Monthly Archives: November 2015

Is Bombing Syria/ISIS a “Just War”?

November 27, 2015 By in Bible, Fatima, Islam, Our Lady, Politics, Uncategorized Tags: , , , 76 Comments

airstrikes

Click here to read a brief summary of the Just War theory – then tell us if you think bombing Syria, with a view to eliminating the terrorist group Islamic State, satisfies the criteria for a just war.

Were St Thomas Aquinas alive today and writing his Just War Theory, would he update it to include consideration of the kind of terrorism we know, and fear,  today?StThomasAquinasyoung

Share your thoughts – all things considered, do you think Catholics should support the bombing of Syria.  Are we able to do so by invoking the Just War Theory?

And don’t let’s forget to pray especially this weekend  for those involved in making the decision to bomb Syria. Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for them.

Pope Francis – Miracle Worker?

November 24, 2015 By in Pope Francis, supernatural, Uncategorized Tags: , , 24 Comments

A baby’s inoperable brain tumour has reportedly reduced in size following a kiss on the head from Pope Francis. PopeFranciskissesbabytumour

Francis kissed one-year-old Gianna Masciantoni during his visit to Philadelphia in September, CBS Philadelphia has reported.

[Ed: See photo opposite of moment Pope kissed baby’s head)

A comparison of Gianna’s MRI scans from August and November appears to show a noticeable difference.

Kristen Masciantonio, Gianna’s mother, told the TV station’s Eyewitness News programme: “She is getting better and stronger. She’s blowing kisses. She’s starting to point at things.”

CBS Philadelphia also reported that the baby girl’s parents Kristen and Joey believe the fact that Gianna has a brother called Dominic and that the name of the Pope’s bodyguard who hoisted the child up to the Pontiff is Domenico Giani is an example of divine intervention.

Joey Masciantonio said: “I think this is all from God. I believe the Pope is a messenger from God.”  

Comment:

Is this stretching the Catholic definition of a miracle somewhat? Since there are a number of these claims around, portraying Pope Francis as a miracle worker,  perhaps it’s time to reflect on the difference between a possible “remission” and a “miracle”…

30th November: St Andrew’s Day

November 23, 2015 By in Priesthood, SSPX, Summorum Pontificum, Traditional Latin Mass, Uncategorized 16 Comments

TradMasswithsaintscolour
There will be two Traditional Latin Masses (that we know of)  to mark the Feast of Scotland’s patron saint on Monday, 30th November:

There will be a Missa Cantata in Greenock , and another sung Mass in St Andrew’s SSPX chapel in Glasgow.

Father Robert Mann will be offering the Traditional Latin Mass in St Joseph’s, 88 Bow Road, Greenock, PA16 7DY at 7pm

The SSPX Mass will be offered in St Andrew’s, 202 Renfrew Street, G3 6TX,  at 6.30pm

When Christ our Lord to Andrew cried:
“Come, thou, and follow me,”
the fisher left his net beside the Sea of Galilee.
To teach the truth the Master taught,
to tread the path he trod
was all his will and thus he brought
unnumbered souls to God.

When Andrew’s hour had come, and he
was doomed, like Christ to die,
he kissed his cross exultingly,
and this his noble cry:
“O noble cross! O precious wood! 
I long have yearned for thee;
uplift me to my only good
who died on thee for me.”

The faith that Andrew taught once shone
o’er all this kingdom fair;
the cross that Jesus died upon
was honoured everywhere.
But times once changed and Andrew’s name
was for a while forgot;
the cross, though set in kingly crown,
became a sign of shame.

St Andrew now in bliss above,
thy fervent prayers renew
that Scotland yet again may love
the faith, entire and true;
that I the cross allotted me
may bear with patient love! ‘
Twill lift me, as it lifted thee,
to reign with Christ above.

Editor’s Note…

All our bloggers and readers are encouraged to attend one of these Masses, and to pray for the restoration of the traditional Catholic Faith in Scotland.  Since he is also the patron saint of Russia, we might ask for St Andrew’s intercession for the fulfilment of Our Lady’s request that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart so that the world may, thereafter, enjoy a period of peace. There is absolutely no sign that any of the political strategies are going to bring that about – violence and war are increasing and will continue to do so until the Pope and the Bishops in union with him, as prescribed by Our Lady, offer the requested short prayer of consecration.   St Andrew, pray for us! 

Paris: Terrorism Vs Kingship of Christ

November 17, 2015 By in Fatima, Islam, Our Lady, Uncategorized Tags: 101 Comments

Michael Matt speaks of the real conspiracy – apostasy and the destruction of the human element of the Catholic Church, which is leading to the destabilization of formerly Christian Europe and chaos throughout the New World Order. But there is hope, according to Michael. The future of France and of all of Europe depends on the proclamation of the Kingship of Christ – and that is beginning to happen right now. The Church will rise again, and here’s proof…

Comments invited…

Pope Francis – A “Wannabe Anglican”?

November 14, 2015 By in Bible, Papacy Tags: , , 12 Comments

Comment:

The above video conversation is worth watching to the end. If even the “liberal” Anglicans find the Catholic Church under Pope Francis to be “frightening” there is not much more to be said… IS Pope Francis a “wannabe Anglican”? Would he be more at home as an Anglican?  Perhaps more to the point, would they want him? Judging by these two pleasant gentleman, the answer would seem to be a resounding “No!”  So, not only is the old joke “are you more Catholic than the Pope” now obsolete because we have to be, in order to keep the Faith, but seems Pope Francis is “more Protestant than the Protestants” according to “Anglican Unscripted”.  What a mess!

