As Joe in his brilliant post here notes, various organs of the Left are in a tizzy because the Archdiocese of Washington has stood up to the attempt by secular bigots to force the Archdiocese to act contrary to Catholic teaching regarding homosexuality. Here is the statement of the Archdiocese: Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Donald R. McClarey
The leftist blogosphere has gone bananas over the role that the Church has played in keeping abortion funding out of health care legislation, as well as defeating the gay marriage initiative in Maine. The utter chaos into which House Democrats were thrown upon the success of the Stupak amendment has trickled down into the “progressive” blogosphere as a torrent of hatred and vitriol, epitomized by this entry at the Huffington Post by Allison Kilkenny.
The topic is the Church’s war with the District of Colombia in the event that gay marriage is legalized there, but of course the author takes an opportunity to unleash a stream of hate-ridden filth upon the entire Church, insulting Pope Benedict, the Virgin Mary, and the “unenlightened masses”, that is, the American public. Though the D.C. bill exempts religious organizations from having to perform gay wedding ceremonies, it would force them to abide by discrimination laws and provide benefits to homosexual employees who are married.
5 Comments | 
Uncategorized | Tagged: Allison Kilkenny, Catholic Church, D.C. ultimatum, gay marriage, Huffington Post, Same Sex Marriage, Washington D.C., Washington Post | 
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Posted by Joe Hargrave
Time being scarce the last few weeks, I’d originally planned on writing a post of this format about one of the Senate bills, but since the House bill (HR 3962: Affordable Health Care for America Act) is currently the one in the news, I’m focusing on that. The purpose here is to try my best to cut through the hysteria and hype coming from both sides and take a realistic look about what changes we would notice as US citizens if the House health care reform bill becomes law.
The first thing to keep in mind is that nothing much happens until 2013. This could probably called the “keep incumbents from being hurt by this act, especially Obama” provision. Whether the long term effects of the bill are good or bad, change often causes pain and confusion at first, and one of the key ways of getting legislators on board for the bill is to assure them that they’re unlikely to be immediately booted out of office by voters upset about their premiums. This kind of cynicism is hardly unique to this one bill or to either party — it just is what it is. So take the below as a discussion of how thing would be under HR 3962 in the period 5-6 years from now, assuming that is passes and there are no changes made between now and then.
The bill provides several new regulations on insurance companies and on you, which you’ll notice quite clearly.
1) You will be legally required to purchase insurance. If you don’t (and unless you fit criteria for financial hardship as defined in the bill) you will be fined either 2.5% of you income, or the average cost of the plans in the lowest tier of the health insurance exchange. So, if you make 40k/yr, you would be fined $1000. If you make 60k/yr, you would be fined $1500. If you refuse to pay your fines, you’ll be treated exactly like any other tax evader (which means you can potentially be sent to jail.) The Senate bill specifically exempted non-payers from being sent to jail, but the House bill fails to differentiate those who refuse to pay health care fines from those who refuse to pay other taxes, so it is believed that standard tax evasion rules would apply. There will also be penalties placed on employers who do not offer their employees health insurance.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by DarwinCatholic
In watching the debate between Christopher Hitchens and Dinesh D’Souza at King’s College, I had many ideas of my own. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Apologetics, Atheism, Christopher Hitchens, Dinesh D'Souza, Scott Hahn | Permalink
Posted by Tim Shipe
Back in the first half of the Nineteenth Century a political movement arose called the Know-Nothings which thought the path to political power lay in Catholic bashing. Many fine non-Catholic Americans, including Abraham Lincoln, joined in supporting Catholics in opposing this poisonous, and aptly named, movement. Unfortunately, some current politicians are attempting to follow in the footsteps of the Know-Nothings. As part of a new series on this blog I will designate Catholic bashing politicians who have earned, by their bigotry against the Church, the designation Know-Nothing.
First up is Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, (D-Ca), a pro-abortion fanatic, who vented her anger at the Stupak Amendment, which banned all funds for abortion in the ObamaCare bill that passed the House, by writing this screed in Politico:
I expect political hardball on any legislation as important as the health care bill.
I just didn’t expect it from the United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Who elected them to Congress?
The role the bishops played in the pushing the Stupak amendment, which unfairly restricts access for low-income women to insurance coverage for abortions, was more than mere advocacy.
They seemed to dictate the finer points of the amendment, and managed to bully members of Congress to vote for added restrictions on a perfectly legal surgical procedure.
And this political effort was subsidized by taxpayers, since the Council enjoys tax-exempt status.
When I visit churches in my district, we are very careful to keep everything “non-political” to protect their tax-exempt status.
The IRS is less restrictive about church involvement in efforts to influence legislation than it is about involvement in campaigns and elections.
Given the political behavior of USCCB in this case, maybe it shouldn’t be. Read the rest of this entry »
3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Anti-Catholicism, Bigotry, Know Nothings | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
Perhaps I should call the Lying Worthless Political Hack, a\k\a Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, the Artless Dodger. It is clear that the penalties for willful non-compliance with the health insurance mandate under the version of ObamaCare passed by the House are severe and could involve up to five years in a federal pen. Read all about it here in a letter from Thomas A. Barthold, Chief of Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, to Dave Camp (R-Mi), ranking Republican on the Committee. Read the rest of this entry »
7 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Lying Worthless Political Hack, ObamaCare | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
Have you donated to the Republican National Committee lately?
The national committee dedicated to electing members of the GOP to federal and state offices across America has undoubtedly sent numerous letters and emails campaigning against “ObamaCare.” One common objection against “ObamaCare” is that it would open the doors to federally funded abortions. Despite this objection, according to Huffington Post and Politco, the Republican National Committee is currently practicing hypocrisy.
The Republican National Committee’s health insurance plan covers elective abortion – a procedure the party’s own platform calls “a fundamental assault on innocent human life.”
Federal Election Commission Records show the RNC purchases its insurance from Cigna. Two sales agents for the company said that the RNC’s policy covers elective abortion.
Informed of the coverage, RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho told POLITICO…”The current policy has been in effect since 1991, and we are taking steps to address the issue.”
According to several Cigna employees, the insurer offers its customers the opportunity to opt out of abortion coverage – and the RNC did not choose to opt out.
There is no indication that any RNC employee has used the abortion coverage, but Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said it’s “no surprise” that the RNC is offering it.
I am terribly disappointed, but hardly surprised. I’m pleased (and thankful) that many Republicans that have been made aware of this scandal are stating that it should be changed. Though, one would have preferred that in the so-called “pro-life” party such a travesty would have never occured.
11 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Abortion, Health Insurance, Hypocrisy, Republican Party, RNC | Permalink
Posted by Eric Brown
The administration of Ave Maria, I assume in an attempt to draw huge public attention to a critic, has banned blogger Marielena Montesino de Stuart from most of the campus.
Two days after she asked questions at a town government meeting, Marielena Montesino de Stuart was told by a university spokesman she was not allowed on university property or to attend a press conference announcing a $4 million donation from New York billionaire Tom Golisano. When she tried to go anyway, the university had Collier County Sheriff’s deputies waiting to say that they would arrest her if she persisted. Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Ave Maria University, Gross Stupidity | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
What strikes me as a fair critique of Moore’s documentary, which draws, howbeit with some misrepresentation, from Catholic social teaching in addressing the current financial crisis. (Via Carl Olson).
5 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Capitalism, Capitalism: A Love Story, Catholic Social Teaching, Documentary, Father Robert Barron, Film Analysis, Michael Moore, Movie Review | Permalink
Posted by Christopher Blosser
From the only reliable source of news on the net, the Onion. If they have a version in which the player takes on the role of an officer, endless hours at a desk filling out paperwork would be a must!
4 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Humor | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
Emotionally riveting song and video for me- I have been blessed to discover the value of my own family- and I vow everyday not to screw it up and make the little ones pay the price for my mistakes. Hang tough little families out there- prayer is like a rock that anchors me to what is good and holy in my life. My wife and kids are the highlight of my day, my nightmare is to think of my life right now without them.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Casting Crowns, Christian Music, Divorce Effects on Children, Family Values, Natural Family, Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Traditional Family | Permalink
Posted by Tim Shipe
The more we learn about this story the more unbelievable it becomes. NPR is reporting here that starting in the Spring of 2008 officials held a series of meetings during which one of the subjects of discussion was whether Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan was psychotic.
Starting in the spring of 2008, key officials from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences held a series of meetings and conversations, in part about Maj. Nidal Hasan, the man accused of killing 13 people and wounding dozens of others last week during a shooting spree at Fort Hood. One of the questions they pondered: Was Hasan psychotic? Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Donald R. McClarey
Time is doing what the Nazis and the Imperial Japanese could not do: vanquishing our World War II generation. The youngest American veteran of that conflict would now be 82, and in the next two decades or so they will be in eternity. Time now to express our heartfelt gratitude for what they accomplished for the country. They have been called the greatest generation. I am sure that most of them would reject that title, maybe putting in a vote for the generation that won the American Revolution or the generation that fought the Civil War. Modesty has been a hallmark of their generation. When I was growing up in the Sixties, most of them were relatively young men in their late thirties or forties. If you asked them about the war they would talk about it but they would rarely bring it up. They took their service for granted as a part of their lives and nothing special. So those of us who knew them often took it for granted too. Uncle Chuck, he works at the Cereal Mills, and, oh yeah, he fought in the Pacific as a Marine. Uncle Bill, he has a great sense of humor and I think he was in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered to MacArthur. When they talked about the war it was usually some humorous anecdote, often with some self-deprecating point. They’d talk about some of the sad stuff too, but you could tell that a lot of that was pretty painful for them, so you didn’t press them. They were just husbands and fathers, uncles and cousins. The fact that the janitor at the school won a silver star on Saipan, or the mayor of the town still walked with a limp from being shot on D-Day, was just a normal part of life, like going to school or delivering papers. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Donald R. McClarey
I asked God for strength that I might achieve, I was made weak, that I might learn to humbly obey.
I asked God for health, that I might do greater things, I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy, I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men, I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life, I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for – but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among men, most richly blessed.
Found on the body of a Southern soldier 1861–1865
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Soldier's Prayer | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
On November 10, 1775 the United States Marine Corps came into being:
“Resolved, That two Battalions of marines be raised, consisting of one Colonel, two Lieutenant Colonels, two Majors, and other officers as usual in other regiments; and that they consist of an equal number of privates with other battalions; that particular care be taken, that no persons be appointed to office, or inlisted into said Battalions, but such as are good seamen, or so acquainted with maritime affairs as to be able to serve to advantage by sea when required: that they be inlisted and commissioned to serve for and during the present war between Great Britain and the colonies, unless dismissed by order of Congress: that they be distinguished by the names of the first and second battalions of American Marines, and that they be considered part of the number which the continental Army before Boston is ordered to consist of.”
You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth- and the amusing thing about it is that they are.
Father Kevin Keaney
1st Marine Division Chaplain
Korean War
5 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: U.S. Marine Corps | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
Hattip to the eagle-eyed Father Z who found this on Facebook from a group called SLAP (Survivors of Liturgical Abuse in Parishes).
Gather Us In [...to the tune of, that is!]
Here in this place, our comfortable parish,
All of the statues carried away,
See in each face a vacuous visage,
Brought here by guilt or by R.C.I.A.Gather us in, by Beemer or Hummer,
Gather us in, so we can feel good,
Come to us now in this barren Zen temple,
With only a shrub and an altar of wood.We are the young, our morals a mystery,
We are the old, who couldn’t care less,
We have been warned throughout all of history,
But we enjoy this liturgical mess.Gather us in, our radical pastor,
Gather us in, our unveiled nun,
Call to us now, with guitars and bongos,
Hang up your cellphones and join in the fun! Read the rest of this entry »
5 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Humor, Lousy Hymns, Marty Haugen | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
“Progressives” all over the Internet are absolutely dismayed over the Stupak amendment, but they way in which they are expressing it is rather curious. Rather than standing up and proudly defending a woman’s right to murder her unborn child – or even to, in the more clinical and dehumanizing language, “terminate her pregnancy” – they are chiefly complaining about the class discrimination they believe is inherent in the amendment. Allegedly the Stupak amendment will only make it harder for poor and middle class women to get abortions, while rich women will continue to have access to them.
This distraction is as old as it is absurd. No one objects to abortions for the poor while supporting abortions for the rich. It’s easier for a rich person to buy drugs, to hire hit-men to take out an annoying spouse, or to commit any number of crimes against individuals and society. This has never been an argument for legalizing objectionable or violent behavior.
While the moral point the progressives wish to make is bankrupt, their concerns are based on recent and objective analysis of the larger implications of the Stupak amendment. If Stupak remains in the health care bill, it will actually have the effect of significantly reducing the abortion rate.
43 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Abortion, Abortion Restriction, Government-Funded Abortion, Pitts-Stupak Ammendment, Pro-Choice, Pro-Life, USCCB | Permalink
Posted by Joe Hargrave
Faithful readers of this blog will recall this post here discussing the Bishop of Providence Thomas J. Tobin taking Patrick Kennedy, Teddy’s nephew, to task for attacking the Church over ObamaCare. Now the Bishop has written the following letter to Congressman Kennedy:
Dear Congressman Kennedy:
“The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic.” (Congressman Patrick Kennedy)
Since our recent correspondence has been rather public, I hope you don’t mind if I share a few reflections about your practice of the faith in this public forum. I usually wouldn’t do that – that is speak about someone’s faith in a public setting – but in our well-documented exchange of letters about health care and abortion, it has emerged as an issue. I also share these words publicly with the thought that they might be instructive to other Catholics, including those in prominent positions of leadership.
For the moment I’d like to set aside the discussion of health care reform, as important and relevant as it is, and focus on one statement contained in your letter of October 29, 2009, in which you write, “The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic.” That sentence certainly caught my attention and deserves a public response, lest it go unchallenged and lead others to believe it’s true. And it raises an important question: What does it mean to be a Catholic? Read the rest of this entry »
21 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Abortion, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, Patrick Kennedy, Pro-Life | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
The House version of the Democrats’ health care bill, which passed on Saturday, provides that no funds appropriated under the bill “may be used to pay for any abortion, or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion” except in the case of abortions involving rape, incest, or a danger to the life of the mother. Since other provisions of the bill include taxpayer subsidies for individuals to buy health insurance on the private market, and since some private insurance currently covers abortion other than in the case of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother), the net effect of the House bill would be to make abortions more difficult to obtain than they are currently.
Admittedly, there is some question about how big of an effect this provision of the House bill would be. According to a 2003 study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, only 13 percent of abortions were billed directly to insurance companies. Presumably at least some of that 13 percent would not be by the provision, as the women involved would not be receiving tax subsidies to help them pay for insurance, and presumably some portion of the 13 percent would have still had an abortion even if they had to pay for it out of pocket. Yet even if the Stupak Amendment only resulted in a 1% reduction in abortions this would translate into tens of thousands of saved lives every year. The House bill has many features that I consider silly or stupid, and if abortion were not a factor I would have no trouble saying that it should be opposed. Yet assuming the effect of the Stupak Amendment is more than trivial, this would seem to outweigh any of the negative aspects of the proposal.
I’ve looked around a bit for some analysis of the likely effects the Stupak Amendment would have on the abortion rate, but I couldn’t find anything (or, rather, I couldn’t find anything other than demagoguery and hysteria). I know that a handful of states have explicit prohibitions on insurance covering elective abortion, but I haven’t seen any analysis of what effect this has had on the number of abortions in those states. If anyone out there on the Internets knows of such a study, or could point me in the right direction, I would be much appreciative.
11 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Abortion, ObamaCare, Pitts-Stupak Ammendment | Permalink
Posted by Blackadder
With the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, many who lived under the communist regime of East Germany have taken the opportunity to go to the state archives and view the files which the Stasi secret police kept on them. Stasi files were not kept only on spies and political dissenters, but on ordinary people whose “offenses” were almost shockingly mundane, and whose betrayers were often friends or family:
A West German pudding. That was all it took. Once the Stasi found out about it, a family breadwinner was fired from his army job and an East German household was plunged into destitution.
Even worse, the family later found out that they had been turned in by a close friend. “She was watering the plants and went through the cupboards to find a Dr. Oetker dessert,” Vera Iburg, who has worked with files kept by the East German secret police for the last 20 years, told SPIEGEL ONLINE, referring to the snoop. “What was she doing? She had no business there!”
It’s an interesting example of the corrupting power of temptation that the availability of the means to easily hurt those around you by reporting others to the police motivated many to inform merely for the satisfaction of it: Read the rest of this entry »
7 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Berlin Wall, History | Permalink
Posted by DarwinCatholic
Lots of disturbing facts coming out as to information possessed by the Federal government about the alleged shooter Nidal Malik Hasan prior to the Fort Hood Massacre.
