Lutheran Church: "Homosexuality is Part of Creation"

Edit: despite the fact that there are quite a few German Catholic Bishops pushing for  the legalization of aberrosexual marriage, it's going to be very difficult to justify the upcoming ecumenical celebrations celebrating the Protestant Revolt. Here's the translation from Junge Freiheit:

[Darmstadt] The Synod of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN) has largely assimilated the blessing of homosexual couples with the traditional marriage of a man and woman. As the EKHN announced on Saturday, the Synod decided to upgrade the blessing of same-sex partnerships.

The intention of the Church Parliament for such blessings are to be certified in the future church records. It will also consider whether the ceremony can also be called a marriage.

"Homosexuality can be seen as part of creation"

Delivered up by a large majority in the regulations of the Synod, it is described by Hessian Broadcasting, among other things: "Today, it is assumed that the same-sex orientation belongs to the natural conditions of life. Homosexuality can be seen as part of creation. "

Church President Volker Jung praised the decision of the Synod for the blessing: "Here the current practice of the blessings of registered partnerships which is consistently integrated into the portion of the ceremony," he said. The Protestant understanding are both acts of blessing and not [yet] sacraments. (Krk)

Link to Junge Freiheit [One of Germany's conservative political weeklies.]...

Sinn Féin Really is Pro-Abortion

Edit: taking notes from Nancy Pelosi, Irish Pro-Death Party Member, Mary Lou McDonald addresses Ireland's Bishops with what seems to be even greater hauteur than the average CINO politician in the United States.

[Irish Central] Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald, speaking in Cork on Friday, said the hierarchy of any religion is entitled to its views on the matter of abortion. “But I think people also need to understand, and the Catholic hierarchy need to understand, that the Dáil and the elected institutions of this State are there to serve all of the people,” she said, according to the Irish Examiner. “It would be wholly inappropriate for public policy to be bound or directed by any particular religious ethos or belief. You can’t have that in a republic.

Read more...

Memoriam: Soviet Troops Crush Berlin Uprising

Edit: this day in history, from the History Channel, which is usually inaccurate, but it is easier than to translate an article at this point.  After the death of Stalin, there was a brief period of time known as the "thaw" when, typical of oriental despotisms throughout history, the death of the tyrant brought about uprisings of their oppressed subjects throughout their far flung empires. 1953 was an opportunity for many Germans. Down with the Soviets!

[History] The Soviet Union orders an entire armored division of its troops into East Berlin to crush a rebellion by East German workers and antigovernment protesters. The Soviet assault set a precedent for later interventions into Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.

The riots in East Berlin began among construction workers, who took to the streets on June 16, 1953, to protest an increase in work schedules by the communist government of East Germany. By the next day, the crowd of disgruntled workers and other antigovernment dissidents had grown to between 30,000 and 50,000. Leaders of the protest issued a call for a general strike, the resignation of the communist East German government, and free elections. Soviet forces struck quickly and without warning. Troops, supported by tanks and other armored vehicles, crashed through the crowd of protesters. Some protesters tried to fight back, but most fled before the onslaught. Red Cross officials in West Berlin (where many of the wounded protesters fled) estimated the death toll at between 15 and 20, and the number of wounded at more than 100. The Soviet military commanders declared martial law, and by the evening of June 17, the protests had been shattered and relative calm was restored.

In Washington, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared that the brutal Soviet action contradicted Russian propaganda that the people of East Germany were happy with their communist government. He noted that the smashing of the protests was "a good lesson on the meaning of communism." America's propaganda outlet in Europe, the Voice of America radio station, claimed, "The workers of East Berlin have already written a glorious page in postwar history. They have once and for all times exposed the fraudulent nature of communist regimes." These criticisms had little effect on the Soviet control of East Germany, which remained a communist stronghold until the government fell in 1989.

Link to History...Link to image German....

Croatia: 750,000 Signatures Against "Homosexual Partnerships" -- With National Referendum Against Government Proposal

(Zagreb) The Citizens Committee On behalf of the family has gathered in Croatia nearly 750,000 signatures against the legalization of "gay marriage". The signatures were presented to President Josip Leko in the the Croatian Parliament on Friday in Zagreb, such as CBA reported. The committee wants to enshrine marriage as a community of life between a man and a woman in the Constitution, as is already the case in the constitutions of Hungary and Poland. A nationwide referendum is sought.

