Tuesday, March 19, AD 2024 1:27am

Sue ’em!

 

 

Hmm, Father Tom Rosica, the English language assistant to the Holy See Press Office at the Vatican, is threatening to sue blogger Vox Cantoris.  Go here to read the letter from Rosica’s attorneys threatening such action.  Well, I wonder if this will be the way in future that the current powers that be at the Vatican deal with criticism?  Perhaps they have a new translation of Matthew 5: 11 that goes something like this:

Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: because then ye can lawyer up and sueth the pants off the bastards.

Not Christian and not smart.  The Vatican has just started a brawl with all Catholic bloggers other than the most sycophantic.

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Tito Edwards
Admin
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 8:08am

So the Vatican has declared war on Catholic bloggers, not so smart.

Father of seven
Father of seven
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 8:28am

As Ronald Reagen said, “Personnel is policy.”

Phillip
Phillip
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 8:30am
Philip
Philip
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 8:37am

The threatening letters from Rome should be directed to All Catholic faithful who support so-called same sex marriage and abortion. This perverse generation has deep roots…even in Rome.

Ten cent question; Who’s next?
TAC? You? Me?

bill bannon
bill bannon
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 8:56am

I Corinthians 6 apparently is the next ignored scripture…ala Rom.13:4 inter alia:

” Lawsuits Before Unbelievers.[a] 1 How can any one of you with a case against another dare to bring it to the unjust for judgment instead of to the holy ones? 2 [b]Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world? If the world is to be judged by you, are you unqualified for the lowest law courts? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? Then why not everyday matters? 4 If, therefore, you have courts for everyday matters, do you seat as judges people of no standing in the church? 5 I say this to shame you. Can it be that there is not one among you wise enough to be able to settle a case between brothers? 6 But rather brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers?”

TLM
TLM
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 9:47am

Unbelievable LUNACY. The way I understand this is that Fr. Lombardi is Fr. Rosica’s direct superior, and after Fr. Lombardi is of course the Holy Father. You mean to tell me they are not aware of this rocket science maneuver? LOL……..REALLY?

D Black
D Black
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 10:51am

Once again Voris tap dances around implicating the pope in anything. Voris himself has came out and said anyone that criticizes Francis is not being a faithful Catholic.
It was Francis who left the nonsense about sodomy and communion for divorced Catholics without an annulment in the final report of the Synod. The upcoming Synod will be more of a 3-ring circus than the last one was. Miss B16 yet?

Karl
Karl
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 11:28am

What goes around SOMETIMES comes around.

It a very stupid choice to make it seems to me.

trackback
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 11:56am

[…]   Father Thomas Rosica Threatening to Sue a […]

Patricia
Patricia
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 12:19pm

Even Shakespeare said that the ‘quality of mercy is not strained’ in “The Merchant of Venice”. Bill Bannon has more apt references for those who promulgate mercy.
My father spoke of ‘nervous wreckers’.

Don the Kiwi
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 4:29pm

D Black.

“Miss B16 yet?”

Missed him since the day he retired.

Steve D.
Steve D.
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 4:41pm

First the FFI persecution, then Card. Burke accused of being a dissenter, and now Catholic bloggers threatened. Things are not good when Rome is your enemy.

George Haberberger
George Haberberger
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 4:47pm

And yet Nancy Pelosi gets to keep claiming she’s a good Catholic.

Philip
Philip
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 6:20pm

Maybe it’s time to attach our prayer requests to balloons!

Jay Anderson
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 6:33pm

Lent probably isn’t the best time to say something like this, but any Church in which Cardinal Burke is considered a “dissenter” is not a Church of which I care to be a part.

Jay Anderson
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 6:45pm

By the way, that comment is neither a statement of dissent or schism. I’m not going anywhere. It’s more of a statement of my discomfort of where things appear to be headed – a Church where the most faithful servants like Cardinal Burke are treated like they’re the least faithful. I certainly don’t count myself — the worst of sinners — in that category, but I DON’T care to be a part of a Church that rewards the Wuerls and the Rosicas and those in opposition to the Church’s timeless teachings while punishing as “dissenters” those who try to live by those teachings.
***
Yet, where else am I to go?

