RENDER UNTO CAESAR: US bishops halt partnerships with federal government

 

"Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites Shew me the tribute money." And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, "Whose is this image and superscription?" They say unto him, "Caesar's." "Then," saith he unto them, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."

The Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew, ch. xxii

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For many years, the United States Government was a major funder of the "charitable" actions of the charitable institutions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Catholic dioceses. The recent actions of the current U.S. administration to reduce immigration and refugee programs has meant a considerable reduction of the transfers of this government money.

Ted is Dead

Former Cardinal and Archbishop of Washington Ted McCarrick, serial abuser, and a man who was the very embodiment of the Vatican II hierarchy, died today. He was a major influence in the election of Francis (for which he worked from the outside), until he was unmasked. The entire liberal hierarchy of the United States today is directly related to him. 

His influence is present in the Vatican even today -- for instance, his former secretary was one of the main promoters of a recent beatification, as revealed this week by The Economist.

McCarrick as a priest with one of his victims, James

James, one of his many victims, was baptized by McCarrick himself, and the then-priest was a very close friend of the  family -- Ted abused him later, repeatedly, as a 13-year-old boy: more details in the 2018 New York Times article.

We'll let these incredible quotes from this week's Economist article be McCarrick's obituary:

The Crisis of the Church: What to do about the Decrease in the Number of Priests, and the Free Fall in the Number of Seminarians? - Article by Abp. Héctor Agüer

In face of the decrease in the number of priests and the free fall in the number of seminarians.

Archbishop Héctor Agüer

Emeritus of La Plata, Argentina

Buenos Aires, April 2, 2025 

Courtyard of the Metropolitan Seminary of the Immaculate Conception
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Villa Devoto)

        On numerous occasions I have referred to a crucial issue for the Church: the formation of candidates for the priesthood. Today, I do it once again, without pretending, of course, to exhaust the subject, with this article. And I do so on the twentieth anniversary of the departure of St. John Paul II, who lived his seminary life “clandestinely” because of Nazism and Communism that ravaged his native Poland. And who, as Pope, together with the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -later his successor, Benedict XVI- did so much to repair, in part, the mess of the post-conciliar period.

Laetare Sunday Sermon: Jerusalem is at hand

by Father Richard Cipolla

Saint Josaphat's, Flushing, Queens (New York)

Today we mark Laetare Sunday, so called because of the first words of the Introit of the Mass, “Laetare, Jerusalem”, rejoice O Jerusalem.  This day marks mid-Lent and so Mother Church allows the use of rose vestments, flowers on the altar, use of the organ, as a time of anticipating the joy of Easter even amidst the penitential practices of Lent. The joy of this day is a subdued joy, but this subdued joy is really what Christian joy is all about. Christian joy is not ever immediate or sharp or of the moment.  We all know that life is full of moments of great joy, and we know that life has moments of sadness and disappointment.  What Christian joy is based on is not the good things that happen to us in this life that cause our eyes to brim with the tears of joy.  Christian joy is based on the person of Jesus Christ.  When John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb when Mary greeted his mother Elizabeth, he did so because he recognized Jesus in Elizabeth’s womb.  His own life would at least by the standards of the world not be one of joy.  And he would suffer a violent death at the hands of drunken king involved in a sacrilegious marriage.  The joy in that embrace of Mary and Elizabeth:  of course, the joy of two pregnant women is present and the wonder of those pregnancies is part of this.  But the heart of the joy is in Elizabeth’s words:  But who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  The mother of my Lord.  Elizabeth’s joy is grounded in the person of Jesus in Mary’s womb.  And when Mary sings the Magnificat her joy comes from the child she carries in her womb, whose name will be called Jesus, the one who saves.

Book Review: The Glorious Sacrifice of the Lamb. The Mass and Christian Life - by Fr. Serafino Lanzetta

Fr Serafino M. Lanzetta

The Glorious Sacrifice of the Lamb. The Mass and Christian Life 

(Portsmouth: Mary House Press, 2024).

Review by Myriam Tothill

Glory is not a word often associated with sacrifice. In the very title of his work, Fr. Serafino presents us with what is, to modern ears particularly, an unusual concept, something to make us think, to use a much overused phrase, outside of the box. Glorious is often used to describe beauty and achievement. On the other hand, we live in a society which abhors pain of any kind, preferring to die rather than endure it and even to kill rather than watch others endure it and the word sacrifice is associated almost exclusively with pain and suffering. The juxtaposition of these terms brings to mind Simeon’s prophecy concerning Christ: He will be a sign of contradiction...So we know right from the beginning, before we have even opened the book, that this will be a work challenging us to think about the Mass in unaccustomed ways.