Material Cooperation

Since Cardinal O'Malley is evaluating whether Catholic hospitals in Massachusetts can do abortion, a.k.a. "family planning" referrals in order to win a health insurance contract with the state, let's look at some definitions/discussions on Material Cooperation.

Principles of Formal and Material Cooperation

Mediate Material Cooperation. Mediate material cooperation occurs when the cooperator participates in circumstances that are not essential to the commission of an action, such that the action could occur even without this cooperation. Mediate material cooperation in an immoral act might be justifiable under three basic conditions:


1. If there is a proportionately serious reason for the cooperation (i.e., for the sake of protecting an important good or for avoiding a worse harm); the graver the evil the more serious a reason required for the cooperation;

2. The importance of the reason for cooperation must be proportionate to the causal proximity of the cooperator’s action to the action of the principal agent (the distinction between proximate and remote);

3. The danger of scandal (i.e., leading others into doing evil, leading others into error, or spreading confusion) must be avoided.

Remote Material Cooperation With Intrinsic Evil


I wish that Cardinal O'Malley learned from Cardinal O'Connor about this type of situation.

The March for Life is like "a poor man's World Youth Day"?

Excuse me?!

This statement is from the latest entry in Cardinal Sean's blog...

I told the principals that I realize there will always be a limited number of people able to go to World Youth Day due to the travel and the expense but, in a sense, the March for Life is something of “a poor man’s World Youth Day.”

Although we do not have the joy of having the Holy Father present in Washington, the young people who go get to experience the witness of hundreds of thousands of people dedicated to their Catholic faith, and particularly the thousands upon thousands of young people that have become a growing presence each year. Many of them have been inspired to live their faith more fully after experiencing the March for Life so I urged the principals to try to be as creative as possible in finding ways to enable the largest number of their students to attend each year.

Cardinal Sean was speaking to a meeting of the Catholic High School principals in the Archdiocese of Boston. His words encouraged me to speak to the principal of a high school that I'm thinking of sending my daughter to *but* it bothered me that he missed the opportunity to state the message of why it was important for Life for young people to attend the March. My daughter attended it for the first time this year and she found it incredibly inspiring!

But it's like "a poor man's World Youth Day"?

Wow! Thanks Cardinal Sean...

Is the March for Life just a photo-op for him?

A Call to Arms!

There seems to be some confusion from Cardinal O'Malley as to whether the Pope, Cardinal's, Bishops, Priests and lay people can respond to a woman who wants to discuss abortion by giving her abortion as an option, providing her with instructions on how to obtain that abortion and a phone number to a 24 hour hotline, calling her a taxi to get her to the abortions and permitting Planned Parenthood to monitor these new Catholic standards of the Gospel of Life with a personal Planned representative to monitor conversations between the healthcare workers and the woman asking for an abortion at a Catholic facility to ensure compliance.

When Catholics found out the details of how the Cardinal's plan would work at the level of Catholic healthcare providers and patients seeking abortions and distributed the information, the Cardinal sent out the following:

To be perfectly clear, Caritas Christi will never do anything to promote abortions, to direct any patients to providers of abortion or in any way to participate in actions that are contrary to Catholic moral teaching and anyone who suggests otherwise is doing a great disservice to the Catholic Church. We are committed to the Gospel of Life and no arrangement will be entered into unless it is completely in accord with Church teaching.

However, Planned Parenthood made Caritas put their promises in writing and then released the content of those promises to the Boston Globe:

From the Globe:

The Connector Authority board, which oversees the Commonwealth Care program, voted unanimously in favor of the joint venture proposed by Centene Corp., a St. Louis-based health organization, and Caritas Christi Health Care Network.
The vote followed several closed-door sessions in which officials from Centene and Caritas, the minority partner in the joint venture, assured regulators that women will have "ready access" to family planning and reproductive services, an issue that sparked concerns from abortion foes and reproductive rights activists.
Among the written assurances are a pledge that medical staff operating under the Centene-Caritas insurance plan, known as Commonwealth Family Health Plan, will inform women of their healthcare options, including abortion. The insurers will also provide a toll-free customer service line, available around the clock, to inform women abou t where they can get contraception, sterilization, and other family planning services not offered in the immediate setting. In an emergency, a service representative will arrange transportation to the nearest appropriate facility, officials said.
The regulators promised to watch closely. "We will certainly monitor their performance ," said Jon Kingsdale, the authority's executive director. "We will not allow them to start up or continue if they are not in compliance."
As a measure of the underlying tensions, four board members emphasized the need for oversight.

"I remain somewhat concerned about implementation," said Nonnie Burnes, state commissioner of insurance and a former Planned Parenthood board member. "I am willing to support this as long as we have some way to monitor this" in doctor's offices and other healthcare facilities.

The Cardinal had to stop saying that there would be no abortion referrals and instead a new statement essentially saying he was ignorant of whether forcing Catholics to inform women about abortion, providing them with instructions and 24 hour hotline abortion referral service, sending her by taxi to get the abortion and permitting doctors and nurses to be monitored by Planned Parenthood passed the muster of the Gospel of Life and is waiting on the opinion of our faithful National Catholic Bioethics Center to see if this is honest to God Catholic credo.

There's a simple formula to get to that answer. If the Pope can't do it and Cardinal's and priests can't do it - neither can Catholic physicians or any other heatlhcare worker. Further physicians take a civil oath not to do any harm - and sending people by taxicab to be killed violates that oath.


The National Catholic Bioethics Center must give their opinion confidentially and it is the Cardinal's responsibility to release that opinion. A week has gone by and in that week, the Cardinal permitted Caritas to enter into the contract.

THIS IS FOCA. FOCA is here. FOCA is being put in by Cardinal O'Malley.

