Crookston, Minn., Sep 26, 2018 / 04:00 am (CNA).- In 1971, when Ron Vasek was 16 years old, a priest invited him to take a trip. The priest, Fr. Roger Grundhaus, was a family friend, and Ron’s parents supported the idea.
Fr. Grundhaus, a priest of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, was going to a canon law convention in Columbus, Ohio. He said he wanted Vasek to come along to help with the drive.
Vasek had looked forward to the trip. “I’d never been off the farm, basically,” he told CNA.
Vasek said that on the first day of the trip, Grundhaus bought him a beer, and continued to buy him alcohol during the trip.
On the second day of the trip, Vasek recalled, Grundhaus attended meetings in the morning, and then spent time drinking with friends. He and Grundhaus went to dinner together in the hotel’s restaurant, where the priest continued to drink as they ate their meal.
After dinner, Vasek said, the priest sexually assaulted him in their hotel room.
Vasek told CNA he fought the priest off, and then “I just kinda stared at him and then he moved back away and never said anything, didn’t do a thing. And then a little later we went to bed and it was kind of uncomfortable, but I just didn’t know what to think of it.”
“I was 16 years old, off the farm, I didn’t have a clue what was going on,” he said.
“We left there, and we drove home like nothing happened, and he never, ever, ever, said anything to me about it, for a long time, and I kinda just buried it in the back of my head. I just didn’t know what to do.”
“I never said anything to my parents,” Vasek told CNA. “Ever.”
The next year Grundhaus invited him to attend another convention, and his parents, who knew nothing about the abuse, “thought it was a great idea.”
A blizzard stopped them along the way. There were no hotel rooms in the small town where they were stopped, but an armory had been opened as a makeshift shelter to accommodate stranded travelers. They spent the night in the armory along with families and other motorists stopped by the snow.
“So that was– I guess God was watching out for me.”
Grundhaus took him on one more trip, again with encouragement from his parents. The priest tried to get him to drink scotch, he said, but he refused, and was uncomfortable being there, although he said he was not assaulted on that trip.
A few years later, when Vasek’s brother died, Grundhaus grew closer to his family. “He became really an instrumental part of the family, because he counseled mom and dad. He was there all the time.”
Vasek told CNA that he never raised the issue of his assault with his family, although he saw Grundhaus frequently as he became an adult, as they often worked together on retreat teams and other ministry initiatives.
He told CNA the abuse took a heavy toll on his life. He said that he drank often, and struggled in other areas of his life.
“I didn’t know how much that abuse affected me until I can look back on it now with a clear mind.”
Vasek said that even while the abuse had a serious impact on him, he tried not to think about it often. In fact, he told CNA, “I just kind of quit thinking about it until one day, probably ten years ago.”
Vasek was in a parish sacristy during a retreat he was leading in 2008 when Grundhaus approached him, he told CNA.
He said that Grundhaus “said he wanted to apologize for what he did in Columbus, Ohio. And he said he went to confession for it. But he said, ‘if you need any help with anything, if you made bad business decisions or if you’re struggling with anything,’ he said, ‘I have money, I can help pay for therapy or I can help you out.’”
“You know, he kind of shocked me,” Vasek said. He didn’t understand why, after decades, “all of the sudden he’s apologizing. I just said ‘Ok, I accept your apology,’ and kind of just left it at that.”
Vasek said a few days later he went to the priest’s office, asking him to swear there had been no other victims. He said Grundhaus told him he hadn’t abused anyone else.
“And then he tells me, ‘if this ever comes up, I’ll always deny it.’”
Vasek had no idea how to respond to what Grundhaus told him. “I really struggled with that, but I didn’t say anything because of the family stuff.”
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In 2010, Vasek decided to say something. At the time, he had applied to become a deacon in the Diocese of Crookston, where he still lived. His son had just become a priest in the diocese.
He said he first told a priest in the neighboring Diocese of Fargo. That diocese forwared the allegation to Bishop Michael Hoeppner, Crookston’s bishop. Hoeppner then asked Vasek for an appointment.
(Vasek said this meeting took place in 2010, while the Diocese of Crookston claims it took place in 2011.)
“When I went into the bishop’s office, there was nobody there, it was just him and I.”
“So the bishop, he just kind of, he just chews on me for five minutes,” Vasek told CNA, saying that the bishop told him that Grundhaus was a great priest, and that a “claim” about the matter could be very expensive. After a while, Vasek recalled, the bishop asked him if he intended to make a formal complaint.
“By this time,” Vasek said, “I didn’t know what the hell to think. I just put my hands up and I said ‘I just want to know if I can get through the diaconate program, knowing this information.”
Vasek said that Hoeppner told him he believed the story, adding that he shouldn’t say anything about the matter.
Vasek told CNA he agreed to keep silent. “That was the first time I had revealed my abuse in 40 years, so I was still kind of numb.”
He began the diaconal program in the diocese soon after. He said his allegation did not come up again until October 2015.
