How Homosexuals Are Taking Over Schools And How To Counter Them

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Like most things in history, public opinion is shaped by rhetoric. The words we use, and how we use them, are important in shaping the way society views things, especially when those words are repeated unceasingly in today's popular media. The radical Homosexual Left understood this all too well during the 1990s, and so it is time we take a lesson from them to turn the tables....

(LifesiteNews) - In the early 90’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered (GLBT) activists in Massachusetts sought to indoctrinate school children with homosexual values. GLBT activist Kevin Jennings, who was later appointed by President Obama as the assistant deputy secretary of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools inside the Department of Education, masterminded the scheme of gay anti-bullying programs as a perfect inroad into the otherwise resistant classrooms of the nation.

“If the Radical Right can succeed in portraying us as preying on children, we will lose,” warned Jennings in a 1995 speech to fellow GLBT activists outlining his strategy. “Their language–‘promoting homosexuality’–is laced with subtle and not-so-subtle innuendo that we are ‘after their kids.’”

Jennings argued that the key to success lay in “framing” the issue in another way, to the advantage of the GLBT cause.

The strategy consists in linking the GLBT cause to “universal values” that everyone in the community has in common, such as “safety.” One then builds on this universal value the idea that “homophobia” represents a “threat” to students’ safety since it creates a “climate where violence, name-calling, health problems, and suicide are common.” From this point, one simply promotes legislation and programs for schools that frames the GLBT agenda in the language of these universal values.

“This framing short-circuited their arguments and left them back-pedalling from day one,” boasted Jennings. “[N]o one could speak up against our frame and say, ‘Why, yes, I do think students should kill themselves:’ This allowed us to set the terms for debate....

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So that's how they got us. It was a very clever move, but it is flawed. To regain control we must reframe the debate (as they did) focusing on the issues of "religious and cultural sensitivities." After all, we all want to live in a free society - right? We don't want people being oppressed or ostracized for their religious beliefs - right? We certainly can't have people feeling "uncomfortable" or "alienated" because of their culture - right? So what this really comes back to is tolerance, specifically tolerance for Christians, Jews and Muslims. Even more specifically, we have to recognize that certain expressions of Christianity, like Catholicism for example, have not now, nor ever, viewed homosexuality positively. Asking a good practicing Catholic to accept homosexuality as "normal" is the equivalent of asking a practicing Hindu to eat beef, or a practicing Muslim to eat pork. It is offensive and demeaning, especially for a child. Thus people of the Catholic persuasion simply MUST be allowed to express their beliefs on the subject, or else it falls under "religious discrimination" and "cultural intolerance." This too is a health and safety issue, because if students feel their religion and culture is not respected, they could become target to bullying, which in turn results in stress, eating disorders, poor sleeping patterns, low self-esteem and ultimately depression and suicide. We certainly can't have that in our schools now can we?

I think if parents, and Christian ministries of various types, would ally together to push this cause through the schools, using similar demands for "public awareness" and "cultural safety training" for public school officials, as well as other similar demands for a "safe environment" for people of faith, I believe it would go a long way toward undoing some of the damage done to schools by the radical homosexual Left, or at least neutralize some of the damage done.

I think a good place to start would be with a short 15 minute video (and perhaps some 30 second commercials) depicting various Christian children with eating disorders, depression and suicidal tendencies; all because they feel rejected by their teachers and peers because of their religious faith. We can start with something a bit more exotic, such as Muslim and Hindu children, then gradually move into Catholic and Evangelical children. Mixing them together, and making no distinction between them, other than it is the DUTY of all educators to understand their various religious and cultural sensitivities, so they may respect them and make the child feel "positive" about them.

This type of strategy is a way of turning Multiculturalism and Political Correctness against itself using concerns about "health and safety" as the driving force. It worked for the sodomites, it should work for us too. Let's give it a try. If you agree, please share this article.

