The Contraception Deception

I found this especially interesting in light of the recent speech of Cardinal Sarah to seminarians I reported earlier today:

Cardinal Sarah to Priests/Seminarians - Proclaim Truth of Gospel Esp About Abortion & Homosexuality or Face Divine Judgement

The more I read about Cardinal Sarah, the more I like what I see. As I previously reported, he has already made it clear to those who run the various Catholic charitable organizations that they need to be uphold Catholic teaching in all they say & do. Now he is making it clear that priests (& by implication, Bishops) MUST uphold authentic Catholic teaching. & that includes speaking out against abortion.

I can see why Papa Benedetto appointed him to head Cor Unum last year as well as made him a Cardinal. From what I see they are on the same page as far as dealing with the problems in the Catholic Church. Cardinal Sarah is not afraid to speak out or worry about who he offends. On 1 September 2010 Archbishop Sarah criticised Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s call for Islam to become the religion of all of Europe. He labelled it disrespectful to the Pope & Catholic Italy.

Cardinal Sarah is from Guinea. He was made Archbishop of Conakry in Guinea in 1979 at the age of 34. He was appointed Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on 1 October 2001 by Blessed John Paul II.

I pray that Papa Benedetto will remain with us for many more years. But Cardinal Sarah is fast working his way onto my short list of those whom I would like to see succeed Papa Benedetto. Cardinal Burke is another. Can you imagine the fits Cardinal Sarah (or Cardinal Burke) would give to the social justice, false "Spirit of Vatican II" Catholycs out there if he was elected Pope?

Vatican Cardinal: Divine judgment will fall on priests who do not oppose abortion, homosexuality

July 25, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Cardinal Robert Sarah is warning that priests who fail in their duty to oppose the breakdown of morality in modern society, particularly pro-abortion and anti-family policies, will receive the condemnation of God.
In a sermon delivered on June 25 to seminarians of the Community of St. Martin, whom he was about to ordain to the priesthood and diaconate, Sarah admonished his listeners, “if we have fear of proclaiming the truth of the Gospel, if we are ashamed of denouncing the grave deviations in the area of morality, if we accommodate ourselves to this world of moral laxity and religious and ethical relativism, if we are afraid to energetically denounce the abominable laws regarding the new global ethos, regarding marriage, the family in all of its forms, abortion, laws in total opposition to the laws of nature and of God, and that the western nations and cultures are promoting and imposing thanks to the mass media and their economic power, then the prophetic words of Ezechiel will fall on us as a grave divine reproach.”
Sarah quoted the prophesy of Ezechiel found in chapter 34:2-4: “‘Son of man, prophesy against the pastors of Israel to pastor themselves. Should not the pastors feed the flock? You have been fed with milk, you have dressed yourselves with wool. You have not strengthened the weak lambs, cared for those who were sick, healed those who were injured. You have not restored those who have strayed, searched for those who were lost. But you have governed them with violence and hardness.’ (Ez. 34: 2-4)”
“These reproaches are serious, but more important is the offense that we have committed against God when, having received the responsibility of caring for the spiritual good of all, we mistreat souls by depriving them of the true teaching of the doctrine of regarding God, regarding man, and the fundamental values of human existence,” the cardinal added. Click here to read the entire sermon.
Cardinal Sarah, who was appointed to the presidency of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum in 2010, is overseeing a radical restructuring of the Catholic Church’s international development aid programs. These have been criticized for a secular mentality that ignores the spiritual needs of recipients, often promoting values that are opposed to Catholicism, including the legalization of abortion and homosexual unions.
In late May, Sarah gave an address to the Church’s largest coalition of aid organizations, Caritas Internationalis, in which he noted a “serious moral regression and gradual ‘silent apostasy’” in the western world. He also noted that foreign aid for Catholics “is not merely philanthropic and humanitarian assistance aimed at relieving a certain kind of distress, but also and above all it entails giving back to human persons all their dignity as children of God, and promoting an anthropology that also encompasses the religious dimension of human persons, namely their encounter with God.”
In his June 25 address, Sarah notes that in modern society “we no longer know what is evil and what is good. There are a multitude of points of view. Today, we call white what we once called black, and vice versa. What is serious, and make no mistake about it, is the transformation of error into a rule of life.
“In this context, as priests, pastors and guides of the People of God, you should be continuously focused on being always loyal to the doctrine of Christ. It is necessary for you to constantly strive to acquire the sensitivity of conscience, the faithful respect for dogma and morality, which constitute the deposit of faith and the common patrimony of the Church of Christ.”
Related Links:
Robert Cardinal Sarah, Address to ordinands of the Community of St. Martin, June 25, 2011
Related Stories
Catholic charity must be tied to proclamation of Gospel: Cardinal
Vatican Cardinal warns of ‘silent apostasy’; says Catholic charities must evangelize

Cardinal Sarah - Again Reminding Us That Everything the Church Does Is Done to proclaim the Gospel

In May I put up some posts about the Caritas International gathering in Rome & the strong message from the Vatican that what they were doing was not simply social work, but a part of the Church's evangelical mission. Part of that message was given in an address by Cardinal Robert Sarah, President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which oversees the Church’s charitable institutions. This week he wrote an article for L’Osservatore Romano marking the 40th anniversary of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum. & once again he repeated the same message.

In the article he said that the Catholic Church's charitable efforts must be integrally connected to the proclamation of the Gospel. “Proclaiming the Gospel, which is not proselytism, is an integral part of charitable activity. The witness to charity finds its measure in Christ. The search for justice does not fulfill the task of charity.”

The Cardinal said that when Pope Paul VI instituted Cor Unum on 15 July 1971, he already saw the need to affirm this evangelical witness as a response to “some of the misunderstandings that undermined the proper understanding of charity within the Church and that would unfortunately be confirmed in time.”

He went on to explain that Cor Unum was founded in a “moment of doubt, when the nature of Christian witness in the world was being questioned.” At that trying time, he says, the Church risked a rift that could have “conceal[ed] the evangelical witness and missionary zeal for a limitless exaltation of earthly realities.”

Blessed John Paul, at his 1st meeting with Cor Unum in November 1978 said “We must also take care to set advancement carefully in the context of evangelization, which is the fullness of human advancement, since it proclaims and offers man’s full salvation.”

He said that Papa Benedetto feels the same way as well. He said that the Pope understands “that the absence of God is the most dramatic problem that torments and weakens modern culture.”

In short, what we are seeing is another of the multi-pronged attack on relativism by Papa Benedetto that began even before he was elected Pope. You can be sure that this message isn't welcome by many of those in the agencies like Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Development + Peace & other organizations that have been involved in the recent scandals where it has come out these organizations have funded groups that promote abortion among other things.

It is going to take time to clean up the mess. But is strikes me that Cardinal Sarah is definitely the right man to head up that task. He made it clear that Cor Unum’s activities are concerned with “conveying this inspiration to evangelize towards all of the Church’s pastoral works of charity.” & as head of it he is doing what he can to ensure that mission is carried out.

Source:Catholic charity must be tied to proclamation of Gospel: Cardinal

Papa Benedetto Continues His Call for Us to Evangelize

This follows up on what Cardinal Sarah said to Caritas International's gathering in Rome last week when he reminded them that all they do must have an evangelical demension. Later Papa Benedetto reminded those at the gathering that they must uphold the truth. That he is saying this should be no surprize. He has long spoken out against relativism & what results, a denial of the truth as well as a denial of the need to evangelize. While most people remember the talk he gave just before the Cardinals went into the conclave where they elected him as Pope, what he said then was not a new message. In 2002 he called relativism the new face of intolerance. He said we must know & proclaim the truth about Jesus. In a 2004 interview he again decried relativism & the way it attacked proclaiming the truth about Jesus.

While a lot of people today don't like it, there are some absolute truths out there. & they are only found in Jesus. He alone is the way, the truth & the life. & Papa Benedetto is doing what he can to ensure that message is getting out. Everything from what he says in his Wednesday audiences to his Angelus addresses, to the books on Jesus is aimed at letting us know there are those absolute truths. & that God entrusted the Catholic Church with the mission of proclaiming that truth. His openning the door for the Anglican ordinariate to his allowing greater use of the Traditional Latin Mass alongside the Novus Ordo Latin Mass (yes, the current Mass is Latin at its heart) are also a part of that getting the message out.

