Modern Day Cristeros

The Cristeros of the 1920's Mexico who stood up to their President's suppression of religious freedom are the example we can follow as we oppose the Obama Administration's mandate to Catholic organizations to provide birth control and chemical abortions to their employees. 

Looking at these two photos on Facebook, I couldn't help noticing a certain similarity. Of course the modern group of protesters are not carrying arms. Will they have to someday soon? Pray for a peaceful victory for the freedom of religion, we didn't get it in the Supreme Court, so now its up to us in the ballot box. 

The Fortnight for Freedom was only the beginning

Catholics need to wake up from the illusion that the American we now live in; not the America of our nostalgia or imagination or best ideals, but hte real American we live in here and now- is somehow friendly to our faith.
What we're watching emerge in this country is a new kind of paganism, an atheism with air-conditioning and digital TV. And it is niether tolerant nor morally neutral.
Archbishop Chaput. 


We have put away the flags and cleaned up after the fireworks. But we must not forget our nation needs us now more than ever. This is no time to get lost again in a media induced haze and let our vigilance lapse.

The Fourth of July was especially poignant this year as it marked the end of the Fortnight for Freedom  and a shocking Supreme Court decision which did not overturn the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) left us deeply disappointed in the power of our government to correct itself. What the Supreme Court did was put that responsibility squarely on our shoulders. Like it or not, we the people have the type of government and the leaders we deserve. If we want better, it will take effort on our part. Lots of it.
Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-R) has long been a valiant defender of the rights of the oppressed, from those enslaved in international trafficking, to the rights of the unborn. I was honored to speak with him and his wife Marie recently at a reception in New York after a screening of "For Greater Glory". Freedom was on everyone's mind after that stirring film, and I felt it was particularly fitting that one of its greatest advocates was present at the reception. Congressman Smith had just welcomed Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng as he arrived in the United States, thanks to his efforts.Chen was the blind advocate of women who were victims of the horrible Chinese One Child Policy, funded by the Obama administration via UNPFA. 
 I thanked the Congressman for his uncompromising stand on pro-life issues, and he reminded me of the work that his wife, Marie Smith does in the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues.  On yesterday's  episode of "Defending Life" on EWTN , Mrs Smith said that her organization works to help governments around the world defend against forces which will try to impose abortion upon them, with the help of US funded organizations like Marie Stopes and International Planned Parenthood Foundation. Mrs Smith said that the only bulwark against this mounting pressure from the abortion lobby is religious belief. This explains why President Obama, Kathleen Sibelius are attacking the religious beliefs of the Catholic Church with regards to contraception and chemical abortions. Its only the thin edge of the wedge, soon we'll be persecuted for opposing abortion and so called same sex 'marriage'. Our Catholic beliefs on moral issues are the only barrier to a world completely surrendered to the Culture of Death not only in America, but throughout the world. Its a huge responsibility.
We are the gatekeepers of  the rise and fall of our current civilization. God has put us in this position in His wisdom by His design, so we can be confident that He will provide the grace we need to succeed.  We must not shirk our duty by pursuing today's version of bread and circuses; video games, reality TV, junk novels, and social networking gossip. Its time to become involved, and the good news is that its easier now than ever before. Today anyone can have an amazing impact on the culture in three simple steps:


 Put down the TV remote, unless you are watching EWTN. 


1. Pray- millions of Catholic school children prayed for the conversion of Russia, and the Evil Empire fell without firing a shot. Prayer is fuel for the good fight and all we are trying to go relies upon Divine assistance. Remember the battle is not against flesh and blood but against powers and pricnipalities, don't enter into battle unarmed.

2. Learn- I worked in Adult Education most of my life and I know that its never too late to pick up a book like Fr McCarthy's "God Bless America, God's Vision or Ours?", 
Cardinal Dolan's ebook True Freedom: on Protecting Human Dignity and  Religious Liberty,  
 Bill Donohue's Why Catholicism Matters., 
or  Michael Coren's Why Catholics are Right.

