VOTF "dismayed" that some Bishops follow Holy See's directives

For Immediate Release

Voice of the Faithful Calls on Bishops to Fulfill Role As Pastoral Leaders

Organization Dismayed by Bishops’ Recent Exclusionary and Divisive Actions

Newton, Mass. – April 15, 2004 – Members of Voice of the Faithful are calling on bishops to provide genuine pastoral leadership in a time of great turmoil for Catholics in the United States. This call comes as Catholics are reacting to recent decisions by at least two bishops, Archbishop Sean O’Malley and Archbishop John F. Donoghue, excluding women from sacred rituals during Holy Week. The events represent the latest in a series of incidents that have exacerbated existing divisions in the archdioceses of Atlanta and Boston.

Faithful Catholics are relieved that some Bishops are following liturgical instructions - of course, those who prefer the "do it yourself" Mass, (more commonly known as the "community worship service" - performance) are perturbed and upset that anyone would listen to Rome when we have the ultimate authority right here - ME!

“As a father whose daughter has gone to Catholic high school and college, I would like to hear Archbishop O’Malley’s rationale for why we educate Catholic women in our Faith, if we are going to treat them as second class citizens,” said John Hynes, chair of the steering committee of Voice of the Faithful – Boston. Hynes, who attended Archbishop O’Malley’s installation at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, remembers being hopeful about the healing that was promised there. “I am sorely disappointed that Archbishop O’Malley is now sending signals that not all voices are welcome,” he said.

Not all voices are welcomed - We, for instance, do not invoke the help of the Evil One (well, some of us don't) during Holy Mass - Although, I sometimes wonder just what's going on at some of the "do it yourself" specials.

“We have made every effort to work with Archbishop Donoghue, who continues to ban faithful Catholics from meeting on church property,” said Betty Clermont, regional coordinator of Voice of the Faithful in Georgia. “Archbishop Donoghue represents the kind of failed leadership that allowed five decades of clergy sexual abuse to happen – even now, he refuses to fill important positions that will ensure the protection of children in our diocese. The fact that he would not allow women to be a part of the foot-washing ritual exemplifies his unwillingness to listen and to include lay Catholics in any kind of meaningful way.”

He continues to ban "faithful" Catholics from meeting on Church property? It is not even remotely possible to claim to be faithful when one rejects the teaching of the Church - for example, that ordination is reserved solely to men. Rejecting this irreversible teaching places one outside the Church, and hence, one is not properly called "faithful".

Even more bizarre it the flawed opinion that a bishop who is faithful to his calling and faithful to the Holy See can be responsible for causing the recent predatory homosexual scandal in the Church. As the evidence makes clear, and will continue to make clear, it is precisely those bishops and priests who REJECTED the teachings and wisdom of the Church that are responsible for the crisis.

One who follows and obeys Christ, His Church, and the Holy Father does not cause evil. One causes evil by rejecting God's will for one's own will. A failure to understand this basic principle demonstrates the depths of the catechetical crisis in our country.

“We are seeing a pattern of words and actions emerge on the part of some bishops that ignore the wounds of the clergy sexual abuse crisis,” said Steve Krueger, executive director of Voice of the Faithful. “At a time when bishops should especially demonstrate pastoral outreach to all Catholics, recent actions excluding the participation of women in the ritual of foot washing and the divisive rhetoric expressed in our churches surrounding the constitutional debate on gay marriage have only served to create further division in these dioceses, as well as throughout the Church nationally. We need to move forward, not back. The actions and words these bishops have taken are unnecessarily painful for women and men of all ages and persuasions. Such actions are divisive, not unifying.”

Members of Voice of the Faithful are encouraging bishops to work more cooperatively with lay Catholics and to cease using divisive language and tactics.

Teaching the Truth, the Catechism, the faith of our Fathers is divisive???

If these people are serious, then they are advocating, not only, disobedience to God but also a rejection of the moral law in general. The propose that people move foward when they accept what Satan offers us. By all means, let's debate the moral issues of homosexuality and marriage - so we can summarily reject them and fashion our own culture, our own church, and our own god or gods.

Please dear God, grant these people the graces they need to shine light upon their minds so that they can learn to think and the graces to strengthen their will so that they may choose to do the good - to choose to do Your will. And please dear Lord help all of us who wish to preserve your Church from corruption - both from the inside and the outside. Guide us and enlighten us to do Your will.

Fr. Lawrence Biondi to Resign from TENET Board of Directors

Just received this email from
The Cardinal Newman Society

Tenet Healthcare Corporation has announced that Rev. Lawrence Biondi, S.J., president of St. Louis University, will resign from its board of directors in May.

Last summer, CNS members sent hundreds of letters and e-mail messages to Biondi urging him to forego re-election to Tenet's board. At the time, Biondi refused and remained chairman of the ethics committee for the national chain of 114 hospitals, including some that perform abortions.
Biondi served on the board since 1998 and was eligible for payments of more than $100,000 annually for his services.

Tenet refused to disclose the exact number of its hospitals that perform abortions, but it confirmed that each Tenet hospital is permitted to choose whether to perform abortions. Catholic Funds Inc., a Milwaukee-based Catholic financial services company that uses two professional screening services to identify businesses that are offensive to Catholic donors, said that both screeners identify Tenet as complicit in abortion.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which tracks abortions and the facilities where they are performed, Tenet-owned MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham performed 166 abortions in the year 2000 -- the last year for which statistics are available. Other Tenet hospitals in California, Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania reportedly perform abortions. The Tenet Healthcare Foundation, an affiliated philanthropy, gave $8,500 in 2002 and $8,000 in 2001 to Planned Parenthood clinics in California, Illinois and Texas.

A defective understanding of liturgical documents?

John Allen of National Catholic Reporter writes in his article today about the foot washing rite of the Holy Thursday Mass. His article is here.

I sent off this email to him. I don't expect a response.

You state in your article http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/word041604.htm:

In fact, there is no “instruction” from Rome, in the sense of a document that provides a clear “yes” or “no” as to whether women may take part. What we have instead is the text in the Roman Missal, the official book of rituals and prayers for the Mass. On the washing of feet, it says: “The men who have been chosen are led by the ministers to chairs prepared in a suitable place. Then the priest ... goes to each man. With the help of ministers, he pours water over each one's feet and dries them.”

Unfortunately, you fail to realize that the Holy See does provide a clear "yes" or "no" answer in the 1988 document "Paschales Solemnitatis". The Holy See, in effect, repudiated the position taken by Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy in 1987, by affirming that 'males' are chosen for the rite. This is key, for the document speaks about the 'faithful' or the 'people' some thirty times and this instance (Article 51) is the only place where the deliberate wording refers to 'males/men'

Secondly, merely serving up examples of disobedience to justify the mistaken case that washing women's feet is permissable does not make it so. It is a shame that the bishops, in general, are too weak to enforce liturgical law as promulgated by the Holy See.

You also stated:

Unless and until there is a specific ruling from the Holy See, one can expect individual bishops and pastors to make their own calls. A Vatican source told NCR April 14 that given the clear meaning of the Latin text, if there were to be an official response, it would almost certainly support limiting participation to males.

Even if Rome issued another specific ruling for those too blind to see, surely we are not so naive that we would believe for a minute that all U.S. bishops and priests would follow the directive? Far too many refuse to follow and obey liturgical law now, to speak nothing of moral and doctrinal truths which are summarily rejected.

In Christ,
Signed

Tired of pro-abortion politicians? File a formal DENUNCIATION with the Church

Tired of pro-abortion politicians in your diocese?
Don't just send a letter, file a formal DENUNCIATION with the Church.
4/15/2004 6:54:00 PM
By The Saint Joseph Foundation - Charles M. Wilson, Executive Director

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE PRO-ABORTION CATHOLIC POLITICIAN PROJECT

The enclosed “generic” letter and observations were designed to serve as models for actual denunciations of pro-abortion Catholic politicians.

A denunciation is roughly the equivalent of a criminal complaint in secular law. As private citizens, if we have knowledge of criminal activity we are required to report it to the proper authorities and cooperate with any subsequent investigation. At that point, we have discharged our obligation. We cannot take the law into our own hands and we have no right to demand a specific penalty in the event that the offender is found guilty. Generally speaking, the same is true in the Church’s legal system.

Obviously, it will be necessary to change the text to conform to the facts in your particular case. Please feel free to put these documents in your own words and keep in mind the fact that you do not have to produce sufficient evidence to show that the politician in question has violated the law. You should, however, include enough documentation to show that a preliminary investigation is warranted.

If you have additional questions or need further assistance in preparing an actual denunciation, please contact the Foundation and we will assist you.

Thank you for your participation in this most important project.

See the sample letters and complete article at Catholic Citizens of Illinois here.

