Saturday, November 01, 2008
"CATHOLIC CHURCH FUNDS ACORN AND SYSTEMIC WARS"
That is the title of Stephanie Block's excellent article at Spero unpacking Alinsky-style organizations such as ACORN, the Industrial Areas Foundation, and others. She does an excellent job of explaining in layman's terms just what is wrong with these organizations: how they espouse the philosophy that the end justifies the means, how they depend on consensus and why that marginalizes the minority in any group, and on the need to build an earthly utopia. If I wanted to quote her, I would have to quote the entire article. She writes that well. But on one subject which she touches briefly I will quote her. She points to the shortcomings of Libertarianism with the following statement:
Saying one simply wants to “change” is too vague an ambition. Libertarian, free-market capitalists and the card-carrying communists both believe their economic system will help the poor, and they work hard to change present structures to resemble the ideals of their own philosophies. Both have potential benefits for the poor; both have historically wronged the poor in unspeakably horrible ways. Neither adequately reflects the Catholic position.
.............................
UPDATE
USA Today has picked up the article.
THINKING WITH THE LOWER ANATOMY
Her unease with certain doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church led Dilly Muehlfelt to a denomination that she says still adheres to early church traditions but is open to all.
A parish of the Independent Catholic Church of the West began meeting at Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church on Greenfield Road near Baseline Road in September. About 20 people make up the congregation that meets Sundays at 5 p.m.
The core of Catholic tradition remains intact at St. Francis of Assisi. Church members believe in the seven sacraments and Rev. Peter Orlando is called father.
But in this denomination, women can be ordained ministers, and clergy can marry. Communion is open to everyone, and the church is all-welcoming.
A former Roman Catholic priest, Orlando says he always waited for the Vatican to change the rules regarding clergy.
Read it here...
MISTAKES HAVE BEEN MADE
Editor at large of Time magazine Mark Halperin appeared on Tuesday's edition of "Morning Joe" and admitted "mistakes have been made" in regards to the media's coverage of Barack Obama and that "people will regret it." Analyzing the fawning press that the Democratic presidential candidate has received, he added, "If Obama wins and goes on to become a hugely successful president, I think, still, people will look back and say it just wasn't done the right way."
Joe Scarborough, host of "Morning Joe," prompted the brief discussion when he opened the MSNBC program by declaring, "But I got to say this, the media, the media has been really, really biased this campaign, I think." He then asked Halperin if journalists are "just in love with history?" Halperin candidly responded, "History and the story is just- it's great for us. It's been great for us. He's a great story." He went on to make his "mistakes have been made" quip, prompting Scarborough to burst out laughing.
Continue reading...
CHINA COMES TO AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIA will join China in implementing mandatory censoring of the internet under plans put forward by the Federal Government.
The revelations emerge as US tech giants Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, and a coalition of human rights and other groups unveiled a code of conduct aimed at safeguarding online freedom of speech and privacy.
The government has declared it will not let internet users opt out of the proposed national internet filter.
Read more here...
HEH - GOD CASTS HIS VOTE
Snow fell as the House of Commons debated Global Warming yesterday - the first October fall in the metropolis since 1922. The Mother of Parliaments was discussing the Mother of All Bills for the last time, in a marathon six hour session.
In order to combat a projected two degree centigrade rise in global temperature, the Climate Change Bill pledges the UK to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. The bill was receiving a third reading, which means both the last chance for both democratic scrutiny and consent.
The bill creates an enormous bureaucratic apparatus for monitoring and reporting, which was expanded at the last minute. Amendments by the Government threw emissions from shipping and aviation into the monitoring program, and also included a revision of the Companies Act (c. 46) "requiring the directors’ report of a company to contain such information as may be specified in the regulations about emissions of greenhouse gases from activities for which the company is responsible" by 2012.
Read it here...
Meanwhile in Switzerland a record snowstorm had snarled traffic.
And in Ocala, Florida the second lowest temperature ever recorded in October since 1850 descended on October 29.
Must be global warming.
Funny.
CATHOLICS CANNOT VOTE FOR OBAMA
From Lifesite News -
October 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The priests of CallforherSOS.org have delivered what may be the most blunt directive yet to Catholic voters in the upcoming presidential election.
In three short videos, Fr. Tom Celso and Fr. Don Eder embellish little upon a simple, strict manifesto of Catholic moral teaching.
"It is the mission of the Catholic Church to pass moral judgements in matters related to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of man require it," say the priests.
"The Democratic party and Barack Obama have brought shame and horror to this nation. Mr. Obama has promised to legalize partial-birth abortion, the savage murder of babies during birth. We are outraged.
