Cleansing Fire

Defending Truth and Tradition in the Roman Catholic Church

Posts Tagged ‘Pro-life’

March for Life – With Our Bishop!

January 26th, 2015, Promulgated by Diane Harris

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Pictures from March for Life?

January 23rd, 2015, Promulgated by Diane Harris

If you have your own pictures from the 2015 March for Life which you’d like to see uploaded to this space, with a credit, please let us know at Contact@CleansingFire.org

Mass For Life – Sunday, January 18th, 2pm

January 15th, 2015, Promulgated by b a

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Mass For Life – PDF Flyer

Bishop Matano will be celebrating Mass on Sunday, January 18, at 2pm at Sacred Heart Cathedral in support of all human life, especially the unborn.

This Mass for Life is a local celebration to give thanks to God for the gift of human life and to pray for the legal protection of unborn children, coinciding with the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court Roe vs Wade decision.

Reception to follow, hosted by the Knights of Columbus.

For more information, contact Suzanne Stack, Life Issues Coordinator at 585.328.3210 x 1304 or sstack@dor.org

Uppity Liberals

June 14th, 2014, Promulgated by Hopefull
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The Vortex had a great message yesterday for families and friends torn apart

by Catholics not acting like Catholics; i.e. “Uppity Liberals.”

It sheds light on the “why,” on the anger and the motives for refusing to be called back to faithfulness.

 

 

 

Week 50 in Catholic Media, 2013

December 15th, 2013, Promulgated by Diane Harris

 

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Vatican Cardinal Burke interviewed on Pope Francis: says ‘we can never talk enough’ about abortion

by John-Henry Westen, December 13, 2013 

Vatican Cardinal Raymond Burke has spoken publicly about remarks by Pope Francis that have been interpreted in the media to mean that the Church should focus on “essentials” rather than abortion or homosexual “marriage.”  “What could be more essential than the natural moral law?” said Burke in an interview which aired … on EWTN’s ‘World Over Live.’   “We can never talk enough about that as long as in our society innocent and defenceless human life is being attacked in the most savage way,” … “I mean it’s literally a massacre of the unborn.”  

 

Merry Christmas? This year Belgian children get euthanasia in their stockings

by Michael Cook, December 13, 2013

The outcome was expected, but observers overseas were astonished at the margin of victory. By a vote of 50 to 17 yesterday, the Belgian Senate approved euthanasia for children. When the bill finally passes – which now seems quite certain – there will be no age limit for choosing to die at the hands of a Belgian doctor.”  Note that Montreal is also trying to pass a similar euthanasia bill.

 

Australian High Court unanimously overturns gay ‘marriage’ law

by Thaddeus Balinski, December 12, 2013

“In a unanimous ruling …  the Australian High (Supreme) Court stuck down the same-sex “marriage” law passed less than a month ago  by the parliament of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), … a statutory territory created to house the federal seat of government….The Court ruled that the Australian Capital Territory’s Marriage Eaquality (Same Sex) Act 2013 was inconsistent with the Federal Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, and was therefore unconstitutional.”  Yes, unanimously! 

 

A moral revolution at warp speed—now, it’s wedding cakes

by Albert Mohler, December 11, 2013

Six months. That’s how long it took to get from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act to the decision of a Colorado judge ordering a Christian baker to make a cake for a same-sex ceremony. Just six months….  The momentum of this revolution is breathtaking, and its threat to religious liberty is plain for all to see.”  The baker has announced he’d rather go to jail and go out of business than, as a Christian, bake a cake for a gay wedding reception.

 

Massive Facebook, Twitter campaign helps defeat EU proposal to declare abortion a ‘human right’

by Hilary White, Dec. 10, 2013

BRUSSELS BELGIUM  “A report that sought to declare abortion a “human right” and make explicit sex education mandatory for three year-old children, was narrowly defeated in a vote of with 334 votes to 327 at the European Parliament today.  One leading Brussels-based pro-life and family group called it a “historic setback for the abortion lobby and all their related stakeholders.”  [T]he effectiveness of the public campaign [is] a rarity in European Union politics that is regularly accused of shutting the public out of debates. It was mainly conducted through social media that saw 4,500 people joining the Facebook page [and] MEPs had received 80,000 emails asking them to defeat the proposal ….  The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children has been a prominent adversary of the report since it was introduced. John Smeaton, SPUC’s chief executive, called the report “one of the most concerted recent attempts to get the European Parliament to exceed its competence and try to impose abortion on European Union member-states.” This is the second effort and is bound to come up again and again.  The classic problem is that such repeat introduction of a bill, often eventually passes, and then there is no legislative effort to repeal.  Perhaps there ought to be limits on how soon after a defeat and how often a bill can be introduced for revoting?   Since this is the country that just passed euthanasia for children, and which Bishops Pope Francis addressed strongly in their ad limina visit, it certainly has become a wild fringe in the moral wars.

  

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ESPN reverses decision to ban Catholic hospital’s Christmas ad

(Fox News; December 13, 2013) “ESPN has reversed its decision banning a Christmas commercial  from a Catholic children’s hospital because of its religious content — a stunning reversal in the face of widespread outrage from Christians.”

 

ScreenShot363Is it NEWS? 

Pope Francis, as is well known, was named by Time Magazine as Person of the Year this week. 

If one could really believe that TIME Magazine and those who influence the selection

understood who Pope Francis really is, and what he stands for,

it would indeed be News.  

But with the promise of the Holy Spirit’s protection, one just has to assume that the “world” has no idea. 

And THAT may itself be the News!

 

 

Karen Handel to speak in Rochester

February 13th, 2013, Promulgated by Monk

The Women’s Care Center is sponsoring a talk by Karen Handel, author of the bestselling book Planned Bullyhood.
The Center has served thousands of Rochester women involved in unplanned pregnancies since 1990.

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For Immediate Release:

Author and Former Susan G. Komen Executive to Speak Feb. 21
Karen Handel to discuss the controversy between Komen and Planned Parenthood

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Karen Handel, former senior vice president of public policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure and author of the book Planned Bullyhood, will speak at 7 pm on Thursday, Feb. 21 in the Coleman Chapel inside Murphy Hall at St. John Fisher College.

Handel will discuss her experiences surrounding the controversy between Komen and Planned Parenthood. In Planned Bullyhood, Handel provides an inside look at the politics behind the decision of the two organizations to part ways, those closely involved with the decision, and how Komen eventually folded—giving in to Planned Parenthood. She details how Komen—an organization known for supporting women’s health and being at the forefront of the battle against breast cancer—has been nearly destroyed, with its brand in grave peril. Handel will also address the tactics that she believes Planned Parenthood used to attempt to subert the pro-life movement in today’s society.

Tickets are $15 for the general public, $10 for senior citizens, and free for college students who present a college ID.
All proceeds will go towards supporting the work of the Women’s Care Center.

For more information, contact:
Women’s Care Center
(585) 865-0360

Pray for an end to abortion

January 22nd, 2013, Promulgated by Dr. K

There will be a peaceful gathering outside of the Planned Parenthood facility at the corner of Ridge & Harvest in Greece to mourn the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This event will begin at 5 PM today. Please park in the Wegmans parking lot across from the facility.

A Rochester Priest Who Gets It

December 4th, 2012, Promulgated by Dr. K

Here is an excellent letter to the editor in the Catholic Courier penned by Fr. Jim Hewes, parochial vicar of the Holy Ghost/St. Helen/St. Jude cluster and local director of Project Rachel:

Have voters chided victor?

Once again over 50 percent of Catholic voters voted for President Obama. This means that probably 50 percent of Catholic voters in our diocese voted for President Obama. So I ask those Catholics who voted for President Obama:

Have you sent your letter already to the president as his supporter asking him to change his position of unrestricted access to abortions — including allowing abortions for gender selection or without parental consent or partial-birth abortions — and to stop supporting the government’s paying for abortions through Medicaid?

Have you written your letter to him asking him to stop governmental funding of Planned Parenthood, which performed over 329,445 abortions in 2010? By the way Planned Parenthood has been involved in most of the major cases, which have struck down any legal protection of the pre-born. This is why the April 14, 1993, New York Times pointed out, “in simple equation of public image, Planned Parenthood equals abortion rights.” The December 11, 1989, issue of Time magazine described Planned Parenthood as “the premiere institution of performing abortion in the country.”

Have you included in your letter a request to President Obama to rescind his Executive Order that removed any barriers to scientific research including embryonic stem cell research)?

In your letter have you urged President Obama to stop supporting the death penalty?

Finally, as Catholics committed to the non-violent teaching of Jesus, have you pleaded with President Obama to stop supporting U.S. violence in other countries including Libya and Afghanistan, where he ordered a surge of 30,000 troops and has increased significantly the number of drone attacks?

It is because of the Catholic vision of life that I didn’t vote for President Obama. It is the same reason I didn’t vote for Governor Romney, but that would be another whole letter.

Father Jim Hewes
Rochester

Thank you for defending life, Father!

Slavery, Abortion, and Our Lady of the Confederacy

September 21st, 2011, Promulgated by Gen

This has to be one of the most interesting articles I have read recently. It comes from the December 2001 issue of the New Oxford Review, and discusses the similarity in mindsets regarding slavery (when it was held as acceptable) and abortion (which, we can only pray, will be deemed unacceptable in coming years).

In the Confederate Museum at New Orleans is a crown of thorns made by Pope Pius IX expressly for Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America. In a side chapel at the Catholic cathedral in Charleston, S.C., is a statue of Our Lady of the Confederacy sent to the people of the South by the same pope. In many Southern homes to this day is the volume of verse by the “Poet Laureate of the Confederacy” — Fr. Abram Ryan, a Catholic priest of Nashville, whose brother, a Confederate soldier, was killed in combat with Union troops. The state song of Maryland, “Maryland, My Maryland!” which decries the “tyrant” Abraham Lincoln and calls upon Marylanders to rise to arms against the “Vandal invader,” was composed by the Catholic poet James Ryder Randall. And one of the most courageous and eloquent exponents of the justness of Southern civilization, and of the principles and purposes of secession and of the formation of the Confederate States of America, was the renowned missionary priest, Bishop of Savannah Augustin Verot.

So much for the suggestion of John L. Botti that “no explanation is needed” for his entirely fictional narrative “The ‘Catholic’ Politician of 2001 & the Southern ‘Gentleman’ of 1860.” To address even the issues that led, sadly enough for all concerned, to the War Between the States, requires a great deal of explanation, indeed. Further, to his query “Is there any difference?” between the Southerner of 1860 and the advocate or practitioner of abortion in 2001, the answer is yes — wholly, utterly, and completely — as a huge body of literature attests. Again, because Botti does not cite a single historical personage or a single historical text, the entirely fictional nature of his text cannot be overemphasized.

About 15 years ago, in an essay published in both National Review and Crisis, Lewis Lehrman also attempted to equate slavery in the Old South and abortion today. Among the respondents who attempted to correct that grievous misconception was Sheldon Vanauken, the late lamented Contributing Editor of the NOR, whose name well remains on your magazine’s masthead. Van contributed many articles to the NOR that made a similar case for Southern civilization and principles as the sole example available for Americans of our time who wish to redress any number of the ills of our society, abortion foremost among them. It is astonishing that the NOR has so soon forgotten his brave and eloquent reflections.

Significant works that explore for Catholics the theme reintroduced so ineptly by Botti, however admirable his intentions, include American Catholic Opinion in the Slavery Controversy by Madeleine Hooke Rice; Catholics and the Civil War by the Rev. Benjamin J. Blied of St. Francis Seminary; Rebel Bishop: A Life of Augustin Verot by Michael Gannon; and — most especially — The Slaveholders’ Dilemma and A Consuming Fire: The Fall of the Confederacy in the Mind of the White Christian South, both by the eminent historian Eugene Genovese, now a Catholic. Several biographies of the Catholic jurist Roger Taney, who, as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, strove in vain to inaugurate Northern support for compensated emancipation rather than inflammatory abolitionism, and who penned the hugely misunderstood Dred Scott decision, have appeared in recent years. Readers of The Wanderer have recently been given a learned series of columns on actual Southern history generally and the realpolitik of Abraham Lincoln specifically by Joseph Sobran, who in his own newsletter has expanded on the subject.

Southerners have for generations faced the necessary challenge of fending off simplistic condemnations of slavery while striving to call attention to the larger enveloping issues that led to secession, war, and defeat, and of which slavery was of course an inextricable part, but by no means the whole matter. As the foregoing studies demonstrate, most emphatically in the case of the Catholic bishops of both American and Europe, hugely important questions of the very nature of a Christian moral order in the fledgling modern era were the context in which the South resisted by arms the purported “coming of the Lord” announced in the Battle Hymn of the Republic. These questions included the very viability of a specifically Christian order in American society, of the increasing secularization and industrialization and therefore the explicit materialism of the states of the North, and of the proper means of ameliorating in the South the admitted shortcomings of slavery — while avoiding the revolutionary unrest that was arising everywhere in Western civilization, including in the American Northeast, in response to Enlightenment ideologies and the vast dislocations of peoples caused by the “modernization” of capitalistic economies.

Accordingly, the issue of the American War Between the States generally, and specifically the practice of slavery as it actually evolved in the U.S. between 1619 and 1861, is to be judged within a centuries-old tradition which, for reasons once held sound by the Church, affirmed the propriety of the ownership of one person by another, provided, of course, as St. Paul stressed to Philemon of Onesimus, the relationship affirmed the eternal moral worth of the bonded servant and fulfilled the obligations of Christian charity.

In a contrast to slavery in the American South as total as it is stark, abortion-on-demand today is the practice of a people bereft of tradition, disinterested in even social — let alone biblical — constraint, and committed to the very notion of unrestrained individualism made inevitable by the political and social consequences of the Yankee conquest in 1865.

Ironically for Botti, then, it was the very principle of Federal power in the name of “Union,” which in 1861-1865 destroyed Southern civilization and overwhelmed the sovereignty of the states, that more recently, in Roe v. Wade, struck down states’ laws against abortion. Contrary to his glib assertions, those who resisted Federal force in 1861, however imperfect their quest of Christian civilization, waged with arms the war he espouses only with words. Thus it was that, in 1866, a year after Appomattox, the eminent English historian Lord Acton wrote to Robert E. Lee, the defeated former commander of the Confederate armies of Virginia: “I believed that the example of that great [Confederate] reform would have blessed all the races of mankind by establishing true freedom purged of the native dangers and disorders of Republics. Therefore I deemed that you were fighting the battles of our liberty, our progress, and our civilization; and I mourn for the stake which was lost at Richmond more deeply than I rejoice over that which was saved at Waterloo.” Lord Acton, as so many “Southern sympathizers,” was a Catholic.

Not ’til Christians of all sections, whether Catholic or Protestant, and whether white or black — or Hispanic or Asian — rediscover the virtues of Southern life and conviction as they actually, historically, existed will there be possible the unity of historical understanding and Christian brotherhood necessary for adequately addressing the grave questions of a proper moral order in our national life. For only in this unity would it be possible to discredit the ideologies to which Botti no doubt means to allude, ideologies that, victorious in 1865 and triumphant through all realms of American life in the decades since, are nowhere more manifest — as the might of a national regime that will countenance no dissent on the part of the people or the states — than in the various abortion-related rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court.
David A. Bovenizer
Lynchburg, Virginia

40 Days for Life Update

September 16th, 2011, Promulgated by b a

From the Rochester 40DFL campaign:

Hello pro-lifers. There’s less than two weeks to go before the Fall 2011 40 Days for Life campaign begins. Here are some important points to be aware of:

  1. If you belong to any kind of group (prayer group, bible study, parish council, youth group, etc.) suggest that your group participate in the 40 DFL vigil for at least one hour – preferably an hour each week. Having groups of people present on the sidewalk is a great way to make a strong impression.
  2. The on-line schedule is open ready to accept sign-ups for particular time slots. Just go to 40daysforlife.com/rochester and click on the “Vigil Schedule” tab at the top of the page. Please note that if you registered in any of the previous campaigns you are still registered and do not need to re-register. Simply input your email address and password in the first two fields.
  3. The Kick-off Rally is Tuesday September 27 from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Focus Pregnancy Help Center, 86 University Ave. Please note that there will be no pot luck dinner this year. Instead of bringing a dish to pass we’re encouraging everyone to bring one non-perishable food item to help stock the shelves of the Focus Pregnancy Center as they strive to serve the poor of the community. Desserts and refreshments will be served. The agenda for the rally is as follows:

    6:30 – 6:45………Meet and greet
    6:45 – 7:00………Opening remarks and video
    7:00 – 7:20………Fr. Brian Carpenter speaks
    7:20 – 7:40………Carol Crossed speaks
    7:40 – 8:00………Dr. Katherine Lammers speaks
    8:00 – 8:15………Lee Strong sings
    8:15 – 8:30………Candlelight vigil on the sidewalk

For more information about the campaign,the Kick-off rally, or how to donate to this effort, visit our website at 40daysforlife.com/rochester.

PSA for Life

September 6th, 2011, Promulgated by Nerina

I’ve been informed that there will be a Mass offered at the Focus Pregnancy Center by newly ordained Fr. Scott Caton on Wednesday, October 5th at 6:00PM.  The center is located at 86 University Avenue in Rochester.  Mass will be followed by a pot luck supper and attendees are invited to bring a dish to pass.

Mary Jost, director of Focus said the following:

This Mass is another blessing for us at Focus. The intentions for this Mass will be:
In Thanksgiving to God for all His blessings & for our clients, benefactors & staff & for the end
to abortion & for the conversion of sinners & for all priests & for the Holy Father & for your
intentions too, for what is in your heart. God bless!

Also, October is “Respect Life” month and a National Life Chain will take place on Sunday, October 2nd.  Interested parties can meet at the Focus Pregnancy Center at 2PM to receive signs and instructions.

As always, pray for an end to abortion.

Upcoming Lecture

June 6th, 2011, Promulgated by Dr. K

Dr. Janet E. Smith will deliver a pro-life lecture at Our Lady of Mercy high school entitled “The Right to Privacy?” The presentation will take place Thursday, June 16th at 7 PM.

Here is a description:

“Based on her new book, Dr. Smith’s talk will address the way in which a distorted view of freedom dominates various U.S. Supreme Court decisions on life issues under the guise of “the right to privacy.” Pope John Paul II, in The Gospel of Life, identified how this distorted view is one of the roots of the “Culture of Death.” Learn about some surprising connections between contraception, abortion, assisted suicide and same-sex unions.”

Admission is $25 per family, $10 per person, or $5 per student. All money raised will benefit St. John Bosco schools.

Please let the organizers know if you plan to attend by e-mailing them at: channa@johnboscoschools.org

or calling 585-678-4655.

Click here to view the flyer.

Pro-Life March: June 18th @ 1:00

June 2nd, 2011, Promulgated by b a

From 40 Days For Life:

Hello pro-lifers. There will be a pro-life march on Saturday, June 18th at 1:00 PM starting in the parking lot of Our Lady of Victory Church, 210 Pleasant St. (There is a 12:10 Mass at Our Lady of Victory for those interested.) The march will proceed to Planned Parenthood, 114 University Ave. There will be refreshments served at the Focus Pregnancy Help Center after the march. Attached is a flyer that you can distribute or post where appropriate. Please spread the word. Hope to see you there – God bless.

Rick Paoletti

June 2011 March

Rosary for the Unborn

May 16th, 2011, Promulgated by Dr. K

A living rosary for the unborn will be prayed at St. Mary’s cemetery in Corning. The rosary will take place Friday, May 20th at 8 PM. All are welcome to participate, so please stop by if you are in the area or can make the trip. The event is being organized by parishioners of the Southern Tier parishes.

St. Mary’s cemetery is located at 375 Park Ave, Corning NY.

See here for more details.

Annual Good Friday Stations of the Cross

April 6th, 2011, Promulgated by Dr. K

The annual Stations of the Cross in reparation for abortion will take place once again this year on Good Friday. Instead of wasting your time at the “ecumenical stations” like our diocesan leaders, come and pray for an end to abortion in our world and the right to life for countless infants slaughtered each year.

The event will begin at McQuaid Jesuit high school, located at 1800 South Clinton Ave, on Good Friday (April 22nd) at 9 AM. Following the prayer service, those participating will march to a local abortion facility and pray the Stations of the Cross and Divine Mercy chaplet.

Please consider attending. Feel free to invite your local bishop.

New South Dakota Law Aims to Reduce Abortions

March 23rd, 2011, Promulgated by Dr. K

From the Associated Press, with some emphasis:

“PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed a law Tuesday requiring women to wait three days after meeting with a doctor to have an abortion, the longest waiting period in the nation.

Abortion rights groups immediately said they plan to file a lawsuit challenging the measure, which also requires women to undergo counseling at pregnancy help centers that discourage abortions.

Daugaard, who gave no interviews after signing the bill, said in a written statement that he has conferred with state attorneys who will defend the law in court and a sponsor who has pledged private money to finance the state’s legal costs.

“I think everyone agrees with the goal of reducing abortion by encouraging consideration of other alternatives,” the Republican governor said the statement. “I hope that women who are considering an abortion will use this three-day period to make good choices.”

About half the states, including South Dakota, now have 24-hour waiting periods, but the state’s new law is the first of its kind in having a three-day waiting period and requiring women to seek counseling at pregnancy help centers, said Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.”

Pro-Life Conf. @UR 04/09

February 26th, 2011, Promulgated by b a

This notice comes via the local 40 DFL chapter:

Break for Life – A Student Oriented Pro-Life Conference
Saturday, April 9, 2011, 12PM-5PM at the University of Rochester.

This conference is open to everyone, but will be primarily oriented towards high school and college students.  The conference will include speakers, workshops, hands on projects, and social time.  Participants will be coming from Buffalo, Syracuse, and all points in between.  Topics will include “The Scientific Proof of Life Beginning at Conception,” “Making the Case for Being Pro-Life,” “What Can I Do If I Find Out a Friend Is Pregnant,” and “A Personal Account of Post Abortion Trauma.”  Pizza and snacks will be provided.  There will be a t-shirt design contest, a button design station, and a table for writing advocacy letters.  Multiple organizations will be promoting volunteer opportunities as well.  For more information about the conference and the essay contest visit the website,http://www.mcquaid.org/page.cfm?p=1342 follow on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=182935845075487 contact Chris Hood, the Director of Christian Service at McQuaid Jesuit High School, at 585-256-6169 chood@mcquaid.org.

North Dakota House Passes Pro-Life Law

February 14th, 2011, Promulgated by Dr. K

From LifeSiteNews:

“BISMARCK, North Dakota, February 11, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A strong majority of lawmakers in the North Dakota House of Representatives on Friday afternoon passed a law that would make it illegal to murder any human being from the moment of their conception.

The Defense of Human Life Act, HB 1450, recognizes every human being at any stage of development as a person under state law with a right to protection.

“The overwhelming community and legislative support for HB 1450 proves that North Dakota could be the first state to recognize the value and dignity of every living human being,” stated Representative Dan Ruby. “The Defense of Human Life Act is just common sense. Of course every human being is a person, and every innocent person should receive legal protection. I am motivated to see women and children protected by HB 1450, and I look forward to its passage in the Senate in the near future.”

While the bill prohibits chemical abortifiacients such as RU-486, it does not apply to emergency contraception, or other “contraception administered before a clinically diagnosable pregnancy.” The bill also exempts legitimate medical procedures that may lead to the death of children in the womb when a woman’s life is in danger. The bill also exempts pregnant women seeking abortions from criminal prosecution.

While pro-lifers are optimistic about the bill’s survival in the Senate, Woodard said that supporters would “be taking no chances” and continue to lobby for its passage. A vote in the Senate is expected around March 10.

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple has not stated whether or not he plans to sign the bill.”

Very interesting news. Please pray that this bill will pass its next two tests, which include the approval of the state Senate and the governor. A Supreme Court challenge could take place if the law is passed.

A Reading From Hell’s Bible to the Progressives

January 27th, 2011, Promulgated by Dr. K

Various excerpts from a New York Times editorial written by Nicholas  D. Kristof about the Catholic hospital and nun who recommended a woman get an abortion, with commentary:

“Yet the person giving Jesus the heave-ho in this case was not a Bethlehem innkeeper. Nor was it an overzealous mayor angering conservatives by pulling down Christmas decorations. Rather, it was a prominent bishop, Thomas Olmsted, stripping St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix of its affiliation with the Roman Catholic diocese.

The hospital’s offense? It had terminated a pregnancy to save the life of the mother. The hospital says the 27-year-old woman, a mother of four children, would almost certainly have died otherwise.”

In this passage, the writer is trivializing the seriousness of abortion. Regardless of the reasons for engaging in this evil action, a willful act of infanticide is always infanticide. The Church’s teaching on this matter is clear, and has been reaffirmed throughout the centuries, from the Lord’s commandment not to kill, to the writings of the early Church Fathers, to the words of the modern Holy Fathers and bishops of today.  Obviously this was a very delicate and difficult situation for anyone to be faced with. However, it is not for us to play God and take it upon ourselves to decide whether the life of the mother or the child is more important. Every effort should be made to save both, but we must ultimately put our faith in God when all options have been exhausted, and not take the place of God by killing one life because we think one or both may be in danger. When there are no other options, we must rely upon the divine mercy of God as to what will transpire. A difficult situation like this does not give one free reign to murder.

“Now the bishop, in effect, is excommunicating the entire hospital — all because it saved a woman’s life.”

This is not correct. The bishop has stripped the hospital of its Catholic title and no longer permits Mass to be celebrated on its premises not because it “saved a woman’s life,” but because the hospital was an accomplice to murder. I don’t believe the “entire hospital” was excommunicated, as this writer suggests, but only those who had a significant hand in the abortion. Additionally, the excommunication was incurred latae sententiae, which means that it happened automatically when the event took place. This is detailed in Canon 1398. It was not by the bishop’s hand that the excommunication took place, but by the hands of the parties involved with the abortion.

“The main consequence is that Mass can no longer be said in the hospital chapel. Thomas C. Fox, the editor of National Catholic Reporter, noted regretfully that a hospital with deep Catholic roots like St. Joseph’s now cannot celebrate Mass, while airport chapels can.”

I am not aware of airports procuring abortions.

“To me, this battle illuminates two rival religious approaches, within the Catholic church and any spiritual tradition. One approach focuses upon dogma, sanctity, rules and the punishment of sinners. The other exalts compassion for the needy and mercy for sinners — and, perhaps, above all, inclusiveness.”

I hardly consider it compassionate for a person to put anther’s immortal soul in danger by encouraging them to commit murder. Where is the compassion in that? We too often think about making others feel good in this life that we neglect what affect this desire to placate may have on our neighbor’s eternal life. If we have a friend who is engaging in sodomy and wishes to enter into a homosexual “marriage”, do we remain silent or even support these actions in the spirit of inclusion and wanting the other person to be happy? Rather, shouldn’t we demonstrate true compassion, and inform the person that they are putting their soul in peril by engaging in sinful behavior?

“The thought that keeps nagging at me is this: If you look at Bishop Olmsted and Sister Margaret as the protagonists in this battle, one of them truly seems to me to have emulated the life of Jesus. And it’s not the bishop, who has spent much of his adult life as a Vatican bureaucrat climbing the career ladder. It’s Sister Margaret, who like so many nuns has toiled for decades on behalf of the neediest and sickest among us.

Then along comes Bishop Olmsted to excommunicate the Christ-like figure in our story. If Jesus were around today, he might sue the bishop for defamation.”

If Jesus were around today, he might sue this New York Times writer for defamation! The progressives (Catholic or otherwise) are constantly manipulating the true Jesus Christ so as to make Him into who they want Him to be; an amalgamation of Gandhi, Susan B. Anthony, and Martin Luther King. The fact of the matter is that this is/was not Christ! A careful reading of the Bible will reveal that our Lord was a fiery preacher who admonished sinners, called all peoples to repentance regardless of how much they had sinned and to what nation they belonged, and reproved hypocrites who manipulated the law and failed to follow their own manipulations. Jesus was warm, fuzzy, and loving, make no mistake, but He was also firm, truthful, and faithful.

Sr. Margaret deserves no comparison to Christ because Christ did not, and would not condone murder. I am also struck by how the author seems to suggest that the Sister has done good for others while the bishop has done nothing but enforce Church laws. Does this writer know every detail of the bishop’s life which would enable him to prove that Bishop Olmstead never cared for the “neediest and sickest among us”? Let us not be so quick to exalt those who flaunt their good works (think Callan) while condemning those who chose to help others quietly (think Pope Pius XII).

Feel free to read the entire article. There is plenty of nonsense to be found.

New York City – 41% of Pregnancies End in Abortion

January 25th, 2011, Promulgated by Gen

A masterful piece by Fr. Barron: