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Editorial: IN THIS ISSUE OF ‘THE FLOCK': A DEAFENING SILENCE A DEAFENING SILENCE FIRST we must thank all of you who responded to our request last Autumn to write to the authorities in Westminster and in Rome about the scandalous SOHO Masses where Catholics who openly admit to living homosexual lifestyles receive sacrilegious Communions every first and third Sunday. We know that a great many of you wrote because we received so many copies of your letters. These letters varied immensely but they were all excellent. Some were scholarly and others were very direct and to the point – like the one from an electrician who pointed out that just as he would be called to account if someone died because he rewired a house carelessly, so will any priest, bishop or cardinal be called to account who causes even one soul to be lost. A couple of our supporters actually visited Rome and left their letter, together with all the evidence we had already posted, with a Monsignor who promised to place it on his Cardinal's desk. We also leafleted the thousands at the Rosary Procession of Reparation in October. These good faithful Catholics were aghast to learn that the scandalous Masses were still continuing and they all promised to write to the authorities who might be able to help, here and in the Vatican. Both Westminster and Rome must have been inundated with letters from zealous Catholics. SO WHAT IS THE RESULT? A DEAFENING SILENCE ! Church teaching on homosexuality has never been given at these Masses but now open dissent is being promoted. For example on Sunday 17th January 2010 they altered the words of the hymn One bread one body in the Newsletter, so the congregation had to sing “ Black or white, straight or gay , woman or man no more …”: they publicised a meeting on Vatican II by the dissenting group, Catholics for a Changing Church which is to be addressed by dissenters: they suggested signing the petition on www.whatifwejustsaidwait.org which is calling for a halt to the implementation of the new translation of the Mass and most serious of all they advertised their showing in February of a documentary film on Sister Jeanine Gramick. Sister Gramick was censured by the Vatican in 1999 because as the then Cardinal Ratzinger explained. The ambiguities and errors of the approach of Fr Nugent and Sr Gramick have caused confusion among the Catholic people and harmed the community of the Church. For these reasons Sister Jeanine Gramick SSND and Father Robert Nugent SDS are permanently prohibited from any pastoral work involving homosexual persons. So these ‘Catholics' are spreading dissent from Catholic teaching and in these confused times leading the young people they especially target out of the Church. We should make it clear that these homosexuals are adults with free will and we cannot stop them living as they choose. Also, they should attend Sunday Mass as all Catholics should. Our concern is that they cannot receive Our Lord in Holy Communion while they are living such a sinful life style without committing grave sacrilege. This is not discrimination against homosexuals. If Warwick Street Church were full of Catholic heterosexuals boasting about their adulterous or fraudulent lifestyles we would still pray in reparation as any grave sin always bars us from receiving Holy Communion. Tragically, instead of giving these people the pastoral care they should receive, Catholic priests and bishops are not just allowing but actively encouraging them to commit sacrilege by setting up Masses especially for them and, without ever giving them appropriate Church teaching, distributing Holy Communion to them all, even though they openly boast that they are practising homosexuals and have no intention of amending their lifestyles. This should never happen and this is what we all tried so hard to get our lawful Shepherds to stop, using their God-given authority. What can we do ? We cannot understand why even authorities in Rome have decided not to help these Catholics to save their souls we can only determine that we must pray for them more fervently. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ and for His sake we love them and must help them all we can. As even Rome will not take action we have decided we should strengthen our prayer with fasting, for, as Our Lord pointed out, some devils will only be cast out with fasting as well as prayer. You will all know how and when you can fast but we suggest that what ever else we do separately, we all unite to fast on the three Ember days in Lent, as Catholics used to. This year the Ember Days are on Wednesday 24th February, Friday 26th February and Saturday 27th February. If you are unable to fast from food perhaps you will be able to find a substitute like T.V. It has been suggested that we also ask you to arrange Masses in reparation for these sacrileges and that some of our many priest readers might be able to offer Mass for this intention too. We cannot over-estimate the power of prayer, especially when linked to fasting and of course we know that this time we will not be ignored. PROTECTING YOUR CHILDREN FROM SERIOUS HARM YOU will probably know that the Government has decided to step up the sexual lessons given in schools and to include children in Primary and Infant schools in these compulsory sex instructions. The details of their plans are on the excellent SPUC flier enclosed with this Mailing. The official excuse that this concentration on sex from a