"It is...Our will that Catholics should abstain from certain appellations which have recently been brought into use to distinguish one group of Catholics from another. They are to be avoided not only as 'profane novelties of words,' out of harmony with both truth and justice, but also because they give rise to great trouble and confusion among Catholics. Such is the nature of Catholicism that it does not admit of more or less, but must be held as a whole or as a whole rejected: 'This is the Catholic faith, which unless a man believe faithfully and firmly; he cannot be saved' (Athanasian Creed). There is no need of adding any qualifying terms to the profession of Catholicism: it is quite enough for each one to proclaim 'Christian is my name and Catholic my surname,' only let him endeavour to be in reality what he calls himself." -- Pope Benedict XV, Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum 24 (1914)

Thursday, December 31, 2015

David Gray's Perspective On The Papacy

DavidLGray.INFO

POPE FRANCIS, BARACK OBAMA & THE BETA MALE’S FAILURE DURING CRISIS

Have ever been in a crisis or utterly chaotic situation and the person in charge wanted to do everything BUT focus all of his or her energies in dealing with immediate crisis? If you have, then you’ve bore witness to what it looks like when a Beta Male is in charge.

DAVID L. GRAY12/30/2015



Whether we receive it through nature or through nurturing, each of us has a personality that has its own particular traits, which happen to be common traits shared by other intelligent beings. Within this framework of personality traits comes the classifications of Alphas, Betas, and Omegas, to which I have been addressing through a Catholic perspective since 2012 in my articles, ‘What is an Alpha Male, and Why was Jesus the Epitome of All Alpha Males,’ and ‘Pope Francis, Barack Obama, and the Rise of the Beta Male‘.



I am not intentionally writing a series of articles on this subject, inasmuch as it is an idea that I do enjoy sharing and have been interested in exploring since I was an undergrad. The person responsible, now a notable Chicago politician, for choosing the candidates to pledge his fraternity, of which I was in that small group, said we were his experiment to see what it would look like if a bunch of ‘ones’ as he called us (meaning Alpha Males) pledged his fraternity. I didn’t know what he meant back then. I just thought he was a lunatic, but later I came to appreciate and respect his madness.

As I wrote in the latter article, “For the first time in the history of the world, the leader of Christians in the world, and leader of the most powerful/influential government in the world are Beta Males.” I then went on to list the five common traits that Beta Males like Francis and Obama can never hide; that is, (1) Their desperate need to be liked; (2) Their hatred of Alpha males (e.g. Raymond Cardinal Burke and Vladimir Putin), (3) Their insecurity and cliquish nature (e.g. surrounding themselves with people who agree with them), (4) Their inability to lead, and (5) Their machiavellian plots to get their way.

The observation I have to offer in this article in regards to Francis and Obama goes along perfectly with the fourth constant in identifying a Beta Male; their complete inability to lead a sheep out of a maze that has no dead ends.


The Alpha and the Beta who You Work/Live With

Beta Males are wonderful multitaskers, but absolute failures in crisis management. Why? Because multitasking allows you to have many opportunities at success; opportunities to boost your self esteem and feel accomplished. This is why Beta Males are the best at things that involve doing several different little things at once; such as many IT (information technology) jobs, cooking, nurturing multiple children at once (stay-at-home dads), parish pastor, politician, and many management fields. A Beta is the guy or gal who you can trust to deftly negotiate large and complex tasks and operations.

In contrast, Alpha Males run into crisis and chaotic situations, because that is where they thrive. They love just thinking about one thing and handling just that one thing. That is when they are in their zone, when they have just one task or mission to accomplish, and they won’t quit until it is completely done. It’s in their blood to take charge of a situation and rally other people around a common cause. This is why Alpha Males usually make bad husbands because their job or hobby takes all of their attention. They are really good fighters and hunters. In football they usually make for better position coaches than they do head coach. Alpha Males can be pretty good quarterbacks and point guards, but they are more than likely to be linemen and centers, because it allows them to focus all of their energies on one task (tackle, block). And Alpha is the guy or gal who you can trust to focus all of their energies to get a job done to complete satisfaction.


