the woods" are in Florida in August, you know it's not nice: lots of bugs and critters that crave human flesh. 

I had a phenomenal year at St. Joseph's Academy in St. Augustine, Florida (1986-1987). I was the band teacher, the religion teacher, and the drama teacher with a very successful production of the musical Godspell. And today, some of those same students - and fellow teachers - are still my friends. 

However, sometime in the Spring of 1987, I received a letter from a friend who was a teacher in Guam inviting me to teach at a school named St. John's. 

At the time, I was still sad about leaving the Virgin Islands where I had taught for four years before moving on to St. Augustine. So I said "yes!" I'll do it. 

I still remember the exact scenario when Fr. Seamus learned of my decision to leave St. Joseph's and move to Guam. He came to see me. He said: 

"I would ask you if there is anything I can do to make you stay here with us but I am sensing that your call to Guam is a call from God, so I won't intervene."

Our first years in Guam were their own "hell" - a story I may tell another day, but Guam became our home. 

And 11 kids, and, as of today, 37 years later, I and two of my sons are still here...and probably will be till the end. 

Thank you Fr. Seamus. I am quite sure you are a saint. Please pray for me. 

THOSE WHO CHOSE "NOT TO..."

By Tim Rohr

At some point, I'm going to be too old to care about who I offend, but I'm not at that point yet, so this post - since it is in reference to someone recently deceased and also greatly (locally) revered - will be intentionally vague. 

In a way, the identity of the recently deceased is not important given that he/she is but one of many powerful people here in Guam who could have made a difference in Guam's Catholic Church when it was still possible to make a difference, but for whatever reason, chose to remain "in the background." 

Of course, we all know - in fact the world knows - what has become of Guam's now bankrupt Catholic Church, and bankrupt not just legally and financially.

The present story goes back to about 2009 when I was being called by "the chancery" almost daily to appear at meetings to address what was probably our local church's first major crisis: same-sex union legislation as introduced and supported by then-Senator B.J. Cruz. 

I was called because at the time I was fairly active in the public media defending all things Catholic - and apparently this chancery think-tank thought I would be an asset to say stuff to the media that they themselves did not want to say. 

In other words, I was - in military terms - "cannon fodder," front line stuff: "look, here, shoot at him!"

I knew what "they" were doing and that I was being used, so I proposed a list of heavyweight Catholics who had both the legal acumen and the Catholic credentials to engage a heavyweight like BJ. I mean, I was just a "mosquito" to BJ, so why not bring out your big guns?

The chancery group nodded in agreement and advised that the persons on my list would be contacted.

At the next meeting, the verdict was that no one - NO ONE - (including the recently deceased) was willing to get involved. 

BJ's legislation went beyond mere legislation, it created a firestorm over homosexuality - or more specifically - homosexual acts, and the bottom line was that NO ONE in "our church" wanted to go there. 

Why?

Because almost everyone had a friend or relative who was homosexual. (Of course, as we now know, certain "members" of those chancery meetings were also homosexual.)

In order to attend these "meetings" - which were often in the middle of the day - I often had to hang a sign on my business saying "closed." This impacted my business and family finances, but I was willing to do it because my first occupation was the defense of our Catholic Church - and not the then-Archbishop. 

It was a difficult time. My only objective was to defend Catholic Church teaching relative to sex, homo or hetero sexual. Catholic Church teaching is extremely clear. The sexual act - more properly called the nuptial act - is naturally and divinely ordered to the begetting of children and thus presenting more souls to Our Lord for Him to Love. 

Chastity is that virtue which allows us to direct all our sexual desires, emotions and attractions toward the dignity of the person and the real meaning of love.  It means we learn to put our own desires and wants aside and instead look to the greatest good for the other.  And so, through practising the virtue of chastity, we learn self-mastery and true love – becoming more Christ-like. (See: CHASTITY)

But I digress.

The bottom line is that back then (2009...) our local Catholic Church heavy-hitters preferred NOT to engage. They liked their positions as "eucharistic ministers, lectors, greeters," etc. And aside from being friends and relatives of homosexuals, they knew and liked BJ. 

I didn't really know BJ, but even as his pain in the ___ in those days, I still liked him. He was honest and open. And one day, after most of the same-sex legislative drama was over, he showed up at my Catholic bookstore and purchased a book about Catholic teaching on homosexuality. 

But going back to how I opened this post - that some powerful people could have made a difference when making a difference could have mattered, our Church is now under court-order to divest itself of millions of dollars of property, property given to the Church by Guam's Catholic faithful over generations if not centuries. 

And most of this terrible trauma is due to the actions of homosexual clergy who helped themselves to young male flesh, and consequently, the people who could have made a difference but chose NOT TO.

