U.S. Coalition for Life Alert

by Mrs. Randy Engel

“American Bishops Vote Down Proposals for ‘Gay’ Pastoral /Ministry Guidelines and Funding for New John Jay Report”

If these are the headlines you want to read on the front page of The Washington Post on November 16, 2006 – ACT NOW! Urge your bishop to vote “NO” on “Ministry to Persons With a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care” and Vote “NO” on the new John Jay Study on Clerical Sexual Abuse.

The vote will take place at the November 13-16, 2006 fall meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to be held at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, 700 Aliceanna Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. Letters, phone calls and faxes urging a “NO” vote on these two important agenda items are needed both before your bishop leaves his diocese for Baltimore and after he arrives at the hotel.

Section I.

The Proposed Guidelines on Pastoral Care of Homosexuals

The USCCB Committee on Doctrine began work on the “Guidelines” in the fall of 2002. Drafts of the 23 page document were later circulated to members of the Committees for Canonical Affairs, Catechesis, Marriage and Family, and Pastoral Practices.
This is not the first time the American bishops have addressed the issue of special ministries and pastoral care for homosexuals. On September 30, 1997, the Administrative Committee of the NCCB approved the pro-homosexual statement “Always Our Children” that was released by the Committee on Marriage and Family without a formal vote by the entire hierarchical body. By the time the bishops arrived that November for their annual meeting in Washington, D.C., the document was a fait accompli. Only later did the news leak out that three homosexual clerics had participated in the drafting of the statement that was championed by the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago.

“Gay” ministries such as the NACDLGM (National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries), New Ways Ministry, Dignity, and non-medically-based “AIDS ministries” have been operational at the national and diocesan levels of the American Church for several decades now with uniformly disastrous results

“Gay” ministries transform parishes into political and propaganda cells for “gay” activism.

“Gay” ministries discourage the individual homosexual from breaking with the Homosexual Collective that frowns upon “defectors.”

“Gay” ministries recruit - like the Army – especially among vulnerable youth.

“Gay” ministries plunder parish resources – financial and otherwise.

“Gay” ministries undermine authentic Church teachings on Faith and morals.

“Gay” ministries systematically strip parishioners of every vestige of natural revulsion that the normal person experiences when initially confronted by sexual perversion.

The bishops should be discussing ways to eliminate these “gay” ministries not perpetuate them.

Diocesan chapters of Courage and Encourage can serve homosexuals and other sexual addicts who seek to extricate themselves from the Collective and live a holy and chaste life. NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy) and the Catholic Medical Association should be brought in to advise the bishops, the USCCB staff, and diocesan priests and religion on the latest advances in therapy for sexual disorders of which the drafters of the document obviously are woefully ignorant.

Guidelines are Fundamentally Dishonest and Pander to the Forces of Organized Perversion

The Guidelines, as written, are fundamentally flawed and dishonest - beginning with the very title - "Ministry to Persons With a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care”

“Gay” church ministries are “inclusive.” Thus the title should read – “Ministry to Persons With a Homosexual or Lesbian or Bi-Sexual or Transsexual or Transgender or Transvestite or Intersexual or Pederast or Sado/Masochist/Bondage/Domination, Kink, or Whatever Inclination (s): Guidelines for Pastoral Care.”

Despite a veneer of God-language, Gayspeak is the language of the Guidelines.

The same forces of organized perversion that produced the “sin” of “homophobia,” have expanded their phobia list to include the “sin” of “transphobia,” meaning “an inordinate fear of transexual and transgender persons, along with “erotophobia,” defined as “society’s prejudice and fear of childhood eroticism that deprives the child of sex by limiting adult access to children as sexual beings.”

The bishops need to be reminded that homosexuals are not the only group of sexual perverts who have organized to defend their “right” to act out and to stake a claim that their particular brand of perversion and accompanying “spirituality” be acknowledged by the Church and society as a positive good and a liberating variation on human sexuality.

The Guidelines are replete with “gay” myths of “victimhood” and “injustice” and “hatred.”

"The Church teaches that persons with a homosexual inclination must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. We recognize that such persons have been, and often continue to be, objects of scorn, hatred, and even violence in some sectors of our society. Sometimes this hatred is manifested clearly; other times, it is masked and gives rise to more disguised forms of hatred. It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech and action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the Church's pastors whenever it occurs.

