Nancy Pelosi Becomes Pope!

Nancy Pelosi Paints Marco Rubio as a Bad Catholic

Apparently House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi has defined Catholicism for all time. In a scathing criticism of Senator Marco Rubio on MSNBC Live she states

I thoroughly disagree (with Rubio’s opposition to gay marriage), being raised in a Catholic family, raising a Catholic family, mainstream Catholic – well, the Baltimore catechism, to get back to our hometown of Baltimore, was what we were raised on. And I think that this statement by Senator Rubio is most unfortunate. It’s a polarizing statement. The fact is, is that what we’re taught was to respect people in our faith and to say that this endangers mainstream Christian thinking is so completely wrong.

She did not comment on her assuming the mantle of the papacy nor did she make reference to the legion of Catholics of various descriptions who have rival claims. Pope Michael of Kansas could not be reached for comment. 

Who knew? I must have missed that part of the Baltimore Catechism. For those of you wondering what Senator Marco Rubio said that inspired Pelosi's bit of pontificating, here is the quote played by the interviewer.

We are at the water's edge of the argument that mainstream Christian teaching is hate speech. Because today we’ve reached the point in our society where if you do not support same-sex marriage, you are labeled a homophobe and a hater. So what's the next step after that? After they’re done going after individuals, the next step is to argue that the teachings of mainstream Christianity, the catechism of the Catholic Church, is hate speech.

Trinity Sunday calls for adoration of the one, true God

O my God, Trinity whom I adore, let me entirely forget myself that I may abide in you, still and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity; let nothing disturb my peace nor separate me from you, O my unchanging God, but that each moment may take me further into the depths of your mystery ! ...

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

A false ecumenism of "peace" is a work of the demonic

"You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you do..." 

Our Lord Jesus Christ (Jn 8:44)

So spoke Our Blessed Saviour to disbelieving Jews over 2000 years ago. The gravity of Our Lord's words regarding disbelief must be taken seriously, this was not rhetoric. Our Lord spoke only the truth; He is Truth.

One would think that a Catholic bishop would take Our Lord's words seriously. Enough so, to proclaim Him the only way for Peace, and to recall adherents of false religions to conversion. Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See's "secretary for Relations with States", recently gave an address in Rome on "religions" and "peace". Sadly, one has to search the speech for any reference to the holy name of "Jesus": but there He is: mentioned only once and by a lay woman, as quoted by the Archbishop. Incredibly, Our Lord Jesus Christ is not the focus of this speech on peace, but "religions". That the odd truth may be found in a false religion is obvious, but that only makes the danger of religious indifferentism all the more pernicious and deadly. One only needs a drop of poison to spoil a bowl of soup. 

The archbishop is also wrong about "religions" bringing peace. He fails to mention that Our Lord came down from Heaven, founded one religion, and died an agonizing death on the cross, in obedience to the Father to bring us the only way of salvation, the only way to peace. True peace is Our Lord Jesus Christ. The other religions are of the antichrist: this means Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and so on. 'Who is a liar, but he who denieth that Jesus is the Christ. This is the antichrist, who denieth the Father and the Son" (1 Jn 2:22). There can be no peace outside of Jesus Christ. Anything else is blasphemy, and should recall to us the stern warnings of St. Paul in Thessalonians about the Man of Perdition.

The Archbishop quotes selectively Benedict XV. I encourage all readers to read the holy Pope's Appeal for Peace in its entirety. The entire theme is that there is no peace outside of Jesus. This the archbishop hides.

"Our Lord Jesus Christ came down from Heaven for the very purpose of restoring amongst men the Kingdom of Peace, which the envy of the devil had destroyed, and it was His will that it should rest on no other foundation than that of brotherly love. These are His own oft-repeated words: "A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another (John xiv. 34). (Benedict XV, (Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum).

Homosexuality: Compassion not Sentiment

Let's face it. Much of the rhetoric surrounding the debate about homosexuality and same sex marriage is bound up in sentiment. For those of you who have forgotten, let me throw in my favorite quote from Flannery O'Connor here.

If other ages felt less, they saw more, even though they saw more, even though they saw with the blind, prophetical, unsentimental eye of acceptance, which is to say, of faith. In the absence of this faith now, we govern by tenderness. It is tenderness which, long since cut off from the person of Christ is wrapped in theory. When tenderness is detached from the source of tenderness, its logical outcome is terror. It ends in forced-labor camps and in the fumes of the gas chamber.

