(12-17) 09:00 PST VATICAN CITY, (AP) --
The Vatican moved Thursday to thwart renegade African Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo from ordaining more bishops in defiance of the pope, stripping him of his priestly functions so any future ordinations by him would be invalid.
The Zambian monsignor has long been a problem for Rome. He angered the Vatican when he was married in 2001 to a South Korean woman by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/12/17/international/i043954S66.DTL#ixzz0Zy9Ld84W
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Cathoic Advocacy Group Sues Revolutionary San Francisco
(12-16) 15:32 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A Catholic advocacy group told a federal appeals court Wednesday that San Francisco supervisors unconstitutionally attacked the church in 2006 when they denounced a Vatican order prohibiting Catholic Charities from placing adoptive children with same-sex couples.
"This is a specific condemnation and criticism of religious beliefs," Robert Muise, lawyer for the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, told an 11-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Just as the Constitution forbids government endorsement of religion, he said, it also prohibits official expressions of hostility to a religion or its doctrines.
The league and other Catholic groups have sued the city, seeking a court order repealing the nonbinding resolution.
Deputy City Attorney Vince Chhabria told the judges that the supervisors had a secular purpose - supporting equal rights for gays and lesbians - and were entitled to express disapproval of any group that opposed that goal. Chief Judge Alex Kozinski appeared to agree, although he asked critical questions of both sides.
Read more ...
"This is a specific condemnation and criticism of religious beliefs," Robert Muise, lawyer for the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, told an 11-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Just as the Constitution forbids government endorsement of religion, he said, it also prohibits official expressions of hostility to a religion or its doctrines.
The league and other Catholic groups have sued the city, seeking a court order repealing the nonbinding resolution.
Deputy City Attorney Vince Chhabria told the judges that the supervisors had a secular purpose - supporting equal rights for gays and lesbians - and were entitled to express disapproval of any group that opposed that goal. Chief Judge Alex Kozinski appeared to agree, although he asked critical questions of both sides.
Read more ...
UK Courts Define Jewishness
JFS ruling: '3,500 years of Jewish tradition overturned.'
The Tablet
The Jewish Free School has lost the hard-fought case on the criteria for admissions to this sought-after school. The next step might be to challenge equality legislation itself, as the admissions criteria, found to be racially discriminating, was based on the 3,500-year-old criteria for judging whether a person is Jewish or not, fundamentally by the religion of the mother.
The outline of the case is summed up well in the United Synagogue's own press release, which I reproduce her with a comment from the Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks at the end.
Narrowest of margins defeats JFS
in the UK Supreme Court
London, 16th December 2009
The UK Supreme Court today, by the narrowest of margins, held that the admissions criteria of JFS, which gave preference in the event of oversubscription to children who are Jewish according to Orthodox Jewish law (either by descent or conversion), were in the definition of the 1976 Race Relations Act, directly racially discriminatory.
Read further...
The Tablet
The Jewish Free School has lost the hard-fought case on the criteria for admissions to this sought-after school. The next step might be to challenge equality legislation itself, as the admissions criteria, found to be racially discriminating, was based on the 3,500-year-old criteria for judging whether a person is Jewish or not, fundamentally by the religion of the mother.
The outline of the case is summed up well in the United Synagogue's own press release, which I reproduce her with a comment from the Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks at the end.
Narrowest of margins defeats JFS
in the UK Supreme Court
London, 16th December 2009
The UK Supreme Court today, by the narrowest of margins, held that the admissions criteria of JFS, which gave preference in the event of oversubscription to children who are Jewish according to Orthodox Jewish law (either by descent or conversion), were in the definition of the 1976 Race Relations Act, directly racially discriminatory.
Read further...
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Archbishop Nienstedt hosted Dissident Jesuit Against His Own Policy
This is a recap of the aforementioned event at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Edina, Minnesota, a large, white trimmed, church campus that looks more like a protestant megachurch in a disneyfied colonial style. It's actually difficult to descry a church structure amid the cluster of buildings.
Controversial, pro-homosexual speaker, Fr. Kevin Burke led a retreat at a Catholic Parish earlier this month in opposition to Archdiocesan Policy established by the allegedly conservative Archbishop Nienstedt (Who also supports Socialized Medicine and the CCHD). The response from the Archdiocese to this problem was not decisive and it wasn't in line with its own directives.
As a response to this problem, we just received an e-mail from a probable local yokel named, Peter Canisius, which was written by the Communications Director of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis; which seems to be directed at us, reproduced here in its entirety:
You and I both know who you really are and that you are not a dead Jesuit saint but a poor deluded soul who has tried to serve as some kind of avenging angel to the Church and the Archdiocese over the years. Now I know who disrupted my afternoon with your phone call and your unwillingness to listen to facts.
How dare you defame Archbishop Nienstedt with a fake news release like this that is totally untrue. He issued no "document" to Our Lady of Grace or its Adult Formation Office affirmation that Father Kevin Burke SJ is a priest in good standing and that Liberation Theology is fully in line with the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church." This is not only false, but you have committed the sin of calumny in distributing this falsehood.
Since you are such a self appointed guardian of our Church's teachings and the "Magisterium[''s" edicts, you must know that Archbishop Nienstedt is always a faithful follower of both. He has, as you must know, again, prohibited a number of scheduled speakers who did not conform with the Church's teachings from speaking at some of our parishes. At his direction, I personally called the office of the provincial for the Jesuit Order in California and was told that Father Burke is absolutely a priest in good standing with their order. Who are you to deny their authority?
And Archbishop Nienstedt has never approved Father Burke's appearance nor issued any proclamation. I presented him with the information he had asked for and he has not chosen to interfere in this priest's appearance at the parish. We have, however, also been in touch with the parish and directed them to speak with Father Burke in advance to assure that he does not make statements that conflict with the teachings of the Church.
How dare you accuse the Archbishop of violating both the terms of the Manhattan declaration and his own Speakers Policy? Shame on you!
