Just a bit of Catholic Tuesday Trivia

Music has a way of getting into your head the way nothing else does. Have you ever heard a ten-year-old singing lewd lyrics, hardly even knowing what he's saying? I once broke a record album (remember those?), Purple Rain by Prince, that one of my children bought. I probably wouldn't have realized how bad it was if the lyrics hadn't been written on the outside of the record jacket.

The enemies of God have always recognized the power of music. Look at the satanic links in heavy metal and other hard rock. If you think that's a modern phenomenon, think again. the Arian heresy was one of the most devastating errors in the early Church. It taught that Christ was man and not God, that He was, in fact, a creature of the Father, not the Creator. An Arian slogan was, "There was when he was not."

The heresy took hold so quickly that St. Jerome said he woke up one day "to find that the whole world was Arian." One of the ways it spread so effectively like a plague bacillus was through music. A medieval collection of lives of the saints has this entry about Arianism and St. John Chrysostom's reaction to it:

The Arians, whose numbers were increasing, and who had a church outside the city, became so bold that one Sunday they pushed their way into John's own church, singing their hymns and antiphons, and shouting derisively: 'Look at the fools who believe that three make one!' Then John, fearing that the simple folk would be drawn into heresy, commanded the faithful to gather in the churches at night, to hear sermons and to sing hymns.

After Vatican II a number of questionable songs came into use in the Church. They emphasized the Mass as banquet instead of the sacrifice of Calvary. They stressed the "we" aspect of liturgy almost to the exclusion of worship. One, Gather Us In, became the source of numerous hilarious parodies. I don't know if the bad songs contributed to the two thirds of Catholics who don't believe in the Real Presence, but it certainly could be a factor in view of the experience of previous generations with the "teaching effect" of bad music.

So let's look for a return to beautiful Catholic music that teaches as well as lifts the mind and heart to God. But also remember how important music can be in apostolic work and look for more songs that celebrate life. They can help turn the culture of death around. And, folks, if your a grandparent like I am, don't expect the kids to like the same kind of music you do, and praise God for the song below even if it doesn't suit your taste. It speaks to the young.

You'll know you're on Baracky Road if...

There's a joke circulating the internet about a new ice cream called "Baracky Road" that's half chocolate, half vanilla and surrounded by flakes and nuts.

The concept of "Baracky Road" got me thinking about redneck jokes. (I admit it; my mind makes weird connections; must be a right-brain/left-brain thing.) Anyway, you know how redneck jokes start: "You might be a redneck if...." Well I began thinking up endings for "You might be on Baracky Road if...." Here are a few I came up with.

You might be on Baracky Rd. if... there's a taxpayer toll booth every ten feet and an abortion mill on every corner.

You might be on Baracky Rd. if... you see the presidential limo riding behind a tow vehicle pulling a widescreen teleprompter.

You might be on Baracky Rd. if... all the billboards read "Ban Conservative Talk Radio."

You might be on Baracky Rd. if... you pass a Catholic college with a Jesuit standing at the gate holding a "Welcome, Mr. President" sign in one hand and an honorary doctorate degree in the other surrounded by cops in riot gear arresting elderly nuns and priests.

You might be on Baracky Rd. if... you keep having to stop for "gay pride" parades with participants in jock straps and lipstick demonstrating for same sex marriage.

You might be on Baracky Rd. if... every courthouse and church has its religious symbols covered in black crepe.

You might be on Baracky Rd. if... there are homeless folks standing at busy intersections with signs reading "will work for ACORN registering dead people and Disney characters."

Well, I'm starting to run down. What's your Baracky Rd. joke? Bet there are some good possibilities using characters like Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Barney Frank, and Nancy Pelosi. Have fun and please share!

The Internet is Changing the Face of the Pro-Life Movement

This is a powerful song about a woman who's had an abortion. The story behind the song is very powerful as well. Listen to the song and then go here to listen to how the story was written and hear Jaime's personal testimony. She and her husband have had fertility problems and she put the emotion from that sorrow into her performance. Pray that women considering abortions will recognize that this baby may be their only chance to be moms. Music reaches people at a deep emotional level. Women who are already reluctant to have an abortion can be stirred to their depths by something like this. Share it far and wide. Think of the impact of this if it was being played over and over on the radio. Share it!

A Sunday Meditation

Football coach Vince Lombardi is often credited with the statement, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." He used it at a Packers training camp in 1959, but probably picked it up from UCLA Bruins coach Red Sanders who almost ten years earlier made the statement at a physical education workcamp at California Polytechnic in San Luis Obispo. Whoever said it first, the idea conflicts with another popular quote, "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game."

In the world's view "winning" means being on top: claiming the superbowl ring, being selected CEO of the company, defeating the other candidate in an election, getting the scoop, beating out your competitor. Often the "win" comes at the price of using (and abusing) others: lying, taking credit for the accomplishments of colleagues, throwing your partners under the bus if necessary for advancement, stepping on others as you climb the ladder to "success."

But there's one place where winning IS the only thing for real along with how you play the game. It's the race St. Paul talks about - with salvation as its goal. Salvation is both everything and the only thing. As Scripture says, "What good is it if a man gains the world, but loses his soul in the process?"

For the last few years I've regularly made a five-day summer retreat based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. One of the main points is that all creatures (everything created: persons, possessions, etc.) are to be used and enjoyed to the degree that they lead us to God (salvation) or put aside if they lead us away from God. Think about how different the world would be if each person looked at his daily life from that perspective.

Is this adulterous relationship leading me closer to God? (Ask Mark Sanders.)

Is my line of work pleasing to God or alienating me from Him? (Ask an abortionist at the end of his bloody workday.)

Are my possessions enslaving me and building a brick wall against God's will? (How would Michael Jackson have answered that question?)

Am I putting my golf game, friends, internet pornography, sports car, workouts at the gym, (fill in the blank) ahead of my family and other duties of my state in life? (That questions's for each of us.)

What is getting in the way of my having a closer walk with the Lord?

We all have daily challenges, perhaps the most difficult being our own personalities and personal vices and bad habits. But as Anne of Green Gables learned from her teacher, Miss Stacey, "Every day is new with no mistakes in it." When I make my morning offering to the Lord I want to remember that today will bring me a step closer to salvation or will take me a step in the opposite direction. The choice is mine.

Salvation is everything and the only thing.

What the hell is going on at Catholic Colleges?

Actually, the question is the answer. Most Catholic schools are raising hell --literally. Their administrations are busy drilling a shaft straight down to the sulphurous depths to give the demons access to their students. Welcome, Screwtape, Wormwood, Fleascratch, Snakebite, and all you other minions of his Lowness, the satanic father below.

Hungry for a few coeds? - Help yourself. The dorms are filled with fornicators, drunks, and child-killers all enabled by liberal professors and pro-abortion guest speakers. Safe sex is the mantra at many campus health services with condoms freely available. As for parents, they never see the lewd ads and abortion clinic promos on bulletin boards because they're cleaned up for Parents' Weekend. Gotta keep the checkbook happy.

No curfews, no rules about who's in your room any hour of the day (or night), a wink and a smirk over the necktie on the doorknob to tell the roommate to take a hike.

Yup, it's hell on many Catholic campuses today and that doesn't even include promoting and enabling the "gay" lifestyle with "pride" and "gender bender" events.

Check out the studies: Cardinal Newman Society study and study by sociologist Amy Adamczyk that show kids at Catholic schools are more likely:

to abort
lose their faith
fornicate
contracept
approve of same-sex marriage

And this is why Catholic parents sacrifice to send their kids to Catholic schools?
A pox on all your campuses, I say, especially Notre Dame.

But there's good news too. Faithful Catholic Colleges like Christendom, Magdalen, Steubenville, St. Thomas Aquinas, and a handful of others are producing vocations to the priesthood and religious life. They offer many opportunities to grow in the faith. And they are often the best educational value for the money among Catholic schools as well.

Don't let fake Catholic schools that have sold out to the Rockefeller foundation and the federal government corrupters undermine and steal your children's faith. Go for the real thing, or keep the kids at local community colleges for two years and let them get a little more maturity under their belts before going to state schools. That way they can avoid the dorm brothels and live off campus.

But avoid the bad Catholic schools like the plague. Young people who play with devils are likely to get burnt.

With all the bad things coming out of the USCCB, This Post Asks a Serious Question

Is the USCCB an Intrinsic Evil?

The USCCB Gestapo Strikes Again

We call our bishops shepherds because they have the responsibility to protect the flock from "the world, the flesh, and the devil." They are the primary teachers of the faith in their dioceses and, as a body, they reflect to the world the face of the Catholic Church in the United States. As such, one would expect them to revel in presenting themselves as Jesus did -- open and available to hear the cries of their people. Is that the experience most of us have of our bishops, particularly as a body, -- welcoming us with open arms like Jesus, never too tired to heal the sick and touch the outcasts? Unfortunately no.

In fact the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) leadership and staff go out of their way to protect the bishops from the flock. The June meeting that just took place in San Antonio gave us one more bizarre example. American Life League (ALL) ran an ad in USA Today the first day of the bishops' meeting urging the bishops (once again as in former years) to deny Communion to obstinate public sinners like pro-aborts Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden. ALL chose USA Today because the hotel delivers a complimentary copy to every room. Well, the hotel ordinarily delivers it to the rooms, but the bishops' staffers had instructed that the New York Times be delivered instead. When the on-site member from ALL contacted the desk, he offered to pay for USA Today to be delivered to the bishops' rooms. The clerk was agreeable but when the ALL member called back later the clerk referred him to the hotel contact person working with the USCCB which would not allow it. They had approved only the Times for the meeting. God forbid that the bishops should see the face of that little pre-born baby and be challenged by the words of St. Matthew: "Whatever you did not do for these least ones, you did not do for me." They must be protected at all costs from seeing and reading:

It is a duty in charity to warn not only pro-abortion Catholic politicians not to receive Communion, but to instruct priests and extraordinary ministers not to give such people Communion. We must, as St. Peter said, obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)

If you won’t enforce Canon 915 for the sake of the least of these babies in the womb, do it for your politicians and friends who are “stumbling to the slaughter.”
(Proverbs 24:11)

The past is prologue to the future. The USCCB nonsense is nothing new. Two years ago, the Catholic Media Coalition had a hospitality suite during the bishops' November meeting in Baltimore. Twelve bishops visited and a few even stayed for prolonged conversations about diocesan touching programs and spreading devotion to Our Lady of America. No bishop was forced to come. They were welcomed with open arms. But in 2008 when we attempted to repeat what we thought was a very successful and positive effort with the bishops, we found that the USCCB staff had reserved ALL THE SUITES. (At a pretty cost, I can tell you. We spent close to two thousand dollars for a suite for two nights.) It was clear that the staffers and USCCB bosses wanted to make sure the sheep had no contact with their shepherds during the meeting that they could not control. There's more to the pathetic story, including a threat of arrest, which you can read in my article The Devil's Triple Play.

While USCCB staff successfully blocked us (and others who might be tempted to do the same thing) from having a hospitality suite, they couldn't prevent another effort. We joined with ALL to hold a prayer vigil outside the hotel on the Harbor concourse. We had about 50 people join us in prayer and song. Although we sent invitations to selected bishops before the meeting and made some personal calls none braved the chill to join us for the rosary and rally.

Despite the on-going hostility of the bishops' bureaucracy toward faithful, orthodox Catholics, we remain undaunted. The Catholic faithful, under Canon Law, have a right to express their concerns to their bishops, and our shepherd-fathers have an obligation to listen. Like the widow before the unjust judge we will continue to seek justice for the unborn and proclamation of authentic Catholic doctrine - always respectfully, always undergirded by prayer. Those bishops with ears to hear will listen. The others will answer for their dereliction of duty in the end. As for the bishops' bureaucracy, the old saying applies: "With friends like these, who needs enemies?"

No Wonder the Episcopal Church is Splitting

An Episcopal priestess, Nina Churchman, claims God rejoices in abortion.

Here's what she wrote on the opinion page of ECUSA's (Episcopal Church, USA) website:

From The Rev. Nina Churchman • Denver, Colorado, Jun 20, 2009
After reading the 3 June article, "Pregnancy-loss Prayers", I found the text for Rachel's Tears online and was sickened to discover that the rite for abortion is couched wholly in terms of sin and transgression. The Episcopal Church, by resolution, has long held that women have the freedom to choose an abortion. It is not considered a sin. That this new rite begins with the words, "I seek God's forgiveness..." and includes "God rejoices that you have come seeking God's merciful forgiveness..." is contrary to the resolution. Women should be able to mourn the loss of an aborted fetus without having to confess anything. God, unlike what the liturgy states, also rejoices that women facing unplanned pregnancies have the freedom to carefully choose the best option - birth, adoption or abortion - for themselves and their families. No woman makes this decision lightly or frivolously. But each needs the non-judgmental and non-coercive support of her faith community to make the best decision for her circumstances.
The wording of this liturgy focuses solely on guilt and sin instead of the grief and healing that may accompany a very difficult but appropriate decision to terminate a pregnancy. If anyone is paying attention at the General Convention, this rite should not be approved.

Churchman represents exactly why the Episcopal church is splintering. She claims to speak the word of God but defends the murder of his little ones. She is a person of the lie who abandons those most in need of the truth. Jesus condemned the religious authorities of his day calling them "whited sepulchres filled with dead men's bones." Nina Churchman and other ministers of death like her are filled to the brim with the dead bones of tiny little girls and boys only waiting for time to turn them into men and women.

I wonder what she would say to a member of her congregation who came up to her and said, "My mom almost aborted me, but she met a minister who spoke the truth about my value as a little child of God. I'm sure glad she didn't meet you instead. I wouldn't be here." How would Nina Churchman, who thinks God "rejoices" in the murder of his creation, reply?

It's Official - The Episcopalians Have Split

Protestant denominations breaking up is not an unusual occurence, but I think the current establishment of the Anglican Church in North America is a hopeful sign. I've been watching ECUSA (The Episcopal Church U.S.A.) deconstruct for years while the liberals forced women and gay ordination on the conservatives in the community. I've read the conservative Episcopal publication, The Christian Challenge, which gave a blow by blow account of the disintegration for years. Watching the battle was heart-wrenching.

And now it's official. The conservative Episcopalians (who fought to conserve an authentic bible-based faith) are holding their inaugural church assembly in Texas through June 26th. They have passed their constitution. The canons will also be voted upon before the end of the week.

The canons affirm life: "God, and not man, is the creator of human life. The unjustified taking of life is sinful. Therefore, all members and clergy are called to promote and respect the sanctity of every human life from conception to natural death." The canons also call for compassion and healing for women who have experienced the tragedy of abortion.

They affirm marriage between one man and one woman and repudiate homosexual activity: "This Church upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in
lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage, and cannot legitimize or bless same sex unions or ordain persons who engage in homosexual behavior. Sexual intercourse should take place only between a man and a woman who are married to each other."

The canons say nothing about women's ordination, however. In a talk at Bedford, Archbishop elect Robert Duncan who will head the new body said that "for those who believe the ordination of women to be a grave error, and for those who believe it scripturally justifiable - reflecting Global Anglicanism - that we should be in mission together until God sorts us out. It is not perfect, but it is enough." At present each church in the assembly may choose whether to ordain women as priests. Most do not. As for women bishops, that will be a question for the future, currently they are forbidden.

The movement of 700 episcopal congregations away from the evils of homosexuality, easy divorce, and abortion must be a source of joy to Catholics. And a number of the congregations which have left ECUSA, as Duncan pointed out, have suffered serious loss. "Many of us have lost properties, sacred treasures, incomes, pensions, standing and friends," he said, "but few had suffered to the point of shedding their blood." Despite it all, however, "there is no one here who would go back," he said. Sacrifice to move toward the truth - is perhaps, as Duncan said, "enouth" for now.

