Wednesday, February 08, 2012

The American Crusade



THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The final Battle for America has begun, and The Catholic Knight is calling upon all my Catholic readers to rally to an ongoing crusade for the religious liberties of Catholics in the United States. Recent passage of gay-marriage laws, and other elements of the militant homosexual agenda, have caused the religious freedom of Catholics to be attacked in various states. Catholics are now becoming victims of frivolous lawsuits by militant homosexuals, backed by the ACLU, designed to systematically use means of legal coercion to exterminate all trace of traditional Catholic religion and culture. This is nothing less than a form ofcultural genocide.

This is an act of war! Many American states have given the militant homosexuals the tools they now need to effect the extermination they desire. The time for passive defense is over. The situation is dire. The United States was founded on religious liberty. If religious liberty for traditional Catholics is lost, than no religious group is safe, and the very reason for America's existence is lost as well. This is not only a battle for the religious freedom of traditional Catholics in America, but for America itself, because if we lose, America has completely lost it's reason for existence.

The good news is that Leftist- Liberals actually FEAR us Christians. They really do, and some of them are very candid about their fear of us. So the time has come to stand up and defend our rights vigorously. They will back down if we don't back down. They will compromise with us of we refuse to compromise with them.. They will because they already have an innate fear of us, and they don't believe in anything worth sacrificing their comfortable lives for.

Therefore, The Catholic Knight calls upon all of my readers to engage in the following crusade. Remember, we are Catholics. We are an honorable and civilized people. We do not resort to violence unless violently attacked by physical force. Nearly a thousand years ago, our Catholic ancestors crusaded against the Muslims only after they had been violently assaulted by Islamic jihad for centuries. Their military campaign (the crusades) against the violent jihadists were justified. We, however, have not had to deal with that kind of violent threat -- yet. For now, our crusade is limited to a legal and political fight, so we shall respond in kind with the same type of force.

OUR BATTLE STRATEGY...
  1. Pray to Our Lady of America, The Immaculate Conception, for assistance, and familiarize yourself with the devotion to her.
  2. Financially support the Thomas More Law Center with your tax deductible donations. No amount is too small. Give regularly, as this will be our front line.
  3. Be prepared to file a lawsuit wherever and whenever your religious freedom is violated. Be aggressive about this, and encourage other Catholics to do the same. Contact the Thomas More Law Center for sound legal advice first, and do not be afraid.
  4. Begin organizing religious freedom rallies. Start talking to the TEA Party organizers about this, as they are well connected, well funded, and will likely support such an effort. Contact should be made on both the national and local level. We must form an alliance here, or we will fail. We need their numbers, and they need our support. Remember, we must all hang together, or it won't be long before we each hang separately. (I'm not kidding here folks, this is the radical Left's agenda for us, if they get their way.)
  5. Recruit faithful priests and bishops to come to our aid. Talk to your local priest, if he is somebody who cares, and not some leftover from the hippie generation. Tell him about the dire circumstances, and what you're trying to do to defend the rights of Catholics and Holy Mother Church. Get him to come to some meetings and speak up for our religious freedom.
  6. Begin local letter writing campaigns to both state and federal legislators, demanding our religious freedom be protected against the militant homosexual agenda, and don't be afraid to tell them that if they don't help us, you will actively work to find their replacement.
This is just the beginning. There are more radical steps at our disposal, and we may have to use them, but for now this will do just to mobilize the troops and get the ground war going. Please pass on this article to every Catholic you know. Feel free to use the "share" icons below, or you may cut and paste the following link to an email:
http://catholicknight.blogspot.com/2011/07/american-crusade.html



Source: http://catholicknight.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html
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Marrying a Nonbeliever Won't Work, Says Prominent Pastor's Wife


By Brittany Smith , Christian Post Reporter

Christians should not marry nonbelievers. It just won't work, says Kathy Keller, wife of well-known pastor Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

The Kellers have dealt often with relationships between Christians and non-Christians. But rather than lecture couples on all the biblical reasons why marriage would be unwise, Mrs. Keller said it would be easier to let those already married to unbelievers do the talking.

"If only I could pair those sadder and wiser women – and men – who have found themselves in unequal marriages (either by their own foolishness or due to one person finding Christ after the marriage had already occurred) with the blithely optimistic singles who are convinced that their passion and commitment will overcome all obstacles ... Only ten minutes of conversation – one minute if the person is really succinct –would be necessary," Keller wrote recently on her blog.

She said that you can quote Scripture like 2 Corinthians 6:14 where it says not to "be unequally yoked," but while "you can find those passages in abundance," "when someone has already allowed his or her heart to become engaged with a person outside the faith, I find that the Bible has already been devalued as the non-negotiable rule of faith and practice."

The most effective pastoral approach, she wrote, might just be to "find a man or woman who is willing to talk honestly about the difficulties of the situation, and invite them into a counseling ministry with the about-to-make-a-big-mistake unequal couple."

Keller defined being "unequally yoked" as also including "genuine, warm Christians who want to marry an in-name-only Christian, or someone very, very far behind them in Christian experience and growth."

In her post, she outlined three outcomes for Christians who marry nonbelievers, and none of them lead to a happy ending.