Dennis McGrath
Director of Communications
Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
It is a confusing letter, not to mention strident, and is confused about the Archdiocese's own policy regarding Catholic speakers which forbids them from speaking on Diocesan property (which did occur) if their writings are not harmonius with Catholic teaching; and we've already demonstrated that the Jesuit speaker, Fr. Kevin Burke is far from problematic, indeed, his writings reek of heresy. We've also demonstrated that the organizer of the event, Terry Grieb, is a member of the CCCR (Catholic Coalition for Church Reform). In the course of our phone call, Mr. McGrath did mention this organization and said that he and the Archbishop had cancelled several events sponsored by them. Why indeed have they permitted this to take place?
It makes the Archdiocese look bad if it has policies that it isn't enforcing. It almost looks as if the Archbishop isn't really serious about combating error. We made Mr. McGrath aware of the event and he became very angry. In any event, he admits in the letter that he was aware of Father Burke SJ, he admitted that he knew Liberation Theology was bad (and that Fr. Burke promotes it in his writings) but insisted that merely getting a verbal agreement was sufficient to ensure that no error would be taught at the retreat on the 7th and 8th of December. Mr. McGrath accused someone of calumny, we're not sure who, but is he aware there is a commandment against lying?
We've also heard that a local Bishop actually said the event had been cancelled, but we were there. Fr. Burke SJ was present, so the talk went on as planned, against Archdiocesan Policy.
All that taken into account, the current pastor, Father Bob Schwartz, by virtue of his assocation with the aforementioned CCCR, Father Kevin Burke SJ, and his assigned reading list featuring books by dissident authors should be sufficient to demonstrate the problematic nature, not only of the talk which recently took place, but of Father Bob Schwartz himself, who by his assigned writings, promotes an environment of dissent and departure from Catholic teaching, writers like Sr. Joan Chittister (women's ordination, homosexuality) and Fr. Richard Rohr would not be welcome speakers at the Archdiocese of St. Paul, that is, if the policy in place were actually enforced at least as we understand it.
One thing's for sure, you won't be in danger of getting instruction on the Catholic Faith by reading Father Bob's Book List, which we will reproduce here:
FR BOB'S RECOMMENDED Book List
General Spiritual Enrichment:
Finding Sanctuary - Monastic Steps for Everyday Life
By Abbot Christopher Jamison - Liturgical Press [not a reliable publisher]
Finding Happiness - Monastic Steps far a Fulfilling Life
By Abbot Christopher Jamison - Liturgical Press
Forgotten Among the Lilies - Learning to Love Beyond Our Fears [meaningless self-help]
By Fr. Ronald Rolheiser - Doubleday
The Holy Longing - A Search for Christian Spirituality
By Fr. Ronald Rolheiser - Doubleday (Also almost anything else by him)
My Life With the Saints
By Fr. James Martin, SJ - Loyola Press
A Jesuit Off-Broadway [campy]
By Fr. James Martin, SJ
For an even deeper look at the Spiritual Life:
A Blessed Life: Benedictine Guidelines for Those Who
Long for Good Days
By Wil Derkse - Liturgical Press
For Men/ Fathers. Sons and Grandfathers:
Wild at Heart - Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
By John Eldredge - Nelson Books
The Way of the Wild Heart-A Map of the Masculine Journey
By John Eldredge - Nelson Books
Adam's Return - The Five Promises of Male Initiation
By Fr. Richard Rohr - Crossroad Book
For Anyone Over Sixty:
The Gift of Years - Growing Older Gracefully
By Sr. Joan Chisttister - BlueBridge
"I recommend all of these books very highly. The last one is especially good
reading for anyone who experiencing the troubling questions of aging." [How about preparing for death by having a good confession?]
Dean Moves to Kill Obamacare
The enemy of your enemy is your friend. God has a sense of irony. The Bishops won't defeat the bill, but a Godless socialist will.
WASHINGTON – Former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean argued Wednesday that the health care overhaul bill taking shape in the Senate further empowers private insurers at the expense of consumer choice.
"You will be forced to buy insurance. If you don't, you'll pay a fine," said Dean, a physician. "It's an insurance company bailout." Interviewed on ABC's "Good Morning America," he said the bill has some good provisions, "but there has to be a line beyond which you think the bill is bad for the country."
"This is an insurance company's dream," the former Democratic presidential candidate said. "This is the Washington scramble, and it's a shame."
Dean asserted that the Senate's health care bill would not prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage for preexisting conditions and he also said it would allow the industry to charge older people far more than others for premiums.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., a prominent House liberal, protested the absence of any government-run insurance option in the Senate bill.
"We can't let the perfect be enemy of the good," Weiner said on CBS' "Early Show," "but we are reaching a tipping point."
When House and Senate negotiators go to conference to work out a compromise bill, Weiner said, "We should move away from some of the things the Senate has done and move back to where the House is. You need to contain cost. You do that with a public option."
(This version CORRECTS SUBS 2nd graf, deleting word 'now' to correct Dean quote.)
Link to original...
WASHINGTON – Former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean argued Wednesday that the health care overhaul bill taking shape in the Senate further empowers private insurers at the expense of consumer choice.
"You will be forced to buy insurance. If you don't, you'll pay a fine," said Dean, a physician. "It's an insurance company bailout." Interviewed on ABC's "Good Morning America," he said the bill has some good provisions, "but there has to be a line beyond which you think the bill is bad for the country."
"This is an insurance company's dream," the former Democratic presidential candidate said. "This is the Washington scramble, and it's a shame."
Dean asserted that the Senate's health care bill would not prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage for preexisting conditions and he also said it would allow the industry to charge older people far more than others for premiums.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., a prominent House liberal, protested the absence of any government-run insurance option in the Senate bill.
"We can't let the perfect be enemy of the good," Weiner said on CBS' "Early Show," "but we are reaching a tipping point."
When House and Senate negotiators go to conference to work out a compromise bill, Weiner said, "We should move away from some of the things the Senate has done and move back to where the House is. You need to contain cost. You do that with a public option."
(This version CORRECTS SUBS 2nd graf, deleting word 'now' to correct Dean quote.)
