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| August 14th - Vigil of the Assumption |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-14-2021, 08:53 AM - Forum: Pentecost
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August 14 – Vigil of the Assumption
What is this aurora before which the brightest constellations pale? Laurence, who has been shining in the August heavens as an incomparable star, is well nigh eclipsed, and becomes but the humble satellite of the Queen of Saints, whose triumph is preparing beyond the clouds.
Mary stayed on earth after her Son’s Ascension, in order to give birth to his Church; but she could not remain forever in exile. Yet she was not to take her flight to heaven until this new fruit of her maternity had acquired the growth and strength which it belongs to a mother to give. How sweet to the Church was this dependence! A privilege given to her members by our Lord in imitation of himself. As we saw at Christmas time, the God-Man carried first in the arms of his Mother, gathering his strength and nourishing his life at her virginal breast: so the mystical body of the Man-God, the holy Church, received, in its first years, the same care from Mary, as the divine Child our Emmanuel.
As Joseph heretofore at Nazareth, Peter was now ruling the house of God; but our Lady was none the less to the assembly of the faithful the source of life in the spiritual order, as she had been to Jesus in his Humanity. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost and every one of his gifts rested first upon her in all fullness; every grace bestowed on the privileged dwellers in the cenacle was given more eminently and more abundantly to her. The sacred stream of the river maketh the city of God joyful, because first of all the Most High has sanctified his own tabernacle, made her the well of living waters, which run with a strong stream from Libanus.
Eternal Wisdom herself is compared in the Scripture to overflowing waters; to this day, the voice of her messengers traverses the world, magnificent, as the voice of the Lord over the great waters, as the thunder which reveals his power and majesty: like a new deluge overturning the ramparts of false science, leveling every height raised against God and fertilizing the desert. O fountain of the gardens hiding thyself so calm and pure in Sion, the silence which keeps thee from the knowledge of the profane, hides from their sullied eyes the source of thy wavelets which carry salvation to the farthest limits of the Gentile world. To thee, as to the Wisdom sprung from thee, is applied the prophetic word: I have poured out rivers. Thou givest to drink to the newborn Church thirsting for the Word. Thou art, as the Holy Spirit said of Esther, thy type: “The little fountain which grew into a river and was turned into a light, and into the sun, and abounded into many waters.” The Apostles, inundated with divine science, recognized in thee the richest source, which having once given to the world the Lord God, continued to be the channel of his grace and truth to them.
As a mountain spreads out at its base in proportion to the greatness of its height, the incomparable dignity of Mary rested on her ever growing humility. Nevertheless we must not think that the Mother of the Church was to be nothing more than a silent winner of heaven’s favors. The time had come for her to communicate to the friends of the Spouse the ineffable secrets known to her virginal soul alone; and as to the public facts of our Savior’s history, what memory surer or more complete than hers, what deeper understanding of the mysteries of salvation, could furnish the Evangelists with the inspiration and the matter of their sublime narrations? How could the chiefs of the Christian people not consult in every undertaking the heavenly prudence of her, whose judgment could never be obscured by the least error, any more than her soul could be tarnished by the least fault? Thus, although her gentle voice was never heard abroad, although she loved to put herself in the shade and take the last place in their assemblies, Mary was truly from that time forward, as the Doctors observe, the scourge of heresy, the mistress of the Apostles and their beloved inspirer. “If,” says Rupert, “the Holy Ghost instructed the Apostles, we must not therefore conclude that they had not recourse to the most sweet teaching of Mary. Yea, rather, her word was to them the word of the Spirit himself; she completed and confirmed the inspirations received by each one from him who divideth as he wills.” And St. Ambrose, the illustrious Bishop of Milan, speaking of the privilege of the beloved disciple at the the last Supper, does not hesitate to attribute the greater sublimity of his teachings to his longer and more intimate intercourse with our Lady: “This beloved of the Lord, who, resting on his bosom, drank from the depths of Wisdom, I am not astonished that he has explained divine mysteries better than all the others, for the treasure of heavenly secrets hidden in Mary was ever open to him.”
Happy were the faithful of those days, permitted to contemplate the ark of the covenant, wherein, better than on tables of stone, dwelt the plenitude of the law of love! At her side, the rod of the new Aaron, the scepter of Simon Peter, kept its vigor and freshness, and under her shadow the true manna of heaven was accessible to the elect of this world’s desert. Denis of Athens, Heirotheus, both of whom we shall soon see again beside this holy ark, and many others, came to the feet of Mary to rest on their journey, to strengthen their love, to consult the august propitatory where the divinity had resided. From the lips of the Mother of God, they gathered words sweeter than honey, calming their souls, ordering their life, filling their noble minds with the brightness of heaven. To these privileged ones of the first age might be addressed those words of the Spouse, who in these years was completing his gathering from his chosen garden: I have gathered my myrrh with my aromatical spices: I have eaten the honeycomb with my honey: I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends, and drink, and be inebriated, my dearly beloved.
No wonder that in Jerusalem, favored with so august a presence, the first group of faithful rose unanimously above the observance of the precepts to the perfection of the counsels; they persevered in prayer, praising God in gladness and simplicity of heart, having favor with all the people; and they were of one heart and one soul. This happy community could not but be an image of heaven on earth, since the Queen of heaven was a member of it; the example of her life, her all-powerful intercession, her merits more vast than all the united treasures of all created sanctities, was Mary’s contribution to this blessed family where all things were common to all.
From the hill of Sion, however, the Church had spread its branches over every mountain and every sea; the vineyard of the Pacific King was extended among all nations; it was time to let it out to the keepers appointed to guard it for the Spouse. It was a solemn moment; a new phase in the history of our salvation was about to begin: Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the friends hearken: make me hear thy voice. The Spouse, the Church on earth, the Church in heaven, all were waiting for her, who had tended the vine and strengthened its roots, to utter a word such as that which had heretofore brought down the Spouse to earth. But today heaven, not earth, was to be the gainer. Flee away, O my beloved; it was the voice of Mary about to follow the fragrant footsteps of the Lord her Son, up to the eternal mountains whither her own perfumes had preceded her.
Let us enter into the sentiments of the Church, who prepares by the fasting and abstinence of this Vigil to celebrate the triumph of Mary. Man may not venture to join on earth in the joys of heaven, without first acknowledging that he is a sinner and a debtor to the justice of God. The light task imposed on us today will appear still easier if we compare it with the Lent whereby the Greeks have been preparing for our Lady’s feast ever since the first of this month.
Prayer
Deus, qui virginalem aulam beatæ Mariæ, in qua habitares, eligere dignatus es: da, quæsumus; ut sua nos defensione munitos, jucundos facias suæ interesse festivitati. Qui vivis.
O God, who didst vouchsafe to choose for thy habitation the virginal womb of the Blessed Mary, grant, we beseech thee, that, defended by her protection, we may joyfully assist at her festival. Who livest, &c.
To this Collect of the Vigil let us add, with the Holy Liturgy, the commemoration of a holy Confessor, whose imprisonment and sufferings at Rome, in the time of the Arians, made him well-high equal to the martyrs. As he is honored with a Church in the eternal City, Eusebius is entitled to the homage of the whole world.
