George Weigel New York Post 12/18 “No one with a sense of justice can fail to be outraged when, in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ a jury in Maycomb, Ala., bows to social pressure and convicts an innocent man of a crime he couldn’t have committed.

Something similar took place last month (Dec. 2018)  in real-world Melbourne, Australia, where Cardinal George Pell was falsely and perversely convicted on charges of “historical sexual abuse” dating to the 1960’s.

The facts have of the case have been hard to come by due to a media gag order issued by the trial judge.  A journalistic feeding frenzy had long surrounded Pell, the former Catholic archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney and later the Vatican’s chief financial officer.

The trial judge was rightly concerned that opening the proceedings would make it impossible for Pell to get a fair trial on charges he forcefully denies.  The media gag order has left Australians largely in the dark.

However certain facts are known, and others can be reasonably inferred.

The Cardinal’s first trial ended in a hung jury, with 10 of 12 jurors in favor of acquittal.

In the retrial, the defense again demonstrated that it was physically impossible for the alleged abuse of two choirboys (one now deceased) to have occurred, given the layout and security arrangements of Melbourne’s Catholic Cathedral, and, the fact that the choir and Pell were in two different places when the abuse was alleged to have occurred.

Pell, moreover, was always surrounded by others at the cathedral that day in 1996.  Why the Melbourne police never took the trouble to investigate these exculpatory facts is one of several mysteries in this sordid affair.

The retrial jury took days to reach a verdict, during which the jurors asked the trial judge for instructions on how evidence should be considered.  That an overwhelming vot for acquittal at the first trial was then flipped to a unanimous verdict for conviction invites the inference that the jury chose to ignore evidence that the alleged crimes couldn’t have happened.

Legal authorities can debate some of the curiosities of the criminal justice system in Melbourne.  Why, for example, can’t a defendant request a bench trial by a judge alone, when a prejudicial public atmosphere makes the selection of an impartial jury virtually impossible?

How can a crime alleged to have been committed 22 years ago be prosecuted without any corroborating evidence that it occurred?

How can charges be brought when the public authorities could have easily determined that the alleged abuse couldn’t have happened, because the victims and alleged perpetrator were never in close proximity, much less by themselves without witnesses?

Any judgment on the Pell verdict must also take full account of the atmosphere in which the cardinal’s case was heard. Anti Catholicism has been a staple of Australia’s culture for decades.  Local media long misrepresented Pell, a Church reformer, as a power hungry ecclesiastical politician, and that caricature made him a convenient scapegoat for the grave crimes of other priests and bishops.

Yet as archbishop of Melbourne, Pell set up Australia’s first process for investigating and compensating claims of clerical sexual abuse.  And as archbishop of Sydney, he applied strict protocols to himself, stepping aside until previous spurious abuse charges against him were thoroughly investigated -and dismissed-by a former Australian supreme court justice.

For partisans of various sorts, however, none of George Pell’s effective work in cleaning the Church of the horror of sexual abuse counted.

Aggressive secularists couldn’t forgive him for his robust Catholicism.  Most Catholic progressives couldn’t abide his orthodoxy.

Some of Pell’s enemies had the integrity to dismiss the charges against him as ludicrous, and a few said afterward that his conviction was a travesty.  But the foul atmosphere in Melbourne was reminiscent of rural Alabama in the 1030’s.

One other facet of this miscarriage of justice deserves investigation by enterprising reporters:   Pell was brought to Rome by Pope Francis to clean up Vatican finance, a Herculean task in which he was making progress.

When he was getting down to the really serious corruption, which involves hundreds of millions of euros, and the shadow worlds of global finance, these abuse charges were laid.  Pell had to return to Australia to defend himself.

Was that timing sheer accident?  Rome based supporters of Pell’s reforming efforts with whom I’ve spoken think not.

Something is rotten in this business.

And it isn’t the character of Cardinal George Pell.

The two altar boys of 1960 pictured on either side of Cardinal Pell today

George Weigel, John Paul II’s biographer, holds the William Simon Chair in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center

The above trial was the first of two.  His lawyers and the public prosecutors had agreed to split the charges against him into two trials.  The first one, above, was known as the ‘Cathedral Trial’ as it allegedly took place in the Cathedral.  He was found guilty and is now released on bail.

The second trial, known as ‘The swimming pool trial, is to take place early in February 2019.

Any day now.

Stanislawa Leszczyriska put her own life at risk to help women safely deliver their children.

The image we most closely associate with Auschwitz is one of death.  With over a million men, women, and children killed in the largest concentration camp in war-torn Poland, this is hardly surprising.  But other stories have emerged from the extermination center that demonstrate tremendous courage, defiance, hope, and even joy.

One such story is of a Polish midwife who disobeyed orders to ensure that over 3,000 babies were safely delivered, despite instructions to murder these newborns.

Stanislawa Leszczynska was born in 1896 in Lodz, a city in the center of Poland.  She was a wife, mother, and midwife.  When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, Leszczynska decided she and her family had to help out by joining in the Polish resistance to help provide false documents and food for those in Jewish ghettos.

The family’s efforts were discovered by the gestapo and a few years later, Leszczynska and her daughter – a medical student – were sent to Auschwitz while her sons were sent to other labor camps to endure hard labor.  Her husband and eldest son escaped, but Leszczynska never saw her husband again;  he was killed fighting the Nazis in the Warsaw Uprising a year later in 1944.

At Auschwitz, Leszczynska reported for duty as a midwife.  Although many pregnant women were normally executed on the spot, others continued their pregnancy until delivery.  The midwife was sent to work in the maternity ward, which History.com reports was a “set of filthy barracks that was less a place to care for pregnant women than a place to usher them into death.”  The women who managed the ward, “Sister” Klara and “sister” Pfani, had the duty of declaring newborns as stillborn on delivery, before drowning them in buckets in front of the new mothers.

When Leszczynska was told of her duty to ensure the babies were murdered, she categorically refused.  She was beaten by Klara but still she did her best to keep the babies and their mothers alive.  Before each delivery she would make the sign of the cross and pray.  She also provided moments of calm for the mothers with prayers and song – all done very quietly.

Despite her efforts, many babies were killed after their first few hours of life, and some mothers later died due to the abominable sanitary conditions inside the ward.  In her two years at Auschwitz, alongside her daughter, Leszczynska delivered 3,000 babies.  She even stood up to the infamous “Angel of Death” Josef Mengele, when he ordered her to murder the infants.

Thankfully, not all the babies were killed.  Some were taken away to be adopted into German families and were considered “Aryan” babies.  So in a last-ditched bid to reunite mother with baby, Leszczynska tattoed the babies in the hope that they’d be identified later in life.  Some women were so desperate they even killed their babies, rather than see them suffer torture and death in the hands of the Nazis.  And some non-Jewish Mothers got to keep their babies, but with breast-feeding forbidden.  These babies perished from starvation.

Despite the horror, Leszczynska, called “Mother” baptized all the babies and did her utmost to look after the mothers.  Figures from medical historians Susan Benedict and Linda Shields found that half of these 3,000 babies were drowned, 1,000 died of starvation or hypothermia, 500 were sent to German families and 30 babies survived – just 1%.

The devoted midwife carried out her duties until the camp was liberated.  She then returned to her native town to continue her practice.  Her legacy lives on in her children who all became physicians.

Some of the patients, whom she had delivered, have spoken about her heroic acts.

Maria Saloman, who gave birth in Auschwitz said:  “To this day I do not know at what price she delivered my baby.  My Liz owes her life to Stanislawa Liszczynska.  I cannot think of her without tears coming to my eyes.”

Saloman also speaks of a time she was a godmother, in an account reported in the Seattle Catholic.  Leszczynska had asked her to do this.  Although the baby only lived for three weeks, she felt the joy of being a godmother and was truly devoted to her godchild, Adam.  He only lived for three weeks.

Like other great Catholics who experienced the horrors of the concentration camp, such as St. Maximillian Kolbe, Leszczynska’s faith kept her going with prayer and devotion.  She viewed each baby as a precious gift from God and she continued to pray for the children she had delivered later in life.

According to UK’s Catholic Herald, Leszczynska’s Cause for canonization has been introduced in the Diocese of Lodz, Poland.  https://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2011/01/19/ten-catholic-heroes-of-the-holocaust    

Aleteia   Cerith Gardiner  January 31, 2019

filipinos are seen Jan. 10 in front of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Manila (CNS/Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun)

Philippine Pres. Duterte calls on people to kill and rob bishops. The President is responsible for killing 20,000 people by extrajudicial killings (not legally authorized) in his war on narcotics. ucanews.com

Duterte has repeatedly accused Catholic priests and bishops of corruption and of sex abuse.”   https:// http://www.ncronline.org/news/quick-reads/despite-comments-against-bishops-duterte-open-talks-spokesman-says

The Catholic Free Press states on Feb. 1, 2019: “Catholic bishops in the Philippines broke what they described as their collective silence over many distressing issues that have confronted the country in recent months.

In a pastoral statement issued at the end of their meeting in Manila Jan. 28, the bishops asked forgiveness from the faithful “for the length of time it took us to find our collective voice”  reported ucanews.com

In their statement  “Conquering Evil With Good”  the bishops admitted they have observed how the culture of violence has gradually prevailed in our land.

They said the Jan 27 bombing of the cathedral in Jolo was further evidence of the cycle of hate that is destroying the moral fabric of our country.”

This bombing occurred during Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the city of Jolo.  Islamic State issued a statement claiming two suicide bombers detonated explosive belts inside the church and near its entrance.  The first blast left bodies strewn on the floor amid destroyed pews.  A second explosion near the entrance shortly after killed at least five soldiers trying to help the wounded. One hundred people were injured and twenty killed. Islamic state  issued a statement  claiming responsibility.

The statement from the bishops went on to say that “since his election in 2016, Philippine President Duterte has repeatedly attacked Catholic leaders, even questioning church teachings and calling God stupid.

In recent weeks the president urged people to either rob or kill bishops.  We have silently noted these painful instances with deep sorrow and prayed over them.

“The bishops had taken their “cue about silence from Pope Francis but now say that freedom of expression does not include a license to insult other people’s faith, especially our core beliefs..”

The bishops admitted that when people do not understand the doctrines of the faith “we have ourselves to blame … perhaps we have not been effective in our catechesis.”

From some sectors had come a warning to church leaders not to criticize the governments fight against illegal drugs.  We are not against the governments’ efforts however.

We have long acknowledged that illegal drugs are a menace to society. We only began wondering about the direction of Duterte’s drug war when it was only poor people reportedly linked to the illegal drug trade who were killed.

As bishops, we have no intention in interfering in the conduct of state affairs, but neither do we intend to abdicate our sacred mandate as shepherds to whom the Lord has entrusted his flock.

No amount of intimidation or even threat to our lives will make us give up our prophetic role, especially that of giving voice to the voiceless.

We urge the faithful to be sober and alert despite the threats.

As members of God’s flock, we must learn to be brave, to stick together and look after one another.

Let this moment be a time to pray, to be strong, wise and committed.  Let this be also a teaching moment for us all, a moment for relearning our core beliefs, principles, and values … And what it means to be a Catholic Christian at this time.”  

Mary Mediatrix of All Grace Pray For Us !!

Bl Anna Katherine Emmerick was born on Sept 8, 1774 and Died on Oct 9, 1824.  She was a Roman Catholic Augustinian Canoness Regular of Windesheime, beatified Oct 3, 2004 Pope John Paul II, and, was a stigmatist and mystic.

Birth of The Child Jesus

“I saw Joseph arranging a seat and couch for Mary in the so-called Suckling Cave of Abraham, which was also the sepulcher of Mar aha, his nurse.  It was more spacious than the cave of the crib.  Mary  remained there some hours, while

Joseph was making the latter more habitable.  He brought also from the city many different little vessels and some dried fruits.  Mary told him that the birth hour of the Child would arrive on the coming night.  It was then nine months since her conception by the Holy Ghost.  She begged him to do all in his power that they might receive as honorably as possible this Child promised by God, this Child supernaturally conceived; and she invited him to unite with her in prayer for those hard-hearted people who would afford Him no place of shelter

Joseph proposed to bring some pious women whom he knew in Bethlehem to her assistance;  but Mary would not allow it, she declared she had no need of anyone.  It was five o’clock in the evening when Joseph brought Mary back again to the Crib Cave.  He hung up several more lamps, and made a place under the shed before the door the the little donkey, which came joyfully from the fields to meet them

When Mary told Joseph that her time was drawing near and that he should now betake himself to prayer, he left her and turned toward his sleeping place to do her bidding.  Before entering his little recess, he looked back once toward that part of the cave where Mary knelt upon her couch in prayer, her back to him.

He saw the cave filled with the light that streamed from Mary, for she was entirely enveloped as if by flames.  It was as if he were Moses, looking into the burning bush.  He sank prostrate to the ground in prayer and looked not back again.

The glory around Mary became brighter and brighter, the lamps that Joseph had lit were no longer to be seen.  Mary knelt, her flowing white robe spread out before her.  At the twelfth hour, her prayer became more ecstatic, and I saw her raised so far above the ground that one could see it beneath her.  Her hands were crossed upon her breast, and the light around her grew even more resplendent.  I no longer saw the roof of the cave.

Above Mary stretched a pathway of light up to Heaven, in which pathway it seemed as if one light came forth from another, as if one figure dissolved into another, and from these different spheres of light other heavenly figures issued.  Mary continued in prayer, her eyes bent low upon the ground.

At that moment she gave birth to the Infant Jesus.  I saw Him like a tiny, shining Child, lying on the rug at her knees, and brighter far than all the other brilliancy.  He seemed to grow before my eyes.  But dazzled by the glittering and flashing of light, I know not whether I really saw that, or how I saw it.  Even inanimate nature seemed stirred.  The stones of the rocky floor and the walls of the cave were glimmering and sparkling, as if instinct with life.

Mary’s ecstasy lasted some moments longer.  Then I saw her spread a cover over the Child, but she did not yet take It up, nor even touch it.  After a long time, I saw the Child stirring and then heard It crying, and then only did Mary seem to recover full consciousness. She lifted the Child, along with the cover that she had thrown over it, to her breast and sat veiled, herself and Child quite enveloped.  I think she was suckling It.

I saw angels around her in human form prostrate on their faces.  It may, perhaps, have been an hour after the birth when Mary called St. Joseph, who still lay prostrate in prayer.  When he approached, he fell on his knees, his face to the ground in a transport of joy, devotion, and humility.  Mary again urged him to look upon the Sacred Gift from Heaven, and then did Joseph take the Child into his arms.

And now did the Blessed Virgin swathed the Child in red and over that in a white veil up as far as under the little arms. The upper part of his Body, from the armpits to the head, she wrapped up in another piece of linen.  She had only four swaddling cloths with her.

She laid the Child in the Crib, which had been filled with rushes and fine moss over which was spread a cover that hung down at the sides.  The crib stood over the stone trough, and at this spot the ground stretched straight and level as far as the side passage, where it made a broader flexure toward the south.  The floor of this part of the cave lay somewhat deeper than where the Child was born, and down to it, steps had been formed in the earth.  When Mary lad the Child in the Crib, both she and Joseph stood by it in tears, singing the praises of God.”

What Happened in the Temple and in Rome that Night

“I saw something very wonderful taking place in the Temple.  The writings of the Sadducees were more than once hurled by an invisible force from the places in which they were kept, which circumstance gave rise to unaccountable dread.  The fact was ascribed to sorcery, and large sums of money were paid to hush the matter up.

I saw that in Rome, across the river where numbers of Jews dwelt, a well of oil gushed forth spontaneously, to the wonder of all the witnesses.  And when Jesus was born, a magnificent statue of the god Jupiter fell with violence from its place.  All were struck with fear.  Sacrifices were offered and another idol, I think Venus, was interrogated as to the cause.  The devil was forced to speak by its mouth, and he proclaimed that it had happened because a virgin unmarried had conceived and brought forth a Son.  He told them also of the miracle of the oil well.  Where this took place there now stands a Church in honor of the Mother of God.  I saw that the pagan priests were deeply disturbed by the whole affair.  They searched their writings, and discovered the following history:

About seventy years previously this idol (Jupiter) had been greatly venerated.  It was magnificently ornamented with gold and precious stones, grand ceremonies were held in its honor, and numerous sacrifices offered to it.  But there was in Rome at that time an extraordinarily pious woman who lived on her own means.  I know not for certain whether she was a Jewess or not; but she had visions, uttered prophecies, and informed many persons as to the cause of their sterility.  This woman had thrown out words to the effect that they should not honor the idol at so great a cost, for that they would one day behold it burst asunder in their midst.”

This speech proved so offensive that she was imprisoned and tormented until by her prayers she obtained from God the information as to when that misfortune would happen.  The pagan priests demanded what had been revealed to her, and when at last she replied:  “The idol will be shattered when an Immaculate Virgin shall bring forth a Son,” they hooted at her , and released her as a fool.  And now the people recalled the fact and declared that the woman had spoken truly.

I saw also that the Roman consuls. of whom one was named Lentulus and who was a friend of St. Peter and an ancestor of the martyr-Priest Moses,  made notes of this occurence, as well as that of the bursting forth of the oil well.”