U.S. Bishops Snookered By Obamacare

President Obama Signed the Healthcare Bill on March 23, 2010

(EWTN News) — President Barack Obama has not kept his promises about conscience protections for abortion opponents, and those who trusted him to exclude abortion from the health-care bill seem to “have been played,” Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami said.

“His administration is running roughshod over conscience-protection provisions’ long part of the law that find their justification in the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion, a foundational human right,” the archbishop wrote in a Dec. 2 essay in the Miami Herald.

“It is one thing for an administration to support and promote an agenda; it is quite another to force those who disagree with it to violate their moral and religious principles.”

read full story here

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: You were warned your excellency. You and your brother bishops were all warned. We Catholic bloggers told you this day would come. We yelled it from the top of our lungs. YOU CANNOT TRUST PROGRESSIVE LIBERALS!!! YOU CANNOT TRUST BARACK OBAMA!!! YOU CANNOT TRUST THE LIKES OF NANCY PELOSI!!! (My God! Is she still in the Church? Have you not excommunicated her yet!?! What does this woman have to do to be excommunicated???) WE WARNED YOU. YOU DID NOT LISTEN. WHERE IT NOT FOR YOUR SUPPORT, OBAMACARE WOULD HAVE NEVER PASSED. BUT YOU DID SUPPORT IT, AND YOU TRUSTED THOSE WHOM YOU KNEW WERE NOT TRUSTWORTHY. NOW WE MUST ALL PAY THE PRICE!!!

The first to pay will be Catholic healthcare workers. Doctors, nurses and technicians will become the first martyrs of your naivety. Next it will be you! I do hope your excellencies will lead us now by example in martyrdom. I do hope you would not permit your sheep to be fined and jailed before you. I do hope you have not left us, the laity, to fight for the faith in your place. You led us into this situation, and since you cannot now lead us out of it, we do hope you will at least lead us into martyrdom.

In HIS Majesty's Service,

The Catholic Knight

(PS - I work in healthcare. I am prepared to be martyred for this. If I'm lucky, I may only lose my job. If necessary however, I am prepared to face fines and a prison sentence for following my conscience. It's just too bad my kids will have to go into poverty should it come down to that. Maybe you could help them out when the time comes?)

Western Powers Are Behind Arab Revolutions

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Hindsight being 20/20, it would appear that as we've had time to reflect on the events to 2011 thus far, patterns are emerging, and the truth is beginning to come out. Our suspicions are being confirmed.

Western Liberals, particularly in the United States, have for the past three years (at least) been working behind the scenes to create these riotous revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East. Now when I say "Liberals" I'm including Neoconservatives in the United States as well. I'm talking about everyone from the far Left (George Soros and company) to the libertarian centrist (George Bush and friends). I am not talking about the truly right wing (paleoconservative) groups, which have been disenfranchised in the United States and Europe for decades.

Information emerging from Wikileaks is starting to confirm many of the suspicions we had, but were hesitant to voice, while the riots were beginning to unfold weeks ago. What we have here is an elaborate strategy that has been executed with precision to elicit a certain response in the Arab world. The manipulation began under the George W. Bush administration and is now continuing under the administration of Barack Obama. While the United States seems to be the principle agent, European powers are likewise in collaboration. This helps to explain the United States' seeming "standoffish" posture while the riot-revolutions unfold. The United States has been intimately involved, but this has been behind the scenes and under the table. Moving in too fast in a public way would tip the world off as to what is really going on.

In dealing with the Arab world the United States us using a threefold strategy to get what it wants. Here's how it works...

1. First, major corporations within the United States (and Europe) pitch business deals to Arab powers, promising money and prestige to any Arab leader that will cooperate.
2. Next, if the first step should fail, the CIA steps in and attempts to orchestrate a revolution from inside the nation, to change the regime and place people in power who will be more willing to make business deals with American (and European) companies. 
3. Lastly, if the second step should fail, a pretense for war is manufactured resulting in military action from American and NATO powers, again attempting to produce a regime change.

We saw this entire scenario unfold in Iraq and Afghanistan.  We've been watching it unfold in Iran for about a decade now, and the plan has met considerable resistance from there with multiple failures in Step Two, and preparation being made for Step Three.  In the last two months we have watched Step Two unfold all across the Arab world as more and more evidence continues to surface of deep American involvement.  Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Tunisia, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Syria; are all experiencing unrest.  So far the Saudis, Jordanians, Kuwaitis and Syrians have been able to pacify their people with financial aid to citizens and the promise of reform.  Saudi Arabia has been having increasing trouble in the south and is now moving troops into Bahrain for a direct confrontation with protesters.  Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak was not so lucky, and became the first leader to be ousted in this recent clandestine Euro-American venture.   The fate of Libya's dictator Muammar Gaddafi remains uncertain, though it would appear he is winning at the moment. (You will notice the emerging Euro-American pretense for war starting to develop as the West mulls over a transition to Step Three above.)  If Gaddafi prevails we can probably expect the accusation of "war crimes" and "ethnic cleansing" against him to come out of Europe and the United States as they attempt to coax their people to support a military "solution." 

Of coarse the logical question for anyone to ask is "WHY?"  Why would the Western world do this?  What is the purpose?  What's the benefit?  You might be surprised to learn is not about oil.  There is plenty of oil all over the world, especially in North America.  No, its about something a little more nuanced called "peak oil."  What is "peak oil?"  Here's is the definition from Wikipedia...

(Wikipedia) - Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, and the combined production rate of a field of related oil wells. The aggregate production rate from an oil field over time usually grows exponentially until the rate peaks and then declines—sometimes rapidly—until the field is depleted. This concept is derived from the Hubbert curve, and has been shown to be applicable to the sum of a nation’s domestic production rate, and is similarly applied to the global rate of petroleum production. Peak oil is often confused with oil depletion; peak oil is the point of maximum production while depletion refers to a period of falling reserves and supply.

source

Now to translate this into common English here is what it means.  There is plenty of oil all over the earth.  In fact, there is considerable evidence mounting that oil isn't even a "fossil fuel" and that it's actually produced as a byproduct of geological forces deep inside the earth.  NASA believes that there is evidence of oil on other worlds with high volcanic activity, and so if that is the case, it can't be the result of decaying dinosaurs and plant life as previously thought.  All that aside nobody is talking about oil depletion here, as it would appear that oil may very well be a renewable source of perpetual energy provided by geological-volcanic activity deep beneath the earth's surface.  So if the modern science is right, the earth will never run out of oil.  It just takes time for the oil to bubble up high enough in the earth's crust for us to drill down and get it.  That being said we run into another problem.  It's not about how much oil exists, or will exist in the future.  It's about how much oil can be extracted at a time even if every country is using all of its resources to get at it.  When you reach the maximum extraction rate possible, and the amount of oil consumption surpasses that, you have reached "peak oil."  In other words, it's not about how much refined oil hits the market, but rather it's about how fast it's being consumed by the industrial world.  Once you hit "peak oil" fuel prices go up, way up, and that slows down economies and threatens economic growth.  Without economic growth a nation's political power and corporate hegemony begins to decline, and that spells bad news for the people in charge.

Ever since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 a new bipolar conflict has emerged between the United States and Russia.  That conflict is over peak oil, and both the United States and Russia are trying to gain control of as much oil producing countries as possible to gain the upper hand when peak oil occurs.  It's expected to occur sometime within the next few decades, so each superpower it vying for as much control as possible.  The nation that has the most control over the most oil production suffers the least in a peak oil world economy.  The Soviet Union lists as it's oil "producers" most of the "stan" states (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) along with Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Iran. Within these states exist vital pipelines and oil fields supplying the new Russian Federation. Recently, the United States attempted to cut a deal with the nation of Georgia, promising oil revenue from the West and military protection under NATO. This was considered a political "invasion" into the Russian sphere of influence and resulted in a Russian military counter-invasion of Georgia in 2008. Russia seized a northern province in Georgia that contained the coveted oil pipeline, and accused Georgia of "ethnic cleansing" to justify it. (This was a direct "thumb in the nose" to NATO allies which accused Serbia of the same thing in Kosovo to justify the NATO bombing of this Russian ally in the late 1990s.) It was a little case of what comes around goes around. 

