Catholic Elected to as Republican National Committee Chair

Michael S. Steele has been elected as the RNC Chair and is a Catholic right here in the Archdiocese of Washington DC.

Here are some highlights from his biography:

- Archbishop Carroll High School, Washington, DC.
- Member of the Knights of Columbus
- Pastoral Council, Archdiocese of Washington, 1996-99.
- Citizen of the Year Award, Maryland State Council, Knights of Columbus, 2003.
- James Cardinal Hickey National Figure Award, Office of Youth Ministry & CYO, Archdiocese of Washington, 2005.
- Member, St. Mary's Catholic Church, Landover Hills.

Also, if I remember correctly, he is a Minster of Holy Communion.

Congratulations Mr. Steele!

I get fustrated..can't help myself...and once again, who says we don't care about life after birth...

According to an article in Catholic News Service...

Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, on Friday was awarded one of six Life Prizes...he encouraged pro-life Americans not to “despair and give up.”

“Our situation is similar to what it was in 1993: the White House and both chambers of Congress basically against us on the abortion issue. Our opponents thought they would soon reverse the Hyde amendment against federal abortion funding, begin funding destructive human embryo research, and pass the Freedom of Choice Act,” he told National Review Online.

“None of these things happened, and President Clinton’s repeated vetoes of a ban on partial-birth abortion only kept the horrors of abortion before the public’s eyes and increased pro-life sentiment. If we persevere, we will again show that the pro-life message is here to stay.”

But, I must say that it is very demoralizing when our own clergy not only vote for a pro-abortion president but then go out and celebrate it. Even more demoralizing is when the USCCB hires pro-Obama supporters.

And...another article showing how Catholics care about the child after birth...I wonder how many pro-abortion advocates do the same...but I guess they don't have to, because if you kill enough of them, then you don't have to worry about a place like St. Ann's Home...

The diapers and baby formula were stacked to the roof of the blue Toyota minivan that took donations from students and faculty at Holy Redeemer School in College Park to St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home in Hyattsville on Jan. 26.

The maternity home that they donated to provides residential care and services to pregnant adolescents, and parenting adolescents in crisis. The home also provides day-care to children of working families.

Photos from the March for Life 2009

I was unable to get down to the March for Life due to a variety of issues at work. However, a friend of mine did get a chance to attend Mass at the Verizon Center, as well as, participate in the March. Here are a couple of photos from the event...

Catholic Schools Week - Celebrate It!

I am proud to say that I am a graduate of a Catholic elementary school, secondary school and university.

I am also proud to say that I am an active supporter of the local Catholic elementary school.

Catholic schools not only educate students of all races and religions, but are a visible sign of our faith, not only by teaching it, but through the various fundraisers and activities, which pump millions of dollars and volunteer hours back into the community each and every year.

Catholic schools save the federal, state and local governments millions of dollars each year, but to paraphrase Rodney Dangerfield "They get no respect."

So, if you are not a supporter of Catholic schools (use your time and talent) become one, especially if there is a school attached to your parish.

President Obama Slaps Pro-Lifers in the Face

Well, it seems that on the Anniversary of Roe v Wade, the Most Merciful, Lord High Barack Obama lifted the ban on providing federal funding for non-governmental organizations working outside the U.S. that offer abortions or abortion counseling.

Of course, the media was in compliance with this, by only focusing on GITMO.

Read the last two paragraphs of this article.

Congratulations to all those Catholics who voted for Obama. You have now sentenced millions of innocents to their deaths.

Thanks to the Curt Jester and one of his readers for this.

"Catholic" Colleges/Parishes Celebrate the Coronation of Obama

Well it seems that a number of Catholic institutions of higher education, as well as, Catholic parishes, celebrated the coronation of the Most Merciful, Lord High Barack Obama:

- Trinity College (what else is new)

- Catholic University of America (although the article does not state if they just rented the facility out or actually sponsored one -- not very clear, so I will give them the benefit of doubt)

- Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Washington. DC

- St. Margaret’s in Seat Pleasant, MD

I don't expect the Archbishop to do anything about Trinity (hasn't done anything in the past, why start now) but come on, you ask us to sign card protesting FOCA and yet two of your parishes host celebrations about the election of a pro-abortion president.

And to make it worse, the pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help waxes on about him, while the pastor and parishoners at St. Margaret's seem to ignore his pro-abortion stance.

If I remember correctly, the largest number of abortions are done on African-American woman. And here they are praising the President, who intends to spend more money on this evil.

What's next? A statue of Barack Obama in the sanctuary?

Thanks to our colleagues at Restore DC Catholicism for making us aware of this.

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Update:

Above I made a statement on the number of abortions in the African-American community. The data seems to point out, even the most recent, that there are more abortions conducted on caucasians than blacks but that the rate among black women is higher:

The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control indicate that while 56 percent of all women who obtained legal abortions were white, the abortion rate (the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 per year) for black women was 2.9 times that of white women. For every thousand black women, 32 have abortions, as compared with 11 for every thousand white women. Likewise with numbers of abortions per 1,000 births: The abortions/births ratio for white women was 184 abortions per 1,000 live births; for black women, it was 543 abortions per 1,000 births. This means that abortion ratios for black women were 2.8 times greater than those for white women. Sadly, black women were also more likely to obtain riskier abortions late in their pregnancies, while white women were significantly more likely than black women to obtain abortions before 16 weeks.

Although a little old, I think that this explains it well.

Right to Life March Today..and Pro-Lifers in Action

I have not written anything about the Right to Life till now, not because it is not important but because there are so many out there who are on top of it.

I will attempt to get down there today and bring back some photos. But if I cannot, I do want to show all of the pro-abortion supporters that Catholics not only care about those who are not only in the womb but who are "alive and kicking."

Here is a great story about the Knights of Columbus, distributing almost 8,000 winter coats to children, as part of their "Coats for Kids" program.

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Well it seems that one of my reader's has pointed out that Laura Bush is pro-abortion or at least not in favor of overturning Roe v Wade. She had to go way back to find this one line about five years ago.

I don't know if Hyattsville knew about this fact but I certainly was unaware and I am usually pretty good about keeping up on this sort of stuff, but this one was hidden deep.

Another one bites the dust...so to speak.

FOCA Postcards at your local Parish...

This past weekend, during the announcements, the Celebrant asked each person to complete a set of postal cards dealing with the possible passing of FOCA. There was a card for each US Senator and the US Representative for my parish.

The card states:

At this time of serious national challenges, Americans should unite to serve the good of all, born and unborn. The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), the most radical and divisive pro-abortion bill ever introduced into Congress, would create a "fundamental right" to abortion that government could not limit but would have to support. FOCA would overturn many existing widely supported policies, including laws protecting parental involvement and conscience rights and those preventing partial-birth abortion and taxpayer funding of abortion.

Please oppose FOCA or any similar measure, and retain laws against federal funding and promotion of abortion. As your constituent, I would appreciate a written response telling me how you would vote on these matters.

I have nothing wrong with this, and it shows democracy in action. However, in many respects, this is a waste of time and money.

Why?

First, history shows that this is meaningless to Sen. Barbara Mikulski and the Democratic Party as a whole.

About 10 or so years ago, over 250,000 postal cards were delivered to Mikulski and then Sen. Sarbanes about rejection of abortion. There was the photo op of the the Cardinals of Washington and Baltimore and the Bishop or Wilmington with all of the cards on the steps of the capital.

Mikulski and Sarbanes never mentioned it. It was totally ignored.

Second, Sen. Mikulski (who always makes certain to state how she was raised a Catholic) and Cardin are both 100% pro-abortion. The representative for my parish is 100% pro-abortion too. Makes no bones about it.

Third, they know that even with a 100% pro-abortion voting record, it does not matter -- they will be re-elected since Catholics don't vote their faith. Heck, you have members of the Knights supporting pro-abortion politicans and you have the USCCB hiring staffers who support pro-abortion politicans.

Finally, they know, with the Most Merciful, Lord High Barack Obama, Sen. Nancy "the theologian" Pelosi, Harry "the Body" Reid and with complete Democrat control of both Houses, they can and will ignore pro-lifers.

So, I will fill out the cards and send them it. It is a bit of a futile effort but who knows, maybe God will change one of their hearts.

Personally, I believe that the only way you are going to change the laws, is by electing pro-life politicians but when members of our own hierarchy vote for the Most Merciful, Lord High Barack Obama, you are really fighting as the underdog.

The Inauguraton of President Barack Obama -

One of the many things that I have always loved about my country is the fact that there has been an orderly transition of power from one elected official to another, and that to this point in history, we have not had any military overthrows of the government.

Today is both a happy day and sad day for me.

Happy because it shows that (1) anyone can be President of the US and (2) there is an orderly transition of power.

Happy because once again, the hypocrisy of the Catholic left has shown itself. Four years ago, they were yelling and screaming about the cost of the inauguration (apx. $50,000,000). We were told that we should not be spending that much, since we were not only in a war, but the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Now, there is not a word from them. Now, when we really are in an economic crisis and at war, they couldn't care less about spending apx. $150,000,000. HYPOCRITES every last one of them.

Sad because we are not only electing the most radical pro-abortion, pro-homosexual president ever, the man is simply an EMPTY SUIT. He will take us down the socialist path and my fellow Catholics will say nothing and just smile.

The man looks good, has a great smile, has the media in his corner (he can do no wrong) but he is no better than a Potemkin Village.

Today is both a happy day and sad day for me.

ACLU files lawsuit against conscience protection rules...

Well, it has already started folks...

New conscience protection regulations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have been challenged in a new federal lawsuit filed on Friday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The HHS announced the rule change on December 18. The new rule reportedly clarifies the rights of health care providers to decline to participate in services to which they object in conscience. The rule will help protect those individuals and institutions in the medical field who object to abortion.

Acting on behalf of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), the ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal district court in the District of Connecticut. According to the ACLU, the suit argues that the rule significantly undermines access to essential family planning, reproductive and other health care services and information.

Sometimes, when you dance with the devil, the price is steep.

For more, see CNA.

The First Lady Visits Little Flower School in Bethesda, MD

There are many who criticized Mrs. Laura Bush. She is too much like a Stepford wife. She does not speak out enough (or loud enough). She isn't stylish enough. Blah, blah, blah.

Personally, I think Mrs. Bush has "a lot of class," as they say.

The Catholic News Agency reports on her final school visit as First Lady...

Mrs. Laura Bush on Tuesday visited Little Flower School in Bethesda, Maryland in her last school visit as First Lady. Noting the upcoming celebration of National Catholic Schools Week, she praised the history of Catholic schools in the United States and congratulated Little Flower for being chosen as a Blue Ribbon School.

Her audience included school faculty, students, and the Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl.

“This is my last school visit as First Lady of the United States, and I wanted to end my school visit with a terrific school like Little Flower,” Mrs. Bush said during her 10 a.m. remarks, in which she also referenced her career as a teacher and school librarian.

The First Lady said that National Schools Week, observed from Jan. 25 – 31, is “the week that everybody in the United States can thank our Catholic schools for the great work that you do all over our country and all over the world, really.”

“It's also a time for us to talk to our leaders about the importance of Catholic education,” she continued.

Thank you Mrs. Bush. You will be missed by many of us.

For the full story, click here.

First, Knights of Columbus for Obama...Now, a Knight for Obama at the USCCB and a Knight in Trouble

Well, it is bad enough that the USCCB has

- a questionable movie reviewer,
- spent millions of dollars on ACORN,
- give awards to non-Catholic, pro-illegal immigration "community organizers,"

now they are hiring Obama supporters.

Hey, why doesn't the USCCB just "pack it in." In other words, close up shop.

Read all about it over at Les Femmes - The Truth.

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In a related story, Eric McFadden has been arrested and faces two counts of promoting prostitution, two counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, two counts of pandering obscenity involving a nude minor and one count of compelling prostitution

In 2004, McFadden worked for Catholics for Kerry and in 2005, served as the president for the organization, Catholics for Faithful Citizenship. In 2006, he was a spokesperson for Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, and more recently, he was Hillary Clinton’s lead Catholic outreach organizer as the State Faith & Values Outreach Director during the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Additionally, he was a member of the Knights of Columbus and reached the 4th order. Last year, he penned a letter to the Knights of Columbus asserting that Supreme Knight Carl Anderson was leading Catholics astray by suggesting that Catholics could not vote for pro-abortion candidates.

For the full story by CNA, click here.

Communion in the Hand

When I was a child, everyone received Communion on the tongue. (Many churches still allowed you to kneel, when receiving.)

A number of years later, this would change. In fact, I remember very vividly the arguement put forth was "This is a more adult way of receiving Christ."

Now, at the time, I kept attempting to find arguements to refute this, but could not. The wave of this change was unstoppable.

Over the years, I think that I have recieved Holy Communion only once or twice in the hand. To this day, I continue to receive it on the tongue.

Over the years, I have watched people receive Communion to see if they are doing it correctly (yes, I know, I should have been focusing on the mystery of it).

When going up, some bow, a couple have knelt, some make the sign of the cross, and some are who knows where.

Of course, there seem to be mutiple ways to receive it: left hand flat out with the right hand under it, right hand with the left under it, both hands out side to side.

Finally, you may put it in your mouth with your fingers or just pop it in, like an M&M.

Aufer a Nobis has some thoughts on this.

Personally, I think he is on the mark and I would love to see a return to Communion on the tongue.

Well...a postive from the Madoff Scadal...

As many of us have come to realise, the ponzi scheme created by Bernie Madoff hurt many innocent people. However, there was one ray of sunshine that has peaked thru the dark clouds: it has hurt abortion groups.

According to the Catholic News Agency (CNA):

Picower Foundation, listed as the 71st-largest in the nation by the Council on Foundations, claimed assets of $1 billion... was forced to close in December due to financial problems with its assets, which were managed by Madoff.

“Picower was one of a handful of foundations willing to stick their necks out and significantly fund the three organizations that handle virtually all major reproductive rights-related litigation and legal advocacy in the United States,” the pro-abortion rights Goldstein wrote. “Now the Center for Reproductive Rights needs to make up a $600,000 shortage in 2009; Planned Parenthood is out $484,000; the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project is off $200,000.”

The story continued on by saying...

The ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project authored the 2002 report “Religious Refusals and Reproductive Rights.” Characterizing the expansion of Catholic hospitals as a “growth in the sectarian health system,” the report advocated restricting the ability of Catholic hospitals and other institutions to refuse to perform procedures they find objectionable, such as sterilizations or abortions.

“The law should not permit an institution’s religious strictures to interfere with the public’s access to reproductive health care,” the report’s executive summary argued. Though granting that medical professionals should be allowed to opt-out of procedures to which they object, the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project insisted that they must cooperate in giving “complete and accurate information” and in making “appropriate referrals.”

But let's be honest folks, this is just a short term hurt.

With a couple of months, they will more than make up the lost $$$ because the Most Merciful, the Lord High Barack Obama and his cronies will direct a boatload of taxpayer money to Planned Parenthood, et al whether you like it or not.

Oh, and you can thank Catholics who voted for Obama like Mr. John J. Koback, a member of the Knights of Columbus, who also happens to be the parish accountant of Our Lady of Grace (Silver Spring, MD).

Congratulations.

Holy Rosary Church in the News

In the past, I discussed Holy Rosary Church in light of VOCE ITALIANA, their gazette which highlighted Sen. Nancy Pelosi. The problem is that this gazette, published by a Catholic Church (has the same return address and phone number), highlights a pro-abortion and anti-family politician. Some people don't care, but many do.

This time, it is highlighted in my blog because of an article over the weekend in Washington Post.

Most of the weekend, empty federal buildings and vacant streets make the Judiciary Square neighborhood feel like a ghost town. But not on Sunday mornings, when hundreds of Italian Americans are drawn to Holy Rosary Church and find a piece of the old country.

The thriving Renaissance-style church is more than an oasis in blocks of offices. It is a long-established venue in an ongoing mission of the Catholic Church: serving Catholics in their native languages and customs wherever they are living, even as it struggles with a shortage of priests.

Seven of the 140 parishes in the Washington archdiocese are designated as ethnic, meaning their official purpose is to serve a particular ethnic group rather than a neighborhood. Holy Rosary is the oldest, dating to 1913. Others, established in the 1970s and 80s, serve Polish, French, Korean and Spanish communities. Newer parishes serving Vietnamese and Portuguese Catholics were created in the 1990s. The archdiocese also includes Chinese, Croatian, German, Nigerian and Haitian missions, which are less permanent than parishes but have their own pastors, said Susan Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese.

Read the entire story here.

For their website, click here.

A Tale of a Knight (of Columbus) for Obama

A while back I highlighted the fact that there were a number of members of the Knights of Columbus who were supporting Barack Obama.

Now, as Americans, they have the right to support anyone they wish to choose. On the other hand, if they are members (in good standing) of the Knights, one of the key areas they promise is to promote Life and Family.

Now, in my humble opinion, for a Knight to support the Most Merciful, the Lord High Barack Obama is really not in line with being a Knight. A 100% NARAL rating and a National Right to Life rating of 0% is really not in line with what the Knights stand for.

In particular, I highlighted what one "Knight" in Montgomery County, Maryland -- a Mr. John J. Koback, who also happens to be the parish accountant of Our Lady of Grace (Silver Spring, MD).

Our colleagues over at Restore DC Catholicism demonstrated what happened when they contact Fr. Sweeney.

I think you will find it interesting (and sad).

Make certain to go over to the Current Announcements section for all the details.

Cards from my Mom...

Since my mom is up in age, she has begun the process of getting rid of things she no longer wants or needs. So, in one of my many visits, she gave me an envelope full of greeting cards, which I placed in my "spare card box." You know, the one that you have the blank thank you cards, an extra birthday card or two, a couple of condolence cards, etc.

So, I went through the envelope today and came across the cards shown above (among many others).

The one with the Blessed Virgin was issued by the Franciscan Mission Associates (Mount Vernon, NY) and the one on St. Francis was issued by the Dominican Fathers (Lenox Hill, NYC).

Note: For those who do not know, Lenox Hill is an area on Manhattan's East side about mid-50's thru 70's. Do a Google search for more information.

Man wanted in robbery of Convent in Silver Spring...

From the Washington Post:

Montgomery County police are seeking the public's help in identifying a man believed to be responsible for several church-related burglaries in Silver Spring and are urging residents and other churches to secure their windows and doors.

Grace Episcopal Day School, Grace Episcopal Church, Calvary Lutheran Church and St. John the Evangelist Convent, home to the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, were burglarized between Dec. 19 and Dec. 28. Cash, checks and wrapped candies, to be given as Christmas gifts, were taken, police said.

A nun at St. John the Evangelist said the full extent of the theft hasn't been determined because many of the 12 nuns who live there haven't returned from holiday visits with their families. The burglar entered the convent through a second-story window, she said, and stole credit cards and petty cash. The burglar left other valuables, such as a gold cross on a dresser in one bedroom.

"For somebody to even think that they would get much from the convent -- I mean, we don't have that much around," said the nun, who declined to be identified because of safety concerns.

Police said they are searching for a man of unknown race with a light complexion and wearing a black jacket, gray hooded sweat shirt and black skullcap. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 301-565-5835.

CCHD - Don't they get it?

The folks at the Catholic Campaign for Human Development simply don't seem to get it.

After all of the bad press they have received regarding their giving money to non-Catholic groups such as ACORN, but they just don't seem to get it.

Each year, CCHD awards a Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award to one young adult Catholic who exemplifies leadership, energy, faith, and a commitment to addressing the root causes of poverty in his or her community. This year, they awarded it to Stephanie Garza, who works with the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP) to empower parents as advocates for their families, schools, and communities.

So, even after all that they were criticized for, they decided to give the award to someone who is a not only a "Community Organizer" (her words not mine) for a non-Catholic organization but also assists illegal aliens.

The folks at CCHD are therefore the recipients of the very first "SLAP OFF THE BACK OF THE HEAD AWARD" for not thinking (or maybe they were just trying to thumb their nose at the rest of us.)

Congratulations CCHD!

National Migration Week 2009

In honor of National Migration Week, I bring you the following...

Well, it looks like the USCCB is at it again with National Migration Week 2009. Although they are not clowning around this year, there is still lots of funny business.

Looking through some of the materials offered for use by teachers, I came across a song entitled: I AM AN ALIEN by Wilfred Suprena.

I guess the basic idea of the song is that all of us aliens and throughout the years aliens have been abused and taken advantage of.

However, as I reviewed the song, there are some questions (among many) that came to my mind regarding the song and aliens.

1. The song says that aliens have no skin color, but then the writer talks about "dark skin, red skin." What about "white skin"? Are their no aliens who are white? Or are those with "white skin" the "no skin color" ones? Are aliens only those who are "dark or red"? (Hey, don't call me racist, I am just using the songwriter's own words.)

2. She talks about aliens being made slaves in Ancient Rome and in the Middle Ages (probably in Europe). You mean that there were no "aliens" who were slave in other societies at other times? I guess there were no alien slaves in Ancient Egypt, Carthage, Greece, Timbuktu, Babylon, etc.

3. I am not certain what aliens have to do with Austerlitz? I had no idea that there were millions of aliens from the Czech Republic, did you?

4. I did not know that there were aliens from Auschwitz? Or is she saying that the prisoners kept and killed there were aliens? Or, when the war ended, those who were held there were aliens?

5. Nagasaki and Hiroshima? Again, I am not certain. Does she mean that the population in those cities were aliens, which is why it was bombed? Or did the population become aliens after it was bombed? Or, is it a way to throw a bone to the anti-nuclear/revisionist history crowd?

Ah yes, the funny business continues sans clown at the USCCB.

Condolences...

I would like to take this opportunity to offer my condolences to the family of Fr. Michael C. Kelly, who died on Wednesday morning. He was with the Diocese of Arlington VA.

Father Kelly was en route to the funeral of another priest, when he stopped on to remove a fallen tree blocking the road. While doing so, another tree fell, struck him and apparently killed him instantly.

In addition, I would like to also offer my condolences to his brother priests and the parishioners at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Purcellville, VA.

May eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

And let perpetual light shine upon him.

May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace.

Amen.