A Merry Christmas to All!

Well, another season is upon us - where the "War on Christmas" revs up as the secular humanists try to rid the public square of all things Red, Green or Christian.

I was going to add a burning American Flag to this cartoon, since it offends so many, but one day soon, it may be banned like so many other. Ol' Glory isn't quite there yet, but it's enemies are legion and growing. Heck, as holidays go, good old St. Patrick might one day be jettisoned for "Pat Day" so that feminists wouldn't be offended.

Anyway - a Merry Christmas to all who partake in the wonders of the Season - and to those of you who don't, well you just don't know what you're missing!

Penn State Chickens Coming Home to Roost

Being a transplanted resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, you can't go anywhere around here without seeing the Nittany Lion. The horror of what transpired at the hands of Jerry Sandusky is eclipsed only by the further horror of how many people at Penn State knew about it and covered it up, especially the biggest Nittany Lion of them all, Joe Paterno. Pile on top of that all the "JoePa" defenders out there, who see this as all just some inconvenient, minor issue, and you've got yourself one awful stew of rot.

Jerry Sandusky is just another in a long line of those out there who hide behind a veil of "loving kids" - all the while getting winks and nods from those who issued pass after pass for their behavior. Am I the only one who sees in Sandusky a fatter, whiter (though not by much) version of Michael Jackson? Birds of a feather, indeed.

As they say, hangin's too good for 'em. All of them.

Keep an eye on your liberal friends this Advent!

Well, the time is upon us. The new translation is just a week and a half away. Here's a video of an interview with Fr. McBrien and Sr. Chittister regarding the changes taking place in the Church today to restore reverence and tradition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laxyoaHOP1c&feature=related

The liberals are fighting mad over these (minor, in my opinion) changes coming to the Mass. As Advent begins, please keep an eye on your liberal friends for signs of hives, convulsions, profuse sweating, gout, & thrush as adverse reactions to the new translation.

All Souls Day is Nov. 2

All Souls Day seems to be the perpetual "little brother" to All Saints Day. It appeals to me a little more than All Saints because I focus on all of my family members who've gone on to their reward. Maybe because it's a little more personal.

New Catholic Cartoonist!

Check out Jeff Harris' new Catholic cartoon blog - "The Sword of Peter".

Great work Jeff! See them all here ----> http://swordofpeter.blogspot.com/

USCCB & CCHD - at it again!

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development will be rearing it's ugly head again soon in a parish near you. Don't be fooled by the public relations spin being staged by the USCCB.

Read the full report from the American Life League regarding CCHD. Click on over to http://www.reformcchdnow.com/ to see the whole sordid mess.

What's this new "Contemporary" Catholic teaching?

Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the USCCB, recently posted on the death penalty on the USCCB Media Blog.

Naturally, she's against the death penalty, which is okay. It's her reasoning that catches the attention. Of course, the disparity of minorities on death row is highlighted (without the balancing fact that minorities commit a disproportionate number of crimes). She mentions the many cases where someone on death row has been found to be innocent through DNA testing.

But then she says the following:
"Contemporary Catholic teaching opposes the death penalty. The Catechism of the Catholic Church finds it acceptable only when there is no other way to protect society from a dangerous criminal."

Well, which is it? Does the Church allow for it or does it oppose it completely? It's almost as if she's saying that the Catechism teaches one thing but our "contemporary" teaching is different. I've only been back to the Church for 13 years, but I know that the Church can't teach that something is both right and wrong. When the Church opposes something, She does so officially and completely, as in abortion.

Is Sr. Walsh tipping her non-existant habit to the fact that, for all practical purposes, the liberal wing of the American Church has it's own set of rules, or that their "contemporary" thinking actually improves upon the Catechism?

The liberals like to talk about the pro-lifers not being so gung-ho on eliminating capital punishment. They say that to be truly pro-life, our side should give up our support of capital punishment. Well, I think we should take them up on the offer. In exchange for giving up capital punishment, we also outlaw abortion.

Think they'd accept the offer? I'm not holding my breath.

The Fight is Joined!

While it took the Bishops 40 years to see that joy-riding along with the popular culture is a death sentence, let's be thankful that we've got some Catholic colleges joining the fight!
(Thankfully, Mount St. Mary's is one of them):
SUNLIT UPLANDS: Catholic Colleges Unite to Defend Religious Liberty

Obama: class warfare clown

Oh, NOW it's a problem?

The Bishops are forming an Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty in response to the threats of the federal government.

The cornerstone on this threat has been, and remains, the creeping acceptance of homosexuals. This acceptance by society, and its full-throated endorsement and advocacy on the part of the entertainment industry, is now backed by the jack-boot of government. And NOW the Catholic Bishops of America are taking notice?

Forgive me for being a little cynical here.

For years, polls have indicated that self-identified Catholics are much more liberal on homosexuality than many Protestant sects out there. And why is that? Well, as any student from a 1970's era Catholic High School could tell you, the "leadership" has been very accommodating with regard to homosexuality. Archbishop Dolan himself has been very welcoming, if all the reports out of New York are true.