Among America's allied oil producers are most South American nations and many nations within the Arab world. However, the United States has run into a problem lately.  The Arab world has been getting "uppity" in recent decades, namely since the creation of OPEC and the tight control of oil production which dictates fuel prices.  The United States took it's currency off the gold standard in 1971 and indirectly placed it on the "oil standard" in that oil is now traded in U.S. dollars.  Thus as a result, when the price of oil goes up the dollar is weaker, and when the price of oil goes down the dollar is stronger.

After the economic collapse of the United States and Europe in late 2008, the western economies were propped up artificially with various bailout "stimulus packages" created by Western governments.  The United States of course led the way with the largest stimulus package and the printing of U.S. dollars to pay for it.  With this massive injection of liquidity (money printing) of U.S. dollars into foreign markets, the price of food rapidly increased creating inflation.  These increased food prices destabilized various economies that trade in U.S. dollars, particularly the Arab nations.  Euro-American involvement in clandestine populace movements sponsored riots and revolutions in these nations.  The idea here was to force Arab leaders to start pumping more oil to stabilize the U.S. dollar and give the Western world an upper hand in the emerging peak oil economy.  Those leaders that don't comply face more protests, riots and revolutions to come.  It's a nasty little game we're playing to maintain our political influence, economic prowess and corporate hegemony.  We're doing it to keep the Russians from getting the upper hand and maintain our superpower status both domestically and internationally.

The problem here is this is how we're treating our supposed "allies" in the Arab world. Granted, they haven't been treating us too nicely in recent decades, but nevertheless, we need their support to prevent Russia from gaining a peak oil advantage.  Supporting and sponsoring riots and revolutions within the nations of your supposed "allies" is not very conducive to good relations.  We're effectively acting more like a bully than a friend.  The only way this pays off for the United States and Europe is if it's successful, and regime changes occur all throughout the Arab world, but even then it's risky business, because if those new regimes are taken over by radicals, we could be in a lot of trouble.  Furthermore, if these riot-revolutions are not successful, we have just effectively pissed off our "allies" who give us the upper hand in a peak oil economy. On thing is for sure, if Gaddafi survives the attempted coupe in his nation of Libya, he'll never sell another drop of oil to Europe again.  His oil will go to Russia instead.

The problem with Western Liberals (both Leftist Socialists and Centrist Libertarians) is that they both believe their economic models will work just fine in the Arab world since they have proved to work so swimmingly well in the Western world.  (Well, sort of.)  So the Centrist Libertarians (otherwise known as the Neoconservatives of George W. Bush and company) have pushed to recreate the Arab world in the Western world's image, assuming that this will result in greater oil trading partners over time.  While the Leftist Socialists (George Soros and company) also believe their models will work well in the Arab world and so they likewise work with the Centrist Libertarians to accomplish the same goal of regime change.  In the end however, their final objectives are considerably different.  The Centrist Libertarians (Neoconservatives) would like to create a world where the United States and Europe have the upper hand in a peak oil economy, while the Leftist Socialists envision a new order in which there is an "open society" whereby socialist nations trade oil on equal footing.  Both groups are terribly mistaken.

The Arab world isn't going to fall for the Neoconservative or Socialist vision.  The Arab world has it's own vision and that is Shariah law.  Now there are various degrees of this vision, and a lot of it depends on what part of the Arab world we're talking about, but the basic premise of the vision is shared throughout.  They envision Islamic Sharia, under Arab political prowess, with their own economic hegemony.  The United States and Russia can just be dammed as far as their concerned.  So long as their leaders continue to cooperate with both superpowers they will be vulnerable to uprisings.  Right now the Islamic religious leaders in the Arab world are using the subversion of the CIA to their advantage.  They know that once their leaders are overthrown there will be a period of vulnerability which they can use to seize power.  It's happened before (Iran in 1979), and it will likely happen again.  Both the United States and Russia are playing with fire here, but the United States is more deeply entangled, at least as far as we can tell for now.  It is likely the whole thing will blow up in our faces in the not-too-distant future.

Those of us familiar with Catholic prophecy concerning the Chastisement of God (which we are now in and will likely soon conclude) will result in the fall of Europe to Muslim and Marxist powers in an upheaval of anarchy.  This may very well be payback for Euro-American subversion in the Arab world.  We also know that Russia is involved in this somehow, and it would appear the United States is strangely silent, as if we are unable to do anything.  We know this results in the fall of the Vatican in Rome, the assassination of our pope, and the rise of a new pope in exile who will crown a new French king that will eventually reestablish the Holy Roman Empire.  We also know that nothing short of a direct intervention from God, a disaster of epic proportions and unrivaled in all of recorded history, will be the decisive blow to the powers of evil in this age.  Before that happens however, the Church in Europe will be decimated, and European Christians will face the threshold of extinction.  Exactly when and how this will all unfold is not known to us at this time, but with each passing month the emerging picture becomes a little more clear. 

Missouri Catholics CAN Support The Fair Tax

St. John of God, Patron of Publishers
Pray for us!

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT:  On January 21st, 2011 the Missouri Catholic Conference Messenger ran a number of articles outlining it's case against the Missouri Jobs Act, otherwise known as the "Missouri Fair Tax."  This series of articles was very condemning of the measure, creating the illusion that the legislation harmed the poor and opposed the social teachings of the Catholic Church. Catholic Missourians reading the articles were likely to walk away with the notion that one cannot support the measure and still remain a Catholic in good standing with the Church.  To make matters worse, the Missouri Catholic Conference (MCC) cites as it's board of directors the Catholic bishops of the State of Missouri (Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, Bishop Edward Rice, Bishop John R. Gaydos, Bishop James V. Johnston and Bishop Robert W. Finn).  The "Messenger" claims to write on behalf of the MCC and as a voice for Missouri's Catholic bishops.

There were two things I found particularly disturbing about this.  The first was the way the articles were written.   They left the reader with the impression that there was no redeeming quality to the Missouri Jobs Act, thus giving the reader the false impression that one cannot support it and remain a good Catholic.  The second was that the lead article was written by a person who may not necessarily have the best interests in mind for Missouri's Catholic bishops or the Catholic Church's social teaching in general.

Amy Blouin

Amy Blouin is the Founder and Executive Director of the Missouri Budget Project which David Catanese of KY3 News in Springfield Missouri described as a "liberal leaning" organization. Ironically, she is the former Director of Advocacy for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis from 2001 to 2003. While she doesn't appear to be working within the internal structures of the Catholic Church anymore, she apparently still has connections with the MCC and the "Messenger." 

A snapshot of Rep. Oxford's blog
taken on 3/8/2011
Click Image To Enlarge

While it is difficult to discern Blouin's personal political leanings with a brief search on the Internet, we can learn a lot about somebody from the things she says and the people she associates with. Blouin's father, who was a Democratic Congressman in Iowa and ran for Governor in 2006, was listed as having a significant influence on her life in an interview with the St. Louis Business Journal in 2008. Blouin also listed her husband, Joe Squillace who teaches as an adjunct professor at Saint Louis University School of Social Work, as a significant influence who encouraged her to start the Missouri Budget Project. Background aside, what is revealing about Amy Blouin and Joe Squillace is their apparent connection to Democratic Missouri Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford - the first open lesbian elected to the Missouri Legislature. Representative Oxford is pro-abortion, and in 2010 received a "Pro-Choice" grade from NARAL. Oxford also appears to be a supporter of same-sex unions. The connection between Oxford and Blouin comes from a post on Oxford's own Internet blog dated July 14, 2006 in which she claimed a fundraising Party at Amy Blouin and Joe Squillace's home for her reelection would be held on Thursday, July 27, 2006 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and would be co-hosted by "Amy and Joe." 

