Hmm, looks like another "reform of the reform" is needed
Irreverence, apathy mark  Novus Ordo response to "sacrament of reconciliation"
"Christopher Walsh, a Connecticut priest and author of The Untapped Power of the Sacrament of Penance — A Priest’s View....estimates that 20 percent of Catholics regularly go to confession. That jibes with statistics that 25 percent to 35 percent of Catholics attend Mass weekly. A 2003 University of Notre Dame study of Catholics on their frequency of confessions found 9 percent went once a month or more; 10 percent several times a year; 27 percent once or twice a year; 52 percent almost never or never; and 1 percent didn’t know or refused to answer....

"Walsh gives possible explanations for the decline: It is not fulfilling for many Catholics. There is a 'misinterpretation' of the Vatican II Council that confession itself was obsolete. Catholics are 'absorbing the culture' that has been 'just casting off the whole idea of sin and guilt.'”

More Conciliar confusion concerning confession “You are supposed to be praying and examining your conscience to make a good confession as you stand in line,” said Betty Bova of of St. Bernard of Clairvaux parish. “To tell the truth, I always talk to someone, probably distracting them from praying.”
 

Putting out the fire of the Holy Ghost, perhaps?
Martian firefighters "mass" held in Germany
Okay, we added the "Martian" part, but this is still bizarre by any form of reckoning. Quite in keeping with the endless stream of Conciliar liturgical nonsense, however; anything to demean what should be the dignity and solemnity of Divine Worship seems to be the rule of the day.

Pray for him, not to him!
Two "miracles" surface in Sheen sainthood bid
"Two decades after Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen died, Catholic leaders say two dying people survived through prayers in the name of the Illinois native who became a national celebrity in the early days of television." NOW Comment: Regrettably, Bp. Sheen threw himself head over heels into the Vatican II religion and modified or even denied many of the traditional Catholic positions he once held, even in the late 1970s praising the "new mass" as good for souls (when it was well established that precisely the opposite was true) in Catholic Digest and failing to speak out forcefully against Communism--something that had been almost a trademark for him in his talks and writings, which makes talk of his sainthood suspect, to say the least. We should hope, rather, that he saved his soul.
 

Why bother? No one comes to church anymore anyway!
British "bishops" drop holy days of obligation
"Priests and lay Catholics expressed dismay this week after it emerged that the bishops of England and Wales had abandoned several traditional Holy Days of Obligation. The bishops’ conference announced last Thursday that the Vatican had given its approval for three of the Holy Days to be dropped."
 

Ah, maybe it's because you quit being Catholics?
US bishop says Vatican II has led to polarization within church
"Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville, said that this decline of common meaning is corroding Catholic identity and "is shaking our communal self-understanding, which leads to the dangers of divisions, quarrels and fragmentations," he said in a pastoral letter issued a year after his installation as head of the Belleville Diocese."
 

New from Christ or Chaos
The Work of Fools: The "new theology" and "Pope" Ratzinger
At the heart of the Modernist ethos is the belief that truth can contradict itself. As God is the author all truth, Modernists believe that God can contradict Himself, that He has not revealed anything that can be defined definitively, that it is up to believers to "reinterpret" the meaning of "truth" time and events unfold. This is, of course, the work of fools. Nevertheless, the Modernist acceptance of the Hegelian view of the world (that ideas contain within themselves the seeds of their own inherent contradiction, thus creating a conflict that is resolved in the evolution of a new idea, a synthesis, from the first idea and its antithesis) is the foundation of the work of men such as the late Fathers Hans Urs von Balthasar and Henri de Lubac and their protege, Father Joseph Ratzinger.

Palm Sunday 2006 altar servers in Austria
 

Opus Dei financier brutally executed
"A banker who had been questioned over a huge corporate scandal was found murdered on Friday, having apparently been kidnapped coming home from a meeting of the Roman Catholic organisation Opus Dei . The body of Gianmario Roveraro, 70, had been chopped into pieces and hidden in a hut beneath a motorway bridge about 30km from Parma."
 

While he upholds the "dignity" of criminals
Chaput hears load of gripes concerning illegal aliens
"[Denver "Archbishop" Charles] Chaput said hearing such frustrations hasn't changed his mind about the need to protect the dignity of immigrants, 'but it might change my personal thoughts about what political solutions are best.'"

NOW asks Caput and other Novus Ordo defenders of crime this question: When someone maliciously enters another person's home without the owner's permission or knowledge with the intention of violating the owner's property rights and helping himself to whatever he finds in the house, how can you talk about "the need to protect the dignity" of the criminal trespasser? Yet that is analogous to what you are doing every time you dare speak about defending illegal aliens and absurdly invoke the "dignity" of those who show utter contempt for our country, its laws and its sovereignty every time they transgress our borders.
 

"Pope" Ratzinger welcomes traditionalists to St. Peter's
Oops, wrong tradition....never mind!
 

But doesn't deny it!
Future FL "bishop's" office disputes report he'd give "Communion" to pro-abort politicians
"Bishop-designate Frank J. Dewane disputed an article in Friday's Herald-Tribune that said he would grant Communion to politicians who favor abortion rights. A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Venice said his comments during an interview were misinterpreted. But the spokeswoman wouldn't say what Dewane's stance was on the controversial issue."

NOW Comments: This is a classic example of Novus Ordo doublespeak, if ever there was one. Who but the shills of the Vatican II church find it difficult to answer in a straightforward way about this issue.  What Dewane told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune was that he doesn't intent to "politicize the sacraments," which is a code language green light to receive for those who push legalized baby-killing with their votes. So why the claim that he was misinterpreted? The Diocese of Venice is made up largely of retired people, many (if not most) of whom are pro-life, so they would not be happy with a "bishop" who coddles pro-abortion politicos and if they aren't happy, the Sunday collections drop off. Hence the spokeswoman's refusal to reveal the putative bishop's stand clearly indicates that he does, indeed, support the pro-abortionists, otherwise a simple, "No, they cannot receive" would have sufficed and satisfied the pro-lifers. Hey, at least she didn't lie (Bill Clinton would be proud of her obfuscation)!

Reality Check: "But let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: and that which is over and above these, is of evil." Matthew 5:37

Roman Catholic Faithful group reports:
Springfield (IL) "Bishop" George Lucas allows predatory sodomites to stay in positions of authority
"Yet another individual (Scott J. Kastel) has come forward with first-hand testimony regarding Msgr. John Renken’s predatory homosexual nature. Mr. Kastel has allowed me to use his name publicly because he is scandalized by the fact that Bishop George Lucas, while claiming to want information regarding clergy misconduct, refuses to act once he receives it. Kastel provided both former Bishop Ryan (himself a predator) and Bishop Lucas with statements and only came to Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc (RCF) after Lucas refused to take action."
Database of priests accused of sexual abuse

From "Christ or Chaos"
Disordered Theology (Novus Ordo emphasis: "dignity," not salvation of souls)
"There is not a scintilla of the sensus Catholicus in most of what emanates from conciliarist, Modernist Rome. Even the efforts of conciliarists to oppose various moral evils are couched in conciliarspeak, eschewing any and all language that could be identified with the authentic patrimony of the Catholic Church. Efforts to oppose the slaughter of preborn children in their mothers' wombs and to oppose 'disordered lifestyles' are founded in a desire to assist 'humanity,' not in a desire to save souls. There is not one reference to the possibility that those who are involved in objectively Mortal Sins stand even the remotest possibility of losing their souls for all eternity in Hell if they persist in a state of final impenitence when they draw their dying breaths."

Really "reverent" music
Revealing Novus Ordo vocations video
This comes from Christ the King Seminary, run by Benedictines in British Columbia. It consists of footage of seminary life accompanied by John Paul II quotes, but without any voiceover. Although it appears relatively "conservative" by post-Vatican II standards (even including a minor seminary), the seminary's website includes "Theology of the Body" downloads. Though there isn't a lot that openly offends in the video, the driving rock background music is the antithesis of what should be representing Catholic vocations to the priesthood, but is so typical in the Vatican II religion, the implication being that young men will not be attracted to a vocation unless it's made to seem trendy, "with it" and open to the world. Gregorian Chant is avoided because it represents solitude and detachment from the world, yet these are the very firm foundations upon which true vocations have always been formed.

But ten months after her sleazy album debuted!
Ignatius Press dumps its former fair-haired girl
"In light of the recent statements and actions of singer Charlotte Church, Ignatius Press will be dropping all of her products. It is with regret that we do this; Miss Church possesses a great gift from God, and in the past she has used her talent often to offer praise and glory to our Lord...." Related Article: Charlotte Church faces Catholic boycott over Nazi Pope jibe

Reality Check: The righteous indignation of Ignatius Press is around ten months late in coming. The above announcement was issued on July 18, after her blasphemous anti-Catholic television "comedy" routine (some of the things she did actually seemed like an unconscious parody of fringe Novus Ordo behavior). The trouble is that Church released an album, "Tissues and Issues," on last September 13th, which showed her on the cover in immodestly dressed and in suggestive pose and which carried controversial songs, including one hinting at deviant sexual activity. Singles from the album also came with cover photos showing the singer in unladylike dress. Despite all of that Ignatius Press continued to carry her products, so the firm evidently had no problem with her unseemly image makeover until she made went too far on TV, where among other things called Benedict XVI a "Nazi."

Dr. Rama Coomaraswamy [RIP]

Dr. Rama Coomaraswamy, doctor, author and former seminary professor, passed away on July 19th. He is best known for the book, The Problems with the New Mass. In the 1980s he wrote extensively for The Roman Catholic magazine and was Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the Society of St. Pius X's St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Ridgefield, Connecticut in the early part of that decade. Please pray for the repose of his soul.

ADL hails Episcopal Church vote to address anti-Jewish prejudice in Scripture
"The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) applauded the Episcopal Church's decision to address 'anti-Jewish prejudice' in its Scriptures and liturgical texts....ADL noted that since 1965, the Roman Catholic Church has adopted historic new policies that condemn anti-Semitism and call for providing context for Bible passages that appear to be 'anti-Jewish' without proper explanation. In addition, other mainline Protestant churches, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Methodist Church, have taken steps to address anti-Jewish prejudice in their sacred texts and liturgy."

NOW Comments: This is a reminder that the criticisms of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ had less to do with the filmmaker than with his ultimate source: The Gospels. That Jewish groups such as the ADL would have a problem with the New Testament is understandable, because it announces the end of the old covenant, to which modern Jews still adhere in varying degrees, as well as their rejection of the new covenant, manifested in Jesus Christ; hence they necessarily must reject the Gospels as not being divinely inspired and subject to human prejudices and error. However, their "Catholic" allies in attacking both Gibson's film and Holy Scripture as "anti-Semitic" had (nor have) no such excuses. 

Synagogue of Satan on attack
New Italian Cathedral to Padre Pio designed as Masonic Temple?
In a July 17th posting on the forum page of the Roman Catholic Online website (scroll down the above linked page for photos)  it is reported that the  Italian religious magazine, Chiesa Viva, March 2006 was a special issue devoted to examining the question as to whether a cathedral dedicated to the holy Capuchin stigmatist Padre Pio of San Giovanni Rotondo is really a Masonic temple in the guise of a Catholic church.

The publisher/editor of Chiesa Viva, Dr. Luigi Villa (Novus Ordo Watch carries a translation of his article concerning John XXIII), who is believed to have sent copies of the issue to "Catholic & 'catholic' priests, Bishops, Cardinals, as well as a selected group of Italian lay persons including members of the judiciary."

Clearly, this is a story that bears close monitoring--and it is one that isn't going away any time soon. In fact, according to one person posting on the above forum, "an English language translation...is now being prepared and a print run of 50,000 planned" emphasis added).

For those who read Italian here is the online edition of Chiesa Viva's special issue, "Una 'Nuova Chiesa' a San Padre Pio." (It's worth taking a look at even if you can't read it, because there are photos to see.)

Latest member of Heresy of the Month Club
Methodists to sign joint justification declaration
"The World Methodist Conference meeting in South Korea is expected to sign the joint declaration on justification signed in 1999 by the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity made this announcement today in a communiqué sent to the Vatican press office."

Background articles:
Joint Declaration on Justification "On October 31, 1999 [the same day that in 1517 Luther posted his false theses and that long has celebrated by Lutherans and other Protestants as "Reformation Day"], representatives of various Lutheran bodies and the Vatican signed a Joint Declaration on justification. Martin Luther's teachings on justification were solemnly condemned as heretical by the Council of Trent."
The Augsburg Accord “Ratzinger credited with saving Lutheran pact”

Malta holds out against divorce through EU back door
"Malta is the only European Union member state that does not permit divorce. Poland and Ireland, both [formerly] staunch Catholic countries, have introduced a divorce law, but in a very restrictive format."

New rival for Madonna, Sinead in Novus Ordo bad girl competition
Charlotte "voice of an angel" Church sparks one unholy row
"[British pop singer] Charlotte Church has sparked a holy row by dressing up as a drunk, drug-taking nun in her new chat show. [Church], who was raised as a Catholic, smashed a statue of The Virgin Mary and stubbed chewing gum out on the face of the baby Jesus in a shocking comedy sketch....Welsh religious leaders blasted Charlotte for dressing up as a nun in a sketch which saw her taking communion wafers in the shape of smiley face ecstasy tablets."

As a sweet-voiced thirteen-year old she had a best-selling pop-classical crossover album that included traditional renderings of "Pie Jesu,"  "Panis Angelicus," "The Lord's Prayer" and "Ave Maria." Appropriately, it was entitled "Voice of an Angel." But that was eight years ago; now, after an image makeover, an official bio of her reads: "Charlotte Church not only has 'the voice of an angel,' but a 'wicked' flare for life." So, sadly to say, it would seem.

For your penance, hug a tree and tell it you're sorry
"Cardinal" urges better care of environment
"Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul has called on his archdiocese, in a pastoral letter, to be more environment-friendly."

The great facade continues to crumble
Novus Ordo "priests": a "a graying, shrinking fraternity"
"Nationally, the average age for newly ordained seminarians in 2004 was 37, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The average age for priests is 57."

Caution! Links contains immodest photo
Confirmation 2006: Novus Ordo style
The above photo shows the "Most Reverend" John Ricard visiting with a scantily clad young woman (well-dressed by John Paul II standards, perhaps) at St. Paul Church, Pensacola, FL this spring, when he was on hand to administer "confirmation."  (Is it just us or do you also find this photo highly disturbing? And by that we mean more disturbing, say, than the usual new church photo linked on Novus Ordo Watch--creepy, even.)
See St. Paul confirmation slide show

Also from the Pensacola diocese: Indian priest visiting Florida Panhandle accused of sexual abuse

Okay, but more apologies needed
Liberal Jewish magazine rates Benedict XVI
"Benedict XVI’s first year record is mixed. Although unity, peace, and love have been key words of his papacy, his actions or inactions are at times at odds with such rhetoric. While his fashionable wardrobe has received much attention—flashy redshoes by Prada, hip sunglasses by Gucci, elaborately imperial gowns by Gamarelli, and, most recently, a stylish white 2GB iPod Nano—the jury is still out on how open-minded the former top guardian of the Church’s tradition really is...."

Guess all those annulments don't count
John Paul II hailed "Family Pope"
"The audience at the Theological-Pastoral Congress thanked John Paul II's long-time secretary Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz with a standing ovation. Cardinal Dziwisz, currently the archbishop of Krakow, went to Valencia to give the address 'John Paul II, Pope of the Family and of Life.'

"'Taking into account the history of his priestly life, John Paul II can be described as one of the greatest pastors of the family [sic] in the history of the Catholic Church of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries,' said Cardinal Dziwisz."

Reality Check: Myths of this sort are addressed in the first paragraph of our recent special report on Benedict XVI's alleged defense of traditional family values, as the failings and hypocrisy of one purported "papal" champion of the family apply equally to the other.

Playing God, Novus Ordo-style
Conciliar Aussie professor touts embryonic stem cell research
"As a Catholic, I deeply value my nine years at a Jesuit school, and my career as a medical scientist has further deepened my respect and reverence for human life. Embedded in this value is the belief that everyone should be given the opportunity to live as free from serious illness as medical science can ensure."

NOW's take: Giving people a chance to live free from serious sickness, however laudable a goal, clearly can never be justified at the expense of the innocent unborn, so what he writes is contrary to basic Catholic moral teaching. Yet a prominent Australian Novus Ordo website carried a link to the full column on July 13th without the slightest critical comment. 

"I haven't received wine at Communion in 13 years" [Well put]
"Catholics" work to change stigma associated with AIDS
"Rev. Jon Fuller, a Jesuit priest and AIDS physician at Boston Medical Center, believes a change in the Vatican stance would have a dramatic impact in preventing the spread of AIDS. Like other Catholic health professionals on the AIDS front lines, Fuller argues that condom use to prevent HIV does not contradict the church ban on artificial birth control."

Looks like he's back with "the missus"
Milingo: "time for church to reconcile with married priests"
"Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo , whose 2001 marriage caused an international scandal within the Roman Catholic Church, set out on a new mission Wednesday to override church rules and let married priests continue their ministries."

Will this development bring about the dissolution of the Society, at least as it is currently constituted (that is, as any semblance of a potentially formidable foe to the Vatican II church) and cause a full-fledged schism between the capitulators such as Bp. Fellay and his right hand man, Father Franz Schmidberger, whose motto, protestations aside, seems to be "strike a deal with modernist Rome as soon as possible" and the more hard line leaders (surely a term of limited accuracy when applied to those who stubbornly insist that legitimate ecclesiastical authority still reigns in the Holy See and other sees around the world), such as Bishops Richard Williamson, Alphonso de Galarreta and Bernard Tissier de Mallerais? The answers, sadly, may well prove to be yes and yes.

One person who seeks the Society's union with the modernists, in responding to Rorate Cæli's blog, happily posted the following:

This is the best news we could hope for... for those of us who desire the SSPX to reconcile with Rome.......

Like it sounds...
Theology on tap
This is called desperation with a capital "D". For more on this nationwide Conciliar boondoggle, plus audio, go to NPR's "'Theology on Tap' in New Hampshire".

 

Still more money down the Conciliar rat hole
Skylstad: Diocese can raise $35 million for settlements
"The Catholic Diocese of Spokane can raise at least $35 Million to divide among victims of sex abuse by priests, and may have to ask parishioners to contribute if more money is needed." Database of priests accused of sexual abuse   (be sure to scroll to the bottom of the Spokane page)

Wake up call to those attending Novus Ordo churches in Spokane: If this sort of thing get doesn't you looking for real Catholic churches, we not sure what it's going to take.

NOW Comments: This five-minute Catholic Family News [CFN] clip, narrated by John Vennari and featuring excerpts from Bp. Fellay's ordination sermon last month, is certain to appeal to many who will be relieved at tough-sounding rhetoric like that cited above, yet at bottom of it is the same refusal to face reality that has long plagued both the Society of St. Pius X [SSPX] and CFN.

Among the errors expounded therein are:

1. There is an authentic move being made towards Tradition by Benedict XVI;

2. Conciliar "hierarchy" who favor a ghetto of "freedom" for the Tridentine Mass (while, of course, insisting on the abominable "new mass" as normative) are our friends and should be trusted;

3. Somehow modernism mysteriously emerged after the council and those who are pushing it today (such as the "Pope") are merely confusedly lost under its sway, are in no way accountable for their heretical words and deeds and just need to be gently nudged back to Tradition by the Society, and

4. Good can be accomplished and compromise is not to be feared by entering into "dialogues" with Benedict XVI and others leaders in the Novus Ordo power structure.

When Bp. Fellay speaks of no compromise and nothing to negotiate, readers need to flashback to what transpired when he had his meeting last August with "His Holiness" at Castel Gandolfo:

Now, it is precisely this sort of report that have led some to use words like "sellout" and "betrayal." But whether that is the case (and we would prefer to think not) or it is simply an inability on the Bishop's part to wake up to the truth, the harmful effects upon the traditional movement would be the same. Please note that while Bp. Fellay avows that he will not compromise or negotiate, what he doesn't say is that he will cease his communications with modernist Rome, that he will put an end to all dangerous dialogue. In other words, the underlying fatal perception of the Vatican II establishment as simply confused victims of what another writer for Catholic Family News absurdly argues is "diabolical disorientation," the ultimate free pass to get away red-handed with any heresy, schism, apostasy, blasphemy or sacrilege without the least culpability.

Likewise, CFN does its readers a significant disservice by its constant sugarcoating of the situation, as though Fr. Ratzinger no longer is to be held accountable for his act since (illicitly) ascending to the Chair of St. Peter. The faithful who attend SSPX chapels and subscribers to Catholic Family News need to start holding, respectively, their clergy and editorial staff to more logically consistent and uncompromisingly militant defenses of the Faith, which begins by acknowledging that Benedict XVI and the entire Vatican II mafia have nothing whatsoever to offer to Catholics.