(Excerpts of an article written by Sam Miller, prominent Cleveland Jewish businessman - NOT Catholic) Submitted by Dee Lynd
Why would newspapers carry on a vendetta on one of the most important institutions that we have today in the United States, namely the Catholic Church?
Do you know - the Catholic Church educates 2.6 million students everyday at the cost to your Church of 10 billion dollars, and a savings on the other hand to the American taxpayer of 18 billion dollars. Your graduates go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%, all at a cost to you. To the rest of the Americans it's free.
The Church has 230 colleges and universities in the U.S. with an enrollment of 700,000 students. The Catholic Church has a non-profit hospital system of 637 hospitals, which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people - n ot just Catholics - in the United States today.
But the press is vindictive and trying to totally denigrate in every way the Catholic Church in this country. They have blamed the disease of pedophilia on the Catholic Church, which is as irresponsible as blaming adultery on the institution of marriage.
Let me give you some figures that you as Catholics should know and remember. For example, 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other inappropriate sexual contact in a study by the United Methodist Church, 41.8 % of clergywomen reported unwanted sexual behavior; 17% of laywomen have been sexually harassed. Meanwhile, 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. 10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia.
This is not a Catholic Problem. A study of American priests showed that most are happy in the priesthood and find it even better than they had expected, and that most, if given the choice, would choose to be priests again in face of all this obnoxious PR the church has been receiving.
The Catholic Church is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. The agony that Catholics have felt and suffered is not necessarily the fault of the Church. You have been hurt by a small number of wayward priests that have probably been totally weeded out by now.
Walk with your shoulders high and you head higher. Be a proud member of the most important non-governmental agency in the United States. Then remember what Jeremiah said: 'Stand by the roads, and look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and find rest for your souls'. Be proud to speak up for your faith with pride and reverence and learn what your Church does for all other religions. Be proud that you're a Catholic.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Guilani Needs Repentance
Today’s National Catholic Register has this note of interest:
In light of Rudy Giuliani receiving the Eucharist during the Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Archdiocese of New York released the following comment from Cardinal Edward Egan this morning. I received the statement from Joe Zwilling, director of communications for the archdiocese.
“The Catholic Church clearly teaches that abortion is a grave offense against the will of God. Throughout my years as Archbishop of New York, I have repeated this teaching in sermons, articles, addresses, and interviews without hesitation or compromise of any kind. Thus it was that I had an understanding with Mr. Rudolph Giuliani, when I became Archbishop of New York and he was serving as Mayor of New York, that he was not to receive the Eucharist because of his well-known support of abortion. I deeply regret that Mr. Giuliani received the Eucharist during the Papal visit here in New York, and I will be seeking a meeting with him to insist that he abide by our understanding.”
-- Tim Drake
Kudos to Cardinal Egan!
How about the rest of our priests and bishops? Have they the courage to follow suit?
In light of Rudy Giuliani receiving the Eucharist during the Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Archdiocese of New York released the following comment from Cardinal Edward Egan this morning. I received the statement from Joe Zwilling, director of communications for the archdiocese.
“The Catholic Church clearly teaches that abortion is a grave offense against the will of God. Throughout my years as Archbishop of New York, I have repeated this teaching in sermons, articles, addresses, and interviews without hesitation or compromise of any kind. Thus it was that I had an understanding with Mr. Rudolph Giuliani, when I became Archbishop of New York and he was serving as Mayor of New York, that he was not to receive the Eucharist because of his well-known support of abortion. I deeply regret that Mr. Giuliani received the Eucharist during the Papal visit here in New York, and I will be seeking a meeting with him to insist that he abide by our understanding.”
-- Tim Drake
Kudos to Cardinal Egan!
How about the rest of our priests and bishops? Have they the courage to follow suit?
Dean Mengler gets it!
From LifeNews.com:
Catholic St. Thomas Law School: No Credit for Planned Parenthood Volunteering
"St. Paul, MN (LifeNews.com) -- Thomas Mengler, Dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, has ruled that students may not count volunteer work at Planned Parenthood as part of their required service hours. The university’s student Public Service Board (PSB) had previously decided to count volunteer work at the notorious abortion provider toward the graduation requirement. "Volunteer service at Planned Parenthood, whatever the nature of that service, advances the mission of Planned Parenthood, an organization whose mission is fundamentally at odds with a core value of the Catholic Church,” Mengler said. The Dean continued, “Such service does not constitute 'qualifying public service' for purposes of satisfying the School of Law's graduation requirement of 50 hours of public service.”
Patrick Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society, praised the move. “Dean Mengler has taken a clear position in support of the law school’s Catholic mission and opposed to the reprehensible activities of Planned Parenthood. He has set an important example for other law schools that have all but abandoned a distinctive Catholic identity.”
God Bless the good Dean! If you'd like to thank him, here's his email tmmengler@stthomas.edu
Catholic St. Thomas Law School: No Credit for Planned Parenthood Volunteering
"St. Paul, MN (LifeNews.com) -- Thomas Mengler, Dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, has ruled that students may not count volunteer work at Planned Parenthood as part of their required service hours. The university’s student Public Service Board (PSB) had previously decided to count volunteer work at the notorious abortion provider toward the graduation requirement. "Volunteer service at Planned Parenthood, whatever the nature of that service, advances the mission of Planned Parenthood, an organization whose mission is fundamentally at odds with a core value of the Catholic Church,” Mengler said. The Dean continued, “Such service does not constitute 'qualifying public service' for purposes of satisfying the School of Law's graduation requirement of 50 hours of public service.”
Patrick Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society, praised the move. “Dean Mengler has taken a clear position in support of the law school’s Catholic mission and opposed to the reprehensible activities of Planned Parenthood. He has set an important example for other law schools that have all but abandoned a distinctive Catholic identity.”
God Bless the good Dean! If you'd like to thank him, here's his email tmmengler@stthomas.edu
Sunday, April 27, 2008
"Screwtape" on stage
There's an interview with actor Max McLean (who plays Screwtape) over on "the Christian Post." He seems like a thoughtful guy:
"CP: How do you feel about playing a devil? Is it difficult because you are a Christian?
McLean: From actually an acting perspective, it’s a lot of fun. That’s the reality of it. But as a Christian, I think what has been very helpful about it is that he (Screwtape) exposes in me my pride because he is pure pride. So in order to play him you got to just go for those places which unfortunately were quite easy for me to find. "
H/t "Threshing Grain"
Posted by Gibbons
"CP: How do you feel about playing a devil? Is it difficult because you are a Christian?
McLean: From actually an acting perspective, it’s a lot of fun. That’s the reality of it. But as a Christian, I think what has been very helpful about it is that he (Screwtape) exposes in me my pride because he is pure pride. So in order to play him you got to just go for those places which unfortunately were quite easy for me to find. "
H/t "Threshing Grain"
Posted by Gibbons
Vocations on Facebook?
Why not?
From the "Alive and Young" blog:
"I logged into Facebook the other day and 'WOW!' an ad from a religious order promoting vocations for their order.
A great big "YEAH!" to the Salesians of Don Bosco for stepping up and advertising in places that youth frequent."
