Roman Catholic Blog

"Sister" Carol Keehan - Grade 3 Cancer on the body politic of Holy Mother Church

Cancer can be classified into three different grades, per www.differencebetween.com.

Grade 1 is when cancer cells look alike like normal cells. In other words these are a slow growing cell which doesn’t show much symptoms of a cancer infection. A cancer infection if identified in this stage can be cured. This is also termed as early stage.

Grade 2 is when cancer cells start to appear different from normal cells. These are fast growing cells and are in the growing stage. If proper treatment is given at this stage, the disease can be cured. A cancer if unidentified in grade 2 could be termed as a stage where hope of curing is less or rare. A complete cure if guaranteed is only during the initial stages.

Grade 3 is when cancer cells are found to be immensely growing and is in the final stages of growth. This is when, the patient feels the pain in the parts of the body where cancer cell are grown. The pain will be severe and uncontrollable.

I see Sister Keehan as a Grade 3 cancer on the body politic of Holy Mother Church.

          "What Did CHA's Carol Keehan Know and When Did She Know It?

Register news analysis: As threats to religious liberty escalate, critics say it’s time to establish who truly speaks for the Church in the United States.

BY JOAN FRAWLEY DESMOND, National Catholic Register

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Feb. 10 confirmed that his administration was offering an “accommodation” to religious groups opposed to a controversial federal rule requiring private health plans to provide contraception and abortion services.

As reported in the media, church-affiliated employers would not have to directly cover those services; instead, their insurance plans would cover them.

The announcement prompted an expression of gratitude from Daughter of Charity Sister Carol Keehan, the president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, and a polite, but wary response from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which said they needed to study the proposed modification.

That evening, the bishops’ conference formally rejected the president’s “accommodation” as essentially meaningless.

For the rest of the weekend, amid a blur of news headlines and talking heads that offered conflicting judgments, the faithful in the pews struggled to determine what, if anything, had changed regarding the administration’s policy.

The contrasting responses from the CHA leader and the USCCB have left Catholics and the general public confused about who speaks for the Church on a matter of grave institutional concern and whether the Obama administration exploited a lack of clarity about that matter.

The dueling positions have fueled questions about the basis of Sister Carol’s endorsement: USCCB officials and health-care experts have since confirmed that the government has not issued any binding regulations that legally override the controversial contraception mandate finalized by the Department of Health and Human Services on Jan. 20.

Subsequent media coverage and interviews suggest that while the White House cleared its talking points with Sister Carol in advance of the president’s public address, the USCCB had been excluded from the administration’s deliberations.

..................................................

Who Speaks for the Church?

The confusion and possible institutional damage generated by Sister Carol’s public endorsement have led some Catholic experts in the health-care field to demand an accounting.

“On the basis of what information and what authority did she issue this endorsement? It’s embarrassing from a policy standpoint,” noted Paul Danello, an expert on civil and canon law issues in Catholic health care, who has received calls from Catholic hospitals worried about the implications of the HHS final rule.

“If the CHA board hasn’t authorized this, if she has no mandate from the USCCB, and if there are no legally binding documents, she is operating without any legal, governance or regulatory basis. That is a hell of a situation for a Roman Catholic nun that heads the Catholic Health Association to be in.”

.....

“It’s the right hand fighting against the left hand,” he said. “Who is speaking for the Church here? The Church needs to get its house in order.”"

For the full story please see:http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/what-did-catholic-health-associations-sister-carol-know-and-when-did-she-kn/

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George Niederauer's Last Hurrah = the Death of Catholic Hospitals?

 

I used to think that when his tenure as Archbishop of San Francisco ended this year, that the greatest harm done to the Roman Catholic Church by George Niederauer would have been caused by his years as Rector at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo.

In that capacity, he oversaw the indoctrination of an untold number of priests, albeit while in formation. The most serious forms of heresy have always had their origins with ill-trained or disobedient clergy. One has only to think of Audius, Arius, Donatus Magnus, Lucifer Calaritanus, Montanus, Pelagius, Priscillian, Valentinus, Apollonaris, Macedonius, Nestorius, Henry of Lausanne, Jan Hus, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, John Calvin (seminarian), jansen, Zwingli, Knox, Loisy, Tyrrell, Hans Kung, etc…..

 

Nonetheless, with his 75^th birthday fast approaching and his departure as Archbishop of Babylon by the Bay imminent, George Niederauer has undertaken a decision of truly MOMENTOUS proportions.

