In a ceremony held at St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI elevated 24 new Princes of the Church. Among those called to the Sacred College of Cardinals are two Americans: Raymond Cardinal Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, and Donald Cardinal Wuerl, cardinal archbishop of Washington. Among the others worthy mention here include Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, cardinal archbishop of Columbo, and 93-year old Domenico Cardinal Bartolucci, the maestro in perpetuo emeritus of the Sistine Chapel.
So when I read this story from MSNBC, it was obvious that I needed to defend what I love in the name of chivalry.
Until I found out what this quiet little story was about.
Here's an excerpt of the article:
"An 18-year-old man is dumped and "unfriended" by his girlfriend, who starts "friending" several new young men sooner than he can handle, writes Dr. Gennaro D'Amato, of the High Specialty Hospital A Cardarelli in Naples, Italy. The patient, who isn't named in the report, is clearly a savvy Facebook stalker: When he could no longer access his ex's profile, he created a new nickname for himself on the social networking site and added her once again. What he saw took his breath away. Literally. Every time he looked at her profile -- paging through her pictures, scrolling through her status updates -- he had an asthma attack."
If you're looking for pity, you ain't gonna find it here. If use Facebook to interact with friends and family (or post stupid stuff like I do), then cool, you're a pro. But if you're gonna be a perv, then I'm sorry, but you brought it on your own self.
I'll pray that you get the help you need, but stop being a creeper for your own health's sake.
To say that the 2010 midterm elections were a huge victory for the pro-life movement would be an understatement. But there is one newly elected congressman whose story strikes home with many of us who see the potential of all human lives.
In Arizona's fifth Congressional District, there's no doubt that there was a huge difference between challenger David Schweikert (R) and his opponent, incumbent Rep. Harry Mitchell (D). Schweikert, who most recently served as Tresurer of Maricopa County, received the endorsements of such pro-life organizations such as the Arizona Right to Life and the Concerned Women Political Action Committee (CWPAC). Rep. Mitchell, on the other hand has compiled a pro-abortion record, opposing such key pro-life issues such as the ban on the Mexico City Policy and the Stupak-Pitts Amendment.
But Dave Schweikert's stance on the Right to Life issue goes even deeper than that of a debate on political ideology.
In 1961, an single woman in Los Angeles was faced with a very difficult situation: she recently discovered that she was pregnant. She was confused, not sure what to do. Eventually she decided that in her situation, the only choice she had was to have an abortion. Considering that this was prior to the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, the only way someone could obtain an abortion was to have it done illegally, a very dangerous gamble then as it is now. However, while she was being driven to the place where the abortion was to be performed, the young mother suddenly decided that she did not want to go through with the abortion.
She eventually did give birth to a beautiful baby boy on March 3, 1962. Despite the joy the mother had for her newborn baby, she knew that she was in no financial situation to take care of a child. It was because of this issue that the mother made the decision to give her child up for adoption so that her child would receive, not only the love of both a mother and a father, but also have the opportunity to reach all the goals that this child may want to acheive.
It was thus that the Schweikert family from Scottsdale, AZ took the baby into their home. Thorugh the lessons, support, and encouragement of his adopted family, David Schweikert went on to earn a BA in Finance and Real Estate in 1985 from Arizona State University and an MBA in 2005 from ASU as well. In 1990, Schweikert was elected to serve Arizona's 28th legislative district in the Arizona State House of Representatives. Upon winning reelection in 1992, he became majority whip. In 1995, Gov. Fife Symington, III (R-Arizona) appointed Schweikert to be chairman of the Arizona State Board of Equalization. In his tenure, which ended in 2003, he oversaw the dozens of tax protests of the citizens and businesses in Arizona. In 2004, he was appointed Chief Deputy Treasurer of Maricopa County, and later that year Treasurer.
Despite losing the 1994 Republican primary to incumbent freshman Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) and the 2008 race against Rep. Mitchell, in 2009 he announced that he would once again be running for Congress. And now, after finally defeating Mitchell 53%-43%, David Schweikert, that preborn child whose mother changed her mind at the last minute and chose life, is now just a little over a month away from being sworn into the United States House of Representative to represent Arizona's 5th district.
In addition to his distingushed resume of being a public service, Schweickert and his wife, Joyce, are devout Catholics and parishioners of St. Maria Goretti Roman Catholic Church in Scottsdale, AZ. His Catholic and pro-life activities include membership in the Knights of Columbus and the Arizona State Right to Life.
In 1998, 36 years after he was adopted by the Schweikert family, Dave was given the contact information of his birth mother. The congressman-elect recalls:
"After a family discussion, and sending a hand-written note, days later I received a joyful phone call. And through the tears, she just kept asking me if I was happy, if I was healthy. She wanted me to know that every single day of my life, she'd pray for me."
While Representative-elect David Schweikert is bound to be noted for his strong conservative positions on such issues as defending our 2nd amendment rights, offshore drilling and drilling in ANWR, cutting taxes, his commitment to erasing the National Debt, and opposing the radical Obama administration overall, he will always be, for me, evidence of the potential that every human life possesses. I pray that his story will inspire those of us in the pro-life movement to continue to fight the good fight for the most vulnerable in our society and will inspire mothers who face the same challenges that Rep.-elect Schweikert's mother faced, to choose life for the potential success story that God has blest them with.
To hear Rep.-elect Schweikert's story in his own words, click here.
Yesterday, history was made for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops with the election of Archbishop Timothy Dolan as its president and Archbishop Edward Kurtz of Louisville as its vice president.
Abp. Dolan, 60, has served as archbishop of New York since April 2009. He previously served as archbishop of Milwaukee and auxiliary bishop of St. Louis. Dolan has been noted for his strong defense of Catholic teachings on such issues as abortion, marriage, priestly celibacy, and the an all-male clergy. The archbishop's election as president of the USCCB comes as a surprise as he defeated Bishop Gerald F. Kinkanis of the Diocese of Tucson, the first time a sitting vice-president standing for the presidency was not elected to the top USCCB post.
Abp. Kurtz, 64, has served as archbishop of Louisville since June 2007. He previously served as bishop of Knoxville. He currently serves as chairman of the Bishops' Committee on Marriage and Family Life, being the USCCB's leader in the defense of marriage. In January 2010, Kurtz has stated that if the voter-approved Proposition 8 in California which defends traditional marriage were to be struck down it “will have a moral, legal, and cultural impact...akin to Roe v. Wade”.
Perhaps it's just me, but judging by this, I think the tide towards Christ in the USCCB is starting to happen.
Today, over 340 Knights of Columbus in New Jersey's Second District (Southern Diocese of Metuchen to the Diocese of Camden) were declared members of the Fouth Degree. It was an awesome day and a great weekend overall for the new Sir Knights and their ladies as these men have answered the call of Christ to be His visible followers and to lead the counterculture fight for our American Society (we are coming off a huge win in court to keep the words "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance). A special congratulations to my new brother Sir Knights from Bishop Justin J. McCarthy Assembly.
All of us have our favorite saints: St. Anthony, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, and those we know of heroic virtue by making the ultimate sacrifice out of love for Christ and His Church like St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Thomas More, just to name a few. However, today I want to focus on one of my favorite saints whose sacrifice was to save Catholicism in his land from the schismatics. To find this saint, we have to go to the east. Even beyond that, we take temporary leave (though not really) from the Roman Rite of the Church and enter the Ruthenian Rite, common in the Slavic countries in that area. We find, in what is now Belarus, the archbishop of Polotsk, Josaphat Kuntsevych.
Now St. Josaphat is only one of four Eastern Rite Catholic saints after the time of the Greek Fathers to also venerated in the Roman calendar, along with Cyril and Methodious of Moravia, and Sharbel Makhluf of Lebanon.
Why?
St. Josaphat grew up as a child at a time of great tension in the then-unified Ruthenian Church. In fact, by the time Josaphat entered the monastery for the Basilian Fathers, hatred among the two parties in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Greek-Catholic Party who wanted to remain in communion with Rome and the Anti-Union Party, the more violent of the two parties who promoted schism and secession from union with Rome (they also had their own hierarchy). It was at this time of intolerance that Josaphat was ordained to the priesthood, and eventually consecrated a bishop.
While physical fighting amongst the parties, Josaphat remained quiet and humble. He defended the Catholic Church and the authority of the Pope, not with weapons in the streets, but with his sermons from outside of the doors of the iconostasis. He was known as a man of prayer, fasting, self-mortification and extreme penances, and a desire of the monastic life which he entered as a young man. His example converted many major figures of the region to the Catholic Faith, including Patriarch Ignatius of Moscow and a relative of Emperor Paleologus of Byzantium.
By 1623, the people of Polotsk and Josaphat's former eparchy of Vitebsk have come to the point where they desired blood and power more than anything else. When Josaphat returned to Vitebsk to quell the violence between the Catholics and the Orthodox, he was viewed as an enemy by the Orthodox and an impediment by Catholics. He knew he risked his life, but stated he was not afraid to die "if I am counted worth of martyrdom".
It was on the morning of November 12, 1623 that an Orthodox priest by the name of Elias, probably sent by Josaphat's rival bishop Meletius Smotrytsky, father of modern Church Slavonic, to have a reason to attack the Catholics, came to the rectory and began to taunt and shout insults at Josaphat. This had been going on for a few days. Josaphat gave his servants permission to apprehend the priest until he had finished praying his Office. This incited the Orthodox to riot in front of the house and attack the bishop's servants, to which Josaphat responded: ""My children what are you doing with my servants? If you have anything against me, here I am, but leave them alone!"
With shouts of "kill the papist!", St. Josaphat was beaten, bludgeoned, and shot to death. His body was thrown into the Dvina River with his dog who tried to save his master's life. Ironically, while the Catholics hid in fear, it was the Jewish people of Vitebsk who protected Josaphat's friends, accused the Orthodox participants of the mob of the murder of the bishop, and even mourned him publicly.
As time progressed, both sides began to regret the death of Josaphat. Upon reflections of those in the mob on the life of Josaphat, many were converted to the Catholic Church, including the one who probably incited the riot, Josaphat's rival Meletius Smotrytsky. Josaphat Kuntsevych was canonized by Blessed Pius IX in 1867.
Josaphat understood through the readings of the Greek Fathers of the Church, who are venerated by both Catholics and Orthodox alike, that the Catholic Church is the "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church". It was not a matter of power or pride to Josaphat that he took the strong stand that he did, because of authority given to St. Peter by Christ Himself. We see the strong progress under this papacy with not just the Orthodox, but with the Anglicans, Lutherans and other Christians. So long as the spirit of St. Josaphat is strong, so will we continue to strive towards Christ, in Whom there is no east or west.
St. Josaphat, pray for us.
"You people want to kill me. You wait in ambush for me in the streets, on the bridges, on the highways, in the marketplace, everywhere. Here I am; I came to you as a shepherd. You know I would be happy to give my life for you. I am ready to die for union of the Church under St. Peter and his successor the Pope." - St. Josaphat
You would think that after last Tuesday's Democrat House election debacle that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA8) would take a back seat as her party tries to figure out how to regroup (I know what they need to do, but that's a different discussion for another day).
Instead, Nancy has decided that she wants to stay on as the leader of the House Democrats, leading to infighting amongst her fellow Democrats whose plan for if and when they became the minority party now has a major monkey wrench thrown in.
While everyone knows I'm no fan of these left-wing loons in DC, you kinda have feel sorry for this three-ring circus gone wild within the Democratic caucus. The most prominent of all the challenges within the House Democrat leadership is who will be the minority whip (assistant minority leader to Pelosi). The current minority whip Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC6) is in a heated battle with current majority leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD5) to keep his position.
In any case, regardless of who gets the number 2 spot, it leaves other "rising stars" in the Democratic caucus, such as Chris Van Hollen (D-8) and Joseph Crowley (D-NY7), seem more like falling stars shot down by the same, dried-out leadership of the party of "hope and change".
(Come to think of it, it's not really that sad)
The point is, Nancy still doesn't get that the message (as other Democrats likewise don't get) that it was her policies as a firm stalwart of liberal-socialist causes that cost her party's majority in the House and turned the Senate into a near-disaster, though the Democrats still hold a weakened majority. While she states that she has no regrets, needless to say there are more than 60 people going home in January that certainly feel a degree of remorse for supporting the ObaPelReid agenda that leaves the Nation in worse shape than it was two years ago.
And now that the damage has been done to the House Democrats, and the cracks and dents have turned into a full collapse, Nancy doesn't seem to be satisfied with the damage she has done to her party. She is either clueless or in denial over the fact that she has failed as a leader in her party and now must go back to simply representing the people of California's eighth congressional district who are radical enough to keep her in Washington.
The reality is that the longer Nancy Pelosi remains in power, Democrats will not be able to get rid of the scar left by the Speaker's radical, yet ineffective, tenure, culminating to the point where desperate Democrats fighting for their political lives stopped campaigning against their Republican opponents and began campaigning against her, many of them losing their seats thanks to the impression left upon them by their leaders, whether they agreed with them or not. A few members understand this point, which is why accoring to PoliticoReps. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH9) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR4) have asked for a delay on the vote on Pelosi, opening the gates for other challengers to throw their hats into the ring.
While she may remain the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, if they ever plan on regaining the House, Nancy has to step back and humble herself. Fortunately for Republicans, it doesn't seem that that would be an option.
GENERAL: That victims of drugs or of other dependence may, thanks to the support of the Christian community, find in the power of our Saving God strength for a radical life-change.