Friday, April 25, 2008
Abortion Supporters Bomb University
Plan-B supporters detonate homemade explosives at Chilean university
Santiago, Apr 25, 2008 / 02:21 pm (CNA).- A group called the Insurrectionalist Federation has claimed responsibility for an attack on the University of Los Andes in Santiago, Chile in which a homemade explosive device was detonated in one of the bathrooms.
The group in question sent a statement to a local radio station claiming responsibility for the attack as a rejection of the Constitutional Court’s ruling to prohibit distribution of the morning-after pill at public health facilities. One of the most reknown professors at the university is a member of the High Court.
Santiago, Apr 25, 2008 / 02:21 pm (CNA).- A group called the Insurrectionalist Federation has claimed responsibility for an attack on the University of Los Andes in Santiago, Chile in which a homemade explosive device was detonated in one of the bathrooms.
The group in question sent a statement to a local radio station claiming responsibility for the attack as a rejection of the Constitutional Court’s ruling to prohibit distribution of the morning-after pill at public health facilities. One of the most reknown professors at the university is a member of the High Court.
Maria Maddalena to be Beatified!
Wonderful news out of Rome. There will be three beatification ceremonies next week:
Candelaria de San Jose (born Susana Paz Castillo Ramirez), a Venezuelan Carmelite, will be beatified on Sunday, April 27.
Maria Maddalena of the Incarnation (born Caterina Sordini), the Italian founder of the Sisters of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, will be beatified on Saturday, May 3.
This is all great news but what especially caught my eye was the beatification of Maria Maddalena, foundress of the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
That's because they make the hosts we use here at Saints Peter and Paul Church and whenever I have a chance to speak with them on the telephone, I come away a happy man! And no wonder:
"The one and only purpose of life for the Sister is to honor and glorify Jesus in the Eucharist."
Sometimes I hear people wondering why God hasn't decided to just close San Francisco up. Well, one reason is probably the Sisters in their little house over in the Haight. To learn more about them, go here.
Posted by Gibbons
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
USF: Take that, Pope Benedict!
They're shameless. . . remember back on March 14, when the President of USF, Fr. Stephen Privett was attacking George Weigel in "Catholic San Francisco" for arguing that Catholic teaching was "vestigal at best" on some Jesuit campuses? One of the examples Fr. Privett cited was, of all things, the "Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought"
Yeah, quite an example. Look what event the Lane Center chooses to promote on their event calendar. The April 25-27 "Northern California Call to Action" conference. Seems like just yesterday someone said this:
"...I wish to affirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you. Yet it is also the case that any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission; a mission at the heart of the Church's munus docendi and not somehow autonomous or independent of it."
Here's what Cardinal Re had to say about "Call to Action":
"The Vatican has determined that “the activities of ‘Call to Action’ in the course of these years are in contrast with the Catholic Faith due to views and positions held which are unacceptable from a doctrinal and disciplinary standpoint,” Cardinal Re writes. He concludes: “Thus to be a member of this Association or to support it, is irreconcilable with a coherent living of the Catholic Faith.”
*For the origin of the "Gay Rome" tag, go here. It's at about 1:14 into this audio of a USF seminar, sponsored by the Lane Center, and held at (where else?) Most Holy Redeemer.
Posted by Gibbons
Yeah, quite an example. Look what event the Lane Center chooses to promote on their event calendar. The April 25-27 "Northern California Call to Action" conference. Seems like just yesterday someone said this:
"...I wish to affirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you. Yet it is also the case that any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission; a mission at the heart of the Church's munus docendi and not somehow autonomous or independent of it."
Here's what Cardinal Re had to say about "Call to Action":
"The Vatican has determined that “the activities of ‘Call to Action’ in the course of these years are in contrast with the Catholic Faith due to views and positions held which are unacceptable from a doctrinal and disciplinary standpoint,” Cardinal Re writes. He concludes: “Thus to be a member of this Association or to support it, is irreconcilable with a coherent living of the Catholic Faith.”
*For the origin of the "Gay Rome" tag, go here. It's at about 1:14 into this audio of a USF seminar, sponsored by the Lane Center, and held at (where else?) Most Holy Redeemer.
Posted by Gibbons
Brick by brick...Choose Life!
Good news from Italy:
"Nearly 70 percent of Italian gynecologists now refuse to perform abortions on moral grounds and the number is increasing, a report by the country's ministry of health said Tuesday.
Abortion was legalised in 1978 in Italy but pressure from the Vatican -- which is strongly opposed to abortion -- enabled doctors to claim a "conscientious objection" clause and refuse to carry out terminations.
Between 2003 and 2007 the number of gynecologists claiming the conscience clause to avoid carrying out abortions rose from 58.7 percent to 69.2 percent, according to the report"
H/t "We the People"
Posted by Gibbons
"Nearly 70 percent of Italian gynecologists now refuse to perform abortions on moral grounds and the number is increasing, a report by the country's ministry of health said Tuesday.
Abortion was legalised in 1978 in Italy but pressure from the Vatican -- which is strongly opposed to abortion -- enabled doctors to claim a "conscientious objection" clause and refuse to carry out terminations.
Between 2003 and 2007 the number of gynecologists claiming the conscience clause to avoid carrying out abortions rose from 58.7 percent to 69.2 percent, according to the report"
H/t "We the People"
Posted by Gibbons
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Us, Catholic Charities, and the BAR...
"Bay Area Reporter" that is. (motto: "Serving the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Trasngender Community since 1971.")
Our brothers and sisters over at the BAR did a story/interview on my (Gibbons) article in California Catholic Daily, describing the extent to which CCCYO has become a homosexual activist organization. They also covered my letter to the Archbishop and priests of the archdiocese pleading with them not to attend the CCCYO April 11 fundraiser, due to the honoring of George Marcus and Levi-Strauss, Inc.
Considering that the BAR takes a diametrically opposed point of view, the article was reasonable and reasonably courteous. They did mistakenly credit both the CCD article and the letter to Fr. Malloy and Gibbons, when they were both the work of, and signed by, Gibbons alone. We forgive their confusion, since this blog has entries mostly by Fr. Malloy but sometimes by Gibbons, (which say, like this one: "Posted by Gibbons" at the bottom.) They have more or less corrected this.
And they described the letter to Archbishop Niederauer as an "attack." A letter respectfully pleading with a person not to do something can hardly, in good faith, be called an "attack."
They also said I "concoted" a "gay mafia" at Catholic Charities. That's like being accused of "concocting" a Sicilian mafia in Palermo. I encourage readers to go here and examine the evidence.
Finally they did not print my favorite answer to one of their questions. So I'll print it here:
BAR: "To some people I have spoken to it seems to them you are "obsessed" or "fixated" on both Catholic Charities' leadership and Most Holy Redeemer church. How would you respond to such criticism?"
Me: "You left out USF!"
Posted by Gibbons
*For the origin of the "Gay Rome" tag, go here. It's at about 1:14 into this audio of a USF seminar, held at (where else?) Most Holy Redeemer.
Our brothers and sisters over at the BAR did a story/interview on my (Gibbons) article in California Catholic Daily, describing the extent to which CCCYO has become a homosexual activist organization. They also covered my letter to the Archbishop and priests of the archdiocese pleading with them not to attend the CCCYO April 11 fundraiser, due to the honoring of George Marcus and Levi-Strauss, Inc.
