Over the past year or so, the Albanese government in Australia has been promoting a referendum to change the Australian constitution. The purpose is to set up a new constitutional entity made up of indigenous peoples as an advisory body to the Australian parliament. About this proposal I have many concerns.

The first concern is that it is a top-down decision and hasn’t arisen from the grass roots of the nation, unlike the 1967 referendum vote to include indigenous Australians in population counts which was a grass roots movement with wide support, easy to understand, and easy to ascertain if it has been done properly.

The second concern is that a lot of money is being spent by government to push for the Yes vote. We’ve seen government buses with slogans. We are seeing Australian business corporations also displaying alliance with the Yes vote, as they did for the same sex marriage plebiscite. Previously business corporations had zero interest in the outcome of national decisions. But in this age of so-called virtue signaling, it has become de rigueur. This bothers me because it has a coercive impact.

The third concern is the appeal to emotion rather than to reason. It goes something like this, as a nation we are more aware than ever of the injustices meted out to indigenous Australians throughout our history, and we are grieved about this, and think something should be done. This referendum is a something, therefore we should do it to assuage the guilt levels we feel. No one seems to be asking whether this voice to parliament is the best solution or not.

The fourth concern is that we have a history of well-meaning legislation supposedly put forward to better the lot of our indigenous peoples and actually making their lives worse.

The fifth concern is that the actual legislation to enact the referendum change, should it be voted in, will not be written until after the vote. In effect each of us is signing a blank cheque with unknown consequences. We know that the promises of our politicians aren’t worth much, since we are still waiting for them to enact legislation to protect free speech and religious liberty – which was promised as part of the same sex marriage legislation.

The sixth concern is that the letter of this unknown actual legislation could be significantly different to what the various politicians have been promising that it will be. I’ve seen footage of a politician speaking to one group of people saying that the change will be minimal and then speaking to another group of people and saying that the change will be far more than minimal.

The seventh concern is the wedge this proposed referendum is driving between indigenous Australians and non-indigenous Australians. It seems the antithesis of ‘Australians All Let Us Rejoice’ as we sing in the national anthem. If one was truly cynical you could consider it a diabolical invention to inflame racial hatred in this country. We are already facing derogatory terminology if we dare to question this referendum proposal, and being accused of hurting our indigenous folk because we are yet to be convinced that it is a good thing for them, and for all of us.

The eighth concern is that you don’t normally get politicians, corporate business and media singing from the same hymn sheet unless there is a much bigger agenda afoot; and yes, I am deeply worried that it is a W.E.F. agenda or similar.

Let’s step back and look at the objective situation.
​
In Australia there are many hundreds of indigenous nations, tribes and cultural groups.

It isn’t a wonderful photo, because it was taken through glass at the State Library of NSW, but it does give you an idea about the diversity of indigenous nations within Australia.

Now some of them are freshwater people, some of them are river people, some of them are salt-water people, some of them are desert people, some of them are river people, some of them are grass plains people, some of them are mountain people, some of them are rain forest people – and I’m sure to have missed some out.

Each of these indigenous nations has a very strong connection to the geographical area of their nation, and deep understanding about how all the landscape, the plants and animals all coexist. What I need you to see is that it is a local relationship and local custodianship. There are all kinds of multi-layered stories to explain geographic formations and animal traits.

Can you begin to see the troubles that could arise if a river person starts making decisions that affect desert people? Or if a rain forest person starts making decisions that affect grass plains people?

Consider that each of these peoples all have different laws, customs, stories and culture, and that some of these things change according to whoever carries leadership or eldership at the time. For example, one elder may have a prohibition about speaking about deceased people for 3 years, and the next elder may have a prohibition about speaking about deceased people for 10 years.

Now consider that many indigenous peoples are not living on their ancestral lands. This is truer in urban areas than in outback areas. I attempted last year to find out if there were any indigenous people with ancestral connection to the area I live in and still living here. I failed to find any. What I did find were indigenous people with connections to the mid north coast of NSW, to the Riverina region of NSW, and to river people of VIC. I discovered that a former local indigenous leader wasn’t from around here either.

What happens to your region if there are no elders with ancestral connections to represent your region in the voice to parliament?

Next consider the problematic definition of who is indigenous and who isn’t. Are you indigenous if you have at least one great-grandparent indigenous (1/8)? Are you indigenous if you can trace any indigenous ancestor back to 1788? When do you stop being indigenous and start being hodge-podge Australian? It certainly matters from a government funding point of view. Does someone who has 1/16 indigenous ancestry have the right to tell someone with two indigenous parents what to do - and how to live their lives?

Believe it or not matters can be even more complicated. We watched a Who Do You Think You Are episode recently about a retired director of an indigenous dance company. Going through his family tree found Australian indigenous, Cook Island ancestry, and Philippine ancestry and more. How many others have such hybrid ancestral connections – and don’t realise it?

What happens if people start identifying with indigenous Australians, even though their ancestry is thoroughly Anglo-Celtic? Do they get government funding as indigenous? Since we are living in the craziness of men identifying as women and vice versa, this is no longer in the region of “la la land”, but a real issue.

It makes far more sense to me that an indigenous elder should have an ex-officio seat at the local government table. That’s where the custodianship is, that’s where the knowledge and commitment is. But it needs to be an indigenous elder with a true ancestral connection to the local government area.

Because of the local focus of indigenous nations within Australia, it makes no sense to me to set up a national body of indigenous to speak to national issues. The concern is that the people interested on serving on such a voice to parliament would be political activists and politicians – unless there is a way to make them hereditary positions. But who is going to say which indigenous bloodlines are more important than other indigenous bloodlines?

What is going to stop political activists from making constitutional challenges to be heard in the high court which could enshrine interpretations at complete odds with the understanding of the people who voted yes to the voice to parliament? How do you protect against people acting in their own interests at odds with the needs of the rest of Australians? How do you protect against people acting for foreign interests at odds with the true needs of Australians?

It all feels like a recipe for chaos, disorder and disunity, with the possibility of pitting one indigenous culture against another one. Chaos, disorder and disunity are at enmity with peace, unity and truth. Shouldn’t we want national decisions that establish peace, unity and truth in our land?
​
That’s why, unless the structure of the referendum proposal drastically changes for the better, I will be voting No.

.........................................
Below is a printer friendly edited version, 4 x A4 pages,
​

Within a week, I heard Christian leaders once on Facebook and once on YouTube say that Purgatory is not biblical. That is a statement on very shaky legs both biblically and historically.
Here is some of the evidence:

How the bible we hold in our hands today came to be
At the time of Jesus and at the time the Gospels were being written, even the Hebrew Bible canon had not been established: that is, the list of writings to be included and the writings to be excluded for use in synagogue.

The same was true in the very early centuries of Christianity, since not much could be built while the threat of deadly persecution loomed. Believers copied Paul’s letters and shared them, ditto with the Gospels and other writings considered worthy of preserving and leaving as legacy for new generations of believers. Neither was it a quick process, it took several councils of gathered bishops to pray seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and debate, sometimes ferociously, especially in the 382 AD Council of Rome, 393 AD Council of Hippo, 397 AD Council of Carthage and 419 Council of Carthage. Note that all this took place well after Constantine’s death in 337 AD.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_of_the_New_Testament_canon

It was the Church that gave birth to the Bible; the Church founded by Jesus upon Peter and his successors.

That is why 1 Tim 3:15b says, looking at the transliterated Greek, “God’s household, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth”, also “support and basis of the truth”. It does not say that the bible is the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Not everything the early Christians did and taught got written about in the New Testament, but it did get passed down through the teaching of the apostles and through how Jesus had taught them to live their lives and how Jesus had taught them to worship and minister. Usually only disputed matters got into St Paul’s letters, and the stuff that was taken for granted wasn’t written about. That’s why we have St Paul write in Phil 4:9, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard or seen in me, put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Even today we don’t write rubrics about how to take up a collection. It is part of normal practice and what is automatic and generally accepted becomes like wallpaper: always present and not debated about. No one is going to write rubrics about how to sing Happy Birthday either.

That Church founded by Jesus upon Peter also did the monumental work of copying the Old Testament, the New Testament and the early Christian writings by hand. Consider how painstaking that work was, and how much each generation valued the Word of God to preserve it to generations yet to come. All of that reverence for the Word of God and faithful perseverance enabled you to hold a bible in your hands today. Hand copying only began to cease with the advent of the printing press around 1440, which is still pre Reformation.

Every time you pick up a bible you are saying that the Catholic Church got it right at least once in the discernment of the canon of scripture.

The Septuagint and the two books of Maccabees
Remember that Galilee was a mix of Hebrews, Greeks and others. Even the names of the apostles show this fusion. Andrew and Philip are Greek names. Bartholomew is a bit of both with the Ptolemy part being Greek. Matthew is a Greek form of a Hebrew name.

The Septuagint is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. Within that translation are seven books of the Bible written in Greek, of which Hebrew versions have yet to be found, and are called Apocrypha. Yet these seven books have had an impact on Jewish faith and practice, and Jesus Himself quoted deeply from them, and so did the New Testament writers.

Investigate for yourself and compare these New Testament references with the Apocrypha.
http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/deutero3.htm

For example, compare Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 7:32-36
“And also give generously to the poor, so that your blessing may lack nothing.
Let your generosity extend to all the living, do not withhold it even from the dead.
Do not turn your back on those who weep, but share the grief of the grief-stricken.
Do not shrink from visiting the sick; in this way you will make yourself loved.
In everything you do, remember your end, and you will never sin.”

With Matthew 25:35-36
“For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you made Me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed Me, sick and you visited Me, in prison and you came to see Me."

You can find these seven books for free at https://www.catholic.org/bible/
if you scroll down far enough.
There are passages from Esther and Daniel that are classed as Apocrypha.
Then the seven books are Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees.

The two books of Maccabees chronicle the era 176 BC till 134 BC, and the struggles and battles and miracles the people of Israel experienced. It was from this era that the beloved celebration of Hannukah arose. Jesus would have celebrated it every year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_of_the_Maccabees

But for the current discussion, 2 Maccabees 12, and especially verse 45 are important.

In the beginning of chapter 12 of 2 Maccabees, we hear of successful attacks and retaliations and battles led by Judas Maccabeus and his troops full of faith in the living God. Then they had a battle where some of them lost their lives, which was unusual. Since the next day was the sabbath, they kept that holy, and on the next day went out to recover the bodies of the dead for burial. Everyone who had died had hidden amulets of idols taken as booty from their enemies under their clothes, an affront to God who says: ‘You shall have no other gods but Me’. Everyone without those amulets was still alive. Immediately the survivors gave themselves to prayer begging God to forgive the sin of their companions. Then a voluntary collection was taken up and sent to Jerusalem so that sacrifices for sin could be offered on behalf of these deceased.

