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2021 in Review

After the upheaval of the year 2020, many were left asking, “How much worse can it get?”  As they say, “Be careful what you ask …” 

The Wu-Flu continues to be the gift that keeps on giving to the enemies of the Cross of Christ.  As the self-professed “Great Reset” looms on the horizon, the Fauci-related Chinese virus remains the number-one excuse for imposing greater and greater draconian measures in anticipation of a global totalitarian regime.  The restrictions on international commerce have placed the US economy in a vice, forcing shortages and markups, while the Communists in the State Department, in Congress, and in the White House throw currency-printing parties to blast massive amounts of inflation to historically unprecedented levels.  Employment is at an all-time low, “stimulus” checks are disincentivizing work, airline travel is in a shambles, and the steady increase in the price of gas is making life more difficult for everyone all around.

And that’s not even a drop in the bucket when compared with what’s happening in our Beloved Church.  Pope Francis has declared an all-out war on Tradition with his ironically named motu proprio, Traditionis Custodes.  Not only is the Traditional Latin Mass facing global suppression – with the intent of phasing it out altogether – but more recently, the Vatican has signaled an intention to suppress and eventually phase out all Traditional Sacramental rites, like baptism, confirmation, extreme unction, and even Holy Orders. 

The Vatican war on Tradition doesn’t really come as much of a surprise, considering the insulting manner in which Pope Francis has derided faithful Catholics over the years, referring to them as “rigid,” “self-absorbed promethean neopelagianists,” “ triumphalists,” “slaves of superficiality,” and “’sourpusses’ who hunt down rule-breakers and call out a ‘tomb psychology’ that ‘slowly transforms Christians into mummies in a museum.’”  But to do this, while lavishing praise on the pro-Same-Sex “Marriage” promoting New Ways Ministry and writing love-notes to Fr. James Martin, SJ is painful beyond words for faithful Catholics.  The sad reality is that the one claiming the mantle “Holy Father” is in reality an abusive stepfather!

But Our Lord promised that He would not leave us orphans, giving to us His own Mother! And I KNOW that Our Lady is not deaf to our cries!

She knew the needs of the bride and groom in the wedding feast at Cana before anyone else, and she saw to their needs by directing the waiting staff to her Divine Son.  After the Angel told her that she would conceive and bear Our Lord, and learned that her cousin Elizabeth was even then 6 months with St. John in her womb, Our Lady MADE HASTE.

She knows our needs before we do, and she answers the call without delay!

Our prayers and supplications to Our Lady are not only not in vain, but we must have confidence that she has already acted to come to our aid! 

But we must be patient, have faith, continue praying, repent of our sins, and watch!

There is no better time to be a saint than now, where we get to be on the front row of the unfolding of Our Lady’s promised triumph!

We just have to persevere through prayer and penance and be patient.

But this doesn’t mean we sit idly by and let disaster happen all around us.  There is a great deal of work to be done!  And from time to time, it’s important to pause a moment and examine what you’ve been able to accomplish so you can think about where to go next.

So, let’s take a look at some of the things we’ve been able to accomplish together in the past year.


CCHD

  • In February we published a report on three Tennessee based CCHD grantees. The organizations SUN, NOAH and MICAH were found to be in violation of CCHD grant guidelines.  SUN’s member organizations were found to be involved in the promotion of abortion and LGBT activism.  NOAH and MICAH were caught participating in a blatantly anti-Catholic, pro-abortion coalition.
  • Later in February, we followed up with a second report on yet another Tennessee based CCHD grantee – the Workers Dignity Project – which we found to be directly promoting Planned Parenthood and abortion. CCHD responded to this report by stating that WDP wasn’t really a grantee, but CCHD just gave them money to pass along to an unreported organization which is an even worse violation of CCHD guidelines! We reported on this pass through funding scheme when it came to light in March.
  • We concluded our deep dive into Tennessee CCHD grantees with a third report, this time on CCHD grantee SOCM. SOCM was found to be a community partner of Planned Parenthood as well as a participant in the promotion of abortion and homosexual activism in its coalition work.
  • In November, we published the first in a series of reports on current CCHD grantees – this one focusing on a horrid organization called the Workers’ Center of Central New York (WCCNY). What we discovered is that WCCNY is an “anchor organization” in a coalition it helped to found, and this coalition is pushing for late term abortions and homosexual activism. We also found recent WCCNY activity involving homosexual activism and promotion of both violence and Marxism.
  • We followed up on this report by publishing the results of a major investigation that implicated the top three network affiliations of the CCHD (Gamaliel, Industrial Areas Foundation and Faith in Action) as dues paying members of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). The problem is that NCRP is very active in working for the total decriminalization of abortion and is responsible for a number of pro-LGBT (including same-sex “marriage”) efforts.
  • In mid-November we released yet another CCHD grantee report, this one focused on the Tompkins County Workers Center (TCWC). The problem is that TCWC is still a major affiliate group for the pro abortion Jobs with Justice and is also directly itself involved with the promotion of Planned Parenthood, homosexual activism, and socialism. TCWC is also a member of another coalition, the Campaign for New York Health that is highly active in fighting for abortion in New York.

