Moving On

As my pastorate ends on July 1 and as I move from San Francisco, I do so with a heavy heart, but I will have happy memories of the six years spent at SS Peter & Paul.

I have been blest with the friendship and love of so many in the parish and out of it. I have had the opportunity to hear from Catholics, and non Catholics not just in San Francisco but all over the world. I believe I have brought light and peace to many. I apologize for any I might have offended.

I have boldly supported our Holy Father and the magisterium of the Church and urged my fellow priests to do the same.

I grieve over the divisions in our Church, which I perceive as a concerted effort to democratize an institution which is not and can never be a democratic organization.

My prayer for San Francisco is that our schools and universities, and in particular our seminaries, adhere completely to the teachings of our Catholic faith. We will be blest with good priests when we deserve to have them!

I will do what I can to stem the tide of socialization of our country, which limits the freedom granted to us by our forefathers.

I will certainly not diminish my effort to support life from its conception to its natural end, and marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

Pray for me as I take up new duties at the Salesian High School, Richmond, Calfornia, in the Diocese of Oakland.

Private parts & Catholics parade in San Francisco

From Spero News:

"Private parts & Catholics parade in San Francisco
Catholics from San Francisco's Most Holy Redeemer parish once again plan to dance and march in the city's gay pride extravaganza. Father John Malloy blows the whistle on errant fellow priests."

Read the whole thing

And when you're done, contact some of those listed in the previous post.

What can we do?

That's what many of you have asked after seeing the scandalous newspaper stories, photos, and video, about the goings on in our Archdiocese. Well, let the Archbishop and his fellow prelates hear you!

Forward the Where are we Going? and "How did we get Here?!" posts to Archbishop Niederauer.

Download the videos of the parades from Quamdiu Domine and forward them. Please make sure to include a caution as to their obscenity.

Forward them to his Assistant Bishop, Ignatius Wang.

Forward them to Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Papal Nuncio to the USA

Forward them to George Wesolek, Director of the "Public Policy and Social Concerns" department of the Archdiocese of San Franciaco.

Forward them to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith

To write: download this PDF (8 megs), and mail it to:

US Nunciature Archbishop Pietro Sambi
3339 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W,
Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: (202) 333-7121Fax: (202) 337-4036

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Piazza del S. Uffizio,
11, 00193 Roma, Italy
Telephone: 06.69.88.33.57 or 06.69.88.34.13
Fax: 06.69.88.34.09

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco
One Peter Yorke Way
San Francisco, CA 94109
Telephone: (415) 614-5500

Remember "Victory Comes to those who fight!"

How Did we Get HERE?!

Back on June 18, we asked about the state of the Archdiocese of San Francisco: "Where are we Going?"

A better question might be "How did we Get HERE?!"

Once again, at least one Catholic parish and Catholic affiliated organizations participated in this year's "Gay Pride" parade, held this past Sunday, in San Francisco.

"Quamdiu Domine?" has video. Be warned, a true recording of the event neccessarily involves obscenity.

"Family Builders by Adoption", the adoption agency that works in partnership with Catholic Charities CYO of San Francisco, also makes an appearance.

The Price is Heavy

There's a bill headed for the governor's desk this week as one more State seeks to eliminate the statue of limitations for civil suits in child sexual abuse cases.

Once again the statute of limitation is front and forward in legislation attempts to strike the Catholic Church. This statement would be bitterly denied by the law makers of Delaware who seek to heal the wounds of innocents sexually abused. It’s not just for the Catholic Church, but for children who were ”in private institutions or in private settings.”

Now the door is open to old allegations. With its two year window for filing, the courts could hear old abuse claims, which were previously barred. It places no time limit on the age of the claims going back fifty years and more!

Public schools, even though abuse is many times greater than in private schools, are exempted once again. Private schools, especially Catholic schools and parishes will pay the price.

Trial lawyers rejoice; here’s another opportunity to fill your pockets!

Death by Decree

Here’s a quote, from the Speaker of the House courtesy of California Catholic Daily:

“Tomorrow, with a single stroke of his cruel veto pen, President Bush will dash the hopes of millions of Americans seeking cures through the miracle of stem cell research,” wrote House Speaker Pelosi on June 19. In vetoing the bill, she continued, “the President will say ‘No’ to the more than 70 percent of Americans who support it, ‘No’ to our Democratic Congress' fight for progress, and ‘No’ to saving lives and to potential cures for diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson's. He will say ‘No’ to hope.”

If our Democratic Congress’ truly believes that the destruction of human embryos should be at the price of saving lives there’s something amiss about their moral values. But then we already knew that --proof again that the Democratic Party has become the Party of Death.

Nancy needs an ethics course. Won’t somebody help her?

We Need You Now

Today is the commemoration of St Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591) whom Don Bosco chose as a patron because of his innocence. Not unlike Don Bosco himself, by age 11 Aloysius was teaching catechism to poor children, fasting three days a week and practicing great austerities.

He entered the Jesuit Order, gave up a princely life and wanted to become a missionary. He spent four years in the study of philosophy and had St. Robert Bellarmine as his spiritual adviser.

In 1591, a plague struck Rome. The Jesuits opened a hospital of their own. Many other Jesuits along with Aloysius rendered personal service. Because he nursed patients, washing them and making their beds, Aloysius caught the disease himself. He maintained his great discipline of prayer, knowing that he would die within the octave of Corpus Christi, three months later. He was 23.

