More from Cardinal Zen on Capitulation to Communists: "It’s a complete surrender. It’s incredible.”

The great Salesian continues to battle on behalf of Jesus's Church.

Cardinal Zen Celebrating Mass

LifeSiteNews reports today:

Chinese bishops appointed by the country’s communist government are voicing support for the Vatican’s dealings with China that may allow the government to decide who becomes bishop. 

Bishop Peter Fang Jianping of Tangshan said he was confident that the Chinese government and the Vatican will soon reach an agreement on appointment of bishops, reported Eurasia Review on Tuesday. 

He noted that if mainland bishops appointed by the government obtained legal status from the church, it could promote development of what Eurasia Review called the “China Church.” The government runs the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, a fake church of communist-approved and monitored clerics. The real Catholic Church is underground and is persecuted. 

Bishop Fang said that Catholics a should support President Xi proposed sinicization of religion “because we, as citizens of the country, should first be a citizen and then have religion and beliefs.”

Emphasis added, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is all you need to know. These fake bishops, whom Pope Francis and the Vatican are so eager to recognize, openly proclaim their allegiance is not to the Church but to the state.

PURE EVIL

Even I, born and raised in San Francisco, am shocked. I did not think that was possible. The story of the vicious murderers over at "Planned Parenthood" (the very name is as much a lie as "same-sex marriage") not only killing children but using them for spare body parts is all over the news. The horror was exposed by the Center for Medical Progress (whose website is down as I write).

Here is one report from Breitbart News:

The video is harrowing, like something out of a James Bond movie, where apparently, a top-executive at a major institution (that annually receives hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars) blandly explains how Planned Parenthood will perform abortions in special ways in order to preserve body parts that will later be sold illegally; how the forceps are used, etc.. All over a meal and wine.

“We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I’m not gonna crush that part,” Nucatola coldly explains. “I’m gonna basically crush [the unborn child] below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact. … And for that reason, most providers will do this case under ultrasound guidance, so they’ll know where they’re putting their forceps.”

Here is the video:


Lila Rose, who has done so much to expose the evil of Planned Parenthood, writes:

“This investigation by the Center for Medical Progress reveals the unimaginable horror that is Planned Parenthood. The exploitation of human life, the cover-up, and the black market profiteering by America’s largest abortion chain is not only egregious and heartbreaking, but exposes how the abortion giant is corrupt to the core — from the CEO, Cecile Richards, down to the local clinic. As Live Action has investigated through the years, Planned Parenthood’s barbaric practices reveal their contempt for rule of law and human life. This latest expose of Planned Parenthood’s trafficking of baby parts for profit should be the final nail in the coffin for the abortion giant. Congress must take immediate action to stop all taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood and end the bankrolling of this horrific human rights abuser.”

AMEN! There is petition up, urging Congress to investigate Planned Parenthood for the selling pieces of aborted babies. You can sign here.

Cardinal Burke / Fr. Fessio Stand up for Marriage! & Family!

The great Cardinal Raymond Burke calls out the anti-family mass media at the Catholic News Agency:

"Next month's Synod on the Family has undergone an attempted hijacking by some media sources, which are fueling expectations that impossible changes will be made to Church doctrine, said the head of the Church's highest court.

'I don’t think you have to be brilliant to see that the media has, for months, been trying to hijack this Synod,' said Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect for the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura – the office which, among other things, handles annulment cases in the Church.

In particular, he told CNA in a recent interview, the media has been presenting Pope Francis as being in favor of allowing Holy Communion to be distributed to those who are divorced and remarried, and other such propositions, even though this is not the case.

The danger, Cardinal Burke continued, is that 'the media has created a situation in which people expect that there are going to be these major changes which would, in fact, constitute a change in Church teaching, which is impossible."

'That’s why it’s very important for those who are in charge to be very clear,' he said."

It's interesting to me that of those Cardinals invested in the relegation of marriage to the dustbin of history most are Europeans, followed by some of their progeny from North and South Americans--places that themselves are on the road to oblivion because of their relegation of marriage to the dustbin of history.