Beta Males Run from Crisis Situations

Have ever been in a crisis or utterly chaotic situation and the person in charge wanted to do everything BUT focus all of his or her energies in dealing with immediate crisis? If you have, then you’ve bore witness to what it looks like when a Beta Male is in charge.

In fact, we’ve witnessed that in 2015 when the Church was being seriously pressed on by Satan and the world was being pressed on by Islamic Terrorists, all Pope Francis and Barack Obama wanted to talk about was Climate Change. In 2015 the world needed the Church to speak clearly on the meaning of family and on the value and sanctity of life, but Pope Francis and his gang wanted to talk about communion for people living in sin and new ways to not tell the truth about homosexual acts. In 2015 people were pouring through the southern border, Islamic terrorists were committing jihad all over the world and Barack Obama was intent on not calling Islamic terrorists Islamic terrorists and congratulating everyone and their momma who decided they were ‘gay’.

Don’t misunderstand me, Beta Males do see the crisis, but they are afraid to focus all of their energies on it because they are afraid of failure on all levels, but most especially any type of monumental failure. Again, Betas need people to like and appreciate them and they need Alphas to respect them, and they believe that if the fail big, no will like them and Alphas will see them for who they are.

Conclusion

Hopefully 2016 will be the last year we have two Beta Males sitting in the most influential and powerful positions in the world. The only thing worse than a leader who can do something, but does everything but something, is leader who can do something, but does absolutely nothing.





About the AuthorDavid L. Gray
Until December 31, 2015 all donations made to DavidLGray.INFO Inc. will go towards thePromotion of the Novena to Fr. Augustus Tolton for the Spiritual Welfare of the Black American Community. Please check out this Appeal and Support it in any way you can. Thank you. Be sure to Download the Fresh Catholic Perspective APP for your mobile device!

Monday, December 28, 2015

Worshiping Towards God, Not Each Other


Cardinal Robert Sarah and others encourage priests and people to look east.


 12/22/2015 

2009 Boston at en.wikipedia
A priest faces 'ad orientem' during Mass in the chapel of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston.
– 2009 Boston at en.wikipedia
St. Patrick’s Church in Ann Arbor, conducts Masses in the ordinary form — that of Pope Paul VI — in a way most Catholics are unfamiliar. While he does face the congregation during homilies and other times he addresses them, he does not do so at specific instances when the majority of priests today do — most notably at the Offertory, Consecration and elevation.

This traditional direction of liturgical prayer, referred to as ad orientem (facing east), had been nearly ubiquitous before the Second Vatican Council, yet almost vanished after it. This left most Catholics feeling the Council called for the priest to face the congregation, yet this was just that — a feeling — rather than a correct perception. None of the 16 conciliar documents contains an endorsement, let alone a mention, of the practice of the priest facing the congregation (versus populum) during the prayers of the Mass.  

When Father Gawronski points this out to parishioners, he finds them to be generally receptive to it. “Old St. Patrick’s” worshippers have found his ad orientem Masses to be coherent and meaningful expressions of prayer. Rather than thinking of Father Gawronski as “having his back to the people,” parishioners see his positioning as the Church intends, expressive of the unity of the priest and congregation in their quest for God.

Father Gawronski believes the whole point of ad orientem worship is to demonstrate that the entire community is on the same page by facing the same God in prayer.

“The priest is meant to lead the people to God, not to be a distraction,” Father Gawronski said. “Liturgical positioning is not about making me or the community the focus; it’s about making God the focus. This God-centeredness is the hallmark of any authentic worship.”

Cardinal Virtues of Worship
Authentic worship has been on the mind of Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He published a noteworthy article on this theme on June 12 in L’Osservatore Romano. The topic drawing most attention in the article was the direction of liturgical prayer — specifically, how the priest and people should be facing the same way during many parts of the Mass.

While some see this as a return to a “pre-Vatican II” liturgy, Cardinal Sarah showed it is quite the opposite — that it is, in fact, consonant with conciliar teachings. In the opening sentence of the prefect’s letter, he sets the stage by asking, “Fifty years after its promulgation by Pope Paul VI, will the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy [Sacrosanctum Concilium] finally be read?”

