How could so many Catholics vote for Barack Obama, a man who voted twice to permit infanticide?
Here's a great post and comment by Mark Brumley over at "Ignatius Insight:"
"Part of the problem is that while we now have some bishops willing to speak out in a clear and forceful fashion, we have a generation of churchgoing Catholics--I'm talking about the churchgoers now, not the Catholics in name only--who are clueless about their faith and who have little judgment about how to apply it to the world around them. They go along to get along. These are people who may not have been evangelized, and so they are sacramentalized pagans. These are people who have not been catachesized so they are spiritual babies having to confront issues that require a mature faith.
We need to make the most of this situation and do what we can to change things. Bishops will have to step up the plate. Priests will, too. And religious. And lay leaders. It is going to take an honest appraisal of the problem. No more happy talk about the Church in the U.S. Yes, we have a priest shortage. You want to know why? Because we have a Christian shortage and a Catholic shortage among Catholics. That's the unvarnished truth. The baptized pagans who occupy so much pew space in our churches have to be converted to Christianity. The liberal-Protestantish Catholicism-lite that substitutes for Catholicism has to be converted to real Catholicism. The bishops have to stop kidding themselves. And they have to be willing to take on their brother bishops when they're part of the problem and they have to be willing to confront their clergy when they are part of the problem.
There is more to be said but this will do for now. Let's all look at our own situation and ask ourselves what needs to be done in our own lives. That may require prayer and sacrifice on our part. It may involve having to confront others--charitably and lovingly, of course. It should get us involved more, if we're not already, in parish life."
Emphasis added.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Proposition 8 and the Common Good
In today's L. A. Times, Jeff Flint, political strategist for the Proposition 8 campaign, explains the come from behind victory:
"We caused Californians to rethink this issue," Proposition 8 strategist Jeff Flint said. Early in the campaign, he noted, polls showed the measure trailing by 17 points.
"I think the voters were thinking, well, if it makes them happy, why shouldn't we let gay couples get married. And I think we made them realize that there are broader implications to society and particularly the children when you make that fundamental change that's at the core of how society is organized, which is marriage," he said.
"We caused Californians to rethink this issue," Proposition 8 strategist Jeff Flint said. Early in the campaign, he noted, polls showed the measure trailing by 17 points.
"I think the voters were thinking, well, if it makes them happy, why shouldn't we let gay couples get married. And I think we made them realize that there are broader implications to society and particularly the children when you make that fundamental change that's at the core of how society is organized, which is marriage," he said.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Marriage Victory in California!
Not all votes are in, but it's a win. Proposition 8 leads decisively by 4% with 95% of precincts reporting. Supporters of same-sex "marriage" have maintained their perfect record at the polls: zero victories whenever the people have a chance to have their say.
Despite having the Supreme Court of the State of California dream up some illusory right for persons of the same-sex to "marry," despite having Attorney General Jerry Brown change the wording of the proposition in order to benefit their side, despite an historic night by the most radical leftist candidate ever to run for President in the history of the United States, they still lost. And not only in California, but even more convincingly in Florida and Arizona as well.
And if the people of Massachusetts (and now Connecticut) are ever allowed to vote on this issue, natural marriage will be upheld there, too. Proposition 8 was not about same-sex "marriage"--it was about marriage, period. It not only prevents same-sex couples "marrying," but also polygamous/polyandrous "marriages" as well. It defends natural marriage. This is victory for the common good.
But remember: in their ruling, the California Supreme Court described homosexuals as a "suspect class" therefore entitled to the "strict scrutiny" standard under the law. Look for many attacks on the Catholic Church and schools/other organizations in the months and years ahead.
Despite having the Supreme Court of the State of California dream up some illusory right for persons of the same-sex to "marry," despite having Attorney General Jerry Brown change the wording of the proposition in order to benefit their side, despite an historic night by the most radical leftist candidate ever to run for President in the history of the United States, they still lost. And not only in California, but even more convincingly in Florida and Arizona as well.
