Bill Donohue Takes On Moore and Polanski

Few people on earth can craft a press release better than Bill Donohue of the Catholic Leage for Religious and Civil Rights. Below are two of his most recent which are both biting and compelling in their assessment.


MICHAEL MOORE’S RELIGIOUS ODYSSEY

If the economic system that Michael Moore has successfully milked is “immoral” and “evil,” then that would suggest that he is an immoral, evil man. But we’ll let someone else make the final decision on that one. What we do know is that he is wearing his religion on his sleeve these days, telling Chris Cuomo how he believes “in the core Christian values.” One wonders why, then, would this Catholic—whose role models are the rogue Berrigan brothers—would give money to an urban terrorist group right after they invaded St. Patrick’s Cathedral during Cardinal O’Connor’s Sunday Mass in 1989; some spat the Host on the floor.

More recently, Moore cited the oil giant Halliburton as emblematic of capitalism’s evilness. What he didn’t mention is that his Halliburton investments helped to make him filthy rich. Oh, yes, he also likes Sunoco.

Capitalism has been kind to Moore. He lives in a waterfront mansion with a private beach, one that is so lily-white that not a single black person lives there. This is not by accident. Though he exclaimed in his film “Stupid White Men” that he plans to “hire only black people,” author Peter Schweizer found that of the 134 producers, editors, cinematographers, composers and production coordinators that Moore hired, only three were black.

Moore says it is anti-Christian not to divide the pie fairly. So what would that make him? Oh, yes, he does contribute to soup kitchens. Too bad he doesn’t actually employ the poor—then he could shelve the Campbell’s. In 2002, his charitable donations amounted to $36,000. Sounds like a lot until we learn that he made eight figures that year. One more thing: he ran his donations through his private foundation, a capitalist-created scheme designed to protect fat cats from paying their fair share of taxes.

The next time a social justice Christian brags about his commitment to the poor, ask him to open his own books. Transparency is so beautiful.




MAD RUSH TO DEFEND POLANSKI

The Catholic League has long suspected that, in many quarters, the outrage over priestly sexual abuse has had more to do with the status of the accused than the crime itself. Now the evidence is indisputable: a child can be drugged, penetrated and sodomized—and the guilty can cut and run—and still maintain hero status. Provided he is a celebrity.

Actress Debra Winger showed up at the Zurich Film Festival “to honor Roman Polanski as a great artist, but under these sudden and arcane circumstances, we can only think of him today as a human being.” Either that or as a child rapist. She was not alone: the Zurich Film Festival jury proudly displayed red badges reading “Free Polanski.” It was also nice to know that Woody Allen, a man who speaks from experience, came to Polanski’s defense.

Whoopi Goldberg showed off her usual brilliance when she declared that Polanski’s crime “wasn’t rape-rape.” No, only priests are guilty of real rape. Noted photographer Otto Weisser agrees: “He made a little mistake 32 years ago.” That’s right—it’s only a big mistake when priests do it. Richard Cohen of the Washington Post also notes that it’s been “over 30 years” since Polanski molested the girl. Similarly, movie critic Tom O’Neil exclaims that it is “mind-boggling why they’re still pursuing this.” Yet there is no statute of limitations afforded priests—men long dead have been accused of crimes extending back to the 1920s.

Harvey Weinstein is so noble: “We’re calling on every film-maker we can to help fix this terrible situation.” The terrible situation, of course, isn’t what Polanski got away with—it’s his pursuit by the authorities. “To put him on trial or keep him in jail does not serve society in general or his victim in particular,” says journalist Anne Applebaum. She, and others, would carry more weight if the “he” included priests.

No wonder so many Americans look upon the celebrity worshippers with utter disdain. Double that for Catholics.

Today on Kresta - Sept. 30, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 30

4:00 – How the Mass Shaped Western Culture
The annual Call to Holiness Conference will be held in two weeks at the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, MI. The theme for the day is “Treasures of the Mass.” Participants will hear topics such as The Sacredness of the Holy Eucharist and the Fathers of the Church, True Active Participation in the Mass, Sacred Music, and more. Dr. Michael Foley will speak on “How the Mass Shaped Western Culture” and is with us today to look at that topic.

4:20 – Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story & Imagination
At a contentious intersection of faith and contemporary culture, Brian Godawa offers what many have been calling for: balance. In a world (and often a church) torn by imbalanced devotion to either word or image, Godawa joins the two with a needed 'and.' He shows a well-developed literacy for both forms of communication, shows how the Bible incorporates both and challenges us to engage our culture creatively and redemptively on both fronts.

5:00 – Abortion in America: A Wide-Ranging In-Studio Interview
The Susan B. Anthony List is a national organization dedicated to advancing, representing and mobilizing pro-life women in politics. Their president is Marjorie Dannenfelser and she joins us in studio to look at abortion and health care, current legislative debates on Capitol Hill, the pro-life cause and the Catholic church, women in politics, as well as her personal pro-life conversion story.

5:40 – Fr. Leo Wins the “Throwdown with Bobby Flay”
It's official - Father Leo Patalinghug defeated renowned chef Bobby Flay in a Fusion Fajita cook-off. The episode of “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” took place in June. Flay traveled to the Mount St. Mary’s campus and challenged Father Leo to the “Throwdown” marking the first time the Iron Chef has faced off against a priest. The two prepared Fusion Fajitas for a select group of families, members of the Mount St. Mary’s community and other guests outside University President, Thomas H. Powell’s home. Fr. Leo says “It was a fun day having people come together and enjoy our fajitas…it’s what the concept of Grace Before Meals is all about.” He joins us.

Where Have All the Christians Gone?

A new study shows christianity is plummeting in America, while the number of non-believers is steadily increasing. There is some good news sprinkled in, but some serious "soul-searching" needs to be done if these trends are to be believed - and I see no reason why they shouldn't. A few thoughts below from Bruce Feiler, host of the PBS series on "Walking the Bible" and author of the forthcoming book "America's Prophet: Moses and the American Story."

A shocking new study of Americans’ religious beliefs shows the beginnings of a major realignment in Americans’ relationship with God. The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) reveals that Protestants now represent half of all Americans, down almost 20 percent in the last twenty years. In the coming months, America will become a minority Protestant nation for the first time since the pilgrims.

The number of people who claim no religious affiliation, meanwhile, has doubled since 1990 to fifteen percent, its highest point in history. Non-believers now represent the third-highest group of Americans, after Catholics and Baptists.

Other headlines:
1) The number of Christians has declined 12% since 1990, and is now 76%, the lowest percentage in American history.

2) The growth of non-believers has come largely from men. Twenty percent of men express no religious affiliation; 12% of women.

3) Young people are fleeing faith. Nearly a quarter of Americans in their 20’s profess no organized religion.

4) But these non-believers are not particularly atheist. That number hasn’t budged and stands at less than 1 percent. (Agnostics are similarly less than 1 percent.) Instead, these individuals have a belief in God but no interest in organized religion, or they believe in a personal God but not in a formal faith tradition.

The implications for American society are profound. Americans’ relationship with God, which drove many of the country’s great transformations from the pilgrims to the founding fathers, the Civil War to the civil rights movement, is still intact. Eighty-two percent of Americans believe in God or a higher power.

But at the same time, the study offers yet another wake-up call for religious institutions.

First, catering to older believers is a recipe for failure; younger Americans are tuning out.

Second, Americans are interested in God, but they don’t think existing institutions are helping them draw closer to God.