Instead of listening to the usual polemicists on both sides perhaps we ought to take a look at this interview with the director of Courage International, a Catholic apostolate which ministers faithfully to those with same sex attraction.  The more I think about this issue, the more I am inclined to listen to those who have demonstrated real compassion and ignore those whose compassion is largely theoretical. If chastity is part of the good news of the Gospel, then preaching sexual morality in isolation from the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is a waste of time. Do you want to save souls or merely preserve public decency?

 

Approaching Homosexuality With ‘True Compassion,’ Not ‘Sentimentality’

Father Paul Check, executive director of Courage International, says that his organization has answers to the pastoral questions the Church has about providing a compelling witness to persons with same-sex attraction.

...

You’ve mentioned severity, and that’s a real danger, but I think the real problem is “sentimentality.”

The wider-spread problem is that we have separated a thoughtful, compassionate response — a sensitive response — from the truth.

In the opening paragraphs of his last encyclical, the pope emeritus makes a distinction between “sentimentality” and “compassion.” He indicates that the former is a counterfeit and that compassion is something based on the truth. I think a question that all Christians need to ask themselves is something very simple: “Do I believe that chastity is part of the good news of the Gospel?”

I’m not sure how widespread that conviction is, especially in an age where sexual promiscuity (in many forms) is responsible for a lot of broken hearts, a lot of sadness, a lot of regrets, a lot of disappointment, pain, suffering. … Why is that? I think we, individually, can test our own conviction about whether chastity is a virtue and something that prepares us for fulfillment in a way that God, in his wisdom for our nature, is very intense for us.

When Irish eyes are crying.... Ireland commits apostasy and as a State, enters the camp of Satan

The referendum in once Catholic Ireland on homosexual "marriage" has returned a "yes" result. Irish Catholics, mostly nominal and very poorly catechized - if at all - (Irish bishops take note of your handiwork) have delivered a final death blow to their own nation. What British Protestantism, and its lackey, the Orange Order could not achieve in hundreds of years of persecution, soi-disant Catholics accomplished within a generation.

The Church in Ireland too, will go down in history as party to this latest horror; cowardly churchmen, traitorous and evil churchmen, all played a role in bringing moral ruin on Ireland. Let there be no mistake: the evils such as contraception, divorce and pre-natal infanticide (is that not a far better descriptor for abortion?) wormed their way into the country, preparing it for this abomination. Upon those evils too, churchmen, at best whimpered nominal opposition. All that remains is the "legalization" of paedophila and bestiality (and these are coming, let us not be naive).

Pray for Ireland. Also pray for those good Catholics and Christians who did not capitulate, who were not seduced by the siren's cry of the vile media and its super wealthy, internationalist controllers. And make no mistake, behind this human evil lurks the diabolical. The master manipulator has a name, his name is Satan. 

Happy Birthday Karol Wojtyła ~ 95 years young ~ a time to reflect on his Letter to Families

We are facing an immense threat to life: not only to the life of individuals but also to that of civilization itself. 

Pope John Paul II 

This day, 95 years ago this day, Karol Wojtyła was born. In 1994 he wrote a prophetic Letter to Families, more pertinent today than the day it was written. With the near total moral collapse surrounding us, it is well worth recalling a few highlights:

 The family constitutes the fundamental "cell" of society. But Christ—the "vine" from which the "branches" draw nourishment—is needed so that this cell will not be exposed to the threat of a kind of cultural uprooting which can come both from within and from without. Indeed, although there is on the one hand the "civilization of love", there continues to exist on the other hand the possibility of a destructive "anti-civilization", as so many present trends and situations confirm.

Who can deny that our age is one marked by a great crisis, which appears above all as a profound "crisis of truth"? A crisis of truth means, in the first place, a crisis of concepts. Do the words "love", "freedom", "sincere gift", and even "person" and "rights of the person", really convey their essential meaning...

... Everything contrary to the civilization of love is contrary to the whole truth about man and becomes a threat to him: it does not allow him to find himself and to feel secure, as spouse, parent, or child. So-called "safe sex", which is touted by the "civilization of technology", is actually, in view of the overall requirements of the person, radically not safe, indeed it is extremely dangerous. It endangers both the person and the family. And what is this danger? It is the loss of the truth about one's own self and about the family, together with the risk of a loss of freedom and consequently of a loss of love itself. "You will know the truth", Jesus says, "and the truth will make you free" (Jn 8:32): the truth, and only the truth, will prepare you for a love which can be called "fairest love" (cf. Sir 24:24, Vulg.)....

