Reds Under the Bed

St Andrew's College: Was a seminary, now a nursing home...

Not so Bonnie Scotland

For an enlightening insight into the life of the seminary in the UK in the 1970s, do read today's Daily Mail article on St Andrew's College, Drygrange, Scotland.


EF Pastor Emeritus makes the good point that after the headlines about Cardinal Keith O'Brien, now we are hearing a reporter at least ask the question, 'Why has this been revealed after 30 years?'

Reds Under the Bed

I've also been given a very interesting book by a friend called, 'AA-1025': Memoirs of the Communist Infiltration Into the Church.' Basically, in the 1960's, a French Catholic nurse, Marie Carre, attended an auto-crash victim who was brought into her hospital. The man lingered near death for a few hours and then died. With no ID on him but the contents of his briefcase, he had a set of quasi-biographical notes. The nurse kept the notes and read them, and because of their important content, published them.

The book 'AA-1025' is the result. 'AA-1025', of course, was the Communist infiltratror's 'number'. He claims in the book to be one of a thousand infiltrators into the Catholic seminaries in the period of the 1960s. In order to test the seal of Confession held as sacred and inviolable by the Church, Her pastors bound to secrecy, he confessed his true agenda to one Priest, who was, of course, unable to reveal what he had said. The Confessor asked him, "What do you expect to gain by entering Holy Orders?" The man replied, quite simply, "To destroy the Church from within."

I read the whole of the small book in an evening and it is very, very disturbing. Obviously, it goes without saying that it is not provably genuine or authentic, but when you read it and survey what has happened in terms of the great collapse of vocations and the health of the Catholic Church across the West, the 'agenda' that the infiltrator wants to pursue is eerily close to what has taken place. The infiltrator does of course, suggest 'women priests' and an end to clerical celibacy to destroy the priesthood, as well as consistent promotion of the attacking of the Pope.

Basically, whatever The Tablet recommends now, 'AA-1025' recommended it first. It forms quite a manifesto when you read it as a whole and, interestingly, while the infiltrator is aggrieved by the actual outcome of the Second Vatican Council, he is very, very enthusiastic about what has so far, and he hopes will be, achieved through the 'spirit of the Council'. The infiltrator looks forward immensely to 'Vatican III'.  All in all, a bit like Hans Kung really. And Tina Beattie. And Catherine Pepinster. And Mark Dowd. The gates of Hell shall never prevail.

The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone

Pope Emeritus: Feeding the fish

At the Traditional Latin Mass on Friday, the first reading was from the book of Genesis. It was the day after the resignation of the Pope Emeritus came into effect and concerned the story of the man named Joseph who is betrayed and sold off by his brothers. There was no technicolour dreamcoat mentioned, but this passage later reminded me of the kind of attitude that has been shown to the Pope Emeritus.

Basically, my interpretation was that the brothers of Joseph Ratzinger are the Cardinals and Bishops around the World who despised him and wanted the 'dreamer' to abandon all projects he had begun for the good of the Church. I have every confidence, however, that the enemies of the Pope Emeritus will be utterly confounded when the new Pontiff is elected. Let us pray that this is the case.

For the Gospel of St Matthew was concerning Our Lord Jesus Christ being the new Joseph, the true King who would be worshipped by the sun and the moon and  should be by every man on Earth. This was the Parable of the Tenants. The Lord, pointing to His own rejection by the scribes and chief Priests and Pharisees, having told them that the Kingdom of God would be taken from them and 'given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof' asks what the Lord of the vineyard will do to the husbandmen who sought to kill the heir.

'They say to him: He will bring those evil men to an evil end; and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, that shall render him the fruit in due season.'

 The Lord replies to them:

'Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? By the Lord this has been done; and it is wonderful in our eyes. Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone, shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they knew that he spoke of them.'

The stone the builders have rejected is of course, the Pope Emeritus and the Lord Jesus Christ of Whom he was Vicar on Earth. Who are the builders? Those who consistently betrayed and undermined him and who sought to thwart the will of the man who was Peter.

What kind of stone, I ask you, is heavier than the Rock, St Peter, upon whom the Church was founded by the Lord Jesus Christ?

The answer is, of course, that there is no stone heavier, nor mightier than the Rock of St Peter. It is this Rock that shall fall upon the enemies of Joseph Ratzinger. As I said, I have every confidence that the enemies of the Pope Emeritus will be utterly confounded when the new Pontiff is elected. Let us pray that this is the case. When it happens, they can't say they didn't deserve it, even if they never saw it coming.