Some quick reading ... ecclesiastical authorities doing their jobs ...

Catholic Church denies communion to two men after same-sex wedding
Vatican upholds Call to Action excommunications

While I am on that ... a quick rant ... I am convinced that there are two types of orthodox Catholics out there. Those that are thrilled every week that they get to receive Christ in the Eucharist and those that are pissed off that they are receiving it wrong. I used to get bent out of shape at every mass I went to. That wasn't the kind of Catholic I wanted to be because it angled me towards isolation and it made me miserable at the most awesome part of every week. I entered the Church with such tremendous joy and I wanted to recapture that. Today, I am blessed in that I go to a great parish. Even if I didn't I am THRILLED to be CATHOLIC. Still, I feel like if I let people know my parish is actually good that they will not believe me because everyone knows that the Catholic Church in the US is manned solely by modernists and it just simply cannot be true that there are orthodox priests who strive every bit to abide by liturgical norms in a post-Vatican II world.

I realize that some people don't want to see sin in the world. Others, however, don't want to see the good in the world. Its like they get an odd thrill out of watching the Church grow ever perillously close to hell actually prevailing because then they can continue to be "right" about what is wrong. They don't want to see young priests coming in who are on fire for the faith and loved JP2 and have positive outlooks regarding Vatican II. They don't want to see bishops doing their jobs. That would mean things are getting better and that would make them "wrong" which is just impossible. They are, of course, incapable of being wrong. After all, they are really Catholic ... their faith assures them that they are right about EVERYTHING, not just that small subset of faith and morals stuff that the Church actually teaches about. Personally I see all of the positive things I mentioned as very good. I am going to rejoice when things go well in the Church mostly because I am sick of letting others complaints make me a grouch.

There is always room for hope and holding on to the expectation that the gates of hell will not prevail. They simply won't. I would rather be of the disposition to be joyful and thus communicative and useful rather than to be bent out of shape and desiring to avoid every Catholic out there because of it.

The Church will never return to its roots if those of us who believe it leave the reins to those who don't. Hope people. Grab a little joy and stay for a while. Good things ARE happening.