More From His Eminence's Working Group at #Synod15!!! Part Two of Three!

Hello Everyone.

Well it turns out that there isn't only one document to be released by the working groups of the Synod. See, what I didn't get, was that they were breaking up the Lineamenta for the Synod into three parts, and critiquing portions of it at a time.

What this means for us is .... that His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins, is not done! His working group, English/Anligcanus "D," was moderated once again by ++Collins, and another fine work was produced by his group, on October 14, 2015. Here's the second part of the working group information, reprinted from the Vatican Press Bulletins. I'll of course be adding my commentary in red text, and bold-facing the best parts.

Pax, Julian. 

Relatio – Circulus Anglicus “D”

Moderator: Card. COLLINS Thomas Christopher

Relator: S.E. Mons. CHAPUT, O.F.M. Cap. Charles Joseph

Members of English circle D reviewed Section II far more quickly than Section I. The material was simpler. So was working together and offering commentary and modi.

On the family and divine pedagogy, members thought the text’s reflections on the reading of Scripture should be strengthened. They stressed that as we listen to God’s word, we need to encounter it in the context of the Church, sacred tradition and the teaching authority of bishops. [YES!!! Absolutely. Scripture is important, especially in light of the topic of this Synod. What the other bishops are saying contravenes Scrpiture! It is the Word of God, how He reveals ourself to us with Christ as That Made Flesh. Much of what the Church does and teaches, is based on Scripture. If the base is shallow, how can we produce a worthy Synod exhortation?]

Many customs of reading Scripture already exist in the various cultures of our English-speaking group. Some should be incorporated into the text. Several group members promoted Lectio Divina, even when read within an inter-faith context. [Not surprised that Collins is part of this group that is saying this. He's been doing it now for 9 years in Toronto.] Others thought the Lectio Divina process too complex for people of today. Some bishops felt that we need to better understand the relationship between the newness of the Christian sacrament of matrimony and the natural structure of marriage built into God’s plan from the start. The natural marriage of our original parents had its own order of grace. 

The Instrumentum Laboris nowhere defines marriage. This is a serious defect. It causes ambiguity throughout the text. Most bishops agreed that the document should add the definition of marriage from Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes 48, as a correction. [Read this biggie on your own if you wish below. Point is that they have made a MAJOR statement here. While we must be respectful to our Holy Pontiff, unwavering in our obedience in matters of Faith and Morals (doctrine of infallibility from Vatican I,) and to examine his pastoral actions in the most charitable light, one criticism is that his papacy has been marred by ambiguous statements, with lack of context as to intended targets when he does make criticisms. Not only is this group repeating this valid fraternal concern of statements made under this papacy, they are following up with a reverse punch for a knockout by bringing this penultimate issue into definition ... with the very thing that these prelates love to throw around (and should be using in the true context of its design, not it's "false spirit") ... VATICAN II!!!! YES!!! That's right!!! One of the key "big 4" documents of Vatican II is being used right here!!!] The intimate partnership of married life and love has been established by the Creator and qualified by His laws, and is rooted in the conjugal covenant of irrevocable personal consent. Hence by that human act whereby spouses mutually bestow and accept each other a relationship arises which by divine will and in the eyes of society too is a lasting one. For the good of the spouses and their off-springs as well as of society, the existence of the sacred bond no longer depends on human decisions alone. For, God Himself is the author of matrimony, endowed as it is with various benefits and purposes. All of these have a very decisive bearing on the continuation of the human race, on the personal development and eternal destiny of the individual members of a family, and on the dignity, stability, peace and prosperity of the family itself and of human society as a whole. By their very nature, the institution of matrimony itself and conjugal love are ordained for the procreation and education of children, and find in them their ultimate crown. Thus a man and a woman, who by their compact of conjugal love "are no longer two, but one flesh" (Matt. 19:ff), render mutual help and service to each other through an intimate union of their persons and of their actions. Through this union they experience the meaning of their oneness and attain to it with growing perfection day by day. As a mutual gift of two persons, this intimate union and the good of the children impose total fidelity on the spouses and argue for an unbreakable oneness between them.[GS 48])

Taken as a whole, the text has many good insights on marriage. But the Catholic doctrine on marriage stretches over too many paragraphs. It needs to be brought together in a more concise, compelling way. One person felt the text’s grasp of Scripture could be improved by embracing newer scholarship. [Huh? What the heck is this? No way in heck do I want to return to the False Spirit of Vatican II!!!! This was exactly what was happening in academia land with regards to Biblical and Theological interpretation before the Council convened!!! This is something I learned from one of the most major secondary sources of material for Vatican II, "Letters from Vatican City" by Xavier Rynne (a.k.a. Fr. Francis Xavier Murphy.). I've read through the first volume completely, and I actually have all four volumes!. The rest is on my to do list.] The person worried that many of us were reading Scripture in too fundamentalist a manner, and other ways of interpreting Scripture might be more fruitful. Others disagreed [with Mr. solo Spirit of Vatican II]and thought that the understanding of Scripture in the text was adequate.

Some said the text needs to frame the notion of “indissolubility” more positively, rather than treating it as a burden. [YES!!! Of the three things that I learnt today in my first marriage class, for the couple to willingly accept marriage, they must agree to unity, indissolubility, and being open to procreation. Unfortunately, most clerics don't give two rat's keysters about that, and many people just want any good excuse to dump their partner if they want to have extra-marital sex, or cop out of their marriage for whatever reason. This notion of indissolubility must be refered to more positively, that it IS attainable, IS joyful, and leads to a fuller, happier life vs. a burden placed on the couple. IT IS ATTAINABLE AND THIS SHOULD BE STRESSED!!!] Others saw a danger in referring to Catholic teaching as simply an “ideal” to be pursued and honored but not practical for the living of daily life. They described this as an approach that implies that only the “pure” can live the Gospel, but not ordinary people. Some stressed that we should always speak of virtues, not just values. They are not the same thing. [A Ha!!! This group is attacking society's promotion of "values" a.k.a. relativist desires. Not to mention that society twists the values, even that ANY union of two people of whatever sex and species is a "value" and if you like it, it's your value and that's OK, yada yada.]

