Thursday 27 November 2014

TIME TO TACKLE CATHOLIC RIGHT WINGERS

TIME TO TACKLE CATHOLIC RIGHT WINGERS

Cardinal Raymond Burke
IT IS VITAL THAT POPE FRANCIS FIRMLY TACKLES THE ROMAN CATHOLIC RIGHT WING THAT ARE CAUSING PROBLEMS FOR HIM AND INDEED PROBLEMS FOR THE POST VATICAN 11 CHURCH.

Chief among these right wingers is Cardinal Raymond Burke who has taken upon himself the role of opposing Pope Francis as he struggles to purify a Vatican and a Church that is, sadly, corrupt to the very core.

Recently Burke has been claiming that the Vatican Curia comes from Jesus himself and cannot be reformed !!! What utter nonsense.

Jesus did not come into the world to found a new religion. He came into the world as a Jew - to bring Judaism to it's completion; to rescue it from the legalism of the Pharisees; to be the pinacle of God's revelation and to show us how to live.

Jesus lived, prayed and worshipped as a Jew. He died a Jew. The sign above his cross read: "The King of the Jews". 

The early followers of Jesus were mainly Jewish and after his death they continued to worship in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and meet together in each others homes for the "Breaking of the Bread" as instructed by Jesus.

It was not until the early disciples were persecuted in Jerusalem and were forced to move to Antioch that they were called "Christians".

If Christianity has a "Mother Church" it is the church in Jerusalem. Antioch would have a second claim. Rome has no claim to be the Mother Church of Christianity - apart from the claim that the emperor Constantine made it the "Mother Church" of the West and Constantinople the "Mother Church" of the East.

Burke & Co have no basis for claiming that the Vatican, Rome and The Curia are from Jesus. In fact everything that the Vatican and the Curia stand for is - under proper examination - anti Christian; anti Gospel - and therefore in a real sense the anti Christ!

The "church" in each place should resemble the "church" that Jesus and his disciples practiced and the church that we find in the earliest of Apostolic times.

That "church" is small, powerless, democratic, compassionate and non-judgemental.

It had very few structures. Structure only began to emerge as numbers got bigger and as people began to teach things that were contrary to what Christ taught. But even then the elders, presbyters, overseers and deacons and deaconesses were SERVANTS and mot masters.

The early church was truly "ruined" when Constantine (who himself did not embrace Christianity in his lifetime) decided to make Christianity the religion of his empire. Thats when the rot set in. That's when the "powers of darkness" high-jacked the Body of Christ. And those same powers of darkness have been hijacking it ever since. Burke & Co are either knowingly or unknowingly on the side of the powers of darkness.

The church under the powers of darkness have been responsible for wars, persecutions, mass murder, crusades, witch hunts and inquisitions ever since. The same spirit which inspired all of those evils still inspires the so called "Curia" of today. It is all about control, power, lies, intrigue, riches etc. And it is a terminal cancer on the Body of Christ. 

The whole issue hinges around the Second Vatican Council of the early 1960's.

The Council was called by Pope John XX111 to open the windows and renew the Church after more that 400 years of stagnation.

The Council documents were agreed by the Council Fathers - all the bishops of the whole world.

One of the big changes was to change the Liturgy / Mass from latin into the "vernacular" so that each nation could celebrate the Mass in its own language.

But almost immediately the Council ended there were "dark forces" within the Vatican, the hierarchy and the Vatican Curia who wanted to undo all that had been done by the Council.  They began to steadily resist changes and to try and turn things back by 400 years.

These people were helped by the pontificates of John Paul 11 - a conservative and autocratic Pole - who was a PR master mind but who was in fact a medieval type pope.

That line was continued by Benedict who had been John Paul's "enforcer" in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - the old "Inquisition".

John Paul1 - the 30 day pope - wanted to reform the Curia. He ended up dead!

Currently Pope Francis is set on renewal. The "medievals", headed by Burke are against him. If they got the chance he would be dead too!

But the time has come for a definitive showdown between Pope Francis and those against reform.