Aloysius seems an unlikely patron of youth in a society where asceticism is confined to training camps of football teams and boxers, and sexual permissiveness. May this young Jesuit inspire all Jesuits and priests and religious to guard their chastity and promote the purity of life that makes this saint a model for all time!

P.S. I wonder what Aloysius must be thinking as he sees his Jesuit Universities promoting a gay life style, or hears one of our parishes praying in the “Prayer of the Faithful:” "For a successful Gay Pride Parade." (Coming to SF Sunday!)

God bless the President

Bush’s third veto has come at moment when the country is once more
focused on the culture of death--embryonic stem cell research.

Rightfully the President declared that human life should not be sacrificed to save human life. Research can be done with stem cell elements that do not demand the sacrifice of a human life. The embryonic cell is human life!

Hilary’s contention that the veto was politically motivated doesn’t fly. Bush is not running for office and no member of his party is going to benefit from such a veto. He has stood up for what is morally right and been denigrated by politicians who support the culture of death. God bless him!

Just Desserts

I’ve learned over the years that you can’t please everyone.

It seems like a simple truism, yet I can’t believe how many people don’t understand this.

The more one tries to please everyone, the more he/she fails to please the Almighty One.

Most people learn it the hard way. It seems to me that politicians are the worst offenders. They try to please everyone, by shaping their views on law and order according to the majority opinion regardless of truth or morals. “As long as I am with the majority I can remain in power.”

Sad to say we, members of the clergy, are also guilty. To preach the gospel of tolerance and respect and love is a sacred duty. And offends no one!

But to include in our preaching the necessity of chastity, and reconciliation and Mass attendance appears for many to be too demanding!

What’s the solution?

In the political field we must become interested participants in the social battle by electing men and women, who respect moral values. Remember what Plato said: The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves.

In the realm of religion; pray for good priests and Brothers and Sisters.
Remember folks, we get what we deserve!

Where are we going?

On May 21, 2007, the "San Francisco Chronicle" ran an article ("SF's Same-sex couples asked to adopt foster kids.") about the recruiting effort by the city of San Francisco to find homosexual couples to adopt children. In the body of the article was the sentence: "Aiding San Francisco with its recruitment effort is Family Builders, an Oakland nonprofit adoption agency with which the city contracted to match parents with kids."

"Family Builders by Adoption" is a name familiar to Bay Area Catholics.

That article provoked this lengthy post.

From 2006: "In an adroit end-run against a Vatican ban on granting adoptions to same-sex couples, Catholic Charities of San Francisco will launch a new project in coming weeks that experts say will lead to the placement of hundreds of foster children around the state every year. . . Next month, the collaboration formally begins between Catholic Charities CYO and California Kids Connection, a statewide adoption exchange run by the Oakland-based nonprofit Family Builders by Adoption. . . . . '"

'When Catholic Charities first approached us, I was very hesitant. My organization has a long history of serving the gay, lesbian and transgender community. It was really ironic -- I had to make sure that our (!) integrity and values were not compromised.' -Jill Jacobs, Executive Director, Family Builders.

"There will be critics who say that kids will still be placed with same-sex couples,'' said (Brian) Cahill, (Executive Director, Catholic Charities CYO) who is planning "an aggressive recruitment'' of potential adoptive parents among the archdiocese's parishes. "That is true -- the largest potential number of adoptive parents in the foster care system are gay and lesbian couples. But this is what we are supposed to be doing. This is the work of the church."- Excerpts from "Catholic agency finds way out of adoption ban. Alliance with other groups gets around same-sex parent issue." San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday, August 27, 2006. It should be mentioned that the Director of Services and Programs for Catholic Charities of San Francisco, Mr. Glenn Motola, also sits on the Board of Directors of Family Builders by Adoption.

On Monday, May 28, 2007, Family Builders by Adoption runs the following ad in the SF Chronicle:

The full-page ad was part of an ad campaign around the San Francisco Bay Area.

The website "California Catholic Daily" followed up the May 21, 2007 story and the May 28 ad campaign, with a story of their own "An Act of Moral Violence" on May 28, 2007. Some excerpts:

"'I think Catholic Charities in San Francisco is very supportive of all our work, they're just restrained by church edicts," said Jill Jacobs, executive director of Family Builders.

Catholic Charities had no comment on the ad campaign, but praised Family Builders.

'We greatly admire the work of Family Builders by Adoption, and that is why we have partnered with them on the California Kids Connection Web site, to help find adoptive homes for the most vulnerable children in the foster care system,' stated Executive Director Brian Cahill in an e-mail….

The Archdiocese of San Francisco did not respond to requests for comment on the campaign.'"

This post is an attempt to chronicle how and why the Archdiocese of San Francisco found itself unable to comment on the city of San Francisco's aggressive push to have children adopted by homosexual couples.

