Canadian Catholics, abortion and fascism: how the Catholics of Canada have succumbed to the fascist idea of the State

The surrender to fascism?

How long shall we love riches?... Whence is it that this disease has invaded the world? Who shall be able to effect its destruction? What reason can cut off this evil beast, and destroy it with utter destruction? The desire is deep sown in the minds of men, even of those who seem to be religious.

St. John Chrysostom, Homily X on 1st Thessalonians

I have written about the scandalous Election Guide of 2015 produced by the Commission for Justice and Peace. So cowardly were they on the "preeminent intrinsic evil of our day" which is the murder of the unborn baby in the mother's womb, that the words "abortion", or "unborn child, or "unborn baby" were never used. But it goes far deeper: the average bishop reflects the average pew-sitting Catholic. Go along to get along; cozy and compromising Catholicism. Hence the silence. Hence the compormise with evil that Freyr wrote of. But get along with whom?.... we shall see. 

"It's all about the money". So writes Lea Singh, former employee of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) as to why the bishops are silent on abortion. 

Well, yes and no. The money is but a symptom. Ultimately it is about a sickness of the soul, a sickness of the mind to accept that the State is the arbiter on morality... as each new horror is trotted out, most Catholics (bishop and layman alike) grow silent. We used to oppose divorce (until the State ruled the contrary); contraception and pornography (who opposes these grave sin anymore?); homosexuality and then same-sex "marriage".... now euthanasia, then will come polygamy and bestiality. Watch for it.

 "...the Fascist conception of the State is all embracing; outside of it no human or spiritual values can exist, much less have value". 

Mussolini, The Doctrine of Fascism, 1932

Our perception of the State is steeped in liberalism; which inevitably leads to totalitarianism. It happened in Germany and Italy in the 1930s, and it is happening all over the "west". Following the so-called Reformation, the expansion of the State was huge. Locke in England, Rousseau in France, Hegel in Germany, these men and others provided the philosophical basis for the form of State we have today. Invariably, these forms - given their rejection of Christ and morality - lead to relativism, which leads to dictatorship. We fought fascism, and now we are becoming fascist ourselves. It is inevitable. 

The grain of incense offered to Caesar by the bishops of Canada carries a heavy price: tax-exemption for silence. Years ago, it looked good. Caesar was our friend. Doesn't all evil at first? It looked good to get a few pennies back from the government, didn't it? However, in accepting this, the hook was firmly implanted; the local Church was silenced. 

Lea Singh writes how the lure of money has played a major role in the surrender of the bishops to the fascist State, in the process virtually destroying the pro-life movement in Canada: 

The Catholic Church in Canada lives in fear. Not of the culture of death, but of Canadian tax laws.

The Canadian Income Tax specifies that charities must cap their involvement in political activity at 10% of their total activity. The Catholic Church is a registered charity, and it makes a lot of money with that status. Many parishioners all across Canada donate to their local parishes each Sunday with the understanding that they will receive tax deductions for their donations. How many people would stop donating, or would donate substantially less, if the Church was no longer able to provide them with tax receipts?

This 10% limit on political activity has become a powerful deterrent to the Church's participation in fighting for the culture of life in the public square. Every action that could be interpreted as political activity is now a direct threat to the Church's financial survival.

The full article may be read here. 

That the local church is generally corrupt, Freyr and I agree with Singh. But on the point of increasing tax-exemption we disagree. If the Church's "financial survival" is dependent on tax-exemption and the price to be paid is silence, then we are dead already.. We do not need an increase in tax-exemption, we need to be rid of it. More money will mean more corruption and not only handcuffs, but leg irons. We are rapidly becoming like the church in Germany. 

But we can react and do the right thing. Drivers on Highway 404 have seen this landmark in Markham, just north of Toronto. It is the Slovak Cathedral of the Transfiguration built by Stephen P. Roman. At one time it was the seat of the Eparchy of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite in Canada. Unfortunately today it is neither a cathedral nor even a church and it stands deserted in the midst of a real estate development.

As a result of a property dispute, Bishop John Pazak moved his cathedral to the venerable Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God on Shaw Street in Toronto. He removed the Blessed Sacrament from the Cathedral and prohibited his priests from saying Mass there. Apparently he regarded the independence and autonomy of his eparchy as more important than a real estate development or any advantages that might be derived from it. We need more bishops like this. May more bishops place the Gospels ahead of real estate and tax-exempt status. 

We need to soar like a free bird, we need to be rid of our tax exempt status which is a millstone around our neck; we need to follow the example of the Church in France under Pius X, when Catholics stood up to the Freemasons, or the Church in Italy under Pius XI when they stood up to the fascists. We need to stand up to the fascists in white gloves in Canada. This does not begin with the bishops but the ordinary parishioner. We need to tear up our own tax receipts, refuse our own charitable tax exemptions and tell our bishops to do likewise!

The Church in Africa soars because she is poor and faithful. May the Church in Canada do likewise. 

More to follow...

Barona and Freyr