And if the people of Massachusetts (and now Connecticut) are ever allowed to vote on this issue, natural marriage will be upheld there, too. Proposition 8 was not about same-sex "marriage"--it was about marriage, period. It not only prevents same-sex couples "marrying," but also polygamous/polyandrous "marriages" as well. It defends natural marriage. This is victory for the common good.
But remember: in their ruling, the California Supreme Court described homosexuals as a "suspect class" therefore entitled to the "strict scrutiny" standard under the law. Look for many attacks on the Catholic Church and schools/other organizations in the months and years ahead.
Next Battle: The "Freedom of Choice Act"
Senator Obama has pledged, as his first act in office, to sign FOCA, the Freedom of Choice Act.
FOCA will undo every bit of pro-life legislation since Roe v. Wade. You can read the bill here.
Here is an excerpt of an interview by Fr. Thomas Berg with Susan Willis, Assistant Director for Education and Outreach at the Committee on Pro-Life activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
"FOCA would call into question virtually every abortion-related state and federal law currently in force.
It would immediately supersede every federal law, such as the partial-birth abortion ban, restrictions on federal funding of abortion through Medicaid, and the ban on abortions in military hospitals.
On the authority of FOCA, state laws protecting the lives of unborn children and their mothers could be immediately unenforceable.
All the modest and reasonable state laws of the past 35 years (which have also been successful in reducing abortions) would fall to legal challenges based on FOCA.
These include the following laws: protecting parental rights to be involved in an abortion decision, ensuring informed consent, regulating abortion clinic “safety,” protecting the conscience rights of doctors, nurses and hospitals to not be involved in abortion, and protecting women from non-physician abortionists among others.
Significantly, taxpayers could also be forced to fund abortions for the uninsured."
Most of our bishops have stood up admirably against the holocaust of abortion in this past election. They must be even more faithful when FOCA comes up for a vote in Congress in 2009.
FOCA will undo every bit of pro-life legislation since Roe v. Wade. You can read the bill here.
Here is an excerpt of an interview by Fr. Thomas Berg with Susan Willis, Assistant Director for Education and Outreach at the Committee on Pro-Life activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
"FOCA would call into question virtually every abortion-related state and federal law currently in force.
It would immediately supersede every federal law, such as the partial-birth abortion ban, restrictions on federal funding of abortion through Medicaid, and the ban on abortions in military hospitals.
On the authority of FOCA, state laws protecting the lives of unborn children and their mothers could be immediately unenforceable.
All the modest and reasonable state laws of the past 35 years (which have also been successful in reducing abortions) would fall to legal challenges based on FOCA.
These include the following laws: protecting parental rights to be involved in an abortion decision, ensuring informed consent, regulating abortion clinic “safety,” protecting the conscience rights of doctors, nurses and hospitals to not be involved in abortion, and protecting women from non-physician abortionists among others.
Significantly, taxpayers could also be forced to fund abortions for the uninsured."
Most of our bishops have stood up admirably against the holocaust of abortion in this past election. They must be even more faithful when FOCA comes up for a vote in Congress in 2009.
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Victory of 2008!
At a Mass marking the completion of the 40 Days for Life campaign in Fargo, North Dakota, Bishop Samuel J. Aquila reminded his congregation that no Catholic can vote for someone who supports an intrinsic evil and that all Catholics “will be judged by how we vote.”
“Judgment is real, just as heaven and hell are real,” Bishop Aquila explained during his homily in Fargo yesterday. “When the soul separates from the body and comes before God, we will be judged on how we lived. It’s important to understand the reality of that judgment.”
No matter how any election turns out tomorrow, 2008 will be remembered as a year of victory.
Because what can be more important than the bishops of the Catholic Church bravely teaching the truth of the faith?
The fearless, forthright stand by our bishops (well over 80--I've stopped counting) against any candidate who supports abortion is unprecedented in my lifetime. The social justice teaching of the Church has been articulated by as never before.
What a fitting tribute to the year of St. Paul!
God bless them!
