May 15th Update on Return of Sacraments

1. Kindly forward and circulate my article in the Federalist:   Mass Governor Targets Churches for Shutdown Rules He didn't Apply to Home Depot.

"Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker took it upon himself to make the salvation of our immortal souls constitutionally subordinate to the authority of the government. This is wrong and illegal."

2.  Earlier this week, a reporter asked Governor Baker whether churches would be included in his May 18th plan.  Allow me to paraphrase his answer – He thinks church is for old people and while it’s perfectly safe for hundreds old folks to line up at Walmart to hoard toilet paper and paper towels, whenever they go to church there is a hotbed breakout of contagion, so he simply must take that into consideration.

All I can say is, if he goes down that rabbit hole on May 18^th, he better have a paper trail of statistics proving it because he is going to be getting a subpoena to show it to a judge in federal court.

There is no such evidence because churches have been shut down all over the world.   

More importantly, if Governor Baker believes people over 50 are incapable of making judgment calls about their own safety, why wouldn't he order them to stay home?     

They are free to go to everywhere but to church?

Supermarkets are the most dangerous places in the world for contagion. Governor Baker trusts people over 50 to know what to do to protect themselves from contagion at a Supermarket but he doesn't believe they are capable of exercising right judgment at churches?

Nonsense.   How is this not religious bigotry?

Lots of things have transpired in the two days since Governor Baker made the above-referenced statement. Numerous Governors across the US have conceded their war against religion and opened churches with the exact same exemptions and percentages as secular activities.  Courts are ruling against Governors who refuse to surrender.

Governor Baker is well aware that the cease and desist order upon his failures to include Second Amendment Rights as essential services are also applicable to the First Amendment.  He also knows that hundreds of prayerful people are preparing to take him to federal court and battle with the DOJ is looming. 

 Yesterday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court threw out Governor Tony Evers stay-at-home orders.

My gut instincts are, Governor Baker is not going to wage a holy war against us, but we shall see what happens.  

But, we are preparing in the event he imposes restrictions upon religious liberty that are not imposed upon people standing in lines to purchase products to get inebriated.  A number of Catholics have agreed to be plaintiffs in a federal suit asking for declaratory relief.  We would like to double that number.  Because of the nature of our Sacraments, a lawsuit from perspective of Catholic theology is of critical importance. This will be on the table of discussion for next week, but please give some prayerful consideration over the weekend to joining us.  

3. We have another problem in Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Bishops  

One of our main problems is, Rev. Bryan Hehir has been appointed to represent Massachusetts bishops in discussions with Governor Baker regarding the return of Sacraments.  

Practicing Catholics had such a long history of battling Rev. Hehir's poor judgment and Harvard-inspired communist ideology, they published an entire blog to document problems. 

I suspected Fr. Hehir was the source of the problem when the eight bishops of Boston felt their theological formation left them so incapable of making ethical decisions on Sacraments, they needed to appoint a woman with a secular theology degree from Harvard as 'chief ethicist' to tell them what to do. 

One of most deranged examples of Fr. Hehir's ethical judgment were manifested in his maneuvers in the selling of Catholic hospitals in Massachusetts.  To appease the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Fr. Hehir's master plan was contracting of off-site abortionists and compensating cab drivers to take desperate, at-risk women to the facility to receive an abortion.  He claimed he believed this arrangement was consistent with Catholic ethics.

When several Catholics, myself included,  Judie Brown of the American Life Leauge, C.J. Doyle of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts pointed out theological problems in hiring the uncathechized or diabolically disoriented to commit murders offsite, Cardinal O'Malley made the mistake of defending the arrangement, and called us 'people doing a disservice to the church'.  

When that backfired, he eventually agreed to have the arrangement reviewed by the National Catholic Bioethics Center, who of course, had to take a public position disagreeing with Cardinal O'Malley.

We are family and all is well that ends well, but it is baffling that Cardinal O'Malley continues to empower Fr. Hehir to make church arrangements with the state.  His history of poor judgment and political positions contrary to church teaching is well-documented.

Poor Charlie Baker is not going to know what hit him if he goes with Fr. Hehir's  insidious obstructions to the reception of Sacraments as they were presented in his April 20th webinar.  

Whether Governor Baker imposes Fr. Hehir's ideas or whether he cuts them loose on May 18th, sources in the Archdiocese of Boston tell me Cardinal O'Malley will continue on with Catholic parish closures.   The bishops just didn't have time to figure out a plan and they evidently do not know how to pick up the phone to consult with others, all over the world, who are executing their plans.  They claim to need weeks and weeks and weeks more.

Yesterday, in a message sent by Boston's Vicar General, he stated "It is practically impossible to set a date for when we will be able to re-open for Sunday Masses".

The plans in other dioceses in MA remain unknown, but we clearly have two different problems – we have government oppression of salvation and we have the smoke of satan within the church.

UPDATE  Springfield has broken with Fr. Hehir's coven.

Many and in fact most priests are anxious to get back to the work of salvation.  Sadly, for others, this is the best vacation they ever had and they are going to do everything they can to extend it.  By their fruits you shall know them.  There is a big push to promote watching them on television for an hour program on Sundays as an exciting new normal of Catholic practice.    But more on the Archdiocese of Boston next week.

This may be the first time the state has tried to shut churches down in the US, but it will not be the last attack upon Christ.  The Holy See has completely turned over the Church in China and our people to the communist government for persecution.  The writing is on the wall.

This Bishop Schneider article is well worth reading:

Today's public worship bans are like times of systemic Christian persecution

"The bishop insists that history will not look kindly on bishops who cooperated with governments' draconian edicts interfering in how Catholics practice the Faith."

We have learned a valuable lesson in this prelude of government oppression of the free exercise of religion.   When the time of real persecution comes to the US, we can count on most bishops to refuse us the Sacraments of our salvation as they knit by our guillotines.  I always expected the latter but the former is a new kick in the head.

But saints rise in every persecution and they are out there: Among them are Cardinal Burke, Archbishop Viganò, Bishop Schneider, Bishop Strickland, Bishop Bernard Ginoux and many good, holy, faithful bishops and priests.  

A few action items: 

Kindly review and sign Archbishop Viganò and Bishop Schneider’s

Appeal to the Church and World and Catholics of Good Will

ALSO: 

 There is a prayerful assemblythis Sunday at 3pm at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston.

Please join a few faithful Catholics on Sunday, May 17^th at  3:00 pm at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, 1400 Washington Street, Boston for outdoor prayer. 

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Holy Rosary will be recited.  

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for US!   Wherever you are on Sunday at 3pm PRAY!!!

Bring your rosary, chair, mask/face covering (signs aren’t necessary since this is a prayer rally).

 Pray to Venerable Pauline-Marie Jaricot, founder of The Living Rosary Association:

Almighty and merciful God, Who has chosen a humble virgin, Marie Pauline of Jesus Christ, the poor one of Mary, to found the great Catholic works of the Propagation of the Faith and the Living Rosary, and Who has wished in the midst of humiliations, trials and persecutions to purify her works, deign to hasten the day when Holy Mother the Church will publicly recognize her saintly life. We pray that by her example of patience and love for the Cross, her life-time prayer may be realized: the Universal propagation of the Faith in all its Purity Amen.                                                       

Mary, O my Mother, I am yours!