“An altogether fine and noble action, in which he took full account of the resurrection. For if he had not expected the fallen to rise again it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead, whereas if he had in view the splendid recompense reserved for those who make a pious end, the thought was holy and devout. This was why he had this atonement sacrifice offered for the dead, so that they might be released from their sin.” 2 Macc 12:43b-45

Given how readily the troops offered contributions to the collection, this cannot have been an original thought, but an existing understanding that sacrifices for sin could be offered both for the living and for the dead, and that it was an legitimate thing to do.

Our Jewish brothers and sisters still pray for the dead
This is an account of modern Jewish practice:
https://coffeeshoprabbi.com/2017/06/23/what-is-the-jewish-prayer-for-the-dead/

“God, full of mercy, who dwells in the heights, provide a sure rest upon the wings of the Divine Presence, within the range of the holy, pure and glorious, whose shining resemble the sky’s, to the soul of (Hebrew name of deceased) son of (Hebrew name of his father) for a charity was given to the memory of his soul. Therefore, the Master of Mercy will protect him forever, from behind the hiding of His wings, and will tie his soul with the rope of life. The Everlasting is his heritage, and he shall rest peacefully upon his lying place, and let us say: Amen.”

This is the prayer prayed out loud when sitting Shiva, and everyone responds, Amen.

It is also used with other ritual practices for mourning, and this is a direct correlation with that excerpt from 2 Maccabees 12 - only more than 2150 years later.

Now compare that prayer with the memento for the dead found in the major Eucharistic prayers in Catholic practice:

Eucharistic Prayer I: Remember also, Lord, Your servants N. and N.
who have gone before us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace.
Grant them, O Lord, we pray, and all who sleep in Christ,
a place of refreshment, light and peace.

Eucharistic Prayer II: Remember Your servant N.
whom You have called from this world to Yourself.
Grant that he (she) who was united with Your Son in a death like His
may also be one with Him in His Resurrection.
Remember also our brothers and sisters
who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection,
and all who have died in Your mercy:
welcome them into the light of Your face.

Eucharistic Prayer III: To our departed brothers and sisters
and to all who were pleasing to You at their passing from this life,
give kind admittance to Your kingdom.
There we hope to enjoy for ever the fullness of Your glory.

Eucharistic Prayer IV: Remember also
those who have died in the peace of Your Christ
and all the dead, whose faith You alone have known.
To all of us, Your children, grant, O merciful Father,
that we may enter into a heavenly inheritance
with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God,
and with Your Apostles and Saints in Your kingdom.
There, with the whole of creation, freed from the corruption of sin and death,
may we glorify You through Christ our Lord.

In each of these Eucharistic prayers we find echoes of the Jewish prayer: peace, rest, light and turning to the everlasting God of mercy to request this for the deceased.

It is possible by looking carefully at the Greek to see in Matthew 14:13-21 an account of Jesus sitting Shiva with His apostles after the death of St John the Baptist. In every other account of the feeding of a multitude Jesus preaches, but not in this account.
http://www.societyofsaints.net/blog/how-did-they-get-there-on-foot-before-jesus

Excerpt below:

“After all the parables in Matt 13, Jesus had left the district and paid a visit to Nazareth, and in the first part of Matt 14 we have an account of the death of St John the Baptist. Therefore the lakeside towns had not seen Jesus for a little while.

What we do know is that the disciples of St John the Baptist got the news to Jesus, and by extension to those disciples of Jesus who had previously been disciples of John. Jesus and John were blood relatives, cousins, and several of the apostles would have looked upon John as a spiritual father. Due to these close connections, it is likely that this news got to Jesus before it got to the rest of the district, possibly by some of John’s disciples travelling in haste.

This put Jesus and those apostles into an official period of mourning, which is a week in length and known as shiva. During this time of shiva mourners are not expected to do much more than exist, but they do expect condolence visits from friends and relatives, and the visitors are expected to bring the food.

The news must have hit the apostolic company hard, and it seems like Jesus wasted no time in getting them off to a lonely spot where they could have some privacy to work through the initial waves of grief. They pack their travelling gear, and they pack provisions and off they go. It seems reasonable that they park Peter’s boat and then head deep into the hills to sit shiva together.

Meanwhile, back in the lakeside towns of Galilee, the news of the death of St John the Baptist breaks. In their lifetime, a true prophet has been killed, one whom many of them had met, and all of them had heard of. It is shocking. In their bereft-ness, they want to try and make sense of this with Jesus. He’s not at home. Neither are the apostles, nor their travel gear. Peter’s boat isn’t moored in its usual place, but everyone knows what Peter’s boat looks like. It isn’t long before sailors and fishermen bring in the news of where Peter’s boat is now. The crowds aren’t stupid, they can put 2 and 2 together, and deduce that they are sitting shiva privately. But at some point shiva will end, and Jesus and the apostles will return to the boat, however there’s no guarantee that they are going to go back home.

But they will return to the boat, and the crowds can make educated guesses about when shiva will end. They could get themselves and their sick ones to that lonely place by then. And they need the reassurance that God is still in control. So travel plans are made, and off on foot they go. Plenty of them may have even camped out waiting for Jesus to reappear. Just like people get to places early to watch New Year’s Eve fireworks or Boxing Day sales. Some wish to offer condolence, some want their sick ones healed, some want reassurance.

Chances are that it took a little bit longer than expected for Jesus and the apostles to re-emerge. Likely too that the foot-travelers’ provisions were close to empty. We know that the apostles’ provisions were empty, because if they filled twelve baskets full of scraps, it stands to reason they were empty to begin with. It is another reason that the shiva concept makes sense. If they had just arrived, those baskets would have been full, not empty but for 5 loaves and 2 fish. The actual word used for these baskets is ‘kophinous’, the kind of baskets to carry kosher food that travelers used.

In this scenario, the timing makes sense, the size of the crowd makes sense, the coming forth of Jesus from seclusion makes sense, the absence of teaching and preaching makes sense, and the filling of the baskets makes sense.

This was a ministry time of presence to the people, listening to their fears, their grief and anxiety, and healing those sick ones who had made the difficult journey.

But there’s no food!

And food is definitely a part of shiva! Visitors are encouraged to bring food that is crowd pleasing and which can easily be served and shared, and to avoid food that requires work on the part of the mourners.

The 7 days of shiva might be closing for Jesus and the apostles, but it is likely that it is still within shiva for the crowd – assuming that Jesus got the news of St John the Baptist’s death at least half a day, and maybe up to 2 days before the crowd did.
God provides the food, through the miracle. Bread that is easy to serve and easy to share. What a thought! That through this miracle God the Father is sitting shiva together with His people over the death of St John the Baptist, and thereby consoling them in an extraordinary way. What a memorable wake for the prophet who heralded Jesus!”

Therefore, in the time of Jesus since they followed the Jewish mourning protocols, they would have used some version of the “God, full of mercy” prayer.

Remember that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, but that the Pharisees did, and that the two factions squabbled a lot about it. Then remember how much interaction Jesus had with the Pharisees and how little interaction Jesus had with the Sadducees according to the accounts in the Gospels.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were still squabbling when the time came to determine the Hebrew canon of scripture, as well as both still being in fear of Rome. 1 and 2 Maccabees reignited both fears and squabbles, so it was left out of the canon, even though everyone was living their faith practice as though it was canon.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/omitting-the-maccabees/

The names of the Maccabee leaders were Matthias, Judas, Simon, John, Jonathan. Can you count several names of Apostles? Does it give you some idea of how important the Maccabee story was to the people of Israel when Jesus walked the earth? That’s why at the time of Jesus they were expecting a Messiah in the style of the Maccabees, mustering armies to wipe out their enemies under an anointed leader and all the rest.

Man-made traditions don’t last very long, 10 years, 20 years, 40 years. Only those traditions that have something God-breathed in them last; like praying for the dead in Catholic, Orthodox and Jewish tradition.

Have a browse through this list of 14 ways that are common ways of honouring the deceased in Jewish society: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/372952/jewish/14-Jewish-Ways-to-Honor-the-Soul-of-a-Deceased-Loved-One.htm
Many of those practices are still common amongst all of us, whatever we believe in, especially visiting the grave sites, and praying there, keeping them clean, lighting candles, donating things in memory of the deceased, special prayers on anniversaries of death, and the ‘don’t send flowers donate to such and such charity instead’. It is not so much now, but back before 1900 it was extremely common for a new child to be named for a recently deceased relative. It all started in biblical times pre-Jesus and is still going strong.

Other Scripture references
Now let us turn to those Scriptural references which aren’t quite as clear as 2 Maccabees 12.

They are all mentioned here:
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2N.HTM

1 Cor 3:14-15 “If his structure stands up to it, he will get his wages; if it is burnt down, he will be the loser, and although he is saved himself, it will be as one who has gone through fire.”

I Pet 1:7 “so that, when Jesus Christ is revealed, your faith will have been tested and proved like gold – only it is more precious than gold, which is corruptible even though it bears testing by fire – and then you will have praise and glory and honour.”

Matt 12:31 “And so I tell you, every one of men’s sins and blasphemies will be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.”

Job 1:5 ”Once each series of banquets was over, Job would send for them to come and be purified, and at dawn on the following day he would offer a holocaust for each one of them. ‘Perhaps’ Job would say ‘my sons have sinned and in their hearts affronted God.’ So that was what he used to do after each series.”

Thus it is biblical to pray that someone else be loosed from their sins, and that can apply to both the living and the dead since Jesus is Lord of both realms. Rom 14:7-9

Just like a word of knowledge
Many people are used to how a word of knowledge operates. God reveals a situation to a person eg there is man in this place who is deaf in his right ear. God only reveals because He wants some kind of grace released. A man presents himself, saying yes I am deaf in my right ear. People then pray with expectation of healing, and God’s grace of healing is released.

Stories about purgatory are very similar. God reveals that a specific deceased person requires certain actions or prayers to complete their time of purification. Then when those requirements are filled God will reveal that it is accomplished.

These stories are numerous in both Jewish and Christian traditions.

Here is one from https://jewinthecity.com/2022/11/why-do-jews-pray-for-the-dead/
“Rabbi Akiva once saw a man struggling under a heavy burden. Rabbi Akiva was concerned that this might be an overworked slave but it turned out to be the soul of an unrepentant sinner whose punishment was to gather wood, which was then used to burn him daily. He told Rabbi Akiva that the only way to free him was if his son would stand in front of the congregation and say “Barchu es Hashem hamevorah” or “Yisgadal v’yiskadash…,” causing the congregation to respond, “Baruch Hashem hamevorah l’olam voed” or “Yehei shmei rabbah…,” respectively. (These are the prayers of Barchu and Kaddish, in which the leader of the service calls upon the congregation to praise God, which they then do.)
Rabbi Akiva tracked down the man’s wife and circumcised the deceased’s son. When the child was old enough, he tutored him and taught him how to daven. As soon as the boy recited the appropriate prayers in shul, his father’s soul appeared to Rabbi Akiva in a dream and informed him that he had been relieved of his afterlife torments.”