1. Internet postings: At least six months ago Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement authorities regarding internet postings about suicide bombings.
2. Attempts to contact al-Qaeda: US intelligence officials knew for months that Hasan was attempting to contact al-Qaeda operatives. Apparently the Army was informed of these attempts by Hasan to contact al_Qaeda. The inquiry was dropped last year because the feds decided that there was no indication he would become violent. (I guess they were wrong about that.)
3. Comments made to fellow officers: Colonel Terry Lee who worked with Hasan makes clear in the above video that Hasan was not shy about making pro-jihadi comments to other officers. At Walter Reed he gave a lecture to dozens of doctors in which he said that non-believers in Islam should be beheaded and boiling oil forced down their throats (presumably before the beheading), in addition to being condemned to Hell. For good measure he also said that unbelievers should be set on fire, although after the the boiling oil and the beheading that strikes me as redundant. I find it difficult to believe that Hasan’s superiors would not have been aware of this type of behavior by him.
4. Attempts to proselytize: Hasan was disciplined at Walter Reed for attempting to proselytize his Muslim faith to patients and colleagues. Read the rest of this entry »
19 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Fort Hood Massacre, Nidal Malik Hasan | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
40 “progressive” Democrats in the House of Representatives have sent a letter to Nancy Pelosi vowing to vote “no” on health care reform the next time around if the Stupak amendment is not stripped from the bill.
Remember all of those commentaries after the 2004 elections deriding conservative voters for placing their “values” ahead of self-interest? All over the country “progressives” asked “What’s the Matter With Kansas?” to get to the bottom of the matter.
I think what we are obviously seeing now is, at least from the standpoint of the American public that supports the current health care reform effort, a group of legislators who are irrationally placing their most deeply held moral and spiritual values ahead of – not their own self-interest, since they have money – but the interest of the people who sent them to office.
I have long believed that abortion is the most important sacrament in the religion of secular humanism. In their own language the sexual revolutionaries and the radical feminists have declared it the cornerstone of women’s liberation (and as I have argued, men’s “liberation” from parental responsibility as well). The idea of having to take responsibility for sexual behavior is almost like being sent to hell. Thus the importance of this sacrament. For a materialist-hedonist, it is the gateway to salvation.
But I wonder if all of those Democratic voters who were counting on health care reform will see it the same way if the bill does come back to the House with the Stupak amendment in-tact.
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Health Care Reform, House Democrats, Nancy Pelosi, Pitts-Stupak Ammendment, Pro-Choice, Progressives | Permalink
Posted by Joe Hargrave
Ronald Wilson Reagan, how I miss you.
When talking about Ronald Reagan, I have to be personal. We in Poland took him so personally. Why? Because we owe him our liberty. This can’t be said often enough by people who lived under oppression for half a century, until communism fell in 1989.Poles fought for their freedom for so many years that they hold in special esteem those who backed them in their struggle. Support was the test of friendship. President Reagan was such a friend. His policy of aiding democratic movements in Central and Eastern Europe in the dark days of the Cold War meant a lot to us. We knew he believed in a few simple principles such as human rights, democracy and civil society. He was someone who was convinced that the citizen is not for the state, but vice-versa, and that freedom is an innate right.I often wondered why Ronald Reagan did this, taking the risks he did, in supporting us at Solidarity, as well as dissident movements in other countries behind the Iron Curtain, while pushing a defense buildup that pushed the Soviet economy over the brink. Let’s remember that it was a time of recession in the U.S. and a time when the American public was more interested in their own domestic affairs. It took a leader with a vision to convince them that there are greater things worth fighting for. Did he seek any profit in such a policy? Though our freedom movements were in line with the foreign policy of the United States, I doubt it.President Reagan, in a radio address from his ranch on Oct. 9, 1982, announces trade sanctions against Poland in retaliation for the outlawing of Solidarity.I distinguish between two kinds of politicians. There are those who view politics as a tactical game, a game in which they do not reveal any individuality, in which they lose their own face. There are, however, leaders for whom politics is a means of defending and furthering values. For them, it is a moral pursuit. They do so because the values they cherish are endangered. They’re convinced that there are values worth living for, and even values worth dying for. Read the rest of this entry »
7 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Fall of the Berlin Wall, Lech Walesa, Ronald Reagan | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
Isn’t it interesting that President Obama is pleading for us to “not to rush to judgment” concerning the Fort Hood Massacre that was executed by Malik Nidal Hasan who is an extremist Muslim. Yet President Obama called out the National Guard to protect abortion mills when George Tiller the Killer was killed by a deranged man and not a pro-life advocate?
Double standard you think?
Yeah. But just remember that this is the same administration that called “right-wing” groups such as pro-lifers as a threat to national security and not one mention of extremist Muslims or Muslim organizations that operate within the United States or abroad.
President Obama and his administration represent a world view that is un-American with values that only Moloch would love. Catering to the politically correct sympathies and dogmas of modern liberalism while demonizing pro-life organizations that only seek to protect the most vulnerable among us.
Let’s pray for a one term Obama presidency and a strong candidate to emerge to represent the best of most Americans.
_._
To read more about the Fort Hood Massacre click here.
To read more about the murder of George Tiller the Killer click here.
To read more about President Obama demonizing Pro-Lifers the same day that George Tiller the Killer was killed click here.
To read more of the Obama Administration categorizing Pro-Life groups as terrorists click here.
To read more by Ralph Peters of the New York Post on President Obama’s response to the Fort Hood Massacre click here.
12 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Barack Obama, Fort Hood Massacre, George Tiller, Nidal Malik Hasan, Rhetoric | Permalink
Posted by Tito Edwards
Archbishop Raymond Burke has long been held with disdain (or outright revulsion) by liberal Catholics for his penchant to speak bluntly on various issues — from his cautioning the Democrats that they risk becoming “the party of Death” for their grievous stance on bioethical issues), to his disapproval of Obama’s appointment of Kathleen Sebelius to Secretary of Health and Human Services to his weighing in on the matter of reception of communion by publicly disobedient Catholics (see The Discipline Regarding the Denial of Holy Communion to Those Obstinately Persevering in Manifest Grave Sin Periodica de Re Canonica vol. 96 (2007)). His appointment by Pope Benedict XVI to the office of Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura was interpreted both as sign of the Pope’s favor (by conservatives) as well as perhaps a “punishment of sorts” by liberals, who hoped that his outspokenness on American political affairs would be muted by geographical distance.
Guess again. From National Catholic Reporter’s “man in Rome” John Allen Jr. comes the news that, with his Oct. 17 appointment to the powerful Congregation for Bishops, Burke’s influence is set to grow:
When a diocese becomes vacant, it’s the job of the papal nuncio, or ambassador, in that country to solicit input on the needs of that diocese and to work with the local bishops and bishops’ conference to identify potential nominees. The nuncio prepares a terna, or list of three names, which is submitted to the Congregation for Bishops, along with extensive documentation on the candidates.
Members of the congregation are expected to carefully review all the documentation before meetings, and each is expected to offer an opinion about the candidates and the order in which they should be presented to the pope. Ultimately, it’s up to the pope to decide who’s named to any given diocese, but in most cases popes simply sign off on the recommendations made by the congregation.
To be sure, Burke’s nomination doesn’t mean he can single-handedly control who becomes a bishop, whether in the United States or anywhere else. … on the other hand, Burke’s influence may grow with time.
He’s by far the youngest of the current crop of Americans on the congregation (the next youngest, Levada, is 73, and Rigali is 74). Since appointments are for five-year terms and may be renewed until a prelate reaches the age of 80, Burke could be involved in bishops’ appointments for the next two decades. At some point he may well become the senior American in the process, with a correspondingly greater impact.
As Allen concludes: ” If anyone suspected that the decision to bring Burke to Rome last year was a way of muzzling him, or limiting his influence in the United States, it certainly doesn’t seem to be playing out that way.”
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Archbishop Raymond Burke, Congregation for Bishops, Democrats, Kathleen Sebelius, Manifest Grave Sin, Papal Nuncio, Party of Death, Periodica de Re Canonica, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, Reception of Holy Communion, Terna | Permalink
Posted by Christopher Blosser
Number 3 of my series on great Jesuits of American history.
A year before the colonies won their fight for independence, John McElroy first saw the light of day in Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, Ireland on May 11,1782. At this time English imposed penal laws meant that Irish Catholics were treated like helots in their own land. The great Edmund Burke described the penal laws well:
“For I must do it justice; it was a complete system, full of coherence and consistency, well digested and well composed in all its parts. It was a machine of wise and deliberate contrivance, as well fitted for the oppression, impoverishment and degradation of a people, and the debasement of human nature itself, as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity of man.”
As a result of these laws McElroy could receive little education in Ireland. Ambition and a thirst for knowledge caused him, like many Irish Catholics before and since, to emigrate to the US, landing on our shores in 1803. He became a bookkeeper at Georgetown College, studying Latin in his off hours. In 1806 he joined the Jesuits as a lay brother, but his intelligence and his industry quickly marked him down to his Jesuit superiors as a candidate for the priesthood. Ordained in 1817 , for several years he served at Trinity Church in Georgetown, until being transferred to Frederick, Maryland, where, during the next twenty-three years, with the boundless energy which was his hallmark, he built Saint John’s Church, a college, an orphan’s asylum, and the first free schools in Frederick. He was then transferred back to Trinity in Georgetown where he remained for a year until the Mexican War began.
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston College, Catholic Chaplains, Father John McElroy, Ireland, Jesuits, U.S. Army | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
Salvete TAC readers!
Here are today’s Top Picks in the world of Catholicism:
1. Today is the twenty year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher all played pivotal roles in bringing down Communism and discredited all socialistic and atheistic systems the world over. Pope John Paul II played the most important role of the three, providing the moral backbone that is needed when confronting these manifestations of evil.
Newt Gingrich, Callista Gingrich, and Vince Haley wrote a timely article concerning this important anniversary titled The Victory of the Cross: How spiritual renewal helped bring down the Berlin Wall. For this article click here.
2. Dave Hartline has already posted three articles here with us. His latest is titled, Following the 2009 Election Results which Way is the Tide Turning toward Truth or Relativism?
For the article click here.
For all of Dave Hartline’s articles on The American Catholic click here.
3. Catholic Culture has changed their look again. Unlike the last time I mentioned their new look, I have to say it is a major improvement. It’s much easier to find Diogenes of Off the Record (under Commentary). Blue has replaced what I think was the color pink as it’s primary color and the fonts are much stronger.
For the Catholic Culture link click here.
For Diogenes, which is under Commentary, click here.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Abortion, Atheism, Berlin Wall, Catholic Culture, Cold War, Communism, Dave Hartline, Evil, Liberation Theology, Margaret Thatcher, Miguel H. Diaz, Nine Days that Changed the World, Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Social Justice, Socialism | Permalink
Posted by Tito Edwards
No doubt for many the answer to this question would seem to be “um, yeah, obviously.” But like most ‘isms’ the terms libertarianism and individualism can be used in several different senses. If by libertarianism one means something like “the views of Ayn Rand” and by individualism one means something like “the views of Ayn Rand” then the answer will be um, yeah, obviously. For purposes of this post, however, I’ll define libertarianism as the belief that government ought ideally to be limited to the core functions of the so-called “nightwatchman state,” e.g. policing, national defense, the courts, etc. As for individualism, I’ll just quote Wikipedia:
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses independence and self-reliance. Individualists promote the exercise of one’s goals and desires, while opposing most external interference upon one’s choices, whether by society, or any other group or institution.
16 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Ayn Rand, Individualism, Libertarianism, Morality, Role of Government | Permalink
Posted by Blackadder
Last night all but one, who voted present, of the House Republicans voted in favor of the Stupak Amendment in spite of knowing that its passage made likely the final passage of ObamaCare. Here is a statement of the House Republican Leadership issued last night before either the Stupak amendment or ObamaCare was passed:
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH), House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-IN) issued the following statement in support of an amendment offered by Representatives Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Joseph Pitts (R-PA) that would prohibit federal funding of abortions under the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) health care plan: “We believe in the sanctity of life, and the Stupak-Pitts Amendment addresses a moral issue of the utmost concern. It will limit abortion in the United States. Because of this, while we strongly and deeply oppose the underlying bill, we decided to stand with Life and support Stupak-Pitts.
42 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Abortion, Bart Stupak, Eric Cantor, Government-Run Health Care, John Boehner, Joseph Pitts, Mike Pence, Nancy Pelosi, ObamaCare, PelosiCare, Pitts-Stupak Ammendment, Pro-Life, Republican Party, U.S. Congress, U.S. House of Representatives | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
With apologies to Harry Potter and the X-Files. From the folks at Patients First. After ObamaCare passing last night in the House, the pressure is on Reid to see if he can get anything out of the Senate. In order to do that he will have to gain 60 votes to invoke cloture, which means that, unless he can persuade either of the Maine Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Sue Collins to cross over, he needs every Democrat and Joe Lieberman to vote for cloture. That is a very tall order.
4 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Humor, ObamaCare | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
I know that some of my fellow contributors and some of our regular readers are dismayed with the passage of “Obamacare”, or if you like, health care reform, by the House of Representatives. Personally, I think the bill could have been better in a number of ways, but I don’t want to get into all of that now.
The good news is, whether one supports or opposes the House bill, the Stupak amendment preventing federal funding of abortion passed. Already some are predicting its demise as as the bill moves to the Senate, but again, this is besides the point I want to make.
The main reason this is good news in my view is that it demonstrates the seriousness with which the pro-life movement must be taken by the political leaders of our nation. Pro-abortion activists are outraged with the passage of the Stupak amendment, citing it as a “step backwards.” I wholeheartedly agree: it is a major step backwards for the Culture of Death, and a significant advance for the Culture of Life.
10 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Culture of Life, ObamaCare, Pitts-Stupak Ammendment, Pro-Life Movement, Pro-Life Progressives, U.S. Congress, U.S. House of Representatives | Permalink
Posted by Joe Hargrave
Representative Bart Stupak’s (D. MI.) amendment to the ObamaCare bill in the House will get an up or down vote. Stupak’s amendment would prohibit all funding of abortion under the House ObamaCare bill. Now the Lying Worthless Political Hack, a/k/a, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, attempted to avoid a vote on the Stupak Amendment by concocting a false compromise which was shot down. So why is she caving now after so long attempting to avoid a vote on this issue which threatens to derail ObamaCare for good? She doesn’t have the votes to pass it otherwise. Her whip Steny Hoyer (D. MD.), has told her that he doesn’t have the votes to pass ObamaCare unless pro-life Dems get this vote.
22 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Lying Worthless Political Hack, ObamaCare, Pitts-Stupak Ammendment | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
Something for the weekend. Venus, the Bringer of Peace, from Gustav Holst’s The Planets.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Music Video | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
Okay, that’s a heckuva long title for a blog post, but it also happens to be almost perfect for the subject of this particular entry at The American Catholic.
On Tuesday, the voters of the state of Maine — surprisingly — rejected same sex marriage (SSM) and reaffirmed that marriage in Maine is between a man and a woman. Naturally, SSM supporters were shocked and outraged (the Catholic Church appears to be the early target), while supporters of traditional marriage were overjoyed with the results; Maine, after all, isn’t exactly in the Bible Belt.
Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), was typical of the latter: “Every time Americans vote on marriage, traditional marriage wins.” And she’s right: when it comes to ballot initiatives, SSM is 0-31.
19 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: American Culture, Christianity, Christopher Oleson, Contraception, Divorce, Maine, Marriage, Same Sex Marriage | Permalink
Posted by Chris Burgwald
There is something in me which, when it sees to related numbers, wants to immediately do a calculation, so when I saw a news story stating that the $215 billion in stimulous money given out thus far had resulted in 640,329 jobs, my first question was, “How much is that per job?”
Answer? $312,339.44
Not too shabby, eh? I’d like one of them jobs just fine.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Economics, Politics, Stimulus Boondoggle | Permalink
Posted by DarwinCatholic
From the only reliable source of news on the net, the Onion. In today’s pig of an economy, I think anyone who has a job is working as hard as possible to keep it. Having said that, if there is any Indian barrister who would care to take over 40 or 50 cases, I think we could work something out.
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Humor | Permalink
Posted by Donald R. McClarey
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Tito Edwards
Rusty Tisdale
Walter
Christopher Blosser
Joe of St. Thérèse
Donald R. McClarey
DarwinCatholic
Zach
Chris Burgwald
David Curp
Ryan Harkins
Edward P. Koubek
Eric Brown
John Henry
Joe Hargrave
Tim Shipe
Elaine Krewer
Blackadder
Dave Hartline