Dear TIA,

I would like to offer my congratulations on the outstanding article by Fr. Sretenovic. I am sure he will be criticized by those who don't understand that difficulties endured for the wearing of proper Christian clothing while doing anything at all - even walking on pilgrimages - is part and parcel of the life the true Christian is expected by God to live.

The contrast between the casually clad thousands of laity and the properly dressed clergy [in the Chartres Pilgrimage video] is striking at the very least. The priests' cassocks did not endanger their life or limb.

Thousands of pilgrims in proper attire walked miles in blazing heat in Fatima

When I think of pilgrimages, I think of the tens of thousands who walked the difficult distances to be at the Cova de Iria for the Fatima apparitions (1917), especially for the last apparition when they trudged through mud and rain. They were dressed appropriately for their state in life. All women wore ankle-length skirts. The men, even the poor, wore a jacket. They had no modern footwear that we enjoy today. This is pre-Vatican II Catholicism, the way it had always been before and should continue to be.

Blisters, falls, faints, injuries and weather extremes are part of the difficulties of the pilgrimage and not of the clothing. The revolutionary culture would have us believe that we need to lower the bar in order to be safe and comfortable. This is why the Revolution has been so successful; it panders to our lower passions and weaknesses.

True Catholics are all that stand between the Revolution and its destruction of culture and civilization. It was the Catholic Church that civilized the world and gave women their dignity. If Catholics wear the uniform of the Revolution (casual, immodest and unisex dress), the battle will be already lost and women forfeit their God-given dignity.

Let us pray that Catholics hear the clarion call and change how they dress, thus changing how they live. For, clothes do make the man and the woman and give the observer an accurate portrayal of the state of mind and soul of each.

Ignorance is not to be accepted. The ignorant need to be informed. To educate is not pointing fingers. To not educate would be a gross lack of charity.

Thank you, Fr. Sretenovic, for another excellent article.

     Through Mary Most Holy,

     Mrs. C.C.

Dear TIA,

I have attached a recent photo of pilgrims in the Philippines.

The women for the most part seem to be wearing blouses and skirts. This group has none of the defiantly sloppy look of the Chartres pilgrims. And the Philippines are not known for a pleasant climate: hot and muggy, roads are bad and amenities few. The argument of comfort and safety justifying immodest and dumpy clothing is weak.
Let's face it: blue jeans are an invention by sixties-era designers to show off people's derrieres. The shock they first engendered is forgotten but well-documented by writer Tom Wolfe, an author specializing in pop-culture. Prior to the sixties, trousers were not cut to be quite so conforming to the fundament.

I think blue jeans have no place in a Catholic group and I agree with other commentators on your site that the root problem is the desire not to appear "holy" or different in any way from the gross culture in which we are embedded. It takes a lot of thought to avoid blending in with dress, language and manners of the latter day. Catholics should not be afraid to look weird or different. It's what we are called to do: be holy.

     God Bless you.

     In Jesus and Maria,

     K.Z.

To whom it may concern,

I do not know how often you update your website, but I would deeply appreciate it if you would remove any references of John Cardinal Newman [here and here] as a homosexual.

I understand that you may be against some of his more liberal ideas but you are scandalizing readers. Not only is this not a verified fact, there is a good deal of evidence that points to it being completely false. (For evidence click here)

A brief article regarding the point at hand.

     Thank you and God bless,

     A.L.



TIA responds:

A.L.,

We update our website everyday, on the Latest Updates page.

Thank you for sending us the article by Hilary White on 9/4/2008 stating that she believes Card. John Henry Newman was not a homosexual. We also acknowledge the information that Fr. Ian Kerr, biographer of Newman and commissioned by the Vatican to defend him, also believes he was not a degenerate.

Other than these two personal opinions, we found nothing to back your affirmation: "There is a good deal of evidence that points to it being completely false."

The point that both the journalist and the scholar did not address and that you also disregarded is whether it is true that Card. Newman described his sorrow at the death of his companion, Fr. Ambrose of Saint John, as "a grief comparable to a wife losing a husband."

We posted evidence that Cardinal Murphy O'Connor, when he was still Archbishop of Westminster, admitted that this text is authentic. Therefore, there are reasonable grounds to suspect that Newman was a homosexual. As a matter of fact, we do not know of any normal man who would write such a thing.

The rest - the pretended indignation over his being homosexual or euphoric approval for the same - are based upon opinions and interpretations of persons interested in having Newman to serve their own agenda. Thus, we have, on the one hand, Fr. Kerr stating that Newman was not homosexual to please the Vatican and earn his salary, and Peter Tatchell, spokesman for the English homosexuals, stating the opposite to advance his platform. We base ourselves on neither the latter, nor the former. We support the hypothesis that he could be homosexual based on the text he wrote.

If you have any serious evidence that this text is false, please let us know. Otherwise, do not pretend that it was indisputably proved he was not homosexual when the point is still wide open to discussion.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

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