I could on pointing out how he has even started to go after Bishops who fail to uphold Catholic teaching. A prime recent example is the "progressive" Australian bishop of Toowoomba, Bishop William Morris, who has gone into early retirement for his promulgated views supporting female ordination. This came after a 5 year investigation by the Vatican. Then there is the looking into what the Leadership Council of Women Religious are promoting. It is going to take time, & the full fruit of Papa Benedetto's action won't be seen until after he is gone (hopefully not for many years). Remember, it took about 300 years to deal with the Arian heresy. But he is clearly doing what he can under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the time alotted to him to ensure that those enemies within do not win.

Several times I've talked about the Dream of St. John Bosco that is known as The Dream of the 2 Columns (or Pillars). On 1 column there is a stautue of Mary, on the other, taller 1, a huge Eucharistic host. The Pope is stearing a boat that represents the Church towards them. IMHO, the prophetic dream is at least partially finding its fulfillment in the papacies of Blessed John Paul & Papa Benedetto. There have been attacks & scandals that have done great damage to the Church, just like in the dream. But in the end, God will repair the damage. & it is clear Papa Benedetto is 1 of the main instruments He is using to do so.

Papa Benedetto to Caritas International - You Must Hold Up Non-negotiable Catholic Values

On Friday Papa Benedetto addressed those assembled for the Caritas International gathering in Rome. In his talk he made it clear that there are certain values that absolutely MUST be upheld. Not only must they be upheld, they must be promoted. He said"(A)ll Catholics, and indeed all men and women, are called to act with purified consciences and generous hearts in resolutely promoting those values which I have often referred to as ‘non-negotiable’.”

Those values were mentioned in "Sacramentum Caritatis". There he said that those "non negotiable" values include "respect for human life, its defence from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one’s children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms."

His address follows up on the one given by Cardinal Sarah that reminded those participating that what they do must bring people to Christ. In other words, they must evangelize as a part of their work.

These 2 addresses come after some pre-Assembly actions that made it clear that it is time for Caritas & its affiliated groups like Development + Peace (D+P) in Canada & the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) in the USA to clean up their act. 1 of those 2 actions was the refusal by the Vatican to grant the current Caritas General Secretary, Lesley-Anne Knight, the “nihil obstat” (“nothing obstructs”) declaration required for candidates to be eligible for the office. Apparently part of the reason is a statement she made in an interview with the Non-Catholic Reporter. In it she suggested that the millions of dollars the organization receives from Western governments could be jeopardized if they become too explicitly Catholic. Not a good thing to say given the Vatican wants groups that call themselves Catholic to be truly Catholic.

In the interview she also asked “Does the Holy See actually know what Caritas is doing?” IMHO the answer is yes, they do. & they don't like what they see. 1 of those things they didn't like was 1 of the people invited to speak. The speaker was Fr. Timothy Radcliffe a former head of the Dominican order. He was set to deliver the keynote opening address last Monday. Before the document banning homosexuals in the priesthood came out, Fr. Radcliffe wrote an article for the London Times. In it he said “If it were to contain such a ban, which is highly unlikely, most Catholics, at least in the West, would find it unacceptable. Any deep-rooted prejudice against others, such as homophobia or misogyny, would be grounds for rejecting a candidate for the priesthood, but not their sexual orientation.” Any wonder the Vatican said "NO!" to his speaking to the assembly? If I were in charge at the Vatican I wouldn't want someone giving the keynote address who is working to undermine authentic Catholic teaching & Church discipline.

I am sure that behind the scenes there has been a lot of grumbling about what the Vatican is doing to make it clear that it is time to clean things up. & while most of what has been done has been indirect, it is clear the Vatican isn't going to sit back & let things go on as they have in the past. Either Caritas, D+P, CCHD & other groups clean up their act & become truly Catholic or they face direct intervention by the Vatican, & that may include their being shut down. Hopefully the Bishops' conferences will start getting the message. I'm not holding my breath however. The way I see it, it is going to take a major scandal that forces the Vatican to step in with some group that will force the other Bishops' conferences to do something before they are next.

In the meantime I would suggest that Caritas et al, go back & reread (or more likely actually read) Papa Benedetto's Caritas in veritate to get a clearer idea of how they should be operating.

You can read Papa Benedetto's complete address to the Caritas General Assembly here.