Finally, Americans’ interest in religion has not always been stable. It dipped following the Revolution and again following Civil War. In both cases it rebounded because religious institutions adapted and found new ways of relating to everyday Americans.

Today, the rise of disaffection is so powerful that different denominations needs to band together to find a shared language of God that can move beyond the fading divisions of the past and begin moving toward a partnership of different-but-equal traditions.

Or risk becoming Europe, where religion is fast becoming an afterthought.

What if Roman Polanski were a Catholic Priest?

That is the question Fr. Thomas Reese has answered in a column on the Newsweek Blog. Here's a taste:

"Imagine if the Knight of Columbus decided to give an award to a pedophile priest who had fled the country to avoid prison. The outcry would be universal.

Victim groups would demand the award be withdrawn and that the organization apologize. Religion reporters would be on the case with the encouragement of their editors. Editorial writers and columnist would denounce the knights as another example of the insensitivity of the Catholic Church to sexual abuse.

And they would all be correct. And I would join them.

But why is there not similar outrage directed at the film industry for giving an award to Roman Polanski, who not only confessed to statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl but fled the country prior to sentencing? Why have film critics and the rest of the media ignored this case for 31 years? He even received an Academy award in 2003. Are the high priests of the entertainment industry immune to criticism?

Read more here...

Judge in Case of Arrested Notre Dame Pro-Lifers is Married to Pro-Abortion ND Professor

The attorney representing the pro-lifers arrested while protesting Obama at Notre Dame today repeated his request that the judge in the case, who is married to a pro-abortion Notre Dame professor, be removed from the case.

Attorney Tom Dixon's motion provides detailed support for his assertion in a previous recusal motion that there exists sufficient actual and perceived bias that Judge Jenny Pitts Manier, the judge assigned to the "ND 88" case, is required by Indiana state law to recuse herself in the matter. Dixon states that ever since Judge Manier has known her husband, Professor Edward Manier, he has been a well-known and outspoken advocate of the pro-abortion position.

As his views were well-known and have largely defined his identity at Notre Dame, Dixon argues, it seems implausible that Judge Manier could claim to be unaware of his views on the "ND 88" case, which stem from "the single biggest controversy in the history of the University of Notre Dame."

The case surrounds the arrest of 88 pro-lifers from across America who were charged with trespassing after peacefully witnessing against the presence of President Obama at Notre Dame The university awarded Obama with the commencement speech and an honorary law degree on May 17 of this year. Arrestees were singled out for carrying pro-life messages onto campus - including images of aborted children, a large cross, and images of Mary - while several other trespassers with pro-Obama or pro-Notre Dame signage were allowed to roam the campus.

Dixon argues that the career of Judge Manier's husband at Notre Dame was largely defined by the very same controversies which prompted the pro-lifers to travel across America to ultimately land in the St. Joseph County court room. In Indiana, a judge must recuse himself or herself from a case in the event of actual or perceived bias.

In the original recusal motion in August, Dixon says that Judge Manier refused to answer whether her husband had ever written on the topic of abortion, saying only, "I'm not my husband."

Dixon highlights several ways in which actual and perceived bias exists in the "ND 88" case. In addition to several writings revealing his pro-abortion beliefs, the professor donated "a significant sum of money" to Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign, as well as additional donations to other pro-abortion rights candidates in the United States.

Manier, a supporter of the production of "The Vagina Monologues" on Notre Dame's campus, also attacked Pope Paul VI's pro-life encyclical Humanae Vitae as "intellectually stillborn."
"When one analyzes Edward Manier's political contributions to pro abortion candidates and Political Action Committee, when one reads Edward Manier's writings referencing members of the Christian right, calling them 'fundamentalist mullahs' and 'jackleg preachers,'" Dixon writes, "it is hard to comprehend how Judge Manier could derive from her husband's writings the notion that he has no interest in the outcome of these cases."

Last week, University of Notre Dame law professor emeritus Charles Rice issued an open letter to University president Fr. John Jenkins, saying that the school's attempts at reconstructing a pro-life image were a "mockery" while yet refusing to request leniency for the 88 pro-lifers awaiting trial.

Today on Kresta - Sept. 29, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 29

3:00 – Kresta Comments

3:20 – What Should We Know About the G-20?
The G-20 summit in Pittsburgh took the first tiny steps toward an ambitious reordering of the global economy designed to prevent a repeat of the current financial crisis. For the U.S., that means less credit-fueled shopping. Europe will need to invest more, while consumers in China and other fast-growing nations must open their wallets in ways they never have. However there was also an agreement that there will be no enforcement mechanism to guarantee that member governments actually implement policies agreed upon at G-20 meetings. Instead, they will rely on “moral suasion.” So what can be gained and what is too much to expect from these meetings? Economist Dr. Mark Hendrickson is with us.

3:40 – The Pulpit Initiative – Should Churches be able to endorse candidates without losing their tax-exempt status?
More than 80 pastors nationwide participated in the Alliance Defense Fund’s second annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday this weekend. The pastors preached sermons related to biblical perspectives on the positions of electoral candidates or current government officials, exercising their constitutional right to free religious expression despite a problematic Internal Revenue Service rule that activists groups often use to silence churches. Pulpit Freedom Sunday is an event associated with the ADF Pulpit Initiative, a legal effort designed to secure the First Amendment rights of pastors in the pulpit. We talk to ADF attorney Erik Stanley about the Initiative and some very interesting developments in this Initiatives

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – TBA

5:00 – Dan Brown, Freemasonry, and the Catholic Church
Dan Brown may loathe Catholics, but he just adores the Masons. Brown goes out of his way in his latest book “‘The Lost Symbol” to present the lodge as essentially benign and misunderstood. The Catholic Church, of course, is seen by Brown as essentially wicked and misunderstood only by its followers. “Masons are praised for their religious tolerance,” an AP article says. In the book, Brown defends the Masons against “unfair” portrayals. So kind of him. In real life Brown says he has “enormous respect for the Masons.” Must be their historic anti-Catholicism that won him over. Showing nothing but sweetness and light, the man who has made millions dumping on the Catholic Church says of his new work, “It’s a reverent look at their philosophy. I’m more interested in what they believe than all their rituals and conspiracy theories about them.” Now if only Brown had cut Catholics the same break. We are joined by John Salza, former 32nd degree Freemason in the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry and author of Why Catholics Cannot Be Masons and Masonry Unmasked.

5:40 – UPDATE: EEOC Violates Religious Liberty By Forcing Catholic College to Provide Insurance for Contraceptives
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruled last month that a small Catholic college must include coverage for artificial contraceptives in its employee health insurance plan, raising new concerns about the need for conscience protections and religious exemptions in America’s health care policies. In December 2007, Belmont Abbey College removed coverage for abortion, contraception and voluntary sterilization after they were accidentally included in the college’s insurance plan. Eight faculty members filed complaints. The EEOC determined that Belmont Abbey has discriminated against women by denying coverage of contraception. We talk with Belmont Abbey President William Thierfelder about the progression of the case.