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On Oct. 21, 2015, Vasek said he was summoned to meet with Bishop Hoeppner at the bishop’s home. There, he told CNA, Hoeppner told him to sign a letter recanting his allegation against Grundhaus.
He said the bishop explained that the Fargo diocese had inquired about Vasek’s 2010 allegation against Grundhaus, and intended to forbid the priest from exercising ministry within its territory.
“We want to have Grundhaus be able to do ministry,” Vasek said Hoeppner told him, “so we need to have you sign a letter recanting your allegation.”
The letter had already been printed on diocesan stationary.
Vasek said that Hoeppner asked him, “If news of the scandal of Grundhaus gets out, how could I ordain you? Who would want you? Where would I put you? And besides, it would be very difficult on your son.”
“When he said that, I knew exactly what he meant,” Vasek told CNA. “I was sickened. Absolutely sickened.”
Vasek signed the letter.
It read: “I, Ron Vasek, regarding a trip I was on when I was 16 years old, and on which a priest of the Diocese of Crookston was also participating, clearly and freely state that I have no desire to nor do I make any accusation of sexual impropriety by the priest toward me.”
In August of that year, months before that meeting, the diocese had been ordered by a court to release the names of all priests alleged to have abused children prior to 1985. A priest of the diocese told CNA that he believes Hoeppner asked Vasek to retract his claim in order to avoid naming Grundhaus on that list.
Vasek told CNA he was stunned.
He couldn’t believe what he had experienced. He had struggled for decades to grapple with the abuse he experienced. When he told his bishop about it, he was ordered to keep silent. And now he was being asked to deny it had ever happened.
It felt, he said, “like being abused all over again.”
He thought of words he says Hoeppner said to him in 2010: “This is a cross you’re just going to have to carry.”
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For two years, Vasek did not mention the letter to his wife or family.
In February 2017 Vasek’s pastor, Fr. Xavier Ilango, recommended him for ordination as a deacon. Vasek was measured for vestments. The Diocese of Crookston mailed invitations for its upcoming diaconal ordination; Vasek’s name was listed among those who would be ordained on June 10, 2017.
But in March 2017, Vasek told CNA, he was abruptly told that his ordination might be delayed by at least a year. With almost everything prepared, he was told his pastor had raised previously unmentioned concerns, and that even though he had already been approved, he might not be ordained with his class.
CNA has obtained a copy of a letter reportedly from Vasek’s pastor, which suggested that Vasek had strained relationships with some parishioners and needed to learn to take direction better. The letter, unsigned and undated, suggested that Vasek’s ordination could be delayed a year.
CNA attempted to contact Ilango, but was told by the Diocese of Crookston that he is on sabbatical. His parish bulletin reports that he traveled to India on July 1.
On April 6, 2017, Vasek and his wife met with Hoeppner, who told them he would give more thought to the possibility of Vasek’s ordination. He seemed non-committal.
Vasek told CNA he believed his ordination was being threatened as a reminder to keep silent about the abuse he had endured, and the letter he had signed.
Vasek decided he had had enough. He decided that he could not trust Hoeppner, and could not promise to be obedient to him, which would be required at the time of his ordination. He told his story to two priests of the diocese, Fr. Robert Schreiner and Msgr. David Baumgartner.
Schreiner told CNA that he remembers Vasek saying to him, “I’ve been abused for 41 years, and now I’m still being abused.”
Schreiner and Vasek had been friends for decades. He described Vasek as a man of “integrity and honesty.” Although he was director of the diocesan diaconal program, and had previously been Hoeppner’s chancellor, he resolved to help.
Baumgartner, a canon lawyer who had previously been Hoeppner’s vicar general- the chief advisor to the bishop- also decided that he would do whatever he could to help Vasek.
Both priests told CNA they believed that Hoeppner had forced Vasek to sign the 2015 letter, and both believed that the bishop was unjustly punishing and threatening Vasek in 2017.
“I believed him,” Schreiner told Minnesota Public Radio in 2017.
“As the account unfolded with each horrifying revelation and event and name, my heart would sink lower and my mind would flinch, not wanting to believe it. But at no point during his testament that night, nor since, did my intuition click with the thought that ‘that doesn’t ring true’ or ‘that just doesn’t sound right.'”
In fact, CNA spoke with several priests and former diocesan employees in the Diocese of Crookston; none questioned the integrity of Vasek’s story.
“This was bad on so many levels,” Schreiner told CNA.
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Baumgartner told CNA that Vasek wanted to address Hoeppner’s conduct with Church authorities. Vasek hoped he could still be ordained a deacon.
But Baumgartner, Schreiner, and Vasek were uncertain how to make a complaint against their own bishop. After prayer, they decided to try the apostolic nunciature- the Vatican embassy in Washington, DC.
Baumgartner told CNA that he called the apostolic nunciature in March 2017, asking for direction about how to proceed. He said that initially, the nuncio’s office seemed “eager to get to the know the story,” and promised to provide him soon with further instructions.
He said that after weeks passed with no response, he called the nunciature again in early April, and was surprised when a staffer told him that he should not make any accusation unless he had “solid proof.”
“The attitude of the nunciature changed,” Baumgartner said. “They went from being eager to help to saying that we can’t do anything unless we had proof.”
After that conversation, Baumgartner told CNA, he decided the Vatican was unlikely to respond quickly.
“Ron’s ordination was pending. I presumed that the fact that this was a man called to orders mattered, and that the Holy See would respond appropriately, given the timeline that we found ourselves in. That expectation was completely unfounded on my part.”
“We don’t have proof,” Baumgartner added. “We have a story. But we wanted the Church to investigate that story.”
Baumgartner sent a letter to the nunciature explaining the allegation against Hoeppner on April 11, 2017. He asked for advice about how to proceed. Then he waited for a response.
In the meantime, Vasek sent a letter directly to Hoeppner, on April 29, 2017.
“It is my deepest desire to serve in the Diocese of Crookston as a deacon,” Vasek wrote.
“In October of 2015, you asked me to sign a letter to renounce my accusation of sexual abuse against Msgr. Roger Grundhaus….Before I signed it I declared to you that the letter was a lie, and you determined that I should sign it.”
“I renounce that letter as a lie,” Vasek added.
“In another conversation, you asked if I intended to file a law suit regarding my sexual abuse. I would like you to know that I retain the right to seek justice in this matter by legal and canonical means.”
Vasek doubted that he would ever be ordained a deacon in Crookston after that letter was sent. But he wanted the truth to come out.
On May 13, 2017, Baumgartner sent packets to several Vatican offices, including the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formally alleging misconduct on the part of Hoeppner. He reports that he received a response to those complaints in late June of that year, when the nunciature wrote to him, saying that his complaint to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had been forwarded to the Congregation for Clergy. The letter offered no other information.
“Msgr. Baumgartner sent letters to four offices of the Vatican,” Vasek told CNA.
“The only that happened was that the nuncio told Bishop Hoeppner to investigate Grundhaus,” Vasek said, adding that there was no acknowledgement of the complaint about Hoeppner.
Vasek was looking for justice. By the time the Vatican responded to say his complaint had been transferred from one office to another, Vasek had already begun a different process.
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On May 9, Vasek sued Bishop Hoeppner and the Diocese of Crookston. On the same day, Grundhaus was suspended from ministry.
If he’d felt that Church authorities would work toward justice, Vasek would not have sued, several sources told CNA.
“Our preference was to have the Church respond,” Baumgartner said. But when the nunciature did not seem willing to respond quickly, they decided to proceed with a lawsuit.
The lawsuit is a controversial matter for many sources CNA spoke with. Vasek’s lawyer is Jeffrey Anderson, a Minnesota attorney who has led litigation against dioceses in several states, and advocated for changes to statutes of limitation for clergy sexual abuse victims. Critics have called Anderson an opportunist, and argued that his tactics have aimed to bankrupt the Church even when dioceses are willing to help victims of sexual abuse, all while he has collected attorney’s fees for his work.
Anderson has also been accused of paying kickbacks to victims’ advocacy groups that refer potential clients to him, although he denies that allegation.
Vasek was unsure about Anderson. So were his friends. The priests had worked in the curia while Anderson sued their own diocese. But they said that no other qualified lawyer would take their case.
CNA attempted to contact two law firms Vasek says he approached. One said it would not comment on clients or potential clients, and the other did not respond to requests for comment.
Schreiner said Vasek reluctantly went to Anderson, and was clear from the beginning that he did not want his lawsuit to harm the Church. He said Vasek insisted he wanted justice, and for the truth to come out.
Some aspects of the lawsuit have been settled. The letter Vasek signed was returned to him, after being recovered from the diocese by Crookston police.
Vasek also reached a financial settlement with the diocese, the amount of which is undisclosed. He told CNA the settlement was modest, and that he would save it for his retirement.
Other parts of the lawsuit continue, some of which pertain to Grundhaus himself, and the abuse Vasek alleges took place in 1971. Some have to do with the diocesan response to abuse.
The goal of the lawsuit, Vasek emphasized, “is to get to the truth.”
“The money means crap to me,” he said. “I want the truth to come out.”
“To expose these guys for covering up an abuse that happened. The bishop has admitted breaking the rules that Pope Francis laid down,” Vasek said.
“And just to clean up the diocese, period.”
“The homosexual subculture of the priesthood is well and vibrant in this diocese and has been for years,” Vasek said. “That culture has been in our diocese for a long time.”
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Vasek and his supporters told CNA they hoped that Church authorities would intervene to help with the situation, even after the lawsuit was underway.
On March 28, 2018, a year after Ron Vasek’s ordination was delayed, his son Fr. Craig Vasek, sent a letter to the president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Cardinal Sean O’Malley.
CNA obtained a copy of that letter.
Fr. Vasek, who declined to be interviewed for this story, wrote that Hoeppner was “prepared to do anything…to avoid addressing this matter.”
“All we want is the truth,” Fr. Vasek wrote, adding that “if you give me the chance, you can be the judge of our situation.”
