We live in tumultuous times, and one has to be true to reality that the confusion, silence, and lack of leadership from within the Church, and most especially from the bishops and the academic circles, has only contributed to these times. We do not hesitate to criticize society for the crisis of fatherhood, but the more serious crisis of fatherhood emanates from the Church, on whose leadership we depend not solely for our temporal, but also spiritual well-being, where the leadership of the church has without a doubt totally failed.
We just finished an election process, clearly fraught with deception, abuse, and fraudulency, and yet Archbishop Gomez, as the president of the USCCB, issued a statement pertaining to the 2020 election that seems totally detached from all reality and even sense of integrity – not just towards the election process itself, but also to extremely grave matters of faith. To add insult to injury, Pope Francis now also added his recognition and congratulations.
In October of 2008, the late Bishop Doran, at that time Bishop of the Diocese of Rockford, IL, celebrated Mass at the EWTN Family Celebration in DeKalb. The first reading was from Isaiah, where Israel is spoken of as a vineyard (Is 5: 1-7) and how, because of their iniquities, the Lord would allow for the trampling and destruction of that vineyard. Bishop Doran focused on this theme, comparing the United States to that vineyard and addressed this relationship in the context of the upcoming election then – the election that would usher Obama into the presidency, with all its evil ramifications.
In that prophetic homily, the Bishop spoke of this country as a vineyard and that the parable is a cautionary tale for us. He warned of the grave danger and peril in which the United States, blessed so much by God, found itself at that point in time, a danger that he stated was graver than many seemed to realize. He spoke of “politicians…a political party that espouses practices that are like atomic missiles aimed at the heart of the American family life.” Unlike many of those who have been granted the authority and responsibility to teach and shepherd Catholics, he was courageous in outlining the “missiles” directed at the family, providing an acronym based on the first seven letters of the alphabet “Abortion, Buggery, Contraception, Divorce, Euthanasia, radical Feminism, Genetic manipulation”. He then proceeds to focus on several of these stating that “They are things so bad that nothing, no one, can excuse them”.
Bishop Doran then proceeded to address how if the right choices are made, true peace – the peace of Christ – would prevail (which is not simply the absence of war), but if, on the contrary, the wrong choices are made and the wrong people given power “what happened to that vineyard may happen to our precious vineyard, this country for which so many live, for which so many, many, have sadly died, and for which we work and pray, then God, will remove perhaps His protecting hand… the hedge will be taken away, the wall will be broken down, and it will be trampled by those who, because they know not life, know not love.”
This homily is a stark contrast to the silence and confusion sown by many of the Catholic Church’s shepherds in the past few years – silence and confusion that have misled many and led to the sad current state of affairs.
Archbishop Gomez speaks of thanking God for the “blessings of liberty”, a comment that seems oblivious of the fact that if the Biden-Harris team were to assume power, all the important liberties would be in jeopardy. He speaks of the American people having spoken, seemingly oblivious to the reality of the fraud-laden issues pertaining to this election, and calls for the leaders to “come together in a spirit of national unity and to commit themselves to dialogue and compromise for the common good”. One may legitimately wonder: where was Archbishop Gomez and the USCCB for the past three and a half years, where President Trump sought to implement so many legislations that brought prosperity to the working American, assisted those in poverty, argued for fair and genuine immigration (an aspect that is of significance to my family and myself as LEGAL immigrants to this country), that protected the integrity of this country, the work of the people in this country, our religious freedoms, limiting abortions, the defunding of antilife organizations at the national and international level and also, contrary to what is propagated by the media, raised the dignity and integrity of African Americans (this would have been done even if all he had done is limit abortions – given that they are the primary target of the abortion culture) and so many, many other efforts that made it clear that the goal of this administration was to ensure that ALL lives mattered?
One may wonder whether Archbishop Gomez (and many Catholic Bishops with him) just realized the fact that as Catholics our “priorities and mission are clear” and that we “are to follow Jesus Christ” and to “build His Kingdom on earth”. He speaks of our “special duty” as Catholics to be “peacemakers, to promote fraternity and mutual trust, and to pray for a renewed spirit of true patriotism in our country”. Where was all this preaching in regards to the Marxist riots organized by BLM? Or the hatred expressed towards legitimate authorities such as the police? Or the burning of the American flag? On the flip side, where was the acknowledgement of the efforts of President Trump to allow Americans to do what they clearly know how to do extremely well – which is innovate, produce and provide excellent quality in work and product?
And then, to add salt to an already painful insult to this nation, he provides two clearly unsanctioned acknowledgements to Biden, one being recognition of him as the 46th President of the United States, in a situation that is, as I indicated above, clearly fraught with fraud; and secondly, calling him the “second president to profess the Catholic faith”. What is there that is Catholic in Biden? He, along with the Democratic party platform, is anti-life and anti-everything that the Catholic Church stands for. This is such an oxymoron! Why even focus on the fact he “professes” to be Catholic? It is the actions that matter. Since when do we show pride in people professing being Catholic?
Shortly after coming to power, in a speech on February 15th, 1933, Hitler declared “I do not merely talk of Christianity, no, I also profess that I will never ally myself with the parties which destroy Christianity” and then on March 23, 1933, he stated “the Government of the Reich, which regards Christianity as the unshakable foundation of the morals and moral code of the nation, attaches the greatest value to friendly relations with the Holy See”….We all know what came of that!
The final statement provides the topping. What gall must one have, to then ask the Blessed Mother to “help us to work together to fulfill the beautiful vision of America’s missionaries and founders — one nation under God, where the sanctity of every human life is defended and freedom of conscience and religion are guaranteed”, when as bishops, our shepherds have done nothing to show their support to the one president among the leaders of all nations who has potentially done the most to secure and protect life, religious and other freedoms, work, the poor and national integrity? Will God ignore their silence and lack of leadership of the faithful?
The motto of the Democrats in this last election was “Battle for the Soul of the Nation”. Are the bishops and Pope the only ones who do not see the gravity and danger that the Democratic Party and Biden are to souls in this battle? One wonders: If the Church has been criticized for not doing enough against Nazism, what will be said about the Church in the US today?
Or to put it another way, if Satan ran for election and illegitimately “won,” would the bishops encourage making a “deal” with him?
