Forget the virus. It's STUPIDITY stupid.

We need to take stupidity serious. As these videos explain the solution is not reason, but a conversion of heart.  Non-Stupid People always underestimate how dangerous stupid people are to themselves and to others.

This first one sounds just like today when dealing with liberals and radicals, not just in government, but in the Church as well.

The Five Laws of Stupidity. Stupid people are the most dangerous people in the world. A summary of Carlo M. Cipolla's article "The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity." The whole article (with illustrations) is here: https://hendricks.com/links/06-24-09_Basic-Laws-of-Human-Stupidity.pdf 

Ed Wolfrum (1945-2021) - Funeral Mass and My Remembrances

Ed Wolfrum 1945–2021

Today I was happy to attend the funeral Mass for Ed Wolfrum, my friend, audio crew member, and sponsor for my entering the Catholic Church. He went quickly, over a week's time, due to an inoperative heart aneurysm. He passed peacefully on November 1, 2021—All Saints Day. It was an appropriate day for Ed.  A link to the Mass on YouTube Live is at the bottom of this post, along with a few comments of that moment.

I was an Evangelical-Protestant Christian when I met Ed in the 1970s. (He was always a Latin Catholic, who attended Assumption Grotto in Detroit.) I was a producer-director type at Ford WHQ at the time, and needed a very good freelance audio engineer for my on-location productions. Ed's name came up in my queries around town. I went to his very modest bungalow in Royal Oak, MI. Upon entering his quaint living room, still decorated as if it was the late 1950s, and before I even sat down to question him, he said to me, "Let's talk for a few minutes. If I like you, I'll be your sound engineer for this film of yours. If not. You can leave." 

That was Ed. I loved it. You always knew where you stood with him. Over the years I hired him many times to do sound for my productions. We have a saying on the set, "Waiting on sound," That's because the last thing ready before a take is the sound. Why? Because there's too much noise getting ready for the sound engineer to hear if the sound is good or bad. When everybody settles down, including the talent, it's only then that the sound guy can listen to see if the background noise is low enough, and that the audio equipment is working. You can only hope there's not an open or short in a mic cable, because you can't move forward until "Sound is rolling." 

One time, while I was still Protestant (and he knew from our first meeting that I was a practicing Christian, and I knew he was a devout Latin rite Catholic) he hired me (turn about is fair play) to record a promotional video for a television commercial for a Catholic Conference. The person we were to record on camera was the late Fr. John Hardon, S. J., now Servant of God. I would meet Fr. Hardon on many later occasions as did Pam, my wife once we became Catholic. But on this first meeting [Fr. Hardon was short compared to my towering 6'4" (at the time)] he looked up at me and said without much of an introduction or preface, "Who's your patron saint?" 

Ed arranged another meeting Fr. John Hardon
after I became Catholic

"I don't have a patron saint. I'm Protestant," I said.

"Doesn't matter," said he, "you need a patron saint." Whereupon Fr. Hardon turned to Ed and said, "Get him a patron saint. He's going to need one when he becomes Catholic."

I smiled at the time. But it was prophetic. I did become Catholic, and I asked Ed to be my sponsor. Ed came to many of our RCIA meetings where for 6 months I learned about the Catholic faith.  The once-a-week classes on Thursday evenings were held in a classroom with tables in a rectangle. Sixty or so attended, mostly by young people wanting to marry someone who was not Catholic. Fr. James Cronk (St. James Catholic Church in Novi, MI) taught the 2.5 hr class. I tell this story a lot better in my Growing Up Christian memoir.  But the short of it is that when Pam became concerned that I was attending a Catholic membership class, she started to attend to argue with the priest who she was convinced didn't know the Bible very well. Because, after all, Catholics are Biblically illiterate. Right? Well, she argued with Fr. Cronk. But he seemed to always have an answer. She sat on my left. On my right was Ed Wolfrum. Now, usually a sponsor (as Ed was to me) comes to answer MY questions which the teacher doesn't have time to parry. But I found out after a couple sessions that Ed was coming because he didn't think Fr. Cronk was Latin enough. So, Ed, too, argued with Fr. Cronk. Honestly, I rarely opened my mouth. Pam and Ed were doing such a smash up job, it was entertaining. Ed would say to Fr. Cronk, "That's not right because what Fr. Hardon says is...blah, blah, blah." Whereupon, Fr. Cronk retorted, "Who the hell is Fr. Hardon?" One time Pam and Ed got into it at the same time. Fr. Cronk stopped both and said, "Okay, next week, none of you can sit together."  (and we all laughed.)  So, Ed was there at my confirmation and provisional baptism.  I had been baptized three times before, and now was the fourth time. In every situation the reason was simple, I had no idea, and neither did the priests know, if my previous baptisms were valid, such was the record keeping of Evangelicalism. But that's another story.  Pictures of my baptism and Ed HERE..

