Incrementalism And The Intent Of John Paul II

This has been an interesting week. In between homeschooling children and my Mother-in-law's visit, I have been participating in a family e-mail discussion about the 'correct' interpretation of Evangelium Vitae regarding the morality of supporting legislation about abortion that is not ideal.

In Canada, unlike just about the whole rest of the world, there is currently no law on the books either allowing or disallowing abortion. On the other hand, abortions are publicly funded. (So its as if abortion were equivalent to any other 'allowable' medical procedure). A proposed law forbidding abortion after 20 weeks, was not supported by Campaign Life Coalition, and its failure to make it through the process into law, is at least partially attributed to CLC, by supporters of the bill.

I thought the article by Paul Tuns in 'The Interim' was pretty good, but it was really the 'jumping off' spot for our whole discussion, with some arguing that CLC's reasoning was incorrect 'theologically' and was merely a matter of strategy - therefore not a good enough reason to forestall 'progress'. Others argued that CLC was correct in strategy, and that also, support of the bill would not be acceptable as incrementalism (as per JPII).

In support of the latter viewpoint I would like to highlight a particular concern of mine, which JPII mentions :

In other cases, it can happen that carrying out certain actions, which are provided for by legislation that overall is unjust, but which in themselves are indifferent, or even positive, can serve to protect human lives under threat. There may be reason to fear, however, that willingness to carry out such actions will not only cause scandal and weaken the necessary opposition to attacks on life, but will gradually lead to further capitulation to a mentality of permissiveness.

Its the morality we are discussing. I am not convinced that the proposed law is an incremental change that is either 'good' or 'moral'. Perhaps I do not have a good enough understanding of this, Evangelium Vitae (par#73-74) , and/or Canadian law. (Very probable!)

As much as I am able to discern positively thus far, can be summarized: we are not the only ones who have differing views in spite of equal commitment to life and the Catholic faith.

...Both Fisher and Rowland emphasized that Church teaching is “very underdeveloped” in this area. Bishop Fisher had attended a symposium in Rome on Evangelicum Vitae 73 in February of 2004....
....Bishop Fisher said that at this symposium two top notch, orthodox theologians presented completely opposite views and neither could be considered “wrong” in light of current Church teaching (although Fisher privately agreed with one over the other). The bishop noted that only about 9 scholarly works exist on the subject and that he has read them all. In other words, there is, as yet, no authoritative interpretation of EV 73 to guide us.

This exercise is all positive. Its something that faithful believers do... try to develop their understanding of God's will in their lives. I am immeasurably grateful that I belong to such a family.

However, if anyone one knows of the existence of an 'authoritative interpretation' of EV 73 to guide us, I would also be grateful!

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"Intellectual Lameness"

Commentary on the Dawkins/Hitchens hysteria about the Pope:

This is what drives their war against religion: an instinct for ridiculing those who still, unlike contemporary secularists themselves, have an overarching outlook on life and a strong belief system. That is really what they find so alien about the Catholic Church in particular – its beliefs, its faith, its hierarchy. An atheism utterly alienated from the mass of humanity and from any future-oriented vision can only lash out in an extreme and intolerant way against those who still seem to have strong beliefs: the religious, or the ‘deluded ones’, as the New Atheists see it.

(viaProEcclesia)

U of Calgary : Letter from Alumnus

Dr. Warren Veale,
Interim Pres. U of Calgary

Dear Sir;

The fact is that Albertans are overwhelmingly in favour of protection
under law of unborn children from any form of violence against them,
whether attacked by knife-wielding boyfriend of the mother, or the
forceps and cutting devices of an abortionist. Lack of protection for
the child in Canadian law, however, should not deter a discussion of
law, with life or death implications, especially at institutions of
higher learning. Surveys favouring protection of unborn children range
from 75% to over 90% in Alberta, depending how the question was asked.
Albertans understand that the unborn children have a high probability of
suffering death from lack of law in Canada and they want the situation
changed.

As a former unborn child, if the present state of lawlessness was
present when your mother carried you in her womb, perhaps you'd have
been the victim. Instead, you can thank her on Mothers Day. I urge
you, on behalf of Albertans and unborn children everywhere in Canada, to
put your best instincts into action to stand up to the radical leftists
who protest that conversations may not be held on U of C campus on this
subject. Take the steps to establish a civilized dialogue at U of
Calgary about the rights of children to be kept alive until their birth.