The first is, that in order to be in-tune with one's spouse, the Christian in the marriage "will have to push Christ to the margins of his or her life," she said. This will affect things like a devotional life, tithing, raising children and fellowship with other believers.

Another outcome can include the non-Christian partner being marginalized instead, if the believer in the marriage ends up holding on to a healthy Christian life.

"If he or she (the nonbeliever) can't understand the point of Bible study and prayer, or missions trips, or hospitality, then he or she can't or won't participate alongside the believing spouse in those activities," she noted. "The deep unity and oneness of a marriage cannot flourish when one partner cannot fully participate in the other person's most important commitments."

What usually ends up happening, Keller said, is that the marriage undergoes a lot of stress and breaks up, or "it experiences stress and stays together, achieving some kind of truce that involves one spouse or the other capitulating in some areas, but which leaves both parties feeling lonely and unhappy."

Mike Fox, co-author of the book Marriage for Today: A Practical Guide for Couples, echoed Keller's analysis. He told The Christian Post in an email that "marrying an unbeliever brings a lot of negative baggage with it."

And even though "the Bible is definitely full of scriptures that discourage and redirect believers from marrying unbelievers, it is nonetheless a fact that it happens all too often," Fox stated.

Fox, who is also a certified marriage coach, said that couples "should never marry with the idea that [they're] going into a marriage to 'change' the other person." Oftentimes couples think they can change the other person or convert them in the marriage.

He said this idea of change also "goes for spiritual as well as emotional or personality wise. So, if the reason to marry the other person is to change their spiritual perspective, then it may backfire in a very devastating way."

Keller stressed that this issue is very important for those in the church. She wrote, "We need to hear the voices of men and women who are in unequal marriages and know to their sorrow why it is not merely a disobedient choice, but an unwise one."



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Like It Was In Noah's Day



And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. ........Luke 17: 26,27.
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Before the Flood God sent Noah to warn the world, that the people might be led to repentance, and thus escape the threatened destruction. As the time of Christ's second appearing draws near, the Lord sends His servants with a warning to the world to prepare for that great event. Multitudes have been living in transgression of God's law, and now He in mercy calls them to obey its sacred precepts. All who will put away their sins by repentance toward God and faith in Christ are offered pardon. But many feel that it requires too great a sacrifice to put away sin. Because their life does not harmonize with the pure principles of God's moral government, they reject His warnings and deny the authority of His law. {PP 102.1}

Of the vast population of the earth before the Flood, only eight souls believed and obeyed God's word through Noah. For a hundred and twenty years the preacher of righteousness warned the world of the coming destruction, but his message was rejected and despised. So it will be now. Before the Lawgiver shall come to punish the disobedient, transgressors are warned to repent, and return to their allegiance; but with the majority these warnings will be in vain. Says the apostle Peter, "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning." 2 Peter 3:3, 4. Do we not hear these very words repeated, not merely by the openly ungodly, but by many who occupy the pulpits of our land? "There is no cause for alarm," they cry. "Before Christ shall come, all the world is to be converted, and righteousness is to reign for a thousand years. Peace, peace! all things continue as they were from the beginning. Let none be disturbed by the exciting message of these alarmists." But this doctrine of the millennium does not harmonize with the teachings of Christ and His apostles. Jesus asked the significant question, "When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8. And, as we have seen, He declares that the state of the world will be as in the days of Noah. Paul warns us that we may look for wickedness to increase as the end draws near: "The Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." 1 Timothy 4:1. The apostle says that "in the last days perilous times shall come." 2 Timothy 3:1. And he gives a startling list of sins that will be found among those who have a form of godliness. {PP 102.2}

As the time of their probation was closing, the antediluvians gave themselves up to exciting amusements and festivities. Those who possessed influence and power were bent on keeping the minds of the people engrossed with mirth and pleasure, lest any should be impressed by the last solemn warning. Do we not see the same repeated in our day? While God's servants are giving the message that the end of all things is at hand, the world is absorbed in amusements and pleasure seeking. There is a constant round of excitement that causes indifference to God and prevents the people from being impressed by the truths which alone can save them from the coming destruction. {PP 103.1}

In Noah's day philosophers declared that it was impossible for the world to be destroyed by water; so now there are men of science who endeavor to show that the world cannot be destroyed by fire--that this would be inconsistent with the laws of nature. But the God of nature, the Maker and Controller of her laws, can use the works of His hands to serve His own purpose. {PP 103.2}

When great and wise men had proved to their satisfaction that it was impossible for the world to be destroyed by water, when the fears of the people were quieted, when all regarded Noah's prophecy as a delusion, and looked upon him as a fanatic--then it was that God's time had come. "The fountains of the great deep" were "broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened," and the scoffers were overwhelmed in the waters of the Flood. With all their boasted philosophy, men found too late that their wisdom was foolishness, that the Lawgiver is greater than the laws of nature, and that Omnipotence is at no loss for means to accomplish His purposes. "As it was in the days of Noah," "even thus shall it be in the days when the Son of man is revealed." Luke 17:26, 30. "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." 2 Peter 3:10. When the reasoning of philosophy has banished the fear of God's judgments; when religious teachers are pointing forward to long ages of peace and prosperity, and the world are absorbed in their rounds of business and pleasure, planting and building, feasting and merrymaking, rejecting God's warnings and mocking His messengers--then it is that sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:3. {P

Patriarchs and Prophets, Ellen G. White, pp. 102-104.
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Fire and Brimstone, Chevy and Twinkies...

