City Removes Franciscan University Chapel from Logo

One wonders if the masonic emblem and the citizen-soldier pictures will remain? Are not these offensive to some as well?

The effort to erase any public sign of Christianity in American took yet another step forward recently with the announcement that the city of Steubenville, Ohio is removing the image of the Franciscan University of Steubenville’s chapel from the official city logo.

Here’s a pic of the offending city logo which was unveiled just last year:



The city of Steubenville, faced with the threat of an expensive lawsuit from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., a Madison, Wisconsin-based atheist group, decided to drop the image of the chapel and the cross. They will be asking an artist to create a new logo in the near future.

Law Director S. Gary Repella told The Herald Star, “We were contacted in May by the Freedom from Religion Foundation Inc. in Madison, Wis., who said one of our citizens had complained about the city logo. During the past several months the foundation sent me their research and past case law regarding religious symbols. I researched current case law and found a lot of case laws that do not allow religious symbols in government symbols.”

Franciscan University reacted to the announcement with the following statement from Michael Hernon, vice president of Advancement:...

Read more here

Showing his true colors

Obama marks Ramadan


In a statement, _resident Obama commemorated the Muslim holiday of Ramadan — calling it a time to "cherish family, friends, and neighbors, and to help those in need."

...
Here in the United States, Ramadan reminds us that Islam is part of the fabric of our Nation...

Can't see to recall him ever mentioning Easter...

Source: http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/07/obama-marks-ramadan-129636.html

Lawsuit Filed Against Dearborn Schools and Muslim Principal

From the Thomas More Law Center:

Lawsuit Filed Against Dearborn Schools and Muslim Principal Over Firing of Legendary Christian Wrestling Coach

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan announced today that a federal lawsuit has been filed against a Dearborn, Michigan high school, Fordson High School, and its Muslim principal, Imad Fadlallah, over the firing of Gerald Marszalek because of Marszalek’s connection to a Christian volunteer coach.

Marszalek, who had coached wrestling for 35 years, had achieved a legendary status in the wrestling community. Earning more that 450 wins, and sending numerous wrestlers to various collegiate programs, he was elected to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, named “Sportsman of the Year” by the All-American Athletic Association. Marszalek’s contract was not renewed because of his association with a Christian volunteer coach, Trey Hancock, who the principal accused of converting a Muslim student to Christianity during a summer camp not connected with the school or Coach Marszalek.

The lawsuit was filed by the Thomas More Law Center, and a private litigation firm of Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho, P.L.C. located in Livonia, Michigan. [Read Complaint here.]

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center commented, “We are getting a glimpse of what happens when Muslims who refuse to accept American values and principles gain political power in an American community. Failure to renew coach Marszalek’s contract had nothing to do with wrestling and everything to do with religion.”

The city of Dearborn is one of the most densely populated Muslim communities in the United States. An estimated 30,000 of its 98,000 residents are Muslims. It is estimated that 80% of the student population of Fordson High School is Arabic and most of those are Muslims. According to the lawsuit, Fadlallah has publically stated that he sees Fordson High School as a Muslim school.

Trouble started between Fadlallah and Marszalek when one of Coach Marszalek’s assistant coaches, Trey Hancock, held a summer wrestling camp in which a Muslim camper converted to Christianity. Principal Fadlallah was so upset by the conversion that he punched the student and informed him he had disgraced his family. Fadlallah also ordered Coach Marszalek to ban the assistant coach from the high school and all wrestling events. However, since the assistant had a son that wrestled on the team, this was an impossible order to enforce. After the wrestling season was over, Coach Marszalek was not allowed to reapply to his coaching position—in clear violation of Union rules. Unfortunately for Coach Marszalek, his teacher’s Union did not help him in his hour of need.

The lawsuit claims violations of both the U.S. and Michigan constitutions and statutes including Michigan’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights. Coach Marszalek is seeking his back pay, injunctive and declaratory relief, damages, and to be reinstated as coach of the wrestling team.

Source: The Thomas More Law Center

Thine Eyes - 2009 Right to Life March in Washington, D.C.

Trailer with music documenting the 2009 Right to Life March in Washington, D.C.



HT to Mark S!

Obama 1995 Video: Rev. Wright Represents The Best of What The Black Church Has to Offer

From Kerry Picket at News Busters:

In 1995, Barack Obama gave a TV interview to discuss the memoir he wrote, "Dreams From My Father." Philip Klein at The American Spectator picked up on this back in August, but the video is making rounds again now. Obama spoke very highly of his then pastor Rev.Jeremiah Wright...

Here is a sermon by Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ - the infamous "G-Damn America" - and Wright inspired the title of Barack Obama's book "Audacity Of Hope." Obama says,

"Reverend Wright ahh, ahh, my pastor who, I, I speak about in the chapter in the book, I think represents the best of what, ah, The Black Church has to offer."

Archbishop Chaput: Pro-Abortion VP Candidate Joe Biden Should Skip Communion

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A leading Catholic bishop delivered the opening statement of the quadrennial debate over whether or not pro-abortion Catholic politicians should receive communion. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver says Barack Obama's running mate Joe Biden should refrain from the sacrament....

In an email sent Sunday to the Associated Press, Archbishop Chaput said Biden should following the teachings of the Church by opposing abortion or voluntarily refrain from receiving communion....

It's a start, but it appears that it's little more than that.

And if, remaining obstinately opposed to the Church, he refuses to refrain from Holy Communion....then what? This month Archbishop Burke stated:

"If a person who has been admonished persists in public mortal sin (promotes abortion "rights," etc.) and attempts to receive Communion, the minister of the Eucharist has the obligation to deny it to him. Why? Above all, for the salvation of that person, preventing him from committing a sacrilege..."

Archbishop Chaput said that he would try to talk to Biden in an effort to encourage him to reform his abortion views or refrain from receiving Holy Communion. Is it not well past time for "private conversations" with these agents of the culture of death? How many, knowing full well the Church's teachings, continue to openly reject those teachings yet present themselves for Holy Communion as if their actions and beliefs trump the natural law and the doctrines of the Church? How many more decades do bishops need to ask these "Catholics" to repent? We'll see pigs fly before this happens.

We must not neglect to pray for our bishops, priests, and politicians.

Democratic Messiah to Lead Catholics, Evangelicals to "Promised Land"

I know it's something we've all been waiting for - and now - the wait is nearly over!

Obama Campaign will Launch 'Joshua Generation Project'

The Brody File has learned that in the next two weeks Barack Obama's campaign will unveil a major new program to attract younger Evangelicals and Catholics to their campaign.

It's called the "Joshua Generation Project." The name is based on the biblical story of how Joshua's generation led the Israelites into the Promised Land.

A source close to the Obama campaign tells The Brody File the following:

"The Joshua Generation project will be the Obama campaign's outreach to young people of faith. There's unprecedented energy and excitement for Obama among young evangelicals and Catholics...."

Are these evangelicals and Catholics who are unlearned and naive as to what is happening to them? Succumbing to the mesmerizing spell of a glowing emptiness?

Dialogue among the Religions. The Vatican Prepares the Guidelines (Chiesa)

Enough with the ceremonies. And more conviction in proclaiming the Gospel. New signs of openness come from Saudi Arabia. Algerian philosopher Mohammed Arkoun criticizes the pope, but even more the cultural void in the Muslim world.

by Sandro Magiste

Stations Receive PC Treatment for World Youth Day

In a bid to ensure the World Youth Day Stations of the Cross will not incite anti-Semitic feelings and appeal to all Christians, organisers have dropped six traditional stations which have no scriptural foundation.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the Church has changed one of its most popular devotions and a landmark event of World Youth Day to take account of the sensitivities of Jews and draw other Christian denominations into its youth celebrations....

To make the event more appealing to all Christians, a Vatican approved scriptural version, founded entirely on passages from the New Testament, will be adopted when it is staged in the streets of Sydney on July 18.

It is not the only concession the Church is willing to make in the name of interfaith unity: scriptural texts, reflections and video commentaries will be carefully worked so that the scene at the Sydney Opera House in which Jesus is condemned does not incite anti-Semitic feeling.....

The sensibilities and sensitivities of faithful Catholics are irrelevant, it appears...I can't count the number of people who, after praying the St Alphonsus Liguori version of the Stations of the Cross, rush out the doors looking to satisfy their "anti-Semitic feelings."

What's next? Excising 'offensive' parts of Scripture?

Interesting - Secrets of Narnia Deciphered, Scholar Claims

Interview (CNSNews.com) - Dr. Michael Ward is considered by many scholars to be a leading authority on the Christian writer and theologian C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, the second Hollywood adaptation of which, Prince Caspian, is now playing in theaters.

Ward is a former curator of The Kilns, the Oxford home of C.S. Lewis, and a former officer of the Oxford University Lewis Society. In his new book, Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis, Ward contends that the seven books of The Chronicles are based upon one of the seven medieval "planets" -- the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

In an April 29, 2008, interview with Cybercast News Service, Ward discussed his theory about the seven planets and also explained why he thinks the Prince Caspian tale is relevant to current events....

An interesting interview! For instance, this excerpt:

C.S. Lewis wrote Prince Caspian about the idea of "just war." The Prince drives King Miraz out of Narnia and recovers his proper throne. It's a civil war and a war of deliverance. Lewis chose the Mars theme for Prince Caspian because Mars is the god of war. Throughout the novel we see themes that are associated with the planet Mars including blood, the color red, war and trees. This story is written to embody and express the qualities of Mars....

India at Peace. But Not with the Christians (Chiesa)

In step with the economic indices, attacks against the churches and faithful are also rising in the big Asian country. Amid the silence and disinterest of the world. A report from the state of Orissa, the area most affected by the violence .
by Sandro Magister

Self-proclaimed bishop, nun kept deceased body

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Archdiocese Archbishop Timothy Dolan spoke about the dangers of cults on Sunday, after news broke of a self-proclaimed bishop and nun allegedly keeping a deceased 90-year-old woman's body in their house and cashing her Social Security checks....

Alan Bushey and Tammy Lewis allegedly kept the body of a 90-year-old woman sitting on the toilet for two months, claiming God would bring her back to life....

Bushey calls himself a bishop, and Tammy Lewis calls herself "Sister Mary Burnadette." But their so-called Catholic church isn't recognized by Rome.

"Periodically throughout the church you'll get these crackpots who claim to be bishops or claim to be priests or even claim to be part of the church, and they're not, of course," Dolan said....

And it seems there a superabundance of them these days.

Muslims Outnumber Catholics

Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world's largest religion, the Vatican newspaper said Sunday.

"For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us," Monsignor Vittorio Formenti said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Formenti compiles the Vatican's yearbook....

"It is true that while Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer," the monsignor said....

The wicked embrace of artificial contraception and the rejection of the Church's teaching on moral issues has led to this.

Gorbachev Dispels "Closet Christian" Rumors; Says He is Atheist

An Inside the Vatican Editor's note states:

Perhaps Gorbachev is, and wants to remain, a closet Christian. Ambassador Thomas Melady, former US Ambassador to the Vatican, at an Inside the Vatican dinner in Washington D.C. in December, told others at his table that he found out in about 1990 that Gorbachev had been secretly meeting with John Paul II for 2 years leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and communism. The White House had sent Melady to Rome to find out why Gorbachev, on his way to meet with Reagan, was stopping first in Rome. That is when Amb. Melady first learned of this, and he said he credits John Paul II with helping to bring about the democratization of Russia.

Now, if Gorbachev is an atheist, why would he consult with John Paul II above many others?

And why did he recently kneel at the tomb of St. Francis, rather than stand and take photos as a non-pilgrim, tourist would do?

Things just don't add up.

CDF to Release Document on Evangelization and Catechesis

Vatican City, Dec 6, 2007 / 05:17 pm (CNA).- The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), headed by Cardinal William Joseph Levada, is about to release an important document on evangelization and catechesis, Vatican sources told CNA this week.

According to the Vatican sources, the document, which could be made public this Advent, “can be regarded as an application of the principles of the document “Dominus Iesus” to the way evangelization is transmitted and catechesis is taught within the Catholic Church.”

Jesus Christ is at the center of all authentic catechesis and evangelization. Simply put, that which is not Christocentric is not authentic.

Calgary Catholic school board dumps Golden Compass

CALGARY — The Catholic school board in Calgary has followed the lead of a Catholic school board in Burlington, Ont., in pulling the children's fantasy book The Golden Compass off school shelves....

However, not everyone in Calgary's Catholic community was jumping on the book-banning bandwagon.

Calgary Bishop Fred Henry said there are more pressing issues facing Catholics than debating a children's fantasy novel.

My suspicion is that something is not quite right about the paraphrasing of Bishop Henry's remarks. Where are his exact comments, I wonder? Maybe direct quotes wouldn't fit the Globe and Mail's spin?

The Golden Compass - What's the big deal?

The Office of Catechesis and Evangelization of Diocese of La Crosse provides us with some answers:

So, what is the big deal about this movie? Why should parents be concerned?
The movie The Golden Compass is the first book of the trilogy, His Dark Materials. Parents need to be concerned because it attacks the foundation of the Catholic Faith.[1]

Author, Philip Pullman says,
• “My books are about killing God.”[2]
• “I am all for the death of God.”[3]
• “I’m trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief.”[4]

The author is an atheist, but how does that affect the film?
“Though much of Pullman’s trilogy involves… mystical worlds with talking animals and magical witches, the underlying theme is no simple fantasy. In the fictional universe of His Dark Materials, there is no real God; rather there is a high angel called the Authority, who purports to be God.”[5] The Catholic Church, frequently called the Magisterium, is portrayed as the dark force to be overcome.

Isn’t His Dark Materials just fiction?
It is fiction but it presents good as evil and evil as good. It portrays the evil of dark, demonic forces that battle God and ultimately kill God. So a film like this (and especially the trilogy it is based on) invites us to join forces against God.

How is the Golden Compass different from Narnia and the Lord of the Rings?
The Chronicles of Narnia are a fantasy representing the battle between God and His followers and Satan and his devils. In the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien shows the power of God and His grace and invites the reader to join Him. Pullman’s trilogy, His Dark Materials, promotes the lie that evil can ultimately defeat God. But we know that Jesus’ death on the Cross has already won the ultimate victory.

Why can’t kids go to it as a fun, fantasy movie? What am I to tell my child?
It is no simple fantasy. It is about evil being presented in an enticing and glamorous way. As the first teachers and protectors, parents would not allow their children to be desensitized to evil so that it becomes commonplace and they no longer recognize it as dangerous and seek to avoid it. It is the same as saying that parents would not let their children drink poison. Tell your children that this movie is definitely poison for the soul. In the Our Father, Jesus taught us clearly to pray, deliver us from evil.[6] Jesus does not want us to toy with evil even when it looks fascinating.

The producers say any references to the Catholic Church have been removed. Doesn’t this leave the movie as just a fun fantasy adventure?
The references to the Catholic Church have been removed from the movie but a different word has been substituted, it is the Magisterium. The producers of the movie are not stupid. They have removed some of the most sinister aspects against Christianity. But don’t be fooled. The fundamental direction of the story is the same even if it has been sanitized and Pullman’s goal is to entice people to read his books and reject God.

The books are much more detailed, more evil, and they attack, with a hateful vengeance, priests, nuns, bishops, the Mother of God and the Pope.

What is Pullman’s philosophy and how is it dangerous?
Pullman’s worldview is a world without God. He thinks the very idea of God needs to be destroyed. Pullman spreads his hatred for religion through these books. The Christian worldview is that God is our loving Father. We cannot exist without Him; God created us and has given us everything out of love. To believe in God and embrace Him for all eternity is the joy and very center of our lives.

How can we use this movie’s debut as a teaching experience?
Talk about this with your children. Do not be in denial that evil exists and that skilled marketers can disguise it and make it look attractive. We need to have a healthy level of concern about the power of evil even though Satan does not have equal power with God and cannot defeat God. Satan is a fallen angel who hates God and wants us to hate God.[7] We love God and therefore we reject Satan and all his evil. This is why you promised at baptism:
■ “to reject the glamour of evil and refuse to be mastered by sin.”

What should Catholic parents do?
Please do not go to the movie and do not buy the books. Return the books if you have already bought them. Spread the message to family and friends. Embrace the positive movies that have come from Hollywood like the Chronicles of Narnia or read the Lord of the Rings, and refuse to give your money or your approval to “Dark Materials” that try to snuff out the Light.[8]
________________________
1 1 John 4:1-4 “…every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God.”
2 Tony Watkins, Dark Matter, pp. 21, 152.
3 Philip Pullman, www.books.guardian.co.uk
4 Alona Wartofsky, “The Last Word; Philip Pullman’s Trilogy for Young. Adults Ends
With God’s Death, and Remarkably Few Critics,” Washington Post, Feb. 19, 2001.
5 The Golden Compass: Agenda Unmasked, Catholic League. p. 7.
6 Matthew 6:13, Philippians 4: 8
7 See Revelation 12:7-9; John 8:44; I John 2:18-25; Catechism of the Catholic
Church, #391.
8 Wisdom 4: 12 “ … the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good.”

###

They just don't get it....

A Christmas Campaign project of "Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good" with support from Faith in Public Life has posted an Open Letter to Christmas Culture Warriors.

These people don't seem to understand that a there is a culture war going on and had people not made efforts to oppose this de-Christianization of America, we would have lost more ground, especially concerning Christmas.

These people are simply naive and fail to understand what's going on...Should we really just all hold hands and sing Kumbayah while more and more efforts are made to eliminate Christmas and Christianity?

Here is the Open Letter To Christmas Culture Warriors

Recall that this is sponsored byu a group which attempts to confuse Catholics on fundamental moral issues with respect to evaluating candidate for public office.

Why Benedict XVI Is So Cautious with the Letter of the 138 Muslims (Chiesa)

Because the kind of dialogue he wants is completely different. The pope is asking Islam to make the same journey that the Catholic Church made under pressure from the Enlightenment. Love of God and neighbor must be realized in the full acceptance of religious freedom.
by Sandro Magister

The Illogic of C.E. (Common Era) and B.C.E. (Before the Common Era)

In a recent E-Letter from Karl Keating, he passes on some thoughts contained in a book titled "The History of Time." The author is Leofranc Holford-Strevens, and the book is part of the "Very Short Introduction" series published by Oxford University Press.

The author says that if the dating system we use doesn't commemorate Christ's birth, then it makes no sense to use this particular system at all. Changing the designations from B.C. and A.D. to B.C.E. and C.E. reduces to a sleight of hand. After all, what is the "Common Era" based on? On the birth of Christ and on nothing else. If on the birth of Christ, then why not say so candidly?

You can say so even if you aren't a Christian. You don't have to believe in Christ's divinity to believe that he was born at a certain time (even if we can't pinpoint that time). You don't have to be a follower of his to acknowledge that, historically, many people have been followers and that our modern civilization largely is a product of what those people believed and did.

You even could be an outright opponent of Christianity and still admit that the religion you excoriate has been more important in the history of the world than has any other institution and that that fact alone is sufficient reason to based a calendar around its Founder's birth.

In the preface to "The History of Time," Holford-Strevens explains that "the traditional terms A.D. and B.C. have been retained, in preference to C.E. and B.C.E., for two reasons: adopting the latter causes the maximally distinguished 1 B.C. and A.D. 1 to become the minimally distinguished 1 B.C.E. and C.E. 1; and although, as a date for the birth of Jesus Christ the epoch is almost certainly wrong, it remains a commemoration of that event, and no other event of the same year can be proposed as an alternative of world significance. Attractive, especially in a globalized age, as a purely secular era may appear, the Christian era cannot be made secular by denying its origin."

I don't know Holford-Strevens' religion, but I can't think of many Catholic leaders who could phrase the argument so well.