One of my friends and I were sitting in the gym talking in the 8th grade For some reason she took her St Joseph Catholic missal out of her purse and showed it to me I loved it She invited me to go to Mass with her on Holy Thursday I knew as soon as I walked into the church that Jesus was truly present Then a priest gave me some catechism classes I made my First Holy Communion a little over a year later Sadly my friend has left the Church and no longer responds to me
I am not quite sure about Muslims praying the actual rosary. I know they use prayerbeads which resemble the rosary, but as they pray it they do not use Catholic prayers. There were Melkites present at the funeral of Pope St John Paul 2 I remember how striking their liturgy was.
Thanks so much for the prayers! I think it is true , dawn will break. But I am afraid there will be much blood under the bridge till then. I suspect only be the death of many, many , many mrtyrs can teh Church be cleanesed. For instance I was just reading this , this morning. It would make the angels weep: https://akacatholic.com/the-uncle-teddy-mccarrick-case/ The “Uncle Teddy” McCarrick Case Guest Contributor June 29, 2018 248 Comments “Kingmaker,” Francis Cardinal Spellman, who ordained and/or consecrated many clerics among the sodomite ranks By Randy Engel Four Generations of Clerical Sexual Predators When is Enough, Enough? Introduction It’s been an “open secret,” for almost 100 years, that the American hierarchy has been plagued by homosexual/pederast predators within its ranks. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the current debacle over the revelations of homosexual tricks turned over by Cardinal “call-me-Uncle Teddy” McCarrick has provided an albeit totally unexpected but welcome opportunity for the handful of decent prelates who still have their religious and moral miters on straight to demonstrate to the long-suffering Catholic laity that they are both willing and able to take the lead in lancing and draining the infectious carbuncles of perversity and immorality that threaten the entire Body and Soul of the Catholic Church, not only in our nation, but around the world. I think that the Catholic faithful sense that there is much more to the McCarrick case than has yet been revealed by either the Catholic or secular press. And they are correct . What is the McCarrick Case About? Clearly, this is not just a story of one isolated prelate’s fall from grace. It’s the story of an institutionalized and systemic crisis which the Holy See has permitted to fester in the very bosom of Holy Mother Church since the early part of the 20th century. The McCarrick case is about four generations of homosexual/pederast Catholic bishops and cardinals in AmChurch – McCarrick being part of the third generation, and the homosexual bishops he has consecrated, the fourth generation. Historically speaking, McCarrick got in on the near ground floor of one of largest and most influential homosexual networks in the Church in modern times – the Cardinal Francis Spellman Network. There’s an old saying that “the Devil is in the details.” This certainly is true of the McCarrick case, both literally and figuratively. Let’s review a short but not so sweet summary of McCarrick’s meteoric rise up the clerical ladder which the Catholic and secular news services have, thus far, failed to report. I have attached a postscript to this article for readers who wish additional information on the Cardinal McCarrick’s background. The McCarrick Case in Four Sound Bites Father McCarrick was ordained by the “Kingmaker,” Cardinal Francis Spellman, Archbishop of New York from 1939 to 1967. “Franny” Spellman, a predatory homosexual prelate, ordained and/or consecrated many young priests who joined the sodomite ranks including McCarrick, George Guilfoyle, Christopher Weldon, Francis Reh and Terence Cooke. Monsignor McCarrick served as personal secretary from 1971 to 1977 to homosexual Cardinal Terence Cooke. It was Cooke who consecrated McCarrick an auxiliary bishop. Among the other homosexual bishops consecrated by “Cookie” were Bishop Emerson John Moore, a homosexual drug addict who died alone and destitute of AIDS in September 1995. For the record, Cooke oversaw the suffragan Diocese of Brooklyn where homosexual Bishop Francis Mugavero permitted the St. Matthew Community – a religious community made up of homosexual priests for homosexual priests and their partners – to operate out of his diocese in 1978. Cardinal McCarrick, from his earliest days in the priesthood (1958); to his appointment as an auxiliary bishop (1977); to his installation as Bishop of Metuchen (1981); to his appointment as Archbishop of Newark (1986); to his appointment as Archbishop of Washington. D.C. (2000); and his elevation to the cardinalate (2001), was an active homosexual/pederast preying especially on young seminarians and newly-ordained priests. Cardinal McCarrick has continued the inter-generational production of sodomites in the American hierarchy by the consecration of at least three priests – one of whom is deceased and two who are currently bishops in good standing.
Right, I'd be pretty hesitant to believe they say Catholic prayers such Lord's Prayer, Glory Be, etc much less meditate on the mysteries. Buddhists have their own prayer beads as well. At least Muslims honor Mary, though not Christ as Lord but rather a prophet.
The Overworld that Protects the Clerical Underworld As one reads the many press accounts and internet commentaries on the McCarrick case, it seems rather strange that there is any mystery whatsoever surrounding the cardinal’s very real Teflon coating that has protected him from exposure and incarceration for decades. Why is this? Perhaps it is necessary to remind oneself that the homosexual underworld, be it clerical or secular, is a world of vice. A world that includes drugs, prostitution, domestic violence, murder, suicide, blackmail, and criminality of all kinds. As an active homosexual prelate, Cardinal McCarrick has been open to blackmail in various forms by the enemies of the Church for half-a-century. But blackmail is a two-edged sword and in McCarrick’s case it has worked largely in his favor since the 88-year-old cardinal knows all the details of just about every active homosexual American bishop in the United States (and many at the Vatican) dating back to the Spellman era. That’s an awful lot of skeletons hiding in the proverbial clerical “gay” closet. There is no question that there exists today a vast overworld in the Catholic Church, starting at the Vatican, with arms that reach into every diocese in the world. The main function of this overworld is to coverup the scandal-ridden underworld of the homosexual/pederast networks in the Church. The great tragedy is that both the overworld and the underworld are fueled by the long-suffering Catholic laity with the money they toss into the collection basket every week. You wanted to know how it is possible for McCarrick to have escaped exposure and censure for so long? That’s your answer, like it or not. Who’s Giving McCarrick Legal Advice? Whose Picking Up the Tab? One of the little recognized practices of American diocesan lawyers, and lawyers from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops when faced with the prospect of a public “outing” of a homosexual/pederast bishop or cardinal, has been to promise the prelate the best defense that money can buy and continued financial support in exchange for his silence on his fellow homosexual/pederast bishops, cardinals, and clerics at home and abroad. How else can one explain McCarrick’s totally asinine statement that he “has no recollection,” concerning the sexual abuse of the young altar boy at St. Patrick’s Cathedral that has made recent headlines? No recollection? Nonsense! Sexual perverts, especially pederasts, have amazing memories especially as they relate to their early conquests. They relive those experiences over and over in their minds, day in and day out. It’s their way of getting kicks. Pederasts especially savor the look on the face of their victim when the young boy realizes what is being done to him. Now the victim is one of THEM! Who devised this brilliant strategy for McCarrick? My guess is that the New York Archdiocese clued McCarrick in the first moment that the now middle-aged victim fingered McCarrick as his abuser, and the cardinal’s attorneys plotted accordingly. Since the victim’s story turned out to be “credible,” McCarrick’s legal counsel no doubt decided that his best bet was not to deny the abuse outright, but to claim that he had “no recollection” of the alleged crime. After all, the statute of limitations has run out in New York State, so he’s not going to jail any time soon. And the chances of the “gay friendly” occupant of the Chair of Peter giving McCarrick a choice between defrocking and a life of permanent penance at a traditional monastery constantly surrounded by two monks, one on either side, to monitor the cardinal’s every move lest he attempt to seduce other clerics, is very slim indeed. Probably, given the short and faulty memory of American Catholics when it comes to the horrific pain and anguish of victims (and their families) of pederasty and homosexual abuse, chances are McCarrick will disappear for a few months from the public limelight and then retire quietly in high style knowing he’ll be protected and kept financially solvent by Church officials in return for his keeping silent to the grave. Unfortunately for McCarrick, however, there is a Life and Judgement beyond the grave, although his actions demonstrate that he believes in neither. Perhaps one, just one, of his fellow clerics including all those who have feigned “shock” at the recent revelations, will love Cardinal McCarrick enough to remind him of this reality before it is too late. I pray they do. But in the meantime, my rosaries and prayers are for the victims of clerical sexual abuse – past, present and future. And future victims there will be along with corresponding devastated families until faithful Catholics get justice and accountability from the hierarchy and the Holy See or God intervenes directly – whichever comes first. – The End–
Postscript: When I started my research on the homosexual network in AmChurch in 1989 for The Rite of Sodomy – Homosexuality and the Roman Catholic Church, I began with a short list of homosexual prelates I needed to investigate – Cardinal William O’Connell of Boston, Cardinal Francis Spellman of New York, Cardinal John Wright, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, Bishop Donald Wuerl of Pittsburgh, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, Archbishop Rembert Weakand, O.S.B. of Milwaukee, and Archbishop Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Newark. By the time The Rite of Sodomy was published in 2006, that list had grown to more than 40 American homosexual prelates and superiors of male religious orders. Below are a few excerpts on Cardinal McCarrick taken from taken from the updated five- volume set of The Rite of Sodomy. Footnotes are provided in the original text: American Hierarchy Denies Existence of A Clerical Homosexual Network On April 23-24, 2002, Pope John Paul II called an Extraordinary Meeting of American Cardinals in Rome to discuss the clerical sexual abuse problem in the United States. Bishop Wilton Gregory, President of the USCCB, was also in attendance. A press conference at the Vatican Press Office was held on the evening of the close of the two-day session with the Holy Father. In attendance were Cardinals Theodore McCarrick and James Francis Stafford, Bishop Gregory representing the USCCB, and Vatican lay press officer, Dr. Joaquin Navarro-Valls. During the news conference, Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, D.C. was asked by Christopher Ferrara, who along with John Vennari was covering the story for Catholic Family News, the following question pertaining to the problem of pederasty and homosexuality in the Catholic priesthood: Nearly every single case has involved an adolescent and does not constitute a true case of pedophilia. So, we’re dealing with the acts of homosexual males who could not control their predilection. To avoid what would be a perpetual bumper crop of this type of scandal, is the hierarchy in North America going to enforce the Vatican’s [1961] Instruction that homosexual males simply should not be ordained? Cardinal McCarrick responded: I think certainly every seminary in the country has a program that says, “anyone who is an active homosexual should never be admitted.” I don’t know of any bishop in the country who would allow someone who had been actively involved in homosexuality to enter a seminary. I don’t think any bishop would allow anyone who was actively engaged in heterosexual activity right before they went in to enter the seminary. We believe in celibacy. It’s not the easiest road in today’s crazy world, but we believe in celibacy. We believe that if you practice celibacy with all your heart, with all your love, you can be free to serve God’s people, to serve God in a beautiful way. If someone gets into a seminary, and that question is not asked, that’s a terrible thing. But any seminary that I know, you say, “have you been acting celibately up until now?” [Note: The 1961 Instruction, Religiosorum institutio on the “Careful Selection And Training Of Candidates For The States Of Perfection And Sacred Orders” was the work of the Sacred Congregation for Religious in the Holy Office. It provided that “Advancement to religious vows and ordination should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and priestly ministry would constitute serious dangers.” This was the paragraph of the 1961 Instruction that Mr. Ferrara was referring to in his questioning of Cardinal McCarrick at the April 2002 Rome press conference.] A Reality Check for Cardinal McCarrick Finally, let us return to Cardinal McCarrick and his performance at the April 2002 Vatican press conference. Young Ted, an only child, lost his father at the age of three. He was raised by his doting mother, who worked as an artist model and later in an auto-parts factory. In his junior year, he was expelled from Xavier High School in Manhattan, ostensibly for truancy, but, thanks to family connections, he was taken in by Fordham Prep, another Jesuit high school in the Bronx. Cardinal Spellman ordained Father McCarrick on May 31, 1951. He served as secretary to Cardinal Cooke from 1971 to 1977, when Cooke made him an Auxiliary Bishop of New York. New York insiders glibly refer to McCarrick by his feminine name “Blanche” and Vatican officials have long been aware of his penchant for young handsome seminarians. McCarrick has ordained at least three homosexual bishops. Yet, here is a man who the Holy See permitted to play the fool before an international audience of reporters on the question of the ordination of homosexual candidates to the priesthood and the existence of a homosexual network within the Church. How far has the rot gone? All the way to the top. Epilogue Eighteen months have gone by since the manuscript of The Rite of Sodomy passed from my hands to the printers, and many important changes have occurred in the life of the Church, not the least of which is the election of a new pope. Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005. The former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has ascended the throne of Saint Peter as Pope Benedict XVI. There have also been other important events connected with many personages featured in this book. … On January 10, 2006, attorney John A. Aretakis filed an amended civil suit on behalf of Father Robert Hoatson in the United States District Court of New York. Fr. Hoatson, a priest of the Newark Archdiocese is suing Archbishop John Myers of Newark, Cardinal Edward Egan of New York, Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, the Christian Brothers and others for aiding and abetting known criminal clerical pederasts. Hoatson, an alleged victim of sexual abuse by the Christian Brothers, identified Myers, Egan and Hubbard as “active homosexuals.” Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, although not a defendant in the suit, is also identified as an “active homosexual.” In addition, Hoatson claims that Bishop Charles J. McDonnell, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Newark, and Bishop Paul Bootkowski of Metuchen, N.J. had an “inappropriate relationship” with sexual abuser Father Alfonso de Condorpusa of the Newark Archdiocese. Both McDonnell and Bootkowski were consecrated by Cardinal McCarrick. A jury trial is demanded.
I heard Islam described as a heresy the other day. I had never thought of it that way before. In a kinda way Islam reminds me of the Mormons. They have a false prophet like Joe Smith, in both cases the supposed Arcangel Gabriel appeared and gave them a new book. Islam is a kind of hodgepodge of scripture and the Talmud and a lot of new stuff, rather like the book of Moroni. Which makes me think the same demon turned up for the false prophet Mohomed as for Joe Smith and the poor mormons. Interesting a lot of the first rules for Mormons were simliar to Islam. That a guy could have many wives, that Jesus was not God but, 'important' and so on....Mormons were involved with violence from the first get go as was Islam and so on and on.....
I don't recall watching his funeral. I would have remembered the pine box coffin. THAT strikes me at the moment, as my Dad & I are in the midst of discussing burial plots and funeral homes in prep for my Mom's eventual passing!! We signed her up for Hospice 2 weeks ago, though she will probably be taken off it in 3 months when it's time to review her case. Yup, she rallied. I personally prefer the approach of a pine box vs cremation. Yet, I know there's nothing wrong with cremation.
I am not too sure about cremation. I know the Church changed its views on it after Vatican 2. But I read a couple of articles lately on Cremation lately which has me wondering. I must see if I can find them....There must have been a reason why the Church forbade cremation for nearly 2,000 years. Anyway I will see if I can find those articles.
I would surely appreciate that. I know when Pope Francis came out with forbidding the sprinkling of ashes or separation of them, my Dad shared that with our family and stated he would no longer be willing to have his ashes spread anywhere but must be buried in their entirety. Phew!! Definitely something I need to research ASAP...why the Church forbid it until recently. I have spoken with our chosen Funeral Director and assured any remaining solid tissue/bone kept with the ashes of soft tissue, in case anyone has heard in the past of alternative approaches. Perhaps that is part of the concern. Perhaps that sounds morbid and horrible, but must consider these facts very matter of factually right now. I will spare you further detail unless you ask. I know when my grandma was cremated 20 years ago, there didn't seem to be an issue with it. She chose that ahead of time to save money and chose to rent a casket. With her sudden unexpected death, the whole family greatly appreciated, needed the open casket!! We had all just had Christmas with her in full health. (I digress)
Well they have Columbariums all over the place now. I know they have one in the Church I go to everyday, St Patricks. So you could not have a Columbarium without cremation of course. But I find all these years later after Vatican 2 Changes I accepted without any question whatsoever return to haunt me.
Otherwise known as a Mosuleum? I rather like the idea of a pine box covered with flowers and lined with silk.
