housekeeping

Just started up a new blog island school, for homeschool of course. This time I've used the wordpress platform, so I'm learning new stuff (and staying up way too late). Feel free to stop by .

Conversion - From 'Best Abortionist' To Real Doctor

Jill Stanek posts about an amazing conversion story in Croatia..

...His record was thirty-five abortions in one day. Today he has difficulty reckoning up the abortions he performed in his twenty-six years of practice. He estimates anywhere between 48,000 and 62,000.

For years he remained convinced that abortion, as taught in the medical faculties and textbooks, was a surgical procedure not unlike that of removing an appendix. The only difference was in the organ removed: a piece of intestine in the one case, and embryonic tissue in the other. Doubts began to arise during the 1980s when ultrasound technology came to Yugoslavian hospitals. It was then that Adasevic first saw on the USG monitor what had until then been invisible to him -- the inside of a woman's womb, a live child, sucking its thumb, moving its arms and legs. As often as not, fragments of that child would soon be lying on the table beside him. "I saw without seeing -- he recalls today. -- Everything changed after I started having the dreams"....

A very moving story, reminiscent of Dr. Bernard Nathanson:

I am personally responsible for 75,000 abortions. This legitimises my credentials
to speak to you with some authority on the issue. I was one of the founders of the
National Association for the Repeal of the Abortion Laws (NARAL) in the U.S. in 1968.....
....It is clear that permissive abortion is purposeful
destruction of what is undeniably human life. It is an impermissible act of deadly
violence. One must concede that unplanned pregnancy is a wrenchingly difficult dilemma,
but to look for its solution in a deliberate act of destruction is to trash the vast
resourcefulness of human ingenuity, and to surrender the public weal to the classic
utilitarian answer to social problems....

Read them and weep.

'Conservative' Convention in Winnipeg

Support Resolution P-203

Get your own at Scribd or explore others:

Not holding my breath...


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REAL LEADERSHIP In URUGUAY

LifeSiteNews:

Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez, a medical doctor, yesterday fulfilled his promise to veto pro-abortion legislation that was passed only three days ago by the Senate in a narrow vote of 17 in favor out of a total of 30 cast.

Although Vazquez vetoed provisions of the law that eliminated criminal penalties for surgical abortions, he did not veto other provisions that allow chemical abortions and treat sodomy as a "right."

Tourist Minister Hector Lescano informed the French Press Agency that the Senate does not have enough votes to override the veto. He added: "In the next few hours, the legislative power will be notified, but what's certain is that (the veto) has already been signed and recorded. It's an irreversible fact that underscores the president's determination."

Just prior to the Senate vote, the Uruguayan Episcopal Conference warned that Catholics who cast votes in favor of abortion would be refused Holy Communion. The announcement by the bishops came in the wake of statements made by Archbishop Nicolas Cotugno of Montevideo, who stated in no uncertain terms that any legislator who voted for abortion would be "ipso facto excommunicated." He added that a formal excommunication might also be issued, and that he would support such a measure in union with the Pope and other bishops (see previous LifeSiteNews coverage at http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08110403.html).

The law would have eliminated criminal penalties for virtually all abortions carried out during the first three months of gestation. Currently, abortion is penalized in the nation's criminal code in all cases, although judges have the discretion of reducing or eliminating penalties under certain circumstances....

Now that's what I call a LEADER - unlike some who won't even allow abortion to be addressed by government . Like Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"Barack And Baby Daddies"

NCR

Barack Obama understands intimately the profound problems that fatherless families pose for the black community.

The title of Obama’s 2004 autobiography, “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance,” alludes to his experience of searching for his identity after growing up in a family without the presence of his Kenyan-born father.

Obama’s campaign website contains a section entitled “Strengthen fatherhood and families,” in which the president-elect pledges to fund “support services for fathers and their families.”

And as a dedicated parent of two young daughters, Obama is acquainted on a day-to-day basis with the challenge of striving to be a great dad to his kids.

All this suggests that finding ways to address the epidemic of fatherlessness that plagues America’s black community could be one of the key areas where the incoming president can make common cause with Christians.

“My colleagues have also said to me that [Obama’s] election is a platform for addressing issues that no white politician dares touch, such as black absentee fatherhood,” the Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said in a Nov. 5 conference call sponsored by the Faith In Public Life organization. “I agree with them.”

Catholic organizations like the Knights of Columbus have a wealth of expertise in forming fathers, and they’d love to share it with our next president...

Miracles are possible... but right now, Obama supports STRONGLY all the anti-family, anti- marriage, anti- fatherhood positions. A lot of formation will be needed - starting with Obama, before he is able to do anything constructive. It seems his best idea for reducing the instance of fatherless babies is to kill the babies. That also seems to be his solution for poverty. I don't think the black community will 'find' their families with Obama's help.

When Is "Dead"?

NCR :

A case now before a court in Washington, D.C., involves a 12-year-old boy whose brain has stopped functioning completely, according to doctors, but whose body is being kept alive by drugs and a respirator. The boy’s Orthodox Jewish parents reject their son’s medical diagnosis of death, asserting that the teachings of their faith about the end of life should take precedence over the determination of doctors...

This reminds me of the struggle of the Golubchuk family in Winnipeg last year. The 'Grace'Hospital and the CMA fought the family for THE RIGHT to determine that Samuel Golubchuk's life was over - the EXCLUSIVE right. The Golubchuk family, also Orthodox Jews, succeeded in getting a court order to sustain life, and Mr. Golubchuk recovered somewhat before eventually dying naturally (i.e. not starving).


DO NOT GIVE DOCTORS AN INCH. The medical associations are itching to 'be the ones' that have the EXCLUSIVE RIGHT to determine a 'rubric of human value', from which NONE of us will be safe. Yesterday our unborn, today our grandfathers, tomorrow our accident victims, the next day our chronically ill, and later...people who enter the hospital but don't have really great lives.

Day Garner's Response To Obama

Day Garner tells of her reaction to the Obama election over at Jill Stanek. Garner is the leader of the National Black Pro-Life Union, and has worked tirelessly to educate American blacks about the genocide happening in their own country, supported by Obama.

I couldn't eat! The day after the election I stayed balled up in bed for half the day, which is very unusual for me. I'm usually up at 5am every day, 6am on weekends. I was so terribly sad.

I finally got up and with great panic started searching my Bible for Scripture and I prayed and prayed, face down on the floor. With every prayer and Bible reading I became strengthened, but just a little bit at a time.

Still shaken, I started calling my best and closest pro-life friends. First on my list was Alveda King [pro-life leader and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King]. While she also admitted to a deep sadness, she reminded me we must not limit God. Others I called had similar things to say and offering Scripture.

If we believe God is who He says He is, then we must also believes He knows who Barack is and what is at stake in an Obama presidency.

GOD has comforted me, mended my heart and strengthened me. I thank my LORD and SAVIOR for such loving sisters and brothers in CHRIST.

And I thank you, Jill. Reading the article this morning reminded me again that we have a big fight ahead of us, but we serve a big God - the BIGGEST!

I am happy God has chosen us to serve in this fight, this great mission.

Previous posts:

National Black Pro-Life Union

40 Days For Life - Day Garner

African American Pastors Reject Eugenics

The Dead Zone

LifeSiteNews

The Australian Parliamentary Group on Population and Development has been slammed by Queensland Senator Ron Boswell for holding to Nazi-style eugenic ideology on the abortion of disabled children.

“This revisiting of eugenics principles is repugnant to a society that prides itself on the contribution of all,” Boswell said.

The pro-abortion group had made a submission, signed by 41 Australian MPs, to the parliamentary committee that is examining the issue of abortion in Australia. The group said paying women a Medicare rebate for second-trimester abortions would save the government about $180,000 a year, due to the high costs of caring for handicapped babies who are allowed to be born.

Removing the abortion rebate, the group said, would place “emotional, physical, mental, and financial stress on families, denying women and couples the right to decide if they are equipped to raise a child with disabilities.”

According to Christian Today, so far 7 of the MPs whose names were affixed to the submission have disowned its statements about abortion and handicapped children.

Boswell heavily criticised the submission, saying that its “underlying premise” is based on eugenic principles that governments should prefer to kill the disabled rather than support them. He said it holds that “some lives are worth less than others because they will cost too much to support.”

“This is the kind of thinking that was typical of the Hitler regime. They set themselves up as judge of who deserved to live and who deserves to die.”

In the period leading up to the Second World War, the Nazi government of Germany began to implement its eugenics policies, meant to “cleanse” the German people of undesirable “racial traits.” This meant in practice the killing of those children, and later, adults, considered by the state to be genetically defective. Thousands of children and adults who suffered from mental and physical disabilities were starved and gassed to death and killed by lethal injection.

More recently, the utilitarian eugenics movement has gained popularity in scientific circles that propose to eliminate undesirable traits by killing those unborn babies, and, increasingly, newborns, who are found to be genetically deficient. Utilitarian philosophers and bioethicists like Princeton University’s Peter Singer, openly advocate for the killing of disabled children in the womb and as newborns.

Currently the abortion rate for babies with Down syndrome is estimated to be as high as 95% in many Western countries, indicating that modern utilitarian eugenics is already being implemented on a widespread scale.

(Is it that the original settlers were condemned criminals and they're trying to keep the genetics 'pure'....or do they just want to keep most of the Australian land mass totally unpopulated?)

"The Church Is Not Burger King!"

Diane at Te Deum has quite a bit to say about the scandal of pride filled dissidents following their 'conscience' over the teachings of the Magisterium:

...Is it any wonder why this group is often indifferent towards the Blessed Mother or holds her in disdain? She is the new Eve who rejected pride in humble obedience to the will of God for her.

The defiant attitude we see belongs to the "either/or" crowd - the one that tries to pit peace and justice against humility and obedience; and the Iraq war against abortion. Mother Teresa proved that peace and justice worked right along side humility and obedience (and perhaps that is why she is held in disdain by some in this group). And, you can't compare nearly 50,000,000 lives of the unborn lost to several thousand in the Iraq war. All lives are valuable and the 50 million can't be ignored.

I have also found the propensity running high among them for using the priest scandal as an excuse to set aside authentic dialogue and reason. At the very least, the priest scandal is used to divert attention away from the subject at hand.

Folks, there can only be one true North, where the compass points. One cannot go south and proclaim that it is north because he wants it to be so. Catholics need to understand that we rely on a compass to tell us where North is and that compass is the Catholic Church. Otherwise, we would have some people going East and want to proclaim it as North, while others are going West or South and want those to be proclaimed as North.

Jesus Christ is Truth. There can't be different versions of the truth any more than there could be different types of Jesus to pick and choose from. But, that is what some are trying to do - to treat the Church like Burger King where you can, "have it your way"....

(You Go Girl!)

(Anti-Catholic) Campaign For Human Development

At the end of (another) excellent and insightful article from Fr.R.J.Neuhaus ,he gives us some important and timely information about an organization that many Catholics have supported in good faith, in spite of the CHD's lack of the same:

....Which brings me, finally, to another and related matter that will surely be discussed in Baltimore and deserves to be on the agenda. The Campaign for Human Development (CHD) is an annual collection in parishes, usually on one of the last two Sundays in November. It used to be called the Catholic Campaign for Human Development but the Catholic was dropped, which is just as well since it has nothing to do with Catholicism, except that Catholics are asked to pay for it. Some bishops no longer allow the CHD collection in their dioceses, and more should not allow it. In fact, CHD, misbegotten in concept and corrupt in practice, should, at long last, be terminated.

Ten years ago, CHD was exposed as using the Catholic Church as a milk cow to fund organizations that frequently were actively working against the Church’s mission, especially in their support of pro-abortion activities and politicians. Now it turns out that CHD has long been a major funder of ACORN, a national community agitation organization in support of leftist causes, including the abortion license. ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is under criminal investigation in several states. In the last decade CHD gave ACORN well over seven million dollars, including more than a million in the past year. It is acknowledged that ACORN, with which Sen. Obama had a close connection over the years, was a major player in his presidential campaign. The bishops say they are investigating the connection between CHD and ACORN. They say they are worried that it might jeopardize the Church’s tax-exemption. No mention is made of abusing the trust of the Catholic faithful.

What most Catholics don’t know, and what would likely astonish them, is that CHD very explicitly does not fund Catholic institutions and apostolates that work with the poor. Part of the thinking when it was established in the ideological climate of the 1960s is that Catholic concern for the poor would not be perceived as credible if CHD funded Catholic organizations. Yes, that’s bizarre, but the history of CHD is bizarre. The bishops could really help poor people by promptly shutting down CHD and giving any remaining funds to, for instance, Catholic inner-city schools. In any event, if there is a collection at your parish this month, I suggest that you can return the envelope empty—and perhaps with a note of explanation—without the slightest moral hesitation....

Find a real Catholic charity, that serves the poor. I would suggest Missionaries of the Poor.

M.O.P. news

Follow The Science

Dr. Miriam Grossman writes that a teenage woman headed to University is BIOLOGICALLY more vulnerable in the 'free sex' culture on campus, than the 'boys' are:

...Canonized by the sex ed industry and considered transparent truths, “safer sex” guidelines are out of date. In 2008, it’s not enough to communicate with “partners,” get tested for STI’s, and use condoms. These days, young people—especially girls—who wish to avoid sexually transmitted infections need a different plan.

If we are serious about protecting our daughters, we must spell out a clear, no-nonsense message: the ideal is to delay sexual activity, and eventually commit to someone who also waited. The closer she can get to that, the better. Then provide her with some critical facts she’s unlikely to hear elsewhere:

* A young woman has unique biological sensitivities that increase her vulnerability to the consequences of sexual activity. For example, intimacy releases oxytocin, a primarily female hormone that fuels feelings of attachment and trust. This chemical turns red lights green. It alters brain chemistry, so she’s more likely to overlook a guy’s faults, and to take risks she otherwise wouldn’t. A girl surely doesn’t want her brain drenched with oxytocin when making critical decisions like: What do I think of him? How far do I want this to go? This might explain the recent unpublished data from Princeton University indicating that for 80 percent of female students on that campus, hook-ups were followed by regret.
* A young cervix has a delicate area only one cell thick, placing teens at risk for HPV. This is the case even if she’s been vaccinated. With time, the cervix grows a thicker, tougher surface, making infection less likely. A guy’s genital system doesn’t have a vulnerable area like that.
* Most guys who have an STI don’t know it, even after they’ve been tested.....

DON'T leave her safety in the hands of those advocating 'safe sex' as if it were possible. Follow the science.


(Dr. Miriam Grossman is a Senior Fellow with the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, an M.D. with years of on-campus experience and author of the book "Sense and Sexuality".)

Catholic Sisters Murdered in Iraq

More tragedy in Mosul, as a Catholic family is attacked leaving two sisters dead, and their mother seriously injured. A bomb left behind killed three police who were responding to the attack.

ZENIT:

...This event, Aid to the Church in Need affirmed, brought panic to the Christian community of Mosul. They said Christians, as well as other minorities, believe that the twin homicides cast doubt on government efforts to promote security with a greater police presence in response to last month's campaign of violence and intimidation against Christians.

Those attacks moved more than 2,000 families, about 12,000 people, to flee the city. Vatican spokesman Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi had described that campaign as a systematic targeting of Christians with house-by-house, "leave or die" threats...

...Christian Iraqi leaders said that the attack shows the government is failing to keep its promise to bring peace and security to the church communities, and they ask the West to intervene to defend not just Christians, but all Iraqi minorities.

"The government is trying to deceive the outside world, making them believe that they are acting correctly and that Christians are safe," said one local Catholic leader. "In reality, the situation is still very challenging."

Gabriel

Herm Wills and his wife Rosalie,of Nova Scotia, have embarked on a new work of mercy, Gabriel Project. This idea of providing an 'Angel' for the duration of a woman's pregnancy, as a practical helper, listener, worker on her behalf, originally took root in Texas, where it has really grown into a worthwhile ministry.

I pray Nova Scotia takes up the challenge of providing this important service ministry to mothers in need.

Vatican Speaks Against Embryonic Stem Cell Research

CNA:

Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, the President of the Pontifical Council of Health Care, has responded to reports that President-elect Obama’s future administration will reverse a federal ban on human embryonic stem cell research funding. Saying that the stem cells produced by the destruction of embryos “serve no purpose,” he argued that embryonic stem cell research has not resulted in any significant cures so far and was “good for nothing.”

