A Catholic Band of Brothers

“You must put on the armor of God if you are to resist on the evil day”

From Regina Magazine

By Donna Sue Berry

 

Fr Richard Heilman and his Knights of Divine Mercy help young Catholic men ‘put on the armor of God’ for themselves and their families. In this exclusive interview, he tells Regina Magazine  about how a strip club invading a small Midwestern town made it all happen. 

What prompted you to begin the Knights of Divine Mercy?

In 2005, I was assigned as pastor of two parishes, one of which was St. Mary’s of Pine Bluff, a Catholic parish in a small, unincorporated town near Madison, Wisconsin. The little town of Pine Bluff has one church, two bars, and a handful of homes. Fields and idyllic countryside surround it. It’s the kind of town where people dream of raising their kids.

Shortly after my arrival, one of the bar owners decided to rent out his cozy establishment to a strip club owner. Neighbors were appalled, and the little town was stunned. But there was not, it seemed, much that anyone could do.

Twelfth Station of the Cross in Pine Bluff’s parish cemetery, where protesters tied their white ribbons to the 100 year old kneeler.

That’s terrible! How did you get involved? 

Discerning God’s will, I organized a mile-long Stations of the Cross through the town. I invited everyone to pray along this “miracle mile,” in an effort to reclaim this surrendered ground and to consecrate the soil back to Our Lord.

The inaugural prayer walk was on Palm Sunday 2005. Over two hundred people spilled into the little town of Pine Bluff to participate in the miracle mile. We prepared for the prayer walk by placing two-foot-high crosses in the lawns stretching all the way down the main road and back, the length of the miracle mile. Participants carried their prayer sheets and a white ribbon (a symbol of purity and anti-pornography).

The twelfth station found them at the entrance to the beautiful parish cemetery on a bluff with a life-size crucifix of our Lord and a one-hundred-year-old stone kneeler in front. The participants tied their white ribbons to this kneeler as a prayer form, much like lighting a vigil candle.

What happened after that day?

Read more at Regina Magazine >>

More Evil Emanating from Chicago: Massive 'Porno Palace' Opens Next to Convent

From LifeSiteNews
By John-Henry Westen

On behalf of local residents and the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, Thomas More Society attorneys demanded that the Village of Stone Park, Illinois, put a halt to construction of a three-million dollar strip club, “Get It,” located several feet from the property line of the Sisters’ convent.

“For over 60 years, the Sisters of St. Charles have devoted their lives to teaching the children of Stone Park – service for which they’re now being repaid with a ‘porno palace’ towering over their convent,” said Peter Breen, executive director of the Thomas More Society. “This facility was located in clear violation of state law, and zoning permissions were given without notice to the Sisters, whose convent is located immediately next to this facility.”

In his address to the Village Board last night, Breen identified a state law imposing a one-mile “buffer zone” between adult entertainment facilities and “places of worship,” which he contends prohibits the placement of “Get It” next to the convent and its several chapels.

In April of 2010, the developer of “Get It” sued the Village of Stone Park, accusing its officials of shaking him down for cash and part ownership of the Club in exchange for permission to build the facility. The village settled the lawsuit in August of 2010. Even though the village’s ordinances were largely unchallenged by the lawsuit, the village agreed to repeal or amend numerous ordinances as part of the settlement agreement, ending that lawsuit. In particular, the village agreed to repeal a local ordinance – similar to the state statute – that imposed a 1,000-foot buffer zone between adult entertainment facilities and schools, parks, churches, and residential areas.

 

Stone Park Community Protests Strip Club Opening Next to Convent : MyFoxCHICAGO.com

“The local buffer zone ordinances were never challenged in the lawsuit brought by the developer, nor could those ordinances be challenged, because they were valid and constitutional,” said Peter Breen, who spoke at the town hall meeting. “There was no reason to agree to the repeal of the ordinances protecting the people of Stone Park from strip clubs coming into their residential and other child-heavy areas.”

According to the Mayor of Stone Park, the village chose not to defend the developer’s lawsuit because doing so would cost the village half a million dollars. Village officials have discouraged residents and the Sisters from protesting “Get It.” However, last night, the Thomas More Society offered free legal services to the village of Stone Park should it choose to join residents in taking action against “Get It.”

“Get It” personnel have claimed that the facility is set to have its first “dry run” on April 1, and will officially open its doors during Holy Week, the most hallowed week on the Christian calendar, leading up to Easter Sunday.