Political Stations of the Cross...

According to a story in the Gazette Newspaper, for the People's Republic of Takoma Park, it seems that the regular Way of the Cross was not enough for the folks over at St. Camilus.

As if focusing on the scourging, the suffering of Mary and ultimately the Crucifixion was not enough, they decided to amend the stations just a bit and meditate on issues such as deportation or climate change. Working with the Latino Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee (don't you just love the Social Justice crowd names), they decided upon the topics to be covered.

So, in discussing the topic of deportation, Fr. Jacek Orzechowski said: "So many people, especially in [Prince George's] County, so many people who are members of our parish have been somehow impacted, even deported, because of minor traffic violations."

Sorry Fr. Orzechowski, people do not get deported for minor traffic violations. They are stopped for those violations but are then determined to have broken more serious laws, such as entering the country illegally, and are then deported.

But, the real purpose of this was summed up nicely by Margarita Silverstone of the People's Republic: "I mean, tea-party people are at times equally informed by their own religious faiths in terms of their choices, this is sort of a more liberal Christian bent, but it's political choices, as well."

To read the complete story, go here.

Is the end in sight for Carhart?

Notorious late-term abortionist Leroy Carhart has a new relationship status with the Maryland Board of Physicians: “it’s complicated.” The board has launched a full investigation against the abortionist for allegedly lying on his application to practice medicine in the state when he set up his abortion business.

The Maryland Board of Physicians sent a letter to a staffer of the abortion watchdog group Operation Rescue, confirming that it has launched a full investigation into Carhart, based upon information laid out in a complaint she had submitted.

To read more about this, go to LifeSiteNews.

I am going to have to remember to drop a couple of bucks the way of Operation Rescue for their work on this.

Divine Mercy: Understanding the Sacrifice of Christ

Arlington, VA (April 20, 2011)— On Wednesday, April 27 at 7:30 PM, the Institute of Catholic Culture will host a lecture entitled, “Divine Mercy: Understanding the Sacrifice of Christ,” featuring Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, as speaker. The lecture will be held at Saint Leo the Great Catholic Church, 3700 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA.

The great feast for all Christians is the day of the Resurrection of the Lord, Easter Sunday. And at the heart of this glorious day is the person of Jesus Christ, who, by his passion, burial, and resurrection has destroyed the power of death and given eternal life to mankind. In recent years, the Roman Catholic Church has focused the attention of the faithful on the mystery of our Lord’s life-giving death by celebrating “Divine Mercy Sunday” on the first Sunday after Easter.

Join the Institute of Catholic Culture and world renowned spiritual master, Fr. Benedict Groeschel, for this evening study of our Lord’s “Divine Mercy,” and discover the hidden plan of God for you and for all mankind. All are welcome. No reservation required. Free Admission.

For more information, please visit http://www.instituteofcatholicculture.org/ or call (540) 635-7155.

Have a Blessed Easter!

I am going to take a couple of days off from blogging and will resume next week.

However, as we move into this most holy of times, it is always good to know that there are those out there who claim to be morally and intellectually superior to those of us who are pro-life, but seem to have no problem making fun of a three year old with Down's Syndrome.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish each of you a Blessed and Happy Easter.

Cardinal Wuerl and the Role of Bishops in Theology

Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, chairman of the U.S. bishops' doctrine committee, reaffirmed the role of bishops as teachers of the faith in an April 18 statement on the work of a controversial feminist theologian. He explained that theologians must accept divine revelation, which is not open to revision.

“In continuing the mission of Christ the Teacher,” Cardinal Wuerl explained, “the bishops in union with the Pope are therefore ministers of a free and wonderful gift of God – the assurance that we adhere to the true faith.” The possession of this truth, he said, is so valuable that “the believer … would be willing to die rather than deny it.”

To read the rest, go to Catholic News Agency.

Used and Discarded...But What Else Did You Expect

By now, some of you have heard that Doug Kmiec has submitted his resignation as US Ambassador to Malta. Mr. Kmiec was one of the biggest Catholic supports of Obama in the last election. It was due to him that many liberal "catholycs" voiced their support for Obama and encouraged other Catholics to vote for him.

It seems that he too was now thrown under the bus, as his usefulness had ended.

You know, this reminds me of the movies in which a follower of Satan has failed or outlived his/her usefulness, is then gotten rid of.

Sad, so sad but a lesson learned.

You can read Tom Peter's review of this situation..it is insightful.

MCC - Fiscally Irresponsible!

Over the last few weeks, the Maryland Catholic Conference (and by extension the Archdiocese of Washington DC), has been pushing for the Maryland Dream Act. This would allow illegal aliens the ability to get in-state tuition rates.

Now, if you read their literature, and the Catholic Standard (and did you notice the story of the illegal alien a few weeks ago), there is no mention of cost.

According to an article in the Washington Examiner (page 4, April 18th), the number thrown out is that it will cost the taxpayers of Maryland at least $3.5million.

Now, most of us know that when a number like that is thrown out is it probably more like double or triple.

And who pays for this? The citizens and legal residents of Maryland.

Tell me, in this time of increased deficits, increased costs to families, (and we won't even go into the law breaking) don't you think that this is the height of fiscal irresponsibility of the Maryland Catholic Conference and the Archdiocese of Washington?

Maybe the Archdiocese of Washington should give everyone a break on the collection next Sunday.

Maryland Transgender Bill Killed

Maryland Senators today voted to quash a bill that would have added ‘transgender’ as a protected class when it comes to employment, credit, and housing discrimination.

The bill, called “Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act,” had been much-debated, even among gay rights activists, with some calling Senate members “discriminatory” for seemingly delaying its passage and others crying for its rejection, saying the bill did not go far enough in protection.

For more, go to LIFESITENEWS.COM

Too bad they did not do that for the "Dream Act" which was supported by the Maryland Catholic Conference. BTW, I know that the MCC was against this bill but I don't remember seeing anything on it. Do you?

When will Cardinal Wuerl have that chat with Mayor Gray

When Sargent Shriver passed away, the Funeral Mass was held in Our Lady of Mercy (aka "Our Lady of Gucci" by some of my friends) with Msgr. William English, as the pastor. I wonder how many pro-abortion politicians received Holy Communion on that day. You will notice that the Catholic Standard (yes, this is a while back) ran a couple of stories but made certain not to have any photos or mention of those who received Holy Communion.

Archbishop Chaput gave a talk at Notre Dame on Catholics in the political square, according to LifeSite News:

There is unity among the bishops about abortion always being wrong, and that you can’t be a Catholic and be in favor of abortion - the bishops all agree to that - but there’s just an inability among the bishops together to speak clearly on this matter and even to say that if you’re Catholic and you’re pro-choice, you can’t receive holy Communion,” Archbishop Chaput said.

Chaput acknowledged he is only in favor of refusing Communion provided private notice is given to the individual ahead of time.

But Catholics who support legal abortion, Chaput continued, must be told they cannot receive Communion and told they should never approach Holy Communion. Along with other bishops, Chaput said he has been attempting for some years to have the USCCB speak publicly on the matter.

Mayor Gray Arrested for Supporting Abortion Funding

Yesterday, Mayor Vincent Gray (Religion: Roman Catholic) was arrested as he protested against restrictions on abortion funding and reinstatement of school vouchers.

I wonder if the Cardinal now has second thoughts about giving the invocation for Mayor Gray, who is willing to get arrested over his pro-abortion beliefs and anti-school vouchers.

I guess this is one of those, "I told you so" moments.

The Lenten Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is attributed to Gregory the Dialogists, Pope of Rome and is one of the most beautiful of the Lenten services known among the Eastern Churches.

Join the Institute of Catholic Culture for our annual Lenten visit to Holy Transfiguration Melkite Greek- Catholic Church for this unique experience and open your eyes to the sacred treasures of the Christian East.

Thursday, April 14
6:30 PM – Educational Introduction 7:30 PM – Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts 8:30 PM – Lenten Supper & Church Tour

Event Location:
Holy Transfiguration Melkite Greek-Catholic Church
8501 Lewinsville Road, McLean, VA 22102

For more information, please visit www.InstituteofCatholicCulture.org or call (540) 635-7155.

Note: The photo was from the April 3, Laetare Sunday, at St. Mary Catholic Church in Alexandria conducted by the Instutite. Photo is used w/ permission.

Spanish Catholic Center - Poor Care?

A lawsuit has been filed against two medical clinics run by Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Washington DC. This lawsuit was filed by Charles Briggs, the staff doctor from March 2008 till Oct. 2010, when according to the Washington comPost, he was fired. You can read about it here.

The Archdiocese sent out an email the following day (Thursday, April 9th) refuting the allegations.

Linked to his email was a letter to the Washington comPost by the Director of the Spanish Center.

In addition, a letter was sent out by Bishop Knestout regarding this and other stories in the Washington comPost.

To be honest, I don't have all of the facts on this one, although the Washington comPost is no friend of the Catholic Church.

A long time ago, I advocated that we should close this center and reallocate the funds towards education. If these allegations are true, maybe this would be a good time to shut it down and reallocate the funds to education.

Former Teacher Arrested for 3rd Degree Sexual Assault (update)

I received an email last night from a reader.

Mr. Michel Rosenzweig was arrested by the Montgomery Country Police Department and charged with five counts of third degree sexual assault from an incident in 2003.

Mr. Rosenzweig was a part-time phys. ed. teacher at St. John the Evangelist School (Silver Spring) from 1989 to 1992. Therefore, his arrest is not related to his employment with the Archdiocese.

However, this linked video states that he was accused in 1990 of inappropriately touching several female students, which would have been the time he was employed by the Archdiocese. But, according to the video, police could not charge him because "there was not any probable cause."

If you have any information, please contact Det. John Reinikka of the MoCo Family Crimes Division (1-240-773-5400).

+++++++++++++++

Update: It seems that SNAP has weighed in on this matter. If you go to their website, you can see how they have left out facts, such as the fact that the was also a teacher in other private schools and public ones, and worked for other organizations. Personally, I don't trust SNAP but that is just me.

However, I will fault the Archdiocese for not having ANYTHING on their website (as of this writing) about this issue. You thought that they would have learned.

He is probably going to get some real hate mail...

I have written about Msgr. Pope previously. He is the key writer, IMHO, on the blog of the Archdiocese of Washington. If it was not for him, the blog would probably be rarely visited.

This week, he took on the issue of why Catholic priests were not preaching and speaking out on the issue of homosexuality. He writes:

Dear Parishioners,

In recent years, homosexuality has been frequently in the news. An increasingly nationwide effort to give recognition to so-called gay “marriage,” is only the latest matter to receive a lot of attention. Prior to this, the Episcopalian denomination ordained as a bishop a man who openly practices homosexual behavior. This action has divided the Episcopalian denomination in two. Prior to this, the last fifteen years have also seen the Episcopalian and other Protestant denominations liturgically celebrate gay “marriages” and unions. This too has caused great divisions in those denominations. Even among the Catholic faithful, mistaken notions about homosexuality and marriage have taken hold.

You can read more about it

here.

The Prayers of the Faithful for Sunay, April 3rd

This weekend, I attended Mass outside of this Archdiocese.

During the Prayers of the Faithful, this one came up: "Pray for those unjustly treated because of their sexual orientation."

Did this take place in your parish?

I would like to hear from you if it did.

The Divine Mercy with Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR

Arlington, VA (April 2, 2011)— On Wednesday, April 27 at 7:30 PM, the Institute of Catholic Culture will host a lecture entitled, “Divine Mercy: Understanding the Sacrifice of Christ,” featuring Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, as speaker.

The lecture will be held at Saint Leo the Great Catholic Church, 3700 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA. The great feast for all Christians is the day of the Resurrection of the Lord, Easter Sunday. And at the heart of this glorious day is the person of Jesus Christ, who, by his passion, burial, and resurrection has destroyed the power of death and given eternal life to mankind. In recent years, the Roman Catholic Church has focused the attention of the faithful on the mystery of our Lord’s life-giving death by celebrating “Divine Mercy Sunday” on the first Sunday after Easter.

Join the Institute of Catholic Culture and world renowned spiritual master, Fr. Benedict Groeschel, for this evening study of our Lord’s “Divine Mercy,” and discover the hidden plan of God for you and for all mankind.

All are welcome. No reservation required. Free Admission.

For more information, please visit www.InstituteofCatholicCulture.org or call (540) 635-7155.

Many of us have been saying this for the last few years...

The U.S. bishops told a Senate subcommittee on March 29 that Catholics face growing threats to their religious liberty because of a “radical secular perspective” that seeks to eliminate moral judgments from public life.

“Religious communities, including our own Catholic community, have suffered from and still experience religious bigotry, bias and prejudice,” said Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the retired Archbishop of Washington, D.C. He testified on behalf of the U.S. bishops at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing prompted by concerns about America Muslims' civil rights.

Cardinal McCarrick said that most instances of religious intolerance in modern Western countries are not motivated by sectarian tension between different faiths. Today, he observed, religious intolerance more often originates from “a radical secular perspective that insists that no moral principle or religious belief should ever challenge individual decisions.”

For more on this, go to the Catholic News Agency

An Example for the Archdiocese Environment Outreach Committee

I believe that the Environmental Outreach Committee of the Archdiocese of Washington, has really not done enough to encourage and demonstrate the importance of the environment this Lent.

Therefore, I would like to introduce the Committee to one priest and his efforts to save not only souls, but the environment.

May they, and the Archdiocese as a whole, use his example as a model for every parish. Ask any priest or bishop what their primary function is, and most if not all will respond: "To save souls".

Fr Norbert Crombley, pastor of Our Lady of Sustainability, would add "...and planet Earth" at the end.

To demonstrate his concern for the environment and the earth, he's launched a light bulb replacement program at his parish, the only one of its kind in America.

For the rest, please click

here.