Considering that the BAR takes a diametrically opposed point of view, the article was reasonable and reasonably courteous. They did mistakenly credit both the CCD article and the letter to Fr. Malloy and Gibbons, when they were both the work of, and signed by, Gibbons alone. We forgive their confusion, since this blog has entries mostly by Fr. Malloy but sometimes by Gibbons, (which say, like this one: "Posted by Gibbons" at the bottom.) They have more or less corrected this.
And they described the letter to Archbishop Niederauer as an "attack." A letter respectfully pleading with a person not to do something can hardly, in good faith, be called an "attack."
They also said I "concoted" a "gay mafia" at Catholic Charities. That's like being accused of "concocting" a Sicilian mafia in Palermo. I encourage readers to go here and examine the evidence.
Finally they did not print my favorite answer to one of their questions. So I'll print it here:
BAR: "To some people I have spoken to it seems to them you are "obsessed" or "fixated" on both Catholic Charities' leadership and Most Holy Redeemer church. How would you respond to such criticism?"
Me: "You left out USF!"
Posted by Gibbons
*For the origin of the "Gay Rome" tag, go here. It's at about 1:14 into this audio of a USF seminar, held at (where else?) Most Holy Redeemer.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Attention: USF
Our Holy Father has some solemn words for our Catholic teachers. His address at Catholic University in Washington says it loud and clear. And I especially implore all teachers at our Catholic Universities, colleges and high schools to heed these words.
Let me select just a couple of paragraphs from his talk, praying that it might mark the end of such liberties as “Vagina Monologues” and support of homosexual professors with their ideologies.
Your Eminences, Dear Brother Bishops, Distinguished Professors, Teachers and Educators,
...I wish to affirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you. Yet it is also the case that any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission; a mission at the heart of the Church's munus docendi and not somehow autonomous or independent of it.
Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice. This requires that public witness to the way of Christ, as found in the Gospel and upheld by the Church's Magisterium, shapes all aspects of an institution's life, both inside and outside the classroom. Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual….
(the bold is from my pen)
Let me select just a couple of paragraphs from his talk, praying that it might mark the end of such liberties as “Vagina Monologues” and support of homosexual professors with their ideologies.
Your Eminences, Dear Brother Bishops, Distinguished Professors, Teachers and Educators,
...I wish to affirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you. Yet it is also the case that any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission; a mission at the heart of the Church's munus docendi and not somehow autonomous or independent of it.
Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice. This requires that public witness to the way of Christ, as found in the Gospel and upheld by the Church's Magisterium, shapes all aspects of an institution's life, both inside and outside the classroom. Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual….
(the bold is from my pen)
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Contraception-Evils thereof
Human Life International e-Newsletterfor Priests, Deacons, and Seminarians
"Humanae Vitae Priests: Defenders of Women" By Dominic Pedulla, M.D.
Precisely when Humanae Vitae was being publicly rejected by many bishops and priests, scientists were enrolling their parishioners into the three landmark contraceptive studies of the 1960s finding excess suicides, neurotic depression, accidents, violence, sexual dysfunction, divorce, and other problems among "pill" users. Investigators attributed these bad outcomes not to altered biochemistry but rather to contraception itself - i.e., the precise behavior these pastors should have consistently condemned.
Recent studies have only confirmed these findings, documenting increased neuroticism, hostility, anger, depression, sexual dysfunction, and suicidality in women. An April 2007 study on tubal ligation, the "most popular form of birth control in the U.S.," showed a 200% increase of sexual dysfunction associated with tubal ligation.
Without excluding the man, God has placed woman alone with Him at the epicenter of new life. In sexuality, a woman is chosen and deeply affirmed as woman and mother simultaneously, in a very significant and human way. The successful adjustment to motherhood and secure development of new life requires this unique act of complete intimate self-disclosure - existential nakedness - for it is only she whose sexual identity includes the capacity for conceiving.
In fact, a woman's need for authentic procreative self-actualization and affirming love appears to be so important that it constitutes the only reason sufficient for nature to permit this intimate vulnerability, this dangerous core self-exposure. As an absolute moral and existential requirement then, honest intercourse requires a woman to be wholly accepted in what amounts to an act of integral, non-dissociable, all-or-nothing acceptance, the conjugal act.
Contraceptive intercourse betrays the woman by rejecting her in her totality since her procreative powers are defining elements of her person, and this abandonment is the cause of the suicides and negative outcomes we have noted. This contraceptive betrayal diminishes women, placing their marriages and families in grave danger.
How many of us, though, have had to watch friends trapped in deteriorating contraceptive marriages circling "the drain," while the one person with the moral authority to truly make a difference - the pastor - refuses to help? For the clergy to approve of contraceptive acts, whether actively or through a conniving silence, means among other things refusing women the basic and most fundamental help they need, i.e., the recognition of their basic vulnerability. It also means the refusal to stand by them at all costs.
The terribly sad abandonment of women on the part of many priests and bishops is a massive pastoral failure, and who cannot see how it has affected the Church in the United States? The Church has been forced to live with a weak laity, endure a sub-optimal Christian family life, produce few and weak priests, and endure impoverished and debilitated faith communities. Abandon women and you abandon marriage and family. Abandon families, and you abandon the Church!
Not all priests have abandoned women this way. A growing number of "Humanae Vitae priests" have refused to meekly and passively tolerate this contraceptive tumor in the Church. They increasingly have "set their faces like flint," manfully taking up the challenge to excise it. Not having been emasculated into silence, nor having their pastoral instincts eviscerated from them, they already suspect pastorally what research proves psychologically: women need to be defended against contraception and sterilization at all costs.
Such priests know that our problems today (e.g., eclipse of the Sacrament of Reconciliation), demand first tackling the widespread practice of contraception among Catholics. As they survey their congregations, they refuse to ignore what they often see - relatively affluent and falsely self-assured couples who must be cured of their false sense of comfort for their own good and that of the Church. They understand that Our Lord wants them to help these poor couples, healing their sin and lifting them out of it.
The body can't coexist with cancer, and the Church can't coexist with contraception. Let's excise the tumor!
Dominic M. Pedulla MD, FACC, CNFPMC, ABVM, ACPh, is Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, OU Health Sciences Center, Medical Director, The Oklahoma Vein and Endovascular Center, President, The Edith Stein Foundation. He lives in Oklahoma with his wife and nine children.
"Humanae Vitae Priests: Defenders of Women" By Dominic Pedulla, M.D.
Precisely when Humanae Vitae was being publicly rejected by many bishops and priests, scientists were enrolling their parishioners into the three landmark contraceptive studies of the 1960s finding excess suicides, neurotic depression, accidents, violence, sexual dysfunction, divorce, and other problems among "pill" users. Investigators attributed these bad outcomes not to altered biochemistry but rather to contraception itself - i.e., the precise behavior these pastors should have consistently condemned.
Recent studies have only confirmed these findings, documenting increased neuroticism, hostility, anger, depression, sexual dysfunction, and suicidality in women. An April 2007 study on tubal ligation, the "most popular form of birth control in the U.S.," showed a 200% increase of sexual dysfunction associated with tubal ligation.
