Support Our Bishops!

Is Senator Leahy Trying to Silence Bishops?

An article that appeared last summer in The Hill, an inside-baseball rag on Capitol Hill, suggests that he might be doing just that (well, they HAVE been silent, haven't they?).

Here's the Wanderer editorial that addresses the problem, and proposes some mild-mannered steps to take.

+++

Support Our Bishops! (from the Wanderer, 6-28-07)

By Christopher Manion – The Wander, June 28, 2007, p. 4

These are truly the times that try men’s souls. As The Wanderer reported last week, Sen. Patrick Leahy ( D., Vt.), a leader of the pro- abortion faction on Capitol Hill, has implicitly threatened any bishop who dares to defend a central truth of the faith, most recently confirmed by Pope Benedict en route to Brazil, that politicians who favor abortion rights “ exclude themselves from Communion.” Responding to the Pope’s statement, Sen. Leahy told a Capitol Hill reporter, “ I’ve always thought also that those bishops and archbishops who for decades hid pederasts and are now being protected by the Vatican should be indicted.”

In effect, Sen. Leahy is threatening every American bishop who does his job. And, at first blush, one would think that our bishops have every right to tremble before this American Caesar. After all, he directs a powerful arm of a secular government that is known for riding roughshod over Catholics who dare to hold their faith in Jesus Christ higher than their faith in the princes of the day. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Leahy has the power to subpoena the bishops of every diocese mentioned in the John Jay Report and put them under oath. After the bishops were cross-examined by every committee member, under the penalty of perjury, Leahy could then allow victims to have their say. It would all be broadcast live on CSPAN.

American bishops have spent tens of millions of dollars fighting similar efforts in criminal and civil courts throughout the country, but they would be powerless before Leahy’s committee. They need only recall what Anita Hill did to Clarence Thomas in that same forum some years back. No wonder they might tremble.

Leahy’s finely tuned outburst threatens to break an uneasy, de facto truce between bishops and pro- abort politicians that has prevailed in recent years.

On one side, the “ Catholic” politicians have not brought up the criminal sex abuse scandals, the thousands of clerical crimes and conspiracies, or the coverups that were conducted for decades by bishops and their chanceries. In like fashion, the bishops have remained mum on the ongoing and very public scandal perpetrated by leading advocates of abortion who brag about their Catholic faith and flaunt their ability to receive the Eucharist. In a cynical afterthought, congressional pro-aborts throw in over two billion a year of taxpayer dollars for Catholic Charities — to sweeten the pot, so to speak.

In effect, Leahy and his pro- abort colleagues are calling our bishops cowards. They apparently believe that our bishops dare not exercise their authority ( not to mention their responsibility) to protect the Eucharist from desecration, lest they be dragged in front of a Star Chamber whose verdict is already predetermined. But this is the threat that worldly powers have always thrown in the face of the successors of the apostles. “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair,” they roar.

This is not only a tale of two scandals. It is a crisis, rising to a crescendo, in which the faithful must choose between a diabolical political gang that is intent on destroying Holy Mother Church in America, and the bishops whom Christ has given us to defend the sacraments, the faith, and its sacred treasures against all enemies.

The choice, of course, is clear: Our bishops must defy this threat from the princes of this world, and do their duty. And we must support them.

Welcome One And All !!

Tomorrow the Wanderer's print and e-editions will invite readers to visit our blog, read all the news that wouldn't fit - and some that did! -- and comment and converse with us and with one another.

Visitors, be sure to check out our e-edition!

On Good Friday, a Mockery of Christ on the Cross

It's the Gay Way or the Highway, according to Oklahoma homosexuals. Pretty soon they'll start complaining about cartoons, but for the moment, they roar like the Devil (very much like the Devil, in fact) when Oklahoma legislator Sally Kern has the temerity to cite and to support natural law, as illuminated by Christian doctrine.

Fellow Wanderers might want to offer some prayers in her support, and for her tormentors, and to let her know she is not alone.

+++++++++++++++

Threatened Oklahoma Politician Refuses to Apologize for Saying Homosexuality is Dangerous and Sinful

"I see no reason to apologize for what God says, that homosexuality is a sin, I will not apologize. I did not say anything false. I did not say anything malicious or hateful."

By John-Henry Westen

OKLAHOMA CITY, March 20, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Oklahoma House Representative Sally Kern is standing firm in her convictions on the immorality and danger of the homosexual lifestyle, despite some 30,000 emails condemning her, many of which included hateful rhetoric and some death threats. The most hard-hitting portions of a speech she gave to a Republican club on the subject of homosexual activism in America were posted online by a homosexual activist group.

Some 300 activists rallied against Kern at the State Capital Tuesday. In comments to AP, however, she stood firm against the criticisms, stating that she was not engaging in hate speech. "I see no reason to apologize for what God says, that homosexuality is a sin," she told AP. "I will not apologize. I did not say anything false. I did not say anything malicious or hateful."

During her original speech Kern predicted she might face trouble for her forthright remarks, but she stressed that she was speaking out of concern for those engaged in a destructive lifestyle. ""The very fact that I'm talking to you like this here today puts me in jeopardy," she said in her speech. "So, so be it. I'm not anti, I'm not gay bashing, but according to God's Word, that is not the right kind of lifestyle. It has deadly consequences for those people involved in it. They have more suicides ... there's more illness. Their life spans are shorter."

Kern asserts that the First Amendment protects her in voicing her concerns about homosexuality and homosexual activism. "I'm not going to apologize for exercising my First Amendment right," she told The Oklahoman.

She was equally supportive of the rights of homosexual activists to protest her remarks at the state capital. "That's great they came to the Capitol. This is a free country. They're exercising their First Amendment right," Kern told AP.

Activists zeroed in on remarks in her speech when she explained the dangers of homosexual activism to society. "It's not a lifestyle that is good for this nation. As a matter of fact, studies show that no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades. So it's the death knell for this country. I honestly think it's the biggest threat that our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam, which I think is a big threat," she said.

A teacher by background, she noted that children from the earliest ages in school are indoctrinated to accept homosexuality as a normal alternative lifestyle.

Kern affirms she has nothing against apologizing for wrongdoings but refuses to apologize for speaking the truth. "When I am wrong, and it is brought to my attention, I will apologize," she said.

Kern may be contacted here:
sallykern@okhouse.gov

Holy Thursday

Welcome to the Wanderer's blog. Please join us in asking our patron, Saint Joseph, to intercede for us as we work to bring the saving message of the risen Lord to the world.

Saint Joseph, pray for us! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us!