Silent FOCA is coming

Prolifers breathed a sigh of relief when Obama did not introduce the Freedom of Choice Act in his first official act in office. But we must NOT trust the denials of Obama, NARAL etc when they promise that our tax dollars will not be used to pay for abortions in their Health Care Legislation. But the Population Research Council warns that this is not true:

"Pro-lifers are calling Obama’s new health care plan the “Silent FOCA”. Obama is aggressively pushing this plan, looking to sign it before Congress' summer recess if possible.
Entitled “America's Affordable Health Choices Act,” (H.R. 3200), the plan represents one of the clearest and most decisive attacks against the pro-life cause in this country since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

The bill poses numerous threats to the pro-life cause:
Abortion, which Obama has called “essential health care,” would be included in the minimum benefits of every health care plan.

Every taxpayer and insurance holder would have no choice but to pay for every abortion

Discriminates against practitioners who refuse to perform abortions, who may face unemployment as a result.

Will most likely lead to rationing of care for the elderly, whose treatment may not be considered cost-effective.

Under the plan, the elderly will receive an “advance care planning consultation” from the government to “help” them determine their end-of-life care.

Will put nearly all existing insurance providers out of business overnight, making Obama insurance the only insurance available.

We strongly urge all of our readers to contact their Senators and Representatives and demand that they vote against this legislation. You can find your senator here, and your representative here.

Nancy Pelosi has bragged that she has enough votes to pass the bill.

Today, Thursday July 23, at 7PM there will be a historic prolife action webcast where leaders of all major prolife organizations will address this issue, including; David Bereit, Dr James Dobson, Dr Charmaine Yoest, Tony Perkins, Fr Frank Pavone, Majorie Dannenfelser, Rep Chris Smith, Rep Joe Pitt, Carmen Pate, Wendy Wright, and Jim Sedlak.

Just go to Stop the Abortion Mandate and help prevent a tragedy in our times.

Tell your Congressman you don't want abortion included in our healthcare. In fact you like your healthcare the way it is; private and in your and your doctor's hands, without Obama's friends deciding who should be treated and who should be counseled to die for the greater good.

Peter Singer: We can play God with healthcare

Princeton ethicist Peter Singer recently discussed rationing of health care in the New York Times.
"Some will object that this discriminates against people with disabilities. If we return to the hypothetical assumption that a year with quadriplegia is valued at only half as much as a year without it, then a treatment that extends the lives of people without disabilities will be seen as providing twice the value of one that extends, for a similar period, the lives of quadriplegics. That clashes with the idea that all human lives are of equal value. The problem, however, does not lie with the concept of the quality-adjusted life-year, but with the judgment that, if faced with 10 years as a quadriplegic, one would prefer a shorter lifespan without a disability. Disability advocates might argue that such judgments, made by people without disabilities, merely reflect the ignorance and prejudice of people without disabilities when they think about people with disabilities. We should, they will very reasonably say, ask quadriplegics themselves to evaluate life with quadriplegia. If we do that, and we find that quadriplegics would not give up even one year of life as a quadriplegic in order to have their disability cured, then the QALY method does not justify giving preference to procedures that extend the lives of people without disabilities over procedures that extend the lives of people with disabilities."
Clearly, then, my mother, in her seventies, who has inoperable stage 4 cancer and is on expensive chemotherapy to prolong her life, would be cut off to die. And that 's only the beginning of the problem.

All of us who have children with special needs must be advocates for them in this Culture of Death in which we live. If not us, then who will stand up for them?

Peter Singer has a long editorial in the New York Times explaining why our children may be denied certain procedures in the new health care bill. He uses twisted logic and denies that all human life is equal. He said that we are in a position to determine who has quality of life, and should receive treatment.
A child like mine with Down syndrome or one with Cystic Fibrosis may not make it through the quality of life assesment.
Peter Singer has suggested that parents have several weeks after a child is born to decide to kill him. He has said that chimpanzees are more intelligent than disabled children. This is the mentality of a Princeton ethics professor, the type who may very well be on the committee which deterimines if your child receives health care.We have to oppose the health care plan NOW.
It is up for a vote soon.
This letter is a great way to do so:

July 21, 2009

The Honorable Henry Reid The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Senate Majority Leader Speaker of the House
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell The Honorable John Boehner
Senate Minority Leader House Minority Leader
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Max Baucus The Honorable Henry Waxman
Senate Committee on Finance House Committee on Energy
Chairman and Commerce Chairman
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Chuck Grassley The Honorable Joe Barton
Senate Committee on Finance House Committee on Energy
Ranking Member and Commerce Ranking Member
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Robert Casey The Honorable Mark Pryor
United States Senate United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mary Landrieu
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510


Dear Sen. Reid, Sen. McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, Rep. Boehner, Sen. Baucus, Rep. Waxman, Sen. Grassley, Rep. Barton, Sen. Casey, Sen. Pryor, and Sen. Landrieu,
Among the deliberations about health care reform, the best interests of all Americans must be considered, especially the 49.7 million citizens who live with disabilities. If not drafted carefully, a government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan would endanger those citizens with disabilities as decisions about patient care could be made based primarily on cost.

For people with disabilities, the proposed nationalized healthcare plan is a direct threat to the essential and timely care that those families and patients need. Please consider the following examples of how nationalized health care can hurt persons with disabilities, including cutting their life expectancies:
a) The average American with Cystic Fibrosis enjoys a life expectancy rate of 37 years, compared to an Irish patient’s 27 years.
b) Within Great Britain’s nationalized system, the British Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Trust documents that 0 of the 38 British CF centers reported that they receive enough funding to provide government-recommended levels of patient care.
c) In another report, 66% of British Cystic Fibrosis nurses said that they had seen treatments denied on grounds of cost.
d) A reported 14% of British patients wait almost a year for treatment after being referred by a general practitioner.
e) The British National Health Service (NHS) reports that 54% of NHS Trusts leave disabled children waiting 5 months for a wheelchair.