Ed Wolfrum at the mixing console. Not sure where
this is. Could be Motown or United Sound.

There is much I could write about Ed. He was a genius at audio and acoustic engineering. I had first hand experience many times with him, on the set, on location, and in his tiny little studio in the attic of his bungalow where he had recorded orchestra tracks with live instruments (multi-tracked) for motion pictures. My last time in his cramped "master control" he doctored and improved some poorly recorded dialogue tracks for a motion picture I had produced and edited. As usual the theater audience heard every word clearly.

Ed's fame in the audio industry (as he tells it) is that he was the "token white" engineer at MoTown Records in the early 1960s. I've seen a photo of Ed at the Motown console with the Supremes standing behind him.  The picture above is of him mixing a record, but I think this is at Detroit's United Sound. Ed was one of the geniuses behind the Motown sound of hundreds of albums back then. It took years for other studios to figure out what they were doing not only in the Direct Input recording technology (below), but also in the deep groves of the master. 

Back then recording studios could not go out and buy a mixing console. The engineers had to build them from scratch. Ed did this several times. Perhaps his most memorable contribution to the industry was something very small....his Wolf Box. He invented this device when he was in high school, but later it swept the industry. It was a simple device, with a very rare transformer inside, that allowed instruments like electric guitars to connect directly to the studio's recording equipment rather than placing a microphone in front of a guitar amplifier's speaker.  Here's a video of Ed explaining this then revolutionary device. It was recorded in his cramped little attic studio in Royal Oak. 

Today, at Ed's Funeral Mass, Fr. Paul Czarnota celebrated and delivered the homily and some remembrances of Ed. I was surprised how a priest knew so much about Ed, the Wolf Box, and his career. I had a very hard time hearing the words. My hearing has degraded in recent years and St. Mary's Royal Oak (where Ed grew up) was very resonant, with all marble walls front and back. But they live-streamed the Mass, and had the audio hooked up right. So you can hear the homily and Fr. Paul's memories of Ed.  Fr. Paul includes a condolences message from Steve Wonder who sent his respects, calling Ed a good friend and man of faith.  Below is the YouTube link.  But they started the uplink too soon, so there is 40 minutes of "nothing" at the head. The Mass begins at 39:35. The homily begins at 56:00, but the comments about Ed, which are worthwhile begins at 1:02:30. 

After the Mass, while visiting with friends in the lobby, Fr. Paul came up to me and asked, "Are you Dr. Stan Williams?"  He looked familiar to me but I couldn't place him. He was with a younger man. Fr. Paul said, "My brother and I were Ed's audio assistants on two documentary shoots of yours about Deacon Alex Jones' journey into the Church. I was in seminary at the time." (Ed was a seminary student also but never followed though with ordination. Audio was his first love.) Suddenly I remembered. Ed was like that. You invited him to come work on a shoot, and he would bring additional help for free. Fr. Paul and his brother (I think Chris was the younger man's name) said they still talk about those shoots in Alex's Maranatha Church and in Alex's apartment where we staged an argument between Alex and his wife Donna about Mary. Below you can watch the excerpts from the Alex Jones documentary (that was never fully produced for lack of funds). Access to the full Alex Jones documentaries on Vimeo, that we did produce, are HERE.

The stories about Ed are wonderful, but voluminous. He was a genius, and all geniuses are eccentric. Ed's eccentricities were good. 

Ed is survived by his wonderful and graceful wife Susan, who made her career in graphic arts. Their company was Audio/Graphics  (Ed/Sue).

The Dancing Church

A professor of International Christian Missions at a Protestant University recommended this video to me. I was thrilled to see this. The video quality is poor, but the voice over by Fr. Thomas Kane who has made the study of liturgical practice his passion, was exciting. I think God is dancing with these parishes from Africa. I wish we here in the U.S. were more like these parishes. God bless them as he undoubtedly is.  

Shortly after watching this video I read a news report of how Christian congregations (Protestant and Catholic) in certain parts of Africa are being persecuted by gangs, kidnapping whole congregations and killing many. The irony of dancing one minute and sacrifice the next is staggering.  

Pray for all Christians. The murderous enemy of truth is real. 

The Dance Project

Although not part of formal worship, there is dancing in the American Church. This is ironic to Pam and I since we were raised in the Free Methodist Church where dancing was counted as a grave sin, unless it was The Sugar Plum Fairy ballet performed by others. 

Recently, however,  Pam and I chaperoned a masquerade swing dance for Christian Home High Schoolers from S.E. Michigan. It as the annual Dance Project staged at a ballroom in Howell, Michigan. About 300 teens and a few adults like us attended. It was a lot of fun. We drove three of our teen grand daughters, who brought three other friends in our van along (including two boys). One of our grand daughters (Annaliese) had invited others that drove themselves. Annaliese walked away with the prize of the night with a hand crafted mask. 

(L) Stan & Pam looking for violators but not very hard.
(R) Annaliese Nelson invited the most people and won a beautiful mask.

The organizers of this now 13-year tradition had very strict rules about behavior that we, as chaperones, were suppose to watch out for. We were instructed that if after our warnings their behavior was not adjusted we could report them for removal. But Pam and I saw nothing untoward all night long. It was good clean fun by all. I mean, how do you dance lewdly to Denver and the Mile High Orchestra's swing version of "Victory in Jesus."   This is the piece the D.J. played at the end of the dance. I shot video of it, but since the kids in it were minors and I don't have permission to make it public there is this from YouTube. Enjoy. (We did!)

Pam wearing Annaliese's prize.

Cardinal Burke Gives Framework to U.S. Bishops on "Catholic" Politicians that Support Abortion

 

Catholic legislator in St. Louis: “It is wrong. I know that it is wrong.”

November 2nd, 2021

• 

  Burke: "When I die, I will appear before the Lord to give an account of my service as bishop, not before the Conference of Bishops." (Tiziana FABI / AFP)

For the past several months, the intention of the Church in the United States of America has been very much in my prayers. At their coming November meeting, the Bishops of the United States will be considering the application of Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law…. I have, more and more, thought about the experience of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops over 17 years ago, at their summer meeting in Denver in June of 2004, in addressing the same issue. It is an experience which I lived intensely….

The context of the June 2004 meeting of the United States Bishops was the campaign of Senator John Kerry for President of the United States. Senator Kerry claimed to be a Catholic, while, at the same time, supporting and promoting abortion on demand in the nation. At the time, I was archbishop of Saint Louis (appointed on December 2, 2003, and installed on January 26, 2004). As had been my practice as bishop of La Crosse (appointed on December 10, 1994, and installed on February 22, 1995), I admonished Senator Kerry not to present himself to receive Holy Communion because, after having been duly admonished, he persisted in the objectively grave sin of promoting directly procured abortion. I was not the only bishop to admonish him thus….

Knowing my moral obligation in a matter of such serious consequences, defined in can. 915, I began to contact the legislators from the diocese of La Crosse, asking to meet with them to discuss the complete incoherence of their position regarding procured abortion with the Catholic faith they professed. Sadly, none of them was willing to meet with me. One carried out a certain correspondence with me, insisting that his position regarding abortion was consistent with the Catholic faith, following the erroneous counsel presented by certain dissident professors of moral theology, adherents of the heretical school of proportionalism, at a summit held at the Hyannisport compound of the Kennedy Family in the summer of 1964. Documentation of the meeting is found in a book of Albert R. Jonsen who accompanied one of the dissident European professors of moral theology and was present for the entire meeting….

When I was archbishop of Saint Louis, one Catholic legislator agreed to meet with me, even though, as his parish priest also attested, he was not presenting himself to receive Holy Communion. He began the meeting by showing me a picture of his family. As I recall, his wife and he had four children. As our conversation progressed, I asked him how, having so proudly shown me the picture of his children, he could regularly vote in favor of killing babies in the womb. He immediately lowered his head and said: “It is wrong. I know that it is wrong.” While I urged him to act according to his conscience, which he had just expressed, I had to admire the fact that, at least, he admitted the evil in which he was involved and did not try to present himself to me as a devout Catholic….

With the announcement of my transfer from the diocese of La Crosse to the archdiocese of Saint Louis on December 2, 2003, the secular press traveled to the diocese of La Crosse, in order to find material for the creation of a negative image of the new archbishop before his arrival in the archdiocese. Whereas, before my transfer, there was no public discussion of my pastoral interventions with the lawmakers in question, as is altogether appropriate, the matter now became public in December of 2003 and January of 2004.

