Vatican to certify Catholic websites?

Will Gene's blog be approved?

According to some reports, the final version of the Synod document calls attention to the need for “certification systems for Catholic websites, to counter the spread of fake news regarding the Church.”[1] Apparently, this certification will be a form of a denial of approval from some Vatican official or other. Juan Perón, the Argentine dictator that was once the hero of Pope Francis, would have approved of such measures while rubbing his palms and smiling, as it was his custom. During his reign in Argentina in the pre-television age, he exercised total control of all newspapers and radio.

Imperatives drive policy

It is obvious that there is a portion of the Vatican curia that feels threatened by the influence of a growing Internet commentariat. Among the many authors writing in blogs and websites, there are many that are theologically informed and capable of guiding the public honestly. Among the Catholic authors, some are priests or religious with inside information not normally accessible to Catholic laity or the general public. Truthful and honest information coming from such sources do not threaten the eternal truths or the mission of the Catholic Church. The truth threatens the power of those groups that have infiltrated the high circles of the hierarchy. Truth uncovers the narratives that those groups try to impose on the Church at large. The ungodly goals of those powerful groups currently steering the Church are: to force the Church to approve the principles of the so-called sexual revolution, and the acceptance of Marxism through the teachings of the Theology of Liberation.

The Church has always dealt with fake news. In former times we called them heresies. Are those groups that so obviously oppose the permanent, orthodox teaching of the Church going to put the “fake” label on someone who tells the truth? Now hold that thought, because many of us have seen that happen in the political realm. Political correctness began exactly in that way. The cultural Marxist first projects his own fault towards the opponent —i.e. the Marxist’s own blatant racism—and then labels his opponent as a “racist” to gain the high moral ground. From that moment on, the Marxist will be the judge of everyone’s actions, labeling that person racist, that other a “sexist,” the other a “homophobic,” and so on. The process starts with a Freudian projection and ends with a label on some poor chap’s forehead. That technique is meant to divide people. People are more easily dominated if they are divided while the unscrupulous leader controls the political narrative.

No longer informed by truth

Too many leaders of the Church have abandoned the truth of the Gospel. Ever since the days of Vatican II, ambiguity and theological novelties have taken precedence over the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20.) The consequences of that mistake are now evident.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is powerful enough to gradually move believers to live according to the truth. The mission of the Church is to constantly give witness to Christ, shepherding souls towards salvation. If truth takes a second place, the message of the Church loses force and it has to be replaced with raw power. Benedict XVI expressed that clearly: “Without truth, without trust and love for what is true, there is no social conscience and responsibility, and social action ends up serving private interests and the logic of power, resulting in social fragmentation, especially in a globalized society at difficult times like the present.” (Caritas in Veritate 5.)

Some wise soul left us this wonderful counsel: “The truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself.” In times past, when ideas were disseminated either by public speech or books, the Church wisely maintained an Index of heretical books, saving the faithful the time and expense of reading such heresies. That Index became impractical as the world gradually entered the information age. Like that proverbial lion, the truth of Christ prevails very well on its own devices, not because of the power of the Church to censor heresy.

We have to conclude that this idea of labeling Internet sites is an intent to sustain (by force) the narrative of certain postconciliar currents of the Church. In the absence of Divine Truth, raw power has to be exercised.

Dialog with the world?

It seems to me that our present crisis began when the Great Commission was replaced by a misunderstanding, a new imperative to “dialog with the world.” Benedict XVI warned us: “Truth, in fact, is lógos which creates diá-logos, and hence communication and communion. Truth, by enabling men and women to let go of their subjective opinions and impressions, allows them to move beyond cultural and historical limitations and to come together in the assessment of the value and substance of things.” (Caritas in Veritate 4.)

Pope Benedict wisely places communication before communion because the Church is not seeking to find the truth through dialog. Why? Because the Church has received the fullness of the truth in Christ: “And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22 NRSVACE.) When we communicate the Gospel, we avail ourselves of the power of Christ to fill souls with his life, like the ocean waters that can easily fill an empty cup. The filling of that soul with the truth of Christ is what we call communion. For that simple reason, communion can never precede communication. We cannot foolishly enter into a two-way communication with the world intending to find the truth.