The CNA article went on to mention Ignatius Press' new book, which promises to introduce much-needed clarity:

"Cardinal Burke, along with several other cardinals and scholars, have responded to this call in a book entitled 'Remaining in the Truth of Christ: Marriage and Communion in the Catholic Church.' The book, set to be released in October, is a compilation of essays which provide scholarly answers to the claim that some divorced and remarried persons can be admitted to Holy Communion without having obtained an annulment, or a Church recognition that the marriage had never been valid."

Last week Ignatius Press' editor, Father Joe Fessio, schooled the foolish Cardinal Kaspar for his statements responding to the book's release. It was nice to see:

The Ignatius Press book’s introduction says the essays in “Remaining in the Truth of Christ” are responses to Cardinal Walter Kasper’s 2014 book “The Gospel of the Family,” which includes his advocacy of giving Holy Communion to some Catholics who have divorced and civilly remarried without an annulment.

Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., founder and editor of Ignatius Press, responded sharply to claims by Cardinal Kasper in an email exchange with CNA. He drew from Cardinal Kasper’s Sept. 18 interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa, responding point-by-point to the cardinal’s statements.

In the interview, Cardinal Kasper complained of learning about the book from journalists who had received advance copies of it. The cardinal said that he had not received an advance copy, adding, “In my entire academic life nothing like this has ever happened to me.”

“You chose to leave academia to enter public life. Get used to it,” Fr. Fessio responded.

The priest also referenced Cardinal Kasper’s statement, “If cardinals who are the closest collaborators of the pope intervene in this organized and public manner, at least in regard to the most recent history of the Church we are facing an unprecedented situation.”

“Well, you did something unprecedented,” Fr. Fession replied. “And it was organized and public. Well, it was supposed to be done in secrecy, but then you published your consistory intervention as a book.”

Furthermore, Fr. Fessio responded to Cardinal Kasper’s statement that his consistory remarks had not offered “a definitive solution” but rather “posed some questions and offered considerations for possible responses.”

“Well, what are you complaining about then?” Fr. Fessio asked. “You got some answers and some responses to your considerations. Or weren’t those the answers you were expecting?”

There's a true son of St. Ignatius!

Pope Francis on Marriage, Dictatorship of Relativism

Speaking of good news (and good Jesuits), our Holy Father Pope Francis recently hosted a group of Bishops from Poland. Catholic World News reports on the visit (excerpts):

"The Pope said reports from the Polish bishops had included many positive reflections on the life of the Church in that country. But there was also 'a certain decline in various aspects of Christian life,' he said. One major cause of that decline, the Pope continued, is 'the idea of freedom without limits, hostile tolerance or indeed distrust of the truth, or resistance to the Church's legitimate opposition to dominant relativism.' He encouraged the bishops to combat that tendency vigorously.

His Holiness sounds as if he is channeling our good Pope-Emeritus Benedict on the "dictatorship of relativism" but of course he's not channeling anybody, just giving eternal Church teaching.

"Turning next to marriage and family life, the Pontiff observed with regret that 'nowadays marriage tends to be viewed as a form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will.' That attitude has infected Christians, he said, and resulted in a decline of marital unity. He urged the bishops to oppose this tendency, too, particularly by better preparation of young people entering marriage. At the same time he asked them to make extra efforts to provide pastoral care for those who are separated or divorced, 'so that they are not excluded from God’s mercy.'”

Same-sex "marriage" is not the only variety of counterfeit marriage going around. Marriage conceived as a  "form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will" is certainly not restricted to, nor did it originate with, same-sex attracted persons. It was that attitude among sexually normal people which made same-sex "marriage" thinkable.

SB 131 Passes Senate: ALL "Aye" Votes Are Democrats

On September 6, the California State Senate passed SB 131, which targets Churches and other non-profits, but exempts the public sector constituencies of the Democratic Party. We have posted on SB 131 before. The bill has the potential to bankrupt the Catholic Church in California, and has been opposed by legal experts and all sorts of nonprofit organizations.

Every single "Aye" vote was cast by a Democrat.

They were Senators Beall, Block, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Liu, Monning, Padilla, Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Wolk, and Yee.

Seven of the eight "No" votes were Republicans. They were: Senators Anderson-R, Berryhill-R, Gaines-R, Huff-R, Knight-R, Vidak-R, and Walters-R. Senator Ron Calderon, a Democrat, also voted "No."

Ten Senators did not vote.

The party of death. How any Catholic can still vote Democrat (confession: I was a registered Democrat until 1988) is a mystery to me.