Bishop Finn, Obama, and Salvation
"Chris Stigall: There are Catholics listening right now who are thinking strongly or are convinced that they will vote for Barack Obama. What would you say to them?
Bishop Finn: I would say, give consideration to your eternal salvation."
With an excerpt like that, you know you've got to listen to the rest.
"The Catholic Key" has the story, and audio.
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Bishop Finn: I would say, give consideration to your eternal salvation."
With an excerpt like that, you know you've got to listen to the rest.
"The Catholic Key" has the story, and audio.
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Voting and our Duty to Social Justice
This powerful and timely homily is by Fr. Anselm Ramelow, O.P.
Fr. Anselm is a Dominican Priest and Professor of Philosophy at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology here in the Bay Area.
Homily for St. Martin de Porres’ Feast day
I.
Today we celebrate St. Martin de Porres, one of the 3 great Dominican Saints in Lima, Peru in the 16./17. century. He was a simple lay brother, caring for the poor and sick and even animals. So, he was someone who had a heart for what you may call the “underdog” or disadvantaged. He himself was one of those. Being the son of a Spaniard and a black woman, he had to struggle with racial prejudice. While skin color is no reason for either rejection or election, he certainly knew about discrimination. And with all of that he can be seen as a patron of social justice.
II.
But there are other aspects to his life. He had a great love for God in the Eucharist, and he spent long hours and nights in prayer, especially for the souls in purgatory. That is, his sense for social justice was not only of one dimension. It also was giving God his due by worshipping him, and making the just reparations for those who had not given him his due, i.e., by praying for the souls in purgatory.
III.
So let us pause and ask for a moment: what is justice? Justice is to give everyone “his or her due” (suum cuique, as the Latins say). We owe things to our neighbor, and we owe things to God as well. God and neighbor have both rights that we need to respect and serve.
But how do we acquire those rights that make, in justice, claims on others?
Mostly through work: if I do work for an employer, I deserve a just wage. If I plough a field, I have a claim to its fruits. If I make an artifact, I have the rights to it, including things like copyright. If I pick wild berries, they are mine.
But it seems that not all rights are of the kind that is acquired by work. What about the right to health or, most fundamentally, the right to life? This is most fundamental, because, if we do not live, i.e. if we do not exist, we cannot work either, or acquire rights to other things.
So where do we get that right from?
I would suggest that it is actually not we who have the right to our life, because we are not the one who have worked for it. It is God, who worked for it, when he created us. He has the right to our life, and nobody else, neither we ourselves nor the government nor anyone else. That is why murder and suicide are equally a violation of the right to life.
IV.
There is a perpetual temptation to undermine this right by playing God ourselves. That might be one of the reasons why people are so intent on making human beings in their image and likeness, by cloning, by IVF, or by genetic engineering. Because, if it seems that you have made it, then it is yours, and you can also unmake, i.e. kill it, whenever you like. It would be your property after all, and you have the rights to it.
This is only one way in which particularly the culture of our age has started to invade and challenge the most fundamental right, the right to life, something that is owned by God and therefore sacred.
If you can challenge this right, you can challenge all the other rights as well. If you think it legitimate to let innocent children die, who survive abortion, what reason can you give, not to torture non-innocent adults or submit them to the death penalty? If you can kill defenseless children, why not armored soldiers even in an unjust war?
That is why being pro-life is not just one issue among others, but the foundation of all of them. This is also why the U.S. bishops list the issue of abortion first in their list of priorities for tomorrow’s election. That is, why the Declaration of Independence lists them in this order "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. You cannot have liberty and happiness unless you have life first. It is also why the bishops ask us to protect the place where this life emerges, marriage and the family; the place where sacred life begins is itself sacred. This is why the bishops urge you to vote Yes on Proposition 8 tomorrow.
V.
It is sometimes said that one should not make one issue decisive, and that there is life after birth as well. And that is certainly true; nobody will deny that. But even many issues after birth are dependent on this right to life. What happens, for example, if a Freedom of Choice Act abolishes the right to conscientious objections for health care personal? Doctors and nurses will have to choose between their job and the eternal salvation of their immortal soul. That, too, is at stake.
