HH, I am sorry to have made you feel that way. Honestly that was not my intention. I am only trying to speak the truth.
Touche! However many of the greatest saints have always had a very close and special relationship with God. One the average person never will. They were listened to by Bishops, Cardinals, and even Popes. As long as we are bringing up saints, one thing I am sure of is none of them ever disparaged a Pope by refusing to use his title or denied his authority as Pope. Even if on one or two occasions they may have spoken strongly to them.
No it certainly doesn't and I am sure there are many good prayers in it. But I know that there are also some prayers with promises attached to them that are not approved by the Church. Hence the "promises" attached to them may not be real. One would have to look these up on a case by case basis. As far as how long it takes for approval, I don't know. It depends upon if anyone is looking into it at this time.
Maybe because that book about her was written by a German priest. There's no indication that she ever wrote anything herself. EWTN's website had a query from someone about her and the response was that she wasn't listed among people whose locutions/revelations had been approved by the Church. Maybe they were never submitted for approval.
St Francis of Assisi was told of a very bad priest in a certain village and was urged to chastise him. When he met the priest he knelt and kissed his hands and explained that those hands brought Christ to the altar. Another story that always stuck with me. I think SG has a point though about not speaking out with pedophile priests. Our love and respect for the priesthood was used very effectively by Satan to keep these predators from justice. I just mistrust my own motives in getting critical of anyone let alone priests. I am glad I am not responsible for the Pope other than to pray for him. The responsibilities Bishops and Cardinals bear is so frightening. “those who should speak will fall silent”(Our Blessed Mother to Mother Maria de Torres in Ecuador)
At what stage do we become the stones that cry out? When we witness blessings of adulterous or homosexual unions in our parish churches? When the Vatican hosts the Grand Masters of Freemasonry and presses them to take Communion? At the rate we're going, that could happen in our lifetime. Who among us only a couple of years ago would have expected the Pope to encourage a non-Catholic to present herself for Communion? Who would have expected the Pope to say that living in a non-marital sexual union is a channel of God's marital grace? Who would have expected special Masses for people in homosexual unions? Who would have expected the Vatican to hold the launch of a book written by a Cardinal containing the advice that God would want a woman to commit adultery for the sake of another woman's children? Who would have expected the Pope to recommend that sins be forgiven without any purpose of amendment? Every single person here would have scoffed at the suggestion but it all happened and all within a year, supposedly at the prompting of the Holy Spirit. In all honesty, do you believe that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed Trinity, is motivating this? I don't. There are members of this forum who have gone from blaming all these things on media mis-translations to calling them good and calling holy the Pope who permits, promotes and supports them. While I understand and appreciate Praetorian's caution that it is sinful for us to disrespect the Pope, I think there's some double speak on the part of those who demand loyalty for the Pope despite his enthusiastic promotion of heresy and sacrilege. My question is this: why is papal infallibility the only Church teaching we must obey without question while almost every Church teaching has been contradicted by high ranking members of the clergy or by laypersons in the Pope's inner circle? Have all Commandments been rolled into one, namely "Thou shalt not question the Pope's sanctity under pain of eternal damnation"? Then again, it's hard to tell whether eternal damnation is a possibility in the Church of Pope Francis. We can become Lutheran, believe that the Papacy is merely a ceremonial title, and trot up for Communion any time we like but remain Catholic and commit mortal sin if we ask why the Pope is rubbishing the Deposit of Faith? Something's seriously amiss here. SgCatholic's concerns deserve a better answer than "he's the Pope" and the carry-on with the Lutherans is wearing out my excuses. High ranking Lutheran theologians cannot be afforded the excuse of invincible ignorance.
Cardinal Zen, “A Huge Disaster for the Church Is Approaching” Retired Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong has warned that the Vatican is selling the Catholics to the Communist Chinese government, writes Asia News. During a homily on November 10, Zen said that the Vatican is trusting more in diplomacy than in the Faith, “The Holy See is ceaselessly compromising and has even arrived at the point of selling itself out to appease. This is by no means what God expects of the Church.” Zen said that there is an “evil plan”: The Vatican will ask faithful bishops to resign "in order to leave room for illicit and excommunicated bishops.“ For Zen this will be "a huge disaster for the Church”.
I agree with what you have said above, Dolours, but what are you suggesting that we do about Sg's concerns, especially since these are also our concerns? Remember the advice to pray to the Holy Spirit for the Pope? I have nothing more to offer her by way of suggestions. I am sorry but I don't. I am not sure any of us does. I am not sure that this forum is even the place for continued pressing and prodding. I can't see what good will come if it. Maybe someone else sees an answer. This is the Mother of God forum. We need to seek her. What would she have us do? She pretty much stayed in the background.