MISSIONARY: That the Churches of Latin America may move ahead with the continent-wide mission proposed by their bishops, making it part of the universal missionary task of the People of God.
According to NESN and sources close to the Boston Red Sox, it appears that the Phillies are interested in C Jason Varitek (the guy who won't let Zdeno Chara be the only guy in Boston to wear the letter "C" on his uniform) to backup Carlos Ruiz. Personally, I don't see it happening unless someone else takes on Brian Schneider's contract.
Chances of that? Probably the same as President Obama getting the message.
For those of you who haven't seen this yet, Fr. Z at WDTPRS posted this photo of Queen Sofia of Spain at the Basilica of La Sagrada Familia receiving the King of Kings and Lord of Lords...IN THE HAND!(ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!)
(Notice the look of discontent on the Pontiff's face and the horror of some of the priests in the background)
While Her Majesty may be regal and refined before various heads of state, perhaps she needs a lesson in reverence before her Creator and Redeemer.
I was reading through Damian Thompson's blog for the Telegraph, and needless to say the series of posts dating back to Saturday did much to humor me on the state of the continuing collapse of the Church of England and reclaimation of Old Blightly to Christ and His Church.
It began on Saturday when Damian reported that Dr. Rowan Williams, archbishop of the suppressed See of Canterbury, announced that two Anglican bishops, the Rt. Rev. Keith Newton, 58, bishop of Richborough and the Rt. Rev. Andrew Burnham, 63, bishop of Ebbsfleet, have decided to accept Pope Benedict XVI's invitation in the Holy Father's Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus and convert to the Catholic Church, joining the Rt. Rev. John Broadhurst, 68, bishop of Fulham, who will actually be returning to the Catholic Faith. Anglican Coetibus would set up personal ordinariates for Anglicans fed up with the extreme liberalism that is taking over the Church of England. It permits these Anglicans to maintain to a certain degree their identity as people of Anglican heritage while fully accepting the authority and primacy of the Vicar of Christ on earth. Newton is expected to lead the new ordinariate.
Then yesterday, we find that the actual number was not three, but five bishops converting to Roman Catholicism. In addition to Broadhurst, Newton, and Burnham, the Rt. Rev. Edwin Barnes, SCC, 74, president of The Church Union, an Anglo-Catholic advocacy group within the Anglican Church, and Newton's predecessor as bishop of Richborough, and the Rt. Rev. David Silk, 74, bishop emeritus of Ballarat (Australia) would also join the Catholic Church. (To see Bishop Barnes' statement to The Church Union on Anglicanorum Coetibus, click here)
The five bishops released a joint statement yesterday on their decision to convert to Catholicism:
Like many in the catholic tradition of Anglicanism, we have followed the dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics, the ARCIC process, with prayer and longing. We have been dismayed, over the last thirty years, to see Anglicans and Catholics move further apart on some of the issues of the day, and particularly we have been distressed by developments in Faith and Order in Anglicanism which we believe to be incompatible with the historic vocation of Anglicanism and the tradition of the Church for nearly two thousand years.
The Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum cœtibus, given in Rome on 4th November 2009, was a response to Anglicans seeking unity with the Holy See. With the Ordinariates, canonical structures are being established through which we will bring our own experience of Christian discipleship into full communion with the Catholic Church throughout the world and throughout the ages. This is both a generous response to various approaches to the Holy See for help and a bold, new ecumenical instrument in the search for the unity of Christians, the unity for which Christ himself prayed before his Passion and Death. It is a unity, we believe, which is possible only in eucharistic communion with the successor of St Peter.
As bishops, we have even-handedly cared for those who have shared our understanding and those who have taken a different view. We have now reached the point, however, where we must formally declare our position and invite others who share it to join us on our journey. We shall be ceasing, therefore, from public episcopal ministry forthwith, resigning from our pastoral responsibilities in the Church of England with effect from 31st December 2010, and seeking to join an Ordinariate once one is created.
We remain very grateful for all that the Church of England has meant for us and given to us all these years and we hope to maintain close and warm relationships, praying and working together for the coming of God’s Kingdom.
We are deeply appreciative of the support we have received at this difficult time from a whole variety of people: archbishops and bishops, clergy and laity, Anglican and Catholics, those who agree with our views and those who passionately disagree, those who have encouraged us in this step and those who have urged us not to take this step.
The Right Rev'd Andrew Burnham The Right Rev'd Keith Newton The Right Rev'd John Broadhurst The Right Rev'd Edwin Barnes The Right Rev'd David Silk
That takes us to today, where we find avowed Cranmerfile Diarmaid MacCullough, professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University, steaming mad over what he sees as the death of Christianity to the absurdity of Romish popery. A member of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, a UK-based organization praying for "an inclusive church", a high-profile member of British academia (do my fellow Americans see any similarities to our educators in our universities?), and a deacon of the Church of England, scoffed at the idea of a personal ordinariate that maintains Anglican elements. MacCullough is quoted as asking of the Holy Father's offer:
"Perhaps they’ll bring Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer? Not a book for which the flying bishops (the nickname of the five bishops for their visits to Rome to discuss the possibility of conversion) and their clerical mates [sic] have shown much enthusiasm in the past."
MacCullough personifies the attitude of the stubborn, arrogant left-wing, ecclesistical-socialist who vainly tries to defend a cause that is all but lost in the eyes of those observing the current religious tide. It is not reverence to God that they seek, but rather relevance to the world. Unfortunately for the liberals who seek to make Christianity a worldly, almost humanistic institution, the people of God are turning to the traditions of the Church, sacramental and moral, to seek refuge from the world cherished so dearly by the left whose morality and culture is contrary to the Gospel of Christ.
Continue to pray Our Lady of Walsingham for the full conversion of England to Christ and His Church, for the five bishops, other Anglicans, and all who seek union with the Catholic Church, and for the intentions of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, the pope of Christian Unity.
END NOTE: To see these articles, and others by Catholic Telegraph blogger Damian Thompson, click here
Yep, I haven't posted anything over here for months, missing key moments like the American electorate taking back Congress (well, kinda). Now I'm back to rant about Faith, politics, or whatever. So stay tuned for the ride!
GENERAL INTENTION: (Justice in Electing Those Who Govern) That in every nation of the world the election of officials may be carried out with justice, transparency and honesty, respecting the free decisions of citizens.
MISSIONARY INTENTION: (An Urban Culture of Justice, Solidarity and Peace) That Christians may strive to offer everywhere, but especially in great urban centers, an effective contribution to the promotion of education, justice, solidarity and peace.
Blessed John XXIII once stated: "The world can still set itself right and always will be able to, because the voice and Blood of Christ cry out for pity and mercy... Devotion to the Precious Blood is the devotion of our time...It is devotion for all souls, for the whole world". These past few days, we have focused on the blood of the martyrs, that of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, of the First Martyrs of Rome. However, this day, and throughout the month of July, we commemorate the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Blood shed for our offenses, the Blood of the Lamb which the martyrs have washed their garments into to be pure white. It is that same Blood shed everyday, on the Catholic altars throughout the world as Christ offers Himself continually for the human race which constantly needs to be refreshed by that unending Font of Mercy.