The Citizens Committee On Behalf of the Family wants to prevent the announcement of the left-led government introduction of same-sex registered partnerships. For a binding referendum about 400,000 signatures of citizens eligible to vote is needed. The Citizens Committee for the Protection of Marriage and the Family was able to collect almost twice that number of signatures.

Representatives of the Communist Party which is now called the SDP,to which belong both the Prime Minister Milanovic and Parliament Speaker Leko, appeared anxious. SDP representatives expressed "doubts" whether a referendum on this issue was ever allowed. In 2012 the limited privileges afforded to aberrosexuals by a Left parliamentary majority, were rejected by a referendum of the Slovene people. The Citizens Committee On Behalf of the Family in Croatia, which has been governed since 2011 by a Left-dominated coalition, has the same aims.

The 1527-1918 Austrian Croatia which was part of Austria from 1527-1918, became a full member state of the European Union on the 1st of July as 28th full member.

picture: Citizens Committee on Behalf of the Family

Link to katholisches...

Compare this level of resistance to an alien agenda to the way it passed in Minnesota.  Stella Borealis points out that the efforts of a popular referendum against were outspend by 2:1.  He writes:

Autumn Leva of Minnesota for Marriage said her group raised $200,000, and had three registered lobbyists compared to 14 on the side advocating same-sex marriage. Minnesotans United For All Families, the group that supported same-sex marriage, has previously said it spent more than $2 million in a successful lobbying campaign that featured phone banks, television commercials and personal appeals to lawmakers.

Just some thoughts. The Archdiocese spent money and probably some/all of the other five dioceses spent money, too.

The National Organization for Marriage in California also spent money. And some of the Proposition 8 staffers in California were made available (by phone?) to Minnesota For Marriage.

And when MN Unived say they spent "more than $2 million", I would like to know HOW MUCH MORE than $2 million. And from whom did they get it?

More from MPR

In 50 years, huge strides for gay-rights movement 
June 9, 2013 

County officials to discuss wording on marriage applications 
June 9, 2013 

Counties tally marriage license requests on first day same-sex couples can apply 
June 6, 2013 

Photos: Minn. same-sex couples line up for marriage licenses 
June 6, 2013 

Same sex marriage: Basics on the new law 
May 17, 2013

Diocesan Seminarian Ordained in the Old Rite -- Mission to Muslims -- Sacra Liturgia Event

(Toulon) Last Tuesday Bishop Dominique Rey, the Bishop of Frejus-Toulon, consecrated a seminarian of the diocese in the old rite as deacon. The remarkable thing is that it does not concern the members of Ecclesia Dei community, but a diocesan seminarian. The Bishop of Frejus-Toulon treats the two forms of the Roman Rite, as Pope Benedict XVI had recognized, as equals.

The diaconate was held in the traditional Benedictine Abbey of Notre Dame de Fontgombault where the new deacon was trained liturgically under the direction of Dom Jean Pateau. In his homily, Bishop Rey stressed the connection between the diaconate and the Eucharistic Sacrifice. This is the fourth diocesan seminarian who has been brouight by the Bishop of Frejus-Toulon in this way to the priesthood.

In 2011, Bishop Rey caused a stir as he consecrated one of his deacons to the priesthood in the Old Rite. The Instruction, Universae Ecclesiae on the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, states that ordinations in the ordinary form of the Roman Rite should be made. Only the Ecclesia Dei communities and other communities with explicit permission to celebrate the traditional rite are exempt. However, Rome recognized the example of the Diocese of Frejus-Toulon immediately with an indult was granted without further notice.

Bishop Rey is the initiator of the International Liturgical Conference, Sacra Liturgia, which will be held from the 25th to 28th of June in Rome. In the diocese there are also the Missionaries of Divine Mercy of Father Fabrice Loiseau, an Old Ritual Community of Diocesan Right, which was canonically erected in the diocese of Frejus-Toulon in 2005 and is under the authority of Bishop Rey. The triple apostolate of the community is: promoting the worship of the Divine Mercy of St. Faustina Kowalska, Eucharistic adoration and the evangelization of Muslims. The latter has shown itself as an apostolate community at the forefront of new Catholic communities that respond to the specific challenges of their time. [View with PicLens]

Link to Katholisches... Contact Tancred: vekron99@hotmail.com

AMGD

Sick of the Catholic Church?

Why not try Living Waters Ministries of Solomon's Portico instead?

http://youtu.be/grZmXZpWLds

Pope to French Parliamentarians --- Act on "Gay Marriage... Override it again"

(Rome) Pope Francis has urged the French parliamentarians he received, by quite frankly telling them to "override" the already adopted law legalizing "gay marriage" again. Laws must be overridden if they are not "possessed of the necessary quality that elevates and ennobles man", said the head of the Catholic Church. The Pope was referring to the law on "gay marriage," the law of adoption for gays, abortion and euthanasia. [Aka Taubira's Law]

He reminded the MEPs that they must engage in legislation "not only the ideas and fashions of the moment". The Catholic Church is willing "to contribute to basic questions that allow a more complete picture of man and his destiny." The Pope addressed the members of a large Vatican friendship group of Parisian deputies, as he received them on Saturday at the Vatican.

The meeting with the deputies had been expected with anticipation because of the simmering for months in France dispute over the "gay marriage", which was recently legalized by the Socialist majority in the French Senate and the National Assembly. Without explicitly interfering in domestic issues, the Pope gave his rejection of "gay marriage" to recognize adoption rights for gays, abortion and euthanasia clearly.

The pontiff stressed the principle of secularity of the French state could "mean no hostility towards religion, and not their exclusion from social life and the debates held there." The Pope showed himself pleased, addressing the mass rallies Manif Pour Tous, without naming them by name, "about the fact that the community of the French has rediscovered a certain image of man and his dignity" representing the will "of the Church and others".

Millions of people have since the fall of 2012, protested with the participation of many church groups in Paris, and many other cities to protest against the introduction of "gay marriage".

A note in its own right, [from Mr. Giuseppe Nardi to his German readers]. We apologize for the initially muted coverage of the statements of the Pope to the deputies. It was based on the report of the German editors of Radio Vatican, where the content and scope Pope words were either not understood or was deliberately trying to downplay this possible.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi Image: L'Osservatore Romano Link to katholisches... Editor's note: let's face it, Radio Vatican's coverage usually leaves a lot to be desired and a lot of it never makes it into English.

Pope Appoints Archbishop Ricca to Prelate of Vatican Bank

Pope appoints "household head" of Sanctae Marthae to Prelate of the Vatican Bank

(Vatican) Pope Francis has appointed effective immediately, the Vatican diplomat Archbishop Mario Battista Salvatore Ricca (born 1956), on an interim basis, as the new Prelate of the Istituto per le Opere di Religione, or the Vatican bank IOR. The Italian Ricca is currently in a sense the chief house of Pope Francis as director of the Vatican guesthouse Domus Sanctae Marthae , where the Pope lives since his election. Monsignor Ricca also among the houses Domus Internationalis Paul VI , Domus Romana Sacerdotalis and the Casa San Benedetto , as Vatican Radio reported.

The predecessor in office of the Prelate of the Vatican Bank from 2006 to 2010 was the Vatican diplomat Archbishop Piero Pioppo. Monsignor Pioppo, now Titular Archbishop, has since been Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

Link to katholisches...

Modernist Monk Inflamed About His Clique Being Called out by Cincinnati Vocations Director

What a Wonderful Day for an Auto de Fe

Edit: flamers gonna flame...   Father Anthony Ruff is having a clerical tizzy meltdown over a spade being called a spade at his Pray, Tell blog.   He complains about a priest who is the Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Father Martin Fox, who writes in Bonfire of the Vanities about a gathering of dissident Warlock Priests in Oregon, the Association of Catholic [sic] Priests.

What this is is a case of a "Catholic" priest complaining about a Catholic point of view described by the  good Vocations Director, and of course, the unstated and growing paranoia on the part of Father Ruff, that his cohorts of Liberalism and relativism are thinning and dying away.

 Father Ruff himself is an Old Liberal dissident of dubious orthodoxy who works at the Modernist Monastery, a hotbed of Old Liberal dissent and Gomorrist syncretism, if not manifest heresy, who has recently taken another priest to task for his tone.   Father Ruff can disparage the hierarchy, but when various organizations associated with the aging lavender clerocracy in the United States are justifiably attacked, he's beside himself and wants something to be done about the Vocations Director of the Cincinnati Archdiocese.

No one held Ruff responsible for attacking Pope Benedict's agenda for the translation of the New Mass that we know of, and no one holds Ruff or his superiors responsible for undermining the Catholic Faith, either.  So why should Father Fox be held responsible for doing what is right and doing nothing other than stating an obvious truth that this post-Vatican II crew is dying out?

