Another traditional religious order found June 30, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Interior Life, Latin Mass, mortification, religious, sanctity, Tradition, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
A young lady I know (pray for her!) sent me a link to another traditional religious order that is presently based in Brazil and Paraguay but looking to expand to the United States. They are called The Brothers and Sisters Hermits of the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and are propose a return to the Carmelites’ ancient heremetical roots. The description from their website states:
The Brothers and Sisters Hermits of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel is a Roman Catholic Religious Order that is in full communion with the Holy See and is under the authority and support of the Bishop of the Diocese of Ciudad Del Este, Paraguay. The hermits live according to the Primitive Carmelite Rule and exclusively celebrate the traditional liturgy according to the ancient Carmelite Rite. The Order was originally founded by the Discalced Carmelite Blessed Francisco Palau in 1860 as a revival of the primitive charism, spirit, life, and discipline of the ancient Carmelite Hermits: a return to a life which St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross sought. The Order was revived in Brazil in 2000 and is growing in Paraguay, Brazil, and abroad. The life of a Carmelite Hermit is a continuous act of love and worship of Almighty God, aimed at perfection of Christian charity and the fruition of the grace of Christian Baptism for the consummation of union with God and the glory of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Flower of Carmel. Faithfully lived, the Carmelite hermit lives in time and on earth—through Grace and Mystery, in faith, hope, and charity—the life of the Blessed in eternal Glory in Heaven, through Jesus Christ our Heavenly Lord, the Creator of all and the Author of Grace.
As I said, there is the possibility of this order expanding to the United States, which, God willing, would provide another alternative for traditional vocations, especially for women. That would be an enormous blessing.
Their life seems very interesting. I was very pleased to see tonsures on the priests! Woot! I love the tonsure! It’s not only a witness but a sign of such profound commitment and a great rebuke to the conceits of the world and the flesh! I pray more orders return to the use of the tonsure. I’d get one myself, but my wife doesn’t approve!
Heh.
There is already of course a monastery of Carmelite hermits in Christoval that is a very holy and devout order, but they do not use the ancient Rite exclusively (though they do, I understand, offer the TLM with some regularity). This new order is different in that it is open to women and exclusively traditional.
I searched and searched for pics of this order but did not find any! Their website has many pics, though.
Today’s radical feminism demonstrates the profound derangement of our culture – Updated June 30, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, disaster, error, foolishness, General Catholic, manhood, paganism, sadness, scandals, secularism, self-serving, sickness, Society.comments closed
THIS POST CONTAINS BAD WORDS. These were necessary to illustrate the insanity of those we are dealing with. You will only see them if you click on the second image or squint real hard. Kids and sensitive consciences, do not click!
To a ‘t,’ as a matter of fact. A few data points. Creative Minority Report noted that Sandra Fluke, she who was made famous by the democrats and their lapdog media by proclaiming that having to spend $10 a month on contraception was an unbearable expense and assault on her liberty (all the while attending Georgetown Law at 30-40k a year) had some comments on the recent Supreme Court decision vacating a Massachusetts law that forbade sidewalk counseling outside abortion mills (comments in form of tweet, which stated):
Supreme Court decides in McCullen v. Coakley that clinic buffer zones are unconstitutional. One more attack on women’s rights.
Really? A Nine to zero decision, which was joined by Obama’ OWN appointees to the Court (and the other libs Breyer and Ginsburg), was an attack on women’s rights? Does that mean Obama is now waging a war on women? And that Kagan and the laughably inept Sotomayor (she is apparently held in utter disdain by the other justices) are now part of the PatriarchY!11!
Who thinks like this? And this is supposed to be a “mainstream” demonrat who is running for Congress in California? Really?!?
UPDATE: dumb comment about Fluke removed. She doesn’t need any dumb comments from me to appear ridiculous.
The photo below, found on Eponymous Fowler, was a feminist response to a pro-family march in Vienna. Is it not rather incredible that we have to have marches in defense of the family?!?
These feminists may think they are joking. They may not. Irrespective, their description is essentially perfect. Feminism as it has evolved over the past 50 years precisely is a socialist anti-family political movement that encourages (and would even force) women to leave their families, kill their children (via abortion this is already common), practice witchcraft (members of LCWR are well advanced in this), destroy capitalism and become lesbians. Pretty much spot on.
