Economist warns: the bicycle is the slow death of the planet

According to the General Director of Euro Exim Bank, the bicycle is the slow death of the planet.  

The noted economist got other economists thinking when he said, "A cyclist is a disaster for the country's economy: he does not buy cars and does not borrow money to buy. 

"He does not pay for insurance policies. He does not buy fuel, does not pay for the necessary maintenance and repairs. He does not use paid parking.

 

"He does not cause serious accidents. He does not require multi-lane highways. He does not get fat. Healthy people are neither needed nor useful for the economy. [Cyclists] don't buy medicine. They do not go to hospitals or doctors. Nothing is added to the country's GDP (gross domestic product). 

"On the contrary, every new McDonald's restaurant creates at least 30 jobs: 10 cardiologists, 10 dentists, 10 dietary experts and nutritionists, and obviously, people who work at the restaurant itself." 

So choose carefully: bicycles or McDonald's? It's worth thinking about!

Afterthought: Walking is even worse. Pedestrians don't even buy bicycles. 

Thanks to Agent 6, who, to the best of our knowledge, has never been seen riding a bicycle.

Footnote: Did you notice the name of the manufacturer of this fine penny-farthing bicycle. Here all this time I thought Popes were elected by the princes of the Church... for better or (in the case of the incumbent) worse.

Head of Mormon "church" summoned to face UK charges of "fraudulent teaching"

Here's one for the books -- the law books that is. The Fraud Act, 2006 -- a British statute -- says it is a crime to make representations which are known to be untrue, with the intent of defrauding someone else. The Westminster magistrates believe this covers preaching something which is false, in order to get someone to give money to your "church". The notion invites considerable debate over what's true and what isn't, and whether someone can be persuaded to contribute to a "church" by the power of preaching.

The magistrates have issued a summons requiring Thomas Spencer Monson, of Salt Lake City, to appear before to answer the charge of contravening Section 1 of the said act. Mr. Monson [Elder Monson? Reverend Monson? Ed.], age 86 [definitely "elder" then. Ed.] is the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known to most of us as the Mormons.

According to The Telegraph, two former Mormons [kind of has a ring to it -- "former Mormons" -- if they were farmers they'd be "former farmer Mormons". Ed.] went to the Old Bill complaining that seven Mormon teachings were fraudulently presented to them as true, causing them to pay an annual tithe to the "church".

The teachings which Mormons believe, but which the magistrates charge are untrue, include:
- The Book of Mormon was translated from ancient gold plates by Joseph Smith, is the most correct book on earth, and is an ancient historical record
- All humans alive today are descended from just two people who lived approximately 6,000 years ago
- Native Americans are descended from an Israelite family which left Jerusalem in 600 B.C.
- The Book of Abraham is a literal translation of Egyptian papyri by Joseph Smith.
Click here to read all seven (allegedly) false teachings.

"Allegedly"... Walt uses the word on the advice of Agent 3, recognizing that there will undoubtedly be considerable argument as to whether the teachings are true or false. After all, just because South Park doubts the veracity of the Word according to Joseph Smith doesn't make Mr. Smith a false prophet...does it?

We must seriously consider attending the trial, if there is one. (Elder Monson might choose to ignore the summons, since it does not purport to be issued on behalf of God or even Her Britannic Majesty. Whatever happened to the old customary language?) Said trial, if there is one, will surely make the Scopes Monkey Trial look like... errr... a Sunday school picnic.

If there is a trial, the verdict will be awaited with considerable trepidation by countless televangelists and, dare we say it, priests and bishops of the One True Church. Suppose the Pope were proven wrong about something which he taught (not infallibly), for instance that you don't really have to be Catholic to be saved. Could we then claim a refund for all those Peter's Pence we've given over the years? Doesn't bear thinking about, does it...

Pope who? Francis? Who?

Walt's agent in the Vatican reports that the new pope's first words to the cardinals assembled for a late dinner last night were, "Let me be Frank with you..." [OK, you got that out of your system. Now get on with it. Ed.]

OK, seriously... Walt didn't have any bets on the outcome of this week's conclave, which was just as well as Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio was a 25-to-1 long shot so my wise barber would have been the richer, not I. Frankly [Don't make me come up there! Ed.], although Cardinal Bergoglio is said to have been the runner-up to Pope Ratzinger last time, I had never heard of him. All I know is what I read in the press.

Our new Pope Francis (not Francis I until there's another) is Argentinian, born in Buenos Aires to Italian immigrants. Nothing wrong with that. Lots of Argentinians have ties to Italy, and being raised in an immigrant family is said to be good for the character.

He is a Jesuit -- the first Jesuit pope in history. He took the name "Francis" in honour of St. Francis Xavier, the great missionary and evangelizer, and one of the first seven Jesuits formed under St. Ignatius Loyola. Over the centuries, the Jesuit order has had a somewhat fraught relationship with Rome. Sometimes the Jesuits have been great defenders of the Faith. Occasionally -- and recently -- some Jesuits have taken up the cause of liberalization and modernization, thus departure from Tradition.

As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergoglio stood against a powerful secular government on the issues of same-sex marriage, contraception and abortion. Argentina's laws on those matters have been liberalized, but not for lack of opposition by the prelate. In fact, Argentina's president once referred to him as "the opposition".  

Francis is the first pope from the New World, and the first pope from the southern hemisphere. Considering that more than half of the world's 1,200,000,000 Catholics live in "the South", and that the Old World is in seemingly irreversible decline, it's good to see a recognition of the shift in the centre of power. And thank God the choice wasn't the "charismatic" (read "blowhard") American Cardinal Dolan.

Thank God too that the cardinal electors has the wisdom to steer clear of the trap set for them by the despicable and despised Cardinal Bertone. Knowing that he himself would not have a prayer of getting the position he coveted for all these years, Bertone put up his owned man, Brazil's Cardinal Scherer -- a prelate unloved even in his own country -- against the supposed front-runner, the Italian Cardinal Scola, who was backed by the large anti-Bertone faction within the Curia. Neither would have been a suitable choice.

The history of the papacy since the death of Pius XII has been a sad one. John XXIII, for reasons highly suspect but ultimately unknown, called the council which undertook the suicidal "reform" of the Roman Catholic Church. His successor, Paul VI, let "the smoke of Satan" into the Church. Those were Pope Pauls' own words!

Yes, the smoke of Satan entered the Church by way of Vatican II. It was rumored that John Paul I intended to undo some of the worst abuses of the Council -- notably the suppression of the Mass of All Time in favour of the vernacular "New Mass" -- but he died mysteriously just a month into his reign. How Italian is that!

Since then, under John Paul II and Benedict XVI, the Church (especially the Vatican) is still filled with the "unholy smoke". The smoky stench of sin and corruption is everywhere, especially in the Curia. It is to be hoped that Pope Francis, who had no connection with Rome and the evil men who lurk there, will open the windows. Let this "new broom" sweep clean! Let us pray...

Recommended reading on the disastrous consequences of Vatican II: Has the Catholic Church Gone Mad?, by John Eppstein (Arlington House, 1971).

Waiting for the red shoe(s) to drop

Dear readers, I hope you don't expect much of Walt until at least tomorrow. As I write, the cardinals are just beginning to cast their first ballot to choose the next pope.

In the last 48  hours I've heard at least a dozen different news reports from a dozen different sources, all speculating on which princes of the Church might  be considered front-runners. The same names keep coming up, but no-one dares to say Cardinal Whosis or Cardinal Dunnohim has a lock on it.

Some of Walt's people are in Rome but they are no closer to knowing the likely outcome than am I, sitting here on the outskirts of Fort Mudge. I have a sentimental favourite, of course, and am praying against at least two of the named front-runners. And I can't see anyone -- not one -- who would be even faintly likely to return the Church to the paths of Tradition.

I will write more when I have something to say.

"Peter the Roman": the last pope?

Saint Malachy (1094-1148) was known as great prophet. While in Rome in 1139 he received a vision showing him all the popes from his day to the end of time. According to these prophecies, there would be only two more popes after John Paul II.

While on his way to the Vatican to assume the post of papal legate for Ireland, he fell into a trance and saw a line of papal reigns stretching from the successor to Innocent II and extending through centuries to the last of the line.

When he committed his vision to paper, St. Malachy assigned short descriptions in Latin to each pope. These phrases or mottoes usually refer to a family name, birthplace, coat-of-arms, or office held before election to the papacy.

Some of the phrases are multiple prophecies, written with ingenious word play. They purport to describe each of the Roman Catholic popes (along with a few anti-popes), beginning with Pope Celestine II (elected in 1143) and concluding with a pope described in the prophecy as "Peter the Roman", whose pontificate will end in the destruction of the city of Rome.

Through the centuries, his prophecies have turned out to be amazingly accurate, even prophesying the date of his death. In all, 112 popes and their characteristics are listed from 1143 to the prophesied end of the world, or perhaps religion as we know it, when the Truth of human creation and destiny is finally revealed. And now the video.