In the material on family and God’s salvific plan, the text lacks grounding in the Book of Tobit and the Song of Songs, which is vital to the Scriptural presentation of marriage. Bishops voiced concern that the document seems to present Mosaic divorce as one of the stages of God’s plan, yet we know that divorce is never part of God’s will for humanity, but was a consequence of original sin. [BOOYA!!!! A la the Kasperite principle. So they are divorced. Let's just give them some "remediation" like a course or something, and then we can violate scripture and tell them that their non-union is OK and that Jesus loves them and that the piece of bread isn't the almighty REAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST THAT DEMANDS YOUR PREPARATION TO RECEIVE WILLINGLY! No, here the bishops are brave enough to say those bishops are incorrect, and that divorce thanks to Christ is NEVER OK!!! ]

In several of the document’s confusing passages, a better translation of the Italian text led to clarity. [Hmmm ... are they saying that the English translations of the texts have several problems??? And just who is making the English translation of the texts??? As much as I think the Katholic Krazy liar "Traditionalist" bloggers out there are off their rockers, they may have a grain of truth on this one .... ] Several bishops focused on the notion of “seeds of the Word” or “seeds of the Logos” in the world around us. In the tradition of the Church, this reflection – which dates back to Justin Martyr -- has always focused on cultural issues rather than on people’s personal lives. The text tends to treat irregular relationships as somehow also containing “seeds of the Word.” Some bishops felt this was inappropriate and misleading.

Some discussion ensued about the meaning of arranged marriages, where this practice still commonly occurs. Such marriages are sometimes seen as lacking the agreement of the persons being married. But what the practice more typically means is that whole families get involved in the entire process of marriage and family life. Various cultures believe that “families marry one another,” not just the individuals making marital promises. Some bishops saw this as a rich concept. It should be better appreciated.

Various bishops questioned the use of the expression “The Gospel of Family.” What does it actually mean? The text offers no answers. The expression comes from St. Pope John Paul’s Letter to Families 1994, number 23. [Seriously? Why wasn't there a footnote included like usual in the Vatican text of the document?]

Regarding No. 48 of the text, much discussion took place on the various forms of witness that families might give in living out their communion as a domestic church. Along with the ones listed in the document, the following were suggested:

The witness of holiness in prayer.

The witness of not being self-referential.

The witness of being sensitive to environmental issues.

The witness of simply living together in charity, in shared, everyday life.

Bishops felt that these actions should be seen as the fruit of baptism and confirmation. [Ta Da!!!! Wow!!! I wonder if My Eminence (RMTs, I don't care what you say, +Collins IS "MY" Cardinal Archbishop, Not +Prendergast of Ottawa, Not +Crosby of Hamilton, etc. I WILL USE "MY" and this is my blog. You don't like it, go put a bee in someone else's bonnet) brought up what I wrote to the Office of Communications back in February. I submitted a document to be used when the Archdiocese of Toronto made a call out for submissions for the Synod. This was my part of my key contribution: That the sacraments of Initiaion are VITAL to being able to participate and carry out the Sacrament/Vocation of marriage. I think I'll post it in a couple of days in a few parts, perhaps, if I have time ....] Some in our group spoke about the need for the text to list devotions that both enhance and express family life and spirituality. The rosary was central to the discussion; [The Devil HATES, HHAAAATTTESSSS Marriage!!! He hates that God used the marriage of an ordinary man and woman, to enter into our world, as the fruit of labour, from the Blessed Virgin Mary. Also others are saying that the Devil`s main battleground in future will be on marriage and the family. So no surprize, with the Rosary being one of the most powerful weapons against Satan that this would be said!!!] so was the importance of parents reading Scripture to children, and siblings reading Scripture together. Bishops stressed the value of families attending Sunday Eucharist and other liturgical celebrations together, and were surprised the text didn’t focus on this in greater detail. [YES!!!!!!! THE MASS IS VITAL TO THE DOMESTIC CHURCH!!! ARE WE NOT SURPRIZED THAT KIDS ARE POORLY CATECHIZED, AND PARENTS DON'T PASS THE FAITH PROPERLY? WHEN THEY DON'T GO TO MASS, AND TAKE THE KIDS, ESPECIALLY THE FATHERS, YOU WONDER WHY, EH?] Some suggested that various practices of popular piety be listed as concrete expressions of family devotions.

Various bishops noted the importance of women in the life of the Church and the need to focus more attention on giving them appropriate leadership roles. Some felt the document should be more sensitive to women abused by their husbands or within their families, and who therefore carry extra burdens. One person felt that exemplary families are sometimes difficult for people in painful circumstances to see as positive. Exemplary families may intimidate them rather than helping them to see the possibility of living that way themselves.

Bishops said the text should present the canonical reasons for separation of spouses and reasons for seeking an annulment. [a.k.a. MAKE IT ABSOLUTELY CLEAR!] We need to be realistic about marital problems rather than simply encouraging people to stay together. Again, violence against women was a key part of the discussion.

One of the bishops emphasized that priests are not trained to be marriage counselors. If they present themselves as such, they risk legal problems for their local Churches. Priests should move away from marriage counseling and do clearly defined spiritual guidance instead.