If that weren’t enough, feminists (and women they have fooled into thinking they themselves are feminists) are reacting with their usual calm aplomb today regarding the Hobby Lobby decision. They are threatening to burn Hobby Lobby to the ground. Or sterilize themselves. Were it not a sin, I would vote for the latter (small size due to bad words):
Women, under the construct known as Christendom, were the primary guardians of virtue. Men certainly played a part (and do in the remnants), especially as fathers and heads of the domestic church, but the primary responsibility for transmitting the practice of virtue from one generation to the next was the prerogative of women. Women were the main keepers of societal standards. Women exerted cultural pressure on each other, and on men, to support accepted behavior and discredit and eliminate bad behaviors. Bad behaviors included promiscuity, immodesty, infidelity, sloth, greed, etc.
But nowadays, women are some of the most wildly insane purveyors of vice and moral evil there are! Having been convinced that the traditional roles designed by God for women to fulfill were too limiting, dissatisfying, boring, or even “evil,” many women have responded by not just rejecting the roles, but attacking the purpose of the roles, which means, virtue. Now virtue is evil. Being a slut is “good.” We have supposed “slut walks” all over the country in which women parade around naked because that somehow shows how powerful they are. The warped, marxist, envy-inspired thinking of feminism never ceases to amaze in its circular irrationalism and its upside down illogic.
But the damage remains. If many, even most, women now prescribe even to a limited degree to feminist conceits, that is a huge swath of the culture which is instantly dysfunctional and opposed to moral virtue (generally speaking). The damage that flows from that can be seen in a thousand different ways, from destroyed families to children with no faith to children murdered in abortion to the great flood of pornography (yes men are at least equally to blame), etc etc etc. And radical feminism provides the justification, the intellectual (heh….) framework, even just the plain ol’ excuse making for all of the above, and more.
In the end, it’s a sort of chicken or the egg type problem. Yes, radical feminism destroys the culture, but the culture had to be plenty sick (under influence of our friend Marx again) in order for feminism to spring from it. At present, the vicious circle just keeps repeating itself, circling the drain faster and faster.
The only way to avoid going down the drain is to cling to the Truth Christ has revealed through His Church, and even then it’s going to be a rough ride. There are many great Saints who can help guide us, men and women, to lead the lives we are called to lead. St. Augustine is always a good place to start (esp. for men), and St. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. Catherine of Siena are excellent for women. Read them all. Stay away from the sick culture. Shoot your TV. Shoot your internet, maybe (I don’t mind at all). Stay away from sexular pagan friends who resolutely refuse to convert and/or who advance dangerous ideas (you never know when some of them might stick). Stay close to the holiest priests you can find.
I just very recently had an example of how some of these noxious feminist ideas can sneak into even the most surprising of all places. So be very careful what you expose yourself to.
Lord, have mercy on us! Women haven’t been this wantonly amoral at least since the waning days of Rome.
Report on the sufferings of Iraqi Catholics at the hands of the proto-Caliphate June 30, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, Christendom, disaster, Ecumenism, error, General Catholic, horror, martyrdom, persecution, sadness, scandals, sickness, Society.comments closed
In the military affairs study group I used to be active in, various scenarios in the Mideast were gamed out over a period of several years. The worst saw a re-emergence of a new Caliphate, or militant pan-Arab muslim superstate, which would wage relentless war against infidels of all stripes: Shiite muslim, Zoroastrian, Hindu, and, of course, Christians. It is terrible to witness deliberate efforts to create a new caliphate really taking place in Iraq and Syria. The Christians are, of course, the first targets. Islamist hatred of Christ and His Church has known few bounds over the past 1500 years, and only went into brief remission when confronted with hegemonic European power during the 19th and 20th centuries. Now that Christendom is shattered and decayed, with the Western states that emerged from Christendom following inevitably down the path of decline, the Islamist is re-emerging as a major force.
Thanks to a reader for sending this link. It makes fascinating, horrifying watching. While the vast majority of substantially Catholic Qaraqosh in northern Iraq fled as ISIS caliphate forces neared their town, others remained to defend their (externally beautiful) church as Kurdish Peshmerga flooded into the city to prevent ISIS from taking over. This is the nightmare persecution of Iraqi Catholics in microcosm. The ancient Catholic population has already been more than decimated, and it appears those that remain will face a very trying future:
Please pray for them! Pray for all persecuted Christians, perhaps as part of your regular Rosary or Mass intentions!
It is amazing what chaos our adventure in Iraq has unleashed. The suffering has been widespread and seemingly endless, but Catholics have born the worst of all.
And Iraq is just one country in the Mideast we have set on fire. Bush made huge mistakes, but was nothing compared to Obama, who has seemed to have gone out of his way to spread violence and radicalism in the Mideast.
