It's amazing how finding boxes of ballots in your car trunk can help you win an election :) Good news for Barry, bad news for anyone who is pro-life.
Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, a pro-life advocate from Minnesota, conceded his re-election bid to pro-abortion Senate candidate Al Franken. His decision paves the way for the abortion advocates who already control the Senate to have 60 votes to promote abortion and health care rationing.
Coleman originally held a lead over Franken at the end of the November 2008 election, but a recount put Franken ahead by a few hundred votes.
Planned Parenthood, who is, of course, "for women" covering up the statutory rape of a 14 year-old girl. What a shocker.
A Planned Parenthood counselor in Birmingham was caught on hidden camera telling an alleged 14-year-old statutory rape victim that the clinic "does sometimes bend the rules a little bit" rather than report sexual abuse to state authorities. This is the seventh Planned Parenthood clinic implicated in a multi-state child abuse scandal involving the deliberate and unlawful suppression of evidence of statutory rape.
Lila Rose, 20-year-old UCLA student and president of the non-profit Live Action, went undercover at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Birmingham and told a counselor that she was 14-years-old, pregnant by her 31-year-old "boyfriend." Rose said she needed a secret abortion so her parents would not find out about her sexual relationship with the older man.
The treatment for terminal cancer that Annapolis resident Mary Ellen Heibel took at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2004 and early 2005 worked beyond anyone's wildest hopes, wiping out malignant tumors in her lungs, liver, stomach and chest. Her doctor did not expect it, nor could he explain it.
Surely the outcome was remarkable, but was it - in the sense applied by the Roman Catholic Church in such cases - a miracle?
In a few weeks, a committee appointed by the Archdiocese of Baltimore will begin exploring that question, examining 11 witnesses, including Heibel, pressing her doctors, nurses and friends in an attempt to understand what happened. The findings gathered at the archdiocese's downtown offices will be shipped to Rome, and ultimately will bear on a campaign to have Francis X. Seelos, the 19th-century Maryland priest to whom Heibel had turned in prayer for help, canonized as a saint.
The House version of the governmental health care bill, put together by three chairmen of key Congressional committees, is drawing more opposition. A top pro-life group has already issued a letter strongly opposing the measure and now leading pro-life Congressman Chris Smith has joined it.
The bill numbers 850 pages and it is still under review by leading pro-life advocates.
However, the current drat would result in mandated abortion coverage, paid for at taxpayer expense, nationwide. In addition, poor Americans would receive a taxpayer subsidy to purchase health care plans that pay for abortions.
It looks like pro-lifers still have no clout in the Democratic party:
There were Christians in Rome within a dozen or so years after the death of Jesus, though they were not the converts of the "Apostle of the Gentiles" (see Romans 15:20). Paul had not yet visited them at the time he wrote his great letter in A.D. 57-58. There was a large Jewish population in Rome. Probably as a result of controversy between Jews and Jewish Christians, the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome in A.D. 49-50. Suetonius the historian says that the expulsion was due to disturbances in the city "caused by the certain Chrestus" [Christ]. Perhaps many came back after Claudius's death in A.D. 54. Paul's letter was addressed to a church with members from Jewish and gentile backgrounds.
In July of A.D. 64, more than half of Rome was destroyed by fire. Rumor blamed the tragedy on Nero, who wanted to enlarge his palace. He shifted the blame by accusing the Christians. According to the historian Tacitus, a "great multitude" of Christians were put to death because of their "hatred of the human race." Peter and Paul were probably among the victims.
Threatened by an army revolt and condemned to death by the senate, Nero committed suicide in A.D. 68 at the age of thirty-one.
Wherever the Good News of Jesus was preached, it met the same opposition as Jesus did, and many of those who began to follow him shared his suffering and death. But no human force could stop the power of the Spirit unleashed upon the world. The blood of martyrs has always been, and will always be, the seed of Christians.
I only wish we heard statements like this more often, and from our Bishops also.
Closing the Year of St. Paul yesterday evening, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the writings of the famed convert to Christianity. With reference to Paul's letter to the Ephesians (4:14), the Pope explained what Paul meant by his statement that Christians should not remain "children at the mercy of the waves, transported here and there by every wind of doctrine."