Many of these vulnerable patients under nationalized systems are not even allowed onto a waiting list; they are often denied potentially life-saving procedures outright. Documented examples include:

a) In Great Britain, there have been numerous cases of hospitals refusing to perform corrective surgeries for the 40% of babies born with both Down Syndrome and congenital heart defects, despite the fact that in many cases this procedure is necessary to prevent the child from experiencing gradual heart failure.
b) The Scottish Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society found that 1/3 of all MS patients in the United Kingdom have been denied access to specialists, and 2/3 of neurology centers even lack standard guidelines for the types of services which should be available to MS patients. Financial concerns under a nationalized system drive many health authorities to refuse funding for drug prescriptions which have been shown to dramatically improve the quality of life for victims of this disease. This leaves the 85,000 Scottish families with relatives suffering with MS in a continual state of concern for their loved ones’ care.
c) A recent Parliamentary report reveals that some patients with Parkinson’s disease in Northern Ireland and Wales wait years for such needed medical care despite leading experts’ advice that specialist appointments are vital for victims of Parkinson’s.
d) Children with Edwards Syndrome (Trisomy 18) may face threats similar to Luke Winston-Jones who at 6 months had surpassed the life expectancy for babies diagnosed with Edwards Syndrome. He was challenged by the North West Wales NHS Trust who appealed to England’s High Court to rule on whether they had the right to refuse to provide Luke additional treatment.

Amid difficult economic times, Congress must not cut corners at the expense of the most vulnerable of our society.

We, the undersigned, urge you and your colleagues to seriously consider the needs of those 1 in 5 Americans with special disabilities in this country. Our very lives depend upon access to our doctors and their services in a timely manner which could be jeopardized should the current proposal be signed into law.

Sincerely,

--



Read the entire story at the New York Times.

Ronald Reagan warned us about Socialized Medicine in 1960

Prolifers unite in opposition to Obamacare

So you thought we defeated FOCA. Think again. It's is back in a stealth form, and if it passes, we may never be ablel to get rid of it. Like bankrupt Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, tax funded abortion may be seen as an entitlement, erasing all previous restrictions on abortion.

Prolife groups have declared a CODE RED over the Obamacare bill. Though abortion is not mentioned it will be indelibly written into national healthcare as a right.

Rep. Chris Smith has called "the largest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade" - has trickled only slowly to the public forum, it appears that Americans are beginning to take notice.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll released Monday showed less than half of respondents now approve of Obama's healthcare overhaul. 49 percent supported the President's stand on the issue, down from 57 percent in April, while those disapproving shot up from 29 percent to 44 percent. The poll had a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points.
Prolife groups are uniting in their opposition to the dangerous legislation and you can participate by registering for this free webcast on Thursday evening.

Read the entire story on LifeSite News

Sr Gabriela is on Catholic TV tomorrow at 10:30 AM

Sr Gabriela is the dynamic Mexican nun who has gotten Eduardo Verastegui to come and speak to youth in Connecticut.
She will discuss this event on CatholicTV on Tuesday July 21 at 10:30 AM.

On August 11 at 7PM, Bella star Eduardo Verastegui will speak in both English and Spanish at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willamantic, CT.
Admission is free and all are welcome.

Chris Dodd on abortion and American public opinion

Here is my Senator from CT bragging about how the new health care plan he worked on the in the HELP committee will force American taspayers to pay for abortion. Why is this man still allowed to receive Holy Communion in the Church?
"We like the idea that people have choices and, indeed, the law of the land permits people to make those choices, and we respect that, and we are going to pursue that,” Dodd told CNS News.
“Again, we do not want to discriminate when people have--they have convictions, moral convictions and religious convictions,” Dodd added.
Forcing taxpayers to pay millions of dollars for abortions or see their insurance premiums raised to cover them would likely violate the views of the majority of Americans who are pro-life on abortion.
And that is what the bill would do, according to Johnson."

Read the entire story on Life News .
Look behind President Obama in this Citizen Link Stoplight Video, and you'll see Senator Chris Dodd. The Democrats are trying to foist the largest expansion of abortion since Roe v Wade in 1973. They are passing the Freedom of Choice Act piece by piece while we are unware. Don't let their deeds avoid the light of day. Inform yourself before abortion becomes a "health care right" and overrides all abortion bans in place on the state level.
Your employer will be forced to pay for abortions, and so will you.

Bishop D'Arcy promulgates norms for Tabernacle placement

Ever enter a sanctuary and find yourself searching for where to genuflect? I remember asking a parishoner of a neighboring parish back on Long Island, where Jesus was, only to be pointed to a plaster statue in a manger. "No, I mean the REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS" I repeated. Why should this be a subject of confusion or controversy?
I am tempted to invent a device akin to the stud finder which carpenters use, callling it the Tabernacle finder. You enter a church push the button and scan round the church till it beeps telling you where they have hidden the Body and Blood Soul and Divinity of Our Lord.
I had this problem in my old parish, until Bishop Murphy set the Tabernacle back in the center of our church. I posted on it here. It was such big news, it was posted on Spirit Daily. Now Bishop D'Arcy has written this wonderful directive for his entire diocese.
Bravo, faithful shepherd of souls!
from the website of the Diocese of Fort Wayne, IN
To Priests, Deacons, Religious,
and to All the Faithful,
The presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament is at the center of our faith and of the devotional life of our Catholic people. In recent years, the place of the tabernacle in our churches has become a source of controversy. This should not be. The Eucharist, whether we are referring to its celebration or to the place of reservation, should always be a means of unity and communion, and never of division.The place of the tabernacle in our church should reflect our faith in the real presence of Christ, and should always be guided by church documents. My experience is that our people, with their instinct of faith, have always desired that the tabernacle be central and visible. They find it confusing when the tabernacle in their churches is not visible, and if possible, central.
Because of my responsibility to foster the devotional life of our people, and to keep it sound, I have asked our Office of Worship to prepare norms for the placement and design of the tabernacle in this diocese. These norms were brought before the Presbyteral Council, the Liturgical Commission and the Environment and Arts Committee. Suitable refinements and improvements were prepared.
These norms are promulgated to the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend on June 14, 2009, the feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of the Lord. They will be effective on Aug. 4, 2009, the feast of St. John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of priests, in whose honor the present Year for Priests has been dedicated by the Holy Father Benedict XVI.
I urge all priests to follow these norms carefully and completely, and most importantly — to foster devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Sincerely yours in our Lord,
Most Reverend John M. D’Arcy
For more information visit: http://www.diocesefwsb.org/WORSHIP/tabernacles.htm