Without excluding the man, God has placed woman alone with Him at the epicenter of new life. In sexuality, a woman is chosen and deeply affirmed as woman and mother simultaneously, in a very significant and human way. The successful adjustment to motherhood and secure development of new life requires this unique act of complete intimate self-disclosure - existential nakedness - for it is only she whose sexual identity includes the capacity for conceiving.
In fact, a woman's need for authentic procreative self-actualization and affirming love appears to be so important that it constitutes the only reason sufficient for nature to permit this intimate vulnerability, this dangerous core self-exposure. As an absolute moral and existential requirement then, honest intercourse requires a woman to be wholly accepted in what amounts to an act of integral, non-dissociable, all-or-nothing acceptance, the conjugal act.
Contraceptive intercourse betrays the woman by rejecting her in her totality since her procreative powers are defining elements of her person, and this abandonment is the cause of the suicides and negative outcomes we have noted. This contraceptive betrayal diminishes women, placing their marriages and families in grave danger.
How many of us, though, have had to watch friends trapped in deteriorating contraceptive marriages circling "the drain," while the one person with the moral authority to truly make a difference - the pastor - refuses to help? For the clergy to approve of contraceptive acts, whether actively or through a conniving silence, means among other things refusing women the basic and most fundamental help they need, i.e., the recognition of their basic vulnerability. It also means the refusal to stand by them at all costs.
The terribly sad abandonment of women on the part of many priests and bishops is a massive pastoral failure, and who cannot see how it has affected the Church in the United States? The Church has been forced to live with a weak laity, endure a sub-optimal Christian family life, produce few and weak priests, and endure impoverished and debilitated faith communities. Abandon women and you abandon marriage and family. Abandon families, and you abandon the Church!
Not all priests have abandoned women this way. A growing number of "Humanae Vitae priests" have refused to meekly and passively tolerate this contraceptive tumor in the Church. They increasingly have "set their faces like flint," manfully taking up the challenge to excise it. Not having been emasculated into silence, nor having their pastoral instincts eviscerated from them, they already suspect pastorally what research proves psychologically: women need to be defended against contraception and sterilization at all costs.
Such priests know that our problems today (e.g., eclipse of the Sacrament of Reconciliation), demand first tackling the widespread practice of contraception among Catholics. As they survey their congregations, they refuse to ignore what they often see - relatively affluent and falsely self-assured couples who must be cured of their false sense of comfort for their own good and that of the Church. They understand that Our Lord wants them to help these poor couples, healing their sin and lifting them out of it.
The body can't coexist with cancer, and the Church can't coexist with contraception. Let's excise the tumor!
Dominic M. Pedulla MD, FACC, CNFPMC, ABVM, ACPh, is Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, OU Health Sciences Center, Medical Director, The Oklahoma Vein and Endovascular Center, President, The Edith Stein Foundation. He lives in Oklahoma with his wife and nine children.
Holy Father's Address to Catholic Universities
Wow.
It can't be summarized. Go here and read it all. But I can't resist.
"The Church's primary mission of evangelization, in which educational institutions play a crucial role, is consonant with a nation's fundamental aspiration to develop a society truly worthy of the human person's dignity. At times, however, the value of the Church's contribution to the public forum is questioned. It is important therefore to recall that the truths of faith and of reason never contradict one another (cf. First Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith Dei Filius, IV: DS 3017; St. Augustine, Contra Academicos, III, 20, 43). The Church's mission, in fact, involves her in humanity's struggle to arrive at truth. In articulating revealed truth she serves all members of society by purifying reason, ensuring that it remains open to the consideration of ultimate truths. Drawing upon divine wisdom, she sheds light on the foundation of human morality and ethics, and reminds all groups in society that it is not praxis that creates truth but truth that should serve as the basis of praxis. Far from undermining the tolerance of legitimate diversity, such a contribution illuminates the very truth which makes consensus attainable, and helps to keep public debate rational, honest and accountable. Similarly the Church never tires of upholding the essential moral categories of right and wrong, without which hope could only wither, giving way to cold pragmatic calculations of utility which render the person little more than a pawn on some ideological chess-board."
Posted by Gibbons
It can't be summarized. Go here and read it all. But I can't resist.
"The Church's primary mission of evangelization, in which educational institutions play a crucial role, is consonant with a nation's fundamental aspiration to develop a society truly worthy of the human person's dignity. At times, however, the value of the Church's contribution to the public forum is questioned. It is important therefore to recall that the truths of faith and of reason never contradict one another (cf. First Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith Dei Filius, IV: DS 3017; St. Augustine, Contra Academicos, III, 20, 43). The Church's mission, in fact, involves her in humanity's struggle to arrive at truth. In articulating revealed truth she serves all members of society by purifying reason, ensuring that it remains open to the consideration of ultimate truths. Drawing upon divine wisdom, she sheds light on the foundation of human morality and ethics, and reminds all groups in society that it is not praxis that creates truth but truth that should serve as the basis of praxis. Far from undermining the tolerance of legitimate diversity, such a contribution illuminates the very truth which makes consensus attainable, and helps to keep public debate rational, honest and accountable. Similarly the Church never tires of upholding the essential moral categories of right and wrong, without which hope could only wither, giving way to cold pragmatic calculations of utility which render the person little more than a pawn on some ideological chess-board."
Posted by Gibbons
More on Catholic Charities
" 'The love of money is the root of all evils' and there are some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith, and so given their souls any number of fatal wounds."- First Letter of St. Paul to Timothy 6:10. Jerusalem Bible Translation.
"The 2008 Loaves & Fishes Dinner met/exceeded our financial objectives and the attendance of all honorees and dignitaries was complete. " -Brian Cahill, Executive Director of Catholic Charities, quoted in the Bay Area Reporter--"Serving the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Community since 1971"
Mr. Cahill's short sentence speaks volumes.
Here's Mr. Cahill at the event honoring Mr. George M. Marcus. Mr Marcus has given over $175,000 to ballot initiatives that promote the Culture of Death, all of which were vehemently opposed by the Catholic Church. And here's Mr. Cahill honoring Levi Strauss. The Levi Strauss Foundation has given well over $1,000,000 to organizations worldwide that provide and promote abortion/contraception, not to mention numerous homosexual activist organizations: GLSEN, GLAAD, etc.
The CCCYO Press Release on the event is here. They took in $600,000 less than last year. And one name is conspicuous by its absence.
Posted by Gibbons.
"The 2008 Loaves & Fishes Dinner met/exceeded our financial objectives and the attendance of all honorees and dignitaries was complete. " -Brian Cahill, Executive Director of Catholic Charities, quoted in the Bay Area Reporter--"Serving the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Community since 1971"
Mr. Cahill's short sentence speaks volumes.
Here's Mr. Cahill at the event honoring Mr. George M. Marcus. Mr Marcus has given over $175,000 to ballot initiatives that promote the Culture of Death, all of which were vehemently opposed by the Catholic Church. And here's Mr. Cahill honoring Levi Strauss. The Levi Strauss Foundation has given well over $1,000,000 to organizations worldwide that provide and promote abortion/contraception, not to mention numerous homosexual activist organizations: GLSEN, GLAAD, etc.