In putting the question of the application of can. 915 before the body of bishops at its meeting in June of 2004, the pastoral action which I had taken in the diocese of La Crosse and was beginning to take in the archdiocese of Saint Louis was placed in serious question. To illustrate the fact, during a break in the meeting, I encountered, on a stairwell, one of the eminent members of the Conference of Bishops, who shook his finger at me, declaring: You cannot do what you have been doing without the approval of the Conference of Bishops. To be clear, other bishops were following a similar pastoral action. I responded to his declaration by pointing out that, when I die, I will appear before the Lord to give an account of my service as bishop, not before the Conference of Bishops….

The discussion during the meeting in June of 2004 was difficult and intense. Without going into the details of the discussion, there seemingly was no consensus among the bishops, even though there was among some of the most influential bishops the desire to avoid any intervention with Catholic politicians who, according to the discipline of can. 915, should not be admitted to receive Holy Communion. Ultimately, the president, the then Bishop Wilton Gregory of the diocese of Belleville, remanded the matter to a Task Force on Catholic Bishops and Catholic Politicians under the chairmanship of the then Cardinal Theodore McCarrick who was clearly opposed to the application of can. 915 in the case of Catholic politicians supporting procured abortion and other practices which gravely violate the moral law. The task force was comprised of a group of bishops with mixed views on the subject. In any case, with time, the task force was forgotten, and the critical issue was left unaddressed by the Conference of Bishops. When Bishop Gregory announced the task force, the bishop sitting next to me observed that we could now be certain that the issue would not be addressed….

In the Spring of 2004, while I was in Washington, D.C., for pro-life activities, I met privately for forty-five minutes with one of the highest-placed officials in the federal government, a non-Catholic Christian who manifested great respect for the Catholic Church. In the course of our conversation, he asked me whether, in view of the serious health difficulties of Pope Saint John Paul II, the election of a new Pope could mean a change in the Church’s teaching regarding procured abortion. I expressed some surprise at his question, explaining that the Church can never change its teaching on the intrinsic evil of procured abortion because it is a precept of the natural law, the law written by God on every human heart. He responded that he asked the question because he had concluded that the Church’s teaching in the matter could not be that firm, since he could name for me 80 or more Catholics in the Senate and House of Representatives, who regularly support pro-abortion legislation….

The second event took place during my visit to Rome in late June and early July of 2004, in order to receive from Pope John Paul II the pallium of the metropolitan archbishop of Saint Louis. Given the difficult experience of the meeting in Denver, earlier in the month of June, I was counseled to visit the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in order to be certain that my pastoral practice was coherent with the Church’s teaching and practice. I was received in audience by the then Prefect of the Congregation, His Eminence, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, and the then secretary of the congregation, Archbishop, now Cardinal, Angelo Amato, and an English-speaking official of the congregation. Cardinal Ratzinger assured me that the congregation had studied my practice and found nothing objectionable about it. He only cautioned me not to support publicly candidates for office, something which, in fact, I had never done. He expressed some surprise at my doubt in the matter, given a letter which he had written to the United States Bishops, which had addressed the question thoroughly. He asked whether I had read his letter. I told him that I had not received the letter and asked whether he could kindly provide a copy for me. He smiled and suggested that I read it on a popular blog, asking the English-speaking official to make a photocopy of the text as it appeared in its entirety on the blog.

The letter in question sets forth in an authoritative manner the Church’s constant teaching and practice. The failure to distribute it to the United States bishops certainly contributed to the failure of the bishops in June of 2004 to take appropriate action in the implementation of can. 915. Now, I am told that it is maintained that the letter was confidential and, therefore, cannot be published. The truth is that it was published, already in early July of 2004, and that clearly the Prefect of the Congregation, who authored it, was not at all disturbed about the fact….

I invite you to pray with me for the Church in the United States of America and in every nation, that, faithful to the mission of Christ, her Bridegroom, she will be faithful, limpid and uncompromising in the application of can. 915, defending the sanctity of the Holy Eucharist, safeguarding the souls of Catholic politicians who would grievously violate the moral law and still present themselves to receive Holy Communion, thereby committing sacrilege, and preventing the most serious scandal caused by the failure to observe the norm of can. 915.

Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke
28 October 2021
Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles