The Scandal
Though it is not the main mission of this site, it is time to say something about the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, as the main purpose for this media campaign is not the protection of children, but the attempt to discredit the Church on moral issues, including especially life and family issues.
Unfortunately, many (most?) have left their reason behind and this has taken on the dimensions of a witch hunt, which I think is due to the implications of Romans 1. “Although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened.” or as Mark Shea says, “sin makes you stupid.”
The media have driven people to the “frothing at the mouth” stage of the witch hunt by their continuous articles on matters which are 30+ years old, and many are all too happy to latch onto every (twisted, deceptive) word, as it discredits the Catholic Church, which tells them that their behavior is sinful.
This isn’t a huge surprise, as the Church is destined to walk the path of Jesus Christ…the Pharisees did not really care about the woman caught in adultery (much less the man). They only cared about tripping Jesus up and discrediting Him.
Similarly, the media does not really care about children (otherwise why don’t we see daily front page articles about sexual abuse in schools, or even abuse by Protestant ministers, which is much more widespread in the former case, and at least as widespread in the latter?), they only care about discrediting the Church.
Don’t misunderstand me! Any sexual abuse by a priest, and any cover-up (or worse, transferring the abuser to a location where he could abuse again) by a bishop is a horrible thing. Anyone who had anything to do with the abuse or with enabling abusers should be removed from their positions. The fact is, though, that sexual abuse (and even the enabling behavior) is not just a Catholic problem. It is a problem in EVERY sector in society. The Church is already ahead of most in cleaning itself up.
The campaign to drag Pope Benedict XVI into the mud is especially despicable. He has done more than anyone else to clean up the Catholic Church, and any impartial observer can see that, if they care enough to review the facts. The evidence against him is non-existent, and it’s a frightening fact that so many have easily absorbed the media’s lies (or at the very least, extreme twisting of the truth and deception).
There may be persecution ahead, folks, if people are this easily deceived. Pray, pray, pray!!
Crunch Time to defeat Obamacare
Well, the latest is that the Senate version of Obamacare will be voted on this week or next by both the Senate and the House. If this is true, then the pro-life victory in the House which prohibited abortion coverage has been wiped out, and the version that will come to a final vote DOES contain coverage for abortion. Don’t be confused by claims that the bill is abortion-neutral or does not contain funding of abortion. The Senate bill, as currently stands, definitely DOES allow for abortions to be covered in the health care plan, and the most likely scenario is that the House will simply be voting on the Senate version without any chance to reinsert the pro-life Stupak amendment.
Public opinion is against this bill because of abortion, as well as other reasons. NOW is the time to make your voice heard to your Senators and Congressmen. For those of you that have Senators or Congressmen that will not be convinced by arguments about abortion (such as is the case with the Senators here in Minnesota), try using other reasons to make the case, such as the angle that the health care bill is a major expense at a time when our country can’t afford another money pit.
The best chance to defeat the bill is still in the House, so focus on your Congressmen, especially those of you who live in districts with more moderate Democrats who voted for the original Stupak amendment. Move your cursor over the Contact header on the main Rosaries for Life site to contact your Senators and Congressmen!
Don’t forget to fast and pray the Rosary for our nation in this critical time! If you have not already pledged your prayers, please do so!
Update: At US News and World Report, there is this informative report about the current abortion related issues in the health care bill.
Marian appearances at Akita
I haven’t posted for a while, because I didn’t want to detract from the importance of the health care post immediately below. PLEASE make sure to contact your representative to vote NO on the health care bill, especially if you live in the district of a moderate Democrat. Moderate Democrats will be the ones to determine the fate of the bill. The vote is scheduled to take place tomorrow.
Now on to the subject at hand… A little known apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was approved both by the local bishop and by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (then headed by Cardinal Ratzinger), took place in Akita, Japan in 1973. 1973, of course, was the year in which abortion was legalized in the United States, and also a time when abortion laws were liberalizing around the world.
A statue of Mary wept 101 times there, and Sister Agnes Sasagawa received some very serious messages. It is quite enlightening, as we consider the dangers of our times, that such frightening messages were approved by the Vatican. Please read this approved message (which occurred on October 13th, also the date of the last apparition at Fatima) and let it inspire you to greater prayer for our country, for the unborn and other lives at risk, and for the whole world:
If men do not repent and better themselves, the
Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will
be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never
seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great
part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither
priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so
desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will
remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son.
Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray
for the Pope, the bishops and priests.The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in
such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops
against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and
opposed by their confreres…churches and altars sacked; the
Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon
will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service
of the Lord.The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated
to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of
my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be
no longer pardon for them.Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary. I alone am able still
to save you from the calamites which approach. Those who place
their confidence in me will be saved.
Saddle up to stop Obamacare - beware deception!
I originally posted this last month, but it needs to be brought to the forefront again. This bill is going to pass within the next month, and WITH abortion coverage, unless there is a deluge of phone calls and E-mails to your senators and representatives in Congress. The latest is that Pelosi is going to try to ram through a version of the bill containing abortion before people can react to it. Let’s not let that happen.
Don’t be fooled by the rhetoric. Even the left-leaning factcheck.org comes to the conclusion that the health care bill currently being proposed WOULD have coverage of abortion.
Don’t be fooled by Obama’s misleading statement in his speech to Congress that “no federal funds will pay for abortions” either. Many seem to have been fooled by this, including some elements within the USCCB. This DOES NOT mean that the plan does not COVER abortions (though that’s what he would like you to believe). It simply means (again from the factcheck.org article linked above):
The Capps amendment does contain a statement…that prohibits the use of public money to pay for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. That would still allow the public plan to cover all abortions, so long as the plans took in enough private money in the form of premiums paid by individuals or their employers.
In other words, abortions ARE covered by the plan, but they are paid for using the premium revenues rather than the money that the government chips in. Very deceptive indeed, and probably an outright lie, since premiums, once received, are also federal funds. With this, any tiny bit of good will and honesty that I’d have liked to presume that this Administration had is gone. Go here for more details about this deception.
PLEASE get involved and let your senators and congressmen know how you feel. The “Contact” tab on our main site will get you to the right place. It is vitally important to the future of our country that we derail this plan.
For the best Catholic perspective I’ve seen on this health care bill, and health care issues in general as they relate to Catholic teaching, I HIGHLY recommend that you read the statement of Bishops Finn and Naumann of Kansas City. It is quite debatable whether this plan is the right plan for our country even if the legislation did not provide coverage for abortion, but as long as it does include abortion, we Catholics MUST oppose this with all of our might!
A historic day
I had a post about the St. Michael prayer planned for today, but it will have to wait. A truly historic occurrence has taken place today, somewhat related to my previous post. Today Pope Benedict XVI and the Vatican have set up a structure which will allow Anglicans desiring to come into unity with Rome to do so, while still maintaining important parts of their Anglican rites and traditions.
This very generous provision by Pope Benedict XVI is likely to serve as a model for further groups who are wishing to come into unity with Rome, including the Society of St. Pius X.
Today’s move will mean that hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions, of Anglicans will come across to Rome. There is a realistic possibility that the entire African branch of Anglicans, which comprises nearly half of the Anglican Church membership of 88 million, will convert.
This is the first step in what I predict will be a tide of Christians flowing into Rome over the next decades. As most Christian groups are tending to be more guided by the spirit of the age than the Holy Spirit, those who are still close to Christ and the historical beliefs of Christianity will, more and more, be drawn to the Catholic Church, the light shining on a hill that Jesus spoke of.
As they come in, these people will, in turn, renew the Church. Let us fervently pray that Christ’s words in John 17:20-21 will be fulfilled in our lifetimes.
Pray, Pray, Pray for Church Unity!
Relations between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches are better now than they have been at any time since the tragic split of 1054. Pope Benedict XVI and Orthodox leaders, especially Russian Orthodox leaders, are quite close. There is an important meeting taking place over the next week in Cyprus wherein 30 Catholic and 30 Orthodox theologians will meet to discuss issues that separate us.
As Pope John Paul II said “The Church needs to breathe with both lungs.” He was, of course, referring to East and West. Unity is still going to be difficult to achieve, and is by no means imminent, but for the first time, it appears to be possible.
Please pray hard for Church unity…as Christ said in his important prayer before the Last Supper,
I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:20-21)
Reading that closely, one could infer that the world will not believe until all Christians are one again. Indeed, looking at the history of Christianity, the last millenium, at least from about 1300 on, has been a gradual move away from faith in Christ, as the Church became more divided and fragmented. While the Catholic Church sails on as Christ promised, we are not complete without our separated brothers and sisters.
One concrete way you can help is to remember to pray for the souls of all those separated brothers and sisters who are in Purgatory, especially those whose traditions do not believe in Purgatory. We can be assured, in a mystical way, that this aids the cause of Church unity.
Support Pope Benedict
The media and liberal establishment are pulling out all the stops to discredit Pope Benedict XVI, one of the best Popes we have ever had. They can’t stand that he speaks the truth. The latest flap is over the use of condoms to fight AIDS in Africa. Hard statistics back the Pope up on this, as the supposed safety of condoms leads people to take risks they would not otherwise take. For some people, however, nothing must be allowed to stand in the way of “sexual freedom”, not even the truth. Let Pope Benedict know that you support him here.