 

(Hat tip to Cal Catholic Daily)

 Catholic Healthcare West becomes Dignity Health

By Andrew S. Ross

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

www.sfgate.com

You may have noticed in Tuesday's Chronicle three large display ads on separate pages headlined "Dignity is."

It's "something you are born with," one ad says. "Taking care of your body, mind and spirit," says another. And in the last one: "60,000 people committed to delivering superior care."

Those 60,000 people used to work for San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West, but as of Tuesday are employed by Dignity Health.

The new name is just one of the changes occurring at the not-for-profit hospital chain, the fifth largest in the country, with 40 full-service hospitals in California, Arizona and Nevada, and 150 ancillary clinics.

While continuing to focus on the needs of poor and underserved communities, the changes are intended to "position ourselves for growth in a changing health care environment," said a statement announcing the name change. "Growth plans anticipate expanded partnerships, which will include both Catholic and non-Catholic care centers.

Significantly, the new entity, which describes itself as nondenominational, is loosening its traditional ties to the Catholic Church.

A more secular board of directors - just two of the nine members are sisters of religious orders - replaces the more heavily Catholic layers of management under which CHW operated since its founding in 1986. Fifteen of its 40 hospitals are non-Catholic, a number likely to increase as the network expands.

"The new structure and name enable us to grow into a national system, welcoming both Catholic and non-Catholic care centers into the system, while respecting the identity and integrity of each," the statement said.

While the changes were made in consultation with the Catholic Church and approved by San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer(above), the Catholic affiliation has in the past been an obstacle to making deals with potential partners.

Lloyd Dean, CEO of Catholic Healthcare West, and now Dignity Health, told Kaiser Health News: "One of the things when we get down to what I'll call the real discussions as they confer with their boards is, 'What does the future mean if we're a non-Catholic entity? Will we have to become Catholic? What will be the Catholic influence?' "

One thing that will not change: some of the services that are off-limits to both Catholic and non-Catholic facilities in the network. According to Dignity Health's Statement of Common Values, "direct abortion is not performed. Reproductive technologies in which conception occurs outside a woman's body will not be part of (the) services. This includes in vitro fertilization."

Given the major changes occurring in the U.S. health care system, however, we can expect to hear a lot more about Dignity Health's plans "for more integrated care to enhance quality and reduce costs."

"There's a lot of consolidation going on, both for efficiency gains, which the announcement emphasizes, but also to get more market power," said Colin Cameron, who teaches health economics at UC Davis. "It's not clear yet what going national does for them, but there should be some economies of scale."

Dignity Health, which as CHW recorded $10.6 billion in revenue in 2011 - has three hospitals in the Bay Area - St. Francis Memorial and St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco and Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City - and Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. It did not provide details of its expansion plans, except, in the words of a spokeswoman, "like many organizations nationwide, we are talking to a number of potential partners."

Dignity did announce a $1.8 million investment in electronic medical records over the next five years. Before the name change, it was one of 26 hospitals chosen by Medicare for a pilot program, funded by the Affordable Health Care Act, aimed at reducing the high rate of health complications and hospital readmissions among elderly patients.

While profitable, its "overall operations have been burdened" by the amount of Medicaid reimbursements it depends on, plus the low-cost or free medical services it provides, according to a recent Standard & Poor's report.

"CHW is an excellent hospital-operating company," said Walter Kopp, president of Medical Management Services, a consultancy in San Anselmo that works with hospitals and medical groups. "The changes could help it serve more people, and open doors to working with more doctors, which is just what the health care reform act wants hospitals to do."

"The manner in which health care is delivered and organized in the United States is changing," Dean said. "It is our intent to be a solution to the nation's health care crisis - regardless of the eventual outcome for the Affordable Care Act."

 

And the name, Dignity? "It reflects who we are and what we stand for," said Sister Judy Carle (pic above), vice chairwoman of Dignity Health's board of directors. "The value of dignity is embedded in our culture. Our mission, vision and values were all formed out of the recognition of the inherent integrity of each person."

 ___________________________________

The paragraph to “zero” in on is this:

"A more secular board of directors - just two of the nine members are sisters of religious orders - replaces the more heavily Catholic layers of management under which CHW operated since its founding in 1986. Fifteen of its 40 hospitals are non-Catholic, a number likely to increase as the network expands."

The question that must be asked is WHY? Why would a Board of Directors with “heavy Catholic layers of management” give up their power, or more properly delve their authority to a less catholic Board of Directors?

The news media has reported this as a business decision, claiming that money is the root of this evil.

