By Sharon Samber, Religion News Service via USATODAY.COM:
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The largest Catholic church in North America is now complete.
After 100 years of construction, thousands of worshippers Friday witnessed the blessing of 24 tons of Venetian glass that embellish the dome of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Called the “Trinity Dome,” the glass mosaic is the final architectural element of the church, a shrine to Mary which sits next to the Catholic University of America and is visited by nearly 1 million people a year.
A 10-minute procession of cardinals, bishops, and priests preceded the two-hour ceremony and Mass to mark the dedication of the dome.
Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl who celebrated the Mass called the basilica a “modern-day masterpiece.” Faith, he said, was the reason why so many people, for so many years, sacrificed to finish the church.
“Mary believed that nothing is impossible with God,” Wuerl said in his homily. “She is the supreme model of what it means to believe.”
The Trinity Dome is one of the largest mosaic installations of its kind in the world, composed of more than 14 million pieces of glass. It depicts the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary, a procession of saints and angels, the four evangelists and the Nicene Creed. It also includes stained-glass windows dedicated to the many donors to the dome.
Link:
Showing posts with label Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl. Show all posts
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Who Is The ‘Personal Chef’ Of Cardinal Donald Wuerl?
By George Neumayr
(The Daily Caller) A flashy and expensive white Mercedes rolled out from the four-car garage of Donald Wuerl around 10:05 PM on December 11. I was there in the parking lot of Queen of the Americas parish at 2200 California street in the luxurious neighborhood known commonly as Embassy Row.
The Catholic cardinal of the nation’s capital since 2006, Wuerl has long had a reputation for high living — despite his exalted status as the most powerful American prelate in what the media calls the “humble church” of Pope Francis. (In his previous posting as a bishop in Pittsburgh, he lived in a 31-room mansion filled with antiques, rugs, and art.) But few know the details of his furtive pursuits on Embassy Row — a posh lifestyle which stands in shocking contrast to the simplicity Pope Francis insists he wants his shepherds to embrace.
I got a small glimpse of that contrast as I watched the white Mercedes move towards me. I put up my hand and the driver stopped and got out. “Do you work for Cardinal Wuerl?” I asked the black man, who appeared to be late middle age, as he exited the white Mercedes. “Yes,” he said. “I am his personal chef.”
Unaware that Cardinal Wuerl employed a personal chef, I asked the gentleman his name. He refused to give it. But he did describe himself as “an archdiocesan employee.”
(The Daily Caller) A flashy and expensive white Mercedes rolled out from the four-car garage of Donald Wuerl around 10:05 PM on December 11. I was there in the parking lot of Queen of the Americas parish at 2200 California street in the luxurious neighborhood known commonly as Embassy Row.
The Catholic cardinal of the nation’s capital since 2006, Wuerl has long had a reputation for high living — despite his exalted status as the most powerful American prelate in what the media calls the “humble church” of Pope Francis. (In his previous posting as a bishop in Pittsburgh, he lived in a 31-room mansion filled with antiques, rugs, and art.) But few know the details of his furtive pursuits on Embassy Row — a posh lifestyle which stands in shocking contrast to the simplicity Pope Francis insists he wants his shepherds to embrace.
I got a small glimpse of that contrast as I watched the white Mercedes move towards me. I put up my hand and the driver stopped and got out. “Do you work for Cardinal Wuerl?” I asked the black man, who appeared to be late middle age, as he exited the white Mercedes. “Yes,” he said. “I am his personal chef.”
Unaware that Cardinal Wuerl employed a personal chef, I asked the gentleman his name. He refused to give it. But he did describe himself as “an archdiocesan employee.”
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Bill Donohue vs. Michael Voris
From Bill Donohue at the Catholic League followed by Michael Voris' response:
Bill Donohue addresses recent attacks on Cardinal Donald Wuerl:
The crazies on the Catholic right have set their sights on Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington. Why? Because he is close to Pope Francis, and they hate the pope. The attacks are coming from The Church Militant, a loose gang of angry right-wingers who specialize in character assassination, and American Spectator hater George Neumayr.
Three recent hit pieces by Church Militant author Christine Niles set the agenda. She says “today’s archbishop of Washington owns a penthouse in a complex valued at $43 million.” That is a lie. He owns not a centimeter of his third-floor “penthouse,” an apartment that sits atop Our Lady Queen of the Americas parish. Like bishops all over the world, he resides in a spot that was specifically designed for the local Ordinary. There is nothing scandalous about this Church patrimony.
Church Militant head Michael Voris says his unidentified sources claim that when Wuerl was the Bishop of Pittsburgh his gay-friendly approach earned him the nickname “Donna the Girl.” I taught at a Pittsburgh Catholic college during Wuerl’s years and never once did I hear anyone tag him as such. Voris also says that Wuerl stole a “Catechism work composed by Fr. John Hardon by simply putting his name to it.” That’s another lie. I guess Wuerl was channeling Hardon when he gave his TV series of lectures on the subject.
Neumayr is so far gone that he accuses Wuerl of being a Communist because someone spotted a copy of Mao’s Little Red Book in his office in the 1970s. That would make me Chairman of the Politburo: I have a copy of Das Kapital in my office right now.
These crazies are mad at Wuerl because he doesn’t believe in using the Eucharist as a weapon to smack liberal Catholic politicians. Wuerl has said that the refusal of Holy Communion “should be made only after clear efforts to persuade and convince the person that their actions are wrong and bear moral consequences.” Exactly. Wuerl is a great gift to the Catholic Church. These critics are as ignorant as they are malicious.
Link:
And from ChurchMilitant.com:
There's a saying that goes: "If you start getting flak for what you are saying, know that your bombs have hit their target."
Such is the case with a couple of stories that ChurchMilitant.com released a few days back about establishment kingpin Washington, D.C. Cardinal-Archbishop Donald Wuerl. His Eminence has moved to the front of the quiet assault against orthodox Catholicism in the United States and is joined by various allies both in the clergy and certain Catholic media circles in that assault.
To show the behind-the-scenes influence Cdl. Wuerl exhibits, shortly after our reports ran, Catholic-Establishment attack dog Bill Donohue of the self-described Catholic League came out calling us here at ChurchMilitant.com "right-wing nut jobs" (nice Catholic language, by the way, Catholic League man).
He took umbrage at our reports, enough to actually issue a press release where he accused us of "attacking" (by the way, it's called reporting) Cdl. Wuerl because he is a friend of the Pope, and (he claims) we "hate the Pope."
What a stupid charge revealing the stupidity and lack of research on the part of whoever wrote it. ChurchMilitant.com is the one faithful Catholic organization that has been pilloried by other Catholic organizations for not calling the Pope a heretic, possessed, evil and every other name under the sun. We have, in fact, done the exact opposite of what Donohue portrays. We have been the voice of reason in the Catholic media saying that the Holy Father must be given every benefit of a doubt, and if something needs to be addressed, it needs to be in the most charitable, respectful terms possible.
But Donohue, in his excitement to be seen as Supreme Guardian of the Establishment and always being the attack dog so he can continue to curry favor and rub elbows, totally disregards facts and just bullies whomever he wants. Cardinal Wuerl has a disgraceful record as cardinal archbishop, and it needs to be talked about, regardless of what Bill Donohue deems worthy of reporting. Who set up Bill Donohue as overlord of what is newsworthy and what is not?
Donohue, you will recall, was out front and center defending Cdl. Timothy Dolan's pitiful example of cheering active homosexuals who work for NBC to be permitted to march openly in the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade. True to form, when Catholics outside the well-cocooned establishment saw this as a bad move, Donohue went on the attack, even calling us and others names and hurling insults around at anyone who would even dare to think that a cardinal could err. He even came out and personally supported the move, throwing the weight of his one-man operation Catholic League behind the gay propaganda offensive.
He had to; Dolan had supported and cheered it, so the very non-independent Donohue had to get in lock step and do the same. His official excuse: He had been promised that since sodomites could openly march in the parade, then so could pro-life groups. Riiiiight. Sure they could!
Then suddenly, in a move that anyone with a quarter-brian could see coming, the pro-sodomite parade committee changed their minds and said no to pro-life groups. That sent Donohue into a frenzied tizzy as he voiced his opposition to such a double-dealing, back-stabbing action on the part of the parade committee.
Well, Bill, what do you expect? You and your establishment wine-and-cheese crowd have always misjudged the depth of the evil. You sleep with dogs and you're gonna' get fleas. Or more precisely, play with the devil and you're gonna get burned. That Donohue could have so badly misjudged, so pathetically thought that this crowd could be appealed to for fairness disqualifies him from any further consideration by serious Catholics. What a colossal lapse in judgment.
And the proof is even further demonstrated at the immaturity and lack of clear thinking on the part of Donohue and the other establishment crowd when we now see that the St. Patrick's Parade committee — the very ones that Donohue had initially applauded — now want to remove St. Patrick himself from the parade and remove the existing requirement that Catholics be on the committee.
In a couple of years, the former St Patrick's Day parade up 5th Avenue will be nothing more than a polyglot of sexual deviants and a celebration of multicultural, pluralistic-society idiocy — and it would have been accomplished because men like Cdl. Dolan and most especially Bill Donohue co-operated with the first stage because their own pride and hubris got in the way and they did not sufficiently stand up for Our Blessed Lord.
And why? Because they were having too much fun and spending too much time making sport of serious Catholics who saw the hand-writing on the wall and who were put off by the scandal of a prince of the Church leading a parade with active, proud sodomites all under the banner of the very saint who helped bring about an end to homosexuality in Ireland.
So you will excuse us and everyone else if we simply dismiss Bill Donohue and wish him a good retirement. He has proven that his allegiance is with the establishment, right or wrong. He has conflated in his mind that an individual cardinal or bishop equals the Church. They do not. As St. John Chrysostom so aptly warned, the floor of Hell is paved with the skulls of such.
We need to pray for the bishops as we are constantly stating and re-inforcing here at ChurchMilitant.com. We need to uplift and praise the faithful ones who are bold in declaring the truths of the Church. But the sorry, conniving, double-dealing ones with their own agenda of changing the Church need to be exposed because they are wicked.
Donald Wuerl has consistently said that canon law 915 needs to be ignored because it does not apply to pro-abortion Catholic politicians. It does, and he is wrong.
He was one of the major agitators in Rome at the Synod for sacrilegious reception of Holy Communion by adulterers.
He is the point man on tarring any Catholic who disagrees with him and his "New Church" garbage as an enemy of the Pope, a line of thought picked up and run with by Donahue with regard to us.
He plays his connections with the liberal media to smear other good cardinals who oppose him, such as he did in the case of The Tablet's "story" that Cdl. Burke lives in palatial surroundings in Rome. So does Cardinal Wuerl In Washington, D.C. What's good for the goose is good for gander.
Sources through the North American College in Rome have told us that Wuerl is constantly bad-mouthing Cardinal Burke and pillories him every chance he gets.
When bishop of Pittsburgh, in addition to living in luxurious accommodations, Wuerl had extremely friendly relations with the homosexual crowd in the Church and various sources say those connections also exist in Rome.
For Bill Donohue to go on the attack to defend this prelate reveals an awful lot. Why didn't he go on the attack against The Tablet for their insinuation that Burke lives in luxury? Because he knows that the establishment doesn't like Burke, so he felt no need to defend him. But when the darling of the "New Church" crowd, the wine-tasters and party-throwers and friends of the political crowd and the antique collectors get rightfully pointed out as hypocrites, his misguided fury knows no bounds.
In case you missed the memo, Mr. Donahue, things have changed. There are simply too many Catholics in the rank and file, we peasant Catholics, who will no longer keep quiet about your business-as-usual, status-quo approach to the Church. Holy Mother Church is in crisis, and you and your cronies — including various prelates — have helped to bring it about. Bluster all you want, but none of us is going away.
You can stop the class warfare in the Church, Bill. We aren't the ones living in multi-million dollar houses and jetting around the world on the nickles of widows who throw their money in the plate each week.
Pray that Mr. Donahue comes around to his senses.
Link:
Bill Donohue addresses recent attacks on Cardinal Donald Wuerl:
The crazies on the Catholic right have set their sights on Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington. Why? Because he is close to Pope Francis, and they hate the pope. The attacks are coming from The Church Militant, a loose gang of angry right-wingers who specialize in character assassination, and American Spectator hater George Neumayr.
Three recent hit pieces by Church Militant author Christine Niles set the agenda. She says “today’s archbishop of Washington owns a penthouse in a complex valued at $43 million.” That is a lie. He owns not a centimeter of his third-floor “penthouse,” an apartment that sits atop Our Lady Queen of the Americas parish. Like bishops all over the world, he resides in a spot that was specifically designed for the local Ordinary. There is nothing scandalous about this Church patrimony.
Church Militant head Michael Voris says his unidentified sources claim that when Wuerl was the Bishop of Pittsburgh his gay-friendly approach earned him the nickname “Donna the Girl.” I taught at a Pittsburgh Catholic college during Wuerl’s years and never once did I hear anyone tag him as such. Voris also says that Wuerl stole a “Catechism work composed by Fr. John Hardon by simply putting his name to it.” That’s another lie. I guess Wuerl was channeling Hardon when he gave his TV series of lectures on the subject.
Neumayr is so far gone that he accuses Wuerl of being a Communist because someone spotted a copy of Mao’s Little Red Book in his office in the 1970s. That would make me Chairman of the Politburo: I have a copy of Das Kapital in my office right now.
These crazies are mad at Wuerl because he doesn’t believe in using the Eucharist as a weapon to smack liberal Catholic politicians. Wuerl has said that the refusal of Holy Communion “should be made only after clear efforts to persuade and convince the person that their actions are wrong and bear moral consequences.” Exactly. Wuerl is a great gift to the Catholic Church. These critics are as ignorant as they are malicious.
Link:
And from ChurchMilitant.com:
The Empire Strikes Back
Say the truth about the evil in the Church and wait for the fireworks.
There's a saying that goes: "If you start getting flak for what you are saying, know that your bombs have hit their target."
Such is the case with a couple of stories that ChurchMilitant.com released a few days back about establishment kingpin Washington, D.C. Cardinal-Archbishop Donald Wuerl. His Eminence has moved to the front of the quiet assault against orthodox Catholicism in the United States and is joined by various allies both in the clergy and certain Catholic media circles in that assault.
To show the behind-the-scenes influence Cdl. Wuerl exhibits, shortly after our reports ran, Catholic-Establishment attack dog Bill Donohue of the self-described Catholic League came out calling us here at ChurchMilitant.com "right-wing nut jobs" (nice Catholic language, by the way, Catholic League man).
He took umbrage at our reports, enough to actually issue a press release where he accused us of "attacking" (by the way, it's called reporting) Cdl. Wuerl because he is a friend of the Pope, and (he claims) we "hate the Pope."
What a stupid charge revealing the stupidity and lack of research on the part of whoever wrote it. ChurchMilitant.com is the one faithful Catholic organization that has been pilloried by other Catholic organizations for not calling the Pope a heretic, possessed, evil and every other name under the sun. We have, in fact, done the exact opposite of what Donohue portrays. We have been the voice of reason in the Catholic media saying that the Holy Father must be given every benefit of a doubt, and if something needs to be addressed, it needs to be in the most charitable, respectful terms possible.
But Donohue, in his excitement to be seen as Supreme Guardian of the Establishment and always being the attack dog so he can continue to curry favor and rub elbows, totally disregards facts and just bullies whomever he wants. Cardinal Wuerl has a disgraceful record as cardinal archbishop, and it needs to be talked about, regardless of what Bill Donohue deems worthy of reporting. Who set up Bill Donohue as overlord of what is newsworthy and what is not?
Donohue, you will recall, was out front and center defending Cdl. Timothy Dolan's pitiful example of cheering active homosexuals who work for NBC to be permitted to march openly in the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade. True to form, when Catholics outside the well-cocooned establishment saw this as a bad move, Donohue went on the attack, even calling us and others names and hurling insults around at anyone who would even dare to think that a cardinal could err. He even came out and personally supported the move, throwing the weight of his one-man operation Catholic League behind the gay propaganda offensive.
He had to; Dolan had supported and cheered it, so the very non-independent Donohue had to get in lock step and do the same. His official excuse: He had been promised that since sodomites could openly march in the parade, then so could pro-life groups. Riiiiight. Sure they could!
Then suddenly, in a move that anyone with a quarter-brian could see coming, the pro-sodomite parade committee changed their minds and said no to pro-life groups. That sent Donohue into a frenzied tizzy as he voiced his opposition to such a double-dealing, back-stabbing action on the part of the parade committee.
Well, Bill, what do you expect? You and your establishment wine-and-cheese crowd have always misjudged the depth of the evil. You sleep with dogs and you're gonna' get fleas. Or more precisely, play with the devil and you're gonna get burned. That Donohue could have so badly misjudged, so pathetically thought that this crowd could be appealed to for fairness disqualifies him from any further consideration by serious Catholics. What a colossal lapse in judgment.
And the proof is even further demonstrated at the immaturity and lack of clear thinking on the part of Donohue and the other establishment crowd when we now see that the St. Patrick's Parade committee — the very ones that Donohue had initially applauded — now want to remove St. Patrick himself from the parade and remove the existing requirement that Catholics be on the committee.
In a couple of years, the former St Patrick's Day parade up 5th Avenue will be nothing more than a polyglot of sexual deviants and a celebration of multicultural, pluralistic-society idiocy — and it would have been accomplished because men like Cdl. Dolan and most especially Bill Donohue co-operated with the first stage because their own pride and hubris got in the way and they did not sufficiently stand up for Our Blessed Lord.
And why? Because they were having too much fun and spending too much time making sport of serious Catholics who saw the hand-writing on the wall and who were put off by the scandal of a prince of the Church leading a parade with active, proud sodomites all under the banner of the very saint who helped bring about an end to homosexuality in Ireland.
So you will excuse us and everyone else if we simply dismiss Bill Donohue and wish him a good retirement. He has proven that his allegiance is with the establishment, right or wrong. He has conflated in his mind that an individual cardinal or bishop equals the Church. They do not. As St. John Chrysostom so aptly warned, the floor of Hell is paved with the skulls of such.
We need to pray for the bishops as we are constantly stating and re-inforcing here at ChurchMilitant.com. We need to uplift and praise the faithful ones who are bold in declaring the truths of the Church. But the sorry, conniving, double-dealing ones with their own agenda of changing the Church need to be exposed because they are wicked.
Donald Wuerl has consistently said that canon law 915 needs to be ignored because it does not apply to pro-abortion Catholic politicians. It does, and he is wrong.
He was one of the major agitators in Rome at the Synod for sacrilegious reception of Holy Communion by adulterers.
He is the point man on tarring any Catholic who disagrees with him and his "New Church" garbage as an enemy of the Pope, a line of thought picked up and run with by Donahue with regard to us.
He plays his connections with the liberal media to smear other good cardinals who oppose him, such as he did in the case of The Tablet's "story" that Cdl. Burke lives in palatial surroundings in Rome. So does Cardinal Wuerl In Washington, D.C. What's good for the goose is good for gander.
Sources through the North American College in Rome have told us that Wuerl is constantly bad-mouthing Cardinal Burke and pillories him every chance he gets.
When bishop of Pittsburgh, in addition to living in luxurious accommodations, Wuerl had extremely friendly relations with the homosexual crowd in the Church and various sources say those connections also exist in Rome.
For Bill Donohue to go on the attack to defend this prelate reveals an awful lot. Why didn't he go on the attack against The Tablet for their insinuation that Burke lives in luxury? Because he knows that the establishment doesn't like Burke, so he felt no need to defend him. But when the darling of the "New Church" crowd, the wine-tasters and party-throwers and friends of the political crowd and the antique collectors get rightfully pointed out as hypocrites, his misguided fury knows no bounds.
In case you missed the memo, Mr. Donahue, things have changed. There are simply too many Catholics in the rank and file, we peasant Catholics, who will no longer keep quiet about your business-as-usual, status-quo approach to the Church. Holy Mother Church is in crisis, and you and your cronies — including various prelates — have helped to bring it about. Bluster all you want, but none of us is going away.
You can stop the class warfare in the Church, Bill. We aren't the ones living in multi-million dollar houses and jetting around the world on the nickles of widows who throw their money in the plate each week.
Pray that Mr. Donahue comes around to his senses.
Link:
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Revolution on the Way - Synod Coverage
UPDATE: Blindsided: Press received document before synod fathers
Link:
Related:
- “The truly bizarre document that the Vatican released Monday”
- Cardinal Burke says statement from Pope Francis defending Catholic teaching is ‘long overdue’
- Cardinal Burke: Synod's mid-term report "lacks a solid foundation in the Sacred Scriptures and the Magisterium"
- Confused, Contradictory Chaos in Rome
- Magister: Pitched Battle on a Mad Monday at the Synod, Our conclusion: Bruno Forte made up homosexuality paragraphs by himself
- Press Grill Vatican on Divorce, Remarriage, and Homosexuality
- VIDEO: Card. Burke’s clear, articulate, blunt answers about divorce, remarriage, Card. Kasper
Monday, October 13, 2014
Confused, Contradictory Chaos in Rome
Related:
- Cardinal Burke says statement from Pope Francis defending Catholic teaching is ‘long overdue’
- Press Grill Vatican on Divorce, Remarriage, and Homosexuality
- Magister: Pitched Battle on a Mad Monday at the Synod, Our conclusion: Bruno Forte made up homosexuality paragraphs by himself
- Press Grill Vatican on Divorce, Remarriage, and Homosexuality
- VIDEO: Card. Burke’s clear, articulate, blunt answers about divorce, remarriage, Card. Kasper
Monday, March 24, 2014
The Scandal That is Eating the Heart out of the Catholic Church in America
By Father Vincent Fitzpatrick
(American Life League) Here is the text of Canon 915: “Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”
Several American bishops have made statements to the effect that a bishop must exercise “discretion” regarding whether to “impose the penalty” of denial of Communion. Among them: Chaput, Dolan, O’Malley, and Wuerl.
All bishops who refuse to “impose the penalty” are participating in a lie. Namely, that denial of Communion is a penalty.
Denial of Communion is NOT a penalty.
So? What is the import of this fact?
It
means that denial of Communion is not an option that MAY be chosen. It
is MANDATED by Canon 915. No bishop, priest, or other minister of
Communion is free to disobey Canon 915, for the simple reason that the
action Canon 915 forbids is ALWAYS gravely sinful.It needs to be emphasized that Canon 915 is NOT a canon that may be “applied” or “not applied.” Canon 915 can only be obeyed or disobeyed. And disobeying Canon 915 is always gravely sinful.
Canon 915 exists precisely because giving Communion to a person “obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin” is always gravely sinful. Doing so is always to give grave scandal, and to participate knowingly in a sacrilegious act.
Let that sink in. Always gravely sinful.
In terms perhaps more familiar to the laity: To give Communion knowingly and deliberately to ANYONE delineated in Canon 915 is ALWAYS a mortal sin.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl has been the most outspoken of those bishops who refuse to obey Canon 915, but all of them are on record, as he is, as endorsing the commission of MORTAL SINS by their priests and other ministers of Communion. Cardinal Wuerl has even punished those who have obeyed Canon 915.
Of course, this is something he has no right to do, because no bishop has the authority to command anyone to commit a mortal sin!
“Bearing in mind the nature of the above-cited norm (cfr. n. 1), no ecclesiastical authority may dispense the minister of Holy Communion from this obligation in any case, nor may he emanate directives that contradict it.” Cardinal Wuerl and many other bishops have been doing PRECISELY what they are EXPRESSLY forbidden to do by this statement from the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts!
They have also emanated specious arguments. Here are some of Cardinal Wuerl’s preposterous, irrelevant statements, made in these or very similar words:
That’s not my style.Now, that is a stunning statement, because the divorced-and-illicitly-remarried are not excommunicated. Yet, does anyone doubt that, were Cardinal Wuerl to direct all ministers of Communion in his jurisdiction to give Communion to the divorced-and-illicitly-remarried, the news would flash around the world, and Rome would take action within hours?
I follow a “pastoral approach” rather than a “canonical approach.
”We need to find out if the canon was written for the purpose of bringing politicians to heel.
I will not deny Communion to anyone who has not been formally excommunicated.
But Canon 915 mentions no particular SPECIES of sin! That is, the KIND of sin in which a would-be communicant is publicly involved is of no account!
In other words, Cardinal Wuerl’s long-standing determination to give pro-abortion people Communion is precisely as outrageous and scandalous as would be a directive to give Communion to the divorced-and-illicitly-remarried. Yet, there is no evidence that this massive scandal has attracted the attention of Rome.
It is said by many, including Cardinal Wuerl, that Communion should not be used as a political weapon.
Absolutely true. And the reception of Communion is being used as a political weapon—by pro-abortion politicians. As long as they are permitted to receive Communion, the bishop (e.g., Cardinal Wuerl) endorses their claim to be “ardent Catholics” whose promotion of abortion is NO SIN.
Abraham Lincoln is credited with the statements: You can fool all of the people some of the time. You can fool some of the people all of the time. Cardinal Wuerl and other bishops appear to be relying on the truth of these observations. It appears that it has been left up to the laity to demonstrate the truth of Lincoln’s further statement: But you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
If this scandal is to end, Rome needs to hear a great deal more noise from the laity. As Pope Francis told the youth of Brazil: “Raise a ruckus.”
For further reading on Canon 915, please see the following links:
http://tinyurl.com/canon915
http://www.canonlaw.info/a_denialofeucharist.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_915
A native of Washington, DC, Fr. Vincent Fitzpatrick is a retired priest of the Diocese of Fargo.
Link:
Related:
- Moving Beyond
- Exile to Malta for Cardinal Burke
- Cardinal Raymond Burke: Obama’s Policies ‘Have Become Progressively More Hostile Toward Christian Civilization’
- Cardinal Burke Out; Cardinal Wuerl In
- Cardinal Donald Wuerl Silent on Biden Remarks
- Cardinal Wuerl's Continuing Crisis
- Cardinal Wuerl's Open Scandal
- Cardinal Wuerl's Dereliction of Duty
- Father Guarnizo's Faculties Suspended - D.C. Bloggers Recommend Taking Action
- Exclusive: Inside sources provide new info on priest censured for denying lesbian Communion
- Fr. Marcel Guarnizo Update
- Cardinal Burke on the Liturgy - Traditional Latin Mass and Ordinary Form, New English Translation
- Cardinal Burke Urges Catholics to Pray for the Reconciliation of the SSPX
- Cardinal Burke: Yes, it’s a sin to comply with the Obamacare mandate
- Cardinal Burke calls young converts 'beautiful' image of God's grace
- Cardinal Burke to pray outside Texas abortion clinic
- Archbishop Burke to Lead Church's Supreme Court
- EWTN Live w/ Archbishop Raymond Burke & Fr. Mitch Pacwa
- Archbishop Burke on altar girls and EMHCs in the Extraordinary Form
- Priests’ conference in Rome to feature Tridentine liturgies
- Exclusive Interview: Leading Vatican Prelate Says Document of US Bishops Partly to Blame for Election of “Most Pro-Abortion President”
- Archbishop Burke: Holy Eucharist is God’s ‘greatest gift’
- Catholics who support abortion should not receive Communion, says Archbishop Burke
- Archbishop Burke to dedicate new national shrine for Our Lady of Guadalupe
- St. Louis archdiocese sues rebellious parish
- Archbishop Raymond Burke
- Excommunicated St. Stanislaus member reconciles with Archbishop Burke, Church
- Excommunication For Women Claiming Ordination
- Sister Louise Lears of St. Cronan Summoned to Appear Before Archbishop Burk
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Cardinal Burke Out; Cardinal Wuerl In
Related:
- Moving Beyond
- Exile to Malta for Cardinal Burke
- The Scandal That is Eating the Heart out of the Catholic Church in America
- Cardinal Raymond Burke: Obama’s Policies ‘Have Become Progressively More Hostile Toward Christian Civilization’
- Cardinal Donald Wuerl Silent on Biden Remarks
- Cardinal Wuerl's Continuing Crisis
- Cardinal Wuerl's Open Scandal
- Cardinal Wuerl's Dereliction of Duty
- Father Guarnizo's Faculties Suspended - D.C. Bloggers Recommend Taking Action
- Exclusive: Inside sources provide new info on priest censured for denying lesbian Communion
- Fr. Marcel Guarnizo Update
- Cardinal Burke on the Liturgy - Traditional Latin Mass and Ordinary Form, New English Translation
- Cardinal Burke Urges Catholics to Pray for the Reconciliation of the SSPX
- Cardinal Burke: Yes, it’s a sin to comply with the Obamacare mandate
- Cardinal Burke calls young converts 'beautiful' image of God's grace
- Cardinal Burke to pray outside Texas abortion clinic
- Archbishop Burke to Lead Church's Supreme Court
- EWTN Live w/ Archbishop Raymond Burke & Fr. Mitch Pacwa
- Archbishop Burke on altar girls and EMHCs in the Extraordinary Form
- Priests’ conference in Rome to feature Tridentine liturgies
- Exclusive Interview: Leading Vatican Prelate Says Document of US Bishops Partly to Blame for Election of “Most Pro-Abortion President”
- Archbishop Burke: Holy Eucharist is God’s ‘greatest gift’
- Catholics who support abortion should not receive Communion, says Archbishop Burke
- Archbishop Burke to dedicate new national shrine for Our Lady of Guadalupe
- St. Louis archdiocese sues rebellious parish
- Archbishop Raymond Burke
- Excommunicated St. Stanislaus member reconciles with Archbishop Burke, Church
- Excommunication For Women Claiming Ordination
- Sister Louise Lears of St. Cronan Summoned to Appear Before Archbishop Burke
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Cardinal Donald Wuerl Silent on Biden Remarks
From RORATE CÆLI:
By now, it's old news that the Vice President of the United States Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, a nominal Catholic, not only said he supports homosexual "marriage", but that there's no difference between homosexual "marriage" and heterosexual marriage (also known simply as marriage). His support for this issue was so persuasive that, about an hour ago, the President of the United States announced his support for homosexual "marriage" as well.
What's most troubling is the deafening silence stemming from the Ordinary of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction where the Vice President, his diocesan faithful, works - Cardinal Wuerl. Wuerl, who is accustomed to giving our Lord to pro-abortion politicians and celebrities, such as Nancy Pelosi, Chris Matthews and other nominal Catholics in not-so-good standing, has been silent on Biden's remarks. In fact, when contacted by Rorate Caeli, his communications office refused to comment and said it was "highly unlikely" Wuerl would ever say anything publicly.