This feast was celebrated as early as the 16th century in Spain. Devotion to the Precious Blood was introduced in Italy by St. Gaspar de Bufalo and was extended to the entire Holy Roman Church in 1849 by Blessed Pius IX. In 1933, Pope Pius XI made this feast a double of the 1st class to commemorate the 1,900th anniversary of the Death of Christ.
Unfortunately, the Feast of the Most Precious Blood was abbrogated in 1970 as a result of the institution of the new Roman Calendar, and was combined with the Feast of Corpus Christi. To think, the reason for this feast and devotion was to commemorate the greatest act of love that the world has ever known. And in the blink of an eye, it was gone.
Fortunately, with the recent resurgence of Tradition (especially among younger Catholics), devotion to the Precious Blood has remained alive and well. What further evidence do we need of Christ truly present and alive, both physically and mystically, in our Catholic Church, in our unbelieving society, in our contrite hearts? The continual Sacrifice of Christ continues, as His Nature has taken on suffering. Not only does it continue through the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, but also in the mockery of Our Lord in this godless society.
Please continue to pray and make reparation to the Most Precious Blood for the offenses committed against Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
“Precious Blood, Ocean of Divine Mercy, flow upon us! Precious Blood, Most Pure offering, procure us every grace! Precious Blood, Hope and refuge of sinners, atone for us! Precious Blood, Delight of the Holy Souls, draw us! Amen.” - St. Catherine of Siena
The is an old German hymn attributed to St. Bede the Venerable entitled The Hymn For Conquering Martyrs Raise. The final verse of this hymn goes like this:
O city blest o’er all the earth, Who gloriest in the Savior’s birth, Who are His earliest martyrs dear, By kindred and by triumph here; None from henceforth may call thee small, Of rival towns thou passest all: In whom our Monarch had His birth, O city blest o’er all the earth!
Today, Holy Mother Church commemorates the Feast of the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. These first heroes, the first to imitate Christ's passion, were the ones whose witness convinced many a pagan in Ancient Rome to find something that was greater than themselves, more powerful than their graven idols. These early Christians truly went into battle for their King, and won the victory. However, instead of killing in the name of their King, they gave up their lives in imitation of their God. It was their heroism, it was their Faith, that convinced others to lay down their hedonistic pagan way of life and carry their cross with Jesus Christ.
For a pagan to convert to Christianity at the time was certainly not an easy thing to do. To choose to bow one's head over the baptismal font under the waters of baptism one morning, held the risk of resting one's head on the executioner's block under his axe the next day. However, this was a risk that they chose to take, to ensure that this small sect, deemed dangerous by the Roman Emperor, would live on. Their blood watered the seed, planted by the Gospel, that shook the foundations of the Roman Empire from its core, a shock so strong that the impressive statue of Jupiter amongst the mythological creatures was crushed into dust, conquered and replaced with the image of Christ crucified, bleeding for the sake of man's redemption. The shock has reached the further corners of the earth, trumping cultures and traditions with the Truth and salvation given from Christ through His Church.
Since then, the blood of the martyrs continue to flow in the places where the Christian Church continues to be persecuted, and they continue to this day. Such names as Justin, Cosmas, Damian, Marcellinus, Peter, Agnes, Philomena, and Cecilia, have certainly inspired such names as Goretti, Jägerstätter, Kolbe, Popiełuszko, Pro, Romza, and countless others. They have proven that the victory lies in Christ, not human recognition. They recognized a love greater than themselves, and focused on that crown that gives them eternal recognition of the ultimate love for Christ and for His Church.
Please continue to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world that they remain steadfast in the Faith.
For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye, Saw the bright crown descending from the sky, And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify. Alleluia! Alleluia!
The title of this post is taken from the third and fourth line of the special verse in Horatio Bolton Nelson's hymn By All Your Saints Still Striving dedicated to the holy apostles Peter and Paul. In a way, it calls us to continue on that missionary spirit of Sts. Peter and Paul to today's world that is returning to a materialistic entity as was the world of Ancient Rome that Peter and Paul sought to evangelize, and eventually, they conquered.
Why so much focus on Rome? Why as Catholics do we center our Faith on Rome as opposed to say, Jerusalem where Our Lord offered His life for us and where the Holy Spirit descended on Our Lady and the apostles on the birthday of the Church? Because Christ triumphed over the barbaric Roman Empire and its bloodthirsty emperors who waged war against Him, all falling to their demise. The blood shed on the cross by St. Peter as he hung upside down in his humility, that of St. Paul's on the executioner's block and axe, and the blood of the early martyrs, watered the seed that was planted through the Word of God which was preached to Jew and Gentile alike by the two apostles. Though their imitation of the Master's passion, the Sacred Heart of Jesus triumphed in conquering heart of the Roman Empire, and since then, the entire world.
Today, the Church of Rome faces attacks from each corner of the world from the neo-pagans that seek to destroy the Church as Nero and Diocletian attempted. Caught in the middle again are Peter in the person of the Holy Father. Caught are Paul, and John, and James, and Simon, and Thomas, and the other apostles in the persons of the cardinals and bishops of the Church. We are called to stand up for Christ in the face of the unbelieving world. Are you willing to carry the cross and follow Him as well? Follow Christ from this moment, carry the cross, run the race, finish the course, and keep the Faith.
We praise you for St. Peter; We praise you for St. Paul. They taught both Jew and Gentile That Christ is all in all. To cross and sword they yielded And saw the Kingdome come: O God Your two apostles Won life through martyrdom.
For over the past year, the Holy Roman Church has celebrated the men who gladly spend their entire lives everyday for the sake of bringing Christ to an unbelieving world both physically and mystically.
Unfortunately, it really is an unbelieving world.
Throughout the Year for Priests, the Catholic priesthood has come under attack in a vicious way that has never been seen. You can thank the devil's favorite tool, the media, for that. Most of the more vicious attacks were directed at the Roman Pontiff himself. One needs only to look back at the New York Times and their attacks on Pope Benedict XVI and New York's Archbishop Timothy Dolan.
More recently, the cover of TIME Magazine had an image of the back of the Pope's head with the title reading "Why Being Pope Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry". The article went on to portray the Pope as complacent with the sex-abuse scandal. Needless to say, the entire article was nothing more than a piece of filthy garbage (though, I should apologize to filthy garbage for comparing it to an article from TIME. Tisk, tisk).
I find it hysterical when liberal media covers the Pope meeting with sex-abuse victims. They try to make it look like it's justice. In reality, the commies just want something to satisfy their blood-lust for anti-Catholicism. They want the victims to pound the Holy Father for not doing anything for them and destroying the Catholic Church. This is their chance!
Though, you never hear MSNBC or the BBC cover the results of the meeting.
Hmmm...gee, I wonder why?!
Perhaps it is because the Pope radiates the same love and compassion, and yes, even the sorrow, that Christ showed when He walked this earth. It even led to one victim who met the Holy Father in Malta to ask "Do you know you have a Saint?".
Bet you didn't hear Diane Sawyer talk about that!
It is a shame that our priests are subject to the hatred of others because of the evil done by a tiny minority, a speck of evil men. But it doesn't end there.
Remember the Notre Dame scandal? Who can forget the images of Fr. Norman Weiler, an older priest, who was arrested for the scandal caused by a brother priest, the president of the University, for honoring an American President who condones the ongoing infanticide in his country:
Imagine, a priest being arrested for defending Christ, Whom he served for many years, and the faithful who were indeed scandalized.
This is what the Catholic priesthood went through during the Year for Priests. Please continue to pray for them as they continue their ministry to the unbelieving world.
ALL IN THE PHILADELPHIA AREA: St. Peter's; Merchantville, NJ (Diocese of Camden), will hold a Holy Hour for Priests this Friday, June 18, at 7:00pm. Please spend this special evening before our Eucharistic Lord as we pray for priests, and please spread the word around.
Could you imagine the field day the liberal media would have had if this had been a Republican? Then again, we don't roll that way. So, to the chagrin of media, here's Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-North Carolina), who was on his way to a fundraiser for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, assaulting a student who asked him a question while filming for a school report.
Here's how the whole thing played out:
The students involved are now in the process of pressing criminal charges against Rep. Etheridge. Etheridge has since apologigized, but his clear actions and his support for the Obama agenda is proof that he is willing to assault the American people. I pray that he will receive the right consequences at both the legal standpoint and at the ballot box come November.
Over the past year, we as devout Catholics have honored and shown our deepest respect for our priests during the Year of the Priest. Unfortunately, for the world that will forever hate our priests and holy religion for being counter-cultural, there have been countless attacks against our priests, slander, and especially, the cracks of the whips laid on our Holy Father as he carries his cross.
Day to day, we hear the horrifying stories of the desecration of the Blessed Sacrament, cowardly thugs desecrating our churches, and our Lord, our Lady, the Saints, and all we hold dearly being spoken of blasphemously. For these we beg God's forgiveness and now make amends, for we now know who really caused the most pain to our Lord in His passion: ALL OF US.
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ACT OF REPARATION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS
O sweet Jesus, Whose overflowing charity for me is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Your altar (in Your presence) eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries, to which Your loving Heart is everywhere subject.
Mindful alas! that we ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask Your pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation not only for our own personal offenses, but also for the sins of those, who, straying for from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow You, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the vows of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of Your Law. We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against You; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offenses against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holidays, and the shocking blasphemies uttered against You and Your Saints. We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Your Vicar on earth and Your priest are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Your Divine Love; and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and teaching authority of the Church which You have founded. Would, O divine Jesus, we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of Your divine honor, the satisfaction You once made to Your eternal Father on the cross and which You continue to renews daily on our altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of Your Virgin Mother and all the Saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of Your grace, for all neglect of Your great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past. Henceforth we will live a life of unwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent other from offending You and to bring as many as possible to follow You.
O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowing gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to You, so that we may one day come to that happy home, where You with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, world without end. Amen.
CONSECRATION OF THE HUMAN RACE TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS
Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Your altar. We are Yours, and Yours we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with You, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Your Most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known You; many too, despising Your precepts, have rejected You. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Your Sacred Heart.
You are King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken You, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned You; grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.
You are King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof; call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.
You are King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism; refuse not to draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Your eyes of mercy toward the children of that race, once Your chosen people. Of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life.
Grant, O Lord, to Your Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory and Honor forever. Amen.
Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert P. Maginnis as Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, and has appointed Msgr. John J. McIntyre to fill that post. Many will recognize Bishop-elect McIntyre as the secretary to Justin Cardinal Rigali, seen with the Cardinal at all of his functions.
A heartfelt thanks to Bishop Maginnis for his service to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and congratulations to Bishop-elect McIntyre on his appointment.
As most of you know, I'm running for Camden County Republican Committeeman from Cherry Hill, NJ. To the citizens of New Jersey, let your voice be heard. Get out and vote!
I saw umpire Jim Joyce do his job tonight at third base for the Padres-Phillies game, and you gotta give the guy credit.
After his call cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game, Joyce was man enough to admit he was wrong.
And contrary to popular belief, it takes a REAL man to show some emotion. Jim Joyce did exactly that when he made his admission, and when he took the field and received the lineup card from the man who had every reason to be furious at him. Instead, Galarraga walked up with an authentic smile on his face.
I don't know if I've seen a classier act than these to guys. It takes a real man to do the things these guys did, and they are a fine example to everyone who saw this. Let me just say that I still enjoy a nice scuffle every once in awhile!
As Bishop John Smith nears the mandatory age of retirement, Pope Benedict XVI has named the Very Rev. David O'Connell, C.M. as the coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Trenton.
Fr. O'Connell, 55, served as president of the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC for 12 years. Father may be familiar to many due to his appearances on CBS, ABC, and PBS, for discussions on the Faith.
Fr. O'Connell is scheduled to be ordained to the episcopacy on July 30 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Trenton, NJ.
The two traditional-centered parishes in the Diocese of Camden will be having large celebrations for the Feast of Corpus Christi:
MATER ECCLESIAE, BERLIN: Tonight, Fr. Robert Pasley, KHS, will celebrate a Choral High Mass at 7:30pm with an outdoor procession with the Blessed Sacrament and benediction at the various altars following the Mass. The music will be composed of the Gregorian propers, Victoria's Missa 'O Quam Gloriosum' and Saint-Saëns's Ave Verum Corpus.
ST. PETER, MERCHANTVILLE: On Saturday, there will be a Solemn Choral Mass in the Ordinary Form at 5:00pm followed by an outdoor procession with benediction at the various altars after Mass. The music will be Mozart's Messe in C KV 259. The celebrant will be Fr. Anthony Manuppella, KHS, V.F. assisted by Fr. Allain Caparas and Deacon Joseph McHugh.
At the 12 noon Mass on Sunday, there will be a Choral High Mass in the Extraordinary Form for the external solemnity of Corpus Christi (as permitted in the United States by Pope Leo XIII) followed by benediction. The celebrant will be Fr. Allain Caparas.
First it was the A's Dallas Braden, then last Saturday, it was the Phillies' Roy Halladay. So for many of us who follow baseball, we've noticed that pitching perfect games (which has only been done 20 times in Major League Baseball history) was becoming a recurring phenomenon, especially when Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galaragga was faced the Cleveland Indians' Jason Donald with two outs in the 9th.