Here is one from https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0324.htm about the martyr Perpetua who was martyred around 202AD in Carthage and her brother Dinocrates who had died a pagan:
“After a few days, while we were all praying, on a sudden, in the middle of our prayer, there came to me a word, and I named Dinocrates; and I was amazed that that name had never come into my mind until then, and I was grieved as I remembered his misfortune. And I felt myself immediately to be worthy, and to be called on to ask on his behalf. And for him I began earnestly to make supplication, and to cry with groaning to the Lord. Without delay, on that very night, this was shown to me in a vision. I saw Dinocrates going out from a gloomy place, where also there were several others, and he was parched and very thirsty, with a filthy countenance and pallid color, and the wound on his face which he had when he died. This Dinocrates had been my brother after the flesh, seven years of age, who died miserably with disease — his face being so eaten out with cancer, that his death caused repugnance to all men. For him I had made my prayer, and between him and me there was a large interval, so that neither of us could approach to the other. And moreover, in the same place where Dinocrates was, there was a pool full of water, having its brink higher than was the stature of the boy; and Dinocrates raised himself up as if to drink. And I was grieved that, although that pool held water, still, on account of the height to its brink, he could not drink. And I was upset, and knew that my brother was in suffering. But I trusted that my prayer would bring help to his suffering; and I prayed for him every day until we passed over into the prison of the camp, for we were to fight in the camp-show. Then was the birthday of Geta Cæsar, and I made my prayer for my brother day and night, groaning and weeping that he might be granted to me. Then, on the day on which we remained in fetters, this was shown to me. I saw that that place which I had formerly observed to be in gloom was now bright; and Dinocrates, with a clean body well clad, was finding refreshment. And where there had been a wound, I saw a scar; and that pool which I had before seen, I saw now with its margin lowered even to the boy's navel. And one drew water from the pool incessantly, and upon its brink was a goblet filled with water; and Dinocrates drew near and began to drink from it, and the goblet did not fail. And when he was satisfied, he went away from the water to play joyously, after the manner of children, and I awoke. Then I understood that he was translated from the place of punishment.

In https://www.churchfathers.org/purgatory you will find this and other examples of purgatory stories in the time zone between Pentecost and the final acceptance of the canon of Scripture in 419 AD. One of them is within living memory of the apostles. All this in the early Church founded by Jesus upon Peter before the bible came to be in its current form.

Have a browse through this list of 14 ways that are common ways of honouring the deceased in Jewish society: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/372952/jewish/14-Jewish-Ways-to-Honor-the-Soul-of-a-Deceased-Loved-One.htm
Many of those practices are still common amongst all of us, whatever we believe in, especially visiting the grave sites, and praying there, keeping them clean, lighting candles, donating things in memory of the deceased, and the ‘don’t send flowers donate to such and such charity instead’. It is not so much now, but back before 1900 it was extremely common for a new child to be named for a recently deceased relative.

How come Purgatory is not considered biblical in Protestant circles?
One answer is that it did not fit into Martin Luther’s doctrine of salvation by faith alone.

A doctrine which is not supported by Gal 5:6 “since in Christ Jesus whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference – what matters is faith that makes its power felt through love”
nor James 2:18 “You say you have faith and I have good deeds; I will prove to you that I have faith by showing you my good deeds – now you prove to me that you have faith without any good deeds to show.”

The faith necessary for salvation is a free and unearned gift obtained through the sacrifice on the Cross by Jesus. But the expressing of that faith in accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour is like marriage vows, they make no sense unless you intend to fully live out that life covenant with Him.

The inherent danger in ‘once saved always saved’ is that it provides no impetus to live a life pleasing to God. Ezekiel 34 should haunt us all, especially Ezekiel 34:12, “The integrity of an upright man will not save him once he has chosen to sin; the wickedness of a wicked man will no longer condemn him once he renounces wickedness, nor will an upright man live on the strength of his integrity once he has chosen to sin.”

The doctrine of purgatory on the other hand provides a wonderful impetus to avoid sinning, and to take the steps to get right with God on a regular and frequent basis, seeking His mercy for our sins. With the doctrine of purgatory the fullness of the holiness of God is displayed, as well as His divine justice and His divine mercy. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, haven’t we? Hebrews 12:1 reminds us “to throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that clings so easily, and keep running in the race we have already started”. Since we start that race through the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, it means we still have constant need to remove sin from our lives. At the end of the amazing description of the heavenly temple of God in Revelation 21 we read in verse 27: “nothing unclean/impure may come into it: no one who does what is loathsome or false, but only those who are listed in the Lamb’s book of life”. We know from the Old Testament that God requires spotless purity, and the severe penalties given to those who infringed that purity, like Uzzah touching the ark instead of carrying it properly with the shafts.

What happened under Martin Luther resembles the crimes of Jeroboam son of Nebat. Jeroboam who was given by God the leadership of ten tribes of Israel, and instead of serving the Lord God, went about setting up alternate ways of worship to prevent the people returning to worship in the Jerusalem temple, because if they did return to temple worship they would gradually making their way back to the Davidic line of kings and Jeroboam’s kingship would cease.

Look at what Martin Luther did. When books in the universally accepted bible prior to 1520 AD did not agree with his doctrine of faith alone, he removed them. A man without even any episcopal authority decided that he knew better than the bishops of the whole church who went through that lengthy process in 382-419 AD. All those books now called Apocrypha from the Septuagint were deleted by Luther because they contained seeds that would lead back to Catholic and Orthodox faith practice. You noticed that reference in Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 7 about praying for the dead, didn’t you? It is only one example among many of those seeds, and everyone at the time of Jesus spoke that parable knew which book of the Septuagint He was alluding to in that great depiction of the last judgement.
​
Purgatory is biblical. Even in the truncated bible version by Martin Luther, it is still biblical.

.....................................................
A printer friendly version, A4 x 10 pages, is provided below:

This may seem like a very strange topic to bring to your attention, but it does tell a salutary tale about how media has been manipulated. It is of importance to us because media is a pathway to spread the Gospel; and if voices in the media can be muffled, then the God-fearing voices in the media can also be muzzled.

Normally long messages on Twitter either appear as Twitter-threads or as a series of numbered stand-alone tweets. After a person gets to about 30 in a series, and it is generating massive discussion sometimes the Twitter-threads get broken. That’s what happened more than once. Thankfully there were generous people who attempted to put the tweets in chronological order to make them easier to read for those who have little Twitter experience. They had a difficult task.

A bit of background may help. Some weeks after Elon Musk became the owner of Twitter he promised to release information held within the Twitter databases about the events that led to the expulsion of President Trump from Twitter on 8 Jan 2021. To do this Elon selected a few journalists and gave them access to the files at Twitter. However it was a requirement that what they released had to be published on Twitter first before it was published on any other kind of media.

On Saturday 3 Dec 2022, Australian time, the first of the Twitter Files was released via @mtaibbi. It laid the groundwork for what was to follow, and each batch of Twitter Files builds on the previous batch. Bear in mind that if these things were going on at Twitter, they were certainly also going on at other social media sites and in main-stream media as well.

The first one is here, but there is irrelevant stuff between the actual tweets.
Keep going till you get to the very end.

https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-elon-musk-releases-files-on-twitters-censorship-of-hunter-biden-laptop-story

This is part of @mtaibbi’s introduction, which is provided as an enticement to learn more:

3. The “Twitter Files” tell an incredible story from inside one of the world’s largest and most influential social media platforms. It is a Frankensteinian tale of a human-built mechanism grown out the control of its designer.
4. Twitter in its conception was a brilliant tool for enabling instant mass communication, making a true real-time global conversation possible for the first time.
5. In an early conception, Twitter more than lived up to its mission statement, giving people “the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers.”
6. As time progressed, however, the company was slowly forced to add those barriers. Some of the first tools for controlling speech were designed to combat the likes of spam and financial fraudsters.
7. Slowly, over time, Twitter staff and executives began to find more and more uses for these tools. Outsiders began petitioning the company to manipulate speech as well: first a little, then more often, then constantly.
8. By 2020, requests from connected actors to delete tweets were routine. One executive would write to another: “More to review from the Biden team.” The reply would come back: “Handled.”

Although further information was supposed to be released the next day, nothing happened for several days until @mtaibbi released supplemental information.

You can read it in full here:
https://radiopatriot.net/2022/12/07/second-twitter-file-thread-supplement-to-the-1st-thread/

Here is a mini summary:

“On Tuesday, Twitter Deputy General Counsel (and former FBI General Counsel) Jim Baker was fired. Among the reasons? Vetting the first batch of “Twitter Files” – without knowledge of new management.
The process for producing the “Twitter Files” involved delivery to two journalists (Bari Weiss and me) via a lawyer close to new management. However, after the initial batch, things became complicated.
Over the weekend, while we both dealt with obstacles to new searches, it was @bariweiss who discovered that the person in charge of releasing the files was Jim Baker. He had been something of a Zelig of FBI controversies dating back to 2016, from the Steele Dossier to the Alfa-Server mess.”

Within a day or two the second set of Twitter Files was released. It has the inside scoop on shadow banning. Yes, many suspected this was happening, but to see actual evidence of it was stunning.

https://radiopatriot.net/2022/12/08/twitter-files-part-2/

Here are the introductory tweets for this second set of Twitter Files:

2. Twitter once had a mission “to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers.” Along the way, barriers nevertheless were erected.
3. Take, for example, Stanford’s Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (@DrJBhattacharya) ) who argued that Covid lockdowns would harm children. Twitter secretly placed him on a “Trends Blacklist,” which prevented his tweets from trending.
4. Or consider the popular right-wing talk show host, Dan Bongino (@dbongino), who at one point was slapped with a “Search Blacklist.”
5. Twitter set the account of conservative activist Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) to “Do Not Amplify.”
6. Twitter denied that it does such things. In 2018, Twitter's Vijaya Gadde (then Head of Legal Policy and Trust) and Kayvon Beykpour (Head of Product) said: “We do not shadow ban.” They added: “And we certainly don’t shadow ban based on political viewpoints or ideology.”
7. What many people call “shadow banning,” Twitter executives and employees call “Visibility Filtering” or “VF.” Multiple high-level sources confirmed its meaning.
8. “Think about visibility filtering as being a way for us to suppress what people see to different levels. It’s a very powerful tool,” one senior Twitter employee told us.

The rest of this series of tweets shows that shadow banning based on political viewpoints and ideology did happen. Unless you know how bad it got, it will be difficult to understand the next series of tweets.

