This blogger has been at it, off and on, for nearly two decades. Few people have read it for most of its existence (with the notable exception of Prof. William Tighe), but that hardly mattered as I wrote it for the fun of it and still do.
The small readership changed lately, thanks to a wonderful website called “The Big Pulpit,” which does a “round-up” of interesting blog posts every day that concern the Holy Catholic Church. One happy day a few months ago, I noticed my numbers had soared, and after investigating a little, saw that a recent post had been listed, without fanfare, in the Big Pulpit. I had “made the cut” on the Big Pulpit, greatly increasing my readership and placing my blog among some of the heavy hitters of “blogdom,”
What fun! And I owe it to Mr Robert Edwards, III, KM (Tito) who runs Big Pulpit via his Little Flower Foundation. I recommend having a look at the Big Pulpit, which is a terrific resource, and I also recommend donating to it, as I have, to its parent, the Little Flower Foundation. It takes a great deal of time and effort, I’m sure, to keep the Big Pulpit going.
So thank you, Tito, and know the Taos Tatler’s gratitude.
Joseph D’Hippolito writes, in today’s New York Post, of a frightening development taking place in Europe that has been ignored or dismissed by people of rank who ought to know better, including Pope Leo XIV. The problem is the slow but steady takeover of Europe by a people who despise both Westerners and Western culture, especially those who are religious, even more so, Catholics.
It should come as little surprise that those who hate us are the Muslims, who are not silent about taking over and making the continent into a caliphate, where Sharia is the law of the land.
Pope Leo must stand up to Muslim immigrants seeking to remake Europe
As Muslim migration roils Europe, some Catholic bishops are starting to notice.
“For decades, the Islamization of Europe has been progressing through mass immigration,” Polish Bishop Antoni Długosz said July 13, adding that illegal immigrants “create serious problems in the countries they arrive in.”
Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan spoke more bluntly in March: “We’re witnessing an invasion. They are not refugees. This is an invasion, a mass Islamization of Europe.”
Yet all you hear from those who have the most to lose is the usual tommyrot about how Islam is a religion of peace, that it shares our Abrahamic heritage, that they even revere Jesus as a messenger of God (it is only his worshippers they despise), etc.
Especially distressing is Pope Leo’s take on the subject: the usual bromides without a hint of concern from someone who should know better.
This Catholic approach toward Islam reflects the ideas of Louis Massignon, a French scholar from the early 20th century. Massignon described Islam as “the faith of Abraham revived with Muhammad,” and asserted that Muslims “have the right to equality among the monotheisms descended from Abraham.”
French Catholic scholar Alain Besançon described the results.
“An entire literature favorable to Islam has grown up in Europe, much of it the work of Catholic priests under the sway of Massignon’s ideas,” he wrote.
Even harder for European leaders and the Pope to admit that they have a serious problem on their hands is what ought to be done about it, as the Muslims will never change their ways and they will never leave Europe of their own accord.
Asylum seekers from Afghanistan set up tents inside of the Church of Saint John the Baptist at the Beguinage in Brussels on Jan. 7, 2014.
REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
Since this is my blog, shared with no one else, your Tatler writes as he pleases, and will continue to do so until stopped. This post may be the one that offends, but here goes: the remedy for Muslims who hate everything about the West is to remove them from the West, peacefully if possible, by paying them to leave. If they refuse to leave, they should be forcibly removed, as civilly as possible, but removed just the same.
There is only one world leader fearless enough to accomplish that nearly impossible task, but unfortunately for the Europeans, he is in the United States. That world leader is, of course, President Donald Trump. The leaders of Europe could do a lot worse than consult with Trump on the matter, as he is an authority on removing people who do not belong in this country. They will not consult with him, though, as they loathe him as much as the Democrats do in America. So much for Europe, then.
Note: thanks to Anita Zadeh, with whom Iwas catechized, for alerting me to the excellent, if scary piece in the Post this morning.
Lindsey E. Adams, a Ph.D student in Harvard’s virology program, opened her pay stub on July 1 to a strange sight: Her research stipend was no longer listed as a union stipend, and no union dues were deducted from her pay.
But nothing about Adams’ job was different — not her hours, not her supervisor, not the lab where she works or the tasks she completes every day.
“My work day-to-day has not changed at all,” she said.
Adams was one of the more than 900 students on research-based stipends removed from Harvard’s graduate student union’s bargaining unit in July shortly after the union’s second contract with the University expired. Without union representation, the students are not entitled to contract protections, including union benefits, access to union funds, and the pay raises that the union is negotiating for in its third contract.
Now, more than a month after the students’ removal, the Harvard Graduate Student Union-United Automobile Workers and its workers are still trying to understand the University’s criteria for excluding certain students — who it claims are not employees — and examining whether they have a path to appeal the decision.
The morning greeted your Tatler with the tragic news that 900 Harvard graduate students had their union membership “stripped” from them.
Its difficult to fully grasp the magnitude of wrong suffered by these mercilessly maltreated scholars and the bleak future they now face. Do, if you can, when saying your evening prayers, directly after praying for the repose of the soul of the late Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, please address a few words to the almighty asking compassion for the exploited Harvard unionists forced into being scabs, a bitter pill indeed for the hard-core leftist Harvard graduate students.
For solace, you may wish to recall, as your Tatler does, the heartwarming words of Oscar Wilde when refering to a character from Dickens’s Old Curiosity Shop.
One must have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing.
At least the poor dear wasn’t a Harvard graduate student
Church FatherSt Augustine in the Church of England’s latest representation of him
According to England’s Telegraph, Church of England officials have sponsored, and apparently are pinning great hopes on a book for children titled, Heroes of Hope, which encapulates 20 people in church history and their blackness.
Heroes of Hope was co-written by The Rev Dr Sharon Prentis, the deputy director of the Church of England’s racial justice unit.
The unit was set up in 2022, in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests (!), to accomplish the Church’s commitments to achieving racial justice.
Dr Prentis’s co-author was Alysia-Lara Ayonrinde, the Church’s national education lead for racial justice.
The Church’s work on on racial justice has included efforts to make Christian artwork more diverse, while clergy have declared that “God is not a white man” and worked to make images of Jesus more diverse.
And making images of Jesus, Augustus, et al., more “diverse” will somehow bring more people into empty churches, when nothing else has worked for the past half-century? Do tell how, won’t you?
Augustine is a “hero” of the Church, not because of whatever color he happened to be, rather because he gave us, through his teachings, the Church, nothing less. His race pales by comparison, whatever the color.
We must wonder then which is more important to the Rev Dr Sharon Prentis and Alysia-Lara Ayonrinde, “the Church’s national education lead for racial justice” when it comes to Augustine: his skin color or his many teachings, which make make for difficult, even unpleasant reading for many, including, possibly, those two scholars. A few of those teachings, chosen at random:
Human beings once good, were corrupted by the original sin of Adam, disobedience, which has resulted in our predisposition towards sin, especially, to use thatgrandold word, concupiscence.
Or
Salvation is dependent on God’s grace alone. It is unmerited and cannot be earned.
Or
The just war theory, i.e., when it is permisible to take up armsagainst a foe.
Or
Predestination—enough saidwith that one.
This latest straw-grasping by C of E officials makes a big deal of Augustine of Hippo being a black man (or tan, or whatever), and acknowledgement of that will somehow make England’s national church appealing to all similarly-hued people to rise and shine Sunday mornings, troop into church and fill up those empty pews.
Here is the bold prediction of a former Anglican (Episcopalian) on the latest stunt of a dying institution. It will flop. Why? Because the color of St Augustine’s skin has nothing to with why England’s national church is a dead letter, rather, it is the lack of discussion and adhering to the vital teachings of the first doctor of the church. Most non-church going Brits, who vastly outnumber those who do go (ca 90%) will not admit as much, but their actions speak for themselves.
Things will only improve for liberal churches when these institutions stop asking, what can we do to make you happy, and start asking, what can we do to make you squirm. If that seems overly harsh, even ridiculous, take a look around you and compare those churches flush with parishioners with those whose parking lots are empty on Sundays.
These sordid events never seem to stop: ordained men who vowed to love and serve our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church, instead loved themselves, and served their penisis at the expense of young boys who trusted them implicitly. Those boys’s lives are now shattered, and the man who might have put a stop to these foul criminal acts, but did not, Auxiliary Bishop Elias R Lorenzo, may instead be rewarded with a cardinalate.
Pope Leo, what will you do about this wretched scandal, and all the others, past, present, and future? We still have high hopes for you, even if they’re waning a bit, but generally, they are still intact. Will your response be like so many of your predecessors: condemn the heinous acts, then move along?
The New York Post provides the gory details and may our Lord bless them for it.
Decades of disturbing clergy abuse at elite NJ Catholic school set to be exposed — and its former leader could be state’s next cardinal . . .
Disturbing details of clergy abuse at the elite Delbarton school in New Jersey could be made public thanks to a recent court decision — placing the spotlight on a former top church leader who could be the state’s next cardinal, The Post has learned.
Auxiliary Bishop Elias R. Lorenzo — a potential successor to Newark Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who will reach the mandatory retirement age in May 2027 — served for three decades as a teacher and clergy leader at the all-boys Catholic school in Morristown.
During his time, at least 30 students came forward with sexual abuse allegations against Delbarton clergy, the Survivors Network of those Abused By Priests said — some with lurid claims of being brutally abused hundreds of times by Benedictine monks.
In June, the state’s top court ruled that a new grand jury investigation into clerical abuse across the state can move forward — which insiders say will include examining claims of a cover-up at the exclusive school.
All the while, the Diocese of Camden (see below), home of the Delbarton Academy displayed its integrity by fighting tooth and nail for seven years to prevent the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the highest appellate court in the state, from investigating the matter until finally, perhaps at the urging of counsel (and if so, showing greater wisdom than Diocesen officials), that they were digging themselves closer to where they might spend eternity, they capitulated. Of course, that was seven years too late for many of the poor boys to see justice done promptly, not delayed. Naturally, that causes this layman, thousands of others, and, of course, anti-Catholics everywhere, to interpret the seven-year cover-up of the Diocese as its personnel covering their asses instead of doing something, anything about the horrors taking place behind the dignified walls of Delbarton School. May God have mercy on their souls. They’re not likely to find it anywhere else.
Dürer Apocolypse
Revelation 16:1
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
***
Errata: According to the school’s website, Delbarton is located in the Diocese of Paterson, not Camden. As it is a Benedictine organìzation, it is run by the internal rules of the order itself and is not subject to the Diocese. Your Tatler regrets the error.
However, we do not know now for certain who resisted the New Jersey Supreme Court’s desire to investigate the terrible wrongdoings of the school for seven years. Was it the Benedictines? If so, that does not reflect well on the order at all.
Which doesn’t lessen the wrong committed, but face it, it’s a welcome change from depressing accounts of priests having their ways with girls‐-or boys, yes?
Chevrolet C8 Corvette Stingray–one of the highest performing American-madesports cars on the road today.
A bizarre account from Road & Track, one of the most respected auto journals and one your Tatler has been reading off and on since his youth, tells the tale of an underhanded Catholic priest, who rigged the outcome of a church raffle to alter the winner of the top prize, a 2025 Corvette C8.
A pastor is reportedly the subject of a county attorney general’s investigation stemming from a church raffle that offered a new C8-generation Chevrolet Corvette Stingray as the grand prize. According to a report from the Erie Times-News, the pastor fabricated the name of the raffle winner, as well as the winners of several other smaller prizes.
The Erie County District Attorney’s Office is investigating Miceli on allegations that the 42-year-old rigged the Corvette raffle, tampered with its records and committed theft. According to the Erie Times-News, Miceli “admitted to publicly falsifying the results of the grand prize winner” during the investigation.
Miceli allegedly also made up some of the winners for the $500 prizes, according to affidavits for some of the search warrants. In an interview with detectives, Miceli reportedly admitted to making up the names of four of the $500 winners where no name was associated with the winning number — so, he personally chose the winners, who were allegedly either family friends or his favorite parishioners.
As for the $50,000 grand prize, Miceli admitted to moving the money from the car raffle account to another account, according to the Erie Times-News; he claims this other account is an interest-bearing account that is under the church’s name.
Miceli is leaving the St. Jude the Apostle Church as the investigation continues. He will reportedly be heading to two smaller churches in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.
I suppose Father’s intention was a good one, winning the car and presumably converting it to cash to benefit the parish, but regardless his good intentions (and we can speculate the road and destination to which the ‘Vette would have been driven, with Fr Miceli behind the wheel), the priest violated the trust of his parishioners. Using deceit to raise funds for his parish, however needed, doesn’t lessen the deed, as the priest would surely admit when pressed.
Fr Miceli seems to have gotten off lightly, being sent to smaller parishes, but I can’t imagine parishioners at those parishes are too thrilled having him there. Presumably, he has confessed his sins and made restitution, but church officers may wish to keep Fr Miceli far away from church coffers until he has proved himself redeemed.
Meanwhile, someone is driving a ’25 Chevy Corvette with a most interesting past.
*The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette C8 boasts impressive performance, especially in its Stingray and ZR1 trims. The Stingray features a naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 producing 490-495 horsepower and 465-470 lb-ft of torque, achieving 0-60 mph in under 3 seconds and a top speed of 194 mph.
Pope Leo XIV recently named Cardinal John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church, a singular honor. As he was a convert to Catholicism, your Tatler, a convert also, cannot help having particular regard for, and admittedly, certain pride, in those Anglicans who make the often difficult journey to Rome. This blogger was received into Holy Church (by a wonderful priest who was a convert himself), and like so many others, made his decision only after much internal debate and deliberation.
That is not to say your Tatler dares stand among the august company of the Church’s greatest converts like Cardinal Newman, Fr Michael-Nazir Ali, and Cardinal Edward Manning, plus a slew of great authors. To name but a few, we have Robert Hugh Benson, Ronald Knox, Muriel Spark, G. K. Chesterton, Evelyn Waugh, and the wildly eccentric Frederick Rolfe, who gave the world Hadrian the Seventh.
Newman, I posit, stands above all other Anglican converts. He was England’s greatest theologian and contributed greatly to church doctrine. Rather than this non-theologian clumsily attempting to explain what those contributions were, I refer you, gentle reader, to this excellent website, found by happenstance, calling itself Oratorian Wisdom. f I have posted a short excerpt from its fine essay on the importance of Newman, but it should, of course, be read in its entirety.
John Henry Newman is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Catholic theology. His groundbreaking work on the development of doctrine has profoundly shaped the Church’s understanding of how its teachings can evolve while staying true to their foundational truths. Newman proposed that doctrine is not static but grows organically, reflecting the Church’s deeper understanding of divine revelation as it faces new historical and cultural challenges. His ideas laid the groundwork for a more dynamic, yet faithful, approach to doctrine. Today, Newman’s theological contributions continue to influence how the Church navigates contemporary issues, offering a way to remain rooted in tradition while engaging with modernity. His work has provided a framework for addressing the challenges of the modern world, helping to preserve the integrity of the faith while allowing for its natural growth. Newman’s influence remains essential for understanding the Church’s ongoing doctrinal development.
To close on a subject which this blogger has greater knowledge of, I commend a great synthesis of the arts by two geniuses, Sir Edward Elgar, one of England’s greatest 20th-century composers, and the only Catholic composer of stature, and his musical setting of Newman’s epic poem, The Dream of Gerontius (modestly claimed by the author, “written by accident – and it was published by accident”). There are many superb recordings of Elgar’s magnificent setting of it, but if permitted to name only one, Sir John Barbirolli’s recording gets your Tatler’s nod. In addition to a second-to-none performance of it, this edition contains all of Elgar’s major works.