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

FBI Enlists Internet Café Owners to Spy on Customers


Monday, 6. February 2012

The Government’s Pretexts for Arresting Virtually Anyone

cafeThe US government has developed massive surveillance capabilities to monitor communications, travel and financial transactions in this country and abroad. But, even the government cannot monitor everything Americans do—not directly, anyway. Thus, it created the Communities Against Terrorism (CAT) program to enlist your friendly local businesses as spies for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The CAT program, funded by the State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training program (SLATT) is described as a “tool to engage members of the local community in the fight against terrorism.” The program interprets “local community” to mean businesses, and only registered businesses may access the program’s flyers listing “potential indicators” of terrorist activity.

Each flyer is designed for a particular kind of business. For example, this list was prepared for owners of internet cafes. Unquestionably, someone planning a terrorist attack has engaged in one or more of the “suspicious” activities on that list. But so, too, have most of the estimated 289 million computer users in this country.

The government’s flyer designates people as suspicious if they “always pay cash” at an internet café. That’s a jaw-dropping assumption considering that we’re talking about businesses that sell $2 cups of joe, not $600 airline tickets. Good luck paying with a credit card for a purchase under $10.

Evidence that one has a “residential based internet provider” (such as Comcast or AOL) is another pretext for government snooping. If your home internet connection is unreliable, if you are on travel, or if you simply relish a good cup of coffee with your internet browsing, you run the risk of acquiring an FBI file. Trying to shield personal information on your computer screen from the prying eyes of others will mark you as a potential terrorist, also.

It is officially creepy to use a café hotspot to download “photos, maps or diagrams” of a stadium, metro rail stop, or any “populated locations.” To be safe, confine your travel plans to the Alaskan tundra. And, should there be another terrorist attack, do not demonstrate any “preoccupation with press coverage” of the attack. Just move along–nothing to see here.

If you engage in these or any other “suspicious” activities listed on CAT flyers, businesses are encouraged to “gather information” about you, including “license plates, vehicle description, names used, languages spoken, ethnicity, etc.” At least 25 CAT flyers, collected by Public Intelligence, are known to exist.

The CAT list of “suspicious” internet café activities suggests appalling ignorance of the ways ordinary Americans use computers. Those who are computerless can become surveillance targets, too, if they own guns or precious metals, store a seven-day supply of food, buy a flashlight, believe in conspiracies or participate in peaceful demonstrations.

The government’s paranoia would be laughable were it not for the potential consequences for citizens who find themselves in its crosshairs. Under the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, the government may detain indefinitely any terrorism suspects–including U.S. citizens. And, since the government has created pretexts for arresting virtually anyone, no one is safe.

The consequences for public safety are no less grim. If the FBI cannot distinguish between legitimate computer use and credible evidence of terrorist activities, it cannot zero in on genuine threats. So, what is the purpose of Big Brother and his business partners spying on millions of Americans if it doesn’t make us any safer? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?


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Linda Lewis is a policy analyst with degrees in emergency management and geosciences. Her experience includes 13 years as a policy analyst and planner for the U.S. government. During that time, she brought attention to serious deficiencies in government preparedness prior to the disasters that confirmed her analyses. Those included emergency communications (9/11 terrorist attacks), federal assistance (hurricane Katrina) and decision making (Columbia shuttle disaster).



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Obama Administration, Catholic Leaders Clash Over Contraception Mandate



Uploaded by on Feb 6, 2012

Catholic leaders are pushing back against a new Department of Health and Human Services ruling requiring employers who offer health insurance to provide contraception free of charge. While churches are exempt from the rules, Catholic hospitals and universities must comply. Betty Ann Bowser reports on the controversy.

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Monday, February 06, 2012

Pope sends message to Gregorian University conference on 'Healing and Renewal'

06/02/2012 19.27.11

Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has sent a message in the name of Pope Benedict to an international symposium of bishops and church personnel seeking to provide a coordinated response to the sex abuse crisis. In the message to participants at the Symposium entitled “Towards Healing and Renewal”, the Pope reiterates his conviction that “healing for abuse victims must be of paramount concern in the Christian community”, together with “a profound renewal of the Church at every level”.

The Pope therefore “supports and encourages every effort to respond with evangelical charity to the challenge of providing children and vulnerable adults with an ecclesial environment conducive to their human and spiritual growth” and he urges the participants in the Symposium “to continue drawing on a wide range of expertise in order to promote throughout the Church a vigorous culture of effective safeguarding and victim support.”

On Monday evening Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, addressed the inaugural session of the symposium which is hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University.

The four day conference will also by hearing from experts from around the world, including doctors, therapists, theologians, pastoral care workers and bishops who’ve helped to develop child protection and victim support programmes in countries around the world.

PH is following the conference and takes a look at what Cardinal Levada had to say…


Listen: RealAudioMP3

A multi-faceted response to the “delicate and urgent” challenge of sexual abuse in the church: that’s what Cardinal Levada offered participants on the opening day of the conference, highlighting actions already taken by the Popes and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith over the decade since the scandals began making news headlines.

Speaking of the document, introduced by Pope John Paul in 2001 on the most serious crimes to be dealt with by the Congregation, revised and updated by Pope Benedict in 2010, the Cardinal said the Holy See was able to ensure a coordinated response to the more than 4000 cases of sexual abuse that were reported over the past decade. But he said, it became increasingly clear that an exclusively canonical response was an inadequate way of dealing with the tragedy – a realisation that led to the drawing up of a circular letter to assist bishops’ conferences in developing guidelines for dealing with abuse cases. That letter, dated May 3rd, 2011, invites bishops the world over to pay attention to the formation of clergy, to ensure protection of the young and vulnerable in their care and to respond to victims who come forward seeking remedy or help.

The first need of most victims, the Cardinal said, is to be heard and to know that the Church listens to their stories, understanding the gravity of their abuse and accompanying them on the long path towards healing. That’s why Pope Benedict has met personally with victims during his many pastoral visits to the UK, Malta, Germany, Australia or the United States That’s also why, in his letter to Catholics in Ireland, the Pope told victims “You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated.”

The four day conference will deal with many aspects of abuse including child protection, cooperation with civil authorities, seminary formation or how to deal with abuser priests. But it may perhaps be this belated recognition of the suffering and betrayal of so many victims that can provide the most effective tools on the road to healing and renewal.


Read the full text of Cardinal William Levada's address:

The Sexual Abuse of Minors: A Multi-faceted Response to the Challenge

by Cardinal William Levada
Pontifical Gregorian University
February 6, 2012

Toward Healing and Renewal” is the title given to this Symposium for Catholic Bishops and Religious Superiors on the Sexual Abuse of Minors. For leaders in the Church for whom this Symposium has been planned, the question is both delicate and urgent. Just two years ago, in his reflections on the “Year for Priests” at the annual Christmas greetings to the Roman Curia, Pope Benedict XVI spoke in direct and lengthy terms about priests who “twist the sacrament [of Holy Orders] into its antithesis, and under the mantle of the sacred profoundly wound human persons in their childhood, damaging them for a whole lifetime.” I chose this phrase to begin my remarks this evening because I think it important not to lose sight of the gravity of these crimes as we deal with the multiple aspects the Church’s response.

As I begin my presentation, I want to offer a word of gratitude to the Pontifical Gregorian University for this initiative. Even those of us who have been dealing with this issue for decades recognize that we are still learning, and need to help each other find the best ways to help victims, protect children, and form the priests of today and tomorrow to be aware of this scourge and to eliminate it from the priesthood. I hope that this Symposium will make a significant contribution toward these goals. I thank in particular Fr. Francois-Xavier Dumortier, S.J., the Rector of the University, and Fr. Hans Zollner, S.J., and his team for organizing these days together.

As the Symposium program indicates, the title of my presentation is “The Sexual Abuse of Minors: A Multi-faceted Response to the Challenge.” For reasons I will indicate, I have chosen as my vehicle to give shape to this response some comments about the “Circular Letter” of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [hereafter CDF], sent last year to all the Episcopal Conferences of the world, to assist them in developing guidelines for dealing with cases of sexual abuse of minors perpetrated by clerics. To put this Letter into context, I will refer to the important motu proprio Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela, promulgated by Blessed Pope John Paul II on 30 April 2001. This papal document clarified and updated the list of canonical crimes that had traditionally been dealt with by the CDF (classic examples would be crimes against the faith, that is, heresy, apostasy and schism; but also most serious crimes, or graviora delicta, against the sacraments, such as profaning the Eucharist or violating the seal of Confession). These included crimes connected with solicitation in Confession, and Pope John Paul explicitly included among these grave crimes the sexual abuse of minors by clerics. The motu proprio thus required all cases involving sexual abuse of minors by clergy to be reported to the Congregation, for its guidance and coordination of an equitable response on the part of Church authorities.

Under the careful guidance of the then-Prefect, Cardinal Ratzinger, the Holy See was able ensure a coordinated response to the growing numbers of reports of such sexual abuse, and to deal effectively with the canonical issues involving them, including recourse against decisions by Bishops and Major Superiors. As the storm of media reports of sexual abuse began in late 2001 and 2002, leading the U.S. Bishops to adopt their Charter for the Protection of Children and Young Adults, a committee of Bishops was able to develop the Essential Norms which, after receiving the recognitio of the Holy See, became binding supplementary legislation for the U.S. Bishops, and a great assistance in giving us guidance in dealing with large numbers of historical cases that surfaced as a result of the media publicity. I want to express my personal gratitude to Pope Benedict, who as then-Prefect was so instrumental in implementing these new norms for the good of the Church, and for his support in approving the Essential Norms for the United States. But the Pope has had to suffer attacks by the media over these past years in various parts of the world, when he should receive the gratitude of us all, in the Church and outside it.

With the explosion of media coverage of the cases of sexual abuse of minors committed by clerics in the Catholic Church, especially but not only in the United States of America, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the steady leadership of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, saw a dramatic increase in the number of cases reported; with these reports it discovered the many and complex issues involved in the crime of sexual abuse of minors by clerics. The more than 4000 cases of sexual abuse of minors reported to the CDF in the past decade have revealed, on the one hand, the inadequacy of an exclusively canonical (or canon law) response to this tragedy, and on the other, the necessity of a truly multi-faceted response. While the Congregation’s primary responsibility is the application of equitable norms in the discipline of guilty clergy, it has necessarily made its own the expanded view of how best to assist in the healing of victims, of promoting programs for the protection of children and young people, of urging bishops to provide for the education of communities of faith to responsibility for their youth, and of working with other Dicasteries of the Holy See and Episcopal Conferences in ensuring the proper formation of today’s priests, and the priests of the future, in the various aspects related to the issues of sexual abuse on minors.

Nine years after the introduction of Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela, and in the light of her experience in dealing with the thousands of cases presented from various parts of the world, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith presented to the Holy Father some proposed modifications to the legislation adopted in 2001. While the principal outlines of Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela remain in place, certain substantive and procedural norms were modified, in an effort to render the law better able to deal with the complexities presented by these cases. Pope Benedict XVI approved and ordered the promulgation of the revised norms on 21 May 2010.

Some of the major additions to the previous legislation involve a consolidation of practices that had received previous recognition and approval of Popes John Paul and Benedict, such as the right to derogate from the prescription of these crimes (sometimes referred to as the statute of limitations); the faculty to dispense from a judicial trial in order to allow an extra-judicial (administrative) process in cases where the facts seemed clear; the faculty to present cases directly to the Holy Father for dismissal from the clerical state in cases of extreme gravity; the addition of the delict of possession and/or distribution of child pornography (regarding minors of 14 years); and other specifications regarding delicts against the Eucharist and the sacrament of Penance, as well as a delict against the sacrament of Holy Orders.

The experience of the Congregation during the past decade also suggested that the time had come to ensure that Church authorities throughout the world were prepared to respond appropriately to the crisis of sexual abuse of minors. Many Bishops’ Conferences had already developed guidelines, some even norms, to offer a uniform response to this complex problem in their national territories; by way of example, I can mention Canada and the United States in North America, Brasil in South America, Great Britain and Ireland, Germany, Belgium and France in Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand in the southern hemisphere. But in many cases, such response came only in the wake of the revelation of scandalous behavior by priests in the public media. What seems useful going forward is a more proactive approach by the Conferences of Bishops throughout the world. How should this be done?

In an effort to aid the Church universal to adopt appropriate measures in view of a broad approach to the problem of sexual abuse of minors, whether by clergy or others acting in the name of the Church, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a Circular Letter to Assist Episcopal Conferences in developing Guidelines for dealing with cases of sexual abuse of minors perpetrated by Clerics. This letter, dated 3 May 2011, invites the Episcopal Conferences of the world to address the various aspects of this issue: they must pay due attention to the canonical discipline of the clergy who are guilty of such crimes; they must have standards to evaluate the suitability of clergy and other persons who minister in Church institutions and agencies; they should oversee education programs for families and Church communities to ensure the protection of children and young people from the crime of sexual abuse in the future; and they must be pastors and fathers to any victims of sexual abuse among their flocks who may appeal to them for remedy or help.

The Circular Letter is divided into three sections: first, some General Considerations; second, A summary of applicable canonical legislation; and third, some Suggestions for Ordinaries on Procedures. Each section of the letter proposes areas of consideration to help Episcopal Conferences provide uniform guidelines for the diocesan bishop members of the Conference, and for Major Superiors of Religious residing in the territory of the Conference, in their response to cases of sexual abuse by clerics, and in taking necessary steps to eliminate such abuse from Church and society. Church law is clear about the responsibility of diocesan bishops and those who enjoy similar territorial or personal jurisdiction, and of major superiors of religious congregations for their subjects, in the matter of accusations of sexual abuse of minors by clerics. The role of the Episcopal Conference is twofold: it is to offer assistance to the diocesan bishops members of the Conference in exercising this responsibility, and it is to coordinate an effective, uniform response in the face of the crisis of sexual abuse of minors that can be recognized as such by the Christian faithful, by the members of society at large, and by the civil authorities who have the responsibility to safeguard the public welfare in accord with the norms of law.

I want to very clear about this point. The Circular Letter to Conferences of Bishops does not imply the transfer of authority or responsibility from diocesan bishops and religious superiors to the Conference. At the same time, the Congregation considers it an obligation for Bishops and Religious Major Superiors to participate in the development of these guidelines, and to observe them for the good of the Church once they have been approved by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. No bishop or major superior may consider himself exempt from such collaboration.

I realize that other presenters at the Symposium will address the important canonical aspects of Church law, and especially the motu proprio Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela. Thus I would like to concentrate on the first section of the letter, the General Considerations, as it is in this section, I believe, that we can best see an outline of the Church’s “multi-faceted response” to the challenge of sexual abuse of minors by clerics.

The victims of sexual abuse

The first general consideration in the Circular Letter refers to the victims of sexual abuse. For many if not most victims a first need is to be heard, to know that the Church listens to their stories of abuse, that the Church understands the gravity of what they have suffered, that she wants to accompany them on the often long path of healing, and that she has taken or is willing to take effective steps to ensure that other children will be protected from such abuse. In his address to the Bishops of the United States (16 April 2008) in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., Pope Benedict XVI reminded them, “It is your God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up the wounds caused by every break of trust, to foster healing, to promote reconciliation and to reach out with loving concern to those so seriously wronged.”

Our Holy Father has given personal example of the importance of listening to victims during his many pastoral visits, in Great Britain, in Malta, in Germany, in Australia, as well as in the United States. I think is it hardly possible to overestimate the importance of this example for us Bishops, and for us priests, in being available to victims for this important moment in their healing and reconciliation. It was after all at the hands of an anointed representative of the Church that they suffered this abuse. No wonder then that they tell us how important it is for them that the Church, now again through her anointed representatives, hears them, acknowledges their suffering, and helps them see the face of Christ’s true compassion and love.

Let us listen again to the words of our chief Shepherd Pope Benedict in his Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland, speaking to the victims of sexual abuse: “You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated.” The profound sympathy expressed in these words should animate the heart of all of us bishops and priests, as we – like Christ our Good Shepherd – seek out the wounded and assure them that we have begun to recognize the depth of the betrayal they have suffered. Moreover, hand in hand with the willingness to listen to victims speak of the pain caused by the sexual abuse they have suffered goes a commitment to offering them necessary spiritual and psychological assistance.

The protection of minors

The second general consideration addressed in the Circular Letter is called the “protection of minors.” In some countries programs have already been developed by local Church authorities, in an effort to create “safe environments” for minors. These efforts include the screening and education of those engaged in pastoral work in the Church, in schools and parishes, in youth outreach and recreational programs, especially offering training to recognize the signs of abuse. The hope of such training programs for the clergy and laity is of course that through increased awareness of the problem, future cases of abuse can be prevented. Many of the programs initiated in the Church for the creation of “safe environments” for children have been lauded “as models in the commitment to eliminate cases of sexual abuse of minors in society today.”

A more delicate, but no less important, area of pastoral outreach is the education of parents and children themselves regarding sexual abuse in society at large. Here the various cultural differences will be of particular significance. Episcopal Conferences who are beginning to explore the needs for such awareness programs can be helped by the experience of those that have already begun such outreach. As our Congregation evaluates the response to the Circular Letter in this area, it is my hope that we can enlist the communications network of the Vatican to provide a clearing-house for information about such programs, in order to assist the Church in those areas of the world where resources are fewer.

The formation of future priests and religious

All of us recognize the importance of ensuring a proper formation for priests and religious. This is the third general consideration addressed in the Circular Letter. In 2002, Blessed Pope John Paul II declared, “there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young” (Address to the American Cardinals [n.3], 23 April 2002). This bold phrase reminds Bishops and Major Superiors of Religious Orders of the need to exercise even greater scrutiny in accepting candidates for the priesthood and religious life, as well as providing formation programs that provide the necessary foundational human formation, including the appropriate formation in human sexuality. Here I want to cite a few lines from the Circular Letter on this point: “The directions given in the Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, as well as the instructions of the competent Dicasteries of the Holy See, take on an even greater importance in ensuring a proper discernment of vocations as well as a healthy human and spiritual formation of candidates. In particular, candidates should be formed in an appreciation of chastity and celibacy, and the responsibility of the cleric for spiritual fatherhood.”

The Circular Letter also highlights an important need for vigilance when it asks that particular attention “be given to the necessary exchange of information in regard to those candidates for priesthood or religious life who transfer from one seminary to another, between different dioceses, or between religious institutes and dioceses.” I might add that the international dimension of such transfers is clearly increasing, calling for clear guidelines by Episcopal Conferences and religious orders that will be carefully observed by all for the good of the Church.

Support of Priests

The fourth general consideration contained in the Circular Letter relates directly to the clergy. The Bishop always has “the duty to treat all his priests as father and brother.” As an expression of his paternal and fraternal care for all of his priests, the Bishop should make available programs of continuing formation, particularly in the early years of priesthood. As a father, the Bishop must care for the prayer life of his priests, encouraging them to support one another as brothers and to work together in caring for one another, calling each other to holier and more perfect service to Christ’s flock.

In addition to continuing education and spiritual support of his priests, the Bishop has the responsibility to provide appropriate material support for his priests, including priests accused or found guilty of sexual abuse, in accord with the norms of canon law. While the Bishop is able to limit the exercise of an accused cleric’s ministry, as warranted by circumstances even during the preliminary investigation (cf. CIC can. 1722; SST art.19 [2010 rev.ed.]), as a father and brother he also has the responsibility to protect the good name of his priests, and should make every effort to rehabilitate the reputation of a cleric who has been wrongly accused.

Cooperation with Civil Authority

The final general consideration addressed in the Circular Letter is cooperation with civil authorities. Certainly no less important than any of the other elements, the cooperation of the Church with civil authorities in these cases recognizes the fundamental truth that the sexual abuse of minors is not only a crime in canon law, but is also a crime that violates criminal laws in most civil jurisdictions. Since civil laws vary from nation to nation, and the interaction between Church officials and civil authorities may be different from one nation to another, the manner in which this cooperation takes place will necessarily differ in various countries as well. The principle, however, must remain the same. The Church has an obligation to cooperate with the requirements of civil law regarding the reporting of such crimes to the appropriate authorities. Such cooperation naturally extends also to accusations of sexual abuse by religious or laity who work or volunteer in Church institutions and programs. In this regard, Church officials must avoid any compromise of the sacramental internal forum, which must remain inviolable.

* * * * *

In addition to these general considerations, the Circular Letter provides a summary of the canonical norms to be applied in cases of sexual abuse of a minor, as well as suggestions for procedures to be followed, based on the Congregation’s experience in dealing with these cases over the past decade. These latter sections of the Circular Letter might be called the “juridical” facet of the Church’s “multi-faceted response” to the challenge presented by the sexual abuse of minors committed by clerics.

The journey “Towards Healing and Renewal” is one that the entire Church must make together, convinced always of the power of God that “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (cf. Ps 147:3). Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his encounter with the victims of sexual abuse in Malta, prayed not for a generic healing and reconciliation of victims, but one which would lead them, and the entire Church, “to a renewed hope.”

I hope my remarks here this evening may be some small contribution to this renewed hope, insofar as they call attention to concrete steps being taken by a Church that is called “Catholic” – universal – in an attempt to address the varied facets of the challenge presented by sexual abuse of minors by clerics. It bears repeating that the abusers are a tiny minority of an otherwise faithful, committed clergy. Nevertheless, this tiny minority has done great harm to victims, and to the Church’s mission of bringing Christ’s love to the world of today.

Personally I am convinced that the steps currently underway, represented by the motu proprio SST and by the Congregation’s Circular Letter, together with the innumerable local initiatives undertaken in response to the challenge of sexual abuse of minors by clerics, will help us to continue to respond in many fruitful ways to heal the wounds of the past, and to renew our commitment to a future full of hope, as our gracious God has promised. Thank you for the initiative of this Symposium “Toward Healing and Renewal”: may it be a model for future studies that can help us all confront what we need to do as Church. May it also be a source of expertise and hope for those who seek to eliminate the scourge of sexual abuse of minors from society at large.

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Psychological warfare



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Psychological operations)


Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PSYOP), have been known by many other names or terms, including Psy Ops, Political Warfare, “Hearts and Minds,” and Propaganda.[1] Various techniques are used, by any set of groups, and aimed to influence a target audience's value systems, belief systems, emotions, motives,reasoning, or behavior. It is used to induce confessions or reinforce attitudes and behaviors favorable to the originator's objectives, and are sometimes combined with black operations or false flag tactics. Target audiences can be governments,organizations, groups, and individuals.

In Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, Jacques Ellul discusses psychological warfare as a common peace policy practice between nations as a form of indirect aggression in place of military aggression. This type of propaganda drains the public opinion of an opposing regime by stripping away its power on public opinion. This form of aggression is hard to defend against because no international court of justice is capable of protecting against psychological aggression since it cannot be legally adjudicated. The only defense is using the same means of psychological warfare. It is the burden of every government to defend its state against propaganda aggression. "Here the propagandists is dealing with a foreign adversary whose morale he seeks to destroy by psychological means so that the opponent begins to doubt the validity of his beliefs and actions."[2]

The U.S. Department of Defense defines psychological warfare as:

"The planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives."[3]

During World War II the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff defined psychological warfare more broadly stating "Psychological warfare employs any weapon to influence the mind of the enemy. The weapons are psychological only in the effect they produce and not because of the weapons themselves."[4]


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Elena Kagan could reshape the US Supreme Court


For the first time since it was set up 221 years ago by America's Protestant founding fathers, the US Supreme Court is poised to have a bench without a single Protestant justice, if Jewish candidate Elena Kagan is chosen.

President Barack Obama introduces Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his choice for Supreme Court Justice in the East Room of the White House in Washington
Barack backing: President Barack Obama introduces Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his choice for Supreme Court Justice in the East Room of the White House in Washington Photo: AP

If the Senate confirms Elena Kagan, President Barack Obama's choice to replace retiring justice John Paul Stevens, she will join two other Jewish justices and six Roman Catholics serving on the highest court in the land.

The thought of a Protestant-free Supreme Court bench was too much to bear for some.

"I'd like to offer here... a lament for the passing of American Protestantism," American religion scholar Diana Butler Bass wrote on BeliefNet.com about Obama's decision to nominate Kagan, a Jew.

"There will be no one with Protestant sensibilities on the court, no one who understands the nuances of one of America's oldest and most traditional religions - and the religion that deeply shaped American culture and law."

The United States was, after all, once the largest Protestant nation in the world, she noted. Protestants currently make up the country's biggest religious group.

To Frances Kissling, a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics, a changing Supreme Court was the natural reflection of demographic developments in US society.

"The image of America as Kansas - wheatfields and farmers and European Protestant stock - is no longer what America is," she said.

"Most of our presidents, our justices, our powerful people have been mainline Protestants but that has changed and we have an America now with a president who has combined Muslim-Christian roots, a Supreme Court with six Roman Catholics and what will be three Jews," she added.

"I think that's marvelous."

Not too long ago, having all Jewish or Catholic justices and zero Protestants on the high court was just as unthinkable as an African-American president of the United States.

"Can you imagine going back in time and telling the founders that the day would come when there were no Protestants on the Supreme Court?" Rod Dreher wrote on Beliefnet.

"Can you imagine telling someone born 50 years ago that within their lifetime they'd live to see a SCOTUS (Supreme Court) populated exclusively by Catholics and Jews?"

Both Catholics and Jews have fought to overcome discrimination in the United States, including exclusion from plum jobs at law firms and quotas on numbers for admission to Ivy League colleges, which were in place until the second half of last century.

