The “New Evangelization” Has Officially Failed.
Mr. Eric Sammons of Crisis Magazine tweeted the above graph and commented: "From a high of 172,581 new converts in 1999, we only had 72,212 in 2022—a 58% decline." In other words, the Catholic Church in the United States boasted 173k converts in 1999 but that number dropped to 72k in 2022. Obviously, a drop in 58% of converts-per-year is a catastrophic loss for a Church that claims to be missionary. Furthermore, the Pew Study center released the above graph on the Catholic Church. It reveals that for every convert welcomed into the front door of an American Catholic parish, over eight Catholics leave through the back door. How strange, then, that videos at Catholic Youth Conferences will often feature a slick young priest mocking dour, bad-news Catholics (like me) by saying something sarcastic on the camera like, "This is [...]
Duress or Necessity in Civil Law
Even some pro-lifers do not understand why we with Red Rose Rescue do counseling to abortion-minded couples not only outside the abortion center (where I go every month) but also occasionally inside the abortion center (which I have only done twice in my life—both times resulting in arrest, even though our actions on the inside of the killing center were always peaceful and respectful.) Because I have never blocked entrance to an abortion mill (something my friends who are more courageous than me have indeed done) I have only been charged in the past with trespassing. However, some pro-lifers believe this is imprudent and even increases buffer zones for the pro-life counselors who would stay on the outside of the clinic day-in and day-out. I understand this opposition. The analogy we use to justify Red Rose Rescue goes like this: [...]
Respect of Egos Part 2: Discernment and Obedience
Part One: Respect of Egos was about St. Thomas Aquinas' warnings against "respect of persons" which I consider to be an avoidance of "Respect of Egos." This leads into today's article on having fortitude of character. Many of you are probably familiar with the Milgram experiment in 1961 where normal Americans involved in a psychological experiment were pressured into delivering lethal doses of electricity to other Americans involved in that experiment. At least, they believed these were lethal doses of electricity... but they were not. The experiment (linked above) was rather a test on the would-be electrocuters to determine how many people would deliver a lethal dose of 250 volts to another person allegedly in the experiment. In this Milgram experiment, the scientists believed less than 0.8% of Americans off the street would deliver a lethal dose. To their shock [...]
Respect of Egos Part 1: St. Thomas Aquinas
This is a two part series on the "Respect of Egos." It is easy to misunderstand St. Thomas Aquinas' condemnation of "respect of persons." The notion we are to avoid "respect of persons" obviously does not mean we should disrespect anyone. Nor does it mean that we are supposed to treat everyone the exact same. Rather, in his section on Respect of Persons, St. Thomas Aquinas essentially teaches that the true Christian is to honor his neighbor in proportion to his level of virtuous living, not his social status. In the above link, St. Thomas Aquinas writes about how we are indeed permitted to prefer one person over another. The saint writes: "For instance if you promote a man to a professorship on account of his having sufficient knowledge, you consider the due cause, not the person." That is, you [...]
RCT 54: The Definition of Baptism.
The Roman Catechism of Trent (RCT) pp 170s. The Sacraments, ep. 6. -Donate: https://www.padreperegrino.org/donate/ -Telegram: https://t.me/padreperegrino
Thank You to Donors
The above is a picture I snapped at Ave Maria University while traveling to a funeral in Florida. Normally these updates go in my Life-Update section, but I wanted to express my deep and heartfelt thanks to those who sacrifice for me, either by finances or by time in prayer. Here's some points on where your money is going: I pray or read several hours a day. This usually includes Mass, mental prayer, Rosary and the old Divine Office. I still receive health insurance from my Archdiocese. However, all my income still comes from you who read my site and listen to my pods. This is because I am not in parish life anymore. As you know, there are no advertisements on my site or channel, so as to avoid immodesty. I also refrain from offering Patreon subscriptions so as [...]
Excuses and Freedom in Christ (QuickPod)
When has "reduced culpability" theology reached its limit? https://youtu.be/nB6D-TdUKOk?si=6fxHToYY-9CdEHHD
Christ the High Priest and Teacher
p/c Caminante Wanderer. The three munera, or duties, of the priest are to teach, sanctify and govern. Since the 1990s, the "teach" aspect of the priesthood has been relegated to the laity. The "sanctify" aspect of the sacraments remains somehow with the priest, but is treated as shallow magic-tricks at most Nordo parishes. Finally, the "govern" aspect of the priesthood is relegated entirely to the bishop as an unchecked juggernaut CEO of positivistic-obedience in areas he is taken seriously. In places the bishop is not taken seriously, he's seen as just a cover for child-abuse and Democratic funding. I want to write about the most under-rated munera of the priesthood, which I believe is teaching. A priest is called to teach the flock not unlike how Christ the High Priest was the supreme master of faith and life. Most people [...]
VLX 164: Mt 27:45-50. The Death of Jesus.
-Donate: https://www.padreperegrino.org/donate/ -Telegram: https://t.me/padreperegrino Gospel: Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
“The Only Arms Which Will Remain For You.”
p/c Fr. Palma on X. There is a mysterious line from Our Lady of Akita which continuously haunts me. If what happened in Akita, Japan is a genuine apparition, then the Mother of God said the following: "The only arms [weapons] which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son." I believe that means the Rosary and the Sign of the Cross with be the best (and possibly only) prayer weapons during a certain dark time of Church history which would probably come upon man in the 21st century. Many Catholics believe Akita is the rosetta stone to understanding Fatima. If true, the Mother of God appeared to a deaf nun named Sr. Agnes Sasagawa for several apparitions and locutions (yes, miraculous since she was deaf.) On the 13th of October 1973 (the [...]