Thursday, June 28, 2012

Supremes Uphold Obamacare

The Reuters article closes with the sentence:

"The court's ruling on the law could figure prominently in the run-up to the November 6 election in which Obama seeks a second four-year term against Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who opposed the law."

Ya think?

UPDATE: May not have to wait until November. Eric Cantor says the Congress will vote to repeal Obamacare on July 11.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Bishop Cordileone Requests Fidelity From Homosexual Activists--They Refuse.


The great Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland has asking for an oath of fidelity to Catholic teaching from CALGM, the Catholic Association of Lesbian and Gay Ministries. They are refusing.

From the National Catholic Reporter:

"Following a more than yearlong investigation into the group's 'adherence to the fullness of Catholic teaching,' the future of a national association of ministries to gay and lesbian Catholics is uncertain because its board members refused to sign an 'oath of personal integrity' to Catholic teaching given to them by the local bishop.

Declining the oath could result in Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland, Calif., declaring the Catholic Association for Lesbian and Gay Ministry, or CALGM, as 'not authentically Catholic,' a letter to its members from the association president warns....

The Oakland bishop declined NCR's request for comment. Mike Brown, the diocese's director of communications, issued a statement saying, "If the Bishop decides to make a public statement about the CALGM organization, he will then decide the best time and communication method to do so."

I love it.

"Cordileone's list of concerns with the association have included the omission of specific church documents on its website and publications; its use of the terms gay and lesbian; members' statements deemed critical of the church; and the backgrounds, affiliations and public statements of both conference speakers and board members"

Indeed. Back in 2010 we documented how CALGM cherry-picks the Catchism to suit themselves. The Fishwrap continues:

"In an April 12 letter to the association's board, Cordileone stated he would 'take public action to clarify the status of CALGM with regard to authentic Catholic ministry' should they refuse to take an oath that requested that each member 'strive to clearly present Catholic doctrine on homosexuality in its fullness' and 'profess personally to hold and believe, and practice all that the holy Catholic church teaches, believes and proclaims to be true, whether from the natural moral law or by way revelation from God through Scripture and tradition.'

The board has twice rejected the bishop's request."

That says it all.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

"The Church's Worst Enemies"


From Fr. James Schall, S.J., writing at The Catholic Thing:

The Church's Worst Enemies 

Somewhere back in the 1930s, during the Spanish Civil War, and facing other issues in Germany and Italy, Pius XI asked this very question: 'Who are the Church's most dangerous enemies?' His answer was as follows: 

'The Church's worst persecutors have been her own unfaithful bishops, priests, and religious. Opposition from outside is terrible; it gives us many martyrs. But the Church's worst enemy is her own traitors.' 

Why is this, we wonder? The mission of the Church ad extra has much to do with the witness to the truth by Christians themselves, especially those in high places, both clergy and laity. 

In an analogous manner, John Paul II remarked to European bishops in 1982 that 'the crises of European man and of Europe are crises and temptations of Christianity and of the Church in Europe.' We are wont to think that the drama of the world takes place outside of the redemptive plan of God. It doesn't. 

C. S. Lewis remarked, in Mere Christianity, I think, that the greatest evil we can do is to call what is evil good and what is good evil. It does not matter whether this calling is shrouded in the form of relativism, diversity theory, or the will to power. The effect is the same. 

In the end, we now call, by various sophisticated names, what is evil good. We make laws to justify this reversal of good and evil, which, as such, do not change. We penalize those who hold that the 'thou shalt not's' are correct. ... 

But the key point remains: the "enablers" who justify and make evil possible by their own disordered souls. Repentance remains the only way to stop this reversal, repentance and, as Benedict says, judgment. ... 

When asked why he entered the Church, Chesterton, in a famous passage, replied: 'To get rid of my sins.' 

The New Testament also makes it clear that this riddance of sins is the central purpose of redemption. Christ did not come so much to define what sins were — we have to be pretty obtuse not to have an inkling of what they are — but to forgive them."


FATHER JAMES V. SCHALL, S.J.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Corporate Giant General Mills Comes Out Against Family in Minnesota



"ST. PAUL, Minnesota, June 15, 2012 - Minnesota-based food giant General Mills has publicly come out in opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in Minnesota."

You can show your support for those in Minnesota who are defending marriage and the family by clicking on the Minnesota for Marriage button on the right banner.

And you can show your displeasure with General Mills by boycotting their products. Here is a list of General Mills products to be avoided--substitutes are easy to find.