Assuming this information from the State Congresswoman is accurate, and we have no reason to believe it isn't, it would appear that Amy Blouin has no problem actively supporting (even hosting fundraisers) for political candidates who oppose the Church's most basic social teachings against abortion and gay-marriage. This gives us some background context for Mrs. Blouin's article in the "Messenger."

Before I dig into the article, and Mrs. Blouin's consistently left-wing bias on many issues she speaks to on behalf of the Missouri Budget Project, I would like to ask some questions. Why is this person writing articles for the Missouri Catholic Conference? Do the bishops on the MCC's Board of Directors approve of people writing opinion articles on their behalf, who think so little of the Church's teaching against gay-marriage and abortion, and doing so in a newspaper that reports to speak for them? If Amy Blouin demonstrated such egregious lack of judgment, as to support and fund raise for an open lesbian candidate who supports the murder of innocent unborn children, why would the bishops of the MCC trust her judgment on any lesser social issue? Let alone, why would they let her speak for them on it? Furthermore, what has become of the "Missouri Catholic Conference Messenger?" Is it nothing more than a soapbox for Left-wing activists promoting their agenda under the cloak of episcopal representation? Is this how Missouri's Catholic bishops want to be represented?

Now while The Catholic Knight does not personally know the minds of the bishops of the MCC, I have been able to ascertain from their writings, statements and homilies that they are not men who would likely condone this.  I am left with the impression that the bishops of the MCC may not know (or may not have been fully informed) of the issue at hand, and the type of representation they got in Amy Blouin's article.  I suspect they may actually be misinformed by those running the MCC "Messenger."  I admit this is just an opinion on my part, but based on the evidence I've just presented above, I think it's a fair assumption.  In light of this, the bishops of the MCC may want to revisit this issue and perhaps investigate the way things are being run by the administrative staff of the MCC with particular attention to the kind of message that is being printed in the "Messenger."  Furthermore, to address the damage that may have been done to the conscience of Missouri's Catholics, the bishops might want to consider some form of statement, or press release, that addresses the matter directly.  These are just my humble suggestions, for as it stands right now, thanks to the January 21st edition of the Messenger, it would be fair to assume that a large number of Missouri Catholics are under the impression that they can't be good Catholics and support the Missouri Jobs Act at the same time.  This impression almost appears to bear the seal of Missouri's Catholic bishops, or at least that's the notion that was created by the Messenger.

Another notion created by the Messenger is the idea that matters of economics and taxation trump the Church's social message of abortion and same-sex marriage.  This message was created by giving Amy Blouin such a prominent position in the newspaper.  Her apparent support and fund raising for a pro-abortion lesbian candidate is scandalous to say the least, especially when she is placed in a position to speak for the bishops in their own newspaper.  One can only wonder how many Missouri Catholics now think fiscal matters and taxation are more important than abortion and family.  Again, this is another issue the bishops of the MCC may want to publicly address.

All that aside, let's get down to the nitty gritty of the topic at hand. The subject of the article written by Blouin was about the Missouri Jobs Act, sometimes referred to loosely as the "Missouri Fair Tax." Other articles written by different columnists followed - all of them negative.  Now the MCC opposes the Missouri Jobs Act, and Amy Blouin's article was used to back their position. How much Blouin's article influenced the MCC is not clear, but it is certain the MCC is using articles written by this Left-leaning activist to bolster their position. 

With all of the pressing social issues that surround us today, one would think Catholic newspapers would be preoccupied with addressing the big three - Life, Family and School Choice. Certainly the Wisconsin bishops have wisely decided to stay neutral in the ongoing dispute between labor unions and state budget cuts. To clarify the Wisconsin bishops' stand on the ongoing labor/budget dispute, Bishop Morlino of the Diocese of Madison issued the following statement...

...The teaching of the Church allows for persons of good will to disagree as to which horn of this dilemma should be chosen, because there would be reasonable justification available for either alternative. (This is unlike the case of abortion or euthanasia, for which reason can offer absolutely no justification in terms of the killing of an innocent victim.)...

read full statement here

This was a wise move indeed, as these bishops know full well that Catholics can hold to good-faith positions on both sides of the issue. Pope Benedict recently pointed out that the pressing issues facing modern civilization can be summarized as the...

"protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception to natural death; recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family -- as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage -- and its defense from attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different forms of union which in reality harm it and contribute to its de-stabilization, obscuring its particular character and its irreplaceable social role, and the protection of the right of parents to educate their children."

- (Pope Benedict XVI, March 30, 2006).  

In a society where literally none of these big three necessities are met, one would think Catholic newspapers would focus on them with the full intensity of a red-hot laser beam, shuffling the other issues (such as budgets, taxes, government spending, etc.) to a secondary status.

Not so with the Missouri Catholic Conference Messenger, which for 2011 seems to have decided to put the issue of state taxes at the top of the list. Now Missouri is not like the West Coast or New England states with crushing state income and property taxes that burden families. In fact, Missouri ranks about middle of the road in income and property taxes in comparison to the rest of the country. The Missouri legislature is not contemplating a tax hike that threatens families either. No, what the Missouri state legislature is contemplating is a complete change in THE WAY it collects taxes. The Missouri Jobs Act is Missouri's version of the increasingly popular nationwide Fair Tax proposal. The measure is designed to attract jobs to the state of Missouri, which in the end is the greatest form of social justice and option for the poor in a depressed economy facing a "jobless recovery." Across the nation, economists of all stripes have pointed out that legislation of this kind would indeed attract business and grow the economy.

Here's how it works. All current state income, capital gains and sales taxes are completely eliminated. In exchange, the state implements a low state-wide sales tax on all new retail goods and services, gradually phased in over five years. There is no tax on the sale of used goods, income, investments or savings. The plan assures the changes will be revenue neutral for the state and local communities in each year of transition and allows revenue to grow as the state and local economies grow. Now before we go on let's review...

1. All current state income, capital gains and sales taxes are completely eliminated.
2. These are replaced with a single state-wide retail sales tax, on new retail goods and services that is phased in over five years.
3. No used goods, income, investments or savings are taxed.

Now of course, any good Catholic should ask the question "what about the poor?" Yes, that's a good question. How are we to insure that the poor do not pay the same sales tax rate as the rich on the basic necessities they need to survive and thrive in Missouri's economy? This issue is specifically addressed with a sales tax prebate that is paid out to all Missouri citizens, compensating them fully for all taxes paid on basic retail necessities based on the poverty line. That means nobody in extreme poverty pays retail sales taxes, reducing the retail sales tax rate for the average Missourian in extreme poverty to zero percent (0%). This is because people in extreme poverty obviously can't buy as much retail goods to begin with.  The prebate insures that when they do buy retail goods (or have to buy retail goods) they will pay no state sales tax on those goods.  Those who buy more retail goods will obviously pay a slightly higher average percentage (1%, 2%, 3%, etc.) when averaged out with the prebate, depending on how much they spend. It is an established fact that people who make more money tend to spend more money. Those who make the most money, will obviously spend the most money, and those people will in turn pay the highest average percentage of retail sales tax. No income tracking mechanism is needed because the percentages average out on their own based on the prebate and how much you spend.  If you spend below the poverty line you pay 0%.  If you only spend a little above that, your average sales tax might be around 1% or less.  If you spend a little more, it may go up to 2%, all by itself, based on averages, because everyone is reimbursed with a prebate based on the poverty line.  What makes this system unique is that it requires considerably less money to operate, as the collection system is already in place at every cash register in the state. It's no different than collecting the state sales tax already collected at Missouri's cash registers....


So now the most commonly asked questions follow...