“To be fair, we are pursuing the regular course of action, but the systems in place are not going to help,” he wrote.
“I am writing to you because you are good, trustworthy, and just. And we are in grave need, now.”
The priest asked O’Malley for a brief meeting, offering to fly to Boston, or arrange a phone call or video conference.
On May 2, 2018, the Archdiocese of Boston sent Fr. Vasek a reply to his letter.
“We are sorry to know of the difficulties currently presented to you, your family, and the Diocese of Crookston. Although the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, of which Cardinal O’Malley serves as President, does not have oversights or jurisdiction for any allegations or cases concerning sexual abuse by clergy, we are aware that these are very difficult matters.”
“Thank you for understanding that with regard to any matters concerning clergy personnel in the Diocese of Crookston or any civil or canonical complaints concerning the diocese, we must necessarily respect the jurisdiction and oversight of the Diocesan Bishop and those diocesan officials appointed to assist with such matters. We hope that this information may be helpful for you.”
The letter, which concluded with a promise of prayers, was signed by Fr. Robert Kickham, secretary to Cardinal O’Malley.
On Aug. 20, after reports surfaced about a 2015 letter sent to him by Fr. Boniface Ramsey, a priest concerned with the behavior of now-disgraced Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, O’Malley issued a public apology for failing to personally review Ramsey’s letter, and pledged to modify the procedures of his office.
A source in the Archdiocese of Boston told CNA that the cardinal’s office contacted Fr. Vasek shortly after that apology was issued, inviting the priest to meet with O’Malley.
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CNA requested to interview Hoeppner, but the Diocese of Crookston declined that request. Instead, CNA was referred to four statements released by the diocese.
The first statement, issued May 9, 2017, said that “Bishop Hoeppner categorically denies that he in any way forced, coerced or encouraged Mr. Vasek not to pursue his allegations regarding Msgr. Grundhaus.”
“Msgr. Vasek’s allegations of abuse regarding Msgr. Grundhaus were reported to law enforcement in 2011.” Multiple sources told CNA that it was the Fargo diocese, and not the Diocese of Crookston, that reported the allegations to law enforcement in that year.
The next statement, a May 14, 2017 letter addressed to Catholics in the Diocese of Crookston, reiterated Hoopner’s denial, adding that “there are two sides to every story and there is another, a very different side to the story reported last week.”
CNA supplied specific questions to the Diocese of Crookston, asking for the other side of the story, but the diocese declined to answer those questions.
The third statement, issued September 20, 2017, after the first aspects of the lawsuit were settled, said that the settlement reached “avoids costly attorney fees and a drawn out legal process. The settlement agreement does not constitute any admission of unlawful conduct or wrong doing by Bishop Hoeppner. No diocesan funds were used to pay the settlement. The Diocese is now seeking dismissal of the remaining claims related to this matter.”
The fourth statement, issued September 27, 2017, in Hoeppner’s name, said that the bishop “did not pressure Mr. Vasek to remain quiet when we met in 2011 or when we met again in 2015. Mr. Vasek had indicated to me that he wanted the alleged incident to remain confidential. I attempted to abide by his wishes.”
“I was willing to ordain Mr. Vasek as a permanent deacon. He attended the final deacon formation weekend in late April, along with the other deacon candidates. Mr. Vasek chose not to be ordained for diaconal ministry. I respect his decision.”
“Looking back and knowing what I do now, I believe I would have handled my conversations with Mr. Vasek differently. However, please know that I did not pressure Mr. Vasek into making any decision with which he was not comfortable,” Hoeppner’s statement added.
“I continue to pray for all those involved in this matter. No one should ever be subject to inappropriate sexual conduct. I ask all Catholics and people of good will to pray for healing for all those who have suffered abuse.”
CNA was unable to reach Grundhaus.
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Hoeppner, 69, was ordained a priest by Pope Paul VI in 1975, after studies at the Pontifical North American College. After earning a licentiate in canon law, and serving as a teacher, educational administrator, and director of vocations, he became the Diocese of Winona’s judicial vicar in 1988, and the vicar general of that diocese in 1997.
He was appointed Bishop of Crookston Sept. 28, 2007.
On Aug. 22, after the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing sexual abuse in six dioceses of that state, Hoeppner wrote in a pastoral letter that “All victims are owed sincere apologies for what those entrusted with leadership in the Church have done and have failed to do.”
“It is important that we promise to continue, with renewed effort, our commitment to build in the Church, as Pope Francis puts it, ‘a culture of care that says `never again’ to any form of abuse.’”
“Changes are necessary so that sins and failures of the past are not repeated,” he added.
CNA contacted the press office of the Holy See for comment on the status of any canonical investigation against Hoeppner, but received no response before press time.
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Vasek told CNA that, through everything he has experienced, his faith has not been shaken.
“I know that these men are not what Christ envisioned for his Church. Judas betrayed the Lord. People will betray the Lord all the time. I know what the Church teaches.”
“I encourage people to keep going to Church,” Vasek added.
“I tell everybody, don’t leave the Church because of these rotten men. That’s just what the devil wants. The devil wants to destroy from within. I say keep going to Church. Keep up with the sacraments. Keep praying. Because Christ’s Church is good. Some of the men in it aren’t.”
“I know who Christ is. He hasn’t done anything to me, other than give me hope.”
[…]
“Some social media commentators were deeply offended”. REALLY??? And so were some ordinary Catholics. And these folks have been moving out the door for some time because of inappropriate experimentation and the abandonment of traditional Catholic teaching. This will increase exponentially if this “anything goes” experimentation and refusal to set standards of truth remains in play for the church. Its fine to appreciate other cultures and learn about their beliefs. But when you grant them access and put them on the same footing, dont be shocked when a great deal is permanently damaged. Why are we not shocked that some in the church no longer believe in the real presence? Think that it is ok to bless homosexual unions? Native American belief is very interesting to me culturally, but would never be placed on the same footing as my Catholic belief. Treating people of different beliefs with respect is NOT the same as granting them equivalent legitimacy where your religion is concerned. Going down this road hoisting the banner of diversity and “niceness” is much easier than turning back around. In some cases we will be SO far down the road that turning back will no longer be possible.This Mass was a grave, grave error and if the Pope lacks the gumption to say something, I hope other Cardinals and Bishops do so. And make it clear an episode like this is not to be repeated. Maybe the church should also stop giving so much “latitude” for “adapting the liturgy” to local cultures and stick to what is standard. Nobody is forcing you to be a Catholic. Accept it as is, or continue on your search elsewhere.
I wouldn’t want to be the messenger who has to tell Pope Francis that the Vatican’s Pachemama statue didn’t arrive in San Bernardino in time for the opening diocesan Synod Mass.
They did manage to make do with what they have.
Who needs the Pachamama if you have the Aztec demon taking her place?
Reminds me of when King Mannaseh when he placed the Asherah pole in the temple. Babylon followed.
Good one.
I found TLM 10 years ago like mant others, and have rarely looked back except in anger and pity LJ. Pity for all the honest folks who have had their inner sancturies smashed to smitherines since that fateful Conclave of 1958, and anger that my vocation along with thousands of others was smashed by the movements and networks that have poisoned the Church, her seminaries, her Parishes from the network of Rampolla, down through the P2, and landing at rock bottom in the Sankt Gallen Lavender Wolves today. Take Heart. Summorum Pontificum is not killable, whilst the living Pope who wrote it survives! And as he is a living Doctor of the Church, it will be restored and framed by a future fully valid Pope. In the meantime, find the real Latin Mass and once again find yourself leaving a Catholic Church with the wonderful sense of having lived the Holy Mass. Treat yourself and your soul to the Real McCoy! The transition phase takes a few months, then the latin prayers take hold of you and carry you through the storm. You once again look forward to Sunday Mass, knowing whats going to take place! An end to the bolderdash fluffy pastry homiletics too…
Francis is the valid pope, whether one likes it or not. Perhaps instead of questioning that, you should pray for him instead?
Believe me, I do, so do my many fellow parishioners. But I only see him now as Bergoglio, not the pope, nor the Vicar of Christ (which he refuses to identify himself as anyway).
“The Synod on Synodality”?
“Prayer to the Four Directions”?
This is a joke, right? I mean, do these people even listen to themselves?
I agree with all you say, LJ. What has occurred here is not only “a grave, grave error” but also a hideous sacrilege and blasphemy. However, isn’t the real problem with it that most of the people in the “Diocese” of San Bernardino had already ceased to be Catholic before this act of mass apostasy occurred? Survey after survey over the past 60 years has shown that huge majorities of “Catholics” do not believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist and gladly accept contraception, abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, and transgenderism. Is it really surprising then that they and their hireling “Bishop” introduce the Aztec jaguar-demon Texcatilpoca as part of their “Mass”? Calling on them to accept the Church as it is fails to recognize that for years now they have “continue[d] [their] search elsewhere”. And moreover, I ask how can you and I somehow be in communion with them?
I have only one question to you all dear readers and cwr staffers:
What have this anything to do with the Holy Catholic Church?
Wake up people!
I mean it, wake up!
And yet I see again today, in another forum, sedevacantists and other “rigorists” being savaged for a host of relatively minor flaws, while the cesspool that our church has become is stirred by pagans, atheists, and perverts of every description, with no end in sight. But gee, at least it’s a unified cesspool. That’s what counts.
This is not Catholicism. This is paganism. It is worship of false gods. It is in violation of the very 1st Commandment. We have a Church run amok.
Seems like a concerned start to Frances Synodal Path right off the blocks? “Margins of Society” is a slippery term to me. Partisanship will most likely end this process in the end. Maybe some good result, I don’t know. If it can last that long and in the end I feel it will run off the rails, out of energy, lose interest.