You can't invite the wolves in, make them feel at home, wink at their same-sex affliction, and then be shocked that they actually want to be treated no differently than straight people. Of course they're going to damn-near riot and threaten violence when they're "denied" the right to marry. Of course they're going to flip their pink-glitter covered lids when someone points out they're not "normal". Of course they're going to toss their Birkenstocks when someone says that "two mommies" might as well be "two wildebeests" raising a child.

What's amazing to me is that the Bishops are "shocked" at what's happening. Really? When the rest of us saw this coming way back when Clinton was in office? Sure, we should continue to fight the increasing secularism out there, and yes, it's good that the Bishops are taking note of it all. But it still seems to me a bit like showing up in Saigon in 1976 and asking where they sign up to fight the Vietnam War.

Christmas Break

I'll be taking a break from cartooning until about December; the Christmas season is in full swing for me (http://www.tradegreetings.com/) so I barely have a chance to hear what's happening out there in our Catholic world. I highly recommend checking out the Pulp.It ( http://thepulp.it/ ). I'm sure that as the dawning of the New Translation breaks, the liberals will be doing cartwheels trying to gum up the works.

The Emerald Isle turns on her Church

Coming soon to a country near you. Under the guise of "protecting children" and to ensure reporting of abuse, Blarney Stone Bullies are looking to crack the seal of the confessional.
I'm wondering if these people are considering the ramifications of what they're seeking. Breaking that seal will lead people to NOT confess things, therefore negating it's intent. The other issue, lost in the emotional response of prosecuting the perverts and those who covered for them, is that once this seal is broken, the STATE will not "limit" their intrusion into abuse. As the STATE always does, you can be sure it will expand it's reach. Soon, nobody will confess anything.
Read all about it:
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2011/07/15/ireland-attacks-confessional-secrecy-after-catholic-sex-abuse-scandal/

California : All gay - all the time...

California is now mandating the teaching of "Gay History" in all of it's public schools. Now all things will be viewed and taught through the "gay prism". How wonderful for them.

At least Archbishop Gomez of California has come out against it. You can bet that his predecessor would have never done such a thing:

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/california-archbishop-gay-textbook-an-attack-on-parental-rights

Andrew Cuomo tempts fate

Thomas Peters of the American Papist has a good article over on Catholic Vote about Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the gay "marriage" nightmare in New York.

I admit that after hearing about this, I hadn't considered the whole denial-of-communion thing, but with Cuomo's latest move, what do the Bishops do now?

The ball's in the Bishop's court now; will they fumble it out of bounds again?

Read about it at Catholic Vote:

http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=18456

Pope speaks about Music at the Mass

The Pope releases a letter on the Liturgy, touching on suitable music :

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-dos-and-donts-of-mass-music/

Feminist Whining 101

Those who agitate for women's ordination will never give up. Even if the Church came out with a statement that couldn't in ANY way be argued against, even down to the teeniest, tiniest detail, the Church-haters would still flop around screaming like flounders on a hot dock in June.

Get a load of the whine over at NCR ( and no, they don't have any cheese to go with that whine, unless you count their opinions ):

http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/complex-questions-papal-infallibility

Another one bites the (gay) dust

Presbyterian Church USA will now accept openly gay & lesbian clergy. They join the Episcopals in their run off the spiritual cliff.

Maybe this is how the Reformation will be reversed - eventually all of the Protestant sects out there "liberalize" themselves to the point that the only thing left for true followers of Christ to do is to join the Catholic Church.

I don't see the Evangelicals or the Southern Baptists caving in to the Modern Tidalwave anytime soon, though. They're hanging tough.

Catholic Eye Candy

Here's the rear altar at Immaculate Conception - Mount Saint Mary's University in Emmitsburg, MD.

The Sunday evening masses here employ a guitar - and after attending these numerous times, I can alter my opinion of the use of guitars at mass. Now, there's a big difference between employing a guitar at mass and a "guitar mass". There's also a small choir that joins in, along with a violin and a piano. I think only the most ardent Traditionalist would object to what they hear.

Considering that the University mass is predominately college kids, with a few of us old farts thrown in to mix things up, the reverence they show is quite impressive. Before I went, I was thinking "This is going to be some sort of hootenanny".

It's a testament to the University and to the parents of these kids.

The ol' CCB can be tough on modern life, but I'll give credit where it's due. I'll miss this place over the summer, that's for sure.

Birds of a Feather Fry Together

I wonder how big the welcoming committee is Down Below?

Patience

With thanks to St. Therese of the Little Flower for watching over my own Little Flower. Patience is taught one prayer at a time.

http://www.littleflower.org/

The Lenten Struggle

We all deal with the Lenten Struggles - the fasting, the giving up, the extra little penances we assign ourselves, etc. Sometimes it includes the crazy looks or ridicule you get from someone because you actually DO something for Lent.