All that is left is a veto of this unjust legislation by Governor Jerry Brown. Ask him to veto this bill!

http://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php

Seventeen Martyrs per Hour!

The National Catholic Reporter in a recent article, by  John L Allen, Jr., has this revealing citation:

Playing Politics with the Global war on Christians

"Most people, most of the time, are fundamentally decent. Hence if they knew that there's a minority facing an epidemic of persecution -- a staggering total of 150,000 martyrs every year, meaning 17 deaths every hour -- there would almost certainly be a groundswell of moral and political outrage.

There is such a minority in the world today, and it's Christianity. The fact that there isn't yet a broad-based movement to fight anti-Christian persecution suggests something is missing in public understanding.

In part, of course, the problem is that unquestionable acts of persecution, such as murder and imprisonment, are sometimes confused with a perceived cultural and legal "war on religion" in the West, a less clear-cut proposition. In part, too, it's because of the antique prejudice that holdsthat Christianity is always the oppressor, never the oppressed."

Bibles at Walter Reed Medical Center!

The below is self explanatory. What will be next??

The soldiers who wake up in Walter Reed Medical Center are in Maryland -- not communist China. But under the Navy's new rules, they may not know the difference! After months of peeling away the military's core values, Obama's army is on the move. And this time, it has a high-value target: the Bible. In a memo obtained by FRC, Navy officials have announced that "no religious items (including Bibles, reading material, and/or artifacts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit." The new orders are buried in a four-page document about patient care, which an Army officer forwarded to us in disbelief. Effective immediately, families, friends, and even

pastors will have to check their beliefs at the door to visit one of the largest military hospitals in the United States. Last night, after we circulated the memo to leaders on the Hill, an outraged Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) took to the House floor and blasted the policy. "Mr. Speaker, these military men and women who are recovering at Walter Reed and Bethesda have given their all for America... They've defended and taken an oath to the Constitution, and here they are. The people that come to visit them can't bring a religious artifact? They can't bring a Bible? ... A priest can't walk in with the Eucharist and offer communion to a patient who might be on their deathbed because it's prohibited in this memo from the Department of the Navy?"

This is Obama's military. After three years of ideological warfare, the administration's intent is clear: to disarm the military of its biggest weapon.

Faith. Regardless of President Obama's agenda, there is absolutely nothing in the Constitution that empowers the government to stop family members from giving Bibles or crosses to their loved ones. And from a PR standpoint, I'm not sure the best way to boost approval ratings is by denying comfort to wounded warriors. Unfortunately for our troops, who have endured so much turmoil under the Obama administration, this is another blow. Hopefully, with the help of Congressman King and others, it's only a temporary one.

"Sickening glimpse into the worldview of feminist Catholic nuns"

Laura Wood, writing over at "The Thinking Housewife":

"HERE IS a sickening glimpse into the worldview of feminist Catholic nuns. It’s an interview in the Minneapolis Post with Sister Brigid McDonald of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. This is a woman seething with resentment and bitterness toward male authority. The Vatican’s recent disciplinary action against American nuns stems from a fear of powerful women, she contends in the interview:

'Because [before] we were just school teachers and we just had nice little kids in front of us, you know, and we just emptied bed pans in the nursing homes and in the hospitals. But now they are right, we are out there in the different movements. We help with the Occupy movement and the right-to-choice movements.

It is giving us more credibility in the public. Lots of times people will call and seek out our opinions about certain issues, where it never was that way when I entered the convent. After we taught school, we went home, and said our prayers and ate supper and did our lesson plans and went to bed. Now we are out there.'

Mrs. Wood observes: "Notice her contemptuous view of the work of nuns of the past, whose care for the sick and the young she considers demeaning, menial labor."


Yes. It is indeed sickening, and it is obvious the Holy Father's action is long overdue.


Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

Tennessee Legislators Take on Vanderbilt U

David French is reporting that at least 20 Tennessee legislators are challenging Vanderbilt University's attempt to, essentially, de-Christianize Christian campus organizations. The legislators said, in part:


"We acknowledge that private institutions such as Vanderbilt University have the freedom to establish its associations and maintain the integrity of its institutional mission. As such, the University has the right to adopt and apply an “all-comers” policy for student organizations. But the state has a right not to subsidize any part of the operations of those organizations, like Vanderbilt University, that engage in unequal treatment of individuals and organizations, the effect of which is religious discrimination."