Yet, he sure was vocal and public when it came to Father Marcel Guarnizo, who is STILL suspended in the Archdiocese of Washington, all for refusing to give Holy Communion to a lesbian Buddhist.
Maybe you, your family, friends, and everyone else who cares about the name of the Church can get the good Cardinal to speak up. If you get a statement, any statement, please let us know:
Office of Media and Public RelationsLink:
Secretariat for Communications
301-853-4516 communications@adw.org
Related:
- The Scandal That is Eating the Heart out of the Catholic Church in America
- Cardinal Raymond Burke: Obama’s Policies ‘Have Become Progressively More Hostile Toward Christian Civilization’
- Cardinal Donald Wuerl: Not His Style
- Fr. Marcel Guarnizo Update
- EITHER BISHOPS TAKE CONTROL OVER THE SACRAMENTS OR THE CHURCH’S ENEMIES WILL
- Fr. Marcel (!) Guarnizo receives gift from Chancery
- Lesbian denied Communion at her mother’s funeral is also a Buddhist
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Cardinal Wuerl's Continuing Crisis
By George Neumayr at The American Spectator
Last week I reported that Cardinal Donald Wuerl's communications director, Chieko Noguchi, lodged a complaint with my editor. I did not object to the fact of the complaint; I objected to its form: an attempted traceless phone call. By contrast, I noted that Cardinal Roger Mahony's old pit bull, Tod Tamberg, nipped at my heels in plain sight. Tamberg sent a letter to TAS, signed it, and placed his title below his name. That's more honorable than a record-less phone call designed to silence me.
Critics of my column, such as Ed Peters, a canon lawyer from the archdiocese of Detroit, say that my complaint about the complaint resembles the very thin-skinned whining I bemoan in Cardinal Wuerl. No, it doesn't. I welcome Cardinal Wuerl's criticism. I invite him to write a formal letter of complaint, and I urge TAS to publish it in full. Moreover, TAS offers readers a comment box in which readers can launch limitless attacks upon my pieces.
Cardinal Wuerl's silence is deafening. He still hasn't commented directly on his baldly unjust "administrative leave" order to Fr. Marcel Guarnizo. Nor has he explained to the faithful why Barbara Johnson, the self-described practicing lesbian and Buddhist to whom Fr. Guarnizo properly denied Communion, enjoys a canonical right to the sacred species.
Perversely, Cardinal Wuerl has at once violated the canonical rights of a faithful priest while inventing out of thin air a "policy" that orders his subordinates to distribute the Eucharist to anti-Catholic activists and defiant mortal sinners. In his apology to Barbara Johnson, via one of his auxiliary bishops, Cardinal Wuerl rebuked Fr. Guarnizo for a lack of "pastoral" sensitivity. This is Cardinal Wuerl's euphemism for priestly action that takes orthodox teaching and discipline seriously.
The word "pastoral" should make the faithful groan at this point. It is one of the great weasel words of the "spirit of Vatican II" Church in America. The word "pastoral" invariably dribbles from the lips of bishops like Cardinal Wuerl who regularly expose their flocks to wolves. Jesus Christ said that the "good shepherd" watches the gate. Cardinal Wuerl's "policy" is to leave it wide open for the Church's fiercest enemies. This is why the Pelosis and the Barbara Johnsons just keep coming up for Communion. Since Cardinal Wuerl refuses to control the sacrament, they will.
Notice that "pastorally sensitive" bishops produce very few pastors (by punishing orthodox priests like Fr. Guarnizo, they cause vocations to dry up); they scatter flocks through feeble and slippery catechesis; and they provide plenty of cover for wolves in Catholic clothing, such as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, who wade into the Communion line and tout their "Catholicism" on the campaign trail while slam-dunking secularism over feckless and compromised bishops.
"Do not scatter pearls before swine," Jesus Christ said. "Do not give what is holy to dogs." How pastorally insensitive of the Son of God! A Church official who has watched Wuerl's persecution of Fr. Guarnizo with horror commented to me that if Jesus Christ had served in Cardinal Wuerl's archdiocese "he would be on administrative leave too." Unlike the Cardinal Wuerls, Christ didn't felt the need to play patty cake with the enemies of the Church. He liked struggling sinners but not unrepentant ones who seek to defile his temple.
It amazes me that a clericalist culture of toadying and flattery still exists in American Church circles, given the scandals into which the bishops have routinely plunged the faithful. I have no desire to participate in this worldly game of ring-kissing in which the Cardinal Wuerls wallow. They enjoy the trappings of their office without actually exercising it for the good of souls. They demand 13th-century obedience while behaving like 21st-century flakes who play church in costume and staff.
As St. Augustine said, God does not need our "lies." He needs our truth-telling, even if that truth-telling means wounding the egos of derelict successors to his disciples.
The aforementioned Ed Peters suggests that I am guilty of canonical offenses for criticizing Cardinal Wuerl. I mentioned this to another canon lawyer. He laughed openly, dismissing the charge as clericalist bluster.
The faithful have not only a right but a duty to resist heterodox bishops. Without that resistance clericalism runs amok and the integrity of the faith is lost.
Last week I was called the journalistic equivalent of Hugo Chavez -- a "right-wing fanatic, a man whose dogmatism is as scary as the authoritarians on the left." Perhaps I should complain to the bishops' Catholic anti-defamation group, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. But, wait, I can't: the statement above comes from the Catholic League's head, Bill Donohue, who added that he has "known Cardinal Wuerl for about 25 years" and that he "got me involved in the Catholic League."
It all sounds very chummy. An "anti-defamation" league that defames orthodox Catholics as "authoritarians" is exactly what one would expect from one of Cardinal Wuerl's clericalist tentacles. I apologize for nothing and repeat that he is guilty of a gross dereliction of duty. He has damaged the reputation of an innocent priest while emboldening the Church's enemies. This is a scandal which cries out to Pope Benedict XVI for correction.
Link:
Related:
Last week I reported that Cardinal Donald Wuerl's communications director, Chieko Noguchi, lodged a complaint with my editor. I did not object to the fact of the complaint; I objected to its form: an attempted traceless phone call. By contrast, I noted that Cardinal Roger Mahony's old pit bull, Tod Tamberg, nipped at my heels in plain sight. Tamberg sent a letter to TAS, signed it, and placed his title below his name. That's more honorable than a record-less phone call designed to silence me.Critics of my column, such as Ed Peters, a canon lawyer from the archdiocese of Detroit, say that my complaint about the complaint resembles the very thin-skinned whining I bemoan in Cardinal Wuerl. No, it doesn't. I welcome Cardinal Wuerl's criticism. I invite him to write a formal letter of complaint, and I urge TAS to publish it in full. Moreover, TAS offers readers a comment box in which readers can launch limitless attacks upon my pieces.
Cardinal Wuerl's silence is deafening. He still hasn't commented directly on his baldly unjust "administrative leave" order to Fr. Marcel Guarnizo. Nor has he explained to the faithful why Barbara Johnson, the self-described practicing lesbian and Buddhist to whom Fr. Guarnizo properly denied Communion, enjoys a canonical right to the sacred species.
The word "pastoral" should make the faithful groan at this point. It is one of the great weasel words of the "spirit of Vatican II" Church in America. The word "pastoral" invariably dribbles from the lips of bishops like Cardinal Wuerl who regularly expose their flocks to wolves. Jesus Christ said that the "good shepherd" watches the gate. Cardinal Wuerl's "policy" is to leave it wide open for the Church's fiercest enemies. This is why the Pelosis and the Barbara Johnsons just keep coming up for Communion. Since Cardinal Wuerl refuses to control the sacrament, they will.