Today on Kresta - Sept, 28, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 28

3:00 – Kresta Comments

3:20 – As We Forgive
Could you forgive a person who murdered your family? This is the question faced by the subjects of As We Forgive, a documentary about Rosaria and Chantal—two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide. The subjects of As We Forgive speak for a nation still wracked by the grief of a genocide that killed one in eight Rwandans in 1994. Overwhelmed by an enormous backlog of court cases, the government has returned over 50,000 genocide perpetrators back to the very communities they helped to destroy. Without the hope of full justice, Rwanda has turned to a new solution: Reconciliation. But can it be done? Can survivors truly forgive the killers who destroyed their families? Can the government expect this from its people? And can the church, which failed at moral leadership during the genocide, fit into the process of reconciliation today? Director Laura Waters Hinson explores these topics through the lives of four neighbors once caught in opposite tides of a genocidal bloodbath, and their extraordinary journey from death to life through forgiveness.

3:40 – A Catholic Understanding of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year for religious Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with an approximately 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services. Yom Kippur completes the annual period known in Judaism as the High Holy Days. We look at the Jewish Feast, being celebrated today, from a Catholic perspective with David Moss, President of the Association of Hebrew Catholics.

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate
In a new astute mix of cultural critique and biblical studies, John H. Walton presents and defends twenty propositions supporting a literary and theological understanding of Genesis 1 within the context of the ancient Near Eastern world and unpacks its implications for our modern scientific understanding of origins. Walton's thoughtful analysis unpacks seldom appreciated aspects of the biblical text and sets Bible-believing scientists free to investigate the question of origins. We look at the lost world of Genesis 1.

5:00 – The Reformation Project
Reformation - The usual term for the religious movement which made its appearance in Western Europe in the sixteenth century, and which, while ostensibly aiming at an internal renewal of the Church, really led to a great revolt against it, and an abandonment of the principal Christian beliefs. Due to the great amount of ignorance and misconception about the Reformation, Fr. Mitch Pacwa has embarked on a 10-part video series entitled The Reformation Project. We take a look.

40 Days for Life Off to a Life-Saving Start

You know 40 Days for Life is off to a great start when there's a report of a baby saved from abortion -- at a pre-campaign kickoff event!

The 40 Days for Life team in St. Louis began a day of preparation prior to the campaign with prayer at a local church, followed by more prayer on the sidewalk in front of the Planned Parenthood abortion center -- prayer that was joined by more than 100 people.

At the St. Louis kickoff rally that evening, "we sang, prayed and had a chance to meet many new people," said local coordinator Brian Westbrook. "God truly blessed us with an exciting night."

But the excitement was just beginning. At the end of the long day, Brian went home, checked his e-mail and found this message:

"I just wanted to let you know that today just before we left the clinic, as we were wrapping up and praying together, one of the sidewalk counselors came over and let us know that a couple who had gone into the clinic in the morning had just left and decided to keep their baby. So praise God, I believe that's the first fruits of what's to come over the next 40 days."

Brian said, "What an incredible start to these 40 Days for Life. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us this fall. Keep praying and fasting and one day we will see an end to abortion."

Positive reports from kickoff events and news stories about 40 Days for Life are pouring in from across North America as the campaign is getting off to an incredible start in over 200 locations.

Outrageous Statement of the Day

Today on Kresta - Sept. 25, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 25

3:00 – How the Mass Shaped Western Culture
The annual Call to Holiness Conference will be held in two weeks at the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, MI. The theme for the day is “Treasures of the Mass.” Participants will hear topics such as The Sacredness of the Holy Eucharist and the Fathers of the Church, True Active Participation in the Mass, Sacred Music, and more. Dr. Michael Foley will speak on “How the Mass Shaped Western Culture” and is with us today to look at that topic.

3:20 – Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story & Imagination
At a contentious intersection of faith and contemporary culture, Brian Godawa offers what many have been calling for: balance. In a world (and often a church) torn by imbalanced devotion to either word or image, Godawa joins the two with a needed 'and.' He shows a well-developed literacy for both forms of communication, shows how the Bible incorporates both and challenges us to engage our culture creatively and redemptively on both fronts.

4:00 – Abortion in America: A Wide-Ranging In-Studio Interview
The Susan B. Anthony List is a national organization dedicated to advancing, representing and mobilizing pro-life women in politics. Their president is Marjorie Dannenfelser and she joins us in studio to look at abortion and health care, current legislative debates on Capitol Hill, the pro-life cause and the Catholic church, women in politics, as well as her personal pro-life conversion story.

4:40 – Fr. Leo Wins the “Throwdown with Bobby Flay”
It's official - Father Leo Patalinghug defeated renowned chef Bobby Flay in a Fusion Fajita cook-off. The episode of “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” took place in June. Flay traveled to the Mount St. Mary’s campus and challenged Father Leo to the “Throwdown” marking the first time the Iron Chef has faced off against a priest. The two prepared Fusion Fajitas for a select group of families, members of the Mount St. Mary’s community and other guests outside University President, Thomas H. Powell’s home. Fr. Leo says “It was a fun day having people come together and enjoy our fajitas…it’s what the concept of Grace Before Meals is all about.” He joins us.

5:00 – The Truth About Teen Girls
Unless you're an adolescent male, you have already asked yourself this question, perhaps in the past few days: Is there something wrong with teen girls? Specifically, are they getting too sexy? Barely a week passes without a flash bulletin blinding us with news of another prominent preadult who is in the family way or showing off her underthings. Miley Cyrus, 15, seminaked! Jamie Lynn Spears, 16, pregnant! A bunch of Massachusetts high schoolers all having babies together! It's an epidemic! A recent issue of TIME Magazine contains an article entitled “The Truth About Teen Girls.” Dr. Meg Meeker is with us to see if TIME’s “truth” comports with her “truth” about teen girls.

5:20 – Ask Me Anything 2: More Provocative Answers for College Students
College students have real questions about dozens of real-life issues, from love and sex to hell and roommates. They need logic. They want reason. In the follow-up to Ask Me Anything, Professor Theophilus (J. Buziszewski) gives both in a completely fresh way from a Christian standpoint. The professor tackles hot topics that hit hard in college, like faith and reasoning, sins you just can't shake, and the feeling that there must be something more. Rarely will your questions be answered so honestly and directly. So go ahead. Ask another one.

Is DOMA doomed?

A congressman from New York recently introduced a bill called the Respect for Marriage Act, winning support from an initial 90 co-sponsors. Advocates speak about the “immorality” of the situation the legislation seeks to address.

But rather than seeking to protect the traditional definition of marriage as a union of one man and one woman, the bill, H.R. 3567, would completely eliminate the Defense of Marriage Act, which allows states to define marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman.

In addition to repealing DOMA, the Respect for Marriage Act would require federal recognition of any legal same-sex “marriage” and extend all federal rights and benefits to same-sex couples. DOMA is also being challenged in federal court, and while the Obama Justice Department is defending it as a matter of protocol, Obama has voiced his opposition to the law.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who introduced the Respect for Marriage Act, and homosexual advocates say that DOMA, signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton, discriminates against same-sex couples. “This legislation would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act … which discriminated against lawfully married same-sex couples,” Nadler said. “DOMA singles out legally married same-sex couples for discriminatory treatment under federal law.”

But Allan Carlson, president of the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society, thinks otherwise. “That is so profoundly wrong,” he said. “The moral scar is that we had to resort to DOMA to try to protect a vital human institution that is in the best interests of our children and country. The tragedy is that we had to devote energy to something like that, which should have been self-evident to our lawmakers.”

President Obama has made it clear that he wants DOMA repealed. “The Department of Justice has filed a response to a legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged,” wrote the president. “This brief makes clear, however, that my administration believes that the act is discriminatory and should be repealed by Congress. I have long held that DOMA prevents LGBT couples from being granted equal rights and benefits.”