In other words, pull their funding. AMEN! French concludes his column by writing:

"Unfolding in Nashville is a local encounter with national implications — where Christians, beginning first at the grassroots and now moving up to the legislature, have decided they will not quietly acquiesce to the intolerance and exclusion of the academic elite."

Let's hope so!

SF Archdiocese, SFPD Foil Anti-Catholics

On April 4, we reported on the planned action against San Francisco’s Mission Dolores Church by members of Occupy SF, ACT-UP, and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The group’s release read, in part:

 “The march will link the issues of gentrification and lack of affordable housing faced by people with HIV/AIDS and our communities today by starting at Wells Fargo, a major profiteer of the housing crisis. The march will continue to the steps of Mission Dolores Church, marking Good Friday and protesting the Catholic Church's continued role of condemning people to die of AIDS globally and repression of sexual freedom and health here at home-- by blocking access to condoms, and restricting access to reproductive health and abortion. Ashes of those who died during the epidemic in SF will be placed on the steps of Dolores Church….Its 25 years since we started ACT UP and the Catholic Church is still to blame.”

But good communication between the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the San Francisco Police Department queered the deal. The group had said they planned to arrive at the church at 5:30 PM. By 5PM there were already at least 15 officers from the SFPD standing in front of the Mission Dolores Basilica and the Old Mission, built in 1776, which is immediately adjacent to the south. Police had installed crowd control barriers in the gutters to prevent protesters from reaching the sidewalk. The barricades prevented the anti-Catholics from their stated aim: to place the ashes of a man who died from AIDS on the Church stairs.

At 5:10 PM a squad of about 8-10 police motorcycles appeared on the northbound lane of Dolores Street, and the chants of about 80 anti-Catholics became audible “(bleep) the Church.” The anti-Catholics were led by three or four apparent members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The group crossed Dolores Street’ grassy median strip, and moved to the southbound lane, in front of the Mission Basilica.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence offered their standard list of grievances against the church: abortion, contraception, child abuse, the opposition to same-sex adoptions, and Archbishop Niederauer’s defense of natural marriage. George Wesolek, Director of Public Policy for the Archdiocese of San Francisco was there to observe the event. He said that it was interesting that the anti-Catholics should have chosen the Mission Basilica for this particular display. Wesolek reminded us that during the trip of Blessed John Paul II to San Francisco in 1987 he had visited the Mission Basilica. It was the Mission Basilica where the Holy Father gave his special blessing to 62 people suffering from AIDS.  It was the Mission Basilica where the Holy Father embraced 4 year-old Brendan O’Rourke, a little boy suffering from the disease. Photographs of the embrace (above) drew worldwide attention. Wesolek said  “At that time many people treated AIDS patients like lepers. People thought it was something you could catch easily…. John Paul’s show of compassion opened up the arms of compassion of the world.” Brendan passed away from the disease in 1990.

It might thus seem ironic that the anti-Catholics thus chose the Mission Basilica, but more likely it was simple ignorance. As they were “eulogizing” the man whose ashes they were scattering, a victim of AIDS, one of the speakers pointed out that the deceased was an “in your face” type. The speaker said that the deceased had attended a San Francisco “Pride Parade” with a sign reading “I like to (perform oral/anal contact on men).” The quote is cleaned up for publication. The crowd laughed at this—they thought it was funny. They were apparently unable to see any connection between such behaviors and the man’s untimely death.

As they prepared to scatter his ashes, I was the only man in the crowd to remove his hat (or, in the case of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, headdresses) out of respect for the dead. They threw the ashes over the crowd control barriers, toward the stairs of the Mission Basilica, but San Francisco’s normal late afternoon wind immediately dispersed them in all directions.

By 5:36 PM, the protest was over. The anti-Catholics marched west on 16^th Street, towards the Castro District, chanting “(Bleep) the Church, we don’t need ‘em, all we want is total freedom.”

At 6:30PM both the Old Mission and the Basilica celebrated their regularly scheduled Good Friday liturgies, in Spanish at the Basilica, in English at the Old Mission.

