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Traditional Catholic Faith => Fighting Errors in the Modern World => Topic started by: Frances on December 03, 2013, 03:34:22 PM

Title: Fr. Hewko, 5 Levels of Persecution
Post by: Frances on December 03, 2013, 03:34:22 PM
1.  Stereotyping-  All Catholics are hopeless reactionaries, intolerant, haters, lacking intelligence.
2.  Vilifying-  Assumed to be antisocial, the deserving subjects of jokes, scorn, social rejection.
3.  Marginalizing-  Are squeezed out of social organisations, not taken seriously.
4.  Criminalizing-  Are subjects of legal exclusion, forced into positions of moral compromise.
5.  Open Persecution-  Begins with unjust fines, deprived of legal rights, deprived of physical neccesities, imprisonment, deportation, mental and physical mistreatment, torture, death.

Where are we at?  Why do you say so?

I agree with Fr. Hewko, level 4, entering level 5.  HHS forces me to do without routine medical care, the government steals my money to finance others' immoral practices.
Title: Fr. Hewko, 5 Levels of Persecution
Post by: John Grace on December 03, 2013, 03:47:01 PM
Quote from: Frances
1.  Stereotyping-  All Catholics are hopeless reactionaries, intolerant, haters, lacking intelligence.
2.  Vilifying-  Assumed to be antisocial, the deserving subjects of jokes, scorn, social rejection.
3.  Marginalizing-  Are squeezed out of social organisations, not taken seriously.
4.  Criminalizing-  Are subjects of legal exclusion, forced into positions of moral compromise.
5.  Open Persecution-  Begins with unjust fines, deprived of legal rights, deprived of physical neccesities, imprisonment, deportation, mental and physical mistreatment, torture, death.

Where are we at?  Why do you say so?

I agree with Fr. Hewko, level 4, entering level 5.  HHS forces me to do without routine medical care, the government steals my money to finance others' immoral practices.


Very true. I agree with you and Fr Hewko.

Several years ago in Ireland, women engaged in peaceful and lawful pro-life street activism were arrested and strip searched.
Title: Fr. Hewko, 5 Levels of Persecution
Post by: John Grace on December 03, 2013, 03:58:59 PM
There was no further strip searching but arrests and harassment continued. The 1994 public order act has been used against pro-life activists in Ireland. It's been a few years since there was an arrest of pro-life activists.



Title: Fr. Hewko, 5 Levels of Persecution
Post by: John Grace on December 03, 2013, 04:05:37 PM
Quote
level 4, entering level 5.


Certainly. Catholics have to engage in guerrilla warfare.
Title: Fr. Hewko, 5 Levels of Persecution
Post by: Cera on December 03, 2013, 04:05:50 PM
Great post! Some are already at level 5, like pro-life friends who (many years ago) were praying in front of a baby-killing place and nearly lost their home protecting themselves from government harassment under racketeering laws.

This is from LifeSite News:
Vatican Cardinal Burke: ‘We’re well on the way’ to Christian persecution in the U.S.

by John-Henry Westen

    Mon Nov 28, 2011 16:13 EST
    Tags: catholic, raymond burke

VATICAN, November 28, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – One of the highest ranking cardinals in the Vatican has said that the United States is “well on the way” to the persecution of Christians.
Cardinal Raymond Burke

Cardinal Raymond Burke, former Archbishop of St. Louis and now the head of the Vatican’s highest court, told Catholic News Agency that he could envision a time when the Catholic Church in the U.S., “even by announcing her own teaching,” is accused of “engaging in illegal activity, for instance, in its teaching on human sɛҳuąƖity.”

Asked if the cardinal could even see American Catholics being arrested for their faith he replied, “I can see it happening, yes.”

In his remarks to several U.S. Bishops meeting with him Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI made similarly emphatic warnings about the U.S. The pope told the bishops that “the seriousness of the challenges which the Church in America, under your leadership, is called to confront in the near future cannot be underestimated.”

He added: “The obstacles to Christian faith and practice raised by a secularized culture also affect the lives of believers.”

In the interview published today, Cardinal Burke declared that “it is a war” and “critical at this time that Christians stand up for the natural moral law.”  Should they not, he warned, “secularization will in fact predominate and it will destroy us.”

Pope Benedict too urged the bishops of the United States to speak out in defense of morality.  “The present moment can thus be seen, in positive terms, as a summons to exercise the prophetic dimension of your episcopal ministry by speaking out, humbly yet insistently, in defense of moral truth, and offering a word of hope, capable of opening hearts and minds to the truth that sets us free,” he said.

Catholic League President Bill Donohue told LifeSiteNews that Cardinal Burke’s remarks were accurate and not exaggerations.  “Secularism has become militant,” he said. “Many elites are taking an aggressive secular approach. They have lined up against the Catholic Church and other Christian churches particularly for their stand on moral values.”

Donohue pointed to New York where gαy ‘marriage’ was passed without debate or exemptions for clerks who objected to having to grant such licenses. He also noted the closing of Catholic adoption and foster care agencies since they were unable to comply with laws forcing ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ adoptions.  

“The real big one,” he added, “is the HHS of the Obama Administration.” The forcing of abortifacient and contraceptive coverage in private health care plans under penalty of fines was described by the Catholic League President as the Obama Administration “on a full court press to shove its values down the throats of the Catholic Church.”

See the full interview with Cardinal Burke with Catholic News Agency
Title: Fr. Hewko, 5 Levels of Persecution
Post by: Cera on December 03, 2013, 04:07:10 PM
I also found this at LifeSite News:
1000 UK priests warn of return of formal persecution with “gαy marriage” plans

by Hilary White

    Tue Jan 15, 2013 21:17 EST

LONDON, January 15, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A letter signed by 1054 Catholic priests and bishops has caused a stir by saying that if the government creates “gαy marriage” it could return Britain to the days of outright, state-sanctioned persecution of Catholics and other religious objectors. The change could spell the effective end of religious freedom in Britain, they say, including the freedom to teach their religious beliefs in the pulpit.

The letter is being called one of the largest open letters ever produced in British political history. The number represents one quarter of the Catholic clergy of Britain and includes 13 bishops and abbots and the head of the new Ordinariate for Anglican converts to Catholicism.

Philip Egan, the Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth told the Daily Telegraph, “I am very anxious that when we are preaching in Church or teaching in our Catholic schools or witnessing to the Christian faith of what marriage is that we are not going to be able to do it, that we could be arrested for being bigots or homophobes.”
Henry VIII

Though it is an aspect of British history no longer frequently acknowledged, the memory of the persecution of the Church following the break from Rome by King Henry VIII has remained prominent in the Catholic collective memory. From the late 16th to the mid-19th century, Catholics were legally barred from professions, could not own land, hold public office or enter professions. In the early part of that history, they were subject to arrest and horrific execution.

With Catholic Emancipation in 1829, Catholics began to integrate into the mainstream of British public life, but the letter’s signatories and their many lay supporters warn that these gains in social stability will be threatened by the government’s plans.

The letter warns that “many legal consequences,” will ensue, including “severely restricting the ability of Catholics to teach the truth about marriage in their schools, charitable institutions or places of worship”.

“It is meaningless to argue that Catholics and others may still teach their beliefs about marriage in schools and other arenas if they are also expected to uphold the opposite view at the same time,” the letter continues.

Another signatory, Fr. Timothy Finigan, the founder of the Association of Priests for the Gospel of Life, wrote, “The question of teaching something as true is at the heart of the debate over the freedom of the Church to teach.

“The Metropolitan elite want to pretend that they do not teach anything as objectively true but that they respect everyone's views. Any first year Philosophy undergraduate could see that this is incoherent since the principle of relativism is itself taught as an absolute truth which nobody may deny.”

While the claim is being denied by the government and mocked as alarmist in the ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖist press, it is well-supported by the dozens of cases in which Christians have fallen afoul of the legal fist supporting the “political correctness” doctrines currently in fashion in Britain. Mike Judge a lawyer for the Christian Institute wrote in the UK edition of the Huffington Post that the Cameron government’s “unseemly rush to redefine marriage” will cause even more legal damage.

“People who believe in traditional marriage,” Judge wrote, “are at risk of being left out in the cold.” The Christian Institute has been the major force defending the rights of Christians in Britain.

“Employees, particularly teachers and others in the public sector, risk being kicked out of their profession unless they endorse same-sex marriage. All the concerns about how the redefinition of marriage will hit ordinary people are proving to be true,” Judge added.

He quotes a legal brief by Aidan O'Neill QC for the Coalition for Marriage campaign group that told the government’s consultation that teachers, chaplains working in the public sector in the NHS, armed forces or universities could be sacked if they refuse to endorse gαy marriage in their venues.

“Local councils could be within their rights to stop couples from fostering if they believe in traditional marriage. Churches could be banned from using village halls if they refuse to do gαy weddings. These are the kind of injustices that are likely to hit ordinary life if marriage is redefined.”

Indeed, nearly all of these scenarios have already occurred, with the Christian Institute fighting, in some cases, all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.

Anthony Ozimic, communications manager for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, (SPUC) told LifeSiteNews.com “These brave priests were absolutely right to raise the issue of schools.”

SPUC is committed to a national campaign against the government’s plans. The group has written to the headteachers of all state-maintained secondary schools in England and Wales to warn them about the possibility mentioned in the letter.

“If same-sex pseudo-marriages are allowed in law, the result will be compulsory teaching of same-sex marriage, dismissal for teachers with a conscientious objection to teaching about same-sex marriage, and no opt-out for faith schools,” Ozimic said.

“This will constitute official persecution of Catholics, not just for upholding the teaching of their religion but for upholding basic facts about human biology, sɛҳuąƖity and society.”

See the full text of the priests' letter here.

See also the full text of a letter sent from the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Children to headteachers of all state-maintained secondary schools in England and Wales to warn them about this consequence of the proposed legalization of same-sex "marriage".
Title: Fr. Hewko, 5 Levels of Persecution
Post by: Cera on December 03, 2013, 04:18:25 PM
Physical persecution is already here, as evidenced by these cases here:
http://realchoice.0catch.com/library/weekly/aa052600a.htm


Police, Abortion, and the Double Standard.


Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

On March 11, 1989, rescuers were piled onto buses with tinted windows. There, out of sight of the public, they were beaten by the police. 120 rescuers were refused food for 33 hours under the pretense that they might "start a riot," even though the Salvation Army offered repeatedly to feed them. Several diabetic and hypoglycemic rescuers had to be hospitalized. All religious items belonging to rescuers were taken, destroyed in front of them, and thrown in the trash.

The prolife women were targeted for special treatment once they got to the police station. They were kicked, beaten, and dragged around by their hair and breasts. Some male officers stripped off the women's shirts and bras, and fondled their breasts in full view of cheering male prisoners. Police punched women in the breasts and threatened to rape and sodomize them. Doctor's reports issued after their release state that the women were "obviously and violently beaten."

West Hartford, Connecticut

In March of 1989, police removed their badges before approaching the prolifers. They grabbed rescuers and dragged them on their faces and by their hair for distances of 100 to 150 feet, breaking at least five bones. Police also hoisted rescuer's full body weight on crossed nightsticks, purposely inflicting extreme pain and in some cases dislocating the prolifers' shoulders. When rescuers could not control themselves and screamed in agony, the police laughed.

All injured persons, including those with broken bones, were denied medical treatment for 32 hours. Many rescuers were thrown into cold cells, and the air conditioning was turned on full blast to chill them. They were not given blankets for two days.

Father Norman Weslin was severely beaten and then thrown into a section of the Hartford Correctional Community Center which was dominated by ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖs who threatened to sodomize him as soon as he fell asleep.

After this savagery, the West Hartford Town Council on June 27 unanimously passed a resolution praising the police force for "... its professional and sensitive handling of these difficult situations."

Sacramento, California

In July 1989, rescuers at the Feminist Women's Health Center were maced by police, despite the fact that they remained totally passive and nonthreatening. Two newborn babies in the arms of bystanders also were maced.

Los Angeles, California

In 1989, Norma McCorvey watched from the roof of a nearby building as prolifers were dragged away by police. McCorvey observed, "with each passing rescuer, the protesters were being treated worse and worse, like sacks of dirt. If a pile of horse manure stood in the path of a rescure being dragged away, the police never bothered to divert their angle..." The prolifers were jerked about, thrown, and dropped. When McCorvey commented to her friend, prochoice activist Gloria Allred, about the how the prolifers would have to take a bath before going to jail, Allred told her that the protesters wouldn't be given an opportunity to bathe. "I was sick to my stomach," McCorvey recalled. "All of a sudden, this wasn't so funny.

Atlanta, Georgia

The brutality against Atlanta prolifers is unusual in that some of it was actually televised. Prolifers were kicked, punched, hit and dragged to arrest for protesting abortion at the city's major abortion clinics in early October of 1988.

One prolifer, Pastor Doyle Clark, passed out when a police officer jammed his thumbs into Clark's ears. Clark was so brutalized while in prison that he required hospitalization, and almost died.

One possible explanation for the media blackout on police brutality against prolifers is the treatment many in the media faced while covering the events. One journalist covering the Atlanta rescue, Al J. Briganti of CBS News, said he and his crew were told by police, "You can shoot in this direction (toward the clinic) and we won't arrest you. Shoot in the other direction (where rescuers would be arrested) and we will arrest you." Given the brutality being inflicted on the non-resisting prolifers, one can readily understand the journalists' reluctance to risk being arrested themselves.
Title: Fr. Hewko, 5 Levels of Persecution
Post by: John Grace on December 03, 2013, 04:26:45 PM
I visited a hospital regarding abortion. The resistance must come from within. I don't believe it will. We need to encourage for certain but I firmly support actions like breaking up equipment. If the abortionist has to look under his car every morning or is afraid to stand near the window, it is because they are murdering babies.

We must be radical but also not lose the run of ourselves. A rosary picket outside the hospital is excellent.

I have told people already I will only involve myself in radical actions. I never wasted time with pro-life campaign. These lobbyists had their day.

A new militant must emerge.
Title: Fr. Hewko, 5 Levels of Persecution
Post by: Matto on December 03, 2013, 04:36:15 PM
I don't think most Catholics believe that our rulers are some of the most evil people in the world and that their goal is to damn as many souls to hell as possible.
Title: Fr. Hewko, 5 Levels of Persecution
Post by: LoverOfTradition on December 03, 2013, 05:09:26 PM
Quote from: Matto
I don't think most Catholics believe that our rulers are some of the most evil people in the world and that their goal is to damn as many souls to hell as possible.


Quite the contrary. Over 50% of those who claim to be Catholic voted for Obama. Go figure.
Title: Fr. Hewko, 5 Levels of Persecution
Post by: Neil Obstat on December 04, 2013, 07:02:58 PM
.

The time of overt aggression against pro-life activists and protestors against baby-killing has been dormant for long enough.  Now that Obamacare insists that all hospitals will conduct abortions, it means that Catholic hospitals have to close down, and the open persecution of anyone who is opposed will become commonplace.  

There is still a core of resistance even shared with non-Catholic pro-life adherents, but our numbers are going to be whittled down, just as the numbers of Catholics who staunchly adhere to the principles of ABL are being reduced by elimination -- the SSPXers who remain in the pews are now afraid to remember what ABL stood for.  

Maybe when the Menzingen-denizens start having "gαy marriages" in the SSPX chapels, people will wake up, but then again, many will go right along with it, because it's better to be "nice" isn't it?  What's wrong with a "practical agreement?"

The same will happen to the pro-life adherents, when they see their neighbors and friends being dragged away like Norma McCorvey did.  

Quote

 "I was sick to my stomach," McCorvey recalled. "All of a sudden, this wasn't so funny.



Remember, Norma McCorvey was "Jane Doe" in the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court case that started this whole fiasco in America.  Her identity was protected by the court system, but many years later, she was gradually converted by patient pro-life activists who showed her compassion and Christian charity.  Then when she saw the true face of abortionist activism she realized how wrong she had been in 1973.  


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