Today
Nancy 'Freedom!' Pelosi
Eleanor Clift's interview with Nancy Pelosi in the latest issue of Newsweek has been making the rounds, predictably, because of the Speaker's comments on abortion. From the Boston Examiner:
"I have some concerns about the church's position respecting a woman's right to choose. I have some concerns about the church's position on gay rights. I am a practicing Catholic, although they're probably not too happy about that. But it is my faith." Pelosi is quoted as saying.
"I have some concerns about the church's position respecting a woman's right to choose. I have some concerns about the church's position on gay rights. I am a practicing Catholic, although they're probably not too happy about that. But it is my faith." Pelosi is quoted as saying.
Senate Health Bill Unacceptable
The current health care reform bill is “deficient” and should not move forward without “essential changes,” the chairmen of three committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said December 22.
The chairs, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, of the Committee on Migration, stated their position in a December 22 letter to senators working to pass the Senate version of health reform legislation.
The chairs, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, of the Committee on Migration, stated their position in a December 22 letter to senators working to pass the Senate version of health reform legislation.
Meaning of Christmas
Modern interpreters often argue about whether a given Scripture passage should be interpreted literally or symbolically. Medieval writers would question the “either/or” approach. They thought a passage could have as many as four “right” interpretations, one literal and three symbolic.
These were: (1) the historical or literal, which is the primary sense on which the others all depend; (2) the prophetic sense when an Old Testament event foreshadows its New Testament fulfillment; (3) the moral or spiritual sense, when events and characters in a story correspond to elements in our own lives; and (4) the eschatological sense, when a scene on earth foreshadows something of heavenly glory.
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These were: (1) the historical or literal, which is the primary sense on which the others all depend; (2) the prophetic sense when an Old Testament event foreshadows its New Testament fulfillment; (3) the moral or spiritual sense, when events and characters in a story correspond to elements in our own lives; and (4) the eschatological sense, when a scene on earth foreshadows something of heavenly glory.
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Little House in Nazareth
Archaeologists in Israel say they have discovered the remains of the first home in Nazareth that can be dated to the time of Jesus.
The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres (1.6 hectares). It was evidently populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders, said archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres (1.6 hectares). It was evidently populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders, said archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Fake Catholic Groups
It's sad to report, but report we must: The same fake Catholic groups that helped President Barack Obama get elected have rallied to the cause of the health-care bill, abortion funding and all. As reported by LifeNews.com, Catholics United (CU) and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG) are warning Catholics not to get too hung up on things like federal funding of abortion.
Interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor, CU president Chris Korzen commented, "The wrong thing would be for anyone to be so firmly entrenched in their positions on federal funding of abortion that they're not willing to come to the table and talk about a compromise."
Interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor, CU president Chris Korzen commented, "The wrong thing would be for anyone to be so firmly entrenched in their positions on federal funding of abortion that they're not willing to come to the table and talk about a compromise."
Abortion Hurts Women
Over the last three decades, the abortion debate has been characterized as the clashing of rights: the human rights of the unborn on the one hand and the reproductive rights of women on the other. This decades-long rhetorical deadlock has left a good number of Americans -- the great majority of whom understand that an individual human life is taken in each abortion -- personally opposed, yet unwilling to "impose their beliefs" on anyone else.
The popularity of this so-called pro-choice position is due, in large measure, to the success abortion advocates have had in convincing Americans that abortion is a necessary precondition to women's well-being and equality. If you want to stand for women's progress, the line goes, then you have to stand for abortion. Indeed, in our current cultural milieu, to oppose abortion is to risk being called anti-woman -- and few, regardless of their sense of the moral wrongness of abortion, can withstand that accusation. "Personally opposed, but can't impose" seems to many the only pro-woman option.
The popularity of this so-called pro-choice position is due, in large measure, to the success abortion advocates have had in convincing Americans that abortion is a necessary precondition to women's well-being and equality. If you want to stand for women's progress, the line goes, then you have to stand for abortion. Indeed, in our current cultural milieu, to oppose abortion is to risk being called anti-woman -- and few, regardless of their sense of the moral wrongness of abortion, can withstand that accusation. "Personally opposed, but can't impose" seems to many the only pro-woman option.
Healthcare Bill
In a statement released today by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, President Francis Cardinal George spoke plainly in response to the defeat of the Nelson-Hatch amendment to the health-care bill in the Senate:
Failure to exclude abortion funding will turn allies into adversaries and require us and others to oppose this bill because it abandons both principle and precedent (emphasis added).
Abortion funding is not the only thing wrong with the health care bill, but it is the worst thing, and I admire Cardinal George for his forthright manner in warning Congress. How will all this play out? Will the bishops prevail in getting abortion funding out of the Senate bill, as they did with the House version?
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Failure to exclude abortion funding will turn allies into adversaries and require us and others to oppose this bill because it abandons both principle and precedent (emphasis added).
Abortion funding is not the only thing wrong with the health care bill, but it is the worst thing, and I admire Cardinal George for his forthright manner in warning Congress. How will all this play out? Will the bishops prevail in getting abortion funding out of the Senate bill, as they did with the House version?
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Devotion to Our Lady
Over the years in speaking on the Blessed Virgin Mary, you naturally fall into certain categories and almost routine ways of speaking about Our Lady. Yet, as with anything we love, repetition is no hindrance to the increase of our affection.
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin is one of the cardinal features of not only professing to be, but being a Catholic. You might say a Catholic is one who is devoted to Mary. What I will suggest for our reflections is that we look at and check our devotion to Mary on six norms. The one who is devoted to Mary thinks of her, reads about her, talks about her, speaks to her, invokes her and tries to imitate her.
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Devotion to the Blessed Virgin is one of the cardinal features of not only professing to be, but being a Catholic. You might say a Catholic is one who is devoted to Mary. What I will suggest for our reflections is that we look at and check our devotion to Mary on six norms. The one who is devoted to Mary thinks of her, reads about her, talks about her, speaks to her, invokes her and tries to imitate her.
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Seeing God
No human being can see God and survive, God explained.
For many years I have fielded questions from students. Most are predictable, some are babyish, but some senior primary questions are worthy of a post-graduate theology seminar.
By a coincidence I had not long read the commentary of an ancient Christian writer which explained that God could only be seen indirectly through the beauty of his creation, in nature and people. The young man was satisfied with this explanation of God's back.
For many years I have fielded questions from students. Most are predictable, some are babyish, but some senior primary questions are worthy of a post-graduate theology seminar.
By a coincidence I had not long read the commentary of an ancient Christian writer which explained that God could only be seen indirectly through the beauty of his creation, in nature and people. The young man was satisfied with this explanation of God's back.
Immaculate Conception
It is what is called a holy day of obligation, when Catholics are expected to go to mass. The Church teaches that the Virgin Mary was born without sin. This special feast has been celebrated since the 7th century.
This is a huge stumbling block for Protestants, mainly because of the scripture passage in Romans 3:23 that states "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". The word "all" in Greek, pas, doesn't necessarily "every single one without exception". For example, St. Paul also writes in Romans 11:26 that "all Israel will be saved."One would suspect that not every single Jewish person will be saved.
This is a huge stumbling block for Protestants, mainly because of the scripture passage in Romans 3:23 that states "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". The word "all" in Greek, pas, doesn't necessarily "every single one without exception". For example, St. Paul also writes in Romans 11:26 that "all Israel will be saved."One would suspect that not every single Jewish person will be saved.
Poker-Playing Priest
A South Carolina priest has been making headlines lately for the unusual way he's raising money for his parish -- namely, by playing in a national poker tournament. With the blessing of his bishop, Father Andrew Trapp has already won $100,000 in the "PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge"; he recently taped an episode that could win him $200,000 and a shot at the million-dollar final round.
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Things at the USCCB
When you see stories like this from the Catholic News Agency you have to ask, "Who's running things at the USCCB?"
Mary Kay Henry serves on the USCCB's Subcommittee on Health Care and on the Subcommittee for Peace, Justice, and Human Development. She has advised the USCCB on matters from health care and labor issues to immigration.
Ms. Henry is employed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and is its international executive vice president. Her biography on the SEIU website describes Henry as "active in the fight for immigration reform and gay and lesbian rights. She is a founding member of SEIU's gay and lesbian Lavender Caucus."
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Mary Kay Henry serves on the USCCB's Subcommittee on Health Care and on the Subcommittee for Peace, Justice, and Human Development. She has advised the USCCB on matters from health care and labor issues to immigration.
Ms. Henry is employed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and is its international executive vice president. Her biography on the SEIU website describes Henry as "active in the fight for immigration reform and gay and lesbian rights. She is a founding member of SEIU's gay and lesbian Lavender Caucus."
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USCCB and gay rights activist
Conservative blogs were buzzing on Friday with the discovery that a member of the USCCB's Subcommittee on Catholic Health Care is an active homosexual and gay rights activist. However, though Mary Kay Henry's bio states that she is a labor adviser to the U.S. bishops, the USCCB communications director told CNA “she is not a consultant.”
Henry, the international executive vice president for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was recently named one of the nation's "Top 25 Women in Healthcare" for 2009 by Modern Healthcare. Her biography at the SEIU website explains that “Her faith and values as a practicing Roman Catholic led her to pursue union organizing as a vocation.”
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Henry, the international executive vice president for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was recently named one of the nation's "Top 25 Women in Healthcare" for 2009 by Modern Healthcare. Her biography at the SEIU website explains that “Her faith and values as a practicing Roman Catholic led her to pursue union organizing as a vocation.”
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Sued Over Group Event Prayers
A community college is Southern California faces a federal lawsuit for opening its public ceremonies with an official prayer.
The group Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed the lawsuit last week against the South Orange County Community College District in U.S. District Court.
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The group Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed the lawsuit last week against the South Orange County Community College District in U.S. District Court.
