Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Matthew 10:26-28
God knows everything about us and what we have done throughout our life. He knows every secret that we try to hide from ourselves, from others and from Him. We live in a world that everything about us is known. Records are kept, sometimes without our own knowledge about our lives. Nothing about our life is hidden. Yet when we sin, we do everything possible to cover up our wrong. Little do we know, that it always comes to the light. No one goes through life without a sin coming to the surface.
What is it like to come close to loosing your life, your soul. It's not a pleasant thing. Should we fear the one who would destroy what gives us life, you bet! I can sit here and actually look back and think about how one person could so easily attempt to take your soul from your life. I see with eyes the many times an attempt to change my morals was brought to the surface, and the many times I refused. The things that kill a soul. Be afraid of the one that drags your life to Gehenna. Because should you go over the edge, there is no coming back unless it is by the hand of God, and his reaching in to pull you out. Think about the desires that rule your life, follow the commandments, each and every one of them, you will not regret it.
And for me this one person was my test of faith, and where my heart belonged, to God. Please don't wait until you are tested to see where your loyalty is, because it might be one we fail and not pass. Be true to God always, in everything.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
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Disturbing secrets....
The Sunday Times - Britain
The Sunday Times July 16, 2006
Bishops rebel as cardinal defends aide over ‘affairs’
Christopher Morgan and Maurice Chittenden
SOME of Britain’s leading Roman Catholic bishops have mounted a protest against their cardinal over his refusal to sack an aide accused of having a series of affairs, one of which led to his girlfriend having an abortion in direct contravention of the church’s teaching.
The bishops have told Cardinal Cormac Murphy- O’Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster, that it is unacceptable for Austen Ivereigh, his director for public affairs and one of his closest advisers, to remain in his post.
Ivereigh has been accused of “heinous hypocrisy” after it was claimed he helped pay a former girlfriend to have an abortion when he was a student at Oxford.
As Murphy-O’Connor’s main policy adviser, Ivereigh is credited with being the architect of the cardinal’s drive to demand tougher laws to curb abortion.
He is also accused of getting a second woman pregnant. Friends of the second woman have claimed he told her he would marry her and then changed his mind. She had a miscarriage a short time later.
Another friendship with Franca Brenninkmeyer, a child psychologist, ended earlier this year when she allegedly threw a glass of wine over him when he told her he was finishing their relationship.
Earlier this year, Ivereigh, a former Jesuit novice, said: “There has been a moral awakening over the last few years about abortion; the British public have been undergoing a reality check.
“The cardinal sees in this moral awakening a growing unease and erosion of the idea of abortion as simply a woman’s right.”
Senior sources said the cardinal was under pressure this weekend and facing one of his most difficult periods at Westminster.
The bishops raised their concerns about Ivereigh at a meeting earlier this month. According to insiders, Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Birmingham, was the most vociferous about Ivereigh’s position being untenable.
Another senior bishop, who asked not to be named, said that if the disclosures were true, the situation could not continue. “Cormac cannot be fighting this all the time,” he said. “If I had someone in that position I’d find it would impede my own work and become a preoccupation. It would be very difficult to carry on.”
George Stack, one of the cardinal’s auxiliary bishops in Westminster, has passed on the worries of a number of clergy. “It is a delicate matter,” he said.
Journalists on the Catholic Herald newspaper boycotted a drinks party given by the archdiocese of Westminster last week in protest against Ivereigh’s continuing role.
Ivereigh said last week he was unaware of the bishops’ concerns.
Brenninkmeyer, a psychologist at the post-adoption centre in Camden, London, said: “He used to be a flatmate. It is between him and me, I am afraid.” She later denied they had had an affair.
July 2006 -- The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois
Why has Bishop George Lucas, of the Springfield Diocese, allowed predatory homosexuals to remain in positions of authority?
Yet another individual (Scott J. Kastel) has come forward with first-hand testimony regarding Msgr. John Renken’s predatory homosexual nature. Mr. Kastel has allowed me to use his name publicly because he is scandalized by the fact that Bishop Lucas, while claiming to want information regarding clergy misconduct, refuses to act once he receives it. Kastel provided both former Bishop Ryan (himself a predator) and Bishop Lucas with statements and only came to Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc (RCF) after Lucas refused to take action. Mr. Kastel is the fifth individual that I am aware of to come forward with information on Renken’s homosexual activity. (Msgr. John Renken was past president of the Canon Law Society and in 2002 was appointed advisor to the Bishops’ committee on child abuse in Washington, D.C.)
I will spare you some of the lewd details regarding Renken’s sexual advances towards Mr. Kastel. I have copied one document from his case on the reverse side of this note. More information will be provided to those who request it.
