Heavy metal monk in second album

Heavy metal monk in second album

Brother Cesare in action with his band

At first glance, Cesare Bonizzi looks like the archetypal Capuchin monk - round-faced, stout, with twinkling eyes and a long flowing white beard. But beneath his robes beats a heart of metal.

Brother Cesare is the lead singer in a heavy metal band which has just released its second album.

A former missionary in the Ivory Coast, he lives in a small friary in the Milan hinterland.

The 62-year-old monk's love affair with heavy metal began when he attended a Metallica concert some 15 years ago.

"I was overwhelmed and amazed by the sheer energy of it" he says.

Brother Metal

Hard rock and heavy metal have, over the years, been criticised as the work of the devil.

It's a claim which Brother Cesare, also known as Brother Metal, says is nonsense.

He started playing and recording cassettes, firstly with "lighter" metal music, but gradually he realised that what really moved him was the hard core.

People think that I am in fancy dress, they can't believe a robed monk is on the stage playing their music  Brother Cesare Bonizzi

The members of his band were at first sceptical at the idea of teaming up with a Capuchin monk but their doubts soon evaporated.

"Five minutes after meeting Brother Cesare I decided to go ahead, because he manages to convey so much energy, that other musicians and youngsters often don't manage to express," lead guitarist, Cesare Zanotti, told Reuters.

Sex, drugs and alcohol

Brother Metal recently appeared in the Gods of Metal festival in Italy, along with giants such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Slayer, playing to a crowd of leather-clad hard-core metal fans.

"It was wonderful being there among all these young people" he told the Rome newspaper La Repubblica.

"The only problem was that at one stage out slipped a "what the f…" because each time some people think that I am in fancy dress, they can't believe a robed monk is on the stage playing their music".

With a booming voice, Brother Metal belts out lyrics that are decidedly gritty, talking about real-life issues and not shying away from sex, drugs and alcohol.

He does touch on faith and religion but is adamant that he is not seeking to draw people to Catholicism through his stage performances.

Video clips of his performances on YouTube have helped spread his popularity and fan base.

Devotion to God

His second heavy metal album, "Misteri" (Mysteries) has just been released.

In a sign of Brother Metal's eclecticism, it drew inspiration from a group of women in southern Italy who sang about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and a heavy metal version of that song is on the CD.

Other songs talk about how alcohol warms the heart but excess drinking can damage the liver, and how important sex is to man.

Brother Cesare says he has never had any trouble with his superiors over his choice of musical career and would like to send his new album to the Pope. "He is a music lover and metal is music!" he says.

While Brother Cesare always wears his traditional brown robe and sandals as a reminder that he has chosen a life of devotion to God, he is keen to distinguish established religion from faith, and from proselytising.

"I do it to convert people to life, to understand life, to grab hold of life, to savour it and enjoy it. Full stop" he says. 

----------------

Constantines Comment:

Speechless....

Ex-Anglican communities to become Catholic, Rome confirms

Ex-Anglican communities to become Catholic, Rome confirms

Wednesday, July 16, 2008, 01:08 PM GMT [General]

The Catholic Church will expand its provision of "Anglican Use" parishes in the United States in order to allow whole communities of traditionalist Anglicans into the Roman fold, a senior Catholic archbishop has announced.


Pope Benedict on a recent visit ot the Yankee Stadium in New York

The Most Rev John J Myers, Archbishop of Newark and Ecclesiastical Delegate for the Pastoral Provision, told a conference of ex-Anglicans on Friday that "we are working on expanding the mandate of the Pastoral Provision [of Catholic parishes using Anglican-inspired services] to include those clergy and faithful of 'continuing Anglican communities'.

"We are striving to increase awareness of our apostolate to Anglican Christians who desire to be reconciled with the Holy See. We have experienced the wonder of several Episcopal bishops entering into full communion with the Catholic Church and we continue to receive requests from priests and laity about the Pastoral Provision."

This is big news, and makes nonsense of the claim that Pope Benedict wants to dissuade Anglo-Catholics from converting. The obvious interpretation of the Archbishop's words is that the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), a "continuing church" which has hundreds of thousands of members worldwide (though few in the UK), will eventually be given its own Catholic parishes which use a Eucharistic Prayer incorporating Cranmerian language.

This possibility has existed since the 1970s, but Archbishop Myers indicates that it is only now - under a sympathetic Pope, and during the break-up of the Anglican Communion - that the Pastoral Provision is entering a new dimension.

If Rome is expanding its network of ex-Anglican parishes in America, then we can rest assured that it is sympathetic to the notion of group conversion in England. The Vatican is well aware that such a process is likely to be complicated and patchy; no one is naive enough to assume that entire parishes will "bring their buildings with them".

But the plan to found a priestly Fellowship of St Gregory the Great for ex-Anglican clergy and members of their flock seems eminently feasible, given imagination on the part of both sides - and the courage to defy the Tabletistas who would try to sabotage the scheme.

Hat tip to Perpetua for drawing my attention to Archbishop Myers's announcement, a truly remarkable development.:

---------

Constantines Comments:

As the Mainline Protestant Churches implode because of drinking the Kool-Aid of Modernism, expect more Christians to cross the Tiber.

Tony Snow, Former White House Press Secretary and FOX News Anchor, Dies at 53

As many of you know, I hate the Bush Administration.  I hate what they stand for and I hate where they have taken the country.  I hate that they have destroyed the conservative movement in the United States.

That being said, Tony Snow was a good guy.  When I heard of his death this morning I was truly depressed.  

I wish his talents and good nature were used for better purposes.  He did serve the Bush White House well and was the best face for a bad Administration.

May God bless him in his journey.  My God strengthen his wife for the trials that lay ahead of her.  And my God grand strength to his children.  They had a very fine father.

God Bless you, Tony.

