Roman Catholic Blog

"They have no regard for life.."

 

 

Bomb blast near south Philippine cathedral kills 5

By JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press, 05JUL09

"MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Suspected Muslim guerrillas detonated a bomb near a Roman Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines on Sunday, killing at least five people and wounding 46.

Pope Benedict XVI condemned the attack.

The bomb exploded outside the Immaculate Conception cathedral in Cotabato city as churchgoers were attending Mass. Two people were killed instantly in the attack and three others, including a militiaman, later died in hospitals, military officials said.

Among the wounded were six soldiers and militiamen who were in an army van that passed by the cathedral when the device, fashioned from a mortar round, exploded, Cotabato city Mayor Muslimin Sema said.

The improvised explosive, which was set off remotely by mobile phone, was hidden near a row of food stalls selling roasted pig, Maj. Gen. Alfredo Cayton said. Police arrested one man seen using a phone during the explosion. He was carrying three identification cards with different names, Sema said.

Cathedral guard Nestor Luna said shrapnel flew in all directions, inflicting wounds on his head, arms and feet.

"I wanted to help the wounded, but I felt dizzy and saw my white uniform soaked in blood. Somebody helped me walk away," Luna told The Associated Press by telephone from the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center."

"Whoever did this should know that they hit so many innocent civilians," he said.

At the Vatican,  Pope Benedict XVI deplored the bomb attack.

"While I pray to God for the victims of this ignoble gesture, I raise my voice to condemn yet again the recourse to violence, which is never a worthwhile way to solve existing problems," Benedict told pilgrims in St. Peter's Square.

Chief nurse Norma Reyes said at least seven of the wounded were in critical condition and needed surgery.

TV footage showed four wounded soldiers sitting dazed on the sidewalk and a militiaman lying unconscious, face down on the seat of the shrapnel-damaged van.

Two bodies lay sprawled near the sidewalk while a stunned woman limped out of a food stall, blood dripping from her foot. Soldiers helped the wounded into ambulances with sirens wailing.

Army troops with assault rifles surrounded the cathedral and cordoned off nearby streets, footage showed.

Cayton immediately blamed the 11,500-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has been targeted by a monthslong military offensive in nearby Maguindanao province and outlying regions.

"Nobody has the motive, the capability and the track record to carry out this terrorist attack except" the group, Cayton told The AP.

Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu denied his group was involved and condemned the bombing. He said the rebels would not do anything to foment a religious war.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Romero Brawner said investigators were trying to determine if the attackers targeted the military van.

"They will hit any place where civilians congregate. They have no regard for life," Brawner said.

A similar bomb went off on a roadside in Datu Piang township in nearby Maguindanao late Saturday, wounding three people in an attack believed to have also been staged by the rebels, Brawner said.

The rebels have waged a decades-long battle for self-rule in the southern Mindanao region, homeland of Muslims in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation.

Malaysian-brokered peace talks between the government and the rebels collapsed last year when a preliminary deal on an expanded Muslim autonomous region fell apart, sparking new deadly clashes that have displaced large numbers of villagers.

Cotabato city, about 545 miles (880 kilometers) south of manila, has  been hit previously by deadly bombings blamed on Muslim rebels and extortion gangs.

A bomb exploded at a Cotabato city bus terminal in February, wounding two people. A 2007 bomb blast at another terminal killed a child and wounded 36 people."

Prima Facie Heresy in Fresno.

hat tip to California Catholic Daily

SEE: http://calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=21446f75-b6f2-4199-b2b3-46d95fd4802e

 

Renegade Catholic Advises

Priests on How to

Fight the Church

Knight of Columbus Targeted

Published: July 1, 2009, California Catholic Daily

"Suspended Fresno priest turned gay activist Father Geoffrey Farrow has called for Catholic priests to retaliate against the Knights of Columbus for their support of Proposition 8.

Farrow was removed as pastor from the St. Paul Newman Center at Cal State Fresno in October 2008 for his outspoken defiance of church teaching over Proposition 8 and the issue of homosexuality.

In a post on his personal blog dated June 4, 2009 “Boycott the Knights of Columbus,” Farrow wrote:

“Many priests have E-mailed me and expressed their rage and anger over the hypocrisy of the Catholic hierarchy in supporting anti-marriage equality legislation…One of the organizations, which the bishops have effectively employed to do their dirty work, has been the Knights of Columbus.”

Farrow then asked “So, what can priests do to fight the anti-gay agenda of the bishops and the K of C?” His first suggestion:

“Borrow the full amount against your Knights of Columbus life insurance policy immediately. Take the check and invest the funds with an LGBT friendly fund. Do not pay back the loan.”

Father Farrow recommends that faithful parishioners be denied the proper use of parish facilities. He reminded pastors that they control the content of the weekly parish bulletin. He urged: “Do not let the K of C publish or announce.“ He encouraged pastors not to allow Knights of Columbus events to be held on church property--even if that would mean “creating” a “program” to occupy available time slots at parish facilities:

“Pastors may grant or withhold permission for organizations to use church facilities for their meetings. Most parishes have very tight facility scheduling. Create a program and tell the K of C they need to meet elsewhere.”

After Farrow was removed from his parish and suspended without pay, he complained that he was not being supported by his bishop. This prompted the “Catechism on Call” blog to write:

“Why would anyone who is faithful to the Gospel and Jesus Christ, actively support a priest who publicly promotes the homosexual lifestyle, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls ‘intrinsically disordered?’”

Father Farrow is the scheduled homilist for the “Eucharistic Celebration” at the 2009 Dignity USA Convention which will be held July 2-5 in San Francisco. Other attendees are keynote speaker Richard Rodriguez, a parishioner of Most Holy Redeemer Church in San Francisco, and Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ, the executive director of campus ministry at the University of San Francisco, who will be conducting an unspecified “workshop.”
_______________________

As a resident of Fresno and a member of the KnIghts of Columbus I am waiting to see Bishop Steinbock's response to this.

If you want to read Farrow's babblings they can be found at:

http://fathergeofffarrow.blogspot.com/

 

Rule Brittannia?

Britain is no longer

a Christian nation,

claims Church of England

Bishop

Britain is no longer a Christian nation and the Church of England could die out within a generation, an Anglican bishop has warned.

By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Published: 9:00PM BST 27 Jun 2009

"The Rt Rev Paul Richardson said declining church attendance and the rise in multiculturalism meant that "Christian Britain is dead".

He criticised his fellow bishops for failing to appreciate the scale of the crisis and warned that their inaction could seal the Church's fate.

As one of the Church's longest-serving bishops, the comments by the assistant Bishop of Newcastle are set to fuel the debate over its future.

The General Synod, the Church's parliament, will next month consider proposals to cut the number of bishops and senior clergy amid fears over the Church's finances.

Writing for The Sunday Telegraph, Bishop Richardson said: "Many bishops prefer to turn their heads, to carry on as if nothing has changed, rather than face the reality that Britain is no longer a Christian nation.

"Many of them think that we are still living in the 1950s – a period described by historians as representing a hey day for the established church."

He said that the Church had lost more than one in ten of its regular worshippers between 1996 and 2006, with a fall from more than one million to 880,000.

"At this rate it is hard to see the church surviving for more than 30 years though few of its leaders are prepared to face that possibility," said Bishop Richardson.

Nearly half of the population in England regard themselves as belonging to the Church of England, while seven in ten described themselves as Christian in the last census.

However, the Bishop said that the fall in church marriages and baptisms revealed that Britain was no longer a Christian nation.

The number of babies being baptised has fallen from 609 in every 1,000 at the turn of the twentieth century to only 128 in 2006/7 and church marriages have also dropped.

Bishop Richardson said: "The church is being hit by a double whammy: on the one hand it confronts the challenge of institutional decline but on the other hand it has to face the rise of cultural and religious pluralism in Britain."

He says that the way the Church responds to this will be "crucial in determining whether it will be able to survive as a viable organisation and make a contribution to national life".

"At present church leaders show little signs of understanding the situation. They don't understand the culture we now live in."

The bishop believed it is inevitable that disestablishment will happen and suggests that the Church should take a lead on the issue rather than being dictated to by Parliament.

"Rather than try to cling on to their places in the House of Lords, they should take the initiative by withdrawing, which shows that they appreciate Christian Britain is dead."

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury has also delivered a bleak assessment of the future of Christianity in this country, claiming previously that Britain's Churches are in such serious decline that if they were shops they would have been declared bankrupt long ago."

See the full story at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/5662294/Britain-is-no-longer-a-Christian-nation.html

___________________________________

This all started long long ago........

 

and there is only one antidote.......

Our Lady of Walsingham, intercede for your English sons & daughters!

Learn from the Poles! - Again

 

Why the Catholic Univ. of Lublin (KUL)

Won't Award an Honorary Degree

to President Barroso

By Paweł P. Reszka

2009-06-19, ostatnia aktualizacja 2009-06-19 07:52

The president of the European Commission will not receive an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Lublin. Is the academy afraid the EU wants to force Poland to accept same-sex marriages?