The third set of Twitter Files was about how President Trump, while he was still President, was shadow banned in various ways before and after the 2020 American presidential elections.
Yes, while he was still in the Oval Office.
It is serious stuff. 67 tweets worth.

https://radiopatriot.net/2022/12/09/twitter-files-part-3/

Here is part of the introduction:

5. Whatever your opinion on the decision to remove Trump that day, the internal communications at Twitter between January 6th-January 8th have clear historical import. Even Twitter’s employees understood in the moment it was a landmark moment in the annals of speech.
6. As soon as they finished banning Trump, Twitter execs started processing new power. They prepared to ban future presidents and White Houses – perhaps even Joe Biden. The “new administration,” says one exec, “will not be suspended by Twitter unless absolutely necessary.”
7. Twitter executives removed Trump in part over what one executive called the “context surrounding”: actions by Trump and supporters “over the course of the election and frankly last 4+ years.” In the end, they looked at a broad picture. But that approach can cut both ways.
8. The bulk of the internal debate leading to Trump’s ban took place in those three January days. However, the intellectual framework was laid in the months preceding the Capitol riots.

The fourth set of Twitter Files sadly were not numbered, and they might not be all in this link because there was a 2-to-3-hour gap between part 1 and part 2. Look for posts on 11 December from @ShellenbergerMD for the missing tweets. The previous set of Twitter Files took us up to 6 January 2021. This set takes us from there to 7 January 2021.

https://radiopatriot.net/2022/12/10/twitter-files-part-4/

Here is part of the introduction:

“For years, Twitter had resisted calls to ban Trump. “Blocking a world leader from Twitter,” it wrote in 2018, “would hide important info... [and] hamper necessary discussion around their words and actions.”
But after the events of Jan 6, the internal and external pressure on Twitter CEO @jack (Jack Dorsey) grows. Former First Lady @michelleobama , tech journalist @karaswisher , @ADL, high-tech VC @ChrisSacca, , and many others, publicly call on Twitter to permanently ban Trump.
Dorsey was on vacation in French Polynesia the week of January 4-8, 2021. He phoned into meetings but also delegated much of the handling of the situation to senior execs @yoyoel, Twitter’s Global Head of Trust and Safety, and @vijaya, Head of Legal, Policy, & Trust.
As context, it's important to understand that Twitter’s staff & senior execs were overwhelmingly progressive. In 2018, 2020, and 2022, 96%, 98%, & 99% of Twitter staff's political donations went to Democrats.
On January 7, @Jack emails employees saying Twitter needs to remain consistent in its policies, including the right of users to return to Twitter after a temporary suspension After, Roth reassures an employee that "people who care about this... aren't happy with where we are"”

The fifth set of Twitter Files reveals the internal communications on 8 January 2021 which led to the permanent suspension of President Trump, who was still officially the President of the United States of America until 20 January 2021 when Joe Biden was sworn in.

https://radiopatriot.net/2022/12/12/the-twitter-files-part-5/

Here is an introduction to this set of files, which may or may not be the full set of files:

7. There were dissenters inside Twitter. “Maybe because I am from China,” said one employee on January 7, “I deeply understand how censorship can destroy the public conversation.”
8. But voices like that one appear to have been a distinct minority within the company. Across Slack channels, many Twitter employees were upset that Trump hadn’t been banned earlier.
9. After January 6, Twitter employees organized to demand their employer ban Trump. “There is a lot of employee advocacy happening,” said one Twitter employee.
10. “We have to do the right thing and ban this account,” said one staffer. It’s “pretty obvious he’s going to try to thread the needle of incitement without violating the rules,” said another.
11. In the early afternoon of January 8, The Washington Post published an open letter signed by over 300 Twitter employees to CEO Jack Dorsey demanding Trump’s ban. “We must examine Twitter’s complicity in what President-Elect Biden has rightly termed insurrection.”
12. But the Twitter staff assigned to evaluate tweets quickly concluded that Trump had *not* violated Twitter’s policies. “I think we’d have a hard time saying this is incitement,” wrote one staffer.
13. “It's pretty clear he's saying the ‘American Patriots’ are the ones who voted for him and not the terrorists (we can call them that, right?) from Wednesday.”
14. Another staffer agreed: “Don’t see the incitement angle here.”

Notice that President Trump was declared innocent of violating the Twitter Terms of Service, yet he was still permanently suspended from Twitter. His account was re-instated by Elon Musk in recent weeks, although it has yet to be used. So the first thing a viewer of @realDonaldTrump’s account will see are these non-inciting tweets.

Many of the tweets that form the Twitter Files are backed up with screenshots of actual internal Twitter communications with some of the names and dates redacted.

What is on this blog-page is only a taster of what is in the full five Twitter Files. Please read and absorb it all. Understand that this kind of social media behaviour has been impacting countries throughout the world, not just America. Reading them certainly made me angry, as they should. But it should spurn us both to prayer and to action. Prayer that such evil is drained away completely and never holds sway again. Action that shares with others what you have discovered; and shares it as far as possible with those who have only ever heard the shadow banned version of events.

For evil to flourish all that is required is for the good to keep silent.
​
May God help us do what we must. Amen.
 

Some of you are familiar with the journalist Wayne Root. For the last few years he’s been a journalist whose work I will take time to read. From time to time I also share with those close to me the articles he has written.
 
This time he has compiled a very long list of vaccine related reports, with hundreds of links from online sites across the world, reports that haven't been making it onto mainstream news.
 
I was finding it hard to upload, and suspect others might be having the same trouble, so I've copied it onto a document and taken out all of the advertisement breaks.
 
It's still 20 x A4 pages long (downloadable file below).
 
My suggestion is that you read the first 2 to 3 pages, and then skip through the links until you find something of interest, go down that link, return, and then skip through till you find another link worth looking at in detail.
 
I did read through the nurse report Wayne recommends, and it matches with local stories I’ve heard from pharmacy assistants and from those who live near major hospitals.
 
Should you have been following the vaccine saga with interest, many of these links you will have already come across in your own research, so it makes this document useful as a reference manual.
 
It would also be worthwhile sharing with anyone who has begun to suspect that only carefully selected parts of the whole story have been released by traditional media.
 
Why am I sharing it, and why am I sharing it here?
​Because it is only by going down these links that you start to get a sense of the depth of the evil swamp that God is draining in our time, and begin to comprehend the magnitude of His work; and why it is taking so long to see our prayers answered.

As followers of Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life, it is important that we stand up for the Truth when deception is rife. We believe, that however painful it is, 'The Truth will set you free'.

That's one reason why I am posting this information today.

The other reason is that because I am doing my darndest not to use the big social media organisations, the blog becomes the best way to share (word of mouth and email being the other remaining ways left).

So here are the trilogy of reports into the 3 Nov 2020 Presidential Election in the USA prepared by Dr Peter Navarro. They are known colloquially as the Navarro reports.

The website contains all three reports:
navarroreport.com/

But you may like to read them in order...

The first one is 'The Immaculate Deception'
img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/be36dc6d-0df4-4c20-addf-fca72be46150/The%20Immaculate%20Deception%2012.15.20.pdf
Investigating the six key dimensions of electoral irregularities

The second one is 'The Art of the Steal'
img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/be36dc6d-0df4-4c20-addf-fca72be46150/The%20Art%20of%20the%20Steal%201.5.21%20FINAL.pdf
Investigating how it happened, or how it was enabled and permitted to happen

The third one is 'Yes, President Trump won'
img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/be36dc6d-0df4-4c20-addf-fca72be46150/The%20Navarro%20Report%20Volume%20III%20Final%201.13.21-0001.pdf
Tabulating the numbers and kinds of electoral irregularities in each of the contested States, and comparing the total with the margin of 'winning' votes for Joe Biden.

I have read all three reports.
I recommend that you read them too.
I recommend that you share them, and invite others to read them.

As the saying goes, all that is necessary for evil to win is that good people do nothing. Thus, this is my little 'something' towards the cause of good and the cause of truth.

The other little 'something' all of us can do is to pray.

Since it has become clear that this situation is far more than just human beings behaving badly, you might like to use this prayer:

St Michael the Archangel
Defend us in battle
Be our safeguard against all the wickedness and snares of the enemy
May God rebuke him we humbly pray
And do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host
by the power of God
cast into Hell satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl around the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.  
  

Have you felt a hunger for the truth recently?
If so, you are not alone.

Currently the nightly news on TV contains a lot of poorly disguised advertisements, ‘stories’ designed to increase fear, a lashing of political spin and something about sport. Whatever it is, it can no longer be called news.

The newspapers aren’t much better. My ‘go-to’ sections are the death notices and the comic page (if it exists). I then turn to the section on world news to gauge whether or not there is any balanced reporting, conclude that it isn’t there, and put the newspaper down. That’s if I have picked it up at all.

I am finding that my scrolling time on Twitter is shorter than ever, and that the levels of overt censorship are disturbing. When I dig down into the comments, it seems that the trolls have been more active than ever, and that comments that dissent from the opinions of the trolls are harder to find.

Some sub-reddits on Reddit are even worse.

On the good news side, there are valiant people writing blogs and sharing links to breaking news. May God bless them, encourage them, and help them to keep on going.

On the downside, trying to determine what is fact and what is nutcase conspiracy theory is exhausting.

There’s a massive battle going on to determine whether our future will be under the great global reset (totalitarian socialism) or under God’s divine reset. Yet so many are still asleep to the reality of the battle and the far-reaching consequences of the outcome.

Therefore my hunger for truth is growing, and my tolerance for banality is decreasing.

Where can truth be found? In the Psalms, and in the accounts in the Bible that display God’s unchanging character.

In every age there is a time of reckoning, where God goes through the accounts of communities and nations, and where judgement comes upon nations that have flouted His laws and reward and advancement comes upon nations that have kept respect for His laws and decrees.

When God decrees against a nation, it is a forever decree. Pick up your bible, read through Ezekiel 29, especially verse 15, and ponder it seriously. ‘Egypt will be the weakest of kingdoms and no longer dominate other nations; I shall reduce her, and she will not rule any more over the nations.’ This is still true today. Does this not induce awe?

2 Peter 3:9 reminds us, ‘The Lord is not being slow to carry out His promises, as anybody else might be called slow; but He is being patient with you all, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to change his ways’.

In recent times we have seen nation after nation introduce laws completely at odds with God’s eternal laws (eg abortion, euthanasia, laws against God’s plan for marriage and family, laws against God’s plan for biological gender, laws that permit experimentation and alteration to DNA etc), we have seen corruption in the judicial and political systems, and in the means of communication.

God is still God. There are times when the leniency of mercy ends, and the day of reckoning and the day of judgement begins. God is not to be mocked. Even if the punishment is delayed, it still arrives; and the longer it is delayed, the more severe the balancing of God’s scales of justice will be.

That time of reckoning is soon.