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

Homosexual Activists Target San Francisco Catholic Church on Good Friday

At 5:30 PM on Good Friday, members of ACT-UP and other anti-Catholic groups will descend on San Francisco’s Mission Dolores Church. Mission Dolores is the oldest Catholic church in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The event listing on the LGBTQI/Queer page of San Francisco’s IndyBay Media, a radical leftist website, reads, in part:

 “The march will link the issues of gentrification and lack of affordable housing faced by people with HIV/AIDS and our communities today by starting at Wells Fargo, a major profiteer of the housing crisis. The march will continue to the steps of Mission Dolores Church, marking Good Friday and protesting the Catholic Church's continued role of condemning people to die of AIDS globally and repression of sexual freedom and health here at home-- by blocking access to condoms, and restricting access to reproductive health and abortion. Ashes of those who died during the epidemic in SF will be placed on the steps of Dolores Church….Its 25 years since we started ACT UP and the Catholic Church is still to blame.”

The assertions ignore significant facts. San Francisco’s Catholic Church was the first responder to the city’s AIDS epidemic. Further, the availability of condoms seems not to correspond with the HIV infection rate. The most recent study from the United States’ Center for Disease Control showed that 61% of new HIV infections are among homosexual men—2% of the population of the United States. It also showed that the only group in which new HIV infections are increasing is among young homosexual men—a group not known for following the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Mission Dolores, was founded on June 29, 1776, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, by Franciscan friars, under the leadership of the Fr. Francisco Palou. It is the oldest building in San Francisco. The Church is located two blocks from the eponymous Mission Dolores Park. For the past decade, Mission Dolores Park has also been the site of the infamous Easter Sunday “Hunky Jesus” contest—an event where the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” mock the passion and death of Jesus Christ.

Ninth Circuit Proposition 8 Decision Expected Tomorrow

The Ninth Circuit is expected to rule tomorrow on the Proposition 8 case. As we have said many times before, given the court's makeup, we expect the Ninth Circuit to uphold Judge Walker's ruling, and we equally expect their decision to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Pelosi and "that conscience thing": Dead Silence From One Peter Yorke Way

Nancy Pelosi's latest attack on faithful Catholics has been widely reported. From LifeNews:

"Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is at it again, bashing Catholics for their pro-life position when she has promoted abortion in defiance of Catholic Church teaching at every turn.

This time, Pelosi is upset that the nation’s Catholic bishops are protesting a potential Obama administration decision forcing insurance companies to cover birth control, contraception and drugs that could cause abortions. They say certain religious groups may not be exempt from providing the insurance, which would violate their moral and religious views.

Pelosi says the position is akin to having hospitals “say to a woman, ‘I’m sorry you could die’ if you don’t get an abortion,” she told the Washington Post.

“Those who dispute that characterization “may not like the language,’’ she said, “but the truth is what I said. I’m a devout Catholic and I honor my faith and love it . . . but they have this conscience thing”...

That is the position of "devout Catholic" Pelosi at the exact time faithful Catholics nurses are threatened with losing their jobs for refusing to participate in the killing of unborn children. There has been no reponse from Archbishop George Niederauer.

We point out that nearly five years ago, in his pastor's message of January 14, 2007, Fr. Malloy had no trouble responding to Pelosi, in the clearest possible English:

"Yes, Nancy, we would all like it if you were not so vocally pro-choice , i.e. pro-death. Until your choice is in line with Catholic doctrine, please, Nancy, do not receive the Eucharist when you attend Mass."

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

SF Crisis Pregnancy Centers: "False & Misleading Advertising" Not Demonstrated

Today the City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors heard testimony about the proposed law that would "prohibit pregnancy centers from engaging in false or misleading advertising practices."

The legislation was introduced by Supervsor Malia Cohen and City Attorney Dennis Herrera. We had posted on this story back on August 2 & 3, where we wrote:

"The real purpose of the proposed ordinance is twofold: first, to harass the crisis pregnancy centers at public expense. That's because they threaten the Democrats' sacred cow, Planned Parenthood. It's just a fact that every baby born represents a financial loss for Planned Parenthood, and centers such as First Resort and Alpha Pregnancy help babies to be born and raised. Secondly, Dennis Herrera is running for mayor, and he thinks this will help his campaign."

Today, the San Francisco Chronicle reports:

"Two San Francisco supervisors, concerned over First Amendment issues, were hesitant about moving forward with a proposed law that would prohibit pregnancy centers from engaging in false or misleading advertising practices.

