Catholic vs Catholic over health care

Pro-life blogger Jill Stanek is right. Its a holy war.
Somehow those of us Catholics  who adhere to Church teachings on life issues must get through to the members of Network and the Catholic Health Association that this health care bill cannot be supported by Catholics.
For the good of their souls, and of the poor. Yes, the poor, whose children's lives are at stake. Ask abortion clinic escort Dominican Sr Donna Quinn. No amount of health benefits  for the poor can eradicate the fact that poor minority women are the ones who have the most abortions. Since the sisters of etwork say they work with the poor, they must know that. Or has their pro-abortion agenda blinded them to the plight of those they claim to serve?
Many of these women religious are high in postions of power in the Church. They, like CHA CEO Sr Carol Keehan who draws a salary of over $400K (she claims its donated to her order, but that is still a lot of money for an order with vows of poverty) They have become too involved in the status quo and those who fear that Catholic hospitals will be forced by this health care bill to perform abortions are a bit late; they already do.

In Catholic hospitals in Connecticut, the abortifacient drug Plan B is distributed to rape victims. Rep Chris Coutu (R) was part of an effort to keep CT Catholic hospitals from being forced into providing the drug which works by preventing an embryo from implanting in the uterus, but he told me that "the bishops undercut our efforts" by accepting this illicit procedure. Remember; they had a way out and chose to allow an abortifacient anyway. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/connecticut_bishops_urged_to_reverse_plan_b_decision/

In London Ontario, Catholic priest and chief ehticist for the diocese, Fr Michael Prieur, advises women to undergo so called 'early induction' abortions.. These take place when pregnant mothers have their labor induced early to give birth tobabies before the age of viability (22 weeks).Allegedly, the babies for whom Fr Prieur allows abortions have fatal anomalies, in other words, they would not live long outside the womb.  Oh, its made so pretty, they have special rooms where the dying child, gasping for air, but given none, is photographed, hand and foot printed and even dressed up in a gown for a family photo. This is a comfort to famlies whose child  with a fatal anomaly is born naturally, and I wish I had this comfort with my three miscarriages, but when the parents and the doctors have conspired to kill the 'unacceptable' child then dare to dress it up, it is an outrage, when it is proposed by a Catholic priest it is SCANDALOUS. Read the Life Site News story here.
 http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09031810.html

Is it any accident that Canada, where there has been socialized medicine for 30 years is proposing induced abortion for expensive disabled babies? In September, with Healthcare for Gunner, I spent two days with three Canadians who came to the US to warn us that socialized medicine is dangerous for the disabled, especially little Annie Farlow with Trisomy 18, who at months of age, was in a Canadian hospital and given a fatal dose of morphine without her parents' knowlege. Barb to her credit, has dedicated years of her life to pursue justice for Annie. She has encountered nothing but stonewalling and heartless bureaucrats. The most recent report from thE Coroner said that since Annie (a disabled non-verbal toddler) couldn't make her wishes known, the doctors didn't know she wanted to live. Oh really. This is socialized healthcare at its best, saving the taxpayer money by eliminating expensive patients.

And then there's Terri Schiavo, whose bishop sent a priest to her hearing to remove the feeding tube to testify on behalf of her adulterous husband Michael Schiavo who wanted Terri dead, to spend her lawsuit money with his new woman and children. Bishop Lynch even had the temerity to blame Terri's devoted family for the 'lack of peace' surrounding the nationwide story. They had offered, at no cost to Michael, to take their daughter home and care for her. He wanted her dead, and the bishop took his side.  Not a week after Terri's misrable dehydration/starvation murder, our beloved Pope John Paul II died with a feeding tube. I am convinced he had the tube inserted, not because he needed one (the Church does not insist on forcing burdensome food and water on those actively dyiing, as he was) but to tell American that Terri a young woman with years of life ahead of her should have had one.
Don't forge to commemorate the anniversay of her murder which will be commemorated by a concert on March 31. See the Terri foundation website for details.
 http://www.terrisfight.org/

These leaders of the Church have been scadalously disobedient to the 15 year old encyclical Evangelium Vitae, and now, through the public war over health care,  the public is becoming ever more painfully aware of what has scandalized the faithful. So, to those of you who are shocked by the contentitous divide in the Church over abortion, and end of life issues for the frail and disabled, I say, "where have you been?"
Important represnetatives of our Church have been betraying the teaching on life issues publicly for years. Now they are about to cash in big time on their shame. Catholic hospitals in the CHA will be on board with the rationing of care to the disabled and the elderly and abortion procedures mandated by Obamacare.
Someday there will be a higher Court before whom those who have distorted Church teaching on life issues must appear. And no amount of backroom deals or arm-twisting will sway this Judge.
May Almighty God have mercy on us.
St Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, pray for us.

Happy 97th anniversary Our Sunday Visitor

In an age when Catholic institutions fail to live up to their calling to be salt and light to the world, Notre Dame, we are talking about YOU!
It's inspiring to read the history of Our Sunday Visitor, founded 97 years ago by Father Noll to combat anti-Catholicism. OSV has taken the Catholic side of the debate since, including the divisive issue of Humanae Vitae, and the subsequent decline of catechesis.
"On July 25, 1968, Pope Paul VI issued an encyclical forbidding artificial contraception. Overnight, birth control became the hottest issue of debate among Catholics. Our Sunday Visitor supported the Pope's decision; columnists asked why dissenting theologians should still be teaching at Catholic universities and seminaries.
(We're still asking that question)
The late 1960s witnessed the low-point for the Church in the United States: priests and sisters by the thousands left their ministry; the number of converts plummeted; vocations began to decline at an alarming rate; disagreement was widespread over whether priests and Religious should be involved in politics. Catechetical materials seemed to abandon much of the traditional faith, a development Our Sunday Visitor decried openly in print."
Long may OSV print the truth of Christ!

1968 the year that we are still recovering from

On the fortieth anniversary of Humanae Vitae, I have been asked to reflect on one event of that year, the doctrinal dissent among some priests and theologians in an American archdiocese on the occasion of its publication. It is not an easy or welcome task. But since it may help some followers of Jesus to live what Pope Paul VI called a more “disciplined” life (HV 21), I will explore that event.
The summer of 1968 is a record of God’s hottest hour. The memories are not forgotten; they are painful. They remain vivid like a tornado in the plains of Colorado. They inhabit the whirlwind where God’s wrath dwells. In 1968, something terrible happened in the Church. Within the ministerial priesthood, ruptures developed everywhere among friends which never healed. And the wounds continue to affect the whole Church. The dissent, together with the leaders’ manipulation of the anger they fomented, became a supreme test. It changed fundamental relationships within the Church. It was a Peirasmòs for many.
Read the entire article here. This is a long, but fascinating and important read in order to understand how the Church suffered since the 60's.
HT California Catholic Daily and NOR

John Allen's Op-Ed on Humanae Vitae in the NYTimes

The encyclical which was so widely opposed is now more relevant than ever. Who knew?
The Holy Spirit did, when he inspired Pope Paul VI, that's who!
"So the future of “Humanae Vitae” as the teaching of the Catholic Church seems secure, even if it will also continue to be the most widely flouted injunction of the church at the level of practice.
The encyclical’s surprising resilience is a reminder that forecasting the Catholic future in moments of crisis is always a dangerous enterprise — a point with relevance to a more recent Catholic predicament. Many critics believe that the church has not yet responded adequately to the recent sex-abuse scandals, leading to predictions that the church will “have to” become more accountable, more participatory and more democratic.
While those steps may appear inevitable today, it seemed unthinkable to many observers 40 years ago that “Humanae Vitae” would still be in vigor well into the 21st century. "

Read the entire article here.