"Prior to the 1970s, no Catholic or Jew got high enough in the law profession that they could be considered for the Supreme Court," said Kissling.

"The opening of employment and education opportunities in 1960s is a dominant factor in this change in the court."

Catholics already hold 67 per cent of the seats on the Supreme Court and Jews will hold 33 per cent, if Kagan passes muster with the Senate as expected.

"Some anti-Semites will see something dangerous about having three Jews on the Supreme Court but I think it's a real tribute to how far one can go in America, whatever one's religion or ethnicity, on the basis of hard work if barriers are removed," Dreher said.

Bass, meanwhile, expressed sadness at seeing a Protestant-free high court.

"I can't help but think that losing the lived memory of American Protestantism will be a loss for all of us," she wrote.

A survey released two years ago by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that barely 51 per cent of Americans were Protestants, compared to nearly two-thirds in the 1960s, and predicted that Protestants would no longer be in the majority in the United States by the middle of this century.

Catholics made up a quarter of the US population and Jews less than two per cent, the 2008 survey showed.

At the time the survey was released, Pew fellow John Greene foretold what is playing out today at the Supreme Court.

"So many of the values and institutions in American public life came out of Protestantism," Greene said.

"I think you're likely to see a change in those institutions and the cultures that support them" as the religion of the founding fathers loses ground in America, he added.


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Sunday, February 05, 2012

Adam Weishaupt: It's his birthday


The caption reads: "Adam Weishaupt, ehemaliger Jesuit, gründete am 1. Mai 1776 die Geheimgesellschaft der Illuminaten" (Adam Weishaupt, former Jesuit, founded the secret society of the Illuminati on May 1st, 1776)


Adam Weishaupt ( February 6, 1748 - November 18, 1811) was the German founder of the Order of the Illuminati.

He was born and raised in Ingolstadt, where he attained the rank of Professor of Canon Law in 1772. Though he was educated by Jesuits and was clearly influenced by the discretion, loyalty and the hierarchic obedience of the Society of Jesus and was for a time a member of their order, his appointment as Professor of Natural and Canon Law at the University of Ingoldstadt in 1775 offended them. He broke with them and became increasingly liberal in his religious and political views, favoring deism and a kind of millennial natural order that swept aside states and organized religion.

With the help of Baron Adolph von Knigge, on May 1, 1776 Weishaupt formed the "Order of Perfectibilists", which was later known as the Illuminati. Some claim that this founding date is the origin for the date of the Communist May Day observance. He adopted the name of "Brother Spartacus" within the order. Though the Order was distinctly not egalitarian or democratic, its declared mission was the development of morality and virtue and the creation of an association of good men to oppose the progress of evil, by any means necessary. "Sin is only that which is hurtful, and if the profit is greater than the damage, it becomes a virtue," Weishaupt wrote: the ends justified the means. The actual character of the society was determined by its traditionalist enemies to be an elaborate network of spies and counter-spies, though with the high goal of ensuring virtue. Each isolated cell of initiates reported to a superior, whom they did not know, a party structure that was later effectively adopted by some later groups, including more recently by the early Ba'ath party in Syria and Iraq.

Weishaupt was initiated into Freemasonry Lodge "Theodor zum guten Rath", at Munich in 1777. He worked at first to divest Freemasonry of its pseudohistorical mumbo-jumbo and reform it. Weishaupt had no use for other occultisms in general: "It is by this scale that we must measure the mad and wicked explanations of the Rosycrucions, the exorcists and Cabalists. These are rejected by all good Masons, because incompatible with social happiness." His project of "illumination, enlightening the understanding by the sun of reason, which will dispel the clouds of superstition and of prejudice" was an unwelcome reform. Soon however he had developed gnostic mysteries of his own, with the goal of perfecting human nature through re-education to achieve a communal state of nature, freed of government and organized religion. He began working towards incorporating his system of Illuminism into that of Masonry, with the aim of spreading his ideals throughout the world. "I did not bring Deism into Bavaria," he wrote, "more than into Rome. I found it here, in great vigour, more abounding than in any of the neighboring Protestant States. I am proud to be known to the world as the founder of the Illuminati."

Weishaupt's radical rationalism, sweeping away nations and religions, private property and marriage, with the vocabulary used by the French Revolution, was not likely to appeal, even to an establishment more liberal than the Wittelsbachs'. Writings that were intercepted in 1784 were interpreted as seditious, the Society was banned by Bavaria's government in 1784, Weishaupt lost his position at the University of Ingolstadt and fled Bavaria. He received the assistance of Duke Ernest of Gotha, and lived in Gotha writing a series of works on Illuminism, including A Complete History of the Persecutions of the Illuminati in Bavaria ( 1785), A Picture of Illuminism ( 1786), An Apology for the Illuminati ( 1786), and An Improved System of Illuminism ( 1787). He died there in 1811, though his later career was so obscure that some sources place the year of his death at 1830.

A century after his death, occultist interest in Weishaupt and the Bavarian Illuminati picked up, through the writings of Aleister Crowley. Modern adepts trace the imagery of symbolism like the eye in the pyramid, and embrace the secrecy of the Illuminati traditions but ignore the specifics of Weishaupt's published essays and correspondence.


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