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Exposing Anti-Catholicism

April 15, 2010, 5:55pmBy BERNARDO VILLEGAS 

(www.mb.com.ph)

I fully agree with Mayor Edward I. Koch, the Mayor of New York City, and a Jew. Those who have been very vocal in attacking the Roman Catholic Church and Pope Benedict XVI for the sexual abuse of children by a few Roman Catholic priests in countries like Ireland, Germany and the United States have an axe to grind. They are no longer interested in the truth but are pushing their respective anti-Catholic agenda. Mayor Koch, in a column in The New York Post last April 6, 2010, did not mince any word: "Many of those in the media who are pounding on the Church and the Pope today clearly do it with delight and some with malice. The reason I believe for the constant assaults is that there are many in the media and some Catholics as well as many in the public who object to and are incensed by positions the Church holds, including opposition to all abortion, opposition to gay sex and same-sex marriage, retention of celibacy rules for priest, exclusion of women from the clergy, opposition to birth control measures involving condoms and prescription drugs and opposition to civil divorce."

Well, if the critics of the Catholic teachings on these issues think that using the sex abuse scandals will soften the stand of the Pope against these acts which are considered by Catholic morals as intrinsically evil, they are in for a surprise. Although Mayor Koch candidly admits that he disagrees with the Church on all those points, he has enough intellectual honesty to recognize that the Church has the right to demand fulfillment of all of its religious demands by its parishioners, and indeed a right to espouse its beliefs generally. He quotes a good friend of his, John Cardinal O'Oconnor: "The Church is not a salad bar, from which to pick and choose what pleases you." Let this be a reminder to columnists and others in the local press who think that they can soften the stand of the Filipino bishops against the Reproductive Health Bill (which promotes the inherently evil artificial contraceptives) by constantly raking up the sex abuse scandals.

Mayor Koch gives us an example of objectivity in assessing this sordid happenings in the Catholic Church: "The sexual molestation of children, principally boys, is horrendous. This is agreed to by everyone, Catholics, the Church itself, as well as non-Catholics and the media. The Pope has on a number of occasions on behalf of the Church admitted fault and asked for forgiveness. For example, The New York Times reported on April 18, 2008 that the Pope, "came face to face with a scandal that has left lasting wounds on the American church Thursday, holding a surprise meeting with several victims of sexual abuse by priests in the Boston area...'No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse,' the Pope said in his homily. ‘It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention.’"

The Mayor zeroes in on what he considers the fatal human error of the superiors of the offending priests: "The primary explanation for the abuse that happened--not to excuse the retention of priests in positions that enable them to continue to harm children--was the belief that the priests could be cured by psychotherapy, a theory now long discarded by the medical profession.  Regrettably, it is also likely that years ago the abuse of children was not taken as seriously as today. Thank God we've progressed on that issue."

Catholics who practice the theological virtue of faith, without being insensitive to the sufferings of the victims, may actually strengthen their adherance to the teachings of the Catholic Church as infallibly taught by the Pope.  They know that this is not the first time in the more than 2,000 years of the history of the Catholic Church that we are witnessing some rottenness from within.  Without the constant protection of the Holy Spirit, the Catholic Church, if it were only a human institution, would have long disappeared.

But as Jesus Christ Himself promised, the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church that He founded.  Mayor Koch, who considers himself a Conservative Jew and attends an Orthodox synagogue, also knows how to quote from the New Testament in asking the critics to stop their anti-Catholic attacks:  "He (or she) that is without sin among you, let him (or her) cast the next stone." (John 8:7)

We Will Remember...

As we come closer to the Paschal Triduum, we must remember who it is that we live for. We live for Him that died for us. Christ came down from Heaven to suffer and die for us. Such love is not meditated upon today. We Christians know that we are a free people, but we have forgotten that our freedom was paid at a large price. 


"When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:23-24)

The world has never seen such love before or since. As Christians, let us alway remember that Jesus, whom we sometimes take for granted, has died, out of love for us. The only thing he wants in return is love. That we may truly love Him, and all of our brothers and sisters in this world and the next.

May we remember this Good Friday who it was that died: the love of God...Jesus Christ.

Mary, Did You Know?

Via Dolorosa

The Sullied Gospel

If you ever "channel-surf," you have probably seen some  Evangelical preachers talk about "The Gospel of Prosperity." This means that God intends for all who believe in Jesus Christ to become materially wealthy. All you have to do, as a believer, is send the preacher an amount of money. "When you give, you receive from God a hundredfold!" This is the motto of most TV preachers. Unfortunately, this false gospel has been creeping into the Catholic Church. Some priests borrow this motto from their televangelist counterparts. The Gospel of Prosperity is today's Indulgence Abuse. In the 1500's, some within the Church decided to sell indulgences, which would be considered the sin of simony. Today, many Christians are selling Jesus Christ Himself, and at a cheap price! Let us remember the words of Our Lord, " If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."

Lord Jesus, help us to repent for our avarice and seek only You, for whoever has you, even if they are materially poor, has everything they need. Lord, give us the strength to carry our crosses daily and follow you up to Calvary, where you suffered for our redemption. Let us seek to be humble and not seek our own wealth. Let the purpose of our lives be to glorify you in all we do.   Amen.

My Response to "What the Seminary is really like."

In my own experience, there has been priests like this is the seminary I am currently studying in. I actually thought that the men who "form," or, in the case of seminaries like mine, "deform" men who believe they have a calling to the priesthood would be Christ-like. Christ was first and foremost a compassionate man. Some of the men who call themselves "priests of Jesus Christ," that I have to live with, fit the characteristics of some of the men that Carl White had to deal with in his seminary formation, even though he is a non-Catholic Christian. Take the president of Mr. White's seminary, he sounds like the character we have to deal with, we call this character, "Fr. Edward," although in this case the prefix "father" is used lightly. The man puts on a mask and hides his true self. I can truly repeat with Mr. White: " If I have ever seen a man put on a façade and pretend to be what he is not, it’s him." Formation is intended to be hard, you are being formed into a Man of God, which is not an easy task to undertake, but sometimes the people who are in charge of formation can really make you question your faith in the priesthood. I have witnessed other seminaries in action, and I can truly say that the environment in which I am being formed is not healthy or how the Church would like its future priests to be treated. I am tired of fake men telling people that they are not worthy to serve the Church or God. Such men should really look into themselves and start forming and criticizing themselves, before they do the same to others.
Now, that being said, I do appreciate those men who have the heart of Christ and who have to deal with men like Fr. Edward or people like him. I have met the worst priests of my life in seminary, but I have also met the best shepherds and Christ-like men in the same place. I ask the readers to please pray for all priests, especially those who fall from time to time in their priesthood. I ask you to pray for  seminarians everywhere, especially those who have difficulties in formation.