On the question of why young people fear to marry, many bishops observed that young people are afraid to fail in any area of life. [I only paritially agree with this statement. Yes, they are afraid to fail financially speaking, that they cannot provide for a family. That is responsible, and I think that in the Social compendium of Catholic Social Teaching, one of the documents does touch this. However, I disagree. Men are dropping out of marriage because they do not want to be blindsided by women who were promiscuous (in the "hook up" culture) and brainwashed by radical feminist philosophy and society to begin with, only to find that no fault divorce and severe financial debt and child support payments await them from merciless courts. In addition, many are finding that it is better to co-habitate to "try things out" and then if the women is "compatible" then they marry. Also, others eventually just remain common in law, and it changes their taxes, not to mention keeps that revolving door open much later to leave the relationship. Finally, in terms of Church marriages, it seems the general trend is that they are NOT happening, while the number of young people becoming "nones" is rising. Therefore, with no affiliation to the Catholic Church, despite their sacraments, it is pointless to marry in the church. While they get it somewhat, I am sorry to say that group D struck out on this point .... unless this statement cannot cover the whole swath of what ALL the bishops said on this point.] Youth ministry in parishes and dioceses should help young couples understand the value of marriage. We need to focus on Pope John Paul’s exhortation not to be afraid and also to be aware that in the Gospel, Jesus took care of a young married couple whose marriage celebration was about to run out of wine. The Lord will always take care of young couples who trust in him in the way.

Circle D accepted this report unanimously. Our group is marked by great diversity and many different perspectives – 29 persons, 21 of them bishops, coming from 20 countries. Bishops made many suggestions for changes in the text. They will bring these forward in the various modi.

[01694-EN.01] [Original text: English]

Finally! His Eminence Cardinal Thomas Collins' 3 Minute Intervention at #Synod15!

Skimming through blogs, I came to First Things, which is covering #Synod15 in an interesting style, akin to Fr. Francis Zavier Murphy with Vatican II.

Under a fictional pen name, Xavier Rynne II, an author is being given much information and coverage, of the Ordinary Synod on the Family 2015. While we don't know this reporter/editoralist's name, he/she is gaining a wealth of information, and even cardinals' own 3 minute speeches (the "interventions") published online. For more, including past articles, please see this website on first things: http://www.firstthings.com/tag/synod2015

Well .... Finally it is here!!! Allow me to be the first to bring the scoop to the SCCB!!!! His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins, has finally given his 3 minute intervention in the Synod. While we were gobbling turkey this weekend, ++Collins delivered the the intervention on Saturday Oct 10. Xavier Rynne II has just included it as part of their latest report on First Things, given today this morning. I repost it here in full, to break the scoop.

If you choose to include it in your blog post, feel free to link to either one of our blogs (but if you choose mine, please credit First Things and XR2 for the original publishing, and S.U.D. for breaking the scoop.) 

Enjoy this good morning wakeup!!! Pax tibi Christi, Julian Barkin. 

Cardinal Collins on the Art of Accompaniment

The following intervention was given to the general assembly of the Synod of bishops on Saturday, October 10, by Cardinal Thomas Collins, the Archbishop of Toronto, with special reference to section 110 of the Synod’sInstrumentum Laboris:

We are called to accompany people with a compassion that challenges, and that leads to conversion and to a heart on fire for Christ. Here are some ways to do that:

1. Pastors, who must daily accompany their people in their struggles, should imitate Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and with clarity and charity preach the call to conversion, which is the foundation for the liberating message of Jesus “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).

2. The Gospel message is entrusted to us; but our greater task is to form messengers, for all the faithful are called to the apostolate, especially parents entrusted with the evangelization of their children.

3. Men in particular need to be challenged in order to assume their responsibilities in society, so that the young are not deprived of paternal models to guide them along the sure path that can sustain their hope.

4. Young people should be presented with the fullness of God’s plan for human love, with all of its challenges and its invitation to heroic sanctity. Pastoral experience shows that they rise to this challenge with a reaction similar to the disciples of Emmaus: “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32).

Our mission is to make disciples, but secular culture is more effective in unmaking them. This is nowhere more evident than in the secular vision of the family, of sexuality, of gender, of fidelity, and of the human person.

We must certainly start where people are at, in their subjective personal situations, and accompany them. But to do so with evangelical integrity, we must effectively share with them the objective truths of Sacred Scripture and Tradition, which challenge the secular assumptions that they draw in with the air they breathe. The goal is to form missionary disciples within the family who will evangelize the world.

“Go, make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). That is the mandate Jesus gives us at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. In Luke, on the road to Emmaus, he shows us how to do so.

First, he drew near, and accompanied his downcast disciples as they walked in the wrong direction, into the night. He started by asking questions about their present disposition and by listening to them, but he did not stop there. Instead, he challenged them with the Word of God: “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!” (Luke 24:25). His presentation of the objective vision of Scripture broke through their subjective self-absorption and, along with his loving presence, brought them to conversion. The disciples of Emmaus accepted the Word of God that challenged them, and asked Jesus to remain with them. When the Lord was made known to them in the Breaking of the Bread they changed direction and, with burning hearts, raced through the night to Jerusalem to bear joyful witness to the community gathered there.

Thank God for My Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins Leading Things!!! See His Working Group's Summary from Synod 2015!!!

Hello Everyone,

Well, in local quarters, I just got beaten a couple of minutes ago, as of 9:11AM EST by a Radical Misrepresenting Traditionalist blogger group, to the first scoop! While this is NOT His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins' 3 minute intervention speech, it is still with his inspiration.

In the 2014 Synod, the bishops got together in small working groups based on primary language and region (English/French/Italian + North America, or Africa, etc.) and released almost a summative statement, reflecting that group's values/thoughts on matters, etc.

News.Va has fully  released these texts today on the Internet for everyone to see. Taken from their media site, I post here, the full text of His Eminences' working group. I'll be commenting in red text and bold-facing important, shocking parts.

PAX! Julian.

