July 2018
The Abortion Referendum and the message of Fatima O
n May 25th the moral crisis in Ireland manifested itself in a shocking victory for the culture of death. Friday, 25th May 2018 was one of the darkest days in Irish history. It was a day that mocked our independence as a nation and our so-called democracy. Ireland became the first country in the world to approve abortion on demand by a vote of the people. On that day Ireland formally chose death rather than life. On that day Ireland decided to eliminate future generations of its own children, and joined the demographic wasteland that most of the rest of Europe already is. On that shameful day our country gave a much needed massive victory to the worldwide pro-abortion movement – a movement that was otherwise beating a retreat in many places around the world. On the strength of its victory that same movement is now targeting Northern Ireland and Malta with renewed effort to impose abortion on them. Immediately in the wake of its victory in Ireland the pro-abortion movement pu-
Irish Society for Christian Civilisation.
shed a liberal abortion law through the lower house of Congress in Argentina.
It is a sin that clamours to God for vengeance. What can we do to appease divine justice?
Abortion is a grave offence to God. It destroys the life of a person that He created in His own image and likeness.
St. Augustine wrote that, since individual souls are immortal they can be rewarded or punished in eternity for their deeds. But nations are not immortal, and so God’s justice will reward or punish them in this life? Can we avert the chastisement that we, as a country, have earned?
More than one billion abortions have been carried out around the world in the past century. This is a genocide that dwarfs all other wars and genocides in the bloodiest century in history. This is a sin the stench of which rises to God mocking His creation in blasphemous arrogance. Now Ireland will join in the slaughter.
Our Lady of Fatima said: “… if they do not stop offending God, another even worse war will begin in the reign of Pius XI. When you see a night illuminated
Forgotten Truths
She also asked, in each of her apparitions, that we pray the Rosary every day. But this alone will not avert the chastisement that is due. Repentance for sin requires atonement. It requires that we repair the damage as far as possible. That means undoing the result of the referendum. It means stopping abortion legislation from being passed. A person who votes for abortion becomes responsible for every abortion that follows from that vote, ever, even long after the person is dead. To vote for a pro-abortion politician is to vote for abortion. It is as much a provocation of God’s wrath as voting for abortion itself.
by an unknown light know that it is the great sign of the hunger and persecutions of the Church and the Holy Father by means of war. “To prevent it [World War II], I will come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays. If they listen to my requests, Russia will convert and there will be peace; if not, it will spread its errors throughout the world, promoting wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer and many nations will be annihilated. Finally, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me; it will convert and a certain period of peace will be granted to the world.” So, to avert the chastisement Our Lady asked for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays. 2
Unfortunately in the pre-referendum debate on abortion such considerations did not get sufficient circulation. The debate was often reduced to conflicting claims of “human rights” and to personal hardship stories. Without a moral dimension to the debate, how are people to decide which way they should vote? The absence of religious and moral arguments was a certain path to defeat. Heaven and hell are real. Eternity is real. We are destined to spend eternity in either heaven or hell – depending on our actions in this life. This fact should be central to any public debate that involves moral choices to be made by the electorate. If the Catholic hierarchy had taken a more central role in the debate, reaffirming the teaching of the Church that abortion is a grave evil that will lead its promoters – unless they repent – to hell for all eternity, could the result have been any worse than it was?
Too Much Compassion Can Be Excessive Cruelty
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rom a letter to Gerard du Puy, Abbot of Marmoutier, written on the eve of the Great Schism of the West: “Alas! The members of Christ become corrupted because nobody punishes them. Our Lord has a special aversion for three vices: impurity, avarice and pride, which reign in the Church of Christ, that is, in those who only think of pleasures, honours and riches. The demons of hell come to take souls away... and (they) do not care about it, for they themselves are wolves and bartar with divine grace. It would require strong justice to punish them: too much compassion is at times a great cruelty. St. Catherine of Siena
Upcoming/Ongoing Events Catholic Ladies’ Day
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Catholic Ladies’ cultural event was held in the Central Catholic Library, Dublin, on 7th May. Our guest speaker, Nelson Fragelli, addressed the audience on how Our Lord Jesus Christ is the model of civilised manners. Damien Murphy gave a lecture on the history and benefits of the Brown Scapular. The ladies enjoyed a formal High Tea, a custom that is almost lost in the hurried pace of the modern world.
Fatima Home Visits
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ur team of volunteers, Slawek and Damien, take to the road every month with a beautiful statue of Our Lady of Fatima, visiting homes and explaining the important message of Our Lady; showing a video about the message; and praying the Rosary with the hosts and their guests.