The Old Latin Mass is the rallying place for all these right wing medievals.

I think that for the sake of unity and discipline Francis needs to temporarily BAN the Latin Mass to deprive the medievals of a rallying place.

I think that Francis should remove Burke's "red hat" and demand that he withdraw from public life within the church and from going around the world stirring up trouble.

If Burke and the right wingers do not accept this then let them head off and join the Le Febreve-ites or set up a Tridentine church of their own. We need to see the back of them. They need to be given this ultimatum. Francis is trying to maintain unity by half humouring these banana cases. But they are not reasonable and rational people. They are ignorant militants who want to take the whole church back to the Middle Ages.

Burke is a laughing stock going around dressed up like some kind of an ecclesiastical transexual relic from the 1600's.

I don't know why he is so out to get gay people. Anyone who dresses like him, to my mind, has serious psychosexual problems.



We are at a cross roads. We need to fight for the simple Community of Faith that Christ intended. The enemy are these medievalists who want a militaristic church militant that is totally out of touch with the real world and that is in defiance of rationality, reason and Gospel values.

+Pat Buckley
27.11.2014.











Sunday 16 November 2014

BELFAST PARISH OWES BISHOP TREANOR £ 1.6 MILLION

BELFAST PARISH OWES BISHOP TREANOR £ 1.6 MILLION

Fr Strain owes £ 1.6 million


The "administrator" of Holy Family Roman Catholic parish has announced to parishioners that the parish owes Bishop Treanor and the Diocese of Down and Connor 1.6 million - and that money has to be paid.

Bishop Treanor looks to see when his £1.6 million is coming back


Father did say that the "good news" was that Bishop Treanor's interest rates are much more humane that those charged by the high street banks.



Father Strain explained that any surplus money in the parishes goes to Bishop Treanor - and then Bishop Treanor lends that money to parishes that need it.

I thought that odd? Does that not mean that parishes are borrowing their own money back from money they already gave to the bishop?

I wish people would give me money that I could then "lend" back to them.

That stunt is worthy of the most astute member of the Jewish and Scottish communities :-)

But the good parishioners of Holy Family were not happy with Father Strain's explanation.

In fairness to poor Father Strain he is between a rock and a hard place. He is caught between his bishop and his people.



But the Holy Family problem is bigger than that again.

Father Strain explained that the parish has a number of presbyteries (priest's houses) in disrepair as well as 3 churches that need ongoing repair and renovation.

Why has Holy Family three presbyteries when they only have one or two priests? Can those priests not live together in one house? Its not as if they all have wives and kids that would fight with each other.

Fr Daniel Delargey Adm, Holy Family - 2025 - 2035


And why, in these days of dwindling congregations and priests do they need 3 churches?

Would one church and a couple of minibuses for those without cars not do the job?

The other problem is that Father Strain is not the PARISH PRIEST of Holy Family parish.

Holy Family is a "mensal parish" and therefore it is Bishop Treanor who is the parish priest.

And he lives in another house in the parish that he has just finished renovating for between £ 1 million and £ 4 million. The uncertainty about this figure is down to that fact that Bishop Treanor is not willing to tell us how much exactly he spent on his palace.



If it was £ 4 million would that same money not have paid off Holy Family's debt and repaired all the other parish property?

And all this comes on the heels of it becoming public knowledge that Bishop Treanor is in fact an ABSENTEE BISHOP - spending a great deal of his time travelling around Europe and the world instead of being in his diocese doing his primary job.

In the last 6 years since he became bishop I wonder how much money Bishop Treanor has spent on flights and hotel expenses?



Rumours have reached this Blog that Bishop Treanor is planning world wide trips in 2015.



This Blog recently addressed the general crisis in Down and Connor.

Now we are beginning to see other crises developing in individual D&C parishes like Holy Family.

People like Father Strain, who is doing his best, should not be having to take the flack for the bigger monkeys higher up the tree. 



I think that it is high time the people of Down and Connor stopped giving to Sunday collections and started channeling their donations to causes like the Ebola crisis, world hunger, hospices etc.

