George Washington High School to cover up mural of... guess who?

Walt was saddened but not surprised to read a report on the FrontPage Mag site that a California high school named after the founder of the Excited States of America plans to cover a mural depicting George Washington.

Why? Need you ask? Because some liberal SJWs have complained that it's offensive and demeaning to Native Americans and African Americans (or "Indians" and "blacks", as they were once called).

Need I add that this over-the-top genuflection to political correctness is happening in America's gayest city -- San Francisco? The San Francisco school board is expected to decide next week whether to simply cover the image or, better yet (the guilt-ridden liberals say) paint over it. Whatever they do, they certainly won't leave the image in the open wherer students might look at it.

Daniel Greenfield, writer of the piece, comments that the cover-up "should be followed by a book burning of any volumes about George Washington and any history books featuring him." Indeed.

Alexandria church removes Washington AND Lee memorials to create "safe space" for everyone, no exceptions

Walt never darkens the doors of Episcopal churches for religious reasons, but occasionally visited some of the fine old churches dotted around the USA to admire the architecture or take a trip back in time to bathe in the warm waters of history. [Please don't try to be poetical. Ed.] One church well worth a visit for either reason is Christ Church, just off North Washington Street, in Alexandria, Virginia. It's just a couple of blocks west of historical Gadsby's Tavern, where both George Washington and I ate (although not at the same table or time).

George Washington worshipped at Christ Church. A small nameplate still adorns the family pew. Robert E. Lee was confirmed there, and his place is similarly marked. Larger plaques on either side of the sanctuary memorialized both men.

"Why the past tense?", I hear you ask. Why not "memorialize"? Because, dear reader, both plaquest were removed this weekend by order of the vestry, the committee which administers the church. According to a letter circulated to members of the parish this week, the plaques were taken down in order to make Christ Church more "welcoming", and to prevent people from feeling "unsafe" in the sanctuary. Seriously? Well, this is what the vestry said.

"Hebrews 13:2 says, 'Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.' Christ Church lives into this call, feeding the hungry with our Lazarus ministry, welcoming the stranger in our refugee ministry, and inviting all to worship with us. The plaques in our sanctuary make some in our presence feel unsafe or unwelcome. Some visitors and guests who worship with us choose not to return because they receive an unintended message from the prominent presence of the plaques."

The letter, signed by all 13 members of the governing council, goes on to insist that the eras in which the two famed men lived are "much different than our own." It continues:

"We understand that both Washington and Lee lived in times much different than our own and that each man, in addition to his public persona, was a complicated human being, and like all of us, a child of God. Today, the legacy of slavery and of the Confederacy is understood differently than it was in 1870. For some, Lee symbolizes the attempt to overthrow the Union and to preserve slavery. Today our country is trying once again to come to grips with the history of slavery and the subsequent disenfranchisement of people of color.

"Many in our congregation feel a strong need for the church to stand clearly on the side of 'All are welcome — no exceptions.' Because the sanctuary is a worship space, not a museum, there is no appropriate way to inform visitors about the history of the plaques or to provide additional context except for the in-person tours provided by our docents."

The original focus of this exercise in virtue-signalling was the plaque honouring Robert E. Lee. Unfortunately for the SJWs and do-good weenies, some churl pointed out that George Washington, too, had been a slave-owner. So both memorials had to go, although church officials covered themselves with the figleaf that both plaques are being removed because the two occupy opposite areas of the sanctuary and the aesthetic look of the church would have been "unbalanced" if only the Robert E. Lee plaque were to be removed.

7 famous people you probably didn't know were Catholic

Obi-Wan Kenobi?! Jedi knights are secret Catholics? Well, no... but Sir Alec Guinness, who portrayed Obi-Wan in the first of the Star Wars trilogies, was a devout Catholic, confirmed in the Church on 24 March 1956.

The Fathers [or Father? Ed.] who write the Traditio blog, from which the following list was taken, tell us that Sir Alec was not a "cradle Catholic", and was actually known for his anti-clericalism and anti-Romanism. But something happened to him during the filming in France, in 1954, of Father Brown, the story of a priest-detective based on the books of Catholic author G.K. Chesterton -- a favourite of Walt's Agent 9.