A soft-spoken yet resolute 112 year-old woman from Long Island, New York, USA officially became the Guinness World Records title holder for oldest nun living, after serving the Catholic Church for over 94 years.
Resolute, indeed, and Sister Francis Dominici Piscatella’s explanation for living so long, above, is heartening.
“Teach until you die,” she said, also adding: “You have to be a saint before you get to heaven . . . When she was just two years old, an accident with a passing train caused her to lose the majority of her left forearm – and in 1931 many convents were concerned that her amputation would be a hindrance to her service. But she didn’t give up easily.
A priest did the right thing by her.
When she was 17 years old, Francis finally got a teaching post with the Amityville Dominicans after a nun left a vacancy – and Sister Francis Kammer knows the story well, as Piscatella’s close friend, former student, and roommate for 45 years.
“The priest said, ‘Well, can she teach?’ And the sister said, ‘Oh, she’s a great teacher, ‘said Francis Kammer.’
‘And he said, ‘Then she stays.” And she never looked back.
The killer, Shane Tamura, calmly walks to work, unstopped
There was another senseless tragedy in New York yesterday, in a city grown weary of them. A lunatic who should have been locked up long ago walked into a Park Avenue skyscraper carrying an AR-15 and started shooting up the lobby. When finished, he took an elevator up to NFL headquarters and started shooting up people there. Still not satisfied, he took another elevator up to the offices of Rudin Properties and shot even more people before mercifully shooting himself in the head. When he had finished four people were dead, including an NYPD officer, and many more were injured.
The killer had a note on him blaming his actions on CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive brain disorder resulting from injuries to the head, which eventually leads to dementia. It is fairly common among athletes but is not known to cause its sufferers to become violent. In other words, the fellow was stark, raving mad, CTE or not, but still allowed complete freedom of movement.
After the carnage, the usual suspects started their shrieks for stricter gun control, which has never stopped those who should not be armed from getting hold of weapons. Nonetheless, it is always called for after incidents like these.
Senator John Kennedy, by far this blogger’s favorite politician, had a pithy but on-the-mark response to the control advocates, suggesting the City return to stop-and-frisk tactics (and why were they ever stopped? They worked). In typical manner, Senator Kennedy then said to Sean Hannity on Fox, “On Capitol Hill, probably beginning in the morning, there’ll be the inevitable call by some of my colleagues for more gun control laws . . . We’ve got hundreds of gun control laws, Sean. Maybe thousands. We don’t need more gun control, we need more idiot control, and I don’t know exactly how to do that.”
A good start would be recognizing that people showing signs of becoming non compos mentis, should have their civil rights reduced in proportion to their encroaching insanity. At a certain point, they should be committed to institutions where they are cared for, always humanely, but not a threat to society, nor themselves. That doesn’t seem like an impossible task, if the radical “civil rights” activists are not regarded seriously when their ideas are a danger to the public.
The Right Rev Jonathan Baker, who appeared at the event wearing a dressing gown, described it as a ‘terrible racket’ and told the singers and audience to leave.
At first, this struck your Tatler, and, I presume, at least some readers of this blog as awfully mean-spirited of His Grace, but continue reading and you, like me, may reconsider.
The City Academy Voices Choir was midway through a Motown medley when the lights suddenly went off.
A man wearing a light blue dressing gown, black trousers and no shoes appeared at the microphone, interrupting the choir’s summer concert at St Andrew Holborn, London.
Ah, now it becomes clearer. One would gather from the description of His Grace’s garb that he was either kept from sleeping or woken, by the less-than-dulcet tones of an amateur British choir attempting pop classics originally recorded by singers rather different from the ensemble in question here. In fact, your Tatler will venture that the only thing this choir had in common with the Four Tops, the Temptations, the Supremes, et al., was amplifiers turned up loud. One shudders to imagine what those amplifiers were amplifying, but it certainly mustn’t have been pleasant for the poor bishop.
THE TAOS TATLER. 