Centers that break the the law could face civil action by the city and fines up to $500 per violation.

The legislation takes aim at pregnancy centers that oppose abortion. The concern is that women with unplanned pregnancies are tricked into thinking that certain pregnancy centers will give them information on all of their options, including abortion, when that’s not the case.
“This legislation has been carefully crafted to ensure a balance between protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities and protecting the constitutional rights of everyone,” said Supervisor Malia Cohen, chief sponsor of the legislation, which has the backing of pro-choice advocates.

But opponents said if the legislation is approved, it would put the city at legal risk of trampling on the First Amendment.

“This law attacks one group of pregnancy resource providers, but not another group with a competing message,” said Shari Plunkett, CEO of First Resort, a pregnancy counseling center and women’s health clinic that will not perform abortions, nor tell clients where they can get the procedure done....

Supervisors, after being briefed by the city attorney, said that in order to mount a strong defense against a likely legal challenge, the city would have to produce a record of false and misleading advertising.

Imagine that--the city should have to prove what it says. But as we said, this is a "nuisance lawsuit" designed to harass crisis pregnancy centers at public expense. But as both Supervisor Avalos and Elsbernd, noted you gotta have at least some kind of a case.

But both Supervisors John Avalos and Sean Elsbernd, who serve on the committee, said such a record wasn’t demonstrated. The best legislative backers could come up with were reviews on Yelp and a search on Google when people plugged in the phrase “abortions in San Francisco” and Plunkett’s First Resort organization popped up as the second link.

“This legislative record here, to me, is empty,” Elsbernd said.

Avalos expressed a similar concern. The committee sent the legislation on to the full board without recommendation for consideration next week, with Avalos suggesting that evidence of false advertising be collected before that vote.

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

"What does family mean to these children?" Sperm Donor Keeps Track of His Children "on an Excel spreadsheet"

So reports the New York Times in a story published on Tuesday. It's more insanity brought to us courtesy of the culture of death:

"One Sperm Donor, 150 Sons and Daughters"

Cynthia Daily and her partner used a sperm donor to conceive a baby seven years ago, and they hoped that one day their son would get to know some of his half siblings — an extended family of sorts for modern times.

So Ms. Daily searched a Web-based registry for other children fathered by the same donor and helped to create an online group to track them. Over the years, she watched the number of children in her son’s group grow.

And grow.

Today there are 150 children, all conceived with sperm from one donor, in this group of half siblings, and more are on the way.... "

The article then highlights the genetic dangers of having, unknowingly so many brothers and sisters. It continues:

"Ms. Kramer, the registry’s founder, said that one sperm donor on her site learned that he had 70 children. He now keeps track of them all on an Excel spreadsheet. 'Every once in a while he gets a new kid or twins,' she said. 'It’s overwhelming, and not what he signed up for. He was promised low numbers of children.'"

The Times then considers the effects this has on the children, and asks "What does family mean to these children?"

"Experts are not certain what it means to a child to discover that he or she is but one of 50 children — or even more. 'Experts don’t talk about this when they counsel people dealing with infertility,' Ms. Kramer said. 'How do you make connections with so many siblings? What does family mean to these children?'”

"Vatican calls Mexican Bishop to Rome over ties to pro-abortion/gay groups "

More fine work from LifeSiteNews.

The Canadian pro-life news organization has ruffled many feathers with their exposes of "Development and Peace" (Canada's version of Catholic Relief Services) which we have followed here, and the exposure of wacky Canadian priest Fr. Raymond Gravel, which we have followed here. Recently, they have been covering the activities of His Excellency Raul Vera Lopez, of Saltillo, Mexico.

Read the full article here, and follow the provided links to learn more.

Confirmed: Vatican calls Mexican Bishop to Rome over ties to pro-abortion/gay groups

SALTILLO, August 12, 2011 - Bishop Raul Vera López of the Diocese of Saltillo, Mexico, will be meeting with Vatican officials in late August or early September to discuss his affiliation with a homosexual organization that embraces the 'gay' lifestyle and condones homosexual relationships.

The diocese’s spokeswoman, Maria Arriaga, confirmed the meeting yesterday to the French Press Agency (AFP).