Cardinal Robert Sarah - Charity Without Evangelization Isn't True Charity

This isn't going to sit too well with those who have tried to ignore the fact that the Catholic Church exists to evangelize & that all her activies must be aimed at doing just that. Pope Paul VI made it clear in his post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiani. It has been repeated time & time again by both Blessed John Paul the Great & Papa Benedetto.

Throughout history we have seen that lived out by those saints who founded hospitals, started schools, provided for the poor, etc. At the heart of their efforts was bringing Jesus to those whom they ministered to.

Unfortunately, over the past 40 years that idea has been tossed out by those who saw relativism as the guiding light, not authentic Catholic doctrine. & that is why we have seen so many of the scandals involving Development + Peace (D+P) in Canada & the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) in the USAamong others.

I am sure this speech of the Cardinal's didn't sit well with those in attendance who want to maintain relativism as the guiding light of their charitable deeds. But they had better realize that the Vatican is getting serious about what is being done in the name of the Catholic Church. It MUST uphold Catholic identity as well as Catholic teaching, including issues like abortion. Both CCHD & D+P are affiliated with Caritas International. & representatives from the group attending this Assembly. Whether they got the message remains to be seen. (Although as this LifeSiteNews opinion piece points out, D+P is still playing the same old games.) For now, I suspect the Vatican is giving the US & Canadian Bishops a chance to clean things up. But it is clear that the Vatican isn't going to sit still forever. & if something substanstitive isn't done, then the Vatican will likely take some more direct steps to ensure things are cleaned up.

Vatican Cardinal warns of ‘silent apostasy’; says Catholic charities must evangelize

ROME, May 25, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an address to the General Assembly of Caritas International today, Cardinal Robert Sarah, who heads the Vatican dicastery dealing with the church’s charitable institutions, stressed that the main mission of all Church groups, charitable groups included, was to bring people to Christ. “Today, dear Friends, the tragedy of modern mankind is not lacking clothing and housing. The most tragic hunger and the most terrible anguish is not lack of food,” he said. “It’s much more about the absence of God and the lack of true love, the love that was revealed to us on the Cross.”

Cardinal Robert Sarah
The assembly comes at a time of major restructuring for Catholic charities which especially in the West have been beset by loss of Catholic identity. Funding of questionable groups by the charitable arms of the Canadian, American, British, French and Austrian Catholic Bishops conferences have had many Catholics calling for change. While Bishops in these nations have been working toward reform, the Vatican is working to reform the umbrella group for them all - Caritas Internationalis. LifeSiteNews reported in February that the General Secretary of Caritas was not permitted to stand for a second term in office due to concerns about ‘Catholic identity’ among other issues.
Cardinal Sarah added, “Regarding coordination with the charitable organisations of the Church … it is not merely philanthropic and humanitarian assistance aimed at relieving a certain kind of distress, but also and above all it entails giving back to human persons all their dignity as children of God, and promoting an anthropology that also encompasses the religious dimension of human persons, namely their encounter with God.”
Cardinal Sarah quoted both Popes John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI decrying the “religious indifference, secularisation and atheism” of the West.
“Together with enormous material, scientific and technological progress, the West is now experiencing a serious moral regression and a gradual “silent apostasy”, he said.
“Undoubtedly, since the beginning of his papacy, Pope Benedict XVI has considered this ‘religious indifference’ and ‘silent apostasy’ as the major challenge the Church has to take up today in her relations with the modern world. Therefore, he is more determined than ever to make our minds more aware and our faith more visible and more active, in order to show the world that the Church’s mission is deeply rooted in faith in God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
While some in Catholic development agencies have argued for a hands-off approach of fostering good works undertaken even by agencies at odds with the Catholic Church to end the structures of poverty and oppression, the Cardinal took a different approach. “I believe it is important to understand that our charitable organisations are located within the Church and not alongside her,” he said. “A Caritas that wasn’t an ecclesial expression would have no meaning or existence. The Church cannot be considered as a partner of Catholic organisations. They are the organisations that take part in her mission.”
A recent debate over whether or not groups in the developing world should have the approval of local bishops prior to their receiving funding from Catholic charities in the West seems also to have been answered by the Cardinal. “So it is necessary that charitable organisations are really able to work in full communion and deep connection with the local bishop,” he said, “and in accordance with pastoral guidelines, in order to be fully integrated within the mission of the Church. “
See the full address here