ASSUMED

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Today is the Holy Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The Feast of the Assumption is when Catholics, Anglicans and Eastern Orthodox Christians remember that the Blessed Virgin Mary was Assumed (Translated or Raptured) into heaven at the end of her life.  This is similar to the way in which the Patriarch Enoch and the Prophet Elijah were Assumed to heaven in a similar way, having never tasted death or corruption.  Belief in the assumption of Mary was widely accepted by the early Christians, in spite of what our Evangelical friends would have us believe, and to this day there are no relics left behind of the Blessed Virgin.  This is highly unusual when one considered that the early Christians saved and venerated every bone and fragment of high profile Christians who had died.  The skeletons of Saints Peter and Paul can be found in Rome to this day.  Likewise, portions of all the original apostles and Biblical characters are venerated in shrines all throughout Europe and the Middle East.  Yet nothing remains of Jesus and Mary.  Their bodies are gone, having left this earth behind in total.  Jesus having ascended into Heaven, and Mary having been assumed (translated or raptured) into heaven.

Vatican Cardinals Explain Reason Catholics Lose Faith

A Traditional Style Novus Ordo Mass

(Catholic Herald) - A weakening of faith in God, a rise in selfishness and a drop in the number of people going to Mass can be traced to liturgical abuse or Masses that are not reverent, two Vatican cardinals and a consultant have said.

US Cardinal Raymond Burke, head of the Vatican’s supreme court, said: “If we err by thinking we are the centre of the liturgy, the Mass will lead to a loss of faith.”

Cardinal Burke and Spanish Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, spoke yesterday at a book launch in Rome.

The book, published only in Italian, was written by Fr Nicola Bux, who serves as a consultant to the congregations for the doctrine of the faith and for saints’ causes and to the office in charge of papal liturgies.

The English translation of Fr Bux’s book title would be, How to Go to Mass and Not Lose Your Faith...

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THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Hate to say I told ya so, (well actually I love to say it), but I told ya so!!! Lex Orandi Lex Credendi, or "The Law of Prayer is the Law of Faith." A watered-down banal liturgy produces a watered-down boring faith which in the end results in a lack of faith entirely. Liturgical innovations (i.e. "abuses") only exacerbate the problem. If local Catholic parishes want to energize youth and revitalize parishioners than there is only one way to do it, and that is to bring back the old customs and start celebrating the liturgy with cheerful reverence. Seriously! Pastors listen up. I'm as serious as a heart attack here. If you want to breathe new life into your parish, this is how you do it...

1. Arrange the altar and liturgical furniture in the most reverent way possible, bringing attention to the altar as the center of attention, with the tabernacle in a central location (if physically possible).  
2. Place a crucifix at the center of the altar so that the priest is always facing Christ, and arrange the altar candles symmetrically on either side of the crucifix, so that the crucifix on the altar becomes the symmetrical center of attention in the chapel.  (Again, having the tabernacle centrally located aids in this process as well.)
3. Once the furniture is arranged properly, make provision for the people to kneel for communion using movable kneeler benches if no altar rail is available.  (Prepare your congregation for this in the homilies leading up to the transition.)
4. Consider the logistics of celebrating the mass ad orientem in your chapel.  Is it possible?  Is it practical?  If so, how could you make it happen?  It's not always necessary, but it certainly does help in adding a feeling of reverence to the mass.  The symbolism of the ad orientem posture is magnificent as well.  (If you decide to use it, be sure to prepare your congregation for this in the homilies leading up to the transition.)
5. The last preparation that is needed is for your altar servers.  First, change the rules in your parish to reflect the following.  Your altar servers are going to get a whole lot more involved, so make it a new rule that your altar servers must be males over the age of 16.  Younger children (male or female) may only serve as torch bearers and collectors for the offering.  All persons assisting should be coordinated with the same type and color of vestment.  If girls are assisting the vestment should be a white (or off white) alb.  If girls are not assisting the vestment may be a cassock (usually black) with a white surplice.   There is considerable controversy over the use of girls assisting in the mass.  Ideally, all person assisting should be male.  However, in those cases where it is too difficult to eliminate girls assisting because of a long standing parish tradition, changing the rules to only allow males over the age of 16 to directly assist at the altar should be a sufficient compromise for the time being.  These changes are absolutely necessary in order to make the necessary liturgical adjustments to follow.
6. Make your new altar servers study the rubrics of the old Latin mass for altar servers.  This will serve as a foundation for the changes to be made in your celebration of the new vernacular mass.  In everywhere permissible by the GIRM, implement these traditional elements into the altar servers' duties.  These will be done by the men over 16 years of age only.
7. Instruct your choir to learn traditional Catholic music from Gregorian chant to traditional hymns.  These will be integrated into the liturgy and most especially all psalms will be chanted during the liturgy.  Plainchant may be used for the responsorial psalm so that the congregation can more easily participate. 
8. In all things careful attention must be paid to the GIRM, and as a general rule, where the GIRM is silent, ancient tradition (rather than modern innovation) should prevail.
9. Use incense -- FREQUENTLY -- especially on Sundays.  If members of your congregation complain, it's because they're not used to it.  Smelling incense is part of being Catholic.  If it bothers their allergies, tell them to sit away from the altar and center isle.  (As a person with severe asthma and allergies, I can personally testify that incense is NOT a threat to my health.  I find that when taken in through the nose, as opposed to the mouth, it is not irritating to my airways at all.  In contrast, cigarette smoke puts me into a full blown bronchospasm that can be life threatening if not treated.  My point here is that I'm at far greater risk entering a common restaurant than a Catholic mass using incense.)  Be Catholic already, and help your parishioners experience the fullness of their Catholic faith.
   
10. When the time for communion comes, stand behind the mobile kneeler, or altar rail, and let your parishioners make the first move, keeping your altar server with paten ready.  Those that want to kneel will kneel, and you can administer on the tongue.  Those that want to stand will stand and will reach out with their hand.  Should they choose to stand, make sure they bow beforehand.  Of course you could simply require (as a parish rule) that all parishioners receive on the tongue while kneeling (if able) but that is your prerogative.  If you have sufficiently explained things ahead of time, and stand strategically behind the kneeler (or altar rail) you will find that most parishioners will voluntarily kneel and open their mouths.    

Now I'm going to make a bet with you pastors out there.  I'm willing to bet that within one year after making these above recommended changes, and celebrating this way with both cheer and reverence, you will see in increase in mass attendance.  To make good on my bet, I'm giving the comments section over to you.  If you are a priest, and you have implemented these changes above, tell us about your experience.  Did they increase your mass attendance over time (within a year)?  Do your parishioners show a greater level of reverence and devotion now?  Has the spiritual life of the parish improved?  If so, how?

Russian Orthodox Church Allies With Vatican To Fight Western Secularism

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Do I get the strange sense that something prophetic is unfolding? Perhaps the three little seers of Fatima could answer this...

(Zenit) - Help for the West

Then Archbishop Hilarion makes his main point: Russia can help. Russia can come to the rescue of the West.

"The Russian Orthodox Church, with its unique experience of surviving the harshest persecutions, struggling against militant atheism, reemerging from the ghetto when the political situation changed, recovering its place in society and redefining its social responsibilities, can therefore be of help to Europe," he writes.

Then he draws a line in the sand.

"The totalitarian dictatorship of the past cannot be replaced with a new dictatorship of pan-European government mechanisms. […] The countries of Orthodox tradition, for example, do not accept laws that legalize euthanasia, homosexual marriage, drug trafficking, the maintenance of brothels, pornography, and so on."

In short, the archbishop is saying that the Orthodox, including the Russian Orthodox Church which he represents, are ready to fight for Christian values in the West, alongside Catholics and Protestants.

And Archbishop Hilarion does not exclude disobedience against unjust laws.

"Obviously, disobedience of civil law is an extreme measure that a particular Church might adopt in exceptional circumstances," he writes. "It is nonetheless a possibility that must not be excluded a priori, in case a system of secularized values should become the only one operating in Europe."

Was this a random, unrepresentative text, out of the mainstream?

Well, one indication that it is not merely a stray opinion, but rather part of a growing consensus, is that the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano saw fit to publish Archbishop Hilarion's text almost in its entirety on Dec. 2.

John Thavis, the distinguished Vaticanist for Catholic News Service -- of the U.S. bishops' conference -- wrote Dec. 11: "The Russian Orthodox Church has come forward to propose a strategic alliance with the Catholic Church aimed, in effect, at saving Europe's soul from 'Western post-Christian humanism.' The offer came in an introduction written by Russian Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion to a book of speeches by Benedict XVI on Europe's spiritual crisis, published in Russian by the Orthodox Moscow Patriarchate. In an unusual move, the Vatican newspaper published almost the entire introduction in its Dec. 2 edition."

Thavis notes that Archbishop Hilarion's proposal comes precisely as 140 Christian leaders in the United States met in New York and issued the "Manhattan Declaration" pledging renewed zeal in defending the unborn, defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and protecting religious freedom....

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More African-Americans Are Turning To Eastern Orthodoxy

Many black Christians join move to Orthodox traditions

After a lifetime in traditional black churches, Robert Aaron Mitchell discovered the sights, smells, sounds and ancient traditions of the Orthodox church.

"I discovered Orthodoxy while I was on the Internet one day back in 2001, and I was so drawn to it that I had to go attend a liturgy," Mitchell says. "I had no frame of reference for these traditions, but suddenly, I felt like this void was filling in my life. I felt like I was finally coming home."

Mitchell, 48, a project manager for AT&T in Detroit, is among a small but growing number of black Americans, many of them professionals, who are joining Orthodox churches. That's the branch of Christianity that split with Rome about 1,000 years ago and is known for colorful icons and the ethnic traditions it preserves in religious customs.

The attraction, Mitchell says, lies in discovering that for thousands of years, Africans played a vital role in the Orthodox world.

The Rev. Moses Berry, an Orthodox priest and pastor of Theotokos "Unexpected Joy" Orthodox Mission, Ash Grove, Mo., began his career as a Protestant preacher, a family tradition reaching back into the 1800s. Then, in 1983, he visited an Orthodox church in Atlanta and was so moved that he retrained to become a priest in the Orthodox Church in America. He also helped to organize the coalition of clergy, scholars and lay leaders coming to Detroit.

"Reconnecting with the Orthodox tradition connects us with the earliest Christian traditions," Berry says. "It means that, when our ancestors were brought here as slaves, they didn't arrive here with just a collection of tribal religions. They didn't all discover Christianity here. In fact, many Africans already were part of the ancient Christian church."

That was especially true for Africans with roots in the eastern part of the continent, Laike-Mariam Misikir, 50, says. An automotive engineer from Ann Arbor, Mich., Misikir is from a family of Orthodox priests that extends back many centuries in Ethiopia. In Detroit, Misikir serves as a subdeacon, assisting priests during liturgies...

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THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Talk about getting in touch with your roots -- wow! This is really good news, because ancient African Christianity is so rich in tradition and culture. It makes sense that African-Americans would be attracted to this. It makes a lot more sense than the 'black Muslim' movement we saw back in the 1960s. Africans were Orthodox Christian long before Islam came along. The first black Christians were baptized way back in the middle first century. (It's actually recorded in the Bible -- Acts 8:26-39.) While the first black Muslims didn't come along until six-hundred years later. In fact, many Africans were worshipping the one true God, with dignity and beauty, while northern Europeans were still worshipping the sun, moon and trees. That's just a matter of historical fact. Northern Europe wasn't evangelized by Christianity until the middle 5th century. So there is a lot of cultural recovery to be gained by African-Americans returning to their Christian roots in Africa. The dignity and beauty of the Eastern Orthodox liturgy is second to none. Only the traditional Latin mass of Catholicism comes close, and even then there is some debate. I sincerely hope this movement takes off. It would be a wonderful thing.

The Brotherhood of St Moses the Black is a pan-Orthodox nonprofit organization. Its mission is to minister to Americans the gift of Orthodoxy. In an effort to be good stewards of the manifold grace of God (I Peter 4:10), the organization presents an annual conference that targets those who have little exposure to Orthodoxy as well as the African roots of Orthodoxy. Its vision is to bring Americans closer to Jesus Christ.

Links to Orthodox Churches in the United States:

http://www.oca.org/
http://www.goarch.org/
http://www.copticchurch.net/

In Wake Of Anglican-Catholic Developments, Now Bulgarian Orthodox Prelate Wants Speedy Reunion With Rome

(Catholic.Net) - A Bulgarian Orthodox prelate told Benedict XVI of his desire for unity, and his commitment to accelerate communion with the Catholic Church.

At the end of Wednesday's general audience, Bishop Tichon, head of the diocese for Central and Western Europe of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria, stated to the Pope, "We must find unity as soon as possible and finally celebrate together," L'Osservatore Romano reported.

"People don't understand our divisions and our discussions," the bishop stated. He affirmed that he will "not spare any efforts" to work for the quick restoration of "communion between Catholics and Orthodox....

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THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: So my question is this. Which of the Orthodox churches is more ecumenical? Who will beat whom to restore full communion with Rome? Are the Bulgarians about to outdo the Russians or the Greeks? Will the Russians and Greeks stand for this? Are they really going to be upstaged by the Bulgarians?