Unfortunately for us who follow baseball, there's been another phenomenon going on: bad umping. Coming off the heels of the Joe West incident during the White Sox-Indians series last week, umpire Jim Joyce called what was arguably one of the worst calls in professional sports since the USA vs. USSR basketball game in the 1976 Olympics, by calling Donald safe (something that even Donald felt was the wrong call).
To his credit, Joyce is maned up and has apologized to Galaragga and Tigers manager Jim Leyland. That being said, it was still a bonehead call and it denied Galaragga his rightful place in baseball history. Detroit was hurting after that, Galaragga was hurting, the Tigers ball club was hurting, and all of us who follow baseball were hurting with them.
Or maybe it's just the Cleveland Indians...
UPDATE: Major League Baseball has decided not to reverse the call.
On this Memorial Day, I want to thank all those who have served honorably in our military, especially those who lost their lives in defense of God and country. And while you go out today for your family get-togethers, remember those family who have lost loved ones in line of duty, especially in the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, who are taking this day especially hard. Please say a prayer for them and the happy repose of the sould of their loved one.
"For those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, we are grateful that such men and women were among us. For those who continue to serve, we honor their commitment. For those who return to civilian life, we honor their service." - Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Indiana)
On a night that saw the Flyers lose a CLOSE one in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the City of Philadelphia and the entire Delaware Valley have a reason to celebrate thanks to pitcher Roy Halladay who, despite his past few starts, pitched a PERFECT GAME, just the second in Phillies history (the last one was by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky), the second this season (the Rockies' Ubaldo Jiminez and the A's Dallas Braeden, who did it earlier this season), and the 20th in Major League Baseball history.
A few days ago, we said goodbye to Art Linkletter, and now another celeb has left us. Actor (and politician) Gary Coleman, best known for his role as Arnold Jackson on Diff'rent Strokes, and who ran as a independent in the California election that recalled former Gov. Gray Davis (D) and elected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), passed away today. He was 42.
Archbishop Mechyslav Mokshytskyi, archbishop of the Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr, announced to the 35th Conference of the Latin Rite bishops of the Ukraine that Pope Benedict XVI intends to visit the Ukraine in 2012.
The Holy Father will be there to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the transfer of the transfer of the Episcopal capital from Halych to Lviv. He will also participate in the closing of the Ukraine's Eucharistic Congress. The Vatican hopes to develop huminitarian and cultural relations with the Ukraine during the papal visit.
As one who frequents the Ukrainian Byzantine rite of the Catholic Church, I am thrilled to hear that "our most holy and universal Supreme Pontiff, Benedict, Pope of Rome", will be visiting the Ukraine. At the same time, I understand the implications that this visit has regarding the often rocky relationship between the Holy See and the Patriarchate of Moscow.
While relations with the Russian Orthodox Church have improved significantly under Patriarch Kirill I (after the very confrontational relationship that the late-Patriarch Alexy II had with Ven. John Paul II), Moscow still has concerns about the western patriarch celebrating liturgies in the Ukraine where attitudes between Catholics and Orthodox Christians remain tense.
Pray for the speedy reunification of East and West, and pray that the Holy Father's visit to the Ukraine will be a success.
In the meantime, here's an example of the beautiful Ukrainian chants that I have come to love (though it cannot take the place of the wonderful Gregorian chant).
Two years ago today, I joined the Knights of Columbus. Today, I serve as membership director of my Council and was just nominated to be the next Inside Guard. I was also nominated to be my Assembly's Inner Sentinel. Despite all of those honors, I think the greatest honor is that as an only child, I now have over 1.8 million men around the world I can call brothers.
To date, we have seen a nice wave of anti-incumbent, anti-establishment victories in the primaries. On the GOP side, we've seen Rand Paul win the Kentucky Senate Primary and Sen. Bob Bennett in getting the pink slip in Utah thanks in part to the Tea Party movements. The anti-incumbent bug even claimed a Democrat when Sen. Arlen Specter lost the Pennsylvania primary.
However, one must not ignore the fact that some of the GOP establishments are not as bad as all of them, and I've caught a lot of flack for changing my endorsement to and running with Jon Runyan in the primary in my hometown, which is in Jon's district. You want an example of good establishment politicians? Fine.
Steve King is an Iowa Republican congressman. Steve is one of the strongest pro-life voices in Washington who promotes conservative causes, is an advocate for small government, and espouses much of what the Tea Party movement holds dear. He's also an establishment Republican. Do you want to see him leave Congress? Even Mr. Conservative, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina started out as an establishment candidate when he first ran for the United States House of Representatives.
So for the people in the 3rd NJ congressional district who are calling me a "kool aid drinker" for no longer backing Justin Murphy, let me ask you, if you want to reduce the size of government, how can you back a guy who has raised taxes as a Tabernacle councilman by 75 percent (and counting)?
Sometimes it matters to look at the candidate before you judge, huh?
TV personality Art Linkletter, who entertained countless people with such shows as Kids Say the Darnest Things, People Are Funny, and House Party, died yesterday at his home in Bel Air, CA. He was 92.
In addition to his contributions to the entertainment industry, Art was also a staunch Republican, one of the few conservative stalwarts in Hollywood. The Canadian-born friend of Ronald Reagan, Linkletter served as national chaiman of USA Next, a conservative alternative to the AARP.
Art was also known for turning tradgedy into triumph. When his daughter Diane commited suicide in 1969 after an alleged LSD trip, Art went around the country to promote drug prevention among children. Art released some pre-recorded talks entitled We Love You, Call Collect, which included responses from Diane entitled Dear Mom and Dad. The record earned Art a Grammy in 1970 for Best Spoken Word.
The Philadelphia Flyers have earned what seemed a few weeks ago a nice, wishful, but distant fantasy: a chance to win hockey's most highly coveted award: Lord Stanley's Cup. The 7th place Flyers defeat the eighth place Montreal Canadiens and will now face the Chicago Blackhawks in the finals.
The Pantheon (the Church of St. Mary and the Martyrs) in Rome has a very beautiful custom for the feast of Pentecost. From the opening in the ceiling of the church, red rose petals come streaming down symbolic of the toungues of fire that descended and rested on the heads of Our Lady and the apostles in the Upper Room on that first Pentecost.
It's ironic, and yet quite appropriate, that this custom be done at the Pantheon). In this building, incense was burned before the graven images of the Roman gods and those who persecuted the early Christians bowed before statues of Jupiter and other pagan imagery. And yet, the persecutors now lay cold and dead as the marble of their idols. Yet, in place of the goddess Juno, now is honored the great Mother of God, Mary, Queen of the Martyrs. In place of the honor given to Augustus, now prayers for the successors of St. Peter are heard at every corner of the temple. Where once the statue of Jupiter was bowed before, now incense rises to Heaven for Him who resides in the tabernacle, God with us, who is adored at every moment throughout the world, and whom is seen a greater honor to die for rather than to kill for.
Since the earliest days of the Church, we have lost many churches such as the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople which has been desecrated by the Mohammedan heretics and the Church of St. Genevieve in Paris which was desecrated by the repugnant modernist revolutionaries who almost certainly for conceited notions renamed it the Panthéon. Their occupation of our property cannot and will not compare to the victory of our gain of the Roman Pantheon, for the Pantheon was a victory for Christ to the end of time, while the heretics' reign will one day come to a crashing end and will bend the knee at the Name of Christ with the rest of us, even if they have to be forced to.
Veni, Creator Spiritus mentes tuorum visita, imple superna gratia, quae tu creasti pectora.
Being that yesterday was the feast of Pentecost, I always like to refer back to this op-ed piece written last year and published on the New York Times (Yep, you read that right, "hell's bible" published this piece, why can't they always be this normal?):
LATIN MASS APPEAL By KENNETH J. WOLFE Published: November 28, 2009
WALKING into church 40 years ago on this first Sunday of Advent, many Roman Catholics might have wondered where they were. The priest not only spoke English rather than Latin, but he faced the congregation instead of the tabernacle; laymen took on duties previously reserved for priests; folk music filled the air. The great changes of Vatican II had hit home.
All this was a radical break from the traditional Latin Mass, codified in the 16th century at the Council of Trent. For centuries, that Mass served as a structured sacrifice with directives, called “rubrics,” that were not optional. This is how it is done, said the book. As recently as 1947, Pope Pius XII had issued an encyclical on liturgy that scoffed at modernization; he said that the idea of changes to the traditional Latin Mass “pained” him “grievously.”
Paradoxically, however, it was Pius himself who was largely responsible for the momentous changes of 1969. It was he who appointed the chief architect of the new Mass, Annibale Bugnini, to the Vatican’s liturgical commission in 1948.
Bugnini was born in 1912 and ordained a Vincentian priest in 1936. Though Bugnini had barely a decade of parish work, Pius XII made him secretary to the Commission for Liturgical Reform. In the 1950s, Bugnini led a major revision of the liturgies of Holy Week. As a result, on Good Friday of 1955, congregations for the first time joined the priest in reciting the Pater Noster, and the priest faced the congregation for some of the liturgy.
The next pope, John XXIII, named Bugnini secretary to the Preparatory Commission for the Liturgy of Vatican II, in which position he worked with Catholic clergymen and, surprisingly, some Protestant ministers on liturgical reforms. In 1962 he wrote what would eventually become the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the document that gave the form of the new Mass.
Many of Bugnini’s reforms were aimed at appeasing non-Catholics, and changes emulating Protestant services were made, including placing altars to face the people instead of a sacrifice toward the liturgical east. As he put it, “We must strip from our ... Catholic liturgy everything which can be the shadow of a stumbling block for our separated brethren, that is, for the Protestants.” (Paradoxically, the Anglicans who will join the Catholic Church as a result of the current pope’s outreach will use a liturgy that often features the priest facing in the same direction as the congregation.)
How was Bugnini able to make such sweeping changes? In part because none of the popes he served were liturgists. Bugnini changed so many things that John’s successor, Paul VI, sometimes did not know the latest directives. The pope once questioned the vestments set out for him by his staff, saying they were the wrong color, only to be told he had eliminated the week-long celebration of Pentecost and could not wear the corresponding red garments for Mass. The pope’s master of ceremonies then witnessed Paul VI break down in tears.
Bugnini fell from grace in the 1970s. Rumors spread in the Italian press that he was a Freemason, which if true would have merited excommunication. The Vatican never denied the claims, and in 1976 Bugnini, by then an archbishop, was exiled to a ceremonial post in Iran. He died, largely forgotten, in 1982.
But his legacy lived on. Pope John Paul II continued the liberalizations of Mass, allowing females to serve in place of altar boys and to permit unordained men and women to distribute communion in the hands of standing recipients. Even conservative organizations like Opus Dei adopted the liberal liturgical reforms.
But Bugnini may have finally met his match in Benedict XVI, a noted liturgist himself who is no fan of the past 40 years of change. Chanting Latin, wearing antique vestments and distributing communion only on the tongues (rather than into the hands) of kneeling Catholics, Benedict has slowly reversed the innovations of his predecessors. And the Latin Mass is back, at least on a limited basis, in places like Arlington, Va., where one in five parishes offer the old liturgy.
Benedict understands that his younger priests and seminarians — most born after Vatican II — are helping lead a counterrevolution. They value the beauty of the solemn high Mass and its accompanying chant, incense and ceremony. Priests in cassocks and sisters in habits are again common; traditionalist societies like the Institute of Christ the King are expanding.
At the beginning of this decade, Benedict (then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) wrote: “The turning of the priest toward the people has turned the community into a self-enclosed circle. In its outward form, it no longer opens out on what lies ahead and above, but is closed in on itself.” He was right: 40 years of the new Mass have brought chaos and banality into the most visible and outward sign of the church. Benedict XVI wants a return to order and meaning. So, it seems, does the next generation of Catholics.
Kenneth J. Wolfe writes frequently for traditionalist Roman Catholic publications.
Today on Studio B with Shepherd Smith on Fox News, Shep discussed with Judge Andrew Napolitano a case in Pennsylvania of a 17-year old girl who was charged with child pornography. Now, here's the whole gist of the story: the 17-year old girl had her cell phone confiscated after she was caught using it at school. Ok, fine, she was violating school policy.
Here's where it gets interesting:
The principal then proceeded to search the phone for its contents and in the process, discovered pictures of a scantily clad teenager on the phone. The teenager? The 17-year old girl whose phone it was. After the pictures were brought to the local authorities, the girl was told that she would be charged with child pornography (pictures of herself) if she and her parents didn't complete a five-week course on violence and victimization. She refused and was charged with the crime. She sued the principal, the police, and everybody else that was involved in the whole fiasco.
Let me just say, I don't condone pornography or so-called "sexting", and I believe that the best way to solve the problem of pornography is a strong traditional family background centered upon God. That being said, if anyone should be on trial, it should be the principal whose actions were a clear violation of the teenage girl's Fourth Amendment rights. While the principal had every right to confiscate the phone because it violated school policy, the content of said phone is personal and had nothing to do with school policy. As Judge Napolitano pointed out, there is no evidence that she showed anyone the pictures or that she sent them to anyone. It was stictly her private property to be guarded by her own initiative. The story wasn't out in the general public until Principal Nosey decided to take it to the police and thus made it public knowledge.
This case alarms me greatly about the general liberties which are protected by our Constitution. If the liberties of minors are violated, who's to say that our's aren't in any more danger than theirs?
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post endorsing former Justin Murphy for Congress. My view of Murphy at the time was that he was a small government, anti-tax Republican who would defend the true American cause.
I'm writing this to say this, and you can quote me "I WAS DEAD WRONG".
In his time as councilman of Tabernacle, NJ, Justin Murphy has voted to increase property taxes by 70 percent. Property taxes skyrocketed so bad that his fellow Republicans on the Tabernacle council declined to support his re-election. Also on my key issue, Murphy's actual position on the issue is similar to that of his opponent (wow, what an option). And now it has come to light that in 2008, when Murphy ran as an anti-establisment Republican, Murphy failed to go out and vote for himself. If he doesn't have the time to vote for himself, what makes me think that he has the time to vote for me.
That is why I'm taking this opportunity to rescind my endorsement of Justin Murphy and officially announce my endorsement of Jon Runyan, the former offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles. Jon's commitment to the people of the third congressional district is inspiring and talking to Jon, he has proven to me that while Justin Murphy can talk a good talk, Jon's blue-collar background and how he relates to the rest of hard-working America, that he is our best chance to beat John Adler in November.
On June 8, VOTE FOR JON RUNYAN AND THE REST OF THE COLUMN ONE GOP TICKET! (And yes, that includes myself Cherry Hill, haha!)
Yesterday, the continued feeling of anti-incumbency was certainly being felt in Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and in a sense, Kentucky.
The first big piece of news came from the Bluegrass State where Rand Paul trounced Trey Grayson, carrying just under 60% of the vote. An outsider, Paul's name certainly helped him defeat Grayson, the highly-favored of the GOP establishment both in Washington and Frankfort. Paul will face Jack Conway, who pulled off a win against Lt. Gov. Don Mongiardo for the Democrat nomination. Paul is carrying the early lead he enjoyed against Grayson going into the general race.
In the Keystone State, the big anticipated upset has happened. Five-term incumbent Arlen Specter lost the Democrat nomination to two-term Rep. Joe Sestak. Specter, who switched from Republican to Spectercrat early last year, played a role while he was with the GOP by voting for President Obama's stimulus package. He also enjoyed the support of the President and DSCC (you can add Specter to list of Deeds, Corzine, and Coakley which are on the list of the the fallen thanks to Obama's support).
And despite Blanche Lincoln's upbeat (and somewhat arrogant) speech this morning, she is certainly feeling the heat of anti-incumbency as she now goes to a run-off against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. The winner of that race will face Rep. John Boozman, who won the Republican nomination handily, in November.
Today is a huge day for all of us who follow American politics. But this year's midterm Super Tuesday is going to be something of a preview of what to expect in anticipation of November. There are two particular Senate race that should be thrillers to watch. Let's look at them:
KENTUCKY-This race may just have started the anti-incumbent revolution with tea party champion Dr. Rand Paul (R) of Bowling Green poised to pull off an upset of Secretary of State Trey Grayson.
Grayson, who has been endorsed by such names as former Vice President Dick Cheney, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, has been trailing for the better part of the campaign to Paul, son of Texas congressman and 2008 GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul, who has been endorsed by former VP candidate Sarah Palin, Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson, businessman Steve Forbes, conservative champion Sen. Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), and the man whose seat Paul and Grayson are seeking, retiring Sen. Jim Buuning. Paul has also been endorsed by a number of pro-life and pro-second amendment organizations in Kentucky.
PENNSYLVANIA- Incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter, a Democrat-turned RINO-turned Spectercrat, is running a very tight race with Rep. Joe Sestak for the Democrat nomination. According to some polls, Sestak holds onto a tiny one-point lead over Specter. Whoever wins the nomination gets the chance to run against (or be the sacrificial lamb) to Club for Growth president and former Rep. Pat Toomey, who is poised to win the Republican nomination handily, in November. If he doesn't get the nomination, it should be interesting to see if Specter switches back to the Republican Party.
As I was getting the scoop this morning from the news outlet and the blogosphere, I ran into this story on Fr. Z's blog which he got from the Shanghai Times:
Aborted baby cries before cremation By Wang Xiang | 2010-5-14
AN aborted baby declared dead by doctors in south China's Guangdong Province cried before he was due to be cremated, but died hours later as doctors refused to treat him.
A mortuary worker at Nanhai Funeral Home in Foshan City said the baby cried and scared him as he was about to throw the coffin into a furnace, Information Times reported today.
He opened the box and found the seven-month fetus moving, but apparently choking on some cotton wool in his mouth, the report said.
After the worker cleared his mouth, the baby yawned and breathed peacefully. Workers rushed him back to Guanyao Hospital which delivered the baby as medical waste earlier that day.
But doctors left him in the lobby, and confirmed after an hour that the baby died.
The vice head of the funeral house said Guanyao Hospital sent many aborted fetuses or still-born babies for cremation. This baby apparently survived an abortion at seven months, and he had videos to prove the baby was still alive before the cremation.
Hospital official Liu Sanhong said its staff checked the baby for an hour and made sure it was dead. Liu did not say whether the doctors tried to save the baby or not.
The body was later sent back to the funeral house. The report said all workers were ordered not to talk about the incident.
On March 31, at least 21 fetuses and dead babies were found dumped in a river in east China's Jining City.
Eight had tabs with clinic code numbers attached to their feet. The Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University responsible for the corpses said they were "medical waste."
Two hospital staffers have been detained while the director and deputy director of the hospital's logistics department were sacked. A vice president of the hospital was suspended.
Stories like this always strike a chord with me. My grandmother was half-Chinese who immersed me in the various aspects of the Chinese culture, full in its richness and wonder. However, it was also my grandmother who helped immerse me in the even richer aspects of the Catholic religion. It devastates me when I think of how Catholics are made to suffer by the Chinese government. And it also disgusts me when I see that the most fundemental teachings of Christ is violated, especially by a temporal, yet tyranical, organization of men. It sickens me.
Please pray for the conversion of the Chinese government and the Chinese people to Christ and His Church and the consecration of China to Our Lady of China, for it is through Mary that we come to Christ which lies the ultimate victory.
Hail, Holy Mary, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mother of all nations and all people. You are the special heavenly Mother of the Chinese people.
Teach us your way of total obedience to God's will. Help us to live our lives true to our faith. Fill our hearts with burning love for God and each other. Stir up in our youth an unconditional giving of self to the service of God.
We call on your powerful intercession for peace, reconciliation and unity among believers and the conversion of the unbelievers in China and throughout the world, for God's mercy is our only hope.
Our Lady of China, Mother of Jesus, hear our petitions and pray for us. Amen. (IMPRIMATUR: Bishop William E. Lori, S.T.D.; Diocese of Bridgeport. 2001)
In a ceremony held at St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI elevated 24 new Princes of the Church. Among those called to the Sacred College of Cardinals are two Americans: Raymond Cardinal Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, and Donald Cardinal Wuerl, cardinal archbishop of Washington. Among the others worthy mention here include Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, cardinal archbishop of Columbo, and 93-year old Domenico Cardinal Bartolucci, the maestro in perpetuo emeritus of the Sistine Chapel.