The young people you have allowed to be persecuted by Student Union,
radical leftist university staffers and professors, should be treated
with respect, if not with awe, for their courage in defense of voiceless
victims. Two hundred thousand per year is the rate at which innocent
babies die in Canada. Are they dying for population control, to please
United Nations? Canada needs more people, not less! Is their cause of
death an ideology that has no right or wrong? Since when does Canada
not have a conscience? What is the university doing to discover why
babies have to die, when over 100,000 couples per year apply to adopt a
child? What a crime, that no Canadian babies are available for adoption
because of no protection in law during gestation.

Surely, expelling your best and brightest students does not add to a
solution for the brutality of abortion. I say best and brightest
because they are the ones who see the issue clearly and have the ability
to express for the unborn, in a thought-provoking and articulate manner,
that God-given rights are violated and lives are unnecessarily taken,
when institutions like yours become blind and heartless.

Kindest regards,

James Edward Mullen
BSc. '62, U of A

Calgary Circus School : Part II

The University of Calgary 'powers that be' are so determined to keep a puritanically abortion welcoming atmosphere at their school, that they can't allow a dozen or so students to continue attending...in case they educate someone about the ugly reality of abortion while on campus:

John Carpay- Advocate

The University of Calgary has taken its war on free speech to a new front, charging its own students with "non-academic misconduct" for having erected a pro-life display on campus on April 8.

LifeSiteNews

The group has put up the GAP display, which compares abortion to past historical atrocities through the use of graphic images, on the University of Calgary grounds without incident eight times since 2006.

In 2009, the university charged six students with trespassing in relation to the display, but the crown prosecutor stayed these charges prior to a trial scheduled for November 2009. The university has threatened participating students with non-academic misconduct charges on the occasion of each display, but this is the first time they are following through with their threat.

UofC has attempted to force the club to turn their signs inwards so they are not facing passersby, but CPL has refused to comly. Leah Hallman, CPL's president, told LifeSiteNews (LSN) that UofC's demand “is essentially saying that we can speak as long as nobody can hear us, we can show images as long as nobody can see them.”

Hallman explained that on April 8th campus security ordered them to turn their signs inward, but they refused as they always have. Then security told them to leave the campus and the students again refused, “knowing that we have the right to be there.”

UofC is charging the students with having failed to comply with an order from campus security, but according to Hallman, “campus security has no right to censor our ... legitimate free speech.”

Calgary Herald

No, they're not backing down, and short of being physically carted away by U of C campus security, they'll continue their fight, steadfast in their belief they live in a society where speaking out is a right, not a privilege.

U of C Campus Prolife press conference:

History will not remember what illegitimate excuse they used, other than as a derogative footnote; but history will remember their transgression against freedom, and it is upon this that posterity shall judge them.

So let the university do whatever action their twisted worldview sees fit, for we fear not the judgment of tyranny.

see also:
Calgary Circus School (part one)
U of C Student Leaders Embarrassingly Conformist

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Archbishop Prendergast writes about Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha :

Today in Canada the liturgy allows for the optional memorial of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks.

During the recent CNEWA familiarization tour, Archbishop Alex J. Brunett of Seattle shared with us the news that a miracle undergone by a young man in his region, and attributed to the intercession of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, seems to have passed all the medical and scientific tests as being inexplicable.

This information was recently sent to Rome for study and, if determined to be a miracle by the Congregation of the Causes of Saints and confirmed as such by the Holy Father, could lead to her canonization. This would be great news for the Native Peoples of not only the United States and Canada but also for all the indigenous peoples of the Americas and elsewhere...

O God, who, among the many marvels of Your Grace in the New World, did cause to blossom on the banks of the Mohawk and of the St. Lawrence, the pure and tender Lily, Kateri Tekakwitha, grant we beseech You, the favor we beg through her intercession, that this Young Lover of Jesus and of His Cross may soon be counted among the Saints of Holy Mother Church, and that our hearts may be enkindled with a stronger desire to imitate her innocence and faith. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Our eldest daughter was born while we were living in Saint Theresa Point, Manitoba - a fly-in community, part of a Cree reservation. She was named Margaret Rose Kathleen after her mother and her grandmothers, but also because we were thinking of Blessed Kateri. She was baptized(snug in her tikanogan) in St. Theresa Point, by Fr. Antonio Alberti, along with about seven other babies, several of whom were named Kateri Tekakwitha. Our three years in St. Theresa Point were very formative for our young family, and we owe a debt to them for developing our sense of Catholic community and mission.

