USF Update: Cardinal Newman Society catches them touting Planned Parenthood

From the CNS website:

"The University of San Francisco is scandalously suggesting to students that being a director at a Planned Parenthood clinic is a future job possibility.

The Jesuit institution’s School of Nursing and Health Professions website lists under the banner Careers in Public Health,'Director for Planned Parenthood.' The site promotes USF’s Master's in Public Health Nursing degree with suggestions of future job possibilities."

Following CNS's exposure, the Jesuit school has pulled the reference, but here is a screenshot from the cached webpage:

John XXIII & John Paul II to be Canonized on Divine Mercy Sunday!

Wonderful news!

Blessed John XXXIII and John Paul II, pray for us!

Barilla Pasta Boss Tells Truth, Gets Hammered

Guido Barilla apparently thinks a culture where "Heather Has No Daddy" is not a desirable state of affairs.

From The Guardian:

"For us the concept of the sacred family remains one of the basic values of the company," he told Italian radio on Wednesday evening. "I would not do it but not out of a lack of respect for homosexuals who have the right to do what they want without bothering others … [but] I don't see things like they do and I think the family that we speak to is a classic family."

Now, of course, he's getting the Maoist/Nazi/Stalinist/Khmer Rouge/Homosexualist re-education, and Barilla officials are grovelling in obeisance to the almighty buck, but the truth can't be untold. The Guardian article goes on to say that he is in favor of counterfeit "marriage" but is against same-sex couples adopting children. You're dealing with a totalitarian movement, Signor Barilla. You won't be allowed to make those kinds of distinctions. As pro same-sex "marriage" supporter Professor John Corvino said “Whichever side prevails in this debate, the other’s views will be marginalized. There’s no getting around that.”

More justification, if more were needed, for the Russian anti-propaganda law.  As Russian Consul Sergey Petrov said “Family, motherhood and childhood in the traditional sense are values that lead to the preservation and development (of Russia, and) therefore require special protection from the state."

Providence College Changes Mind; Dr. Ed Peters Comments

Here's Dr. Ed Peter's take, given after the college had rescinded the invitation to Dr. John Corvino (see previous post), a supporter of counterfeit "marriage." It's valid regardless of Dr. Corvino's being reinvited, disinvited, or never invited. Emphases added:

What was there to debate at Providence?

About Drs. John Corvino and Dana Dillon, and about Providence College, I know next to nothing, and so can say next to nothing; about the ‘gay marriage’ debate—or at least about some Catholic principles applicable to the ‘gay marriage’ debate—I know something and so can say something.

Inviting a speaker to a college campus to address a volatile issue and offering (if belatedly) to provide a rebuttal speaker, but then cancelling the whole event apparently because management doesn’t like the views to be expressed by the original speaker, is the stuff of which higher education public relations disasters are made. But while Providence College works through its image problems (and, given the institutional identification with the Catholic Church, while the Church faces yet another PR mess not of her own making), it might help to step back and ask, what exactly was to be debated at the Providence ‘gay marriage’ debate in the first place?

Considering her age (+2,000 years), her membership (+1,000,000,000), and her range of concerns (eternal salvation and human civilization), the Catholic Church has a remarkably short list of non-negotiable assertions. Some of these non-negotiable assertions deal with dogma (e.g., Jesus is divine and human, or, there are exactly seven sacraments) and some of these non-negotiable assertions deal with doctrines (e.g., the Church has no power to ordain women to priesthood, or Thomas More is a saint) but in both cases, the assertion being made is, Catholics hold, being made with infallible certainty.

Now, among the assertions made by the Church with infallible certainty, I have argued, is this one: God made marriage to exist between one man and one woman. Catholics could debate, say, whether this assertion is a dogma to be believed or a doctrine to be held, or whether the assertion is knowable by reason alone or requires the gift of faith. Catholics could even debate whether civil unions of one sort or another between two persons of the same sex are good for society or bad. But Catholics cannot, I suggest, argue whether true marriage exists only between one man and one woman. To debate whether marriage can exist between two persons of the same sex is to imply that some Catholic non-negotiables can be negotiated by Catholics.

