Bearing “False” Witness Continues

On August 8, 2005, The Jerusalem Post reported that “some 30 Catholic school teachers from across the United States are in Israel for an in-depth course on anti-Semitism sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).” The teachers, representing 19 states – including Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – were selected from among 300 Catholic educators who had participated in the ADL’s Bearing Witness Program, which is described as being “different from other efforts in which the ADL and other Jewish groups are already engaged to cultivate positive relationships with Christians in that it aims at the grassroots level rather than official representatives.”

The Bearing Witness Program targets teachers “because of their role in shaping the moral education of young Catholics.” The idea, said project originator David Friedman, is "not to leave the heroism of Righteous Gentiles to chance... [but to] educate a generation of Catholics dedicated to living the changes [in Catholic-Jewish relations] that the Vatican has initiated" over the past 40 years. The program is authorized by the US conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of Catholic School Teachers.

The 30 educators participating in this year's program gathered at St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore on August 1^st for an intensive series of seminars to prepare them for their journey. Subjects included “frank and unflinching discussions of topics such as anti-Semitism, Church history during the Holocaust, and contemporary manifestations of hate.”

Karen Brady from Tucson, Arizona, believes that the program has made an impact on her and her diocese. "The spiritual connection," she said, "separates this from all other Holocaust programs. When I first started this, years ago, my husband said, Are you going to turn Jewish? But my Catholicism has only grown stronger through this."

Dennis Ruggiero, a theology teacher in Atlanta, Georgia, is another participant. Since attending his first Holocaust seminar in 1997, Ruggiero has developed an intense course on the Holocaust for his high-school seniors, even taking them to the Holocaust museum in Washington each year. "Bearing Witness has made a huge difference," said Ruggiero, "and it has changed my life."

"We never thought it would be this big. It has exploded," said Paul Wieser, a Catholic who oversees Holocaust programming for the ADL. "But we wouldn't have all this programming if it didn't work."

Comment: According to an ADL press release, the aim of the Bearing Witness Program is to “examine anti-Semitism from its earliest manifestations 2,000 years ago, through the Holocaust and continuing into the present day.” Of course, the phrase “2,000 years ago” is a rather unsubtle code for “the Gospels,” which, in the philosophy of the ADL, are the very origin and embodiment of “hate speech.”

Catholic participants in the Bearing Witness Program are indoctrinated into the ADL’s “holocaust religion” through tours of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, lectures on anti-Semitism by prominent academics and historians, and speeches by Holocaust survivors and interfaith experts, during which the issues of “diversity, prejudice, and bigotry” are explored “in a Catholic school setting.” In today’s “interreligious” climate, it is always Catholics who are charged with a “legacy of hate,” always Catholics who must be enlightened and instructed. Jesus Christ counts for nothing here.

The shuttling of browbeaten post-conciliar Catholic educators to Israel by the abortion-loving, Gospel-hating ADL constitutes a new low in the ecumenical degradation of the Church.  If post-conciliar Catholics have come to seem all too much like pathetic, eager little puppies, begging for pats on the head by those who despise Christ, His commandments and His Church, these Bearing Witness-taught Catholic teachers, journeying to Israel with their ADL masters, resemble nothing so much as oblivious children gladly putting themselves into the hands of their local child molester.

Nota bene: Bearing Witness creator David Friedman wants to “educate a generation of Catholics dedicated to living the changes [in Catholic-Jewish relations] that the Vatican has initiated.” Supposedly, this will result in not leaving “the heroism of Righteous Gentiles to chance.” The phrase Righteous Gentiles is used to describe non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the “holocaust.” At the Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem, over 11,000 Righteous Gentiles are honored (almost 5,000 are Polish).

This outright declaration by the ADL of their intent to “educate Catholics” regarding the Second Vatican Council in order to create a new class of “Righteous Gentiles” is worth pondering. Since World War II and its particulars are now history, what will characterize the Righteous Gentile of the future? Apparently, this Righteous Gentile will “live the changes” wrought by the doctrinal novelties of the Second Vatican Council. Therefore, he will believe that the Old Covenant between God and Israel has not been superseded by that priceless New Covenant made possible only by the Incarnation of the Word. He will, therefore, see Jesus Christ as important, but ultimately unnecessary, in God’s plan of salvation.

This abandoning of the Church’s mission to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth is accounted as “righteousness” by the ADL. But, then, how can the enemies of Jesus Christ not be pleased as punch when Catholic educators begin saying that ADL propaganda “has changed my life,” and that “my  Catholicism has only grown stronger” via the machinations of a Christ-denying philosophy?