"Catholics must uphold human rights, avoid sin, and cannot vote for abortion candidates. They cannot vote for Obama."
MUSEUM DIRECTOR FIRED
A reader sent in the story from the UK Telegraph:
Corinne Diserens, the Swiss director of the museum in Bolzano, in the mountainous north-east of Italy, was dismissed after months of controversy over the bright green, bug-eyed amphibian, which is nailed to a cross and holds a frothing mug of beer and an egg....
She had refused to remove the work by the late German artist Martin Kippenberger despite protests from the Vatican that it was blasphemous.
She said the museum had a right to artistic freedom, and kept the frog on display as originally planned from May to September.
But a majority of the museum's board of directors disagreed and instead dismissed her this week.
The official reason given by the museum was that Ms Diserens had caused a "difficult financial situation" by overspending her budget, but supporters said she was being punished for the row over the frog.
Her sacking prompted a debate on contemporary art in the German-speaking region of Alto-Adige, where a far-right party with anti-immigration views tripled its support in local elections this week, becoming the province's second most powerful political force.
Read all of it...
Sure took a long time to get it done. This blasphemous frog was in the news quite a while ago. Still, it sends a message, I suppose, even if the frog did get to stay for the entire time of exhibition.
Friday, October 31, 2008
ACORN--FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Acorn, the liberal "community organizing" group that claims it will deploy 15,000 get-out-the-vote workers on Election Day, can't stay out of the news.
The FBI is investigating its voter registration efforts in several states, amid allegations that almost a third of the 1.3 million cards it turned in are invalid. And yesterday, a former employee of Acorn testified in a Pennsylvania state court that the group's quality-control efforts were "minimal or nonexistent" and largely window dressing. Anita MonCrief also says that Acorn was given lists of potential donors by several Democratic presidential campaigns, including that of Barack Obama, to troll for contributions.
The Obama campaign denies it "has any ties" to Acorn, but Mr. Obama's ties are extensive. In 1992 he headed a registration effort for Project Vote, an Acorn partner at the time. He did so well that he was made a top trainer for Acorn's Chicago conferences. In 1995, he represented Acorn in a key case upholding the constitutionality of the new Motor Voter Act -- the first law passed by the Clinton administration -- which created the mandated, nationwide postcard voter registration system that Acorn workers are using to flood election offices with bogus registrations.
Ms. MonCrief testified that in November 2007 Project Vote development director Karyn Gillette told her she had direct contact with the Obama campaign and had obtained their donor lists. Ms. MonCrief also testified she was given a spreadsheet to use in cultivating Obama donors who had maxed out on donations to the candidate, but who could contribute to voter registration efforts. Project Vote calls the allegation "absolutely false."
She says that when she had trouble with what appeared to be duplicate names on the list, Ms. Gillette told her she would talk with the Obama campaign and get a better version. Ms. MonCrief has given me copies of the donor lists she says were obtained from other Democratic campaigns, as well as the 2004 DNC donor lists.
Read the rest...
Chris Dickson's blog has noted it as well:
Obama Lied and Babies Died!
"RENEWING THE AMERICAN DREAM"
McCain-Palin campaign manager Rick Davis has accused Hussein Obama of lying to the American people about his true affiliation with ACORN.
The allegation came in reaction to court testimony Wednesday from a former employee of an ACORN affiliate disclosing the organization’s ties to the Obama campaign.
ACORN, the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now, has come under intense fire for, among other things, registering folks who don’t exist. The FBI is investigating its voter registration efforts in several states amid allegations that almost one-third of the 1.3 million registration cards it turned in are invalid.
The testimony of the former worker for an ACORN affiliate “proves Barack Obama is guilty of lying to the American people about his relationship with ACORN,” Davis said.
“At the last presidential debate, in front of 60 million people, Barack Obama said his campaign was not involved with ACORN.
“We now know that Barack Obama’s campaign was working hand-in-glove with an organization reportedly under investigation by the FBI and in more than a dozen states.
“In addition to funneling $832,000 to ACORN for get-out-the-vote efforts, the Obama campaign and ACORN have been sharing donor lists, encouraging maxed-out Obama donors to contribute to this unethical organization.”
Keep it in mind when the CCHD collection comes around in November. CCHD funds ACORN.
EARTHSPIRIT RISING CONFERENCE AND CATHOLIC NUNS
It's been a while since I've looked at it. The first one was held in 1997. It's still around, folks. Where are the bishops?
Here's the 2009 conference website. It's scheduled for Xavier University. Isn't that university supposed to be Catholic?