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ban Catholic symbols in schools
There is a push in Spain to remove religious symbols from public schools, according to the GlobalPost. The Ministry of Justice, in charge of religious affairs, is considering the ban:
The issue originally surfaced in 2008 with a controversial court decision, which stated that Macias Picavea, a public school in Valladolid, was to remove all crucifixes from classrooms and common spaces. The school’s council, composed of teachers and parents, had voted to maintain the religious symbols which dated back to the establishment’s 1930 inauguration. But a group of parents felt the symbols violated fundamental rights such as freedom of conscience. They took the case to court and won.
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The issue originally surfaced in 2008 with a controversial court decision, which stated that Macias Picavea, a public school in Valladolid, was to remove all crucifixes from classrooms and common spaces. The school’s council, composed of teachers and parents, had voted to maintain the religious symbols which dated back to the establishment’s 1930 inauguration. But a group of parents felt the symbols violated fundamental rights such as freedom of conscience. They took the case to court and won.
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Man thought to be in a coma
From the Guardian comes the unbelievable story of Rom Houben, who sustained massive brain trauma in a car crash and was believed to be in a vegetative state. Though completely paralyzed, however, he was also completely conscious: He could hear everything going on around him, he simply couldn't communicate.
For 23 years.
Then a neurologist, Steven Laureys, who decided to take a radical look at the state of diagnosed coma patients, released him from his torture. Using a state-of-the-art scanning system, Laureys found to his amazement that his brain was functioning almost normally.
"I had dreamed myself away," said Houben, now 46, whose real "state" was discovered three years ago, according to a report in the German magazine Der Spiegel this week.
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For 23 years.
Then a neurologist, Steven Laureys, who decided to take a radical look at the state of diagnosed coma patients, released him from his torture. Using a state-of-the-art scanning system, Laureys found to his amazement that his brain was functioning almost normally.
"I had dreamed myself away," said Houben, now 46, whose real "state" was discovered three years ago, according to a report in the German magazine Der Spiegel this week.
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Kennedy reveals letter
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) continued the public back-and-forth with Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence on abortion and the Catholic Church by releasing a letter in 2007 where Bishop Tobin asked Rep. Kennedy not to receive Communion.
“The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion," Kennedy told the Providence Journal.
But the Diocese of Providence immediately responded, saying that Bishop Tobin did not give instructions to priests and that Bishop Tobin kept the letter to the Congressman entirely private.
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“The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion," Kennedy told the Providence Journal.
But the Diocese of Providence immediately responded, saying that Bishop Tobin did not give instructions to priests and that Bishop Tobin kept the letter to the Congressman entirely private.
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Presentation of Mary
Mary’s humility
Our Lady teaches us the way of humility. This virtue should not be thought of as an essentially negative sense, even though it does involve a denial of one’s pride, a tempering of our ambition and the extinction of our egotism and vanity. Our Lady did not experience any of these temptations and yet was blessed with the highest degree of humility.
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Our Lady teaches us the way of humility. This virtue should not be thought of as an essentially negative sense, even though it does involve a denial of one’s pride, a tempering of our ambition and the extinction of our egotism and vanity. Our Lady did not experience any of these temptations and yet was blessed with the highest degree of humility.
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Presentation Mary
Religious parents never fail by devout prayer to consecrate their children to the divine service and love, both before and after their birth. Some amongst the Jews, not content with this general consecration of their children, offered them to God in their infancy, by the hands of the priests in the temple, to be lodged in apartments belonging to the temple, and brought up in attending the priests and Levites in the sacred ministry. It is an ancient tradition, that the Blessed Virgin Mary was thus solemnly offered to God in the temple in her infancy. This festival of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, or, as it is often called by the Greeks, the entrance of the Blessed Virgin into the Temple, is mentioned in the most ancient Greek Menologies extant.
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Talking to Jehovah's Witnesses
Hi. We're making visits in the neighborhood. Did you see on the news that bombing that happened in the Middle East? Wouldn't it be great if we could live in a world without war?
If you've ever opened your door to find a pair of Jehovah's Witnesses, odds are you've heard a question such as this. This query and countless other door-to-door strategies of the Jehovah's Witnesses are laid out in their book Reasoning from the Scriptures. Long before they knock on your door, they have a carefully planned conversation designed to lead you to the Kingdom Hall. Do you have carefully planned response?
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If you've ever opened your door to find a pair of Jehovah's Witnesses, odds are you've heard a question such as this. This query and countless other door-to-door strategies of the Jehovah's Witnesses are laid out in their book Reasoning from the Scriptures. Long before they knock on your door, they have a carefully planned conversation designed to lead you to the Kingdom Hall. Do you have carefully planned response?
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Why Women Are Not Ordained
And back in the early 80s, I recall reading Butler's Lives of the Saints and being struck by just how much female saints outnumber male saints; I believe it is by about two thirds. And one cannot read the Latin Fathers for a reasonable stretch without coming across the notion that the Church is a woman. She is the bride of Christ and the Mother of Christians. As St. Augustine comments on the wedding at Cana: "The Lord, on being invited, came to the marriage. What wonder if He came to that house to a marriage, having come into this world to a marriage? For, indeed, if He came not to a marriage, He has not here a bride"
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Anti-Catholicism
FOUL BALL!
October is the month we relish the highpoint of our national pastime, especially when one of our own New York teams is in the World Series!
Sadly, America has another national pastime, this one not pleasant at all: anti-catholicism.
It is not hyperbole to call prejudice against the Catholic Church a national pastime. Scholars such as Arthur Schlesinger Sr. referred to it as "the deepest bias in the history of the American people," while John Higham described it as "the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history." "The anti-semitism of the left," is how Paul Viereck reads it, and Professor Philip Jenkins sub-titles his book on the topic "the last acceptable prejudice."
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October is the month we relish the highpoint of our national pastime, especially when one of our own New York teams is in the World Series!
Sadly, America has another national pastime, this one not pleasant at all: anti-catholicism.
It is not hyperbole to call prejudice against the Catholic Church a national pastime. Scholars such as Arthur Schlesinger Sr. referred to it as "the deepest bias in the history of the American people," while John Higham described it as "the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history." "The anti-semitism of the left," is how Paul Viereck reads it, and Professor Philip Jenkins sub-titles his book on the topic "the last acceptable prejudice."
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abortion in health care reform
Quoting one of the Ten Commandments, President Barack Obama has accused American citizens who are shedding light on the details of health care reform of “bearing false witness.” It’s remarkable that the president is accusing citizens of sinning, but his reproach became even more brazen when the independent Factcheck.org at the University of Pennsylvania confirmed that it’s the president himself who is doing the fabricating.
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death wish
LifeSite News reports that Dominican Sister Donna Quinn serves as a Chicago-area abortion clinic "escort," that is, she guides women seeking abortions into the clinic doors while providing a bit of reassurance to silence any last-minute hesitations induced by pro-life activists in the vicinity. If a pregnant woman chooses to abort, Sister Donna's going to make sure that choice gets exercised.
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A Pro-Abortion Liar Once Again
Obama insisted to Congress that it was not true that healthcare reform caused federally funded abortion. The US Bishops welcomed the statement but pro-life groups wondered how it could be true. Obama refused to say. The House had passed the phony Capps amendment, which pays for abortion with federal funds in the public insurance option while simply declaring that they aren't federal funds, even though the abortionist sends his bill to the US Treasury and gets a check therefrom. Last week the Bishops said enough is enough: all the health plans either pay for abortion outright or do it by the phony Capps arrangement, so unless that is changed we will oppose health care reform "vigorously."
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“Oppose Heath Care Bills Vigorously”
The USCCB has released a letter to Congressional leaders warning that unless explicit prohibition of funds for abortion and protections for conscience are met, they will vigorously oppose the health care bills now being debated in Washington D.C.
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A new report by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute-- named after a president of Planned Parenthood-- has found that the worldwide number of abortions fell from 45.5 million in 1995 to 41.6 million in 2003, a decline of 8.6%.
The report found that over one in five of the world’s abortions-- 8.8 million in 2003-- occur in China. Observing that “China imposed an urban population policy of one child per family in the 1980s,” the Guttmacher Institute did not condemn the one-child policy or reports of forced abortions, but instead praised the “high degree of safety” with which abortions are conducted in the Communist nation.
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The report found that over one in five of the world’s abortions-- 8.8 million in 2003-- occur in China. Observing that “China imposed an urban population policy of one child per family in the 1980s,” the Guttmacher Institute did not condemn the one-child policy or reports of forced abortions, but instead praised the “high degree of safety” with which abortions are conducted in the Communist nation.
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bishop warns against same-sex marriage
Five weeks after his ordination as Bishop of Helsinki, Bishop Teemu Jyrki Juhani Sippo, SCI, has warned the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland that ecumenical relations will suffer if Finnish Lutherans follow the example of Swedish Lutherans and bless homosexual marriages.
Bishop Sippo also spoke out against the distribution of condoms to youths. “Handing out condoms is like telling people to use them,” he said. “I believe youths should instead be encouraged to practice abstinence.”
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Bishop Sippo also spoke out against the distribution of condoms to youths. “Handing out condoms is like telling people to use them,” he said. “I believe youths should instead be encouraged to practice abstinence.”
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Prop 8 Legal Challenge
Tomorrow there will be a hearing in Federal District Court in San Francisco on ProtectMarriage.com's motion requesting summary judgment to avoid a trial in the latest challenge to Prop 8. An equal protection suit was filed in May on behalf of two same-sex couples. They are represented by two high-profile attorneys, Theodore Olson and David Boies -- famous for representing George Bush and Al Gore, respectively, in the post election lawsuit that decided the 2000 Presidential election.
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Same Sex "Marriages
Late last night, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger further undermined marriage and the family in California by signing SB 54, a bill to recognize same-sex “marriages” in California that were performed in other states or countries. With the Governor’s signature, out-of-state same-sex “marriages” performed prior to the passage of Prop 8 on November 4, 2009, are now valid in California. Same-sex “marriages” performed after the passage of Prop 8 are now also recognized in California with “the same rights, protections, and benefits” as marriage with the exception of using the word “marriage”.
