Alter Christus - Purity of Heart

While these reflections are entitled Meditations for Priests, all can benefit from them...
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In a previous recollection we meditated on docility to the Holy Spirit as the source of growth in our spiritual life and of fruitfulness in our ministry. One of the necessary conditions for that docility is purity of heart. Divine grace is a gratuitous gift of God and does not depend upon us, yet it rests with us to prepare the ground for those divine communications and to make them effective, by removing whatever is opposed to God's free action in our soul. This preparatory and very necessary cooperation on our part must frequently be the object of our scrutiny, lest we frustrate many of God's designs for our sanctification and our apos­tolate by keeping our hearts encumbered with obstacles to the operations of divine grace. Such obstacles are: venial sins, uncontrolled passions, vain and useless preoccupations.

AVOIDING SIN

It is obvious that venial sins, and even imperfections deliberately and habitually admitted in our daily life, are a great hindrance to God's grace. For one thing, as they render the soul less pleasing to God, they may decrease con­siderably the abundance of His gifts and deprive us of many actual graces. But, independently of that, they tend to make us less and less docile to divine inspirations, because they cloud our spiritual vision, diminish our fervour in resisting temptation and practising virtue, and little by little take away all relish for spiritual things.

The danger is the greater as we easily overlook the serious evil there is in venial sin, and are drawn into its groove imper­ceptibly, even finding ready pretexts to persuade ourselves that such a course is unavoidable for all but Saints.

We must combat such inclinations in us, by thoughts of faith about the dreadful harm there is in venial sin, by an oft-repeated resolution not to consent deliberately to any offence, not even the smallest, against God, by a firm con­viction that God calls us to a life of habitual fidelity and gives us ample grace for it, and by sincere acts of contrition and penance when we have been guilty of deliberate faults.

* If we looked upon our daily life with the eyes with which the Saints looked upon their's, how we would shudder at the presence in our habitual conduct of so much infidelity!

Let us pray for a greater horror and holy fear of venial sin. ­Our daily examination of conscience and our weekly confession ought to keep alive in us those views of faith. Do they? - How great is our generosity in atoning for our sins, and our fervour and confidence in the daily oblation of Christ's expiatory sacrifice "pro innumerabilibus peccatis et offen­sionibus et negligentiis meis" ? . . .

WATCHING OVER OUR PASSIONS

It is not only actual sins and imperfections that impede the work of God in our soul, but we have another enemy, within the place itself, to keep at bay: our ill-regulated passions, which are the root of sin and against which we are never secure unless we keep a close watch over their movements. Alas! how numerous, how insidious, how tenacious those evil inclinations can be! Pride and vanity, the spirit of independence and disobedience, sensuality, sloth: all these and other forms of self-love are a perpetual menace to the work of the Holy Spirit within us. They tend to warp our views, to vitiate our intentions and spoil our actions.

If then we want to give God free play in our soul, we must keep our passions under control: first of all, with sincere humility acknowledge their presence within us; suppress their actual manifestations, and fight them out mercilessly by opposing contrary virtues to each disorderly affection, so that we may free our heart from those poisonous roots which are so great an obstacle to God's inspirations and are often the reason why sacramental graces and the gifts of the Holy Ghost have so little effect upon our spiritual life.

* Are we humble enough to be poignantly conscious of our constant need of vigilance? Beware of self-complacency in spiritual life, which leaves one imbedded in hopeless medio­crity. - Are we generous and methodical in practising the
"agere contra"? Do we apply our "particular examen" to uproot our defects? - Let us pray that we may know self and die to self in order to live to Christ: "Domine Jesu, noverim me, noverim Te. . . persequar me, sequar Te."