Me? Oh, I went all out this year. So much so that my wife asked if I was feeling alright, and my father called me back and said "Okay, now you'll have to explain to me what led you to this decision." My sons wonder if Dad's train has gone around the bend for the last time. A co-worker laughed and then stopped himself and said "Wait - you're serious?"

I gave up - wait for it - watching my beloved Washington Capitals hockey team. Now, some people might say "Big deal", but you have to understand that, in many cases, weekend chores, errands and family dinners out during the week are scheduled around Capitals games.

My thinking went like this - of all the things I like, what would be the hardest thing to go cold turkey on? Yep, watching the Capitals. Especially considering the fact that the playoffs start LOOONG before Lent is over, so I'll be missing quite a few playoff games. When the playoffs are on, nobody in the family better be kicking the bucket, or getting married, or scheduling a funeral, because a man has to have priorities.

So yes, maybe in the grand scale of things, it ain't much, but like the little drummer boy, I do what I can.

Here's to a fulfilling Lenten season!

Have yourself a Liberal Lent!

Catholic News Service has an article about one of those wack-job environmental (with an emphasis on the "mental" part) outfits and some of their kooky ideas. The unfortunate thing is, this is a "Catholic" environmental group and they're trying to turn Lent into some sort of Kumbaya hug a tree period.

In honor of their lamebrain ideas, I'm going to spend Lent using the incandescent lamps in my office even more than I usually do.

Have a laugh over at CNS:
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1100789.htm

Altered Ash Wednesday Prayers - you pick 'em!

A new set of Ash Wednesday recitations for those who just don't like the tired, old, standard "Remember, man...":
(This doesn't represent a complete list; all those with grievances/complaints/axes to grind can petition their local bishop to allow a recitation in keeping with their own worldview.)

The Guitar has always been incompatible with the Faith

In the Winter issue of Drawing Magazine, there's an article on the Spanish Masters, of which Francisco de Goya is counted. The drawing above is titled "A Nun Frightened by a Ghost", c. 1812–20 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Now, way back when this was produced, roughly 140 years before Vatican II, de Goya had no way of knowing what was down the road for the Church...or did he?

Either way, it's plainly obvious that the nun is more frightened by the guitar than she is by the musical directo- um, I mean ghost.

Should the Church throw her lot in with popular culture in order to gain "relevance"?

I've linked to an article by a religion writer for the Huffington Post. As you can imagine with anything from the HuffPo, it's decidedly anti-Church in it's outlook. The writer, a 23 year old who classifies himself as "...grew up Catholic" to avoid the impression that I would ever participate in such silliness...", puts forth the idea that if the Church could just get with the popular culture, his generation would find the Church on the way toward becoming "relevant".

I believe we've seen, since the 1960's, too many instances of the Church trying to be "relevant" to the popular culture. The effort to throw open the windows and let the World in has been a failure. Instead of evangelizing the world, the world and it's secular viewpoint has infected the Church, or more clearly, has infected the thinking of many inside the Church. We don't need a Church to "play down" to the popular culture, we need a Church to stand strong against it and call it out of it's darkness.

Pray that the Church continues on her road of Restoration, and that She resists the temptation to become "relevant" to the popular culture.

Read the article (and get a load of the comments)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tyler-mahoney/the-99-lost-sheep-20-some_b_823611.html#s240996&title=Fr_James_Martin

Missed Kiss

The March for Life is Monday, January 24.

http://www.marchforlife.org/

Bishop favor gun control? Who knew? (Everyone)

It's not a surprise that the USCCB would be in favor of banning all private gun ownership, considering that we're in a phase where pacifism is touted as the answer to evil in the world. One would think that they'd consider what's happened in England since private ownership of hanguns has been disallowed.

And of course, with the situation in Tucson, again, it's guns that kill people, not people that kill people.

Read about it (about halfway down) in the news brief from Catholic News Service :
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20110114.htm

And of course, the NCR (reporter, not Register), had an article about the Bishops and gun control:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/catholic-bishops-favor-gun-control-who-knows-it

Go to Mary...

Let's not jump to conclusions...

The same talking heads who fell all over themselves urging us to "not jump to conclusions" about the Ft. Hood shootings apparently have no problem doing so when a chance to smear anyone on the right appears.

The strange thing about this is that in straining to see "right wing sins" in Loughner's shooting, they ignore/downplay the fact that he is an atheist and a communist. I'm surprised they haven't come out to tell us not to jump to conclusions about atheists.

National Catholic Reporter picks their "Person of the Year"

Not much of a surprise here, they've picked Sr. Keehan, the "nun" who carried water for Obama's abortion-supporting "health-care" bill in 2010. I'm sure the Devil himself couldn't have found a more worthy recipient of the "award".

While we may chortle at their idiocy, the fact remains that there are still more of them (dissenting Catholics) than there are of us (Catholics). The Vineyard is still being devastated.

Some interesting comments after their editorial. A few brave souls actually attempt to defend the Faith: http://ncronline.org/news/people/ncrs-person-year-2010