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I received an email from one John Murphy. He informed me that the online newsletter 'Cathnews' - the subject for Thursday's blog post, 'DANCING WITH THE DEVIL: SOFT PORN HIDDEN IN MARIST ONLINE MAG' - is not published by the Society of Mary (Marists).
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I had assumed, because the editor was named in a Cathnews article as a Marist priest (and probably subliminally influenced by the Marist blue of the logo), that Cathnews is published by the Society of Mary. It would seem I assumed wrongly.
John Murphy asked me to delete the comments which "you have allowed on your blog, incorrectly naming someone be removed. In the context of the comments, someone’s good name has been called into question."
His email was in response to mine, which apologised to the editor of Cathnews for not notifying him before posting the lubricious details revealed in his publication; I realised in hindsight that I should have done.
Overcome with remorse, I apologised to John Murphy. And deleted all references on the blog to the 'someone' whose 'good name has been called into question'.
But once again I was going at things like a bull at a gate (my mother's perennial accusation). When the journo in me asserted itself - rather late in the day, I admit - I found the following, in a story in Cathnews July 2019.
"The former leader of the Society of Mary in New Zealand" (I'll call him X), "was CathNews’ inaugural editor.
"As well as continuing to write at CathNews, he also works as chair of the LOGOS Marist Youth Development Organisation.
"People spoke warmly of X’s various ministries as ... Marist administrator and leader ... and editor.
"One such is the Society of Mary’s recently elected new leader, Fr Tim Duckworth.
(A relative of) X said, "people value that X speaks the truth, not the doctrine, and is guided by what is right rather than the rule”.
"X recently stood down as editor of CathNews and announced he plans to retire from the pressure of writing the twice-weekly New Zealand publication.As X it seems, is no longer editor of Cathnews deleting his name from my blog post was the Right Thing to do. Thank God I didn't also have to delete his pic, taken with Pope Francis, with whom he seems to be on the best of terms - which I'd thought of publishing, because a chummy relationship with Pope Francis is entirely in accord with the whole ethos of Cathnews.
But hello Cathnews, hello Marists, in addition to that here's what I then found on the Cathnews page:
"CathNews is independently published by Church Resources Ltd.
"New Zealand editor: X.
"Features and Opinions editor: John Murphy.
John Murphy, as I had thought, and discovered on the Marist Messenger home page, is also a Marist priest. So while it must technically be true (because Fr John Murphy SM has said it) that Cathnews is not published by the Society of Mary, can he explain why Cathnews is described on the web as "Cathnews - Society of Mary":
https://www.sm.org.nz/about/mission-outreach/cathnews/
I quote:
"CathNews New Zealand and CathNews Pacific was launched in New Zealand in 2011. Its editorial headquarters are in Wellington, New Zealand. It is a product of the Society of Mary’s Church Resources Ltd, New Zealand.
"CathNews was developed by the Marist Internet Project. It is complied (sic) twice-weekly by the Marist Fathers.
Fr Murphy's denial now sounds to me, at best, like equivocation.
"I apologise for not notifying X before publishing what I inadvertently discovered on the Cathnews site. However, much of Cathnews' content, and what is implied as approval of that content, is contrary to Church teaching and I make no apology for expressing my views in that regard on Carmelite Canto Fermo."
I had a feeling that blog post would land me in trouble. But humiliation - as I'd reminded myself in apologising to Fr Murphy - is taught by the Carmelite saints (especially St Teresa of Jesus), as being good for the soul.
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| Transverberation of St Teresa by Bernini |
I love the Lord for he has heard
The cry of my appeal;
For he turned his ear to me
in the day when I called him.
They surrounded me, the snares of death,
With the anguish of the tomb;
they caught me, sorrow and distress.
I called on the Lord's name.
O Lord my God, deliver me!
How gracious is the Lord, and just;
our God has compassion.
The Lord protects the simple hearts;
I was helpless so he saved me.
Turn back, my soul, to your rest
for the Lord has bee good;
he has kept my soul from death,
my eyes from tears
And my feet from stumbling.
I will walk in the presence of the Lord
in the land of the living.
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ReplyDeleteLeo says:
ReplyDeleteThe latest issue of CathNews (July 16th) features a “commemoration” of the centenary of the the birth of John Curnow, a deceased priest of the diocese of Christchurch. The commemoration presents Fr Curnow as a hero of Catholic social justice, especially, for example, for his covert passing of Church funds (from the pew-dwellers) to H.A.R.T. in support of the anti-South Africa movement.
As a member of the archdiocesan Justice Committee of the Evangelisation, Justice and Development Commission in the late 70s/early 80s, I had personal dealings with Curnow, a very unlikeable man. His commitment was to Communism, certainly not to the Church.
It’s no coincidence that both of his pet campaigns, the one against the Vietnam War, the other against the South African Government, were to the advantage of Communism. North Vietnam was a Communist enemy of Sth Vietnam; the South African Government had, uniquely, outlawed the Communist Party.
The CathNews tribute speaks of Curnow’s “greatest work: social structural analysis”. More honestly, this was called Marxist analysis. One of his joys was to march in public pro-Communist protests wearing his priestly garb. As he told me, that was the only time he wore clerical garb. He also told me, before he realised that I’m a real Catholic, how much he despised Mother Teresa.
Incredibly, after he died in 1991, Cardinal Wolsey Williams recommended that a canonisation procedure be initiated for Curnow. Presumably, Williams’ fellow bishops were embarrassed by that because the idea died very quickly. Can you imagine a Heaven wherein Mother Teresa and her traducer, Curnow, reside happily together ? Apparently, CathNews can imagine that, or perhaps they expect that Mother Teresa is not there.
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ReplyDeleteAnonymous says:
ReplyDeleteWoe to the Princes of the Church who think only of piling riches upon riches to protect their authority and dominate with pride.
Tremble, earth, and you who proclaim yourselves as serving Jesus Christ and who, on the inside, only adore yourselves, tremble, for God will hand you over to His enemy, because the holy places are in a state of corruption.
Many convents are no longer houses of God, but the grazing-grounds of Asmodeas and his like. The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God have neglected prayer and penance, and the devil has bedimmed their intelligence. They have become wandering stars which the old devil will drag along with his tail to make them perish. The priests, ministers of my Son, the priests, by their wicked lives, by their irreverence and their impiety in the celebration of the holy mysteries, by their love of money, their love of honors and pleasures, and the priests have become cesspools of impurity. Yes, the priests are asking vengeance, and vengeance is hanging over their heads.
Woe to the priests and to those dedicated to God who by their unfaithfulness and their wicked lives are crucifying my Son again! The sins of those dedicated to God cry out towards Heaven and call for vengeance, and now vengeance is at their door, for there is no one left to beg mercy and forgiveness for the people.
May those in charge of religious communities be on their guard against the people they must receive, for the devil will resort to all his evil tricks to introduce sinners into religious orders, for disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the earth.
Nature is asking for vengeance because of man, and she trembles with dread at what must happen to the earth stained with crime. Tremble, earth, and you who proclaim yourselves as serving Jesus Christ and who, on the inside, only adore yourselves, tremble, for God will hand you over to His enemy, because the holy places are in a state of corruption. Many convents are no longer houses of God, but the grazing-grounds of Asmodeas and his like. - Our Lady of La Salette, 1879, approved by the Church.
Marist Fathers and Brothers are meant to be faithful sons of the Most Beautiful Blessed Virgin Mary. Oh! The sword of sorrow must pierce heart (Fr Joe Cahill SM who so loved Our Lady - Priests like him are a dying breed!)