An analysis by the Alliance Defense Fund found that repealing DOMA would open the door for litigation to force states to recognize “marriages” between same-sex couples. Marriage amendments and other measures defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman have passed in more than 30 states.

Today on Kresta - Sept. 24, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 24

3:00 – True Active Participation at Mass
The annual Call to Holiness Conference will be held in two weeks at the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, MI. The theme for the day is “Treasures of the Mass.” Participants will hear topics such as The Sacredness of the Holy Eucharist and the Fathers of the Church, How the Mass Shaped the Western World, Sacred Music, and more. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf will speak on “True Active Participation in the Mass” and is with us today to look at that topic.

3:20 – Days of Fire and Glory: The Rise and Fall of a Charismatic Community
It was the late summer of 1986 when Julia Duin moved to Houston as the new religion writer for The Houston Chronicle. At the invitation of friends, she visited the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Houston's blighted East End and fell in love with its gorgeous music and charismatic worship. After she met Graham Pulkingham, the spellbinding priest who had led Redeemer into a powerful renewal starting in 1964, Duin became convinced the world needed to know the story of this gifted man and his church. As she began investigating the story, many warned her there was a darker history behind Pulkingham. Now the journalist who first broke that story reveals the details of the scandal that rocked the charismatic and Christian community movements, and the Episcopal Church. Duin provides a fascinating portrait of the glorious days of the renewal and its sister movements within Catholic and Pentecostal churches.

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – Finding Faith & Freedom After Childhood Sex Abuse
Jaycee Dugard is back with her family 18 years after being kidnapped by Phillip Garrido at the age of 11. Now Dugard, her two daughters and the family that had lost her will be dealing with a long, unknown road as they try to adapt to a new life. What are some of the emotions Dugard will be facing after being freed from her captor of 18 years? Regardless of the circumstances of the violation, every survivor can attest that it will impact relationships with parents, friends, spouses, children, and God. Sexual abuse survivors are often left feeling isolated and without anyone to trust. But it does not have to be this way. Nicole Braddock Bromley understands the fears and anxieties Jaycee faces as she seeks to build healthy relationships after sexual abuse. As a survivor herself, Nicole offers readers the power and hope necessary to share their story, build intimacy, and develop healthy communication in all their relationships.

4:40 – “Catholic Heroes of the Faith: The Story of St. Perpetua”
It is the year AD 203 in Carthage, North Africa. Perpetua, an affluent young mother, is charged with converting to Christianity and is sent to prison. But her freedom can be secured easily. All she has to do is offer one pinch of incense in honor to the Roman gods. With this simple act of devotion and loyalty to the Roman Empire she can regain her freedom and return to her son and a life of comfort. As her father pleads for Perpetua to consider the welfare of her child and the reputation of their family, she slowly makes her way to face the Roman proconsul and declare her final decision. What will it be? This inaugural episode of Catholic Heroes of the Faith presents one of the most influential, true stories of the Early Church. We talk with Executive Producer Robert Fernandez about Catholic Heroes of the Faith, a DVD series of animated programs for youth ages eight and older, presenting the lives of true-life heroes of the Catholic Faith.

5:00 – The Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran
The Koran: It may be the most controversial book in the world. Some see it as a paean to peace, others call it a violent mandate for worldwide Islamic supremacy. How can one book lead to such dramatically different conclusions? Robert Spencer reveals the truth in The Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran: not many Westerners know what's in the Koran, since so few have actually read it -- even among the legions of politicians, diplomats, analysts, and editorial writers who vehemently insist that the Koran preaches tolerance. Spencer unveils the mysteries lying behind this powerful book, guiding readers through the controversies surrounding the Koran's origins and its most contentious passages. Stripping out the obsolete debates, Spencer focuses on the Koran's decrees toward Jews, Christians, and other Infidels, explaining how they were viewed in Muhammad's time, what they've supposedly done wrong, and most important, what the Koran has in store for them.

Steele on pro-abortion Republicans

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has again cast doubt on his professed loyalty to the pro-life movement by saying he "absolutely" believes there is room for a pro-abortion candidate in the GOP.

Steele gave the remarks during a brief interview with the Columbus Dispatch in a local restaurant Thursday after leading a Republican rally against President Obama's health care legislation.

Steele told the newspaper that a Republican candidate's view on legal protection for unborn children should reflect the views of their local constituencies. The GOP chair was then asked if there is room in the party for a pro-abortion candidate such as Steve Stivers of Ohio's 15th district, who is favored to win the Republican nomination next year.

"There absolutely is, there absolutely is," said Steele.

"The key thing right now - and I think this is true for Republicans across the country - is to have leadership that reflects the communities I live in, where we're from," he continued. "As we get ready for the battles that lie ahead from this district to all the districts surrounding the state, that you're going to find those candidates emerge and rise up who reflect those values in those communities, and that's a very important step for the party to take, I think, and I'm looking forward to help lead that charge in the future."

In response, Ohio Right to Life executive director Michael Gonadakis told the Dispatch: "I'm scratching my head, because I believe Republican candidates should reflect the views of the Republican platform."

Today on Kresta - Sept. 23, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 23

3:00 – Feast of St. Padre Pio
Today is the feast of one of the most popular modern saints in the Church. We talk with Frank Rega about Padre Pio and America. He tells the story of the fascinating life story of Padre Pio, with emphasis on his life as a seminarian, young priest and his early decades at San Giovanni Rotondo. Incredible is the number of times the Capuchins sent him home sick unto death while a seminarian and young priest and how he was finally sent to remote San Giovanni Rotondo "for a couple of weeks of mountain air." He never left!

3:40 – Rifqa Bary Case Sheds Light on Islam to Christian Conversions
At a juvenile court hearing Monday afternoon, a judge ruled that Rifqa Bary, the Ohio teen who ran away from home out of fear she would be physically harmed for converting from Islam to Christianity would remain in Orlando for now. There are two ongoing cases regarding Rifqa Bary's dependency: one in Florida and the other in Ohio. The parents of the 17-year-old filed a motion Monday for a dependency hearing seeking jurisdiction of the case to be moved from Orlando to Columbus. An Ohio judge has set a hearing for Oct. 27. Right now Florida has an emergency temporary jurisdiction but the Orlando court judge said he wants to speak with an Ohio judge to determine who has jurisdiction. We talk with Tom Trento who has done extensive research and has been at all of the hearings in this case.

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – Violence Against Christians in Pakistan Rooted in Long History of Blasphemy Laws
The latest spate of violence against Christians in Pakistan vividly illustrates the difficulty that faces the religious minority in a country where blasphemy laws give Muslims a powerful weapon to use against Christian neighbors. Allegations that Christians have given offense against Islam regularly provoke violence, and create the climate of tolerance for that violence. Two bishops are now – at great risk to themselves - demanding the repeal of the blasphemy laws that encourage the persecution of the nation’s Christians. Meanwhile Church leaders are also speaking out against the imposition of the jizya, a tax on non-Muslims, in remote regions of Pakistan abutting Afghanistan, where the Taliban exercises considerable de facto power. Paul Marshall, America’s foremost expert in religious freedom joins us.

4:40 – Why All the Fuss? Because America Remains a Center-Right Christian Nation
On November 4, 2008, a largely conservative Christian American electorate elected an extremely liberal American president. And now that that president is governing from the extreme left, a sizable portion of that electorate is in revolt. It’s that simple. Is America losing its Judeo-Christian identity and shifting left, or is something else at play here? Paul Kengor has the analysis.

5:00 – Notre Dame President Fr. Jenkins Announces New Pro-Life Initiatives: Do They Go Far Enough?
Last week the president of the University of Notre Dame, Father John Jenkins, C.S.C., announced a new Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life to “consider and recommend to me ways in which the University, informed by Catholic teaching, can support the sanctity of life.” Father Jenkins also pledged to attend the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on January 22. These are welcome steps in the right direction—the sort of activities that Catholics should expect from any Catholic college or university—but Professor Charles Rice says it’s not enough and there are serious steps that Notre Dame should take immediately to atone for its shocking betrayal of the U.S. bishops and the Catholic Church last spring. We talk to Professor Rice and David DiFranco of ReplaceJenkins.com.

5:20 – A Catholic View of Literary Classics – Part 1 of 10: Frankenstein
Today we begin a 10-week series examining Classic Literature from a Catholic perspective. Acclaimed literary biographer Joseph Pearce is the editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions and will be our guide. We will ensure that traditional moral readings of the works are given prominence, instead of the feminist or deconstructionist readings that often proliferate in other series of 'critical editions'. As such, they represent a genuine extension of consumer choice, enabling educators, students, and lovers of good literature to buy editions of classic literary works without having to 'buy into' the ideologies of secular fundamentalism. Today, we examine Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Today on Kresta - Sept. 22, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 22

3:00 – Kresta Comments

3:20 – Searching for a Father Who Does Not Fail
“Chosen.” “Special.” Those are the words Margot Starbuck used to describe herself as a child adopted into a loving family. And when her adoptive parents divorced, her dad moved east, and her mom and dad each got remarried, she told herself that she was extra loved, since she had more than two parents and people in different times zones who cared about her. But the word she really believed about herself was rejected. First by her birthparents. Then by her adoptive father-when he moved away. Then by her stepfather. Then by her birthfather a second time, when she tried to invite him into her life. Most of all, Margot felt rejected by God the Father, who she also suspected could not be trusted. With a good dose of humor and a willingness not to take herself too seriously, Margot offers us an exuberant, frank and, at times, poignant romp as she searches for the Father who will not fail.

3:40 – Rehnquist: A Personal Portrait of the Distinguished Chief Justice of the US
The impact of Chief Justice William Rehnquist -- who served as a Supreme Court justice for a third of a century and headed the federal judiciary under four presidents -- cannot be overstated. His dissenting opinion in Roe v. Wade, and his strongly stated positions on issues as various as freedom of the press, school prayer, and civil rights, would guarantee his memory on their own. Despite his importance as a public figure, however, William Rehnquist scrupulously preserved his private life. And while his judicial opinions often inflamed passions and aroused both ire and praise, they were rarely personal. The underlying quirks, foibles, and eccentricities of the man were always under wraps. Now, however, journalist Herman Obermayer has broken that silence in a memoir of their nineteen-year friendship that is both factually detailed and intensely moving, his own personal tribute to his dearest friend. In these pages, we meet for the first time William Rehnquist the man, in a portrait that can only serve to enhance the legacy of a Chief Justice who will be remembered in history as being among America's most influential.

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – Exposing the Crack in ACORN
The Justice Department's inspector general has agreed to investigate whether ACORN has applied for or received any DOJ grant money, in the wake of bipartisan criticism of the community activist group's operation. And seven other inspectors general are being asked by two congressional members to take a look at their funding mechanisms. Pressure on ACORN is building in the wake of a controversy over a series of hidden-camera videotapes showing the organization's employees offering advice to undercover filmmakers posing as a pimp and prostitute. Steve Malanga of the Manhattan Institute, has been on this story since 2003. He joins us.

4:40 – Group Asks Court to Reconsider Removing Girl from Home School
A New Hampshire court's decision to order a 10-year-old home-schooled girl to attend public school is coming under attack from some social conservatives and religious freedom advocates. The Alliance Defense Fund has asked a family court judge to reconsider her July 14 decision to send the girl, identified in court documents as "Amanda," to a public school in Meredith, N.H. The ADF noted that the girl was described in court documents as "academically promising" and interactive with her peers. "The court, in its own order, recognized this girl is performing well academically. So why are we changing her school environment?" they asked. The girl's parents, Brenda Voydatch and Martin Kurowski, divorced shortly after her birth in 1999. According to court documents, Kurowski wants his daughter to attend public schools because he believes home-schooling deprives her of socialization skills. A guardian ad litem, essentially a fact finder for the court, agreed, and that recommendation was approved by Judge Lucinda Sadler. We talk to the attorney from ADF on this case, Doug Napier.

5:00 – Kresta Comments

5:20 – Abortion in the Senate Health Care Reform Bill
The "America's Healthy Future Act," proposed last week by Senator Max Baucus (D-Mt.), contains an array of pro-abortion mandates and federal subsidies for elective abortion. That according to National Right to Life who strongly opposes the legislation in its current form. The bill contains provisions that would send massive federal subsidies directly to both private insurance plans and government-chartered cooperatives that pay for elective abortion. This would be a drastic break from longstanding federal policy, under which federal funds do not pay for elective abortions or subsidize health plans that cover elective abortions. We talk with Doug Johnson of National Right to Life and Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life.

5:40 – Why the assisted-suicide movement is winning
The assisted-suicide movement has come a long way in just a couple of decades. Consider, for example, this recent item from the San Francisco Chronicle: “Charlotte Shultz [the wife of former secretary of state George Shultz] accepted the invitation to be honorary co- chair (with Dianne Feinstein) at a Nov. 5 luncheon and program for Compassion & Choices of Northern California, saying, ‘I’m glad to support the cause, but I’m in no hurry to use the services.’” Compassion & Choices used to be called the Hemlock Society. It is the nation’s premier assisted-suicide advocacy group. When members of the social and political elite — people like Senator Feinstein and Mrs. Shultz — associate themselves with assisted-suicide groups as openly as they would with charities like the United Way, we have reached a new cultural moment. Assisted-suicide advocates once mostly inhabited the kook fringe. Groups like the old Hemlock Society published how-to-commit-suicide newsletters and promoted wacko suicide paraphernalia like the “Exit Bag” (which had Velcro straps sewn in to ensure “a comfortable fit”). The movement’s public face was the ghoulish Jack Kevorkian. Promoters of assisted suicide were both short on cash and lacking in respectability. No more says Wesley Smith. He is here to analyze.

Sebelius discusses federal funding of abortion, refuses to say whether she receives Communion

In an interview published in The Washington Post, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said that as a Cabinet official she supported President Barack Obama’s pledge not to make abortion funding part of health care legislation but did not give her own opinion on the subject. She also refused to say whether she is heeding Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann’s admonition not to receive Holy Communion, according to the interview transcript.

MS. ROMANO: You are pro-choice.

SECRETARY SEBELIUS: Yes.

MS. ROMANO: Do you think that the federal government should do some federal funding of abortions, personally?

SECRETARY SEBELIUS: Well, the President has made it pretty clear that Congress and the new health insurance plan will not provide federal funds for abortions.

MS. ROMANO: Well, I know that. I was asking you what you thought.

SECRETARY SEBELIUS: I am the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and I will support the President's proposal moving forward.

MS. ROMANO: You are also a pro-choice Catholic, and I was reading some stories out of your home state recently where one of the bishops took an action. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

SECRETARY SEBELIUS: Well, the Archbishop in the Kansas City area did not pprove of my conduct as a public official and asked that I not present myself for communion.

