Chrisy58’s Weblog

http://www.stormfront.org/forum/showthread.php?t=482585

This thread was started 4/17/2008

This is over a year old and someone posted this on Stormfront.  I did follow their link to the SPLC site and it was in the issue for Summer 2007. 

Why Stormfront would respost it on their site is a good question.  Maybe it is to get us Catholics to think that the world and groups like the SPLC think Catholics and those of us who hold to traditional values are racist.  Maybe you think that by making Catholics think that our church is racist since we are Catholic we should just accept we are racist and therefore join you?  Maybe you want us Catholics to think Stormfront is pro Catholic, but I have seen enough anti-Catholic posts on White Nationalists boards to know that White Nationalists are no friends of Catholics.

I think it is terrible that the SPLC would resort to fabricating stories about a group of Catholic Monks and Sisters.  Did you talk about all the good they have done in the community?  Does this mean that to you that any group of people who are pro-life are racist?  Don’t you realize that your putting all Pro-life Catholics into a group you label as racist is going to hurt you? 

There is enough racism in this country without you at the SPLC making up stories about a Catholic Community.

Did you ever think that by making it sound like Catholics who are pro-life and hold traditional values as racists that you are playing into the hands of White Nationalists who want to add to their numbers?  I can hear them say now.  To the rest of the world you are racist so you might as well join us.  You are one of us.  I think that is why this was reposted on Stormfront to make it an issue.

To my fellow Catholics I think that both the SPLC and Stormfront is wrong on this.  SPLC for their role in making it sound like a group of Catholics are being racist when they are not and are serving their community and Stormfront for trying to take advantage of what the SPLC did to get Catholics to think that anyone who is pro-life and holds traditional values is a racist like them and so they should just join them.

We Catholics are not racist like you people at Stormfront.  You are neo nazis who even though you say you are American Patriots honor Adolf’s Hitler’s birthday.  Which one is it?  You act like you are American Patriots and love America with your Thomas Jefferson banner but yet you admire Hitler and the Third Reich on your website too.

You blast our Pope for his message because you don’t like what he has to say, yet at the same time you make it sound like you are pro catholic.  Yet this story is over a year old so what is your purpose in bringing this up now in April 2008?

You blast our church because you don’t like our stand on Immagration and wanting to treat all people with compassion.  Why should I believe all the sudden that you White Nationalists on Stormfront are pro-Catholic and really care?  I think you are using this to try and mislead my fellow Catholics into thinking that you are on our side.  You White Nationalists are not on our side and we don’t want your help.

I would think that this Catholic Commuinity is not happy that you White Nationalists on Stormfront have brought this out on your website.  They may not know, but if they did know I know that they would condemn you for trying to make this an issue again.

You don’t really care about this community of Catholic Priest, nuns, and brothers.  You don’t really care about this small Catholic school.  All you care about is using this group as an issue to mislead fellow Catholics to think that White Nationalists really care and to use this to draw people and money to your Cause..

People who are not Catholic do not fully understand our faith or our church.  People have been misjudging us Catholics for years.  We still have people who don’t think Catholics are truly Christian or any other misleading idea that is put forward.

I remember growing up in California that Father Enzie told me when I asked him why so many people didn’t like Catholics and said bad things about us; that he told me it is because they are from the outside looking in and they don’t understand the truth about our beliefs or our church.  I adored Father Enzie and learned so much from him.

The people at the SPLC do not know the truth about Catholics or this community.  They are playing into the Catholic hatred and lies that are being told about Catholics and our church.  Stormfront on the other hand is bringing this issue up to the forefront after 1 year.  WHY?

What is worst?  To make false statements about a Catholic Community because you don’t have all the facts and are on the outside looking in as Father Enzie explained to me or Stormfront who would want to toss oil on the fire to make Catholics in an uprage so as to draw on that anger to bring Catholics into the White Nationalist Cause over this?  I think Stormfront is worst.

Yes, the word racist does get tossed around to easy these days.    I believe the truth always comes out, and if both SPLC and Stormfront want to misrepresent the facts so as to benefit them than I think both groups are wrong.  I would hope that good people would stand up and not support any group who misrepresent and lie so as to get what they want.

This is a good community who has a wonderful website and does much good in their community. If I was a young woman I would want to join them. They don’t want an old 50 year old like me. I don’t understand why the SPLC would lie about this good Catholic Community, but again, I guess it goes back to what Father Enzie said, they don’t understand because they are not part of the Catholic Church.

I will continue to support my church.  If that makes me an evil racist to the SPLC than I am an evil Catholic Racist.  If it makes me a traitor to my race because I support the Pope and my Church in their stand on Immagration and treating all people with compassion than I am a race traitor.

You see the church has always had to fight.  I think of the verse of upon this rock I will build the church.  Storms will come upon it but the church will stand.  The Catholic Church will continue to stand and be a voice within our communities.  Our Pope will continue to be a voice of reason and compassion, love and understanding in this world.

I really liked the letter and made some really good points.  Hopefully this small community was able to work out the problems without having outsiders come in on both sides and stir up trouble. I believe that God worked things out for the good. I just hope that Stormfront will not be allowed to stir things up again. I have to believe that God will not allow that to happen.

We need to remember to show love and understanding. 

I wanted to repsond on my journal of thoughts to this Stormfront post, because I think it is terrible that White Nationalists on SF would try and bring up this old story and use it to flare up anger and tensions that I hope have been resolved.

I am angry.  I am working on my anger problems and I am doing much better.  This journal is my online journal of thoughts. I am happy that we don’t have much readership, lol.

Let us love each other and all human beings as Christ loves us.

Christine Cosser

Here is their website:
http://www.catholicism.org/home.html

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

An Open Letter to Richmond Residents

Dear Neighbors,

For a while now I have been wanting to address you regarding the controversy which has surrounded Saint Benedict Center’s plans to erect another building on our property. Recent events have reminded me that it is necessary to do this sooner rather than later.
With this letter I extend an olive branch to all our neighbors, whether you are in favor of our building project, against it, or are indifferent to it.

First, I would like to say that I’m very sorry that our attempt to build a 10,300-square-foot school and chapel has occasioned bad feelings in the community. This was certainly not our intention. We have lived at peace in this town for almost twenty years now and we intend to remain here in peace.

Nevertheless, there is something else at work. In an effort to oppose our project, some folks have tried to “stir the pot.” They have made very ugly and defamatory accusations regarding SBC and the families who worship here. Even friendly bystanders who do not practice our religion have been caught in the crossfire.

We are very sorry that some Richmond residents have had their peace disturbed, but we had no way of knowing that a handful of opponents would resort to these tactics.

The situation has escalated to the point that a nationally-known organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), has run an article on it in their publication, Intelligence Report. This article has been circulated around town. I have already responded to it on our web site (www.catholicism.org), but I will make some brief comments on it here.

The SPLC is well known for profiling organizations as “hate groups.” They started during the civil rights movement, by going after racist groups like the KKK and similar organizations. But then they moved on to other territory, making a lot of money in the process. As part of their multi-million-dollar annual business, they label many conservative, pro-family, and pro-American organizations as intolerant extremists. They very often create controversy where there is none, as when they portrayed the movie series, “The Lord of the Rings,” as racist propaganda. Americans on both the political left and the political right have questioned the SPLC’s credibility.

The story they ran on SBC included serious misquotations, non-factual statements, and untruthful rumors. A layman who comes to our chapel was accused of making the despicable statement that “Jews should be dealt with using ‘blood and terror if it’s required.’” This is a libelous claim. The vile quotation was fabricated.

The article also reported the unfounded rumor that people “heard the sound of automatic weapon fire at SBC on a regular basis.” SBC is a monastery, not a shooting range; we have no automatic weapons. This claim is untrue, as are numerous others calculated to make us look like a dangerous cult.

What got left out of the article is what we actually do in the community, like visiting the elderly in nursing homes, helping disabled neighbors with their firewood, sponsoring a Boy Scout troop, teaching children in our school, training altar boys to serve Mass, and entertaining people with wholesome, family fun at our annual festival. As a service to the community, we also typeset and helped publish two books on Richmond’s history: The Town in the Forest: Life Story of Richmond, New Hampshire, by Neith Boyce and The Only Mill in Town: The Story of the Pail-Making Industry in Richmond, New Hampshire, by Richard A Martin. We rendered these services for free.

Many of you have visited here and know us, or you know families who worship here. You know that these defamatory claims portray us in a very false light — as we were able to show in the detailed refutation on our web site. It is a terrible shame that outsiders based in Alabama, people who do not know us and who made no effort to interview us for their article, have attempted to stir up trouble in our small New Hampshire community.

That said, we bear no grudge against those who were quoted in the article. Neither do we hold it against people if they oppose our building project for one reason or another. Contrary to what the article claimed, we don’t want to chase people out of town. Rather, we want to remain your good neighbors. Here in Richmond, as everywhere else, there are bound to be disagreements of one kind or another; but that does not prevent us from being kind, civil, and neighborly to each other. And if we try to interest you in our Catholic religion, it is out of Christian charity, not out of hatred.

To those we haven’t met: We invite you to get to know us. Some folks may attempt to give this letter their own spin, causing doubt and confusion about who we are. This makes it even more helpful for you to get to know us personally. This year’s Blueberry Fiddle Festival would be a great opportunity for us to enjoy each others’ company. We hope to see you soon!