Opinion: The Undeniable History of the Democratic Party

The modern Democratic Party seems unable and unwilling, to separate itself from the evil history of it's past. An evil past which it continues to this day.

The Democratic Party, was responsible for the forced removal of the Cherokee and other Southeastern Native American Nations, to Oklahoma.

The Democratic Party was responsible for seceding from the Union of the United States, and starting the Civil War for the sole reason of slavery.

The Democratic Party was responsible for the creation of the Ku Klux Klan, and all the repression and murder it brought upon black citizens, Catholics, Jews, and all whom it considered "less than human".

The Democratic Party was responsible for the Jim Crow laws throughout the South, that denied people of color equal rights, and equal access.

The Democratic Party was responsible for the evil of abortion and all of the inherent horrors that it brings to the most innocent and vulnerable among us.

The Democratic Party, was responsible for the acceptance of the evil called "assisted suicide", and pushes for the acceptance of this atrocity nation wide.

The Democratic Party has now passed a bill into law in New York, that allows for the murder of babies up until the moment of birth, and state legislatures including Vermont, Virginia, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and more are also calling for such legislation, under the guise of “women's healthcare”.

The Democratic Party has the undeniable history of promoting hate, discrimination, death, and destruction throughout it's entire existence.

Tell me how the Democratic party "cares" about people again. Their historical actions in the past proves that “care” is all a complete and total lie.

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The Holy See Will Respond To The Concluding Observations Of The U.N. Committee For The Rights Of The Child

Vatican City, 6 February 2014 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, permanent observer for the Holy See at the United Nations in Geneva commented on the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee for the Rights of the Child, which were very critical regarding the issue of the abuse of minors by members of the clergy and the actions taken by the Vatican and the Holy See on the matter, and urges revision of the Church's teaching on certain themes such as contraception and abortion.

“My first impression: we need to wait, read attentively and analyse in detail what the members of this Commission have written”, commented the nuncio. “But my first reaction is of surprise, because of the negative aspects of the document they have produced and that it looks almost as if it were already prepared before the meeting of the Committee with the delegation of the Holy See, which had given in detail precise responses on various points, which have not been reported in this conclusive document or at least have not seemed to be taken into serious consideration. In fact, the document does not seem to be updated, taking into account what, over the last few years, has been done by the Holy See, with the measures taken directly from the authority of Vatican City State and then in various countries by the individual Episcopal Conferences. It therefore lacks a correct and updated perspective, which in reality has seen a series of changes for the protection of children that, it seems to me, are difficult to find, at the same level of commitment, in other institutions or even in other States. This is simply a question of facts, of evidence, which cannot be distorted!”.

With regard to the Holy See's reaction to the document, the archbishop affirmed that “the Holy See will respond, because it is a member, a State that is part of the Convention: it has ratified it and intends to observe it in the spirit and letter of this Convention, without added ideologies or impositions that lie outside of the Convention itself. For instance: in its Preamble, the Convention on the Protection of Children talks about the defence of life and the protection of children before and after birth; whereas the recommendation made to the Holy See is that of changing its position on the question of abortion! Of course, when a child is killed it no longer has rights! Hence this seems to me to be a real contradiction of the fundamental objective of the Convention, which is the protection of children. This Committee has not done a good service to the United Nations, seeking to introduce and request the Holy See to change its non-negotiable teaching! So, it is somewhat sad to see that the Committee has not grasped in depth the nature and functions of the Holy See that, however, has expressed clearly to the Committee its decision to carry forward the Convention's requests on the rights of the child, but defining precisely and protecting first of all those fundamental values that give real and effective protection to the child”.