Looking for a great family conference?EWTN Family Celebration

I attended the Family Celebration in Philadelphia three years ago with my mother, and it was wonderful! We got a chance to buy great EWTN goods, fellowship with faithful Catholics, meet our favorite EWTN hosts, Fr Groeschel and Raymond Arroyo, and participated in a "The World Over" broadcast with Peggy Noonan and our beloved Fr Richard John Neuhaus(may he rest in peace). It was a once in a lifetime experience and it changed my life.
I left for home feeling like I was part of the EWTN family and convinced that I had to get involved in Catholic media. I started a blog a few months later, and, as they say, the rest is history. . .

EWTN To Host FREE Family Celebration
Meet Raymond Arroyo, Danny Abramowicz and the “Crossing the Goal” team,
Marcus Grodi, Fr. Wade Menezes, Barbara McGuigan and many more!

Irondale, AL (EWTN) – EWTN Global Catholic Network will host its ninth free Family Celebration Aug. 8-9 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Ala.
Come enjoy a roster of well-loved speakers, including EWTN News Director (and Mother Angelica biographer) Raymond Arroyo; Danny Abramowicz and his “Crossing the Goal” team; “Journey Home” Host Marcus Grodi, “Open Line” Host Barbara McGuigan, and Father of Mercy Wade Menezes, CPM, a network regular.
In addition to this stellar lineup, Saturday night attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a live taping of a special edition of “Crossing the Goal” with its four co-hosts: Abramowicz, former NFL all-pro wide receiver and coach; Brian Patrick, whose “Son Rise Morning Show” airs on EWTN radio network; Curtis Martin, President and Founder of FOCUS; and Peter Herbeck, co-host of “The Choices We Face,” which airs on EWTN television.
EWTN CEO and President Michael Warsaw will provide the welcome with “Bookmark” Host Doug Keck emceeing. Deacon Bill Steltemeier and Father Joseph Mary Wolfe will also be on hand for the always popular “Family Talk.”
Children will be entranced by special guest Rob Evans, a.k.a. “The Donut Man,” who, along with Brother Leo of “Hey Brother Leo” fame, will appear at the “EWTN Faith Factory” booth throughout the weekend. In addition, “older kids” can line up to “Meet the Author” while browsing the EWTN Religious Catalogue shop.
Doors will open at 8 a.m. As always, there will be plenty of opportunities for confession as well as Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It’s a day no fan of EWTN will want to miss – and, best of all, it’s free!
For more information, please visit: http://www.ewtn.com/familycelebration/
EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 28th year, is available in over 148 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories. With its direct broadcast satellite television and radio services, AM & FM radio networks, worldwide short-wave radio station, Internet website www.ewtn.com and publishing arm, EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world.

Strip Planned Parenthood of funding now!

a message from Judy Brown of American Life League.
Please call your representative immediately and ask them to act swiftly to make sure the House Rules Committee does not kill an amendment that could save lives.
The Pence Amendment deserves an up or down vote!It’s no secret that Planned Parenthood’s deep pockets are padded by our tax dollars.
It’s no secret that many of the funds freed by our tax dollars not only fund abortions, but are also used for highly offensive, immoral and dangerously misleading projects such as the Planned Parenthood-endorsed It’s Perfectly Normal book as well as Planned Parenthood’s Teen Talk and Take Care Down There web sites.
But it is a well-guarded secret that Planned Parenthood’s agenda is putting our kids in danger from sexual predators on a daily basis, that Planned Parenthood has come under fire for fraudulent use of those very same tax funds, and that Planned Parenthood’s racist mentality has deep roots that stretch all the way back to its founder, Margaret Sanger – a notorious racist and eugenicist.
Next week, Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana will propose an amendment to Title X funding under the 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. His courageous amendment would strip PP of tens of millions of tax dollars.That means less money for PP’s sick sex-ed programs for children as young as kindergarten.
Less money for PP to peddle subpar condoms.Less money for PP staffers who cover up statutory rape – a disturbing trend revealed by several recent undercover investigations.The gravity of PP’s crimes transcends party lines. Any American concerned about keeping our kids safe should support the Pence Amendment.
Last year, PP received over 349.6 million dollars in taxpayer funds.Now it wants millions more of your tax dollars to support its contraception, abortion and sex education agenda.Our nation cannot afford to continue funding an organization that systematically destroys the lives of countless men, women and children around the country.
Please call the congressional switchboard NOW at 202-224-3121, OR call your representative’s office directly. Tell them that the Pence Amendment to strip Planned Parenthood of Title X funding deserves an up-or-down vote! The ethic of democracy in our country demands that the House Rules Committee allow a vote on this critical, lifesaving amendment.

Creative Minority Report: What's A Little Sacrilege Among Friends?

Creative Minority Report: What's A Little Sacrilege Among Friends? Is a post from my friends who object to the Democrats' blasphemous image mocking Our Lady of Guadalupe.
What would the Muslims do?
UPDATE: This is on the shouldeers of Felix Sanchez who can be reached at Info@HispanicArts.org
HT NC Register blog.

