USF UPDATE: Lynn Woolsey, Goodwin Liu to Receive Honorary Degrees at USF Commencement

On May 17-19, the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco will celebrate its spring 2012 commencement exercises. Speeches will be made, honorary degrees will be awarded, and once again the Catholic Church will be abused.

On May 19 the students of USF’s McLaren School of Management will be addressed by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey. According to Project Vote Smart, since 1995 Woolsey has not once received anything other than a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood or NARAL. Since 1995 she has not once received a rating other than 100% from the Human Rights Campaign, the most powerful homosexual activist lobbying group in the country.

Particulars of Woolsey's record, who is a nominal Catholic, are not hard to find. In 2003, she voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban. In 2007, she co-sponsored the “Stem –Cell Research Act.” The act would have allowed embryonic stem-cell research. It was vetoed by then-President George W. Bush. On May 15, 2008, when the California Supreme Court declared same-sex “marriage” to be legal Woolsey wrote “Like many Californians, I am thrilled by this morning’s decision by the California Supreme Court to overturn the ban on same sex marriage.” Six months later, the people of the state of California overruled the state Supreme Court and re-established the true definition of marriage through Proposition 8. In an article published on the Politico website on November 9, 2009, Woolsey actually encouraged the IRS to restrict the freedom of Catholic Bishops to lobby on political issues: “The IRS is less restrictive about church involvement in efforts to influence legislation than it is about involvement in campaigns and elections. Given the political behavior of USCCB in this case, maybe it shouldn’t be.” USF will present Woolsey with an honorary degree.

Also on May 19, USF’s School of Law will be addressed by Goodwin Liu, associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California. Liu’s record has been chronicled extensively in CalCatholic. In 2011, President Obama nominated Liu to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The U.S. Senate rejected the nomination. At the time Curt Levey, executive director of the conservative Committee for Justice, described the pro-abortion Liu “the worst of Obama’s nominees at all levels of the federal courts.” This view was widely shared. Life News reported that Ed Whelan, President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center noted that Liu “…was so left-wing that former ‘White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel initially vetoed’ his candidacy for the Ninth Circuit ‘on the ground that Liu’s left-wing record made him too controversial.” Liu’s defeat did not seem to affect California’s Governor Jerry Brown. In 2011, Brown nominated Liu to the state’s Supreme Court. Liu sailed through the process with no effective statewide opposition. Liu is also a supporter of same-sex “marriage.” On September 1, 2011, the Above the Law blog reported “As a law professor, Liu has backed the rights of same-sex couples to marry, and signed on to legal briefs supporting those rights in a 2008 case that prompted the state Supreme Court to invalidate the state’s previous ban on gay marriage.” USF will present Liu with an honorary degree.

The honoring of such anti-Catholic persons at university commencements is finally meeting some hierarchical opposition. On April 30, Bishop George Murry, SJ of the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, instructed Mercy College School of Nursing to rescind its invitation to state representative Bob Hagan, a pro-abortion Democrat. The school had invited Hagan to give its commencement address. Bishop Murry joins Bishop Robert McManus of the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts, who in March asked Anna Maria College to rescind its invitation to Victoria Reggie Kennedy, second wife of the late Ted Kennedy. Mrs. Kennedy is pro-abortion. She was scheduled to receive an honorary degree.

That opposition has not yet been expressed in the City by the Bay. To express your opposition and to ask Archbishop George Niederauer to speak out against the conferring of honors upon such open enemies of the Church, please call 415-614-5500.

Correction: In the second to last paragraph I had misidentified Bob Hagan as a member of congress. He is a state representative in Ohio. The post is now corrected.

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

MHR Update: Drag Show Held in Parish Hall

On April 14 San Francisco's "gay parish," Most Holy Redeemer, hosted a "drag" show to benefit the Castro Country Club,a substance abuse treatment organization. Hosting a drag show at MHR is equivalent to sending a case of wine to the Castro Country Club. It is beyond irresponsible for the Archdiocese of San Francisco to allow it.

We contributed to this article, which is from California Catholic Daily:

On Saturday, April 14, San Francisco’s infamous Most Holy Redeemer Church hosted the Third Annual Miss Castro Country Club Pageant. The pageant is a drag show. The Castro Country Club describes itself as a “clean & sober gathering place for all people and a home for the queer recovery community.”


The pageant was advertised in a number of homosexualist media outlets. The event MC was a transvestite who uses the name “Laybelline,” and one of the judges, another transvestite, uses the name “Syphillis Diller.” The competitors used similar names. At least one video of one of the performers is already up on YouTube.


Most Holy Redeemer has frequently made national news for their scandalous hosting of pro-homosexual events. Drag shows are nothing new: in 2011 the parish hosted the Switch Hitters Ball, and in 2007, the parish hosted the Desperate Divas drag contest, just one week before the unfortunate visit of Archbishop George Niederauer, when he gave communion to two members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.