Rosary Rallies
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ver 85 Public Rosary Rallies were held in towns and cities around Ireland on 12th May in honour of Our Lady of Fatima and beseeching her to intervene to prevent abortion laws from being imposed here. The rallies continue every month from May to October, now with the added intention of reparation for the sin of abortion recently embraced by Ireland.
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or further information on any of the above activities, or to be notified in advance about similar activities, please provide your phone number and/or email address and let us know your contact preferences on the enclosed reply form. ****************************************************************************************************
Petitions and Protests
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r. James Martin, an American Jesuit priest who openly promotes the agenda of the homosexual lobby, thus contesting the Church’s teaching on human sexuality and who has tweeted blasphemous images of Our Lady of Guadalupe, has been invited to speak at the World Meeting of Families, at which Pope Francis will also speak. Please sign the online petition to have Fr. Martin disinvited, which you will find at: www.tfp.ie Also please petition the Catholic bishops of Ireland to impose the Church sanctions on Catholic politicians who support abortion. You will find an online petition here: www.tfp.ie
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Ambiences, Customs and Civilisations
Splendour of a Hierarchical and Christian Conception of Life Catolicismo, No. 70 – October 1956 (*)
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By Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
he satanic wave of egalitarianism, which, from the sixteenth-century Protestant revolution to the communist revolution of our time, has been attacking, slandering, undermining and depleting all hierarchy and anything that symbolises it, presents all inequality as an injustice. It is in human nature – egalitarians claim – that man feels diminished and vexed when bowing before a superior. If he does so, it is because certain prejudices or economic circumstances compel him to. However, this violence to the natural order of things does not go unpunished. The superior deforms his own soul with the arrogance and vanity that lead him to demand that someone bow before him. For his part, with his subservient gesture the inferior loses something of the elevation of personality proper to a free and independent man. In other words, whenever a person bows before another there is a winner and a loser, a despot and a slave. Catholic doctrine tells us the exact opposite. God created the universe according to a hierarchical order. And He established that hierarchy should be of the essence in every truly human and Catholic order. In contact with the superior, an inferior can and should pay him all due respect without the slightest fear of lowering or degrading himself. On the other hand, the superior should not be vain or overbearing. His superiority does not stem from strength but from a very holy order of things desired by the Creator. Customs in the Catholic Church express this doctrine with admirable fidelity. In no other context do rituals and formulas of politeness consecrate the principle of hierarchy more sharply. And in none can one see so clearly how much nobility there can be in obedience, how much elevation of soul and how much kindness there can be in the exercise of authority and pre-eminence.
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In a Spanish convent of Carthusians, kneeling down, a monk kisses the scapular of his superior. It is an expression of most complete subjection. However, when you consider the scene carefully you see how much manliness, personality, sincerity of conviction, and elevation of motives the humble kneeling monk puts into his gesture. It contains something holy and chivalrous, grand and simple, which makes you think of the times of the Golden Legend, the Song of Roland, and the Fioretti of St. Francis of Assisi. Kneeling, this humble and unknown man religious is greater than modern man – an infatuated, impersonal, anonymous, inexpressive molecule in the great amorphous mass which contemporary society has become. Having looked at the monk’s humility, let us consider that of a gentleman. Count Wladimir d’Ormesson was French ambassador to the Holy See until very recently. In our picture, we see him donned in solemn diplomatic attire kneeling before the Holy Father Pius XII during an audience. It would be difficult to imagine an attitude that so fully expressed such a high awareness of one’s own dignity and at the same time, a lively respect for the hallowed and supreme authority the ambassador has the honour to meet. His knee on the ground, but his upright trunk and neck, and the nobility and reverence of his greeting, everything shows how much respect and dignity is found in the traditional diplomatic styles elaborated in the golden ages of Christian civilisation, and of which the Count is here a faithful interpreter. Now, consider the Prior. There is a kind of contrast between his great white figure, erect, robust, stable, expressing authority, assurance and paternal protection, and his physiognomic expression that seems neutral, impassive, serene, a little distant. The figure expresses the Prior’s official attitude. His physiognomy translates the detachment and simplicity of the man. For that homage is not directed to the man as such but to his office. And, with all due respect, let us consider the position of the Pontiff. Sitting on a small throne, he does not get up to receive the ambassador’s homage. However, he lightly inclines to get closer to the Count and keeps his hand in the latter’s, giving the whole welcome a very marked note of kindness. And while remaining entirely Pope, he shows for the ambassador a most ingrained benevolence and the greatest esteem. *** Here we have four attitudes inspired by a very hierarchical view of things. All are noble, dignified, honourable, though each in its own way. In a word, such is the splendour of Christian humility and the beauty of hierarchical life. (*) This article was not revised by the author before publication 5
O Room Inspection
ur annual Call to Chivalry summer camp was held in Glencomeragh House, Co.Waterford, from 2nd to 9th July. Answering this Call to Chivalry were young men from Ireland as well as a few from Poland and from as far away as USA. What is this Chivalry to which young men from Ireland and abroad are called? It is more than just the dictionary definition of Chivalry – the practice of courtesy or the following of the medieval Commandments of Chivalry.
