Thursday, May 31, 2012

Standard of Truth: Natural Law and the National Moral Crisis

Correction:

Annandale, Va. (June 1, 2012)—On Saturday, June 16, the Institute of Catholic Culture presents a timely program with Bishop Robert C. Morlino, STD, discussing how the collapse of moral church teachings has yielded a secular, materialistic society in the United States. (MORE)


His Excellency, Robert Morlino, is a native of Pennsylvania. He entered the seminary for the Maryland Society for the Province of Jesus. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 1, 1974. Bishop Morlino subsequently went on to obtain several prestigious and advanced degrees, including a Doctorate of Moral Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome.


Join the Institute of Catholic Culture and Bishop Morlino for a reflection on how today’s secular society and absence of moral teachings have evolved. The evening begins at 7:30 p.m. at St. Ambrose Catholic Church Hall, 3901 Woodburn Rd., Annandale, Virginia. Free admission, and no reservations required. For more information, please visit www.InstituteofCatholicCulture.org or call 540-635-7155.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Congratulations! We can defeat Gay Marriage!

Over 113,000 signatures were submitted to the Maryland State Board of Elections.  Even though only half that amount are needed, and we probably could have gotten many, many more, it is enough to signal to those who wish to kill TRUE MARRIAGE that this fight is not over.

Even though the Archdiocese was very lackluster in attempting to obtain signatures to help defeat this, many clear and right thinking individuals stood up and said NO.

I hope it sends a message to O'Malley (that fine Gonzaga graduate - snark, snark), Helen Mizeur (who attends St. Al's -- a Jesuit parish) and others that they cannot ram through this type of legislation.

Let's defeat the Gay Marriage and Dream Act!  Oh, what a sweet victory that would be.

If you signed the petition, Thank You!

Friday, May 25, 2012

LCWR Gets Support...and it is a doozy!

So, let me say this up front:  I am very greatful for those women who enter religious life. 

However, it is important to note who stands in solidarity w/ LCWR leadership and the wackyness:

  • Voice of the Faithful
  • Call to Action
  • Women's Ordination Council
  • Dignity USA
  • CORPUS
  • and others...

They have banded together under the banner of Nun Justice Project.  (A really great radical left name...got to give it to the lefties...they really know how to come up with names.)

All of these are groups not faithful to the Catholic Church.  I have documented VOTF, CORPUS and Call to Action before.  DignityUSA is a pro-homosexual group.  Women's Ordination Council speaks for itself.

It would be funny, if it was not so sad.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Pastoral Visit by the Archbishop of Manila

The Archbishop of Manila will be celebrating the Holy Eucharist on Monday, May 28, 2012 at 9am at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle (1725 Rhode Island Ave., NW).  This Mass will be dedicated to the Filipino-American Family and Youth.

In addition, he will celebrate Mass on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 6:30pm at St. Stephen Martyr Church (2436 Penn. Ave., NW).


The Most Reverend Luis Antonio G. Tagle appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as the 32nd Archbishop of Manila on December 11, 2011.

He received his Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) in 1987 and his Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.) in 1991, both from the Catholic University of America. Prior to his appointment, he was installed as Bishop of Imus, Cavite, Philippines on December 12, 2001, and Chairman of the Commission on Doctrine of the Faith of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). In 1997, he was named member of the International Theological Commission of the Vatican.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Letter from Cardinal Wuerl re Lawsuit against HHS Mandate

Some of you probablhy have received this.  For those who have not, here it is.

Although I may have differences with the Cardinal on a number of issues, I do think that this is one we can agree upon and should join forces in fighting.

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May 21, 2012
Dear Friends,

This morning, the Archdiocese of Washington filed a lawsuit to challenge the mandate, recently issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, that fundamentally redefines the nation’s longstanding definition of religious ministry and requires our religious organizations to provide their employees with coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives, and sterilization, even if doing so violates their religious beliefs. Just as our faith compels us to uphold the liberty and dignity of others, so too, we must defend our own.

Joining the archdiocese in this local lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, are three of our related corporations: Archbishop Carroll High School, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, and the Consortium of Catholic Academies. We are joined by the Catholic University of America in this action as well. Ours is one of twelve lawsuits filed today on behalf of 43 Catholic dioceses and organizations nationwide. The lawsuit in no way challenges either women's established legal right to obtain and use contraception or the right of employers to provide coverage for it if they so choose. This lawsuit is about religious freedom.

