Sign the Manhattan Declaration

Here is the text of the declaration:
Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.


We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life

2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife

3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Original signers include Archbishop Chaput, Dr James Dobson, Dr Wiliam Donohue, and Dr Peter Kreeft.
See the website here. to sign and learn more.

Teenage Prolife protesters arrested en masse in Maryland

FIRST AMENDMENT VIOLATIONS
From American Life League
On Aug. 1, 18 pro-lifers were falsely, brutally arrested on bogus charges by Maryland state police officers. Most were scared, crying teenage kids. They weren't told the charges for which they were being arrested and they weren't read their Miranda Rights. The girls were humiliatingly searched, and all were locked up. Most weren't allowed to see their lawyers and were denied their phone calls.
This is one of the largest mass arrests of pro-lifers since the days of the clinic rescue movement which ended in the early 1990s. It's a clear violation of First and Fourth Amendment rights.It's being ignored in a massive media blackout.
"This type of harassment has been used against peaceful protestors in the past and never have these tyrannical methods been acceptable," said Jen Catelli, director of media relations at American Life League. "The pro-life community needs to stand up and demand media attention for these heinous abuses."
Defend Life's Maryland Face the Truth Tour had one final stop to make in Hagerstown, Maryland. They peacefully set up their signs along a stretch of highway and began to pray. State police officers soon showed up and demanded they take down their signs. The pro-lifers complied and moved to a different area.
State police followed and began making arrests.
"They violated all our rights," said Jack Ames, president and founder of Defend Life. Ames spent the night locked in a cell with the other pro-lifers. Ames and his fellow pro-lifers spent the night praying and singing the Lord's Prayer, the Ave Maria and Tantum Ergo. The next morning officials released the pro-lifers. Charges have since been dropped.
"American Life League is committed to making sure these people get the attention they deserve," Catelli said. "This kind of blatant disregard for pro-lifers' rights on the part of Governor Martin O'Malley's state police won't be tolerated. If these pro-lifers were pro-abortion activists or PETA protesters, this would have been on the front page of every newspaper on the East Coast."
"As more information surfaces about this mass arrest, ALL will ensure that everyone in the pro-life movement hears about these heroes," Catelli continued.

Bush demands human rights abuses end in China

from the Catholic League

BUSH TO CHINA-GRANT RELIGIOUS LIBERTY;
McCAIN AND OBAMA DUCK THE ISSUE

Before leaving for Beijing tomorrow, President George W. Bush will give a speech in Bangkok, Thailand that cites the lack of religious liberties, as well as other human rights, that exist in China.

In his speech, Bush will say that "America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists." Moreover, Bush will say that "I have spoken clearly, candidly and consistently with China’s leaders about our deep concerns over religious freedom and human rights."

Catholic League president Bill Donohue applauds what President Bush is doing and draws a contrast with what Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama have said about this matter:

"This is good news. In addition to President Bush's statement on religious freedom that he is expected to give following a Beijing church service, the president is now going to call attention to China's human rights deficit shortly before he arrives for the Olympic games. And Bush well knows that the first liberty is religious liberty, without which all freedoms are meaningless. His comments on this subject come on the heels of a plea by Pope Benedict XVI to Chinese leaders 'to open [China] to the Gospel."

"By contrast, Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama look weak. For example, McCain recently implored the president not to be 'confrontational' with Chinese officials about the issue of human rights. Should he be obsequious? Obama has spoken out about the rights of Tibetans (as has McCain) but has been singularly silent about the religious rights of the Chinese people. Will he now say something?

"Bush has shown the way. The ball is now in the court of the presidential candidates."

Holy Shamelessness

A spiritually “disinterested” person is not swayed by “human respect” (also termed “respect of persons.” St. Josemaria Escriva calls this attribute of not being unduly swayed by the people in our lives “holy shamlessness.”
“How clearly I see now that 'holy shamelessness' is rooted, very deeply, in the Gospel. Fulfill the Will of God, mindful of Jesus falsely accused, Jesus spat upon and buffeted, Jesus brought before the shabby courts of men ...”
The Furrow, #35

St. Josemaria Escriva also tells us strongly not to spend time with the worry of:
What will they say?
“When the defence of truth is at stake, how can one desire neither to displease God nor to clash with one's surroundings? These two things are opposed: it is either the one or the other! The sacrifice has to be a holocaust where everything is burned up, even the thought: “what will they say?”, even what we call our reputation.”
HT Mary Vitamin
This blog is an attempt at 'holy shamelessness', to stand up for the truth in a world which is often hostile to it, especially with regard to moral issues, and if someday there are consequences, such as political persecution, may God give me the strength to endure it.

Pope Benedict's speech at the UN today

Pope Benedict XVI Addresses UN General Assembly
By Samantha Singson
(NEW YORK — C-FAM) Today in New York, Pope Benedict XVI became the third pope to address the United Nations General Assembly. The pontiff spoke before the packed assembly that included representatives from all 192 member states and hundreds of representatives from civil society. On the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Declaration), Pope Benedict addressed the audience in both English and French and called on the UN to be “an instrument of service to the entire human family.”
Pope Benedict emphasized that “The promotion of human rights remains the most effective strategy for eliminating inequalities between countries and social groups, and for increasing security” and that “efforts need to be redoubled in the face of pressure to reinterpret the foundations of the Declaration and to compromise its inner unity so as to facilitate a move away from the protection of human dignity towards the satisfaction of simple interests, often particular interests.”
At the United Nations, the Holy Father faces an international body that does good work around the world in peacekeeping and in providing aid to those who are suffering. But it is also a body which Benedict said last year often falls into relativism. While the Holy See is classified as an observer state at the UN, the Holy See enjoys nearly full participation at UN meetings and negotiations and has continuously worked to overcome ideas and practices that violate the teachings of the Catholic Church, including contraception and abortion. In his speech to the General Assembly, Pope Benedict cautioned that the rights enshrined in the Declaration “cannot be applied piecemeal, according to trends or selective choices that merely run the risk of contradicting the unity of the human person and thus the indivisibility of human rights.”
Pope Benedict XVI not only spoke of the UN’s need to promote and protect human rights, but also spoke of the responsibility of the international community to use scientific research and technological advances in a way that does not violate the “order of creation, to the point where not only is the sacred character of life contradicted, but the human person and family are robbed of their natural identity.”
Pope Benedict is on his first and perhaps only trip to the United States as pontiff. He landed in Washington D.C. on Tuesday and was met by President George W. Bush at the airport, an honor never before bestowed on any visiting dignitary by any president. During the D.C. leg of his trip, Benedict met with President Bush at the White House and held a prayer session before answering questions with an audience of American bishops. Benedict also spoke to the students at Catholic University of America and held an inter-religious dialogue at the John Paul II Cultural Center and held a huge public mass at the new baseball stadium.
The Holy Father’s New York visit will include a mass for priests, deacons and religious at St. Patrick’s cathedral, a visit to Ground Zero at the World Trade Center Site and ends with a public mass at Yankees Stadium on Sunday.
Don't forget a Youth Rallly at St. Joseph's Seminary at Dunwoodie in Yonkers! I'll be there less than 24 hours from now!