The African cardinal explained that “it is in full conformity with the conciliar constitution — indeed, it is entirely fitting — for everyone, priest and congregation, to turn together to the east during the penitential rite, the singing of the Gloria, the orations and the Eucharistic Prayer, in order to express the desire to participate in the work of worship and redemption accomplished by Christ.”

Cardinal Sarah emphasized that the priest must become the “instrument that allows Christ to shine through.” In the pursuit of this goal, he references Pope Francis remarking that the celebrant is not the host of a show, nor should he be seeking affirmation from the congregation, as if the primary concern of worship were a dialogue between the priest and assembly.

On the contrary, Cardinal Sarah believes that in order to enter into the true conciliar spirit, self-effacement is necessary for the priest who leads public worship. This self-effacement is implicit in the rubrics of the Roman Missal, which presume the priest will not be facing the congregation through the entirety of the Mass.


The Spirit of the Liturgy
Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa, Okla., has offered the ordinary form of the Mass ad orientem for nearly five years. “Ninety percent of the time in the cathedral I offer Mass facing the same direction as the people,” he said. “The exceptions are when a great number of priests are concelebrating, because they would block the view of what is happening in the sanctuary.”

Bishop Slattery sees Cardinal Sarah’s recent liturgical remarks as a continuation of what Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger taught, especially in The Spirit of the Liturgy, while serving as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith prior to his election as Pope Benedict XVI. This, in turn, is seen by Bishop Slattery as a continuation of what the Fathers of Vatican II taught: “It’s nothing new, really. It’s not only a decades-old tradition, but a centuries-old tradition of the Church that has solid theological and practical foundations.”

It is common sense to Bishop Slattery, who recalls simple rules of communication: “When I’m speaking to someone, I usually face that person. So when I’m giving a sermon, I face the people, because they are the ones I’m addressing. When I’m in prayer — especially offering Jesus to the Father at the altar — I’m addressing the Father, so it is no wonder that I should be facing him, rather than the people.”

Bishop Slattery believes authentic participation is not facilitated by the priest facing the people at these times, because then the priest becomes the central focus: “The metaphor I use to describe this is of a door. The only time you notice a door is when it’s locked. Otherwise, you don’t even think of the door, because the purpose of an unlocked door is to lead you from one place to another.”

“The priest is supposed to lead the people in Christ to the Father,” the bishop added, “yet when the priest faces the people, he becomes a locked — rather than an open — door. Instead of thinking about Christ going to the Father, the faithful are thinking about the personality of the priest.”

While Bishop Slattery prefers ad orientem worship, he believes there is a deeper, more important element of prayer underlying the discussion. Regardless of the physical position or posture of the priest, what matters most, he said, is whether or not those present at Mass are entering into the sacred mysteries made present.

This entrance has been commonly seen in recent decades as an “active participation,” which calls the laity to proclaim the readings, distribute holy Communion and do various other things that were once reserved for the priest or deacon. However, Bishop Slattery sees the matter of active participation differently.

“The phrase participatio actuosa, which appears in Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, was frequently translated as ‘active participation,’ but it’s more accurately stated as ‘actual participation,’” Bishop Slattery said. “The Fathers were not calling for more commotion; they were calling for an enhanced interiority. They wanted to have the hearts and minds of worshippers actually attuned to what was taking place, rather than merely being physically present.”


O Come, Emmanuel
Actual participation is seen in similar terms by Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Neb. He offered Christmas midnight Mass ad orientem last year and wrote an explanatory letter preparing the faithful for his actions. Bishop Conley recalled that the Second Coming was especially emphasized in the early Church, where it was commonly understood that the reappearance of the Savior would take place soon. Because his first appearance occurred “in the East,” it was taken for granted that the second one would be similar.

Bishop Conley wrote, “In the season of Advent, we recall Christ’s Incarnation at Christmas, and we are reminded to be prepared for Christ’s coming. In the holy Mass, we are made present to the sacrifice at Calvary and to the joy of Christ’s glory in heaven. Yet we also recall that Christ will return, so we are called to be vigilant for this reality.”

For those who may have been concerned about the celebrant turning away from them at Mass, Bishop Conley reminded his flock, “In the ad orientem posture at Mass, the priest will not be facing away from the people. He will be with them — among them and leading them — facing Christ and waiting for his return.”

