TWILIGHT
ZONE
***How many chances does a pedophile get? On January 18th a Boston jury convicted defrocked priest, John J. Geoghan, of sexual abuse. Geoghan faces another criminal trial in February and over 90 civil lawsuits for his three-decade rampage against Catholic children. Adding to the horror of his crimes is the fact that three cardinals and five bishops knew of his perversion and either reassigned him to unsuspecting parishes or remained silent.
At a January 10th press conference Bernard Cardinal Law, who knew of the abuse from 1984, said he was "profoundly sorry" for his "tragically incorrect" decision to return Geoghan to parish work. [Again & again & again!] He announced a "zero tolerance" policy for child-molesting priests which requires archdiocesan employees to inform police of suspected child abuse. [About time!]
Other bishops accused of negligence for their roles in the Geoghan case now all lead their own dioceses. They include Bishops Thomas V. Daily of Brooklyn, NY who rationalized his inaction saying, "I'm a shepherd, not a policeman;" [Some shepherd who lets the wolf eat the little lambs.] Robert J. Banks of Green Bay, WI; William F. Murphy of Rockville Center, NY; John B. McCormack of Manchester, NH; and Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes of New Orleans. All have denied the accusations.
Prior to the current raft of lawsuits against Geoghan the Boston archdiocese quietly settled about 50 cases out of court for more than $10 million. Current plaintiffs are refusing to settle [Thank God!] and the diocese failed to have thousands of internal Church documents related to the Geoghan case sealed. Expect more shocking revelations about what the hierarchy knew when.
***Pedophiles yes, nasty pictures no. Cardinal Law may have been slow to protect the lambs in his flock from a homosexual pedophile, but he took swift action against Priests for Life a few months ago. According to Life Dynamics the Archdiocese banned the group from speaking because they approve of using graphic pictures to expose the horror of abortion. The censored priest wasn't planning to use photos in his Church presentation, but that didn't save him. The Diocese of Orlando also distanced itself when the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform [CBR], which puts graphic photos of aborted babies on the sides of trucks, rolled into town. What gives? Instead of targeting the evil of abortion, pro-lifers condemn other pro-lifers for showing the brutal truth of what abortion does to babies.
In our own diocese, Family Life Director Bob Laird criticized Fr. Frank Pavone for praising CBR's campaign in an article in The Arlington Herald. Three letters (we know of) went to The Herald defending the use of graphic photos and their demonstrated effectiveness - one from the director of a crisis pregnancy center renowned for its track record in saving babies. None was printed. Unfortunately, the hard truth is out of fashion in our diocese!
Gregg Cunningham, head of CBR, recently summarized this show-no-evil attitude saying, "On the eve of His crucifixion, Christ moved to repeatedly exhort all but one of His disciples to remain awake while He prayed in the garden at Gethsemane. St. Thomas More observes that the only one of the twelve who was not asleep was Judas, the one who was serving Satan. He was wide-awake. He was the energetic, self-starting, risk-taking servant of evil - while the church slept. How little things have changed." [Amen! Energies that could go into fighting evil go into dodging rocks thrown by those who are supposed to be on our side.]
***The Boston Globe is having a field day with the Geoghan case. The liberal paper, no friend of the Catholic Church, regularly promotes liberal lunacy. They've lit a fire under the hierarchy, [Who deserve the heat.] but others complicit in the abuse (psychiatrists, police, judges, educators, and, it must be said, foolish parents) have gotten off scott free. There's plenty of blame to go around and the media deserve a share. As champions of abortion [choice], homosexual immorality [diversity], pornography [free speech], and sex ed [safe sex] they contribute to brainwashing and sexualizing our children from the cradle, making them all too vulnerable to monsters like Geoghan. Don't hold your breath waiting for the media to apologize for their part in these atrocities.
***God help us, another cover-up! The Society of St. John, which promoted the vision of building a Catholic village in rural Pennsylvania apparently, had Sodom and Gomorah in mind. Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity, Superior General of the order and Fr. Eric Ensey, have been exposed by RCF [Roman Catholic Faithful] and Dr. Jeffrey Bond, President of the College of Justin Martyr, for engaging in homosexual behavior including sleeping with young students at St. Gregory's Academy and plying them with liquor to the point of intoxication. RCF reports that Urrutigoity was dismissed from seminaries in Argentina and the U.S. for homosexual behavior. [Who ordained the guy?] Bishop James Timlin of Scranton, despite numerous charges against the priests, has been playing the shell game. Auxiliary Bishop John Dougherty described Urritigoity as a "cult leader" capable of pederasty. RCF is calling for a full-scale investigation of the Society of St. John and for Bishop Timlin's resignation.
***Will the media condemn this insanity? The Los Angeles Unified School District [LAUSD] runs "diversity" and "safety" programs for elementary and high school students with explicit "how-to" info on sodomy and masturbation. Approved readings in the curriculum include a young woman describing in detail her seduction at 12 by her 23-year-old lesbian dance teacher and explicit information on "how gay men can make love." [Modesty prevents our being more explicit.] Outraged CA Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy (R-Monrovia) introduced AB 1326 to ban promotion of homosexuality in public schools. His bill was defeated without discussion. Thirty-nine organizations opposed it including the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, the California Federation of Teachers, and a slew of pro-homosexual groups. Three organizations supported it. As far as we know, Cardinal Mahony did not.
***Brainwashing Kids to accept homosexuality is working according to a Hamilton College Gay Issues poll released in August 2000. Findings show two thirds of high school graduates favor legalizing same-sex marriage, 71% favor legalizing sexual relations of same-sex partners, and 71% think "gay" men should be allowed to be scout leaders. [Hey, John Geoghan's perfect… lots of experience working with youth groups! For the complete story see: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26192. Homeschooling anyone?
***Witch Chaplain for Wisconsin Prisoners? Waupun Correctional Institution in Waupon, Wisconsin has hired Reverend Jamyi Witch for the $32,500 taxpayer-funded position of prison chaplain. The 43-year-old wiccan who legally changed her last name from Welch to Witch "because I am one" attributes her "faith" to her "nature people" grandparents. Witch insists she is not a satanist and her rituals for the inmates won't involve animal sacrifices. [What a comfort!] State Sen. Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem) plans to introduce legislation to defund the position, but prison warden, Gary McCaughtry stands behind Witch saying he wants to dialogue with legislators to dispel their misconceptions about Wicca. [A thought…Witch should ask Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland if she can use his new age cathedral for her rites. She will find the atmosphere most comfortable for pagan practices.]
***Will the real "purveyors of death" please stand up. Rea Howarth, Coordinator of Catholics (sic) Speak Out and a long-time activist with CTA, had a letter in The Washington Times (1/8/02) accusing the Catholic bishops of being "purveyors of death" because their stand on sexual ethics precludes condom use. Since CTA has no problem with sodomy, pre-marital sex, and adultery we presume Howarth advocates condoms for these high-risk behaviors. No one following Church teachings on chastity and marital fidelity uses condoms and none of them EVER got AIDS or any other disease from the marital act. Not so with condom users and it's easy to see why. Latex condoms have microscopic holes that are much larger than the AIDS virus which can pass right through them. It is folly to believe that condoms, with a 20-30% failure rate to prevent pregnancy will protect someone from a deadly virus, which is hundreds of times smaller than sperm. Advocating condoms to prevent AIDS is like handing someone a sieve to water the garden. Also, condoms offer NO protective value against the many STDs transmitted by skin contact. It's Howarth and her cronies who are "purveyors of death." How many of our teenagers have incurable herpes and chlamydia, not to mention AIDS, because of the safe sex lie. [Isn't it interesting that those who deny the infallibility of the Pope worship the infallibility of a condom?]
***Mainstreaming Madness Makes Monsters Individual lunatics will always be with us. [As CTA consistently demonstrates.] But once society's major institutions [the government, the Church, the press, the schools, medicine, business, etc.] embrace evil making it the norm, the culture is probably finished [short of a miracle]. Pagan Rome had nothing on the U.S. in the 21st century. And, note well, Rome is long gone. The answer for Christians is, as always, ora et labora. Pray and work. Historically, when the Church and society are disintegrating God raises up reformers and martyrs. That's us, folks! Go to!
***Good News from the Vatican: Priests may refuse to use altar girls! Responding to a letter from an unnamed bishop, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments released a response in July clarifying that, while bishops may allow altar girls, they may not require priests to use them. "[T]he diocesan bishop, in his role as moderator of the liturgical life in the diocese…has the authority to permit service at the altar by women within the boundaries of the territory entrusted to his care…[H]e is to base his prudential judgment upon what he considers to accord more closely with the local pastoral need for an ordered development of the liturgical life in the diocese…bearing in mind, among other things, the sensibilities of the faithful…. such an authorization may not in any way exclude men or, in particular, boys from service at the altar nor require that priests of the diocese would make use of female altar servers, since 'it will always be very appropriate to follow the noble tradition of having boys serve at the altar'…[I]n the event that Your Excellency found it opportune to authorize service of women at the altar, it would remain important to explain clearly to the faithful the nature of this innovation, lest confusion might be introduced, thereby hampering the development of priestly vocations." [Our emphasis. There is no need of altar girls in this diocese and, in fact, their use would be a source of disunity and hurt. Pray that Bishop Loverde retains the practice of boys at the altar.]