The following comes from a December 12 story on the website of the Catholic News Agency
The message of Our Lady of Guadalupe promotes a culture of life and is at the center of the New Evangelization of the Americas, said Cardinal Marc Ouellet at a conference in Rome.
“The fact that she appears, she doesn’t have the child in her arms, because she has the child in her womb, it is a powerful message to our culture of death, where many babies die before coming to life,” Cardinal Ouellet remarked Dec. 11 at a small group discussion during the congress.
Cardinal Ouellet is the head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops and the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He offered his insights at the Ecclesia in America Congress being held Dec. 9-12 in Rome.
“Mary is reminding us that the word of God took flesh in the womb of a woman, and he is bringing redemption, renewal of relationships, grace and mercy to the world, openness to life and to hope,” he said.
Our Lady of Guadalupe does this “with a great tenderness,” he observed, adding that in this apparition Mary is “proof of an inculturated gospel.”
He noted that “Mary” is originally a Judaic name, and that “Guadalupe” comes from Arabic roots. Those two components of her name result in “a message in itself of reconciliation … the Word made flesh is a solution for all humanity and all cultures. It is a gift of God for the whole of humanity,” he said….
Cardinal Ouellet also reflected on the importance of unity between North and South America, founded on “the treasure of our common patrimony, which is our Catholic faith and Our Lady of Guadalupe.”
The conference, he said, is “an act of faith and hope,” anchored in John Paul II’s call for a “deeper dialogue” and “greater exchange” between North and South America.
“The richness of Latin America is their faith, their treasure of popular piety,” he told the small group.
“When they come to Canada or the U.S., they help to restore or save a Christian culture … they must bring and keep their religious identity, and enrich us with their faith.”
He said the outlook for the Americas is “very promising,” and that a renewal must come “from the faith, from a return to Jesus Christ, and so from the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe, fundamentally.”
To read entire story, click here.
Does Cardinal Oulett know about Loretta Sanchez, Deborah Ortiz, Juan Perez, or Antonio Villaraigosa? Of course, he does.
Once the Mexican immigrant goes to American schools and universities, even so-called Catholic universities, he or she is fully indoctrinated into the Leftist secular ideology.
The only time they think about Our Lady of Guadalupe is when they put her on a banner and carry it around to roundup voters for the Democrat Party.
Pro abortion, pro-sodomite Ms. Congresswoman Roybal, the daughter of pro-abortion, pro-sodomite, friend of Roger’s, Life time Knight of Columbus, the late Congressman Edward R. Roybal graduated in my sisters class from Bishop Conaty H.S.!
Until the “shepherds” take seriously their roles and enforce Canon 915, expect more of the same.
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
John: Perhaps your words are a bit cynical, but that does not detract from their essential truthfulness. Our Hispanic coreligionists are an absolute disgrace. Their ostensible devotioin to Our Lady of Guadalupe stands out as a jarring
instance of schizoid behavior. How can a people so devoted to the Blessed Mother be so bone-headedly blind?
Anton I often ask myself that question too…they are so devoted to our Blessed Mother and yet still seem to be open to change in the secular and modernism. I know many who pray the rosary a lot but are lukewarm when it comes to homosexual lifestyles.
I don’t get it too when they seem to like Obama too, they think he is a good man. Obama has fooled many people….one would think that those who are devoted to our blessed Mother in the Rosary, that they would be protected from secular lies and not be so easily deceived by the Obama administration.
Unfortunately, most Latin Americans in this area live like pagans. They lie and take government funds, they impregnate women so they can get those funds (citizens), they use their children’s social security numbers for their utilities, seldom go to church, drink and use drugs, fight. I wish it were different. I think the Bishop is living in an alternate reality. Truly wish it were different. Those few that do not do these things are good people, but no more faithful Catholics than any other.
Its sad because some of them come from good families, the parents are hard working with morals but their kids are much influenced by the modern day American culture.
Based upon the Hispanic CATHOLIC vote in our 2012 Presidential Election, and the Hispanic CATHOLIC vote in CA elections at all levels, its a mistake for anyone to assume that they will positively affect our culture.
In fact they harmed the USA.
65% of these ‘Catholics” voted for pro-abortion, pro-homo-sexual marriage, against freedom of religion, and for the Party of Death.
(50% of other Catholics voted for the Party of Death candidate.)
Actions speak louder than words.
People who truly honor our Blessed Mother would never vote for the Party of Death.
The Bishops and their Diocese Priests have a big job to do in catechesis of all Catholic Americans. Start now, not a few months prior to an election.
Let’s start hearing important issues from the Pulpit.
The Bishops are a day late and a dollar short regarding cathechesis. They should have started 50 years ago.
Supergirl333,
You got that right!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Supergirl 333: Fifty years ago the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church was snuffed out by Vatican 2.