3. Act-Go on Facebook and Twitter and Share everything you can about religious freedom, Obama was elected thanks to these social networks. We need to use them too. 
Get active in a pro-life politician's campaigns, attend a religious freedom rally, sign petitions, and read the website Stand Up for Religious Freedom. 

And talk, talk about religious freedom, we need the media to pay attention to this battle. We are the Church Militant, Christ's Body on earth, and we must defend our freedoms before the Culture of Death has tightened the noose as it did in Mexico, commandeering Catholic institutions and arresting protesters and our priests.
Watch the trailer of "For Greater Glory" to see what could lie ahead for us if we remain passive.




All that is required for evil to triumph if for good men to do nothing. 
Edmund Burke

No Controversy? Facts for Melinda Gates

Fortnight for Freedom Grassroots Action Plan

June 21 - July 4

Catholics have been asked by our bishops to take action in defense of our religious liberty in the two weeks leading up to the 4th of July -- a "Fortnight for Freedom."  

This is necessary because the Obama Administration has engaged in a stunning attack on our right to practice our faith, most notably by mandating that virtually all employers, including religious employers like Catholic charities, schools, and hospitals, provide free abortion inducing-drugs, contraception, and sterilization in their health plans.

You can help by committing yourself to the following daily action items over the 14 days of the Fortnight -- each taking only two minutes or less.

TAKE ACTION

Please start now by sharing this 14-point action plan with 14 of your friends and asking them to join you in standing up for religious freedom!

1. Share The Catholic Association's one-minute video with 14 of your friends through email, Twitter, or Facebook.
2. Call your Member of Congress to ask them to support efforts to protect religious liberty and to oppose the HHS mandate.   Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121 and give the operator your zip code to be connected to your Representative's office.   Tell the staff person you speak with that you would like a response from your Representative and make sure they take down your address.
3. "Like" The Catholic Association on Facebook and ask 14 friends to do the same. 
4. The HHS mandate affects not just Catholics, but people of all faiths.  Many Christian colleges and non-religious employers have also sued the Obama Administration because of this affront to the First Amendment.  Watch this short video and forward it to 14 of your non-Catholic friends.
5. Say the following prayer for religious liberty that the bishops have asked us to pray -- and share the prayer with 14 friends:
   
   
           Almighty God, Father of all nations,
           For freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus (Gal 5:1).
           We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty,
           the foundation of human rights, justice, and the common good.
           Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties;
           By your grace may we have the courage to defend them, for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land.
           We ask this through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, our patroness,
           and in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
           with whom you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
    
6. Follow The Catholic Association on Twitter at @CatholicsAsOne.
7. Donate $14 to your favorite Catholic institution (whether a charity, school, hospital) threatened by the HHS mandate "fine on faith."  See here for a list of just some of the institutions suing the Obama Administration. Catholic institutions such as these are facing fines of $100 per employee per day.
8. Let 14 friends know how your favorite Catholic institution is threatened by the mandate.  The HHS mandate's "fine on faith" is $100 per employee per day.  Employers like the Archdiocese of Washington, DC or the University of Notre Dame will face fines of millions of dollars per year for noncompliance. Watch this video from the Archdiocese of Washington to learn more. 
9. Make plans to go see the movie "For Greater Glory," a movie about the loss of religious freedom in the 1920's in Mexico.  Invite 14 friends to come along.
10. Sign a petition protesting the HHS Mandate: "Women Speak for Themselves", the Becket Fund's "I Still Believe", and "Conscience Cause" all have great petitions. 
11. Pray a decade of the rosary for religious freedom.
12. Let 14 friends know about these other threats to religious freedom that our bishops have outlined in their recent document, "Our First, Most Cherished Liberty."
13. Offer up one sacrifice today for the intention of religious freedom.  The bishops have called for both prayer and fasting.
14. Send out a tweet or a Facebook post at noon EST on the 4th of July with the words, "I Stand for Religious Freedom #Fortnight4Freedom" in synch with the nationwide coordinated ringing of church bells on the 4th of July.

