TWILIGHT ZONE

The Jebbies Throw a Foul Ball: When Fr Jacques Suaudeau of the Pontifical Council for the Family called condom use by prostitutes with AIDS a "lesser of two evils," America Magazine pounced on the statement (five months later) to "prove" the Vatican had endorsed condoms to stop AIDS. They quoted out of context to twist Father's point-that "containment" programs using condoms are doomed to failure. Only behavioral changes will succeed in the end. Using America's logic, if the Vatican says robbing a bank is a lesser evil than murder, they've given the go-ahead to theft. Interestingly, America's "scoop" appeared in September, but Father's statement was in an April issue of the Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano. [See article at http://www.petersnet.net/research/retrieve.cfm?RecNum=2946 and Father's response to its misinterpretation at http://www.petersnet.net/research/retrieve.cfm?RecNum=3106.] Obviously, no one else was smart enough (or creative enough) to read into the comment a radical change in Church teaching. The secular media, fed the jebbies' politically correct spin, ran with it. The Vatican has since rejected America's claim, but the damage has been done. If America is on your church pamphlet rack [Parishioners at Good Shepherd take note.], politely address this issue with your pastor. And please pray for holy Jesuits, who suffer persecution in their order.

Have Heresy, Will Travel: Zeal for spreading the Gospel of Anything Goes (except orthodoxy) knows no bounds among some. "Sister" Bridget Meehan, a local Call to Action groupie, who used to belong to a legitimate religious order (Immaculate Heart of Mary) but abandoned it several years ago for a pseudo order (Sisters for Christian Community, who rule by consensus) is taking her show on the road. In April Bridget hits the West Coast as a speaker at the Northwest Catholic[sic] Women's Convocation II in Seattle. The regular cast of feminist dissenters will join her, among them Edwina Gateley, Fran Ferder, Barbara Fiand, Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, etc. All take positions diametrically opposed to Catholic doctrine.

Bridget is well-qualified to dance with wolves in sheep's clothing. Her resume includes playing Oprah on her cable show GodTalk, which she describes as "too hot for the bishops to handle," and playing priest in her basement where she and her friends "do eucharist" around a table sporting a loaf of bread and a glass of wine.

The bishop of Seattle, Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett, had, as of press time, not taken a stand against this pagan event masquerading as Catholic. Please pray for Bridget's conversion and express your concern to the archbishop.

What ever happened to Sr. Mary Dolors? Remember when nuns were women of prayer and penance who formed the backbone of Catholic education and charity in the United States? Remember when they wore habits and took new names (just like Simon and Saul) to indicate their new life in Christ? A few orders still do-the Poor Clares, for example. But one is just as likely today to meet Sr. Lisa, Sr. Frankie, and Sr. Nancy all dressed up with pierced ears, pearls, and perms demonstrating at the School of the Americas or lobbying at the UN or on Capitol Hill. What happened? Look no further than the Leadership Conference of Women Religious to answer. The seed for the conference was Pope Pius XII's 1950 call for a general congress of all major religious superiors of the world. In 1956 the Vatican's Congregation for Religious asked sisters of the United States to form a national conference. Launched later that year, the conference formed the first regional program in 1958, "Revitalizing Religious Life for the Individual and the Community Through Combating the Effects of Naturalism, Lack of Mortification, and Excessive Activity." [Sounds like a program needed today!]

This auspicious beginning didn't last long. The '60s saw feminist Sr. Mary Luke Tobin elected as conference head and Vatican II's message twisted and distorted to meet a feminist agenda. By '71 disunity in the ranks was clear. At the national assembly in Atlanta, a breakaway group held a minority conference to protest dissent from authentic Church teaching on religious life. [God bless 'em!] That failed to stop the modernists and the conference drifted more and more away from prayer, mortification, and traditional charitable works to radical left-wing politics and secularism. In 1979 Sr. Theresa Kane, head of LCWR, publicly scolded the visiting Holy Father for not ordaining women. Ultimately, concerned women religious responded by forming CMSWR [Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious] recognized by the Vatican in 1992.

Has LCWR been challenged to change? Nope! During the '90s they've become more and more politicized, obtaining NGO [non-governmental organization] status at the UN and attending the conference in Beijing . where orthodox Catholic laywomen observed a plethora of American nuns lobbing for abortion and "gender issues" [i.e. homosexuality and lesbianism]. The radical nature of the group is clear from the keynote address of outgoing LCWR president Nancy Sylvester, IHM to the National Assembly held in Albuquerque in August. Sr. Nancy wailed over patriarchy and the "martyrdom" of a long list of dissenters including Sr. Jeannine Gramick (ordered by the Vatican to stop her controversial ministry to gays), Sr. Agnes Mansour (told to leave her order or resign as head of social services in Chicago which was funding abortions), the nuns who signed the pro-abortion ad in the New York Times, etc. ad nauseum. It's a sad legacy from those who could have contributed much to the Church, The good news for orthodox Catholics is that these heretical nuns are aging and not replacing themselves. The truth may take a beating in the short run, but in the end TRUTH WINS!

Don't waste your time arguing with these heretics and dissenters. It's futile. Follow the example of St. John the Apostle. According to Fr. John Corapi [See his article on our website.] the story goes that once in the public baths at Ephesus St. John was told that a well-known heretic had entered the house. He didn't stay to debate, but grabbed his clothes and exited post haste calling, "Run for your lives!" Follow St. John's example. Pray and fast for these deluded souls, but avoid their company and keep your children away from them, because, as Fr. Corapi says quoting some rancher friends, "If you soak in a tub of manure, you might come out smelling funny." [I.e. Heresy stinks!]

Marymount invites pro-abort politician: Marymount University in Arlington welcomed Jim Moran, Congressman from Virginia's 8th District, as a keynote speaker at their National Conference on Cyber-Ethics October 6-8th A primary focus of the conference was developing strategies to teach youngsters the ethics of Internet use, i.e. how to be good cyber-citizens. Hmm ...so Mr. Moran, an avid proponent of killing millions of children who should be sitting in classrooms today, is going to teach cyber-ethics to the ones who managed to miss the butcher's knife. Interesting concept. Even more interesting, is Marymount's decision to invite him to the Catholic campus in the first place. In the past few weeks numerous members of the magisterium [Bishop McHugh of Rockville Center, Cardinal George of Chicago, the four bishops of Massachusetts, Archbishop Elden Curtis of Omaha, Bishop Chaput of Denver, Bishop James Timlin of Scranton, Cardinal Lopez-Trujillo, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family of The Holy See etc.] have instructed their flocks that the life issues take precedence over all others. Most have banned pro-abortion politicians from meeting in Catholic facilities. But then, as a student told us recently, "There's nothing identifiably Catholic about Marymount." And while we're discussing ethics, is it ethical to expose English students to graphic dialogues on cyber-sex and call it education?

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