Father Gawronski shares these sentiments and is grateful that Bishops Conley and Slattery — as well as Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Wis. — are among those on board with Cardinal Sarah’s recent comments. Father Gawronski also reinforced Cardinal Sarah’s call to an honest reading of the documents of Vatican II by saying, “The hour has come to take another look at what Vatican II really taught.”

The St. Patrick’s pastor added, “In Sacrosanctum Concilium, ‘the expectation of blessed hope and of the coming of the Lord’ is written of. This should be evident at Mass throughout the year, but especially during Advent, when we face the east in the joyful hope of the return of our Savior and King.”

Register correspondent Trent Beattie writes from Seattle.


Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/ad-orientem-the-cardinal-virtues-of-worship/#ixzz3vcutYTnM

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Christ As The Focal Point In Church - Not Us



At area Catholic churches, the tabernacle, 'Christ's dwelling place,' moves to center stage

DOUG ERICKSON derickson@madison.com, 608-252-6149





The tabernacle at St. Peter Catholic Church in Ashton is at the center of the sanctuary, an example of an ideal position, according to Madison Bishop Robert Morlino.



ASHTON — Like centuries of Catholic priests before him, the Rev. Tait Schroeder consecrated the communion bread at a midday Mass last week, turning it into what the denomination’s faithful believe is the actual body of Jesus Christ.

After offering the sacramental bread — referred to as the Eucharistic host — to parishioners, Schroeder walked the unused portion to an ornate, safe-like box behind him at the front of the sanctuary.

In this secure shrine, called a tabernacle, the host would dwell until needed for the next Mass, available all the while for the faithful to pray before it or for Schroeder to take it to home-bound parishioners.

As Christians around the world mark the birth of Christ in Bethlehem this Christmas season, many Madison-area Catholics are learning more about the profound role of the tabernacle in their parishes. Madison Catholic Bishop Robert Morlino has directed priests to move the tabernacle to a prominent spot at the center of the sanctuary at all diocesan churches.

The directive was announced at an annual gathering of priests in September and could affect about half of the 134 worship sites in the diocese, although no exact count is available, said Patrick Gorman, director of the diocesan office of worship, which coordinates liturgical matters for the bishop and will be leading the effort. At these churches, the tabernacle may be off to one side of the sanctuary or in a separate side chapel altogether.

Because church law requires that a tabernacle be immovable and made of solid material, the directive will require some cost and effort at some parishes, Gorman said. The bishop is giving priests three years to accomplish the goal, until October 2018.

Gorman said the bishop’s intent is to place more emphasis and reverence on the Lord’s presence at the Eucharist, the term used by Roman Catholics for communion.

“This isn’t just another piece of furniture in the sanctuary,” Gorman said. “It is housing the living God.”

Morlino had been moving in this direction for a decade or more, encouraging priests in general to relocate tabernacles and requiring it during parish renovation projects, Gorman said.

St. Peter Catholic Church, where Schroeder is priest, is an example of what Morlino considers an ideal placement of a tabernacle, according to the diocese. The neo-gothic church, constructed in 1901, is in Ashton, an unincorporated Dane County community northwest of Middleton.

The tabernacle is at the central axis of the church, right behind the communion table and part of a soaring, decorative high altar that includes an array of statues and religious iconography.

“It really is the focal point,” Schroeder said of the tabernacle. “It draws our hearts and minds to Christ and to our belief that he is really present with us.”


Schroeder said the tabernacle at St. Peter had moved around some over the decades, residing for a time off to the side of the sanctuary. His predecessor moved it back to its current, original spot.

Following the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, there was a movement toward placing tabernacles to the sides of sanctuaries or to locate them in smaller chapels within the larger church buildings, Gorman said. One thought behind this was that the host could be more respectfully worshipped in a separate, quieter space, away from such events as wedding rehearsals, or, as is often the case with large cathedrals, tourist groups, he said.

While the motivation may have been sound, “in reality, the tabernacle ended up just being bypassed by people,” Gorman said. “It didn’t accomplish what it set out to do. I think most priests would agree with that.”