D Black
D Black
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 6:51pm

Yes Cardinal Burke is exiled because he follows authentic Catholic Doctrine, not garbage such as the following. Pray that Cardinal Burke becomes Pope very soon. The Catholic Church we know will not exist after the Bergoglio demolition.

https://fromrome.wordpress.com/2015/02/19/team-bergoglio-announces-synod-will-accept-homo-marriage/

Jay Anderson
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 7:02pm

I’d love to see Cardinal Burke become Pope, although I don’t believe it would ever happen.
***
The best part of a Burke papacy would be watching all the “conservative” ultra-montanists who are now dismissing Cardinal Burke as a “dissenter” and a “reactionary” and a “bureaucrat” scramble to delete all those nasty blog and Facebook posts about him.
***
Alas, I don’t think such a scenario is in the cards.

Philip
Philip
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 7:14pm

Fr. Rosica’s threat’s will backfire.

That’s my hope. October will produce a very clear picture of what a dissenter looks like.

Popcorn will be ready. btw…With Isis threatening the Vatican now is not a good time to threaten your own.
It’s sort of like scolding your family in a Christmas letter. Just saying.

Anzlyne
Anzlyne
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 8:08pm

How does this work? at what jurisdiction would such a suit be filed? Italian? I don’t know much about international law- or law anywhere.

Mary De Voe
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 8:17pm

Pope Francis is going to sue some bloggers for quoting him?

Seppe
Seppe
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 8:53pm

The threat of a lawsuit is to scare bloggers and silence any criticism ahead of the coming Synod… The Catholic bloggers have done great work exposing some of the political maneuvers that happened behind the scenes in an attempt to determine the direction of the Synod and spin public opinion. Remember Cardinal Kasper’s interactions with the African cardinals and then denying it? A reporter’s credibility was almost ruined, save for the fact he had a recording of Cardinal Kasper saying the very words he tried to deny that he said…

Philip
Philip
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 8:56pm

Mary De Voe.

Yes! He was quoted for having said; “Itsie bitsie spider came up the water spout..out came the doctrine and washed the spider out…out came the Son and dried up all the reign, ending the conflict never to be heard from again.” Or something like that. 🙂

Penguins Fan
Penguins Fan
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 10:06pm

We should all know that there are and always have been “social climbers” among the Catholic hierarchy. Some of ’em have been enough to make even the most devout Catholic disgusted.

From what I can gather, the Catholic Church in Canada is in a lot worse shape than here in the US. Quebec was one of the most Catholic places on Earth. but no more. Then we have the Winnipeg Statement, where the Canadian bishops trashed Humanae Vitae. The Human Rights Commissions smack upside the head anyone who questions homosexuality. I know that Fr. Rosica helped start Salt + Light TV, the Catholic cable TV network, which needed Canadian government approval to get started. Other than that I know only what I read about him in the blog. Suing makes him come across like a ninny. Fr. Rosica should try being a Catholic priest in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Russia, China, etc. and stop his whining. So some blogger trashed him. If I were that blogger I would send the good Father a box of Depends and tell him I would pray as many Rosaries for him as that nice group of Catholics that Pope Francis trashed for doing so.

Now for Cardinal Wuerl. He spent a LOT of time in Rome during the reign of Blessed Paul VI. He was Cardinal Wright’s personal servant. He was on the good side of st. John Paul II, who was going to keep Bishop Wuerl in his hometown of Pittsburgh so long as he lived. Pittsburgh is still one of the largest dioceses in the USA and bigger than many archdioceses, but it is NOT an archdiocese itself (part of the Philadelphia province) and no Pittsburgh bishop can become a Cardinal and vote for a Pope. Bishop Wuerl shocked me 11 years ago when he approved of John FARC Kerry, golddigging hubby of John Heinz’ widow , receiving Communion. Bishop Wuerl went after priests accused of abuse. He also shut down parishes and under his rule vocations dropped.

+Wuerl got his break when Cardinal Levada recommended to Pope Benedict that +Wuerl go to Washington. The Pittsburgh Diocese has about 200,000 more Catholics than the Washington Archdiocese (only part of the DC metro area, the other part is the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia that has around 500K Catholics), but the Pittsburgh bishop will never get a red hat and the Washington Archbishop always gets one. I felt sad to see him go but that was then and I’m glad he’s gone. The problem is that +Wuerl may be the most powerful American cleric in the Catholic Church and that is as bad as having Jorge Bergoglio as Pope. How much you wanna bet that +Wuerl helped convince Papa Francesco to demote +Wuerl’s archenemy, +Burke? or, for that matter, did +Wuerl recommend +Cupich for Chicago?

