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Father Connell Answers Moral Questions

Saturday, October 1st, 2011

by Very Rev. Francis J. Connell, C.SS., S.T.D., LL.D., L.H.D.

Country or Conscience

Question: One of the questions sometimes put to Catholics in the United States is this: “In the event that there was a conflict between the laws of our country and the teachings of the Catholic Church, which would you obey?” What reply should a Catholic give to this query?

Answer: The question quoted by our correspondent is often intended to put Catholics in a situation in which they can be blamed, whatever answer they may give. If they answer that they would obey the civil law, they will be told that they are not consistent with the principles of the Catholic faith; if they answer that they would obey the teachings of the Church, they will be accused of disloyalty to their country.

I believe that the best rejoinder to this question is the question the interrogator: “What would you do if a civil law was passed that would be contrary to the law of God as your conscience dictates?” If the person questioned answers that under all circumstances he would regard the civil law as superior to every other form of legislation- in other words, if he accepts the principle “My country, right or wrong”- there would not be much advantage in arguing with him, since there is no common ground on which a discussion can be conducted. But I do not believe that there are many Americans who follow such an extreme view.

Most of the citizens of our land accept the principle that in a conflict between civil legislation and the divine law, the latter should be given precedence. Actually, the American government put this principle into operation several years ago, to refute some of the Nazi war criminals. When they claimed that they performed acts of cruelty because they were commanded to do so by their civil laws or by their superiors, they were told that there is a higher law (the law which is called the natural law by Catholics) which must be obeyed, even when it is contrary to the civil laws or the laws of superiors. Most of the citizens of our land accept this principle, whatever be their religious beliefs.

However, if some legislative act were passed in our land which the Church would officially declare contrary to the law of God, Catholics would accept the decision of the Church. For example, if any state legalized “mercy killing” (and attempts are being made to pass such a measure in some of our states) Catholics would be bound in conscience to refuse all participation in this procedure, which is simply murder. Thus, a Catholic judge would not be permitted to authorize the killing of a sick person, a Catholic doctor would not be allowed to administer a lethal drug, even though this were commanded by state law or civil officials. Catholics should not hesitate to explain these principles to their non-Catholic fellow citizens. We are not shamed to declare our stand- that in the event of a conflict between civil la w and God’s law as authoritatively declared by our Church, we should give preference to God’s law.

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controversy of Pope St. Marcellinus

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

from August 2011 Adsum:

In a recent pamphlet written by a Julio Pro, M.D., objections were raised against the sedevacantists. One “proof” given was the supposed apostasy of Pope St. Marcellinus. It was erroneously claimed that this saintly Pope offered worship to false gods and still remained Pope. The following excerpt refutes this historical error:

“The States subject to Rome, watered with the blood of the persecuted, only because the more productive of Christian branches. Tortures tore the bodies of the martyrs, but their souls, firmly embracing the faith, remained invulnerable and invincible. Nevertheless, there were some weak spirits that yielded to threats, and with whom self-love prevailed over religion; and it has even been said that among those weak ones was Marcellinus himself. The falsehood which was circulated on this head was adorned with all the circumstances which might give it an air of probability. It was pretended that the pontiff, perceiving his fault, presented himself as a suppliant before a council of three hundred bishops, assembled at Sinuessa. There, ran the story, the culprit confessed his error, and, weeping, demanded that she should be sentenced to the punishment he had incurred; and the council replied: ’Pronounced sentence on thyself; the chief see cannot be judged but by itself.’ But in this statement every particular is false; it is now ascertained that the accusation is calumnious, and that the pontiff committed no fault. Saint Augustine, speaking of Petilius, author of that fable, says: ‘He calls Marcellinus a sacrilegious wretch; I declare him innocent. It is not necessary for me to weary myself to support my defence by proofs; for Petilius himself supports his accusations by no proof.”

-excerpt from Lives and Times of the Popes by Chevalier Artaud de Montor (1909)

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Catholic Liberals and religious liberty

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

Obviously, the insistence of the Popes upon the rights of truth is anathema to contemporary Liberalism in which unrestricted Liberty, including the liberty to propagate error, is the supreme norm. This liberty had been proclaimed in the Masonically inspired Rights of Man of the French Revolution and was subjected to one resignation only, the demands of public order. Papal teaching on the right of a Catholic state to repress error was embarrassing to such Catholic Liberals as Father Murray who wished to make Catholicism acceptable to contemporary American society. He was, no doubt, sincere in his efforts and considered them to be for the good of the Church. His principal argument was that the teaching of the Popes which has just been cited was related to a particular period in the history of the Church and was not of permanent validity. He was answered by no less an authority than Cardinal Ottaviani in an important article which appeared in the May 1953 issue of the American Ecclesiastical Review:

The first fault of these persons consists in their failure to accept fully the arma veritatis and the teaching which the Roman Pontiffs during the past century, and particularly the reigning Pontiff Pius XII, have given to Catholics on this subject in encyclical letters, allocutions, and instructions of various kinds.

To justify themselves these people assert that in the body of teaching imparted within the Church there are to be distinguished two elements, the one permanent, and the other transient. The latter is supposed to be due to the reflection of particular contemporary conditions.

Unfortunately, they carry this tactic so far as to apply it to the principles taught in pontifical documents, principles on which the teachings of the Popes have remained constant so as to make these principles a part of the patrimony of Catholic doctrine.

Archbishop Lefebvre and Religious Liberty by Michael Davies, p. 8-9.

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Posted in John Courtney Murray, Novus Ordo watch, Pope Pius XII, article, controversy, manifest heresy, pope, religious liberty | 1 Comment »

“The Mystical City of God”, Christ and Incarnation

Monday, July 25th, 2011
God the Father said the following:
74. “And in order that thou mayest better understand the answer to thy doubt, remember, that there is neither any succession of time in my decrees, nor any need of it for the perception and the execution of them. Those that say that the Word became incarnate in order to redeem the world, say well; and those that say, that He would have become incarnate also, if man had not sinned, likewise speak well, only it must be understood in the right way. For if Adam had not sinned, Christ would have descended from heaven in that form, which would be suitable to the state of man’s innocence; but as Adam sinned, I resolved by the secondary decree, that He should be made of passible nature; since foreseeing sin, it was proper, that it should be repaired in the way in which He has done it. And as you desire to know, how the mystery of the Incarnation would have taken place, if man had preserved the state of innocence, know, that the human substance would have been essentially the same as now, only it would be clothed with the gifts of impassibility and immortality, such as my Onlybegotten possessed after his Resurrection and before his Ascension. He would live and converse with men; the hidden sacraments and mysteries would all be manifest; and many times would his glory shine forth as it happened once in his mortal life (Mark 17, 1). He would, in that state of man’s innocence, have become manifest to all men in the same manner as He once showed Himself to the three apostles in his mortal state. All those on the way to heaven would see the great glory of my Onlybegotten; they would be consoled by conversing with Him and they would place no obstacle to his divine workings, for they would be without sin. But all this was impeded and spoiled by the guilt of sin and on that account it was proper, that He should come in passible and mortal nature.”
“The Mystical City of God”, Mary of Agreda, p. 77-78.

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Warren H. Carroll was a heretic

Monday, July 25th, 2011

Peter Dimond did a wonderful job of exposing Warren H. Carroll as a heretic. This is one of the reasons why the Vatican II Church cannot be the Catholic Church, because it fails to discipline and condemn heretics. If someone as reputable as Warren H. Carroll can get away with heresy, what can we expect from the Vatican II Church in matters of doctrine and morality?

Too long have we let these things go to the wayside of typical musings of radical professionals who claim to be Catholic, too long has the Catholic Church been silenced (due to the popular acceptance of false ecumenism and religious liberty) that we regrettably witness these aberrations from an acclaimed historical revisionist and false intellectual.

In likely future, when true Catholic hierarchy is restored (presuming that it may be), these things will have to be pointed out as usurpation of papal authority and rejection of Catholic dogma.

Christendom College is a disgrace.

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Posted in Catholic Church, Dimond Brothers, Novus Ordo watch, controversy, manifest heresy, new devotions, news headlines, reflection, response, scandal, video | 2 Comments »

personal Antichrist as taught by the saints

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

St. Paul says of “the man of sin,” “the son of perdition, who opposeth, and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God showing himself as if he were God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:4) These words are interpreted by the Fathers to mean that he will claim divine honours, and that in the Temple of Jerusalem (my comment– even in the Catholic Church). St. Irenaeus says that “Antichrist being an apostate and a robber, will claim to be adorned as God,” and “that he will endeavor to show himself off as God.” Lactantius, that “he will call himself God.” The writer under the name of St. Ambrose says, “He will affirm himself to be God.” St. Jerome, “He will call himself God, and claim to be worshipped by all.” St. John Chrysostom, “He will profess himself to be the God of all, and call himself and show himself off as God.” So also Theodoret, Theophylact, Ecumenius, St. Anselm, and many others.

Suarez, in explaining this passage, says;

It is likely that Antichrist will in no way believe himself what he will teach and compel others to believe. For though in the beginning he may persuade the Jews that he is the Messias and is sent from God, and may pretend to believe that the law of Moses is true and to be observed, yet he will do all this in dissimulation, to deceive them and to obtain supreme power. For afterwards he will reject the law of Moses, and will deny the true God who gave it. For which reason many believe that he will craftily destroy idolatry in order to deceive the Jews.

How great his perfidy will be, and what he will really believe concerning God, we cannot conjecture. But it is likely that he will be an atheist, and will deny both reward and punishment in another life, and will venerate only the preternatural being from whom he has learned the art of deceit and acquired his riches, by which wealth he will obtain supreme power.

“The Pope and the Antichrist”, Cardinal Manning, p. 31-32.

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Pius XII on religious liberty and liberty of conscience

Saturday, July 23rd, 2011
Pope Pius XII in his discourse Ecco che gia un anno, of 6 October 1946, that:
 
The Catholic Church, as we have already said, is a perfect society and has as its foundation the truth of Faith infallibly revealed by God. For this reason, that which is opposed to this truth is, necessarily, an error, and the same rights which are objectively recognized for truth cannot be afforded to error. In this manner, liberty of thought and liberty of conscience have their essential limits in the truthfulness of God in Revelation.
 
Father Connell in an article in the American Ecclesiastical Review in 1964:
 
Some have tried to argue that while error has no rights, persons inculpably holding erroneous doctrines have the right to hold them. But it must be borne in mind that error can be believed, spread, and activated only by persons and so it is difficult to see what it would mean to say “error has no right to be spread” if one held at the same time “persons can have a right to spread error”– that is if “right” be taken in the same sense in both statements… How can one have a genuine right to believe, spread, or practice what is objectively false or morally wrong? For a genuine right is based on what is objectively true and good.
 
Comment: It is a matter of fact that these principles are not followed by the new teachings of religious liberty and liberty of conscience as taught by the Vatican II documents and the subsequent conciliar popes.

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evidence for Noah’s Ark

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

Noah’s Ark Is (still) In Turkey – (Armenia)

Share This Site by Dan Eden for viewzone

Why is this not a BIG story?

I’m often amazed at our lack of knowledge about history. Ordinary people are hungry for this information, yet the organizations responsible to disseminate these facts seem to have an agenda to keep us in the dark. This is especially true when it comes to our ancient human history.

I won’t hold you in suspense with this article: The Ark of Noah has been found. It’s real. I’ll describe the evidence in some detail and end with the historical and religious implications.

How it was discovered

In 1959, Turkish army captain Llhan Durupinar discovered an unusual shape while examining aerial photographs of his country. The smooth shape, larger than a football field, stood out from the rough and rocky terrain at an altitude of 6,300 feet near the Turkish border with Iran.

see link

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Father Connell Answers Moral Questions

Sunday, July 17th, 2011

by Very Rev. Francis J. Connell, C.SS.R., S.T.D., LL.D., L.H.D.

Vitamin Pills and the Eucharist Fast

Question: Can vitamin pills be considered medicine, and hence be taken at any time before Communion, or are they a form of food which is permitted only up to three hours previously? Would it make any difference whether they are taken because of a doctor’s prescription or by one’s own choice?

Answer: Some persons who are perfectly healthy take vitamin pills in order to maintain their health; others take them as a remedy against some form of ailment. In the case of the former group, I believe that vitamin pills are to be considered as food, and hence may not be taken within the three hours before Communion. Such persons cannot be classified as sick people, for whom the concession is granted. Those who use them as a remedy against some ailment may regard them as medicine. This would seem to be the judgment of the average person (the aestimatio vulgaris), which the Church values so highly in deciding questions of this sort. As far as the eucharistic fast is concerned, I do not think it makes any difference whether they are used as a remedy with a doctor’s prescription or by one’s own decision. The motu proprio (papal letter) of 1957 made no statement to the effect that a doctor must prescribe the medicine permitted before Holy Communion.

However, this does not mean that even a person who takes vitamins as a medicine is always permitted to take them up to the time of Mass or Holy Communion. There must be some necessity for taking them within the period when solids are ordinarily forbidden. The Instruction of the Holy Office which accompanied the Constitution Christus Dominus in 1953 allowed medicine to the sick immediately before receiving Holy Communion only if “because of their illness they cannot, without grave incovenience, observe the fast completely until the reception of Holy Communion.” No such restriction was added in the Motu proprio (papal letter) “Sacram Communionem” in 1957, but certainly there must be some inconvenience involved by not taking the vitamins shortly before receiving Holy Communion. Hence, if it makes no difference when one’s pills are to be taken in the course of the day, I believe he should take them either after Mass or Holy Communion or more than three hours beforehand.

However, I would be lenient in deciding when a sufficient reason is present justifying the taking of the vitamin pills up to the time of receiving Communion. For example, if it is definitely beneficial to space the vitamins at certain definite times through the day, one may make use of the concession. Nor would one have to rise before his accustomed time to take the pills three hours previously.

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vanity of the people who have had “near-death” experience

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Many people today desire a better world, a world without suffering, and a world filled with fantastical possibilities. With some few exceptions, they are willing to have it all, without any effort to obtain these riches and happiness through pain and trials. Instant satisfaction and instant gratification. Isn’t it any different from the encounter of “near-death” experiences with people who have seen things that are whimsical, euphoric, and too unrealistic? What is so unrealistic about it all, you may ask?

Well, the idea of work, of merit, of deserving something you have to put effort into to achieve and obtain by possession. I think we have lost that on the natural level and have superimposed that upon the spiritual world beyond any comparison we have had in the past with returning-from-the-grave accounts.

Imagine that for a moment. That someone or unseen force, or even a projection of a distressful nervous system and brain, can make us feel and desire, experience, a make-belief that does not have any precedence, foundation or principle in the economy of salvation, or with the trial of virtue and vice in redemption history, or in relations to the participation in the Passion of Christ.

People are not made or created in effect for pleasure and happiness that is purely of the natural level. But we must assume such reality with these so-called “near-death” experiences that do not give us any spiritual value or insight into the practice of virtue in the Christian Faith. There is no emphasis of losing one’s soul to the darkness and abyss of hell. As if it is natural and normal, the usual thing to go from having an ordinary good life to a more realistic life of vanity and euphoric existence.

This is New Age and consequently a New Gospel. It is devoid of Christian spirituality. From recorded history, prior to the popularization of near-death experience, people have come back to tell of the dire consequence of rejection of God and to make of atonement for sins, they actually desire to live better lives. We see not from these ”near-death” experiencers. But even if we do see a change in lifestyle, it is more of the same false hope and assurance that they will experience the same fantasy of unimaginable delight!

Beware, the Devil himself is very cunning with many deceptions today! He doesn’t people to change their lives in conformity with the Gospel, but rather he wants people to have false sense of security of happiness in this life and in the next!

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