Venezuela & Sado-Masochism for Teens

TIA,

I received from a friend a video about the demonstrations taking place right now in Venezuela against the government of the communist President Nicolas Moreno, the heir of Hugo Chavez. I took some pictures of it and am sending them to you with some comments. Please, pass them on to your readers and ask them to do the same.

It is unbelievable that our media, although reporting on the demonstrations, avoid publishing this type of picture. They speak plainly about the brutal methods of so-called Bolivarian Socialism, which is nothing but Communism.

Curiously, the present day Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, was Papal Nuncio in Caracas, Venezuela, just before being chosen by Francis for this new important function. So far, we have not heard any complaint from Parolin over the government's brutality against the people and students. The Pope and the Secretary of State have a word to say about everything, but not in favor of the abused people under this communist government…

You can watch this video here.

     Keep up the good work.

     M.C.

TIA,

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, warmly supported by President Obama, is promoting sadomasochism in a video for teens.

You may check for yourself here, but be aware that you will hear obscene language and the defense of sadomasochism as a normal thing to do.

Below, a photo of Obama hugging Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood. An indirect government support for this filthy propaganda.

This whole story makes one indignant!

     Gary Morella

TIA,

When did error first infect the Vatican? Pope St. Pius X condemned Modernism as an error, but I am not aware from anything I have read that error was already prevalent in the Vatican at that time.

I believe that it is true that changes in the Sacred Liturgy during the pontificate of Pius XII demonstrate that error was by then at work at the highest levels of the Vatican.

Can you recommend any studies of the development of error in the Vatican prior to the Second Vatican Council?

     W.M.


TIA responds:

W.M.

We refer you to this response to similar questions about the infiltration of Modernism in the Church.

As noted in this response:

“For persons with this kind of question, I would suggest they read the book The Undermining of the Catholic Church by Mary Bell Martinez. It gives a very good idea of the Modernist mafia that was temporarily squelched, but certainly not exterminated, inside the Church at the time of St. Pius X and afterward.”

To better understand the revolutionary process that destroyed Christendom, we would suggest you read this overview. We also highly recommend the work by Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira, from which the overview was drawn, titled Revolution and Counter-Revolution. You can read it online here.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

TIA,

I have a question. The article, Please, Don’t Call Protestants Christians, states that the protestant reformation was the first major crack in Christendom.

What does the author believe about the separation of the Orthodox, or of the Oriental Churches? Those most certainly pre-dated the protestant reformation.

     Sincerely,

     A.G.


TIA responds:

A.G.,

On our TIA website when we refer to Christendom we mean the ensemble of the cultural, artistic, social and political reflections of the principles of the Gospel in the area that history identified as Western Christendom. It was born directly from Catholic Europe and indirectly from the fecund inspiration of the Papacy. It is in this Christendom that the Revolt of Luther caused the first crack.

Certainly, there were other Christendoms, such as that formed under the Roman Empire before the invasion of the Barbarians. Or, the Byzantine Christendom formed in the East before the invasions of the Arabs (7th - 8th centuries). It is our opinion that these invasions broke the élan of the Catholic East.

The Great Eastern Schism (11th century) would transform that Catholic sub-existence into a complete paralysis. Instead of inspiring the temporal sphere, the Byzantine Schismatic Church came to be oriented by it - this is its Caesaropapism. Such a policy could bear no other fruit than a paralysis in the influence of the Schismatic Church over society.

After the Arab invasions, on many occasions Western Christendom tried to unite with Eastern Christendom to infuse it with a life that had left it, but those attempts were not crowned with success. Byzantium preferred to remain closed in its arrogance against the Popes rather than return to life under their influence. The Schism only served to complete this long process of distancing itself from Rome. It broke a branch that was completely dry. In the 15th century the Turks would give a coup de grace to that unfaithful Christendom, transforming it into a museum piece.

This is our take on the effects of the Schism in the Eastern Churches.

We hope to have answered your question.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

TIA,

Many thanks for your counsel to the individual perplexed about not attending Greek, Russian, and other nationalistic schismatic services for valid sacraments. The Roman Catholic Church forbids a priest to offer Mass in schismatic temples; likewise a schismatic priest can't offer mass in a Catholic Church.

St. Augustine, the Doctor of Doctors, wrote: Outside the Catholic Church you can have the Bible, you can have a hierarchy, you can have the priesthood and valid sacraments, but you cannot have salvation.

     St. Monica, pray for us,
     St. Augustine, pray for us,

     S.M.

Dear TIA,

Sober look at declining birthrates of Europeans and the growth of Islam in Europe. Point made: the trends are irreversible, European culture is ultimately doomed.

My addition: this is the demographic side of the Great Apostasy, when Europe - the Gentile nations - gives up the Faith, after which, according to St. Paul, the Jews convert. This is an apocalyptic scenario and the numbers support it.

Questions: Is the Antichrist right around the corner? Or will a divinely sent "peace of Fatima" occur to save the day?

Watch the video here.

     P.O.B.

Peace be to You Dr. Horvat,

I just finished reading about the sand dollar and wow, there is so much in nature that shows the Beauty of Our Lord.  I sure do have a love of nature for this reason and try to protect it and preserve what God Created and tell folks to do the same.

So, to let you know, there are many flowers that are named after Our Lord and Our Lady and the Saints. This information I wish to share with you and your readers who have a Love of God's Creation.

Some time ago I came across Mary's Garden site ran by a gentleman (who died some time ago) who researched for many years flowers named after Our Lord, Our Lady and the Saints from the time of the Middle Ages.  (The site is now ran by another org). I myself, being a Horticulturalist and Master Naturalist with the local university for many years, have submitted some information to him.

Maybe this would be something to add to your Religious Symbolism page?

Well, anyway, I have enjoyed reading your site this past year and look forward to the coming year as well.

     Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,

     A.M.