Sunday, October 30, 2011

Crucifixes at Catholic University Creep John H. Banzhaff, III Out

This is what you call gall!

John F. Banzhaf III claims the school "[denies Muslim students] equal access to the benefits CUA provides to other student groups,"....

..It is alleged that CUA does not provide space -- as other universities do -- for the many daily prayers Muslim students must make, forcing them instead to find temporarily empty classrooms where they are often surrounded by Catholic symbols which are incongruous to their religion. Furthermore, it appears that Muslims on campus may even be forced to do their meditation in the school's chapels or in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception – hardly places where students of a very different religion are likely to feel very comfortable.


Where's my kleenex? I'm all choked up.

If Catholic institutions - whose purpose it is to train future Catholic evangelists - are going to employ and admit people disgusted and offended by Catholicism, they ought to have the decency to give them a room where they can perform rituals without having to look at Christ hanging on a Crucifix?

You know something, there's no place for prostitutes to turn tricks in between classes either.

How about consenting adults who want to expose themselves?

Look at porn?

Drink Dewars?

Gamble?

Maybe there should be a room on every floor of Catholic schools for all the things offensive to Christ?

The priests and administrators can pretend they don't know what's happening so they don't have to do anything about it. They've got that down to a science.

Of course it would be standing room only after the Jesuits crammed the place.

Maybe we could put one in every parish?

The room would need a patron saint.

Saddam Hussein?

Charlie Sheen?

I've got it! Bernadin-Hehir!

Places I have not been...

Found this one on Facebook...

Places I have and have not been

I have been in many places, but I’ve never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can’t go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I’ve also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. They don’t have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family & work.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, & I’m not too much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, & I try not to visit there too often.

I’ve been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Sometimes I’m in Capable, and I go there more often as I’m getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Salvation Outside of the Church

I apologize for the whining this week!

We all have strengths, weaknesses, gifts, flaws. Put me up against an anti-Catholic, the Klu Klux Klan, the Communist, the foes of truth in the Chancery, parish, Congress, State House, etc., I am unwaivering. But finding an enemy in what I presumed or expect to be an ally-in-faith, I get thrown into Gethsemene where Christ sweat blood when He saw the condition of His Church.

I will spare you the ugly details of this week (including the two car accidents, rear-ended, within an hour!)but I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your thoughtful messages, texts, emails, comments, prayers, for listening, supporting... and the flowers.

Yes, flowers!! From an extraordinarily kind couple whom God has gifted to my life. Each of you, with the diversity of your gifts, bring so much enrichment to me personally and to readers at TTC in your own unique way.

I've read quite a bit now about salvation outside of the Church. It was my intention to follow up our original discussion with another post, but since the haunting was the fruit of that discussion, I think I'll just affirm the teaching of the Catholic Church..and tell a little story.

Here's the bottom line on Catholic teaching: If it were the intention of God for a soul to merit entrance into Heaven through any and every religion, church or through good deeds-then His Incarnation would not have been necessary.

He gathered the Apostles and instituted a Church with them and through them. He left us a way to eat and drink His Body and Blood.

I am not sure how we're even losing people on this one. There is only One Source to eat and drink of His Body and Blood: The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. To whom else would you go?

Leaving us the Catholic Church to enlighten and feed us The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of God was the entire purpose of The Incarnation, Passion and Crucifixion of God. If you don't eat and drink of His Body and Blood, you have no life within you.

She is the Paraclete. THE source of enlightenment. The paraclete is not in our brain. When we want truth, we go to her. With the faith of a child, we surrender.

The Catholic Church is the price Christ paid for our soul's salvation.

Take a look-see----------------------------->

It wouldn't be necessary for God to leave a cozy throne in Heaven and go through all this bother if the gate to Heaven included any and every religion.

There would be no crosses to pick up and follow. No specific path. No specific source of truth. It would all be a guessing game. No need for evangelism or the 2000 years of martyrdom.

The narrow gate to Heaven is through The Catholic Church. This is the truth and a certainty.

But at the Head of The Church is Christ who will sit in judgement of all who were not inside of the Catholic Church. And those judgments are based upon whether our sins were of mortal origin. Whether we had access to the knowledge and rejected it or whether we were ignorant. If there was ignorance, He will judge whether it was willful or whether the ignorance is through no fault of our own.

There's a scriptural warning on accountability. If you see your brother sinning, tell him. If you tell him and he doesn't listen, he'll be held accountable. But if you know and you don't tell him, I'll hold you accountable.

The error in saying we see souls who are 'oriented' towards Hell, is that it implies mortals have insight into all that comprises the fatality of mortal sin. It's impossible to judge whether a soul is 'oriented' to Hell. That is a judgment that belongs to Christ alone.

What we have to do as evangelists is make an assessment of actions or the many false gods and religions and churches and teachings and respond to our baptismal call. Go and baptize all nations and men into the Catholic Church, the narrow gate left by God Himself. Just because we know that God will mercifully judge whether our sins were mortal, it does not forbear this duty.

Many have, because they are under the delusion that mortal sins will be pardoned through God's Mercy on our day of judgment. The Fr. John Unni's and Fr. Bryan Hehirs and the Bishops who enable the willful withholding of the truths that lead to conversion, or even recklessly lead souls into temptation. This is what what is going haywire.

But, we can NOT compensate for their sins of omission by rejecting the Catechism because it contains the teaching that God will measure whether the sins were mortal. All you're doing is piling more sins on top of the pile of dung. Putting your own salvation at risk.

In our discussions about salvation, I said I would talk about a personal experience - so here it is...

About fifteen years ago, two friends of mine struggled and suffered with cancer and died about a week apart.

Richard was a beloved friend, like St. John the Beloved. The kind of friend that loves unconditionally, present through thick and thin, gives of themselves, surprises you with small acts of kindness and charity. We met through work. He was my supervisor. He took a shine to me because we shared a snarky sense of humor. Richard claimed to be an atheist. He even went so far in his rebellion against God that he got thrown out of college for burning a cross on campus. We had many discussions about the existence of God and my convictions.