Here's a sample of Ruff's simpering:


Fr. Martin Fox, writing in his personal blog, Bonfire of the Vanities, has issued a broadside against the Association of Catholic Priests and their upcoming meeting in Seattle, calling it the “Sad-funny-ironic swan-song of the ‘Spirit of Vatican 2′ crowd.”

Calling their agenda “pointless,” his dismissive remarks about the group, which has 950 members, highlight not only the generational differences between age cohorts in the American Catholic priesthood, but also the increasingly acerbic and derogatory tone that younger priests feel free to take in public when speaking about their elder brothers.[Ruff misrepresents Fox on several occasions throughout this blog entry and in the subsequent hilarity of the ensuing comments. That's not particularly brotherly.]

In fact, it would be hard to tell from Fr. Fox’s remarks that he regards older priests as brothers at all, much less valued older colleagues in ministry. They are described more as if they are either enemies or a pathetic nuisance to be gotten out of the way. Younger priests such as Fr. Fox, confident that they hold the whip hand, now seem ready to snap it — on other priests.

Continue reading at Pray, Tell...

One positive thing with this is that it shows that higher ranking clergy, including Bishops, are finally calling out the bad fruit.  If there is a gap in the "former bastion of priestly solidarity" it's only because there are too many priests who are disobedient, heterodox and frankly evil, promoting pernicious doctrines under the guise of the Catholic Church, with relative impunity I might add.

Ist Verboten!

Verborum ac Notionum ac Hominum et Ceterorum Index Prohibitorum:

Abortion
Abuse, especially of children, women, the elderly, and the liturgy
Access
Active participation
Activism
Activist judges
Adele
Adolf von Harnack
Adultery
Advertising
Affirmation
Affirmative action
“Afrocentric” names (e.g. Kenitha, Bunifa, Latifah, Halifah, Sharifa, Jamal, Oranjello, Lemonjello, Jerome, Tyrone, Tyrell, Femalee, Donté etc.)
Agribusiness
Alberto Cutié, a.k.a. “Fr. Oprah”
All you can eat buffets
America, United States of
American “culture”
American “history”
American “literature”
Androphobia
Angela Merkel
Animal rights’ activists
Anne Rice
Anthrax
The Anti-Defamation League
Antipopes
Apostasy
The Arab Spring
Archbishop Bugnini
Artificial anything
Aspartame
Assemblies instead of Congregations
Assisi Conferences
Asymmetrical haircuts
Atheists who (wrongly) think they’re happy
Attorneys
Austrian School of Economics
Autocephaly

Bailouts
Banks
The Beatles
Benjamin Spock
Bill Gates
Birth control
Bishops’ conferences, usually
Bishopesses
Blasphemy
Bob Marley
Bongo drums
Boob jobs
“Born-again” “Christians”
Bowling
Boy bands
Broadway musicals
The Brooklyn Bridge
Bulletin boards
Bullying
Bumper stickers

Cable News Network (CNN)
Californians (but not California)
Capitalism [Tancred notes: This ill-defined term is of great moment for many in the public sector who wish for a Utopian dream world.]
Cardinal Kaspar
Cardinal Law
Cardinal Mahoney
Cartoons
Catullus
Celine Dion
Charismatic Movement
Charles Curran
Che Guevara
Cheap booze
Cheez Whiz
Chicago cronyism
Chick tracts
Child actors
Christopher West
Chuck E. Cheese’s
Cigarettes (pipes and cigars are ok, for men)
Civil rights
Climate change
Clowns
Co-ed anything
Collegeville
Committees
Communion in the hand
Communism
Concelebration
Concubinage
Conspiracies
“Contemporary” “English”
Contraception
Conventions
Converse All Stars
Cool Whip
Corporatism
Country “music”
“Courtship” instead of “dating”
Cravats
Crystals

Dan Brown novels
David Cameron
David Haas
Debates
Decimal Currency
Delilah Rene (that stupid bitch on the radio)
Democracy
The Democratic Party
Demonstrations
Denim
Descriptive Grammar
Desecration
Dialogue
Dick and Jane Method
Disobedient children
Dissent
Diversity
Divination
Divorce
Dog Shit
Drag Shows
Dreadlocks, at least on white people
Drug Abuse Resistance Education
Dual Covenant Theology
Dungeons and Dragons

Eagles Wings
Ear wax
Ebonics

École Normale Supérieure

Ecumenism

Egalitarianism
Elections
Elvis Impersonators
Environment and Art in Catholic Worship
Equality
Error
Eucharistic Prayers, newly composed
The Euro
The European Union
Ex-priests
Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion

Fast food
Fat people
Febreze
Female clergy
Feminism
Folk music in church
Fornication
Fox News
Fraternities (but not the Fraternity)
Free-verse poetry, Elliot excepted
The French Revolution
Free Masonry
Free-standing altars in Western churches
Free trade
Freedom
French police in riot gear
Fundraisers

Gambling
Gas-guzzling SUVs
Gather Us In
Gay marriage
Gay sex
Gender balance
Gender identity
Gender studies
General intercessions
Global warming
Golf
Good Friday Prayer for the Jews, 1970
Gossip columnists
Government statistics
Graduate Record Examinations
Greek life
The Gregorian Institute of America
Guitars
Gynarchy
Gynergy

Haikus
Hamburger Helper
Hans Küng
Harley Davidsons
Harvard University
Health insurance companies
Hedonism
Here I am, Lord
Heresy
Heterodoxy
High school bands
Hip-hop
Hipsters
Historical critical method
Hitler
Hollywood
Homeopathy
Homilies instead of Sermons
Horoscopes
(For women:) How bad your last relationship was
(For undergraduates:) How drunk you were last night
Hugo Chávez
Human Rights Commissions
Hymns at Mass

Iconoclasm
Identity Politics
IKEA
Immigration
Imperialism
Improper grammar (e.g. “between you and I)
Inclusion
Inclusive language
Inculturation
Insubordination
The Internal Revenue Service
International Commission on English in the Liturgy
Internet dating websites
Inter-religious dialogue
Involvement
Ipods
Islam, radical or otherwise
The Israeli occupation of Palestine

Jackson Pollock
James Pike
Jazz
Jazzercise
Jeans
Jennifer Granholm
Jerry Springer
Jesuits, St. Louis and otherwise
Jesuit Psalter
The Jesus Seminar
Joan Chittister
John Calvin
John Shelby Spong
Justin Bieber (especially his haircuts)

Karl Rahner
Katharine Schori
The Kennedies
The Ku Klux Klan

Lady Gaga
Lawyers
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
The Left Behind Series
The Legion of Christ
Lensless glasses
Lesbianism
Liberalism
Libertarianism
Liberty
Lists
Litter Boxes
Liturgical Revision
Liturgists
The loss of the pronoun whom
The loss of the subjunctive
The lottery
Lutheranism

Margaret Sanger
Marijuana
Mark Zuckerberg
Martin Luther
Matriarchy
Marty Haugen
Marxism
Meat on Fridays
The media
Medjugorje
Megachurches
The Message
Meta-narratives
Methodism
Military-Industrial Complex
Miniskirts
Mixed Choirs
“Modern” “Art”
Modernism
Monster truck rallies
Montel Williams
Mormonism
Mothers who fail to breastfeed
Mullets
Music, post-1900

Neo-cons
Neo-liberal Economics
New age shit
New International Version
New York City
New Yorkers
Nightclubs
The 1960s and ‘70s
Nintendo
No Child Left Behind Act
North American Free Trade Agreement
Nose rings
Notre Dame University
The Novus Ordo
Nuns in business suits

One Direction
One size fits all
Open theism
Operah Winfrey
Oregon Catholic Press
Organic pet food

Pacifists
The Packers
Paganism, Neo- and otherwise
Paper napkins
Parents who don’t care
Partially hydrogenated oils
The “Peace Prayer” wrongly attributed to St. Francis
Peace signs
Pentecostalism
People We Don’t Like
Petitions, especially online
Pets
Pilates
Pianos instead of harpsichords
Piercings on men
Pink
Pius X Psalter
Planned Parenthood
Political correctness
Pollution
Poncho chasubles
Ponytails on men, especially clergy
Pope Paul VI
Pornography
Post-modernism
Praise and worship music
Pray Tell Blog
President Bush
President Obama
Presiders and their Captain Kirk chairs
Pretentiousness
Pride parades
Priestesses
Prince Charles
Princess Diana
Professional athletes
Projection screens in churches
Prom
Pornography
Property rights
Protestantism
Protests
Psalm tone propers
Psychics
Psychology