Please do not sweep this under the rug where the rapes of our children used to reside. This is murder and when a Cardinal is trying to implement it, we have the duty to step up into the public square and say this is outrageous and wrong - - just as we do with Pelosi, Sebelius and Obama.

We are not a cult. Release the details to the public so that they may act upon it and stop this abomination.

Boston needs your help TODAY. Please help us by getting into the public square what is going on and encouraging people to contact the Nuncio and Vatican officials.

Copied below is the email addresses, phone numbers, etc for contacting the Papal Nuncio and Vatican offices...

His Excellency Pietro Sambi
Apostolic Nuncio
3339 Massachusets Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20008-3687
USA
202-333-7121
202-337-4036 FAX
email: nuntiususa@nuntiususa.org


His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI PP
Apostolic Palace
Via Del Pellegrino
Citta Del Vaticano 00120
Vatican City State
011.3906.69.88.10.22
011.3906.69.88.53.73 FAX
av@pccs.va
email: BenedictXVI@vatican.va

His Eminence Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone
Cardinal Secretary of State
Secretariat of State
Apostolic Palace
Vatican City 00120
The Vatican
11 39 06 6988 3438
011 39 06 6988 5088 FAX

His Eminence William Cardinal Levada, S.T.D.
Cardinal Prefect
Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith
Secretary - Fr. Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, SJ
Piazza del S. Uffizio 11
00193 Rome
Italy
email: cdf@cfaith.va
011 39 06 6988 3357
011.3906.69.88.34.13
011-39-0696100596 FAX
011.3906.69.88.34.09 FAX
cdf@cfaith.va

His Eminence Claudio Cardinal Hummes
Cardinal Prefect
Congregation For the Clergy
Piazza Della Città
Leonina I
00193 Rome
Italy
011 39 06 6988 4151
011 39 06 6988 4845 FAX
Secretary: Most Rev. Archbishop Csaba Ternyak

Rev. Msgr. Arthur Calkins
Assistant to President Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos
Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei"
Piazza Pio XII 3
00193 Rome
Italy
011.3906.69.88.41.51
011.3906.69.88.48.45 FAX

His Eminence Cardinal Antonelli
President
Pontifical Council For the Family
Piazza S. Calisto 16
00153 Roma, Piazza S. Calisto, 16
011.3906.69.88.72.43
011.3906.69.88.72.72 FAX

His Eminence Franc Cardinal Rode
Prefect
The Congregation For Institutes of Consecrated Life and For Societies of Apostolic Life
Piazza Pio XII 3
00193 Rome
Italy
011.3906.69.88.41.28
011.3906.69.88.45.26 FAX
Secretary: Most Rev. Archbishop Piergiorgio Silvano Nesti, C.P.

His Eminence Cardinal Francis Arinze
Prefect of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Roman Curia
Mailing Address:
Palazzo delle Congregazioni, 00193 Roma, Piazza Pio XII, 10
Telephone: 06.69.88.43.16; 06.69.88.43.18
Fax: 06.69.88.34.99


Most Reverend Albert Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith Patabendige Don
Secretary
Congregation for Divine Worship & Discipline of the Sacraments
Piazza Pio XII 10,
00193 Rome
Italy
011 39 06 6988 4316
011 39 06 6988 3499 FAX
cultdiv@ccdds.va

His Eminence Giovanni Battista Cardinal Re
Cardinal Prefect
Congregation For Bishops
Piazza Pio XII #10
00193 Rome
Italy
011 39 06 6988 4217
011 39 06 6988 4300 FAX
011-39-0669-885303 FAX
Secretary: Most Rev. Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio

(source)

Fr John Rizzo, FSSP, will celebrate High Mass in Boston!

Fr John Rizzo, FSSP, visits the Boston area next week on his way to Rome for the Celebration of 20 years of Ecclesia Dei, and will celebrate HIGH Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston at 11:00 am.

This will also be a Holy Name Society Mass, with the recitation of the Holy Name Litany at the end.

Fr Rizzo is coming from the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, in Christchurch, New Zealand.

(removed quasi-snarky comment)

A Little-known Shrine

Two years ago, through Domenico Bettinelli's blog, I discovered the shrine for Father Patrick Power, a young priest who died in 1869. The grave/shrine is in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden Massachusetts.

I had a chance to visit the grave again last week and took a couple of pictures on my phone camera...





The prayer on the photo above is

O Jesus, who filled your servant, Father Patrick Power, with profound veneration for Your boundless mercy and compassion for all, deign, if it be Your holy will, to grant me, through his intercession, the grace for which I fervently pray.........

Be mindful of Father Patrick's spirit of sacrifice and self-denial, and reward his virtue by granting the petition which, with childlike confidence, I present to You through his intercession.

It was composed by Father Bernard Shea, a retired (do any of them really retire?!) 91-year-old priest at St Mary's in Melrose. Please say a prayer for Father Shea, who fainted while celebrating the 4 pm Mass at St Mary's last Saturday. Thankfully, he is fine and resting comfortably.

TLM Reminder! More Masses on the North Shore of Boston

This coming Sunday, at 1 pm, St Mary Star of the Sea in Beverly will be offering another TLM. This will be a monthly occurrence on the first Sunday of the month.

St Adelaide's in Peabody will begin offering a Saturday TLM, the first Saturday of each month at 8:30 am. Also, they offer the TLM every 4th Sunday of the month.

We're making good progress here. Please help support these Masses and let your friends know.

Thanks!

Another(!) TLM on the North Shore

Woo hoo! Just got notified of this today...

SAVE THE DATE! 2ND TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS OFFERED NORTH OF BOSTON

Sunday, August 3, 2008
1:00 pm

St. Mary Star of the Sea
Cabot Street
Beverly, MA

Hosted by Father David Barnes
Boston Catholic Conference's
2007 Priest of the Year

Celebrated by Father Mario Lopez, O. Carm.

For further information please contact Latin Mass Community North Spokesperson Pamela Smith at
smith-pamela@comcast.net

Special Tridentine Mass at Holy Trinity (Boston) - 14 Sept 07

As Kelly (the Lady in the Pew) mentioned, there will be a special Tridentine Mass at Holy Trinity in Boston on September 14th. I wondered how they were able to do that because all the diocesan priests will be in an all-day meeting convened by Cardinal Sean (great timing eh?).

Holy Trinity was blessed to be able to get a religious order priest.

Reminder: SSPX in Waltham July 30th

Here's a link from the Boston Globe event calendar.

If anyone in the Boston area attends, let me know what you think of the event!

What to do if your priest or bishop won't implement the Traditional Mass

I'm in the Archdiocese of Boston who I fear is going to fight this Motu Proprio tooth and nail. So, via Salve Regina, who read it at the Catholic Answers forum, here's what to do. Also, if you can, copy it to disk or burn it to a CD or email it to friends.

There has been a request made to not make any additions or edits to the document if you plan to forward it along. Here it is:

Suggestions and sample letter for requesting the "extraordinary form" of the Mass (also called the Mass of Blessed John XXIII, the Tridentine Mass, and the Traditional Latin Mass) following the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

- I suggest you read the document first, especially the twelve points. See www.vatican.va .
- Your first letter should be to your pastor, not to your bishop.
- Write to the pastor of the parish where you are registered. If you are not registered at a parish, I suggest you register at the parish in whose territory you live, before writing to him. - - Registering at a parish does not obligate you to attend there every week.
- I think at this initial stage, the more letters the better, so each person should write his own letter. In other words, husbands and wives can write separately, as can children. Since 8 year olds are considered capable of being the lector at Mass (as happens frequently), they are certainly old enough to write to their pastor.
- Be polite, even if your requests were turned down in the past.
- Be brief; stick to the request. One paragraph should be plenty; one page is too long. Do not include complaints or other matters.
- Request the "extraordinary form of the Mass," or the "Mass of Blessed John XXIII."
- Request the Mass for both Sundays and weekdays. This does not obligate you attend every day or every week or every month. Anyone who likes the Traditional Mass can write a request. - You do not need to mention how often you plan to attend.
- Mention that your request is according to "Summorum Pontificum, articles 5.1, 5.2 & 7."
- If you know of a priest who is willing and able to offer the Mass, mention that. Your pastor may not know of a priest who can do so.
- Wait a month for a response. If you have not heard back in a month, write to the pastor again, the same letter. If he does not respond within another month, write to the bishop (see below).
- Keep copies of the letter, and the pastor's response, if any.
- It is worthwhile for one person in the parish to have a copy of everyone's letters. This may be
helpful if the matter is taken to the next step.
- It is also helpful for those who are interested to form a group within the parish, in order to promote the Mass (for example, "Blessed John XXIII Society of St. Christopher Parish").
- If there is a chapter of Una Voce in your area, be sure to join. See www.unavoce.org. Another source for contacting those in your area is http://www.lumengentleman.com/motucontacts.asp.

SAMPLE LETTER TO PASTOR

July 15, 2007

Rev. Gregory Goodguy
Pastor, St. Christopher Parish
111 1st Street
Illinois City, Illinois 11111

Dear Father Goodguy,

In keeping with the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI's recent document Summorum Ponitficum, articles 5.1, 5.2 and 7, I am writing to request that you have the Mass of Blessed John XXIII offered at St. Christopher Parish. I request that this extraordinary form of the Mass be offered on Sundays, feast days, and week days. I know of a priest, Fr. Fred Fortitude, who has said he is willing and able to offer this form of the Mass. If you are not able, maybe he could come to our parish to do so.

Thank you for your consideration
Yours in Christ,
Mike Medieval

- If you have written two letters to the pastor in two months and have received a negative reply, or have received no reply at all, the next step is to write to the bishop.
- At this level, it becomes even more important to form a group, since the Motu Proprio mentions a group within a parish writing to the bishop. Do not make this more work than necessary; you do not need to have meetings. Come up with a name for the group; get a list of names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of those who might be interested; and you have a group.
- Write individual letters, mentioning that you are a member of the group. If you haven't formed a group, but you know that others in your area have requested the Mass, politely mention that.
- Mention the letter(s) you have written to your pastor, when you wrote them, and his reply.
- If you have unsuccessfully requested the Tridentine Mass from the bishop in the past, you might politely mention your previous requests.
- In addition to asking for the Mass at your parish, request that the bishop appoint a chaplain or establish a particular parish for the extraordinary form of the Mass. This was not included in the letter to the pastor, because only the bishop has this authority.
- Again, keep copies of the letter, and the bishop's response, if any.
- Again, have one person keep a copy of everyone's letters.
- Follow the same procedure as you did before: wait a month for a response. If you have not heard back in a month, write to the bishop again, the same letter. If he does not respond within another month, write to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (see below).

