CatholicVoice Omnia possum in eo, qui me confortat
18 December - 31 December 2020
Only 50 Ire land/ NI £2 U K
€/£1.
Issue 306
“Fear Not; For, Behold, I Bring You Good Tidings Of Great Joy, That Shall Be To All The People: For, This Day, Is Born To You A Saviour, Who Is Christ The Lord, In The City Of David. And This SHall Be A Sign Unto You. You Shall Find The Infant Wrapped In Swaddling Clothes, And Laid In A Manger. (Luke 2:10-12)
Keep up to date with CatholicVoice news and articles via The Lumen Fidei Website www.lumenfidei.ie
2 EDITORIAL
Catholic Voice
18th December 2020
Let Us Continue Ireland’s Devotion To The Holy Mass have been and how easily they surrendered their liberty placing their trust in a group of scientists and politicians far removed from the daily reality of ordinary life. We will be paying the price for the actions of this elite group for many generations to come. Equally alarming has been the eagerness with which some are ready to snoop and snitch on neighbours who refuse to be taken in by the “new normal”. Anthony Murphy As we prepare to celebrate the great joy of Christmas let us pause to reflect on a difficult and often disturbing year. Since the lockdown began it has been very clear that our politicians have very little regard for our Christian faith. The unnecessary restrictions on public worship were imposed with a ruthless efficiency which would have turned Stalin green with envy. Ironically while the political class were once lamenting the unlikely return of Brexit checkpoints on the border, they were to impose checkpoints on what seemed like every street corner with armed Garda asking intrusive questions and putting us all under house arrest. Though the restrictions are beginning to ease there is the ever present threat of a return in the New Year with the expectation the plebs will once again follow the party line. Perhaps the most alarming aspect of all this is how readily compliant large swathes of the population
CatholicVoice
Editor: Anthony Murphy editor@catholicvoice.ie Telephone: 059 8627268 ROI 00353 59 8627268 Outside ROI Keep up to date with news and articles via The Lumen Fidei website www.lumenfidei.ie
Politicians enjoy power, their whole being is geared towards achieving power and once there remaining there - it will therefore be interesting to see how easily they give us back our liberty when the threat of this Chinese virus has gone. The restrictions have also exposed the sad state of the Catholic Church in Ireland and the UK - rather than challenge the restrictions most of our bishops were not only quick to throw in the towel but some were openly critical of Catholics who wished to receive the sacraments. As readers will know John Lacken and myself wrote to every bishop in Ireland asking for the sacraments to be reinstated the responses have either been neutral or openly critical, one archbishop accused us of being aggressive and belligerent for having the temerity to make the request in the first place - get back in your box troublesome laity! The leadership team of the Association of Catholic Priests issued a response to the lifting of restrictions in which they revealed they were opposed to offering public Mass on Christmas Day: “This is a time for reflection by all concerned: for placing safety and science as our top priority; for estimating the value of a token Mass if it might endanger health or life itself; for recognising the reservations of NPHET in regard to gatherings around churches; and, not least, for challenging
churchgoers who rightly long for and who will miss their traditional Christmas rituals by asking them to sacrifice them for this one year for their own and the community’s health and safety. Having a public Mass in every church in every parish may be a price too high to pay. In present circumstances we need to err on the side of caution and wisdom.” A token Mass? Science as our top priority? Do they believe at all? This is a truly shocking statement and hopefully not representative of their wider membership. One thing is clear - if the government try to reimpose restrictions and once again ban public worship their will be little resistance from our bishops and many priests. Therefore we the people must be the ones to lead civil disobedience and we must begin to organise ourselves to do so. In France, Bishop Ginoux of Montauban has suggested a way forward, urging the faithful to show up for Mass. “It’s easy to ask bishops to take the lead if no one stands behind them,” he reasons; “invade the churches at Mass times, ask for the Mass and bishops and priests will come to celebrate it.” That sounds like a good start and with some planning it should be possible to find a network of faithful priests who would cooperate with such a venture. Then we, the lay faithful could assemble at the appointed time, and wait — and pray — for a willing priest. Let us pray we do not see a return to the restrictions but let us also ready ourselves in case we do - if you would be interested in taking part in such an operation please contact John Lacken - secretary@ lumenfidei.ie and we can start to build a network. Let me close by thanking everyone who has helped keep the show on
18th December 2020 Catholic Voice the road throughout 2020. It has been tough year for all sorts of reasons but thanks to the generosity of our readers we have managed to continue publishing in very difficult circumstances. I wish you and your families a blessed and holy Christmas filled with Christian joy.
EDITORIAL 3
Christ Has Overcome The World These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour comes, that whosoever kills you, will think that he does a service to God. And these things will they do to you; because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things I have told you, that when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you of them.