Babies can remember as early as 30 weeks

From Focus on the Family Citizen Link:
"Preborn babies log memories as early as 30 weeks of age, according to a Los Angeles Times report.
Researchers in the Netherlands have found that, at 30 weeks, preborn babies have a memory of 10 minutes. At 34 weeks, they can remember events for four weeks. The findings, which help explain central nervous system development, were published in the July/August issue of Child Development. The scientists studied about 100 healthy pregnant Dutch women, measuring changes in how their babies responded to repeated stimulation. After receiving a number of stimuli, the babies no longer responded to the stimulus. This change in response is called "habituation."
In the United States, abortion is legal through all nine months of pregnancy — unless limited by state law."
But we knew that, didn't we? So many studies show that newborns recognize their mother's and father's voices at birth, so clearly learning begins before birth. Unborn babies learn to relax when Mom's soap opera music is on, as they know Mom will be relaxed. We just never pinpointed when this memory begins. Surely it develops gradually with the developing baby's brain.
There are many studies on this, all bad news for the abortion lobby. They liked it better when we could call a 30 week old baby a "blob of protoplasm". The more the public knows, the harder they have work to be able to lie to women.
Did you ever hear the story of a famous orchestra conductor who, when reading the score of a cello concerto he had never seen, was stunned to find he knew the piece by heart? His mother was a cellist, who was practicing the same concerto while pregnant with him. Decades later, the imprint was still fresh.
"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you".
Well, it seems that before our babies see the light of day, they know us and God.
This reminds me of Regina Doman's lovely book "Angel in the Waters" where an unborn baby talks with his guardian angel, and the angel guides him into the world to meet his mother.

I have a friend who once overheard a child whisper to a baby, "Do you remember what God looks like? I'm starting to forget."
Have we forgotten?

Dr Francis Collins nominated head of National Institute of Health

Dr Francis Collins heads the Human Genome Project and has made the most undereported scientific discovery in history: no GAY gene exists. Homosexuality is largely a product of one's upbringing, according to this article in NARTH.
"Dr. Collins succinctly reviewed the research on homosexuality and offers the following: "An area of particularly strong public interest is the genetic basis of homosexuality. Evidence from twin studies does in fact support the conclusion that heritable factors play a role in male homosexuality. However, the likelihood that the identical twin of a homosexual male will also be gay is about 20% (compared with 2-4 percent of males in the general population), indicating that sexual orientation is genetically influenced but not hardwired by DNA, and that whatever genes are involved represent predispositions, not predeterminations."
Dr. Collins noted that environment, particularly childhood experiences as well as the role of free will choices affect all of us in profound ways. As researchers discover increasing levels of molecular detail about inherited factors that underlie our personalities, it's critical that such data be used to illuminate, not provide support to idealogues."
He was nominated by President Obama to direct the National Institute of Health. He is a convert from atheism to Evangelical Christianity and sees no conflict between that and his role as a leading geneticist, which he describes in his book "The Language of God".
Here in an interview with CNN he discusses the reason he sees no conflict between being a Christian and a scientist. He was recently interviewed about his book in a Christopher Closeup where he was called a "modern-day CS Lewis". Dr Collins loved the idea, as Lewis is his role model; a former atheist intellectual who becomes a Christian and lives to pay for it. Chuck Colson is a friend of Dr Collins and applauds his nomination with reservations; Dr Collins does approve of some forms of embryonic stem cell research as he mentions here.
HT Catholic Exchange
We wish him a long and fruitful term directing the National Institute of Health. He will provide a sense of balance and respect for life which is sorely lacking elsewhere in this administration.

Now, Dr Collins, how about more funding for Down syndrome research?

Get the prolife side of the Sotomayor hearings

Dawn Eden of Americans United for Life is live blogging the Sotomayor hearings.
Click here to read her take on the events.

I'm posting on Catholic Vote.org

Here is my first post at CatholicVote.org.
They have a new video up today.

Peter Singer's eugenics and the Nazis by Wesley Smith

Hate Crimes rider attached to Defense Authorization Bill threatens free speech rights

If approved by the Senate, and absent other controversies over defense spending issues (yes, Congress does sometimes use bill titles that refer to the actual content of the legislation), President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law. What can you do? First, watch this brief video, which explains the dangers vastly expanded federal hate crimes laws pose to people of faith. Then pass the link on to your pastor and to your friends. Finally, call your Senator today (202) 224-3121 and voice your opposition to this inappropriate amendment to an important national defense bill.

Senate health care commitee defeating all prolife provisions

Day by day, in this declining economy, we are coming closer to having our limited funds pay for abortions.
In the same week when Obama insisted to the Holy Father that they were of one mind when it came to lowering abortion rates, Democrats do his bidding in the HELP committee to make abortions part of government health care, overriding the Hyde Amendment.
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor said that a poor woman who had no access to funded abortions was no better than Dred Scott, the man who the Supreme Court declared to be property in 1858 sparking the Civil War. Yet she once again fails to see that the unborn are the Dred Scotts of today, declared by the Supreme Court as subhuman without the most basic of rights; the right to life.
Obama may try to appear prolife, but he has his henchman working full tilt to make abortions a basic health care item under Obamacare.

"A Senate committee on Monday defeated four new amendments by pro-life advocates determined to stop a health care restructuring bill from paying for and promoting abortions. However, the decrement in the makeup of the Senate has made it so pro-life advocates are losing most committee and floor votes.
The Senate HELP Committee ultimately voted down four pro-life amendments, all on 12-11 party-line votes with Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, joining Republicans to support the abortion limits."
Contact the HELP committee by emailing them at Help_comments@help.senate.gov <Help_comments@help.senate.gov>.

Charity in Truth for Catholic Universities

Dr William Fahey spoke with Zenit News Service about it's implications for Catholic universities.
" I have only read the encyclical letter once in its entirety. A few key passages struck me as immediately relevant to my own position as a college professor and president.
What are the implications, for example, of a statement such as, "Truth needs to be sought, found, and expressed with the 'economy' of charity?" As the Holy Father goes on to say, this means—in part—that those who are the stewards of truth, must love that truth and demonstrate it in love.
Academics do not dwell much on charity or love and its relationship to the truth—or vice versa. But as the Holy Father reminds us, to know the truth entails a love of the truth; to love the truth means that we will be urged to act, to share the truth. This seems so simple as not to deserve comment, but upon reflection it is profound. As a Catholic educator, when I meditate on this, I perceive more clearly the connection between the intellectual life and the life of grace, the work that chiefly occupies the study or classroom and the broader work of evangelization."
So many Catholic in name only universities forget that their primary mission is to defend the truth and evangelize not only their students, but the wider culture as well. Notre Dame and Georgetown come to mind immediately, but sadly, they are far from unique.
So many intellectual snobs in academia are lusting after approval of the secular elite, and lose their souls in the meantime. All in the name of academic freedom.
The Holy Father is both a world-renowned intellectual and the leader of the Church. May they learn from his wisdom, submitting their own ambitions to his leadership. Or may they be replaced by the likes of Christendom, and Thomas More College of Liberal Arts.

Voice of the Faithless in financial straits

The New York Times has a piece about Voice of the Faithful the Boston based group which fed off the priestly scandals while pushing a 1970's agenda of married and women priests.
Leaders of the group, Voice of the Faithful, sent out a fund-raising letter to members saying it needed $60,000 by the end of this month.
I attended a meeting five years ago between VOTF and Bishop Murphy. I was the only person under 72. Two white haired members were saying goodnight this way, "Peace, love and Tie-dye man".
No wonder they are fading away, their agenda is morally bankrupt. No one approves of covering priestly abuse, but VOTF was merely using this crisis to push an agenda without support in the clergy and laity.
Good riddance!

Disabled man saves UK from euthanasia law

Joanna Bogle blogs about this at A Catholic Journalist in London.
"Baroness Campbell has suffered since babyhood from a crippling disease, sometimes needing a ventilator to help her breathe. She cannot walk and is confined to a wheelchair. This has not stopped her having a distinguished career culminating in being appointed to the House of Lords. Her speech denouncing the notion of “assisted suicide” spoke passionately about the way in which it would put pressure on people who felt that their families found them a burden, and revealed the thoughts and feelings of one who knew only too well that she had more than once been deemed to have a life not worth enduring. This was a voice of truth and courage. "

This is why I blog; to let my voice be heard regarding the dignity of human life, before we completely to the Culture of Death.
Yet today two Senate committees approved taxpayer funding of abortions; in Washington DC and one in our proposed national health care. Democrats defunded tax vouchers for the poor in DC to attend private schools, but if they want to kill their children rather than educate them, why the taxpayer will foot the bill.
This ignores recent polling which shows Americans are increasingly prolife. Over 86% of Americans favor some restrictions on abortion. Under Roe v Wade, abortion is legal for the entire pregnancy.

Take at close look at what Obamacare would be like; Canda care

The pope and the president; first report from CNS

"Pope Benedict gave Obama a mosaic showing St. Peter's Basilica and Square, an autographed copy of the encyclical "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth") and a medal marking the fifth year of his pontificate.The president told the pope the mosaic, which was made in the Vatican's mosaic studio, "was very beautiful" and would have "a place of honor" in the White House."
Fmr Vatican ambassador Ray Flynn said on Fox news that he wished cameras were allowed in this meeting. Me too! Then we wouldn't have to listen to all the Democratic spin in this CNS article.
Read the entire story at CNS

A woman's place on the Supreme Court

". . .For from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.
A good person brings forth good out of a store of goodness, but an evil person brings forth evil out of a store of evil. "

Matthew 12: 34-35

This verse struck me as the explanation of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's remarks about her misunderstanding of the purpose of Roe v Wade in a New York Times interview.

"JUSTICE GINSBURG: Yes, the ruling about that surprised me. [Harris v. McRae — in 1980 the court upheld the Hyde Amendment, which forbids the use of Medicaid for abortions.] Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion. Which some people felt would risk coercing women into having abortions when they didn’t really want them. But when the court decided McRae, the case came out the other way. And then I realized that my perception of it had been altogether wrong."

"Concern about population growth that we don't want to have too many of. "
Hmm. . .would that be minorities, the poor, and the handicapped?

Does Justice Ginsburg realize who else shares these views?
It seems that pro-aborts, like Ginsburg, regardless of their impeccable ACLU credentials, are nothing more than racists at heart. They have a name for this: eugenics.
The Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan were into creating a master race; white, non-Jew, non-Catholic.

Maragaret Sanger was an important figure in this movement to limit the growth in populations of undesirables. Her Birth Control League eventually grew into the world's largest purveyors of abortion; Planned Parenthood. She meant to strenthen white American society by eliminating blacks, immigrants, the "feeble minded", and those who opposed birth control (Catholics).

Description of "The Negro Project" from Maragret Sanger:
"It was in 1939 that Sanger's larger vision for dealing with the reproductive practices of black Americans emerged. After the January 1939 merger of her Clinical Research Bureau and the ABCL to form the Birth Control Federation of America, Dr. Clarence J. Gamble was selected to become the BCFA regional director for the South. Dr. Gamble, of the soap-manufacturing Procter and Gamble company, was no newcomer to Sanger's organization. He had previously served as director at large to the predecessor ABCL.Gamble lost no time and drew up a memorandum in November 1939 entitled "Suggestion for Negro Project."
Acknowledging that black leaders might regard birth control as an extermination plot, he suggested that black leaders be place in positions where it would appear that they were in charge, as it was at an Atlanta conference.It is evident from the rest of the memo that Gamble conceived the project almost as a traveling road show. A charismatic black minister was to start a revival, with "contributions" to come from other local cooperating ministers. A "colored nurse" would follow, supported by a subsidized "colored doctor." Gamble even suggested that music might be a useful lure to bring the prospects to a meeting.Sanger answered Gamble on Dec. 10. 1939, agreeing with the assessment. She wrote: "We do not want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten that idea out if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."
from Black Genocide

