The Vocations Crisis is Man-Made - Those Who Made it Are Now in Their End-Game

Torch of The Faith News on Friday 20 March 2015 - 22:38:03 | by admin

Elden F. Curtiss, the former Archbishop of Omaha in Nebraska, famously nailed the roots of the 'vocations crisis' in an article he wrote for his diocesan magazine Catholic Voice back in 1995.

His Grace wrote: 'It seems to me that the vocations ''crisis'' is precipitated by people who want to change the Church's agenda, by people who do not support orthodox candidates loyal to the magisterial teaching of the Pope and bishops, and by people who actually discourage viable candidates from seeking priesthood and vowed religious life as the Church defines these ministries. I am personally aware of certain vocations directors, vocations teams and evaluation boards who turn away candidates who do not support the possibility of ordaining women or who defend the Church's teaching about artificial birth control, or who exhibit a strong piety toward certain devotions, such as the Rosary.'

He's Right! I can testify from my own lived experience that there are priests who, having first helped to engineer the vocations crisis in England, are now involved in the implementation of 'pastoral programmes' which aim at lay-leadership of parishes in light of the 'crisis' in vocations to the priesthood. They created the problem and now they are giving us their solution.

Early in 1997, I attended a selection conference at Ushaw Seminary near Durham. Miraculously I got through that selection conference and was allowed to join up for seminary formation. I was amazed to be picked in light of the fact that half of those who interviewed me thought it more important to investigate my views on women priests, women house-keepers (!) and Liberation Theology, than on whether I was converted to Christ, supportive of the Magisterium, working on personal holiness or keen to evangelize and save/care for souls.

I could fill tomes on my experiences as a seminarian between 1997 and 1999. However, in this article I will speak of just a few points touching on those words of Archbishop Curtiss.

During my time at Ushaw, I volunteered to help look after potential students attending for the selection conferences in 1998 and 1999.

1998 

During the first year, one of the young men I had been assigned to look after went past my room in tears. He was a decent, devout and well adjusted lad, in his early 20's, with a strong love for Christ. I got him a coffee and offered a supportive chat. 

He explained that he knew that he would not be getting accepted for formation, because a priest on the seminary staff had just grilled him at interview. This was because the lad believed that the Church is Hierarchical and because he also believed that the use of contraception was objectively sinful. 

Now, the last time I looked, those are things which the Magisterium of the Church officially teaches; there is a whole section of the Second Vatican Council's Constitution Lumen Gentium dedicated to the hierarchical nature of the Church and Humanae Vitae was promulgated soon after the Council. 

Sure enough, this young man was not selected for seminary formation. I met him a couple of years later in Lancashire, where he was serving the Church through involvement with an orthodox youth group. He was still sad that he had not been able to pursue priestly ordination.  

The priest who interviewed him seemed so enamoured of the lay vocation that he often sported splendid ties and blazers himself, in lieu of clerical attire. He went on to PhD studies on the nature of priesthood, the shortage of priests and the future of lay-led parishes. His studies attempted to force a dichotomy between the 'cultic' model of priesthood and the 'pastoral' model. I can just imagine if someone had suggested to the late Canon Michael Culhane that those priests who 'preferred' a 'cultic' model were less inclined to practice the 'pastoral' nature of the priesthood. He'd have laughed them right out of town. And rightly so.

That seminary priest has since gone on to play a significant part in the development of a pastoral programme, in a major UK diocese, which seeks to overcome the vocations 'crisis' by bringing on lay-leadership of parishes.

1999

During a selection conference in this period, a 28-yr-old man, attending for interview, confided in me that he had already attended Ushaw for selection fully ten years earlier. At that time, one of his female interviewers had asked for his views on the pro-life movement. He had enthusiastically endorsed it and spoken of his support for public pro-life witness. At the end of his interview, the lady interviewer had stated: ''Young man, I suggest that in future you keep your views to yourself!'' Unsurprisingly, he had not been accepted for formation at that time. After a whole decade the sense of being called to the priesthood had never left him.