All part of the plan, I guess. “Make a mess”seems to be the order of the day.
Reader sends: lovely NY church June 30, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in Art and Architecture, awesomeness, Basics, Christendom, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Latin Mass, Liturgical Year, persecution, sanctity, Spiritual Warfare, Tradition, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
A reader sent in the following photos of St. Paul’s parish in Manhattan after a recent trip there. I asked the reader if this parish is also under threat of closure by the NY Archdiocese, but I have not as yet heard back. Still, another old church that could serve as a guide and example for future church builds, if only the will can be found to reunite with our Catholic heritage/Tradition:
That’s what I’m talking about. Nice baldacinno. I know I mispelled that.
At first, I thought there was no table altar, but then I saw it, not only in front of the high altar, but also in front of the Communion rail. Uff da that is so tragic, all those glorious altars and they are rarely (probably never) used!
Nevertheless, much to recommend here. I’m not well versed enough in architectural styles to tell what kind this church is, but I know what I like, and I like much of this.
Speaking of the St. Paul, yesterday was the Feast of the Holy Apostles Saints Peter and Paul. Here is a sermon from that Feast:
I did not know what a monster the sorcerer Simom Magus of Acts of the Apostles was.
Why indeed did those springs dry up? Interesting, is it not?
Also a good demonstration above of correcting superiors in charity. How or whether to engage in fraternal correction of others is a topic that has come up recently in the comments, especially in light of the exhortations of many Saints and books of spirituality to maintain a humble, meek interior life, which strives to excuse the faults of others and focus on our own faults. I tried to explain how and when to engage in correction while keeping the practice of virtue, but there was a sermon yesterday that does a much better job of examining this matter of correction. As soon as that sermon comes up on Audio or Video Sancto, I will post it, because I think it encapsulates well how to navigate those difficult waters.
Please say three Aves for the priest in the sermon. I have at times forgotten to ask for prayers for the priests in the sermons I post, but it is always an act of charity that we should pray for all priests, especially those who especially edify us.
Hobby Lobby wins HHS Mandate case at Supreme Court June 30, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in Abortion, awesomeness, Basics, contraception, Dallas Diocese, disconcerting, General Catholic, scandals, secularism, sexual depravity, sickness, Society.comments closed
Once again, the 9 black-robed demi-gods on the Supreme Court stared into their magic eight ball, and announced to a quivering world their judgment from Mount Olympus. While lightning streaked and thunder rolled, the unelected unimpeachable* infallible determiners of libertine democracy proclaimed that “closely held private for-profit corporations cannot be required to provide contraception coverage.” I find the coverage below from HLI as interesting for what it does not say as for what it does (I add comments):
In a narrow 5-4 decision today concerning the HHS contraception mandate, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that closely held for-profit corporations cannot be required to provide contraception coverage. The Court found that applying the HHS contraception mandate to closely held for-profit corporations violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
In reaction to today’s decision, Human Life International President Father Shenan J. Boquet released the following statement:
“The full implications of this decision are not yet known, but this appears to be at least some good news in the fight for religious freedom. [How about “rights of the Church,” or, better yet, “the fight to assert the Social Reign of Christ the King?”]
“What many found deeply disturbing about this case was not only the assault on religious freedom, but the manipulation of scientific facts in order to support a radical political agenda promoting abortion. [OK, but contraception is an intrinsic evil all by itself intimately related to ALL areas of human reproduction, with abortion as the ultimate backstop of the mentality that tries to assert control over the reproductive act.]
“There’s scientific consensus that when sperm meets egg and fertilization occurs, a new human life begins. Yet we see our own government and pro-abortion lobbyist groups like American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) play games with the words ‘fertilization,’ ‘conception,’ ‘pregnancy,’ and even ‘abortion’ to make it seem as though the drugs and devices in question in the Hobby Lobby case don’t kill innocent human life-when it’s scientific fact that they can, and do destroy new life in the womb. [This is all true, and the abortifacient capabilities of many contraceptives are a very nasty adjunct to the entire evil of contraception. But I find it a bit odd to shift emphasis away from the grave evil of contraception, in which the vast majority of Americans and, ahem, Catholics are engaged, and the evil of abortion, which involves a much smaller subset]
“Not only does the HHS contraception/sterilization/abortifacient mandate seek to undermine our God-given freedom to practice our faith, the mandate furthers U.S. government support for the greatest human rights abuse in history, using taxpayer dollars to kill preborn human life.
