INTRODUCTION
Pat Ludwa, a committed lay Catholic from Cleveland, has been asked to contribute, on a regular basis, a lay person's point of view on the Church today. We have been impressed with his insight and the clear logic he brings to the table from his "view from the pew." In all humility, by his own admission, he feels he has very little to offer, but we're sure you'll agree with us that his viewpoint is exactly what millions of the silent majority of Catholics believe and have been trying to say as well. Pat puts it in words that help all of us better understand and convey to others what the Church teaches and we must believe.
Today Pat is short and sweet about something quite sour - the blasphemous way Irish rebel pop singer Sinead O'Connor is treating the Catholic faith. Why anyone would listen to her is beyond all of us. After all, if you've ever heard her try to sing that would be enough to convince one that she has very, very little talent. Her whole career has been built on hype and mirrors and now she has shattered the glass with her mockery of the Church as Pat succinctly points out.
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Mockery
Mockery upon mockery. One has to wonder when 'the last straw' is going
hit. According to a news story, Sinead O'Connor, remembered for tearing up
the Pope's picture, live on national television, has been ordained a priest
and given the name: "Mother Bernadette Mary". This was done in Lourdes, by a
schismatic Irish Bishop, Michael Cox. Cox recently formed the "Latin
Tridentine Church", which is based on a schismatic sect in Palmar de Troya in
Spain. According to O'Connor, she has already celebrated four Masses, two in
English and two in Latin. She said that the Catholic Church should be
"grateful to her for using her priesthood to bring young people back
to the Church." According to 'bishop' Cox, she will "bring massive numbers
of people back to Christ through her music." The truth isn't enough, Christ
isn't enough, we have to use someone who mocks the Church, her leaders,
everything it teaches?
Pope John Paul II hasn't taken a hard stand on many of these cults of
personality for the sake of the collegiality of the bishops. (Though this is
an openly schismatic sect) But one has to wonder when enough is enough? How
many will be lured away by this mockery of truth, the Mass, and the
priesthood? How many will wink at it and say, "Well, it may help bring
someone back to the Church." Does one go from Cleveland to New York by way
of Los Angeles? Do you bring a loved one home by taking them to a strangers
house?
We may well join our pre-Christ Hebrew brothers and sisters and pray,
"How long, O Lord, before You come to save us." How much longer can we, the
Church, and Christ, withstand this assault on faith, truth, and all that we,
as Catholics, hold dear.
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