At another selection conference during that period, a young man sporting an ear-ring and a giant pagan symbol on his coat attended for interview. During the weekend, he stormed out, saying ''P-L-E-A-S-E!'' when Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament was mentioned by a couple of seminarians. At a social evening with seminarians, he acted very effeminately and crudely promoted homosexual ideology.

Another student and I put our necks on the line to suggest to the staff that this man was not suitable for seminary. Realizing that we would likely damage our own chances of ordination if we spoke of the homosexual issue - we would have been labelled 'homophobic' and thus deemed suspect by the staff - we decided to focus on his extremely ill-mannered approach to existing seminarians during the social evening. A couple of weeks later, a priest on the staff came to see us with the following message from the bishop who had sent this man for formation: ''X is coming to the seminary. Be nice to him!''

Around this time a key member of the Ushaw staff, who had also abandoned all clerical dress in favour of slacks and casual, open-necked shirts, gave us a course on Pastores Dabo Vobis; St. John Paul II's apostolic exhortation on priestly formation. Unfortunately, the content of the course did not include the actual content of the document! Instead, we were told that, as priests of the future, our job would be to act as 'animators' who would 'empower the laity' and help them to take over leadership and decision making of the Church. We were told that the future for the Church was not in the priesthood but in the laity. This priest contended that the Hierarchical 'model' focused on the Papacy was to be replaced by lay-leadership at the local level. Our job would be the implementation of this model at the start of the new millennium. That's not what I had signed up for! During his course, this priest even suggested that the 10 Commandments were more of a code for daily living which had been drawn up for a nomadic community of sheep herders... 

In another course, this same priest tried to push for a 'Mass-free' ecumenical day to 'celebrate' the Millennium. He asked to know our responses to this suggestion. Realizing the danger to our vocations if we crossed swords with him, most of the class remained silent. He then demanded a response. One student tried to give an academic response in the third-party, along the lines of, 'Based on so and so, some might say.' The priest then said he was not interested in such academic answers, but demanded to know our emotional responses: How did his suggestion make us feel? 

When we had all answered, the priest gave us an angry lecture about sectarianism and how in ''true ecumenism'' we ''don't just go off and do our little Catholic bit!'' He was speaking of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

The following Sunday this priest used his homily at the main college Sunday Mass to publicly berate our class in front of the whole college for supposedly holding to 'sectarian views.'

Today, this priest also is involved in a sophisticated programme to implement lay-leadership in yet another English diocese, in light of the 'crisis' in vocations and the resultant priest-shortage.

It should also be noted that unhealthy nepotism was at work in the selection/out-selection of future seminarians. Some of the most Modernist of the staff at Ushaw had family members - such as sisters and in-laws - hosting interviews at selection conference weekends. As Michael S. Rose pointed out, in his informative book Goodbye Good Men - How Liberals Brought Corruption into the Catholic Church, there has been a real 'gate-keeper phenomenon' in the seminaries. 

Present Day

Pope Francis has called the Church to move beyond self-reference and to go out to the peripheries. Pope St. John Paul II spoke often of the need for a New Evangelization. He also explored the lay vocation in great depth in his apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici. This developed insights of the Second Vatican Council on the lay vocation to take Christ out to the world and to act as a leaven in society. The nature and manner in which lay people exercise their vocations as priest, prophet and king are distinct from and dependent upon those appropriate to the ministerial priesthood. 

Many dioceses in the Western hemisphere have instead adopted a programme of self-reference and lay-leadership due to a supposed 'crisis' in vocations. Make no mistake; there is a crisis. It has many contributing factors: breakdown in family-life; the pressures of secularization; collapse in catechesis and Catholic education worthy of the name; loss of reverence in the Sacred Liturgy; abandonment of a Catholic understanding of the priesthood, of sacrifice and of the centrality of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

What has often been overlooked in the 'crisis' of vocations is the fact that much of it is engineered. The seminaries had been taken over long ago by dissenters intent on re-making the Church according to their own Modernist whims. 

I have met priests and former seminarians from England, Ireland, North America, Germany and the Netherlands with similar stories to tell. There are a lot of damaged orthodox guys out there, who set out to follow Jesus Christ in the Church and ended up getting persecuted by the very enemies of Christ and Catholic orthodoxy who had taken over the choke-points of Catholic leadership, education and formation.

