Nicene Truth

Flashback 2004: Dalai Lama Service in Mexican Cathedral

By: John Vennari

TraditionInAction

In the September issue of Catholic Family News, I wrote an article on the “Pagan Invasion of the Catholic Church,” noting that there seems to be a sharp increase of pagan activity inside of Catholic churches worldwide. It’s as if there is a directive from the post-Conciliar Vatican urging these scandalous pagan operations in churches to increase.

The latest example is the Dalai Lama’s recent visit to the National Cathedral in Mexico City on October 4. Billed as an interfaith event, the Dalai Lama prayed at the Cathedral along with other Buddhists. Representatives from 11 other major religions attended.

The Dalai Lama received a standing ovation when he entered the Cathedral. It is beyond me why religious leaders, and a congregation of Catholics, wish to applaud a man who claims to be the reincarnation of each of the previous thirteen Dalai Lamas of Tibet (the first having been born in 1351 AD), who are in turn considered to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara, or Chenrezig, Bodhisattva of Compassion, holder of the White Lotus. The enthusiastic welcome he receives in Catholic churches and from Catholic leaders demonstrates the depth and breadth of the post- Conciliar mind-rot.

Continued.

Catholic Charismaniacs

 

God help us. This horrendous movement has penetrated everywhere. It has existed in the history of the Church only in heretical sects like the Montanists, Messallians and Jansenists. Now, it's mainstream, with papal approval. Yet, amazingly, it comes from the demonic Azusa Street Revival where a bunch of enthusiasts got together and rejected the Trinty. It's leader became Charles Parham, a pederast false prophet believed to be a Freemason. Compare this nonsense with the way St. Irenaeus characterized the "charismatics" of his day here.

Freemason Hans Küng: Catholicism Heading Back to Middle Ages

euronews: Do you think there is a risk today that the Church is going backwards, heading towards the middle ages, and that the Vatican II reforms are being called into question?
Hans Küng: Yes, absolutely. The Catholic church is once again taking a course towards reaction, anti-modernism, and the Middle Ages.
euronews: "Why do you think Vatican II is still important today, and what must be saved from it?"
Küng: "Before Vatican II the Catholic church had, basically, stopped the clock in the Roman Catholicism of the Middle Ages.…It was a real combat to firmly establish religious freedom, and freedom of conscience. It was very exciting, and at the time Josef Ratzinger and I shared the same ideas and thoughts. The consequences of Vatican II were immense and historic.…If we cancelled all that, the church would change into a fortified citadel, and trigger the exodus of all those who do not want a return to the past." (For the full transcript and video at original location, click here.)

N.J. "priestess' ordained in controversial ceremony in a Synagogue [!]

by Jeff Diamant/The Star-Ledger

Sunday April 26, 2009, 9:10 PM

PHILADELPHIA -- Last July, Mary Ann Schoettly was automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church after a ceremony that she says made her a deacon -- a ceremony conducted in willful defiance of her religion's ban on ordaining women.

Today, in the eyes of a small group of renegade Catholics who believe women should be allowed into the Catholic priesthood, the 66-year-old Sussex County resident was ordained a priest, in a controversial ceremony held at a synagogue.

Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-LedgerDuring the ceremony Mary Ann Schoettly, right, experiences the Laying On of Hands by Bishop Andrea Johnson. Schoettly was ordained as Catholic priest in highly controversial ceremony today in Philadelphia.

"It's a very fulfilling experience," said Schoettly, a retired high school biology teacher and the 47th female priest associated with the international group Roman Catholic Womenpriests. "It is something that I have recognized in myself for years and haven't been able to follow."

Continued.

The Faustian Face of Modern Science: Understanding the Epistemological Foundations of Scientific Totalitarianism

ConspiracyArchive

- by Phillip D. Collins, June 11th, 2009

Scientific totalitarianism is certainly not a new topic in the halls of political science and history. Given its    bloody legacy of democide (i.e., state-sanctioned genocide, mass murder, and politicide) and its prolific spread throughout the world, scientific totalitarianism remains a preoccupying sociopolitical phenomenon of the 20th century. Yet, few researchers have examined the epistemological foundations of scientific totalitarianism. In turn, an understanding of scientific totalitarianism's epistemological roots elucidates an occult conception of science, which edified the sundry Weltanschauungs of sociopolitical Utopians (e.g., socialists of either the communist or fascist ilk). In light of this core epistemological commonality, all forms of sociopolitical Utopianism could be considered the manifestations of a trans-historical occult counterculture movement.

To understand the occult conception of science, one must first establish a working definition for traditional science. The word "science" is derived from the Latin word scientia, which means "knowing" or "knowledge." Thus, there is an epistemological dimension to science. After all, epistemology is etymologically derived from the Greek word episteme, which also means "knowing" or "knowledge." In recent years, science has been couched in the epistemology of radical empiricism, the theory that all knowledge is derived from the senses. Within such epistemologically rigid parameters, the gaze of contemporary science has been firmly fixed upon the ontological confines of the physical universe. Whether the modern scientist realizes it or cares to admit it, radical empiricism is the epistemological nucleus of the occult conception of science.

Yet, science has not always labored under such epistemological rigidity. In Confession of Nature, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz establishes the centrality of a supra-sensible God to science. According to Leibniz, the proximate origins of "magnitude, figure, and motion," which constitute the "primary qualities" of corporeal bodies, "cannot be found in the essence of the body" (de Hoyos,"The Enlightenment's Crusade Against Reason"). Linda de Hoyos reveals the point at which science finds a dilemma:

Israeli authorities threaten demolition of 500 church buildings in Jerusalem

The Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches in Jerusalem released a statement Saturday that the Israeli authorities have threatened to force the demolition of 500 buildings owned by the churches in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Church buildings under renovation in Jerusalem (photo by Herbert Bishko)

Imemc.org

Israeli forces have recently stepped up demolitions in the Old City of Jerusalem, in accordance with the Municipality's published E1 plan for the city, in which officials articulate a detailed plan to push out the Palestinian Christian and Muslim populations, while simultaneously increasing construction of Jewish-only homes and housing developments.

The church buildings in question are mainly homes owned by the church and leased to Palestinian Christian priests, nuns and families. Israeli authorities claim that renovations were done on these buildings without permits, but failed to acknowledge the lack of a permitting process for the Church to obtain the necessary permits.

In addition, many of the supposed 'renovations' listed on the demolition orders are questionable, such as one that lists a 50-square meter apartment as an 'addition' to the home of Bassam Ayyash, but in fact Ayyash's entire home is the 50-square meter apartment. Ayyash has been trying to get Israeli officials to investigate this alleged violation, but they have thus far refused.

In another example mentioned in the church statement, renter Sami Wakileh tried to go through the process to obtain a permit for a small renovation on his home. He was told by the Israeli judge, “It is a waste of your time. Do not dream of receiving any permit…”.

He tried to obtain the permit and failed, but, given the historic antiquity of his church-owned home, he had to do renovations in order to keep the home from falling down. He ended up spending over $100,000 on renovations. Now, due to the Israeli demolition orders, the whole house will end up demolished by an Israeli bulldozer.

Dozens, if not hundreds, of church-owned buildings were seized by Israeli forces during the 1948 takeover of Palestine for the creation of the state of Israel, and again during the 1967 War of aggression by Israel. These buildings were taken over by the Jewish National Fund, which owns more than 90% of the land inside what is now Israel, and rented to Jews who immigrated to Israel.

Now, Israeli forces have again declared their intent for a large-scale demolition of church-owned buildings in Jerusalem.

One church official blamed the Israeli authorities for making it increasingly difficult for the churches to obtain building permits. Both the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Catholic Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, church administrative bodies for the two main Christian branches, have received the demolition orders totalling 500 buildings.

The Essence / Energy Debate With Taylor Marshall

From Cantuar.blogspot.com

You're conflating two issues that need not be conflated. The energy/essence distinction is an issue that is related but not necessarily the same as hesychasm. Hesychasm has just become a buzzword when it needn't be. Its just ascesis, not unlike what we see in the works of the Latin St. John Cassian. Nothing is necessarily wrong with it. The problem we in the west have is the whole Energy/essence distintiion part of it all, which has marked become a greek character of this form of religious practice. Not sure what to make of E/E, except i just follow the Catholic church. Everything any other argument esp by the Orthodox about energies and so called distinctions, is just more pretext to remain in schism. Tap | 04.01.09 - 9:45 pm | #