Prayer
Deus, qui nos beati Eusebii, Confessoris tui, annua solemnitate lætificas: concede propitius; ut, cujus natalita colimus, per ejus ad te exempla dradiamur. Per Dominum.
O God, who givest us joy by the annual solemnity of the blessed Eusebius, thy Confessor, mercifully grant that, celebrating his festival, we may approach to thee by following his example. Through our Lord, &c.
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| Fourth Apparition at Fatima - August 19th |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-14-2021, 08:47 AM - Forum: Our Lady
- Replies (1)
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Taken from "The True Story of Fatima" by John de Marchi (PDF here).
See also Fr. Hewko's excellent sermon on this August apparition of Our Lady at Fatima here.
VII. Fourth Apparition
![[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3...%3DApi&f=1]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.udq31KtaXC-8BO81MQFbAQHaEK%26pid%3DApi&f=1)
The Magistrate
The village of Fatima belongs to the County of Ourém. At the time of the apparitions, the Administrator of the county, or Chief Magistrate, was Artur Oliveira Santos, a man of tremendous political power. All administrative, political and sometimes even judicial power was centered in his hands. Though he was a man of meager education and a tinsmith by trade, he had been in politics since his youth. A baptized Catholic, he had abandoned the Church at the age of twenty to join the Masonic Lodge of Leiria.
Later, he founded a lodge at Ourém of which he was the head. What added to his power was the fact that he published a local newspaper by which he endeavored to undermine the faith of the people in the Church and the priests.
When he heard about the apparitions of Fatima, he realized the effects they might have among the people. He realized, too, that if he allowed the Church to rise to new life in his county, he would be laughed to scorn by his friends and Masonic brethren. He was confident that his immense power and the cringing spirit of the people would enable him to quickly crush this new religious fad in the beginning.
Although the citizenry of the county did cringe in fear before this all-powerful magistrate, there was one man who, when the good of his children and the good of the Church was threatened, had no fear. He would stand up boldly before any man in the interest of truth and justice. This man was Jacinta’s father.
“My brother-in-law and I had both been summoned to appear at the County House, with Lucia, at twelve noon, August the eleventh,” Ti Marto reported. “Compadre Antonio and his daughter arrived at my house early in the morning before I had finished my breakfast. Lucia’s first question was. ‘Aren’t Jacinta and Francisco going too?’”
“Why should such little children go there?” Ti Marto replied. “No, I will answer for them.”
Lucia ran to Jacinta’s room to inform her cousin of the summons they had received and how she feared she would be killed. “If they kill you, tell them that Francisco and I are like you and that we want to die too,” Jacinta cried.
Lucia and her father did not wait for Ti Marto, but went on ahead of him. Senhor dos Santos did not want to take a chance on being late and arousing the anger of the Magistrate. Lucia rode the donkey, and as she rode along she thought how different her father was from Ti Marto and her other uncles. “They put themselves in danger to defend their children but my parents turn me over with the greatest indifference so that they can do
with me whatever they wish. But patience!” Lucia comforted herself, “I expect to have to suffer more for Thy love, O my God, and it is for the conversion of sinners.”
Ti Marto walked to the County House alone. When he reached the square in front of the house, he saw Lucia and her father waiting there. “Has everything been settled already?” he inquired, thinking they had finished their audience with the Magistrate.
“No, the office was closed and no one was there.” It was some while before they discovered that they had come to the wrong building. Finally they came before the Magistrate.
“Where is the boy?” He shouted right away at Ti Marto.
“What boy?” Ti Marto said. He continues to tell us what went on. “He did not know that there were three children involved, and as he had sent for only one, I pretended that I did not know what he meant. ‘It’s six miles from here to our village,’ I told him, ‘and the children can’t walk that distance. They can’t even stay on a donkey’ (Lucia had fallen from the donkey three times on the journey). I had a mind to tell him some more things; imagine, the children so small wanted in court!
“He flared up and gave me a piece of his mind. What did I care! Then he began to question Lucia, trying to pry the secret out of her. But she didn’t say a word. Then he turned to her father, demanding, ‘Do the people of Fatima believe in these things?’”
“‘Not at all. All that is just women’s talk.’ Then the Magistrate turned towards me to see what I would say.
“‘I am here at your orders and I agree with my children!’
“‘You believe it is true?’ he sneered at me.
“‘Yes, sir, I believe what they say.’ He laughed at me, but I didn’t mind. The Magistrate then dismissed Lucia, at the same time warning her that if he did not learn her secret, he would take her life.”
The interview ended and they left for home.
Ti Marto thought he was through with the Magistrate. It wasn’t as easy as that. The Magistrate had only begun the execution of his plans. It was almost time for the next apparition and this all-powerful official determined to prevent it at any cost.
“Monday morning, the thirteenth of August,” Ti Marto recalled, “I had just begun hoeing my land when I was called home. As I entered the house I saw a group of strangers standing there, but that no longer surprised me. What did surprise me was finding my wife in the kitchen looking so worried. She didn’t say a word, only motioned me to go to the front room. ‘Why the hurry?’ I said good and loud. But she kept waving me away.
Still drying my hands, I went into the room, and who was there but the Magistrate! ‘So you are here!’ I said.
“‘Yes, of course, I want to see the miracle, too.’
“My heart warned me that something was wrong.
“‘Well let’s go,’ he said, ‘I’ll take the children with me in my carriage. As Thomas said, seeing is believing!’ He was uneasy and glanced about nervously. ‘Haven’t the children come home yet? Time is passing. You had better call them!’
“‘They don’t have to be called. They know when they are supposed to bring back the sheep and get ready.’ The children arrived almost at once and the Magistrate began urging them to go in his carriage. The children kept insisting it was not necessary.
“‘It’s much better,’ he repeated, ‘for we’ll get there faster and no one will bother us on the way.’
“‘You all go to Fatima,’ he capitulated, ‘and stop at the rectory because I want to ask the children a few questions.’ As soon as we got to the rectory, he shouted to us from the balcony, ‘Send up the first!’
“‘The first? Which one?’ I snapped right back. I was upset by the premonition of some evil.
“‘Lucia,’ he said arrogantly.
“‘Go ahead, Lucia,’ I said to her.” Ti Marto would remember this day well.
The Pastor was waiting in his office. He had changed his mind towards the apparitions. Now he considered them not the work of the devil, but plain inventions. He would call Lucia to task, making sure that the Magistrate would realize he had no responsibility in these events. “Who taught you to say the things that you are going about saying?”
“The Lady whom I saw at the Cova da Iria.”
“Anyone who goes around spreading such wicked lies as the lies you tell will be judged and will go to Hell if they are not true. More and more people are being deceived by you.”
“If one who lies goes to Hell,” answered the little girl, “then I will not go to Hell for I don’t lie and tell only what I have seen and what the Lady has said to me. And as for the crowd that goes there, they go only because they want to. We don’t call anyone.”
“Is it true that the Lady has confided a secret to you?”
“Yes, but I can’t tell it. But if Your Reverence wants to know it, I shall ask the Lady and if She gives me permission, I will tell you.”
The Magistrate cut in as his plans would be spoiled if Lucia was allowed to return to the Cova to ask permission to tell the Pastor the secret. “But those are supernatural matters,” he said with finality.