The heinous injustice of firstly the electoral fraud and corruption in the U.S.A presidential election, and secondly the refusal to acknowledge the electoral fraud and corruption, and the refusal to co-operate in changing the unjust outcome, is tipping the scales towards the day of reckoning. Since if the Lord of all justice permits this gross injustice to stand, it calls into question the very nature and character of God. Will the Lord of all justice not see justice done on earth, and done speedily?

But the ultimate outcome rests with us.

If we do nothing, then the reckoning will happen through the persecution of the good; increased darkness, blatant evil and horror will be our punishment.
If we take God more seriously than ever before, and plead for mercy together with true repentance, then He will purge the world of the sources of corruption, if we have sufficient resolve to co-operate with Him in ridding the world of it.

It takes something like this for a nation to get sufficient resolve to do the necessary painful work of change. For example, the electoral methods in the U.S.A. have been different between counties and between states, with no political will to standardize them and remove the openings for corruption, because from time to time each side benefits from the possibilities for such corruption.

During these difficult weeks following 3 Nov 2020, the flaws have been glaringly obvious. This is a once-in-a-lifetime, maybe even a once-in-several-centuries opportunity to clean the system up once and for all. Woe to the U.S.A. and to the rest of the world, if this opportunity isn’t taken with resolve and gusto.

So how hungry are you for truth?

Are you willing to do what it takes to stand up for truth?
How much are you praying about it?
How much are you adding in a bit of self-denial to those prayers?
Have you been independently investigating the available evidence, and weighing up what both sides have been saying, and seeking God’s gift of discernment?
Have you been liking and sharing sources of truth?
Have you been telling those in positions of authority that you expect them to stand up for truth, no matter what?

Jesus Christ is the same today, as He was yesterday, and as He will be forever.
He is the one who transforms Saul the persecutor into Paul the intrepid apostle.
He is the one who does not tolerate the fraud of Ananias and Sapphira; and punished them with immediate death.
He is the one who makes the cripple at the Beautiful Gate whole.
He is the one who warns the seven churches that none of them are measuring up to His will for them, and that there will be dire and major consequences if they don’t respond positively to His warnings.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

May God grant that you learn this the easier way, than the hard way.
​
Hunger for truth! 

Towards the bottom of this blog-post is the 43 x A4 page document that contains the combined reference material from the Plenary Council Theme 6 cycle of blog-posts.

The links for each part of the cycle of blog-posts are here
Vision, Interview List and Pre-Requisite Reading
Open to Conversion
Open to Renewal
Open to Reform
Topics of Controversy
Sample Response re Women in the Church
Sample Response re Women in ministry and leadership 

A few of the blog-posts prior to 12 Aug 2019 also refer to the Plenary Council and Theme 6.

My hope is that this gathering of reference material may assist those working on the Plenary Council for Theme 6: Open to Conversion, Renewal and Reform at national, diocesan, deanery and parish levels. 

This particular part of my Plenary Council journey is now done.
I place whatever happens next in God's hands. 

In the days between submitting ​my application for membership of the Discernment and Writing Group for Theme 6 and the cut off date for applications it seemed like a very good idea to produce a written answer to at least one of the questions that kept cropping up in the Listening phase submissions. After all, if I were on the other side of the fence sorting through applications and interviewing short listed people, I would want to know where they stood on these issues and whether they had thought them through.

As the days of waiting lengthened to learn the results of that application it seemed like a good idea to begin a second written response. It got interrupted by the the need to fight the late term abortion bill before state parliament with both prayer and words. But it finally got finished today.  

Example of a written response to a Plenary Council Theme 6 submission (2)

Excerpt from a parishioner in Parramatta Diocese:
"The exclusion of women from ministry and leadership roles cannot be supported theologically and should be one of the first changes introduced."

Women by virtue of the gift of baptism are as much children of God and heirs to the promise of eternal life as baptised men are, and upon them the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit applies, 'In the days to come-it is the Lord who speaks-I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind. Their sons and daughters shall prophecy, your young men shall see visions your old men shall dream dreams. Even on the slaves, men and women, in those days, I will pour out My Spirit.' Joel 3:1-2, Acts 2:17-18

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit has a double impact upon us; to make us grow in holiness that we may love God with all of our hearts, minds, soul and strength; and to make us grow in missionary service that we may love our neighbour as ourselves. The purpose of the diversity of charisms that the Holy Spirit gives for missionary service are 'so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ' Eph 4:12

The forms that missionary service takes are full of variety, catechists, healers, hospitality, preaching, teaching, evangelising, intercession, administration, musicianship, works of mercy, service to the poor, service to the sick, discipleship, prophecy, deliverance, miracles, and many others. Of those many forms service in ordained ministry is only one, one that holds the others in unity, but only one out of a vast multiplicity.

If you walk into an average parish you are likely to see women in the music ministry as organists, cantors and choir members; women doing much of the behind the scenes sacristy work (preparing for and cleaning up after Masses, baptisms, funerals etc, ironing vestments and altar linens, flower arranging, making sure the place has enough altar wine, altar breads, charcoal, incense, toilet paper etc), women doing the 1st reading or 2nd reading at Mass, women as part of the welcoming teams, women in the piety stalls, women involved with children's liturgy of the word ;women taking Holy Communion to the sick and house-bound. In an average parish if all the women went on strike things would be very dire indeed. This doesn't even take into account all the 'non-visible-at-Mass' ways that women serve, for example in baptismal preparation classes and sacramental programs for confirmation, penance and first Holy Communion, in RCIA teams (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) and RCIC teams (Rite of Christian Initiation for Children), on parish councils, in church cleaning teams, as catechists in schools, in counting the collection teams, in folding the parish bulletin teams, in praying the Rosary in common before or after Mass, and in providing food for all the 'bring a plate to share' social events, and in various fund raising events for the upkeep of parish buses and sending the youngsters off to World Youth Day. And that is only some of the 'non-visible-at-Mass' ways that women are serving God and neighbour through their parish communities.

Is this ministry, if you define ministry as service? Yes.
Is it ordained ministry? No.
Are women leading some of these non-ordained ministries? Yes.
Have they stepped up to these roles because the blokes didn't? Probably.

Do they get any real recognition for what they do? Maybe if they have served a long time and then retire (or die) there might be a small token of appreciation given, but otherwise they only get recognition (the negative kind) when they stuff up.

Above and beyond ministry to parish, is the calling of women to minister service in families, as daughters, wives, mothers, grandmothers and aunties. The majority of this is service hidden from public view, for which the fruits take a very long time to manifest. It is as slow and imperceptible as seeds turning into plants. It is full of work that is essential, because it invests in people, but there's nothing outwardly to show for it except that those under your care are still alive, more or less clean, more or less sane, clothed and fed; which is vastly different to men who can point to objective things as the fruits of their labour (houses built, contracts exchanged, machines repaired, holes dug etc). It is as Chesterton says, the call of women to be everything to someone, which balances the call of men to be the same thing (plumber, architect, banker, telescope maker) to everyone.

We do have to ask ourselves sincerely whether our homes are the domestic churches they are called by God to be, or have they become domestic airports where travellers flit in and out on their way to other destinations? If the latter, how to we get back on God's track? How do we stop the devaluation of ministry service in the home, and start publicly valuing it and honouring the self-sacrifice that it requires again?

What did the early Church do with regard to leadership, as defined by decision making? According to Acts 15:5-6 the apostles and elders met together to determine whether it was God's will that the pagan men who became Christians were required to be circumcised. This is the same book of the Bible that specifically mentions that women disciples and the Mother of Jesus were in the upper room praying with the apostles for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This means that their non-mention in Acts 15:5-6 is significant because the writer of Acts goes to great lengths to name women as often as possible (for example Lydia, Sapphira, Tabitha/Dorcas, Mary the mother of John Mark, Rhoda, Damaris, Priscilla, Phillip's four daughters, Drusilla, Bernice). At the time of Acts 15:5-6 many of those women of the upper room would have still been alive and active in the Jerusalem community. What are we to conclude from this? That either Peter and the apostles based their leadership decision making model on the Jewish model – which was itself biblical, or Jesus had given specific post-Resurrection pre-Ascension instructions to the apostles about this, or both.

Thus the subsequent conclusion is that there is no theological basis for leadership (decision making) in the church for including women. It may offend our modern democratic sympathies, but when it comes to the kingdom of God, the will of God is supreme. We don't have to like it or understand it, but we do have to trust in it and accept it.

A very good resource for the scriptural basis of gender roles is Stephen B. Clark's 'Man and Woman in Christ: An examination of the roles of men and women in the light of Scripture and the Social Sciences'. It is expensive, but comprehensive and worth every penny
https://www.amazon.com/Man-Woman-Christ-Examination-Scripture/dp/0892830840
One of the points he makes is that charisms are given to all, but the size of the arena for the use of those charisms are different between men and women. For women it is more likely to be one on one, or one on few; for men it is likely to be much larger.

What matters is that we are available to God for however He wants to work through us. A story, the origins of which I have been as yet unable to remember, may make this clearer. It goes something like this: A youth minister was doing preparation for a talk he was going to give at the next youth group meeting. He was really feeling the impetus of the Holy Spirit behind the preparation. But when it came time for the youth group meeting, only one person showed up. Not wanting to waste this great material on one person, he decided to shelve the talk until next time when there should be more youngsters to give it to. However a few days later he heard from other sources a bit of the background to the life of that one person who showed up, and realised that God had prepared that talk specifically for the one youngster that had shown up. This led the youth minister into a time of repentance, and a resolution to always give the talk God had given him to give, no matter if it was only for one. He concluded, sometimes God wants to do everything just to reach the one, and none of us should stand in the way of God's plans, and that the value of what we do in His name doesn't depend on the size of the audience we see but on our obedience to His promptings.

We read in the account of the garden of Eden (Gen 3:1-7) that God had given all the fruit of the trees in the garden for Adam and Eve to eat, all except one of them, and that eating of this forbidden tree would have very bad consequences. You could see in this account an analogy, where the trees are the various ministries of service that are possible, all except the tree of ordained ministry which the woman is instructed not to eat from. As in Eden, this is still a test of trust, love and obedience, and the temptations are many to eat of the forbidden tree. Just as in Eden we have two choices, we can focus on the forbidden tree and sit and mope and complain about the forbidden tree, or we can turn around and look at all the other trees, rejoice and thank God for their goodness and His providence, and perhaps while exploring them find some amazing gifts from God among those other trees that He has hidden for us to seek and find.

St Paul tells us in 1 Cor 12:22 that it is precisely the parts of the body of Christ that seem to be the weakest which are the indispensable ones. You could make the case that the external parts of the body mirror the ministry of men, and that the internal parts of the body mirror the ministry of women, because so much of the ministry of women takes place in hiddenness; cooking, cleaning, nurturing, listening, praying, offering up suffering, consoling etc. A body can still live if it is blind, lame, dumb, hard of hearing, unable to speak or smell, taste, feel or move. But a body cannot live if any of the heart, lungs, stomach, kidneys and intestines fail. So it stands to reason that if you want to destroy the body of Christ, then you work on the women and tempt them away from living out God's plan for them (Feminism). Conversely, if you want the body of Christ to return to health, getting the internal organs to function better is the essential first step. Do this and the rest of the body will get stronger and healthier.

However lest we glorify leadership too much, let us be reminded of Jotham's fable in Judges Chapter 9 of the trees meeting together to elect a king. In that fable the olive tree, the fig tree and the grape vine all refuse the kingship when they realise that to accept leadership they will have to give up the useful things they are actually good at. In the end the thorn bush accepts leadership because it wasn’t positively productive for anything else. Even in our own day we experience that to lead means to surrender the front line work to others, in order to serve the workers in the front lines. If you love the front line work, then you resist 'promotion' to leadership. If God wants to keep His women at the front lines, in hands on personal ministry to others, because that is where they are most effective, who are we to argue?

The only leadership that matters is the leadership of saying our personal Yes to whatever God wills for us. Doing that gives others permission to say their own tentative Yes to God.

...............................................................................................
The next blog-post in this cycle will be the final one.
It seems like a good idea to spend some of tomorrow getting the promised printer friendly PDF of the whole cycle into quality shape, rather than rushing the task.
It also seems a good idea to have a single blog-post that contains the links to all the others in the cycle, and maybe a few thoughts about where to from here.

#PlenaryCouncil #PlenaryCouncilTheme6
#OpenToConversionRenewalAndReform
​

In the days between submitting ​my application for membership of the Discernment and Writing Group for Theme 6 and the cut off date for applications it seemed like a very good idea to produce a written answer to at least one of the questions that kept cropping up in the Listening phase submissions. After all, if I were on the other side of the fence sorting through applications and interviewing short listed people, I would want to know where they stood on these issues and whether they had thought them through.

So here is the first one I prepared. I began a second one, and hope to finish it tomorrow. 

Example of a written response to a Plenary Council Theme 6 submission

Excerpt from a parishioner in Parramatta Diocese:
"We can no longer have women as second or third class citizens in our church. They could become priests in our church and minister to the community."

Women by virtue of the gift of baptism are as much children of God and heirs to the promise of eternal life as baptised men are. Women are called to holiness and mission through baptism as much as men are. For the times we have not proclaimed this truth, as a church we beg forgiveness.

Through baptism and confirmation the charisms of the Holy Spirit are poured out upon the children of God for the building up of the kingdom of God. It is the responsibility of leadership in the church to notice, encourage, develop and co-ordinate the people upon whom the Holy Spirit has given charisms. For the times we have failed to this, as a church we beg forgiveness.

The vast majority of the miracles of Jesus, and the use of the charisms of the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles (for the latter: 39/40), did not take place in the synagogue or temple but in the market squares, in homes, and while travelling. For the times that we have placed pre-eminence on what takes place inside church buildings, and neglected to celebrate how God is using His sons and daughters outside the church buildings in works of mercy, works of evangelism, works of healing, works of teaching, works of deliverance, works of intercession etc, as a church we beg forgiveness.

Family is important to God. The vocation of father and the vocation of mother have eternal consequences in the lives of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The ministry of father and mother in the life of a child has a far greater impact than any priest will ever have. For the times that we have not balanced the kudos we give to those to go into full time church ministry with the kudos given to the full time ministry of mother and father, as a church we beg forgiveness.

(The 2011 National Faith Life Survey reported that for Catholic newcomers the most significant people in their lives to show them what faith is about were mothers 77% fathers 48% followed by grandparents/spouses/other family all at 16% and teachers, friends, clergy, chaplains at lower levels.)

Secular life is important to God. The good a holy politician, a holy detective, a holy surgeon, a holy football coach, a holy artist, a holy novelist, a holy retailer, a holy hairdresser can do is incalculable, and can often have a longer positive impact than 40 years of priestly preaching can have. For the times that we have not balanced the kudos we give to those who go into full time ministry with the kudos given to those called to holiness in secular vocations, as a church we beg forgiveness.
https://www.thykingdomcome.global/resources/day-3-thanks-faith-frontline-emergency-service-workers-power-prayer-work

Whether male or female, you are important to God, and the calling He has placed upon your life cannot be filled by anyone else. Your value does not depend upon how visible your ministry is to others. Your value does not depend on how much decision making power and influence you have. Your value depends upon the quality of your 'Yes' in responding to God's call and your fidelity to that call through both good times and bad times. For the times we have not proclaimed this truth, as a church we beg forgiveness.

Parents know that at times the most loving thing to do is to set boundaries and to say 'no' to their children for the greater good of the whole family. To love like this is not an easy thing to do. More than once the Church has given this loving 'no' to the request for women priests. You can read the official documents Ordinatio Sacerdotis and Inter Insigniores below.

The argument goes something like this: despite surrounding cultures in Old and New Testament times having women priests, the priests of the Temple were male, and the apostles Jesus conferred ordination as priests upon were male. Jesus had extraordinary women in His life, His mother Mary, Martha, Mary Magdalene and others who never betrayed Him and who stood faithfully at His Cross, and yet He did not ordain them as priests. We see in this the will of God, and we must accept it as being an important element in His salvific plan.

http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1994/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_19940522_ordinatio-sacerdotalis.html 
​
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19761015_inter-insigniores_en.html

In the end what matters is helping each other get to heaven. If you compare the numbers of people converted through Mary, the mother of Jesus, to the numbers of people converted through the apostles, Mary is way out in front and she was never ordained a priest.

Caroline Chisholm, St Mary of the Cross McKillop, Eileen O'Connor, Dorothy Day, Mother Angelica of EWTN, Flannery O'Connor, St Edith Stein, Edel Quinn, Pauline Jaricot, St Mother Teresa of Calcutta, St Gianna Beretta Molla, St Therese of Lisieux, Gabrielle Bossis, Bl Susanna Cabioie are women with whom God has done great things, as lay women and as religious. In their lives much inspiration can be found.
 
Others are not household names, but the mother of St John XXIII, the mother of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the mother of Archbishop Polding, the mother of Frederic Ozanam lived extraordinarily fruitful lives for God.

A loving parent will understand that the child who asks for lollies is actually hungry, and will steer the child away from the lollies towards food with high nutrition, and will ride out the protests until the child eventually develops a taste and hunger for what is beneficial. In the Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem by St John Paul II is an uplifting vision of the role of women in God's plan of salvation. No woman who reads it will ever feel like a second or third class citizen again.

http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1988/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_19880815_mulieris-dignitatem.html

From time to time movements spring up, and it takes careful discernment to work out whether they are movements of the Holy Spirit, movements of the Holy Spirit that got hijacked by the enemy, movements of the enemy or movements of the enemy that got hijacked by the Holy Spirit.

For example in hindsight and with the benefit of Humanae Vitae we can see that the push for oral contraceptives was not of God and of great detriment to humanity. The dissatisfaction with the first English translation of the Mass has eventually given us a much better translation that is slowly bearing good fruit. The #MeToo movement has brought a lot of necessary things into the light, but it has been hijacked whenever false accusations have been made.

http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae.html

The movement of women into more visible arenas of ministry may be a work of God, but it is still too jumbled up with various ideologies for definitive discernment to be made. We can hope and pray that the Holy Spirit hijacks this one.

G. K. Chesterton argued that there were four things wrong with the world to the detriment of family: big business, big government, public education and feminism.

For a modern analysis of feminism Mary Pride's 'The Way Home: Beyond Feminism Back to Reality' is recommended reading:
https://www.amazon.com/Way-Home-Beyond-Feminism-Reality/dp/1453699309  

The push for equal pay for equal work had positives, but it did stop employers being able to pay the fathers of families more than single women, the net result of which is both parents needing to be in the workforce to provide for a family.

The push for voting rights for women had positives, but it has ended up with us voting as individuals, whereas in former times a man voted with the understanding that he was voting as the representative of his family and for the welfare of his family.

We currently see a push for women to be directly included in the decision making processes of the Church.

One reason given is that it would prevent further child abuse. @noplaceforsheep has this response: 'The notion that more women in positions of authority in churches will somehow prevent child sexual abuse is not borne out by the experience of victims in non-institutional and familial settings. There are women aplenty in these settings, mothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, friends, grandmothers, the majority of whom are unable or unwilling, for very many complex reasons, to prevent a child being sexually abused. The notion that parachuting women into middle management in the churches will stop any paedophile in his tracks is insultingly ludicrous. It will not.'

Interviews to obtain the input of mothers of the victims of child sexual abuse will be needed, as by and large their stories have not yet been told.

To understand the next counter argument, reading 'Dressing with Dignity' by Colleen Hammond is necessary:
https://www.amazon.com/Dressing-Dignity-Colleen-Hammond/dp/0895558009

In it she makes the valid point that women are unaware of how frequently a man's thoughts are occupied by sex. One of her conclusions is that if women decide to dress modestly then there will be more space in the thought lives of men to think of God and to receive the grace of conversion. By and large women have a blind-spot about this, and need to talk to a man they trust who can verify the truth of this argument to them.

When you introduce the presence of a woman into the deliberations of a group of men, two things happen. The presence of the woman is distracting: those pesky thoughts of sex arise. The men enter into riskier and more competitive behaviour to attract her attention and approval. Neither assists the deliberations of a group of men on weighty matters.

The Church is a theocracy, and not a democracy. Our popular world view of 'no regulation without representation' does not apply. In biblical Israel decisions were made with an anointed leader and the heads of tribes and clans, and elders of the people. Each one represented and made decisions on behalf of his whole tribe, clan or family or village as the situation required. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/elder

When Jesus comes along we have the new Israel of God, with the Apostles symbolically representing the 12 tribes as heads of those tribes. With the bishops as successors to the Apostles, they represent each diocese and speak for each diocese just like the heads of tribes and clans did. There is a biblical basis for this.

Even a Mother Superior or Abbess does not represent as many people as a bishop does.

But only a fool does not consult with his people before he goes to represent them in decision making, the ones he trusts are close to God and have experience and insight into the situations under discussion. In the history of the Church whenever God raises up men and women of outstanding wisdom and holiness, you see bishops making their way to consult them. St Hilda of Whitby, Marthe Robin, Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, St Hildegard of Bingen are some of the women in those ranks, St Bernard of Clairvaux, St Martin de Porres, St Nicholas of Flue, St Charles of Sezze are some of the men in those ranks.