Behold, the hour cometh, and it is now come, that you shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall have distress: but have confidence, I have overcome the world. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, O’Connell Bridge Dublin 1932
(John 16:1-4, 32-33)
C a t h o l i c Vo i c e We Would like to Thank all our readers, advertisers, contributors, promoters and stockists for your support during this challenging year and We Wish all of you a blessed Christmas and a New Year full of heavenly grace.
12 A COVID CHRISTMAS TALE
Catholic Voice
18th December 2020
The New Citizen - A Dystopian Christmas Tale John Lacken
Elizabeth awoke in the ‘Hospital for the Health & Well-Being of Future Citizens’ with a deep sense of inner contentment. She always thought the name of the hospital was strange; it was here that her friend had aborted her first two pregnancies after government officials advised her that current climate restrictions and health regulations had determined that the time was not right for a new citizen of the ‘Global Happiness Initiative’. The Initiative was the ruling body which had been set up after the first appearance of Covid. That was the year Covid-19 and now, in this year Covid-33, Elizabeth, and her significant other citizen, Zack, after a careful screening process, had finally been granted permission to bring a new citizen into the Global Happiness Initiative. It was now three days since Elizabeth had given birth. The equality ministry had not yet decided on the gender of this new citizen, but Elizabeth secretly hoped for what was known in the years before Covid as, ‘a little boy’. She had never voiced this secret desire out loud for fear of repercussions from the Ministry for New Citizens. The years of rigorous ‘new citizens training’ that she and Zack had undergone, had taught her to keep certain things to herself. Otherwise, she would never have been accepted into the ‘programme for the development of new citizens’, which was regulated by the Ministry. It was this government department that determined which citizens were suitable for bringing ‘new citizens’ into the Initiative. She often thought it funny that, despite years and years of medical and scientific advancement, the best citizens were
still being produced by the physical union of what were once known as ‘a male’ and ‘a female’. She had not been privileged to see the new citizen yet, but soon, soon, she would get to hold this precious child. Meanwhile, down in the ‘Welcome Neo-Citizens’ ward of the hospital, Nurse Mary was busy preparing the new citizen to be united with his future ‘citizen carers’. She was glad that this new little citizen had passed all of the required screening tests, as she always found it difficult when a new citizen failed one of the tests and had to be disposed of. It was hard to take the emotional trauma that sometimes occurred when citizen carers had to be informed that their new citizen had not passed the tests and that they should apply again for acceptance onto the programme in another two years. Some citizen carers never fully recovered from the psychological impact of this and were subsequently deemed unfit members of ‘the programme for the development of new citizens’. They were dismissed from the programme after being sterilised. But today was a good day for Nurse Mary. She was making the final preparations for this new citizen who had been assigned the gender ‘male identifying as male’ with the pronouns He/Him. She often wondered what criteria were used by the government in assigning the gender to the new citizen, but this had always been classified information. She was now ready to perform the final step before taking the new citizen to be introduced to his future citizen carers who would make sure that this little citizen
would learn to think according to the standard Covid doctrines that had been passed by the different government ministries over the years. Nurse Mary always felt a tinge of sadness as she made the final preparation for the new citizen. She hated, (although emotions like hate and love had been banned for years), when the time came to put the facemask on the new citizen. She had to be careful that she was not observed looking longingly at the little citizen’s beautiful face for the last time, absorbing every little detail. Any outward sign of emotion or resistance could cost her her job, and then she would never have the privilege of looking at these beautiful little faces again. She whispered a soft ‘goodbye’ to the little boy whose face she believed she would never see again, and carefully placed the mask, making sure that it was covering the nose and mouth, and was tucked snugly under the new citizen’s chin. He was just three days old. She would have kissed this little boy were it not for the ever-present security cameras which monitored her every movement. She was finding it more and more difficult to part with each new citizen she prepared, and she wondered for how long more she would be able to keep up the pretence despite the repugnance she felt deep within her heart. She dismissed these morbid thoughts by thinking about the name the citizen carers would give to this little fellow. It was one of the few freedoms still permitted to citizen carers. They still got to name their new little citizen, with final approval of the name being reserved to the government of course.
18th December 2020
Catholic Voice
Elizabeth, fully dressed now and awaiting her release from the ‘Hospital for the Health & WellBeing of Future Citizens’, tensed with excitement as she saw the door of her hospital room opening and Nurse Mary wheel the cradle with the new citizen into the room. Elizabeth had taken extra care to ensure that her facemask was placed correctly according to the latest Covid-33 regulations. She made sure not to touch it again once in place, and, with carefully sanitised hands she had signed the Covid-33 declaration stating that she would carefully educate this new citizen according to current and future Covid regulations. She knew that she could be expelled from ‘the programme for the development of new citizens’, for any serious breach of the regulations. In this case, the new little citizen would be given over to other citizen carers. She was determined that this would not happen to her. One of her best friends had applied for, and had been granted, permission to voluntarily terminate her own life after her little citizen had been removed from her when someone reported her for not having her mask on correctly whilst in the presence of her little citizen. Elizabeth still missed this friend and had not found any comfort in the Ministry for Health’s assurances that her friend had made a responsible decision for the good of the Global Happiness Initiative and that some of her organs had been donated to save the lives of other citizens. Elizabeth and Zack signed the forms handed to them by Nurse Mary. The new citizen was wrapped snugly in the little cradle on wheels, and Elizabeth’s heart was beating faster than she had ever known before, because very soon she would get to hold her masked little citizen.
Nurse Mary addressed the new citizen carers: “what name do you wish to give this new citizen, a male who identifies as male, with the pronouns he/him” Elizabeth replied in a voice which surprised her for its calmness, “His name is John” Nurse Mary turned to the male citizen carer, known on her form as ‘Carer A’, to confirm the name. Zack replied: “His name is John” “Thank you” said Nurse Mary “Just let me just upload that to the citizen database for approval. It will only take a minute”. A minute later the screen on Nurse Mary’s tablet device flashed green and the word ‘Approved’ lit up the screen. She turned to the cradle and carefully lifted John out and handed him to Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s heart and world stood still for several moments. She carefully handed the little bundle to Zack who placed citizen John into his sanitised travel cot and after a few final formalities, Elizabeth, Zack, and John headed home.
A COVID CHRISTMAS TALE 13
It was late in the evening of December 24th, in the year Covid-45. John, now twelve years old, was outside as the sky slowly darkened and the stars began to peep. He was warm in his thermal coat and was eagerly looking forward to his planned adventure. About two years ago, Zack had begun taking John out at night to teach him about the stars and galaxies in the night sky. John was fascinated by the stars, but more than that, he loved when his father, or citizen carer A as he was supposed to address him, would tell him about the old times. Zach spoke to him of a time when there were churches and priests, he told him about a mystical man called Jesus and of how he had come to bring freedom to men. John loved these night adventures and stories, especially when his mother Elizabeth would join them. His parents warned him that these things were never to be spoken of in the house or when others were present, but Zach had told him that one day he too would be free. “When?”, John asked. Zach assured him that he would know the time and to follow the inspirations of his heart.
14 A COVID CHRISTMAS TALE
Catholic Voice
A few nights previously, John had noticed a bright new star shining in the East. The star somehow seemed to beckon to him as if it wanted him to follow it and to go to the place where its shining rays seemed to touch the earth. This evening, the pull of the star had become irresistible and John, remembering his father’s words about following his heart, without a word to anyone, had decided to follow it. He made sure not to bring any devices so that his movements would not be tracked. Once all was quiet, John set off at a brisk pace travelling across the open fields. Eventually, he came to a fence, beyond which lay the restricted zone. Three days ago, while he was exploring the area, he had come across a gap in the fence which allowed him to squeeze through. He had heard the rumours about the strange, savage people who reportedly lived out here, known disparagingly to some as ‘The Catholics’. They were said to have some strange beliefs which were quite popular in the years before covid (BC), but which had been suppressed by the ministry for truth. John had never met any of these people and he was not sure he believed that they really existed. Perhaps these were the people from the stories his father used to tell him on their star gazing nights. Perhaps it was a rumour put out by the ministry for truth to dissuade children
Give a Postal Subscription to
CatholicVoice This Christmas
We will send a Christmas card detailing the subscription to you for the recipient. In Ireland 6 months €40 12 months €75 To Order Please Telephone 059-8627268 00353 59-8627268
18th December 2020
from venturing into the restricted zones. This thought caused John to smile behind his ever-present facemask. The ministry for truth lying to children to make them obedient. The irony of it appealed to his sense of humour. But tonight, he was on an adventure and who knows, perhaps he would learn the ‘real’ truth. He had been travelling for about two miles into the restricted zone when he noticed a growing brightness coming from one of the rays that shone forth from the new star. In the distance, he began to make out the shape of a low building which was lit up by the star, and he directed his footsteps towards it. As he drew nearer, he was careful not to make a sound. There was a door in the building, and it was open. The soft light, as of a candle, created a warm inviting glow within. He could hear the voice of a woman singing and, crouching low, he crept ever closer until he could see within the room. He was astonished at what he saw. The woman was older than anyone he had ever seen before. There were no old people in John’s world, but that was not all. This woman’s face was uncovered. She was not wearing her facemask. In his astonishment John found himself staring at her. Suddenly, he realised that she was looking directly at him. Her face was kindly, and she beckoned to him. Now, feeling a little foolish, John stood up and approached the door. “You’re very welcome to Bethlehem, John” said the woman in a voice that was warm, gentle, and inviting. “Won’t you come in? We’ve been expecting you”. John noticed the way her lips moved as she spoke. He had never seen his carer’s faces uncovered apart from mealtimes, and the ministry for new citizens discouraged talking whilst eating. He wondered how she had known his name. John cautiously entered the room and felt the warmth coming from an open fireplace where wood logs crackled in the grate. “Who are you”. “H-H ow do you know me” “Is this where you live”. The questions tumbled from John’s lips as more formed in his mind. The old woman put a finger to her lips for John to be quiet and told him to remove his facemask. “Those are not necessary here” she said, “we are a free people” The woman introduced herself as Anna and said, “There is someone I would like you to meet; she has not seen you for quite some time”. She drew back a heavy curtain that covered the entrance to another warmly lit room. John entered and saw another woman cradling a new-born infant. There were four other children with her who all looked up as John entered.