Tony Snow, Former White House Press Secretary and FOX News Anchor, Dies at 53

Tony Snow, the former White House press secretary and conservative pundit who bedeviled the press corps and charmed millions as a FOX News television and radio host, died Saturday after a long bout with cancer. He was 53.

A syndicated columnist, editor, TV anchor, radio show host and musician, Snow worked in nearly every medium in a career that spanned more than 30 years.

• Click here for photos.

"Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend Tony Snow," President Bush said in a written statement. "The Snow family has lost a beloved husband and father. And America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character."

Snow died at 2 a.m. Saturday at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Snow joined FOX in 1996 as the original anchor of "FOX News Sunday" and hosted "Weekend Live" and a radio program, "The Tony Snow Show," before departing in 2006.

"It's a tremendous loss for us who knew him, but it's also a loss for the country," Roger Ailes, chairman of FOX News, said Saturday morning about Snow, calling him a "renaissance man."

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  • Tony Snow

• Click here to watch Brit Hume's tribute to Tony Snow.

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As a TV pundit and commentator for FOX News, Snow often was critical of Bush before he became the president's third press secretary, following Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan. He was an instant study in the job, mastering the position — and the White House press corps — with apparent ease.

"One of the reasons I took this job is not only to work with the president, but, believe it or not, to work with all of you," Snow told reporters when he stepped into the post in 2006. "These are times that are going to be very challenging."

During a tenure marked by friendly jousting with journalists, Snow often danced around the press corps, occasionally correcting their grammar and speech even as he responded to their questions.

"Tony did his job with more flair than almost any press secretary before him," said William McGurn, Bush's former chief speechwriter. "He loved the give-and-take. But that was possible only because Tony was a man of substance who had real beliefs and principles that he was more than able to defend."

As he announced Snow as his new press secretary in May 2006, Bush praised him as "a man of courage [and] a man of integrity." Snow presided over some of the toughest fights of Bush's presidency, defending the administration during the Iraq war and the CIA leak investigation.

"I felt comfortable enough to interrupt him when he was BSing, and he kind of knew it, and he'd shut up and move on," Snow said.

His tenure at the White House lasted 17 months and was interrupted by his second bout with cancer.

• FOX Facts: Tony Snow's Battle With Cancer

Snow had his colon removed and underwent six months of chemotherapy after he was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005. In 2007 he announced his cancer had recurred and spread to his liver, and he had a malignant growth removed from his abdominal area.

He resigned from the White House six months later, in September 2007, citing not his health but a need to earn more than the $168,000 a year he was paid in the government post. He was replaced by his deputy, Dana Perino, Bush's current press secretary.

After taking time off to recuperate, Snow joined CNN as a political commentator early this year.

At the White House, Snow brought partisan zeal and the skills of a seasoned performer to the task of explaining and defending the president's policies. During daily briefings he challenged reporters, scolded them and questioned their motives as if he were starring in a TV show broadcast live from the West Wing.

"The White House has lost a great friend and a great colleague," said Perino in a statement released to the media. "We all loved watching him at the podium, but most of all we learned how to love our families and treat each other."

Critics suggested Snow was turning the traditionally informational daily briefing into a personality-driven media event short on facts and long on confrontation. He was the first press secretary, by his own accounting, to travel the country raising money for Republican candidates.

As a commentator, he had not always been on the president's side. He once called Bush "something of an embarrassment" in conservative circles and criticized what he called Bush's "lackluster" domestic policy.

A sometime fill-in host for Rush Limbaugh, Snow said he loved the intimacy of his radio audience.

"I don't think you ever arrive," he said. "I think anybody who thinks they've arrived or made it, anywhere in the media — they're nuts."

Robert Anthony Snow was born June 1, 1955, in Berea, Ky., the son of a teacher and nurse. He graduated from Davidson College in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, and he taught briefly in Kenya before embarking on his journalism career.

Because of his love for writing, Snow took a job as an editorial writer for the Greensboro Record in North Carolina and went on to run the editorial pages at the Newport News (Virginia) Daily Press, Detroit News and Washington Times. He became a nationally syndicated columnist, and in 1991 he became director of speechwriting for President George H.W. Bush.

"He served people, and we can learn from that. He was kind, and we can learn from that. He was just a good person," the senior Bush told FOX News.

• Remembering Tony Snow

Snow played six instruments — saxophone, trombone, flute, piccolo, accordion and guitar — and was in a D.C. cover band called Beats Workin'. He also was a film buff.

"He was a great musician," Ailes said. "And he loved movies."

More than anything, said Snow's colleagues, he was a joy to work with.

"He was a lot of fun," his former FOX News producer Griff Jenkins said. "This is a loss of a family member."

FOX News Chief Washington Correspondent Jim Angle called Snow a "gentleman."

Snow is survived by his wife, Jill Ellen Walker, whom he married in 1987; their son, Robbie; and daughters, Kendall and Kristi.

Comments on Medjugorje

I am personally not a believer in the apparitions at Medjugorje. I think it is a ruse and should be avoided by all Catholics. Thank being said I want to be fair. In the comments section there was a note about the article on Medjugorje being inaccurate.

While I am not convinced yet that it is inaccurate I welcome anyone to view the comment section attached to that post and decide for themselves.

The fact that the article originated from a British paper makes me think that at the very least it is inaccurate on some level as the British media generally is wrong about the Catholic Church through ignorance and in other cases lies about the Church.

I encourage the readers to do more digging.

Medjugorje "work of the devil": Ex Vatican exorcist

Former Vatican exorcist Bishop Andrea Gemma has denounced alleged visions of Our Lady in the Bosnian town of Medjugorje as the "work of the devil" and a "diabolical deceit".

The UK Daily Mail reports that the Vatican has rejected claims made by the six Bosnian 'seers' that they have seen the Virgin Mary more than 40,000 times over the past 27 years

Bishop Andrea Gemma, 77, once the Vatican's top exorcist, told a magazine in Italy: "In Medjugorje everything happens in function of money: Pilgrimages, lodging houses, sale of trinkets.