Taylor, I think the desire to reconcile Aquinas and Palamas is following the directives and actions of John Paul II, who wanted Catholics to do everything we can to unite with our Eastern brothers and sisters. I think this is a noble effort. Obviously, the Church cannot betray her doctrines, but at the same time there is often room to acknowledge that Eastern theologians have insights that Western theologians do not (and obviously, the reverse is true). Attempts to reconcile East and West are valuable efforts, as they show us what is truly reconcilable and what is not (I have a tendency to think more is reconcilable than we might think). JPII understood this and this is what he meant by breathing with both lungs. I admire St. Thomas greatly, but he is not the only theologian we can look to for insights into the vast mysteries of our faith. No one theologian or school ever is capable of doing so. The Eastern view of the Transfiguration, for example, can do much to lead us into a deeper understanding of this great event. As a side note: Eastern Catholic Churches celebrate the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas every 2nd Sunday of Lent and Rome has not tried to stop this. If Palamas and his teaching is truly antithetical to Catholic teaching, I would think that they would have not allowed such a celebration to continue. Eric Sammons | Homepage | 04.02.09 - 6:18 am | #

The Decree of Pope St. Gelasius - The Liturgical Milieu and Protestant Bankruptcy

By: Jay Dyer

Protestants are generally clueless when it comes to the canon of Scripture. Even the best of them act as if the Bible dropped out of heaven into their academic circles, as God, of course, needs their rigorous scientific exegesis. But what's the real problem with this? The problem is that the Protestants have taken  the Bible out of it's proper context - that of the Liturgy. And, for all you Federal Visionists, the Church already has apostolic liturgies - we don't need you inventing and fabricating your own.  But at least the FV guys are moving in the right direction.

As I've stated many times in debates and discussions, the formation of the canon, whether new or old Testament, cannot be separated from the context that gave those books meaning - public liturgy. The only way we know the authorship of the texts is from Apostolic Tradition, as I've demonstrated many times, and the milieu of that Tradition was the public readings at the local liturgy. Scholars across various denominations have known this for years. This growth in the knowledge of God via liturgy and sacraments is called "mystagogy."  Eastern Orthodox theologian, Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver, explains:

"Strictly speaking, there never was a Bible in the Orthodox Church, at least not as we commonly think of the Bible as a single volume book we can hold in our hand. Since the beginning of the Church, from the start of our liturgical tradition, there has never been a single book in an Orthodox church we could point to as the Bible. Instead, the various Booksof the Bible are found scattered throughout several service books located either on the Holy Altar itself, or at the chanter's stand. The Gospels (or their pericopes) are complied into a single volume — usually bound in precious metal and richly decorated — placed on the Holy Altar." citation

Satanism, Exorcists on the Rise in Italy

Video here. We see that Satanism is merely relativism and vice versa. Apologies for the lame Pat Robertson moments.

Correcting J.N.D. Kelly: St. Cyril of Jerusalem and the Real Presence

By: Jay Dyer

Although an otherwise good introduction to patristics, Oxford patristics scholar J.N.D. Kelly's Early Christian Doctrines has a few small, strange errors I've noticed. For some reason, Kelly argued that St. Cyril of Jerusalem (circa 315-386) held to a "symbolic view of the Eucharist." Since the Catechetical Lectures are so well know, it's always been a mystery to me how he goofed on something like this.  This is one of the reasons why I usually recommend Pelikan's volume I over Kelly's to newcomers to patristics. I've tried for years to get friends to read the Catechetical Lectures to no avail, as they are excellent catechesis. They are also not one bit Protestant, which is why I wanted to write up this corrective to Kelly. We will see what St. Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, himself says about the Eucharist:

Catechetical Lecture 22

(On the Mysteries. IV.)

On the Body and Blood of Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:23

I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, how that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, etc.

1. Even of itself the teaching of the Blessed Paul is sufficient to give you a full assurance concerning those Divine Mysteries, of which having been deemed worthy, you have become of the same body and blood with Christ. For you have just heard him say distinctly, That our Lord Jesus Christ in the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks He broke it, and gave to His disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is My Body: and having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, Take, drink, this is My Blood. Since then He Himself declared and said of the Bread, This is My Body, who shall dare to doubt any longer? And since He has Himself affirmed and said, This is My Blood, who shall ever hesitate, saying, that it is not His blood?