1. Is this system perfect? The answer is no. That's because no system is perfect. 
2. Is this system impossible to cheat? Again, the answer is no. There are ways to cheat the system, but then there are even more ways to cheat the current income and sales tax system already in place in Missouri.  Besides, this new system will eliminate far more cheating than that, in the sense that people who currently don't pay Missouri taxes (criminals, illegal aliens, people who are paid "under the table") will now pay Missouri taxes every time they buy something at the cash register.
3. Is the system absolutely and perfectly fair? No. That's because no system of taxation is absolutely and perfectly fair, but in many ways it's a lot more fair and reasonable than the current system. 
4. Is this system better than the current system? Now that's up for debate. A lot of it depends on how you look at at. The truth is nobody really knows the answer, because nothing like this has ever been implemented anywhere in the world before. It is truly a unique and different idea that has yet to be tried. Now this idea is growing in popularity, and in time somebody will try it. It may be another U.S. state, or it may be a completely different country, but somebody somewhere is going to try this eventually. When they do there is a very strong likelihood that state or country is going to experience some economic growth and an increase in jobs. So the question is should Missouri be the first to try it? That is the question before the Missouri state legislature now.  It's a question that should get a fair hearing and does not deserve to be crushed prematurely by rogue episcopal newspapers leaving Missouri Catholics with the false impression that no good Catholic can support this.

The Catholic Knight holds to the position that issues of taxes and economics are secondary compared to the far more pressing social issues of abortion and gay-marriage.  I think I'm in good company, as the pope holds to a similar point of view.  That being said, I am certain that good Catholics can hold good-faith positions on both sides of the Missouri Jobs Act.  This is an issue that should be up for healthy debate in which Catholics are free to support or oppose without feeling bullied by rogue newspapers claiming episcopal representation.

Now there are a few issues that are of direct concern to Catholics, which I will attempt to address fairly here.  The first has to do with the accusation that Catholic parents would be forced to pay sales tax on the tuition for Catholic schools.  This accusation is completely false according to Carl Bearden, the Executive Director of United For Missouri, who points out that under the current legislation proposed no charitable organization will be made to collect the sales tax and no taxes will be collected on any level of education.  Meanwhile, the Messenger painted a completely different picture, leading readers to believe churches and religious schools would be taxed.  This is misleading.

The Messenger also leads readers to believe that the poor would be taxed disproportionately.  As pointed out above, this is simply not the case, as the extremely poor would pay no tax at all, and those who spend at levels just above that would pay an extremely low average sales tax, compared to people with higher incomes and spending, once the prebate is factored in.  Also as pointed out above, the legislation rewards thrift.  So people who shop at second hand stores, garage sales, swap meets, flea markets, and so on will not pay any state sales tax whatsoever.  The legislation encourages the poor to save their money by buying second hand items whenever possible.  Once again, the Messenger gets it wrong and misleads readers into false information about the bill.

As I pointed out above, churches and private charities will pay no taxes under the current form of the bill.  In Tennessee, which has no state income tax, charitable giving is much higher than Missouri, even though Missouri has a specific income tax deduction for charitable giving.  In other words, Tennessee Catholic parishes are collecting more tithes per family than Missouri parishes.  Yet the Messenger would have you believe churches will lose money under the Missouri Jobs Act.  Once again we have misleading information from the Messenger.

Finally, the Messenger paints the picture that Missouri's public services will suffer under the proposed legislation, that revenue will be cut, and there simply won't be enough money to go around anymore.  Well, that's a pretty bold assumption when you consider that not even the State Auditor Tom Schweich could make such a claim.  Schweich admitted that the cost or savings to the state could not be determined at this time.  However, we can look at other nearby states that have eliminated their income tax in favor of a sales tax, and what we see is that indeed these states do have the necessary revenue to keep their public services operational and sufficiently funded.  Proponents of the Missouri Jobs Act never claimed it was a panacea to solve all of Missouri's financial woes.  What they claim is that the legislation will simplify the tax code, eliminate the need for Missourians to report their income to the state, attract more jobs to the state, and be just as fair to the poor as the current system if not more so.

Yes, Missouri Catholics CAN support the Fair Tax.  They can also choose not to support it.  It's a matter for an informed conscience and open debate.  Catholics can hold good-faith positions on both sides of the issue, and still be good Catholics in good standing with the Church, and I dare say remain in good standing with the Catholic bishops of Missouri.  Again, it would be helpful if Missouri's bishops would publicly address this issue themselves, since the MCC has already seen fit to address it for them in such a troubling and confusing way.  Until then I want to encourage my fellow Catholic Missourians to get both sides of the story, look into this matter carefully, and not be bullied by rogue Catholic newspaper columnists who claim to be speaking for the bishops of Missouri.  But you don't need to take my word for it.  If you want to know what your bishop really thinks, write him a letter and just ask.  "Dear Bishop, Is it possible for a Catholic to hold a good faith position on either side of the debate surrounding the Missouri Jobs Act?"  The Catholic Knight says "yes," while the Messenger seems to say "no."  Maybe it's time for Missouri's Catholic bishops to research both sides of the debate and speak for themselves on the matter.

Catholic Prophecy - Last Days - End Times - Eschatology

Disclaimer: 'The Catholic Knight' does not endorse
Pat Robertson or his television ministry. This YouTube video
is provided strictly for the news report contained therein.

(FrontPageMag.Com) - When the US-led coalition invaded Iraq in March 2003, few would have imagined that the move might lead to the formation of an alliance between the radical Left and hard-line Islamists in Western Europe. But this is precisely what happened.

In this month's election for a new European Parliament, voters in several European Union countries, notably France and Britain, are offered common lists of Islamist and leftist candidates, often hidden under bland labels.

Europe's moribund extreme Left has found a new lease on life thanks to hundreds of young Muslim militants recruited from the poor suburbs of Paris and the Islamic ghettos of northern England.

The Islamist groups, for their part, are learning many tricks from the Left about how to exploit the inevitable weaknesses of an open society...

read full story here

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: We are all familiar of the Islamic "enemy of my enemy is my friend" ideology. What you may not be familiar with is how well the Marxist world has adopted this ideology as it's own. Russian friendliness with radical Islamic regimes (such as Iran for example) is an old story going all the way back to the days of the Soviet Union. While this remains a continual threat today, the real danger at this time has little to do with the old communist state. The real danger is rising in Europe.

European Marxists, often called "Leftists" by many in the mainstream news media, are forging an alliance with Europe's rising Muslim population. The demonstrations (i.e. "riots") seen in the video above are just a small snapshot of what's going on all across Europe right now. Throughout the European Union, demonstrations can be witnessed in which typical Marxist anarchists can be seen rioting alongside Muslims in traditional Islamic attire.

Multiple demographic studies indicate that Muslims will become the European majority by 2050. In some European nations, this will happen much sooner, and Sweden is one of them. The possibility of a purely Islamic takeover of Europe is at least a couple decades away. However, when coupled with a Leftist alliance, a Muslim-Marxist revolution could happen much faster, perhaps even within a decade. Marxists (i.e. Leftists or Socialists) make up a much larger portion of European politics than typically seen in North America. In fact, most major political parties in Europe have to adopt socialist policies in order to appease the powerful Marxist influence over European politics. An alliance between radical Muslims and Marxists could (and probably will) prove fatal for Europe, and if given enough time, will probably present a significant security threat to North America as well.

This is where we are now. However, if you would like to know what the future holds, we need look no further than the sages and mystics of our Christian past. It turns out God has been warning us about our specific times since at least the early middle ages. There were many prophecies from Christian Saints and mystics that deal specifically with our time, and even more specifically with the Muslim-Marxist threat we now face. Yes, according to them, we are in the end times, but not yet in the last days. We have at least a few more generations to go before the final consummation of the age, the coming of Antichrist and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the mean time, this is what we can expect to happen in our generation....

1. The Muslim-Marxist Alliance in Europe will grow and be highly successful. It will also enjoy success in other parts of the world as well. Marxists heretics within the Church will also prevail, driving the Church into chaos.
2. The European Muslim-Marxist Alliance will eventually culminate in a violent revolution that will span the entire European continent. The prophesied "Chastisement" begins.
   
3. The Vatican will be violently overrun by heretics, and the pope will be forced to flee Rome. He will eventually die in exile - assassinated!  Some prophecies indicate a false pope (anti-pope) may be installed during his absence.  One prophecy identifies this anti-pope as a Greek.
4. God will intervene in the situation, with a supernatural disaster of some type.
5. A new (and true) pope will be elected in exile, and he will revive the old French monarchy by crowning a Christian king against the will of the people of France. (Yes, the French royal family still exists, but it is unclear at this time who has right to the throne. Currently there are two valid pretenders. Though some prophets maintain that the line of succession will be unknown until the time comes.)
6. The Muslim-Marxist revolution will be short lived, as this new Christian monarch fights back, and conquers Europe by military conquest, establishing a Christian Empire spanning from Madrid to Jerusalem - perhaps even larger - some say he will conquer the whole world. The prophesied "Chastisement" comes to conclusion. As much as 2/3 to 3/4 of the world population is dead.
   
7. Russia will be converted back to Christianity en mass, and the Orthodox churches will be reunited with the Roman Catholic Church, and all non-Catholic (protestant, reformed, evangelical and fundamentalist) churches will cease to exist.

In the distant future, the following is foretold...

1. A period of peace will follow (perhaps two or more centuries depending conditionally upon the faithfulness of the people), in which Christianity will have it's last great era of orthodoxy and evangelism before the rise of Antichrist and the Last Days. The world will be ruled by Christian monarchies, and great waves of evangelism will cover the earth, converting most of the world, as Pope John Paul II alluded to with his prophetic utterance "springtime of evangelism."
2. Some time after the great French monarch dies, and perhaps after his successors die as well, the world will reach a point where things will be thrown into chaos once again. The world will eventually be divided among multiple (ten) kings. Antichrist will come, and he will assume world power. He will be Jewish, and rise to power in the Middle East. He will be hailed as the Jewish messiah, rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, and establish his throne there. He will subdue the world, and teach that all religions are false, except Judaism and perhaps Noahidism as it's extension.
3. Then after ruling mildly for some time, and rebuilding Jerusalem into a thriving metropolis, and capitol of the world, he shall persecute Christians severely, and then demand to be worshiped as God.
4. At that point God will send Enoch and Elijah back to reason with the Jewish people, and they will reject him and convert to Christianity en masse. Eventually the Antichrist will be killed, and a very short time (unknown exactly how long) after that Jesus Christ will supernaturally return in the flesh. He will come in the clouds, to raise the dead, judge the nations, and bring our world to it's end. Thus begins ETERNITY!

What astounds me is how well the Saints and seers of ages past predicted the exact circumstances of our time, which they insisted would eventually result in the fall of our Secular world, followed by the revival of the Holy Roman Empire - and a new Christian Europe! The rise of Secular democratic republics in Europe (from 1789 until now) will prove to be an absolute failure as Muslims and Marxists slowly take them over, while liberal heretics attempt to take over the Church. Only the intervention of God, the election of a holy pope, and the rise of a Christian king, will be able to save Europe and the world.

Based on the foretold 75 to 100 year period of increased freedom and power granted to Satan by Christ, as reported by Pope Leo XIII, the message and timing of the Fatima visions, in conjunction with the prophecies of Anne Catherine Emmerich and many other approved Catholic mystics, I have come to the PERSONAL presumption that the period of the Chastisement will most likely occur between the years 2013 at the earliest, to 2038 at the latest. The time span between 2013 and 2038 (a period of 25 years) is borrowed time - a period when the Chastisement is imminent.  That is my PERSONAL OPINION and should not be taken as anything more than that.

After this will come Peter the Roman, that great pontiff who will give us the Great Monarch, and the period of peace to follow.

Now I want to stress here that this is merely an assumption based on the information given, and my flawed human ability to process it. I am not a prophet, nor am I a mystic. I'm just a Catholic laymen with an interest in this topic. Based on the information given however, and my ability to process it, I am convinced that the time of the Chastisement is at hand. We have a 25 year window (between AD 2013 - 2038) in which it will most likely occur. Watch, Pray, Trust Christ, and Pursue Holiness; this is our best hope and our ONLY MEANS of survival.

These prophecies come predominantly from canonized Saints, who are approved for veneration by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches. So we're not talking about any questionable predictions arising from occult sources. These were holy men and women of God, who saw images of the future through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. These prophecies have been compiled and recorded by multiple authors. Their works can be found stored electronically on the Internet and in books at your local public libraries. The following is a tiny sampling of what I'm talking about....

After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognisable. When the time for the Advent of the Antichrist approaches, peoples minds will grow cloudy from carnal passions, and dishonour and lawlessness will grow stronger. Then the world will become unrecognisable. Peoples appearances will change, and it will be impossible to distinguish men from women due to there shamelessness in dress and style of hair. These people will be cruel and will be like wild animals because of the temptations of the Antichrist. There will be no respect for parents or elders, love will disappear, and Christian pastors, bishops, and priests will become vain men, completely failing to distinguish the right hand way from the left. At that time the morals and traditions of Christians and the Church will change. People will abandon modesty, and dissipation will reign. Falsehood and greed will attain great proportions, and woe to those who pile up treasures. Lust, adultery, homosexuality, secret deeds and murder will rule in society. - St. Nilus, AD 430

"This prince shall extend his dominion over the entire universe. At the same time there will be a Great Pope, who will be the most eminent in sanctity and most perfect in every quality. This Pope shall have with him the Great Monarch, a most virtuous man, who shall be a scion of the holy race of the French kings. This Great Monarch will assist the Pope in the reformation of the whole earth. Many princes and nations that are living in error and impiety shall be converted, and an admirable peace shall reign among men during many years because the wrath of God shall be appeased through repentance, penance and good works. There will be one common law, one only faith, one baptism, one religion. All nations shall recognize the Holy See of Rome, and shall pay homage to the Pope. But after some considerable time fervor shall cool, iniquity shall abound, and moral corruption shall become worse than ever, which shall bring upon mankind the last and worst persecution of Antichrist and the end of the world" - St. Caesar of Arles (Caesarius), AD 470-543

"There will be a great prodigy which will fill the world with awe. But this prodigy will be preceded by the triumph of a revolution during which the Church will go through ordeals that are beyond description." - Pope Pius IX, AD 1846-1878

"God will punish the world when men have devised marvelous inventions that will lead them to forget God. They will have horseless carriages; they will fly like birds." - Blessed Bernardt Rembordt, AD 1689-1793

I saw one of my successors taking to flight over the bodies of his brethren. He will take refuge in disguise somewhere, and after a short retirement he will die a cruel death. The present wickedness of the world is only the beginning of sorrows which must take place before the end of the world. - St. Pius X, AD 1903-1914

"The Pope will be forced to flee, followed by four cardinals. He will find refuge in Cologne." - Sister Helena Walraff, AD 1790

In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered. - Pope Leo XIII, AD 1903

"After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!'. And we saw in an immense light that is God: ‘something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White ‘we had the impression that it was the Holy Father'. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God." - The Children of Fatima, AD 1917

"Europe will be afflicted by horrable punishments, when the papal chair is empty. Wickedness, spitefulness and slandering will provoke a small nation, that will set on the fire by killing a prince. Seven realms will rise against the bird with two heads and the bird with one head."......"In east and west a large struggle will be, which destroys many humans." ......"Powerless humans will watch this. Four years and five months the riot will take. famine, epidemics and plague will cause more victims than the war." ..."The time will come, when you neither can buy nor sell. Bread will be assigned and marked. The seas will color themselves with blood. ...The carriages will drive without horses, fiery dragons will fly through the air and belch fire and sulfur, destroy cities and villages." ....."The winner carries a cross on the breast; and between the seven cities with the seven towers the decision takes place. There is a crucifix between two lime trees. The war will begin, when the ears fully lean, but reaching his highest point, when the cherry trees flower for the second time." - Saint Padre Pio, AD 1918