Masonry’s Catholic “Chaplain”

According to the Catholic News Agency (Aug. 8, 2005), a Masonic lodge in Italy has appointed a Catholic priest as its chaplain. In his announcement to lodge members, Grand Master Fabio Venzi of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Italy, while declining to identify the priest by name, stated that he had appointed a new grand official “who will probably be a part not only of the history of Italian freemasonry, but also of the history of freemasonry in the world, and I don’t think I am wrong.  The grand official I am appointing is a priest of the Catholic Church.  Let me say it again, of the Catholic Church.”

Claiming that “we have always treated the Holy See with great respect, and we have even named a lodge after Pius II, Enea Silvio Piccolomini,” Venzi described the new appointment as a “gesture of openness” on the part of Freemasonry. He also noted that “never before has a Masonic lodge made such a gesture towards the Catholic Church, distancing itself from other irregular Masonic lodges that, with their anti-clericalism, have caused much harm to the image of freemasonry in the world.”

Venzi says that this negative image of Freemasonry stems from Vatican documents which “are often based on Masonic realities which we consider ‘irregular,’ and therefore not representative of true Masonic tradition.” He expressed a hope that, in the future, such Masonic lodges as the Grand Eastern Lodge of France and the Grand Eastern Lodge of Italy, which were among the most anti-clerical Masonic lodges in the world, “which historically have represented the Anglo-Saxon Masonic tradition, not be considered typical.”

“We have played our part and we hope the Church will lay the groundwork and have the patience to deal with the peculiarities and differences within the world of freemasonry,” Venzi said in conclusion.

Comment: Grand Master Fabio Venzi has attempted to sell the notion that the Church’s severe warnings against Masonry is the result of nothing more than a scholarly misunderstanding, a matter of differing Masonic rituals, and such. In effect, he is saying that all the Popes and theologians who decried Masonry were basing their convictions on mere superficial evidence. In fact, Venzi said:

When a small opening was conceded, this was not done with much intelligence or common sense. I am referring to Canon 2335 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law. Under this norm, there was a sanction for Catholics who were members of organizations that in fact machinantur contra Ecclesiam, that is, that ‘plotted against the Church’.”

Translation: Masonry is Catholic-friendly, and the Popes who warned against it were merely engaging in hysterics – as though an active battle against the Kingship of Christ were a laudatory thing! Compare this laughably transparent attempt to sanitize Masonry with this warning of Pope Leo XIII:

The enemy forces, inspired by the evil spirit, ever wage war on the Christian name. They join forces in this endeavor with certain groups of men whose purpose is to subvert divinely revealed truths and to rend the very fabric of Christian society with disastrous dissent. Indeed, how much damage these cohorts, as it were, have inflicted on the Church is well-known. And yet, the spirit of all previous groups hostile to Catholic institutions has come to life again in that group called the Masonic sect, which, strong in manpower and resources, is the leader in a war against anything sacred.

(Inimica Vis: On Freemasonry,

December 8, 1892)

And today, we find a Grand Master hoisting the politically-correct standards of “openness,” “respect” and “the patience to deal with the peculiarities and differences within the world of freemasonry.” It all sounds so nice, warm, modern and inclusive, doesn’t it… a whole world away from Pope Leo’s ponderous warnings of “enemy forces” and a “war against anything sacred.” And that is exactly the way it is supposed to sound! The more “enlightened” and peaceful the stuff spouted by the Masons, the more boorish and “intolerant” will seem the Catholic condemnations. Rev. Father Hermann Gruber, S.J., who devoted his ministry to exposing the truth about Masonry, warned of this spiritual smokescreen. “It is not said that Atheists cannot be admitted or that no Mason can be an Atheist,” wrote Fr. Gruber, “but merely that if he rightly understands the art, he will never be a stupid Atheist, that is to say, he will not hold or profess Atheism in a stupid way, for instance, by statements that shock religious feeling and bring Masonry into bad repute.”

 Hiring a lackey “Catholic” chaplain is certainly a novel twist in the process!

ACLU Backs Wiccan Suit

In 2002, the Board of Supervisors of Chesterfield County, Virginia refused to allow Cynthia Simpson, a witch and Wiccan priestess, to add her name to the list of people who customarily open the board's meetings with a religious invocation.  According to The Washington Post (Dec. 7, 2002), Simpson had been informed by the county’s attorney that “only members of ‘Judeo-Christian’ religions can pray on the board's behalf.” Although the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the county's response to Simpson amounted to religious discrimination, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the suburban Richmond county.

On April 29, 2005 The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the ACLU of Virginia had filed a 13-page petition on behalf of Cynthia Simpson, seeking to reverse the ruling that upheld Chesterfield County's decision to bar her from giving the invocation at the Board of Supervisors meetings. “We cannot find any instance in American jurisprudence allowing the government to officially prefer some religions over others,” said Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia. “Indeed, all we can find is the opposite – repeated admonitions against the government when it discriminates on the basis of religion.”