CRS

  • In March, Michael Hichborn released an in-depth video report responding to a memo from Bishop Frank Caggiano. Bp. Caggiano was critical of our previous reporting on CRS, so we responded to his memo to remind him of the many unanswered questions regarding CRS’ promotion of contraception in its projects.
 AUSCP
  • In April, we discovered that the Association of United States Catholic Priests (AUSCP) was actively pressing for legislation that would force any organization that accepts government funding, including Catholic organizations such as Catholic Charities, to provide adoption services to homosexuals. We issued a report and also called on the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to stop advertising the 2021 AUSCP Annual Assembly in its magazine for priests.
  • In May, we reported on the AUSCP’s continued push for women’s ordination including a Zoom webinar they held with the heretical organization FutureChurch.
  • In June we flew out to Minneapolis, MN, to monitor and report on the AUSCP Annual Assembly. We also held two Rosaries of reparation and Michael Hichborn gave a major presentation in the same hotel where the dissident priests group was meeting!
  • In July and August, we followed up on the AUSCP with a pair of articles. The first examined claims that Archbishop Hebda dispatched Bishop Pates to greet the heretical assembly. The second detailed the eye witness account of a woman who was cajoled by representatives of the AUSCP to desire to become a womanpriest.
WSOU
  • Michael Hichborn gave a speech at a Rosary of reparation rally in Newark, NJ in June as part of a protest against the satanic radio station WSOU that is run by Seton Hall, a Catholic university in the Newark Archdiocese.
Caritas Internationalis
  • Beginning in August, we began a major investigation into the Vatican’s main charity arm, Caritas Internationalis, as well as another international Catholic social justice umbrella called CIDSE. This investigation took hundreds of man hours and we finally issued our report in October in both written and video forms. We found that both Caritas and CIDSE remain on the decision-making body of an international communist, pro-abortion organization called the World Social Forum.
Report on the Vatican’s World Meeting of Popular Movements
  • We analyzed the Vatican’s video presentation for its World meeting of Popular Movements and discovered that the majority of speakers featured in this video are active communist agitators. We found the relationship between Pope Francis and these Marxists to be quite disturbing. You can view our video report and read the transcript here.
Great Apostasy Conference
  • On June 24-26 we hosted an incredible conference on the Great Apostasy with a number of heavy hitting speakers and experts on history, theology, prophecy and current events.
Cdl. Burke Award
  • Michael Hichborn travelled to St. Louis in July to accept an award from CREDO of the Catholic Laity, presented by his Eminence Cardinal Raymond Burke.
Enemies Within the Church premiere
  • Michael Hichborn travelled to Sioux City, Iowa, to attend the premiere of the Christian documentary “Enemies Within the Church.” Hichborn had a role as an expert on the infiltration of modernist and communist forces within the Catholic Church in this documentary.
Men’s March
  • Michael Hichborn spoke at the Men’s March events in both Washington, DC, in June and Baltimore, MD, in November. Video of Hichborn’s June presentation can be viewed here.
Church Militant’s Silence Stops Now Rally
  • Michael Hichborn gave a speech to a large crowd at the Church Militant Silence Stops Now Rally in Baltimore, MD, in November. This presentation can be viewed here.


As you can see, we are constantly hard at work, trying to provide Catholics with the best information and analysis pertaining to the moral and social mission of the Catholic Church. 

We do this because we love our Church, and we love souls. 

But the sad truth of the matter is that we must be watchful for wolves, even among our shepherds.  This is why we exist, and why we fight.  Your souls, the souls of your loved ones, and the souls of those we don’t even know possess a value of incalculable worth, precious and desired by God and Our Lady.  If we don’t sound the alarm and stand as beacons of truth in a darkened world, who will?

If you appreciate our work, and want to help us continue, please keep us in mind as the end of the year approaches.  The truth is, we can’t do this kind of work without your financial support.

Heading into the new year, we will soon be putting out our end of the year appeal for funds.  We know and understand that receiving such fundraising appeals can be a pain, but I ask you to bear with us.  We try very hard to keep our requests for funds at a minimum because we know how annoying it is to see nearly every email from one source as a request for money.  Our aim is to provide top-quality content to anyone who signs up for our newsletters, free of charge.  I promised Our Lady five years ago that I would continue to do this work for as long as she kept it funded.

So, I just wanted to make you aware that we will be increasing the number of emails we send out over the last couple of weeks of the month because the end of the year giving is really what helps us to carry on our work through the following year.  If you have already given, or are not in a position to give, please do not feel badly about simply deleting the email … all I ask is that you pray that Our Lady supplies us with what she knows we need.


Some other headlines you may have missed:

As always, please pray for the Church, for our bishops, priests, deacons, and for Lepanto's mission as we continue to unearth the truth and "restore all things to Christ." (Col. 1:20)

Christus Vincit!

Michael Hichborn
President
Lepanto Insititute
 

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