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Funeral of Abortion Victims
The Citizens for a Pro-Life Society (CPLS) say that their video depicting the Catholic funeral and burial ceremonies of abortion victims has been censored by the video-sharing site YouTube - which now has an established reputation for removing pro-life videos and issuing "warning strikes" against their owners' accounts.
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Obama’s remarks on abortion
The associate director of pro-life activities at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCBC) has welcomed President Obama’s recent statement that under his health care reform proposal, federal funds would not be used to pay for abortions. “We especially welcome the President’s commitment to exclude federal funding of abortion, and to maintain existing federal laws protecting conscience rights in health care,” said Richard Doerflinger. During his September 9 health care address, President Barack Obama had said, “And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up-- under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place.”
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US poll shows support for civil unions
The majority of American support legal registration of civil unions for gay couples, but oppose recognition of same-sex marriage, a Pew Foundation survey shows. Support for civil unions has risen steadily and is now at 57%, the poll reported. The same poll found 53% of respondents opposing same-sex marriage, with only 39% in favor.
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Same-Sex 'Marriages' Begin in Vermont
As of midnight today, September 1, 2009, same-sex 'marriages' began to be performed in Vermont.
Vermont became the fourth state to legally redefine 'marriage' on April 7th, and the first state to do so through legislation rather than through the courts. The new law gives full marriage rights to same-sex couples who choose to 'marry.'
Vermont Governor Jim Douglas vetoed the House of Representatives' April 6th vote in favor of the same-sex 'marriage' bill, but the next day his veto was overturned when the House obtained the needed votes for a two-third's majority.
Vermont was the first state to institute same-sex civil unions in July 2000. Following this legislation, the state became a sort of mecca for same-sex couples seeking this official status, and it is expected that the same will be true of the new 'marriage' bill. According to the Associated Press, 78 percent of Vermont's civil unions came from out-of-state couples.
Shari Rendall, director of legislation and policy for Concerned Women for America, told Focus on the Family's CitizenLink that the legislation is a disaster for America. "Marriage between one man and one woman is critical to maintaining social stability," she said. "Society as a whole pays a high price when marriage is devalued. You see divorce; you see single-parenting; you see a rise in out-of-wedlock pregnancies." -Read More
Vermont became the fourth state to legally redefine 'marriage' on April 7th, and the first state to do so through legislation rather than through the courts. The new law gives full marriage rights to same-sex couples who choose to 'marry.'
Vermont Governor Jim Douglas vetoed the House of Representatives' April 6th vote in favor of the same-sex 'marriage' bill, but the next day his veto was overturned when the House obtained the needed votes for a two-third's majority.
Vermont was the first state to institute same-sex civil unions in July 2000. Following this legislation, the state became a sort of mecca for same-sex couples seeking this official status, and it is expected that the same will be true of the new 'marriage' bill. According to the Associated Press, 78 percent of Vermont's civil unions came from out-of-state couples.
Shari Rendall, director of legislation and policy for Concerned Women for America, told Focus on the Family's CitizenLink that the legislation is a disaster for America. "Marriage between one man and one woman is critical to maintaining social stability," she said. "Society as a whole pays a high price when marriage is devalued. You see divorce; you see single-parenting; you see a rise in out-of-wedlock pregnancies." -Read More
Healthcare Reform
The current national debate about health care reform should concern all of us. There is much at stake in this political struggle, and also much confusion and inaccurate information being thrown around. My brother bishops have described some clear “goal-posts” to mark out what is acceptable reform, and what must be rejected. First and most important, the Church will not accept any legislation that mandates coverage, public or private, for abortion, euthanasia, or embryonic stem-cell research. -Read More
Prejean Sues Miss California
The next contest for Miss California USA and its officials has a new and unusual location: California's Superior Court. The dethroned Miss California, Carrie Prejean, has decided finally to file a lawsuit against K2 Productions, which owns the Miss California USA franchise, and its officials, whom she says defamed and discriminated against her over her public support for traditional marriage.
Hollywood blog sites Big Hollywood and TMZ.com both report that Prejean filed court papers on Monday with the Los Angeles County Superior Court accusing K2 Productions officials, Keith Lewis and Shanna Moakler, and publicist Roger Neal, of engaging in character defamation, religious discrimination, public disclosure of private facts, as well as both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Prejean's lawyer, Charles S. LiMandri, told Big Hollywood in a statement: "Over the past two months we have worked hard to provide overwhelming evidence that Carrie Prejean did not violate her contract with Miss California USA and did not deserve to have her title revoked by Keith Lewis. -Read More
Hollywood blog sites Big Hollywood and TMZ.com both report that Prejean filed court papers on Monday with the Los Angeles County Superior Court accusing K2 Productions officials, Keith Lewis and Shanna Moakler, and publicist Roger Neal, of engaging in character defamation, religious discrimination, public disclosure of private facts, as well as both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Prejean's lawyer, Charles S. LiMandri, told Big Hollywood in a statement: "Over the past two months we have worked hard to provide overwhelming evidence that Carrie Prejean did not violate her contract with Miss California USA and did not deserve to have her title revoked by Keith Lewis. -Read More
Can't Explain Guadalupe
A physicist who has spent years researching the tilma bearing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is affirming that there is no scientific explanation for the phenomenon.
Adolfo Orozco stated this in a presentation given at an International Marian Congress that took place Aug. 6-8 in Phoenix.
The congress, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the Phoenix Diocese and the Institute of Guadalupan Studies, was dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Orozco gave a presentation on the image of the Virgin imprinted on St. Juan Diego's tilma, stating that it is 'completely outside' any scientific explanation. He explained that due to the humid, salty environment around the basilica where the tilma is kept in Mexico City, the cloak material should have decomposed years ago.
In fact, the researcher noted, this is what happened to a painted copy of the image that was made in 1789, on a material similar to the original tilma.
Although the copy was preserved behind glass, like the original, it had to be discarded eight years later because it was falling apart and the painting was fading, the physicist reported.
The original image, however, which was imprinted on the cloak when the Blessed Virgin appeared to the saint, remains intact after 478 years.
Adolfo Orozco stated this in a presentation given at an International Marian Congress that took place Aug. 6-8 in Phoenix.
The congress, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the Phoenix Diocese and the Institute of Guadalupan Studies, was dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Orozco gave a presentation on the image of the Virgin imprinted on St. Juan Diego's tilma, stating that it is 'completely outside' any scientific explanation. He explained that due to the humid, salty environment around the basilica where the tilma is kept in Mexico City, the cloak material should have decomposed years ago.
In fact, the researcher noted, this is what happened to a painted copy of the image that was made in 1789, on a material similar to the original tilma.
Although the copy was preserved behind glass, like the original, it had to be discarded eight years later because it was falling apart and the painting was fading, the physicist reported.
The original image, however, which was imprinted on the cloak when the Blessed Virgin appeared to the saint, remains intact after 478 years.
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Scandal Time
: "The Catholic Church in America suffered another grave scandal this weekend. As was the case in the priestly abuse crisis, it was centered in Boston. If you are a Catholic and did not feel distressed and scandalized watching Senator Kennedy’s funeral at Mother of Perpetual Help Church in Boston Saturday, I have to ask in all frankness: why not?
The scandal has nothing to do with his personal sins. I hope he confessed them and was forgiven, as I hope myself to be forgiven. The Church is always generous to sinners who make even the slightest gesture of repentance. In that, she shows that she is not a merely human society bound by certain rules, but the living communion of saints and the presence in this world of the merciful heart of God.
The scandal likewise has nothing to do with partisan politics. If you think it does, as some of the Commentors on Brad Miner’s gentlemanly Friday column believe, you should compare Brad with the New York Times obituary, which felt obliged to record that Ted’s shoulders were “sometimes too narrow” for the task he inherited. And that, contrary to the eulogies, he could be savagely unjust and demagogic, as even some followers admitted (e.g., in the Bork hearings), tarring mere opponents as racists, sexists, and elitists. All such shenanigans are an unfortunate feature of partisan passions, but only of passing importance.
The distress – and the scandal – arise from only one thing: the Church’s failure to show the slightest reservation about the man who, more than any Catholic and perhaps more than any American political figure, has led the pro-abortion forces in Washington. Even worse, his longstanding pro-abortion leadership gave political cover to other Catholic politicians and confused simple lay people. That’s what scandal (in the theological sense) does: it becomes a stumbling block for the faithful about the very truths of the faith.
The American bishops have been admirably clear that the defense of life is not like their other concerns about the poor and social justice. Defense of life occupies a different level. It is the basis for everything else.
Yet most people watching the Kennedy funeral have never heard a word of our bishops’ teachings, except that Catholics are “not single issue voters.” They might with justification believe that you can be a notorious pro-abortion Catholic and still be publicly honored by the Catholic Church. No one mentioned the issue, let alone took steps to make it clear that the Church means business about life.
Some have argued that now is not the time to criticize Edward Kennedy. There will be time enough later. But this is not a matter of criticism. This involves a widespread public misperception of Catholicism – or is it a true perception now? Television coverage of the Mass has spread the image of the Church honoring a well-known Catholic, passionately disrespectful of life. The damage may be irreversible. -Read More
The scandal has nothing to do with his personal sins. I hope he confessed them and was forgiven, as I hope myself to be forgiven. The Church is always generous to sinners who make even the slightest gesture of repentance. In that, she shows that she is not a merely human society bound by certain rules, but the living communion of saints and the presence in this world of the merciful heart of God.
The scandal likewise has nothing to do with partisan politics. If you think it does, as some of the Commentors on Brad Miner’s gentlemanly Friday column believe, you should compare Brad with the New York Times obituary, which felt obliged to record that Ted’s shoulders were “sometimes too narrow” for the task he inherited. And that, contrary to the eulogies, he could be savagely unjust and demagogic, as even some followers admitted (e.g., in the Bork hearings), tarring mere opponents as racists, sexists, and elitists. All such shenanigans are an unfortunate feature of partisan passions, but only of passing importance.
