Life Site News: Plea to the Pope video

*loud wild applause* 

From Youtube video description: 

Published on Jul 13, 2016
ROME, July 13, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) -- In a spirit of love, humility, and faithfulness, 16 international life and family advocates are asking Pope Francis in a powerful new video to unambiguously speak the truth of the Catholic faith, to end doctrinal confusion, to restore clarity, and to be the Holy Father that Catholics need. 

“We are living in a very special time of a deep crisis of faith inside the Church,” said Bishop Athanasius Schneider, the Auxiliary in the diocese of Maria Santissima in Kazakhstan, who opens the video, produced by LifeSiteNews. 

“It is not a secret. It is very evident. A lot of people, the simple faithful, are suffering because of the situation of confusion,” he added. 

The 30-minute film, titled Plea to the Pope, comes in the wake of confusion caused by the pope’s April release of his Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, in which he made a number of concerning statements about marriage, divorce, sin, reception of Holy Communion, and sex education for children. The Exhortation has generated numerous contradictory interpretations from various theologians as well as cardinals and bishops. 

Bishop Schneider called it “very urgent” that the pope “states more clearly, in a very unambiguous manner — in such a manner which will not leave any space for misinterpretations — [on] the issues of family and the sacredness of marriage.” 

The film contains an impressive lineup of international life and family advocates who decided that the time had come to voice their concerns for the good of the Church, of souls, and of nations. 

Watch short version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR4xcStBARU

Read full report at LifeSiteNews.com: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/plea-to-the-pope-life-and-family-leaders-call-on-pope-to-end-the-confusion

Sign Petition to Pope Francis here: https://www.lifesitenews.com/petitions/pray-for-pope-francis



God bless you to ALL who took part in this video!  Thank you for speaking out! I pray that this video message will reach the Holy Father and he will listen.

So happy this video has been made!  Praise the Lord!


In Christ,


Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

How do you stop a pope who has gone off the rails?

"If the faith is in imminent peril, prelates ought to be accused by their subjects, even in public." -St. Thomas Aquinas 

How do we stop a pope who has clearly (for a while now) gone off the rails? 

No, seriously.  What do we do?  Sit by and watch as Pope Francis continues the downward spiral of spouting heretical ideology that is causing chaos and mass confusion in the world?

We do nothing?  Just stand by and watch people go to hell with a helping hand from the Vicar of Christ? 

How long do we keep saying "He hasn't officially changed Church teaching" to comfort ourselves when we've got a pope saying things like fornicators have "real marriages" because of their "fidelity to each other"? 

Quote: He [Pope Francis] said that in Argentina’s northeast countryside, couples have a child and live together. They have a civil wedding when the child goes to school, and when they become grandparents they “get married religiously.”
“It’s a superstition, because marriage frightens the husband. It’s a superstition we have to overcome,” the Pope said. “I’ve seen a lot of fidelity in these cohabitations, and I am sure that this is a real marriage, they have the grace of a real marriage because of their fidelity, but there are local superstitions, etc.”

When did fidelity fornication become sinless?  Is this not a "new teaching" by a Catholic pope?  How many people living in the mortal sin of cohabitation will now not even consider an actual valid marriage because Pope Francis has just made this latest SCANDALOUS statement?

So go ahead and fornicate folks, if you are loyal to each other Pope Francis "is sure" you have a "real marriage" even though you've never gotten married.  Pope Francis has just redefined the word "fornicator". 

Can the rest of the Catholic world now call Pope Francis' ideology heresy? 

What else will it take before we collectively call a spade a spade? 

When our first pope, Saint Peter was wrong about his treatment of the Gentile converts nearly everyone was silent.  It seemed no one was willing to step up and tell the pope he was wrong- then Saint Paul stood up and opened his mouth and corrected Saint Peter.  Peter accepted the correction and world didn't end.  Should it be any different today? 

I don't have to list all the things this pope has said and done over the last few years - you all know what I am talking about.

Is there no one at the Vatican willing to correct Pope Francis?  No one? No backbones to be found among the clergy?  What a disgrace!

Is it to fall to the laity here and there around the world, whom the pope probably doesn't hear and wouldn't listen to anyway, to speak up?