In comments made to reporters at the presentation of a conference on protecting children from diseases, Cardinal Lozano Barragan added that research on adult stem cells and umbilical cords has been shown to have “positive value,” though he recognized they too were not a “panacea.”

Professor Alberto Ugazio, Coordinator of the Department of Pediatrics in the Child Jesus Hospital of Rome, supported the cardinal’s remarks, saying according to SIR:

“In the medical field, we are always amazed at the excessive fuss ‘the media’ are making over fetal stem cells whose ineffectiveness is proved.”

The speakers endorsed pursuing the results of research into “hematopoietic” stem cells derived from the spinal cord or the umbilical cord. In their view, skin stem cells, hepatic stem cells, and stem cells from other organs had also produced worthy research.

The cardinal also accused the media of showing a “Malthusian mentality” to bring down the birth rate in poor countries, linking that mentality to embryonic research advocacy.

“The Church, instead, reaffirms the concept that human beings cannot be used as means, even at their embryo stage. Human beings always have a purpose,” he added...

Well, that's pretty clear. Now all we need is 2 cents from Biden and Pelosi to help us form our 'consciences'...and Doug Kmiec to help with the 'relativity' of it all.

More Rampaging Gays

I'm not quite sure how this is helping their 'message'. LifeSiteNews reports:

On Sunday, November 9, a band of about 30 homosexuals stormed a church in Lansing, Michigan. Some were well dressed and were stationed inside Mount Hope Church, where they pretended to be normal Sunday worshippers; others were outside dressed in pink and black.

The group of self-described homosexual anarchists, Bash Back!, claims the evangelical church is guilty of “transphobia and homophobia.” The group says that it fights for "liberation," opposes "all forms of state power," and urges members not to condemn certain methods of promoting their cause "on the grounds that the State deems it to be illegal."

During the service the protesters outside the church were beating on buckets, shouting “Jesus was a homo” on a megaphone and carrying an upside-down pink cross. They distributed fliers to passersby.

When the signal was given the protesters inside the church rose from their seats and began loudly to disrupt the service. The fire alarm was pulled inside the church, protesters stormed the pulpit and a huge rainbow-colored flag was unfurled with the inscription, “IT’S OKAY TO BE GAY! BASH BACK!”

The church was vandalized, obscenities were shouted and worshippers were confronted. According to Right Michigan the protestors in their demonstration also used condoms, glitter, confetti, and pink fabric. A video camera wielded by the homosexualists attempted to capture violent reactions from members of the congregation, of which there were none. Right Michigan also reports that approximately an hour after the demonstration two of the demonstrators were found by security in a public restroom in the church together. There were no arrests.

Bash Back! issued a press release on their website after the fact, which admitted that “the group was extremely loud and wildly offensive.” The group described Mount Hope Church as “deplorable” and “anti-queer.”

The release concluded, “Let it be known: So long as bigots kill us in the streets, this pack of wolves will continue to BASH BACK!”...

I'm sure this has nothing at all to do with an 'empowerment euphoria' sweeping the nation since the election...and is 'Queer' a race now??

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Black Catholic History Month

Disciples Now tells us of this (formerly unknown to me) commemoration of the role of Black Catholics in our Church history:

"During Black Catholic History Month, all Catholics have an opportunity to learn how our history and heritage as Catholic Christians has been shaped by the witness, ministry and legacies of Black Catholics. And we have the opportunity to see those that carry history forward today."

Check it out. The site includes some profiles of prominent Black Catholic clergy.
(h/t Catholic Carnival)

Catholic Carnival #198

Is up at Living Catholicism

Students For Life

Students For Life have produced some amazing pro-life videos through a video competition. Well worth a visit to their very professional website, which also contains news and resources as well as upcoming student events.
(h/t NCR)



(University of Florida Pro-Life Alliance, 1st place, $2000 winner)



Wow.

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Judgement

Mark Shea writes about "Judgement":

... “Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven — through a purification or immediately — or immediate and everlasting damnation.

“At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love” (No. 1022).

This surprisingly quiet picture of the judgment that awaits us is basically the same thing Jesus says: “I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me” (Matthew 25:35-36).

All the stuff you did out of love for your neighbor — even the boring stuff and even the boring neighbor — is what makes the difference between eternal happiness and everlasting loss of the life of God....

Eggheads

Thomas Sowell mulls the dangers of 'intellectuals' in the Whitehouse:

...In the 1930s, it was the intellectuals who pooh-poohed the dangers from the rise of Hitler and urged Western disarmament.

It would be no feat to fill a big book with all the things on which intellectuals were grossly mistaken, just in the 20th century-- far more so than ordinary people.

History fully vindicates the late William F. Buckley's view that he would rather be ruled by people represented by the first 100 names in the Boston phone book than by the faculty of Harvard.

How have intellectuals managed to be so wrong, so often? By thinking that because they are knowledgeable-- or even expert-- within some narrow band out of the vast spectrum of human concerns, that makes them wise guides to the masses and to the rulers of the nation.

But the ignorance of Ph.D.s is still ignorance and high-IQ groupthink is still groupthink, which is the antithesis of real thinking.

Gays on the Rampage

CustosFidei has the video showing an attack by losers on a supporter of 'prop 8', in Palm Springs, California.

Its about power. Somehow they have the idea that being homosexual gives them 'extra' super-citizen powers. Like the power to co-opt everything and make it 'gay', and the power to beat the opposition away with vulgarity and violence, without any fear of 'the law'.

Super-Citizens!

ACLU On The Hunt

Guard Your Fall Festivals!

ADF:

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have sent a letter of support to the city of Thibodaux after it was threatened by the American Civil Liberties Union over an annual fall festival held in the city that includes Christian artists and performers.

"Christians should not be discriminated against because of their beliefs. Contrary to the contentions of the ACLU, they have the same rights of access and participation at the festival as anyone else," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson. "The event is a family-friendly food and music festival that is privately funded. The city has done nothing other than allow the festival to be held in its streets. The ACLU’s threat is baseless."

The ACLU sent the letter to the city on behalf of a resident offended by the fact that Christian music groups and performers would be participating in the Thibodeauxville Fall Festival on Saturday, an annual event planned by the local chamber of commerce. The letter wrongly accused the city of financially supporting the event and argued that participation of Christian performers is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

"Their music and their messages are fully protected under the Free Speech and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment, regardless of whether the ACLU may be offended by them," Johnson wrote to Mayor Charles Caillouet in the ADF letter. "In this matter, you are on solid legal ground."...

The Battle Of The Orgs.!

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Heroes

Remembering

by Terry Kelly (Halifax,NS)


Green Fields of France

In Flanders Field

THE LAST POST

Round-Up

MONKEYING AROUND WITH LIFE

KILLING SUCCESS

CATHOLIC TUITION BACKFIRES

AMERICA THE NEW ROME

CHALLENGING OBAMA

"If Catholics Were Catholic"

Matthew Warner has a new 'category' of post over at Fallible Blogma:

...If Catholics actually acted Catholic when we voted we could change the political landscape forever.

Catholics made up about 25% of the 123 million Americans that voted in the last presidential race - so about 30 million Catholics voted (of which there are many more that did not vote). And for our purposes, McCain and Obama pretty much split the Catholic vote - so about 15 million Catholics each. Obama won the popular vote by only about 8 million votes and it was even closer in battleground states.

In other words, for all practical purposes, Catholics have the power to easily cover that gap and decide pretty much any election…if we chose to stick together and fight for truth. No other demographic can really compare in terms of unity in belief (not in America or even the entire world).

The problem is that 1) there are many Catholics that claim to be Catholic but do not fully understand what that means and how it should affect their lives and voting, and 2) many Catholics believe they have to compromise on their values when it comes to politics. Basically, we need to catechize better and we need better Catholic political leadership to create a clear vision that unifies us.

Let’s be clear - it would take one election. In one election Catholics could change the entire political landscape forever....

We have the numbers. We just don't have the Faith.



St. Thomas More "The King's good servant, but God's first."

'Maintaining the Bedrock'

ZENIT:

The archbishop of Los Angeles says the California vote banning gay marriages was the result of "an unprecedented coalition" that "understood the importance of maintaining the bedrock institution of marriage."

Cardinal Roger Mahony affirmed this today in a statement to the Catholic community and others who supported Proposition 8, which amends the California State Constitution to include a definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman.

"The passage of Proposition 8 was the result of an unprecedented coalition of many faith communities and other citizens who understood the importance of maintaining the bedrock institution of marriage," Cardinal Mahony wrote.

Quoting the book of Genesis as God's plan for the human family, he added: "Our collective efforts in the support of Proposition 8 have centered solely around preserving God's plan that marriage between one man and one woman is to be that unchanging reality through which their mutual love becomes fruitful through bringing forth children to continue the human family.

"The raising, formation and education of these children is destined by God to take place within a traditional family of one father and one mother."....

this just in...best costume

A neighbour's son, 3rd year at Notre Dame, with buddies.

'Jamaican Bobsled Team'

Fr. Ho Lung Receives Order of Jamaica

(via Fiona)
Father Richard Ho Lung, founder of the Missionaries of the Poor, has been awarded the Order of Jamaica for his services to the poor and destitute.

The Gleaner newspaper hosted a special luncheon in honour of the 67 yr. old Roman Cathollic priest, to recognize this award and to thank him for his years of tirel;ess service to Jamaica's less fortunate.

"It's easy to get caught up in these (awards)", said Father Ho Lung, "but you know, it really says something for all the brothers and the work they have done for society's poorest."

There are 170 missionary 'brothers' in Jamaica, who help operate the six centers which are home to the country's terminally ill, elderly and abandoned poor. MOP also has centers in the Philipines, India, Haiti, Uganda and Kenya.

Reggae Times:

Missionaries of the Poor, was started by Father Ho Lung in 1981, as Brothers of the Poor. What started as a small group of men engaged in apostolic work in prisons, public almshouses and slum communities in Kingston has evolved into an international missionary religious institute that does both corporal and spiritual works of mercy in the poorer communities of the world, and has been acknowledged by the Vatican as an official Religious Community of the Church.

The Missionaries of the Poor is the first male religious order of Priests and Brothers to be found in the English-speaking Caribbean. It was established nineteen years ago by Father Richard Ho Lung. The Missionaries bear witness to Christ by living a simple, serious and disciplined life, and wearing a religious dress with sandals as their only footwear. They currently have four homes for the most deprived and disabled Jamaicans: Faith Centre, Jacob's Well, Good Shepherd and the Lord's Place. The blind, the crippled, the retarded, the deformed, the old, the young and the dying are all cared for in these homes. They eat. sleep, work, worship and die at these centres and are laid to rest by the Missionaries of the Poor.

"Father Ho Lung and Friends" is a musical troupe that has been entertaining with original music and drama for 27 years. The entire proceeds of their videos, CD's and live performances go to help support the Missionaries of the Poor in their work around the world.




If you get the chance to attend one of Father Ho Lung's retreats in Jamaica, modeled on Ignatius, be sure to go. Think of it as a Jamaican 'soul' vacation . I attended one last February. Besides the retreat, the chance to meet and see the Brothers at work in the centers was life changing. I especially appreciated my time with the younger orphans at 'Bethlehem'. The simplicity of Christ's love for us is lived out each day there. I have not yet recovered from the whole experience. I hope not to.

"Unnamed McCain Aide Takes Blame For Loss"

Scott Ott:

The finger-pointing on the McCain campaign staff continued today as an unnamed former top adviser placed the blame for the loss to Barack Obama on someone who has thus far escaped responsibility.

“It’s not Gov. Palin’s fault. It’s my bad,” said the anonymous source. “I’m the diva. I went rogue. And heaven knows, I spent huge sums of money on ridiculous things. I wasn’t alone in scuttling the ship, but I take personal responsibility…you know, without attribution.”

While the former adviser said he accepts the blame for the defeat, he spoke only on the condition of anonymity, “to protect my future chances of hopping another one of these sweet gravy trains.”

“We worked for two people whose character and integrity were their chief positives,” the now-unemployed former insider said, “Frankly, the average mercenary political consultant like me doesn’t have a lot of experience with those kind of folks. So, we really had no clue how to run their campaign. As a result, we got spanked.”

“The important thing for people to remember,” he added, “is that win or lose, the consultants still get paid.”