Religious Life -- on Oprah

News has been spreading through the blogosphere that the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, will be appearing on Oprah tomorrow afternoon. The sisters explained how it all came to be in an e-mail update:

Oprah was interested in doing a show on religious life as a hidden way of life which many people never experience, and so her producers asked us if we would be willing to welcome them. We accepted this invitation as an opportunity to share our life, and by extension, the Gospel, with an audience that we might not ever reach otherwise.

A camera crew came to the Motherhouse in Ann Arbor at the beginning of [last] week, and then on Thursday, Sr. Mary Samuel, Sr. John Dominic, Sr. Mary Judith, and Sr. Francis Mary were flown to Chicago for the taping. Some of our Novices and Postulants also participated in the taping from the Motherhouse via “Skype.”

. . . please join us in praying that Our Lord will use this television show to touch the hearts of many, so that they may come to know Him and His boundless love and mercy.
-Read More

The Saints Went Marching In

I'm not much of a football fan, but I usually find myself watching the Superbowl every year. It provides an excuse for a party, after all, and that means snacks. This year I was rooting for the Saints, mainly because they were the underdogs and have never taken home the Lombardi trophy. (Plus, I like saints more than horses.)
-Read More

Commentary on Feb. 5 News

The names of the 21,581 petitioners supporting the CBS decision to air the Tim Tebow ad have been sent by both mail and email to CBS. The first 15,000 names were sent earlier this week and the rest were sent today. Additional names received over the weekend will also be forwarded to CBS to confirm their right decision on this matter. Congratulations to all who responded! This has undoubtedly had an impact upon CBS.

President Obama is encountering yet another major setback with fading hopes for confirmation of his very radical nominee to head the Office of Legal Counsel.

Planned Parenthood's counter commercial to the Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad is glaringly missing mention of one crucial person. The unborn child does not exist for "pro-choicers", nor do the large numbers of women hurt from making this often coerced or and seriously uninformed and deadly "choice".

It is disturbing for us to report the offensive tactics being used in response to Reform CCHD Now's well researched and respectfully presented facts about CCHD funding of some pro-abortion and otherwise unworthy groups. It should be very concerning to all that some Church leaders seem compelled to unjustly malign the credibility and motivation of the whistle blowers and to misrepresent the concerns presented, rather than respond directly to the evidence of scandal. The similarity of these responses to the Canadian Development and Peace scandal revelations continue to amaze us.
-Read More

CCHD Scandal Picks Up Steam as Bishops React

Various offices of the U.S. Bishops Conference (USCCB) have reacted to the two new reports issued by the Reform CCHD Now coalition (RCN) this week, but the reactions, claims RCN, have not addressed the core message of their reports.

While RCN has offered evidence that 31 CCHD grantees are partnered with a pro-abortion and homosexualist group, the Center for Community (CCC), and that two USCCB officials have served on the same group's board, the reactions have focused primarily on defending the pro-life beliefs of one of those officials - John Carr, who, as executive director of the USCCB's Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development, oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).

The report on Carr’s involvement in CCC was received by some as questioning Carr’s personal pro-life convictions. However, RCN says that the reports in question – one from American Life League (ALL) and another from the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry (BVM) – specified that they were not questioning Carr or any USCCB staffer's personal stance on pro-life.

Immediately after the issuing of the reports Monday, a line supporting CCC was quietly removed from the CCHD website. Not so quiet however was the backlash against the perceived attack on Carr.
-Read More

Americans Wants U.S. Supreme Court to Reject Same-Sex “Marriage”

A new poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion shows that a majority of Americans believe the US Supreme Court would defend marriage as between a man and a woman against opponents of California's Proposition 8, with an even greater majority expressing approval of such a ruling.

Both sides of the marriage debate expect that the federal trial of Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex “marriage,” will reach the US Supreme Court. Perry v. Schwarzenegger currently awaits a decision in U.S. District Court - and many speculate the case could end up meaning for the marriage debate what Roe v. Wade meant for the abortion issue.

52 percent of 1,000 adult respondents told Angus Reid pollsters that they believed the U.S. Supreme Court would reject the constitutional arguments made by opponents of Prop. 8, and rule that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.

58 percent said they would prefer such a ruling, while 34 percent wanted a ruling legalizing same-sex “marriage.” The same percentage split defined a majority saying they would vote to keep the natural definition of marriage in their home state if the question came up via a referendum.
-Read More