“Not be read from the pulpit”

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 12:03 AM By contrary
The Chief of Chaplains is Major General Donald Rutherford, a Catholic priest.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 12:30 AM By Fr.Michael Perea
Archbishop Broglio is a brave,brave man. I commend him and I am encouraged. His gutsy stand is another sign that the Church is on the verge of a new Counter Reformation. I really believe that we Catholics are on the verge of a surge. It happened after the Dark Ages,it happened after the Protestant Revolt,it happened after the French Revolution. Could it happen again. I think so and I pray so.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 3:05 AM By Dan
I don’t understand. I construed the non-compliance statement as a call to civil disobedience. I mean, not complying with a law is the same as not obeying it, or am I mistaken? How quickly when the government yanks the chain do the bishops heel.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 4:48 AM By East Coast Tom
The Army’s Office of the Chief of Chaplains that issued the gag order is headed by Major General Donald L. Rutherford, a priest of the Diocese of Albany, New York. When the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was abolished, he said that Army chaplains would have a major part in preparing soldiers to accept the homosexual lifestyles of some and that “you don’t have to agree with them, you will respect them and help them.” Also, in 2003 he signed a petition calling for optional celibacy for priests.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 5:31 AM By Sandra
A slap in the face to our Military, our Faith and our Country.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 5:31 AM By Prof Helen
Civil Disobedience is as American as Apple pie and martyrs for freedom of conscience are as Catholic as Holy Water.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 5:48 AM By Annasher
Sounds like MG Rutherford is going to have a lot of explaining to do. He’s also the reason my son won’t consider the army chaplaincy. I appreciate the added info here – sine things I didn’t know – about this fallen priest. When will the Vatican tear them from their false ministry ?

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 5:58 AM By Gabriel Espinosa 
Figures the guy would be a spawn of Hubbard up in Albany.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 6:04 AM By OSCAR
Miltary Bishops and Priests are the first to suffer Obama’s repeal of the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” executive order regarding homosexual acts. They are told what they can and can not say at Mass and what they can and can not read from the Gospel/Bible so they don’t offend those committing homosexual acts. If re-elected, Obama is prideful enough to try to OUTLAW portions of the BIBLE for hate speech against sinful lifestyles – killing of the innnocent through abortion and euthanasia, and sinful sexual lifestyles. Essentially, the GOVERNMENT is FORCING what must be said from the pulpit. After the babies – the elderly, and the sick and the physically and mentally disabled will be weeded out under Obamacare and his healthcare rules under the guise of cost rationing and saving the planet.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 6:04 AM By 4unborn
May the Holy Spirit give Archbishop Broglio the courage to remain firm! The Chief of Chaplains, a Catholic priest, is a wolf in sheep’s clothing!!

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 6:57 AM By 4unborn
Upon reflection, Archbishop Broglio has agreed to censorship of the pastoral letter. The line: “We cannot — we will not — comply with this unjust law” was removed by Archbishop Broglio at the suggestion of Secretary McHugh. To take away the call to action which is necessary to practice our Catholic faith weakens the letter considerably.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 7:49 AM By JanJan
Hey Church Militant, get ready for battle!

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 7:58 AM By Larry
Oscar: Are you saying that the Army censors the Scriptural readings at Sunday mass? I hadn’t heard that–but if true, that would call for direct action from the Holy See, to order that the readings be given as written. Correct me if I’m wrong, but would such censorship not constitute a liturgical abuse? Either way, it is certainly clear that our president has the arrogance of a Mussolini. Richard Nixon was nothing compared to this guy. He is determined that those who disagree with his agenda, if they cannot be terrified into submission, must be utterly destroyed and removed from the national fabric. I fear–I greatly fear what may become of the country if this man is not un-elected in November!

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 8:04 AM By Life Lady
Well we have to expect this, these are those times that will try all our souls. I have been reading “The Mystery of Iniquity” recently, and it is an eye-popping read. But what the essence of this is for me, is that we all must simply answer the call to holiness that Catholics have been given. We must be true and faithful followers of Our Lord, and never give an inch to the kind of things that are happening all around us. We must make certain that we are ready to meet Jesus, face to Face, at any moment, and to pray for the sanctification of our souls and those of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We want to be certain that we are free from any sin, free from any doubt as to the Word, and to keep ourselves focused on Jesus, and His most Holy Mother. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary, that Sacred Heart and that Immaculate Heart, will triumph in the end. That must be our focus. And, whenever possible, we must protest the forceful oppression that is occuring around us. We can protest all we want, we don’t have to like it, or to comply with any law that is against the laws of God. That is our duty as Catholics, and followers of Jesus Christ, True God and True Man.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 8:18 AM By Fr. Bob B
Just one more reason for Catholics—and all others determined to defend the free exercise of religion— to PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST! First, it was the denial of federal grants to Catholic agencies giving food and shelter to those escaping troubled countries because abortion services wouldn’t be provided or referred (agencies which did so, even though failing to meet the gov’t’s own qualification requirements, received funds. Second was the Tabor- Holiness Church case in which the Supreme Court UNANIMOUSLY rejected the administration’s argument that the gov’t could second-guess any religion’s internal decision of who was or was not a clergyman of that religion (and one of the most “liberal” Justices, Elena Kagan, joined in a separate concurring written by Justice Samuel Alito, one of the most “conservative”, went further, holding that the firing of a clergyman by a church’s constituted authorities on doctrinal or disciplinary grounds could never be second-guessed by the government). Third, the infamous proposed HHS regulation. And now this. Short of hiring a sky-writer, what more does this administration have to do to convince the wavering that the free exercise of religion will be determined not by Constitutional protections, but by regulations clearly designed to remove from the public square any faith-based judgment of policy? Return such officials to office? In my opinion, you’d have to be crazy.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 8:19 AM By Fr. Bob B
Just one more reason for Catholics—and all others determined to defend the free exercise of religion— to PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST! First, it was the denial of federal grants to Catholic agencies giving food and shelter to those escaping troubled countries because abortion services wouldn’t be provided or referred (agencies which did so, even though failing to meet the gov’t’s own qualification requirements, received funds. Second was the Tabor- Holiness Church case in which the Supreme Court UNANIMOUSLY rejected the administration’s argument that the gov’t could second-guess any religion’s internal decision of who was or was not a clergyman of that religion (and one of the most “liberal” Justices, Elena Kagan, joined in a separate concurring written by Justice Samuel Alito, one of the most “conservative”, went further, holding that the firing of a clergyman by a church’s constituted authorities on doctrinal or disciplinary grounds could never be second-guessed by the government). Third, the infamous proposed HHS regulation. And now this. Short of hiring a sky-writer, what more does this administration have to do to convince the wavering that the free exercise of religion will be determined not by Constitutional protections, but by regulations clearly designed to remove from the public square any faith-based judgment of policy? Return such officials to office? In my opinion, you’d have to be crazy.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 8:28 AM By OSCAR
Larry, the Military Chaplains are being censored. We all will be next if OBAMA has his way. The Pope has authority over the Catholic Church and Catholics, not Obama and the way he runs the Military. Pope Benedict has expressed his teaching and concern about religious freedom in the USA on Jan 19. 2012 in “ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON THEIR AD LIMINA VISIT” which can be found on the Vatican web site. It includes but is not limited to this statement – – “….. it is imperative that the entire Catholic community in the United States come to realize the grave threats to the Church’s public moral witness presented by a radical secularism which finds increasing expression in the political and cultural spheres. The seriousness of these threats needs to be clearly appreciated at every level of ecclesial life. Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion.” – Pope Benedict

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 8:31 AM By Juergensen
The Church is the Body of Christ (CCC 1368). Therefore, the attack on the Church by Obama is an attack on Christ Himself, making Obama an antichrist, one of “many antichrists [who] have come; therefore we know that it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18). What does this say of those who voted for Obama? Worse, what does this say of those who strive diligently with forked tongues to mislead others into voting for Obama?

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 8:36 AM By Fr. Bob B
TO THE EDITOR FROM FR BOB B—- I inadvertently pressed the “Post Comment” key prematurely re my 8.01 AM post today before completing the post that appears. Could you please remove the presently-appearing post and post instead the completed post. Thank you.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 9:03 AM By JMJ
How come the ACLU (which is NOT American) hasn’t filed one of their many lawsuits against the Army for unconstitutional censorship? Right up their alley, right? Thanks East Coast Tom for your input, now we can understand why the Army, until Obama steps in, is the only department that has tried to “kill” the messenger & the message. What was George Washington & all of the brave men, that fought to give us liberty, thinking? Didn’t they see that all of our freedoms would be destroyed by only one, evil man, and that we would have Supreme Court Justices that don’t believe in the Constitution, including the big “o”s new recruits? Obama declared WAR & WAR it is that he will get. LET US STOP OBAMANISM, NOW!!! +JMJ+

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 9:29 AM By Patrick
Our Government is becoming authoritarian and, if continuing on this path, will become a dictatorship. Chaplains should be ordered to resign their commissions, leaving the Army with zero chaplains.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 10:19 AM By Juergensen
The Church is the Body of Christ (CCC 1368). Therefore, the attack on the Church by Obama is an attack on Christ Himself, making Obama an antichrist, one of “many antichrists [who] have come; therefore we know that it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18). So, what does this say of those who voted for Obama? Worse, what does this say of those who strive with forked tongues to mislead others into voting for Obama?