I learned that he was baptized a Christian in the protestant church but crossed the intersection to atheism when his mother died as a young child. "No God would take a mother away from a child", he would say.

I would talk about God the Father handing over his own Son to murderers, about the loss of Christ's good friend John the Baptist, about Lazarus and the symbolism of the resurrection into eternal life. I would talk about the loss of my own father at a young age, my faith. I never really felt him softening in the conversations. But many years later and near the end of his life, he told me he was formally mending his relationship with God.

I was not in good shape myself at the time - from the impending loss of two relationships and other things going on. I didn't say the things I perhaps should have said or would have said in other circumstances. I thought everything that needed to be said had already been said years ago. I was actually relieved he had come to the foot of the cross to acknowledge God, his rebellion and the need for repentance and unification with Christ. I entrusted the processing of the death of his mother as a young child and to God's mercy.

The other friend who died, Julie, was a neighbor. She was also a kind, loving and giving soul and our relationship grew through our children, playmates, playdates, etc. Julie was a baptized Catholic but had drifted away from the Church in the pain and confusion of circumstances in her own life. In the end, one of her sisters came to live and care for her who had married a muslim and rejected Catholicism for it. She spent that time trying to convert Julie who just really did not have any fight left in her. Arrangements were made for a muslim funeral and burial. Though the cancer had metastasized to Julie's brain, in a lucid moment she told me she did NOT want a muslim funeral and burial - she wanted to be buried from the Catholic Church. The promise I made to her in those lucid moments brought her peace. I did what I could to bring her requests and concerns to her family but they rejected it.

Lost in grief in the days after their deaths, we headed off on a planned family vacation. My heart was heavy with the pain of the loss, compounded with concerns about their salvation. In the storm, I fell to the temptation of asking God for a sign my friends made it through the narrow gate.

Poor Christ. Still a faithless generation, 2000 years later.

Anyway, I was standing in front of a stone memorial to the soldiers at Fort Ticonderoga in New York with my family and this clonked me on top of my head:

I mounted it on the stone, of course, but the message is loud and clear.

So when you want to characterize the baptism of desire and blood as a heresy perpetrated by the Catholic Church (which is actually impossible), this is another compelling reason why I won't smoke that crack pipe.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The Pope Has Not Lost His Marbles

Harrowing Week

Harrowing week in the trenches. Seldom am I shaken to my core but I feel like I've been trapped in a garage with the accuser and he has been driving over me with a car for a week.

If it weren't for the fact that it would all go straight to my backside, I would consume the whole basket of halloween candy. I am too wiped out to even find a rational alternative.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Say, where'd that bullet come from in Gadhaffi's head?

Didn't you wonder how Obama was going to get over the hump of the video of Gadhaffi being pulled out of the hole, very much alive and saying 'don't shoot' and his body being dragged through the streets with a bullet in his head?


They are shocked, shocked, I tell you, that the crazy-assed murderers they are backing assassinated him?

THIS is what they call 'democracy' now?

Any government law that contradicts Sharai law is null and void..this is 'democracy'?

How can Americans be so blind?

Is this where we are heading?

Is this how the book of revelation plays out?

I don't rule it out anymore. What shocks me is the applause as it is ushered in.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Hope vs. Presumption

Spectacular (and timely) article for us here at TTC.


Presumption

And then there is the vice of presumption. It is probably more difficult for us to recognize what exactly constitutes presumption. On the one hand, we know that hope is supposed to be certain and sure – how, then, can we have an “excess” of hope? If hope is already 100% certain, how can presumption go beyond the proper boundaries and make us too hopeful?
The truth is that the sin of presumption (like that of despair) can be twofold: We presume either on God or on ourselves. To presume upon ourselves is to believe that we can attain to heaven by our own powers – it is to put our hope in “horse and chariot” (i.e. in our own abilities) rather than in the Name of the Lord (cf. Psalm 19:8, Vulgate). This sort of presumption will usually lead to despair, since it will eventually become clear that our own powers will not save us.
The second form of presumption is the worse, it is to presume upon God’s mercy as being opposed to the divine justice. This is the sin of presumption whereby a man admits that he is a sinner and does not have any right to heaven (nor any means of getting to heaven, by his own powers), but then simply considers the divine mercy and ignores the demands of justice. This is a very prevalent sin in our day. A man who sins by presuming upon God will say something like this: “Sure, I know that I am a sinner, but I am certain that God will save me anyways.”
To think that God will save us and forgive us even if we do not convert, is to commit the sin of presumption. There are some things God cannot do: He cannot make a rock so big he can’t lift it, he cannot forgive an unrepentant sinner, and he cannot make someone who dies in mortal sin to go to heaven.


Do take the time to read the article in its entirety, and also circle back with the CCC to remind ourselves what constitutes a mortal sin.

"I pray we see O'Malley soon"...at Obama's riots?




I sure wish I had a nickel for every time Catholics in Boston repeated this phrase for close to a decade.

It took years to come to the full realization that he is just an ornament.

They roll him out of bed, prop him in the car and take him from one adventure to another. The man has absolutely no idea what is happening to the souls under his charge and that i the way he likes it. As you can see from the picture, this week one of the stops was the circus.

Truth is stranger than fiction.

What's next? An adventure on the Yellowbrook Road with Dorothy, Toto and the Lollipop kids on their way to find the Wizard? Maybe the Strawman will lend him his brain?


Here's a perfect example of the fleecing of his flock while he's being driven around 24/7 being entertained.

In the vacuum of the where's waldo leadership at the Chancery, Margery Egan is herding the lambs to Obama's riots and is hoping to see the Cardinal join class warfare.

Thankfully, they haven't returned her phone calls. Lucky for us, his donors are all rich and he knows where his bread is buttered. Still, the gimme stuff for free Catholics finally have a chance to recreate those three days at Woodstock and they're not letting go of it anytime soon.


And what a proud moment for Catholics around here desperate for the hierarchy to interrupt its crusade against gays and abortion...

..“it would be wonderful,” said Steve Krueger of Catholic Democrats....

I am not holding my breath, of course. The archdiocese has not returned my calls and I could find no mention of Occupy Wall Street anywhere on its official Web sites. But it’s not impossible. Catholic lay groups are heavily involved...