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

MY FAMILY STORIES: THIRD STORY: THE BAPTISM OF GIANNA

By Tim Rohr

This post is the third in this personal series. The first is here. The second has been temporarily unpublished until I can further edit it. However, this third is good to go. 

Some preface will make Episode 3 a bit more interesting - at least for me. 

+++++

I, recently (today, actually) authored a post about Baptism, and wherein I cited Canon Law relative to the Church's requirements, both for the parent(s) and the godparent(s). 

To understand why I attach the "s" as a parenthetical (s), it would be best to read the post

In short though, Catholic baptism of an infant requires two things: 1) consent of at least one parent with intent to raise the child "in the Church;" and 2) a godparent, Baptized, Confirmed, having received First Holy Communion, and otherwise "in good standing."

In 2008, my wife and I brought our 11th child, Gianna, into this world. 


As faithful Catholics, we immediately sought to baptize Gianna with her eldest brother (Timmy) and sister (Michelle) as Gianna's godparents. 

However, due to some misdirection and oversight by me, Timmy and Michelle, both adults by then, had yet to be confirmed - a requirement for godparents. 

So we arranged with the then-pastor of Agat (Mt. Carmel), Fr. Andre, to first confirm Timmy and Michelle, and then immediately thereafter baptize Gianna, with Timmy and Michelle as the godparents. 

Normally, only a bishop can confirm. However, because we had requested that Timmy and Michelle be confirmed in the "Traditional Rite," Fr. Andre was able to obtain - from the then-bishop - particular faculties to confirm Timmy and Michelle. 

And while we were at it, we decided to have the next two younger siblings, Christopher and Jessica confirmed as well. 

All was going well on the evening of the Confirmation and Gianna's Baptism until Fr. Andre asked me who was the Sponsor for the confirmee's?

While some may consider me a Catholic guru of sorts, I really am not. I was so caught up in assuring that Gianna had valid godparents that I had forgotten that Gianna's godparents first needed their own godparent - a Confirmation Sponsor. 

Crazy. And "thank God" for cell phones, because I immediately called my friend, Margie, a good and faithful Catholic, a parishioner of Mt. Carmel, who lived just minutes away. 

Margie said "sure," and she showed up just minutes later and became, via Fr. Andre, the confirmation sponsor of Timmy, Michelle, Christopher, and Jessica. 


We then proceeded to Gianna's baptism with Timmy and Michelle as Gianna's godparents...and we all lived happily ever after. 


Well, not quite. Because no story really ends that way. But the story hasn't ended. Thank you for your prayers.

Gianna continues to grow into a beautiful child both inside and out....and William too. 

FRANCIS PICKS ON PARISH SECRETARIES

By Tim Rohr


According to an FB Page titled "Padre Pio Events Scotland," Pope Francis allegedly said the following this past Saturday during the homily at Mass at Casa Santa Marta:

"Think of a single mother who goes to the Church or the Parish, and tells the secretary: I WANT TO BAPTIZE MY SON." And the attendant says: No, you can't, because you're not married.. Let's keep in mind that this mother had the courage to continue with a pregnancy, and what is she facing? With a door closed! And so, if we continue this path and with this attitude, we are not doing the people, God's People right. Jesus created the seven sacraments and with this attitude we created an eighth: the sacrament of pastoral customs! WHO GOES TO THE CHURCH MUST FIND OPEN DOORS AND NOT TAXES OF FAITH". 

Francis goes on to say some other stuff, which I will copy later, but for now, let's address the scenario Francis presents at the beginning of his homily. 

First, if this pope is the master of anything, he is the master of creating "straw men," or, in this case, since the parish secretary is usually a woman, "straw women." 

Note: Rather than cite several examples of Francis' "expertise" at creating "strawmen," just google "Pope Francis straw men," or read more here

Second, there is NO Catholic Church law requiring that a parent be married as a prerequisite to the baptism of a child. I copy here directly from the relevant section of Canon Law: 

Can. 868 §1. For an infant to be baptized licitly:

1/ the parents or at least one of them or the person who legitimately takes their place must consent;

2/ there must be a founded hope that the infant will be brought up in the Catholic religion; if such hope is altogether lacking, the baptism is to be delayed according to the prescripts of particular law after the parents have been advised about the reason.

There is NOTHING here which requires the parent of the child to be married. NOTHING. (See here for other info.)

And as for the godparent(s):

Can. 872 Insofar as possible, a person to be baptized is to be given a sponsor who assists an adult in Christian initiation or together with the parents presents an infant for baptism. A sponsor also helps the baptized person to lead a Christian life in keeping with baptism and to fulfill faithfully the obligations inherent in it.

Can. 873 There is to be only one male sponsor or one female sponsor or one of each.