The tabernacle at the Ashton church is built into an elaborate wooden structure, but this does not need to be the case in every church, Gorman said. Some tabernacles are on pedestals that can be unbolted and moved to a more central spot with relatively little effort, he said.

“I think, in most places, there will be a solution that will not be very costly,” he said.

St. Bernard Catholic Church on Madison’s East Side is in the process of moving its tabernacle from a side of the sanctuary to the front as part of a much larger $240,000 restoration project that includes new carpeting and upgrades to electrical and sound systems, said the Rev. Michael Radowicz.

“I was aware of the bishop’s desire to have the tabernacle front and center, and that did play an important part in the project,” he said. “It wasn’t, however, the sole reason for beginning the project.”

Some parishioners are very happy about moving the tabernacle, while others are taking some time to warm to the idea, he said.

“It’s the nature of the beast,” Radowicz said of the varied opinions. “I will point out, though, that I needed to go to the parishioners to ask for financial support so we could do the project. I received the support, so it’s my feeling that there are more in support than not. I also feel that once the parishioners see the project completed, they’ll be pleased with what we’ve been able to accomplish.”

The Rev. Brian Wilk is pastor of a Catholic church in Middleton that also is named St. Bernard. When the church, built in 1959, was remodeled in the late 1980s, the tabernacle was moved to a chapel off the sanctuary, he said. During Mass, Wilk or a deacon must go to the side chapel to retrieve the host.

Wilk said he’s just begun talking to the parish council about the need to move the tabernacle to the center of the sanctuary. There are no definitive plans yet, but he said he hopes the project can be undertaken in 2016, perhaps as part of other improvements.

“I like the idea,” he said of making the tabernacle more prominent. “There’s the practicality of having the host close at hand when celebrating Mass. And then there’s what it represents. I think it can lead to a more reverent nature in the church building itself.”

Investigating The Penthouse Bishop

OPINION: Who is the 'personal chef' of Cardinal Donald Wuerl?