"This whole sham is the work of the Devil. It is a scandal."

He predicted that the Vatican would soon crack down on the group.

The Medjugorje phenomenon began on June 25, 1981, when six children told a priest they had seen the Virgin on a hillside near their town. Some of the children also claim to have received ten secrets from Our Lady.

A church investigation dismissed the vision, and the Vatican banned pilgrimages to the site in 1985. But many Catholics ignored the ban.

Today, the seers own smart houses with security gates and tennis courts and expensive cars. One is married to a former US beauty queen.

Is the Catholic Church sliding towards civil war?

Damian Thompson on the bitter feud between the new young defenders of the recently reinstated Latin Mass, and Britain’s ‘magic circle’ of liberal bishops


While Church of England bishops recoil from the prospect of gay ‘weddings’ with no precedent in Christian history, their Catholic counterparts are wringing their hands at the growing popularity of services that are too traditional for their tastes.

On Saturday 14 June Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, one of the most senior figures in the Roman Curia and an ally of the Holy Father, celebrated a Pontifical High Mass at Westminster Cathedral. The bishop of the diocese, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, did not attend; nor did any of his four auxiliary bishops. Pope Benedict is rumoured to be furious at this display of bad manners.

What can explain such a breach of protocol? The answer lies in the content and style of the liturgy being celebrated. Cardinal Castrillón processed into the cathedral wearing the cappa magna, a scarlet cape with a 20ft train of watered silk. It is many years since this vestment has been seen in the cathedral — for, although it was never abolished, it is associated with the Tridentine Mass, the ancient Latin rite in which the celebrant faces east, reciting its main prayer in a voice so low that the church falls silent. And that was the Mass that His Eminence celebrated on 14 June, becoming the first cardinal to do so in Westminster Cathedral for 40 years.

Last summer — to the horror of the liberal English bishops — Pope Benedict issued an apostolic letter, Summorum Pontificum, that granted universal permission for the old Mass, which had been effectively banned from normal parish life after the Second Vatican Council. England’s Latin Mass Society seized its chance. It invited Cardinal Castrillón, head of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, which is responsible for the old liturgy worldwide, to celebrate the society’s annual traditional Mass at Westminster Cathedral, normally a low-key affair regarded with amused condescension by diocesan liberals.



He accepted, leaving liberal bishops with only one course of action: pleading pressing engagements elsewhere. Hence the absence of Westminster bishops at the Pontifical Mass, though diocesan spies were spotted craning their necks to see if any local clergy had sneaked in (thereby scuppering their chances of promotion). Walking down the nave, I was greeted by a young priest sitting at the back dressed as a layman. ‘I can’t really afford to be seen here, but I couldn’t resist,’ he whispered.

Many Mass-goers are unaware of the fact, but the Catholic Church in England and Wales is sliding towards civil war. A mixture of anticipation and panic is in the air. For worshippers used to the low-calorie ceremonial of Westminster Cathedral, the sight of a curial cardinal presiding over the cruelly complex rubrics of the old Missal must have been thrilling or distasteful, depending on their point of view.

But the evidence of traditionalist revival is not confined to church services: it is scattered over Facebook, of all places, where there are dozens of groups pressing for the return of the ancient liturgy or mocking the caterwauling pseudo folk music favoured by trendy clergy. The internet allows traditionalists in different countries to burst out of the ghetto to which they had been banished by ‘the spirit of Vatican II’. Conservatives hunt down video clips of ‘Sandalistas’ performing arthritic liturgical dances and upload them to YouTube, where they become comic classics. Bloggers share photographs of Corpus Christi processions, and publish private letters in which ‘progressive’ bishops reveal the depth of their hostility to Pope Benedict’s liturgical reforms. These blogs are widely read in the Vatican, where the andante tempo of the day leaves plenty of time for internet surfing.



It was thanks to the internet that Westminster Cathedral was completely full for Cardinal Castrillón’s Mass. (The cathedral, needless to say, had done nothing to promote the event.) Significantly, the average age of worshippers was lower than that for ordinary Masses. ‘And they were so normal, too,’ commented one journalist.

That wouldn’t have been the case 20 years ago. In the 1980s, many adherents of the Tridentine Mass were so bitter and paranoid that one could hardly blame the bishops for giving them a wide berth. In contrast, the young people at the cathedral have grown up with the vernacular Mass; they are happy to attend it, when it is reverently celebrated, but they are also delighted that Pope Benedict has given them the choice of attending an older, more numinous liturgy — and indignant that their own bishops seem to want to restrict this choice.

The authorities’ effective boycott of Cardinal Castrillón’s visit will have done nothing to ease their frustration. In the words of one visitor to a traditionalist website, ‘This situation is comparable to the chief of staff of the army coming down to the 101st Airborne Division as the guest of honour at a division-level parade, and the division commander — and his brigade commanders — does not show up for the parade. Instead, he sends a terse welcoming note to be read by a battalion commander.’

The use of military imagery is significant. In many parts of the world, the response of liberal bishops to the Pope’s plans to revive the traditional Mass has verged on the mutinous. And the sense of impending conflict is particularly strong in England and Wales, which is unique among Western Churches in that not one of its 33 serving bishops is identified with the Benedictine reforms. Indeed, until the last conclave, ‘Ratzinger’ was a swear word in the left-wing circles from which the bishops have been chosen.



John Paul II was not interested in England and, for the most part, allowed the Bishops’ Conference to nominate its own members. Benedict, in contrast, is interested in this country. He has to find a successor to Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor and is not inclined to appoint one of the ‘magic circle’ of Tablet-approved bishops opposed to the reintroduction of the older form of Mass.