Can. 874 §1. To be permitted to take on the function of sponsor a person must:

1/ be designated by the one to be baptized, by the parents or the person who takes their place, or in their absence by the pastor or minister and have the aptitude and intention of fulfilling this function;

2/ have completed the sixteenth year of age, unless the diocesan bishop has established another age, or the pastor or minister has granted an exception for a just cause;

3/ be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on;

4/ not be bound by any canonical penalty legitimately imposed or declared;

5/ not be the father or mother of the one to be baptized.

There is NOTHING in Church Law which requires either the parent or the godparent to be married. The focus of Church Law is entirely on ensuring that the child, once baptized, will be raised and supported in the Faith. 

So why does Francis pick on poor parish secretaries? 

The short answer is "because he can, so he does." The longer answer is because they are easy "whipping boys" (in this case, girls), and useful for Francis to cast himself as the "Pope of the peripheries" - a common Francis theme - a champion of the supposed outcast, even if the outcast is not actually cast out.

As is his usual, Francis does not spend time on backing up his attacks with any references (since there aren't any), but goes on to justify his stomping on anyone he feels like stomping on by casting himself as a Regular-Joe who eats hot dogs and wears tennis shoes - but who is nevertheless, a saint:

Pope Francis just said, "We need saints without veils, without underwear." We need jeans and sneaker saints. We need saints to go to the movies, listen to music and hang out with their friends. We need saints that put God first and stand out in University. We need saints who seek time to pray every day and know how to fall in love with purity and chastity, or who consecrate their chastity. We need modern day saints, 21st century saints with spirituality embedded in our time. We need saints committed to the poor and the necessary social change. We need saints who live in the world, sanctify themselves in the world and who are not afraid to live in the world. We need saints who drink Coke and eat hot dogs, who are internet users, who listen to iPod. We need saints who love the Eucharist and who are not ashamed to have a beer or eat pizza on the weekend with friends. We need saints who love cinema, theater, music, dance, sports. We need sociable, open, normal, friendly, joyful, fellow saints. We need saints who are in the world and know how to taste the pure and good things of the world, but without being worldly." That has to be us!!!

Those who approach the Church should find the doors open and not find people who want to control the faith. This is what the Pope said Saturday morning during Mass in the Casa Santa Marta. 

My Note: I have no issue with whatever Francis wants to do or say. He is the pope. He is answerable only to God - for Whom he is the Vicar. Meanwhile, though, I will defend parish secretaries - assuming of course they don't do what Francis accuses them of doing. 

As a PS, several months ago I made a couple of posts about the actions of a parish secretary in regards to the funeral of a relative (here and here). Not happy with what the parish secretary said, I made an appointment with the pastor and all was well. It may be, that CATHOLICS WHO CARE, may need to persevere every once in a while. The "secretary" isn't the pastor. 

KIKO ARGUELLO WANTED POPE BENEDICT DEAD

By Tim Rohr



A decade after he resigned, it is still a mystery as to why Pope Benedict XVI became only the second pope in two thousand years to walk away from the papacy. Benedict himself blamed his health - even though he would live seemingly well for almost another decade. 

The real reason appears to be "the wolves" that Benedict himself told us about upon his election to the Chair of Peter:

"Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves." 

Prior to his election, Benedict was so strong that he was nicknamed "God's Rottweiler." So those "wolves" must have been many and mean, for ultimately Benedict did flee the papacy. 

Apparently, as this video demonstrates, Kiko Arguello, one of the founders of the Neocatechumenal Way, was (and is) one of those wolves.

"The only thing that can save us (the NCW) is if the pope (Benedict) dies." - Kiko Arguello

 


Friday, October 20, 2023

MUST LISTENS...

By Tim Rohr


This is an angle, or rather a "deep dive," into the root of the terror in the Middle-East that you are not going to hear about from any major media source, regardless of which side they're on. 

It's not just Jews vs Muslims - as the pop media would have us believe. It's actually a monstrous Christian Heresy vs both Jews AND Muslims, if not the whole world. 

The following series of two talks lays out clearly the history of Christian Zionism, a "theology" which found its full force in American politics and has wrought not just the current murderous mess in the Middle-East, but the murderous mess of decades past and decades to come. 

Christian Zionism part 1: Tracing the Lines of a Warmongering Heresy

Christian Zionism part 2: Why Christian Zionism Is a Problem


Articles for further reading:

Christian Zionism

United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine

Thursday, October 19, 2023

A TO DO LIST FROM GOD WHILE IN EXILE

By Tim Rohr


Chuck White has posted a piece at his blog, THE THOUGHTFUL CATHOLIC, titled "By the Waters of Babylon" wherein Chuck recounts God's prescription - through the Prophet Jeremiah - to The Chosen People after King Nebuchadnezzar hauled them off to exile in Babylon.

God, via Jeremiah, doesn't advise Israel to rise up and fight or to resist their captors in any way, but to have large families and prosper. 