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Fiscal Conservatives Take Heed...

Can 'fiscally but not socially' conservatives ever truly succeed?

Regular Guy thinks not...

"Imagine if you will a society that embraced abortion, euthanasia, easy divorce and gay marriage, and that denigrated family life and religious faith. Could such a society, placing personal pleasure above family responsibility, ever show enough self-reliance to adopt fiscally conservative policies geared towards smaller government and lower taxes? I have a pretty good imagination, but I can’t imagine that. Could such a society find among its numbers enough young men with the courage and spirit of self-sacrifice to maintain its ability to defend its borders and its interests? I don’t believe so.

Likewise, would a people who turn first to government for the answer to every problem be likely to show the sense of responsibility necessary to defend life and family? I seriously doubt it..."

I agree.

(h/t Pro Ecclesia Pro Familia Pro Civitate )

"Media Frenzy" - Church Scandal Round-Up

Visit Lifesite News for stories and links....

"Oh Canada, We Stand Around For Thee"

Mark Steyn reviews the latest progression in 'PC' oppression - police inaction :

Just so. The mob's not the threat, you and Ann Coulter are. In the old days, the Mounties always got their man. But these days they'll get you. Frankly, it's a lot easier. Canadian law enforcement gives off the same vibe re Miss Coulter that the Dutch justice system does re Geert Wilders - that in many ways the most convenient outcome would be if the mob took care of the problem, pour encourager les autres...

Hopefully Just The First...

Bishop Tobin, Diocese of Providence, has 'disassociated' himself from the embarrassingly unfaithful Catholic Health Assoc... and he lays the blame at Sr Keehan's feet:

...Tobin told CHA director Sr. Carol Keehan in a March 29 letter that he was “very disappointed that the Catholic Health Association, under your leadership, publicly endorsed the recent health care legislation that was passed and signed into law.”...Tobin called out the group for paving the way to immense confusion among Catholics concerning the bill: “Your enthusiastic support of the legislation, in contradiction to the position of the Bishops of the United States, provided an excuse for members of Congress, misled the public and cause serious scandal for many members of the Church," he said.

Therefore, he said, “I am writing to request that St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island, sponsored by the Diocese of Providence, be removed from the membership list and mailing list of the Catholic Health Association.”

full article at LifeSiteNews

(Disobedience - A Bad Habit)

Quote Of The Day - "The Holy Longing"

“To be connected with the (Catholic) church is to be associated with scoundrels, warmongers, fakes, child-molesters, murderers, adulterers and hypocrites of every description.
It also, at the same time, identifies you with saints and the finest persons of heroic soul of every time, country, race, and gender.
To be a member of the church is to carry the mantle of both the worst sin and the finest heroism of soul because the church always looks exactly as it looked at the original crucifixion, God hung among thieves.”
—Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I., “The Holy Longing”

(h/t Faith & Family)

The 'Heart' Of The Catholic Church

Kathryn Jean Lopez at NRO

...The Catholic Church — the heart of it, Jesus Christ and the Eucharist — has left no one. But Catholics are leaving it all the time, in word and deed. And some of them are ordained or consecrated. But it is still there, with men and women all over the country, some of them ordained and consecrated, getting up every day and doing their best to embody everything they say they believe. And at the heart of what they believe, is not a policy paper from the bishops’ conference and it’s not money going toward ACORN, and it’s certainly not criminal or abusive...

full article

UN Continues to Bleed Credibility

This guy isn't helping any...

In London last Friday, a high ranking United Nations (UN) jurist called on the British government to detain Pope Benedict XVI during his upcoming visit to Britain, and send him to trial in the International Criminal Court (ICC) for “crimes against humanity.”

Geoffrey Robertson touted his status as a UN judge in an article he published last week, in which he argued that jurists should invoke the same procedures that have been used to indict war criminals such as Slobodan Milosevic, to try the Pope as head of the Roman Catholic Church, who he said is ultimately responsible for sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests.

Robertson is one of five select jurists in the UN’s internal justice system responsible for holding UN officials accountable for corruption and mismanagement. His article was published in both the United States and Britain and reported on by the Associated Press...

No surprises here. The Pope is the world's strongest ally against the UN's push for universal abortion and homosexual 'special rights'. Let the ridiculousness continue. The Church and her Shepherd can take it. We have more in our corner than aspirations of global power. Our aspirations reach to Heaven.

REAL Catholics Only, Please!!!

American faux catholic group, 'Catholics' For Choice, is lobbying PM Stephen Harper to overturn a vote taken in the House of Commons last week. They say that they are representative of Canadian Catholics, including the Bishops, and that abortion SHOULD be funded by aid designated for maternal care.

Who in HELL do they think they are? (I'm pretty sure that's where they hail from...)

The Canadian branch (which has a whopping 100 members!) is no more than a field office of the anti-Catholic American group.

This statement from the Cdn.co-ordinator, pretty much says it all :

"We dissent from the formal teachings, as do most Canadian Catholics in practice."

REAL Canadian Catholics expect to hear from their REAL Catholic Bishops about this - REAL soon!!

More on 'Anti-Catholics-For Choice'

Filipino Bishop Warns Faithful
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Real Bishops Only , Please!

"The pro-life, pro-family movement of the world, believers of all faiths, and others who value traditional principles, all need the Catholic Church to be what it is called to be. Without this, the Culture of Death, the decline of freedoms and the sufferings of the vulnerable will expand exponentially."

Steve Jalsevac of LifeSite News :

Although there have been many positive changes in the Church in the U.S. and Canada and in Vatican policies since the horrific 2002 revelations, LSN has continuously warned that the fundamental problems that led to the abuses and subsequent crippling of the Catholic Church have still been far from fully resolved.

Three issues are still of great concern:

1. The overwhelming unwillingness of most bishops to exercise their authority in response to serious rejection or indifference towards issues of critical Catholic beliefs and norms - especially regarding moral issues. That is, the bishops have not been actively upholding the faith with consequent serious harm resulting to the faith and lives of many people.

2. The public scandal of criminally negligent or otherwise seriously negligent or corrupt bishops still not having been appropriately held personally accountable. It has instead been insurance companies and the people in the pews and past large benefactors, who had nothing to do with the scandals, whose contributions have unjustly been taken to pay part of the billions of dollars for settlements and obscene lawyers fees. The victims of abuse have been denied justice.

3. The still on-going unwillingness to face or even mention the corruption caused by the tolerance of homosexuality within the clergy at all levels, including bishops and cardinals, within the religious orders and within Catholic Church institutions and colleges and schools. There has been much improvement on this item, especially thanks to Pope Benedict's strong re-affirmation of the rule that homosexuals must not be admitted into seminaries; but there is still far, far more that must be done to rid the Church of this widespread, cancerous influence within the Church body.

Full article..

"Urbi Et Orbi"

CHRIST IS RISEN!


HE IS RISEN INDEED!!

Called To The Dance

By Our True Love...





(h/t Inside Catholic)


"Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day"


Chorus:
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love


5. Into the desert I was led,
Where I fasted without substance;
The Devil bade me make stones my bread,
To have me break my true love's dance. Chorus

6. The Jews on me they made great suit,
And with me made great variance,
Because they loved darkness rather than light,
To call my true love to my dance. Chorus

7. For thirty pence Judas me sold,
His covetousness for to advance:
Mark whom I kiss, the same do hold!
The same is he shall lead the dance. Chorus

8. Before Pilate the Jews me brought,
Where Barabbas had deliverance;
They scourged me and set me at nought,
Judged me to die to lead the dance. Chorus

9. Then on the cross hanged I was,
Where a spear my heart did glance;
There issued forth both water and blood,
To call my true love to my dance. Chorus

10. Then down to hell I took my way
For my true love's deliverance,
And rose again on the third day,
Up to my true love and the dance. Chorus

11. Then up to heaven I did ascend,
Where now I dwell in sure substance
On the right hand of God, that man
May come unto the general dance. Chorus

(full lyrics)

My children anticipate with bouncy exuberance, the joy of Easter Sunday, but I anticipate with peaceful resignation, knowing my True Love, and being enveloped in His embrace.

I love being Catholic, for the fullness of that embrace.

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The Divine Mercy Novena

(EWTN)

The Divine Mercy Novena

Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday. He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said:

"These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives. It was on their account that I said: 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.' The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy."

In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:

"On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy ... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls."

The different souls prayed for on each day of the novena are....read more

Good Friday

Cardinal Ruini 'Via Crucis' (April 2,2010)

...When the Apostle Philip asked Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father," he replied, "Have I been with you all this time, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn 14:8-9). This evening, as we accompany Jesus in our hearts while he makes his way beneath the cross, let us not forget those words. Even as he carries the cross, even in his death on the cross, Jesus remains the Son, who is one with God the Father. When we look upon his face disfigured by beating, weariness and inner suffering, we see the face of the Father. Indeed, it is precisely in this moment that God's glory, his surpassing splendour, in some way becomes visible on the face of Jesus. In this poor, suffering man whom Pilate, in the hope of eliciting compassion, showed to the Jews with the words "Behold the man!" (Jn 19:5), we see revealed the true greatness of God, that mysterious grandeur beyond all our imagining....

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Holy Thursday

" Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end."(John13:1)









Pope Benedict XVI Holy Thursday Homily (April 1, 2010)
(full text)

...We said that breaking the bread is an act of communion, an act of uniting through sharing. Thus, in the act itself, the intimate nature of the Eucharist is already indicated: it is agape, it is love made corporeal. In the word “agape”, the meanings of Eucharist and love intertwine. In Jesus’ act of breaking the bread, the love that is shared has attained its most radical form: Jesus allows himself to be broken as living bread. In the bread that is distributed, we recognize the mystery of the grain of wheat that dies, and so bears fruit. We recognize the new multiplication of the loaves, which derives from the dying of the grain of wheat and will continue until the end of the world. At the same time, we see that the Eucharist can never be just a liturgical action. It is complete only if the liturgical agape then becomes love in daily life. In Christian worship, the two things become one – experiencing the Lord’s love in the act of worship and fostering love for one’s neighbour. At this hour, we ask the Lord for the grace to learn to live the mystery of the Eucharist ever more deeply, in such a way that the transformation of the world can begin to take place...

"18 of 31"- Mexicans States Choose Life

California Catholic Daily :

Mexican pro-life leader praises majority of country’s states for adopting legal protection for unborn, calls on rest of states to follow suit

Mexico City, Mexico, Mar 29, 2010 (CNA) -- In a recent article for the newspaper, El Grafico, Mexican pro-life expert Carolina Beauregard applauded actions by 18 of the country's 31 states to establish legal protections for the unborn and encouraged the remaining 13 states to pass similar pro-life laws.

Beauregard, who advises several Mexican pro-life groups, wrote that the constitutional reforms protecting life in 18 Mexican states advanced with the overwhelming majority of political parties and strong support by the people. She added that support for the right to life is on the rise, despite efforts by some groups in opposition.

“Lawmakers are seeking to protect the lives of the unborn and the mother at the same time,” she explained, noting that in some states, women who undergo an abortion are sentenced to community service instead of a prison term.

Beauregard called on all organizations in Mexico to safeguard the right to life, underscoring that “we should reflect on the kind of society that we want -- one in which life is valued and defended above any circumstance.”

Ignatieff Still Hot For Abortion

An unfortunate circumstance of living in Cayman, is that there is so much Canadian news. Thus I am frequently subjected to hours and hours of CBC programming. Right now, the Leader of the Opposition is telling us how embarrassed he is that the Canadian government has decided not to fund abortion and contraception as part of 'maternal care'. This was decided by a vote in the House of Commons only last week. He is embarrassed because the US and the UK disagree. Ignatieff believes that people who wish to use contraception and abortion to avoid becoming mothers, should receive the funds designated for those who are or wish to be mothers. In his words, he doesn't wish anyone to be excluded. If you give him enough time, he may include those who wish they weren't women at all...

Michael Ignatieff is the personification of the PC disease that has infected the world. Its perpetrated by bully liberals, who do not allow that anyone else has a legitimate right to vote, decide, speak or act in anyway contrary to liberal dogma. The most obvious of this liberal dogma is the international push for the universal acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle as normal, and the universal access and funding of abortion. The EU, the UN and the US are the pushers. All nations hanging on to even the slightest shred of their Christian heritage, are those being pushed.

Even if one is not the biggest fan of Stephen Harper, even if one thinks he's barely right of left in a lot of areas, and perhaps not at all socially conservative, no freedom loving, individualistic, intelligent , Canadian patriot can in good conscience support the Liberals or their latest stooge - it is tantamount to selling out to World Government. As in 'We don't know what's best for us, let's give our rights over to smarter people, like those suave Europeans, or that handsome intellectual from Harvard'.

I commend the Harper government for this - reflecting the spirit of freedom and common sense that built Canada, and presenting an independently sound and good vision of world health . We don't need to be more American or British or European. We need to be more Canadian. Common sense, hard working people who care about their families and aren't falsely attached to every fleeting self-destructive philosophical fad emanating from Europe or America.