James Salt of Catholics United built the “golden calf” in the shape of the Wall Street bull that he and an interfaith coalition carried around New York’s Occupy Wall Street site this week....


James Salt made a golden calf?

Weird.

Well, the bad news is, Maggie found a priest to priest pour gasoline on drama. (What is it about the name Kennedy?!) The good news is, they had to go through the roster until they reached age 73. We are making some headway. In spite of it all.

Here's CJ Doyle's eloquent response to Egan's long-standing anti-Catholic bigotry:

October 22, 2011
Letters,
Boston Herald
P.O. Box 55843
Boston, MA 02205-5843
To the Editor,
It is no surprise that counterfeit Catholics like Margery Eagan and Steve Krueger want the Church to give up its resistance to abortion and embrace the leftists of Occupy Boston (I pray we see O'Malley soon, 10/16/2011).
Having spent their careers collaborating with the abortion culture, the last thing Eagan and Krueger want to hear is the Church reminding people of the more than fifty million unborn children killed by surgical abortion alone in this country since 1973, not to mention the millions more destroyed by abortion inducing chemical contraceptives.
Eagan is engaged in gross hypocrisy when she laments the plight of the poor, but endorses the legal slaughter of the poorest and most vulnerable among us --- the unborn.



Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle
Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
35 Montclair Avenue
Boston, MA 02131
(781) 251-9739


Send in the clowns. There's got to be clowns.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

October 22nd Update on Fr. Pavone/Bishop Zurek Row

Jill Stanek has reveals some previously unknown facts in Fr. Pavone's crucible that paints a rather disturbing picture of Bishop Zurek.

In addition, I am aware of a letter Bishop Zurek wrote on October 5, finally acknowledging for the first time that he indeed had in his possession PFL’s financial statements for 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010, as well as “[i]ncomplete financial statements” for 2009 (about which he requested more information, which PFL promptly submitted).

In that letter Bishop Zurek also acknowledged having the 2010 financial statements for Rachel’s Vineyard and Gospel of Life.

To clarify, PFL submits all financial statements and audits to Father Pavone’s diocese and members of PFL’s board of directors as soon as they are completed.
Thus, Bishop Zurek was admitting that the Amarillo Diocese has had PFL’s up-to-date financial records in its possession from the time Father Pavone joined the diocese in 2005 – contrary to Bishop Zurek’s allusion in his September 9 letter to all U.S. bishops that Father Pavone had “rebuff[ed] my every attempt at calling for financial transparency.”


If true, saying Bishop Zurek is 'misleading' is a charitable characterization of... a liar.

God save us from the wolves in mitres.

Friday, October 21, 2011

CRISIS Magazine Cleans House

This was a long time coming, but it appears CRISIS Magazine has finally taken the plunge and swept the house. Brian Saint-Paul and and it appears the entire staff has been transitioned to interim director...drumroll...JOHN ZMIRAK (yippee!) and Harold Fickett of Catholic Exchange who will be serving as interim publisher and executive editor.

Check out John's latest (with special attention to the comment section)for an infusion of the testosterone and orthodoxy that has been sorely missing from the management over the last several years.

'Nuff said.

Mary, Seat of Wisdom, pray them through the transition!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

The GOP Line Up

Well, watching the debate this week sure was a painful experience.

I just can't get over Romney. Every time he has media coverage, he reinvents himself into somebody else. A lot of us here in Massachusetts ask where the prolife politician with a jobs plan and a great healthcare program when he was Governor. All we ever saw was a prochoicer, high unemployment and the healthcare plan he invented that is bankrupting the Commonwealth.

And how about the nastygrams flying between Romney, Perry and Santorum? Evidently, being likable isn't an attribute they think is important. I thought Rick's performance was abysmal. He was downright mean. Not a pretty sight.

Ron Paul, God Bless him...but what an odd duck.

I'll tell you something, Newt is starting to look like the best in the bunch. At least the man is affable and kind and he's with us on life.

Cain is likable, he's got some great answers but I can't figure out if it's inexperience that is making him shoot his mouth off or if he's full of crap. If he didn't have the electric fence faux pas out there earlier this week I'd be ready to say fugghetaboutit. On the one hand, I can't imagine an authentic prolifer ever saying if the situation came in their family, abortion is a choice that's up to the mother. On the other hand, he claims his conviction on abortion are no exceptions and he'll appoint judges who will protect the child's constitutional right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - which isn't exactly going to win him a popularity context. At this point, I think we should hold our fire but I'm not ready to jump on the bandwagon yet.

In a race you'd almost have to sabotage to lose, we've got some challenges ahead of us.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Prayer in Times of Suffering

I'm not sure where these came from, but they are amazing.

Prayer of Resignation in Suffering

Merciful Lord of life, I lift up my heart to You in my suffering, and ask for your comforting help. I know that You would withhold the thorns of this life, if I could attain eternal life without them. So, I throw myself on your mercy, resigning myself to this suffering. Grant me the grace to bear it and to offer it in union with your sufferings. No matter what suffering may come my way, let me always trust in You. Amen.

Prayer to Accept Suffering

O my Lord Jesus Christ, I believe...that nothing great is done without suffering, without humiliation, and that all things are possible by means of it. I believe, O my God, that poverty is better than riches, pain better than pleasure, obscurity and contempt than name, and ignominy and reproach than honor....
O my dear Lord, though I am so very weak that I am so very weak that I am not fit to ask for suffering as a gift, and have not strength to do so, at least I would beg of your grace to meet suffering well, when You in your wisdom lay it upon me. Amen.

Prayer of Offering of Suffering

Heavenly Father, You created me and most lovingly care for me. I accept all my sufferings most willingly, and as a truly obedient child I resign myself to your holy will. Grant me the strength to accept generously your loving visitation, and never let me grieve your faithful heart by giving in to impatience and discouragement. I offer you all my pains; and in order that they may be acceptable to You and fruitful for my salvation I unite them with the most bitter pains of your beloved Son Jesus. Amen.