ENJOY



Tuesday, October 17, 2023

PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM OFFERS HIMSELF IN TRADE TO HAMAS

By Tim Rohr

Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem offers to be exchanged for hostages held by Hamas

Link

I doubt Hamas will take him on his offer. Slaughtering children is much more useful for terrorists than holding or even killing a bishop.

But still. It's an awesome step for a Catholic prelate to offer himself up in a world of Catholic prelates who not only mostly run for cover, but party at synods while their Church collapses. 

Meanwhile, if there ever was a time for Francis to step up, it is now. 

Imagine a pope, this pope, Pope Francis, offering to do what this obscure bishop is offering to do. The benefits are fantastic.

First, should Francis lose his life in this "trade," he would certainly and immediately go to Heaven as a Martyr and would thereafter be immediately proclaimed a Saint.

Second, Francis is near the end of his earthly life anyway. 

Third, Nothing would turn "the world" more against Hamas, and terrorism generally, than the killing of a pope by terrorists.

Fourth, it is heavily rumored, that ISIS, if not Hamas, has already targeted Rome and the Pope.

Fifth, God will exact his vengeance - which I believe Hamas knows - and, which is why Hamas would never take such a deal. They would rather slaughter children on social media. 

CARMEN SUPPORTER GETS LEVELED BY "UNKNOWN"

Posted by Tim

You presumably haven't read anything written in the article. Carmen Hernandez was not just a tough-talker who offended people; other Saints have been; Christ annoyed a lot of people. Hernandez taught un-Catholic nonsense, treated her supposed brothers and sisters in faith like trash and was hostile to aspects of Catholic devotion. Still hope she's canonised? If so I think you may be in the wrong Church.

Follow this link to the Comment for the original post by La Paz in 2017. Apparently, the war continues. 

ISRAEL V GAZA AND THE FEWNESS OF THE SAVED

By Tim Rohr


In spite of hearing about the conflict in the Middle-East all my life, I consider myself too uninformed to comment about the current conflict directly other than to oppose terrorism of any sort. 

However, I believe, that what is happening there still poses a lesson for us...both in the United States and in Guam.

The bottom line is that bad things do happen to good people, not only because of what bad people do but also because of what good people do not do. 

A well-worn saying, attributed to Edmund Burke, is "the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

The attribution to Burke has been contested, but because the mantra makes startling sense it has survived regardless of who said it. 

As a side note, the genesis of this quote can somewhat be traced to John Stuart Mills, an English philosopher and economist, who in 1867 stated: "Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing."

Note: Actually, the quote by Mills is even more on point and powerful.

We know this

Most of us intuitively know this. We see a traffic accident and we just want to drive on. We know of drug dealings in the house down the street and we choose to ignore. We hear of child abuse, clergy sex abuse, government abuse, and we retreat. 

It's just self-preservation, really - our deepest instinct. But there are consequences, and the sheep will pay as well as the goats. And while God will separate the sheep from the goats at The Judgment, "the World" will make no such distinction. The good will suffer with the bad: the weeds and the wheat shall be cut down together.

Relative to the current Israel-Gaza thing, the bottom line is that Gaza has been self-governed since 2005 and 90% of Gazans have elected and re-elected Hamas as their governing authority for the last 16 years. 

Given what Hamas is, it could be said that most Gazans were too fearful to elect anyone else. 

The same can be said about Hitler and his National Socialist Party when they were democratically elected in 1933 and by which time Hitler had already been scary for years. The majority of Germans can't be faulted - at least at the time - for just wanting to tend their families and their gardens and avoid the wrath of the Brown Shirts, so "let's just vote for Hitler and hope he's not what he appears to be." Most of us would have done the same.

In the end of course, all Germans suffered, not just Hitler's guys. And unfortunately, many Israeli's and Gazans have suffered and will suffer in the ongoing conflict, and not just the bad guys - regardless of what side they are on. The weeds will grow with the wheat and both will be cut down together. It's one of the mysteries of God's justice. 

Suffering for the misdeeds of others is nothing new of course. Fr. Chad Ripperger, a well known Catholic priest and exorcist, has an excellent series of talks about "generational spirits," in which he reminds us of how evil can infect us generationally and wherein we can and do suffer for the sins of our fathers, our mothers, and our ancestors - going back generations.

This, of course, is the very basis of the Doctrine of Original Sin. While through Christ we can be saved from eternal consequences of Original Sin through Baptism, we are not saved from the temporal consequences of Original Sin: suffering and death. 

Leaving history and theology, let's bring this closer to home. 

For whatever reason, Catholics, for decades now, have been the largest voting bloc for pro-abortion candidates, specifically presidential candidates, and most recently, Obama (54% in 2008 and 50% in 2012) and Biden (51% in 2020). 

