Genesis 38:8-10 Sin of Onan

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Question from Jason on 5/31/2008:

"8 Juda, therefore said to Onan his son: Go in to thy brother's wife and marry her, that thou mayst raise seed to thy brother. 9 He knowing that the children should not be his, when he went in to his brother's wife, spilled his seed upon the ground, lest children should be born in his brother's name. 10 And therefore the Lord slew him, because he did a detestable thing."

I can't imagine a more clear and specific verse of scripture that condemns all forms of artificial contraception. I often read the various questions in the different forums and become angered at the arrogance of mankind before God. Catholics have no excuse whatsoever to dismiss the Church's rightfull teachings on all issues of Faith and Morals. I can understand non Catholic questioning of our faith since they have been taught differently from their youth, but all Catholics need to humbly submit their minds and will to the "mouthpiece of God" the Church.
Answer by Judie Brown on 5/31/2008:

Dear Jason

Too true, but all Catholics need to learn and know what the Church teaches. And sadly far too many pulpits are silent on questions such as contraception, Hell and sin.

When I wrote my book, "Saving Those Damned Catholics," I did so precisely because of these problems. Please reach out to others and share the truths taught by the Church ... the are so beautiful and with them souls are saved.

Judie Brown

Pope prays for disaster victims during reflection on Sacred Heart of Jesus

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Pope Benedict and Sacred Heart

Vatican City, Jun 1, 2008 / 11:45 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI today issued a new appeal for aid for the humanitarian and environmental disasters that struck Myanmar and China one month ago, entrusting the two nations in particular, as well as all who are suffering, to Our Lady. His prayers followed a reflection upon the traditional devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Forty thousand pilgrims flooded St. Peter’s Square under the heat of an early June sun to pray the angelus prayer at noon with Pope Benedict.

"I invoke the maternal intercession of the Virgin once again for the peoples of China and Myanmar affected by natural disasters, and for those undergoing the many situations of pain, sickness and material and spiritual poverty that mark the path of humanity," the Holy Father said.

Before praying the angelus prayer, Pope Benedict reflected on the meaning of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, celebrated last Friday and throughout the month of June.

Focusing on the spiritual meaning of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Benedict described the Sacred Heart as the "heart of the world" that expands the limits of history.

The Holy Father said the Sacred Heart of Jesus expresses in a simple and real way the “good news” of love, which in itself summarizes the mystery of the incarnation and redemption. Thus it is traditionally a devotion dear to both mystics and theologians.

Pope Benedict said the succession of feasts in the liturgical year from Easter, to Trinity Sunday, to Corpus Christi and, finally, to the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is “a movement towards the center: a movement of the spirit that is driven by God Himself.”

“From the horizons of the infinity of love, God chose to enter the limits of history and the human condition, He took a body and a heart, so that we can contemplate and meet the infinite in the finite, the invisible and ineffable Mystery in the human Heart of Jesus,” Pope Benedict said.

Recalling his first encyclical Deus Caritas Est, which was on the theme of love, Pope Benedict explained that the point of departure was the gaze upon the pierced side of Christ, of which John speaks in his Gospel (cf. John 19). This, he said, is the “center of our faith and the source of the hope in which we are saved, hope that is the subject of the second encyclical.”

He continued, “Every person needs a 'center' of their lives, a source of truth and goodness to draw from in approaching the various situations and struggles of everyday life. Every of one of us, when he stops in silence, needs to hear not only the beat of his heart, but in greater depth, the beat of a reliable presence, the perceived meaning of faith and yet much more real: the presence of Christ, the heart of the world.”

Pope Benedict added, “I call on everyone to renew in the month of June their devotion to the Heart of Christ, offering the traditional daily prayer and bearing in mind the intentions that I proposed to the whole Church. "

Pope Benedict concluded his reflection on the Sacred Heart with an invocation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which he said the liturgy also invites us to venerate. He entrusted to her maternal care and intercession the peoples of China and Myanmar affected by natural disasters.

After the angelus prayer, Pope Benedict extended a blessing upon all, and greeted pilgrims in various languages.
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Textbook for 15 year-olds in Spain attacks the Church

Textbook for 15 year-olds in Spain attacks the Church

Madrid, Jun 1, 2008 / 09:04 pm (CNA).- The association Educacion y Persona has denounced a new textbook that aggressively attacks the Church and supports abortion and is part of the government-sponsored school course Education for Citizenship. The textbook will be used by 15 year-olds.

The Spanish daily La Razon reported that the textbook “attacks the moral doctrine of the Catholic Church, parodies the election of a Pope, proposes Cuba as an economic model and treats the right to abortion as non-negotiable, with numerous obscene illustrations.”

La Razon pointed to several paragraphs in the text that directly attack the Church’s teachings on same-sex marriage, abortion and the use of contraceptives. “Fortunately,” the textbook says, “we don’t have to put their teachings before those of Jesus Christ.”

Elsewhere the textbook states: “The Church has mobilized itself against this Education for Citizenship course even mentioning that other sexual options besides those it sanctions exist. They have tried to take the place of laws with their gods and churches.”

The textbook also includes illustrations that mock belief in God. In one such illustration, Adam and Eve are shown being expelled from the Garden of Eden. “Adam says to her: ‘I warned you, Eve. That idea of us actually thinking wasn’t going to make the old man happy one bit’.”

Illustrations from the book can be seen at:
http://www.larazon.es/galeria/noticia/43588/0/Parodia_de_Dios_en_Ciudadanía

Oldest bishop in the world turns 102

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Rome, Jun 1, 2008 / 05:11 pm (CNA).- The oldest bishop in the world, Bishop Antonio Rosario Mennonna, has celebrated his 102nd birthday with a special Mass in his native Italian city of Muro Lucano, together with fellow priests, parishioners and family members.

Bishop Mennonna was born on May 27, 1906 and was ordained Bishop of Muro Lucano on March 13, 1955, where he remained until February 22, 1962, when he was transferred to the Diocese of Nardo-Gallipoli in southern Italy.

He participated in Vatican II and has helped to promote the construction of many new parishes. He also supported a number of charitable works and received special recognition from various Italian presidents. Bishop Mennonna retired on September 30, 1983, and returned to his native city.

Next week he will celebrate his 80th anniversary in the priesthood.

Abortion Always Wrong

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A response to: One-Issue Voters

It is important to realize that the infallible magisterium of the Church has condemned abortion as an intrinsic evil and therefore a mortal sin under all conditions. But the magisterium has never condemned wars or capital punishment as an intrinsic evil under all conditions. The official catechism does consider capital punishment as unnecessary, but it is not an infallible and definitive judgment to be held de fide. The Church is strongly influenced by the Common Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, in all 3 issues. We are free to decide what to do as long as we do not contradict the definite teachings of the Church. We are free to debate, but personal opinions must be seen as such.

Joe Neri