CATHOLIC NEWS: U.S. Bishops' final plea to Congressmen: Do not pass pro-abortion health care bill... PLUS 33 MORE

CATHOLIC NEWS: U.S. Bishops' final plea to Congressmen: Do not pass pro-abortion health care bill... PLUS 33 MORE

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U.S. Bishops' final plea to Congressmen: Do not pass pro-abortion health care bill

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 07:41 PM PDT

In a final, urgent plea to prevent the passage of the current form of the Senate health care bill, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on Saturday evening sent a letter to Congressmen asking them to vote "no."

New Anglican Nightmare

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 06:17 AM PDT

This week the Episcopal Church officially affirmed the election of Mary Glasspool the openly Lesbian bishop in Los Angeles. Not content with this horror a story emerges of the actions of the Episcopal Church towards traditionalist congregations. You can read the story at Midwest Conservative Journal.

Post office rate hike on mailings critical of homosexuals in the military overruled

Posted: 21 Mar 2010 04:34 PM PDT

National officials with the U.S. Postal Service have overruled a Colorado post office's refusal to ship materials critical of homosexuals in the military at a reduced rate for non-profits. The local post office had claimed the material was "obscene" and incited resistance against the government.

China?

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:30 PM PDT

(Author: Jon Bloom) Read this very brief article in the China Daily (China's official English language newspaper). It's the testimony of a university student who converted to Christianity. Now if you've been following China for any length of time you might be picking your jaw up off the floor.

Vatican on Twitter

Posted: 21 Mar 2010 04:55 AM PDT

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican this weekend opened six Twitter accounts, including one in English. It's exciting news for those who have pushed for better use of new media at the Vatican. Interestingly, the Twitter presence was launched the day Pope Benedict published his letter to Irish catholics on priestly sex abuse.

Jesus' First Word!

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 10:00 PM PDT

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." It is significant that when God becomes man, His first word to us is not, "Keep it up!" or "What do you think?" but "Repent!" Many people are put off by that, as they would be by a total stranger walking up and saying...

How to Pray for the Nation

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 08:52 PM PDT

Got this from reader Alexandra, and thought it was such incredibly simple (but profound) advice, that I had to share it. It really humbled and instructed me:. . .when the Bush-Gore recount battle was going on, I asked my parish priest, a very wise man who loves Christ, how to discern God's will.

Counting the Cost of Condemnation

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 09:29 PM PDT

The Gospel for today's Mass is the well known Gospel of the woman caught in adultery. In this Gospel the Lord reasons with the men of his day (and with us) that the severe justice they want to render to this woman may be an unwise stance as they themselves prepare for their own judgment. Before...

Father Paul Marx - 'Apostle of Life' Dies

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 08:12 PM PDT

By Tim Drake | Father Paul Marx, OSB, founder of Human Life International and the Population Research Institute passed away this morning (March 20). I was fortunate to call him a friend. Over the years, during his time at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minn. my family and I were fortunate to be his guests for Mass in the infirmary...

Some Useful Reminders About Perfidious Catholic Health Bill Endorsers, Part 1

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 07:55 PM PDT

1. Kevin Lofton, CEO of Catholic Health Initiatives, the hospital conglomerate that chairs Catholic Health Association is a regular contributor to Rep. Diana Degette, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus. 2. Catholic Health Association's chief public policy advocate, Michael Rodgers...

Tonight and Sunday: pray for life!

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PDT

Tomorrow it is expected that the final vote on this anti-life health care bill will be taken. It's been a long road, and as much as we may be prone to despair and give up, I will be praying and doing my best to ensure that this anti-life legislation does not become law. Tonight many of us will include this intention in our prayers...

Sane Perspectives on Healthcare

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 11:53 AM PDT

Watch Rep. Paul Ryan making sense, and clearly confusing Rep. Louise Slaughter: H/T Meanwhile, I wanted to share this, with a Hat Tip to Deacon Greg Kandra. He posted an excerpt from Cardinal Seans thoughtful musings on healthcare...

Action: This morning, take 8 minutes and make 4 calls to defeat anti-life health care

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 07:30 AM PDT

This morning's conference between Bart Stupak and pro-abortion democrats has fallen through for a simple reason: Bart Stupak does not trust their promises and they are unwilling to give up their timeline. In the meantime, without Stupak's coalition of pro-life democrats, Pelosi has to pick up more of the other anti-bill Democrats which are not yet on her side.

Cardinal O'Malley rips pro-Obama Catholics on health care

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 07:03 AM PDT

The Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, yesterday criticized organizations such as the Catholic Health Association and Network for supporting a health care bill that will halt decades of government neutrality on the issue of abortion.

"You must answer for it before God"

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 03:06 AM PDT

"... and before properly constituted tribunals." The pope's pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland, on the scandal of sexual abuse against minors on the part of priests.

A Tough Witness

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 10:00 PM PDT

Sacred Heart of Jesus School in Boulder, Colorado, recently informed the parents of two students that their children wouldn't be re-admitted for next fall's term. Normally, that would be a matter between the parents and the school and not the stuff of national news. But not this time. That's because the parents in question are a lesbian couple.

Blessed John Paul II by April 2?

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 09:08 AM PDT

I just got a Blackberry text message from a friend who says it was just announced at the LA Religious Congress that Pope John Paul II will be beatified on April 2! This would be the 5th anniversary of his death. I've checked around on the net and the story is being carried by Catholic Online: "It began with a Polish News Report in the Polish daily "Dziennik" and spread throughout th.

The Four Last Things

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 06:38 PM PDT

Traditional Catholic theology has distinguished the "Four Last Things" : Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. We are admonished to meditate upon these things frequently. We WILL die, be judged, and spend eternity either in Hell, or in Heaven (likely after some time in purgatory). All men are appointed to die once, and after that face The...

A priest on the front lines..

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 07:11 AM PDT

... Catholic military chaplain Cpt. Carl Subler on March 5 at a small U.S. combat outpost in Sha-Wali-Kot in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. [source] a smoke grenade container he uses to carry communion wafers. Thank you Keith P. for the link.

Passion Sunday - It Ain't What it Used to Be

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 01:43 PM PDT

Eons ago, back before 1970, the season of Lent had a slightly different structure than it does now. If you happen to look at a missal from back then, you'll notice that there are only four Sundays of Lent, followed by Passion Sunday, followed by Palm Sunday.

Memo to Munich: Get it Out Now!

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 07:55 AM PDT

Cardinal Sean Brady of Ireland, currently under fire for his role in an investigation of sex abuse claims against a priest in the 1970s, delivered a homily on St. Patrick's Day calling for a "sincere, wholehearted and truthful acknowledgement of our sinfulness," insisting that the Irish bishops must "own up to, and take responsibility for...

Stopping Big Porno

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 01:00 PM PDT

Last month, with little or no fanfare, the American Psychiatric Association announced that it may add sex and pornography addiction to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) used by psychiatrists to recognize disease and treat patients. This is welcome news to the exploding number of those who suffer from such maladies...

Bookmaker gives odds for papal resignation

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 08:40 PM PDT

Yes, you read that right. Details: With the Catholic Church currently embroiled in a sex abuse scandal, leading online bookmaker PaddyPower.com has shortened its odds on Pope Benedict XVI resigning his papacy from 12/1 to 3/1.

Reconciliation: Confession, Contrition, Satisfaction

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 10:13 PM PDT

By Mark Shea | In John 20:22-23 we find the record of the origins of the sacrament of Reconciliation: And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

St. Teresa of Avila & St. Joseph

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 05:50 AM PDT

The great Teresa of Avila was devoted to St. Joseph. In her autobiography, she challenges the reader to put devotion to St. Joseph to the test. I took for my advocate and lord the glorious Saint Joseph and commended myself earnestly to him; and I found that this my father and lord delivered me both from this trouble [a temporary paralysis] and also from other and gr.

St. Joseph and Manhood

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 10:46 PM PDT

I remember once being amused to hear that a certain Franciscan Theologian from the 19th Century (whose name I cannot remember) wrote a six volume "Life of St. Joseph." Six volumes?! How could one possibly get enough material? We know so little of Joseph from the Scriptures. He seems to have been the strong, silent type...

Pope renews call for global financial authority

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 06:56 AM PDT

Today's worldwide financial crisis demonstrates the need for a new global economic system, Pope Benedict XVI told a group of visiting Italian entrepreneurs on March 18. Citing his social...

Vatican journalist names members of Medjugorje commission

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 06:37 AM PDT

Following the Vatican's official confirmation that a commission has been established to investigate the reported Marian apparitions at Medjugorje, journalist Andrea Tornielli of the...

St. Patrick didn't drive errors out of journalism

Posted: 17 Mar 2010 08:03 PM PDT

In his thought-provoking essay "Reclaiming St. Patrick's Day," Christianity Today 's Ted Olsen talks about how Christians could emphasize the day by highlighting issues related to the great saint (e.g. fighting human trafficking, celebrating multi-ethnic communities and incarnational ministry).

Tip-Off Thursday

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 05:28 AM PDT

At noon today, the ball goes up on another year of March Madness... by then, however, today's fortnightly meeting of the Congregation for Bishops will already have made it into the books. Lest anyone missed it the first time, the chancery pool: On a side-note, the NCAA champ might indeed get a trophy and bragging rights...

Shortage or Abundance?

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 06:20 AM PDT

I've been prepping for a day of training for lay ecclesial ministers and experienced one of those major "convergence" things when 10 or 12 separate realizations: theological, historical, and demographic - suddenly come together in my head and form a whole that sheds a new light on everything. I'm still working through it but while doing so...

AP rehashes old news to help Obamacare..

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 06:19 PM PDT

Likely Members of the LCWR The AP headline reads: Catholic nuns urge passage of Obama's health bill : Some 60 leaders of religious orders representing 59,000 Catholic nuns Wednesday sent lawmakers a letter urging them to pass the Senate health care bill. It contains restrictions on abortion funding that the bishops say don't go far enough.

Myths About St. Patrick

Posted: 17 Mar 2010 06:52 PM PDT

There are a lot of myths about the life of St. Patrick. One of them is that he was Protestant. Or at least that he wasn't Catholic but was instead, I guess, a kind of proto-Protestant. This kind of thinking is found in some Evangelical circles, where some of those of Irish descent have a desire to claim St...

What do You Think of Catholic Preaching?

Posted: 17 Mar 2010 07:34 PM PDT

When I talk with Catholics who have left the Church, the number one reason I get that they left was poor preaching.This is especially true of those who left for the Evangelical Churches. Catholic priests as a group have the reputation of being poor preachers. I think there are several reasons for this. The expected length...