MS. ROMANO: What did you think about that?

SECRETARY SEBELIUS: Well, it was one of the most painful things I have ever experienced in my life, and I am a firm believer in the separation of church and state, and I feel that my actions as a parishioner are different than my actions as a public official and that the people who elected me in Kansas had a right to expect me to uphold their rights and their beliefs even if they did not have the same religious beliefs that I had. And that's what I did: I took an oath of office and I have taken an oath of office in this job and will uphold the law.

MS. ROMANO: Do you continue to take communion?

SECRETARY SEBELIUS: I really would prefer not to discuss with you. That's really a personal--thank you.

Rentals Anyone?

With a struggling economy, many are opting to rent instead of buying. What am I referrig to? Watch below.

ABC News Anchor Charlie Gibson on ACORN Scandal: "I Don’t Even Know About It"

Today on Kresta - Sept. 11, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 11

3:00 – Kresta Comments – What the 9/11 Terrorists Accomplished

3:20 – Secular Sabotage: How Liberals Are Destroying Religion and Culture in America
Secularism. This assault is not happening from accident or whim. It is happening because disaffected liberals have deliberately set out to upend our Judeo-Christian traditions. Indeed, they are determined to tear down the traditional norms, values, and institutions that have been part of American society from its founding. The cultural debris that these saboteurs have created will take decades to clean up. In feisty prose Bill Donohue explores our nation where a college student is threatened with expulsion because she prayed on campus, a civil rights organization protests a statue of Jesus found on the ocean floor and a housewife sues a school district to stop the singing of Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer at a school choral production. These are just a few examples cited that demonstrate a culture descending into madness. He joins us.

3:40 – Interrogation of Morals
With the anniversary of the most horrific terrorist attack on American soil upon us today, a decision has yet to be made on whether the ten cases against the detainees at Guantanamo Bay will move forward. The Administration must decide by September 17th if they are going to ask for a third extension of the cases already under review by the military commissions, including the one involving Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-professed architect of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The indecision by the Administration has one former Army Intelligence Officer, who was tasked with gaining intelligence on the detainees, questioning the resolve of the White House in the War on Terror. Army Captain Jason Meszaros (ret.) reveals his firsthand experiences of the interrogations and the detainees at Guantánamo Bay in the first book to tell the true story of military intelligence in Afghanistan.

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – Crisis Pregnancy Centers: The Birth Of A Grassroots Movement
What if you were a sixteen year old who discovered she was pregnant and feared to tell her parents about her pregnancy? What if you were a woman, mother of two young children, caught in a custody battle with her ex-spouse when she discovers she has definite symptoms of pregnancy? What would you do if you knew there was a confidential place where you can get some free information from people who would listen and not tell you what to do? For over forty years, women in just these circumstances have come into crisis pregnancy centers all over America. This is the story of how these centers have blossomed and flourished because distressed pregnant woman have wanted them and because ordinary people have desire to help these women. Terry Ianora, is our guest.

4:40 – The God Who is Love: Explaining Christianity From Its Center
“Narrative catechesis” Sounds intimidating? It shouldn't. All it means is that it teaches the Christian Faith in the phases that many came to hold it as a teenager and young adult. For whatever reason - maybe you're the reason - God gave Shane Kapler an incredible hunger to know Him while he was still quite young. Not only did He give the desire, but He sent the people, materials, and experiences to satisfy it. His hope is to explain, in detail, the Truth that moved him from a crisis of belief, through a series of intermediate steps, to full-fledge participation in the Catholic Church. He is here.

5:00 – Kresta Comments: What Catholics Should Learn From 9/11

5:20 – Secular Sabotage: How Liberals Are Destroying Religion and Culture in America
Secularism. This assault is not happening from accident or whim. It is happening because disaffected liberals have deliberately set out to upend our Judeo-Christian traditions. Indeed, they are determined to tear down the traditional norms, values, and institutions that have been part of American society from its founding. The cultural debris that these saboteurs have created will take decades to clean up. In feisty prose Bill Donohue explores our nation where a college student is threatened with expulsion because she prayed on campus, a civil rights organization protests a statue of Jesus found on the ocean floor and a housewife sues a school district to stop the singing of Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer at a school choral production. These are just a few examples cited that demonstrate a culture descending into madness. He joins us.

5:40 – The Cross at Ground Zero
Millions of Americans gazed in disbelief as the magnificent World Trade Center buildings collapsed into piles of rubble on September 11, 2001. After the shock and horror wore off, the questions began. Father Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R., addresses many questions in his book, The Cross at Ground Zero. He reassures us that the iron cross, found at the world trade center, leads to the cross of Jesus which stands at the center of all pain, all suffering, indeed all history. He explains that Jesus did not come to take away suffering. He came to sanctify suffering by His presence.

Shock Undercover Video Shows ACORN Workers Advising ‘Pimp’ & ‘Prostitute’ to Avoid Law

Simply Unbelievable.

Today on Kresta - Sept. 10, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 10

SPECIAL BROADCAST: A CATHOLIC VIEW OF HEALTH CARE REFORM

3:00-6:00 – A Catholic View of Health Care Reform
Shaking off a summer of setbacks, President Barack Obama summoned Congress to enact sweeping health care legislation last night, declaring the "time for bickering is over" and the moment has arrived to protect millions who have unreliable insurance or no coverage at all. In a televised speech to a joint session of Congress, Obama spoke in favor of a provision for the federal government to sell insurance in competition with private industry. But in a remark certain to displease liberals, he did not insist on it, and said he was open to other alternatives that create choices for consumers. We take THREE HOURS today to analyze the health care reform debate from a distinctly Catholic perspective. We talk with Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, N.D., Leonard Nelson, author of Diagnosis Critical, Kristen Day of Democrats for Life, Douglas Johnson of National Right to Life, and Kevin Schmeising of the Acton Institute.

Today on Kresta - Sept. 9, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 9

3:00 – Kresta Comments

3:20 – Listening to the Obama Health Care Speech with a Pro-Life Ear
Tonight President Obama will address a joint session of Congress to continue his push for comprehensive health care reform. The White House is continuing to insist that the plan will not contain tax-payer funded abortion, while independent groups like factcheck.org continue to say that those statements are misleading at best. We talk to Fr. Frank Pavone about how to listen to the President’s speech tonight with a pro-life ear.

3:40 - When Life Doesn’t Go Your Way: Hope for Catholic Women Facing Disappointment and Pain
When life doesn't go our way, how do we respond in faith? Katrina Zeno encourages us to have a heart of hope, one that presses into God and stays connected instead of drawing away during difficult times. Questions for reflection and discussion after each chapter make this book perfect for women's faith-sharing groups.

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – From Atheist to Catholic
When she was 26, she had never once believed in God, not even as a child. She was a content atheist and thought it was simply obvious that God did not exist. She thought that religion and reason were incompatible, and was baffled by why anyone would believe in God. After a few years in the Bible Belt, she became vocally anti-Christian. Imagine the surprise to find her today, just a few years later, a practicing Catholic who loves her faith. Jennifer Fulwiler tells her story.