A flashy and expensive white Mercedes rolled out from the four-car garage of Donald Wuerl around 10:05 PM on December 11. I was there in the parking lot of Queen of the Americas parish at 2200 California street in the luxurious neighborhood known commonly as Embassy Row.
The Catholic cardinal of the nation’s capital since 2006, Wuerl has long had a reputation for high living — despite his exalted status as the most powerful American prelate in what the media calls the “humble church” of Pope Francis. (In his previous posting as a bishop in Pittsburgh, he lived in a 31-room mansion filled with antiques, rugs, and art.) But few know the details of his furtive pursuits on Embassy Row — a posh lifestyle which stands in shocking contrast to the simplicity Pope Francis insists he wants his shepherds to embrace.
I got a small glimpse of that contrast as I watched the white Mercedes move towards me. I put up my hand and the driver stopped and got out. “Do you work for Cardinal Wuerl?” I asked the black man, who appeared to be late middle age, as he exited the white Mercedes. “Yes,” he said. “I am his personal chef.”
Unaware that Cardinal Wuerl employed a personal chef, I asked the gentleman his name. He refused to give it. But he did describe himself as “an archdiocesan employee.”
Was the white Mercedes an archdiocesan vehicle? “I don’t know what you are implying,” said the man, who claimed the vehicle as his own, for which he paid with earnings from his time in the “military.”
Nervous and upset, the man resented my stopping him. “I got to get back to Baltimore,” he complained.
Earlier in the day, I had called Fr. Charles Cortinovis, the personal secretary to Cardinal Wuerl, multiple times and received no response. I had learned that Cortinovis lives, along with Wuerl, on the fourth floor of the archdiocesan building at 2200 California, a property priced at north of $43,000,000.
Cortinovis is the third personal secretary to Cardinal Wuerl during a tenure less than a decade. The other two had also lived on the same floor with the cardinal, which is “12,000 square feet,” according to a rough estimate by a lawyer familiar with the property records for the building.
Unbeknownst to most priests, lay people, and even donors to the Washington archdiocese, the palatial and multimillionaire floor also includes a chapel. Without any apparent consultation with his priests or the faithful, Wuerl during his tenure has made costly renovations to what he described to his architect as his “personal residence” and “personal chapel” on the floor.
“I would like to speak to Fr. Cortinovis,” I said to the black man leaning on the white Mercedes. He took out his cell phone and called up. He explained to Cortinovis that a reporter was in the parking lot seeking to speak with him. The man transferred the phone to me. “Is this Fr. Cortinovis?” I said as I got on the line. There was a very long pause, punctuated by Cortinovis barking, “Who are you?”
“I am a reporter doing a story on Cardinal Wuerl,” I replied. “I have been trying to get a hold of you.” I asked him why he hadn’t returned my multiple calls and then said, “Could I come up and speak with you and Cardinal Wuerl?” Audibly agitated, Cortinovis shouted, “It is ten after ten, Mr. Neumayr!”
I offered to come back the following day at a more convenient time. Still, my presence in the parking lot at the hour wasn’t unusual: after all, a loud Our Lady of Guadalupe festival was taking place on the floors below Wuerl’s penthouse, where the “Our Lady Queen of the Americas parish” resides (the striking pre-Vatican II chapel sits on the second floor). At 11 that evening, a Mass honoring the Virgin Mary was to be held, followed by a reception after midnight. Curiously, Cortinvois appeared oblivious to the noise from the build-up to the event below the penthouse he occupies with Wuerl.
“Nobody is allowed to go up to the fourth floor,” more than one parishioner has said to me in a lowered voice. According to my reporting, neither Wuerl nor Cortinovis ever interact with members of the parish, many of whom come from Mexico, Central America, and Latin America.
Rattled by my call, Cortinovis said that he needed to break away and would return to the line shortly. He never did. “Why did he abandon the call?” I asked the black man, who jumped into the white Mercedes and sped away.
I have made multiple requests for information about Wuerl’s “personal chef” to the archdiocese in general and Chieko Noguchi, his director of media relations, in particular. She refuses to answer my questions.
What is his name? How much does he receive in salary a year? The archdiocese declines to answer these questions, even though his salary, if he is in fact an archdiocesan employee, would derive from the donations of the faithful.
At two book signings — one at the bookstore at Catholic University’s Basilica on December 14 and another at K street’s Catholic Information Center on December 16 — Cardinal Wuerl appeared. He has recently penned a book titled To the Martyrs.
I showed up to both signings. At the first, shortly after Cardinal Wuerl arrived in the bookstore, two police officers came up to me and said, “We need to talk to you outside.” I was then informed that the archdiocese, which owns the bookstore’s property, wanted me “off it.” At the second signing, I arrived late, around 6:05 PM, as Cardinal Wuerl gave a little talk about his new book. I did not speak to him during the talk or during the question-and-answer session following it. But I did introduce myself to him as the book-signing phase of the event started and spoke to him privately as he approached the table at which he was to sign books.
“Why won’t you speak to me,” I said to him as he weakly shook my hand and averted his eyes from me. As he sat down to start signing books, officials with Opus Dei, the organization that runs the Catholic Information Center, encircled me and demanded that I leave. Evidently they had been briefed by archdiocesan officials on my journalistic investigation into the cardinal’s Embassy Row lifestyle. “I am a member of the press,” I replied as they pressed against me. “Call the police” if you want me to leave, I said to them as they temporized about what to do with me.
The crowd, full of supporters of Wuerl, showered me in condemnations. I stood my ground, even saying to John Gizzi, a reporter with Newsmax whom I saw approaching me as a member of the crowd angry with me, “Mr. Gizzi, do you believe in press freedom?” On that evening, he didn’t.
As the crowd tried to bully me out of the bookstore, I said, “Call the police.” Eventually, they did. A police man arrived and informed me that the property owner wanted me off it. Twice in one week, Wuerl, the face of the “transparent and humble” church of Pope Francis in America, had me escorted off its property by police.
“He is handling this very badly,” said a prominent liberal religion reporter to me last week.
Questions about Wuerl’s putative personal chef — along with many other regarding his use of the faithful’s money to pursue a lifestyle more akin to the Borgia era than the Francis one — remain, and it is clear that Cardinal Wuerl is determined to stonewall every one of them.  
George Neumayr is co-author of No Higher Power: Obama’s War on Religious Freedom.