very early age will cut teenage pregnancies, is very opposite of the truth and there is absolutely no evidence that this is the case. Children in Catholic schools will also be taught that homosexual lifestyles are normal even though this contradicts The Catechism of the Catholic Church . This will be very confusing and there is abundant evidence that talking about such an intimate matter as sex publicly in a classroom, damages the children, especially if they are young. Some of them respond by becoming disruptive at home and at school, most are distracted from their academic work and there is a distinct possibility that their future marriages may be affected. The Government and the Church in this country ignore all this evidence. Unbelievably we cannot expect any support from the Bishops or the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales (CESEW) as they have accepted all the Government rulings even trying to justify them by saying children already learn to “name external body parts” etc. Have we really forced five year olds to stand up in class and name all the sexual organs in the human body before? Would any adults like to do this at a mixed gathering? Understandably young children are coming home in tears after being subjected to this acute embarrassment. One eight year old boy even told his mother ‘we asked if the girls could go outside' but they were told ‘No.' Bishop Malcolm McMahon of Bishop's House, 27, Cavendish Road East, The Park, Nottingham.NG7 1BB, in case you want to write, who has now replaced Archbishop Vincent Nichols as the Bishop in overall charge of Catholic Education has also conceded. Indeed he has publicly stated that he is not concerned as to whether his Catholic teachers are living Catholic lives or not. This probably explains why a Catholic Primary School in Liverpool allows a head master who has left his wife and family to live with his boyfriend, another Catholic teacher, to continue in his post, although all the pupils and parents are aware of the scandalous situation. Unbelievably this Bishop even tells us that he “is not opposed to civil unions” – see The Tablet 16th January 2010, where he also admits that “We have many gay people in education…” Here he is not only going against Church teaching but the rulings of his fellow bishops in England and Wales who strongly opposed civil unions in 2003. Needless to say Bishop McMahon has done nothing so far to improve the religious instruction in Catholic schools. A combination of totally inadequate R.E. and explicit lessons about sex is a recipe for lost souls. We must pray that the bishops have a change of heart. Otherwise they are going to let down the Catholics of this country like they did in 1967 when they accepted the Abortion Act which has now killed over seven million unborn children. Fortunately parents of children up to the age of fifteen can, at present, withdraw their children from these harmful lessons. This is not a perfect solution as they will still encounter the information in the playground. One eight year old girl who was withdrawn told her mother when she returned to school the next day that her friends ‘were all different'. She was picking up on the damage sex-ed does. Parents may have to insist on their rights to protect their child from harmful sex-ed. State schools seem to have no problem allowing parents to withdraw their children but Catholic schools have not always been so accommodating. If you can collect several other parents who feel as concerned as you do to support you it will help. Also it would be a good idea to step up the religious instruction and devotional practices you teach at home to strengthen your children against this attack on their innocence. Another solution, if you are in a position to do it, is to home-school your children. More and more parents – not all of them Catholic - are turning to home-schooling as the best way to protect their children from sex-ed and other undesirable outside influences. I would like to end by mentioning a good Catholic Programme which by contrast obeys Vatican Guidelines on sex-ed in schools. It comes from Lancaster Diocese where the other excellent Docunments on Schools, Parishes and Marriage emanated. It is called This is my body and it starts by teaching our right relationship with God before going on to other relationships which must be right with God also. Also it fully involves the parents so they can talk to their own children about sex using material provided by the programme and guided by the school. It is used throughout the Lancaster Diocese and by other Primary schools who have opted to use it. If you would like to promote it in your area you can contact the publishers Philos Educational Publishing on 020 8405 0543 or on enquiries@thisismybody.co.uk To obtain prints of the following 2 flyers, please click on them to obtain a download, and then click "File" and "Print".
EVOLUTION - A THEORY IN TROUBLE LAST November we were privileged to host a talk on Evolution by Hugh Owen, Founder and Director of The Kolbe Centre for the study of Creation . Hugh was on his way back to America after hosting a Conference in Rome called The Scientific Impossibility of Evolution which was addressed by professors and scientists from around the world I would like to record some of the points Hugh made as I know blind faith in this theory succeeds in demolishing belief in Adam and Eve, the Fall, Original Sin and therefore our need for a Divine Redeemer – all essential to the Catholic Faith.