Another Prayer of Offering of Suffering

My Divine Saviour, Jesus, You loved me to such a degree as to suffer and die for my salvation. Through the love I have for You, I most willingly offer to your honor all that I have ever suffered in the past, am now suffering, or will suffer in the future. This is the basis and motive of the love which animates me. Your love enables me to suffer with joy. I will to suffer because You suffered and because You want me to suffer, for I love You more than myself. Amen.

Prayer to Suffer in Union with Jesus

Dear Jesus, for love of You I desire to suffer all things, because for love of me You endured such cruel torments. O my Jesus, I unite my pains with the ones which You suffered and I make an offering of them to your eternal Father. O my Jesus, out of the abundance of your divine goodness give me the virtues of meekness and patience, so that I may willingly carry my cross after You. Amen.

Prayer to Suffer in Silence

Lord Jesus Christ, grant me the grace to be kind and gentle in all the events of my life. Let me put self aside and think of the happiness of others. Teach me to hide my little pains and disappointments so that I may be the only one who suffers for them. Let me learn from the suffering that I must endure. May I so use it as to become mellow rather than embittered, patient rather than irritable, and forgiving rather than overbearing. Amen.

Prayer of Acceptance of Sickness

Heavenly Father, I desire to accept this sickness from your hands and to resign myself to your will, whether it be for life or for death. Help me to be faithful to my desire and give me the courage to carry it out. Amen.

Prayer for Help in Time of Sickness

Lord Jesus Christ, Incarnate Son of God, for our salvation You willed to be born in a stable, to endure poverty, suffering and sorrow throughout your life, and finally to experience the bitter death of the cross.
I beg You to say to your Father on my behalf: "Father, forgive him/her."
At my death, say to me: "This day you shall be with me in paradise."
And let me throw myself on your mercy: "Into your hands, I commend my spirit." Amen.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Update on the Father Pavone Kerfuffle

This situation certainly got a bit uglier this week, didn't it.

When Bishop Zurek claimed Fr. Pavone was a no show to a scheduled meeting, I thought to myself, surely there is a crossed wire but I wasn't exactly edified by the explanation.

I get the part where the canon lawyer sends messages to Bishop Zurek saying he's advised Fr. Pavone not to meet with without a mediator. You've got a Bishop with absolutely zero on the record for defending the murders of the innocents implying some kind of canonical crime has taken place, Fr. Pavone has refused to provide evidence that clears him and he is therefore 'suspended'. The Bishop's statements are also suspect for political motive as he asked the faithful to stop giving money to Priests for Life. Even a crappy canonical lawyer wouldn't let a meeting happen without counsel.

Where this story starts to lose me, is how the meeting didn't get off the Bishop's calendar which ultimately led to him waiting like a fool for Fr. Pavone to show up.

The dynamic between a bishop and a priest is different than one between a bishop and a lay person, but coming from a unique perspective of a diocese headed by a weak and paralyzed bishop who is letting Bryan Hehir and his political commorades from the Democratic National Party persecute the Catholic religion from the Chancery, our experiences here may help shed light onto the situation.

Forgive the length of this parable but I believe it's important...

Say what you will about the flaws of Cardinal Law, but when one of his priests was shacking up with a lover or the deposit of faith was being hijacked, when the faithful made the situation known to him, he put the kibosh on it - suspended and removed priests, tried to get them spiritual counseling. With the exception of a few renegades out on the margins, most of them just quietly complied. I have numerous examples I won't bore you with, but anyone with a long history of defending the faith on the ground will confirm that this is the truth.

Bishops come with a variety of personalities and when the guard changes, seasoned activists have to learn what people to send to get the message across so that it is received and acted upon.

This is how we conduct our affairs across the spectrum in our lives. Each of us has an animus. We are attracted to people who are similar because we can speak freely. But we have to learn as a mother, a father, a friend, a colleague - how to interact or be affectionate and even love when it is appropriate. When a relationship evolves to a personal one, we guard our own animus and learn how to deliver a message in a way that it will be received.

We are not always on our toes. Sometimes we misfire. Like when you have a teenager who is not such a hot driver and every time she borrows the car, she brings it home with a new scratch or dent in it. You don't always take the time to reflect on ways to deliver a message in ways that particular child can receive the message for the umpteenth time. Oops, I digress!

The point is, in every personal, professional, ministerial, evangelical or casual relationship, we have to learn how to get the puck past the goalie.

When a new Bishop is appointed, there is a period of trial and error.

There was an interim sheriff after Cardinal Law - Bishop Lennon. He is faithful to the Magisterium but somewhat naive, with a gentler personality. Any rational and seasoned activist knows that..how shall I say this...McKinley is not the person to send to deliver the message and ask for his assistance. I can put the package of facts together, explain how this is affecting families, salvation, children and call the troops together to brainstorm on how to calibrate the message. We pick out people to deliver the message in various ways. If we are lucky, we can find a soul in the Chancery who is on the pursuit of truth and serving Christ, come what may, who will mediate. Christ's church was lucky to have a few good solid priests in the Chancery at that time.

Most things are taken care of quietly and under the radar in this kind of matrix. The priests are preserved from the public scandal and the faithful are restored to truth. It is a win-win situation.

Then, Cardinal O'Malley came moseying on down the road. For the period of trial and error, which took approximately five years and hundreds of people, every recourse to truth was met with obfuscation, lies, public slander, punishing and persecuting people who speak the truth. He fires, or causes to be fired, anyone who makes known that when it comes to a choice to being loyal to him and disloyal to truth and Christ's Church, they will choose Christ. This is a threat to a Bishop whose administration has agendas other than serving truth and Christ. The Cardinal has the peculiar theological attraction to priests who create sexual scandal - either in the presbyterate or among the faithful and priests and lay people who reject Church teaching on the sanctity of life. Be surrounds himself with them. He appoints them to teach their errors to the faithful and children.

At some point you realize that no matter who you send to deliver the message good faith efforts to preserve the priest's reputation are being hijacked at the expense of the salvation of souls - and in the case here in Boston, literally the murders of innocent children with a contract put out by the Cardinal. People who gather to serve Christ have to acknowledge the deposit of faith is under siege at the hands of the Bishop and make the decision to go public to warn potential victims of the physical and spiritual abuses perpetrated with the consent of the Bishop. This is the procedure we are to follow given to us from the Christ. No allegiance or loyalty is owed to a wolf. If there is a wolf in the pack, you separate from the wolf and turn your allegiance to Christ and His Church. Warn others.

When it reaches this point, they respond with public messages that they would like to sit down and resolve the situation by chatting with you. The reality of the situation is, you know and in fact everyone who has been meeting with his nibs privately to resolve the situation knows, you've already gone beyond the call of duty to resolve the matter behind closed doors and the only fruit it brings is protections for their culture warriors through the persecution, bullying and threatening of our good priests and faithful laity.

When they call for these meetings, you tell them - and in no uncertain terms - the reason why you are finished with meetings. You're happy to have a meeting but the next meeting will be about proceeding together to Rome to resolve the conflict - in unity. When they ignore that offer and you continue to publicly expose their corruption, along will come another offer for a private meeting. You may even get a specific offer with a specific date and time that has been set aside on the Bishop's schedule.

You again lay out the history the four or five years of trying to go through the proper channels in good faith. At the end of the communication, everyone reading it knows...there will be no stinking meeting. You have declined the invitation. The meeting gets removed from the Bishop's calendar. We are under no obligation to run a fool's errand to give legitimacy to a warped agenda.

Being from Boston, I know priests who have had a material conflict with the Cardinal's goon squad in the Chancery that has sadly gone through all of the stages above. The difference is, their communications say they'll be happy to meet, providing a third party is present who will represent their canonical rights and due process under proscribed law. It goes on and on like that for years. It is not a good situation.

It sounds to me like there have been communications between Fr. Pavone and Bishop Zurek for some time now and they have reached this stalemate. What I don't understand is how on earth the proposed meeting was not removed from the Bishop's schedule. No matter how bad things get, the courtesy of a reply to decline the Bishop's invitation should have been made crystal clear. You don't leave the man sitting in his office waiting for you. That only serves to light a fire to the emotions that are not serving anyone.


I absolutely disagree with Ed Peters that this proposed meeting posed no risk to Fr. Pavone. Bishop Zurek has implied Fr. Pavone has committed a canonical crime and has been 'suspended'. He has implied he needed to reign Fr. Pavonee in because he may be a thief and his apostolate could be a sham. The Bishop needs to be a man and acknowledge his own behavior and these serious allegations, denied by Fr. Pavone and Priests for Life, have contributed to the deterioration.

The fact that the Bishop would object to a discussion of Fr. Pavone's canonical due process doesn't come across to me as a man whose intentions for the outcome are pastoral or righteous.

There's only thing thing about the situation I can honestly say with full conviction of the heart: The battle between these two strong personalities need our prayers.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Herman Cain Leading New National Polls

Got to love this.

As the worm turns, Christie backed a fraud. These people never cease to amaze me.

Obama's Riots

The only consolation THIS is to me is that they are probably relieving themselves in every corner of Rose Kennedy's memorial.

Check out the two idiots in dreadlocks. Go home. Wash your hair. Go to school. Study. Get good grades and get a decent paying job so you can buy your own things.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Plight of Coptic Christians Worsening in Egypt Under Obama-Backed Regime

It seems surreal that the people of the United States elected a President who is assisting the antiChrist under the radar.


Coptic Christians organized a protest against religious persecution. It was announced in advance, and it was a march to the state broadcasting station to protest the recent burning of churches by Salafi Muslims.


There have been sporadic church burnings over the past year, and the most recent was Sept. 30. The Copts felt they were not being protected — the government was not guarding the churches.


The armed forces — police and military — ruthlessly crushed this protest. There is videotape of an armed personnel carrier going into the mob and crushing six people — running them over. Others were killed as well. A Reutersstory reported that at least 19 died. The Washington Post reported that at least 26 died, mostly Christians, and hundreds have been injured. Coptic sources say that at least 35 died.


The real significance of this is that it signals the future treatment of the Christian Coptic community by the state. The military was their last hope in protecting them from lawless forces in society that were religiously motivated to [eradicate] them, namely the Salafis. Now they know they have no protection.

I think we can expect to see a major exodus of Coptic Christians from Egypt. This is a watershed moment. The whole reason they were in the streets was to protest lawless forces. It extinguishes all hope for them. They are utterly vulnerable.




Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/watershead-moment-copts-killed-in-clashes?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NCRegisterDailyBlog+National+Catholic+Register#When:2011-10-10#ixzz1aQuRwO3G




Also reported this week, there isn't a single Christian Church left in Afghanistan.

Unbelievable.

SUNT MALA QUAE LIBAS; IPSE VENENA BIBAS



If I had my druthers, I'd be living in a place like Front Royal where Christ's priests are feeding His flock with a chalice they protect and preserve from impurity. What a gift it was to rest in apostolic succession for a few days.

A Catholic legend from the life of St. John the Evangelist tells the story that he was once given a cup of poisoned wine to drink in Ephesus, but when he blessed the cup before drinking it the poison departed in the form of a serpent.

Wasn't it Archbishop Sheen who would ask someone defiling truth "What's your sin?"?

Whatever your sins here in Boston, there is a local priest serving up the chalice with your poison. Belly up to their bar and their chalice will get you over the hump of resisting your temptations.

A few weeks back, I was out of town and wanted to hit up a Catholic Church for the Sacrament of Confession. If you're in unfamiliar territory up here in Commonwealth, you sometimes have to park your car, get out and try to gain access to the building to ask somebody if it's Catholic. There's absolutely no indications from the outside. The words "Roman Catholic" (or even "Catholic") have been replaced with 'faith community' or 'parish'. Some buildings don't look any different than town hall. No Crucifixes inside and it takes some diligence to find Christ in some obscure corner.

Readers will sometimes ask what woke me up from my slumber, how and why I became a witness.

At the time of my rude awakening, the parish I was in was run by a group of sea hags who would torture and torment, ridicule and slander Catholicism. Most living in the town desiring to be pleasing to Our Lord were afraid to speak up, but they would drop a dime to me. I had lost favor in the parish when the vicar offered me a chalice which I hesitated to drink. I didn't quite have the discernment because I was living on the edge, hanging on to my dissent on contraception. But whatever it was in his presentation, it was sneaky enough to sense something wrong. The fact that I wouldn't drink his offering really made him (and others) mad.

I was sure he was just mistaken, misled. So, I called the Cardinal's office and explained what I had been told about Church teaching and asked for clarification, thinking he would be grateful to learn the truth. Of course, instead, he went viral, telling me I was 'never to go over his head again'.

As he was standing in front of me foaming at the mouth, all I could think of was 'Crap...These priests know they're lying and trying to stop the flock from learning truth....How long have I been stupid?!'.

By the time the louse finished his diatribe, a warrior was born to warn the others.

While I was away this week, in came a few reminders of the work we have ahead of us in Boston.

For instance, here's a keeper: This priest brought in this "religious ethics expert" for adult faith formation:

“Life’s Hard Questions:” CONSCIENCE – How do I cultivate an informed conscience? Our first speaker, Michael Hartwig, received his PhD in religious ethics from Southern Methodist University. He now serves as in-house scholar at Illumeorganization and as adjunct professor of religious ethics and world religions at both Northeastern University and Emmanuel College. In his presentation, Dr. Hartwig will challenge us – as committed Christians – to think critically and creatively. He will also stress our need to honor and respect the collective wisdom of our tradition – a wisdom we all contribute to by our experience of living out our faith. All are welcome to join us on Wed, Oct 5 – in the Parish Center from 7 to 9 pm.


All sounds rather innocuous. But what is dangerous in Boston isn't so much what they say out loud. It's what they don't say.

"Dr. Hartwig" took a 'leave of absence' from the priesthood to shack up with his gay lover and then sued a Catholic school that fired him for misleading their Catholic students into the ideas that got him into his predicament.


Here's more detailed info on Hartwig

Don't even get me started on how we ever let it get to the point where we allow every crackpot in town to believe they are entitled under the Constitution to preach immorality at institutions designed to prepare Catholic evangelists.

Would someone enlighten me as to how a Catholic priest, whose vocation it is to help us preserve the virginity and chastity of Christ's flock, could offer them this chalice filled with snakes and still see himself as an ambassador of Christ?

Here's another gem at this 'parish'.

Book Club

“Started as a way to include parishioners (or non- or ex-) who feel in the margins of “traditional” church or have been alienated from mainstream Catholicism. The group meets monthly to discuss books chosen by its members about any kind of spirituality (fiction, biography, poetry…anything). It has evolved into a group that focuses on a book topic as a springboard for faith sharing. Drop-ins welcome."

Permit me to translate:

For those of you who feel Church teaching and a guilty conscience is getting in the way of enjoying your sins, grab your Woody Allen movies, Dan Brown novels and come share it with other souls hanging onto resisting temptation by a thread. If Christ and His Church doesn't do it, maybe Deepak Chopra will.



Could it be this priest is so removed from what is happening in his parish that he doesn't know?

Maybe, but it's not an acceptable excuse. He is responsible.


What souls need in this state need is a priest who will guide them in love and truth to the Sacraments and Sanctifying Grace. What they are getting is Shirley McLaine.

The cup you offer is evil. Drink the poison yourself.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

In Professio Fidei



As promised yesterday, here's an invaluable resource on infallible teaching.



Summary of Categories of Belief in Professio fidei

All quotes are from, and all paraphrases based upon, the Doctrinal Commentary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.




I. Divinely Revealed Doctrines contained in the Word of God, written or handed down, and defined with a solemn judgment of the Church as divinely revealed truths by any of the following:

a) the Roman Pontiff speaking ex cathedra
b) the College of Bishops gathered in council
c) infallibly proposed by the ordinary and universal Magisterium

ASSENT REQUIRED

These doctrines require of all members of the faithful the assent of theological faith, based on the authority of the Word of God (de fide credendi). Whoever obstinately places them in doubt or denies them falls under the censure of heresy, as indicated by the respective canons of the Oriental and Latin Codes of Canon Law.

EXAMPLES
  • the articles of faith of the Creed
  • the various Christological dogmas
  • the various Marian dogmas
  • the doctrine of the institution of the sacraments by Christ and their efficacy with regard to grace
  • the doctrine of the real and substantial presence of Christ in the Eucharist
  • the sacrificial nature of the Eucharistic celebration
  • the foundation of the Church by the will of Christ
  • the doctrine on the primacy and infallibility of the Roman Pontiff
  • the doctrine on the existence of original sin
  • the doctrine on the immortality of the spiritual soul
  • the immediate recompense after death
  • the absence of error in the inspired sacred texts
  • the doctrine on the grave immorality of direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being.

II. Definitively Proposed Doctrines definitively proposed by the Church on faith and morals which are necessary for faithfully keeping and expounding the deposit of faith, even if they have not been proposed by the Magisterium of the Church as formally revealed. They can be defined by:

a) the Roman Pontiff speaking ex cathedra
b) the College of Bishops gathered in council
c) taught infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Church as sententia definitive tenenda. Such doctrines are joined to Divinely Revealed truths by

i. historical relationship or
ii. logical connection.

Even though they are not proposed as formally revealed they could, by dogmatic development, one day be declared to be revealed.

ASSENT REQUIRED

These doctrines require firm and definitive assent based on theological faith in the Holy Spirit's assistance to the Church's Magisterium and on the Catholic doctrine of the infallibility of the Magisterium in these matters. Whoever denies these truths would be in a position of rejecting a truth of Catholic doctrine and would therefore no longer be in full communion with the Catholic Church.

