To all our Canadian and British veterans, especially the local men and women of the 49th Artillery Field Regiment and the 26th Service Batallion. And a blessed Veterans’ Day to all our American veterans.
“All right, they’re on our left, they’re on our right, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us…they can’t get away this time”
– “Chesty” Puller, USMC
The following Lifesite story (through FreeDominion) has me fuming, particularly the following paragraphs:
DIOCESE UNABLE TO INTERVENE UNDER CANON LAW
The diocese says it is unable to act on the matter of Katelyn’s expulsion. Rev. Charles S. McDermott, S.T.D. Chancellor and Vicar Episcopal for Theological Affairs for the Diocese of Sacramento, explained to LifeSiteNews.com that the school is run by an order of nuns popularly known as the Loretto Sisters. Rev. McDermott described the order as “A religious institute in the church which is of pontifical right,” explaining that “they are subject in their internal affairs directly to the Holy See and not to the local bishop.”
In the matter of the pro-abortion teacher the bishop exercised special powers reserved to him in canon (church) law permitting him to intervene in cases of faith and morals, explained the diocesan Chancellor.
Rev. McDermott did however provide key information shedding light on the disagreement between the family and the school. He told LifeSiteNews.com that “The mother approached Loretto high school about it quite quietly, as far as I understand, and asked them to respond to the situation.” The school failed to act, and the matter was “eventually” brought to the attention of Bishop Weigand.
——————
This is incorrect in my opinion. Because the case concerns the common good, the girl can and should appeal through the local tribunal, which is more than competent to hear the case. She can also appeal to Rome. That being said, even if she wins, if she were my daughter, I wouldn’t send her back to that school. Rather, I would demand a tuition refund, financial compensation for additional damages, and an apology.
This has got to be the funniest line in the whole article: “Bush faces prison time if the case goes to trial and he is found guilty.”
Note to American readers in the military. Please ensure that ordinary Canadians are not caught in the cross-fire. Any retaliation should be directed at Ottawa.
[From my latest article, “Sedevacantism at the Gates?”]
Neither sedevacantism nor sedeprivationism claimed many adherents back when I first embraced the tridentine liturgy. Thus the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) spoke of the “Council’s decrees, constitutions, and declarations, contain[ing], more or less explicitly, some of the same doctrinal errors for which liberals in the past had been condemned,” [SSPX US District official website, “What are Catholics to Think of Vatican II?” (September 23, 2005)] and of the Novus Ordo being “intrinsically evil,” but SSPX adherents were not to publicly question the validity of the post-conciliar Roman Pontiffs. Sedevacantism became the line that older generations of traditional Catholics dare not cross.
Today, things have changed. Surf traditionalist websites for any length of time and you soon discover that younger traditionalists do not shy away from sedevacantism. Among the growing list of relatively young sedevacantist authors are: John Lane, John S. Daly, Mario Derksen, Griff Ruby, and the Dimond brothers. Many others hang around individual blogs, chat lines, message boards and email discussion forums. From my own experience as a canonist, I now field more questions relating to sedevacantism than every other aspect of traditionalism combined. These questions come from other canonists and other laity. If my recent experiences are any indication, sedevacantism is on the rise.
[I’ve received a number of positive comments from readers concerning the September 8th “Of Canons and Culture…” — a column I write for the Wanderer. So I hope nobody minds if I blog the original unedited version — PJV]
Of Canons & Culture
Canada, Homosexuality and Children
Pete Vere
“Daddy,” my four-year-old asked, “why are those two men kissing like you and Mommy?”
While I initially hoped to avoid mentioning homosexuality in this month’s column, the question left me stunned. It was Saturday afternoon. My daughter and I were enjoying the public playground down the street. We were not sitting around watching Gerry Springer, MTV, or Dan Blather covering a joint NARAL-DNC convention. Just a father pushing his daughter on a swing and catching her at the end of the slide. I look forward to this family time each week.
Now the answer to my daughter’s question is obvious: these two homosexuals were not kissing like Mommy and Daddy. Even the most confused and careless of storks steers clear of the former, whereas my four-year-old owes her existence to the latter. Of course she is innocent of this truth, and despite the shock this may cause sex indoctrination…er…education experts, her naivety is entirely appropriate for one her age. Yet even at four my daughter recognizes something unnatural about two men kissing. I’m not so sure about most sex education experts.
The liberal Canadian establishment reverences homosexuality with a passion they once reserved for abortion. For example, Bryan Pinn and Bill Dalrymple are two Canadian men. Best friends for 22 years, they each claim to be heterosexual. Thus it surprised friends and family when Bryan and Bill announced their impending marriage for, to quote the report in Agence France Presse, the “significant tax implications.” “The [law] did not specify that the couple had to be gay,” the story notes.
The reaction of Canada’s homosexual lobby was predictable. “It makes a mockery out of marriage,” one homosexual activist complained. Although you may find this difficult to believe, the activist was reportedly expressing outrage and not satire. Other homosexual activists followed through with their ritual accusations of homophobia, at which point Pinn and Dalrumple called off the wedding. In Canada, “homophobia” has replaced “Jesus” as the name before which every knee shall bend and every tongue confess.
Coincidentally, I had just finished reading This Side of Jordan when I came across Pinn and Dalrumple’s allegedly homophobic wedding. This Side of Jordan is Bill Kassel’s latest novel and it addresses the topic of homosexuality from an orthodox Catholic perspective. Although a tad sermonizing at times, I found the novel highly entertaining. In my somewhat cantankerous opinion, the book’s exchange between two fictional priests catches the essence of the word homophobia :
***
“I frankly think the biggest problem the Church faces right now is homophobia,” states Lowell Walton, a progressive pastor who eschews the title Father.
“Homophobia, Lowell?” replies Fr. Karl Muller, the protagonist and a champion of Catholic orthodoxy. “An even bigger problem may be homophobiaphobia—the fear of being called homophobic. I think it’s crippling our ability to discern truth from falsehood.”
***
In Canada, it is also crippling out ability to preserve our children’s innocence. For how do we teach our children to discern truth from falsehood when in our society none dare speak against the love that dares not speak its name in other societies? This question was the topic of conversation this past weekend when John O’Brien, John Pacheco and I met for coffee.
Our American readers may recognize John O’Brien as the son of Catholic novelist Michael O’Brien. Here in Canada, where many Catholic schools have become defacto public schools since accepting public funding, the younger O’Brien is a leading proponent of private Catholic education. As the principal of Wayside Academy (www.waysideacademy.ca), he saw this private Catholic academy in expand from a grade school to include a high-school as well.
John O’Brien believes that private Catholic education is the means for preserving our children’s innocence. Yet it is not just about religion, for O’Brien also believes private Catholic education is the best means for preparing our children to become productive citizens. After all, a child not obsessed with sex can focus on such novel subjects as reading, writing and arithmetic.
O’Brien is presently helping John Pacheco establish a sister grade school here in Ottawa. The name of the school is Maryvale Academy (www.MaryvaleAcademy.ca) and its first class of thirty-five students is now underway. Maryvale operates on a shoe-string budget. Pacheco spends most of his spare time these days looking and praying for donors. “I think we just may break even this year,” he shared during our conversation. He and the other founding parents have already dug deep into their own pockets, while Maryvale’s teaching staff have agreed to salaries that are less than half of what their public school counterparts bring home. Yet given the immorality corrupting Canada’s social and cultural institutions, this is the sacrifice we must make to preserve our children’s innocence.