Here is a statement by Catholics for Choice about the election of Biden:

US CATHOLIC VOTERS PLAYED A pivotal role in the 2020 election, helping lift Democrat Joe Biden to a narrow victory over President Donald Trump. In so doing, they sent a powerful message about support for abortion rights and access to reproductive healthcare among US Catholics today, as well as the limited role they believe US bishops should play in our electoral system.

Sins that cry to Heaven for vengeance

There are four mortal sins that are so evil that they are said to be sins that cry to heaven for vengeance: willful murder (Gn 4:10), sodomy (Gn 18:20-21), oppression of the poor (Ex 2:23), and defrauding workers of their just wages (Jas 5:4).

Murder is first on the list for a reason. Since only God can give Life, only God has the right to take it. Murder, which is the willful taking of the life of an innocent human being is an immediate repudiation of God's authority to His Face. How much more so when the murdered human is not just innocent, but defenseless, as is a child in the womb - the most innocent and defenseless of all?

Thus it can be clearly said that Abortion, of all sins, is the sin most offensive to God. And yet, we Catholics, the majority of we Catholics, champion, campaign for, elect, and support not only the Obamas and Bidens of the United States, but the Lou Leon Guerrero's of Guam. 

And, I would venture to say that we in Guam are all the more culpable given that so many "Lou" supporters (even amongst the clergy) are regular Mass-going communicants.

How long before the Lord gives permission for the harvesters of heaven to chop down our wheat with the weeds? 

If you are Catholic, and even if you are not, you may want to read THE LITTLE NUMBER OF THOSE WHO ARE SAVED by Saint Leonard of Port Maurice. And you may want to think twice about who you next vote for. 

Monday, October 16, 2023

MORE ON THE RON RICHARDS KERFUFFLE

 (posted by Frenchie)



From the look of things, this story still has some legs.

After articles here, but also on Church Militant, many questions have been raised, most of them without good answers. This weekend Kandit News followed up with an article of their own, which brought more questions, following less than candid answers from the Chancery through their spokesman.

Lets review that issue first. Following some pointed questions by Troy Torres, himself a victim of the Apuron administration, Mr Diaz (a holdout of the Apuron era, like most permanent staff at the Chancery), answered the following:

*"The Archdiocese has viewed the post on social media regarding the ministry of Fr Ron Richards in the Archdiocese of Detroit, including his personal message to the congregation of his parish. That's the extent of what we know"

*'Fr Ron formerly served with us temporary as Episcopal Vicar, before leaving us on May 31 2022 and returning to the Archdiocese of Detroit, a year and a half ago"

*"He served the Church faithfully, properly and effectively during his time with us. We care for his well being, and offer prayers for him"

Sunday, October 15, 2023

MORE MEN WITHOUT CHESTS

By Tim Rohr


"We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful." —C.S. Lewis

I was saving this post for a future Guam Daily Post column, but as I only get one column per month and there are many other things I will want to write about for the Post I've decided to share this here and now, especially given that JW has a much larger readership than the Post and there are many who may benefit from the following, and perhaps immediately. 

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It is not clear who said that “anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice in America.” But regardless of who said it, as a Catholic, I am inclined to mostly agree. 


I say “mostly” because there is another last “acceptable prejudice” that I believe is bigger than anti-Catholicism: the “acceptable prejudice” against men…especially white men. 


There is a mountain of data to support this but most of it would be pedantic and boring, so I’ll cut to the chase: 


According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in 2021, men died by suicide 3.9 times more than women, and white men killed themselves at a rate many times that of Blacks and Hispanics. 


Statistics from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center tell us that most of these white men were middle-aged: “between 2015 and 2020, persons over the age of 45 accounted for the majority of U.S. suicides.” 


Why are middle-aged white men killing themselves? Aren’t they members of the same demographic that is supposed to define “white privilege?” Aren’t they the racists, the sexists, the oppressors?


I could really launch off here as to why this is happening- shooting arrows at everything from the destruction of men and fathers in the family court system to the emasculation of men and fathers in just about every movie and TV program over the last twenty years, as well as the feminization of males from movie stars to Catholic pastors. 


The real culprit though appears to be divorce. 


According to Psychology Today, divorced men are nine times more likely to die by suicide than women.


Why? 


Aren’t middle-aged white men the dudes who run off with “young things” and leave their menopausal, putting-on-the pounds, greying wife?


The facts say otherwise. According to Divorce.com, it's the women who leave their men: women initiate 69% of divorces. 


One might think that a husband’s unfaithfulness is the reason women initiate divorce, but according to the same Divorce.com article, unmet needs are the top reason and unfaithfulness is third.


Interestingly, the number two reason is an earnings imbalance wherein women who make more than their husbands have an 8.4% chance of divorcing versus a 2.9% chance when the husband earns more.


But back to the serious matter at hand, despite all the propaganda to the contrary, the number one victim in America, based on the suicide facts, is not Black, is not Hispanic, is not a woman, but a white, middle-aged male whose wife has left him.