No wonder an event purporting to do exactly that ran aground. Little wonder that the attempt to explain away the shipwreck on grounds of, say, the 2004 USCCB statement or the lack of prep time afforded one participant, rings so badly. Neither of those considerations gets at the heart of the matter: Catholics cannot hold marriage to be other than the union of one man and one woman.

Providence College Follows Church, Denies Platform to Counterfeit "Marriage" Supporter

Good to see. From the New York Times:

"Providence College, a Roman Catholic school in Rhode Island, has canceled a lecture in support of same-sex marriage on Thursday by a gay philosophy professor, citing a church document that says that “Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.” 

Excellent. This is why that Church document was written.

"The lecturer, John Corvino, chairman of the philosophy department at Wayne State University, in Detroit, has spoken previously at more than 10 Catholic colleges and often appears in friendly debates with religious opponents of gay marriage. His appearance at Providence College had been co-sponsored by nine departments and programs, and some of the organizers said the cancellation surprised them." 

I'll bet it did. May the surprises increase!

Do Christians in America care about Christians in the Middle East?

A reporter named Lee Stranahan has arrived in Beirut. His mission is to cover the horrible situation facing Christians in the Middle East--the birthplace of the faith. We will be following his reporting.

From his first dispatch:

"Even before I got to Lebanon, I got some confirmation of my suspicion that the plight of Middle Eastern Christians may not be a big news story in the United States but it’s a real, major crisis and people connected to it in this part of the want to talk about it.

On the plane into Beirut, I sat next to a man named Fadi, a Lebanese native and Maronite Christian who was now living in France. His father had passed away in Lebanon a few months ago and now the family was getting together for a memorial.

We talked about the strikes by the Syrian rebels agains the town of Maaloula that I’ve written about for Breitbart News. I explained how most Americans weren’t really paying much attention to what was going on in Syria until President Barack Obama began to talk about attacking it recently. Fadi asked me:

'The Christians in the United States, do they care about what’s happening to the Christians here?'”

"Well, that’s the question for Americans, isn’t it? That’s the question for you, really.

So far, the media has decided you don’t care. The Obama administration appears to pinned their foreign policy public approval hopes in the Middle East on the notion that Americans will either not notice or not care what’s been happening to Christians here."

Well, our own government is now supporting those in Syria who have driven the Christians out. There does not seem to be any Christian solidarity in America, nor any political power. One way to help and learn more is rescuechristians.org 

78 Christians Murdered by Muslim Fanatics in Pakistan

Let us pray for our brothers and sisters, Christians throughout the world, who are being murdererd on a daily basis. An all-too-familiar story, via the New York Times.

"PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suicide attack on a historic church in northwestern Pakistan killed at least 78 people on Sunday in one of the deadliest attacks on the Christian minority in Pakistan in years.

The attack occurred as worshipers left All Saints Church in the old quarter of the regional capital, Peshawar, after a service on Sunday morning. Up to 600 people had attended and were leaving to receive free food being distributed on the lawn outside when two explosions ripped through the crowd. “As soon as the service finished and the food was being distributed, all of a sudden we heard one explosion, followed by another,” said Azim Ghori, a witness.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who arrived in Peshawar on Sunday evening, said that 78 people had been killed, including 34 women and 7 children. “Such an attack on women and children is against humanity,” he said. Akhtar Ali Shah, the home secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, said that more than 100 people had been wounded. Mr. Khan said that 37 of those were children....

In March, a Muslim mob swarmed through a Christian neighborhood in the eastern city of Lahore, burning two churches and more than 100 houses. Christians also frequently find themselves accused of blasphemy under Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws.

In a statement, (Prime Minister Nawaz) Sharif said, “The terrorists have no religion, and targeting innocent people is against the teachings of Islam and all religions.” The Pakistan Ulema Council, the largest clerical body, also condemned the blast, saying that the council was “standing with our Christian brothers in this tragedy.” The opposition leader Imran Khan, who has advocated initiating peace talks with the militants, expressed solidarity with the Christian community but also repeated his call to tackle terrorism in the country."

Mary Help of Christians, pray for us!

Cardinal Burke Teaches it: Nancy Pelosi Must Be Denied Commuion

The great Cardinal Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura stated in no uncertain terms that my Congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi, MUST be denied Holy Communion. The Cardinal made the statement in an interview with The Wanderer, parts of which were reprinted in LifeSiteNews. From the LSN article:

"Asked about Pelosi, he said, 'Certainly this is a case when Canon 915 must be applied.'

Canon 915 states that those who are 'obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.'

'This is a person who obstinately, after repeated admonitions, persists in a grave sin — cooperating with the crime of procured abortion — and still professes to be a devout Catholic,' the cardinal said. 'I fear for Congresswoman Pelosi if she does not come to understand how gravely in error she is. I invite her to reflect upon the example of St. Thomas More who acted rightly in a similar situation even at the cost of his life.'

Canon Lawyer Ed Peters, who since 2010 has been a Referendary of the Apostolic Signatura has been making the same point for years. In March of 2010, he wrote:

"Now, I suggest that there is no US Catholic politician whose conduct at the national level is more stridently and widely pro-abortion (to name just one area in which Pelosi's machinations are gravely objectionable) and whose scandalous rhetoric is more overtly Catholic (many of her bizarre assertions the bishops have had to stop and refute) than is Nancy Pelosi's. If her prolonged public conduct does not qualify as obstinent perseverance in manifest grave sin, then, in all sincerity, I must admit to not knowing what would constitute obstinent perseverance in manifest grave sin."

And of course my old boss, Fr. Malloy (may he pray for us!) called out Pelosi back in 2007.

The Cardinal's full interview is well worth reading. He also discusses the Holy Father, the benefits of the increased celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary Form, the diabolical attack on the family, the deline in Mass attendance, and the increasingly totalitarian direction of the U.S.

Pope Francis to Doctors: "The first right of the human person is his life"

It's strangely necessary, in our time to belabor the obvious. But strange and irritating though it may be, we still are not excused from doing it, as the Holy Father knows. Here's what he told a group of Catholic gynecologists, courtesy of Vatican information services (emphases added):

Vatican City, 20 September 2013 (VIS) – Today the Pope met with members of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations and Catholic gynaecologists, and spoke of the current paradoxical situation of the medical profession. “On the one hand we see progress in the field of medicine, thanks to the work of scientists who passionately and unreservedly dedicate themselves to the search for new cures. On the other hand, however, we also encounter the risk that doctors lose sight of their identity in the service of life”. He referred to the Encyclical Caritas in Veritate to explain that this paradoxical situation is seen also in the fact that, “while new rights are attributed to or indeed almost presumed by the individual, life is not always protected as the primary value and the primordial right of every human being. The ultimate aim of medicine remains the defence and promotion of life”. Faced with this contradictory situation, the Pope renewed the Church's appeal to the conscience of all healthcare professionals and volunteers, especially gynaecologists. “Yours is a singular vocation and mission, which necessitates study, conscience and humanity”, he said.

Again, Francis spoke of the “throwaway culture” that leads to the elimination of human beings, especially those who are physically and socially weakest. “Our response to this mentality is a 'yes' to life, decisive and without hesitation. 'The first right of the human person is his life. He has other goods and some are precious, but this one is fundamental – the condition for all the others'”

(In the preceding paragraph His Holiness is obviously speaking of abortion, and the illogical elevation of a right to choice over the right to life.)

Reiterating that in recent times, human life in its entirety has become a priority for the Magisterium of the Church, the Pope emphasised that “goods have a price and can be sold, but people have dignity, they are worth more than goods and have no price”.

Francis asked those present to “bear witness to and disseminate this 'culture of life' … remind all, through actions and words, that in all its phases and at any age, life is always sacred and always of quality. And not as a matter of faith, but of reason and science! There is no human life more sacred than another, just as there exists no human life qualitatively more meaningful than another”.
.

