Is Anybody There?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says Yahweh Sabaoth" Zach 4:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dio di Signore, nella Sua volontà è nostra pace!" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Ben Franklin 1759

Friday, September 03, 2010

A Bishop Who Would Be the Worst Nightmare of Pro-abort Catholics

I am refering to St. William of Roskilde (Bishop & Confessor). His dealings with the king of Denmark in the 11th Century serves as a perfect template for how to deal with such "Catholic" politicians like VP Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Tom Harkin & the gaggle of assorted Kennedys that are out there. His feast day is 2 September. & while I am not trying to tell Papa Benedetto how to do his job, I would like to hunbly request that His Holiness would raise his day to a feast if not a solemnity so that the priests & Bishops would be unable to avoid how he dealt with a political leader who disobeyed Church teaching. Here is his story
Died 1067. An Anglo-Saxon priest named William became court chaplain to King Canute of England (1016-1035) and Denmark. Journeying to Denmark with the king, he was shocked by the ignorance, idolatry, and superstition he found. He decided that the missionary needs of that land were enormous, and stayed there for the rest of his life. Eventually William was named bishop of Roskilde, Zeeland, upon the recommendation of Canute.
To live on terms of great friendship with the royal family was no easy task for a bishop who wished also to witness to the demands of the Christian Gospel, for Canute's successor, King Sweyn Estridsen, in spite of many good qualities, was a headstrong, willful man who several times greatly offended against Christian virtue.
William managed to rebuke the king--once risking his own life in doing so--and to remain in the end the king's good friend. Sweyn Estridsen stoned to death a number of men who, whether guilty or not, should have been granted first a fair trial. To add to his sin, Sweyn had done this in a church, violating its sanctuary. Saint William decreed that a person who had shed blood unjustly could receive no sacrament of the church until he had done public penance.
King Sweyn came to the saint's cathedral with armed men. William stood at the door, armed only with his crozier, and refused the king entry. The armed men drew their swords, at which the saint offered them his neck, ready to sacrifice himself for the Christian faith. Sweyn asked forgiveness, offering property to the church as a token of his great shame.
In his private life the king infringed the moral laws of the church by marrying his own stepdaughter. Repeatedly William remonstrated. He sought and received the public support of the archbishop of Hamburg. But only after both pope and Holy Roman Emperor had also censured the king did Sweyn put aside his unlawful wife.
Yet the two men clearly loved each other, in spite of differences. Sweyn died first (1070). As his body was being carried to Roskilde cathedral from its first buried site in Ringsted Abbey, the saint, clearly heart-broken, met the cortege and himself fell dead. The bodies of both men were then buried together in Roskilde cathedral

3 Comments:

  • At 3/9/10 3:57 AM , Blogger Left-footer said...

    Great post! These forgotten Saints are a treasure of the Church, and should be remembered and prayed to.

    Thank you.

     
  • At 3/9/10 10:54 PM , Blogger TH2 said...

    We could use a St. William up here as well.

     
  • At 4/9/10 12:32 AM , Blogger Al said...

    Reading his story the other day i thought to myself, can you imagine Archbishop Wuerl showing up at the Mass Biden, etc went to & standing at the door with his crozier blocking their entrance?

     

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