There is no difference with respect to the full and irrevocable consent which must be given to teachings set forth as

I. divinely revealed and
II. those proposed as to be definitively held.

EXAMPLES
a. historical necessity
  • the legitimacy of the election of the Supreme Pontiff
  • the celebration of an ecumenical council
  • the canonizations of saints (dogmatic facts)
  • the declaration of Pope Leo XIII in the Apostolic Letter Apostolicae Curae on the invalidity of Anglican ordinations ...

b. logical necessity
  • the doctrine on the primacy and infalliblility of the Roman Pontiff prior to Vatican I's definition [The primacy of the Successor of Peter was always believed as a revealed fact, although until Vatican I the discussion remained open as to whether the conceptual elaboration of what is understood by the terms jurisdiction and infallibility was to be considered an intrinsic part of revelation or only a logical consequence. On the other hand, although its character as a divinely revealed truth was defined in the First Vatican Council, the doctrine on the infallibility and primacy of jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff was already recognized as definitive in the period before the council. History clearly shows, therefore, that what was accepted into the consciousness of the Church was considered a true doctrine from the beginning, and was subsequently held to be definitive; however, only in the final stage - the definition of Vatican I - was it also accepted as a divinely revealed truth.]
  • the doctrine that priestly ordination is reserved only to men. ["The Supreme Pontiff, while not wishing to proceed to a dogmatic definition, intended to reaffirm that this doctrine is to be held definitively, since, founded on the written Word of God, constantly preserved and applied in the Tradition of the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium. As the prior example illustrates, this does not foreclose the possibility that, in the future, the consciousness of the Church might progress to the point where this teaching could be defined as a doctrine to be believed as divinely revealed."]
  • the doctrine on the illicitness of euthanasia (Evangelium Vitae) ["Confirming that euthanasia is 'a grave violation of the law of God,' the Pope declares that 'this doctrine is based upon the natural law and upon the written Word of God, is transmitted by the Church's Tradition and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium'. It could seem that there is only a logical element in the doctrine on euthanasia, since Scripture does not seem to be aware of the concept. In this case, however, the interrelationship between the orders of faith and reason becomes apparent: Scripture, in fact, clearly excludes every form of the kind of self-determination of human existence that is presupposed in the theory and practice of euthanasia."]
  • the teaching on the illicitness of prostitution
  • the teaching on the illicitness of fornication
III. Authentic Ordinary Magisterium Teachings presented as true, or at least as sure, even if they have not been defined with a solemn judgment or proposed as definitive by the ordinary and universal Magisterium, whether of the Pope or of the College of Bishops.

ASSENT REQUIRED

Religious submission of will and intellect.
EXAMPLES

  • teachings set forth by the "authentic ordinary Magisterium in a non-definitive way, which require degrees of adherence differentiated according to the mind and the will manifested; this is shown especially by the nature of the documents, by the frequent repetition of the same doctrine, or by the tenor of the verbal expression" (Vatican II, Lumen gentium 25)

I. & II. Defining and Non-Defining Acts The Magisterium teaches doctrine to be

I. divinely revealed, or
II. to be held definitively, by acts which are either defining or non-defining.

  • Defining Acts teach infallibly by solemn papal definitions ex cathedra and actions of an Ecumenicam Council
  • on-Defining Acts teach infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Bishops dispersed throughout the world who are in communion with the Successor of Peter. Such doctrine can be confirmed or reaffirmed by the Roman Pontiff, even without recourse to a solemn definition, by declaring explicitly that it belongs to the teaching of the ordinary and universal Magisterium as a truth that is

I. divinely revealed or
II. of Catholic doctrine.

"Consequently, when there has not been a judgment on a doctrine in the solemn form of a definition, but this doctrine, belonging to the inheritance of the depositum fidei, is taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium, which necessarily includes the Pope, such a doctrine is to be understood as having been set forth infallibly.

The declaration of confirmation or reaffirmation by the Roman Pontiff in this case is not a new dogmatic definition, but a formal attestation of a truth already possessed and infallibly transmitted by the Church."



Many thanks to Kev and Father (not to mention the apostles and their successors, the martyrs and saints!) for providing us with guidance of the teachings of the Church on salvation.

Blessed are they that wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb: that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city. Without are dogs, and sorcerers, and unchaste, and murderers, and servers of idols, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent my angel, to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and stock of David, the bright and morning star. And the spirit and the bride say: Come. And he that heareth, let him say: Come. And he that thirsteth, let him come: and he that will, let him take the water of life, freely. For I testify to every one that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from these things that are written in this book. He that giveth testimony of these things, saith, Surely I come quickly: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus




In case you missed the excitement, a lively discussion took place last week at TTC with respect to Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus ~ Outside of the Church, there is no salvation.


Pope Eugene IV's text from the Council of Florence was the source of some confusion:



"[The sacrosanct Roman Church] firmly believes, professes, and proclaims that those not living within the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics cannot become participants in eternal life, but will depart “into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels” [Matt. 25:41], unless before the end of life the same have been added to the flock; and that the unity of the ecclesiastical body is so strong that only to those remaining in it are the sacraments of the Church of benefit for salvation, and do fastings, almsgiving, and other functions of piety and exercises of Christian service produce eternal reward, and that no one, whatever almsgiving he has practiced, even if he has shed blood for the name of Christ, can be saved, unless he has remained in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church."

I thought we could use a refresher course Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, the Baptism of Blood and of Desire (both Doctrines of Holy Church) and on ExCathedra and infallible teaching.

There is much to digest. For today, I wanted to point you to the teaching of infallibility from the Catechism with astute comments from our resident Catechist, along with a valuable lesson on the Baptism of Blood and of Desire from a holy and faithful priest.

Here’s the bottom line: There are dozens of Saints who were initiated into the Catholic Church through the Baptism of Blood and Desire, which puts an end to the thesis of Pope Boniface.

Tomorrow, I’ll post a more in-depth treatise on the teaching of infallibility.

I’ll also talk about the many souls coming to Catholic Churches for the Sacred Liturgy, to Catholic schools, apostolates, lectures – etc., being hijacked by those willfully preserving ignorance. Those who know the Teachings of the Church, have rejected Them and are looking for affirmation in these gatherings, others who alienate the flock from the teachings and Sacrament that cultivates repentance and Grace to turn The Father’s House into a fundraising facility for the Bishop, will find no fig leaf in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on their day of judgment.