This was all identified years ago. What has perhaps been unseen is that these same people have now moved into their end-game. Having spent decades of their lives in seminaries thwarting orthodox vocations and favouring those dedicated to something other than the Catholic view of Doctrine, Liturgy, Prayer and Morals, these people are now heading up sophisticated 'pastoral programmes' to bring in lay-leadership of parishes.

Like true Hegelians, they have given us the problem and now they are working through their own final solution.

Years of their work have honeycombed the structure of dioceses, deaneries, parishes and schools. Now emptied of much of their Catholic content, these can be 're-envisioned' to suit the new agenda of these post-moderns. The priest who hindered the first young man I discussed above has actually studied post-modernist deconstructionism in some depth. He admitted in my company years ago that he wanted to apply it to the seminary. It would appear that he is now doing it to an English diocese. This deconstructionism aims at maintaining the outward appearances of existing structures, to avoid confrontation from traditional opponents - viewed as 'resisters' - whilst deconstructing the content from within. Once accomplished, the remaining structures can be re-used to support the reconstructed agenda of the post-modernists.

It all sounds very futuristic and daring to those committed to it. In reality, what it leaves us with is an existential loss of the Catholic faith, hierarchy, orthodoxy and sacraments which Christ gave to us. Instead we have groups of leftist-leaning elderly ladies providing social work, prayers and religion as a hobby. Mass, Confession and Benediction give way to flower festivals, discussion groups and theological dissent.

Conclusion

Archbishop Elden F. Curtiss was right: the 'crisis' in vocations is engineered. Those who engineered it have now moved on to implement its effects by bringing in the lay-leadership they have always desired.

Thankfully, those few places which remained faithful to Catholic Tradition have never had a vocations crisis to speak of. These are the lights that will remain to remind the Church and the world of the Divine nature and mission of the Church.

Prayer

Oh Lord, give us priests.

Oh Lord, give us holy priests.

Oh Lord, give us many holy priests.     

0

A Past Master on the Indissolubility of Marriage

Torch of The Faith News on Friday 20 March 2015 - 09:48:48 | by admin

Archbishop Michael Sheehan was a renowned priest from Waterford in Ireland, who was made Coadjutor Archbishop of Sydney, Australia from 1922 - 1937. In that role, he demonstrated great love for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament, a genuine interest in the welfare of his priests and a strong care for the development of sound religious education.

A brilliant theologian and linguist, Archbishop Sheehan penned books in these fields and also on the theme of botany. In his pastoral zeal, he also wrote several books of religious instruction; the classical example being Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine. This text was originally printed as two separate volumes and sold over 450,000 copies in several countries, during a period of four decades. It helped generations of young Catholics around the world to know their Catholic Faith and also the reasons for it, sustaining them for a lifetime.

Indissolubility of Marriage: Here are just some of Achbishop Sheehan's words on this subject.

Marriage is indissoluble, or unbreakable, i.e., the bond of valid marriage cannot be undone either by the contracting parties themselves or by any merely human power. This is true of all marriages, whether between Catholics, baptized non-Catholics, or pagans. ''What therefore God has joined together'', says Christ, ''let no man put asunder'' (Mk 10:11-12; cf. Lk 16:18). It is more plainly so with Christian marriage, which is an image of the indissoluble union between the Lord Jesus and His Church. To say that a consummated sacramental marriage could be dissolved is equivalent to saying that Jesus could sever Himself from His Church and abandon Her.'

Apologetics and Catholic Dogma; p. 598.

As Archbishop Sheehan alludes, Jesus Christ could never do that to His Church. In our days, however, those pushing the Kasperian revolution are attempting the opposite; to sever the Church from Christ and abandon Him.

And that's just not on!    

0

Wishing You a Blessed Feast of St. Joseph!

Torch of The Faith News on Thursday 19 March 2015 - 10:20:04 | by admin

St. Joseph is the greatest of saints after Our Lady and he is the Patron of the Universal Church.