Sometimes we get antsy with each new wave of garbage coming at us Padraig has said several times that God will deal with this crisis My intentions are not to demean the feelings of members But I truly feel that it is fruitless for us to do more than we are assigned in our station in life As Catholics If SG feels called to write letters then I can't speak for her I can only speak for myself and a few others on the forum This forum has done a fine job of informing us I am so grateful for that and for my friends here And I think Catholics in general are beginning to see the handwriting on the wall at the Vatican
Can you imagine such a conference taking place during the pontificate of Pope John Paul? Strange times indeed... Vatican Conference Invites Promoters of Euthanasia Maike Hickson November 14, 2017 20 Comments 109 Shares co-hosting this event. Significantly, the Pontifical Academy for Life itself has not yet advertised this upcoming conference on its website. As the World Medical Association has announced, however, the Rome conference is meant to be a meeting of both proponents and critics of euthanasia: The conference at the Vatican is being held jointly by the WMA [World Medical Association], the German Medical Association and the Pontificia Academia pro Vita. Dr. Frank Ulrich Montgomery, vice chair of the WMA, said the two-day event would include speakers from countries that support legislation on euthanasia and others that oppose physician participation in such practices. They will include leading medical professionals, legal authorities, experts in palliative care and medical ethics, theological scholars and philosophers. They will debate the different policies on these issues, explore patient rights and treatment limitations, and consider public opinion regarding end-of-life questions. It is highly questionable for a Vatican conference to give such scope to supporters of euthanasia. As Giuseppe Nardi, the well-informed Vatican specialist at Katholisches.info, reported on 13 November, there will be speakers present who are supporting either euthanasia or the killing of the unborn. (The Italian Catholic website La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana has also reported on this serious matter.) Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia will open the conference. He will be followed by, among other speakers, René Héman, who is the President of the Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG). Héman is a strong defender of euthanasia, as is the Royal Dutch Medical Association itself. On the KNMG website, one can easily find their pro-euthanasia position. Two representatives of the KNMG published an article [PDF link] by the World Medical Journal [scroll down to ‘publications’ on this page to see the link in context] last month under the title of the forthcoming Rome conference in preparation for this event. The article promotes and defends the practice of euthanasia. It seems the World Medical Association, which is at this point still publicly opposed to euthanasia, is in the process of reassessing its own current stand. Thus the Rome conference, as well as other additional events being held internationally. Thus, the Vatican appears poised to give a platform to a deeply controversial discussion, and in so doing, may well give considerable attention to supporters of euthanasia. René Héman, who will speak at the Rome conference, is not alone in his support of end-of-life clinics. In addition to other speakers such as Anne de La Tour, Stefano Semplici, and Heidi Stensmyren, the conference will also feature a speaker who is a member of Planned Parenthood. Dr. Yvonne Gilli, a member of the Green Party in Switzerland, will speak about “Assisted Suicide in Switzerland: Practice and Challenges.” Gilli is the President of the Council of the Swiss organization Sexual Health Switzerland (Sexuelle Gesundheit Schweiz) which is a member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). Another speaker, Professor Ralf Jox, of the Institute of Ethics, History and Theory of Medicine in Munich, is a medical doctor who also supports, according to Nardi, the idea of assisting people in their wish to die. He collaborated with colleagues in 2014 to bring about a law in Germany with that intention. He then said: “Anyone who is serious about protecting life must put in place rules for responsible assisted suicide.” La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana also comments upon this new Vatican event, speaking of certain “diabolical positions” that will be presented, saying, as well, that “a great confusion is being fostered” concerning certain fundamental principles “that have to be defended without any compromise.” In light of this upcoming conference as organized by the re-organized and reformed Pontifical Academy for Life (PAL) (which now has a defender of abortion as one of its members), the recently announced foundation of the new John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family (JAHLF) — founded by former PAL life member Professor Josef Seifert — appears all the more necessary as a counterbalancing force. https://onepeterfive.com/vatican-conference-invites-promoters-euthanasia/
If the masons are ruling the roost at the Vatican, nothing surprises me anymore. All we can hope for is the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary when we are told the Blessed Mother will bring an end to the masons. Then the Vatican can get back to the business of saving our souls. In the meantime we have two thousand years of tried and tested ways to find our way to Heaven, with lots of awesome saints to testify to salvation in the traditional beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. What more do we need. We can just watch and pray as the intellectuals try to find ways to bamboozle us by propaganda into betraying the Faith of our Fathers. Now that will take some doing while those of us are still living who knew what it was like to live in a Catholic environment before all this nonsense got under way. Not happening on my shift.