Parents are the first and most important educators of their own children, and they also possess a fundamental competence in this area: they are educators because they are parents. They share their educational mission with other individuals or institutions, such as the Church and the State. But the mission of education must always be carried out in accordance with a proper application of theprinciple of subsidiarity. This implies the legitimacy and indeed the need of giving assistance to the parents, but finds its intrinsic and absolute limit in their prevailing right and their actual capabilities. The principle of subsidiarity is thus at the service of parental love, meeting the good of the family unit. 

...Modern rationalism does not tolerate mystery. It does not accept the mystery of man as male and female, nor is it willing to admit that the full truth about man has been revealed in Jesus Christ...

How can we not recall, in this regard, the aberrations that the so-called constitutional State has tolerated in so many countries? The law of God is univocal and categorical with respect to human life. God commands: "You shall not kill" (Ex 20:13). No human lawgiver can therefore assert: it is permissible for you to kill, you have the right to kill, or you should kill. Tragically, in the history of our century, this has actually occurred when certain political forces have come to power, even by democratic means, and have passed laws contrary to the right to life of every human being, in the name of eugenic, ethnic or other reasons, as unfounded as they are mistaken. A no less serious phenomenon, also because it meets with widespread acquiescence or consensus in public opinion, is that of laws which fail to respect the right to life from the moment of conception. How can one morally accept laws that permit the killing of a human being not yet born, but already alive in the mother's womb? The right to life becomes an exclusive prerogative of adults who even manipulate legislatures in order to carry out their own plans and pursue their own interests.

St. Mary of Jesus Crucified ~ another Carmelite nun is canonized!

"Humility is happy being nothing, she is not attached to anything, and she is never tired of nothing. She is glad, happy, always happy, satisfied in everything… Blessed are those who are small!” 

St. Mary of Jesus Crucified

Today, there is great rejoicing in the Church and the Carmelite world, as well as Carmel supporters, and lovers of the Carmelite spiritual way of life. Holy Father Francis canonised Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified, born Mariam Baouardy into a Greek-Melkite family on January 5th, 1846 in Galilee.

In June, 1867, Mariam joined the Carmel of Pau, and lived a life of suffering, united to her Crucified Lord. She was awarded accordingly for her love and fidelity to Love Himself. The Crucified Jesus granted Sister Mariam the gift of prophecy. St. Mary was also instrumental in establishing the Carmel of Bethlehem; shortly afterwards, she died aged 32.

St. Mary of Jesus Crucified, pray for us

LINDA GIBBONS is FREED ~ after nearly two months in custody, charges were dropped!

Linda Gibbons, shortly after being freed. Photo courtesy: Lianne Laurence

This morning, at about 10:45, our dear sister in Christ, Linda Gibbons walked freely out of the courtroom at the College Park Courts in downtown Toronto. The Crown dropped the charges, after nearly two months of holding Linda in custody at the Vanier Centre for Women. 

It was a great joy to be there, and great Linda in person! An excellent report is provided by Lianne Laurence of Lifesitenews, who covered Linda's case. 

Yet, this is bitter sweet: Linda may be free, but the babies continue to be killed. 

Some Interesting Stats

Since the Witness blog began operation in August 2011 the following posts have been made. 

Barona   986

Freyr      157

Montfort  53

Santa       11

Sophie       1

NL_RC       1

Feast of the Ascension~ Solemn Latin Mass in the Greater Toronto Area

The Toronto Traditional Mass Society - Una Voce Toronto, is sponsoring a Solemn Latin Mass, (according to the usus antiquior), on the occasion of the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. Mass will be celebrated at St. Joseph's Catholic church in Mississauga, at 7:30 p.m. 

Am I a modern Pharisee?

They are always with us, aren't they? Someone is always ready to ask "What are they doing in here?" 

Most people do not think of themselves as Pharisees and indeed they do not intend to become one. It just sort of happens. The Pharisees were not all that bad since their flexibility and willingness to change allowed the Jews to survive the two millennia since the destruction of the temple. In fact there were notable Pharisees who supported Jesus and became part of the early Church. Apparently by Jesus' time a certain corruption had set in and if it can happen to them it can certainly happen to us.

How then do we know we are in danger of succumbing to the same corruption as the Pharisees who confronted Jesus?

1. DISDAIN FOR THOSE AT THE BACK OF THE LINE

Instead of a Jesus-like compassion for those who can’t keep up, we view them with a deepening sense of frustration, cynicism, and a cocky arrogance. Whether it is someone who struggles with sin or who just isn't quite as zealous as we are, we tend to look down on them.

