Father Maciel: Conman and Rip-off Artist Extraordinaire

The dreadful gauntlet of disclosure of the many frauds perpetrated by recently deceased Father Marcial Maciel, the founder and dictator of the Legionaries of Christ religious order and all its various sub-manifestations, such as its lay affiliate, Regnum Christi, just goes on and on, with no end in sight.

I've commented on this debacle before, here, here, here, here, here, and here, for example, and I've noticed that, like a throbbing toothache, the sordid details of this man's double life and the depredations he committed with impunity against so many people keep emerging in a cascade of filth, the noisome puss of a long-abscessed tooth. Will the dentist perchance decide to simply yank it out by the roots so that healing can really begin? There is a precedent for that kind of thing, you know.

St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:26 that "when one member [of the Body of Christ] suffers, all the members suffer together." It would not be an exaggeration to say that this particular abscessed tooth has been causing extraordinary pain for a quite a few members in the Body of Christ, and the Novocain wore off a long time ago.

The Catholic press is now starting to report on the latest unsavory detail in this tangled mess:

In an effort to distance itself from the wrongdoings of its founder, the Legion of Christ has recently circulated an internal memo detailing how a long venerated work of spirituality attributed to Fr. Marcial Maciel was actually a slight re-writing of a book from a little-known Spanish author.

“El Salterio de mis días” (The Psalter of my Days), according to the Legionary tradition, was regarded as written by Fr. Maciel during the period of the "great blessing," (1956-59), when the Mexican founder was submitted to a canonical process by the Vatican that was finally called off.

The memo now reveals that the text, very popular among the Legion in its original in Spanish and partially translated into English for internal use, was “based” on the little known work of a Spanish Catholic politician, Luis Lucía.

In a book titled “El Salterio de mis horas” (The Psalter of my Hours), Lucía, a Christian Democrat, reflected on his experience of being persecuted both by the Communist government during Spain's civil war (1936-1939), and the Nationalist government of Francisco Franco, who condemned him to death, but later changed the sentence to life in prison. . . . (continue reading)

Merry Christmas, Phoenix. You Now Have Catholic Radio

24/7 Catholic radio is now beaming across metro Phoenix and beyond thanks to the newest station to come on line in the ever-expanding Immaculate Heart Radio network. This follows the recent launch of another powerhouse Catholic radio station in Salt Lake City, which is now broadcasting 24/7 Catholic programming across the great State of Utah.

If I remember correctly, a couple of the more bumptious Protestant pop-apologists live in Phoenix. So it warms my heart to know that they will now be able to enjoy listening to Catholic preachers, apologists, and commentators, such as Scott Hahn, Marcus Grodi, Tim, Staples, Father Corapi, and Father Mitch Pacwa, as well as the ever-popular 2-hour-a-day "Catholic Answers Live" show, practically any time they want, in the air-conditioned comfort of their cars, homes, and offices. Or even when riding a bike! I've heard that well-equipped bike shops carry portable AM radios to help thoroughly furnish cycling enthusiasts.

This Little Boy Will Not Be Home For Christmas

The Fighting Prince of

Donegal

Columbus, known to many as Killian Patrick Madrid, known to me as Mr. Kilpatrick (my 7th grandchild), won't be able to come home from Children's Hospital for Christmas because he's not quite ready, the doctors say. But he's getting close, oh so close. And everyone in the family is waiting anxiously for "The Big News."

The little man who was born three months premature, weighing in at 2 lbs. 2 ozs., has been literally packing on the ounces. He's now tipping the scale at a beefy 4 lbs. 15 ozs. So, although he still has to ramp up a bit more, it's looking as if he may be able to leave the hospital and go home sometime in mid-January. And that is a Christmas present we're all anxiously waiting for.

Check out my son Timothy's blog for the most recent Mr. Kilpatrick updates and pictures.

See 5,000 Years of Middle-East History in 90 Seconds

Watch this intriguing presentation of the rise and fall of empires. It's another way of saying sic transit gloria mundi.

If You Have Faith, You'll Never Walk Alone

Iraqi terrorists use $26 software to monitor U.S. Predator activities

True, money can't buy me love, but $26 worth can buy me plenty of lead time to get out of Dodge when a Predator is on the way to blow up my tent. According to this Wall Street Journal story, Predator drones are just as wildly popular with the Iraqi bad guys as they are with the U.S. military good guys. Something tells me that the next generation of the Predator is going to have some serious upgrades.

Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations.

Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes' systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber -- available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet -- to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter.

U.S. officials say there is no evidence that militants were able to take control of the drones or otherwise interfere with their flights. Still, the intercepts could give America's enemies battlefield advantages by removing the element of surprise from certain missions and making it easier for insurgents to determine which roads and buildings are under U.S. surveillance.

The drone intercepts mark the emergence of a shadow cyber war within the U.S.-led conflicts overseas. They also point to a potentially serious vulnerability in Washington's growing network of unmanned drones, which have become the American weapon of choice in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Obama administration has come to rely heavily on the unmanned drones because they allow the U.S. to safely monitor and stalk insurgent targets in areas where sending American troops would be either politically untenable or too risky.

The stolen video feeds also indicate that U.S. adversaries continue to find simple ways of counteracting sophisticated American military technologies.

U.S. military personnel in Iraq discovered the problem late last year when they apprehended a Shiite militant whose laptop contained files of intercepted drone video feeds. In July, the U.S. military found pirated drone video feeds on other militant laptops, leading some officials to conclude that militant groups trained and funded by Iran were regularly intercepting feeds.

In the summer 2009 incident, the military found "days and days and hours and hours of proof" that the feeds were being intercepted and shared with multiple extremist groups, the person said. "It is part of their kit now." . . . (continue reading)