Nicely said. AB Broglio's Statement: "Reiterates Church teaching on homosexuality"

On September 17, His Excellency Archbishop Timothy Broglio, our good Archbishop for the Military Services, issued the following clarification for Catholics and especially Catholic Chaplains, when they "encounter ministry situations involving Catholic or non-Catholic parties in same gender “marital” relationships."

The press release was headlined "Statement reiterates Church teaching on homosexuality"and provides clarity and the proper Catholic responses to concrete situations. God bless him!

Renewed Fidelity in favor of Evangelization

As members of the Church founded by Jesus Christ to meet the needs of the baptized and to proclaim that good news about the salvation given by Him, we are also aware of His clear teaching about the danger of scandal (Mt. 18:6). This world is a pilgrimage to life without end. At the conclusion of our walk through life we must stand before the Throne of Grace to give an accounting of our fidelity.

St. Paul reminds priests to be all things to all people (1Cor. 9:22). A clear disservice is rendered if the truth of the Gospel is confused by the actions of those ordained to disseminate that truth. The current situation makes it necessary to reiterate with clarity the teaching of the Catholic Church regarding homosexuality. However, it must never be forgotten that the human condition occasions many failings. St. Paul continually reminds us of that fact in his letters to the communities of believers.

Priests ordained to minister Word and Sacrament and endorsed to serve Catholics in the Armed Forces, the Veterans Administration Medical Centers, and those who serve the US Federal Government outside the borders of the United States of America know that theirs is a twenty-four-seven vocation. By speech, action, and example they witness to the truth revealed by the Lord in all that they do (see Eph. 4:14).

Recent changes in interpretations of the laws of the Federal Government oblige me to recall what is clearly held by the Catholic Church. At the same time I am grateful to the Congress of the United States for its passage of renewed conscience-protection language, specifically for chaplains in the Armed Forces.

Ministry

No Catholic priest or deacon may be forced by any authority to witness or bless the union of couples of the same gender. No Catholic priest or deacon can be obliged to assist at a “Strong Bonds” or other “Marriage Retreat”, if that gathering is also open to couples of the same gender. A priest who is asked to counsel non-Catholic parties in a same-gendered relationship will direct them to a chaplain who is able to assist. Catholic parties will, of course, be encouraged by the priest to strive to live by the teaching of the Gospel.

Participation in retirements, changes of command, and promotion ceremonies is possible, as long as the priest is not required to acknowledge or approve of a “spouse” of the same gender.

While the tradition of the Catholic Church always tries to find reasons to bury the dead, a priest may not be placed in a situation where his assistance at a funeral for a Catholic would give the impression that the Church approves of same sex “marital” relationships (see CIC, c. 1184, §1,3º). In the case of doubt, the Archbishop for the Military Services, USA must be consulted (see CIC, c. 1184, §2).

 
Lay Ministries

Obviously, anyone who is known to be in a sinful relationship is excluded from ministries in the Catholic community. While this list is not intended to cover every situation, lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, altar servers, catechists, and members of the Catholic Council immediately come to mind.

Participation

We are also mindful of the Lord’s words, “Let the one among you who is guiltless be the first to throw a stone…” (Jn. 8:7b). The Church must minister to all regardless of their sexual inclination. While the invitation to conversion cannot be diluted, the door to the mercy of Christ, obtained through His Cross, must be kept open. Priests and deacons will be guided by the principles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (cf. nos. 2358-2359) and never forget that it is the sin that is hated and never the sinner.

In the quest for continued fidelity to the truth of the Gospel, it must not be forgotten that estimates indicate that same-gender couples represent less than half of one percent of those in the Armed Forces. While every individual is important, such a small group cannot be allowed to mandate policy for all.