The distress – and the scandal – arise from only one thing: the Church’s failure to show the slightest reservation about the man who, more than any Catholic and perhaps more than any American political figure, has led the pro-abortion forces in Washington. Even worse, his longstanding pro-abortion leadership gave political cover to other Catholic politicians and confused simple lay people. That’s what scandal (in the theological sense) does: it becomes a stumbling block for the faithful about the very truths of the faith.
The American bishops have been admirably clear that the defense of life is not like their other concerns about the poor and social justice. Defense of life occupies a different level. It is the basis for everything else.
Yet most people watching the Kennedy funeral have never heard a word of our bishops’ teachings, except that Catholics are “not single issue voters.” They might with justification believe that you can be a notorious pro-abortion Catholic and still be publicly honored by the Catholic Church. No one mentioned the issue, let alone took steps to make it clear that the Church means business about life.
Some have argued that now is not the time to criticize Edward Kennedy. There will be time enough later. But this is not a matter of criticism. This involves a widespread public misperception of Catholicism – or is it a true perception now? Television coverage of the Mass has spread the image of the Church honoring a well-known Catholic, passionately disrespectful of life. The damage may be irreversible. -Read More
Ontario Catholic High Schools Promote Modesty in Dress Code
: "By Thaddeus M. BaklinskiMISSISSAUGA, Ontario, August 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNEws.com) - Most of the twenty-five Catholic schools in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board have opted to phase out the kilt skirt as part of the uniform worn by girls in the schools in a move to teach and encourage..." -Read More
L'Osservatore Romano Recalls Edward Kennedy's Support for Abortion, Chappaquiddick Incident
: "By Matthew Cullinan HoffmanROME, August 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Vatican's flagship newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, has publicly taken note of Edward Kennedy's public misbehavior during the last 40 years of his life, in a brief obituary published on August 26.Crediting Kennedy..." -Read More
Pro-Abort, Homosexual, Human Stem-Cell Groups Mourn Loss of "Greatest Champion" Kennedy
: "By Kathleen GilbertWASHINGTON, D.C., August 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A survey of statements from various pro-abortion, embryonic stem-cell research (ESCr), and homosexualist groups responding to the death of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy shows a unified salute to a man they say fully engaged his..." -Read More
Pro-Life Leaders: Tell Cardinal O'Malley Not to Honor Pro-Abortion Kennedy with Public Catholic ...
: "By Kathleen Gilbert
7:30 p.m. addition to story below - The Boston Globe reported today that "Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston will preside at the funeral of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy tomorrow at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (the Mission Church). The Rev...." -Read More
7:30 p.m. addition to story below - The Boston Globe reported today that "Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston will preside at the funeral of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy tomorrow at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (the Mission Church). The Rev...." -Read More
HLI Priest-President Re: Kennedy Funeral Scandal: "Private funeral, family only - period"
: "By Kathleen Gilbert and Peter SmithHYANNIS PORT, Massachusetts, August 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The public Catholic funeral of Senator Ted Kennedy - whose long career of abortion advocacy helped sever the American Catholic identity from the Church's pro-life teaching - will be a source of..." -Read More
Valedictorian Forced to Apologize for Speech Thanking Jesus Appeals to US Supreme Court
: "WASHINGTON, D.C., August 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A high school graduate, forced by public school officials to apologize for expressing her religious beliefs in her valedictory address or lose her diploma, has asked the US Supreme Court to review her case and reverse a lower court's..." -Read More
Abortion Informed Consent Law
: "BRATISLAVA, August 25, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - President Ivan Gašparovic signed into law on Tuesday an amendment to Slovakia's abortion act that establishes mandatory counselling, requires a 2-day wait, and increases the age until which parental consent is required from 16 to 18.The amendment..." -Read More
Defend Traditional Marriage
: "NEW YORK, August 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - This week the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, okayed the Chicago-based Thomas More Society to file an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the New York State Catholic Conference to defend traditional marriage in the case of..." -Read More
Pope's Comment on Condoms Was Right
: "By Patrick B. CraineRIMINI, Italy, August 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Once again, the director of Harvard's AIDS Prevention Research Project has publicly affirmed that the Pope was right on AIDS and condoms, as Zenit reports.Dr. Edward Green affirmed the Pope's teaching in an address this..." -Read More
Beatitudes for students
Where did the summer go? With colleges and universities beginning to gear up for a new academic year, it is time to review some beatitudes for college students:
Blessed are the students who stay in touch with God during their academic life, they will always have a friend by their side. So many times students see college as a good way to escape from church. It is important and very fruitful to pray daily and to be involved in one’s parish or campus ministry. Don’t wait until you have a test. It is amazing how thoughts of God come at exam time. When I was a campus minister I could always tell it was exam time when daily Mass was overflowing with students.
Blessed are the students who study and go to all their classes, they will become educated. Unlike high school teachers, very few college professors watch what students do. Most students are free to go to class or not. College calls for greater responsibility. Those who waste their education regret it later. They are often left with big loans and little knowledge to show for them.
Blessed are the students who get involved in extracurricular activities, they usually develop into well-balanced people. Study alone does not make for an educated person. It is very enriching to become part of campus ministry and other student organizations. It helps a student become a well-rounded individual. -Read More
Blessed are the students who stay in touch with God during their academic life, they will always have a friend by their side. So many times students see college as a good way to escape from church. It is important and very fruitful to pray daily and to be involved in one’s parish or campus ministry. Don’t wait until you have a test. It is amazing how thoughts of God come at exam time. When I was a campus minister I could always tell it was exam time when daily Mass was overflowing with students.
Blessed are the students who study and go to all their classes, they will become educated. Unlike high school teachers, very few college professors watch what students do. Most students are free to go to class or not. College calls for greater responsibility. Those who waste their education regret it later. They are often left with big loans and little knowledge to show for them.
Blessed are the students who get involved in extracurricular activities, they usually develop into well-balanced people. Study alone does not make for an educated person. It is very enriching to become part of campus ministry and other student organizations. It helps a student become a well-rounded individual. -Read More
KennedyCare strategy won't work
Supporters of the government takeover of health care -- replete with funding for abortion, euthanasia counseling, and sex-change operations -- have predictably seized on the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy to raise the flag of the "Kennedy Legacy" to push the legislation through the Congress.
From a Catholic perspective, the "Kennedy Legacy" is the reason abortion is in the health care legislation in the first place.
As I argued in my 2008 book, Onward Christian Soldier: The Growing Power of Catholics and Evangelicals , Ted Kennedy became the pro-abortion acolyte of Rev. Robert Drinan, S.J. who pioneered the bogus arguments leading Catholic politicians into open dissent with the Church.
Kennedy and Drinan, both now deceased, are directly responsible for a Congress where the majority of Catholic members serve the culture of death rather than the Church whose faith they profess. -Read More
From a Catholic perspective, the "Kennedy Legacy" is the reason abortion is in the health care legislation in the first place.
As I argued in my 2008 book, Onward Christian Soldier: The Growing Power of Catholics and Evangelicals , Ted Kennedy became the pro-abortion acolyte of Rev. Robert Drinan, S.J. who pioneered the bogus arguments leading Catholic politicians into open dissent with the Church.
Kennedy and Drinan, both now deceased, are directly responsible for a Congress where the majority of Catholic members serve the culture of death rather than the Church whose faith they profess. -Read More
Oppose Tax-Funded Abortion
: "
LOS ANGELES, CA (MetroCatholic) - Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, a Southern California based pro-life group, will be present at the Congressional Send-off Rally on Thursday, September 3rd at 6:00PM in Los Angeles. The event, which is currently scheduled to take place at Cornfield Park in China Town, is meant to communicate constituents wishes about health care reform to their congressmen who are leaving from their recess.
“Abortion is not healthcare,” Charles Cox, a representative of Survivors stated emphatically. “No health care reform bill has any business mandating that we should pay for abortion.”
Obama’s health care reform bill, HR 3200, has come under fire by pro-life groups who feel that abortion should not be funded by tax dollars. Additionally, the bill will allow for elective abortion to be required coverage for all Americans, and has no clause to protect the Conscience Rights of physicians who believe that by performing abortions they would be violating their Hippocratic oath.
“To date, 80% of all hospitals do not generally provide abortions,” stated Timmerie Millington, a volunteer with Survivors. “Any public option should be sure to protect the Conscience Rights of all health care providers.”
Additionally, the group points out that a recent Zogby poll showed 71% of those asked oppose tax-funding for abortion.
Cox said, “When our elected officials in congress leave for DC, we want them to know that their constituents do not want this bill as is. We want a guarantee that our congressmen will vote ‘no’ on any bill that does not specifically exclude abortion.”
" -Read MoreChange in Adult Catechism
: "
WASHINGTON DC (MetroCatholic) - The Vatican has given its “recognitio” to a change in the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, which is set to go into a second printing.
The change clarifies Catholic teaching on God’s covenant with the Jews. The first version, in explaining relations with the Jews, stated, “Thus the covenant that God made with the Jewish people through Moses remains eternally valid for them.” The revised text states, “To the Jewish people, whom God first chose to hear his Word, ‘belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ.’ (Romans 9: 4-5; cf. CCC, no 839)
The change was approved by the U.S. bishops following the bishops’ 2008 June meeting in Orlando, Florida.
The clarification is not a change in the Church’s teaching.
The clarification reflects the teaching of the Church that all previous covenants that God made with the Jewish people are fulfilled in Jesus Christ through the new covenant established through his sacrificial death on the cross. Catholics believe that the Jewish people continue to live within the truth of the covenant God made with Abraham, and that God continues to be faithful to them. As the Second Vatican Council taught and the Adult Catechism affirms, the Jewish people “remain most dear to God, for God does not repent of the gifts he makes nor of the calls he issues.” (Lumen Gentium, no.16).
The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults was approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 2004 as a basic and concise introduction to the Catholic faith. It is a catechetical text rather than a theological textbook.
A “recognitio” is a statement from the Vatican that a document is in keeping with Catholic teaching.
