Cum Petro et Sub Petro: Sorry about Monday

I had to make a trip out of town and while the scenery was awesome,the trip was too much.

My cousin was kind enough to take me to an appointment which I ended up not keeping. By the time we got there I was too ill and the waiting room was a nightmare. I have since made another appointment at a different place. So we are going to do it all over again;but i think it will go much better. We have plan B in mind.No need to go into it. I have had personal issues in mind too that I need to consider seriously.Nothing like making bad decisions at 61.Made enough of them as a youngster. Of course, there is the axiom,Let Go and Let God. If we could only truly do that. Sometimes too you have to reflect and see what it is that God truly wants you to do. We all have to make decisions.God leads the ship but we have to steer. In the end it is best,but not always easy,to accept.It's my tendency [or you could say a fault] to struggle back and forth with what He has in mind and what I think I would like to have happen. We like control over own lives don't we? It's my biggest battle. Yesterday was a good day to take a time out. Maybe I need to take more time for prayer too. Seems like we can get caught up in our daily routines and not take enough time TO pray believing that all these other little tasks are so important.

I watched parts of the USCCB Bishops conference yesterday too,some today. Maybe I should have watched more. Then I read Father Z's blog and his comments on the conference and considered maybe I didn't really miss much.I can tell you I greatly respect Pope Francis and his outreach to the marginalized. I understand that. I also miss 2 of the greatest Popes of our time. Blessed John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict the XVI. I also take a great deal of comfort in knowing no matter who is Pope the teachings of the Church remain the same. The focus may change but the doctrines are an anchor. Consider the less than moral Popes of the past. Consider those that were mediocre but sound. Doctrine untouched. When non Catholics or should I say Anti Catholics(not all non Catholics are)point out these(albeit few)notorious Popes as proof that the claims of the Church aren't true I just dust it off. To me, between the most saintly and the most unholy,those are the ones who show me beyond a shadow of a doubt that we're in the right place. No matter how terrible they were they never touched doctrine/dogma and if anyone would have done it,it would have been them. Not a chance. I say then,what me worry?
We will be looking back at the papacy's of Blessed,soon to be canonized,John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict for some time. The wealth of writings and example will continue to enrich the Church for years. I'm not blind though.I see turmoil in the Catholic Church in the United States. No,the Catholic Church is not going to crumble and fall. Catholic means universal. If the Catholic Church in the United States were to keep flailing around it doesn't matter. The Church herself will always stand. Jesus made a promise,gave His word. We've been through plenty of turmoil down through the ages. The Church has raised up great saints during these periods.I think I can safely say God calls people out when the need is the greatest.

We elected a Marxist President. We have Catholic politicians ignoring Church teaching.Some of them making it up for themselves and putting it out there as if they speak for the Pope. I don't think so. Can you imagine that the Church teaches that homosexual marriage is intrinsically evil and then 50% of Catholics approve of it? Probably the same 50% that voted Obama and i bet dimes to dollars the same 50% think abortion and contraception is ok. Catholics who remain faithful to Church teaching are going through a tough time in the United States. The Catholic Church is under direct attack by the Obama administration.The laity should be up in arms.
Father Z pointed out more problems for the Church in his blog. We should be alarmed.

From The Catholic League: No Priest is Safe November 11, 2013 Bill Donohue comments on our anti-priest culture: Two stories in the news today make it clear that no Catholic priest is safe. Anyone can accuse a priest of molestation, no matter how long ago, and get away with it. Father John P. Paul has stepped down as pastor of Our Lady of Calvary in Philadelphia. He resigned because of the emotional stress he has been under. In all his years as a priest, he has never had an accusation made against him (he was ordained in 1972). But now, out of the blue, he is being charged with abusing two boys in 1968, when he was a seminarian. It’s funny how both of these alleged victims decided to wait 45 years to make their case—in tandem, no less. The police were contacted but the case was dropped because the statute of limitations had expired. But Father Paul is still being investigated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Had Father Paul been Mr. Paul, a public school teacher, and he was accused of violating a minor at the end of the school year last June, the statute of limitations would have expired (accusers have 90 days to file charges against public school teachers). Moreover, no one would be investigating him. But when it comes to Father Paul, even though the alleged abuse happened in the year Rev. Martin Luther King and Sen. Bobby Kennedy were shot, it’s not too late to get him. It’s never too late to get a priest. Last week in Chicago, a 73-year-old priest was shaken down for money by the same two con-artist brothers who had hustled him before. This time the priest said no. “We’ll say you touched us—read the paper—they’ll believe us,” they said. Sadly, it’s true. Thanks to our anti-priest culture, fueled by the likes of Bill Maher, every priest is considered suspect. None are safe. Please keep Father Paul in your prayers Someone who levels a false accusation, for the sake of money or to harm the Church, deserves to burn in Hell for eternity.

via No priest is safe | Fr. Z's Blog.