On the other hand, he knows that the appointment of a traditionalist outsider carries huge risks. The Archbishop of Westminster has negligible jurisdiction over other sees; even if the national Bishops’ Conference secretariat were disbanded, liberals would still control the bureaucracy of individual dioceses, with far-reaching implications for worship. Paul Inwood, a leading composer of banal Catholic ditties, has used his position as Portsmouth’s ‘director of liturgy’ to try to ban congregations even from asking for the older form of Mass. And, depressingly, similar situations exist all around the world.

Speaking at a press conference in Westminster before the big Mass, Cardinal Castrillón said that the Holy Father wanted to introduce the traditional liturgy into every parish, not just those that ask for it. But, he added, such a process would take a long time and would have to be handled carefully in order not to cause division. The problem is that the only man with the gifts to carry through such a revolution is an 81-year-old Bavarian who — as Catholic liberals are fond of pointing out — suffered a small stroke a few years ago. The traditional greeting to a Pope on his birthday is ‘ad multos annos!’ He’s going to need them.

Damian Thompson is editor-in-chief of the Catholic Herald.


***********Constantines comment:

From the article:

Walking down the nave, I was greeted by a young priest sitting at the back dressed as a layman. ‘I can’t really afford to be seen here, but I couldn’t resist,’ he whispered.

This shows how much the liberal Bishops have used Vatican II to further their revolution against the Church. Can one imagine 50 years ago hearing about a priest who cannot afford to be seen at the traditional mass! Under the fog of 'tolerance' the modernists have supressed the traditionalists wherever they can.

But the evidence of traditionalist revival is not confined to church services: it is scattered over Facebook, of all places, where there are dozens of groups pressing for the return of the ancient liturgy or mocking the caterwauling pseudo folk music favoured by trendy clergy. The internet allows traditionalists in different countries to burst out of the ghetto to which they had been banished by ‘the spirit of Vatican II’.

Yes. Which leads one to ask how the Catholic Church could allow the outright suppression of the Mass in favor of a ‘Liturgy’ that includes folk songs, dancers and clowns? The problem is that people outside of the Church do not understand that John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II were outright liberals and either aided in or looked the other way as Modernists attacked the Church from within using the ‘Spirit of Vatican II’.

It was thanks to the internet that Westminster Cathedral was completely full for Cardinal Castrillón’s Mass. (The cathedral, needless to say, had done nothing to promote the event.) Significantly, the average age of worshippers was lower than that for ordinary Masses. ‘And they were so normal, too,’ commented one journalist.

This is the case everywhere that the Traditional Mass is offered. As hippy dippy churches are having vocational crisis, low attendance and needs for ‘outreach’ the Traditional Chapels are bursting at the seams. I am told that the SSPX seminaries are full as are their chapels. When one attends mass at one of their Chapels they see lots of young families with lots of children. This is true where I attend the Traditional Mass as well. Which is why the Traditionalists will win in the long run. We are reproducing while the modernists are dying off as the Vatican II generation dies off.

John Paul II was not interested in England and, for the most part, allowed the Bishops’ Conference to nominate its own members.

Yes indeed. John Paul II was not interested in many things outside of ecumenism and apologizing to everyone he saw. He let the foxes guard the hen houses and by the end of his pontificate there was a crisis of liturgy, faith and most importantly a mishandling of the sex abuse scandal. Benedict XVI unfortunately has to spend a great deal of his pontificate cleaning up JPIIs messes. May God grant him many more years.

Internet Debate and Thought Control

I recently have had an interesting series of debates online with an Orthodox Jew who has been known to scream anti-Semite when he is losing debates and knows that he is defending the indefensible.

He applies an interesting series of tactics in his debates. Here they are:

Attack the source. If it is a non-Jewish source it is either ‘anti-Semitic’ or ‘biased’ or doesn’t give the Jewish side properly. If it is a Jewish source that proves that he is wrong they will be attacked for being ‘too liberal’ or in the case of Reformed Jews commenting on the Talmud they ‘don’t really understand it’. (Haaretz and the Forward are evidently anti-Semitic to this gentleman). When I posted an article by The Chicago Tribune about the USS Liberty attack he stated that it is a 'biased source just looking to sell papers' but the Jewish Encyclopedias article on it is an unbiased source that gives a fair shake to all.

Up is down down is up.

If that does not work, he will change the subject. If you point out that a Jewish Rabbi wrote a book about the supremacy of Jews to Gentiles he will attack the Catholic Church (no kidding….really). Next thing you know you will be wondering how you got from discussing the topic you posted about and ended up hearing about the suffering of Jews under the Spanish Inquisition. He will then inform you that the Gospels are anti-Semitic and all of the Church Fathers were anti-Semites. But you had better not comment on anything found in the Talmud or comment that there are people who hold supremest views in the Jewish community because that would make you an anti-Semite. George Orwell could not have created a character as delightfully dishonest and hypocritical.

If you refuse to allow him to change the subject he will attack you personally. If you respond to his attacks on your faith in kind he will type ‘anti-Semite’ until his fingers ache. He is allowed to attack Christianity at will but you must not post articles by Rabbis discussing if you should wash after touching a ‘goy’. That’s anti-Semitic.

He will then lie about your beliefs to make you feel the need to defend them. He even made the pathetic claim that Christians believe that God manifested himself physically to produce a child (Jesus) and that Christians believe that ‘God made a mistake’ and thus Christ was needed. That is so absurd and so heretical that I actually asked where on Earth he got his information from. I asked for a single theologian who stated this. He of course had none but fell back to saying that is how Jews see it. So lying about Christian teachings is okay but pointing out that some rabbis teach that Gentiles have animalistic souls is anti-Semitic…..okay.

If that does not work he turns everything you say about him into an attack on Jews. So if you joke that he enjoys sex with farm animals, he says that you are attacking Jews as being deviants. He then screams ‘anti-Semite’. It's interesting, I had never heard that about Jews. You learn something new by interacting with extremists of all shades.

Recently, he spun and spun acting as if Jews did not play a significant role in the Bolshevik slaughter of Russians during the Stalinist nightmare. He even went so far as to claim that Synagogues were not blown up as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was in Moscow because they were too hard to get to.