The controversy over the Catholic Charities/CYO facilitating of adoptions by same-sex couples is only one in an ongoing series of events. Simple sustained attention shows that there has been a relentless advancing of a "gay" agenda in the Archdiocese. Each "compromise" made by the Archdiocese, no matter how well-intentioned, was in fact a retreat. Then the position retreated to became the new ground from which further "compromises" were demanded. The main protagonists in this are Catholic Charities, the University of San Francisco/the Jesuits, and a few Catholic parishes. A chronological sample:

The Beginning:

On February 6, 1997, Archbishop William Levada grants domestic partnerships benefits to the gay employees of Catholic Charities. He does this in order to retain funding for Catholic Charities from the city of San Francisco. The Archbishop justifies this as part of a larger plan, one that will allow any non-married person to name another person with whom they live as a beneficiary. Since the Archbishop's generous plan was only announced after the threatened cancellation of funding, a reasonable person would conclude that the plan was developed as a response to the threat, not on its own merits. It is, in our opinion, a total cave-in to San Francisco's powerful gay lobby. San Francisco gay activist/Supervisor Tom Ammiano understands this perfectly well: "'I think this is a very positive step for the two entities -- the archdiocese and the city -- to try to coexist without devaluing each other's principles,'' Ammiano said." - SF Chronicle, 2/7/1997. Just how interested Supervisor Ammiano is in not "devaluing" the Church's principles will become evident in the years ahead.

"Gay Pride" in the Archdiocese:

Starting in the 1990s, things go on at Most Holy Redeemer Church in San Francisco that one would not normally expect in a Catholic Church... More than once, clergy and parishioners officially represent Most Holy Redeemer, with banners, t-shirts, and an official contingent, in San Francisco's "Gay Pride" parade. The video below shows the participation of Most Holy Redeemer Church and St. Agnes ' Church in the 2005 & 2006 parades.

We must warn you that parts of this video are obscene; nevertheless, we do not apologize for posting it.

Most Holy Redeemer will have a contingent at the parade again this year, on Sunday, June 24. Please follow this link to their webpage promoting the event.

One picture is worth 1,000 words (follow link) : Sunday Mass lets out at Most Holy Redeemer Church.

One picture is worth 1,000 words (follow link): Most Holy Redeemer Pastor and (at that time) Archdiocesan Chancellor Fr. Steven Meriwether blesses parishioners on their way to the 2006 "Gay Pride" parade.

One picture is worth 1,000 words (follow link): Fr. Meriwether is currently the head of the "Ecumenical & Interreligious Affairs" Department of the Archdiocese.

St. Agnes Church in San Francisco, staffed by Jesuits, also has parishioners officially representing St. Agnes with an banner in the Gay Pride parade. Not only that, the Pastor himself, Fr. Cameron Ayers, attends the parade (see video link, above).

The University of San Francisco: Jesuit Education

On February 12, 2006 the University of San Francisco's "Lesbian Bisexual Gay Transgender Caucus" sponsors a seminar hostile to the Church. The seminar is held at Most Holy Redeemer on February 12, 2006, and is entitled "Is it Ethical to be Catholic?" The University, a Jesuit Institution, funds this group. Information about the event, as well as a complete transcript, may be found here.

On March 26, 2006 the University of San Francisco’s LGBTQ Caucus sponsors a seminar at St. Agnes Parish: “Alienated Catholics: Establishing the Groundwork for Dialogue.” A sample:

“Thus, despite coming up against Magisterial teachings to the contrary, the alienation which homosexual catholics experience is not rooted in that which they believe to be intrinsic to Christian tradition itself, but rather, is associated with an erroneous interpretation of tradition imposed by the teaching authorities of the church. To put it plainly, we simply disagree with the church’s interpretation of Scripture and Tradition which we otherwise experience as affirming.” -Dr. Vincent A. Pizzuto, Assistant Professor Theology and Religious Studies, USF

Same-sex Adoptions:

In 2005 it is revealed that branches of "Catholic Charities," including those in Boston and San Francisco, have been facilitating the adoption of children by same-sex couples. In 2003, the Vatican had insisted such adoptions stop, but that order had been ignored. In 2005-6, the Archdiocese of Boston finally complies. By doing this, it loses funding from the state of Massachusetts. In early 2006, the Archdiocese of San Francisco also says it will comply.

On March 21, 2006, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors issue a non-binding resolution, authored by Supervisor Tom Ammiano. It reads, in part: "It is an insult to all San Franciscans when a foreign country, like the Vatican, meddles with and attempts to negatively influence this great city's existing and established customs and traditions, such as the right of same-sex couples to adopt and care for children in need." (Supervisors Slam Vatican on Adoptions; San Francisco Chronicle, March 22, 2006) The article continues: "'It appears that Catholic Charities is trying to find a creative solution such as that one [the domestic partners "compromise" of 1997] when it comes to adoptions', said Supervisor Tom Ammiano, a gay Catholic, parent and grandparent who wrote the resolution adopted Tuesday." Once again, Supervisor Ammiano proves to have an admirably clear understanding of the dynamic situation.

In 2006, San Francisco gets a new Archbishop, George Niederauer. He is now faced with a similar challenge to the one faced by Archbishop Levada back in 1997: either allow Catholic Charities to allow adoptions by same-sex couples, or Catholic Charities will lose city and state funding. His response is similar to Levada's. On August 3, 2006, the San Francisco Chronicle reports: "Catholic Charities plans to collaborate with both California Kids Connection, a network provided by the nonprofit Oakland-based Family Builders by Adoption, and the state Social Services department, which oversees the welfare of 82,000 foster children. Archbishop George Niederauer said that the new partnership would still allow children to be placed with gay and lesbian couples. 'That would be a decision that would be made by the adoption agency,' Niederauer said. 'We can no longer run an agency that makes those decisions.'"

