Still Running Off at the Keyboard

THE CASE AGAINST MEDJUGORJE

A sort of shorter version of E. Michael Jones' book The Medjugorje Deception.

What's interesting about the article is that near the end Rick Salbato divides the apparitions into left and right camps, arguing that on both sides there are visionaries who back up claims with signs and wonders. He believes this is the work of Satan who is dividing the Church with the intent to destroy Her by undermining the credibility of the bishops.

THE SISTERS OF MERCY OF NORTH CAROLINA

are trying to make a difference in a struggling Charlotte neighborhood where income and literacy are below normal.

SEAMLESS GARMENT

The Diocese of New Orleans is putting actions behind the words of the faith:

New Orleans archdiocese ends pro-gay church lease

The Metropolitan Community Church of Greater New Orleans, which serves gays and lesbians, has been kicked out of a building owned by the local Roman Catholic diocese.

The Rev. William Maestri, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, said the one-year lease with the church was terminated because “this particular group blesses gay unions, which we do not support.”

The congregation had been renting the space while searching for a permanent home, but now must leave by Nov. 4. The archdiocese’s building is home to the Project Lazarus complex, which provides hospice service to AIDS patients.

CHURCH DRESS CODES - PRO AND CON

Mostly the article is about dress standards in Baptist churches, but the Catholics got their spot:

Church leaders may agree that members of their congregations should give their best when it comes to God, "but what's considered best?" asked the Rev. George Limmer, of St. Mary's Catholic Church.


St. Mary's doesn't require members to dress formally, but Limmer said blue jeans fall on "the lower end of what is acceptable."


The church posted guidelines in its church bulletin this summer. According to those guidelines, "clothing that might be fitting at a picnic or the beach is not acceptable for church."


But Limmer said the church wouldn't turn anyone away for wearing clothing that some might consider to be inappropriate.

For Scott Powell, 22, of Greencastle, Pa., "Sunday's best" is a T-shirt, shorts and sandals.

The last paragraph sums up the dress-down argument:

"Jesus wore sandals," Snyder said.

The question, though, is were they His good pair?

CHECK OUT THE WEIRD GERMAN PARISH

As you scroll through the website, after reading the prayer to all and sundry gods, take note of the fact that the Funtasy band performed at a preparation event for World Youth Day.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

A FEW LOW INCOME SENIOR CITIZENS

in San Francisco are going to get a nice place to live thanks partially to the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Something good out of S.F. for a change!

BENEDICT VISITS THE SYNAGOGUE

COLOGNE, Germany - Pope Benedict XVI warned Friday of rising anti-Semitism and hostility to foreigners, winning a standing ovation from Germany's oldest Jewish community as he made only the second visit by a pope to a synagogue.

Speaking in a Cologne synagogue rebuilt after it was destroyed by the Nazis, Benedict said that "today, sadly, we are witnessing the rise of new signs of anti-Semitism and various forms of a general hostility toward foreigners."

Benedict began the visit by standing quietly with his hands clasped during a Hebrew prayer before a memorial to the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany during World War II. Then he strode into the main hall as the choir sang, "shalom alechem," or "peace be with you."

A shofar, or ram's horn, sounded as the pope sat down at the front. He then listened intently to the cantor's singing in the blue-domed Roonstrasse Synagogue.

Rabbi Netanel Teitlebaum called his visit "a step toward peace between all peoples."

The pope underlined his commitment to continue in the path of his predecessor, John Paul II, who made the first papal visit to a synagogue in Rome in 1986 and improved relations between Catholics and Jews.

"Today I too wish to reaffirm that I intend to continue on the path toward improved relations and friendship with the Jewish people, following the decisive lead given by John Paul II," said Benedict, who did much of the theological groundwork for John Paul's outreach while serving as a Vatican official in charge of doctrine.

Outreach to Jews and Muslims is one of the themes of Benedict's first foreign trip since his election as pope on April 19 in conjunction with the World Youth Day festival that has drawn over 300,000 young people to Cologne.

Progress had been made, he said, but "much more remains to be done. We must come to know one another much more and much better."

Continue reading the story...

WONDERWORKING ICON GOING ON PILGRIMAGE

Miraculous cures have been attributed to the Sitka Icon of the Theotokos which was written in the early 1800s by St. Innocent Veniaminov. The icon has been enshrined in Sitka's Orthodox Archangel Michael Cathedral since it was created. A schedule of the tour can be found here.

FETAL SKIN GRAFTS USED FOR BURN VICTIMS

From ABC News:

Genetically engineered tissue dressings derived from foetal skin cells have been used to treat children's second- and third-degree burns without scarring, researchers in Switzerland report.

Using foetal tissue to repair wounds could avoid difficulties of tissue engineering such as immune rejection, small growth capacity and incompatibility, Dr Lee Ann Laurent-Applegate and colleagues write in the Lancet journal.

"The main advantage was that we could avoid a [skin graft] procedure in all cases," study co-author Dr Patrick Hohlfeld said.

The research team, based at University Hospital of Lausanne, obtained a four- centimetre skin donation from a 14-week aborted male foetus.

Cells were grown in culture and used to seed collagen sheets. They were then grown for two more days before the sheets were applied to the burn wounds.

The foetal cells were used to treat eight children considered to be candidates for traditional skin grafting, about 10 days after their injury.

As the cells biodegraded, they were replaced every three to four days.

"These cells stimulate spontaneous healing of the wound through secretion of multiple growth factors," Dr Hohlfeld said.

Continue reading...

How many babies will die as a result of this discovery?

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE A VULGAR WOMAN OUT OF ME

I am revolted, I am nauseated...I can't find language adequate to express my indignation. The only word that escaped my lips when I read it begins with "s", ends with "t" and is four letters long. The world didn't succeed in turning me vulgar. The Church is going to accomplish what the world failed to do.

The Summer 2005 "Ad Majoren Dei Gloriam" came yesterday. This is the publication of Roman Catholic Faithful, Stephen Brady's organization. This issue deals with recent "departures from grace" within the hierarchy. We want to believe the new administration in Rome will make a difference. We want to believe that, coming from the CDF where all the rot was sent, the new Pope would know about it and clean up the mess.

Stephen Brady describes the parish in the Springfield, Illinois Diocese where two priests "co-pastor", Msgr. John Renken and Msgr. Ken Steffen. This despite the fact that the parish as "small" and that other parishes in the diocese are closing for lack of clergy. You can guess why two pastors share one parish and live together. Msgr. Renken serves as a consultant to the Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse. Brady has printed a copy of the letter he wrote to Robert Bennett of the American Bishops Child Abuse Review Board on May 8, 2003, in which he spells out the living arrangement and indicates that Renken served as Vicar General to former predatory homosexual Bishop Daniel Ryan, and currently serves as Vicar General to Bishop George Lucas. The following is also contained in the letter:

After George Lucas was installed as Springfield's new bishop, he went so far as to reward Renken, Holinga, Costa, and others who protected Ryan, by giving them the title of Monsignor. There is more.

For the past 10 years Fr. Renken has been living at the same small parish in Riverton, Illinois with one Father Kenneth Steffen. While the diocese declares that parishes will have to be closed because of the priest shortage, this couple remains together at this small parish. Fr. Steffen, like Renken, holds key positions within the hierarchy. I have raised this issue with Bishop Lucas.

In yet another unusual (possibly scandalous) situation, Fathers Renken and Steffen are listed as "co-pastors" in both the diocesan directory and parish bulletin. There is no such position for a Catholic priest such as co-pastor. The use of this word as well as their living arrangement, suggests something more. According to the testimony of a priest who was stationed at the Cathedral rectory with Renken prior to 1989, Fr. Steffen was given a key to the Cathedral rectory at the request of Renken despite objections from clergy. (p. 15)

But even that is not what has me upset. This is:

Another former member of the Springfield hierarchy was Monsignor Kevin Vann, who was pastor of Blessed Sacrament parish in Springfield. He also held several positions within the hierarchy and was made Monsignor (along with the others who protected Bishop Ryan) by Bishop George Lucas.

Vann refused to take any action regarding Re-ken's [sic] and Steffen's living arrangement even after I confronted him about it. Vann was Renken's friend and co-worker within the chancery. What happened to Vann? What did his silence cost him? How was he punished for his part in this ongoing cover-up? For the answer, let's turn to a news article by Darren Barbee and Brett Hoffman that appeared in Knight Ridder Newspapers.

"FORT WORTH, Texas - (KRT) - Monsignor Kevin W. Vann of Illinois has been named co-adjutor bishop of the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese and will succeed ailing Bishop Joseph Delaney when he retires, church officials announced this week.

Van, 54, was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on May 9, 2005... (p. 16)

That is what prompted the vulgarity. Business at usual at the top in Rome. There can be no excuses for the reigning Pope based on lack of knowledge. It is the CDF that oversaw efforts to clean up the mess. At this rate there is virtually no hope for the Catholic Church in America to recover from this scandal.

The Father Eugene Costa referred to in the article was the priest who was murdered in a park frequented by homosexuals looking for contact. It was Costa who replaced Fr. Peter Mascari, a heterosexual priest who had been married and widowed three years after his marriage; and who subsequently bacame a priest. A good priest who built a nursing home and worked for the poor in his parish. Fr. Mascari worked with Stephen Brady and RCF in trying to clean up the diocese. His thanks for effort expended was Bishop Ryan's demand that he resign in 1993, opening the door to Costa assuming the pastorate of Mascari's former parish.

Since parishes are being closed as the number of priests declines, it is a matter of consideration whether it is any longer appropriate to financially support a parish. It is certainly unwise to contribute to building and renovation funds. Who wants to build in a parish that may be closed and sold, perhaps even to a group that will invite channelers, such as the event at the former Catholic abbey which I blogged below? As I watch the pews empty in my own church, I wonder how much longer I will be able to be a practicing Catholic.

Brady sums it up:

If ever there was proof of a corrupt and perverted hierarchy--this is it. These men are liars. They are wolves in sheep's clothing. They care nothing for the souls of the faithful. Their actions and inactions tell the story. They are cowards doing the devil's bidding. Do not be fooled by their kind, pleasant, and well-spoken facade. Look at the fruits of their work. Look at church and school closings, falling Mass attendance, and all the other indicators. You must judge their actions! (p. 14)

And in his opening commentary, Brady offers this analysis:

What baffles me the most these days is that some Catholics can point out all the problems that exist within the Church while still refusing to lay any blame at the Pope's doorstep. Many just cannot handle the truth: the Pope is the problem and until he takes action and provides some solid leadership, the situation will only deteriorate. Why do we continue to make excuses for those who should be held to the highest accountability?

Why indeed? And how can there be any excuses for Benedict? He shuffles off to Germany while cocker spaniel Levada dissembles in Rome. Business usual until there is no business left of Roman Catholicism in America?

Where is a good rotweiler when you need one?

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

HOW THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IS CHALLENGING THE POPE

Sandro Magister writes:

ROMA, August 18, 2005 – The penultimate event of Benedict XVI's visit to Cologne, before the vigil and Mass with the young people of World Youth Day XX, will be a Saturday, August 20 meeting with the "representatives of some of the Muslim communities."

The meeting will take place at the residence of the city's archbishop. The Muslims asked the pope to visit a mosque, but Benedict XVI declined the invitation.

His prudence is understandable. Cologne and Munich – where Joseph Ratzinger was archbishop from 1977 to 1981 – are the cities in which the Muslim Brotherhood, which has for decades been the main ideological and organizational source of radical Islam in the world, has gained control of most of the mosques and of active Islam in Germany and in Europe.

Mahdy Akef, an Egyptian now residing in Cairo who is the present murshid, or supreme guide, of the Muslim Brotherhood worldwide, is an explicit supporter of the suicide terrorists in Iraq. From 1984 until 1987, he directed the most dynamic Muslim center of Germany, in Munich, with its great mosque in the northern part of the city.

Munich was the birthplace of the Islamische Gemeinschaft in Deutschland, IGD, one of the largest Islamic organizations in Germany. The IGD is under the full control of the Muslim Brotherhood and has sixty mosques spread throughout the country.

For a few years, its organizational headquarters has been located in Cologne. The president of this body is Ibrahim Al Zayat, a 39-year-old Egyptian, the charismatic leader of a network of youth and student organizations that are linked to the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, WAMY, the largest Islamic youth organization in the world. WAMY is financed by Saudi Arabia, bears a strong, rigorist Wahhabi imprint, and produces vehemently anti-Jewish and anti-Christian publications.

Curiously, the commitment to young people on the part of the Roman papacy, which is celebrating one of its key moments in Cologne during these days, has in that same city a parallel in one of the leading centers in Europe for promoting radical activism among young Muslims.


* * *

There are about 3.5 million Muslims in Germany, most of them Turkish. A little less than half of them were born in Germany. And just over half of them engage in little or no religious practice.

But the organizations with radical tendencies prevail among the active Muslims. Of the nineteen organizations grouped together under the Zentralrat der Muslime – the umbrella organization they created in 1994 to coordinate their activities and present themselves as a political voice – at least nine, and the strongest ones, are dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Continue reading the story at Chiesa...

EU HELPS FUND WYD

Brussels - The European Union has pitched in €1.5m to help fund the Catholic youth jamboree known as the World Youth Day festival taking place this week in Cologne, Germany, the EU's executive commission said on Thursday.
The grant had been made following a request from the European parliament in February, the commission said in a statement.

Read the rest of the story...

MOTORBIKE RIDING NUN PROTESTS FILMING OF DA VINCI CODE

LINCOLN (Reuters) - Sister Mary Michael is no killjoy. Only the other day the 61-year-old Catholic nun was riding around on the back of a motorbike.

But her sense of fun does not extend to "The Da Vinci Code", a film based on the Dan Brown best-seller and starring Tom Hanks that is being filmed this week at the towering Gothic cathedral in her home city of Lincoln, eastern England.