He said:

As for why Jewish clergy did not suffer to the same extent- simple geographics. The Jews had been forced into ghettoes for centuries, seperated from the general population.

And:

Yep- you got it. The Paleof settlement was isolated, Jewish communities were poor and not associated with the ruling classes and they simply did not attract the ire of the bolsheviks. You want to try and create something more sinister- hey, thats your issue and one that is not supported by any historical facts.

This is something so asinine that it is hard to imagine how one can actually state it. Notice that there is a personal attack because he knows that what he is stating is idiotic. If he can make things personal he can then get his opponent censored or banned, which he does regularly on this particular forum due to the fact that he has intimidated the moderators there. The sad fact is that the fury unleashed upon the Orthodox Church is pretty shocking. Nothing like it happened to Jews by the Bolsheviks. Gladly I was able to point out later in the discussion Moscows Choral Synagogue operated throughout the Soviet period, however, at least twice (1923, 1960) authorities annexed parts of original building for secular purposes.. That kind of ended his non-sense that all religion was persecuted equally in the USSR. He then admitted that Jews did not pose a threat to the Soviet regime.

When I pointed out that YNet (an Israeli publication) stated that In 1934, according to published statistics, 38.5 percent of those holding the most senior posts in the Soviet security apparatuses were of Jewish origin.

He again relies on personal attacks by stating:

As I said, you will create whatever fantasies you wish. Go ahead, nobody can stop you fantasising and creating facts with no historical basis.

And there it is. Ignore facts you don’t like and attack people who present them.

I then asked if when it became clear that the Soviet Regime was slaughtering people by the millions was there a move by the synagogues to help the people being targeted. He then responded

What would you expect them to do? They had no power, religious Jews were barely tolerated (and in fact were heavily oppressed and discriminated aginst after WWII) and they were doing their best not to go the way of everyone else. Stalin's Rssia was a place of fear where people did their best to survive and not end up on the wrong end of an accusation which led to death or exile to one of the gulags. Keeping their heads down didn't help the Jews much though- millions ended up in the gulags anyway!

So the Jews were actually victims of the Bolsheviks after all and they were powerless to help the people who were being slaughtered by the regime. Fair enough. However, that’s an interesting position to take especially for a guy who has attacked the Catholic Church for not speaking out enough against the Nazis during their regime. As usual, one standard for he and his group and another for the rest of humanity. The sad thing is that he is so filled with bigotry and anger that he does not see it. Daniel Goldhagen would be proud.

One of the sad things about our modern world is that there is extreme thought control and suppression of ideas. When cowards are intellectually bankrupt and unable to defend their positions they have key words that they can scream in order to shut down discussion. In this persons case it is 'anti-Semite' but it could also be 'homophobe' or 'racist'. If you can convince people that the person stating things that you don't like is a bigot then their ideas do not have to be taken seriously. 'Victim' groups no longer have to engage in rational discussions. They can just scream [insert PC whine title here] and they no longer have to discuss the issue. Don't like the fact that the US Government is heavily influenced by AIPAC, a group that represents another countries national interests? You're an anti-Semite. Don't think we should allow millions of illegal aliens into the country? You're a racist. Don't think we should re-define marriage against the will of the people? You're a homophobe. And so it goes.

It is time to end this non-sense.

Benedict XVI's Message to the United States

From Zenit

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the United States of America,

The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In just a few days from now, I shall begin my apostolic visit to your beloved country. Before setting off, I would like to offer you a heartfelt greeting and an invitation to prayer. As you know, I shall only be able to visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit, though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States. At the same time, I earnestly hope that my presence among you will be seen as a fraternal gesture towards every ecclesial community, and a sign of friendship for members of other religious traditions and all men and women of good will. The risen Lord entrusted the Apostles and the Church with his Gospel of love and peace, and his intention in doing so was that the message should be passed on to all peoples.

At this point I should like to add some words of thanks, because I am conscious that many people have been working hard for a long time, both in Church circles and in the public services, to prepare for my journey. I am especially grateful to all who have been praying for the success of the visit, since prayer is the most important element of all. Dear friends, I say this because I am convinced that without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavours would achieve very little. Indeed this is what our faith teaches us. It is God who saves us, he saves the world, and all of history. He is the Shepherd of his people. I am coming, sent by Jesus Christ, to bring you his word of life.

Together with your Bishops, I have chosen as the theme of my journey three simple but essential words: "Christ our hope". Following in the footsteps of my venerable predecessors, Paul VI and John Paul II, I shall come to United States of America as Pope for the first time, to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition. Yes, Christ is the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father. I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country. I am coming to share it with you, in a series of celebrations and gatherings. I shall also bring the message of Christian hope to the great Assembly of the United Nations, to the representatives of all the peoples of the world.

Indeed, the world has greater need of hope than ever: hope for peace, for justice, and for freedom, but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfillment in the commandment to love one another. Do to others as you would have them do to you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do. This "golden rule" is given in the Bible, but it is valid for all people, including non-believers. It is the law written on the human heart; on this we can all agree, so that when we come to address other matters we can do so in a positive and constructive manner for the entire human community.

[The Pope continued in Spanish]

I direct a cordial greeting to Spanish-speaking Catholics and manifest my spiritual closeness, in particular to the youth, the ill, the elderly and those who are in moments of difficulty of feel themselves in need. I express my heartfelt desire to be with you soon in this beloved nation. In the meantime, I encourage you to pray intensely for the pastoral fruits of my imminent apostolic trip and to keep high the flame of hope in the resurrected Christ.

[Translation by ZENIT]

Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends in the United States, I am very much looking forward to being with you. I want you to know that, even if my itinerary is short, with just a few engagements, my heart is close to all of you, especially to the sick, the weak, and the lonely. I thank you once again for your prayerful support of my mission. I reach out to every one of you with affection, and I invoke upon you the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Que la Virgen María les acompañe y proteja. Que Dios les bendiga. [May the Virgen Mary accompany and protect you. May God bless you.]

May God bless you all.

Top Vatican Cardinal Tells the Jesuits to Clean Up their Act

Top Vatican Cardinal Tells the Jesuits to Clean Up their Act

Repeatedly spoke about his "sorrow and anxiety" at the state of the Jesuit order in terms of infidelity to the teachings of the Church.

By John-Henry Westen

ROME, January 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The top Vatican official who deals with religious orders, Cardinal Franc Rode, addressed the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) today. Cardinal Rode who was installed by Pope Benedict XVI as Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life spoke repeatedly about his "sorrow and anxiety" at the state of the Jesuit order in terms of infidelity to the teachings of the Church.

Cardinal Rode recalled the founder of the Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius and his primary formula for the order: "To serve the Lord and his Spouse the Church under the Roman Pontiff"

"It is with sorrow and anxiety that I see that the sentire cum ecclesia (thinking with the church) of which your founder frequently spoke is diminishing even in some members of religious families," he said.

The once illustrious Jesuits, the great defenders of faith, have over the last 40 years been steeped in dissident controversy. Jesuit priests have featured prominently in the homosexual priest scandal and Jesuit universities and their theologians have been hotbeds of dissent on Church teachings especially those on life and family.

Pope Benedict has put an end to some of the scandal issuing public corrections of several prominent Jesuit theologians. Last year, the editor of the U.S. Jesuit flagship publication 'America', Thomas J. Reese was abruptly resigned after a career of increasing hostility to Church teaching.

The Cardinal's address is being seen by Vatican watchers as another move in the Pope's efforts to restore the order to its former glory.

Later in his address, the Cardinal added, "With sadness and anxiety I also see a growing distancing from the Hierarchy." He explained: "The Ignatian spirituality of apostolic service 'under the Roman Pontiff' does not allow for this separation. In the Constitutions which he left you, Ignatius . . . wrote 'we must always keep our mind prepared and quick to obey' . . . the Hierarchical Church"

Addressing specific areas the Prefect said, "May those who, according to your legislation, have to oversee the doctrine of your magazines and publications do so in the light of and according to the "rules for sentire cum ecclesia", with love and respect."

Cardinal Rode did not content himself with correction but challenged the Jesuits to avant-garde position in the culture war - the very area where there have been so many traitors within the ranks of the Jesuits.

"The Tradition of the Society, from the first beginnings of the Collegio Romano always placed itself at the crossroads between Church and society, between faith and culture, between religion and secularism," said the Cardinal. "Recover these avant-garde positions which are so necessary to transmit the eternal truth to today's world, in today's language. Do not abandon this challenge."

Constantines Comments:
Deo Gratias!

The Pope condemns the climate change prophets of doom

By SIMON CALDWELL -

Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.

The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested that fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disasters were nothing more than scare-mongering.

The German-born Pontiff said that while some concerns may be valid it was vital that the international community based its policies on science rather than the dogma of the environmentalist movement.

His remarks will be made in his annual message for World Peace Day on January 1, but they were released as delegates from all over the world convened on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali for UN climate change talks.

The 80-year-old Pope said the world needed to care for the environment but not to the point where the welfare of animals and plants was given a greater priority than that of mankind.

Adrift: Polar bears on melting iceberg

"Humanity today is rightly concerned about the ecological balance of tomorrow," he said in the message entitled "The Human Family, A Community of Peace".

"It is important for assessments in this regard to be carried out prudently, in dialogue with experts and people of wisdom, uninhibited by ideological pressure to draw hasty conclusions, and above all with the aim of reaching agreement on a model of sustainable development capable of ensuring the well-being of all while respecting environmental balances.

"If the protection of the environment involves costs, they should be justly distributed, taking due account of the different levels of development of various countries and the need for solidarity with future generations.

"Prudence does not mean failing to accept responsibilities and postponing decisions; it means being committed to making joint decisions after pondering responsibly the road to be taken."

Efforts to protect the environment should seek "agreement on a model of sustainable development capable of ensuring the well-being of all while respecting environmental balances", the Pope said.

He added that to further the cause of world peace it was sensible for nations to "choose the path of dialogue rather than the path of unilateral decisions" in how to cooperate responsibly on conserving the planet.

The Pope's message is traditionally sent to heads of government and international organisations.

His remarks reveal that while the Pope acknowledges that problems may be associated with unbridled development and climate change, he believes the case against global warming to be over-hyped.

A broad consensus is developing among the world's scientific community over the evils of climate change.

But there is also an intransigent body of scientific opinion which continues to insist that industrial emissions are not to blame for the phenomenon.

Such scientists point out that fluctuations in the earth's temperature are normal and can often be caused by waves of heat generated by the sun. Other critics of environmentalism have compared the movement to a burgeoning industry in its own right.

In the spring, the Vatican hosted a conference on climate change that was welcomed by environmentalists.

But senior cardinals close to the Vatican have since expressed doubts about a movement which has been likened by critics to be just as dogmatic in its assumptions as any religion.

In October, the Australian Cardinal George Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, caused an outcry when he noted that the atmospheric temperature of Mars had risen by 0.5 degrees celsius.

"The industrial-military complex up on Mars can't be blamed for that," he said in a criticism of Australian scientists who had claimed that carbon emissions would force temperatures on earth to rise by almost five degrees by 2070 unless drastic solutions were enforced.