The 2007 conference explains why I ask the question. Scroll through the website and see what looks like a fortune teller with the caption "Sisters of Charity of Nazareth". Notice the woman dressed as a nun who apparently is the singer named Issa. One of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence? If not, she dresses like them.
Notice that Matthew Fox was a prominent speaker. So was the witch Starhawk.
It was held at Bellarmine University in 2007. Isn't Bellarmine supposed to be Catholic?
There's one more little goodie in the website. Right next to the crystal ball gazer's picture is a list of the religious sisters who are part of the "patron list" which just happens to include the "Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration" among the listing of heretical nuns. Below that listing is a link for The Berkana Institute. Interesting place, Berkana. Check out the Learning Partners link. There you can read about "The Shambhala Authentic Leadership Institute". Shambhala, as in Benjamin Creme?
When I Googled Shambhala Institute with Benjamin Creme, I got a bunch of porn links, and that's where I stopped.
Among the patrons of the 2007 EarthSpirit Rising Conference was the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and the Sisters of St. Francis Oldenburg. Both of these organizations are listed as "Founding Sponsors" of the Intercommunitty Justice and Peace Center. Guess who got a Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) grant. Yup, the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
CCHD AND THE TRAVESTY OF THIS CHARITY
I don't know how to import a YouTube video to my blog. It hasn't mattered until now, but right now I wish I could.
The video can be viewed here it was made by Stephanie Block, a member of Catholic Media Coalition, and is a point blank exposition of the nefarious activities of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
I stopped contributing to CCHD and Catholic Charities in Cleveland several years ago when I discovered CCHD promoted abortion. But abortion is the tip of a nasty Catholic iceberg, as is explained in the video.
This needs to stop yesterday.
And Obama's association with the organizations CCHD funds should be a red flag waving before the eyes of every Catholic on the planet.
At Catholic Media Coalition there are a lot of articles about the dangers we are about to embrace in the coming election. Mary Ann Kreitzer's article "Picking Pockets in the Pew--the CCHD Scandal" is just one of them.
Meanwhile stupid Catholics all across America are supporting the Marxist in the presidential election most likely because they think he is going to help their pocketbook.
God have mercy on us!
ANGLICAN BISHOP ROBINSON CONDUCTS RETREAT FOR CATHOLIC PRIESTS
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson says he led a confidential retreat a few years ago for gay Roman Catholic priests.
Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church and world Anglican Communion, said the Catholic priest group that organized the meeting had invited him to attend.
Robinson says about 75 Catholic clergy from around the U.S. participated without notifying their bishops or provincial leaders.
Read it here.
Wouldn't a list of names be interesting!
THE NEW "DAS KAPITAL"
A Catholic archbishop in Germany introduced his own "Das Kapital" -- an attack on capitalistic excesses -- to reporters Wednesday.
Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Munich is not related to 19th-century communist founding father Karl Marx, but the clergyman's surname draws wonderment and wisecracks wherever he goes.
Despite the similar nomenclature, Marx says readers should not expect a defense of communism in this new book. Instead, the Roman Catholic archbishop who is the most outspoken of Germany's 27 diocesan leaders in his criticism of big business, says that his work is to some extent "an argument with Marxism."
The book begins as a letter addressed to his "dear namesake."
"The consequences," he tells the 19th-century ideologist, "of your thinking were disastrous."
Finish the article...
Maybe someone should invest in a copy for Obama?
FROM THE WASHINGTON POST BLOG
Looking for a bellwether group to focus on in the final week of the presidential race?
Look no further than white Catholics, who have gone for the winner in every single presidential election for which exit polling exists. That means that since 1972, the candidate for whom the majority of white Catholics cast their votes has -- like clockwork -- claimed the presidency. For the non-math majors out there, that's EIGHT straight elections. (Looking for the exact numbers? Check after the jump.)
For months, the Washington Post/ABC News poll, has shown John McCain holding a wide lead over Barack Obama among this key swing group, which in the past eight elections has comprised between 20 and 25 percent of the electorate as a whole. Back in mid-June, McCain was at 60 percent, with 34 percent for Obama -- a margin that fluctuated somewhat as the summer wore on but by the end of the Republican National Convention had returned to a 19-point McCain edge.
Read the rest...
HERETICAL CATHOLICISM IN AUSTRALIA
THE controversy surrounding one of Australia's most radical Catholic churches, St Mary's South Brisbane, has escalated into a wider debate over bedrock Christian beliefs.
On the line for parishioners of St Mary's and several other parishes in Queensland and NSW are fundamental church doctrines such as who can celebrate Mass, whether Jesus Christ was God, whether Mary had as many as six children, the bodily Resurrection, and the need for sacramental celebrations for same-sex marriages.
In a booklet being sold for $20, a NSW priest, Peter Dresser of Coonamble in the Diocese of Bathurst, insists Jesus was not God and did not think he was God. The booklet is on sale at two Brisbane parishes: St Mary's and the Wooloowin/Windsor/Kalinga Parish of outspoken Brisbane priest Richard Pascoe.
In God is Big. Real Big! Father Dresser -- who prefers to be known as Peter -- says: "This whole matter regarding Jesus being God ... not only does violence to my own intelligence, but must be a sticking point
for millions of people trying to make some kind of sense of the Christian religion ... No human being can ever be God, and Jesus was a human being. It is as simple as that."
Father Dresser said he found his own rural flock "very conservative" and admitted that many of them found his theology difficult to accept. He said he had rethought his approach after taking an interest in science. "I'm delighted they're opening up the debate at St Mary's," he said.
In his book, Father Dresser claims Mary had as many as six children, Joseph was the father of Jesus and the bodily Resurrection is not to be taken literally.
Read the rest...
Fox News picked it up.
Thanks to Susanna for finding this one.
NEW PLAY IN ROME
Around 9 p.m. on May 4, 1998, shots rang out in an apartment in Vatican City. Rescuers found three victims: Lieutenant Colonel Alois Estermann, 43, who only hours before had been appointed commander of the Swiss Guard, the elite corps that guards the pope; his Venezuelan-born wife, Gladys Meza Romero, 49; and one of Estermann's underlings, Vice Corporal Cédric Tornay, 23.
Barely three hours later - in record time, many longtime Vatican observers noted - the Holy See put out a statement that opened, and quickly shut, the case. It claimed that Tornay had killed the couple before turning the gun on himself in what appeared to have been a "fit of madness."
A final report by Vatican investigators presented in February 1999 confirmed the original reconstruction. Traces of cannabis in Tornay's urine and a cyst in his brain discovered during the autopsy were given as possible explanations of why a simmering professional grudge had exploded into a double murder and suicide.
End of story? Hardly. Ten years on, the play "04-05-'98: Massacre in the Vatican," which opened in Rome last week and runs through Saturday, revives the salacious rumors and murky conspiracy theories that have hung over the case.
Why were the Swiss Guards without a leader for months, and why did Estermann get killed the same day he was appointed? Why were the Italian police excluded from the investigation? Then, if Tornay was killed in a fit of madness, why did he calmly write a suicide note?
Those are just a few of the questions that the playwright Fabio Croce poses in a fast-paced whodunit that happens to provide its own frank answer: Because the Vatican was trying to hide the truth, which is that all three were murdered.
The smoking gun never actually finds its way into the hands of a specific culprit, but in concocting his murder theory, Croce thickens the plot with enough twists to make the audience dizzy.
In the play, the three deaths are interwoven with the unresolved disappearance in 1983 of two young girls, one of whom lived in Vatican City; with the sudden, and some say mysterious, death of Pope John Paul I; with the bailout of the IOR, the Vatican bank, when it was in uneasy financial waters; and with secret service agents of various ilk. For good measure Croce throws in a bitter rivalry between the clerical freemasonry and the Catholic organization Opus Dei. The two groups were supposedly clashing to gain primacy over the pope's security detail.
Read the rest...
Playwright, incidentally, owns a gay publishing house.
PAPAL SPIN
Yesterday afternoon Pope Benedict XVI spoke at a Mass in honor of the 50th anniversary of Blessed Pope John XXIII’s election as Pope. His openness to the Holy Spirit made possible the “truly special gift” of Vatican II to the Church, Benedict XVI said.
Gathered with 3,000 pilgrims from the late Pontiff’s home diocese of Bergamo, Italy, Pope Benedict described him as the “Papa buono” (the good Pope) as he recalled how "the grace of God was preparing a period of commitment and promise for the Church and for society” at the time Bl. John XXIII was elected.
This grace, was able to help the Church flourish because of John XXIII’s openness to the Holy Spirit, said Pope Benedict, as he described how that “fertile soil,” which characterized the late Pope’s whole life, bore the fruits of “harmony, hope, unity and peace, for the good of all humanity.”
Read the rest if you have the stomach for it...
Hmmmmm. Let's see--shortage of priests, closing churches, rampant homosexuality in the seminaries, declining membership in the parishes, scandalous priestly sexual abuse of the laity's children, clown liturgies, errant spirituality by various visionaries, a divorce rate equal to that of secularists, wholesale ignoring of H.V., abandonment of the sacrament of confession, disregard for Marian devotion, priestly support for abortion--yeah, this was the work of the Holy Spirit alright.
Honestly, in an effort to protect the reputation of the Church, sometimes I think Benedict would even canonize Satan if he had managed to have himself elected pope. Next I suppose we'll hear about the beatification of Paul VI.
This Catholic is not buying it! There are times when silence is golden if you don't want to come across as delusional or worse.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
WHAT'S WRONG IN THE CLEVELAND DIOCESE ?
I've been blogging for a few years about the problems in Cleveland, among other things. So far there hasn't been much in the way of improvement, despite the publicity of the sexual abuse scandal. I'm not impressed by the current bishop. Not even remotely, after seeing him sneer on national TV at the brother of a victim of that abuse.
He does deserve credit for being one of the 80 bishops who support the defining issue--abortion--of the present election as reported at LifeSiteNews.com If he truly supports the inconsistency for a Catholic of voting for Obama, why does the diocese continue to engage in the activities being reported by the Cleveland Right to Life Newsletter, as posted at Free Republic sent in by a reader? Take a look at that newsletter! It lists Tim Allio as the primary diocesan spokesperson for moral decisions on the upcoming election:
But who is Tom Allio? And where do his priorities lie - with promoting the authentic truths of the Catholic Faith, or with promoting a particular political party in the swing state of Ohio in a hotly contested presidential election?
Along with his duties at the Diocese of Cleveland, Tom Allio serves on the Advisory Council of an organization called Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Although it professes to be a "nonpartisan, lay Catholic organization that promotes awareness of Catholic social teaching," a close examination of its actions and affiliations proves it is neither authentically Catholic nor bi-partisan.
In fact, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACD) exists in order to create and spread false interpretations of Catholic doctrine to convince Catholics that it is not only possible but preferable to vote for Barack Obama and other pro-choice politicians. It is (according to IRS documents) a partner organization to Catholics United, which openly endorses pro-choice, Democratic candidates for office, including Obama.
Both "Catholic" organizations, while claiming to oppose abortion, refuse to endorse any legal remedies to the abortion genocide, such as overturning Roe v. Wade, passing parental notification laws, or even banning late-term abortions. And both organizations have come under fire recently for their tactics: Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput claims "the work of Democratic-friendly groups like Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, have done a disservice to the Church, confused the natural priorities of Catholic social teaching, undermined the progress pro-lifers have made, and provided an excuse for some Catholics to abandon the abortion issue instead of fighting within their parties and at the ballot box to protect the unborn." And Francis Cardinal George of Chicago decries the groups' claim that they "promote the common good," stating, "Laws that place unborn children outside the protection of law destroy both the children killed and the common good, which is the controlling principle of Catholic social teaching. One cannot favor the legal status quo on abortion and also be working for the common good." Cardinal George has banned both groups' voting materials from distribution in his parishes, calling them "deceptive."
George Soros and MoveOn.org are both mentioned in the points given in the article. Surprise, surprise.
The following is taken from the article:
Allio's Associate Director at the Diocesan Social Justice Office, Karen Leith, is a past board member of FutureChurch, the Cleveland branch of Chicago-based Call to Action....
Also scheduled to speak Oct. 29-30 at JCU, on the topics of "Faithful Citizenship," and "Catholic Social Teaching," is Catherine Pinkerton, CSJ, who gave the benediction at this year's Democratic National Convention. Pinkerton is quoted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer as admiring Barack Obama's "vision of where we stand as a nation."...
And why does our bishop sit silently by and allow the sole teaching on Catholic social principles in his diocese to come from an office run by a clearly biased, active dissenter?
Why, indeed? Inquiring minds would like to know.
Allio's Social Action office has influence in many other areas of our diocese as well - including our schools, universities and health care. Is the bishop aware of Allio's "extracurricular" activities and associations? Have Allio's travels on behalf of his dissident organization been funded by the Cleveland Diocese? And are other diocesan staff members involved in such organizations as well?
Further investigation seems warranted, but one thing is clear: Bishop Lennon cannot continue to allow people whose beliefs and activities put them outside of the Catholic Faith continue to dictate the policies of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.
There are more details in the article. If you're a Catholic living in Cleveland, you owe it to yourself to read the whole thing, and give some thought to how much Catholic Charities money might be going into this.
If Allio is the spokesperson for life issues in this election here in the Diocese of Cleveland, what does that say about Bishop's Lennon's real position on Barak Obama?
Something is wrong in Cleveland and it's way past time for it to come out!
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
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UPDATE
From Sojourners Magazine article:
Having to compromise by voting for a less-than-fully-pro-life candidate may not be ideal for socially conscious Christians, but it is unfortunately the reality in American politics. "In a perfect world, all public officials would be pro-life in the full meaning of that term," says Tom Allio, senior director for the Cleveland Diocese's Social Action Office. In his 27 years in that position, he has yet to meet a candidate who fits that bill.
Being a fully pro-life candidate, according to Allio and others, doesn't mean just promising to work to make abortion illegal, supporting laws against certain procedures, or pledging to pack the Supreme Court to one day overturn Roe vs. Wade. (And for some, it means using methods other than legal sanctions to reduce abortions.) While some pro-life politicians take the so-called "seamless garment" approach, adding assisted suicide, the death penalty, and perhaps stem-cell research to the abortion issue, progressive pro-lifers tend to see the issue even more broadly than that.
"To be pro-life means also to work to eradicate poverty, to provide universal health care, to provide affordable housing, to be consistent on war and peace," says Allio, whose office works on precisely those issues.
In contrast to Allio's statement, consider the words of bishops as reported in iObserve.org:
Bishop Robert J. Hermann:
"The decision I make in the voting booth will reflect my value system," he said. "If I value the good of the economy and my current lifestyle more than I do the right to life itself, then I am in trouble ... My desire for a good economy cannot justify my voting to remove all current restrictions on abortion. My desire to end the war in Iraq cannot justify my voting to remove all current restrictions on abortion."
Bishop Robert F. Vasa:
"Casting a vote, even for reasons other than the candidate's pro-abortion position, is still casting a vote for the preservation of 'a legal system which violates the basic right to life.'"
Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli:
"the present Democratic candidate for president" promised the Planned Parenthood Action Fund in a speech last year that he would sign the Freedom of Choice Act in his first act as president.
"Today, either we choose to respect and protect life, especially the life of the child in the womb of the mother, or we sanction the loss of our most basic freedoms," he said. "At this point, we are still free to choose."
Bishop Robert W. Finn:
"A candidate's promise of economic prosperity is insufficient to justify their constant support of abortion laws, including partial-birth abortion, and infanticide for born-alive infants," he said. "Promotion of the Freedom of Choice Act is a pledge to eliminate every single limit on abortions achieved over the last 35 years."
Bishop James V. Johnston:
"Issues such as how to provide affordable health care or better education or how to conduct and conclude a war are issues that are open to principled debate," Bishop Johnston said. "Life issues such as abortion, euthanasia and embryonic stem-cell research are not in that category. These are simply wrong in every conceivable circumstance."
Bishop Paul S. Coakley:
"to vote for a candidate who supports an intrinsic evil, such as abortion, would require the presence of proportionate moral reasons for ignoring such a flaw," Bishop Coakley said. "When considering the death of 45 million children destroyed by abortion since 1973, this may be easier to conceive in theory than to discover in actual practice."
Bishops Kevin J. Farell and Kevin W. Vann in a joint statement:
"There are no 'truly grave moral' or 'proportionate' reasons, singularly or combined, that could outweigh the millions of innocent human lives that are directly killed by legal abortion each year," they said.
"We cannot make more clear the seriousness of the overriding issue of abortion -- while not the 'only issue' – it is the defining moral issues, not only today, but of the last 35 years,"
Bishops of Pennsylvania in a joint statement:
Catholics "have a moral obligation to defend human life and dignity, to protect the poor and vulnerable, and to work for justice and peace" but stressed that "the intentional destruction of innocent human life, as in abortion and euthanasia, is not just one issue among many."
"Catholic teaching does not treat all issues as morally equivalent," they said. "The protection of human life from conception until natural death is the pre-eminent obligation of a truly just society."
If Allio speaks for Bishop Lennon, and his position and influence would indicate that he does, we have yet another instance of bishop opposing bishop.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
CARDINAL RENATO MARTINO
wades in with comments about the global economic collapse and the need for solidarity with the poor.
MINISTRY OF LECTOR TO BE OFFICIALLY APPROVED FOR WOMEN ?
According to an article at Zenit the bishop's synod meeting in Vatican City has approved a proposition to make women lectors official, which would change Canon Law. Is this yet another example of law following practice?
VATICAN APPROVES IPOD
According to Pocket Lint, a gadget news review, the bishops meeting at the Vatican have given a blessing to use of all modern forms of electronic communication to spread the Gospel, including the Ipod.
Monday, October 27, 2008
THE VIDEO
A reader sent in a link to this video listing the questions about Obama. I wasn't able to access the home page of USA Wake Up, and so don't know who produced the video. I haven't blogged any of the Muslim connections. Haven't pursued them either, so don't know how true they might be.
GETTING CLOSER TO REUNIFICATION ?
Zenit reports and NOR links this story of the progress in ecumenism with the Orthodox Church:
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II responded to a letter from Benedict XVI, expressing satisfaction with growing collaboration between the two Churches.
Alexy II's note responded to the Pope's message of Oct. 1, sent to Russia with Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, archbishop of Naples, who visited Moscow at the patriarch's invitation.
The Russian religious leader expressed his "joy at the growing perspective of the development of good relations and a positive cooperation between our two Churches."
"The solid base of this," he added, "is in our common roots and our converging positions regarding many of the questions that today afflict the world."
Read the rest...
MASS AT ST. BERNARD'S YESTERDAY
We went to the first Mass at St. Bernard's yesterday. This one is very sparsely attended, and yesterday was no exception. The eight o'clock Mass is a bi-lingual Mass, which means that all of the hymns were in Spanish, led by a group of five who face the congregation from the area immediately in front of the pews. As near as I could tell they were the only ones singing.
The readings, with the exception of the second and the gospel, were in Spanish, and of course the responses from the congregation were in Spanish. The Mass, itself, was said in English because my favorite African priest was saying it and he doesn't speak Spanish. The former pastor used to say the Mass in Spanish, and I've been told that the current pastor has mastered enough Spanish to do so as well, when he says the 8 a.m. Mass.
St. Bernard's also has a Spanish Mass at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
As I was sitting there listening to the Spanish and understanding not a word of it, I reflected on the changes brought about by Vatican II.
Before Vatican II, all Masses were said in Latin. I didn't speak that language either, but I had heard the Mass often enough, and used my bi-lingual missal enough to recognize the words that were spoken and have a good grasp of what they meant. Of course that was deemed not good enough at Vatican II, and the Mass was translated into the vernacular, ushering in all of the liturgical abuse, and also ushering in such phenomena as Polka Mass in the Cleveland Diocese with it's Polish congregation, and Gypsy Mass in some foreign dioceses, and Spanish Mass in a lot of places.
Yesterday's Mass was reverent. The language barrier gave me the opportunity to think about what I was doing because Spanish doesn't interrupt my thoughts. It was an almost welcome moment of quiet reminiscent of the old Latin Masses when it was possible to talk to God at church. But it was still Mass in a language I don't understand.
I glanced around at the congregation, seated in ones and twos mostly, like dots on a map designating cities in a country setting. There didn't appear to be many Spanish faces, and listen as I might during the hymns, the only voices I could hear were the voices of the song leaders. It would seem to be a Spanish Mass being said for non-Spanish-speaking congregants, which is rather odd, isn't it?
The bulletin published the statistics for the October count. Before giving them, I should note that St. Bernard's can seat at least 1,000 and probably more if the congregation squeezes together. According to the October head count the average attendance for the Masses is the following:
Sat. 4:30 PM - 221
Sun. 8:00 AM - 79
Sun. 10:00 AM - 260
Sun. 12:00 PM - 269
Sun. 4:30 PM - 219
Sun. 6:00 PM - 190
Sun. 8:pp PM - 222
Average total - 1459
Sort of gives a whole new perspective to closing churches, doesn't it? One thousand four hundred fifty-nine members of the congregation could probably be accommodated at one Mass in a pinch. There is a bit in the bulletin indicating that the Mass schedule is up for readjustment.
Another factor of note...there were three Eucharistic Ministers and the priest distributing commmunion to this average of 79 Mass atteendees. Communion was over almost before I had fully realized I needed to get in line. No wonder considering each distributed communion to approximately 20 people. What is the argument for the need of Extroardinary Ministers of the Eucharist, again? Didn't it have something to do with overworked priests? Hmmmmm.
PAPAL DOCUMENT FASCINATES MASONS
The Crusades, Templars, Charges of heresy. What do they have to do with a little Western New York town?
At the Great Valley Masonic Lodge Thursday night, plenty.
The facility hosted a piece of history that has been making its way through the state. A reproduction of a 700-year-old papal document, entitled Processus Contra Templarios (Trial against the Templars), made an evening visit with its caretakers, Thomas Savini, director of the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library of the Great Lodge in New York City; and William Thomas, library trustee.
The document is believed to be the official transcript of the trial of the Templars as well as Pope Clemente V’s verdict in 1308....
The reproduction of the papal work is number 355 of 799 numbered copies made by the Vatican’s publishing house, Scrinium. A total of 800 copies were produced, mold impressions, water stains and all. The last copy, unnumbered was presented to Pope Benedict XVI.