Christ instructed the Church to go and preach the Gospel. (Matthew 28:16-20.) That is to teach to others what we have received. The Church has received the whole truth necessary for the salvation of mankind. That truth is unchangeable; it is part of nature itself. Neither a Pope nor a council of the Church can change it. Since Christ came into this world, nothing can be added to the truth; nothing substantial can be appended to our faith.

The Church is both a mother and a teacher of truth. Error has no right to stand before truth. There is no valid dialog we can sustain with error or darkness. “Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship is there between light and darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14 NRSVACE.)

New voices for an ancient message

The new electronic media caught many by surprise. Huge media enterprises like leading radio and television networks, newspapers, and news organizations are still trying to adapt to the new reality. So far they have reacted with all the agility of an elephant trying to catch a fly. The forces that are currently trying to steer the Church away from her God-given mission are no exception. The myriad of pages, blogs, email and social media aggregates of faithful Catholics who know their faith well are constantly pointing at their mistakes and the mediocrity of their message. The postconciliar “church of nice” leaders have managed to silence the truth to some extent but they could not dumb down the entire Church. With the arrival of the Internet, many new voices are asking the obvious questions: “Isn’t homosexuality a grave sin?” or “Didn’t Jesus himself say that those who divorce and remarry are guilty of adultery?” just to mention two examples out of many.

As the Synod of Young People progressed, those Internet warriors of truth were able to expose the efforts of the postconciliar heretics to cover up the crimes of the infiltrated homosexual priests. The revelations of complicity among those in the higher echelons of the Vatican curia flew around the world at the speed of light when Monsignor Viganò revealed them to … faithful Catholic bloggers!

Truth is indeed like a mighty lion that can no longer be kept behind bars in the Roman zoo. It is roaming the streets of the Holy City and soon will devour those who wanted to suppress her. All we have to do is set her free.

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.” Words of St. Paul in 2 Timothy 4:1-5.

A Desperate Illness Cured by Padre Pio

   

 

 A Desperate Illness Cured by Padre Pio   

 

 

 

An insatiable thirst caused her to drink countless gallons of water day and night.

For seven long years, beginning when she was only a teenager in 1945, Lucia Bellodi suffered from a severe case of diabetes insipidus, complicated by an earlier attack of encephalitis. She was a farm girl from Modena, in northern Italy, and had been admitted over the years to several hospitals and a sanatorium.

The doctors did all they could with the knowledge then available, but instead of improving she only worsened. Suffering from a pituitary imbalance, she was declared incurable, and was ultimately admitted to a nursing home in Modena. At the nursing facility, a “home for the aged,” the sisters did all they could to provide her relief from her most unusual illness, characterized by an insatiable thirst. Her body was unable to maintain adequate control over its water content, and as a result she had to constantly consume large amounts of water to offset her frequent urination. We are talking about drinking gallons and gallons of water per day, causing her abdomen to swell out of proportion. Incredible as it may seem, one source mentions 105 quarts of water, and by her own testimony, it had increased in the days before her cure to over 170 quarts in 24 hours.

She was enabled to sustain this affliction by drinking constantly through a rubber hose attached to a large container holding many gallons of water. Even at night when sleeping, she had to suck water out of the hose. If she did not keep drinking, her tongue would swell and her mouth would start to bleed. The nursing sisters looked after her continually, and due to urination complications, they were forced to change her bed linens many times a day. In addition, there was another extremely serious concern – about every two weeks there would be a crisis consisting of extremely painful headaches and high fevers, to the point of delirium.

Lucia held Padre Pio in great esteem, after learning about him from her hospital caregivers and the nursing sisters. Although she prayed to him often, it was not for the grace of a cure. Instead she asked him to intercede with the Lord so that she would be able to resign herself to accepting her malady, or to be freed from it by her death.

The day of Corpus Christi in 1952, she manifested to the sisters that she had a desire to attend Mass for the feast day. They agreed to this, but when she returned from making her confession, she was unable to stand. She was rushed to her bed, since this appeared to be the onset of one of her crises. The fever and headache lasted all that morning until the early afternoon, as she drank more and more water. At a certain point during that morning, she saw a friar, who looked at her fixedly with dark eyes, as if reproving her, but he said nothing. During her delirium, the nursing sister heard her say “Padre Pio, I can go on no longer; please come to take me!” Seeing how much Lucia was suffering, this sister too prayed that God would liberate her from such a pitiful existence.

