In his bulletin message of last Sunday, Father Gregory Coiro, O.F.M.Cap., the rector of the National Shrine of St. Francis in San Francisco, shared his thoughts on the upcoming San Francisco Rosary Rally. Fr. Coiro also had some powerful words about politicians who claim to be "ardent Catholics," yet ignore the Church's clear teaching about the rights of the unborn."Like many others in San Francisco, I am very excited about the Rosary Rally in the Civic Center Plaza this coming Saturday, October 15, at 12 noon. What makes the event even more exciting for the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi is that the rally’s keynote speaker, Father Andrew Apostoli of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, will celebrate Mass at 9 a.m. that day here in our church.
(When the Rosary Rally organizers contacted me to see if Father Andrew could celebrate Mass here, I thought they had in mind a private Mass—after all the church does not open to the public until 10 a.m. The next thing you know, the Mass was being announced on the Eternal Word Television Network, as well as on the Rosary Rally website. So, it will be anything but private!)
Father Andrew, like Father Benedict Joseph Groeschel and the other founding members of the Friars of the Renewal, was a Capuchin Franciscan friar before establishing their new community that seeks to live the Rule of St. Francis even more austerely but in the Capuchin spirit and tradition.
A noted author and preacher, Father Andrew is frequently seen on EWTN. Something very special about him is that he was ordained to the priesthood by the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and now serves as the vice-postulator of his cause for beatification and canonization.
The Rosary Rally marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Family Rosary Crusade led by the late
Holy Cross Father Patrick Peyton—another candidate for beatification and canonization—in Golden Gate Park with over a half-million Catholics in attendance.
Father Peyton was famous for, among other things, coining the slogan, “The family that prays together, stays together.”
I have had 5,000 holy cards featuring the image of the Shrine’s statue of Our Lady and the Hail Mary printed up to mark this special occasion and I will ask the people who attend the Mass that morning to distribute them to others at the Rally.
Of course, I hope there will be many more than 5,000 people in attendance at Civic Center Plaza, but I do have budget constraints!
October is the month of the Holy Rosary and it is also Respect Life Month. We pray the Rosary every afternoon at 4:30 (except Mondays) in the Shrine’s Lady Chapel, La Nuova Porzoincola, for the intention that all Catholic public officials might be or might become authentic ally prolife.
We all know that there are elected public officials who claim to be “ardent” Catholics yet do nothing to stop the legal slaughter of 4000 innocent human beings every single day in this country. These people are liars.
They are not “ardent” Catholics at all and they do not really believe the Church’s teaching that killing unborn babies is tantamount to murder. If they did believe it, how could they possibly expect us to vote for them when they refuse to use their power and influence to stop the legal butchering of innocents? Do they really expect us to take them seriously when they, in effect, say, “I truly believe that abortion is murder but I feel no obligation to stop the murderers.”?
Let’s call a spade a spade. These public office holders are intellectually dishonest and we need to call them out for their lies. But we also need to pray that they will have a change of heart and that’s what we do in the Heart of San Francisco.
Pax et Bonum,
Fr. Gregory Coiro, O.F.M.Cap."
(When the Rosary Rally organizers contacted me to see if Father Andrew could celebrate Mass here, I thought they had in mind a private Mass—after all the church does not open to the public until 10 a.m. The next thing you know, the Mass was being announced on the Eternal Word Television Network, as well as on the Rosary Rally website. So, it will be anything but private!)
Father Andrew, like Father Benedict Joseph Groeschel and the other founding members of the Friars of the Renewal, was a Capuchin Franciscan friar before establishing their new community that seeks to live the Rule of St. Francis even more austerely but in the Capuchin spirit and tradition.
A noted author and preacher, Father Andrew is frequently seen on EWTN. Something very special about him is that he was ordained to the priesthood by the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and now serves as the vice-postulator of his cause for beatification and canonization.
The Rosary Rally marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Family Rosary Crusade led by the late
Holy Cross Father Patrick Peyton—another candidate for beatification and canonization—in Golden Gate Park with over a half-million Catholics in attendance.
Father Peyton was famous for, among other things, coining the slogan, “The family that prays together, stays together.”
I have had 5,000 holy cards featuring the image of the Shrine’s statue of Our Lady and the Hail Mary printed up to mark this special occasion and I will ask the people who attend the Mass that morning to distribute them to others at the Rally.
Of course, I hope there will be many more than 5,000 people in attendance at Civic Center Plaza, but I do have budget constraints!
October is the month of the Holy Rosary and it is also Respect Life Month. We pray the Rosary every afternoon at 4:30 (except Mondays) in the Shrine’s Lady Chapel, La Nuova Porzoincola, for the intention that all Catholic public officials might be or might become authentic ally prolife.
We all know that there are elected public officials who claim to be “ardent” Catholics yet do nothing to stop the legal slaughter of 4000 innocent human beings every single day in this country. These people are liars.
They are not “ardent” Catholics at all and they do not really believe the Church’s teaching that killing unborn babies is tantamount to murder. If they did believe it, how could they possibly expect us to vote for them when they refuse to use their power and influence to stop the legal butchering of innocents? Do they really expect us to take them seriously when they, in effect, say, “I truly believe that abortion is murder but I feel no obligation to stop the murderers.”?
Let’s call a spade a spade. These public office holders are intellectually dishonest and we need to call them out for their lies. But we also need to pray that they will have a change of heart and that’s what we do in the Heart of San Francisco.
Pax et Bonum,
Fr. Gregory Coiro, O.F.M.Cap."
1 comment:
Dear Fr. Coiro,
I will pray and fast for you every week that you have the courage to speak out in holy boldness.
May God bless you most abundantly for saying what we, the faithful remnant, are longing to hear!! The defense of God's holy laws!!!
Mary Susan
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