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"I hear the whisperings of many: 'Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!' All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine..." - Jeremiah 20:10 - First reading of today's Mass.
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"On the watch for any missteps of mine." Media does it all of the time: journalists, television news, radio talk show hosts, even bloggers.
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Today the meek and humble Vicar of Christ is hounded by his enemies as was his Master.
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Pray very much for The Holy Father.
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(Please note: I changed my header so as to avoid even the slightest impression of disrespect or levity towards our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI during these dark days.)
I agree that this is an important time to be praying for the Holy Father. At least this morning he may feel some sense of accomplishment - the Legionaries of Christ and their General Director have made important statements about their Founder, Fr. Maciel. I have to believe that this is done in concert with the Vatican.
ReplyDeleteWe all need to join you in praying for the Holy Father, Terry.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if all those who are heaping opprobrium on him for supposedly enabling sex offenders have stopped to consider how much has shifted in living memory, as to how we deal with sex offenders. Even the term is somewhat new. We actually didn't deal with the whole problem very well, or at all. When I was in high school, all the girls knew if you went in after class to ask a certain teacher a question, you'd better take a friend with you. Because you didn't want to be with him alone. Turns out he had been quietly shuffled around different schools because no one wanted to deal with, or talk about, the problem. There was also a creepy old man in our town who was rumored to touch little boys inappropriately. The older brother of one of them roughed the man up pretty bad. The cops didn't do anything, because they knew the situation, but didn't have any evidence except hearsay. Women who were raped basically didn't have a leg to stand on, unless there were witnesses. Of course DNA has changed that. And the victims' rights movements have empowered people, and now the emphasis is on protecting children. Which is a good thing. But people need to consider that things were much different years ago; and society across the board didn't deal well with the whole issue.
I'm not saying that to excuse the stuff that went on, just saying that we looked at it through different lenses.
this is all extremely sad! i pray deeply for the dear Pope and our Church. May the Lord guide him, and thus His Church, in these tough times.
ReplyDeleteTerry, thank you for your call to pray for the Holy Father.
ReplyDeleteMelody, it is probably true that such things were looked at through different lenses then. But I don't think those who are hounding our Holy Father would take that, or any other fact, into consideration: this is NOT really about facts, or the truth -- this is about trying to smear a holy man and, by extension, the Church he leads. Satan's got a lot of useful idiots doing his work these days....the worldly will always hate the Church, and so to expect reasonable treatment is to be naive.
Certainly many within the Church provided those who hate her with plenty of ammunition.
This makes the last days of Lent particularly meaningful, giving sharp focus to whatever penances and acts of reparation I do.
What an amazing contrast between your thoughts, Terry, and this self-abortion: http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/papal-preacher-tries-buck-troops?nocache=1#comment-101637
ReplyDeletePraying.
ReplyDeleteI usually take anything I read in the press with a grain of salt. Especially, when it comes to the Catholic Church.
ReplyDeleteFor those who haven't seen it.
Vatican Spokesman Refutes Murphy Case Accusations
Clarifies Role of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
http://www.zenit.org/article-28750?l=english
The Pope always needs our prayer, but he especially needs them now.
This is beginning to look like an orchestrated campaign. And sadly, most people never go beyond the headlines.
Pax,
John
Thanks everyone!
ReplyDeleteMelody - you raise interesting points - while growing up we were told similar things about people in the neighborhood - stay away from him, do not be alone with him, and so on. Younger people have no idea how loose everything was.
Terry-where is the Pope praying in this picture?
ReplyDeleteNot by accident does the NY Times and MSNBC lead this campaign to discredit the Pope. Divide and conquer the thuggish strategy of the Obama regime. Obama passed health care with dissident nuns. To the extent that they undermine the Pope, is the extent to which their death dealing administration can succeed in legitimizing abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality et cetera. He speaks loud and clear defense of eternal Truth and thus the media works to emasculate him.
ReplyDeleteTerry--how right you are. We must pray for him. His heart must now be heavy with grief for all of his flock.