5:00 – Kresta Comments

5:40 – Group Asks Court to Reconsider Removing Girl from Home School
A New Hampshire court's decision to order a 10-year-old home-schooled girl to attend public school is coming under attack from some social conservatives and religious freedom advocates. The Alliance Defense Fund has asked a family court judge to reconsider her July 14 decision to send the girl, identified in court documents as "Amanda," to a public school in Meredith, N.H. The ADF noted that the girl was described in court documents as "academically promising" and interactive with her peers. "The court, in its own order, recognized this girl is performing well academically. So why are we changing her school environment?" they asked. The girl's parents, Brenda Voydatch and Martin Kurowski, divorced shortly after her birth in 1999. According to court documents, Kurowski wants his daughter to attend public schools because he believes home-schooling deprives her of socialization skills. A guardian ad litem, essentially a fact finder for the court, agreed, and that recommendation was approved by Judge Lucinda Sadler. We talk to the attorney from ADF on this case, Doug Napier.

Yale under fire for removal of Muslim cartoons

Yale University has removed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad from an upcoming book about how they caused outrage across the Muslim world, drawing criticism from prominent alumni and a national group of university professors. Yale cited fears of violence.

Yale University Press, which the university owns, removed the 12 caricatures from the book The Cartoons That Shook the World by Brandeis University professor Jytte Klausen. The book is scheduled to be released next week.

So we are going to have a book about cartoons that shook the world and we are NOT GOING TO SEE THE CARTOONS?????? This is political correctness gone crazy.

As you remember, a Danish newspaper originally published the cartoons -- including one depicting Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban -- in 2005. Other Western publications reprinted them. The following year, the cartoons triggered massive protests from Morocco to Indonesia. Rioters torched Danish and other Western diplomatic missions. Some Muslim countries boycotted Danish products.

Cary Nelson, president of the American Association of University Professors, wrote in a recent letter that Yale's decision effectively means: "We do not negotiate with terrorists. We just accede to their anticipated demands."

In a statement explaining the decision, Yale University Press said it decided to exclude a Danish newspaper page of the cartoons and other depictions of Muhammad after asking the university for help on the issue. It said the university consulted counterterrorism officials, diplomats, and the top Muslim official at the United Nations. "The decision rested solely on the experts' assessment that there existed a substantial likelihood of violence that might take the lives of innocent victims," the statement said.

Today on Kresta - Sept. 8, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 8

3:00 – Direct to my Desk

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – The Five Love Languages
Dr. Gary Chapman believes you have a God-given yearning for complete and unconditional love. But you’ll never be able to express it – or receive it – until you learn to speak the right “love” language. The Five Love Languages for Singles reveals how different personalities express love in different ways. In fact, there are five specific languages of love: Quality time, Words of Affirmation, Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. Chapman’s first best-selling book, The Five Love Languages, has already connected with more than 3 million readers. How he tailors that message to meet the unique needs of singles, using real-life examples and anecdotes taken from his 30 years of interaction with single adults. He joins us.

4:40 – TBA

5:00 – Direct to my Desk

USCCB Health Care Facts

Did you know that there are 624 Catholic hospitals in the United States?

"The Catholic Church is one of the largest health care providers in the United States. It's therefore a credible voice and a significant player in the debate surrounding health care reform and the many Americans who will be affected by it ."

The U.S. Catholic Bishops have compiled some need to know numbers on their Health Care Reform Facts and Statistics page. Anyone who engages in public debate on the topic of health care would benefit greatly from a quick visit to this site.

To put the number 624 into perspective, A quick google search for hospitals in the U.S. found a 2004 U.S. Census Bureau number of 4,419 community hospitals. So Catholic hospitals make up about 14% of the total number. If you have better numbers, please post a comment.

Obama school speech backlash builds

Watch the video compilation of news clips and please leave your feedback in the comments section. Is this something to oppose and protect your children from, or is the President just telling kids to stay in school and get an education? You can also view the video and read more here.

Today on Kresta - Sept. 4, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 4

3:00 – What Happened to Notre Dame?
When the University of Notre Dame announced that President Barack Obama would speak at its 2009 Commencement and would receive an honorary doctor of laws degree, the reaction was more than anyone expected. Students, faculty, alumni, and friends of Notre Dame denounced the honoring of Obama, who is the most relentlessly pro-abortion public official in the world. Beyond abortion, Obama has taken steps to withdraw from health-care professionals the right of conscientious objection. Among them are thousands of Notre Dame alumni who will be forced to choose between continuing their profession and participating in activities they view as immoral, including the execution of the unborn. Four decades ago, in 1967, the major “Catholic” universities declared their “autonomy” from the Catholic Church in the Land O’Lakes Declaration. The honoring of Obama reflects the replacement by those universities of the benign authority of the Church with the politically correct standards of the secular academic establishment and, especially, of the government. Legendary Notre Dame Law Professor Charles Rice is with us to look at What Happened to Notre Dame?

3:40 – District 9 and the Biblical Attitude Toward the Other
Fr. Robert Barron just saw a remarkable film called “District 9.” It’s an exciting, science-fiction adventure movie, but it is much more than that. In fact, it explores, with great perceptiveness, a problem that has preoccupied modern philosophers from Hegel to Levinas, the puzzle of how to relate to “the other.” “District 9” sets up the question in the most dramatic way possible, for its plot centers around the relationship between human beings and aliens from outer space who have stumbled their way onto planet earth. We look at “District 9” and the biblical attitude toward the other.

4:00 – An American Teen’s Story of Modern Day Slavery
Do you believe human trafficking only occurs in Third World countries? Do you believe that slavery was abolished in the United States hundreds of years ago? Theresa Flores shares her story of trafficking and slavery while living in an upper-middle class suburb of Detroit Michigan. At fifteen years of age, she was drugged, raped and tortured for two long years. Kept in bondage, forced to pay back an impossible debt. All the while living at home, attempting to keep family safe and attending school during the day along side of her abusers. Only to be called into ‘service’, late each night, while her unknowing family slept. She discusses how she healed the wounds of sexual servitude and offers advice to parents and professionals on preventing this from occurring.

4:40 – Cash for Clunkers, MI unemployment and a path out for MI
A top Ford executive expects industry-wide U.S. auto sales to rise for the first time in more than two years this month, thanks largely to the government's Cash for Clunkers program. The program, which formally ended on Monday, spurred 690,114 new sales at a taxpayer cost of $2.88 billion, according to the Department of Transportation. With MI unemployment still hovering around the highest in the nation, what did the cash for clunkers program do for MI? Congressman Thaddeus McCotter is with us.

5:00 – Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs
Most terrorism experts agree: it is not "if" we are attacked again, but "when." Yet the assault has already happened. A silent battle is being waged on our nation everyday. Not with guns and bombs, but via covert sources: Islamic charities, the ACLU--even presidential candidates. They are all pawns in a stealth holy war. Unwittingly advancing the jihadist agenda not by violence, but through endeavors designed to acclimate and subject us to Islamic law--just the way Osama bin Laden wants it. In his new book Stealth Jihad, Robert Spencer exposes how a silent but lethal movement is advancing on the U.S. and calls upon Americans to resist it--before it's too late.

Clear Catholic Teaching on Health Care

Taken from Bishop R. Walker Nickless

http://www.scdiocese.org/DioceseofSiouxCity/AssumptionofMary/tabid/415/Default.aspx

HEALTH CARE REFORM

The current national debate about health care reform should concern all of us. There is much at stake in this political struggle, and also much confusion and inaccurate information being thrown around. My brother bishops have described some clear “goal-posts” to mark out what is acceptable reform, and what must be rejected.

First and most important, the Church will not accept any legislation that mandates coverage, public or private, for abortion, euthanasia, or embryonic stem-cell research.