The assembly ends on Friday. Let us pray that God's will be done as these brothers and sisters move closer to the Catholic church. It is especially noteworthy to see the assembly taking place as a miracle is approved that will allow famous Anglican convert Cardinal John Henry Newmanto be declared Blessed. Cardinal Newman, please pray for all those struggling to find the truth in a very confused time in history.

Canadian Catholic Development and Peace Group Funds Pro-Abortion Partners

The Canadian bishops have a fund-raising organization similar to Catholic Relief Services here in the United States. But this video reminds me of another U.S. Catholic "Charity," the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Besides the word "development" in their name, these groups have a big thing in common -- advancing abortion and other anti-life activities. While you watch the video reflect on CCHD money funnelled into campaigning for the most pro-abortion, pro-infanticide man to ever sit in the oval office. CCHD not only funded ACORN for years after its serious problems were revealed, but groups like the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) that infiltrates churches and turns them into community organizing/liberation theology components that work to establish socialism.

For articles on CCHD and anti-Catholic elements of the groups they fund visit SperoForum.com. In the search box in the upper right type in Stephanie Block. You will discover a wealth of information about Alinsky type organizing. One of Alinsky's principles was to manipulate the churches to gain both power and money to remake cultures into his socialist utopia. Stephanie has spent years exposing the rotten fruit growing from Alinsky's infiltration of the churches, especially the Catholic Church through his relationship with Msgr. Jack Egan of Chicago. For years CCHD supported groups actively engaged in abortion. After long criticism spearheaded by The Wanderer, CCHD stopped funding some unabashed pro-abortion groups. They changed their name by adding "Catholic" and continued funding groups that work closely with those that advance abortion, contraception, and same-sex marriage. Millions of dollars are taken from Catholics and diverted to liberal groups whose goals are diametrically opposed to Catholic teaching.

For articles on this blog about Catholic Campaign for Human Development go here. And keep in mind that if you give to this November collection, you are part of the problem. It's not too early to start urging your friends to boycott CCHD and asking your bishop to pass the basket for pro-life instead of for CCHD. The biggest cause of poverty in the United States is the breakdown of the family. The best way to eliminate poverty is to strengthen the family.

Lawrence, KS Fires Teacher for Conservative Views, but Backs Down

Tim Latham is a history and government teacher in Lawrence, KS with over 15 years teaching experience. This was his first year at Lawrence High School and looked to be his last. He was popular and inspired indifferent students to want to learn history and government. Latham emphasized that he wanted to encourage youngsters to love their country and the American way of life.

And that was part of Tim Latham's problem...he's an apple pie conservative American in a liberal profession among many who blame the country for everything wrong in the entire world. Their motto might as well be, "Blame America first." With a McCain Palin bumper sticker on his car and a website that was "too patriotic" in the eyes of some administrators Tim Latham found that his contract wasn't going to be renewed. It looked like he would be one more casualty of the "tolerant" liberal left.

But that's not the end of the story.

Several of Mr. Latham's students started a Facebook page, Save Mr. Latham, that garnered 2,000 members within just a few days, many of them students at the high school. Latham also appeared on FOX telling his story and received thousands of emails and Facebook messages, one from as far away as China. Several students, having learned how the system works from Mr. Latham, decided to act and testified before the local school board about how their teacher made them excited about what they expected to be a boring subject. They didn't want to see the school fire a gifted and charimatic teacher. They expressed their views articulately before the board.

To make a long story short, Mr. Latham has a new contract for the upcoming school year. The administration failed even to meet the requirements in their contract with the union for reviewing a teacher's classes before dismissal. In the agreement between Mr. Latham and the school, the biased administrator who thought he was "too patriotic" is prohibited from reviewing his classes.

Keep your eyes on this one. There's more than one way for a liberal to undermine and destroy someone he doesn't like. And there's always next year. Pray for Mr. Latham. We need men like him in education, especially for boys being raised by single moms. Good strong male role models are in short supply and blessed is the young man who has one.

Did You Know?.....

We visited a lily farm today and what do you think? Day lilies are edible. We tasted one at the farm and it would have been great on a salad bar or used like a cracker with dip. Visit my Gramma Blog to read all about it.

Holy Saints of God, Pray for Us!

Today is the feast day of St. Thomas More, layman and martyr, husband and father, patron of lawyers, and friend to all. The good nature of Thomas More was well-known during his life. He enjoyed filling his home with books and artifacts that entertained and enlightened his friends and family. But when his conscience forced him to relinquish his post as Lord High Chancellor of England and disappear into ignominy and poverty, he let it all go without rancor. He knew personally what St. Paul speaks of in Philippians 4:12. "I have learned how to cope with every circumstance -- how to eat well or go hungry, to be well provided for or do without. In him who is the source of my strength I have strength for everything." Even martyrdom. The man who asked, "Is this the stuff of which martyrs are made?" in A Man for All Seasons, proved the answer was a resounding yes! What an example he is for our cowardly and apostate age.

His contemporary, Bishop St. John Fisher, shares this feast day. St. John was the only English bishop with the courage to stand up to the king and was beheaded for it. While thousands of priests and laymen went to gruesome deaths for no other "crime" than refusing to give up the Holy Mass, most of the English bishops held their tongues and kept their heads on their necks while selling out English Catholics. How like our own day except that there is no threat of bloody martyrdom for today's cowardly bishops, only ridicule and loss of human respect.

John Fisher's head was impaled on a pike on London Bridge, but its lifelike appearance and ruddy complexion inspired so much comment it was quickly removed and thrown into the Thames. A short while later, St. Thomas More's head took its place.

Let us rejoice at the examples of these two brave men and resolve to follow them in courage, kindness, and zeal.

And as a postscript I wish my brother John, named after St. John Fisher, a very Happy Birthday!

Celebrate Life - Especially God's Special Children

Sadly, today most handicapped children discovered in the womb are aborted. Down Syndrome children who are easily detected in utero are most vulnerable. Dr. Jerome LeJeune, the physician who discovered the cause of DS, was appalled that his work was used as a search and destroy mission to kill these precious children before birth. After pinpointing the cause of DS to an extra chromosome, he spent the rest of his life trying to find a cure. He said it would be easier to cure Down's than to send a man to the moon.

Dr. LeJeune died in 1994 and has been named a Servant of God.

Who is the Primary Educator of Children in England?

The Home School Legal Defense Association has been warning for years that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) threatens the rights of parents, particularly with regard to home schooling. It's no longer a threat, the results are proving to be exactly the nightmare predicted.

According to the Children's Rights Alliance for England, by signing the treaty, "The UK Government agreed to make all laws, policy and practice compatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child when it ratified it on 16 December 1991 (though it registered some reservations). As international law, the Convention is meant to be followed and should be referred to by courts, tribunals and other administrative processes when making decisions that affect children."

What does that mean for home schoolers in England?

A report to the Secretary of State on home schooling, Review of Elective Home Education in England, was issued this month. Among its recommendations are:

--mandatory registration with the Department of Children, Schools, and Families (DCSF) renewed annually

--oversight by local DCSF administrators including the right to enter the home and interview each child alone

--DCSF to determine what constitutes a “suitable” and “efficient” education

--That local authorities "where appropriate commission the monitoring and support of home education"

--"That parents be required to allow the child through exhibition or other means to
demonstrate both attainment and progress in accord with the statement of intent lodged at the time of registration"

--That authorities "should regard the move to home education as a trigger to conduct a review and satisfy themselves that the potentially changed complexity of education provided at home, still constitutes a suitable education."

The report pays lip service to the rights of parents as primary educators, but shows a distrust of their judgment which is replaced by educational bureaucrats. There is also an underlying assumption that home schooling is, at least in a minority of cases, a screen for child abuse so ALL parents must be closely monitored in order to safeguard children. The report provides no evidence for the assumption.

The report makes it clear that one goal is to ensure government access to the child by law:

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) gives children and young people over forty substantive rights which include the right to express their views freely, the right to be heard in any legal or administrative matters that affect them and the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. Article 12 makes clear the responsibility of signatories to give children a voice:
'Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.' Yet under the current legislation and guidance, local authorities have no right of access to the child to determine or ascertain such views.