As we mentioned at the start of the St. Joseph Novena, St. Teresa of Avila was devoted to St. Joseph as a most powerful intercessor. Here is another of her reflections on St. Joseph;

'Would that I could persuade all men to be devoted to this glorious saint, for I know by long experience what blessings he can obtain for us from God. I have never known anyone who was truly devoted to him and honoured him by particular services who did not advance greatly in virtue: for he helps in a special way those souls who commend themselves to him. It is now very many years since I began asking him for something on his feast, and I have always received it. If the petition was in any way amiss, he rectified it for my greater good... I ask for the love of God that he who does not believe me will make the trial for himself - then he will find out from experience the great good that results from commending oneself to this glorious Patriarch and in being devoted to him' (Autobiography VI).

Of course, St. Teresa was not only devoted to St. Joseph for what he could provide. She loved him for who he was. How can we learn more about this great saint in order to deepen our devotion too?

About twelve years ago, some good friends gave us a copy of the book The Glories of St. Joseph from Traditions Monastiques. This has been a very important help to us in our spirituality as a married couple. We recommend it to anyone who is serious about following Christ in these difficult times and to anyone hoping to strengthen their marriages and families. The book contains a powerful 30-Day Prayer to St. Joseph, a daily Litany of St. Joseph and a wealth of practical teachings, theological treatises and stories of miracles and conversions wrought by this great saint.

Praying and reading this book was life-changing for us. It also helped us to learn that St. Joseph was no distant or plaster saint but a powerful intercessor. We discovered that he was the Just Man of Sacred Scripture and Tradition. As the Head of the Holy Family, he was a holy and strong father, leader, protector and provider. He helps those devoted to him to grow in holiness and virtue, as well as looking after their temporal interests; in so far as these aid their salvation.

As the Church and society struggle through trying times, we encourage all our readers to pray to St. Joseph and to cultivate sincere and loving devotion to him.

St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church - Pray for us!

0

Vale of Tears...

Torch of The Faith News on Wednesday 18 March 2015 - 08:43:12 | by admin

A number of our readers are aware that we used to be involved with the Maryvale Certificate in Catechesis (MCC). Between 2009 and 2013, we gave support to the course through lectures, marking and retreat days. It used to be encouraging to meet so many grassroots catechists being formed according to the mind and heart of the Church. These were the days of Dr. Petroc Willey, Dr. Caroline Farey, Dr. Andrew Beards, Mrs. Carol Harnett (MA) and other good people, such as Deacon Nick Donnelly. In those days, the course seemed to be playing a part in the liturgical and catechetical restorations occuring in the reign of Pope Benedict XVI. As such, we used to recommend the course to friends and anyone wishing to spread and go deeper in the Faith.

Whenever we visited Maryvale, we used to pray in the choir loft at the back of the historic chapel. The window to the left of the above picture linked Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman's old room to that chapel. This was the context of his famous letter to a friend in 1846. Newman, then recently converted to the Catholic Faith, wrote: 'I am writing in the next room to the chapel. It is such an incomprehensible blessing to have Christ in bodily presence in one's house, within one's walls, as swallows up all other privileges and destroys, or should destroy, every pain.' 

Even the office where the administration for the MCC was carried out used to be Newman's private library. Whenever I remembered how Newman's words - repeated in a sermon by Canon Michael Culhane in the early 90's - had helped me to also convert to the Faith, I would be in awe to find myself working and praying in his former home. Mysterious are the ways of God! 

Nevertheless, we wish readers to understand that we have had no involvement with Maryvale since 2013.

This is important to understand in light of emerging news on the internet. Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice have pointed out, through their on-line newsletter The Flock, that Maryvale has appointed Marie Cooke as the new director of F.E. Courses, with particular responsibility for the MCC.

In light of the orthodoxy of the formation that we had encountered in former days, it is disconcerting to discover that Marie Cooke is a forum moderator for Glasgow's wing of the dissenting group A Call to Action (ACTA). It will be remembered that this is the group pushing for contraception, same-sex 'marriage' and women's ordination. ACTA certainly seems to be growing like topsy and getting everywhere.

A bit of on-line research also confirms The Flock's news that Marie Cooke is pursuing a PhD based on the Australian programme Woman and Man: One in Christ Jesus. In January 2013, Marie Cooke advertised for help with her research on the on-line newsletter of the group called Catholic Women's Ordination (CWO). This group is dedicated to the 'campaign' for the ordination of women in the Catholic Church; even though this issue was forever closed by St. John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (1994). Pope Francis affirmed this official Church teaching in 2013, when he stated that Pope John Paul II's formula was definitive and therefore ''that door is closed''.  

It is heartbreaking to hear news such as that reported by The Flock, especially when one recalls Newman's hymn from the Dream of Gerontius (1865): 'And I hold in veneration, for the love of Him alone, Holy Church as His creation, and Her teachings as His own.'

Let us then reiterate - We have had no involvement with Maryvale since 2013.

Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman - Pray for us and for England!

0

A Blessed Feast of St. Patrick!

Torch of The Faith News on Tuesday 17 March 2015 - 09:09:39 | by admin

We wish you a blessed feast of St. Patrick!

Today, we especially thank readers from Ireland for reading this blog each day and we ask for your prayers. 

May God bless you and strengthen you in keeping the One True Faith.

St. Patrick - Pray for us!

0

Please Pray - Fr. Adolfo Enriquez Murdered at La Virgen del Cristal Shrine in Spain

Torch of The Faith News on Monday 16 March 2015 - 16:15:13 | by admin

Please pray: Fr. Adolfo Enriquez (77) has been found murdered at the Shrine of the Virgen del Cristal near Vilanova dos Infantes in Spain. The miniature image of Our Lady, which has been venerated in the area since around 1630 A.D., appears to have been stolen in the attack.

Fr. Enriquez has served the shrine and local parish for 45 years. His bishop and local people have described him as a well-liked pastor whose door was always open to those who needed help. He was found murdered in a haystack behind his house, where he went each evening to feed the cats. He had suffered a fatal blow to the head.

Residents have drawn attention to the great devotion Fr. Enriquez had to the holy image and to local people. Intellectuals living nearby, have drawn attention to the fact that the holy image and the priest were important symbols, which expressed the heart and life of the local community and culture. Many local homes and businesses have been draped in black crepe as a traditional sign of mourning and loss.  

Msgr. Leornado Lemos Montanet, Bishop of Orense, conducted the funeral for Fr. Enriquez today. Over 100 priests and 500 lay people were in attendance. Noting how good a pastor Fr. Enriquez had been, the Bishop expressed his sorrow and asked his people to pray for the conversion of whoever had murdered Fr. Enriquez, and stolen the long-venerated image of Our Lady.

This sacrilegious murder and theft is another sign of our times - Please pray. Holy Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Amen.

0

Updates

Torch of The Faith News on Monday 16 March 2015 - 10:01:29 | by admin

1. On Saturday, we posted the disturbing news that Fr. Daniel O'Leary's talk was being advertised on the website of the Archdiocese of Liverpool. 

During the weekend, we discovered that his presentation was also being promoted through the Archdiocese of Liverpool's official magazine, the Catholic Pic. This publication is sold in parishes throughout the Archdiocese and claims a readership of 20,000.

2. In Friday's article about evangelization, I spoke of the 4-dimensions of Liturgy, Doctrine, Prayer and Community Life.

Later on, I realized how 'woolly' that sounded! What I was driving at was the fact that the moral-life is lived out by the strength given to us by grace, by the sacraments and in the context of the communion and life of the Church. We are not saved as isolated individuals, but as members of the Body of Christ. The support of the Church community ought to be helping each of us to live the Church's moral teachings and to carry the crosses of our trials. This is especially important when Catholics find themselves in the midst of such a thoroughly secularized cultural situation. 

I apologise that this was not made the clearest. Anyway, to give greater clarity, the phrase was updated a few hours later to read, 'the 4-dimensions of Liturgy, Doctrine, Prayer and Morals.'

These 4 aspects constitute the 'classical catechesis,' rooted in Acts 2:42, which has shaped official catechisms throughout Church history. 

0

Fourth Sunday in Lent - Laetare

Torch of The Faith News on Sunday 15 March 2015 - 12:50:32 | by admin

There are two feasts celebrated today in the Church's Tradition. Laetare Sunday marks Mid-Lent and the Church grants a respite of joy to encourage her faithful children to persevere. Today, as on Gaudete Sunday in Advent, the Church allows rose-coloured vestments, the organ is played and flowers decorate the altar.

The other feast traditionally marked today is in honour of the Cross, the symbol of Redemption.

The Empress Helen had brought back to Rome a large portion of the True Cross and placed it in a sanctuary, which was said to be a replica of the great Martyrion in Jerusalem. So it was known as the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. The Traditional Liturgy today refers frequently to the Holy City, which was for all Christian people the symbol of their eternal city and home. The Gospel also prepares the faithful for the celebration of the institution of the Holy Eucharist.

Introit: Isaiah 66 - Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and come together all ye that love her; rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation. Ps.121: I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord. Gloria.

This being Laetare Sunday, here's a bit of a larf!

I've decided for the rest of Lent to restrict myself to just one cuppa each day!

What's up with that?!!! 

0

Fr. Daniel O'Leary - Speaker at the Dissenting Quest and ACTA Groups - Advertised on Archdiocese of Liverpool Website

Torch of The Faith News on Saturday 14 March 2015 - 08:37:22 | by admin

One month ago, we drew attention to the fact that Fr. Daniel O'Leary was to speak at St. Helen's Church in Crosby and St. Patrick's Church in Southport. At the time we lamented the fact that this was being advertised in local parishes.

Recap: Why were we concerned?

1. In 2013, Fr. Daniel O'Leary was a speaker at the 40th anniversary of Quest. This organization was banned from the Catholic Directory by Cardinal Basil Hume because of its dissent from the Magisterium and promotion of homosexual activity. Other speakers at that day included Fr. O'Leary's fellow Tablet-contributor Sara Maitland and also Terence Weldon. On the day, Sara Maitland wore a T-shirt bearing the improbable legend Fag Hag for Jesus. Terence Weldon is a leading member of the Soho Masses Pastoral Council (connected to the so-called 'Soho Gay Masses') and he promotes homosexual activity and homosexual 'marriage' through his blog Queering the Church.

2. Fr. Daniel O'Leary also gave an address at the 2013 national meeting of the dissenting organization A Call to Action (ACTA) in Leeds. This group has been involved in calls for 'same-sex-marriage' and women priests. Fr. Daniel O'Leary also spoke to the Liverpool branch of ACTA in November 2014 - ironically in the Fisher-More Hall at Our Lady of the Annunciation.

In his presentation to ACTA in Leeds, Fr. Daniel O'Leary suggested that the 'theological approach' of 'Fall/Redemption-centred theology' tends to be 'conservative, dualistic, safe, legalistic.' O'Leary described this 'theology' - which in reality is a central dogma of the Catholic Faith - as 'inadequate' and 'when presented as the only Christian story of our human condition - utterly destructive. He even blamed this for 'the splitting of our Church.'

In his address, O'Leary went on to suggest that 'a flawed understanding of the Fall' caused the Roman Curia to be suspicious of 'listening to the hearts of the faithful' on issues such as 'general absolution.'

Latest News: In light of the above issues, we are concerned to read that Fr. Daniel O'Leary's latest talk on Merseyside - scheduled for today at the Sandymount House of Prayer in Blundellsands - is actually being advertised on the official website of the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

In a certain sense this is not surprising, given that Archbishop Malcolm McMahon welcomed ACTA to Liverpool for their annual conference last October.

An Ongoing Situation? In February last year, we wrote an article entitled When Dissent is Institutional. This highlighted some of the connections and persons involved in the institutional dissent in Liverpool and how these link to the dissenting group ACTA. In the wake of that article attempts were made to use Canon Law to silence and suppress our defence of the Faith by some people.

This all happened in the weeks before a new Archbishop was appointed. It is sad to see that, one year on, institutional dissent appears to still be ingrained. It is a danger to souls and to the unity of the Church.

Our Blessed Lady Immaculate, St. Joseph and St. Kentigern - Pray for us!           

0

Evangelization - Some Helps and Hindrances - (Part 3 of 4) - Libera Nos a Malo

Torch of The Faith News on Friday 13 March 2015 - 11:40:52 | by admin

It is certainly remarkable that, during the very days of Cardinal Burke's faith-strengthening visit to England, Cardinal Tagle of Manila, Cardinal Nichols of Westminster and Fr. Tim Radcliffe OP - a notorious supporter of homosexual priests, the infamous 'Soho-Gay-Masses' and same-sex civil-unions - were giving keynote presentations at CYMFED's 'Flame 2' youth-event in London's Wembley Arena.

Cardinal Tagle and Pope Francis offering a theologically-compromised

hand signal to young people during the recent visit to the Philippines.

Many Catholic families had boycotted the Flame 2 event, when it emerged that Fr. Radcliffe had been chosen to speak to young Catholics. Readers will likely remember that orthodox Catholics, pro-lifers and pro-family groups protested against Radcliffe's lecture at last year's Divine Mercy Conference in Ireland; which EWTN also refused to broadcast, because of Radcliffe's heterodox ideology. During the lecture, a small group of orthodox young people tried to pray the Rosary in protest, until they were shouted down by the large gathering; which sadly applauded the dissenting Radcliffe instead.

LifeSiteNews has noted the contrast between the recent visits through an article headlined: In England, one cardinal says brace for martyrdom over marriage, while another denounces 'harsh' language. The article goes on to compare Cardinal Burke's warnings, about confusion and error which could compromise the Church's witness to the detriment of the whole of society, with Cardinal Tagle's suggestion that 'harsh words' and 'severe language' should be avoided when describing the sins of adultery and homosexual behaviour. Cardinal Tagle, recently appointed by Pope Francis to head the Catholic Biblical Federation, also suggested that having one 'general rule' for divorced/'re-married' people might be 'counterproductive.'

James Preece, at Catholic and Loving It, and Clare Short, of Faith in Our Families, have provided a number of clear expositions of the problems associated with the Flame 2 event.

Flame 2 is organized by the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation (CYMFED), which is affiliated with the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales. Many Catholic parents are unhappy at the style and content of the event as well as the choice and direction taken by speakers. There are a number of videos on the internet, which show dancing girls whirling streamers and beachballs to pop-music before the large audience of young people, who have been bussed-in from dioceses around the country. James Preece certainly seems close to the mark with these lines: ''The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales must be seen to be doing something. Which is why every now and then, professional Catholics across the country are encouraged to pack their handy captive audiences in to a coach or two and take them off to the latest big noisy musical dancy fun joy day... With Adoration... because it looks really good in the photographs and you can use Our Lord as a human shield if any traddies write any blog-posts. But James! They had Adoration!'' Well, we seem to remember that is exactly what did happen last time.

All of this puts us in mind of the Bergin brothers in Tipperary. These young men gave an interview to Michael Voris, on Church Militant TV, about a year ago (pictured below). They pointed out that, due to loss of faith in the home and disastrous lack of evangelization/catechesis in the parish and school, they had reached young-adulthood without any knowledge of the central truths of the Catholic Faith. And when they did encounter mainstream Catholic youth-work, it was rooted in sentimentalism. It was only when they discovered apologetics, dogma and the Traditional Latin Mass that they realized what they had been denied, and experienced conversion and committment to follow Christ in His True Church. They describe themselves as having been 'children of Hell' prior to their conversion, because they did not know of the seriousness of sin and false beliefs. 

In the last few years, we have met a number of young adults with similar stories to tell. We even spoke with a young lady who had fallen into witchcraft through lack of true teaching. She thankfully received the grace of conversion when watching St. John Paul II's funeral on the telly and made a good Confession at the earliest opportunity. Deo Gratias!

Here we reach the crux of today's article on helps and hindrances to evangelization. I can't help thinking that so much of what has been written above relates to the dreadful loss of the sense of sin which Our Lady of Fatima warned about. And indeed to the grave diabolical disorientation which Sr. Lucia of Fatima spoke of. In relation to the theme of this series, we hinder evangelization by soft-pedalling on sin and doctrine and we help evangelization by giving the full truth in love. 

Canon Michael Culhane was the prayerful and orthodox priest who, in turn, received my Dad, my Mum and I into the Catholic Church between December 1989 and April 1993. He died in 2010 at the age of 89.

