Kennedy's non-apology apology

Remember this story last week, in with Rep. Patrick Kennedy slammed the Church (rather ignorantly) about opposing the health care bill because of abortion?

Good news is he's going to meet with Bishop Tobin.

Bad news is he hasn't really apologized. From the AP:

Kennedy, who is Catholic, says that he never meant to slight the church and that it has every right to promote its beliefs.

But he says the issue facing Congress is, in his words, "access to health care and nothing else."

Right. Because saying

“I thought they were pro-life. If the church is pro-life, then they ought to be for health care reform because it’s going to provide health care that are going to keep people alive. So this is an absolute red herring and I don’t think that it does anything but to fan the flames of dissent and discord and I don’t think it’s productive at all.”

certainly doesn't indicate a desire to slight the Catholic Church. Give me a break, Kennedy.

Not to mention (say it with me now): "Abortion is not health care."

If this is truly about "access to health care" then work to ensure that true health care is provided. If this is truly about "access to health care" then work to ensure that babies in the womb get health care, not vaccuumed to death or ripped limb from limb. If this is truly about "access to health care" help people with morals work in health care, knowing that their conscience rights are protected.

But it's not about "access to health care."

It's about extending the culture of death, because hey, it's certainly profitable.

Bishop Tobin, I could think of a few good uses for that crozier of yours...

Bishops step up opposition to health care bill

Apparently, the USCCB wants every parish in America to put this insert in their Sunday bulletin.

I, for one, am impressed. It's so great to see bishops acting as bishops.

Go do your part and contact your congressional leaders.

Check out the American Papist for more information about the urgent campaign.

The 13th Day trailer

Trailer from the new Fatima movie, The 13th Day:



I really want to see this.

Thanks God for the gift of Our Lady of Fatima.

[Learn more about Our Lady of Fatima here.]

Another one bites the dust

May the pro-life principles of Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) rest in peace. (HT to Creative Minority Report and Larry D).

From the Oct. 27 News/Talk 760 interview with Frank Beckmann:

"The president said there'd be no public funding for abortion, so we're just trying to hold him to his word...And we don't want to see abortion in the health care bill. It's not U.S. law and we don't want to change the law."

Beckmann asks him how tough it is to be a pro-life Democrat.

"Well, it's not easy, especially right now...My job is not to vote for legislation that has public funding for abortion." [emphasis mine]

But, in a Oct. 23 town hall meeting, he said he'll vote for the health care bill if it pays for abortion:

"Ok, if everything I want in a bill, the final bill, I like everything in the bill, except the public funding for abortion, and we have a chance to run our amendment and we lost. Ok, I voted my conscience, stayed true to my principles, stayed true to the beliefs of this district - would i vote for health care? Yes, I still would."

Sing it with me now:

Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey, I'm gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust

Reason 4,781 to be Catholic

Changing the meaning of Catholic

Anthony Stevens-Arroyo, who writes for the On Faith blog of the Washington Post, recently argued that Michael Moore should be considered as "Catholic of the Year."

Should Michael Moore be named "Catholic of the Year"? Some people love his films and some hate them: but his newest film, "Capitalism: A Love Story," provokes such passion on either side that -- on that count alone -- it becomes a tribute to his skill as filmmaker. Avoiding a film review here, let me offer reasons for considering "Capitalism" a special kind of Catholic achievement.

I haven't seen the film. The only Michael Moore film I've seen was "Fahrenheit 9/11", which I liked.

However, it seems to me that to be "Catholic of the Year," to be upheld as a role model, one should be in full communion with the Church - not a cafeteria Catholic. And Moore is indeed, a Cafeteria Catholic:

• Moore supports the "right" to abortion, calling Roe v. Wade "a great victory."
• Moore denies that birth control is a sin and believes women should be priests.
• Moore also seems to support gay marriage.

"You cannot be Catholic and pro-choice!"as Fr. Corapi likes to say.

A better nominee would be Mary Ann Glendon, who refused the Notre Dame Laetare Medal because Notre Dame refused to act like a Catholic university.

Bishop Tobin: 1, Rep. Patrick Kennedy: 0

Rep. Patrick Kennedy makes an idiot of himself:



But, Bishop Thomas Tobin won't let him get away with it. From the Diocese of Providence website (with my emphases and comments):

“Congressman Patrick Kennedy’s statement about the Catholic Church’s position on health care reform is irresponsible and ignorant of the facts. But the Congressman is correct in stating that “he can’t understand.” He got that part right. [Oooh, Bishop Tobin, takin' off the gloves.]

As I wrote to Congressman Kennedy and other members of the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation recently, the Bishops of the United States are indeed in favor of comprehensive health care reform and have been for many years. But we are adamantly opposed to health care legislation that threatens the life of unborn children, requires taxpayers to pay for abortion, rations health care, or compromises the conscience of individuals.

Congressman Kennedy continues to be a disappointment to the Catholic Church [No mincing words here!] and to the citizens of the State of Rhode Island. I believe the Congressman owes us an apology for his irresponsible comments. It is my fervent hope and prayer that he will find a way to provide more effective and morally responsible leadership for our state.”

How's that for some effective, orthodox, take-no-prisoners leadership? It's so nice to see bishops laying down the law.

I'm sending him a thank you letter. Anyone else want to join me?

Could the Russian Orthodox be next?

This interesting tidbit comes courtesy of the head of the Traditional Anglican Communion, Primate John Hepworth, in an interview with The Australian:

Already there are stories circulating that the Patriarch of Moscow has urged his ecumenical negotiators in the Vatican to hurry in order that the Anglicans do not get too far ahead. They're probably apocryphal, but we do know that the Russian Orthodox Church is very close to achieving unity with Rome. It is the largest of the Orthodox churches of the East. We also know that the Orthodox are watching the Anglican process very closely to try to assess the extent to which Rome is serious about tolerating many different traditions of Christianity within the scope of the Catholic Church. I have had conversations with members of the Greek Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church about the parallels between their conversations with Rome and ours. Christian unity throughout the world is at a very similar moment. Conversation and co-operation are beginning to evolve into forms of organic unity that still protect diverse Christian traditions of worship and spirituality.

This would be utterly amazing. It's almost unbelievable.

And yet...

"The Anglican experiment is over."

The Telegraph reported that the Bishop of Chichester, Rev. John Hind, is considering the Vatican's offer to join the Church.

This is monumental because Rev. Hind is a bishop of the Church of England - not a smaller group like the TAC.

Now Bishop Hind, the most senior traditionalist in the Church of England, has confirmed that he is willing to sacrifice his salary and palace residence to defect to the Catholic Church.

"This is a remarkable new step from the Vatican," he said. "At long last there are some choices for Catholics in the Church of England. I'd be happy to be reordained into the Catholic Church."

While the bishop stressed that this would depend on his previous ministry being recognised, he said that the divisions in the Anglican Communion could make it impossible to stay.

"How can the Church exist if bishops are not in full communion with each other," he said.

Conservative archbishops and bishops have broken ties with their liberal counterparts following the US Episcopal Church's consecration of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop.

Bishop Broadhurst said that the Pope has made his offer in response to the pleas of Anglicans who despair at the disintegration of their Church.

"Anglicanism has become a joke because it has singularly failed to deal with any of its contentious issues," said the bishop, who is chairman of Forward in Faith, the Anglo-Catholic network that represents around 1,000 traditionalist priests.

"There is widespread dissent across the [Anglican] Communion. We are divided in major ways on major issues and the Communion has unravelled.

"I believed in the Church I joined, but it has been revealed to have no doctrine of its own.

"I personally think it has gone past the point of no return. The Anglican experiment is over."

It will be interesting to see how many members of the flock will be following their clergy. Gloria in excesis Deo!

And they wonder why the Vatican is investigating them

From LifeSiteNews.com, with my emphases and comments:

Nun Volunteering as Abortion Clinic Escort in Illinois>

By Kathleen Gilbert

HINSDALE, Illinois, October 23, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Dominican nun has been seen frequenting an abortion facility in Illinois recently - but not, as one might expect, to pray for an end to abortion or to counsel women seeking abortions, but to volunteer as a clinic escort.[???!]

Local pro-life activists say that they recognized the escort at the ACU Health Center as Sr. Donna Quinn, a nun outspokenly in favor of legalized abortion, after seeing her photo in a Chicago Tribune article.

"I've called her sister several times, and she never responded," local pro-lifer John Bray told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN). "But it's her."

Amy Keane, a pro-life witness for 11 years, says Quinn has acted as escort for "six years, at least." [Where are her superiors? How are they letting this happen? Where is her bishop?] Keane described one incident in which Quinn began shouting at the pro-lifers as they spoke to a woman about to enter the abortion facility.

"[Quinn] was so angry, and burst out very loudly so everyone could hear: 'Look at these men, telling these women what to do with their bodies!'" [I love how people like Sr. Quinn probably think they are the 'freethinkers' - and yet this is an old, tired, cliche and factually incorrect argument.] said Keane. "She was so angry, that it really took all of us aback." Keane says that the group was peaceful, and that the men present were not among those engaging the woman.

"For those of us who are Catholic, to have a member of a religious order so blatantly - it is so disheartening. It really is," said Keane. "She's participating actively in abortion. That is what is so disturbing for us." [Could you imagine this happening 50 years ago? Me neither. Sisters were actually - gasp! - orthodox then.]

Sr. Donna Quinn, OP, is renowned in the Chicago area as an advocate for legalized abortion and other liberal issues.[Sooo...her bishop knows. Her superiors know. And nothing is being done about it. What's that quote about the road to hell being paved with bishops skulls?]

In 1974 she co-founded the organization Chicago Catholic Women, which lobbied the USCCB on a feminist platform before it dissolved in 2000. She is now a coordinator of the radically liberal National Coalition of American Nuns (NCAN), which stands in opposition against the Catholic Church's position on abortion, homosexuality, contraception, and the male priesthood. [Stuff like this makes me wonder why oh why excommunication is so rare.]

While LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) was unable to reach Sr. Quinn for comment, NCAN's Sr. Beth Rindler confirmed to LSN that Quinn is still a member of their group, which favors unrestricted legalized abortion and disagrees with the teaching that abortion is intrinsically evil. "We respect women, and believe that they make moral decision, and so we respect their decisions," Rindler explained. [Nonsense.]

In a 2002 address to the Women's Studies in Religion Program at Harvard Divinity School, Sr. Quinn described how she came to view the teachings of her Church as "immoral": "I used to say: 'This is my Church, and I will work to change it, because I love it,'" she said. "Then later I said, 'This church is immoral, and if I am to identify with it I'd better work to change it.' More recently, I am saying, 'All organized religions are immoral in their gender discriminations.'" [Soo...is she even Christians anymore?!]

Quinn called gender discrimination "the root cause of evil in the Church, and thus in the world," and said she remained in the Dominican community simply for "the sisterhood."

Sr. Patricia Mulcahey, OP, Quinn's Prioress at the Sinsinawa Dominican community, said in an email response to LSN that the nun sees her volunteer activity as "accompanying women who are verbally abused by protestors. Her stance is that if the protestors were not abusive, she would not be there." [Baloney. Lying is sin, Sister. You do still believe in sin, right?]

Though Sr. Mulcahey claimed that her sisters "support the teachings of the Catholic Church," [Lying is sin] she declined to comment on Quinn's public protest of Catholic Church teaching. [Can you imagine what St. Dominic would say? Kyrie eleison.]

Joe Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League says Quinn came in contact with his own office in 1982, when she and a group of other pro-aborts picketed his building on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

"She figures it's part of her religion to take these women in and protect them, and get them abortions," said Scheidler of Quinn's recent activity. "Something dreadful has happened to make a Catholic nun become an escort at an abortion clinic - that's the lowest form you can reach, where you escort a woman with a living child in her into a place to have the child killed, and to ruin that woman's soul." [That says it in a nutshell.]

"If I didn't even believe in the humanity of the child - which of course would be crazy - even if I didn't, I would fight abortion for the sake of the women," Scheidler added. "They miss that baby, and they can't get it back. They never can."

I hope Sr. Quinn comes to her senses. God have mercy on her - and on the leaders who are failing to try to save her soul [*cough, cough* Dominicans, *cough, cough* Francis Cardinal George].

Randall Balmer: Vatican's cynical and opportunistic overture

Because, of course, not everybody is thrilled with the Pope right now.

From Randall Balmer, an Episcopalian priest, in a blog post on the Washington Post's On Faith blog (with my Fr. Z-style emphases and comments):

Vatican's cynical and opportunistic overture

The Vatican's sudden overture to disaffected Anglicans strikes me as both cynical and opportunistic. Cynical in that the concession effectively to allow congregations to continue using Anglican hymns and liturgies seems to undermine decades of ecumenical discussions [because reunion is so anti-ecumenical]by suddenly removing these issues as impediments to union. [So...the pope removed " impediments to union", and thus undermined ecumenism, which has the goal of reunion? And this is a bad thing? Heck, that's not even logical.]

The move is opportunistic in that Rome is making the overture at what might be viewed as a moment of crisis or weakness in the Anglican Communion. [I think the better comparison might be catastrophe.] The Vatican apparently is seeking to harvest those disaffected by the ordination of women and gays and by support for same-sex unions. [Harvest, poach - why does everyone seem to miss that the Pope is responding to the request of hundreds of Anglicans?]

A cynical action calls for a cynical interpretation: Perhaps the Vatican is hoping to lure Anglican parishes - and their property - to compensate for its financial losses in the priestly pedophilia scandals. [Yeah...you knew it was coming. Gotta be a sinister ulterior motive.]

I have no doubt that some disaffected Anglicans will see this as an attractive offer. At the same time, I wasn't aware that Christians opposed to homosexuality or to women's ordination were underserved in the religious marketplace. [Hmm. Is it me or is he being downright snippy here?]

Apparently it's inconceivable ("Inconceivable!") that Catholics actually believe that everyone should be Catholic.

Which tells you something about the state of ecumenical relations over the last forty years or so. Our ecumenists must have been giving off the impression that Catholic ecumenism doesn't have the goal of getting everyone to be Catholic. Apparently they must have been giving off the impression that the goal of ecumenism is to write nice joint papers and smile at each other while dialoguing ad nauseaum.

Not that I'm against doing those things, mind you. The world needs more smiles. But that can't be the end goal - only the means of obtaining the end goal: all Christians united in the Catholic Church.

Alas, some people just don't get it. At least not right now. But I'm hopeful, that as more and more Episcopalians and other Anglicans get fed up with priests who claim to be both Christian and Muslim, a bishop who denies the Resurrection, and their presiding bishop denying that Jesus is the only way to salvation, it might become clear to people like Balmer.

At least, I certainly hope so.

Update: For more sour grapes on the On Faith blog, see Susan K. Smith:

When I heard the news about this move of the Vatican, and then read about it, I found myself wondering two things: What would Jesus say? And what would Mary, the mother of the Christ, say?

I am at a loss.

Oh, that's easy. :-)

Jesus would say, "Father, may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17:22b)

And the Blessed Virgin would say, "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5)

Update: More sour grapes from a retired Episcopalian bishop (who also denies the resurrection, incidentally):

Ecclesiastical kindergarten games

In the recent communication between the Pope, Benedict XVI, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, which will allow Anglicans to become Roman Catholics with an "Anglican Twist," we have a sad picture of how out-of-date and irrelevant institutional Christianity has become. Here we have two unimpressive Christian leaders, rooted deeply in yesterday, jockeying publicly to see who can be the most prejudiced about the role of women and the place of homosexual people in the life of the Christian Church.

Pray for this man. He needs it.

Mandatory reading for journalists: John 17

Seriously.

Because the "oh-the-Catholic-Church-is-just-a-bunch-of-women-haters-and-gay-bashers-and-that's-why-they-want-to-add-conservative-Anglicans-to-their-ranks" storyline is getting a bit wearisome. See, for example, the New York Times and The Christian Science Monitor, with the headline, "Will Vatican lure Africa's Anglican anti-gay bishops to Catholic church?"

Or this gem from the blog of the ostensibly Catholic magazine, America:

But, I worry, too, that some of these newcomers will also be nostalgists, anti-feminists, and anti-gay bigots. The ordaining of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire is not something I would have advised, but after all these centuries of schism, I am not sure why that should have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Look, folks, the Catholic Church's mission isn't political - it's all about Matthew 28:19-20. It's all about bringing all Christians back into full communion with the Church. It's all about standing for the increasingly unpopular truth - because Jesus is "the Way, the Truth and the Light."

Got it?

Good. Now show some initiative and write an article or two about what a reunited Christianity could mean for the world. Your editor will think you're clever.

History in the making: The Anglican bridge

Ok, here's even more great coverage:

Creative Minority Report: Traditional Anglicans Come Home!

Te Deum Laudamus!

One more step towards unity

Pope Benedict XVI - being the completely awesome man of God that he is - has established a way to incorporate Anglicans into the Catholic Church. (Check out Fr. Z's and Damien Thompson's coverage, too, for more fascinating information.)

I have to imagine that C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien and Hilaire Belloc are drinking a pint together in heaven in celebration of this one step closer to Christian unity.

Let us pray together this ancient hymn in celebration:

Te Deum

We praise thee, O God :
we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee :
the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud :
the Heavens, and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim :
continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy :
Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty :
of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee.
The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world :
doth acknowledge thee;
The Father : of an infinite Majesty;
Thine honourable, true : and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory : O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man :
thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death :
thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come : to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants :
whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory everlasting.
O Lord, save thy people :
and bless thine heritage.
Govern them : and lift them up for ever.
Day by day : we magnify thee;
And we worship thy Name : ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us :
as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted :
let me never be confounded.

Anglican-Catholic press conference tomorrow

Bulletin from the Vatican Press:

“We inform accredited journalists that tomorrow, Tuesday, 20 October 2009, at 11 a.m., in the John Paul II Hall of the Press Office of the Holy See, a briefing will be held on a theme pertaining to the relationship with the Anglicans, at which His Eminence Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and His Excellency Msgr. Joseph Augustine Di Noia OP, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments will take part."

Reliable sources - Fr. Z, as well as Damien Thompson of the London Telegraph and the UK Catholic Herald - seem to believe that this press conference pertains to the reunion of the Traditional Anglican Communion with the Catholic Church.

Especially because another press conference has been announced: Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury at 10 a.m., October 20, at 39 Eccleston Square, London.

Coincidence? Highly unlikely.





<---You know you're Catholic when... the prospect of such a reunion makes you positively giddy.

Notre Shame, Pt. 2

Sooo, you would think that, oh, being a faithful Catholic would be a requirement to be a priest and president of a major Catholic university.

And you would be wrong.

The University of Notre Dame Board of Trustees reelected Fr. Jenkins to a second term.

It apparently doesn't matter that he supports these violations of Catholic teaching. It doesn't matter that he sits on the board of Millenium Promise, an anti-poverty group which supports the use of contraception and encourages abortion. It doesn't matter that he ignored the local bishop's teaching on Ex corde Ecclesiae.

No, according to Chairman Richard C. Notebaert: "The vision and leadership that Father Jenkins has demonstrated in his first four years in office have been inspiring and innovative."

Inspiring and innovative? Sure. If you mean that he's inspiring dissidence and his ways of dismissing Ex corde Ecclesiae are innovative.

Notebaert continued, “Building upon the foundation set by his Holy Cross predecessors, he is making the aspirations of this University a reality. The Fellows and Trustees look forward to continuing our work with him in service to Our Lady’s University.”

I'm a bit frightened about the aspirations he's talking about. And I'm certain that Our Lady ain't too happy about what's going on in Indiana.

Sancta Maria, ora pro those misguided people.

So much for free speech

40 Days for Life, Fresno, California.

Victor Fierro, director of Latinos4Life is protesting.

See what happens next (Warning-very offensive language):



The woman ended up cutting his arm in the assault.

So...

How many of you think this story made the evening news?

According to Right to Life of Central California, not one local TV station covered it yesterday. Apparently, "chocolate-covered bacon" and "a man who believes he sees the virgin Mary on a rock" were much more important stories.

Shame on them.

40 Days for Life

Stop today and offer up some prayers for all those who are praying in front of abortion mills and check out 40 Days for Life to see if you can support the movement in your part of the country.



This video was recorded outside Dr. Emily’s Women’s Health Center in The Bronx, New York — one of the country’s busiest abortion facilities.

God bless them for their witness.

It's official: Bishop R. Walker Nickless is awesome

Proof?

Ecclesia Semper Reformanda - his first pastoral letter published yesterday.

Some favorites:

"It is crucial that we all grasp that the hermeneutic or interpretation of discontinuity or rupture, which many think is the settled and even official position, is not the true meaning of the Council. This interpretation sees the pre-conciliar and post-conciliar Church almost as two different churches. It sees the Second Vatican Council as a radical break with the past. There can be no split, however, between the Church and her faith before and after the Council. We must stop speaking of the 'Pre-Vatican II' and 'Post-Vatican II' Church, and stop seeing various characteristics of the Church as 'pre' and 'post' Vatican II. Instead, we must evaluate them according to their intrinsic value and pastoral effectiveness in this day and age."

And,

"It seems to me that in many areas of the Church’s life the 'hermeneutic of discontinuity' has triumphed. It has manifested itself in a sort of dualism, an either/or mentality and insistence in various areas of the Church’s life: either fidelity to doctrine or social justice work, either Latin or English, either our personal conscience or the authority of the Church, either chant or contemporary music, either tradition or progress, either liturgy or popular piety, either conservative or liberal, either Mass or Adoration, either the Magisterium or theologians, either ecumenism or evangelization, either rubrics or personalization, either the Baltimore Catechism or 'experience'; and the list goes on and on! We have always been a 'both/and' people: intrinsically traditional and conservative in what pertains to the faith, and creative in pastoral ministry and engaging the world."

My brothers and sisters, let me say this clearly: The 'hermeneutic of discontinuity' is a false interpretation and implementation of the Council and the Catholic Faith. It emphasizes the 'engagement with the world' to the exclusion of the deposit of faith. This has wreaked havoc on the Church, systematically dismantling the Catholic Faith to please the world, watering down what is distinctively Catholic, and ironically becoming completely irrelevant and impotent for the mission of the Church in the world. The Church that seeks simply what works or is 'useful' in the end becomes useless."

He also seeks to:

1. "renew our reverence, love, adoration and devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament, within and outside of Mass,"

2. "strengthen catechesis, beginning with and focusing on adults."

3. "protect, build up and foster holy families"

4. "foster a culture where young people can more readily respond to the radical calls of ministerial priesthood and the consecrated life."

5. "embrace the missionary character of the Catholic Faith and the vocation of all Catholics to be, not only disciples, but also apostles."

Read the whole thing, folks. It's good, as in "Dear Lord, please make this man a cardinal" good.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

Happy feast day of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, through whom Jesus gave us the Sacred Heart devotion.

Our Lord:"Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this sacrament of love.... I come into the heart I have given you in order that through your fervor you may atone for the offenses which I have received from lukewarm and slothful hearts that dishonor me in the Blessed Sacrament" (Third apparition).

Padre Pio's Sacred Heart Novena

O my Jesus, You said "verily I say to You, ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you", behold I knock, I seek and I ask for the grace of...

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
Sacred Heart of Jesus I put all my trust in Thee.O my Jesus, You said, "verily I say to You, whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you", behold in your name I ask the Father for the grace of...

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Sacred Heart of Jesus I put all my trust in Thee. O my Jesus, You said, "verily I say to You, heaven and earth shall pass away but My words shall not pass away", behold I encouraged by your infallible words, now ask for the grace of...

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Sacred Heart of Jesus I put all my trust in Thee.O sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom one thing alone is impossible, namely, not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of Thee through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your and our tender Mother.

Say the Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) and add, St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.

Top 10 "scientific explanations" for Fatima

From the always witty Creative Minority Report:

Top Ten Scientific Explanations of Miracle of Sun at Fatima

The Miracle of the Dancing Sun at Fatima which was seen by 70,000 people on October 13th, 1917 has been written about often. But many people continually attempt to explain away the vision of the sun dancing in the sky at a foretold time.

Avelino de Almeida, wrote articles for O Século, Portugal's most widely-circulated and influential newspaper, which was pro-government and anti-clerical at the time. Almeida's previous articles had been to satirize the previously reported events at Fatima but here's what he wrote that day:

"Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, whose aspect was biblical as they stood bare-headed, eagerly searching the sky, the sun trembled, made sudden incredible movements outside all cosmic laws — the sun 'danced' according to the typical expression of the people."

But secularists have amassed an enormous amount of explanations as to why we should not believe our own eyes. Here are the astounding reasons they've amassed so we should believe nothing at all special happened in Portugal that great day.

1. Stratospheric Dust. Steuart Campbell, writing for the 1989 edition of Journal of Meteorology, postulated that a cloud of stratospheric dust changed the appearance of the sun on 13 October, making it easy to look at, and causing it to appear yellow, blue, and violet and to spin. In support of his hypothesis, Mr. Campbell reports that a blue and reddened sun was reported in China as documented in 1983.

2. ESP! (Always my favorite) Author Lisa Schwebel claims that the event was a supernatural (but non-miraculous) extra-sensory phenomenon. Schwebel notes that the solar phenomenon reported at Fátima is not unique - there have been several reported cases of high pitched religious gatherings culminating in the sudden and mysterious appearance of lights in the sky.

3. Mock-Sun. Didn't even know this existed but it's worth a listen. Joe Nickell, a skeptic and investigator of paranormal phenomena, claims that the position of the phenomenon, as described by the various witnesses, is at the wrong azimuth and elevation to have been the sun. He suggests the cause may have been a sundog. Sometimes referred to as a parhelion or "mock sun", a sundog is an atmospheric optical phenomenon associated with the reflection/refraction of sunlight by the numerous small ice crystals that make up cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. A sundog is, however, a stationary phenomenon, and would not explain the reported appearance of the "dancing sun". So Nickell further suggests an explanation for this phenomena may lie in temporary retinal distortion, caused by staring at the intense light and/or the effect of darting the eyes to and fro so as to avoid completely fixed gazing (thus combining image, afterimage and movement). So the people shook their heads and though a mock-sun was dancing. All 70,000? Prety ridiculous, huh?

4. Dust cloud! Paul Simons, in an article entitled "Weather Secrets of Miracle at Fatima", states that he believes it possible that some of the optical effects at Fatima may have been caused by a cloud of dust from the Sahara.

5. Ye ol mass hallucination theory. Author Kevin McClure claims that the crowd at Cova da Iria may have been expecting to see signs in the sun, as similar phenomena had been reported in the weeks leading up to the miracle. On this basis he believes that the crowd saw what it wanted to see. (Yeah because that happens all the time.) But McClure's account fails to explain similar reports of people miles away, who by their own testimony were not even thinking of the event at the time, or the sudden drying of people's sodden, rain-soaked clothes.

6. UFO! It has been argued that the Fatima phenomenon was an alien craft. Of course, either that craft happened to come on the day that the three little children said a miracle would occur. Or the apparitions were all the works of little green men. This all sounds a lot more real than the Church's explanation.

7. Solar Storm. A gigantic coronal mass ejection (CME) occurred. Every eleven years our sun goes through a period of solar storms and these storms have been with us for
centuries of recorded history. Solar flares emit high-speed particles that
cause the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. Well that explains it all right there. Because we all know the Northern Lights look exactly like the Sun dancing. Or not.

8. Peer pressure. Among a uniform people sharing a particular religious belief, it is very easy for individuals to feel social pressure to conform to whatever is seen as a part of "how things should be", for "true believers". 70,000 people. That's pretty strong peer pressure especially for the people who saw it 20 miles away.

9. Not everyone saw it. Astronomers noticed no dancing in the sky from all over the world. The dancing sun was a regional event thus disproving it. A quick question would be the fact that it was a regional event should prove that something out of the ordinary happened. If it happened worldwide it would be written off as simply an astronomical event because the whole world saw it.

10. An Eclipse. These fellas don't mind contradicting themselves. This would be a very very regional eclipse. Wouldn't astronomers have noted the eclipse?

Bonus Reason:
11. Evolution. This is sadly from Institute of Physics, Catholic Univeristy of Louvain. Evolution has provided us with the infamous “zoom and loom effect”. It tends to appear when the brain is confronted with the two-dimensional retinal image of an object thatis situated at some unknown distance. The brain will then consider the possibility that it could come closer, by performing an illusory mental zoom, where the apparent size of the object isprogressively increased. This results from the fact that evolution preserved the tendency to take into account the possibility of a dangerous approach: a rapid evasive action could bebeneficial for survival. When the “idea” of an approach does not lead to any real danger, theperceived object returns to its normal place. Thus the dancing sun. Amazing. 70,000 people thought the Sun was a predator coming to eat them. When they realized the Sun had no teeth they "zoomed and loomed" it back to where it belonged. That might just be my favorite one.

So after listening to these level-headed scientists(?) explain away Fatima hasn't it convinced you to join the Richard Dawkins fan club? Me neither.

Kudos to Creative Minority Report for a good laugh.

Notre Shame

First, the university hosts the V. Monologues, which are hardly compatible with Catholic womanhood.

Next, the university bestows a honorary law degree on a pro-abortion president in direct defiance of their local ordinary.

Then, the university has pro-life protesters arrested, including elderly Fr. Norman Weslin, and refuses to drop the charges --although Fr. Jenkins, university president, will attend the "March for Life."

And now, the Notre Dame Student Activities office gives five students funds to attend the recent gay rights protest in Washington, D.C., a protest sponsored by a pro-gay marriage organization.

Our Lady must be appalled.

There must be something that the U.S. bishops or the Vatican can do about this. Notre Dame has clearly dropped their Catholic identity. They should no longer be allowed to identify as Catholic - I don't care how many times they celebrate Mass on campus or how beautiful their chapels are. At this point in our history, being Catholic means standing up for the truth, even - especially - when it is unpopular, not politically correct or inconvenient.

Off the soapbox now.

Pray it with me:

Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell and lead all souls to heaven, especially those poor misguided folks at Notre Dame.

Amen.

Steve Harvey introduces Jesus Christ

This is just fantastic. Gave me goosebumps:



Amen.

Possible Eucharistic miracle in Poland?

From a Polish news website:

Religious miracle in eastern Poland?

12.10.2009 15:01

A special Catholic church commission is expected to present its opinion shortly on whether or not a possible miracle has occurred at a church in Sokolka, eastern Poland.

The holy host, dropped by a priest at a Catholic mass, was placed in a special vessel, in which it later changed into a red substance. Tests conducted by medical specialists showed it was human heart tissue.

The matter was kept secret for several months and has only recently been picked up by the media.

The church commission, appointed by Archbishop Edward Ozorkowski, metropolitan, is to declare whether the event can be classified as a miracle. Its members include three professors from a seminary in Bialystok.

“They are to rule out an intervention of third persons. We have to be morally certain that no one had placed the host on the floor before or had changed it, when it was in the vessels in water, and that all the witnesses speak the truth,” a spokesman of the curia in Bialystok, Andrzej Debski, stated.

When the commission presents its opinion, the metropolitan will decide whether to notify the Vatican or not.

Last Sunday, a special mass was celebrated at St Anthony’s church in Sokolka in the intention of the miracle. Meanwhile, the Polish Rationalists Society has turned to prosecutors to launch a probe into the incident. Its representatives say the heart tissue may have belonged to a person who has died only recently and argue that it is necessary to establish its identity to rule out murder.

Kind of sounds like the miracle at Lanciano, Italy.

Wouldn't it be great if a member of the Polish Rationalists Society converted? Perhaps this - if it is a miracle - will lead more people to rediscover the Eucharistic Lord. While the number of Catholic Poles who attend Mass every Sunday remains higher than Catholic Americans, their attendance is still low.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners.

Litany of Saints for the unemployed

The official unemployment rate stands at 9.5%.

St. Cajetan, patron saint of the unemployed, pray for us.

St. Joseph, patron saint of husbands and fathers, pray for us.

Blessed Virgin Mary, patron saint of wives and mothers, pray for us.

St. Homobonus, patron saint of business people, pray for us.

St. Jude, patron saint of impossible cases, pray for us.

St. Martin of Porres, patron saint of the poor, pray for us.

Lord God, through the intercession of your holy saints, may all those who seek work find it.

Amen.

The Catholic news story of the day

...is that Suri Cruise will be attending Catholic school. She is the daughter of Katie Holmes (raised Catholic) and Tom Cruise (currently a Scientologist, God love the poor misguided man.)

Run a Google news search for 'Catholic' and that's the first story that pops up.

I mean, I'm glad that the media is concerned about the state of the child's soul and all, but it seems to me there are lots of other great stories they could be covering.

The Hyde Amendment...and the health care bill

At Wednesday's press briefing, a reporter from CNSnews.com read an excerpt from this Sept. 30 statement from the bishops. Then the reporter asked, “Is that statement wrong?”

Watch the reply:



But CNSnews.com, in a must-read article points out the truth:

Gibbs was referring to the Hyde Amendment, which has been included in each year’s annual Health and Human Services Appropriation since fiscal 1977. This amendment prohibits funding of abortion only in that particular fiscal year and only among funds appropriated through that particular bill.

The programs being set up by the health-care bill under consideration in Congress would not be funded through the annual HHS appropriations bill and would not be subject to the Hyde amendment [!!!!]--even if Congress deems to include the Hyde Amendment in future-year HHS appropriations bills.

So, folks, there you have it.

But, hey, what can you expect from this administration? After all, the president did tell Planned Parenthood that he "would not yield" to those who opposed "choice." See for yourself:

Catholic Bishops: Fix the health care bill

Today the bishops sent a letter to House leaders, to express their "disappointment that progress has not been made on the three priority criteria for health care reform."

The letter:

On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), we are writing to express our disappointment that progress has not been made on the three priority criteria for health care reform that we have conveyed previously to Congress. In fact, the Senate Finance Committee rejected a conscience rights amendment [!] accepted earlier by the House Energy and Commerce Committee [So...President Obama... how about that conscience clause you promised at Notre Dame? When is that going to happen?]. If final legislation does not meet our principles, we will have no choice but to oppose the bill. [Now that is some language with teeth in it!]We remain committed to working with the Administration,Congressional leadership, and our allies to produce final health reform legislation that will reflect our principles.

We continue to urge you to

1. Exclude mandated coverage for abortion, and incorporate longstanding policies against abortion funding and in favor of conscience rights. No one should be required to pay for or participate in abortion. It is essential that the legislation clearly apply to this new program longstanding and widely supported federal restrictions on abortion funding and mandates, and protections for rights of conscience. [In other words, 'We're not kidding, guys. We really, really mean it and we're not going away.'] No current bill meets this test.


2. Adopt measures that protect and improve people’s health care. Reform should make quality health care affordable and accessible to everyone, particularly those who are vulnerable and those who live at or near the poverty level. [I would imagine that the vulnerable include those with disabilities, the elderly, etc. - all those pesky people who need health care and shouldn't have their access limited.]

3. Include effective measures to safeguard the health of immigrants, their children and all of society. Ensure that legal immigrants and their family members have comprehensive, affordable, and timely access to health care coverage. Maintain an adequate safety net for those who remain uncovered. [Because immigrants are people, too.]

We sincerely hope that the legislation will not fall short of our criteria. However, we remain apprehensive when [1]amendments protecting freedom of conscience and [2] ensuring no taxpayer money for abortion are defeated in committee votes. If acceptable language in these areas cannot be found, we will have to oppose the health care bill vigorously. [Bravo! Not only are they announcing opposition, they are also doing it in very clear, very stronglanguage. I'm impressed. ] Catholic moral tradition teaches that health care is a basic human right, essential to protecting human life and dignity. Much-needed reform of our health care system must be pursued in ways that serve the life and dignity of all, never in ways that undermine or violate these fundamental values. We will work tirelessly to remedy these central problems and help pass real reform that clearly protects the life, dignity and health of all.

Sincerely,

Bishop William F. Murphy
Diocese of Rockville Centre
Chairman
Committee on Domestic Justice & Human Development

Cardinal Justin Rigali
Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Chairman
Committee on Pro-Life Activities

Bishop John Wester
Diocese of Salt Lake City
Chairman
Committee on Migration

Kudos to the bishops for standing up and making their voices heard.

Thanks to American Papist for the tip.

CNS interviews Miguel Diaz, new U.S. ambassador to the Vatican

This CNS article, from an interview with Miguel Diaz, U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, deserves a fisk, Fr. Z-style:

"As ambassador, I know there are areas where the Holy See and the United States are not in complete agreement. [Like, oh, say, the sanctity of life? Areas like that?] But I seek to be a bridge-builder [as opposed to a boat-rocker?], and to underscore that we can work together in multiple areas," Diaz said in an interview with Catholic News Service Oct. 7. [I have never understood this: who is arguing that we can't work together? No one. It's a red herring, repeated over and over again to make it look like we're finding some ground-breaking common ground, when in fact, nothing's changed.]

Continuing on:

The Oct. 14-16 conference on pediatric HIV/AIDS will feature key Vatican participants as well as medical experts and church workers in the field.

"I think this is precisely an example that shows that, while there may not be total agreement on all points regarding a specific issue [i.e. combating AIDS through moral vs. immoral means], there are possibilities for people of good will to come together for the sake of, in this case, children," Diaz said.[What about unborn children? How about coming together for their sake?...and the crickets chirp..]

And this part is especially crucial:

In his speech to the new ambassador, Pope Benedict underlined the church's teaching on respect for life, from the moment of conception to natural [Reason 1,782 why Pope Benedict rocks]-- a teaching that has relevance in the current debate over health care reform in the United States.[Get it right, once and for all, folks.]

Diaz, a Catholic theologian [!], said the health care debate touched on very important issues. [Perhaps so important that they're above his paygrade? Wait for it...] But he cautioned against assuming that he would be entering into that debate on a diplomatic level, or acting as a spokesperson for the church's positions. [And so JFK syndrome - my faith won't affect my political life - rears its ugly head.]

"There are a number of domestic issues that are very important, but I think my role as U.S. ambassador is to represent the United States on the level of policy," Diaz said. [Kind of like good old Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on her pro-choice record: "I feel that my actions as a parishioner are different than my actions as a public official and that the people who elected me in Kansas had a right to expect me to uphold their rights and their beliefs even if they did not have the same religious beliefs that I had." JFK syndrome, once again. Amazing how contagious that is among Catholic politicians...] "When differences emerge relative to those policies, then it is my role to engage in the kind of bridge-building that is necessary in diplomacy." [There is no bridge between "abortion rights" and "abortion is intrinsically evil."]

He added that while theology remains extremely important to him, "I am fully conscious that I am not here ... in the capacity of a theologian to do theology, but to do diplomatic activity." [Again, the concept that he can simply turn on and off his Catholic faith as it suits him. 'Ok, now I'm a theologian - I believe abortion is evil. Ok, now I'm a diplomat. I believe abortion is a very important issue and I can act as a bridgebuilder.' Didn't Jesus say something about being lukewarm?]

For the record, JFK Syndrome is not limited to politicians. Most people fall victim to the temptation to compartmentalize their faith. It's especially tempting when society isn't exactly supportive of being a devout Christian. So I don't mean to pick on politicians, as if they are the only hypocrites.

But a Catholic theologian, of all people, should know better than to tap dance around the severity and enormity of the abortion issue.

End of story.

What if Roman Polanski Were a Priest?

Fr. Thomas J. Reese, S.J., does an excellent job of pointing out the hypocrisy in the article, "Father Polanski Would Go to Jail."

I remain shocked at how much support Mr. Polanski has. Is not what he did a terrible, terrible crime?

His sister-in-law claims that since it was "consensual" (the girl was 13 - not old enough to consent!) it wasn't "really" rape and argues that Polanski won't get a fair trial.

Legal scholar Harvey Weinstein asked "every U.S. filmmaker to lobby against any move to bring Polanski back to the U.S.," because "whatever you think of the so-called crime, Polanski has served his time."

Whoopi Goldberg: "I know it wasn't rape-rape."

Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen are also supporters.

Polanski should go to prison for a very, very long time. Along with every other rapist. That's justice.

But Justice, despite her artistic depiction, is not blind. What a crazy, messed up world we live in.

Holy Guardian Angels, pray for us.