jump to navigation

Debate on Francis Bishop of Rome in Dallas Wed 01/24/2018 January 23, 2018

Posted by Tantumblogo in catachesis, Dallas Diocese, different religion, disaster, Francis, General Catholic, horror, scandals, secularism, Society, the struggle for the Church.
comments closed

There will be a public discussion – a sort of debate, I guess – on the matter of how to respond to the current, absolutely unprecedented (in recorded history) Bishop of Rome we are confronted with sponsored by the University of Dallas  tomorrow, Wed Jan 24 at 7:30 pm.  The discussion is between Ross Douthat of the New York Slimes Times and extreme liberal Austin Ivereigh, and is moderated by journalist John Allen.  So, basically, two leftists against a moderately conservative neo – the Left never appreciates a fair fight (as Jordan Peterson’s utter destruction of a British feminist last week demonstrated).

Here’s a blurb on the discussion –

UD will be hosting a public discussion of the current papacy this Wednesday (the 24th) at 7:30 pm in the Moody Performance Hall in downtown Dallas. It will be between Ross Douthat of the NYT and British journalist Austen Ivereigh, moderated by John Allen. These are three of the most prominent Catholic journalists in the English-speaking world, and we are very excited to have them here in Dallas.  [Ivereigh is a close associate of the extremely progressive former Cardinal of Westminster Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, and basically gloated about the St. Gallen mafia and their role in enthroning Francis is a recent book]

This will be the first time in this country that one of Francis’s defenders (Ivereigh) and one of his critics (Douthat) have engaged each other face-to-face in public. Their moderator, John Allen, is probably the most well-known Vatican journalist in the world. [but definitely has a liberal bent, though less obvious than many of his confreres in the mainstream Catholic media.  So it’s basically two against one]

We promise a fascinating and enlightening discussion, and I encourage all ICONers to attend. Tickets are $10 (free to UD faculty/staff/students).

Here is a link to tickets:

https://www.udallas.edu/braniff/braniff_life/lectures.php

You’ll see there also a list of several other events the speakers will be putting on at UD campus next week, many of which may also interest ICONers.

Here is the press release:

https://udallas.edu/news/2018/ud-gathers-renowned-catholic-journalists-to-examine-the-modern-papacy

I’ve got a wife with strep and probably bronchitis after nearly two weeks of flu, and several sick kids.  So, no way I will attend.  Having said that, part of me is interested to see what Douthat has to say, though I suspect I already know it.  He is something of a critic of Francis, though hardly so thorough or penetrating as more traditional critics. Nevertheless, the interplay between the apologist Ivereigh and the critic Douthat could be interesting, though I doubt Allen provides anything like a level playing field, which will be maddening.

The thing is, what I think about this pope – Bishop of Rome, whatever – is pretty much settled.  He is what he is.  Goodness, as a man who understands the importance of gesture and media coverage, giving a pontifical medal to a rabid, murderous pro-abort the week of the March for Life in the US speaks for itself.  He is pope, somehow, though I don’t understand, and God has allowed this for some reason I don’t understand, but I cannot see how Francis can be described as Catholic.  He is a leftist ideologue with a wicked mean streak projecting an insincere joviality and the most publicity seeking “humility” in the history of ever.  Much of that could be forgiven, however, if he did not so obviously loathe both the Faith and those who hold it.  The problem is not with a pope with personal character failings.  There have been plenty of those, and the Church weathered them just fine. The problem is a pope who is patently at war with the Faith.

At any rate, the tix (general admission only) are $5, so it’s a fairly cheap night out.  Plan on another $10 or so for parking at least.  I hope some video is shot and it shows up on Youtube.  I am sort of interested in this debate to see where it goes, or rather, how far Douthat is willing to go in a hostile setting.  He’s OK on some topics.

If any readers attend, leave a comment on your impressions. I’d appreciate it.

I think kudos to UD, for having the guts to host this debate, and even permit some criticism of Francis, muted though it may be?  Of course, harsh criticism of popes from the Left has been not only permitted, but the central pillar of Catholic higher education around the world and especially in the West for decades, but this time it’s coming from the “wrong” side, the damnable right wingers.

Glories of the Church – the Beautiful Churches and Holy Sites of Ecuador January 23, 2018

Posted by Tantumblogo in Art and Architecture, awesomeness, Basics, different religion, Father Rodriguez, fun, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, priests, Restoration, sanctity, Spiritual Warfare, Tradition, true leadership, Victory, Virtue.
comments closed

I thank El Paso-based JMJHF Productions for all their work, especially their continued release of excellent catechesis material from Fr. Michael Rodriguez (on which, more later, God willing), but I really really appreciate their recent uploads of one of Fr. Rodriguez’ recent annual pilgrimages to Quito, Ecuador.  The churches of Quito and its environs are shockingly, amazingly beautiful, true glories for not only the Church but the entire human race.  This is the kind of heart that makes the soul sing and gives us creatures of mud and dust the slightest glimpses of heavenly glory.   It is also the polar opposite of the modernist, often intentionally soul-crushing trash that has passed for Church art and architecture of the past 60-70 years.  This damnable trend has been intentional, as fallen men sought to remake the Church in their own image, rather than aspire to follow the Truth of Jesus Christ.

The first video shows the Procession on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Good Success, February 2nd. The miraculous statue of Our Lady of Good Success is taken from the cloistered upper choir three times a year and placed above the main altar of the Convent Church to be venerated by the public. Fr. Michael Rodríguez offered the Traditional Latin Mass daily in the Conceptionist Church & Convent–home of Our Lady of Good Success (and look at how many souls assisted!  The church is packed for a TLM, probably the first most all of these people, aside from the pilgrims (who were a tiny part of the crowd) had attended in decades, if ever). The technical name of the Church is, “Iglesia de La Limpia Concepcion”. This first monastery in Quito was established in September of 1575. Fr. Rodriguez also led pilgrims daily in praying the Holy Rosary and Novena to Our Lady of Good Success in front of the miraculous statue and gave spiritual conferences every evening on the major themes of Grace, Jesus Christ, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Blessed be Jesus Christ and His most pure Mother!

Old town Quito is also beautiful in its own right, and also surprisingly well lit.  It looks to me like many hundreds, possibly thousands, took part in the procession.  How beautiful.  What a glorious site  Good Father Romanowski, formerly of the FSSP apostolate in Guadalajara and now pastor of a parish in Naples, FL, seems to have led the procession, in the traditional manner:

 

The next video is the one that really touches me – in both positive and negative ways.  Ecuador has never been a rich country.  Yet look at what pious souls built decades and centuries ago, out of their love for God and the Blessed Mother!  And it was only right they do so – indeed it was a positive duty –  to build the most beautiful, uplifting structures imaginable for the glory of God (which is His due) and for the good of souls. The modernist, concrete-and-sheetrock brutalist monstrosities that pass for Church construction in the past 70 years or so are the very antithesis of what is good for souls and properly due God.  Even worse, you might even say sinfully, was the willful destruction of so much beauty created in total faith by previous generations of Catholics out of a perverse desire to create a new and false religion.  Indeed, the profanation of Church art and architecture is a deliberate representation of the new religion promoted by modernist/leftists that must always stand in total opposition to the Faith of our Fathers.

There is a wide range of beauty below – parishes, basilica, cathedral, monasteries cum museums, etc.  I have always adored Spanish colonial Catholic art, and the works of Latin American devotion that flowed from it for  a century and a half after Spain lost her New World colonies.  It is beautiful, wonderful stuff, treasures for the whole human race to glory in.  These works also point to a time where the Faith was so utterly central to the lives of souls that I think we have a hard time even imagining it today, let alone emulating it in our own lives.  We are so distracted by our trinkets of technology and our unheard of riches that our comprehension of the eternal is paltry and distracted.  Perhaps I am speaking more for myself than for most of you, if so, I do not mean to cast aspersions.

I have exhausted my limited vocabulary in coming up with superlatives for this video and the Catholic treasures contained therein.  Lord, may I go to Quito or other Latin American places soon, places where the ravages of wreckovation did not occur, or were at least kept to an absolute minimum!  Look at all the altar rails!  Look at the high altars still extant, and the prie deuxs, and the wonderful elevated pulpits (use them!), and the gilt ceilings and incredible reredos and the polychrome statues and original, extremely high quality and eminently Catholic paintings and……..you get the point.  Thank you again to JMJHF Productions for putting these videos together.  I know it takes a great deal of time, and this is not their full time job.  Please consider helping them out, or the St. Vincent Ferrer Foundation, which also supports the work of good souls and Fr. Rodriguez!

The full list of sites in the video is below:

Conceptionist Monastery Church (Iglesia de La Limpia Concepcion), home of Our Lady of Good Success, in which Our Lady appeared to Mother Mariana.
Santo Domingo (St Dominic)
San Agustin (St Augustine)
Carmen del Atlo (Carmelite – where St Mariana, Lily of Quito used to live)
San Francisco
Santa Catalina
La Merced
La Compania (Jesuit, perhaps most glorious Church in the Americas…)
National Basilica to the Sacred Heart
(Cathedral Metropolitana)  Basilica of the National Vow
Santa Barbara
Carmen del Bajo
Santa Teresita in La Mariscal
Church & Monastery of Guapalo
The Jesuit School where miraculous image of Our Lady of Quito is kept.

For those materialists who say, oh, this money is wasted, think of the poor who suffered want and privation when all this money was poured into churches like this – wouldn’t this money better have been spent on them, on alleviating their sufferings? But the poor we will always have with us, and I do not mean that in a cavalier manner in the least.  Instead, think of how many souls happily gave of what little they had, which was infinitely less than any of us, to help render honor and glory to God and His Church to help build structures like this. Think of the grace that poured out on them and the world at large through such noble sacrifice.  It is simply a wholly different and utterly incompatible mindset – that of faith and not of this world.  Those who have it, have it, and  understand instantly the willingness to deny self to give right glory to God, and those who don’t, simply don’t.

When I see amazing structures like this, and the immense good they still do for souls, and I ponder the opportunity we have locally – probably the only such opportunity the vast majority of us will ever have – to build a church that can really make an artistic statement, can really contribute to the great artistic treasure of the Church (one of the few such contributions to have been made in our lifetimes), I just think, we cannot mess this up.  I would happily trade 500 seats for an amazing reredo, or a stupendous altar, or marble-covered walls, or original works of art.  Heck, there are warehouses full of the stuff in Europe and Mexico, removed from any of the several churches being torn down weekly.  It’s not even that expensive, much of it, certainly not compared to making it from scratch, if such can even be obtained.  Anyway, I won’t rant on that anymore.  This post is already much longer than I intended, and few outside this Diocese of Dallas care, and understandably so.