The First Amendment enshrines in our nation’s Constitution the
principle that religious organizations must be able to practice their faith free from government interference. As is generally the case with laws that may burden religious exercise, the mandate includes an exemption for religious organizations. And if the religious exemption in the mandate were reasonable, there would have been no need for this lawsuit—after all, we are indeed “religious” under any sensible definition. However, the mandate’s exemption is the narrowest ever adopted in federal law. Crucially, it does not include any organization that serves the general public. So under this mandate, our Catholic hospitals, schools, and social service programs, which serve all people, are not “religious enough” to be allowed to follow our Catholic beliefs.

For Catholics, the practice of faith has always required not just acts of worship, but also – necessarily – loving, charitable service to others. The understanding of charity as an essential religious activity goes back to the foundation of Christianity. Jesus Christ taught that obeying the first great commandment -- loving God -- must impel us to fulfill the second great commandment -- loving our neighbor as ourselves. As put by the Apostle St. James: “Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:14-26). When asked what “love of neighbor” requires, Jesus commanded his followers to act like the Good Samaritan, explaining that Christian love must impel us to concrete action and must be universal – extending not just to those of our own kind, but also to outsiders and even enemies (Luke 10:25-36). And Jesus describes the Last Judgment, where he will say to those he has placed at his right hand:
“Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. … Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25: 31-46).
Thus, for two millennia, Roman Catholic entities have been engaged in charitable works – serving not just Catholics, but non-Catholics as well, with the understanding that these works are an essential part of Christian love and the practice of the Christian faith. As our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has recently put it, “love for widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every kind, is as essential to [the Catholic Church] as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel. The Church cannot neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments and the Word.”
Considering the dedicated efforts put into these good works, it is understandable to feel somewhat disheartened to see our government attempt to force the Church out of the public square. To be clear, that is the message that the HHS mandate conveys: our beliefs are not welcome. Those who have the temerity to hold onto their convictions will be fined.

The First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom, however, was not meant to protect merely the right to worship, but also the right to contribute the fruits of our faith to the common good. And until now, our government had chosen to honor that guarantee. Never before has the government contested that institutions like Archbishop Carroll High School or Catholic University are religious. Who would? But HHS’s conception of what constitutes the practice of religion is so narrow that even Mother Teresa would not have qualified. We know that such a law cannot stand. So above all we find cheer in the worthiness of our cause and in the love of our Creator, who imbued us with the very dignity and freedom that this lawsuit seeks to protect.

The Church did not choose this fight. It is HHS that has departed from long-standing practice and precedent to change the law; our response merely aims to preserve our existing rights. Although the Church would naturally remain open to good faith negotiations with the Administration, previous discussions yielded no reasonable compromise, and the Church has been given little reason to think further attempts would be fruitful. Bringing this claim to the courts ensures a fair and impartial hearing—one that we believe we will win. For up-to-date information on this matter, please visit www.preservereligiousfreedom.org.
To further advance our support for religious liberty, I invite you to a special event to publicly witness to our faith and our freedom in the nation’s capital. On June 24, 2012, the Archdiocese of Washington will host a “Celebration of Freedom.” The rally will be held at the Smith Center of The George Washington University. Together with prayer and inspirational music, this rally will feature a video that highlights our heritage of religious freedom and the vital contributions of Catholics to building this nation. I hope you will join us for this wonderful event to celebrate our faith and, most importantly, to pray for our liberty. Your presence at this archdiocesan event will be testimony to how important it is to celebrate our faith and, most importantly, to pray for our liberty. This headline event is part of the Archdiocese of Washington’s response to the “Fortnight for Freedom” called for by the bishops of the United States. For more information and to register, please visit www.sacredproperty.org.

In the coming weeks and months, may God remind us that the freedom of religion is only meaningful when we exercise it. And may God look with favor on our prayers for the success of this endeavor we have undertaken in His name.

With prayerful best wishes, I am

Faithfully in Christ,

Donald Cardinal Wuerl
Archbishop of Washington

Monday, May 21, 2012

BREAKING NEWS: Catholic Church Sues Obama Administration

The archdiocese of New York, headed by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., headed by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the University of Notre Dame, and 40 other Catholic dioceses and organizations around the country announced on Monday that they are suing the Obama administration for violating their freedom of religion, which is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

The dioceses and organizations, in different combinations, are filing 12 different lawsuits filed in federal courts around the country.

The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. has established a special website--preservereligiousfreedom.org--to explain it lawsuit and present news and development concerning it.

For more, go to: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/breaking-cardinal-dolan-ny-cardinal-wuerl-dc-notre-dame-and-40-other-catholic-dioceses

Friday, May 18, 2012

Canon Lawsuit Against GTown University...How can you help?

GTown alum William Peter Blatty and the Father King Society are calling upon all alum, students, teachers, and other affiliated w/ GTown, to join the join them.  They are asking for the Vatican to ensure that GTown is Catholic:

Georgetown University’s twenty-one year refusal to comply fully with the law of the Church through the implementation of the general norms of Ex corde Ecclesiae and its eleven year non-compliance with certain particular norms adopted for the United States, which has led directly and indirectly to the tolerance and promotion of deviations from authentic doctrinal and moral teachings by Georgetown University authorities and a long series of Scandals to the faithful through actions inconsistent with a Catholic identity.


This request for intervention may even include the suspension or revocation of GTown as Catholic.

Here is the Link:  http://www.gupetition.org/


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In other news, it seems that the communities which make up LCWR are voting to determine to become independent or to remain as is, under the auspicies of the Vatican. 

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Georgetown Scandal has gotten a bit hotter...

Well, it seems that the Archdiocese of Washington has taken the issue of Sebelius speaking at Georgetown University up a notch.  Good for them.  About time. 

Even though they know they will not get them to disinvite Sebelius, it does not make the university look good. 

For those who are interested in signing the petition put together by the Cardinal Newman Society, here is the link:  http://www.georgetownscandal.com/

Monday, May 14, 2012

Girl Scout Controversy Continues

My parish, like many others, sponsor a couple of different Girl Scout Troops, run by many of the moms in the parish.  A while back, I wrote about some issues with the Girl Scouts. 

It seems that this is an issue which will not go away for them.

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Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, said that the bishops are looking into concerns about the Girl Scouts organization.

In March, Bishop Rhoades penned a letter to his fellow bishops explaining that the committee recently met and discussed “a variety of the concerns” that have been voiced about Girl Scouts of the USA over several years, including “possible problematic relationships with other organizations” and “problematic programmatic materials and resources.”

For more, go to Catholic News Agency: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/controversy-continues-as-girl-scouts-celebrate-100-years/

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Help save true marriage:

People are very passionate about this issue,” said Derek McCoy, executive director of the Maryland Marriage Alliance. “We are working hard to win this.”McCoy told CNA on April 3 that the alliance has worked “feverishly” over the past few weeks to develop petition drives and train people to run them.

The alliance is leading a referendum campaign, joining with the Maryland Catholic Conference, the Maryland Family Alliance and other national and local groups of different political and religious backgrounds to defend the dignity of marriage.

To read more, click here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/efforts-to-defend-marriage-intensify-in-maryland/
To sign the petition, please click here: http://www.marylandmarriagealliance.com/

Monday, May 7, 2012

Comfortable with same-sex marriage...

By now, you have heard Joe Biden (the highest elected Catholyc in these United States) says that he is in support of same-sex marriage. 

Now, why did he do it at this time?  Well, we know that (1) he and Obama are worried about their re-election and need to shore up the homosexual voters (and their money) and (2) he knows that our Catholic leaders won't do a damn thing to him for it.  Look, if they threw Fr. Marcel under the bus, do you really think that they (Cardinal Wuerl and/or Bishop Malooly) will really put their foot down about Joe Biden.

In addition, did you notice that there was no comment about Sebelius at Georgetown. I wish Georgetown would simply say:  We are no longer Catholic and stop the charade.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Those Wild and Wacky LCWR Leaders...

There are a couple of blogs that I read on a regular basis, such as the Curt Jester.

Well, he linked in his blog (from someone else) about those wild and wacky LCWR leaders, who invited someone to give the keynote.  They decided to invite Barbara Marx Hubbard.  According to her biography:

she received an honorary PhD in Conscious Evolution from the Giordano Bruno GlobalShift University. She has established a Chair in Conscious Evolution at Wisdom University and is member of many progressive organizations, including Evolutionary Leaders Group, Global New Thought (AGNT), as well as, The World Future Society.

That should be enough for anyone to ask about the LCWR Leadership:  WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?  

But, if not, you can go to her website and read more:  http://www.barbaramarxhubbard.com/site/

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Poll

Well folks, the poll entitled "Should we send Fr. Reese to Moscow instead of Fr. Marcel?" was created due to a comment made by Fr. Reese.  When asked what Cardinal Wuerl should do with Fr. Marcel, it was reported that he should give him a one way ticket to Moscow.  

Considering that Fr. Reese is usually the one called up whenever they need a priest to disagree with the Church's view, I thought that it would only be right to decide who we wanted to keep:  Fr. Marcel or Fr. Reese.

I think you have spoken.