The CCCYO Press Release on the event is here. They took in $600,000 less than last year. And one name is conspicuous by its absence.
Posted by Gibbons.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Benedict Visits USA
President Bush's sincere respect for the the Pope warmly and vividly displayed.
If it's not love and regard on the part on the President, it's certainly not political expediency;
Bush is not running for office! (Chronicle and Times please note)
Obama got noticed!
The S.F. Chronicle published this letter today, 4/16/2008:
"Missed the point
Editor - You are off base in your strained analysis of Obama's "clumsy"
remark ("Moment of truth," editorial, April 15). Obama's point was not, as
you claim, "that fear and prejudice too often carry the day in modern
politics," but his misguided notion that conservative values are born out of
misdirected frustration. Nothing could be further from the truth and shows a
lack of understanding of our heartland.
ALAN J. SMITH"
The link to the editorial I referred to follows:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/15/EDDA105A7U.DTL&h
________________________________
The S.F. Chronicle published this letter today, 4/16/2008:
"Missed the point
Editor - You are off base in your strained analysis of Obama's "clumsy"
remark ("Moment of truth," editorial, April 15). Obama's point was not, as
you claim, "that fear and prejudice too often carry the day in modern
politics," but his misguided notion that conservative values are born out of
misdirected frustration. Nothing could be further from the truth and shows a
lack of understanding of our heartland.
ALAN J. SMITH"
The link to the editorial I referred to follows:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/15/EDDA105A7U.DTL&h
________________________________
Cartoon thanks to David & Tracy in Cafeteria is Closed.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The Price of Birth Control
Contraceptive measures kill, and not only the baby.
Another lawsuit has been filed against the maker of the birth control patch Ortho Evra.
The lawsuit claims 43 women developed blood clots and other health problems since taking the prescription contraceptive. The suit also claims a Maryland woman died from blood clots after wearing the patch.
According to lawyers, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Co. should pay substantial financial damages to their clients for the health problems suffered.
Similar lawsuits have been filed on behalf of 400 women nationwide. The company is not commenting.
Another lawsuit has been filed against the maker of the birth control patch Ortho Evra.
The lawsuit claims 43 women developed blood clots and other health problems since taking the prescription contraceptive. The suit also claims a Maryland woman died from blood clots after wearing the patch.
According to lawyers, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Co. should pay substantial financial damages to their clients for the health problems suffered.
Similar lawsuits have been filed on behalf of 400 women nationwide. The company is not commenting.
The Way It Is
What’s going on in the presidential debates makes as much sense as this story of two elderly people living in a Florida mobile home park. He was a widower and she a widow. They had known one another for a number of years.
Now, one evening there was a community supper in the big activity center. These two were at the same table, across from one another. As the meal went on, he made a few admiring glances at her and finally gathered up his courage to ask her, "Will you marry me?"
After about six seconds of 'careful consideration,' she answered. "Yes, Yes, I will."
The meal ended and with a few more pleasant exchanges, they went to their respective places. Next morning, he was troubled. Did she say 'yes' or did she say 'no'? He couldn't remember. Try as he would, he just could not recall. Not even a faint memory. With trepidation, he went to the telephone and called her. First, he explained to her that he didn't remember as well as he used to. Then he reviewed the lovely evening past. As he gained a little more courage, he then inquired of her, "When I asked if you would marry me, did you say 'Yes' or did you say 'No'?"
He was delighted to hear her say, "Why, I said, 'Yes, yes I will' and I meant it with all my heart." Then she continued, "And I am so glad that you called, because I couldn't remember who had asked me."
Now, one evening there was a community supper in the big activity center. These two were at the same table, across from one another. As the meal went on, he made a few admiring glances at her and finally gathered up his courage to ask her, "Will you marry me?"
After about six seconds of 'careful consideration,' she answered. "Yes, Yes, I will."
The meal ended and with a few more pleasant exchanges, they went to their respective places. Next morning, he was troubled. Did she say 'yes' or did she say 'no'? He couldn't remember. Try as he would, he just could not recall. Not even a faint memory. With trepidation, he went to the telephone and called her. First, he explained to her that he didn't remember as well as he used to. Then he reviewed the lovely evening past. As he gained a little more courage, he then inquired of her, "When I asked if you would marry me, did you say 'Yes' or did you say 'No'?"
He was delighted to hear her say, "Why, I said, 'Yes, yes I will' and I meant it with all my heart." Then she continued, "And I am so glad that you called, because I couldn't remember who had asked me."
Catholics Charities: Reflections.
Last week, we had an article published in “California Catholic Daily” documenting how Catholic Charities CYO of San Francisco had become, to a significant extent, a homosexual activist organization. We showed how Church teaching on ministry to “transgender” and same-sex attracted persons had been corrupted and undercut by the actions of CCCYO, which had been allowed to by the Archdiocese. But the events of this past week speak more loudly than any words. They show how the corruption at CCCYO continues to infect the larger Catholic community.
A brief recap of the corruption at CCCYO:
In 1997 CCCYO recognizes the same-sex “partnerships” of its employees as equal to natural marriage;
In 2000, CCCYO starts facilitating homosexual adoptions;
In 2006-2007, CCCYO staffs “Family Builders By Adoption,” (“the gayest adoption agency in the country”) who are in the business of facilitating homosexual and transgender adoptions;
In 2007, CCCYO has a transvestite “same-sex marriage” activist entertain at one of their fundraisers;
2008: In their major yearly “Loaves and Fishes” fundraiser held on April 11, 2008 CCCYO chose to honor Mr. George M. Marcus for “Outstanding Philanthropic Works” and Levi Strauss, Inc. for “Outstanding Corporate Philanthropy.” Mr. Marcus has given at least $175,000 to initiatives that further the culture of death—all of which were utterly opposed by the Catholic Church. The Levi Strauss Foundation has given well over $1,000,000 to institutions that directly support and provide abortion and contraception. Both Marcus and the Levi Strauss Foundation have also funded politicians and organizations that are major actors in the promotion of the homosexual agenda.
Now, somebody chose these honorees. Who? Did CCCYO know of these donations? If not, why not? They are public knowledge. We think CCCYO must have known. We point out that the Treasurer of CCCYO also sits on the Audit Committee of the homosexual activist “Horizons Foundation.” The Horizons Foundation has received funding from the Levi Strauss Foundation, and one of the members of the Horizons Foundation Advisory Board, Assemblyman Mark Leno, received a campaign donation of $3,600 in 2007 from Mr. Marcus.
Did Archbishop George Niederauer know of these affiliations? The charitable thing would be to say he did not, and was caught unawares, but even if that were true originally, it quickly became irrelevant. For he certainly did know by April 4, because that’s when we informed him by email. Just to be sure, on April 7, we sent the information via US mail. And the California Catholic Daily ran the story on April 10, so it was well known throughout the Catholic blogosphere by that afternoon. Yet the Archbishop not only allowed the event to proceed as scheduled, he even attended. He was begged not to attend, but he chose to do so. His mere presence at the event gave Archdiocesan approval to the honoring of Marcus and the Levi Strauss Foundation.