18th December 2020
A COVID CHRISTMAS TALE 15
Catholic Voice
“This is my daughter Mary” said Anna, “she used to work at the ‘Hospital for the Health & WellBeing of Future Citizens’, and she was the midwife when you were born. She looked after you during your first three days of life. She left that job shortly after you went home” Mary smiled a beautiful smile at John.
all true! The Catholics still lived! But John was in for another big surprise. Moments later the door of Bethlehem opened again, and Elizabeth and Zack entered the room. John ran to the arms of his mother and he felt her warm tears wet his cheeks as she embraced him and kissed him for the first time without their facemasks.
John heard another noise now, the sound of a horse arriving outside. Someone else was coming to visit. He looked around to see a tall man, dressed completely in black, stoop slightly as he entered the house. “Hello there, John” he said, when he beheld the young boy, “so you’ve finally come to pay us a visit on this special night of nights? I am Father Pius, and we will soon celebrate the dawn Christmas Mass to welcome the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. We will also baptise Mary’s new baby”. John’s mind was racing. The stories were
Later that night, as John lay in his bed pondering all the wonderful things he had seen and been told this day, his thoughts returned to the wonderful ceremony he had witnessed. He remembered the words of Father Pius as he began the Holy Mass “Introíbo ad altáre Dei” – “I will go in to the altar of God”. He remembered the wonderful smell of incense, the sound of the bell ringing, the elevation of Host and Chalice, his parents Elizabeth and Zach, who had been baptised Catholic only recently, kneeling to receive the Sacred Host which
The Five First Saturdays
Father Pius placed carefully on their tongues. He smiled as he thought of the baptism of Elijah, Mary’s fifth child, and he longed for the day of his own baptism. He knew now that he was called from all eternity to proclaim to all who would listen, that Jesus Christ is the saviour of men. As John drifted off to sleep, the words and melody of the chorus of the song they had all sung after Holy Mass had ended, sounded in his heart. He knew that all was well with the world and that the peace of Jesus Christ had come to all men of good will.
There’s A Place For Us
This book is a collection of Rosary There’s a Place for Us meditations composed by the Homosexuality in the celebrated French Dominican, Father Divine Plan of Redemption Jacques Marie Louis Monsabré, which were translated into English in 1885. Although these were composed in before Our Lady visited Fatima, they are perfectly suitable for use with the Five First Saturdays Devotion of Reparation. Jesus said to those who would stone her: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
The importance of the Five First Saturdays Devotion cannot be over emphasised, Our Lady specifically came from Heaven to Fatima to ask Catholics to honour her in this way. We would appreciate your help in getting this book to as many people as possible. The cost is €10.00 including post & packing to anywhere in Ireland and it would make a great Christmas present.
Glo-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ria In excelsis Deo Glo-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ria In excelsis Deo
Jesus said to the woman: “Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee? Who said: No man, Lord. And Jesus said: Neither will I condemn thee.”
“Go, And Now Sin No More.” By John Cassidy
There’s A Place For Us: This testimony does not shirk away from difficult Catholic teachings but shows with piercing clarity why the Church teaches as she does the area of human sexuality. In our lives we are called to a lot more than sexual satisfaction. Rather, we are granted the privilege of living life on the highest possible plane in responding to the call of greatness of being the Sons and Daughters of God.
John Cassidy - Bio Ex-homosexual and New Man John Cassidy has been serving the Catholic Church as a full-time Lay-Man since his conversion in 2014. John has founded the Association of Believing Catholics which is a lay initiative to promote and defend the fullness of Catholic truth.
Paperback
Paperback
€/£10.00 inc p&p in Ireland
€/£6.00 inc p&p in Ireland
€/£15.70 inc p&p outside of Ireland
€/£9.40 inc p&p outside Ireland
To Order please telephone 087 1208779 ROI 00353 871208779 Outside ROI Alternatively, Order Online @ www.lumenfidei.ie/shop