https://www.neptunesociety.com/cremation-information-articles/christianity-and-cremation ...Today, however, most Christian churches have changed positions, and the percentage of Christians who are choosing cremation as an alternative to traditional burial practices is growing. What’s behind the change in position? The reason most often given is that the Bible does not explicitly prohibit cremation. In fact, unlike Judaism and Islam, treatment of the dead has historically had low priority in Christian teaching. This may in part stem from the fact that Jesus offered no specific guidance about it. Another reason given is that Christian understanding of the relationship between the soul and body has changed over the last century, now emphasizing the importance of the soul over the body. As these views have changed, so has our understanding that the act of resurrection is not incompatible with cremation. Steven Davis, professor of philosophy and religious studies at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California, stated in the Baptist Standard that the resurrection argument against cremation, “gets a little dicey when you imagine that some bodies of Christians who are going to be resurrected will have been in the ground 2,000 years or more…It doesn’t seem like it’s any more difficult for God to resurrect someone whose body has been in the ground 2,000 years than someone who was cremated.” Today, Christian sects that once condemned the practice – including Roman Catholicism – no longer oppose it. Catholicism, which once believed that cremation denied the possibility of resurrection, has allowed cremation since 1963. It has also allowed Catholic priests to officiate at memorials for those who have been cremated since 1966. The Catholic Church does, however, still prefer traditional burial. The church provided guidance on this in 1983, stating, “The Church earnestly recommends the pious custom of burying the bodies of the dead be observed, it does not however, forbid cremation unless it has been chosen for reasons which are contrary to Christian teaching” (Canon 1176). Intent plays a large role in whether Christian churches approve or disapprove of cremation. Most Christian churches agree that when cremation is chosen, the cremains should be treated with similar dignity and respect as would be afforded in a traditional funeral. They should be placed in an urn and afforded a religious funeral or memorial service, and should be placed in a permanent location for remembrance. In fact, many churches today have on-site columbaria for exactly this purpose. Funerals and memorials aren’t just about the body of the departed, or grieving. They are also a reminder of Christian beliefs about eternal life. Most Christians agree that a cremation combined with a Christian memorial service can still serve this purpose. Mainline Protestantism has followed a similar trajectory as Catholicism. Once frowned upon, most mainline protestant churches now leave the decision between burial and cremation to individual discernment and discretion. The Episcopal Church, one of the nation’s largest mainline Protestant denominations, states that cremation is, “no longer understood to deny the resurrection of the body.” However, not all Christians agree that cremation is an acceptable alternative to burial. Certain sects of Christianity still strongly oppose cremation. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, for example, has stated, “The Church considers cremation to be the deliberate desecration and destruction of what God has made and ordained for us. The Church instead insists that the body be buried so that the natural physical process of decomposition may take place. The Church does not grant funerals, either in the sanctuary, or at the funeral home, or at any other place, to persons who have chosen to be cremated.” For most Christians today, the question of cremation is largely left to individual discretion. Many Christians choose cremation as an alternative to burial, while still retaining those aspects of their traditional funeral practices that allow them to honor the lives of their loved ones and glorify God.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/world/europe/vatican-bans-scattering-of-human-ashes.html Cremation is allowed but the vase or container of such ashes must be buried or placed in a mausoleum. The sad thing, at least in the States, is that these regulations are frequently bypassed. Catholic Americans, to reduce costs, are increasingly foregoing funeral Masses, holding a wake at the funeral home, having remains cremated, and interring the ashes in their homes. Even if their intentions are "good," the sad thing is what happens with ashes that aren't buried. Without a permanent resting place it is likely the ashes may be lost or discarded in subsequent generations. I know in my diocese, some pastors have sat down with local funeral directors and said this should not be. However, funeral homes can make a larger profit in the " arrangement" and are willing to abide by the family wishes. So here in the Northeast the number of funeral Masses for deceased Catholics are falling as are the number of Church marriages and baptisms. To tell the truth, in the Northeast, the Church is rapidly greying and dying. A terrible reality check! Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!
That won't be happening in my family!! I'm the POA for my Dad, and in charge(insistent) of such things for my Mom along with Dad. With my Grandma, she died during a super frigid winter and the ground was too hard up north. Her sealed container was kept lovingly with my Aunt on her closet shelf. Seeing that in container in her closet for 5 months was a great comfort to her. We gathered in the Spring as a family to bury her next to Grandpa. That made for a very special family weekend. She was taken out of the closet the day before for Family Honor. I lovingly slept next to her in the living room that night prior to us having the grave side service. Of course we held a full Mass in January when she died. I'm sure my Dad hasn't thought of the option of a Pine Box covered in flowers. He has been a Gardener for MANY years. It may offer an alternative thought for his consideration...I just sent him an email about that. I think I prefer no embalming, but waiting a couple days for family to arrive, does not make that very feasible. I also prefer an open casket for both parents. That truly helps with closure and acceptance.
