Young person tells experience of defending Cathedral from feminist horde

Buenos Aires, Oct 10, 2008 / 01:28 pm (CNA).- Pablo is one of the one hundred Argentinean young people who stood outside the Cathedral of Neuquen on August 17 to shield the church from protests by feminists who want abortion to be legalized.

Thousands of people have been moved by a video of the young people posted on CNA’s YouTube channel, which shows the ferocity of the confrontation by the feminists who were gathered for the National Encounter of Women in Neuquen. They shouted insults and threw objects at the young people who were shielding the Cathedral.

One of the young people at the Cathedral was 21 year-old Pablo, who was interviewed by Javier Tebas of the website ReligionEnLibertad.com and revealed details about what happened that afternoon.

“Everything lasted more or less an hour and forty minutes. It was terrible. They wouldn’t go away. They screamed at us, they spat on us, they threw cans and rocks, they tore up an Argentinean flag and burned it. We were only praying one Hail Mary after another, without stopping, praying for each one of them, praying for each aborted child, praying for our Church and her pastors, and also in reparation for the blasphemies,” Pablo said.

Despite the tension, “we felt an extraordinary peace, and all of us who were there agreed [it was] a peace that cannot come from anyone else besides our Lord and God. We felt his consolation in our souls.”

Asked if they felt tempted to respond to the aggressions with violence, Pablo responded that all the young people came with the intention of “resisting to the last drop of our blood. Some guys up in front became very upset, because they insulted the Virgin Mary, calling her a lesbian. You feel like doing everything, but we know that our testimony needs to be different, and the virtue of fortitude is more perfect when we resist than when we attack.”

According to Pablo, after that experience in Neuquen, the young people were more committed to “living life as it truly is: a battle, a war.” “I think it is time to wake up, we must be aware that if we don’t do it, nobody will. Nobody will bear witness to hope if we Catholics do not do it. The world is waiting, the world expects that we go out to find it and conquer it.”

The video can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp0oMKGFTyk .

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The fight against Futurechurch: seminarians

From WDTPRS:

"I found a very engaging post at Damian Thompson’s place Holy Smoke:

Let’s have a glance with my emphases and comments.

The fight against Futurechurch: seminarians

Posted By: Damian Thompson at Oct 10, 2008 at 14:38:45

Do you know what makes liberal Catholic clergy wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night? It’s not the return of the Tridentine Mass. It’s not the fact that Ratzinger is Pope. It’s not their rapidly dwindling congregations.


Seminarians are taking over the world

What terrifies the old trendies is a new generation of conservative seminarians, who are gradually turning into a new generation of conservative priests - just as the supply of liberals is drying up. [This is certainly the case in the USA as well. The seminary I was in the US was a hell-hole of heresy and sheer dopiness. But then the student body began to shift. The faculty simply couldn’t throw that many guys out, and word was getting back to bishops about how bad things were there. Slowly but surely the student body changed the seminary, and eventually the bishop made some changes as well, good ones. Now that seminary is for the most part sound. The aging hippies now openly lament the loss of their 60’s dreams and mutter gloomy warnings about how "conserrrrrvativvvve" the seminarians now are.]

Until very recently, seminaries managed to screen out the more orthodox candidates. "Psychologically immature" was the code for "obedient to the Magisterium", and so effective was the process that dozens of vocations were successfully squashed. In the 1980s and 90s, English seminaries were run by a grey-shirted Magic Circle politburo, assisted (not to say bullied) by frightful middle-aged women whose liturgical preferences were only just the right side of Wicca. [LOL! Well put. But I must say that they weren’t to the right of Wicca where I was. At our place there were invocations of the "earth mother goddess", "Sophia", and the "Bringer of Light" – all blended with tacky silliness.]

One or two conservatives slipped through the net, by hiding copies of Fortescue under their beds and slipping each other photographs of fiddleback chasubles that they could admire in private. In public, however, they were careful to wear the seminary uniform of jeans and CND T-shirt, and even to swallow the Bitter Pill without gagging. [The "Bitter Pill" is the lefty UK weekly "The Tablet".]

But times are changing. Dreary Leftist seminary rectors have retired or became Magic Circle bishops, the Wiccan "pastoral advisers" have fallen out of favour, and conservative candidates for the seminary have started presenting themselves faster than they can be turned down. "It’s a bit like the Somme - no sooner have you wiped out one wave of infantry than another appears," says my source. [LOL!]

Futurechurch is losing this battle. Some Magic Circle rectors are ready to run up the white flag. I could mention a couple of English seminaries where orthodox doctrine is taught pretty rigorously. That’s in sharp contrast to the situation 20 years ago. (As one London priest told me this week, "I came away from seminary knowing only two things - that St Augustine of Hippo and St Augustine of Canterbury were different people, and that Julian of Norwich was a woman.")

