Obama: The Story of O

Here's something you'll not find in the mainstream media about Obama: He choose a child porno supporter as his second in command at the Department of Justice.

Ogden's career includes a long record of arguing against child porn laws and in favor of racial preferences and virtually unlimited abortion on behalf of clients including Penthouse, the ACLU and Playboy.

"Ogden spent his entire life arguing for far left extremist positions," Burch said. "And he expects us to believe he has matured and abandoned those views now that he is before the Senate? What we have here is a nominee who knows that his views and Obama's views on the law are far out of the mainstream in America, so he is adjusting his rhetoric to get the votes he needs."

Fidelis is just one organization raising concerns about Ogden, a partner at WilmerHale in Washington, D.C.

Frightening.

Catholics' Ten Most Dreaded Words: I'm from the Vatican and I'm here to help

George Weigel writes on First Things about the Ineptitude at the Vatican.

The reports have emanated from those who had been advised of the Legion’s own investigation of Maciel, but there is still no formal statement from the leadership of the Legion as to what its internal investigations have uncovered. There has been no full disclosure of what is known about Fr. Maciel’s corruptions. There has been no disclosure as to the nature and extent of the web of deceit he must have spun within the Legion of Christ, and beyond. And there has been no public recognition of what faithful, orthodox, morally upright Legionary priests believe have been grave corruptions of the institutional culture of their community.

The letter from Fr. Alvaro Corcuera to the faithful of Regnum Christi, distributed last week and immediately available online, was completely inadequate in naming these sins for what they were. Public statements by Legion spokesmen in Rome and in America have been just as bad, due largely to failures by Legion leadership and to an institutionalized culture of defensiveness.

While the Legion has a credibility problem on their hands, the more disturbing aspect of this story is the cover up at the Vatican level.

The spin they allowed in the vacuum of defending Maciel for decades.

Fathers Berg, Gill, and Williams have also conceded, admirably, their own failures to see through the web of deceit spun by Fr. Maciel. Their words reconfirm what those of us who have benefitted from the friendship of Legionary priests have known for years—there is great good here, as there is among the faithful members of Regnum Christi.

The question now is, how shall that good be saved?

It can only be saved if there is full, public disclosure of Fr. Maciel’s perfidies and if there is a root-and-branch examination of possible complicity in those perfidies within the Legion of Christ. That examination must be combined with a brutally frank analysis of the institutional culture in which those perfidies and that complicity unfolded. Only after that kind of moral and institutional audit has been conducted, and has been seen publicly to be a clean audit, can the Legion of Christ, and the broader Church

There's one thing I completely disagree with George about in his op-ed, because, it is quite frankly, just more enabling.

George suggests that an audit of the Legion be done, mandated by the Pope, by somebody who reports directly to the Pope and "he would be instructed to make recommendations (again, to the pope alone)".

Implied in this suggestion is, in the gross dysfunction at the Curia, the corruption flourishes and we need to allow it to continue to flourish as we work around the problem to solve the Maciel mystery.

Then what?

We all pretend whatever else the corruption is covering is not our responsibility?

Not good enough. Nowhere near good enough.

A curia in which no one in authority had the sense to Google “Richard Williamson,” and no subordinate had the nerve or capacity to compel the superiors to pay attention to a potential landmine, is not a curia capable of getting to the roots of the Maciel betrayal. Nor, candidly, is it a curia capable of conducting an investigation that can command public credibility. It is regrettable that this is the case, for there are many honorable people working in the Roman curia. But it is the case.

The truth is, the Vatican can rely on the culture within to keep dirty little secrets under the radar. Catholics who want to rub elbows with the Curia oppress, punish and snub whistle-blowers. The last thing they will do is make the dirty secret public. They will sit around and cordially put on dog and pony show in the presence of somebody they know is doing something harmful. When whistleblowers are abused and snubbed, some even join in kicking the wounded animal.

Numerous priests have been pulled out of their ministry for "telling". I might even venture to say - every one who ever "told" is pulled out of their ministry and persecuted.

The revelations that Maciel was a drug and people abusing sex addict all along has exposed what many of us have feared all along. We should be investigating who knew what at the Roman Curia and "disband", "dismiss", "replace" and "reform" anyone and anything whose fingerprints are on this absurdity.

Then, we will have gone a long way towards resoring credibility, "saving" not only the Legion but the many priests and parishes who are suffering from the ineptitude, dysfunction and corruption.

We can do better than this?

Holy fire, come dwell in each heart.
Grant us the gifts your love imparts.
Free our tongues to boldly proclaim
"Jesus is Lord forever!"

Jesus Christ, you are my life,
alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ, you are my life.
You are my life, alleluia.

Obama and the SSS (Slick Stimulus Shiesters)

It's a rare occurrence when Joan Vennochi gets something right, but even she can see the messiah is on the slippery slope.

His transition team let him down. So did fellow Democrats who control Congress.

The string of Cabinet nominees with tax problems showcased a lack of proper vetting and an overabundance of arrogance. Either way, it produced a team whose key players are limping rather than leaping onto the field. Some prospective teammates never made it out of the locker room.

What happened with Obama's economic stimulus plan also stings. Democrats couldn't wait to push as much of their liberal economic agenda as possible, as quickly as possible, whether or not it helped Obama's post-partisan agenda. Their nearly trillion-dollar package merely reordered the funding priorities that have existed for decades.

Really? Even Obama cult members think the 335 million dollars for condoms and other such foolishness to "stimulate" (no pun intended) the economy was over the top?

Oh, and before I forget, how about the rigs the Obamas left the White House in yesterday?

Was it really necessary to walk the gauntlet with sweatpants, sweatshirts, jeans, no socks? They looked like they just all rolled out of bed.

It reminded me of a song my mother used to sing about being unkempt:

Oh, you dirty rotten pig, does your mother know your out with your hands in your pocket and your shirttail out?

Have some dignity for the position you hold. Save the jeans and sweatpants for private moments.

Here's another golden rule when you occupy the highest position in the free world: Don't open the front door in your bathrobe with rollers in your hair.

Maybe we should gather a list and send it to the Harvard Hillbillies.

I digress.

Back to Joan.

The results of a CBS poll released last week show that Republicans who are advocating an increase in the proportion of tax cuts in the stimulus bill are winning the argument. Asked whether higher government spending or tax cuts for business would be more effective in ending the recession, 59 percent chose tax cuts, while only 22 percent chose government spending. While 51 percent of those polled said they back the concept behind Obama's stimulus package, support for Obama's plan has fallen 12 points since January.

Like that joke going around:

"This year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment.
This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q
and A format:


    Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?

    A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.


    Q. Where will the government get this money?

    A. From taxpayers.


    Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?

    A. Only a smidgen.


    Q. What is the purpose of this payment?

    A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a
high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.


    Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ?

    A. Shut up.


A Hearty Ha-Har.

People are looking at the invoice of the stimulus and asking who's gonna pay for this?

 OOOoooops, I AM!  When you start looking at what you're paying for, Obama is just another shiester. 

He's a slick one.

Bishop Williamson To Take Another Look-See

The Pope has ordered Bishop Williams to publicly recant his denials of the Holocaust.

"I ask everyone to believe me that I did not deliberately say something false. I was, on the basis of my research in the 1980s, convinced of the accuracy of my comments," he told the weekly in an interview released on Saturday.

"Now I must examine everything again and look at the evidence," he added.

As if the evidence were somehow not convincing the first time around.

While we're at it, somebody ought to circle back with him about the accuracy of women's trousers ideologically attacking people's minds. It's charity to emancipate him from the notion that woman wearing pants is satanic.

A Few Quick Updates on the Eric McFadden Story

Strickland's Office responded to my request.

I have only had the opportunity to quickly review it. I would say from that brief review that they provided me with the emails I sent them and their responses along with a letter from McFadden requesting a transfer to the prison (at that time on the outside of the bars) and two pages indicating McFadden's personnel change to the prison.

The responsive documents were accompanied by a cover letter that alleges they are under no obligation to provide me with information on what the Governor knew and when he knew it with respect to the predator I told them they were employing:

"Please be aware that part 2 of your request for "emails and internet traffic reports of Mr. McFadden's computer relating to sexual solicitation, implied or overt threats to those he philosophically opposed" generally fails to satisfy the requirements of Ohio public records law to specifically and particularly identify the records that you are seeking. under Ohio law, a requester has the duty to identify with sufficient clarity the records being sought from the public office. A governmental office has no duty to "seek out and retrieve those records which would contain the information of interest to the requester". State ex rel Fant v Tober, No. 6373l7, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 2591 at *4 (8th Dist Apr. 28, 1993); aff'd 68 Ohio St.3d 117 (1993). That is,, a public office is under no obligation to search for records containing selected information. State ex rel Thomas v. Ohio State university, 71 Ohio St. 3d 245 (1994).

That's a good one.

I'll appeal it, but essentially, they are staking their legal claim on the turf that when I made known to the Governor he was employing a sexually disturbed lunatic who was using the internet, whatever they found is not material of interest to my request. Considering McFadden wound up in jail under a 750,000 dollar bond because of concerns that he is a threatening predator along with revelations of compulsive postings on sex sites, some of which appear to be made on work hours during his tenure at Strickland's Faith Based Office - what's to be of interest, Strickland says.

If this is a country with some measure of separation of legal justice from partisan politics, I don't know how the case law they cite will hold up.

I want to know what they found when I made allegations and asked them to do their own diligence on McFadden's computer.

How can that be insufficiently clear, too broad to wrap their head around or immaterial to my request for information?

In October of 2007, I made known to the Governor:

a.) The Democrats were using thugs to internet stalk, threaten and silence Catholics evangelizing the authentic teachings of the Church in the public square and calling it "faith based initiatives" and give them links to their own monkey

b.) That my experiences with McFadden, on top of being stalked by him, included obsessive and inappropriate sexual comments which left me with the impression that he was an extremely dangerous person with some kind of malice against women manifesting itself sexually

c.) My request that they take the information I was giving them and run to his internet traffic reports from his computer at the "Faith-Based Initiatives Office" and see if that internet traffic led to anything problematic

Did a complaint come in to Strickland's legal team about McFadden's internet activities that made an allegation he was a dangerous person -- and they didn't investigate his computer for internet traffic?


Did they investigage & find something but then quickly shuffled him to to employment at a prison and they watched as McFadden was brought back into faith-based outreach on a campaign Strickland was stumping for as Vice President, and they said nothing?

Now that the world is aware of McFadden's compulsive sex addiction internet apostolate, what they found is legally protected from disclosure from a woman who blew the cuckoo predator whistle two years ago?

More later on that front.

On another front, Chris Korzen responded to my email about whether McFadden was ever on their payroll:

Dear Ms. McKinley,

Given the way you've treated my organization and me in the past (for instance, the incredibly un-Christian blog post in which you suggested that I look like a lizard), I'd be foolish to think we're going to get anything close to a fair shake in your "story."

The attempts by you and others to implicate Catholics United in any of Mr. McFadden's personal activities are a pitiful distraction from the challenges we face as a nation right now, and will ultimately prove fruitless. Mr. Fadden has never been on the Catholics United payroll.

Sincerely,

Chris Korzen

As a dutiful conservative gentleman pointed out, Korzen leaves open the question of whether McFadden was ever 1099'd. Apparently, as the co-founder of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and all it's subsidiaries, Korzen claims McFadden was never paid for his work. McFadden was doing it all for free.

If you believe that, Obama has a prolife homily to sell you.

I wrote back:

Considering McFadden has been affiliated and associated with Catholics United and all the other names you morphed into

- considering you circulated a “parish protection” letter threatening to send people to parishes to “intervene”

- considering McFadden showed up saying he was with Catholics United when he was taking pictures and threatening prolifers

- considering McFadden turned out to be the pervert and predator I blew the whistle on in February of 2007

Any reasonably prudent person victimized by you and your colleagues are not going to draw a distinction at this juncture – paid or unpaid – his name was on things written for your initiative, you gave him space on your websites and he carried out your orders.

Just in case anybody is interested in Catholics United trying to cut McFadden loose from their activities:

http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=Fr.-Frank-Pavone-Warns-Catholics-United-of-Possible-Lawsuits.html&Itemid=127

Below is a letter from Fr. Frank Pavone, president of Priests for Life, to the staff at Catholics United, including James Salt and Chris Korzen.

In his letter, Fr. Pavone warns Catholics United about possible lawsuit that may be filed by “any individual or institution who tries to intimidate or prevent citizens from fostering the electoral process or informing their fellow citizens about the candidates.”

Fr. Pavone is responding to the effort of Catholics United, described in the e-mail from James Salt, to organize a “parish protection program and join volunteers across the country who will be working to put a stop to the religious right's efforts this weekend.”

In other words, Catholics United wants to prevent pro-life Catholics from distributing voter guides to Catholics as they leave Mass on Sunday. (Note that CU has its own voter guide, which, by the way, is not pro-life.)

I laughed out loud when I read Salt describing Priests for Life as a "partisan group." Could he have written that with a straight face after the charade of the "non-partisan" Catholics United?

Letter from Fr. Frank Pavone to Catholics United, 10/31/08

James, Chris, and Team,

I received a copy of the email you sent out20(below). I don’t know if you attempted to speak with me before sending this out, but we would welcome such an approach in the future.

Please inform those to whom you communicate that they might also want to alert their pastors that a large number of people are ready to file lawsuits against any individual or institution who tries to intimidate or prevent citizens from fostering the electoral process or informing their fellow citizens about the candidates.

While we are not initiating any such activity, many people have told us they are ready to do so depending on what happens this weekend.
Pastors and dioceses want to avoid “legal entanglements,” and the activity you recommend here will get them entangled far faster than mine will.

Obviously, an email like the one you sent below would implicate you in such entanglements as well.

Best regards,

Fr. Frank Pavone

PS -- Thanks for the extra publicity! Please be sure to register for the November 5 teleseminar as well.

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

Blast E-Mail from James Salt of Catholics United, 10/30/08

--- On Thu, 10/30/08, James Salt, Catholics United <parishprotection@catholics-united.org> wrote:

From: James Salt, Catholics United <parishprotection@catholics-united.org>

Subject: Help Protect Catholic Churches from Political Manipulation

To:

Date: Thursday, October 30, 2008 , 2:56 PM

Help Protect Catholic Churches from Political Manipulation

Dear ___,

With less than a week to go until Election Day, things are getting ugly. In a final act of desperation, the religious far right is calling on its activists to defy the U.S. Catholic Bishops' order to keep unapproved election materials from church property by doing a "literature drop" at parishes across the country. The goal of this activity is to convince Catholics that it's immoral to vote for candidates who don't subscribe to the right's narrow agenda.

It's true. On Monday the partisan group Priests for Life held a teleseminar to train some 3,300 activists nationwide on how to place divisive political literature on the windshield of every churchgoing Catholic's car this Saturday and Sunday.

Click Here to listen to Priests for Life explain how to distribute partisan literature on Catholic Church property.

Catholics United is spearheading an effort to put the brakes on the religious right's plans in as many parishes as possible. Here's what you can do to help:
* Call your pastor and encourage him to instruct the ushers to monitor the church parking lot during the worship service. This sample script lists some ways that parishes can protect themselves from undue political influence.
* Sign up for our parish protection program and join volunteers across the country who will be working to put a stop to the religious right's efforts this=2 0weekend. We'll then provide you with detailed information on how you can protect churches in your neighborhood.
* Print copies of our values voter guide and "Pro-Life Means All Life" flyer and pass them out at community and political events in your area. Please consult with your pastor before distributing these materials on church property.

The extreme right will stop at nothing to distort church teaching for political gain. It's time to say that enough is enough. Catholics are tired of our faith being used as a political weapon.

Sincerely,

James and Chris
The Catholics United Team

http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=91927

From McFadden's website:

http://eamon-matthew25.blogspot.com/2008/11/mccain-campaign-volunteers-trespass-at.html#links

This was by far the most obnoxious group we ran into all day. There were about ten volunteers fanned out across the parking lot of St. Michaels in Worthington, Ohio. Not only were McCain Campaign Volunteers trespassing on the Church lot, but also volunteers from Ohio Right to Life and The Ohio Christian Alliance. It was pure mayhem and apparent coordination between the McCain Campaign and outside groups.

We asked them all if they had permission from the pastor to be there. They all of course declined to answer that and instead told us they had a right to be there and exercise their free speech. We reminded them that they were on private property. They advised us if w e removed their fliers then it was "felony".

They became quite confrontational and would not leave when asked to politely. At one point, one of the gentleman began posturing as if he would get physical with us.

They reminded us that we were baby killers even though they new little else about us other than we were reminding them of their trespass and photographing it.

After they covered all the cars in the lot, they left. We then removed all of their fliers, sometimes two and three deep on the cars.

http://eamon-matthew25.blogspot.com/2008/11/mccain-campaign-volunteers-invade-and.html#links

These ladies, volunteering for the McCain Campaign, were busy putting GOP paid for fliers on the cars in the private parking lot of St. Timothy's Catholic Church, when we pulled up.