Saint Malachy's prophecies - The Last 10 Popes

1. The Burning Fire. PIUS X. 1903-1914. This Pope showed a burning passion for spiritual renewal in the Church.

2. Religion Laid Waste. BENEDICT XV. 1914-1922. During this Pope's reign saw Communism move into Russia where religious life was laid waste, and World War I with the death of millions of Christians who were carnage in Flanders Field and elsewhere.

3. Unshaken Faith. PIUS XI. 1922-1939. This Pope faced tremendous pressure from fascist and sinister powers in Germany and Italy, but he was an outspoken critic of Communism and Fascism which enraged Hitler.

4. An Angelic Shepherd. PIUS XII. 1939-1958. This Pope had an affinity for the spiritual world and received visions which have not been made public. Peter Bander says Pius XII "has emerged as one of the great Popes of all time," and he "was in the truest sense of the word an Angelic Pastor to the flock..."

5. Pastor and Mariner. JOHN XXIII. 1958-1963. John was a pastor to the world, much beloved, and the Patriarch of Venice. The connection to "mariner" is thus remarkable.

6. Flower of Flowers. PAUL VI. 1963-1978. Paul's coat-of-arms depicts three fleurs-de-lis, corresponding to Malachay's prophecy. His coat of arms included three fleurs-de-lis (iris blossoms).

7. Of the Half Moon. JOHN PAUL I. 1978-1978. John Paul I was elected Pope on August 26, 1978, when there was a half moon. He reigned 33 days, that is, about one month, when he died, although many think he was murdered. He was the 109th Pope - is "De Medietate Lunae" (Of the Half Moon). The corresponding pope was John Paul I (1978-78), who was born in the diocese of Belluno (beautiful moon) and was baptized Albino Luciani (white light). He became pope on August 26, 1978, when the moon appeared exactly half full. It was in its waning phase. He died the following month, soon after an eclipse of the moon.

8. The Labour of the Son. JOHN PAUL II. 1978-2005. Pope John Paul II was the most travelled Pope in history. He circled the globe numerous times, preaching to huge audiences everywhere he went. He survived an assassination attempt. He has written a book which has enjoyed a large circulation. Like the sun which never ceases to labor and provides light daily, this Pope has been incessant. He was born on May 18, 1920. On that date in the morning there was a near total eclipse of the sun over Europe. Prophecy - The 110th Pope is "De Labore Solis" (Of the Solar Eclipse, or, From the Toil of the Sun). Like the sun he came out of the East (Poland).

9. The Glory of the Olive. The Order of St. BENEDICT has said this Pope will come from their order. It is interesting that Jesus gave his apocalyptic prophecy about the end of time from the Mount of Olives. This Pope will reign during the beginning of the tribulation Jesus spoke of. The 111th prophesy is "Gloria Olivae" (The Glory of the Olive). The Order of Saint Benedict has claimed that this pope will come from their ranks. Saint Benedict himself prophesied that before the end of the world his Order, known also as the Olivetans, will triumphantly lead the Catholic Church in its fight against evil.

10. Peter the Roman - This final Pope will likely be Satan, taking the form of a man named Peter who will gain a worldwide allegiance and adoration. He will be the final antichrist which prophecy students have long foretold. If it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived. The 112th prophecy states: "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Petrus Romanus, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End."

DISCLAIMER: The commentator in this video is an evangelical Protestant, not a spokesperson for the Church. However, like so many Protestants, he understands that to know God's plan for us, we must know the Bible and the traditions of the Church. What he says makes sense to me. Even if you don't believe in prophecies made after the last book of the Bible (the Apocalypse, or Revelation as the speaker refers to it), the signs of the last times are there, in the Bible itself. We have only to read and heed.  

Walt tells you who the next Pope won't be

Will the next Pope be Catholic? By that I mean, someone who holds to the Traditional Faith, given to us by Jesus Christ, while He was here on earth with us, and handed down to us by His apostles through Holy Mother Church.

If someone who keeps the Faith is to become Pope -- as Walt hopes and earnestly prays -- that would exclude the Great Pretender, the prelate who likes to think of himself as "Deputy Pope" and "prime minister of the Church". That would be Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, perhaps the most reviled man in the curia.

Speculation is rife as to the reasoning behind Pope Ratzinger's decision to resign. The Holy Father said that he no longer had the mental and physical strength which he believes the position requires. And it is reported this morning that he told a German journalist two years ago that he would resign if he no longer felt he could carry on.

In this, one can see the Holy Father's wish to avoid the sad and sorry spectacle of Pope John Paul II, who, in the last years of his pontificate, objectively appeared to have lost some of his faculties. If JPII had been your grandfather, you'd have put him in a home! It was painful to watch him die in office, but he was determined, it seems, to carry on to the end.