Link to original...
"Catholics" Upset About Parish Closing Want to Teach Bishop a Lesson
Opposition to church closings is a lot of emotive hoopla. People who are essentially cultural Catholics who go to Church once a year, send the two children they've decided to have to Notre Dame and frequently tell people they don't really agree 100% with the Church's teachings get really exited when the Bishop, (for substantial reasons, like not enough money to go around and perhaps because his predecessor promoted too many homosexuals to the priesthood, permitted liturgical abuses and didn't preach enough about personal sanctity) decides to close down some parishes.
They're not very keen on defending the teachings they're supposed to believe in, but they're really keen on correcting the Bishop when they perceive that the church in which they were married (twice) gets closed down and sold to Scientologists.
"Catholics" advocate stiffing the collection plate to teach their Bishop some kind of Lesson.
They're not very keen on defending the teachings they're supposed to believe in, but they're really keen on correcting the Bishop when they perceive that the church in which they were married (twice) gets closed down and sold to Scientologists.
"Catholics" advocate stiffing the collection plate to teach their Bishop some kind of Lesson.
Good News Roundup! Pope to Revise 83' Code of Canon Law
It has been mentioned that in addition to working out some of the details of meeting the Anglicans and moving them in an orderly fashion to the Barque of Peter, there is talk about a revision of the 1983 Code of Canon law, which is in great need of revision, clarity and decisiveness.
More proof that liberalism is evil and does nothing but leave behind a wasteland like what T.S. Elliot warned us of. What's even "better" is that this was once one of the most Catholic places outside of the Archdiocese of Rome and Holland (another place liberals had their way with). Trenchent and malevolent liberalism was fueled into this most Catholic region like a persistent nerve agent whose purpose it was to make it so poisonous to Catholics that one couldn't be found anywhere, except perhaps in crowded SSPX Chapels in remote and hidden recesses in lonely Quebec.
Milwaukee Archbishop tells cultural Catholics they can't be pro-abortion, pro-contraception and Catholic.
Wyoming Bishop withdraws and leaves open yet another possibillity for another woman Bishop. That's good.
More proof that liberalism is evil and does nothing but leave behind a wasteland like what T.S. Elliot warned us of. What's even "better" is that this was once one of the most Catholic places outside of the Archdiocese of Rome and Holland (another place liberals had their way with). Trenchent and malevolent liberalism was fueled into this most Catholic region like a persistent nerve agent whose purpose it was to make it so poisonous to Catholics that one couldn't be found anywhere, except perhaps in crowded SSPX Chapels in remote and hidden recesses in lonely Quebec.
Milwaukee Archbishop tells cultural Catholics they can't be pro-abortion, pro-contraception and Catholic.
Wyoming Bishop withdraws and leaves open yet another possibillity for another woman Bishop. That's good.
Fr. Z takes Petty Swipes at Bishop Williamson
Gerard Wrote:
Fr. Z takes another ignorant and or malicious swipe at Bishop Williamson and attempts to distract people from his very relevant comments on sacramental abuse and ambiguity in the post-conciliar sacramental rites. My comments are in blue.
Link to original....
Revolutionary Basque Priests Decry New Bishop
As was the case with Fr. Gerald Warner in Linz, this conservative Basque Bishop is being shouted down by a group of most revolutionary clerics with an animus delendi.
Madrid - Catholic priests in Spain's Basque region have taken the unusual step of criticizing Pope Benedict XVI's choice of bishop for San Sebastian, media reports said Wednesday.
Nearly 80 per cent of the priests in the diocese of the port city said Jose Ignacio Munilla, who is due to become bishop in January, was not 'suitable' for the post.
The priests issued a manifesto describing the choice of Munilla as 'discrediting the ecclesiastical life of our diocese.'
The protest, which was described as unprecedented in the recent history of Spain's Catholic Church, was believed to have a political background.
The Basque church is known as being relatively progressive and sympathetic to the Basque nationalist movement, which contains separatist currents.
Munilla, on the other hand, is known as being close to the conservative line of Madrid Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco, head of the Spanish bishops' conference, who was believed to have recommended him to the pope.
'A part of the Basque church has shown more sympathy for the killers (of the violent separatist group ETA) than for their victims,' the daily El Mundo charged.
Read more: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1519512.php/Basque-priests-reject-bishop-appointed-by-pope#ixzz0Zs7IBwQD
Madrid - Catholic priests in Spain's Basque region have taken the unusual step of criticizing Pope Benedict XVI's choice of bishop for San Sebastian, media reports said Wednesday.
Nearly 80 per cent of the priests in the diocese of the port city said Jose Ignacio Munilla, who is due to become bishop in January, was not 'suitable' for the post.
The priests issued a manifesto describing the choice of Munilla as 'discrediting the ecclesiastical life of our diocese.'
The protest, which was described as unprecedented in the recent history of Spain's Catholic Church, was believed to have a political background.
The Basque church is known as being relatively progressive and sympathetic to the Basque nationalist movement, which contains separatist currents.
Munilla, on the other hand, is known as being close to the conservative line of Madrid Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco, head of the Spanish bishops' conference, who was believed to have recommended him to the pope.
'A part of the Basque church has shown more sympathy for the killers (of the violent separatist group ETA) than for their victims,' the daily El Mundo charged.
Read more: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1519512.php/Basque-priests-reject-bishop-appointed-by-pope#ixzz0Zs7IBwQD
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Bishops Press Senate On Abortion
The author thinks that the American Bishop's increasing hostillity against progressive Senators on the issue of abortion, may alienate them from them in other leftist platforms they both share. The Bishops have long been allies of progressive political forces, it's time they realize that liberalism is no friend to the Church.
As liberals bitterly absorb the loss of a government-backed insurance option, the divisive issues of abortion and covering immigrants could soon re-emerge as the Senate finalizes a reform measure.
The U.S. Catholic Bishops on Monday sent senators letters urging action on each issue, siding with conservatives on one and liberals on the other.
On abortion, the letter from Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, chairman of the conference’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, urged a last minute insertion of language that would block taxpayer money from subsidizing abortion coverage.
Read further...
As liberals bitterly absorb the loss of a government-backed insurance option, the divisive issues of abortion and covering immigrants could soon re-emerge as the Senate finalizes a reform measure.
The U.S. Catholic Bishops on Monday sent senators letters urging action on each issue, siding with conservatives on one and liberals on the other.
On abortion, the letter from Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, chairman of the conference’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, urged a last minute insertion of language that would block taxpayer money from subsidizing abortion coverage.
Read further...
Two More Bombs in Mosul Targeting Chaldeans
By John Pontifex
SHOCK and fear have gripped the Church in Iraq after two explosions on the same day with the threat of more to come.
The Al Beshara (Annunciation) Syrian Catholic Church in Mosul was the first to be targeted at 10.30am on he 15th of December when a bomb was placed against an outside wall of the building.
A minor explosion took place with damage to the wall. Nobody was hurt. Youngsters at a nearby kindergarten had a lucky escape.
Within a few hours, a second, much bigger bomb had gone off at the Al Gahera (Our Lady of Purity) Syrian Orthodox Church, also in Mosul.
A number of people were injured in the explosion which caused major damage to the church in the crowded Al Shefaa district in the city centre.
Speaking from northern Iraq in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians, Fr Bashar Warda described the “fear and shock” of the people who looked forward to Christmas as a time to “lift our spirits”.
Meantime, the government in Baghdad has warned Church leaders of further attacks over the Christmas period, urging priests and religious Sisters to be especially vigilant.
Fr Warda said the Church would continue its Christmas preparations undeterred.
The Redemptorist priest based in Ankawa, outside the Kurdish capital, Erbil, added: “Normally Christmas is a time when we lift our spirits with a number of festivities so you can imagine what the atmosphere is like here now.
“The shock and the fear of the people is very strong.”
He described talking to Al Beshara parish priest Father Nazen Eshoa, who returned to Mosul to resume his ministry despite being kidnapped for a few days last year.
“Fr Nazen – like all of us – is shocked but he wants to continue preparing for Christmas as much as possible.”
The identity of the attackers is as yet unknown and Church leaders do not know if there is a link between the attacks in Mosul and the threats declared in Baghdad.
The attacks come less than three weeks after bomb attacks – again in Mosul – inflicting serious damage to St Ephrem’s Chaldean Church and a nearby convent.
Nobody was hurt in the attacks, on 26th November, although at least five Chaldean Sisters were in the convent when it came under fire.
Link to original...
SHOCK and fear have gripped the Church in Iraq after two explosions on the same day with the threat of more to come.
The Al Beshara (Annunciation) Syrian Catholic Church in Mosul was the first to be targeted at 10.30am on he 15th of December when a bomb was placed against an outside wall of the building.
A minor explosion took place with damage to the wall. Nobody was hurt. Youngsters at a nearby kindergarten had a lucky escape.
Within a few hours, a second, much bigger bomb had gone off at the Al Gahera (Our Lady of Purity) Syrian Orthodox Church, also in Mosul.
A number of people were injured in the explosion which caused major damage to the church in the crowded Al Shefaa district in the city centre.
Speaking from northern Iraq in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians, Fr Bashar Warda described the “fear and shock” of the people who looked forward to Christmas as a time to “lift our spirits”.
Meantime, the government in Baghdad has warned Church leaders of further attacks over the Christmas period, urging priests and religious Sisters to be especially vigilant.
Fr Warda said the Church would continue its Christmas preparations undeterred.
The Redemptorist priest based in Ankawa, outside the Kurdish capital, Erbil, added: “Normally Christmas is a time when we lift our spirits with a number of festivities so you can imagine what the atmosphere is like here now.
“The shock and the fear of the people is very strong.”
He described talking to Al Beshara parish priest Father Nazen Eshoa, who returned to Mosul to resume his ministry despite being kidnapped for a few days last year.
“Fr Nazen – like all of us – is shocked but he wants to continue preparing for Christmas as much as possible.”
The identity of the attackers is as yet unknown and Church leaders do not know if there is a link between the attacks in Mosul and the threats declared in Baghdad.
The attacks come less than three weeks after bomb attacks – again in Mosul – inflicting serious damage to St Ephrem’s Chaldean Church and a nearby convent.
Nobody was hurt in the attacks, on 26th November, although at least five Chaldean Sisters were in the convent when it came under fire.
Link to original...
Bill Donaue to the Rescue in Maine
By William Donohue
For almost two decades, Larry Grard worked as a reporter at Maine’s Morning Sentinel. He was recently fired because he e-mailed a letter (using his own e-mail account) to the head of an advocacy organization that his boss, Bill Thompson, did not like.
To be specific, Grard, who is Catholic, was unhappy with the angry comments made by Trevor Thomas of the Human Rights Campaign following last month’s election results. Having just lost in his bid to secure gay marriage in Maine, Thomas blamed hatred of gays for the loss. Grard wrote back, blaming Thomas’ side for generating hate. That was it.
Interestingly, Grard’s wife, Lisa, who writes a bimonthly cooking column for the newspaper, was subsequently fired. It was suddenly decided that her work was “no longer a good fit.” Sounds like reprisal to us.
As a Catholic, Grard has a right to hold, express and defend the teachings of the Catholic Church with impunity. While the First Amendment does not apply to private organizations, the fact remains that if Grard can be fired for something like this, then the rights of all reporters are in jeopardy. This explains why the Portland Newspaper Guild is standing squarely behind him. So is the Catholic League. We have put Grard, and his wife, in contact with law firms that may want to sue Mr. Thompson and his newspaper.
Contact: bthompson@mainetoday.com
Link to original...
For almost two decades, Larry Grard worked as a reporter at Maine’s Morning Sentinel. He was recently fired because he e-mailed a letter (using his own e-mail account) to the head of an advocacy organization that his boss, Bill Thompson, did not like.
To be specific, Grard, who is Catholic, was unhappy with the angry comments made by Trevor Thomas of the Human Rights Campaign following last month’s election results. Having just lost in his bid to secure gay marriage in Maine, Thomas blamed hatred of gays for the loss. Grard wrote back, blaming Thomas’ side for generating hate. That was it.
Interestingly, Grard’s wife, Lisa, who writes a bimonthly cooking column for the newspaper, was subsequently fired. It was suddenly decided that her work was “no longer a good fit.” Sounds like reprisal to us.
As a Catholic, Grard has a right to hold, express and defend the teachings of the Catholic Church with impunity. While the First Amendment does not apply to private organizations, the fact remains that if Grard can be fired for something like this, then the rights of all reporters are in jeopardy. This explains why the Portland Newspaper Guild is standing squarely behind him. So is the Catholic League. We have put Grard, and his wife, in contact with law firms that may want to sue Mr. Thompson and his newspaper.
Contact: bthompson@mainetoday.com
Link to original...
Msgr Andrew Faley Whinges Pathetically About Anglicanorum Coetibus
Msgr. Andrew Faley isn't very happy. He's like a liberal priest in confession confronted with a penitent who believes in personal sin, and then pops out the word "rigidity" to describe the man's ailments. He wasn't too happy either with Summorum Pontificum and he's been aware of this as a possibility for some time, fighting a rearguard action against the inevitable course he must have foreseen in 2007 when he said this to an interviewer at Churches Together:
So, he has a long and established pedigree working for the liberal wing of the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom and like Archbishop Vincent Nichols, is eager to demonstrate his displeasure at the fact by making passive aggressive jabs like this:
Link to original...
The bishops were always aware that it wasn’t a good enough reason for a man who was a former Anglican, became Catholic and wished to be considered for the Catholic priesthood, to do so because he didn’t approve of women as priests. That’s not the issue. [It's a pretty big issue] The issue is clearly to do with what it means to belong to the universal church and the decisions made within a particular church, in this case, the Anglican Church, to ordain women to the priesthood. That decision is much more deeply ingrained as a reason for the deeper reflection that it stirred in Catholics, Anglicans and other Christians as to what it means to belong to a Church that believes itself to be universal, in communion through the bishops with the Holy Father as the first among equals.
So, he has a long and established pedigree working for the liberal wing of the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom and like Archbishop Vincent Nichols, is eager to demonstrate his displeasure at the fact by making passive aggressive jabs like this:
Discontented Anglicans who convert must not become a "sect" within the Roman Catholic Church, a senior Catholic clergyman dealing with church unity has warned.
Anglicans who object to plans for women bishops are considering the Vatican's invitation to become part of a special section - an "ordinariate" - within the church in England and Wales.
Link to original...
USCCB's Propaganda Arm Receives More Criticism
If there s anything that demonstrates the proclivities and sortcomings of the USCCB, it is a national news service that misconstrues, distorts and minimizes Catholic teaching on a fairly consistent basis. Can anyone really dispute that the USCCB is made up mostly of men who fall short of the mark of ortodoxy?
WASHINGTON, DC, December 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - CNS' cavalier attitude toward orthodoxy is not confined to its recent treatment of the life issue alone. Some other examples, just to name a few:
In 2005, CNS issued a glowing review of the movie "Brokeback Mountain" and rated the homosexual propaganda piece as suitable for a "limited adult audience." Following the backlash of outraged readers, CNS eventually changed the rating to "morally offensive," but the fawning assessment of the film as "a serious contemplation on loneliness and connection" remains unchanged to this very day, however.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/dec/09121406.html
WASHINGTON, DC, December 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - CNS' cavalier attitude toward orthodoxy is not confined to its recent treatment of the life issue alone. Some other examples, just to name a few:
In 2005, CNS issued a glowing review of the movie "Brokeback Mountain" and rated the homosexual propaganda piece as suitable for a "limited adult audience." Following the backlash of outraged readers, CNS eventually changed the rating to "morally offensive," but the fawning assessment of the film as "a serious contemplation on loneliness and connection" remains unchanged to this very day, however.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/dec/09121406.html
Monday, December 14, 2009
Coptic Women Being forced to Marry Muslims in Egypt
This article is from the Baptist Press, and we have to say that it's interesting that the call Copts Christians. Copts who don't accept any of their core doctrines regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary and a host of other issues too numerous to mention here have given the title, "Christian" to these suffering people. How nice of them. Now that they recognize this ancient group of Christians who have more in common with Catholics than they have with Baptists, perhaps we can make some headway?
WASHINGTON (BP)--Coptic Christian women in Egypt are being forced to marry and convert to Islam and that oppression is part of a larger pattern of persecution against Christians facilitated by the Egyptian government, according to two recent reports.
"Cases of abduction, forced conversion and marriage are usually accompanied by acts of violence which include rape, beatings, deprivation of food and other forms of physical and mental abuse," said a new assessment by Christian Solidarity International and the Coptic Foundation for Human Rights.
At the same time, the 2009 U.S. State Department report on international religious freedom noted the Egyptian government fails to prosecute crimes against Copts and even has taken a hand in destroying church property and, in one case, a government official reportedly raped a woman who had converted from Islam to Christianity.
About 90 percent of the Egyptian population is Sunni Muslim, and the rest primarily identify themselves as Coptic Christians, according to the Human Rights Watch report "Prohibited Identities: State Interference with Religious Freedom." Copts typically are underprivileged and experience discrimination.
Egyptian sex traffickers entice Coptic Christian women from low-income families by promising an escape from poverty, then force the women into Muslim "marriages" or outright slavery, according to the CSI/CFHR report.
"Such abuse remains covered in a cloak of silence and tacit acceptance, even though it is against the constitutional affirmations of civil rights," the report said.
Once a Coptic girl is coerced into marriage and Islamic conversion, her family will not take her back, and if she leaves her "husband," she is considered a "disgrace" to her family, the report said. In addition, the Coptic Orthodox Church excommunicates female members who wed Muslim men, the State Department said.