I know everyone sees it - including clergy, too many simply will not tell the truth about what we all see happening. 

Shame on you for your silence, souls are being lost and you sit by and do nothing to stop it!

In Christ and weeping, 


Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 


Source: 
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/most-marriages-today-are-invalid-pope-francis-suggests-51752/



Catholic Church teaching (before Pope Francis): 

Catechism:

2353 Fornication is carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children. Moreover, it is a grave scandal when there is corruption of the young.

2396 Among the sins gravely contrary to chastity are masturbation, fornication, pornography, and homosexual practices.


***ADDITION: 
Fox News article asking for Pope Francis to resign: 

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/06/17/enough-is-enough-pope-francis-should-resign.html

Catholic Event: Marriage, Love, Sex and Family Seminar

What does the Church say about Marriage, Love, Sex and Family?

The Franciscan Life Center is offering a two-day seminar on marriage, love, sexuality and family based on the Teachings of the Catholic Church.  

Individuals, groups, engaged and married couples are invited to attend this seminar on Saturday, February 27th, 2016, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, February 28th, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at, 275 Finch Avenue, Meriden, Connecticut.  

Presenters include:  Sister Suzanne Gross, FSE, Administrator, Franciscan Home Care and Hospice Care ; Sister Barbara Johnson, FSE, Executive Director, Franciscan Life Center; Sister John Mary Sullivan, FSE, Program Specialist for the Life, Marriage and Family Office, Archdiocese of Vancouver, BC; married couples and individuals dedicated to this issue. 

Lunch is included both days in the $65.00 per person charge. For more information contact Gretchen Rossi at (203) 237-8084 or visit our web site at www.flcenter.org or www.franciscanhc.org.

++++

Contributor: Paul A. Zalonski

Catholic Connecticut

255 Foxon Hill Road

East Haven, CT 06513-1216 USA

Email Paul directly: 

CatholicCT@gmail.com

Follow Paul on Twitter @CatholicCT

Connect with Paul on Facebook "Catholic Connecticut CatholicCT"

********

Why did the Catholic Church flip-flop on weddings?

Over at the National Catholic Register, Patti Armstrong writes an article asking clergy and laity whether or not Catholics should attend a wedding outside the Catholic Church between a baptized Catholic and a non-Catholic. 

The reason behind the debate is because the Code of Canon Law states: “Only those marriages are valid which are contracted before the local [bishop], pastor or a priest or deacon delegated by either of them who assist, and before two witnesses” (1108 §1).Canon law does not prohibit Catholics from attending invalid weddings, Father Pacwa [EWTN] explained, but he said that Catholics must discern carefully. “Every situation will call upon our reserves of prayer, discernment and evaluation,” he said. “And a good confession before making any decision is always a good idea.”According to him, maintaining peace within families is very important, but there is also the question of motive: “Are they trying to put me in an uncomfortable position to prove their point? Or do they simply not see that there is an issue at stake?”

Many opinions are given...but little Catholic documentation. 

I'd like to share the clear teachings the Church once held and taught to Catholics on the subject of 'mixed marriages', weddings outside the Church and Catholics assisting or participating in such marriages. 

I've mentioned many times, that I collect and adore old Catholic books.  These are the sort of books that weigh a ton and were published by the Church for teaching.  One such book is "The Manual of The Holy Catholic Church; Embracing The Beautiful Teachings and The Light From the Altar", published in 1906 by the Catholic Art and Publication Office of Chicago, Ill. published with the approbation of The Most Rev. James Edward Quigley, D.D. Archbishop of Chicago in 1906.  It is this book I am quoting from today (highlights are mine).

