Catching Foxes

We interview Mike Savage, author of "A Prisoner's Perspective" and this dude is FASCINATING and has a voice of GOLD. Also, Gomer shames himself talking about "going in your celly" instead of "cell". Wait for it.Support Catching FoxesLinks:Mike Savage - facebook — Mike Savage is a former radio personality, television news anchor, and criminal mastermind. He served fifteen years, two months, and twenty-eight days in federal prison for international money laundering. Crime was his second life, one that his wife and family knew nothing about until federal agents raided their home. Mikesavage | Books — The feds called me a criminal mastermind, but that’s not how I see it. If I were a criminal mastermind, I wouldn’t have been caught and I wouldn’t have been in prison for fifteen years. Friends often ask, “How were you able to stand fifteen years in a federal prison?” “All because of God and a woman named Cynthia.”

On this episode we recount Luke's travels to the CATHOLIC CREATIVES SUMMIT in Dallas, Texas, do a brief interview with Michael and Tony from Project YM and Catholic Beard Balm Co, talk about the heart of 'thick community', and Gomer smashes the Scandal yet again.Support Catching FoxesLinks:Building Radical Catholic Communities - YouTube — We live in a post-Christian society where our culture has shifted away from Christ and gospel values, which means following Jesus will only get more difficult. That is why we need each other. For many years, Michael Gormley has been creating communities with Christ-centered friendships. Don’t Walk Alone is the first in a series of programs designed specifically to help you build community. All you need to do is gather two or three people together, download the free videos and discussion questions, and start having meaningful conversations-- together. CC SummitThe Catholic Creatives Summit — CC Summit — A New Garden In the beginning God created He made us in His image, naked and without shame, co-creators with him in the garden we shared. Our sin was our loss. We covered ourselves and fled into exile, a world where we are anything but free. But God sent his Son to raise up a New Garden from the fruit of the tree of life, the cross, and now beckons us back. But to go back, we have to remove the leaves that cover us. This year’s Summit will be a cry for a belonging, unity, identity, and hope among creatives such that they are free to unleash the New Renaissance the world so desperately needs.Thrive | The Online Community for Catholic Youth Ministers — COMMUNITY The number one thing youth ministers across the country have been telling us they need is community. We all love national conferences because we get a chance to spend a few days with other folks who just get it. The backbone of Thrive is our community. Our Story | Catholic Balm Co — It all started with Tony Vasinda. Tony was teaching adults about the sacrament of Confirmation at his parish and decided he wanted an ounce of unconsecrated chrism oil (the oil of Confirmation) to help with that lesson. He called around to figure out where he could buy an ounce of that oil. And turns out the smallest quantity you can buy it in is enough to make three gallons of chrism oil.

The second half of last week's episode! We dive into the two Chicago priests arrested in Miami as a sign of the actively gay subcultures and enclaves present in the Church. Then I play a statement from my parish's town hall meeting that will break your heart. Finally, no gay witch hunt, please! (It was after this that Gomer heard Fr. James Martin's demand to stop the gay witch hunt, which there isn't any actual gay witch hunt, just a lot of blogospher talking. Anna and Shannon are amazing and wrote a great piece about scapegoating all those with same-sex desires.Support Catching FoxesLinks:Chicago priest arrested in Miami has ties to shuttered program — The statement said that Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago "has removed Fr. Berrio from ministry and withdrawn his faculties to minister in the Archdiocese of Chicago, effective immediately. The archdiocese will appoint an administrator for the Misión San Juan Diego as soon as possible." Archbishop Cupich Quietly Suspends Program Recruiting Latinos to Priesthood - NBC Chicago — Archbishop Cupich Quietly Suspends Program Recruiting Latinos to Priesthood Pope accepts resignation of Bishop Bransfield as inquiry into misconduct claims launched — Vatican City, Sep 13, 2018 / 04:52 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis Thursday accepted the resignation of Bishop Michael J. Bransfield from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, and asked the Archbishop of Baltimore to launch an investigation into allegations of misconduct. Cardinal Wuerl to ask pope to accept his resignation — Washington D.C., Sep 12, 2018 / 04:50 pm (CNA).- An archdiocesan spokesman has confirmed that Cardinal Donald Wuerl will soon ask Pope Francis to accept his resignation as the Archbishop of Washington, D.C. In a Sept. 11 letter to priests, Wuerl said that he would soon meet with the pope to discuss his future, but did not state at the time that he would ask the pope to allow him to resign. Pope Francis convokes world-wide meeting of Catholic bishops on abuse crisis — A statement from the pope’s cardinal advisory board Sept. 12 said, “The Holy Father Francis, hearing the Council of Cardinals, decided to convene a meeting with the Presidents of the Bishops Conferences of the Catholic Church on the theme of ‘protection of minors.’” The summit will take place at the Vatican Feb. 21-24, 2019. In a press briefing Wednesday, Holy See spokesperson Paloma García Ovejero, said the February meeting would be on the "prevention of abuse of minors and vulnerable adults." According to the website GCatholic, there are 114 Conferences of Bishops and 21 eastern-rite Patriarchal Synods, Councils of Churches, and Assemblies of Ordinaries.Cardinal DiNardo calls meeting with pope lengthy, fruitful — Following a private audience with Pope Francis this morning, DiNardo released a brief statement through the U.S. bishops’ conference. "We are grateful to the Holy Father for receiving us in audience. We shared with Pope Francis our situation in the United States – how the Body of Christ is lacerated by the evil of sexual abuse. He listened very deeply from the heart. It was a lengthy, fruitful, and good exchange.” The meeting follows a series of calls by commentators for the Pope Francis to release files held on Archbishop McCarrick in Rome and at the apostolic nunciature in Washington, D.C.Why I signed the women's letter to the pope - By Andrea Picciotti-Bayer — First, I do not have an axe to grind with Pope Francis. I am fully behind the pope’s call that we care for the poor and be better custodians of the environment. And I understand that cultivating a spirit of mercy toward each other is a foundational principle of Christianity. Asking for answers is not some opportunistic backlash against this papacy.

Just Luke and Gomer today, folks. We take a break from THE SUMMER OF SCANDAL in order to answer a ton of questions. We recorded for about 3 hours straight, so this is only a portion of those questions answered. Oh yes, tangents were rampant.Support Catching FoxesLinks:Chicago priest arrested in Miami has ties to shuttered program — Two priests from the Archdiocese of Chicago were arrested Monday in Miami, after the men were reportedly found engaged in a sex act within a parked car. At least one of them was a participant in a program for Hispanic seminarians that was suspended by the Archdiocese of Chicago. One of the priests, Fr. Diego L. Berrio, is the pastor of Mision San Juan Diego in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He was also appointed this summer the interim “coordinator of the Office for Extern and International Priests.”Music and Liturgy | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger | Excerpts from "The Spirit of the Liturgy" — On the one hand, there is pop music, which is certainly no longer supported by the people in the ancient sense (populus). It is aimed at the phenomenon of the masses, is industrially produced, and ultimately has to be described as a cult of the banal. "Rock", on the other hand, is the expression of elemental passions, and at rock festivals it assumes a cultic character, a form of worship, in fact, in opposition to Christian worship. People are, so to speak, released from themselves by the experience of being part of a crowd and by the emotional shock of rhythm, noise, and special lighting effects. However, in the ecstasy of having all their defenses torn down, the participants sink, as it were, beneath the elemental force of the universe. The music of the Holy Spirit's sober inebriation seems to have little chance when self has become a prison, the mind is a shackle, and breaking out from both appears as a true promise of redemption that can be tasted at least for a few moments. (The Spirit of the Liturgy, pp 147-8)

