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| Ascension Thursday |
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Posted by: Ruthy - 03-20-2022, 11:26 PM - Forum: The New-Conciliar SSPX
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Ascension Thursday, no longer a Holy Day of Obligation in Kansas SSPX. This has been weighing heavy on my heart for a few years now.
I cannot believe that people have not waken up to the direction of the SSPX. I feel like God said, "Okay, you didn't realize that the SSPX compromised back in 2012 with the 2012 Declaration, saying that the new Mass was legitimately promulgated, recognizes the new code of Canon of Law of 1983, etc...So now, Ascension Thursday is no longer a Holy Day of Obligation...that should be a red flag, easy for all to see and understand...but no, you just go along with it. Your children are going to grow up without Ascension Thursday, with no meaning, soon forgotten."
The St. Marys parish bulletin says, Ascension Thursday is no longer a Holy Day of Obligation, but sanctify the day...really? The church bulletin can be found here.
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| Vatican calls for suspending intellectual property rights to distribute more COVID vaccines |
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Posted by: Stone - 03-20-2022, 09:20 AM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Spiritual]
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Vatican calls for suspending intellectual property rights to distribute more COVID vaccines
COVID vaccine pushers have used the endorsement of Pope Francis as an excuse to disregard religious refusal of the shots.
![[Image: francisvaxlive-810x500-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/francisvaxlive-810x500-810x500.jpg)
Sat Mar 19, 2022
GENEVA (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican again declared this week the COVID-19 vaccines a public good warranting significant public action to disseminate globally, despite their use of aborted fetal cells causing great moral anguish for millions of Catholics and other Christians.
Vatican News reports that the Vatican Permanent Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations issued a statement Wednesday to the 49th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, warning that “barriers impeding the equitable access to, and distribution of vaccines, medicines and health-related technologies are deeply connected to the effects of intellectual property rights (IPRs).”
Declaring that health care for all should “never be subjugated to private interests,” the statement called for the “sharing of research, knowledge and supplies, also with a view to promoting integral human development globally,” in this case meaning that IPRs should temporarily be suspended for the sake of more widely and equitably distributing the COVID shots.
Such endorsements disregard the fact that the most widely-used COVID-19 vaccines used human cells derived from aborted babies to varying degrees in their development, which Christians recognize as an intolerable violation of the sanctity of human life. The AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson shots, for instance, were developed with aborted fetal cells, whereas the Pfizer and Moderna shots were not, but their developers did use such cells during the testing phase.
Catholic teaching traditionally holds that abortion-tainted medical interventions are to be avoided if possible, though in cases where there is no better alternative to preserve life the decision should be left to individual conscience. Some bishops have argued that taking abortion-tainted vaccines is intrinsically evil, no matter the circumstances. Yet Pope Francis’s endorsement of the COVID vaccines has been cited from corporations all the way to the White House as justification for disregarding religious objections to taking them.
The Vatican’s promotion of the COVID vaccines also disregards significant unresolved doubts as to their safety in light of reports of significant numbers of adverse events including myocarditis, pericarditis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and more; as well as their effectiveness and necessity in light of their inability to prevent transmission and the longer-lasting protection of natural immunity.
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| Praedicate evangelium: Pope Francis reforms Roman Curia with launch of Vatican constitution |
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Posted by: Stone - 03-19-2022, 11:54 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
- Replies (1)
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Praedicate evangelium: Pope Francis reforms Roman Curia with launch of Vatican constitution
CNA | Vatican City, Mar 19, 2022
The Vatican published on Saturday a long-awaited document implementing Pope Francis’ reform of the organization and structure of the Roman Curia.
The apostolic constitution, Praedicate evangelium (“Preach the Gospel”), was released initially only in Italian on March 19 after nine years in production by the pope’s Council of Cardinal Advisers.
The constitution underlines that “any member of the faithful” can lead one of newly constituted Vatican dicasteries or other bodies, “given their particular competence, power of governance and function.”
Praedicate evangelium replaces Pastor bonus, the apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia promulgated by Pope John Paul II on June 28, 1988, and later modified by both popes Benedict and Francis.
With the publication of the new constitution, Pastor bonus is “fully abrogated and replaced.”
The constitution was issued on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the ninth anniversary of the inauguration of Pope Francis’ pontificate. It will take full effect on June 5, the Solemnity of Pentecost.
No more congregations or pontifical councils
Under the new constitution, all the Vatican’s main departments are now known as “dicasteries.” The powerful Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for example, will now be called the “Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.”
Along with removing the title “congregation” from Vatican departments, the new constitution renames pontifical councils as “dicasteries.”
The constitution says: “The Roman Curia is composed of the Secretariat of State, the Dicasteries and other bodies, all juridically equal to each other.”
The 16 dicasteries are as follows:
- Dicastery for Evangelization
- Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
- Dicastery for the Service of Charity
- Dicastery for the Eastern Churches
- Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints
- Dicastery for Bishops
- Dicastery for the Clergy
- Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
- Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life
- Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity
- Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue
- Department for Culture and Education
- Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
- Dicastery for Legislative Texts
- Dicastery for Communication
The document explains that “it became necessary to reduce the number of departments, joining together those whose purpose was very similar or complementary, and rationalize their functions with the aim of avoiding overlapping of competencies and making their work more effective.”
Evangelization at the center
In a significant change, the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, responsible for mission work, are merged into the Dicastery for Evangelization, presided over directly by the pope.
The Dicastery for Evangelization is listed first among the dicasteries in the document, indicating its centrality in the new structure of the Roman Curia.