First, commentary from the holy priest (Please pray for his intentions.):
There are dozens upon dozens of non-baptized saints in holy Church listed in the Roman Martyrology Baptism of Blood and Desire are Dogmatic...so says St. Alphonus. Also, the Council of Trent clearly points to Baptism of Desireare part of our Holy Faith as well.

St. Augustine (and others) lamented the fact that individual catechumens died before receiving Baptism. This is only natural. Lacking the omniscience of God, we are always more certain of a person's salvation when he has received the outward sign of the sacrament.

Yet St. Augustine, continuing the passage quoted above, says: For what is more precious than a death by which a man's sins are forgiven, and his merits increased a hundredfold? For those who have been baptized when they could no longer escape death, and have departed this life with all their sins blotted out, have not equal merit with those who did not defer death, though it was in their power to do so, but preferred to end their life by confessing Christ, rather than by denying Him to secure an opportunity of Baptism (emphasis added).

St. Augustine's view was not uncommon. St. Cyril of Jerusalem wrote "If anyone does not receive Baptism, he shall not be saved, except the martyrs, who even without the water shall receive the kingdom."

Perhaps even more impressive is the statement of St. Cyprian who coined the great axiom, "Outside the church there is no salvation."

It was this same saint who wrote that the catechumens who were caught and killed confessing the Name [of Christ] before they were baptized in the Church... holding the integral Faith and truth of the Church... were not deprived of the sacrament of Baptism, being baptized by the most glorious and excellent Baptism, by which the Lord Himself said he had to be baptized [Lk. 12:50].

That those who are baptized in their own blood and sanctified by their passion were glorified and received the Divine promise, is taught to us by the Lord Himself in the Gospel, when He promised to the thief who believed and confessed [the Faith] that he would be with Him in paradise.

Rigorists may claim, by rather devious logic, that "somehow" these men and women must have obtained Baptism of water in their last moments on earth. If not, then these catechumens went to Hell.

Yet to deny Baptism of blood is to impugn the honor of countless holy men and women who are included in the Roman Martyrology. For example, St. Emerentiana (d.304), was still an unbaptized catechumen when, while praying at the tomb of her foster sister, St. Agnes, she was stoned to death by the pagans.

The most famous early statement in favor of Baptism of desire is found in St. Ambrose's De obitue Valentiniani consolatio (funeral oration for Valentinian). Valentinian II (371-392) was the Roman emperor who had previously supported the Arian heretics. Having abandoned his erroneous beliefs, he invited St. Ambrose to Vienne to baptize him, but was assassinated there by one of his generals before this could be accomplished.  But I hear that you grieve since he [Valentinian] did not receive the sacrament of Baptism. Tell me, what else is in your power but the desire, the petition? But even for a long time he had this desire, that when he came into Italy, he should be baptized, and recently he\ made known that he wanted to be baptized by me, and so he thought I should be summoned for this reason, before other reasons. Surely because he asked, he received, and hence there is the Scripture: "The just man by whatsoever death he may be overtaken, his soul shall be at rest" If [martyrs] are washed in their own blood, his devotednessand intention washed him.


On the teachings of infallibility in the Roman Catholic Church with commentary from Kevin:
 
CCC 891 "The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys this 
infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of 
all the faithful - who confirms his brethren in the faith he proclaims by a 
definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals. . . . The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops when, together with Peter's successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium," above all in an Ecumenical Council. When the Church through its supreme Magisterium proposes a doctrine "for belief as being divinely revealed," and as the teaching of Christ, the definitions "must be adhered to with the obedience of faith." This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself.
 
 
-----------------------------------
 
Kevin: Get that? Infallibility extends to the "deposit of divine Revelation 
itself"!
 
----------------------------------- 
CCC 892 Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the apostles, 
teaching in communion with the successor of Peter, and, in a particular way, to the bishop of Rome, pastor of the whole Church, when, without arriving at an infallible definition and without pronouncing in a "definitive manner," they propose in the exercise of the ordinary Magisterium a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of faith and morals. To this ordinary teaching the faithful "are to adhere to it with religious assent" which, though distinct from the assent of faith, is nonetheless an extension of it.
 
----------------------------------- 
Kevin: What is this saying? Even when a pope proposes for us (the faithful) 
"without arriving at an infallible definition and without pronouncing in a 
'definitive manner,'" - the faithful are to adhere to it (i.e. a Papal 
encyclical, apostolic letter, Wednesday audiences, etc.). If he expounds for us on an issue of faith and morals he is exercising his ordinary Papal magisterium - which is infallible.
 
He has been given the guarantee of the Holy Spirit to guide him in these two 
issues (faith and morals). (see John 14:26, 15:26, 16:13, Acts 15:28, Mt. 16:17, 
Mt. 10:40, Lk. 10:16)
 
 
Infallibility extends to moral issues, too!
 
-----------------------------------
 
CCC 2035 The supreme degree of participation in the authority of Christ is 
ensured by the charism of infallibility. This infallibility extends as far as 
does the deposit of divine Revelation; it also extends to all those elements of doctrine, including morals, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, explained, or observed.
 
-----------------------------------
 
To sum it up: Infallibility is *not* limited to Papal ex-Cathdera statements and Conciliar documents.
 
The Universal Ordinary Magisterium (the Pope and the bishops in union with him) protects, upholds, teaches the deposit of divine Revelation infallibly (see CCC 891 above, also see 1 Tim 3:15, Eph. 3:10, and CCC 85).
 
The Universal extra-Ordinary Magisterium further defines/clarifies the faith via Church Councils infallibly (there have been 21). (see Mt. 18:18)
 
The Universal Ordinary Papal Magisterium is infallible, too, via, again, when 
the pope expounds (teaches)upon issues of faith and morals using Papal 
encyclicals, apostolic letters, Wednesday audiences, etc. (also, canonization of saints are infallible declarations of the Ordinary Papal Magisterium).
 
Finally, the Universal extra-Ordinary Papal Magisterium is infallible - further defining and clarifying a teaching of the faith - and has only been used twice: The declaration of Mary's Immaculate Conception by Pius IX's "Ineffabilis Deus," (1854) and the declaration of Mary's Assumption into heaven by Pius XII's "Munificentissimus Deus" (1950).