Birthday greetings

Melancholicus received this notice by e-mail, and wishes to extend his congratulations to Fr. Ó Fionnagáin (not that he reads Infelix Ego, but nonetheless). Fr. Ó Fionnagáin is one of the ‘good Jesuits’, as the following makes clear:

Congratulations to Rev Father Proinnsias Ó Fionnagáin SJ who is on the eve of his 100th Birthday. Father Ó Fionnagáin was of considerable help to the traditional movement in Ireland for many years as well as being an historian doing valuable work on the causes of the Irish martyrs. As he joined the Society of Jesus at the age of 18, he is 82 years a Jesuit; 80 years professed and 67 years a priest.

82 years a Jesuit! What a life spent in service to the Lord!

Melancholicus’ correspondent also said “I am tempted to say Ad multos annos but I am not sure of the propriety of this on such a birthday.” Melancholicus was likewise tempted, but shall prescind for like reasons.

Readers may wish privately to honour Fr. Ó Fionnagáin on his centennial birthday with a spiritual bouquet.

Without comment

Jesuits — the grim statistics of decline:

World-wide: Before Vatican II, 36,200. Today 18,711.

Brothers: Before Vatican II, 5,204. Today 1,306.

Seminarians (USA only): Before Vatican II, 5,500. Today 140.

USA Jesuit priests: Before Vatican II, 8,000. Today 2,640.

Jesuits (Italy): Before Vatican II, 4,000+. Today 640.

Jesuits (France): Before Vatican II, 3,500+. Today less than 500.

Jesuits (Canada): Before Vatican II, 1,500+. Today less than 250.

Jesuits (Ireland and the United Kingdom): Before Vatican II, 1,740+. Today less than 300.

How the mighty have fallen!

H/T to Gillibrand.

If anyone still thinks the Jesuits shouldn't be suppressed...

... they should read this book.

Fr. Becker was given the permission of his superiors to publish this work (which is available in 2 volumes) provided he made substantial cuts to the manuscript before it went to press.

The public expurgated version of Fr. Becker’s book is already a damning indictment of what happened to the Jesuit order after 1965; just imagine the extent of the dirt that he was required to cut out for publication!

However, the complete manuscript is in safe hands, and Melancholicus has it on good authority that it will appear in print after the author’s death. Once Fr. Becker passes to his eternal reward, expect to see the uncensored version here.

The time has surely come to suppress this heretical, non-Catholic order

Melancholicus deliberately refrained from commenting on the affair of the Catholic archbishop of San Francisco giving holy communion to gays in drag since so many others have addressed the issues involved so much more eloquently than he could have. But there was also another reason: Melancholicus just wasn’t interested. That the archbishop gave holy communion in direct violation of Canon Law to a pair of ridiculous individuals who were publicly expressing their support for a lifestyle of manifest grave sin by dressing in drag and mocking the consecrated life should surprise no one; what more ought we to expect from a conciliar prelate?

Even though said prelate has already admitted he was wrong to do so, and has apologized to the faithful for the scandal caused, this has not prevented a fellow cleric from leaping to his defence in the secular press. This man is a professor of Moral Theology (!) at the University of San Francisco. He is, of course, a Jesuit.

From Lifesite:

Jesuit Priest Professor Says Archbishop Was Correct in Giving Communion to Transvestite 'Nuns'

San Francisco media finally reports on communion for transvestite 'sisters' scandal

By John-Henry Westen

SAN FRANCISCO, October 17, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The story of the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" receiving Communion from the Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco has been major news since the occurrence on October 7. However, despite the fact that the story made it to Fox News' O'Reilly Factor, the local San Francisco media refused to cover it until today.

In a separate segment, O'Reilly railed at the local media for failing to cover the story. And it seems the verbal spanking had a salutary effect.

However, the San Francisco Chronicle which published a story entitled "Archbishop apologizes for giving Communion to gays dressed as nuns," also published today a puff piece promoting the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence".

Beyond that, the Chronicle was able to find a Jesuit Catholic Priest Professor willing to come out publicly saying that giving communion to the two transvestite 'sisters' was the right thing to do. Rev. Jim Bretzke, professor of moral theology at University of San Francisco, a Jesuit Catholic university, told the Chronicle: "While I can see Bill O'Reilly and others might be offended, the sisters do not meet the criteria the church has for denying Communion."

"The general sacramental principle is that you don't deny the sacrament to someone who requests it," said Bretzke in a statement clearly at odds with Catholic teaching on the matter as voiced recently by Pope Benedict XVI just prior to his being elected Pope.

While Bretzke admits that those who have been excommunicated cannot be given Communion, then Cardinal Ratzinger insisted that beyond excommunicated persons, those persons with "obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin" must be refused communion.

Trivializing the matter, Bretzke, who for this year is a visiting professor of theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, said, "Over-accessorizing and poor taste in makeup is not an excommunicable offense . . . Even if these people were bizarrely dressed, the archbishop was following clear pastoral and canonical principles in giving them Communion. The default is, you give Holy Communion to one who presents himself."

Archbishop Niederauer himself admitted his giving Communion to the sisters was wrong. In an apology letter to Catholics after the event he wrote in reference to the 'sisters': "giving them Holy Communion had been a mistake. I apologize to the Catholics of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and to Catholics at large for doing so."

Explaining, the Archbishop added: "Someone who dresses in a mock religious habit to attend Mass does so to make a point. If people dress in a manner clearly intended to mock what we hold sacred, they place themselves in an objective situation in which it is not appropriate for them to receive Holy Communion, much less for a minister of the Church to give the Sacrament to them."

Far from being an anomalous fruitcake, the contemptible Bretzke is emblematic of his order, at least in the United States. But Melancholicus has no good reason to hope that the Jesuits might be in better condition elsewhere. In Ireland they flirt with heresy every bit as much as their brothers on the far side of the Atlantic; in England they have sunk to such a state of depravity that — with the exception of one or two devout and honourable souls — St. Edmund Campion and the Jesuit martyrs of the Reformation would surely disown them.

The continued existence of the Jesuit order inflicts more harm than good on the ecclesiastical body politic. Melancholicus believes the time has come for the Church to suppress this aberrant and apostatical order — although actual suppression is probably unnecessary, since the ‘renewed’ and radicalized Jesuits are hardly attracting any vocations — the inexorable march of time will be sufficient to remove them from the scene.

Bishop takes action against dissenting Jesuits

Some good news for a change, from the diocese of Worcester in the United States:

Massachusetts bishop issues warning to Jesuit college

Worcester, Oct. 11, 2007 (CWNews.com) - A Massachusetts bishop has strongly criticized a Jesuit-run college in his diocese, hinting that he could withdraw the school's recognition as a Catholic institution.

Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester issued a statement on October 10, responding to protests from lay Catholics about plans for a conference at the College of the Holy Cross in which Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts will make presentations. Siding with the pro-life protestors, Bishop McManus disclosed that he had urged Holy Cross to cancel the conference plans.

The organizations participating in the scheduled event, the bishop said, "promote positions on artificial contraception and abortion that are contrary to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church." Saying that the Church's position on key issues involving respect for life is "manifestly clear," he questioned why a Catholic school would offer these groups a forum. The bishop warned that the conference could create a "situation of offering scandal understood in its proper theological sense, i.e. an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil." By canceling the conference, he said, Holy Cross would not infringe upon academic freedom, but would "make unambiguously clear the Catholic identity and mission of the College of the Holy Cross."

Bishop McManus noted that as the head of the Worcester diocese in which Holy Cross is located he has the "pastoral and canonical responsibility to determine what institutions can properly call themselves Catholic." He added: "This is a duty that I do not take lightly."

The bishop concluded his public statement by expressing his "fervent wish" that Holy Cross would cancel plans for the conference, "so that the college can continue to be recognized as a Catholic institution committed to promoting the moral teaching of the Roman Catholic Church."

It is always heartening to see a bishop taking up the cudgels in defence of justice and right order. Nevertheless, Melancholicus notes that the initiative in this matter has come, once again, from the lay faithful; the shepherd is merely following his flock’s lead. Let us pray for the time to come again in which courageous bishops will lead their flocks from the front, not follow along reluctantly at the rear. Nevertheless, Bishop McManus is to be praised for his stand, and it would be an act of charity for us to pray for him at this time.

That a Jesuit college should grant a platform to such manifestly anti-life organisations as Planned Parenthood and NARAL should not surprise us in the least. Like their old rivals, the Order of Preachers, the Society of Jesus has since the conciliar renewal taken a nose-dive out of the Catholic faith and into apostasy. Perhaps the time has now come for the Holy Father to take a leaf out of Pope Clement XIV’s book...