We refuse to be made complicit in these evils, which frankly contradict what “health care” should mean. We refuse to allow our own parish, school, and diocesan health insurance plans to be forced to include these evils. As a corollary of this, we insist equally on adequate protection of individual rights of conscience for patients and health care providers not to be made complicit in these evils. A so-called reform that imposes these evils on us would be far worse than keeping the health care system we now have.

Second, the Catholic Church does not teach that “health care” as such, without distinction, is a natural right. The “natural right” of health care is the divine bounty of food, water, and air without which all of us quickly die. This bounty comes from God directly. None of us own it, and none of us can morally withhold it from others. The remainder of health care is a political, not a natural, right, because it comes from our human efforts, creativity, and compassion. As a political right, health care should be apportioned according to need, not ability to pay or to benefit from the care. We reject the rationing of care. Those who are sickest should get the most care, regardless of age, status, or wealth. But how to do this is not self-evident. The decisions that we must collectively make about how to administer health care therefore fall under “prudential judgment.”

Third, in that category of prudential judgment, the Catholic Church does not teach that government should directly provide health care. Unlike a prudential concern like national defense, for which government monopolization is objectively good – it both limits violence overall and prevents the obvious abuses to which private armies are susceptible – health care should not be subject to federal monopolization. Preserving patient choice (through a flourishing private sector) is the only way to prevent a health care monopoly from denying care arbitrarily, as we learned from HMOs in the recent past. While a government monopoly would not be motivated by profit, it would be motivated by such bureaucratic standards as quotas and defined “best procedures,” which are equally beyond the influence of most citizens. The proper role of the government is to regulate the private sector, in order to foster healthy competition and to curtail abuses. Therefore any legislation that undermines the viability of the private sector is suspect. Private, religious hospitals and nursing homes, in particular, should be protected, because these are the ones most vigorously offering actual health care to the poorest of the poor.

The best way in practice to approach this balance of public and private roles is to spread the risks and costs of health care over the largest number of people. This is the principle underlying Medicaid and Medicare taxes, for example. But this principle assumes that the pool of taxable workers is sufficiently large, compared to those who draw the benefits, to be reasonably inexpensive and just. This assumption is at root a pro-life assumption! Indeed, we were a culture of life when such programs began. Only if we again foster a culture of life can we perpetuate the economic justice of taxing workers to pay health care for the poor. Without a growing population of youth, our growing population of retirees is outstripping our distribution systems. In a culture of death such as we have now, taxation to redistribute costs of medical care becomes both unjust and unsustainable.

Fourth, preventative care is a moral obligation of the individual to God and to his or her family and loved ones, not a right to be demanded from society. The gift of life comes only from God; to spurn that gift by seriously mistreating our own health is morally wrong. The most effective preventative care for most people is essentially free – good diet, moderate exercise, and sufficient sleep. But pre-natal and neo-natal care are examples of preventative care requiring medical expertise, and therefore cost; and this sort of care should be made available to all as far as possible.

Within these limits, the Church has been advocating for decades that health care be made more accessible to all, especially to the poor. Will the current health care reform proposals

achieve these goals?

The current House reform bill, HR 3200, does not meet the first or the fourth standard. As Cardinal Justin Rigali has written for the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-life Activities, this bill circumvents the Hyde amendment (which prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortions) by drawing funding from new sources not covered by the Hyde amendment, and by creatively manipulating how federal funds covered by the Hyde amendment are accounted. It also provides a “public insurance option” without adequate limits, so that smaller employers especially will have a financial incentive to push all their employees into this public insurance. This will effectively prevent those employees from choosing any private insurance plans. This will saddle the working classes with additional taxes for inefficient and immoral entitlements. The Senate bill, HELP, is better than the House bill, as I understand it. It subsidizes care for the poor, rather than tending to monopolize care. But, it

designates the limit of four times federal poverty level for the public insurance option, which still includes more than half of all workers. This would impinge on the vitality of the private sector. It also does not meet the first standard of explicitly excluding mandatory abortion coverage.

I encourage all of you to make you voice heard to our representatives in Congress. Tell them what they need to hear from us: no health care reform is better than the wrong sort of health care reform. Insist that they not permit themselves to be railroaded into the current too-costly and pro-abortion health care proposals. Insist on their support for proposals that respect the life and dignity of every human person, especially the unborn. And above all, pray for them, and for our country. (Please see the website for the Iowa Catholic Conference at www.iowacatholicconference.org and www.usccb.org/healthcare for more information)

Today on Kresta - September 3, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 3

3:00 – Direct to my Desk

4:00 – Fr. Vincent Capodanno – The Grunt Padre
On this day before the anniversary of his death, we take a look at an extraordinary Navy Chaplain - Fr. Vincent Capodanno – who gave his life ministering to his men in Vietnam. It is a heartwarming story and it is likely that Sept. 4 will eventually be the feast day of Servant of God Vincent Capodanno. We relive this extraordinary story with Capodanno expert ad veteran Lee Corvino.

4:20 – The End of Secularism
University scholars have spent decades subjecting religion to critical scrutiny. But what would happen if they turned their focus on secularism? Hunter Baker seeks the answer to that question by putting secularism under the microscope and carefully examining its origins, its context, its claims, and the viability of those claims. He reveals that secularism fails as an instrument designed to create superior social harmony and political rationality to that which is available with theistic alternatives. He also demonstrates that secularism is far from the best or only way to enjoy modernity's fruits of religious liberty, free speech, and democracy. The message is that the marketplace of ideas depends on open and honest discussion rather than on religious content or the lack thereof. He is here to make his case.

5:00 – Direct to my Desk

The 4 Catholic Principles for Health Care Reform

Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila, Bishop of Fargo ND has this synthesis to offer Catholics discerning the issue of health care.

1. Any provisions for actions which deny the dignity of human life, especially abortion, euthanasia, whether passive or active, and embryonic stem-cell research must be excluded from all health care plans.

2. The freedom of consciences must be safeguarded. The moral voice of individual doctors, nurses, health professionals, as well as the general public, deserve reverence and respect.

3. Access to health care ought to be available to all people, including the poor, legal immigrants, the handicapped, and especially the elderly and unborn members of society.

4. The means of providing access to health care should be governed by the principle of subsidiarity, being reasonably and equitably distributed among members of society.

Read the Bishop's entire letter HERE.
Bishop Aquila will be a guest on Kresta In The Afternoon next Thursday, September 10.

10 Episcopal nuns to enter Catholic Church

After seven years of prayer and discernment, a community of Episcopal nuns and their chaplain will be received into the Roman Catholic Church during a Mass tomorrow (Sept. 3) celebrated by Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien.

The archbishop will welcome 10 sisters from the Society of All Saints’ Sisters of the Poor when he administers the sacrament of confirmation and the sisters renew their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in the chapel of their Catonsville convent.

Episcopal Father Warren Tanghe will also be received into the church and is discerning the possibility of becoming a Catholic priest. Mother Christina Christie, superior of the religious community, said the sisters are “very excited” about joining the Catholic Church and have been closely studying the church’s teachings for years.

Two Episcopal nuns who have decided not to become Catholic will continue to live and minister alongside their soon-to-be Catholic sisters. Members of the community range in age from 59 to 94. “For us, this is a journey of confirmation,” Mother Christina said. “We felt God was leading us in this direction for a long time.”

Wearing full habits with black veils and white wimples that cover their heads, the sisters have been a visible beacon of hope.

The American branch of a society founded in England, the All Saints’ Sisters of the Poor came to Baltimore in 1872 and have been at their current location since 1917.

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