This modern research shows the evolution theory, although unfortunately it is still taught in schools and universities throughout the world as fact, is not only unproven but impossible to maintain. This means there is absolutely no reason why anyone should question traditional and consistent Church teaching, about Adam and Eve, our first parents, the Fall, Original Sin and our need for a Divine Redeemer. Hugh Owen hopes to visit Britain in April. If you would like to contact him with a view to speaking, contact Catholic Truth on editor@catholictruthscotland.com Recently, in this country, Dr James le Fanu has joined the experts debunking evolution with his book Why Us? Pub. Harper Collins, ISBN978-0-00-712027-7 GOOD INITIATIVES WE SHOULD SUPPORT IT is very encouraging to be able to list so many good things, mostly the fruits of good young priests and lay people – the future of the Church.
NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS One of our younger readers, Gabrielle Willis, has written this for other young readers, but I feel it will help all of us whatever age we are.
AT the start of a new year we feel a sense of a new beginning, a fresh start. We often look back at the past year and see certain aspects of our life we would like to change. It is, therefore, a very good time to make a new year resolution! However, there are usually two problems which arise concerning our new year resolution; what sort of resolution should we make? And what happens if we break it? What sort of resolution should we make? First of all, our main aim in life, and God's greatest desire for all of us, is to share in eternal happiness with Him in Heaven. In order to do this, we must strive to become holy, to become more like Christ. Therefore, it is a good idea to make our resolution with this in mind. We ought to ask ourselves; in the last year, what sins did we repeat over and over again? What sins are preventing us from becoming more like Christ? One resolution at a time When making our resolution, we should aim to make only one . Saint Ignatius advised that those striving to become holy, ought to concentrate on one sin at a time due to our weak nature, which is a consequence of original sin. We may be left feeling discouraged if we take too much on board. Once we have conquered one sin, we can then move on to another, and make our next resolution! We need God's help! It is very important to remember that we depend on God's help when trying to keep our new year resolution, and that we cannot grow in holiness by our own efforts. Everyday we are constantly faced with temptations from the devil, who is always trying to make us break God's Commandments. God understands how difficult it is for us to be good but wants us to trust that He is always ready to shower graces upon us, and help us on our journey of holiness. All we have to do is ask! Take it a day at a time Our quest for holiness lasts our whole life, therefore, we must not expect to arrive at the same level of holiness the saints were at in a short space of time. It is a good idea to take on our struggle one day at a time and if we find ourselves failing with our resolution, we must avoid feeling discouraged. Instead, we should pick ourselves up and start again. Nothing pleases God more than when we place our trust in Him and keep persevering! ‘Do not allow yourself to be disheartened by any failure as long as you have done your best' - Mother Teresa Dear Friends WE are living in what the Chinese call ‘interesting times'. There are so many problems in both Church and State in this country that we need to keep up our prayers more zealously than ever. We must, however, be grateful that the outrageous Equality Bill was dismissed by the House of Lords as it would have made life very difficult indeed for the Catholic Church. I am sure this was the result of prayer and of course the timely appeal to the House of Lords by the Anglican Bishops. However, attacks like this will continue as Society becomes more and more hostile to Christianity and especially to Catholicisim. We will need to be prepared to explain and defend our Faith, sometimes we will have to stand up and be counted in spite of hostility. Above all, we need bishops who will lead us by never hesitating to promote and defend true Church teaching whatever the cost to themselves. None of this is going to be easy but if we remember how cheerfully our glorious Martyrs suffered for the Faith and if we put our trust in prayer it is not only possible, it could be seen as a glorious opportunity. After all, Our Blessed Lord promised that He would reward everyone who spoke up for him and his teaching in public by speaking up for them before the Father. To help with the prayers we are enclosing as a devotional item a Prayer for the Church in these difficult times. If you can manage to say it daily, with your prayer for the consecration of Russia to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart, we and the Church in this country, will have the strength we need. As always I must thank all of you for your loyal support, for your prayers for us and our work, for your many kind letters and for the donations which make this work possible. Wishing every blessing on you and your families, Daphne McLeod. WORLD-WIDE ROSARY CRUSADE FOR THE CONSECRATION OF RUSSIA TO OUR LADY' S IMMACULATE HEART We all need to be reminded of the tremendous importance of this request and of the remarkable appearances of Our Lady in Fatima, Portugal – appearances verified by the astonishing miracle of the sun, foretold by the seers and witnessed by 70,000 people at noon on 13th October 1917. These apparitions were approved by the Church in 1930 and Pope John Paul II has canonised two of the young seers, Jacinta and Francisco, who died while still young. The third seer Lucia lived on to become a nun and has more recently gone to her reward. On 