De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

You may recall this post about Bishop Rick Stika of Knoxville. It re-visited some of the bizarreness of his episcopacy, but, most importantly, it revealed the details of a homosexual predatory seminarian who was protected and promoted by Stika. Now, Christine Niles of Church Militant has released this outstanding, professional and detailed investigation of the situation in Knoxville. The first part focuses on Stika's bizarre relationship with a seminarian parachuted into the diocese from Poland. As previously noted , this is really important because it is not an isolated incident, it is a template for how abusers are recruited, protected and promoted within the Catholic Church. We must join together, learn how to recognise this and demand that it stops. In my last post on this I said: I have heard of cases like this myself, where a man in seminary moves around dioceses following instances of sexual misconduct, until he finds a place that will overlook his inclinations out of comp...

  This is a great Vortex. Last week I felt really disgusted to see the US Conference of Catholic Bishops come out and say that there were some problems with Joe Biden's policies. This follows close on the heals of their congratulating him for being a practising Catholic and their constant attacking of Trump and at least tacit support for Biden during the campaigning. This really is laughable - the bishops remain silent leading up to the election, rush to congratulate Biden before the results are finalised, and now express concern about his agenda? What a joke. https://t.co/0WuEM6DFdV — Mark (@sitsio) November 18, 2020 It's like now they think Biden is going to listen to them? Imagine if they had said all this before the election?!! Voris has got this so right!

While praying this morning, I had an insight into why it is important to be authentic & clear in our Christian faith - & it might sound completely obvious to you, but it was somewhat of a revelation to me in a really personal way. In some ways, this insight has been driven by a number of separate encounters I've had over the last day or so. These are the "elements" of my insight if you like: The first is the ongoing Vatican debacle and the confusion and pain I see everywhere caused by Pope Francis. The Keys have always been a completely unproblematic part of my faith up until this point when it seems Peter has abandoned Jesus and is not very clear about where he is actually going. Obviously there are a lot of things going on. Perhaps this tweet yesterday summed it up: Leader of @USCCB shuts gate after horse has bolted https://t.co/eiZUVJK5oX — Mark (@sitsio) November 18, 2020 The US Bishops remain silent leading up to the election, rush to congratulate Biden be...

 Church Militant have done a superb job in breaking down the McCarrick Report in this presentation: I'm a businessman, nearly 50, I've been in business since the early nineties and I would say I have a fair grasp of how the world works. The old adage "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" attributed to English Catholic historian, politician, and writer Sir John Dalberg-Acton, is something I have experienced at very close quarters and on very many occasions, especially among small business owners. There is a huge temptation to cheat. When you gain an advantage - you poke your head above the parapet of normal life and your business achieves even a miniscule modicum of success, there is a common tendency to consider that, rather than the beneficiary of some stroke of chance, or the hard work of a team, you are somehow solely responsible for whatever small degree of success you may be experiencing. I have met literally thousands of business o...

Don't they look lovely, gentle, kindly old men? Don't be fooled. I found this truly terrifying & shocking. It really is unbelievable but the facts are incontrovertible and all in the public domain. Judge for yourself based on the facts. I know first-hand how priests, bishops and cardinals often wield "soft-power" in the Church. Passive-aggressive comments like "you are clearly very angry/ aggressive/ *insert pejorative here*" are common tools. Priests are accused of being mentally ill, needing therapy, being sent away "on retreat". But the questions raised by goings on in the diocese of Buffalo, New York, are far darker and more serious than even these clear abuses. To build some context for readers who are unaware, back in November 2018, Michael Voris of Church Militant was on his way back from the Bishop's Conference in Baltimore, when he noticed Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo was sitting near him in the airport. Malone had b...

Michael Voris is well known for plain speaking, but I found this Vortex particularly hard-hitting & inspiring! Goodness me it says something doesn't it? It says something for the mealy-mouthed, effeminate nancy-boys who hate any conviction, any passion, any stomach for a fight! ...that pretty much sums up what you and the effeminate, feminized clergy currently running the show,  currently  running the show, don't like about muscular Catholicism. You all would much prefer to slink about in the shadows and issue vague, ponderous statements that no one knows exactly what they mean because that's how you can accomplish all your evil — through stealth and petty, behind-the-scenes politicking, like a bunch of mean high school girls. That's how you operate, always thinking of politics, always weighing what's to your advantage and what can help or derail the agenda of your anti-Church. Well, welcome to the sunlight! You guys hate open, confrontation because ...

Whether you agree with Michael Voris or not, he is someone who speaks from love of the faith. He is also doing stuff. Sure he might not be doing it in a "nice" way, but being nice hasn't got us very far up to now, has it? Father Hunwicke made some interesting points about lay power in this recent blog post . After the recent, very, very, dodgy remarks made by ++Vincent, a friend of mine in discussion suggested the best way forward was for all of us to write to our bishops demanding clarification on the Archbishop's apparent, blatant contradiction of the faith . I certainly took his advice, and wrote to my own bishop. Today, Michael Voris makes some interesting points about these ongoing issues: In the meantime faithful Catholics need to take control and simply do an end run around a terrified episcopacy who continue to deprive us of the teachings of the Faith, in all their glory. Many people who come into the Church these days or who deepen in their faith d...

In my opinion, one of the best blogs out there is Dr. Joseph Shaw's . He is erudite and academic, a committed Catholic and uses data extremely well in his posts. In this post from yesterday, he reports on a visit to London by Michael Voris. For those who don't know, Voris is the president and founder of Saint Michael's Media , a religious apostolate producing on-demand video programs on the website ChurchMilitant.com . Michael Voris underwent a "reversion", having been born and brought up a Catholic, after the death of his brother in 2003 and then his mother in 2004. At this point, he started to read much more deeply about the faith and to take what the Church teaches more seriously. I can really connect with that, I think that being confronted with the reality of our mortality and the mortality of those we love does make us ask serious questions about what we believe about the nature of life and death. I didn't experience the same journey personal...

I stumbled across this video yesterday: I was a bit shocked, a bit hurt, and a lot upset. I was shocked, because Cardinal Dolan is a bit of a personal hero. I have always considered--based on the evidence--that he is an outspoken evangelist, never afraid to stand up for the Church and her teachings. If Michael Voris is a supporter of orthodoxy, should he not be a supporter of Cardinal Dolan? I was hurt because Cardinal Dolan is a Prince of the Church, someone I follow because he has devoted his life to Christ and can help me to be a better disciple myself. Watching Michael Voris' no-holds-barred attack on Cardinal Dolan made me feel like someone was attacking Holy Mother Church. I was upset because Voris makes a lot of sense and makes some excellent points I cannot ignore. The Church is damaged by a lack of pastoral teaching. Everyone knows this, and I think it is especially evident in the responses to the Synod on the Family Questionnaire which has recently been circulat...