If we took this whole idea that family is important to God, and that God's preferred method is for leaders to seek counsel from elders, then that has ramifications for parish councils and similar bodies. Currently when it comes to parish councils there is an emphasis on people volunteering and seeking a demographic microcosm of the parish in the resulting parish council. What if, instead, membership was for those whom the community recognised as elders because they were men with long standing roots in the community, whose children had all kept the faith, and due to grandchildren were now leaders of a considerable tribe. It would keep to the biblical principle, that if you are faithful in smaller things (family) then God will trust you with greater things (community) and would provide motivation for men of all ages to take a more active interest in the formation of their children. The beauty of such a model is that it makes someone qualified to be an elder, and potential elders of the future, easy to spot.

Studies have shown that the highest predictor for the faith outcomes for a child is the faith level of the father. If the father takes the things of God seriously, so will his children. If the father is ambivalent about the things of God, then his children will be so too.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/fathers-key-to-their-childrens-faith.html

Which is better, to be a hero, or to be a hero maker?  Hero Maker by Dave Ferguson explores this question. 'Everyone wants to be a hero. Yet only a few understand the power in being a hero maker.' 'A hero maker is a leader who shifts from being the hero to making others the hero in God's unfolding story.'

Every woman, through physical maternity and/or spiritual maternity, has the raw material to be a hero maker. That is where her gifts and talents can really shine, even if they may not bear visible fruit in her children and spiritual children until those children and spiritual children are much older. Any woman like Priscilla who sees the increased potential a preacher like Apollo could have, and sets about investing the time and energy and prayers of her family to making that happen, is a hero maker (Acts 18:26). Likewise, who can measure the impact of St Hilda of Whitby into whose care God entrusted the formation of five future bishops?

'Vive la difference!' God has created us uniquely as men and women, with distinct inbuilt differences designed for our mutual enrichment. It is only our differences that we have to offer in our relationships. It is our differences that make teamwork worthwhile, because tasks can be assigned to the relative strengths of the team members. If a team needs to accomplish task A and task B, and both team members are only good at task A, they will have a lesser outcome that if one team member is good at task A and the other is good at task B. The gifts proper to masculinity and femininity matter. A man acting like a woman and a woman acting like a man is beneficial to no one.

We are naturally attracted to differences not to similarities. It can be easier to see why differences are attractive from a tutorial in what makes art more visually interesting, exemplified in the work of Nicholas Wilson and his Art2Life video tutorials eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAGhJZ70JSY

In March 2019 Bishop Barron and Jordan B. Petersen had a wide ranging conversation that was recorded: https://www.wordonfire.org/peterson/
Of the many things they spoke of, two of them stand out:
The first is Bishop Barron talking about the necessity of right order for right worship, and when there is right worship the blessing of God flows. It means that getting the whole priesthood-laity, leadership-decision making, male-female, family relationship stuff right, and getting it right God's way, really matters.
The second is Jordan B. Petersen speaking about the antipathy his daughter is facing on many fronts because she has a desire to become a wife and mother. This is a huge eye-opener to how far we have fallen from the command of God 'to be fruitful and multiply' and to how anti-family our western world has become. This is the real battlefield.

The following is not an easy article to read due to the events it describes, but it is an accurate description of what many women have lived through and are living through:
https://www.mamamia.com.au/losing-virginity-at-14/

It is women like this that we as a Church need to reach with the Gospel. Seeking God's wisdom in how to do this will be crucial, but one thing is clear; only other women will be able to get through to them, and only women will be able to accompany them through the healing and forgiveness process. This is another aspect of the real battlefield.

The flip-side is that there are many men that we need to reach with a radical call to repentance.

The final word belongs to St John Paul II:
'The personal resources of femininity are certainly no less than the resources of masculinity: they are merely different. Hence a woman, as well as a man, must understand her "fulfilment" as a person, her dignity and vocation, on the basis of these resources, according to the richness of the femininity which she received on the day of creation and which she inherits as an expression of the "image and likeness of God" that is specifically hers.' Mulieris Dignitatem 10e

...................................................................................
The next blog-post in this cycle will be the second of two sample answers to questions raised in the submissions to the Listening phase of the Plenary Council for Theme 6: Open to Conversion, Renewal and Reform.
#PlenaryCouncil #PlenaryCouncilTheme6

​At the very end of the cycle I will put it all together in a printer friendly PDF.

This is the resource material I had collected for the expected Topics of Controversy for Theme 6. Much of it has to do with the role of women in the Church, which probably deserves a whole theme on its own - although whether it could be done justice in so short a time frame as the Plenary Council has is questionable.

I seem to have collected more in the way of counter arguments to popular thought, than supporting arguments, but that might be a good thing, since some of these counter arguments haven't crossed our minds in decades. 

The resource material should be useful for choosing people to interview and lines of inquiry for research, and providing common language to talk about these ideas.

NB. I have not repeated the relevant material from the pre-requisite reading list which you can find here 

Topics of Controversy

https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/celibacy-isnt-the-cause-of-sexual-abuse-20160725-gqd7g4.html
25 July 2016 Jack Green
This is a very useful article for developing responses to the requests for married clergy as an antidote to child sexual abuse.

https://www.mercatornet.com/above/view/clerical-sex-abuse-in-australia-can-you-believe-the-statistics/19332  
9 Feb 2017  Michael Cook
A rare and detailed look at the Royal Commission's statistics on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, showing that it was a much wider problem than priests only. It is actually a family problem, and priests come from families.

https://thembeforeus.com/marriage-isnt-about-god/ 
12 Jun 2017 Katy Faust
Therefore, every community throughout history has wrestled with the same problem: 
How do you require of men what biology makes optional? 
Interestingly, nearly every religion has come up with the same answer: society-wide expectations that a man commit to a woman prior to sex and remain committed to her, and only her, throughout his life. And up until the last ten minutes of history, we have all called this “marriage.”
 
'12 Rules For Life' by Jordan B. Peterson, Rule 11, pages 298-299
'Girls will play boys' games, but boys are much more reluctant to play girls' games. This is in part because it is admirable for a girl to win when competing with a boy. It is also OK for her to lose to a boy. For a boy to beat a girl, however, it is often not OK – and just as often, it is even less OK for him to lose. Imagine that a boy and a girl, aged nine, get into a fight. Just for engaging, the boy is highly suspect. If he wins, he's pathetic. If he loses – well, his life might as well be over. Beat up by a girl.
Girls can win by winning in their own hierarchy – by being good at what girls value, as girls. They can add to this victory by winning in the boys' hierarchy. Boys, however, can only win by winning in the male hierarchy. They will lose status, among girls and boys, by being good at what girls value. It costs them in reputation among the boys, and in attractiveness among the girls. Girls aren't attracted to boys who are their friends, even though they might like them, whatever that means. They are attracted to boys who win status contests with other boys. If you're male, however, you just can't hammer a female as hard as you would a male. Boys can't (won't) play truly competitive games with girls. It isn't clear how they can win. As the game turns into a girls' game, therefore, the boys leave.'
Ed. Have we not seen this in action when female altar servers are permitted to serve?
Could this be one of the many reasons why Israel, Jesus and Catholicism have restricted priesthood to men?
 
https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/other-topics/cultural-climate-change.html
Sep 2017 Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
This is an acutely perceptive analysis of modern culture, including the following gem:
'Having children or raising them involves enormous sacrifice of time, money, effort and energy. Religious people understand the concept of sacrifice.  We live by it.  It's part of our lives.  But people in a secular, consumerist, individualist culture find it much harder to live by sacrifice.  Nothing in the culture says sacrifice, and throughout history that is the reason why when a culture begins to lose its faith, its birth rate starts to decline.  This is not just happening now.  It has happened throughout history.  It happened in Ancient Greece in the second century BCE.  It happened in Ancient Rome.  It happened in Renaissance Italy.  The people who've done the research say there is no case on record in which a secular society has been able to maintain its birth rates.  Within a century, every society, when it becomes secularised, starts to decline demographically.  So the 21st century is going to be more religious than the 20th century even if not one person changes his or her mind from being non-religious to religious.  It will happen for a simple reason: throughout the world today the more religious you are, the more children you have.' 

https://noplaceforsheep.com/2017/12/17/notes-from-an-expert-survivor/
17 Dec 2017  @noplaceforsheep
The claim that celibacy is an indicator of paedophilia comes about as a result of the Catholic church winning hands down in the numbers of sexual abusers in institutions. People are, quite reasonably, searching for explanations and the most glaring difference between the Catholic church and other institutions is its demand that its priests are celibate. This demand, it is argued, leads to priests sexually abusing children because they have no other outlet for their needs. However. Hundreds of thousands of children are sexually abused in non-institutional settings, and by members of their families and family friends. The overwhelming majority of the male abusers in such situations have access to adult sexual partners, and they are not celibate. It is gravely misleading to peddle the suggestion that celibacy is an indicator of or a precursor to the sexual abuse of children. The Catholic church and its celibacy protocols enable paedophiles to enact their fantasies, however, they do not cause paedophilia.
Likewise, the notion that more women in positions of authority in churches will somehow prevent child sexual abuse is not borne out by the experience of victims in non-institutional and familial settings. There are women aplenty in these settings, mothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, friends, grandmothers, the majority of whom are unable or unwilling, for very many complex reasons, to prevent a child being sexually abused. The notion that parachuting women into middle management in the churches will stop any paedophile in his tracks is insultingly ludicrous. It will not.

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2018/04/from-the-heart-of-a-young-father
18 Apr 2018 Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, excerpt from letter by a young father:
'We crave the truth, no matter how blunt or difficult it is for us to swallow or for the shepherds of our flock to teach. Our culture is roiled in confusion concerning the basic tenets of human nature: From a very young age, we’re deluged with propaganda that distorts basic scientific truths about gender, paints virtue and chivalry as “toxic masculinity,” denigrates the family, and desecrates the nature of sex and its fruits, especially the unborn child. We urgently need the Church’s clarity and authoritative guidance on issues like abortion, homosexuality, gender dysphoria, the indissolubility of matrimony, the four last things, and the consequences of contraception (moral, anthropological, and abortifacient). My generation has never, or rarely, heard these truths winsomely taught in the parishes. Instead, we hear most forcefully and frequently from our bishops' conference and our dioceses regarding the federal budget, border policy, net neutrality, gun control, and the environment.'

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/throughcatholiclenses/2018/12/hiding-priestly-misconduct-makes-problems-worse-2-anonymous-priests-share-their-experience/
18 Dec 2018 Fr Matthew L Schneider LC
Excellent analysis on why serious priestly misconduct gets covered up:
'Some time ago, I was in a similar situation and discussed it with a friend who had also found himself tied into an abusive situation in his place of employment. He laughed and said, “You know what? You’ve got only three choices: 1. Tell them exactly what’s wrong. Shout it from the rooftops and demand change and prepare to be crucified 2. Smile, resign and walk away. 3. Accept your lot. Put up and shut up.”'

https://www.pbc2019.org/fileadmin/user_upload/presentations/23feb/23_Feb_3_Valentina_Alazraki_PBC_ING.pdf 
23 Feb 2019 Valentina Alazraki
Her extraordinary analysis:
As a journalist, as a woman and mother, I would like to tell you that we think abusing a minor is as contemptible as is covering up the abuse. And you know better than I that abuses have been covered up systematically, from the ground up. I think you should be aware that the more you cover up, the more you play ostrich, fail to inform the mass media and thus, the faithful and public opinion, the greater the scandal will be. If someone has a tumour, it is not cured by hiding it from one’s family or friends; silence will not make it heal; in the end it will be the most highly recommended treatments that will prevent metastasis and lead to healing. Communicating is a fundamental duty because, if you fail to do so you automatically become complicit with the abusers. By not providing the information that could prevent these people from committing further abuse, you are not giving the children, young people and their families the tools to defend themselves against new crimes.
I think it would be healthier, more positive and more helpful if the Church were the first to provide information, in a proactive and not reactive way, as normally happens. You should not wait to respond to legitimate questions from the press (or from the people, your people) when a journalistic investigation uncovers a case. In the age we live in, it is very difficult to hide a secret…. Report things when you know them. Of course, it will not be pleasant, but it is the only way, if you want us to believe you when you say “from now on we will no longer tolerate cover-ups”.  
If the accusation is shown to be credible, you must provide information about the ongoing processes, about what you are doing; you must say that you have removed the guilty party from his parish or from where he was practicing; you must report it yourselves, both in the dioceses and in the Vatican. At times, the Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office provides information about a resignation without explaining the reasons. There are priests who have gone immediately to inform the faithful that they were ill and not that they were leaving because they had committed abuse. I think that the news about the resignation of a priest who has committed abuse should be released with clarity, in an explicit way.

Excerpt from Instagram post from @jenny-uebbing around 25 Jul 2019
'I actually think it is up to us, the laity, to rise up to meet the biggest challenge facing the Church today: a deep and real understanding of God's plan for our sexuality, and a radical turning away from the toxic sexuality embraced by our culture'.

New book, 'Into the Deep: An unlikely Catholic conversion' by Abigail Rine Fayale
https://www.amazon.com/Into-Deep-Unlikely-Catholic-Conversion/dp/1532605013
And an interview with her about her conversion:
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2019/07/18/from-evangelicalism-to-feminism-to-catholicism-a-conversation-with-abigail-favale/
Now let me address the second accusation: that Catholicism is patriarchal. I grew up in a patriarchal religious setting, as mentioned above, where the feminine elements of Christianity were more or less blotted out. Feminist Christianity, in many ways, is the inverse twin of this approach; it seeks to root out and upend what is masculine, reading it as marked by domination. The Catholic cosmos, in contrast to both of these, is cosmos of harmonious synergy—masculine and feminine entwined together in fruitful spiritual union. When feminists look at Catholicism from outside, they look through the lens of temporal power, and all they see is a male priesthood and hierarchy, mistakenly thinking that is the Church. They see Mary as a passive, docile symbol, rather than the Mother of God, the representative human being and first Christian, who crushes the serpent underfoot. They see the male priest at the altar and overlook the gathered women who are living icons of Christ’s body and bride, a counterpart to the priestly iconography of the bridegroom. They misinterpret courageous female saints like Hildegard of Bingen and Catherine of Siena as rebels, rather than faithful daughters (and Doctors) of the Church. They disregard completely the profound insights on the question of gender from twentieth-century Catholic writers. I completed a doctorate in contemporary feminist theory and women’s writing and yet never encountered writers like Edith Stein, Prudence Allen, Adrienne von Speyr, Gertrud von le Fort, and John Paul II, because their contributions are completely ignored in the discipline of women’s studies. There, only one kind of conversation is allowed, and it happens in an echo chamber.
I first became a feminist because I was seeking an answer to this question: what is the sacred meaning of womanhood? Ironically, what I found within feminism was deep ambivalence toward the very concept of womanhood. I found a much more compelling answer in Catholicism. I have never had my dignity and purpose as a woman so celebrated and affirmed than under the mantle of Holy Mother Church.

Example of ministry of lay woman, formerly a prisoner in China
https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/once-imprisoned-chinese-woman-now-guides-others-catholic-faith 

https://www.amazon.com/Women-Rise-Up-Fierce-Generation-ebook/dp/B07F3BH55L
This book by Cindy Jacobs is about pathways for women gifted with charisms from God on more-than-ordinary levels and what light scripture gives to those pathways. Not everyone is called on that path, and it comes at a high cost. The method of exegesis used, 'interpret obscure scripture passages in the light of clear scripture passages', is of concern because very few people will agree on what is clear and what is obscure, so treat the conclusions with caution especially conclusions based on the interpretation on the meaning of a single word or name. The safeguarding measures she recommends are very good and of benefit to any woman who travels for speaking engagements.
 
An edited account of Fr Finet's first visit in Feb 1936 to Venerable Marthe Robin
from page 76 of Marthe Robin: The Cross and the Joy by Fr Raymond Peyret
https://www.amazon.com/Marthe-Robin-Cross-Raymond-Peyret/dp/081890464X
'She told me about the great events that were going to take place, some of which would be very bad, others very good. In particular she said there would be a New Pentecost of Love, that the Church would be renewed by an apostolate of the laity, even saying that the laity were going to play a very important role in the Church, many would be called to be Apostles. She said that the Church was going to be totally rejuvenated, and that there would be many methods for formation of the laity, but outstanding among them would be Foyers of Light, Charity and Love. https://www.lesfoyersdecharite.com/en/
 
Edited from the Introduction to 'The Way Home: Beyond Feminism Back to Reality' by Mary Pride https://www.amazon.com/Way-Home-Beyond-Feminism-Reality/dp/1453699309
'Feminism is self-consistent; the Christianity of the 1950s wasn't. Feminists had a plan for women; Christians didn't. Motherhood in the 1950s had been reduced to a five or ten year span, lasting until the youngest of the two or three 'planned' children was in kindergarten. With an empty house full of labour-saving devices and a family which no longer seemed to need her, it was understandable that a woman felt trapped at home. All the action seemed to be out there in the men's world, while she felt bored and useless. The sad truth is that the 'traditional' role which feminists attacked had already lost its scriptural fullness. Christian women were staying home out of habit, not out of conviction. The Christian churches had actually paved the way for feminism to succeed. Denominations endorsed family planning and 'therapeutic' abortion. Church meetings were scheduled for every night of the week, giving out a clear message that family life was unimportant. Ministry was considered more worthwhile than motherhood, as missionaries were expected to leave their children in boarding schools as a matter of course. Church life centred on the church building, not the home. Even in the church building, children were whisked out of sight into the nursery, children's church, and their own Sunday school program. At every turn Christian women found that their biological, economic and social roles were considered worthless. Role obliteration is the coming thing in evangelical, and even fundamentalist, circles. All because two or more generations have grown up and married without ever hearing that the Bible teaches a distinct role for women which is different from that of a man and just as important. We are not called by God to stay home, or to sit at home, but to work at home! Homeworking is a way to take back control of education health care, agriculture, social welfare, business, housing, morality, and evangelism from the faceless institutions to which we have surrendered them. Homeworking, like feminism, is a total lifestyle. The difference is that homeworking produces stable homes, growing churches, and children who are Christian leaders. Every great fire starts with one spark. It is my hope and prayer that this book will be the 'spark' which leads Christian women to fall in love with their families again and to determine to be working wives – in the home!'

And a short excerpt from Chapter 1 of 'The Way Home': The Great Con Game
'What else do the 'biblical' feminists want? Ordination for women, of course – which oddly enough is coupled in their minds with careers for wives. 'If a woman has been called and gifted by God to be a pastor or a priest,' writes Virginia Mollenkott in 'Women, men and the Bible', 'it is a fearful thing for the organised church to block her from that ministry. And if a Christian woman has been called and gifted for some career outside the home, and her husband blocks her by refusing to assist with the care of their mutual home and their mutual children, isn't he frustrating the work of the Holy Spirit?' Mollenkott elsewhere makes it clear that if a husband refuses staunchly to become Mommy's little helper, the wife has a right to make the 'difficult decision' to 'abandon the relationship in search of a more affirming lifestyle.' So careerism justifies divorce of an uncooperative husband. Children, sex roles, biblical church government, and now marriage itself are all targets of the 'harmless' evangelical feminist movement. Stop and think calmly about this for a minute. We are being asked to embrace a lifestyle which unbelievers would have considered perverted only forty years ago. We are being asked to kill our babies, endorse homosexuality, nag our husbands to do our job so we can do theirs – under threat of divorce – and all in the name of Christ!'
 
An excerpt from 'What's Wrong With The World' by G.K.Chesterton, Chapter 3 of Part 2: The Emancipation of Domesticity
https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Wrong-World-G-Chesterton/dp/1533696632
'Supposing it to be conceded that humanity has acted at least not unnaturally in dividing itself into two halves, respectively typifying the ideals of special talent and general sanity (since they are genuinely difficult to combine completely in one mind), it is not difficult to see why the line of cleavage has followed the line of sex, or why the female became the emblem of the universal and the male of the special and superior. Two gigantic facts of nature fixed it thus: first, that the woman who frequently fulfilled her functions literally could not be specially prominent in experiment and adventure; and second, that the same natural operation surrounded her with very young children, who require to be taught not so much anything as everything. Babies need not to be taught a trade, but to be introduced to a world. To put the matter shortly, woman is generally shut up in a house with a human being at a time when he asks all the questions that there are, and some that there aren't. It would be odd if she retained any of the narrowness of a specialist. Now if anyone says that this duty of general enlightenment is in itself too exacting and oppressive, I can understand the view. I can only answer that our race has thought it worthwhile to cast this burden on women in order to keep common-sense in the world. But when people begin to talk about this domestic duty as not merely difficult but trivial and dreary, I simply give up the question. For I cannot with the utmost energy of imagination conceive what they mean. When domesticity is called drudgery, all the difficulty arises from a double meaning in the word. If drudgery only means dreadfully hard work, I admit the woman drudges in the home, as a man might drudge at the Cathedral of Amiens or drudge behind a gun at Trafalgar. But if it means that the hard work is more heavy because it is trifling, colourless and of small import to the soul, then as I say, I give it up; I do not know what the words mean. To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labours and holidays; to be Whiteley within a certain area, providing toys, boots, sheets, cakes and books, to be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.'

.......................................................................................

The next blog-post in this cycle will be the first of two sample answers to questions raised in the submissions to the Listening phase of the Plenary Council for Theme 6: Open to Conversion, Renewal and Reform.
#PlenaryCouncil #PlenaryCouncilTheme6

​At the very end of the cycle I will put it all together in a printer friendly PDF.