The bishop will travel to Rome to 'respond to questions that they will ask him about the work that he carries out currently with the community of San Aelredo,' Arriaga told the agency.

She added that 'up to now, this will be the only motive of the visit. Perhaps when he is there it is possible that other topics will be discussed.'

Arriaga also claimed that Vera López 'has denied that he has pronounced in favor of abortion, as his critics hold, who question him for asking for clemency for poor indigenous women incarcerated for abortions in certain Mexican states,' the AFP reports.

The statement appears to be a response to recent LifeSiteNews articles exposing the bishop’s leadership of two groups that participate in a pro-abortion 'human rights' network and whose names appear on documents calling for the decriminalization and government provision of abortion..."

You can support LSN by going here.

"Pro-Life" Obama Supporters "Liars or Dupes"

That's Michael Walsh writing today in the New York Post. He's talking about people like Sr. Carol Keehan and Sean Michael Winters, and all those liberal Catholics who signed on in support of Obama and Obamacare.

"O'Care Truth Sinks In."

The first ideological tentacles of ObamaCare began snaking their way into the pocketbooks of private insurers and the consciences of religious Americans when, on Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services issued new guidelines requiring insurers to provide free birth control -- including 'morning-after' abortion pills -- in the name of 'women’s health.'
'These historic guidelines are based on science and existing literature and will help ensure women get the preventive health benefits they need,' said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Insurers will have to provide the services without deductibles, co-pays or any other charges.

In other words, the federal government -- choosing sides in the culture war -- now considers 'unplanned' pregnancy to be a preventable disease.

Not the most fundamental mystery of human existence. Not the fullest expression of love between a man and a woman. Not a deeply personal human activity that lies at the heart of religious moral teaching.

A disease -- and cause for a new government giveaway.....

This is just another case where the critics in the debate over ratifying ObamaCare are being proved right -- with the defenders exposed as liars or dupes.

The 'antis' warned that 'universal health care' would inevitably leave the feds ruling on a host of charged moral issues; the 'pros' denied it -- though many doubtless saw it as a feature, not a bug."

Winters, Keehan, are complaining now, but it's too late. From the moment Obamacare came on the scene the subhead of this blog has read: "Obamacare = Publicly funded abortion. If you support the Health Plan you are supporting publicly funded abortion." Those people supported Obamacare and they share responsibuility for the perfectly predictable results.

Catholic Charities Supports New Ways Ministry 'Behind the Scenes' says New Ways Spokesman

Today LifeSiteNews picked up a July 14 story from the Washington Blade called "Catholic Charities Gay Lobbyist." LifeSite's story began:

"As Catholic Charities agencies across the country are fighting government efforts to shut down their adoption services, the group’s national office in Washington has employed a firm founded by a homosexual activist to lobby for them on Capitol Hill, the Washington Blade, a homosexual newspaper, reported recently.

A spokesman for Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) confirmed to LifeSiteNews that they hired the Sheridan Group, a lobbying firm founded by Tom Sheridan. A self-professed “gay Catholic,” Sheridan began his lobbying career with the AIDS Action Council in the 1980s, and his firm has since represented numerous AIDS advocacy groups.

What caught our eye was how homosexual activists responded to the news:

At the same time, the dissident New Ways Ministry, which purports to support “LGBT” Catholics, claimed to the Blade that CCUSA and some local Catholic Charities agencies have been backing them 'behind-the-scenes.'

'Catholic Charities in general have been the most progressive wing of the church other than the nuns,' said Sister Jeannine Gramick, one of the founders of New Ways, which has been condemned by both the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. 'In some cases, Catholic Charities USA has supported our events. I feel they personally are pro-gay but they can’t do this publicly.'”

That is certainly not news to readers of "A Shepherd's Voice"--except that here Catholic Charities CYO of San Francisco, until recently, DID do it publicly. The infiltration of the Archdiocese of San Francisco by homosexual activists was one of the motivations in the construction of this website. Check it out in complete detail on our sister site: http://www.sanfrancisco-catholic.com/catholic_charities_cyo.htm

"Preposterous and Ridiculous"

Those are the words of Cardinal Joseph Zen, Salesian of Don Bosco. Our headline is his latest response to the absurd efforts of the Chinese government to install counterfeit bishops in China.

From UCANews.com, which is a great source for Catholic news from Asia.


The atheists running the Catholic Church
It is absurd to hear the statements of politically correct state puppets defending Beijing's policies

These last few days, Catholic faithful inside and outside China have noted with sadness and indignation words pronounced by Anthony Liu Bainian and Reverends Joseph Guo Jincai, Johan Fang Xingyao and Joseph Yang Yu, which are hardly distinguishable from being schismatic. But yesterday’s statement by the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) has reached the extreme of absurdity.

We may understand if the government comes out to defend their puppets by saying that they are politically correct, or to praise their courage in resisting foreign pressure; but now they come out to praise their “ardent Catholic faith” and to say that the ordinations without papal mandate are necessary for “the normal running of the Church and for the needs of pastoral and evangelizing activity.” This is absolutely preposterous and ridiculous, given that as some scholars have recently pointed out, the government is now “running” the Catholic Church.

Are they blind? Have they not had a chance to see how the Catholic Church works in the rest of the world? Does the special situation of China force the government to run a Church which simply can no more be recognizable as Catholic? They are making themselves the laughing stock of the world!

Can our leaders take out some time from their engagement in power struggle and give attention to this “tiny community” of Catholics? Why should our brothers and sisters not be allowed to live peacefully their normal life of faith? Is that not a right given them by the constitution?

They call the excommunication by the Holy See in the fifties “cause” and the illegitimate ordination of bishops “effect.” They are shamelessly twisting the reality.

From the recent three illegitimate ordinations and the Eighth National Congress of Catholic Representatives, everybody could understand that the SARA and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association have decided to lead the open Church to go unrepentant their way of an independent church and to unilaterally elect and ordain their bishops.

Then let them find someone with enough weight, like Martin Luther and King Henry VIII, to give a status to their new church, but they have no right to usurp the name of “Catholic Church.”

With violence they limited personnel freedoms; they even offended the dignity of conscience. They completely disregarded the authority and the kindness of our Holy Father, and still they dare to say that they have sincere will of dialogue. That is the biggest lie in the world! Only the self interest and cowardice of the nations prevent them from saying a fair word of disapproval.

The saying goes: “The eyes of the people are illumined.” In Leshan some people may admire the administrative efficiency of Reverend Paul Lei Shiyin, but they must know that he is unfit to be a bishop; in Shantou there may be people supporting the ambitions of Reverend Joseph Huang Bingzhang. But the generality of the Catholic faithful in China will reject these “opportunists” and will always be on the side of the pope.

Nobody knows how long the severe winter will last, but our faithful are not afraid, or they will overcome their fear with faith and prayer, which will give them strength to imitate the canonized martyrs and innumerable living heroes of faith, to give courageous testimony to our Risen Savior.

Dear faithful brothers and sisters, we salute you – from an old brother who is almost ashamed of living in freedom."

What an admirable son of Don Bosco.

Our friend Jack Smith has posted a column in "The Catholic Key" by good Bishop Finn of Kansas City, telling us that the Chinese Catholics need our prayers but also our political clout. Deacon Keith Fournier has been covering the story in depth, too.

Madness: 150 Human-Animal Hybrids Created in UK Labs

From the Daily Mail:

"The figure was revealed to crossbench peer Lord Alton following a Parliamentary question.
Last night he said: ‘I argued in Parliament against the creation of human- animal hybrids as a matter of principle. None of the scientists who appeared before us could give us any justification in terms of treatment.

‘Ethically it can never be justifiable – it discredits us as a country. It is dabbling in the grotesque.

‘At every stage the justification from scientists has been: if only you allow us to do this, we will find cures for every illness known to mankind. This is emotional blackmail.

‘Of the 80 treatments and cures which have come about from stem cells, all have come from adult stem cells – not embryonic ones.

‘On moral and ethical grounds this fails; and on scientific and medical ones too.’

Josephine Quintavalle, of pro-life group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: ‘I am aghast that this is going on and we didn’t know anything about it.

‘Why have they kept this a secret? If they are proud of what they are doing, why do we need to ask Parliamentary questions for this to come to light?

‘The problem with many scientists is that they want to do things because they want to experiment. That is not a good enough rationale.’

Earlier this week, a group of leading scientists warned about ‘Planet of the Apes’ experiments. They called for new rules to prevent lab animals being given human attributes, for example by injecting human stem cells into the brains of primates."