Quantitative Assessments
Queer
Questioning
Quotas

Racism
Rainbow flags
Rainbow stoles
Rap
The Rapture
RCIA directors
Refrain glorias
The Republican Party
Republicanism
Responsorial psalms
Revolution
Rice-A-Roni
Richard Dawkins
Rights
Rock concerts
Rock ‘n’ roll
Role playing games
Rowan Williams
Rush Limbaugh
Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Sacrilege
Sarah Palin
Saxophones
Scented candles
Scholastic gibberish
Seances
SeaWorld
Secularism
Sedevacantists
Self-gift
Self-narratives
Self-possession
Sex, most of the time
Sex education
Sex reassignment surgery
Sexting
Sexual assault
Sexually transmitted infections
Shag carpeting
Shake ‘n Bake
Shopping malls
Shortshorts
Sign of peace
Sin
Six-day creationism
Smart drinks
Soap operas
Soccer moms
Sociology
Sodomy
Sororities
Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Poverty Law Center
Speaking in tongues
The Spice Girls
Spirituality
Sports
Stalin
Star Trek
Star Wars
The Statue of Liberty (i.e. That Idol of a French Whore)
Steve Jobs
Stoles worn over chasubles
Stupid people
The Supreme Court
Sustainability

Taliban
Tarot cards
Tattoos (a.k.a. “tramp stamps”)
The Tea Party, but not tea simply
Televangelists
Television
Texting
Therapy
Think-tanks
The three-year lectionary
Tolerance
Toleration
Toupées
Trailer parks
Transgendered
Transvestites
Trousers on women

Ugly people
Ugly tabernacles
Underwater Mongolian basket weaving
United Nations
Urban sprawl

Vampire novels
Vandalism
Vatican II
Vegetarianism
Veganism
Versus populum
Viagra
Vice
Violence

Walmart
Walt Disney
Wall Street
Washington DC
Welfare dependency
Whiggery
Witchcraft
Witches
Wombforce
Women’s ordination
Women who drive and talk on the phone at the same time
Womynist identities
World Council of Churches
World Youth Day
Wrestling, professional
Written constitutions

Xylophones

Yankee cuisine
Yankee foreign policy
Yard signs
Yoga
Your face
Your feelings (mine are ok)
Your happiness (and mine too)
Your Mom

Cardinal Tauran Preaches Stresses New Dogmas During London Visit

Edit: a correspondent sent this.  Here's a google translation with some editing:

[Radio Vatican] "Religions are the source of love, unity and peace, and if a religion teaches otherwise, then it is not a religion." [This must be some new kind of orthodoxy] These are the words of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, on Friday in London. The prelate began a five-day visit to Britain. The president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue will strengthen interfaith relations in the country and stress that the friendship between religions is already the foundation of peace. 
On June 13, Westminster Cathedral, he attended an interfaith meeting entitled "together in prayer for peace." His visit comes amid tension after the recent murder in the stabbing of a soldier in London exacerbating intercommunal hatred. Hence the importance of such an initiative was welcomed by the bishop in charge of interreligious dialogue within the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales. 
Non-violence, an absolute imperative [Not the Faith] 
"At a time when violence and in many different forms, has become the major concern in many parts of the world, because it disturbs the peace in families, in communities and in society, the practice of non-violence becomes imperative for Catholics and Jains" said Cardinal Tauran. This implies that "believers and people of good will, honor the dignity of every human being, and that beyond differences due to religion or other factors, we recognize our responsibility vis-à-vis the family human to which we all belong and we need help, personally and collectively, for the full development of each in love, justice, freedom and harmony. This is the only way to help promote peace and prosperity in the world." 
An interfaith cooperation to promote harmony and peace 
Thursday was the highlight of the trip Cardinal Tauran. An interfaith ceremony was held in Westminster Cathedral in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, local bishops and members of  various new religions. "How can we, in practice, messengers and peacemakers?" Cardinal Tauran asked during his speech on the theme "Together in prayer for peace. "  The answer, he continued, "is that, first of all, we must first truly live their faith, regardless of the religion to which one belongs. For a life of faith lived authentically can not fail to produce fruits of peace and brotherhood, as no religion teaches otherwise." The Cardinal certainly did not deny the existence, at the moment," of some fundamentalists and fanatics who seek to incite intolerance and violence against those who do not share their beliefs in the name of religion. "However, he noted, these are a minority. Hence the appeal made ​​to  "interfaith cooperation" to promote "respect, mutual understanding and cooperation in the cause of peace."  
(Photo: Cardinal Tauran in England with the representative of the Hindu community) 

The Rebirth of Scouting?