"Paul wants the Christian faith have a 'responsible', an 'adult faith," said the Holy Father. "The word 'adult faith' has in recent decades become a popular slogan. It is often used to refer to the attitude of those who no longer adhere to the Church and her pastors, but choose for themselves what they want to believe and not believe - a kind of do-it-yourself faith."
CurtJester: If Madoff wanted to defraud people of millions and get off scott free he should have ran for Senate.
Historic swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison Monday for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he needed to send a symbolic message to potential imitators and to victims who demanded harsh punishment.
Scattered applause and whoops broke out in the crowded Manhattan courtroom after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old defendant, who said he lives "in a tormented state now, knowing all the pain and suffering I've created."
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a group of white firefighters in Connecticut were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision endorsed by high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
The 5-4 ruling poses a potential complication to Sotomayor's nomination, with confirmation hearings set to start in July. Already, supporters and critics of Sotomayor are seizing on the decision in an effort to defend their stance.
In the high-profile, controversial case, white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., argued they were discriminated against when the city tossed out the results of a promotion exam because too few minorities scored high enough on it.
Justice Anthony Kennedy authored the opinion in favor of Frank Ricci and his fellow firefighters who sued the city of New Haven.
"The city's action in discarding the tests violated (federal law)," the Supreme Court majority wrote Monday, adding that the city's "race-based rejection of the test results" could not be justified.
The good news is that the ArchDiocese of Boston won't be affiliated with a healthcare plan that provides abortion.
The bad news is that because this has been known for months (see my earlier post linked below), it really looks like the Cardinal is only pulling out because of the scrutiny this deal has gotten.
After weeks of ethics discussions, the Archdiocese of Boston announced on Friday that the Church-sponsored Caritas Christi Healthcare has withdrawn from its partnership with CeltiCare Health Plan. The archdiocese said it was not possible to find agreement between the archdiocese-affiliated medical organization and the Missouri-based health insurer, who provides abortion and contraception.
The joint venture was scheduled to start providing care on July 1st, but in a statement issued on Friday by Richard Lynch, the chief executive of CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts, - the former joint venture which is now solely owned by a Centene subsidiary - said: "effective today, Caritas has withdrawn their ownership position in CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts. Celtic Group Inc. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation) now owns 100% of the company. Caritas Christi will continue to participate as a key part of the CeltiCare provider network. The arrangement in no way affects the operations of CeltiCare Health, and we look forward to delivering quality health care services to our members starting on July 1st."
The Saints of the Day for June 29 are Sts. Peter and Paul. Today's feast also marks the end of the Year of St. Paul.
Veneration of the two great Apostles, Peter and Paul, has its roots in the very foundations of the Church. They are the solid rock on which the Church is built. They are at the origin of her faith and will forever remain her protectors and her guides. To them Rome owes her true greatness, for it was under God's providential guidance that they were led to make the capital of the Empire, sanctified by their martyrdom, the center of the Christian world whence should radiate the preaching of the Gospel.
St. Peter suffered martyrdom under Nero, in A.D. 66 or 67. He was buried on the hill of the Vatican where recent excavations have revealed his tomb on the very site of the basilica of St. Peter's. St. Paul was beheaded in the via Ostia on the spot where now stands the basilica bearing his name. Down the centuries Christian people in their thousands have gone on pilgrimage to the tombs of these Apostles. In the second and third centuries the Roman Church already stood pre-eminent by reason of her apostolicity, the infallible truth of her teaching and her two great figures, Sts. Peter and Paul.
A plenary indulgence may be gained today by anyone who makes devout use of a religious article blessed by a bishop and who also recites any approved profession of faith (e.g. the Apostles Creed), as long as the usual conditions are satisfied.
I am not a big fan of Jack Black, but I saw Year one because the previews, particularly Michael Cera, looked funny. I'm glad that I saw it for one reason: so I could warn you about it.
It was full of crude toilet humor and sexual references. I'll give you an idea of how bad it was: feces was sampled, and there was an orgy scene. They also mocked eating the forbidden fruit, Cain killing Abel, and when Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac; that was turned into a running joke on circumcision. Needless to say, I wasn't there when the credits rolled.
Once again, my man Huckabee goes to bat for life. Watch the video for an excellent analysis of the 'debate'.
The June 18 episode of the Daily Show featured an unusual topic for a late-night comedy segment: abortion. Host Jon Stewart, who said he blamed guest Mike Huckabee for the choice of topic, dejectedly pulled out a bottle of whiskey as the segment began.
But the ensuing discussion proved both civil and hard-hitting as the former Arkansas governor hashed out the logic of the pro-life position and explored common ground with his left-leaning host.
"I think sometimes this is an issue where people get, maybe - generating a lot more heat than light," said Huckabee. "And for me, the issue is so much more than about abortion, it's about the fundamental issue of whether or not every human life has intrinsic worth and value."
St. Cyril is one of the great Greek fathers of the Church. He was chosen by divine Providence to be the shield and champion of the Church against Nestorius, who denied the unity of person in Christ. If this heresy had succeeded, Mary would not be called the Mother of God. Excepting Sts. Athanasius and Augustine, his equal as a defender of orthodoxy, can hardly be found in the Church's history. His greatest achievement was the successful direction of the ecumenical council at Ephesus (431), of which he was the soul (Pope Celestine had appointed him papal legate). In this council two important dogmas were defined -- that there is but one person in Christ, and that Mary (in the literal sense of the word) can be called the Mother of God (Theotokos). His successful defense of the latter doctrine is his greatest title to honor.
His writings show such depth and clarity that the Greeks called him the "seal of the fathers." He died in 444 A.D., after having been bishop for thirty-two years. In Rome, the basilica of St. Mary Major stands as a most venerable monument to the honor paid Mary at the Council of Ephesus. On the arch leading into the sanctuary important incidents in the lives of Jesus and Mary are depicted in mosaic.
This will be a good test to see how much clout pro-lifers have within the Democratic party, which is largely anti-life.
Nineteen pro-life Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday issued a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging that the president's healthcare reform package not place unborn children in more danger by including abortion in the federal healthcare plan.
"As the debate on health care reform continues and legislation is produced, it is imperative that the issue of abortion not be overlooked," wrote the lawmakers. "Plans to mandate coverage for abortions, either directly or indirectly is [sic] unacceptable."
The congressmen said that they would only accept a healthcare plan that "explicitly excludes" abortion. They said such restrictions would "save lives," citing a Guttmacher Institute survey that showed banning taxpayer-funded abortion prevents about one third of abortions that would otherwise occur.
God our Father, your Son Jesus spoke to us a message of peace and taught us to live as brothers and sisters.
His message took form in the vision of our Founding Fathers, as they fashioned a nation where all people might live as one.
This message lives on in our midst as a task for us today and a promise for tomorrow.
We thank you, Father, for your blessings in the past, and for all that, with your help, we must yet achieve.
Bless our nation and bless each of us. As we celebrate our independence, may we extend its blessings to our youngest brothers and sisters, the children in the womb.
Hasten the day when our nation will be a nation with liberty and justice, not just for some, but for all, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bad news for Michael J. Fox, good news for the rest of us.
More evidence that adult stem cell is much more promising than embryonic stem cell research, which has shown NO results.
A new study involving researchers from Maryland and Indiana finds that adult stem cells, not embryonic, are best suited for damaged and diseased muscle. The new research, published in the medial journal Nature, involved experiments in mice.
The scientists found the genes involved in muscle development are turned off soon after birth, and are not used by adult stem cells that repair muscle.
The researchers, at the Carnegie Institute’s Department of Embryology in Baltimore, learned that a different set of genes active in adult muscle stem cells take over to repair muscle damage.
This suggests that adult stem cells are best suited for repairing muscle in muscular dystrophy and other muscle injuries.
"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." Pope John Paul II
If you believe in the family, you may want to reconsider purchasing Pepsi products.
PepsiCo is telling those who call to complain about PepsiCo's sponsorship of gay pride parades that it does not sponsor such parades. That simply is not true.
Here are the sponsorship pages, from the various parades, with the PepsiCo product logo showing it as an official sponsor. (The sponsor page for the New York parade has been removed from the New York gay parade site.)
JosemarÃa's father died in 1924, leaving him as head of the family. After his ordination in 1925, he began his ministry in a rural parish, and subsequently continued it in Saragossa. In 1927, Fr. JosemarÃa's bishop gave him permission to move to Madrid to obtain his doctorate in law.
On October 2, 1928, during a spiritual retreat, Fr. JosemarÃa saw what it was that God was asking of him: to found Opus Dei, a way of sanctification in daily work and in the fulfillment of the Christian's ordinary duties. From then on he worked on carrying out this task, meanwhile continuing his priestly ministry, particularly to the poor and the sick. During these early years of Opus Dei, he was also studying at the University of Madrid and teaching classes in order to support his family. When the Civil War broke out in Madrid, religious persecution forced Fr. JosemarÃa to exercise his priestly ministry clandestinely and to move from place to place seeking refuge. Eventually, he was able to leave the Spanish capital; and, after a harrowing escape across the Pyrenees, he took up residence in Burgos. When the war concluded in 1939, he returned to Madrid and finally obtained his doctorate in law. In the years that followed he gave many retreats to laity, priests, and religious, and continued working assiduously to develop Opus Dei.
In 1946 Fr. JosemarÃa took up residence in Rome. During his years in Rome, he obtained a doctorate in Theology from the Lateran University and was appointed by Pope Pius XII as a consultor to two Vatican Congregations, as an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, and as an honorary prelate.
He traveled frequently from Rome to various European countries, and to Mexico on one occasion, to spark the growth of Opus Dei in those places. In 1974 and 1975, he made two long trips to a number of countries in Latin America, where he met with large groups of people and spoke to them about their Christian vocation to holiness.
Msgr. Escriva died in Rome on June 26, 1975. By the time of his death, Opus Dei had begun in dozens of countries and had touched countless lives. After his death thousands of people, including more than a third of the world's bishops, sent letters to Rome asking the Pope to open his cause of beatification and canonization.
Pope John Paul II beatified Msgr. Escriva on May 17, 1992, in St. Peter's Square in Rome. The ceremony was attended by approximately 300,000 people. "With supernatural intuition," said the Pope in his homily, "Blessed JosemarÃa untiringly preached the universal call to holiness and apostolate."
Ten years later, on October 6, 2002, John Paul II canonized the founder of Opus Dei in St. Peter's Square before a multitude of people from more than 80 countries. In his discourse to those who attended the canonization, the Holy Father said that "St. JosemarÃa was chosen by the Lord to proclaim the universal call to holiness and to indicate that everyday life, its customary activities, are a path towards holiness. It could be said that he was the saint of the ordinary."
Michael Jackson died Thursday afternoon after reportedly going into cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home, the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times reports.
FOX News confirmed that the legendary singer, 50, was rushed to the hospital Thursday afternoon, but did not confirm reports of his death.
The Los Angeles Times reported the legendary singer, 50, had fallen into a deep coma before his death shortly after 3 p.m. PDT.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled Wednesday to uphold the constitutionality of Virginia’s partial-birth abortion ban. The full court reversed a previous decision by a three-judge panel that determined the ban was unconstitutional.
In the opinion issued Wednesday, the 4th Circuit concluded that “little or no evidence” exists to suggest the ban would prevent other types of abortions from being performed without subjecting doctors to criminal liability.
The court wrote, “To hold the Virginia Act facially unconstitutional for all circumstances based on the possible rare circumstance presented ... is not appropriate under any standard for facial challenges. Moreover, the Virginia Act ... provides sufficient clarity as to what conduct is prohibited to enable a doctor of reasonable intelligence to avoid criminal liability under it, and therefore the Virginia Act is constitutional.”
In his concurring opinion, Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson wrote, “The fact is that we - civilized people - are retreating to the haven of our Constitution to justify dismembering a partly born child and crushing its skull. Surely centuries hence, people will look back on this gruesome practice done in the name of fundamental law by a society of high achievement. And they will shudder.”
About 4 years ago, I went through a difficult spiritual struggle, and it was St. Therese who pulled me through, without me even seeking her intercession. During this struggle, I purchased 'Therese' the movie on DVD, and 'Story of a Soul', her autobiography, within a couple weeks of each other. Then, I did ask her to help me through, and I felt as if she took my hand to lead me down the right path. So, I can personally attest that she is a great Saint to have with you on any journey.
U.S. astronaut Ronald Garan, who brought a relic of St. Therese of Lisieux with him on the Discovery space shuttle during his last trip to space, attended Pope Benedict XVI’s Wednesday audience this week and was greeted by the Pontiff.
In 2011, Garan plans to bring another relic of the saint with him on a mission to the international space station.
Farrah Fawcett, the multiple Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated American actress best known for her role as the vivacious Jill Munroe in the 1970s television series “Charlie’s Angels,” died in a Santa Monica hospital. She was 62.
Her spokesman, Paul Bloch, confirmed that the iconic actress died Thursday morning. Her 2 1/2-year battle with cancer was depicted in a recent TV documentary, "Farrah's Story."
Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in September 2006 and, despite going into remission and enduring extensive chemotherapy and surgery both in the U.S. and Germany, it was revealed earlier this year that the cancer had spread to her liver. She stopped receiving treatment in May.
Fawcett documented the trials and tribulations of her battle with cancer in the NBC documentary "Farrah’s Story."
Regarding YouTube, this is not the first time they've shown their anti-life activism. Here's my earlier post about them.
Regarding Planned Parenthood's lies, I can understand that the only way to try to defend abortion is with lies; how else can you justify killing babies?
YouTube, the popular video sharing web site, has removed a new undercover video that exposes dishonest counseling practices at Planned Parenthood abortion centers. The new video shows a Planned Parenthood staff member telling pro-life activist Lila Rose that images of victims of abortion are "not real."
Without offering any specific explanation, YouTube removed the new video, which features footage of a Planned Parenthood facility in Tucson, Arizona.
After the staffer tells a potential abortion patient that the images of babies killed in abortions are fake, the video shows photographs of a completed abortion and documentation of their authenticity.
William was born in 11th-century Italy to a noble family. He was orphaned as an infant and raised by relatives. At the young age of 14, he made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and decided to devote his life to God as a hermit.
He returned to Italy and lived as a hermit for two years at Monte Solicoli, where he was credited with healing a blind man. At Monte Vergiliano, his reputation for holiness attracted many disciples, and in 1119, he established a monastery with a Rule based on the Benedictines.
Five other houses were formed during his lifetime, but only the original survives today. He died June 25, 1142 of natural causes.
You all know about the crackdown after the Iranian election. My friend Angela passed on this idea from Fr. Erik, who passed it on from Mark Shea. A simple way to help Iranians on the internet.
If you use Twitter, set your location to Tehran & your time zone to GMT +3.30. Iranian security forces are hunting for bloggers using location/timezone searches. The more people at this location, the more of a logjam it creates for forces trying to shut down Iranians' access to the internet. Cut & paste & pass it on.
In a stunning confession, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Wednesday to being "unfaithful" to his wife during a press conference meant to clear up his mysterious week-long absence.
The admission was the latest, and most shocking, installment in the evolving story surrounding Sanford's disappearance. He left town Thursday and returned Wednesday on a flight from Argentina, even though his staff had initially told reporters Sanford was hiking the Appalachian Trail.
"I've let down a lot of people. That's the bottom line," Sanford said Wednesday. "I've been unfaithful to my wife."
Pathetic. Now they act like heterosexuality is a bad thing. It happens to be the norm for a majority of people.
Researchers at the University of Michigan have concluded that the love stories told in classic Disney and other G-rated children's films – such as the Little Mermaid - are partially to blame for the pervasiveness of what they label "heteronormativity."
"Despite the assumption that children’s media are free of sexual content, our analyses suggest that these media depict a rich and pervasive heterosexual landscape," wrote researchers Emily Kazyak and Karin Martin, in a report published in the latest issue of the Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) publication Gender & Society.
Kazyak and Martin said they studied the role of heterosexual relationships in several of the highest-grossing G-rated films between 1990-2005.
The results, say the researchers, illustrate two ways that the children's films "construct heterosexuality": through "depictions of hetero-romantic love as exceptional, powerful, transformative, and magical," and "depictions of interactions between gendered bodies in which the sexiness of feminine characters is subjected to the gaze of masculine characters."
"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." Pope John Paul II
Score one for the Anti-family activists.
Senator Chris Dodd, a CINO who dissents from Church teachings, is adding support for same-sex 'marriage' to his 100% NARAL record. Sorry Chris, but the majority of people still oppose it.
U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a Roman Catholic, on Sunday declared he had changed his position on same-sex "marriage," and now calls law defining marriage between a man and a woman "archaic" and "unfair."
“To my daughters, these couples are married simply because they love each other and want to build a life together," wrote Dodd on his Senate Web site. "That’s what we’ve taught them. The things that make those families different from their own pale in comparison to the commitments that bind those couples together.
to the Vatican July 10 for an audience scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
Obama will visit Italy July 8-10 to participate in the Group of Eight summit, a meeting of leaders of the world's wealthiest nations. The meeting will be held in L'Aquila, site of a devastating earthquake in April.
After the G-8 summit, the president and his wife, Michelle, are scheduled to fly to Ghana, arriving late July 10.
Although Pope Benedict usually meets heads of state and government in the morning, the Vatican agreed to host Obama's first visit to the papal palace the evening before he flies to Africa.
This feast, a segment of Advent in the season of Ordinary Time, makes us aware of the wonderful inner relationship between the sacred mysteries; for we are still in the midst of one Church year and already a bridge is being erected to the coming year of grace.
Ordinarily the Church observes the day of a saint's death as his feast, because that day marks his entrance into heaven. To this rule there are two notable exceptions, the birthdays of Blessed Mary and of St. John the Baptist. All other persons were stained with original sin at birth, hence, were displeasing to God. But Mary, already in the first moment of her existence, was free from original sin (for which reason even her very conception is commemorated by a special feast), and John was cleansed of original sin in the womb of his mother. This is the dogmatic justification for today's feast. In the breviary St. Augustine explains the reason for today's observance in the following words:
"Apart from the most holy solemnity commemorating our Savior's birth, the Church keeps the birthday of no other person except that of John the Baptist. (The feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin had not yet been introduced.) In the case of other saints or of God's chosen ones, the Church, as you know, solemnizes the day on which they were reborn to everlasting beatitude after ending the trials of this life and gloriously triumphing over the world. "For all these the final day of their lives, the day on which they completed their earthly service is honored. But for John the day of his birth, the day on which he began this mortal life is likewise sacred. The reason for this is, of course, that the Lord willed to announce to men His own coming through the Baptist, lest if He appeared suddenly, they would fail to recognize Him. John represented the Old Covenant and the Law. Therefore he preceded the Redeemer, even as the Law preceded and heralded the new dispensation of grace." In other words, today's feast anticipates the feast of Christmas. Taking an overall view, we keep during the course of the year only two mysteries, that of Christ's Incarnation and that of His Redemption. The Redemption mystery is the greater of the two; the Incarnation touches the human heart more directly. To the Redemption mystery the entire Easter season is devoted, from Septuagesima until Pentecost; and likewise every Sunday of the year, because Sunday is Easter in miniature. The Christmas season has for its object the mystery of God-become-Man, to which there is reference only now and then during the remaining part of the year, e.g., on Marian feasts, especially that of the Annunciation (March 25) and today's feast in honor of the Baptist. In a sense, then, we are celebrating Christ's incarnation today. The birth of Jesus is observed on December 25 at the time of the winter solstice, while the birth of His forerunner is observed six months earlier at the time of the summer solstice. Christmas is a "light" feast; the same is true today. The popular custom centering about "St. John's Fire" stems from soundest Christian dogma and could well be given renewed attention. St. John's Fire symbolizes Christ the Light; John was a lamp that burned and shone. We Christians should be the light of the world.
Well, PETA has finally come out against the Obama fly swat, but they still can't decide if they feel as strongly about humans as they do flies.
According to a spokesman for "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals" (PETA), which recently decried President Obama’s swatting of a fly during an interview, the organization urges "compassion even for the smallest and least of animals," but has no position on the killing of unborn human beings.
A spokesman for the organization told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) in an interview that it is "loathsome" and "grotesquely hypocritical" that pro-lifers oppose abortion, but are unconcerned about the mistreatment of chickens and other animals used in the food industry. Of course I don't want to see animals abused or mistreated; however, my priority is unborn humans.
Asked about PETA's criticism of President Barack Obama's killing of a fly during a recent televised interview, group spokesman Bruce Friedrich told LSN that PETA "supports compassion even for the smallest and least of animals, much as Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Albert Schweitzer who included even insects in his realm of compassion." Any room for the unborn in that "realm of compassion" ?
Congressman Chris Smith, the pro-life hero from New Jersey, gave a rousing speech at the closing banquet of the National Right to Life convention Saturday night. During his talk, which was delayed by a lengthy standing ovation, he encouraged pro-life advocates and tagged President Obama's pro-abortion record.
Smith, who came out of the pro-life movement as the director of New Jersey Right to Life, to become a well-respected congressman, says the pro-life community is a "selfless expression of love for the truth."
He called the movement to stop abortion the "greatest human rights struggle on Earth" that "continues to provide direction and conscience to a nation that has lost its way."
Following their spring meeting in San Antonio last week, the U.S. bishops today issued a statement of support for Fort Wayne-South Bend Bishop John D'Arcy's "pastoral concern" for the University of Notre Dame. The bishop made national and international headlines earlier this year after he publicly rebuked Notre Dame's decision to honor President Obama.
"The bishops of the United States express our appreciation and support for our brother bishop, the Most Reverend John D'Arcy," reads the brief statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
"We affirm his pastoral concern for Notre Dame University, his solicitude for its Catholic identity, and his loving care for all those the Lord has given him to sanctify, to teach and to shepherd."
Huckabee takes on the anti-lifers, and he is 100% correct.
In an interview with Jon Stewart of the "Daily Show" on Comedy Central last week, former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee blasted the false notion that common ground exists in the abortion debate.
The notion that there is common ground on killing children and hurting women has been repeatedly taken to task by pro-life advocates. You either think it is okay to kill babies or you don't.
Huckabee said that abortion advocates don't want to give an inch in the abortion debate by accepting even modest limits on abortion such as parental notification, which would allow parents to know when their daughters are considering the life-altering decision. Even if someone is pro-abort, how could they possibly think that a teenager old should be able to get an abortion without their parents knowing? A hospital couldn't even remove their appendix without parental consent, but they can get an abortion? That makes no sense.
I think the saddest part of this whole mess is that they are continuing the show; That is only going to make it more of a circus. Like most people, I am concerned about the kids. I hope it is handled in a way to best protect them.
Celebrity parents Jon and Kate Gosselin say they plan to divorce.
The co-stars of "Jon & Kate Plus 8," who are parents of 5-year-old sextuplets and 8-year-old twins, spoke of their decision to separate during Monday's episode of the TLC reality series. Near the end of the hour-long episode, a title card summed things up in stark terms: It said that on Monday, "legal proceedings were initiated in Pennsylvania to dissolve the 10-year marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin."
The network had been promising a major on-air decision from the couple, whose increasingly troubled marriage has dominated the series in recent weeks, as well as fueling a firestorm of tabloid coverage.
Blessed Basil Hopko is considered one of the many priests and religious martyred by Communism. He was born in Slovakia to poor parents. His father died when he was a year old and his mother left for the United States when he was four in seach of work.
He remained in Europe and was an excellent student. He wanted to join his mother in the United States and pursue his vocation to the priesthood there, but his poor health did not permit him to travel.
He was ordained in 1929 and served as a parish priest in Prague, with a spcial mission to the poor, the unemployed and students. In 1947, he was named auxiliary bishop of Prjashev. Three years later, he was arrested by Communist officials and tortured.
He was given a trial and sentenced to 15 years for “subversive activity.” His health failed as he was continually tortured. In 1964, he was transferred to a home for seniors. There, he was kept under guard but managed to minister to a group of 120 nuns who had been imprisoned in the home as well.
Though his eparchy was restored in 1968, officials did not permit him to resume his leadership. A Slovak bishop was appointed in his place. He never recovered from his health and died in 1976. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003 in the Slovak Republic.
The Royals were supposed to host "Right to Life" Night at the ballpark when Missouri Right to Life bought up 300 tickets to a game last week as a fundraiser. The Royals put up a link on their website to encourage people to buy tickets to "Right to life" night. And the link which read "come cheer on the Royals as they play the St. Louis Cardinals and support the Missouri Right to Life" was getting clicks and selling tickets but then...someone was offended! Someone from the office of some stupid state senator (Missouri State Senator Jolie Justus) called to complain.
And the Royals buckled and removed the link from their website.
Of course I am happy to see a Bishop speaking out on these two important issues; however, it is sad that most of our Bishops so seldom speak out that the ones that do really stand out.
Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre has publicly confronted Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi after the latter announced his support of homosexual marriage in a New York Times opinion piece.
Mr. Suozzi “certainly admits that he knows he is contradicting some basic moral teachings of his own faith,” Bishop Murphy writes. “This is not the first time he has done this. He has already placed himself publicly in the category of ‘pro choice’ on abortion. While homosexual orientation is a neutral reality on a moral level, homosexual acts are not morally neutral. They are wrong and they are sinful. Abortion is wrong and it is sinful.”
I watch Fox News every day. I honestly don't think of them as "anti-Obama". I actually find it refreshing to see at least one network that hasn't drank the Obama kool-aid. They present both sides of the stories or issues they report. I am much more concerned about the way the others slobber over Barry, such as ABC reporting from the White House.
His belief that no lay ruler has jurisdiction over the church of Christ cost Thomas More his life. Beheaded on Tower Hill, London, July 6, 1535, he steadfastly refused to approve Henry VIII's divorce and remarriage and establishment of the Church of England.
Described as "a man for all seasons," More was a literary scholar, eminent lawyer, gentleman, father of four children and chancellor of England. An intensely spiritual man, he would not support the king's divorce from Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Nor would he acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the church in England, breaking with Rome and denying the pope as head.
More was committed to the Tower of London to await trial for treason: not swearing to the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy. Upon conviction, More declared he had all the councils of Christendom and not just the council of one realm to support him in the decision of his conscience.
Four hundred years later, in 1935, Thomas More was canonized a saint of God. Few saints are more relevant to our time. In fact, in 2000, Pope John Paul II named him patron of political leaders. The supreme diplomat and counselor, Thomas More did not compromise his own moral values in order to please the king, knowing that true allegiance to authority is not blind acceptance of everything that authority wants. Henry himself realized this and tried desperately to win his chancellor to his side because he knew More was a man whose approval counted, a man whose personal integrity no one questioned. But when Thomas resigned as chancellor, unable to approve the two matters that meant most to Henry, the king felt he had to get rid of Thomas.
In the midst of the second world war Pope Pius XII put the whole world under the special protection of our Savior's Mother by consecrating it to her Immaculate Heart, and in 1944 he decreed that in the future the whole Church should celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is not a new devotion. In the seventeenth century, St. John Eudes preached it together with that of the Sacred Heart; in the nineteenth century, Pius VII and Pius IX allowed several churches to celebrate a feast of the Pure Heart of Mary. Pius XII instituted today's feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the whole Church, so as to obtain by her intercession "peace among nations, freedom for the Church, the conversion of sinners, the love of purity and the practice of virtue" (Decree of May 4, 1944).
Any hopes for a fair review of the legality of the election in Iran have been dashed.
"Some of our enemies in different parts of the world intended to depict this absolute victory, this definitive victory, as a doubtful victory. It is your victory. They cannot manipulate it" proclaimed the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as he spoke to massive crowds at a Friday Prayer service. Any hopes of his recognizing the will of the people for a review of the legality of the election was dashed.
If you would like to show support for the people of Iran in their struggle for a free election, some of us on Twitter have changed our avatar to have a green tint at http://helpiranelection.com/
"I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment" (Jesus to St. Margaret Mary).
Sixteenth century Calvinism and seventeenth century Jansenism preached a distorted Christianity that substituted for God's love and sacrifice of His Son for all men the fearful idea that a whole section of humanity was inexorably damned.
The Church always countered this view with the infinite love of our Savior who died on the cross for all men. The institution of the feast of the Sacred Heart was soon to contribute to the creation among the faithful of a powerful current of devotion which since then has grown steadily stronger. The first Office and Mass of the Sacred Heart were composed by St. John Eudes, but the institution of the feast was a result of the appearances of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. The celebration of the feast was extended to the general calendar of the Church by Pius IX in 1856.
"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live. " Pope John Paul II
The Anti-family activists are at it again. They want Washington, D.C. to accept same-sex marriage, and they don't even want to let people vote on it.
A Washington, D.C. election board’s rejection of a voter referendum on its decision to recognize same-sex “marriages” contracted in other jurisdictions has been challenged in a lawsuit.
The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics had ruled the referendum would violate the D.C. Human Rights Act of 1977.
A lawsuit filed by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) on behalf of Bishop Harry R. Jackson and other D.C. voters challenged the board’s ruling, noting that the District of Columbia Court of Appeals 15 years ago ruled that maintaining the recognition of marriage as between a man and a woman does not violate the act.
“Marriage didn’t violate the Human Rights Act when the HRA passed 32 years ago, and it doesn’t now. That is simply a political argument meant to prevent the people from voting,” ADF Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum said in a statement.
It's amazing how finding boxes of ballots in your car trunk can help you win an election :)