+Wuerl is among the bunch who tends to treat Communion as a communal meal rather than as a sacrament. +Wuerl knows what Canon Law 915 says and wants nothing to do with it.

The Internet is on thing we have to hold the wayward clerics’ feet to the fire.

Thomas
Thomas
Thursday, February 19, AD 2015 11:03pm

Can the Vatican really think that it can sue 1,000,000 bloggers and not lose at least half of the lawsuits, what a waste of time and money.

Penguins Fan
Penguins Fan
Friday, February 20, AD 2015 4:28am

Fr. Rosica, who is Canadian, may be suing another Canadian. It’s an action taken by Fr. Rosica.

trackback
Friday, February 20, AD 2015 5:48am

[…] official Father Thomas Rosica to threaten a defamation suit against blogger Vox Cantoris.  Go here to read about it.  What follows is that […]

TLM
TLM
Friday, February 20, AD 2015 7:03am

It’s an intimidation ploy Thomas. What Fr. Rosica (and the Vatican, because I as well cannot believe Fr. Lombardi or the Holy Father either one are not aware of this action) wants is to shut down anyone who does not believe in their progressive agenda in regards to the Synod. They want to silence faithful Catholics who oppose heresy. That is the bottom line.

I also read yesterday, interestingly enough, that the NEW head of the FFI (remember, the one the Vatican destroyed last year) is coming out loud and clear on the supposed ‘lies’ that Rorate Caeli is publishing on the horrid treatment of the former FFI from the Vatican. Expect rough treatment from Rome on Bloggers who uphold truth. It seems to be their ‘mission’ to trash and intimidate faithful Catholic Bloggers who tell it like it is. The wolves are priming for the kill.

Shawn Marshall
Shawn Marshall
Friday, February 20, AD 2015 7:33am

But who are we to judge homosexual perversity, abortion, Islamic brutality or atheism. You orthodox better watch out.

D Black
D Black
Friday, February 20, AD 2015 9:19am

Penguins Fan: The newly installed bishop of Burlington, Vt, is all on-board with transsexuals and says they are “innate” in nature. Another Catholic bishop that snubs his nose at Catholic teaching.

“Christopher Coyne, the newly-installed Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, says he “[sees] no reason why transgender people would not be welcome in church” and acknowledges that gender identity is innate, rather than actively chosen”.

http://www.bilerico.com/2015/02/vermont_catholic_bishop.php

A good book that explains the reason for all this debauchery in the Church.

http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Final-Battle-Father-Kramer/dp/0966304659

Mary De Voe
Friday, February 20, AD 2015 1:15pm

Philip: A saver. You are a poet. “Along came a spider and sat down beside her and scared Little Miss Muffet away.” to quote Mother Goose. BTW there was a real Mother Goose and she is buried in the cemetery in Boston Mass. FWIW

Penguins Fan
Penguins Fan
Friday, February 20, AD 2015 3:45pm

D. Black……some time ago, Dale Price warned us all of what was to come. Mr. Price told his readers to pray for their bishops and hope they stay put because your fate could be that of the Chicago Archdiocese or the Burlington Diocese.

So many Catholic dioceses have suffered under lousy leadership. It looked like things were changing under Papa Benedetto. I sincerely believe +Wuerl’s fingerprints are all over almost every American bishop appointment, which means a whole bunch of Bishop Lynch of St. Petersburg all over the US. Not good, not good at all. +Wuerl could have promoted Bishop Zubik of Pittsburgh or Bishop Tobin of Providence, RI for the Chicago Archdiocese job, but they are NOT cut from the same cloth as +Wuerl. Bishop Zubik invited the FSSP when +Zubik was in Green Bay and +Zubik created a parish for the Pittsburgh Latin Mass community. Bishop Tobin has openly and forcefully confronted the Culture of Death.

Ya won’t see that from +Wuerl.

Brendan
Brendan
Friday, February 20, AD 2015 7:21pm

A shepherd threatening to sue a sheep.

Aint the new, more tolerant Church just great?

