Don't Sign that Organ Card...

...unless you want your heart cut out while it's still beating and you're still breathing!

Family says doctors removed deceased girl’s organs too early

This happens frequently according to Dr. Paul Byrne. It is the ultimate in pragmatism. "Hey! The person will die anyway and we need fresh organs. If we wait until the person is really dead, the organs won't be any good. So, the person dies a little sooner. What's the big deal?" 

I'll tell you. Once the individual's right to life is considered qualified, anything becomes possible. If you can kill a person ten minutes before he's dead, why not an hour? And why bother doing anything that might actually save his life? After all, he'll probably be a vegetable. Tell that to people who have completely recovered from "hopeless" situations. 

And then there's the organ harvesting from prisoners in China. It's a big money-maker. Are some prisoners whose organs match a prospective organ recipient executed primarily for that purpose? Would anyone put that past the Chinese whose family planners go into villages and perform forced abortions on women only days from delivery? 

Pray for an end to our culture of death and a return to recognition of each of us a unique creation made in the image and likeness of God. 

Moynihan vs. Magister: Which Vatican Watcher Would You Trust?

I read Inside the Vatican and its editor's "Moynihan Letters," but I was so put off by one of them this past week that I won't be giving quite so much credence to Moynihan's views in the future. He seems to me to be outfitted in rose-colored glasses with a message sweat shirt that reads "The Pope is Always Right and I'm His Cheerleader!" 

What made me reassess Moynihan? His opinions on the Extraordinary Synod and his almost breathless acceptance of Kasper et al's statements that nobody is trying to change doctrine on marriage. What! Here's a section from his November 14th letter titled Francis Has His Hand On The Tiller — And He Will Not Change Doctrine:

I attended a round-table the other evening, on November 11... at which Cardinal Walter Kasper spoke. Kasper, just back in Rome after a trip to the United States, was joined by Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, one of the leading canon lawyers in the Church, and now President of the Vatican's most important canon law office, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts...The two discussed the October Synod on the Family for an hour and a half....

So...After the Extraordinary Synod, What's Next?

This is the lead article from the latest issue of the Les Femmes newsletter which isn't posted at the website yet. I'd be happy to have your comments. What impact do you think the Pope's visit to the U.S. next September will have on the Synod, if any?

After the Synod, What's Next?

The Extraordinary Synod on the Family is over and its participants home from the wars. Some orthodox bishops are reportedly shell-shocked seeing how deeply their brothers dissent from Church teaching on the indissolubility of marriage. Despite secrecy surrounding activities in the synod hall, controversy and contentious disagreement among the bishops spilled over, especially after the interim report, Relatio Post Disceptationem,[i] was released which the media saw before the bishops did.

Put on Your Red Shoes - Pope Francis is Coming in 2015

It's official -- the pope is coming!

Philadelphia is hosting the 8th World Meeting of Families from September 22-25, 2015. A papal Mass is scheduled for September 26th with the expectation of a million Catholics attending. The pope's U.S. visit takes place shortly before the Ordinary Synod on the Family scheduled in Rome for October 2015.

And speaking of the Ordinary Synod, at their recent meeting in Baltimore the U.S. bishops chose their delegates. They include Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., president of the U.S. bishops’ conference; Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, conference vice president; Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, host of the 2015 World Meeting of Families; and Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles. The two alternates are Archbishop Blase Cupich to be installed tomorrow as ordinary of Chicago and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco.

THE TRUE PRIMACY OF ST. PETER

by Fr. Tom Collins  

There is a rather interesting interplay between the events recorded in John 1:40-51 and Matthew 16:13-23, regarding the role given to Simon Peter (Cephas) in the life and ministry of the Church.
In the events recorded in John's Gospel, Simon is told during his first encounter with Jesus, "You will be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter). This declaration is made in the future tense indicating that Simon's change of name and position will be definitively established at a later date in Christ's ministry. It is worth noting, however, that this section of John's Gospel also points out how Jesus, upon meeting Nathaniel, declared, "Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him." Then, after mentioning to Nathaniel an event that occurred earlier under a fig tree, Jesus is told by Nathaniel, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel!"

Two things are intriguing in this passage. Firstly, Nathaniel is declared by Jesus to be a true Israelite, who is free of guile. He is truly pure of heart, and thus the one who seems to be most capable of being eventually appointed as the righteous leader of Christ's disciples. Secondly, he makes a profession of faith in Jesus similar to the that would be made by Simon Peter as recorded in Matt 16:16. He declares Jesus to be the Son of God and the King of Israel. Yet his integrity of character
and clarity of both perception and proclamation do not lead him to being given the highest place of leadership among Christ's disciples. For a very profound and mysterious reason, that position has already been reserved by Our Lord for Simon Peter.

Christ giving keys to St. Peter, Pietro Perugino, 1482,, Sistine Chapel fresco 

Yikes! Did You Know This is How Wheat is Harvested?

What you don't know about how most farmers harvest wheat:

Standard wheat harvest protocol in the United States is to drench the wheat fields with Roundup several days before the combine harvesters work through the fields as withered, dead wheat plants are less taxing on the farm equipment and allow for an earlier, easier and bigger harvest.

Yikes! From now on we're eating organic bread and I'm looking for a source of organic flour:

According to Dr. Stephanie Seneff of MIT who has studied the issue in depth and who I recently saw present on the subject at a nutritional Conference in Indianapolis, desiccating non-organic wheat crops with glyphosate just before harvest came into vogue late in the 1990′s with the result that most of the non-organic wheat in the United States is now contaminated with it. Seneff explains that when you expose wheat to a toxic chemical like glyphosate, it actually releases more seeds resulting in a slightly greater yield: “It ‘goes to seed’ as it dies. At its last gasp, it releases the seed.” According to the US Department of Agriculture, as of 2012, 99% of durum wheat, 97% of spring wheat, and 61% of winter wheat has been doused with Roundup as part of the harvesting process. This is an increase from 88% for durum wheat, 91% for spring wheat and 47% for winter wheat since 1998. Read the complete article here.

Is this good stewardship of the earth and a benefit to the common good? Where are the Catholic social justice advocates? Poisoning of the food supply impacts a lot more people than the nonsense and unscientific hysteria over global warming. (Oops...climate change. It's hard to promote global warming when the ice caps are growing and the climate is cooling.) 

Interesting Movie Trailer: Origins -- Poisoning our Food

"Food is medicine or food is poison."

I'm not sure how this movie will actually reflect environmentalism, etc., but it looks promising. Note the concern over the increasing infertility of the population because of chemicals poisoning us. Especially,  note the lovely presentation of the unborn baby. I'll be interested to see the entire documentary. They are offering a free ten-day screening on the internet. Watch the trailer and take advantage of the short window to see the entire movie.

Want to Worship Allah or Hold Your Same-Sex "Wedding?"

Washington, D.C.'s National Cathedral will welcome you with open arms! 

National Cathedral Holds First Ever Muslim Prayer Service

Sex Change Regret? Censored!

You've got to read this story (Buried Stories based on original by Stella Morabito) if you've bought into the belief that sex changes are simple and just one-more "choice."

The regret (bigtime) is out there, but, like women who regret their abortions, it's not politically correct to talk about it. The paragraphs from the article (below) indicate the regret is there and why you aren't hearing about it. How would you like to be targeted by the gender Nazis when you are already suffering deeply over a bad decision?

Buy-Buy-Buy! I Hate Black Friday!...

...and the Black Friday creep into Thanksgiving Day itself.

So I congratulate the stores below who are refusing to open on Thanksgiving. Employees deserve a break and a day to spend with their families.

Meet The Anti-Black-Friday-Creep Crowd