All very true. But again, I sort of wonder why, in a reaction to a judgment that narrows the scope of the federal government’s attempt to force ALL insurance-providing entities in the US to pay for the great evil of contraception, that evil, as such, is never mentioned even once? I know HLI is a pro-life focused group, but at the same time, until the vast majority of the public is weened off contraception, we’ll never be rid of abortion. So I found the word play above kind of strange.
Well, as Dumb Ox would say, what a smashing victory for the good guys! Except it’s really not, it’s a very narrowly focused ruling that probably doesn’t affect Church entities much and leaves open the possibility for the government to continue to try to force the Church into acts of grave evil. Which acts most dioceses have happily been engaged in for decades, but that’s a whole ‘nuther matter.
Yes, I have a case of the Mondays:
* in effect
Portrait of a Church in free fall: poll shows collapse of Faith in Latin America June 27, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in disaster, Ecumenism, episcopate, error, foolishness, General Catholic, horror, sadness, scandals, secularism, self-serving, Society, the return.comments closed
Rorate posted the following image from their twitter account. It shows the results of a recent study of the state of the Church in Latin America by collating the results of surveys of religious affiliation across that vast, formerly Catholic region. The results are horrifying. The Church is in complete free-fall in most of Latin America, with some countries seeing a drop of as large as 1/3 in Church membership in the past 18 years. Evangelical protestants have made huge inroads among Catholics, as the old pious practices and the teaching of clear doctrine that used to be the core of Catholic edification and spirituality has now been replaced by soft humanism, socialist agitation, and boring, pointless spiritual direction. I can attest to the explosive growth of evangelical protestantism among Hispanics from my own little corner of the world. In the part of Irving where we live, there are literally dozens of evangelical churches ranging from very small to very large serving thousands of former Catholics.
This simply shows that socialist humanism is not a replacement for man’s innate need to be close to His Lord. The hard work of centuries of Saints and dedicated souls, up to the point of giving their very lives, is being undone in decades of heresy and abuse:
It is beyond heartbreaking to see the Church, outside of which there is no salvation, losing tens of millions of souls to error-filled sects because Her children are starving to death for spiritual sustenance. There will be a reckoning for all of this someday. Lord, have mercy on the servants who have allowed this – or forced this – to come to pass. I pray the men and women leading the Church down the broad freeway of destruction may be touched by Your Grace, truly converted, and have great horror over what they have done. But as St. Thomas Aquinas said, the sins of intellectual pride are the most difficult of all to overcome.
Then again, She told us this would happen.
Two sermons on receiving Holy Communion – UPDATED, Mea Culpa June 27, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, catachesis, Dallas Diocese, error, Eucharist, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Latin Mass, manhood, priests, scandals, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
Two sermons from Video Sancto on receiving Holy Communion. The first one on the grave abuse of Communion in the hand (yes, permitted by indult under threat of schism, but still an abuse, only one that has been regularized out of fear) discusses a key point: the claim that Communion in the hand (that almost sounds like the name of a cult) was a regular practice of the early Church has been dramatically overstated. Proponents of Communion in the hand can really only point to one clear statement by an early Church Father purportedly in favor of this practice, that being St. Cyril of Jerusalem, but as the priest notes below his statement has been taken radically out of context and in fact twisted to mean the opposite of his intent. St. John Chrysostom and many other early Fathers make plain that receiving Communion kneeling and on the tongue was always the regular practice of the Church from its earliest days, especially after the persecutions mostly ended. There is some evidence that Communion in the hand was permitted during persecutions and for other reasons in extremis, but was never the desired or regular practice.
I think this makes sense, when we understand the extremely clear understanding the early Church had of Christ’s Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. This is made plain by St. Paul in 1 Cor XI. The Eucharist was held in such great reverence many were martyred rather than allow the Blessed Sacrament to be profanated? This was also a society that took great store in posture and bodily form as expressions of reverence. It is simply not true, then, that Communion in the hand was a regular feature of early Christian practice:
UPDATE: This video contains a huge swerve at the end I really find troubling. I considered just removing the video, but the first 3/4 of it are fine. I recommend you stop listening after about 8 minutes. There is a conclusion regarding Communion in the hand that really should not have been made without really delving into the subject in depth. Mea culpa for not listening to the sermon all the way through. I, always short on time on Friday, figured the priest could not screw it up in the last two minutes, but I was wrong. Or don’t listen at all. It was meant to help, but the wheels came off at the end.
Forget it, I pulled the video. Too much hassle for a point I’ve already made 40 times on this blog. I should have known better than to post a video from a totally untried source.]
