Hello,

I simply wished to compliment you on your organization and website.

Charlemagne was my 41st generation great grandfather and he is very dear to my family and myself. We were very pleased with your site and the beautiful descriptions of him.

Thank you and blessings to you.

     Regards,

     S.L.

Dear TIA,

Would you please advise me of where in the TIA archives, there may exist articles/editorials about the new set of mysteries of the rosary that Pope John Paul II put forth a few years ago?

When I first heard of a fourth mystery being added, the Luminous Mysteries, I almost choked. I would be most interested in the response of the traditional/orthodox view of this.

     Thanks very much,

     M.K.



TIA responds:

Dear M.K.,

So far we have not commented on this very unusual addition John Paul II made to the specific request of Our Lady to pray the three sets of mysteries of the Rosary - Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious.

Indeed, Our Lady in the apparition to St. Dominic of Gusman (1214) was quite precise about what she was asking for: the three sets of mysteries and nothing else. In other apparitions such as in Fatima, she confirmed that she wanted the three sets of mysteries. For centuries the prayer of the Rosary as Our Lady requested was approved by the Popes and established in the entire Church. Now, after close to 800 years, comes a Pope who adds another set of mysteries out of the blue.

Another suspect innovation of JPII was to abolish the 141 canons that ruled the processes of beatification and canonization from the Code of Canon Law. After that abolition, the criteria to determine who is a saint or a blessed became chaotic. This chaos and the astonishing inflation of saints and blessed he declared - 438 saints and 1338 blessed - can only favor the relativization of the Catholic idea of sanctity, and dilute the importance of the previous canonized Saints. Now then, whom does this relativization benefit? We think that it only favors Protestantism which does not admit and hates the Catholic saints. So, it is impossible to avoid asking whether John Paul II did not promote this to favor Protestantism.

In our opinion, a similar question may be asked about his Luminous Mysteries: Were they introduced to sabotage the praying of the Rosary? As a matter of fact, to pray the three sets of mysteries - 15 decades - every day is already difficult. Under the appearance of Marian devotion, JPII increased this difficulty. If we judge this addition by its fruits, it seems to us a shrewd way to sabotage praying the whole Rosary every day. Again, it is a fruit that favors those who hate the prayer of the Rosary, the Protestants.

For more on the Luminous Mysteries click here.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

TIA,

Below is my submitted response to the CDT per the enclosed article on the sorry USCCB's positive review of The Golden Compass.

The idea that the movie, The Golden Compass, a purported whitewashed spawn of Philip Pullman's blatant anti-Catholic trilogy, can somehow be acceptable for Catholics is the height of absurdity. But this is the sorry opinion of the very problematic USCCB review by Harry Forbes and John Mulderig [director and staff reviewer respectively of the USCCB Office for Film and Broadcasting]. Forbes incredibly also saw nothing wrong with Brokeback Mountain, which shamelessly promoted homosexuality and the commission of mortal sin. The only thing more absurd would be to explain how Forbes remains in the employ of the USCCB with his "sympathy for the devil." Pullman's work undermines faith in God. We are talking about depicting 12-year-olds setting out to overthrow God, and finally depicting the fall of Adam as something good. What's Catholic about promoting Atheism?

For the record, there are some individuals who publicly evince that they are Catholic in more than name only, as reported by LifeSiteNews.com. "Several Bishops have spoken about this review, and they are horrified at what has been done in their name." HLI President, Fr. Tom Euteneuer asks, "Whatever happened to rejecting Satan and all his empty work and empty promises? When you don't rebuke irresponsibility in using an office to spread errors then it leads to more irresponsibility."

Bishop Listecki of La Crosse WI observes that Pullman unashamedly states,"I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief, my books are about killing God, and I am all for the death of God."

There is nothing Catholic about legitimizing the work of such individuals. The non-Catholic world does enough of that.

     Gary L. Morella

Note from the Editor:   Given to reactions like this of Mr. Morella, the American Bishops took the mentioned review off their website on December 11.

TIA,

I'm looking for a Christmas movie for my family. I clicked on your movies link - and all I can find is a series of movies to NOT go see or NOT to rent. Any positive suggestions???

Just wondering...

     Pax et bonum!

     L.A.



TIA responds:

L.A.,

We are sure you can find and buy some good movies for your family in traditional Catholic bookstores.

You may call Catholic Treasures (626-359-4893) or Mother of Our Savior (812-967-2541) to receive advice on this topic. We would also welcome suggestions from our readers.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

Hello,

Regarding the article Bloody Passovers, I have enjoyed Dr. Horvat's writings and appreciate her well researched insights.

Thanks for fighting the fight.

     J.A., father of thirteen, and yes, only one wife!

Dear Gentlemen,

I appreciate very much the timely materials and religious information that I always find at your website since I got to know about it four years ago. Since then I have been struggling to join a religious order or diocese where I can be accepted for a candidate for religious priesthood. But here in Uganda, such things are neither known nor desired by any bishop. So, all my effort was frustrated.

I met four months ago a French priest of the order of St. Pius X here in Kampala and he had come upon invitation of some people to offer traditional mass for them, but he resides in Nairobi. When I expressed to him my desire to join them, he answered straightaway that the biggest road block for me was my age (44), which could not allow me to be taken by them.

The fact is that I got to know about the existence of traditional mass and priesthood late in life. Since I am not married and I have the intention to glorify God in priestly life, I am teachable and can be bent as need may arise. I am not too old to learn nor to perform.

Moreover,more than 20 years ago, I was trained in the diocesan seminary but I was sent away as being scrupulous on the account of my attachment to tradition. All the contacts I have made have become fruitless.

Gentlemen, what do you think I can do in this case? I seek your advice here.

     Sincerely yours,

     P.P.O. from Uganda




TIA responds:

Dear P.P.O.,

We offer our sympathy for your difficult situation. We hope you will find a good traditionalist seminary that accepts late vocations.

The best advice we can give you is to pray to Our Lady of Good Counsel asking for an orientation. We are sure she will attend your plea.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

Hello,

Could you please tell me when more tapes will be available from Marian Horvat on the Formation of Children series? Currently I can only find tapes 1 through 3. If the rest are available, could you please let me know how to get a hold of them.

     Thank you,

     S.B.



Dr. Horvat responds:

Hello S.B.,

At this moment I am working with two or three old manuals of formation for young men and adapting them for the American public, using my own experience as an educator. I intend to have a book on this topic ready to publish by February 2008.

After this work is finished, I plan to make the next tapes in the Formation series.

Thank you for your interest.

     Cordially,

     Marian T. Horvat, Ph.D.

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