" -Read MoreProblems with Health Care Reform is Elections
: "
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, the Catholic Church’s largest pro-life ministry, stated today, “The reason for the mess we are in with the health care reform debate is the elections of 2008, and the way out of the mess will be the elections of 2010 and 2012.”
Priests for Life has announced the formation of “Political Responsibility Teams” in communities across America. The purpose of such teams will be to educate and activate citizens to exercise their responsibility to participate in the electoral process in a way that is informed rather than impulsive, and based on principle rather than mere personal advantage.
“Churches provide our greatest opportunity to mobilize and educate voters,” Fr. Pavone explained, “and activating Churches for the pro-life cause is the primary mission of Priests for Life. But Churches can also become the biggest obstacle if they choose the path of fear and hide behind paranoid interpretations of the Internal Revenue Code as an excuse for not talking about politics. We have a lot more to fear from our silence than we do from speaking out.”
-Read MoreAttacks Against Nicaragua
: "By Aracely Ornelas
(NEW YORK – C-FAM) One of the world’s largest abortion advocates joined the onslaught against Nicaragua’s decision to ban abortion in two recently published Spanish language reports. Ipas, known for distributing the manual vacuum aspirator – a device used to perform early term abortions, particularly in countries where it is illegal – is claiming that Nicaragua is violating women’s human rights.
The Ipas reports claim that the abortion ban is unconstitutional and a "setback" for human rights. Nicaraguan lawmakers, on the other hand, say the ban is a step forward since the law which permitted “therapeutic” abortion violated the country’s understanding of its international obligations. Nicaragua is party to the American Convention on Human Rights which states in Article 4 that life shall be protected by law "from the moment of conception."" -Read More
(NEW YORK – C-FAM) One of the world’s largest abortion advocates joined the onslaught against Nicaragua’s decision to ban abortion in two recently published Spanish language reports. Ipas, known for distributing the manual vacuum aspirator – a device used to perform early term abortions, particularly in countries where it is illegal – is claiming that Nicaragua is violating women’s human rights.
The Ipas reports claim that the abortion ban is unconstitutional and a "setback" for human rights. Nicaraguan lawmakers, on the other hand, say the ban is a step forward since the law which permitted “therapeutic” abortion violated the country’s understanding of its international obligations. Nicaragua is party to the American Convention on Human Rights which states in Article 4 that life shall be protected by law "from the moment of conception."" -Read More
Obamascience
: "First President Obama appointed Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, who supports limitations on end-of-life care, as his top medical advisor. Now he has named John Holdren, another culture-of-death stalwart, as his top science advisor.
This newest Obama czar openly stated his support for mandatory abortions in Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment, a book Holdren co-authored with Paul and Anne Ehrlich some years ago:
There exists ample authority under which population growth could be regulated. It has been concluded that compulsory population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution if the population crisis became sufficiently severe ...
Ecoscience also casually mentions sterilants in drinking water or staple foods of those who “contribute to social deterioration,” the implantation of long-term birth control devices in women who have already given birth to two or three children, and an international monitor empowered to enforce population limits on any nation under scrutiny. (The Ehrlichs and Holdren have claimed, quite implausibly, that they were just listing possibilities then under discussion.)
Grilled by Senator David Vitter about these and other disturbing views last month, Holdren stated that it was “no longer productive” to think about optimal population size – but conceded little else. The media, as has become their custom when some Obama appointee is revealed to have an outrageously radical past, merely noted the hysteria of Holdren’s opponents but did not explore his positions.
The Obama Administration’s social planners stand in a long tradition of progressives who reject the Judeo-Christian belief in the sanctity of human life. Many people still doubt that liberal-minded people actually hold such beliefs, but, as history shows, American progressives have often endorsed eugenics and other morally repugnant practices. Eliminating inferiors, they argued, is permissible in the name of preserving society as a whole. Holdren and his allies wouldn’t put it that way, because it plays badly – even to an adoring media. But they don’t hesitate to talk about restraining population in the name of preventing climate change – one of Dr. Holdren’s recent preoccupations.
And media acquiescence in progressive eugenics has its own long and “distinguished” past. E.L. Godkin, founder of the Nation, Herbert Croly, founder of the New Republic, and William Allen White, editor of the Emporia (Kansas) Gazette, endorsed population-control programs, because, they believed, America should be governed and populated by its “superior classes.” -Read More
This newest Obama czar openly stated his support for mandatory abortions in Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment, a book Holdren co-authored with Paul and Anne Ehrlich some years ago:
There exists ample authority under which population growth could be regulated. It has been concluded that compulsory population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution if the population crisis became sufficiently severe ...
Ecoscience also casually mentions sterilants in drinking water or staple foods of those who “contribute to social deterioration,” the implantation of long-term birth control devices in women who have already given birth to two or three children, and an international monitor empowered to enforce population limits on any nation under scrutiny. (The Ehrlichs and Holdren have claimed, quite implausibly, that they were just listing possibilities then under discussion.)
Grilled by Senator David Vitter about these and other disturbing views last month, Holdren stated that it was “no longer productive” to think about optimal population size – but conceded little else. The media, as has become their custom when some Obama appointee is revealed to have an outrageously radical past, merely noted the hysteria of Holdren’s opponents but did not explore his positions.
The Obama Administration’s social planners stand in a long tradition of progressives who reject the Judeo-Christian belief in the sanctity of human life. Many people still doubt that liberal-minded people actually hold such beliefs, but, as history shows, American progressives have often endorsed eugenics and other morally repugnant practices. Eliminating inferiors, they argued, is permissible in the name of preserving society as a whole. Holdren and his allies wouldn’t put it that way, because it plays badly – even to an adoring media. But they don’t hesitate to talk about restraining population in the name of preventing climate change – one of Dr. Holdren’s recent preoccupations.
And media acquiescence in progressive eugenics has its own long and “distinguished” past. E.L. Godkin, founder of the Nation, Herbert Croly, founder of the New Republic, and William Allen White, editor of the Emporia (Kansas) Gazette, endorsed population-control programs, because, they believed, America should be governed and populated by its “superior classes.” -Read More
Necessity of Baptism
: "Today most Catholics are in no great hurry to have their children baptized. In the past, the practice was to baptize children as soon as possible after birth. Now, medical technology has decreased danger for newborns, seemingly removing the urgency for immediate baptism. Add to this the widely publicized recommendation by the International Theological Commission to abolish the doctrine of limbo, a place of natural happiness, but deprived of the vision of God for unbaptized infants, and suddenly there seems no compelling reason to rush to the baptismal font.
Yet even without fears of imminent danger, baptism remains an urgent sacrament that should be conferred upon infants as soon as possible after birth. In the words of St. Peter on the first Pentecost, baptism both forgives sins and imparts the gift of the Holy Spirit. These are spiritual gifts par excellence that all Catholics of all ages and sizes require to live their respective vocations in the world. Therefore, baptism remains vital and relevant even in the lives of adults who were baptized decades ago.
Baptism, followed by confirmation and the Eucharist, is the first of the sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church. As noted in the first column of this series, the sacraments are necessary for salvation; baptism is the foundation of this promised salvation since through it recipients are born spiritually and given a share in the inner life of the Trinity. Sacraments are physical signs of God’s invisible grace of salvation. In baptism, the physical matter of water combines with the formal prayer “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” to confer the grace of the sacrament.
Many wonderful gifts are imparted by baptismal grace, but baptism itself is a gift God freely bestows on those whom He wills. Infant baptism highlights the sheer gratuity of God’s generosity, as infants obviously do not ask for the sacrament themselves. But even when parents have their children baptized, or when converts approach the baptismal waters at the Easter Vigil, they have done so only because God has called them first. -Read More
Yet even without fears of imminent danger, baptism remains an urgent sacrament that should be conferred upon infants as soon as possible after birth. In the words of St. Peter on the first Pentecost, baptism both forgives sins and imparts the gift of the Holy Spirit. These are spiritual gifts par excellence that all Catholics of all ages and sizes require to live their respective vocations in the world. Therefore, baptism remains vital and relevant even in the lives of adults who were baptized decades ago.
Baptism, followed by confirmation and the Eucharist, is the first of the sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church. As noted in the first column of this series, the sacraments are necessary for salvation; baptism is the foundation of this promised salvation since through it recipients are born spiritually and given a share in the inner life of the Trinity. Sacraments are physical signs of God’s invisible grace of salvation. In baptism, the physical matter of water combines with the formal prayer “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” to confer the grace of the sacrament.
Many wonderful gifts are imparted by baptismal grace, but baptism itself is a gift God freely bestows on those whom He wills. Infant baptism highlights the sheer gratuity of God’s generosity, as infants obviously do not ask for the sacrament themselves. But even when parents have their children baptized, or when converts approach the baptismal waters at the Easter Vigil, they have done so only because God has called them first. -Read More
some kind of comment
: "
Sen. Edward ('Ted') Kennedy (D-MA) is dead. He died last night from brain cancer.
Ooookay - where do we begin?
Or, rather, where do we not begin? Because I have seen many people (some of them my friends) begin in completely the wrong way;
'Well, I don't agree with everything that he did or stood for, but he did some wonderful things for his State, and he was always positive towards the military, and he supported a lot of good causes. And his family has had such tragedy.'
That begins at the wrong place.
So, to be fair, does the other sort of obituary;
'Sen. Kennedy burns in Hell! Hahahahahaha!'
Neither of these begin, or end, at the right place. And they tend to go off a bit in the middle as well.
So, how should I begin?
Firstly, it is a simple fact that Sen. Kennedy spent most of his professional career in a state of unrepentant mortal sin. His support for abortion, the homosexual agenda and a whole host of other issues make that clear. There is no case to be made that he might have supported these things and then confessed his sins so he was, actually, alright with God. His constant support of these matters show that, even if he did confesses his support for abortion (which is highly unlikely) his confession lacked the required contrition. If he asked for forgiveness, it was clear he was not asking for it with genuine contrition (if you are sorry, why do you never say so publicly, Senator?)
Secondly, it is a simple fact that if he died in this state of unrepentant mortal sin, tonight his soul basks in Hell. That is something my Church teaches me. It is something simple logic teaches me. This is justice - those who die shaking their fists at God will burn forever. Kennedy lived shaking his fist at God.
Thirdly, it is not certain Kennedy died in a state of unrepentant mortal sin. He might have sought forgiveness (with the correct sort of contrition) before he died. I hope and I pray he did. Frankly, I find it very unlikely - he never said he was sorry during his life, so why would he say so at the very end? But, we can hope and pray for him - and I urge you to do so.
Fourthly, and most importantly ....
(this is so important it gets its own paragraph)
.... there is no way we can say 'Well, I might not have agreed with everything he did, but ...' or, as a friend of mine said, 'I don't think he can be reduced to a couple of issues [abortion and the gay agenda]'.
-Read MoreMarriage, Scripture
: "Some of the readers of this blog are aware that Brant, Michael, and I—along with Peter Kreeft—were all involved in a large Catholic Bible conference in New Orleans a few weekends ago, the Word of God conference sponsored by Catholic Productions.
The conference was focused on the sacraments of service—matrimony and orders. After an introductory lecture by Brant, I delivered a talk on the Catholic view of marriage, based on reason and revelation. My first major point was that Catholic teaching on marriage is in agreement with reason—social scientific data supports the view that the two-parent, heterosexual marriage is superior to all other arrangements for the raising of children. Since the state has a vested interest in the welfare of the next generation, the state justifiably identifies and protects the life-long mutual commitment of a man and woman—marriage.
After making this point, I went into a biblical narrative theology of marriage starting from Genesis 2 and moving through the Pentateuch and even into the Historical Books, pointing out how the narrative implicitly valorizes monogamy and critiques other arrangements—i.e. polygamy and homosexuality. My students will remember this as the “implicit critique of polygamy” in the Old Testament. Of course, this view is not original with me. It has deep roots in the Jewish interpretive tradition, and my eyes were opened to it by reading the superb Jewish biblical commentator Umberto Cassuto on Genesis.
I also mentioned the concept of marriage as the climax of the creation story (Genesis 1-2) and the iconic significance of marriage vis-Ã -vis the creation of mankind in the image of God. Marriage is two persons whose love becomes hypostasized (personified) in a third; inasmuch as this is true, it is iconic of the relations of the persons of the Trinity.
In any event, after the talk was over, an officer of the local secular humanist society, who happened to be in attendance, approached me cordially and shared with me that he disagreed with “everything” I had said, and invited me to debate the issue of marriage in a forum provided by his organization. I declined to debate, but offered to arrange someone else to do so. I contacted Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage, who has since accepted the offer to debate. We will see how that develops.
In any event, the encounter led to some self-reflection, and I began to wonder if I had overstated the case for the importance of the two-parent family, with biological father and mother present, for the raising of children. That led me to do some searching on the internet, which turned up a remarkable link to none other than that bastion of Catholic dogma, Time Magazine. -Read More
The conference was focused on the sacraments of service—matrimony and orders. After an introductory lecture by Brant, I delivered a talk on the Catholic view of marriage, based on reason and revelation. My first major point was that Catholic teaching on marriage is in agreement with reason—social scientific data supports the view that the two-parent, heterosexual marriage is superior to all other arrangements for the raising of children. Since the state has a vested interest in the welfare of the next generation, the state justifiably identifies and protects the life-long mutual commitment of a man and woman—marriage.
After making this point, I went into a biblical narrative theology of marriage starting from Genesis 2 and moving through the Pentateuch and even into the Historical Books, pointing out how the narrative implicitly valorizes monogamy and critiques other arrangements—i.e. polygamy and homosexuality. My students will remember this as the “implicit critique of polygamy” in the Old Testament. Of course, this view is not original with me. It has deep roots in the Jewish interpretive tradition, and my eyes were opened to it by reading the superb Jewish biblical commentator Umberto Cassuto on Genesis.
I also mentioned the concept of marriage as the climax of the creation story (Genesis 1-2) and the iconic significance of marriage vis-Ã -vis the creation of mankind in the image of God. Marriage is two persons whose love becomes hypostasized (personified) in a third; inasmuch as this is true, it is iconic of the relations of the persons of the Trinity.
In any event, after the talk was over, an officer of the local secular humanist society, who happened to be in attendance, approached me cordially and shared with me that he disagreed with “everything” I had said, and invited me to debate the issue of marriage in a forum provided by his organization. I declined to debate, but offered to arrange someone else to do so. I contacted Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage, who has since accepted the offer to debate. We will see how that develops.
In any event, the encounter led to some self-reflection, and I began to wonder if I had overstated the case for the importance of the two-parent family, with biological father and mother present, for the raising of children. That led me to do some searching on the internet, which turned up a remarkable link to none other than that bastion of Catholic dogma, Time Magazine. -Read More
St. Louis of France
Louis was born on April 25, 1214. His father was King Louis VIII of France and his mother was Queen Blanche. The story is told that when Prince Louis was small, his mother hugged him tightly. She said, "I love you, my dear son, as much as a mother can love her child. But I would rather see you dead at my feet than ever to have you commit a mortal sin." Louis never forgot those words. He grew to cherish his Catholic faith and his upbringing. When he was twelve, his father died and he became the king. Queen Blanche ruled until her son was twenty-one.
Louis became a remarkable king. He married Margaret, the daughter of a count. They loved each other very much. They had eleven children. Louis was a good husband and father. And as long as his mother, Queen Blanche lived, he showed her full respect. Busy as he was, the king found time for daily Mass and the recitation of the Divine Office. He was a Third Order Franciscan and lived a simple lifestyle. He was generous and fair. He ruled his people with wisdom, charity and true Christian principles. There was no separation between what he believed as a Catholic and how he lived. He knew how to settle arguments and disputes. He listened to the poor and the underprivileged. He had time for everybody, not just the rich and influential. He supported Catholic education and built monasteries.
The historian, Joinville, wrote a biography of St. Louis. He recalls that he was twenty-two years in the king's service. He was daily in the king's company. And he could say that he never heard King Louis swear or use any kind of profanity in all those years. Nor did the king permit bad language in his castle.
St. Louis felt an urgent obligation to help the suffering Christians in the Holy Land. He wanted to be part of the Crusades. Twice he led an army against the Turks. The first time, he was taken prisoner. But even in jail, he behaved as a true Christian knight. He was unafraid and noble in all his ways. He was freed and returned to take care of his kingdom in France. Yet as soon as he could, he started back to fight the enemies of the faith again. On the way, however, this greatly loved king contracted typhoid fever. A few hours before he died, he prayed, "Lord, I will enter into your house, worship in your holy temple, and give glory to your name." St. Louis died on August 25, 1270. He was fifty-six years old. He was proclaimed a saint by Pope Boniface VIII in 1297.
Reflection: "Be kindhearted to the poor, the unfortunate and the afflicted. Give them as much help and consolation as you can." - St. Louis
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Louis became a remarkable king. He married Margaret, the daughter of a count. They loved each other very much. They had eleven children. Louis was a good husband and father. And as long as his mother, Queen Blanche lived, he showed her full respect. Busy as he was, the king found time for daily Mass and the recitation of the Divine Office. He was a Third Order Franciscan and lived a simple lifestyle. He was generous and fair. He ruled his people with wisdom, charity and true Christian principles. There was no separation between what he believed as a Catholic and how he lived. He knew how to settle arguments and disputes. He listened to the poor and the underprivileged. He had time for everybody, not just the rich and influential. He supported Catholic education and built monasteries.
The historian, Joinville, wrote a biography of St. Louis. He recalls that he was twenty-two years in the king's service. He was daily in the king's company. And he could say that he never heard King Louis swear or use any kind of profanity in all those years. Nor did the king permit bad language in his castle.
St. Louis felt an urgent obligation to help the suffering Christians in the Holy Land. He wanted to be part of the Crusades. Twice he led an army against the Turks. The first time, he was taken prisoner. But even in jail, he behaved as a true Christian knight. He was unafraid and noble in all his ways. He was freed and returned to take care of his kingdom in France. Yet as soon as he could, he started back to fight the enemies of the faith again. On the way, however, this greatly loved king contracted typhoid fever. A few hours before he died, he prayed, "Lord, I will enter into your house, worship in your holy temple, and give glory to your name." St. Louis died on August 25, 1270. He was fifty-six years old. He was proclaimed a saint by Pope Boniface VIII in 1297.
Reflection: "Be kindhearted to the poor, the unfortunate and the afflicted. Give them as much help and consolation as you can." - St. Louis
-Read More
St. Louis of France
: "St. Louis IX, (1215-1270) who became King of France at the age of twelve, had been religiously brought up by his mother, Blanche of Castile. Throughout his life he remained deeply devout and as a king his conduct was that of a real saint. He devoted himself to the affairs of his kingdom and to those of Christendom and was a great peacemaker -- kings and princes constantly sought his aid in settling disputes. He was humble and upright, helpful to the needy and in person nursed lepers and the sick. St. Louis gave to all the example of a life overflowing with charity and sovereign justice. He was a Franciscan Tertiary. He died near Tunis, lying on a bed of ashes, during a crusade for the deliverance of the Holy Land." -Read More
The Little Office of Our Lady
: "This article by William J. Lallou, from August 1949, takes a closer look at the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, a popular private devotion as well as a liturgical prayer, which is believed to have been instituted by the Dominicans and fervently recommended by St. Peter Damian in the eleventh century." -Read More
Obama's brick wall: the American people
: "(David Limbaugh) - President Barack Obama has run into a brick wall: the American people, who cherish their liberty and revere their nation and do not want it remade in Obama's socialist image. Obama's free-falling poll numbers are not the result of a misinformation campaign from a small sliver of unruly conservative opponents, as the administration wants you to believe..." -Read More
No ignoring protests
: "(David Shribman) - President Obama will return from his island idyll to a political landscape completely remade. He still will be greeted by swooning crowds and enthusiastic cheers. But his signature domestic policy is weakened, the result of a resurgent Republican Party that only months ago was on life support..." -Read More
'We The People'
: "(Marie Jon, RenewAmerica analyst) - 'When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty' -- Thomas Jefferson. President Barack Obama, you've overwhelmed 'We The People.' Since you were given the prestige of the highest office in the land, there has not been one day of peace or tranquility for the citizens of our country..." -Read More
Interesting site
Somehow I stumble on this site which is truly in fidelity to the Catholic Church. Take a look on this:http://thechurchofjesuschrist.us/
Health Reform
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WASHINGTON, D.C., AUG. 17, 2009 (Zenit.org).- As the U.S. president and Congress continue to consider health care reform, the nation's bishops are offering a Web page to support a package that protects human dignity.
The site includes letters from bishops to Congress, videos, facts and statistics, frequently asked questions, and links for contacting legislators.
Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, describes how abortion relates to the health care reform debate. Kathy Saile, director of Domestic Social Development, outlines the bishops' general position and concerns.
The page also contains facts and statistics about Catholic health care in the United States, which includes 624 hospitals, 164 home health agencies, and 41 hospice organizations.
Bishops' health care reform site: www.usccb.org/healthcare
" -Read More
Aug. 24 Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle, Feast
: "St. Bartholomew, a doctor in the Jewish law, was a dear friend of St. Philip the Apostle. Because Bartholomew was a man 'in whom there was no guile,' his mind was open to the truth. He went willingly with Philip to see Christ, and recognized the Savior immediately as the Son of God. After having received the gifts of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost, Bartholomew evangelized Asia Minor, northwestern India, and Greater Armenia. In the latter country, while preaching to idolaters, he was arrested and condemned to death." -Read More
Pro-life groups organize prayer and protest in response to ‘abortion mandate’
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Washington D.C., Aug 23, 2009 / 07:06 pm (CNA).- Responding to President Barack Obama’s efforts to rally sympathetic religious groups to back his proposed health care legislation, pro-life groups have organized prayer campaigns and issued protests of the proposal’s “abortion mandate.”
During a Wednesday teleconference sponsored by the left-leaning religious organizations Catholics United, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Faith in Public Life, both White House Director of Domestic Policy Melody Barnes and President Obama denied that the health care bill would allow for federally funded abortions.
Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), charged that Obama “brazenly misrepresented the abortion-related component of the health care legislation that his congressional allies and staff have crafted.”
The NRLC said that the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Capps-Waxman Amendment explicitly authorizes the government plan to cover all elective abortions.
In response to the situation Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, has announced an effort to build the “largest prayer group in history” by promoting membership in a “Pray to End Abortion” cause on the social network site Facebook.
At present the effort has posted a special prayer regarding the health care reform debate.
The prayer, addressing Jesus as the “Divine Physician,” intercedes for elected officials and asks that they have both “the humility to know that they are servants, not masters” and also “the wisdom to realize that every life has equal value.”
“Let every reform in our public policy be based on the reform of our hearts and minds,” the prayer concludes.
The prayer site is accessible at http://www.ProLifePrayers.org
The group Concerned Women for America has joined the large coalition known as Stop the Abortion Mandate, which opposes the coverage of abortion in proposed federal health care legislation.
Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America, claimed that “liberal religious leaders” of a dwindling population are siding with the dwindling numbers of those who support the “Obama/Reid/Pelosi government takeover of health care” that she says would require Americans to fund abortions.
Wright noted liberal Evangelical leader and Obama supporter Rev. Jim Wallis’ July 22 statement in which he said that the prohibition on federal abortion funding should be maintained.
“This last-minute rally for legislation that includes taxpayer funding for abortion and special privileges for abortionists to have access to school children (with Planned Parenthood in position to run school-based clinics) reveals that liberal religious leaders and Obama are not sincere in their claim to ‘reduce abortions’ and ‘find common ground’,” she charged.
“The vast majority of Americans, even those who call themselves pro-choice, do not want to fund abortions because they know that what the government funds, we get more of,” she said.
The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) was also critical of the health care legislation.
“Nationalized health care is a recipe for disaster, for our country, for the unborn and for the elderly. The Party of Death cannot be trusted with such profound life decisions,” C-FAM told CNA in an e-mail.
" -Read MoreAccept challenge of Jesus’ hard teachings, Pope Benedict urges
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Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Aug 23, 2009 / 09:45 am (CNA).- Before Sunday’s Angelus prayer with pilgrims in the courtyard of Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about today’s Gospel, in which Jesus’ teaching about his presence in the Eucharist is met with resistance from the Jews and his own disciples. Followers of Christ must respond to his challenging teachings with lifelong commitment instead of trying to adapt his teachings to the fashions of the times, the Pope said.
“The fourth Evangelist,” Pope Benedict explained, “relates the reaction of the people and disciples, shocked by the words of the Lord to the point that many, after having followed him until then, exclaim, ‘This saying is hard, who can accept it?’”
Benedict XVI continued reading, reciting, “And from that moment on ‘many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.’”
The Pope then noted, “Jesus, however, does not lessen his claim. Indeed, he directly addresses the twelve saying, ‘Will you also go away?’”
“This provocative question,” the Pope taught, “is not only addressed to listeners of the time, but to believers and men of every age. Even today, many are shocked by the paradox of the Christian faith.”
Because “Jesus’ teaching seems too hard, too difficult to accept and put into practice,” Pope Benedict observed that, “As a result there are those who reject and abandon Christ, those who attempt to adapt his teachings to the fashions of the times distorting its meaning and value.”
“Will you also go away?’ This unsettling provocation resounds in our hearts and awaits a response from each one of us. Jesus in fact is not contented by a merely superficial or formal belonging, an initial and enthusiastic adhesion is not enough for Him. On the contrary, we must take part in ‘his thinking and his will’ throughout our entire life,” the Holy Father said.
Drawing his words to a close, the Pope said, “Faith is God’s gift to man and is, at the same time, man’s free and total trusting of himself to God.” “Docile faith, listening to the word of the Lord, that lamp for our feet, light for our path…We ask the Virgin Mary to keep alive in us this faith steeped in love, which has made her, a humble maiden of Nazareth, Mother of God and mother and model for all believers,” he prayed.
After the Marian prayer, the Pope greeted participants of the lay movement Communion and Liberation, who are gathering for their 30th annual Friendship Among Peoples meeting, which opened today in Rimini, Italy. Commenting on this year’s theme, “Knowledge Is Always An Event,” he referred to his recent encyclical “Caritas in Veritate”: “’Learning is not only a material act, because…In all knowledge and in every act of love the human soul experiences something ‘over and above,’ which seems very much like a gift that we receive, or a height to which we are raised.”
" -Read MoreWisconsin requiring Catholic institutions to provide contraceptives coverage
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Madison, Wis., Aug 23, 2009 / 02:13 am (CNA).- The bishops of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) have issued a statement to the state’s Catholic faithful expressing their “deep concern” about a state provision that requires providers of health insurance include contraceptive services. The rule will force Catholic dioceses and other agencies to pay for a “gravely immoral” service, the conference says.
A provision in the new state budget mandates the coverage as a “benefit.”
Signatories of the August 20 WCC letter were Bishop of Green Bay David L. Ricken, Bishop of Madison Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of La Crosse Jerome E. Listecki, Bishop of Superior Peter F. Christensen and Bishop William P. Callahan, the Administrator for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
“This mandate will compel Catholic dioceses, parishes, and other agencies that buy health insurance to pay for a medical service that Catholic teaching holds to be gravely immoral,” the Wisconsin bishops explained. “Contraception prevents the full and reciprocal self-giving that is essential to Christian marriage and diminishes the role of God, the giver of life, within marriage.”
The statement explained that only dioceses or agencies that are self-insured, such as the dioceses of La Crosse and Superior, will not be covered by the mandate.
“As Catholic teachers and pastors, we strongly object to this blatant insensitivity to our moral values and legal rights,” the bishops continued, noting that most other states provide accommodations for those whose religious or moral values are compromised by such mandates.
The bishops charged that the state government’s mandate violates constitutional rights as well as religious values, citing the right of conscience established in the Wisconsin Constitution. Religious freedom also includes the ability to publicly witness to one’s values in what one does and in what one declines to do, they explained.
“Nowhere does the Constitution say that the right of conscience is protected except in matters related to human reproduction,” their statement said. “Whatever course we pursue in this matter, we want all Catholics in Wisconsin to know that we will also continue to affirm and communicate the teachings of our faith.”
The bishops of the WCC also objected that the mandate was not a matter of open debate and “due deliberation.”
Acknowledging that many Catholics find Catholic teaching on contraception “difficult to accept or live out in practice,” the bishops emphasized that the immorality of artificial contraception is not a “Catholic issue.”
“Rather, the prohibition of artificial contraception is a principle of the natural moral law, which is inscribed in the mind and heart of all human beings,” the statement said. “The bond between husband and wife, in their inseparable love-making and life creating Vocation, is evident to human reason itself – another powerful consideration which should lead our legislators to take very seriously our conviction.”
The WCC statement suggested that this truth is not recognized because the “fashionable proposition” that there is no objective truth renders human reason “directionless.”
“We commit ourselves to continue listening to your objections and to explaining the Church’s understanding of human sexuality in such a manner that you may discover a greater understanding and appreciation of this teaching and the reasons for it,” the Wisconsin bishops pledged.
They added that Catholic teaching only seems overly restrictive of human freedom and in reality serves a “greater freedom” for both individuals and society.
“Our faith always challenges us,” the bishops said in conclusion. “We are measured by how we respond to those challenges. We ask for your support and prayers as we respond to this one.”
" -Read MoreNew Our Lady of Guadalupe book makes national bestseller lists
New York City, N.Y., Aug 22, 2009 / 06:07 pm (CNA).- A new book on Our Lady of Guadalupe intended to explore her history and her message of love has debuted on major U.S. bestseller lists.
“Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of a Civilization of Love” debuted at number six on the August 14, 2009 release of the New York Times bestseller list. It has also appeared on the bestseller list of the Wall Street Journal and Publisher’s Weekly.
The book is authored by Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, and Guadalupe expert Msgr. Eduardo Chávez. It traces her history as a religious and cultural symbol from the sixteenth century to the present.
The Knights of Columbus held their First International Marian Congress on Our Lady of Guadalupe in Phoenix on August 6-8. The festival drew a crowd of 20,000 in what was said to be the largest Catholic celebration of the year in that area.
Carl Anderson is also the author of the bestselling 2008 book “A Civilization of Love.”
Msgr. Chávez was the postulator of Guadalupe visionary St. Juan Diego’s cause for canonization and is one of the most prominent experts on the Guadalupe apparitions. He is the first dean of the Catholic University Lumen Gentium of the Archdiocese of Mexico.
The web site for “Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of a Civilization of Love” is at http://www.guadalupebook.org/
-Read MoreEvangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) Votes to Allow Homosexual Clergy
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) – The media is filled with reports concerning the slide of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ECLA) into heresy. Yes, that is exactly what occurred when the leadership of that community “voted” to abandon Christian orthodoxy. The Associated Press in an article entitled “Lutherans’ gay clergy vote hints at major shift”, led with these loaded words “In breaking down barriers restricting gays and lesbians from the pulpit, the nation's largest Lutheran denomination has laid down a new marker…. The ELCA — the nation's seventh-largest Christian church — reached its conclusion after eight years of study and deliberation. That culminated Friday when the church's national assembly in Minneapolis struck down a policy that required any gay and lesbian clergy to remain celibate.”
Read the whole story from Catholic.Org by Deacon Keith Fournier.
“God’s Partners in Life and Death”
Thus says the president! We might be fellowworkers in the gospel (1 Th 3:2) but to suggest that we are God’s “partners” in matters of life and death is audacious beyond belief. These words imply that President Obama considers himself at the right-hand of God as a partner, an equal, to decide matters of Life and Death.
You can read more on this here and here.
I thought liberals wanted a separation between church and state, religion and politics. So, it is OK for Obama to be prancing around the religious arena to garner support for his “life and death” policies? It is also acceptable for Reverend Jackson too. It is only the rest of us, especially Catholics who are told to shut up.
As Ben Smith said, “Obama’s call with the rabbis today . . . freights health care reform with a great deal of religious meaning, and veers into the blend of policy and faith that outraged liberals in the last administration.”
Commentator James Taranto says in the Wall Street Journal Opinion page, “We are God’s partners”?! Hmm, God & Obama? No, wait! Obama & God. Yeah, that’s much better!” (Excellent article; read the whole thing!)
As Tevi Troy notes at National Review Online, “The reference to the ‘who shall live and who shall die’ prayer was strange. . . . Is this really the context in which he wishes to discuss health reform–a powerful and unseen being making determinations of life and death? One would think that he would want to avoid anything that could raise the specter of rationing, death panels, or the like.”
-Read MoreOregon Law Bans Teachers from Wearing Religious Attire
BEAVERTON, OR (MetroCatholic) - Oregon will join Pennsylvania as the only states that forbid teachers from wearing religious attire.
The nationwide debate over religious observances in schools and the workplace made its way to Oregon. During the 2009 legislative session, leaders in Salem passed the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act. The act requires employers to accommodate employees’ observance of religious holidays and allows them to wear religious garments as long as it does not pose a significant difficulty or expense to the businesses.
On the surface, the bill appears to be a step toward diversity. However, a clause in the bill specifically singles out public schools as workplaces where religious freedoms do not apply. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) joined forces with the Sikh community in Portland and argued against the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act. Their efforts failed.
When the law goes into effect on January 1, 2010, Oregon will join Pennsylvania as the only states in the country that forbid teachers from wearing religious attire on school grounds.
This bill is troubling for some Muslims residing in Oregon because they view their religious attire as a part of their identity, not an expendable piece of clothing or an accessory. The Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act seeks to assure public schools remain neutral. Yet, some argue that this can be done through other means such as establishing a particular code of conduct.
read moreSan Diego Public School Dance Teacher Fired for Playing Song with Christ in it
Kathy Villalobos was a dance teacher for two San Diego Public Middle Schools. For five years she taught young teens how to dance. One day in class she played a song to her students that had the name “Christ” in it. Within five days, she was fired. That event transpired 4 1/2 years ago.
This Monday August 24, jury selection and her trial begins at the El Cajon East County Courthouse - along with a lively protest beforehand of the rights that were violated as a result of this firing.
“This is a tremendous injustice and violation of religious liberties” said Mary Kuper, Protest Organizer “Our Country was founded upon ‘In God we Trust’ and ‘One Nation Under God’, mentioning the name of Christ is an honor and a blessing, certainly not a reason for termination of employment. We hold the public school system accountable for this unreasonable act of injustice.”
read more: "SAN DIEGO, CA (MetroCatholic
Committee on Divine Worship Introduces Roman Missal Formation Website
WASHINGTON DC (MetroCatholic) - A new Website from the U.S. Conference of Catholic will educate Catholics about the forthcoming English translation of the new Roman Missal.
The site, www.usccb.org/romanmissal, launched August 21, includes background material on the process of development of liturgical texts, sample texts from the Missal, a glossary of terms and answers to frequently asked questions. Content will be added regularly over the next several moths. The bishop’s Committee on Divine Worship hopes the site will be a central resource for those preparing to implement the new text.
“In the years since Vatican II we have learned a lot about the use of the vernacular in the liturgy and the new texts reflect this new understanding,” said Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Paterson, NJ, in a welcome-to-the-site video.
“The new texts are understandable, dignified and accurate,” said Bishop Serratelli, who chairs the Committee on Divine Worship. “They not only strive to make the meaning of the text accessible for the listener, but they also strive to unearth the biblical and theological richness of the Latin text.”
After more than five years of consultation, study and reflection, the bishops are expected to conclude their review and approval of the final portion of the translated texts at the end of this year. Final approval (recognitio) of the text from the Holy See for the complete translation will be the last step before the publication of the texts for use in the liturgy.
read more
‘Cardinal Justin Rigali: Abortion Is Not Health Care’
There is a great deal of attention being given to current government proposals surrounding health care. While it is not the Church’s intention or desire to enter into politics, when moral principles are at stake it is part of her mission to defend the dignity of the human person. In that spirit, we approach this week’s topic.
A basic moral principle
There is a basic principle of morality which states: “The end does not justify the means.” Just what is the meaning of this statement? Each of us can be faced with an array of problems. Our goal may be to solve those problems. That, in itself, is a good thing. However, simply because we wish to bring about a good solution, or end, as it is more technically called, does not mean that we can use any and every way, or means, to bring that about. To give a simple, and somewhat exaggerated example, let us propose the following: “I would like my family to have a nice vacation.” In itself, that is a good and praiseworthy end. However, if I then go out and rob a bank in order to pay for that vacation, I am not using a legitimate means!
The confusion of a praiseworthy end, along with the blurring or justifying of any means to attain that end, is not a new problem. Satan tempted our first parents in the garden by promising them great knowledge if they gave in to his temptation. Knowledge is a good thing. Disobeying God’s commands in order to achieve such knowledge is not.
Saint Paul also addresses this in his Letter to the Romans (3:8), in which he answers those who accuse him of claiming that the end does justify the means.
Saint Augustine reminds us that no morally wrong action may be taken, even if we seem to have a good reason for that action, and even if we have a good intention motivating us (Contra mendacium, chapters 1 and 7).
Pope Pius XII (1939-1958) was always conscious of giving clear direction in the midst of a society which was undergoing great upheaval after the Second World War. He restated the Church’s traditional moral teaching on this question in these words: “God desires us always to have, above all, an upright intention, but that is not enough. He also requires that the action be a good action. It is not permissible to do evil in order to achieve a good end” (Address, 18 April 1952).
Appeal to emotions
read more: "PHILADELPHIA, PA (MetroCatholic
Evangelical Lutheran Church backs away from Christian chastity
Minneapolis, Minn., Aug 21, 2009 / 07:41 pm (CNA).- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on Wednesday approved a new policy that no longer declares marriage as “the appropriate place” for sexual relations, but rather calls for “social trust” in associations that are “loving” and “committed.” One critic characterized the move as an embrace of moral relativism.
The ELCA claims about 4.6 million members. Its numbers have declined by 1 million over the past forty years.
The ELCA’s Churchwide Assembly, meeting from August 17 to 23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center, formerly said that marriage is “the appropriate place for sexual intercourse.” Such language is absent from the new policy, which says that heterosexual relationships are “best served through binding commitment, legal protections, and the public accountability of marriage.”
“Some cohabitation arrangements can be constructed in ways that are neither casual nor intrinsically unstable,” the policy adds.
The policy calls for “social trust” in relationships that are “loving,” “life-giving,” “fulfilling,” “nurturing,” and “committed.”
On the issue of homosexuality, the ELCA claimed that “consensus” does not exist and recognized four “conscience-bound beliefs” ranging from disapproval of all homosexual relations to honoring them as equally valid marriages.
Read morePro-Life Leader Blasts Planned Parenthood President for Dishonest Attack on US Bishops
Father Thomas J. Euteneuer, President of Human Life International (HLI), today blasted Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, for her scathing and error-filled attack on the U.S. Catholic Bishops who have called for abortion to be excluded from all proposed national health care legislation.
“Ms. Richards has done a favor to all pro-lifers and people of good faith in her hate-filled rant against the shepherds of our beloved Church,” said Fr. Euteneuer. “First, she has reminded everyone that, despite President Obama’s recent statements to the contrary, abortion is absolutely going to be covered in any health care reform legislation that crosses his desk. He and his cronies in Congress are much too beholden to the abortion lobby for any different outcome.”
“Second, she again highlights the extreme position of the organization she leads, and their hostility to the Catholic Church. No Catholic Organization should be comfortable finding themselves on the same side of the table as this hateful anti-woman outfit,” said Fr. Euteneuer.
Read more: "FRONT ROYAL, VA, (MetroCatholic
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