Chant,

Sorry, it is all new to me!

What is your opinion of Mr. "Quis" and the FE site?

Thanks.

However, since they are deliberately running the calumniation thread against me, all the while decrying calumny (pretty neat trick ) I need an opportunity to respond out of justice.

I know the trick well, and have had well-known priests do the same to me in public emails.  We do have a right to defend our good names, but sometimes it is better to let the dead bury the dead, so to speak.  Life is so much bigger than these narrow men and their reign over certain (piss)ant hills.  'Tis your call, of course, and I would not think less of you if you decide to take either road on this one.  God speed.

Honestly, in your situation, as hard as it may sound to do, I would let it go and not even go to look at what they write - at least for a good month or two.  It will serve little to no purpose, and ruin your own peace of heart.  Again, though, it is your call.

Hello Stevus!

I was St. Jude on Fisheaters. I deleted myself shortly before Christmas for two reasons.

The first was for witnessing the constant attacks against a fellow poster who did nothing but quote from the writings of some of our greatest saints. I enjoyed his posts and added his blog to my Favorites. I did not run out and buy a hair shirt and a cilice nor did I blind myself to avoid accidentally glancing at a member of the opposite sex. I simply took the saints' advice in the spirit in which it was offered:  as an invitation to do penance and to refrain from sin.

The other reason came from having three perfectly reasonable posts I had made one day all get contradicted. One post was on the famous "illegal immigration" thread. I put a lot of time and effort into explaining my position on that thread only to have it answered with Rush Limbaughisms, i.e. "What part of illegal don't you understand?" I'll go talk to a second-grader if I want to have that kind of an argument.

 Another was on a thread where the OP asked if he had to pray five decades of the Rosary all at once or if he could say one decade, then an hour later when he had time, say another, and so on. I stated that when praying the Rosary, one should set aside sufficient time to say at least five decades in a row, but another poster replied after me and said condescendingly that I "meant well" but that I was doing more harm than good with my advice and that actually it was perfectly acceptable to say bits and pieces of Mary's Psalter at one's own convenience. The last straw that day was when on another thread I made the uncontroversial comment that overuse of antibiotics can weaken the immune system and one of the moderators accused me of promoting "Social Darwinism"!

Well, I spent about an hour preparing scathing attacks against all three (one of which implied that one of the other posters was guilty of habitually committing unnatural acts in the basement of his mother's house where he undoubtedly lived) when I realized that that forum was becoming a near occasion of sin for me, tempting me into displaying a lack of charity and Christian humility.

Now, I already knew that many posters on any forum are people who just like to argue for the sake of arguing; some don't even read the previous posts before responding, some have an axe to grind, others are simply idiots, etc. But when even the moderators fall into those categories, what hope is there for the rest of us?

I was reading on it today and I noticed that there were almost no new topics since yesterday. Your presence there, Stevus, will be sorely missed.

Chant,

Sorry, it is all new to me!

What is your opinion of Mr. "Quis" and the FE site?

Thanks.

First of all, I should point out that Quis has distorted history a bit when he talks about my "banning". I was banned after refusing to leave a thread started by "CaroleK". (They later removed that thread) I was rationally and without emotion putting forth Catholic teaching on a matter, and CaroleK started to get upset and asked me to leave "her thread" -- which I didn't do. It was that thread mostly which got me banned. There was no conspiracy-related matter that caused it -- though the CaroleK thread might have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Vox had recently set the "Zionism" subforum such that "only mods can post" and was generally moving away from things which would make a person stand out from their non-Catholic friends and coworkers.

Fisheaters has gone downhill, with a liberal and world-tolerant mindset dominating the forum, not due to accidentals of membership, but arising from the very leadership itself. I am referring to the forum, of course, and not the Catholic apologetics pages.

Moreover, the mods there HAVE to be quashing their conscience to a certain extent, as most of the mods were fired at one point (shortly after the "scandal") and ALL of them know the situation between Vox and Quis, but say nothing about it. They have compromised, and we all know what effect compromise has on a person.

Nevertheless, I tend to share Gladius' opinion that it's better to "let the dead bury their dead" and that the best rebuttal to their charges (including: misrepresentation, backbiting, gossip, slander) is to live a holy Catholic life both on and off the Internet -- for example, you can post your good Catholic posts elsewhere (like here) and people will see the real "you". We all know that half of FE has this site bookmarked *grin* (It's true that for every member there are probably 3 or 4 lurkers that haven't signed up, but are READING the posts. A serious-minded/news site like this one has a lot more lurkers, since people often don't know what they can/should post)

In short, on FE there is a 900-lb gorilla in the room (Vox and Quis' illicit relationship/affair/adultery/cohabitation/whatever you want to call it) that nobody talks about. Everyone pretends "everything is fine" and most new members assume that they were married right out of high school or something.

It is a very good strategy on their part -- to censor (discourage) all discussion on the topic. I know that it DOES work -- it's human nature. "What men do not see, they soon forget about." I learned that from the Greek mythical episode of King Midas and the Minotaur. I know it's ridiculous mythology, but this particular lesson about human nature is 100% valid. How would YOU deal with your wife eloping with a bull and giving birth to a man-bull? I must say, having a labyrinth built and putting the man-bull in there, so people won't see it every day, was about the wisest move he could have made. Sure, a handful people will remember (like the 9/11 Truthers of our own time), but most people will soon forget about it, since it's "out of the picture".

Matthew

Do we ONLY call our mother's

Clearly the possessive (in bold) was a typographical error, or plain old mistake.

Is it better or more desirable, given certain circuмstances, to pray five decades, etc.?  Sure, but life does not always allow us to do what is the most desirable thing.  All the same, we should take what we can get, and offer what we can offer, small and poor though it may sometimes/often be.  God speed.

So, if "chastity" was too much for St. Vincent, what if I tell you "purity" is too much for me?  I could argue that the mere word automatically brings thoughts of the contrary word or idea?  A man could not even go to confession if he was to abide by such a scruple and if he did so with a kind of universal application.

Using a word, almost ANY word, in a sane and balanced manner, is a totally different ball of wax than using it "freely", excessively, out of place, or in a manner that shows the mind has clearly descended into the animal regions or into mere frivolity.

GET REAL people.