Youth Synod and Our Lady's third message in Akita - Fr. Mark Goring, CC

Youth Synod and Our Lady's third message in Akita - 

Fr. Mark Goring, CC

Thank you Father Mark!

Lord help us to want, what you are giving! - Homily Father Rob Arsenault

Father Rob`s Homily this past Sunday was really, really, really good! Father concluded with the prayer below 

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr. Rob Arsenault

In the name of Jesus, seek counsel for your life

Lord Jesus we believe you are who you say you are, believe that you are capable of  the things that you say you can do, we believe that you are aware of us and that you are active, that you are real, that you are true, that you are loving, and you are present. We pray that your Holy Spirit will come alive in the hearts, the minds, the imaginations, the memories of your people. Maybe where that is hurt, there would be healing, where there is doubt there would be faith, where there is confusion there would be clarity and wisdom. We do not put limits on what you can do or how you might want to communicate, we simply want to make you welcome in our lives. Pray that you want to move in a new and powerful and loving way. That we would come to know you personally and actively and reflect that truth to those people in our lives, in our work places and in our world. Mother Mary we pray that you would intercede for us and teach us the ways of your Son. Pray to the saints and angels to watch over us and protect us. Almighty God watch over, affirm, guide and protect in the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.. Amen

Run With Life: Praying to end abortion standing in the corner

Run With Life: Praying to end abortion standing in the corner: Today Maureen and I joined other people who want to pray for an end to abortion during the 40 Days for Life. We prayed two rosaries and one Divine Mercy Chaplet. We were there from 7 am to 9:30 am. I also went to Mass at 8:00 at St. Pat's. Lots of prayers, which is what the scourge of abortion needs.

We have Jim Watson to thank for our being prevented from praying across from the abortion facility.

No freedom of expression rights for us, as we stood in the corner for our audacity at praying across from the facility in days gone by.

Maureen was so cold that she put a bag inside her coat to try and keep warm, like an insulation layer. I called it her bag motif. See bottom picture.

Jim Watson's attempt to move us out of the way only means we will now have to pray from a distance. Prayers work just as well no matter where you pray. He can't take away our freedom of conscience and religion rights as much as I'm sure he'd like to. Sorry Jimmy.

Archbishop Terrence Prendergast - Ottawa Sun Column - October 21, 2018

https://catholicottawa.ca/documents/2018/10/181021%20Ottawa%20Sun%20column%20St.%20Michael.pdf

The Catholic Church the world over is undergoing some turmoil and division. Pope Francis says this should not be surprising as it is the role of Satan to divide people and cause confusion. In fact, our word “devil” comes from the Greek word “diabolos”—the one who divides.
In addition to human weakness and sinfulness behind divisions in the Church, Pope Francis sees a cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil at work touching men and women in our time. To counteract these, he has proposed spiritual remedies.
Spiritual practices that aid people in unsettling times are prayer and fasting in repentance for personal sins. Another step is to make reparation for the sins committed against God’s commandments and the dignity of the human person by silent prayer, adoration and sacrificial giving to benefit others. 
Pope Francis has personally asked us to embrace a particular spiritual means in this month of October by reciting the rosary daily. The rosary is a series of prayers addressed to God the Father and the Virgin Mary, along with meditation on the mysteries of the life of Christ and His Blessed Mother.
At the conclusion to the rosary, the pope urged Catholics to add two invocations: a special prayer to Mary and another to the Archangel Saint Michael. The Bible repeatedly depicts Saint Michael winning by God’s power a titanic battle in heaven—described in the Book of Daniel (10.13–21; 12.1) and the Book of Revelation (12.7–9). God’s people on earth share in the struggle. The enemy is the Dragon.
The Holy Father asked the faithful of the entire world to pray that the Holy Mother of God place the Church beneath her protective mantle. We are to implore her to preserve the Church from attacks by the devil, “the great accuser.” We are also to ask her intercession to make members of the Church more aware of the faults, the errors, and the abuses committed recently and in the past, so that, being converted, evil may no longer prevail over us.
The rosary would then conclude with the prayer written by Pope Leo XIII: “Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.”
Several bishops in the United States, in response to the many molestations by priests and concealments by bishops, have encouraged the faithful of their dioceses to take up the Prayer to Saint Michael at the conclusion of each parish Mass. Churchgoers have been supportive of this practice.
The Bishops of Ontario discussed favourably the possibility of adopting this practice in their respective dioceses. Accordingly, I am inviting pastors in the Ottawa and Cornwall dioceses to introduce this practice in their churches beginning on December 2, the First Sunday of Advent.
 2
Some liturgists are concerned that this prayer may blur the line between divine worship and devotions. However, the celebrant will separate the prayer from the Mass by reciting it after the dismissal of the assembly before or after the final hymn.
The struggle that the Church faces now has both a temporal and a spiritual component. Previously, I wrote about the work already underway to create safe environments in our parishes. But we must also seek spiritual assistance in this battle against malign forces. My hope is parishes joining together using this traditional prayer appealing to God for the intercession of Saint Michael will be encouraged and helped towards renewal, healing and safeguarding the most vulnerable among us.
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https://catholicottawa.ca/documents/2018/10/181021%20Ottawa%20Sun%20column%20St.%20Michael.pdf

