Dear Margaret Galitzin,

I just finished reading your wonderful article on the Children of Hope crowd. I have been researching this group for some time and am partway through an article of my own re these supposed "prostrations." I am so grateful to you for your exposé article as this is something that is in dire need of being addressed. The fact that so many supposedly devout Catholics are jumping into this absurd practice is quite distressing.

I am writing my paper from the perspective of patristics and the contemporary Church documents to show that this is not sanctioned by the Church. I'm wondering if you have found many people in agreement with you on this issue. In my area I am a lone wolf aside from one other mother - as everyone else has jumped on the bandwagon.

     God bless you in your work!

     S.J.

Dear Margaret,

Regarding your article on the Children of Hope: You are so wrong and your article is so biased!!

"Prayer niches facing Mecca derive from east-facing prayer niches of the early Christians, who also bequeathed Muslims their prayer halls, prostration and fasting." Check here.

First learn before you write, then, seek the Truth.

     God bless.

     J.C.

TIA,

I find it sad that the death penalty is being promoted as 'Catholic.'

Forgiveness forms the basis of our Faith. We were all condemned to damnation; but Faith (Grace) has saved us. Who are we to promote death penalties.

If the death penalty is Catholic; then St. Paul should have been the first to receive it. Can anyone disagree with this. He himself acknowledges being responsible for the deaths of Christians, indirectly. So, he should have been put to death.

I find it distressing and shameful why it takes non-Catholics to propound a Catholic view. See what an Amish man had to say over the recent killings: If we don't forgive, God will not forgive us.

Or why it took a Baptist pastor to excommunicate the judge from his congregation over the Terri Schiavo case. And it is so pathetic that we had so called self-styled Traditional priests of the likes of a Cekada supported the killing and had canon law to quote from...!!

What is the point in having knowledge but no intelligence and wisdom?

The saints can say what they want...sainthood after all is not infallible and is not of apostolic origin.

     Dr. N.R., from Goa, India

Dear TIA,

May I ask if money order donations are acceptable, sent to the address listed on this page?

Some months ago I received an e-mail from Dr. Horvat in which she commented on clothing and her belief that conservative attire helps strengthen the conservative Catholic.

I pledged to begin dressing more conservatively as an experiment of sorts, and my faith life has never been richer, deeper or stronger, I must say. For me it worked!

     B.Q.



TIA responds:

Dear B.Q.,

You may send money orders as a donation to TIA in this address, and we will send you a tax-deductible receipt.

We congratulate you for your courageous decision to start to dress well. We ask Our Lady to give you the strength to keep this resolution to fight the revolutionary trends of our times.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk.

Dear TIA,

Thank you for Dr. Horvat's excellent article on Benedict XVI's visit to the mosque in Turkey where he prayed with Muslims. She is correct in noting that such an action is a clear expression of apostasy. It seems impossible for someone to engage in such an action and yet still truly believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ came in the flesh and founded the Catholic Church outside of which there is no salvation (let alone claim to be leader of that Church). Sadly, this apostasy exploded at Vatican II where it was erroneously declared that Muslims and Catholics together adore the One true God (see Lumen Gentium 16, cf. Nostra Aetate no. 3). That doctrine is also in the new Catechism at no. 841.

Thank you also for Father Somerville's excellent article on the abomination of desolation and the New Mass. This prophecy truly seems to be unfolding before our eyes. May we all flee to the mountains as our Lord warned (Matt. 24:16), keep our souls in a state of grace, and remain faithful to the Traditional Mass and the perennial teachings of the holy Roman Catholic Church.

Perhaps Father Somerville could also do an examination of the meaning of the mysterious harlot of Babylon described in Apocalypse 17 and 18, and particularly Chapter 18, verse 4, where the faithful are told "Go out from her my people; that you be not partakers of her sins." This seems to be a clear prophecy of the fall of Catholic Rome to those who pervert the true religion and mingle with false ones. It is also a warning to the faithful to stay away from the strange new religion. Our Lady apparently made it clear to Lucia of Fatima that we are now going through times of chastisement described in the Apocalypse of St. John.

Thank you again for your defense of the Faith.

     May God bless you.

     G.B.

Dear TIA,

I wonder if you know where I might find what the Church teaches on the following subject. We have been requested to play the music for Bizet's Carmen in orchestra. I have read up about this opera and found out that it is quite immoral among other things.

Do you know if the Church allows or forbids the playing of this music?

     Sincerely,

     E.L.



TIA responds:

Dear E.L.,

We don't know of a specific judgment of the Church on the opera Carmen, nor a norm for Catholics about performing or not performing it.

The opera Carmen by Bizet is based on a novel of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The story line of the novel - and therefore of the opera - is boldly immoral: the adventures of a young gypsy woman who, following her sentiments, gives herself to different lovers without the least concern for Catholic Morals.

Most people, however, do not know the story of the opera, but appreciate only this or that piece in the music score, such as the Toreador or the two famous entrances, without linking them to any context.

Given these facts, it seems to us that if a Catholic musician is asked to play one of these famous pieces, and no description of the opera's immoral story is provided, he or she can do it. But, if a piece is intended to be a clear description of a sinful act, or if someone describes the whole story of the opera to the public, the Catholic musician should avoid performing it.

This is our opinion, offered only with the intent to assist you in this difficulty. We hope it reflects the mind of the Church.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

Dear Tradition in Action,

Forgive me the opening welcome but I am not sure who this will go to.

We need a good article which analyses deeply the rushed canonization process which is underway for this late pontiff. There are factors which frankly speaking do not add up - or they do but the result defies normal arithmetical calculation. I am sure many Catholics would appreciate a good scholarly and valid article which lays out the case against, verse by verse.

Many thanks for your wonderful website which glorifies Almighty God in His Church and declares from the housetops what is being kept in secret.

     In Christo Domino et Maria.

     H.C.



TIA responds:

Dear H.C.,

Thank you for your consideration.

Until we have time to specifically answer your request, we hope this article on John Paul II's beatification and this page on fast-track canonizations can help you.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

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