On the 440th anniversary of the Union of Lublin, the KUL was to honour Mr Barroso as well as leaders of the countries that once made part of the

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - the presidents of Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, and an ex-Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus.

Gazeta was the first to report about the plans back in March. KUL spokesperson Barbara Górka confirmed them for Gazeta: 'The award for Mr Barroso is related to the official slogan of the celebrations, "From the Union of Lublin to the European Union."'

In the spring, preparations began at the KUL's Faculty of Law, Canonical Law and Administration for the awarding of the doctorate. Gazeta's sources suggested that the academy had already named internal reviewers. The process was being handled by the Faculty of Law, because Mr Barroso is a lawyer by education.

The faculty was to draw up an official recommendation, which was then to be reviewed by the Senate, which decides on honorary doctorates.

A special Senate meeting during which the decisions were made took place on 4 June. The guests are to receive their honorary degrees on 1 July. But not Mr Barroso. Why?

Father Prof Antoni Dębiński, dean of the Faculty of Law: 'I was informed by the KUL president, Father Prof Stanisław Wilk, that this doctorate wouldn't be awarded. We dropped the matter at that point. I didn't analyse the reasons.'

Ms Górka explains, 'We had received no official confirmation that Mr Barroso would be present on 1 July. Hence the change of the decision.'

Ms Górka adds that in charge of inviting the heads of state and diplomats was the Presidential Chancellery.

But, according to what Gazeta has learned, the president of the Commission hasn't been invited for different reasons. A KUL professor said, 'I think it was behind-the-scenes discussions among the academy's top brass. It was probably about the Lisbon Treaty and certain issues related thereto.'

What issues? Political scientist Prof Marek Pietraś notes that the Polish Episcopate has criticised certain provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, an integral part of the Lisbon Treaty, which Mr Barroso deems his personal success.

'The Church, just like President Leh Kaczynski, criticised the fact that the Charter, a collection of man's fundamental rights, lacks a reference to God,' says Mr Pietraś. 'Other controversial issues included the lack of a clear-cut ban on human cloning and of a precise provision that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. This could have opened the way to same-sex marriages.'

A year ago, the alleged prospect of poalnd being potentially forced to accept same-sex marriages was mentioned by President Kaczyński in his famous address on the Treaty of Lisbon.

translated by Marcin Wawrzyńczak

See: http://wyborcza.pl/0,86871,4728582.html

_________________________________

God Bless KUL for demonstrating the "intestinal fortitude," or in plain English "guts," to do with President Barroso what Notre Dame University should have done with president Obama.

The crucial difference is that the administrators at KUL love the Church, whereas the Holy Cross Fathers in Indiana view Notre Dame from the standpoint of wealth and corporate power, and how that wealth and power can be used to subvert the Church.

Poland was once historically referred to as "alte murale Christianibus," or the "outer wall of Christendom." Today she may "be" Christendom in its entirety, at least in Europe.

Sign of the Times

PBS Blesses Old Religious

Shows, But Bans the New

By Paul Farhi, Washington Post Staff

Writer
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

"The Public Broadcasting Service agreed yesterday to ban its member stations from airing new religious TV programs, but permitted the handful of stations that already carry "sectarian" shows to continue doing so.

The vote by PBS's board was a compromise from a proposed ban on all religious programming. Such a ban would have forced a few stations around the country to give up their PBS affiliation if they continued to broadcast local church services and religious lectures.

Until now, PBS stations have been required to present programming that is noncommercial, nonpartisan and nonsectarian. But the definition of "nonsectarian" programming was always loosely interpreted, and the rule had never been strictly enforced. PBS began reviewing the definition and application of those rules last year in light of the transition to digital TV and with many stations streaming programs over their Web sites. The definition doesn't cover journalistic programs about religion or discussion programs that don't favor a particular religious point of view.

The vote also means that WHUT, operated by Howard University in the District, won't be required to drop its telecasts of "Mass for Shut-Ins," a weekly Catholic Mass that has aired on the station since 1996 and locally in Washington for more than 50 years.

But, warned by PBS of the upcoming review, WHUT put the program's producer, the Archdiocese of Washington, on notice that it would drop the program if the PBS board voted to ban religious programs. The archdiocese then made alternative arrangements, negotiating a contract with WDCW (Channel 50) to pick up the half-hour program on Sunday mornings."

See the full story at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/16/AR2009061603201.html

____________________________________

I would call your attention to this line in the story:

"The vote by PBS's board was a compromise from a proposed ban on all religious programming."

This is a classic tactic of the Left, to assuage a bad decision by claiming it was a compromise negating a worse decision.

Or as Lenin said:

Two steps forward, one step back. 

Saint of the Gallows

Feast (New Calendar) June 17

Feast (Old Calendar) June 23 (the anniversary of his death)

 

 

 

St. Joseph Cafasso

(1811-1860)

 "Perhaps the most noted part of his public life were the entire days that he spent in the prisons-----preaching, comforting, instructing the unfortunates detained there, and hearing their confessions.

He had gone to the prison in order to prepare the prisoners for the celebration of a feast in honor of Our Lady, and had spent a whole week instructing them and exhorting them. This he did in a large room in which there were forty-five of the most noted criminals. Almost all had promised to go to Confession on the vigil of the feast. But when the day came, none of them could make up his mind to go to Confession. He renewed his invitation, recapitulated what he had said during the week, and reminded them of the promise that they had made. But whether it was through human respect, or the temptation of the devil, or some other vain pretext, none of them would consent to go to Confession. What was Don Cafasso to do?

His ingenious charity and courage found a way out of the difficulty. With a smile on his face he went over to the man who appeared to be the biggest and strongest and most robust among the prisoners, and without saying a word, he caught hold of his luxurious long beard. The man, thinking that Don Cafasso had acted through jest, said to him as courteously as could be expected from such people, "Take anything else from me you like but leave me my beard!"

"I will not let you go until you go to Confession," replied Don Cafasso. "But I don't want to go to Confession," said the prisoner. "You may say what you like, but you will not escape from me; I will not let you go until you have made your Confession," said Cafasso. "I am not prepared," said the prisoner. "I will prepare you," said Cafasso.

Certainly, if the prisoner had wished, he could have freed himself from Don Cafasso's hands with the slightest effort; but whether it was respect for the holy man's person, or rather the fruit of the grace of God, the fact is that the man surrendered and allowed himself to be led to a corner of the room. Don Cafasso sat down on a bundle of straw and prepared his friend for Confession. But lo! In a short time there was commotion; the strong man was so moved by Don Cafasso's exhortation that his sighs and tears almost prevented him from telling his sins.

Then appeared the great marvel; he who had been most vehement in his refusal to make his Confession went to his companions after it was finished and told them that he had never been so happy in his life. He became so eloquent in exhorting them that he succeeded in persuading them all to go to Confession.

This example, merely one out of thousands of its kind, whether we consider it as a miracle of grace on the part of God, or a miracle of charity on the part of Don Cafasso, forces us to recognize in it the intervention of the hand of God. "

(Found at www.catholictradition.org)

Born with a sever deficiency of the spine (for which many babies are today aborted), St. Joseph Cafasso although usually "hunched" over became one of the greatest preachers and teachers of his day.

Near the main prison in Turin where he worked there is a main traffic circle, or rondo, where Pius XII dedicated a statue to him.

 

Creeping Protestantism

 

Finding the “right” mass to go to in the Diocese of Fresno can prove an interesting task. Think Phileas Fogg and you may get some idea of the plethora of mass “types” that can be found in our diocese. Leaving aside the inherent contradiction in the One Holy Roman Catholic Church having a diversity of mass “types,” good solid masses are to be found, both Novus Ordo and Tridentine.

.

Added to this basement layer of liturgical innovation is the true cultural and linguistic diversity o f Fresno. The response has been to have mass in whatever languagess are desirable. This policy means that normally, in the Fresno metro area, that if you want to go to a solid Novus Ordo mass, you better get up early!

 

I don’t know if it’s a Fresno-only phenomenon, but many of the 12 noon masses in town are in Spanish.

In the past I have driven over to Our Lady of Victory Church (pic above) whose 12 noon mass is in English. The youth choir makes up with exuberance anything they are lacking in tonality. The old Monsignor, who is the only priest I’ve ever heard say mass there, can at times be quite eloquent in his sermons.

.

Nonetheless, I’ve noticed two disturbing trends at OLV that I have termed “Creeping Protestantism.”

1.)    Prior to the mass readings, all of the young children in the Church are escorted out of the Church for Bible study. As they leave, the congregants sing a blessing song, with each raising his or her arm ala a Caesarian salute.

2.)    Young people too young to have made their First Communion come up with the communicants, but crossing their arms over their breast indicate to the priest, or Eucharistic Minister, that they want a blessing.

.

 

Without wanting to sound to “vertical” in my ecclesial language –

 WE AS LAY PEOPLE HAVE NO POWER TO BLESS.