Without getting too personal, suffice it to say I have had some experience in this arena. And it is not pretty. 


You’re a guy. And a middle-aged guy. That means you’re a bad guy. I can’t tell you how many times I heard “What did you do?” or “You must have done something!” 


In fact, my own then-attorney on the eve of trial turned on me and said, “you know Mr. Rohr, you’re a really bad father.” 


It’s not hard to see how a middle-aged man, white or otherwise, can feel that the world is against him and simply take another way out. 


He is middle-aged. He is tired. Everything he ever worked for and dreamt of is gone in an instant. 


And he is being crucified in court in declarations from his wife - and even sometimes his adult children - with the most outrageous allegations, and all permissible because such declarations are considered “privileged communications.”


And all the while, his own lawyer is saying “You must have done something wrong. Look, your wife hates you, your children hate you, just give in and settle. Give her the house and the kids and sign here for child support.” 


At the risk of continuing to be too personal, I got rid of that lawyer (my 4th at the time), learned how to represent myself, later found an attorney willing to let me write my own papers, and, in the end, while I won’t say I won, I will say, I, a middle-aged white male, am still standing, quite alive, and not willing to accept the last acceptable prejudice in America, be it against Catholics or middle-aged white men. 

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I was saving the following for a separate article or JW post, but choose to add it here:

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Guam is very different.

First, we must note that -per a report published by Guam State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup (GSEOW), Guam’s suicide rate (in 2020), at 30 per 100,000 population, is more than double the suicide rate of the rest of the U.S. which is 13.5.

Next, Guam’s suicide facts are unique in other ways. 

According to Dr. Annette David, lead epidemiologist of GSEOW, in 2020, 34 percent of all Guam suicide victims were 20 to 29 years old - half the age of the national average.

Moreover, while men killed themselves at at a rate of 4 to 1 in the rest of the U.S., here in Guam, according to David, the male to female rate in Guam is 26 to 1. 

Let’s say that again. The male to female suicide ratio is 26 males for every one female.

Staying with the Guam facts, our outrageous suicide rate and its anomalous characteristics is really no surprise. 

Guam celebrates its matriarchal cultural superstructure wherein males are rarely encouraged to lead while we push females to the top of our matriarchy: witness our self-congratulations for electing our first female governor, our first openly gay Lt. Governor, and a dominant female majority in the legislature led by a female speaker.

But back to the original thrust of this post.

Guam is not unique in crushing males, we’re just especially adept at it. 

The rest of the nation, if not the western world, has functionally engendered a world of “men without chests” - as C.S. Lewis called them - but continues to demand that the same hollowed and psychologically castrated men perform as if they were not. 

Saturday, October 14, 2023

KANDIT PICKS UP THE FR. RON RICHARDS STORY

Former chancellor the subject of scandal in Detroit • By Troy Torres

Fr. Ronald Richards played a pivotal role in what became a long, drawn out battle by the Archdiocese of Agana against awarding victims of clergy abuse what a federal judge finally awarded them last year, about the same time he left the archdiocese. The former chancellor was the de facto leader of the archdiocese during that crucial period while Archbishop Michael Byrnes was here and battling illness, according to several reports in JungleWatch. CONTINUED

Friday, October 13, 2023

AN ANGEL STORY - IN PRINT

By Tim Rohr


I've shared this story on my personal blogs over many years. 

This year, the Guam Daily Post was kind enough to allow me to share this same story on its printed pages. 

Special accolades are due to whoever is running the Post these days. As you know, it is Guam's only surviving daily newspaper. 

The Post did not have to add a picture of St Michael and a description as it does does in its publication of my "letter," however "they" did. So thank you. 

Hoping the best for the Post. 

Meanwhile, here is the link to my October column as well as a this link (and copy below) to the e-edition.

Thank you for reading. 




Wednesday, October 11, 2023

WHEN THE CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST

 (Posted by Frenchie)




A little over two years ago on June 6 2021, I wrote a piece on this Blog about Fr. Richards.

At the time Fr Richards was de Facto managing our Archdiocese, since Archbishop Byrnes had started having some health issues, and was off island for long periods of time. I had criticized on many occasions, the behavior, and way of handling business of this priest who was "on loan from the Archdiocese of Detroit, Michigan" Fr Richards had landed in Guam not long after Archbishop Byrnes in 2016. Originally he was supposed to council the Archbishop on matters of administration and Canon law. His official title was special assistant to the Archbishop.

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

TEN YEARS AGO TODAY

By Tim Rohr

Ten years ago today was one of the most "fun" days of my life. 

I was sitting with a recent Catholic convert - a former Anglican priest-convert to Catholicism actually - at what used to be the Mermaid Tavern in Agana and I showed him a letter I had received earlier that day from a very powerful Catholic Cardinal.