Guest
Guest
Saturday, February 21, AD 2015 2:44am

Well if Pope Francis doesn’t understand free markets (or if he does he eschews the concept) and now apparently he and his closest advisors do not grasp the concept of free speech either.

Should we be surprised?

Michael Paterson-Seymour
Michael Paterson-Seymour
Saturday, February 21, AD 2015 4:20am

Anzlyne asked, “How does this work? at what jurisdiction would such a suit be filed? Italian? I don’t know much about international law- or law anywhere.”
As the gist of the delict is publication, an action for injurious falsehood can be raised wherever it is published or distributed. A blog would appear to be actionable anywhere in the world that someone had read it.
Moreover, publication to A, to B, to C are separate delicts and separate actions can be raised is each jurisdiction, though for practical reasons it is usual to sue where the defender can be served, personally or edictally, or his assets can be arrested jurisdictionis fundandae causa.
Of course, a non-domicied pursuer will be ordered to find caution and surety for the defender’s expenses, in case he loses or abandons the action. In Scotland, in an action for injurious falsehood, I would expect £50K up to adjustment of pleadings, the same for the debate on the relevancy and then £250K-£500K for the proof.

TLM
TLM
Saturday, February 21, AD 2015 6:22am

Penguin Fan,

Yes, I am one of the ‘lucky’ recipients of the new Bishop Cupich in Chicago. Chosen basically by Wuerl. We’ve not had much time to experience him in action yet, but according to reports he’s not a fan of adoration, the TLM, or pro life marches. But, he was on national TV a few months back stating the ‘Communion Rail’ is not a ‘political tool’. Further elaborating, he said that the Eucharist was a ‘Sacrament of Mercy’. (somehow I think he is confusing the Eucharist for Confession, buy hey, I learned about my faith in Catholic Schools via the Baltimore Catechism, so who am I?) It never ceases to amaze me the theological explanations these progressive Prelates give and how ridiculous they sound compared to TRUTH. So yes, Cupich is Wuerl’s man. The people of Chicago are already missing Cardinal George. He was not afraid to go up against the ‘Chicago Machine’ in his fight for life and anti gay marriage……..PUBLICLY AND OFTEN. Sorry if I kind of wandered ‘off topic’.

Patricia
Patricia
Saturday, February 21, AD 2015 8:36am

http://voxcantor.blogspot.com/
The letter from the Solicitors can accessed at the above.
M P-S, Is that letter the ‘delict’ ? Thank you for answering Anzylne’s question.

Michael Paterson-Seymour
Michael Paterson-Seymour
Saturday, February 21, AD 2015 9:50am

Patricia

A “delict” is equivalent to what American lawyers refer to as a tort.

The letter condescends upon nine entries alleged to be “libellous of our client.” It is these and the resulting damage to Fr Roscia’s reutation that are alleged to constitute the delict of libel or injurious falsehood.

Now, obviously, there is no damage to reputation &c and hence no delict until someone actually reads the entry or entries. That is why I said an action can be raised whereever it can be proved that someone read the words complained of. Thus, if I am defamed in a French newspaper, copies of which are sold in Scotland, I can raise an action in Scotland as well as in France.

James
James
Saturday, February 21, AD 2015 6:04pm

Sun Tzu gives some very wise advice when he teaches “Know your enemy!” Perhaps the Catholic bloggers should form an association with dues and a command structure and then get donations from those of us commenters and other interested folks. This could be partially used for a “War chest”, which would allow for hiring of investigators to search through the lives of clergy who are enemies and pose a violent threat to any one blogger. I use the term “violent” deliberately. Rosica need not show up at your door with a club or knife or gun. He can ruin a blogger financially with lawsuits and other actions. I consider that doing violent damage to a person. This is an explosively expanding front in the spiritual and temporal war on faithful Catholics.

Anzlyne
Anzlyne
Saturday, February 21, AD 2015 6:58pm

Thank you Michael P-S. I was wondering since blogs are read everywhere; I didn’t know if you can always tell the location of origin of publication. I did look up out of curiosity and found an article by the Fordham Law review about jurisdiction over WWW which seems totally unwieldy. Your explanation makes sense.

Phillip
Phillip
Sunday, February 22, AD 2015 6:14am

“…but according to reports he’s not a fan of adoration…”

“Further elaborating, he said that the Eucharist was a ‘Sacrament of Mercy’.”

Years ago, when in a diaconate training program, a priest from a local Catholic university taught sacramental theology. He sent out reading beforehand that was about sex slaves in Thailand. The long and short of it all was just that the sacraments were merely expressions of the community. Baptism was the community accepting the newborn and the priesthood the community giving authority to a person to lead the communal meal. The Mass was not the sacrifice of Christ but a communal meal (In Spokane, Cupich called the Mass the “breaking of bread.”) There was no Real Presence other than the real presence of the community. Thus, adoration was useless as there was no Christ in the tabernacle. This communal meal was then a sharing between all and thus could be seen as a sacrament of mercy through material giving. Ultimately, sacraments then were merely an extension of social justice.

Michael Paterson-Seymour
Michael Paterson-Seymour
Sunday, February 22, AD 2015 6:30am

Philip wrote, “In Spokane, Cupich called the Mass the “breaking of bread.”

As did St Luke, on more than one occasion:-

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread [τῇ κλάσει τοῦ ἄρτου], and in prayers. (2:42)

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house [κλῶντές τε κατ’ οἶκον ἄρτον], did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart (2:46)

And upon the first [day] of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread [συνηγμένων τῶν μαθητῶν τοῦ κλάσαι ἄρτον], Paul preached unto them. (20:7)

TLM
TLM
Sunday, February 22, AD 2015 7:00am

It is ‘The Breaking of Bread’ and ‘The Communal Meal’ and SOO MUCH MORE THAN THAT! It is the true presence of Jesus, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity which Bishop Cupich and many more of our Bishops do not believe. They see Communion as only ‘The Breaking of Bread’ done in Communion with the Faithful. I think here lies the problem. Many many of our Prelates do not believe in the Real Presence. This is the same theology of the Protestant world. Accordingly then that would make us no different from them.

Phillip
Phillip
Sunday, February 22, AD 2015 7:08am

MPS,

And St Luke went beyond a mere, literal understanding of the words to an understanding of the Real Presence. Something understood for 1900 years.

I have pointed out some current thought in Catholic Theology on what “breaking bread” means. One that is merely that of a meal and denies the presence of Christ, body and soul, humanity and divinity in the host. One that denies the value of adoration.

The question here is what does Cupich believe? Given that he appears to deny the value of adoration, then on may conclude that he denies the very apostolic understanding, even that of Luke, on the Real Presence.

Mary De Voe
Sunday, February 22, AD 2015 9:31am

If Traditional Catholics may be sued over their beliefs, then, non-traditional Catholics in the hierarchy may be sued for not representing us. The Soul of Christ, in the Real Presence on the altar must also be in the heart of every real person. Impostors, frauds and the like ought to be sued for impersonating a prelate, committing perjury before God, swearing a falsehood, uttering a bad check, as it were, to God for their souls.
.
Let us take up the “War Chest” and sue the (here censored) evildoers and devil-worshipers in Roman collars before it is too late.

Mary De Voe
Sunday, February 22, AD 2015 9:39am

On second thought, suing may not be enough. Exorcism may be the only way to free these possessed souls from the devil’s grasp.

TLM
TLM
Sunday, February 22, AD 2015 6:38pm

Phillip,

These modernists twist the gospel and spin the ‘interpretation’ to mean what they want it to mean. If you were to ask the good Bishop, he would never deny Luke, but you can bet your bottom dollar he would spin the interpretation. Modernists seem to think that the ‘Doctrine’ of the Church ………’EVOLVES’. This is exactly what they want to do with the Doctrine on Marriage in the Synod. They of course argue that they are not out to ‘change’ anything, but to ‘clarify’ Doctrine according to the culture we find ourselves in. Clever, but with most faithful Catholics it won’t work……..they will see through it.

M.Violet GG
M.Violet GG
Thursday, February 26, AD 2015 2:36pm

The Vatican and this includes Fr. Roscia would do well to pay attention to what the secular press publishes. I am stunned and deeply saddened by this turn of events. Faithful Catholics being persecuted by Vatican staff, seriously Fr. Roscia!!! Haven’t you got better things to do with your time and energy, like praying perhaps.

Everyone has a right to their opinion even you.

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