.

The one notable exception would be the power a parent has to bless their own child.

.

Priests have the power to bless, abbesses have the power to bless their nuns, superiors have the power to bless the members of their order, but a standard lay person has no such authority.

.

In 1997, the Vatican came up with an instruction entitled "On Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of the Priest.” It reads in part:

"Article 6 -- Liturgical Celebrations”

"§ 1. Liturgical actions must always clearly manifest the unity of the People of God as a structured communion. Thus there exists a close link between the ordered exercise of liturgical action and the reflection in the liturgy of the Church's structured nature. This happens when all participants, with faith and devotion, discharge those roles proper to them.”

"§ 2. To promote the proper identity (of various roles) in this area, those abuses which are contrary to the provisions of canon 907 are to be eradicated. In Eucharistic celebrations deacons and non-ordained members of the faithful may not pronounce prayers -- e.g., especially the Eucharistic prayer, with its concluding doxology -- or any other parts of the liturgy reserved to the celebrant priest. Neither may deacons or non-ordained members of the faithful use gestures or actions which are proper to the same priest celebrant."

This is in sync with the Code of Canon Law where it reads:

“Can. 907 In the celebration of the Eucharist, deacons and lay persons are not permitted to say the prayers, especially the Eucharistic prayer, nor to perform the actions which are proper to the celebrating priest.”

I have noticed more and more, with the hand holding during the Our Father, and the wanton word-smithing with the Agnus Dei – a spirit of frivolous and extemporaneous innovation.

 

 

How many of us have seen other worshippers beginning to mimic the priest in hand gestures, and the actual words of the mass? I know I have with alarming regularity.

 

__________________

Oh for the good old days of pre-conciliar clericalism – where priests were priests, nuns were nuns, and heretics were scared!

Hostility of the Perverse

I recently bought a copy of the Navarre Bible - Gospel & Acts. It is wonderful! Its commentary is edited by Opus Dei Fathers of the University of Navarre, its approach to Sacred Scripture is so markedly different from the USCCB version I had used previously, that I'm at a loss to synopsize it.

Simply put - THE NAVARRE FATHERS VIEW SACRED SCRIPTURE AS SACRED.

Recently while meditating I came upon the text of John 15:19 which reads:

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

.

They offer the following commentary from Pope Saint Gregory the Great (pic above):

“The hostility of the perverse sounds like praise for our life because it shows that we are an annoyance to those who do not love God; no one can be pleasing to God and to God’s enemies at the same time. He who seeks to please those who oppose God is no friend of God; and he who submits himself to the truth will fight against those who strive against the truth.”

In Ezechielem homiliae, 9.

_____________

This was true in the time of Pope St. Gregory the Great,

and exponentially so now!

Wilbur, Wilbur, Wilbur!

The Diocese of Orange just can't stay out of the news.

Over at Patrick Madrid's Blog (http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com/) old Monsignor Wilbur Davis (pic above) has made it into the news again.

"You Call This "Maturity"? - May 26, 2009

I respond here to a letter-to-the-editor from a Catholic priest which appeared in the Daily Pilot. The letter's headline is: "Mature Catholics Welcome Obama," referring to the recent controversy over the University of Notre Dame's decision to confer an honorary doctorate on the President of the United States, who just  happens to be an implacable foe of the Catholic Church's teaching that abortion is a grave moral evil.

The obvious implication of the headline [most likely chosen by the Pilot editors] is that Catholics who did not approve of this stunt are "immature." That would include, of course, the 70+ U.S. Bishops and 350,000+ other Catholics who publicly denounced the Notre Dame debacle. According to the Pilot and, presumably, the priest who wrote the following letter, they are the immature ones, and those who laud Notre Dame's actions are the ones exhibiting "maturity."

The author of the letter to the editor is a Monsignor Wilbur Davis, a priest in Southern California. "

 ________________

A few years ago old Wilbur was in the news when some of his e-mails were leaked.

 

In his brilliant article, The roots of the Catholics' scandal, Orange County Register commentator, Steven Greenhut wrote:

"A 1998 letter from the diocese's current vocations director, Fr. Wilbur Davis, to Director of Communications Msgr. Lawrence Baird, also deals with topics in the Bulletin. Fr. Davis depicted Catholic Family Radio as extremist. He called Mother Angelica, the TV nun who offers kind-hearted but traditional Catholic opinions, an apostle of 'religious intolerance and arrogance.' He criticized one of the nation's well-respected traditional Catholic colleges [Franciscan University of Steubenville] as 'the home of Catholics United for the Faith, a pathetic organization of bitter people.' (The roots of the Catholics' scandal, by Steven Greenhut, Orange County Register, June 9, 2002)"

 _____________________

Back in 1988, Davis locked horns with then Orange Bishop Norman McFarland.

 

"MAY ALL BISHOPS BE SO BOLD: In late March, Bishop Norman McFarland of the diocese of Orange sent a letter to Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-46th District), who is running for re-election, telling her she could not continue to address Catholics from the pulpit. The bishop's letter warned Sanchez, a staunch pro-abortionist, that it is "incumbent upon you to give witness to the consistent ethic of life that should animate all conduct, but most especially political conduct." The bishop said he was "becoming increasingly alarmed by your visits, I want to share with you my inquietudes in this matter before more public gestures on my part become necessary."

"Beginning in early March, Sanchez made the rounds of parishes, including at least four in the Orange Diocese. According to parishioners at St. Boniface in Anaheim, Sanchez was introduced from the pulpit by the pastor, Monsignor Wilbur Davis. He introduced her as a fellow Catholic but made no reference to her pro-abortion stance or her support of President Clinton's veto of the partial-birth abortion ban. Sanchez appeared at St. Callistus church in Garden Grove on Respect Life Sunday. According to one parishioner, when she confronted the pastor, Father Rudolph Preciado, with Sanchez' pro-abortion stance the next day, he told her that most priests are too busy to keep up with current events."

(See: http://www.sdnewsnotes.com/ed/notes/0698note.htm)

 

___________________________

 

And this guy was the vocations director in

Orange for eight (-8-) years?!

Who is Sonia Sotomayor?

Winston Churchill once described the Soviet Union as a "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma." I thought of this quote as I began to preliminarily read about President Obama's pick to replace Justice Souter at the SCOTUS - namely Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Over at www.Beliefnet.com, Steven Waldman wrote this:

Get Ready For: "Is Sonia Sotomayor A Bad Catholic?"

Tuesday May 26, 2009

First published May 5, 2009
From a raw political point of view, it's hard to top Sonia Sotomayor to be Obama's appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. She's Hispanic, a key group that Obama won over and must keep. She's a woman and, though liberal, was appointed by a Republican.

I haven't been able to determine whether she's Catholic, but she's Puerto Rican (most of whom are Catholic) and went to Catholic schools as a child.There already are five Catholics on the court but they're all conservative so they haven't been attacked for being bad Catholics (i.e. being pro-choice despite the church's teaching).

But pro-choice Catholics face a different obstacle course. As John Kerry and Kathleen Sebelius can attest, if you're a pro-choice Catholic, you will be challenged not only on whether you're a good public official but also whether you're a good Catholic.

If Sonia Sotomayor is Catholic, and pro-choice, we may get a wave of discussion about whether the Supreme Court justice should be denied communion.

 

At www.acandidworld.net you'll find this:

"Those scrutinizing potential nominee Sonia Sotomayor, though, will discover a dearth of real evidence on the subject (though that hasn’t stopped some of her detractors). Judge Sotomayor appears to have participated in only two cases seriously implicating the right to choose, with neither giving a strong sense of Judge Sotomayor’s position:

• Center for Reproductive Law & Policy v. Bush, 304 F.3d 183 (2d Cir. 2002). Plaintiff public interest organization challenged the “Mexico City Policy,” a.k.a. the “global gag rule” and its provisions stripping U.S. aid to foreign NGOs advocating for or performing abortions. In an opinion by Sotomayor, the court dismissed the case for lack of standing, rightly so.
• Port Washington Teachers’ Association v. Board of Education, 478 F.3d 494 (2d Cir. 2007). Plaintiff teachers challenged a school district policy, which suggested teachers should report student pregnancies to the student’s parents. In an opinion which Sotomayor joined, the court dismissed the case for lack of standing, noting that, because the policy was not mandatory, objecting teachers wouldn’t be fired for “violating it.” Again, the court is strictly correct. "

___________________

While we don't yet know who Judge Sotomayor is (on the issue of abortion) WE DO KNOW WHO PRESIDENT OBAMA IS AND WHAT HIS POSITION IS AS REGARDS UNBORN LIFE!

There is no way on G*d's green earth that this President is going to nominate anybody to the Supreme Court who does not embrace, fully embrace, the cult of death on the issue of abortion.

If Judge Sotomayor's position(s) are unknown, this is a purposeful tactical choice on the part of the President to get her through the confirmation process.

G*d Save Our Republic!