According to the Associated Press (Aug. 10, 2005), the ACLU’s petition was received by the U.S. Supreme Court on August 9th. In defiance of the claim of Chesterfield County officials that they had the right to limit their invocation prayers to those expressing “Judeo-Christian” beliefs and religions based on a single god, the ACLU contends, in its 13-page filing, that the 4^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had attempted to "obscure with legal smoke and mirrors" Chesterfield's preference for mainline religions. The petition goes on to state that “although Establishment Clause jurisprudence may be beset with conflicting tests, uncertain outcomes and ongoing debate, one principle has never been compromised ... that one religious denomination cannot be officially preferred over another.”

The woman at the center of the legal battle, Cynthia Simpson, maintains that she “simply wants to share the Wiccan tradition with her hometown of Richmond.” When asked if a Supreme Court ruling in her (and Wicca’s) favor could help topple a 22-year-old Supreme court ruling allowing government prayer, thus curtailing religious expression in government affairs, Simpson replied, "Those are my druthers. That is my wish."

Comment: In an op-ed piece in The Richmond Times-Dispatch (Apr. 17, 2005), Mark Holmberg wrote:

Most of you know by now that Wiccans are sort of the good-vibrations, Aunt Bea witches who dispense earth-based, star-bathed, seasonally seasoned wishes for harmonic balance, as opposed to the bone-dust-grinding, hand-clapping, death-spell casters of horror movies. Which is why an engaging witch from the so-called "Broom Riders Association” makes for a perfect whisk for church-state separatists.

In the race to sweep all prayer and religion from government, her broom has all the prime sponsors. Her case is supported by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The Pluralism Project of Harvard University provided heavy-duty expert testimony and research on crucial constitutional quandaries, such as the nature of "America's civil religion." And, of course, the American Civil Liberties Union has provided legal muscle, to the tune of some $80,000 and counting.

Mr. Holmberg is too readily convinced of what he considers the innocuous nature of Wicca. And, while he does make some valid observations, it is about so much more than the usurping of the legal system. In The Book of Exodus, we read that, because the Israelites turned to false idols and created the infamous Golden Calf, “The Lord therefore struck the people for the guilt, on occasion of the calf which Aaron had made.” Again, in The Book of Numbers, we read that, after the Israelites emerged from the wilderness, they came into contact and were seduced by the worshippers of the false god, Baal, after which they turned away from God and fell into immoral practices. As a result, twenty-four thousand men were slain as a punishment.

Neither individuals nor nations can offend God with impunity, and our world is truly living on borrowed time. Each denial of God and the Catholic Faith, each insult to His precepts and laws, each inch of ground given to the enemies of Truth, is yet another nail in the coffin. As politicians and media-gurus rant and rage against threats from the “outside,” our own leaders continue to reject the Living God and His Church.  Lawyers and judges may view cases such as Cynthia Simpson’s as little more than legal puzzles, but these people are, in a very real sense, playing with fire.

Ancient Roman “Interstate Highway” Discovered

The national website of Wales, icWales, reports (July 28, 2005) that archaeologists excavating along the ancient Via Egnatia in Greece are discovering the secrets of the ancient Romans’ equivalent of an Interstate highway. The stone-paved road, which is 30 feet wide in places, stretches 535 miles across modern-day Albania, Macedonia and Greece.

In ancient times, the Via Egnatia was dotted with safety features, inns and service stations. There were inns every 30 to 40 miles, and post stations, the Roman equivalent of gas stations, every 7 to 14 miles. “These post stations had spare beasts, as well as ... vets, grooms and shoesmiths,” said archaeologist Polyxeni Tsatsopoulou. Archaeologists have also discovered ruins of military outposts, checkpoints and camps, with guard posts built near narrow passes to curb highway robbery. “This was a busy road, and the Romans managed to make it completely functional,” said Tsatsopoulou.

An excavation near the town of Komotini, some 168 miles east of Thessaloniki, revealed the Romans’ sophisticated road-building techniques. A central partition of large stones protected charioteers from oncoming vehicles, with similar barriers on the verges, which prevented chariots, wagons and carts from skidding off the road.

Built between 146 and 120 B.C. under the supervision of the top Roman official in Macedonia, proconsul Gaius Egnatius, the highway ran from the Adriatic coast in what is now Albania to modern Turkey, giving Rome quick access to the eastern provinces of its empire. Ancient engineers did such a good job that the Via Egnatia remained in use for some 2,000 years, sticking to its original course even as its paving slabs were plundered for building material. But over the last century, what is visible of it has dwindled to less than two miles in total. Greek Culture Ministry officials are hoping to turn the surviving highway remains into an archaeological walk for tourists.