A new website to defend the nuns against the meanies of the male heirarchy

Posted on 25 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

When covering anything having to do with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s reform of the leadership of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR – a subsidiary of the Magisterium of Nuns) the liberal press claims that the male hierarchy is unjustly attacking all the nuns (or sisters … whatever). The poor sisters only want to help the poor and teach your children their ABC’s (as if the liberated LCWR types have done a lot of that in the last few decades), but the meanies won’t leave them alone.

A reader sent me a link to a new support group for the poor, oppressed sisters. Remember: ALL the sisters are under attack, right? It isn’t that the leadership of the LCWR is being called to change. No. ALL sisters are under attack.

That’s why we need the new website: Nun Justice Project!

Yes, dear reader, you can now ally yourself with the following groups in backing this great cause in defense of all the nuns against the mean meanies:

Who is Nun Justice?

The Nun Justice Project is a grassroots movement supported by the following organizations:

American Catholic Council
Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church
Call To Action
Catholics for Choice
CORPUS
DignityUSA
FutureChurch
New Ways Ministry
Quixote Center
RAPPORT
Voice of the Faithful
WATER: Women’s Alliance for Theology Ethics and Ritual
Women’s Ordination Conference

With friends like these, why again would the Holy See be looking closely at the LCWR?

I see groups of ex-priests and lesbians and women’s ordination advocates listed.

Oddly I didn’t see SNAP.

Perhaps that is because SNAP has picketted LCWR meetings because they won’t come clean about instances of sexual abuse of children by women religious… which for some reason the liberal press won’t cover.

Posted in Dogs and Fleas, Magisterium of Nuns, Our Catholic Identity, The Drill | Tagged CDF, LCWR, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, magisterium of nuns
12 Comments

Pres. Obama, “born-again Catholic”!

Posted on 25 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Pres. Obama, the First Gay President, has demonstrated time and time again that he will say anything to anyone for the sake of political expediency.

Here is story from the Daily Caller with my emphases and comments:

Obama, the born-again Catholic

Amid polls showing that his efforts to regulate religious institutions have hurt his image among Catholics, President Barack Obama has begun touting his early ties to the church.

“My first job as a community [Saul Alinsky-ite] organizer was with Catholic churches who taught me the power of kindness and commitment to others in neighborhoods,” he declared at a Hollywood fundraiser May 23.

“When I was a young [Saul Alinksy dedicated Rules for Radicals to Satan…] community organizer, I was working with Catholic churches and they taught me that no government program can make as much of a difference as kindness and commitment on the part of neighbors and friends,” [Notice that he doesn’t say “church-based organizations”. That’s because, for him, religion should be isolated in churches and in homes, only.] he said at a Colorado fundraiser earlier that day. [Which is obviously why he pushes for bigger and bigger government and why his Administration seems to be trying to shove the Church out of providing certain services so that only the government is left. Right?]

This new [hypocritical] emphasis on his ties to the Catholic Church is a change from Obama’s previous speeches and fundraisers, where he did not mention that, early in his career, he was funded and supported by liberal Catholic officials in Chicago. [I think he did tout his ties with the late Card. Bernardin.]

His Chicago supporters included a radical Catholic priest, Father Michael Pfleger, who has since been admonished by senior church officials for political advocacy. [Is that why he was admonished?]

[…]

Obama’s use of his Catholic ties came April 3 at a lunch of media professionals arranged by the Associated Press.

“Some of you know my first job in Chicago [hey! he left out “community organizer”!] was working with a group of Catholic churches that often did more good for the people in their communities than any government program could,” he said. [Okay… so he is pivoting.]

He cited those ties on April 10, May 5, April 10 and May 10, when he told donors in Seattle that “as a young man, I worked [as a Saul Alinsky-ite community organizer] with a group of Catholic churches who taught me that no poverty program can make as much of a difference as the kindness and commitment of a caring soul.” [So let’s attack the Church!]

However, he has not mentioned his Catholic past in numerous other fundraisers, including several given after his May 9 endorsement of same-sex marriage.

[…]

Read the whole piece there. Other examples of egregious pandering to other groups are provided.

Posted in Religious Liberty, The Drill | Tagged community organizer, Pres. Obama, Saul, sycophant, The First Gay President
7 Comments

REQUEST TO READERS: 100,000 MEMORARES IN MAY as a Spiritual Bouquet promoted by Bp. Finn

Posted on 25 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Please use the sharing buttons! Thanks!