If this is any inclination of the start, good luck
What did anyone believe would transpire when theological illiterates and far worse emerge to give the Church into the hands of a thinly veiled Marxist proletariat? And then we have the modeling of the Supreme Pastor venerating, reverencing, a deity from the confections of pantheism. Wait until Romper Room Katholicism ends its Synod on Synodality. Many are convicted that we will be rescued from this abomination in the short term. We are generations away from bringing the corrective to this abomination. The Bergoglian Captivity is with us for a few more generations at least and when it terminates Jerusalem will be found in utter ruin.
When the Son of Man returns will He find any faith on the earth?
Don’t worry, the chastisement promised by Our Lady of Akita is coming.
Yes, thankfully ours and most CWR readers. We have to be united, we have to be strong and courageous, passionate and powerful. We know Who is in charge, definitely not Bergoglio.
Good people walking in a tomb of cosmic dimensions. But they are walking together.
Vatican II opened the floodgates for changes to Mass protocol so I wouldn’t get too excited over this. What about the hippie style masses.
My first thought was that if Jesus had come to North America he would have made many friends with the Indians.
Is that before or after they scalped Him? Before or after they threw His bones to the four corners of the winds and shrunk His head into their totem pole?
This act of pagan worship follows in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who on October 4, 2019, attended an act of idolatrous worship of the pagan goddess Pachamama as a special prelude to the opening of the Amazon Synod, allowing the idolatry to take place in the Vatican Gardens where he blessed a wooden image of Pachamama.
Nothing more reflects the condition of the Catholic institution (not the Church) than these all-to-common “ceremonies” worshiping the creature rather than the Creator. Remember the “Catholic Churches” that held gay pride masses in 2019? This, too, reflects a “Catholic” people worshiping the creature rather than the Creator.
This is the spirit of the worldwide synodal path initiated by Pope Francis.
Read Romans 1:18-32. It is worth noting that when man exchanges the truth about God for a lie and worships and serves the creature rather than the Creator (idolatry, paganism), the first indication that God has given them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity is that they dishonor their bodies by exchanging natural same-sex relations for unnatural relations (Rom 1:26-27).
The continued silence from Rome is nothing less than acceptance, permission, support. Whether intended to be such or not.
In the weeks following Francis’ blessing of Earth Mother idol and granting her a place of honor in a side alter at St. Peter’s Basilica, from Wuhan, China, the Coronavirus began to spread throughout the world. Francis followed his egregious first idolatrous act by denying priests use of those same side altars to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Next, the Vatican and worldwide Episcopate locked Church doors and dispensed everyone from the sacraments. Francis said Easter Mass to an empty basilica.
If anyone feels the need to scratch his head about this chain of apostatic cause/effect events, I’ve got land in heaven to sell.
I pray that whatever repercussions there may be from this may be confined to San Bernardino. We already have our own problems in San Diego.
You and “merion” make the obvious point very well: this abomination differs little from the travesty that occurred at the Pachamama synod and bears the stamp of approval from the Francis Vatican. Those crude and simplistic social media commentators who CNA deplores correctly observe that this goes well beyond being liturgically abusive; it amounts to nothing less than pagan idolatry at a Catholic Church with a bishop presiding. Perhaps a well credentialled seminary professor will make an appearance and explain how we uncharitable rubes have it completely wrong.
Also, as others here remind us, these people want to suppress the Latin Mass while mockeries like this are allowed, or rather, encouraged, to flourish. They don’t only want to kill the Latin Mass, they also intend to destroy Bendict’s reform of the New Mass as well. This is total war and the other side will settle for nothing less than unconditional surrender.
Pagan prayers are allowed but the traditional, Latin Mass is not. The Catholic culture of the past is replaced by the pagan and savage culture of the future. Diversity exists for everyone except Catholics attached to the Church founded by Jesus Christ and his disciples.
I’ve attended ethnic masses, the beauty of the Catholic mass is in it’s variances. Church to church, city to city, state to state no two are identical. My only question in this instance would be, are the performers members of the congregation? If so, then it’s an expression of the church community. If not, were they hired to provide a colorful backdrop to the the political statement the Bishop wished to make regarding Synod.
Frankly, there are not supposed to be “variances” in a Catholic Mass. This is not a “fly by the seat of your pants” service. Some Protestant services are “flexible” but ours are not. There is a grave danger in letting people improvise whatever they wish in the name of cultural diversity during Mass. Do you recall the recent case of a priest who saw the taped version of his baptism and realized he was never validly Baptized because the priest who conducted the Baptism improvised the words of Baptism? Meaning all his subsequent sacraments, including his ordination and thus all the sacraments HE had administered as a priest (weddings, confessions, last rites) were also not valid. It was an awful mess.The church has enough problems with sex abusing Priests who violate both the laws and their vows, politicians who trade on their catholicism, and a church hierarchy so fearful of public backlash they refuse to talk about sin in any way.They dont need worship services that wing it.Again, this is like people wanting to join a club and then change all the rules to suit themselves.
May the backlashes continue!
It might be that it’s the backlash and not open-minded synodality itself, that will be the real working of the Holy Spirit. As G.K. Chesterton put it: “Do not be so open-minded that your brains fall out.”