13th June 1917 Our Lady told the three children that later she would request the Pope, in union with all the Bishops, to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. In 1930 Our Lady appeared to Sister Lucia in her convent and told her now was the time to pass her request on to the Pope. Sister passed this on to her Confessor, Father Gongalves S.J. on May 29th 1930 and eventually it was passed on to Pope Pius XI. Has this Consecration been made as Our Lady requested? No. Some claim it has but many others claim that Russia has still not been specifically named and all the bishops of the world have still not united with the Pope, in Rome or in their Cathedrals, on the same day to solemnly consecrate Russia to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart. We do not wish to get involved in a fruitless correspondence on this issue. In May 1936 Sister Lucia asked Our Lord why these two difficult conditions were necessary. Our Saviour replied, Because I wish all My Church to recognise this Consecration as a triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in order to extend and place devotion to her Immaculate Heart, alongside devotion to My Divine Heart. He also said, Pray much for the Holy Father. He will do it but it will be late. In 1982 Pope John Paul II consecrated the world to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart, but as he failed to specify Russia or involve the other bishops Sister Lucia had to reject it. In 1984 This faulty consecration was repeated, still failing to fulfil Our Lady's requirements so again rejected by Sister Lucia – see Sol de Fatima Sept 1985. In 1989 The suggestion was made that the Consecration had been done, though the exact date Russia was mentioned specifically and all the Bishops involved, as Our Lady stipulated, is not clear. Also, Our Lady's promise that Russia would be converted, that many souls will be saved and that there will be peace throughout the world has not happened. As Our Lady is faithful to her promises, this raises serious doubts in many minds. Unfortunately Sister Lucia was for a long time under obedience not to speak on this question and as she was so saintly she obeyed, which has contributed to claims that she rejected the Consecration and counter claims that she accepted it. Hence the present, understandable confusion. Why would there be any reluctance? According to the late and great Hamish Fraser, speaking in November 1985, many bishops resist the Consecration because they support modern catechetics which, by omission, denies the existence of Hell, Original Sin and other Truths implicit in the Fatima Message. They are also allowing classroom lessons on sex which are quite incompatible with Our Lady's insistence on the importance of the moral teachings of the Church and on modesty and chastity. Our Lady warned us that The sins which lead most souls to Hell are the sins of the flesh. What can we do? We can pray for the Holy Father and for our Bishops that they will see that this Consecration, exactly as requested by Our Blessed Mother, is done. At the same time let's all be faithful to the five first Saturdays, pray our Rosary and make small sacrifices, daily, for sinners. A world-wide Crusade of Rosaries from 1st May 2009 to 25th March 2010, with a target of 12 million Rosaries, has been organised. We are a little late joining but I am sure you, your family and your friends will want to be a part of this Crusade. The Rosary is one of the most powerful of prayers, as the wonders it has achieved down the centuries prove. I think we would all probably spend much more time in prayer if we fully recognised how very powerful it is. I personally don't feel that sending in the numbers of Rosaries you say is very important nor are pledges - indeed they might even limit your output. The most important thing is to make a resolution now that you will say as many Rosaries as you can for this intention every day until the Feast of the Annunciation. Say the Rosary with your family when you can, with groups of friends and alone. Remember that Rosaries said aloud by groups before the Blessed Sacrament carry special blessings. Most important, please don't be tempted to feel your contribution will not make much difference because I can assure you it will. I remember once seeing a copy of a picture found at a Shrine to Our Lady. It didn't have much artistic merit but it taught a beautiful lesson. It depicted St Michael holding scales of good and evil and looking rather worried because a hideous image of the devil was putting its hoof in the evil scale and weighing it down. However Our Lady was standing on the other side serenely dropping Rosaries into the good scale ensuring it out-weighed the evil. Our Lady cannot use Rosaries unless we say them for her so let's give her all the Rosaries she needs to win the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart and so combat all the evil in this world. If you would like to have your Rosaries counted towards the 12 million total being sought over the next few months, you can click here to access an online form which you can submit for that purpose. Writing to Rome Please play your part to help turn around the desperate situation in this country. Remember when reporting abuses and dissent to Rome, keep letters factual and as brief as possible, giving places and dates where appropriate and enclosing any supporting documentary evidence where possible.
Prefect of the Congregation for Education Piazza Pio XII, 10 00120 Vatican City State, Europe Phone: 011 39 06 6988 4167 Fax: 011 39 06 6988 4172 Secretary:Most Rev. Archbishop J. Michael Miller, C.S.B. TO ASSIST YOU WHEN WRITING TO YOUR BISHOP, FIND THE NAME AND ADDRESS HERE, LISTED ALPHABETICALLY BY DIOCESE.
The Flock is published by Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice.
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