Dear TIA,

The annual Message to Buddhists for the pagan Feast of Vesakh, issued by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, is entitled

Seeking Truth in Freedom: Christians and Buddhists live in Peace
31 MAR 2011 - VIS - Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, respectively president and secretary of the pontifical council, note that "in the pursuit of authentic peace, a commitment to seek truth is a necessary condition. ... This human striving for truth offers a fruitful opportunity for the followers of the different religions to encounter one another in depth and to grow in appreciation of the gifts of each". The text continues: "In today's world, marked by forms of secularism and fundamentalism that are often inimical to true freedom and spiritual values, inter-religious dialogue can be the alternative choice by which we find the 'golden way' to live in peace and work together for the good of all.”

Rome is lost. Truth is necessary to seek peace, but I know of One who said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Too bad Rome didn't mention Him. Tell Rome that we already have the "golden way" to live in peace.

     P.O.B.

Dr. Horvat,

Thank you Dr. Horvat for publishing your pictures of Our Lady of Good Success. I have linked them to my facebook. What a sweet gift to mankind. Like many mothers our Holy Mother reproves and ends with a smile...

I have most of your books on the Quito events and have also purchased the book Garcia Moreno. I wept when I came to its end. Thank you for making the defense of the faith your life's work.

     S.J.

PS. I wrote you about a favor from our Lady. By telephone and with the assistance of a priest, my mother's burial site and records of her death was found. Unfortunately she was buried in a pauper's unmarked grave. The good-hearted priest (Novus Ordo) did help me by going to the site and approximated where she may have been buried. I did not make an issue of the fact that I am a Traditional Catholic. I had a headstone placed on the general site with my mother's name and added "et al" for unknown others. I now have a picture of the grave marker.

May God bless you Marian Horvat. You are my heroine.

TIA,

World Youth Day is indeed disgraceful... this year promises nothing better than Doug Barry and Mark Mary of EWTN. I wonder if you have noticed how their programme Life On The Rock has coarsened over the years. Doug Barry is totally unsuitable for youth work and Mark Mary is very slapdash and inattentive sayer of Mass and this show’s dire scripts.

Doug Barry is a war-obsessive among other things, like the ugliest boys in high school. He allows youth ministry to let him never grow up. His “Camp Gargano” is so totally vicious, I don’t wish to even start describing what it is in any depth. The fellow comes from Lincoln, Nebraska: this is an area once crawling with fascists and neo-Nazis. It seems he thinks they have something to do with being a “warrrior” for Christ. This is totally sick.

     J.R.

Good Afternoon TIA,

I just wanted to let you know the new website is up and running. As you’ve allowed, I quoted one of your articles “Praying the 15 Decades of the Rosary” by Fr. Paul Stretenovic on the site.

Thank you for the inspiring words, articles and support you give to us who are consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

I would love to be added as one of your “links” if you approve.

     God Bless you,
     Christina Chretien
     www.15decaderosaries.com

Hello,

I congratulate you on your website and your adherence to traditional Catholic teaching.

I would like to draw your attention to an English website which you may, or may not, know: Christian Order

It gives a traditional viewpoint on the sad state of the British church.

     P.D., England

Dear TIA,

I read that Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would hold an interfaith meeting in Assisi, Italy, this October to mark the 25th anniversary of a watershed meeting held there by his predecessor, John Paul II. He is inviting Protestants, the orthodox, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and “all men of good will” (which I suppose includes agnostics and atheists and voodoo priests) “to recall the historic gesture sought by my predecessor and to solemnly renew the commitment of the faithful of all religious to live their own religious faith as a service for the cause of peace.”

I remember in 1986 reading that Ratzinger told a German newspaper concerning the Assisi meeting, "This cannot be the model" Why has he changed his mind?

     R.M.



TIA responds:

Dear R.M.,

We do not believe he has changed his mode; he just switched gears to a higher speed. His general mode has always been in the progressivist gear. His former reserve was a thin veneer applied to please the conservatives. Now, since he has successfully fooled most of the conservative and traditionalist Catholics, he seems more concerned about getting back on track with the progressivist Vatican II agenda.

Two items he has consistently championed throughout his papacy are religious liberty and inter-religious dialogue. One need only recall his continuous praise for the religious liberty of the French Revolution, which he made at the UN and in his Encyclical Caritas in veritate, presenting it as the solution to bring world peace. Also his visits to Protestant temples, mosques and synagogues and his greetings to pagan sects on their holidays celebrating false gods are a constant note of his pontificate.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

Dear TIA,

Did the Holy Father say this?

And visiting Assisi on June 17, 2007, he said in his homily: "The decision to celebrate this encounter in Assisi was suggested by the testimony of Francis as a man of peace, upon whom so many look favorably, even those of other cultural and religious persuasions. At the same time, the light of the saint 'Poverello' upon that initiative was a guarantee of Christian authenticity, because his life and his message depend so visibly upon his choice of Christ, excluding a priori any temptation to religious indifference, which would have nothing to do with authentic religious dialogue. [...]

“It could not be an evangelical or Franciscan attitude to fail to combine welcome, dialogue, and respect for all with the certainty of faith that every Christian, just the same as the saint of Assisi, is bound to cultivate, proclaiming Christ as the way, truth, and life of man, the only Savior of the world."

We in our little town with its one Catholic Church here do this Christian Unity thing every year. I don't go, but our pastor does. If I were to go - which apparently our pastor does not consider a sin, even though he is otherwise very orthodox - I must refrain from religious indifference.

Isn't this something like going to a bar full of heavy drinkers and refraining from drinking with them?

     Thank you for your guidance and comments.

     M.V.



TIA responds:

Dear M.V.,

Yes, these are indeed confused words. We believe the news report is objective, and he really did say what is reported.

Before Vatican II, many progressivist theologians, such as Karl Rahner, Yves Congar, Henri de Lubac, and Hans von Balthasar, employed the tactic of saying something orthodox to escape condemnation as modernists, and then advanced the progressivist agenda by defending the opposite. They even pretended that it was a “dialectical” or “Hegelian” way of advancing their agenda.

It seems that Benedict XVI, who is a member of this current of thought, is applying the same tactic, this time not to escape condemnation, but to send the message that he is conservative. Please read the previous answer.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

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