In fact, Catholic Charities, an arm of the Archdiocese, will actually supply staffing to "Family Builders." And who are "Family Builders"? "We're about the gayest adoption agency in the country," Jill Jacobs, director of Family Builders by Adoption (which runs the network California Kids Connection), told the Bay Area Reporter, a homosexual newspaper. Jacobs confidently said that the new partnership poses no risk to its pro-homosexual policies since she had made it clear to Catholic Charities "who we were, and that in our own adoption program more than half the families we serve are LGBT families." -"A Distinction without a Difference", Catholic World Report. Again, it is probably worthy of mention that the Director of Services and Programs for Catholic Charities of San Francisco, Mr. Glenn Motola, also sits on the Board of Directors of Family Builders by Adoption.

On February 9, 2007, Archbishop Niederauer is interviewed on KCBS radio. Among other things, he comments on the adoptions "compromise": "… and I'm really very happy with the decision made by the Catholic Charities CEO, on that, was to work with the program on the Internet for finding homes for children, posting their pictures and being able to guide people who would be interested in this particular child to an adoption agency which could handle the situation." The transcript of the interview may be read here.

Blasphemous Bingo:

Beginning in October, 2006, Most Holy Redeemer Church begins hosting "Revival Bingo" on the first Thursday of the month in their basement hall. "Revival Bingo" is hosted by a group called the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence." This group has been around for many years. Their chosen identity consists in the mockery of Catholic Sisters. The "Bingo" offers prizes such as spankings for the lucky winners. The November 2, 2006 bingo is MC'd by a person named "Peaches Christ," who claims to be a direct descendant of Jesus. The "Bingo" takes place in the same building that houses the Blessed Sacrament.

Two "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence"

One Picture is worth 1,000 words (follow link): Fun on Bingo Night

News of this event sparked nationwide outrage among Catholics. Various Catholic blogs publicized this, and, as a result, the Archdiocese directs Most Holy Redeemer to discontinue the Bingo. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence issued a press release expressing "shock and surprise" at this: "The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence believe that our commitment to giving is in alignment with the philosophy of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, which represents a cross-section of the San Francisco population. It is unfortunate and extremely disappointing that this appears not to be the case, and that our shared values cannot overcome our differences of opinion when it comes to how we serve the community."

MHR Goes Global:

On April 29, 2007, the BBC World Service airs a "Gay Service" from Most Holy Redeemer. A transcript can be read here. As this is on the BBC's website, it has worldwide circulation. The Archdiocese issues a statement saying it did not know of the event, and had not approved it.

And this brings us back to where we began, and what provoked this post:

On Monday, May 21, 2007 the San Francisco Chronicle runs a long story on same-sex adoptions:

Excerpt: "Today, the San Francisco Department of Human Services is starting a campaign to recruit more people like the VanGundy's (two gay men) to adopt foster kids, especially teens, who are among the hardest to place. The agency sees gays and lesbians as an underutilized pool of potential parents. . . . Aiding San Francisco with its recruitment effort is Family Builders, an Oakland nonprofit adoption agency with which the city contracted to match parents with kids."

And, again, from California Catholic Daily:

"The Archdiocese of San Francisco did not respond to requests for comment on the campaign."

If you'd like to share your feelings about this:

US Nunciature
Archbishop Pietro Sambi
3339 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W,
Washington, DC, USA
Telephone: (202) 333-7121Fax: (202) 337-4036

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Piazza del S. Uffizio,
11, 00193
Roma, Italy
Telephone: 06.69.88.33.57 or 06.69.88.34.13 Fax: 06.69.88.34.09

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco
One Peter Yorke Way
San Francisco, CA 94109
Telephone: (415) 614-5500
E-mail: info@sfarchdiocese.org

Abortion and Canon Law

Yes there are mortal sins (there is a hell!) and there is excommunication in the cases under consideration.

Are you looking for a clear explanation of Canon Law and the Abortion issue?

Check Mysterium Fidei with its discussion of Canons 1398 (procuring an abortion) and 751 (heresy).

Same-sex marriage in Mass

An article in the Boston Herald of Tuesday, June 12, by Peter Meade and Rosanne Bacon Meade drew some very disturbing and illogical conclusions, it seems to me, in support of the recently enacted legalization of same-sex marriage. Lifesite News reported that Mr. Meade is the former chair of "Catholic Charities in Boston and currently serves as a lay advisor to Cardinal O'Malley.

Their reasons to support the disavowal of a popular vote in favor of legislative action were punctured by examples of: (1) such legislative actions as the Supreme Court’s ruling in 1954 (Brown vs. Board of Education) throwing out the notion of separate but equal schools for blacks and whites; (2) the evolution of social change in America, citing the election of a Catholic president, in spite of the history of the Know Nothing Party which worked so mightily to prevent Catholics from holding office; (3) a Mary Dyer hanged for her religious beliefs in 1660; (4) the Black Regiment which fought with distinction in the Civil War.

The authors: “Though their times were very different, the men of the 54th, Mary Dyer and Catholic politicians were all denied fundamental freedoms; freedoms we now widely recognize were unjustly denied. Social evolution in our country is often slow but it carries an immense power.”

