Taking a Deep Breath

In light of the apparent scandals washing over the Church, readers should peruse and ponder this critical assessment of the recent Pennsylvania Report, which seems, from the objective analysis of Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic Civil Rights League, to be a biased and even malicious piece of work. Yet many Catholics are jumping on the report as though it were Gospel truth, and not the work of anti-Catholic lawyers with an animus against the Church, and against the Catholic priesthood in particular, with an intent to besmirch at any opportunity.

It is with this in mind that we all, especially those calling for unbridled witch hunts, need to take a deep breath, say a deep prayer, go for a walk, marvel and immerse ourselves in God’s creation. The Almighty (and He is Almighty) is permitting certain things, including scandalous evils, to be revealed, all as a prelude (we know not how long) to the great ‘unveiling’, that ultimate apocalypse, wherein all things will be revealed, everyone’s deeds and misdeeds and all the intentions of our hearts, the wheat and the tares and the whole nine yards of cloth.

With certain exceptions, of the more grievous sort, we should, by and large, allow the great Judge to do the sifting.

On a side note, I was surprised to read in the report that, in the United States at least, in public institutions (which have resisted by might and main any similar ‘report’ being issued on them, but which would well be far, far more incriminating) victims have only 90 days to report sexual impropriety, after which their own ‘statue of limitations’ kicks in. There is some wisdom in this (although I am not arguing it is right), but one must at least ponder, for how does one prosecute, with any valid evidence for defence or conviction, cases going back 90 months, to say nothing of thirty years, especially with all the secrecy that sexual sins entail?

There are lies, damned lies, and then there are statistics, as Mark Twain quipped, and the report on the report helps us see the misleading nature of the last in that list. The Devil (who is ultimately behind all of this) wants our souls, and to entice souls out of the Church. Stay faithful. Stay strong. In all of the subterfuge, spin and obfuscation, we need to keep our wits about us, calmly and without anxiety.

I would paraphrase Saint Benedict: Ora et cogito: Pray and think, the two hallmarks of being human, which will allow us to the right and prudent way forward.

This applies also to the recent ‘development’ in the Church’s teaching on capital punishment, so please read over Father Scott Murray’s balanced take. I will add to this analysis soon enough. I was a bit taken aback by the public appeal in First Things, to the cardinals at the Vatican, to urge the Pope to rescind the proposed change to the Catechism; not that I agree (or disagree; for now, I am trying to make the proper distinctions in my mind). But this does signify a deep division in the Church that is becoming more public and evident.

Some of those Marian prophecies seem to be unfolding before our eyes, and we should remember Our Lord’s warning about being led astray.

Kyrie eleison!

Carney’s Amoral Majority

After five defections – euphemistically described as ‘crossing the floor’ – and three by-elections, Mark Carney and his Liberals how have their coveted majority. One wonders what bowls of pottage were offered in back-room deals. In the archaic monarchical system that is the Dominion of Canada, this majority allows the newly-minted Prime Minister to rule[…]Continue reading→

Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress

This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→

A Closed, Unsustainable, Descending Loop

As a follow-up to my thoughts on Payette’s payout, here be a stark image of where are here in Canada. As the graph shows in, well, graphic terms, since 2025, the public sector has contributed to 95.5% of economic growth. The private sector – which funds the public sector, or is supposed to – has[…]Continue reading→

Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk

(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]Continue reading→

A Tale of Two Benedicts

A grace-filled Holy Week to all our readers! As we await and prepare for the Resurrection about to dawn upon us, we might keep in mind two Benedicts: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, requiescat in pace, elected on this day in 2005; and today’s commemoration of the mystic pilgrim, Benedict Joseph Labre, who died on this[…]Continue reading→

My Name is Bernadette

April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→

Presidential Pardon of Weronika Krawczyk

As a good news, follow-up to our story from Poland, of the persecution of Weronika Krawczyk for her pro-life views, we heard that she has been granted a presidential pardon. One might still wonder why one needs a presidential pardon for simply holding the long-held belief that the child within the womb is a child,[…]Continue reading→

Saint Lydwina of Schiedam and Suffering Joyfully

Saint Lydwina of Schiedam (1380 – 1433) was one of the countless and glorious ‘victim souls’ in the history of the Church, those whose lives are filled with suffering, often of an unimaginable intensity, but who suffer joyfully. She was a fifteen-year old Dutch girl, out skating one day, when she fell and broke one[…]Continue reading→

The Glorious Martyrdoms of Martin and Maximus

As we enter into Eastertide, we recall on this 13th of April Pope Saint Martin I (+655), one of the noblest, if most tragic, of the successors of Saint Peter. Born in Umbria, Italy, he was of noble lineage, with great intelligence combined with charity and love of the poor and the Church. While still[…]Continue reading→

Divine Mercy Sunday – An Echo of Every Mass

Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe’…  ‘My Lord and my God!’ (Jn. 20:18)). Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, and as we celebrate the end of the Easter Octave, we contemplate the wounded side of our Saviour, the Church’s source of life. On Good Friday in the[…]Continue reading→