Newsweek Hack Job on The Pope

People who know nothing about the Church and who have a clear liberal, anti-Catholic, anti-Christian agena should not write for major magazines.  When they do, this happens.

Apparently the only point to this article was to say over and over again that the Pope "imposes his will on the Church."  His bias is evident thus discrediting everything he says.

If you want the real story, Michael Novak has this to say on NRO's "The Corner:"

A Pope is not actually like the Commandant of the Marine Corps, there is really nothing he has to do except be. The church normally runs itself, its departments hum on. Only a few decisions await him, really. The church could go months without appointing new replacements for bishops. What a Pope does is be another Christ. What does Christ have to do, except be? And the comparative advantage of Christianity is that it roots itself in suffering, the suffering of age that each of us will undergo, of cancers and disabilitities and mental illness in the family, the inescapables of every life. Secular humanism ignores these. Professor Rawls thinks Christian emphasis on suffering is life-denying. Not so. I think that's why so many people are touched by JPII. They know all about suffering, but nobody ever says how ennobling and transformative it can be. That it's quite all right to be ill and suffering. That it's a great and valuable gift. That it means a lot. That it's at the heart of things. In a way, the Pope is teaching more powerfully about Christianity and its comparative advantage than he ever has. The most important work of his life.

That's a far cry from "imposing his will on the Church."  It's more like "inspiring the Church with his courage."  Indeed it is the most important work of his life.

 Does Our Suffering Have Value?

In this season of Lent when we focus on the suffering and death of our Savior and when our Holy Father is suffering in a very public way, Fr. Jim Tucker says yes.  Click here to find out why.

Criticizing the Pope

United Church of Christ seminarian and abortion proponent Chuck Currie criticizes the Pope and his new book because the Pope compares abortion to the holocaust and calls same sex "marriage" part of a new ideology of evil. 

I find it amazing that these people can call themselves Christians and still support Abortion and Homosexuality saying that they are issues of justice.  Is it just for parents to kill their children?  I think not.  Is it unjust to say that homosexuality is immoral and against the Law of God.  I think not.  It is never unjust to tell the truth.

What is unjust is that some denominations compromise and water down the Word of God to fit their own agendas.  The people of God deserve the full and unadulterated word of God and it is the Job of priests and ministers to give it to them.  I will never apologize for the truth, and my guess is, neither will the Pope.

 Cardinal Martino Appeals For Terri Schiavo

In statements on Vatican Radio, Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said: "If Mr. Schiavo succeeds legally in causing the death of his wife, this not only would be tragic in itself, but would be a grave step toward the legal approval of euthanasia in the United States."

He added: "I would like to remind everyone in this connection, about all that the Holy Father has said in past days to the Pontifical Academy for Life, confirming that the quality of life is not interpreted as economic success, beauty and physical pleasure, but consists in the supreme dignity of the creature made in the image and likeness of God.

"No one can be the arbiter of life except God himself."

Outrage Over TV Exorcism

Following up on the post below:

In a ritual that lasted about two minutes, priest the Rev Trevor Newport stood over Colin, prayed and then demanded that evil spirits be cast from his body. There was no shaking or rocking associated with the traditional images of exorcism and Colin did not demonstrate any violent reaction.

Afterwards he said: "I feel that I have had demons in my life and that they have been delivered. I was a bit nervous beforehand but after I was prayed for the nervousness just went. 

It appears as though the outrage is not over the violent and vulgar actions of the possesesed man, but that there wasn't any vulgar and violent actions. 

Pray For The Pope

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II underwent a tracheotomy, a procedure in which a hole is made in the throat and a tube is inserted to assist breathing, Italian news agencies reported Thursday. 

While the procedure itself is typically short and not complicated, what follows could indicate the state of the pope's health, NBC medical correspondent Robert Bazell said. If the tracheotomy is performed to allow a breathing tube to be connected to a ventilator, then that could be a sign of a serious condition. 

The Italian news agency ANSA reported that the pope arrived conscious and was taken inside in a stretcher. It quoted people who saw him enter the hospital as saying his face looked “quite relaxed.”

The first medical bulletin on the pope's condition was not expected until Friday morning, a Vatican source told Reuters.

“He had the same symptoms as last time, including fever and some breathing difficulties,” the source said.

Let us pray for his recovery.  Long live the Pope!

Oh My!!!

I think this one deserves the first ever Meandering Mind Caption Contest.  Winner gets the satisfaction of knowing they won.  Post your caption in the comments.

Oops!

 Good Quote

From Katherine Jean Lopez on NRO's "The Corner": "I know if you disagree with me on abortion, you will be particularly annoyed by this post, but it’s hard not to note this sentence from Kristof’s Sudan genocide column today, especially because it unintentionally points to something very close to home: “But the real obscenity isn't in printing pictures of dead babies--it's in our passivity, which allows these people to be slaughtered.”

How very true...the real obscenity is that we aren't moved to anger.

Today Is The Feast of The Chair of St. Peter

This feast brings to mind the mission of teacher and pastor conferred by Christ on Peter, and continued in an unbroken line down to the present Pope. We celebrate the unity of the Church, founded upon the Apostle, and renew our assent to the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, extended both to truths which are solemnly defined ex cathedra, and to all the acts of the ordinary magisterium.

In honor of this feast and our present Holy Father, I would like to share with you the text from the hymn that we here at the seminary sang this morning at Lauds (Morning Prayer):

Long Live the Pope

Long live the Pope!
His praises sound
Again and yet again:
His rule is over space and time:
His throne the heart of men:
All hail! The Shepherd Pope of Rome,
The theme of loving song:
Let all the earth his glory sing
And heav’n the strain prolong.

Beleaguered by
By the foes of earth,
Beset by hosts of hell,
He guards the loyal flock of Christ,
A watchful sentinel:
And yet, amid the din and strife,
The clash of mace and sword,
He bears alone the Shepherd Staff,
The champion of the Lord.

Then raise the chant,
With heart and voice,
In Church & school & home:
"Long live the Shepherd of the Flock!
Long live the Pope of Rome!"
Almighty Father bless his work,
Protect him in his ways,
Receive his prayer, fulfill his hopes,
And grant him length of days! 

What's Happening...

There may be a little slowing of posts until after this Wednesday.  This is due to the fact that I will be writing my written exam for my Masters Degree on Wednesday.  Today and tomorrow will be spent in preparing for the exam.  The exam consists in answering three questions out of six that have been predetermined by me and my advisors in a period of three hours. In case you are interested the six questions are as follows:

The Meander'n Mind of a Seminnizle

 Cardinal Arinze Lays Down The Smack

Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, the top Vatican Cardinal in charge of the sacraments of the Catholic Church has made it plain in an on-camera interview with EWTN that pro-abortion politicians may not be admitted to Holy Communion.
Arroyo questioned the Vatican Cardinal saying: “Last year, you were asked at a press conference whether a politician, a Catholic politician who supports abortion publicly should be permitted to the Communion rail, should be permitted to receive Communion publicly. What is your response to that?”

Cardinal Arinze responded, “The answer is clear. If a person says I am in favour of killing unborn babies whether they be four thousand or five thousand, I have been in favour of killing them. I will be in favour of killing them tomorrow and next week and next year. So, unborn babies, too bad for you. I am in favour that you should be killed, then the person turn around and say I want to receive Holy Communion. Do you need any Cardinal from the Vatican to answer that?

Laughing, Arroyo responded, “It should be pretty transparent.” To which the Cardinal concluded, “Simple, ask the children for First Communion, they'll give you the answer.”

Similarly, Cardinal Arinze ruled out Communion for homosexual activists.

Arroyo noted that while some US bishops have refused Communion to Rainbow Sash activists, others such as Archbishop Harry Flynn of Minneapolis - St. Paul have not. Flynn, after meeting with Cardinal Arinze in Rome recently, suggested that the Cardinal was open to allowing communion for Rainbow Sash activists.

Arroyo first confirmed the meeting with Archbishop Flynn took place. “Did such a conversation take place between you and this archbishop?,” asked Arroyo, to which Cardinal Arinze responded, “Yes.”

Arroyo followed with “And were you open to allowing this group to receive Communion as he inferred in some of the newspapers.”

The Vatican Cardinal responded, “No, no. You see, let's get it clear. These rainbow sash people, are they really saying we are homosexuals, we intend to remain so and we want to receive Holy Communion. The question arises; take the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It says it is not condemning a person for having homosexual tendency. We don't condemn anybody for that. But a person stands condemned for acting on it.”

On homosexuality the Cardinal was clear. “The Catholic Church has never accepted homosexuality as normal. You read the scripture. It's very clear. What exactly are we examining? Are we going to change Divine Law, how God made us?”

He made a distinction between active homosexuals and those with homosexual tendencies. “Quite another matter if a person had just the tendencies and is making (an) effort to live the Divine Law, then that's fine. So, we respect persons but be clear on the truth,” he said.

Thank God for the holy Cardinal!  I am very curious to find out what Archbishop Flynn's response to this is.

Overturning Roe v. Wade?

Today the Supreme Court is scheduled to have an internal, private conference to discuss how they will handle the petition filed by Norma McCorvey (the "Jane Roe" of Roe v. Wade) to reverse Roe v. Wade. The Court can either refuse to hear the case, or grant certiorari.  Unless they postpone their discussion, their decision should be announced on February 22nd. This being the case I think we should pray and offer some form of sacrifice that this will go well and that Satan will be defeated.

For more information about Norma McCorvey's efforts to overturn Roe, visit her website here.

If you would like to read the actual Petition for a Writ of Certiorari CLICK HERE.

The Sickening Reality of Abortion

HOUSTON, February 17, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Eyewitnesses reported seeing baby body parts mixed in with sewage after a broken line caused a sewage spill near a north Houston abortuary Tuesday.

A car dealership employee working next door to the clinic said she saw what she is convinced were baby body parts.

"Whether it's legal or not, it's not right," Maribeth Smith said, as reported by click2houston.com. "This whole area is nothing but raw sewage and bloody pieces. There were little legs coming out from one side."

How very sad.  We must pray and sacrifice alot so that this evil will be eradicated from our society.

More on Chris Rock

Here is an interesting take on the whole Chris Rock abortion uproar.  Dorinda Bordlee has this to say about it, "Whether Rock is pro-life or pro-choice, whether he intended to use satire or really believes what he said, is beside the point. What's "beautiful" is that Chris Rock has exposed a profound side effect of legalized abortion — the sexual mistreatment of women.

It's been over 30 years since the United States Supreme Court began our nation's social experiment in legalized abortion. Millions of post-abortive women and their tragic stories prove that Alice Paul was right when she said "abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women."

She goes on to say, "So here we are, five years into the new millennium, and a comedian has the nerve to say out loud what men across America know full well: that legalized abortion is great for their sex lives; that abortion on demand makes women into sex objects with the full consent of the highest court in the land; and that if their sexual use of a woman results in the unfortunate side effect of a pregnancy, then $300 and their "kindhearted" support of the woman's "right to choose" will take care of the problem.

The real problem is that women have gotten the raw end of this deal. Roe has ruined romance. Every woman's deepest desire to love and be loved has been distorted into a license to use and be used. Women have paid with their bodies and their souls. Abandoned emotionally and financially by the men they loved, and moved by profound grief at the loss of their children, they stand in front of crowds with signs that say "I regret my abortion."

You know, she has a great point, and she is right.  What he says is indeed nothing new for modern males, and women should stand up and say ENOUGH!  I refuse to be used and treated like an object, and men, if they seek to be real men, should stop using women and treating them like objects.  Men, if they seek to be real men, would imitate Jesus who gave up his very life for his bride, the Church.

It's been over 30 years since the United States Supreme Court began our nation's social experiment in legalized abortion. Millions of post-abortive women and their tragic stories prove that Alice Paul was right when she said "abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women."

She goes on to say, "So here we are, five years into the new millennium, and a comedian has the nerve to say out loud what men across America know full well: that legalized abortion is great for their sex lives; that abortion on demand makes women into sex objects with the full consent of the highest court in the land; and that if their sexual use of a woman results in the unfortunate side effect of a pregnancy, then $300 and their "kindhearted" support of the woman's "right to choose" will take care of the problem.

The real problem is that women have gotten the raw end of this deal. Roe has ruined romance. Every woman's deepest desire to love and be loved has been distorted into a license to use and be used. Women have paid with their bodies and their souls. Abandoned emotionally and financially by the men they loved, and moved by profound grief at the loss of their children, they stand in front of crowds with signs that say "I regret my abortion."

You know, she has a great point, and she is right.  What he says is indeed nothing new for modern males, and women should stand up and say ENOUGH!  I refuse to be used and treated like an object, and men, if they seek to be real men, should stop using women and treating them like objects.  Men, if they seek to be real men, would imitate Jesus who gave up his very life for his bride, the Church.

Is Homosexuality Biological? I Think Not.

John Derbyshire has an interesting look at this issue here.  He lists a number of theories, including but not limited to the following:

(1) Satan. Homosexuality may be a manifestation of Satan's work. While the least scientific of current theories, this one is probably the most widely believed, taking the world at large. Most devout Muslims, for example, believe it, and so do many Christians.

(2) Social Construction. There is no such thing as homosexuality. There are only heterosexual and homosexual acts, which different cultures regard differently. The notion of "homosexuality" as a personality attribute is a 19th-century invention.

(3) Brain damage. Some insult to the tissues of the brain, perhaps at birth or in infancy, causes homosexuality.

(4) Choice. People choose to prefer their own sex over the other.

(5) Family influences in childhood. The Freudian belief is that having a weak father and/or dominant mother can form the child's personality in the direction of homosexuality.

(6) Social stress. Rats kept in overpopulated environments, even when sufficient food and access to females are available, will become aggressively homosexual after the stress in the environment rises above a certain level.

(7) Imprinting. The individual's early sexual history can "imprint" certain tendencies on animals and humans. Many homosexuals report having been same-sexually molested in childhood or youth.

(8) Socialization theories. The high levels of homosexual bonding in some ancient and primitive societies suggests that the common mores of a culture have some power to socialize large numbers of people into homosexuality.

(9) Genetics, direct. Homosexuality is the expression of some gene, or some combination of genes.

(10) Womb environment — too much of a good thing. The presence of certain hormone imbalances during critical periods of gestation can have the effect of hyper-masculinizing the brain of a male infant. Paradoxically — there are plausible biological arguments — this might lead to the infant becoming homosexual.  

For the complete list as well as his ideas about which ones are most probable you can read it here.

Ever Wonder If Centering Prayer Is A Good Way To Pray?

If you have, check this out:

The Centering Prayer Movement has become very popular in Catholic circles today. People sign up for it in retreat centers, in workshops, and sometimes in their own parish. These people believe it to be authentic Christian contemplative prayer practiced by the saints. Is it really Christian contemplation?

In my research on the New Age which I did for the past ten years, I found that it is not Christian contemplation and that this type of prayer is not recommended by Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Ratzinger, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, or St. Teresa of Avila. There have also been warnings from Johnnette Benkovic on EWTN (Mother Angelica's Network). Johnnette has a program called "Living His Life Abundantly", and has had a series on the New Age. She has also written a book called, The New Age Counterfeit, and devotes one chapter to the problems of Centering Prayer (CP). She identifies it as being the same as Transcendental Meditation (TM) which is tied to Hinduism.  

Read the whole article here.

 I Proudly Display My Trophy

Chris Rock Opens His Mouth...

...and this abomination comes out: "Abortion, it's beautiful, it's beautiful abortion is legal. I love going to an abortion rally to pick up women, cause you know they are f***ing."

This is a sick man.  That anyone could joke about the murder of millions of children in this way is very, very sick.  Let us pray for him and may God have mercy on his soul. 

Live Exorcism To Be Televised in UK

The UK's Channel 4 is taking reality television to the next level with the planned broadcast of a live exorcism of a man whose brain activity will be monitored while a priest drives out his demons.

Channel 4 has earned a reputation for provocative broadcasting of medical procedures, having shown an abortion in 2004 and an autopsy two years prior.

An Anglican priest will be conducting the exorcism on a young man who claims he is "possessed by evil," according to the Sunday London Times. The young man has been receiving counsel from the priest for several years.

The controversial subject matter has already drawn criticism before the program's showing.  

Read the whole article here.

Third Seer Of Fatima Dies

Sister Lucia Marto, the last of three children who claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in a series of 1917 apparitions, has died, Portuguese media reported today. She was 97.

Sister Lucia, a Roman Catholic nun, had been ill for the past three months and died at the Convent of Carmelitas in Coimbra, north of Lisbon, TSF radio reported, citing family sources.

Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes called Lucia’s death ”very emotional news”.

Lucia and two of her cousins, siblings Jacinta and Francisco, said in 1907 that the Virgin Mary had been appearing to them once a month and predicting events, such as a world war, the fall of Russian communism, and the eventual persecution of Catholics and the Pope. The appearances took place on the 13th day of each month in Fatima, a town about 70 miles north of Lisbon.

The first sighting was May 13, and the appearances took place for another five months, ending abruptly in October that year.

Shortly after, both Jacinta and Francisco died of respiratory diseases. But Lucia became a nun and penned two memoirs while living in convents.

The Catholic Church later built a shrine in Fatima, which is visited each year by millions of people from around the world. More than 100,000 people from dozens of countries routinely attend the annual commemorations of the sightings.

Pope John Paul II has visited three times since becoming pontiff, spending a few minutes with Lucia during a 1991 trip to the site. He has claimed the Virgin of Fatima saved his life after he was shot by a Turkish gunman in St Peter’s square in 1981. The May 13, 1981, attack coincided with the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima, and John Paul credit’s the Virgin’s intercession for his survival.

In 2000, he visited Fatima to beatify Jacinta and Francisco.

A funeral was scheduled for Tuesday, TSF reported.

Pope John Paul II:  "I Will Not Die Until I Canonize Pope Pius XII."

...or so this article quotes him as saying.  This is a pretty bold statement considering all of the controversy around Pope Pius XII and his supposed/alleged silence during the rise of nazism.  Of course, these allegations are completely and entirely false, but what would you expect from a bunch of biased scholars and the media?

It is also bold because this process takes a considerable amount of time to complete.  I think it would be safe to deduce that the Holy Father plans on being around for quite awhile yet. 

Long live the Pope!

Only one more day to cast your ballot (hopefully for me) in the 2005 Catholic Blog Awards, so vote today before it's too late! 

 Contraception: a weapon in the class struggle

"In 1960, Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, vowed that she would leave the United States forever if that well-known defender of reactionary conservatism, John F. Kennedy, were ever elected to the presidency. Margaret was a fervent Marxist, a radical feminist, and, despite comical denials posted on Planned Parenthood’s website, a rabid eugenicist. According to her New York Times obituary, dated Sept. 7, 1966, Sanger specifically recommended the practice of birth control to prevent procreation among those of the poor prone to producing heritably ‘subnormal’ children..."

Not only, as this article suggest, can contraception be used as a weapon to promote separation between social classes, but it can also perpetuate, and I might even say, promote domestic abuse.  Now this may seem like a contradiction because the common misconception is that contraception has futhered the cause of women.  I think that the use of contraception makes it very easy for a man to see his spouse (or girlfriend) as an object to be used with no consequences.  This wrong thinking can easily open the door for him to see her as a punching bag to be used to take out his agression, after all, if he can use her for sexual pleasure, why not just give here a beating now and again?

Now don't hear me saying that this is the case in every situation where a couple is contracepting, because that is not what I am saying.  But I would be willing to bet that there is a higher occurence of domestic abuse (whether sexual, physical, or emotional) in couples that contracept than in those that do not.

You can read the rest of the fascinating article here.

More St. Stanislaus Trouble

"Officials filed a misdemeanor harassment charge Wednesday against a man they said left a phone message threatening to shoot St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, apparently over the controversy about St. Stanislaus Kostka Church.

A man police identified as Eggers phoned the archdiocese Tuesday and left a message lasting several minutes, in which he curses Burke and says that no matter how much police protection Burke has, that he will get a gun and kill him.

Jamie Allman, spokesman for the archdiocese, confirmed the threat and said Wednesday, "The archbishop continues to pray for the suspect." 

This is what happens when an bishop has a spine and does what is right.  Lets remember in prayer both Archbishop Burke and the suspect.

Today is Ash Wednesday

 Here at the seminary we will be having a day of recollection and so I will not be posting anything here.  Know that all of you will be in my prayers during this holy season.

"We cannot regard this Lent as just another liturgical season which has simply happened to come around again. It is a unique time: a divine aid which we should accept. Jesus is passing by and he hopes that we will take a great step forward — today, now." - St. Josemaria Escriva

Breaking News

 For those of you following the saga of St. Stanislaus Parish in St. Louis will be interested in hearing about a news release sent out from the Archdiocese of St. Louis earlier today that stated that the "extraordinary patience" of Archbishop Burke with the board of St. Stanislaus Parish has "evaporated." 

Now, what that means I do not know, but I do know this:  the deadline set by the Archbishop for the board of St. Stanislaus to comply with Canon Law expired a few days ago.  We will have to wait and hear more...

Every Catholic School Should Have One of These

Costco:  Funeral Home of the Future?

Now you can buy your own "Our Lady of Guadalupe" casket at your local Costco, and not only that, for $40,000.00 you can buy an origional Picasso.