SAMPLE LETTER TO BISHOP

September 15, 2007

Most Rev. Evan Easychair
Bishop of the Diocese of Illinois City
222 2nd Street
Illinois City, Illinois 22222

Your Excellency,

I am a member of the Blessed John XXIII Society of St. Christopher Parish. In keeping with the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI's recent document Summorum Ponitficum, articles 5.1, 5.2, 7 and 10, I am writing to request that you have the Mass of Blessed John XXIII offered at St. Christopher Parish, or at a nearby parish. I have written to my pastor, Fr. Goodguy, twice in the past two months, but have received no reply. [OR I have written to my pastor, Fr. Goodguy, but he has declined to provide this Mass for us.]
I request that this extraordinary form of the Mass be offered on Sundays, feast days, and week days. I would also like to request that you establish a personal parish or appoint a chaplain for the extraordinary form of the Mass. I know of a priest, Fr. Fred Fortitude, who has said he is willing and able to offer this form of the Mass.
I realize that I have written to you 3 times in the past several years with this request, but in light of the recent motu proprio, I thought it appropriate to write again.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours in Christ,
Mike Medieval

- If you have written two letters to the bishop in two months and have received a negative reply, or have received no reply at all, the next step is to write to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.
- At this level, it is extremely important to be part of a group.
- Each person in the group should write a letter to Ecclesia Dei.
- Name your parish, your diocese, and the group to which you belong.
- Mention that you have already written twice to your pastor and twice to your bishop, and their replies (if any). If you made request for the Mass in previous years, mention that.
- Ask that your group be given a chaplain or a particular parish.
- Attach to this letter a copy of your letter to the bishop.
- Do not send these individually. Rather, have one person write a cover letter, and include all the individual letters (with copy of the letter to the bishop attached to each) in one mailing.
- If you have been given one Sunday Mass, but you have a group that would like a daily Mass,
request a chaplain or a personal parish.

SAMPLE INDIVIDUAL LETTER TO THE PONTIFICAL COMMISSION ECCLESIA DEI

November 15, 2007

Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei,
His Eminence Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos,
President, Piazza del Sant' Uffizio 11,
00120 Vatican City, Italy

Your Eminence:

I am a member of St. Christopher Parish, in the diocese of Illinois City, in the United States of
America. I am also a member of the Blessed John XIII Society of the Diocese of Illinois City.
I respectfully request your assistance in having Mass offered in my parish, or in a nearby parish, following the Missal of Blessed John XXIII. I have written repeated requests to my pastor, Rev. Greg Goodguy, and to my bishop, Most. Rev. Evan Easychair, but have not received a positive response from them. [OR Our pastor, Rev. Gregory Goodguy, has kindly provided us with the extraordinary form of the Mass once each Sunday, but we would like to have that form of the Mass offered daily.] [OR Our Bishop, Most Rev. Evan Easychair, has kindly provided the extraordinary form of the Mass once each Sunday in another parish, but we would like to have that form of the Mass offered daily.] Would Your Excellency see fit to provide our group with a chaplain, or to establish for us a personal parish? That
would greatly assist us in having not only the extraordinary form of the Mass offered daily, but also weddings, funerals and the other Sacraments regularly provided according to the earlier ritual. There is a priest in our diocese [OR there is a priest in the Central City diocese], Rev. Fred Fortitude, who is willing and able to be a chaplain for us.

Wishing you God's grace and blessings,
Yours in Christ,
Mike Medieval

FOR THE COVER LETTER:

Your Eminence:

I am a member of St. Christopher Parish, in the diocese of Illinois City, in the United States of America. I am also a member of the Blessed John XIII Society of the Diocese of Illinois City.
Enclosed are letters from the members of our group, in which we respectfully request your assistance in having Mass offered following the Missal of Blessed John XXIII. We have written repeated requests to our pastor(s) and to our bishop…

CONTINUE AS IN THE SAMPLE INDIVIDUAL LETTER ABOVE.

Letter to the Editor

of the Boston Pilot (the Archdiocese of Boston's "newspaper")...

I guess it's not surprising that you've ignored the motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, which has freed the TLM. It's also not surprising that I refuse to subscribe to (thereby support) a "Catholic" publication which does that.

That's wasn't really fair of me though... They didn't ignore it. Here's their article (I refuse to link to it and give them the traffic),

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Before Pope Benedict XVI took off for his summer vacation in the Italian Alps, he engaged in a time-honored Vatican tradition: clearing his desk. That resulted in a flurry of decisions and documents, some long-awaited and some complete surprises. Their common denominator, apparently, was that no one wanted to deal with them again when they returned to their offices in September. Topping the list was the pope's July 7 apostolic letter on wider use of the Tridentine Mass. The document had been floating around so long that the Latin term "motu proprio," which refers to the form of the text, actually was making it into mainstream news reports. The pope began consulting on the Tridentine question in late 2005, and in early 2006 he discussed a draft text with members of the Roman Curia and the world's cardinals. The document then went into hibernation, and some people are still wondering why. After all, very few changes were made in the course of its preparation, according to Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, a strong supporter of the pope's decree.

It's one of those insignificant little news briefs from CNS in an insignificant newspaper.

The SSPX has wasted no time in Boston!

The Public are warmly invited to a Conference on the topic of the Crisis in the Catholic Church today:
Its Causes
Its Remedy
The return of the Immortal Latin Mass and the Papal Motu Proprio of July 2007

THIS TALK WILL BE GIVEN BY THE REV. FR KEVIN J. ROBINSON OF THE SOCIETY OF ST. PIUS X
FR. ROBINSON IS A MISSIONARY PRIEST FROM AUSTRALIA
THERE WILL BE OPPORTUNITY FOR QUESTIONS ON RELATED TOPICS
PLACE: Best Western Hotel, 380 Winter St, Waltham, MA 02451
TIME :__7 to 9 PM
DATE :__July 30th
COST: FREE
REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED

NB: THE SSPX IS A CONGREGATION APPROVED BY ROME IN 1971 TO RETAIN CATHOLIC TRADITION.
FIND OUT MORE ON THE MONDAY NIGHT. CF

WWW.SSPX.ORG

I am truly disappointed that due to a prior commitment, I won't be able to attend the meeting that night.

Tell Me Again Why Peter Meade is Still Employed by the Archdiocese of Boston?

People around the Catholic blogsphere are noticing that Peter Meade wrote an op-ed on the joys of same-sex marriage here in the Gay State(I mean Massachusetts).

Update: Here's a link to a response to what he said in his op-ed

Much of the information below is from a 'public' email sent to him in 2005.

This is not the first time Mr Meade has strayed from Catholic teachings. He has

--Supported adoptions by gay couples
--Attended big-ticket fundraiser for pro-abortion, pro-gay unions politician
--Criticized Archdiocese for removing pro-gay pastor
--Recommended keeping parish open so pro-gay pastor could keep job
--Defied Bishop of Boston twice by taking money from dissident group

More details are below...

October 22, 2005: Because the Catholic Church’s position is that adoptions by gay couples are “gravely immoral,” why did you tell the Globe that Catholic Charities should be accepting same-sex couples willing to adopt needy children? You said, "What we do is facilitate adoptions to loving couples. I see no evidence that any child is being harmed."

You are a very well-known and important executive, so maybe you see evidence us lowly people don’t see. Can you reveal how you are empowered with wisdom that the teaching authority of the Church lacks and the medical experts are missing too?

The Vatican document Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons says:

"Allowing children to be adopted by persons living in such unions would actually mean doing violence to these children, in the sense that their condition of dependency would be used to place them in an environment that is not conducive to their full human development. This is gravely immoral and in open contradiction to the principle, recognized also in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, that the best interests of the child, as the weaker and more vulnerable party, are to be the paramount consideration in every case."

OK, maybe what the Vatican and the UN says are not well-enough-informed for someone as influential as you are.

Can you explain then why even the Boston Phoenix publishes evidence that “lesbian parents “raise queer kids.” The Phoenix, which I am sure you and your family read regularly, published a very good, if not an outstanding article--"Queer as your folks—A new study says gay parents create gay kids."...It says, “(How) Does the Sexual Orientation of Parents Matter?", a 24-page article published in the April issue of the American Sociological Review, University of Southern California professors Judith Stacey and Timothy J. Biblarz found that the children of lesbian parents were more likely to experiment with same-sex relationships than those raised by heterosexuals. Girls raised by lesbians tended to be more "more sexually adventurous and less chaste" than those raised by straight parents.” Boston Phoenix, October 2001. Is this what you want for your own children? Is this not evidence of harm to a child?

Source - pdf

Were you unaware of all of the health risks of homosexual behaviour? Here are a few examples: higher rates of interpersonal maladjustment, depression, conduct disorder, childhood abuse (both sexual and violent), domestic violence, alcohol or drug abuse, anxiety, suicide, death at an early age, incidence of anal cancer, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and dependency on psychiatric care than heterosexuals. There is more detailed information at, and I listed details at the end of this message in case you do not web browse yourself:

Catholic Answers article on same-sex marriage

Family Research Council article on health risks of homosexuality


September 27, 2003: You were quoted in the [Boston] Herald as saying, "Not even my dog believes that story”—that the archdiocese axed a the popular, gay-advocating dissident Newton pastor over a car lease and stipend that violated church rules. "The idea that a priest" is forced out "over a Honda paid for by the parish," said Meade, "is absolutely preposterous."

I hope your dog and my dog (George) can meet, since my dog says he doesn’t believe that you are even Catholic. Even more important, I ask you why is this preposterous? Authorities couldn’t convict criminal Al Capone on murder charges, so he was ultimately jailed in 1931 for tax evasion. People like you, Jack Connors, and Fr. Hehir publicly dissent from Church teachings all the time. If you are asked often by the Archbishop to serve in leadership roles, isn’t it totally consistent with current practices for the Archdiocese to keep a dissident like Walter Cuenin in a pastoral role and only remove him for money reasons?

September 16, 2005: you attended a $1,000/plate fundraiser for pro-abortion, pro-gay-unions politician Sen. Barack Obama (IL). Since the Church opposes abortion and gay unions, is this an indication of your Catholicism?

( Boston Globe, 9/19/05)

June 17, 2005: The committee you led on reconfiguration review recommended that St. Susannas in Dedham stay open for three more years so the pastor, Fr. Steven Josoma, could finish his term.

Did you know he has advocated for gay marriage and gay union before you gave him the reprieve? Did you know he publicly gave money to pro-gay legislators, and was booted from St. Brendan’s in Dorchester a few years ago for some inappropriate behavior or actions—something having to do with a youth group? Did you know 3 months after your committee gave him a reprieve, he organized a bus of parishioners to go to the MA statehouse and support the same financial disclosure AB Sean P. O’Malley opposes?

In 2002 and 2003, as vice-chair of Catholic Charities, I am told you and your buddies at CC defied Cardinal Law and then temp-bishop/apostolic administrator Bishop Richard Lennon by accepting funds from the dissident group, Voice of the Faithful—twice I think. On April 1, 2003 you were quoted saying, Catholic Charities board decided in December [when you first defied the Cardinal-archbishop] “that to turn down money from any contributor would be a mistake that might alienate other contributors.”

Then after knowing Lennon, specifically barred Catholic Charities from accepting donations from the group, you guys decided to do whatever the hell you wanted and take the money.

So tell me again, why does this man have anything to do with the Archdiocese of Boston in any official capacity?

Why, Cardinal Sean, why?

What's Going on at St John's Seminary? - Update

This doesn't sound good...

The leader of St. John's Seminary in Brighton resigned abruptly last week, saying he is unhappy with the Archdiocese of Boston for selling the seminary's library and one of its halls as part of a $65 million sale of church headquarters to Boston College.

What role will BC (a nominally Catholic college) play in the day-to-day operations of the seminary?