"Catholic" Democrats preparing a "Catholic Voting Scorecard"

I had meant to post this last night but was distracted when Bill O'Reilly had Notre Dame's Fr. Richard McBrien on to discuss Kerry/Communion/Catholic Teaching. That's what I like about O'Reilly - he seems to go out of his way to pick dissenters that agree with his positions about certain doctrinal issues of which he disagrees with the Church. So much for being a "faithful" Catholic! Anyway, the story - this time from Catholic World News:

Washington, DC, Apr. 16 (CWNews.com) - Catholic Democrats in Congress are preparing to respond to criticism that they don't put their faith into action in their politics by creating a "Catholic Voting Scorecard," according to political newspaper The Hill. Nearly 27 percent of the members of the House of Representatives are Catholic.

According to the newspaper, the scorecard will compare the votes of Catholic members of both parties on a issues defined as legislative priorities by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, including partial-birth abortion, human cloning, child tax credits, the Defense of Marriage Act, AIDS relief funding, assistance to needy families, and raising the minimum wage.
. . .
Republicans charged that using the US bishops' legislative priorities as the bar and making all issues equal-- abortion and the minimum wage-- unfairly distorted Church teaching on the responsibilities of Catholic in political matters.
. . .
Frank Monahan, director of government affairs for the bishops' conference, said the scorecard accurately reflects issues where the conference has taken a position, even though it is not a complete list.

Yep! It accurately reflects the issues of the conference...what a loaded and ambiguous statement. I can't wait to see the 'scorecard' - the pro-aborts will get the best grades!

We can thank the conference and majority of U.S. Bishops, who, because of their inaction concerning fundamental life issues, allow the scandal and confusion to continue.

Another article link here.

Homosexuals Call "Barbaric" Church Purveyor of "Nasty Dogmas"

Received via email this morning:

As the drive to establish international homosexual rights has apparently stalled at the UN Commission on Human Rights now taking place in Geneva, homosexual advocacy groups have begun lashing out at their opponents, even calling the Catholic Church "barbaric" in its defense of "nasty dogmas."

The Commission was supposed to vote on a resolution over whether "sexual orientation" should be recognized as an internationally protected human right, but none of the Commission's 53 member states has yet to introduce such a resolution. In a major setback to the homosexual lobby, Brazil, the country that had introduced the resolution last year, declined to do so again during this session. In a statement released by its UN mission in Geneva, the Brazilian government said that, "Since November last year, we have been consulting with delegations of several countries on the text. We have not yet been able, however, to arrive at a necessary consensus."

This apparent setback has enraged supporters of international homosexual rights, who have been lobbying worldwide since the resolution was deferred last year in the face of widespread opposition. Michael Cashman, a British homosexual activist and member of the European parliament, blamed the "aggressive lobbying" of the Vatican and Muslim countries, such as Egypt, Pakistan and Malaysia, for this year's problems, labeling their cooperation on this issue an "unholy axis."

The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) has been even more explicit in its condemnation of the Catholic Church. George Broadhead, secretary of GALHA, said, "the Vatican trumpets itself as a champion of human rights and a model of compassion. This continued barbaric contempt for gay people shows that the Vatican is prepared to go to any lengths to promote its nasty dogmas."

Broadhead believes that the Vatican should be punished for its position, saying, "The Vatican has a special status at the United Nations that is granted to no other religion. It is seeking to gain full status that would give it even more power to impose its will on an unwilling world. We call on the United Nations to immediately strip the Vatican of its observer status. It has shown itself unworthy of having it."

Although pro-family observers are heartened by the developments in Geneva, the Human Rights Commission is scheduled to vote this afternoon on whether or not to make reference to the controversial recommendations of Paul Hunt, the Commission's "Special Rapporteur" on physical and mental health. These recommendations, first reported in the March 26 Friday Fax, include calls for the creation of new international "sexual rights," such as broad rights for "men who have sex with men, lesbians, transsexual and bisexual people." If the recommendations are referenced by the Commission, it is feared that an international law foundation for homosexual rights could still be created, even without the Brazilian resolution.

Copyright - C-FAM (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute). Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required.

Note that the Church is under attack unlike any attacks ever before. We are called to be witnesses (martyrs) to the truth, even when the world rejects the Truth.

Catholic Hospitals to Uphold Living Wills ( & Ignore the Pope?)

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Roman Catholic hospitals are reassuring patients they'll honor living wills in the wake of a papal pronouncement that hospitals should never remove feeding tubes from patients in persistent vegetative states.

In a talk March 20, Pope John Paul II said that feeding and hydrating such patients is ``morally obligatory'' - and that withdrawing feeding tubes constitutes ``euthanasia by omission.'' Since then, American bishops, theologians and ethicists have been studying the issue closely to see what the pope's words will mean for hospital operations in the United States.

For now, many hospitals are deferring to the ``Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services'' - commonly called ERDs - outlined by the U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops.

According to those guidelines, feeding tubes for people in chronically vegetative states are ``medical treatment'' that can be continued or halted based on the benefits and burdens for patient and family.

What the Holy Father has done is reiterate what the Catechism states and further delared and interpreted what it means:
2277 Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.

Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.

He clarifies that food and water are "morally obligatory". There is no ambiguity in that phrase. But those of us who cannot understand what the Holy Father means by that phrase must have it 'nuanced' for us - after it is studied so as to be 'understood'. I think what we have is a conflict with Catholic theologians and with what the US Bishops have stated:
All patients deserve to receive normal care out of respect for their inherent dignity as persons. As Pope John Paul II has said, a decision to forgo "purely experimental or ineffective interventions" does not "dispense from the valid therapeutic task of sustaining life or from assistance with the normal means of sustaining life. Science, even when it is unable to heal, can and should care for and assist the sick."[16] But the teaching of the Church has not resolved the question whether medically assisted nutrition and hydration should always be seen as a form of normal care.[17]
...
Such factors vary from one type of feeding procedure to another, and from one patient to another, making it difficult to classify all feeding procedures as either "care" or "treatment."

The article goes on:

``We have to figure out more specifically what he meant and the implications. I think it's too soon to tell; there are a lot of filters to go through,'' said Dan Dwyer, director of ethics for the Springfield, Mo.-based St. John's Health System, which includes a half-dozen regional hospitals.

``It reminds us of our responsibility never to abandon the sick or dying,'' said the Rev. Michael Place, the CHA's president and chief executive.

Still, he said, the pope's words have ``significant ethical, legal, clinical, and pastoral implications that must be carefully considered,'' requiring dialogue among bishops and health-care providers. Such guidance or clarification isn't expected for months; until then, the CHA assumes the ERDs stay in effect.

Great, more dialogue...for months - for clarification. The skeptic in me suspects that some may be seeking ways around following the guidance and directives of the Holy Father - much as we have witnessed since Humanae Vitae.

Article is here.

Noted Columnist & Catholic Expert, Ellen Goodman Speaks

Here is a classic case of anti-Catholic bigotry. Note the headline from the Boston Globe:

Putting Kerry on the 'wafer watch'

Here are a few excerpts from her enlightening article in which she quotes another noted Catholic expert/theologian, Frances Kissling of "Catholics for a Free Choice" (to murder babies):

WHAT NEXT? Will we have a political reporter to cover John Forbes Kerry at each Sunday Mass from now to November? Will there be a Holy Communion beat? A wafer watch?
...
The whole thing, fumed Frances Kissling of Catholics for a Free Choice, turned us into a nation of "eucharistic Peeping Toms": "I hope the bishops are satisfied that the sacraments of the church are now the subject of a media frenzy."
...
When the church took an absolutist stand against abortion, it took special umbrage at politicians who identify themselves as pro-choice Catholics.
...
"What happens when the pope says you are obliged to vote against anything that supports homosexuality or abortion?" asks Kissling. "The church itself creates the climate in which prejudice can and will reemerge."
...
Many theologians tell you that not even the pope can say a baptized Catholic is no longer a Catholic. Many believe it's up to the individual to decide whether to take the sacraments.
....
But if the church sets up a litmus test for politicians, what about for Supreme Court justices? What about for lay people who dissent?

These people are rightly called either "heretics" or "protestants". I mean this as no offense against those who are Protestant but we must acknowledge that those who refuse to assent to some defined teaching of the Church are guilty of the sin of heresy. Those Catholics who totally repudiate the faith are guilty of apostacy. The Church is quite clear about this and always has been. There is no wiggle room.

I am particularly outraged at the use of the term "wafer watch" as this is a deliberate and intentional perjorative aimed at the Church and those who believe that the Blessed Sacrament is truly our Lord. Funny, she is not. Confused, deranged, sick - maybe.

By putting Kerry on wafer watch, conservatives in the church are running the Kennedy tape backward. Ferraro reminds them: "Kerry's not running for pope. He's running for president. There's only one time when we find out if we've done this thing right that we call living. It's when we meet our Maker."

On that day, there will be no reporters on hand.