The same letter that was emailed/mailed to the Archbishop was emailed and mailed, on the same dates, to 107 priests throughout the Archdiocese. Every one of those priests had a detailed description of Mr. Marcus’s donations, including the source that could easily be verified.
So the Archbishop and the priests of the archdiocese were armed with this information before the April 11 event occurred, and as we headed into the weekend of April 12-13. And what happened on April 12-13? That weekend, at every Mass in every parish of the Archdiocese, the annual special collection for Catholic Charities took place. We don’t know if any pastor said: “We can’t ask our parishioners to give money to this group. They are honoring those who heavily fund positions and organizations that are utterly opposed by the Church.” Without the leadership of the Archbishop it is hard to imagine such a thing happening—and because of his presence at “Loaves and Fishes” the Archbishop was leading in the opposite direction, anyway.
Catholic Charities has corrupted Archbishop Niederauer (assuming he does not agree with their activities). But by allowing the second collections for Catholic Charities, the Archbishop has in his turn, implicated the pastors who are required to ask for these contributions. By holding the second collections in their parishes, the pastors are, at the very least, collecting money from their flocks under dubious pretences. How many Catholics in the Archdiocese were even aware of the outrage at the "Loaves and Fishes" dinner? But the Archbishops and the 107 priests were aware of it.
It is important to remember that the amounts collected at the second collections are relatively insignificant. In fiscal year 2006-07 Catholic Charities received 62% of its total operating revenues ($20,525,272 of $33, 022,786) in the form of government contract revenue. The amount gathered by all CCCYO “appeals” put together would only amount to 1.9% of total operating revenues—and the money from special collections is only a small portion of that 1.9%. I’d guess that the 2007 special collection for CCCYO didn’t top $100,000—that’s less than 1/3 of 1% of the organization’s total operating revenues. So why do they even bother?
They bother because what they get is the image of faithful Catholicism. As we have shown, they are anything but. The continued association of the Archdiocese and CCCYO is scandalous.
Posted by Gibbons
A brief recap of the corruption at CCCYO:
In 1997 CCCYO recognizes the same-sex “partnerships” of its employees as equal to natural marriage;
In 2000, CCCYO starts facilitating homosexual adoptions;
In 2006-2007, CCCYO staffs “Family Builders By Adoption,” (“the gayest adoption agency in the country”) who are in the business of facilitating homosexual and transgender adoptions;
In 2007, CCCYO has a transvestite “same-sex marriage” activist entertain at one of their fundraisers;
2008: In their major yearly “Loaves and Fishes” fundraiser held on April 11, 2008 CCCYO chose to honor Mr. George M. Marcus for “Outstanding Philanthropic Works” and Levi Strauss, Inc. for “Outstanding Corporate Philanthropy.” Mr. Marcus has given at least $175,000 to initiatives that further the culture of death—all of which were utterly opposed by the Catholic Church. The Levi Strauss Foundation has given well over $1,000,000 to institutions that directly support and provide abortion and contraception. Both Marcus and the Levi Strauss Foundation have also funded politicians and organizations that are major actors in the promotion of the homosexual agenda.
Now, somebody chose these honorees. Who? Did CCCYO know of these donations? If not, why not? They are public knowledge. We think CCCYO must have known. We point out that the Treasurer of CCCYO also sits on the Audit Committee of the homosexual activist “Horizons Foundation.” The Horizons Foundation has received funding from the Levi Strauss Foundation, and one of the members of the Horizons Foundation Advisory Board, Assemblyman Mark Leno, received a campaign donation of $3,600 in 2007 from Mr. Marcus.
Did Archbishop George Niederauer know of these affiliations? The charitable thing would be to say he did not, and was caught unawares, but even if that were true originally, it quickly became irrelevant. For he certainly did know by April 4, because that’s when we informed him by email. Just to be sure, on April 7, we sent the information via US mail. And the California Catholic Daily ran the story on April 10, so it was well known throughout the Catholic blogosphere by that afternoon. Yet the Archbishop not only allowed the event to proceed as scheduled, he even attended. He was begged not to attend, but he chose to do so. His mere presence at the event gave Archdiocesan approval to the honoring of Marcus and the Levi Strauss Foundation.
The same letter that was emailed/mailed to the Archbishop was emailed and mailed, on the same dates, to 107 priests throughout the Archdiocese. Every one of those priests had a detailed description of Mr. Marcus’s donations, including the source that could easily be verified.
So the Archbishop and the priests of the archdiocese were armed with this information before the April 11 event occurred, and as we headed into the weekend of April 12-13. And what happened on April 12-13? That weekend, at every Mass in every parish of the Archdiocese, the annual special collection for Catholic Charities took place. We don’t know if any pastor said: “We can’t ask our parishioners to give money to this group. They are honoring those who heavily fund positions and organizations that are utterly opposed by the Church.” Without the leadership of the Archbishop it is hard to imagine such a thing happening—and because of his presence at “Loaves and Fishes” the Archbishop was leading in the opposite direction, anyway.
Catholic Charities has corrupted Archbishop Niederauer (assuming he does not agree with their activities). But by allowing the second collections for Catholic Charities, the Archbishop has in his turn, implicated the pastors who are required to ask for these contributions. By holding the second collections in their parishes, the pastors are, at the very least, collecting money from their flocks under dubious pretences. How many Catholics in the Archdiocese were even aware of the outrage at the "Loaves and Fishes" dinner? But the Archbishops and the 107 priests were aware of it.
It is important to remember that the amounts collected at the second collections are relatively insignificant. In fiscal year 2006-07 Catholic Charities received 62% of its total operating revenues ($20,525,272 of $33, 022,786) in the form of government contract revenue. The amount gathered by all CCCYO “appeals” put together would only amount to 1.9% of total operating revenues—and the money from special collections is only a small portion of that 1.9%. I’d guess that the 2007 special collection for CCCYO didn’t top $100,000—that’s less than 1/3 of 1% of the organization’s total operating revenues. So why do they even bother?
They bother because what they get is the image of faithful Catholicism. As we have shown, they are anything but. The continued association of the Archdiocese and CCCYO is scandalous.
Posted by Gibbons
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Catholic Charities...
...honors the Culture of Death.
Last night, Catholic Charities of San Francisco chose to honor George M. Marcus and the Levi Strauss, Inc. for their philanthropy. The Chairman of the Board of Catholic Charities CYO, Archbishop George Niederauer, was in attendance, despite pleas from many Catholics to either find new honorees or to boycott the function. In case you don't know the details, and to see why this is so outrageous, go here. Scroll to the entry for "April 11."
I don't think it can be said much better than by our friend Quintero down at "LA Catholic." He absolutely nails it:
"So when we think of all the San Francisco swells and nabobs banqueting and congratulating each other on "helping the children," we will also be thinking of all the dead children who are figuratively lying at the doorstep of the posh hotel, just as poor Lazarus lay outside Dives' doorstep in Jesus' parable (St. Luke 16).
True Lazaruses are the aborted babies, abandoned, unclothed, covered with wounds, helpless -- and despised and ignored by the rich and powerful."