Update:

Carol, from Catholic Pundit Watch, has the letter which Cardinal Sean hastily sent out to the priests in the archdiocese.

We Report, You Decide

Who comes off looking like they don't understand the significance of the TLM?

New England Cable News report on the TLM, pretty fair and balanced, I'd say...

(H/T to Catholic Church Conservation)

Massachusetts Interdict?!

From the Curmudgeon's Cave, an idea whose time has come...

Pope Leo XIV has declared that, in response to events over the last decade within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States, and particularly in response to events in the last three months, the entire Commonwealth will be placed under prohibition, beginning on the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, July 31, 20xx. Beginning on that date, no sacraments of the Church may be celebrated in the Commonwealth, except for the benefit of those in danger of death.

Happy April 1st!

Archdiocese of Boston and Harcourt Press Provide Cover for “Talking About Touching.”

I just discovered this.

she [Claudia Glaze] states that the Committee for Children has “collaborated” with Harcourt Religion Publishers and “religious educators from the Boston Archdiocese” to publish a “Call to Faith – Talking About Touching Correlation Guide.” She goes on to state that correlation guide, “is a wonderful breakthrough for Catholic educators who are teaching the Talking About Touching program within a religious-education context.” In other words, we will now be able to wrap TAT in Catholicism. However, for those who oppose the use of TAT and other like programs in our Catholic schools, this “Correlation Guide” will not quiet the outcry to remove these programs from our Catholic schools and religious education programs.

It's a little short on details but it's nice to know that the Archdiocese of Boston is making it easier for our children to learn about sex.

If I find more info, I'll post it here. Maybe Cardinal Sean's blog has more details...

A Report Card (updated)

A report card on Cardinal Sean, based on his hirings and those with whom he surrounds himself... These items are in no particular order.

August 2005

Massachusetts Catholic Conference – new head

The selection of Edward F. Saunders, a longtime credit union lobbyist and Massachusetts Turnpike Authority appointee, as the new executive director of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference has provoked controversy among pro-life and pro-family activists.
Just days after the official announcement was made by Boston’s Archbishop Sean O’Malley on July 7, press reports revealed that Saunders had been a political contributor to numerous left-wing politicians who support abortion, homosexual marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, and “emergency contraception.”
The “culture of death” politicians that Saunders contributed to include Massachusetts Senate President Robert Travaglini, Boston City Council President Michael Flaherty, Massachusetts State Sen. Marian Walsh, State Rep. Michael Rodriguez, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Shannon O’Brien
When asked by The Boston Globe, Saunders declined to say what his personal views on such “social issues” as abortion were.

Saunders was selected by a search committee led by Fr. J. Bryan Hehir, former dean of the Harvard Divinity School and a longtime staffer at the United States Catholic Conference, where he authored pastoral letters critical of the Reagan administration on nuclear defense and the economy.
Before going to the United States Catholic Conference, Fr. Hehir had made a name for himself as a leader of the revolt against Humanae Vitae at St. John’s Seminary in Boston. In 1974, in an important article for Theological Studies, Fr. Hehir argued that the Church should stay silent on contraception issues, suggesting that “contraceptive practice [be left] as an issue of private morality which the Church continues to teach for its members, but not an issue of public morality.”Also in 1974, when he was associate secretary for the International Justice and Peace office at the USCC, critics accused him of undercutting the Vatican’s attempts at the UN’s Population Conference in Bucharest by urging the Holy See to take a “low profile” on the question of means of population control. This was at a time when the Holy See, represented by the then Archbishop Edouard Gagnon, was rallying Third World countries against population control mandates urged by the Henry Kissinger’s National Security Study Memorandum 200 (NSSM 200).
Recently, Fr. Hehir, who was appointed cabinet secretary for social services for the archdiocese in 2004, has emerged as an influential clerical adviser to Archbishop O’Malley.

March 2007

Boston is represented at the LA Religious Ed Conference
(period 5)
5-25 DANCING IN THE LIGHT

This workshop will offer participants an experience of a prayer service using gesture, movement and dance. This session is for those who are looking for ways to incorporate embodied prayer in their parish life and religious formation programs. The prayer service will be inspired by the Gospel of the Transfiguration and will use the music of Bernadette Farrell and Paul Melley.
Robert VerEecke, SJ
Fr. Bob VerEecke has offered workshops on movement prayer in the United States, Jamaica, Canada, Australia, France and England. He has served for nearly 20 years as Pastor of St. Ignatius Church in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Fr. VerEecke is also Director of the Boston Liturgical Dance Ensemble and is Jesuit Artist-in-Residence at Boston College.
Jamie Huggins
Jamie Huggins, Associate Artistic Director of the Boston Liturgical Dance Ensemble, received his formal dance training from the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. He has danced with the Louisville Ballet, the Berkshire Ballet, and numerous other dance companies. Huggins co-teaches the Summer Study in Sacred and Liturgical Dance at Boston College, and has worked with Fr. Bob VerEecke for more than 20 years.

The Ongoing Battle Against TAT

TAT – Talking About Touching
Still forced upon children and parents in the Archdiocese of Boston

This particular problem came to a head in 2005

Our Lady Help of Christians
Father Walter Cuenin - problem not addressed until financial improprieties arose
Often spoke at Gay Pride events in Boston

Our Lady Help of Christians

2006 - more problems at Our Lady, Help of Christians

Father John Sassani

A parishioner recently posed a good question at a meeting: Is it possible to belong to the church without believing in every teaching of the church? His [co-pastor Father John Sassani's] answer is YES. God’s hospitality is embodied in tangible ways among us and beyond parish boundaries. Hospitality embodies desire for growth.

December 2005

Boston Catholic Charities planned to honor a pro-abortion politician (Menino).
It wasn’t till there was a huge out-cry by the Boston pro-life community that the Cardinal decided to not attend.