“The whole thing was a hoax and sheer treachery on the Magistrate’s part,” Ti Marto continued. “When it came time for my children to go in, he said, ‘That’s enough. You may go; or better, let’s all go for it’s getting late.’
“The children started down the stairs. Meanwhile, the carriage was brought right up to the last step without my noticing it,” Senhor Marto reported.
“It was just perfect for him, for in a moment, he decoyed the children into it. Francisco sat in front and the two girls in the back. It was a cinch. The horse started trotting in the direction of the Cova da Iria. I relaxed. Upon reaching the road, the horse wheeled around, the whip cracking over him, and he bolted away like a flash. It was all so well planned and so well carried out. Nothing could be done now.”
In the carriage, Lucia spoke up first, though timidly, “This is not the way to the Cova da Iria.” The Magistrate tried to make the children believe that he was taking them first to see the Pastor of the church at Ourém to consult with him. As they rode away, the people along the road realized that he was stealing the children and stoned him.
Immediately, he covered them with a robe. When he reached his house, gloating over his success, he grabbed the children out of the carriage, pushed them inside and locked them in a room. “You won’t leave this room until you tell me the secret,” he warned them. They did not answer him a word.
“If they kill us,” Jacinta consoled the other two when they were alone, “it doesn’t matter. We’ll go straight to Heaven.”
Instead of an executioner with axe in hand, the wife of the Magistrate came and proved herself very kind to the three little children. She took them from the room, gave them a good lunch and let them play with her children. She also gave them some picture books to look at.
The “Hoax”
Meanwhile rumors had spread through the village that the devil would appear this time at the Cova da Iria to cause the earth to open up and swallow all those who were there. In spite of the rumor, however, many persons traveled to the holy spot. Maria da Capelinha was among them. She gives an eyewitness account of what went on.
“I was not afraid. I knew there was nothing evil about the apparitions because if there were, the people would not be praying at the Cova. My constant prayer as I walked along was, ‘May Our Lady guide me according to God’s Holy Will.’ The crowd at the Cova on August thirteenth was even larger than in July.
“About eleven o’clock, Lucia’s sister, Maria dos Anjos, came with some candles to light to Our Lady. The people prayed and sang religious hymns around the holm oak.
The absence of the children made them very restless. When it became known that the Magistrate had kidnapped them, a terrible resentment went through the crowd. There is no telling what it might have turned into, had it not thundered just then. Some thought the thunder came from the road; others thought that it came from the holm oak; but it seemed to me that it came from a distance. It frightened us all and many began to cry, fearing they were going to be killed. Of course, no one was killed.
“Right after the thunder came a flash, and immediately, we all noticed a little cloud, very white, beautiful and bright, that came and stayed over the holm oak. It stayed a few minutes, then rose towards the heavens where it disappeared. Looking about, we noticed a strange sight that we had already seen and would see again. Everyone’s face glowed, rose, red, blue, all the colors of the rainbow. The trees seemed to have no branches or leaves but were all covered with flowers; every leaf was a flower. The ground was in little squares, each one a different color. Our clothes seemed to be transformed also into the colors of the rainbow. The two vigil lanterns hanging from the arch over the holy spot appeared to be of gold.
“When the signs disappeared, the people seemed to realize that Our Lady had come and, not finding the children, had returned to Heaven. They felt that Our Lady was disappointed and hence they were exceedingly upset. Resentment grew in their hearts.
They started towards the village, clamoring against the Magistrate, the Pastor and anyone they thought might have had anything to do with the arrest of the children.”
Everything had been so beautiful but the sense of frustration at not having the children for the apparition made the people seethe with anger and roar out, “Let’s go to Ourém to protest. Let’s go and drench everything with blood. We’ll get hold of the Pastor, for he is just as guilty... And the Regedor, we’ll settle accounts with him.”
Ti Marto, meanwhile, had gone to the Cova da Iria, and when this shouting of the people grew louder and louder, though he considered both the Pastor and the Magistrate guilty, he felt inspired to intervene in the tumult.
“Be calm, men, be calm.” He shouted with all his might. “Don’t hurt anyone. Whoever deserves punishment will get it. All this is by the power of the One above.”
Indeed, the One above also intervened to preserve for His Mother the name of Fatima forever gracious and unstained, as is evidenced by the letter which the Pastor wrote the following day for the newspapers. It was published a few days later.
“The rumor that I was an accomplice to the sudden kidnapping of the children... I repel as an unjust and insidious calumny... The Magistrate did not confide the secret of his intentions to me...
“And if it was providential, for such it was, that the authority succeeded in taking the children away furtively and without resistance, no less providential was the calming of the spirits, excited by this devilish rumor. For otherwise the parish would have been mourning her Pastor today.
Certainly, it was through the Virgin Mother that this snare of the devil did not strike him dead...
“The authority wanted the children to reveal a secret that they have told to no one...
Thousands of witnesses say that the children were not necessary for the Queen of the Angels to manifest Her power. They themselves will testify to the extraordinary occurrences which have now so deeply rooted their belief... The Virgin Mother does not need the presence of the Pastor to show Her kindness; and this itself should explain my absence and apparent indifference regarding a case so marvelous and sublime ...”
The Ordeal
The children spent the night of the thirteenth in loneliness and prayer, beseeching Our Lady that they might have the strength to remain faithful to Her always. When morning arrived, however, they were all taken to the County House where they were 40 put through relentless questioning. The first to quiz them was an old lady, who used all her cunning and wiles to learn their secret. Later, the Magistrate tried bribes, offering them shiny gold coins; he made all kinds of promises to them and threatened them with every sort of punishment, but the children would not give in. This kept up all morning, broken only by lunch. They were put through the same inhuman “third degree” all afternoon. Finally, the Magistrate told them he was going to put them in jail and have them thrown into a tank of boiling oil.
When they reached the jail, poor little Jacinta began to cry her eyes out. Lucia and Francisco tried to comfort her.
“Why do you cry, Jacinta?” Lucia said.
“Because we are going to die without ever again seeing our parents. None of them have come to see us, neither yours nor mine. They don’t care for us anymore. I want to see my mother, at least.”
“Don’t cry, Jacinta,” Francisco interrupted, “we are offering this sacrifice for sinners.”
Then the three raised their hands towards Heaven, repeating together, “My Jesus, all this is for love of You and for sinners.”
“And for the Holy Father,” Jacinta put in, not wishing to forget any request of Our Lady, “and in reparation for the offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
There were many men imprisoned in the jail at that same time, and not one of them, no matter how hardened a criminal he might have been, could remain unmoved at the sight of the three little children. Each of the men took his turn trying to console the children or to shake them from their purpose of retaining the secret.
“Why don’t you tell it to him?” “Why should you care?”
“Never,” Jacinta said, “we would rather die.”
The children did not seem to mind in the least their being imprisoned in jail. But seven-year-old Jacinta could not accustom herself to the thought of dying without first seeing her mother. To distract her, the prisoners began singing, playing the accordion and dancing. They tried to get the children to dance with them, and one very tall man picked up Jacinta in his arms and danced around with her. The thought of Our Lady flashed through her mind; dancing was not the right preparation for Heaven. So Jacinta made the man stop; she took the medal from around her neck, asked the man to hang
it from a nail on the wall, then she knelt with Francisco and Lucia to say the Rosary.