Would this be because you will have missed meeting our Creator and have gone on to meet Satan, instead?

Boston Globe article is here.

Kerry and Archbishop McCarrick To Meet Today

Kerry's Public Views At Odds With Church

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the archbishop of Washington, will meet with Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry today.

The Archbishop is expected to question Kerry about his support for abortion rights and stem cell research, which contradict church teachings.

McCarrick is the head of a bishops' task force that's studying how to handle politicians who defy church doctrine. Some bishops have suggested denying communion to them, but McCarrick has said he'd feel "uncomfortable" doing that.

Kerry has said that millions of Catholics share his views and he believes the church should not govern his public stances.

I pray that the Archbishop will have some stern advice for this "Catholic" politician (and others in Washington, as well, who continue to vote for the murder of the unborn).

April 21 - Defending a Higher Law: Why We Must Resist

You and your family are cordially invited to a presentation titled:

“A Giant with Feet of Clay”

A Preview of the Book,
Defending a Higher Law: Why We Must Resist
Same-sex “Marriage” and the Homosexual Movement
Published by the TFP Committee on American Issues

To be held at:

Alban Hall
St. Alban Roe Parish
2001 Shepard Rd.
Wildwood, MO

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 at 7:00 PM

Easily accessible from Route 40 or Manchester Rd.

Call 636-258-4977 or go to www.stalbanroe.org for directions.

In this talk, American TFP member and co-author John Horvat will preview this new book, which will be available for purchase. Come see who is behind the homosexual movement and what its weaknesses are. Learn the strengths that we, as Catholics, possess to defend what little remains of Christian civilization in society. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet with like-minded Catholics who
want to stand up and make a difference!

This talk is one of a series of regularly held talks sponsored by the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) and its America Needs Fatima campaign.

A question and answer period will follow the presentation. Please join us for what promises to be a stimulating evening of Catholic conviviality, enlightening conversation, and hope for the future.

For additional information, contact Mark Serafino at (573) 459-5531

The American TFP – America Needs Fatima • P.O. Box 341 Hanover, PA 17331 (717) 225-7147

Archbishop Chaput Speaks Out about "Catholic" Politicians

From the Denver Catholic Register

How to tell a duck from a fox
Thinking with the Church as we look toward November
Some Excerpts:

We've all heard that saying, or some version of it, a thousand times. The reason is simple: It's true. Our actions prove who we are. If a gulf exists between what we say, how we look and what we do, we're not living in a spirit of truth. A fox, even if he quacks, is still a fox. Sooner or later, it becomes obvious.

I remembered this last week as I read yet another news report about candidates who claim to be Catholic and then prominently ignore their own faith on matters of public policy. We've come a long way from John F. Kennedy, who merely locked his faith in the closet. Now we have Catholic senators who take pride in arguing for legislation that threatens and destroys life — and who then also take Communion.

The right to life comes first. It precedes and undergirds every other social issue or group of issues. This is why Blessed John XXIII listed it as the first human right in his great encyclical on world peace, Pacem in Terris.

Candidates who claim to be "Catholic" but who publicly ignore Catholic teaching about the sanctity of human life are offering a dishonest public witness. They may try to look Catholic and sound Catholic, but unless they act Catholic in their public service and political choices, they're really a very different kind of creature.

And real Catholics should vote accordingly.

And then there is this from the Denver Post.
Catholic politicians scolded
Chaput rips backers of abortion rights

Chaput's admonition to voters also is a notable volley in Colorado politics.

The three front-runners in the state's pivotal U.S. Senate race - Democrat Ken Salazar and Republicans Peter Coors and Bob Schaffer - all are Catholic.

Chaput's stance likely poses the greatest challenge to Salazar, the only one of the three to support abortion rights. Salazar fired back Wednesday, saying he respects Chaput but thinks the church should stay out of such debates.

Great! A John Kerry wannabee!

In a signal that those words are just the beginning, archdiocesan spokesman Sergio Gutierrez said Chaput and his assistant, Bishop Jose Gomez, plan to bring up the issue again in the coming months, including talks with the Senate hopefuls about how their faith affects their public lives.

Will he follow Archbishop Burke and join with Bishop Bruskewitz?

Gutierrez said Chaput respects bishops in St. Louis and Boston who have made those statements, but Chaput has not decided whether to take a similar stand if Kerry were to campaign in Colorado.

Salazar, who grew up in a devoutly Catholic family in Colorado's San Luis Valley and once studied for the priesthood, said Wednesday that abortion is an issue to be settled "between a woman and her God."

"If I were in a position today where my wife and I had conceived a child, I would not want my wife to have an abortion," he said. "But I would forever defend her right as a woman to make that decision. I do not believe it is right for me or any other political figure to impose my religious morality on other people."

But the attorney general, who said he attends Mass every week, does not believe he must agree with the church on all matters to be a Catholic.

"I believe the Catholic Church is an institution where it is men that create the doctrine of the church," Salazar said. "I don't agree with 100 percent of the positions that are taken by the Catholic Church. ... I do not believe the litmus test for being a Christian or a Catholic is one that is proclaimed by the archbishop."

This must some of what he learned in the seminary. He admits in so many words, though he does not appear to understand, that he is NOT Catholic. He denies the teaching of Christ and His Church - he is, for all intents and purposes, a material heretic. He is one of the foxes about which the Archbishop spoke.

May God have mercy on him and bring him, and others like him, back into the light of His eternal Truth!

What Catholic would want to miss this event?

Catholics for a Free Choice is planning to hold a protest this month against the Vatican.

(What a bad name "CFFC" - We already have free choice - the choice to choose the good, or the choice to reject God and all that is good. How about "Catholics who are not Catholic, but want to go to hell anyway"?)

If what she (Frances Kissling) says is true about a woman's right to control her own body, why doesn't her agenda include drugs and prostitution? Laws against those are just as restrictive to a woman's right to choose what she will or will not do with her own body as are laws against abortion. Choice....hmmmm?

Anyway this blurb is on the action alert page.

WHY SHOULD I PROTEST THE VATICAN AND MARCH WITH CFFC?

Because Catholics are prochoice.
Conservative Catholics want all Americans to believe that you can’t be Catholic and prochoice, but the majority of Catholics ARE prochoice. Let’s show them our strength.

Because Catholic policy makers are under unprecedented attack from conservative Catholic groups.
As we approach the 2004 elections, we need to support our prochoice Catholic candidates. Hundreds of legislators have been targeted for defeat by conservative Catholic groups. They have launched advertising campaigns naming names, including John Kerry, who is expected to be the first prochoice Catholic presidential candidate. Don’t let the US bishops and right-wing Catholics speak for you.

Because too many women have been harassed by those claiming to speak for the church.
For too long, Catholic women have been treated badly by the church. Show your support for these women.

Because silence and inaction in the face of injustice is not the Catholic way.
Catholicism stands for freedom of conscience, democracy and pluralism.

Because your voice is fundamental against fundamentalism.
The greatest threat to women today is religious fundamentalism – whatever the faith, whatever the party. Sadly, Roman Catholic fundamentalists and the Bush administration have launched a war on women which must be stopped. Please march with CFFC to protest the attack on women’s rights!

This will be curious to watch. Of course, the Truth is "fundamental" to life and to eternal union with God, so it must be attacked.

Action Alert here. (Proceed with Caution)

Memo to staff: No gay unions

Council commends clerk for refusal of gay unions
By Mark Schlinkmann
Of the Post-Dispatch
04/14/2004

County is expected to pass bill next month
Memo to staff: No gay unions
Resolution has "no weight"

Council commends clerk for refusal

The St. Charles County Council has taken the first of two steps declaring its opposition to the legalizing of same-sex marriages.

On Monday night, the council voted 6-1 for a resolution commending Recorder of Deeds Barbara Hall for her policy of refusing to accept and record affidavits on gay unions.

Next month, the council is expected to pass a measure echoing the Missouri state law that bars homosexual marriages.

Story here.

In Communion With Kerry

By The Prowler
Published 4/13/2004 12:07:16 AM

EASTER BUNNY
Sen. John Kerry did indeed receive the sacrament of communion during Easter Sunday services, and made sure his presidential campaign press people told reporters about it. Kerry has been thumbing his nose at Roman Catholic bishops, who of late have been complaining the Kerry should not be receiving the sacraments given his public support of abortion.

But Kerry's latest foray into showing off his faith has revealed interesting political aspects that more people should know about.

As one might expect from an elitist, when home in Boston, Kerry does not attend a traditional Roman Catholic parish church. Rather, he attends Mass at the Paulist Center, a pseudo-theological institute and home for wayward Catholics that operates on Beacon Hill, near Kerry's home.

The Center, which includes a small chapel, is known as a hotbed for old-line liberation theology holdouts from the 1970s and 1980s. "When the radicalized Maryknoll seminaries came under investigation by the Vatican for their continued teaching of liberation theology back in the 1980s, these folks in Boston picked up the mantle," says a priest in the Boston archdiocese. "We don't have straight oversight of the place."

The Paulist Center features a number of adherents of the liberation philosophy, which played a pivotal role in the Marxist uprisings in El Salvador and Nicaragua back in the late 1970s and 1980s. A number of far-left Jesuits are regular speakers at the Center, which lately has featured classes on "Tapas Acupuncture" techniques and a series of lectures of how best to remove the Church hierarchy in order to evolve the Catholic Church into a nontraditional democracy.

Kerry's attendance at the Paulist Center, besides its close proximity to home, was thought by some Catholics to be an attempt to avoid any embarrassing run-ins with the Boston Diocese, which in the past has expressed its displeasure with Kerry for his pro-abortion positions.

That said, it was the Kerry campaign's idea to look for ways to highlight the candidate's rebellious position in the church by looking for a conservative diocese or parish that would refuse him communion in front of press.

Are we to assume that there are no "conservative" parishes in Boston? He had the perfect opportunity while he was here in St. Louis but, instead he went to a non-Catholic Church, instead...All talk? Maybe it wasn't the right time? Besides, he had some serious preachin' to do.

Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas

As they say:

You are de facto a member of the Society if you gag or grit your teeth whenever you hear any of the following:

Come to the Feast
Gather Us In
Sing Out, Earth and Skies

The web site is here.

An update on Malachi Martin's status ?

In a stunning reversal of past policy Father Vincent O’Keefe SJ, former Vicar General of the Society of Jesus and a past President of Fordham University, affirmed that Malachi Martin was in fact granted a dispensation from all his vows in the Jesuit order except for chastity. This dispels decades of rumors that Father Martin was defrocked for having had an affair with the wife of a famous journalist. This was the false lie spread by past Jesuits to discredit Father Martin. Martin requested and received a special dispensation by Pope Paul VI to remain a Catholic priest and say Mass in private.

Article here.

And some Good News for a change!

There is a bit of good news regarding the University of Notre Dame. (For those who might be unaware, UND, like so many other Catholic institutions of higher learning, has been plagued by dissent and scandal over the last few decades — and particularly in the last few years.) An e-mail I recently received from a UND alum reported that a school official is hiring some new solidly Catholic professors for the school's Theology program, thus moving it "to be quite orthodox, despite [prominent dissenter] Richard McBrien teaching one class and the halting support of the administration."

Good. Perhaps these new professors will help to bring the authentic Catholic faith back to UND. Just think: No more blatant heresy by the likes of McBrien and no more 'Queer Film Festival,' et al. There is hope.

Article here.

Catholic Seton Hall University to Award Pro-Abortion Judge

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ, April 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Friday, April 16, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a notoriously pro-abortion judge who voted to strike down the partial-birth abortion laws of more than 30 states, is presenting the annual "Sandra Day O'Connor Medal of Honor" to Judge Maryanne Trump Barry (Sister of Donald Trump) of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Trump Barry is the pro-abortion author of the opinion striking down the New Jersey partial-birth abortion statute.

Seton Hall is a Catholic arm of the Archdiocese of Newark. The Seton Hall website states that it is "the oldest diocesan university in the United States" and testifies that "Seton Hall is Catholic not only by its charter and mission, but also by its ongoing spirit and activity."

Despite this lip service to its Catholic tradition, Seton Hall Law School -- which has a faculty riddled with pro-abortion professors and has no record of honoring any pro-life heroes -- is once again creating a major scandal by honoring prominent pro-abortion figures.

Critics are encouraging concerned citizens to contact the Archbishop of Newark, the President of the University and the Dean of the Law School to protest the awards and to demand that the award ceremony be canceled and that the Law School's sponsorship of this annual award be terminated.

Contact information
Archbishop John Myers
973-497-4190
goodneja@rcan.org

Msgr. Robert Sheeran
973-761-9620
sheeraro@shu.edu

Dean Patrick Hobbs
973-642-8750
hobbspat@shu.edu

Source: Lifesite News.

Another shot at "The Passion of the Christ"?

This article from the US Bishops news service:

More Americans blame Jews for Christ's death

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- There has been a significant increase in the number of Americans who believe that the Jews were responsible for Christ's death, said a Pew research report. It said a mid-March survey of 1,703 Americans 18 or older found particularly sharp rises in that viewpoint among U.S. blacks and Hispanics and among those under the age of 30. Overall, 26 percent of survey respondents said yes to the question, "Do you feel the Jews were responsible for Christ's death or not?" This represents a seven-point increase in seven years. Among those who had seen Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," 36 percent answered that question affirmatively. Among those who said they planned to see the movie, 29 percent held that position. Only 17 percent of those who did not plan to see the movie thought the Jews were responsible for Christ's death.

According to the Bishops' News service, if you have seen the film you are more likely to blame the Jewish people.

I saw it three times, I have still not been able to find the anti-semitic agenda some of the bishops know for a fact is in the film. Those who have read the Catechism or understand basic Catholic teaching know who was responsible.

I have yet to read any reports or talk to anyone who feels this way as described by CNS. I wonder where these people are?

Hopefully, someone else will debunk this statistical report from the USCCB.

Story here.

So Objective, Public Scandal Does Not Exist Anymore?

That's what I seem to hear in this exchange with Cardinal McCarrick. Of course, things like this have gone on so long, we can only pray for episcopal leadership.

Pity the poor people who may have read the previous articles where the priest, Fr. Ardis, defended Kerry because of his position on the death penalty and social justice issues. How many of those people have been led astray or confused because of that comparison? Apparently, some have learned nothing from the untold damage that public scandals can cause.

So it was a relief to hear Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington respond with a pastoral voice on the Kerry issue. McCarrick is heading a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops task force on how to handle Catholic politicians who support abortion rights. In an empty meeting room at St. Matthew’s in downtown D.C., where the cardinal led a prayer service last Wednesday, he pulled a couple of dusty folding chairs down from a stack so we’d have someplace to sit while we talked.

When I asked about Kerry’s standing, he seemed pained by the idea of turning him, or anyone else, away.

“I would find it hard to use the Eucharist as a sanction,” he said gently. “You don’t know what’s in anyone’s heart when they come before you. It’s important that everyone know what our principles are, but you’d have to be very sure someone had a malicious intent [before denying him communion.]”

McCarrick is surprisingly humble, and a reluctant judge. “It’s between the person and God,’’ he said.

Should Kerry or someone in his campaign seek counsel on Catholic protocol?

“What they do,’’ he demurred, “is really their business and not mine.’’

The archdiocese has gotten some calls on the subject from rank-and-file Catholics, but he declined to characterize the faithful as a monolith: “Obviously, we run the spectrum in the Catholic Church, from people who feel very annoyed with their politicians to those who are very supportive.’’

Article here.

Articles on Kerry and Communion

One of these say the congregation cheered and applauded Kerry after Holy Mass. How utterly sad.

New York Post story

Boston Globe story

And this one from the Boston Herald where the the Paulist priest says:

"How come it's so much easier to see other people's sins than to see our own?'' And he noted Kerry's positions are in line with the church's on the death penalty and "social justice'' issues.

Two words, padre: Public Scandal...

Notice again, the distortion of equating the death penalty and "social justice" issues with abortion. This poor priest needs a sabbatical and major catechesis. He should not be attempting to lead souls to heaven - he does not know the way himself. Pity the faithful that may be led astray by his 'teaching'!

April 27 - St. Charles Deanery Serra Club presents Russell Shaw

The 2004 Dinner Banquet of The Serra Club of the St. Charles Deanery presents

Russell Shaw
Washington DC Correspondent for 'Our Sunday Visitor'
And co-author of the new book

"Personal Vocation: God Calls Everyone by Name"
as Guest Speaker at
The Columns Banquet Center
711 Veterans Memorial Pkwy
St. Charles, MO.

April 27, 2004 at 6:30pm

Our archbishop, the Most Reverend Raymond L. Burke will speak via a video. State Deputy of the Missouri Knights of Columbus to be honored guest.

Reservations Required. $30 per person. Tables of 10 $300
Proceeds to help promote Vocations
This is the work of the St. Charles Serra Club
For more information, call 636-561-7003

St. Louis Review lists area churches celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday

April 18.
Three churches in St. Charles County are listed. My parish is not among those. Almost 3500 families, three priests and no mercy!

Looks like I'm going to St. Joseph's in Josephville, then.

The article link is here.

'Resurrexit,' alleluia -- He is risen, alleluia!

"'Resurrexit,' alleluia -- He is risen, alleluia!" This year too the joyous proclamation of Easter, which echoed powerfully at last night's vigil, strengthens our hope. "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen" (Luke 24:5-6). Thus the angel encourages the women who have hastened to the tomb. Thus the Easter liturgy repeats to us, the men and women of the third millennium: Christ is risen, Christ is alive among us! His name now is "the Living One," death has no more power over him (cf. Romans 6:9).