Boston archbishop pulls out of Catholic Charities fundraiser

Boston, Nov. 23, 2005 (CWNews.com) - Boston's Archbishop Sean O'Malley will not attend a December dinner honoring the city's Mayor Thomas Menino. The dinner is a fundraising event for the local office of Catholic Charities.
The archbishop's withdrawal from the December 9 event follows a series of protests from lay Catholic leaders, who have pointed to Mayor Menino's record on key moral issues. C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, cited the mayor's "relentless opposition to the moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church" in a November 17 statement urging the archbishop not to attend the dinner. Doyle pointed out that although Menino is a Catholic, he has consistently supported legalized abortion on demand and has been a stalwart proponent of homosexuals, even sponsoring a "gay prom" for local high-school students at City Hall. When a Massachusetts court cleared the way for legal recognition of same-sex marriages, Mayor Menino personally welcomed the first homosexual applicants arriving at City Hall for marriage licenses.
Mayor Menino was chosen as the honoree for the December fundraiser because of his support for Catholic Charities.
The Boston arm of Catholic Charities came under fire in October when it was revealed that the office was actively helping homosexual couples to adopt children, despite Church teaching that such adoptions are "gravely immoral." Father J. Bryan Hehir, the head of Catholic Charities in Boston, explained that the Church agency assisted in homosexual adoptions in order to qualify for state funding that underwrites other adoption services. "If we could design the system ourselves, we would not participate in adoptions to gay couples, but we can't," he said; "We have to balance various goods."

Boston Catholic Charities Board Members Resign over Church Defence of Children

by Hilary White

BOSTON, February 27, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Seven members of the board of Catholic Charities of Boston have resigned in “outrage” over the Catholic Church’s opposition to homosexual adoption. The Massachusetts bishops are in the midst of a legal battle to have the Catholic Church exempted on grounds of religious freedom from the state law that says homosexuals must be allowed to adopt children.
In a unanimous vote in December, the 42-member board of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston refused to accede to the request by Archbishop Sean O’Malley and the Catholic Conference of Massachusetts to cease including homosexual partners as adoptive parents.
President of Catholic Charities in Boston, Rev. Brian H. Hehir, a prominent academic and social liberal, said at the time that the board’s decision to continue placing children with homosexual partners was taken in order to allow Catholic Charities to continue, within the state law, to find loving, normal families for needy children.
“If we could design the system ourselves, we would not participate in adoptions to gay couples, but we can't,” said Hehir. “We have to balance various goods.” The Catholic Church, however, has repeatedly made it clear that there is no “good” to be found in either allowing children to be placed with homosexual partners, or in lending legitimacy to the homosexual “lifestyle.” A document from the Vatican said plainly that homosexual adoption is a form of child abuse.



Jean Marchant


Am I to understand that those of us whose dying parents and relatives who have been foolishly charmed into believing that what she is doing is valid sacramentally, and died without the Last Rites of our Church (the pardon for all the sins they had committed in their lives), that you "greatly value" what she has done and you consider her contributions "vital" to the life and mission of Christ's Church?

If you are unaware of how traumatizing that statement is to people who understand the authentic faith, I certainly would be happy to give you my own personal experiences with my mother who was medflighted to Brigham & Women's hospital in a coma with a broken neck. She was "blessed" by a priest who had been removed from a parish by Cardinal Law for working with a woman in a ministry together which had feigned sacraments. I luckily had access to a priest who was willing to come and administer the official sacrament of the Church to her. As bad as I knew things were, I had no idea this was going on. When I explained my experience to the undertaker, he told me this was the norm in hospitals in Massachusetts - lay chaplains have wormed their way into positions where they can hijack the Sacrament of the sick. It's frightening that you greatly value these kinds "contributions" by feminists stampeding our faith.

July 2006

"Appreciate Ms. Marchant's many years of service"? Sorry. I don't.

Last year, the director of healthcare "ministry" for the Archdiocese of Boston lied about her name and pretended to be "ordained" a priest. She came clean recently, quit her job, and got a lovely, flattering spread in the Boston Globe for doing it.

Spokesman Terrence Donilon:

"We greatly appreciate Ms. Marchant's many years of service in healthcare ministry. The archdiocese greatly values the ministry of lay and religious women. Their contributions are vital to the life and mission of the church."

I think this is a load of bleep. In any case, I do not "appreciate" Jean Marchant's "service."

I do not appreciate that, as far back as 2001, while in the Archiocese's employ, Jean Marchant attended the 2001 "ordination " of Mary Ramerman of Spiritus Christi Church, Rochester, New York. (Google this "church" if you can stomach it.)

I do not appreciate that the Archdiocese's employee, Jean Marchant, said that she "always seen my role as to stay within the church and to push the boundaries."

But far more seriously, I do not appreciate the fact that, since her "ordination," Jean Marchant has "quietly `anointed' some sick people and privately `consecrated the Eucharist'."

In fact, I find it worse than appalling.

Understand that I do not judge Jean Marchant. However, I strongly condemn the statement of "appreciation" released by the Archdiocese.

May God have mercy on us.

August 2006

Archdiocese of Boston Entertains Dissenters by Deal W. Hudson

The Boston Globe reports that on Friday Cardinal Sean O'Malley will meet with members of the dissenting group Voice of the Faithful. A spokesman for the Archdiocese, however, explained that the meeting does not represent a change in policy regarding VOTF.

Voice of the Faithful is presently forbidden from meeting in Boston parishes.

Catholics in the Boston area, who have been battling the Voice of the Faithful since its inception, are concerned that this meeting will give the group credibility. Leaders of Voice of the Faithful are already claiming a symbolic victory.