Embarrassed and ashamed, the prisoners also got on their knees. One man still kept his hat on. Francisco got up, went over to him and said, “When we pray, we take our hats off.” The man took it off and dropped it on the floor. Francisco picked it up and laid it on the bench.
Soon, they heard steps outside. A guard entered, looking at the children, he barked, “Come with me.”
Again they were taken to the County House and put through the third degree.
Jacinta was called in first, “The oil is already boiling. Tell the secret... otherwise...”
Jacinta, like Our Lord before the judges, remained silent.
“Take her away and throw her into the tank!” yelled the inquisitor. The guard grabbed her arm, swung her around and locked her in another room.
Outside the Magistrate’s office, while waiting their turn, Francisco confided to Lucia, “If they kill us, we shall soon be in Heaven. Nothing else matters. I hope that Jacinta does not get scared. I should say a Hail Mary for her.” He took off his cap and said a prayer.
The guard, watching the children, was puzzled at the boy’s behavior. “What are you saying?” he demanded.
“I am saying one Hail Mary for Jacinta, to give her courage.”
The other guard came back and led Francisco into the Magistrate’s office. Grabbing hold of the boy, he shouted, “Spit out the secret. The other one is already burned up; now it’s your turn. Go ahead, out with it.”
“I can’t,” he replied, looking calmly into the eyes of this new Nero. “I can’t tell it to anyone.”
“You say you can’t. That’s your business. Take him away. He’ll share his sister’s lot.”
The boy was taken into the next room, where he found Jacinta, safe and happy.
Lucia was convinced that they had been killed. Thinking that she was next to be thrown into the burning cauldron of oil, she trusted in her heavenly Mother not to desert her, but to give her the courage to be loyal and courageous, even as Francisco and Jacinta had been.
Though Lucia did tell the Magistrate something of what happened in the visions, even as she had told her parents and the Pastor, she kept the secret part to herself. It was a solemn promise to Our Lady and she would rather die than break it. The Magistrate was not satisfied with this little bit. He wanted to know the secret. After her interrogation, Lucia too was locked in the room where the other two were. How happy they all were that they had persevered in their unwavering fidelity to Our Lady.
The Magistrate did not yet give up. The guard came in to remind them that soon they would be thrown into the burning oil. The thought of being able to die together for Our Lady made them all the happier. The Magistrate finally admitted, after further fruitless questioning, that he could accomplish nothing. Then out of fear of what the enraged people might do, he himself took them in his carriage to Fatima, hardly realizing that the Church was celebrating on that day the Feast of the Assumption.
The Secret
When the people filed out of church, after attending Mass on the Holy Day, they congregated in the yard. The one topic on all lips was what had happened to the children.
As Ti Marto came out, they all asked, “Where are the children?”
“How do I know,” he replied, “maybe they took them to Santarém, the capital. The day they kidnaped them, my stepson, Antonio, went with some other boys to Ourém,and he saw the children playing on the veranda of the Magistrate’s house. That’s the last news I heard.”
He had hardly said these words, when someone shouted, “Look, Ti Marto, Look! The children are on the rectory balcony!”
Ti Marto recalls his feelings. “I can’t say how quickly I got there and swept Jacinta in my arms. I couldn’t say a word. Tears ran down my face, wetting the child’s face.
Francisco and Lucia both threw their arms around me, saying, ‘Father, your blessing! Uncle, your blessing!’ (as the custom is in Portugal, when children return home after an absence).
“A public official and underling of the Magistrate approached me. He shook, from head to foot. I never saw the like before. ‘Here you have the children!’ he said. I wanted to speak my mind but I restrained myself and remarked, ‘This might have come to a sorry end. They wanted the children to contradict themselves, but they failed. Even if they succeeded, I would always say they spoke the truth.’”
The people in the churchyard were in an uproar, shaking their fists, swinging their staffs. Everyone was restless. The Pastor left the church immediately, and started up the stairs into the rectory. Suspecting that Ti Marto was stirring up the people against him, he said in rebuke, “Senhor Manuel, you scandalize me.”
“I knew how to answer him then,” recalls Ti Marto, and the Pastor went into the house. Ti Marto could not at the time realize the noble role the Pastor was playing that day. Ti Marto then turned to the crowd in the yard and, still holding his little Jacinta in his arms, he shouted, “Boys, behave yourselves! Some of you are shouting against the Senhor Prior, others against the Administrator, and still some against the Regedor. No
one is to blame. The blame lies with lack of faith and all has been allowed by the One above.”
The Pastor heard this and was very pleased, so he said from the window, “Senhor Manuel speaks very well; he speaks very well.”
The Magistrate had gone to the inn, and when he returned, seeing the crowd and Ti Marto on the balcony of the rectory, he shouted at him, “Stop that, Senhor Marto!”
“All right; all right. There is nothing wrong.” The Magistrate then went into the Pastor’s office and called Ti Marto in.
The rage of the people had subsided. The generous Pastor was allowing the people to believe that he had shared in the abduction of the children in order to save the Magistrate. The prudent words of a man of faith had the power to keep the crowd below under control. It was a fine proof of the power of religion, and the Pastor did not miss his chance to point out the fact to the Magistrate. “You must realize, Senhor Administrator,
that religion is a necessity also.”
As Ti Marto was leaving, the Magistrate turned to him, saying “Senhor Marto, come and have a glass of wine with me.”
“Don’t bother now, thanks.” However, he noticed a group of young men on the street, armed with staffs. It made him fear that they might clash with the Magistrate. It was better that everything end in peace, so he stood at the Magistrate’s side, thinking within himself that it might be the wise thing to accept his invitation.
“I am grateful,” the Magistrate said, realizing what he was doing. He felt safe. “You ask the children if I did not treat them right.”
“All right. All right... There’s no hard feelings. The people think more of asking questions than I do.” Just then the children came down the stairs, and headed for the Cova da Iria without losing a moment. The people began to go home and the Magistrate and Ti Marto went to an inn.
Of their conversation over the wine Ti Marto later recalled, “The whole thing bored me very much, for he was trying to convince me that the children had told him the secret. ‘Very well, very well,’ I said, ‘They did not tell it to their father or mother, but they did tell it to you!’”
With that the matter ended for the time being. It is important to note, however, that the interrogation of the children served one purpose that was providential. Since everything became a matter of official record, the Magistrate unwittingly made the existence of a secret revelation undeniable.
The Nineteenth of August On the following Sunday, the 19th of August, the children, according to their custom, went to the Cova da Iria after Mass. There they said the Rosary, then returned to Aljustrel. After lunch, Lucia, together with Francisco and his elder brother John, left for a place called Valinhos, not far away, where they intended to spend the afternoon.
The afternoon passed quickly, but towards four o’clock, Lucia became aware of the signs that always immediately preceded the apparitions of Our Lady: the sudden cooling of the air, the paling of the sun, and the typical flash. The children had already been having a wonderful premonition that they were to experience the supernatural again.
Now Our Lady was about to come and Jacinta was not there! Lucia called out to John, “Go quickly and get Jacinta! Our Lady is coming!”
The boy did not want to go. He too wanted to see Our Lady. “Go fast,” Lucia insisted, “and I will give you four pennies, if you bring Jacinta back with you. Here are two now, and I’ll give you the other two when you return.”
John took the pennies and started running home. When he reached his house, he called in, “Mother, mother, Lucia wants Jacinta!”
“Aren’t the three of you enough for your games? Can’t you leave her alone for a minute?” the mother answered back.
“Let her come, little mother. They want her there now. See, Lucia gave me two pennies to make sure I would bring her.”
Two pennies! That was a lot of money for little children to give away so easily. “What does she want Jacinta for now?”
Wriggling like an eel, John burst out, “Because Lucia has already seen the signs in the skies and she wants Jacinta there in a hurry.”
“God be with you; Jacinta is at her godmother’s house.”
John bolted off to get her. There, he whispered the news to Jacinta, and together, hand in hand, they raced over to Valinhos so as not to miss Our Lady. Just as John and Jacinta reached the field, a second flash rent the air. A few moments later, the brilliant Lady appeared over a holm oak (a slightly taller one than that at the Cova da Iria). The Lady was rewarding the children for their fidelity.
“What do You want of me?” Lucia asked.
“I want you to continue to come to the Cova da Iria on the thirteenth and to continue to say the Rosary every day.”
Lucia then told Our Lady of her anguish that so many disbelieved in the reality of Her presence. She asked Our Lady if She would be willing to perform a miracle so that all might see and believe.
“Yes,” Our Lady answered, “In the last month, in October, I shall perform a miracle so that all may believe in My apparitions. If they had not taken you to the village, the miracle would have been greater. Saint Joseph will come with the Baby Jesus to give peace to the world.
“Our Lord also will come to bless the people. Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Sorrows will also come.”
Lucia remembered Senhora da Capelinha’s request and said: “What do you wish us to do with the money and the offerings that the people leave at the Cova da Iria?”
“Have two litters made. One is to be carried by you and Jacinta and two other girls dressed in white; the other one is to be carried by Francisco and three other boys. The litters are to be used for the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and the money that is left over will help towards the onstruction of a chapel that is to be built.”
Lucia then spoke to Our Lady of the sick who had been recommended to her.
“Yes, I shall cure some of them within the year.” But She went on teaching them to pray rather for the health of souls than of bodies, “Pray! Pray a great deal and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to Hell because they have no one to pray and make sacrifices for them.”
The Lady took leave of Her little friends and began to rise towards the East, as before. John was disappointed. He tried hard to see Our Lady but had seen nothing. However, he heard something like “a clap of thunder similar to the firing of a gun,” when Lucia said, “Jacinta, see Our Lady is going away.” It gave John small consolation.
The three children, who had stood by helplessly at the Cova da Iria when the older people stripped the holm oak of its foliage, broke off the small branch which the resplendent robe of Our Lady had touched. John and Lucia stayed at Valinhos with the sheep while Francisco and Jacinta rushed home with the precious branch to tell their parents of the unexpected visit of Our Lady.
As they passed Lucia’s house, her mother and sister were at the door with some neighbors. “Aunt Maria Rosa,” Jacinta cried out with joy, “we saw Our Lady again! It was at Valinhos!”
“My, what little liars you turned out to be! As if Our Lady would appear to you wherever you go!”
“But we did see Her,” Jacinta insisted. “See here, Our Lady had one foot on this twig and the other on that one.”
“Give it to me. Let me see.” Jacinta gave the branch to Lucia’s mother. The mother’s face showed great surprise as she put the branch to her nose. “What does this smell of?”
she said, continuing to smell it. “It is not perfume, it’s not incense nor perfumed soap; it’s not the smell of roses nor anything I know but it is a good smell.” The whole family gathered and each wanted to hold the branch and smell the beautiful odor. “Leave it here, Jacinta. Someone will come along who will be able to tell what kind of an odor it is.”
From that moment, Lucia’s mother and her whole family began to modify their opposition towards the apparitions. Jacinta then took the branch and hurried home to show it to her own mother and father. Ti Marto tells of the occasion in his own words.
“I had taken a round of my properties on that day. After sunset, as I was drawing near my house, a friend of mine met me and said, ‘Ti Marto, the miracle is becoming clearer.’
“‘What do you mean?’ I said, not knowing anything about the apparition at Valinhos or the branch.
“‘You know, Our Lady appeared again, just a little while ago, to your children and Lucia at Valinhos. You can believe it is true. I want to tell you that your Jacinta has something special. She had not gone with the others and a boy came to call her. Our Lady did not appear until she arrived!’ I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t know what to answer, but I was thinking about what my friend said as I reached the yard of my house. My wife was not at home. I went into the kitchen and sat down. Jacinta came right in with a big smile on her face and a little branch in her hand.
“‘Look, father, Our Lady appeared to us again at Valinhos!’
“As she came in I sensed a magnificent fragrance which I could not explain. I stretched out my hands towards the branch saying, ‘What are you bringing in, Jacinta?’
“‘It is the little branch on which Our Lady placed Her feet.’ I smelled it but the odor had gone.” Our Lady did not have to perform a miracle to prove Her case to him.[1]
[1]When Lucia’s sister, Teresa, and her husband were coming into the village of Fatima, they noticed the cooling of the air, the paling of the sun and the pattern of different colors over everything, the same as happened at the Cova da Iria six days previous, when the children were prevented from going to the Cova because of their arrest and imprisonment. This was the very hour of the apparition at Valinhos.
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| “Unique Expression Of Roman Rite”: Beach Baptism With Seawater |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-13-2021, 02:33 PM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
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“Unique Expression Of Roman Rite”: Beach Baptism With Seawater
[But don't let people have the Latin Mass! And certainly there are no concerns about the validity of this particular 'baptism'!- The Catacombs]
![[Image: z3gd7t2jmudpo9942aw1g8iob259wbudv6706j7....ormat=webp]](https://assistant.gloria.tv/FxK6pqhk7ZiS1AZwTDoBU6KMY/z3gd7t2jmudpo9942aw1g8iob259wbudv6706j7.webp?format=webp)
gloria.tv | August 12, 2021
Father Karsten Weidisch of Münster Diocese, Germany, "baptised" in July a six year old boy on a beach while everybody, including the child's father and grandmother, was sitting in the sand. The abuse was hailed and praised on the official diocesan website and in the official diocesan newspaper.
Weidisch's liturgical attire consisted of sweatpants, a red hoodie and some stole. The event took place on Ameland, a nearby Dutch island. The "baptism" was performed with seawater. Catechism 1220 teaches that “water springing up from the earth symbolises life, the water of the sea is a symbol of death.”
Not surprisingly, Weidisch is notorious for staging homosex services which are another expression of Francis' "unique Roman Rite."
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| August 13th - Sts Hippolytus and Cassian, Martyrs & St Radegonde, Queen of France |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-13-2021, 01:37 PM - Forum: August
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August 13 – Sts Hippolytus and Cassian, Martyrs
Not far from the sepulcher of St. Laurence, on the opposite side of the Tiburtian Way, lies the tomb of St. Hippolytus, one of the sanctuaries most dear to the Christians in the days of triumph. Prudentius has described the magnificence of the crypt, and the immense concourse attracted to it each year on the Ides of August. Who was this Saint? Of what rank and manner of life? What facts of his history are there to be told, beyond that of his having given his blood for Christ? All these questions have in modern times become the subject of numerous and learned works. He was a martyr, and that is nobility enough to make him glorious in our eyes. Let us honor him then, and together with him another soldier of Christ, Cassian of Immola, whom the Church offers to our homage at the same time. Hippolytus was dragged by wild horses over rocks and briars till his body was all torn: Cassian, who was a schoolmaster, was delivered by the judge to the children he had taught, and died of the thousands of wounds inflicted by their styles. The prince of Christian poets has sung of him as of Hippolytus, describing his combat and his tomb.
Prayer
Da, quæsumus onipotens Deus: ut beatorum Martyrum tuorum Hippolyti et Cassiani veneranda solemnitas, et devotionem nobis augeat, et salutem. Per Dominum.
Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the venerable solemnity of thy blessed martyrs, Hippolytus and Cassian, may cotribute to the increase of our devotion, and promote our salvation. Through Christ our Lord, etc.
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| Video: Philadelphia Announces DOUBLE Mask Mandate For Government Workers |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-13-2021, 01:19 PM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
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Video: Philadelphia Announces DOUBLE Mask Mandate For Government Workers
After September 1st ALL new hires MUST be vaccinated; Everyone else has to go back to masking indoors or proving vaccination status
![[Image: Screen-Shot-2021-08-13-at-12.06.39-pm.png]](https://cdn.summit.news/2021/08/Screen-Shot-2021-08-13-at-12.06.39-pm.png)
Summit News | 13 August, 2021
The Mayor and Health Commissioner of Philadelphia dropped an announcement Wednesday that unvaccinated city employees will need to wear two masks while working indoors and that all new hires after September 1 will have to be vaccinated.
The Philadelphia Inquirer noted the details of Mayor Jim Kenney and acting Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole’s announcement.
During a remote press briefing, Bettigole demonstrated that wearing two masks is “cumbersome,” and stated that “Luckily there is something else that you could do to protect yourself: You could be vaccinated.”
Watch: Video
More broadly, the rules in Philadelphia on masks to enter events spaces and businesses are somewhat unclear because it will fall on businesses themselves to enforce the measures. Business owners are faced with either mandating masks indoors or setting up their own vaccination status checking system for both customers and employees.
The report states:
Quote:Businesses seeking to avoid the mask mandate should have clear signage at their entrances indicating they will be verifying customers’ vaccination status… Those found out of compliance will first be warned and given time to correct, then could be forced to close and pay a $315 fine for re-inspection.
Outdoor events will see those in attendance having to wear masks if there are more than 1000 people, unless everyone is seated.
ABC6 News also reported on the new confusing mask mandate in the city.
Watch: Video
Mayor Kenney declared that “It goes without saying that none of us want to be here discussing restrictions and policies needed to stem the spread of COVID-19. The science is clear: These measures will protect Philadelphians and save lives.”
When Kenney was asked if even more restrictive policies could be put into place going forward, he replied “Not if everyone acts like a mature adult.”
“I’m upset that people just can’t act in the way they are supposed to act … and do what’s good for everybody,” Kenney continued.
”Please, just get the vaccine,” Kenney said, adding “This could all be avoided if we did that.”
This all comes just two months after the city lifted its 14-month-long mask mandate and other limits on businesses and events.
As we have noted, several other cities are beginning to enforce draconian vaccine mandates, essentially locking out those who haven’t taken the shots.
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| USA: SSPX Refuse Letters of Religious Exemption for Conscientious Faithful Facing “No Jab, No Job” |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-13-2021, 12:37 PM - Forum: The New-Conciliar SSPX
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I know not all SSPX priests based in the US are refusing to sign Religious Exemption letters but it is alarming nonetheless that the faithful are being formally abandoned by any priest in the Society in a time where there is great need to stand for what the Faith teaches and not transgress God's Commandments.
I know of a person who approached their SSPX priest in Virginia and while he did sign the employer's form for religious exemption from the mandated vaccine, he didn't explain at all on the form why Catholics reject vaccines linked to aborted fetal cells. He just put down his phone number and signature ...
USA: SSPX Refuse Letters of Religious Exemption for Conscientious Faithful Facing “No Jab, No Job”
CatholicTruthScotland | August 12, 2021
The Church has always emphasised the importance of following our – fully informed – consciences in matters of grave morality.
I was very surprised, then, to say the least, to read the following information which arrived in an email from Athanasius (Martin Blackshaw):
Quote:“I have concerns about a letter from Fr. Paul Robinson (SSPX) in response to the faithful in Colorado who have been asking the SSPX to supply priest letters preventing them from being forced into vaccination in order to keep their jobs. This is the new law in Colorado that comes into effect in September. Anyway, to cut a long story short, Fr. Robinson says the SSPX priests don’t need to sign letters because the faithful have their own human rights to stand on. He attaches a template letter for them to use if they have a conscience issue with the vaccines, but reiterates the SSPX position that it approves the vaccines under certain circumstances. In other words, don’t look to us for leadership, it’s every conscience for itself and the choice is yours. Very worrying! “
Here is the link to the article on the SSPX website, [an attempt at!] justifying the use of material from aborted babies in the Covid vaccines, which we have discussed on this blog more than once, and which Fr Robinson shamelessly included in his letter of reply to those Catholics seeking a letter of exemption, on conscience grounds, from their priest. This might be interpreted as an attempt to either stifle consciences, or to otherwise deter people from refusing the vaccine. To read our previous discussions on the subject of the SSPX support for the vaccines click here and here.
Is there any justification – however remote – for refusing to support these conscientious faithful, who are possibly at risk of losing their livelihood? Is providing a template letter and leaving them to it, good enough?
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| Report: ‘Confidential’ Documents Reveal Pfizer Does Not Mandate Vaccines for Employees |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-13-2021, 12:07 PM - Forum: COVID Passports
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Report: ‘Confidential’ Documents Reveal Pfizer Does Not Mandate Vaccines for Employees
![[Image: Pfizer-coronavirus-vaccine-covid19-getty...40x480.jpg]](https://media.breitbart.com/media/2021/04/Pfizer-coronavirus-vaccine-covid19-getty-images-640x480.jpg)
Breitbart | 12 Aug 2021
Internal documents suggest the Pfizer, the drug manufacturer responsible for one the world’s leading coronavirus vaccines, does not require coronavirus vaccination of its employees.
Images of a purported “confidential” Pfizer booklet written by Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Payal Betcher indicate the company has defied President Joe Biden’s push to have private companies mandate vaccination and only requires testing of its unvaccinated employees.
“Please note that if you have declared you are not been vaccinated, decline to declare your status, or have a medial or a religious accommodation, Pfizer will require that you participate in a COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus] polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing regimen,” images of the literature read.
The documents also indicates over 80 percent of company employees opted to receive the vaccine, suggesting slightly under 20 percent of the Pfizer workforce remain unvaccinated.
The leaked documents come after Biden met with airline executives to convince them to mandate vaccinations for their employees.
“But companies have wrestled with the extent of their authority to require shots,” Reuters reported. “Among the concerns is the possibility that companies will be exposed to discrimination lawsuits as they call staff back to their desks after 18 months of pandemic-induced work from home.”
That risk has not stopped Biden’s efforts. “I will have their backs and the backs of other private and public sector leaders if they take such steps,” he said on August 3.
According to a survey by consultants at Mercer studying over 200 American companies, 14 percent require staff to be vaccinated to work in the office.
Biden stated Wednesday he has federal government lawyers looking into if he can mandate vaccinations for all Americans. “People are dying and will die who don’t have to die. If you’re out there unvaccinated, you don’t have to die,” he said July 29.
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| Biden eyes tougher vaccine rules... maybe even interstate vaccine requirements |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-13-2021, 12:03 PM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
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Biden eyes tougher vaccine rules without provoking backlash
Even as President Joe Biden becomes more aggressive in pressuring Americans to get vaccinated, he has refrained from using all his powers
ABC News | 13 August 2021
WASHINGTON -- When the pace of vaccinations in the U.S. first began to slow, President Joe Biden backed incentives like million-dollar cash lotteries if that's what it took to get shots in arms. But as new coronavirus infections soar, he's testing a tougher approach.
In just the past two weeks, Biden has forced millions of federal workers to attest to their vaccination status or face onerous new requirements. He's met with business leaders at the White House to press them to do the same.
Meanwhile, the administration has taken steps toward mandating shots for people traveling into the U.S. from overseas. And the White House is weighing options to be more assertive at the state and local level, including potential support for school districts imposing rules to prevent spread of the virus over the objection of Republican leaders.
“To the mayors, school superintendents, educators, local leaders, who are standing up to the governors politicizing mask protection for our kids: thank you,” Biden said Thursday. "Thank God that we have heroes like you, and I stand with you all, and America should as well.”
But even as Biden becomes more aggressive, he has refrained from using all his powers to pressure Americans to get vaccinated. He's held off, for instance, on proposals to require vaccinations for all air travelers or, for that matter, the federal workforce. The result is a precarious balancing act as Biden works to make life more uncomfortable for the unvaccinated without spurring a backlash in a deeply polarized country that would only undermine his public health goals.
Vaccine mandates are “the right lever at the right time," said Ben Wakana, the deputy director of strategic communications and engagement for the White House COVID-19 response, noting the public's increasing confidence in the vaccines and adding that it marks a new phase in the government's campaign to encourage Americans to get shots.
Many Republicans, particularly those eyeing the party's 2024 presidential nomination, disagree and warn of federal overreaching into decisions that should be left to individuals. Biden and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, an epicenter of the latest virus wave, have spent weeks feuding over the proper role of government during a public health crisis.
There is notable support for vaccine mandates. According to a recent poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 51% of Americans say the federal government should recommend that employers require their workers to get vaccinated, while 45% say it should not.
For now, Biden has required most federal workers to attest to their vaccination status under potential criminal penalties, with those who have not received a dose required to maintain social distancing, test weekly for the virus and face other potential restrictions on their work.
Health workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Health and Human Services will be required to get vaccinated, and the Pentagon has announced that it intends to mandate vaccines for the military by next month.
The sharper federal approach comes as nearly 90 million eligible Americans still have not been vaccinated and as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, says shots are the only path for the nation to contain the delta variant.
White House officials say Biden wanted to initially operate with restraint to ensure that Americans were ready for the strong-arming from the federal government. The federal moves have been carefully calibrated to encourage a wave of businesses and governments to follow suit.
Biden administration officials briefed prominent Washington trade groups, including the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, ahead of the federal announcement in hopes their members would follow suit. White House officials have fielded dozens of calls from business executive in recent weeks about how to implement their own vaccination mandates, officials said, sharing best practices and tips for how to protect their workforces.
“Through vaccination requirements, employers have the power to help end the pandemic," White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said Thursday, naming companies, universities and local governments that have implemented them.
The new restrictions appear to be having the desired effect. The rules — combined with fresh concerns about the surging delta variant — have nearly doubled the average rate that Americans are getting newly vaccinated from last month to about 450,000 per day.
Zients said the White House still has no plans to develop the infrastructure for so-called vaccine passports, despite some criticism from businesses that the patchwork of local and state verification systems leaves them without a clear way to enforce mandates. The Biden administration had promised to share frameworks for verification systems, but ultimately left them all to the private sector and local governments, in part because of political sensitivities.
Still, while more severe measures — such as mandating vaccines for interstate travel or changing how the federal government reimburses treatment for those who are unvaccinated and become ill with COVID-19 — have been discussed, the administration worried that they would be too polarizing at this time. An administration official said the interstate travel vaccination requirement was not under consideration at the moment.
That's not to say they won't be implemented in the future, as public opinion continues to shift toward requiring vaccinations as a means to restore normalcy.
Lawrence Gostin, a professor of health law at Georgetown University, said Biden would likely need to continue to turn up the pressure on the unvaccinated. “He’s really going to have to use all the leverage the federal government has, and indeed use pressure points,” Gostin said. “And I think there are a few that he can do but he hasn’t done yet.”
“The country is completely fatigued with lockdowns, business closures and masking,” added Gostin, “and vaccines are literally our only tool. We’ve tried masking, distancing, occupancy limits, even entire lockdowns now for coming along nearly two years. And the virus just keeps raging back. And the vaccines are the only thing we have now to defeat the virus. We need to use that tool and we need to use it vigorously. And I think there will be large public support for that.”
[Emphasis mine.]
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| Tyson Employees Walk Off Job To Protest Vaccine Mandate |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-12-2021, 12:52 PM - Forum: COVID Passports
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Tyson Employees Walk Off Job To Protest Vaccine Mandate
ZH | AUG 12, 2021
A group of around a dozen Tyson Foods employees in West Tennessee took to the streets of Newbern on Wednesday to protest the company's new vaccine mandate.
The employees say they're risking their jobs to fight against the recent corporate decision to require all employees to take the Covid-19 vaccine, according to KFVS12.
While nobody from the group would speak on camera to news crews - citing their employment agreements, one local business owner spoke on their behalf.
"Nobody wants to be pressured to do anything, especially to their own body, that they don’t want to do," said Jill Blessing. "For Tyson to actually say, hey, get the shot or you lose your job, and some of these people, I talked to a girl who has worked here 30 years. And that’s a huge thing to put on somebody when that’s their livelihood."
Around 650 people work at this particular plant.
One woman, Tristin Garland, says two family members work at two different Tyson locations and are at risk of losing their jobs over the vaccine.
"It’s been very stressful for all of us," said Garland. "I am a nurse and have seen the good and bad due to this vaccine. And trying to decide between your beliefs, when you are so unsure, or keeping your job of 25 years has just been miserable for us."
Quote:Lee Doughten, who is a maintenance worker at the Tyson Plant in Union City, said he’s heard similar protests, and walkouts are being planned there. Doughten said he doesn’t want to get the vaccine and will likely lose his job in November.
“I wish the governor could stop it,” said Doughten. “We were once essential workers, and now we are expendable.” -WREG
Tyson announced last week that all of their 120,000 employees nationwide will need to be vaccinated by Nov. 1 unless they are exempted for medical or religious reasons. Around half of the company's employees are currently vaccinated, while front-line employees who receive the jab are eligible for a $200 bonus and up to four hours of pay if they are inoculated outside of work.
The protest comes one week after the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union raised objections to to the mandate because the vaccine has not been fully approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
"While we support and encourage workers getting vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, and have actively encouraged our members to do so, it is concerning that Tyson’s is implementing this mandate before the FDA has fully approved the vaccine," said UFCW International president Marc Perrone in a statement.
"We believe the FDA must provide full approval of the vaccines and help address some of the questions and concerns that workers have. Additionally, employers should provide paid time off so that their essential workers can receive the vaccine without having to sacrifice their pay, and can rest as needed while their body adjusts to the vaccine and strengthens their immune system to fight off the virus."
The UFCW represents 250,000 workers in the US meatpacking and food processing industries, including 24,000 Tyson employees.
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| New Policy: Baltimore Archdiocese drops fees for annulments in effort to quicken the process |
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Posted by: Stone - 08-12-2021, 08:09 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
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New policy: No contribution needed for annulment cases in Baltimore Archdiocese
![[Image: 080521_Tribunal_SeitzInOffice_5897_900x6...68x512.jpg]](https://catholicreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/080521_Tribunal_SeitzInOffice_5897_900x600_Horz_Template-768x512.jpg)
Father Gilbert J. Seitz, judicial vicar, leads the Office of the Tribunal for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)
Catholic Review | August 10, 2021
The Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Baltimore will no longer request a contribution to process an annulment case.
Archbishop William E. Lori implemented the policy change, which went into effect July 1. It was in response to a request by Pope Francis in 2015 to make the annulment process quicker and less expensive for couples.
In documents reforming the annulment process released by Pope Francis in 2015 – especially “Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus” (“The Lord Jesus, the Gentle Judge”) for the Latin-rite church – the pope’s chief aim was to reaffirm the indissolubility of marriage while offering pastoral care, mercy and a welcoming hand to people whose broken unions were defective from the beginning.
Father Gilbert J. Seitz, judicial vicar for the archdiocese, told the Catholic Review, “The Holy Father has been trying to impress upon the ministers of justice throughout the world – both in Rome and in other dioceses all over – to eliminate any and all obstacles that would keep people from approaching a Tribunal and see a resolution of the question regarding a marriage bond.
“As a result of that, Archbishop Lori thought that it appropriate, particularly in this year, as we celebrate the year of the Eucharist, that we in Baltimore take the action that the Holy Father has suggested and remove that obstacle,” Father Seitz said.
In the past, the archdiocese requested a contribution of no more than $550 per case, but the contribution was not required. “It wasn’t actually a fee; it wasn’t as if you had to make that payment or you would not receive a final decree from us,” he said.
If people could make the contribution, the Tribunal was happy to accept it to help defray its costs to review and process the case.
Many people believed that there was a “charge” for an annulment, but that was not the case.
“If they were unable to make the contribution, under no circumstances would our service to them or our ministry to them in this matter be interrupted because of the lack of payment,” Father Seitz said. “We simply asked folks for that contribution and if they could, if their means allowed them, then we were very welcoming to receive that, but if their means didn’t allow it, then it became inconsequential.”
As a result of the new policy, there is no longer any financial contribution or financial commitment connected with the ministry the Tribunal offers to those who need it, he added.
“The concern of the archbishop, as was the concern of the Holy Father, is that any and all obstacles be removed so that folks can approach Tribunals when they have that need without being (financially) burdened,” Father Seitz said.
Since the Tribunal’s approach to finances has been so accommodating in the past, he said, some people approaching the Tribunal to begin the annulment process are not surprised that no contribution is being requested, but they are “extremely thankful that the financial burden has been lifted, especially in in the midst of a pandemic and the uncertainty of the economy. I think folks are just grateful that’s a burden that they don’t have to worry about,” he said.
Dominican Father D. Reginald Whitt, tribunal judge, left, discusses a case with Father Gilbert J. Seitz, judicial vicar, Aug. 5, 2021 in the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Office of the Tribunal. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)
The archdiocesan Tribunal processes between 150 and 180 marriage cases per year using the formal process. Father Seitz said one of the reforms instituted by Pope Francis’ 2015 letters to make the process more “user-friendly” was to eliminate “the need for an automatic appeal if a decision of a lower court is in favor of the invalidity of the marriage,” that is, to grant the annulment.
That alone made a significant difference in the speed of the process. Since each Tribunal in the Province of Baltimore – which includes much of Maryland and the states of Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia – spent time reviewing cases of nullity from other dioceses, the lesser workload allows the Tribunal to complete cases more quickly.
“Usually in the Archdiocese of Baltimore right now, as in other dioceses in the province, it would be realistic to complete a case in about six months,” Father Seitz said.
He said that resolving marriage cases brought before the Tribunal is essentially pastoral care in the form of a process in Canon Law, the law of the church.
“Our ministry, more than anything else, is about enabling people to encounter the Lord Jesus,” the judicial vicar said. “So many folks, because of the hurt and pain of divorce, feel themselves alienated from former family members, perhaps from their own family members, from the church.
“And they come to us pained and burdened with those hurts and those pains, and our hope is that in utilizing the juridic process that the church establishes in a very pastoral way, we can help facilitate some healing for those folks, which would then enable them to recognize themselves as a member of the Body of Christ, wounded but healed, and as one who has encountered the risen Jesus, wounded and healed,” he said.
“And it’s amazing what can be accomplished when you take that woundedness, and that sense of healing and share it with others.”
Father Seitz said he often reminds his staff that they can follow the legal procedures well and with untold precision, but “if we have not done it in a way that enables folks to meet the risen Christ, we have not fulfilled our service to them, as we should.”
He said one of the tactics he employs is to carefully review a request for a petition or a petition to begin a case, before launching the formal case process.
If the petition is weak, or lacks something, he won’t accept it, sometimes encouraging the minister working with the party to dig deeper into the grounds for annulment. In that way, if and when the petition is accepted and the case begins, the questions the Tribunal asks can be better targeted to get the information the judges need to make a determination.
Without that care and concern, the case could go to completion and get a negative decision. “That, to me, will only add to the hurt and pain that folks have experienced,” Father Seitz said.
Even so, the process is not always easy for those going through it, because they need to address and acknowledge some things about their failed relationship that they would prefer not to admit.
“Hopefully, we can do that in a way that folks feel safe and not judged,” Father Seitz said. “And if we do that right, we can help people to grow and heal. And that’s our first concern because ultimately that gets to their salvation.”
He said that, in some cases, the decree of nullity may also allow people to return in full to the sacraments. He emphasized that it is incorrect that all divorced Catholics are unable to receive the Eucharist. Only those who are divorced and remarried outside the church are not to receive the Eucharist.
“If we grow and heal, we can find ourselves closer to the Lord Jesus and when we are closer to the Lord Jesus, we are that much closer to our salvation,” he said.
Father Seitz said he hopes that no longer being asked for a financial contribution for the annulment process enables people to “make a financial contribution or a contribution of their talent to other needs of the archdiocese or to the wider church. Perhaps the monies that would have come to us because of our service to someone could be given to a shelter for homeless people or to further the cause of justice in the archdiocese,” Father Seitz said.
“Maybe because of our service to folks, they will find themselves in a position to contribute their time more generously to a cause that furthers the Gospel.”
To begin the annulment process, Father Seitz said parishioners can contact their local parish or contact the Tribunal directly.
For more information, visit www.archbalt.org/marriage-tribunal.
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