Here is a great project promoted by His Excellency Most Rev. Robert Finn, Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

I am especially happy to promote this, because the Memorare is one of my favorite prayers, and I say it after every Mass for a short list of bishops.

Please take this project to heart!

100,000 MEMORARES IN MAY

In the month of May, we honor Mary and seek her intercession. Please join us as we pray the Memorare — or other prayers – for the special intentions of Bishop Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

Please go to this site HERE to share with us your prayers for these intentions.

For those without the electronic means to share your prayers with us, please send a note to Patty Montes in the Bishop’s Office, 20 West 9th Street, Kansa City, MO 64105 with the number of Memorares your apostolate is praying so that this Spiritual Bouquet may be complete. Our goal is to dedicate 100,000 memorares during the month of May.

The Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions,
but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Brick by Brick, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, The future and our choices | Tagged Blessed Virgin Mary, Bp. Finn, D. Kansas City-St. Joseph, May, Memorare, Spiritual Bouquet
8 Comments

How to skew a story with images

Posted on 24 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

On the site of The Guardian there is a ridiculous piece the clueless Victoria Bekiempis about the CDF’s reforming efforts regarding the Leadership Conference of Women’s Religious (LCWR – a subsidiary of the Magisterium of Nuns, indeed, the Nuns gone WILD!).

I find the picture amusing.

While focusing on some bishops (who knows in which country) the sister on the right is clearly not in any American city. My money is on Poland.

How to skew a story with images

Beyond that, the article is good for a couple of chuckles. That’s about all.

Perhaps the article should have had this photo, of Sr. Donna Quinn, acting as an escort at an abortion clinic.

I, for one, am waiting for my special invitation as a guest at the LCWR’s big upcoming Assembly in August.

Mystery Unfolding: Leading in the Evolutionary Now
Keynote speaker: Barbara Marx Hubbard
Panelists: Tom Fox; Jennifer Gordan, SCL; and Jamie Manson

I can understand why they would have one of their big supporters Tom Fox of the Fishwrap, and also of the Fishwrap the openly lesbian Jamie Manson, and I have no idea who Gordan is. But Hubbard! Intriguing!

Hubbard, of the Foundation for Conscious Evolution, is into Ascending Humanity and the Wheel of Co-creation – Entering the Cosmic Mystery Together.

I mean… think about it!

What the hell is that, anyway?

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, Magisterium of Nuns, Throwing a Nutty | Tagged LCWR, magisterium of nuns
25 Comments

CWN: Chaplain to S. Carolina jail barred from celebrating Mass … if he uses wine

Posted on 24 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From Catholic World News:

Chaplain barred from celebrating Mass in South Carolina jail

A Catholic chaplain has been told that he cannot celebrate Mass in a South Carolina jail.

Msgr. Ed Lofton, who had been celebrating Mass at Charleston County jail for 15 years, was blocked from entering the facility because he was carrying altar wine. The jail’s policy bans all alcohol, and while state regulations in South Carolina make an exception for sacramental wine, Charleston County does not.

Msgr. Lofton reports that he bring a single ounce of wine to the jail, all of which he would consume himself. Prison officials told him that he must substitute grape juice. But a valid Mass cannot be celebrated without wine.

What a bunch of rubes.

How long will it be before we hear of a reversal of this dreadfully ignorant and anti-Catholic policy?

Days? Weeks?

I hope some readers stay on this.

Posted in The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged anti-catholicism, chaplain
56 Comments

Are you clear about what happened between Pres. Obama and the HHS mandate v. our first liberties?

Posted on 24 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The excellent Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has a great timeline on their site about the HHS mandate, along with a detailed list of plaintiffs against the Obama Administration.

HHS Mandate Timeline:

August, 2011, Federal government issues a regulation requiring that all group health plans must cover “[FDA-]approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity.” The mandate, a provision of the “Affordable Care Act,” would take effect August 1, 2012.

November 10, 2011, Press Release, Belmont Abbey College Sues Federal Government (Becket Fund)

December 21, 2011, Press Release, Colorado Christian University First Evangelical University to Fight Abortifacient Mandate (Becket Fund)

January 20, 2012, Press Release, Obama Administration Refuses to Change Abortion-Drug Mandate

January 31, 2012, Press Release,  Senator Rubio introduces conscience rights bill

February 6, 2012, Press Release, White House Makes False Claims about HHS Mandate

February 9, 2012, Press Release, Becket Funds Files Lawsuit for Nun’s TV Network

February 10, 2012, Press Release,  Obama Administration Offers False “Compromise” on Abortion-Drug Mandate

February 15, 2012, HHS Mandate, After “Compromise,” HHS Mandate Remains unchanged

February 15, 2012,  Press Release, UNACCEPTABLE: Diverse group of more than 300 academics and religious leaders call Obama’s HHS statement “Unacceptable”

February 15, 2012, Press Release, Priest for Life Join Fight

February 17, 2012, Press Release, Obama Administration Responds to Becket Fund Lawsuit: “Please Look the Other Way”

February 18, 2012, Congressional Hearing, First Congressional Hearing on HHS Mandate, President Theirfelder Testifies (Belmont Abbey College)

February 18, 2012, Press Release, Louisiana College joins fight (ADF)

February 21, 2012, Press Release, Becket Fund Files on Behalf of Ave Maria University

February 21, 2012, Press Release, Geneva College joins fight (ADF)

February 23, 2012, Press Release, 7 states sue over mandate (Nebraska v. HHS)

February 28, 2012, Press Release, Obama Administration Takes Another Pass on Defending HHS Mandate

February 28, 2012, Congressional Hearing, Becket Fund Testifies before full House Judiciary Committee regarding constitutionality of the HHS Mandate

February 28, 2012, Press Release, Administration seeks to dismiss Becket Fund’s CCU lawsuit

March 15, 2012, Press Release, First for-profit client files, O’Brien v. HHS (ACLJ)

March 16, 2012, Press Release, Administration Offers new details on “accommodation” and fails to satisfy religious groups (Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking)

March 22, 2012, Press Release, Alabama Joins Becket Fund’s Fight Against Unconstitutional HHS Mandate

March 23, 2012, Media Advisory, Becket Fund co-host Religious Freedom Rallies nation-wide

April 23, 2012, Press Release, Becket Fund Fires Back at Administration’s Attempt to Dismiss Lawsuit (BAC)

April 26, 2012, Video, Sebelius admits before congress that she did not consult Supreme court decision on religious liberty when drafting the HHS mandate

April 30, 2012, Press Release, Second Private Business Owner Sues, Newland v. Sebelius (ADF)

May 7, 2012, Press Release, Legatus v. Sebelius (Thomas More Law Center)

May 21, 2012, 11 Additional Lawsuits, representing 43 plaintiffs filed (Jones Day)

Additional Resources:

Becket Fund’s HHS Mandate Challenge

FAQ

HHS Mandate (February 15, 2012)

”Accordingly, the amendment to the interim final rule with comment period amending 29 CFR 2590.715-2713(a)(1)(iv) which was published in the Federal Register at 76 FR 46621-46626 on August 3, 2011, is adopted as a final rule without change.” (Page 8730)

HHS Proposed Rulemaking (March 16, 2012)

Posted in Religious Liberty, SESSIUNCULA | Tagged 1st Amendment, anti-catholic, HHS mandate, Kathleen Sebelius, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pres. Obama, religious liberty
6 Comments

Pres. Obama is finally going to be properly vetted – before an election

Posted on 24 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Have you read Dinesh D’Souza’s The Roots of Obama’s Rage? (UK HERE and KINDLE)

There is a film based on the book coming, 2016, a projection of America after four more years of an Obama presidency.

He is finally being vetted by someone.

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He is the most aggressive pro-abortion president ever.

He lied to Cardinal Dolan.

He is attacking the Catholic Church.

He is promoting unnatural “marriage”.

He is undermining our first liberties.

He had no real credentials before 2008.

We know almost nothing about him.

November 2012!

Posted in Our Catholic Identity, Religious Liberty, The future and our choices | Tagged Pres. Obama, religious liberty, The First Gay President
12 Comments

On a lighter note: So… SSPX Bp. Fellay calls the Vatican and says…

Posted on 24 May 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I saw this on the blog Catholic Church Conservation:

Yes, this is an exageration, but there is a grain of truth in it, no?

A while back I read a comment that if some members of the SSPX have turned Vatican II into a “Super Heresy”, some liberals have turned it into a “Super Dogma”.

We need to read every Council in the light of the others, but especially Vatican II in light of those that went before. Vatican II cannot be properly read apart from the other Councils and the Church’s Magisterium

We need a hermeneutic of continuity and not a hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture – in either direction.

As my old pastor used to say, you can go into the ditch on either side of the road.