What's the connection to Ginsburg? If you seek to rid the world of 'undesirables', whether by birth control or abortion, you'd better be in the room when the list of desirables is drawn up.
Ginsburg, being a Jew, was on Margaret Sanger's hit list.
Now she mouths their platitudes in interviews.
"Sanger espoused the thinking of eugenicists -- similar to Darwin's "survival of the fittest" -- but related the concept to human society, saying the genetic makeup of the poor, and minorities, for example, was inferior. Pivot of Civilization, by Margaret Sanger, 1922, p. 80"
Diane Dew has some more quotes from Sanger.
The Susan B Anthony List has this to say:
"In other words, Justice Ginsburg felt the sanctioning of government-funded abortion was appropriate as a population-control measure. It’s appalling to realize that these comments aren’t from a eugenicist like Margaret Sanger, but from a sitting Supreme Court Justice.
Her comments paint a picture of the real impact the U.S. Supreme Court has on the lives of the most innocent among us, whether that be the unborn or other “undesirables” in society.
On Monday, the U.S. Senate will begin the confirmation process for President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
Given what we know about Sonia Sotomayor’s own judicial philosophy, including her support of policymaking from the bench, we must oppose her appointment to the United States Supreme Court. "

Urge your Senators to vote NO on healthcare reform bill

From National Right to Life
URGENT: Congress acting on vast pro-abortion mandates Obama, Democratic Congressional Leaders Push "Health Care Reform" Bills That Mandate Abortion Funding and Nullify State Abortion Laws!
Take Action!

WASHINGTON (Updated July 8, 2009) – The Obama White House and Democratic congressional leaders are pushing for votes in late July on massive "health care reform" bills that contain sweeping mandates to expand access to abortion on demand, override state abortion laws, and establish federal funding of abortion.

These bills pose one of the greatest threats to pro-life policies since the Supreme Court handed down its Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion in 1973.

Two Senate committees and three House committees are nearing the end of the process of crafting "health care reform bills" that would, among other things, result in mandatory insurance coverage of abortion on demand, federal subsidies for abortion, and mandated local abortion facilities. These bills will also allow the nullification of many state limitations on abortion.

The full House is expected to vote on its version of the bill at the end of July. Senate floor action could occur shortly thereafter.


So far, key Democratic lawmakers have unveiled two different health-care restructuring bills. The first, introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), started out over 600 pages long, and is currently going through the amendment process in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The second bill -- called the "Tri-Committee chairmen's bill" or the "House Democratic leadership bill" because it was jointly released by the Democratic chairmen of the three House committees with jurisdiction -- is over 800 pages long.


Both of these bills would empower panels of federal officials to mandate coverage of abortion on demand in virtually all health plans. Both of these bills would also result in massive federal subsidies for abortion on demand. Both of the bills would empower federal officials to order expansions of abortion providers in many areas of the country (referred to by pro-life analysts as the "abortion clinic mandate"), and to override at least some state abortion regulations. And they do all this without ever mentioning the word "abortion."

"The pro-abortion movement sees federal 'health care reform' legislation as a golden opportunity to force-feed abortion into every nook and cranny of the health-care delivery system," said NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson. "Their goal, as they sometimes put it, is to 'mainstream' abortion. If Obama and his allies succeed, the result will be a very large increase in the number of abortions performed in America."


"Pro-life Americans should vigorously oppose any federal ‘health care reform’ legislation that does not explicitly exclude abortion from the scope of any government-defined or government-mandated package of health care services,” Johnson explained. “A bill that delegates authority to some government board or official to require abortion coverage is simply a covert, two-step method for imposing sweeping pro-abortion mandates on employers and citizens.”

As Nancy Keenan, president of the pro-abortion advocacy group NARAL, put it in an interview released on July 7, 2009, "if, indeed, we can advance a panel or commission, then I am very optimistic about reproductive health care being part of this entire package."

The imposition of sweeping pro-abortion mandates as part of “health care reform” is currently the top priority of many pro-abortion organizations, such as the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). These organizations are pushing for the abortion mandates both in public statements and in less visible lobbying efforts. In April, the president of PPFA said that her organization intends to use the health care legislation as a "platform" to guarantee access to abortion to "all women." Likewise, the National Abortion Federation, an association of abortion providers, said, "NAF supports health care reform as a way to increase access to comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion care, for all women."


A third version of health-care restructuring legislation is still being written, behind closed doors, by members of the powerful Senate Finance Committee. On July 1, both PPFA and NARAL sent out national legislative alerts expressing alarm that some Republican Finance Committee members are urging that the bill include language to exclude abortion. Also on July 1, the Reverend Carlton W. Veazey, president of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) , sent out an alert to that organization's e-mail list headed, "Urgent! Access to Abortion Services Threatened." The alert said, "Let there be no mistake, basic healthcare includes abortion services. . . . Reproductive healthcare, including abortion services, is an essential component of women's health, and we must act now to make sure women get a fair shake in the final healthcare reform bill." (RCRC is made up of a number of religious bodies, including the Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church USA, and United Church of Christ.)



To read a detailed article on this subject that appeared in the National Right to Life News, click here. To view or download the article as updated in the PDF format, click here.

What Obama Promised


On July 17, 2007, during Barack Obama's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, he appeared before the annual conference of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Speaking of his plans for "health care reform," Obama said, "in my mind, reproductive care is essential care, basic care, so it is at the center, the heart of the plan that I propose." [emphasis added] Under his plan, Obama explained, people could choose to keep their existing private health care plans, but "insurers are going to have to abide by the same rules in terms of providing comprehensive care, including reproductive care ... that's going to be absolutely vital."

Regarding Obama's statements, the Chicago Tribune reported: "Asked about his proposal for expanded access to health insurance, Obama said it would cover 'reproductive-health services.' Contacted afterward, an Obama spokesman said that included abortions." ("Democrats Pledge Support for Wide Access to Abortion," by Mike Dorning, Chicago Tribune, July 18, 2007.) The Obama campaign elaborated on this commitment to mandate abortion coverage on other occasions.

What You Can Do Now

Please take a few minutes to use the form below to send messages to your two U.S. senators and to your representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, to urge them to oppose any federal “health care reform” legislation that does not explicitly exclude abortion. You can modify the suggested message as you see fit. When you fill in your mailing address, your messages will automatically be directed to the appropriate U.S. House member and to your two U.S. senators.

