Sunday 31 May 2015

Today's Must Read...



Corruption, which is always something done 'in secret' seems to be 'one of the greatest evils' 
in the world today, according to His Holiness.

Therefore, the cloak of 'anonymity' should not be enforced upon those present at the Synod.

Let the Bishops and Cardinals speak their minds and be seen to be accountable, not only to God, 
but to the People of God for having said it.

If it is anonymous, it isn't really Parrhesia.

"A synod without freedom is not a synod. It is a conference. The synod, instead, is a protected space in which the Holy Spirit can work. And for this reason the persons must be free. This is why I will not allow the things that each one says to be published with name and surname. No, it should not be known who has said it. I have no problem with revealing what has been said, but not who has said it, in such a way that one may feel free to say what one wishes." ~ Pope Francis

Thursday 28 May 2015

Bishop Richard Moth Installation Mass Homily



Bishop Richard Moth was installed today as 5th Bishop of Arundel and Brighton on the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Diocese at Arundel Catherdral, Arundel. You can read his homily here.

Deo gratias!

Pray for him.

Pray for this Diocese.

Sunday 24 May 2015

Top Ten Causes of the Irish Referendum Result


As the Irish Bishops and clergy commiserate themselves, or celebrate, at the result in Ireland, an in-depth review is taking place within the Church in Ireland as to what or who is to blame for the massive 'up yours' that the Irish people have delivered to Almighty God.

1. The leaked memo details the 10 main causes of the terrible result with the Pet Shop Boys leading the names blamed in the analysis. While this band are not said to be Irish, their influence is global and will have had some effect on the outcome.


2. The influence of Graham Norton cannot be underestimated in the Bishops view.



3. Meanwhile, this leprechaun is thought to have played a major role. According to the memo, the Bishops would like to find him and give him a good talking to, but in a non-judgmental, inclusive way, on the subject.



4. This rainbow caused quite a stir in Dublin with a nation seldom known to be in any way superstitious, taking it as a sign that God was casting His vote for same-sex marriage, neglecting to recall that this arc in the sky is more likely to be either a reminder that God sent this sign to Noah after the Great Flood as a sign of His covenant with him or that the Irish Government's reasons for changing the law was all to do with a 'pot of gold'. Unfortunately, while God promised to never flood the whole earth again, it was not lost on St Patrick that he made no such promise to the land called Eire. St Patrick prophecised that the nation would one day be submerged by a single wave, and that the sole reason for this wave would be...


5. Bono.



6. The O'Bama Effect has been noted by the Irish Bishops who, unlike the US President were unable to bring round the Irish people to their lacklustre campaign for 'No', perhaps because every time an Irish Bishop made an announcement to say something in defence of natural marriage, another Bishop said something lame, or another Irish clergyman came out as an unaccepted homosexual and told everyone he thought it was a great idea. O'Bama, however, has, since he was elected at least, always maintained a firm line and stuck to it, making it not right or moral, but more credible.


7. God has been seen by the Irish clergy and Bishops to be somewhat of an embarrassment during the campaign and seldom was He mentioned. If only God had not deigned to issue commandments binding on the consciences of His creatures then none of this would have happened. Surely, therefore, God must be in some way to blame for this unfortunate situation. So went the logic of the Irish Bishops, so much so in fact that when the Irish Archbishop of Dublin accepted defeat, he issued a statement to say the language of the Church must change, which will in all likelihood mean that God's law has to change.


8. Much of the Bishops' review focuses on the perceived menace of the laundrettes of Ireland, where it is believed the 'Yes' campaign made major in-roads simply by talking of days gone-by in which every laundrette was owned by the Catholic Church which worked to death slave girls whipped by nuns if they refused to work. Therefore, went the logic of the 'Yes' campaign, you simply must vote for 'gay marriage'.



9. Whiskey. It is alleged in the review of the Bishops that while 62 % of the Irish voted against Jesus Christ and His Truth that it is most likely that 100% of these voters were intoxicated, because people were allowed to vote after 12 o'clock in the afternoon. They do not rule out applying to the Government for another referendum, because the first one does not reflect a sober opinion.

10. The Bishops maintained in the review that there may be a very small outside chance that their covering up of horrendous sexual and physical abuse with the State and their handling of the abuse crisis was, perhaps, "not helpful in maintaining the levels of faith" in Ireland and that rampant levels of homosexuality and a form of liberalism diametrically opposed to the Gospel have dominated the clergy to the point that many question whether these individuals, along with Bishops, actually believe in God.

It is expected that the Irish Bishops will rule this option out and concentrate on the other nine possibilities along with the nefarious influence of a host of literary figures who expressed through their literary genius their relationship with the Catholic Church in only miserable, regrettable terms that made 'I really hate being a Catholic' the waking sentiment of at least half the population.

The official response to this calamity can be read here. 'It has nothing to do with us. It was the 'cultural revolution' wot won it.'

Thursday 21 May 2015

On Saints and Scholars

"We're back!"
St Patrick drove them out. His Successors invited them back in. I must confess that I haven't been praying much about Ireland until recently when it has dawned on me (I'm a little slow, you know) that the culture of death strangling most of Europe is about to wrap its constrictor-like form around the land of 'Saints and scholars'.

We should pray very much for this coiuntry. We shouldn't be surprised, even if we are horrified by Ireland's free-fall collapse. What a King did for England, the Church itself has done for Ireland, which is made the more disturbing because Ireland's stunning apostasy has occurred with no threat of violence whatsoever and within a single generation. If they vote yes, then the Irish are actually voting for their own destruction, whereas in England the cultural and religious revolution and its horrendous aftermath was imposed from above.

If the 'exit polls' in the referendum for Jesus Christ Vs Satan are anything to go by, this will be a most democratic rupture with its Christian roots, with Christ and His Church. Perhaps they look out at Europe and feel the need to keep up with the Jones's in our general embrace of a godless ideology. Of course, the collapse of the Catholic Faith, the collapse in vocations in these Isles is seen by some English Cardinals as a kind of 'second Spring' under the reign of an Argentinian Pope with record high 'approval ratings' that are not necessarily representative of the Court of Heaven. Or perhaps the post-1960s Catholic Church in Ireland, through its classy, modern, 'relevant' liturgy, widespread irreverence towards the Blessed Sacrament and the sins of its clergy and Bishops, has done enough to secure the demise of Ireland's long-standing identity as a Catholic nation. For some reason I think of Fr Ray Kelly's 'classy' and 'relevant' rendition of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' wedding anthem at a Nuptial Mass. It really encapsulates so much.

Other countries are not, quite yet, so foolish though I suspect the powerful would deem them so. Brave Hungary and under pressure Poland remain more than merely 'culturally' Catholic and it is seen - though Poland remains under threat - in the laws of these countries. These countries however, did not have the nuclear explosion of the sex abuse crisis that Ireland had. Still reeling from that calamitous outrage, you might hope that the Bishops of Ireland, for instance, in Dublin, might launch a final salvo to save Ireland from the abyss of sexual slavery and sin being legislated into the laws of the land but many Bishops are like those who celebrate the country's patron saint. St Patrick may still be wheeled out for Guinness Day in Ireland but his message is completely erased from the celebrations. With some exceptions, it would seem that whatever Apostolic zeal Ireland's prelates had, most have had it mysteriously drained out of them.

Hollywood: Cheery, optimistic stuff in 'San Andreas'
Some are hoping that His Holiness Pope Francis might say something to instill the fear or even love of God back into the Irish but it has been said that Pope Francis believes this is something for the 'local Church' to do, a belief that unhappily co-incides with a rather lacklustre local Church that cannot even bring itself to tell its membership that voting for same-sex marriage puts you out of Communion with the Church.

The fact that some Bishops in Ireland are telling the Irish 'Who am I to judge?' how you vote could, perhaps, be just another aspect of the Francis Effect recently heralded by Fr Linus Clovis in a concise and erudite talk. It would be great for His Holiness to say something in defence of Ireland's comparatively impeccable and hitherto pro-life, pro-traditional marriage laws but like many I am not holding my breath. I read a blog post recently by a US priest who indicated that what the Church is looking at is like looking at a tsunami coming towards you. There is nowhere to go, there is nothing you can do, but pray. 

It is interesting to note that, with a growing number of Catholics, Hollywood retains its affection for the apocalyptic, with 'San Andreas' coming out at the end of the month of Mary. Like death and/or the Second Coming of Christ as Judge, 'The Big One' is not a matter of if, but when. Really, seriously, Irish Bishops and all Bishops have to return to the inconvenient truth that we are all going to die and face Almighty God and have to give an answer and that we should live this life to prepare for this, within the Ark of Salvation, the Catholic Church. Let us not wait for greater chatisements than we have yet known to do this. We will face God and either Heaven or Hell forever. This means turning our lives towards God, not directing our lives towards our own sensuality and our own selfish will. As 'whole nations' are 'annihilated' as forewarned by Our Lady of Fatima, through artificial contraception, laws that promote abortion, homosexuality, the devastation of sin and sacrilege, and the whole 'culture of death' opposed so vigorously by Popes Benedict and St John Paul II we would do well to note the annihilation of the Faith taking place within the Church because only Christ's Church can confront and oppose the evil in the World.

Yes, even the devastation we survey in various nations wrought by a powerful elite under the influence of the prince of this World is as nothing compared to the supreme betrayal of Our Lord that has been witnessed within the bosom of the Catholic Church itself by those entrusted with so much authority and so much responsibility. We must pray and pray hard. Pray for Ireland and at this time of grave crisis in the Church, we must thank God for those who, unafraid of reprisals that could be levelled in their direction, say what must be said in times when confusion and uncertainty over the Truth becomes so widespread for the Salvation of Souls and the good of the Universal Church. Pray for more of such as these. Most Irish Bishops may have invited the snakes back into Ireland, but thank Almighty God for this gentleman and scholar, this man with the spirit of the Saints.



Wednesday 6 May 2015

Your Official Catholic Blogger's Voting Guide

Step 1: Walk into polling booth with polling card and remove Pritt Stick glue and image of Christ the King from pocket.

Step 2: Take polling card and fasten image of Christ the Eternal King in a space where yet no other name appears, perhaps sticking the image at the top of the polling card, since 'He must be King until He has put all his enemies under His feet and the last of these enemies is' Caroline Lucas.

Step 3: Mark a clear X next to the image of Christ the King to show that in no way are you spoiling your ballot paper, but are, in fact, beautifying it with the image of our Redeemer.

Step 4: Pray the prayer for the conversion of England and leave the polling booth.

The Pope Who Won't Be Buried

It has been a long time since I have put finger to keyboard to write about our holy Catholic Faith, something I regret, but which I put larg...