The dicastery will have two sections, one for “fundamental questions of evangelization in the world” and another “for the first evangelization and the new particular Churches in the territories of its competence.”
Each section will be governed in the pope’s name by a “pro-prefect.”
A Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
The document confirms changes to the former Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith unveiled by Pope Francis in February.
The pope reorganized the internal structure of the Vatican’s doctrine office into two sections: a doctrinal section and a disciplinary section.
Setting out the doctrinal section’s responsibilities, the new constitution says that it works in close contact with Church leaders around the world “in the exercise of their mission as authentic teachers and teachers of the faith, for which they are bound to safeguard and promote the integrity of that faith.”
The section “examines writings and opinions that appear contrary or harmful to the right faith and morals; it seeks dialogue with their authors and presents suitable remedies to be made, in accordance with its own norms.”
It also “endeavors to ensure that there is an adequate refutation of the dangerous errors and doctrines which are spread among the Christian people.”
Safeguarding change
The document explains that the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is “established within the Dicastery” for the Doctrine of the Faith.
“Its task is to provide the Roman Pontiff with advice and counsel and to propose the most appropriate initiatives for the protection of minors and vulnerable persons,” it says.
Cardinal Seán O’Malley, president of the pontifical commission, welcomed the change.
He said: “For the first time, Pope Francis has made safeguarding and the protection of minors a fundamental part of the structure of the Church’s central government: the Roman Curia.”
“Linking the commission more closely with the work of the new Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith represents a significant move forward in upgrading the place and mandate of the commission which can only lead to a stronger culture of safeguarding throughout the Curia and the entire Church.”
“Maintaining its status as a separate body within the dicastery that enjoys direct access to the Holy Father and with its own leadership and staffing, the renewed and re-affirmed Pontifical Commission will play an increasingly incisive role in ensuring the Church is a safe place for children and vulnerable persons.”
O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, is a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers which advised the pope on the new constitution.
Emphasis on charity
The Office of Papal Charities, run by the papal almoner Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, becomes the new Dicastery for the Service of Charity.
According to Vatican News, the changes give the office “a more significant role in the Curia.”
Worship, liturgical books, and the extraordinary form
The constitution says that the newly named Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is responsible for arranging “the drafting or revision and updating of the typical [original Latin] editions of liturgical books.”
“The dicastery confirms the translations of liturgical books into current languages and gives recognitio [formal recognition] to their appropriate adaptations to local cultures, legitimately approved by the bishops’ conferences,” it says.
It adds that “the dicastery deals with the regulation and discipline of the sacred liturgy as regards the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.”
Pope Francis imposed tight restrictions on the celebration of extraordinary form Masses — also known as Traditional Latin Masses — in his July 2021 apostolic letter Traditionis custodes.
Other innovations (!)
Regarding the body now known as the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the new constitution says: “It is for the dicastery to judge the granting of the title of Doctor of the Church to a saint, after having obtained the vote of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith concerning their eminent doctrine.”
The Pontifical Council for Culture and the Congregation for Catholic Education are united in the Dicastery for Culture and Education, which is divided into two sections.
Powers of the Secretariat of State
Early drafts of the constitution were said to have given wide powers to the Vatican Secretariat of State, which already occupied a central position within the Roman Curia. In the final version, the Secretariat of State is listed before the 16 dicasteries.
The published document says that the institution, overseen by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, “closely assists the Roman Pontiff in the exercise of his supreme mission.”
It describes the tasks of the Secretariat’s three sections: the Section for General Affairs; the Section for Relations with States and International Organizations; and the Section for Diplomatic Personnel of the Holy See.
The first section has broad responsibilities, including “attending to the handling of affairs concerning the daily service of the Roman Pontiff,” coordinating the work of dicasteries “without prejudice to their autonomy,” drafting papal documents such as apostolic letters, and giving “indications to the Dicastery for Communication regarding official communications concerning both the acts of the Roman Pontiff and the activity of the Holy See.”
Further novelities (!!)
Highlighting other novelties in the text, Vatican News noted that the Secretariat of State is defined as a “papal secretariat,” the Curia Personnel Office is transferred to the Secretariat for the Economy, and “the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) must carry out its work through the instrumental activity of the Institute for the Works of Religion,” also known as the “Vatican bank.”
“The constitution also establishes that for clerics and religious serving in the Roman Curia, the mandate is for five years and may be renewed for a second five-year term, at the end of which they return to their dioceses and communities of origin,” the Vatican’s online news portal said.
Goals of the reform
The goals of the reform are set out in a section of the new constitution called “Principles and criteria for the service of the Roman Curia.”
It sets out 11 guiding principles: “Service to the Pope’s mission,” “ Co-responsibility in the communio,” “Service to the mission of the Bishops,” “Support for the particular Churches and their Episcopal Conferences and Eastern hierarchical structures,” “The vicarious nature of the Roman Curia,” “Spirituality,” “Personal integrity and professionalism,” “Collaboration between the Dicasteries,” “Interdicasterial and intradicasterial meetings,” “Expression of catholicity,” and “Reduction of Dicasteries.”
As well as defining the competencies of the 16 dicasteries, the 54-page constitution outlines the role of other Vatican institutions, including judicial bodies such as the Apostolic Penitentiary, economic organizations such as the Office of the Auditor General, and other offices such as the Prefecture of the Papal Household.
It lists the duties of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, currently Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who oversees the functioning of the Vatican during a papal interregnum.
It also defines the qualities expected of lawyers working for the Holy See, who are required “to lead an integral and exemplary Christian life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them with the utmost conscience and for the good of the Church.”