Posted by Gibbons.
Last night, Catholic Charities of San Francisco chose to honor George M. Marcus and the Levi Strauss, Inc. for their philanthropy. The Chairman of the Board of Catholic Charities CYO, Archbishop George Niederauer, was in attendance, despite pleas from many Catholics to either find new honorees or to boycott the function. In case you don't know the details, and to see why this is so outrageous, go here. Scroll to the entry for "April 11."
I don't think it can be said much better than by our friend Quintero down at "LA Catholic." He absolutely nails it:
"So when we think of all the San Francisco swells and nabobs banqueting and congratulating each other on "helping the children," we will also be thinking of all the dead children who are figuratively lying at the doorstep of the posh hotel, just as poor Lazarus lay outside Dives' doorstep in Jesus' parable (St. Luke 16).
True Lazaruses are the aborted babies, abandoned, unclothed, covered with wounds, helpless -- and despised and ignored by the rich and powerful."
Posted by Gibbons.
Friday, April 11, 2008
What's so hard about that?
"Aquinas President Ed Balog canceled the event Thursday, saying the Catholic school cannot endorse a program that directly opposes church teachings.
"I'm not trying to keep people from seeing him. I'm trying to prevent the college from sponsoring an event that displays an attack on Catholic teaching values," Balog said."
Ever notice how easy it is to make yourself understood (even for a University President!) when you're telling the truth?
Read the whole thing
h/t Threshing Grain
"I'm not trying to keep people from seeing him. I'm trying to prevent the college from sponsoring an event that displays an attack on Catholic teaching values," Balog said."
Ever notice how easy it is to make yourself understood (even for a University President!) when you're telling the truth?
Read the whole thing
h/t Threshing Grain
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Catholic Charities of San Francisco
...rotten at the core.
It hurts to say that (my mom was a five-day-a-week volunteer there for years in the 1990's) but I do not see how one can reach any other conclusion.
On Wednesday California Catholic Daily graciously published an article we wrote, detailing how the organization had become a vehicle for homosexual activism.
Today they have an article about the honoree at tomorrow night's Catholic Charities "Loaves and Fishes" dinner. The honoree is one of the most active financial supporters of the "Culture of Death" in the state of California.
Below is the text of a letter that was sent by email on April 4, and by regular mail on April 7 to Archbishop George Niederauer, Bishop Ignatius Wang and 105 priests in the Archdiocese of San Francisco:
Excellencies, Fathers:
On April 11, 2008 Catholic Charities CYO of San Francisco will hold its annual “Loaves and Fishes” Fundraising Dinner at the Westin St. Francis Hotel on Union Square. The honoree for “Outstanding Philanthropic Works” will be George M. Marcus. This is an outrage.
On August 16, 2004, Mr. Marcus gave $50,000 to the “Yes on 71” campaign, which authorized $3.5 billion in taxpayer funded Embryonic Stem-Cell Research. This was unrelentingly opposed by the California Conference of Catholic Bishops. Opposition to ESCR is a non-negotiable Catholic issue.
On October 6, 2005, Mr. Marcus gave $25,000 to the “No on Proposition 73 Campaign for Teen Safety.” Proposition 73 was a Parental Notification Initiative that would have required an underage girl to notify her parents before having an abortion. This was very strongly supported by the California Conference of Catholic Bishops.
On September 26, 2006, Mr. Marcus gave $25,000 to the “No on 85” campaign. Proposition 85 was another parental notification initiative.
On October 10, 2006, Mr. Marcus gave an additional $75,000 to the “No on 85” campaign.
On May 29, 2007, Mr. Marcus gave $3,600 to the “Mark Leno for Senate” campaign. Reminder: every year, Assemblyman Leno sponsors legislation to overturn Prop. 22 and legalize same-sex “marriage” in California. The defense of natural marriage is another non-negotiable Catholic issue.
Excellencies, Fathers, this information comes directly from the website of the California Secretary of State’s “Campaign Finance” page.
I remind you of the June, 2004 statement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
“The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
Excellencies, Fathers, your parishioners gathered signatures, often in the face of ridicule and hostility, to fight for the Church’s position on these issues. Your parishioners and flock contributed their hard-earned money to support the Church’s position on these issues. Excellencies, you yourselves, and the priests you lead, preached the Church’s position on these issues.
I entreat and urge each and every one of you in the strongest possible terms to either insist on another honoree or to refuse to attend this function.
Your son in Christ,
Gibbons J. Cooney
San Francisco
Documentation of each of the above donations can be found by going here. Scroll to the entry for April 11.
Posted by Gibbons
It hurts to say that (my mom was a five-day-a-week volunteer there for years in the 1990's) but I do not see how one can reach any other conclusion.
On Wednesday California Catholic Daily graciously published an article we wrote, detailing how the organization had become a vehicle for homosexual activism.
Today they have an article about the honoree at tomorrow night's Catholic Charities "Loaves and Fishes" dinner. The honoree is one of the most active financial supporters of the "Culture of Death" in the state of California.
Below is the text of a letter that was sent by email on April 4, and by regular mail on April 7 to Archbishop George Niederauer, Bishop Ignatius Wang and 105 priests in the Archdiocese of San Francisco:
Excellencies, Fathers:
On April 11, 2008 Catholic Charities CYO of San Francisco will hold its annual “Loaves and Fishes” Fundraising Dinner at the Westin St. Francis Hotel on Union Square. The honoree for “Outstanding Philanthropic Works” will be George M. Marcus. This is an outrage.
On August 16, 2004, Mr. Marcus gave $50,000 to the “Yes on 71” campaign, which authorized $3.5 billion in taxpayer funded Embryonic Stem-Cell Research. This was unrelentingly opposed by the California Conference of Catholic Bishops. Opposition to ESCR is a non-negotiable Catholic issue.
On October 6, 2005, Mr. Marcus gave $25,000 to the “No on Proposition 73 Campaign for Teen Safety.” Proposition 73 was a Parental Notification Initiative that would have required an underage girl to notify her parents before having an abortion. This was very strongly supported by the California Conference of Catholic Bishops.
On September 26, 2006, Mr. Marcus gave $25,000 to the “No on 85” campaign. Proposition 85 was another parental notification initiative.
On October 10, 2006, Mr. Marcus gave an additional $75,000 to the “No on 85” campaign.
On May 29, 2007, Mr. Marcus gave $3,600 to the “Mark Leno for Senate” campaign. Reminder: every year, Assemblyman Leno sponsors legislation to overturn Prop. 22 and legalize same-sex “marriage” in California. The defense of natural marriage is another non-negotiable Catholic issue.
Excellencies, Fathers, this information comes directly from the website of the California Secretary of State’s “Campaign Finance” page.
I remind you of the June, 2004 statement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
“The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
Excellencies, Fathers, your parishioners gathered signatures, often in the face of ridicule and hostility, to fight for the Church’s position on these issues. Your parishioners and flock contributed their hard-earned money to support the Church’s position on these issues. Excellencies, you yourselves, and the priests you lead, preached the Church’s position on these issues.
I entreat and urge each and every one of you in the strongest possible terms to either insist on another honoree or to refuse to attend this function.