But more fundamentally: no, actually, there is no life after birth, if there is no life before birth first! The right to life is and remains the most fundamental right, because without it there are no other rights.
VI.
We have a right and duty to speak out on these matters. One cannot accuse the Church (or Pius XII) of not speaking out enough against the genocide of the Nazis (when it was dangerous to do so) and yet ask the Church to be silent (while we still have the right of free speech) in the face of 40-50 millions of abortions since Roe vs. Wade.
These are our brothers and sisters who are killed. We might meet them some day in heaven, and they will ask us, what we have done to protect them, or whether we have rather helped those who kill them.
Don’t think that it is easy for me to say these things; I would rather not have to do it. But I would have to answer these questions myself one day, if I didn’t.
St. Martin de Porres, had he lived today, would have spoken out against it. He would have known that the abortion industry of Planned Parenthood purposefully targets minorities and people of color; he would have known that the abortion rate among black people is disproportionately high. In countries like India and China especially girls are targeted, but always it is the weak, the minorities the disadvantaged and disabled who are targeted. It is for these that St. Martin de Porres would speak up. It is itself a matter of social justice.
It is the blood of our brothers and sisters that is flowing, and it is crying out to heaven – to God, who is the creator and owner of all life. It is the blood that is common to all of us who are children of God, regardless of skin color or age. It is the blood that God not only created, but which he purchased at a great prize by giving for it his own blood on the cross. It puts on us the obligation to defend it, because it is the life of those who God, through his labor, created and redeemed; and it belongs to God alone.
Fr. Anselm is a Dominican Priest and Professor of Philosophy at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology here in the Bay Area.
Homily for St. Martin de Porres’ Feast day
I.
Today we celebrate St. Martin de Porres, one of the 3 great Dominican Saints in Lima, Peru in the 16./17. century. He was a simple lay brother, caring for the poor and sick and even animals. So, he was someone who had a heart for what you may call the “underdog” or disadvantaged. He himself was one of those. Being the son of a Spaniard and a black woman, he had to struggle with racial prejudice. While skin color is no reason for either rejection or election, he certainly knew about discrimination. And with all of that he can be seen as a patron of social justice.
II.
But there are other aspects to his life. He had a great love for God in the Eucharist, and he spent long hours and nights in prayer, especially for the souls in purgatory. That is, his sense for social justice was not only of one dimension. It also was giving God his due by worshipping him, and making the just reparations for those who had not given him his due, i.e., by praying for the souls in purgatory.
III.
So let us pause and ask for a moment: what is justice? Justice is to give everyone “his or her due” (suum cuique, as the Latins say). We owe things to our neighbor, and we owe things to God as well. God and neighbor have both rights that we need to respect and serve.
But how do we acquire those rights that make, in justice, claims on others?
Mostly through work: if I do work for an employer, I deserve a just wage. If I plough a field, I have a claim to its fruits. If I make an artifact, I have the rights to it, including things like copyright. If I pick wild berries, they are mine.
But it seems that not all rights are of the kind that is acquired by work. What about the right to health or, most fundamentally, the right to life? This is most fundamental, because, if we do not live, i.e. if we do not exist, we cannot work either, or acquire rights to other things.
So where do we get that right from?
I would suggest that it is actually not we who have the right to our life, because we are not the one who have worked for it. It is God, who worked for it, when he created us. He has the right to our life, and nobody else, neither we ourselves nor the government nor anyone else. That is why murder and suicide are equally a violation of the right to life.
IV.
There is a perpetual temptation to undermine this right by playing God ourselves. That might be one of the reasons why people are so intent on making human beings in their image and likeness, by cloning, by IVF, or by genetic engineering. Because, if it seems that you have made it, then it is yours, and you can also unmake, i.e. kill it, whenever you like. It would be your property after all, and you have the rights to it.
This is only one way in which particularly the culture of our age has started to invade and challenge the most fundamental right, the right to life, something that is owned by God and therefore sacred.
If you can challenge this right, you can challenge all the other rights as well. If you think it legitimate to let innocent children die, who survive abortion, what reason can you give, not to torture non-innocent adults or submit them to the death penalty? If you can kill defenseless children, why not armored soldiers even in an unjust war?
That is why being pro-life is not just one issue among others, but the foundation of all of them. This is also why the U.S. bishops list the issue of abortion first in their list of priorities for tomorrow’s election. That is, why the Declaration of Independence lists them in this order "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. You cannot have liberty and happiness unless you have life first. It is also why the bishops ask us to protect the place where this life emerges, marriage and the family; the place where sacred life begins is itself sacred. This is why the bishops urge you to vote Yes on Proposition 8 tomorrow.
V.
It is sometimes said that one should not make one issue decisive, and that there is life after birth as well. And that is certainly true; nobody will deny that. But even many issues after birth are dependent on this right to life. What happens, for example, if a Freedom of Choice Act abolishes the right to conscientious objections for health care personal? Doctors and nurses will have to choose between their job and the eternal salvation of their immortal soul. That, too, is at stake.
But more fundamentally: no, actually, there is no life after birth, if there is no life before birth first! The right to life is and remains the most fundamental right, because without it there are no other rights.
VI.
We have a right and duty to speak out on these matters. One cannot accuse the Church (or Pius XII) of not speaking out enough against the genocide of the Nazis (when it was dangerous to do so) and yet ask the Church to be silent (while we still have the right of free speech) in the face of 40-50 millions of abortions since Roe vs. Wade.
These are our brothers and sisters who are killed. We might meet them some day in heaven, and they will ask us, what we have done to protect them, or whether we have rather helped those who kill them.
Don’t think that it is easy for me to say these things; I would rather not have to do it. But I would have to answer these questions myself one day, if I didn’t.
St. Martin de Porres, had he lived today, would have spoken out against it. He would have known that the abortion industry of Planned Parenthood purposefully targets minorities and people of color; he would have known that the abortion rate among black people is disproportionately high. In countries like India and China especially girls are targeted, but always it is the weak, the minorities the disadvantaged and disabled who are targeted. It is for these that St. Martin de Porres would speak up. It is itself a matter of social justice.
It is the blood of our brothers and sisters that is flowing, and it is crying out to heaven – to God, who is the creator and owner of all life. It is the blood that is common to all of us who are children of God, regardless of skin color or age. It is the blood that God not only created, but which he purchased at a great prize by giving for it his own blood on the cross. It puts on us the obligation to defend it, because it is the life of those who God, through his labor, created and redeemed; and it belongs to God alone.
"American Papist News"
Thomas Peters has added an exciting new video function to his blog, "American Papist." It's called "American Papist News."
Here's the first episode, featuring an interview with His Excellency Charles Chaput:
God Bless the both of 'em!
Here's the first episode, featuring an interview with His Excellency Charles Chaput:
God Bless the both of 'em!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Attention Ohio, Pennsylvania Voters
Senator Obama Pledges to bankrupt coal plants:
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Saturday, November 1, 2008
The Committee of Public Safety...
...is what they called it in France.
In Cuba it is the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.
In Venezuela, they are called Units of Social Control.
In the U.S., Senator Obama calls for a "Civilian National Security Force."
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
In Cuba it is the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.
In Venezuela, they are called Units of Social Control.
In the U.S., Senator Obama calls for a "Civilian National Security Force."
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Obama Associate Ayers Dedicated book to Sirhan Sirhan
And the Kennedy family supports Barack Obama. Incredible.
The image above is from a post by San Francisco photojournalist "Zombie" on Bill Ayers' book "Prairie Fire" which is dedicated to, among others, Sirhan Sirhan, the man who murdered Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The full page from the book, plus numerous other scans, can be seen at the post.
"Zombie" also has done some great reporting on Barack Obama's "missing" Columbia University years. Go here to learn more.
H/T American Thinker
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
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