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 10:48 AM By stlouisix
Catholic organizations are not obliged to divorce themselves from the basic tenets of their faith, as they are the extensions of their faith, which is why they exist, PERIOD, for the sake of a Kingdom NOT of this world in witnessing to their faith, which is a right that they don’t have to forfeit in order to please those who would trash their freedom of religion by unconstitutionally demanding that they do so. Catholic organizations serve God, first and foremost, in particular, adherence to His Natural Law, the obedience of which deemed necessary by the founding fathers in The Declaration of Independence, and in The Preamble to the Constitution which talks about the securing the blessings of liberty to our posterity, i.e., the unborn, which is difficult to do when man won’t allow God to be God in regard to procreating to populate Heaven, which was God’s main intent for His Creation. Accordingly, Catholic hospitals are under no obligation whatsoever to consider violations of the invariant moral teachings of their faith in accord with the teaching Magisterium of Holy Mother Church to be health care. Those saying otherwise make a mockery of the sacrifices of all those who fought and died in America’s wars throughout history in order to secure our unalienable (God-given) rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 10:49 AM By stlouisix
Catholic organizations are not obliged to divorce themselves from the basic tenets of their faith, as they are the extensions of their faith, which is why they exist, PERIOD, for the sake of a Kingdom NOT of this world in witnessing to their faith, which is a right that they don’t have to forfeit in order to please those who would trash their freedom of religion by unconstitutionally demanding that they do so. Catholic organizations serve God, first and foremost, in particular, adherence to His Natural Law, the obedience of which deemed necessary by the founding fathers in The Declaration of Independence, and in The Preamble to the Constitution which talks about the securing the blessings of liberty to our posterity, i.e., the unborn, which is difficult to do when man won’t allow God to be God in regard to procreating to populate Heaven, which was God’s main intent for His Creation. Accordingly, Catholic hospitals are under no obligation whatsoever to consider violations of the invariant moral teachings of their faith in accord with the teaching Magisterium of Holy Mother Church to be health care. Those saying otherwise make a mockery of the sacrifices of all those who fought and died in America’s wars throughout history in order to secure our unalienable (God-given) rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 10:50 AM By stlouisix
Abortion is legal in this country while at least 38 states have fetal homicide laws. This is the SUPREME violation of the Fundamental principle of non-contradiction in that something cannot “be” and “not be” at the same time in the same respect, as abortion IS fetal homicide, PERIOD! We have become so diabolic in this country that an innocent in the womb is declared to be murdered if that wasn’t the intent of the mother, but the willful acquiescing to the murder of that infant by an abortionist, with the permission of the mother, is perfectly legal. This begs an obvious question. What changed, certainly not the innocent in the womb who is murdered in either case? No, what has changed is a mindset that has been corrupted by the devil into believing that the right to life of a baby is solely a function of man, and not an unalienable right from God, subject to universal moral absolutes to prevent moral and physical anarchy, that man can never usurp! What has changed is that America has been allowed to devolve into a nation under Lucifer instead of under God. And if that is not reversed, America will feel the full wrath of Almighty God which is Biblical!

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 11:07 AM By Abeca Christian
Douay-Rheims Bible John 15:16 You have not chosen me: but I have chosen you; and have appointed you, that you should go, and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 11:42 AM By Bud 
O’Bama was elected with the “Catholic” Vote just the same as the other unsuspecting voters that listened and believed his big mouthed lies. His background and history in the Illinois and Chicago politics should have been a warning but it wasn’t, why not? California with it’s Pelosi, Boxer, Feinstein ilk and Hollywood trash and media topped off with the governors have led the way! Our own legislators bow to the biggest bucks and/or votes regardless of the parties they claim to represent. The screw is being turned every day by the apathy of those who don’t know or even want to know what’s happening. We are getting what we voted for; and I don’t seem to trust any of them including those who call themselves Catholics which makes it even more disgusting. If we can hang on until the next election in nine months and get rid of the vermin in power, we may be able to preserve what so many millions have died for in the past.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 1:57 PM By Joseph Jaglowicz
AB Broglio never served our country in uniform, but he is a career Vatican diplomat by formal training and experience. With the latter in mind, I wonder how he would feel if a civil government told the Catholic clergy to ignore the pope.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 3:21 PM By Traditional Angelo
I learned of separation of Church and State long ago. The question I ask, if this is the law why is the State always interfering with the Church. The State needs to be held legaly accountable for breaking the law.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 4:12 PM By JLS
This is a power play by the Obama govt to wrest power over the Church from the bishops.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 4:42 PM By Kenneth M. Fisher
From what I know about Archbishop Broglio, I think the General and the Administration have just stirred up a Holy Hornets Nest! God bless, yours in Their Hearts, Kenneth M. Fisher