The other day, I saw a photograph of seminarians and staff at Allen Hall, Westminster. I reckon you could tell just by looking at them that the students were more conservative than their teachers. [YES] The same is true of the Venerable English College in Rome, where – perhaps because it is a breeding ground for bishops – the Magic Circle is clinging on to power. "Students still have to don a false beard if they slip out to attend a Tridentine Mass," I’m told. [I think rubber nose and glasses might work better.]

Some of the really Left-wing dioceses have adopted a disgraceful tactic: rather than put forward conservative candidates for ordination, they’ve stopped looking for future priests completely. Hence all this guff about "lay empowerment": the lay people being empowered are all "made men" (if I can use such a sexist term) in the mafia of the mediocre.

But don’t despair. Conservative seminarians are getting ordained, and in a few years’ time the dioceses will run out of goody-goody Tabletistas on whom to bestow plum parishes. And then, who knows? A conservative bishop? Stranger things have happened.

Just what are the odds these days on His Hermenuticalness being named the next Archbishop of Westminster? Are odds still being offered?"

• UK seminaries: the seminarians are making the difference

Our Lady of the Rosary, Ever Victorious

From Without Having Seen: Meanderings in Faith From One Hoping to Grow in Charity:

"I originally wrote this piece for print in a parish newsletter for the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary two years ago. I have revised it slightly, and added a bit to the end.

After 800 years of nearly constant defense, Constantinople, the Rome of the East, fell to attacking Muslim armies. From the year of its fall, 1453, Muslim Turks poured into Europe. By 1571, not only were all the Balkans under brutal Turkish Muslim rule, but the Protestant Reformation had been racking Europe and destroying Christian unity in the West for two generations. Catholic Europe was disintegrating on the inside and being overrun from the outside. In 1571, a great Muslim fleet sailed from Lepanto, in Turkish-ruled Greece, in a bid to dominate the entire Mediterranean. If the Mediterranean fell, there would be nothing to protect Europe from another invasion from the South. Don Juan of Austria, a Spaniard by birth and a devout Catholic, commanded the only Christian fleet that stood in the way. It was considerably smaller than the Turkish fleet. The enemies of holy Christian Faith had, to all appearances, great cause to rejoice. Pope St. Pius V called on all Christians to pray the rosary and to beg Mother Mary to save the West.

On the morning of October 7, 1571, which happened to be the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, with practically every Catholic in Europe fervently praying their rosaries, the massive naval battle was joined. In an amazing upset, the Christian fleet not only won, but won in just five hours, virtually destroying the Turkish fleet. Don Juan captured over half of the Turkish ships, and his fleet suffered only a little harm. Tens of thousands of Christian galley-slaves were set free, and Europe’s southern coast was secured. Nobody doubted that Our Lady of Victory, answering the call of the rosary, had come to Christendom's defense. In honor of her devotion, the feast was renamed to be Our Lady of the Rosary.

In our times we witness not only the Christian faith dividing and even apparently dissolving. In places where crowds once packed into cathedrals, now only a few tourists wander into them. At the same time, militant Islamists are fighting the West with ferocious new vigor. Those who hate our Christian Faith again seem to have ample reason to rejoice.

But we have a cause of hope that is greater than they understand. That’s what the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is about. What Don Juan had no hope of accomplishing on his own, Our Lady brought about for him. He barely had to break a sweat! It is as if each rosary bead were a cannonball. On that October morning, hundreds of millions of cannonballs were fired from all across Europe at the enemies of Christian Faith. The rosary is a nice devotion to Mary, yes; but we must not forget that it is a weapon. There is no question of hating secularizing atheists or Islamist terrorists; we Christians are not permitted to hate, “for we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against… this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness,” (Eph 6:12). Again St. Paul writes, “We are not carrying on a worldly war, for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds,” (2 Cor 10:3-4). Spiritual warfare is fought with spiritual weapons. Among them, second only to the Holy Mass, is Our Lady’s rosary. Do you fear for your faith, or for the faith of your children and grandchildren? Then cling to your Rosary! From whatever quarters holy Christian Faith comes under attack, we only delude ourselves if we do not know who our true enemy is. And he is already beaten by Jesus Christ. The enemy of souls, however impressive his battle fleet may seem, is always and everywhere turned back at the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.

On a personal note, the Rosary is a perfect prayer for the laity. For me it has been a source of great consolation, a useful help in discernment, and a nice way to while away time with our Lord and Lady, rather than waste it with headphones. It does not require difficult training or the purchase of expensive, rare, or really any books at all. The verbal prayers are simply enough for a small child and the mental meditations are profound enough for a very advanced mystic. The verbal prayers, said silently or aloud, communally or privately, serve as a platform for reflection on the life of Jesus and Mary, and that reflection serves as the medium for entering into their heart and giving them access to yours. It isn't a "technique" as if communion with God were a skill; it is simple and intimate, like we'd expect of time spent sitting on Mama Mary's lap, next to the Baby Jesus. Since it was first promoted by St. Dominic in the 12th century, its usefulness for every spiritual purpose has been endorsed by the word and example of virtually every pontiff and saint. If you don't know how to pray it, check out the website for Rosary Army."

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Pope to Patriarch: We Need Unity Faster

Benedict XVI Tells Alexy II the Times Urge Haste

By Inmaculada Álvarez

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 6, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI sent a personal message to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II saying that modern times call for a hastening of the journey toward Christian unity.

The Sept. 22 message was hand-delivered to Alexy II by the archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, on an official visit to Moscow at the invitation of the patriarch. The cardinal gave the message to the patriarch in a meeting that lasted a little more than an hour last Thursday.

"I have a deep affection for all the Orthodox brethren, and I am particularly close to them in these most recent days when conflict has caused significant suffering to peoples so dear to me," the Holy Father said. "I never cease to offer daily prayers for peace, asking the Lord that the appeals of Your Holiness to resolve all hostility for the good of the nations may be heeded."

He added: "Faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ is a bond that unites hearts in a profound way and invites us all to strengthen our commitment to manifest to the world a shared witness of living together respectfully and peacefully.

"Our times, marked so often by conflict and grief, make it even more necessary to hasten the journey toward the full unity of all the disciples of Christ, so that the joyous message of salvation may be spread to all humanity."

Getting closer

Cardinal Sepe told Vatican Radio on the day of his meeting with Alexy II that the Orthodox and Catholic Churches are growing ever closer, "as the patriarch himself emphasized with emotion."

"The impression is that a very important step has been taken to create a climate of closeness and mutual respect, of fraternity and friendship," he added.

Bishop Vincenzo Paglia of Terni, president of the Italian bishops' ecumenism commission, who was also present in the meeting with Alexy II, said that the process of growing closer should proceed with meetings between the various pastors of both Churches.

On the path to unity, the bishop added, "meetings between experts are no longer sufficient." Rather, ecumenism "is a coming together of the Churches."

And, Bishop Paglia affirmed, ecumenism is more and more "a demand of contemporary society."

"The harmony between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church is ever more evident," he said, referring to the challenges presented to all Christians in Europe and contemporary society. "Certain limits and challenges can only be faced from a perspective of unity."

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On the Net:

Benedict XVI's letter: www.zenit.org/article-23823?l=english

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Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

Reading 1
Gal 1:13-24

Brothers and sisters:
You heard of my former way of life in Judaism,
how I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure
and tried to destroy it,
and progressed in Judaism
beyond many of my contemporaries among my race,
since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions.
But when he, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart
and called me through his grace,
was pleased to reveal his Son to me,
so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles,
I did not immediately consult flesh and blood,
nor did I go up to Jerusalem
to those who were Apostles before me;
rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus.

Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas
and remained with him for fifteen days.
But I did not see any other of the Apostles,
only James the brother of the Lord.
(As to what I am writing to you, behold,
before God, I am not lying.)
Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
And I was unknown personally to the churches of Judea
that are in Christ;
they only kept hearing that “the one who once was persecuting us
is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
So they glorified God because of me.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15

R. (24b) Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.

Gospel
Lk 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.”

"This new 'flying bishop' plan is lunacy "

From Damian Thompson:

"The plan to create a new breed of souped-up "flying bishop" to protect Church of England traditionalists from women bishops is so wacky that it belongs in a children's cartoon rather than a body claiming to be a historic wing of the apostolic Church.

It conjures up images of Superbishop gliding into the vestry of St Dorothy's, mitre in hand, and telling a group of terrified traddies: "Never fear! With my NEW MAGIC POWERS I can zap women bishops as well as women priests." And the traddies replying, in quavering voices: "Oh, thank you, Superbishop! Now we are now safe from Womanbishop and her evil minions!"

This Hanna-Barbera plan, revealed by my colleague Jonathan Wynne-Jones, gives off a strong whiff of desperation. And I'm not just referring to the feelings of the Archbishop of Canterbury..."

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McCain Takes Off Gloves, Slaps Obama with Them

From Time's Ana Marie Cox:

"McCain's at an Albequerque event happening as I type; his prepared remarks have him taking his most direct jabs at Obama yet:

This is the agenda I have set before my fellow citizens. And the same standards of clarity and candor must now be applied to my opponent. Even at this late hour in the campaign, there are essential things we don't know about Senator Obama or the record that he brings to this campaign.

We have all heard what he has said, but it is less clear what he has done or what he will do. What Senator Obama says today and what he has done in the past are often two different things. He has often changed his positions in this campaign, and the best way to determine where he would really take this country is to examine where he has tried to take it in the past.

My opponent has invited serious questioning by announcing a few weeks ago that he would quote -- "take off the gloves." Since then, whenever I have questioned his policies or his record, he has called me a liar.

Rather than answer his critics, Senator Obama will try to distract you from noticing that he never answers the serious and legitimate questions he has been asked. But let me reply in the plainest terms I know. I don't need lessons about telling the truth to American people. And were I ever to need any improvement in that regard, I probably wouldn't seek advice from a Chicago politician. My opponent's touchiness every time he is questioned about his record should make us only more concerned. For a guy who's already authored two memoirs, he's not exactly an open book. It's as if somehow the usual rules don't apply, and where other candidates have to explain themselves and their records, Senator Obama seems to think he is above all that. Whatever the question, whatever the issue, there's always a back story with Senator Obama. All people want to know is: What has this man ever actually accomplished in government? What does he plan for America? In short: Who is the real Barack Obama? But ask such questions and all you get in response is another barrage of angry insults.

Whole thing is after the jump. The speech's main thrust? "Even at this late hour in the campaign, there are essential things we don't know about Senator Obama."

Audience reacting wildly to every (negative) mention of the Illinois senator.

In less than a month, the American people will make a choice on where they want this country to go, and who they trust to lead us in a time of war and economic crisis. The time for debating and electioneering is drawing to a close. Soon it will be the time for choosing. Today we have seen a reminder of the importance of that choice. The action Congress took last week to address our financial crisis was a tourniquet, but not a permanent solution. Today we are seeing the stock market fall, and the credit crisis spread to other parts of the world. Our economy is still hurting -- working families are worried about the price of groceries, the price of gas, keeping their jobs and paying their mortgage -- further action is needed. We need to restore confidence in our economy and in our government. Washington is still on the wrong track and we still need change. The status quo is not on the ballot. We are going to see change in Washington. The question is: in what direction will we go? Will our country be a better place under the leadership of the next president -- a more secure, prosperous, and just society? Will you be better off, in the jobs you hold now and in the opportunities you hope for? Will your sons and daughters grow up in the kind of country you wish for them, rising in the world and finding in their own lives the best of America? And which candidate's experience -- in government and in life -- makes him a more reliable leader for our country and commander in chief for our troops? Who is ready to lead? In a time of trouble and danger for our country, who will put our country first? I set out on my own campaign for president many months ago. I promised at the beginning to be straight with the American people, knowing that even those who don't agree with me on everything would expect at least that much. I didn't just show up out of nowhere [This line just got a HUGE response from the audience. -- amc ]] after all -- America knows me. You know my strengths and my faults. You know my story and my convictions. And though familiarity in politics can be both helpful to a candidate, or not so helpful, it does at least fill out the picture and answer the essential questions. You need to know who you're putting in the White House -- where the candidate came from and what he or she believes. And you need to know now, before it is time to choose. In 21 months, during hundreds of speeches, town halls and debates, I have kept my promise to level with you about my plans to reform Washington and get this country moving again. As a senator, I've seen the corrupt ways of Washington in wasteful spending and other abuses of power, and as president I'm going to end them -- whatever it takes. I will propose and sign into law reforms to bring tax relief to the middle class and help to businesses so they can create jobs. I will get the rising cost of food and gas under control. I will help families keep their home, and help students struggling to pay for college. I will make health care more accessible and affordable. I will impose a spending freeze on all but the most vital functions of government. I will review every agency of the federal government, improve those that need to be improved and eliminate those that aren't working for the American people. I will confront th e ten trillion-dollar debt that the federal government has run up, and balance the federal budget by the end of my term in office. This is the agenda I have set before my fellow citizens. And the same standards of clarity and candor must now be applied to my opponent. Even at this late hour in the campaign, there are essential things we don't know about Senator Obama or the record that he brings to this campaign. We have all heard what he has said, but it is less clear what he has done or what he will do. What Senator Obama says today and what he has done in the past are often two different things. He has often changed his positions in this campaign, and the best way to determine where he would really take this country is to examine where he has tried to take it in the past. My opponent has invited serious questioning by announcing a few weeks ago that he would quote -- "take off the gloves." Since then, whenever I have questioned his policies or his record, he has called me a liar. Rather than answer his critics, Senator Obama will try to distract you from noticing that he never answers the serious and legitimate questions he has been asked. But let me reply in the plainest terms I know. I don't need lessons about telling the truth to American people. And were I ever to need any improvement in that regard, I probably wouldn't seek advice from a Chicago politician. My opponent's touchiness every time he is questioned about his record should make us only more concerned. For a guy who's already authored two memoirs, he's not exactly an open book. It's as if somehow the usual rules don't apply, and where other candidates have to explain themselves and their records, Senator Obama seems to think he is above all that. Whatever the question, whatever the issue, there's always a back story with Senator Obama. All people want to know is: What has this man ever actually accomplished in government? What does he plan for America? In short: Who is the real Barack Obama? But ask such questions and all you get in response is another barrage of angry insults. Our current economic crisis is a good case in point. What was his actual record in the years before the great economic crisis of our lifetimes? This crisis started in our housing market in the form of subprime loans that were pushed on people who could not afford them. Bad mortgages were being backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and it was only a matter of time before a contagion of unsustainable debt began to spread. This corruption was encouraged by Democrats in Congress, and abetted by Senator Obama. Senator Obama has accused me of opposing regulation to avert this crisis. I guess he believes if a lie is big enough and repeated often enough it will be believed. But the truth is I was the one who called at the time for tighter restrictions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that could have helped prevent this crisis from happening in the first place. Senator Obama was silent on the regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and his Democratic allies in Congress opposed every effort to rein them in. As recently as September of last year he said that subprime loans had been, quote, "a good idea." Well, Senator Obama, that "good idea" has now plunged this country into the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. To hear him talk now, you'd think he'd always opposed the dangerous practices at these institutions. But there is absolutely nothing in his record to suggest he did. He was surely familiar with the people who were creating this problem. The executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have advised him, and he has taken their money for his campaign. He has received more money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than any other senator in history, with the exception of the chairman of the committee overseeing them. Did he ever talk to the executives at Fannie and Freddie about these reckless loans? Did he ever discuss with them the stronger oversight I proposed? If Senator Obama is such a champion of financial regulation, why didn't he support these regulations that could have prevented this crisis in the first place? He won't tell you, but you deserve an answer. Even after he refused to lift a finger to prevent this crisis, when the crisis hit, he was missing in action. He didn't start making calls to round up votes until after the rescue bill failed in the House and the markets crashed. We continue to see the price of delay today as the markets continue to fall. Today the DOW has fallen below 10,000. And yet, members of his own party said they felt no pressure to vote for the bill. Why didn't Senator Obama work to pass this bill from the start? Why did he let it fail and drag out this crisis for a full week before doing a thing to help pass it? Again on taxes, we see a difference between what Senator Obama says today, what he said yesterday and what he has actually done. Over the course of this campaign, he has had many different plans to raise your taxes. During the Democratic primary, he promised to double taxes on every American with a dividend or an investment. He promised to raise payroll taxes. He promised higher taxes on electricity. Now, Senator Obama claims he will give 95 percent of Americans tax relief. He actually promised the same thing when he was running for Senate in Illinois, but once elected he never introduced legislation to do so. Instead, he voted for the Democratic budget resolution that promised to raise taxes on people making just 42,000 dollars a year. At the time, he even said his vote was intended to get "our nation's priorities back on track." If he's such a defender of the middle class, why did he vote to raise their taxes? Whatever ha ppened to the tax relief he promised them when he was a candidate for the Senate? And why should middle class Americans trust him to keep promises he has already broken? Senator Obama and I both have differences with how President Bush has handled the economy. But he thinks taxes are too low, and I think spending is too high. The government's out of control spending has resulted in a weaker dollar, raising the cost of groceries and gasoline, and killing jobs. I will veto pork barrel legislation and cut wasteful government spending. Senator Obama has a different plan. According to third party estimates, he will increase government spending by over 860 billion dollars. He has denied it, but he has refused to tell you how much he does plan to spend. What is the total of his increased spending? Americans deserve to know just how much more of their money Senator Obama intends to spend, and how much more debt he plans to burden them with. Senator Obama has also criticized earmark spending, those wasteful pork barrel projects stuck in spending bills behind closed doors. And yet, despite his talk on the campaign trail, his actual record is full of requests for earmark projects. In his three short years in the Senate, he has requested nearly a billion dollars in pork projects for his state -- a million dollars for every day he's been in office. Far from fighting earmarks in Congress, Senator Obama has been an eager participant in this corrupt system. In one instance, he sought more than 3 million dollars for a new projector at a planetarium in his hometown. Coincidentally, the chairman of that planetarium pledged to raise more than $200,000 for Senator Obama's campaign. We don't know if they ever discussed the money for the planetarium, and no one has asked Senator Obama. But even the appearance of this kind of insider-dealing disgusts Americans. I'm going to put a stop to that, my friends, if I'm President. I have made every single donor to my campaign publicly available, while Senator Obama has taken in over 200 million dollars from undisclosed sources. We have already seen the potential for fraud because of his refusal to disclose his donors. His campaign had to return $33,000 in illegal foreign funds from Palestinian donors, and this weekend, we found out about another $28,000 in illegal donations. Why has Senator Obama refused to disclose the people who are funding his campaign? Again, the American people deserve answers. On health care, Senator Obama has been misleading you about my plan to give you more money for health care, and he has been equally misleading about his own plans. He has said his goal is a single payer system where government is in charge of health care and bureaucrats stand between you and your doctor. Under the plan he has proposed, he will fine families that don't have the kind of health insurance that Senator Obama tells them to purchase. He will fine employers who do not offer the health insurance that he thinks they should offer. What he doesn't say, and what nobody has asked, is how big his fines will be. What he doesn't want you to know is that with a small fine, his plan will encourage companies to just pay the fine, drop existing health care coverage for their employees and leave them with only one real option: government run health care. Who is the real Senator Obama? Is he the candidate who promises to cut middle class taxes, or the politician who voted to raise middle class taxes? Is he the candidate who talks about regulation or the politician who took money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and turned a blind eye as they ran our economy into a ditch? Is he the candidate who promises change, or is he the politician who has bought into everything that is wrong with Washington? We can't change the system with someone who's never fought the system. Washington is on the wrong track and I'm going to set it right. The American people know my record. They know I am going to change Washington, because I've done it before. They know I'm going to reform our broken institutions in Washington and on Wall Street because I've done it before. They know I'm going to deliver relief to the middle class, because that's what I've done. You don't have to hope that things will change when you vote for me. You know things will change, because I have been fighting for change in Washington my whole career. I've been fighting for you my whole life. That's what I'm going to do as President of the United States. Fight for you and put the government back on the side of the people. Thank you."

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Dignity of Priesthood

"Priesthood is the highest dignity on earth. The dignity of a priest surpasses that of emperors, and even of angels. No angel can convert bread into the Body of Christ by the mere power of his word, nor can any angel forgive sin. The priest stands between God and man. He is God's Representative, God's ambassador. Therefore whatever honor we pay to the priest, we render to God himself. St. Francis of Assisi said that if he met an angel and a priest at the same time, he should salute the priest first." - My Catholic Faith - A Catechism in Pictures

Vision of the Church

From Holy Cards For Your Inspiration:

Saint John Bosco's dream/vision.

"One of the pillars to save the Church in St. John Bosco's dream was the Eucharist. May Jesus in the Eucharist be the center of the lives of each of us."

Fr. Tommy Lane

"In a vision, the Lord showed St. John Bosco the dangers threatening the Church. He saw the Church, Ship of Peter, surrounded by a loyal flotilla, locked in mortal combat with superior forces which repeatedly brought it to the edge of annihilation. At a crucial moment, the Holy Father fell mortally wounded. The enemy, sensing victory, closed in for the kill.

Suddenly two columns surged from the depths of the ocean. One was surmounted by a monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament - "Salvation of Believers;" the other by a statue of Mary Immaculate – "The Help of Christians."

The sight of the columns and the election of a new Pope caused the enemy to unleash a last blistering attack to prevent the Pontiff from anchoring the Church between the two pillars. The assailant's plan failed, and their attack turned into a rout and total disaster.

The Pope and his faithful defenders found safety anchored between the two columns. The winds subsided and the sea grew calm. The victory was complete.

St. John Bosco assures us that when the Church is battered by enemies from within or from without, salvation can only come from JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST, MARY, THE HELP OF CHRISTIANS, and THE POPE, the Vicar of Christ on earth.


The dreams/visions of St. John Bosco are published in the book DON BOSCO'S DREAMS, Salesiana Publishers, 148 Main Street, New Rochelle, NY 10801 ($9.90)"

• Holy Cards For Your Inspiration

Defending the readings in the Traditional Mass

From RORATE CÆLI:

As the Synod on Holy Scripture is opened by Pope Benedict XVI in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, a good article on the forms of the Roman Rite and the Scripture readings.

WORDS OF DOCTRINE
Two theories born of Biblicism
Fr. Nicola Bux and Fr. Salvatore Vitiello

Some say that the post-Conciliar Mass is richer in Readings and Eucharistic Prayers, while the Missal said of Pius V would be poorer and less accurate. The theory is anachronistic since it fails to consider four centuries of distance; it is as if we were to say the same about "Sacramentaries" some centuries earlier than that of Pius V. What is more, it is forgotten that the pericopes of the Pius V Missal were formed on the basis of old capitularies with epistles, such as St Jerome's Liber comitis– dated 471 - or with Gospel pericopes ; a tradition in common with the Church of the East, as the Byzantine liturgy still shows today.

Secondly, the brief readings help memorize the essential and express the sobriety of the Roman Rite. Some even go as far as to say that the Extraordinary Form of the only Latin Rite gives too little emphasis to the presence of Christ in the Word, when the latter is proclaimed in the assembly; in this cas,e the liturgy loses its very essence, the 'two tables' - in Dei Verbum, n. 21, there would appear to be only “one” - forming one act of worship!

It is said that the Missal of the Council of Trent moves in a vision far from the tradition of the Church Fathers; that the Missal was planned for the priest only, not for the participation of the assembly because the congregation is merely irrelevant. In fact, it is said that the priest celebrates on his own and so does the congregation; they say the Mass of Paul VI is quite different because it is not the priest who celebrates but the Church, sacramentally present in the assembly, of which the priest, by reason of order, is the natural president.

This position is considerably problematic because it reduces everything to Word and Assembly. However “Jesus is not just the teacher, but also the redeemer of the whole person. The Jesus who teaches is, at the same time, the One who saves ” (J.Ratzinger-Benedict XVI, Gesù di Nazaret, p. 65) and this comes about effectively only through the Eucharistic Sacrament.

Another theory, widespread due to the customary phenomenon of substitution and exchanging one thing with another, is to equal the presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament with the presence of the Word in the Book of the Scriptures: the latter presence takes place only “when the Holy Scriptures are read in the Church” (Sacrosanctum Concilium n. 7). It is necessary to reaffirm that Christ's presence in the Word exists on two conditions: when it is read out “in the Church assembly ”, not privately, and when Sacred Scripture is 'read'. Therefore the holy book placed on the lectern or the altar is not sufficient for this presence.

To conclude, it is more than ever urgent for preaching and catechesis to return to making the proper distinction between Revelation, Word of God and Sacred Scripture which, although closely connected, are not equivalent. At times in fact, not without surprise, we see in this regard considerable confusion and not only among the lay faithful. Some even think that the Bible is to be interpreted with the Bible and not, as the Catholic Church has always held, with Tradition and by faithful listening to the Magisterium.

_________________________
FIDES translation, adapted according to the Italian original.

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Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos to Celebrate TLM at the National Shrine in D.C.

From tlm-md.blogspot.com:

"I just received this by email so please mark your calendars!

Subject: TLM at Shrine in Washington DC

News Flash:

Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos will be offering a solemn Pontifical Mass of the Extraordinary Rite, in the main Church of the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Saturday, December 13th, 2008. Don't yet know the time, but probably in the afternoon.

Christendom's Palestrina choir will be one of several choirs invited to sing at the Mass.

If I'm correct, I believe this is the first time TLM will be offered in the Basilica's main church since the Mass was halted soon after Vatican II. This is monumental. ~J

Please get the word out!"

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Ecclesia Dei Commission's Summorum Pontificum Web Site

From NLM:

The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei now has an official website called Summorum Pontificum. The address is http://www.ecclesiadei-pontcommissio.org. So far it is mainly in Italian, but versions in English, German, Spanish, French and Portuguese are apparently being prepared. This is Card. Castrillón's introductory letter (click to enlarge):


NLM translation:

To the end of keeping bishops, priests, religious and faithful permanently informed about every aspect concerning the Extraordinary Use of the Roman Rite and every expression of the Gregorian liturgy, on this Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei inaugurates the "web" site Summorum Pontificum.

We wil strive to incorporate into the structure of this website official documents, study material, information about events, comments and audiovisual instruments helpful for the understanding and performing of the liturgical celebrations.

We do not aim in any way at establishing an interactive website, but rather at offering information and materials in complete fidelity to the "mens" of the Holy Father, who has manifested the clear intention of preserving and keeping alive, in extraordinary form, the theological, spiritual, religious and artistic richness of the Gregorian Liturgy.

(Hat-tip for the link to the Spanish blog Hoc Signo.) Posted by Gregor Kollmorgen

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Pope Benedict XVI is greeted by Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano (R) on his arrival for a meeting at the Quirinale palace in Rome October 4, 2008. REUTERS/Italian Presidency Press Office/Handout (ITALY)

Video from WDTPRS

Pope challenges Knights of Columbus to continue seeking Church renewal

Vatican City, Oct 3, 2008 / 09:57 am (CNA).- A contingent from the Knights of Columbus making a pilgrimage to Rome for the occasion of the Year of St. Paul was received in an audience by Pope Benedict this afternoon at the Vatican. The Holy Father praised the men’s organization for its work to seek holiness and renewal in the Church.

Addressing them in English the Pope recalled his own recent pastoral visit to the United States, noting how he had sought to encourage the lay faithful "to recommit themselves to growth in holiness and active participation in the Church's mission.”

This same vision was what inspired the foundation of the Knights of Columbus as a fraternal association of Christian laymen, the Holy Father noted, adding that “it continues to find privileged expression in your order's charitable works and your concrete solidarity with the Successor of Peter in his ministry to the Universal Church.”

"That solidarity," he continued, "is manifested in a particular way by the 'Vicarius Christi' Fund, which the Knights have placed at the disposal of the Holy See for the needs of God's people throughout the world. And it is also shown through the daily prayers and sacrifices of so many Knights in their local councils, parishes and communities. For this I am most grateful."

The Pope left the Knights with the challenge to “discover ever new ways to serve as a leaven of the Gospel in the world” and to become “a force for the renewal of the Church in holiness and apostolic zeal.” The Pontiff also expressed his appreciation for the Knights’ efforts to provide “a solid formation in the faith for young people, and to defend the moral truths necessary for a free and humane society, including the fundamental right to life of every human being."

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India: 15,000 protest anti-Christian violence; death toll in Orissa now 50

(CWN) Refusing to convert to Hinduism, Protestant Lalgi Nayak died of a neck gash and become the fiftieth victim of anti-Christian violence in the east Indian state of Orissa. Fifteen thousand people marched in the capital city of New Delhi to protest the violence in Orissa. As Islamic terrorism spread throughout India-- seven bombs have exploded since September 27-- religious leaders, including the Archbishop of Delhi, issued an appeal for peace..

Link

• Lalji Nayak, martyr for the faith in Orissa
• Religious leaders endorse appeal for peace as Orissa death toll rises (UCAN)
• 15,000 march in New Delhi protesting violence (ICNS)
• Ban fanatics in Karnataka: Archbishop Moras (ICNS)
• Christians in India demand protection (Vatican Radio)
• Indian-American Christians urge end to violence in region of homeland (CNS)

O.J. Simpson found guilty of all charges

"A jury convicted O.J. Simpson of armed robbery and kidnapping late Friday night, 13 years to the day after he was acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles."

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‘The Passion’ producer says American Carol movie part of ‘emerging culture war’

Hollywood, Oct 3, 2008 / 03:48 pm (CNA).- Steve McEveety, producer of "The Passion of the Christ," has written a letter encouraging people to see the new movie "An American Carol," comparing buying tickets for the movie to casting a vote in the “emerging culture war.” American Carol producer John Shepherd explained to CNA that the movie is meant to make Hollywood question its animosity towards conservatives.

“In the coming weeks your vote is going to play a crucial role in the battle for the hearts and minds of all Americans -- and it is not your vote in the Presidential election,” he writes.

Claiming Hollywood is “holding an election” in which a vote is the price of a movie ticket, he tells readers “your participation is key to the emerging culture war.”

He says the conflict presently centers on two films released on Friday, October 3.

McEveety describes the first movie, comedian Bill Maher’s “Religulous,” as a “militant pro-atheism documentary.”

He also cites Maher’s own anti-religious words: “We are a nation that is unenlightened because of religion. I do believe that -- I think religion stops people from thinking. I think it justifies crazies.”

McEveety contrasts the film with David Zucker's “An American Carol,” calling the latter a “pro-America, pro-faith comedy.”

He describes Zucker’s movie as “a film that celebrates America as a country founded on the principles of faith. If you are one of the so-called ‘religious’ crazies who wants to be heard LOUD and CLEAR by Hollywood -- come out to the theater on October 3rd and buy a ticket for An American Carol.”

Movie producer David Zucker, who is Jewish, described his motives for making the film to the Chicago Tribune.

Saying he was tired of Christian-bashing in pop culture, and Catholic-bashing in particular, he described one satirical scene inspired by celebrity Rosie O’Donnell’s comments that radical evangelicals were as dangerous as Islamic terrorists.

"We do a whole routine where Rosie shows a documentary to Bill O'Reilly about 'the truth about radical Christians,' where they're going on planes, hitting the pilots with their crosses and Bibles, and we have a nun blowing up a bus – all these crazy things.

"I loved doing that scene," Zucker told the Chicago Tribune.

In an email to CNA on Friday afternoon, American Carol producer John Shepherd Zucker described the O’Donnell scene as a use of “hyperbole, exaggeration and satiric humor to illustrate a point.”

“Yes sometimes the comedy is shocking and embarrassing. But so was the little boy who blurted out "the Emperor's not wearing any clothes!" Shepherd said.

For Shepherd, “An American Carol” is an attempt to prod Hollywood into seeing how intolerant it has become. "It used to be that Hollywood was a two party town, a ‘tolerant’ town... and one could have a heated debate about politics or religion and still part company as friends. Anymore I find that if you are a person of faith, or a conservative, or God forbid, both (!), you are dismissed as a fanatic or irrelevant,” he told CNA.

The Hollywood producer related how reading the script for Zucker's satire was a relief from the caustic environment he has come to find himself in lately. “I found myself laughing at the extreme views to which we all hold. And I found his point of view refreshing, and ideologically cathartic!”

Shepherd hopes that the film will go beyond just a good laugh though. In the end, he hopes that “An American Carol” will allow Americans to “engage one another once again in a heated and spirited debate about the things that are really important in life – God, family, country.”

“After all,” commented Shepherd, “in the end, we're still one Nation, under God — with liberty and laughter for all!"

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Wake Up America!

• Death Wish - Parts 1 & 2

What Benedict sowed in April, Bishops are reaping today.

From WDTPRS:

"I am watching a wonderful developing story.

Bishops in the USA, one by one, are coming out with statements, those statements are getting better and better.

It strikes me that the bishops are using each other’s statements, along with the fine book by Archbishop Chaput, to craft ever stronger letters.

Ever stronger.

Do you share the impression that the bishops are strengthening each other … after Peter came to the USA to strengthen the brethren?

That is my thought.

On 16 April 2008, His Holiness spoke the assembled bishops of the United States and said:

Clearly, the Church’s influence on public debate takes place on many different levels. In the United States, as elsewhere, there is much current and proposed legislation that gives cause for concern from the point of view of morality, and the Catholic community, under your guidance, needs to offer a clear and united witness on such matters. Even more important, though, is the gradual opening of the minds and hearts of the wider community to moral truth. Here much remains to be done. Crucial in this regard is the role of the lay faithful to act as a "leaven" in society. Yet it cannot be assumed that all Catholic citizens think in harmony with the Church’s teaching on today’s key ethical questions. Once again, it falls to you to ensure that the moral formation provided at every level of ecclesial life reflects the authentic teaching of the Gospel of life.

He said: 'it falls to you to ensure that the moral formation provided at every level of ecclesial life reflects the authentic teaching of the Gospel of life.'"

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Hail Mary - Latin

What's my line? Bishop Fulton J. Sheen