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS 14-POINT ACTION PLAN (PDF)

Bill Sponsor Rep. Tom Sannicandro's Remarks on Prenatal Testing Bill

Stop the HHS Mandate

Soros group "Faith in Public Life" attacks US Bishops on HHS Mandate

We have to expect the Soros funded groups like Faith in Public Life to bring out the big guns. Dirty tricks, lies, and of course, soon they will mention the pedophilia scandal. Donohue is ready for them. 

 

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

June 21 marks the beginning of the “Fortnight for Freedom” events, the campaign for religious liberty being conducted by the nation’s bishops. Fair-minded persons may disagree with this effort, but there is something unseemly going on when those who work for a George Soros-funded group are quietly providing talking points to the media.

John Gehring is an official at Faith in Public Life, and it is his organization that lives off the bounty of the left-wing atheist billionaire, Mr. Soros. On June 7, Gehring sent a memo to his buddies in the media (a copy of which was generously leaked to me—click here) instructing them on how to handle the bishops. They should begin by questioning the prelates why the Obama “accommodation” wasn’t good enough. “You have to ask why the bishops can’t take yes for an answer,” he wrote.

Teaching them how to handle the “war on the Catholic Church,” Gehring advises, “Several bishops have used inflammatory and irresponsible rhetoric that conflates a process of working through complex policy issues with a fundamental attack on the Catholic Church.” He also frets over the politicization of the religious liberty campaign, an effort made possible, he neglects to say, because of the politicization of religion by President Obama.

Not to be outdone, Gehring presses his lackeys to victimize the victim, beckoning them to ask the bishops—all of whom refuse to prostitute their principles—“Are you willing to sacrifice Catholic charities, colleges and hospitals if you don’t get your way on the contraceptive mandate?”

Finally, Gehring provides a go-to list of Catholic activists who can be counted on to subvert the bishops’ message. It’s what we would expect from a George Soros group.

Contact Gehring: Gehring@faithinpubliclife.org

Lessons Learned from "For Greater Glory"

  There's a thoughtful meditation on "For Greater Glory" over at Ignatium Today blog. (spoiler alert)

  a friendship forms between the priest and the boy. One day, José asks Father Christopher why he doesn’t go into hiding like many of the other priests. He tells the boy how God will watch over him in His house. The boy continues to insist, only for the priest to conclude, “There is no greater glory than to give your life for Christ.”  These words impress José very much.

The young man witnesses the priests martyrdom and is inspired to join the Cristeros fight for religious freedom and to martyrdom. And I mused, that the good inspired by Fr Christopher's example continued to inspire in the film.
 After Jose died, General Gorostieta confessed just in time to meet Our Lord, right after angrily asking Fr Vega the purpose of Jose’s death.  Fr Vega told the General about how God can turn tragedy into triumph.Just as He did with the Cross of Christ.

So, the legacy of Fr Christopher set off a chain of grace filled events, saving souls, giving witness to Christ, and winning partial victory for religious freedom.
This is the normal way priests work in the Church, one which our priests are too seldom given credit for, since this everyday action of grace has been overshadowed in the public eye by the sin of a handful of priests.

We should thank the Fr Christophers in our parish for their preaching and example, and perhaps buy them a movie ticket!
For more information about Blessed Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio look at this website. 

Franciscan Univeristy ends student health care thanks Obama!

I just got a letter from Franciscan University of Steubenville which reads:
"You are probably aware by now that the Obama Administration has mandated that all health insurance plans must cover "women's health service" including contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing medications as a part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Up to this time, Franciscan University has specifically excluded these services and products from its student health insurance policy, and we will not participate in a plan that requires us to violate Catholic Church teaching on the sacredness of human life in the future."
Then the letter explains in detail what this will mean for the students who are not covered under their parents' health care plans. Thank God, my daughter is covered. She can be see by a Nurse Practitioner on campus for $5 however, just that any off campus referrals will have to be paid by the student.
 The letter continues,
"These are challenging days for everyone as we strive to understand the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed into law in 2010. If the federal regulations change in the future, we will re-visit this decision and determine whether a different course of action is appropriate. In the meant time you need to be aware that this legislation does affect you and your decisions surrounding how you pay for medical care."
I am very proud of the bold stand for religious freedom taken by my daughter's school, and will stand with them if there are any punishments meted out by the Obama Administration.
We must stand as one, to have our voices be heard on this issue. 