"It is frequently asked if it is allowable for Catholics to act as bridesmaids or groomsmen at any marriage, whether in a church or in a private house at which the ceremony is conducted by a Protestant minister, or at a purely civil marriage?    'As to the question, viz., whether Catholics may lawfully act as bridesmaids or grooms at Protestant or civil marriages, we should answer; A Catholic is at liberty to act as official witness to a lawful marriage contract, if the assistance does not imply assent to conditions otherwise forbidden in conscience.  Hence if two persons, who are not baptized, choose to marry before a magistrate, exercising their natural right, which a Catholic reasonably respects, he is at liberty to attest such a marriage by his presence as an official witness, just as he might attest to any other lawful and solemn contract.  Here there is no denial of faith.   No Catholic is, however, at liberty to act as official witness to a marriage unlawful before God, such as the marriage ceremony of a divorced party already rightly married according to Christian or the natural law; or a party that is Catholic and publicly denies his or her faith by neglecting the sacramental rite in favor of a purely civil ceremony before the magistrate, unless there be no priest to perform the rites of the Church; or a party that is leading a scandalous life which would justify the prospect of shame, divorce, or neglect; for though such person may not pretend to any religious convictions, and protest their mere intention to make a natural mutual contract, yet prudence and respect for the moral order should forbid a Catholic to assist at such marriage contracts.   A third principle, already explained in the answer to the question whether a double religious ceremonial is permissible, forbids Catholics to take part in any marriage ceremony which bears the character of religious worship other than that of the Catholic Church.  Hence a Catholic may not lawfully assist at a marriage in a Protestant church which is intended to have a religious aspect." 

I'd like to point out that one type of "unlawful marriage" is (according to another passage in this book there are several different types of "unlawful" marriages) a marriage between a Catholic and a non-Catholic outside the Church without proper permission.

The part that says "No Catholic, is however, at liberty to act as official witness to a marriage unlawful before God..." begs to be answered (at least in my mind) how could a once considered "unlawful marriage" suddenly become lawful when nothing has changed but the opinion of the Church?  

If God thought these marriages were "unlawful" for centuries and the Church forbid Catholics from participating in them what changed?  Did God change His opinion on what an unlawful marriage is or did the Church change it's opinion thus changing its teaching?  What basis was used to change this point of view?

I guess the question then would be 'what constitutes a witness'?  

Guests at a wedding are witnesses to the ceremony, are they not?

What was once forbidden is now celebrated.  

To see the complete turn around on this Catholic teaching to what is now allowed visit: http://catholicdoors.com/misc/marriage/canonlaw.htm

Reading all of this brings several questions to my mind...

First, are we better off now having completely turned around the Church's position on mixed marriages and ceremonies than we were decades ago?

How many Catholics attend the weddings of people who are 'remarrying' after a divorce without an annulment? Do they discuss this in Confession with their priest?  If they did...what would he tell them?

And finally, is it any wonder at all, that progressives wrongly believe and hope that one day the Church will change its teachings on gay 'marriage'? 





In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 


Source: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-other-marriage-debate/
Source: http://catholicdoors.com/teaching/index.htm

A Father/Daughter Incestuous 'Marriage'

***GRAPHIC DISCUSSION ON INCEST*** 

I’ve tried writing this article several different ways - because it’s so graphic and disturbing I keep second guessing myself on how much to actually show and discuss here, but the truth is, there is no way to clean this up.  There is no way, this topic isn’t disturbing- to most of us. 

A few days ago, NY Magazine published an interview (that some people believe might be a hoax- I certainly hope it is) with a young 18 year old woman who depicts her sexual relationship with her father- whom she is now planning to “marry” in a paperless ceremony (because no state will as yet legally marry them).  The article is GRAPHIC and unbelievably disturbing.  The article is called “What it’s like to date your Dad”- though it’s really about having sex with your biological father and the physical sexual attraction they have to each other.  Again, a very disturbing topic and very graphic article by NY Magazine- be warned.

So you might wonder why even mention it on a Catholic blog… because years ago most of the population thought gay “marriage” was disturbing and immoral and yet today, it is more acceptable than many thought possible.  And years before that, adultery and living with people outside of marriage was believed immoral and wrong, yet today…it’s typical in our society.  Discussing this disturbing case of father/daughter incest is important because I believe that inside of a decade, incest will be not only legal, but also acceptable in our secular society. 

We are a deranged immoral society driven by lust, sex and greed.  We want what we want and we don’t want anyone to tell us we are wrong.  The comments at the end of the incest article were mostly supportive that the female was in desperate need of therapy and her father should be locked up.  But not all those who left comments thought a father having sex with his daughter was a bad thing.  Many people had the “who am I to judge” mentality.  They expressed their opinion that if two consenting adults (the woman is now 18, but was a minor when the sexual relationship began) want to have sex and get married it was “no one else’s business” and they should not only be allowed to legally have a sexual relationship, but also should be allowed to get married and have children. 

The interview is EXTREMEMLY GRAPHIC – so be warned.  This will be disturbing.  I am showing what was actually said because I want you to SEE the sick thinking that attempts to justify incest as “love” and therefore perfectly acceptable.  This is not love.  This is evil.  There are people who read this article and SYMPATHIZED with the father and daughter’s “love” for each other.  

People who can’t understand what immoral means…it isn’t part of their vocabulary anymore.  If it feels good and you want to do it, who is to judge you for it?  That is the mentality of our society.  So when you read this interview and you feel shocked and sickened today, remember not too long ago others felt the same way about the prospect of gay “marriage” and gay sexual relationships.

If decent people do nothing to stop the immoral behavior of our society this will become our new “normal” and after it there will be no limits.  God didn’t warn about sexual abominations because they weren’t a possibility in our lives, He warned us about them because He knew how depraved mankind can be. 

Below are clips of the interview - warning the dialogue is GRAPHIC.

First the daughter discusses her younger teenage background a bit: 

Now the daughter begins to discuss her sexual attraction to her father whom she hadn't grown up with or seen in twelve years.  She is about 16 years old at this point:

 WARNING GRAPHIC 

So in five days of reuniting with her father whom she hasn't seen in twelve years, this teenager has sex with him. 

I can't get my own mind around the fact that the biological grandma and grandpa support their son having sex with and "marrying" their granddaughter- his daughter.  This is so incredibly appalling that I understand why so many who read the article believe it MUST be a hoax.  It's simply too hard to believe and yet, I fear it sadly is true. 

This is just the sort of thing the devil loves.  He delights in immoral behavior and in getting others to deny its sinfulness and instead embrace it as "love".  

The disturbing interview continues...

This daughter is clearly in need of help and yet no family members or friends or even laws are there to help her.  The "father" should be locked up and kept from other children (if you read the article there is a mention of this "father" and his relationship with his daughter's younger half sister- I fear for the half sister that she too might one day have a sexual relationship with this guy).

After reading that (and more in the complete interview) some people shared their SUPPORT for incest and the "right" of all people (including biological) to have sex and get married.  

Notice all the comments about NOT judging incest.

Yet there was one lone voice that said exactly what I was thinking while reading the article...why?

He's right but I think there is more to it.  The fuller answer to me is because it's the first step in making incest acceptable in our society.  The article hit sympathy strings in many readers, as shown in the comments.  This is exactly how gay "marriage" became acceptable and normalized in our secular society today. 

We've got television shows about polygamous marriages that have changed peoples attitudes to having multiple spouses.  A few comments mentioned that this article could be a stepping stone to a new line of reality shows depicting incestuous families as "normal".  Think it can't happen?  It can, we've seen it before and sadly if decent moral people don't stand up against it, we will see it again and again.

Pray for our society.  We are so depraved and fallen and yet most of us don't even know it.

God help us all.

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

Source:  http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/01/what-its-like-to-date-your-dad.html

Incest father/daughter case in Connecticut: http://www.newstimes.com/policereports/article/Bethel-man-daughter-charged-in-sex-case-4091443.php

Just because I love it...

I confess, I am a big fan of the music group "One Direction" and when I saw this trending now video of a groom, his nephew and their backup crew sing and dance to "You don't know you're beautiful" (my favorite song by them) to the new bride... well, I just thought it was great.

Love the groom and nephew duo!

Christians And Same Sex Marriage

So many Christian's and their denominations are struggling with the issue of same sex marriage and relationships. Why? The bible is clear on this. It has nothing to do with "homophobia" or being "biased" or wanting to make some people into "second class citizens". God, not man, decides what is sin and what is not. Man has the choice to accept the Word of God or reject it. The scriptures list what God calls sin. For Christians, Catholics and Protestants alike we proclaim Christ as our Savior and follow our Lord and his teachings to the best of our abilities. There are many laws in the bible, but on the issue of same sex marriage we need to look at Moral Law and the institution of marriage in the bible between men and women, not people of the same sex. We look to God's Word because we are Christians and the bible is a wonderful tool- gift really- to be used in teaching God's will for us and our lives. Should we thump non-Christians over the head with our bibles? No. They have the choice and free will to accept or reject God's teachings. For those of us who call ourselves Christians, we have made our choice and must adhere to the Word of God in all things in our lives.
Why do some Christians think that the Moral Laws of the Old Testament where tossed out by Jesus Christ in the New Testament? Did Jesus ever say that adultery, fornication and/or sexual immorality etc., are A-Okay under the New Covenant? No, he did not. So that tells us that ALL those things (Moral Law) still apply today for believers. It is still wrong to rape, murder, commit incest, adultery, fornication and all forms of sexual immorality as defined by God (man didn't decide what was immoral, God did). The liberal (religious, not political) argument that is spewed out about Leviticus Moral laws only apply to Jews is a house built on sand with the tide coming in.
The Moral Laws include (but are not limited to) not murdering, raping, stealing, fornicating, incest, sex with animals and more, those things are still wrong. The liberal religious thinking that gay relationships are okay after Jesus came is absurd. You can't pick one Old Testament sexual abomination and say "This one is OK now, but all the others are still abominations." Either they ALL are or they are not. Is it OK for a father to have sex with his daughter now? Is it OK for a brother to have sex with his sister in law now? Is it OK for siblings to have sex now? All of these are listed in Lev.18 as wrong, sinful and you can't pick one out of this list and stamp it as "good" while rejecting the rest as still wrong. That is ridiculous. All the sexual immorality abominations in Lev.18 are still abominations in the New Testament. Jesus never said "Oh and by the way, all those sexual abominations in Lev. still hold true except for the "man with man" one, you can do that all ya want now." That is not biblical no matter how people try to twist the Word of God or justify their actions. God will not be mocked and the Truth will always be the Truth. That will not change no matter who says what.
The Word of God is built on the Rock of Truth, not the sand of the liberal religious wishing to rewrite the Word. The Old and New Testaments up hold Moral Law, all Moral Law.
Romans 1:24 "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. 26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."
Also, 1 Cor.5 addresses the issue of the sexually immoral (in all its forms) within the church and what the church is told to do about these people (vs 13). The strawman that some attempt to build (that we've all heard a thousand times) is "well you eat shellfish! blah, blah, blah" (referencing dietary laws placed on the Jews under the Old Covenant). Apparently these people can't grasp the difference between dietary laws and Moral Law (and Jesus knew it too when he said "Are you so dull?"). Jesus was clear on the dietary law in the New Testament.
Mark 7:18 "Are you so dull?" he [Jesus] asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? 19For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.") 20He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'"
The next strawman that gets tossed out by some is "Monogamous gay love is OK with Jesus". Where did that come from? Certainly not God or the bible in any verses we can find. Monogamy has nothing to do with it. The sin is the same if you have one partner or a hundred! It's the relationship that is wrong. That's a bit like saying a father who has four daughters isn't wrong if he has sex with only one of them, but if he has sex with all of them then its wrong. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. The relationship is immoral. That is the sin according to scriptures. The amount of times the act happens is just how many times you need to repent of the same sin. That is The Word of God, no one has to accept it for their lives, Christianity isn't forced on anyone. But if you claim to be a Christian then you must accept and believe the Word of God taught by Christ our Savior. That is how we follow Christ and become Christians by believing the Word and accepting it as the Word of our God and Savior.
If we do not repent or accept God's teaching then God is not our Father but Satan is. Satan is the one rejecting the Word and deceiving people. Jesus came and gave us the gift of salvation. We have free will to reject that gift, but in order to receive that gift we must not deny the Word of God. Repentance is part of our relationship with our Father- but not our whole relationship. If you don't accept what God calls sin and you don't repent of all the things He tells us are sin (God decides what is sin, not man) then we are not being Christians following our Lord and Savior. We are less than true Christians if we only adhere to what we want to accept. God never gave us multiple choice on sins. He declares what is sin and we (Christians) must believe Him. Who are we to tell God He is wrong? The bible is clear on Moral Law, it stands today the same as yesterday and generations ago. God never changed Moral Law, what was wrong before is still wrong now.