At about two in the afternoon, at the culmination of the crisis, her caregivers thought that this was the end for her, as they felt her body getting cold. Lucia could smell all around her the sweet fragrance of the perfume of violets. As she wondered at this, she fell asleep. While she was sleeping, she heard these words: “Arise Lucia, since you are cured. This evening or tomorrow come to see me at San Giovanni Rotondo.” As she slept, her mouth was firmly shut and the sisters could not insert the rubber hose so that she could continue to drink water. They were fearful that her tongue would swell and she would hemorrhage. Thus after an hour and a half of letting her rest, the sisters had to slap her into wakefulness. She awoke suddenly and got up from her bed, announcing to all that she was cured. At first they thought she was talking crazy, but after she explained what Padre Pio had said, they told her she should go into the chapel to thank the Lord.

She proceeded up the stairs on her own, feeling confident and secure, and even took part in the Corpus Christi procession. She felt completely well, as if she had never suffered at all for the past seven years. The doctors were summoned, and they could only conclude that a miracle had occurred. She expressed her wish to travel to Padre Pio's monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo, but they felt that she was not yet ready to sustain such a long trip, from the north of Italy to the south, and she was constrained to remain at the nursing home in Modena for three more days.

When she arrived at San Giovanni accompanied by two of the sisters, she was extremely happy to be able to see and to speak to Padre Pio, whom she thanked profusely. He smiled and said, “I was waiting for you,” and he told her that it was the Lord who deserved the thanks. Upon her return to Modena, she moved in with her parents, and went to work on their farm. The doctors subjected her to a final battery of tests, which indicated that she was completely healthy. But they told her that because of her severe case of diabetes insipidus, she would never be able to have children of her own. However, confiding in Padre Pio, she chose to marry in 1961, and was blessed with a child.

This article is based on Lucia Bellodi's personal testimony, published in Padre Pio Storia D'una Vittima, by F. Chiocci and L. Cirri, pp. 670-672. Some additional information was provided by Rev. Bernard Ruffin in Padre Pio the True Story, pp. 336-337; and Rev. Charles Mortimer Carty, Padre Pio the Stigmatist, pp. 171-172. Where some of the details given in the latter two sources differ from the Chiocci-Cirri version, I have relied on Chiocci-Cirri since that source presented her own words. 

The Catholic Herald is launching in America

by William Cash

posted Thursday, 25 Oct 2018

A US flag blows in the wind in front of a mural of Pope Francis across the street from Madison Square Garden in New York (Getty images)

We will celebrate the riches of Catholicism and promote accountability in the Church

In a month’s time, I will be boarding a plane to Washington for the launch of the new American weekly edition of the Catholic Herald. This is one of the most important events in our 130-year history. With the American Church in a state of crisis, our feeling is that a fresh voice on Catholic affairs is exactly what is needed in a country where there are more Catholics (an estimated 75 million) than the entire population of Britain. Above all, we intend to take a positive attitude towards how to both re-build and restore faith in the Church, not just in America but across the world.

Throughout its history, the Herald has broken some of the most important Catholic stories, including the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958 – an exclusive it achieved by gambling that the pontiff would die immediately after it went to press. (Thankfully for our reputation, he did.) The Herald has also been the chosen platform for many of the world’s most influential Catholic writers, including GK Chesterton, Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene and JRR Tolkien. We will continue this tradition, including new American voices.

……

Whether there is such a thing as a “Catholic novelist” remains open to question. Certainly the British novelist Piers Paul Read – a regular contributor to our pages – would be regarded as a living example of the genre. Two of my favourite authors, Jay McInerney, probably America’s finest social novelist, and Joseph O’Neill (who trained as a barrister), both have Irish heritage and live in New York. Yet whether either would identify themselves as Catholic writers – in the same way that Greene and Waugh did – I can’t say.

But we’d love to find out what they – and others – think about the religion they were raised in. Our literary editor, the award-winning crime novelist Stav Sherez, will be inviting America’s best writers and critics – of all beliefs – to review books on any subject of interest to Catholics.

We’ll encourage leading US writers to follow such authors as Greene, who described himself as a “Catholic agnostic” and used the Herald as a form of debating chamber, which is what a good magazine should be. Greene chose the Herald to justify his controversial 1940 novel The Power and the Glory, dismissing “prudish Catholics who believe that a writer should never introduce into his work anything that belongs to the savage and lustful world and should concern himself only with the good and the beautiful”.

Sex and religion, of course, were never far from Greene’s thoughts, especially in the late 1940s after he met the American society beauty Catherine Walston. She decided to convert after reading his novel about a whisky priest on the run in Mexico; he agreed to become her god-father and she became his lover and muse not long after that.

While researching my biography of Greene at Georgetown University in 1999, I had a three-bottles-of-wine dinner in Washington with Christopher Hitchens. He revealed to me that The Power and The Glory was one of his favourite novels and that he admired Greene for his “conservatism”. The dinner ended in a blur but his point was that, even if you struggled with the religion, Greene had a gift for almost consecrating language. His books and essays remind us that words matter; and so they will in the new US Herald.

……

Unlike in Britain, where orthodox-leaning, educated Catholics are a tiny minority, America boasts a huge community of intelligent Catholics who wish to be informed and enlightened. The Herald will take a stand against the crude division of Catholicism into “liberal” and “conservative” factions. Instead, as our editor-in-chief Damian Thompson puts it, “We will be exploring the riches of orthodox Catholicism – drawing inspiration from our illustrious literary pedigree of leading Catholic writers.”

Our objective is to remain boldly independent and we will refuse to be dragged into the politicisation that has so divided the US Church. With many US cardinals now embroiled in perhaps the worst crisis in Catholic history, and factions of the Church in a seeming state of civil war, there has never been more of a need for measured opinion and reporting, combined with the highest level of “critical voice” covering the arts. And writing that is not merely reminiscent of birthday odes for the Medici princes and their popes.

……

Damian is the former religious affairs correspondent of the Daily Telegraph and a veteran of 25 years of reporting on Church battles. He buried himself for a few days in our recently digitised archives, and emerged with many gems that will feature in the publicity for our US edition.

My favourite is from Evelyn Waugh, who wrote the following while serving as a Herald special correspondent at a Eucharistic Congress in Budapest: “In England we [Catholics] are always a minority, often a very small one. There is a danger that we look on ourselves as the exceptions, instead of in the true perspective of ourselves as normal and the irreligious as freaks.”

William Cash is chairman of the Catholic Herald

Sinead O'Connor changes her name after converting to Islam

Lucy Needham 

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© Twitter/Getty Sinead O'Connor has revealed she's changed her name after turning her back on Catholicism and converting to Islam.

The Irish singer, who was once ordained a priest by the Irish Orthodox and Apostolic Church, made the announcement on Twitter telling fans she was proud to have become a muslim.

Sinead, 51, will now be known as Shuhada' Davitt - with shuhada meaning 'martyrs' or 'witnesses' in Arabic.

In a post to fans she wrote: "This is to announce that I am proud to have become a Muslim. This is the natural conclusion of any intelligent theologian’s journey. All scripture study leads to Islam. Which makes all other scriptures redundant. I will be given (another) new name. It will be Shuhada."

© Credits: Getty

The Nothing Compares 2 U singer changed her profile picture on the site to 'Wear A Hujab: JUST DO IT," alongside the Nick tick logo.

She then shared a video of her singing the Islamic call to prayer.

"I got some pronunciation wrong because emotions took me from my page... but there'll be hundreds of others onstage to come," she told her social media following.

Sinead has had a complicated relationship with Catholic Church in the past, not least when she tore up a photo of the Pope on live TV to protest about child sex abuse.

She also shocked the Church, which does not allow women priests, when she was ordained by an independent bishop.

© Provided by Trinity Mirror Shared Services Limited

In 2012 as she took to the stage at an AIDS benefit gala in Los Angeles Sinead unveiled a huge and colourful tattoo of Jesus above a heart symbol on her chest.

© Provided by Trinity Mirror Shared Services Limited Sinead O'Connor performs during the filming of the Graham Norton show

Earlier this week, Sinead revealed that she was working on new material with collaborators including Ronnie Wood and Imelda May.