In his autobiography, Blessings in Disguise,  Sir Alec writes "By the time dusk fell, I was bored and, dressed in my priestly black, I climbed the gritty winding road to the village.... I hadn't gone far when I heard scampering footsteps and a piping voice calling, 'Mon père!' My hand was seized by a boy of seven or eight, who clutched it tightly, swung it and kept up a non-stop prattle.... Although I was a total stranger, he obviously took me for a priest and so to be trusted. Suddenly with a 'Bonsoir, mon père,' and a hurried sideways sort of bow, he disappeared through a hole in the hedge.... Continuing my walk I reflected that a Church which could inspire such confidence in a child, making its priests, even when unknown, so easily approachable could not be as scheming and creeping as so often made out [in Britain]. I began to shake off my long-taught, long-absorbed, prejudices [against Roman Catholicism]."

What eventually made Sir Alec Guinness decide, two years later, to convert to the True Faith was a miracle and a "personal encounter" with God. His only child Matthew contracted polio at the age of 11 and was at risk of dying. Sir Alec began visiting a Catholic church and prayed that if his son survived, he and his family would join the Catholic Church. His prayers were answered, and his son recovered from the almost-fatal illness. Sir Alec was as good as his word, and fulfilled his vow. From 1956 until the day he died at age 86 in 2000, he remained a traditional Catholic. A year after he converted, his wife followed him, and his son also joined the Church and was sent to a Jesuit school.

According to Traditio, other noted converts to traditional Catholicism have been:
* Actor Gary Cooper
* Actor Vincent Price
* Actor John Wayne, on his deathbed
* Irish playwright and confirmed bachelor Oscar Wilde, who made a Sacramental Confession and received Extreme Unction
* Composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who had been baptized as a baby, but had fallen from the Faith; he called for a priest and received Extreme Unction on his deathbed
and... believe it or not...
* George Washington -- yes, the George Washington -- who, although known to be a Freemason, was probably baptized on his deathbed by a Jesuit priest from the church across the river, which the President had been known to slip into, on occasion, to hear Holy Mass.

Walt notes with sadness that the Catholic Church into which these seven famous people were received was not the so-called Catholic Church which we know today. It was the traditional, pre-Vatican II Church, that cherished and taught the Faith of our Fathers, the truths taught to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, when he walked among us. Nowadays, the true Catholic Faith is to be found not in the Vatican, but in the minds and hearts of the remnant of traditional Catholic bishops, priests and laypeople, who may well pray that Pope Francis may experience a similar conversion -- the sooner the better.

Satanists (or Freemasons?) want to give back to New York community

Agent 3 has just sent us a link to a story published in Canada [not in the USA? Ed.] by the QMI Agency. Here's the headline (and the link): Highway to hell? Satanists want to adopt a New York highway. We'll come to the story in a minute, but want you to have a look at the picture QMI chose to print right under the headline.

According to the newspaper, this is a screenshot from the video produced by the Satanic Temple to "promote a message of Satanic civic pride and social responsibility." Hmm.

Where have we seen this image before? Have a look in your wallet. There... on the other side of the engraving of George Washington. (A "temple" where George rests, at Alexandria VA, is adorned with a similar symbol.) Yes, that's right. By the Compass and by the Square, it's the "all-seeing eye" -- one of the chief symbols of Freemasonry!

Does that mean there's some connection between Freemasonry and Satanism? The Church has always said so, although She doesn't mention it much these days, which tells ye all ye need to know about who runs the Vatican. According to the commandments of the traditional (pre-Vatican II) Church, no Catholic may belong to the Masons or any other secret society. Len is pretty sure that would include the Satanic Temple.

Anyway, for what it's worth, here's the rest of the story, from the QMI/Sun newspapers.

The Satanists have set up an Indiegogo page to raise the $15,000 they need to adopt a stretch of New York highway for two years "by way of litter cleanup and landscaping". If they succeed, the Department of Transportation will have to put up a sign acknowledging The Satanic Temple as the adopters. "We call on all people to support the Satanic Temple in this effort to engage their community in a positive, productive manner," the [Satanists] said.

To drum up awareness for the campaign, the church performed a "pink mass" on Sunday over the grave of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps Jr.'s mother. The ritual, which involves chants and gay makeouts over the grave, aims to make deceased's spirit turn homosexual.