In addition, please TELEPHONE the offices of your two U.S. senators, give your name and address, and tell the senators' staff persons that you wish to be recorded as "opposed to Senator Kennedy's health care bill because it contains many pro-abortion mandates." The offices of any U.S. senator can be reached through 202-224-3121. Also, please TELEPHONE the office of your U.S. House member, give your name and address, and inform the staff person that you wish to be recorded as "opposed to the House Democratic Leadership health care reform bill because it contains many pro-abortion mandates." You can reach any U.S. House member's office through 202-225-3121. You can also find the direct-dial numbers (and fax numbers) for the Washington and in-state offices of your U.S. senators and U.S. House member by calling up their individual profiles on this website, here.

Also, please send short letters to the "letters to the editor" features of your local newspapers, in order to alert your fellow pro-life citizens to the sweeping pro-abortion mandates that the Obama White House and the pro-abortion lobby are trying to smuggle into law through "health care reform." You can find contact information for your local news media in our "Media Guide" here.

Responsibilities first, before rights says Pope Benedict

Besides not being born in the USA, (since when has that been an obstacle!) the Holy Father has little chance of being elected president of the USA, because of his insistence that we had better focus on our responsibilities before we start clamoring for our rights. You will rarely catch an American politician talking like that!
If I had a nickel for every shot of an Obama voter who radiantly described the material wealth he'd gain for voting for him. . . Republicans are not much better, or they wouldn't have spent like Democrats in the past decade.
No, Pope Benedict answers to a higher authority. . and thus we can trust him to tell us the inconvenient truth. Social justice begins in our own lives and hearts. How we look at our fellow man, and how we treat him, not whether we have the right political party or purchased green grocery bags or carbon credits.
Deal Hudson says,
"In describing the importance of duty, Benedict uses this stunning line, which will go a long way toward unravelling some of the confusion about rights language: "The sharing of reciprocal duties is a more powerful incentive to action than the mere assertion of rights." Here the Holy Father is arguing that we should first think about our social teaching in terms of what we should do for others, rather than a set of demands of what we are ourselves owed."

Read the entire column at Inside Catholic

Carolina Cannonball Ugliest church art contest

#links

Miracle to advace cause of Cardinal John Henry Newman

NEA to stay pro-death

These are your child's teachers, and they voted to use union money to support murder of the unborn. Again.
May I dare to ask what business is it of the National Education Association whether abortion is legal or not? What does it have to do with educating children?
Positively frightening.
During its national convention over the weekend, the National Education Association defeated a measure that would have had it take a neutral stance on abortion. The NEA has long supported abortion, pro-abortion candidates, and sponsored a forum with the former late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller.
On Sunday, NEA delegates defeated a proposal that pro-life teachers and educators hoped would make the group abortion neutral.
Read the entire story at Life News

Pope Benedtict's new encyclical: Caritas en Veritate

That's "Charity in Truth" in English, let's hope that those who read it are open to the Truth.
You can read it on the Vatican website.
Let me know what you think about it. Here's my favorite paragraph so far:
"Charity is at the heart of the Church's social doctrine. Every responsibility and every commitment spelt out by that doctrine is derived from charity which, according to the teaching of Jesus, is the synthesis of the entire Law (cf. Mt 22:36- 40). It gives real substance to the personal relationship with God and with neighbour; it is the principle not only of micro-relationships (with friends, with family members or within small groups) but also of macro-relationships (social, economic and political ones). For the Church, instructed by the Gospel, charity is everything because, as Saint John teaches (cf. 1 Jn 4:8, 16) and as I recalled in my first Encyclical Letter, “God is love” (Deus Caritas Est): everything has its origin in God's love, everything is shaped by it, everything is directed towards it. Love is God's greatest gift to humanity, it is his promise and our hope."

Abortion will be included in Obamacare

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, has a theory which he's learned from years of dealing with Washington: if it's not specifically prohibited in a bill, then it's probably included.
He applies this to current health care legislation.
In short, the health care reform bills being considered in both the House and Senate attempt to be silent on the key question of whether or not to allow the U.S. government to fund abortions with taxpayers' money, while simultaneously giving the health and human services secretary the power to allow taxpayer-funded abortions.
A new Gallup poll, conducted in May, finds that 51 percent of Americans call themselves "pro-life" on the issue of abortion and 42 percent "pro-choice." When it comes to taxpayer funding of abortion, the numbers of those who oppose this practice are even higher, topping 70 percent. Read Tony Perkins' entire article in the Washington Times.

Are vaccines causing autism?

Is there a link between aborted fetal DNA and the rise in autism and autism spectrum disorder? A new study is underway by Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute - the non-profit arm of AVM Biotechnology and strategic partner of Children of God for Life.
Read their June 2009 newsletter.

Debi Vinnedge
Children of God for Life

Independence Day and freedom to pray together

Sometimes when I hear glowing speeches about the Founding Fathers, I get itchy to tell the speaker just how poorly Catholics fared when trying to practice their religion in the Colonies. This piece from Family Research Council reflects true religious tolerance; not banishing faith from the public square, but kneeling down together before the One True God.
THAT is tolerance!


The Glorious Fourth
In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams told her of the actions of the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776. "The second day of July, 1776 [the actual day the Declaration was signed], will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever."

As we celebrate Independence Day, as John Adams so aptly predicted, we must not forget nor overlook the intense struggle our Founding Fathers faced. Their Christian faith played a critical role in an era that altered the history of the world. There is not a better example of this seamless devotion to God and country than Samuel Adams. In his time, Sam was far more famous than his cousin, John. Sam was known as the last of the great Puritans and the father of the Revolution. It was Sam Adams who organized the Sons of Liberty and the Committees of Correspondence. (By the way, if you're going out to a Tea Party on Saturday, historians believe that the first tea party, the one in Boston, was organized by Samuel Adams. It was that Boston Tea Party that lit the fuse of the American Revolution).

When Sam Adams was elected to that First Continental Congress and traveled to the gathering of leaders in Philadelphia, he thought the Continental Congress needed to begin its work on its knees--in prayer. But when the motion was made to call in a local clergyman to lead the worship, John Jay of New York and Edward Rutledge of South Carolina objected. We are too diverse, they said. We could never agree on whose prayers to say.