Betty Crocker
Big G Cereals
Bisquick
Bugles
Cascadian Farms
Cheerios
Chex
Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Diablitos Underwood
Fiber One
Food Should Taste Good
Gardetto’s
Gold Medal
Good Earth
Green Giant
Haagen-Dazs
Hamburger Helper
Jus-Rol
Kix
Knack & Back
La Santena
Larabar
Latina
Liberte
Lucky Charms
Macaroni Grill
Monsters
Mountain High
Muir Glen
Nature Valley
Old El Paso
Pillsbury
Pillsbury Atta
Progresso
Total
Totisno’s/Jeno’s
Trix
V.Pearl
Wanchai Ferry
Wheaties
Yoplait
Yoplait France

Saturday, June 16, 2012

State Department Purges Religious Freedom Section from Its Human Rights Reports


The U.S. State Department removed the sections covering religious freedom from the Country Reports on Human Rights that it released on May 24, three months past the statutory deadline Congress set for the release of these reports.

The new human rights reports--purged of the sections that discuss the status of religious freedom in each of the countries covered--are also the human rights reports that include the period that covered the Arab Spring and its aftermath.


Thus, the reports do not provide in-depth coverage of what has happened to Christians and other religious minorities in predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East that saw the rise of revolutionary movements in 2011 in which Islamist forces played an instrumental role.


For the first time ever, the State Department simply eliminated the section of religious freedom in its reports covering 2011 and instead referred the public to the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report – a full two years behind the times – or to the annual report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which was released last September and covers events in 2010 but not 2011.


Leonard Leo, who recently completed a term as chairman of the USCIRF, says that removing the sections on religious freedom from the State Department's Country Reports on Human Roghts is a bad idea.


Since 1998, when Congress created USCIRF, the State Department has been required to issue a separate yearly report specifically on International Religious Freedom.


But a section reporting on religious freedom has also always been included in the State Department's....


And this is the first year the State Department would have needed to report on the effect the Arab Spring has had on religious freedom in the Middle East--had its reports, as always before, included a section on religious freedom.


“The commission that I served on has some real concerns about that bifurcation, because the human rights reports receive a lot of attention, and to have pulled religious freedom out of it means that fewer people will obtain information about what’s going on with that particular freedom or right. So you don’t have the whole picture because they split it up now,” Leo told CNSNews.com.


Former U.S. diplomat Thomas Farr says it’s possible that the move to totally separate religious freedom from the human rights reports could simply be a bureaucratic maneuver.


But another possibility is much more likely.


“The other possibility is the Obama administration is downplaying international religious freedom,”...


By Pete Winn


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

"Exposing the Schlock Social Science on Gay Parenting"

Ed Whelan discusses the two new studies which reveal, duh, that children do better with a mother and father:

"As Regnerus sums it up, his study 'clearly reveals that children appear most apt to succeed well as adults—on multiple counts and across a variety of domains—when they spend their entire childhood with their married mother and father, and especially when the parents remain married to the present day.'”

It is a mark of the lack of common sense in our culture that such a thing even needs to be said. As Bishop Salvatore Cordileone said in the "Marriage Matters to Kids" video:

 "Children need a mother and father...children  long for a mother and a father when they don't have them...By virtue of biology, it takes a man and a woman to bring a child into the world...it's a logical consistency of design that a child needs a mother and father to grow up in the best possible context."


Friday, June 8, 2012

“I Can Not. I Must Not. I Will Not!” 700 Rally For Religious Freedom in San Francisco


UPDATE: Many more pictures here.

Our report from today's Rally for Religious Freedom (pictures in previous post):

On Friday, June 8 at San Francisco’s Federal Building, an estimated 700 very concerned citizens joined others in over 150 cities around the country in protesting the Obama Administration’s assault on religious freedom.

The rally was organized by Walter Hoye and Joni Durling, of the California Civil Rights Foundation. Dana Cody of the Life Legal Defense Fund served as Mistress of Ceremonies. The event began with Francis Peterson singing the national anthem, but instead of the standard version, she chose to sing the seldom-heard last verse, with the lyrics:

“Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."


Speakers included Fr. Joseph Illo, of St. Joseph’s Parish in Modesto; Kevin McGarry of the Frederick Douglas Foundation; Marie Conway Stroughter of African American Conservatives; Eva Muntean of the Walk for Life West Coast; Chris Pareja, (who received more than 22% of the vote in California's 13th congressional district on Tuesday); Victoria Evans, Respect Life Coordinator of the Archdiocese of San Francisco; Jennifer Halbeid, Esq., of The Beckett Fund; Fr. Jeffrey Keyes of St. Edward's Parish in Newark; Rochelle Conner, author of "Does God Really Care About Politics: God and Government"; Ana Banderas of Live Action; Gwen Patrick of the Sunago Christian Fellowship in Los Angeles; and Pastor Antoine Lamar Miller of Chosen Vessels Church in Alameda.