FREEING OURSELVES FROM ALL VAIN PREOCCUPATIONS

Dissipation of mind and heart is another great obstacle to our docility to the Holy Spirit. The Divine Master knocks at the door, but we hear Him not, or deliberately turn a deaf ear to His voice: we are too engrossed in vain and useless preoccupations. This dissipation may come from the fickle­ness of a superficial mind which takes pleasure in petty and frivolous pursuits, or from the strength of worldly allurements that bewitch us, or even - alas! - from our apostolic labours, when we allow ourselves to seek in them natural satisfactions which crowd God out of our mind and heart.

* Are we not squandering some of our time in profitless occupations, readings and conversations, thus living in an atmosphere quite uncongenial to God's operation in our soul, and sowing the seeds of innumerable distractions in prayer? - Let us resolve to keep our heart closed to the seductions of all vain things: "Fascinatio enim nugacitatis obscurat bona", and to give undivided to God a life that has been wholly consecrated to His service by our ordination: "In his quae Patris mei sunt oportet me esse."

Lava quod est sordidum, Riga quod est aridum, Sana quod est saucium. - Flecte quod est rigidum, Fove quod est frigidum, Rege quod est devium."

"Largire nobis, quaesumus, Domine, semper spiri­tum cogitandi quae recta sunt, propitius et agendi: ut, qui sine te esse non possumus, secundum te vivere valeamus. Per C.D.N."
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Adapted from Alter Christus, Meditations for Priests by F.X. L'Hoir, S.J. (1958)
Meditation 26.

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Please pray for our priests and pray for vocations to the priesthood.

Billboard Campaign Offers Way To Change Sexual Orientation

A billboard promising to change homosexuals has caught the attention of several drivers on local highways. The billboards are associated with Focus on the Family-an organization calling itself a Christian group promoting family values.

Of course, no story is complete without an opposing "opinion":

"There is nothing to be cured." That's the opinion of Dr. Randi Mozenter, a clinical psychologist. He says homosexuality is not considered an illness or disorder and most people's sexuality falls on a continuum.

The story says that Randi is a "he"...She looked like a "she" to me, but then, this is 2006...

Intolerant and ignorant is how some in the gay community describe the church's efforts.

Apparently to some, intolerance and ignorance exist only on one side of the issue...

Squashing "Love Won Out" with Vandalism

ST. LOUIS, Missouri, February 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Hours after the media announced the location of an international Love Won Out conference for St. Louis to be held Feb. 25, the location was vandalized.

The vandalism to First Evangelical Free Church of St. Louis County (First Free) occurred just hours after radio announcements of the location for the event began there Thursday evening. At least a dozen eggs were found spattered over the front of the building when employees arrived there early Friday. Billboards for the event began to appear along St. Louis highways as early as Tuesday. The one-day event is designed to educate and equip attendees on the issues surrounding homosexuality and provide help for those struggling – and those whose loved ones struggle – with unwanted same-sex attractions.

People trying to help others are often targets of ridicule and harassment, especially when it comes to issues like this...

Cardinal Arinze Says Pope Will Fix Liturgical Abuses

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican's top liturgy official said he expects Pope Benedict XVI to move against liturgical abuse with firm teaching and a gentle manner, recognizing that such mistakes often reflect ignorance, not ill will.

At the same time, the pope wants to offer reconciliation to followers of the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre -- but not at the cost of "disowning" the Second Vatican Council, said Cardinal Francis Arinze, the Nigerian who heads the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.

Cardinal Arinze spoke about the direction of the new papacy in an interview with Catholic News Service in early February. He said he expected important moves -- but not a purge -- to improve liturgy under Pope Benedict.

"I do not expect an aggressive correction of abuses. I don't think the pope is going to use the ecclesiastical hammer," Cardinal Arinze said.

"Pope Benedict has very clear doctrine and convictions. What many people may not know is that he is not rough. He is gentlemanly, in the sense of what the prophet Isaiah said: 'A bruised reed he will not break,'" the cardinal said.

More here.

I wonder if we will get to keep be forced to endure more liturgical dance performances and guitars and bongos?

"Suppose a priest comes at the beginning of Mass and says: 'Good morning, everybody, did your team win last night?' That's not a liturgical greeting. If you can find it in any liturgical book, I'll give you a turkey," Cardinal Arinze said.

I think there may be some special "liturgical books" floating around these parts...

Don't Sign a Life Away

From a recent email... Spread the word:

My fellow Defenders,

Like you, I am a member of the Defenders of Archbishop Burke. I believe that the members of our organization have a deep love for the Catholic Church and are willing to support Archbishop Burke and the things that are important to him.

As you know I have taken a strong public stand against the deceptive "Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative". On November 25th, 2005 Archbishop Burke referred to this petition in his "Archbishop's Column" in the St. Louis Review:

"In a particular way, let us work to stop the latest manifestation of the culture of death in our state of Missouri, the initiative to obtain the constitutional guarantee of the right to attack innocent and defenseless human life."

Archbishop Burke has authorized an extensive educational effort on this issue in Catholic parishes in an attempt to defeat the petitions and amendment. I think you will agree that our mission is clear. We must, as Archbishop Burke says "work to stop the latest manifestation of the culture of death in our state of Missouri" - the "Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative".

It is for this reason that I asked Mr. McKenzie to allow me to write this letter to you. I need supporters of Don't Sign a Life Away!. I need people to help spread the word around the state of Missouri. I need people here in St. Louis to help minimize the success of those collecting petitions. I need contributions to help fund bumper stickers, flyers and educational materials to inform citizens about this misleading campaign. I need help distributing this material around the state.

I want to order 100,000 bumper stickers that say "Don't Sign the Cloning Petition!" A quantity like this costs only 5 cents per bumper sticker, but cost $5000 for the entire order. I am looking for funding in many places. Perhaps you would like to contribute.

Now is the time for action! The petition gatherers have just begun. I think they will move on to Kansas City when they finish in St. Louis. Even if they succeed in placing the Amendment on the ballot our work will not have been in vain. Every effort we make now helps to educate voters about the true nature of this amendment and will help us defeat the amendment in November.

Please consider this a personal invitation to become a member of Don't Sign a Life Away! Please visit our website at http://www.dontsignalifeaway.org/ for information about our group and contact information. Or you may simply email me at molly@dontsignalifeaway.org or call me at 636.519.8160.

Mr. McKenzie tells me he sends out approximately 275 emails. I hope that many of you will also see fit to join Don't Sign a Life Away! Together we can stop this thing! Please keep this intention in your prayers, especially that God send many helpers to this state-wide educational campaign.

Gratefully,
Molly McCann

Senator Jim Talent takes new tack on stem cells

In a surprise turnabout, Sen. Jim Talent withdrew his support Friday for a controversial ban on human cloning and offered what he said was a compromise proposal that would heal the deep divide over stem cell research.
. . .
Even as Talent outlined his new proposal, saying he'd spent a year researching the issue, he still declined to take a position on a Missouri initiative petition that has made the stem cell debate so hot at home.

How can he NOT take a position on Danforth and company's efforts to become mad scientists in their quest to become like God? Is he afraid of "St Jack"?

"I'm going to cross that bridge when I get to it. I'm not there yet," Talent said Friday of the Missouri initiative, which would protect certain types of embryonic stem cell research. That measure has torn apart the GOP, with key business leaders, Gov. Matt Blunt, and other Republicans backing it and abortion-rights foes staunchly opposing it.

Any politician who supports the wanton murder of innocent human life deserves to be rejected at the ballot box. We need to pray that these individuals accept the grace God gives them to see the truth...

Talent said Friday he will promote altered nuclear transfer, or ANT, as a new avenue of research that could end the political impasse. Under ANT, a cell is genetically altered so that it can't ever develop into an embryo. Proponents say the process - still being developed and studied - avoids the dicey questions involved in traditional stem cell research.

More here.

Gospel for Monday, 6th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Mark 8:11-13

The Leaven of the Pharisees

[11] The Pharisees came and began to argue with Him (Jesus), seeking from Him a sign from Heaven, to test Him. [12] And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." [13] And He left them, and getting into the boat again He departed to the other side.
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Commentary:

11-12. Jesus expresses the deep sadness He feels at the hardheartedness of the Pharisees: they remain blind and unbelieving despite the light shining around them and the wonderful things Christ is doing. If someone rejects the miracles God has offered him, it is useless for him to demand new signs, because he asks for them not because he is sincerely seeking the truth but out of ill will: he is trying to tempt God (cf. Luke 16:27-31). Requiring new miracles before one will believe, not accepting those already performed in the history of salvation, amounts to asking God to account for Himself before a human tribunal (cf. Romans 2:1-11). Unfortunately, many people do act like this. But God can only be found if we have an open and humble attitude to Him. "I have no need of miracles: there are more than enough for me in the Gospel. But I do need to see you fulfilling your duty and responding to grace" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 362).

12. The generation to which Jesus refers does not include all the people of His time, but only the Pharisees and their followers (cf. Mark 8:38; 9:19; Matthew 11:16), who do not want to see in Jesus' miracles the sign and guarantee of His messianic mission and dignity: they even attribute His miracles to Satan (Matthew 12:28).

If they do not accept the signs offered to them, they will be given no other sign of the spectacular kind they seek, for the Kingdom of God does not come noisily (Luke 17:20-21) and even if it did they in their twisted way would manage to misinterpret the event (Luke 16:31). According to Matthew 12:38-42 and Luke 11:29-32, they are offered yet another sign--the miracle of Jonah, the sign of the death and resurrection of Christ; but not even this remarkable proof will lead the Pharisees to shed their pride.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

Czechs at odds over historic church

A shoe scrapes on stone near the tomb of Good King Wenceslas and winter breaths curl against the stained glass, but few of the tourists meandering through St. Vitus Cathedral sense the underlying battle between the secular and the sacred.

Tomas Holub does. "The state should own this church," said Holub, a pilgrim with a nationalist streak standing in a dim light near the altar. "It's the symbol of the Czech nation. Our kings are buried in crypts below, and you can feel their spirits. It changes the dynamics of this place."

The legal struggle between the state and the Catholic Church over ownership of the cathedral is a troubling tour through the ages. . .

More here.

The Rev. John H. Miller: Led Catholic Social Action Organization Based in St. Louis

The Rev. John Harold Miller, a Catholic priest who spent 20 years as executive director of a Catholic social action agency, died of cancer Wednesday (Feb. 8, 2006) at Holy Cross House in Notre Dame, Ind. He was 80.

Father Miller was director of the Central Bureau of the Catholic Central Verein of America. The bureau, at 3835 Westminster Place, St. Louis, is the headquarters of the national organization.

He moved to the priests' retirement home in Indiana after retiring in January from the Central Bureau. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 10 months ago.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday at St. Ignatius Church in Austin, Texas. A memorial Mass was celebrated Saturday in Notre Dame.

Father Miller took over as director of the central bureau in 1986 and became editor of the bureau's bi-monthly journal, the Social Justice Review. The publication, with a circulation of about 5,000, goes to members of Congress, bishops and federal judges and various officeholders.

Tom Hoover, archivist and librarian at the central bureau, said Father Miller was a studious man who translated books from French into English and was familiar with seven languages. He enjoyed taking twice-weekly swims at the downtown YMCA and dining at Italian restaurants. "He also had a corny sense of humor that showed he was an affable, humorous fellow," Hoover said.

Father Miller was the youngest of six children. He was born in New Orleans in 1925. He was ordained in 1951 and celebrated his first Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

He had studied at the University of Notre Dame and at the Angelicum in Rome, and went to Germany where he received his doctorate in sacred theology from the Theological Faculty at Trier.

He taught theology at Holy Cross College and the Catholic University of America in Washington; at the University of Notre Dame; and at Loyola University of the South and Notre Dame Seminary, both in New Orleans.

He wrote several books about Catholicism, among them "Fundamentals of the Liturgy" and "Signs of Transformation in Christ." In 1963, he became staff editor for liturgy and sacramental theology on the New Catholic Encyclopaedia. He edited eight volumes of the "Yearbook of Liturgical Studies (1960-67)" and "Vatican II - An Interfaith Appraisal (1966)."

He received as appointment in 1964 as consultant to the Papal Post-conciliar Commission for the Reform of the Liturgy. From 1976 to 1980, he served as provincial of the southern province of the Holy Cross Fathers in Austin.

He is survived by many nephews and nieces, mostly in the New Orleans and Detroit areas.

Burial will be in Assumption Cemetery in Austin.

Gospel for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: Mark 1:40-45

The Curing of a Leper

[40] And a leper came to Him (Jesus), beseeching Him, and kneeling said to Him, "If You will, You can make me clean." [41] Moved with pity, He stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." [42] And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. [43] And He sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, [44] and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." [45] But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to Him from every quarter.
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Commentary:

40-44. Leprosy was seen as a punishment from God (cf. Numbers 12:10-15). The disappearance of the disease was regarded as one of the blessings of the messianic times (Isaiah 35:8; cf. Matthew 11:5; Luke 7:22). Because leprosy was contagious, the Law declared that lepers were impure and that they transmitted impurity to those who touched them and to places they entered. Therefore, they had to live apart (Numbers 5:2; 12:14ff) and to show that they were lepers by certain external signs. On the rite of purification, see the note on Matthew 8:4.

[The note on Matthew 8:4 states:
4. According to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 14), if a leper is cured of his disease, he should present himself to a priest, who will register the cure and give him a certificate which he needs to be reintegrated into the civil and religious life of Israel. Leviticus also prescribes the purifications and sacrifice he should offer. Jesus' instruction to the leper is, then, in keeping with the normal way of fulfilling what the laws laid down.]

The passage shows us the faithful and confident prayer of a man needing Jesus' help and begging Him for it, confident that, if Our Lord wishes, He can free him from the disease (cf. Matthew 8:2). "This man prostrated himself on the ground, as a sign of humility and shame, to teach each of us to be ashamed of the stains of his life. But shame should not prevent us from confessing: the leper showed his wound and begged for healing. If You will, he says, You can make me clean; that is, he recognized that the Lord had the power to cure him" (St. Bede, "In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").

On the discretion and prudence Jesus required regarding His person, see the note on Mark 1:34 and Matthew 9:30.

[The note on Mark 1:34 states:
34. Demons possess a supernatural type of knowledge and therefore they recognize Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 1:24). Through the people they possess they are able to publish this fact. But Our Lord, using His divine powers, orders them to be silent. On other occasions He also silences His disciples (Mark 8:30; 9:9), and He instructs people whom He has cured not to talk about their cure (Mark 1:4; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26). He may have acted in this way to educate the people away from a too human and political idea of the Messiah (Matthew 9:30). Therefore, He first awakens their interest by performing miracles and gradually, through His preaching, gives them a clearer understanding of the kind of Messiah He is.

Some Fathers of the Church point out that Jesus does not want to accept, in support of the truth, the testimony of him who is the father of lies.]

[The note on Matthew 9:30 states:
30. Why did our Lord not want them to publicize the miracle? Because His plan was to gradually manifest Himself as the Messiah, the Son of God. He did not want to anticipate events which would occur in their own good time; nor did He want the crowd to start hailing Him as Messiah King, because their notion of messiah was nationalistic, not a spiritual one. However, the crowd did in fact proclaim Him when he worked the miracles of the loaves and the fish (John 6:14-15): "When the people saw the sign which He had done, they said, `This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!' Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus withdrew again to the hills by Himself."]
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

Gospel for Saturday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Mark 8:1-10

Second Miracle of the Loaves

[1] In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, He (Jesus) called His disciples to Him, and said to them, [2] "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with Me now three days, and have nothing to eat; [3] and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way." [4] And His disciples answered Him, "How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?" [5] And He asked them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven." [6] And He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and He took the seven loaves, and having given thanks He broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. [7] And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He commanded that these also should be set before them. [8] And they ate, and were satisfied; and took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. [9] And there were about four thousand people. [10] And He sent them away; and immediately He got into the boat with His disciples, and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
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Commentary:

1-9. Jesus repeats the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish: the first time (Mark 6:33-44) He acted because He saw a huge crowd like "sheep without a shepherd"; now He takes pity on them because they have been with Him for three days and have nothing to eat.

This miracle shows how Christ rewards people who persevere in following Him: the crowd had been hanging on His words, forgetful of everything else. We should be like them, attentive and ready to do what He commands, without any vain concern about the future, for that would amount to distrusting Divine Providence.

10. "Dalmanutha": this must have been somewhere near the Lake of Gennesaret, but it is difficult to localize it more exactly. This is the only time it is mentioned in Sacred Scripture. In the parallel passage in St. Matthew (15:39) Magadan (sometime Magdala) is mentioned.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

Church Buildings -- Monuments with Mixed Messages

A great article over at Adoremus!

Join Faithful Catholics at Rally for Cardinal George

Cardinal Francis George has been under serious attack in the media including calls for his resignation. These attacks have come from many who identify themselves as Catholic. A rally is planned for 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 12, at Holy Name Cathedral to show the support of the Catholic people in the Arch diocese for the Cardinal.

More here.

Controversy over billboards in St Louis

There was a report last evening on KTVI Channel 2 News over a billboard campaign hitting St Louis in preparation for an upcoming event here.

Focus on the Family will bring its international Love Won Out conference to St. Louis on February 25. The one-day event is designed to educate and equip attendees on the issues surrounding homosexuality and provide help for those struggling – and those whose loved ones struggle – with unwanted same-sex attractions.
. . .
Billboards for the event are now being seen along St. Louis highways. These signs feature individuals who are among thousands who have left homosexuality, along with the message: "I Questioned Homosexuality. Change is Possible. Discover How." Love Won Out is led primarily by those who have left homosexuality themselves, along with researchers and therapists from across the nation.

Of course, those promoting the Homosexuality is Great agenda are not pleased. And I could find no refererence to the story on KTVI's pathetic excuse for a website.

More on Love Won Out Comes to St. Louis

A great letter: "Good shepherd"

Editor:

"A flock is in good shape when the shepherds are concerned for the sheep; when they loose the dogs on the wolf; when they bring the flock to graze not in areas where the grass is poisonous but where they can find nourishment.

"We need shepherds who are not mute sheepdogs, because the dogs, if they remain silent, are useless; they should be barking to sound the alarm." So wrote St. Jose Maria Escriva in 1970.

In St. Louis we have a courageous shepherd who is not mute despite the wagging tongues that try to defame him. We thank the good God for Archbishop Raymond Burke.

Anne C. Messmer
St. Louis

As always, we give thanks to God for giving us a shepherd, a faithful Bishop, who is concerned about the salvation of souls. Pray for him!

A letter from the St. Louis Review.

How to challenge embryonic stem-cell petition gatherers

From the St. Louis Review:

Editor’s note: With a little research, and the courage to show one’s faith, Catholics who are approached by petition-gatherers for a constitutional amendment election to protect embryonic stem-cell research in Missouri can avoid supporting it.

The best argument a Catholic can give in declining to sign the petition is that embryonic stem-cell research is immoral because it results in the creation of an embryo only for scientific harvesting of cells. The embryo is destroyed in the process.

Only God can create life, and people should never be responsible for destroying it.

Follow that with the fact that research with adult stem cells from living persons has resulted in numerous cures, and there is promise for more. Thus far, years of research with embryonic stem cells have yet to produce one instance of a cure.

The Archdiocesan Respect Life Apostolate is offering informational flyers for anyone interested in speaking out against those who are collecting signatures for the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.

The apostolate offers the following information and suggestions when encountering signature collectors:

Many of the signature gatherers are paid personnel from out of state. They cannot vote on the issue.

Signature gatherers primarily operate on public property such as libraries, post offices and license bureaus. This is legal as long as they do not interfere with people wishing to use those facilities.

Those distributing the petitions must, however, have permission to stand on private property. If you notice that a signature collector is on private property, inquire with the manager right away whether that person has permission to solicit signatures for a political initiative there. Local grocery stores, including Dierbergs, Schnucks and Shop ’n Save, do not allow signature collecting for any political effort.

The language on the petition is deceptive. The Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, the organization sponsoring the initiative, claims that the amendment will ban human cloning.

However, this is because the coalition has redefined cloning as the implantation of a cloned embryo into a uterus. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is cloning. The initiative will, in fact, legalize the cloning of human embryos and allow destructive research to be conducted on human embryos.

The proposal also allows taxpayer money to be used to carry out unethical research, including cloning human embryos and extracting their stem cells for research.

Adult stem-cell research has already successfully treated 65 diseases. Embryonic stem cells have not treated or cured a single disease.

Remind people that once they have signed the petition, they can’t change their minds and remove their signatures.

If the initiative makes it on the Nov. 7 ballot and passes, it will amend the Missouri constitution. This is a much more permanent change than a new law.

More information can be found on the following Web sites: Missouri Catholic Conference www.mocatholic.org; Do No Harm: The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics www.stemcellresearch.org; and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops www.usccb.org/prolife.

For more information or for copies of the flyer, call the Respect Life Apostolate at (314) 792-7555 or e-mail prolife@archstl.org.

Source.

Look who's calling who a "Cafeteria Catholic"

I received two emails this morning from a group which hails itself "Catholics for Faithful Citizenship", taken, no doubt, from the USCCB's most "enlightening" publication on the proper (read,'democratic party')discernment of issues regarding Catholic voting.

Imagine my surprise to see this subject line on the first email:

PELOSI -- We Salute Catholic Schools for Teaching our Children Character, Compassion, and Values

Shocked??? I sure was, but that was only the beginning, for there is more:

Washington, D.C - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in support of House Resolution 657, honoring the contributions of Catholic schools, which passed unanimously in House this evening:

"President John F. Kennedy said in his Inaugural Address: 'With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth, God's work must truly be our own.' I rise today to thank our Catholic schools for doing God's work here on earth for generation after generation.

"More than 163,000 educators teach in nearly 8,000 Catholic schools in America, and they educate nearly 2.5 million students every year. My husband and I, and our five children, have attended over 100 years of Catholic school education.

"I can tell you firsthand that Catholic schools provide exceptional education. They contribute to a student's intellectual, ethical and spiritual development. As a devout Roman Catholic and the product of Catholic schools, I rely every day on the values and the sense of responsibility that were deepened for me by my Catholic education.

"The theme of this year's Catholic Schools Week is 'Character. Compassion. Values.' Education is about more than reading, writing, and arithmetic, although it is certainly about that. But it is also about teaching each child to live and work with integrity and in a way that serves others.

"My Catholic education helped me appreciate that we all contain a spark of divinity, to recognize that spark of divinity in every person, and to respond to that spark with humility and awe, even when it's found in 'the least of these.'

"Catholic schools teach their students that our personal faith means public obligation. Simply put, faith means we have work to do. My Catholic education taught me that to minister to the needs of God's creation is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us. That lesson should inform every debate we have here in Congress, whether it is education, health care, job creation, or the budget, which should be a statement of our national values.

"Our Catholic schools truly do God's work here on earth, and they deserve our nation's gratitude. I join my colleagues in thanking all of the teachers, parents, and students of Catholic schools who bring our nation closer to the 'beloved community' it was meant to be."

Now before we get too sidetracked, remember where this email came from - we can focus on Pelosi's "devout adherence to the Catholic faith" later, if necessary (and it probably isn't).

So I'm thinking, "Hmmmmmmmm, what's up with this?" Then, while considering whether or not to attempt to "digest" this Pelosi screed, I look at the next email which states:

"John Boehner - Cafeteria Catholic"

Whew!!! Now, it's all becoming crystal clear - with a name like "Catholics for Faithful Citizenship", how could one not immediately come to the realization that we are dealing with just another group of 'confused' and mistaken "Catholics"...How can one make that judgment? Look what the groups says, in part, about John Boehner:

Boehner like most cafeteria Catholics, has made the decision to use his Catholicism to rally support around a single issue; abortion. Boehner does not even touch on the subject of working towards an end to abortion by addressing the real life causes of abortion.

Of course, nowhere do we read where others are labeled "Cafeteria Catholics"...For instance: Patrick Leahy, Joe Biden, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Tom Harkin, Christopher Dodd, Susan Collins, Mary Landrieu or others...
But I digress.

...Boehner voted against debt reduction for Africa.
...
Boehner voted for the Iraq war.
...
Boehner voted for the Budget Reconciliation Act, that has robbed the poor in this nation and given back to the rich.
...
Catholic for Faithful Citizenship Director John Kelly commented today. “If political rhetoric was a solution the problem would be solved. We can all recite the favored lines about life, culture and family. Rhetoric is no different than a jet passing overhead – an empty roar that fades into the background noise with no noticeable impact.”

America has paid a high moral and political price since the 1973 decision. If Leader Boehner wants to use his Catholicism for political gain, then he should begin by embracing the rich tradition of our Social Teaching. Until then, he is no more than a sound byte for those who wish to co-opt the Catholic Faith for political gain. Boehner has shown a total disregard for those impoverished, those who are without jobs, and the least among us. To claim he is for families when it is clear that only wealthy families need apply, Boehner betrays the memory of Pope John Paul II.

It sounds like someone is getting mobilized for the 2006 elections and the same old, tired attempts are going to be made to sway Catholics to vote for pro-death, anti-family, pro-homosexual, evil-embracing Demonic-Rats, especially those who profess to be Catholic...This is not to say that the "Republic-Rats" are better. It's strictly a matter of the blind (in this case, Catholics for Faithful Citizenship) trying to lead others into error and confusion...apparently because of malformed consciences or misunderstandings of authentic social justice teachings.

Unbelievable? Look here. For some reason, I can't shake the feeling that this group has some sort of backing by covert ops at the USCCB...

Catholic "Regimen" is "Stifling"

He grew up in a devoutly Catholic family in Evansville, Ind. He studied to be a priest before he decided that the "regimen was stifling - to put it mildly."

He rejected religion for a period, he said. Before he found a home in the Ethical Society, he embraced Buddhism, yoga and the Church of Religious Science.

One wonders if ethics is even understood at the Mid Rivers Ethical Society? No doubt, it's easy...

Link..

Bishop Calls for Fasting for Immigration "Justice"

Several hundred school children, parents, priests, religious, lay ministers, community organizers and San Gabriel Region Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala gathered at Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights Feb. 1 to announce the communal fast.

"We are calling and inviting our community to initiate a month of fasting and prayer," said Bishop Zavala, in the hopes of persuading U.S. Senators to oppose HR 4437, a bill that would make illegal presence in the U.S. a crime, rather than the civil offense it is now. Estimates are that some 11 million immigrants are undocumented.

From the Tidings

Sony Provides Website for Da Vinci Code Critics

The company is putting up a Web site today — well ahead of the movie's release on May 19 — that will give a platform to some of the fiercest critics of "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown, the book that is the movie's source.

The site, thedavincichallenge.com, will post essays by about 45 Christian writers, scholars and leaders of evangelical organizations who will pick apart the book's theological and historical claims about Christianity.