Yes, I totally forgot about the Masonic infiltration for a nanosecond, Gah again. Thanks for boiling it down.
I too thought of this story of St. Francis and almost posted it as I think it is an excellent representation of how we are to show submission to the priesthood. I think this priest had a mistress if memory serves and the townspeople wanted St. Francis to "call him out" on it. To be totally fair to the other side of the argument though it is not exactly the same thing as preaching a dangerous gospel. In this case the priest was giving scandal and committing personal sin. As far as the story goes he was not preaching falsity to the townspeople or leading others to damnation. I just want to make my position clear. All I am saying is that we should set forth our arguments with humility and charity. That's it. I am not saying we should roll over and put up with the great evils that are going on. That would be evil in itself. We here have been given great graces and knowledge. SG is very right that we should do something with those gifts. Souls are being lead to Hell. There could not be any greater urgency to speak out. Calling the Pope "Bergoglio" though does not help our cause in any way. In fact all it does is make people reading the forum think we are extremists and haters. That is what the devil wants. I am thoroughly convinced that the way we go about the fight now is of utmost importance. The ends don't justify the means. When we demean Pope Francis we not only demean him as a person, but we demean the office of the Papacy. God is all about respecting authority. So please everyone do not misunderstand what I am saying. Don't submit to error. By all means Fight!
Fight can be different for each one of us according to what God us calling us to do Which is why I can't speak for SG But we keep going around in circles over this one sticking point: what can be done. Prae, your post is clarifying Each one of us should pray to discern what God is calling us to do
Fighting is different for each of us. There is not a one size fits all solution to this. God is using us in some great tapestry He is creating. Each of us is a puzzle piece in an unfinished puzzle. All we see are the strange looking pieces around us and we cannot see the whole completed picture so it appears to be a jumbled mess to us. But God will make it all right and create something beautiful from it all. All we need to do is what we were asked to. Basically that is prayer, penance, the First Five Saturdays and the First Nine Fridays, pray the Rosary, wear the Scapular and the Miraculous Medal, doing our daily duties in life and to grow spiritually. That's it. The answer lies not in doing something audacious, but in becoming a humble instrument of God. The smaller we make ourselves the more He can use us. Look at our greatest example, Our Lady. She spoke only a few lines in the Bible, she didn't give any great speeches, rouse any armies. She didn't scream at the Romans as they Crucified her son. She simply sat and prayed at the foot of the Cross. She was simply a mother and wife. Yet look what God has done with her. She is now the greatest saint that has ever lived and she has helped save countless souls. The less we become the more we are useful to god. Cooperating with God to make us saints is the greatest thing we can do right now. The holier we become the more powerful our prayers will be.
I don't know what we should do. And I'm sorry for my rant. It's just that I'm sick and tired of the "nothing to see here" attitude from the "respectable" Catholic press and the vast majority of clergy who must be aware of what's happening. First we had the abuse crisis and now this demolition job on the Deposit of Faith. Instead of cleaning up their act after the abuse crisis, they replaced one set of snouts in the Vatican trough with an expanded set of faithless good-for-nothings. What's their solution to a priesthood riddled with sodomites and paedophiles? Married priests with a wink and nod to adultery and a sprinkling of favoured women on the gravy train including abortion promoters. As if priests who couldn't keep their vow to God and couldn't keep their hands off each or children will keep a vow to a woman. And don't think it will stop at heterosexual married priests. The Lutherans didn't stop there and "married" lesbian clergy come with that package but we're all supposed to be thrilled at a supposed progress towards unity. Unity in what? Apostasy from the Truth? But you're right to remind me that the Forum members don't deserve the rants. Yes, Praetorian, I owe you an apology too. You are the voice of reason here. The papacy itself matters. I just don't know whether it matters enough to replace the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the gospel of Cardinals Marx and Kasper. What would we do if instead of the host and chalice, we could physically see Jesus standing there at the altar with the Pope and Bishops shouting "roll up, roll up, help yourself to his flesh and blood and don't forget to bring your whip, thorns and nails to let him know he has been replaced by a more merciful God fashioned in your own image and likeness"? All I know is that this can't go on much longer. Something's got to give. I would hate to be in Cardinal Burke's shoes but if he does issue the Correction and if it does result in schism I won't be in the same boat as people who believe that Holy Spirit has been absent from the Church for 2000 years or the Jesuit universities which are no more than a conveyor belt of atheists and apostates. Again, my apologies to everyone on the forum for blowing a gasket.
