Just as I denounce the violence of abortion, I denounce this violence.
Witnesses have confirmed that a man that was shot and killed in the lobby at a Wichita church this morning was Kansas late-term abortionist George Tiller.
Tiller, 67, was shot just after 10 a.m. at Reformation Lutheran Church at 7601 E. 13th, where he was a congregation member. Police are currently seeking a white male suspect, who police believe was driving a blue Taurus with a Kansas tag of 225BAB.
The Kansas abortionist has long been a lightning rod for the abortion debate, partly on account of his emphasis on providing late-term abortions at his Wichita facility – a specialization that recently landed him in court on 19 counts of conducting illegal late-term abortions.
"And when the days of Pentecost were drawing to a close, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a violent wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues as of fire, which settled upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign tongues, even as the Holy Spirit prompted them to speak" (Acts 2, 1-4).
It is traditional to wear Red on Pentecost Sunday.
The first part of "Up" traces the lives of Carl and Ellie Fredricksen from the time they meet as kids, to when they get married. They go through this quickly, but this was my favorite part, and I really like the way they show them as 'partners' in their relationship. They fix up their first home together, they deal with unexpected expenses (they show them using their savings each time), losing a baby, and growing old together.
Ellie has passed away now, and Carl is 78 years old and living alone in the house they shared so many years. There is now plenty of buildings and construction going on around his house. Car has resisted the offers to sell. He is finally given an ultimatum, and that's when he reveals his secret: he has hundreds of balloons connected to his house, and sets out for Ellie's dream place, Paradise Falls, a place in South America that she dreamed of going to someday.
Coming along for the ride is Russell, a Junior Wilderness Explorer who is looking for his Senior Service Medal. On the journey, they encounter a rare Snipe bird, which Russell names Kevin. They encounter Charles Muntz, an explorer who had discovered the Snipe years ago, but was discredited because he couldn't prove it's existence. At first, Charles is friendly and hospitable toward Carl and Russell, but that quickly changes when he discovers Kevin. In the end, Carl and Russell must rescue themselves and Kevin from Muntz and the mean group of dogs that he controls.
A very entertaining movie for kids, and the 3D is pretty cool.
Content Warnings: None. We took my nephews and niece, ages 7 to 16, and there was nothing objectional.
Joan was born into a family of five children in 1412, and she worked as a shephedess. When Joan was 13, she believed she received visions urging her to save France from the joint forces of England and Burgundy and to restore to the French throne the true king.
In 1428, after successfully convincing the French commander and the court that her visions were genuine, she led some troops into battle, carrying a banner that read: “Jesus, Mary” and a symbold of the Trinity.
She and her troops had a series of victories and King Charles VII was crowned in 1429.
She was captured by the Burgundians in May 1430 and sold to the English for 10,000 francs. She was put on trial by an ecclesiastical court and accused of heresy and witchcraft. She was burned at the stake in the marketplace at Rouen in 1431. In 1456, 23 years after her death, her case was retried, and she was found not guilty.
She was canonized May 16, 1920 by Pope Benedict XV. She is the patron of France, captives, soldiers and those ridiculed for their piety.
“Say hello to my little friend … Jack Kevorkian.” At least that seems to be the message from Al Pacino, as the Hollywood star, who made famous the above phrase in the gangster film “Scarface,” is getting set to play the man known as “Dr. Death.”
Variety magazine reports that director Barry Levinson has chosen Pacino to play Kevorkian, 81, who killed more than 130 persons through lethal injection administered by what he called his "Mercy Machine," between 1990 and 1999, when the Michigan justice system put his macabre death-dealing career to an end.
The planned HBO biopic is based on literary paean, "Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the Assisted Suicide Machine and the Battle to Legalize Euthanasia" written by Kevorkian friends, Harry Wylie and Neal Nicol. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series has the tentative title, “You Don’t Know Jack,” but given the unapologetically laudatory nature of its source, critics are questioning whether viewers will really know Jack by the end of it.
These two yahoo's made a fiasco of the infamous 2000 election Florida recount, so it's not surprising that they would want to ignore this vote, and the fact that the majority of people voted to define marriage as between 1 man and 1 woman.
Dissatisfied with the recent ruling from the California Supreme Court on Proposition 8, the former rivals in the Bush v. Gore decision have joined together this time to urge a federal appeals court to nullify the Californian citizens' vote to ban same-sex "marriage."
Ted Olson and David Boies, who represented George Bush and Al Gore respectively in the landmark Supreme Court decision that put an end to the cycles of ballot recounts in Florida and effectively settled the 2000 presidential election, are asking a federal appeals court to forbid the state of California from enforcing Proposition 8.
Olson and Boies filed an injunction on behalf of two homosexual couples, Paul Katami and Jeffrey Zarrillo of Burbank, and Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier of Berkeley, who are both mothers to four children, arguing that they have a federal right to "marry" a person of the same sex.
Bishop of Trier, b. at Silly near Poitiers, d. there, 29 May, 352 or 12 Sept., 349. He was educated and ordained priest by St. Agritius, whom he succeeded as Bishop of Trier in 332 or 335. At that time Trier was the government seat of the Western Emperor and, by force of his office, Maximinus stood in close relation with the Emperors Constantine II and Constans.
He was a strenuous defender of the orthodox faith against Arianism and an intimate friend of St. Athanasius, whom he harboured as an honoured guest during his exile of two years and four months (336-8) at Trier. He likewise received with honours the banished patriarch Paul of Constantinople in 341 and effected his recall to Constantinople. When four Arian bishops came from Antioch to Trier in 342 with the purpose of winning Emperor Constans to their side, Maximinus refused to receive them and induced the emperor to reject their proposals. In conjunction with Pope Julius I and Bishop Hosius of Cordova, he persuaded the Emperor Constans to convene the Synod of Sardica in 343 and probably took part in it. That the Arians considered him as one of their chief opponents is evident from the fact that they condemned by name along with Pope Julius I and Hosius of Cordova at their heretical synod of Philippopolis in 343 (Mans, "Sacrorum Conc. nova et ampl. Coll.", III, 136 sq.).
In 345 he took part in the Synod of Milan and is said to have presided over a synod held at Cologne in 346, where Bishop Euphratas of Cologne was deposed on account of his leanings toward Arianism. {Concerning the authenticity of the Acts of this synod see the new French translation of Hefele's "Conciliengeschichte", I, ii (Paris, 1907), pp. 830-34.} He also sent Sts. Castor and Lubentius as missionaries to the valleys of the Mosel and the Lahn. It is doubtful whether the Maximinus whom the usurper Magnentius sent as legate to Constantinople in the interests of peace is identical with the Bishop of Trier (Athanasius, "Apol. ad Const. Imp.", 9).
His cult began right after his death. His feast is celebrated on 29 May, on which day his name stands in the martyrologies of St. Jerome, St. Bede, St. Ado, and others. Trier honours him as its patron. In the autumn of 353 his body was buried in the church of St. John near Trier, where in the seventh century was founded the famous Benedictine abbey of St. Maximinus, which flourished till 1802.
Father Alberto Cutie, a priest and television host who was well-known in the Miami area, has left the Catholic Church and joined the Episcopal Church. The priest's change comes after he was photographed kissing a woman on a beach earlier this month.
Fr. Cutie was received into the Episcopal Church today at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Miami.
At a press conference Fr. Cutie thanked God and those in the wider community who have supported him. “Your prayers have truly sustained me at this time of transition in my life. With God's help, I hope to continue priestly ministry and service in my new spiritual home."
Barry's SCOTUS nominee has both pro-lifers and pro-aborts concerned. I don't believe he would nominate anyone who wouldn't uphold Roe; he is the most pro-abort president in history.
While Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has been involved in a handful of decision related to abortion, she has little for pro-life advocates to use to postulate where she stands on the issue of abortion itself and whether she would vote to uphold or reverse Roe v. Wade.
The lynchpin of the abortion debate is Roe and its companion case Doe v. Bolton.
Combined, they essentially allow unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason and have resulted in the victimization of more than 50 million unborn children and tens of millions of women.
And the pro-aborts don't seem to be overly excited about her. She might not be pro-abort enough for them
The pro-abortion legal group involved in one of the few decisions Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has been involved in concerning abortion is urging a wait and see approach. The Center for Reproductive Rights stopped short of issuing Sotomayor an endorsement.
Instead, CRR wants the Senate to query Sotomayor on where the appeals court judge stands on the notorious Roe v. Wade abortion case that allowed virtually unlimited abortions.
Diaz is a member of "Catholics in Alliance", the Catholic dissenters group that backs Obama.
He's an ally of Sebelius.
Enough said.
Waiting to hear what the Vatican says.
The White House also announced it plans to nominate Miguel H. Diaz, an associate professor of theology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minn., for the top job at the Vatican.
A Roman Catholic theologian, the Cuban-American advised Obama's presidential campaign. He also was among 26 Catholics who signed a statement supporting the nomination of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, a Catholic whose support for abortion rights was criticized by conservative Catholics. They must mean the Catholics who actually follow Church teachings.
God gave us the sacrament of marriage, but now Doug would like to do away with it so he can placate same-sex marriage advocates.
Doug Kmiec, a prominent Catholic (Dissenter) who backed Barack Obama’s presidential bid, has endorsed replacing marriage with a neutral “civil license,” a proposal law professor Robert P. George called a “terrible idea” that would make the government neglect a vital social institution.
Speaking to CNSNews.com, Pepperdine University law professor Doug Kmiec said that although his solution to disputes over the definition of marriage might be “awkward,” it would “untie the state from this problem” by creating a new terminology that would apply to everyone, homosexual or not. “Call it a ‘civil license’,” he said.
“The net effect of that, would be to turn over--quite appropriately, it seems to me, the concept of marriage to churches and a church understanding,” he said.
Kmiec said that a motive for California’s Proposition 8, which restored the definition of marriage to being between a man and a woman, was religious believers’ “genuine concern” that the California ruling imposing homosexual “marriage” was not addressing religious freedom issues. No it doesn't. We should have the "religious freedom" to preserve marriage.
Archbishop Antoni Julian Nowowiejski was beatified by Pope John Paul II June 13, 1999, along with another 107 Poles who were martyred during World War II.
He was born in 1858. The late archbishop of Plock, Poland, was arrested by the occupying Germans in 1940. He refused the chance to escape, saying he wouldn't desert his flock. He also refused to profane Christian symbols. He died, after countless beatings, at the Nazi’s Dzialdowo death camp in 1941
Born in 923, probably in the castle Menthon near Annecy, in Savoy; died at Novara, 1008. He was descended from a rich, noble family and received a thorough education. He refused to enter an honorable marriage proposed by his father and decided to devote himself to the service of the Church. Placing himself under the direction of Peter, Archdeacon of Aosta, under whose guidance he rapidly progressed, Bernard was ordained priest and on account of his learning and virtue was made Archdeacon of Aosta (966), having charge of the government of the diocese under the bishop. Seeing the ignorance and idolatry still prevailing among the people of the Alps, he resolved to devote himself to their conversion. For forty two years he continued to preach the Gospel to these people and carried the light of faith even into many cantons of Lombardy, effecting numerous conversions and working many miracles.
For another reason, however, Bernard's name will forever be famous in history. Since the most ancient times there was a path across the Pennine Alps leading from the valley of Aosta to the Swiss canton of Valais, over what is now the pass of the Great St. Bernard. This pass is covered with perpetual snow from seven to eight feet deep, and drifts sometimes accumulate to the height of forty feet. Though the pass was extremely dangerous, especially in the springtime on account of avalanches, yet it was often used by French and German pilgrims on their way to Rome. For the convenience and protection of travelers St. Bernard founded a monastery and hospice at the highest point of the pass, 8,000 feet above sea-level, in the year 962. A few years later he established another hospice on the Little St. Bernard, a mountain of the Graian Alps, 7,076 feet above sea-level. Both were placed in charge of Augustinian monks after pontifical approval had been obtained by him during a visit to Rome.
These hospices are renowned for the generous hospitality extended to all travelers over the Great and Little St. Bernard, so called in honor of the founder of these charitable institutions. At all seasons of the year, but especially during heavy snow-storms, the heroic monks accompanied by their well-trained dogs, go out in search of victims who may have succumbed to the severity of the weather. They offer food, clothing, and shelter to the unfortunate travelers and take care of the dead. They depend on gifts and collections for sustenance. At present, the order consists of about forty members, the majority of whom live at the hospice while some have charge of neighboring parishes.
The last act of St. Bernard's life was the reconciliation of two noblemen whose strife threatened a fatal issue. He was interred in the cloister of St. Lawrence. Venerated as a saint from the twelfth century in many places of Piedmont (Aosta, Novara, Brescia), he was not canonized until 1681, by Innocent XI.
Starting in July, the Vatican’s radio station will begin airing paid ads.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican’s chief spokesman, announced at a press conference yesterday that Vatican Radio will transmit ads, beginning July 6.
BBC News reported the move is being taken to help raise the $30 million per year the station currently needs to cover its operating costs.
Vatican Radio broadcasts worldwide in 40 languages on five continents, and is also available on the Internet.
The Italian electricity multinational ENEL has been chosen as Vatican Radio’s first commercial sponsor, BBC reported, and the station hopes to find other advertisers from countries around the world.
All paid ads aired by Vatican Radio will be screened by an advertising agency to ensure they meet the Church’s moral standards, Father Lombardi said. This is the part I am most apprehensive about.
The initial reaction from pro-life groups on the nomination of appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring pro-abortion Justice David Souter is one of opposition. Although she made the right decision in one abortion case, they say she will likely uphold Roe v. Wade, the 1973 abortion case. Obama is the most pro-abort president in history. He has also said outright that he believes Roe v. Wade was a correct decision. Of course he will only appoint a justice who will uphold it.
The pro-life opposition centers on Sotomayor's comments from 2005 saying the courts are the place "where policy is made."
Though she once ruled in favor of upholding the Mexico City Policy, pro-life organizations say her comment trumps that decision because she appears to favor Roe and how the Supreme Court made abortion policy by allowing abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason.
St. Augustine was the agent of a greater man than himself, Pope St. Gregory the Great. In Gregory's time, except for the Irish monks, missionary activity was unknown in the western Church, and it is Gregory's glory to have revived it. He decided to begin with a mission to the pagan English, for they had cut off the Christian Celts from the rest of Christendom. The time was favorable for a mission since the ruler of the whole of southern England, Ethelbert of Kent, had married a Christian wife and had received a Gaulish bishop at his court. Gregory himself wished to come to Britain, but his election as pope put an end to any such idea, and in 596 he decided to send an Italian monk following the comparatively new Rule of St Benedict. Augustine set out with some companions, but when they reached southern Gaul a crisis occurred and Augustine was sent back to the pope for help. In reply the pope made Augustine their abbot and subjected the rest of the party to him in all things, and with this authority Augustine successfully reached England in 597, landing in Kent on the Isle of Thanet. Ethelbert and the men of Kent refused to accept Christianity at first, although an ancient British church dedicated to St Martin was restored for Augustine's use; but very shortly afterwards Ethelbert was baptized and, the pope having been consulted, a plan was prepared for the removal of the chief see from Canterbury to London and the establishment of another province at York. Events prevented either of these projects from being fulfilled, but the progress of the mission was continuous until Augustine's death, somewhere between 604 and 609. The only defeat Augustine met with after he came to England was in his attempt to reconcile the Welsh Christians, to persuade them to adopt the Roman custom of reckoning the date of Easter, to correct certain minor irregularities of rite and to submit to his authority. Augustine met the leaders of the Welsh church in conference but he unfavorably impressed them by remaining seated when they came into his presence — it is likely that in this he unfavorably impressed St Bede too. Augustine was neither the most heroic of missionaries, nor the most tactful, but he did a great work, and he was one of the very few men in Gaul or Italy who, at that time, was prepared to give up everything to preach the gospel in a far country.
"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live" Pope John Paul II
Some good news for the family, and for those who believe in democracy.
The California Supreme Court upheld the definition of marriage, and the will of the people.
The California Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld same sex marriages that were already performed but upheld voters' rights to ban gay marriage through the state constitution.
An estimated 18,000 gay couples tied the knot before the law took effect. The ruling suggests that gay couples can be afforded equivalent rights to heterosexual married couples but perhaps under a different name.
Gay rights demonstrators flooded the courthouse before the decision and immediately started protesting the ruling. Supporters of gay marriage had argued that the Legislature should have approved the change to the California constitution because of the vote's impact on the equal protection clause.
On July 11, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Rev. Federico Lombardi, S.J., to be the director of the Vatican Press Office. Father Lombardi took over a position held for 22 years by Dr. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, a numerary of Opus Dei. It is possible, however, that Father Lombardi may not even make it to the third anniversary of his appointment.
After the Vatican was pelted in the media for its handling of the Bishop Richard Williamson affair and the pope's comment about condoms in Africa, there were press reports that Father Lombardi would resign following Benedict's trip to the Holy Land. But the pope has been home from Israel for ten days, and there has been no change in the press office. Will Father Lombardi resign? Should he resign?
It is surprising that Father Lombardi, given his experience, would have allowed such high-profile blunders. He worked for the influential Jesuit-run magazine La Civiltà Cattolica and served as superior of the Jesuits' Italian province. In 1991, he was named program director, and later general director, of Vatican Radio, and was also made general director of the Vatican Television Centre in 2001. He continues to hold all three directorships (though he does not manage L'Osservatore Romano).
Pretty much what we'd expect from Barry. She is pretty far left. She thinks the Court should make policy rather than interpret the Constitution, which is what they are supposed to do.
As I predicted earlier, we've traded one pro-abort for another. Sadly, She is also a CINO.
President Obama has chosen federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, two sources told CNN on Tuesday.
Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court justice if confirmed
Obama plans to announce his nominee at 10:15 a.m. ET Tuesday, sources told CNN.
Obama said Saturday he wants intellectual firepower and a common touch in the next Supreme Court justice and said he doesn't "feel weighed down by having to choose ... based on demographics."
Obama's nominee will replace retiring Justice David Souter, who announced this month he would step down when the court's current session ends this summer.
This gracious, cheerful saint was Rome's apostle of the sixteenth century (1515-1595). A peculiar charism was his burning love of God, a love that imperceptibly communicated itself to all about him. So ardently did this fire of divine love affect him during the octave of Pentecost in his twenty-ninth year that the beating of his heart broke two ribs. It was a wound that never healed. For fifty years the saint lived on in the intensity of that love which was more at home in heaven than on earth. Through those fifty years his was an apostolate to renew the religious and ecclesiastical spirit of the Eternal City, a task he brought to a happy conclusion. It is to his credit that the practice of frequent Holy Communion, long neglected in Rome and throughout the Catholic world, was again revived. He became one of Rome's patron saints, even one of the most popular.
Philip Neri loved the young, and they responded by crowding about him. As a confessor he was in great demand; among his penitents was St. Ignatius. To perpetuate his life's work, St. Philip founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy without religious vows. The purpose of his foundation was to enkindle piety among the faithful by means of social gatherings which afforded not only entertainment but religious instruction as well. Joy and gaiety were so much a part of his normal disposition that Goethe, who esteemed him highly, called him the "humorous saint." It was his happy, blithe spirit that opened for him the hearts of children. "Philip Neri, learned and wise, by sharing the pranks of children himself became a child again" (epitaph).
As a youth Philip Neri often visited the seven principal churches of Rome. He spent entire nights at the catacombs, near the tombs of the martyrs, meditating on heavenly things. The liturgy was the wellspring of his apostolic spirit; it should likewise motivate us to Catholic Action.
Sometimes it can be easy to get discouraged from "fighting the good fight" when we see some of the things that are happening in today's world. I was really glad to find this list in the National Catholic Register. For brevity, I just listed the ten things they listed. For more discussion of each, see the full article here
It is a helpful time to review some of the strong signs of hope in the Church today — signs of hope that simply weren't here 20, or even 10 years ago.
1. New Catholic Colleges.
2. Young Catholics.
3. Pro-Life Majority.
4. Renaissance of Religious Life.
5. "John Paul II" and "Benedict XVI" Priests.
6. Bishops' Increased Engagement.
7. Renewal of the Liturgy.
8. New Interest in Catholicism.
9. Confession's Comeback.
10. Eucharistic Adoration.
So, we can take heart. Christ is still the Lord of the universe, and we can be absolutely certain that sticking to his plan will win in the end.
"and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18
Just one of the reasons that Bishop Finn is one of my favorites.
And he is absolutely correct, for 2 reasons: 1. Barry's speech was not to "promote dialogue" as Fr. Jenkins claimed, it was just a speech where he espoused his pro-death views. There was no chance for dialogue. 2. There is no compromise on abortion. You either support killing babies or you don't. There is no circumsance where it is acceptable to kill a baby.
Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph has pointed out that Notre Dame's president said he chose to honor President Obama and let him speak to promote dialogue, but that Obama said in his speech that he and the Church have “irreconcilable” differences on abortion. This admission, the bishop said, “shut the door on dialogue.”
Regarding this latter idea, Bishop Finn expressed that the Church can and in fact does cooperate with the government, but that this cannot mean it will ever move away from its values and ideals, making any negotiation regarding the Church’s tolerance of abortion impossible.
“As a country we want to see an end to racial prejudice. We want a more secure peace in the world. We want sound economic justice for people. So we can’t give up on working with the administration,” Bishop Finn said.
Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, a highly gifted mystic, had made a vow of chastity at the age of ten. She entered the convent of the Discalced Carmelite nuns in Florence, because the practice of receiving holy Communion almost daily was observed there. For five years her only food was bread and water. She practiced the most austere penances and for long periods endured complete spiritual aridity. Her favorite phrase was: "Suffer, not die!" Her body has remained incorrupt to the present day; it is preserved in a glass coffin in the church of the Carmelite nuns at Florence. Purity of soul and love of Christ are the chief virtues which the Church admires in St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi. These virtues matured her spiritually and enabled her to take as a motto, "Suffer, not die!" Purity and love are also the virtues which the Church today exhorts us to practice in imitation of the saint. We may never attain her high degree of holiness, but we can at least strive to suffer patiently out of love for Christ.
John Connor is leading the resistance against Skynet, which was a defense system which became self-aware, and is now making 'Terminators' at a record pace. Marcus Wright is an ex-con who was on death row. He was actually executed, but before he was, Dr Serena Kogan convinced him to donate his body to science for 'research'. He is back, but is he friend or foe?
The resistance finds a way to send a secret signal that will shut down the terminators. and makes plans to level sSkynet and everything/everyone in it. However, when John Connor finds out that Skynet has a lot of human prisoners, including Kyle Reese, a teenager who, in the future, will be his father, John can't convince General Ashdown to delay the attack until the prisoners can be rescued. Fortunately, the rest of the resistance views John as their leader.
Content warnings: Lots of killings, violence and explosions. There is a bit of gore, when you see someone part human/part Terminator and a very brief scene where you see body parts like hands and feet.
Spoiler Warning: Close to the end, John Connor fights a Terminator; One hint: Arnold. Yes, Arnold makes a brief appearance as a Terminator, but it seemed like they integrated older footage, because Arnold seemed a lot younger, and more fit than he is now.
Overall a pretty decent movie for those who are Terminator fans, but definitely not the best of of the four; I still think that Terminator 2 Judgement Day was the best of the four.
I did not care for the ending. It was fairly inconclusive, and indicated that there would be another Terminator. However, the way it ended did not, in my opinion, lend itself to another.
Continuing the reaction to Catholic speaker Christopher West’s ABC interview on the Theology of the Body, prominent theologian David L. Schindler has said that despite West’s fidelity to the Church and his positive results for many Catholics, his approach significantly misrepresents Pope John Paul II’s thought and is “too much about sex and too romantic.” I agree with that assessment. Although Christopher has faithful intentions, I personally feel that someimes he gets a liitle carried away.
Schindler recommended West subject his theology to “renewed reflection.” On May 7 ABC News presented a story and a seven-minute interview segment with Christopher West on his interpretation of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. ABC claimed West declared both John Paul II and Hugh Hefner to be his “two big heroes.” It also showed him saying that Christians “must complete what the sexual revolution began” and must bring God and sex “back together.”
Today, as usual, we prayed the Rosary in front of the abortuary (I hesitate to call it a "clinic" because of the damage they do to women). There is another group that is usually there, standing by the driveway in order to hand people entering or leaving the clinic pamphlets and information on alternatives such as BirthChoice and crisis pregnancy centers. Sometimes the cars slow down and take the information, and sometimes they just drive past. Today, there was a new sign from the owner by the driveway: "Do Not Stop in the Driveway for the Picketers". Well I guess "picketers" is better than "terrorists" :)
I have a couple of questions: If these pro-aborts are really pro-choice as they claim, wouldn't that indicate they want women to have alternatives so they really have a "choice"? In order to make an informed "choice", wouldn't women need to have information on alternatives? Why wouldn't these pro-aborts want them to have that?
I can answer both questions with one word: Hypocrisy. Pro-aborts want women to feel as if they have no alternative but to have an abortion. That is why I only refer to them as pro-abort. They are NOT pro-choice.
Born in Polacak, Belorussia, in 1110; died 1173. Pradslava, the only East Slav virgin saint, was the granddaughter of Prince Polacak Usiaslau from whom she inherited a strong will. Determined to devote her life to God, she refused all marriage proposals and, finally, ran away to join her aunt's convent, Holy Wisdom. There she took the veil and the name Euphrosyne. The money Euphrosyne earned in copying books, she distributed to the poor.
Later she founded and ruled her own convent, Holy Savior, as well as a monastery. In trying to convince her father, Prince Sviataslau, to allow her sister Hardzislava join her at the convent, she argued that in this way Hardzislava would learn to read and write. She was also joined by two nieces and a cousin.
Euphrosyne commissioned a beautiful, gem-studded cross, which she gave to Holy Savior Church in 1161. This cross disappeared without a trace during World War II. Late in life she made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where she died. After the conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187, Euphrosyne's relics were translated to the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev, Ukraine. In 1910, they were returned to Polacak (Nadson).
Lia, the twelve-year-old girl who made headlines for presenting a pro-life speech in a school speech competition against tremendous opposition from her teachers earlier this year, gave her exceptional oration to the 12,000 strong crowd at the National March For Life in Ottawa, Canada last week.
Finally, some clarity. There is a new editor at the Vatican paper L’Osservatore Romano, Giovanni Maria Vian, who appears to have drank the Obama "kool-aid". The unfortunate side of that is that some people think he speaks for the Pope. He doesn't.
The Vatican daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, which has faced criticism from many pro-life U.S. Catholics for its positive assessment of Barack Obama’s presidency, finally reported today on the objection of U.S. bishops to both Obama’s pro-abortion record as well as to Notre Dame’s decision to invite him to its commencement speech.
In the article titled "U.S. Bishops and ethical questions," L’Osservatore quotes the strongly-worded statement from the Archbishop of Denver, Charles J. Chaput which comments on Father John Jenkins’ commencement speech that justified his decision to invite the President of the U.S. to Notre Dame.
The Vatican newspaper does not mention that Chaput’s words were addressed to Fr. Jenkins, but quotes the Denver Archbishop saying that "the most vital thing faithful Catholics can do now is to insist – by their words, actions and financial support – that institutions claiming to be ‘Catholic’ actually live the faith with courage and consistency."
L’ Osservatore then explains that Archbishop Chaput "criticized the decision of the University of Notre Dame to honor someone who has demonstrated the willingness" to uphold Roe v. Wade.
The president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, announced on Thursday the launching of a new website,pope2you.net, to reach out to young people and bring them into contact with Pope Benedict XVI.
The archbishop told L’Osservatore Romano that the initiative is part of the activities surrounding World Communications Day, which will be celebrated on Sunday, May 24 under the theme, “New Technologies, New Relationships.”
The idea behind this website, the archbishop said, “is that in order to be able to enter into a fruitful, rich dialogue characterized by respect and friendship, we wanted to use the digital world, that is, the instrument most friendly to young people, through which they encounter each other daily and often without meeting each other in person.”
It seems that the gay lobby only wants same-sex marriage if they can force it on everyone. They demand the right to "marry", but they deny others the right to disagree.
After legislators amended New Hampshire's same-sex "marriage" bill to include better protections for religious liberty, the Democrat-ruled House of Representatives unexpectedly voted it down Wednesday.
The measure failed by a slim margin, as house legislators voted 188-186 to turn down the new version of a bill they had passed in March. Hours earlier, the Senate had approved the new bill along party lines by a 14-10 vote.
Democrat Governor George Lynch, who has said he opposes same-sex "marriage," indicated he would accept the bill only if it contained a religious liberty protection amendment. While the earlier version of the bill had passed both chambers, the new amendment met with opposition from Republican Steve Vaillancourt, an openly homosexual member of the House.
The new religious liberty protection amendment affirmed the right of clergy and others affiliated with religious organizations to refuse to perform same-sex "marriage" ceremonies. Why should they have to? Doesn't the 1st amendment give us the right to religious freedom?
Rita's childhood was one of happiness to her parents. To satisfy her desire of a life of union with God by prayer, her parents fitted up a little room in their home as an oratory, where she spent all her spare moments. At the age of twelve, however, she desired to consecrate herself to God in the religious state. Pious though her parents were, their tearful pleadings to postpone her noble purpose prevailed on Rita, and they gave her in marriage, at the age of eighteen, to an impulsive, irascible young man, who was well fitted to try the patience and virtue of the holy girl. Two sons were born to them, each inheriting their father's quarrelsome temperament. Rita continued her accustomed devotions, and her sanctity and prayers finally won her husband's heart so that he willingly consented that she continue her acts of devotion. Eighteen years had elapsed since her marriage, when her husband was murdered by an old enemy; both of her sons died shortly after. Rita's former desire to consecrate herself to God again took possession of her. Three times she sought admittance among the Augustinian Nuns in Cascia, but her request was refused each time, and she returned to her home in Rocca Porrena. God Himself, however, supported her cause. One night as Rita was praying earnestly in her humble home she heard herself called by name, while someone knocked at the door. In a miraculous way she was conducted to the monastic enclosure, no entrance having been opened. Astonished at the miracle, the Nuns received Rita, and soon enrolled her among their number.
St. Rita's hidden, simple life in religion was distinguished by obedience and charity; she performed many extreme penances. After hearing a sermon on the Passion of Christ she returned to her cell; kneeling before her crucifix, she implored: "Let me, my Jesus share in Thy suffering, at least of one of Thy thorns". Her prayer was answered. Suddenly one of the thorns detached and fastened itself in her forehead so deeply that she could not remove it. The wound became worse, and gangrene set in. Because of the foul odor emanating from the wound, she was denied the companionship of the other Sisters, and this for fifteen years.
Miraculous power was soon recognized in Rita. When Pope Nicholas IV proclaimed a jubilee at Rome, Rita desired to attend. Permission was granted on condition that her wound would be healed. This came about only for the duration of the trip. Upon her return to the monastery the wound from the thorn reappeared, and remained until her death.
As St. Rita was dying, she requested a relative to bring her a rose from her old home at Rocca Porrena. Although it was not the season for roses, the relative went and found a rose in full bloom. For this reason roses are blessed in the Saint's honor.
After St. Rita's death, in 1457, her face became beautifully radiant, while the odor from her wound was as fragrant as that of the roses she loved so much. The sweet odor spread through the convent and into the church, where it has continued ever since. Her body has remained incorrupt to this day; the face is beautiful and well preserved.
When St. Rita died the lowly cell was aglow with heavenly light, while the great bell of the monastery rang of itself. A relative with a paralyzed arm, upon touching the sacred remains, was cured. A carpenter, who had known the Saint, offered to make the coffin. Immediately he recovered the use of his long stiffened hands.
As one of the solemn acts of his jubilee, Pope Leo XIII canonized St. Rita on the Feast of the Ascension, May 24, 1900.
I must admit that I've been pretty apprehensive about what I've been hearing from L'Osservatore Romano, particularly regarding Obama, who has been accumulating a very pro-abortion, pro-death track record. I've been waiting for the right time to respond.
Two Catholic commentators are lamenting the “sorry ignorance of recent American history” displayed by L'Osservatore Romano—the newspaper published by the Vatican—in its favorable reaction to President Obama's recent commencement speech at Notre Dame. However, they caution, readers should not make the mistake of thinking that the newspaper speaks for the Catholic Church. Excellent point. That would be like saying that the New York Times speaks for New York City or the state of New York.
Pope John Paul II's official biographer, George Weigel, wrote in an article for National Review Online that the pieces published by L'Osservatore Romano have caused pro-administration American journalists and activists to leap with “barely concealed glee” on the chance to trumpet the claim that “the Vatican” believes the U.S. Catholic bishops overreacted to Notre Dame’s award of an honorary doctorate of laws to President Obama.
Furthermore, Weigel says, journalists are writing that “the Vatican” is “taking a wait-and-see, so-far-so-good attitude toward Obama after the horrors of the arch-demon Bush.” Shameful. The liberal "mainstream" media can't stop adoring Obama, and attacking Bush.
The newspaper enjoys a degree of editorial independence, especially under its new editor, Giovanni Maria Vian, so its opinions cannot be read as formal Vatican policy statements.
But it describes itself as "at the service of the thinking of the pope" and in practice works closely with the Vatican Secretariat of State. If its myriad front-page articles on Obama were going in the wrong direction, one can be sure that the editors would feel a swift tug on the reins.
Please keep her family in your prayers. Here's her email:
Yesterday my mother was admitted to the hospital for suspected gallbladder inflammation. Now, after an MRI, it appears much worse. She may have cancer, and the word sends a cold shock of fear into your system when it's said with reference to someone you love. Please pray for her, her name is Eleanor Crafa, and all of her family. Please join us in a Pentecost Novena, starting today. Thank you, Leticia Velasquez
Just as I denounce the violence of abortion, I denounce this violence.