A Catholic Symbol

Edit: I never got much out of Scouting, but it's a shame now that a lot of Catholics won't because of their waffling. A Scout is supposed to be morally straight.  The organization decided to put an end to that and has prompted the closing of branches in parishes predominated by faithful Catholics. Hopefully they can consider this as a legitimate alternative, the Scouts of St. George:

We are getting thousands of emails from all over the world. By God’s grace, the Scouts of Saint George will launch on time by the end of the summer!

These emails express excitement from young men and parents. However, its becoming apparent, that the SSG isn’t for everyone.

I want to be 100% transparent about what the Scouts of Saint George is and what it is not. I do not want anyone to spend their efforts with us only to be disappointed.

We have a very specific mission and goal: that Catholic men and boys will become saints in their love for our Lord Jesus Christ. The context we have chosen for this is the outdoors in the scouting tradition founded by Baden-Powell.

Here are 6 reasons why the Scouts of Saint George isn’t for everyone:

1) This is a Catholic movement. Please understand that the SSG is for Catholic men and Catholic boys. There are a number of reasons for this exclusivity:

a) The SSG will include activities expressly Catholic (Mass, Rosary, Marian hymns, pilgrimages to Guadalupe/Fatima/Rome, prayers to Saint George, etc). It’s not fair to ask non-Catholics to act contrary to their religious beliefs.

Image this! Think about forty boys and a few dads sitting around a campfire at 10:45pm with the sky full of stars. They just spent a long and exhausting day hiking and practicing survival techniques. The sky is full of constellations. The Milky Way is spread out above them. The boys just finished telling camp fire stories and performing a few skits. The dads cooked peach cobbler for the boys in their cast-iron dutch ovens. When they finish their hot cobbler, the boys take turns leading the Rosary and finish by chanting the Salve Regina to Mary in Latin.

If that doesn’t excite you, then the SSG is probably not for you. 

If this sounds like a scouting dream come true. Then join the team and start a troop.

b) Membership and leadership standards will include recommendations from a Catholic priest in good standing and safe-environment classes from the local diocese.

c) It would be disingenuous to give awards referring to saints, Mary, or sacramental realities to non-Catholics. A Mormon shouldn’t be receiving Trinitarian badges. Protestants shouldn’t be receiving Marian or Eucharistic regalia or symbols. It’s inauthentic. It doesn’t comport with the truth.

d) What if we allowed non-Catholics? What if a Troop became 51% Protestant and voted to have a Calvinist chaplain instead of a Catholic priest? Then what? Are any Catholics going to join it? The SSG in that town has abandoned its birthright.

“But what about witnessing to other non-Catholic boys? We cannot leave them out in the rain!” I certainly feel this objection in my heart. I was a non-Catholic scout and I do know that Catholic scouts had an influence on me. Trust me. I understand. However, if we are going to avoid the mistakes of the BSA, we are going to have to make a stand on this. We must be on the same page when it comes to moral issues. Which leads to…

2) We have high moral standards. The SSG are called to high standards. Alcoholism, adultery, fornication, and any other transgressions against the doctrinal or moral teaching of the Catholic Church will not be tolerated in the adult leaders or with the scouts. The SSG should be exemplars of virtue in their community.

3) This is a men’s movement. A lot of people have taken exception to this. “The Scouts of Saint George is as much about Cahtolic men as it is about Catholic boys.” I’ve placed this quote in bold because that sound bite should be repeated whenever anyone talks about the SSG.

Visit your local Catholic parish and you’ll see that men have generally abandoned its leadership. This is true with attendance and volunteer work. The published stats are readily available. We need a renewal in Catholic manhood. We start with the men and their boys. We begin to start a revolution where fathers and sons are not embarrassed to pray the Rosary together.

Can mother’s help out and be involved in a number of ways? Of course! We need the mothers! Wives are integral to the spiritual formation of their husbands and their sons. Our wonderful mothers are not to be excluded. However, the leadership and camping activities are for men and boys only. Boys become men through the mentorship of other men. The Blessed Virgin Mary was without sin, all holy, all wise, and the most perfect creature of all. Yet God still placed Saint Joseph into Christ’s life. Mary facilitated. However, Mary did not teach Jesus how to carve wood. She left that to Joseph.