SHOW NOTES We walk through a bit of the scandals. Much of the links in our show notes touch on the topics covered. Just remember, there is no cake... THEN WE TALK FASHION!Support Catching FoxesLinks:What She Offers – Katie Prejean — Katie can host and facilitate rallies, conferences, retreats, days of reflections, trainings, and workshops. Katie works with the overall flow and energy of the event, incorporating activities, reflections, short talks that tie together the various elements of the program, and chances for the audience to give feedback and thoughts themselves. NFP: Not Freaking Practical – Katie Prejean — Before I’m condemned for my tongue in cheek description of what I’ve heard described as “the best part of our marriage!” by dozens of couples, let me preface everything else you’re about to read with this simple and truthful statement: my husband and I learned NFP, are practicing NFP, and are discovering the tangible benefits and grace-filled gifts of NFP. But, and I cannot stress this enough: NFP is easily one of the most difficult parts of married life, and I wish people had been honest with us about that sooner. Restore: Town Hall Meeting on Vimeo — Restore: Town Hall Meeting of Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, where gomer holds his bible for 13 minutes straight and never once quotes from it because he was so nervous.After controversy, Calif. bishop to put planned retirement home up for sale — While Bishop Patrick McGrath of San Jose said the purchase made economic sense as a good investment, he said he “erred in judgment” to purchase the house. “I failed to consider adequately the housing crisis in this valley and the struggles of so many families and communities in light of that crisis,” he said Aug. 27. “I have heard from many on this topic and I have decided that I will not move into this house.” The diocese will put the house up for sale “as soon as possible” and any profits will go to Charities Housing, under Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County.Full text of Cardinal Cupich NBC interview — NBC: Is there a Catholic civil war underway? I mean, today you would think the headlines are so- Cupich: Well, I would say, I would say not a civil war. There’s a small group of insurgents, who have not liked Pope Francis from the very beginning. They don’t like the fact that he’s calling for more lay involvement. They don’t like the fact that he is calling for a synodal Church, where we get the advice of people. They don’t like that he’s talking about the environment or the poor or the migrants or that the death penalty is something that we should outlaw. They don’t like the fact that he is saying that economies kill. There are people who don’t like that message. And so there’s an insurgency of people who don’t like that. And, quite frankly, they also don’t like him because he’s a Latino and that he is bringing Latino culture into the life of the Church, which we have been enriched by and I think that that’s part of all of this too.Seminarians were McCarrick aides amid abuse investigation — The Archdiocese of Washington told CNA that the IVE was informed of the allegation against McCarrick as soon as it was deemed credible, in June 2018. McCarrick’s arrangement with the IVE, including the assignment of two seminarians to live with him and act as his personal staff, appears highly irregular in the light of the restrictions Archbishop Carlo Vigano claims were imposed on him by Pope Benedict XVI.

SHOW NOTES We introduce to you Bradley Barnes, a handsome convert from Pentecostalism (8 years ago) who works as a Catholic Youth Minister in Cincinnati. We have no idea how or why we found just a random youth minister in Cincinnati. Neither of us have any connections to Cincinnati. Amiright? We start talking youth ministry, but then we talk about the scandal because we all work for the Church and that's all we know what to talk about. There was a lot more constructive conversation about bishops and priests and the role community amongst clergy, especially bishops, should have. We also talk about the idea of the "Imperial Episcopacy" (Article in the links below) and the damage it does from bishops to themselves and to their fellow priests. Here's a quote: "Grotesque unchastity is an obvious symptom, but perhaps even more dangerous to the priesthood is the habit of mendacity that hides unchastity and other sinful habits. Superficial flattery and fawning over the person of the bishop can deprive him—unless he has an uncommonly strong and healthy personality—of the evangelical simplicity and candor he needs to fulfill his duties. While deference to the bishop may begin with true reverence for his office, it too often leads to the growth of vanity, ambition, and clerical careerism. And so it is time to end the Imperial Episcopate. "Support Catching FoxesLinks:St. Louis archdiocese invites attorney general to review files — St. Louis, Mo., Aug 23, 2018 / 06:00 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Robert J. Carlson has invited the Missouri attorney general’s office to conduct an inspection of its files related to allegations of sexual abuse and to produce an independent report. New allegations surface regarding Archbishop McCarrick and Newark priests — CNA recently spoke to six priests of the Archdiocese of Newark, and one priest member of a religious order who was a seminarian in New York in the early 1970s, while McCarrick was a priest of the Archdiocese of New York. After grand jury report, new allegations raised in Pennsylvania — by JD Flynn Pittsburgh, Pa., Aug 22, 2018 / 12:46 pm (CNA).- The Diocese of Pittsburgh has received about 50 new allegations of abuse, and a state abuse hotline has received more than 500 calls after the Aug. 14 release a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing an investigation of sexual abuse in six dioceses, including Pittsburgh. All of the allegations reported to the diocese “are from prior to 1990 and go back as far as the 1940s,” according to diocesan spokesman Rev. Nicholas Vaskov. “We are taking all of them seriously and following our regular process for responding to them.” The allegations to the diocese came through an abuse hotline and by e-mail the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette reported. The diocese said they came from “people who had not previously contacted us.”The End of the Imperial Episcopate | Jay Scott Newman | First Things — The Empire—in all its forms—is long gone. Christendom is dead. The Church is reeling from grave scandal, and Christians are crying out to heaven for reform and purification. It is time to end the Imperial Episcopate.  After the gospel triumphed in the Roman Empire, the Church gradually acquired forms of life borrowed from imperial organization. Many of those forms still serve us well. But over time some of those forms have ceased to make sense and have become impediments to the evangelical freedom of the Church. I believe this is evident in significant aspects of how bishops now live and exercise their Catholic ministry. 

HEY BISHOPS: Seek justice, not just forgiveness... SHOW NOTESSupport Catching FoxesLinks:What to make of the Catholic reaction to McCarrick and the Pennsylvania grand jury report — This extraordinary turn of events bears repeating. In 2014, a bishop allowed a priest who had been charged with criminal sexual abuse of a child to serve as the canon lawyer for another priest charged with criminal sexual abuse of a child. Apparently, no one in Szatkowski’s religious community, the Diocese of Allentown, or the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith questioned the wisdom of that plan. Anyone who finds it difficult to understand the anger and resentment of Catholics toward their bishops in recent weeks need look no further than that story.Cardinal Wuerl named in Pennsylvania grand jury report, responds to criticism — “While I understand this report may be critical of some of my actions, I believe the report confirms that I acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and to prevent future acts of abuse. I sincerely hope that a just assessment of my actions, past and present, and my continuing commitment to the protection of children will dispel any notions otherwise made by this report.” Denver archbishop reflects on McCarrick abuse crisis — Archbishop Aquila said the Church’s abuse scandals originate from complacency, and a culture influenced by the sexual revolution. “We must recognize that complacency about evil and sin is present both in the Church and the world and has led us to where we are today. This culture of complacency among clergy and laity must come to an end!” “Sadly, too many, both clergy and lay, have listened more to the world than to Christ and the Church when it comes to human sexuality.”What did Wuerl know about alleged abuser- and how did he respond? — Washington D.C., Aug 15, 2018 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Donald Wuerl and the Diocese of Pittsburgh say that when the former Pittsburgh bishop approved the transfer of a priest accused of serial sexual abuse, he was unaware of the allegations made against the priest. The transfer is described in the Aug. 14 report issued by a Pennsylvania grand jury charged with investing clerical sexual abuse in six Catholic dioceses.

Matt and Lisa Martinusen from "The Catholic Card Game" (with the Catching Foxes Expansion Pack) join us to relaunch their Kickstarter, talk about the in's and out's of creating a physical product, and make fun of Michael Vorris. SHOW NOTES Luke and Gomer would like to apologize to the following groups: Filipinos Charismatic Catholics Baby Boomers Michael Vorris Life Site News Petitionary Prayer Politicizers Gomer's wife Gomer's wife again But not Wade. Never Wade. Waaaaaaaaaade! Support Catching Foxes