John Paul II's Easter Message

Fall River Dioceses limits liturgical feet-wash to men

The Diocese of Fall River, heeding the Vatican line on a rite that is an important part of some Catholics' piety, told some priests this week not to wash the feet of women on the Thursday before Easter.

In Fall River, one prominent member of the city's Catholic community said he was disturbed by the sudden and seemingly arbitrary application of the policy there.

``It's a rich tradition,'' he said, asking that he not be identified. ``But once the issue is brought up, it deserves dialog on whether the symbolism of washing the apostles' feet ought to be gender-blind. It should generate serious discussions about the merits.''

A rich tradition of disobedience, that is...and anyone who supports this disobedience is thumbing his nose at the Lord Himself....

The Vatican stipulates that priests should engage in ritual foot-washing only with men because the practice mirrors Jesus' washing of his apostles' feet. The reasoning is similar to that which limits the priesthood to men: Because only men were apostles, only men can become priests.

The Fall River rule was promulgated by Bishop George W. Coleman, a traditionalist who trained at the Vatican and took over in his native diocese a year ago April 30.

Of course, because Bishop Coleman, in obedience to the Holy Father, says the directives are to be obeyed, he is a "traditionalist who trained at the Vatican".

That's a "code phrase" used by the media to distinguish between faithful Catholic leaders and Pseudo-Catholics.

Story here.

Take my Son

Take my Son

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly He often talked about you, and your love for art." The young man held out this package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this."

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift."

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?"

There was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one."

But the auctioneer persisted. "Will somebody bid for this painting. Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?"

Another voice angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!"

But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

"We have $10, who will bid $20?"

"Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters."

"$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?"

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"

A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!"

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over."

"What about the paintings?"

"I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!"

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: "The Son, the Son, who'll take the Son?"

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON,THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.

(received via email)

The Seven Last Words

1. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. (Luke 23:33-35)

2. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:39-43)

3. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. (John 19:25-27)

4. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. (Matthew 27:46-47)

5. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. (John 19:28-29)

6. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:30)

7. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. (Luke 23:44-46)

Thanks to Fr. Jim Tucker.

THE PEOPLE AT THE CROSS, AND THE PEOPLE OF TODAY

At Golgotha, in sight of the temple and city of Jerusalem, in the presence of two or three millions of Jews, who had come to the city from all lands, Jesus, the Son of God, hung upon the cross, an , expiatory sacrifice for mankind burdened with all manner of sin.

Near cross of her dying Son stood Mary, His mother, filled with grief; by her side John, the beloved disciple, and kneeling at the foot of the cross almost insensible from sorrow and anguish, convulsively winding her arms around the wood of the cross, was Mary Magdalen, the penitent.

On a cross at the right hand hung a penitent thief turned towards the Saviour; at the left hand on another cross groaned another criminal of impenitent heart, blaspheming the Holy One of Israel.

Around the agonizing Saviour stood the Scribes and Pharisees, that hypocritical class of practiced miscreants, who hated and persecuted the innocent Lamb Jesus, even in death, who blink to all the predictions of the prophets whose books they had read, blind to the actual miracles which Jesus had wrought before their eyes to prove His divinity and His mission, filled with envy and hatred, reviled the dying Redeemer.

At a distance stood a crowd of curious, indifferent people, who had come to Jerusalem to attend the feast of the Passover, and having heard of Jesus were present at His crucifixion. Not far from them the rough soldiers and executioners lay around, dividing among themselves the Saviour's clothes and casting lots for His seamless garment.

This was the society that surrounded the Son of God and Redeemer of the world bleeding on the cross, and in their different phases they are types of the men of today.

Only few were there who clung to the Saviour in unwavering faith and true love, ready to die with Him, and for Him. There were few who suffered all taunts and sneers all revilings and blasphemies, .and departed not from the cross.

Of these three were especially faithful, viz. Mary, John, and Magdalen. Those who like Mary and John are pure and innocent, or like Magdalen are weeping for their sins, who confess Jesus with their heart and lips, cling faithfully to Him, and permit neither persecution nor death to separate them from Him, are like the faithful three at the cross.

As then by the cross, so today, the number of the faithful is small, and great is the number of those who, like the careless spectators of the crucifixion, are not decided enemies of Jesus crucified, nor yet His firm friends.

They have indeed been baptized in the name of Jesus, they remain externally with the Catholic Church, which Christ founded, but they are sunk in lukewarmness, have no living faith, and are wavering to and fro like a reed between the world and Jesus.

They fear the sneers of the so-called learned and enlightened, many of whom are well represented by the Scribes and Pharisees, who, having no faith in Christ themselves, bear in - their hearts only hatred and contempt for His Church; they shun the cross, because it is too heavy for their sensuality; they do not, it is true, commit public crimes, they prize highly a good name, occasionally observe the law of the Church, but are accessible to every error; their ears incline to every blasphemy against the religion of Jesus and His ministers, the priests.

Instead of standing fearlessly and boldly for Christ, for the holy faith He has taught, and which the Church teaches, they turn away, are silent, even go with the Church's enemies that they may not be sneered at. The are neither hot, nor cold, so that the words of the Scriptures are verifled in them:

Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. (Apoc. III. 16.)

The Lord casts away from Him these lukewarm, indifferent Christians, as nauseous saliva, and leaves them to their destruction. The true Pharisees of our day are those who purposely close their eyes to the light of truth, who have put aside faith in Jesus, and are no longer disposed to receive instruction.

Their pride, their egotism has blinded them, with their poor reason they wish to understand the mysteries of ,the Almighty, with their weak intellect to fathom His ways, even seek to be equal to God; they deny every revealed truth, they deny the existence of heaven and hell, they propose to live like the animals, without God, — but their end is, ruin!

Few of them, having seen their error, as the thief on the cross at the right hand of Jesus, turn repentingly to the Redeemer; obdurate as the robber and murderer at His left, the Pharisees of our day cease not to blaspheme the Crucified, and to revile His holy Church.

These are assisted by the apostates and unbelievers, who, like the soldiers and executioners, divide among themselves His clothes, and cast lots for His seamless garment. Those clothes which the soldiers divided among themselves, are the truths which the apostates and heretics yet retain after their apostacy from the Church.

They have divided these truths, for they have separated themselves into thousands of sects, and possess only portions of the one truth, which Jesus has laid down in. His Church, whole and complete. "Upon my vesture they have cast lots."

This seamless vesture of Christ is His holy Church that cannot be separated or divided, she is one, and must remain one to the end of time. Concerning this one true Church, the sects all quarrel, all want to be the true Church without considering that, as but one soldier, by the lots, received Christ's seamless garment, so only one association of men can be the true Church, and that is the association which Christ has chosen.

Thus we find at the cross on Golgotha the different classes of people of our day represented, namely, the pure and innocent; the repenting sinners, firm adherents of Jesus and His teachings; as also the lukewarm, wavering, nominal Christians; obdurate heretics, professed infidels and apostates. So today mankind is divided into like parties.

To which party do you belong, O Christian soul? To which do you wish to belong? Choose! The time of the division is near.

The Lord already holds in His hand the winnowing shovel to clear His floor. If you are not a firm adherent of Jesus and His Church, in the storm that is gathering you will be blown like chaff. If you remain with the small group at the cross, in persevering courage, you will stand firm, and on the day when the cross shall appear in the clouds of heaven, you, with Mary, the mother of the (faithful, with John and with Magdalen, will triumph forever, as a victorious knight of the cross. Decide!

From "Explanation of the Epistles and Gospels" by Fr. Leonard Goffine

Why does Archbishop O'Malley allow this scandal to continue?

Kerry's Easter plans include Catholic service

CHICAGO, April 8 (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, a Catholic whose support of abortion rights has prompted some in the Church hierarchy to say they would deny him Communion, will receive the sacrament if he attends Easter Sunday services at Boston's Paulist Center.

Frequent visits to Protestant churches have led some to question if he was sidestepping the Communion issue, but aides said the Massachusetts senator would celebrate Easter at a Catholic church, probably the Paulist Center in Boston.

"Archbishop O'Malley has no public statement as to the questions regarding Sen. Kerry and his Catholicism," said Rev. Christopher Coyne, a spokesman for the archdiocese. "The matter has been brought to his attention and I do not know when or if he will make a public statement on this matter."

Coyne said the Paulists were, for the most part, autonomous, but still had to abide by some governance of the archbishop. "For example, he has full authority over them as they administer the sacraments and preach within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston," he said.

Rev. John Ardis, director of the Paulist Center, said the Kerrys had received Communion there and were always welcome to do so. Asked if he had been instructed not to offer Kerry Communion Ardis said: "No. Definitely not. I got a call from them (the archdiocese) an hour ago ... They wanted me to know that the archbishop has not taken a stand and he is free to receive the Eucharist."

Reuters article here.

It's a "Justice" Issue?

About 70 men and women stood outside the Cathedral of Christ the King in Buckhead on Thursday to protest Archbishop John Donoghue's recent instructions that only men should be allowed to take part in the solemn rite of foot washing.

"This is not a women's issue, this is a justice issue," protest organizer Lalor Cadley told the demonstrators, some holding towels and basins that they later used for a foot-washing ceremony of their own in front of the cathedral.

Some church members obviously didn't agree with the protest, shaking their heads in disapproval as they made their way into the cathedral for evening Mass. At least one heckled the demonstrators.

"They are disobedient and disrespectful," said Coretta Alexander. "They care more about their cause than Christ."

At the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, both in downtown Atlanta, men and woman took part in the foot-washing ceremony, although the ritual at Our Lady of Lourdes was held prior to the regular service.

"I'm glad that some priests in the archdiocese have backbone," said Shrine member Katie Bashor.

Coretta Alexander is right on target...These people are saying, "It's all about ME! My will and desires be done!"

And those who ignored the rule do not have backbone, they are weak - they encourage others to disobedience. They are a scandal to the faithful!

More pathetic souls in need of prayers!

This is not to say that I am not as pathetic or worse. I readily admit that I am.

However, there comes a time in one's life where one must decide to abandon oneself to God - to conform one's will to His. It doesn't mean one must like it. It does mean one becomes free because one does the will of the Father out of love. There is no other way.

All of these people, then, who seem so intent in tearing apart the Church from the inside are in need of special prayers - prayers to enlightened their minds. And prayers to have the courage, after being enlightened to the will of God, to do what God wants rather than what we want.

Article here.

Chrism Mass at Philly Cathedral (Cardinal Rigali) interrupted briefly

As dusk fell outside the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, Cardinal Justin Rigali stood up from his thronelike cathedra and handed his ornate crozier to a priest.

He stripped off his outer vestment, wrapped a linen towel around his waist, bent to his knees, and washed the feet of 12 young seminarians.

Footwashing is a Holy Thursday rite in many Christian churches. But despite the somber dignity of last night's ritual, Rigali's decision to wash only men's feet was a potent symbol to some Catholics of women's restricted roles in the church.

Yesterday morning, for example, as Rigali gave his homily at the annual Chrism Mass marking Jesus' establishment of the priesthood, a white-haired woman marched up the center aisle, demanding aloud that the church "ordain women now."

Two seminarians hustled Gabriela Assagioli of Penn Valley away as she sang "We Shall Overcome."

A pathetic soul.

Story is here.

St. Cronan's Parish Leadership Models are on display...

From the St. Cronan's web site:

Parish leadership models, February 15, 2004

Louise Lears and Doug Riggs led a discussion about parish leadership models that have existed for twenty years or more around the United States; they included data about the number of persons in lay and ordained ministries, parishes without priests, and catholic population from 1970 through 2003.

You may want to look at what is being used for a "model".

Model 1
Some of you may remember the Spiritus Christi group from Rochester, NY. This schismatic group is no longer in union with the Church. Perhaps you might recognize the name "Mary Ramerman." "Rev. Mary" was "ordained" a Catholic priest at Spiritus Christi in Nov. 2001. Also, if you look at their web page, You will see that Jesus is the pastor and "Fr" James Callan is the associate.

Model 2
St. Stephen's Catholic Church is a community of faith committed to justice, inclusion, and service. It is located just south of downtown Minneapolis.

There seems to be something strange about this one. Look here.

Model 3
This is what has been written about St. Francis of Assisi in Portland, OR, which "reaches out rather than building a safe place to be. "

The parish administrator at St. Francis for the last eight years is Valerie Chapman. The parish moderator is the Rev. Chuck Lienert, a Jesuit with full time work somewhere else. I talked with one of the Pastoral Council members, Nancy Gilbertz. She told me that everybody recognized Valerie as the pastor, the person who did all the day-to-day pastoral work of the parish.

Like St. Cronan, St. Francis is a "destination church" in a relatively poor city neighborhood. (Destined for what or to where, I must ask?)

The liturgy was striking. Valerie entered side-by-side with Fr. Lienert. She offered the opening gathering statement and blessing. She and the priest sat next to one another. She blessed father before he proclaimed the Gospel and preached. She prepared the alter as the gifts (including the collection) were brought up. I forget exactly what further participation she had until the end when she had announcements, including an upcoming neighborhood meeting about the park. Finally, she and father processed out side-by-side.

Isn't this the greatest thing ever?...another group of people who appear to have rejected the faith passed on to us from our Fathers, the Church which has existed for 2000 years, and the primacy of Peter and his successors - and last, but certainly not least, in all of these rejections we have the ultimate rejection - that of Jesus Christ Himself.

There is no other way to look at it unless we are believe that our Lord was lying when He said., "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects Him who sent me." (Luke 10:16)

There is no website to review other than what is written here.

Perhaps a couple of other models can be suggested:
1. One which is in full communion with the Vicar of Christ, or
2. One like this, in which those involved may soon find themselves excommunicated.

Our Lady of Fatima stresses that we who are faithful to her Son, are to offer our prayers and make reparations for those who do not do so themselves. We are to do this so that they might be enlightened sufficiently to accept the graces God freely gives them. In this way their intellect may be enlightened and their wills may be conformed to His will.

Another confused Catholic writes the Post Dispatch

Burke's wrong foot

Archbishop Raymond Burke is the poster boy for how to start off a new job on the wrong foot.

As a Catholic, I am offended by his bellicose, loose-cannon actions since coming to St. Louis. You do not connect people to your viewpoint by bullying them or through public humiliation.

You convert by good example, love and kindness, empathy and listening to problems with an open mind. And, miracle of miracles, sometimes you find the other party was right and you were wrong.

T.H. Akeroyd
St. Louis

Letter is here.

I am really confused here. I have seen the Archbishop a number of times and never once have I witnessed anything like T.H Akeroyd states. I have seen only a humble, holy, faithful man who is doing what he has been charged to do. It is certainly grossly disrespectful to accuse the Archbishop of being bellicose or acting like a loose cannon.

Report of Archbishop Burke at St. Peter's in St. Charles

I had wanted to attend this but was unable because of work commitments.

Good article by the Post.

Burke obviously takes his pastoral duties seriously, and the message of Tuesday's liturgy pertained to betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas and then the denial by Peter. It's powerful stuff if you're a Christian, especially this week.

In his homily, the archbishop said both events remind "us of our human frailty and our own sinfulness." He pointed out the different reactions, to their sins, of Judas and Peter. "Judas despaired. Instead of seeking God's forgiveness, he took his life. St. Peter, on the other hand, was filled with sorrow and tears, and he cried out to God for forgiveness. ..."

"Yes, we may fail from time to time," the archbishop said. "We hope never to betray Christ, but we recognize how easy is it to deny him."

We can be like gods, knowing what is best for us in 2004!

The saga of Archbishop Donoghue's enforcement of liturgical instructions contines in Atlanta.

Church Ban on Women in Ritual Protested
Thursday April 8, 2004 1:46 AM
By ELIOTT C. McLAUGHLIN
Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA (AP) - A day after Archbishop John Donoghue banned Atlanta's Roman Catholic churches from including women in Holy Thursday's foot-washing rite, one priest said he was canceling his parish's foot washings and another said he planned to ignore the ban and include women.

Other priests were looking Wednesday for ways around the order...

Yes, of course! How can we be disobedient without being disobedient? Do we have any legal recourse here? Satan, please help us!

``He's a good man. He just has his opinion, and he's looking at Jesus and the scriptures through a different lens,'' said Patty Caraher, a nun at the International Community School.

Still, Caraher plans to join a protest Thursday outside Atlanta's Cathedral of Christ the King, where Donoghue will celebrate Mass.

Caraher and others say his strict interpretation of liturgy is inappropriate in 2004.

The Holy See has decreed what the liturgical rite entails, yet people, supposedly professed Catholics, refuse obedience to the one chosen by God to be the spiritual shepherd of the people on earth.

``It feels unjust; it feels unkind. It seems to imply that men were more important to Jesus than women,'' said Lalor Cadley, a Catholic who is organizing Thursday's song-and-prayer protest.

The real problem is that this is exactly what happens when people ignore or disobey liturgical law. False expectations became realities when they never should have and when a bishop or priest follows the law, in perfect fidelity and obedience to the lawgiver, people become hurt or offended. Sin can never bring joy and peace - only humble obedience to Christ and his Church will do that.

[Updated article here]

Lexington bishop dismisses 5 top officials

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Lexington Bishop Ronald Gainer is dismissing five high-ranking Catholic officials, four of them women, as part of a "departmental reconfiguration."