Free Speechers - Canadian Senate

Senator Finley :

“The great Alan Borovoy, who was the head of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association for more than forty years, calls freedom of speech a “strategic freedom”. “Because it is the freedom upon which all of our other freedoms are built. “For example, how could we exercise our democratic right to hold elections, without free speech? “How could we have a fair trial, without free speech? “And what would be the point of freedom of assembly, if we couldn’t talk freely at a public meeting? “It is the most important freedom. Indeed, if you had all of your other rights taken away, you could still win them back with freedom of speech.

“Benjamin Franklin once said that “Without Freedom of thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such thing as public Liberty, without Freedom of speech” “Freedom of speech is embedded in Parliament’s DNA. The word Parliament itself comes from the French word, parler – to speak.

“And as Parliamentarians, we guard our freedom jealously. No Member of Parliament or the Senate may be sued for anything he says in here. Our freedom of speech is absolute. “And yet just last week, only a few miles from here, censorship reared its ugly head....

Senator Duffy:

“I rise to join my colleague, Senator Finley, in support of an inquiry into the state of freedom of speech in Canada. “I share Senator Finley’s love of freedom and his concern about the growing phenomena of censorship. “I approach the subject from the perspective of someone who, as a journalist for more than forty years, has used freedom of speech every day of my life, and has seen its essential role in keeping our democracy healthy. “And that’s my first observation: freedom of speech is much bigger than just politics.

“It’s about our right as free men and women to express ourselves in any way we choose – not just politically, but socially, musically, artistically and through every other human endeavour.

“Our freedom of expression is inextricably linked to our right to think for ourselves, to choose our place in the world, to talk back to the world, and even to fight against the world. “If you doubt that, ask any high school rock band why they do what they do! “So while it’s often political speech that grabs the news headlines – we should never forget that millions of Canadians put freedom of speech into action every day, from film-makers to authors, to stand-up comedians, to advertising agencies to PTA meetings and Rotary Clubs. “Free speech is a thread of personal liberty that is woven into every part of Canadian society...

Hopefully this is just the beginning.

M.O.P. Concert - Grand Cayman

Here are some photographs of the Missionaries of the Poor fund-raising concert at our parish this past weekend. Fr. Richard Ho Lung, founder of the M.O.P., and five singers from their musical troupe sang Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon, raising over $7000 for Haiti relief and the M.O.P.'s new project in Kingston.







(photos by Diana Brodowska)

Day 40 - 40 Days For Life

Every '40 Days For Life ' campaign, I try to post their meditations here each of the 40 days. Today is the final day of another successful, life affirming campaign. Babies lives were saved through the prayerful presence of people who care.

I am asking those who have been following this blog, or are here by chance today, to do what you can to help this spiritual and practical battle against abortion.

Today , on Palm Sunday, I ask you to take up the Cross and put yourself out for the poor struggling women in Jamaica. International forces (the EU,US and UN) have been relentlessly pressuring Jamaica to legalize abortion. The temptation, is the money offered to ease the economic woes in Jamaica. In other words, the west is asking Jamaica to sell its soul for a small purse. Sound familiar?

Fr. Ho Lung and the Missionaries of the Poor are neck deep in the battle to protect Jamaica's mothers and babies. His brothers, who already operate numerous centres for the poor in Jamaica and around the world, are opening 'Holy Innocents' - a centre that will protect and serve 200 women and 200 babies. The MOP offer all their services for free, and are dependent upon the generosity of folks like us...those who wish to share in the carrying of Christ's Cross .

Fr. Ho Lung has a musical gift, and though he doesn't read music, has been able to find talent around him to perform his music for audiences .His shows give the audience the opportunity to meet Fr. Ho Lung, hear his Gospel message in the musical productions, and to become aware of the work the MOP does around the world. This week Fr. Ho Lung was in Cayman with his 'Five Tenors'. Our family was privileged to attend Friday night's show, and we plan on returning this afternoon for his last show. Fr. Ho Lung also celebrated at every Mass today. Hopefully many will take up the Cross, and help the MOP in whichever way they can. Check out the MOP website, and see what you are able to do.

I can also recommend the retreats that Fr. Ho Lung offers several times a year. They are Ignatian in method (though shorter, of course) and silent. Before and after there are opportunities to visit and work at the various MOP centres in Kingston. The humility and simplicity of the brothers at work and prayer is very moving.

God Bless the Missionaries of the Poor and their friends and good works everywhere.



40 Days For Life