Lost Forever: The Down Syndrome Death Sentence

Hitler's secret Nazi program that killed thousands of disabled people

Barack Obama, The Road We Really Traveled

A Primary Day Message from Rick Santorum

We support Rick Santorum and his commitment to moral values, and want to encourage you to stand with him in this effort to make our voices heard in this election. 

Here is Rick's message:

I wanted you to know that Karen and I will be on Piers Morgan's show tonight on CNN at 9pm EST. We hope you can tune in.

This morning was the first since Iowa where I didn't need to hit the campaign trail on the day of a vote. I wanted to sleep in but couldn't. Old habits die hard.

I've been thinking a lot about the race we ran together, things I might have done differently, and the moments I am most proud of. Our campaign was different. It was grassroots, and felt like a large family working together towards something important.

I remain commmitted to fighting for our principles, but I am also focused on settling our outstanding debt from our hard-fought campaign. We have been working towards this goal, and we've made considerable progress, but we still have someways to go.

Today I am asking each supporter to donate $25 or more to our campaign. It will make a tremendous difference and help speed up payment on our bills and get me back into the fight for our conservative principles.

A lot of people are asking about my future plans. Two things I can tell you are we have just begun to fight, and I am going to need you to be there with me. I have much more to say - to make the case for our ideas, hold folks accountable and help defeat Barack Obama and the Democrats this fall.

If you too are eager to resume the fight, I urge you to make a donation today. Karen and I are burning up our phone lines and emailing friends and family to ask them to make a critically important donation.

It it is our sincere hope that you will join them, with a donation of your own today.

Thanks for all you have done and are doing in the fight to preserve our conservative principles.

Sincerely,

Rick Santorum

Obamacare contains surcharge to fund abortions

from Christopher Bell, founder of Good Counsel Homes

 

In recent weeks there have been reports about an abortion surcharge contained within President Obama's signature healthcare law. Pro-abortion activists have been desperate to shove the issue under the carpet. They know full well public outrage will ensue if the law's hidden agenda is fully exposed to the American people in broad daylight.

Many pro-abortion bloggers and members of the media have tried to hide the reality of the "abortion premium mandate"-a provision actually contained within Obamacare. But it's imperative that you fully understand the facts they're trying to hide.

Here's how the provision essentially works: An individual enrolled in an insurance plan that covers abortions through an employer, by choice or even unknowingly, must pay an added abortion surcharge of one dollar per month. With no choice of opting out of the plan, paying for this abortion coverage is imposed whether an individual wants to or not.

This amounts to you and I being forced to take twelve dollars a year to the local Planned Parenthood or other abortion mill, place the money in the blood-stained hands of the abortionist and say, "This is to help fund the killing of innocent unborn babies."

Obamacare even contains a clause that prevents insurance plans from letting people know about the required abortion surcharge. You won't be notified that you're paying into a plan that covers abortion until your time of enrollment. By then, in most cases, it'll be too late. It's sinister government secrecy-a bureaucratic sleight of hand-that will result in wholesale abortion-on-demand provided by the government.

Take a look at the text of the law for yourself:

(3) RULES RELATING TO NOTICE-(A) NOTICE-A qualified health plan that provides for coverage of [abortions other than in cases of rape, incest, or the life of the mother] . . . shall provide a notice to enrollees, only as part of the summary of benefits and coverage explanation, at the time of enrollment, of such coverage.

(B) RULES RELATING TO PAYMENTS-The notice described in subparagraph (A), any advertising used by the issuer with respect to the plan, any information provided by the Exchange, and any other information specified by the Secretary shall provide information only with respect to the total amount of the combined payments for [abortions other than in cases of rape, incest, or the life of the mother] (emphasis added).

Why would the law include such wording unless they didn't want Americans to know what they're buying until it's too late?

In addition to a finalized HHS rule that requires coverage for abortifacient drugs, this is yet another wave of assault against the pro-life community and your religious freedoms by the pro-abortion Obama administration.

You can see why it's vital that you help me spread awareness of and opposition to the abortion surcharge. The lives of countless unborn babies depend upon the Obama administration feeling the heat for trampling on the conscience rights of everyday Americans. Education is the key for pro-life legislative victories. Many of your fellow pro-lifers are vaguely aware that such an abortion surcharge exists, but they don't have a solid resource that lays out a helpful explanation. Please share this email with them.

 

"Steven Ertelt" <ertelt@lifenews.com> Apr 19 08:00AM -0600 


Obamacare Funds Abortions, Supreme Court Must Overturn It
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/19/obamacare-funds-abortions-supreme-court-must-overturn-it/

Obama Admin Finalizes Rules: $1 Abortion Surcharge in ObamaCare
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/12/obama-admin-finalizes-rules-1-abortions-in-obamacare/

Understanding ObamaCare’s $1 Abortion Surcharge in Three Steps
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/23/understanding-obamacares-1-abortion-surcharge-in-three-steps/
 

Chris O'Brien and I are still voting for Santorum in the CT Primary

Press Release

Who:   Santorum Supporters in Connecticut

Why:   Days ahead of the state primary, Republicans choose to stick to their candidate

When: April 24^th  6 am – 8 pm

Contact:  Chris O’Brien, Co-State Grassroots Coordinator, Rick Santorum for President

            203-558-5817

            connecticutforsantorum@gmail.com

He’s still not convinced.

Chris O’Brien, the man that stood alone on a sidewalk outside of a rally for Mitt Romney in Hartford last week is still voting for Santorum in Connecticut’s primary on Tuesday.

O’Brien says it is still possible that Romney may not get the necessary 1144 delegates at the convention. “He’s only half-way there. The key to the nomination is in the northeast. This is considered the most liberal part of the country, yet there are still plenty of conservatives here in the party. It isn’t often they get a chance to vote for a real conservative that can connect a variety of issues to the problems of our country.”

Many voters O’Brien encounters say they’re still voting for Santorum as well. “We think he would provide independent and Democratic voters the greatest contrast to Obama and his healthcare plan. Rick also resonates well with women as an honest man with integrity.” Romney is polling poorly among women when compared to President Obama. While many voters think Romney is aloof and distant, Santorum still fills that gap. “Besides – I’m not going to let anyone tell me who to vote for. Its my vote.”

The Romney campaign and Party leaders have repeated Romney’s ‘inevitable’ nomination over and over. “They think that people will believe it. Unfortunately, Connecticut Republicans have a poor track record when we listen to who Party officials tell us to vote for. They’re often rich folks that can’t resonate with the general electorate in November,” says O’Brien.  He points out to the fact that no new Republicans have successfully emerged for statewide or federal office in Connecticut in the past decade.

“Independent voters won’t be hypnotized as easily as Republicans in the November election”, he notes. “That’s why they call themselves ‘independents’”.

O’Brien says that Obama will run a smart campaign to paint Romney as an out of touch rich person who enabled Obamacare. “Where’s the contrast for the average voter who doesn’t pay attention to politics day to day?”

  

O’Brien says that there is still merit in voting for the candidate who ‘suspended’ his campaign last week. “He’s still on the ballot. He’s still the best candidate. And he can still get delegates.” Even if Romney does become the nominee, the process is important. Delegates will help decide the party platform at the Tampa Florida convention in August.

Santorum suspended his campaign on April 10^th. Santorum himself hasn’t directed his supporters who to vote for in state primaries, he told a conference call of 4,000 volunteers this week that “we’ll ensure that delegates are seated and participate at the convention.”

I'll be Speaking at the Connecticut Right to Life Convention

CRLC CONVENTION 2012
Courtyard by Marriott, Cromwell
Saturday, May 12, 2012
8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
8:30 to 10:00 AM – Registration and vendor booths Conference begins at 10:00 AM
(For those interested - 9:00 AM Catholic Mass)
Awards luncheon begins at 12:30 PM
Featured Speakers: Dr. John Bruchalski – Founder – Tepayac Family Center
Brian Clowes – Director of Research and Training Worldwide –
Human Life International
Leticia Velasquez – founder of KIDS (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome) and
author, writer and award winning pro-life blogger

Suggested donation for the convention, including luncheon, is $40, $70 for a married couple, $20 for students, and vendor booths are $40, which includes luncheon and the convention.

Please call Janet Sayles at 203-878-4097 or the CRLC office at 203-757-5213 by May 7th to make reservations to attend the conference and luncheon or to reserve a vendor’s booth.

Bishop Jenky is a Modern Day Lion of Munster

Bishop Jenky reminds me of the Lion of Munster http://the-american-catholic.com/2011/03/06/the-lion-of-munster/ Bishop Von Galen who denounced the policies of the Nazis.

Here is an except of his homily (from The Catholic Post) which is causing liberals  to go into apoplexy.

Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care.
In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama – with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path.
Now things have come to such a pass in America that this is a battle that we could lose, but before the awesome judgement seat of Almighty God this is not a war where any believing Catholic may remain neutral.
This fall, every practicing Catholic must vote, and must vote their Catholic consciences, or by the following fall our Catholic schools, our Catholic hospitals, our Catholic Newman Centers, all our public ministries -- only excepting our church buildings – could easily be shut down. Because no Catholic institution, under any circumstance, can ever cooperate with the instrinsic evil of killing innocent human life in the womb.
No Catholic ministry – and yes, Mr. President, for Catholics our schools and hospitals are ministries – can remain faithful to the Lordship of the Risen Christ and to his glorious Gospel of Life if they are forced to pay for abortions.

Obama is the most pro-abortion president of all time, and now he is breaking more laws to force Americans to pay for abortion and contraception which is against Catholic belief. He is trying to bring down the Catholic Church by forcing her to violate her morality and then he wants to take over huge segments of society, health care, Catholic schools and universities, social services, adoption agencies. Then he will have the socialist state he wants. The one his mentors want him to create here; George Soros, Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers .

I was watching a film about St Dr Guiseppe Moscati of Naples, a doctor who fought the fascist takeover of Italian hospitals. It seems dictators must subdue the Church which is the sole bulwark keeping them from total takeover of society.
Thank God for Bishop Daniel Jenky, may he be an example to his timid fellow bishops! May lukewarm Catholics be awakened from complacency.
Read the entire post here. 

Liberal sisters to be reigned in. Finallly!

According to Life Site News and Rocco Palmo the Vatican's effort to gain control over renegade American sisters who deny Church doctrine and morality is not a result of the three year Apostolic Visitation.

Citing "serious doctrinal problems" found over the course of afour-year study of the umbrella-group representing the majority of the US' communities of nuns, the Holy See has announced a thoroughgoing shake-up of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), naming Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle as its delegate to conduct an overhaul of the group.
Among other concerns raised in an eight-page summary of the doctrinal inquest released today, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith cited addresses at LCWR conferences that, it said, manifested a "rejection of faith," protests of church teaching on homosexuality and the ordination of women by officers of the group, and a "prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith" in some of the conference's events.

This is very welcome by orthodox Catholics who have bemoaned the practices of these nuns for years.
A Case Study in the Wreckage of American Catholics by Liberal Teaching Nuns
 Take my friend Marie. Raised in a strict Catholic home of five children who prayed the Rosary every night, with a mother whose only outside work was playing the organ at Mass in the local parish, Marie was a devout, pro-life Catholic, thanks to her parent's heroic sacrifice to send all five children to their parish school.

I met Marie in a convent school on Long Island discussing how she picketed Bill Baird's abortion mill. Together we began the school's first Pro-life Club,  and went to the March for Life in 1978. We both chose Catholic colleges, me, traditional St Anselm College, where I continued to grow in my faith, thanks to the Benedictine's motto, "faith seeking understanding". Marie chose the liberal College of New Rochelle which is run by sisters who made her into a social justice only Catholic.Marie traveled to the Bowery site of the Catholic Worker Movement's mission run by Dorothy Day. She attended mock 'weddings' of lesbians officiated by sisters. She began to experiment apologetically with premarital sex. She graduated school to run a shelter for undocumented immigrants in Texas, marrying one of them (whose Mexican wife and children attended the ceremony) to give him papers. To this day, she is unmarried, and a pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage political agitator in the Haight district of San Francisco. Her law degree is unused because, as bright as she is, she was never organized enough to pass the bar, her counselors told her to blame it on her mother.
She won't remain in contact with me because I am too traditional. My views have never changed, but she doesn't see how far she has moved to the left. Last time I called her, her answering machine has a message that she was attending a gay pride parade in San Francisco.
I followed the path of social justice in becoming a social worker, then a teacher of minority students, but thank fully my moral and spiritual foundations were more or less intact, thanks to good doctrine taught at St Anselm.
Marie's parents only fault was trusting the liberal nuns at CNR with the soul of their innocent, devout Catholic daughter. Their other daughter became a fire breathing anti-Catholic Evangelical who thinks her parents are going to hell for belonging to the Whore of Babylon (the Catholic Church) and a son who attends Latin Mass with the Society of St Pius X. So, two of five children of good Catholic parents remained in the Church. Thankfully, the son who attends Mass at St Pius X Chapel may soon be returned to the fold by another recent action of our wise and gentle Holy Father, according to Vatican Radio. He has raised five children who are homeschooled by their devout mother, but he has contempt for the leadership of the Catholic Church.
I love this family, and pray for their healing and reunion in the Church. The parents are brokenhearted victims of liberal nuns.
Dissenting sisters sowed seeds of rebellion in their students. They supported abortion and illicit sexual relationships. They taught me how to use and obtain contraception in high school, telling me "ignore the old man in Rome on contraception".
On the day before the 2004 election a liberal sister who is the Hispanic apostolate leader on Long Island handed out paper in Mass with abortion support John Kerry's photo on the cover.
The list goes on and on. It is a spiritual act of mercy to correct these sisters before they are responsible for more souls being lost, because Our Lord said "it would be better to tie a millstone around their neck and be cast into the sea than to corrupt one of my little ones".
May God give these sisters the humility they need to accept correction and regain their original charism, the one which made religious sisters one of the most powerful forces for good in America. One notoriously rebellious sister has spoken out in a way which bodes ill for the outcome of the corrective measure;

Despite the lack of official comment, a former LCWR president -- and quite possibly the body's most celebrated member -- Benedictine Sister of Erie Joan Chittister told the National Catholic Reporter that "When you set out to reform a people, a group, who have done nothing wrong, you have to have an intention, a motivation that is not only not morally based, but actually immoral.

Chuck Colson, eternal rejoicing for a cheerful culture of life warrior

From silly devotions and from sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us.
St Teresa of Avila

There is nothing worse than a depressing culture warrior.
Sure the battle is a losing one (on this side of Heaven) and the enemy, in the space of two generations,  has won over the great majority of formerly Christian institutions (media, education, entertainment) but we have no reason to be gloomy, Christ has overcome the world. Our side wins the battle and rejoices eternally with the angels and saints in the presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Which is part of the reason why I loved listening to Chuck Colson's  "Breakpoint" commentaries. He was upbeat, he acted as though it was actually Good News he was sharing. He was never judgemental and gave me, a Catholic, no reason to believe he thought my Faith consigned me to hell.I even had hopes he would swim the Tiber one day.
 His cheerful stories and exhortations in his inspirational show put the wind back in my sails and reminded me to fight the good fight with charity in my heart, and  a smile on my face. Chuck Colson was far from a TV evangelist, however, he was not out for popularity, never shying away from speaking the truth in love, as when he joined the Manhattan Declaration.
Prison Fellowship was an outgrowth of lessons Chuck learned in prison for his involvement in the Watergate scandal, and he kept the lesson of humble dependence on God ever before him, never forgetting where his strength came from.

God grant Eternal Joy to Chuck, and welcome him home with the words, "well (and cheerfully) done, good and faithful servant". We will miss you, Chuch Colson, as CS Lewis said, Christians never say goodbye. See you on the other side.
Rick and Karen Santorum were personal friends of Chuck Colson and made the following statement:

"Karen and I were deeply saddened to learn about Chuck's passing. Over the last few years, both in and out of public life, I've had the opportunity to get to know Chuck and have admired him and his commitment to living out his faith.

"Chuck was a humble man who learned from his own frailty to care for the 'least of these,' especially prisoners. His work to bring Christianity to those who were in their darkest days changed the lives of many.

"My thoughts and prayers are with Chuck's wife Patty, the entire Colson family and the community at Prison Fellowship Ministries during this very difficult time. Chuck was a patriot, who loved his country and loved serving his God, and we are all a little better off for having known him."

CINO House Members challenge Cardinal Dolan to create War on Poverty

from the Catholic League
Rep. DeLauro is the enemy of the poor, thus she has no moral leg to stand on. She has worked to kill school vouchers for children with disabilities and has voted against scholarship grants for African American students in D.C. But she is a big champion of abortion, including abortions where the baby is 80 percent born; she has even voted to fund abortion with federal dollars.

DeLauro’s Catholic credentials include authoring a “Statement of Principles” in 2006, signed by 55 Catholic Democrats. The document made the argument that it is entirely legitimate to be a Catholic in good standing and promote abortion rights. In 2007, DeLauro was one of 18 Catholic Democrats to criticize the pope for his remarks on this subject.

Also signing DeLauro’s letter were Nicholas Cafardi, Daniel Maguire, Marie Dennis and Stephen Schenck. No sooner had Archbishop Charles Chaput moved from Denver to Philadelphia when Cafardi surfaced saying “Chaput would be well-advised to leave politics aside.” But now Cafardi wants the pro-life archbishop to get involved in politics by lobbying for welfare. Maguire is so in love with abortion rights that he has condemned Mother Teresa for her yeoman work, branding her “a firm defender of male dominance.” Dennis is co-president of Pax Christi International, an organization that has blasted the pro-life work of the Susan B. Anthony List. And in 2009, Schenck signed a letter praising the nomination of Kathleen Sebelius; she is an advocate of partial-birth abortion who was denounced by the last three archbishops of Kansas City.

We would be remiss if we didn’t notice the curious relationship between DeLauro and the Catholic News Service which arranged the interview.

Contact DeLauro’s chief of staff, Beverly Pheto: beverly.pheto@mail.house.gov

I taught English as a Second Language in public schools in the ghetto. I know how to overcome poverty, but the Democrats have no interest in stopping poverty, just in creating entitlement programs to keep poor people on their voting rolls. If they were interested, they would offer school vouchers. The Catholic Church teaches millions of poor children, and would happily teach millions more, if we had the funding.
So here is my email to Rep Rosa De Lauro, pro-abort hypocritical,  CINO politician.

Dear Rep De Lauro, 

I am a constituent of Joe Courtney and a former public school teacher in the poor neighborhoods of New York.

 The best way to end poverty is school vouchers. 

But you and Joe Courtney are too beholden to the teacher's unions to give poor children a chance to get decent education, and you support Obama who has completely cut abstinence programs, the other way out of poverty. So, you don't care if the students are in dangerous schools, live chaotic lives of drugs and sex, and never leave their desperate circumstances. 

And yes, abort their babies. 

Some Catholic teaching!