Three themes recurred among all the speakers: first, as has happened many time before, Christians are now forced to defend religious freedom and the faith. It is not optional. We are at a crisis. Secondly, any assault on religious liberty is also an assault on America. Speakers quoted Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Dwight D. Eisenhower, California’s Supreme Court Justice Janice Brown, and even Mark Twain in support of this position. Thirdly, the HHS mandate has providentially created an unprecedented unity among people of all faiths. This point was underscored by the ecumenical nature of the speakers, who were evenly made up of Catholics and members of other Christian denominations.

The first speaker was Fr. Joseph Illo. He reminded the crowd that the very inscription on the Liberty Bell reads: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof”—a direct quote from Leviticus. Fr. Illo said that God, not man, is the foundation of all human liberty, and noted that whenever religion is removed from the public square what follows is immorality, thievery, and corruption. Fr. Illo pointed to Russia, which is still attempting to recover from decades of communism: “When Religious liberty is once lost, it takes a long time to recover.” When he asked the crowd “Will America relinquish that religious freedom without a struggle?” a thunderous “NO!” was the response.

Kevin McGarry was next. He said: “This is the remnant people that will change the trajectory of America! This is a providential moment, uniting all faiths: we shall have religious freedom! We are living out Galatians 3: 27-28. We are all united in God!” But McGarry also pointed out “there is an unfortunate fact that many people of faith are complicit…what we need to do is pray, vote, and vote God! Vote God 2012!”

Eva Muntean, co-chair of the Walk for Life West Coast related the story of her family’s escape from communist Hungary. She described the “free” healthcare in that country that practically killed her mother. She noted the medical danger of the contraceptives the HHS mandate pushes on American women. When she said “We don’t need more contraception—we need more morality” the crowd roared its approval. Muntean also mentioned the movie “For Greater Glory.” She quoted Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles who recently said “We need to ask for the strength to be Cristeros. By their dying, they show us what we should be living for.” She closed her speech by chanting with the crowd “Viva Cristo Rey!”

Chris Pareja, the pro-life candidate for congress in California's 13th District, said “We are at a crossroads…Not long ago I did something politicians don’t do any more: I read legislation. I read the Affordable Care Act. I was so shocked and disgusted my wife would not let me discuss it in the house any more…it frightened the children!” He also had a message for religious leaders: “We need you to lead boldly…if you don’t the laity will lead from below. Warriors who won’t fight are a liability.”

Vicki Evans from the Archdiocese of San Francisco said “If we retreat today, tomorrow we will be giving in to abortion and euthanasia, and who knows what else. …’A day may come when the courage of men fails, but today is not that day!’”

Father Jeffrey Keyes, a member of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, related the story of the order’s founder, St. Gaspar Del Bufalo. As a young priest, Fr. Gaspar lived at the time of the Napoleonic wars, when Pope Pius VII was imprisoned by Napoleon. At that time all priests under French rule were required to take an oath of allegiance to Napoleon. Fr. Gaspar’s superior apparently did not take the issue too seriously, according to Fr. Keyes. But Fr. Gaspar did. His famous response “I cannot. I must not. I will not!” became the chant of the day. Fr. Keyes asked the crowd “Can the American President define what is religion and how I should minister?” The crowd responded “I cannot. I must not. I will not!” “The world health organization defines oral contraceptives as a Class 1 carcinogenic—and the President wants us to pay for them?” “I cannot. I must not. I will not!” “In New Mexico, a photographer was fined because she refused to photograph a same-sex “marriage.” Is the government next going to tell us how to administer our own sacraments?” “I cannot. I must not. I will not!”

The final speaker was the fiery Pastor Antoine Lamar Miller of Chosen Vessels Church in Alameda: “I am upset, my brothers and sisters…..I don’t want a nanny state…President Obama, stay the H E double hockey sticks out of my church! Let ME preach Christ while YOU preach government!” And Pastor Miller echoed Fr. Keyes, repeating the response of St. Gaspar: “I cannot. I must not. I will not!”

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

700 at San Francisco Rally for Religious Freedom!

At the Federal Building in San Francisco today about 700 people attended the second Rally for Religious Freedom. The speakers were fantastic!

Here's some pix (courtesy Eva Muntean). More on the rally will follow.

Getting ready.

Fr. Joseph Illo, from St. Joseph's Church in Modesto, was one of the speakers.
 
 Fr. Illo was great!

Co-organizers (with Joni Durling) Walter and Lori Hoye, and Ana Benderas of Live Action, who spoke beautifully. I don't know the name of the gentleman on the right, who is with Ms. Benderas.


Vicki Evans, Respect Life Coordinator of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
was on fire!


