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VIDEO: Bp. Morlino (D. Madison) critiques Nuns On The Bus, defends Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). INTERVIEW on EWTN!

Posted on 21 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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I received this from the nice people who produce Raymond Arroyo’s The World Over news show on EWTN.

Below is a clip from an interview with the great Bishop Robert Morlino (D. of Madison) which will air on Thursday night 21 June 21 at 8pm ET.

This week the Nuns on the Bus campaign, (I wrote about that hilarious event HERE.) which has received lots of spittle-flecked positive coverage from the MSM, stopped in the Diocese of Madison in order to picket the offices of Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI – District 1 overlaps with the Diocese of Madison) in protest of Ryan’s budget plan. Bp. Morlino defends Cong. Ryan calling him a “responsible Catholic layman” who has created a budget “in accord with Catholic principles.” Bp. Morlino also calls out the Nuns on the Bus campaign, suggesting that the sisters should “witness holiness” “rather than busing around for political issues.”

Bishop Morlino is the first bishop to criticize directly Sr. Simone Campbell’s bus tour.

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Most Rev. Robert Morlino in the interview:

“Congressman Ryan has made his prudential judgment about how best to serve the long term needs of the poor. He has done that in accord with Catholic principles. I don’t have to approve his decision, or his budget or anything else. What I do approve of is that he is a responsible Catholic layman who understands his mission and carries it out very responsibly. I feel very strongly about that. The details of his solution are not mine to approve or disapprove. That’s not my field. So, I would think that the religious sisters, though, should concentrate on giving that witness of holiness of all of the wonderful works that they do rather than busing around for political issues. Because, when anything happens like that, if I were to come out in a very political way, I would probably win more followers for the opposition. And, there are many Catholics who feel that very way about the sisters. They really don’t like this. They feel that, their expectation from the sisters is really not this kind of leadership.”

Pray for Bishops. They have their work cut out for them.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Magisterium of Nuns, Our Catholic Identity, Religious Liberty, The Drill | Tagged Bp. Morlino, EWTN, magisterium of nuns, Nuns Gone Wild, Nuns On The Bus, Rep. Paul Ryan
25 Comments

Nuns on Al Jazeera

Posted on 21 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The Nuns On The Bus gals have allies against Cong. Paul Ryan: Al Jazeera!

In some matters, Al Jazeera is better on global news than the US networks.

But this is a puff piece in favor of the nuns and against the mean US Bishops, the oppressive Vatican and the eeeeevil hater of the poor Rep. Paul Ryan.

An interesting point in the video is the video imagery on the screen by the news reader: scenes from Pontifical Masses in the Extraordinary Form. Al Jazeera wants something that looks really Catholic, they choose TLM footage. And not just any footage! They used a shot from the Pontifical Mass in honor of Pope Benedict at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception a couple years back when Bp. Slattery of Tulsa gave that spiffy sermon!

By contrast, however, when liberal nuns want to raise money, they use pictures of nuns in habits – which couldn’t be farther from the truth when it comes to the LCWR crowd.

There is at least one bold lie in the video story, in the part when the woman reporter describes her puff piece that the nuns are in trouble with the “Vatican” because – get this – they spend too much time helping the poor. That’s just plain stoooopid. And note how they conflate several issues of Catholic interest: the CDF with LCWR gets all jumbled together with the Ryan Budget.

The reporter swallowed the bus-nunny talking points like a Fluffy snaps up a treat.

And the anchor, Shihab Rattansi, who leads the panel says at one point: “It’s no secret that this Pope [Benedict] is no fan of Liberation theology and empowerment through Jesus’ teachings and so forth.”

That’s right, pal. Benedict is no fan of empowerment of people through the teachings of Jesus.

And Gehring, a panelist, describes what is going on as “The Catholic Church is cracking down on nuns who really live out the Gospel everyday.”

That’s right, pal. The Church wants to stop nuns from living out the Gospel.

And at the very end Sr Marie Lucey, associate director of the Franciscan Action Network, drops this whopper: “The Leadership Conference of Women Religious has never opposed Catholic Church teaching.”

