Challenge Accepted, ISIS

February 24, 2015 by  
Filed under Blog, cultural manliness, Faith, manliness, Military, Virtue

The barbaric Islamic cowards of ISIS have threatened our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and have vowed to “conquer Rome”.  The Pontifical Swiss Guard have accepted the challenge of defending him.  Threats from Muslims against Christianity, and specifically against the Papacy, certainly aren’t new.  Many have been actualized over the years, and many more will most assuredly come.  However, the Commander of the Swiss Guard isn’t backing down, and says that the Swiss Guard are on high alert and are ready.

Swiss Guard 2

Since the assassination attempt of St. John Paul the Great (Pope John Paul II) in 1981, the security measures of not only the Swiss Guard, but also of the Vatican Police, known as the Corps of Gendarmes, have been significantly heightened.  Slight changes were made when Francis was elected, but the world can be assured that the Swiss Guard are prepared.

Swiss Guard salutes Pope Francis

TrueManhood requires that a man defend the common good.  It goes without saying that defending the Holy Father is a good thing, and these incredible elite soldiers who make up the Swiss Guard are assigned to a very good task.  When it comes to this good task, I wish I were younger, single, and Swiss – but alas, I’m older than the cutoff, married, and Italian (and Irish, Polish, & Czech).

Swiss Guard w Pope Francis

The young men that make up the world’s smallest army must be between the ages of 19 and 30, at least 5’8.5″ tall, single, a practicing Catholic, and trained in the Swiss Army.  Don’t let their Renaissance-esque uniforms fool you – they are trained warriors and ready for the battle.  They train in unarmed combat, small arms, and are proficient with their pike and sword.  Here’s the oath they swear on May 6th (each time a recruit becomes a Swiss Guard):

“I swear I will faithfully, loyally, and honorably serve the Supreme Pontiff Francis and his legitimate successors, and also dedicate myself to them with all my strength, sacrificing if necessary also my life to defend them.  I assume this same commitment with regard to the Sacred College of Cardinals whenever the See if vacant. Furthermore I promise to the Commanding Captain and my other superiors, respect, fidelity and obedience. This I swear! May God and our Holy Patrons assist me!”

Sheer awesomeness – an oath of self-giving, self-sacrifice, and overflowing with the virtue of magnanimity!  And I can guarantee that these men don’t take this oath lightly – a true and holy honor to protect the Vicar of Christ. This sort of attitude flies in the face of cultural manliness and stands for authentic manliness – TrueManhood!  We here at TrueManhood are proud of these men and so grateful to have them among the ranks who will be the first to defend Mother Church and our Holy Father.

Click Here a news story from Catholic News Agency.

TrueMan up!

The Fight – Clear and Present Danger

March 8, 2010 by  
Filed under Blog

Christians Massacred in NigeriaI write about “The Fight” a good bit on this site.  I urge men everywhere to realize that we are in a battle for souls.  Most of the time, the battle is spiritual – fighting demons, spiritual unrest and concupiscence.  Sometimes, however, the battle is physical.  In this video, the persecution of Christians shows us that the battle is a clear and present danger.  The persecution of Christians in America is far from as brutal as these persecutions of Christians by Muslims in Nigeria, but still real.  In no way am I attempting to compare the two forms of persecution – clearly, the are different.  However, there’s nothing to say that they can’t become as real in America as they are in other parts of the world.

If you can’t view the video, click HERE for the link.

Men, we MUST first learn what it means to be a man, then jump into action!  We are called to action!  Without TrueMen who step up, lead and fight, mankind will continue to suffer.  We cannot sit around and wait for this sort of hatred to permeate our culture any more.  Step up and do something!  How, you ask?  How can I possibly help these poor, defenseless people in Africa?  Start at home, so that it doesn’t happen here.  I’ve been known to joke on occasion about a “Muslim Invasion”, that I want to be armed and ready to respond to this sort of thing.  It’s not funny any more.  How ready are you if this were to happy in the US?

A note about the traffic on my site: in February 2010, my site was visited by people living in 36 various foreign countries.  6 of those 36 countries were African countries.  This is more real for them than me.