Saint Dolls, Schönborn & Dutch Schools

Dear TIA,

Salve Maria!

As if you didn’t have enough to do right now! But, I need your direction with something that is starting up soon.

There is a lady at our parish who is getting the ladies’ group involved in making and selling Saint dolls.

I have a terrible aversion to making a Saint into a doll, for it brings the Saint down to a base and too-familiar level. They are toyed with and can be undressed. They are spineless and do not stand up but are meant to be cuddled. They may be blessed and then tossed in a corner or thrown in the wash.

Frankly, I believe this is offensive to the Saint. I seriously believe Saints ought to be revered and prayed to, not played with. This appalls me!

Please tell me if I am oversensitive to this issue.

Thank you very much.

     In Maria,

     C.C.


TIA responds:

Dear C.C.,

We agree with you. To venerate the Saints let us keep the traditional customs of the Church: statutes, paintings, engravings, printings and medals. To make dolls that are Saints is to favor their desecration.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

TIA,

Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, Austria, reportedly oriented the Catholic Prince of Liechtenstein not to oppose homosexual “marriages” in his State.

You may read a part of the news report below (translation from German by Google)

     N.C., India


The Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, who had a practicing homosexual explicitly admitted to the office of the parish council, takes a contradictory position as pastor.

In an interview in the Austrian television Schonborn emphasized that when two homosexuals entered into a civil partnership, they should have legal protection. The Catholic Church has nothing, therefore, against the imposition of "gay marriage" made in Austria (the latter is clearly untrue, the Austrian Bishops' Conference in June 2008, was reluctant to the introduction of the Austrian civil partnership status to homosexuals and explicitly called them to chastity).

Schonborn reportedly intervened in June 2011 with the Principality of Liechtenstein and with the (strictly Catholic) Liechtenstein princely family in order to dissuade them to be against a "homo-registration." - Original in German here

Dear TIA,

I offer you and your readers two videos of Portuguese style bullfights, which means that the bullfighter is riding a horse instead of fighting the bull on foot, as we normally see him doing in Spain.

The first video is about an hour and 20 minutes, it films a bullfight that took place in June 2012. You may watch it here.

The second is three hours and shows six bulls fought by different bullfighters, some of them young women. It took place in July 2012. You may watch it here.

Enjoy them.

Keep up the good work for the Counter-Revolution.

     In Jesus & Mary,

     P.H.M., Brazil

Hello TIA,

On November 1, 1755 at approximately 9:40 am, the city of Lisbon, Portugal all but vanished from the face of the Earth when an estimated 9.0 quake struck. The tsunami and fires which followed utterly destroyed no less than 85% of the magnificent metropolis and killed at least 40,000 souls.

One of the few areas that escaped, amazingly, with only minor damage was the city's poor district, Alfama. This happened to be the childhood neighborhood of good Saint Anthony, born in 1195, a period when Alfama was residence to noble & wealthier classes. The Se Cathedral where he was baptized was likewise spared, as well as a place or two more familiar to Portugal's most prodigious wonder-worker.

It's always a good idea to be where Santo Antonio can easily find you. And lucky King Joseph I with his family & his court were outside the city on a whim the morning of November 1 and survived the day.

Lisbon was considered a great jewel among all European cities at the time of its ruin. The cultural losses of its museums, libraries, art treasures, historical archives & its distinctive architecture are immeasurable. (more data here)

     M.K.

TIA,

I believe your readers will benefit to know what is going on in the Netherlands, where Catholic grade schools are being abolished.

It is one more step to finish with any Catholic influence. It will be done with the full conformity of the religious authorities. It is sad, but we need to know it.

The news is from August, but did not receive the dissemination it deserved. This law will be applied in 2013.

     Sincerely,

     M.C.


Holland: Catholic Grade Schools to be Abolished

Amsterdam (kath.net/KNA) A large number of the Catholic grade schools in the Dutch diocese of s'Hertogenbosch will remove the description Catholic from their names during the coming year of 2013.

As Trouw online newspaper reports, according to the decision of Signum scholastic board, most of the 24 schools will remove the word "Catholic" from their names.

"The connection to the Church is already minimal now," stressed Signum president Jan Timmers.

Whether there will be a break with the Church one could not say.

"We have been disengaging from the Church for years," said Timmers. Also, the schools will celebrate the Islamic Ramadan at a time between Easter and Christmas. Also the description of the scholastic mission statement will no longer be relegated directly to the Catholic Church, but to serving the "individuality of each child".

The Auxiliary Bishop in s'Hertogenbosch, Rob Mutsaerts, stated that it was better to remove the designation "Catholic" because it no longer corresponds to the school's conception and content.

This can enable the foundation of "truly Catholic" grade schools. Until now the state has not given permission for such new foundations and it has poorly managed numerous existing Catholic grade schools..