The Catholic Cardinal was Edwin Cardinal O'Brien - a real important dude in those days. 

O'Brien's letter basically ordered me to stop persecuting Apuron.

A mostly full account of the story starts here.

However, five years later, in 2018, the same O'Brien would be named by Archbishop Vigano, former papal nuncio to the United States, as part of the homosexual cabal which collaborated in the STILL ongoing coverup for the former Cardinal McCarrick. 

All this is esoteric to most. 

However, given what happened to me personally in 2017-2018, there is lots of evidence that certain powers in the Vatican had real cause to destroy me before things got out of hand for Apuron.

And I'll get back to this...at some point. 



FR. RON RICHARDS REVISITED

By Tim Rohr

It's always an education to review the STATS on JW. Here's the top 3 most viewed posts over the last seven days:


The second and third stories are new stories and were posted within the past week. 

However, the NUMBER ONE story was posted by Frenchie more than two years ago on June 6, 2021. 

It's not often we get such interest in an "old" story unless there is something NEW going on. 

Frenchie will soon have a post as to what might be piquing new interest into Fr. Ronald Richards, former Vicar General to the Archdiocese of Agana and special assistant to Archbishop Byrnes, and who, in my opinion, was largely responsible for the continuing mess in the Archdiocese of Agana. 

Monday, October 9, 2023

5 REASONS YOUR DAUGHTER SHOULD BE READING SIGRID UNDSET

By Tim Rohr


I've written about the Norwegian author, Sigrid Undset, before, and most recently a couple days ago in a post about converts to Catholicism - which Undset is.

I'm not a big literature guy, so until about ten years ago I had never heard of Undset. 

I learned of Sigrid Undset from a friend. I'll call her Mary. Mary was an atheist, really atheist. 

Nevertheless, Mary was a lover of novels and somehow she came across Sigrid Undset's trilogy, Kristen Lavransdatter

Kristen is steeped in the Catholicism of 14th century Norway. And since I was the "most Catholic guy" Mary knew, she told me about Kristen - enthusiastically!

I don't suppose I would have read Kristen except for the fact that I was curious as to why Mary, an atheist, was so enthusiastic about a novel that was so "Catholic." So I bought the book, books actually, it's a trilogy. 

I won't say I couldn't "put it down." I put it down many times simply because Undset's prose was so extraordinarily deep and consuming that I had to digest it in little bites. I'll just say that I didn't want the story to end...and I'm not a reader or fan of fiction.

Though Undset would later convert to Catholicism, she was still an atheist at the time she penned Kristen and there was nothing in Kristen that was intentionally Catholic. Catholicism was simply the 14th century, Norwegian, historical milieu in which Kristen is situated.  

If anything, Undset, at the time, had no care for religion, but was deep into history, as she wanted her historical fiction to be absolutely authentic - which it certainly is. 

The eminent Anglican convert to Catholicism, Cardinal John Henry Newman, famously said, “To be deep in history is to cease to be a Protestant.” Or in other words, "to be deep in history is to be Catholic." 

Undset, despite her hardcore, early twentieth century, cold atheism - in becoming "deep in history" to research her writings - researched and wrote herself into the Catholic Church, and along the way picked up the 1928 Nobel Prize for Literature. 

Oh, and yes, Mary became Catholic too. 

It was an amazing thing to watch: a cold, analytical atheist...then, a sudden "reversal," and a desire, nay,  a hunger, to become Catholic. 

What was more amazing - at least to me - was Mary's persistence to become Catholic in the face of what Mary told me about her Catholic "classes," which were conducted by well-meaning lay people who knew much less about the Catholic Faith than Mary had already learned on her own. 

Amazingly Mary sat quietly through these watered-down, spiritless, and even error-filled "classes" (her description), and simply "put up" with it because it was a door she had to get through to become Catholic - a hunger which could not be quenched short of Baptism, Holy Communion, and Confirmation.

Note: We "cradle-Catholics have no idea." 

Mary had no reason to become Catholic other than she knew Catholicism was true and she wanted to be true, just like Sigrid Undset...and so many others who have quietly converted.

Mary was not seeking to please anyone but Jesus. 

So often converts come into the Church to please a spouse, or in-laws, or to be otherwise socially accepted in a predominantly Catholic society - like Guam. But not Mary. 

And her conversion may be even more exceptional than Sigrid's.

At least in Undset's time (early 20th century), there still existed a solid Roman Catholic Church with its unshakeable doctrine, popes willing to die for that doctrine, and the wondrous and immutable Mass of the Ages. 

Not so in Mary's time. And I need not carry on about Mass with bongos, a pope who insists on "making a mess," and doctrine that is as hard to find as is the tabernacle in many churches. 

But, in her heart, Mary knew what was true, and she could care less about who was pope, what Fr. Feelgood was preaching about this Sunday, or bongo Masses. In fact, Mary even went so far as to attempt to teach her functionally atheist adult children about the evils of contraception - openly admitting to them that she had been wrong to contracept. 

But back to Sigrid Undset. 

My great regret is I didn't discover Sigrid Undset earlier so I could share her with my six daughters - though I did give my youngest, a young teen, a copy of Kristen, last I saw her. I pray she reads it.

Here's a great article (which I both link and copy in full below):

5 Reasons your daughter should be reading Sigrid Undset

In 1920, a Norwegian woman named Sigrid Undset published a historical novel called Kristin Lavransdatter. A few years later, Undset would be received into the Catholic Church. And a few years after that, she would win the Nobel Prize for literature and donate all the prize money to charity. One of the charities she supported served mentally disabled children, and her passion for this arose from being a mother of two children of her own who struggled with disabilities, one of whom she had adopted.

Undset is a remarkable woman and deserves to be a feminist hero simply for her life-story alone.

But Kristin Lavransdatter reflects the personality of its author. Written at a time when women in novels were often either docile and lacking personality or sinful seductresses heading to a bad end, Kristin is neither. Set in medieval Scandinavia, the trilogy follows Kristin as she grows up, makes mistakes, sins, and fights her way to redemption and happiness. Her life is real, her experiences difficult, the choices she makes disastrous, but she also matures as a woman, finds forgiveness, and follows an interior journey of spiritual development.

The novel is long, but the fascinating descriptions of medieval life and the content of the story make it worth it. This book is probably best suited for teenage girls and older because of the challenging subject matter, but I can think of no better book for my own daughters to read during this period of their life as they too are finding their place in the world.

Here are 5 reasons I want my daughters to read Undset’s Kristin Lavransdatter:

Kristin makes mistakes with boys

I mean, she makes huge mistakes. As she approaches marriagable age, a local man named Simon shows his interest. He is kind, good, and a steady provider, so of course Kristin impulsively rejects him. Instead she attaches herself to an errant knight with no money and no morals, follows him out of town, and conceives a child with him.

When it comes to dating and especially teenage romances, we’ve probably all made mistakes — that’s simply part of growing up. Kristin shows us the natural result of those mistakes when they go too far and how careful we must be with the gift of our hearts. Hopefully her story will help my daughters develop prudence to avoid sharing a similar heartache.

Kristin quarrels with her father

Daddys and daughters have arguments; it’s a fact of life. Those arguments don’t have to separate us forever, though. Kristin has a major quarrel with her father when she spurns Simon, the husband her father has chosen for her, and instead runs off with her handsome playboy. Bookish Girl writes, “Kristin defies her father, her community, and her god to bind herself to Erland, boldly assuming all the dangers and adventures of his turbulent life. As her admirer Simon Andresson says: ‘You trod all underfoot and braved all that you might come together.’” In the end, Kristin and her father reconcile, even though he never approved of her actions.

Kristin holds grudges

Kristin has trouble with forgiveness, and in the book this isn’t depicted as a healthy personality trait. For instance, after quarreling with Erland, now her husband, they separate and refuse to grant each other forgiveness. Finally, it is only as Erland is dying in her arms that they come back together. It is so easy to cut people out of our lives the instant we think  they’ve wronged us that sometimes the decision to do so is considered a virtue. Undset doesn’t fall into that trap, and examines honestly the effects of unforgiveness in our lives.

Kristin is a realistic mother

Much of the novel deals with the joys and challenges of motherhood. It doesn’t ignore realities like breastfeeding and nausea and it also doesn’t leave out the enchantment of cuddling with an infant for naptime.

Undset also masterfully describes the spiritual effects of motherhood. Kristin contemplates her first child who was born while she was still unmarried, “Conceived in sin. Carried under her hard, evil heart. Pulled out of her sin-tainted body, so pure, so healthy, so inexpressibly lovely and fresh and innocent. This undeserved beneficence breaks her heart in two; crushed with remorse, she lays there with tears welling up out of her soul like blood from a mortal wound.”

The innocence and purity of the child is a gift to the mother, who is careworn and feels like a failure. None of us is the perfect parent, but children can become our guide to heaven.

Kristin is religious

In pop culture, religion tends to be relegated to a few, ethereal saints or hypocritical puritans. Kristin’s faith is neither. It’s earthy and authentic. In other words, it’s an actual, honest depiction of religion as we all experience it.

Ruth Graham writes at Slate, “As flawed as Kristin is — she is proud, lustful, brooding, and fails to live up to her own moral standards — she is a devout believer… one of the most remarkable things about the trilogy is that it’s a rare literary depiction of religious people that is both empathetic and unsentimental.”

We all want our children to have a strong spiritual life, and the first step is acknowledging that we are all very much flawed, but in spite of that we are all very much loved.