Raising of the Standard
Above all Chivalry is a virtue. It is the disposition of soul to do one’s duty regardless of the cost. Stories abound of knights from the Age of Chivalry who lived and died by this interior disposition, who fought and even gave their lives to fulfil their duty as Catholics. Knights of old had as their supreme model of chivalry Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He came into this world to fulfil the will of His Father. And when the
Procession to Mass 6
time came for Him to face His Passion and death, He did so without the least hesitation. He embraced His Cross with love and enthusiasm. And thus He taught His followers the way to fulfil our own duties. It is this virtue, this willingness to do our duty, to which the young men attending the Call to Chivalry camp are invited. Indeed, every Catholic is called to a life of virtue and duty. Daily Mass and prayers, discipline, lectures, outdoor games and visits to places of religious, cultural and historical interest, are the means by which we endeavour to instil the virtue of chivalry during the camp. Each day at 7am the sound of bagpipes breaks the morning silence. It is the wake-up call, and is followed by morning prayers, room inspection, raising of the standard and a procession to the chapel for Mass.
After a hearty breakfast the main activities of the day – outings, lectures and games – begin. This year we visited the Rock of Cashel, Holy Cross Abbey and Cahir Castle. Sermons at Mass and lectures provided some valuable lessons such as: the importance of Holy Communion, Confession, devotion to Our Lady and the Holy Rosary; how Christian civilisation is under attack; the nature of true heroism; the causes of happiness and unhappiness in the world today and how virtue brings peace and calm to the soul. As always, the grand finale of the camp was a day of Medieval Games followed by a Medieval Banquet, to which families of the young men attending the camp were invited. But for many of the young men at the camp the favourite activities of the week were those that demanded the greatest sacrifice from them: a Public Rosary for which they had to leave their human respect behind; and an all-night vigil before the Blessed Sacrament and a Relic of the Holy Cross, for which each young man sacrificed an hour of sleep during the night.
Outdoor Games
Outdoor Games
Lectures
Public Rosary
Educational Outings
Educational Outings
These are the men of the future, who prefer sacrifice to comfort; who prefer to publicly defend their faith than to conform to the mores of the modern world.
Presentation during the Medieval Banquet
Speach after the Medieval Banquet
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When asked what they gained from the camp, here are some of the answers we received from the participants.
Piotr (winner of the quiz on all the lectures): “The biggest challenge was to learn the 10 Commandments of Chivalry.”
John Bosco: “The camp was a great experience of chivalry and an opportunity to meet new people, to learn more about the Faith and to understand it in a better way.”
Henry: “The Call to Chivalry camp was a great way to escape from social media for a week. What happens in the camp can affect our entire lives. It is easier to reform our lives at an early age than later.”
Christopher: “What I liked best was the public Rosary. It was an opportunity to practice our faith openly, because modern culture tends to make you feel weird about praying in public. So it is good to confront this culture and overcome these feelings.”
Our Readers Write “Many thanks for the newsletter. I found it very interesting and a good read. I wish you well with your mission -nothing but good can come out of it.” GD, Co Donegal “I received your beautiful gift in the post. I am so delighted to receive such a lovely Medallion of Our Lady of Fatima. It made my day when I received it... I got a priest to bless it, and since then I feel the house has felt happier. I trust in Our Blessed Lady to watch over and guide our Family always. Once again thank you for my gift, and thank you for bringing peace back to our home.” SM, Co Dublin 8
“Ireland today is at a crossroads... Your crusade is like an oasis of hope in a desert of despair. May Mary lead us with Jesus to partake of its healing waters and may Ireland once more reflect the inheritance of our dearly departed loved ones who passed on the faith of their fathers to us.” SJ, Co Offaly
Ireland Needs Fatima Newsletter is published by Irish Society for Christian Civilisation Talbot Hall, P.O. Box 9701, Swords, Co. Dublin Tel/Fax: 01-842 9640 – www.isfcc.org The Ireland Needs Fatima Newsletter is free of charge, although any donations sent to help defray the cost of producing it will be welcome. Ireland Needs Fatima is a special project of Irish Society for Christian Civilisation, which is a charity registered as a company limited by guarantee. Registration Number 381474. Directors: P.Folley, M. Murphy. Secretary: R. M. O’Hanlon. Charity Number: CHY 20680. Registered Charity Number: CRA 20082277