A 9-year journey to publication
On his election in 2013, Pope Francis was widely seen as having a mandate to reform the Roman Curia. Over the first nine years of his pontificate, he issued decrees changing Vatican law and structures, which are reflected in the text of the new constitution.
The Council of Cardinals finished the first draft of the new constitution in 2018. The text was then circulated among the presidents of national bishops’ conferences, dicasteries of the Roman Curia, synods of the Eastern Churches, conferences of major superiors, and select pontifical universities for feedback in 2019.
The cardinals met in February 2020 for “an in-depth re-reading and revision” of the document.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, they continued to review the text at virtual meetings with Pope Francis.
Seven cardinals currently serve on the Council of Cardinals, helped by secretary Bishop Marco Mellino: Honduran Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, who acts as coordinator; Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State; Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay; German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising; the U.S. Cardinal O’Malley; and Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa.
In January 2021, Parolin said that “considerable progress” had already been made in the pope’s reform of the Roman Curia, particularly with regard to Vatican finances, pointing to the creation of the Council for the Economy, the Secretariat for the Economy, and the Office of the Revisor General.
He added that further reforms could include the merger of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples with the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization and the combination of the Congregation for Catholic Education with the Pontifical Council for Culture.
“But these are minor actions compared to what has already been done,” he said. “Now it is a question of giving homogeneity to all the reforms which have been made, by means of the new apostolic constitution.”
Formal unveiling
The Vatican will formally present the new constitution at a press conference on Monday, March 21.
Speakers will include Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Bishop Mellino, and canon law expert Father Gianfranco Ghirlanda, S.J.
The new constitution refers to previous reforms of the Roman Curia in past centuries. It highlights reforms instituted in the 20th century by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II.
It says: “In continuity with these two recent reforms and with gratitude for the generous and competent service that over time so many members of the Curia have offered to the Roman Pontiff and to the universal Church, this new apostolic constitution proposes to better harmonize the current exercise of the Curia’s service with the path of evangelization that the Church, especially in this season, is living.”
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| Price Controls, Dystopian Travel Restrictions To 'Manage' Soaring Energy Costs? |
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Posted by: Stone - 03-19-2022, 11:31 AM - Forum: General Commentary
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Elites Suggest Price Controls, Dystopian Travel Restrictions To 'Manage' Soaring Energy Costs
![[Image: 2022-03-18_08-26-56.png?itok=HPqRckgC]](https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/2022-03-18_08-26-56.png?itok=HPqRckgC)
ZH | MAR 19, 2022
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia supplied the world with one out of every ten barrels of crude consumed. But as the United States, Canada, and Australia have imposed embargoes on Russian crude and some buyers in Europe are halting purchases, the global oil market is facing one of the worst disruptions since the 1973 oil crisis when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) led by Saudi Arabia declared an oil ban on Western countries for their support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War.
The energy price shock of the mid-1970s led to the reduction of maximum national speed limits from 70 mph to 55 mph. The 21% reduction in speed equated to gas consumption savings.
Now the International Energy Agency (IEA) has proposed similar measures to lessen the oil shock following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and embargoes on Russian crude.
IEA said Western economies could reduce daily oil demand by 2.7 million barrels within four months by restricting how people drive, indicating the move to reduce highway speed could almost offset the 3 million barrel-a-day loss of Russian production for April.
"These efforts would reduce the price pain being felt by consumers around the world, lessen the economic damage, shrink Russia's hydrocarbon revenues, and help move oil demand to a more sustainable pathway," IEA said.
The IEA has unveiled a ten-point action plan it hopes Western countries will implement to curtail oil demand.
Reduce speed limits on highways by at least 10 km/h
Impact*: Saves around 290 kb/d of oil use from cars, and an additional 140 kb/d from trucks
Work from home up to three days a week where possible
Impact: One day a week saves around 170 kb/d; three days saves around 500 kb/d
Car-free Sundays in cities
Impact: Every Sunday saves around 380 kb/d; one Sunday a month saves 95 kb/d
Make the use of public transport cheaper and incentivise micromobility, walking and cycling
Impact: Saves around 330 kb/d
Alternate private car access to roads in large cities
Impact: Saves around 210 kb/d
Increase car sharing and adopt practices to reduce fuel use
Impact: Saves around 470 kb/d
Promote efficient driving for freight trucks and delivery of goods
Impact: Saves around 320 kb/d
Using high-speed and night trains instead of planes where possible
Impact: Saves around 40 kb/d
Avoid business air travel where alternative options exist
Impact: Saves around 260 kb/d
Reinforce the adoption of electric and more efficient vehicles
Impact: Saves around 100 kb/d
Today's oil price shock could be a redux of the mid-1970s oil crisis as it may suggest price controls are next. Prime Minister of Italy Mario Draghi stated Friday that price controls could be coming to the natural gas markets, likely meaning petrol is next.
Mark Twain once wrote, "history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." Baby boomers who remember the mid-1970s and the pain a commodity shock caused most likely understand today's turmoil is far from over.
What is lurking dead ahead is stagflation; what may be lurking beyond that is far, far worse.
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| Pope’s US representative alerts bishops to prepare for consecration of Russia and Ukraine |
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Posted by: SAguide - 03-18-2022, 12:35 PM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Pope’s US representative alerts bishops to
prepare for consecration of Russia and Ukraine
_______________________________________
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, extended a formal
invitation to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to participate in the March 25 consecration.
