Catholic Advertising and Recruiting at Events Promoting Fornication to Children

Boston Catholics who are active in the Church and culture have been up to their necks attempting to defend the St. Patrick's Day Parade from political pressure of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Walsh has been putting the squeezola on parade organizers to advertise what kind of sex people are having.

The St. Patrick's Day Parade has historically been a parade of Boston's Irish Catholic community on a feast of an Irish Catholic Saint. We honor our service to Christ's people in the military, police, fire and other apostolates and celebrate and preserve our Irish heritage in food and dance.

Most long-time readers here know my grandparents immigrated from Dublin and Waterford. They settled in Roxbury and Dorchester. Other relatives lived in "Southie". We visited "City Point" and Sullivan's every weekend growing up. We continue to be frequent visitors.

I am passionate about my city and our Irish heritage.

But like many things these days, you have to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run.

I don't walk through the Boston Common after dark.

The last time I went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade was about fifteen years ago. I stood across the street from our beloved Amrhein's with my small children. We were the only sober people on the block. People were drunk, swearing and a fight broke out that knocked my five year old to the ground. The parade has gone to the dogs.

We had some pretty solid Catholics on the team of parade organizers for many years. God Bless Wacko Hurley. After Wacko left last year, the Veterans caved to Marty Walsh's pressure.

I can't stand intellectual dishonesty. Homosexuals were never "banned". Homosexuals have been marching in the parade since its existence, right along with all the other adulterers. Nobody used the family event to inform children about the personal and private details of how the people on the parade floats were playing blanket monster. I can't believe anyone on the side of a parade route would have the slightest curiosity in who everyone marching is rolling like thunder under the covers. Wrong time, wrong place, inappropriate audience.

Every celebration in town with music and drums isn't a forum to tell disinterested and innocent observers what kind of sex you're having. Nobody cares who you are sleeping with - knock yourselves out. Catholics have the right to celebrate our service to our city and country in the public square. We have the constitutional right evangelize the magnificence of preserving the gift of human sexuality as proscribed by the Deposit of Faith with anything that has our name or any event honoring a Catholic Saint.

Who is Marty Walsh kidding?

You know what I'd love to see? Marty Walsh telling Italo-American Catholics in the North End that their Summer weekend feasts celebrating their Italian Catholic heritage must include a forum for people who want to advertise who they are diddling. A parade of cars with blackened windows would pull up to City Hall to read him the riot act and that would be the end of THAT! LOL.

Please.

The craven conduct of the Archdiocese does not go unnoticed. We have a Catholic Mayor whose very life is indebted to the miracle of a Catholic Saint. Where is his respect? Where is his sensitivity and tolerance for practicing Catholics?

Why wouldn't the Archdiocese pick up the phone, call the Mayor and explain that so long as St Patrick's name remains on that parade, it is the expectation of Boston Catholics the behavior promoted in front of children exclude clapping fornication. A rational and reasonable request.

I've heard them repeatedly say, the Archdiocese can't get involved because it doesn't sponsor the parade.

Hogwash.

They didn't sponsor assisted suicide but they got involved because they don't want their people to suffer the consequences. They don't sponsor illegal immigration but they involve themselves in it because many illegal immigrants are Catholic. Their vocation isn't limited to things they sponsor. Lame excuse.

The Mayor is sexually demoralizing a parade which is still named in honor of our Catholic Saint. Many Catholics who serve God's people march in the parade and are standing on the sidelines with their children. Pick.Up.The.Phone. Put the squeezola right back on him.

Once the poor uncatechized and demoralized insist on wearing shirts telling innocent children, standing on the parade route with balloons eating cotton candy, what kind of sex they are having, NO Catholic apostolate should participate.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary School has withdrawn their school float honoring St. Patrick.

This year, we had an interesting development. As Catholic schools and apostolates are withdrawing, we received word that the Knights of Columbus were entering the parade.

It is my understanding Carl Anderson has encouraged them to do so. This is the leader of a group of Catholic men wearing capes and carrying swords. If he's lost his fortitude, it might be time to step aside. If he's unwilling to do that, he should at least have the decency to retire the capes and swords.

For Boston Catholics trying to earn a living and raise their family and evangelize and preserve our culture and the Deposit of Faith, this was a real kick in the pants.

The timing of it was suspicious. The Knights haven't been part of the St. Patrick's Day parade for 30 years. Along comes a pressure from the Mayor to advertise fornication to children and the Knights all of a sudden have the urge to follow them with a Catholic banner throwing tootsie rolls?

Many Knights are extremely upset, as are Catholic families.

I did speak to MA State K of C officers who tell me their intention was to bring a Catholic prolife message into the parade, hoping to also recruit members. I'm trying to understand it, but it's a bit like telling me they're going to barge into the L Street Tavern at 11:00pm on a Friday night and tell the drunks all about their good works to see if they can recruit members.

This parade has become a drunken, vulgar and now sexually charged display in front of children.

As the culture is circling the drain, we have to evaluate the character of the event and use good judgment before participating in it. If it is something the government insists we sexually demoralize or has long gone to the dogs, we have two choices. We can defend our constitutional right to practice our religion or we let it go. There are only one or two bishops who are willing to lay down their life. The others are under their beds. Ultimately, this means we have to let it go. Otherwise, our presence legitimizes the conduct of the event.

The Pope is not on the team. He's assisting with the demoralization of the Church and culture. We have to pull our game plan together because this is not going to get better.

The KofC logic just doesn't gel for me.

Of course we participate in civic and secular events. But once a component of selling sex is foisted upon it, we are out. It's over the line. And Marty Walsh - and Menino before him - intentionally foisted demoralization upon it because the celebration was historically Catholic.

I asked the officers if they would apply the same logic and enter a float into the gay pride parade. They admitted they wouldn't but did not seem to grasp the gravity of drunken vulgar spectacle the St. Patrick's Day parade has become or the timing of their entry to the parade exactly when Marty Walsh was victorious in selling sex to children at an event honoring a Catholic Saint and our service to Christ's people.

Their logic seems to contradict the advice in Scripture:

Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave.

As you enter a house, wish it peace.

If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you.*

Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.

Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

We need to let it go and insist the name be changed to Evacuation Day Parade in testimony against their religious bigotry and intolerance. Perhaps we should organize our own event. A smaller St. Patrick's Day event on the Common. Eucharistic Adoration and Procession. Bring the school float. Have Irish dancing, singing, invite the Knights. Invite Marty. Have a place where families practicing their religion can celebrate our culture without howling, fighting drunks who want to talk about their sex lives.

Our friend CJ Doyle has put out an action alert.

I would encourage each of you to pray for everyone involved and send your persuasive thoughts to the K of C. I would also encourage making a phone call to Bishop Lori who is the US Chaplain for the Knights. His number is 410-547-5437.

An outstanding post at Les Femmes about the trajectory of the Knights of Columbus.

Man up or fold up!

When I think of the crusader knights who won the Holy Land back from the Turks and defeated the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto, I'm embarrassed to think of the wimps of the Knights of Columbus who dare to call themselves by the same name. My husband is a knight, a past Grand Knight, in fact. He stays in the group to fight for its renewal. Last year our little council introduced a resolution asking National to act on their own procedures which require members to be "practical (i.e. practicing) Catholics." It was voted down at the state level. So is it any big surprise that the Virginia State Council won't do a thing about Norfolk Council 3548 honoring Terry McAuliffe as Grand Marshall of their St. Patrick's Day Parade? Yup, Terry McAuliffe, a man who favors cutting little babies to pieces and opposes even minimal standards for abortion butcher shops that kill and maim women.

Whatever happened to men defending the weak?

Another outstanding post at Restore DC Catholicism.

Michael Voris is picking up the story and will be following up with others.

Our friends from the magnificent Pewsitter have picked up the story.


This apostolate is off of the reservation under Carl Anderson's leadership, or lack of it.

Might be time to dispense with the capes and swords.