The observer for the Holy See also commented on the fact that the United Nations had said at one time that the Vatican had responded better than other countries to the protection of minors, and with regard to the change of opinion expressed in the document published yesterday, he said, “the introduction to the final report recognised the clarity of the answers that were given; there was no attempt to avoid any request made by the Committee, on the basis of the evidence available, and where there was no immediate information, we had promised to provide it in the future, according to the directives of the Holy See, as all countries do. So it seemed to be a constructive dialogue and I think it should remain as such. Therefore, given the impression received through direct dialogue by the delegation of the Holy See with the Committee and the text of the conclusions and recommendations, it is tempting to say that probably that text had already been written, and does not reflect the input and clarity, other than by some hasty addition, to that which had already been offered. So we must, with serenity and on the basis of the evidence - because we have nothing to hide! - bring forth the explanation of the position of the Holy See, respond to the questions that remain, so that the fundamental objective that is to be pursued - the protection of children - can be achieved. We are talking about 40 million cases of child abuse in the world: unfortunately some of these cases - even though in small proportions in comparison to all those that are happening in the world - affect people in the Church. And the Church has responded and reacted and continues to do so! We must insist on this policy of transparency, of no tolerance of abuse, because even one single case of child abuse is one case too many!”

You can find more information at: www.visnews.org

The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.

Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

From The Dignitatis Humanae Institute: "False Charity Not To Excommunicate Visibly Pro-Abortion Politicians"

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

Rome, 03 October 2013

Commentating on the heated debate on whether Holy Communion should be withheld from Catholic politicians who support abortion or euthanasia legislation, Luca Volontè, a Catholic Italian statesman with 20 years of experience affirmed: "It is simply a falsehood to believe one can readily divorce one's faith from personal involvement in public policy. To do so is to fail both God and one's neighbour, and stand complicit in grave sin. The Church teaches that pro-abortion politicians have already automatically excommunicated themselves ("latae sententiae"). It is therefore an act of false charity not to make this situation publicly manifest, because it deprives the person of receiving the most serious warning that they need to correct their behaviour, thus leading him/her into the erroneous belief that the Church might tacitly support such legislation."

The comments follow an interview from His Eminence Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the highest court position in the Vatican. In the interview with The Wanderer, the Vatican's most senior American spoke of the inability to reconcile pro-abortion Catholic politicians with their worthiness to receive Holy Communion: "it is a contradiction, it is wrong, it is a scandal, and it must stop! We live in a culture with a false sense of dialogue - which has also crept into the Church - where we pretend to dialogue about open and egregious violations of the moral law."

Despite vociferous criticism from the liberal commentariat of this dogmatic approach, Cardinal Burke, who also serves as the President of the Advisory Board of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, simply reiterates Church teaching as found in Canon Law and outlined by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith by the then Cardinal Ratzinger in Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion: General Principles. The memorandum states: "Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia, when a person's formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his Pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church's teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist."

In Ireland, the Catholic priests who have followed the memorandum's directives in response to the recent legislation sanctioning abortion have been met with howls of outrage from culpable Irish politicians who seek to divest themselves of their faith and moral responsibility whilst engaged in politics. Mr Volontè noted, "As Catholics in public office, often faced with the seemingly overwhelming pressure to submit ourselves to the party whip, we should in that moment seek inspiration from St Thomas More, the patron saint of politicians, who demonstrated with his life that God and morality cannot be separated from man and politics; "man is created by God, and therefore human rights have their origin in God, are based upon the design of creation and form part of the plan of redemption. One might even dare to say that the rights of man are also the rights of God." "

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.

John McCain and 'Allahu Akbar'

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

• Tuesday morning, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) got a bit hot under the collar when Brian Kilmeade of Fox News noted that the Syrian rebels whom Barack Obama and McCain want to aid militarily were shouting "Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!" as rockets hit Syrian government offices. McCain's response to Kilmeade demonstrated not only his ignorance of Islam, but his abysmal misjudgment of what is happening in Syria. And on the basis of that ignorance, he is aiding Obama's rush to yet another war.
• "I have a problem," Kilmeade said, "helping those people screaming that after a hit." That incensed McCain, who shot back: "Would you have a problem with an American or Christians saying 'thank God? Thank God?' That's what they're saying. Come on! Of course they're Muslims, but they're moderates and I guarantee you they are moderates."
• Wrong on all counts. In the first place, it does not mean "thank God," as McCain seems to have affirmed when he said, "That's what they're saying." Allahu akbar means "Allah is greater" -- not, as it is often translated, "God is great." The significance of this is enormous, as it is essentially a proclamation of superiority and supremacism. Allah is greater -- than any of the gods of the infidels, and Islam is superior to all other religions.
• Al-Islam.org states this obliquely: "Allahu akbar implies that God is superior to all tangible and intangible, temporal and celestial beings." This may seem to be an innocuous theological statement until one recalls that Islam has always had a political aspect, and Islamic jihadists always shout "Allahu akbar" when attacking infidels. It is a declaration of the superiority of their god and their way of life over those of their victims. 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta also stated that it was meant to make the infidels afraid. He wrote instructions to jihadists that were found in his baggage: "Shout, 'Allahu Akbar,' because this strikes fear in the hearts of the non-believers."

Read more by clicking below:
John McCain and 'Allahu Akbar'

Cuomo’s radical late-term abortion expansion act dies in NY State Senate | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:

• A controversial provision that would have struck down late-term abortion restrictions in New York state has died in the state senate. The measure, which would have radically expanded abortion-on-demand for reasons of “health,” among other changes, was the tenth point of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Women's Equality Act.
• However, just after midnight last night, the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) introduced the other nine planks – and others of its own creation – while ignoring the abortion language.
• Governor Cuomo struck out at the IDC during a public radio interview on Monday, vowing a bruising political fight against the group's four members.

Read more by clicking below:

Cuomo’s radical late-term abortion expansion act dies in NY State Senate | LifeSiteNews.com

Obama: Banning late-term abortion shows ‘contempt’ for ‘the Constitution,’ assaults women’s rights | LifeSiteNews.com

The following excerpts are from LifeSiteNews.com:

• President Barack Obama has announced that, if Trent Franks' bill to restrict late-term abortion nationwide passes, he will veto it.
• In a Statement of Administration Policy, the president called the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” (H.R. 1797) “an assault on a woman's right to choose” and said it shows “contempt for...the Constitution.”

[Since when has BHO given a rats hiney about the Constitution?]

Read more by clicking below:
Obama: Banning late-term abortion shows ‘contempt’ for ‘the Constitution,’ assaults women’s rights | LifeSiteNews.com

If Late-Term Abortions Are Sacred Ground to Pelosi, She's Like Kermit Gosnell | LifeNews.com

Nancy Pelosi

The following excerpts are from LifeNews.com:

• No matter how frustrating things are on Capitol Hill, we can all be grateful for one thing: Nancy Pelosi is no longer in charge.
• Regardless of the GOP’s flaws, the former Speaker reminded pro-lifers how much worse the leadership could be. During a press conference Thursday, the House Minority Leader picked a fight with the men on the Judiciary Committee for passing Rep. Trent Franks’s (R-Ariz.) bill onto the House floor.
• First, Pelosi accused them of sexism — “All the people who voted for the bill were men,” she insisted. (Only because there are no Republican women on the committee!) Then, she took aim at the legislation, Franks’s Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, for somehow “disrespecting” the “health and safety of American women.”

Read more by clicking below:
If Late-Term Abortions Are Sacred Ground to Pelosi, She's Like Kermit Gosnell | LifeNews.com

Army Reserve: Catholics And Evangelical Christians Examples of Religious "Extremism"

This country has gone way beyond frightening. Yes, the term frightening wouldn't even come close to touching it.

For starters, let's look at the press release from the Archdiocese for Military Services, USA:

AMS Calls on U.S. Defense Department to Review Army Reserve Training Material for Anti-Religious Content

Concern raised by brief citing Catholicism as example of “religious extremism”

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) issued the following statement today on the mischaracterization of “Catholicism” as an example of “religious extremism” on slide #24 of this U.S. Army Reserve training brief:

Statement

The Archdiocese for the Military Services and Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty recently became aware of a U.S. Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief that expressly listed “Catholicism,” “Evangelical Christianity” and other religious groups as examples of “religious extremism” alongside groups such as “Al Qaeda”, “Hamas” and the “KKK.”

The Archdiocese is astounded that Catholics were listed alongside groups that are, by their very mission and nature, violent and extremist.

According to an investigation and reply from the Army Chief of Chaplains office, the training in question appears to have been an isolated incident not condoned by the Department of the Army. The Archdiocese and the Chaplain Alliance explained that the Army can and should take steps to prevent such incidents in the future.

The Archdiocese calls upon the Department of Defense to review these materials and to ensure that tax-payer funds are never again used to present blatantly anti-religious material to the men and women in uniform.

So, the Army Reserve has determined that Catholics, Evangelical Christians, and other mainstream religious groups are “extremists”, all a definition they got, according to The Daily Mail, from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

I don't know about you, but it seems to me that the extremism may lie entirely within the Army and the SPLC.

Speaking of The Daily Mail, Lisa Graas over at Catholic Bandita has an excellent post on this topic, and she also has a link to The Daily Mail that shows some images of the slides in question from the Army reserve training. Her post is called : “Army Training Slideshow Includes Catholics, Evangelicals, Some Jews as ‘Religious Extremism’”. Go over there and give it a read, as well as an excellent post also from Father Z called “Obama Admin in Army Reserve brief lumps Catholicism in with Al Qaeda, Hamas, KKK”.

As one "extremist" to another, I think the SPLC and the Army have zero credibility in their assertions.

Vote!

Don't forget this Tuesday, November 6, is the time for Americans to go vote. If you don't vote, you are not part of the solution, but part of the problem!

VOTE!

Politics And Receiving Communion

Note: The following post was originally written and posted by me in 2005 on my blog "Church Under Attack". I have re-posted it here now, because I believe it to still be relative to 2012.

 

With the 2004 election, we began to hear more and more about communion and politicians who support abortion. Several bishops from around the country made headlines when they either refused, or stated that they would refuse communion to any politician who proclaims them self “pro-choice” while still nominally maintaining that they are Catholic. This became an almost weekly news event, especially when certain high profile Catholic politicians attended Mass, and reporters waited to see if that politician would be denied communion.

Lets make one point absolutely clear in the terminology in vogue in regard to abortion. When a politician, or any other ordinary citizen states that he or she is “pro-choice” or supports “reproductive rights”, they are proclaiming themselves PRO- ABORTION. No nice little clean terms like “pro-choice” or “reproductive rights” hides that fact nor changes it, and hopefully the American people are not blind to that fact. The pro-abortion faction is also adamant in insisting that a bishop or priest denying them communion crosses the line on the so called “separation of church and state”, which is another term thrown at random by anyone who opposes anything the Church teaches. Although those people are hard pressed to show where this is supposedly contained in the United States Constitution. They are hard pressed because it does not exist anywhere within the Constitution.

The hue and cry over this began when Pope Benedict XVI, when he was still known as Cardinal Ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, sent a letter to American Bishops entitled “"Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion, General Principles". Stated in "General Principles," no Catholic should seek to receive Holy Communion if he or she is guilty of "a grave sin," and abortion is a grave sin. Further, he wrote that a priest "may find himself in the situation where he must refuse to distribute Holy Communion to someone, such as in cases of declared excommunication, a declared interdict, or an obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin,”. (An interdict, which can only be imposed by a bishop, bars a Catholic from receiving any of the Sacraments, including Holy Communion.) Banning communion is not limited to those who perform abortion Cardinal Ratzinger also wrote that it included anyone "whose personal cooperation becomes manifest," including "the case of a Catholic politician consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws. The pastor should meet him, instructing him about the Church's teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of the sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Holy Eucharist."

In the end, any politician who campaigns or votes in a manner that is pro-abortion effectively excludes himself or herself from receiving Holy Communion. Further, any Catholic who votes for any pro-abortion politician based on the politicians pro-abortion stance, then that voter has also excluded him or her self from receiving Holy Communion as well. In both cases, the politician and the voter should partake in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (Confession) before going to receive the Holy Eucharist.

This does not cross the line in the so called “separation of Church and State” at all. As stated previously, nowhere in the Constitution of the United States of America, does the term “separation of Church and State” exist. Go read the Constitution yourself and find out. Don't take my word for it, alone. A well known Catholic politician once told a group of Baptist ministers that he would never allow the Catholic Church to influence any of his decisions for the United States. In essence, what that politician was saying was, that he would not allow God's One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church to influence any of his decisions, and thereby making such a statement, he was also saying, that he would not allow God to influence any of his decisions as well. No one, in any walk of life, be they king, president, politician, bishop, priest, or citizen, can not leave out God, God's influence, or God's Church from their decisions, public or private. To leave out God is to invite destruction and ruin within their lives, with those whom they lead, and with those whom they love.

Let's look at Catholic Teaching on abortion from the “Catechism of the Catholic Church”:

2258 "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being." (CDF, instruction, Donum vitae, intro. 5.)

2268 The fifth commandment forbids direct and intentional killing as gravely sinful. The murderer and those who cooperate voluntarily in murder commit a sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance.(Gen 4:10) Infanticide, fratricide, parricide, and the murder of a spouse are especially grave crimes by reason of the natural bonds which they break. Concern for eugenics or public health cannot justify any murder, even if commanded by public authority.

2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person—among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. (Cf. CDF, Donum vitae I, 1)

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. (Jer 1:5; cf. Job 10:8-12; Ps 22:10-11)

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. (Ps 139:15)

2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:

You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.

(Didache 2, 2: SCh 248, 148; cf. Ep. Barnabae 19, 5: PG 2, 777; Ad Diognetum 5, 6: PG 2, 1173; Tertullian, Apol. 9: PL 1, 319-320)

God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.

2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,"(CIC, can. 1398) "by the very commission of the offense,"(CIC, can. 1314) and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. (Cf. CIC, cann. 1323-1324) The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

2273 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation:

"The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death." (CDF, Donum vitae III)

"The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined. . . . As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights." (CDF, Donum vitae III)

2274 Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.

Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, "if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safeguarding or healing as an individual. . . . It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence."

(CDF, Donum vitae I, 2)

Copyright © 2005-2012 Steve Smith. All rights reserved.

Are We Being Too Political?

Almost everyone agrees that the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election is one of the most important, if not the most important elections in the nations history.

People are somewhat divided however as to what issue is the most pressing or important issue of the day. The economy...abortion...same sex marriage...religious liberty...education...and the list goes on and on.

People are disagreeing right, left, and center about what is the most pressing and important issue of the day, and many feel, that there is more than one pressing issue, and that we shouldn't focus on just one issue alone, and throw the rest under the proverbial bus.

My question is, have we been so focused on the "issue of the day", that we Christians have taken our focus off of God?

Many of us have gotten so caught up in politics that we have allowed our faith to take a back seat to the elections. For instnce, I shared the news from Fox News on Saturday, that Iranian pastor, Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was origianlly sentenced to death for his Christian faith, was released after 3 years in an Iranian prison. A reason for great joy among Christians around the world. Yet that news seems not to have been noticed until today.

Apparently, the ending of the Democratic Convention was still too fresh in people's minds for them to take any notice of anything not related to politics. While there should have been, and still should be great rejoicing over Nadarkhani's release, there was instead an almost deafening silence.

Therefore, I have decided that on my blogs there will be no mentions of either candidate except in ways that relate to religious liberty, abortion, or same sex marriage.

Why? Because I don't want to be a party to focusing our attention on the world when we should focus our attention on God, and as Catholic, those are the faith issues I will be sharing as regards the elections. If we would all take the time to focus our attention on God, ask for His help, His belssings, and His Grace, then through Him the rest would take care of itself.

Below are some scripture passages for you to consider:

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you: my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled: nor let it be afraid.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall have distress. But have confidence. I have overcome the world.

Romans 12: 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and the acceptable and the perfect will of God.

1 Corinthians 1: 20 - 21 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?  For, seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world, by wisdom, knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of our preaching, to save them that believe.

1 Corinthians 3: 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written: I will catch the wise in their own craftiness.

James 1: 27  Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation and to keep one’s self unspotted from this world.

2 Peter 2: 20  For if, flying from the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they be again entangled in them and overcome: their latter state is become unto them worse than the former.

1 John 2: 15 - 17  Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh and the concupiscence of the eyes and the pride of life, which is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world passeth away and the concupiscence thereof: but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever.

1 John 4: 1 - 6 Dearly beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits if they be of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. By this is the spirit of God known. Every spirit which confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that dissolveth Jesus is not of God. And this is Antichrist, of whom you have heard that he cometh: and he is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome him. Because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore of the world they speak: and the world heareth them. We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not of God heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Fortnight For Freedom homily by Bishop Peter Jugis

"We cannot separate the fruits of faith from faith itself." July 1, 2012, homily of the Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte, N.C. Topic: Fortnight for Freedom. Proclaimed at the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Charlotte.

Divine Mercy Novena -- Day Six

Today is Day Six of the Divine Mercy Novena.

Please join us as we pray this novena with all the Catholics at Pray More Novenas.

You may also take a moment to look around here and pray for the intentions of the rest of the Pray More Novenas community. 

US bishops decry ‘illegal and unjust’ HHS mandate, call for prayer and penance : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's New Headlines:

• Decrying the Department of Health and Human Services’ contraceptive mandate as “a mandate to act against our teachings” and “a violation of personal civil rights,” the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a statement calling upon “the Catholic faithful, and all people of faith, throughout our country to join us in prayer and penance for our leaders and for the complete protection of our First Freedom--religious liberty.”
  
  
• we wish to clarify what this debate is—and is not—about. This is not about access to contraception, which is ubiquitous and inexpensive, even when it is not provided by the Church's hand and with the Church's funds. This is not about the religious freedom of Catholics only, but also of those who recognize that their cherished beliefs may be next on the block. This is not about the Bishops' somehow "banning contraception," when the US Supreme Court took that issue off the table two generations ago. Indeed, this is not about the Church wanting to force anybody to do anything; it is instead about the federal government forcing the Church—consisting of its faithful and all but a few of its institutions—to act against Church teachings. This is not a matter of opposition to universal health care, which has been a concern of the Bishops' Conference since 1919, virtually at its founding. This is not a fight we want or asked for, but one forced upon us by government on its own timing. Finally, this is not a Republican or Democratic, a conservative or liberal issue; it is an American issue.

Click the link below to read the entire article:

US bishops decry ‘illegal and unjust’ HHS mandate, call for prayer and penance : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

It's About the First Amendment

Do you recall a 1997 movie called "Wag the Dog"? The Internet Movie Database describes it as:

"Before elections, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to "fabricate" a war in order to cover-up a presidential sex scandal."

According to UsingEnglish.com the expression "wag the dog" is an idiom (which is a fixed expression with a nonliteral meaning) defined as:

To 'wag the dog' means to purposely divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater importance, to something else of lesser significance. By doing so, the lesser-significant event is catapulted into the limelight, drowning proper attention to what was originally the more important issue.

Why am I bring this movie up? Because that is exactly what is happening right before our eyes with the HHS Mandate on contraception.

The Obama administration, with a complicit main stream media, complicit liberal talk shows, and with the frantic caterwauling of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Sandra Fluke, Planned Parenthood, and the rest of that crowd that shares an IQ, has deemed the attack on the First Amendment to actually be a "war against women" and their "right" to "free" contraception.

They are counting on the Obama base, and the pro-death crowd (you can call them pro-choice if you want to, I call them what they are) not paying attention to what is actually going on, which is a blatant attack on religious freedom and conscience. They are counting on them to be convinced of the fallacious idea that there is an underlying attack on women, and that they want women to suffer and to die.

That my friends, is just a truck load of bull hockey.

When President Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued the contraception mandate, they blatantly issued an "in your face" attack on the United States Constitution, and in particular, an attack on the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights.

The First Amendment states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

With the issuance of the HHS Mandate, the Obama administration has once again thumbed it's nose at the United States Constitution, and is in fact prohibiting the free exercise of the religious beliefs and tenets of the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church my friends, is not just a large, religious institution headquartered in Rome. The Catholic Church is me, you, your neighbors, your friends, your relatives, your co-workers, your local parish, a local high school, the hospital across town, countless universities and colleges, the food kitchen, the homeless shelter, the medical clinic, the adoption agency and more.

Yes, the Church encompasses far more than people realize, and what they fail to realize is, that with forcing this mandate upon the Catholic Church, many if not all of those services provided by the Church will be gone, because the Church will be forced to end those services before we will deny our religious conscience.

To demand that the Catholic Church deny it's religious conscience is to demand that the Catholic Church deny Christ. To demand that we deny Our Lord and Our Savior is something that will never happen to satisfy any mandate from President Obama or any other government official.

Santorum and The Vote

Watch this video from Michael Voris and RealCatholic TV:

UK MEP: We Should be Given Monthly Audit of All Taxpayer-Funded Abortions

For Immediate Release   Rome, 28th February 2012   A senior Member of the European Parliament has called on the UK government to carry out a monthly audit of all abortions that receive funding from the British taxpayer, after a newspaper exposed terminations being illegally carried out on the basis of gender. Nirj Deva MEP, President of the International Committee on Human Dignity, said such an audit would ensure that the British people "can finally begin an informed debate on how much public money funds abortions on the basis of nothing but gender." Following news of the practice reported in London's Daily Telegraph on February 23rd, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley pledged to carry out an urgent and thorough investigation, and handed the matter over to the police. He called illegal abortion "morally repugnant". The head of the Care Quality Commission - the body tasked with regulating such practices - resigned after the story broke. Deva, who recently came second in the elections for the European Parliament's Speaker, congratulated the government for its "prompt response" and praised Lansley for "his brave, principled stance".   The MEP said he knew from experience the kind of hostility the minister could now expect. "Several years ago I introduced an amendment to the EU's Development Budget, demanding a gender audit on every overseas abortion that is paid for by EU taxpayers - this was before people were talking much about the issue of gendercide," Deva said. "Sadly, the socialists and liberals joined together to defeat my amendment, saying explicitly that a woman's right to choose an abortion must remain sacrosanct, including the right to choose not to have a girl." Deva added that these latest revelations, which the newspaper exposed through undercover reporting, regrettably came as no surprise: "For me it was a bit like the famous scene in Casablanca when Claude Rains exclaims to Humphrey Bogart: "I'm shocked, shocked to find that there's gambling going on in here" while simultaneously pocketing in one smooth action his evening's winnings." "If you talk to people in the abortion industry, they all know that this is happening, but it's obviously not in their commercial interests to talk about it, so they just impose a culture of silence, and then intimidate anyone who dares to challenge them. My own modest proposal for an analysis of abortions was roundly defeated by those whose vested interests keep the abortion trade out of the public domain, away from clear legal parameters and solely within their own power," he said. "I remember observing with sadness that the ideological fanaticism of some of the UK's MEPs from the political Left who were advocating a so-called liberty for mothers abroad that is illegal at home." "The very people claiming that their support of abortion derives from 'gender equality' are in fact actively promoting a life-killing practice of gender inequality." Deva said statistics from around the world clearly prove that gender-selected abortions heavily discriminate against the female gender. "It is the duty of all who genuinely believe in gender equality to open their eyes to the most grievous injustice dealt to women globally, the very denial of their basic right to life," he said. "I would like, therefore, on behalf of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, to offer a helpful contribution to the debate and ask that every single abortion that is funded by the British taxpayer, either wholly or in part, has the gender recorded of each baby being terminated, and for these results to be compiled and made public on a monthly basis," he said. Deva, who is also the Vice President of the European Parliament's Development Committee, also invited politicians in other parliaments around the world to contact him for advice on how to table similar amendments in their own national assemblies by emailing him at nirj.deva@dignitatishumanae.com. "The time has come for full disclosure," Deva concluded.

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.

Vote FOR Marriage - 2 - Bishop Burbidge

Second in a series of videos by the Bishops of North Carolina explaining the position of the Catholic Church in support FOR the marriage amendment. Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Raleigh explains four important points of Church Teaching about marriage. He also urges all North Carolinians to vote FOR Marriage on May 8, 2012.