And, about synodality as an “endless journey” now possibly in all four directions!—Instead, this from Pope Leo XIII, Divinum Illud (May 4, 1897) and Mirae caritatis (May 28, 1902):
“The Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops to rule the Church of God, which he hath purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28);” and “…The Eucharist, according to the testimony of the holy Fathers, should be regarded as in a manner of continuation [!] and extension [!] of the Incarnation.”
So, as for our bishops as successors of the apostles, this too from G.K. Chesterton:
“Those runners gather impetus as they run. Ages afterwards they still speak as if something had just happened. The have not lost the speed and momentum of messengers; they have hardly lost, as it were, the wild eyes of witnesses….[the message] is not pessimistic; it is still as optimistic as St. Francis of the flowers and birds [and Francis’ planet earth….] For these men serve a mother who seems to grow more beautiful as new generations rise up and call her blessed. We might sometimes fancy that the Church grows younger as the world grows old” (“The Everlasting Man,” 1925).
And, as for the unconverted Pachamama and now the Aztec jaguar-demon Texcatilpoca—eat your hearts out! But try not to be so literal about it…
Modern attempts to “include” and “respect” various cultures seem to be unaware that the thousands of people who converted to the Catholic Faith throughout history had no problem embracing the Catholic faith without all of these concessions to pagan practice. They converted despite vast differences between their culture and the cultures of those who brought the faith to them. Wake up!!! The current, modern approach isn’t respecting them, it is denying them true inclusion.
A return to the sixties liturgical silliness. After Pachamamma on the grass worship Vatican style most are gun shy. Franciscans in our Southwest where I served had ages to do it right. What they learned is that the forbidden traditional Mass appealed more to the transient raider Navajo, Apache, the Pueblo [village people] Laguna, Acoma centuries earlier. Christ’s revelation presented faithfully in the Mass touched their inherent interests. What we all have in common. Matteo Ricci SJ was a revolutionary in China whose innovative use of the vernacular and customs caused back and forth papal sanctions. San Bernardino’s unhappy experiment will hopefully take the same route back to a liturgy that appeals to faith in Christ rather than ethnic adoration and the religion of diversity.
It’s time Catholics started thinking and acting like Jesus. Seems the church is awash with those who like the Phillistines are searching for ways to attack those that reach out to welcome and embrace those marginalized and sinners. Why do we expect any difference when it happened while Christ was himself accused by those who prefer to keep the letter of the law while ignoring the heart of it.
‘…letter of the law.’
Really?
You are equating the Sacrifice of the Mass to a welcoming orgy of cultures in real time? There are so many opportunities to welcome ‘marginalized’ people or cultures in the parish outside the Mass. By combining both you seriously denigrate the Mass and take the concentration of those attending away from the worship of Christ to a feel good nothingness. And the marginalized realize the Mass can be interrupted and cannot be all that solemn.
Where is the Scripture verse or in Acts is there any mention whatsoever of the spirit versus the letter of the law in regard to the Last Supper? Where is the evidence in the first few centuries of the Church that the Mass was indeed the vehicle for the presentation for that which never belonged there in the Rite from the beginning?
Indeed. The essence of the Last Supper and the Passion and Death of Christ which the Mass continues is the taking, thanking, breaking and giving of the Bread of Life. The ‘marginalized’ are all sinners; all are equally lost, found, and loved by Christ. To attend, during the Mass, on only one subgroup of Mass participant is to discriminate and exclude the others. IT IS NOT ABOUT any one’s culture. It is about what HE has done for every person of every culture, every last marginalized one.
Betty, let me better state my poorly expressed intention above. Where I’ve served in missionary settings the Southwest and East Africa there were many instances of incorporating indigenous music, drumming, sometimes dance. African sisters chanted softly, rhythmically shuffled to receive the Eucharist. At a Kiowa funeral Mass I offered the liturgy was supplemented by traditional mourning chants and drumming, among the Jicarilla Apache similar [one deceased Apache chief’s face was painted red in accord with custom]. Similar liturgical supplement to the liturgy among the Maasai added to the principle Catholic liturgy. Although in one instance at a Franciscan Mass with Zuni a shaman sprinkled blue corn powder as a spirit blessing. That posed an issue because our faith in Christ and manner of worship while it may be supplemented cannot be replaced. The same allegiance to Christ holds true regarding the heart of the Law. Faith in Christ reveals the heart of the Law, which is to love the Father in spirit and in truth. Merciful love was absent among Pharisees who observed the letter but lacked that merciful love for sinners, and for anyone. As a priest I often intermingle with persons called sinners. Although, if, as a priest I decline to teach repentance for the remission of sins then it is no longer love of Christ that I teach, rather love of self and accommodation of sin. The heart of the Law compels us to conform our life to Christ, and remove from our own life that which offends him. Anything else is a religion of self gratification. Meditate on what I say and ask whether the love of Our Lord actually means to live and act just as he did.
Our faith in Christ can be supplemented?
Christ needs to be supplemented? Really? No wonder the Church is going down the gurgler.
I’ll stand by my witness to Christ in the missions, and your insults a blessing.