Carol McKinley, a founder of the group Faithful Voice, has been Boston's leading lay critic of Catholic dissent. She is deeply disturbed by the Cardinal's decision: "Boston Catholics are appalled by continued statements from the Archdiocese giving the appearance that the Cardinal welcomes a group with a side-car mission that is heretical and invalid sacramentally. We're in real trouble."

Voice of the Faithful began in Boston over four years ago during the sex abuse scandal. From the beginning the group was closely associated with dissenters and leaders of the far left in the Catholic Church. For example, Jim Muller, the VOTF founder, issued a public letter calling for a national convention to ratify a constitution for an American Catholic Church separated from the authority of the Vatican.

Subsequent leadership, notably president Jim Post, tried to address similar issues under the banner of seeking "structural change." But most ecclesial leadership had already recognized VOTF's true intent and shut their doors. Only a handful of chanceries and parishes in the United States will host their meetings.

The latest reinvention of VOTF, as represented by their Web site, is an attempt to recover the outrage generated by the sex abuse scandal. The Web site also contains clear assurances of VOTF's obedience to Church teaching and Vatican authority. Their long-awaited statement on the meaning of "structural change" is innocuous and reflects nothing of the debate the group has expressed through its media coverage over the past four years.

C. J. Doyle, another leading critic of dissent in Boston, heads the Catholic Action League. Doyle says VOTF has little life outside its coverage in the Boston newspaper: "I hope the Archdiocese will do nothing to extend life support to this dying organization of left wing revolutionaries posing as Catholics. This organization has no public existence outside of Michael Paulson's articles in the Boston Globe."

VOTF has retained some presence in Boston because it receives moral support from institutions like Harvard and Boston College and financial backing from well-connected Catholic business leaders who agree with their dissenting attitude toward Church authority. A good example is O'Malley's appointment of Jack Connors, Jr., a prominent businessman and highly vocal critic of the archdiocese, to oversee the renewal of parochial education. Business leaders like Connors also sit on the board of Boston's Catholic Charities, an organization necessary to the survival of archdiocesan social ministries.

The appointment of Connors by Cardinal O'Malley was the first of several notable appointments that have been questioned by lay Catholics in Boston. Another example is the appointment of Dorothea Masuret, CSJ, as director of the office of Pastoral Ministry. She is a well-known heterodox nun who has worked closely with Jean Marchant, who earlier this week resigned from a position in O'Malley's cabinet. Marchant revealed that she had been secretly ordained last year and has been "quietly blessing" the sick and performing "Masses."

On the Cardinal’s meeting with VOTF

William Cousins, a long-time resident of the Boston area and Knight of Malta, comments, "I am hoping that Cardinal O'Malley will tell them what the rules are. In other words, that their desire to change the structure and doctrines of the Church is out of bounds. I am also very concerned about what he's saying to the relatives of the people who were given invalid sacraments by the woman health-care cabinet officer."

Whether the Archdiocese will release any information on the meeting is unknown. However, you can be sure that Voice of the Faithful will be telling the press how much their point of view is appreciated by the Cardinal.

Cardinal O'Malley's meeting with VOTF not only gives them credibility but also gives them the opportunity to represent the meeting any way that serves their purpose.

Jesuit Urban Center

VOTF Winchester Area, MA (representing 22 towns)

The highlight of our activities in July was an Evening of Prayer on July 28 [2003] for the new Archbishop of Boston, Sean O’Malley. The service focused on the possibility for renewal and reconciliation, from the opening hymn (“We Will Rise Again”), the first reading (Jeremiah 23:1-6, “I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble”), the psalm (Psalm 23, in a version written by John Baldovin, S.J. of the Weston Jesuit School of Theology), the communal song (“Make Me a Channel of Your Peace”), and the prayers of the faithful. Members had been encouraged to write prayers or the service, or to post them on our web site. One of the prayers read at the service was written by Svea Fraser, and perfectly captured our hopes and aspirations: “Dear Lord, please continue to make our new servant leader Sean O’Malley a channel of your peace; and may all your people in Boston join hands and hearts in mutual support for Your glory and the good of all the Church.” Regina Pontes with assistance from Mary Lou Burke, Judy Eisel, Clare Keane, John Mahoney, and others prepared the brilliant order of worship. Bonnie Rogers of our group presided. After the service, attendees signed a card for the new Archbishop. Bonnie thereafter delivered the card, prayers for the new Archbishop posted on our web site, as well as a stole made for him, to the Archdiocese’s offices in Boston. (Some of the prayers submitted appear in this issue under “Prayers for a new Archbishop”)
We welcomed two guest speakers in July. On July 7, Sister Betsy Conway CSJ, and Sister Dorothea Masuret, CSJ, Assistant Director of the Office for Pastoral Ministries for the Archdiocese of Boston, discussed their different perspectives on their experiences in the sisterhood, and the challenges ahead for Sisters and the Church. Sisters Betsy and Dorothea provided a wonderful example of dialogue and respect for those in the Church who do not see eye to eye on a number of issues. On July 14, we welcomed Edward Vacek, S.J., Professor of Moral Theology at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology. Fr. Vacek addressed the Church’s teachings on sexual ethics, and explained how teachings on a wide variety of issues have changed over time.

Why is someone who works in the Archdiocese speaking at VOTF meetings?!

Does Cardinal Sean have 2 sides? A blogging/podcasting, beautiful homilies side and a side which hires (and/or retains) heterodox staff...

Update:

To add a bit of balance, Cardinal Sean is well-respected by many orthodox young Catholics in the Boston area. He is also highly thought of by Father Benedict Groeschel, some one I have immense respect for. And last, but not least, if he is disliked by someone like this, can he be all bad?