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 4:54 PM By Kenneth M. Fisher
Patrick, 9:29 AM No, the Chaplains cannot abandon their sheep. To do so would be wrong. But they must do exactly what Lt. Colonel Rankin and that Protestant Navy Chaplain have done and that is to refuse orders from an illegal administration and read the original letter of Archbishop Broglio, not the one he has compromised on! The Archbishop will probably see the day when he regrets such a surrender, let us pray that it won’t be on his day of judgement! God bless, yours in Their Hearts, Kenneth M. Fisher

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 5:00 PM By Larry
“I wonder how he would feel if a civil government told the Catholic clergy to ignore the pope.” That is exactly what is happening, Joseph–and that is exactly what the Archbishop was protesting when he wrote that letter, which furthermore was blocked and censored from the Archbishop’s own flock by that same “civil government.” Thanks for helping us illustrate the problem.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 6:31 PM By contrary
JJ wrote: “I wonder how he [the Archbishop] would feel if a civil government told the Catholic clergy to ignore the pope.” But isn’t that exactly what has happened?

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 7:37 PM By Jim
This sounds like something that would happen in a communist country which tries to control the church. Unbelievable that his would happen in the United (sic) States.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 7:57 PM By JudeThom
Healthcare is a civil matter. The Church needs to shut up. Focus on the awful Novus Ordo Liturgy and restore Tradition and true piety. Get out of the secular realm. Clean up your own house.

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2012 10:28 PM By Abeca Christian
I smell communism.

Posted Wednesday, February 08, 2012 10:28 AM By FrMichael
I keep looking, but it doesn’t look like the archbishop has withdrawn the faculties of the Army Chief of Chaplains, whose ability to serve as a Catholic chaplain depends on the archbishop’s endorsement.

Posted Wednesday, February 08, 2012 11:43 PM By Abeca Christian
History has been telling the same story over and over again! They can censor us, they can discourage us, intimidate us, they can spit at us, they can beat us, shut us up, they can over and over but they will never kill truth! Truth lives on forever but man’s lies will have an end, just like everything else that is not from God!

Posted Thursday, February 09, 2012 1:03 AM By Kenneth M. Fisher
Father Michael. Please don’t hold your breath, that can be lethal, and we need you and more like you. God bless, yours in Their Hearts, Kenneth M. Fisher

Posted Thursday, February 09, 2012 5:21 AM By JLS
The absolute, total, way most critical and necessarily important bottom line is that they all keep smiling.

Posted Thursday, February 09, 2012 6:00 PM By MacDonald
I just checked with our pastor, and Archbishop Niederauer of San Francisco has prepared a three-page letter that not only articulates how wrong and “chilling” this decision is, but also provides very helpful and specific ways to contact the President AND the four Congresswomen of our Archdiocese. In Spanish and English. Via fax, email, snail mail, and websites. I’m really glad he and his team put such work into not only condemning the regualtions, but also helping us regular people find out how to contact whom and protest.

Posted Thursday, February 09, 2012 7:29 PM By JLS
MacDonald, did you say the president and the four horsemen of the apocalypse?

Posted Thursday, February 09, 2012 7:48 PM By Mac (not MacDonald)
MacDonald, go to the USCCB web site – the info is all there including links. Each US Bishops should have his own letter on his Diocese web site, and have it read from each parish pulpit, and printed in all Diocese Parish bulletins by this weekend at the latest.

Posted Thursday, February 09, 2012 8:43 PM By MacDonald
@ JLS — love it! Although in this case to be precise we’d have to say horsewomen of the apocalypse, as their names are Lynn, Anna, Jackie, and Nancy. Sounds like a musical group. I can only hope that the outcry from so many people will make a big difference.

Posted Friday, February 10, 2012 6:43 PM By JLS
“Horsewomen” of the Apocalypse !!! Famine, pestilence, disease, war … the four horsewomen: Lynn, Anna, Jackie, and Nancy. I wonder how their tombstones will read after their end has arrived. Here lies a horsewoman of the apocalypse, Nancy the angel of abortion … etc.