 

I don’t know. This is all strangely reminiscent of the devolution of catholic universities in the late 1960s from real control by respective Catholic Religious orders to real control by lay boards of directors!

 A news release from Dignity claims that:

“Under the new governance structure, Dignity Health is a not-for-profit organization, rooted in the Catholic tradition, but is not an official ministry of the Catholic Church…”

 

Their use of the phrase “rooted in catholic tradition” is the same newspeak you will find in the mission statements of many “Catholic” colleges and universities.

The late Jesuit Father Vincent Miceli (pic above) once opined that the purposefully changed corporate nature of most Catholic Universities from control by religious orders to effectual secular control in the 1960s was the largest transfer of Church property to secular usage since the dissolution of monasteries in England under Tudor King Henry VIII in 1536.

If the transference of authority happening with Catholic Hospitals is in reality the first step to a much broader secularization effort,

 

then Archbishop Niederauer (pic above) will be remembered not as a

 

St. John Fisher or a St. Thomas More,

but rather like the heretic Thomas Cranmer.

Where is a Mary Tudor when you need her?

(figuratively speaking of course.)

 

Everything old is new again

From the Washington Times

See:http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/26/pruden-chinas-easter-offensive-against-the-churche/print/

China’s Easter offensive against the churches

The International Monetary Fund says the "Age of America" will end in the ash heap of history in 2016, give or take a year or so, to be replaced by the "Age of China."

That's when the value of the Chinese economy will reach $19 trillion annually, shading ours by a few billion in petty cash. A decade ago, the Chinese economy was only a fraction of the size of America's. That was before we shipped our factories to China and the Democrats and Republicans in Washington discovered they could borrow money with abandon from the Chinese to finance FDR's famous formula of "spend and spend, elect and elect."

This news of imminent Chinese economic superiority - the triumph of Adam Smith over Karl Marx - should arm the old men in Beijing with the confidence to tolerate the growth of religious faith in their midst. But on Easter Sunday, the government turned the observance of Easter into the Chinese fire drill of yore and lore.

The frightened old men of Beijing dispatched swarms of cops, with enough sirens, bells and whistles to answer a train wreck, to an evangelical congregation in Beijing to round up 40 men, women and children on their way to a park to lift their voices in song and praise to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. No one can accuse the Chinese government of enforcing draconian law with a subtle hand. Subtlety is an ancient Chinese art as applied to Szechuan shredded chicken or pork with chef's garlic sauce, the artist's vision and the coinage of proverbs. But not to governing. "Peasants, like lobsters, release their essence only when heads are smashed." Or something like that. Some of the proverbs are subtle, too.

Kathy Lu, a member of the congregation at Shouwang Church, told a correspondent for the Voice of America that many members of the church were arrested. "Around 40 were taken away," she said. "Over 500 members were not allowed to leave their homes. One of the deacons returned to his home last Friday afternoon and the police came to ask him if he planned to attend the Easter Sunday service. He said yes, so the police said, 'From this moment you cannot leave this house.' "

China divides Christians into two categories, "official Christians" who worship unmolested in government-approved churches with government-approved theology, and "others." The official government statistics put the number of "official Christians" at 15 million, but the growth of Christianity in China is a phenomenon of the hounded and persecuted, which by some estimates number 100 million. Some of these congregations, such as Shouwang Church, independent of other Protestant denominations, openly defy the government.

"As Easter is very important to us we must stick to our decision to worship outdoors," Jin Tianming, the senior pastor of Shouwan Church, tells Agence France-Presse. "This is our uncompromising position and a matter of faith. If they arrest our followers, this is the price we are willing to pay." This infuriates the Communist leaders, whose contempt for faith allows no understanding of it. Pastor Tianming's remarks reflect the history of the Christian churches, which often — indeed, usually — thrive best in the face of official suppression. The old men of Beijing may soon be in a place to ask the ancient Romans about that.

The persecution of Christians, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, is growing as the evangelical churches grow ever more swiftly. "In the past five years, every year, the degree of persecution increased, of how many churches were persecuted, how many Christians were arrested, sentenced, abused or tortured," says Mark Shan, spokesman for China Aid, which tracks religious persecution in the Middle Kingdom. "It's a common phenomenon. Every year is like this."

The Chinese government targets any group, religious or not, that looks like it's growing. The persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement emphasizing, among other things, calisthenics and deep breathing in pursuit of "morality and virtue," came to the attention of the world a decade or so ago. The Chinese ambassador to Washington invited me to lunch one day to make sure I understood how evil his government imagined Falun Gong to be. "Do you know," he asked, "that Falun Gong does not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ?"

"Well," I asked, "is it now the policy of your government to recognize that Christ was divine?"

He answered with a rueful frown. "We will talk now of other things."

• Wesley Pruden is editor emeritus of The Washington Times

________________________

(Icon of "the Holy Chinese Martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion" courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery.)

Yodeling Offends Muslims?

Austria: Judge Rules That

Yodeling Offends Muslims

 by Elad Benari

It seems as though in Austria, the popular yodel is an insult to Muslims.

 An Austrian court has recently fined a citizen for yodeling while mowing his lawn, according to a report in The Kronen Zeitung newspaper.

 The citizen, 63-year-old Helmut G., was told by the court that his yodeling offended his next-door Muslim neighbors, who accused him of trying to mock and imitate the call of the Muezzin.

In Muslim tradition, the Muezzin is the chosen person at a mosque who leads the call to prayer at Friday services and the five daily times for prayer from one of the mosque's minarets.

 The yodel is a song which is sung with an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch and makes a high-low-high-low sound. Developed in the Central Alps as a method of communication between alpine mountaineers or between alpine villages, the yodel later became part of the region's traditional lore and musical expression. The technique is used in many cultures throughout the world and Austria is one of the countries where it is most popular.

 Unfortunately for Helmut G., his neighbors were in the middle of a prayer when he started to yodel. The Kronen Zeitung reported that he was fined 800 Euros after judges ruled that he could have tried to offend his neighbors and ridicule their belief.

Helmut G. clarified that “It was not my intention to imitate or insult them. I simply started to yodel a few tunes because I was in such a good mood.”

(IsraelNationalNews.com)

 

 

Remembering the price He paid.......

Litany of the Passion

Author: John Henry Cardinal Newman | Source: NewmanReader.org

LORD, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, "
God the Holy Ghost,
Holy Trinity, one God,

Jesus, the Eternal Wisdom, Have mercy on us.
The Word made flesh, "
Hated by the world,
Sold for thirty pieces of silver,
Sweating blood in Thy agony,
Betrayed by Judas,
Forsaken by Thy disciples,
Struck upon the cheek, {231}
Accused by false witnesses,
Spit upon in the face,
Denied by Peter,
Mocked by Herod,
Scourged by Pilate,
Rejected for Barabbas,
Loaded with the cross,
Crowned with thorns,
Stripped of Thy garments,
Nailed to the tree,
Reviled by the world,
Scoffed at by the malefactor,
Wounded in the side,
Shedding Thy last drop of blood,
Forsaken by Thy Father,
Dying for our sins,
Taken down from the cross,
Laid in the sepulchre,
Rising gloriously,
Ascending into Heaven,
Sending down the Paraclete,
Jesus our Sacrifice,
Jesus our Mediator,
Jesus our Judge,

Be merciful.
Spare us, O Lord.
Be merciful.
Graciously hear us, O Lord.

From all sin, Lord Jesus, deliver us.
From all evil, "
From anger and hatred, {232}
From malice and revenge,
From unbelief and hardness of heart,
From blasphemy and sacrilege,
From hypocrisy and covetousness,
From blindness of the understanding,
From contempt of Thy warnings,
From relapse after Thy judgments,
From danger of soul and body,
From everlasting death,

We sinners, Beseech Thee, hear us.

That Thou wouldest spare us, We beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldest pardon us, "
That Thou wouldest defend Thy Church,
That Thou wouldest bless Thy own,
That Thou wouldest convert Thy foes,
That Thou wouldest spread the truth,
That Thou wouldest destroy error,
That Thou wouldest break to pieces false gods,
That Thou wouldest increase Thy elect,
That Thou wouldest let loose the holy souls in prison,
That Thou wouldest unite us to Thy Saints above,

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, {233}
Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee,
Because through Thy Holy Cross Thou didst redeem the world.

The soon to be desecrated altar?

Richard Vosko wants to try his hand at renovating this space at the Church of St. Charles Borromeo in North Hollywood.

Here's what he did to Our Lady of Lourdes in Oakland.

Here's where the altar used to be..

G*d protect St. Charles Borromeo Church from "Father" Richard Vosko!

Hat Tip to California Catholic daily.

See: http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=c71b96fb-da89-48e9-832c-e92f5911d34f

Vatican gay prostitution ring?

"Papal Gentleman" - Angelo Balducci

Papal aide linked to

Vatican gay prostitution ring

PADDY AGNEW in Rome

Thu, Mar 04, 2010

“AT WHAT time does he have to be back in the seminary?” The question might seem innocent enough, were it not for the fact that the man asking it is a Papal Gentleman, Angelo Balducci, and the man of whom he is asking it is his pimp, Vatican chorister and Nigerian, Chinediu Thiomas Ehiem.

If Italian media sources are to be believed, then the compromising shadow of a highly active gay prostitution ring currently hangs over both the Holy See and unnamed Rome seminary colleges.

The first casualty of this potentially explosive scandal was Thiomas Ehiem, who yesterday was dismissed from the choir of the Cappella Giulia, the choir used in St Peter’s for ceremonies which do not involve the pope.

The Cappella Giulia comes under the auspices of Cardinal Angelo Comastri, arch-priest of St Peter’s.

Vatican sources pointed out that Mr Ehiem was neither a priest nor a seminary student, but a lay member of the choir.

The revelations came to light during investigations into Angelo Balducci, former head of the Italian office of public works, who was arrested last month on suspicion of corruption. This related to the awarding of a series of public contracts for major events such as last year’s G8 Summit in La Maddalena, Sardinia (later moved to L’Aquila), the 2009 World Swimming Championships, and next year’s 150th anniversary celebrations of the Unity of Italy.

Phone taps of the last two years reveal that Mr Balducci regularly contacted two men, Mr Ehiem and Lorenzo Renzi, to ask them to set up “appointments” for him, “appointments” for which he would pay up to €2,000.

Mr Balducci would ask for a description of his “escort”, and would be furnished with details of the man’s height, weight, skin colour, age and sexual availability.

Transcripts of Mr Balducci’s conversations suggest that his “escorts” came from many different backgrounds, with some being illegal immigrants who badly needed money.

Others were seminary students in Rome.

.........................

In the context of the investigation into the office of public works, investigators believe that Mr Balducci systematically abused his position, exacting favours that ranged from a job for his son to the construction of a swimming pool by builders who had been awarded public contracts.

Investigators believe that private sector contracts for last year’s G8 Summit were inflated from an initial €290 million to €600 million.

Papal Gentlemen are those lay attendants of the pope who serve in the papal household, in the Apostolic Palace and in St Peter’s on ceremonial occasions.

© 2010 The Irish Times

For the full article see: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0304/1224265559432.html

The Too Long Goodbye.....

Vatican seeks successor to Cardinal Mahony

The archbishop of the Los Angeles Archdiocese is about to turn 74 and has announced on his blog that this would be his last full year. Some speculate that the Vatican might be seeking a Latino.

February 11, 2010|By Mitchell Landsberg (LA Times)

The Vatican has begun the search for a successor to Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, who is expected to step down early next year as head of the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese.

The archdiocese distributed a memo to priests and lay leaders this week confirming that the search is underway and asking parishes to join in a prayer enlisting God's help in finding "a shepherd who will be an example of goodness to your people and who will fill our hearts and minds with the truth of the Gospel."

The memo surfaced Thursday in a blog, “Whispers in the Loggia,” which closely follows Catholic affairs.

Mahony, who has led the Los Angeles archdiocese for more than two decades, turns 74 on Feb. 27, putting him one year shy of the usual retirement age for his post. The cardinal noted in his blog last month that this would be his last full year as archbishop.

His has been a tumultuous tenure, marked both by his emergence as a leader in the immigrant rights movement and by criticism of his handling of the church's sexual abuse scandals.

There has been speculation that the Vatican may be looking for a Latino successor to Mahony, whose archdiocese, encompassing Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, now has a flock estimated to be 75% Latino.

Tod Tamberg, an arch- diocese spokesman, said there was nothing unusual in the succession announcement.

"It would be normal for the Vatican to have begun gathering names of possible successors for any diocese in which the bishop is celebrating his 74th birthday," he said. "The bishop is talking to his priests and professional staff, who would also know this."

See the full article at: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/11/local/la-me-mahony12-2010feb12

__________________________

I think that Matt Abbott was the first to break this story a few weeks back. Of course quickly denied by the LA Archdiocese at the time.

Hercules had a lesser task cleaning the Augean stables than will Roger Mahony's successor.

We should all pray for the "right" choice.

Bella's Eduardo Verastegui On Abortion, Obama & Proposition 4

[Warning] The video immediately below is graphic (those below it are not)...

Barbara Kralis Asks An Excellent Question In Her New Article...

Click here to read Barbara Kralis' article: How many times do we have to say 'NO' to same-sex marriage?

Click here to read this recent Time Magazine story: The Gay Mafia That's Redefining Liberal Politics