That’s right, Sister. That’s why the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith got involved. Because the LCWR is sooooo verrrrrry faaaaithfullllll.

WARNING: Watching this can be frustrating.

(This video is no longer available.)

On the panel is John Gehring. Remember that name? He is a key figure in this:

Group funded by George Soros poised to attack US Bishops for the “Fortnight for Freedom”

Al Jazeera leans to the left. Does that seem to be a contradiction?

Nooooo.

Read Andrew McCarthy’s The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America. This is an excellent explanation of what is going on.BTW.. here is a book recommendation.

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, Magisterium of Nuns | Tagged Al Jazeera, Nuns On The Bus
4 Comments

I STAND WITH BENEDICT

Posted on 21 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A reader sent me a link to a short video made by some faithful young Catholics in Italy in support of Pope Benedict XVI. The group is “Noi per Benedetto“. We are for Benedict.

It’s in Italian, but check it out. It isn’t rocket science and it is a darn good idea.

Perhaps some young Catholic readers would make some videos like this in support of Pope Benedict, or in support of the US Bishops?

Would’ya? Could’ya?

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Posted in Benedict XVI, Brick by Brick, I'm just askin'..., Just Too Cool, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, The Campus Telephone Pole, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged Benedict XVI, Noi per Benedetto, pope
10 Comments

Angry priest: “I’ve had it!” with sacrament prep of young people!

Posted on 21 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A while back I gave a talk in Chicago to the group Legatus. I had the great pleasure of meeting several great priests. One of them was Fr. Richard Simon, Pastor of St. Lambert’s in Skokie. Fr. Simon is a regular host of Relevant Radio’s “Go ask your Father”.

Father is fed up with religious education as it is. He rants in his blog post and I must share some of it with my emphases and comments:

[…]

When I realized that Eastern Rite Catholics from the Middle East don’t have Communion and Confirmation classes, a light went on in my head. They receive first Communion and Confirmation when they are Baptized, even if they are infants. They have religious education for the rest of their lives and, consequently, they have a spiritual life. They are prepared for the Sacrament of Penance, but not for Communion and Confirmation. The result is that they have a vibrant spiritual like that they have maintained in the face of 1,300 years of unremitting persecution. In this country, we can’t manage a religious life because we are up against team sports.

I intend to drop the classroom model and go to a discipleship model that is called Youthchurch. It will involve Bibles, catechisms and water balloons. And maybe doughnuts. I will know the program is a success when I find that the kids are mad at their parents for missing Mass on Sunday.

I no longer intend to prepare children for First Communion and Confirmation. There will no longer be First Communion and Confirmation classes. How and when will the children receive Communion and Confirmation? They will receive when they are ready. When are they ready? They are ready when they want the Sacrament. How do we know they want the Sacrament? When they understand it, can tell the pastor what it is and why they want it. [OORAH!] If they are not in ongoing religious education and they are not coming to Mass on regular basis, they don’t want the Sacrament.

I am tired to distraction of having to chase young people down the aisles in church to retrieve the Blessed Sacrament because they have no clue what it is. [Do I hear an “Amen!”?] A year or so back, I was offering a funeral Mass and a teenaged girl came up for Communion, took the host, looked at it, turned it over and began to walk away holding it in her palm. I followed her and asked, “Have you made your First Communion?” She said simply, “I’m Jewish.” I smiled and said, “Perhaps I should take that from you.” Quite a few of the mourners were furious with me for my discourtesy.

At another funeral not long ago I saw a passel of tattooed and pierced adolescents coming down the aisle at a funeral. It was a large funeral so a number of priests were helping with Communion. I had finished my line so I stood about ten paces from the celebrant, a visiting priest. The first of the young Goths received the host, looked at it curiously and as she passed me I asked, are you Catholic? She said, “no.” I said “Perhaps I should take that.” So there began a curious ritual, of clueless youths. One priest would say “Body of Christ and the second priest would say “I’ll just take that.”