The director of pastoral services, Sister Helen Garvey; the parish leadership director, Sister Elizabeth Wendeln; educational ministries secretary Margaret Ralph; the director of ministry formation, Sister Iris Ann Ledden; and chief financial officer Stuart E. Duba are losing their jobs.

The firings stunned some of the diocese's 46,000 Catholics.

Gainer, Lexington's bishop since February 2003, announced the dismissals Friday in a letter to diocesan staff.

[Article here]

The diocese of Lexington under former Bishop Kendrick J. Williams, who was forced into early retirement for sexual abuse complaints, was corrupted from the top down. I had tried to help my brother write letters to get some 'aberrations' resolved when he lived in the area. Apparently the diocese was a hotbed for the homosexual subculture.

The catechetical instruction program for the diocese was abhorrent and run by a religious sister who was repulsed by anything orthodox. They had a practice of First Communion before First Penance despite the fact that this practice was suppose to have ceased 30+ years ago. Many of the churches had no kneelers, stripped interiors, no tabernacles, and were frankly, little more than meeting halls. I have a copy of a letter he wrote in response to a letter my brother sent him. As long as the diocese was engaged in "social justice" programs, all other matters (doctrinal, liturgical, etc) were of little importance. Truly sad!

Three good, faithful priests of the diocese received death threats via mail, presumably by brother priests, for speaking out on the evils and abominations of homosexuality. My brother and father are friends with one of the priests who was threatened - a old priest well past retirement age.

Hopefully, the new bishop will be able to continue fix the problems there.

Catholic priest starting his own church?

Priest may be forming breakaway church
Catholic leaders issue stern warning
Thursday, April 08, 2004
By Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Catholic priest, who was transferred two years ago after delivering a vulgar Easter homily advocating the ordination of women and married men, may be starting a breakaway church, Catholic officials said yesterday.

A Web site says that the Rev. William Hausen will be pastor of Christ Hope Ecumenical Catholic Church, which will begin holding services May 2 at Sewickley Country Inn.

"Please be advised that this church is not part of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, is not recognized by Bishop [Donald] Wuerl, and is not sanctioned either by this diocese or the Apostolic See [Vatican]," said a notice faxed to pastors late yesterday afternoon. "You may wish to advise your parishioners of this notification and that participation in this church has grave consequences."

In his Easter homily two years ago, Hausen said parishioners should be "pissed off" about the sex scandal enveloping the church and that the church should allow women and married men to serve as priests. He was transferred from his position as parochial vicar of St. James in Sewickley to parochial vicar of his home parish, Sacred Heart in Shadyside.

[Complete Story]

Retired Cardinal seeks Vatican Council

Retired bishop suggests group could govern with pope, help pick next one
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY — A cardinal once mentioned as a possible successor to Pope John Paul II is reviving calls for a broad council to help the pope govern the church and is suggesting top bishops might also take part in a conclave to elect a new pontiff.

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, the retired archbishop of Milan and a Jesuit known for his frankness, made the comments in an interview with the right-wing daily Il Tempo published Wednesday.

Martini noted that since the Second Vatican Council — the 1962-65 meeting that modernized the Roman Catholic Church — there have been proposals to create a “permanent governing council” to help run the church along with the pope.

While periodic synods, or gatherings of bishops, have been convened, they have not become the permanent council that Vatican II envisaged, he said.

I'm going to have to re-read the documents again, I see.

I don't recall anything about a 'permanent' council being called for in any of the Vatican II documents.

[Article here]

Marijuana growing priest pleads guilty

Priest pleads guilty to selling marijuana in church home
BY PHIL TREXLER
Knight Ridder Newspapers

AKRON, Ohio - (KRT) - The Rev. Richard Arko offered his contrition Tuesday for growing marijuana inside his Norton, Ohio, church home.

His penance: two years probation.

Arko, 40, told Summit County Common Pleas Judge Patricia Cosgrove that the 35 marijuana plants growing in his church home were primarily for medical use.
Arko requested a leave of absence from the diocese and he said in court that his return to the priesthood is unlikely.

Dressed in a tie and suit, Arko apologized to parishioners and his family for his arrest and took a jab at the media and the Cleveland Catholic Diocese for failing to give him a fair hearing.

He said he prays for the day that the state of Ohio recognizes the positive uses of marijuana.

"I strongly believe in the benefits of marijuana and the use for medical purposes. It's very helpful to many people," he said.

Well, he can always fall back on his outside job of Yoga instruction .

Archbishop Burke to Speak about the Sanctity of Human Life

This was just sent to me. Many thanks to J.H. who let us know of this event!


APRIL 13 at 7:00PM

St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke will speak at Saint Louis University next Tuesday evening. He will discuss "The Sanctity of Human Life" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 13, in Room 171 of Busch Student Center. The event is free.

The Archbishop will describe the Church’s role in life issues and its dynamic presence in the St. Louis community. His appearance is an early opening of the annual Celebrate Life Week, sponsored by SLU’s Students for Life. During Celebrate Life Week, April 18-24, there will be many activities to celebrate human life, including speakers, parties and movies. Start out the week by attending a 10 p.m. Mass Sunday, April 18.

Students for Life is a positive, non-violent, pro-life organization that focuses more on the beauty of life rather than the destruction of it. The group does not chant harsh words or perform any acts of civil disobedience. In January, the group organized a record number of SLU students to attend the annual March for Life in Washington D.C.

Burke was named Archbishop of St. Louis in December, succeeding Justin Cardinal Rigali, who was appointed Archbishop of Philadelphia. Archbishop Burke was installed in St. Louis on Jan. 26, the fifth anniversary of Pope John Paul II's historic pastoral visit to St. Louis. Before coming to St. Louis, Burke was the Bishop of La Crosse, Wis. Read more about him on the Archdiocese of St. Louis website.

For more information about the Archbishop’s appearance at SLU, call the Loyola Center for Campus Ministry at (314) 977-2425.

Many are upset about surge of faithful Catholic Colleges

From the Chronicle of Higher Education:
Who Is Catholic?
New conservative colleges say existing institutions lead students away from the true faith

It's a given but, as Pontius Pilate asked our Lord, "Truth? What is truth?"

Even better than this article is the transcript of a live, online discussion with David O'Brien, a historian of American Catholicism at the College of the Holy Cross, about the staunchly conservative Roman Catholic colleges that have been recently established in the United States.

In 1989 he was awarded the Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Distinguished Service to Catholic Higher Education by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.

For those who are unaware of Fr. Theodore Hesburgh and his collaborators and what they did to destroy Catholic colleges in the United States, you may want to read about it here.

Letter of Rev. Fr. Charles Murr (New York) to Parish and Parents

I meant to post this the other day, but somehow neglected it.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES CHURCH
135 EAST 96TH STREET
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10128

April 5, 2004

To the Parish of St. Francis de Sales and the Children and Parents of the St. Francis de Sales School/St. Lucy Academy:

On Friday, April 2, 2004, I resigned as pastor of the Parish of St. Francis de Sales. I am writing to you now to explain the circumstances that led me to make this decision.

Our parish school, the St. Francis de Sales School/St. Lucy Academy, currently faces some grave problems. One concerns financial management. Contrary to the policies of the Archdiocese, no financial statements for the school have been prepared for any period after August 31, 2001, and thus no one knows what the financial condition of the school actually is. It is clear, however, that for several years the school has not been making required payments for insurance and pension benefits, and the Archdiocese calculates that the school owes the Archdiocese over $638,000. Although I attempted to work with the administration of the school to prepare the needed financial statements, the school’s administration consistently failed to cooperate with me, and, on the advice of the Parish Council, I notified the Archdiocese in January that I intended to replace the principal and vice principal of the school. The Archdiocese accepted this decision and last week resolved to send officials from the chancery to begin preparing and auditing financial statements for the school.

The second problem at the school concerns religious instruction. On the most recent administration of the Archdiocese’s standardized religion test last June, approximately 66% of our students failed. The major reason for this was that several of our teachers were not committed to teaching the Catholic faith. One teacher, for example, was taking her students to non-Catholic religious services on Sunday mornings. Another refuses to teach her students to make the Sign of the Cross. Others do not teach those doctrines of the Catholic faith with which they disagree. To rectify these problems, I appointed a new Director of Religious Education for the school this year, but the teachers who were hostile to Catholic doctrine disrupted his classes, belittled him in front of his students, instructed his students to ignore him, and even spread slanderous reports about him. I thus determined that the employment contracts of these teachers would not be renewed for the coming academic year, and on April 1, I informed these teachers accordingly.

It has been reported to me that, on April 1, at least some of these teachers held their students after school, read to them my letter declining to renew their employment contracts, and provided their own comments on the matter. Predictably, they reduced many children to tearful hysteria. The behavior of these teachers was reprehensible; they intentionally inflicted harm on innocent children in order to advance their own private interests. On behalf of the school, I apologize to these students and their parents for the grossly unprofessional conduct of these teachers.

On Friday afternoon, Msgr. Thomas Gilleece, the Chancellor of the Archdiocese, informed me without further explanation that, by order of the Cardinal, I was to renew the employment contracts of the principal, the vice principal, and all the affected teachers. Since I could not in good conscience, as a pastor charged with the care of souls, comply with this order, I resigned as pastor of the Parish of St. Francis de Sales and as administrator of the Parish of St. Lucy. On Saturday, April 3, the members of the Parish Council wrote Cardinal Egan informing him that they shared my views regarding the need to reform the school and had concluded that they could not in good conscience as faithful Catholics be associated with his order to reinstate the principal, the vice principal, and the affected teachers. The members of the Parish Council thus resigned their positions. The Parish Trustees likewise resigned. As of the date of this letter, none of us has received any reply from the Cardinal.

It has been a great honor to serve as your pastor. You will all remain in my prayers.

Servus, in Christo Jesu,

Fr. Chas. Theo. Murr

Persecution comes to those who try to ensure the faith is handed on in its entirety. Maybe he can transfer here?

No link of which I am aware...

Archbishop Burke has company...

This really is no surprise but it is encouraging that another bishop has openly sided with Archbishop Burke in a manifest way without ambiguity!

On April 6, 2004, Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz, D.D., S.T.D., of the Lincoln, Ne. diocese, stated through his office to this writer that his diocese would deny Holy Communion to any manifest, persistent, obstinate sinner.

Referring to canon 915, Bruskewitz said, "We agree completely with Archbishop Raymond Burke in the action he has taken and we would take the same action in the diocese of Lincoln with regard to manifest, persistent, obstinate sinners, including politicians, regardless of which diocese they are from."

Of the 195 U.S. diocesan bishops, all except two still refuse to say they would deny the Eucharist to manifest, persistent, obstinate sinners. In doing so, these bishops are disregarding the clearly defined canons of the Church.

Article here.

Boom Time for Seminaries under John Paul II

...during John Paul II's pontificate the number of major seminarians has virtually doubled, the secretary of the Congregation for Clergy, Archbishop Csaba Ternyak, said when presenting to the press the Pope's Holy Thursday Letter to Priests.

Full story.

Fr. John Minkler's death ruled a suicide...

The February death of Watervliet resident Rev. John Minkler was labeled a suicide Tuesday by the Albany County Coroner's Office.

Kerry's unknown talents have been recently discovered.

He's both a clown and a theologian.

Mr. Kerry became combative when told that some conservatives were criticizing him for being a Roman Catholic who supported policies, like abortion rights and same-sex unions, that are at odds with Catholic teaching.

"Who are they?" he demanded of his questioner. "Name them. Are they the same legislators who vote for the death penalty, which is in contravention of Catholic teaching?"

Oh really? And when did the death penalty become intrinisically evil, your holiness?

Now perpare yourself for his comic relief clown act with a bit of theologian thrown in for good measure:

I'm not a church spokesman. I'm a legislator running for president. My oath is to uphold the Constitution of the United States in my public life. My oath privately between me and God was defined in the Catholic church by Pius XXIII and Pope Paul VI in the Vatican II, which allows for freedom of conscience for Catholics with respect to these choices, and that is exactly where I am.

Pope Pius the 23rd, eh? The last Pope Pius I heard about besides Pius XII was self appointed Pope Pius XIII who is living somewhere, I believe in Montanta or some such place.

Kerry and conscience...sort of like black and white, good and evil, dark and light...once again we witness the fruit borne by deficient catechesis among professed Catholics.

Full story at the New York Time here.

Holy Father's annual Holy Thursday address to priests

LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER
POPE JOHN PAUL II
TO PRIESTS
FOR HOLY THURSDAY 2004

This has been posted on the Vatican web site.

The Holy Father notes that the ministerial priesthood is "born, lives, works and bears fruit 'de Eucharistia'". He spends considerable time discussing the Holy Eucharist and priesthood.

In speaking of vocations, he also says "...I would ask you, among other initiatives, to show special care for altar servers, who represent a kind of “garden” of priestly vocations. The group of altar servers, under your guidance as part of the parish community, can be given a valuable experience of Christian education and become a kind of pre-seminary."

This would be an indirect way way of calling for males to be asked to serve at Holy Mass.

He also asks for obedience in a special way and prayers for vocations:
"Dear brother priests, your particular mission in the Church requires that you be “friends” of Christ, constantly contemplating his face with docility at the school of Mary Most Holy. Pray unceasingly, as the Apostle exhorts (cf. 1Th 5:17), and encourage the faithful to pray for vocations, for the perseverance of those called to the priestly life and for the sanctification of all priests."

"Catholics" to protest exclusion of foot washing ritual

Let us see some of the "fruits" of willful disobedience of the rubrics. This is from the Atlanta Journal Constitution from yesterday. These "faithful" are upset that Archbishop Donoghue wants the rubrics for the foot washing rite followed:
===========================
Catholics to protest exclusion
By VIRGINIA ANDERSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/05/04

Women can't officially have their feet washed at Holy Thursday services in Roman Catholic churches in Atlanta, but several plan to air their voices at a protest instead.

Catholics angry that Archbishop John Donoghue has limited Holy Thursday foot-washing services to men plan to protest outside with washbowls, towels and water at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Buckhead while he celebrates Mass that evening.

"We'll stand in solidarity, and we'll sing and we'll pray," said Lalor Cadley, a Catholic who runs spiritual retreats and workshops but does not work for the archdiocese.

The archbishop's position on the ancient foot-washing ritual came in a March 19 letter he sent to pastors telling them that 12 men were to be selected for the rite as the representation of "Christ's linkage of the institution of the Eucharist to the establishment of the ordained priesthood."

A spokeswoman for the archbishop did not return phone calls Monday afternoon.

Cadley said she did not know how many people would attend the 6:30 p.m. Thursday protest. The overwhelming majority of American bishops allow women's feet to be washed in the ceremony, although the decision is left to individual bishops.

===================

Once again, the author of the article is either misinformed or deliberately telling lies. This decision to permit women in the foot washing rite is not up to any individual bishop. But then again, we might recall the adage, "Tell a lie often enough, people will accept it as truth."

"One Child, One Vote" Suggested

If nominal Catholics did not contracept at a rate that most Americans do, think of the possibilities?

In many ways, it does seem quite reasonable...

Full Story

Finally, a balanced report regarding St. Stanislaus

Archbishop offers support for St. Stanislaus Kostka
April 2, 2004
by Joseph Kenny, Review Staff Writer

Archbishop Raymond Burke told St. Stanislaus Kostka parishioners March 28 that if a restructuring plan there is in effect "you can count on my fullest support for your parish."

The Archbishop’s message — that bringing the corporate structure of the parish into compliance with Church law will not result in a closure of the parish or seizure of the parish’s funds — often was hard to hear over some people who shouted out while he spoke.

Several people carried signs opposing the restructuring.

Archbishop Burke came to the church in North St. Louis to celebrate Midday Prayer, explain the reasons for the incorporation change and answer questions.

In an earlier letter to parishioners, the Archbishop expressed his pride in St. Stanislaus as a personal parish for Polish-speaking faithful and Catholics of Polish heritage in the archdiocese. The parish formed in 1880 is known as the base of operations for most of the Polish-American activities in the St. Louis area.

Full story is here.

Kerry receives communion at African Methodist Episcopal Church

Easter is this coming Sunday and where Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic candidate for president, will attend church suddenly has become a political issue.

Yesterday, Mr. Kerry again worshipped at a Protestant congregation: Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church in Dorchester, Mass.

"We're thankful that there's going to be a revolution in this country ... a new movement," the Rev. Gregory Groover saidfrom the pulpit during the Palm Sunday service. "And we say, God, bring him on, the next president of the United States."

"People ask: 'Is he making up his beliefs to take the red states?' " said Timothy Thibodeau, a history professor at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y. "Kerry's problem is that people doubt his sincerity. They think he is cooking up his religion just in time to run for the election."

Mr. Thibodeau pointed out that the discrepancy between church teachings and Mr. Kerry's public stances is common today.

"Kerry is in many respects symbolic of a great many Roman Catholics who are totally at odds with the church's teaching on many things. He is also divorced and remarried. So are a lot of Catholics."

Another photo op for the the pro-death politician John Kerry who, apparently, has decided that the Catholic Church is not for him. When will Archbishop O'Malley do something?

Full story.

Two bishops lead Catholics against gay marriage

Two bishops led about 1,000 devout, sign-carrying Roman Catholics on a five-block march through North Beach on Saturday to protest same-sex marriages in San Francisco.

"We need to speak out, with civility," Archbishop William Levada said on the steps of SS Peter and Paul Church before leading the procession of the faithful. "We must keep society on the right track."

Full Story here