[01661-EN.01] [Original text: English]

Relatio – Circulus Anglicus “D”
Moderator: Card. COLLINS Thomas Christopher
Relator: S.E. Mons. CHAPUT, O.F.M. Cap. Charles Joseph

Those of us taking part in Circle D are grateful to Pope Francis for calling for this synod, and we are honored to be part of the process. We also want to express our gratitude for the hard work embodied in the Instrumentum Laboris (IL). We suggest that the document should start just as we begin any celebration of the Mass – with a kind of Confiteor, putting ourselves in the midst of the failures of the members of the Church, rather than judging them from the outside. We need to acknowledge and ask forgiveness for our own mistakes as pastors, especially those that have undermined family life. [Whoa! First, there is already a mention of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Confiteor, and acknowledgement of man's sinfulness. Further, it seems that likely, the working group is referring to sexual abuse suffered by those at the hands of priests, but also pastoral abuse of power in parishes.]

We had two general observations:
First, while various elements of the IL are admirable, we found much of the text to be flawed or inadequate, especially in its theology, clarity, trust in the power of grace, its use of Scripture and its tendency to see the world through overwhelmingly Western eyes. [Wow! Seems like it's not just the traddie blogs criticizing the IL heavily. These bishops get it too! As for the "Western Eyes" comment, they are clearly referring to the general moral laxity attitude, such as being pro-homosexual, pro-communion for divorce and annulment, etc. I'm heavily impressed when they criticize the poor use or lack of Scripture and theology. They are hitting the core of it!!!] Second, we felt limited in our ability to respond by not knowing clearly who the audience of the document is. In other words, are we writing to the Holy Father, to families of the Church, or to the world?

Most of our group felt the IL should begin with hope rather than failures because a great many people already do successfully live the Gospel’s good news about marriage.[Thanks fellas! Finally, those faithful Catholics living our marriages are being given the respect and dignity they deserve! The majority of the Church is NOT divorcees, gays, etc. We are being misled by media, even dare I say it, Catholic media, to think otherwise.] Our group expressed concern that readers will simply ignore the document if it begins with a litany of negatives and social problems rather than a biblical vision of joy and confidence in the Word of God regarding the family. The huge cloud of challenges pervading the first section of the text unintentionally creates a sense of pastoral despair.

Several group members felt that Section II should precede Section I. Others supported the current arrangement of the text. A shared concern was that most people won’t read a dense or lengthy document. This makes the IL’s opening section vitally important; it needs to inspire as well as inform. Additionally -- recalling the work of Aparecida -- members stressed that the focus of the text should be on Jesus, through whom we describe and interpret the world’s present situation. We should always begin with Jesus.

If marriage is a vocation, which we believe it is, we can’t promote vocations by talking first about its problems.["Got it memorized?", to quote a fiery haired game character? MARRIAGE IS A VOCATION!!!]

As the Trinity is the source of reality, and because all communities originate in the community of the Trinity, some thought that the Trinity should be the document’s starting point.

Members noted that in his letters, St. Paul would often write a prologue of praise to people whose sins he would then critique. This was a common style in his epistles, and effective.

Our group thought there were a number of elements missing from the text: a serious reflection on gender ideology, more reflection on pastoral care for the differently-abled, the role of fathers and men as well as the role of women, and a deeper treatment of the destructive nature of pornography and other misuses of electronic technology.[That's right .... were talking about the FULL GAMUT HERE!!! Pro-lifers are often chastised for just caring about unborn babies only and NOT the full range of life. Not so here!!! This group, in caring about the differently-abled, are referring to those mentally and physically disabled people out there!!! And they are GETTING it with regards to the family: BOTH PARENTS apply here!!! FATHERS!!!! The now bastardized other half of the marriage thanks to society!!! And porno, but especially mentioning MISUSE OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA!!!! Really!!! They are on their game. Just yesterday I discovered, thanks to a parish that puts its homilies up on YouTube, St. Joseph the Worker in Mississauga, that thousands of teenagers are now using a sexual hookup application, called "Tinder" to have casual sex with people in their local areas, since they lowered the age limit to 13 years of age!!! (see from 9:25 onward.) Sadly, not enough priests in the Church are caring about the sexual degeneration of our young people!!! We are being ignored!!! Not so with group D. THANK YOU YOUR EMINENCE!!!!]

Members criticized many of the paragraphs in the first section. Some thought the presentation was chaotic, without inherent logic. Sentences seemed to be tossed together without any organic connection to one another.

Some thought the text worked well because the family today does, in fact, face serious problems. That’s why we’re here at the synod: to deal with those problems;[But not in the way that the "lavender mafia" and Judas Iscariots occupying power in the Church want] and people who suffer want to see their reality touched by what we say. So it’s important to speak in a way that will draw people’s attention.

Still others thought that the text lacked anything that would attract people. If the document is destined to the general public, they felt that stories from family life, or the lives of the saints along with illustrations, should be included to make the material more compelling. They stressed the need to review the language of the document and ensure that it appeals to both men and women, leaving no one out.

Members worried that the English translation may not be faithful to the official Italian text.[As much as I hate to give leeway to those RMTs and conspiracy theorists, the English translations tend to have "errors" lost in translation, don't they? It's sad that to fight those errors, we have to get the Italian translation to prove Pope Francis isn't a heretic teaching false truths.] Others complained that many of the document’s statements were too general and not specific enough. Still others felt the text had many inaccurate generalizations, was verbose and repetitive.

Members said that some of the sections seemed narrow in scope and excessively inspired by West European and North American concerns, rather than a true presentation of the global situation. Some of the members thought that terms like “developing nations” and “advanced countries” were condescending and inappropriate for a Church document.[Deja Va with Cardinal Walter Kasper, anyone?] Others thought that the language of the text was too careful and politically correct, and because of that, the content was unclear and sometimes incoherent. Wonderfully good points were made in some paragraphs, but they were addressed too briefly and in a poorly developed manner. They seemed to be simply pulled together and listed, rather than presented logically.[Ok I'll just say it straight up. Have His Eminence ++Collins create all church documents from now on. There'd be clear teaching and orthodoxy in them. Enough with this P.C. garbage and weak sauce.]

Overall, members felt that Pope Francis and the people of the Church deserve a better text, one in which ideas are not lost in the confusion. Our group suggests that the text should be turned over to a single editor for clarification and refinement. The current material is obviously the work of a committee. Because of that, it lacks beauty, clarity and force.

Finally, members felt strongly that even in difficult situations, we need to underline the fact that many Christian families serve as a counter-witness to negative trends in the world by the way they faithfully live the Catholic vision of marriage and the family. These families need to be recognized, honored and encouraged by the document. Thus the first section of the IL text, which is about “observing” the facts, ought to highlight the good as well as the bad and the tragic. Heroic holiness is not a rare ideal and not merely “possible,” but common and lived vigorously in much of the world.[Thank you your Eminences, for not giving up on us. Thank you for your hope. Thank you! God Bless you group D.]

Reflection on Recent Events of the 2015 Synod So far: Stay Calm and Keep on Being Catholic!

Hello Everyone,

Well, just like I predicted last month, that nasty, hateful, blog machine is now in full tilt, and daily reports are coming in on the Internet about the Synod that was supposed to be so secretive. Between bishops who are blogging themselves, and Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists or ones with connections to those who can be at Rome, there is some new secret of who said what coming out every day, with bishop against bishop, cardinal against cardinal.

If you are like me, one of those few Catholics who care about his Faith to stay informed of Church politics, its TRUE teachings, and such, you are likely feeling as if every corner seems to be doom and gloom, and we all might as well find some bunkers, acquire all sorts of provisions and means of self defense like those "preppers," and re-emerge from our bunkers triumphant and to usher in a new era for the Church, right????

Honestly, we should all just stop, I repeat, STOP! Now breathe in, and breath out. Repeat the process at least two more times, because three = Holy Trinity. Now let's continue.

Based on what we have seen from the Synod, we all should probably be in a panic because our Church is giving way to the route of other Christian Sects, those not in union with Holy Mother Church. In some sects, such as certain parts of Anglicanism, United, Episcopalian, etc. sexual mores have been lowered, female "bishops" have been allowed, etc. Particularly, some issues have been brought up, with GREAT encouragement from bishops and spokesmen from my neck of the woods in Canada (specifically, Quebec and Toronto), which are not boding well for the reputation of the Church, or looking like another assault on Christ's priesthood/Holy Orders.

So let me give you a much BETTER, and less bile and hate filled evaluation of what is going on here with my blogging opinions for Synod 2015 so far, to help you gain a better hold of reality, as well as so that you are aided in NOT falling to spiritual despair.

General: That Dark, Nasty Blog-o-sphere with its Radicals Misinterpreting Traditionalism. 

Let's start off by saying this much: these Individuals have an axe to grind with the Church, are NOT directly reporting from the Synod, and if one evaluates the bulk of their work, can discern that they cannot be trusted in spiritually guiding the lay faithful, whether they be cleric or disgruntled layperson (cause some of these bloggers are women too!). We need to remind ourselves, just WHERE the Lord is Found, and that He loves us so Much, and wants us to join Him in Heaven, that he would not give us a faulty man-made Church made of sand.  Otherwise, why would Holy Mother Church give us One, HOLY, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

From scripture in 1 Kings 19:11-12: "... the Lord was not in the wind; ... the Lord was not in the earthquake ... the Lord was not in the fire; ... he was found in the breeze.

And one of the BIG ONES for Catholics, in explaining the Church, MATTHEW 16:18! ``And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.``

With these two passages, this reminds us that,
1) Our Lord is not present where there is a bulwark of sin, destruction, and acts not becoming of the Love of the Lord, who is all GOOD. The Lord is not found, for example, in those who speak of heresy. The Lord is not found in those who steal from others. The Lord is not found in those who lie, especially who lie purposely to destroy another's livelihood or character. The Lord is not found in those who slander, detract, or spread malicious gossip, as Pope Francis as declared gossip the work of the Devil!.
2) While the Church does not guarantee that specific people will not abuse his Church's institutional or finite means of existence in our world, for personal power or gain, he will definitely NOT allow them to ravage Christ's Gospel and declare outright the opposite, nor that the Church will depart from the world before the End of Time.

When one is bombarded with the amount of social media and messages describing that which is good in humanity, is it no wonder we lose Hope? All this "noise" from our smartphones and electronic devices including computers, drowns our ability to listen to the Lord, and mainly shows us dark and despairing things, even from our own brothers and sisters of Christ. Look above again at the passage from 1 Kings. The Lord was found in the gentle and quiet breeze.

Therefore, we all need a reality check and to be careful, just how much of this Synod news we receive online. Francis Phillips, in this editorial in the Fr-Z acclaimed Catholic Herald of Britain, rightfully describes how the online coverage of the Synod, can actually cause one to lose their Faith, if followed intently. Here I have picked out the most important statements of his editorial piece:

`` .... [Edward] Short writes: “Mgr Ronald Knox, ... once advised that ‘he who travels in the barque of St Peter had better not look too closely into the engine room’ ....  I had a glimpse of this cast of mind yesterday myself. Talking to ... [my] friend, a devoted, lifelong Catholic, [he] replied: “Don’t talk to me about the person you just mentioned [Pope Francis]. I have a lot of issues with him.” I wasn’t able to stay to hear what these “issues” were, but I can guess them; they are constantly raised – often in highly intemperate language – in the blogs of those who describe themselves as traditional Catholics ... if we fix our eyes on the “engine room”, the Vatican, we might well begin to drown in our sorrows. There is only one sure remedy. Blogger Fr Dwight Longenecker stated it in his own vigorous fashion on Tuesday, in his blog for Patheos, where he advises: “To be sure, the Church seems to be under threat – undermined by corruption and heresy within and attacked by persecution and infidels without. Read your history. When was it otherwise? … Love the Body of Christ but go beyond the Church to Jesus Christ himself for he is your true goal, your destiny and your desire.”

I realize that it is frustrating that Pope Francis set up the Synod in such a way as to be not transparent to the Church, and further that he may forego the usual protocol of releasing a summary Apostolic Exhortation at the end of the Synod. However, we must agree that in light of the article from Phillips, there is a point to NOT pay too much attention to the talking heads at Rome. Knowing that many of our shepherds are not acting as the best role models of Church leadership, why keep knocking ourselves down when they repeat the same behavior? Instead, how about we pay more attention to our local Church and parishes, serving, and fighting when absolutely necessary, at the grassroots level, to restore our Church leadership, and perhaps inspire our pastors to become those desired men, eligible for the bishop's chairs when they retire or die?

Further, we could give the benefit of the doubt to Francis. Perhaps he has become clever and adaptive to the media and wants to prevent fiascoes of two kinds:

• The first would be intra-Church, where in posting documents and the like, the angry RMT bloggers would come out in full force, further undermining his Papacy and bombarding other bishops with hate mail (regardless of the correctness of people's points). 
• The second fiasco to prevent would be worldwide, in fact, perhaps avoiding repeating history itself in order to stop further division and moral disobedience. Back when Pope Paul VI released Humanae Vitae, which DID deal with the family, specifically the procreative aspect of it being assaulted by chemical contraception and abortion, the world revolted when he did, and needless to say, bishops' collegiality aided the world in rejecting Church teaching on those areas of sexuality. 

So if he releases a post-syndoal exhortation in the form or similar writing (or even his more abstract way of speaking,) with content of Humanae Vitae, I can guarantee you there will be fury in the Church, and history will repeat itself, with a Church further divided. Not to mention it will be further compounded by the facts that the new "rage" currently in society is those with same-sex attraction and its sympathizers, and as proven recently by that priest who quit the CDF after outing himself as a practicing homosexual, spouting a "gay manifesto" as it were.

In short .... stop accusing the Holy Father of manipulation and purposeful damnation of the Church! He is not an insurgent bent on destroying the Church, and his personal history from bring just a lowly priest in Buenos Aires, up to his cardinal-ship before being elected, says he bucked much of the "trend" of the day, to the extend he was ostracized by his own order, the Jesuits.

Specific Bitter Points: The Women Deacons Issue

Ok, so being Canadian, I have to be somewhat concerned about this, as a bishop from Quebec, Paul-Andre Durocher, former Canadian Catholic Conference of Bishops head, made this, and it got leaked in public by press and media. Of course, the RMTs are having brain aneurysms over this, so much so a number of people took to the bishop's post and attacked him, almost as if he had said something heretical.

Now, my take on this, being Canadian AND trying to aid you in cooling your jets and not losing hope in the Church:

• The format of the Synodal arguments or "speeches" from participants, is limited to 3 minutes per prelate. They absolutely CANNOT lay out in 3 minutes their detailed plan about what they mean in what they say. To spill out exactly what they are meaning, those bishops would need a 40 minute lecture, with detailed diagrams and plans and the like.  
• The media, depending on the source and their theological-political slant, will either ruthlessly damn +Durocher, or praise his intervention. You cannot blindly trust media, especially that of personal conjecture, of which all blogs mainly are. 
• Only +Durocher can truly explain himself what he meant by Female "deacons." His 3 minute speech did NOT say whether they were equated to the level of the Male Diaconate which is formally part of the Major Orders, or Holy Orders of the Church, Therefore we cannot directly accuse him of such an understanding, unless he discloses this personally and it is on the record.
• In a way, as to admission of women to any form of Holy Orders, in the Priesthood, NOT THE DIACONATE, has been dealt with, and is closed, by John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 4. However, there has not been a major document dealing with women and the diaconate. In fact, Vatican II in Apostolicam Actuositatem, 9, acknowledges the greater role women are playing in Church ministry. 
• Apparently in some of the rites, and even one specific order of Nuns in the Church`s history, there is some existence of the Deaconness, as touched by Deacon Greg Kandra in this article with weblinks at the Deacon`s Bench. However, there was no kind of sacramental/ordinatorial equivalency of those Deaconesses to the male diaconate in service at the altar. 
• Already I say, there is a foundation in a practical sense for Women Deacons in the modern, 21st Century Church. Women today, have taken leadership of MANY of the roles of the normal parish and ministry life, such as head catechists, pastoral associates, lead youth ministers, etc. With the major and only increasing problems present in society, there is likely even a bigger need for women in the Church. With a general, natural strength of emotional and social complexity and understanding, allowing for better nurturing, they could become major players in crisis or spiritual-educational types of ministry, requiring pastoral counselling, catechesis, and/or evangelization (though NOT at the level of the priest in certain ways e.g. exorcism and demonic possession, sacramental ...)
• HOWEVER, it is pretty much close and shut, that any sacramental or holy orders level ministry, the Church will NOT grant to women Deacons. 
• Finally ... +Durocher is only one voice among the Church on this issue. I say, Women in the Church truly deserved its own Synod in the future, particularly focusing on their role in the constantly shifting culture of the world in the 21st Century Church, and yes, Women Deacons should be discussed, with a template formulated for their exact role in the Church, the appropriate liturgical procedure for conferring the role on them, etc. In other words, lets leave it to a future Pope to iron out the nitty gritty details.  

Close to Home: ++Collins and Toronto

Well, I say that we should hold our horses here in the Archdiocese of Toronto, because our main man, His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins, has NOT spoken yet with his 3 minute intervention. I say that we wait and see what he says, or at least a more full summary of his speech, becomes laid out in the open. We can use this as a better gage, at least here in Toronto, to see just where leadership in the Church locally will go. As to what it will contain, He has given reporters a "sneak peek" of the content and direction of his homily, but of course, individual threads do not make a whole rug. Regardless, he might be speaking in the next few days, if he is already releasing previews. 

Final Words

People, relax. Don't believe everything the talking heads say, be they in Rome, or in their domiciles spewing out their internal, spiritual turmoil onto online word vomit. Keep Calm, and continue being an Orthodox Catholic. 

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin. 

P.S. Go Blue Jays! Thanks Archdiocese of Toronto! 

The Machine is Whirring Again: Ordinary Synod XIV on the Family .... With Some Good News for my Archdiocese of Toronto!!!

Hello Everyone,

So once again, the internet is a-buzz with dark tidings and forecasts of Hellfire to begin with regard to the 2015 Ordinary Synod of the Family (or Officially, Ordinary Synod XIV). If you are curious as to documents from certain past Synods, please see the following website link from the Vatican here:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/index.htm

Now, as it turns out, the working document, called an Instrumentum Laboris, came out this past Tuesday. Currently, it is only available for public viewing on the Internet in Italian, which one can find here:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20150623_instrumentum-xiv-assembly_it.html

For a better examination in English, it would be best to wait until an English translation is produced. Still one can use basic Google or Bing translate with their computers to do a cursory examination of what our bishops will be using for their Synod this October. Unlike other contrasting bloggers who imply that modernist (read: Satanic) Rome is introducing decay into society (of which such sentiments, even mentally or typed, betray the mark of the Church as being "Holy"), this instrumentum is already chock full of good points being addressed in society. Alone it is calling out or saying:

• That a huge amount of people support the Catholic Church's teaching on Marriage and the Family
• That many different factors are attacking the family, including fear of youth to commit to relationships, feminism, and later covered in more depth in the document, reproductive technologies
• A big one in paragraph 13: That because of growing poverty and job insecurity and/or taxation it's better to NOT marry and to co-habitate in the minds of the people. I do well agree with this, and Ontario is too perfect an example right now, with many workplaces relying on part time/contract or temporary work to fill spots vs. expensive and/or unionized full time work which costs the employer in terms of health care benefits for the employee and pension payouts too. Oh, not to mention governments who think its fun to line the pockets of unionized workers and homosexual/liberal allies to secure votes at the expense of the taxpayer.  
• The elderly as a burden upon families already in a crunch! You know that what is implied is "let's euthanize the useless old codgers who do nothing but fart around all day!" However, we should be valuing these elders. Of bigger note, he acknowledges that the grandparents these days are passing on the faith and initiating my generation and below into Christianity, NOT THE PARENTS!!!! Shame on them!
• That Scripture shouldn't be just left for Mass, it should be read in the home too!!!
• That even since Vatican II has the promotion and dignity of marriage and the family been affirmed in Church Documents (e.g. Gaudium et Spes, 47-52)

Clearly, there's more that is covered here, but I'd need much more room to expand on things. Now, it seems that one accusation of this working document is that once again, Kasper's canard of the Church doing an option of "graduality" to admit the remarried couple back to communion is being pushed. NO, this is not what the document is pushing, even with this partially poor computer translation from Italian to English. This is focused on from "The integration of divorced and remarried ..." Under paragraph 120 to about 125.

Now look, as Catholics, we must give the best possible perspective on that which is associated from the Church, even if it is poorly translated or worded. It does NOT say here about re-admission to communion. Yes it talks about couples in co-habitating and civil marriages being guided towards marriage under some sort of penitential process, under the authority of the bishop. BUT, it goes back to John Paul II's process in his Apostolic Exhortation , Familiaris Consortio, 84. The steps are: awareness of failure (obviously remorse for your sin,) repentance, CHECK THE POSSIBLY NULLITY of MARRIAGE, THEN commitment  to spiritual communion and decision to live in continence.

NOWHERE, even in that process, IS readmission to SACRAMENTAL Communion. Spiritual communion, is NOT the same as the REAL COMMUNION. Spiritual is as simple as saying a prayer to want to be in union with Christ, but you cannot receive at that time because of  x, y, z, etc. Not to mention if your check of nullity does NOT check out, then of course, you WILL NOT be admitted to communion. Now, of course, unless the diocese sense some sort of poster with your face on it saying "Don't admit this person to communion" would any old priest know if you are purposely committing the mortal sin of sacrilege, and of course, priests and bishops WILL circumvent the teachings of the Church and Francis because of their selfish sin and betrayal of the Church. It isn't perfect, but it is NOT implying what others think it means.

Oh, let's also add to boot that it states even in the poor translation, that "there is no foundation to assimilate or establish similarities, even remote, between homosexual unions and the plan of Fod on marriage and family."

Now if I just got all that from a rough Bing translation of the Italian, it'll likely be the same or even better translated when the full English translation comes out. I might come back to that for a post, if I have the time, or not.

But my main point is this. Do NOT believe the naysayers on the Internet, including those self-elected or "obvious" RMTs, Latin Mass or Not, who are implying in this Synod, or at least in this document, that this is part of the beginning of the Hell Show against the Family, being introduced by the Church.

............................


Now, in good news, just last week, Pope Francis decided to announce the list of delegates for the Synod, which can be found here:
http://www.news.va/en/news/members-and-substitutes-for-the-14th-general-ordin

Well guess what .... MY OWN CARDINAL ARCHBISHOP, HIS EMINENCE THOMAS CARDINAL COLLINS, GOT SELECTED FOR CANADA FROM THE ENGLISH BISHOPS!!!!!!

This is just super awesome!!!! I am so thrilled that His Eminence was chosen for the delegation for this very topic. While others, even some in my archdiocese, balk at him and think he's aiding the Devil in their hearts and minds, and seems to be more focused on money with that Family of Faith campaign over the spiritual reigning in of heretics and violators of the faith  welfare of Toronto, I am but thrilled and happy for this appointment.

I know for a fact that His Eminence cares about the spiritual welfare of his archdiocese, especially the youth and young adults, and clearly is concerned for what awaits my, and the generations after me in their future for the family and/or marriage.

He ++Collins also, takes the faith seriously in this issue of the family, between being part of the Coalition of Life and the Family (COLF), appearing ANNUALLY in May at Canada's March for Life in Ottawa and being one of the keynote speakers to speak prior to marching, and even though he was not picked as a Synod 2014 delegate, he nonetheless spoke out about the divisive wedge issue of communion for the divorced that the deceiving and guilty of lying, Cardinal Kasper, forced upon the Synod.

You want to hear what he had to say at that time? Read this interview here, which even a few of the Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists picked up on. Might I also mention that Word on Fire programming is being used constantly in parishes at least in North America, especially their Catholicism series? So this is no backwoods company or right-wing interest group interviewing ++Collins.

Well what can I say, I'm rooting for ++Collins, and I'm glad that a sensible bishop who will properly interpret and implement the workings of the Synod of 2015 in his archdiocese, has been selected by the Holy Father himself to represent Canada for the English division. Oh, and he's MY cardinal archbishop! So I am even more proud of my local Church community and who's leading it.

Pax, Julian.

Traditional and Orthodox Catholics of Toronto! Now's Your Chance! Give the Church Strength She Needs for Synod 2015

Hello Everyone,

While cruising the Archdiocese of Toronto's website looking at certain pages for information, I found an interesting link on its front page:

http://www.archtoronto.org/synod/index.html#feedback

What! Unlike the Extraordinary Synod where the Office of the Archdiocese of Toronto decided that feedback was only to be obtained from clergy upon order from the CCCB, His Eminence has decided that we deserve to share in giving our utmost advice on issues for the 2015 Synod in Rome! Here's the full text from the website of the invitation:

A MESSAGE FROM THOMAS CARDINAL COLLINS:

Later this year, the Holy Father will be holding an Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on The vocation and the mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world. The synod will take place at the Vatican and will be attended by bishops from around the world. 

The Lineamenta is a document which outlines issues that need to be considered in order to help prepare the working document that will be used by the synod. In order to facilitate discussion, a list of questions has been provided with the Lineamenta. 

As part of this official consultative process, Catholics are invited to share their reflections on topics highlighted in the Lineamenta. As this is an extensive document that covers diverse subject matter, it is recommended that respondents consider selecting perhaps three areas or specific questions to provide informed commentary or insights. A concise response would be appreciated. A synthesis of responses will be sent to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops who will then forward the information gathered from across Canada to the Vatican in preparation for the Synod later this year.

All responses to the Lineamenta must be received no later than Monday, February 16, 2015. Responses can be sent either by e-mail to communications@archtoronto.org or by mail to the Office of Public Relations & Communications, 1155 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4T 1W2.

Thank you in advance for your feedback on these important topics. 

So basically, you pick some focus areas from the Lineamenta, or the questions from the CCCB summary that is part of the website and answer them (3 broader areas or a specific question) and send them to the e-mail to the Archdiocese's communications office. It's that simple! Here are the Lineamenta AND the CCCB summary links:

http://www.archtoronto.org/synod/lineamenta.pdf

http://www.archtoronto.org/synod/questions_lineamenta.pdf (The so called "questions" seem to be the ones in this document)

A priest friend of mine has already alerted me to this as well. And I do appreciate it. See folks, a lot of the time, it's the active, loudmouthed liberals and "change people" that write to chanceries and to the Vatican with their groups in these kinds of things. When it comes to the Traditional side of things, it tends to be letters of shame, detraction, so and so did X wrong in the liturgy, excommunicate people like Michael Coren (just couldn't resist, ha ha ha!) ... and you wonder why no one in the hierarchy of the Church wants to listen to the Traditional Catholics. 

Well, let this be your chance to actually shine and show the Church what is needed with regards to this synod. Please follow the website's instructions and submit your feedback to the office, no later than Mon, Feb 16, 2015. You have almost a month. That should give you time to formulate an articulate, clever response that can benefit His Eminence when he must submit his information to the CCCB. 

Look, I get it that people in the know view the CCCB as some Liberal dark cloud blah blah blah usual Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalist garbage. But look, if YOU and many other Traditional Orthodox Catholics do NOT write to His Eminence, it will be the liberals and those who are not sufficiently educated (or manipulated by the Culture in their weak formation of Faith) who will write to Him, and then what will he have to present to the CCCB? HE WANTS YOUR HELP!!! YOU KNOW HE'S MORE OF A ROLE MODEL VS OTHER BISHOPS AND CARDINALS TODAY!!!! YOU MUST put your feelings aside, and assist him! 

I am certainly one Glad Trad that will be assisting His Eminence and the whole of the Church by doing this in my spare time, and I implore you to do the same. "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing" was the expression, Well, how about good men and women do something for a change and actually assist the Church by showing them that even in Canada, we don't want radical pastoral change to make Church doctrine/dogma moot in areas of Family and Life! At its absolute worst ... at least you did your part and tried and fought for Her Holy Mother Church. 

Let's do this for His Eminence, for His Holiness, and for the Church! For the Family and Life!

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin.