Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

Oh Canada! So much to give thanks for. But to whom...?



(h/t regular guy)

(Forgot to mention the benefit of having all annoying 'politically incorrect' voices prosecuted by diligent agents of the government.)

Day 18

Intention:

We pray for a flowering of the joy of parenthood.

Scripture:

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

-- Psalm 127:3-5

Reflection:

I still vividly remember the day my first child was born. As she came into the world I gazed upon the most beautiful little baby I'd ever seen. Later I was driving home from the hospital for a shower and a fresh change of clothes when a song came on the radio, "The Men in My Little Girl's Life" -- a ballad about being a father as he watches his daughter grow through childhood to womanhood. I wept as I listened, knowing those years would go by very fast… and they did.

Being a father, whenever I read the Psalm quoted above I'm always captivated by one word - "heritage." It basically means "something passed down from a preceding generation." That little girl I watched being born and wept for is not mine to give to God like a product of our fertility, but rather His, which he has entrusted to us. So are all her siblings.

My wife and I share a great treasure: precious lives, which are placed in our lineage that His life with us might be perpetuated. To the psalmist, this was a blessing from the Lawgiver, God Himself, who blessed Israel with another generation intended to continue their covenantal promise. For us in Christ, it is his gift of succeeding generations for His Church and her families.

These days I'm looking upon my grandchildren, and rejoicing that my children and their spouses will pass on the greatness of Christ's gospel to them and thus will continue the work of God in the world. What a blessing. What a heritage!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, please keep me from taking for granted the gift of children. Help us to remember this heritage that you have given us. Make us faithful stewards of these precious lives, that each generation might be raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Randolph Sly
National Pro-life Religious Council

40 Days For Life

Obama A Natural , Its Obvious

Liberal Logic : Since Obama will be president, why wait until he is. Why not start doing things presidential? Why wait for an election? Why not just fill in all the ballots ourselves...

Washington Times:

EXCLUSIVE:

At the same time the Bush administration was negotiating a still elusive agreement to keep the U.S. military in Iraq, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama tried to convince Iraqi leaders in private conversations that the president shouldn't be allowed to enact the deal without congressional approval...

(h/t black kettle)

Sweden: The Triumph of Cultural Marxism

The Brussels Journal:

From the desk of Fjordman


Mona Sahlin, leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, confirmed that her party and the Greens want to form a coalition government in 2010. What kind of policy will such a government follow? Miljöpartiet de Gröna, the Swedish Green Party, state on their official website that the education system should start working for "gender equality" at an early age; children need counterweights to the gender roles which girls and boys are raised into. Therefore teachers and personnel in child care services must finish an education in equality before they are given their exams. They also want to abolish grades in schools:

"We want to do away with the grade system [in today's schools]. Grades contribute considerably to stress and are not a fair and objective system of measuring the individual's potential."

The Green Party favor ideological Globalism in its purest form. They want a "world citizenship" to replace the national citizenship, totally free migration on a global basis, global taxes and a strengthened United Nations to ensure a just world order:

"We do not believe in artificial borders. We have a vision of unrestricted immigration and emigration, where people have the right to live and work wherever they please… We want Sweden to become an international role model by producing a plan to implement unrestricted immigration."

They have a strong focus on anti-discrimination and racism, and desire harsh and swift penalties for "discrimination" yet soft penalties for many other crimes. They want "religiously neutral" holidays (no Christmas or Easter) and education against racism and discrimination to be taught in schools. No "bigotry" against any group of people (except whites presumably, and white men in particular) will be allowed, and all forms of bigotry should be banned by law regardless of where it is voiced. Among the forms of racism they specify should be aggressively stamped out is "Islamophobia." However, they understand that racism cannot be totally stamped out until we have dismantled the "racist world order" and replaced it with a just world order where none suffer and the poor are no longer exploited.

The Swedish Green Party state explicitly that the concepts male and female are "socially constructed" and forced upon all human beings. In order to reach the new world order, it is paramount that all such artificial identities are broken down. This should be facilitated by the education system and specially trained teachers. They believe that "all human beings" should be free to choose whatever name they desire. By this they appear to mean "gender" as well. They want everything to be "gender neutral," not only marriage ceremonies but identity cards...

(h/t custos fidei)
.......................................................

(Is this Elizabeth May's vision of the 'future'?)

Quaking in the Manse

Some plain talk from Damian Thompson:

Do you know what makes liberal Catholic clergy wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night? It's not the return of the Tridentine Mass. It's not the fact that Ratzinger is Pope. It's not their rapidly dwindling congregations.
What terrifies the old trendies is a new generation of conservative seminarians, who are gradually turning into a new generation of conservative priests - just as the supply of liberals is drying up.

Until very recently, seminaries managed to screen out the more orthodox candidates. "Psychologically immature" was the code for "obedient to the Magisterium", and so effective was the process that dozens of vocations were successfully squashed. In the 1980s and 90s, English seminaries were run by a grey-shirted Magic Circle politburo, assisted (not to say bullied) by frightful middle-aged women whose liturgical preferences were only just the right side of Wicca.

One or two conservatives slipped through the net, by hiding copies of Fortescue under their beds and slipping each other photographs of fiddleback chasubles that they could admire in private. In public, however, they were careful to wear the seminary uniform of jeans and CND T-shirt, and even to swallow the Bitter Pill without gagging.

But times are changing. Dreary Leftist seminary rectors have retired or became Magic Circle bishops, the Wiccan "pastoral advisers" have fallen out of favour, and conservative candidates for the seminary have started presenting themselves faster than they can be turned down. "It's a bit like the Somme - no sooner have you wiped out one wave of infantry than another appears," says my source.

Futurechurch is losing this battle. Some Magic Circle rectors are ready to run up the white flag. I could mention a couple of English seminaries where orthodox doctrine is taught pretty rigorously. That's in sharp contrast to the situation 20 years ago. (As one London priest told me this week, "I came away from seminary knowing only two things - that St Augustine of Hippo and St Augustine of Canterbury were different people, and that Julian of Norwich was a woman.")

The other day, I saw a photograph of seminarians and staff at Allen Hall, Westminster. I reckon you could tell just by looking at them that the students were more conservative than their teachers. The same is true of the Venerable English College in Rome, where - perhaps because it is a breeding ground for bishops - the Magic Circle is clinging on to power. "Students still have to don a false beard if they slip out to attend a Tridentine Mass," I'm told.

Some of the really Left-wing dioceses have adopted a disgraceful tactic: rather than put forward conservative candidates for ordination, they've stopped looking for future priests completely. Hence all this guff about "lay empowerment": the lay people being empowered are all "made men" (if I can use such a sexist term) in the mafia of the mediocre.

But don't despair. Conservative seminarians are getting ordained, and in a few years' time the dioceses will run out of goody-goody Tabletistas on whom to bestow plum parishes. And then, who knows? A conservative bishop? Stranger things have happened.

................................................................................

Things aren't so different in Canada...

.

Indigestion Anyone?

(Story at Western Standard)

(from big blue wave)

Voting Guide

Agnus Daily has a voting guide for Catholics that even Doug Kmiec cannot misinterpret...

(h/t curt jester)

Bill Maher - Uncommon Idiot

Uncommon, because the average person has a higher reading level and better comprehension (not to mention a more sophisticated sense of humour!)

Mark Shea:

The dude needs to learn how to read books written for grownups and not just content himself and other illiterate literalists with Beavis and Butthead levels of laughter at Christianity...

...For Bill Maher, it is all the National Enquirer. This leaves him ill-equipped to cope with a complex adult document like the Bible, because when he is confronted with the fact that -- mark this -- every biblical text has a literal meaning, he instantly assumes a "literal meaning" is identical with a literalistic meaning...

Toronto Archbishop Speaks Out

LifesiteNews:

The following is the complete statement by Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins on the awarding of the Order of Canada to Henry Morgentaler, set to take place in Quebec City today:

"Tomorrow (Today), our Governor General will preside at a ceremony in which Henry Morgentaler will formally be received into the Order of Canada. This is a sad moment in Canadian history.

"The Order of Canada was created to recognize the outstanding achievements of citizens who have desired and helped to create a better country. Is a country made better when those who are most vulnerable are not allowed to continue their brief experience of the precious gift of life itself?

"(Morgentaler) is being received into the Order of Canada despite the opposition of hundreds of thousands of Canadians. This action divides our country. It does not unite.

"This ceremony is taking place as we are entering into the celebration of Thanksgiving, when loved ones will gather with their families across this nation. Around dining room tables this weekend, let us reflect deeply, and remember that while no one of us was ever a mere part of another's body, each one of us was, at one time, the precious unborn baby in our mother's womb. Let each of us thank God that our personal journey was not terminated. This is no abstract issue. Nothing affects you or me more profoundly. After all, you and I are here to give thanks on this Thanksgiving Day...

................................................................

Dear Prime Minister Harper: ABORTION MATTERS. LIFE WILL WIN OVER DEATH.

King of Death - Canadian Hero

Barbara Kay:

Abortion czar Dr Henry Morgentaler will be receiving his Order of Canada in a quiet little ceremony in Quebec City today. The typical OC is inducted in Ottawa amongst his or her peers. So it is fitting that Dr Morgentaler's should be in Quebec, where the abortion rate is double that of the rest of Canada, and therefore the least likely place in Canada to draw a large protest. Ah well, just one more symbolic displacement from the centre of Canadian life for the peripatetic abortionist.

Dr. Morgentaler was born in Poland. By coincidence CNN has been running a series this week, Eye on Poland, which offers "wide-ranging reports on this complex country tackling a time of transition; from Warsaw to Sopot, to Gdansk, Krakow and Lodz." The series has much to say about the country' history, economy, political progress, arts and so forth. But thanks to information I received via Vancouver medical researcher Brent Rooney, who focuses on premature risk factors, here is a little known fact about Poland that is unlikely to be aired on CNN: Since 1995, Poland's extreme preterm birth rate (XPT) per 100 live births has plummeted by 98% ...

...While the Polish XPT rate has dropped by 21% between 1980-2006, the U.S. preterm birth rate has escalated by 44%. The reason for Poland's "preemie miracle" can be found in the induced abortion rates for the corresponding years. In 1989 Poland instituted a very restrictive abortion law. In the next four years induced abortion rates went down by 98% per 100 live births. Opponents of the law predicted a health disaster. But not only did the preterm rate decrease, maternal mortality also declined by 41% according to studies reflecting rates from 1995-97, while infant mortality decreased by 25%. You can check out the uncontested research link between "prior first trimester induced abortion" as an "immutable medical risk factor associated with preterm birth" here.

...................................................................

So Thanks Dr. Morgentaler. You are certainly a hero of women's health in Canada. I can certainly understand why the Governor General went out of her way to support your honour as a Canadian hero. I can certainly understand why the media has made such an effort to promote your heroic deeds.

NOT. Most Emphatically NOT!!

In all of Canadian history, no man has been MORE DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR CANADIAN DEATHS than Dr. Henry Morgentaler. The King of Death. Canada's most prolific mass murderer. Champion of baby deaths and women's sterility.

The ORDER of CANADA retains NO WORTH. And Canada is a dupe of genocidal proportions.

...

Day 17

Intention:

May all understand more deeply that the pro-life message is rooted in the two basic truths of life:

There is a God;
He isn't me

Scripture:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

-- Genesis 2:7

Reflection:

From the beginning of the Bible until the end, the theme is echoed that God alone has dominion over human life. He made it; shared it; died to save it; will raise it up forever. The act of creation described in Genesis 2:7, and earlier in Genesis 1:26-27, is a sovereign act. God did not have to do it, and would have been happy forever without us. Yet without our asking for it or earning it, God brought us out of nothingness and into life, and sustains our existence at every moment. And He does so in Christ. "For by Him all things were created…in Him all things exist" (Colossians 1:16-17).

"You are not your own," Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 6. God alone owns us. While He entrusts us to the care of one another, He does not allow any human being to own another. A Southern California abortionist, James McMahon, once explained how he justified killing children after 20 weeks gestation by partial-birth abortion. He did not deny that this was a child, but rather asked, "Who owns the child? It's got to be the mother." The struggle over abortion is really a struggle over the dominion of God. The Christian individual, and the Christian Church, cannot sit idly by when others declare that God is not God.

Prayer:

Lord, we are yours. Thank you for breathing into us the breath of life. Thank you for claiming us as your own. May our words and actions in defense of human life proclaim to all the world that you alone are Lord of life and death, Lord of our freedom and of our choices. We pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

40 Days For Life

2nd Baby Saved on Bank St.

40 Days For Life - Ottawa, has saved their 2nd baby in just two weeks!






From Sue:

This morning I decided to go down to the vigil from 11am to 12pm. When I arrived, there were several people praying and a few women holding signs. As I stood and prayed, around 11:30 or so I noticed a young girl of about fifteen sitting on the bench outside 65 Bank St. She was all alone, and looked across the streets at the signs, looking at them one at a time. At one point, our eyes met and she kept looking at me. I smiled, but all I could think was, "Dear Lord, please don't let her go in there." I thought that I would give her some literature - something I have never done before, but suddenly felt compelled to do. As I was looking through the materials in the baby cradle at the vigil site, a man approached and asked what we were doing and what church we were from. After I explained to him the purpose of the vigil and we ended our conversation, I looked up to see the young girl going into 65 Bank St. with a woman who had a child of about four years of age in tow. My heart sank. I prayed that the Lord would move in her heart to convince her to not go through with this, and that the guardian angels of her and her unborn baby would intervene.

I left to go to Mass at St. Patrick's and the gospel was "Ask and it will be given to you...." I prayed, "Lord, here I am - I'm asking that you would spare the life of this child." I chatted with a couple of friends after Mass, one of whom I hadn't seen in three years. She offered to drive me home, but I told her I was happy to take the bus, at the same time feeling that before I went home I had to stop by the vigil site again.

I arrived shortly before 1pm, and I ran into my husband who was returning from lunch. As we chatted briefly, about ten metres from the vigil site, this same young girl walked out of the clinic and right past us with the woman and preschooler. I told my husband that I had seen her go in the clinic earlier, and given the time that had passed, I assumed that she had had an abortion. My husband and I both silently prayed a Hail Mary, then talked for a few more minutes. Then I noticed that the girl and her companions had walked back down the street, had stopped to talk to the ladies who were praying at the vigil site, and then walked away. I said good-bye to my husband and walked over to the ladies to ask what she had said. They told me that the girl had said that she changed her mind, and that she was going to keep her baby. It turns out that the woman was her mother, and that she has five children, but that she would help her daughter with this baby. They were quite happy when they talked to the women at the vigil.

Needless to say, we were all in tears. Thank you Lord for hearing our prayers! What a wonderful privilege to see our prayers answered.

Please keep praying! All those prayers, and the silent witness of standing at the vigil, are making a difference. Please pray for this young girl - God knows who she is - and for all others who have the courage to carry on with pregnancies in less than ideal circumstances.

There will be a MIDPOINT RALLY on site (65 Bank St, corner of Bank and Sparks) on October 19th from 2pm-3pm. Mark it on your calendars! There will be some speakers and refreshments provided! Please spread the word! The details of the Closing Rally will be announced soon for November 2nd!



Now, Stephen Harper, saving babies is something to be proud and excited about!

Alive Enough, Obama?

Good News from Colorado....

Featherweight preemie finally goes home

BILL REED
THE GAZETTE

Dressed in a fuzzy puppy outfit and emitting tiny squeaks as he nuzzled into his mom, Ricardo Morales-Coronado finally left the hospital on Wednesday.

When he was born on June 23 at 1 pound, 3 ounces at Penrose Community Hospital, Ricardo was not expected to live. But now the smallest baby ever cared for in the Penrose-St. Francis Health Services system is thriving, tipping the scales at more than 5 pounds. A portable oxygen tank is the only reminder of his struggle for life.

The baby - born at only 23 weeks - is not only a pint-size fighter, but he also is a living, breathing symbol of recent advances in intensive newborn care in the Penrose-St. Francis system.

"This is big for us," said Dr. Marya Prado, medical director of the 25-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the new St. Francis Medical Center at Woodmen Road and Powers Boulevard. "I don't want to exaggerate, but I think it's a rite of passage for this NICU.

This is an accomplishment that gives us the confidence to keep moving forward."...

YES. Let's keep moving forward. Let's remind everybody, all the time, how these babies are real, alive, human, and VIABLE!!! In or out of the womb, at any stage of development. Viable because they ARE. ALIVE. HUMAN.

"Hope After Abortion"

From the website of 'Project Rachel', serving women who are victims of an abortion:

Understanding Abortion's Aftermath

It's normal to grieve a pregnancy loss, including the loss of a child by abortion. It can form a hole in one's heart, a hole so deep that sometimes it seems nothing can fill the emptiness.

Since 1973, there have been more than 36 million abortions in the United States. While some women report relatively little trauma following abortion, for many, the experience is devastating, causing severe and long-lasting emotional, psychological and spiritual trauma.

Evidence of post-abortion trauma is increasingly attested to by psychologists, counselors and those involved in post-abortion ministry. We now know, for example, that women hurt by abortion may have some or many of the following symptoms:

* Low self-esteem
* Grief (mild to profound)
* Depression (sometimes to the point of suicidal thoughts and attempts)
* A sense of alienation from family and friends
* A feeling of being 'numb,' not able to feel joy from activities that used to be pleasurable
* Isolating self from others to avoid discussing the abortion experience with them
* Guilt and shame
* Difficulty concentrating
* Anger toward self, or the child's father, or others involved in the abortion decision
* Sleep disorders
* Abortion-related nightmares, flashbacks or even sounds of a baby crying
* Alcohol and drug problems, to dull the sorrow
* Desire for a 'replacement' baby
* Anniversary reactions of grief or depression on the date of the abortion or the baby's expected due date
* Problems bonding with her other children (being over-protective but emotionally distant)
* Fear that God will punish her, or is punishing her

Some, especially young girls, experience symptoms soon after the abortion. Counselors tell us, however, that it is more common for the symptoms to occur over the course of five to twelve years after the abortion before a woman seeks help.

In Ramah is heard the sound of moaning,
of bitter weeping!
Rachel mourns her children,
she refuses to be consoled
because her children are no more.

Thus says the LORD:
Cease your cries of mourning,
wipe the tears from your eyes.
The sorrow you have shown shall have its reward...
There is hope for your future.

Jeremiah 31:15-1

RESULTS

blogging success from 40 Days For Life:

...Amy in San Antonio tells of a man who came out of the donut shop across the street from the 40 Days for Life vigil and went over to where people were praying. “I just want you to know that you are making a difference,” he said.

Some time earlier, his granddaughter had come to this exact clinic for an abortion and — because people were praying on the sidewalk outside — she changed her mind. “He thanked us for his grandson Adrian,” said Amy.

“This is the second story we have heard in recent months of a new grandfather thanking us for his grandchild,” she said. “Abortion doesn’t just affect the mother, father and child. It affects the grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles — and on and on. When your prayers go up to save a child from abortion you are also working to save an entire family from the tragedy of abortion.”

Day 16

Intention:

Pray that as young couples or single moms choose life for their child, the church will come alongside them physically, emotionally, and spiritually to help bear their burdens.

Scripture:

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

-- Galatians 6:1-2

Reflection:

Restoring those who are broken from sexual sin and who desire to live life differently -- a life focused on Christ -- is a burden the church must share. What an awesome opportunity for a spiritually mature woman to come alongside a single mom as a mentor and friend.

A regular time together praying and studying God's Word will help her mature in her walk with the Lord. Allowing her opportunity to observe life as you live it --- meal preparation, family time, and providing wholesome conversation and wise counsel on a frequent basis --- can provide teaching moments that will benefit her for a lifetime. Introducing her to a small group or class in the church where she and her baby are welcomed and plugged in will be vital to her restoration.

These are just a few examples of things the body of Christ can do. Staying connected with young couples or single moms who have chosen life should continue beyond the celebration of the child's birth if we truly desire to fulfill the law of Christ in bearing one another's burdens.

You will find it is not a burden after all, but a tremendous blessing as your family line extends to include these precious souls as part of your own.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, as our Shepherd You so tenderly care for us -- pulling us from the miry pit, guiding and directing us safely along the path of life, protecting us from the dangers that are ahead and taking us to pastures that are green. Lord, use us as Your vessels to shepherd these young men and women who have honored you by choosing life for their child. Give us wisdom and discernment along with Your love and compassion so that we are never a stumbling block but rather a guide that always takes them to You, the true Shepherd. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Carmen Pate
Co-host, "Point of View" Talk Show

40 Days For Life

Canada's Bold Knights

LifesiteNews:

In light of the upcoming Canadian federal election, Natale Gallo, the President of the Canadian Association of Knights of Columbus, and Yvon Robert, the State Deputy for Ontario, have sent a letter to the 230,000 members of the KofC affirming the need to cast a vote that will "build a Culture of Life."

After addressing the moral obligation of citizens to promote the common good by means of their right to vote, Gallo and Robert said that the most important piece of information to know about a political candidate is "where they stand on life."

"Political leaders must be encouraged to serve the common good by crafting legislation that supports and defends life from conception to natural death," said the two men.

Gallo and Roberts confirmed that the promotion of the Culture of Life has always been at the "core" of the KOC's "mission" and noted how this was reaffirmed in August's Supreme Convention in Quebec City, where resolutions were passed "supporting the traditional definition of marriage" and opposing "abortion, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, and euthanasia."

The two knights also described the process of "building a Culture of Life" as "being concerned about the most vulnerable members of our society - the unborn, the disabled and the elderly … and defending the authentic nature of marriage and family."

There was a sense of urgency in the letter regarding the importance of the October 14 election, when Canadians will have an opportunity to support pro-life political candidates. "The political choices we make today will have a profound impact on the character of our nation and the future we will pass on to our children," they said.

...............................................................

If only the candidates were up to scratch!

A Young Man With POTENTIAL!!

Bettnet introduces us to a young man who's video should be part of every highschool civics class:

"This is about the best ten-minute defense of the pro-life position. As a black man he also takes on Barack Obama and other pro-abortion black politicians who support the abortion industry, which has killed 11 million black babies under the philosophy and inspiration of the racist eugenicist Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood. But he also says so much more."





(h/t Ephemeris)

Catholic Carnival #193

At Living Catholicism

Obama's Perspective - Value of Life Subordinate To Power to Kill

At Townhall,Terence Jeffrey reports on the debate in the Illinois Senate between Patrick O'Malley and Barack Obama:

...In 2001,(O'Malley) introduced three bills. SB1093 said if a doctor performing an abortion believed there was a likelihood the baby would survive, another physician must be present "to assess the child's viability and provide medical care." SB1094 gave the parents, or a state-appointed guardian, the right to sue to protect the child's rights. SB1095 simply said a baby alive after "complete expulsion or extraction from its mother" would be considered a "'person, 'human being,' 'child' and 'individual.'"

The bills dealt exclusively with born children. "This legislation was about preventing conduct that allowed infanticide to take place in the state of Illinois," O'Malley told me.

The Judiciary Committee approved the bills with Obama in opposition. On March 31, 2001, they came up on the Illinois senate floor. Only one member spoke against them: Obama.

"Nobody else said anything," O'Malley recalls. The official transcript validates this...

Obama's concession of the facts - the child is alive, human, and outside the womb. apparantly bears no influence on his conclusions:

Obama, however, saw a problem with calling abortion survivors "persons." "I mean, it -- it would essentially bar abortions," said Obama, "because the equal protection clause does not allow somebody to kill a child, and if this is a child, then this would be an antiabortion statute."

For Obama, whether or not a temporarily-alive-outside-the-womb little girl is a "person" entitled to constitutional rights is not determined by her humanity, her age or even her place in space relative to her mother's uterus. It is determined by whether a doctor has been trying to kill her.

Born, alive,and human is not enough reason for protection according to Obama, if someone is trying to kill you. Think about it! Today babies, tomorrow your parents, Saturday your homeless cousin, next week YOU.

(h/t Jill Stanek)

Cafardi Resigns From Franciscan Board

American Papist *UPDATE* on Nicholas Cafardi story:

... Franciscan University of Steubenville issued a press release saying Cafardi's views did not reflect those of the University.

The University also quickly moved to distance itself and its president "stressed that Dr. Cafardi's resignation from the board of Franciscan University was voluntary and had in no way been requested by the University" and added that he was "grateful" for Cafardi's letter, as Deal Hudson chronicles. In fact, a group of University students protested a schedule lecture by Cafardi at Carlow College in Pittsburg.

Cafardi is the former dean of the Duquesne University Law School. He was quickly criticized for his public position, and you can bet Steubenville received plenty of complaints as well.

My take: I think Steubenville handled this situation very well, and Cafardi's (publicly) voluntary resignation was probably the best way to handle it.

I wonder what would happen if Doug Kmiec was still at Catholic University as he energetically seeks to convert Catholics into Obama supporters. I have noted that recent press releases for his Pro-Life Pro-Obama media center now include an asterisked line stating clearly that his views are his own and do not represent Pepperdine University.

And, as an aside, it's also fairly evident to me that Kmiec has given up his attempts to have an intellectual debate about his position - he's just part of the Obama faith outreach machine at this point.

previous story

Palin's OK, But What About Me? - Noonan

Good Commentary on 'American Catholic':

...So far as I can tell from personal observation, the reason people are swooning over Palin’s “authenticity” is not really that she rides snow machines and shoots moose (though it’s true that many of us men have a soft spot in our hearts for attractive women who dig male past times) but rather that she seems set apart from many politicians in that she says what she believes and believes what she says. Key among these: she says she’s pro-life, she’s a member of Feminists For Life, and shows good signs of living her convictions. Further, people believe that she’s serious for the simple reason that like many of the people they know in their own churches and neighborhoods: she just seems like an ordinary person who says what she believes — not like a politician...
...This is the thing about outside-the-beltway social conservatives which many conservative elites do not quite seem to get: We really care about what politicians views are on the topics dear to our hearts — and we care very little about how charming they’ve made themselves over the years in network green rooms and DC cocktail hours...

I agree. They don't get it. Palin lives it.

Day 15

Intention:

May God's people awaken to the fact that we are our brothers' keepers.

Scripture:

Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground."

-- Genesis 4:8-10

Reflection:

"Methinks he doth protest too much ..."

The Bible is filled with passages that speak to our obligation to care for our fellow human beings. From the many commands in the books of Moses enjoining love of family, neighbors and even strangers, to Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan, the injunction to care for others is inescapable.

In this account, the guilt-stricken Cain tries to shrug off his obligation to his own kin by dismissing it as an unreasonable duty. A la Shakespeare, though, "methinks he doth protest too much." Cain's objection doesn't stem from his sense of proper boundaries of responsibility, but from his own self-centered sense of self-preservation.

Christ said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13). This is the standard of divine love. It required God to sacrifice what was most precious to Him for the temporal and eternal well being of all humankind (see John 3:16). Though on a much-reduced scale, he expects us to do the same.

Trying to duck our obligation to others is futile. We can't get away with simply dismissing others, especially the most vulnerable among us: the pre-born, the disabled, the sick and the aged. As with Cain, God sees and hears their suffering and will call us to account for what we do -- or do not do -- for them.

Prayer:

Father, help us to embrace the fact that we are our "brother's keeper." When, due to selfish motives, we try to cast off this responsibility please call to us to account. We would be pleasing to you and to our "brother." Through the help and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rev. Rob Schenck
President, Faith and Action

40 Days For Life

Update From Halifax - 40 Days For Life

Margo blogs :

"Lord, may our prayers and fasting this day help to bring an end to abortion.

While we were away from the site, several people wrote on the side walk with chalk and spray paint.

One picture shows "I love abortion."

The other reads "Dear anti-choice protestors, while you were gone, we all snuck in and got abortions. They were great. Cheers."

One of our Project Rachel women has commented to our support group: When a woman chooses to have an abortion it is not like choosing a flavor of ice cream, she does so out of desparation like an animal caught in a trap who will even chew off it's foot to get free.

So these comments that were 'posted' on the ground do not even make sense. Even a woman who was going in to have an abortion, if she saw this would shake her head in wonder. She knows how she is feeling -- cornered, abandoned, afraid, sad, unsure, desparate, coerced. There is no light-heartedness. Those are not emotions that indicate loving this procedure or enjoying the abortion. One of our PR women said "I screamed so loud to block out the sound of the suction machine." That does not sound like a cheery response to a nice procedure does it. The only part she might agree with is the sneaking in part -- hoping like heck not to meet anyone she knows.

Those who wrote the sidewalk words have not seen us in praying silently before about this life-destroying choice and may not be sure how to approach this prayer vigil thing. Dare we tell them that this type of comment is only going to elicit more prayers for them from us!!...

The (Not) Exclusive Club of Poor Artists

Kelly McParland comments on the self-centered whining of the 'arts' community..which according to Conference Canada includes nearly everyone!

...It was more than a little gratifying to learn from the National Post Editorial Board that I qualify as a Canadian artist and thus able to share insights and grant application forms with Margaret Atwood, Colm Feore and other leading lights of the stage, screen and written word.

It was less satisfying to discover that half the Canadian population also apparently rates full membership in the “arts industry” that Ms. Atwood says is worth $86 billion to Canada yet has been “totally dismissed” by the Bush/Harper military regime in those moments when it isn’t supplying $50 billion in tax breaks to Big Oil and plotting to send more troops to Iraq. (You’ll have to forgive me: ever since I became a part of the arts industry I’ve felt compelled to make trite allegations against the Prime Minister using borrowed cliches from my American colleagues -- God I hate Americans! -- while slamming any business that makes a profit and is thus able to support the networks, publishers and cultural institutions I live on).

According to my fellow culture vultures here in our cold-water sixth-floor walk-up garret in Don Mills, the $86 billion figure cited by Ms Atwood derives from a Conference Board of Canada calculation that takes figures from 2003, gooses them up with a few years of economic assumptions, chucks in a whole whack of ancillary activity and projections and finally extrapolates all that to reach $84.6 billion, which is rounded out to $86 billion, the extra billion or so being for canapes.

The estimate includes a rather broad definition of culture, embracing a number of dubious characters you’d never see invited to the Junos, unless they were considering financing your next project, in which case they would qualify as patrons of the arts and thus become barely tolerable. Advertising executives, it appears, are artists. Public relations hacks ... sorry public relations performers ... are artists. The teenager who takes your ticket at the Cineplex (when she can tear herself away from her iPod and her cellphone) is an artist. Every slovenly Tory-voting tax-cut-favouring Harper-loving photographer, editor and bean-counting administrator at this sorry excuse for a newspaper -- including the malicious little copy editors who would love to ruin my day by questioning my allegations and second-guessing my “facts” ( if I gave them half a chance) -- is an artist.

We are all artists. Canada, it turns out, is one of the most artistic nations on the planet. We have culture in our blood, artistic fervor ...

Another artist at the National Post created this interesting poll tracker, which shows that in spite of the 'art' communities efforts to rally the public behind their 'cause', Canadians are still backing Harper.

113 Saved!!

So far, after 13 days of the 40 Days For Life campaign:

...After yesterday’s report of 89 lives saved during this fall’s 40 Days for Life, more success stories have flooded in from across North America over the last 24 hours bringing the total now up to 113!!

Here are a few of the latest victories…

New 2007 abortion statistics just came out for North Carolina. Overall, abortions in the state showed a very slight decline. But in Mecklenburg County, in which Charlotte is located, abortions went down 17 percent! What made the difference?

“Charlotte conducted two 40 Days for Life campaigns in 2007,” said Andrea Hines, the local campaign coordinator, “our first in the spring and then we participated as part of the first national campaign in the fall. There were several factors contributing to the reduction, but the two 40 Days for Life campaigns definitely had a significant impact.”

Andrea said she’s eager to see how abortion rates are affected in other cities that have participated in 40 Days for Life, especially for other communities that have conducted multiple campaigns.

Charlotte is just one of many cities seeing a profound impact. “The 40 Days for Life campaign has affected so many people in our land,” said Colleen Samson, the local coordinator in Fargo, North Dakota. “All of us will be changed forever.”

Colleen reports that Bishop Samuel Aquila of the Catholic diocese of Fargo gave an inspiring sermon at his cathedral at the start of 40 Days for Life, then led 900 people on a march to the abortion facility — the only one remaining in the state of North Dakota...

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Keep praying those Rosaries folks!

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Baring Their Hate-Filled Hearts

It couldn't be more obvious. The new decree in Spain, that asks that aborted babies be ground up for disposal, rather than treated as cadavers, shows the extent to which the abortion crowd HATES babies. They despise their very flesh, and wish to obliterate all remaining evidence of their humanity. A courageous priest is asking the King NOT TO SIGN:

... In an open letter, Father Serra recalled that current policy “obliges abortion ‘clinics’ to consider the remains of an abortion as cadavers, when they are human remains ‘of a sufficient entity,’ that is, at eleven or twelve weeks of pregnancy, and transfer them to a cemetery for their posterior dignified incineration or burial.”

However, after the scandal of the Ginemedex Clinic, where it was discovered that blenders were being used to cover up illegal late-term abortions, the government, “with the supposed support of the main opposition party,” has proposed changing the norms for mortuaries “so that the ‘remains’ of an abortion not be considered ‘human remains of sufficient entity’ until after the 28th week of gestation,” that is, nearly the seventh month of pregnancy.

“Your majesty, we are reaching levels of inhumanity that are completely inadmissible and that are putting the very foundation of our society at risk,” Father Serra said. “If we do not protect the right to life of all,” even those who are weakest, we are laying “the foundations of a very violent society that will end up destroying itself.”

Father Serra told King Juan Carlos that if the current policy is kept in place, “of properly burying or incinerating the human remains of abortions during the first few weeks, at least we would be giving a humane message to society. This will make many people think again about the value of human life from the moment of conception.”

Canadian Elections Ignoring The Basics

Pete Vere (with a plug for his new book,"Tyranny of Nice", co-authored by Kathy Shaidle)):

Americans are not the only ones facing an election this fall. Their neighbors to the north also head to the polls on October 14 as Canada holds its federal election. Yet one of the biggest issues of the past year — the right to practice one’s Christian faith unmolested by the state – remains untouched by Canadian politicians from all parties. And the persecution is spreading to the United States, as seen in several instances noted below. Sound like exaggeration? Think religious persecution is not possible right next door to America? Well think again. Canada’s human rights commissions and tribunals, originally founded to help socially-disadvantaged minorities seek redress against racism in government housing and services, have now turned their sights on Christians and pro-lifers. All this is done in the name of being nice and tolerant. Hence the title of my new book co-authored with Canadian blogger Kathy Shaidle in which we document many of these cases: The Tyranny of Nice.

In the name of nice, Canada’s government is silencing Christians and pro-lifers from voicing opinions that others might find offensive. This prohibition applies even when one’s opinion is grounded in Christian truth and charity. Stating that the child in the womb is a human being is one such opinion being floated as potentially hateful. And now that Canadian law has redefined marriage to include same-sex couplings, to state publicly that marriage is between a man and a woman can lead to thousands of dollars in fines and possible jail sentences.

And Americans are not immune from this tyranny of nice...

(h/t black kettle)

Archbishop Nienstedt, Minneapolis

I've been mystified by the recent number of hits for a July post on Joan of Arc. I am guessing that the interest is really in finding out what the Archbishop John Nienstedt of Minneapolis, has been up to lately.

Lifesite News has numerous links to stories on Archbishop Nienstedt. Hope it's helpful!

Economic Crisis Reader

Iain Murray at 'Open Market':

The bailout bill that passed through Congress today seeks to solve the financial mess by massively increasing government involvement in private finance. But more Government cannot be the answer to a government-created problem. The fact is that short-sighted government policies distorted the market in the first place. Bankers were certainly to blame for responding to these signals from government in the hope of a quick buck, but at its base, much of the problem was caused by government.

These are the top twelve articles, stories and papers that we think demonstrate this fact.

1. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are at the heart of the crisis, having helped to create an artificial mortgage boom. Fred Smith warned Congress about this in 2000, and was ridiculed for it. Read what happened here.

2. Steven Malanga outlines the “long road to slack lending standards” and just how government encouraged this, at RealClearMarkets.

3. Thomas Sowell explains how economic-populist politicians used their power to help create the problem...

NCR Helps With the 'Message'

Nicholas Cafardi:

I believe that abortion is an unspeakable evil, yet I support Sen. Barack Obama, who is pro-choice. I do not support him because he is pro-choice, but in spite of it. Is that a proper moral choice for a committed Catholic?

As one of the inaugural members of the U.S. bishops' National Review Board on clergy sexual abuse, and as a canon lawyer, I answer with a resounding yes.

Despite what some Republicans would like Catholics to believe, the list of what the church calls "intrinsically evil acts" does not begin and end with abortion. In fact, there are many intrinsically evil acts, and a committed Catholic must consider all of them in deciding how to vote.

Last November, the U.S. bishops released "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship," a 30-page document that provides several examples of intrinsically evil acts: abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research, torture, racism, and targeting noncombatants in acts of war.

Obama's support for abortion rights has led some to the conclusion that no Catholic can vote for him. That's a mistake. While I have never swayed in my conviction that abortion is an unspeakable evil, I believe that we have lost the abortion battle -- permanently. A vote for Sen. John McCain does not guarantee the end of abortion in America. Not even close.

Let's suppose Roe v. Wade were overturned. What would happen? The matter would simply be kicked back to the states -- where it was before 1973. Overturning Roe would not abolish abortion. It would just mean that abortion would be legal in some states and illegal in others. The number of abortions would remain unchanged as long as people could travel...

Bill Donohue's Parody of Cafardi's Disingenuous Argument:

I believe racism is an unspeakable evil, yet I support David Duke, who is pro-racism. I do not support him because he is pro-racism, but in spite of it. Is that a proper choice for a committed Catholic?

As someone who has worked with minorities all his life, I answer with a resounding yes. Despite what some say, the list of what the Catholic Church calls "intrinsically evil acts" does not begin and end with racism. In fact, there are many intrinsically evil acts, and a committed Catholic must consider all of them in deciding how to vote.

Last November, the U.S. bishops released "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship," a 30-page document that provides several examples of intrinsically evil acts: abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research, torture, racism, and targeting noncombatants in acts of war.

Duke's support for racist rights has led some to the conclusion that no Catholic can vote for him. That's a mistake. While I have never swayed in my conviction that racism is an unspeakable evil, I believe that we have lost the racism battle -- permanently. A vote for Duke's opponent does not guarantee the end of racism in America. Not even close.

Let's suppose the 1964 Civil Rights Act is overturned. What would happen? The matter would simply be kicked back to the states -- where it was before 1964. Overturning the 1964 Civil Rights Act would not abolish racism. It would just mean that racism would be legal in some states and illegal in others. The number of racist incidents would remain unchanged as long as people could travel...

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(Check previous posts on Douglas Kmiec's equally disturbing views)

.

"Unholy Messaging"

Douglas Johnson:

...The Barack Obama “messaging machine” is now in full overdrive mode, seeking to mislead religiously committed Americans into thinking that Obama has a middle-of-the-road position on abortion policy and will promote “abortion reduction.”...

...One important part of the “faith outreach” sales pitch has been to insist that Obama would promote “abortion reduction” policies — that is to say, policies that would have the practical effect of reducing the number of abortions performed, without actually restricting abortion directly. This spiel was really a public relations strategy cooked up at a liberal think tank called third way, where veteran pro-abortion activists develop “messaging” strategies to help pro-abortion politicians camouflage their positions. The third way “Culture Program” (responsible for the “abortion reduction” strategy, among other projects) is directed by Rachel Laser, whose previous job was with the Health and Reproductive Rights group at the National Women’s Law Center, and who before that worked for Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, a major abortion provider.

But despite such efforts, more and more Americans are learning that the real Barack Obama is firmly committed to an agenda of sweeping pro-abortion policy changes that, if implemented, could be expected to drastically increase the numbers of abortions performed.

One component of the Obama abortion agenda, the so-called “Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA, S. 1173), is coming under increased scrutiny from many quarters. The FOCA is the most sweeping piece of pro-abortion legislation ever proposed in Congress. It is a bill that would establish a federal “abortion right” broader than Roe v. Wade and, in the words of the National Organization for Women, “sweep away hundreds of anti-abortion laws [and] policies.”

In mid-September, every congressional office received a pointedly worded two-page letter on the FOCA from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), signed by Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia and chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-life Activities. Rigali notes, in his opening paragraph, “Pro-abortion groups and some of the bill’s congressional sponsors have said they want this legislation enacted soon.”

Personally, I am aware of only one congressional sponsor of the “Freedom of Choice Act” who has said anything publicly, in the past year or so, to indicate that he would like to see the bill enacted soon. That sponsor is the Democratic nominee for president of the United States, Senator Barack Obama.

Obama is not “merely” a cosponsor of the bill, but someone who has declared enactment of the FOCA to be a top priority. In his too-little-noted speech to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund on July 17, 2007, Obama said, “The first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing that I’d do.”...

Day 14

Intention:

Abortion is the great "no." May all of God's people have the freedom and grace to say "yes" to His marvelous plans.

Scripture:

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed and in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

-- Psalm 139:13-16

Reflection:

Unlike the rest of creation, we are capable of a personal relationship with God. Not only did God create us, but created us according to a plan devised from all eternity. No matter how far back we go in our imagination, there was never a time when God did not know each of us, in every detail of our being.

There was not a particular time when God decided to make us. The decision to make us has been in the mind of God from all eternity. All our days were written in His book.

To dare to say that a human being, developing in the womb, should not be born is as wrong as to say that a born person should not continue to grow and live. In each case, an attack on human life is an attack on the God who formed and made us. Jesus Christ is the great "yes" to the promises of God; abortion is the great "no."

Prayer:

Lord, I pray today for every unborn child. The beauty of the bodies and souls of these children flows from your hands and your eternal plan. Awaken in every human conscience a profound reverence for human life, and grant us grace to defend our smallest and most defenseless brothers and sisters, those still being formed in the secret places of their mothers' womb. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

40 Days For Life

Quote of the Day

LifeChain Sign:



Abortion Doesn't Make You UNPREGNANT.

It Makes You The Mother Of A DEAD CHILD.




(from Ephemeris)

Sectarian Violence Result of Bias - INDIA

Punjab Newsline:

"The Dal Khalsa on Monday lambasted the Indian state for adopting double standards while dealing with its provinces on law and order issue.

In a hard hitting statement, the party president H S Dhami said there was no dearth of instances that proves beyond doubt that the Indian state is biased...

... He alleged that in the eyes of the state, the Hindu blood was costlier than Christians, Sikhs and Muslims.

Accusing the state for applying different sets of laws while dealing with minorities, he said the Centre should immediately take legal action against Sangh Parivar outfits for engineering violence against Christians and desecration of their religious places..."

Only in Canada, Eh?

(How To Vote Wearing A Hallowe'en Mask)


(h/t Western Standard)

Psalm 139

(thanks to Alessandra)

Canadian Election in Catholic Perspective

ZENIT interviews Archbishop Terrence Prendergast:

...Q: There is currently a federal election in Canada. What are some of the issues and concerns faced by Catholic voters in the country?

Archbishop Prendergast: The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops proposed a short study guide for Catholics, urging them to get involved in the political process -- expressing gratitude to those who present themselves as candidates -- and giving four main points for those serious about bringing their faith to bear in addressing important issues at election time.

They consist chiefly in: 1) the right to life placed as the foundational principle grounding all others. For example, by opposing those who favor abortion, and by asking candidates whether they would vote in favor of euthanasia if a bill were introduced in Parliament; 2) giving priority to care for the poor and needy as a mark of respect for the dignity of each person from the moment of conception until natural death; 3) seeking clarity about the purpose of the war in Afghanistan; 4) and care for the environment as an aspect of the stewardship of creation.

Except for the introduction of the environment as an issue in the federal electoral campaign on account of the growing popularity of the Green Party, few of the themes enunciated by the bishops have been prominent in pre-election debate. In fact, there seems to be a conspiracy of silence in regard to the abortion question, all parties being either pro-abortion or unwilling to let the matter come up for discussion. This is most frustrating for those who espouse the cause of life.

Q: Catholics often feel homeless within the political process. One political party supports Church teaching on life and family, but not on social justice. Whereas with another political party the situation is reversed. How do Catholics reconcile these differences in the voting booth?

Archbishop Prendergast: Many Canadians seem to prefer a minority Parliament in which cooperation has to be fostered to bring about the common good. In that light, the values and principles of the individual Member of Parliament -- from whichever party -- should perhaps be given greater weight than the party he or she represents.

Electing even a small minority in the House of Commons with sound ethical considerations will open the door to the possibility of affirming life, for example, through introducing legislation to reduce and eventually proscribe abortion, or in preventing legislation to introduce euthanasia as a beginning. The steadfastness in witnessing to life will, I believe, ultimately prevail because it is of God.

Q: Over the past year, much attention has been drawn to Canada 's human rights commissions and tribunals, especially in light of Canada 's recognition of same-sex marriage. Several activists have launched complaints against Christians who advocate returning to the traditional definition of marriage. Have the human rights commissions and religious freedom been a topic during the election?

Archbishop Prendergast: The human rights commissions and tribunals have been a background issue, which, unfortunately, goes largely unnoticed due to the lack of interest by most of the mainstream media -- MSM. The MSM in effect sets the tone of what gets discussed; I discovered this last May when last year’s largest demonstration on Parliament Hill -- the March for Life -- received not a single mention in the MSM. Morning news reports urged people to avoid streets around the Peace Tower that afternoon because of a demonstration, without mentioning what the demonstration was about. A procession of 150 Falun Gong demonstrators merits front-page coverage; an 8,000-strong “March for Life” becomes a nonevent. We have much work to do to make the truth known.

Q: What are some issues that you, as pastor to the nation's capital, would like to see discussed this election?

Archbishop Prendergast: Besides the items mentioned above, I believe we need to bring the concerns of the marginal of society to the fore: particularly the state of poverty among our First Nations Peoples.

Q: What can lay Catholics do to ensure that the Catholic voice is heard during the election?

Archbishop Prendergast: Politicians tell me that the most important influence in their representation of the concerns of the electorate is what they hear when canvassing on people’s doorsteps. Clearly they are not hearing enough about concerns that our faith considers urgent. We need to become courageous in making known our concerns about life, the family and marriage to those campaigning for public office.

...............................................................................

NOT available on the MSM.

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Atwood Writes Short Fiction

(Margaret Atwood adds lying to list of 'Order of Canada' virtues...)



D'arcy Jenish :

...It is also clear that she understands power and what it means to be powerful. She is, after all, one of the pre-eminent figures in our cultural landscape. She is accustomed to deference, adulation and, when she wants it, acquiescence. When people of her stature speak, they expect the rest of us to line up promptly and listen politely.

This is a dangerous thing for any powerful person, be it a politician, business executive or cultural figure like Ms. Atwood. These people come to believe that they can silence their opponents with bombast. They will resort to the most outrageous whoppers rather than base their arguments on fact and reason.

The Atwood essay is a good example of these tendencies. Early on, she cites a 2003-04 Canada Council study that measured the economic impact of the arts. The council concluded that cultural industries create an estimated 600,000 jobs annually. Nothing wrong with that statement. But who can believe Ms. Atwood's assertion that Mr. Harper's cuts will "jeopardize those 600,000 arts jobs and those billions of dollars they generate for Canadians"?

The cuts represent less than 2% of a departmental budget that exceeds $3-billion annually. If such a small change can have such an enormous impact, then the arts enjoy a multiplier effect unknown to more earthly pursuits like mining, manufacturing and farming.

Or who can swallow this whopper: "The total attendance for 'the arts' in Canada in fact exceeds that for sports events"?...

(h/t black kettle)

......................................................

Is she perhaps honing her skills to replace Whoopi on "The View"?


.

Babies Love Dads

I'm Betting On The Bishop...

Bishop Blair, in response to the sophistry of Professor Gaillardetz:

...Lest Professor Gaillardetz’s teaching position and self-identification as a Catholic create any misunderstandings, it should be pointed out that his opinions regarding the issue of abortion, and Roe v. Wade in particular, do not reflect the clear and consistent moral position of the United States Bishops.

Professor Gaillardetz suggests that attempts to overturn Roe v. Wade are problematic and perhaps futile. It should be pointed out that at one time in our nation’s history, the abolition of slavery was also considered by many to be problematic and futile, and extremely divisive. Yet our nation was not content with simply reducing the number of slaves or easing their condition. It was the very institution of slavery that was morally abhorrent and incompatible with the principles on which our nation was founded.

Roe v. Wade has been responsible for the killing of tens of millions of unborn children. It has effectively rendered the definition of human personhood flexible and negotiable. It has also implicitly excluded unborn children from human status. This morally flawed thinking is now deployed on behalf of physician-assisted suicide, fetal experimentation and human cloning. Each reduces the human person to a problem or an object.

In 2002 the Bishops reaffirmed what has been a consistent moral position. They wrote: “Roe v. Wade cannot stand as the law of this great nation, a nation founded on the self-evident truth that all people are created with an inalienable right to life. We are committed, no matter how long it may take, no matter the sacrifices required, to bringing about a reversal of this tragic Supreme Court decision. We will speak out on behalf of the sanctity of each and every human life wherever it is threatened, from conception to natural death, and we urge all people of good will to do likewise… Roe v. Wade must be reversed.” (A Matter of the Heart)

Furthermore, “Any politics of human dignity must seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing, and health care. Therefore, Catholics should eagerly involve themselves as advocates for the weak and marginalized in all these areas... But being right about such matters can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life.” (cf. Living the Gospel of Life, 1998)

I certainly agree with Professor Gaillardetz that we must also strive to reduce abortions even while Roe v. Wade remains in effect. This is already happening. Annual abortions in our country declined from more than 1.5 million to just more than 1 million in recent years. Factors in this decline include a growing public revulsion at abortion (prompted in part by greater awareness of the grisly "partial-birth" abortion method) and the passage of hundreds of modest but effective pro-life laws such as public funding bans, informed consent laws, laws requiring parental involvement when minors seek abortions, and so on.

Tragically, some lawmakers would reverse these gains and boost the abortion rate by invalidating all such laws, through extreme measures such as the proposed "Freedom of Choice Act" in Congress. Despite its deceptive title, it would deprive the American people in all 50 states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry, and would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars. No one supporting such legislation can claim in good faith to be working to reduce abortions...

(h/t ProEcclesia)
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Seems pretty clear to me. Clear enough that it could only be misunderstood or misrepresented DELIBERATELY.

Day 13

Intention:

For all fathers who are terrified of being fathers.

Scripture:

A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.

-- Psalm 68:5

Reflection:

I had a friend many years ago who confided in me that he was terrified of being a father. He and his wife already had two children when this revelation came forth. "I never knew my father," he explained, "and I have no idea what a father is supposed to do." We continued to share about this, as well as pray together. He began to see he had a father's heart for his children. His biggest problem was not a limitation on love but not knowing how to act out this love.

One day we talked about the verse quoted at the top of this page. I shared that he did know his Father… not his biological father but his Heavenly Father, who had rescued him from a life of destruction not many years before. "How did your Heavenly Father guide you?" I asked. He talked about the ways he had seen God's love offered to him and the way the Lord had used circumstances and the Scriptures to mold him and mature him. "Well, the Lord wants to do the same thing through you for your children. Be available to His love and available to your kids. You'll do fine."

How wonderful it is to know that God takes a personal interest in each of us, many times using His faithful people - the Church - as channels of this love. No one is fatherless who lives in the Lord. His fatherly care begins at the moment of our conception, as it is written, "you knit me together in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:12), and continues to be poured upon us throughout our lives.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we thank you for caring about each of us so deeply. Help us to see and know you as our Father in heaven each and every day of our lives. Your loving hand also rests on every child today carried in its mother's womb. May they be born into this world and come to know fully and personally your endless love. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Randolph Sly
National Pro-life Religious Council

40 Days For Life

Special Guests

Blogged from 40 Days For Life:

Unexpected joy arrived one evening at the 40 Days for Life vigil outside the Planned Parenthood location in Sioux City, Iowa as people gathered to pray.

A bus from Michigan broke down at the fast food restaurant right across the street. The bus was carrying a Christian drama team — including 13 children with disabilities. The assistant director saw the vigil across the street, so he walked over and started asking questions.

Stormy, one of the vigil participants, had a bunch of questions for him as well. When she found out who they were and what they did, she asked if they would put on a play — right then and there.

“They did! Right there, facing Planned Parenthood, these special kids and friends re-enacted the Passion of Christ,” Mary reports. “The young man who portrayed Jesus had Down syndrome. He stretched out his arms and ‘hung on the cross.’ ”

The assistant director said he cries every time he watches the kids do this play. “It might have something to do with the actor playing Jesus,” she said, “who gets so emotional that he can’t stop crying.”

Before they left from their home town of Holland, Michigan, their principal had told them that he didn’t know when or where, but he just had a feeling they would hold one additional performance at a time and place that was not listed on their original schedule.

“We are sure glad it was here,” said Mary. “They were terrific and they were so pleased to perform for people who respect all life. Their replacement bus arrived just after the kids were able to receive lots of applause and thanks and a 40 Days for Life
bracelet.”

The death of the innocent Lord and Savior — staged in front of Planned Parenthood, an organization responsible for ending hundreds of thousands of innocent lives every year; performed by special needs children, upon whom the abortion industry has declared open season — how powerful!

There is indeed joy. And there is indeed hope.

Not All Bishops Are The Same

Deacon For Life:

Three faithful Catholics were arrested at St. Thomas More Cathedral in Arlington, VA for passing out pro-life literature based on the words of. Randall Terry, Founder of Operation Rescue, Joseph Landry, 27 and Brian Sherwood, 33 were arrested at 6pm, Sunday, October 5, 2008 with charges of trespassing.

"It is an outrage that Catholics are arrested for handing out literature promoting the words of our Holy Father, John Paul II, on the sanctity of life." said Joseph Landry.

The group peacefully passed out the pro-life literature for each of the morning masses. The church called the police when the group refused to leave.

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You can contact Bishop Loverde's office at (703) 841- 2500, and ask him to drop the charges against these three men.