But his doing so had grave consequences for his papacy and for Holy Mother Church. Some of the things he said and did, in those last years, caused many believers -- not just traditionalists either -- to question whether the pope had taken leave of his senses. I refer to the travesty of the syncretic sacrilege at Assisi, and JPII's whimsical decision to add a fourth set of Mysteries to the Holy Rosary given to us by Our Lady.

The older and more "out of it" John Paul got, the worse things became. Questions were rightly asked about who was really running the Church! The answer is that even though the pope was Polish, the powers behind the throne were the Secretaries of State: Cardinals Casaroli, Sodano and Bertone -- every one an Italian, every one a modernist, and every one behaving as if he, not the pope, was the real Vicar of Christ.

That's why Bertone will not be elected at the conclave to be held next month. There is recognition -- at last -- that the decisions made and directions taken in the last two or three decades have been not just wrong but disastrously wrong.

When John Paul II was elevated to the papacy, there was a glimmer of hope that the suicidal errors of Vatican II might be undone, and the Church set back on Her true and traditional course. But any ideas JPII may have had along those lines were thwarted by his "prime ministers" and a Roman curia rotten with Freemasons, protestants, and -- yes -- apostates.

Walt predicts that, although the Italians will lobby strenuously to have one of their own "restored to power", prelates from the Third World will campaign successfully to have not just a non-Italian but a non-European pope, for the first time in history. Lifetime pct .987.

"I declare that I renounce the ministry of the Bishop of Rome". Click here to read the English translation of Pope Benedict's statement (read in Latin).
Further reading: Fr. Divo Barsotti's criticisms of Vatican Council II. If you want to understand why I call the direction of the modern Church "suicidal", don't fail to read this! I'm no theologian, but Father Barsotti certainly was.

HUGE news: Pope to resign at end of February!

Walt didn't see it coming. (Lifetime pct .987) Pope Benedict XVI surprised just about everyone this morning by announcing he would resign from the leadership of the One True Church, effective at the end of the month. The pontiff said he no longer has the mental and physical strength to cope with the demands of his ministry.

The Holy Father's aides are reported to be "incredulous". Death, one might have foreseen, but not resignation. It is not the popes never quit. But the last one to resign was Celestine V, way back in 1296.

When Benedict was first elected eight years ago -- it seems longer, doesn't it -- conservative Catholics rejoiced in hopes that under the leadership of "God's rottweiler" the Church's drift into Protestanism and heresy could be halted, perhaps even reversed. Traditionalists looked to him to heal the schism between the modernists and those who hold to the Traditional Faith. They have been sorely disappointed.

A Vatican spokesman said the Pope had not resigned because of "difficulties in the papacy". But of course that would be the official party line, wouldn't it.  Still, it's significant that the spokesman added "The Pope does not fear schism in the Church after his resignation."

This is obviously breaking news... huge news. Walt will have more reaction and comment very soon.

Will the next pope be a Canadian? Vatican insider thinks so

Surprising speculation from the panting heart of Rome! Noted Vaticanista Sandro Magister has just published a "classroom exercise" in which he predicts the next pope will be a cardinal from the New World. In yesterday's Chiesa, he wrote:

The metamorphosis underway in Catholicism worldwide is such that, if one wished to do a classroom exercise, the candidate for pope who most corresponds to it today is without a doubt Canadian cardinal Marc Ouellet, 68, multilingual, the former archbishop of Québec, which is one of the most secularized regions of the planet, a talented theologian of the Ratzingerian school, now the prefect of the Vatican congregation that selects new bishops, and above all for many years a missionary in Latin America.

Sr Magister's argument, concluded by that paragraph, is that the Church in Europe is moribund -- no argument there -- but "coming back strong" in the United States and growing by leaps and bounds in Asia and Latin America.

Walt confesses to being surprised by Sr Magister's rose-tinted view of the state of the Church in the USA. Some of the most poisoned fruits of Vatican II have been harvested in the USA. I refer to "clown masses" and other liturgical abuses, the plague of perverted priests and bishops and the ensuing cover-ups, the ferocious feminism and the general prevalence of "cafeteria Catholicism" amongst those -- espeically poewr-hungry politicians -- who have the nerve to call themselves "practising Catholics".

It's enough to make you think that the mainstream Church in the USA -- the majority of Catholics who accept Vatican II and all its errors -- has surrendered completely to the philosophies and forces of secular humanism.

But then, just when a traditionalist might be on the brink of despair, along comes a true leader like Francis Cardinal George, the Archbishop of Chicago, who has the courage to stick his head above the parapet and stand up for the freedom of the Catholic Church to preach and practise Her Faith as guaranteed by the Constitution.

Just last month, Thomas Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, did the same thing, in the face of the Ontario government's forcing Catholics to make room in their schools for "gay-straight alliances", so called. The "anti-bullying" bill -- truly a bullying bill in disguise -- is now law, but the Cardinal made his stand and made his point. Catholic voters won't forget.

So, perhaps Sr Magister is right. Even in the namby-pamby mainstream Church, which tries so hard to be politically correct and not offend apostates, heretics and infidels, there are some who are beginning to say we have gone too far down the road to a secular, humanist, post-Christian society. If one of them is chosen to fill the shoes of St. Peter, so much the better for the Church and for the world.

Nos lecteurs d'expression française sont priés de lire "Exercice d'école sur l'identité du prochain pape".

What the Vatican butler saw

The "Vatileaks" story -- an investigation into a recent series of links of sensitive Vatican documents -- is taking on the air of a great detective story, or even a "St. James Bond" thriller! This week saw the arrest by the Vatican police -- yes, the Holy See does have a gendarmerie -- of none other than the Pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele.

Signor Gabriele, who has been majordomo of the Holy Father's household for six years, was allegedly discovered in possession of confidential documents. He is now being held in the Vatican's little used jail -- they have one of those too -- for further questioning. [Do I hear the rack being dusted off? Ed.]

But who is Signor Gabriele? What documents would he be filching, and why? Although he's a member of the pontifical household, Gabriele is only a layman. Would he know the significance of the letters and files with which he was caught? One can picture him looking at confidential documents on the Pope's desk while he did the dusting, but what would someone with no particular influence, acting on his own, do with the papers? Sell them on eBay? Hardly likely!

Vatican insiders are convinced that the "Vatileaks" scandal has been orchestrated by some more senior official... someone deeply involved in the ongoing power struggle within the Vatican. Perhaps the point of Gabriele's arrest is to set him up as a scapegoat to deflect attention from the real mastermind... perhaps a powerful prelate. Shades of Lee Harvey Oswald! Let's hope nothing happens to the butler before he can talk!

Walt is waiting with bated (not baited) breath for the next reel, in which the identity of the villain is revealed. Want to play the guessing game with me? Ask yourself what Italian cardinal likes to regard himself as the Pope's prime minister... the No. 2 man at the Vatican... the eminence grise... the power behind the Chair of Peter.

Which cardinal feels it's time for the papacy to pass back into the hands of an Italian... like his eminent self, for instance? Those who believe Lyndon Johnson was behind the assassination of JFK should have no trouble deducing the identity of the Man Who Would Be Pope. Lifetime pct .989.

American Catholics to lead revitalization of the Faith? Really???

Walt is shaking his head [so hard his little brain is rattling. Ed.] at a statement reportedly made by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the apostolic nuncio to the United States. Speaking at the Pontifical College Joesphinum, in Ohio, on April 27th, Abp. Vigano called on American Catholics to "lead the entire Church in the world" to revitalize the Faith. And, he said, his call was "the vision of the Holy Father".

Which leads me to wonder, has Abp. Vigano taken leave of his senses, or is it the Pope himself who needs to have his vision corrected. Granted, the Faith in Europe is in a sad state of decline, and badly needs an example. But looking to the liberalism and unorthodoxy of the mainstream Catholic Church in America as a source of leadership and inspiration... that really is a very bad joke. Walt will tell you why.

Item: According to a recent opinion poll, "Catholic" voters in the US still (narrowly) favour the re-election of Barack Hussein Obama -- the president who has virtually declared war on the Church by mandating that Catholic institutions provide contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs to their employees.

Item: In April, Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria was widely criticized by other Catholic bishops and priests for having the temerity to denounce the Obama régime and remind Catholics that it is their duty to vote their consciences.

Item: Bishop Jenky came under "friendly fire" from the faculty of Notre Dame University, but that's nothing. Now the IRS is said to be considering an investigation of his remarks. There (potentially) goes the Church’s tax-exempt status!

Item: Many so-called "Catholic" colleges and universities in the USA will feature pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage commencement speakers in the coming weeks. Among those providing a bully pulpit for anti-Catholicism is Georgetown University (visited by Walt in person just two weeks ago) which will host "Health and Human Services" Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's point person on the pro-choice file.

CatholicCulture reminds us that in 2008, Archbishop Joseph Naumann revealed that he had asked Sebelius not to receive Holy Communion because of her support for legalized abortion. Four years earlier, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that "the Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

The Cardinal Newman Society has collected well over 12,000 signatures on an e-petition opposing the appearance of Ms Sebelius. (Click here to add your signature!) And yet the Catholic "leaders" Abp. Vigano is counting on -- his office, by the way, is not all that far from GU -- remain unmoved.

Item: Speaking of "unmoved", a "Catholic" wimmin's group calling itself the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in the U.S., recently rebuked by a Vatican report for its departure from Catholic teaching in several areas, is far from bowing its head. The LCWR has enlisted the support of the lamestream media, which is accusing the hierarchy of trying to suppress progressive opinion in the Church. The real story is quite different. The Vatican's problems with the LCWR are doctrinal, not political. Period.

One last item: A survey of America’s youngest voters has found that many young people are drifting away from the religion in which they were raised. The study by Georgetown University’s Berkley Center found that Catholics and mainline Protestants were most likely to change their religious affiliations, with Catholic students rejecting their Faith at higher rates than non-Catholics. Hardly surprising, at Georgetown.

So... who is misinformed about the state of the Church in the USA? Is it Archbishop Vigano or Pope Benedict himself? Could it be that the situation in Europe is so dire that Catholicism in America looks healthy by comparison?

Another question. Whence cometh the optimism of the Holy Father (or Abp. Vigano) that the worldwide loss of the Faith can be halted (let alone reversed) by the leadership and example of the American Church?

Could it be that the Pope and his minion have forgotten about... or simply do not believe in... the prophecy and request of Our Lady of Fatima? The Fatima Prophecy makes no mention of the United States. The Blessed Virgin names Russia as the key to world peace... or the agent of world chastisement.

It is Russia, She tells us, not the United States, that will revitalize the Faith, but only after Russia is converted to Catholicism. And that will happen only after the Pope, acting in union with the bishops (including Abp. Vigano), consecrates Russia to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart.

It is to Our Lady, not the American Church, that the Holy Father must look for the means to revitalize the True Faith. Let us pray he heeds Her requests... soon!

Have faith in God, not technology: Benedict XVI

Thanks to the miracles of modern science, we humans are more powerful now than ever before. We are masters of our world and masters of our lives. Right?

Modern technology lets us to fly from one side of the earth to the other in less than 24 hours. And we can get through the airports at other end in only six or seven hours.

Modern technology enables us to know in the first months of a pregnancy whether a child is healthy and whether it's a boy or a girl. And if it's a girl, modern technology helps us to kill her before she sees the light of day.

Modern technology gives us access to literally 1000s of channels of information and entertainment. We can see pornography from all over the world on our tablets, Blackberries, even our cellphones, 24 hours a day.

At the risk of being called a technophobe, Walt ventures the opinion that today's world is a worse place -- more complicated, more contaminated and more inhospitable -- than ever before.

Why? Because the modern world has been created by humans who think their science has made them better than God. We can do anything, they think, except maybe create life and we're pretty close to that. Aren't we humans great?

Pope Benedict XVI is of a different view. He told Palm Sunday worshippers that man will pay the price for his pride if he believes technology can give him the powers of God.

The Holy Father's homily, delivered to tens of thousands in St. Peter's Square, had as its theme man’s relationship with God and how it can sometimes be threatened by technology.

"From the beginning men and women have been filled — and this is as true today as ever — with a desire to ‘be like God’, to attain the heights of God by their own powers," the pontiff said. "All the inventions of the human spirit are ultimately an effort to gain wings so as to rise to the heights of Being and to become independent, completely free, as God is free."

“Mankind has managed to accomplish so many things: we can fly! We can see, hear and speak to one another from the farthest ends of the earth. And yet the force of gravity which draws us down is powerful,” he said.

While the great advances of technology have improved life for man, the Pope explained, they have also increased possibilities for evil, and recent natural disasters are a reminder, if any were needed, that mankind is not all-powerful.

In spite of being "powered by technology", today's world is in a horrible state. The lesson to be learned, Pope Benedict said, is that "the great achievements of technology...contribute to the progress of mankind only if they are joined to these attitudes – if our hands become clean and our hearts pure, if we seek truth, if we seek God and let ourselves be touched and challenged by His love.

"All these means of 'ascent' are effective only if we humbly acknowledge that we need to be lifted up; if we abandon the pride of wanting to become God. We need God. He draws us upwards; letting ourselves be upheld by His hands – by faith, in other words – sets us aright and gives us the inner strength that raises us on high. We need the humility of a faith which seeks the face of God and trusts in the truth of His love."

Walt says "amen".

The odor of sanctity?

According to Joe Carter, writing in the First Things blog the Pope’s summer home will soon be heated by "horse flatulence".

Mr. Carter is passing on a story in Inhabitat, a blog "devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future."

The Vatican, says Inhabitat, is doing its utmost to make itself "the greenest state in the world", which shouldn't be hard (Mr. Carter says) since the Vatican is the smallest state in the world. [Not San Marino? Ed.]

There are rumors that Vatican officials are researching a more environmentally friendly equivalent to the the Popemobile. They hope that an electric vehicle can be found to substitute for the iconic motor vehicle used by the Pope when visiting foreign states or making outdoor public appearances.

Perhaps, though, they should be thinking about a horse-drawn carriage. It seems the Vatican does have horses, although the point of keeping them is something of a mystery.

Being horses and eating oats or whatever, the Papal ponies produce a certain amount of equine flatulence. So, Inhabitat tells us, the Pope’s summer residence is being outfitted to harness the methane generated by the horse stables!

Now if they could only find a way to heat the buildings with some of the hot air generated by Cardinals Bertone, Kasper and others, they'd really be showing a commitment to reducing the Vatican's greenhouse gas emissions.

Politically incorrect Cardinal doesn't get to visit UK

Walter Cardinal Kasper, a.k.a. "The Friendly Ghost of the Vatican" announced yesterday that he would not, after all, be accompanying Pope Benedict XVI on his state visit to the United Kingdom.

He's been left off the tour, it seems, because of a truthful but remarkably un-PC comment about the UK’s growing ethnic diversity.

The prelate, formerly president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, was reported as saying, “When you arrive at Heathrow you think at times that you’ve landed in a Third World country.”

Shortly after the story broke in the Daily Telegraph, Cardinal Kasper announced that he would stay in Rome because he had been ill “for several days.” Besides, he added, he doesn't really care for Britain's national dish, chicken tikka massala.

Said Her Brittanic Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, "We are not amused."

The Pope is not always infallible

I was watching a report, on one of the major TV networks, about the deepening scandal in the Church. The bingo-caller concluded his standup thus: "Catholics believe the Pope is infallible", the implication being that the failure of Cardinal Ratzinger (as he then was) to defrock an evil priest proves he is not infallible. The "reporter" is quite wrong.

First of all, the dogma of papal infallibility applies only to a reigning pope. It does not extend retroactively to say that the man's life and career, up to the point of his election, was unblemished. The Pope is the Vicar of Christ, but he is only human.

Secondly, infallibility has to do with things the Pope says, under certain conditions. It does not mean that a pope can never make a mistake of any kind. Again, he's only human. If the Pope looks out the window in the morning and says "I think it's going to rain", and it doesn't, that doesn't prove he's fallible.

To be clear, the Pope is only infallible when

• he is making a statement or pronouncement on a matter of faith or morals
• he is speaking from his throne (ex cathedra), and
• when he says that he is speaking infallibly, in his position and with his authority as pope.

Everybody clear now? You're welcome.

Anglo-Catholic or Roman Catholic?

Walt started cheering, perhaps prematurely, when Pope Benedict XVI last fall announced the creation of ordinariates through which entire Anglican communities could leave the Church of England and come into communion with Rome.

In this way, Anglicans fed up with their sect's stance on such things as homosexuality and the "ordination" of women could return to the True Church and yet keep their distinctive English liturgy and present leaders.

The Pope's move has caused some consternation in the ranks of liberal "new church" Catholics, but even more amongst Anglican leaders (including the nominal head of the church, Queen Elizabeth II) who fear a mass exodus.

Now a leading Anglican bishop has dismissed the Holy Father’s decision as, in effect, a half measure. John Sentamu, the Anglican archbishop of York, said “If people genuinely realize that they want to be Roman Catholic, they should convert properly, and go through catechesis and be made proper Catholics.... If I was really, genuinely wanting to convert, I wouldn’t go into an ordinariate. I would actually go into catechesis and become a truly converted Roman Catholic and be accepted [as such].”

Indeed. To analogize with hockey or football, you can't join another team but keep wearing your old team's jersey. Either make a total commitment, with all that implies, or stay where you are.

Click here to read "Archbishop of York dismisses Pope's call for conversions to Roman Catholicism", in the online edition of the Telegraph.

Catholics welcome a return to order and meaning in the Mass

November 28th's New York Times carried a fascinating op-ed piece by Kenneth J. Wolfe, the first traditional Catholic to contribute to the left-liberal paper in living memory. Mr. Wolfe explains how it was that Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, who should have been excommunicated, being a Freemason, came to destroy the traditional Mass of St. Pius V, the Tridentine Mass, the Mass of All Time.

The story goes back to 1948, when Pope Pius XII, who was opposed to any modernization of the traditional Latin Mass, in use for over four centuries, nevertheless appointed Bugnini to the Vatican's liturgical commission. One wonders if Pius knew that Bugnini “aimed at appeasing non-Catholics, and…emulating Protestant services…including placing altars to face the people instead of a sacrifice toward the liturgical east.”

Wolfe’s piece quotes Bugnini’s infamous declaration: “We must strip from our...Catholic liturgy everything which can be the shadow of a stumbling block for our separated brethren, that is, for the Protestants.”

And he succeeded, at least partly because none of Pius's successors knew or cared much about the liturgy. The next pope, John XXIII, named Bugnini secretary to the Preparatory Commission for the Liturgy of Vatican II, in which position he worked with Catholic clergymen and, surprisingly, some Protestant ministers on liturgical reforms. In 1962 he wrote what would eventually become the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the document that gave the form of the new Mass.

Wolfe recounts how Bugnini changed so many things so quickly and so completely that the popes themselves sometimes did not know the latest directives. He tells how Pope Paul VI once questioned the vestments set out for him by his staff, saying they were the wrong color, only to be told "he" had eliminated the week-long celebration of Pentecost and could not wear the corresponding red garments for Mass. The pope’s master of ceremonies then saw Paul break down in tears.

"What a telling bit of history this is," says Catholic commentator Christopher Ferrara. Since Vatican II, he says, "the Pope has too often become a rubber stamp for the whims of the Vatican bureaucracy, whose functionaries all purport to act in his name and with his 'full authority'. The result of this factory-like process is that a Pope confronted with a fait accompli enacted in his name may lack the hardihood to overturn it."

Thanks be to God, we at last have a Pope, Benedict XVI, who seems to want to undo the incalculable damage of Vatican II. In particular, Benedict seems bent on "reforming the reform", to restore to the faithful the true Mass, the traditional Mass which served us so well for so long.

Wolfe concludes with praise for Pope Benedict XVI’s "counterrevolution". He ends with this indictment of the past forty years of "liturgical reform":
"Bugnini may have finally met his match in Benedict XVI… 40 years of the new Mass have brought chaos and banality into the most visible and outward sign of the Church. Benedict XVI wants a return to order and meaning. So, it seems, does the next generation of Catholics."

Vatican confirms Pope to visit Fatima

Vatican Radio has now confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI will travel to the Marian shrine at Fatima, in Portugal, in May 2010. Father Federico Lombardi, the Director of the Holy See’s Press Office, said the Holy Father plans to preside over religious celebrations marking the 93rd anniversary of the first apparition of the Blessed Virgin at Fatima.

Click here and follow the link to hear the Vatican Radio report on this and the Pope's other travel plans.

Pope to visit Fatima next May - DO hold your breath!

Yesterday Associated Press broke the news that government officials in Portugal have announced that Pope Benedict XVI plans to visit the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima next year.

This major announcement has not yet been confirmed by the Vatican, which normally waits until a few weeks before a papal trip. But it's not likely that the Portuguese government would give out the news were plans not firm.

The AP report says the Holy Father will preside at celebrations marking the 93rd anniversary of the miraculous apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima on May 13, 1917.

Traditional Catholics, particularly Fatima scholars like Father Nicholas Gruner, are speculating that the Pope may use the occasion to reveal, at long last, the words Our Lady confided to Sister Lucy, in the Third Secret of Fatima.

Those words, indeed the very existence of the Third Secret, have long been the subject of extreme controversy in Catholic circles. The Vatican was supposed to divulge the Third Secret in 1960, according to the instructions of the Virgin, but it did the opposite, hiding Sister Lucy's handwritten notes deep in the Vatican Archives.

Why all the secrecy? Why has every Pope since Vatican II kept silent while princes of the Church tried to silence the voice of Our Lady? The Third Secret is widely believed to predict corruption and apostasy in the Church, and the loss of the traditional Catholic Faith which has followed on Vatican II. No wonder the Church doesn't want to talk about it!

But Benedict XVI has read the Secret and has called it the greatest prophecy of the 20th century. He knows what it says and what Our Lady wants him to do to avoid the loss of millions, even billions, of lives and souls.

The Holy Father faces opposition from powerful forces within the Vatican itself, notably Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the papal wannabe. But perhaps -- let us hope and pray -- the Pope has decided that at last he must act! Those who hold to the traditional Catholic Faith should be counting the days until May 13, 2010.

Most Catholics know little or nothing about Fatima and Our Lady's prophecies for these last times. If you would like further information, let me know how to contact you by snail-mail, and I'll send you The True Story of Fatima, by Father John DeMarchi. Knowing the truth about the Message of Fatima could save your soul!