+Pat Buckley
15.11.15

Friday 14 November 2014

GROWING CRISIS IN DOWN AND CONNOR

GROWING CRISIS AND ABSENTEE BISHOP

Bishop Treanor at Verdun (2nd from left)
The Catholic Diocese of Down and Connor is drifting deeper and deeper into crisis - a crisis called mainly by it's "absentee" bishop Noel Treanor.



A D&C priest writing to this Blog in the past few days said:

"The Holy Spirit is everywhere and Bishop Treanor is everywhere except in Down and Connor"



Bishop Treanor recently called ALL his clergy together to a meeting at a religious venue just outside Newry. So disillusioned are the clergy that only half of them bothered to turn up!

This caused a furious Noel Treanor to send an email to all the priests lamenting the poor turn out and being critical of what he called the "Carryduff Question".



This Blog has had a copy of Bishop Treanor's email sent to it by one of the priests of the diocese.

What was the "Carryduff Question"?

The question was addressed to Bishop Treanor at the Newry meeting by a senior priest of the diocese with geographical connections to the Carryduff area of Belfast. Again his name is known to this Blog but out of respect for his privacy we are not naming him.

The question was: "Bishop Noel, is the poor turn out at this meeting not a sign of the fact that the priests of the diocese have lost confidence in your leadership"?

Treanor was apparently furious at this question and having floundered about for a brief period Noel decided that attack was the best form of defence. It seems to me - and to many others - that the faithful priest who asked this question has now been firmly put in the folder that is marked: "enemy" or "trouble maker".

Apparently Bishop Treanor's main theme at the gathering was how important it was for priests to look after Church funds and finances.



This prompted another question from the floor:

"Which particular Gospel imperative asks priests to look after Church funds and finances"?

Again Noel was enraged.

Had I been there I think I might have pointed out to Noel Treanor that the only Gospel precedent for priestly money managing was the precedent of Judas Iscariot!



Noel is now on the financial war path and is apparently planning a number of other clergy gatherings at various venues in the coming months.

Fathers!  Bring your parish accounts and your cheque books with you!

THE LEADERSHIP PROBLEM:

Noel Treanor came to Down and Connor in 2008 - 6 years ago.

The belief is that he came here reluctantly - as he was very happy in his Church desk job in Europe.



He was only supposed to be passing through Down and Connor on his way to Armagh and a cardinal's hat.

However he messed up his chances of Armagh in various ways - especially by choosing to have a very public row with Mr Ian Elliott - the former head of the Church's Child Safeguarding Board.

Ian Elliott


He is not supposed to be happy in Down and Connor. He does not like the place. He does not like the priests and regards them all as "problems".

He has infuriated clergy and people alike by spending a reported £ 4 million on restoring his palace in Belfast - replete with door handles costing £350 each and wallpaper at £100 a roll.



He has either an unfortunate personality or is a rude snob. His conversational and preaching style is to make people feel that they are being talked down to.

He is avoiding celebrating Confirmation ceremonies as often as he can and is sending out his ailing auxiliary bishop Tony Farquhar (70's) and the retired and nearly done Bishop Walsh (84) to represent him.

Paddy Walsh


He is appointing "vicars" to deal with other matters he should be dealing with personally - clergy, social affairs and education.

He is either not answering correspondence at all or taking months to reply to letters from clergy and laity.

In spite of the fact that he is now living (since last week) in a £ 4 million mansion he is never there.



He is away at the drop of a hat - on pilgrimages, trips to Europe, holidays, meetings, conferences etc - all of which are being payed for by the donations of the People of God.



Rumour has it that he has several long distance and world wide trips arranged already for 2015.

"I keep an overnight bag at the ready"


Its not unknown for people to call his mobile telephone number and be told by him that he is in a foreign country.

As a result of all these matters the Diocese of Down and Connor is basically leaderless. The Barque of Peter in Down and Connor is rudderless. The boat has no captain.



As a result it is quickly and definitively heading for the rocks!

The good priests in the Diocese - of which there are many - are very worried and concerned about this and are gradually losing heart.

