Of Catholic in Name and Coerced Abortion

The tide may be turning, just a little, on the education front, as Indianapolis Archbishop Charles Thompson stripped a Catholic school of its Catholic title – as is his prerogative and duty in Canon Law – when one of the teachers ‘married’ his same –sex partner. Brebéuf Jesuit Preparatory School – alas, named after one of my favourite saints – may no longer us the term:

I, the Most Reverend Charles C. Thompson, D.D., J.C.L., with great sadness, acknowledge the choice of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School to no longer retain Catholic identity according to the doctrine and pastoral practice of the Catholic Church and, therefore, to no longer remain as a Catholic institution in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis

Of course, the school administrators and teachers still consider themselves Catholic, whatever the Bishop says, appealing in Lutherian style to the ‘formed conscience’ of the teacher in question.

Well, there’s formed, and then there’s ‘formed’. People seem not to understand the notion of scandal, of right conduct fitting for a teacher in a Catholic institution, and of the formative power of example, good or bad, that those in authority wield. Father Brian Paulson, S.J., head of the Midwest Jesuit Province, apparently realizing that conscience on its own is not enough, is himself appealing the Bishop’s decision to Rome – not to Caesar, as Saint Paul did, but to the Pope – who stands a bit higher than Nero ever did.

We will see what unfolds, but here’s hoping Bishop Thompson is vindicated, and solidly, and that his own good example influences a lot of others in our all-too-silent hierarchy. There are a lot of people and institutions ‘Catholic in name only’, and it’s time that name were taken away, so they may be revealed more clearly for who and what they really are.

Meanwhile, the tide also turning the other way, as a pregnant Nigerian woman in Britain – who has a learning disability – has been ordered by a judge to undergo an abortion, presumably since she cannot care for the child, so the State will take care of him for you, mafia style. The woman’s mother – the child’s grandmother –said she would care for the child, if the mother cannot. And there are a lot more people who would care for that child, even if granny couldn’t.

I have wondered at what point ‘elective’ abortion would become ‘non-elective’, and, as in China with its roving ‘abortion vans’ and its one-or-two-at-the most child policy, the murder of the unborn would no longer be matter of ‘choice’, at least, not the choice of the mother, but of some God-less and face-less apparatchik. Of course, abortion is never purely a matter of choice. Many, if not most, women-with-child, who know there is a baby growing within them, are coerced into abortions, by circumstances, by boyfriends or husbands, or parents, or the media, or by the ‘counsellors’ themselves. And the child, we should state quite clearly, obviously never has a choice.

Fittingly, Pope Francis has chosen tomorrow’s solemnity of Corpus Christi (in the new liturgical calendar) to consecrate all physicians to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He is right to do so, for this is a war not of earthly laws and judges, who will pass away, but of principalities and powers, an eschatological battle that is now becoming more evident, as the masks slip off, and the occult powers behind the evil make themselves known.

So join in prayer, at Mass, in your Rosary, and whatever other petitions you make to the good and true God, through His mother and all the saints and angels. Regardless of the sufferings we must endure, whichever way the transient tides may turn, we may hold on to the assurance that we are in the end on the winning side.

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→

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→

Pope Leo and a Rosary for Peace

Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics across the world to join him in a Rosary for peace today, at 18:00 Rome time (6 pm), which would be noon from where I write (EST). If you are able, whether at that time or another, and in whatever way you pray, to join in intercession with the[…]Continue reading→

Payette’s Payout

I was glancing through some headlines, and noticed a mention of Julie Payette – engineer and astronaut and sometime the Queen’s representative in Canada – which brought back vague memories. She was appointed Governor-General by Justin Trudeau in 2017. Ms. Payette resigned in 2021, amidst claims that she created a ‘toxic work environment’, with allegations[…]Continue reading→