The sister staged a 12-hour prayer vigil to protest at the decision by the building's custodians to let director Ron Howard use it in his movie of the novel, which has angered the Vatican by suggesting Jesus was married and had children.

"It seems to be an attack on the very tenets of the faith," Sister Mary Michael, dressed in a brown habit and pale blue veil, said of the story by the U.S. novelist.

"I was a little afraid that this might bring some disrepute and some badness to the city," she told Reuters at the small red-brick apartment she uses as a Christian community centre.

"I love this city and I love the people and I didn't want anything bad to happen."

The sister protested on Monday outside the cathedral of pale yellow stone, which perches atop a steep hill of cobbled streets, as the building became a film set complete with scaffolding, giant lights and large trucks parked outside.

Go to the website to read the motivation behind the decision to allow the cathedral to be used. Hint--it's all about $. I guess even God is for sale if the price is right.

TURKISH MOSQUE HOSTING CATHOLIC WYD ATTENDEES

Turkish Religious Affairs Turk-Islam Association's (DITIB) Selimiye Mosque at Niederkassel-Lulsdorf will host a group of youngsters coming to Cologne to see Pope Benedict XVI on the Roman Catholic Church's 20th World Youth Day.

The Catholic youngsters said that staying in a mosque was a great surprise for them. Selimiye Mosque will host about 60 people in its guesthouse until August 20. The Pope Benedict XVI flies to Germany today. The German Pope will stay in Germany for three days. The Vatican formerly announced that sins of Catholics coming to listen Pope's speech in Germany will be forgiven. The Pope will also meet with Muslim representatives on Saturday.

Continue reading...

BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCKING...

Kryon and his medium Lee Carroll, have planned an event in Joshua Tree, CA in September 2005. Joshua Tree has turned up before. James Twyman has a Mother House located there. Twyman was also involved in the split rock event in Joshua Tree. Interesting psychic place.

The Kryon website presents a series of pictures of Memorable Kryon Seminars where you can see the Abbaye de Premontres in France, a staging ground for a 2004 Kryon Seminar. The history of the Abbaye indicates it started life as a Catholic monastery of the Norbertine order.

Kryon did a dual channeling in Austria with Kahu Fred Sterling who channels Kirael. Sterling has a talk-radio webcast out of Hawaii. It would also appear that Sterling is interested in promoting some aspect of the Indigo phenomenon. At that link you can see that Kahu Fred Sterling & Master Guide Kirael appeared at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew last October. The church is Methodist, ordains female ministers, and has a Gay Gotham Chorus as well as several other performance groups as a part of their "Arts Outreach". They share facilities with B'nai Jeshurun and Iglesia Cristo Vivo religious congregations.

Is there a pattern here? Is the religion and arts connection associated with churches that are tuned in to the possibility of some variety of channeling, or perhaps with churches that have gay ministries?

For what it's worth, Lee Carroll made a curious statement in his interview with "Edge Life" magazine:

Interviewer: I read that channeling and Kryon talks about the fact that the energy in the Middle East was not changing at all, and that it needed to.

Carroll: Right. It wasn't changing at all, and that is the crux of the anger and the fear and the rage on the planet, the fight between the Palestinians and the Israelis -- at least that's the excuse. According to Kryon, when we can temper that and get that settled -- and it's being settled and will be settled, especially when one more leader gets replaced -- it's going to take the teeth out of so much of the rage. It will take, Kryon said, two full generations to accomplish this -- long after 2012. We're going to be progressing by that time.

Kryon did say, in Israel, back in the year 2000, "Nothing's going to happen of significance until 2008." Nobody wanted to hear that, but here is just an admonishment: It's going to go slow because there's a lot to do. In 2008, you're going to start to come out of this, if the potentials are what they are now.

Remember, Kryon's not a fortune teller. He just reads the energy like a tarot reader of the Earth. Back in 2000, this was the potential, and lately he said this potential still remains. It was interesting, because I didn't really equate it back then with our presidential election in 2008. I didn't think of it as an American thing at all, but now, we've since experienced 9/11 and now it looks like maybe there will be a great shift in our country as well. People will say, "Well, yeah, that's because it's when we're going to get Bush out." That may be so, but that is not the reason. It's because it's going to combine with some other things that are going to go on in Israel.

It's already been discussed and I hope I can explain this clearly. When something like that happens, it always does well, because mass consciousness is focused on the same thing and concentrating on the same thought. That is very good. Whether or not, by gathering together, they will change the minds of world leadership is debatable. However, there is something else going on that's very interesting. These kinds of gatherings have already changed the attitude of one of the largest ultra-rich groups on Earth.

They used to be called the Illuminati. These were people who controlled everything, including shipping, elections, the stockmarkets, and whatever. That's not happening any more. Just look at our stockmarket. Things are freewheeling now.

So it would seem that Kryon knows about the Illuminati. Well, it's reasonable to assume that he would, given the activities of the Illuminati and related groups.

CATHOLIC PRIEST PROMOTES MARILYN MANSON

Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson sparked furore when he announced his desire to perform in Croatia - but a Croatian Catholic priest has leaped to his defence.

Priest Anton Bobas, who claims the best concert he ever attended was seeing Manson live in Germany three years ago, says: "How could Manson turn young people into Satanists and drug addicts in the two hours of his act?"

Bobas, who sings a heavy-metal band of his own called Glasnici Nade (Messengers of Hope), says most of Manson's critics have never heard his songs or even seen him perform.

Blogger credit to New Oxford Review.

CHANNELING KRYON

Edge Life Magazine has an interview with channeler Lee Carroll online. Carroll, one of the 9 people who channel the angel Kryon, has been doing so for 15 years. According to Carroll, Kryon has indicated that we have changed the future of the planet since 1989, and now Armageddon will not happen. He also informs us that we can slow down the aging process by working with our DNA:

There has been something we have just started showing. It's absolutely brand new to us, and yet it's scientific fact right out of the 1990s. Dr. Vladimir Poponin was a Russian scientist who showed that DNA, when placed in a tube and hit with a laser beam, actually changes the attitude of light. It caused the light to spiral like it is in a crystal. Then he discovered that when the DNA was removed from the chamber, the energy field remained and the light kept spinning on its own.

In other words, we imprint energy. This is what Kryon has said over and over. It's one of the most esoteric, eye-rolling, bizarre things to lots of people, and now suddenly science is saying, "No, this is exactly right. We're actually seeing this." What Kryon says is that as a Lightworker, you develop a consciousness -- and the metaphor is light. And everywhere you go, you make a difference. The light that you have and that Divine Consciousness that is within you literally stays at work where you were. It's like you're casting fairy dust everywhere you go.

I don't speak physics, but Dr. Poponin would appear to be legitimate. Has the knowledge arrived via a channeler?

Whether figment of the imagination or real entity making contact, channeling is growing in popularity; and it appears to be big business. Carroll's website indicates that his speaking engagements include an Alaskan cruise. Nice work if you can get it!

Kryon has appeared in another place where you wouldn't expect to find him--the United Nations.

Carroll has co-authored a book on Indigo Children, and the book is being promoted on James Twyman's website.

Kryon had some things to say about John Paul II and the next pope back in April:

The Last and Next Pope

[Note that this was channelled right after the death of John Paul II, and before the conclave of Catholic Cardinals had selected the next pope.]

"Kryon, we just lost what appears to be a great religious leader, Pope John Paul II. What are the ramifications of this?" My partner eluded earlier to the man called Karol who became the pope [spoken of earlier within the seminar]. He discussed what his goals were and what he did on this planet that really had nothing to do with his religion. Oh, perhaps the hat he wore did, and the places he walked did, and the ceremony around him did. But this was only given to facilitate what he could do.

But you see, like you, we knew Karol. He leaned into the wind of birth, too - just as you did. He was no different. And Spirit said to him, "You're going to have a chance to change the earth because the energy of this planet has the potential of being very different. There are potentials when you get to be a certain age where there'll be something called the Harmonic Convergence on the planet, and things will begin to change. You can fit into this as a world leader. Are you ready for that?" And he said yes.

No angel asked Karol if he wanted to be a Catholic, as he leaned into the wind of birth. That was simply the vehicle that got him into the position where he could change the planet the way he did. You couldn't have had the absence of the Armageddon that you've experienced without Karol. Did you know that [speaking of his direct involvement in the influence of the fall of communism]? So his belief system not only served him well, but it propelled him to a special place that was his alone to be in, and one that allowed him to touch billions all at once. And so it was that this great religious leader, who also knew intuitively what he was doing, had a love of humanity. His favorite thing was to be among common people - and he was, every time he could be. When he got to the position where he could make a difference, he did.

Now, there's something you don't know about Karol. The last decade of his life, he was very frustrated. Go look at the pictures. Go look at the pictures of the first 16 years. Then look at those from the last ten. The last ten, he was suffering - not just with his health - he was anguishing over a situation that none of you truly know about. For in his last ten years this man wanted to make some more changes while the time was ripe, but he knew he was too old.

Karol didn't have the energy to make the changes he really wanted to make, and those around him fought him to keep things the way they were. It was all very political, and someday this information may come out into the open, and you'll hear about those who influenced him in the last ten years and helped to keep things on an even keel. He was too old to make a difference and he knew it.

Karol was not of a consciousness to make some of the changes that many cried out for - about poverty and the role of women in his organization (that will come later). But Karol cried out in his heart for the children that were abused by the priests, and he wanted to do something about this and make a difference. He believed that his Savior wanted him to make a difference, but he couldn't do it. So what might look to you like inaction was instead the pope suffering, for he was not allowed to do what he wanted - due to his lack of energy and those around him who made certain he didn't.

"Kryon, here we sit with conclave of cardinals about to meet and select a new pope. What's the potential based upon the energy right now of the selection? What's going to happen?" I'll give you two potentials of what might take place in the next few days, because your future is always about free choice. There is no entity who can tell you about the future, since it's totally in the hands of the free-choice of humanity. However, based on the energy of the moment, here's what we see: (1) You're either going to have an interim, temporary pope for only a short amount of time (relative to the last one), who will lead to a radical pope; or (2) You're going to go right to the radical pope. Either way, you're going to eventually end up with a man who's going to do things to shake up the establishment.

Let me give you some of the potentials of what the radical pope may be involved in: This religion he leads on earth has doctrines that no longer "square up" with what humanity is seeing around itself. He absolutely has to address this issue, for the sophisticated Humans will leave the church otherwise. There will be those who may even call him "the evil pope" because he's going to go against tradition when he slowly starts a process that honors the Virgin Mary more than any pope ever has - therefore honoring women within the church, elevating them to higher positions... even to priests.

He will speak about family planning, and start processes that will slowly justify it in the eyes of God [this will take awhile], but it must come from the man who "sits in the chair" [ex cathedra] to change the doctrine of the whole organization. Because of this, he will also be in danger and will have to have constant protection.

Then he'll talk about what to do with priests who abuse children. Watch for this. Even if you receive the interim pope, he'll set the stage for the radical pope in this area. For this is in the energy aura of what we would call the potential future around this grand event. The earth is filled with free choice and it can go any direction, but I've just given you the potentials of what is here and now.

EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

Have you ever wondered what priests confess?

Lee Penn sent in a link to this website of the (Orthodox) Bishop of San Francisco and the West in which he outlines for his priests the questions to use in examination of conscience when they are hearing confessions of priests or hierarchs. No. 27 on the priest's list is interesting. It's a good thing our bishops don't have to answer the questions on the hierarchy list. They might be too busy doing penance to have the time to thwart efforts to clean up the mess.

WORLD YOUTH DAY - A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

Throughout Catholic blogdom you can find positive reports on WYD. Marian Horvat provides the opposing view in a book report on John Vennari and Cornelia R. Ferreira's book WORLD YOUTH DAY: FROM CATHOLICISM TO COUNTER CHURCH.

Never having attended a WYD event, I can only comment on pictures I've seen. It has often been called Catholic Woodstock, and that does seem to be a fair analysis. Given the sexual appetites of the young, and given the permissive atmosphere easily noted in pictures, I find it to be what amounts to a near occasion of sin. Maybe the young people are up to the challenge. One would like to think they are, but sexual attraction is powerful, and there are few restraints provided, at least according to the pictures. The criticisms spelled out in the book review appear valid to me. I would have serious reservations about sending a child of mine to WYD.

Blogger credit to Novus Ordo Watch.

EMOTION INDUCED BLINDNESS

From the mailbox:

RESEARCHERS have proved what mothers have been telling their sons all along – erotic images can make you go blind.

A study by US psychologists found people shown erotic or gory images could not process what they were seeing immediately afterwards.
Researchers believe emotion-induced blindness could mean drivers simply do not see another car or pedestrian if they have just witnessed an "emotionally charged" scene.

The work, published in the Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, helps shed light on how motorists are affected by the use of sexy billboards.

Continue reading the story...

EMBRYO SELECTION

Embryo screening to stop babies being born with genes that might lead to cancer in later life is being considered by Britain's fertility watchdog.



The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) yesterday launched a public consultation on the wider use of screening currently used by those with a family history of serious conditions such as cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease.

The authority believes that requests are inevitable for the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), available at 10 fertility clinics across Britain, to screen for genes that could lead to a wide range of other conditions.

These could include inherited breast cancer, inherited ovarian cancer and hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer.

Controversially, the HFEA wants to hear the views of the public about screening for what it calls "later onset and lower penetrance disorders" - meaning the potential weeding out of embryos with genes that may or may not lead to diseases, sometimes late in life.

Continue reading the story...

Cancer can be expensive to treat. What will happen when this test is provided as an option and the health insurance industry gets their hands on it? Anyone born with the potential to develop cancer will not be insured? Parents who refuse to abort a potential cancer patient will not get health insurance for their newborn? Parents who bring potential cancer patients to term will be fined? Will people be allowed to simply conceive a child in the conventional way without medical interference? The potential for abuse out of this technology is enormous. There are some things we are better off not knowing. Why don't they spend available funds on finding a cure instead of wasting money on technology like this?

Hat tip to a reader.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

NORTH OF THE BORDER

A reader sent in this story at LifeSite:

Since the appointment to the Governor Generalship of Michaelle Jean, a refugee immigrant Haiti and CBC reporter, conservatives in Canada have been wondering what this relative newcomer to public life has to offer a deeply divided country that seems to hover perpetually on the edge of disunion. While Jean's personal accomplishments are seen in English Canada to be insubstantial, on the other side of the French curtain, darker implications are starting to be revealed.

An article in French by the Quebec novelist, Rene Boulanger published in the sovereigntist magazine Le Quebec, sheds a clearer light on Jean's connections to the Front for the Liberation of Quebec (FLQ), the violent Marxist separatist organization that harried Quebec in the 1970's.

The Governor General is the representative of the head of state of Canada, Queen Elizabeth II, and ,as such, is the office where Canadians must turn for a steady hand in any constitutional crisis. The office is, historically, understood to be above partisan politics. Jean, however, along with her immediate predecessor, is entirely beholden to the Liberal Party and is an enthusiastic proponent of its ongoing leftist social re-engineering project, but with the Boulanger article, her connections may offer reasons for more serious concerns.

"Michaelle Jean et les felquistes (Michaelle Jean and the F.L.Q.)," documents the ties that linked the soon-to-be Governor General and her film-maker husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond with the FLQ whose bomb-throwing, robbing, kidnapping and murdering career disturbed the peace in Quebec and this Dominion, thirty-five years ago.

Continue reading the story...

MINNEAPOLIS CATHOLICS SPONSORING PATH OF THE WORLD SERVER EVENT

From the mailbox:

-- The Path of the World Server Weekend workshop -- Saturday, Sept. 24 from 9a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Coeur de Catherine Ballroom at College of St. Catherine, 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul: This is an invitation to become stewards of the planet filled with a passion for the possible and to partner with one another through the greatest transformation ever known. Learn new ways to access cross-cultural knowledge and the skills necessary to apply the awareness for social/cultural deepening and exchange. Come for a weekend filled with intellectual, physical, emotional and cultural exporation, through a sensory-rich training that is a new paradigm adventure! Costs: $395/$340 members (includes continental breakfast and lunch).

The events are co-sponsored by Abbott Northwestern Institute for Health and Healing, The Marsh, Pathways, St. Joan of Arc Church, Horst Rechelbacher Foundation, French Meadow Bakery and Café, Core Curriculum Office and Center of Excellence for Women and Spirituality/College of St. Catherine, and Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality.

For ticket information, call (612) 374-4948 or visit www.continuumcenter.net

A FOLLOWER OF MOTHER CLARE WATTS,

one of the founders of the Order of Christ Sophia, describes her concept of spirituality at this website sent in by a reader. What is most interesting about the article is the short bio of the writer at the end:

Genevieve Towne holds a Masters Degree in Adult and Higher Education. She grew up in the Catholic Church, has been a member of Unity Churches and has studied the principles of Science of Mind. Currently, she is a student of Christian Mysticism at The Milwaukee Center of Light. One of her Teachers, Mother Clare Watts, has recently published the book Giving Birth to God: A Woman's Path to Enlightenment," available on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and various bookstores nationwide.

THE ORDER OF CHRIST SOPHIA

One more example of the other gospel can be found in the website of the Order of Christ Sophia, "a non-denominational Order of women and men who strive to live by the Mystical Christian teachings." This group has nine schools, called "Centers of Light", located in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Milwaukee, New Haven, Oakland, and Seattle. The order ordains women to the priesthood. The list of priests of each center indicates a predominance of women priests.

The Order's mysticism is based on Sufism, Zen, Kabbalah or Hasidism, and Christian mysticism. The objective of all mysticism, according to the website, is to "come into a direct experience of the God at the Center of their beings."

The Order was founded by Father Peter Bowes, who was trained by the Holy Order of Mans, and Mother Clare Watts.

Classes offered by the group include "Introduction to Christian Mysticism", "Bible Contemplation Classes", "The Tree of Life Classes". They are taught through the Centers of Light.

While the website doesn't describe it, they would appear to have a liturgy since what appears to be the implements of a Catholic liturgy are depicted here.

The Centers of Light offer spiritual training and ordination. They practice "Solar Initiations of Baptism, Illumination and God-Realization."

They have their critics. At the Rick A. Ross Institute website, a former member offers comments, including the information that Mother Clare Watts "has direct revelations from The Virgin Mary." More information from Rick Ross can be found here.

ANOTHER FEEDING TUBE PULLED

after the Catholic patient had been in a vegetative state for 6 months, this time in Australia. The husband, who was implicated in her condition, has committed suicide in order to avoid a murder trial.

Blogger credit to Spirit Daily.

DR. ISSAM NEMEH

Lynne Thompson has a long article about Catholic faith healer Dr. Issam Nemeh in the current issue of "Cleveland" magazine. She began the investigation for the article by making an appointment for Dr. Nemeh to treat her painful foot, the result of a severe break. His treatments cost $250 each and involve "his own brand of acupuncture". She describes him as a "very public yet mysterious healer."

He began by placing Thompson's "foot on a massaging unit he invented using a subwoofer, amplifier and pulse generator" indicating to her that "Certain frequencies do certain things...they have different effects. Prior to turning on the device, he passed an infrared light across the top of her foot to increase blood flow and reduce inflammation. Thompson indicates that she was waiting "for some traditional outward signs of prayer: bowed head, closed eyes, clasped hands. But they never come."

According to Thompson Dr. Nemeh said "I don't need to recharge. I have the Almighty running in me" as an explanation for his hectic schedule including "marathon workdays, which often begin at 6 a.m. and continue into the wee hours of the morning."

Dr. Nemeh was not forthcoming with regard to his medical training. She does indicate he attended medical school in Poland, his five-year general surgery residency at Fairview Hospital which ended after three years when his contract was not renewed, and he was successful in work as an anesthesiologist at Richmond Heights General Hospital which he left after four months because he didn't agree with patient care. She also indicates that "According to the American Board of Anesthesiology, Nemeh was never board certified in the specialty. His current practice seems to be the result of a five-day training session in meridian regulatory acupuncture. The device he uses is non-FDA-approved.

Thompson gives a history of his healing services, stating:

The healing services began in 2000 when Nemeh asked Rev. Robert Welsh to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for one of his patients, a nun who had been successfully treated for cancer. It was held at the Brothers of the Holy Spirit, a basement chapel in the Brooklyn home of two brothers who invite ordained priests to celebrate Masses there.

The only information on Brothers of the Holy Spirit in Brooklyn that I could find online is the address.

Thompson cites Bishop Pilla's statement:

Bishop Anthony M. Pilla, of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, who attended a service in February at St. Ignatius High School, indicates support of the events in a statement issued to the media. He says the services are conducted "in the context of a very legitimate spirituality" and the members of the core healing team "are just doing this as part of their faith commitment and their belief that God can heal."

There is a picture of a woman being "slain in the Spirit" with the caption: "Occasionally someone is 'slain in the Spirit' and volunteers catch each person as he or she collapses."

The writer describes a healing service held at St. Basil the Great Catholic Church in Brecksville where the atmosphere is casual thanks partially to the "timed tickets handed out by Nemeh's office and the parish" so as to eliminate milling crowds. One man arrives carrying a submarine sandwich in a plastic bag. To the accompaniment of piano and harp, those seeking healing sit quietly awaiting their turn to be ushered up to the communion rail.

When the reporter brought up his critics, Nemeh responded:

"I have no doubt whatsoever that they are a bunch of evil people, aiming at something that is so precious," he says heatedly, ignoring his wife's pleas in a foreign language. "They know I have been in here for more than 10 years, doing what I am doing. So many people getting healed, over and over, in the office, in the church! To go around and pick up things to destroy something that they cannot destroy otherwise tells me so much about those people! Do they have any love for the society that they live in? Are they really serving this country? Or are they serving some other country? They don't belong in here, to this society!"

And then Nemeh is calm and quiet again, sitting, eating his bagel in a room that has been silenced by his unexpected outburst. I manage to ask what he thinks the future holds for him.

"For the time being, I am doing what I am doing," he finally answers. "Then I will move on to something different--something that will serve more."

ART AND RELIGION IN TANDEM

The new trend in using worship space is to use it for artistic productions as well as religious events. The art exhibit at Our Lady of the Angels, blogged below, is one example. An art exhibit at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is another. Paul Winter's Missa Gaia is a musical event of the same sort.

A publication of The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2005-2006 Season, arrived in the mail this weekend. The Museum has events scheduled at Trinity Cathedral, at Pilgrim Congregational Church, at Plymouth Church of Shaker Heights, at The Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus (Polish Roman Catholic Church that is quite beautiful in the picture), at The Temple-Tifereth Israel, at First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland, and at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. None of these events are free.

Does Canon Law accommodate a concert in a Catholic Church that is given for the benefit of the local arts institution? Frankly, I wouldn't think it does.