![[Image: why_fatima_matters-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/why_fatima_matters-810x500.jpg)
In a letter dated March 17 and addressed to USCCB President Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, current Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, provides formal notice about the upcoming papal consecration of Russia and Ukraine and asks Archbishop Gomez “to inform the members of the USCCB and, through them, the priests of the various dioceses and eparchies of the country … ”
“In the context of the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine,” writes Archbishop Pierre, “the Holy Father, Pope Francis will lead an Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25th next.”
The Nuncio goes on: “The Holy Father intends to invite each Bishop, or equivalent in law, together with his priests, to join in this act of consecration, if possible, at an hour corresponding to 5pm Rome time. In the coming days, the Holy Father will address a letter of invitation to the Bishops, enclosing the text of the Prayer of Consecration in the various languages. I write now, asking you to inform the members of the USCCB and, through them, the priests of the various dioceses and eparchies of the country, about the Holy Father’s invitation.”
“The same information,” Archbishop Pierre explains, “will be shared with the federal authorities in Washington, D.C. and with the Diplomatic Corps of this capital. An invitation is being extended to the members of the same Corps to attend a Mass offered by Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of Washington, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at 12 noon on Friday, March 25th next.”
Archbishop Pierre’s letter is attached to an official memorandum from USCCB General Secretary Fr. Michael J.K. Fuller which states:
Your Eminence / Your Excellency,
I am pleased to share the attached copy of a letter from His Excellency Most Reverend Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio, regarding the Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25th.
While this “invitation” from Pope Francis to the bishops is obviously not the same as an “order,” which is what Our Lady specified, it is nonetheless a positive sign. Let us keep praying and fasting for the consecration to be done according to Heaven’s specific conditions!
Full text of the USCCB memorandum and letter from the Apostolic Nuncio available here.
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| Father Hewko's 30th Ordination Anniversary! |
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Posted by: Stone - 03-17-2022, 09:56 AM - Forum: Rev. Father David Hewko
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From an SSPX-MC email to chapel coordinators:
Dear Coordinators,
Our holy priest, Fr. David Hewko, will be celebrating the 30th Anniversary of his Ordination to the Priesthood on April 21, 2022.
We invite you to join us in gathering a Spiritual Bouquet of prayers and/or sacrifices for him and his apostolate, as a gift in return for all he has done for souls and for Holy Mother Church.
"The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus. When you see a priest, think of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests.
If you'd like, send your Personal or Family Spiritual Bouquets to his temporary residence address:
Rev. Fr. David Hewko
16 Dogwood Rd. South
Hubbardston, MA 01452
If needed, more of his contact information can be found here: https://sspxmc.com/contact-fr-hewko/
Please consider passing this on to the faithful in your Mission Chapel areas via your local email groups and to anyone else who may be interested.
Thank you and God bless!
Beth at sspx-mc
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| Pope Francis Warns “Final Catastrophe” Could “Extinguish” Human Race |
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Posted by: Stone - 03-17-2022, 09:04 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Pope Francis Warns “Final Catastrophe” Could “Extinguish” Human Race
Says humanity would have to “start from scratch.”
![[Image: 170322pope1.jpg]](https://cdn.summit.news/2022/03/170322pope1.jpg)
Summit News | 17 March, 2022
Pope Francis warns that the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine could lead to a “final catastrophe” that would “extinguish” the human race.
Speaking during his weekly address, the Pope said humanity would have to “start from scratch” in the event of a thermonuclear war.
“Our imagination appears increasingly concentrated on the representation of a final catastrophe that will extinguish us,” said Pope Francis.
“What happens with an eventual nuclear war?” he asked.
“The ‘day after’ this – if there will still be days and human beings – will have to start again from scratch. Destroying everything to start again from scratch.”
The Pope highlighted how apocalyptic “flood imagery” is “gaining ground in our subconscious,” a reference to the Biblical flood narrative found in the Book of Genesis.
Despite the Pope’s warning, a new poll finds that a staggering one third of Americans are willing to risk nuclear war to fight Putin.
Participants in a Pew survey were asked if they opposed or supported “taking military action even if it risks a nuclear conflict with Russia.”
62 per cent of Americans said they would oppose US military involvement, but a disturbingly large 35 per cent said they were happy to risk nuclear armageddon to support Ukraine.
Despite President Zelensky’s relentless calls for a no fly zone that would almost certainly precipitate World War III, the White House has so far rejected the idea.
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| Ukrainian bishops ask bishops across the world to unite with Pope Francis in consecrating Russia |
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Posted by: Stone - 03-16-2022, 05:58 PM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Ukrainian bishops ask bishops across the world to unite with Pope Francis in consecrating Russia
‘Ukrainian Catholics since the beginning of Russian aggression in 2014 have been asking for this act,’ said Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk.
![[Image: Ukrainian-bishops-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ukrainian-bishops-810x500.jpg)
Cardinal Krajewski (center) with Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki (L) and Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk ®
Archbishop Stanisław Budzik/Twitter
Wed Mar 16, 2022
LVIV, Ukraine (LifeSiteNews) – Ukrainian Catholic prelates have welcomed news of the consecration of Russia as an answer to a request of many years, urging the entire Church to pray novenas in preparation for the consecration, and asking the global episcopate to make the act of consecration with the Pope.
“This is a spiritual act long awaited by the Ukrainian people,” said his Beatitude, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, referring to Pope Francis’ planned consecration of Russia.
“Ukrainian Catholics since the beginning of Russian aggression in 2014 have been asking for this act as an urgent need to prevent the worsening of the war and the dangers coming from Russia,” Shevchuk told Catholic News Agency (CNA). The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is second only in size to the Latin-rite Catholic Church, with which it is in full communion.
Archbishop Shevchuk’s comments followed the March 15 announcement from the Holy See Press Office that Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25. Cardinal Krajewski, the Apostolic Almoner, will perform the consecration from Fatima on the same day.
“In the midst of the tragedy of the bloody war in Ukraine, we looked forward with hope to the news,” Shevchuk stated. He also noted that in a number of meetings through the years he had personally asked Pope Francis, on behalf of the Ukrainian people, to make the consecration of Russia.
“We are grateful to the Holy Father for first of all accepting Our Lady’s request manifested during the apparition of July 13, 1917 in Fatima, and her children, to protect Ukraine and to stop ‘the errors of Russia that promote wars and persecution of the Church,’” said Shevchuk.
Archbishop Shevchuk linked the current crisis to a fulfilment of the messages warning of persecution, which Our Lady gave to the three young visionaries in Fatima. “So, today we see the fulfillment of the words of Our Lady who said, ‘The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be destroyed,’” he said.
“Let us entrust to the Immaculate Heart of Mary all our sufferings and hopes for peace in our martyred country,” urged Shevchuk.
Ukrainian bishops ‘insisted’ Pope Francis told of their consecration request
His Beatitude’s comments were supported by Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki of Lviv, the highest ranking Latin-rite prelate in Ukraine, who welcomed how “the Holy Father responded positively to the request of the Bishops of the Latin Catholic Church, all its priests, and all its people.”
The Latin-rite bishops had sent an appeal to Pope Francis on Ash Wednesday, urging the Pontiff to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary “as requested by the Blessed Virgin in Fatima,” in order to bring an end to the current conflict in the country.
Mokrzycki revealed how the Ukrainian hierarchy decided to appeal for the consecration as a direct result of the war in Ukraine. “So we recalled Our Lady of Fatima, who in 1917 said that the end of the war would come if the Holy Father and the bishops consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart, offer the first Saturdays of every month and pray the Holy Rosary.”
“So we requested the Holy Father to fulfill that request once again,” he explained, implying that the Ukrainian bishops deem the consecration to have already taken place.
“This was our desire, this was the voice of all the Ukrainian people,” Mokrzycki added in an interview with St. Rita Radio, a sister radio channel of EWTN in Norway.
Cardinal Krajewski recently visited Ukraine as the Papal envoy during the current crisis, and spoke with the Ukrainian Catholic bishops. Mokrzycki noted that they had “insisted to him to bring back this request” of the consecration of Russia to the Pope.
Archbishop Mokrzycki was confident that the consecration would effect an end to the conflict, saying “we believe that this act will be listened to by Our Lady and she will intercede before God for peace in Ukraine.”
‘Whole Church’ to pray in preparation for proper consecration
While the Pope is due to make a consecration of Russia and Ukraine, the two prelates urged Catholics to pray in the remaining days leading up to the event. Archbishop Mokrzycki revealed how the Ukrainian bishops would “prepare our people with a novena that will start on March 17.”
The 61-year-old archbishop extended a call for the universal Church to join in a novena of preparation for the consecration. “We are calling all Christians in Ukraine to join this novena, and we would be very grateful if the whole Church around the world would join us in prayer for this intention,” he said.
Faithful Catholics have expressed concern that the planned consecration might still not meet the requirements outlined by Our Lady, namely for all the bishops of the world to make the consecration in union with the Pontiff. To this end, LifeSiteNews is urging readers to contact their bishops to ask them to join the Pope in the consecration, as well as asking the Pope to ensure the bishops join him.
Novenas have also begun in order to bring about the proper act of consecration.
For the Ukrainian hierarchy, however, they will be joining Pope Francis in making the consecration. “All the Catholic bishops in Ukraine, both from the Latin rite and Greek Catholics, will join the Holy Father in this act of consecration, celebrating it at the same time in our cathedrals and churches,” said Archbishop Mokrzycki. “And we are hopeful that we will be joined by many of our brother bishops around the world.”
The Catholic bishops of Latin America announced March 15 that they would join the Pope and the Ukrainian hierarchy in making the consecration.
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| Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25 |
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Posted by: Stone - 03-16-2022, 07:16 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25
In a shock announcement made March 15, the Vatican revealed that Pope Francis will consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
![[Image: shutterstock_1396999451-810x500.jpeg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/shutterstock_1396999451-810x500.jpeg)
Tue Mar 15, 2022 - 1:01 pm EDT
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Vatican announced on Tuesday, following an appeal made by the Ukrainian Catholic bishops.
In an announcement released March 15, Matteo Bruni, the director of the Holy See Press Office announced:
Quote:On Friday 25 March, during the Celebration of Penance at which he will preside at 17.00 in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The same act, on the same day, will be carried out in Fatima by His Eminence Cardinal Krajewski, Apostolic Almoner, as envoy of the Holy Father.
March 25 is the feast of the Annunciation. No further details were provided about the consecration, but the message was repeated on the Pope’s official Twitter account. LifeSiteNews has contacted the Holy See Press Office for further information.
The news follows a heartfelt appeal made to the pontiff on March 2 by the Latin-Rite Catholic bishops in Ukraine, who asked Pope Francis to consecrate Russia and Ukraine “as requested by the Blessed Virgin in Fatima,” to bring an end to the current conflict.