Take particular note, however, of the observations of the two Anglicans towards the end of the conversation, when they speak of the Russian Orthodox influence in the sphere of morality, now replacing that of the Catholic Church, for example in battling immoral laws in the European Parliament. Frightening?  That’s what the Anglican commentators think – what do you think?

NET Groups: Destined To Fail?

November 11, 2015 By in Bible, Catholic education Tags: , , 21 Comments

Casting the NET YOUTH GROUP  

— AMANDA CONNELLY explains how NET MINISTRIES hopes that its recently set-up branch in Scotland has big plans in the months and years ahead

Since the introduction of the Pope Benedict XVI Caritas Award in 2011-12, Scotland’s young Catholics have been afforded greater opportunity to bear testament to their Faith, and to be recognised for these efforts. An award that has been instrumental in promoting faith witness, it is apt that featured at this year’s Caritas Awards ceremony was NET Ministries—a worldwide organisation committed to encouraging young Catholics to embrace their faith and share the Gospel with and through young people. This year, NET Ministries embarks on its first year with its own Scottish division, NET Scotland.

Founded by Mark Berchem in 1981 in the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis, NET (National Evangelisation Teams) has seen more than 29,000 retreats sharing the Gospel message to over 1.7 million young Catholics around the world. Starting its humble, yet enthusiastic, beginnings with a team of 12 young people, they travelled across southern Minnesota in a van, carrying out a substantial 18 high school retreats over a three-week period. With the evangelisation retreats proving to be resounding success, three additional teams were instituted in Winona, North Dakota and South Dakota, and NET’s primary year-long missionary team was sent out on the road.

Deriving inspiration for both its name and work from St Mark and St Luke’s Gospels—“Come after me, I will make you fishers of men” (Mark 1:17) and “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4)—NET Ministries has answered the call for growing demand and expanded to become the global movement it is today. Continuing its peer-lead mission to spread the Word of God with other young people across the world, it invites young Catholics to learn about their relationship with God and helps them to form their faith. It is truly international, with NET teams serving as far afield as Australia, Canada, Germany, Guam, Honduras, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Uganda and the United States.

The year 2015 marks the inaugural year of NET Scotland, having previously piloted two years of teams from NET Ireland. Whilst maintaining close ties with its Irish counterparts in training and team selection, the group is branching out as a charity in its own right, booking retreats and organising the teams’ ministry from its base in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire.

As Scotland becomes the latest addition to NET’s global community, Emily McNulty, full-time staff member at NET Scotland, speaks about the aims and work of the charity.

“We want to reignite the Catholic Faith in Scotland,” she said. “Our hope and our dream is that every person in Scotland would know the love of Jesus and know it personally.”  Click here to read more

Comment

Knowing that the young people of Scotland have not been taught the authentic Catholic religion and are, therefore, in no position to “reignite the Catholic Faith in Scotland”, the question here is, will these “NET” groups do more harm than good, or will their “have a relationship with Jesus” approach perhaps encourage some young people to look more deeply into the truths of the Faith?  Typical of these evangelism groups, their approach is very Protestant – separating Christ from His Church – and this latest “net ministry” has the very same Protestant feel about it.  Not that the youngsters will realise that – they haven’t been taught the Faith themselves, so how can they possibly know that they are well and truly NOT going to  “reignite the Catholic Faith” but the Modernist counterfeit version of it.

In summary, it seems to me like the blind are being sent out to lead the blind but what do you think?

Pope Calls For Less Rigid Church (Again)

November 11, 2015 By in Papacy Tags: , 72 Comments

PopeFrancispensivecroppedPope Francis called on the Catholic church on Tuesday to stop clinging to conservatism and fundamentalism as a defensive response to the problems it is facing, and said the church ought to be “bruised, hurting and dirty” instead of obsessed with money and power.

The sweeping remarks before an audience of Italian bishops at a conference in Florence were a stark reminder of the way in which Pope Francis is trying to shake up a church that in many ways is losing relevance around the world, and continues to be battered by allegations of financial mismanagement and greed at the heart of the Vatican.

“Before the problems of the church it is not useful to search for solutions in conservatism or fundamentalism, in the restoration of obsolete conduct and forms that no longer have the capacity of being significant culturally,” the pope said.

“Christian doctrine is not a closed system incapable of generating questions, doubts, interrogatives. But it is alive, knows being unsettled … it does not have a rigid face, it has a body that moves and grows, it has a soft flesh: it is called Jesus Christ.”

The comments come at a critical juncture for Francis. Last month, a high-level group of bishops from around the world met at the Vatican and engaged in a vigorous debate over how the church ought to respond to changes in the modern family, including the prevalence of divorce.

While Francis has cast himself as a reformer who is seeking to portray the church as a less rigid and less dogmatic institution, which stands with people who live on the margins of society, there are factions in the church that are vigorously resisting his plea for the church to be more flexible and open. Click here to read more 

Comment

The Pope is saying, in effect, “don’t search for solutions to the Church’s problems in Catholic Tradition” – or am I misinterpreting his words?  If that is what he IS saying, what’s the alternative? As I see it, the key problem today is the apostasy – widespread loss of divine and Catholic Faith.  So, if the solution is not to restore Catholic Tradition where it has been lost, where DO we search for a solution to the Church’s problems?