The cynical and irresponsible priests are delighted. They are enjoying being mice in a household that has no resident cat!



They are having a great time - never in their parishes and always with their boyfriends (most common) or girlfriends (less common). They are also treating their parishioners like dirt. Any why not? If the Bishop can defecate on the priests surely the priests can do the same to the lowest form of Church life - the laity.

The sad thing about all of this though is that:

1. The Gospel is not being preached.

2. The sheep are without shepherding



3. The clergy are lost in a mist.

4. The Body of Christ (the Church) is being severely wounded.



Something must happen to stop this decline. That "something" must happen NOW!

Noel needs to change from being an aloof and absentee pastor into a good shepherd.



If he cannot - or will not - do that then -

He should immediately resign - and allow his scattered and frightened sheep to be cared for by a shepherd after the Lord's heart.

+Pat Buckley
14.11.14.

















Tuesday 11 November 2014

ANOTHER CORRUPT OPERATOR HEADED FOR VATICAN

British archbishop who claimed diplomatic immunity to avoid handing documents to paedophile investigators is promoted to third highest role in Vatican by the Pope

  • Archbishop Paul Gallagher appointed by Pope Francis as foreign minister
  • Refused to hand over documents on two priests who abused 100 children
  • He was asked about Father Denis McAlinden as Church was aware of crimes
  • Also requested to give evidence about paedophile Father James Fletcher
  • But cited diplomatic immunity to avoid handing in response to requests 

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, 60, claimed diplomatic immunity to avoid handing documents to prosecutors investigating two paedophile priests
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, 60, claimed diplomatic immunity to avoid handing documents to prosecutors investigating two paedophile priests. A British archbishop, appointed by Pope Francis as his new foreign minister, claimed diplomatic immunity to avoid handing over Vatican documents to prosecutors investigating two paedophile priests.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, 60, from Liverpool was promoted on Saturday to the third highest position in the Vatican as part of a reshuffle by Francis.
But the appointment of the former papal envoy to Australia to the Vatican's most senior hierarchy will be a blow for campaigners against clerical sex abuse.

Earlier this year the United Nations said it was 'concerned' after Mr Gallagher cited diplomatic immunity in response to repeated requests by prosecutors for documents on two priests that abused more than 100 children over 40 years.
A report by the UN Committee against Torture reported that the Holy See was still 'resisting the principle of mandatory reporting of allegations to civil authorities', and withholding information, citing Gallagher by name.
Only after months of bureaucratic wrangling and an embarrassing diplomatic standoff did the Archbishop eventually agree to turn over some of the documents which were wanted as part of an inquiry into Australia's worst abuse scandal.

The Maitland-Newcastle diocese has been described as the country's 'epicentre' of Catholic clerical abuse with 400 known victims.

Gallagher was asked for information on Father Denis McAlinden, an Irish priest who preyed on pre-pubescent girls was known to the church as a paedophile since the 1970s but for decades he was moved from parish to parish in Australia and posted overseas to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.

He was eventually defrocked in a secret process in exchange for 'keeping his good name'.
The documents requested also referred to Father James Fletcher, who was convicted of abusing four victims over three decades including the rape of an altar boy, a crime for which he was sentenced to almost eight years prison, where he died in 2006.

Copies of correspondence released by the New South Wales Special Commission of Inquiry show prosecutors requested documents from Gallagher on 30 August 2013.
The nuncio sent an interim response, stating that he was submitting the request to Rome but after no response almost two months later the prosecutors were forced to write again to both Gallagher and the Vatican to follow up the request.

Pope Francis recently appointed Mr Gallagher as his new foreign minister, the third highest position in the Vatican
Three weeks later Gallagher eventually replied reminding the commissioner that his office was 'the high diplomatic representative of the Holy See to the Commonwealth' and cited 'the protections afforded by international agreements, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations'.

The convention states that the archives and documents of a diplomatic mission 'shall be inviolable at any time and wherever they may be'. 