More recently, the parish extended an invitation to renegade Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles to speak at one of their 2011 Advent Vespers services. On November 22, 2011, CalCatholic reported on the planned event. We reported that in 2004 Charles left his wife of 42 years, and “married” another man—an action that caused the Episcopal Church to sever ties with him. We followed up with a report on two other scheduled Most Holy Redeemer Advent Vespers speakers: the Revs. Jane Spahr and Roland Stringfellow. Both are openly homosexual supporters of same-sex “marriage.


Following CalCatholic’s exposure of the events, Archbishop Niederauer forced the parish to withdraw the invitations. Whether or not CalCatholic’s stories played a part, it is a fact that Father Steve Meriwether, the pastor of Most Holy Redeemer, has not celebrated a single Sunday mass at the parish in 2012, according to parish bulletins. All 2012 Sunday Masses have been celebrated by visiting priests, frequently by Monsignor James Tarantino, the Vicar for Administration for the dioceses, who has a solid reputation.


Whether this represents a sanction against Meriwether, who was reappointed to a second six-year term at the parish in 2010, or whether he is just taking time off is an open question.


On Palm Sunday and the Palm Sunday vigil all the masses at the parish were celebrated by the well-known homosexual activist Jesuit, Father Donal Godfrey. Godfrey has also been the celebrant at a number of other Sunday and vigil Masses at the church in 2012. On All Saints Day 2011, Godfrey was invited to celebrate Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral for the students of Sacred Heart High School.


Another 2012 guest celebrant at Most Holy Redeemer has been Father Joe Klecha. Father Klecha has celebrated liturgies for DignitySF at the Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church in San Francisco. The Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church serves as DignitySF’s “parish” because the archdiocese of San Francisco does not allow DignitySF to meet on Catholic property.

Counterfeit Claims from Counterfeit Marriage Advocates

Same-sex “marriage” activists in North Carolina are resorting to outright deception in order to advance their cause. As Brian Brown, of the National Organization for Marriage writes:

“…in North Carolina they've conceded defeat on the main question—should marriage be a union of husband and wife?—and are blanketing the airwaves with lies to scare voters into thinking the amendment will somehow strip women of protection from domestic violence”

A thorough refutation of such hysterical claims has been presented by three professors from the Campbell University Scool of Law. It may be read here.

Such behavior is typical same-sex “marriage” activists and it is a good indicator of 1) their inability to win the issue on the merits; and 2) their lack of concern for the common good of society.

On November 29, 2011, the New York Daily News reported on a ruling by New York state Judge Robert Wiggins codemning the tactics of the Cuomo administration in ramming through same-sex “marriage” legislation in violation of the state’s “Open Meetings” law:

“It is ironic that much of the state’s brief passionately spews sanctimonious verbiage on the separation of powers in the governmental branches, and clear arm-twisting by the Executive on the Legislative permeates this entire process,' Wiggins wrote."

Such tactics are nothing new, of course. In 2007, the legislature of Massachusetts even refused to allow a constitutional amendment proposing to overturn Massachusetts' court-imposed redefinition of marriage to be put on the ballot. This was in spite of the fact that a record 170,000 citizens had signed the petition. But the legislature refused to even allow Massachusetts citizens to vote on the matter.

In California, the sleazy tactics used to force counterfeit marriage down the people's throats began long before Proposition 8 even reached the ballot, and it continues long after the people of the state passed it:

• When Mayor Gavin Newsom unilaterally and in violation of the law decided to start issuing counterfeit "marriage" licenses;

• When opponents of Prop8 filed suit to have the measure removed from the ballot. Prop 8 went to the voters anyway.

• When then-Attorney General Jerry Brown changed the title of Proposition 8, in order to weaken support for it. Prop 8 won big despite the change.

• When then-Attorney General Brown refused to do his duty and defend Prop 8, passed by a significant majority of Californians.

"I Want a Crucifixion Type Love"

Wow. Incredible work by a poet named Brent Rice.



Inquiries for Mr. Rice may be directed here.

Thanks to San Francisco artist Jaime Longa for this. You can see some of Jaime's painings here.

A Pastor with GUTS!

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness
and to seek your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,'
but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called itwelfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called itjustifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called itpolitics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called itambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today;
cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest.

In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively.

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story, 'and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.

"No Catholic Can Remain Neutral"

The great Bishop Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, can read the writing on the wall:

"Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care.

In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama – with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path.

Now things have come to such a pass in America that this is a battle that we could lose, but before the awesome judgement seat of Almighty God this is not a war where any believing Catholic may remain neutral."

You can read the full thing here.

Barry Lynn, of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, filed a complaint with the IRS following the homily. The Anti-Defamation League was mad. Some Notre Dame faculty too.

Hey guys, nobody cares. We are way way way beyond that now.

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

A Powerful Catholic AD

You don't even have to be Catholic to appreciate this ad... If we all stood up to the rights and our Godly values we can vote a positive change into this Government.

Will you vote the values that will stand the test of fire? Some things are more important than high gas prices or a faltering economy. They are life, marriage and freedom. This November, Catholics must stand up and protect their sacred rights and duties.

Whatever denomination we are - one thing unites us- our belief in God.

Grave Threats to Religious Liberty

WASHINGTON, D.C., A PRIL 19, 2012 (Zenit.org

Carl Anderson, supreme knight and chief executive officer of the Knight of Columbus, was the guest speaker at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, held in Washington D.C.

“I venture to say that, never in the lifetime of anyone present here, has the religious liberty of the American people been as threatened as it is today,” said Anderson at the start of his address.

“We must remind our fellow Americans, and especially those who exercise power, that religious liberty—the freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment—has been essential to the founding, development, and improvement of the American Republic,” he declared.

Anderson quoted President Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural speech, in which he stated that the rights for which our forebears fought, were based on “the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.”

He went on to speak about Martin Luther King, who drew inspiration from the Catholic natural law tradition and Saint Thomas Aquinas. In spite of the frequent religious references to God in King’s speeches Anderson commented that if you visit the new memorial to him on the national mall and read the 14 quotations inscribed there, there is not a single reference to God.

“Imagine how those in authority must have searched to come up with 14 quotes of Dr. King without one mention of the Almighty,” said Anderson. “There is no more shocking symbol of the ongoing campaign to drive religion out of our public life.”
…..
Today, Anderson said, “we find a new hostility to the role of religious institutions in American life at a time when government is expanding its reach in extraordinary ways.”

Referring to the ongoing dispute about the administration rules on contraception coverage, he strongly criticized the Obama administration for interfering with internal Church matters.
“A government willing to affect the faith and mission of the church is a government willing to change the identity of the church,” Anderson said.

The First Amendment is designed to prevent the subordination of religion to the State, he observed.
“We value religious liberty because of the good which religion brings into the life of the individual believer and into the life of our nation,” Anderson continued.

Nevertheless, “We live in a time when, from the standpoint of religious liberty, it seems that there are more doors closing, than doors that are opening.”It is a time for choosing, he concluded, “choosing whether as Catholics we will stand together to keep open the doors.

Fulll text of address: http://www.kofc.org/un/en/news/releases/detail/ncpb2012speech.html

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!

Funny! Catholic Travel Bingo

When Jeff Miller, the King of Catholic Humor, gives it the thumbs up, you know it's good:

From Saint Louis Catholic:

"Summer time approaches again, and Catholic parents across America face the inevitable vacation-by-car. Some parents love this time-honored tradition. Some are forced into it by the natural aversion to TSA sexual assault of themselves and their children. Some are forced into it by a simple mathematical calculation:

if x = one [un]reasonable airfare
and y = number of children
then z = are you kidding me?
Whatever the cause, Catholic families will pile into their mini/maxi-vans and killer SUVs and hit the roads.

When it comes to wiling away the long hours of driving, you should know this: I have a deep disgust with the DVD entertainment system with which many of these vehicles are equipped. I mean, is it so difficult or unpleasant to actually talk to our children that we have to shove a telescreen in front of their faces while driving? If we can't handle interacting with our children for whatever time we spend in the car, then the terrorists have already won."

Continue reading.

For the Sake of His Sorrowful Passion...

Have mercy on us and on the whole world!

On this Sunday of the Divine Mercy, you may find the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy here.

"One of our highest values is inclusion and welcome"

That's the justification offered by Tricia Wittman-Todd, pastoral life coordinator of St. Mary’s Parish in Seattle, for refusing to allow signature gathering in the parish to put Washington's Referendum 74, which is the defense of marriage in the state of Washington, on the ballot.

The highest value in a Catholic Church is getting people into heaven. That requires the avoidance of mortal sin.

She continued "I fear that the collection of signatures would be hurtful and divisive to our parish. I am particularly concerned about our youth who may be questioning their own sexual identity and need our support at this time in their lives.”

The concern of anyone working in a Catholic Church should be Catholic identity, not "sexual identity," which is just a label created to justify sin. And the proper support that a Catholic Church can offer to anyone is Catholicism.

Whitman Todd is not alone. She is joined by Father John Whitney, a Jesuit, of St. Mary's parish, and Father Michael Ryan, pastor of St. James Cathedral. The signature gathering was requested by His Excellency J. Peter Sartain, Archbishop of the Seattle diocese.

The Archbishop should fire Whitman-Todd and remove Frs. Whitney and Ryan from their pastorates.

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

A Question That Won't Go Away

An article in First Things entitled "The End of Democracy? The Judicial Usurpation of Politics." It seriously examined whether the wholesale departure from constitutional order had, in fact, led to the kind of regime in America that was no longer legitimate.

Strong brew, of course. Several of the magazine's board members resigned. Even though they largely agreed with the descriptive side of the case, they reacted strongly to the stark conclusion that many Americans may no longer feel a need for loyalty to such a regime.

That symposium makes for good reading in light of the somewhat superficial arguments that swirled around the Supreme Court hearings on Obamacare last week. Sixteen years ago, it took a group of distinguished thinkers to point out the deep problems within our polity. Today, just about anyone who pays attention can see the large dimensions of the threat (two-thirds of Americans want the healthcare reform modified or repealed).

But even if the law is struck down, it's only temporary relief for a deep-seated set of issues that will, beyond all doubt, soon be back to haunt us.

According to reports, the justices already voted on Friday whether to void the individual mandate in Obamacare and, perhaps, the whole healthcare law. Justice Kennedy, the expected swing vote, weighed in heavily during oral arguments about the "high burden of justification . . . when you are changing the relation of the individual to the government." He even suggested that judicial restraint might lie in simply voiding the whole thing, not trying to decide which of the 2700 pages might stand.

Justice Scalia had some fun, asking whether the government might next require us to eat broccoli, and Chief Justice Roberts wondered whether everyone will have to buy cell phones to report medical emergencies. It's quite easy to mock powers government is now claiming, almost unconsciously, since limited government is an almost dead notion. When Nancy Pelosi was asked about the constitutionality of Obamacare, she replied, "You can't be serious?"

The Court was very serious last week...

ROBERT ROYAL (CERC)

Rick Santorum Pulls Out

The former Senator is calling it a day. His upstart, underfunded campaign surprised a lot of people, which shows the power of his pro-life, pro-family, pro-God, pro-America message. Maggie Gallagher put it nicely:

"No Republican underdog in living memory won ten states against the presumptive front-runner and nominee. Time will tell, but let me say what I think: It wasn’t an accident. We haven’t seen the last of Rick Santorum."

Thanks, Rick, & God Bless you. I was proud to have the opportunity to contribute to your campaign!

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

How Easy is Voter Fraud?

Why do the Democrats oppose having voters show an ID before receiving their ballots? Simple: because they think voter fraud will help them. This video is going all over the net. It is by one of James O'Keefe's operatives,at the polling place of Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States. The man asks for a ballot under Holder's name, and address, and the poll worker is ready to give it to him, no questions asked.


 

 UPDATE: Hans von Spakovsky has an amazing article on on voter fraud in today's Nation Review:  "Election Fraud Tainted the 2008 Presidentail Race in Indiana."

 Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

Alleluia!

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

Good Friday

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.

Cuba Makes Good Friday a Holiday

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 2, 2012 (Zenit.org).- While Benedict XVI was in Cuba last week, he asked the government to recognize Good Friday as a holiday, a request that the Castro administration accepted.

Vatican spokesman Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi welcomed Cuba's announcement.

"The fact that the Cuban authorities have immediately accepted the request made by the Holy Father to President Raul Castro, declaring next Good Friday a holiday, is certainly a very positive sign," Father Lombardi said. "The Holy See hopes that this will facilitate participation in religious celebrations and favor a happy Easter holiday. It also hopes that the Holy Father's visit may continue to produce fruits for the good of the Church and of all Cubans."

Communist Cuba, teach us a lesson!

The State against the Churches

A small town in Vermont has recently been ordered to cease its immemorial tradition of opening meetings with a prayer.

The order came from a judge who does not live near. A public school in the city where I am writing these words has banners hanging from its gymnasium ceiling, one of which featured a prayer written by a student of the school many decades ago. It has been removed, also by order of a distant judge.

Since the citizens of the town and the school district no longer govern themselves but have become dependent upon regular infusions of green federal blood, they could not reply, "You and whose army?" The prayer and the banner are gone.

We Catholics hold that man, unique among creatures on earth, finds his fulfillment only in what transcends him. He will not compose symphonies in honor of a good housing market. He does not whistle an air for low inflation. He will pen poetry born of love, but if the object of his love is a Clodia rather than a Beatrice, even his love poetry will degenerate into satire and cynicism. Man is made for God. That marks both his duty and his glory. Therefore any attempt to sever man from his devotion to God is an attack upon man's soul. It reduces man to a counter in an economic or political game, a consumer of creature comforts, or a competitor for wealth and prestige.

The argument of the aggressors in this case is indirect and sly. It is the argument of the serpent in the garden, who suggests to Eve that she can only be like God by being free from the laws of God. ...
ANTHONY ESOLEN (Crises Magazine