 
Faithjacked!
What's in a Name? The title 'Catholic' no longer means what it used to. In fact, rather than calling themselves Catholic, why don't those masquerading as Catholics call themselves what they really are: CINNERs as in SINNERS who do not seek repentance!
"Like our Divine Jesus, we too are being savagely mocked, beaten, falsely accused, slandered, and spit upon by a mob given over to satan. That mob includes the expected foes such as liberal media and leadership, disbelievers and spiritual vultures, and modernist, secularist, feminist, homosexual, environmentalist, atheist, agnostic, Masonic, and other attackers. Sadly, and reminiscent of Our Lord's Passion, this mob also includes cozy, comfortable, blissful CINNERs who have kissed their Lord in the garden for silver comforts and conveniences of this world and their own twisted, rationalized hypocrisy."
The upcoming elections and the various polls like Zogby and CNN only serve to remind us of a sad truth about the American Catholic Church, which is that it has became anything but Catholic, not really American, and more like a Church of Earth.
The Pathetic yet Often Repeated Statistics
The two polls cited above have recently played a familiar, sad tune. According to these polls, 80% of Catholics are Catholics In Name only, or to use a play on words and an acronym: Catholics In Name Not Embracing Religion, or CINNERs. These people call themselves Catholic, but basically do not agree with anything or most of the most fundamental teachings of the Church on issues such as abortion, marriage, contraception, homosexuality, and euthanasia to name a few. Therefore, if they reject even one iota of what the Catholic Church teaches, then they are not embracing religion, certainly not the one true Religion.
In addition, 29% of Catholics between the ages of 18 and 29 do not believe in the Resurrection and 52% believe that the Catholic Church is no better or more special than any other religion. Given these and similar numbers, we might ask why anyone so opposed to Catholic teaching would even call themselves "Catholic" in the first place. Unfortunately, and this is probably the greatest tragedy of all, this is not a case of a few calling themselves Catholic who are not really Catholic at all. More accurately, this is a case of many false Catholics hijacking the name Catholic to label their own brand of religion, one based on "togetherness", "justice", "inclusion", "humanity", "peace", and many other fuzzy terms which sound more like a UN brochure than any religion founded by God Almighty. Thanks to Vatican II and the betrayal of our Shepherds, we have been "Faithjacked"!
CINNERS in the Majority
I think that it is time to face a tragic but very sobering reality. The CINNERs have taken over the American and probably the entire Catholic Church. The recent events regarding Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of The Christ' only serve to further illustrate the pathetic state of the Catholic Church in America. Despite the fact that Mel is Catholic and his movie was as Catholic as a Rosary, the film was by and large mostly supported and defended by Protestants and Evangelists. Catholics provided far less, and in some cases pitiful, support! Why?
Because the faith shown in 'The Passion' is the Catholic Faith of the 40s and 50s, and that Catholic Faith is now a "sect" as so often described by the media and even CINNERs themselves.
Today's typical Catholic is just one bouncing, happy-go-lucky, let's all just hold hands, what is sin, let's hug for peace and love, there's room for everyone here vestige of a once proud, clear, strong Catholic identity. Apparently we can have abortions, premarital sex, contraception, condone homosexuality, mock Christ's Sanctity, discuss blasphemous trash, laugh during Mass, and turn the Sacraments into a Woodstock revival as long as we push for peace, love, unity, tolerance, inclusion, acceptance, non-judgment, no sin, universal salvation, harmony, melody and, given the music at Mass nowadays, rhythm as well.
We ask bishops to rebuke people like John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Edward Kennedy, and Mario Cuomo but those bishops only rebuke anyone who mentions sin, hell, or Divine Justice. These so-called shepherds have long ago surrendered their fear of God in favor of a fear of man and have sold their responsibility to the devil for power, fame, and present ease. If, as Saint John Chrysostom stated, the floor of hell is paved with the skulls of bishops, then hell will truly have a very high floor! The Church taught us not to persecute people living in sin, but to seek their salvation. "Persecution," as I pointed out in my column A Tent Grows in the Coliseum>, has now been extended from actual physical harm or other threats to denouncing such a sinful life to not being willing to accept to refusing to promote that life! So-called leaders such as Cardinal Roger Mahony in Los Angeles, Bishop Patrick McGrath in San Jose, and Archbishop William Levada are embarrassments to their titles. The religious life has become a joke as priests and nuns are the first to embrace modernism, mysticism, feminism, New Ageism, and secularism over the Sacred and Divinely inspired. It is left to those of us who truly believe in the True Catholic Faith and its Eternal Transcendence to keep up the fight, hold the banner, and await our returning General!
Our Stations Have Begun
As tragic, sad, and hopeless as this situation may seem, we must remember that we, like Our Savior before us, have begun our Stations of The Faith.
Like our Divine Jesus, we too are being savagely mocked, beaten, falsely accused, slandered, and spit upon by a mob given over to satan. That mob includes the expected foes such as liberal media and leadership, disbelievers and spiritual vultures, and modernist, secularist, feminist, homosexual, environmentalist, atheist, agnostic, Masonic, and other attackers. Sadly, and reminiscent of Our Lord's Passion, this mob also includes cozy, comfortable, blissful CINNERs who have kissed their Lord in the garden for silver comforts and conveniences of this world and their own twisted, rationalized hypocrisy.
There will be much to suffer in the steps ahead, but if we keep our eyes on the prize of salvation by Our Lord's side, everything else will fade to trivial. God will deal with those in the mob who denied Him, but woe to those in the mob who claimed to honor Him with their tongues while ignoring Him with their hearts and acts! Given the fate that awaits those blind CINNERs, the polls reveal that 80% of so-called Catholics have invested their faith more in a cozy sofa than a Heavenly hereafter! Don't they realize CINNERs are never winners!?!
Gabriel Garnica
Editor's Note: We are pleased to announce Gabriel Garnica will be contributing many articles in 2004. Heaven is once again under attack by those who would seek to ignore and overthrow God's majesty and authority. Gabriel Garnica, educator and attorney, will submit regular insights and commentaries to remind and help guide readers toward a deeper and more assertive faith. Touching on topics and issues ranging from personal faith, doctrine, education, scripture, the media, family life, morality, and values, Gabriel's notes will be music to traditional ears but unpleasant tones to those who have bought into the misguided notions so prevalent and spreading in today's Catholic world.
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