I’ve had it. My efforts will be directed to preparing people for the Sacrament of Conversion (Maybe you call it Penance or Reconciliation. Whatever.) Then maybe the little dears will understand that Communion is more than an edible poker chip. Registration will take place over the summer. I will be doing it personally. If you are registered in the parish and using envelopes, that will be the first step to getting your child in Youthchurch. How else can I tell if you are coming to Mass? As I’ve said before I don’t care that money’s in the envelope, I care that you are in the pew.

Fr. Simon

How very intriguing!

WDTPRS kudos to Fr. Simon!

UPDATE:

I just sent him some Z-Swag!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Fr. Z KUDOS, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Mail from priests, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Priests and Priesthood, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged Fr. Richard Simon, religious ed, sacramental preparation
72 Comments

ICYMI RECENT POSTS and THANKS!

Posted on 21 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I am closing in on 10K followers on Twitter. Please help!

Follow @fatherz

As the posts scroll along, here are links to some recent posts:

In your kindness, please consider using the donation button. This month is way behind, fwiw.

Many thanks to those of you who have set up monthly recurring donations. Your help is appreciated and I remember you regularly in prayer. On Saturday I will say Mass for benefactors, which is my duty and pleasure.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
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Good new TV spot defending Catholic religious liberty!

Posted on 21 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Sometimes while working I stream a TV news channel (or ball game) via my Sling Box (blessed are they who invented it) to one of my several monitors connected to the mothership. The audio is usually turned down, because TV is usually more annoying than helpful. But a shot of inside a Catholic church caught my periferal vision. I fired up the volume, pushed the feed back a few seconds and saw this TV spot, which I hunted down at The Catholic Association.

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Mind you, I don’t think the best argument against what Pres. Obama is trying to do to us should be founded on the fact that we do nice things for people. We have a right to practice our faith. That is what the TV spot winds up with. Be careful to get your points in a row when talking with people. And… talk to people!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Just Too Cool, Our Catholic Identity, Religious Liberty | Tagged 1st Amendment, anti-catholic, HHS mandate, Pres. Obama, religious liberty
3 Comments

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: For a priest who committed suicide.

Posted on 21 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

We kick ourselves – after – for not having done anything when – before – we saw signs that something was wrong. No?

Priests can tend to be “alpha wolves”. They can be pretty hard to read.

From a priest friend, Fr. Byers:

Hello Father,

Hope all is going well with you.

A close priest friend just committed suicide. A prayer for the repose of his soul, please.

Thanks.

We are all so terribly, terribly fragile. We have no idea.

A note about him on my blog. A good soul.

Prayers and blessings. Always in solidarity.

Dear readers, whether you like this blog or hate this blog, please pray for the soul of that poor priest. Perhaps, in your goodness, you could pray for him everyday for an octave of days, begging God’s mercy, and praying also for priests in distress. Priestly life can seem overwhelming and – never forget – the Enemy of the Soul hates priests will relentless demonic malice.

Posted in PRAYER REQUEST |
28 Comments

Before this is over, we shall “fight on the beaches”.

Posted on 21 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Promoters of unnatural sex are going to attack the Church relentlessly through the courts. Just like a pack of hyena’s trying to take down a larger animal, they will nip and dart here and there with test cases and litigation. They will target priests and parishes and Catholic institutions with harassing suits all designed to establish legal precedents. Sympathetic lawyers and activist judges will help them.

Here is something I picked up from the always useful CMR:

Lesbians Demand Catholic Hospital Recognizes Their “Marriage”

Remember when we were told that the government would never force the Catholic Church to perform or recognize gay marriage?

We all knew that was a lie, right?

Well, a lesbian just filed suit against a Catholic hospital in New York for refusing to cover her “spouse” in their insurance coverage. What are the chances of a New York judge siding with the Church on this one?

The New York Post reports:

A lesbian couple from Westchester yesterday filed the first suit against a Catholic institution for refusing to recognize New York’s gay-marriage law.

The Manhattan federal court filing says the women — identified only as “Jane Roe” and “Jane Doe” — were wed Oct. 15, and that “Roe,” who’s worked at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers since 2007, later applied to add “Doe” to her medical-benefits coverage.

But the request was denied by both St. Joseph’s and its insurance administrator, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, because hospital policy excludes same-sex spouses.

The class-action suit seeks an order declaring that both women are entitled to insurance coverage under federal law. It also says “thousands of legally married, same-sex couples” have been, or will be, denied benefits under similar policies administered by Empire, which is also named as a defendant.

The women are seeking an injunction ordering Blue Cross Blue Shield not to acquiesce to a company that wants to deny same-sex benefits because of religious beliefs, said Jeffrey Norton, their lawyer.

[CMR’s Mat Archbold continues…]

Look folks, if it’s a “right” there’s going to be no stopping it. If you are OK with legalizing gay marriage because you say you can’t impose your religious beliefs on others, think for a second.

When women were granted the right to abort their children, it had to eventually happen that the government was going to force Catholic institutions to pay for it as is happening now under the HHS mandate. When gay “marriage” becomes legal, it’s only a matter of time before the Church is forced to recognize it.

“Rights” aren’t part time things that people or institutions can or can not recognize. They’re rights – undeniable.

We must get ready for this war, this invasion of our Church from without and vicious sabotage from within.

Before this is over, we will need a Catholic Churchill:

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”

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Posted in New Evangelization, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity, Religious Liberty, The future and our choices | Tagged HHS mandate, same-sex marriage, Winston Churchill
8 Comments

Southern Baptists: Same-sex “rights” are NOT the same as civil rights

Posted on 21 June 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

On all sides we hear from those who want to condone same-sex relationships as “marriage” that denial of marriage to same-sex couples is like denial of restaurant service to blacks in 1950’s Alabama.

Do not be suckered into accepting that premise.

Same-sex “marriage” is NOT a civil rights issue.

I found this story interesting. On the heals of The First Gay President’s coming out in support of same-sex “marriage” (what a hypocrite – everyone knew he was for it all along, but Obama only publicly came out when he needed campaign money from homosexuals in Hollywood), thus alienating many black voters, we now see that the Southern Baptist Church has elected a black leader. That’s real social progress.

From WaPo comes this:

NEW ORLEANS — A day after electing their first African-American president in a historic move that strives to erase its legacy of racism, Southern Baptists passed a resolution opposing the idea that same-sex marriage is a civil rights issue. [Amen! Bruthas n Sistuhs, do I hear an “Amen!”?]

Thousands of delegates at the denomination’s annual meeting in New Orleans on Wednesday were nearly unanimous in their support for the resolution that affirms their belief that marriage is “the exclusive union of one man and one woman” and that “all sexual behavior outside of marriage is sinful.”

The nation’s largest Protestant denomination is attempting to broaden its appeal beyond its traditional white Southern base. At the same time, leaders said they feel it is important to take a public stand on their opposition to same-sex marriage. [Unlike some other spineless and feckless denominations. ]

The resolution acknowledges that gays and lesbians sometimes experience “unique struggles” but declares that they lack the “distinguishing features of classes entitled to special protections.”

“It is regrettable that homosexual rights activists and those who are promoting the recognition of ‘same-sex marriage’ have misappropriated the rhetoric of the Civil Rights Movement,” the resolution states. [AAAAAMEN!]

Another resolution passed on Wednesday is intended to protect religious liberty. It includes a call for the U.S. Justice Department to cease efforts to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act and for the Obama administration to ensure that military personnel and chaplains can freely express their religious convictions about homosexuality. [Remember: The First Gay President, whose job it is to uphold the law, refuses to uphold the law when it comes to DOMA.]

It also condemns the administration’s mandate requiring religiously affiliated institutions, but not houses of worship, to provide contraceptive coverage for their employees.

Leaders of several other faiths and Christian denominations, especially Roman Catholics, have also organized and filed lawsuits against Obama administration policies that they see as threatening religious expression.

The Rev. Dwight McKissic, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, was one of the authors of the gay marriage resolution.

“It’s important to sound the alarm again, because the culture is changing,” he said in an interview after the vote.

McKissic, who is black, said it was “an unfair comparison” for gays to equate same-sex marriage with civil rights because there is not incontrovertible scientific evidence that homosexuality is an innate characteristic, like skin color.

“They’re equating their sin with my skin,” he said. [Fantastic line.]

[…]