Abortion Conversations In Wonderland with Fr. Kenneth Himes, O.F.M.

Fr. Kenneth Himes, O.F.M. is the “Chairperson” of the Theology Department at Boston College.  [Side comment: Chairperson?  That's a word now?  Political correctness and inclusive language definitely beautify and improve the English language, don’t you think?  My favorite sort of inclusive language involves avoiding the use of the pronoun “He” in reference to God, as in: “God knows what God is doing”.  Yes, He does know, but people who talk like that don’t know how intellectually challenged they sound when they trip all over themselves to avoid masculine pronouns by saying things like that.]

Back to Fr. Himes...

Some readers may remember Fr. Kenneth Himes' brother, Fr. Michael Himes, from an article in the December 2000 issue of the Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission (now California Catholic Daily) titled: Theology In Wonderland – Teacher Training In Orange Diocese

The article describes the use of a video titled “Tradition” narrated by Fr. Himes.  The video is essentially an excursion into the “hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture" that has plagued Catholicism since the Second Vatican Council.

Well, now Fr. Kenneth Himes is in the spotlight, undermining Tradition, just like his brother, but this time, Fr. Kenneth Himes is doing it by criticizing Catholics who opposed the invitation to Barack Obama to deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary degree from Notre Dame.

I found these quoted excerpts at Ann Coulter.com in the "Quotations From Chairman Ann" section:

Expert On Demonization Condemns Demonization - From James Taranto in the WSJ (Under "It Takes One To Know One")

The [Boston] Globe notes that not all Catholics are unhappy with Notre Dame's plan to give the president an honorary degree:

"There are some well-meaning people who think Notre Dame has given away its Catholic identity, because they have been caught up in the gamesmanship of American higher education, bringing in a star commencement speaker even if that means sacrificing their values, and that accounts for some of this," said the Rev. Kenneth Himes, chairman of theology department at Boston College.

"But one also has to say that there is a political game going on here, and part of that is that you demonize the people who disagree with you, you question their integrity, you challenge their character, and you brand these people as moral poison. Some people have simply reduced Catholicism to the abortion issue, and, consequently, they have simply launched a crusade to bar anything from Catholic institutions that smacks of any sort of open conversation."

Now read this 2006 Associated Press dispatch: Nearly 100 faculty members at Boston College have signed a letter objecting to the college's decision to award Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice an honorary degree. The letter entitled "Condoleezza Rice Does Not Deserve a Boston College Honorary Degree," was written by the Rev. Kenneth Himes. . . .

"On the levels of both moral principle and practical moral judgment, Secretary Rice's approach to international affairs is in fundamental conflict with Boston College's commitment to the values of the Catholic and Jesuit traditions and is inconsistent with the humanistic values that inspire the university's work," the letter said.

Himes, it seems, is an expert on demonization.

My thoughts:

Although it would be easy to focus on Fr. Kenneth Himes' apparent blatant partisan hypocrisy, that wasn't my primary concern.  I couldn't help but wonder what sort of "open conversation" with people who actively promote and defend the "right" to legal, elective abortion Fr. Himes envisions?

I suspect Fr. Himes isn't fond of this passage from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians:

Do not be yoked with those who are different, with unbelievers. For what partnership do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?  What accord has Christ with Beliar? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?  What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said: "I will live with them and move among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people.  Therefore, come forth from them and be separate," says the Lord, "and touch nothing unclean; then I will receive you and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

Now that's a conversation killer!

For decades, heterodox priests and Catholic "educators" like Fr. Himes have been abusing their positions within the Church by undermining Catholic doctrine and leading countless souls into the theological wonderland that is easily discovered after entering through the wide gate and following the broad, well-trodden path of laxity, self-indulgence, and rationalization.

Please include Fr. Himes in your prayers.

Vox Populi?

America is Now a Pro-Life Nation

Politics Daily

David Knowles, Editor

Posted: 05/15/09

 

A new poll by Gallup shows a stunning reversal in American perceptions on the question of abortion. For the first time since Gallup started surveying the country on this subject, more Americans self-identify as being "Pro-Life" than "Pro-Choice." And the turn around has been marked over the course of the past year. 51% of those surveyed now say they are "Pro-Life" whereas a year ago that number was just 44%. Those who declare themselves "Pro-Choice" saw their numbers fall from 50% in 2008 to just 42%.

So, what accounts for this sea-change? Could the election of Barack Obama have something to do with it? A staunch supporter of abortion rights who won in November by a margin of 8 million votes, it would seem unlikely that Obama's rise to power would coincide with a dramatic shift away from with "Pro-Choice" identification. Then again, Obama has played the abortion issue differently from many politicians of the past, attempting to find common ground with anti-abortion supporters, and striving to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.

But a deeper look at Gallup's numbers reveals that the real movement in the polling history is coming from Republicans and Independents who lean rightward:

The percentage of Republicans (including independents who lean Republicans) calling themselves "pro-life" rose by 10 points over the past year, from 60% to 70%, while there has been essentially no change in the views of Democrats and Democratic leaners.

This shows that there are certainly enough Republicans left in America to make a statistical difference.

See: http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/05/15/america-is-now-a-pro-life-nation/

Sexual Wisdom For Catholic Adolescents

Over a decade ago, Dr. Richard Wetzel wrote the book Sexual Wisdom.  Based on natural law, the book reaches out to those who have retained some open-mindedness though they have been propagandized into accepting nontraditional views on sexuality.

Dr. Wetzel has just published his second book, Sexual Wisdom for Catholic Adolescents, which is the curriculum he teaches his own children about sexual purity.  Wetzel was so delighted with the course, the result of “I’ll tell you about that when you are older,” that he put it on the Internet as a free download over a year ago.  He found, however, that many parents prefer the course in book form, and so he published it.

Is the course good?  Thus far it has garnered enthusiastic endorsements from the Vatican’s Academy for Life and Cardinal William Keeler, who gives it the “highest commendation possible.”  Judie Brown, the founder and president of the American Life League, calls it “incredibly well-written and inspired.”

 

Sexual Wisdom for Catholic Adolescents remains a free download from the web site at www.sexualwisdom.com so that anyone can judge the entire course for himself. 

Also online is complete information about a program for parishes, schools and dioceses who would like to order the books, essentially at cost ($2 each), in bulk.  This course is a most worthy effort to address what Benedict XVI has called an “educational emergency” and deserves the most serious consideration.

Semantic Semetic Silliness.....

The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition

40,000 join pope at Nazareth mass

May. 14, 2009
jpost.com and AP , THE JERUSALEM POST

An estimated 40,000 people greeted Pope Benedict XVI on Mount Precipice in Nazareth before he presided over a mass on Thursday morning.

Many of those who gathered in the city, where tradition holds that Jesus grew up, swayed back and forth to Arabic music played over loudspeakers, clapping in unison and waving yellow and white Vatican flags. A yellow and white banner hanging over a stone wall read "Pope, Don't Forget."

As the music subsided, the crowd began the familiar chants in Italian of "Benedetto" and "Viva il Papa."

In his address, the pope called on the city's Christians and Muslims to bridge the gaps between their communities.

"Nazareth has experienced tensions in recent years which have harmed relations between its Christian and Muslim communities," he said. "I urge people of good will in both communities to repair the damage that has been done, and in fidelity to our common belief in one God, the father of the human family, to work to build bridges and find the way to a peaceful coexistence."

"Let everyone reject the destructive power of hatred and prejudice, which kills men's souls before it kills their bodies," implored the pontiff.

The pope arrived on Mount Precipice, where Christian tradition says a mob tried to throw Jesus off a cliff, in his white popemobile and spoke from a specially constructed amphitheater - the biggest in Israel.

Earlier, the archbishop of Galilee for the Greek Melkite Church, Elias Chacour, welcomed the pope with a plea for his prayers and "moral and spiritual support" to stem the exodus of Christians from the Holy Land.

He said the flight of Christians "fills me with pain" and that the future is not encouraging.

After the Mount Precipice mass, the pope headed to the Basilica of the Annunciation to worship and for talks with local religious leaders.

___________________________

I post this article not just to highlight the positive reception the Pope is getting in the Holy Land (despite press reports to the contrary), but also to illustrate the absolute silliness of how some in the Israeli press are treating the Holy Father. I will call your attention to three items:

1.) Not capitalizing "Pope" in the title, perhaps this is a typo - perhaps its purposeful - if L'Osservatore Romano made such a mistake say with the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, spelling it chief rabbi - we would all be reminded as to what "gift of the gab' meant.

2.) Not capitalizing "Mass" in the title, perhaps this is a typo - perhaps its purposeful - two typos in the same title?

3.) Most seriously a diminuition of the historic person of Jesus where it describes Nazareth as "where tradition holds that Jesus grew up."

Nonetheless, I hope this type of Silliness won't impugn the impact of the Holy Father's visit.

How can anyone be surprised by this?

 

Retired Catholic Archbishop Says He's Gay

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP

NEW YORK (May 12) -- A Roman Catholic archbishop who resigned in 2002 over a sex and financial scandal involving a man describes his struggles with being gay in an upcoming memoir about his decades serving the church.

Archbishop Rembert Weakland, former head of the Milwaukee archdiocese, said in an interview Monday that he wrote about his sexual orientation because he wanted to be candid about "how this came to life in my own self, how I suppressed it, how it resurrected again."

Called "A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop," the book is set to be released in June.

"I was very careful and concerned that the book not become a Jerry Springer, to satisfy people's prurient curiosity or anything of this sort," Weakland told The Associated Press. "At the same time, I tried to be as honest as I can."

Weakland stepped down soon after Paul Marcoux, a former Marquette University theology student, revealed in May 2002 that he was paid $450,000 to settle a sexual assault claim he made against the archbishop more than two decades earlier. The money came from the archdiocese.

Marcoux went public at the height of anger over the clergy sex abuse crisis, when Catholics and others were demanding that dioceses reveal the extent of molestation by clergy and how much had been confidentially spent to settle claims.

Weakland denied ever assaulting anyone. He apologized for concealing the payment. The Vatican says that men with "deep-seated" attraction to other men should not be ordained.

In an August 1980 letter that was obtained by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Weakland said he was in emotional turmoil over Marcoux and that he had "come back to the importance of celibacy in my life." He signed the letter, "I love you."

The revelations rocked the Milwaukee archdiocese, which Weakland had led since 1977. He was a hero for liberal Catholics nationwide because of his work on social justice and other issues.

The archbishop, now 82, said he seriously considered the potential pain for the archdiocese of renewing attention to the scandal and thought about waiting "until I was dead" to have it published. But he decided to move ahead with the project.

"What I felt was that people who loved me as bishop here, when they read the book will continue to love me. The people who found it difficult, I hope will be helped a little bit by the book," he said.

In a sign of the deep emotions still surrounding Weakland and his departure, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has released a public statement alerting local Catholics to the upcoming book.

"Some people will be angry about the book, others will support it," the archdiocese said.

Weakland also writes about his failures to stop sexually abusive priests. In a videotaped deposition released last November, Weakland admitted returning guilty priests to active ministry without alerting parishioners or police.

"Any deposition is just a part of a whole picture and that picture has not been painted yet. And anybody can take out of that any sentence they want," Weakland said in the interview.

"I try to deal with this, I hope in an honest way, admitting my weaknesses in not being able to see this earlier, but at the same time doing what I could confront it."

Advocates for abuse victims said that Weakland's cover-up of his own sexual activity was part of a pattern of secrecy that included concealing the criminal behavior of child molesters.

Weakland, a Benedictine monk, served in Rome as leader of the International Benedictine Confederation and also worked on a liturgy commission for the Second Vatican Council, which made reforms in the 1960s meant to modernize the church.

Weakland said he wrote in the memoir that he was unprepared for "how lonely it is" to be a bishop and how difficult it can be to get the "feedback and support you need."

U.S. Catholics have long debated whether the priesthood had become a predominantly gay vocation. Estimates vary from 25 percent to 50 percent, according to a review of research on the issue by the Rev. Donald Cozzens, author of "The Changing Face of the Priesthood."

Weakland said Christians needed to speak more openly about gays in the priesthood without the "hysteria" that often characterizes the debate.

The archbishop has been living in a retirement community near the Milwaukee archdiocese and plans to move to St. Mary's Abbey in Morristown, N.J., this summer. He said he was not bitter about how the scandal had eclipsed his decades of work in the church.

"I refused to let myself become a victim and refused to let myself become angry," he said. "I want to take responsibility but I want to move on."

Pope Basher Gets Obama Nod...

Obama Faith Adviser opines - "Pope Benedict" is a "discredited" leader.

Prior to his appointment to the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Harry Knox told a gay newspaper that the Knights of Columbus do "a great deal of good" but they are following "discredited leaders" such as Pope Benedict.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she was not aware of the negative comments, CNS News reports.

However, Pelosi praised the Catholic Church for what it has done about poverty, disease and climate change when asked about the Obama adviser's comments.

In April, Obama named Harry Knox to the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Knox, a Christian, is the director of the faith and religion program at the Human Rights Campaign, a homosexual rights organization.

"The Knights of Columbus do a great deal of good in the name of Jesus Christ, but in this particular case, they were foot soldiers of a discredited army of oppression," Knox told the Bay Area Reporter, a San Francisco-based gay newspaper, in March.

He was referring to the Knights' support for Proposition 8, a California state constitutional amendment approved by voters in November 2008 that defined marriage as being between one man and one woman.

The newspaper further reported: "Knox noted that the Knights of Columbus 'followed discredited leaders,' including bishops and Pope Benedict XVI. 'A pope who literally today said condoms don't help in control of AIDS.'"

See: http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com/2009/05/benedict-discredited-obama-faith.html

Good News about a Good Priest.

Popular Preacher Returns

Father Corapi Ready to Hit the Road Again

by Anthony Flott

May 3-9, 2009 Issue | Posted 4/24/09 at 7:09 AM

Father Corapi Ready To Hit the Road Again

Father John Corapi gets on a phone in his Montana office and asks someone to boost the volume. The assistant who helped arrange an interview with him had warned about this. "Speak loudly," she said, "he’s hard of hearing."

Father Corapi himself has never been hard to hear. For nearly two decades, his thundering voice has preached the Gospel with a forceful, meat-and-potatoes theology that’s made him among the most recognizable priests in the world.

But since August 2007, that voice has been relatively silent. At first, that was by choice — having traveled more than 2 million miles spreading the good news, Father Corapi quit public speaking to focus on writings and recordings. But just one week into that hiatus, a mysterious sickness began to ravage his body and left him mostly bedridden.

He’s recovering now and has headed back to the peaking circuit.

On Aug. 15, Father Corapi, a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, will preach publicly for the first time in nearly two years, speaking on "The Lord and Giver of Life!" at a conference at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.

Register correspondent Anthony Flott spoke with Father Corapi.

Read the full interview at:

http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/17969/

Father Oprah

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-padre-alberto-cutie-photos-bn050509,0,2154607.story

Some parishioners defend popular Miami priest 'Padre Alberto' after racy photos surface

Father Alberto Cutié stripped of parish, radio job

By James D. Davis

South Florida Sun Sentinel

2:30 PM EDT, May 6, 2009

MIAMI

Some parishioners of the Rev. Alberto Cutié defended the popular priest and television personality this morning, despite the Miami Catholic archdiocese punishing him over photos purporting to show him frolicking on the beach with an unidentified woman.

''I would have condemned him if it would have been a young boy, but it was a woman,'' Zunilda Junco, 81, told the Miami Herald as she stood outside St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, where Cutié used to say Mass.

''He hasn't killed anyone,'' said Dominga Jimenez, 83.

''Or raped anyone,'' Junco responded.

Cutié was stripped of his parish and Catholic media outlet Tuesday following a talk with Archbishop John C. Favalora.

The priest is no longer in charge of Pax Catholic Communications, Miami, or St. Frances de Sales parish on Miami Beach, said Mary Ross Agosta, the archbishop's spokesperson.

The Rev. Jose Hernando, former president of Pax, has been appointed its general director, Agosta said. The outfit includes Radio Paz and its English-language counterpart, Radio Peace.

An administrator for the parish hasn't been announced yet.

Agosta said Cutié and Favalora spoke "one on one," with no one else present. She also said the archbishop had said nothing of the exchange, including whether Cutié confirmed or denied the photos.

Mass at St. Francis de Sales was celebrated at 7:30 a.m. by the Rev. Raphael Mieszla, normally a priest at Camillus House.

Father Cutié e-mailed an apology Tuesday afternoon, asking forgiveness from "those who may be hurt or saddened by my actions. . . . The commitment that I made to serve God will remain intact."

The priest also expressed gratitude for the support of his parishioners and supporters of the radio stations "who have demonstrated great compassion and understanding toward me as a human being."

The story broke with TV Notas, a Latino entertainment publication, which claimed it had paparazzi photos of Cutié with a woman on a beach in Miami. The wire agency Notimex wrote a story, which was then posted on Univision's Web site.

Favalora issued his own statement Tuesday, saying he was "deeply saddened" by the reports about Cutié.

"Father Cutié made a promise of celibacy and all priests are expected to fulfill that promise with the help of God," the statement said. "Father Cutié's actions cannot be condoned despite the good works he has done as a priest."

__________________________

I post this story really more for the reactions of people than the story itself. On many websites can be found the comments:

"At least he was not caught with a child..."

"Thank God he was photographed with an adult woman..."

What has become of the Roman Catholic priesthood? These men are consecrated to confect the sacraments. The primary means we have of receiving grace. One wonders if they conceive that immense power in their sacerdotal state. Are such things still taught in seminaries?

Perhaps the "reform of the reform" should not be so focused on things liturgical, but instead be focused almost exclusively on the priesthood.

¡POBRE ESPAÑA!

http://www.zenit.org/article-25797?l=english

ZE09050510 - 2009-05-05
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-25797?l=english

 

Spain's Bishops Defend Pope

Against Congress

Legislators to Debate Public Reproof for Condom Comments

MADRID, Spain, MAY 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The proposal before Spain's lower branch of congress to condemn the recent comments Benedict XVI made on condoms is an insult to the nation's Catholics, says the archbishop of Madrid.

Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela (pic above), who is also the president of the episcopal conference of Spain, said Monday that the proposal that would publicly denounce the Pope "has hurt all Spanish Catholics."

The proposed censure responds to the comments the Holy Father made during a press conference March 17 on the plane en route to Cameroon. He said that condoms are not the solution for AIDS.

Deputies Gaspar Llamazares(pic above) of the party United Left and

Joan Herrera (pic above) of the party Initiative for Catalonia Greens introduced the proposal last week. It would express "consternation and rejection" for the comments.

The proposal will be debated later this month or in June in the Commission of International Cooperation for Development.

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and the People's Party have both said they would not support the bill as the Congress of Deputies is not the place to publicly denounce a head of state.

Cardinal Carlos Amigo Vallejo (pic above), the archbishop of Sevilla, responded to the proposal saying it was part of the "new inquisition" that is "fundamentally secular, agnostic and bad-humored," reported the Spanish news service Religión Digital.

"It's formed by all the fundamentalists driven to find, with or without reason, the weak point and the faulty side of the Church," he added.

Manipulation

Cardinal Luis Martínez Sistach (pic above), the archbishop of Barcelona, also criticized the proposal in a press statement published Sunday. The cardinal lamented "that they have taken out of context the comments of the Holy Father and have manipulated the position of Benedict XVI as one that is against the defense of life and the promotion of health."

The cardinal expressed his "deep adhesion and communion with the Holy Father" and asked that the "Christian people accompany [the Pope] in the exercise of his ministry as the Successor of Peter at the service of the entire Church."

Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera (pic above), the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments and apostolic administer for the Archdiocese of Toledo, published a statement from Rome in which he asked the faithful of Toledo to offer all the Masses this past weekend for Benedict XVI.

He rejected the proposal as an "attack and a disgrace against a man of God, a good and just man, the utmost defender of humanity, of its dignity and fundamental rights, promoter like few others of the culture of peace and a civilization of love."

The cardinal said the proposal constitutes "an offense against Spain itself, which is always close to the Pope, [and] loved by him."

Ecclesia Militans Awake

I know that his feast day on the old calendar is May 5th, but on the new calendar it is today.

 

O God Who didst choose Saint Pius as Supreme Pontiff in order to shatter the enemies of Thy Church and to restore the purity of the Sacred Liturgy; grant us his protection so that cleaving to Thy service we may overcome the snares of all our enemies and enjoy perpetual peace. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

 

 

 

Pope St. Pius V, pray for us, protect the

Roman Liturgy.

 

 

• Hammer of Turks.

• Implementer of the Decrees of Trent.

• Holy Inquisitor.

• Scourge of Elizabeth I.

• Promulgator of the Tridentine Missal.

 

His voice is yet heard today.

A True Champion of Our Lady!

She hath opened her mouth to wisdom, and the law of clemency is on her tongue.

Proverbs 31:26

 

 

 

April 27, 2009

The Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President
University of Notre Dame

Dear Father Jenkins,

When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year was included in the anthology of Notre Dame’s most memorable commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the medal, and of your students and faculty.

Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so delightful has been complicated by a number of factors.

First, as a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree. This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops' express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons “should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.

Then I learned that “talking points” issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event:

• “President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal.”

• “We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”

A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision—in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops —to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.

Finally, with recent news reports that other Catholic schools are similarly choosing to disregard the bishops’ guidelines, I am concerned that Notre Dame’s example could have an unfortunate ripple effect.

It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.

In order to avoid the inevitable speculation about the reasons for my decision, I will release this letter to the press, but I do not plan to make any further comment on the matter at this time.

Yours Very Truly,

Mary Ann Glendon

(My underline & bold added)

 

Mary Ann Glendon is Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and served as U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican from 2007 to 2009.

 

A Form of Schism

Great article by George Weigel at the Ethics & Public Policy Center.

See: http://www.eppc.org/publications/pubid.3780/pub_detail.asp

Sisters on a Different Mountaintop By George Weigel Posted: Monday, April 6, 2009 THE CATHOLIC DIFFERENCE Publication Date: March 25, 2009 On Jan. 30, an apostolic visitation of religious orders of women in the United States was announced. The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), whose membership includes most of the sisters whose manner of life and apostolates will be explored, subsequently released a measured statement, expressing its "surprise" at the Vatican-mandated visitation. The LCWR statement also hinted vaguely at a degree of alarm, noting that the visitation's "purposes and implications for the lives of U.S. women religious remain unclear." A far more forthright comment on the visitation came from Sister Sandra Schneiders, IHM, who teaches New Testament at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley and is completing a multi-volume study of post-Vatican II religious life. (She holds an M.A. from the University of Detroit, and S.T.L. from the Institut Catholique de Paris, and an S.T.D. from the Pontifical Gregorian University.) Dr. Schneiders' letter on the visitation was originally intended for friends and colleagues; it inevitably leaked into the blogosphere and was then published with Dr. Schneiders' permission in the online National Catholic Reporter. There was nothing vague about Dr. Schneiders' reaction to the impending visitation: "I am not inclined to get into too much of a panic about this investigation --- which is what it is. We just went through a similar investigation of seminaries, equally aggressive and dishonest. I do not put any credence at all in the claim that this is friendly, transparent, aimed to be helpful, etc. It is a hostile move and the conclusions are already in. It is meant to be intimidating. But I think if we believe in what we are doing (and I definitely do), we just have to be peacefully about our business, which is announcing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, fostering the Reign of God in this world. "We cannot, of course, keep them from investigating. But we can receive them, politely and kindly, for what they are, uninvited guests who should be received in the parlor, not given the run of the house. When people ask questions they shouldn't ask, the questions should be answered accordingly. "I just hope we will not, as we American religious so often do, think that by total 'openness' and efforts to 'dialogue' we are going to bring about mutual understanding and acceptance. This is not mutual and it is not a dialogue. The investigators are not coming to understand --- believe me, we found that out in the seminary investigation. "So let's be honest but reserved, supply no ammunition that can be aimed at us, be non-violent even in the face of violence, but not be naive. Non-violent resistance is what finally works as we've found out in so many arenas." Between the circumspection of the LCWR and the call-to-arms of Sister Sandra Schneiders, I'll take Dr. Schneiders' any day. Hers is perhaps the most candid summation of the cast of mind of many American religious women I've read in years. What it avoids, however, is the clear implication of Dr. Schneiders' use of "them" to identity the "investigators:" "them" are not, so to speak, "us." "We" are not of, or with, "them." "Them" reminds me of the Master of Trinity in Chariots of Fire, speaking of a Cambridge student whose approach to athletics (and indeed life) he deplored: "A different god; a different mountaintop." What Sister Sandra Schneiders' admirably frank letter suggests is that the women religious who share her views live in a form of schism. It's not a formal, canonical schism. One might call it a kind of psychological schism, in which the outward forms of ecclesial unity are tenuously maintained, but the inner "self" (as these renewed sisters might put it) is, well, somewhere else. The balance of Dr. Schneiders' letter argues that she and her colleagues have "birthed a new form of religious life," and makes clear that she and those who stand with her will accept no one's appraisal of the Catholic authenticity of their creation but their own. That's an accurate, honest description of the current state of affairs. It also bespeaks a form of schism. Will the impending visitation take a cue from Dr. Schneiders and have the courage to name these things for what they are? And if so, then what? -- George Weigel is a distinguished senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

______________________________

Here's "Sister" Schneiders' pic:

 

Here's another heretical quote from her:

From her book Beyond Patching: Faith and Feminism in the Catholic Church

(Mahwah, NJ, Paulist Press, 1991, page 110.):

"When the first Women's Ordination Conference met in Detroit in 1975, the women who attended were focused on...the admission of women to orders.....Since 1978, women have come to realize that...we are not talking about how to organize the institution. We are talking about whether the God of Judeo-Christian revelation is true God or just men-writ-large to legitimate their domination; whether Jesus, an historical male, is or can be messiah and savior for those who are not male; whether what the church has called sacraments are really encounters with Christ, or tools of male ritual abuse of women; whether what we have called church is a community of salvation or simply a male power structure."

"Christ did not die for the sins of the people."

Tuesday April 21, 2009

"Christ did not die for the sins of the people": Head of German Catholic Bishops' Conference on TV

By Hilary White, Tuesday - 21APR09

www.Lifesitenews.com

FREIBURG, Germany April 21, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - According to the chairman of the Catholic bishops' conference of Germany, the death of Jesus Christ was not a redemptive act of God to liberate human beings from the bondage of sin and open the gates of heaven. The Archbishop of Freiburg, Robert Zollitsch, known for his liberal views, publicly denied the fundamental Christian dogma of the sacrificial nature of Christ's death in a recent interview with a German television station.