2. A SPIRIT OF EXCLUSIVITY

When thinning the herd becomes more important than expanding the kingdom; or raising the bar becomes more important than helping people climb over it, something has gone terribly wrong.

3. LEGALISM AND AN OBSESSION WITH TECHNICALITIES

The practice of the faith does not require literacy much less a degree in canon law. The gotcha on a technicality mindset which requires many pages of closely typed text to explain and which is beyond the ordinary parishioner is a sign something is seriously wrong.

4. A PATTERN OF IDOLIZING THE PAST

We tend to look nostalgically back at an idealized past and ignore the faults and failures.  But the present-day Bride of Christ and the current crop of leaders whom Jesus has put in place are assailed for their blind spots, failures, and feet of clay. Like the Pharisees of old, we rip on the living prophets and then build monuments to them once they die. Dead popes are preferable to live ones.

5. A QUEST FOR CLONE-LIKE UNIFORMITY

Jesus had room for Simon the Zealot and Matthew the Tax Collector. Rather than being loyal to the Church we give our loyalty to one or another party within it. People who are on our side get a free pass while those who are not are beyond the pale.

The above has been freely adapted from Accidental Pharisee

Pope John Paul II: The "Gospel of Life" consists in the "proclamation of the very person of Jesus"

"The life was made manifest, and we saw it" (1 Jn 1:2): with our gaze fixed on Christ, "the Word of life"

"Never take a man for your example in the tasks you have to perform, however holy he may be, for the devil will set his imperfection before you. But imitate Christ, who is supremely perfect and supremely holy, and you will never err".
 (Maxim, 78) St. John of the Cross

Pope John Paul II's, Evangelium Vitae just had its 20th anniversary. It deserves to be studied with great care and to be our reference point for the fight for life: through Him, with Him and in Him. Life cannot be truly understood outside of the person of Jesus Christ, who is Life Himself. As the Holy Father stated, the fight for life, is not just "awareness" and bringing "significant changes in society"; it is the "proclamation of the very person of Jesus". Without Christ, the many projects brought about by man will simply crumble and collapse. This also applies to "pro-life" activity. 

The Americanist heresy created a false dichotomy between alleged "active" and "passive" virtue, emphasizing the former. This insidious heresy, always being promoted by the Tempter, is wormed into the "pro-life" movement, transforming it into a political movement; in recent years even arguments in favour of life by well known "pro-life" websites etc. have modified their language to accommodate secularism, and now speak with a secular accent. The truth is, without God, the human person does not have inestimable value, and can be destroyed. 

Without Him, we can do nothing. The Gospel of Life, confirms, enriches and completes all true pro-life activity in favour of life, in Life Himself. The true defenders of life are those who live and preach the Gospel of Life. 

From Evangelium Vitae: 

29. Faced with the countless grave threats to life present in the modern world, one could feel overwhelmed by sheer powerlessness: good can never be powerful enough to triumph over evil!

At such times the People of God, and this includes every believer, is called to profess with humility and courage its faith in Jesus Christ, "the Word of life" (1 Jn 1:1). The Gospel of life is not simply a reflection, however new and profound, on human life. Nor is it merely a commandment aimed at raising awareness and bringing about significant changes in society. Still less is it an illusory promise of a better future. The Gospel of life is something concrete and personal, for it consists in the proclamation of the very person of Jesus. Jesus made himself known to the Apostle Thomas, and in him to every person, with the words: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6). This is also how he spoke of himself to Martha, the sister of Lazarus: "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die" (Jn 11:25-26). Jesus is the Son who from all eternity receives life from the Father (cf. Jn 5:26), and who has come among men to make them sharers in this gift: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10).

Through the words, the actions and the very person of Jesus, man is given the possibility of "knowing" the complete truth concerning the value of human life. From this "source" he receives, in particular, the capacity to "accomplish" this truth perfectly (cf. Jn 3:21), that is, to accept and fulfil completely the responsibility of loving and serving, of defending and promoting human life. In Christ, the Gospel of life is definitively proclaimed and fully given. This is the Gospel which, already present in the Revelation of the Old Testament, and indeed written in the heart of every man and woman, has echoed in every conscience "from the beginning", from the time of creation itself, in such a way that, despite the negative consequences of sin, it can also be known in its essential traits by human reason. As the Second Vatican Council teaches, Christ "perfected revelation by fulfilling it through his whole work of making himself present and manifesting himself; through his words and deeds, his signs and wonders, but especially through his death and glorious Resurrection from the dead and final sending of the Spirit of truth. Moreover, he confirmed with divine testimony what revelation proclaimed: that God is with us to free us from the darkness of sin and death, and to raise us up to life eternal".

30. Hence, with our attention fixed on the Lord Jesus, we wish to hear from him once again "the words of God" (Jn 3:34) and meditate anew on the Gospel of life. The deepest and most original meaning of this meditation on what revelation tells us about human life was taken up by the Apostle John in the opening words of his First Letter: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us" (1:1-3).

In Jesus, the "Word of life", God's eternal life is thus proclaimed and given. Thanks to this proclamation and gift, our physical and spiritual life, also in its earthly phase, acquires its full value and meaning, for God's eternal life is in fact the end to which our living in this world is directed and called. In this way the Gospel of life includes everything that human experience and reason tell us about the value of human life, accepting it, purifying it, exalting it and bringing it to fulfilment.

BREAKING NEWS: Linda Gibbons remanded in custody; next hearing to be May 27th

"And the world with its seductions is passing away but the man who does God's will endures forever" 

(1 Jn 2:17)

This morning, at the College Park Courts, in Toronto, our dear sister in Christ, Linda Gibbons, was remanded in custody, with her next court appearance (via video link from the Vanier Centre for Women, in Milton, Ontario) being set for 9.a.m. It had been hoped that Linda would have been freed this day, but such is not the case. Please continue to pray for Linda, as she witnesses to life, truth and to the Love of Christ that He has for the unborn babies, sentenced to die a most gruesome death. May God have mercy on this country of Canada, for the terrible twin evils of legalized abortion and contraception (which fuels the abortion furnace); and both of which, in turn, are fueled by sexual license and depravity. 

We are dying because we have stopped loving ~ we have stopped being Christian

"And he came to His own, but His own knew Him not".
St. John the Apostle

"It is with love that God rewards us..." Ste. Therese of Lisieux

Our poor country and world is dying because it refuses to love. For the Christian, love is the second greatest commandment; in fact, it flows from the first. The young man was asked by Jesus about the Law, and he answered correctly: "love the Lord thy God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. This is the great and first commandment. The second is like it, love your neighbour as yourself". (Mt 22: 27-29). Yet, who is our neighbour? Better yet: who is my neighbour?

The Law of Love, was incarnate in Our Lord, and taught by the Beloved Disciple. St. John  warns us: " he that hateth his brother, walks in darkness..." (1 Jn 2:11). Our country, our world, our cities, even our homes are in darkness. Why? Because too many, far, far too many hate their brother. For example, when a married couple use contraception, they hate each other. Sins of the flesh, promoted by a culture of death as "love", are actually acts of hate; hatred of God, of self and any cooperator in sin. The worst bitter fruit of this perversion of love, is the horror of abortion.

Our neighbours are not only those who are our "friends", or those who "agree" with us, but also those who misguidedly hate us, even hate Our Lord. Can we love them? Can I love them? If I cannot, I shall not be saved. We must love those who hate us, it is a commandment of Our Lord. Is it hard? Humanly speaking, yes; for true love requires Grace. If we are open to His Grace we will be able to love, and true love, casts out fear. We are, I am, also afraid to love. "Amor meus, pondus meum" - my love weighs me down, wrote St. Augustine. But it is a sweet yoke, true love is liberating: 'For my yoke is easy, and my burden light". (Matthew 11:30).

The question will arise, how do we know we love God? St. Teresa of Avila reminds us: we can see the degree of love, by how we love our neighbour....." And Jesus looking on him, loved him..." (Mark 10:21). "...that while thou art in me, I may be in them, and so they may be perfectly made one" (Jn 17:23). "And this is love, that we walk after his commandment" (2 Jn 1:6).

Was there a 2012 assassination plot against Pope Benedict XVI? - Der Speigel reports the Pope was to be poisoned

German and Polish press reports this morning claim that there was a plot afoot in Rome to poison the then Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI via his food. The original report is carried in Der Spiegel, with the Polish language, Fronda, and Polonia Christiana also carrying reports. Apparently the Bavarian, LKA went to Rome to assist in conducting investigations. 

Babies are being butchered in Canada while Mary Wagner is given a 10 month sentence; Linda Gibbons remanded in custody

Our dear sister in Christ, Mary Wagner was sentenced today to 10 months in prison, for two counts of probation violation and one count of interfering with the enjoyment of a "business". Mary will serve another three months. 