They were a team of 6 and quickly fanned out to perform their unwanted partisan activity on Church property. When asked if they had the permission of the pastor to be there, they said they did not. They advised that they had the permission of "Catholics for McCain" to be there. We asked them if they wanted to go inside and ask the pastor and we even volunteered to go with them. We advised them that it was not the policy of the Diocese or the Catholic Conference of Ohio to distribute unofficial literature on Church property. We advised them that they were trespassing as well.

They quickly packed up and left only to park up the street, mayb e to wait us out. We waited with them for awhile and then they drove away.

http://eamon-matthew25.blogspot.com/2008/11/mccain-campaign-volunteers-trespassing.html#links

These McCain Campaign Volunteers trespassed on the property of St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Upper Arlington, Ohio this morning to place partisan and divisive campaign literature on cars of unsuspecting parishioners in the parking lot. In one of the pictures, one can clearly see the McCain Campaign Tee Shirts and hats.

When asked if the pastor of the Church had given them permission to be there, they said no. They were reminded that they were trespassing and that the Church had asked that only Church approved materials be distributed on Church property.

Not only were they handing out the McCain /GOP fliers but they also had fliers from the Ohio Christian Coalition. Apparently the McCain Campaign is coordinating its efforts with outside groups. tsk tsk

Their activities soon caught the eye of a special duty police officer there, normally for traffic duty. He advised them that the pastor had asked him to watch for trespassers distributing political materials this Sunday and to ask them to leave. He did so after making them remove the offending materials they had already placed. They removed their fliers and left the parking lot.

http://eamon-matthew25.blogspot.com/2008/11/mccain-campaign-politicking-at-st.html#links

Volunteers from the McCain campaign trespassed on the property of St. Brendan's Catholic Church in Hilliard, OH this morning and placed flyer's paid for by the Ohio GOP on parishioners windshields. The trespassers were gone when we arrived, but the evidence was left. We ran into a rather busy Church employee who was busy removing the offensive, divisive and partisan materials from the cars so parishioners could go home in peace after the sanctity of the mass.

Shame on the McCain campaign for bringing politics onto Church property this election season.

Volunteers from the McCain campaign trespassed on the property of St. Brendan's Catholic Church in Hilliard, OH this morning and placed flyer's paid for by the Ohio GOP on parishioners windshields. The trespassers were gone when we arrived, but the evidence was left. We ran into a rather busy Church employee who was busy removing the offensive, divisive and partisan materials from the cars so parishioners could go home in peace after the sanctity of the mass.

Shame on the McCain campaign for bringing politics onto Church property this election season.

Today in Columbus Ohio, we visited six parishes this morning. The McCain campaign had volunteers at all six parishes putting flyer's on cars, despite requests by the parishes and the dioceses not to. Below are some of the pictures - more to come soon with a full report on each parish.

All to Jesus I Surrender, Humbly at His Feet I Bow

Amy Welborn has posted her husband's remarkable last column.

Michael wrote about our trust in God and perseverance in faith when bad things happen.

The “big lie,” Father Benedict said, (and I’m paraphrasing him at this point), is to think that if we say all the right prayers and live correctly, then nothing bad will ever happen to us. Sadly, there are many good people who have lost their faith by believing such a lie, and that makes it a big one indeed!

One only has to think of Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, and how much He suffered on the cross, to correct one’s view on this matter. In our own day, there are many whom we know have lived saintly lives, many who have prayed much, and yet have suffered too.

He goes on to recount a story Fr. Groeschel told him about a woman who had a recurrent dream about Jesus giving her a message she didn't understand, but she and her family later found out was a comforting one from the Holy Spirit.

I know so many people who had tragedy or death in their lives that alienated them from God. What a precious gift from the Holy Spirit Michael's column must be for his wife and children.

Sometimes people doubting the existence of God will ask how we know He exists. If we're observing with an open heart, the Holy Spirit is loving us, warning us, comforting us, inspiring us through other people and events. Sometimes we're just too pigheaded to hear it, see it and feel it.

Even the most skeptical would have a hard time chalking Michael's column up as one heck of a coincidence.

Amy has asked for any contributions of remembrance of her husband. I exchanged emails a few times with Michael. I wrote Amy about one time in particular that stands out in my memory.

Amy,

I was very sorry to hear about Michael.

You asked to send along remembrances and I have one I wanted to share.

I chatted with Michael through email several years ago when a friend of mine was, I thought, being treated unjustly and uncharitably - including a posting on your website about the incident I was unhappy about. After exhausting my grievances with you and being dissatisfied, I decided to contact Michael. I plead my case to him in the hopes that I could persuade him and in turn, he would persuade you to take a different tack.

I don't even really remember the substantive response to that request. What I do remember was his genuine compassion. He took the time to express his compassion about the situation my friend was in and the various reactions, he went out of his way to say something kind to me personally about the suffering I was experiencing as a friend. It was especially remarkable in light of the fact it was clear I was unhappy with you. He was able to see through it and not only respond without being defensive, he was merciful.

What a mighty advocate you and the children now have in Heaven.

Your family has been and will remain in my thoughts and prayers.

Carol McKinley

Times like these in our lives, we all understand why they they call Faith a gift.

All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

I surrender all,
I surrender all.
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory to His name!

Blogsphere Abuzz Big Maciel News: Who's Your Daddy

A mistress and at least one child, possibly others.

I'm confused.

I thought Maciel was gay?

I don't get it. It turns out he was a drug abusing sex addict?

He used the Church to grab any thrill or high he could latch onto?


The Legion confirms something is askew, without specifics and is trying to encourage letting bygones be bygones:

“We’ve learned some things about our founder’s life that are surprising and difficult to understand,” Fair told CNA on Tuesday.

“We can confirm that there are aspects of his life that weren’t appropriate for a Catholic priest....

“Obviously he had human feelings but it remains true that through him we received our charism, which has been approved by the Church.

“Our commitment remains and we‘re going to go forward and love Christ and serve the Church,” he remarked.

Asked to verify the specific allegations, Fair replied:

“Fr. Maciel died over a year ago and obviously whatever has happened is between him and God and God’s judgment and mercy, so we’re going to let him take care of that.”

Not sure this is a winning strategy.

There are many innocent & good priests and lay people in the Legion who have to go on doing the work of the Church. Yet, there is something profoundly disturbing about the ongoing culture of silence and secrecy.

Steve Skojec who was involved in the Legion at the time dozens of seminarians accused Maciel of inappropriate sexual activities, reacts here.

This man who the Legion describes as having “the spirit of obedience to the Church that has always characterized him” had “had a mistress, fathered at least one child, and lived a double life”, after he had already been accused by “more than 20 but less than 100″ of his own priests and seminarians of sexual abuse, and had been described in terms depicting a disordered addict by his own trusted LC priests as early as the 1950s. I vaguely recall being told when I was with the Legion that Fr. Maciel made it clear that he had “…never said no to Christ.” Wish I could find that quote. Whether or not it was what he wrote, they certainly acted like it was true.

The link in Steve posts describing observations of Maciel's habits includes spiritual neglect, trading his Breviary for Reader's Digest, avoiding the Blessed Sacrament, lack of discipline, disclosures of confidential information - including information obtained in the Confessional, habitual lying and exaggerations, splurging on exclusive hotels and restaurants, drug abuse, sexual addiction & abuse.

The documented conduct of Maciel, these most recent revelations of mistresses and children don't leave a lot of room to believe the Vatican was unaware or had doubts about the validity of the allegations.

The Legion is between a rock and a hard place, the innocent of any wrongoing are faithfully serving the Church -- leading people from temptation and into salvation. Many observers passed the information along.

When you start getting information from many sources telling you one of your children is smoking crack, at some point, you are going to go into his room and start looking for a crack pipe. For the Vatican to not follow through on the myriad of complaints - -when the conduct was so egregious, well, it is subpar.

Steve continues:

I am angry because I allowed myself to be sucked into this group, like so many of the good people I met there. They turned my love of God into an asset for their own purposes, and when they were done with me they stabbed me in the back. The damage this did to my faith persists even today. I made an act of the will to completely trust God through this charism, and I was betrayed. I was made to believe that the rest of the Church wasn’t good enough, and when I left, I found no solace in a faith devoid of my elite purpose, my sense of mission, my fellowship with those who were chosen.

Through the prayers of many, I retained my belief, and I strengthened my Catholicism with education and an appreciation of tradition. But I have been cynical since those years, harboring a secret anger even I was no longer aware of. I trusted no one. I refused to seek spiritual direction again after it had been used against me. I saw God as antagonistic, temperamental, unreliable - helping sometimes and hurting others as it pleased Him. I avoided committing myself to any subgroup of the Church. I was wary of any but the most common devotions. I became even more risk-averse than I had been by nature, and spent years feeling residual vocational anxiety and hurt.

It’s taken a lot for me to get to where I am now, and I find that the vestiges of these things are all still here. I never got closure, never received an apology, never got a response to my request for answers. And when I tried to warn people of the dangers inherent in this group, they often ignored me, or at least refused to believe me.

There's something Steve said that's haunting, because it's so true:

"They turned my love of God into an asset for their own purposes, and when they were done with me they stabbed me in the back."

Orthodox Catholics are so easy to exploit. While we are focused on our zeal to serve God, our trust is hijacked. The stabbings from the people in all the various orthodox camps are more shocking than the abuse itself.

The culture of coverup and secrecy goes well beyond the Legion or the Vatican - it permeates every aspect of our culture. No matter how many people you contact to warn - abusers and predators are protected, sheltered and allowed to victimize and consume.

****UPDATE

A great discussion about the new Maciel revelations and how they affect the Legion is going on at the Long Dropping of the Other Shoe.

Part Two of the discussion here.


As someone recently and correctly put it, with all the disturbing allegations, with DNA in their hands, the Legion was forced to abandon their meme that Maciel was the next Padre Pio. Beyond that, they want to leave us with a "cliffhanger"about the scores of allegations.

Is that acceptable?

To me, this begs the question: Institutionally, how bad does conduct have to be before somebody on the inside with authority will stand up and say "this is wrong"?

Are all the allegations true? What did the cover up entail? Who saw what and who told whom to keep mum about it?

Answering these questions can vindicate the institution from the scourge of being labeled a cult.

Otherwise, I fear the good work and mission of many solid and faithful priests in the Legion will be kept under the bushel. They have a credibility problem on their hands.

Fr. George W. Rutler's Weekly Column

FROM THE PASTOR
by Fr. George W. Rutler
February 1, 2009

Two Roman maxims guide the body politic. The first is that the good of the people trumps any other consideration: Salus populi suprema lex. On the day after this year's March for Life in Washington, a great champion of salus populi died. Msgr. William Smith, professor of moral theology at St. Joseph's Seminary, exposed the rhetorical sleights of hand and political demagoguery that couch abortion as "one of many issues," like the nineteenth century accommodationism that let commercial interests and states rights preempt the abolition of slavery. At the march, while Monsignor was on his deathbed, his voice was echoed by an African-American minister of a Protestant church in Maryland, Pastor Luke Robinson: "Every day, Mr. President, people with your ethnic background and my ethnic background die in astounding numbers. Abortion is the number one killer of African Americans in this country…. We make up about 12% of the population and about 34% of all abortions are of black babies. In the last 36 years over 17 million African Americans have died by abortion alone."

If you were not aware of that speech, it was because the media suppressed it. Not one of our city's major news­papers mentioned the march. The Associated Press said that "scores" marched: an underestimation of least 200,000, indicating that the mainstream media have done to mathe­matics what they have done to professional journalism.

The response of our new president was to reverse the "Mexico City Policy," so that now your tax money will be spent to fund abortions abroad, making our nation the world's leading enabler of the Culture of Death. Vatican spokesmen immediately denounced "the arrogance of those who, being in power, believe they can decide life and death" and said this action "deals a harsh blow not only to us Catholics but to all people across the world who fight against the slaughter of innocents."

The second axiom, Summum jus, summa injuria, means that the most rigorous laws can do the most harm. "Pro-choice" laws are like that. No amount of pious euphemisms can modify the offense of eugenics against human dignity. Herod was the first person in history to say he wanted to worship Jesus. The Holy Child did not really escape Herod's massacre of the innocents: "As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it to me" (Matt. 25:40).

The coming persecution of the Church is hinted at in the retaliatory taxation proposed by the San Francisco assessor's office and attempts by the Albany legislature to suspend the statute of limitations in Church litigation. Threats to Catholic hospitals and free speech will soon follow. The mentality that thinks this is impossible also enabled the present situation in our nation. There is a difference between St. Paul's "fools for Christ's sake" and Lenin's "useful idiots." But these times can also bring out the best: Becket, Fisher, and von Galen now intercede for us. Wolsey, Talleyrand, and Hudal do not.

Catholics United Parish Protection Program

-----Original Message-----
From: cmmckinley@aol.com
To: ckorzen@catholics-united.org
Cc: jsalt@catholics-united.org; parishprotection@catholics-united.org
Sent: Sun, 1 Feb 2009 1:29 pm
Subject: Catholics United Parish Protection Program

Dear Chris and Jim,

I'm preparing a story (and some actions) relative to your "parish protection" program in November of 2008. I appears that the Bishops and priests who gave your group permission to threaten and intimidate with a sexual psychopath (who then posted pictures and accounts of your group's activities) may actually be in some hot water.

It is my understanding that Mr. McFadden was on your payroll at the time of your executed "parish protections", a year and a half after I blew the whistle on this pervert and predator.

Do you care to confirm or deny on the record?

Sincerely,

Carol McKinley

Blast E-Mail from James Salt of Catholics United, 10/30/08

On Thu, 10/30/08, James Salt, Catholics United <parishprotection@catholics-united.org> wrote:

From: James Salt, Catholics United <parishprotection@catholics-united.org>

Subject: Help Protect Catholic Churches from Political Manipulation

To:

Date: Thursday, October 30, 2008, 2:56 PM

Help Protect Catholic Churches from Political Manipulation

Dear ___,

With less than a week to go until Election Day, things are getting ugly. In a final act of desperation, the religious far right is calling on its activists to defy the U.S. Catholic Bishops' order to keep unapproved election materials from church property by doing a "literature drop" at parishes across the country. The goal of this activity is to convince Catholics that it's immoral to vote for candidates who don't subscribe to the right's narrow agenda.

It's true. On Monday the partisan group Priests for Life held a teleseminar to train some 3,300 activists nationwide on how to place divisive political literature on the windshield of every churchgoing Catholic's car this Saturday and Sunday.

Click Here to listen to Priests for Life explain how to distribute partisan literature on Catholic Church property.

Catholics United is spearheading an effort to put the brakes on the religious right's plans in as many parishes as possible. Here's what you can do to help:
* Call your pastor and encourage him to instruct the ushers to monitor the church parking lot during the worship service. This sample script lists some ways that parishes can protect themselves from undue political influence.
* Sign up for our parish protection program and join volunteers across the20country who will be working to put a stop to the religious right's efforts this weekend. We'll then provide you with detailed information on how you can protect churches in your neighborhood.
* Print copies of our values voter guide and "Pro-Life Means All Life" flyer and pass them out at community and political events in your area. Please consult with your pastor before distributing these materials on church property.

The extreme right will stop at nothing to distort church teaching for political gain. It's time to say that enough is enough. Catholics are tired of our faith being used as a political weapon.

Sincerely,

James and Chris
The Catholics United Team

(some of McFadden's links and photos)

http://eamon-matthew25.blogspot.com/2008/11/mccain-campaign-volunteers-trespass-at.html#links

http://eamon-matthew25.blogspot.com/2008/11/mccain-campaign-volunteers-invade-and.html#links

http://eamon-matthew25.blogspot.com/2008/11/mccain-campaign-politicking-at-st.html#links

Letter from Fr. Frank Pavone to Catholics United, 10/31/08

James, Chris, and Team,

I received a copy o f the email you sent out (below). I don’t know if you attempted to speak with me before sending this out, but we would welcome such an approach in the future.

Please inform those to whom you communicate that they might also want to alert their pastors that a large number of people are ready to file lawsuits against any individual or institution who tries to intimidate or prevent citizens from fostering the electoral process or informing their fellow citizens about the candidates.

While we are not initiating any such activity, many people have told us they are ready to do so depending on what happens this weekend.
Pastors and dioceses want to avoid “legal entanglements,” and the activity you recommend here will get them entangled far faster than mine will.

Obviously, an email like the one you sent below would implicate you in such entanglements as well.

Best regards,

Fr. Frank Pavone

PS -- Thanks for the extra publicity! Please be sure to register for the November 5 teleseminar as well.

For the record, McFadden, the criminal sex offender is now behind bars on a $750,000 dollar bond to protect the witness from McFadden's intimidation and coercion.

Catholics United used McFadden to take photographs of people's license plates in the Church parking lot. I think the victims have a decent civil suit against Catholics United, especially since I've got the paper trail on the whistleblowing over a year before the execution of this day of bullying.

More news on this story later.

Doug Kmiec and his Cronies - for the record

Kmiec's crowd loves to sell the notion that sanctifying grace is free. It isn't. You've got to suffer painful sacrifices to obtain it. It comes at a great price.

When the going got rough with the economy, the devil held out the bread and more than half of Catholic voters took it. Kmiec was a tool in the transaction.

They just don't get the story of faithful servant under excruciating circumstances.

Imagine living this life with the entire meaning of Job and Christ being lost to you?

What else is there?