Zollitsch said that Christ "did not die for the sins of the people as if God had provided a sacrificial offering, like a scapegoat."

Instead, Jesus had offered only "solidarity" with the poor and suffering. Zollitsch said "that is this great perspective, this tremendous solidarity."

The interviewer asked, "You would now no longer describe it in such a way that God gave his own son, because we humans were so sinful? You would no longer describe it like this?"

Monsignor Zollitsch responded, "No."

Archbishop Robert Zollitsch was appointed to the See of Freiburg im Breisgau in 2003 under Pope John Paul II. He is he sitting Chairman of the German Episcopal Conference, to which he was elected in 2008 and is regarded as a "liberal" in the German episcopate.

In February 2008 he said that priestly celibacy should be voluntary and that it is not "theologically necessary." Zollitsch has also said he accepts homosexual civil unions by states, but is against same-sex "marriage."

He told Meinhard Schmidt-Degenhard, the program's host, that God gave "his own son in solidarity with us unto this last death agony to show: 'So much are you worth to me, I go with you, and I am totally with you in every situation'."

"He has become involved with me out of solidarity - from free will."

Christ, he said, had "taken up what I have been blamed for, including the evil that I have caused, and also to take it back into the world of God and hence to show me the way out of sin, guilt and from death to life."

However, Article 613 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the definitive work issued by the Church explaining the dogmas and doctrines of the Catholic religion, describes the death of Christ as "both the Paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men, through 'the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world', the sacrifice of the New Covenant, which restores man to communion with God by reconciling him to God through the 'blood of the covenant, which was poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins'."

The Catechism continues, "This sacrifice of Christ is unique; it completes and surpasses all other sacrifices. First, it is a gift from God the Father himself, for the Father handed his Son over to sinners in order to reconcile us with himself. At the same time it is the offering of the Son of God made man, who in freedom and love offered his life to his Father through the Holy Spirit in reparation for our disobedience."

To express concerns:

Congregation for Bishops
Giovanni Battista Re, Cardinal, Prefect
Palazzo della Congregazioni,
00193 Roma,
Piazza Pio XII, 10
Phone: 06.69.88.42.17
Fax: 06.69.88.53.03

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
William Joseph Levada, Cardinal, Prefect
Piazza del S. Uffizio,
11, 00193
Roma, Italy
Phone: 06.69.88.33.57; 06.69.88.34.13
Fax: 06.69.88.34.09

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042107.html

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Twenty plus years ago, an instructor of mine at St. John's Theologate in Camarillo named Fr. Michael Roeberttaught this very thing. To be complete he did add that the Resurrection may have been a "mental and not a physical experience for Christ."

I complained to then Rector Monsignor George Niederauer (Now Archbishop of San Francisco) who would not see me and referred me to then Dean of Students Fr. Gabino Zavala (now an Auxiliary Bishop for Los Angeles). He cautioned me that my "rigid views" were a sign of disharmony at St. John's.

Being a seminarian for the Diocese of Orange I complained to then Vocations Director Monsignor Daniel Murray (now disgraced in the scandals rocking the Diocese of Orange). He passed it to Bishop Norman McFarland who did see me but told me to ignore it.

The apostasy in Holy Mother Church has run deep, very deep,

for a long long time.

What price life?

Recession linked to more

abortions, vasectomies

By Rebekah Kebede (Yahoo News)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The pregnancy was unexpected, and for one 32-year-old single mother in Syracuse, New York, the ailing economy became a factor in her decision to have an abortion.

"More so now that we are in a recession ... I felt I had to go through with the procedure because I cannot afford another child," said the woman, a registered nurse who spoke on condition of anonymity.

With a recession on, she was worried about job security.

"People say, 'You're a nurse, you'll always have a job.' I think it's not as true as people think it is."

The recession may be a factor influencing more Americans to opt out of parenthood with abortions and vasectomies, although there is no data available yet to suggest a trend.

Even so, there is some anecdotal evidence that would-be parents are factoring the rough economic times into the most personal of reproductive choices, some experts said.

In 2005, the last year for which data is available, the U.S. abortion rate fell to the lowest level since 1974, according to the Guttmacher Institute in New York, a nonprofit group focusing on reproductive issues.

But at the National Abortion Federation, a hotline for women seeking abortion information has been "ringing off the hook," according to the group's president, Vicki Saporta.

"We are currently getting more calls from women who report that they or their partner have recently lost their job, and we are also hearing from more women facing eviction," she said.

One recent inquiry came from a 24-year-old married woman in Colorado who was evicted after her landlord went into foreclosure. Another came from a 32-year-old pregnant mother in Virginia who had lost her job and health insurance.

"As more and more women and families are struggling due to the crisis, it's affecting more than just low-income families. Now more middle-class and working class families are facing the types problems that we've heard from low-income women," Saporta said.

As with many other nonprofits, abortion assistance groups are being inundated with requests for aid just as funding is drying up.

In the first quarter of 2009, the New York Abortion Access Fund increased funding for abortions 60 percent from year-ago levels, and the number of women receiving assistance more than doubled.

The reach of the recession may stretch beyond women's reproductive decisions to those of men.

Lawrence Ross, a urologist and former president of the American Urological Association, said he and his colleagues have noticed a roughly 50 percent increase in vasectomies in the past four to six months, which he attributes in part to the ailing economy.

About half a million men opt for vasectomies in the United States each year, a number which has remained flat over the years, Ross said.

"Many of them are afraid that they are going to lose their jobs and their health insurance. So while they are covered, a lot more patients, it pushed them over the edge to get it done more quickly," he said.

"A lot of them are saying that we've decided to limit our family, the costs of education and raising kids is so high."

At the same time, urologists have seen a drop in the number of men seeking vasectomy reversals.

While a vasectomy is a relatively simple procedure and typically costs between $1,000 to $1,500, a reversal costs roughly ten times as much.

(Reporting by Rebekah Kebede; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Chris Wilson)

See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090422/hl_nm/us_usa_economy_births/print

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I hope this is not true. But in today's society? Perhaps I should rephrase and say I "wish" this is not true. Twenty years ago my old novice master went to great lengths to explain to we postulants the difference between {ἐλπίς} "hope," one of the three theological virtues, and "wish." (Father Thomas More Nelson, O. Praem - what a guy, what a solid guy, what the Jews would call a "mensch." I think he runs the Norbertine High School in San Pedro now.)

Of course there is also the ancient maxim:

Dum vita est spes est.

(Where life is hope is)

 

We are reaching such a level of barbarism, where even the self-evident tenets of the Natural Law are denied, that reinforces my belief that a renewed Catholicism, an awakened Church Militant, is the only HOPE for our Republic.

Catholic Identity Crisis

Great article at National Review on-line by Fr. Robert A Sirico at the Acton Institute.

April 17, 2009, 3:30 p.m.

The Catholic Identity Crisis
What the Georgetown and Notre Dame controversies reveal.

By Rev. Robert A. Sirico

Here are the money quotes:

"If this thesis is correct, then it is not far-fetched to assert that nominal Catholics are in the midst of an identity crisis. They are embarrassed by the distinctiveness of their more faithful brethren who observe fast days, don’t approve of abortion, think marriage is what their grandparents thought it was, and hold conservative views on the other hot-button issues that Catholics in public life frequently get asked about by reporters."

"Of course, nominal Catholics would deny such an identity crisis. We simply believe in a pluralistic and tolerant society, they would insist. But if the Georgetown episode doesn’t reflect an identity crisis — the religious family that was once the Church’s leading defender blots out their name (Jesuit) and their historic inspiration (Jesus) — then what does?"

"Think of it: A Catholic university was willing to cover up the name of Jesus, hide it from the cameras, because the president of the United States was coming and asked them to do so. The fact alone gives me chills."

"At the root of tolerance is the notion that one is permissive, not about one’s own beliefs, but about the beliefs of those with whom one disagrees. If you do not know who you are and what you hold to be true, you cannot be tolerant."

For the full article see:

http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=ZDAyYTdiMjU5N2RmOGI4NjdkY2VjYWViN2ZmNDE4ZDE=

Obama DID ask that Jesus' Name be covered...

Georgetown Says It Covered Over Name of Jesus

to Comply With White House Request

Wednesday, April 15, 2009
By Edwin Mora

(CNSNews.com) - Georgetown University says it covered over the monogram "IHS"--symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ—because it was inscribed on a pediment on the stage where President Obama spoke at the university on Tuesday and the White House had asked Georgetown to cover up all signs and symbols there.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the "IHS" monogram that had previously adorned the stage at Georgetown’s Gaston Hall was still covered up--when the pediment where it had appeared was photographed by CNSNews.com.

"In coordinating the logistical arrangements for yesterday’s event, Georgetown honored the White House staff’s request to cover all of the Georgetown University signage and symbols behind Gaston Hall stage," Julie Green Bataille, associate vice president for communications at Georgetown, told CNSNews.com.

"The White House wanted a simple backdrop of flags and pipe and drape for the speech, consistent with what they’ve done for other policy speeches," she added. "Frankly, the pipe and drape wasn’t high enough by itself to fully cover the IHS and cross above the GU seal and it seemed most respectful to have them covered so as not to be seen out of context."

On Wednesday, CNSNews.com inspected the pediment embedded in the wall at the back of the stage in Gaston Hall, where Obama delivered his speech. The letters "IHS" were not to be found. They appeared to be shrouded with a triangle of black-painted plywood.

Pictures of the wooden pediment prior to Obama’s speech show the letters "IHS" in gold. Many photos posted on the Internet of other events at Gaston Hall show the letters clearly.

The White House did not respond to a request from CNSNews.com to comment on the covering up of Jesus’ name at Gaston Hall.

Georgetown, which is run by the Jesuit order, is one of the most prestigious Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States.

Roman Catholics traditionally use "IHS" as an abbreviation for Jesus’ name. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "St. Ignatius of Loyola adopted the monogram in his seal as general of the Society of Jesus (1541) and thus became the emblem of his institute." The Society of Jesus is the formal name for the Jesuits.

Although the monogram was covered over on the wooden pediment at the back of the Gaston Hall stage where it would have been directly above and behind President Obama as he spoke, the letters "IHS" are posted elsewhere around the hall approximately 26 times on shields representing different parts of the United States and the world.

Obama did not mention the name of Jesus during his address. However, he did mention Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.

"There is a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells a story of two men…‘the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house…it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock,’" Obama said.

"We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand," he added. "We must build our house upon a rock."

 

SEE: http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=46667

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The primary opprobrium for this should be directed not at our secular humanist President, but at the "Roman Catholic" religious order - the so named "Society of Jesus," for taking part in this affrontery.

At Jesus' Name Every Knee Shall Bow...Except Obama's?

Why was the IHS symbol covered up at Georgetown University prior to President Obama's address there today?

Here's a pic of it uncovered:

 

Here's another version of the symbol:

 

You can view a vid of the speech at:

http://www.c-span.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=HP-R-17417

The symbol isn't there, it's been covered.

It's meaning?

Iesus Hominum Salvator ("Jesus, Savior of men" in Latin)

or for those of us who long for the return of the Church Militant...

In hoc signo (vinces)

___________

 

Saint Ignatius save us from your sons!

_____________

Hat tip to both the Curt Jester:

http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/archives/2009/04/those-without-a.php

and Dawn Eden

http://dawneden.blogspot.com/2009/04/obamas-messianic-jargon-hits-rock.html

______________

I guess a messiah doesn't want any competition from the Messiah.

 

Twitter Immoral?

see; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1169788/Twitter-make-immoral-claim-scientists.html?printingPage=true

Twitter can make you

immoral,

claim scientists

By Jenny Hope, UK Daily Mail

14th April 2009

"Social networks such as Twitter may blunt people's sense of morality, claim brain scientists.

New evidence shows the digital torrent of information from networking sites could have long-term damaging effects on the emotional development of young people's brains.

A study suggests rapid-fire news updates and instant social interaction are too fast for the 'moral compass' of the brain to process.

The danger is that heavy Twitters and Facebook users could become 'indifferent to human suffering' because they never get time to reflect and fully experience emotions about other people's feelings.

US scientists from the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California (USC) say the brain can respond in fractions of seconds to signs of physical pain in others.

But they show it takes longer to activate processing of social emotions such as admiration and compassion, which are critical for developing a sense of morality.

The study raises questions about the emotional cost of heavy reliance on a rapid stream of news snippets obtained through television, online feeds or social networks such as Twitter.

The impact could be most damaging for youngsters whose brains are still developing.

USC researcher Mary Helen Immordino-Yang said 'For some kinds of thought, especially moral decision-making about other people's social and psychological situations, we need to allow for adequate time and reflection.

'If things are happening too fast, you may not ever fully experience emotions about other people's psychological states and that would have implications for your morality.'

Mature celebrity users of Twitter such as Stephen Fry, Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand are behind the growing popularity of the site used by around 10 million people worldwide.

Barack Obama used it as a tool during last year's US presidential elections to talk directly and quickly - only 140 characters can be posted at any time by website or mobile phone - to thousands of followers.

But a new study led by Antonio Damasio, director of the USC's Brain and Creativity Institute, suggests that digital media may be better suited to some mental processes than others.

The study used compelling, real-life stories to induce admiration for virtue or skill, or compassion for physical or social pain, in 13 volunteers.

The emotions felt were verified by researchers in a series of interviews before and after, conducted using a careful protocol.

Brain imaging showed the volunteers needed six to eight seconds to fully respond to stories of virtue or social pain.

However, once awakened, the responses lasted far longer than the volunteers' reactions to stories focused on physical pain.

The study will appear next week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online Early Edition.

Manuel Castells, holder of the Wallis Annenberg Chair of Communication Technology and Society at USC, said 'Damasio's study has extraordinary implications for the human perception of events in a digital communication environment.

'Lasting compassion in relationship to psychological suffering requires a level of persistent, emotional attention.'

'In a media culture in which violence and suffering becomes an endless show, be it in fiction or in infotainment, indifference to the vision of human suffering gradually sets in.'

Although normal life events provide opportunities to feel admiration and compassion, the researchers fear heavy social networkers may not have time for traditional ways of developing a moral sense such as reading books and seeing friends.

The study showed physical and social pain both engage the posteromedial cortex, the region of brain related to the sense of self and consciousness, but in different areas.

Professor Damasio said 'The brain is honouring a distinction between things that have to do with physicality and things that have to do with the mind.

'When it comes to emotion, because these systems are inherently slow, perhaps all we can say is, not so fast.'

He said humans 'separate the good from the bad' largely thanks to the feeling of admiration.

It is also deeply rooted in the brain and the sense of the body, the study found, engaging primal neural systems that regulate blood chemistry, the digestive system and other parts of the body.

Prof Damasio called it proof, pending replication of the findings, that social emotions have deep evolutionary roots.

He said 'People generally don't think of emotions like admiration and compassion as having forerunners in evolution.

'We reveal that these emotions engage the basic systems of our physiology.'"

The Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California website is: http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/bci/

_______________

I find this article intriguing. Obviously anything can be used for an evil end. The Internet, on which this blog resides, can be a conduit for filth that rivals the cloaca maxima!

The Desert of G*dlessness."

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:13 AM on 11th April 2009

Pope Benedict XVI last night attacked the rise of aggressive secularism in Western societies, warning them that they risked drifting into a 'desert of godlessness'.

He used his Good Friday meditations to compare deliberate attempts to remove religion from public life to the mockery of Jesus Christ by the mob as he was led out to be crucified.

'Religious sentiments' were increasingly ranked among the 'unwelcome leftovers of antiquity' and 'held up to scorn and ridicule', he added.

'We are shocked to see to what levels of brutality human beings can sink,' said the Pope at an evening ceremony at the Coliseum in Rome.

'Jesus is humiliated in new ways even today when things that are most holy and profound in the faith are being trivialised, the sense of the sacred is allowed to erode.

'Values and norms that held societies together and drew people to higher ideals are laughed at and thrown overboard. Jesus continues to be ridiculed.'

The German-born Pope, who turns 82 later this month, prayed Christians would respond by growing in faith. 

Full Story at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1169030/Pope-warns-desert-godlessness-Good-Friday-address.html

Motherhood as "Slavery."

To all the pro-Obama "Catholics" ala Douglas Kmiec, this is the face of the justice department and judiciary that President Obama wants to create.

Hat tip to: http://prideofamerica.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/presidential-legal-counsel-sees-pregnancy-as-slavery/

"With [the President's] appointment of Dawn Johnsen (pic above), a former NARAL [National Abortion Reproductive Rights Action League] attorney, as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Legal Counsel, pro-life advocates already know they are getting an abortion advocate in the position. But Johnsen goes further and views pregnancy as slavery."

"Johnsen is a professor at the Indiana University School of Law, but she is also a longtime abortion advocate and worked for one of the leading abortion advocacy groups. Johnsen was the legal director for NARAL from 1988-1993."

"In an article at National Review, Andrew McCarthy says that Johnsen’s view of pregnancy as slavery wasn’t just an off-the-cuff remark. “It was her considered position in a 1989 brief filed in the Supreme Court,” he explains, and the legal papers she filed concerned a Missouri law banning taxpayer funding of abortions. In the papers, Johnsen said that any restriction that makes abortion less accessible is, in her view, tantamount to “involuntary servitude” because it “requires a woman to provide continuous physical service to the fetus in order to further the state’s asserted interest [in the life of the unborn].”

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As a side note - Any comment not on this topic or that personally attacks another commenter will be deleted.