Catholic Network of Volunteer Services - Update

Well folks, if you go over to the CNVS website, you will see their press release regarding the dinner honoring BB&T Bank, with Chris "I get a thrill up my leg" Matthews.

It seems that the dinner took place in Chevy Chase. (Mmmm...I wonder if Muffy and Biff attended?)

So, as expected, they could not take the heat and the embarrassment.

New Superintendant

From the WaPo:

Bert L'Homme, who has spent much of his career in public education, will be in charge of Catholic schools for the archdiocese, which serves 29,000 students in 95 schools in the District and Maryland.

Click here to read the rest from the WaPo.

Click here to read the press release from the Archdiocese.

Welcome and Congratulations to our New Deacons

The Archdiocese of Washington welcomed twenty (20) new deacons this past weekend. You can read all about them here. The print version of the Catholic Standard has photos.

Catholic Network of Volunteer Services (CNVS) - A Follow-up

Well, you got to give the CNVS folks some credit.

Our colleagues at Restore DC Catholicism announced a protest of their dinner with Chris "I Get a Tingle up my Leg" Matthews, as the headline speaker. When they arrived at the Franciscan Monastery, there was no one there.

So, what does it say about CNVS:

1. They realized that this was not a good situation -- either they would have to admit that they supported the views of Chris Matthews or dis-invite him because of his this pro-abortion, pro-gay, and womyn priest support.
2. They realized that a protest would put them in a bad light with BB&T Bank, whom they probably get some funding from.
3. There were probably some members of the clery (like a Bishop?) who probably attended the dinner. And this would not look very good, esp. if it was plastered all over YouTube.

So, what did they do, they probably moved the even to some other location.

First, you got to give them credit for it. Someone was using their head. Since you had to purchase a ticket, it was easy to contact everyone and let them know of the move.

However, and more important, what does this say about CVNS -- if they were really, really convinced that they were doing the right thing, why didn't they stand firm.

So, if you attended the function, I would love to hear from you. Where did it take place? Did Mr. Matthews speak? Was there mention of the protest? Did they have a good laugh over the whole thing?

Oh, and to CNVS, we would love to hear from you. In fact, if you write to me, I will even post your response word for word. And I won't shift websites on you either.

Stupid Biden Quotes

Once again, we bring you another stupid quote from the highest ranking elected Catholyc official in the United States: Vice President Joe Biden.

"Uh, uh, Chuck Graham, state senator, is here. Stand up, Chuck, let ‘em see you. Oh, God love you. What am I talking about."

Joe Biden to wheelchair-bound Missouri state senator, Charles Graham, September 9, 2008.

Catholic Volunteer Network - Their Non-Response

After my post yesterday regarding the non-response from the Catholic Network of Volunteer Services (CNVS) to one of my readers, I began to think (which I am doing all of the time, unlike Catholycs who prefer to go with their feelings) about it and the reason for it.

Seems to me that they knew what they were doing, have been caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar and just don't care. Why? Because most of their constituencies probably have the same view as Chris Matthews. So why apologize when you support abortion, gay marriage and womyn priests.

With the invitation by CVNS of Chris Matthews, they are just acknowledging and validating their set of Catholyc beliefs.

Oh, and just forget about the folks over in Hyattsville doing anything about this. They will do the Sgt. Schultz ("Hogan Heroes") mantra: "I know nothing, NOTHING."

Planned Parenthood Missing Millions of Taxpayer $$$

A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on federal tax money funneled into Planned Parenthood and similar organizations raises more questions than it answers about the nation's largest abortion chain.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America's (PPFA) audits show the organization spent just $657.1 million between 2002 and 2008 from federal government grants and programs, but the abortion behemoth's own annual reports show that it took in $2.3 billion from government grants and programs during the same time period.

Read about the rest of it here...and spread the word about their actions!!!

Follow-up on two stories...

This week's edition of the Catholic Standard contained an article on the prayer service hosted by the Environment Committee of the Archdiocese of Washington.

This seems to be a committee in search of meaning. Maybe it is time to end the search and end the foolishness. But I digress.

A while back, I wrote about this service and what I found most troubling. Of the three things that were the focus of the service, the Catholic Standard article did not mention one of them. Yep, they did not talk about "repentance." I wonder why? I would love to hear from anyone on the Committee or the the Archdiocese on why that one was not mentioned.

Last week, I wrote about the Catholic Network of Volunteer Service who will have Chris "I get a thrill up my leg" Matthews as the guest speaker. I had one person contact me that he/she has written them (respectfully, he/she added) but has not heard back. I guess if you don't respond, then the embarrassment might go away.

Oh, and our colleagues at Restore DC Catholicism showed that there was an advertisement for this event in the Catholic Standard. I think that someone in the Advertising Department might have some 'splainin' to do.

A Wonderful Father's Day Weekend Gift

Congratulations to the eight (8) men who were ordained on Saturday, June 19th for the Archdiocese of Washington DC.

I have had the opportunity talk with both Fr. Briese and Fr. Colliou, both ordained in 2009 and both with very interesting life stories. If the men of the 2010 class are anything like the 2009, we are blessed in this Archdiocese.

You can read about them here.

+++

Now on a side note, if you would like to go see a movie for the entire family, Toy Story 3 is great. There is a great deal of humor for the kids, as a couple of touching moments, especially for mothers.

She Chose Obama over the Bishops...

Sister Carol Keehan, CEO and President of the Catholic Health Association (CHA) openly acted in favor of President Obama’s health care reform and in opposition to persistent requests from the bishops, said Cardinal Francis George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), during their spring meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida.

During the bishops' executive session held Tuesday morning to address the fallout of CHA’s support for the health care legislation despite the bishop's opposition, Cardinal George recounted the events that took place prior to President Obama's signing of the health care reform. The prelate then concluded his remarks by criticizing CHA and Sr. Keehan, saying they have created the dangerous precedent of a parallel magisterium to the bishops.

To read more, go to the Catholic News Agency.

Now, for those of you who supported her visit to Gonzaga, hopefully this will change your mind. It is my hope that she will no longer be allowed to speak in this Archdiocese.

It is time for our Archbishop to use the rod, as Pope Benedict has said, because whatever carrots he is using, simply does not seem to work.

Come follow me...

Even in death, he inspired.

Monsignor Thomas Wells will not be in the crowd Saturday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception when his nephew, Deacon David Wells, is ordained as a Catholic priest.

A decade ago, Thomas Wells was stabbed to death in the rectory of Mother Seton Catholic Church in Germantown, a crime for which Robert Paul Lucas is serving a 42-year sentence. Lucas, 35, formerly of Clarksburg, said he stabbed Wells because the priest made sexual advances toward him.

David Wells, 27, of Bowie, said his uncle was proud of his Catholic faith, as is the rest of the Wells family.

"The first time I thought about the priesthood was around the time my uncle died," he said Thursday in a phone interview. "In his death as much as his life, he influenced me."

For more, read the Gazette.

CNVS and Chris Matthews - Pro-Abortionist and Pro-Gay Marriage

It seems that the Catholic Network of Volunteer Services (CNVS) will have as their special guest speaker Chris "I get a thrill up my leg" Matthews at their reception to honor BB&T Bank with the Bishop Joseph A. Francis Award.

According to their website:

Catholic Network of Volunteer Service (CNVS), established in 1963, is a non-profit membership organization of 200 domestic and international volunteer and lay mission programs. Currently, more than 10,000 volunteers and lay missioners serve in these programs throughout the U.S. and in 108 other countries.

At their website they announce that Chris Matthews will be the keynote speaker, but you know, they never mention that he is both pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage. Amazing how they missed these things, which are easily found in a search about him. But maybe it does not matter to them. Why would a Catholic group have as a keynote speaker, someone who views the killing of unborn children morally acceptable. Maybe Catholic is just simply a placeholder -- a holdout from earlier days.

Now,don't get me wrong. The objectives of the organization are good, but must they honor someone who stands in opposition to some key Catholic values?

So, if you decide to write to them, and I urge you to do so, be respectful and ask that they pull back their offer. I doubt that they will (they are located in Takoma Park -- that explains a lot).

Catholic Network of Volunteer Service (CNVS)
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 820Takoma Park, MD 20912-4423
USA Toll Free: 1-800-543-5046Phone: 301-270-0900Fax: 301-270-0901
Email: cnvsinfo@cnvs.org


Special thanks to our colleagues over at Restore DC Catholicism on this one.

A New Blog Addition

I haven't done this for a while and believe that it is high time to do so -- the addition of a blog to my list: Dymphna's Road.

Go over and enjoy her thoughts and musings.

For all the "Pro-Life Catholics" who supported ObamaCare...

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH), in a meeting with President Obama and Congressional leaders at the White House today (June 10, 2010), asked President Obama to provide the American people with a progress report on the implementation of his Executive Order which purports to ban taxpayer-funding of abortions. Leader Boehner noted that in her recent “progress report” to Congress on the implementation of ObamaCare, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius did not make any mention of efforts by the administration to implement the president’s Executive Order (EO).

Read more, go here.

I guess that is right in line with the Most Merciful, Lord Barack Obama's other promises. WORTHLESS.

Planned Parenthood Clinic on 16th St.

Many years ago, I was a regular every Saturday morning praying the Rosary outside of this clinic. There were usually about a dozen or so. Sometimes, we would be joined by a priest from St. Matthew's, sometimes students would join us.

When I think back to those days, the "clinic escorts" use to call us names, yell at us, etc. I remember one gay man walking with his friend and saying in a very loud voice: "You know, today I think I should get abortion."

Periodically, the police would come by, due to a call from the clinic. They would look, but didn't do much other than to flirt with the escorts.

For many years, the pro-life community has been allowed to pray, counsel and have a peaceful witness on the public property surrounding the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Washington, D.C.

Several weeks ago Planned Parenthood put up a fence around that public property, and police are now threatening to arrest anyone who stands inside that fence.

To read more, go to LifeSite News.

Here is an update to the story, including a little known fact about who owns what around the clinic.

And read about the CUA Students for Life at this same abortion mill.

Gonzaga and The Archdiocese

Gonzaga High School, for those who do not know, is one of the high schools in the Archdiocese. Well known for sports, their graduates have jobs in all levels of society and they are very loyal to the school.

As you may or may not know, Gonzaga (which is run by the Society of Jesus aka Jesuits) invited Sr. Carol Keehan to be the graduation commencement speaker on June 6th. (Why does it seem to be the Jesuit's who are doing these sorts of things - Notre Dame, Georgetown, etc.)

Now, I did not comment on this matter before -- not because it was not important -- but because I wanted to see how this would unfold. And it was pretty predictable, from my point of view, on the part of the Archdiocese.

Our colleagues over at Restore DC Catholicism first identified this matter over two weeks ago. In fact, they even went to protest. Right or wrong, they decided to take that action.

The Catholic Standard, in the special insert on high school graduations, did report this. But no further mention was made.

First, the smartest thing would have been for the Gonzaga administration to ask her not to come. Maybe they felt that enough time had passed that the controversy would have died down. Maybe they thought that no one would notice. Maybe they did not care. But they did not and to be quite honest, they should have known better.

However, does not Gonzaga fall under the Catholic School system in this Archdiocese? It is not listed, as far as I can tell, as an "independent" Catholic school like Avalon or Brookewood.

If Gonzaga is part of the Archdiocese Catholic School system, then Archbishop Wuerl and/or the Superintendent should have been made aware of this. Yes, they were probably aware but I guess if you ignore it, it will go away.

If Sr. Keehan was "removed" as the keynote speaker the the John Carroll Society, why was she not removed as the speaker at this? (Probably because Catholic bloggers across the country had picked up on it and it was becoming an embarrassing situation for Archbishop Wuerl.)

Was it because a couple of months have passed by and the Archdiocese thought that the issue would have been forgotten or if you don't publicize the fact, it would be ignored? Or maybe this is part of their effort to help rehabilitate her image? (Note that she is no longer with the Holy Family Hospital Foundation Board...the Knights of Malta made certain of that, just a week or so ago.)

If the school is as pro-life as the supporters say that they are, then why was she invited? There are probably 100 others who could have spoken. Did they not go to the administration and ask that Sr. Keehan not speak?

Cardinal McCarrick's attendance has once again scandalized this Archdiocese. You had him at Sen. Kennedy's funeral and now this! Again, what this does it to give a "stamp of approval" to her actions.

One of the parents in the video was scene asking "Is this really going to change anything?"

The answer is yes and no.

No, it would not stop her from speaking and probably would not change any minds.

Yes, it may once again make the Archdiocese realize that this has caused a scandal and will only make for more bad publicity. It only adds to confusing messages we are getting from the Archbishop.

Let us remember what Archbishop Chaput wrote regarding Sr. Keehan:

"Regrettably, groups like Network and the Catholic Health Association have done a grave disservice to the American Catholic community by undermining the leadership of the nation’s Catholic bishops, sowing confusion among faithful Catholics, and misleading legislators through their support of the Senate bill ."

And

"But the actions of the Catholic Health Association (CHA) in providing a deliberate public counter-message to the bishops were both surprising and profoundly disappointing; and also genuinely damaging. In the crucial final days of debate on health-care legislation, CHA lobbyists worked directly against the efforts of the American bishops in their approach to members of Congress. The bad law we now likely face, we owe in part to the efforts of the Catholic Health Association and similar ‘Catholic" organizations."

Finally, I do not entirely blame the students. Thinking back to my days, I was clueless about many things regarding our faith. For me, graduation day was the start of a whole new stage of my life. A chance for me to really be out on my own (so to speak) and see what life was like outside of my school and community.

If the students and parents were really pro-life, as many claim they are, they could have sent a really strong message by standing up and turning their backs on her during the speech. That would have sent a very pointed message to both her and the school administration. (What would they have done to the students? Give them more demerits? To the parents, send them another fund-raising letter?)

But let's be honest, all of this could have been averted had the Archbishop asked that Sr. Keehan be removed as the speaker.

So, once again, Archbishop Wuerl has let another scandal take place and another chance for confusion and dissension among Catholics.

Nice job Archbishop Wuerl.

Laser Monks...

On a regular basis, I get emails or read about supporting religious communities by purchasing their products. Now, as much as I like cakes and candies, I really don't need my weight to go up any more than it is.

However, I have recently purchased some cartridges from Laser Monks. The prices and quality were good and I am supporting a good cause.

You might think about it.

http://www.lasermonks.com/

PS: I did not get paid in any way, shape or form for this advertisement.

Update to the June 1st Blog Post

Earlier this week I told you that Msgr. Paul Dudziak of St. Rose of Lima Church in Gaithersburg, MD told the congregation during his homily that by not recycling, you are creating your own BP oil spill.

Well, our colleagues at Restore DC Catholicism were kind enough to post the audio of this. Go over there and listen.

I wonder if the folks over in Hyattsville agree with this statement? Maybe it is time for the Archdiocese to really take a close look at what is going on over there. My sources tell me that VOTF is still meeting there.

Ms. Gibbs, if you would like to comment on this matter, please send me an email and I will post your response.

The Archdiocese Environment Committee -- The Wackos are Taking Over

A number of bloggers, including myself, have written about the Archdiocese of Washington Environmental Committee. Remember the Lenten Fast suggestions this year? Who could forget that? Probably the Archdiocese wish it would have never happened.

Well, it seems that they are sponsoring an "evening of service prayer, repentance and reflection" regarding what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico on June 9th.

Now, I can understand how we want to pray for those affected by this and the devastation that is happening to the coastline and wildlife. I understand it and pray for those affected by it.

However, I do have two questions for this Committee:

• What do we need to repent for? I am not certain what we have done to be sorry for? Do you mean that by using my car to go to work is something I should repent for? Do you mean that taking my family on a vacation is a crime that I should be ashamed of?
• How do you intend to get to St. Camilus? If you are driving a car or taking any other form of transportation that involves fossil fuels, aren't you part of the problem and not part of the solution?

What is going on here? Are the environmentalist wackos taking over? Is this going to be the new devotion in the Archdiocese? Instead of the Year of the Priest, it will be the Year of the Environment? (I probably just gave someone an idea!)

Doesn't anyone think about what they are saying? You claim that we should repent? Start with yourselves. Stop driving to buy food, go to the doctor and even going to Mass. Walk or bike. Read day old newspapers and use sandals made from old tires. Only shop in consignment shops and don't take a shower every day.

Is this what the Archdiocese is helping to fund?

BTW, I would love to hear from anyone on the Environment Committee and I promise to post your response exactly as you have written it.

Environmentalism Running Amok in the Archdiocese?

As many of us watch BP unable to stop the oil leak and The Most Merciful in way over his head, I received an item from a reader. Now, I am not certain if she is trying to tell me something or just to let me know of the general wackyness that comes out of St. Rose.

She sent me an audio sermon of Fr. Paul for Pentacost Sunday. At the very start, he says "that every house that does not recycle is its' own BP oil spill."

Wow! Can you believe this? I certainly do not expect to hear this at Mass.

I wonder if he will say that every family which supports the gay lifestyle is like its' own Castro St or Folsom Street Fair? Now that I would like to hear.

(BTW, I would have posted the audio file but Google Blog does not support the posting of them.)