An El Paso County peace and justice group will likely lose financial support from the Colorado Springs Roman Catholic Diocese because the group will not honor Bishop Michael Sheridan's request to explicitly state opposition to abortion rights.

Sheridan, who has identified opposition of gay marriage as a fundamental issue for Catholic politicians and voters this year, also questioned the Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission's ties with DignityUSA, a gay Catholic group with a Colorado Springs chapter.

Sheridan's spokesman said the bishop has every right to ask potential recipients of diocese money about their moral positions.
[Full Story][Via AMDG]

More good news from Bishop Sheridan. It is unfortunate now that the phrase Peace and Justice has just become code words for pacifism, socialism, radical feminism, radical environmentalism, and support of abortion and a active homosexual lifestyle. To hide behind Peace and Justice and then to excuse the murder of those in the womb is an irony that should shame them. To be concerned more about consumption of resources than the murder of thousands of children each day shows a program that is out-of-whack. They trespass on military bases and through their own blood on missiles while at the same time scorning those who peacefully demonstrate at abortion clinics. Much of what these groups advocate has grains of truth in it, but unfortunately these grains never blossom into the fullness of Catholic teaching. There is a proper concern for those in poverty though there answer is usually increased government spending to solve these ills.

I have seen many of the web sites of groups like the Pikes Peak Justice and Peace and they are very similar in their advocacy. In the specific case of this group they look at the problems of the world and what is it they demonstrate about? "Protect America and the World from Bush"

I wish all Bishops would take as close a look at those who are receiving from the Church's coffers. We all need to do the same. To look at closely at those organization who we donate to to make sure they are practicing a consistently Catholic ethic.

I received an email from Tim Drake of the National Catholic Register with a request to promote this poll.

f you're anything like me, you love movies. The National Catholic Register is partnering with its sister publication, Faith and Family Magazine to conduct a Catholic Movie Poll. We're looking for nominations for the top movies that celebrate Catholic life. We don't seek to repeat the excellent lists of films that treat of Catholic themes. Rather, we want to recognize popular movies that show how attractive Catholic life can be. What movies make you proudest to be Catholic?

The results from the poll will be published in both the National Catholic Register and Faith and Family Magazine in the fall.

This poll will run through June 28th. The first part of the poll will solicit nominations. On June 21, the second phase of the poll will kick in. At that time, readers will be able to vote for their favorites among the final nominees.

If any bloggers would like to promote this poll. I have placed their banner ad on some web space and you can use the following code to place the banner and the URL to this poll.

Here is an interesting article in the New York Times on Archbishop Myers. Fairly balanced for an NYT article, though it does manage to place the obligatory quote by the Rev. Richard P. McBrien of Notre Dame at the end of it. Being a SF nut I thought that this part was interesting:

And while he prides himself on his intellectual heft as a canon lawyer, he is a devoted fan of "Star Trek" and spends his spare time working on a science fiction novel, "Space Hawk."

The book, which he is writing with his boyhood friend Gary K. Wolf (who wrote the novel that was turned into the animated Hollywood blockbuster "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"), tells the tale of a writer and a priest named Jasper J. Moyers, who are living on a space station in the year 2052, battling a Nazi war criminal who possesses supernatural powers.

An Australian bishop has said he will reordain any Anglican priests who were ordained by a woman bishop before they can work in his diocese.

Ross Davies, Bishop of The Murray in South Australia, told his diocesan synod that a move for women bishops failed at the last Australian general synod in 2001 and would be put in a new form in Perth in October.

Women bishops have replaced homosexuality as the most corrosive issue within the Anglican Church in Australia today.

Bishop Davies said the new proposal, with a "minimalist" plan for alternative oversight for those who can't accept women bishops, would create new difficulties.

"All I can do is put on the record that I would need to reordain any man purportedly ordained before a woman bishop before I could license him," he said.
[Full Story]

Of course the irony is that if Bishop Davies were to convert to the Catholic Church and was allowed to become a priest, he also would be conditionally ordained. Now what I can't understand is that if in 1992 the Anglicans said that women could be ordained priests then why wouldn't they have automatically also said that they could be Bishops? It sounds like it must have been a political compromise vice a theological understanding.

In a post below called Spiritual Malpractice in the comment section JCECIL3 brought up women's ordination. Elinor of Mommentary, who always leaves excellent comments, left one that had me rolling.

Look, jcecil, it's OVER. This is an ex-parrot. (Pace Monty Python.) Bereft of life, it rests in peace. It is NOT GOING TO CHANGE. Go on gassing about it all you like, but if you think it's going to have any effect on the Church's teaching, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. This discussion is starting to remind me of an old New Yorker cartoon which pictures the never-say-die suitor, in an attitude of supplication to the girl of his heart, who is taking a walk with her husband, two young children, and a baby carriage. She tells him in exasperation, "HAROLD! I said NO and I meant NO!" Take this as final: "JCECIL! They said NO and they meant NO!"

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A federal judge issued a stay on Thursday to a pregnant woman scheduled for deportation while attorneys look into whether her unborn fetus might be a U.S. citizen, affiliate station KMBC's Donna Pitman reported.

Myrna Dick (pictured, left) went to renew her papers with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service last month, and she wound up in custody. Officials accused her of lying to border patrol officers in 1998 and said it was grounds for deportation to Mexico.

But Dick, who is married to an American citizen, is pregnant with her husband's child. Judge Scott Wright wants to know if the fetus is a U.S. citizen, and if so, whether it can be deported. The judge asked attorneys for both sides to search for relevant precedents before he would rule.

"Clearly, that isn't an issue either side had contemplated," Dick's attorney said.
[Full Story]

They have a survey on this site that asks "Do you think Myrna Dick's fetus is a U.S. Citizen? So far two thirds of the respondents are willing to grant citizenship to this baby. I wonder how legally this will be addressed. Our laws on the unborn are quite schizophrenic. Killing a baby is fine if you are the mother but it is murder if someone kills the baby without the mothers permission. Abortion supporters would be aghast that a product of conception or a tissue mass could be deemed a citizen. That would imply rights such as the protection of its life and the abortion lobby wouldn't stand for that. Life as well as citizenship starts at conception.

It seems wrong to me that they are deporting this women. If she is married to an American Citizen I don't see how it is a good idea to forcibly break up this family. If she did indeed come across illegally by lying to patrol officer, then there should be some legal punishment for this other than deportation. I just think that breaking up a family is a worse crime then coming across illegally.

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope John Paul II warned several U.S. bishops Friday that American society is in danger of turning against spirituality in favor of materialistic desires, giving way to a ``soulless vision of life.''

To fight this, the pontiff argued, the U.S. church must study contemporary culture to find a way to appeal to youths. He made his remarks to bishops from Indianapolis, Chicago and Milwaukee who were making a periodic visit to the Vatican.

The American church ``is called to respond to the profound religious needs and aspirations of a society increasingly in danger of forgetting its spiritual roots and yielding to a purely materialistic and soulless vision of the world,'' John Paul said.

``Taking up this challenge, however, will require a realistic and comprehensive reading of the 'signs of the times,' in order to develop a persuasive presentation of the Catholic faith and prepare young people especially to dialogue with their contemporaries about the Christian message and its relevance to the building of a more just, humane and peaceful world.''

John Paul added: ``An effective proclamation of the Gospel in contemporary Western society will need to confront directly the widespread spirit of agnosticism and relativism which has cast doubt on reason's ability to know the truth, which alone satisfies the human heart's restless quest for meaning.''
[Full Story]

From this article on eight new priests in Cincinnati.

Father Kyle Schnippel is congratulated by his twin brother, Kurt, following the May 22 ordination.

It reminds me of the old Patty Duke show where the twins were always trading places. I could imagine going to confession and instead of receiving absolution hearing "Ha, Ha it's me Kurt not Kyle."

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A watchdog group asked the IRS on Thursday to revoke the tax-exempt status of the Roman Catholic diocese in Colorado Springs over the bishop's threat to withhold communion from those who disagree with the church.

Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, said the church should lose its tax-exempt status because it used church resources for political purposes.

Bishop Michael Sheridan wrote in a Catholic newspaper this month that Catholics should not receive communion if they vote for politicians who disagree with the church by backing abortion rights and other topics.

"I believe that Bishop Sheridan, by issuing this document in a church publication in his official capacity as head of a religious organization, may have violated federal tax law and jeopardized the tax-exempt status of the Diocese of Colorado Springs," Lynn said in a letter to the IRS.
[Full Story]

Of course using the IRS to try to force Bishops to not speak publicly on Church discipline and the sacraments does not violate their so-called wall of separation between church and state. Of course what can you expect from a group that names itself after a concept not found in the Constitution.

Earlier this week Eutychus posted something that one of his RCIA instructor said.

One instructor said that the Catholic Church can be a very comfortable place for unthinking people, people who are happy to be told, 'This is Right' and 'This is wrong' and that's that. The instructor said that the church can also be a very turbulent place for people who think.

This kind of crap really angers me. That someone who seems to have such a low opinion of the intellectual tradition of the Church should be allowed within a 1,000 feet of people learning about the Catholic faith is just plain wrong. I would like to look this guy up in a room with the writings of St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Edith Stein for a start. When I bought a domain for this website I wanted Splendor of Truth in honor of Pope John Paul II's encyclical Veritatis Splendor.

THE SPLENDOUR OF TRUTH shines forth in all the works of the Creator and, in a special way, in man, created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen 1:26). Truth enlightens man's intelligence and shapes his freedom, leading him to know and love the Lord. Hence the Psalmist prays: "Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord" (Ps 4:6).

There is only one good reason to become a Catholic, because it is true. In another of the Pope's encyclical, Fides et Ratio, he says:

"Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves."

Wow that really sounds anti-intellectual and that the Church discourages thinking; yeah right. Too often the Church is said to be opposed to thinking because it does not accept the thinking of those who support abortion, contraception or same-sex unions. That you are not thinking unless you come up with a new thought. That we should dump scripture and tradition in favor of the teachings of an enlightened society. Instead of standing on the shoulders of giants, they want us to scrap the giants.

One of the things that attracted me to the Catholic Church was its intellectual treasure. I had previously thought that science and religion were opposed to each other and yet I found that through much of the Church's history that it was the monks who were the scientists. That the monastery was not placed in the confines of a city, but that the cities built themselves around the monastery because they were the centers of learning. Many of the Church's teachings did not sit well with my previous atheistic beliefs. Yet when I studied further I found that they were not mere arbitrary rules, but instead were based on deep intellectual reflections arising from scripture and tradition.

This instructor saying "'This is Right' and 'This is wrong' and that's that." is just so far off the mark. We can come to understand why something is right and something is wrong. It does not end in a kind of parental "Because I told you." Our intellectual journey can start with the guide posts that God has given us through his Church. We do not have to reinvent the road to complete our journey.

When I was a kid one of my favorite toys to play with at one time was Silly Putty. This was a polymer compound accidentally created in the attempt to make synthetic rubber. This putty could be both molded and bounced and if you placed it on something like newsprint it would absorb the ink and make a copy of it. I found it especially fun to place it on comics and to see the colorful image replicated.

In my rather strange mind I got to thinking about Silly Putty and the spiritual life. That we should all become more like one aspect of silly putty. That when it comes to Christ's Church that we should submit before it and absorb a true image of it. More often we are like rubber stamps. We have hardened ridges etched in by our society and our personal preferences and dispositions. We are more likely to try to stamp the Church with our image then to let the Holy Spirit stamp us with his. We are more formed by modernism than scripture and tradition. Too often we hear about a teaching of the faith that it is out-of-date and needs to be updated to reflect modern sensibilities. Our pride is a barrier to being docile to the Holy Spirit.

If Silly Putty is not placed back in its container it will dry out and will no longer absorb ink. We also must work so that we are not hardened. That we continue to grow in prayer and understanding. That we mold ourselves to that narrow way that leads to life itself. Sometimes at the beginning we absorb a true image of Christ and his Church, but like Silly Putty we start to pull at the edges and the image becomes distorted like in a fun house mirror. This is why a daily examination of our informed conscience is so important. That we compare our actions to the faith that was passed down and not some amalgam of our own invention.

Well I warned you this was a silly reflection. Now I wonder, was Veronica's veil made of Silly Putty?

A circus clown who goes by the name of "Spanky" was arrested last week in Fayetteville on charges involving child pornography, federal agents said Tuesday.

Thomas Riccio, 23, of Jacksonville, Fla., was arrested Friday by officers from the Fayetteville Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, ICE said in a news release. He was arrested while traveling with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, they said.

Riccio, who made his first court appearance Monday in Cumberland County District Court, faces 10 counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

ICE spokesman Dean Boyd said he was not clear what happened with Riccio in court or whether he was still being held. He also did not know what sentence Riccio would face if found guilty.

Riccio was arrested as part of ICE's Operation Predator, which targets predatory crimes, including child pornography and child trafficking. Since July, Operation Predator has led to more than 2,900 arrests nationwide.

My referral log was showing a lot of hits for "Spanky the Clown" and I wondered what was going on. The story on my site was about a different Spanky the Clown who was trying to have Mayor Daily excommunicated.

Do they now teach fisking at law school? First came Dale Price the fisker extraordinaire. SecretAgentMan added to the fisk art-form with stream-of-consciousness fisking plus graphics. Now The Mighty Barrister with a nod to the SecretAgentMan lets loose a superb fisk on a Boston Herald article.

Comedy legend Spike Milligan has finally got the last laugh, more than two years after his death.

It follows an agreement with the local diocese over the wording on the headstone of his grave at St Thomas's Church in Winchelsea, East Sussex.

Relatives of the former Goon have now decided that it can bear the star's epitaph: "I told you I was ill."

However, the inscription had to be written in Gaelic in order for it to be approved by the Chichester Diocese.
[Full Story]

Gay Catholics who plan to identify themselves by wearing a rainbow sash in church Sunday should be denied communion, according to a memo Cardinal Francis George has written to all pastors in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

The wearing of the sash is sponsored by the Rainbow Sash Movement, which has several chapters across the country and plans to show up Sunday at Holy Name Cathedral.

"We wear the sash because it is a symbol of the gifts that we bring to the church as gay and lesbian people," said Joe Murray of Chicago. "It's a symbol that we need to also be ministered to as gay and lesbian people and we can't be ministered to in the clerical closet."

But the cardinal wrote that wearing the sash indicates disagreement with church teaching that gay sexual relations are sinful, and therefore those who wear the sash should not receive communion.

...Rev. Richard Prendergast of St. Mary of Celle in Berwyn received the memo and said that while he understands the Church's teachings on homosexuality, "I think the question of the increased usage of bishops withholding communion as a punitive measure is a slippery slope."
[Full Story

The slippery slope was created when after Roe vs. Wade nothing was done about those who publicly went along with the abortion movement. We would not be talking now about denial of Communion becoming political if we had been consistent from the beginning on this subject. This problem did not start this year, it has only being receiving attention now. The mistakes of the past must now be corrected regardless of what critics say the intentions are. It is understandable when misinformed reporters don't see why denying Communion to those in manifest grave sin is an act of mercy. To have a Catholic priest only see this as punitive is sad. There is a punitive aspect, but its final end is ordered towards repentance of sin. "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him."

This is interesting thought that the wearing of a rainbow sash is enough information to go by to deny Communion, but a lifelong voting record isn't. Previously a story on Cardinal George said:

Asked whether he would follow at least one other bishop who directed priests to deny Communion to politicians who back abortion rights, George said: "No, not at this point. No." He made the comments at a downtown luncheon of the City Club of Chicago.

"I don't have a good answer" to how the church should react to politicians who hold positions contrary to church law, George said. "I'm loath to say we should take too many public positions on that at this point."

This seems to me a mixed message. I fully agree that those activists wearing these sashes are publicly showing that they are not following the truth of Church teaching on homosexual acts and should be denied Communion. Yet I would like to hear the Cardinal explain why this same act of mercy should not also be applied to Catholic public figures who defy Church teaching on the Gospel of Life?

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - As president of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, John Giles is no stranger to a pew. Yet he remembers well the time he got lost in a Roman Catholic church.

"I couldn't even follow the order of service, it was so foreign to me," Giles says of that day some six years ago.

Since then he's found his way and a new home in the Roman Catholic church - a home that might seem foreign to the overwhelmingly Protestant church population of Alabama.

"I have to admit to you that the whole time that I was in that church service, I was reduced to tears, and I couldn't explain it," Giles said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press.

"In fact," he jokes, "you would have thought I had been spending the whole weekend down at the House of the Rising Sun down in New Orleans, that I had all this sin in my life that I had to get out."

In any case, Giles and his wife, Deborah, were received into the Catholic Church at St. Peter's Parish in Montgomery on Easter Sunday.
[Full Story]

The evangelical nonprofit organization is facing a major showdown with the city over a bill that would force it to offer health benefits to gay and unwed spouses of New York staffers.

If the organization leaves town, it would give up $70 million a year in city funding.

The loss of public financing - half the Army's yearly budget in the city - would cripple its programs, which serve 5 million New Yorkers, the group says.

Salvation Army insiders said they will refuse to comply with the proposed law because it goes against one of the organization's core beliefs - that marriage is for straight couples only.

"The Army will not change its policy," said one official, who declined to be named.

"You cannot change theological views. Those are so deeply embedded, they form the root of the faith itself."

The result could be a nightmare scenario for needy New Yorkers.

One of the largest private providers in the city, the Salvation Army answers the call for the homeless, HIV sufferers, foster-care kids and troubled teens.

The Salvation Army has several multiyear contracts with the city totaling $250 million. Six city contracts worth $12.8 million are to expire June 30, by which time the bill may be law.

Salvation Army leaders have been debating the issue and are hoping for an exemption that would allow them to continue to operate here without offering the benefits.

But they're recognizing that the existing bill, approved 43 to 5 by the City Council on May 5, has enough council support to overrule the veto that Mayor Bloomberg has vowed.
[Full Story]

Good for them. They understand that you are not allowed to do evil so that good shall come. Back in the 80s Cardinal O’Connor when confronted with a similar issue by the New York Legislature threatened to shut down all the Catholic hospitals in NYC. They then backed off. Unfortunately I doubt if I will see a similar headline with Catholic Charities in New York threatening to leave. If this new law would apply to the Salvation Army it most likely also apply to Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities in California was ordered by the California Supreme Court to start providing contraceptive coverage for its employees and I have not heard them saying they will shut down.

This story came from an unreliable source- The New York Times, yet it is likely true.

NEWARK, May 21 - Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark said on Friday that he was "deeply disappointed" that his recent criticism of Roman Catholic elected officials who supported abortion rights had been interpreted by some New Jerseyans as a political slap at Gov. James E. McGreevey.

In an interview, Archbishop Myers said Mr. McGreevey was not the target of statements he had made in a pastoral letter saying that Catholic officeholders who did not share the Vatican's opposition to abortion should not seek communion. He said he had apologized to the governor for any misperception by the public.

"I didn't name him specifically in the letter,'' Archbishop Myers said. "We have an understanding that I won't personally criticize him. And we are working together on a lot of issues, like providing social services for the poor and helping people with H.I.V. So I think we reached an understanding. I actually like him, and I think we have a cordial relationship."

Previously Archbishops Myers had said in his pastoral letter "A Time for Honesty."

"...Catholics who publicly dissent from the Church's teaching on the right to life of all unborn children should recognize that they have freely chosen by their own actions to separate themselves from what the Church believes and teaches. They have also separated themselves in a significant way from the Catholic community.

"The Church cannot force such people to change their position; but she can and does ask them honestly to admit in the public forum that they are not in full union with the Church.

"One who practices such dissent, even in the mistaken belief that it is permissible, may remain a Catholic in some sense, but has abandoned the full Catholic faith. For such a person to express 'communion' with Christ and His Church by the reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist is objectively dishonest."

But with abortion (and for example slavery, racism, euthanasia and trafficking in human persons) there can be no legitimate diversity of opinion. The direct killing of the innocent is always a grave injustice. One should not permit unjust killing any more than one should permit slave-holding, racist actions, or other grave injustices. From the perspective of justice, to say "I am personally opposed to abortion but…" is like saying "I personally am against slavery, but I can not impose my personal beliefs on my neighbor." Obviously, recognizing the grave injustice of slavery requires one to ensure that no one suffers such degradation. Similarly recognizing that abortion is unjust killing requires one-in love and justice-to work to overcome the injustice.

His pastoral letter was obviously not set as a specific attack at the Governor, but against all who hold views contrary to the faith. But even if he didn't name the Governor specifically in the letter it certainly described people such as Gov. McGreevey who have advocated for legalized abortion and embryonic stem-cell research. I would hope that the Archbishop is not saying that his letter applied to people who hold views like the Governors, but just not Governor himself. But to then go on to say that he has a understanding with the governor just contradicts the teaching office of a Bishop. It sounds like a deal with the devil. I'll ignore your pro-abortion advocacy if only we can work on providing social services for the poor. One of the social services abortion advocates want is to provide free abortions to the poor. And then to add that he personally likes the Governor is just adding something that doesn't matter to the argument. We can like many people that we might vehemently disagree with on many issues, but we should never turn liking a person as equivalent to accepting the culture of death they advocate. We are called to love our neighbor, but we can't fully love them if we don't want them to turn away from sin. Did not Jesus love those very people he called "A brood of vipers?" Did he not say this because in fact he did love them?

This episcopal flip-flop if accurate will just affirm those who hold positions contrary to the Church's view on the dignity of life.

I start to wonder just how much a baby in the womb weighs. They must be made of extremely light material because it seems almost anything can outweigh it. Concern for and helping the poor tips the scale. Careers tips the scale. Inconvenience tips the scale. Controlling your body or life tips the scale. Political consideration tip the scale. Not wanting to appear political tips the scale. Being uncomfortable tips the scale.

BOTHELL, Wash. -- Slumped over the wheel of a stubborn car that just won't start, many a desperate person has pleaded with God for help.

For mechanics Craig Brandenburg and Teang Ie, praying for automotive miracles is just part of the routine at Cedar Park Assembly of God church, where every weekday the two service a steady stream of cars in their mechanics ministry.

Cedar Park is one of many churches across the nation offering such a service, where single women, the elderly, poor and others can receive a hassle-free fix-up for a low price. Some ministries even refurbish donated cars, then give them away or sell them at a bargain rate.

"For the last five years, this has taken off all over the place," said Peter Leschuck, lead mechanic for the cars ministry at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill. Fifteen years ago, the suburban Chicago megachurch opened its mechanics ministry, believed to be the first in the nation, and now advises others on how to start their own.
[Full Story]

Fr. Shane of Catholic Ragemonkey has tagged me in a game of internet tag introduced by The Mighty Geek. I still hate being tagged so, TAG, you're IT!

Well since we are now playing juvenile games I think we should come up with a new game called "Liturgical Musical Chairs." This game would be similar to the children's version but slightly different. The game stars with one less chair than people participating. The participants walk around the chairs until the music starts playing. The music being something like Ashes or another musical liturgical disaster. When the music starts the participants try to force another person into a chair. Whoever is left standing when the music stops playing gets to leave.

Fuzhou (AsiaNew/Ucan) - A Marian shrine in Fujian province has attracted a large number of Protestants as well as Catholics this May.

Sister Zheng Wenying of Fuzhou estimates that at least 1,000 Protestants from Fujian and neighboring provinces had visited Rosary Hill Village by the middle of the month that Catholics traditionally devote to Mary. Most came in groups ranging from dozens to a hundred, led by Protestant pastors.

Sister Zheng told that nuns of the diocese explained Catholic teachings about the Blessed Mother to some visiting Protestant groups.

Some members of these groups agreed that revering both Jesus and his mother would make their Christian faith more complete, she said, adding that "some even knelt and prayed in the church."

The local Catholic Church rarely had contacts with Protestants before the completion of Rosary Hill Village in 2001, the nun recalled. Then curious Protestants started to visit. "They began to come in groups last year. This year there are more groups coming," Sister Zheng said.

The shrine straddles a hilltop in Longtian village, Changle, near the provincial capital of Fuzhou, 3,110 kilometers southeast of Beijing. The sprawling complex, run by the government-approved "open" Church of Fuzhou diocese, contains Our Lady of Rosary Church, a pavilion housing a statue of Mary, gardens, a convent, a library, a home for the elderly and a guesthouse. It also features statues depicting the Way of the Cross, carvings depicting the mysteries of the rosary.

Bishop Joseph Zheng Changcheng of Fuzhou, 92, began construction in 1993 and the whole project was completed with the official opening of Our Lady of Rosary Church in May 2001. Visible from miles away, the shrine has become a landmark in Changle and has attracted Catholic and other visitors every year.

According to Sister Zheng, the Changle government has been promoting the shrine in an attempt to increase tourism. Many Protestants in the province came to know of the shrine through such publicity or their pastors.

"Some Protestants pastors invited us to explain to their faithful the meaning of the Way of the Cross and the Catholic teachings of the Blessed Mother. They said they would organize groups to come in the future," she said.

Sometimes the religious fervor they display is more intense than that of some Catholics, the nun observed.

Among tens of thousands of Catholics who came for pilgrimages the first half of May were a number from the "underground" Church community, which has a stronghold in Fuzhou diocese.

A priest from this community told UCA News in early May that he would enter the Rosary Hill church to pray but would not attend or say Mass there.

Sister Zheng observed that some underground Catholics attend Mass in the church but leave when it is time for Communion.

"We hope the shrine will become a symbol of communion not only among Catholics of both the open and underground communities, but also between Catholics and Protestants," she said.
[Full Story]

Blogger with its last update finally included the ability to have inline comments in a blog without using a third party commenting system. Almost all commenting systems in the past had a form for you name, email, and URL. So blogger as usual does it differently. People can choose to entered Anon (if the blog allows it) or select their blog profile. So if you are not a blogspot blogger you would have to create an account at blogger and then create a profile to show. If you maintain a blog using a different publishing system, then just too bad as far a blogger is concerned.

The commenting system does not use a popup window and it takes you a couple more steps than normal to get back to the blog you were reading. It just makes you wonder what kind of research they did and why they made it so difficult. When they added syndication did they use a standard RSS? No they used ATOM which is still not supported by many aggregators. Did they add the ability to do trackbacks? Again no and I am afraid of what kind of system they would implement to do so. If you are a blogspot user and want to trackback to another blog here is a form that allows you to do it.

So if you currently have a blog and a working commenting system and have thought about using bloggers new one instead. I would advise you to stay with what you have.

Pete Vere at Envoy Encore was thinking about this passage submitted by a reader at Mark Shea's blog. Pete called it Planned Pastorhood.

IF SOME POLITICIAN favored a law which authorized the beheading and dismemberment of a very moderate number of Catholic bishops ~ annually ~ would the bishops say "...but where does he stand on tax reform"?"

Mark had commented on this meme by saying "Very complex question. Lots of variables. I will create a task force to study the possibility of forming a committee for the purpose of organizing a study group to begin to start considering opening discussions of this matter. I share your deep concern and say, "Go. Be warm and well-fed." Thanks for your input. If you need further assistance, please press 0."

Well I have a different take on what might be the sequence of events.

A spokesperson for the USCCB says "The Bishops are concerned about the wording of this new bill and would like to explore the meaning of moderate and how these candidates might be chosen."

Cardinal McCarrick announces that he would be uncomfortable if he had his head removed.

A statement is not forthcoming from Cardinal Mahoney because we have not been able to get through his throng of lawyers.

A group of Catholic politicians issued a statement saying that while they were personally opposed to episcopal beheading, that they must represent the people in their districts who seemed to be in favor of it.

Some Catholics debated that every life is precious and that we must protect life from conception to the bishopric. Others argued that first we must create a culture that would not be in favor of bishop beheadings and that we should not try to pass laws to prevent this from happening. That we should try to make this safe, legal, and rare otherwise we would go back to bad old days of illegal bishop beheadings in back alleys.

At the National Catholic Reporter, Bishop Gumbleton writes an article saying that if only we had women priests and bishops that this would not have happened. He also put forth that clerical celibacy can lead directly to beheadings and it would be better if priests and bishops were allowed to be married. The government would not engage in this action knowing they would have to pay a death benefit to a spouse.

Some radical traditionalist groups complained that there were not any valid Bishops so this law would not have any effect.

A group of Bishops get together and discuss how this law fits into the seamless garment philosophy. It was decided that bishops retaining their heads is just as important as welfare reform, health care, and abortion. It was noted that their is hardly any reason to wear a seamless garment if you don't have a head.

At the next semi-annual bishops meeting a statement is released called Always Our Bishops:A Pastoral Message to all Catholics. The statement explains that everyone including parents of bishops must be understanding of the bishop's living among us in society and there must be more acceptance of the bishop lifestyle. Violence against bishops including forced removal of their heads is never justified.

A committee is formed to determine what sanctions might be used against any lawmakers who might sign this bill. For the first time in USCCB history after only five minutes of discussion the committee rejected such measures as not giving them honorary degrees and went right to excommunication of any politician who voted for this bill. If they persisted in passing the bill all areas where these politicians lived would be under immediate interdict.

The bill is dropped and a new bill that increases funding to Planned Parenthood and that would force all health plans to have mandatory contraceptive coverage is submitted instead.

The Bishops schedule discussing of this new bill at the second of two of next years semi-annual conferences. Discussion on the new farm bill took precedence.

Now this might seem over the top. But I wonder. We have 4,000 children slaughtered each day in abortion clinics. State after state removing conscience clauses. One state with legal euthanasia and another with homosexual marriages. And yet the most Catholic politician might have to worry about is whether them may or may not receive some honorary degree from a Catholic school.

SecretAgentMan lowers the boom on Harvard's stem cell research. Fisking so good it must be fattening.

I find the reports on that letter by 48 Democrats bemoaning the possible denial of Communion to them laughable.

After all Democrats had no problem denying pro-life Democrat Governor Robert P. Casey from speaking at the Democratic convention. They have allowed no pro-life speakers at their conventions. Wouldn't speaking at the convention be a form of Democratic communion? Where in the national Democratic leadership is their a voice for pro-life Democrats? Do you think lifetime Democrat Zell Miller who is now pro-life will be allowed to speak? To them abortion is a sacrament and they have no problem using sanctions to deny them a place in the party.

Also sad is that out of 48 Catholic Democrats only three of them had strong pro-life records.

Sister Mary Biko has some thoughts on a comment that appeared on Dom's blog.

Sandra Miesel is finally started posting over at HMS Blog and today's entry on St. Gianna is quite interesting. She will probably be St. Blogs Paul Harvey in that she brings "The Rest of the Story." Giving us historical information and dispelling urban myths. Or would that be Pope Urban Myths?

CANBERRA, May 18, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A left-liberal think tank, the Australia Institute, based in Canberra, has called for the removal of protection from Catholic schools which they accuse of "discrimination."

Private schools in New South Wales and Victoria are exempt from anti-discrimination laws that would prevent Catholic schools from upholding and defending their Catholic character. Religious schools are seen as problematic for secular-minded reformers when the schools refuse to adhere to secular values such as abortion and homosexual "rights". In Canada, Catholic institutions have often been forced to cave in to pressure from homosexual advocacy groups and abortion 'rights' supporters on the grounds of "anti-discrimination."

The Australia Institute, in conjunction with the Australian Education Union, have called for the exemption to be rescinded. George Pell, Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney, has upheld the right of Catholic schools to be Catholic. Pell says the Catholic Church should not be coerced into implementing other values.

Cardinal Pell has defended religious freedom in Australia saying, "We have a right to teach our Christian teachings and to follow out the consequences of that."

"Nobody is forced to send their children to Catholic schools," he said, "parents send children to Catholic schools because they know they will get a certain set of values there."
[Full Story]

Dave Armstrong posts a bit of satire called the Revised Fundamentalist Baptist Version (RFBV) in response to a post by James White.

Linda Gray Kelly, a Justice of the Peace in Massaschusetts who resigned her position as a JP rather than marry same sex couples. I have to follow the law of God and my Catholic faith, Gray said in her letter, if my memory serves.
[Via Sed Contra]

Bravo to Linda Gray Kelly. We need more like her that stand up for their faith. It is just ridiculous that they never put in a conscience clause in the law there. Tolerance is now a one way street where those with religious convictions are not allowed to enter. Instead we loose the very type of people with true integrity that our government so desperately needs.

Peter Sean Bradley of Lex Communis also has some thoughts on this story.

Portland, Oregon (Roto Reuters) Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry D-Mass teaches former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean his famous dance step. John Kerry's - the Flip-Flop is similar to Chubby Checker's the Twist. First you turn one way and then the next while first saying one thing and on the next step contradicting it.

GENEVA, May 14, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A UN official in charge of AIDS prevention has denied that the Catholic Church opposes the use of condoms. Taking the dissenting views of a small number of commentators as representative of official Catholic policy, he said that there is "hot debate" in the Vatican over the use of condoms. UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot, said that he had been assured by Vatican sources that the Church had not made a definitive statement. "What I was told repeatedly is that the church has no competence on the quality of materials including the quality of latex," he said.

The Catholic teaching on the dignity of human sexuality is clearly laid out in dozens of magisterial documents, some dating as far back as the early centuries of the Christian era. The Catholic Church has never made claims to be expert in chemical engineering or latex manufacture, it does, however claim competence in moral theology which is the central issue in its critique of the use of condoms for AIDS prevention. Catholic officials make use of scientific experts in a multitude of areas in forming their public statements. Moreover, the Catholic Church has always opposed the use of barrier methods of birth regulation, regardless of the material of which they are made.

Well that is a misconception or should it be missed-conception? Actually few people realize this, but that the Catholic Church does not say that men can never wear a condom. In fact you can wear one any time you please, except when having sex. Is that really too much to ask?

MOST Irish priests would like the Catholic church to end its celibacy rule while also allowing the ordination of women, a survey has revealed.

More than 300 diocesan priests were questioned and over two-thirds were favourable to abolishing the celibacy rule allowing them to have families, while many said they suffer profound loneliness and feel depressed because of their isolation.

However, the clergy was split on the issue of allowing openly gay men to be ordained as priests, with just over 46% of those polled opposing the measure.

Most who favoured an end to celibacy said that allowing priests to marry would encourage more people to join the clergy.

More than half of those who took part in the survey said they favoured the introduction of female priests while many said they would not object to the ordination of openly homosexual clergy.
[Full Story]

Both allowing priest to be married and allowing those with same-sex attraction in the clergy is a matter of prudence and not doctrine. It is sad to see sixty percent of the 325 Irish priests polled were in favor of woman's ordination. Of course it is always difficult to tell by these polls how many priests rejected filling out this questionable because they disagreed with it. Especially since these types of questionnaires are usually generated by questionable groups in the first place.

Via Right Wing News is this very funny piece of satire that appeared in a comment box.

Being an armchair pundit you get to see in general how the media covers a story. Even when they print the same article as other outlets they often also put their own headline to it. Today in a story on the canonization of Gianna Beretta Molla the headline read "Pope Canonizes Anti-Abortion Activist."

I wouldn't exactly categorize St. Gianna Beretta Molla as an Anti-Abortion Activist. She died in 1962 well before the passage of abortion laws in Italy in 1978. She was a doctor and specialized in pediatrics and gave special attention to mothers, babies, the elderly and the poor.

In September of 1961, at the age of 39, Blessed Gianna was pregnant with her fourth child when physicians diagnosed a large ovarian cyst which required surgery. The surgeon suggested that Gianna undergo an abortion in order to save her own life. Gianna's decision was prompt and decisive: "I shall accept whatever they will do to me provided they save the child." She underwent the surgery but her fate was sealed. The following year, on Good Friday, Gianna was admitted to Monza Maternity Hospital. Her daughter, Gianna Emanuela, was born the next day but Blessed Gianna expired seven days later, on April 28, 1962.

When a parent returns into a burning building to rescue a child and they die in the act, are they branded as a child activist? If a parent jumps into the water to rescue their drowning child and they die saving the child, are they branded as a child activist? No instead we see these stories in the light of a parents love. Parents in these situation did not chose directly to die, but instead were working towards saving their child's life. When these stories appear in papers they don't have the negatively charged headlines that Mollas' case has gotten. Some pro-abortion groups have complained about her canonization because they say it means that the child's life is worth more than the mothers. Of course these same groups preach that the child's life should never inconvenience the mother. They in fact are the ones that hold one life as more important than another. This of course is not what the Church teaches.

"Every human being, even the infant in the mother's womb, has the right to life immediately from God, not from the parent or any human society or authority. Therefore there is no man, no human authority, no science, no medical, eugenic , social, economic or moral "indication" that can show or give valid juridical title for direct deliberate disposition concerning an innocent human life - which is to say, a disposition that aims at its destruction either as an end in itself or as the means of attaining another end that is perhaps in no way illicit in itself. Thus, for example, to save the life of the mother is a most noble end, but the direct killing of the child as a means to this end is not licit..." (Pope Pius XII, Allocution to Italian Midwives, 10/29/51)

Again it is not an either/or situation but a both/and. Fr. Mateo had this to say on the subject.

Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical on Christian Marriage (December 31, 1930): "What could ever be a sufficient reason for excusing in any way the direct murder of the innocent? This is precisely what we are dealing with here. Whether inflicted upon the mother or upon the child, it is against the precept of God and the law of nature: 'Thou shalt not kill.'"

The words "upon the mother or upon the child" should be carefully noted. It is a calumny to say that the Church always prefers the life of the infant to that of the mother. Catholic teaching has always been that each life is inviolable and neither may be directly killed to save the other.

The principle that the life of both mother and child is sacred and inviolable is a life-saving principle. In the long run it saves many lives that might have been lost. Doctors who know they have no right to sacrifice either life are much more likely to find means of preserving both lives than are doctors who readily employ direct therapeutic abortion.

I find this to be most true that a doctor who fights for both lives will more likely save both. Here is a recent story that emphasizes the opposite of this point.

BILOXI, May 12, 2004, (LifeSiteNews.com) - Jacobina Surian Adams, 82, has died; she is survived by her daughters, 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. One of those daughters would not be alive today if it had not been for her mother's faith and courage.

In 1962, while two-months pregnant with her daughter Laverne, Jacobina was diagnosed with breast cancer and the doctors recommended an abortion. Jacobina refused and went on to give birth and defeat breast cancer. The Adams' are devout Catholics and they credit their mother with instilling her faith in them. "As we were growing up, we never went into the car without saying the rosary," said Laverne Burdine, the youngest daughter. "We never missed church." (source)

Abortion activists who are always screaming about choice will at the same time decry the choice of now St. Gianna Beretta Molla.

Here is an update to a story I posted before.

MARION, Ind. -- A biblical verse painted on Marion's new firetruck will remain there despite concerns that it promotes religion on a taxpayer-funded vehicle, the city's mayor says.

Mayor Wayne Seybold said he chose to allow the verse to remain because the inscription does not say it comes from the Bible and makes no reference to God.

The firetruck's side contains part of the 23rd Psalm: "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."

Seybold said he received numerous calls, e-mails and letters from people who overwhelmingly support keeping the verse on the truck.

"I think a majority of the people have decided that they think it should stay, and you know, it doesn't make any religious reference, and so in that regard, I think if that's the saying that the fire department wants, I support that whole heartily," he said.
[Full Story]

Now I am wondering that even if this verse had mentioned it was from the Bible or that it directly mentions God how it might have been establishing a religion. Would the fire truck driving around have emitted little church seed pods that caused churches to pop-up and grow on street corners? Would people seeing this verse have been forcibly converted to Christianity?

Now for all of those secular purists out there who don't want bible verses or the mention of God on Government materials please e-mail me. I will send you my address so that you can mail me our of your money to me. After all I wouldn't want you to get contaminated with that "In God we Trust" phrase on it.

David Morrison of Sed Contra posted this story

PORTLAND, ORE. - Multnomah County board Chairwoman Diane Linn, who is facing a recall from opponents of gay marriage, has apologized for "mistakes" she's made during her tenure.
During a county commission meeting Thursday, Linn admitted to "making some mistakes" when she approved the way the county began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in March, which happened without public debate.

But she did stress that she doesn't regret the decision that allowed gays to get married in the county, just the way it was handled.
[Full Story]

By the picture I thought that this might be the same Diane Linn that I went to High School with in Portland, Or. I found a government web site with information about her and sure enough we did go to Washington High School (now closed down) together. We were in a couple different plays together in school and I had been over to her house once. I remember that she was very active in the student council. I also remember discussing the songs of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young with her; especially their more political songs like Ohio and Chicago. I was a typical seventies liberal wannabe Hippy in those days, like the majority of the people I knew growing up.

I was even slated to kiss her in a play once. We were doing a play our Drama teacher wrote called "Nostalgia" where we had short skits with everything from the Jitterbug to the moon landing. There was an old fashioned silent movie skit where she was the female kidnapped by the evil villain and then is saved by the hero and the scene ends in a kiss. I got the part of the hero, but I had really wanted to play the part of W.C. Fields in another skit. I had been imitating W.C. Fields since I was a kid and I greatly enjoyed his movies. To make a long story short, after our Drama teacher learned of this I ended up swapping parts and I got to play W.C. Fields instead. To which Dianne Linn was probably greatly thankful for not having to kiss a freshman.

Another interesting fact is that her page lists her as a Catholic and part of St. Philip Neri parish. No surprise that this church is also The Paulist Center in Portland. So sadly I guess Diane is yet another Catholic in political life that is in full support of same-sex marriage and is willing to do her part to make it happen.

This story came from KATU which is Portland's ABC affiliate. My father use to work there as one of the hosts of Sinister Cinema which played horror films on Saturday Night. I even played a dead body one night with a DOA tag on my toe. He later worked there full time as a set designer and builder. Bill O'Reilly also use to work at KATU and my father told me a story about him. He said that Bill O'Reilly use to ask him if he would build him a bar in his house and that he would pay him for it. He refused a couple of times and finally told him that since he does this all day long he doesn't want to do it in his off time. After that Mr. O'Reilly never talked to him again.

Update: One of my commenter's noticed this in Dianne's "about page" that she was executive director of Oregon NARAL. That saddens me even more that a Catholic is directly involved in one of the largest abortion advocacy groups.

On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marines Corp and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department -- the Department of Defense.

Please say a prayer for our troops today and in honor here are some of the various anthems of our armed services.

Anchors Aweigh

Stand, Navy, out to sea, Fight our battle cry;
We'll never change our course, So vicious foe steer shy-y-y-y.
Roll out the TNT, Anchors Aweigh. Sail on to victory
And sink their bones to Davy Jones, hooray!

Anchors Aweigh, my boys, Anchors Aweigh.
Farewell to college joys, we sail at break of day-ay-ay-ay.
Through our last night on shore, drink to the foam,
Until we meet once more. Here's wishing you a happy voyage home.

I think I had to sing Anchors Aweigh over a hundred times during Chief's initiation. I would wake up and have that song echoing in my head. And in the interest of military ecumenism here are other military hymns.

USMC The Marines' Hymn
USA The Army goes Rolling Along
USAF The Air Force Song
USCG Semper Paratus (Always Ready)

Two Sleepy Mommies also posts a Navy Hymn called "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" that also includes verses for the other services.

I didn't use the original headline for this story since it was a headline and an editorial "Gay men's chorus silenced on eve of show at Catholic school"

West Palm Beach · Friday night was supposed to the be crowning achievement after nine months of twice weekly three-hour rehearsals by Voices of Pride, the Gay Men's Chorus of the Palm Beaches.

But instead of giving its premiere performance at Rosarian Academy on Flagler Drive, the group called more than 500 ticket holders to say the show had been canceled.

How in the world did anybody at this Catholic Grade school ever think this was a good idea to have a group called Voices of Pride, the Gay Men's Chorus perform there? This school is sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters who at least in the U.S. have been infected with progressive wackiness, so maybe that explains it.

"They've known from Day One that we were an openly gay organization," Robert Beaulieu, president of the group's board of directors, said. "That was the thing that was so fabulous, a Catholic facility warmly opening their doors to this gay organization."

The school had a longstanding relationship with the chorus' artistic director, had seen it perform and figured everything would be OK when it agreed to let Voices of Pride use the auditorium, school spokeswoman Carey O'Donnell said. That was until school officials saw the chorus rehearse six weeks ago and found some musical acts inappropriate for a Catholic-school setting, she said. The chorus was told the acts had to be removed and it agreed, O'Donnell said.

...At issue, Beaulieu said, were several songs and sketches, including Unchained Melody, Real Good Man and a spoof of the Broadway standard Old Fashioned Wedding from Annie Get Your Gun. For that, Beaulieu said, three of the 30 members wore wedding dresses. He said the songs were part of a medley, making it impossible to edit out numbers the night before.

"These little parodies and spoofs are things you would have seen on The Carol Barnett Show or Uncle Milty in the '50s," Beaulieu said. "It's the fact that we're gay ... and it was perceived as men singing love songs to men. It's men singing to an audience."

Yeah a group of gay men in wedding dresses singing "Old Fashioned Wedding" is only "perceived as men singing love songs to men", how could anybody make that foolish mistake?

..."I can't say I blame them," said O' Hanlon, whose two children attend the school. "It could reflect on the image of the school."

Just the image of the school? How about promoting the homosexual lifestyle to children? Of norming objectively grave behavior to Children. The name "Voice of Pride" does not invoke the idea of chastity for those who suffer from same-sex attraction, but instead is a PR slogan for homosexual acts.

Sanders, the school principal, made the decision to call off the show, but if she hadn't, Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito of the Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach would have canceled it, his spokesman, Jim Brosemer, said.

..."It is imperative that the concert of the Voices of Pride be canceled at the academy," Barbarito said in a written statement. "While the church is open to any means that promotes the dignity of every human person which is bestowed by God himself, it cannot provide a forum that would contradict its moral teaching."

The principal's statement sounds like Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito told her either she was to release a statement or that he would. Especially since they had try to say the cancellation was because of the "adult nature of some aspects of this performance" and not because it was never appropriate for this group to sing there in the first place. At least we can be thankful that more and more this type of nonsense is being exposed and stopped.

George Walter cut a different picture -- wind blowing through his long, white beard, staff in hand -- as he walked by himself down Plymouth Street on Thursday morning.

He wasn't alone, he said. His best friend is always with him.

The 62-year-old Pittsburgh native said he is "walking for Jesus." He describes himself as a "career student of Christ."

With a walking stick cut from a tree at Mount Carmel and topped with a Cross of Saint Francis, a portrait of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus around his neck and all his earthly possessions strapped to his back, Walter has logged about 30,000 miles in 30 years. He has visited more than 40 countries including China, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Spain and the Holy Land.

At 9 a.m. Monday, he was spotted in downtown Wooster. He is bound for Chicago to visit a priest friend and give a speech to seminary students.

A Roman Catholic, Walter spent 12 years in a Cincinnati seminary.

Walter's first walk was from Barcelona, Spain to Jerusalem. He usually returns home to Pittsburgh to sit out the winters.

He said his inspiration was a statement attributed to Christ that men should leave their families and countries, take up the cross and follow him.

He said he urges people to look into encountering God in silence, solitude and prayer.

He said he makes a point of visiting religious shrines along his route and is looking forward to visiting one in Libertyville, north of Chicago.
[Full Story]

Jeff of El Camino Real links to a story about a printer who refused to print Invites to Same-Sex Wedding ends with apology and agreement not to discriminate Jeff adds "Apparently the Canadian tolerance police have now crossed the border:"

The tolerance police have long been setting up cells across the country waiting to attack all those who don't hold homosexuality as the greatest thing there can be. Would Seattle have forced a black printer to print copies of racist literature? Would a Jewish printer be forced to print copies of Mein Kampf? Would a homosexual printer be forced to print fliers for that idiotic "God hates fags" group? I think not.

The ordinance they cited was Seattle's Open Housing Public Accommodations Ordinance. There is quite a big difference between denying individuals the right to housing and not being able to have something printed by a specific company. No one should be denied housing or access to any material goods, but to twist this into forcing people to cooperate against their conscience is totally wrong Even stranger in that case involved invitations for a same-sex wedding. There is no same-sex marriage in Washington State (yet), so why does somebody have to apologize for not printing an invitation to what is an illegal event? Seattle's ordinance also mentions no discrimination based on creed. Do they think that Creed is just a grunge-rock group out of Florida. Yet Seattle has in fact discriminated based on creed by forcing someone to work against their religious convictions.

Just another case of tolerance for me, but not for thee.

Matt C. Abbott latest "STRAIGHT GUY WITH THE CATHOLIC EYE" column is up at Cruxnews.com. And all I can say is that the St. Luke Institute has got to go.

Also on Cruxnews Michael S. Rose has an article on an alternative proposal for Ave Maria University. Notre Dame students design campus plan for college. This design is much more appealing to my taste. Also thanks to Mr. Rose for using a picture from and linking to my Ave Maria University Windex spoof.

The Pittsburgh Catholic interviews Scott Hahn on his new book "Swear to God: The Power and Promise of the Sacraments.”

Episcopalian bishop gets "married" in San Francisco Episcopal church.

A story and picture like this really makes it difficult to try to do parody. How can you compete with something like this?
[Via Mystique et Politique]

Sen. John Kerry visited us here in Jacksonville today and just finished up his speech at the Jacksonville Landing. Coming back from Mass I heard on the radio that there were many conservative protesters at the event. They also mentioned the gist of the emphasis of his speech. That he would pay for his health care program by rolling back tax cuts for the rich. I am pretty tired of this same old rhetoric like a broken record on tax cuts for the rich. Every social problem in the world will be eliminated if we would just get rid of tax cuts for the rich. Of course no mention is ever made about the negative effects on our economy of taking more money out of the economy and throwing it at yet another wasteful government program.

The worst part of this continuing appeal by the majority of Democrats is that they are using envy to achieve their goal. Democrats are against all warfare but class warfare and I guess I am a pacifist on class warfare. The appeal of envy by mentioning people in the top one percent and how it is not fair that they are taxed even higher. I guess the tenth commandment of "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods" does not apply during a campaign and that it is alright to encourage people to sin to gain political advantage.

This appeal also lets people think they are off the hook when it comes to charity. Those greedy one-percenters are taking care of it for me. They won't miss it. They have plenty and shouldn't complain.

For I was hungry and the government gave me food, I was thirsty and the government gave me drink, I was a stranger and the government welcomed me, I was naked and the government clothed me, I was sick and the government visited me, I was in prison and the government came to me. Then the non-taxpayers will answer him, `Lord, when did they see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did they see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did they see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, whenever the top one percent of tax payers funded these programs for you, you did it to me.'

Now I am not sure what is the lesson of the story of the widow's mite is suppose to be. She wasn't part of the top one percent, in fact she was probably in the bottom one percent. By modern sensibilities Jesus should have been upset that she gave those two copper coins out of her poverty and that the top one percent of Pharisees and Sadducee's didn't give out of their abundance instead.

It surprises me that some Catholics will travel miles and miles to see the latest alleged apparition. While some apparitions have been declared "worthy of belief" by the Church, the over whelming number of them are not. No Catholic is required to give faith in even those apparitions in the category "worthy of belief." I accept those apparitions such as Fatima, but even in these cases I think that God giving us a visible reminder of truths already given us by public revelation is sad. It is a lack of faith that we require such. As Jesus told St. Thomas "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." But just as Jesus allowed St. Thomas to feel the nail holes he allows those of us weak in faith to be reminded of the supernatural and God's mercy.

Before coming into the Church I had a fascination with apparitions and I read books on ones both approved and not approved. While researching I discovered that one of the tests of an apparition is whether the message is consistent with the faith. Realizing this I saw that any true apparition would have to be consistent with the deposit of faith that we already have. We don't really need a message to tell us to pray and repent. We can turn to what the Church has consistently taught of what pertains to salvation.

At every Catholic Church around the world Jesus is fully present sacramental in his body and blood in the Blessed Sacrament. How many of those who chase after apparitions avail themselves of Daily Mass? The greatest miracle that occurs continuously around the world is the Eucharist. An apparition may help to confirm us in our faith or to even pave the way for faith of an unbeliever. Yet the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. The fact that we are able to receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity daily if we are properly disposed and are able to attend is something that we should be so grateful for. The Eucharist is a fire hose of a sacrament. Unfortunately usually our disposition crimps the flow of grace to only a trickle. Jesus had said "The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here." Truly something greater than any wisdom or apparition is present in the Tabernacle if will just avail ourselves of it either via Mass or in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

Here is an article about a parish which has been working to restore the focus of First Communion to the Eucharist and not just a dress up day.

While I am not convinced that ALL's campaign against Cardinal McCarrick will change his mind, there is an interesting post by Zorak on Bishop Kevin Farrell who reports to the Cardinal.

Bishop Kevin Farrell rocks! As Old Oligarch noted, we had an opportunity to witness a deaconal ordination at the National Shrine on Saturday. It was the first time I have seen anything like that and I really enjoyed it. Five young men were ordained, 4 from the Dominicans (since Dominican House is right across the street) and one Franciscan. There were at least 40 priests in attendance, plus lots of monks and nuns. But the real treat was Bishop Farrell's homily. He informed the new deacons that they should above all, depend upon frequent reception of the Eucharist to provide them the graces they would need for their vocation. And that they should teach respect for Christ in the Eucharist, whether doing so made them "comfortable or uncomfortable." He spent at least 7 minutes emphasizing this aspect of their ministry. Fairly bold for a man who reports to Cardinal McCarrick.

If you are not already reading the blogs of this husband and wife team, I would greatly encourage you to start.
Old Oligarch's Painted Stoa
E-Pression (Atom Feed)

Warroad (AP) A gay couple in northern Minnesota is angry and upset over being told they no longer should take communion or sing in the choir at their church because of their lifestyle.

Dale Sand and Tom Pepera, who have been together for five years, say their priest has asked them to restrict their participation in church activities after a letter Sand wrote was printed in the Grand Forks Herald on Easter Sunday.

In the letter, Sand responded to previous letters warning against gay marriage and homosexuality in general. He wrote that being gay wasn't a choice and said God had made him that way.

In response, the Rev. Larry Wieseler, who serves at St. Mary's parishes in Baudette, Williams and Falun, telephoned Sand and told him he and Pepera should no longer come up to receive Eucharist during Mass nor serve communion to others or sing in the choir. That led the couple to quit the church in Baudette.

When Wieseler discusses the situation it's evident he has struggled with how to minister the first gay couple he's known in his parishes. He's talked to the two men more than once about the church's teaching on sex outside traditional marriage.

Wieseler said he's tried not to be hard-nosed about it, but that when Sand went public he had to do something.

"I was just suggesting that he should not come to communion," Wieseler said. "I said that because you are publicly manifesting that, unless you repent of that, you should not come to receive the Lord, because you are not one with him. You are sort of biting the hand that feeds you."

A few weeks ago, Wieseler gave a sermon on why same-sex marriage isn't approved by the Catholic church. Some liked the homily, some -- including Sand -- didn't.
[Full Story]

Politics is by necessity the art of compromise, but prophets must stand on principle.

Bishop John M. D'Arcy recently ordered administrators at St. Joseph High School in South Bend to withdraw an invitation for Joe Kernan to speak at commencement because of the governor's views on abortion.

The core issue isn't partisan politics or the right of free expression. It's the obligation of a moral institution, in this instance the Catholic Church, to take a firm stand on a basic belief.

All too often church leaders, of various denominational flavors, act like politicians, willing to compromise principles for the sake of maintaining a facade of peace. That's a sure route to an anemic faith, abuses of power and scandal.

Moral leaders instead need to be Isaiahs, speaking unpopular but necessary truth to the political and cultural leaders of their time.
[Full Story]

Santa Fe-AP) -- A national religious organization is protesting the College of Santa Fe’s choice of commencement speakers.

The college has invited veteran newsman Hugh Downs to address graduates and their parents on May 15.

The Cardinal Newman Society says Downs stated in a 1999 article, “repressive abortion laws do little except work a hardship on the poor.”

The group says it’s dedicated to the renewal of religious identity in Catholic higher education in the United States.

It argues schools are “scandalizing students and impeding the church’s aggressive efforts to end legalized abortion.”

College President Linda Hanson says the group’s comments must be viewed in light of what that group represents and that her school is honored to have Downs as a speaker.
[Source]

What that group represents? Could that perchance be orthodoxy and faithfulness to the church? I guess Linda Hanson's comments must be viewed by what this school represents. Judging by their web site it would take some investigation to find that this college has any association with the Catholic Church. Only their history page would tell you this. "In 1966 the name of the school was changed from St. Michael's College to The College of Santa Fe to show the close rapport between the school and the city it serves." I guess the name change reflects the not close support between it and the Catholic Church.

Via Rosa Mystica, Chris gives us a link to Super Pope. This is very funny.

Via Come on Get Lively, Kat links to "The Shining in 30 seconds (and re-enacted by bunnies."

Here is an interesting article on Danny Abramowicz a former All-Pro receiver and assistant coach for the New Orleans Saints. It talks about his decline into alcoholism and his renewal in his Catholic faith. He has written a new book published by Our Sunday Visitor called "Spiritual Workout of a Former Saint." The books description says:

Here, based on proven NFL workout techniques, is a practical, encouraging, step-by-step method to help you:
-increase your spiritual strength
-add new life to your relationships with your spouse, family, and friends
-re-energize your soul as you deepen your love of Christ and His Church

I have seen Mr. Abramowicz on EWTN's Journey home a couple of times and he is a very interesting figure.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The bishop-elect of the Worcester Diocese wants to make certain every priest, parishioner, and Catholic politician in the county understands precisely what it means to be a Catholic.

"Rejecting that teaching can have certain spiritual consequences," said Bishop Robert J. McManus, who views his new role as a way to help solidify authentic Catholic identity.

McManus said he also wants local Catholic politicians to know when they stray from church teaching, especially on issues that have the highest "moral valence."

"The most fundamental human right is the right to life, and it is most obviously attacked by abortion," McManus said. "You become complicit in doing evil, and that's a very serious matter."

During the 1984 presidential election, he said he watched as some "rabidly pro-abortion" Catholic politicians, such as Geraldine Ferraro and Mario Cuomo, called into question their commitment to the church.

McManus traveled to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and wrote a 500-page thesis on the relationship between the church and Catholic politicians in America.

His conclusion: For a public official to say he or she is "personally opposed" to an issue, such as abortion, but promote any policy that deviates from that belief, is "absolutely unacceptable."

McManus, 52, is the auxiliary bishop of Providence, and will be installed on Friday to replace retiring Bishop Daniel P. Reilly, 75.

He said during an interview in his native city that he hopes to inspire the faithful in the diocese by encouraging "psychologically and emotionally sound men" to enter the priesthood.

...McManus also said it's even more important for priests to follow and support the church's teachings.

"You wouldn't be hired by IBM if you didn't believe in the quality of the product," he said.
[Full Story]

For all of your Episcopal Spine Alert needs don't forget to visit Episicopal Spine Alert - the blog. This is one blog where I hope many stories will be posted in the months and years to come.

Clayton at The Weight of Glory links to a very clever wedding program of some of his friends formatted as a church bulletin.

Earlier this week Mark Shea replies to an email he got from a Protestant who wonders if he has ever heard of the Word of God.

The Word of God? What's that? Never heard of such a thing. Is that, like, the Bible? We used to read something called a "Bible" I think at our old Church. But that was an awfully long time ago.

Boy, thanks for setting me straight. I have never ever ever heard before that Jesus Christ loves me and desires to save the lost with his free gift of grace! I always thought that I had to perform magical rituals to make God love me. But now that you have so thoughtfully set me straight, I see clearly that when that big black book we used to read in my old church-that-never-taught-me-the-Bible says "Baptism now saves you" (1 Peter 3:21) what it means is "baptism does not save you."

And thanks also for explaining that when Romans 6 says, "all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death" and "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" this absolutely has nothing whatever to do with baptism. I really appreciate you setting me straight on that as well.

And finally, thanks for making me see that all that stuff in John 3 about being born again of water and the Spirit really means water and the Spirit are complete opposites.

Golly. It is so good to *finally* after all these years, have somebody who *really* teaches the the Word of God to clue me in. Who would have thought that all those years of studying.... what's that big black book called again? Ah! Yes! "The Bible".

Anyway, who would have thought that all those years of studying the Bible could have left me so totally ignorant of what Scripture really means. Thanks ever so for enlightening me.(source)

After that one of his readers wrote him.

When I converted to Catholicism, it was the statue worship that appealed to me the most, but banner worship has its appeal as well. Historians have been able to show that pagans also worshiped primitive banners so either one has authentic Catholic-pagan connections.

I also liked that I didn't have to read the Bible any more and that I would have to earn my way to Heaven. Besides that, I really appreciated the fact that I could check my brain at the door and blindly follow the leaders.

A really cool part of Catholicism is that now I can commit all of my favorite sins and then go to Confession right before I go out and do them again!! Actually, while I was Protestant, I guess I did that too, but without the Confession part. But sitting in that little room just feels so holy, especially with the statues nearby.

Then at Mass I usually get to listen to my favorite song, "On Eagles Wings" though I must admit I don't like it now as much as the first 67,000 times I heard it. The cannibalism aspect, I have to admit, grosses me out a little, but I comfort myself by knowing that it is a false doctrine anyway and so it is only really bread.

And Mark commented.

I know exactly how you feel. For me, it's the chance to worship Mary and adore her as the Creator of Almighty God that is so appealing. And, of course, I really love knowing that salvation is completely up to me and my righteousness apart from the grace of God. Also, the deep pride I feel in the Church's many Inquisitors, cold-blooded killers, persecutors, perverts and criminals was a big draw. Some people think this is problem, but I frankly have no idea what they are talking about. I am aware of no commands of God against these things because, of course, I never read the Bible.

Which reminds me: I just *love* adding absurd human traditions, myths and legends to the pure word of God. Also, I get a real kick out of enslaving myself to little rules and regulations so as to chain myself with fear and cut myself off from the love of God.

If *you're* an ignorant benighted Catholic like me, feel free to add your favorite spiritually crippling legend, lie, or practice to the pool. The more the merrier! That's what makes enslavement to the traditions of men and blindness to the saving gospel of Jesus Christ fun!(source)

All this is pretty funny and I thought I would add my own two cents: What is cool about Catholicism is not only don't we read the bible but we also added seven books to it. How is that for panache. We dislike the Bible so much that our churches use missalettes instead to make sure that we are prevented from seeing too much of it. We pray the rosary and litanies because we just love vain repetitions. We also have so much fun calling our priests father. We purposely do all of this things just because it annoys Protestants. We appose abortion and birth control just so we can have infants to baptize and to continue popery in the world. Hopefully if we flood the market with babies one day we will get a true Catholic in the White House. One that will take orders directly from the Pope. They will have a special phone installed directly connected to the Vatican called the Vat Phone. Maybe whenever the president needs help he can use a special spotlight in the sky that shows a crucifix and swiss guards will parachute into the U.S. Another thing that attracts people to the church is the whore of babylon. Just imagine 265 popes and they always managed to become the whore of Babylon. You would think by the book of Revelation that there is only one Whore of Babylon, yet each year our Pope manages to regain the title. Another thing Catholics like is not going straight to God. We just all prefer middleman like going through Mary and the Saints instead of straight to Jesus. Statues, Icon, and reliquaries all purposely used to obscure the word of God. Whenever a couple Catholics get together we spend out time making up new doctrines and more rules that we don't follow. We were doing just fine until that foul printing press made the Bible available to common people.

He and Mr. Bush differ little in their broad plans to have U.S. forces committed in Iraq to whatever degree military commanders say is necessary. Still, Mr. Kerry says he would do more to win support politically and militarily from other nations, mostly through being humble.

He called on Mr. Bush to build a coalition based on the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, have the coalition endorse the U.N. plan for an interim Iraqi government and establish a high commissioner to oversee the transition.

On the way into work today I heard Laura Ingraham say the following in response to Mr. Kerry's plan for Iraq which is basically being humble and bowing before the UN. "This is not a plan it is an Ophrah segment." Kerry's use of the word humble to me brings visions of Dicken's Uriah Heep continuous saying how 'umble he was.

In dishonor to Michael Moore and his latest publicity stunt and outright lie. Here is a post I ran before.

The WALT DISNEY CO. is set to spend millions financing a new explosive Bush-bashing documentary from Michael Moore [BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE] -- a documentary which claims bin Laden was greatly enriched by the Bush family!

DISNEY, via subsidiary MIRAMAX, has agreed to cover the production costs, said to be in the millions, of Moore's planned FAHRENHEIT 911.
[Full Story]

The Curt Jester has learned that in return for financing his next film that Mr. Moore has agreed to play Dumbo in the upcoming Dumbo III and to also call any further films he makes Donald Duckumentaries. Miramax films stated "When you think of a big fat dumbo who comes to mind first but Michael Moore, so this is a win win situation for us."

A Church in Wales clergyman has become the first divorced person in Britain to be appointed an Anglican bishop.

The Ven Anthony Crockett, the Archdeacon of Carmarthen, has been named as the next Bishop of Bangor following a protracted and controversial selection process.

The Most Rev Barry Morgan, who succeeded Dr Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Wales, said that the 58-year-old archdeacon was the unanimous choice of the Church's Bench of Bishops.

But a number of clergy in the diocese have expressed anger over the decision, saying that their wishes had been ignored, and the majority of canons at Bangor cathedral have protested to the Archbishop.

Archdeacon Crockett, 58, who separated from his first wife in 1985 and remarried in 1999, said he was "shocked and amazed" when he was asked to take up the post.
[Full Story]

At least for now.

Grand Rapids, MI (LifeNews.com) -- The pro-life community is always encouraged by the closing of an abortion business, but in Grand Rapids, LIFE International has been doubly fortunate -- the area's busiest abortion facility has been turned over to their organization, and can now be used as a pro-life center.

First built as a Jewish synagogue in the late 19th century, the building at 72 Ransom Street NE in Grand Rapids had been leased to abortionist Thomas Gordon who performed abortions there at the Heritage Clinic for Women since 1996.

Since 1998, the vision of reclaiming the house of God was before Kurt Dillinger, then Executive Director of the Pregnancy Resource Center of Grand Rapids. Later, in February 1999, the property was listed for sale.

After years of prayer and unwavering faith in the vision of the reclamation of the old synagogue, local businessmen purchased the building and deeded it to LIFE International, the organization that had formed in October 2001 as an offshoot of Pregnancy Resource Center's overseas ministry.

"Hundreds of faithful believers all over the community and the country have been praying that God would halt the activity taking place inside of this building," Eric Ohlman, Director of Communications for LIFE International told LifeNews.com.

"Not only did he respond to those prayers with a resounding, 'Yes!' but he claimed the building for Himself and is now allowing it to be used as a place of prayer, worship, and life-affirming ministry. God's light has pierced the darkness of 72 Ransom, and the Water of Life will now flow from its walls."
[Full Story][Via Amy Welborn]

Benjaimin Blosser of Ad Liminia Apostolorum posts about Bishop John C. Nienstedt who was recently appointed bishop of New Ulm in Minnesota and who has publicly taking to task his late predecessor (one Raymond Lucker) for doctrinal dissent.

He reports that the National Catholic Distorter has two scathing articles attacking the new bishop (not yet available on the internet). Getting NCR attentions and rage is a sure Imprimatur for the orthodoxy of this bishop.

This bishop truly appears not to play favorites. It has been reported that as a seminary rector Nienstedt blocked a former Rome classmate from a teaching appointment over concerns that he was theologically unsuitable. Currently he has posted a review of a book that had a preface from the previous bishop. He had forwarded the book to the Doctrine Committee of the United States Bishops’ Conference and they gave a negative review and he also adds his own comments.

I guess Bishop Nienstedt didn't get the memo on collegiality and has decided that proclaiming the truth is more important

From John Mallon.

Stop the Morning-After Pill! Over-the-Counter approval to be decided by the
FDA May 21.

No age limits, no medical supervision, no parental involvement!

Spread this far and wide! Time is of the essense! Call the White House,
contact your Senators and Congressmen!

For instructions on how to email the FDA directly with an email link go to this page of the PRI Website. More info below.

From the Population Research Institute
Weekly Briefing:

Dear Colleague:

There is still time for pro-lifers to call the White House
(202-456-1414) and urge the President to assure the American people that
the mega dose "morning after pill" will not be sold "over the counter."

Also contact your U.S. Senator or Representative to urge leadership from
Congress that will protect women and babies from this new chemical assault
weapon.

Toll free: 1-800-648-3516 or 1-877-762-8762.

The abortion establishment is going all out to urge their followers to
lobby in favor of making this chemical killer available over the counter.
Their mailings include the lie that so-called "emergency contraception"
does not cause abortion and does not work if a women is already pregnant.
Over the counter approval of the "morning after pill" will be a public
health disaster.

Steven W. Mosher
President

PRI Weekly Briefing
12 May 2004
Vol. 6 / No. 17

Some bloggers choose to go the anonymous route and I would like to let them know that if they are using blogger.com, they might not be as anonymous as they thought. Sometimes people will create a blogger account with their real identity and then change the template coding to reflect their pseudonym.

If they have their ATOM feed enabled the name they used in their profile is listed in the feed.

To fix this go to blogger.com and before logging on your blog select Edit your profile and then change your name there.

The post below pointed to a letter that contained some "Prayers of the Faithful" that were on the liberal side and pretty silly.

I decided to write some of my own that would b on the opposite side of the spectrum. Some are more serious and other are definitely tongue-in-cheek.

• Lord help keep us from a liturgical rant,
  please give us polyphony or Gregorian Chant.
• Let this congregation always be receptive,
  that true love is never contraceptive.
• That lay people and clergy to the media always opine,
  just as if they actually had a spine.
• That we may fight this culture of death,
  from conception to the final breath.
• Lord remove this suffering for beauty we have missed,
  how long Oh Lord will you punish us with liturgists.
• Lord may our Catholics schools teach truth we plea
  and not dissent and dogma-free theology.
• Lord I know your wrath is not an Old Testament assaulter,
  but please could you not smite the National Catholic Reporter?
• That we may never tire and always raise our voice
  and that no Catholic might call themselves pro-choice.
• That we may give of ourselves and to help the poor
  and not just look towards the government for the cure.
• That we remember we our sinners greatly in need of thee
  and that we praise and obey you in humility.
• Lord help us to win back our Catholic Universities,
  that truth will return and not dropped in favor of diversity.
• That we embrace our faith with a more discerning criteria
  and not pick from it like at a cafeteria.
• 44 Million and counting is the price we have paid,
  help us to overturn Roe v. Wade.
• Lord help us to love our neighbor and never despise,
  especially those in the most distressing disguise.
• Our political choices so far have been very poor,
  guide us to pick someone like St. Thomas Moore.
• That we always conduct the liturgy,
  according to the norms of the Holy See.
  
  
• That following you and the cross we select
  and not just try to be politically correct.
  
  
• That your truth Senator John Kerry might see,
  and not Fr Richard P. McBrien's theology.
  
  
• Pray for President George W. Bush,
  his pro-life convictions seem to need a push.
  
  

And by request.

• Good Lord can you do something about Frances Kissling?
  a pillar of salt might be a fine seasoning.
  
  

Please add your own in the comment box.

Karl Keating's latest E-Letter has an interesting letter that was printed in the National Catholic Reporter. The writer takes NCR to task for its remembrance of Bishop Untener. The letter is an absolute classic.

He also has a list of Mass intentions that are really funny, though it wasn't intentional. Such as "For employers whose primary interest is in efficiency, self-confidence, and good appearance, that they will also hire the ugly ..."

Karl Keatings's E-Letters are usually interesting and you can sign up for them here.

RAPID CITY, S.D. - The chairwoman of the South Dakota Democratic Party and the state's Republican governor, both Catholics, disagree on whether it is right for some officials in their church to work actively against abortion in the political realm.

"I don't believe this should be an issue," said Judy Olson Duhamel, a lifelong Catholic and chairwoman of the state Democratic Party. "I'm sorry my church doesn't see that, at times, everything is not black and white."

Not everything is black and white, but you can't nuance killing a living baby as mere shades of gray.

Gov. Mike Rounds said it is church officials' job to point out right and wrong.

"The issue of abortion is an absolute right and an absolute wrong. I think the church is correct in that they have to lay out right and wrong," Rounds said.

But Rounds stopped short of endorsing sanctions for elected officials who do not agree with the church on every issue.

There are great differences between just issues and what are bedrock issues of the moral law. For example the U.S. bishops views on farm policy or immigration compared to euthanasia.

Bishop Blase Cupich of the Catholic Diocese of Rapid City said church officials are not considering sanctions, such as the denial of Communion.

"This was no official pronouncement by this cardinal. He later clarified that he was not telling anybody how to do anything," Cupich said.

When did Cardinal Arinze say that? I could find no information or articles where we clarified what he had said. If someone knows about this reference I would be curious to see it.

A domestic policy task force is working on recommendations of how to put into practice a Vatican document about how church officials should communicate with elected officials, Cupich said.

"Even in that, there is nothing said about sanctions," Cupich said.

Cupich said he believes church officials are right to give advice on politics but that it should not be limited to a single issue.

"We want all Catholics to take responsibility as adults for their political actions. It's our job to inform them about the moral implications of those decisions," the bishop said. "We cannot cherry-pick particular issues. We have to be willing to talk about all issues. Our position begins with protecting the unborn, but it doesn't end there."
[Full Story]

Equating abortion with cherry-picking of issues? Unfortunately it is this type of equivocal statements that encourages pro-abortion Democrats in their views. The statement contains truth but it nuances protecting the unborn into just one of many issues.

Via Dev Thakur of Christ the Physician, have mercy on us

PENSACOLA, Fla., April 29 — Robert and Schön Passmore took their children to Disney World last fall and left bitterly disappointed. As Christians who reject evolutionary theory, the family scoffed at the park's dinosaur attractions, which date the apatosaurus, brachiosaurus and the like to prehistoric times.

"My kids kept recognizing flaws in the presentation," said Mrs. Passmore, of Jackson, Ala. "You know — the whole `millions of years ago dinosaurs ruled the earth' thing."

So this week, the Passmores sought out a lower-profile Florida attraction: Dinosaur Adventure Land, a creationist theme park and museum here that beckons children to "find out the truth about dinosaurs" with games that roll science and religion into one big funfest with the message that Genesis, not science, tells the real story of the creation.

Kent Hovind, the minister who opened the park in 2001, said his aim was to spread the message of creationism through a fixture of mainstream America — the theme park — instead of pleading its case at academic conferences and in courtrooms.
[Full Story]

I don't think I have ever posted anything about creationists on this blog. On my path into the Church I saw myself as an young earth creationist where the universe had been around for less than 10,000 years and everything was created in exactly seven days. Going from atheism into Christianity and reading the Bible for the first time I assumed everything had to be literal if you were going to be a believer. Protestant radio with all of the creation updates also influenced me along this path especially the Institute for Creation Research and their web site.

I am still a creationist in the sense that God did create the universe though I no longer require a literalistic interpretation of Genesis. However God did it and whatever the time frame was, it is fine with me. I tend towards the view of Michael Behe author of Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge To Evolution and other proponents of Intelligent Design.

Here is a good article from Catholic Answers about what positions are acceptable to Catholic Belief.

HONG KONG (AP) — The head of Hong Kong's Catholic church said Tuesday that he visited China last week at the invitation of mainland officials, marking the end of a six-year ban on one of Beijing's most outspoken critics.

Bishop Joseph Zen, who was barred from the mainland in 1998, met with government officials and Shanghai Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian during a three-day trip that ended Friday, the bishop said, declining to provide further details.

The Catholic leader also visited a seminary where he once taught, and visited his brother-in-law's grave with his 80-year-old sister, a report from the South China Morning Post said.

Beijing doesn't recognize the Vatican, and Christians on the mainland are only allowed to worship at state-sanctioned churches.

Zen is a vocal critic of China's suppression of underground Catholic churches loyal to the Vatican, which scholars estimate serve about half of at least 12 million faithful in the country.
[Full Story]

MANASSAS, VA (April 28, 2004) – Cardinal Newman Society has issued a shocking new report on scandals at U.S. Catholic colleges and universities that is certain to reignite concerns about the colleges’ religious character.

The 56-page report, “The Culture of Death on Catholic Campuses: A Five-Year Review,” documents inroads made by advocates of abortion, contraception, premarital sexual activity, and physician-assisted suicide onto Catholic college campuses since 1999. It is the most extensive evidence of problems in Catholic higher education ever compiled in a single source—and yet it only scratches the surface, relying primarily on media reports and college websites.

“‘Pro-choice’ is no choice for a Catholic institution, which by its Catholic mission must be courageously pro-life,” said Erin Butcher, lead researcher and co-author of the report. “Cardinal Newman Society has responded to scandal after scandal on Catholic campuses, but many Catholics still fail to appreciate the scope of the problem.”

The report, which can be downloaded free of charge at www.cardinalnewmansociety.org beginning April 28, identifies the problems and suggests solutions to ensure that Catholic colleges uphold their Catholic, pro-life mission. Highlights include:

Quenta Nârwenion links to this story about a priest in her diocese and as she says these misguided folks are in need of some prayers. If this article was a parody it would be pretty funny, as it is it is just plain sad.

Several hundred people attended the first service of an independent church founded by a priest who broke from the Catholic Church, despite warnings that Catholics who affiliated with the new church risked excommunicating themselves.

"The only reason for coming to church is to learn how to love," the Rev. Bill Hausen preached at Christ Hope Ecumenical Catholic Church, which met at the Sewickley Country Inn.

"God does not need praise. God has all the praise he needs. We don't have to love God, because God is love."

...Hausen told reporters that he believed 500 to 600 people attended the service. There were empty seats in the room with a posted seating capacity of 400; the Post-Gazette estimated attendance closer to 300.

It was the miracle of 600 hundred sitting in the area of only 300 hundred.

Many people said they were visiting out of curiosity or to show support for Hausen. Those included 18 Unitarians from Slippery Rock who had skipped their own service at Ginger Hill Unitarian-Universalist Church.

Unitarians from Slippery Rock must be the best congregation and geographic match up I have ever heard.

...I feel that the greatest theology today will come from your experience of yourself . . . not from above or from someone imposing stuff on us," he said.

This isn't preaching to the choir it is preaching towards your inner child.

Introducing the In-Sin-erator™, guaranteed to wipe away your sins when properly used. You will feel pure and as white as snow and your sins will be as far as the east is from the west. Pre-Treatment It is advised that for proper use of the In-Sin-erator™ that you first do an inspection. This inspection requires examination of your conscience (inspection flashlight not required). Detailed examination requirements can be found here. Directions 1. Approach the In-Sin-erator from the front. 2. Look for the proper inspection insignia on the In-Sin-erator™ otherwise known as the Seal of Confession. This seal is not allowed to be broken. 3. Ensure that priest unit is inserted in the proper location. Head will be pointed towards the ceiling if properly inserted. 4.Choose an entrance to enter. One side will bring you face-to-face with the priest. The other side will contain a privacy grill placed between yourself, the penitent, and the priest. Either side will end in exactly the same results.
	5. Make the sign of the cross while saying "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been (mentioned the time lapse since your last confession)"
6. You must list any mortal sins if committed and the number of times. Proceed to mention some of your venial sins. Classification of mortal sin can be found here.
	Ensure that you have contrition for your sins. Failure to be contrite or not listing all mortal sins is improper use of this device and will not result in the desired removal of sin.
7. The priest unit is then activated and if it determines you are penitent, will give you advice and assign you a penance.
	Do not be alarmed if the penance given does not seem proportional with your sin. You can not of your own work expiate your sins. Christ's redemptive death on the Cross and in his divine mercy gave the power to forgive sins to his Apostles.
	Failure of the priest assign contrition or if you do no properly carry out the penance assigned is an improper operating procedure and will not result in the desired removal of sin.
8. Say an Act of Contrition or a short psalm of sorrow. 9. The priest then gives absolution saying: "God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." 10. The priest will dismiss you wit the words of praise: "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good" or "the Lord has freed you from your sins. Go in peace. You respond by saying either "His mercy endures forever" or "Thanks be to God." 11. Proceed to properly exit the In-Sin-erator™. 12. If the proper procedures have been followed, then congratulations your sins have been forgiven and you have been given the grace to help prevent future uncleanness due to sin.
	Frequent use of this device when properly used can help in the result of sanctity. Suggested period of planned soul maintenance should at least be monthly or on a period as specified by a factory approved spiritual adviser.
	On occasion these procedures will not be in accordance with factory standards. There are some known defective priest units out in the field that have yet to be recalled by the areas factory field representative, the Bishop. Report any improperly operating units and proceed directly to a functioning unit.
	Hours of operation. These hours may vary due to your local operator. Access may be before each Mass or on Saturdays between 5:00 and 5:05 P.M.
	When hearing confession, the priest unit should be wearing a purple stole. The color purple signifies sorrow and penance. If the priest unit is not wearing a stole the proper sin cleaning will still occur if other factory conditions are met.
	Confession given by other then factory approved priest units violates the terms of the warranty and no cleaning will occur. Attempts of multiple cleanings such as a communal penance service where death is not imminent and the service does not end with individual use of the In-Sin-erator�, also fails the terms of the warranty.

Doing a parody of an In-Sin-erator was suggested to me by Josh of Dei Gratia.

A statue in a Spanish cathedral showing St James slicing the heads off Moorish invaders is to be removed to avoid causing offence to Muslims.

Cathedral authorities in the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostela, on Spain's north west coast, plan to move the statue to the museum.

Among the reasons for the move is to avoid upsetting the "sensitivities of other ethnic groups".

The statue of St James "the Moor-slayer" is expected to be replaced by one depicting the calmer image of St James "the Pilgrim", by the same 18th century artist, Jose Gambino.

The Saracen-slaying image of St James, or Santiago in Spanish, is a symbol of the fight between Christianity and Islam and the reconquest of Spain from eight centuries of Moorish rule before 1492.

The saint is said to have appeared to Christian troops fighting Moorish army at the Battle of Clavijo in 844, the crusaders rallying to the cry of "Santiago y cierra Espana" - "St James, we will reconquer Spain".
[Full Story]

PORTSMOUTH - It’s not every day you see a nun run. But Sister Maximillian makes a habit of it.

Residents of Rochester see the Catholic nun running in full habit and veil daily with children from the St. Charles School, where the sister helps minister and describes as a foster home "for children in crisis."

On Saturday morning, the 37-year-old nun is easily recognizable among a crowd of runners who’ve turned out for 19th annual Children’s Museum 5K road race in Portsmouth. She’s the one in the robin’s egg blue and white habit with veil - the blue matching perfectly with her eyes. She also wears a long strand of rosary beads with a crucifix around her neck - and a pair of running shoes.

"It’s a privilege to wear it, really," says the sister of her vestments. "You wear it and you say so much, without saying anything."
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This is so cool!

Here is an article on Bishop Thomas Olmsted. His pro-life stance and preaching on contraception, homosexuality, and the death penalty gets him branded an ultra-conservative.

Not surprisingly everyone who was interviewed in the article are critical of the new Bishop. After the years of turmoil caused by their previous Bishop I bet you could easily find many people in Phoenix joyous to finally have a Bishop that truly teaches the Catholic faith. After three very short paragraphs that are an overview of the Bishops las four months we get the mandatory line: "Others are critical of his conservative actions."

...From leading a high-profile vigil in protest at an abortion center to speaking out against capital punishment and contraception, the 57-year-old bishop has supported traditional Vatican positions --much to the disappointment of Catholics seeking reforms in the more than 1 billionmember worldwide church. Though the "season of conflict" related to sexual misconduct seems over, "we are not through the darkness yet," said Mary Jane Benton, a Scottsdale Catholic. "Our new bishop has given out rules and regulations, instead of healing and compassion as Jesus modeled."

I often wonder if there are another four Gospels out there that are different from the various Bibles that I have. Healing comes about when people know they are sick and need a doctor. Compassion comes about when we help those who sufferand need our help. Spiritual healing and compassion does not occur when we deny sinful behavior and normalize behaviors in contradiction to God's law. Jesus emphasized that in the call to holiness that first you must obey the Ten Commandment. That divorce was not possible for a valid marriage. That the path to heaven was narrow. Were these also just rules and regulations? Was "Go and sin no more" an edict or actually the greatest words of charity. Of course the next paragraphs informs us that Benton is part of Called to Action.

Olmsted�s suspension of the Rev. Cunningham in Gilbert has irked some parishioners.

"I have never been so upset with a bishop" in a lifetime of being Catholic, said Ray Rafford of Mesa.

After all these years of abuse and cover-ups under Bishop Thomas O'Brien this parishioner has a problem with Bishop Olmsted?

"What you are seeing is a move by the ultra-conservative branch of the Catholic Church to bring the parish priests in line to the bishop�s thinking," he said. "Father John has a history of reaching out to all religions in a spirit of the overall love of God."

This is a common element that people often use. That whenever a Bishop actually follows the teachings of the Church they say that it is only the bishop's thinking. As if the Bishop made this stuff up once he got there. The Bishop is a true Apostle when they are in union with what the Church and teaches and what belongs to the deposit of the faith. When this is true there is nothing better than bringing the thinking of the priests in line with the Bishop, especially if the Bishop is in line with Christ.

"Bishop Walsh feels it's a non-issue now," she said. "There may be Catholics but ... they are not saying 'I am a Catholic politician and I am running as pro-choice.'"

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, who is Catholic and supports abortion rights, didn't return calls Friday seeking comment on the issue.

Thompson's chief of staff, Ed Matovcik, said, "I suspect the Vatican has said a lot that not all Catholics would adhere to."

It is strange how politicians are always talking about nuanced positions yet when it comes to the Vatican everything is exactly the same. The issue of abortion is not just something that comes from the Vatican but it part of the natural law. Thou shall not kill is not exactly something recently handed down. "Other people ignore the Vatican" is much like the playground argument "but other kids did it also."

He said Thompson will "continue be pro-choice and continue to be Catholic" but his religion isn't a subject of speeches or campaign literature.

...continue to vote for racist laws and continue to b a member of the NAACP.

And of course just like in all the recent articles on this subject, the reporter reminds us of this piece of history.

In 1989, San Diego Bishop Leo Maher made headlines when he barred Lucy Killea, a Democratic assemblywoman, from receiving communion because she supported abortion rights.

Killea easily won a special election for a state Senate seat that fall, which was widely viewed as a public rejection of Maher's action.
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Of course they don't mention that the other Bishops in Califonia did not support Bishop Maher. This is actually an illustration of why the Bishops need to be on the same page. Regardless you don't stop doing what is right just because it might not be politically expedient.

Last Sunday, Maria DelGiorno gave up. She unplugged her laptop PC and carefully placed it underneath a statue of the Virgin Mary.

"It was the only thing I could think of doing," said the 67-year-old great-grandmother. "The computer was filled with filthy things. It was embarrassing. My grandchildren kept asking me why I was looking at so much pornography."

On Tuesday, DelGiorno's grandson retrieved the computer and examined it. With some help from a computer-savvy friend, Joe DelGiorno discovered that a browser-hijacking program called CoolWebSearch, also known as CWS, had turned his grandmother's mild-mannered computer into a X X X-rated adventure.
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Holy Water is another good sacramental for this problem. Pour enough on the computer and those problems will go away - along with everything else.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 30, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A successful Christian business owner has come under attack by feminist extremists for using his profits to support pro-life charities.

Gary Heavin, the owner of a chain of extremely successful health and fitness centres for women, is a born-again Christian who gives 10% of his gross annual income to charities. Heavin is also the author of two books on fitness that take a Christian approach. His wife, Diana produces Christian music. Curves fitness centres cater particularly to middle-aged women who may be intimidated by other more youth-oriented fitness venues.

Curves franchises have surpassed Starbucks in numbers in the United States and are closing on McDonalds with sales that have hit $750 million a year. Heavin chooses to support the pro-life movement and that has elicited a powerful response from some feminist organizations and writers. We get a lot of heat because we're so expressive of our faith, and we encourage our faith,'' Heavin says.

In a vitriolic article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Heavin's contributions are described in terms often employed for supporters of terrorist organizations. He is accused of supporting Operation Save America that "blamed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on God's retribution for abortions and whose purpose, as described on its Web site, is to 'unashamedly take up the cause of pre-born children in the name of Jesus Christ.'" The implication strongly appears to be that, if a successful business owner gives money to charity, he may not support organizations that oppose the feminist pro-abortion agenda.
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I just got back from a day of reflection put together by an apostolate called the Alliance of the Two Hearts. In 1995 the Oblate Apostles of the Two Hearts (OATH) was started in Dover, DE and since then has spread world-wide. The talk was given by Fr. John Santos who was the first priest ordained for OATH and he was accompanied by a some men and womens religious also belonging to OATH. This apostolates mission is mainly to bring sanctity to families through the basic practices of the faith. Each first Friday they have a vigil for reparation that starts out with confessing, Mass, and then a series of prayers throughout the night which ends after Mass in the morning the following day. They also go to homes and consecrate families to the hearts of Jesus and Mary.

About three years ago Fr. Santos came to my home to consecrate my family to the Alliance of the Two Hearts and to also bless my home. My wife is a Filipina and the majority of those in this apostolates are Filipinos. Fr. Santos is an excellent homilist and really gets to the root of the faith and how to practice it in your daily lives. His reflection was on the passion of Christ and how through personal holiness we can cooperate with Christ and offer penances for reparations and the the conversion of others. The day ended with a Stations of the Cross: Through the eyes of Mary. Fr. Santos selected 13 women from the room and he started off by reading the first reflection and each women in turn read the other stations. It was a very good reflection and I wish I had a copy of this version of the Stations of the Cross. Many of the women had difficulties in reading these words through the eyes of Mary for each station and you could hear their voice quiver and them sob as they read them. It was powerful and I my eyes teared up a bit also.