Guidance for Catholics in Command Positions

I am not unaware that the faithful entrusted to my pastoral care also include those Catholics who exercise command positions. They can be faced with additional questions as they fulfill their responsibilities to those above and below them in the chain of command. Consequently in response to a doubt raised by the AMS regarding the question of a person’s possible cooperation with evil, the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) stated:

“Commanders of United States military installations/veterans’ facilities (hereafter, ‘commanders’) would not be engaging in morally illicit cooperation, but rather tolerable remote mediate material cooperation with evil by implementing federal employee benefits accruing pursuant to same-sex marriage, as required by United States v. Windsor. Our determination is contingent on the situations in which commanders are unable to avoid such cooperation without jeopardizing their own just right to their employment security for themselves and/or their families. This is also contingent on the commander making known his/her objection to being required to so participate, as well as on attempting through legal channels to continue to accomplish changes in policy consistent with the historic understanding of marriage and family as based on natural moral law. Also, if without incurring a demotion of loss or downgrade of position/rank/grade or other serious harm, there is a mechanism to have others more senior in the chain of command to carry out the implementation of such policy, this should be pursued.”

Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio
Archbishop for the Military Services

SF’s Third Annual Rosary Rally on October 12!

Public Rosary, The Blessed Sacrament, Confessions, and the Archbishop
SF’s Third Rosary Rally on October 12

On October 12, the Archdiocese of San Francisco, joined by the Archdiocesan Hispanic Ministry, the Legion of Mary, Immaculate Heart Radio, Ignatius Press, and the Knights of Columbus will host San Francisco’s third Annual Rosary Rally. This year’s keynote speaker will be San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone.

The San Francisco Rosary Rally was reborn in 2011 in observation of the 50th Anniversary of Fr. Patrick Peyton’s 1961 Rosary Crusade in Golden Gate Park, which drew half a million of the faithful. That event is still the largest gathering in San Francisco’s history. While the 2011 Rosary Rally drew an estimated 2,000 Catholics, a far cry from Fr. Peyton’s crowd, the significant number of devoted Catholics in attendance provoked a correspondingly greater involvement by the Archdiocese in the 2012 Rally.

By a lucky coincidence, the Second Annual Rosary Rally, in 2012, happened to be scheduled on the same day as the Archdiocese’s Annual Hispanic Day Mass, which is always celebrated at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Following the Mass, a large number of Hispanic faithful joined the march and rally, and shouts of “Viva Cristo Rey!” filled UN Plaza! The 2012 keynote speakers were Father Mark Mary, of EWTN’s “Life on the Rock” (in English) and Father Moisés Agudo, the Vicar for Spanish-speaking of the archdiocese of San Francisco (in Spanish).

This year the day will also begin with the 9:30 AM Hispanic Day Mass at the Cathedral. Mass will be followed by will be a mile-long procession to UN Plaza, located by the intersections of Market and Seventh Streets. The faithful will bear images and statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of the Rosary, and the Immaculate Conception. An additional crowd of the faithful will already be at U.N. Plaza, praying the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary and awaiting the arrival of the pilgrims from the Cathedral. At 12 noon the pilgrims will be welcomed, then there will be Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (O Salutaris); the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary; Benediction (Tantum Ergo); and the keynote addresses in both Spanish and English by Archbishop Cordileone. The faithful will then recite the Nicene Creed, followed by the concluding blessing and a closing song. This year’s Master of Ceremonies will be Monsignor James Tarantino, who closed last year’s rally with a fiery call to the New Evangelization: “Heaven demands that WE do it! Heaven demands a voice! You are that voice!” And, taking a page from World Youth Day, for the first time at the Rosary Rally there will be Priests on hand to hear confession.

Vicki Evans, Respect Life Coordinator for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, said “We are grateful to Our Blessed Mother for bringing us to our third Rosary Rally. As we pray the rosary in United Nations Plaza, we witness to the fact that religion is not something that is observed only in private and only on Sundays. As we bring our faith into the public square, we are putting the City on notice that religious freedom is a first amendment right that we will defend in season and out of season.”

To learn more about the Rosary Rally, visit http://www.rosaryrallysf.com/ 

For some nice pictures from the 2012 Mass and Rally, go here:

http://www.rosaryrallysf.com/2012_photos.html

Let Us Remember What 9/11 Is All About

Because our government apparently does not. The blogger Fjordman writes today:

"On September 11 2001, Jihadists from the al-Qaida terror network hit the US mainland and killed thousands of people. On September 11 2013, groups with al-Qaida ties receive backing and even arms from Western authorities in countries like Syria."