Rising to his feet, Sam Adams spoke: "I am no bigot," he said, "I can hear the prayer of any man of piety and virtue who is a friend to his country." Deeply moved, the delegates voted to approve Sam Adams' idea. The next morning, amid reports of the British moving against the people of his hometown of Boston, Sam knelt in prayer with his fellow delegates, as the Rev. Jacob Duch? prayed. "Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me, and fight against them that fight against me."

That inspired move by Sam Adams did much to overcome suspicions among the delegates. Joseph Reed of Philadelphia called that prayer "a masterly stroke." Those Founding Fathers could now work together for liberty. Soon, Sam Adams would sign the Declaration of Independence.

Alongside Sam Adams' name you can find that of Charles Carroll, a delegate from Maryland. Carroll was the richest man in Congress and the only Roman Catholic. Nowhere else on earth in 1776 could you find an Evangelical like Sam Adams pledge "his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor" alongside a Catholic like Charles Carroll. They both risked death by hanging for signing that great Declaration. But they served the King of Kings and had no fear of King George III.

In our efforts to maintain the freedoms won by our forefathers we must be like them--people of action and prayer. We must never sever our personal faith from our public stand for faith, family and freedom. After we celebrate our independence as a nation on Saturday, I invite you to join thousands of Christians from across the nation on Sunday as they fall on their knees in prayer as a part of FRC's Call2Fall, declaring their dependence upon God, just like our Founding Fathers.

Mark Levin: Run Sarah Run!

Honest Scrap Award

I've recently recieved an HONEST SCRAP blogger award. Thank you +JMJ+ at Totus Tuus Family Homeschool. Not only is she a true follower, she keeps me writing, by her faithful and positive comments, she inspires me to keep on blogging.
Now...to keep this award, I must do the following:

1) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.

2) Share "ten honest things" about myself. (that's usually fodder for the other blog, Cause of Our Joy, but I was given the award here)


3) Present this award to 4 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.

4) Tell those 4 people that they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving it.

Ten honest things about myself.

Here goes:

1.) I hate my hair! Ever since the last baby, it's been thinning and getting impossibly fine and curly when straight hair is in. Like my unruly will which I try to tame into a humble and obedient one, my hair has a mind of it's own.

2.) We don't ever get through dinner in my house without someone mentioning poop. And we don't have any boys to blame!

3.) I have been fighting the battle of the bulge since 8th grade with limited success. We go walking every night as a family, dogs and all, to get in shape, yet the scale is mighty stubborn these days.

4.) I am a perfectionist and procrastinator, a deadly combination for a writer. You may have noticed that this doesn't apply to blogging, however, I'd rather clean the toilet than work on an article that's due next week. I don't get on it until the deadline is looming in three days. Don't tell Sue at Canticle (like she'd be surprised).

5.) There are two movie stars that make me all silly; Eduardo Verastegui and Jim Caviezel. Sorry, Mel, your recent behavior helped me get over you!

6.) Did I mention my chocolate cravings? (Sort of explains number 3, doesn't it?)

7.) I can't turn down a stray animal. We had ten cats for a summer (they were the outdoor kind) and two dogs. We're down to a manageable three cats and two dogs now.

8.) I have WAY too many books and stuff, to the point that you would call my house cluttered. I once had a plaque which said, "Brilliant minds are seldom tidy" but I can't find it! To solve this, I am making frequent donations to my parish rummage sale this summer. It feels great!

9.) I love Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother with an outgoing passion, and often get in trouble, for not being quiet about my faith when it makes others uncomfortable. I am like Blanche in "New in Town" who keeps bringing up His holy name in ordinary conversation. It can cause people to cross the street when they see you!

10.) Ditto for my prolife activism, but if you've read my blog, you already know that!

Now, I nominate the following honest bloggers:

1. Elizabeth at The Divine Gift of Motherhood who suggested that we bloggers post stories of our mistakes and disasters. This post is as close as I"ve come to participating, Elizabeth!
2. Jean at Catholic Fire, who never flinches from telling the truth to power.
3. Patrice Fagnant McArthur at Spiritual Woman Thoughts who offers us refreshing honesty about spritual life.
4. Heidi at Mommy Monsters Inc., who so eloquently shares her parenting struggles, it's in her blog title.

Go Sarah Go! Palin leaves governorship

My gut tells me that she is making a move to become more widely known in the lower 48 states, because the Dems and leftie media will do their best to make a scandal-ridden charicature of her in Alaska. Her administration has successfully shaken 15 scandals already. If she stays in Alaska, she will have an even more intense fight on her hands, as Obama feels her on his heels as his poll numbers continue to slide down the the sinking economy.

Americans love Sarah Palin when they get to know her, and feel in my bones that she is beginning to run for president. Sarah, do you need a Connecticut campaign manager? Here I am!

GO Sarah GO!!!

Lila Rose in Birmingham, AL Planned Parenthood

Join the Perpetual Rosary to Pray for Obama's meeting with the Pope

a message from Jeff Mirus
A web service from Trinity Communications. © 2009Tuesday, June 30, 2009
President Meets Pope
Barack Obama sought a meeting with the Pope and will have that meeting on July 10th. We owe to one of our many CatholicCulture.org users the suggestion that we sponsor another perpetual rosary, this time for the intention that President Obama will be profoundly influenced by his visit with Benedict XVI. Sign up for a time slot here.It can be surmised that Obama wanted the meeting both as a matter of diplomatic propriety and to further enhance his legitimacy in the eyes of Catholics. The President is well aware of the divisions in the Catholic community, and he has proven himself a master of staffing his administration with Catholics who disregard the Magisterium of the Church.The degree to which such Catholics have chosen to ally themselves with Obama's programs is well illustrated by a recent feature story in Catholic World Report by Anne Hendershott: Obama and the Alternative Magisterium.All the more reason, then, to pray that the meeting with the Pope will be a different kind of "Catholic" experience for our President, an experience leading to conversion.