The problem with this reasoning is the failure to distinguish between God-given rights and Man-made laws. The cases cited are recognized as unjust. We believe that certain rights are inalienable and so declared in our Constitution. For example, slavery was always bad, even when condoned. Unjust war was always bad, no matter where the battlefield. Illicit sexual acts are always evil, even when legal. Discrimination based on color or sex is wrong.

But marriage is a sacred union of one man and one woman. To change its definition seems both unreasonable and immoral.

But, at least, I say, let the voters of Massachusetts decide this and not a few liberal lawmakers.

Why are they throwing brickbats at God?

There are many to seek to eliminate God and religion from our lives. We live in a world that has found a new religion: secularism. With our science we can master the universe. We really do not need God any longer. I found this article, by Margaret Sommerville, in CERC http://www.catholiceducation.org/ (Bi-Weekly production of my good Canadian friend, J. Fraser Field)

The author states that Richard Dawkins has done more than all religious people together to put God on the current public agenda.

He is on a highly publicized, international campaign to convince the world that "religion is the root of all evil". I think he’s seriously misguided, at best, and that his campaign is dangerous. Here are just a few of the reasons I think that.

Terry Eagleton, an eminent literary scholar, reviewing Dawkins’ book, The God Delusion, in the London Review of Books, says that Dawkins’ writing on theology and is equivalent to someone writing on science whose sole familiarity with science is The Book of British Birds. ..Dawkins confuses religion and the use of religion — I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt intellectually and assume he does so deliberately — in order to promote his thesis that religion is evil. Religion itself is not evil — just as science is not evil — but it can be used for evil purposes, just as science can.

Using religion to convince the 9/11 terrorists to commit mass murder by knocking down the World Trade Towers was a profoundly evil use of religion. Using airplanes to carry out that evil was a profoundly evil use of aeronautical science. However, Dawkins looks only at the evil uses of religion — never the good it effects — and only the good uses of science — never the harms it does. A balanced ethical approach requires us to recognise both the goods and harms of both religion and science, and to try to stop the evil uses and to promote the good ones of each. ...

(Margaret Sommerville AM, FRSC is an Australian/Canadian ethicist and academic. She is the Samuel Gale Professor of Law, Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, and the Founding Director of the Faculty of Law's Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law at McGill University.)

The Heart

'Tomorrow morning,' the surgeon began,
'I'll open up your heart...'

'You'll find Jesus there,' the boy interrupted.

The surgeon looked up, annoyed
'I'll cut your heart open,' he continued,
to see how much damage has been done...'

'But when you open up my heart, you'll
find Jesus in there,' said the boy.

The surgeon looked to the parents,
who sat quietly. 'When I see how much
damage has been done, I'll sew your
heart and chest back up, and I'll plan
what to do next.'

'But you'll find Jesus in my heart.
The Bible says He lives there.
The hymns all say He lives there.
You'll find Him in my heart.'

The surgeon had had enough.
'I'll tell you what I'll find in your heart.
I'll find damaged muscle, low blood
supply, and weakened vessels.
And I'll find out if I can make you well.'

'You'll find Jesus there too. He lives there.'

The surgeon left.

The surgeon sat in his office, recording his notes from the surgery,
'...damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary vein,
widespread muscle degeneration.
No hope for transplant, no hope for cure. Therapy:
painkillers and bed rest. Prognosis:
here he paused, 'death within one year.'

He stopped the recorder, but there was
more to be said. 'Why?' he asked aloud.
'Why did You do this? You've put
him here; You've put him in this pain;
and You've cursed him to an early death. Why?'

The Lord answered and said, 'The boy,
my lamb, was not meant for your flock for long,
for he is a part of My flock, and will forever be.
Here, in My flock, he will feel no pain,
and will be comforted as you cannot imagine.

His parents will one day join him here,
and they will know peace, and
My flock will continue to grow.'

The surgeon's tears were hot, but his
anger was hotter. 'You created that
boy, and You created that heart.
He'll be dead in months. Why?'

The Lord answered, 'The boy, My lamb,
shall return to My flock,
for He has done his duty:
I did not put My lamb with your flock to lose him,
but to retrieve another lost lamb.'

The surgeon wept...

The surgeon sat
beside the boy's bed;
the boy's parents sat across from him.
The boy awoke and whispered,
'Did you cut open my heart?'

'Yes,' said the surgeon.
'What did you find?' asked the boy.

'I found Jesus there,' said the surgeon.

(Author Unknown)

Life or Death?

The three top Democratic contenders for the presidency in the recent television appearance proclaimed their faith in God and how it sustained them in their trials and tribulations: infidelity in the White House, cancer in the family, the horrors of 9/11 and Abu Ghraib.

Look beneath the veneer. Does their faith include the acceptance of life—from conception to its natural end?

One cannot be a "good" politician and support abortion. It’s really as simple as that!

Nancy, the "Good" Catholic

Here's a great post from Traditional Values Coalition

Speaker Of The House Claims Stem Cell Research ‘Gift of God’June 14, 2007 –

During recent debate on passage of embryonic stem cell legislation in the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated: “Science is a gift of God to all of us and science has taken us to a place that is biblical in its power to cure … And that is embryonic stem cell research.”