After the rally, some of the speakers posed for photographs.
Top row, left to right: Lori Hoye; Rochelle Conner of the Frederick Douglass Foundation; Gwen Patrick with her husband, Pastor Charles Patrick of the Sunago Christian Fellowship in Los Angeles; Ana Benderas, Ms. Benderas friend; and Jennifer Halbeid, Esq., of the Beckett Fund.
Bottom Row: Fr. Illo; Chris Pareja, who received more than 22% of the vote in California's 13th congressional district on Tuesday; Pastor Antoine Lamar Miller of Chosen Vessels Church in Alameda; Vicki Evans; Walter Hoye; Eva Muntean of the Walk for Life West Coast, and Eva's dog Mia!

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

Great! TLM Wedding at Saints Peter and Paul!


On Saturday, May 26, Saints Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco was lucky enough to host a wedding celebrated in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass! The happy couple were Jeffery  and Karen.

The Mass was celebrated by Canon William Avis, of the Institute of Christ the King, who serves over at Saint Margaret Mary in Oakland.The polyphony was provided by the Pacific Collegium, and it was magnificent--the whole Mass was magnificent! Although not celebrating, Father Malloy was there to be a part of the marriage of his son and daughter in Christ.

Here are some pictures:

The marriage vows.
Karen is a co-founder of the Walk for Life West Coast.
The two bridesmaids on the left are Eva Muntean and Dolores Meehan, longtime friends of Karen.
Many members of the bay area's pro-life community were there. Friends included Vicki Evans, Respect Life coordinator of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Walter and Lori Hoye from Oakland, and many, many others, happy to share in the joyful occasion.


 The server incenses the newly married couple and the congregation.


This was the first Traditional Latin Mass celebrated at Saints Peter and Paul for many years.


Jeff and Karen receive the Blessed Sacrament for the first time as man and wife.
I love that in this picture, right between the head of Canon Avis and Ricky, the capable Master of Ceremonies from St. Margaret Mary, we see Mary Help of Christians and Our Lord watching.
Our Lady made sure everything went off without a hitch!


 What a lovely bride and handsome groom.


Could she be any more beautiful?
Every blessing always on Karen and Jeff,
and we thank them for all they blessings they have give us!

Photos courtesy Cathleen Gillies and Eva Muntean.
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney.

Rally For Religious Liberty TODAY!


Today, in 150 cities around the country, at 12 noon local time, American's will show their support for the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Religious Freedom.

The San Francisco rally will be held in the plaza of the San Francisco Federal Building at 90 7th Street. 

Speakers include Vicki Evans from the Archdiocese of San Francisco and Eva Muntean from the Walk for Life West Coast. This is the greatest battle for religious freedom in the history of the United States. That not one of San Francisco's bishops will attend is disgraceful. That the Supreme Court will throw out Obamacare (what if they don't?) is no excuse for staying away. 


"I’ve got all sorts of reasons to not attend that Rally for Religious Freedom tomorrow in Philadelphia.

1) I’ve got five kids and I’d have to get them out of school early.

2) Philadelphia is about an hour away.

3) It’s finals week and my kids have to study.

4) My three oldest girls have a softball game that night. And I’m the coach.

5) What does it really accomplish because the media’s not going to cover it anyway?

6) I’m still a little ticked that the Archdiocese is closing down my children’s school.

I’ve got many more reasons for not attending the rally tomorrow. And some of them are pretty darn good reasons.

But you know what – I’m going to attend the rally anyway, along with my five kids because I know that if we don’t win this fight, religious liberty in this country will become empty words on a page written over 200 years ago...."



Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Opportunity to Help Catholics For the Common Good

From Bill May, Chairman of Catholics for the Common Good comes this timely message, and opportunity to help fight for the family:


CCG Receives $15,000 Matching Grant
Launching Campaign to Take Back Marriage



Donate to Catholics for the Common Good Institute
Please consider signing
up for monthly donations
Several weeks ago, the President gave us a gift by clarifying his position on marriage, making it a campaign issue. By redefining marriage, he has unwittingly proposed eliminating the only institution that unites children with their moms and dads. Voters are paying attention, and now the time is ripe for us to go on the offense...

To start us on our way, we have received the first of what we anticipate to be a number of matching grants. It is for $15,000 and must be matched by the end of June if we are going to be able to receive it all. Please help us reach this goal.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Good News From Wisconsin

UPDATE 7:55 PST: Wow. With 70% of the vote counted, Governor Walker leads by 57 to 42%. I believe he only won the state by six points first time around. The recall was a referendum on Walker and his policies, and it looks like the Wisconsin voters are giving him a mandate.
__________________________________________________________

With 33% of the votes counted Governor Walker, and the rule of law, are winning a big victory in Wisconsin--right now it is 59% to 41%, and the networks are calling the election for him.

We have applauded Governor Walker's good-government efforts for a long time. You can see all of our posts on the events over the past two years in Wisconsin here.

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney