Check Out the Republican Candidates' Positions

The Family Research Council posted a voter guide on the current crop of GOP wannabees for the Iowa caucuses. Check it out here. Even though the Iowa caucuses are over, the data in this guide is helpful for analyzing the candidates who remain in the running. Since Bachmann and Perry have dropped out, we are left with four: Romney, Santorum, Paul, and Gingrich (in order of their vote tallies.) An eight vote lead isn't exactly a landslide so Romney had a pretty shaky win. And as far as I'm concerned, McCain's endorsement of Romney is one more black mark on his scorecard. So, what do you think, readers? There's some talk of a Santorum/Gingrich coalition against Romney. What do you see as the best bet to beat Obama?

Election Day Prayer

In the course of human history, God has often used worldly leaders to punish his unfaithful people. The Israelites were carried off into the Babylonian captivity and it was there that the Lord raised up Daniel. Even in the worst of times, prophetic voices like Elijah's called the people and their leaders back to God's ways.

So tonight, as we await the election returns, let us pray to desire nothing but God's will. If our leaders betray us and bring on suffering we need to pray for the courage and perseverance to remain faithful to him remembering that, "All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and serve according to His purpose."

Here's an Election Prayer to Mary that was posted on EWTN:

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, at this most critical time, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care.


Most Holy Mother, we beg you to reclaim this land for the glory of your Son. Overwhelmed with the burden of the sins of our nation, we cry to you from the depths of our hearts and seek refuge in your motherly protection.

Look down with mercy upon us and touch the hearts of our people. Open our minds to the great worth of human life and to the responsibilities that accompany human freedom.

Free us from the falsehoods that lead to the evil of abortion and threaten the sanctity of family life. Grant our country the wisdom to proclaim that God’s law is the foundation on which this nation was founded, and that He alone is the True Source of our cherished rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

O Merciful Mother, give us the courage to reject the culture of death and the strength to build a new Culture of Life.   Amen

Have you prayed your rosary today?

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It's not all bad news. Keep smiling!

A few good things happened on election day that aren't getting much press. Measures defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman passed including the particularly significant proposition 8 in California. The success of all the marriage propositions indicates that had McCain focused on Obama's extreme positions on abortion and marriage, he might have pulled off a win. How many people were taken in by the resurrected Clinton deceit of making abortion safe, legal, and rare? Obama claimed he would reduce the number of abortions while promising Planned Parenthood that he would pass the most radical pro-abortion legislation in history, the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). The media let him get away with all his lies, never challenging him on anything. They were too busy focusing on Sarah Palin's wardrobe. Did any reporter ever ask how much Obama spends on his suits and ties or how much Michelle's hideous election night red and black dress cost?

Mark Crutcher, president of Life Dynamics has an interesting article on the Obama victory called Obamanistas storm the winter palace. It's worth reading for a calm perspective from the pro-life point of view. As he says, "God is still in control. He is not holed-up in some obscure section of heaven pacing back and forth and wringing His hands, desperately trying to figure out what His next move should be. We're the only ones doing that." So if the shoe fits, get a new pair. By all means pace up and down, but do it at an abortion mill with a rosary in one hand and a sign in the other.

This election repudiated more than anything else the positions of the empire-building neocons. People did not reject conservative principles: smaller government, fewer legal intrustions, free speech, etc. They rejected the out-of-control Republicans who have ignored their platform and alienated their base. The election should be a wake-up call. But the country club republicans will never take the blame so watch for the trashing of a real republican, Sarah Palin. The Obamanistas weren't the only villains in this election.

"All things work together for good for those who love the Lord."

Have you voted for life today, considering the will of the Lord of Life? Then be at peace no matter the outcome. "All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and serve according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

It is the feast day of St. Charles Borromeo, one of the leading reformers of the Catholic Church. That, seems to me, to be a sign of hope that no matter what happens today we are to continue to fight for a culture of life and for our holy faith. St. Charles was born during the Protestant Revolution and became a cardinal at a time of serious abuses in the Church (sound familiar?). He assisted in the final deliberations of the Council of Trent and contibuted to the writing of the catechism of the Council. His catechetical efforts were so effective in his diocese (Milan, Ialy) that the protestants were unsuccessful in attempts to evangelize there.

St. Charles saw that many of the problems in the Church were due to the ignorance of the clergy, so he started seminaries and colleges to ensure the proper training of men aspiring to the priesthood. During times of famine and plague, he was a minister of charity, never sparing himself and liberally applying the wealth of the Church, even going into heavy debt.

But natural disasters were not his only challenge. His efforts at reform were resisted. One religious order, the Humiliati (Brothers of Humility), conspired to kill him. Gunshots were fired in his archiepiscopal chapel, but he escaped harm which many considered miraculous.

Having poured himself out as a libation for his people, St. Charles died November 3, 1584 at the age of only 46. To the end he was a model of his Lord, the Good Shepherd. Let us ask St. Charles to intercede for our Church and our country, and especially to pray for the hierarchy in the United States that they might put the common good of their people first. St. Charles Borromeo, pray for us.

A Real Shepherd Speaks!

Bishop Robert Hermann, Administrator of the St. Louis Archdiocese is setting the bar high for his brother bishops with his excellent teachings in The St. Louis Review, the diocesan weekly paper. In recent weeks he has written articles articulating the necessity of a correctly-formed conscience, another calling on "good Catholics" to vote to "save the children," and a reminder that "Judgment Day is on the way." After reading a number of his articles, I have decided that I love this bishop! If you're a faithful Catholic I think you will too after reading the excerpts below.

On Conscience:

"'My conscience is my guide.' For many people, following this principle is a disaster. Some terrorists follow their conscience. Some suicide bombers follow their conscience. We can use this principle to justify whatever course of action suits us.... conscience must be informed by objective truth, not subjective desire.

"For anyone really willing to grow in the spiritual life, I would encourage such a person to select either the Scripture passage or a Church teaching that bothers them deeply. Then I encourage such a person to study all that the Catholic Church teaches about such an issue, especially in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I also encourage such a person to prayerfully reflect as to why such a teaching bothers them so deeply. It usually points to rebellion or self will. Yet, such an approach has often resulted in a profound conversion. If a Scripture passage or a Church teaching rubs me the wrong way, then it is clear that I am called to transformation. There is no freedom in trying to justify myself if I disagree with the Church’s teaching. Such efforts are relentless and exhausting. Humbling myself to find out how embracing truth consecrates me in a deeper way leads me to repentance, freedom and joy. This is life uplifting!"

On the Election:

"Save our children! How can a so-called good Catholic vote for a candidate that supports laws that take the life of innocent children, when there is an alternative? If there were two candidates who supported abortion, but not equally, we would have the obligation to mitigate the evil by voting for the less-permissive candidate.

"Save our children! How can a so-called good Catholic vote for a candidate that supports laws that justify the killing of a child that survived a botched abortion? How can such a so-called good Catholic receive the Holy Eucharist?

"Save our children! Have some of our so-called good Catholics become so hardened against the Gospel of Life that they believe that other issues outweigh the Gospel of Life? Have some of our so-called good Catholics put politics ahead of the Fifth Commandment, in which God states: 'Thou shalt not kill'? Do some of our so-called good Catholics, who may go to Mass every Sunday and receive the Holy Eucharist, really believe that voting for a pro-abortion candidate, when there is a clear alternative and therefore no justifiable reason for so doing, is really not voting to have children killed? This election is all about saving our children!

"Save our children! You can see by now that I do not believe that this column by itself will change hearts. The issue of abortion involves serious sin, and to overcome serious patterns of sin requires grace. If you are still with me, may I suggest that you join me and many others in praying the daily Rosary from now until election day for the sake of life. Why not pray the family Rosary every night between now and the general election. The Rosary brought down the Iron Curtain. It can also help us turn around the culture of death to a culture of life.

"Save our so-called good Catholics who ignore Catholic moral principles when applied to our political life. Pray the family Rosary daily. Pray the family Rosary for our so-called good Catholics who could use your love and your charity. Pray for our so-called good Catholics who ignore serious Catholic moral teachings and still receive Holy Communion. Love them by praying the family Rosary for them. Don’t debate with them. Intercede for them. Praying for them is more fun than fighting with them.

"Prayer is our protection. Let it also be a protection for our country. If you want to make Satan angry, pray the Rosary for the sake of Life. Pray that as a nation we will choose leaders that will say ‘no’ to the culture of death and say ‘yes’ to the culture of life. Save our children! Pray the Rosary!"

On Judgment Day:

"Judgment Day is on its way. We cannot stop it. We don’t know when it will come, but just as surely as the sun rises daily, the Son of Man will come when we least expect.

"Judgment Day is on its way. For many, this coming election may very well be judgment day, for this election will measure us. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us in 10:32-33: 'Everyone who acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My heavenly Father. But whoever denies Me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.'

"Judgment Day is on its way. When my time comes, I will be measured by my Savior for the decisions I have made. I will either be acknowledged by Jesus or denied by Him in the presence of our heavenly Father. The question I need to ask myself is this: What kind of witness will I give to Him when I go into the voting booth this election day? The decision I make in the voting booth will reflect my value system.

"If I value the good of the economy and my current lifestyle more than I do the right to life itself, then I am in trouble. Pope John Paul II, in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation Christifideles laici tells us: 'Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.'

"The right of our children to be protected from destruction is greater than my right to a thriving economy.

"Judgment Day is on its way! I may deny it. I may pretend that it is still far away, I may deny that my actions are sinful, but that will not change God’s judgment of me.

"Perhaps having to face these issues during this coming election can turn out to be a grace that truly awakens our need to learn more about the teachings of the Catholic Church, and then to use the Sacrament of Reconciliation so that we can receive His mercy and bring our behavior into conformity with the mind and heart of Christ. It is not too late to admit our sinfulness and turn to the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When we do this, both we and the heavens will be filled with joy!

"Judgment Day is on its way. Pray your way into conformity with the teachings of Christ and His Church."

And finally, let me leave you with one more quote from this dear bishop:

"My parents got married about one year before the stock market crash of 1929, and yet they raised 15 children in the midst of the Great Depression. They had no money. My mother made her own wedding gown and her own bouquet of flowers. I have my parents’ wedding picture on the wall of my office, and I am reminded every day of the sacrifices they made for life.

"We had no money, but we had each other! My parents were at home with us for three meals every day. We had plenty to eat because we raised almost all of our food. We seldom got new clothes, but we wore hand-me-downs, unless my mother would buy materials and make our clothes. We lived in poverty, but we learned the value of hard work. We had no running water or electricity. We had no TV, Internet or cell phone. Yet, we were very happy because we had life! We had each other! Today, all 15 children in my family of origin are most grateful for the sacrifices Mom and Dad made so that we could have life. Making sacrifices for each other brought us incredible joy and enhanced our dignity, because it gave us a chance to participate in serving each other!"

God bless you, dear Bishop Hermann, and thank you for giving us the example of your heroic Catholic parents!

Pray and Fast for Our Poor Country

A suffering friend who I believe is close to the heart of God, has suggested we pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet three times every day between now and election day focusing on our poor, distressed country. I echo her plea. Especially pray for the conversion of those who favor and work for the child-killing industry. Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life urged those participating in the 40 Days for Life Campaign to follow the Daniel Fast for the next 21 days abstaining from wine and meat. Remember that some demons can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. Put power behind your prayer with at least some form of fasting.

Beg for God's mercy on America through the intercession of the Blessed Mother and the Guardian Angel of the United States:

1. Please pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet three times in a row. If you can, please put a high priority on doing this every day through Election Day.

2. On the Hail Mary beads, instead of saying: "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us, and on the whole world" pray: "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us (me), have mercy on our country, have mercy on the whole world."

3. On the Our Father beads, on which we would normally pray: V. "Eternal Father, I (we) offer You the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ." R. "In atonement for our sins, and the sins of the whole world." Change the response to: "In atonement for our sins, the sins of our country, the sins of the whole world."

4. End with: V. "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One" (unchanged) R. "Have mercy on us, have mercy on our country, have mercy on the whole world." (changed)

Please note that this is in no way a proposed change for the Divine Mercy Chaplet, but is particularly to be said during this time (and times to come) when our country's future is in serious peril, and our closeness to God and following His commands as a nation in serious jeopardy.

God bless us all! Have mercy on us, O Lord. If You spare us, Your mercy will be pure mercy: since we have no deserving because of our own sins, and the sins of our country as we stood by and even cooperated by voting for those who would perpetuate and increase the evil of killing unborn babes, children and innocent people. We scarcely have the courage to pray for Your Divine mercy, if it were not for Your mercy. Amen.

Spare us, O Lord: a shepherd misleading the flock - again!

The October 16th Al Smith dinner, sponsored by the Archdiocese of New York, is slated to feature co-guest speakers John McCain and Barack Obama. Hosted by Cardinal Edward Egan, the dinner gives the politicians the "opportunity to show how well they speak when they aren't on a political stage" according to Catholic News Agency. The Alfred E. Smith Foundation website says the organization was "founded by His Eminence, Francis Cardinal Spellman in 1946, to honor the memory of Alfred Emanuel Smith, New York's renowned Governor and patron of the 'Little People'. The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation supports and aids the poor, sick, and underprivileged of the Archdiocese of New York, regardless of race, creed, or color."

Okay, so this is clearly a Catholic organization. Now let's get this straight: a Catholic group is holding a Catholic event hosted by a prince of the Church that will give a position of honor and prominence to 1) the most pro-abortion, pro-infanticide politician ever to walk the halls of Congress and 2) a politician who supports embryonic stem cell research. Neither of these gentlemen is allowed under the bishops' own guidelines to speak at this event, particularly Obama who holds the most radically pro-abortion position of almost any politician in the country. How many have refused to help babies born alive after a failed abortion? Obama is an icon for the culture of death.

In 2004 the bishops approved a document at their General meeting called "Catholics in Political Life." It states, "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions. (my emphasis) Obviously the Al Smith dinner gives both Obama and McCain positions of prominence. It is confusing and likely to make people assume that their positions are equal and that Obama's abortion extremism is perfectly fine with the Cardinal as he appears in media photographs laughing and chatting up the the abortion extremist.

During the 2000 presidential campaign George Bush and Al Gore spoke at the dinner, but in 2004 presidential candidates George Bush and John Kerry were passed over for Bush senior and former New York Governor Hugh Carey. It is not a tradition set in stone to feature the presidential candidates and this is one year someone else should have received the invite. To bring a man whose policies are so evil he is the soulmate of the worst mass murdering tyrants in history is scandalous.

Please protest this scandalous event!

Contact Cardinal Egan's office at
1011 First Ave
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212-371-1000
Fax: 212-308-2674

If anyone has the Cardinal's email, please leave it in the comments section.

Is the misuse of annual Catholic Campaign for Human Development funds behind Obama?

By Stephanie Block



Whether or not Barak Obama becomes the next president of the United States, the annual Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) bears responsibility for raising this community organizer to his current national prominence. Through CCHD funding, he received a Machiavellian practicum. Through CCHD-funded organizations, Catholics sponsored his education - not at Harvard but in the Chicago streets. Thanks to CCHD grants, this convicted pro-abort has been backed by Catholics every step of his short, meteoric rise....continued