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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Pakistani appeals court lifts death sentence against Christian in blasphemy case : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Cultures "Catholic World News":
  • A Pakistani Christian has been acquitted by an appeals court, after having been sentenced to death on blasphemy charges.
  • Rimsha Masih, who had spent 18 months in prison, was freed when an appeals-court judge found insufficient evidence to support the blasphemy charge.
Read more by clicking below:

USCCB, in Supreme Court briefs, defends marriage as union of man and woman : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Cultures "Catholic World News":
  • As the Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has filed briefs in their defense.
Read more by clicking below:

Monday, January 28, 2013

Catholic News Herald - Altar desecrated at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte - Catholic news from the Diocese of Charlotte

The following excerpts are from the Catholic News Herald in the Diocese of Charlotte:
  • CHARLOTTE — Someone broke into St. Thomas Aquinas Church at 1400 Suther Road Friday evening or Saturday morning, desecrating the altar and causing about $2,600 in damage. No evidence of ritualistic or occult activity was apparent and nothing was stolen from the University City-area church.
  • According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report, the person or persons broke a stained glass window on the right side of the church, not visible to the street, sometime after 1:30 a.m. and before 9 a.m. Saturday. They probably cut themselves on the broken glass, and as they walked into the altar area some blood dripped onto the altar cloth, said David Hains, diocesan director of communication.
  • Hains said police surmised the person knocked over the crucifix that sat upon the altar, and when it fell it broke the baby Jesus statue in the church's Nativity display. At some point during their break-in, the burglar or burglars triggered the church's alarm, and they left moments later through the narthex.
  • Parish staff thought the alarm was triggered accidentally and did not discover the break-in until Saturday morning, Hains said. They immediately called police and Bishop Peter Jugis.
  • According to Hains and the church's pastor, Father Patrick Winslow, there appeared to be no signs of satanic activity, but the altar area was desecrated in a "lewd" manner.
Read more by clicking below:

Homily from Bishop Peter Jugis during March for Life

Diocese of Charlotte Bishop Peter J. Jugis was the homilist during the North Carolina Mass in Washington, D.C. during the March for Life 

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Voices of the 2013 March for Life

Faithful from the Diocese of Charlotte stand up for life during the 2013 March for Life in Washington, D.C.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Mass for Life 2013

Diocese of Charlotte priests, seminarians and Bishop Peter J. Jugis process during the Mass for Life in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 24, 2013.


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

North Carolina to See Battle Over Obamacare, Abortion Funding | LifeNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:
  • Over the next 30 days, North Carolina is expected to become the site for the next battle over President Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Former Gov. Bev Purdue had begun to implement the state-based exchanges under the ACA, however the newly sworn-in Republican Gov. Pat McCrory has put on hold those plans, at least for now.
  • McCrory’s Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that the Governor would decide whether or not to proceed with the state exchanges by February 15. Meanwhile, due to the plans set in motion by former Gov. Purdue, North Carolina has received federal assistance to help with the exchanges.
Read more by clicking below:
North Carolina to See Battle Over Obamacare, Abortion Funding | LifeNews.com

Monday, January 21, 2013

Sunday, January 20, 2013

From The Dignitatis Humanae Institute: UK: "Creeping Towards Liberticide"

Note: The following is a press release from The Dignitatis Humanae Institute

Rome, 20 January 2013

Step by step, with each successive loss at whichever court of appeal, the freedom of Christians to act in accordance with their faith and their conscience is being steadily but systematically eradicated within the United Kingdom.  The latest demonstration of this destruction can be seen in the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights in four separate cases of British Christians; each sanctioned differently by their employer in a way which would have been unacceptable had they been a follower of any other religion.

The cases of Nadia Eweida and Shirley Chaplin concerned the freedom to wear a crucifix in the workplace. In one pyrrhic victory, the Court deemed that British Airways did indeed infringe Mrs Ewieda's rights.  Conversely and contradictory, Mrs Chaplin's choice to wear a crucifix at work was denied on health and safety grounds, despite evidence given that exceptions had been made for employees of other faiths, and no risk to safety could be proven.

Freedom of conscience was dealt two blows in the cases of Lillian Ladele and Gary McFarlane.  Mrs Ladele, a civil registrar for ten years, saw the conditions of her work change dramatically when homosexual civil partnerships were made legal in 2004. Islington Borough Council sought to make an example of her, and subsequently dismissed her from work.  Similarly, Mr McFarlane had gone to his superiors to express his doubt (not refusal) of his own ability to provide therapy for same-sex couples.  Rather than seeking to accommodate Mr McFarlane, his employers dismissed him for gross misconduct.

In both these cases, the practice of reasonable accommodation was entirely possible.  Accommodations within the workplace are commonplace for a wide-ranging variety of reasons and indeed other councils and employers have shown the broad-minded maturity to do so.  Despite this, the Court ruled that dismissal was a 'proportionate' measure for failing to adhere to what it called, ironically, equality and diversity policies.

In response to the court rulings, Founder of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, Benjamin Harnwell, spoke of the far-reaching consequences:

"The cases of Mrs Chaplin, Mrs Ladele and Mr McFarlane exacerbate what is already becoming common practice throughout Britain, an enforced curtailment of the liberty of Christians to act according to their own religious conscience in the workplace.  This slow creep towards 'liberticide' has risen to the point where people of specifically Christian faith are not merely treated with hostility but now met with instant dismissal.

"There is now a disturbing paradox being exercised in Britain; that in the name of plurality and tolerance, the previous custom of accommodation is being replaced with a legal requirement to adhere to a monopolistic secular conformity.  The precedents set here will surely open the doors to further attacks against the Christian conscience within the workplace, namely the freedom of pro-life medical practitioners to refuse to perform abortions.  We must now hope and pray that if these cases are taken to appeal before the Grand Chamber, those entrusted with the responsibility to defend religious freedom, enshrined by Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights, will not make a further mockery of the human dignity that God has entrusted them to protect."    

The Dignitatis Humanae Institute aims to uphold human dignity based on the anthropological truth that man is born in the image and likeness of God and therefore has an innate human dignity of infinite worth to be upheld. The Institute promotes this understanding by supporting Christians in public life, assisting them to present effective and coherent responses to increasing efforts to silence the Christian voice in the public square.


Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Letting You Know A Couple of Things

Two things to share with you.

1. I have decided which blogs will be continued, and which will be archived. At the top of the page, underneath the blog title and description you will see the titles Welcome, Privacy Policy, About Comments, etc., pages. To the far right is the page for Our Archived Blogs. Clicking that will open the page and show a list of the blogs that will no longer be updated or have new posts added to them. These are the blogs that get few readers if any. They are still available for reading, but I just don't have the time necessary for more than the 13 remaining blogs.



2. I did a new post on the "Approved Apparitions" blog about "Our Lady of Nicaragua", also known as Our Lady of Cuapa. This is about a series of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a poor rancher in Cuapa, Nicaragua. These occurred from April to October of 1980. Granted it is a long post, but I deemed it necessary because so few are familiar with this approved apparition, and seem to be too distracted by a questionable  apparition which has not been approved.

Anyway, these are the things I wanted to share with you. The new "Approved Apparitions" took awhile to complete, and my old gerbil powered computer crashed three times on me while trying to complete it. Fortunately, I kept saving what I was working on, so nothing was lost. Apparently, Satan doesn't want anyone to know about this apparition. Can't whip me. The Good Guys are on my side.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Eucharistic Congress 2013

The Ninth Eucharistic Congress of the Diocese of Charlotte takes place September 13 & 14, 2013 in Charlotte. The theme of the Congress is, "The Mystery of Faith: Open the Door to Christ."





About Catholicism Readers' Choice Awards


Once again, it is time to make your nominations for "The About Catholicism Readers Choice Awards" for 2013. The categories are: Best Catholic Book of 2012, Best Catholic Blog, Best Catholic Website, Best Catholic Podcast, Best Catholic Radio Show, Best Catholic Magazine, Best Catholic Newspaper, Best Catholic iOS App, Best Catholic to Follow on Twitter, and Best Catholic Facebook Page.

By clicking on this posts title or the link below, you will be taken to the page for the different categories. Click on a category and you will be taken to the nomination form, where you can nominate your favorites.

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Euthanasia Movement Promotes “Kill Me” Living Will in Australia | LifeNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:
  • The euthanasia movement rarely tells the full truth about its objectives. Activists pretend that their goal is only to legalize “voluntary” terminations, or in the USA, to restrict killing to the already dying whose suffering–a very elastic term in euthanasia advocacy–cannot otherwise be controlled.
  • But once a society accepts the premise that killing is an acceptable answer to human suffering, eventually concepts such as “voluntary” and “only for the terminally ill,” fall by the wayside. Look at the Netherlands, where 45% of neonatologists (according to a Lancet study) have committed infanticide and doctors engage in non voluntary euthanasia–euphemistically called “termination without request”–without fear of any significant legal or professional consequence.
  • Now, a bill soon to be introduced in the South Australia Parliament–where euthanasia is always bubbling on the legislative stove–would permit people to be killed by doctors based on via instructions made, catch the irony, in a “living will.”
Read more by clicking below:

Church of England OKs gay bishops in civil partnerships, as long as they’re ‘celibate’ | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:
  • The Church of England announced January 4 that it is dropping objections to accepting homosexual clergy as bishops, even those who live in formal civil partnerships, on the condition that they agree to remain celibate.
  • The announcement earned a rebuke from African members of the Worldwide Anglican Communion, including Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Stanley Ntagali, who called the decision “discouraging”.
  • In a statement the Church of England said it was “unjust” to exclude gay men from the episcopate who are “seeking to live fully in conformity with the Church’s teaching on sexual ethics or other areas of personal life and discipline.”
Read more by clicking below:

Monday, January 07, 2013

Arguments begin in case of minister accused of ‘crimes against humanity’ for homosexuality remarks | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:

  • Lawyers for a Massachusetts pastor have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by a foreign homosexual advocacy group accusing him of “crimes against humanity.” 
  • During a 90-minute hearing on Monday in U.S. District Court, Judge Michael Ponsor said the lawsuit filed by Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) against Springfield-based minister Scott Lively poses a test of free-speech protection and the rights of sexual minorities to equal protection under the law.
  • Ponsor heard arguments from lawyers representing both Lively and SMUG. SMUG, represented in court by the George Soros-funded “Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR),” accused Lively of “violating the law of nations” and “crimes against humanity” as well as conspiracy and various “civil rights” crimes because of his outspokenness against the homosexual agenda in Uganda.  In their filing, they listed a number of violent acts committed against homosexuals in Uganda that they claim Lively’s speeches against homosexuality incited.
  • The suit demands compensatory damages, punitive damages, exemplary damages, attorneys’ fees, and a “declaratory judgment that the Defendant’s conduct is in violation of the law of nations” as well as “all such other and further relief that the court may deem just and proper.”
Read more by clicking below:

Publicly declare the Catholic Church as a Pillar of American society. | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government

No doubt you have read or heard about the petition on the White House website asking that the Catholic Church be labeled a 'hate group'. There is now a new petition on the White House website asking that the Catholic Church be declared as a Pillar of American Society.

You may go the White House page for this petition andd sign it there. I did, mine is the 5th signature there. You can get there by clicking the link below, or by clicking this post's title.
Publicly declare the Catholic Church as a Pillar of American society. | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government


Sunday, January 06, 2013

From The Dignitatis Humanae Institute: French Government: we will "dissolve" "religious pathology" and "excesses" in the Church

Note: The following is a press release from The Dignitatis Humanae Institute


Rome, 6 January 2013

The liberties of French Christians have long been in a perilous state, however now the recently elected Socialist Government is set to impose a new form of secularist surveillance upon the Church and lay organisations, seeking to discover and 'dissolve' any potential cases of what it deems 'religious pathology.'

The month of Advent saw a disturbing spate of attacks and desecrations of Christian icons and buildings across France; from the burning of a Nativity scene in Savoy, statues decapitated in Frejus and Churches attacked in Mayenne and Soissons. Yet rather than defend the religious liberty of her persecuted people, the French government is pushing ahead with a further curtailment of religious expression.

Announced by President Hollande, the new 'the National Observatory of Secularism' will come into being this year, tasked with closely monitoring religious organisations for any potential 'excesses.' French Interior Minister Manuel Valls highlighted various Catholic organisations, stating that "All excesses are being minutely registered in case we have to consider dissolving it."

This aggressive form of imposed laïcité is coupled with the proselytization of what the Socialist education minister Vincent Peillon called a 'secularist morality' within the state education system. This compulsory form of re-education will seek to remove any ethics other than the core, secularist, tenets of the Republic. The Federation of State School Parents has already protested against what could be viewed as child indoctrination.

In response to these worrying trends, Benjamin Harnwell, Founder of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, warned of the dangerous precedents being created:

"The French government has already defied its own constitutional courts on its tax policy and now seeks to redefine its notions of justice and due process. A government that can predetermine your guilt before any actual crime has even been committed, based solely on a supposition of religious belief, has abandoned any claim to being a pluralist democracy and has become something far more sinister. This disturbing move marks yet another descent in a country which already heavily curtails the universal right to public displays of religious expression."

The Dignitatis Humanae Institute aims to uphold human dignity based on the anthropological truth that man is born in the image and likeness of God and therefore has an innate human dignity of infinite worth to be upheld. The Institute promotes this understanding by supporting Christians in public life, assisting them to present effective and coherent responses to increasing efforts to silence the Christian voice in the public square.

Friday, January 04, 2013

CUA Philosophy Prof: “You can’t pick and choose in Catholic moral teaching.” « Campus Notes

The following excerpts are from the Cardinal Newman Society Blog "Campus Notes":
  • “You can’t pick and choose in Catholic moral teaching” said John Rist, a philosopher and professor at The Catholic University of America in an interview with Vatican Voices. To do so, he added, “is just cowardly.”
Read more by clicking below:
CUA Philosophy Prof: “You can’t pick and choose in Catholic moral teaching.” « Campus Notes

The Amazing Latin Mass Society at Belmont Abbey College Thrives with New Media « Campus Notes

The following excerpts are from the Cardinal Newman Society Blog "Campus Notes":
  • It’s a Friday night on a college campus. Students walk out of their dorms in the dead of winter, their breath billowing out in puffs of steam, greeting friends with nods and handshakes, hopping into cars and convoying over 30 minutes to a nearby city.
  • It’s a typical scene on many college campuses across the country, but these aren’t your typical college students. These are members of the Latin Mass Society at Belmont Abbey College, preparing to attend the candle-lit Solemn High Mass at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Charlotte.
  • “It shows the power of God,” Belmont Abbey College student Anthony Perlas told The Cardinal Newman Society. ”Twenty-three people on a Friday night going to Latin Mass. Wow. It’s amazing.”
Read more by clicking below:
The Amazing Latin Mass Society at Belmont Abbey College Thrives with New Media « Campus Notes

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Chief Rabbis of Israel say, 'Killing fetuses is murder' | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:
  • Israel’s two chief rabbis have again issued a letter to all synagogue and community rabbis urging them to condemn abortion and to support the work of Efrat, the country’s pro-life organization.
  • In stronger language than they have used in their previous messages, Chief Rabbi of Israel Yona Metzger and Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar called the killing of the child in the womb “murder.”
  • “As in past,” the letter reads, “we call on all rabbis in Israel” to “raise in their words and sermons in synagogues…the severe prohibition of abortion.”
Read more by clicking below:
Chief Rabbis of Israel say, 'Killing fetuses is murder' | LifeSiteNews.com

'Same-sex marriage serious crime against humanity,' says African archbishop | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:
  • A Catholic archbishop in Cameroon preached, “Marriage of persons of the same sex is a serious crime against humanity” in his homily at Christmas Day Mass.
  • The Archbishop of Yaoundé, Simon-Victor Tonyé Bakot, encouraged his countrymen to defend African values of what constitutes an authentic marriage and family against recent efforts by international gay activists to overturn the country’s anti-sodomy laws—something many on the continent have called a form of cultural imperialism.
  • “We need to stand up to combat it with all our energy. I am particularly thankful to our local media that has been spreading this message of it as a criminality against mankind,” he said.
Read more by clicking below:
'Same-sex marriage serious crime against humanity,' says African archbishop | LifeSiteNews.com

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Time


God's time may seem slow to the human mind, but it's always the right time.


Chicago cardinal urges opposition to same-sex marriage : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:
  • Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George, joined by his auxiliary bishops, has issued a letter urging opposition to a bill that could bring legal recognition to same-sex marriage in Illinois.
Read more by clicking below:
Chicago cardinal urges opposition to same-sex marriage : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

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Ordering a quantity of 1 gets you a package of 14 single serve Monk Shots.




Tuesday, January 01, 2013

2012 in the Diocese of Charlotte

Photo highlights of the Diocese of Charlotte. Photos are from the Catholic News Herald, the diocesan newspaper.