Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Sister Korn and diocesan activism

TC posted a comment at this post that is so on-the-mark that it needed a blog of its own. The Catholic Ministries TAX Appeal is in full swing. The diocese is feverishly engaged in raising funds for Catholic Charities. Sister Janet Korn from the diocese was down at St. Vincent's on Sunday. Here is TC's take on it:

Sister Janet Korn, (Catholic Ministries Appeal, Rochester Diocese) spoke at St Vincent’s church on Sunday. My blood was boiling. I almost walked out of mass. She stated that there is a need to support migrant farm workers in NY and cited the “failed immigration reform” as the root cause for their plight. Sr Korn failed to explain how her ministry provides assistance to immigrant workers or what their needs were. I have several questions for the Corning Catholic Community to ponder:

1. What are the needs of the migrant workers? Food? Clothing? Spiritual?
2. How did the failure of immigration reform contribute to their hardships?
3. What about assistance for farmers and families who don’t rely on migrant workers?
4. Are these migrant workers exposed to the teaching of the Catholic Church?
5. How many migrant workers actually work/reside within the Rochester Diocese?
6. How does Sr Korn’s mission provide assistance to these migrant workers? Clothes? Food? Church services? Medical care? Child Care? Money? …..
7. Has anyone addressed the “plight” of migrant workers with local farm owners? NY State legislators?
8. Why isn’t Sister Korn wearing a habit?

Her specific mention of the “failed immigration reform” is another way that the liberal agenda is seeping into our Catholic Church. It is the proverbial “Wolf in sheep’s clothing.” She is nothing more than an activist operating under the umbrella of the Rochester Diocese.

Here are the links that TC referenced in his comment (plus a couple more):
 If you haven't been keeping up with the state of our diocese, you may not immediately understand TC's pointed comments and questions. For a quick and devastating primer on why these questions have merit, here's some stats from a Cleansing Fire blog posted yesterday:

The results of Bishop Clark’s 33 year experiment with progressive Catholicism are in – and they are not pretty:
» 93 out of 200 (47%) Catholic parishes, missions, stations and chapels closed;
» 53 out of 78 (68%) Catholic elementary schools closed;
» 4 out of 9 (44%) Catholic high schools closed;
» 220 out of 238 (92%) teaching sisters gone;
» 18 out of 20 (90%) teaching priests gone;
» 33 out of 33 (100%) teaching brothers gone;
» 16,130 out of 21,006 (77%) Catholic elementary school students gone;
» 4,355 out of 7,488 (58%) Catholic high school students gone;
» 28,323 out of 39,402 (72%) Catholic elementary school religious education students gone;
» 7,165 out of 8,767 (82%) Catholic high school religious education students gone;
» Catholic marriages down by 67% (from 2,076 to 689) ;
» Interfaith (or “mixed”) marriages down by 76% (from 1,321 to 320);
» Infant baptisms down by 61% (from 6,742 to 2,646);
» Weekend Mass attendance in free fall (down by over a third in a mere 10 years);
» 251 out of 341 (74%) active diocesan priests gone (with most of the remainder rapidly approaching retirement age);
» Vocations to the priesthood down to a barely discernible trickle; and
» All of this in a diocese that saw its number of registered Catholics drop by 16% while its total population grew by 3% during those same 33 years.

The connection between the political/ideological activism of the DOR and the devastation of Catholic faith and identity is not coincidental.
So, is it wrong to aid migrant workers? Of course not. The question that must be asked is: Why have these ministries thrived while churches are being sold, parishes clustered, and Catholics have left the Faith in droves?

The Faith is being systematically deconstructed and something different is being put in place. Why did Sister Korn reference the so-called failed immigration reform? That's leftist political speak. So, in the name of progressive politics Catholics are supposed to give to Catholic Charities? The whole social justice meme has evolved away from Christ's simple (and non-political) command to feed the hungry and take care of widows and orphans, to an agenda that takes sides in the political arena, that distorts Jesus's admonitions to Christians, and that results in the destruction of our Catholic Faith and identity.

This agenda relies heavily on taxpayer subsidizing. Diocesan ministries are subsidized by federal, state, and local taxpayer dollars to the tune of about two-thirds' funding. So yes, Catholics are giving twice--all the while their churches are being sold and their parishes diminished.

Are diocesan leaders so wedded to a political ideology that they would allow the current situation in our diocese in order to implement their political worldview?

And let us not forget the voiceless cry of the unborn, those who are most vulnerable in our society. Yes, even more vulnerable than migrant workers. Are these little ones given a prominent voice when Catholic Charities comes calling? What about the issue of euthanasia and death panels for our elderly? Apparently the 'seamless garment' meme isn't so seamless after all.

5 comments:

  1. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

    And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

    And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

    Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

    For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

    Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

    Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

    When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

    Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

    And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

    Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

    For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

    I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

    Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

    Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

    And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

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  2. Yes, the housing needs of migrant workers is much more important than the saving of eternal souls or innocent children in the womb. That Bible verse from Anonymous PROVES it, right?

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  3. I don't think anyone is questioning the importance of helping the less fortunate. The question is how to do this effectively, while remembering that saving souls is the mission of the Church. Everything else is secondary.

    The CMA is a perfect example of misplaced priorities. For the 2011-2012 appeal, Catholic Charities was allocated $640,000. Also note that over 60% of their funding comes from the govt, i.e. our taxes. Catholic schools, of course, get no govt funding. The CMA allocated $146,860 to them. (http://www.dor.org/tasks/sites/home/assets)/File/CMA%20Allocations%202011-2012.pdf)

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  4. Susan is right. Helping the poor is our Christian duty. It is the redistribution of the contributions that is at issue. While CC thrives, the Catholics are losing the very things that allow us to help the poor--parish communities, churches...and Catholic souls.

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  5. But why isn't Janet wearing her habit? She is nit readily identifiable as a nun therefore we should assume she isn't and refer ro her by her first name - Janet. Or just "J" for short.

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