SHOW NOTESSupport Catching FoxesLinks:JD Flynn - Google+ — Looks like you've reached the end President of U.S. Bishops Conference Issues Statement on Course of Action Responding to Moral Failures on Part of Church Leaders — "The accusations against Archbishop Theodore McCarrick reveal a grievous moral failure within the Church. They cause bishops anger, sadness, and shame; I know they do in me. They compel bishops to ask, as I do, what more could have been done to protect the People of God. Both the abuses themselves, and the fact that they have remained undisclosed for decades, have caused great harm to people's lives and represent grave moral failures of judgement on the part of Church leaders. Bishop Scharfenberger’s letter to clergy stating abuse revelations are sign of "profoundly spiritual crisis" :: Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany — More words are not going to repair, let alone restore, the damage that has been done. Lawyering, pledges and changes in the bureaucratic structures and policy – however well intentioned – cannot do it either. I do not see how we can avoid what is really at the root of this crisis: sin and a retreat from holiness, specifically the holiness of an integral, truly human sexuality. What might happen for McCarrick, and for the Church in the US — As is well known, in June a process in the Archdiocese of New York reached the conclusion that an allegation McCarrick sexually abused a teenager was “credible and substantiated.” That process, however, was only the first phase of the Church’s canonical process- the phase referred to as the “preliminary investigation.” A formal trial would be the next step. Pope Francis accepts resignation of Bishop Juan Barros and others in Chile abuse scandal — Barros submitted his resignation to Pope Francis alongside every other active bishop in Chile at the close of a May 15-17 meeting between the pope and Chilean prelates, during which Francis chastised the bishops for systematic cover-up of abuse throughout the country. Harrisburg Bishop releases names of 71 accused priests, deacons, seminarians — Harrisburg, Pa., Aug 1, 2018 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- The Diocese of Harrisburg has released the names of 71 priests, deacons, and seminarians accused of sexual misconduct involving children in the diocese during the past 70 years. At the same time, Bishop Ronald Gainer of Harrisburg issued an apology to abuse survivors. Honduran auxiliary bishop accused of sexual misconduct resigns — Vatican City, Jul 20, 2018 / 06:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Juan José Pineda, auxiliary bishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, following a Vatican investigation into accusations of financial mismanagement and sexual misconduct against seminarians. The bishop, 57, has long been the subject of accusations of financial misdealings, as well as rumors that he offered support to a male companion using archdiocesan funds. He serves under papal advisor and archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodriguez Maradiaga, who has also been accused of financial misconduct.Pastoral Letter of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Catholics of Ireland (March 19, 2010) | BENEDICT XVI — Speaking to you as a pastor concerned for the good of all God’s children, I humbly ask you to consider what I have said. I pray that, by drawing nearer to Christ and by participating in the life of his Church – a Church purified by penance and renewed in pastoral charity – you will come to rediscover Christ’s infinite love for each one of you. I am confident that in this way you will be able to find reconciliation, deep inner healing and peace.

Support Catching FoxesLinks:Privilege | THR Blog — But what this injustice consists of is usually not elaborated. If one presses for details (and this is already a breach of etiquette), the reasons offered are often tendentious. The term privilege is used not to make a case but rather to convey a mood. Why is there so much political opportunity to be had by deploying this mood, as a weapon? What accounts for our susceptibility to being cowed by it, or indeed to indulging it ourselves, this fuzzy indignation? In particular, we need to account for the fact that accusations of privilege are most prominent among…well, the privileged. (For example, Ivy League students.) Hold that thought. Virtual Reality as Moral Ideal - The New Atlantis — These early cartoons present a rich phenomenology of what it is like to be an embodied agent in a world of artifacts and inexorable physical laws. The tendency of these things to thwart the human will is exaggerated, and through exaggeration a certain truth gets brought forward. As the stand-up comics say, only the truth is funny. In depicting the heteronomy (being ruled by something other than yourself) that the world of objects inflicts on us, the slapstick sufferings of Donald Duck acknowledge, and thereby seem to affirm, the human condition as it is, beneath the various idealisms that would transport us out of that condition.