HT Curt Jester

A message and an offer from Catholicity

On the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Paul VI's encyclical, Humanae Vitae, on July 25, 1968. We assume our readers know this watershed encyclical rejected the premise that the use of artificial means to avoid conception was anything other than an objectively immoral act.THE AGE OF SEXUAL SLAVERYDid you know that every major Christian denomination in the world (and virtually every citizen in every country on the planet) viewed the use of artificial contraception as immoral until 1930, when the Anglican Church of England officially changed its teaching at the Lambeth Conference?
With the collapse of the Christian bulwark against the idea that sexual activity could be seperated from the responsibilities of bearing children (and ultimately, that sexuality would be seperated from exclusivity within marriage), what was regarded as grossly unnatural and morally repugnant to the "man on the street" gradually became considered "natural" to most citizens of developed countries by the end of the 1970s. The age of sexual slavery is upon us, and we fear, has not reached its nadir, as the attacks upon what legally defines marriage itself gain in popularity and ferocity.In 2008, 78 years later, and a mere "blink" of the eye of history, the Catholic Church stands alone in this foundational defense of the natural dignity of humanity itself, and sadly, many of her own members do not stand with her. Pope Paul prophetically made four dire predictions for society if this teaching was ignored, and tragically, all four have come true.
We posted Mary Eberstadt's summarizing article from First Things on CatholiCity.com this week:http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6262

ONE MORE SOUL
If you are married and remain faithfully open and responsible to life, we applaud your courage, empathize with the challenges, and understand your joy, especially if you have been blessed with children.If you have struggled to adhere to the teaching or are intimidated by the massive and implacable cultural obsession to separate sexual activity from the gift and responsibility of bearing and rearing children, you are not alone.
Perhaps you sincerely and honestly do not see the truth of the teaching.We humbly and gently invite you to listen to the most loving, powerful, non-judgemental, and popular explanation of the Church's teaching ever recorded, Dr. Janet E. Smith's "Contraception, Why Not?" or her recent "Contraception, Why Not? New and Revised."Both CDs are available free-of-charge from One More Soul, which offers an extensive variety of books, CDs, newsletters, and pamphlets on this important subject, including an online directory of doctors who do not prescribe contraceptives.
For a free CD of the classic "Contraception, Why Not?" or the New and Revised version, go here, respectively:
http://www.omsoul.com/catalog/index.php?target=products&product_id=531
http://www.omsoul.com/catalog/index.php?product_id=709&target=products

The 40th Anniversary of Humae Vitae and a Warning from Fr. Corapi

The Catholic Church is in the process of celebrating the 40th anniversary of the prophetic and landmark encyclical of Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, on human life. At the time the Holy Father promulgated the encyclical there was a general spirit of dissent in the air. This inspired document put the dissenters into yet a new orbit, even further from the center of Church teaching. Their lack of humility resulted in disobedience, ultimately resulting in moral death for them and countless others.What has resulted from the rejection of the principles contained in this great document is a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. "Life begins at conception. Abortion begins at artificial contraception." Pope Paul VI prophetically predicted that if artificial contraception were to become generally acceptable in society, then abortion would inevitably become just another means of artificial contraception. Today, not only have what is approaching one billion children been murdered in the name of 'choice' worldwide, but a host of incredible evils have followed in the wake of the rejection of the Holy Father's teaching on life.Pope John Paul II called abortion murder in the clear and inspired language of his encyclical Evangelium vitae. If a single abortion is homicide"and it is"then the cumulative result of abortion on demand is genocide. Numbers of innocent and helpless children totaling more than the population of large countries have been annihilated. Can a society that elevates such an outrage to the noble status of law be pleasing to God? Or, will God's patience soon run out and visit an avalanche of natural disasters, wars, chaos, and economic collapse on the perpetrators of such violence and evil?I have no doubt whatever that the Western world is headed for collapse and annihilation, and it will be by suicide, not at the hand of terrorists or enemy states,although that may well facilitate the demise. As Abraham Lincoln asserted, "If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide."The Western world's wholesale rejection of the teaching of Humanae Vitae ushered in a death wish that is even now well on its way to completion. Pseudo-Christian Europe has had an extremely low birthrate for decades, while the burgeoning Muslim population is growing exponentially. With the average European family having less than 2 children and the average Muslim family having 8-10 children it won't be long until Europe as we know it will be no more. Muslims vote and they will vote to radically alter laws that facilitate gross immorality. God may use them to chastise a decadent West. I assure you they will not need bombs and bullets; mathematics will more than suffice.The unspiritual person cannot see reality as it is, hence they cannot discern the advancing disaster of our rejection of both common sense and proper morality. The spiritual person must pray fervently for the Spirit of God to discern reality as it is. (i.e., 1 Corinthians 2:12-16).
Things such as artificial contraception, abortion, homosexual sex, and euthanasia all have something in common.They have no life in them. They are part of a death wish that when brought to its inevitable conclusion will result in the annihilation of the West as we know it, if something isn't done to change course immediately.Every one of us, as disciples of Christ, must pray and sacrifice for the cause of life, and do so with earnest. The hour is late and time is now short. The battle between truth and lies, good and evil, life and death rages on toward its consummation. We know the ultimate outcome—truth, the good, and life is victorious in Christ the Conqueror. We, however, must fight the good fight. How we shall live forever is determined by how we live now. We are being called upon by the Spirit of God to be the saints of these times. How we respond to the call will dictate the rise and fall of nations, and the eternal salvation of many.
"Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).
God bless you,
Fr. John Corapi

Anniversary of Humanae Vitae gains momentum

From natural family planning initiatives to sexual abstinence programs for teenagers, parishes and dioceses are increasingly adopting Pope Paul's vision for a world built on fidelity in marriage and the love shared by husband and wife as the cornerstone of a stable world.While the 7,000-word encyclical -- which upholds the church's long-standing prohibition on artificial contraception -- is rarely addressed from the pulpit, ministries that seek to head off teen sex, cohabitation, high rates of divorce and single parenthood are sprouting in the hope of delivering a positive message on human sexuality."There is an army of people out there right now who are desirous of getting this message out," said Janet Smith, professor of moral theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in the Detroit Archdiocese."
We'll be celebrating the anniversary of this landmark encyclical here.
Read the entire story here.
HT CNS

The 40th Anniversary of Humae Vitae

Fr Peter Ryan, SJ a professor of Moral Theology at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Ma revisits Humanae Vitae on it's anniversary. How much stronger society would be if Catholics had welcomed this prophetic encyclical!
" the significance of Humanae Vitae is not to be found primarily in the status of the document but in the teaching it contains. Paul VI says that the core of that teaching-contraception is intrinsically wrong-reiterates what the Church has taught through the ages and is a truth that must be held. John Paul II goes further and says it is a truth of revelation to be accepted with faith. "
HT The Westchester Institute

Why A Pledge on Humanae Vitae?

from Fr. Tom Eutneuer of HLI
To [Christian married couples] the Lord entrusts the task of making visible to men the holiness and sweetness of the law which unites the mutual love of husband and wife with their cooperation with the love of God the author of human life. [Pope Paul VI, Humanae vitae, ¶25].
It may seem odd to take a pledge to do what we are supposed to do anyway—follow the teachings of the Church. By our baptism and confirmation we are already vowed, at least implicitly, to do so. But we are living under special circumstances in a secular society where many Catholics have, knowingly or unknowingly supplanted their faith with another code by which they live, deeming it more “realistic.” But nothing is more realistic or “practical” than eternal salvation and living this life in accord with God’s designs.
So why do we pledge to assent to something as beautiful as God’s natural designs? Something, which in a less darkened world that ought to go without saying?
For two reasons, at least: First, as an act of reparation for forty years of public dissent that led so many people astray by treating this ignorance of our Church as some kind of “enlightenment” or “liberation.” Second as an act of witness and assent to counter the anti-witness of this dissent, which brought so much incalculable damage to our Church and world, and indeed the witness of the Church. We stand up as confessors of the Faith. In the ancient Church, after the great martyrdoms ceased, those who stood for the Faith in a hostile climate were known as confessors of the Faith.
In taking this pledge we stand with the martyrs and confessors of the past in giving public witness not only to the Truth of our Church but her beauty.
Human Life International has an ongoing campaign of collecting this Pledge from clergy members and seminarians. This week we announce and offer a similar pledge to members of the lay faithful.
To sign the Pledge electronically, click here.
To download a pdf copy of the Pledge to sign and distribute to others to sign please go here. [Laity Pledge in PDF]
We recommend pastors include it as a bulletin insert and lay people distribute it among friends and family.
Online Laity Pledge to Humanae Vitae


Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,President, Human Life International
I took the pledge, did you?

Humanae Vitae

Dear Friends,
July 25, 2008 will be the 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical letter Humanae Vitae. Beginning on July 25 of 2007, Priests for Life will launch a special year-long preparation for that anniversary and will call attention to the wisdom and insight of this important document. Respect for human life is the basis of civilization, and respect for life demands respect for the sources of life. Many of my brother priests point to the failure of so many clergy to wholeheartedly embrace Humanae Vitae when it was issued, and say that this is the reason that so many were subsequently unwilling to address the abortion tragedy once it was legalized.

Now, however, we have a new generation of priests who are not caught in the dilemma of having to justify their past silence. They are ready, and are in fact engaged in, the mission of preaching and teaching the truth about human life and sexuality. Please feel free to make use of the resources you’ll find at my www.priestsforlife.org/contraception , and let’s spread the word!
Fr. Frank Pavone

Pope Paul VI made some dire predictions if Humanae Vitae were not heeded. He said that women would be made into sex objects, and that governments would begin to forcibly limit family size. The predictions looked far-fetched in 1967, and were laughed off by Catholic intellectuals. Fewer people are laughing today. Here's the text:

Let them first consider how easily this
course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a
general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to
be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and
especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.
Humanae Vitae

Skyrocketing STD rates, a 30% abortion rate, of out of wedlock births, child molestation, pornography, and abuse against women, combined with the general lowering of the status of women to mere accumulation of body parts, are contraception's sorry legacy.


Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this powerpassing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for theprecepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. Humanae Vitae
Amazing how an old, celebate man could predict such things. One would almost think that he had a supernatural advisor.

The Chinese One Child Policy funded by the UN Population Fund, is well known. Congress will be funding forced contraception programs worldwide again, thanks to a recent vote to recind the Mexico City Policy. Indian baby girls, unborn and born are being exterminated. Environmentalists are speaking in terms of governmental limits on family size, due to the impact of children on global warming, despite evidence of a severely declining birthrate which threatens to eliminate Europe.

Amazing how an old, celebate man could predict such things. One would almost think that he had a supernatural advisor.

Married Couples reject the blessing of children

According to a study released July 1st by the Pew research center, Public Concern over the Delinking of Marriage and Parenthood. Adults of all ages consider unwed parenting to be a big problem for society. "At the same time, however, just four-in-ten (41%) say that children are very important to a successful marriage, compared with 65% of the public who felt this way as recently as 1990".

According to a Washington Post article, "This might be explained by a greater emphasis on soul mate relationships in marriage and an increasing recognition of the stress involved in raising children, said Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, co-director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University. There is also a more widespread belief that having children is a choice, she said. "Marriage and kids were kind of hyphenated before," she said, "and now the hyphens have been removed."

This is the direct result of forty years of ignoring Humanae Vitae, which begins with the following acknowlegement, " The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. It has always been a source of great joy to them, even though it sometimes entails many difficulties and hardships. " Hardships are thought to undermine marriage, and many couples try to avoid any type of sacrifice, for the good of the marriage, their own comfort,freedom of lifestyle, and financial success. It's all about personal satisfaction, and marriage, though it remains the ideal of many, in practice, is becoming less important.
"In the United States today, marriage exerts less influence over how adults organize their lives and how children are born and raised than at any time in the nation's history. Only about half of all adults (ages 18 and older) in the U.S. are married; only about seven-in-ten children live with two parents; and nearly four-in-ten births are to unwed mothers, according to U.S. Census figures. As recently as the early 1970s, more than six-in-ten adults in this country were married; some 85% of children were living with two parents; and just one-birth-in-ten was to an unwed mother."