The report calls for "balancing" the rights of parents and children. In other words, create laws that allow the government to invade the home without cause or due process, for no other reason than that the family has chosen to withdraw their children from government schools and teach then at home.

Interestingly, the report begins with this quote:

The need to choose, to sacrifice
some ultimate values to others,
turns out to be a permanent
characteristic of the human
predicament

ISAIAH BERLIN

The quote is false on its face. If a value is "ultimate," i.e., fundamental, it cannot be sacrificed to another equally-fundamental value. That's why the mother in the Old Testament urged her seven sons to die as martyrs rather than apostatize. All of the martyrs in the Church have refused to sacrifice a fundamental value, their faith, in order to save their lives. But this lie is the basis of the report.

Much of the language is benign and some recommendations offer the carrot that allows children to enroll in school programs such as sports and music, but overall the report recommends a government grab of parental rights that gives bureaucrats control over the family, particularly children's education.

You can read the entire USDA article and access the U.K. report here.

Daniel Zanoza on Tiller Murder

Obama made an incredibly big deal over late-term abortionist, George Tiller's murder. Other murders around that time which were equally heinous were completely ignored. Daniel Zanoza points out the political motivation and blatant hypocrisy of the Obama White House. No Obama "outrage" occurred over the murder of military recruiter Pvt. William Long, no media coverage blaming all Muslims for the murder by the Islamic convert.No, the media feeding frenzy was reserved for the baby killer even though all the evidence points to a single crazy, left-wing socialist doing the deed. Read Zanoza's article and be warned that the truth is now held hostage by those who turn everything to their political advantage. Obama has launched a Justice Department investigation in the Tiller case to try to link it to the pro-life community. There is no indication of a similar investigation to examine increasing acts of violence, true terrorism, by America-hating Islamic fundamentalists. Why? Because it really isn't about protecting Americans; it's about demonizing the right folks. Pro-lifers who criticize the Obama agenda must be crushed.

On the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, A Song for Mother

I know the lives of these two musical geniuses have not been especially edifying, but this beautiful testimony to the Blessed Virgin is still what it is. Pray for all the artistically gifted who also often fall prey to serious sins of the flesh. Oscar Wilde is a classic example. But on his deathbed he experienced conversion. Ask Mary today for the grace of final repentance and say a Hail Mary every day for that gift. She is a dear mother who wants to cradle all her children in her arms and present them to her Son.

Pray for Priests through the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Today is the first day of the year dedicated by the Holy Father to priests. And what an appropriate day for it to begin, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is also the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Vianney, patron saint of parish priests. Wow! What a double whammy of grace. Make that a triple whammy. St. Jean Vianney had great devotion to the Blessed Mother who has a special love for her priests. What a powerful intercessor she is and how wonderful when a priest knows it and calls on her to pray for himself and his sinful flock.

Here's what St. Jean says about her: The heart of this good Mother is all love and mercy; she desires only to see us happy. We have only to turn to her to be heard. The Son has His justice, the Mother has nothing but her love. God has loved us so much as to die for us; but in the heart of Our Lord there is justice, which is an attribute of God; in that of the most Holy Virgin there is nothing but mercy. Her Son being ready to punish a sinner, Mary interposes, checks the sword, implores pardon for the poor cviminal. "Mother," Our Lord says to her, "I can refuse you nothing. If Hell could repent, you would obtain its pardon."

...All that the Son asks of the Father is granted Him. All that the Mother asks of the Son is in like manner granted to her. When we have handled something fragrant, our hands perfume whatever they touch: let our prayers pass through the hands of the Holy Virgin; she will perfume them.

Pray every day for holy priests during this special year dedicated to them. They are under constant attack by the evil one for good reason. A holy priest can bring many souls to God. A bad priest puts his flock on the fast track to hell.

Shepherds' Crooks or Wet Noodles for the Bishops?

The bishops are meeting in San Antonio and Bishop Gerald Kicanis of Tucson, Vice President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), says there will be no action taken against Notre Dame for honoring abortion extremist Barack Obama. Are we surprised? The bishops who have the responsibility to teach are doing a great job of it. The question is -- What are they teaching?

And here's the answer:

1) That what they say doesn't mean a thing. Faithful Citizenship is a joke. So are statements that pro-abortion Catholic politicians should not receive Communion. Most of the bishops are like parents who threaten and threaten and threaten their disobedient children and never exact a consequence when their children defy them. All the rebel "Catholic" schools know that the bishops will never implement Church teaching: neither Vatican documents like Ex Corde Ecclesiae that require Catholic colleges to defend and uphold the faith nor their own statements. Most of the bishops might as well carry wet noodles instead of their shepherds' crooks. They will never use them to catch the wayward sheep about to plunge over the cliff of moral destruction. What happened to the 80+ bishops who spoke out against Notre Dame's action? Will any of them stand up now to say the bishops should act? Don't hold your breath. And if there is a motion from the floor, chances are it will be at a closed meeting, quickly voted down, and no one outside will ever know. Because the bishops do business -- in secret.

2) That the bishops are politicians, not shepherds. Read the answers by both Bishop Kicanis and Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Curry of Los Angeles, chairman of the Committee on Catholic Education when asked by reporter John Allen if there would be sanctions against Notre Dame. Their weasle words could have come from the mouth of a political hack who cares about nothing but his seat in the next election and won't say anything substantive that might endanger it. Which is ironic because these men aren't elected. They are supposed to be apostles. Remember those fellas? Peter who was crucified upside down, Andrew crucified on an X-shaped cross, James the Greater beheaded in Jerusalem, James the Less thrown from the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem and then stoned to death.... Where are our apostolic shepherds?

3) That the flock have little hope that the bishops will teach the fullness of the truth which is their calling. Many bishops are quicker to criticize orthodox laity for being mean or engaging in street theatre or running ads critical of the bishops than in correcting the egregious scandals of their brethren or institutions like Notre Dame. Father Jenkins, President of Notre Dame, is like the operator of a wolf petting zoo. And the bishops who should vigorously oppose him, pat the little ones on the head as they go through the gate. How many of our children have lost their faith at Notre Dame, Georgetown, Creighton, and other "Catholic" schools? How many parents paid dearly for their children's "tickets" to play with the wolves. And how many bishops will answer for the scandals they refused to correct? Surely, St. Peter has many millstones lined up near God's judgment seat for bishops who failed to teach the truth.

PRAY FOR BISHOPS!

What's in that hypodermic?

I'm not big on taking flu shots, but if I were, I sure would want to have a moral alternative. Many vaccines today are made from stem lines of aborted babies. Ask your doctor the next time you get a vaccine, "What's its origin?" If it comes from aborted babies is there another option?

My friend Debi Vinnedge just sent out this press release about a moral alternative available for the swine flu. I'm not recommending getting it, just alerting folks that there is at least one option on the market that isn't made by cannibalizing little babies.

For Immediate Release: June 16, 2009
Contact: Children of God for Life
Email: info@cogforlife.org Phone (615) 898-1070

New Swine Flu Vaccine Produced in Moral Cell Culture

(Murfreesboro, TN) Children of God for Life announced today that a new swine flu vaccine produced by Swiss-based pharmaceutical giant, Novartis, is made using ethical cell lines. The vaccine, which was hailed last week by the Associated Press as the first to be produced in cell culture rather than the traditional chick embryo method, uses MDCK (Madin-Darby Canine Kidney) cells.

Novartis said that over 30 countries have requested their vaccine supply, including the US Department of HHS who placed a $289 million dollar order with the company last month.

“This is great news for families worldwide,” stated Debi Vinnedge, Children of God for Life’s Executive Director. “Other companies such as Sanofi Pasteur and Medimmune are using aborted fetal cell line PER C6 as their cell culture. Concerned families who may not have otherwise used the swine flu vaccine will now have a moral choice!”

While chick embryo is still an option for manufacturing, cell culture is more desirable since it would speed production time for the vaccines considerably. The news release by Novartis last week came only days after the World Health Organization had declared a swine flu pandemic.

Vinnedge noted that there are other companies not far behind Novartis that are also using moral sources for their cell cultures. Novavax is using insect cell lines, Baxter is using Vero cell lines and Protein Science is using caterpillar cell lines.

“There is simply no reason to use aborted fetal cell lines,” Vinnedge noted. “We are deeply grateful that Novartis technology is the frontrunner!”

“And it’s high time that some of these other pharmaceutical companies start listening to the public demand,” she added.

Catholic Truth: Sanity in a lunatic world

Woman aborts other mother’s last embryo

And you wonder why the Church says IVF is immoral?

Gay Recruitment at Boston City Hall

Boston is a gay mecca and proud of it. For 15 years they've hosted a "gay prom" at the end of Youth Pride Day open to children as young as 12 up to adults of 22. (Exactly why do 22-year-old homosexual adults want to hang out with 12--year-olds, eh?) The event draws children from middle and high school and offers loud bands, making out in the ballroom (no sex, though), etc. Many of these kids are indoctrinated into this garbage through gay-straight alliance clubs in their local schools. Where are the parents? I suppose they are being "tolerant." These are the same kinds of parents who would have taken their kids to the Roman coliseum to watch the Christians be fed to the lions. They are feeding their own kids to the perverted.

Make no mistake. Homosexuals are after the children. It's the only way they can reproduce. Bullying programs, gay-straight clubs, gay proms...it's all about reaching kids during a vulnerable time and convincing them they're "gay." If you want to teach your children to do something, you expose them to it -- frequently. You practice it. You approve of it.

Of course all this exposure creates gay kids. It's insane to think it wouldn't. Check out GLSEN, the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), Safe Schools, etc.; they are recruiters for the gay lifestyle. GSA offers activist summer camps for middle school and high school students.

All I can say is - If you love your kids get them out of the public schools (and bad Catholic schools as well). Home-schooling may be the only answer for some areas of the country. Check out the complete article on this obscene event at World Net Daily.

Did you ever wonder....?

I've used the expression "in the clink" often but never gave its origin much thought -- until last night when I came across "The Clink" while reading Clare Asquith's book on Shakespeare's coded language, Shadowplay. She mentioned The Clink, a notorious prison in Southwark, England not far from the Globe Theatre. Shakespeare apparently visited a friend there. And, in fact, some famous Catholic recusants were imprisoned in The Clink including Fr. John Gerard, S.J. He was one of the few Catholic priests who escaped the "hanging tree" at Tyburn during Elizabeth I's draconian persecution. Many English priests were hanged, drawn, and quartered as a gruesome reminder to others. And why? because they refused to give up the Mass. Would that we loved the Mass as much today!

Fr. Gerard was imprisoned temporarily in The Clink (Summer 1594 to Spring 1597) before being moved to the Tower of London from which he made an amazing escape. After fleeing to the continent, Fr. Gerard's superiors instructed him to write down his story, and he did in a fascinating book called The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest.

The chapter on The Clink relates the blessing of being in a prison filled with Catholic prisoners. A friendly guard was bribed and coaxed "not to pry too closely into our doings" and Fr. Gerard was able to hear confessions and engage in apostolic work during his time there. In the same chapter he describes the capture and death of Ann Line, one of the English martyrs who harboured priests and frequently held illegal Masses in her home. She had a "priest hole" where clergy hid when Mass was invaded by the queen's agents.

Fr. Gerard describes his work in prison saying, "During this period God used me as His instrument to turn many hearts from worldly ambitions to the love of God and the following of Christ's counsels....I was able to send many young men and boys to the seminaries. Some of them are now Jesuits and are working in England, others remain in the seminaries training more labourers for the mission."

Next time you hear that someone's "in the clink," especially a group of pro-lifers like the dear ones arrested at Notre Dame who face serious persecution, remember where the term comes from. Defenders of the faith, imprisoned and persecuted for the good they do, walk in the footsteps of Fr. Gerard and his martyred brothers and sisters imprisoned in the infamous English prison.

Former Tiller Employee Says He Killed Mostly Healthy Babies

George Tiller the late-term abortionist liked to present himself as a person who truly cared about women and was willing to risk his life so women carrying very sick and deformed babies could get safe abortions. But that's not what a former employee says. Luhra Tivis tells how she was taught high pressure marketing techniques to sell abortions on the phone and that most of the third trimester babies Tiller killed were normal and healthy.

Tivis' horrifying tale is consistent with those of others, like Carol Everett, who have left the abortion industry. Tiller was not above lying about gestational age to get around Kansas' late-term abortion limits. In an undercover operation a woman known only as "Shaye" who was about 25 weeks pregnant went to Tiller's facility. Here's what happened next according to LifeSiteNews:

"In a sworn statement Shaye said that a WHCS [Women's Health Care Services] employee conducted her sonogram and determined that her baby was 24 weeks, 6 days gestation, past the threshold of viability. The Tiller employee then tore up those ultrasound photos and threw them into the trash. She took new measurements, telling Shaye her baby was only 23 weeks gestation.

"Shaye then easily obtained an appointment for an abortion without having to see the second physician required by law for post-viability abortions.

"In order to confirm the actual fetal age of Shaye's baby, she received two more sonograms on that same day, both of which indicated the baby was beyond 24 weeks gestation.

"Shaye had made WHCS aware that both she and her baby were healthy and that the pregnancy was without complications. She did not receive the abortion only because she did not show up for the abortion appointment."

Abortion is a filty business - murder for hire - run by white-coated bottom feeders who love big bucks. Most abortionists kill children for the money. If you doubt it read the stories of those who sold abortions for a living. Many of them openly admit it. And pray for abortionists to repent. It must be a terrible thing to face God on Judgment Day with an unrepentant heart and hands covered with the blood of the innocent.

How will they twist this to blame pro-lifers?

LifeSiteNews has an interesting article on the Holocaust Museum shooter:

Holocaust Museum Shooter a Socialist who Hated Christianity, Conservatives, Jews

The author writes:

"In one of many online tirades, the shooter, 88 year-old James von Brunn wrote, 'Christianity and the Holocaust are hoaxes. "Christianity" destroyed Roman Civilization. The "Holocaust" Religion is destroying Western Civilization.' Between them, he said, they destroyed the 'Aryan gene pool.'

'He wrote, 'socialism represents the future of the West.'...

"Left-leaning news media in the US have pounced on the shooting, blaming it on the proliferation of 'hate' and 'divisiveness' brought about by the political and religious conservatism of the Bush administration. Pundits were quick to link the Holocaust Museum shooting with the killing of late-term abortionist George Tiller, as evidence of the kind of 'right wing extremism' identified as a threat to national security in a government report in April by the Department of Homeland Security....

"But efforts by the left to paint Von Brunn as a 'right wing extremist' ignore the evidence that the shooter was not a 'conservative,' but a self-admitted 'Aryan' socialist who hated Christianity and America’s conservative political class as well as the Jews. Ben Johnson, Managing Editor of FrontPage Magazine, noted von Brunn’s own internet rants against Christians and 'neo-cons' as part of a vast Jewish conspiracy to undermine the white race."

Despite the facts, I'm sure the mainstream media and government lefties will continue to blame right-wing, Christian, pro-life, homophobic domestic terrorists. (Did I leave out any adjectives?) It suits their agenda. And never let it be said that a liberal let facts interfere with his deeply-held beliefs no matter how wrong or ridiculous.

And who remembers the Unabomber after all? He was a loony leftie, but, funny, you never heard the liberals in the mainstream media admit it. Don't hold your breath waiting for a Justice Department probe to search for links between von Brunn and left-wing, irreligious, heterophobic, anti-life terrorist groups. They don't exist in the liberal mind. Only Christians are violent hate-mongers. Hey, they believe it so it must be true!

Life is Beautiful

Testimony of Catholic paraplegic helped prevent four suicides

A Parable on Marriage: People of the Plant

An internet friend sent a great article he wrote for The American Spectator called People of the Plant. It's a parable on marriage filled with truth about what happens when the great gift of marital intimacy is abused.

The family is the building block of every society. It is dependent on a rock-solid foundation in the relationship between a husband and wife. This story illustrates that fact well. Read and ponder. If you're happily married share it with your spouse and rejoice. If you're unhappily married, share it with your spouse and resolve to work on your relationship. There is plenty of help for troubled marriages. Weathering a storm together can make your relationship stronger. Don't give up; get help.

Michelle Malkin has David Letterman's Number

He's "the perv" who holds women in contempt!

David Letterman's perverted joke about baseball player, Alex Rodriguez, "knocking up" Sarah Palin's daughter during the seventh inning stretch was beyond tasteless. Palin was attending the game with 14-year-old Willow. Since when is statutory rape a joke? Letterman claimed later he was referring to the older daughter Bristol, as if that improves his crass comments. Fact is the man is a slimeball beneath contempt who wallows in his own verbal excrement. His perverted "humor" is only matched by his chutzpah! He had the gall to follow this disgusting behavior by inviting the Palins to appear on his show!

How would any mother respond to such an offer? Her spokesman dismissed it saying, “The Palins have no intention of providing a ratings boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show. Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman.” Yup, parents have an obligation to protect their daughters from dirty-old-men in trenchcoats even when they're verbal perverts who leave the trenchcoats in the closet and disguise themselves in suits and ties.

Letterman has a history of attacking Sarah Palin. Why does the left hate this beautiful and articulate woman so much? Don Suber at Daily Mail has a theory:

"Too many American liberals cannot handle a strong, good-looking, intelligent, independent woman who disagrees with them — and so they make the crude, cruel and sexist remarks — including those about raping them or their 14-year-old daughters....

"So-called feminists stand on the sidelines like so many Silda Spitzers or Elizabeth Edwardses or Hillary Clintons, standing by their menfolk while the boys treat women like dirt. Heck, Mrs. Edwards even served as her husband’s attack dog against any critic — even as she knew he was sleeping with his mistress of many years.

"Consider the lack of any reaction by the left to David Letterman’s crude remark that Gov. Palin is buying make-up for that 'slutty flight attendant look' insulted not just her but every woman. How could any woman respect such a man?

"And yet the left said nothing."

Ultimately, NOW added Letterman to its "Hall of Shame," but I suspect they are snickering behind their backs. After all, Palin isn't a "real woman" because she doesn't support the feminist sacrament of abortion.

As for David Letterman - the dirty old man deserves a nighttime visit from a few good men with a bucket of tar and a feather pillow.

How to Create a Lesbian

Want to see a case study in how to create a lesbian/transgender/sexually confused individual? Just
look at poor Chastity Bono. Her life began as a fairy tale, the little princess, first-born of the fabulously successful Sonny and Cher, TV royalty.

I remember watching The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour show in the 70s. Cher was exotic; Sonny was funny, the butt of Cher's sarcasm. In retrospect, one can see that their snide nit-picking at each other for a cheap joke wasn't really funny at all. But the closing hand-holding number, "I Got You, Babe," always ended the show on a happy-clappy note.

And then there was Chastity, that adorable little blonde in frilly dresses. What a show stopper when she appeared with her parents often-times dressed like daddy. The series ran for three years until Sonny and Cher's very public and very acrimonious divorce.

Surprise: Kids raised by "gays" more likely to embrace deviance

The British mom who expressed concern about her son being placed in foster care with two homosexuals (See article.) has good reason to be concerned. Research shows that children raised in homosexual homes are 7X more likely to be homosexual. What's the surprise? Children learn what they live. Children of alcoholics are more likely to abuse alcohol. The same with drug abuse. So why the pretense that placing children with homosexuals has no impact on the development of their sexual identities? It's one more big, politically correct lie. Which leads one to ask, what is the real agenda of the child care industry that forces gay adoption and gay foster care? Certainly it is not the well-being of children.

It is an abomination to place children with homosexual couples. The same culture that screamed bloody murder about child sex abuse by priests (while hiding the fact that it was mostly homosexual abuse) makes it a civil right for gays to adopt and do foster care. The dysfunctional child care industry is actively cooperating with the deviants by giving them a sort of preferred status. Political correctness meet reality. Homosexuality is bad for kids -- unless, of course, those placing children desire a homosexual outcome or play let's pretend to fit in with the politically correct popular culture that wants to deny the reality that homosexuality is disordered.

As far as homosexuals seeking to adopt and do foster care, I think "reproducing" is exactly what this is all about. True love engenders the desire to create new life. The perverted lust that masquerades as love engenders a distorted image of that human desire. Homosexuals can't "make a baby" except through recruitment. (Lesbians of course do it by enlisting the support of a third, opposite-sex person, and then pretend the baby is "theirs.") Historically, pederasty is a major means for homosexuals to reproduce themselves so to speak: introduce the young to deviant sexual practices, ply them with liquor, immerse them in pornography, sexually molest and sodomize them, and Voila! you have "given birth" to another homosexual like yourself. And then you pretend it's for the good of the child. "Sex before 8 or else it's too late, as the North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) motto goes."

The fact that the culture promotes and enables this is just one more indication of a society suffering from insanity. Unfortunately, the guys in the white coats are, for the most part, the biggest psychos of all. How else can you explain the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removing homosexuality from the list of psychological disorders in 1973 because of homosexual lobbying. It was a political, not a medical, decision. (Gay activist Franklin Komeny was instrumental in bullying and impacting the vote.) For awhile the psychos promoted the gay gene theory, but the other APA (American Psychological Association) in their latest brochure backs off from the gay gene theory. The homosexuals are pooh-poohing the change saying that the gay gene theory was never seriously accepted and what's all the fuss about the new language? It's just those nasty homophobes trying to use it to stop hate crimes legislation! Hey, whatever floats the gay loveboat.

But back to my main point. The fact is that, if research shows kids raised in gay families are more likely to be gay, it is pretty significant evidence that homosexuality is taught and chosen by its adherents. Those who truly care about children will want to see them placed in loving heterosexual adoptive and foster families where their sexual identities will not be distorted by perversion.

Time out for a normality break

There's always plenty of bad news to report, but I've been out in the garden on my knees weeding, taking a normality break in fact, and it got me thinking about a series my husband and I have been watching, All Creatures Great and Small. It's adapted from the books by veterinary surgeon, James Herriot (real name Alf Wight), a resident of Yorkshire in England. The life of a large animal vet in farm country is no picnic as the books tell. I read them years ago and marveled at the sheer physical demand of turning a badly lying calf in utero during a difficult delivery or operating on a horse in a freezing barn in mid winter.

The TV show produced by the BBC ran for seven series beginning in 1978 with a break after the third year, two specials in '83 and '85 and a revival for four more series beginning in 1988. The first three years, which are closely based on the novels are, I think, the best. Helen, James girlfriend, then wife, was played by Carol Drinkwater who is both beautiful and charming. She was later replaced by Lynda Bellingham who improved with time, but spent one series almost entirely in bed with a bad back -- not the best episodes.

The other principals: James, played by Christopher Timothy, his senior partner Siegfied Farnon, played by Robert Hardy, and Siegried's younger brother, Tristan, played by Peter Davison are all perfectly cast. Mrs. Hall (Mary Hignett), the housekeeper is a jewel, but died after the first three series. She was irreplaceable and they didn't try for quite a few episodes, using the absence of a housekeeper as part of the plot. A later character, Calum Buchanan, a wild-beastie loving Scotsman based on Wight's real-life assistant Brian Nettleton, provided some delightful episodes rescuing wounded woodland creatures including a fox and an otter.

The show is politically incorrect with all the men smoking and Tristan is definitely not the role model for the young as he is a hard-drinking playboy with little taste for study. But his behavior is never condoned as good and often gets him into problems he well deserves.

The series is also a demonstration of why farm children have never needed lessons in sex ed. Birthing calves, lambs, and foals is just part of the normal lives of children who grow up in farm families.

I love this series that shows all the foibles of the Yorkshire folk who make up the little microcosm of James Herriot's world. If you're looking for an enjoyable break from the bad news in the daily paper, give it a look-see. Your reward will be some jolly laughs and a warm heart.

The way of the future in the brave, new, politically correct world

Catholic mom's son fostered by homosexual couple against her wishes

Carhart pledges to take over Tiller territory

Leroy Carhart, a late term abortionist from Nebraska, whose name became a household word in pro-life circles after the Stenberg v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Carhart Supreme Court cases has pledged to take over Tiller's territory now that his colleague is out of the way. Carhart used to help Tiller occasionally and regretted that Nebraska didn't allow abortions as late into the pregnancy as were allowed in bloody Kansas. AP reports that "Nebraska law does not allow an abortion if the fetus is considered viable, or able to survive outside the womb. Kansas law allows abortions on viable fetuses after the 21st week if carrying the pregnancy to term would endanger the mother's life or cause a 'substantial and irreversible impairment' of a major bodily function. Courts have interpreted a 'major bodily function' to include mental health."

Let it never be said that an abortionist let an opportunity like this pass him by. Carhart says he may use Tiller's staff to train his folks in Nebraska and may open an office in Kansas. Double the money, double the fun.

Canadian Bishops Fund Abortion

Sometimes it seems the Catholic bishops are among our worst enemies. The USCCB in this country has supported groups that fund abortion. They've poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into liberal organizations like ACORN that gave us a president totally committed to murdering unborn children. Multiply that by other bishops' conferences around the world, especially in first-world countries.

East Timor just legalized abortion in "extreme cases." Sound familiar? Remember when abortion was legalized in the United States in a few places for "rape, incest, and the life of the mother?" How long did it take to get from the extremes to Tiller's late-term abortuary in Kansas?

It's now just a question of time for the poor people of East Timor. And who helped do the dirty deed? The Canadian bishops. The original law introduced in April was even worse. Nevertheless, this is a blow to the heavily Catholic nation that now sets itself on the top of the slippery slope with a push from groups funded by the Church. What a scandal! Just one more, eh? Hard to point fingers with the Archdiocese of Boston entangling itself in the abortion business through it's "charity" business.

Here's what LifeSiteNews wrote about the latest scandal:

"Two of the East Timorese feminist organizations that have been at the forefront of the effort to liberalize the abortion law, and that have come head to head with the country’s Catholic bishops in the process, are funded by the Canadian bishops’ official development arm, the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (D&P)."

Shades of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).

It's time for Catholics everywhere to stand up to these fundraising campaigns that funnel money from the pockets of the people in the pew directly into the coffers of organizations committed to monstrous evil. In fact, maybe it's time to defund the bishops altogether and stop giving to their yearly campaigns until they can assure us that they aren't using our money to increase abortion and advance liberalism.

Here's more from LSN: "D&P has in recent months been embroiled in a widespread scandal, after LSN and other pro-life researchers revealed that the Catholic group is funding numerous strongly pro-abortion groups around the world, and that it has no policy against doing so. Yesterday LSN reported that the Peruvian bishops have now written to the Canadian bishops demanding that they stop funding pro-abortion groups in their country."

Are the bishops in the first world clueless or are they wicked? You can sin from either ignorance or malice. Let's hope it's ignorance. But the babies will be just as dead in the end.

Read the complete LSN article. And cut off your funding to CCHD and D&P. To see LSN's extensive research on the Canadian bishops' organization, go here.

And pray hard for our shepherds who have a lot for which to answer on Judgment Day.

An Insane Culture Creates Insane People

Holocaust Museum Shooting in Washington, DC: 2 Shot, Guard Dies

When we abandoned the right to life, when we told people it was okay to murder the weakest, we created a situation where anyone can justify any violence against another.

Mother Teresa warned us:

"America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships."

"The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child - a direct killing of the innocent child - murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"

"Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want."

May God have mercy on us!

Pro-Abort Creigh Deeds to Face Pro-Life Bob McDonnell

Creigh Deeds won the Democratic nomination for Governor of Virginia yesterday. This pits a man with a 100% rating from NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) against pro-life Republican Bob McDonnell. The choice couldn't be clearer as far as unborn children and their mothers are concerned. The Feminist Majority (even their name is a lie) is thrilled.

Deeds doesn't have one word about the life issues on his website. It wasn't an issue in the primary since all three were pro-abort extremists. Let's see whether it becomes a hallmark of his campaign now that he's the Democrat's nominee. I noticed he was endorsed by my old delegate from Alexandria, Toddy Puller. You couldn't find a politician more willing to support killing children than Toddy. She continues that legacy today in the state senate.

Bob McDonnell, on the other hand, was clear and vocal on his pro-life position throughout his campaign. And he has the pro-life history to back it up.

Here's what's on his website:

"Bob McDonnell is pro-life. As Attorney General, Bob supported numerous bills to protect the unborn and defended the Commonwealth’s ban on late-term partial birth abortion.

"As a legislator, Bob McDonnell helped lead the effort to ban late-term partial birth abortion (House Bills 2513 & 1541, 2003), fought to successfully enact parental notification and informed consent (Chief Patron, House Bill 1110, 1992; HB 2570, 2001), and encourage adoption.

"Bob McDonnell believes marriage is the union between one man and one woman. As a legislator, Bob McDonnell was chief sponsor and author of a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage (Chief Patron, HJ 187, 2004). As Attorney General, Bob supported Virginia’s marriage amendment and wrote an official opinion explaining that it would not affect the current legal rights of unmarried persons."

If you're pro-life, wherever you live, support Bob McDonnell. There are only two governor's races this year and Virginia will definitely be a referendum on the policies of Barack Obama and the liberal democrats. If the Republican ticket in Virginia wins, it will send a message to Washington that honest government isn't dead yet.

Komen Teams Up with Idaho Planned Parenthood

Rip off that pink ribbon! And don't buy pink ribbon products that support the Susan G. Komen Foundation which has linked hands with another abortion provider, Planned Parenthood of Idaho. Komen has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the biggest abortionist in the country which makes them, as well, the biggest contributer to abortion-related breast cancer. Yes, Virginia, abortion causes breast cancer.

At the same time Komen increased their funding, PP was spending more on abortion and less on breast cancer screening programs. There are other mammography providers. Why does Komen continue to promote PP? Read more at LifeSiteNews and at previous posts on this blog. And just say no to Komen.

Catholics, be aware of bulletin board announcements in your parishes. A parishioner at St. Anthony's in Falls Church, VA sent this out today:

Please Pass this information to whom it may concern. St. Anthony publishes this organization on the Nurse’s Bulletin Board. Please make a responsible decision. This organization is not telling us the truth about Breast Cancer and Abortion and now they are partners with Planned Parenthood and the parish is helping them. Please Stop.

Is your parish/diocese supporting Susan G. Komen? If so, ask them to "PLEASE STOP!"

RIP, Margaret Grace

Today is my mom's birthday. She was born on June 10, 1919 and died on December 19, 2002. What a lady! She was adopted at age three, but didn't find out about it until after she was married when her mother-in-law let the cat out of the bag. What a thing to learn from your mother-in-law, eh? The relationship between them was always, I think, grace-filled because of my mom who was a peacemaker. I rarely heard her say an unkind word about anyone and she always had a smile on her face. She gave us all the gift of cheerfulness.

Mom was quite a blonde beauty as a young woman, but had a brain to match. No blonde jokes about her. She started college at sixteen (Trinity in Washington, D.C. which was a faithful Catholic school at the time but disintegrated later and now is simply scandalous). During her college years she trained for the Catholic Evidence Guild which defended the faith in parks and on street corners. Frank Sheed of Sheed and Ward Publishing who visited Trinity and heard her defend the faith described her as "damn good!" She was always proud and somewhat amused by that fact. She didn't know he was in the audience.

After finishing at Trinity (1939), Mom went on to Western Reserve University law school (now Case Western Reserve) and completed two years as the only woman in the class before leaving to marry my dad, a young ensign in the Navy.

She was on the island of Oahu when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and was evacuated to the mainland shortly after, pregnant with her first child, my oldest brother. She often talked about that terrible crossing suffering from morning/sea sickness.

Mom went on to raise ten children, fight sex ed, work tirelessly in the pro-life movement, get a masters degree in education, subsitute teach for years, and be a great-grandmother (G.G.) to almost 40 young ones before she died.

During her final illness when she was in the hospital for surgery we had a little contest going with her, my sister, and I taking turns reciting poetry. Susie and I were reduced to nursery rhymes while mother was still quoting Tennyson, Shakespeare, Kipling, and other masters. She had forgotten more than I ever learned as an English major.

What a lady! I wish I were half as smart and half as kind as she was. Happy Birthday, Mom. We will not see your like again.

Imagine: If babies could exercise their 2nd ammendment right

Mourn for Notre Dame

As so-called Catholic schools disappear into oblivion, scandalizing their students, those who knew them when they promoted the holy vision of their founders cannot help but mourn. Michael McIntire, a 1957 graduate of Notre Dame, is one whose family has been connected to the university since his father graduated in 1930. His article on LifeSiteNews details the disintegration of a bastion of the faith. And why? -- for money and prestige. But I'll let him tell it.

"This latest scandal cannot be seen as an isolated incident, to be lamented and then forgotten when football season starts. It is, in truth, the full flowering of the bitter fruit of the University’s rebellion against the Magisterium of the Church which first surfaced over 40 years ago.

"In the early 1960s, promotion of the eugenics agenda of John D. Rockefeller III and Planned Parenthood was being frustrated by the Church’s stubborn moral opposition to contraception. Because the Rockefeller and Planned Parenthood folks considered public acceptance of contraception to be the key to public acceptance of eugenics by abortion, euthanasia and genetic manipulation, they were actively seeking a prominent Catholic voice to assist them in successfully opposing the strength of the Church’s teaching on that issue. Notre Dame became their willing accomplice in this quest.

"Notre Dame hosted 3 unpublicized conferences, attended only by theologians and academics who were selected because of their opposition to the Church’s teaching on contraception, the first of which was chaired by Notre Dame’s president. The purpose of the conferences was to develop a “Catholic” position paper justifying the morality of contraception, which was in fact promulgated in 1964 with massive publicity. The paper, popularly referred to as the “Notre Dame Statement,” proclaimed that contraception was moral, that the Church’s contrary teaching was unscientific and out of touch with modernity, and that those who believed it to be immoral had no right to impose those anachronistic beliefs on others. That proclamation was accepted and taught as authentic Catholic teaching by many Catholics, including many bishops, priests and religious, and contributed greatly to the hostility of many to the papal encyclical, Humanae Vitae, which was issued 4 years later. Notre Dame was rewarded for this traitorous activity against the Church with millions of dollars from the Rockefeller Foundation and other foundations whose primary mission for at least three generations has been to finance the worldwide spread of the eugenics agenda throughout the world – the agenda now called “the culture of death.”

"Three years later, in 1967, the University severed all juridical relations with the Catholic Church, declaring itself to be independent from all Church authority. This was the infamous “Land O’Lakes Statement” which became the new charter of the University, a charter which replaced and essentially buried the faith-based principles of the University’s founder. The Land O’Lakes Statement is firmly grounded in religious relativism - the view that religious belief is not based on an absolute objective Truth but on one’s personal opinion, and that all such opinions are equally valid provided they are sincerely held. Land O’Lakes proudly declares that the University will no longer promote “theological imperialism,” which is a euphemism for the doctrine that the Catholic Church is the one, true church founded by Christ. Paradoxically, while rejecting all Church authority, that statement arrogantly asserts that the University has the authority and the right to pass judgment on the teachings of the Church and to decide what is, and what is not, proper Catholic teaching.

"The Congregation of the Holy Cross meekly ratified this rebellion by transferring all interest and control of the University, which formerly belonged to the Holy Cross Province, to a Board of predominately lay trustees Since then, the University has been just another charitable educational corporation organized under the laws of Indiana and run by a Board of Trustees who, like their secular counterparts, are selected, not for their fidelity to the Church, but solely for the degree to which they can bring money, power and prestige to the University. Whereas formerly the promulgation and proclamation of the Catholic faith have been the primary reason for the University’s existence, it has now become the quest for power, prestige and money, a goal with which the May, 2009 abomination is wholly consistent."

Michael McIntire has given up the fight for the heart and soul of Notre Dame. The patient is dead; the corpse is cold. The Blessed Mother atop the golden dome no longer smiles over the campus, but weeps at the feet of Her Son, betrayed once more by those who claim to follow Him.

Catholics are close-minded; our minds close around the truth

Sex Ed: Unnecessary and bad for kids

Dr. Philip Ney, a prominent psychiatrist says sex ed is unnecessary and creates a host of problems including inhibiting communication and sexual bonding. Check out the doctor's website for a whole host of interesting articles.

Will Boston Archdiocese Participate in Abortion?

Archdiocese reviewing Catholic network's alleged role in providing abortions

Tiller's Abortion Mill Closed Permanently

From Pro-Life Multimedia News

"Lee Thompson and Dan Monnat, attorneys for the family of Dr. George Tiller, issued the following statement today:

"'The family of Dr. George Tiller announces that effective immediately, Women's Health Care Services, Inc., will be permanently closed. Notice is being given today to all concerned that the Tiller family is ceasing operation of the clinic and any involvement by family members in any other similar clinic.'"

For past blog entries on George Tiller go here.

Wise Words from Washington (and I don't mean D.C.)

I've been reading a little book called Wit and Wisdom of the American Presidents. It's a collection of quotations and George Washington's are filled with solid advice that the current occupant of the White House would do well to follow. Of course we all know that we've never had anyone half as smart as Barack Obama sitting in the oval office. (Washington, of course, never sat there because it didn't exist.) Liberals never cease to inform us of Obama's absolute, unmatched brilliance, like presidential historian Michael Beschloss who claimed on Imus in the Morning (11/12/08) that "Barack Obama has the highest IQ of any President." Imus asked, "What's his IQ?" and Beschloss answered, "I don't know." So much for the research acumen of the "historian." As for the I.Q. test, it's only been around since the early 20th century. Last I checked we've had presidents since the end of the 18th. But actions speak louder than I.Q.s anyway.

Frankly, I care more about a man's M.Q., his moral quotient. Obama's actions so far, indicate his M.Q. is down in the basement: advancing sodomy, promoting murder of children, cannibalizing embryos, demonizing pro-lifers, claiming to be doing one thing while doing its opposite, etc. Compared to George Washington, Obama is an M.Q. idiot.

Here are a few words of wisdom from the General with my comments:

"Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience."
Will Obama and the liberals in Congress destroy the conscience rights of doctors and other health care professionals?

"I hate deception, even where the imagination only is concerned."
Liberalism is grounded in deception.

"Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder."
Where did Obama's campaign millions come from?

"To contract new debts is not the way to pay old ones."
The "stimulus" package saddles our children and grandchildren with massive, unpayable debt. The entire wealth of the country cannot pay off what we currently owe and it is thanks to big government politicians, both Republican and Democrat. Obama, however, is raising the bar of deficit spending to heights we've never seen before in our history.

"Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals."
This is a totally alien concept to liberals who turn to the courts to legislate every time they fail to get what they want through legislation. Roe v. Wade is the classic example. Look for the ultimate overturning of Proposition 8 in California and the creation of same-sex marriage everywhere by court fiat.

"There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet an enemy."
In other words, have a strong army, but endeavor never to use it, another concept alien to liberals who generally "loathe the military." Traditionally throughout our history the military has been about 30% Catholic. Love of God and country are Catholic virtues.

"The tumultuous populace of large cities are ever to be dreaded."
"Flee the cities!" as Matthew 24 advises.

And finally, "Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains taken to bring it to light."

To speak the truth in charity is the duty of every Christian and, in fact, every person of good will. Jesus Himself is truth. Draw nearer to Him and, like Mary, let your soul magnify Him to an unbelieving and evil age. It may, and probably will, earn you hatred and persecution. Do it anyway. It will allow you, like George Washington, who may have converted to Catholicism on his deathbed, to say, "It is well I die hard, but I am not afraid to go."