Thursday 6 February 2014

The Devil, the “World”, the UN and Holy Church

We can certainly agree that moving priests suspected of child abuse from parish to parish was wrong and call to account those who authorised such moves. But the UN and mainstream media fail to report child abuse by clergy in the context of three important things: the naivety of the Bishops as mirroring the naivety of society as a whole which did not think such heinous crimes were really being committed; noting that Safeguarding Procedures in the Catholic Church today are (possible) among the best in the world, and the reality that abuse is extensive in society as a whole with no secular entity –be it schools, the health service or the BBC –being free from such crimes; crimes which (according to research) occur less frequently in the Catholic Church than anywhere else. Why the failure to put clerical abuse into such a context? Perhaps because it does not fit with the secular desire to sweep away the Church with its stand against society’s elimination of sexual boundaries, which sweep gives free reign to ones animal instincts to have sex whenever, however and with whoever one wants.

Yesterday, 5/2/2014, in addressing child abuse by clergy, the UN unwittingly made a public display of the war between the forces of darkness and the forces of light; it did this by wandering off-topic to call on the Church to change her teaching on homosexuality, contraception, abortion and pre-marital sex. In doing so the UN asked Christ’s Church to abandon Gospel morality, and implicitly acknowledged that a war exists between the secular world and the Church. That said, while it seems this war is consciously and specifically aimed at the Catholic Church (the UN did not call for Islam or Judaism to change their teaching on sexuality) it is in fact an attack upon religious consciences per se.

Exactly what is the UN Committee is asking for? It seems to me it is asking for nothing less than sex without responsibility: contraception approved for all sexual experience between a man and a woman (and even between immature, adolescent children) with access to abortion when contraception fails, as well as the right to act upon homosexual urges which run contrary to the biological (procreative) nature of sex. The clamour for such things can only have arisen in the human heart by influence of the devil, the father of lies and author of death, since it is a devilish lie that portrays sexual irresponsibility as “freedom”; the thwarting of life in procreation as “good”, and the killing of children as “reproductive health”. The prevention of life and promotion of death does not equate with health.

Such darkness is presented as “rights”, but the “right” to kill one’s children is surely far darker than abuse, no matter who the perpetrator: entertainer, politician, nurse, teacher, priest or prison warder (surely the supporters of abortion who [rightly] condemn the sexual abuse of women and children are not going to say that the sexual abuse of women and children is worse than the murder of women and children? (Actually, they do: they promote killing of the child in the womb while decrying sex abuse).

Make no mistake about it: the Church is despised. At the moment we are only fired as nurses, airline staff etc when we wear a crucifix at work, but can we not say the time will come when we will be imprisoned for such things? We have already had Christian owners of a B&B in Court for refusing to let a room to a homosexual pair. What has happened in the last fifty years to allow the world to abandon common sense positions on sexuality and family life?

What happened was the Bishops of the 1960’s abandoned their post. From the day they turned a blind eye to the rejection of Humanae Vitae they allowed Catholics to join the bandwagon of “sexual freedom”. Those Bishops yielded to the world and many of their successors continue to do so to this day. We now have three generations of Catholics who do not know, accept or live by the morality of the Gospel, and they are the ones who, as God’s “salt of the earth” and “leaven of the world”, should be writing in their millions to the UN and their own governments to decry this oppression of the Gospel. They will not do so, however, because they have lived by secular môres for so long they have come to believe in them. They were not corrected clearly, firmly and authoritatively from Humane Vitae onwards and for this, our ecclesiastical teachers carry the blame. Sadly, they seem to have tried to make the Church look “enlightened”, “intellectual” and “socially aware” to a world that has no place for Christ and His Church.

Can we really dismiss those who say it was not a window we opened at Vatican II but floodgates? The Church of Christ -the Barque of Peter- does seem to be on the verge of sinking in the west. Let us remember here that Our Lord did not say the gates of hell would not prevail in the UK, USA, France, Italy or Spain et al; He gave no geographical guarantees. We can only hope that the UN declaration wakes up the episcopate worldwide to the danger in which Peter’s Barque sails, so that the Bishops [1] set about educating children and adults in the ‘what and the why’ of the Faith and thereby prepare them to tackle governments and leaders who seek to override the Gospel, and [2] insist on a liturgical celebration that focuses on the adoration, thanksgiving, propitiating and petitioning of Almighty God, rather than on a feel-good factor for the people.


Note: That excellent team at the Friday Fax have begun a global Declaration in support of the Vatican having a seat at the UN table. Do go there and sign this important Declaration, and pray for the awakening of the Church and the enlightening of secular minds and hearts. Remember we are supporting every religious conscience and to some degree freedom of speech, so folk of every persuasion can sign this Declaration, be they Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Humanist etc. Go to:  www.defendtheholysee.com to sign this important Declaration. 

14 comments:

  1. Well said Father, there is hope that whilst there are clergy such as you.

    In Domino,

    Patrick.

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    1. Thank you. Patrick.
      It is the Church that has the wisdom and the charity that I am simply trying to pass on (please God).
      God bless you and yours.

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  2. Father, I have colleague writing on this topic (abuse of children) in conjunction with a psychiatrist who, at 60, is only too ready to admit the he knows little of this subject. Research seemed to stall in the 90s because society decided it had no stomach for hearing how dysfunctional families, teachers, police, in short 'trusted' authority figures were committing such crimes. in terms of the Church Pope Benedict declared a thank you to the media for helping to expose this 'filth'. yet outside of the Church, by and large are the media helping to expose it?

    the 'i' generation have been called by many psychiatrists an 'experimental' generation. exposed to such greivous 'filth' at such a young age that they'll, 'just have to wait and see'. un stands for un - unrepentent, unguarded, unReal.

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    1. Thank you for this, viterbo.
      It is not surprising that research slowed in a secular society if it was coming across abuse perpetrated by its won, so to speak.
      God Bless you and your colleague.

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  3. The latest dishonest attack by UN against the Church is along with Tuesday's Lunacek Report passd by European Parliament an upping of the official persecution against Catholics and truth-tellers. We need our spiritual leaders, bishops and priests to lead us more than ever. Thank you, Father.

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    1. Thank you, Lynda.
      And yes, there is a more concerted attack of the Church going on, I fear. Please God the Church wakes up to this and stops trying to fit ion with the world.
      God Bless

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  4. Thank you Father for having the courage to speak so clearly on these issues.

    During the last 21 years, we have only heard 6 homilies dealing with Humanae Vitae - and 3 of these were during retreats for committed pro-lifers who were already on-side!

    Pope Paul VI's words in Humanae Vitae were very prophetic. In HV 17, he spoke of some consequences which would naturally follow if the teachings in the encyclical were ignored.

    These consequences included the spread of marital infidelity, a general lowering of moral standards and a loss of reverence for women.

    There was one more which is very apt in relation to the UN and EU. He warned that governments/public authorities would intervene and impose their will on the private lives of everyone.

    The collapse of the Church in the West and the failure to influence the culture are also grave results of the suppression of this teaching in so many places.

    And indeed, the teaching is so beautiful!

    This is because it is true. It has certainly brought us much healing, life and love. Thanks be to God!

    It is always encouraging for us to hear of priests teaching positively on Humanae Vitae. We know the resistance likely to be encountered - spiritual and temporal - and will pray for you in your ministry. May God bless you for this.

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    1. Thank you for this.
      Yes, Pope Paul VI proved to be very prophetic in his encyclical, not only in the loss of respect for life with contraception. but the way governments would move from seeing contraception (and abortion et al) as not only acceptable but something that should be enforced. I think only when the world sees the harm of all this sexual license in (very many) years to come, will the encyclical's detractors see how definitively the Holy Spirit guides the Church and imparts His wisdom to her.
      God Bless.

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  5. The Church must stop seeing itself as a victim of persecution in this. There are many who have been put at the mercy of sexual predators in and outside the Church, to hide such heinous crime is unforgivable, wherever it is being done.
    The devil is more likely at work in the denial of sin perpetuated by the priests and others who have been abusing children whilst hiding behind the clericalism that has so long protected them and many more. this is far worse than any straying into other areas by the UN. Well done UN, I say.

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    1. Thank you for commenting Andrew.
      I must say that the Church is being persecuted because of the Gospel she preaches, which is in fact the UN is rejecting the Gospel and ultimately, Christ.
      While some Bishops may have hidden the sexual crimes against children (we cannot presume this) the problem with the UN statement was not that it criticised the management of the crisis -the Church has acknowledged mistakes were made- but that it strayed into the attempt to interfere with the Church's belief system, calling on the Church to abandon the moral teaching of the Lord's Gospel.
      We were all horrified by what priests (as well as all numerous others in other professions) have perpetrate against children, but we cannot praise the UN for calling on the Church to abandon the Gospel –that is too near to praising the work of the devil.
      The modern world may speak of freedom and freedom of speech, but it does they do not apply this to the Church and the Gospel. It reminds me of a line from a movie I watched as a child, "White man speak with forked tongue".
      God Bless.

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    1. Thank you for the comment Michael.
      God bless you and yours.

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  7. Dearest Gary...you remain unchanged..remarkable, clever, contentious, brave...always prepared to stand up for what you believed, no matter the consequence. I am so glad you continued in the priesthood..tho nursing lost a gem... Xxx

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    1. Thank you so much.
      I really don't deserve such a comment. Truly, I could have been a better nurse -and should be a better priest, but I do what I can within the limitations of my personality and health status. I pray daily for patience, generosity of heart and humility, but they're a long time coming...
      May God bless you and yours.
      P.S. I still very much miss my work on the wards, and would love to be there to guide the students in their work. I trained at a time when we did a lot of ward work and learned so much from the staff nurses about applying the theory to the actual care of persons.
      I think so often about so many patients whose names I still recall, and so many wonderful nurses that inspired me way back when...
      whatever good was in me was from them.

      Delete

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