Faith of the Fathers

Monday, October 15, 2012

Prelates report on growth of Church in Norway, anti-ecumenism in Romania, Islam and Freemasonry in Africa : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

On October 13, the conclusion of the first week of the Thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 39 synod fathers spoke on various aspects of the new evangelization.

Evidence disproves rumors that John Paul I was killed, postulator says : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from Catholic Culture's Catholic World News:

The postulator for the beatification cause of Pope John Paul I has reported that new evidence puts to rest the rumors that the “smiling Pope” was murdered.
After Pope John Paul I was found dead just 33 days after becoming Roman Pontiff, conspiracy theories arose suggesting that the Pontiff had been the victim of foul play.

Bill Maher: ‘The Planet Is Too Crowded and We Need to Promote Death’ | CNSNews.com

The following excerpts are from CNSNews.com:

HBO “Real Time” host Bill Maher says he’s “consistently pro-death” – and “not one of those people who thinks all life is precious.”
Even dogs can create life, he said in an Oct. 7 interview on satellite radio.
Maher explained his views on life and death when Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist and host of StarTalk Radio, raised the death penalty.
“You support the death penalty, according to my notes,” Tyson said. “Isn’t it largely Republican? They may not have birthed the idea, but?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Maher said. “I mean I have a lot of ideas that you might consider conservative. But I feel like on that, I’m just consistent, like the pope is consistent. The pope is consistently pro-life; I’m consistently pro-death.”
“I am for the death penalty, although I do believe in more DNA testing,” Maher continued. “My motto is, ‘Let’s kill the right people.’ I’m pro-choice. I’m for assisted suicide. I’m for regular suicide. I’m for whatever gets the freeway moving. That’s what I’m for.”
“It’s too crowded,” Maher continued. “So, the planet is too crowded and we need to promote death.”

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Bill Maher: ‘The Planet Is Too Crowded and We Need to Promote Death’ | CNSNews.com

Why the Little Sisters of the Poor Oppose the HHS Mandate | Daily News | NCRegister.com

The following excerpts are from National Catholic Register:

As more lawsuits over the Department of Health and Human Services’ contraception mandate are filed, many religious groups still remain temporarily exempt from the rule as they wait for answers.
Sister Constance Veit directs the publications office for the Little Sisters of the Poor, one of these groups waiting and hoping for relief from the HHS mandate. Between their 30 homes in the United States, the Little Sisters serve 2,500 elderly residents — enough to keep more than 300 sisters joyfully busy. The order is putting much effort into opposing this federal rule, and Sister Constance explains why.
How will the Little Sisters of the Poor be affected by the HHS mandate?
For the time being, we are not directly affected by the mandate. We have until the end of this year to provide certification that we meet the criteria for the one-year exemption currently in place. So, most likely, if nothing changes in the law, we will have to face this concretely Jan. 1, 2014.
Cardinal [Timothy] Dolan blogged about the HHS mandate and its impact on Catholic organizations and services. He is very clear about the costs of the mandate. For example, if we were to stop offering health insurance rather than comply with the mandate, we would have to pay a $2,000 penalty per employee. This penalty aside, it just does not seem right to us to stop providing health insurance to our employees.
If we chose to offer insurance without the objectionable services, we would honor our consciences, but we’d have to pay $100 per day per employee. As the cardinal figures it, for an organization with 50 employees, that would mean almost $2 million per year.