Since Islam is the "religion of state" in Egypt, conversion to Islam is easy, while returning to Christianity is unacceptable, the HRW report said. The Civil Status Department, which issues national identity cards, sometimes refuses to give Coptic women a new card identifying her as Christian since it is considered apostasy for a Coptic woman to leave Islam, even to return to her religion of origin.
Egyptian law requires every citizen to have an identity card for purposes such as voting, employment and education.
Most of the cases of Coptic women being coerced into marriage are not reported and "observers, including human rights groups, find it extremely difficult to determine whether compulsion was used, as most cases involve a female Copt who converts to Islam when she marries a Muslim male," the State Department report said.
In two examples of coerced conversion, CSI/CFHR reported Nov. 10:
-- An Egyptian woman was raped and beaten since she would not have sex with the man she was forced to marry. The Coptic cross on her wrist was later removed with acid.
-- Another woman was forced to marry a Muslim lawyer and work for him in "slave-like conditions" for five years.
John Eibner, CSI's chief executive officer, urged President Obama in a letter to combat the trafficking of Christian women and girls in Egypt and to make sure the U.S. makes this issue a priority in its relations with Egypt.
"Trafficking of Christian women in Egypt is not a new phenomenon.... But this problem has now reached boiling point within Egypt's Coptic community, which views it as symptomatic of a much broader pattern of religious persecution," Eibner said in his letter.
--30--
Cindy Ortiz is an intern with the Washington bureau of Baptist Press.
Link to original...
WASHINGTON (BP)--Coptic Christian women in Egypt are being forced to marry and convert to Islam and that oppression is part of a larger pattern of persecution against Christians facilitated by the Egyptian government, according to two recent reports.
"Cases of abduction, forced conversion and marriage are usually accompanied by acts of violence which include rape, beatings, deprivation of food and other forms of physical and mental abuse," said a new assessment by Christian Solidarity International and the Coptic Foundation for Human Rights.
At the same time, the 2009 U.S. State Department report on international religious freedom noted the Egyptian government fails to prosecute crimes against Copts and even has taken a hand in destroying church property and, in one case, a government official reportedly raped a woman who had converted from Islam to Christianity.
About 90 percent of the Egyptian population is Sunni Muslim, and the rest primarily identify themselves as Coptic Christians, according to the Human Rights Watch report "Prohibited Identities: State Interference with Religious Freedom." Copts typically are underprivileged and experience discrimination.
Egyptian sex traffickers entice Coptic Christian women from low-income families by promising an escape from poverty, then force the women into Muslim "marriages" or outright slavery, according to the CSI/CFHR report.
"Such abuse remains covered in a cloak of silence and tacit acceptance, even though it is against the constitutional affirmations of civil rights," the report said.
Once a Coptic girl is coerced into marriage and Islamic conversion, her family will not take her back, and if she leaves her "husband," she is considered a "disgrace" to her family, the report said. In addition, the Coptic Orthodox Church excommunicates female members who wed Muslim men, the State Department said.
Since Islam is the "religion of state" in Egypt, conversion to Islam is easy, while returning to Christianity is unacceptable, the HRW report said. The Civil Status Department, which issues national identity cards, sometimes refuses to give Coptic women a new card identifying her as Christian since it is considered apostasy for a Coptic woman to leave Islam, even to return to her religion of origin.
Egyptian law requires every citizen to have an identity card for purposes such as voting, employment and education.
Most of the cases of Coptic women being coerced into marriage are not reported and "observers, including human rights groups, find it extremely difficult to determine whether compulsion was used, as most cases involve a female Copt who converts to Islam when she marries a Muslim male," the State Department report said.
In two examples of coerced conversion, CSI/CFHR reported Nov. 10:
-- An Egyptian woman was raped and beaten since she would not have sex with the man she was forced to marry. The Coptic cross on her wrist was later removed with acid.
-- Another woman was forced to marry a Muslim lawyer and work for him in "slave-like conditions" for five years.
John Eibner, CSI's chief executive officer, urged President Obama in a letter to combat the trafficking of Christian women and girls in Egypt and to make sure the U.S. makes this issue a priority in its relations with Egypt.
"Trafficking of Christian women in Egypt is not a new phenomenon.... But this problem has now reached boiling point within Egypt's Coptic community, which views it as symptomatic of a much broader pattern of religious persecution," Eibner said in his letter.
--30--
Cindy Ortiz is an intern with the Washington bureau of Baptist Press.
Link to original...
That Fraud Called “Liberty”
by Christopher A. Ferrara
December 11, 2009
In the public schools that are temples of the civic religion of secularism in the post-Christian West, schoolchildren imbibe a fairy tale.
According to the fairy tale, the downtrodden masses of the 18th and 19th centuries, “yearning to be free,” threw off the “tyranny of priests and kings” and established “government of the people” for the first time in human history, thus achieving the sacred Liberty for which — so the children are told incessantly — men have laid down their lives in countless wars.
But how is it that Liberty has meant more bloodshed than any king ever inflicted, including the French Revolutionary Wars, with their millions of victims, and the American Civil War, with 600,000 dead — the bloodiest civil war in human history up to that time?
How is it that Liberty has meant a level of taxation and government intrusion into daily life that the kings of old would have considered madness?
How is it that Liberty has meant less and less freedom for the good, the true and the beautiful, and more and more freedom for the bad, the false and the ugly, with each passing year?
And how is it that those who heap endless praise on Liberty do not seem to notice the vast pile of bodies sacrificed in its name, including hundreds of millions of unborn children, the victims of “reproductive choice”? (And let us not blame only the Supreme Court for the abortion holocaust, since abortion is more or less legal in all fifty states and every Western nation by the “will of the people.”)
Most Americans are unaware that Spain still has a king, Juan Carlos, who still has the right under the Spanish Constitution of 1978 to promulgate the laws passed by the Spanish parliament, without which the laws do not become effective. Yes, according to the fairy tale of Liberty, there is still a “tyrant” on a throne in Spain.
But how is it that that “tyrant” is himself the victim of tyranny? For by the “will of the people,” the Spanish parliament, under the socialist Zapatero government, has enacted a liberal abortion law, and the king is now expected either to sign it or abdicate.
Yes, the “tyrant” must bend to the “will of the people” and authorize the mass murder of innocents, or else abandon his “tyrannical” throne, so that the killing can begin in the name of Liberty.
As LifeSiteNews observes, however (December 7, 2009), Juan Carlos the “tyrant” is too weak to stand up to the forces that demand the shedding of innocent blood. While “Prominent Spanish Catholics are calling on the king to refuse to sign the law,” Juan Carlos has already signed into law the “gay marriage” legislation enacted by the Zapatero government, stating: “I’m not the king of Belgium.”
Juan Carlos was referring to the “tyrant” King Baudouin of Belgium, who in 1990 (as LifeSiteNews notes) “temporarily renounced his throne rather than sign his country’s law liberalizing abortion.” Then there is that “tyrant” Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, “who refused last year [2008] to sign the duchy’s law legalizing euthanasia and who may be stripped of his constitutional powers as a result.”
And this is the “freedom” from the “tyranny of kings and priests” that we are expected to celebrate as our “leaders” tax us, regulate us, wage war after war, and oppress us in a hundred ways no king of Christendom would even have dreamed of imposing on his subjects.
Behold the fraud called “Liberty”, whose very essence is a negation of the true freedom of which Our Lord — the King of all creation — spoke: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Link to original...
December 11, 2009
In the public schools that are temples of the civic religion of secularism in the post-Christian West, schoolchildren imbibe a fairy tale.
According to the fairy tale, the downtrodden masses of the 18th and 19th centuries, “yearning to be free,” threw off the “tyranny of priests and kings” and established “government of the people” for the first time in human history, thus achieving the sacred Liberty for which — so the children are told incessantly — men have laid down their lives in countless wars.
But how is it that Liberty has meant more bloodshed than any king ever inflicted, including the French Revolutionary Wars, with their millions of victims, and the American Civil War, with 600,000 dead — the bloodiest civil war in human history up to that time?
How is it that Liberty has meant a level of taxation and government intrusion into daily life that the kings of old would have considered madness?
How is it that Liberty has meant less and less freedom for the good, the true and the beautiful, and more and more freedom for the bad, the false and the ugly, with each passing year?
And how is it that those who heap endless praise on Liberty do not seem to notice the vast pile of bodies sacrificed in its name, including hundreds of millions of unborn children, the victims of “reproductive choice”? (And let us not blame only the Supreme Court for the abortion holocaust, since abortion is more or less legal in all fifty states and every Western nation by the “will of the people.”)
Most Americans are unaware that Spain still has a king, Juan Carlos, who still has the right under the Spanish Constitution of 1978 to promulgate the laws passed by the Spanish parliament, without which the laws do not become effective. Yes, according to the fairy tale of Liberty, there is still a “tyrant” on a throne in Spain.
But how is it that that “tyrant” is himself the victim of tyranny? For by the “will of the people,” the Spanish parliament, under the socialist Zapatero government, has enacted a liberal abortion law, and the king is now expected either to sign it or abdicate.
Yes, the “tyrant” must bend to the “will of the people” and authorize the mass murder of innocents, or else abandon his “tyrannical” throne, so that the killing can begin in the name of Liberty.
As LifeSiteNews observes, however (December 7, 2009), Juan Carlos the “tyrant” is too weak to stand up to the forces that demand the shedding of innocent blood. While “Prominent Spanish Catholics are calling on the king to refuse to sign the law,” Juan Carlos has already signed into law the “gay marriage” legislation enacted by the Zapatero government, stating: “I’m not the king of Belgium.”
Juan Carlos was referring to the “tyrant” King Baudouin of Belgium, who in 1990 (as LifeSiteNews notes) “temporarily renounced his throne rather than sign his country’s law liberalizing abortion.” Then there is that “tyrant” Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, “who refused last year [2008] to sign the duchy’s law legalizing euthanasia and who may be stripped of his constitutional powers as a result.”
And this is the “freedom” from the “tyranny of kings and priests” that we are expected to celebrate as our “leaders” tax us, regulate us, wage war after war, and oppress us in a hundred ways no king of Christendom would even have dreamed of imposing on his subjects.
Behold the fraud called “Liberty”, whose very essence is a negation of the true freedom of which Our Lord — the King of all creation — spoke: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Link to original...
Fake Catholic Groups Working Overtime for Healthcare Bll
InsideCatholic
It's sad to report, but report we must: The same fake Catholic groups that helped President Barack Obama get elected have rallied to the cause of the health-care bill, abortion funding and all. As reported by LifeNews.com, Catholics United (CU) and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG) are warning Catholics not to get too hung up on things like federal funding of abortion.
Interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor, CU president Chris Korzen commented, "The wrong thing would be for anyone to be so firmly entrenched in their positions on federal funding of abortion that they're not willing to come to the table and talk about a compromise."
Victoria Kovari, the interim president of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, claimed, "We share all the bishops' concerns," adding that the "difference is [our] feeling that we would be morally remiss if we walked away from all of the health care [reform]. We have to take seriously our call to be about what's good for the whole human family."
In other words, pass the health-care bill, even if it contains abortion funding. This is precisely the kind of proportionalist reasoning that I fear many Catholics are using to brush aside concerns about abortion funding: The evil of abortion, those like Korzen and Kovari argue, is offset by the many benefits of health-care reform.
Catholic teaching explicitly rejects such self-justifying tactics (see Veritatis Splendor 75), and the U.S. bishops have been unwavering on this point. As Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat, remarks in the same CSM article, "There are moral absolutes that we can't get beyond."
Links to original...
It's sad to report, but report we must: The same fake Catholic groups that helped President Barack Obama get elected have rallied to the cause of the health-care bill, abortion funding and all. As reported by LifeNews.com, Catholics United (CU) and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG) are warning Catholics not to get too hung up on things like federal funding of abortion.
Interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor, CU president Chris Korzen commented, "The wrong thing would be for anyone to be so firmly entrenched in their positions on federal funding of abortion that they're not willing to come to the table and talk about a compromise."
