The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have proclaimed a second Fortnight for Freedom from June 21-July 4th, and, as last year, The American Catholic will participate with special blog posts each day. Why the Fortnight for Freedom? To be very blunt because we have an administration in Washington that has only contempt for American liberties. Each day increases our knowledge of the extent of this contempt. If these miscreants prevail the only liberty that Americans have will be to shut up and do what Unholy Mother State says. These men and women are at war with how the Church traditionally has viewed the State and would instead implement by their policies, perhaps, many of them, unconsciously, a State that would embody this slogan of Mussolini: All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state. This is fundamentally anti-Catholic and anti-American and that is why a Fortnight for Freedom to recommit ourselves to that freedom which is our heritage both as Catholics and as Americans is essential.
Fortnight For Freedom 2013
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 41 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
It seems as though the only freedom of religion this Administration would chose to recognize is that for Islam and Atheism, both of which are overtly hostile against Christianity and Judaism. 🙁
Didn’t you guys fall in love with Mr. O’bama in 2008 and encourage catholic voters to support him? Then again in 2012? What has changed? Is it just that now his focus is on forcing the church to go against its beliefs? Clearly the american catholic bishops were short sighted in their thought process. Supporting an administration that rewards bad behavior isnt good.
As a catholic I encourage you to challenge yourselves and realize punishing hard working people with excessive taxes and giving away to people who simply choose not to work is detrimental to a society. We already had safety nets to help people who clearly need it.
THIS IS GOOD BECAUSE WE NEED TO PEAY FOR AMERICA BUT AT HE SAME TIME IS TIME TO START SPEKING FROM THE PULPIT INSTEAD OF WRITING BEAUTIFUL LETTERS THAT ONLY US IN THE CHOIR READ AND CONTINUING A POLICY OF DIPLOMACY AND CONCILIACION TOWARDS THE ENEMIES OF RELIGION.
IS TIME FOR ACTION, AS MY SPIRITUAL ADVISER TOLD US UPON JOINING THE FIGHT AGAINST THE ENEMY IN CUBA.
“THE CATHOLICS OF TODAY ARE NO LONGER MARTYRS THEY ARE WARRIORS AND AS SUCH SHOULD FIGHT THE FORCES OF LUCIFER THAT ARE DETERMINED TO DESTROY OUR FAITH SOMETIMES UTILIZING THE PLIGHT OF THE POOR TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS”(socialist justice programs)
IS TIME FOR ACTION TOGETHER WITH PRAYERS,
GOD BLESS US ALL AND GOD BLESS AMERICA
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“We have buried the putrid corpse of Liberty.” Mussolini 1937.
PWP: If you forget your password, just call the NSA.
“Didn’t you guys fall in love with Mr. O’bama in 2008 and encourage catholic voters to support him?”
I can only assume Stephen from that comment that you were not reading this blog in 2008.
Just as all Republicans are not Conservatives, not all Catholics are devote, i.e., Polosi, Biden, and all who voted for Obama.
Didn’t you guys fall in love with Mr. O’bama in 2008 and encourage catholic voters to support him? Then again in 2012?
Why are blog comments to Vox Nova and National Catholic Reporter re-directing here?
T. Shaw,
I wonder if this is a cyber security violation of US NRC Regulatory Guide 5.71: “If you forget your password, just call the NSA.”
Oh, I forgot, the NSA and the NRC are a part of the same government – silly me!
On a serious note, I think it likely (if the current trend continues) that people like me will be banned from industries like nuclear power. Why? Well, aside from the obvious that Obama is de-nuking the country into silly wind mills and shiny solar cells that don’t work when needed, people like me believe in strange things: the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, objective moral truth, the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman, the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death, etc.
Last year we all had to take an on-line training course in diversity and tolerance and inclusiveness that held up the “gay life style” in high moral esteem. I never finished my course, out of disgust needless to say. One day as a nuclear employee I will be asked to sign some sort of certification stating that I believe in “equal rights for gays” or some sort of other nonsense, or I will be given a psychological exam that I will fail because I believe in the real presence of Jesus. And then I will be black balled from the nuclear industry. How can they trust me when I believe that I eat Jesus’ flesh and drink His blood at Holy Communion? Think about it from their point of view. They would rather trust a sodomite or abortionist at the controls of a nuclear reactor than me! And think about how that sounds!
That’s how it will start. Industries that require some sort of security clearance will begin by disallowing employment of people like me as a threat to the security of others. Mental instability, refusal to support company values, etc., will be the excuses and nothing will be able to be done through the courts. Don’t think it can’t happen. I was shocked last year to see the gay life style so openly promoted. That training course seems to have gone away for now, but it’ll be back, rest assured. We do NOT have freedom of religion, but we WILL have freedom of sodomy. 🙁
First, I hope to hear the sounds of church bells ringing everyday during the fortnight. Morning, noon, and evening. This will call many to thoughts and prayers.
The group activities, where ever they are, are isolated and unknown as of today. A guitar is not as resounding as church bells in neighborhoods across the nation.
EWTN has a mass to be televised this evening as the start, thankfully with Bishop Lori who is an intelligent, wonderful homilist.
I hope Fortnight for Freedom is announced at weekend masses, unlike last year.
…
Paul W. Primavera, ain’t it the pits as a way to determine who is a knowledgable, qualified person able to perform? Certified as to below the belt activity tolerant – great comfort to people in charge. Babel Tower fell due to all who were otherwise too involved in passions to think rationally, and remember eternal truths.
Archbishop Lori, yes, thankfully!
Dolan is a disgrace.
Especially to many women.
Abp Lori is the real deal.
“…we have an administration in Washington that has only contempt for American liberties”
We also have a bishops conference whose fecklessness and weakness are significant contributing factor to why Obama is doing what he is doing. Obama knows these empty cassocks don’t have the stomach for the kind of fight he is picking.
This Fortnight for Freedom would have some meaning if :
1) The bishops publicly acknowledge their lack of real witness as a contributing factor. Included in this is would be to immediately stop their “ideology runneth over my theology” left-wing posturing on issues like stumping for illegal immigration and parroting bogus anti-death penalty claims in opposing capita; punishment, which have absolutely nothing to do with the mission of the Church. Cardinals Dolan and Mahony publicly repenting of their calumnious accusations against the state of AZ regarding SB 1070.
2) Do penance. A good penance would be a trip to St. Patrick’s Purgatory in Ireland (health permitting) as Cardinal Ouellett did prior to his attending the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin as Papal Legate. Perhaps they could lead pilgrimages of lay faithful of their respective dioceses there.
3) From here on out, sharpen their focus by restricting their positions to things that fall within their competence. Their Caesaro-Papism in reverse approach they take on issues that are within the domain of the laity is a serious problem. Even Bishop Thomas Popracki of Springfield, Ill acknowleged as much at the USCCB General Assembly last year.
Failing which all this Fortnight for Freedom is nothing but a dog and pony show…and a damned lousy one at that!
Another thing, the Catholic Media Complex can start challenging the bishops on these things instead of acting like lapdogs.
“Failing which all this Fortnight for Freedom is nothing but a dog and pony show…and a damned lousy one at that!”
So Greg if the Bishops are not a hundred percent behind your political agenda then their protests against the infringement of liberty by this administration are worthless. That is the mirror image of the attitude of the National Catholic Reporter.
“Another thing, the Catholic Media Complex can start challenging the bishops on these things instead of acting like lapdogs.”
Agreeing with the bishops when they are correct is not being a lapdog, it is being rational. Additionally, there is not a Catholic Media Complex but rather fairly divergent organs of opinion that reflect the fact that Catholics disagree about quite a lot.
“So Greg if the Bishops are not a hundred percent behind your political agenda then their protests against the infringement of liberty by this administration are worthless. That is the mirror image of the attitude of the National Catholic Reporter.”
I have never expected the bishops to be behind my “political agenda” at all Donald and you know it. I have always said clearly that the bishops not take sides (which include my particular side as well) on matter where Catholics can take divergent views is for them to act like the pastors they were ordained to be, not idelogical partisans.
I would prefer that the bishops spoke on fewer issues and avoided areas where they lacked technical competence. I am also enough of a student of history to realize that Catholic bishops have rarely been shy about voicing their opinions on a whole host of issues. Think Bishop Sheen for example. I do not believe this invalidates protests against infringements on liberty by the current administration. In regard to capital punishment, although I think the traditional teaching is correct and that current modifications are a mistake, it is difficult for me to condemn bishops for speaking out against capital punishment when the pope himself is calling for its abolition.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2013/06/pope-francis-affirms-vatican-opposition-to-death-penalty-calls-for-its-abolition/
“Agreeing with the bishops when they are correct is not being a lapdog, it is being rational. Additionally, there is not a Catholic Media Complex but rather fairly divergent organs of opinion that reflect the fact that Catholics disagree about quite a lot.”
How many tough questions do bishops ever get from these types regarding their taking sides on matters outside their competence? Was Cardinal Dolan ever asked to substantiate his claim that the State of AZ was acting like the KKK or the KNow Nothings viz. SB 1070? How many of these types even said anything about it or even registered outrage over such a statement.
Of course, Catholic commentariat figures disagree with each other a lot over various issues. I have never even implied otherwise. What I have said (Donald,you used to say the same thing a few years back at least privately) is that they are unwilling to hold their colleagues accountable for behavior they would never accept from the secular world. And that’s why I call them the Catholic Media Complex.
Furthermore, I am aware of what Cardinal Bertone, in the stead of Pope Francis, said reiterating what Pope John Paul II said before him regarding capital punishment. But never do you hear the pope using claims even a third grader would know are bogus.
That being said, I think it is wrong, if not irresponsible, for the pope to take sides on this issue the way has, given the confusion this has caused not only regarding this issue, but how it has spilled over onto other issues.
“What I have said (Donald,you used to say the same thing a few years back at least privately) is that they are unwilling to hold their colleagues accountable for behavior they would never accept from the secular world.”
Some are and some aren’t. I can think of some fairly big names among Catholic commentors that have been the subject of posts on this blog. I would agree that too much bad behavior has been overlooked on Saint Blog’s by too many people. Bishops are certainly not above criticism, and I can think of several bishops and Cardinals that have received quite a bit of criticism at TAC.
I believe that the whole attempt to change the Church’s teaching on capital punishment has been a mistake for many reasons and have said so frequently and I will continue to do so. I can understand, however, a bishop feeling a responsibility to fall in line behind the Pope on this issue. One of many reasons why I never felt a calling to the priesthood.
The power of the Fortnight for Freedom is muted by the inability of the Bishops in the USCCB to deal with renegade Catholic politicians like Joe Biden, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Andy Cuomo, et al. The example of St. Paul in 1st Corinthians chapter 5 should be followed: he ordered the Church at Corinth to turn over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh that sex pervert who was living with his father’s wife. By chapter 2 in 2nd Corinthians the man had repented and was brought back into the fold. But what does Cardinal Dolan do? He ingratiates himself with fornicating, sodomy-sanctifying, abortion-providing Andy Cuomo and is silent on Nancy Pelosi’s open apostasy and heresy. He lets Bishop Hubbard of Albany give Holy Communion to Governor Cuomo regardless that the Governor’s actions and policies can damn his eternal soul. What does St. Paul say in 1st Corinthians chapter 7 about eating and drinking unworthily? Do the Bishops in the USCCB care nothing for the souls of these politicians, and the confusion and disgrace they throw the Church into by having a Fortnight for Freedom on the one hand, but refusing to actually do anything substantive? Yes, I support the Fortnight for Freedom. I also think Ezekiel 34:1-10 applies as well.
Forgive the brief digression, but up above I referenced Ezekiel chapter 34. Well the preceding chapter – number 33 – is a warning to the watchmen who fail to warn the evil man of the consequences of the evil that he does (e.g, pro-abortion, pro-sodomy “Catholic” politicians). In the Greek Septuagint the word used for watchman is episkopos which goes into our English word episcopal and means bishop. Now of course there were no Christian bishops in 587 BC when the prophet Ezekiel penned the words of God’s warning, yet in today’s age of weak-kneed, yellow-bellied, cowardly clericalism both in the Roman jurisdiction and elsewhere (no part of Christendom is immune to this infestation and infection), the term episkopos rings with a certain relevancy that the shepherds would do well to listen to, especially if they are serious about this Fortnight for Freedom. And yes, there are good, holy, devout and brave bishops to be sure, and yes, we the laity deserve the bishops we get because if they are bad bishops, then we have only ourselves to blame for not having lifted them up before the Throne of Grace.
Opps, correction. The Greek Septuagint uses the root word for sent or apostolos, apparently not episkopos. I just checked. Darn! Hate getting my facts mixed up. I gotta stop trying to read Greek and Latin after 9 pm at night. But my point remains the same.
“Some are and some aren’t. I can think of some fairly big names among Catholic commentors that have been the subject of posts on this blog. I would agree that too much bad behavior has been overlooked on Saint Blog’s by too many people. Bishops are certainly not above criticism, and I can think of several bishops and Cardinals that have received quite a bit of criticism at TAC.”
I am not aware of any big name Catholic commentator called on the carpet for some of the more atrocious behavior. Outside of a few very obscure blogs, (and a post Chris Blosser did on Against the Grain years back) Mark Shea’s calumnious screeds have gone unmentioned . Other than a passing mention of Mark’s bad behavior you made in a post about Michael Voris, I do not recall you saying anything about the more scandalous aspects of his behavior at least in post form. I would strongly urge you with as much charity as I can muster, to start posting about this problem with frequency. Of course, it doesn’t have to be every other post, but I think it does have to come with some frequency both here and Catholic Stand. We have no right to bitch and moan about what Obama or the left is doing while ignoring a scandal such as this. I even think we may run the risk of hearing Our Lord say at judgment, “Depart from me you evildoer. For I was slandered and you came not to my defense.” Sad to report Shea is at it again with the enabling of Catholic World Report.
As far as the bishops are concerned, there is an old saying that when one becomes a bishop, he will never eat a bad meal and no one will ever tell them the truth. I am screaming at the top of my lungs somebody better start telling them the damned truth! It’s one thing to go after Cardinal Mahony about his covering up of molester priests (yes, he should be raked over the coals for that), but what about when bishops like Cardinal Dolan who falsely equate a just law with the behavior of the KKK and the Know Nothings? Dolan wasn’t yet a Cardinal at the time but he was still Archbishop of New York. Mahony has (and rightly so) been in the crosshairs of those in orthodox Catholic circles for over twenty years. But Dolan is a celebrity in those very same circles and gets a pass. If that’s not scandalous, what is? It doesn’t matter what your view is on illegal immigration or SB 1070. And that scandal has to be talked about. This is why I think this Fortnight for Freedom, without recognizing this and bringing pressure to bear about rectifying these other matter, is what I have called it. What I am saying is that , in the present context it is a toothless tiger and Obama knows it. I think we all know it too.
As far as the death penalty is concerned, it isn’t just about opposing it to show a united front with the pope. On that point, if a bishop is convicted otherwise and doesn’t have the courage of that conviction to stand u and say. “With all due respect Your Holiness, there’s more to the issue than you seem to think and I cannot in good conscience go along with your prudential judgment.” I think given the saintliness of some of our recent popes, they would have more than respect that, even if they wouldn’t have agreed with it.
But beyond that, it is the absolute intelligence insulting and intellectually dishonest way they characterize societal aspects of the issue that is a real kidney stone. And at that, I think the pope would be just as horrified as many of us are, regardless of where one stands on the death penalty.
I suspect the reason why the death penalty was mentioned the way it was in the 2004 CDF letter to Cardinal McCarrick was that then Cardinal Ratzinger, perhaps even JPII himself, sensed that the confusion surrounding the issue was causing problems.
Here’s the link to Mark’s CWR article mentioned in my pervious comment.
http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/2340/The_Most_Popular_Moral_Heresy_in_the_World.aspx#.UcURbhafdz9
Actually I have discussed Mark Shea’s interaction with others on Saint Blog’s in several posts including this one:
https://the-american-catholic.com/2011/05/25/anderson-on-shea-on-carter/
We have 202 comments regarding Shea on the blog over 11 pages so I do not think he has gone uncovered. I write about what interests me on the blog, hence a lot of Lincoln and the Civil War for example, and back and forth on Saint Blogs, although I find it somewhat diverting on occasion, rarely interests me enough to write about and when I have, other than people being given an opportunity to vent, I think it has done little good as far as I can see, other than to drive up the hits on a particular post, something which is of little concern to me. If I am inspired to write about Shea in the future, and I probably will be, I will do so, but only if there is some angle of a particular story or event that I find of interest. I have never made any bones about the fact that I blog as a hobby and that my prime motivation is my personal amusement in what I write.
I wonder if my diocese will again be paying tens of thousands of dollars to the city’s leading late term abortion provider to rent a hall for its Fortnight of Freedom rally?
I wonder if the President you voted for twice will continue his war against the Catholic Church?
I wonder if the President you voted for twice will continue his war against the Catholic Church?
Why would the war continue post-surrender?
“I wonder if my diocese will again be paying tens of thousands of dollars to the city’s leading late term abortion provider to rent a hall for its Fortnight of Freedom rally?”
What diocese is this so we can contact them and have them stop. Not that it is likely that it is immoral unless the rent was helping support such abortions. Rather, because there seems to be enough scandal for you that it raises your concern.
This is distinct from many unions which have thrown their explicit support behind abortion and other immoral ends.
Phillip —
Remember, “all money is fungible”
Don —
I voted for the President 4 times if you count the primaries.
“I voted for the President 4 times if you count the primaries.”
God knows, too.
Paul,
But unlike Rick Santorum, Bush pere et fils, Chris Christie, Ronald Reagan, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin and Paul Ryan, I have never once voted for a pro-choice candidate for the House or Senate.
But you knowingly voted for a sodomy-sanctifier and infanticide-provider for President.
Paul —
You mean that is only a sin in a presidential vote, not a congressional vote?
I do not know, Kurt, if you sinned by voting for Obama. But it was certainly a foolish vote. To be a sin, it would require that you realize the inherent wrong that a vote for Obama constitutes, and that you do it with free consent of the will. I am not certain that the first criterion is met. And nothing any of us will say can apparently convince you that he is an evil man with evil intent.
Paul —
If you know for a fact the President is evil, I’m not sure why you have reservations about publicly judging me the same.
“Remember, ‘all money is fungible'”
Yes. But not all intentions are. If one gives money to Planned Parenthood with the intention of supporting their overall work, then one is complicit in abortion from material if not formal way. If one simply rents a hall, without the intent of supporting the abortionist, and this hall has little to do with his work, then there is no evil.
But again, tell us which diocese and the hall they’re renting. That might help us solve this moral problem.
Also please help us understand your concern, given the wholesale support of unions for abortion and gay marriage.
Yes. But not all intentions are. If one gives money to Planned Parenthood with the intention of supporting their overall work, then one is complicit in abortion from material if not formal way. If one simply rents a hall, without the intent of supporting the abortionist, and this hall has little to do with his work, then there is no evil.
If in the spirit of subsidiarity, the government decides it is best that it not try to administer a certain social good that is determined to be needs (say, breast cancer screenings) but instead devolves this task to local community non-governmental agencies but with government funding, and to avoid historic problems of steering contracts, etc. sets criteria for bidders based on competency to carry out the tasks of the government contract, not on other matters, does the same principle apply?
Also please help us understand your concern, given the wholesale support of unions for abortion No union I have worked for or been a member of supports abortion, either wholesale or retail.
And yet Kurt you enthusiastically support the most pro-abortion President in our nation’s history, a man who has called on God to bless Planned Parenthood, an organization that has slain tens of millions of innocent unborn. Your attempts to cast up red herrings to avoid this very simple fact are merely embarrassing.