Of the 799 sets sold by the Holy See, only three reside in the United States. Cornell University and the House of the Temple in Washington D.C.
The collection is complete with reproductions of the three wax seals found on the original documentation.
The sets were sold for $8,375 in 2007, six years after their rediscovery, when the Vatican announced the find and released it to the world.
Read the whole story here...
DEFROCKED PRIEST FOUND GUILTY
Chicago, IL (AHN) - Donald McGuire, a defrocked Catholic priest belonging to the Jesuit order, was convicted by a federal court on Friday for taking a boy on religious retreats to have sex with him.
Read it here...
Chicago. I wonder if he knew Michael Bertiaux?
The former priest has also been convicted in Wisconsin and indicted in Arizona.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
FROM THE EMAILBOX
Spirit & Life®
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63)
Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 03, Number 39 | Friday, October 24, 2008
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www.hli.org
The Catholic Vote
I have been asked by many people to help clarify Catholic teaching on exercising one's voting rights, especially with respect to the abortion issue. There are many candidates across the nation running on many issues, and Catholics are trying to sort through them all, so I will state the Church's position as unequivocally as possible for the education of the faithful and not as an endorsement of any particular candidate or candidates: true Catholics are not "single-issue" voters - we are principled voters. That determines which candidates we give our vote to and it determines the state of our souls after we vote.
With respect to the abortion issue, the principle in question is the moral impossibility for a Catholic to cooperate in an act or an institution that is "intrinsically evil." Now, something that is "intrinsically evil" is not just a bad thing - it is a heinous thing, trumping all other moral considerations, and we can never legitimately commit the act ourselves or approve of it in anyone else. Casting a vote for a candidate who forcefully advocates the killing of innocent unborn babies shows approval or unacceptable toleration of that heinous crime against humanity, and Catholics can never do it in good conscience. The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls such an attitude and action "formal cooperation" in evil (#2272). This does not mean that I commit the evil myself. It means that I agree with it and have made it possible for a person in public office to continue and/or advance that evil in my society.
Formal cooperation in the evil act of another is a sin, and depending on the gravity of the person's evil act, formal cooperation in it can be a mortal sin. Since procured abortion is an intrinsically evil act, and all promotion of it fits into the same moral category, voting for a person who forcefully advocates it must be a mortal sin. Add to the sin of formal cooperation in evil the sin of disobedience to legitimate Church authority. To date the USCCB and more than a dozen US bishops and state bishops' conferences have clarified these principles for Catholics, and their teachings couldn't be clearer.
Further, add the sin of scandal that a regrettable number of priests and religious are giving by their appalling disingenuousness about Church teachings both in and out of the pulpit. Catholic parents and teachers equally give scandal when they do not teach their children the principles that undergird moral behavior or properly form their consciences according to the Truth that is in Christ.
Some ask if a Catholic may vote for someone whose policies would advance an agenda that is mostly in line with the Catholic Church's teaching? Also, what if the Catholic disagrees with the candidate's position on abortion but still wants to vote for this candidate for other reasons consistent with our values? Here the Church uses the term "proportionate reason" to indicate that there must be some kind of balance in the candidate's position that indicates it is likely that a greater good would be accomplished for society despite the evil he or she advocates. Proportionate reasoning usually has to do with positions that are not intrinsically evil in themselves or that, if they are, would constitute such a minimal part of the platform that they would be "outweighed" somehow in the grand scheme of the candidate's public service. According to the above principle, however, the degree to which the candidate would promote something as heinous as abortion can literally nullify all the other "good" that he or she would do for humanity! When the fundamental right to life is denied in society, all other rights and goods are therefore threatened. The very moral foundation of a people is eroded. So the answer has to be no, it is not legitimate to disagree on abortion and still vote for a radical abortion candidate.
May a Catholic vote for an "imperfect" candidate if the radical abortion candidate is worse? The Church says yes, but only if the vote is not expressed as an agreement with the "imperfect" elements of the candidate's policies and only if the vote is intended to limit the evil that other candidate would inevitably do.
It is truly regretful that we have gotten to the point where we might have to surrender some of our basic values in the voting booth because we have not successfully insisted on the very best candidates for public office to serve the common good. That is a discussion for another day, but I anticipate that if Catholics do not assert Catholic values forcefully in elections and public policy from here on out, we may be faced in future elections with no choice whatsoever that can morally satisfy the Catholic conscience. Heaven help and guide us all on November 4th.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International
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Now just where is Dr. Dilsaver's statement--"The pro-life ploy is perfectly demonic"--going to fit into this exposition of Church teaching by Fr. Euteneuer? - ct