English text of Archbishop Viganò’s third testimony

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archbishop-viganos-third-testimony

ROME, October 19, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò today has issued a third explosive testimony, in response to an open letter from Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. 

Here below we publish the official English text of Archbishop Viganò’s third testimony, dated October 19, the liturgical Feast of the North American Martyrs.

On the Feast of the North American Martyrs

To bear witness to corruption in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church was a painful decision for me, and remains so. But I am an old man, one who knows he must soon give an accounting to the Judge for his actions and omissions, one who fears Him who can cast body and soul into hell. A Judge who, even in his infinite mercy, will render to every person salvation or damnation according to what he has deserved.  Anticipating the dreadful question from that Judge – “How could you, who had knowledge of the truth, keep silent in the midst of falsehood and depravity?” -- what answer could I give?

I testified fully aware that my testimony would bring alarm and dismay to many eminent persons: churchmen, fellow bishops, colleagues with whom I had worked and prayed.  I knew many would feel wounded and betrayed. I expected that some would in their turn assail me and my motives. Most painful of all, I knew that many of the innocent faithful would be confused and disconcerted by the spectacle of a bishop’s charging colleagues and superiors with malfeasance, sexual sin, and grave neglect of duty.  Yet I believe that my continued silence would put many souls at risk, and would certainly damn my own.  Having reported multiple times to my superiors, and even to the Pope, the aberrant behavior of Theodore McCarrick, I could have publicly denounced the truths of which I was aware earlier. If I have some responsibility in this delay, I repent for that.  This delay was due to the gravity of the decision I was going to take, and to the long travail of my conscience.

I have been accused of creating confusion and division in the Church through my testimony. To those who believe such confusion and division were negligible prior to August 2018, perhaps such a claim is plausible. Most impartial observers, however, will have been aware of a longstanding excess of both, as is inevitable when the successor of Peter is negligent in exercising his principal mission, which is to confirm the brothers in the faith and in sound moral doctrine. When he then exacerbates the crisis by contradictory or perplexing statements about these doctrines, the confusion is worsened.

Therefore I spoke.  For it is the conspiracy of silence that has wrought and continues to wreak great harm in the Church -- harm to so many innocent souls, to young priestly vocations, to the faithful at large.  With regard to my decision, which I have taken in conscience before God, I willingly accept every fraternal correction, advice, recommendation, and invitation to progress in my life of faith and love for Christ, the Church and the Pope.

Let me restate the key points of my testimony.

• In November 2000 the U.S. nuncio, Archbishop Montalvo, informed the Holy See of Cardinal McCarrick’s homosexual behavior with seminarians and priests.
• In December 2006 the new U.S. nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, informed the Holy See of Cardinal McCarrick’s homosexual  behavior with yet another priest.
• In December of 2006 I myself wrote a memo to the Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, and personally delivered it to the Substitute for General Affairs, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, calling for the Pope to bring extraordinary disciplinary measures against McCarrick to forestall future crimes and scandal. This memo received no response.
• In April 2008 an open letter to Pope Benedict by Richard Sipe was relayed by the Prefect of the CDF, Cardinal Levada, to the Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, containing further accusations of McCarrick’s sleeping with seminarians and priests. I received this a month later, and in May 2008 I myself delivered a second memo to the then Substitute for General Affairs, Archbishop Fernando Filoni, reporting the claims against McCarrick and calling for sanctions against him. This second memo also received no response.
• In 2009 or 2010 I learned from Cardinal Re, prefect of the Congregation of Bishops, that Pope Benedict had ordered McCarrick to cease public ministry and begin a life of prayer and penance.  The nuncio Sambi communicated the Pope’s orders to McCarrick in a voice heard down the corridor of the nunciature.
• In November 2011 Cardinal Ouellet, the new Prefect of Bishops, repeated to me, the new nuncio to the U.S., the Pope’s restrictions on McCarrick, and I myself communicated them to McCarrick face-to-face.
• On June 21, 2013, toward the end of an official assembly of nuncios at the Vatican, Pope Francis spoke cryptic words to me criticizing the U.S. episcopacy.
• On June 23, 2013, I met Pope Francis face-to-face in his apartment to ask for clarification, and the Pope asked me, “il cardinale McCarrick, com'è (Cardinal McCarrick -- what do you make of him)?”-- which I can only interpret as a feigning of curiosity in order to discover whether or not I was an ally of McCarrick. I told him that McCarrick had sexually corrupted generations of priests and seminarians, and had been ordered by Pope Benedict to confine himself to a life of prayer and penance.
• Instead, McCarrick continued to enjoy the special regard of Pope Francis and was given new responsibilities and missions by him.
• McCarrick was part of a network of bishops promoting homosexuality who, exploiting their favor with Pope Francis, manipulated episcopal appointments so as to protect themselves from justice and to strengthen the homosexual network in the hierarchy and in the Church at large.
• Pope Francis himself has either colluded in this corruption, or, knowing what he does, is gravely negligent in failing to oppose it and uproot it. 

I invoked God as my witness to the truth of my claims, and none has been shown false.  Cardinal Ouellet has written to rebuke me for my temerity in breaking silence and leveling such grave accusations against my brothers and superiors, but in truth his remonstrance confirms me in my decision and, even more, serves to vindicate my claims, severally and as a whole.

• Cardinal Ouellet concedes that he spoke with me about McCarrick’s situation prior to my leaving for Washington to begin my post as nuncio.
• Cardinal Ouellet concedes that he communicated to me in writing the conditions and restrictions imposed on McCarrick by Pope Benedict.
• Cardinal Ouellet concedes that these restrictions forbade McCarrick to travel or to make public appearances.
• Cardinal Ouellet concedes that the Congregation of Bishops, in writing, first through the nuncio Sambi and then once again through me, required McCarrick to lead a life of prayer and penance.

What does Cardinal Ouellet dispute?

• Cardinal Ouellet disputes the possibility that Pope Francis could have taken in important information about McCarrick on a day when he met scores of nuncios and gave each only a few moments of conversation.  But this was not my testimony.  My testimony is that at a second, private meeting, I informed the Pope, answering his own question about Theodore McCarrick, then Cardinal archbishop emeritus of Washington, prominent figure of the Church in the US, telling the Pope that McCarrick had sexually corrupted his own seminarians and priests. No Pope could forget that.
• Cardinal Ouellet disputes the existence in his archives of letters signed by Pope Benedict or Pope Francis regarding sanctions on McCarrick. But this was not my testimony.  My testimony was that he has in his archives key documents –  irrespective of provenance – incriminating McCarrick and documenting the measures taken in his regard, and other proofs on the cover-up regarding his situation. And I confirm this again.
• Cardinal Ouellet disputes the existence in the files of his predecessor, Cardinal Re, of “audience memos” imposing on McCarrick the restrictions already mentioned.  But this was not my testimony.  My testimony is that there are other documents: for instance, a note from Card Re not ex-Audientia SS.mi, signed by either the Secretary of State or by the Substitute.
• Cardinal Ouellet disputes that it is false to present the measures taken against McCarrick as “sanctions” decreed by Pope Benedict and canceled by Pope Francis. True. They were not technically “sanctions” but provisions, “conditions and restrictions.” To quibble whether they were sanctions or provisions or something else is pure legalism. From a pastoral point of view they are exactly the same thing.

In brief, Cardinal Ouellet concedes the important claims that I did and do make, and disputes claims I don’t make and never made.

There is one point on which I must absolutely refute what Cardinal Ouellet wrote. The Cardinal states that the Holy See was only aware of “rumors,” which were not enough to justify disciplinary measures against McCarrick. I affirm to the contrary that the Holy See was aware of a variety of concrete facts, and is in possession of documentary proof, and that the responsible persons nevertheless chose not to intervene or were prevented from doing so. Compensation by the Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Metuchen to the victims of McCarrick’s sexual abuse, the letters of Fr. Ramsey, of the nuncios Montalvo in 2000 and Sambi in 2006, of Dr. Sipe in 2008, my two notes to the superiors of the Secretariat of State who described in detail the concrete allegations against McCarrick; are all these just rumors? They are official correspondence, not gossip from the sacristy. The crimes reported were very serious, including those of attempting to give sacramental absolution to accomplices in perverse acts, with subsequent sacrilegious celebration of Mass. These documents specify the identity of the perpetrators and their protectors, and the chronological sequence of the facts. They are kept in the appropriate archives; no extraordinary investigation is needed to recover them.