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/21/who-is-the-personal-chef-of-cardinal-donald-wuerl/#ixzz3vFB51NJ1

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Bye Bye Rev.Rosica

NEW VATICAN APPOINTMENT LEAVES FR. THOMAS ROSICA’S POSITION IN DOUBT

NEWS: VATICAN
by Christine Niles  •  ChurchMilitant.com  •  December 23, 2015    6 Comments

Greg Burke has been appointed No. 2 spokesman for the Pope

VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - The Holy See Press Office has a new vice director. Greg Burke, former Fox News correspondent and a member of Opus Dei, has been appointed deputy spokeman for the Pope, as announced by the Vatican Monday. 
As of February 1, Burke — a St. Louis, Missouri native — will become the Pope's No. 2 spokesman, reporting directly to longtime head spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi. In addition to arranging press conferences and helping communicate information about Vatican activities, Burke will also step in for Lombardi when he is unavailable. The new appointment leaves the position of the current English language attaché Fr. Thomas Rosica in question.
The Canadian priest and Basilian has effectively functioned as the English spokesman for the past several years, often appearing side by side with Fr. Lombardi during Vatican press conferences. His tenure has been dogged by controversy, however, with several high-profile gaffes that have sown doubt about his ability to represent the Holy See.
In February, Rosica threatened to sue Catholic blogger David Domet over criticisms he had made against the priest implying dishonest and unethical behavior. Rosica's attorney demanded that Domet take down the posts and remove all reference to Rosica or else suffer a lawsuit.
ChurchMilitant.com first reported on the incident, which soon spread throughout the Catholic Internet, leading to loud complaints on Catholic websites and news outfits about Fr. Rosica's petty bullying of a small-time blogger. After the public outcry, Fr. Rosica relented and withdrew his threat to sue. 
In early October, Fr. Rosica caused scandal when he permitted a homosexualist dissenter into the Synod press conference to ask a question — a rare privilege, and one that was repeated later on. Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry — a Catholic group that dissents on Church teaching on homosexuality and whose founder has been censured by the Vatican — was granted a press pass, even though DeBernardo is a gay activist and not a journalist. Meanwhile, faithful Catholic journalists with legitimate media credentials were denied entry into the Synod press hall.
The action was seen as further proof of Rosica's attempts to sway Synod proceedings in favor of ahomosexualist agenda; although Synod Fathers said homosexuality was hardly discussed in their meetings, Rosica presented a different picture as spokesman, offering multiple statements indicating that homosexuality was a major focus among the bishops.
This agenda was in evidence before the start of the Synod, when Fr. Rosica downplayed the controversial guest list for the Pope's visit to the White House. Although the list included LGBT activists, a gay Episcopal "bishop" and a dissident nun to greet the Pope, causing outrage among faithful Catholics, Rosica told the media: "I applaud the White House for having such a wonderful reception."
Father Rosica again made headlines that month for blocking numerous critics on social media. As prominent spokesman for the 2015 Synod on the Family, Catholic authors noted the impropriety of the "ideological purge" on Twitter, and a hashtag was even created for the phenomenon:#RosicaBlockParty, with a related Facebook page. To critics, the incident served as yet more evidence of Fr. Rosica's pettiness and lack of professionalism.
The English language spokesman was caught in a deliberate falsehood in early October when he claimed the Pope had not met privately with Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk jailed for refusing to issue same-sex "marriage" licenses. Davis had become something of a conservative folk hero to those opposed to the gay agenda in America, and reports of the papal meeting were met with howls of protest from the liberal media and, conversely, shouts of victory from conservatives, who saw this as a major boost.
In the midst of the media flurry, Rosica stepped in and downplayed the significance of the meeting, claiming Davis had only been one among a number of other delegates that day, and that she hadn't received any special attention from the Holy Father. But Davis and her attorney went on record, with photos as evidence, confirming that the private meeting had indeed taken place, and that Pope Francis had encouraged her to "stay strong" in her fight against gay "marriage."
Whether Rosica will continue in his position as English spokesman for the Holy See remains to be seen, but with a new English speaker working directly under Fr. Lombardi, coupled with Fr. Rosica's numerous public gaffes and controversies, some are wondering whether Rosica's days are numbered.