Tuesday, February 14, 2006
CONNECTING MORE DOTS - DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
Located in Chicago, DePaul claims to be the largest Catholic university in the U.S.
While doing the research for the Spero News article on Lon Milo DuQuette, I found that Jason L. Winslade uses DuQuette's book on the spirits in a class at DePaul Univ. which claims to be the largest Catholic university in the U.S.
At the same time that I was doing this research there was a lot of discussion in Dom's blog about the heretical priest being transferred to Brandeis University to act as chaplain.
With that as background, this is some further research on DePaul
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First Winslade:
His course syllabus for "Ritual in Everyday Life" - Summer 2003 has some interesting entries. There you can read that his
July 8 - Artifacts (Magic I) presentation covered "Everyday Shrines and Tabernacles"
The July 15 presentation - Ritual (Magic II) used "Ritual as Bonding, Action as Ritual" from the witch Starhawk, the one who works with Matthew Fox, I presume
The July 29 presentation - Myth used The Myth of Inanna.
That takes on more significance when you look at the other activities he is involved in...including the Slayage Conference (See entry for FRIDAY, MAY 28 | 4:15-6:00 4E. WITCHCRAFT IN BtVS for Winslade's contribution), but especially The Starwood Festival XXV where he was one of the presenters on the program. His presentation is titled "Occultism and the Academy"
In the Overview at The Starwood website you can read that
The Starwood Festival features over 15 performances of music, drumming, dance and theatre. Its a multiversity featuring over 150 classes, workshops and ceremonies offered by teachers from many fields, disciplines, traditions and cultures. Its a clothing-optional family camping event with tenting and hiking, a pool and a hot-tub, a food court, co-op child care, a Kid Village and multimedia shows. Starwood is also a social event with costume parades, jam sessions, merchants, parties, all-night drumming and much more, including our huge and infamous Bonfire!
A couple of additional Starwood speakers chosen at random are "Oberon Zell-Ravenheart" "a renowned Wizard and elder in the worldwide magickal community" and "Raven" who has "been active in the Pagan community for more than twenty years".
Starwood is quite an operation. It takes a while to go through the website. I still haven't seen all of it. Here is the complete list of speakers.
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Moving on to another De Paul instructor - Gary Cestaro
DePaul has instituted as of last month, "LGBTQ studies" according to Page 18 in a letter from the Dean.
Out in Chicago ran a story from the Chicago Free Press on the establishment of this course
Depaul lists Cestaro as an expert in Gays and Lesbians according to their "Index to DePaul's Experts Guide" by professors.
Cestaro is an expert also in Renaissance Studies, particularly Dante.
He spoke at Notre Dame in the Department of Romance Languages and Literature on October 31, 2000 on "Dante's Queer Nature"
Cestaro has also been cited in the Dante Society Newsletter, Volume 6, Number 2, April 2000, a publication of the Dante Society of America, Brandeis University.
From the website:
Gary Cestaro offered a close reading of Inferno XV and XVI in his "Queering Nature, Queering Gender: Dante and Sodomy,"
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Lastly, the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), the magical fraternity of Lon Milo DuQuette who started this series of connect the dots, practices sex magick. The 11th degree is homosexual, according to P. R. Koenig. (Koenig is considered an authority on O.T.O.) Here is what he has to say about the 11th degree. (WARNING: before you access this website, please be aware that there is a particularly offensive graphic flashing there, and the content is also offensive.)
The website talks about, among others, Michael P. Bertiaux who lives (or lived) in Chicago. Which is the home of DePaul and was the home of Cardinal Bernardin who was accused of homosexuality, and who is rumored to be one of the participants in the enthronement ceremony that took place at a black mass in North Carolina according to Malachi Martin. The founder of CESNUR, Massimo Introvigne, has had some odd dealings with Bertiaux in the founding of an occult organization, according to one source. The founding of CESNUR is supposed to have been the work of a group of Catholics, according to their website which also indicates:
CESNUR sponsors a wide range of publications, from the very scholarly to those intended for the general public. A collection of hundred-pages booklets on movements and religious trends published with a leading Catholic publisher is being extremely successful in Italy and publication in Spanish has started. English and French translations have also been published. These monographs are regarded as the standard references on a number of groups, particularly (although not exclusively) in the Catholic world, where knowledge of the Italian language is widespread. CESNUR also produced a three-videos course on new religious movements intended for Catholic schools and parishes in Italy. Its main project in Italian has been the monumental Encyclopedia of Religions in Italy (2001), which was the most reviewed non-fiction work in the Italian media in 2001.
How does it come to be that the director of a cult-watch organization working with Catholic schools and parishes also is involved in the consolidation of a group of occult societies? It would seem to be a conflict of interest.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