I do not know why Kurt believes in the liberal trash that he believes in. Even in my own industry – nuclear energy – the most outspoken bloggers are invariably liberal (even though the overwhelming majority of nuclear professionals tend to be conservative), and these liberal pro-nuke bloggers are the best and brightest intellects, yet when it comes to Obama and liberalism they have this blind spot. It’s what the Bible says: they prefer a lie to the truth, or what the Big Book of AA says, “We could no longer tell the true from the false.” Liberalism is an addiction, a disease of the mind that pollutes the soul. I just don’t get it, how a man who murders unborn babies and sanctifies sexual perversion as marriage can be so loved and adored, but Christianity held in such complete and utter disregard and contempt. A Bishop with whom I am friends says that the Cross is an offense to these people, though Kurt would deny that while he supports a baby murderer and sodomy sanctifier. I don’t attribute overt malice to Kurt, but rather a special blindness that places the false gospel of social justice, the common good and peace at any price ahead of the true Gospel of conversion and repentance. 🙁
“…does the same principle apply?”
Yes, formal cooperation if the govt. is in support of Planned Parenthood’s provision of abortion. Even if not, one must consider if the material cooperation of money is proximate to maintaining PP so that it can continue providing abortions.
And so it would apply to your diocese (still unknown) if the hall in question (still unknown) was essential to supporting the abortion provider’s abortion business (yet again, still unknown.)
But I’m glad to see you are rejecting the evil of the UAW, AFL-CIO, AFT and other unions that are in full support of abortion and same sex marriage. BTW, what union do you belong to?
Speaking of unions, I hope you are impressed with the spirit of compromise the Democrats have shown in order to advance the Catholic Bishops #1 legislative priority — amnesty for the illegals. Out of loyality and high regard for this Catholic goal, we reluctantly agreed to the Republican compromise offer and accepted their plan to spend $30 billion more in taxpayer dollars to hire 20,000 new unionized Border Patrol officers, who will be paying dues to the AFL-CIO. They drive a hard bargain, these Republicans, but I think if agreeing to their demands helps us get the Bishops’ earnest desire for amnesty, we need to stand with our Church.
I realize the sacrifice Democrats are making Kurt to try to put millions of new Democrat voters on the rolls, including those who are here illegally and have been convicted of crimes such as DUI and even those who have been deported for such offenses and would now be eligible to come back under this bill. Call me when Democrats are willing to stand up to the pro-abortion lobby and join Republicans in legislation banning abortion after 20 weeks that has passed the House with the support of six, count them, six members of the party of abortion.
I realize the sacrifice Democrats are making Kurt to try to put millions of new Democrat voters on the rolls, including those who are here illegally and have been convicted of crimes such as DUI and even those who have been deported for such offenses and would now be eligible to come back under this bill.
The sacrifice has been minimalized thank to the incredible assistance we have received from the Catholic bishops in their efforts to win amnesty for the illegals. In fact, I think at the end of the day, the bishops will have proven themselves to have made a greater contribution to amnesty than the Democratic Party.
Ain’t it wonderful when a brother lightens your load by sharing your burden?
Unless of course the unions are doing so with an intent that is not to help the immigrants, but rather to use them to increase their power. As we have shown, unions cooperate with the evils of abortion and same-sex marriage. Now, the reality of an act is not just what is done, but the intent with which it is done. Even if a good is done, if it is done with an intent that is not good, then the whole act itself is evil. If unions are in fact working to increase power through immigration reform, then they are merely objectifying the illegal immigrant and are committing evil.
I am concerned about this as well as your stories about your diocese cooperating with evil.
Hopefully this helps in a small way undue the burden of evil (structure of sin) that unions appear intent on erecting.
Unless of course the unions are doing so with an intent that is not to help the immigrants, but rather to use them to increase their power.
Isn’t that why the bishops are so fanatically in favor of amnesty for the illegals?
I don’t know. Perhaps some of them are. Which would be evil. Some do so out of the hope that it will help immigrants. Then this would be good.
But, if as pointed out, the intention is evil, then the act is.