Watch the sun and moon and the stars of Heaven - when they appear to be unduly disturbed and restless, know that the day is not far away.......The Divine Judgment shall strike them like a thunderbolt!......'Hurricanes of fire will pour forth from the clouds and spread over the entire earth! Storms, bad weather, thunderbolts and earthquakes will cover the earth for two days. An uninterrupted rain of fire will take place! It will begin during a very cold night.........This catastrophe shall come upon the earth like a flash of lightning at which moment the light of the morning sun shall be replaced by black darkness! No one shall leave the house or look out of a window from that moment on. I Myself shall come amidst thunder and lightning.......'On that day, as soon as complete darkness has set in, no one shall leave the house or look out of the window. The darkness shall last a day and a night, followed by another day and a night, and another day - but on the night following, the stars will shine again, and on the next morning the sun shall rise again, and it will be springtime… - Saint Padre Pio, AD 1918

"Before I come as the just judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort: "All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day. " - Saint Faustina, AD 1937

“Pray….pray much, especially for the conversion of sinners” Humanity has not heeded my Blessed Mother who appeared at Fatima, to exhort everyone to pentience. Now I have come, in this last hour to admonish the world. The times are grave. Men should do penance for their sins…I am near. The earth will tremble and will suffer. It will be terrific. A minor judgement. For those who are not in a state of grace it will be frightful. The angels of my justice are now scattered across the world. Men do not listen to my calls. They close their ears, resist my graces and refuse my mercy, my love and my merits. They will agonize in the blindness of their faults. Hatred and greed fills the hearts of men. All this is the work of Satan. The world sleeps in a dense darkness. This generation deserves to be annihalated ut I desire to show myself as merciful. Great and terrible things are being prepared. That which is about to happen will be terrible, like nothing ever since the beginning of the world. All those who have suffered in those last times are my martyrs and they prepare the newly converted of my church. That which will shortly happen, will greatly surpass everything that has ever happened until now. The Mother of God and the angels will intervene. Hell will believe that victory is theirs, but I will seize it from them. Many blaspheme Me and, because of this, I shall allow all kinds of misfortunes to rain upon the earth for, through this, many will be saved. Blessed are those who suffer everything in reparation for those who offend me. My beloved children the hour is near. Pray incessantly and you will not be confounded. I unite My elect. They will come together, at the same time, from all parts of the world and they will glorify Me.I come. Blessed are those who will be prepared. Blessed are those who hear me." - The Children of Heede, AD 1937

"Countless legions of demons shall overrun the earth - the instrument of divine justice - and causing terrible calamities and disasters. Nothing on earth shall be spared. After the frightful punishment I saw a great light appear upon the earth which was the sign of reconciliation of God with men. All men shall become Catholics, and they shall acknowledge the Pope as Vicar of Jesus Christ." - Ven. Isabel Canori Moor, AD 1803-1825

"My dear daughter, listen well to what I have to say to you. You will inform your superior." "As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests. The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres...churches and altars sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord. The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them. With courage, speak to your superior. He will know how to encourage each one of you to pray and to accomplish works of reparation. It is Bishop Ito, who directs your community. You have still something to ask? Today is the last time that I will speak to you in living voice. From now on you will obey the one sent to you and your superior. Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary. I alone am able still to save you from the calamites which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will be saved." - Sister Agnes Sasagawa (The Seeress of Akita), AD 1973

"A Frankish King will one day rule over the entire Roman Empire... He shall give up the ghost at Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives." - Saint Augustine of Hippo, AD 430

"The great Monarch and the great Pope will precede Antichrist. The nations will be at war for four years and a great part of the world will be destroyed. The Pope will go over the sea carrying the sign of Redemption on his forehead. The great Monarch will come to restore peace and the Pope will share in the victory." - Werdin D’Otrante, 13th Century AD

But God shall save all like a sign of the last judgement. God will come to help. The return of the king shall be announced. This will re-establish peace and prosperity. Religion shall fourish again better than ever before . "This shall re-establish a peace and prosperity without precedent."…"The good people will triumph when the return of the King is announced." - St Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, AD 1818-1859

A great prince of the north with a most powerful army will traverse all Europe, uproot all the republics, and defeat all the rebels. His sword moved by divine power will most valiantly defend the Church of Jesus Christ. He shall subdue to his dominion the Mohammedan Empire. - Rudolph Gekner, 17th Century AD

A knight shall come from the west. He shall capture Milan, Lombardy, and the three crowns. He shall then sail to Cyprus and Famagoste and land at Joffa, and reach Christ's grave where he will fight. Wars and wonders shall befall till the people believe Christ toward the end of the world. - St. Thomas Becket, AD 1118-1170

"After a fightful war a great king will arise and his reign will by marked by a wonderful peace and great religious revival - Melania Calvat (The Seeress of La Salette), AD 1846

The great king will wage war until the age of forty. He will assemble great armies, and hurl back the tyrants out of his empire. - St. Cataldus, 7th Century AD

Some of our teachers say that a king of the Franks will prossess the entire Roman Empire. He will be the greatest and the last of all monarchs. After having wisely governed his kingdom, he will go in the end to Jerusalem and will lay down his sceptre and his crown upon the Mount of Olives. Immediately afterwards, Antichrist will come. - Monk Adso, 10th Century AD

In the latter days of the world, Christians will become ungrateful for the great favours they will receive through the coming of the great Monarch, by reason of the long period of peace and prosperity on earth which they will enjoy under his reign. Many man will then begin to doubt if the Christian faith is the only really santifying faith and will think perhaps the Jews are right because they are awaiting the Messiah.... "In those days, the Antichrist will bring about many tribulation; but God will not allow those redeemed by the divine blood to be deceived. For that reason, he will send his two servants, Enoch and Elias, who will declare the prodigies of the Antichrist to be false, and will denounce him as an impostor. After the death and ruin of many, he will leave the Temple in confusion; and many of his followers will forsake him to join the company of the righteous. The seducer, upon seeing himself reproached and scorned, will become enraged and will put to death those saints of God. It is then that there will appear the sign of the Son of Man, and he will come upon the clouds of heaven." - St. Methodius of Olympus, AD 311

"Antichrist will be possessed by Satan and be the illegitimate son of a Jewish woman from the East." - St. John Chrysostom, AD 407

"At the time of his reign antichrist will command that Jerusalem be rebuilt in its splendour and will make it a great and populous city, second to none in the world and will order his palace to be built there." - St. Irenaeus, AD 177

"We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel." - Pope John Paul II, AD 1976-2005

All of the above quotes are from approved visionaries of the Church.
You can read a more complete account of these visions HERE.

America Is A Masonic Nation

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: I always get a chuckle when I hear Evangelicals tell me that the United States of America was founded as a "Christian nation." No, I tell them, that's what it was BEFORE the American Revolution, when the colonies were ruled by a Protestant Christian king. After the Revolution, the colonies ceased to be Christian, and became the world's first Masonic nation! Granted, America's founding fathers were cooperative with Christians, mainly because they had to be, but don't think for one second that those same founding fathers had any intention of America keeping any trace of a Christian form of government. The founding fathers agreed that the moral foundations of religion were useful in building the country, but they kept it strictly to a moral understanding of the Christian religion, as all good Masons do. The idea of American government actually recognizing the real authority of any particular Church was repugnant to them. Of course, most repugnant to them was the Catholic Church, which the founding fathers were determined to keep in it's place. Need I remind my readers that following the American Revolution, Catholics suffered some of their greatest indignities at the hands of those who claimed the highest loyalty to the U.S. Constitution and the American Revolution.

Freemasons don't rule America in the literal sense, like a king might rule his subjects, but they do rule America in principle. In fact, the United States was founded on Freemasonry, and thus it is the world's first Masonic Nation. The idea being that Freemasons rule America through it's system of government, designed and ordered through Masonic principles. The idea of democratic republicanism (popularly and incorrectly referred to simply as "democracy") is Masonic in origin, a product of the Enlightenment era, which opposes Christian monarchy, the foundation of western civilization.

I want to make this very clear. Western civilization was founded on Christian monarchy. Kings and queens were subject to the ecclesiastical authority of the Catholic Church, which had both the power to coronate them and excommunicate them. By coronating them, the Church gave them power. By excommunicating them, the Church diminished their power, and sometimes dethroned them entirely. Thus western civilization was ruled by a Christian system of government during the middle ages. It was only after the Protestant Reformation that we start to see significant problems with these monarchies, which of course gave birth to the Enlightenment era and the rise of the Freemasons. The Freemasons in turn toppled the monarchies, or at the very least diminished their authority, thus giving us democratic republicanism.

The problem with democratic republicanism, besides it being an unChristian form of government derived from ancient Pagan principles, is that it always leads to socialism. We can see this in various degrees in democracies throughout the world, and even here in the United States, which continually slides deeper into socialist rule.

Many Catholic Americans don't understand the intrinsically anti-Catholic nature of Freemasonry. You have to understand that in America, Freemasonry has already accomplished most of it's goals. The government is totally Freemason. The democratic road to socialism is well underway, and nothing less than a total collapse of Washington DC can change this. Therefore, there is no need for Freemasons to work so hard in the United States. Most of their work is already finished. The primary function of most American Freemasons is now mainly fundraising, to help spread Masonic ideas around the world. In Europe Freemasonry takes on a much more openly anti-Catholic role, as it continually tries to undermine the influence of the Catholic Church there.

The Weakness of Democracy

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: "It is the natural progression of all representative government to inch toward socialism and tyranny." Yes, you can quote me on that. Indeed there are short periods of time when things move too fast, and the people temporarily return to their traditional sensibilities, but this is only a setback. It doesn't last. In time the steady march toward socialism and tyranny will continue. This is the lesson of the last 100 years.

(Screwtape Proposes a Toast, 1959) - Hidden in the heart of this striving for Liberty there was also a deep hatred of personal freedom. That invaluable man Rousseau first revealed it. In his perfect democracy, you remember, only the state religion is permitted, slavery is restored, and the individual is told that he has really willed (though he didn’t know it) whatever the Government tells him to do. From that starting point, via Hegel (another indispensable propagandist on our side) we easily contrived both the Nazi and the Communist state….

Democracy is the word with which you must lead them by the nose…. [T]hey should never be allowed to give this word a clear and definable meaning. They won’t. It will never occur to them that democracy is properly the name of a political system, even a system of voting, and that this has only the most remote and tenuous connection with what you are trying to sell them. Nor of course must they ever be allowed to raise Aristotle’s question: whether “democratic behaviour” means the behaviour that democracies like or the behaviour that will preserve a democracy. For if they did, it could hardly fail to occur to them that these need not be the same.

You are to use the word purely as an incantation; if you like, purely for its selling power. It is a name they venerate. And of course it is connected with the political ideal that men should be equally treated. You then make a stealthy transition in their minds from this political ideal to a factual belief that all men are equal…. As a result you can use the word democracy to sanction in his thought the most degrading (and also the least enjoyable) of human feelings. You can get him to practise, not only without shame but with a positive glow of self-approval, conduct which, if undefended by the magic word, would be universally derided.

The feeling I mean is of course that which prompts a man to say I’m as good as you….

No man who says I’m as good as you believes it. He would not say it if he did. The St. Bernard never says it to the toy dog, nor the scholar to the dunce, nor the employable to the bum, nor the pretty woman to the plain. The claim to equality, outside the strictly political field, is made only by those who feel themselves to be in some way inferior. What it expresses is precisely the itching, smarting, writhing awareness of an inferiority which the patient refuses to accept.

And therefore resents. Yes, and therefore resents every kind of superiority in others; denigrates it; wishes its annihilation. Presently he suspects every mere difference of being a claim to superiority…. “They’ve no business to be different. It’s undemocratic.”

Now, this useful phenomenon is in itself by no means new. Under the name of Envy it has been known to humans for thousands of years. But hitherto they always regarded it as the most odious, and also the most comical, of vices. Those who were aware of feeling it felt it with shame; those who were not gave it no quarter in others. The delightful novelty of the present situation is that you can sanction it — make it respectable and even laudable — by the incantatory use of the word democratic.

Under the influence of this incantation those who are in any or every way inferior can labour more wholeheartedly and successfully than ever before to pull down everyone else to their own level. But that is not all. Under the same influence, those who come, or could come, nearer to a full humanity, actually draw back from fear of being undemocratic…. They might (horror of horrors!) become individuals….

Meanwhile, as a delightful by-product, the few (fewer every day) who will not be made Normal or Regular and Like Folks and Integrated increasingly become in reality the prigs and cranks which the rabble would in any case have believed them to be. For suspicion often creates what it expects…. As a result we now have an intelligentsia which, though very small, is very useful to the cause of Hell.

But that is a mere by-product. What I want to fix your attention on is the vast, overall movement towards the discrediting, and finally the elimination, of every kind of human excellence – moral, cultural, social, or intellectual. And is it not pretty to notice how “democracy” (in the incantatory sense) is now doing for us the work that was once done by the most ancient Dictatorships, and by the same methods?…

Once you have grasped the tendency, you can easily predict its future developments; especially as we ourselves will play our part in the developing. The basic principle of the new education is to be that dunces and idlers must not be made to feel inferior to intelligent and industrious pupils. That would be “undemocratic.” These differences between pupils – for they are obviously and nakedly individual differences – must be disguised. This can be done at various levels. At universities, examinations must be framed so that nearly all the students get good marks. Entrance examinations must be framed so that all, or nearly all, citizens can go to universities, whether they have any power (or wish) to profit by higher education or not. At schools, the children who are too stupid or lazy to learn languages and mathematics and elementary science can be set to doing things that children used to do in their spare time…. Whatever nonsense they are engaged in must have – I believe the English already use the phrase – “parity of esteem”…. Children who are fit to proceed to a higher class may be artificially kept back, because the others would get a trauma…by being left behind. The bright pupil thus remains democratically fettered to his own age group throughout his school career….

In a word, we may reasonably hope for the virtual abolition of education when I’m as good as you has fully had its way. All incentives to learn and all penalties for not learning will be prevented; who are they to overtop their fellows? And anyway the teachers – or should I say, nurses? – will be far too busy reassuring the dunces and patting them on the back to waste any time on real teaching. We shall no longer have to plan and toil to spread imperturbable conceit and incurable ignorance among men. The little vermin themselves will do it for us.

Of course, this would not follow unless all education became state education. But it will. That is part of the same movement. Penal taxes, designed for that purpose, are liquidating the Middle Class, the class who were prepared to save and spend and make sacrifices in order to have their children privately educated. The removal of this class, besides linking up with the abolition of education, is, fortunately, an inevitable effect of the spirit that says I’m as good as you. This was, after all, the social group which gave to the humans the overwhelming majority of their scientists, physicians, philosophers, theologians, poets, artists, composers, architects, jurists, and administrators. If ever there were a bunch of stalks that needed their tops knocked off, it was surely they. As an English politician remarked not long ago, “A democracy does not want great men.”

We, in Hell, would welcome the disappearance of democracy in the strict sense of that word, the political arrangement so called. Like all forms of government, it often works to our advantage, but on the whole less often than other forms. And what we must realize is that “democracy” in the diabolical sense (I’m as good as you, Being Like Folks, Togetherness) is the fittest instrument we could possibly have for extirpating political democracies from the face of the earth.

For “democracy” or the “democratic spirit” (diabolical sense) leads to a nation without great men, a nation mainly of subliterates, full of the cocksureness which flattery breeds on ignorance, and quick to snarl or whimper at the first sign of criticism. And that is what Hell wishes every democratic people to be. For when such a nation meets in conflict a nation where children have been made to work at school, where talent is placed in high posts, and where the ignorant mass are allowed no say at all in public affairs, only one result is possible….

It is our function to encourage the behaviour, the manners, the whole attitude of mind, which democracies naturally like and enjoy, because these are the very things which, if unchecked, will destroy democracy. You would almost wonder that even humans don’t see it themselves. Even if they don’t read Aristotle (that would be undemocratic) you would have thought the French Revolution would have taught them that the behaviour aristocrats naturally like is not the behaviour that preserves aristocracy. They might then have applied the same principle to all forms of government….

The overthrow of free peoples and the multiplication of slave states are for us a means (besides, of course, being fun); but the real end is the destruction of individuals. For only individuals can be saved or damned, can become sons of the Enemy or food for us. The ultimate value, for us, of any revolution, war, or famine lies in the individual anguish, treachery, hatred, rage, and despair which it may produce. I’m as good as you is a useful means for the destruction of democratic societies. But it has a far deeper value as an end in itself, as a state of mind which, necessarily excluding humility, charity, contentment, and all the pleasures of gratitude or admiration, turns a human being away from almost every road which might finally lead him to Heaven.

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Gay Marriage And The Fall Of America!

(SFGate) - Prop. 8 would overturn the court's 4-3 ruling May 15 that declared same-sex couples had the right to marry under the California Constitution on the grounds of privacy and equal protection. Backers of the measure made the court a focus of their campaign, accusing "activist judges" of thwarting the will of voters who had approved a similar measure as an initiative statute in 2000.

Three lawsuits were filed directly with the state Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking orders immediately blocking enforcement of Prop. 8 and ultimately striking it down as a violation of fundamental rights in the California Constitution.

The plaintiffs are six unmarried same-sex couples and the advocacy group Equality California; another couple who married shortly after the May 15 ruling took effect; and the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles, joined by Santa Clara County.

Although their lawyers would not discuss their strategy publicly, each suit seeks to overturn Prop. 8 on the basis of state law and avoids federal constitutional claims that could send the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Gay-rights advocates have tried to keep such disputes away from the nation's high court, out of fear that the justices would issue a nationwide ruling rejecting any right of same-sex marriage under the U.S. Constitution....

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THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The people of California have spoken, homosexual marriage is officially abolished. However, as is typical in the People's Republic of California, the courts threaten to overturn the will of the people even in a state constitutional amendment. To be sure, so long as it stays within the California courts, this is California's problem. The California government hasn't represented the people of California in decades, and why the people haven't abolished the state government with a constitutional convention is beyond me. Alas, that is California's problem for Californians to deal with. However, I don't believe the lawyers advocating gay-marriage will keep it in California's courts at all. Just as soon as they fail to get the ruling they want from the California courts, they'll appeal it to the federal courts, and once that happens California's problem becomes America's problem.

Before the federal courts will be the question of whether or not the federal government can annul a state constitutional decision by the people of a state on the issue of gay-marriage. Should the federal courts rule against the people, every state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage within the nation will be at stake. The issue will be put before the United States Supreme Court in what will amount to a U.S. Constitutional crisis. At the feet of nine Supreme Court justices will lie the fate and future of the United States of America.

Should the U.S. Supreme Court decide to uphold a federal court's decision to strike down a state constitutional marriage ban, then gay-marriage will effectively be forced on every state in the Union by judicial fiat. What will that mean? It will mean that the United States government, via the federal court system, will be effectively waging an ALL OUT WAR on Christian civilization and the traditional family. It will place the United States federal government as the sworn enemy of every Catholic family and Catholic parish in the nation. The same would go for any Evangelical Christian family and congregation in this nation as well. The United States government would effectively be waging war against traditional Christianity itself.

At that point, there will be no more reason to preserve the U.S. Constitution, the federal government, or Union of the United States of America. For any government that wages war against it's own people, and the civilization they have created, is effectively a false government and has lost it's right to govern. The people of the United States would have only two options available to them at that time.

1. They can convince Congress to pass the 'Federal Marriage Amendment' (F.M.A.), so the states could immediately ratify it, and uphold their state bans on gay-marriage. Unfortunately, the people have recently elected officials to the U.S. government who have made it clear they have no intention of ever passing such an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Both the new President-Elect, Barack Obama, and the Congressional Democrats, have made it clear that they support "gay-rights" and have no intention of doing anything that would stop gay-marriage from becoming the law of the land. If it never gets out of Congress, the states can never ratify it. So option number one is now next to impossible.
2. The people of states that ardently opposes gay-marriage can begin organizing and drafting measures for the secession of those states from the federal government and the United States of America. This of course would have to be done through the peaceful, democratic and lawful means outlined for us in the principles of the Declaration of Independence. Only by becoming free and independent countries can those states then uphold their own constitutions and the will of the people. After two or more of those states successfully secede using only peaceful, democratic and lawful means, then they can reorganize under whatever form of community, confederation or collective they see fit. Economically, such measures would be viable by restructuring tax laws in those newly born nation-states to attract business investment. The "Fair Tax" proposed by the 'Americans for Fair Taxation' (read more here) would be one possible way this could happen, and should prove more than enough to bolster the economic viability of newly born nation-states. Other measures of deregulation and free market reforms would also serve to make secession a financially attractive and profitable alternative. As for national defense of these nation-state, treaties could be signed with the United States government, allowing it to keep U.S. military bases within these nation-states free of rent or lease, provided the U.S. government pledge to defend these nation-states from all foreign aggressors. This would set the foundation for peaceful coexistence and fair-trade with states still choosing to stay within the United States of America.
   

Three IF's would cause these events to come about, and I might add that these three IF's are all real possibilities in the very near future, thanks to the aggressive tactics of lawyers pushing gay-marriage through the courts against the will of the American people.

1. IF the federal courts rule against a state constitutional measure banning gay-marriage, and...
2. IF the U.S. Supreme Court upholds that ruling, and...
3. IF the U.S. Congress will not pass the 'Federal Marriage Amendment'...
4. THEN the only way the people can defend their families and Christian civilization is to secede from the federal Union.

Otherwise, the only alternative is to accept the fall of Christianity within North America to a regime that favors and promotes homosexuality. In other words, the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Congress would effectively make it the Christian duty of every God fearing believer in America to break all political ties with the United States government. Failure to do so would be failure to defend one's Christian faith against the external attack by a hostile and oppressive government. For the first time in American history, Christians would be forced to choose between their government and their faith. So you say you don't think it can happen. We can only hope.  But I have a bad feeling it will.  Just sit back and watch.

Election Day = Judgment Day For America

"How can I bless this nation when the blood of the babies cries out to me from the ground"

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Like it or not, this election will determine our nation's eternal destiny. With the cast of our votes, we will decide if this holocaust of abortion-on-demand will be enshrined into our national law FOREVER. If Obama wins the election, he has promised to do this by signing the "Freedom of Choice Act" (F.O.C.A.) into law as his "first act as president." Once that happens, there will be no reason to believe that God will bless America anymore. He will bless us only in the same way he "blesses" other unrepentant nations that commit genocide.  He will "bless" us with our national demise.  This election decides it all.  Vote wisely...

(Remnant) - As this edition of The Remnant reaches you, “This center-right country is about to vastly strengthen a liberal Congress whose approval rating is 10 percent and implant in Washington a regime further to the left than any in U.S. history,” as Pat Buchanan wrote on October 17 at WorldNetDaily.com.

A day later, Bishop Robert J. Herman, administrator of the Diocese of Saint Louis, published a column in which he warned, both literally and metaphorically, that “Judgment day is on its way… For many, this coming election may very well be judgment day, for this election will measure us…. The right of our children to be protected from destruction is greater than my right to a thriving economy. My desire for a good economy cannot justify my voting to remove all current restrictions on abortion. My desire to end the war in Iraq cannot justify my voting to remove all current restrictions on abortion.” (CNA, October 18, 2008).

A vote for B. Hussein Obama is unquestionably a vote to remove all restrictions on abortion. This man of mystery—who is he, where was he really born, and who are the equally mysterious financiers of his Harvard law degree?—has vowed precisely to eliminate all restrictions on abortion by signing FOCA into law, whose passage by a Democrat super majority will be his for the asking. This is a man who, in the one moment of visible nervousness I observed during the last presidential debate, doggedly defended the practice of leaving the victims of botched abortions to die in a utility room at a Chicago hospital....

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