Fr Peter, with deep respect, surely the trick of the Vatican II infiltrates was to equate the sacred liturgy with colonial behaviour in order to sack Rome? “Taking people where they are at” is for after the Sacred Mysteries, not during… Hymns allowed for vernacular expression, and that was sufficient. The sledge hammer used to smash the church drew honest priests down the protestant liturgical circus invention avenue. And Catholics must be kind: priests had to be in that mould to get ordained… But since Summorum Pontificum things have changed. And now with 60 years of aftersight, the wreck is painful to behold. The Protestant movement itself was, afterall, part of the 400 year Masonic attack on Christendom. The Council of Trent recognised what Christendom was up against and took action. Vatican II caved in to the Rampolla network – the woodworm that had burrowed its way into the heart of the Council chamber like rarely before… That does not mean masses apeing protestantism have given no spiritual fruits, nor that the sincerity of worship was not pleasing to the Lord. The harm done was structural and historical to the Universal edifice: and that was the aim of the Sankt Gallens of your day. Freemasonry is built on the systematic destruction of the Roman Catholic Church. It is a cruel reality we are all waking up to. Many intelligent, sincere, loving priests were hoodwinked on board for the Transform the Church trip in a Yellow Submarine. I hope no offense willbe taken. Aged 50, I have to accept that I too was hoodwinked by the Vatican II coup d’état in my youth.
I think you’d be happier attending a clown mass or this nonsense, Betty. Thinking that Christ would be pleased with the growing frequency of liturgical abuses and the worship of pagans is indicative that you really don’t comprehend Jesus Christ at all.
“Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:17
Gary, The video posting actually contains two signs of hope:
1) Most of the participating 100 or so clowns had gray or white hair;
2) Youngsters numbered about 5-6.
“Philistines”? The people known as the Philistines were long from the region of Philistia before the time of Christ. Perhaps you are talking about people who are hostile to art and culture. However, these “philistines” wouldn’t necessarily be people who hold to the letter of the law or attack people who reach out to sinners. Surely you intended to say “Pharisees”.
It will be noted that none of the innovations noted in this piece are present in the Latin Mass. Performers? Really?
The lack of innovation in the TLM may in fact be the real reason the papacy of Francis has severely restricted its celebration. Modernistic practices and abuses have no place in TLM rubrics.
Requiring a priest to request Vatican permission before he celebrates the TLM is like requiring a kindergartener to obtain a pass before he may visit the bathroom.
Have you ever heard the Album “Missa Luba?” That was a reverent Latin Mass which incorporated indigenous tribal music forms. Beautiful and inspiring. However, it sounds to me like this Riverside Mass was not that but deliberate infusion of pagan theology.
“ It’s time Catholics started thinking and acting like Jesus …”
Right. Because Jesus wove rituals to Baal and Mithra into temple worship.
When it comes to the synod on synodality, this sort of thing is a feature not a bug.
The point is to subvert Catholicism and real religion.
Show it the contempt it deserves.
A bad sign of the times that is happening now. The best description of San Bernardino’s Synod Mass is that it is a WOKE joke. None of the performers’ featherly recitations to some god(?), or wearing indigenous WOKE clothing should ever be part of the Holy Mass; especially in today’s world.
These abuses and demon idol worship garbage must stop. Protestants are mocking us over this and using outrages like this to paint us as non-Christian pagans, to insult and denigrate our faith. It’s discouraging young Catholics worldwide and making them question their faith.
Protestants are doing nothing of the sort, and saying so is disrespectful and slanderous. Protestants have seen the same activities in many of the mainline denominations as they have slid into liberalism. It’s now a faith without faith. What’s happening in the RC Church is just a symptom of the broader spiritual decay permeating the culture.
So, shall the San Bernardino diocese now be called simply “The Joke”
I am sure a more miserable excuse for a Catholic diocese can be found but at the moment I am stumped.
And they wonder why Catholics don’t believe in the True Presence of the Eucharist! What a clown show.
Fr Peter, with deep respect, surely the trick of the Vatican II infiltrates was to equate the sacred liturgy with colonial behaviour in order to sack Rome? With TLM hindsight, “Taking people where they are at” is for after the Sacred Mysteries, not during… Hymns allowed for vernacular expression, and that was sufficient. The harm done was structural and historical to the Universal edifice: and that was the aim of the infiltrates. Freemasonry is built on the systematic destruction of Rome.
This has less to do with synodality and more to do with syncretism. Christ has already given the Church her mission. It is called the Great Commission:
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The Commissioning of the Disciples
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16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20 RSVCE)
Since we are an offshoot of Judaism, I think we can borrow a lot from our Jewish sisters and brothers. I learned from an acquaintance why he is Orthodox. His father is a rabbi and explained that, all throughout history, there have been factions who wanted to eradicate Jews. So, if they started out with a watered-down version of the faith, those people may have succeeded.
Sounds very familiar to me as we seem to keep diluting that which I grew up with!
This post was truly worthwhile to read. I wanted to say thank you for the key points you have pointed out as they are enlightening.