In the public remonstrances directed at me I have noted two omissions, two dramatic silences. The first silence regards the plight of the victims. The second regards the underlying reason why there are so many victims, namely, the corrupting influence of homosexuality in the priesthood and in the hierarchy.  As to the first, it is dismaying that, amid all the scandals and indignation, so little thought should be given to those damaged by the sexual predations of those commissioned as ministers of the gospel.  This is not a matter of settling scores or sulking over the vicissitudes of ecclesiastical careers.  It is not a matter of politics.  It is not a matter of how church historians may evaluate this or that papacy.  This is about souls.  Many souls have been and are even now imperiled of their eternal salvation.

As to the second silence, this very grave crisis cannot be properly addressed and resolved unless and until we call things by their true names. This is a crisis due to the scourge of homosexuality, in its agents, in its motives, in its resistance to reform. It is no exaggeration to say that homosexuality has become a plague in the clergy, and it can only be eradicated with spiritual weapons.  It is an enormous hypocrisy to condemn the abuse, claim to weep for the victims, and yet refuse to denounce the root cause of so much sexual abuse: homosexuality.  It is hypocrisy to refuse to acknowledge that this scourge is due to a serious crisis in the spiritual life of the clergy and to fail to take the steps necessary to remedy it.

Unquestionably there exist philandering clergy, and unquestionably they too damage their own souls, the souls of those whom they corrupt, and the Church at large.  But these violations of priestly celibacy are usually confined to the individuals immediately involved.  Philandering clergy usually do not recruit other philanderers, nor work to promote them, nor cover-up their misdeeds -- whereas the evidence for homosexual collusion, with its deep roots that are so difficult to eradicate, is overwhelming. 

It is well established that homosexual predators exploit clerical privilege to their advantage.  But to claim the crisis itself to be clericalism is pure sophistry.  It is to pretend that a means, an instrument, is in fact the main motive.

Denouncing homosexual corruption and the moral cowardice that allows it to flourish does not meet with congratulation in our times, not even in the highest spheres of the Church.  I am not surprised that in calling attention to these plagues I am charged with disloyalty to the Holy Father and with fomenting an open and scandalous rebellion.  Yet rebellion would entail urging others to topple the papacy.  I am urging no such thing.  I pray every day for Pope Francis -- more than I have ever done for the other popes. I am asking, indeed earnestly begging, the Holy Father to face up to the commitments he himself made in assuming his office as successor of Peter. He took upon himself the mission of confirming his brothers and guiding all souls in following Christ, in the spiritual combat, along the way of the cross.  Let him admit his errors, repent, show his willingness to follow the mandate given to Peter and, once converted let him confirm his brothers (Lk 22:32).

In closing, I wish to repeat my appeal to my brother bishops and priests who know that my statements are true and who can so testify, or who have access to documents that can put the matter beyond doubt.  You too are faced with a choice.  You can choose to withdraw from the battle, to prop up the conspiracy of silence and avert your eyes from the spreading of corruption.  You can make excuses, compromises and justification that put off the day of reckoning.  You can console yourselves with the falsehood and the delusion that it will be easier to tell the truth tomorrow, and then the following day, and so on.

On the other hand, you can choose to speak.  You can trust Him who told us, “the truth will set you free.”  I do not say it will be easy to decide between silence and speaking.  I urge you to consider which choice-- on your deathbed, and then before the just Judge -- you will not regret having made.

+ Carlo Maria Viganò
Arcivescovo tit. di Ulpiana
Nunzio Apostolico

19 Ottobre 2018
Feast of the North American Martyrs 

The Magical BirthCanal - Choice42

This is awesome!!

40 Days for Life Mid-point - Sunday October 12th.

Thank you to Stan Siok for this summary of the mid-point rally

The 40 Days for Life Mid-point took place on Sunday October 12^th. We were privileged to have our Archbishop, Terrence Prendergast lead us in prayer and to give us his blessing. Music was provided by Gary Knight who gave a superb performance.

There were two wonderful talks given during this rally. The first one was given by Florence Lavergne from National Campus Life Network (NCLC). She gave a very informative talk about the pro-life movement on Ottawa university campuses, and the need to be familiar with Pro-life apologetics.  The text of her talk is here

The second talk entitled appropriately “Words of Encouragement” given by Deacon GuyDacquay. He is a true veteran of 40 Days for Life Campaign having taken part since we began in Ottawa in 2008. He provides a good perspective when we’re tempted to feel discouraged by the apparent lack of success. Deacon Guy recalls the quote of Saint Mother Theresa: “God does not require us to be successful, only that we be faithful”. We know that Jesus, who is always with us, will give us strength and courage as we evangelize with our peaceful and prayerful presence despite any rejection or intimidation we may face. Attached you will have the text of Deacon Guy’s inspiring talk.

 Towards the end of the rally, Sister Teresa Catherine Marie of the Queenship of Mary gave a beautiful rendition of Ave Maria. Remarkably, as Sister started to sing, everyone fell silent and we truly felt God’s presence.