The next sermon highlights the frequent unworthy reception of the Blessed Sacrament by probably millions in the Church. This sermon defines scandal, what constitutes sacrilegious Communion, how to respond to scandal, how to express proper reverence for the Blessed Sacrament and the necessity for a clear conscience when one receives, etc. It also discusses some Eucharistic miracles, some of which are not well known:
Dr. Peter Kwasniewski and Frank Sheed on the upcoming Synod on the Family June 27, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, catachesis, Christendom, disconcerting, episcopate, General Catholic, Sacraments, sadness, scandals, secularism, self-serving, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
I have heard so many good recommendations for the books of Frank Sheed, but I have never read any. I may need to change that, after reading the following.
I said the other day I did not want to discuss the Pope, and I still plan to hold to that, but I also said I would discuss matters related to the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on Marriage and the Family. There was a major development on that front yesterday, with the release of a preparatory document. That document was not very reassuring. It was very nebulous and seemed very leading in places, as Dr. K of Wyoming Catholic College notes below. Because the truths Sheed expresses below are so central, and so clearly demonstrated, I thought some of Rorate’s post of Dr. Kwasniewski’s words, and his excerpts from Frank Sheed, deserved repetition, even if many readers have already seen them. I will add a few comments, emphasis in the original (the first three paragraphs are Dr. K’s, the remainder is Sheed’s):
Catholic parish lists ramadan on calendar of Saints?!?! June 27, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in asshatery, Basics, disaster, Ecumenism, error, foolishness, General Catholic, paganism, sadness, scandals, secularism, Society, the return.comments closed
Uff da…….what can one say. Reader MB from San Antonio sent me the following images, which show St. Mark the Evangelist parish in San Antonio (which I have been to several times, never very edifying) listing the muslim season of ramadan on the calendar of Saints in their weekly bulletin:
If you want to download the entire bulletin (7 Mb) to see it in context it’s here (page 3, left side)—–>>>>Bulletin-515210_14_06_22
What can one say? Even from the point of view of natural reason, let alone supernatural faith, what sense does it make to include a muslim holy period on a Catholic calendar? Are there many souls at St. Mark who sort of straddle the fence between islam and Catholicism? Or is this just yet another form of pandering to an exotic other to show the parish’s chicness? A way to communicate how very refined and tolerant (re: indifferent) the good people of St. Marks purport themselves to be?
From a supernatural standpoint, it is at least mild blasphemy.
How, exactly, does this build up the faith of the parishioners? To equate a pagan holy period with the inestimable Feasts of the Most Sacred Heart, the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, and all the other Feasts listed…….it is incredible.
St. Paul tells us (1 Cor X:20): But the things which the heathens sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God. And I would not that you should be made partakers with devils.
St. David tells us in the Psalms (95:5) For all the gods of the gentiles are devils; but the Lord made the Heavens.
I know, the Bible is just so pre-conciliar! It just doesn’t play in a time of interfaith “dialogue!”
Need I remind readers of the inveterate hostility in which islam has held Christianity since its inception? Of the millions killed, the tens of millions of force conversions, the lands lost, the centuries of pirate raids and slaving parties and whole towns wiped out and invasions (all the way to Vienna, almost to Paris!) and mutilations and harems and rape and all the rest! And what of the horrific ongoing muslim persecution of Christians today! And yet we celebrate a muslim holy time in our Catholic calendars, putting this pagan worship on a par with the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus?
And we wonder why so many Catholics have fallen away, in totality or in essence.
It also shows why those who come to love the Traditional Mass and the Traditional practice of the Faith have such difficulty with not just the Novus Ordo Mass, but the entire post-conciliar ethos. We come to know the Faith as it was practiced for eternity (in a sense), and then look at how it is practiced and published abroad today, and have to conclude: one of these things is not like the other. You would not have seen such an equivalence made between a pagan feast and the holiest of days in any Catholic parish of 100 years ago.
As a final aside, the person who sent me this information said the parish office had been contacted, and what happened? Was there an immediate apology, was there great concern expressed at how such a (admittedly small, but in some ways also huge) thing could happen? No way, this is a Novus Ordo parish, the blame shifting began immediately! You can see where Obama learned his political craft – the post-conciliar Catholic Church, where no accountability, blame shifting, and disappearing lines of authority have been refined to a high art!
I don’t know what to say beyond Lord have mercy on Your Church.
Some good news: Supreme Court strikes down “buffer zone” law June 26, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in Abortion, Basics, catachesis, contraception, General Catholic, paganism, persecution, scandals, secularism, self-serving, sickness, Society, Spiritual Warfare.comments closed
A few years back, the legislators in the People’s Republic of Massachusetts – always eager to advance the cause of their most sacred shibboleth, abortion – passed a law declaring it illegal to speak to or “harass” women on public sidewalks within 35 feet of abortion mills statewide. This had the effect of dramatically limit the ability of sidewalk counselors to save lives and talk women out of a disastrous act. It also had a chilling effect on “free speech,” declaring certain public areas closed to Catholics and others concerned about the ongoing destruction of life.
Fortunately, the Supreme Court yesterday peered into their magic 8 ball and overturned this law in a unanimous decision:
The Supreme Court has unanimously struck down a Massachusetts law establishing a buffer zone around abortion facilities.
The justices’ 9-0 ruling in McCullen v. Coakley reverses the First Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding the law, which barred sidewalk counselors from setting foot within 35 feet of abortion facilities statewide.
The 34-page ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, said the statute went too far by forbidding pro-life advocates from engaging in free speech on “a public way or sidewalk adjacent to a reproductive health care facility.”
The buffer zone law represents an “extreme step of closing a substantial portion of a traditional public forum to all speakers,” the justices ruled. “The Commonwealth may not do that consistent with the First Amendment.”
“While we wish the decision had recognized the content-restrictions inherent in this type of law, this decision is truly a victory for courageous, compassionate sidewalk counselors in Massachusetts who have saved hundreds of lives through their quiet outreach offering help and alternatives to women,” Dana Cody, president and executive director of Life Legal Defense Foundation, told LifeSiteNews.com.
“In a brazen affront to the First Amendment, Massachusetts government officials had sought to use the threat of arrest and criminal conviction to silence those offering women life-affirming alternatives to abortion,” said Dr. Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life. “The Supreme Court rightly rejected this unlawful attempt to deny pro-life Americans their First Amendment rights.”
However in a flashpoint with three conservative justices, a majority of the justices endorsed the right of states to create buffer zones around abortion facilities as long as they are more narrowly tailored, especially if the state establishes a legal history of intimidation.
“The act is neither content nor viewpoint based and therefore need not be analyzed under strict scrutiny,” they ruled, provoking a stern response from Justices Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas.
Pro-life forces had said the law censored their speech by allowing abortion escorts to speak freely to women but silencing anyone who would try to tell the woman of abortion’s potential harms.
“The government cannot reserve its public sidewalks for Planned Parenthood, as if their message is the only one women should be allowed to hear,” said Mark Rienzi, the sidewalk counselors’ attorney. “Today’s decision confirms that the First Amendment is for everyone, and that the government cannot silence peaceful speakers. That result is good news for Eleanor McCullen, and it is great news for the women she helps.”
Justice Roberts rejected the notion that buffer zone laws target only one side of the argument, saying they “burden substantially more speech than necessary to achieve the Commonwealth’s asserted interests” in protecting women seeking an abortion from allegedly aggressive pro-life protesters.
The bill was introduced in 2007 by Massachusetts House of Representatives. Member Martha “Marty” Walz, who is now the president of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. She claimed in a USA Today op-ed that the law is necessary to protect abortion workers from “violent, extremist anti-abortion protesters led by Operation Rescue.”
Oh please, in the last 10 years, there has been far more violence directed at pro-lifers than at abortionists, their staff, or the women seeking abortions. That is an utter crock.
What it means is that sidewalk counselors and co-located crisis pregnancy centers are extremely effective at turning women away from involvement in a hideous act, and thus pose a great threat to the abortion industry and its fevered supporters. Can you imagine a similar law forbidding pro-aborts from protesting or doing their silly thing (for their poorly attended marches are profoundly silly and unserious) anywhere, at any time? There would be no end to the cries of persecution and cruelty.
As the article above notes, the ruling did leave open the possibility that Taxachusetts and other states could impose similar laws provided they are more narrowly defined in future. So it wasn’t an enormous victory. Then again, most states are turning decidedly pro-life (probably not MASS, CA, NY, and the other left wing havens, though), so hopefully there will not be such impetus for this kind of law again. But who knows. The devil never sleeps.
And he never runs out of willing agents of cooperation. Pray God turn women’s (and men’s) hearts away from this wanton barbarism. Sustain and restore Your Church, the only reliably pro-life voice in the culture. And send your angels to fight the demons away from these slaughterhouses!
A Blog for Dallas Area Catholics 