Follow up from yesterday’s post. Here is the key part of the statement from the Carmelites, explaining why they had to leave the Philly Carmel:
“…the Nuns had been invited by the community and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia with the clear understanding that they were part of a young, thriving, dedicated Order who loved the Extraordinary Form of the Holy Mass and the time-honored traditions of the Discalced Carmelites. As attempts were being made to not only interfere with but to obstruct their way of life, the Nuns tried one way after another to gracefully bow out of this pre-existing commitment. When it became painfully clear that the freedom to maintain their identity as originally promised by the Archdiocese was not being honored, the only option left to the Nuns was to return to the monastery in Valparaiso, Nebraska.”
Contrast that with what the communications director for the Archdiocese told me back in April, when I specifically asked if there had been any interference or coercion with regard to the Latin Mass or the spiritual autonomy of the Carmel:
I emailed Ken to ask for a response to the latest news, but I got an out of office reply.
From yesterday’s combox:
James Andrew Dunn says: Why is this Carmelite Association/Federation, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and now Archbishop Carballo in Rome (Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life) so adamant about closing the Philadelphia Carmel? It’s only been a couple of months since the Traditional Carmelites sisters were chased out of the Archdiocese by the Association/Federation. Why can’t they go all out to bring more sisters to that monastery to keep it open? Do they not understand that having a Carmel within the boundaries of a Diocese is literally a gift from God and may very well be what is holding back the hand of chastisement? Seriously, the prayers of devout Carmelites carry 1000x the weight of the prayers of laypeople.The LCWR orders may be dying out but the same is not true for the Carmelites. There’s a growing order of Carmelites in Brooklyn right now who are scared to death in their current environment. Shootings, prostitution and even satanic acts of aggression are happening in a park that abuts their monastery. The good news is that they have been deeded land in northeastern Pennsylvania for a new monastery but the bad news is that their Brooklyn monastery is not theirs and once they leave, it reverts to the Brooklyn Diocese which leaves the Carmelites unable to sell and use the proceeds to build anew. This is public news within the Catholic world and certainly within the greater U.S. Carmelite world. Why can’t the Brooklyn sisters be invited into Philadelphia to at least temporarily reside in that fine monastery until they are able to raise the necessary funds to build their monastery in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania? If the Federation/Association really cared about Mother Pia, they’d be working overtime to find new sisters to join Mother here in Philly rather than bully her into leaving and clo$ing the mona$tery for whatever rea$ons. There are ~10 Brooklyn sisters which the Philadelphia Carmel could easily accommodate. By the way, the Philadelphia Carmel contains FIRST CLASS RELICS of St. Therese of Liseux and her parents. What a grace it would be for a growing order of sisters to live in the presence of those, among many other graces tied to the monastery.I have seen some postings since this story broke that the neighborhood where the Philadelphia Carmel is is dangerous and that’s what drove away the traditional sisters. Well, I live here and can tell you that the neighborhood is not hellish whatsoever. It’s a city neighborhood so things happen but it’s not the heart of North Philly either. Those pushing this lie and saying that the traditional sisters “abandoned Mother” are trying to spin this story from the true villains (the Association/Federation) to the traditional sisters now in Nebraska.Please join me in praying for the intentions of Mother Pia in Philadelphia and for the thwarting of the intentions of the Federation/Association and the Archdiocesan officials who are harassing her and trying hard to clo$e the Carmel for whatever rea$ons.REPLY
C. P. Benischek says: James, For the money. It’s a very valuable property. It’s a land grab.Plus Antipope Francis/Perez (Homosexual Network Strangling the Church) can destroy a traditional Mass outpost simultaneously.Bergoglio’s minions delight in killing. As here, especially two birds w one stone.REPLY
susan says: Yes….they understand that. They COMPLETELY understand that. They are satanic. They are NOT on the side of the Lord and His Church….they are NOT shepherds; they are ravenous wolves. If you’ve not yet read this, do yourself a favor, take a few minutes, and drink in the wisdom as you swallow the red pill. E.V.E.R.Y. word is true…..https://www.barnhardt.biz/2015/09/17/repost-by-request/REPLY
Patricia says: Dear James, thank you for posting! Totally agree on all counts. I attend the Bklyn Carmel for Latin Mass every Sunday. The only thing you left out is the insane music from the park, and sometimes even the passing cars, and the frequent smell of weed! The park is in full use for parties every weekend. People up to no good know this is a holy place and want to “use” ‘the power’ of the monastery. Please pray for our holy nuns! I was at Mass in the Philly Carmel this past Fall, for an anniversary of a good priest. I had also left my then 19 year old daughter at Philly Carmel a few years ago while she was discerning. It’s not a similar situation by any means! The Philly Carmel is more similar to a setting in the west side of Manhattan, or the better areas of The Bronx. I believe the Philly Carmel should definitely be utilized! But, wouldn’t the Bklyn OCD face the same risk of oppression that the nuns left behind?REPLY
James Andrew Dunn says: I think they would face the same oppression which is disappointing. In a sane world, a bishop would go out of his way to not lose a growing order of Carmelites. But, we’re nowhere even close to being a sane world. The Archdiocese here didn’t lift a finger to try and bring back the sisters who left for Nebraska. Nor are they doing anything to attract replacement sisters. They want to clo$e the mona$tery and I pray they fail.REPLY
I broke the original story on the Philly Carmel back in April, and I will link to those original posts at the end of this one. I’m not going to try to summarize, because there is too much. What is breaking is this first letter, sent today, from the Traditional sisters at Fairfield, who also speak for the sisters of Valparaiso, NE. Every word of this letter is true:
From: Fairfield Carmelites <fairfieldcarmelites@gmail.com> Date: June 21, 2021 at 2:02:34 PM CDT To: Subject:An Important Update regarding Philadelphia and Elysburg
An update to our dear friends… Month of the Sacred Heart June 19, 2021
Dear Friends,
Praised be Jesus Christ!
We are writing this personal letter to you, all our dear friends, to shed some light on the recent events involving our Carmel of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Once we realized there was both misinformation and misunderstanding regarding Elysburg and Philadelphia, we wanted to relate to you the truth of these matters. We hope this letter will be enlightening and helpful. First of all, regarding Elysburg, we made a wholehearted attempt to keep two monasteries open in this diocese by splitting our community in half. This proved too taxing on our Nuns and detrimental to the spiritual welfare of our community. Therefore we have brought all our Nuns to Fairfield. This was the original plan, and it has proven the best plan. We apologize that from your perspective it seemed rushed, but for us it was very much a necessity. While it seemed from the outside that Elysburg and Fairfield were two separate entities, Elysburg was in fact leaning heavily upon our support and direction. We found it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of all our young and vibrant Sisters at both locations. Because of this and because of the exciting prospect of being united in time for the beautiful liturgies of Holy Week and Easter, we accelerated our moving plans. Ideally we would like the Elysburg property to go to another religious group. We had one lined up but it fell through just recently. We will continue to pray that Our Lord will send one to take our place, but we remain at peace with whatever His Will may be. By selling the building, we will be able to reinvest into our present home all the work and donations given during our fruitful years in Elysburg. So while our location has changed a little (same state, same diocese), the community of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph remains faithful to the invitation received from the Diocese of Harrisburg in 2009. Secondly, we would like to dispel any lingering misinformation about our and the Carmel in Valparaiso’s involvement in the departure of the twelve Discalced Carmelite Nuns from the Philadelphia monastery on April 9, 2021. As some of you have noted, the Elysburg monastery closed just about the same time as the Philadelphia Carmel. Because of this, there has been some outside conjecture that the two closures are related. However, the two events were enacted for entirely different reasons and were completely un-choreographed. In July 2017, the Valparaiso Carmel was invited by the small and aging Philadelphia Carmel to help rejuvenate their community. Leaving their beloved Mothers and Sisters and the quiet setting of their monastic homes behind, three of our Nuns from Elysburg and six from Valparaiso undertook this task. Along with the one member of the original Philadelphia community, to whom they became quite close and from whom they received an enthusiastic welcome, these nine Nuns worked together to build a flourishing house of the Lord. However, there was a looming cloud that threatened what we all thought would be a peaceful and fruitful future. For many years, the Philadelphia Carmel had been part of an association. When our Nuns arrived, it was assumed that withdrawing from this association would be a small matter. After all, the Nuns had been invited by the community and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia with the clear understanding that they were part of a young, thriving, dedicated Order who loved the Extraordinary Form of the Holy Mass and the time-honored traditions of the Discalced Carmelites. As attempts were being made to not only interfere with but to obstruct their way of life, the Nuns tried one way after another to gracefully bow out of this pre-existing commitment. When it became painfully clear that the freedom to maintain their identity as originally promised by the Archdiocese was not being honored, the only option left to the Nuns was to return to the monastery in Valparaiso, Nebraska. They did this in the most correct way possible, fulfilling all canonical requirements. Contrary to rumors, April 9th unfolded very quietly at the Carmel in Philadelphia. The Nuns, with smiles and a few tears, took their leave of the original Nun (who wished to remain) and peacefully departed. This Sister’s well-being was, of course, an important concern of the departing Nuns, despite her good health and energetic nature. Therefore, the Mothers in Valparaiso requested that a few of us from Fairfield come to stay in the monastery with her to help in any way necessary. We cooked and cleaned for her, helped her with the sacristy and turn, and arranged for the little ducks and bees to be taken care of. All this we joyfully and willingly did. We only left at her repeated assurance that she would be well taken care of by the surrounding lay community (which has indeed been the case: may God reward these good people!). The Carmel of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in Valparaiso wishes to extend their fullest support and confirmation of what we have related herein. We stand together in our efforts to be faithful to Our Lord and the charism He has given us through Our Holy Mother, St. Teresa of Avila. We humbly beg for your prayers and support in our endeavors. We will keep you all informed of any developments. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to email FairfieldCarmelites@gmail.com. Catherine Bauer is happy to help and will pass your messages along to us. Meanwhile, as the good Lord leads our little community up and down the humanly inexplicable ways of His providence, work proceeds well here in Fairfield. We are currently putting in an orchard and building raised stone-beds for our kitchen garden while we watch the refectory and kitchen take shape before our eyes. In even more exciting news, our permanent chapel’s excavation is well underway. We are enormously grateful to be surrounded and supported by such a wonderful Catholic family as you. Be assured of the continued prayers for you and all your loved ones. In the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, & Joseph Mother Stella-Marie of Jesus, Prioress & the Community of the Carmel of Jesus, Mary, & Joseph, Fairfield
The above letter from the good nuns was written in response to the letter below from the association/federation that the Philly Carmel belonged to prior to the Traditional nuns being brought in, which as mentioned above, has hassled them from the start, and is now trying to crush the Carmel completely. The following letter was sent to every Carmel in the United States:
Date: June 17, 2021 at 6:55:32 PM EDT
Subject:Philadelphia Carmel
My very dear Mothers and Sisters in Carmel, Praised be Jesus Christ! Once again, I would like so much to greet you individually, but I going to have to have recourse to a “joint” email, trusting in your forgiveness and understanding. First of all, I want to thank you on behalf of Mother Anne and all our Sisters here for the prayers and Masses you have offered for the repose of the soul of our dear Sr. Mary Joseph of the Trinity. She was an incredibly grateful soul; she will continue to show that same loving gratitude even now in the presence of the One she loved with all her heart. I am coming to all of you yet again to ask for a very special remembrance in your prayers for a trip that I must make tomorrow to Philadelphia with our Mother Celine from Loretto and Sr. Gabriela from Flemington. We may stay about a week, but even that is not certain. Father General, (auxiliary) Bishop Fitzgerald of Philadelphia and I have all received replies from Archbishop Carballo in answer to our separate appeals for direction in the very difficult situation in Philadelphia which is not only the result of the Valparaiso/Elysburg (Fairfield) nuns’ abandonment of the monastery and Mother Pia this April, but also the situation of Mother Pia herself. Rome has directed that Mother can no longer remain in the monastery by herself but must re-locate. We need to move her to another religious house in the archdiocese for the time being, not only pending the process of closing the monastery but also in view of another directive that I am not permitted to share with you at present – but one which will need much, much prayer and many sacrifices even before I do. This first endeavor will not be easy either, though, and I am begging you all for your prayers as we are called to try and deal with Mother’s situation and needs with the greatest sisterly kindness, delicacy, understanding and charity. She very much deserves our compassion and support; the events of April 9 traumatized her too. God bless and reward all of you so much for your sisterly love, kindness, understanding and unceasing support. You are in my own prayers daily, offered with much, much gratitude and love, In the Heart of our Good Jesus, Sr. Mary Elizabeth
Mother Pia isn’t leaving, and they aren’t happy about it. Mother Pia has a lawyer, and they are not going to steal her monastery. Mother Pia, by the way, is not some bed-ridden invalid in need of constant care… not at all. The association, Auxiliary Bishop Fitzgerald, Archbishop Perez of the Philadelphian See, and Archbishop Carballo of Rome, well… I’m afraid they don’t know who they are dealing with.
My money, and prayers, are on Mother Pia. Won’t you join me?
Backstory (three posts from April):
BREAKING: OCD Carmelites of Philadelphia abandon their cloister; flee to Nebraska for unknown reasons
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As far as I know, this story is being broken right here. Following is a guest post from a reliable source, with personal knowledge of the situation, who wishes to remain anonymous:
For reasons not totally known at this point, the Carmelite Sisters of Philadelphia have abruptly abandoned their monastery.
According to sources close to the monastery, the sudden move took place over this past weekend. On Friday, after the daily Mass, a van was noticed by the entrance to the monastery used by the cloistered sisters. Later that day, word began to spread that the sisters had suddenly departed. The sisters were reportedly driven to another Carmelite monastery in Valparaiso, Nebraska. One elderly sister is said to have remained behind in Philadelphia but all of the others, believed to be 15 young Carmelites who arrived in 2017, have all departed.
The Philadelphia Carmel of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and Anne was established in 1902, less than five years after the death of St. Therese of Liseux. It has been a treasure for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and for the nation. By the early 21st century, faced with a shortage of sisters, the fate of the monastery was in question. Then in 2017, former Archbishop Charles Chaput welcomed a branch of traditionalist Carmelites to Philadelphia and they accepted. These new arrivals were mostly younger women coming from Nebraska as well as another monastery in Pennsylvania.
With the departure of these 15 Carmelites over the weekend, and the recent deaths of most of the original sisters in Philadelphia, the beloved monastery is left with just one elderly sister and an uncertain future. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has not yet addressed what happened. Catholics in the Philadelphia Archdiocese learning about the departure are devastated. The presence of a Carmelite Monastery is considered to be an honor and a blessing to have within a diocese. Historically, the Carmelites have been major drivers of the Faith and have had, amongst their sisters: St. Therese of Liseux and St. Theresa of Avila – both revered saints and Doctors of the Church. In fact, first class relics of St. Therese of Liseux and her family are in residence at the Philadelphia monastery. During the French Revolution, it was the martyrdom of the Carmelites that ended the Reign of Terror. The Brown Scapular is a noted devotion within the order and with lay Catholics.
Unlike many orders of Religious Sisters, the Traditional Carmelites have been flourishing with vocations in recent years making their departure from Philadelphia especially tragic. Locally, four young women are known to have joined the Traditional Carmelites in Philadelphia since 2017 with others that were in formation.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Impact of Cor Orans?*While we don’t know the reason for the developments in Philadelphia, it is hard not to recall a recent document issued by the Vatican – Cor Orans – targeting communities of contemplative nuns which is what the Carmelites are. Cor Orans instructs monasteries to belong to a “federation of monasteries”, tied together with a similar charism or shared geographical location. This basically erodes the autonomy of individual monasteries operated by individual orders such as the Carmelites. In addition, the length of formation for new nuns, previously six years for Carmelites became nine to twelve years under Cor Orans, which is an impediment to new vocations. Another requirement of Cor Orans is a “religious assistant,” a priest monitoring the monastery in addition to a chaplain, assigned by the federation. This further erodes the monasteries’ autonomy by giving unprecedented powers to the “religious assistant.”
This is Mark again. I contacted the communications office of the archdiocese for a statement, but neither my call nor email were immediately returned. I’m withholding judgment on the matter until we find out more information. I was physically present at the cloister the day the FSSP arrived there in 2017. Trust me, it’s a special place. The FSSP were consequently given a mission just outside the city, at a beautiful large church in Conshohocken. I do hope they’re not next. The only other access to the traditional sacraments in the entire five-county metro is the SSPX outpost in Eddystone, which isn’t even a full time parish. The priest drives down from Connecticut for the weekends, and their chapel holds fewer than a hundred faithful.
If you don’t understand why the antichurch needs to destroy the contemplative orders, start here:
“The Cor Orans document is the death-knell of Carmel. It signals the end of the contemplative monastic life. Not only does it destroy the autonomy of the Monasteries, something Our Holy Mother St. Teresa was extremely insistent about, but it also removes the Superior, dissolves her authority and power, removes the financial independence of each Monastery, and destroys the specificity of each charism… This is a disaster. Especially for Carmel.”
Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us
Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, pray for us
UPDATE: Philly Carmelites’ departure confirmed by three priestly sources… so when will kneeling be banned?
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Said sources wish to remain anonymous, but I can say they are diocesan secular, not FSSP.
Father Z. picked this up yesterday and posted it, many thanks to him for that. Also to Frank Walker at canon212.com and several other aggregators who picked it up.
Earlier today, Fr. Z. posted an update:
So there you go. New archbishop, new rules, Traditional nuns no longer welcome in the archdiocese. I just asked the communications director for a statement for the second time. I wonder what their standards are for diversity and inclusion, you know?
Because guess who is totally welcomed in the archdiocese?
And the FSSP better watch out, because you can’t have the TLM without a lot of kneeling. The archbishop HATES kneeling.
I only know one thing about new Philly Archbishop Nelson Jesus Perez
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He banned kneeling at Mass in the Diocese of Cleveland last year. HERE
Philly archdiocese ends busy week with multiple press releases to concerned faithful
Still not a peep about 15 Discalced Carmelites fleeing the archdiocese for Nebraska, even after multiple requests directly to the head of the communications office.
To be fair, I have received multiple comments/messages that there may be trouble inside the order: A power struggle between confederated houses. It’s likely there are multiple factors in play here, with some within the order and the diocese wanting to enforce Cor Orans, the thermonuclear war on Contemplatives instituted by antipope Bergoglio.
There is also this:
UPDATE: The archdiocese finally responded to my two email inquiries on the situation. A short interaction took place. I paste it all here without comment:
“The vaccines are totally safe so disregard the dozens of articles per day claiming there are any significant negative reactions,” they say.
“Listen to the doctors,” they say.
Listen to the doctors. Okay. How about THESE doctors:
Of the 700 physicians responding to an internet survey by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), nearly 60 percent said they were not “fully vaccinated” against COVID.
Neither survey represents a random sample of all American physicians, but the AAPS survey shows that physician support for the mass injection campaign is far from unanimous.
“It is wrong to call a person who declines a shot an ‘anti-vaxxer,’” states AAPS executive director Jane Orient, M.D. “Virtually no physicians are ‘anti-antibiotics’ or ‘anti-surgery,’ whereas all are opposed to treatments that they think are unnecessary, more likely to harm than to benefit an individual patient, or inadequately tested.”
From the earliest days of the pandemic, doctors and public health officials have seen widespread vaccination as the most effective way to stop COVID-19 in its tracks. But a growing contingent of medical experts is now questioning whether that conventional wisdom ought to apply to children.
Their doubts are not borne of conspiracy beliefs, but couched in the carefully calibrated language of risk and benefit. And they’re expected to get a public airing next week as advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ponder a spate of post-vaccine heart problems in adolescents and young adults.
…
The FDA authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use in adolescents as young as 12 on May 10. In the weeks that have followed, the safety monitoring systems managed by the FDA and CDC detected dozens of cases of a possible side effect in newly vaccinated teens: an inflammation of the heart muscle known as myocarditis.
The cases typically developed in older adolescents, most of them boys, three to four days after they got a second dose…
“Human coronavirus (HCoV) is one of the most common causes of respiratory tract infections throughout the world. Two phenomena observed so far in the development of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic deserve further attention. First, the relative absence of clinical signs of infections in children, second, the early appearance of IgG in certain patients. From the point of view of immune system physiology, such an early rise of specific IgG is expected in secondary immune responses when memory to a cross-reactive antigen is present, usually from an earlier infection with a coronavirus. It is actually typical for the immune system to respond, to what it already knows, a phenomenon that has been observed in many infections with closely related viruses and has been termed “original antigenic sin.” The question then arises whether such cross-reactive antibodies are protective or not against the new virus. The worst scenario would be when such cross-reactive memory antibodies to related coronaviruses would not only be non-protective but even enhance infection and the clinical course. Such a phenomenon of antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) has already been described in several viral infections. Thus, the development of IgG against SARS-CoV-2 in the course of COVID-19 might not be a simple sign of viral clearance and developing protection against the virus. On the contrary, due to cross-reaction to related coronavirus strains from earlier infections, in certain patients IgG might enhance clinical progression due to ADE. The patient’s viral history of coronavirus infection might be crucial to the development of the current infection with SARS-CoV-2…”
“…In late February 2021, a new clinical syndrome characterized by thrombosis at atypical sites combined with thrombocytopenia was observed in multiple patients’ days after vaccination with the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. In April 2021, similar clinical sequelae were reported in patients after vaccination with the Ad26.COV2. S vaccine. Preceding the approval of these vaccines, the clinical constellation of this new syndrome was not observed in clinical trials of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine, and a single case was observed in the Ad26.COV2. S vaccine trial recipient.Furthermore, the incidence of major adverse effects has remained exceptionally low following the vaccination of more than 400 million people worldwide. This novel clinical syndrome demonstrated striking similarities to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia; however, in the absence of prior heparin exposure was named vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT).
“Per the American Society of Hematology, vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is defined as a clinical syndrome characterized by all of the below described abnormal laboratory and radiologic abnormalities occurring in individuals 4 to 30 days after vaccination with Ad26.COV2. S or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccines.
Development of thrombosis at uncommon sites includes cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CSVT)/splanchnic venous thrombosis.
Mild to severe thrombocytopenia. However, a normal platelet count does not exclude the possibility of this syndrome in its early stages.
Positive antibodies against platelet factor 4(PF4) identified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assay.”
REMINDER: All the Covid “vaccines” are unapproved and experimental, and no drug company can be held liable for any injury they may cause.
Dr. Sara Ross, chief of pediatric critical care at Tufts Children’s Hospital, said the standard for safety for COVID vaccines “seems to be different for all the other vaccines we expose children to.”
Lucien Wiggins, 12, arrived at Tufts Children’s Hospital by ambulance June 7 with chest pains, dizziness and high levels of a protein in his blood that indicated inflammation of his heart. The symptoms had begun a day earlier, the morning after his second vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA shot.
For Dr. Sara Ross, chief of pediatric critical care at the Boston hospital, the event confirmed a doubt she’d been nursing: Was the country pushing its luck by vaccinating children against COVID at a time when the disease was relatively mild in the young — and skepticism of vaccines was frighteningly high?
“I have practiced pediatric ICU for almost 15 years and I have never taken care of a single patient with a vaccine-related complication until now,” Ross told Kaiser Health News. “Our standard for safety seems to be different for all the other vaccines we expose children to.”
…
Most of the 800 or so cases of heart problems among all ages reported to a federal vaccine safety database through May 31 followed a similar course. Yet the pattern of these cases — most occurred in young males after the second Pfizer or Moderna shot — suggested that the ailment was caused by the vaccine, rather than being coincidental.
…
On Friday, June 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee is set to meet to discuss the possible link and whether it merits changing its recommendations for vaccinating teenagers with the Pfizer vaccine, which the Food and Drug Administration last month authorized for children 12 and older. A similar authorization for the Moderna vaccine is pending, and both companies are conducting clinical trials that will test their vaccines on children as young as 6 months old.
At a meeting last week of an FDA advisory committee, vaccine experts suggested that the agency require the pharmaceutical companies to hold larger and longer clinical trials for the younger age groups. A few said FDA should hold off on authorizing vaccination of younger children for up to a year or two.
We’ve been told for well over a year that widespread forced public masking should be implemented because, even if only moderately to slightly to negligibly effective at curbing the spread of COVID-19, there are ZERO drawbacks.
“What’s the harm?” they ask.
“It’s only a minor inconvenience,” they bleat.
“If it saves ONE LIFE, it’s worth it!” they implore.
Meanwhile, we on Team Reality have not only continued to point to real-world data that shows masking to be entirely ineffective, we’ve also maintained that forced public masking, especially long-term, has negative societal and even health ramifications that the powers-that-be are all-too-happy to ignore in subservience to their newfound face mask god.
It only stands to reason that one of those health ramifications would be the fact that millions of people, particularly children, have been forced to wear and carry around pieces of cloth they’ve continually breathed through for hours on end. What lurking pathogens might be found on these disgusting contraptions being incessantly handled, stuck in pockets, and mindlessly tossed on books, tables, and desks? Well, one group of Florida parents sent a batch of masks worn by their children to a lab to find out. And yeah, you’ll probably need to make sure you aren’t eating dinner anytime soon before you digest THESE results.
Gainesville, FL (June 16, 2021) – A group of parents in Gainesville, FL, concerned about potential harms from masks, submitted six face masks to a lab for analysis. The resulting report found that five masks were contaminated with bacteria, parasites, and fungi, including three with dangerous pathogenic and pneumonia-causing bacteria. No viruses were detected on the masks, although the test is capable of detecting viruses.
The analysis detected the following 11 alarmingly dangerous pathogens on the masks:
• Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumonia)
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis (tuberculosis)
• Neisseria meningitidis (meningitis, sepsis)
• Acanthamoeba polyphaga (keratitis and granulomatous amebic encephalitis)
Half of the masks were contaminated with one or more strains of pneumonia-causing bacteria. One-third were contaminated with one or more strains of meningitis-causing bacteria. One-third were contaminated with dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens. In addition, less dangerous pathogens were identified, including pathogens that can cause fever, ulcers, acne, yeast infections, strep throat, periodontal disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and more.
The face masks studied were new or freshly-laundered before wearing and had been worn for 5 to 8 hours, most during in-person schooling by children aged 6 through 11. One was worn by an adult. A t-shirt worn by one of the children at school and unworn masks were tested as controls. No pathogens were found on the controls. Proteins found on the t-shirt, for example, are not pathogenic to humans and are commonly found in hair, skin, and soil.
Antibody-based drugs and vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are being expedited through preclinical and clinical development. Data from the study of SARS-CoV and other respiratory viruses suggest that anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies could exacerbate COVID-19 through antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). Previous respiratory syncytial virus and dengue virus vaccine studies revealed human clinical safety risks related to ADE, resulting in failed vaccine trials. Here, we describe key ADE mechanisms and discuss mitigation strategies for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and therapies in development. We also outline recently published data to evaluate the risks and opportunities for antibody-based protection against SARS-CoV-2.
Main
The emergence and rapid global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has resulted in substantial global morbidity and mortality along with widespread social and economic disruption. SARS-CoV-2 is a betacoronavirus closely related to SARS-CoV (with ~80% sequence identity), which caused the SARS outbreak in 2002…
One potential hurdle for antibody-based vaccines and therapeutics is the risk of exacerbating COVID-19 severity via antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). ADE can increase the severity of multiple viral infections, including other respiratory viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)9,10 and measles11,12. ADE in respiratory infections is included in a broader category named enhanced respiratory disease (ERD), which also includes non-antibody-based mechanisms such as cytokine cascades and cell-mediated immunopathology (Box 1). ADE caused by enhanced viral replication has been observed for other viruses that infect macrophages, including dengue virus13,14 and feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV)15. Furthermore, ADE and ERD has been reported for SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV both in vitro and in vivo. The extent to which ADE contributes to COVID-19 immunopathology is being actively investigated.
In this Perspective, we discuss the possible mechanisms of ADE in SARS-CoV-2 and outline several risk mitigation principles for vaccines and therapeutics. We also highlight which types of studies are likely to reveal the relevance of ADE in COVID-19 disease pathology and examine how the emerging data might influence clinical interventions.