Notice that "pastorally sensitive" bishops produce very few pastors (by punishing orthodox priests like Fr. Guarnizo, they cause vocations to dry up); they scatter flocks through feeble and slippery catechesis; and they provide plenty of cover for wolves in Catholic clothing, such as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, who wade into the Communion line and tout their "Catholicism" on the campaign trail while slam-dunking secularism over feckless and compromised bishops.
"Do not scatter pearls before swine," Jesus Christ said. "Do not give what is holy to dogs." How pastorally insensitive of the Son of God! A Church official who has watched Wuerl's persecution of Fr. Guarnizo with horror commented to me that if Jesus Christ had served in Cardinal Wuerl's archdiocese "he would be on administrative leave too." Unlike the Cardinal Wuerls, Christ didn't felt the need to play patty cake with the enemies of the Church. He liked struggling sinners but not unrepentant ones who seek to defile his temple.It amazes me that a clericalist culture of toadying and flattery still exists in American Church circles, given the scandals into which the bishops have routinely plunged the faithful. I have no desire to participate in this worldly game of ring-kissing in which the Cardinal Wuerls wallow. They enjoy the trappings of their office without actually exercising it for the good of souls. They demand 13th-century obedience while behaving like 21st-century flakes who play church in costume and staff.
As St. Augustine said, God does not need our "lies." He needs our truth-telling, even if that truth-telling means wounding the egos of derelict successors to his disciples.
The aforementioned Ed Peters suggests that I am guilty of canonical offenses for criticizing Cardinal Wuerl. I mentioned this to another canon lawyer. He laughed openly, dismissing the charge as clericalist bluster.
The faithful have not only a right but a duty to resist heterodox bishops. Without that resistance clericalism runs amok and the integrity of the faith is lost.
Last week I was called the journalistic equivalent of Hugo Chavez -- a "right-wing fanatic, a man whose dogmatism is as scary as the authoritarians on the left." Perhaps I should complain to the bishops' Catholic anti-defamation group, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. But, wait, I can't: the statement above comes from the Catholic League's head, Bill Donohue, who added that he has "known Cardinal Wuerl for about 25 years" and that he "got me involved in the Catholic League."
It all sounds very chummy. An "anti-defamation" league that defames orthodox Catholics as "authoritarians" is exactly what one would expect from one of Cardinal Wuerl's clericalist tentacles. I apologize for nothing and repeat that he is guilty of a gross dereliction of duty. He has damaged the reputation of an innocent priest while emboldening the Church's enemies. This is a scandal which cries out to Pope Benedict XVI for correction.
Link:
Related:
- The Scandal That is Eating the Heart out of the Catholic Church in America
- Cardinal Raymond Burke: Obama’s Policies ‘Have Become Progressively More Hostile Toward Christian Civilization’
- Cardinal Wuerl's Open Scandal
- Cardinal Wuerl's Dereliction of Duty
- A Canonical Defense of Father Marcel Guarnizo
- Pontifical High Mass Honoring Pope Benedict XVI at National Shrine Cancelled
- A canonical contribution on the Washington Eucharistic Affair
- Guest letter challenging Dr. Peters on canon 915, Communion, and "manifest" sin
- EITHER BISHOPS TAKE CONTROL OVER THE SACRAMENTS OR THE CHURCH’S ENEMIES WILL
- Archdiocese of Washington reprimands priest for denying communion to a lesbian
- Father Guarnizo's Faculties Suspended - D.C. Bloggers Recommend Taking Action
- Fr. Marcel Placed on Administrative Leave
- Fr. Marcel (!) Guarnizo receives gift from Chancery
- Washington D.C.: Homosexual Agenda Leads to Yet Another Priestly Suspension
- Lesbian denied Communion at her mother’s funeral is also a Buddhist
- Lesbian with kids in Catholic school demands removal of Catechism quote on homosexuality
- Archbishop Wuerl Weasels Out
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Cardinal Wuerl's Open Scandal
His spokeswoman has filed a complaint against me with TAS.
By George Neumayr at The American Spectator
Last week Cardinal Donald Wuerl lodged a complaint against me with my editors at TAS, via his communications director, Chieko Noguchi, after my article, "Cardinal Wuerl's Dereliction of Duty," appeared.
This is pretty much what I expected. Wuerl is notoriously thin-skinned about sharp criticism from orthodox Catholics. And since he likes to operate in the shadows -- confrontation is "not his style of pastoral ministry," he told a reporter in 2007 -- he had his paid PR agent do the dirty work for him. Say this for Tod Tamberg, Cardinal Roger Mahony's former spokesman: he at least wrote a straightforward letter to the editor denouncing me after I criticized the former Los Angeles prelate. Two, actually. In the first, Tamberg dismissed me as a "medievalist," which should give you a sense of the low esteem in which Mahony holds the age of Aquinas. In the second, Tamberg accused me of sloppiness while botching the spelling of my last name.
But as I say, at least he put pen to paper. Ms. Noguchi, perhaps reflecting the style of her boss, prefers to create troubles for me by phone.
Go ahead and do damage to me in this city, Cardinal Wuerl. I don't care. I will not surrender one inch to PC prelates like yourself who punish dutiful priests while pandering to the enemies of the Church.
This moronic controversy, triggered by a self-described practicing "lesbian Buddhist" who effortlessly mau-maued Cardinal Wuerl into a craven apology and trumped-up "administrative leave" order to Fr. Marcel Guarnizo, is a grotesque farce beyond the satirical imagination of Evelyn Waugh.
I petition the Holy See -- if anyone happens to read TAS there -- for urgent relief. This scandal is sickening. Cardinal Wuerl has damaged the reputation of a faithful priest, exposed the Holy Eucharist to sacrilege, scandalized confused congregants, and handed a propaganda victory to forces of secularism that seek to destroy the Church in America.
Knowing Cardinal Wuerl, he will probably write to allies at the Vatican after this column appears. That was his practice in Pittsburgh, where he served before arriving in D.C. In 1994, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Wuerl, whenever he saw criticism of his heterodoxy appear in a conservative publication like the Wanderer, would move into action:
Perhaps non-Catholic readers of TAS, who have stayed with this column up to this paragraph, are wondering why they should even care about Wuerl's fiasco. Isn't this just one more tedious sectarian squabble in the Church? I agree with you that it is boring, but it is not trivial. As pretentious as it sounds, these skirmishes form small battles in a larger war that affects everyone. Both Catholic and non-Catholic Americans, whether they realize it or not, benefit from a free and orthodox Catholic Church for a very basic reason: it stands as the era's last major barrier to the triumph of the coercive secular state.
The capitulations of the Wuerls to the atheistic agitprop artists of the age -- the "lesbian Buddhist" at the center of this controversy stands as a symbol of them all -- hasten the disintegration of that barrier. Without it, the coercive state will simply replace God, and all Americans will wake up one day to find this pitiless secular deity on their doorsteps, red in the tooth and clause of Obamacare, ravenous for their freedom.
UPDATE: Cardinal Wuerl's Continuing Crisis
Link:
Related:
By George Neumayr at The American Spectator
Last week Cardinal Donald Wuerl lodged a complaint against me with my editors at TAS, via his communications director, Chieko Noguchi, after my article, "Cardinal Wuerl's Dereliction of Duty," appeared.This is pretty much what I expected. Wuerl is notoriously thin-skinned about sharp criticism from orthodox Catholics. And since he likes to operate in the shadows -- confrontation is "not his style of pastoral ministry," he told a reporter in 2007 -- he had his paid PR agent do the dirty work for him. Say this for Tod Tamberg, Cardinal Roger Mahony's former spokesman: he at least wrote a straightforward letter to the editor denouncing me after I criticized the former Los Angeles prelate. Two, actually. In the first, Tamberg dismissed me as a "medievalist," which should give you a sense of the low esteem in which Mahony holds the age of Aquinas. In the second, Tamberg accused me of sloppiness while botching the spelling of my last name.
But as I say, at least he put pen to paper. Ms. Noguchi, perhaps reflecting the style of her boss, prefers to create troubles for me by phone.
Go ahead and do damage to me in this city, Cardinal Wuerl. I don't care. I will not surrender one inch to PC prelates like yourself who punish dutiful priests while pandering to the enemies of the Church.
This moronic controversy, triggered by a self-described practicing "lesbian Buddhist" who effortlessly mau-maued Cardinal Wuerl into a craven apology and trumped-up "administrative leave" order to Fr. Marcel Guarnizo, is a grotesque farce beyond the satirical imagination of Evelyn Waugh.I petition the Holy See -- if anyone happens to read TAS there -- for urgent relief. This scandal is sickening. Cardinal Wuerl has damaged the reputation of a faithful priest, exposed the Holy Eucharist to sacrilege, scandalized confused congregants, and handed a propaganda victory to forces of secularism that seek to destroy the Church in America.
Knowing Cardinal Wuerl, he will probably write to allies at the Vatican after this column appears. That was his practice in Pittsburgh, where he served before arriving in D.C. In 1994, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Wuerl, whenever he saw criticism of his heterodoxy appear in a conservative publication like the Wanderer, would move into action:
If The Wanderer or a letter-writer attacks him, Wuerl doesn't wait for Rome to send him an inquiry. He immediately writes to the appropriate Vatican office, enclosing a copy of the Wanderer article and full documentation on any diocesan program in question.
This ''shows that our teaching material here is absolutely orthodox. But the second purpose is to show that there are a lot of irresponsible statements made, and they need to be accepted as just that,'' he said.
Wuerl doesn't believe that Vatican officials take The Wanderer and its like seriously.
''I have never received an inquiry from Rome based on that type of accusation. If (Vatican officials) were taking it seriously, I think they would raise some questions,'' he said.
But not all bishops are as savvy as Wuerl, said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a Jesuit political scientist who makes his living studying the bishops.
"Wuerl is sophisticated. He understands the Vatican, he knows who to talk to. The bishop who has never worked in Rome probably doesn't know which office to respond to -- and the people in Rome don't know him. Wuerl is known and respected in Rome. When (conservative pressure groups) start accusing him, they lose their credibility,'' Reese said.Did you notice the source of that last quote -- Fr. Thomas Reese? He is the openly heterodox Jesuit ninny who had the gall to say that Wuerl should send Fr. Guarnizo back to the gulag. "If I was Cardinal Wuerl, I'd buy him a one-way ticket to Moscow," the Rolodexed Reese said to a purring press.
Perhaps non-Catholic readers of TAS, who have stayed with this column up to this paragraph, are wondering why they should even care about Wuerl's fiasco. Isn't this just one more tedious sectarian squabble in the Church? I agree with you that it is boring, but it is not trivial. As pretentious as it sounds, these skirmishes form small battles in a larger war that affects everyone. Both Catholic and non-Catholic Americans, whether they realize it or not, benefit from a free and orthodox Catholic Church for a very basic reason: it stands as the era's last major barrier to the triumph of the coercive secular state.
The capitulations of the Wuerls to the atheistic agitprop artists of the age -- the "lesbian Buddhist" at the center of this controversy stands as a symbol of them all -- hasten the disintegration of that barrier. Without it, the coercive state will simply replace God, and all Americans will wake up one day to find this pitiless secular deity on their doorsteps, red in the tooth and clause of Obamacare, ravenous for their freedom.
UPDATE: Cardinal Wuerl's Continuing Crisis
Link:
Related:
- The Scandal That is Eating the Heart out of the Catholic Church in America
- Cardinal Raymond Burke: Obama’s Policies ‘Have Become Progressively More Hostile Toward Christian Civilization’
- Cardinal Wuerl's Dereliction of Duty
- Pontifical High Mass Honoring Pope Benedict XVI at National Shrine Cancelled
- A canonical contribution on the Washington Eucharistic Affair
- Guest letter challenging Dr. Peters on canon 915, Communion, and "manifest" sin
- EITHER BISHOPS TAKE CONTROL OVER THE SACRAMENTS OR THE CHURCH’S ENEMIES WILL
- Archdiocese of Washington reprimands priest for denying communion to a lesbian
- Father Guarnizo's Faculties Suspended - D.C. Bloggers Recommend Taking Action
- Fr. Marcel Placed on Administrative Leave
- Fr. Marcel (!) Guarnizo receives gift from Chancery
- Washington D.C.: Homosexual Agenda Leads to Yet Another Priestly Suspension
- Lesbian denied Communion at her mother’s funeral is also a Buddhist
- Lesbian with kids in Catholic school demands removal of Catechism quote on homosexuality
- Archbishop Wuerl Weasels Out
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Cardinal Wuerl's Dereliction of Duty
Since he won't control the sacraments, the Church's enemies will.
The road to hell is paved with the skulls of bad bishops. That's a slight paraphrase of a line from St. John Chrysostom.The saints of old warned bishops to choose holiness and orthodoxy over the blandishments of the "world."
Many bishops today in America choose the good opinion of worldly elites over orthodoxy. These cufflinked cardinals worry not about punishment in the next world but slights in this one. They desperately crave the approval of America's movers and shakers and live in dread fear of losing it.
What will the Pretty People think if I withhold Communion from powerful pro-abortion Catholic pols? Will the Washington Post editorialize against me? Will I lose my place of honor at posh parties? Will my dissenting priests think ill of me? Will I be scorned at the next USCCB meeting?
These are some of the thoughts that race through the minds of modern prelates. Out of these anxieties comes fiascoes like Cardinal Donald Wuerl's recent one. Wuerl and his surrogates have rebuked a visiting priest from the archdiocese of Moscow for denying Communion to a self-described practicing lesbian at a funeral mass. That's not our "policy," gasped Wuerl's horrified surrogates.
But it is the policy of the Roman Catholic Church. If a person is not in communion with the teachings of the Church, said person should not receive Communion. Period. Canon law makes this explicitly clear. If you don't believe me, ask the head of the Vatican Supreme Court, Cardinal Raymond Burke. Though most of his colleagues seem to ignore his stance, he has said for years that canon law places a grave burden on priests to protect the sacraments from defiant sinners. According to Burke, canon law is not a whimsical option for hardline eccentric priests but a moral duty which "obliges the minister of Holy Communion to refuse the Sacrament" to those in "manifest grave sin. "
Wuerl rejects this authoritative interpretation of canon law. A while back he was asked if he would withhold Communion from the pro-abortion Nancy Pelosi. He said no. That style of "confrontation" makes him uncomfortable, he told a persistent reporter.
I've heard Church insiders call the cardinal "Wuerl the girl," a reference to his precious personality. He has many fine qualities. He seems a little less common to me than some of his hackish colleagues. But cufflinks, starched shirts, learning, and reasonably civilized manners do not a good bishop make. Jesus Christ never required that his disciples place roses in his room or mints on his pillow. He walked straight at the decadent elites of his time, denounced them as a "brood of vipers," and then called it a day. It didn't take long for these vipers to kill him.
Wuerl can only earn the red of his rich robes through a willingness to endure the blood of Jesus Christ's martyrdom. And the truth is that protecting the sacraments would cost him far less than death. Maybe Joe Biden wouldn't clap him on the back so heartily after that. Maybe he would get an angry letter or two from moneyed donors in the tank for the Dems. But who cares?
This latest episode isn't even a close call. If Cardinal Wuerl doesn't have the guts to deny Communion to an agitprop lesbian Buddhist, he should just close up shop and hand the keys to his chancery over to Obama.
This ludicrous controversy reminds me of another fiasco, one from 2008. Remember when San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer, while distributing Communion at a parish in the gay Castro district, handed out the sacred species to two garishly painted and costumed members of the homosexual activist group "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence."
News of this sparked furor across the Catholic world, and even the liberal archbishop had to admit he blew it, saying dimly:
Toward the end of the Communion line two strangely dressed persons came to receive Communion. I did not see any mock religious garb. As I recall, one of them wore a large flowered hat or garland. Afterward it was made clear to me that these two people were members of the organization "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence," who have long made a practice of mocking the Catholic Church in general and religious women in particular. My predecessors, Cardinal William Levada and Archbishop John Quinn, have both denounced this group's abuse of sacred things many times in the past. Only last year, I instructed the Administrator of Most Holy Redeemer Parish to cancel the group's use of the hall on the parish grounds, once I became aware of it…
Although I had often seen photographs of members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, I had never encountered them in person until October 7th. I did not recognize who these people were when they approached me.
After the event, I realized that they were members of this particular organization and that giving them Holy Communion had been a mistake. I apologize to the Catholics of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and to Catholics at large for doing so…Of course, the bishop's passive understanding of his duties and his fear of the liberal elite -- like Wuerl, Niederauer won't deny Communion to Nancy Pelosi either -- invited this outrage. After all, if a bishop announces that he is not a "gatekeeper," who can't come up to receive it? Such passivity was an invitation to abuse and the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" took it. Similarly, the lesbian Buddhist to which Wuerl cravenly apologized seized her chance to stick it to the Church.
The choice that the Wuerls face is clear: either they take seriously the duty enshrined in canon law to protect the sacraments from sacrilege and scandal, or these Communion controversies will multiply without end.
The notion that bishops aren't gatekeepers would come as a surprise to the Church's first ones. The apostles were told by Jesus Christ that the good shepherd watches the gate, lest his flock be eaten. "Do not give what is holy to dogs," Jesus warned them.
The Church's position on whether a bishop should stop sacrilege and scandal is not determined by his "comfort" level, Cardinal Wuerl. It is determined by the clear requirements of canon law. Cardinal Burke has spoken; the case is closed. Either the bishops take control over their own sacraments or the Church's enemies will.
Updates:
- Cardinal Wuerl's Continuing Crisis
- Cardinal Wuerl's spokesman files complaint with The American Spectator
- Cardinal Wuerl's Dereliction of Duty
- EITHER BISHOPS TAKE CONTROL OVER THE SACRAMENTS OR THE CHURCH’S ENEMIES WILL
- The Scandal That is Eating the Heart out of the Catholic Church in America
- Cardinal Raymond Burke: Obama’s Policies ‘Have Become Progressively More Hostile Toward Christian Civilization’
- Cardinal Wuerl's Open Scandal
- Pontifical High Mass Honoring Pope Benedict XVI at National Shrine Cancelled
- Archdiocese of Washington reprimands priest for denying communion to a lesbian
- Father Guarnizo's Faculties Suspended - D.C. Bloggers Recommend Taking Action
- Fr. Marcel Placed on Administrative Leave
- Fr. Marcel (!) Guarnizo receives gift from Chancery
- Washington D.C.: Homosexual Agenda Leads to Yet Another Priestly Suspension
- Lesbian denied Communion at her mother’s funeral is also a Buddhist
- Lesbian with kids in Catholic school demands removal of Catechism quote on homosexuality
- Archbishop Wuerl Weasels Out
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Father Guarnizo's Faculties Suspended - D.C. Bloggers Recommend Taking Action
Following Father Guarnizo's suspension, two D.C. area Catholic bloggers, An Archdiocese of Washington Catholic and Restore-D.C.-Catholicism, recommend the suspension of Cardinal Wuerl's Appeal pledges and instead donating money to other Catholic and pro-life causes and charities:
From Restore D.C. Catholicism:
From Restore D.C. Catholicism:
Today, at the 9:30 Mass at St John Neumann parish, Father LaHood read a letter from Bishop Barry Knestout announcing the suspension of Father Marcel Guarnizo's priestly faculties. Did I say the letter was penned by Bishop Knestout? Let's not kid ourselves! This letter came straight from the top - Cardinal Wuerl. I'll bet my bottom dollar that all Bishop Knestout did was change the wording slightly (so that he could call the letter "his" with a straight face) and sign the thing. I really don't think he's to blame, as he is vowed to obedience, as is Father LaHood bound to obedience in reading this thing with the introductory comments. I recorded it so you can listen to the entire thing right here.Links:
You'll hear towards the middle of the clip that "the issue discussed did not have to do with the distribution of Communion two weeks ago. The issue pertains to actions over the past week or so." Then Father proceeds to read the letter from
"The lesbian who is attempting to get a Catholic priest removed from his parish for denying her Holy Communion at her mother’s funeral is a Buddhist who describes herself as a “naturally born agitator” committed to a “culture war.” - LifeSiteNews Cardinal Wuerl Bishop Knestoutwhoever. He announced the suspension and that it was taken after he "received credible allegations that Father Guarnizo has engaged in intimidating behavior towards parish staff and others that is incompatible with proper priestly ministry."
Why, isn't it just the most peculiar of coincidences that these "credible allegations" are coming out of the woodwork on the heels of the Holy Communion issue two weeks ago? Father Guarnizo has been at the parish a year now - so these "intimidating behaviors" are now just beginning to surface? Just what is the nature of these "intimidating behaviors"? Who are the offended parties? Unless we see some real basis of these allegations, I'm willing to bet that - none exist!
I think we bloggers did too good of a job in revealing Ms. Johnson's utter lack of credibility. It certainly did her no good that there were other eye witnesses at the funeral Mass that contradicted her account of the events there. Thus the Archdiocese cannot act upon Ms. Johnson's complaints without being tainted with her lack of credibility. In other words, Plan A is shot, so they come up with Plan B.
So where are all these offended parish staff? Let's hear from them! If you post, don't do so anonymously for I will ascribe to it no credibility whatsoever. But I don't think there will be any such posts, for I believe there is really no such subject matter.
In the title of this post I said it's time to take action - perhaps it's way past that time. What do I suggest? Well, if you read the blog posts of A Washington DC Catholic, you'll see he suggested it first. I'm talking of suspension of your Cardinal's Appeal pledges. I agree with the other blogger when he says that's the only language that the bureaucrats in the chancery seem to understand from us. Of course let the chancery know precisely why they should not expect one more penny from you. Contact information is here.
So what to do with that money? Recalling that we are bound, under the Precepts of the Church, to support its work financially, I'd suggest taking that money and giving it directly to a Catholic and/or prolife cause that you know to be worthy of your donations: a crisis pregnancy center, a solid seminary, soup kitchen - there are numerous worthy candidates for your donations. Clearly "the work of the Church" does not mean throwing good priests under the bus when they uphold Canon 915 and I for one will not support that.
- Father Guarnizo's Faculties Suspended - Time To Take Action
- Fr. Marcel Placed on Administrative Leave
- The Scandal That is Eating the Heart out of the Catholic Church in America
- Cardinal Raymond Burke: Obama’s Policies ‘Have Become Progressively More Hostile Toward Christian Civilization’
- Fr. Marcel (!) Guarnizo receives gift from Chancery
- Washington D.C.: Homosexual Agenda Leads to Yet Another Priestly Suspension
- Lesbian denied Communion at her mother’s funeral is also a Buddhist
- Fr. Marcel Guarnizo Update
- Pontifical High Mass Honoring Pope Benedict XVI at National Shrine Cancelled
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