Your son in Christ,
Gibbons J. Cooney
San Francisco
Documentation of each of the above donations can be found by going here. Scroll to the entry for April 11.
Posted by Gibbons
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
STRANGE AS IT MAY SEEM!
Many will recall that on July 8, 1947, witnesses claimed that an unidentified object with five aliens aboard crashed onto a sheep and cattle ranch just outside Roswell, New Mexico. This is a well-known incident that many say has long been covered up by the U.S. Air Force and the federal government.
However, what you may NOT know is that in the month of March 1948, exactly nine months after that historic day, the following people were born: Albert Arnold Gore Jr.; Hillary Rodham; John F. Kerry; William Jefferson Clinton; Howard Dean; Nancy Pelosi; Dianne Feinstein; Charles E. Schumer; Barbara Boxer...
However, what you may NOT know is that in the month of March 1948, exactly nine months after that historic day, the following people were born: Albert Arnold Gore Jr.; Hillary Rodham; John F. Kerry; William Jefferson Clinton; Howard Dean; Nancy Pelosi; Dianne Feinstein; Charles E. Schumer; Barbara Boxer...
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
"You don't need a cardinal to answer that"
So says our dear Cardinal Arinze:Arinze said that he is regularly asked if a person who votes for abortion can receive Holy Communion. He replies, "Do you really need a cardinal from the Vatican to answer that?
"Get the children for first Communion and say to them, 'Somebody votes for the killing of unborn babies, and says, I voted for that, I will vote for that every time.' And these babies are killed not one or two, but in millions, and that person says, 'I'm a practising Catholic', should that person receive Communion next Sunday? The children will answer that at the drop of a hat. You don't need a cardinal to answer that."
"Get the children for first Communion and say to them, 'Somebody votes for the killing of unborn babies, and says, I voted for that, I will vote for that every time.' And these babies are killed not one or two, but in millions, and that person says, 'I'm a practising Catholic', should that person receive Communion next Sunday? The children will answer that at the drop of a hat. You don't need a cardinal to answer that."
H/T to "Threshing Grain"
and American Papist has video.
We love him. There is a link to his website on the right.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
A Dose of Humility
We think we're so big! Consider this perspective:
<
NOW TRY TO WRAP YOUR MIND AROUND THIS.........
THIS IS A HUBBLE TELESCOPE ULTRA DEEP FIELD INFRARED VIEW OF COUNTLESS 'ENTIRE' GALAXIES BILLIONS OF LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.
AND HOW BIG ARE THE THINGS THAT UPSET YOU TODAY?
God, Creator, how Glorious Thou Art!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Courage vs Dignity
Homosexuality has two main organizations attracting Catholics: Dignity and Courage. Dignity’s position : “We believe that God created us, Christ died for us, and the Holy Spirit sanctified us in Baptism. As GLBT Catholics, it is our right, our privilege, and our duty to live the sacramental life of the Church. We believe that we can express our sexuality in a loving, life-affirming manner that is in keeping with Christ's teaching.”
That sounds good, but the call is for advocacy for change in the teaching of the Catholic Church: they want their loving sexuality to be allowed outside marriage.
Courage, on the other hand, strictly follows the teaching of the Church. Here’s a powerful testimony of grace that proves homosexuality can be controlled:
"Courage is a wonderful apostalate. I'm not a member, no chapter in my area. I lived a homosexual lifestyle for about 30 years and there was nothing gay about it. When I was given the grace to accept the church's teaching and went to confession I was instantly healed of years of depression. I struggled for about a year, falling and getting back up again. I have a wonderful lady friend(my spiritual mother) who believed that God would deliver me from this struggle. She took me to a Healing Mass on September 26th, 2006, the priest said that he was going to pray that Jesus would deliver me from same sex attraction, I went under the power of God, and wept and wept and wept. A year and a half later I am still free of all homosexual obsession. My lover of 20 years+ returned to the Church and has lived a perfectly chaste lifestyle ever since. A young man who had been in our life as a sexual partner for 8 years plus was baptized and crismated in the Byzantine Catholic Church and now living a chaste life as well. I would not trade the peace that I now have for a roll in the pig slop again. I know that the truth really does set you free. Thank you Jesus, he's my Rock, Fortress, and Deliverer. If the Son sets you free you shall be free indeed."
Kent Lomison quoted in The Cafeteria is Closed
That sounds good, but the call is for advocacy for change in the teaching of the Catholic Church: they want their loving sexuality to be allowed outside marriage.
Courage, on the other hand, strictly follows the teaching of the Church. Here’s a powerful testimony of grace that proves homosexuality can be controlled:
"Courage is a wonderful apostalate. I'm not a member, no chapter in my area. I lived a homosexual lifestyle for about 30 years and there was nothing gay about it. When I was given the grace to accept the church's teaching and went to confession I was instantly healed of years of depression. I struggled for about a year, falling and getting back up again. I have a wonderful lady friend(my spiritual mother) who believed that God would deliver me from this struggle. She took me to a Healing Mass on September 26th, 2006, the priest said that he was going to pray that Jesus would deliver me from same sex attraction, I went under the power of God, and wept and wept and wept. A year and a half later I am still free of all homosexual obsession. My lover of 20 years+ returned to the Church and has lived a perfectly chaste lifestyle ever since. A young man who had been in our life as a sexual partner for 8 years plus was baptized and crismated in the Byzantine Catholic Church and now living a chaste life as well. I would not trade the peace that I now have for a roll in the pig slop again. I know that the truth really does set you free. Thank you Jesus, he's my Rock, Fortress, and Deliverer. If the Son sets you free you shall be free indeed."
Kent Lomison quoted in The Cafeteria is Closed
Friday, April 4, 2008
The Holy Father Is Coming
”The supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, Carl Anderson, announced the results of a poll taken by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion and released March 25. By a ratio of four and a half to one (58% to 13%), respondents said they had a favorable or very favorable view of the Pontiff. The poll also found that 65% have a favorable view of the Catholic Church, although a higher portion, 28%, have a negative view.
”Forty-two percent of Americans said that they would like to attend one of the Pope's public appearances while he is in the United States this April 15-20, and 66% of Catholics said they'd like to attend one of the events.
”Seventy percent or more want to hear the Holy Father speak about: allowing God to be a part of their daily lives (73%), finding spiritual fulfillment by sharing their time and talent (71%) and how they can make a positive difference in the world, their state and communities (70%). Nearly two-thirds (64%) expressed an interest in hearing Benedict XVI talk about how they can have a society where spiritual values play an important role.” (Zenit)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Worldwide Adoration for JP2 Tonight!
We'll be having Adoration tonight at 7PM at Saints Peter and Paul."Inspired by the incredible witness given by Pope John Paul II, Catholics across the world have been returning to the gift of Eucharistic Adoration. Through spending more time in Adoration, parishes have experienced tremendous growth, healing, and renewal."
The Worldwide Hour of Eucharistic Adoration will take place at 7:00 p.m. local time on April 2nd, 2008, the Third Anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s death.
By hosting this hour in time zones throughout the world, this will result in a full calendar day of Eucharistic Adoration in remembrance of Pope John Paul II.
Posted by Gibbons
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