Without this 'high principle of international relations' 'diplomatic missions would no longer be able freely to carry out their domestic and international responsibilities', he claimed.
He was asked about Father Denis McAlinden, an Irish priest who preyed on pre-pubescent girls and was known as a danger   since the 1970s
He was asked about Father Denis McAlinden, an Irish priest who preyed on pre-pubescent girls and was known as a danger since the 1970s
He said his office would consider 'specific requests' for information, 'bearing in mind the expectation that it would not be appropriate to seek internal communications'.
On 14 November the NSW crown solicitor, Ian Knight, wrote to Gallagher for a third time.

In his letter Knight reminded the nuncio of a guarantee by Cardinal George Pell that 'every document the Vatican had' would be made available to a separate inquiry into child sexual abuse in the same year.

'Of course, this Commission is separate and distinct from both the Royal Commission and the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry,' Knight wrote, '
'But I trust that the sentiment of co-operation would similarly extend to this Commission's processes.'
Eventually on 6 December 2013 Gallagher forwarded copies of correspondence between the Bishop of Maitland−Newcastle and the then Nuncio, as well as other letters, which the commission already had copies of.

But he declined to forward any 'internal communications', between the Vatican diplomatic missions in Australia and in the Philippines saying 'Such communications are confidential, as is the case for those of the diplomatic missions of any country.'

Gallagher was appointed following the demotion of ultra-conservative American Cardinal Raymond Burke, who has led open opposition to Pope Francis' leadership saying the church is 'without a rudder'. 

PAT SAYS:


I'm truly disappointed that Pope Francis is taking another "wheeler and dealer" Catholic bishop to work in the Vatican :-(

Gallagher is obviously loyal to the RC institution BUT has no loyalty to Jesus Christ and His Teachings.

He was quite prepared to shield at least 2 priest paedophiles in Australia and thereby make it more difficult for the Australian authorities to achieve justice for abused children.

It is quite obvious to me that the RC Institution is guided by the Spirit of Darkness and not by the Holy Spirit.

The Vatican / so called Holy See is nothing but a ROGUE STATE.

They are in the same mould as the Mugabee's and Putins of this world.

Maybe there should be a Cardinal Mugabee and a Cardinal Putin?

+Pat Buckley
11/11/14.

Sunday 9 November 2014

FATHER BARTLETT AND THE FAIRY CAKE ROW

FATHER BARTLETT AND THE "FAIRY CAKE" ROW

O Lord help me resist Fairy Cakes"


Recently, Fr Timmy Bartlett, the media adviser to the disgraced cardinal, Sean Brady, issued a statement to the BBC which read: "I will be writing today to those groups from the gay community, with whom I have had a very constructive and ongoing engagement in recent years, to say that I am withdrawing my engagement until the right of all people, in this case Christians, to freedom of conscience is vindicated and respected by the Equality Commission and the gay community.

Father Bartlett has broken off all relationships with gay people because the Northern Ireland Equality Commission is taking legal action against Ashers Bakery for refusing to fulfill an order to bake a cake for a gay event.



Ashers refused to bake the cake because it offended their "Christian" principles!

I always knew that we called those little cakes "Fairy Cakes" but I thought that bakeries were in the business of baking cakes to their customer's requirements? 

It does not seem to me to be good business sense to refuse to bake a cake for a particular community.

It would be like Ashers saying that they were refusing to bake a cake for a Roman Catholic Christening ceremony because it offended their Reformation principles!



It would be like Ashers refusing to bake a cake for  Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Day because the Jews killed Jesus!



It would be like Ashers refusing to bake a cake for a Roman Catholic Bible Conference because the Catholic Bible has more books in it than the Protestant Bible!



I find it very difficult to believe that Ashers is being genuine in this matter. If they are being "genuine" then it means that Ashers is being run by people who are blinded by a very non Jesus like type of Christianity.

To me their decision smacks of homophobia posing as religion - a pretty awful and disgraceful type of religion.

Would ASHERS make a BOMB CAKE for the British Army Bomb Squad?



Would ASHERS make a CONDOM CAKE and would Father Bartlett support their civil right to make a condom cake?



Would Ashers make a GENETIC ENGINEERING CAKE and would Father Bartlett support their civil right to do so?


FATHER BARTLETT:

Has Father Bartlett nothing to worry about except the Equality Commission taking Ashers to court for refusing to make a gay cake?

Would it not be a better use of his time for Father Bartlett to worry about some of the following:

1. The fact that his former boss, Cardinal Brady, has just resigned after covering up for the serial sex abuser Father Brendan Smyth?

2. The fact that, at the latest figure, some 115,000 US priests have sexually abused minors.

3. The fact that the majority of Roman Catholics in Ireland, especially in the cities and towns, have little or no respect left for his corrupt institution.

4. As a Vicar for Roman Catholic Education - the fact that the vast majority of so called "Catholic" teachers do  not believe in his precious Catholic doctrines and dogmas.

5. As a Vicar for Roman Catholic Education the vast majority of the children he is pushing through his school sausage system will only use his church buildings to facilitate their social celebrations of baptism, communion, marriage and death.

Also Father Bartlett needs to be reminded that his stance is very much at odds with the position of Pope Francis who has told the world he does not want to judge gay people!



If Pope Francis came across the celebration of a Gay Wedding and was offered a piece of the wedding cake I am quite certain he would accept and eat it.

Does Father Bartlett want to be more Catholic than the Pope?

Those of us clergy who know / know about Dear Father Timothy would be quite certain that the same gentleman would like to be Bishop Timothy some day - preferably as soon as possible.

Does he think that being more Catholic than the Pope will get him that mitre?

Is the cake pictured just below the cake he longs to eat?


I know that Father Timothy is just too virtuous ever to be tempted with the temptations of the flesh.

But I wonder if he were tempted what would be his preference - THE FEMINA ERECTA or THE HOMO ERECTUS ?




Now there's an interesting question!

Timmy, if I were you I'd stay out of the kitchen and the pastry shop and concentrate on the priesting" and I'd leave the poor Gays alone.

Ashers have plenty of lawyers and supporters. You do not need to be getting your soft hands all messed up in the mixing bowl. It will play havoc with your cuticles!

Pat
  



Tuesday 4 November 2014

POPE SUPPORTS EVOLUTION


POPE SUPPORTS EVOLUTION



The Big Bang, which scientists believe led to the formation of the universe some 13.8billion years ago, was all part of God's plan, Pope Francis has declared.
The Pope said the scientific account of the beginning of the universe and the development of life through evolution are compatible with the Catholic Church's vision of creation.
He told a meeting of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Sciences: ‘The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it.’
But he said Christians should reject the idea that world came into being by chance. Likewise, evolution was all part of God’s plan, he explained.
The development of each creature’s characteristics over millennia ‘does not contrast with the notion of creation because evolution presupposes the creation of beings that evolve,’ he said.
Reading Genesis we imagine that God is ‘a wizard with a magic wand’ capable of doing all things, he said.
‘But it is not so. He created life and let each creature develop according to the natural laws which he had given each one.’
Francis praised his predecessor, Benedict, who initiated attempts to shed the Catholic Church’s image of being anti-science, a label that stuck when it condemned the astronomer Galileo to death for teaching that the earth revolves around the sun.



The Catholic Church no longer teaches creationism - the belief that God created the world in six days - and says that the account in the book of Genesis is an allegory for the way God created the world.

Right Wing Catholic (first on left)


During the meeting, bishops failed to reach consensus on two emotive issues - concerning gays and divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. The failure to reach an agreement leaves those two open sores festering for a whole year before another meeting next October.

Conservative bishops and commentators have been highly critical of the synod, saying it sowed confusion for the faithful about what the church really teaches about homosexuality and the indissolubility of marriage.
Progressives have hailed it as evidence that the church is responding to the signs of the times, allowing issues that were previously taboo under Benedict to be open for discussion.
The Vatican has dismissed reports that a group of conservative bishops visited Benedict during the synod asking for his intervention after it appeared a much more progressive approach was being advanced.
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the reports were 'hardly credible.