Today we are going to look at what two British Cardinals of the 19th century wrote about the last group of Catholics.  The first paragraph comes from Cardinal Newman: This is what I have to say about the last persecution and its signs. And surely it is profitable to think about it, though we be quite mistaken in the detail. For instance, after all perhaps it may not be a persecution of blood and death, but of craft and subtlety only—not of miracles, but of natural wonders and powers of human skill, human acquirements in the hands of the devil. Satan may adopt the more alarming weapons of deceit—he may [...]

p/c Catholic Arena, Dublin. Recently, Tucker Carlson gave a talk in Las Vegas, found in-part here.  Below in italics are my favorite quotes from his talk.  Following each quote, I apply it to the current situation in the Catholic Church, especially in relation to the clergy. Tucker Carlson: I can't think of a single case where someone was destroyed for lying. There's no penalty for lying...What they did was tell the truth.  And that is the case everywhere...But go through the last fifteen famous people who were canceled for "saying the wrong thing" and ask yourself:  "Is the thing they said wrong?" Me:  Do a little experiment on paper with [...]

Archbishop Emeritus Héctor Aguer of La Plata, Argentina recently wrote about cancelled clergy. His letter is especially important in light of recent news on Bp. Strickland. Rorate Caeli had the full translation, so I reproduce it here: 1. Priests cancelled. I am not dealing now with what is happening at the international level, but with a phenomenon that is becoming more and more frequent in Argentina, in various dioceses. "Cancelled" is equivalent to a displacement to non-existence when counting the official number of priests who serve as clergy in a particular (diocesan) church. They are deprived of the means to exercise the ministry and are disavowed before the faithful. They [...]

As I have written before, narcissism is more than just vanity.  For example, the male models in the comedy movie Zoolander are vain.  But alas, Derek Zoolander is not smart enough to be a narcissist.  (I don't suggest anyone watch a movie as immoral as that, but it was a young-adult favorite of my friends and me.)  True narcissism includes much more than the silly vanity of a Hansel McDonald.  Due to low self-esteem, the real narcissist begins to manipulate those in his life with calculated gaslighting. Gaslighting is also an over-used term today.  It doesn't mean simply winning a debate using evidence.  (Evidence is always the pathway to the [...]

Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote this to the Thessalonians about the man of lawlessness: Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself [...]

From Padre: I'm a Boston College grad and my alma is obviously the rival of Notre Dame.   But one of my closest friends is named Shane who graduated ND just before I graduated BC in 2000. Below is his witty reply to an initial reply regarding his concern about the upcoming Drag Queen show at ND.  Shane allows for much more leeway on academic freedom than I would, but his reply also has the bite of a Neil McCaffrey Sr. from the 1980s: [Dear ND Lady,] Actually, that's funny because when Billy Joel was banned from performing [at Notre Dame], I believe he was later brought in to perform [...]