3 Archbishops and 2 Bishops: Growing List of Hierarchy Condemning Golden Compass

"Baltimore Archbishop "grateful" USCCB withdrew positive movie review because "it caused much confusion in the Catholic Community"

By John-Henry Westen NEW ORLEANS, December 11, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Archbishops of Baltimore and New Orleans can be added to the growing number of US Catholic bishops expressing public opposition to the anti-Christian, anti-religion film 'The Golden Compass'. Late Monday the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) withdrew a positive review that was published on the film by the USCCB Office of Film and Broadcasting. (see coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/dec/07121102.html )In his November 24 column in the Clarion Herald, New Orleans Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes warned that the film is based on the "His Dark Materials" books by Philip Pullman, books which the archbishop said, "surreptitiously lead children to atheism and pose a special threat to Christianity."Archbishop Hughes warns moreover that the subtlety with which the books and film promote anti-Christianity may be a greater danger than a more frontal attack. "The kingdom of Satan is at war with the Kingdom of God," he said. "His weapons are violence and deceit. In some ways, violence is easier to fight against. It is more obvious and more abhorrent, even though we have a great deal of difficulty in containing it today. Deceit, however, is subtler and more subversive. It fosters rebellion through half-truths." (see the full column here: http://www.arch-no.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&... )In comments sent by email to the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien remarked on the USCCB withdrawal of the positive review for the film. "The Archdiocese of Baltimore is grateful that the Conference withdrew the review because it caused much confusion in the Catholic Community," he said. "From all reports, the review failed to adequately warn parents about the movie's widely recognized dark themes and anti-Catholic imagery." (see coverage: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-to.compass12de... )LifeSiteNews.com reported yesterday that Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput panned the film as having an unmistakable "aggressively anti-religious, anti-Christian undercurrent." In a thinly veiled criticism of the just pulled positive review by the USCCB office for film, he added that "The idea that any Christian film critics could overlook or downplay these negative elements, as some have seemed to do, is simply baffling." (see: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/dec/07121105.html )LifeSiteNews.com reported last week that La Crosse Bishop Jerome Listecki instructed the priests of his diocese to warn the faithful against the film. (see: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/dec/07120403.html )In a November 9 statement on 'The Golden Compass', Austin Texas Bishop Gregory M. Aymond said: "The upcoming movie version of "The Golden Compass" has led to questions about the trilogy of books by Philip Pullman. Catholic schools and religious education programs should not encourage children to read any of these books and they should not be held in their libraries. "The Golden Compass" attempts to devalue religion, especially Christianity. Our children deserve better education than what is in these books and movie." See it online here: (http://www.austindiocese.org/newsletter_issue_view.php?id=13... )"Life Site.com

Just a funny video.

Pope gets radical and woos the Anglicans

By Damian Thompson

Two and a half years after the name "Josephum" came booming down from the balcony of St Peter's, making liberal Catholics weep with rage, Pope Benedict XVI is revealing his programme of reform. And it is breathtakingly ambitious.

The 80-year-old Pontiff is planning a purification of the Roman liturgy in which decades of trendy innovations will be swept away. This recovery of the sacred is intended to draw Catholics closer to the Orthodox and ultimately to heal the 1,000 year Great Schism. But it is also designed to attract vast numbers of conservative Anglicans, who will be offered the protection of the Holy Father if they covert en masse.

The liberal cardinals don't like the sound of it at all.

Ever since the shock of Benedict's election, they have been waiting for him to show his hand. Now that he has, the resistance has begun in earnest - and the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, is in the thick of it.

"Pope Benedict is isolated," I was told when I visited Rome last week. "So many people, even in the Vatican, oppose him, and he feels the strain immensely." Yet he is ploughing ahead. He reminds me of another conservative revolutionary, Margaret Thatcher, who waited a couple of years before taking on the Cabinet "wets" sabotaging her reforms.

Benedict's pontificate moved into a new phase on July 7, with the publication of his apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum.

With a stroke of his pen, the Pope restored the traditional Latin Mass - in effect banned for 40 years - to parity with the modern liturgy. Shortly afterwards, he replaced Archbishop Piero Marini, the papal Master of Ceremonies who turned many of John Paul II's Masses into politically correct carnivals.

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor was most displeased. Last week, he hit back with a "commentary" on Summorum Pontificum.

According to Murphy-O'Connor, the ruling leaves the power of local bishops untouched. In fact, it removes the bishops' power to block the ancient liturgy. In other words, the cardinal - who tried to stop Benedict issuing the ruling - is misrepresenting its contents.

Alas, he is not alone: dozens of bishops in Britain, Europe and America have tried the same trick.

Murphy-O'Connor's "commentary" was modelled on equally dire "guidelines" written by Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds with the apparent purpose of discouraging the faithful from exercising their new rights.

A few years ago the ploy might have worked. But news travels fast in the traditionalist blogosphere, and these tactics have been brought to the attention of papal advisers.

This month, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, a senior Vatican official close to Benedict, declared that "bishops and even cardinals" who misrepresented Summorum Pontificum were "in rebellion against the Pope".

Ranjith is tipped to become the next Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, in charge of regulating worldwide liturgy. That makes sense: if Benedict is moving into a higher gear, then he needs street fighters in high office.

He may also have to reform an entire department, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which spends most of its time promoting the sort of ecumenical waffle that Benedict abhors.

This is a sensitive moment. Last month, the bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion, a network of 400,000 breakaway Anglo-Catholics based mainly in America and the Commonwealth, wrote to Rome asking for "full, corporate, sacramental union".

Their letter was drafted with the help of the Vatican. Benedict is overseeing the negotiations. Unlike John Paul II, he admires the Anglo-Catholic tradition. He is thinking of making special pastoral arrangements for Anglican converts walking away from the car wreck of the Anglican Communion.

This would mean that they could worship together, free from bullying by local bishops who dislike the newcomers' conservatism and would rather "dialogue" with Anglicans than receive them into the Church.

The liberation of the Latin liturgy, the rapprochement with Eastern Orthodoxy, the absorption of former Anglicans - all these ambitions reflect Benedict's conviction that the Catholic Church must rediscover the liturgical treasure of Christian history to perform its most important task: worshipping God.