Now on to another matter: Shortly after our Chancellor Msgr. Eugene Costa (another predatory homosexual) was found beaten in a Springfield Park by two teenage boys he solicited for sex, Mr. Thomas Munoz became a suspect in that beating. Munoz contacted RCF after the police accused him of beating Costa. Munoz’s story was covered by the Illinois Times and written about in the last issue of our newsletter.
Munoz told RCF that he believed he was being set up by the Diocese (Msgr. Renken ) because of things he had witnessed. Munoz said he had been paid for sexual favors by several members of the Springfield clergy and knew of others who were active homosexuals. Munoz gave RCF the names. After our interview of Munoz he was arrested on an attempted burglary charge stemming from an incident at a Rochester Catholic Church. The charge was later dropped and is now the subject of a false arrest lawsuit filed by Munoz.
Munoz, through discovery, has obtained copies of police documents regarding Msgr. Costa’s beating and arrest of Munoz. In a sworn statement by a Springfield police detective, the detective states that it was Msgr. Renken who suggested Munoz may have beaten Costa and went on to state that, according to Msgr. Renken, Munoz had had sex with Catholic priests. Renken’s statement confirms what Munoz had told RCF and raises other serious questions. How did Renken learn this information, and why are the priests Munoz had sex with still active as pastors? Anyone wishing to be provided with more information need only contact RCF.
One more item: RCF recently interviewed a St. Louis man who claimed, at the age of 17, while he attended St. Louis Prep. Seminary (1987 – 1988) then Fr. George Lucas, on several occasions asked him what he liked sexually and if he liked older men. He went on to state that Fr. Lucas repeatedly asked him to meet him after school but our informant always refused and stated Lucas eventually left him alone.
Convent life drives Kerala nun to suicide
A 34-year-old Clarist Sister is the latest of 15 cases of suicide over the past 12 years among religious sisters in Kerala, India, highlighting underlying problems in convent life for women.
"Some situations drive nuns to suicide," says Montfort Br Varghese Theckenath, President of the Conference of Religious India (CRI). "We are honest to admit the problem and we have to sort it out," he told Bangkok-based news agency UCA News.
Kerala generates the most male and female Religious in India. Br Theckenath says the state has 33,226 nuns. According to the 2006 CRI directory, India has 102,810 nuns and 7,216 novices.
According to Joseph Pulikunnel, a Catholic lay leader who edits Osanna ("Hosanna") magazine, Kerala has recorded 15 cases of suicide among nuns in the past 12 years. The latest was Clarist Sr Lisa, whose body was found last month in the guestroom of her convent near Kottayam, 2,650 kilometres south of New Delhi.
The police found a suicide note that cited disappointment in life as the reason the 34-year-old nun took the extreme step. An autopsy showed no wounds on her body. Police official PB Vijayan said Sr Lisa consumed poison, and investigators reported finding traces of pesticide in her room.
The deceased nun's father, Joseph Thottathil, blamed the convent for his daughter's death. The distraught 60-year-old father said his daughter was unhappy with her impending transfer to another convent and had informed her superiors, "but she never got justice from her superiors."
As the police continued to probe the case, some nuns and priests in Kerala discussed with UCA News possible reasons why nuns take their own life.
Fr Paul Thelakat, editor of Satyadeepam ("Lamp of Truth"), a Church weekly published out of Kochi, the state's commercial hub, blames disorientation and lack of communication.
Sr Elsy, superior of a Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King convent, agrees with him. The 56-year-old religious says disappointment and despair lead some nuns to end their life. Nuns get "very limited opportunity" to ventilate their grievances. "It's a serious matter," added the superior, who is based in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram.
Sr Elsy and Fr Thelakat cite a need to review nuns' formation programs.
Only 22.5 percent of men who enter seminaries become priests, Sr Elsy pointed out, while the rest leave during formation, which usually lasts from nine to 15 years. In contrast, a nun gets only four years of training and "once you become a nun, it is difficult to get out." She explained that "society, the Church and family" discourage nuns from quitting the convent even if they experience dissatisfaction and disillusionment.
Fr Thelakat adds that priests "get lots of opportunities to meet people and exchange their views, but women religious are closeted in the convents."
Carmelite Sr Tina Jose, a lawyer who has been a nun for 34 years, says nuns face more challenges than their male counterparts. "There is discrimination against women in general, and if I deny this, I will be telling a big lie," she said.
But referring to Sr Lisa's suicide as "only a personal tragedy," the 53-year-old nun accused the media of trying to sensationalise the case.
Sr Jose said that Kerala reports the highest number of suicide cases in India. "Nuns are not from Venus. They represent a cross-section of this society," she continued. In her view, nuns' formation equips them to face pressure, but some who are emotionally weak commit suicide. "It does not reflect the true picture of women religious in Kerala," she insisted.
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