Their statement, released on the morning of Ash Wednesday, referenced the current conflict in Ukraine, and called for the consecration to be done in the manner requested by Our Lady of Fatima in 1917. The letter reads:
Quote:Holy Father! In these hours of immeasurable pain and terrible ordeal for our people, we, the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Ukraine, are spokesmen for the unceasing and heartfelt prayer, supported by our priests and consecrated persons, which comes to us from all Christian people that Your Holiness will consecrate our Motherland and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Responding to this prayer, we humbly ask Your Holiness to publicly perform the act of consecration to the Sacred Immaculate Heart of Mary of Ukraine and Russia, as requested by the Blessed Virgin in Fatima.
May the Mother of God, Queen of Peace, accept our prayer: Regina pacis, ora pro nobis!
Cardinal Krajewski, who will perform the consecration in Fatima on behalf of the Pope, has recently visited Ukraine as the Papal envoy during the current crisis, and spoke with the Ukrainian Catholic bishops. While in Lviv, Krajewski highlighted the power of prayer and faith to “move mountains” and to prevent the current conflict.
In July 1917, Our Lady of Fatima gave the three visionaries this message, asking for the explicit consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart:
Quote:To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.
Our Lady of Fatima repeated the request in 1929, when she appeared to Sr. Lucia saying: “The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father to make, and to order that in union with him and at the same time, all the bishops of the world make the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, promising to convert it because of this day of prayer and worldwide reparation.”
Controversy has reigned over the issue of the consecration of Russia, with some Catholics contending that it has taken place. However, while Pope John Paul II made an “entrustment-consecration” of the world, including Russia, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25, 1984, he deliberately avoided making the explicit mention of Russia as Our Lady had requested.
German Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes confirmed in 2017 that John Paul II “held back [from mentioning] Russia explicitly because the Vatican diplomats had urgently asked him not to mention this country because otherwise political conflicts might perhaps arise.”
The late Fr. Gabriele Amorth, former chief exorcist of Rome, had already noted how the consecration had not been performed as requested, saying “a specific consecration has not yet been made.”
It remains to be seen if Pope Francis will make the consecration of Russia in union with the bishops of the world, as outlined by Our Lady in 1929. In light of the Vatican’s announcement, Dr. Joseph Shaw, chairman of the Latin Mass Society U.K. called for the bishops of the world to join the Holy Father in making the consecration, as Our Lady of Fatima had asked.
Matt Gaspers (managing editor of Catholic Family News) echoed this, noting that the consecration must be done in unison with the bishops of the world, and involve “worldwide reparation.”
Over recent years, a growing number of Catholics and high-ranking prelates have been asking Pope Francis to perform the consecration. In 2017, the 100th anniversary of the year in which Our Lady called for the consecration to be made, Cardinal Raymond Burke made a number of public addresses calling for the consecration.
“It is evident that the consecration (of Russia) was not carried out in the manner requested by Our Lady,” he added in October 2017. “Recognizing the necessity of a total conversion from atheistic materialism and communism to Christ, the call of Our Lady of Fatima to consecrate Russia to Her Immaculate Heart in accord with Her explicit instruction remains urgent.”
The cardinal doubled down in 2020, linking the global crisis caused through response to COVID-19 to the consecration not having taken place. “The consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is more needed today than ever,” he said.
“When we witness how the evil of atheistic materialism, which has its roots in Russia, directs in a radical way the government of the People’s Republic of China, we recognize that the great evil of communism must be healed at its roots through the consecration of Russia, as Our Lady has directed,” Cardinal Burke continued.
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| Scientists in the US are flying planes into clouds to make it snow more |
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Posted by: Stone - 03-15-2022, 05:30 AM - Forum: General Commentary
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Scientists in the US are flying planes into clouds to make it snow more
CNN | March 14, 2022
(CNN - adapted) With 61% of the contiguous US in drought, wouldn't it be nice if we could just "make it rain" or just "make more snow?"
Well, certain parts of the country are doing just that, sort of. It's called cloud seeding, and it's nothing new.
It's been around since the 1940s and countries all over the world have been doing it for various reasons (most notably China), but it's a growing practice in the US, especially in the drought-stricken West.
It's also surrounded with controversy.
We spoke with Julie Gondzar who is the program manager for Wyoming's Weather Modification Program, who admits she gets lots of calls about what they are doing.
Gondzar said some people say "you're playing God," others say "you are stealing moisture from the storm," making other areas drier than they normally would be, kind of like robbing Peter to pay Paul.
There are also environmental factors to consider, as well as the cost-effectiveness versus the reward, which in the West these days water is liquid gold.
"Think about it like water storage, but in the winter on mountaintops," is how Gondzar described what cloud seeding is trying to achieve in her state, "in a nutshell."
Wyoming started cloud seeding in 2003 as part of a study. Then eight seasons ago, they started doing it in an official capacity after their 10-year study proved it works.
This season, they have gone on 28 flight missions for cloud seeding in Wyoming.
![[Image: 220314074540-weather-cloud-seeding-01-super-169.jpg]](https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220314074540-weather-cloud-seeding-01-super-169.jpg)
King Air's twin engine plane that is used for cloud seeding.
She pointed out there are four weeks left in the season, so she is hoping for more opportunities before it winds down.
When you compare Wyoming to other states such as Utah and North Dakota, who have been cloud seeding since the '70s and '80s, the state is fairly new to the game.
Cloud seeding uses an already existing cloud, and injects silver iodide into the cloud, which adds tiny particles called ice nuclei (which water needs to freeze).
Clouds, in basic terms, are a collection of water droplets and/or ice crystals floating in the sky.
The nuclei help the cloud produce precipitation, and artificial ice nuclei help create more precipitation than the cloud would produce otherwise.
It's done in two ways: One way is from the ground and the other is from the air, using silver iodide as the seeding agent.
"The ground-based generators kind of look like small weather stations, are like 20 feet tall, and they aerosolize into the atmosphere," Gondzar explained. "But you have to wait for the right atmospheric conditions so that the plume goes over the mountain range." It makes seeding a little more tricky, because if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction, you'll completely miss your target.
The most popular way is by plane, using flares. "There are flares on the wing of the planes with silver iodide inside of cardboard casings and there are flares on the belly of the plane," Gondzar pointed out.
![[Image: 220314074545-weather-cloud-seeding-02-super-169.jpg]](https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220314074545-weather-cloud-seeding-02-super-169.jpg)
This photo shows flares fixed on the aircraft's wing that house the silver iodide used for cloud seeding.
Once the pilot flies into the storm, they ignite the cardboard casings full of silver iodide and "seed" the clouds. The result is more moisture in the cloud, resulting in more precipitation.
The silver iodide "is a natural salt compound," Gondzar emphasized. "The reason it's used is because the geometric shape down to a molecular level is very similar to that of an ice crystal. And if you don't have that, you're not going to create additional ice crystals, which will then accumulate into snowflakes."
But if you think you can bust the drought by using planes to modify the weather, Gondzar said think again.
Is it working?
"Cloud seeding does not fix the drought," Gondzar said. "You can't break a drought with cloud seeding. It's a tool in the toolbox."
Gondzar admitted while they know the method makes more snow than they would otherwise receive, it's difficult to know exactly how much more they are getting.
"There's evidence of it in radar and all kinds of papers written," Gondzar noted. "The question that they're trying to answer now is how well does it work? And that's a difficult question to answer. Because there's an abstract piece of this. There's really no way to know how much snow a particular system would have produced."
She knows cloud seeding doesn't generate a lot of additional snowfall, but every little bit helps these days.
According to Wyoming's Water Systems Data Map, some areas in the state are only at 60% of average for snowpack this season, and the window for additional snow is slowly closing as the season winds down.
Since most of the West gets the majority of its water from snowmelt, she hopes what they are doing helps a tiny bit in the long term.
"It's a small incremental change over a long period of time. That's why consistency is important," Gondzar urged.
She added at $28-$34 per acre foot, cloud seeding is relatively cheap.
"Those numbers tell us that this is an inexpensive way to help add water to the system. Essentially, we are creating a little bit of additional snowpack, that becomes additional streamflow in the spring and summer."
But you need a cloud, to cloud seed. You can't just go out to the Mojave Desert and make it rain.
"This is not something that we can do out of thin air," Gondzar cautioned. "The criteria is very specific for this to actually work."
It can only be done within already existing clouds that were going to produce snow anyway and there has to be a certain temperature range.
"The silver iodide in the cloud is initiating that snow," Gondzar said. "But you can't just make snow out of nothing. You have to have the supercooled liquid water in the cloud."
She explained part of what made this year difficult was the much drier weather during the last month. There were fewer opportunities to cloud seed.
"A lot of people think it's manipulating the weather pattern," Gondzar remarked. "We are essentially just playing with cloud dynamics and cloud physics, on a super, super-small scale."
She is a meteorologist as well and points out the moisture from the weather systems come from much bigger areas like the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific.
"There's always a huge stream of moisture that our systems are tapping into, and cloud seeding probably brings an additional one to 2% down to the surface."
Playing God
While Gondzar is confident cloud seeding doesn't steal snow from another area, some scientists disagree.
Daniel Swain is a climate scientist at UCLA and spoke with my colleague and climate writer Rachel Ramirez.
He told her "It is possible that you're actually stealing water from someone else when you do this, because it may be, at least on a regional basis, a zero-sum game where if water falls out of the cloud in one spot, it's even drier by the time it makes it downwind to the next watershed."
He went on to ask, "To what extent are you just shifting around the spatial distribution of precipitation during a scarcity period rather than actually causing it to rain or snow more overall?"
He believes water equity issues need to be researched more.
Another note of controversy has been the safety of the chemicals used in cloud seeding. Gondzar stressed it is not made of harmful chemicals like some people claim.
She pointed out they did lots of testing for before they started officially cloud seeding and could not find any traces of harmful amounts of silver.
"There's silver in natural background levels in the water in the soil everywhere, on the surface of the earth," Gondzar noted. "So you already have a natural background level of silver, it's been really difficult to find anything beyond background levels."
She said the amount of silver iodide used is only a few grams at a time. What she's hoping is a small price to pay for bigger rewards down the road.
There have been climate concerns surrounding cloud seeding. Here's more from Ramirez, who reached out to a few scientists, to get their take on cloud seeding's climate angle.
Climate scientists remain skeptical this is the silver bullet
Although cloud seeding has been around for decades and is currently being operated in roughly 50 countries, many climate scientists remain skeptical of the technology's efficacy as well as the time and effort put into trying to manipulate weather.
Swain pointed out it has been historically difficult to design scientific experiments to test the effectiveness of cloud seeding, leaving behind a trail of unclear, intangible evidence on what the benefits are.
"How do you know how much precipitation that might actually end up falling from that cloud occurred due to the seeding? Or how much would have fallen without the seeding?" Swain told CNN. "This isn't a setting where you can do a truly controlled experiment."
Cloud seeding experiments typically deal with a narrow set of parameters, according to Swain, taking into account weather conditions including cloud cover, time of the day, and location. Additionally, the rapidly changing climate adds another layer to the list of variables. As the planet warms, weather patterns and clouds will constantly evolve, often in unexpected ways.