““When they come to Canada or the U.S., they help to restore or save a Christian culture…” This is a joke, right? Did not Obama practically sweep the Hispanic vote? It’s not about the faith, but about being taken care of by the government and also about immigration rights. These concerns, legitimate as they may be, trump all else.
It is not a pleasant fact but 50% of Latinos coming to the US are in one parent situations so they will not be able to save the Christian culture.
Really, an Australian cardinal saying this!! while his own countries removes immigrants daily !!!!!!!
Australian?????
I agree with this article 100%! I live in South Jersey and we have many Latinos in our area and some churches are predominately Spanish speaking. They have an impressive devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe and are very devout in their faith. Their participation in the Liturgy (with their whole family) is inspiring and I hope that others will follow their example. I imagine this is how it was years ago when the European immigrants first came.
Dear Greg-when the European immigrants came they were eager-anxious-to assimilate. Are these hispanic families eager to assimilate and to live their Catholic faith AS THINKING ADULTS? I know them very well. They love the land of milk and honey but are proudly from another country first and flaunt it. When it comes time to vote will a majority of these church goers vote pro family and pro marriage? Many will probably feel conflicted over supposed “racism” inherent in the GOP´s immigration stance (that seeks to control America’s borders) that they themselves would have no problem with in their home countries. Will they pull the lever for life or for the perceived needs of their “raza”? If we had a
political system that served the interests of our nation and resticted immigration carefully to only let in those who wanted to learn and adopt our customs, language and learn our political heritage of limited government and personal responsibility then they would become the source of hope that people get giddy about currently but without serious cause.
Greg but it’s sort of different here in California…I think the faith is watered down here. They are trying to hold on to their values but the American culture hasn’t helped them edify the good values, it only watered down their values and faith.
This is complete nonsense; wishful thinking. I spent 40 yrs. teaching aforementioned immigrants and their knowledge of the Catholic faith is zip, zilch, nada. There is some wearing of Catholic trinkets, but no underlying knowledge of the faith. Even Our Lady of Guadalupe–many who “honor” her don’t know the story. I asked a very sizeable number of students every single year and got blank stares, and answers like, “There’s a picture of her in my gradmother’s kitchen.” Period. That’s all they know about her; she’s a picture.
Hispanic immigrants divorce and contracept just like everybody else. Families of 7 are a thing of the past.
The good cardinal needs to spend some time substitute teaching in L.A. or San Jose for a flavor of the real world.
Try to rememberthat the “Euros” who came here in the latter part of the nineteenth century and the twentieth century really built this country to the great nation that it once was and no longer is. Now the Latinos are
coming in droves and we expect them ,with their”catholicity” to turn things around for the better. It ain’t gonna happen because our depraved culture is influencing our politics and our behavior. This is evident by the idiots in this country (with all their college degrees) allowing themselves to be influenced by the sub-culture brought on by
the “Obamas” in our nation with wanting ang getting instead of contributing and building.The Latinos are willing contributers to this corruption by falling into this “entitlement” trap that we “Euros” have set up for them by embracing the allurements of Satan.Their socalled “Catholicism” ,as ours, is of no avail to them or ours.
Our Lady Of Guadalupe pray for us Euros and Latinos.Your intercession
is needed now more than ever.I pray that our shared Catholicism will
influence ALL our decisions especially in the MORAL and POLITICAL
sphere.
Unfortunately the Hispanics are just like most uneducated Americans; they vote their pocketbook and that’s it. What upsets me most is they ruined their own country and now their tearing down one of their best opportunities to make something of themselves for their children and grandchildren. Why can’t people learn from history. That’s right they’re being taught “fake history” so they have no clue what they’re doing.And then the Catholic Church has become so duped itself; who can we trust today???GOD SAVE AMERICA!! Wasn’t that the last few typewritten words that came out of Hungary just before it fell to Communism back in the forties. “GOD SAVE HUNGARY” Look how long it took for them to be delivered from Communism…HURRY GOD, HURRY~~
Cecilia,
When our President Wilson illegaly sent the U.S. Fleet to Vera Cruz Harbor to block the Cristero supplies, we in the United States indirectly helped ruin Mexico (See “No God Next Door”), so don’t completely blame the Mexican immigrants. Most would have preferred to stay in Mexico but the Masons in Mexico and the U.S. made that very difficult.
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
The Bishops are kidding themselves if they think Hispanics will save Christian culture. They only care about what the government and the Church can give them; as evidenced by the 2012 election. If the Catholic Church stopped helping Hispanics out, there would be a mass exodus from the Church.
It amazes me how some princes of the Church will continuously rearrange the deck chairs while the Titanic sinks. I live I New York and am an active Catholic and I can tell you that, sadly, most of the negative comments here are quite true.
The ONLY place that is growing in the Catholic Church are the traditional communities that have abandoned the failed experiments of the sixties and returned to a Catholic culture and the “social reign of Christ as King”.
That culture built the Western World! It excels in logic, science, sacred art, sacred architecture, sacred music… and it was inspired by the RADICAL nature of the Tridentine Mass. It is a culture which intends to inform/effect the world… instead of the world evangelizing the Church like we have been trying to do for the last 40 – 50 years.
In order for the Catholic Church to go forward… she has to recognize and draw upon her liturgical past. While The Second Vatican Council had some good things in her 16 documents… most of those good things were never actually implemented. For example… according to Vatican II… Gregorian chant is not optional. Yet for decades we were told by Church leaders “oh we don’t do that anymore”. So we must listen to sappy, effeminate music for 45 minutes every week. Now wonder most men aren’t interested! In contrast.. many of the most ambiguous things in the council documents were amplified, distorted and propagated by many inside the Church whose real motive was to change Church teaching in the moral sphere. Thankfully, many of them are now dying off. I think this cardinal, with all due respect, is dead wrong.
“So we must listen to sappy, effeminate music for 45 minutes every week. Now wonder most men aren’t interested!”
Aye! Here, here!
A little bit of fact checking. Cardinal Ouellet is Canadian, having previously been Cardinal Archbishop of Quebec and thus the primate of Canada.
Once again, this Cardinal, like so many others of his stature, are out of touch with what’s really happening. The Latino culture in this country is not Catholic other than in name only.
No disrespect intended, dear Cardinal Ouellet, but if you expect Hispanics to save the church, please review the 2012 election results. Their Catholicism is skin-deep at best.
I agree with most of the commenters here. As a CCD teacher and a young, practicing Catholic myself, I can personally attest that the idea of these Latin American “Catholic” immigrants and their children “saving” the Church’s decline in the USA and Canada is nonsense. Rather, I would argue that many (sadly) are contributing to the Church’s decline because they (a) neither believe nor practice the Faith except as a cultural relic and (b) tend to see the Church as a source of money and “free stuff” rather than the community and institution founded by Christ that she is.
I believe Cardinal Ouellet is hoping for the best, and we must hope and pray for the best. However, hope does not necessarily, especially in this case, correlate with the painful reality of the situation of Latino Catholics.
The Church went into decline because its people, priests, and bishops stopped living and enforcing the Church’s teachings. There is always hope for a true revival, but it will not happen so long as the Catholic Faith remains a cultural relic in America among Euros and Latinos alike.
You are correct…this belief that Hispanics will save our Christian culture is as deceptive as the belief that the death penalty is no longer necessary. I don’t know if our church leaders are so disconnected with what the faithful are having to endure…that they would make such comments.
THE HISPANIC VOTE WENT FOR OBAMA.- THE OBAMA WHO IS PROVIDING A FLOOD OF MONEY TO THE ABORTION INDUSTRY.
AN OBAMA WHO OVERSEES THE CLOSING OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES FOR NOT SUBMITTING TO HOMOSEXUAL “MARRIAGES” AND WHO IS WILLING TO CLOSE OUR CHARITIES AND HOSPITALS TO FUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD.
This is non sense…..many Latino Catholics usually leave the faith, many in my area have become Jehovah’s witness, or are not well informed or strong in their faith….I would have to disagree that they would save the Catholic culture.
Cardinal Ouellet is divorced from reality.
American Catholics are SO outnumbered. Ha. We’re dead.
Leadership is completely “AWOL.” No one has our backs. It’s just over! That’s all.
Looks like Cardinal Ouellet has been taking a page from Archbishop Gomez’s CliffsNotes. Sadly, both come off as sour grapes cultural marginals in their (?) respective countries, n’est-ce pas? Verdad?
Interesting reading the first article today on the Catholic immigrant vote and this article by the Cardinal how Catholic immigrants will save the Christian culture. Seems there is a little disconnect here.
St. Anne’s in San Diego is located smack dab in the middle of an Hispanic neighborhood, yet it was disestablished in 2006 due to lack of attendance. It was reestablished as an FSSP Tridentine Parish in 2008. I suspect the majority of parishioners commute, and its noon Sunday Spanish homily and parish festival are in whole or in part an outreach to that community.
Nursing a cultural grudge against Anglo Canada and the United States, for their greater wealth and freedom however residual, is more characteristic of a South Seas Cargo Cult islander.
…than a Prince of the Church. [oops, left that off]
Those who believe this are also probably the ones who believe that the death penalty is no longer necessary. Goes to show you how so easily many are deceived.
I invite everyone to read all of the comments above, and notice there is a very common theme here, that the leading clergy are out of touch with reality, as the modern church crumbles beneath their feet. Look at the numerous, and wide-spread comments from across the country from many diocese, they repeat the same message. Sadly the propensity of leading modern “catholic” clergy in the current perceived hierarchy of the church are afflicted with mental myopia or blindness, unable to see the truth. How could this be? Because they lack God’s sanctifying graces, those graces that help us see God’s truth in ancient Roman Catholic doctrine, morals, values, and teaching, and the spiritual state of the world around us, i.e., the ability to see the difference between right and wrong according to God’s laws. His laws are those that count the most, yes even above the law of the land! Only His laws are pure and perfect. Man’s laws some derived from christian-judeo laws are generally good; however more laws weren’t necessarily conceived and approved with pure christian motives in-mind. This blindness in seeing the truth and correcting errors is prevalent through the once catholic community. How many catholics go to church to adore and honor God these days as He commanded? Statistics show 25% at best in the US, 2% at best in Europe. How many parents baptize their babies any longer? With 40% of babies in the US born to single mothers, there seems to be a lack of values and morals or care. With nearly 60% of pregnancies being aborted in NY state, there is obviously little care for babies souls if there is no care for their lives and bodies. Why, because the laity are not receiving sanctifying grace either. We can thank the cleric hierarchy of the modern church for that too. Look at the lack of sanctifying grace, where did it go? Are the current changed sacraments void of effecting sanctifying grace which would explain the losses of the faith, morals, and values the way it is today? With a high probability Yes! The first sacrament changed by Vatican 2 was Holy Orders. The fewest catholics have perhaps attended Holy Order Sacrament rituals and wouldn’t notice any changes, so little upheaval by the laity would occur, and yet this change would cause the greatest damage and loss in faith in the Roman Catholic Church as we see today. No valid clergy means no valid sanctifying graces! We all know of families that were once catholic and are either protestant, agnostics, or atheists today. The ordination and consecration ritual forms and prayers were changed, (but not the matter to mask the changes) especially changed were those prayers having the greatest efficacy in bestowing and fulfilling the sacrament. This loss of sanctifying grace can easily explain why the modern clergy ignored the democratic party’s platform and sat idly by while being hooked-winked into supporting Obamacare, although it supported abortion from the very beginning. This loss of sanctifying grace can easily explain why so many modern clergy fell into sin and became entangled with and covered up the widespread sexual abuse of pedophile and homosexual modern priests. This loss of sanctifying grace can easily explain why the clergy hierarchy are willing to close our catholic schools (starting in the 1960s), hospitals, convents, and parishes. See many humble and young old-style nuns lately as teachers and nurses? This loss of sanctifying grace can easily explain why the modern clergy catholic universities are filled with radical, liberal, socialist faculty and have stripped christian teaching and principles from the campuses, instead letting in socialism, pro-homosexual activities, free-sex, and abortion-rights. The bishops don’t take it in their power to correct them. The Roman Catholic Church in its pre-Vatican 2 grandeur used to be the bastion kept even the protestant denominations in check, and that defended and promoted christianity, morals, and values. Hollywood produced much “cleaner” and healthy movies that honored the christian faith with characters reciting prayers, and rituals. The modern church does not correct the evil that pervades; instead rather than following God’s holy Word and appeasing God, the modern church is trying to appease sinful man instead. When was the last time your pastor at the pulpit explained what constitutes offending God, i.e., sin? The state of the modern church will not improve until God’s sanctifying grace is available again for us to return to His Way and then by our accepting and returning to God’s favor. The question at hand is how will this all come to pass? The answer is prayer. Pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe the holy rosary daily with humility and sincerity.
There are Roman Catholic parishes scattered throughout the world where the clergy have been validly ordained and consecrated by generally elderly valid Roman Catholic bishops in the line of St. Peter, who have persevered to preserve the Roman Catholic Church faith, values, and morals contrary to modern liberal viewpoints. These holy clergy are valid and are Christ-like, holding to Christ’s holy teachings and performing the treasured 7 Holy Sacraments without change and with the full complement of sanctifying graces God will bestow on us according to our merits, humility, and goodness. These 7 Holy Sacraments/rituals are exactly the same in Latin prayer, matter, and form as they were before Vatican 2 which radically changed the modern church. Christ promised He will be with Holy Mother the Church until the end of time, and He does not back-down on His promises! He doesn’t have need nor worry about political correctness. God does not change over time, because God’s truth never changes. Pray the rosary to Our Lady for Her intercession that God will show us His way and lead us to the Roman Catholic clergy and parish of His choice. Our relationship with God here on earth and our future with Him in Heaven, depends on our receiving His sanctifying graces and our willingness to correspond with God’s sanctifying graces bestowed upon us. God will not refuse those who humbly pray for sanctifying graces and spiritual help. Merry Christmas and may everyone do our best to honor the infant Jesus this soul-redeeming time of the church year.