Christ the King Church
at the Ridgefiled
Retreat House
Lectures now available on cassette and CD
Catholic Education Conference
Gives
Parents Answers!
Special to the CFN
A special
one-day seminar titled “Catholic Education and the Future of the Faith”
was held on August 4, 2007 sponsored by Saint Ignatius Retreat House in
Ridgefield CT.
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Christ the King Church at the Ridgefiled Retreat House |
About
mid-summer each year, Father Geraldo Zendejas, SSPX, Prior of St. Ignatius
Retreat House, holds a one-day conference on a given topic to bolster and
revitalize Catholics. Father Zendejas’ apostolic generosity must be recognized,
as it is a free conference open to all.
The
seminar was held, as it is each year, at the Sheet Metal Workers' Union Hall in Brewster New
York, about ten minutes from the Retreat House. Even the buffet lunch —
supplied by the Retreat House and hard-working ladies from the parish – was also
free of charge.
St.
Ignatius Retreat House now has a school – St. Padre Pio Parish School – that it
is working to expand. In light of this, the conference theme this year was
Catholic Education. The speeches given were not only intended to warn against
the present state of education in public and parochial schools, but to provide
helpful answers. Every parent – indeed every Catholic – will benefit greatly
from hearing the four speakers’ lectures..
Mr.
Richard McCormack, the conference MC, kicked off the event with a contrast
between modern education and that of the classical Greek and Roman, which matured
into the Catholic Schools of the high middle ages. The title of his talk was
the same as that of the conference theme: “Catholic Education and the
Future of the Faith”.
He
explained that the State increasingly encroaches on parental rights over the education
of their children, and points to a new law in England that virtually makes it a
criminal offense to teach Catholic morality in any school. Pope Leo XIII
countered such evil measures teaching that Catholic parents have the absolute
right over the education of their children, and this right may not be usurped
by the State.
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| With regard to modern, disordered education in both diocesan and public schools, Archbishop Lefebvre told Catholic parents they have a duty to “deliver their children from the corrupters”. |
He
also explained the basics of the classical Greek and Roman system of the
Trivium: Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric, and how the liberal arts of the high
middle ages was the full flowering of this Trivium. It is a system that is
practically non-existent in modern education, but still preserved in
traditional Catholic schools and home-school curriculum.
He
closed with the challenge: if you want a priest at your death-bed, then you
better take Catholic education seriously – it concerns all of us, whether we
have children or not. For where will the priests of tomorrow come from it not
from the traditional Catholic education fostered today?
Thomas
Gabriel, Local Chapter head of the League of the Kingship of Christ at St.
Michael’s Church in Farmingdale, NY, Chapter, delivered a speech called “Education
and the New Age”. He reinforced the truth that the modern education system
is designed to bring about an anti-Christ, New World Order. This New World
Order is the opposite of the Divine Plan of Jesus Christ for order, and is
demonic in spirit and destructive of souls.
The
foremost proponent of educating our children into the principles of the New
World Order is the powerful National Education Association [NEA]. It promotes
secularized education and principles of secular humanism. One writer pointed to
the NEA as the organization most responsible for furthering the anti-Catholic
principles of the French Revolution in this country. The public schools, and
too many post-Conciliar Catholic schools, are imbued with a poisonous NEA-styled
system.
Mr.
Gabriel explains the massive influence of John Dewey in modern education, and
also the noxious influence of perverts such as Dr. Alfred Kinsey and Margaret
Sanger; both of whom were imbued with Occult principles (Kinsey was a devotee
of the occultist Aleister Crowley.) The influence of these individuals is
manifest in the corrupt sex-ed courses in Catholic and public schools, as well
as self-actualization, values clarification and outcome-based education.
He
closed with Archbishop Lefebvre’s admonition: it is the inescapable duty of
Catholic parents to “deliver their children from the corrupters”. Mr. Gabriel
holds up home schooling and good traditional Catholic schools, such as those
staffed by the Society of St. Pius X, as the answer.
Father
Michael McMahon, SSPX, Headmaster of Notre Dame de La
Salette Boys Academy delivered a lecture entitled “Classical Education at La
Salette Academy”, but the talk was even more than this. Father McMahon opened
with the teaching of Pope Pius XI: “the goal of education is to form the true
and perfect Christian”.
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| Fr. McMahon, SSPX gave helpful instruction on the formation of the will. |
In
this context, Father McMahon stressed that proper education encompasses not
only the formation of the intellect, but also the formation of the will.
We
must form the will because the nature that God gave us must be perfected, and
it is important to develop a strong will so that, with the aid of grace, we
will resist temptation and grow in virtue.
He
explained that to develop a strong will, we must in all our actions have clarity
and decision; energy and execution; and perseverance in effort. He suggested
developing daily habits useful in everyday life that helps the child (and
grownup) to obtain a properly formed will.
Father
McMahon, quoting a French author, said that we are not only called upon to do
what we are supposed to do, but we are also called upon at each moment of our
life not to be weak. Parents found his talk to be particularly
invaluable, as it was filled with solid, practical Catholic advice.
He
also gave some details about Notre Dame de La Sallette Boys Academy, an
institution that is training men to be Catholic leaders – not necessarily
bishops or military generals — but strong heads of families and responsible
Catholic men. Though it is not a
“training ground” for future priests, a number of young men from the Academy
have pursued vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
CFN
Editor John Vennari spoke on “Evolution: Enemy of Education”.
If the purpose of education is the “making of a new man right up to the state
of virtue.” as St. Thomas Aquinas defines it, the teaching of evolution is the opponent
of true education.
The
false science of evolution, for which there is no fossil evidence, is
responsible for undermining the facts on God’s creation, Adam and Eve and Original
Sin. And once the true God is jettisoned, so are His Ten Commandments, without
which it is impossible to train the young in virtue. By evolution, modern man
has lost belief in the true God.
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| Evolution: a false science with no fossil evidence |
The
speaker gave a quick tour of the fraudulent “monkey-men” touted as “evidence”
for evolution. He also demonstrated the falsehood of an alleged “missing link”
recently discovered, and challenged the belief that the earth is millions of
years old. He showed how the entire
modern world of communism, naturalism and secular humanism is based on
evolution and could not survive without it. This is the reason why the theory
of evolution is kept alive.
Mr.
Vennari also spent a good bit of time showing the falsehood of “Theistic
Evolution”, the belief that a Catholic may accept evolution providing he
accepts God as the creative force behind it all. According to the perennial
teaching of the Catholic Church, particularly enshrined in the decision of the
1909 Biblical Commission and Pope Pius XII’s 1950 encyclical Humani Generis,
“Theistic evolution” is not a realistic position for a Catholic. One of the reasons it is still taught in Catholic
circles is that the Pontifical Academy
of Sciences itself has its generous share of scientists who are both
evolutionists and pro-population control.
Mr.
Vennari insisted “Theistic Evolution” is “the great neutralizer” that
has prevented Catholics from fighting the destructive pseudo- science of
evolution.
These
are the barest of summaries of the talks given.
The entire conference vindicates parents who have taken upon themselves the sacrifice of sending their children to good traditional Catholic schools, or who have shouldered the imposing responsibility of home-schooling. It also serves as incentive for those parents who are still undecided to take one (or both) of these steps for the sake of the education and true Catholic formation of their children.
Audio
Recordings of "Catholic Education
and the Future of the Faith"
Seminar
on audio cassette or CD
$8.00 each or all four for $29.95
Mr. Ricahrd McCormack: "Catholic Education and the Future of the Faith"
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Audio Cassette: $8.00 |
Audio CD: $8.00 |
Mr. Thomas Gabriel: "New Age and Education"
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Audio Cassette: $8.00 |
Audio CD: $8.00 |
Father Michael McMahon, SSPX: "Classical Education at La Salette Academy"
|
Audio Cassette: $8.00 |
Audio CD: $8.00 |
John Vennari: "Evolution: Enemy of Education"
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Audio Cassette: $8.00 |
Audio CD: $8.00 |
All four lectures - Special price of $29.95
|
Audio Cassette: $29.95 |
Audio CD: $29.95 |
Order on line through PayPal (all major credict cards accepted)
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Ave, PMB 325
Buffalo, NY 14216
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