“This is one of the most biblically unbalanced statements I have ever heard,” said TVC Executive Director Andrea Lafferty. “This makes a complete mockery of the beautiful God-given gift of reproduction and the creation of babies. To assert that the killing of human embryos for their stem cells is from God, is to shake a fist in God’s face. The deliberate killing of human embryos for their stem cells is nothing less than technological cannibalism. Should we remind Pelosi that science was used for incredibly evil purposes by Nazi doctors on their grisly experiments with Jewish prisoners? We’re traveling down that same path with the harvesting of the stem cells of human embryos.”

Lightning Strikes

Lightning struck twice last week as the political debates warmed up, as reported by LifeSite.

Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, of Rhode Island had publicly compared Giuliani's refusal to oppose abortion to Pontius Pilate's role in the crucifixion of Christ. (God bless him!)

Rudy Giuliani took the microphone to answer questions about sharp criticism of his abortion position.

View YouTube clip of the lightning strike during Giuliani’s statement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibqwKb4cCsg

Homosexuality for Sale

Here's how it's done in America, especially in San Francisco:

SELLING HOMOSEXUALITY IN AMERICA . . . The homosexual lobby or elite in this country has a sophisticated, effective program to change the way Americans think about sodomy and perverted sex.

From an article in Homelitic & Pastoral Review:
Fr. Val J. Peter, moral theologian and Executive Director Emeritus of Fr. Flanagan’s Boys’ Home in Nebraska, explains how the program works and how successful it has been in blunting any opposition to homosexual activity.

The first phase is desensitization by presenting homosexuals as normal, good people.

The second phase is “jamming,” that is, psychological terrorism against those who oppose them (calling them homophobic, bigots, etc.).

The third phase is conversion and acceptance. And it all takes place without people realizing what is happening to them.

From the Pulpit!

Photo courtesy Kelly Connelly

Although Fr. Malloy will officially be the Pastor of Saints Peter and Paul until July 2, we had the "going away" Mass and reception on Sunday, June 10. He used the old pulpit.

Boy, did the people love it!

Posted by Gibbons Cooney.

A Good Atheist!

I read an interesting article in Zenit a few days ago concerning a record breaking educational scholarship donation for inner-city children from Robert Wilson.

Wilson, a philanthropist and former Wall Street investor, gave the money to the Cardinal's Scholarship Program, started in 2005, to aid disadvantaged students.

Wilson, 80, told Bloomberg News, that, although an atheist, he has no problem giving money to fund Catholic schools, and said:

"Let's face it, without the Roman Catholic Church, there would be no Western civilization. Shunning religious organizations would be abhorrent."

Wilson added, "It was a chance for a very modest amount of money to get kids out of a lousy school system and into a good school system."

Would that this fair city of San Francisco spawn such giving friends of parochial schools—especially ours here at the parish of SS Peter and Paul!

God bless this atheist!

Another anonymous donor, after learning of Wilson's gift, gave an additional $4.5 million to the program.

Tell it to Lincoln!

A great letter in this weeks "Catholic San Francisco":

At Expense of Unborn?

In Father Ken Weare's May 25 comments regarding Nancys Pelosi's stance on abortion, we see a textbook example of a priest giving cover to Catholic politicians who support abortion. Within the context of a divided if not uneducated populace, he says, the forced establishment of laws contrary to the common morality could be detrimental. Some choose to move more slowly, attempting to educate before they legislate, even at the expense of the unborn.

So that means politicians should wait until the polls favor moral and ethical behavior before they act to end injustice? Tell that to Abraham Lincoln who did not wait for public opinion against slavery to be unanimous before he fought a war to end that injustice. Should Hitler have been permitted to slaughter the Jews until the uneducated world came around to his way of thinking about the desirability of a master race?

Just law is not based on public opinion or the common morality of the day. It is based on truth. Truth is constant and eternal, unlike culture.When politicians attribute their actions to the time or place in which they live, they abdicate all sense of personal responsibility for their actions. Since they are elected to uphold the common good, politicians especially are challenged to uphold moral absolutes in a changing cultural context.

It is only the saddest of our elected officials who jump on the common morality bandwagon and accept evil instead of working for good. And clergymen who attempt to provide justification for the actions of politicians like Nancy Pelosi's, do them no favor. I doubt that there are any arguments in favor of slaughtering the unborn--even just a temporary slaughter--that will work in eternity.

Eva Muntean, Co Chair
Walk for Life West Coast
San Francisco

Great Expectations!

I received this url from a goood friend.
The immigration bill is a debacle.
Here's a common sense appraisal and I could not agree more.

"Common sense is being strikingly disregarded. And most of the politically correct media are loath to puncture the fantasies of the reformistas. The result is that a majority of the discussion is pointless, and unusually few people have been either informed or persuaded by all the public discourse. The scandalous immigration crisis has been joined by the scandalous immigration bill debate:

link:http://www.realclearpolitics.com/printpage/?url=http:/"/www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/06/the_neglected_truths_of_the_im.html

Where are the Aces?

I read with great disappointment the letter that 7 Bishops’ Conferences sent to the G8 Leaders on May 31st. The letter was signed by the leaders of conferences in Germany, France, England, Japan, the Russian Federation, Canada, and United States. (Italy did not sign.)

The thousand word letter touched on many important issues, all politically correct, with a careful avoidance, it seemed to me, of anything that might be controversial:. “As you prepare to attend the G8 Summit in Germany, we write on behalf of the Bishops’ Conferences of our respective countries to urge you to take bold action on global poverty, health care, climate change and peace and security. We also urge you to work towards greater access to quality education for all.”

A fine beginning as a first statement!

More than one fourth of the letter went on to speak of Africa: education, HIV/AIDS prevention; and healthcare. Proper reference was made, of course, to global climate change and our concern thereof. Then special mention followed concerning Darfur and Sudan; the need to control arms dealing; the illegal exploitation of natural resources.

But as the cards were dealt, where were the Aces: life, marriage, family, and religious liberty?

No mention was made of abortion, same-sex marriages, and immigration problems.

“We urge you to take bold action on healthcare, global poverty, climate change…” say these bishops. Should they not have been more specific?

Peace and justice will come into our world when we all stand up for it in word and action, but it has to begin with respect for life and family.

I quote from John Henry Weston’s article in LifeSite of June 5th:

“What is not said to the G8, what our religious leaders need to stand up and tell them, is that the smallest, weakest, and most discriminated class of humanity - pre-born children - are being slaughtered in your countries and this crime against humanity must stop!

“When people speak out on the environment, poverty, health care, peace and security they are applauded and highly regarded. Raise the spectre of rights of the unborn and protection for the traditional family and you are regarded as a pariah and a simpleton.”

Why Don't Catholics vote as Catholics?

My great regret is the lack of knowledge of God in our society. Personally I find it hard to understand how anyone can believe that there is no God. Equally difficult for me to believe is how we can know God and ignore His precepts. And how sad that Catholics can claim the name and ignore the rules.

Unfortunately the “culture of death” syndrome has once again reared its ugly head. Our Catholic lawmakers were not there to stem the tide. Even though the human cloning bill was defeated in the house by a vote of 204-213, “The Stem-Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007” was approved by the House 247-176.

Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia wrote a letter to congressmen: “Embryonic stem-cell research has been as disappointing in its results as it has been divisive to our society. Pursuit of this destructive research will almost certainly require you to embrace more and more egregious violation of moral norms in the effort to bring its ‘promise’ to fruition.”

Thanks be to God, our president has vowed to veto the bill saying: it “puts scientific research into conflict, rather than supporting a balanced approach that advocates scientific and medical frontiers without violating moral principles.”

If Catholic members of the Senate and Congressmen had voted with an understanding of the moral implications there would have been no contest—the “culture of life” would have triumphed!

We Catholics have to support Catholic principles and send Catholics to Washington who uphold them. It is not an “us” vs. “them” issue; it’s a matter of life and death; It’s upholding the great American principle: “Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness.”

A Player in Church Terms

Last weekend brought me in contact with several hundred of my former parishioners at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Surrey, B.C. I also had an opportunity to visit the flourishing school still celebrating the 120 newly confirmed young children. It is always a delight to visit the classes. I only wish I had had more time to do so here at SS Peter & Paul’s. Those smiling and happy faces cheer my heart and nourish my hope.

My trip was a response to an urgent call to attend an auction- banquet to raise money for Salesian work among the poorest of the poor in Tijuana, Mexico.

Vancouver is a booming city. It now boasts over 400,000 Catholics, fueled mostly by immigration. Our Surrey Parish, with seven masses each Sunday and as many as three Saturday evening, serves several ethnic, working class groups. Sunday collections have reached $30,000!

The Catholic faith is firm in the beautiful city of Vancouver. Priests are strongly united with their Archbishop. I worked closely with Archbishop Adam Exert, O.M.I. for the eleven years I was in Canada. He has since retired. The present Archbishop moved from the Victoria Diocese to Vancouver a couple of years ago. Archbishop Raymond Roussin has not enjoyed good health recently and Pope Benedict has assigned him a Coadjutor.

The local press announced: “With the arrival of Archbishop Miller in Vancouver Western Canada will get a ‘player in church terms.’ While bishops are closing parishes in the east the challenges is copping with the influx of church going Catholics, who bring a vibrant faith. If this continues,” the paper reported, “it will not be long before British Columbia gets its first Cardinal and Michael Miller would be an ideal candidate.”

Archbishop Miller is a member of the Basilian Order and as Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education in the Vatican made international headlines when his Congregation issued the now famous statement barring men with deep seated homosexual tendencies from entering the priesthood. He also drew wide coverage when he suggested strengthening a Vatican push to insure more educators at Catholic schools and parishes are officially licensed by local bishops—which critics hailed as leading to a lack of academic freedom.

One writer hailed Miller, born Canada (but took out a US citizenship): “an intellectual who is very orthodox. The Pope can trust him to carry out the mission of reinforcing a traditional Catholic identity.”

I was delighted to learn that our Holy Father will be strengthening this bastion of Catholicity on our West Coast.

No to Physician Assisted Suicide!

Bill May, Chairman of "Catholics for the Common Good", will be interviewed by Bob Dunning on the "Bishop's Hour" at 9:00 AM, Tuesday, June 5. The discussion will focus on the the threat of Assembly Bill 374, the "Death with Dignity" bill, which is the latest assualt in the physician-assisted suicide battle in the State of California. The California Catholic Bishops totally oppose this bill.