This conviction is shared by growing numbers of young Catholics, but not by the church politicians who have dominated the hierarchies of Europe for too long.

By failing to welcome the latest papal initiatives - or even to display any interest in them, beyond the narrow question of how their power is affected - the bishops of England and Wales have confirmed Benedict's low opinion of them.

Now he should replace them. If the Catholic reformation is to start anywhere, it might as well be here.

------------------

Constantine's Comments:

This is a very good article. It is refreshing to see the Traditional Catholic position given in the mainstream media. Especially the British media as Britain has a long history of anti-Catholic bigotry.

It should be noted that Bishops are resisting the reforms that Benedict XVI is implementing.

This also shows that Ecumenism in the form that John Paul II engaged in is a complete waste of time at best. The more Catholic we are the more converts away from the Protestant heresy we will attract.

I believe that Benedict XVI and his Pontificate will be more influential than his predecessors.

Pope says Christianity not just legacy of Europe, but way to future

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VIENNA, Austria (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Austria for a three-day pilgrimage, saying Christianity was not just the legacy of Europe's past but "the way to the future."

The pope stepped off his chartered Alitalia jet Sept. 7 in heavy rain at the Vienna airport, where he was welcomed by Austrian President Heinz Fischer, who quickly ushered the pontiff into a hangar.

After an honor-guard salute, the pope said in a speech that he felt at home in Austria, a country "deeply imbued with the message of Jesus Christ." His voice was still somewhat rough after a recent bout of hoarseness.

The pope said the focus of his journey, a visit to the Marian shrine at Mariazell, would take him to the "maternal heart of Austria" and underline the role of Mary throughout Central Europe.

The Marian sanctuary, the pope said, "reminds us of an essential dimension of human beings: their capacity for openness to God and his word of truth."

"Mariazell does not only represent 850 years of history, but shows us on the basis of that history -- as reflected in the statue of the Blessed Mother pointing to Christ her son -- the way to the future," he said.

The pope said he also wanted to encourage renewed interest in pilgrimages, especially among young people seeking space for reflection and meditation. The important thing, he said, was to make a connection between these spiritual excursions and daily life.

"Pilgrimage means more than just journeying to a shrine. The journey back to our everyday life is also fundamental," he said.

A group of uniformed Viennese schoolchildren stood next to the papal podium, waving shyly to the pope when he arrived and bursting into a welcoming song when he finished his talk. The pontiff rose and went over to greet them, making their day.

After the airport formalities, the pope traveled to the center of Vienna for two important ceremonies: a prayer before a Marian pillar and a silent tribute to Holocaust victims.

In the historic Am Hof Square, hundreds of young people in plastic yellow rain slickers cheered when the pope arrived in his glass-walled popemobile. A pop group with trumpets, guitars and drums belted out a lively rendition of "Jesus Christ, You Are My Life," the song known to many Catholic young people through World Youth Day celebrations.

The pope, who stood on a large covered balcony next to the square, beamed in appreciation. Then he faced a bronze statue of Mary that stands atop a tall column in the center of the square and prayed for "pilgrim intentions" that summed up several themes of his visit:

-- Devotion to Mary as part of Austria's Christian history.

-- Overcoming tensions in the country's increasingly multicultural population.

-- Commitment to protection of human life "from the moment of conception."

-- A call for priestly and religious vocations.

-- Protection of Sunday as a day of rest and worship.

-- Appreciation of the church's charity network.

In a brief talk, the pope said Christians have turned to Mary from earliest times as a figure whose maternal love extends to all humanity. Above all, Marian devotion can help lead people to the truth of salvation in Christ, he said.

"If we continue to bring our everyday concerns to the Immaculate Mother of Christ, she will help us to open our little hopes ever more fully toward that great and true hope which gives meaning to our lives," he said.

The pope's talk was interrupted by technical problems with the public address system set up in the rain-drenched square. The pope stopped partway through his talk, smiled broadly and listened as the young people began chanting, "Benedikt! Benedikt!"

Then the pope entered the Am Hof Church and knelt before the Blessed Sacrament. The pews were crammed with about 1,000 faithful, most of them ethnic Croats; the church has been used by the Croatian Catholic community in Vienna since the 1960s.

Standing before the altar, the pope began a prayer to Mary that Austrian young people were to continue to recite throughout his three-day visit.

Afterward, the pope rode around the corner to the "Judenplatz" or Jews Square, where he stood next to Vienna Chief Rabbi Paul Chaim Eisenberg and prayed silently in front of a memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe, including the estimated 65,000 Austrian Jews killed by Nazi extermination efforts during World War II.

The memorial, in the form of a concrete cube, was built in 2000 on the site of a Jewish synagogue that was destroyed during a pogrom in 1421. At that time, some 200 Jews were burned alive on a pyre on the outskirts of the city.

On the plane taking him to Vienna, the pope told reporters he was stopping before the monument to demonstrate "our sadness, our repentance and also our friendship with our Jewish brothers."

A plaque overlooking the monument, placed by Austrian Catholic leaders, acknowledges that Christian preachers of the early 15th century spread superstitious anti-Jewish ideas, and that Vienna Christians generally accepted the destruction of the synagogue without resistance.

During World War II, the plaque says, some Christians fought in vain against the Nazi racial policies, but "they were too few."

"Today, Christianity regrets its share in responsibility for the persecution of Jews, and realizes its failure," the inscription states.

Most of Austria's approximately 200,000 Jews left the country after it was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938; about 10,000 Jews live in Austria today.

When he arrived at the monument, the pope greeted the president of the Viennese Jewish community, Ariel Muzicant, and then, under a cluster of umbrellas, took time to shake hands with several older members of the community.

Crowds welcoming the pope into Vienna were thin in the inclement weather, and the papal program in Austria included no big-venue events. The biggest crowd of the visit was expected at the papal Mass Sept. 8 at the Marian shrine of Mariazell, which can accommodate only 50,000 pilgrims at one time.