Earlier, our our other dear sister in Christ, Linda Gibbons, was remanded in custody, with another video-link court appearance for May 12 at 9.m. It will be approaching two months for Linda; her "crime" holding a sign saying "Why Mom, when I have so much love to offer"? 

Are you shocked? You should be!

It is extremely important that Catholics, Christians, all men and women of good will strive to "expose, expose, expose" (in the words of Linda Gibbons), the evil of abortion and the culture of death. St. Augustine wrote that sin likes to work under darkness; let us not be guilty than of silence, of collusion with evil, with iniquity. 

Fr. Matthew Despard and the Choir Mistress

There has been much written on the blog concerning Fr. Matthew Despard, much of it without any reference to the book Priesthood in Crisis. The following is an excerpt from that book and a response from one of the people involved. Judge for yourselves.

Chapter Four - The Facts

Although it is not my wish to sully the character of any member of my congregation, I am obliged, given the situation I now find myself in, to explain something of the problem I had with this lady, and to further aver that I did, from the outset, make clear to her what my concerns were.

Mrs. X is a prominent figure in the parish of St. John Ogilvie. She is, as she rightly points out in her letter, involved in a local community choir, is a member of a local school's Parent/Teacher Association (although her child is no longer a pupil at the school). I reluctantly add, and only because it is relevant, that she is well known for her dominant personality and her need to be constantly in the limelight. It was this aspect of her character that led to the actions on my part that resulted in her formal complaint.

I first became aware that Mrs. X might be a problem for me when I officiated at a funeral a few months back. The daughter of the dead person seemed cold and distant towards me, indeed appeared almost resentful. A priest friend of mine, who was at the funeral as a member of the family, explained that Mrs. X had been making some very negative statements about me and that the daughter had been reacting to them. He then warned me to be careful of this lady because she had been banned from attending St. John Ogilvie chapel by my predecessor. He, too, had been victim of serious but unjustified detraction by her and, in fact, was driven forcibly to remove her from his church. She took umbrage at this and reported the matter to the bishop. I find it odd that in all our conversations about the lady, the bishop continued to deny all prior knowledge of her.

I listened to what my friend had said but took no action. It was inevitable, however, given the nature of selective attention, that I would come to notice the lady's future behaviors. She seemed to be deferred to by a number of my parishioners and clearly had a degree of control over them.

I started a small music club shortly after my arrival at Blantyre. Mrs. X volunteered to give some of the children guitar lessons. Some six or seven youngsters joined but within two weeks all had left. When I enquired discreetly about this I was told that her angry and aggressive demeanor had scared all the children off. Again, I simply noted this but did not act on it.

Not many weeks after that funeral I became aware of even more serious events. This information was not something I actively sought. It fell my way by pure chance. It happened that I was advised by a parishioner that a lady member of my flock was in need of counseling and support. The lady's husband was involved in an illicit affair with a member of the community choir. During that conversation I was also told that Mrs. X was aware of this relationship.. When I asked if Mrs. X had attempted to do anything about the issue, my informant laughed dryly and said that Mrs. X would have to sort out the whole choir since it was rife with illicit and immoral interactions. I was shocked. My informant seemed glad to have an opportunity to expand on this. She, too, was clearly concerned. "There is no moral leadership in the choir," she told me. "All sorts of questionable behaviors are being tolerated... including the affair between the married man and that young girl."

 The following article is from ScottishChristian.com

Furious choir mistress blasts whistle-blowing priest over sex scandal claims which have made her life ‘hell’

An angry choir mistress yesterday revealed how a whistle-blowing priest’s controversial book has made her life hell.
Laura Gaddis, 53, hit out over personal attacks made by Father Matthew Despard in a best-selling book that claimed gay bullies in the priesthood were damaging the Catholic Church.
But the book also contains claims about sex scandals in a choir that have prompted Laura and other women to complain to the Church hierarchy.
Despard, 48, claimed an unnamed woman led a church choir where several married members were having affairs.
He alleged the choir mistress turned a blind eye and even attempted to cover up the scandal.
In his book, Priesthood in Crisis, he refers to the woman as Mrs X but Laura claims other details make it clear that the claims are about her.
It states that Mrs X leads Ogilvie Community Choir, who sing at St John Ogilvie’s in High Blantyre, Lanarkshire, where Despard is the parish priest.
The book also identified Laura from her role on a local parent teacher association and printed excerpts of a letter she wrote to the diocese.
Mum-of-two Laura says her life has been turned upside down by the vicious claims made about her, including allegations that she also had an extra-marital fling.

Original article from the Daily Record may be found here.