The "Bishop's Hour" can be heard on Immaculate Heart Radio Network stations or online live at http://www.ihradio.org/live.m3u Bill will also be a guest on "Across the Nation," broadcast at 11:00 AM PDT on The Catholic Channel operated by the Archdiocese of New York. This show can only be heard on Sirius Radio.

To learn more about "Catholics for the Common Good", and to find out how you can make your voice heard in protecting the vulnerable among us, go here.

From the Pastor's Desk . . .

We have heard a lot about love in our post-Easter readings. “Love one another as I have loved you,” said the Lord. “Love your enemies, Do good to those who hate you." Following is a simple illustration of love in practice. It’s a story I picked from a source unknown.

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the four pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.

“Mister,” he said, “I want to buy one of your puppies.”

“Well,” said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, “These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.”

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.

“I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?”

“Sure,” said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. “Here, Dolly!” he called. Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly, followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight! As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then, in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up....

“I want that one,” the little boy said, pointing to the runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy’s side and said, “Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.”

With that, the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so, he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg, attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.”

With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup. Holding it carefully, he handed it to the little boy. “How much?” asked the little boy. “No charge,” answered the farmer, “There’s no charge for love.”

The world is full of people who need someone who understands. Show your friends how much you care.

"Never underestimate the power of one faithful priest . . ."

As news of Fr. Malloy's departure as Pastor from SS. Peter and Paul gets around, words of love come in from all over:

Never underestimate the power of one faithful and courageous priest!

I met Fr. Malloy 3 years ago. Gavin Newsom was granting marriage licenses to same sex couples and we the faithful were beside ourselves about what to do. We wanted to make some public stand and let the country know that there was another voice in San Francisco - a true Catholic voice. We needed a pastor who would allow us to stage an event from his church. When our small group met with Bill May for the first time, he told us about an activist priest - the pastor of Sts Peter and Paul. I telephoned Fr. Malloy and he immediately scheduled a time to meet with me. I planned what I was going to say to him and how I'd convince him to help us. (Clearly, I didn't know Fr. Malloy.) I'll never forget sitting in his office, a big black cat on the desk, and Fr. Malloy taking out his calendar and saying, "What day did you have in mind? I don't care if I go to jail."

In that first meeting we planned the first ever Marriage and Family Rally - staged from Sts. Peter and Paul Church - a Catholic voice was being heard in the public square of San Francisco for the first time in decades. It was a first for us all including the Archbishop who had never before addressed a crowd of inspired, motivated Catholics on the streets of San Francisco. Ambassador Ray Flynn joined us from Boston and it was the first time many us met Oakland's Bishop Vigneron - who concelebrated mass and delivered the homily.

I'll never forget his words "Do not be afraid because GOD IS GOD!" 1,200 people joined us that day as we walked around North Beach led by Fr. Malloy, Ray Flynn and the Archbishop (escorted by the San Francisco Police Dept.) carrying a banner calling for the promotion, protection, and preservation of marriage and family.

Because of the success of this event in April of 2004, our group was encouraged enough to plan a pro-life event for the following January 22, 2005 - the Walk for Life. 7,000 the first year, 15,000 the 2nd and this last year saw upward of 20,000 pro-life activists walking through the streets of San Francisco - who would of thought it possible? Fr. Malloy not only thought it possible, Fr. Malloy, with the ever present counsel of the Holy Spirit and Gibbons, made it possible. Naturally, Fr. Malloy is the chaplain of the Walk for Life.

When Our Lord spoke about the shepherd who is willing to die for his flock, He was surely looking forward about 2,000 years to His beloved servant Fr. Malloy. I will miss him fiercely in his role as pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church; I can't imagine the bulletin without his column, but if he thinks that he is going to rest on his laurels in retirement, he has another think coming. We have adopted him for life - he is our shepherd!

Never underestimate the power of one faithful priest who steps out in courage with the Lord on his side! I love you Fr. Malloy and I am forever thankful to God for your presence in my (our) life.

Your daughter in Christ,

Dolores Meehan

Dolores Meehan is the co-founder of the "Walk for Life West Coast"

"Tell me what you honor and I will tell you what you are."

Our friends over at "Ignatius Insight" have re-posted an excellent article: "Catholic Commencements and Pro-Abortion Politicians" by Fr. James Schall, SJ.

And Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, over at Don Giacomo's website, provides some insight on a similar subject.

And Quintero over at L.A. Catholic reminds us that today is the Feast of St. Charles Lwanga. It's timely reading.

Authentic Slaughterhouses

Our Salesian Archbishop Amato, working with Cardinal Levada at the Vatican, is a man after my own heart. He ignited a firestorm when he told a group of airport chaplains that abortion is just as evil as killing innocent bystanders in a suicide attack.

Amato further cited: “abortion clinics as authentic slaughterhouses of budding human beings” and “the laboratories where, for example, RU486, the morning after pill, is made or where human embryos are manipulated as if they were simple biological material.”

In a recent interview he referred to what is called “terrorism with a human face.” This type of terrorism is deceptively propagandized by the media, skillfully manipulates traditional language and creates expressions which hide the tragic reality of the facts. For example “abortion is described as the “voluntary termination of pregnancy” and not what it is, namely the killing of a defenseless human being; an abortion clinic is described as “center of reproductive health; euthanasia is described a “death with dignity.”
Terms which present as good that which is intrinsically evil.

Unfortunately the manipulation works. Even faithful Catholics are deceived.