I've said before, that Canon Michael reminded his congregation, on a very regular basis, that the Mass is not only a religious meal, but is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He frequently spoke of the fact that, as the Son's offering to the Father, It is the highest form of prayer on this earth and thus we are obligated as Catholics to attend Mass every Sunday. It is both a duty and a joy. Canon Michael reminded his flock every so often that, to deliberately miss Sunday Mass with no good reason, was a mortal sin requiring sincere Confession before returning to Holy Communion. We do not get to Heaven alone, but are saved as members of the community of the Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ. About once a year, Canon Michael would focus his preaching on the reality and nature of Hell - and on how to avoid going there.

Another of Canon Michael's regular themes, which impacted deeply on me, was his frequent references to St. Augustine's teaching, in The City of God, that we have here on earth no lasting city. This life is brief and passing. All our temporal property, wealth and even our health, will eventually fail us and be eaten away by moths, rust, sickness and death. Our reputations and even our life will seep away like sand in an hour-glass. It therefore makes little sense to invest our whole purpose in this passing world. We need rather to use the things of this world to help build in love for a city that lasts for all eternity. That is the Kingdom of God in Heaven.

Canon Michael also stressed, on a regular basis, the fact that Jesus Christ became one with us in the Incarnation in all things but sin. This meant that He could reveal the Father to us, reveal us to ourselves and understand us from within, with all of our human frailty. Truly we have a friend in Jesus Who, being one with us yet free from sin, can also redeem us from our sins.

Another of Canon Michael's favourite themes was the notion that the Faith is caught and not only taught. One certainly 'caught' the Faith from him, by his immense love for Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and in other people, by his reverent offering of Holy Mass, Benediction and by his deep praying of the Divine Office, Rosary and Stations of the Cross.

In the years before I converted, Canon Michael preached a couple of times about Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus. Drawing on Lumen Gentium, and the writings of Bl. Cardinal J.H. Newman, Canon Michael noted: ''Therefore, those could not be saved who refuse either to enter the Church, or to remain in it, while knowing that it was founded by God through Christ as required for salvation' (LG 14).

I have drawn on Canon Michael Culhane here to demonstrate that true evangelization - the type that actually draws people to conversion - is expressed by objectively imparting the truths of the Faith in the 4-dimensions of Liturgy, Doctrine, Prayer and Morals.

We do not give young people - or any one else - a genuine encounter with Christ or the Catholic Church, by substituting these 4-dimensions with pop-music, dancing, mimes, or softly-softly talks by liberals and dissenters.

I am sometimes troubled by the fact that, due to my own personal sinfulness, the worldliness of my thinking and the stubborness of my heart, I still needed around 4 years of encountering orthodox Catholicism, through the ministry of Canon Culhane and the love of my parents, to actually take the plunge of conversion just before my 21st birthday. Even with all the graces I was given and all the things I have described, it took me so long. Mea Culpa. And yet, how patient is God! 

But the point is, how long will it take to reach the hearts of young people, when they are not being given the objective content of the Faith, but a watered-down, worldly and popularized version, which plays down human sinfulness and the need to repent? And more worryingly, how long do we have left?

Anyone with their spiritual eyes open can see that Cardinal Burke is right about the dangers facing the Church from within and without at this time. Anti-Catholic persecution has been a looming possibility for a number of years, and it would appear that, right now, the 'tanks' of the enemy are drawn up on our own front lawn. And then one must factor in the dangerous global situation emerging from Kiev, the spreading threat of Islamic terrorism and the prophecies at Quito, Akita and Fatima. 

We would suggest that the time for soppy speeches, pop music and dancing is past. It is time to repent, get on our knees with the Rosary and implore - without presumption - the mercy of Almighty God. Oh Lord - Libera Nos a Malo!

On a happier, though not unrelated note: If it had not been for God's grace working through Canon Michael and the orthodoxy of his parish, I would not have converted, would not have met Angeline, and we would not be defending and promoting the Sacrament of Marriage today through this apostolate. And for all these things, we are very grateful to God, the Church, my parents and good old Canon Michael Culhane - May he rest in peace.   

Canon Michael, then aged 81, with us and Prof. David Torevell, author of the book Losing the Sacred, at our wedding reception in 2002. 

0