Ubi Petrus - Ibi Ecclesia

"Where Peter is, there is the Church!" And, to quote the title of Dr. R. Stackpole's 2006 (Marian Press) book, "St. Peter Lives in Rome."

I have long been tired of the ship of fools (including 1st Mate Pelosi) firing their deck guns at the barque of Peter. One of the reasons for keeping my 4th Degree Sword in my office, is to remind me of my sworn duty to defend the Holy Catholic Church, the Holy Father, the Bishops, and all priests. I fully intend, with God's help, to perform faithfully that duty.

Msgr. R. Michael Schmitz, the Vicar General and Provincial Superior of the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest reminds us "The two spiritual powers which the Church holds for the sake of our redemption, namely, of government and of sanctification, are fully present only in Peter. He is the source of their unity and thus, he is the base of all true Mission coming from the Lord. Far from Peter, there is no full unity, neither with the Church nor with Christ."

Msgr. Schmitz goes on, "Small wonder then if we see the Vicar of Christ constantly beset by storms. Desiring to destroy the work of redemption, the enemy relentlessly sends his forces against the Universal Shepherd of Christ's flock. Hence our duty is not only to look up to the Shepherd and follow him, but also to rally behind him and implore the heavenly Mother of the Church and St. Joseph, its Patron, as well as the Angels to defend and shield the Holy Father. Thus strengthened, he continues to guide the Church, the marvelous boat of salvation, as it floats on high waves without ever sinking under the waters."

My friends, to paraphrase Lincoln, we are engaged in a great spiritual war. What we do here, and what we say here, have eternal consequences. Every time we allow some malcontent, renegade, or other adversary; from without or from within, to malign the Holy Father, we fail in our duty to defend the Church.

Again, I recommend Brad Miner's book, The Compleat Gentleman. In the first chapter, Miner quotes Edmund Burke lamenting on the seizure and imprisonment of Queen Marie Antoinette. Burke lamented "that he had lived to 'see such disasters fallen upon her in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers. I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult.(p2)'"

To respectfully paraphrase him, I lament that I am living in a time when such disasters have fallen upon the Church in a world of supposedly gallant men, with pews full of men of honor. I would think that thousands of swords (figurative and perhaps otherwise) would leap from their scabbards to avenge even an insulting look aimed in the direction of our Shepherd. Sadly, most of us just "sit there," and let the insults and ridiculous criticisms go unchallenged. We would stand idly by, and let them put Peter in chains?

We must cultivate, as The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest says, "...a deep Roman Catholic consciousness, enabling not so much the re-creation as the continuation of an unbroken tradition of faithfulness to the Vicar of Christ on Earth as the wielder of the Lord's redemptive powers of government and sanctification."

"Where Peter is, there is the Church!" And should you be foolish enough to attack the Holy Father, the successor of Peter, the Vicar of Christ, Know ye full well that I shall come to his defense!

En Garde you Scurvy Knave!