Victoria Kovari, the interim president of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, claimed, "We share all the bishops' concerns," adding that the "difference is [our] feeling that we would be morally remiss if we walked away from all of the health care [reform]. We have to take seriously our call to be about what's good for the whole human family."
In other words, pass the health-care bill, even if it contains abortion funding. This is precisely the kind of proportionalist reasoning that I fear many Catholics are using to brush aside concerns about abortion funding: The evil of abortion, those like Korzen and Kovari argue, is offset by the many benefits of health-care reform.
Catholic teaching explicitly rejects such self-justifying tactics (see Veritatis Splendor 75), and the U.S. bishops have been unwavering on this point. As Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat, remarks in the same CSM article, "There are moral absolutes that we can't get beyond."
Links to original...
All the Evidence of God: An Inquiry
Chiesa
ROME, December 13, 2009 – The objective was to "dispel the shadow that makes access to God precarious and frightening for the man of our time."
Benedict XVI said so in the message on December 10 that inaugurated the international event in Rome on "God today. With him or without him, that changes everything," conceived and organized by the committee for the cultural project of the Italian Church, headed by Cardinal Camillo Ruini.
Two days later, at the end of the event, Ruini was beaming. The topic was tough, and listening a challenge, with philosophers and scientists using arduous language. And yet the hall was always full, in an extremely attentive silence. 2500 people went to the grand auditorium on the Via della Conciliazione, a short walk from Saint Peter's Square, to hear about God. Much of the audience was new, and young. Visibly proud of the richness and seriousness of the things said, in a disoriented world that is thirsty for precisely this.
This audience wanted to hear about God, and nothing else. But not, of course, about disputes within the Church, on one and the other side of the Tiber. The prophets of doom who had predicted (and deep down hoped for) the failure of the event, and with it a farewell to that "phoenix" which, according to them, the cultural project was, together with the definitive retirement of its conceptualizer, Ruini, were silenced by the results. The cardinal has already announced that a second event will soon follow this first one, also "on substantial issues, hard, not easy, not in fashion."
Read further...
ROME, December 13, 2009 – The objective was to "dispel the shadow that makes access to God precarious and frightening for the man of our time."
Benedict XVI said so in the message on December 10 that inaugurated the international event in Rome on "God today. With him or without him, that changes everything," conceived and organized by the committee for the cultural project of the Italian Church, headed by Cardinal Camillo Ruini.
Two days later, at the end of the event, Ruini was beaming. The topic was tough, and listening a challenge, with philosophers and scientists using arduous language. And yet the hall was always full, in an extremely attentive silence. 2500 people went to the grand auditorium on the Via della Conciliazione, a short walk from Saint Peter's Square, to hear about God. Much of the audience was new, and young. Visibly proud of the richness and seriousness of the things said, in a disoriented world that is thirsty for precisely this.
This audience wanted to hear about God, and nothing else. But not, of course, about disputes within the Church, on one and the other side of the Tiber. The prophets of doom who had predicted (and deep down hoped for) the failure of the event, and with it a farewell to that "phoenix" which, according to them, the cultural project was, together with the definitive retirement of its conceptualizer, Ruini, were silenced by the results. The cardinal has already announced that a second event will soon follow this first one, also "on substantial issues, hard, not easy, not in fashion."
Read further...
New Film About Japanese Martyrs by Martin Scorsese 2010
TOKYO (Zenit) - An Academy Award-winning director is planning a movie on Japanese Christians martyred in the 17th century.
Martin Scorsese will film the movie in New Zealand and release it in 2010, according to the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun. Names of actors linked to the project include Daniel Day-Lewis, Gael García Bernal and Benicio Del Toro.
Scorsese is known for his work on films including "The Age of Innocence," "The Departed," "Gangs of New York," "Casino" and the controversial "The Last Temptation of Christ."
The film on the Japanese martyrs is based on the book "Chinmoku" (Silence), by the Catholic Japanese author Shusaku Endo. The novel tells the story of a Portuguese missionary in Japan at the beginnings of the 17th century. "Silence" refers to the silence of God before the cross of Christ, in telling of the missionary's forced apostasy in the midst of horrendous torture.
Endo (1923-1997) was baptized at age 12. His novels reflect his effort to show Christianity reconciled with Oriental culture, as well as his vision of human weakness, sin and grace. Among his other writings are "A Life of Jesus" and "Deep River," in which he tries to present Christianity to the Asian mentality.
Last Dec. 10, almost 200 Japanese martyrs from the same era as the plot of "Silence" were canonized. Japan is today less than 1% Christian, of which only about 450,000 are Catholics.
Martin Scorsese will film the movie in New Zealand and release it in 2010, according to the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun. Names of actors linked to the project include Daniel Day-Lewis, Gael García Bernal and Benicio Del Toro.
Scorsese is known for his work on films including "The Age of Innocence," "The Departed," "Gangs of New York," "Casino" and the controversial "The Last Temptation of Christ."
The film on the Japanese martyrs is based on the book "Chinmoku" (Silence), by the Catholic Japanese author Shusaku Endo. The novel tells the story of a Portuguese missionary in Japan at the beginnings of the 17th century. "Silence" refers to the silence of God before the cross of Christ, in telling of the missionary's forced apostasy in the midst of horrendous torture.
Endo (1923-1997) was baptized at age 12. His novels reflect his effort to show Christianity reconciled with Oriental culture, as well as his vision of human weakness, sin and grace. Among his other writings are "A Life of Jesus" and "Deep River," in which he tries to present Christianity to the Asian mentality.
Last Dec. 10, almost 200 Japanese martyrs from the same era as the plot of "Silence" were canonized. Japan is today less than 1% Christian, of which only about 450,000 are Catholics.
Jewish Community thinks Obama is a Muslim and Takes them for Granteds
Jews at home and abroad have been slow to warm to Mr. Obama – a recent poll found nearly 40 percent of Israelis believe he is Muslim – and it seems the distrust within the community is at least partly driving the anger.
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