Dear Tradition in Action,

I am writing to beg your help with a question I have so far been unable to find an answer to. I have only been a Catholic for a few months, so any guidance or advice you might be able to offer would be an enormous help.

I am currently employed as a graphic designer for a marketing company. I primarily design websites, but I also design and create images for brochures, catalogs, magazine ads, postcards, logos, etc.

My difficulty with this is that occasionally I am asked to design websites and other materials for protestant, pagan, and other non-Catholic sects that promote their beliefs. I am not asked to create the content for these customers, but I do create the layout and graphics.

Since my conversion, I am greatly concerned that as a Catholic, helping non-Catholic sects in this way may be contrary to the teaching of the Church. So far no person or book I have consulted has been able to help me, so I turn to you, who have always so faithfully represented Catholic truth and tradition. I would be so very grateful for any help you can give me.

     Most respectfully begging your assistance,

     J.K.



TIA responds:

Dear Miss J.K.,

Thank you for your kind words regarding our website.

We have friends who work in other professions who were asked by their superiors to do things against Catholic Morals. They presented an objection of conscience to their supervisors, stating that those things they could not do because they were against their religious beliefs. Such objections were well-received, and the superiors dispensed them from performing those particular tasks, without firing them.

Perhaps you could approach your superior or manager with a similar request to see how he responds.

If this does not work, perhaps you should start to look for another job that does not oblige you to compromise the principles of our Catholic Faith. When you find one, establish your conditions before you begin the job.

This is the advice we can offer you.

Cordially,

TIA correspondence desk

Dear TIA,

I am sure you have seen the latest excuse for a funeral Mass, courtesy of New Church. You no doubt heard about the death of the flamboyant pervert fashion designer Yves St. Laurent's recent demise due to AIDS. Here is a link showing a bishop (sic) with Yves St. Laurent's homosexual live-in and business partner (very sic) at the "funeral."

June 5, 2008 - In front of the Church Saint Roch in Paris, Bishop Roland Letleron, at right, during the funeral service for Yves St. Laurent.  At left, Pierre Berge, Laurent's homosexual live-in, waves to the public

Other photos at the same site show various "celebrities" and avant-garde oddities attending the Mess, including the French president and his concubine (wearing the obligatory pants). All the "beautiful" people were there ("be there or be square"). France mourned the death of this homosexual like a national hero.

Of course the dandy fellow was cremated afterward (here as well as in Hell for eternity... just getting in the mood, I suppose).

It might be interesting to contrast what some true Catholic Popes and Saints of the past would have to say about this debacle. Guimarães' book [on homosexuality] comes to mind.

     J.S.

Dear TIA Authors,

Many thanks for your excellent website with all the information. Have you all seen the new "Ark of Mercy Shrine" in the Saint Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church in Chicago? I saw the installation Mass on EWTN May 31. It was presided over by Cardinal George. Well, I thought it looked more like a Hindu Goddess rather than Holy Mary which it is supposed to represent. Sad, to say the least.

Also, this past Monday June 9, some Nuns were evicted from their convent in Rome for apparently having a man inside. I only found a short article on the Internet on this one. Just proves the devastating times we are living in.

Many thanks to all of you great, passionate writers at TIA. Holy Church needs more people like you!

Thanks for all you do! God bless You!

     A devoted reader of TIA,

     L.S.



TIA responds:

Dear Mrs. L.S.,

Thank you for your enthusiastic support.

Card. George presided at Mass of the new shrine where Our Lady sits in lotus position over the altar

No, we did not know about the mentioned shrine in St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Chicago.

We were able to find this picture at right. A CNS article explains that the Virgin Mary is 'exhaling' in a supposedly 'relaxing position' to help people pray. This relaxing position is what in Hindu-Yoga language is called a "lotus position." There is, unquestionably a Hindu tone in the ensemble, as you say.

We had not heard about the nuns in Rome you mentioned above.

Indeed, we are living in devastating times.

Cordially,

TIA correspondence desk

Dear Sir,

My name is Nicolás Despósito. I am a Roman Catholic priest who adheres to the Thesis of Cassiciacum (wrongly known as sede-privationist).

My questions are:

Have you ever considered the Sedevacantist position? If yes, why haven't you accepted it?

Have you read the writings of Bp. Guerard des Lauriers? If yes, what do you think about them?

Thank you for your time.

     God bless you.

     Fr. Despósito



TIA responds:

Rev. Fr. Nicolás Despósito,

Our position regarding sede-vacantism is affirmed in the booklet Sede-Vacantism versus Resistance, which can be purchased here on our website.

We have also addressed the topic in another response to a reader.

So far, we have not read any work by bishop Guerard des Lauriers.

     Cordially,

    TIA correspondence desk

Dear TIA,

Regarding the article on Kissing the Hands of Ladies, if you are interested about what St. Alphonsus said, I can send you in English and Latin a short passage from his work on Moral Theology, in which he condemns kissing as an occasion of impurity.

This custom of kissing the hand was a worldly one, and it should in no manner be advocated among men and women, courting or who are susceptible of an amorous relationship.

     That's good Catholic morality.

     Br. Alexis Bugnolo



TIA responds:

Dear Br. Bugnolo,

Yes, we would like to see the "short passage" of St. Alphonsus of Ligouri. We are a little skeptical of your interpretation.

We would like to confirm the following points: Does St. Alphonsus really condemn a son who kisses his mother's hand after she gives him a blessing? Does he condemn a male Catholic who kisses the hand of a statue of Our Lady or a female Catholic who kisses the hand of a statue of Our Lord as a manifestation of impurity? Does he condemn a subordinate who pays homage to his suzerain, kissing his or her hand as a symbol of submission - for example, a subordinate of Queen Elizabeth who kisses her hand out of respect? If he does so, he would be condemning, on the one hand, a very old manifestation of filial affection and devotion and, on the other, a solid and long-established tradition of Feudalism and Chivalry.

If any kiss among men and women would be an invitation to impurity, as you simplistically affirm, women who would kiss the hands of a Bishop would also be looking for "an amorous relationship." This opinion, however, seems absurd, because the reason for kissing a Bishop's hand is to acknowledge him as a superior. The origin of such customs was the feudal homage referred to above.

Following your line of thought, it appears that the kissing of the feet of Our Lord by Mary Magdalene, after she washed them with perfume (Luke 7:38, 45), would also be a manifestation of impurity...

Perhaps you are going a little too far in your interpretation of Catholic Morals.

Notwithstanding, we ask your prayers,

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondent desk

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