That's what Sarah Tessendorf, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and other researchers from universities and an Idaho power company, set out to examine in 2017. Their results, published in 2020 in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, managed to quantify how effective cloud seeding is. Yet uncertainties still linger.
During the cold winter months in 2017, the researchers flew aircraft to inject silver iodine, the seeding chemical used, into clouds over the Payette Basin in Idaho, while simultaneously using radars and models to measure its impact on snowfall.
In three cloud-seeding events, the scientists identified "unambiguous seeding patterns," in cold cloud decks not producing ice at all; but once seeded, ice crystals formed inside mirroring the same pattern the aircraft had flown. They were then able to track the formed ice and snow to the ground and measure how much additional snow fell from the seeded clouds.
Despite the results, Tessendorf said more experiments need to be done to improve the technology for it to become a sweeping solution to the climate crisis. The amount of precipitation produced by cloud seeding — up to 10% — isn't enough at all to quench the drought-stricken West.
"It could help over the years augment the storage levels in reservoirs, so that when you get into that extract, you might just go into that drought with a little bit more than you would have otherwise," she said. "That to me is the way that cloud seeding should be viewed. It's not going to be the silver bullet, but it could be a helpful tool in a water manager's toolbox."
When it comes to tackling climate change as a whole, many also question the methods such as the deployment of fossil fuel-powered aircraft to inject silver iodide into clouds, arguing it is counterintuitive to the overall climate goals of slashing fossil fuel emissions. But Tessendorf argued it is a small price to pay in order to improve the technology.
"I will say that the number of aircraft and the duration of these flights to do cloud seeding and the programs that are currently having it done pales in comparison to the number of commercial flights and aircraft we have in the skies all over the world right now," she contended. "So it's to me a drop in the bucket of extra fossil fuels being burned."
"But that does not mean that there isn't room for improvement there in order to have more of a clean process," Tessendorf added.
With the climate crisis accelerating, climate scientists like Swain say resources are much better invested in climate solutions already guaranteed to make significant and equitable impacts.
"There needs to be controlled studies that actually shows it was the seeding that increased the precipitation in a meaningful way," Swain asserted. "The best case scenario is it's a small incremental adjunct to other water-saving or conservation measures during scarce periods, but even that's not clear if it would really work in that capacity in any systematic way."
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| WHO includes Down syndrome in list of ‘severe birth defects’ to be ‘prevented’ |
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Posted by: Stone - 03-14-2022, 12:12 PM - Forum: Abortion
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World Health Organization includes Down syndrome in list of ‘severe birth defects’ to be ‘prevented’
The World Health Organization included Down syndrome with 'congenital heart defects' and 'neural tube defects' as 'severe birth defects' in a recent social media post.
![[Image: child_with_down_syndrome-810x500-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/child_with_down_syndrome-810x500-810x500.jpg)
Mon Mar 14, 2022
(Live Action) – Individuals with Down syndrome and their families were shocked and disheartened by a recent social media post from The World Health Organization (WHO) last week that listed Down syndrome as a birth defect that can be prevented.
However, there is no way to prevent Down syndrome itself. “Eliminating” Down syndrome really means eliminating those who have the condition through abortion.
“Today is World Birth Defects Day,” the WHO originally wrote on March 3, according to the screenshot below. “Most birth defects can be prevented and treated with access to quality maternal and newborn care. Yet, every year, they cause the deaths of close to 250,000 babies within just 1 month of birth.”
Down syndrome was then listed as one of the “most common severe birth defects.” After receiving backlash, the WHO edited the Facebook post to remove Down syndrome from the list, and deleted the paragraph of information. However, it appears a separate post on Twitter also included Down syndrome as a birth defect.
![[Image: Untitled-design-5-768x432.jpg]](https://www.liveaction.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Untitled-design-5-768x432.jpg)
WHO Screenshot
News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, a mother of nine children — including one with Down syndrome – replied to the WHO tweet with a tweet of her own saying, “Down syndrome is NOT a birth defect. It’s a chromosomal variation. My baby w/ Downs is as human & valuable as any of my other kids. These comments lead to discrimination & abortion. Celebrate, don’t eliminate differences.”
Likewise, Kurt Kondrich – author, advocate, and father of Chloe who has Down syndrome – tweeted, “The World Health Organization recently posted that Down syndrome is a ‘severe birth defect’! My amazing daughter Chloe who has changed the world has a response!”
The tweet included a photo of Chloe, who is the inspiration behind Pennsylvania’s “Chloe’s Law” ensuring that parents who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome receive resources and support. The photo states, “I am Chloe Emmanuelle Kondrich and I am NOT a ‘severe birth defect.’”
The Facebook page, Raising Josee Hope, also commented on the WHO’s classification of Down syndrome, stating in part:
Quote:“The only way Down syndrome is prevented is through abortion, is this what they’re advocating for?! An apology to the community rather than an edited post would be appreciated. And you wonder why we are left with NO CHOICE but to tirelessly advocate?!! Imagine if this was your child being spoken about. It wrecks our day.
It takes time away from our kids. It breaks our heart to advocate. We don’t want to be ‘strong warrior mums’ we just want to enjoy life with our kids knowing they’re safe. When the global peak body for health refers to your child as a birth defect that can be prevented what Hope do we have?”
People who have Down syndrome are human beings with intrinsic value, yet they are consistently targeted for abortion. The abortion rate for children diagnosed prenatally with Down syndrome in the United States is nearly 70%.
Parents are fighting back against pressure to abort their babies, but as was made evident by the WHO’s social media posts, there is much more work to be done.
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