"Those who would minister in the name of the Church must in no way contribute to such injustice. They should prayerfully examine their own hearts in order to discern any thoughts or feelings that might stand in need of purification. Those who minister are also called to their own ongoing conversion. In fact, the work of spreading the Good News involves an ever-increasing love for those to whom one is ministering." (Guidelines, p.20)

The hard truth about the genesis of homosexual violence is that it is largely self-inflicted.

Domestic violence, that is, violence between homosexuals, is the primary source of violence in same-sex relationships. Homosexuals engage in a wide range of anti-social behaviors including, rampant promiscuity, illicit drug use, the use of sadomasochist pornography to fuel perverse patterns of habituated self-abuse, and the solicitation of prostitutes – all of which fan the fires of violence. Organized crime plays an important role in the life of the Homosexual Collective. Blackmail and extortion threats continue to be associated with homosexual activity.

Further, internal violence within homosexual environments has been fanned by the transformation of the model “gay” man from “swish” to “macho.”

It is no coincidence that pseudo-Catholic Dignity, which maintains close contact with the USCCB staffers, has spawned “Defenders of Dignity” dedicated to the integration of “Leather sexuality with the Christian sado/masochist/bondage/dominance community.” Defenders claim that the “leather experience” can “produce a richer spirituality for us and the Church.” Their unofficial motto is “Crisco is the lube of choice.”

Murders of homosexuals by homosexuals or hired prostitutes, and murders of non-homosexuals by homosexuals are often marked by “overkill” and mutilation. The murder of 4-year-old Jandre Botha who was beaten to death by his mother’s lesbian partner Engeline Nysschen for refusing to call her “daddy” while his mother looked on, and of Mary Stachowiez, a Catholic mother of four who was raped and stabbed to death by an enraged homosexual who objected to her opposition to sodomy, are stories that the secular media has buried, as have the drafters of the Guidelines.

The homosexual environment is one of instability, depravity, drug use, pornography, exposure to AIDS, and moral and spiritual turpitude. Obviously no child should be placed for adoption or foster care with homosexual partners, male and female. The Guidelines do not support adoption by homosexual partners. However, the reference to Church approval of the baptism of children of homosexual partners “where there is well-founded hope that the children will be brought up in the Catholic religion” is based on “gay” fantasies.

The craven, effeminate language used by the drafters of the USCCB Guidelines as they cower before the Homosexual Collective, especially in this section on “gay” violence, is an insult to every faithful Catholic priest, religious and laymen. If the bishops are serious about reducing violence within the homosexual anti-culture, they can begin by helping to prevent the vice from taking hold in the first place by supporting strong Catholic family life and by setting an example themselves by living holy and virtuous lives. They must also oppose at every level, secular and religious, the Homosexual Collective that seeks to undermine marriage, family, civilized society and the Catholic faith.

Guidelines Hurt Homosexual Trying to Live a Chaste Life

While the Guidelines, as written, are a boon to the Homosexual Collective, they are harmful to the individual homosexual, especially those who want to lead a truly Catholic life. The statement that the homosexual has “no moral obligation to seek therapy” is yet another indication of the pro-“gay” bias of the drafters of the Guidelines and the Committees who approved of them. Ditto for the statement that there is “no scientific consensus on therapy or the cause of homosexuality.” This is an outright lie that further serves to advance the Collective’s “born that way” mantra.

On a purely spiritual level, the Guidelines are deadly. It is a rule of the spiritual life that we must advance or decline. For a homosexual with inordinate and compulsive passions the obligation to seek assistance at every level possible to overcome his unnatural passions and find his way back to wellness and sanctification is self-evident. It does not reflect well on the USCCB that they would even consider a proposal that seeks to confirm a sinner in his sin.

Further, the Guidelines’ teaching that only homosexual acts are always sinful is not Catholic teaching. A person can sin by thought, word and deed. Willfully entertained lustful thoughts including those engendered by looking at “gay/male” pornography, a common staple of the “gay” life is a serious sin.

The Re-education of the Laity

The Guidelines call for a program of re-education whereby the Catholic laity (homosexuals and their inclusive associates excluded) can be cured (purified) of their alleged their “homophobic” prejudices and tendencies. The Guidelines urge pastors and laity to welcome homosexuals with open arms and give them active roles in the parish. Experience, prudence and common sense dictate otherwise.

Unless a homosexual chooses to “out” himself or is exposed as a homosexual as a result of a run-in with the law or a public scandal, the average parishioner is usually unaware that the individual in question suffers from same-sex-attraction or other sexual problems. Every parish has members who suffer from various forms of psychological disorders including homosexuality. Providing these individuals present no danger to the parish community especially children (i.e., pedophiles, pederasts or exhibitionists], integration into the ordinary life of the parish usually does not usually pose any special problem. However, given the particular nature of their disorder, it is unwise to give such individuals key roles in the parish, especially if their condition is a matter of public knowledge.

The introduction of “gay” ministries into a parish is another matter. Experience has shown that once members of organized perversion get a strong hold on any institution, secular or religious, they tend to colonize and metastasize that institution. Since the homosexual anti-culture is closely connected to the seamier side of life, the overall life of the parish suffers. The Guidelines’ undisguised and unbridled enthusiasm for introducing “gay” ministries into Catholic parishes smacks of over-kill. There is much talk of “pastoral care, but it is obvious that such specialized attention is a one-way street. It is primarily directed at homosexuals not the general welfare of the parish. When parishes are taken over by homosexual, the faithful will vote with their feet – either they will seek out another parish or march out of the Church altogether.

Life and Death in a “Gay” Parish – The Story of Most Holy Redeemer Church, San Francisco

Most Holy Redeemer Church lays just a few blocks from the center of San Francisco’s notorious homosexual Castro District with its strip of gay bars and porn houses. The area just across and up the street of the church where the church convent used to be is a favorite cruising ground for area “gays.” Today the parish is Catholic in name only. But this was not always the case.

The corner stone for Most Holy Redeemer Church was laid in 1900. The parish was created to serve the heavily ethnic population of Irish, Italian and German immigrants in the Eureka Valley. In time, a convent was build to accommodate the Sisters of Charity, B.V.M. who staffed the parochial school.

Today, MHR, as the congregation calls it, is a “gay” parish – the “inclusive” prototype envisioned by the drafters of the proposed USCCB Guidelines.

The parochial school has long since been closed. The building is now leased to the “pro-choice” Society of Friends (Quakers) as a private elementary school. The Sisters of Charity left in 1979 and are now “gone with the wind,” and the convent has been converted to an AIDS hospice. The Legion of Mary and Our Lady’s Sodality has disappeared.

In 2000, the church was “wreckovated” at the cost of $1 million. The pews surround a floating altar table on three sides with the tabernacle located ….. ???

Masses at MHR are highly innovative. The congregation holds hands for the Our Father and remains standing for the Consecration. The church has an excellent choir, but the highlight of the service is the kiss of peace with everyone mulling around the pews hugging and kissing everyone else. Same-sex partners opening embrace and kiss on the lips.

The census count for the September 30 - October 6, 2006 at the Saturday evening and two Sunday Masses was 312 men, mostly “gay” males; 74 women including lesbians and their partners, and 6 children. Some old-timers have remained at the parish and there is a scattering of homeless people who call the parish their own.

Because of its strategic location in relation to the Castro, MHR has always had its share of homosexual men and women in the congregation, especially following the end of the Second World War when port cities like San Francisco began to attract large numbers of homosexuals in search of anonymity and a large pool of sexual partners.

In 1981, shortly after the AIDS epidemic broke out in these same port cities, the pastor, Father Tony McGuire, formed a Gay and Lesbian Outreach Committee. Since that time, more than 18,000 AIDS deaths have been reported in San Francisco with an increase of over 1000 new cases every year.

Under Father Rev. Zachary Shore, who served as assistant pastor and pastor from 1989 to 2002, the transition from a Catholic to a “gay” parish continued. To expunge any latent harmful “homophobic” feelings, Shore underwent a moral lobotomy at a New Ways Ministry seminar. Although he admits that most of the “gays” and lesbians in his congregation are active homosexuals, he insists they are also people of faith who engage in numerous works of charity. Individual confession is available, but communal penance services (with general absolution?) attract more participation.

The current pastor, Father Steve Meriwether has been at MHR for more than four years. He has also served as Chancellor for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, both under Archbishop William Levada, who has since been elevated to cardinal and made Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and his successor and bosom buddy, Archbishop George Niederauer. Meriwether openly champions the cause of “gay” liberation. A photo is posted on the parish web site of the priest dressed in full regalia sprinkling holy water on the MHR contingent of marchers at the June 2006 “Gay Pride” Parade. Other parade snapshots include parishioners dressed in bright royal blue T-shirts with the MHR logo and marching behind a banner “Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church – your parish church in the Castro for 100 years” or riding a trolley-bus decorated with rainbow flags and multi-color balloons. Meriwether says that MHR provides “gays” with community – a place to belong. He says that the archdiocese would like to see MHR take a lower (“gay”) profile, but his pro-“gay” advocacy does not appear to have hurt his career under Levada or Niederauer.

Parish Life Revolves Around AIDS and “Gay” Needs and Causes

Parish life and parish resources at MHR are centered on AIDS and the spiritual, social and political needs and interests of its predominantly “gay” congregation.

The parish resource web-page provides links to the Vatican and the Liturgy of the Hours Apostolate, but as one scrolls down the links take on a different complexion – the Gay Catholic Forum, Dignity/San Francisco, the Conference for Catholic Lesbians, Voice of the Faithful, Pax Christi, USA, etc.

Among the pro-homosexual guest speakers, lecturers, and preachers to be invited to MHR are “gay” Dominican Fr. James Alisson, Richard Hardy author of Loving Men, Gay Partners and a popular speaker on St. John of the Cross, and Charlene Tschirhard from the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies.

MHR is a parish of “ministries” of all kinds – almost. There is the MGM “ministry” serving Midlife Gay Men support group, a New Leaf “ministry” for counseling of homosexuals, bi-sexuals and transgendered people. There are AIDS “ministries” of all kinds including a special African fund for AIDS victims. Social justice looms big at MHR, but that justice does not extend to unborn babies. Of the more than 20 bulletins selected at random from 2002 to 2006, the A-word was never mentioned. The bulletin for January 22, 2006 contains not a single reference to the annual prolife events marking the 1973 Roe Vs Wade Supreme Court decision. MHR does support World AIDS Day, and Fair Trade Awareness Month to insure that parishioners buy the politically correct brand of coffee beans.

There are occasional traditional and ethnic celebrations at MHR.

In 1991, Archbishop John R. Quinn Mass held a Forty Hours Devotion for relief from the AIDS epidemic.

MHR maintains close relations to outside homosexual organizations. In July 2006, the homosexual Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco, an affiliate of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Churches, began holding its Wednesday evening Taize services in the sanctuary of the church. An MCC-HIV support group also meets at MHR.

Sex Abuse Scandal at MHR

On March 10, 1994, the San Francisco police notified the San Francisco Archdiocese that Monsignor Patrick O’Shea, one of the city’s most politically well connected priests was under investigation for child sexual abuse. In addition to the sexual assault charges that were shortly brought against him, he also had to face charges of stealing $200,000 in church funds.

O’Shea, who had, at one time, headed the archdiocese’s Outreach program for “gays” and lesbians and also served as Director of the Propagation of the Faith, was accused of the molestation of at least eleven young boys. He was defrocked by Archbishop Quinn and spent two years in jail awaiting trial.

In 1972, while he was serving at Most Holy Redeemer, O’Shea molested two brothers, ages eleven and fourteen. He brought the two boys up to his trailer at Lake Berryessa, plied them with alcohol, forcibly restrained them and then sexually assaulted them. The archdiocese did not contest the charges. On October 13, 2005 the brothers settled for $1.3 million each. The settlement came just after the archdiocese had settled four suits filed by other victims of O’Shea for $4 million.

Even though archdiocesan officials knew that O’Shea had “a problem” with young boys, the priest had continued to be shuffled from one San Francisco parish to another where he continued to chalk up victims until his arrest in 1994. On March 29, 2002 the state Superior Court dismissed 224 molestation counts against O’Shea due to the statute of limitations, but the archdiocese continued to pay out huge settlement fees for civil case that did not go to court. As of 2005, the Archdiocese of San Francisco has settled thirty-three sex abuse suits, including those against O’Shea, for more than $43 million and the lawsuits keep rolling in.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Come to MHR

In late October 2006, all of the moral putrefaction that had been festering for years at Most Holy Redeemer came to a head with the discovery that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an organization of homosexual drag queens nationally known for their anti-Catholic and blasphemous parodies, had signed a lease with Father Meriwether for the rental of the large parish hall located under the main sanctuary of the church for charity bingo.

Actually, the first of the salacious “Revival Bingo” games operated by the “Sisters” had already taken place on the evening of September 7, 2006, in Ellard Hall. According to a “gay” reporter covering the night’s festivities, prizes for the AIDS fund-raiser included bottles of wine, porn DVDs, and an assortment of sex toys. Punishments inflicted on bingo guests for violating game rules including a rule against ringing cell phones included being forced to kissing the rear end of a “sister” and cavity searches for bare-butted leather men. The revelry continued from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The parish bulletin for the first week of Sept. 2006 did not mention the “Revival Bingo.”

Father Meriwether was out of town for the event. He had checked himself into a rehabilitation facility in Rochester, MN for depression and alcoholism on August 6 and did not return officially to MHR until his release on October 24, just in time for the second go-around.scheduled for All Souls Day, Thursday, November 2.

During Meriwether’s absence, Archbishop Niederauer had appointed Chancery official Rev. Harry G. Schlitt as a temporary administrator for MHR. Rev. Schlitt however was away in Washington, D.C. when the first bingo took place on September 7.

As Master of Ceremonies for the November 2 games, the “Sisters” selected Peaches Christ, a well-known drag queen freaknick notorious for his Midnight Mass film series. Peaches claims to be a descendant of Jesus Christ.

Scheduled to make a special appearance at the November bingo were the finalists for the annual “Bare Chest Men” contest. Seven of the contestants will be putting themselves up for auction at the Eagle Tavern leather bar’s dinner/date party to be held on November 12, 2006. To date, more than 40 former “Bare Chest” men have succumbed to AIDS.

Fortunately, the November 2 event never took place. News concerning the “Sister” bingo games w posted on Mark Shea’s weblog, e-mails and calls from irate Catholics flooded the Chancery. On October 31, the “Sisters” were informed by the archdiocese that their lease was canceled. Archbishop Niederauer put Fr. Meriwether “on leave.” A spokesman for the archdiocese stated that the archbishop was not aware that the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” were leasing MHR’s parish hall and that the entire incident was a most regrettable affair.
Indeed it was. But it was only one of many in a long litany of travesties against the Faith and against Catholic morals that have been permitted at Most Holy Redeemer Church by the Archdiocese of San Francisco for over two decades. Don’t let this happen to your parish. Contact your bishop today and voice your opposition to the “Gay” Ministry Guidelines.

Section II

A New John Jay Study on Clerical Sex Abuse

The American bishops will also be casting ballots to release $335,000 of the $1 million earmarked last year for research on the causes and context of sexual abuse by clergy. The total cost of the new three-year study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CYNY) is estimated to be between $2-3 million.

The original John Jay study titled “The Report on the Causes and Context of the Current Crisis in the Catholic Church” was released on February 27, 2004, by Justice Anne M. Burke, chairman of the USCCB National review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Far into the study, on pages 80-83 in a section titled “Special Issues Related to Sexual Orientation,” we read that “the overwhelming majority of reported acts of sexual abuse of minors by male clergy and religious, were boys.” That is, the report reiterated what is known but has never been acknowledged by the USCCB - that “homosexual behavior was characteristic of the vast majority of abuse cases – 81% of the reported victims of Catholic clerical abuse, were boys.”

The report pointed to 1) the rise of homosexual “sub-cultures” in seminaries, dioceses, and religious in the post-Councilor era of The Second Vatican Council 2) the contemporary glorification of homosexuality and the organized Homosexual Movement 3) the acceptance of homosexual candidates for the seminary and the ordination of known homosexual to the priesthood and 4) the corresponding failure of bishops and religious superiors to promptly carry out disciplinary action against the offending conduct, as contributing factors to clerical sex abuse.

One of the major flaws in the study was that the data on clerical sex abuse by priests, religious and deacons was self-reported (and under-reported) by Catholic dioceses and religious orders.

Only minors were included in the study. The report did not include the sexual abuse of dependent adults such as mentally retarded men and woman or the abuse of power involved when homosexual bishops and cardinals violate their vows and sexually seduce seminarians under their protective care.

Female religious orders were not surveyed. Sexual abuse by lesbian nuns against females was not addressed. In fact, the bishops have yet to address the “delicate” issue of moral turpitude in female religious orders and the role played by American nuns in the promotion of the homosexual agenda in the Church..

Another major flaw of the original John Jay Report was that the issue of clerical sex abuse was studied outside the context of the presence of a large contingent of American homosexual bishops and cardinals in the American Church. The axiom that one does not bite the hand that feeds it is operative here.

Among the most dangerous recommendations to the USCCB found in the original John Jay Study was the development of special “(sex) educational” programs for kindergarten children upwards as a “solution to sex abuse.”

These so-called “safe-environment” programs have become scandals in themselves. Not only do these (sex) “education” programs violate the rights of parents, but they been shown to be harmful to young children. Their over-all effect has been to penalize potential victims, i.e., young children, and their families, not criminal clerical abusers, and those in Church authority, who protect them.

New John Jay Study a Waste of Time and Money

The new John Jay study is expected to examine three specific area related to clerical sexual abuse:

An historical overview of the problem of clerical sex abuse.

An analysis of the temporal, structural, and leadership factors within the Catholic Church that framed the response of individual dioceses to the problem of criminal, predatory unchaste clerical pederasts.

An examination of the clinical and psychological aspects of pederasty, in general, and clerical pederasty, in particular.

According to the USCCB Office of Media Relations, the drafters of the John Jay proposal claim that “the Church is funding a study of ground-breaking significance in the field of research into sexual abuse of children,” and “will have historical significance for the Church itself.” This scenario is largely wishful thinking.

The heart of the pederasty scandal in the Church is the rise of the Homosexual Collective within the hierarchy. Homosexual cardinals and bishops play a significant role in the sodomite underworld in the American Church and in the overworld that protects themselves and homosexual/pederast priests, religious and deacons. The noose is further tightened by the historical connections between the USCCB, formerly the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference and the secular Homosexual Collective.

No “study” funded by the USCCB is going to change this reality. This is a Herculean task that only the Vicar of Christ himself can successfully address.

Please - Urge your bishop to vote “NO” on the funding for the new John Jay report on Clerical Sex Abuse, and “NO” “ABSOLUTELY NO! on the Guidelines for Homosexual Ministries.

Post Script – Since the American bishops are on record as opposing the redefinition of marriage and so-called “holy unions” between homosexual partners, you may want to point out that the catalogue of the Bookstore of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the United States’ patronal church and preeminent Marian Shrine, contains an ad promoting “Sacred Unions – A New Guide for Lifelong Commitment by Episcopalian clergyman, Thomas E. Breidenthal (Cowley Publications). The ad reads “ A book about true love – or romance – referring to sexual passion that deepens into the permanent union of two persons in heart, body and mind. Addressed to all true lovers: straight and gay, deep into the adventure of a shared life or just contemplating it, or emerging out of a failed attempt.” (emphasis added)

 

The Longer Version of the Saint Michael the Archangel Prayer, composed by Pope Leo XIII, 1888

O glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil.  Come to the aid of man, whom God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil.  Fight this day the battle of our Lord, together with  the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in heaven.  That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels.  Behold this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage.  Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the Name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay, and cast into eternal perdition, souls destined for the crown of eternal glory.  That wicked dragon pours out. as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.  These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on Her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck the sheep may be scattered.  Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory.  They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious powers of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude.  Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church.  Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations.  Amen.

Verse: Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.

Response: The Lion of the Tribe of Juda has conquered the root of David.

Verse: Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.

Response: As we have hoped in Thee.

Verse: O Lord hear my prayer.

Response: And let my cry come unto Thee.

Verse: Let us pray.  O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as suppliants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin, immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of our souls. 

Response:  Amen.