4) We are not co-ed. Young men and women need each other, but they also need to have times apart. I’m an Eagle Scout. I’ve been a high school teacher. I am a college professor. I am a father. Take it from me: Boys act and think differently when girls are around. They don’t ask questions. They play it cool. They are more self-aware. They are less aware of their friends and more aware of the girls. That’s not bad. That’s just the way things are. Why fight nature?

Boys (and men) need to get away and get into the woods and sit around the fire. I believe that down to the core of my bones. Is your husband stressed out? Send him out into the woods. He’ll come back a happier man.

Will we start a “Scouts of Saint Joan of Arc” at some point? We are considering it. Right now, there is more demand for SSG and we are overwhelmed. Moreover, I am an Eagle Scout. I don’t know much about girl scouting. We would need women to help take up the torch in this regard. I’m open to it.

5) We are not a “boy’s club.” The Scouts reading this site already understand this. The Knight of Columbus Squires and other great boys groups are wonderful. We promote and support them. However, scouting is different. It’s an outdoors movement. It entails rappelling, knots, camping, backpacking, survival, dutch oven cooking, fishing, etc.

Camping and doing survival weekends isn’t for everyone. We are not chiefly concerned about community service. We encourage that, but that’s not the point of SSG. We want a boy to come home and proudly tell his mother that he now knows how to rig a small sail boat. We want a boy to have that moment of self-confidence burned into his memory.

6) We have high-standards. This point comes from Baden-Powell. He understood that boys don’t want to be boys. Boys want to be men. Inner city gangs understand this. Unfortunately, many good people do not understand this reality with boys. The SSG isn’t going to be an easy “check the box” organization. The ranks will be earned and the boys will know their faith and have character. We expect that many these young men will go on to be the heroic priests of the next generation.

Scouting, to distill the idea, is asking boys to achieve manhood. We are modeling ourselves on chivalry and the art of being a gentlemen. We aren’t going to tolerate backward baseball caps, shirt tails out, and white basketball shoes with the uniform. Yes, it’s going to be a little bit old fashioned. The handbooks, uniforms, badges, hats, neckerchiefs, and everything associated is going to be of higher quality than the BSA. When you see it, you will say, “Wow!” When non-Catholics see it, they will say, “I wish I were Catholic! That looks so cool!

Your sons will look like men because we want them to become men. Baden-Powell always stressed the importance of self-respect and public appearance, and we should not forget it. There is nothing Catholic about looking like a slob. From the chivalric orders, to the religious orders, to the diocesan priesthood, the Catholic Church has always insisted on proper dress. The Scouts of Saint George should see themselves in that tradition.

I imagine that a few will read these six points above and think, “Shucks. I’m out. This isn’t for me. This isn’t for my family.” That’s okay. It’s better for all of us to realize this at the beginning rather than two years into it.

If anyone wants to fight over these 6 points of identity for the SSG, please don’t. These six principles are not up for debate. They are part of the core identity of the Scouts of Saint George. There are other boys clubs and scouting organizations out there. I’m sure you can find a fit.

Now I turn my eyes to those who have read these six points and are fired up. Do you want be that father sitting around the camp fire praying the Rosary and looking up at the stars? Do you want a Catholic mens/boys movement that seeks to transform the culture and restore genuine manhood? If so, please start a troop in your town. Man up and take the lead. Let’s work together.

On our death beds, we will be glad and grateful that we did this…

CALL TO ACTION: We will begin the registration of the first 100 SSG Troops on July 1, 2013. These first 100 Troops will be “Charter Troops” and will retain special badges and honor in perpetuity as the original “100 Charter Troops of the SSG.”

In order to Charter a Troop you need:

1. A father to volunteer as Troop Sergeant (sergeant comes from the Latin serviens, meaning “one who serves”)
2. You need at least Catholic six boys. Baden-Powell believed that six boys were the bare minimum. We are exclusively Catholic among the Scouts and the leadership.
3. Support from your priest. A Troop cannot be chartered without a letter for reference from a priest in good standing. Adult volunteers will need to go through the “Keeping Kids Safe” (or similar program) in your Catholic diocese.
4. You will need to register your troop at this website to be officially associated with the SSG. Look for the application form in July.

Godspeed,

Taylor Marshall, PhD
Eagle Scout