Nice brief interview - Would have been nicer if they got her name right. :)
Friday, September 16, 2011
Religious Groups Join New Mexico Immigration Debate
Churches and religious groups are speaking out in opposition to the governor, saying their actions are part of a larger and growing advocacy effort aimed at promoting immigration reform on moral grounds.
Organizations like the New Mexico Catholic Conference of Bishops and Albuquerque Interfaith were among those in Santa Fe to protest efforts to rescind the state law. They argue that the measure helps one of the state’s most vulnerable groups of people.
“We draw our inspiration from Scripture,” said Nancy Phillips, a member of the New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice, an Albuquerque-based group of lay people and clergy from different denominations.
Allen Sanchez, executive director of the New Mexico Catholic Conference of Bishops, said the bishops usually shy away from political activity: “But on this issue, they feel they have no choice.”
In a guest column for the Albuquerque Journal, the archbishop of Santa Fe, Michael J. Sheeham, writing on behalf of Roman Catholic Bishops of New Mexico, pointed out that “licenses for all drivers make our highways safer.” He also noted that immigrant workers “without legal access to driver’s licenses would not be able to travel to their places of employment, undermining the economic stability of their families, as well as the many New Mexico businesses, farms, and ranches that depend on their labor.”
Kip Bobroff, lead organizer for Albuquerque Interfaith, said ministers from that group held “preach-and-teach” events at churches and synagogues last week aimed at educating members on immigration issues. According to Bobroff, approximately 12,000 people heard about immigration in sermons, homilies, and Sunday school classes.
“Immigrants are part of our institutions, our communities, and our congregations,” Bobroff said. “All you have to do is read the New Testament and the Hebrew Scripture to know we have to welcome our neighbor.”
Germany: 100 members of parliament to boycott Pope’s speech
(CWNews.com) One hundred members of opposition parties have announced that they will boycott Pope Benedict’s speech to the German parliament.
“That is so small-minded that one doesn't know whether to laugh or to cry,” said Cardinal Joachim Meisner. “And the fact that they sit in parliament does not leave a positive mark on the noble representation of the German people.”
“That is so small-minded that one doesn't know whether to laugh or to cry,” said Cardinal Joachim Meisner. “And the fact that they sit in parliament does not leave a positive mark on the noble representation of the German people.”
Outrageous Statement of the Day - Keith Returns!
Olbermann: Republicans ‘Leading Terrorist Groups’ In US
Considering we are at war with terrorists and the most notorious leader of a terrorist group was recently shot to death by the U.S. military, isn't this kind of language a bit inflammatory and a potential incitement? Eight months ago Mr. Olbermann pledged to adopt a new tone. We wonder if he thinks this measures up.
The Battle Over Vouchers in Indiana
More than 3,200 students received vouchers to attend private schools this year—with nearly 70 percent of them attending Catholic schools.
Catholic schools are in the minority among Indiana private schools but received a majority of vouchers because many are venerable and already have state accreditation. They also have more space: One Catholic school in South Bend had seen enrollment dwindle from 702 students in 1953 to 135 last year. This year, due to the voucher program, enrollment has jumped to 212 students.
Most voucher systems enacted elsewhere in the United States are limited to poor students, those in failing schools, or those with special needs. But in Indiana, any student whose family has a household income less than $60,000 is eligible.
Because of the popularity of the program, public school officials have been contacting parents of voucher students, begging them to keep their children in the public schools. And these administrators have strong incentive. For example, if families in South Bend who signed up for vouchers don’t return, administrators there estimate they will have $1.3 million less to spend.
“They’re making the argument that the money belongs to the system and not to the parents,” said Robert Enlow of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.
The vouchers in Indiana are government-issued certificates that allow parents to pay private school tuition with tax money they would have normally paid to public schools.
Nate Schnellenberger, president of the Indiana State Teachers Association, complained that “public money is going to be taken from public schools, and they’re going to end up in private, mostly religious schools.”
The teachers’ union, which is suing, claims the voucher program is in violation of “the separation of church and state” since only six of 240 participating private schools in the state are secular.
But Enlow called the lawsuit a “misdirection,” adding that parents are simply choosing available schools: “We’re giving aid to students, not aid to religion.”
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Fr. Frank Pavone: Documents and Reports
National Catholic Register
Amarillo Bishop Recalls Father Frank Pavone, Restricts His Faculties
Catholic News Service
Father Pavone suspended from ministry outside Amarillo Diocese
National Catholic Reporter
Diocese: Priests for Life's Fr. Pavone needed in Texas
Diocese of Amarillo
Sept 9 Letter From Bishop Patrick Zurek to Fellow Bishops
Diocese of Amarillo (see pages 3-5)
Jan 24 Letter From Bishop Patrick Zureck to Fellow Bishops
Priests for Life
Fr. Frank Pavone's Sept 12 Response to US Bishops Following Bishop Zurek Letter
Priests for Life
Sept. 11 Letter from Fr. David Deibel, JCL, Canon Lawer for Priests for Life to All US Bishops
Priests for Life
Independent Auditors Issue Unqualified Audit Opinion for Priests for Life
Canon Lawyer Ed Peters
Initial remarks on the Zurek-Pavone dispute
EWTN
EWTN Statement - Sept 13, 2011
Pope to engaged couples: don't be afraid of marriage
Zenit.org:
ANCONA, Italy, SEPT. 12, 2011- Benedict XVI is inviting couples to be confident in embarking on the path of matrimony, saying they should not be afraid of the "great mystery," in which two persons become one flesh.
The Pope said this Sunday when he visited Ancona to close the 25th Italian National Eucharistic Congress. He finished the one-day visit by meeting with a group of engaged couples.
After one couple addressed some words to him, the Holy Father responded with an encouraging address on the beauty of human love and awareness of the challenges it faces.
He promised that both God and the Church are close to couples as they prepare for marriage, and acknowledged that problems with finding a stable job make it difficult to take on the commitment of marriage.
"Do not lose courage in face of the needs that seem to extinguish joy at the table of life," he said. "At the Wedding of Cana, when wine was lacking, Mary invited the servants to go to Jesus and she gave them a precise indication: 'Do whatever he tells you.' Treasure these words, the last of Mary's taken up in the Gospels -- virtually a spiritual testament -- and you will always have the joy of the celebration: Jesus is the wine of the celebration!"
The Holy Father exhorted the young couples: "Do not give up on pursuing the lofty ideal of love, which is a reflection and testimony of the love of God!"
Papal advice
Benedict XVI also had some practical advice. He recommended that couples shouldn't withdraw within themselves -- something he said can be "falsely tranquilizing."
"Instead, make your relationship become leaven in an active and responsible presence in the community," the Pope invited.
Also, he reminded the couples that love is not automatic, but requires a "journey of maturing."
"Beginning from the initial attraction and 'feeling well' with the other, educate yourselves to 'love well,' to 'want the good' of the other," he said. "Love lives from gratuitousness, self-sacrifice, forgiveness and respect for the other."
Gift of forever
The Bishop of Rome told the couples to "educate yourselves henceforth in the liberty of fidelity, which leads to protecting one another, to the point of the one living for the other."
He invited them to prepare themselves to choose "forever" with conviction.
"Indissolubility, more than a condition, is a gift that must be desired, requested and lived, beyond any changing human situation," the Pope reflected.
He also offered an evaluation on popular culture's recommendation to live together before marriage.
"Do not think," he said, that "living together is a guarantee for the future. If you skip the steps of intimacy, which require respect for time and a gradual progression of expressions, you will ‘get burned’ in love; love needs room for Christ, who is capable of making a human love faithful, happy and indissoluble."
Finally, the Holy Father spoke of the experience of love as having a "tension toward God."
"True love promises the infinite! Hence, make of this time of preparation for matrimony an itinerary of faith: Rediscover for your life as a couple the centrality of Jesus Christ and of walking with the Church," he said. "Mary teaches us that the good of each one depends on listening with docility to the word of the Son. In those who trust in him, the water of daily life is transformed into the wine of a love that makes life good, beautiful and fruitful."
Perry assailed by rivals, forced to defend record
WASHINGTON (MSNBC) — Attacked from all sides, Texas Gov. Rick Perry softened his rhetoric if not his position on Social Security in a snarky campaign debate Monday night and fended off attacks on his record creating jobs and requiring the vaccination of schoolgirls against a cancer-causing sexually transmitted virus.
It marked the first time in the summer debates that internal Republican differences dominated rather than a common eagerness to unseat Democratic President Barack Obama.
Early questioning involved several sharp exchanges about Social Security.
"A program that's been there 70 or 80 years, obviously we're not going to take that away," said Perry.
Story: The truth vs. talking points: Fact-checking the GOP debate in Florida
He said retirees and near-retirees are assured of receiving the benefits they've been promised — and should be — but changes are needed to make sure younger workers have any sort of benefit when they near retirement.
'Over the top' Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney responded by saying that Perry is scaring seniors with his rhetoric. He called Perry's characterization of Social Security as a Ponzi scheme "over the top" and "frightful."
He hammered Perry to answer whether he still questions if Social Security should be a federal program, recalling statements the Texas governor made in his recent book, "Fed Up: Our Fight to Save America from Washington."
Perry remarked that Romney called the program "criminal." To loud audience applause, a smiling Perry quipped, "That's in your book."
"You've got to quote me correctly," Romney responded. "What I said was taking money out of the Social Security trust fund is criminal and it's wrong."
At last week's NBC News/POLITICO debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., the two rivals shared similar barbs over the program.
Gingrich gets standing ovation
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich received the debate's first standing ovation following that Perry/Romney exchange. He joked that he's not worried about the two frontrunners scaring Americans, because Obama "scares them every day."
It was clear that the presidential hopefuls were not only eager to court support from the most conservative voters but were anxious not to offend seniors and others who depend on entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
None of the three who have gotten the most support so far this year — Perry, Romney and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann — said they favored repealing the prescription drug benefit in Medicare, which has a large unfunded liability.
Jindal, Pawlenty and other possible GOP contenders for VP
Texas Rep. Ron Paul, asked the same question, turned his answer to a call for ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as ways to save money.
Things also got testy between Perry and Romney over job creation. The former Massachusetts governor said Perry shouldn't get all the credit for job growth in the Lone Star state. "If you're dealt four aces, that doesn't necessarily make you a great poker player."
Romney contended that Texas enjoys advantages other states lack, such as oil and a Republican legislature. He also noted that Perry's predecessors in the Texas governor's mansion had higher percentages of job creation.
Perry said that he deserves many of the accolades, touting tort reform in his state. "While the country lost over two million jobs ... Texas gained over a million jobs." He boasted, "Tell the trial lawyers to get out ... That has to happen in states and at the federal level."
Bachmann also shared a tense moment with Perry over an executive order he signed requiring a vaccine for young girls in Texas to prevent cervical cancer .
Bachmann, whose candidacy surged and then fell back in the polls in less than a month, said that "to have innocent little 12-year-old girls be forced to have a government injection through an executive order is just flat out wrong. That should never be done. It's a violation of a liberty interest."
She brought up a donation that the Texas governor received from Gardasil manufacturer Merck & Co., and noted that former Perry staffer went to work for the drugmaker as a lobbyist.
"It was a $5,000 contribution that I had received from them. I raise about $30 million. And if you're saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I'm offended," Perry retorted.
"I'm offended for the little girls who don't have a choice," she snapped back.
Perry said he'd do things differently if he could, but at the time, "this was about trying to stop a cancer." He added, "I am always going to err on the side of life."
Illegal immigration
The two also sparred over the subject of illegal immigration, with Perry defending Texas' stance on offering in-state tuition to students who have lived there for at least three years and are working toward citizenship.
He called it a "states' rights issue" and said it prevents illegal immigrants from being "on the government dole."
Father Pavone suspended from ministry outside Amarillo Diocese
Catholic News Service:
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Father Frank Pavone, one of the country's most visible and vocal opponents of abortion, has been suspended from active ministry outside the Diocese of Amarillo, Texas, over financial questions about his operation of Priests for Life.
The suspension was made public in a Sept. 9 letter from Amarillo Bishop Patrick J. Zurek to his fellow bishops across the country, but Father Pavone told Catholic News Service that he was returning to Amarillo and planned to continue functioning as a priest there.
"My decision is the result of deep concerns regarding his stewardship of the finances of the Priests for Life (PFL) organization," Bishop Zurek wrote. "The PFL has become a business that is quite lucrative which provides Father Pavone with financial independence from all legitimate ecclesiastical oversight."
Bishop Zurek said "persistent questions and concerns" from clergy and laity about how the "millions of dollars in donations" the organization has received are being spent led to the action.
The bishop also asked Father Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, to return to Amarillo "to spend time in prayer and reflection."
Father Pavone, meanwhile, told CNS Sept. 13 from Birmingham, Ala., where he had been taping programs for Eternal Word Television Network for more than a week, that he planned to comply with Bishop Zurek's request to return to Amarillo. Father Pavone said he was scheduled to leave Birmingham the afternoon of Sept. 13 and meet with Msgr. Harold Waldow, vicar for clergy in the Amarillo Diocese, immediately after his arrival.
"Bishop Zurek asked me to go back to the diocese today, which I am doing for a limited period of time," Father Pavone said. "I am going there and my (priestly) faculties are fully intact and I'm in good standing."
Father Pavone was incardinated in the Amarillo Diocese in 2005 when Priests for Life moved some of its operations to the Texas panhandle city. Priests for Life was welcomed to Amarillo by now-retired Bishop John W. Yanta, who served on the organization's board of advisers.
Priests for Life no longer has offices in Amarillo. It is based in Staten Island.
Records filed with the Internal Revenue Service show that the organization's income topped $10.8 million in 2008, the latest year tax forms were available. In 2007, Priests for Life showed income of $9.2 million.
The same records show that Father Pavone received no income from the organization during those years. He said when he originally took the position with Priests for Life that he would claim no salary from the organization.
A popular lecturer and retreat leader, Father Pavone travels the country speaking against abortion and on other pro-life issues. He also produces programs for secular radio and television.
Father Pavone became national director of Priests for Life in 1993. He also holds the same position with Gospel of Life Ministries, an interdenominational effort to end abortion, which shares its headquarters with Priests for Life.
In addition, Father Pavone is national pastoral director of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign and president of the National Pro-Life Religious Council.
A native of Port Chester, N.Y., he was ordained in 1988 by Cardinal John J. O'Connor of New York and served as a parish priest in the New York Archdiocese until joining Priests for Life full time in 1993.
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Father Frank Pavone, one of the country's most visible and vocal opponents of abortion, has been suspended from active ministry outside the Diocese of Amarillo, Texas, over financial questions about his operation of Priests for Life.
The suspension was made public in a Sept. 9 letter from Amarillo Bishop Patrick J. Zurek to his fellow bishops across the country, but Father Pavone told Catholic News Service that he was returning to Amarillo and planned to continue functioning as a priest there.
"My decision is the result of deep concerns regarding his stewardship of the finances of the Priests for Life (PFL) organization," Bishop Zurek wrote. "The PFL has become a business that is quite lucrative which provides Father Pavone with financial independence from all legitimate ecclesiastical oversight."
Bishop Zurek said "persistent questions and concerns" from clergy and laity about how the "millions of dollars in donations" the organization has received are being spent led to the action.
The bishop also asked Father Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, to return to Amarillo "to spend time in prayer and reflection."
Father Pavone, meanwhile, told CNS Sept. 13 from Birmingham, Ala., where he had been taping programs for Eternal Word Television Network for more than a week, that he planned to comply with Bishop Zurek's request to return to Amarillo. Father Pavone said he was scheduled to leave Birmingham the afternoon of Sept. 13 and meet with Msgr. Harold Waldow, vicar for clergy in the Amarillo Diocese, immediately after his arrival.
"Bishop Zurek asked me to go back to the diocese today, which I am doing for a limited period of time," Father Pavone said. "I am going there and my (priestly) faculties are fully intact and I'm in good standing."
Father Pavone was incardinated in the Amarillo Diocese in 2005 when Priests for Life moved some of its operations to the Texas panhandle city. Priests for Life was welcomed to Amarillo by now-retired Bishop John W. Yanta, who served on the organization's board of advisers.
Priests for Life no longer has offices in Amarillo. It is based in Staten Island.
Records filed with the Internal Revenue Service show that the organization's income topped $10.8 million in 2008, the latest year tax forms were available. In 2007, Priests for Life showed income of $9.2 million.
The same records show that Father Pavone received no income from the organization during those years. He said when he originally took the position with Priests for Life that he would claim no salary from the organization.
A popular lecturer and retreat leader, Father Pavone travels the country speaking against abortion and on other pro-life issues. He also produces programs for secular radio and television.
Father Pavone became national director of Priests for Life in 1993. He also holds the same position with Gospel of Life Ministries, an interdenominational effort to end abortion, which shares its headquarters with Priests for Life.
In addition, Father Pavone is national pastoral director of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign and president of the National Pro-Life Religious Council.
A native of Port Chester, N.Y., he was ordained in 1988 by Cardinal John J. O'Connor of New York and served as a parish priest in the New York Archdiocese until joining Priests for Life full time in 1993.
Monday, September 12, 2011
September 11 and the Holy Name of Mary
We almost never post this lengthy of a piece, but we also rarely find such a profoud homily. Also, since the text is not available online we cannot link to it. If you read one reflection on 9/11 as a Catholic, read this one. It's the text of the homily delivered by the Fr. Peter Stravinskas yesterday at the Church of the Holy Innocents in New York City.
Tomorrow, the Church celebrates the memorial of the Holy Name of Mary. Unusual for me, I am going to forego preaching on the Scripture readings for today’s Mass and hope that the rationale for that decision will be clear shortly.
Blessed John Henry Newman, in one of his sermons on the titles of Our Lady in the Litany of Loreto, notes that “Help of Christians” is given the Blessed Mother in connection with five critical historical events:
The first was on the first institution of the devotion of the Rosary by St. Dominic, when, with the aid of the Blessed Virgin, he succeeded in arresting and overthrowing the formidable heresy of the Albigenses in the South of France.
The second was the great victory gained by the Christian fleet over the powerful Turkish Sultan, in answer to the intercession of Pope St. Pius V, and the prayers of the associations of the Rosary all over the Christian world. . . .
The third was, in the words of the Divine Office, “the glorious victory won at Vienna, under the guardianship of the Blessed Virgin, over the most savage Sultan of the Turks, who was trampling on the necks of the Christians; in perpetual memory of which benefit Pope Innocent XI. . . . dedicated the Sunday in the Octave of her Nativity as the feast of her august Name.”
The fourth instance of her aid was the victory over the innumerable force of the same Turks in Hungary on the Feast of St. Mary ad Nives, in answer to the solemn supplication of the confraternities of the Rosary.
And the fifth was her restoration of the Pope's temporal power, at the beginning of this century [19th], after Napoleon the First, Emperor of the French, had taken it from the Holy See; on which occasion Pope Pius VII. set apart May 24, the day of this mercy, as the Feast of the Help of Christians, for a perpetual thanksgiving.
If you paid close attention to this list of Marian victories, you should have noticed that three of the five have to do with Islam.
In fact, a little bit more background on the third “victory” of Our Lady noted might prove very interesting. There Cardinal Newman is alluding to the liturgical commemoration of the Holy Name of Mary, which had been dropped from the universal calendar after Vatican II but was reinserted by Pope John Paul II into the Missale Romanum of 2000. The feast was established by Pope Innocent XI in 1683 in thanksgiving for the deliverance of Vienna, obtained through the intercession of Our Lady, when the city was besieged by the Turks in 1683. An army of 550,000 invaders had reached the city walls and was threatening all of Europe. Jan Sobieski, King of Poland, came with a much smaller army to assist the besieged city during the Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, and made preparations for a great battle – the first part of which was engaging in a vigil of prayer and fasting on the night of September 11. Yes, you heard right, September 11. After receiving Holy Communion with his troops on the morning of the 12th, he cried out: “Let us march with confidence under the protection of Heaven and with the aid of the Most Holy Virgin!” Inexplicably, the Muslim Turks were struck with a sudden panic and fled in chaos.
My friends, an old adage teaches us that “history repeats itself.” And the ancient Roman statesman and orator Cicero is often credited with warning us that “those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.” Once again, we are facing a crisis with the Islamic world, but this time around what is regrettably the former Christian West is weak, a largely dissipated anti-culture, barely able to reproduce itself. Will peace between Islam and the West be achieved only because it is the peace of the grave, so that we or our grandchildren will simply wake up some day living under sharia? Is this inevitable? Is there any possible solution? I believe there is a solution, and it will come through taking seriously some insights of Archbishop Fulton Sheen – amazingly prescient since written in his 1952 book, The World’s First Love, wherein we discover a chapter, entitled, “Mary and the Moslems” (pp. 204-209).
Very objectively, the Archbishop presents the historical record:
The Christian European West barely escaped destruction at the hands of the Muslims. At one point they were stopped near Tours and at another point, later on in time, outside the gates of Vienna. The Church throughout northern Africa was practically destroyed by Muslim power, and at the present hour, the Moslems are beginning to rise again.
He goes on, and don’t forget he is writing in 1952:
At the present time, the hatred of the Muslim countries against the West is becoming a hatred against Christianity itself. Although the statesmen have not yet taken it into account, there is still grave danger that the temporal power of Islam may return, and with it, the menace that it may shake off a West which has ceased to be Christian, and affirm itself as a great anti-Christian world power. Muslim writers say, “When the locust swarms darken countries, they bear on their wings these Arabic words: We are God's host, each of us has ninety-nine eggs, and if we had a hundred, we should lay waste the world, with all that is in it.”
He then asks: “How shall we prevent the hatching of the hundredth egg?” Through the conversion of Muslims to Christianity – not through the direct teachings of Christianity, but through a summoning of the Muslims to a veneration of the Mother of God.
Finally, the Archbishop launches into a detailed analysis of Islamic respect, even devotion, for the Mother of Jesus, highlighting the fact that the Koran teaches the doctrines of her Immaculate Conception and perpetual virginity. Most surprising to most non-Muslims is that the Koran actually has more verses about Our Lady than the New Testament! We even possess a writing of Mohammed, addressed to his daughter Fatima, in which he says to her after her death: “Thou shalt be the most blessed of all women in Paradise, after Mary.” And Fatima herself says, “I surpass all women, except Mary.” Which leads us to Archbishop Sheen’s connecting of the dots between Islam and Our Lady of Fatima:
. . . the Muslims occupied Portugal for centuries. At the time when they were finally driven out, the last Muslim chief had a beautiful daughter by the name of Fatima. A Catholic boy fell in love with her, and for him she not only stayed behind when the Muslims left, but even embraced the Faith. The young husband was so much in love with her that he changed the name of the town where he lived to Fatima. Thus, the very place where Our Lady appeared in 1917 bears a historical connection to Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed.
He continues:
The final evidence of the relationship of Fatima to the Muslims is the enthusiastic reception which the Muslims in Africa, India, and elsewhere gave to the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Muslims attended the church services in honor of Our Lady, they allowed religious processions and even prayers before their mosques; and in Mozambique, the Muslims who were unconverted, began to be Christian as soon as the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was erected.
It seems that Sheen’s analysis may have been on-target for, most interestingly, as recently as 2007, Australian Muslims built a mosque and dedicated it to Our Lady!
Archbishop Sheen concludes by noting that missionaries to the Muslims will see more successes when they preach Our Lady of Fatima, for Mary brings Christ to people before Christ Himself is born. In this endeavor, it is best to start with what the Muslims already accept. Because there is an existing devotion to Mary, missionaries need to build upon this devotion, with the understanding that Our Lady will carry the Muslims to her divine Son. She never accepts devotion merely for herself, but always leads her devotees to her Son. Just as those who lose Marian devotion lose belief in Christ’s divinity, so also those who strengthen their devotion to her, in time acquire the correct belief concerning her Son.
I would add one more element to the goal of Muslim conversions: We Christians – and the nations we inhabit – must be vibrant witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When the United States is perceived – and often is – the international promoter and purveyor of abortion, pornography, illicit sexual lifestyles, family disintegration and conspicuous consumption, it is no wonder that honest and dishonest Muslims alike can point an accusing finger at us as “The Great Satan.” If we hope for peace and reconciliation, let alone conversions, we Christians must live and look like true disciples of Jesus Christ. And the best way we can do that is by being true children of Mary – the perfect disciple.
On this tenth anniversary of the horrific attacks on our country and city, inspired by Islamic ideology, let us ask Our Lady for the grace whereby our nation – and all of the former Christian West – will reflect a faithful Christian witness so powerful that it will not only ensure peaceful coexistence but even the conversion of the children of Islam to the Church of which Mary – whom Muslims so venerate – is the Mother.
Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for us.
Tomorrow, the Church celebrates the memorial of the Holy Name of Mary. Unusual for me, I am going to forego preaching on the Scripture readings for today’s Mass and hope that the rationale for that decision will be clear shortly.
Blessed John Henry Newman, in one of his sermons on the titles of Our Lady in the Litany of Loreto, notes that “Help of Christians” is given the Blessed Mother in connection with five critical historical events:
The first was on the first institution of the devotion of the Rosary by St. Dominic, when, with the aid of the Blessed Virgin, he succeeded in arresting and overthrowing the formidable heresy of the Albigenses in the South of France.
The second was the great victory gained by the Christian fleet over the powerful Turkish Sultan, in answer to the intercession of Pope St. Pius V, and the prayers of the associations of the Rosary all over the Christian world. . . .
The third was, in the words of the Divine Office, “the glorious victory won at Vienna, under the guardianship of the Blessed Virgin, over the most savage Sultan of the Turks, who was trampling on the necks of the Christians; in perpetual memory of which benefit Pope Innocent XI. . . . dedicated the Sunday in the Octave of her Nativity as the feast of her august Name.”
The fourth instance of her aid was the victory over the innumerable force of the same Turks in Hungary on the Feast of St. Mary ad Nives, in answer to the solemn supplication of the confraternities of the Rosary.
And the fifth was her restoration of the Pope's temporal power, at the beginning of this century [19th], after Napoleon the First, Emperor of the French, had taken it from the Holy See; on which occasion Pope Pius VII. set apart May 24, the day of this mercy, as the Feast of the Help of Christians, for a perpetual thanksgiving.
If you paid close attention to this list of Marian victories, you should have noticed that three of the five have to do with Islam.
In fact, a little bit more background on the third “victory” of Our Lady noted might prove very interesting. There Cardinal Newman is alluding to the liturgical commemoration of the Holy Name of Mary, which had been dropped from the universal calendar after Vatican II but was reinserted by Pope John Paul II into the Missale Romanum of 2000. The feast was established by Pope Innocent XI in 1683 in thanksgiving for the deliverance of Vienna, obtained through the intercession of Our Lady, when the city was besieged by the Turks in 1683. An army of 550,000 invaders had reached the city walls and was threatening all of Europe. Jan Sobieski, King of Poland, came with a much smaller army to assist the besieged city during the Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, and made preparations for a great battle – the first part of which was engaging in a vigil of prayer and fasting on the night of September 11. Yes, you heard right, September 11. After receiving Holy Communion with his troops on the morning of the 12th, he cried out: “Let us march with confidence under the protection of Heaven and with the aid of the Most Holy Virgin!” Inexplicably, the Muslim Turks were struck with a sudden panic and fled in chaos.
My friends, an old adage teaches us that “history repeats itself.” And the ancient Roman statesman and orator Cicero is often credited with warning us that “those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.” Once again, we are facing a crisis with the Islamic world, but this time around what is regrettably the former Christian West is weak, a largely dissipated anti-culture, barely able to reproduce itself. Will peace between Islam and the West be achieved only because it is the peace of the grave, so that we or our grandchildren will simply wake up some day living under sharia? Is this inevitable? Is there any possible solution? I believe there is a solution, and it will come through taking seriously some insights of Archbishop Fulton Sheen – amazingly prescient since written in his 1952 book, The World’s First Love, wherein we discover a chapter, entitled, “Mary and the Moslems” (pp. 204-209).
Very objectively, the Archbishop presents the historical record:
The Christian European West barely escaped destruction at the hands of the Muslims. At one point they were stopped near Tours and at another point, later on in time, outside the gates of Vienna. The Church throughout northern Africa was practically destroyed by Muslim power, and at the present hour, the Moslems are beginning to rise again.
He goes on, and don’t forget he is writing in 1952:
At the present time, the hatred of the Muslim countries against the West is becoming a hatred against Christianity itself. Although the statesmen have not yet taken it into account, there is still grave danger that the temporal power of Islam may return, and with it, the menace that it may shake off a West which has ceased to be Christian, and affirm itself as a great anti-Christian world power. Muslim writers say, “When the locust swarms darken countries, they bear on their wings these Arabic words: We are God's host, each of us has ninety-nine eggs, and if we had a hundred, we should lay waste the world, with all that is in it.”
He then asks: “How shall we prevent the hatching of the hundredth egg?” Through the conversion of Muslims to Christianity – not through the direct teachings of Christianity, but through a summoning of the Muslims to a veneration of the Mother of God.
Finally, the Archbishop launches into a detailed analysis of Islamic respect, even devotion, for the Mother of Jesus, highlighting the fact that the Koran teaches the doctrines of her Immaculate Conception and perpetual virginity. Most surprising to most non-Muslims is that the Koran actually has more verses about Our Lady than the New Testament! We even possess a writing of Mohammed, addressed to his daughter Fatima, in which he says to her after her death: “Thou shalt be the most blessed of all women in Paradise, after Mary.” And Fatima herself says, “I surpass all women, except Mary.” Which leads us to Archbishop Sheen’s connecting of the dots between Islam and Our Lady of Fatima:
. . . the Muslims occupied Portugal for centuries. At the time when they were finally driven out, the last Muslim chief had a beautiful daughter by the name of Fatima. A Catholic boy fell in love with her, and for him she not only stayed behind when the Muslims left, but even embraced the Faith. The young husband was so much in love with her that he changed the name of the town where he lived to Fatima. Thus, the very place where Our Lady appeared in 1917 bears a historical connection to Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed.
He continues:
The final evidence of the relationship of Fatima to the Muslims is the enthusiastic reception which the Muslims in Africa, India, and elsewhere gave to the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Muslims attended the church services in honor of Our Lady, they allowed religious processions and even prayers before their mosques; and in Mozambique, the Muslims who were unconverted, began to be Christian as soon as the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was erected.
It seems that Sheen’s analysis may have been on-target for, most interestingly, as recently as 2007, Australian Muslims built a mosque and dedicated it to Our Lady!
Archbishop Sheen concludes by noting that missionaries to the Muslims will see more successes when they preach Our Lady of Fatima, for Mary brings Christ to people before Christ Himself is born. In this endeavor, it is best to start with what the Muslims already accept. Because there is an existing devotion to Mary, missionaries need to build upon this devotion, with the understanding that Our Lady will carry the Muslims to her divine Son. She never accepts devotion merely for herself, but always leads her devotees to her Son. Just as those who lose Marian devotion lose belief in Christ’s divinity, so also those who strengthen their devotion to her, in time acquire the correct belief concerning her Son.
I would add one more element to the goal of Muslim conversions: We Christians – and the nations we inhabit – must be vibrant witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When the United States is perceived – and often is – the international promoter and purveyor of abortion, pornography, illicit sexual lifestyles, family disintegration and conspicuous consumption, it is no wonder that honest and dishonest Muslims alike can point an accusing finger at us as “The Great Satan.” If we hope for peace and reconciliation, let alone conversions, we Christians must live and look like true disciples of Jesus Christ. And the best way we can do that is by being true children of Mary – the perfect disciple.
On this tenth anniversary of the horrific attacks on our country and city, inspired by Islamic ideology, let us ask Our Lady for the grace whereby our nation – and all of the former Christian West – will reflect a faithful Christian witness so powerful that it will not only ensure peaceful coexistence but even the conversion of the children of Islam to the Church of which Mary – whom Muslims so venerate – is the Mother.
Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for us.
The Collapse of Russia
In its latest short internet documentary, the Population Research Institute (PRI) pays a visit to Russia, to discuss the country's plummeting birthrates and skyrocketing death rates.
This fast-paced, 12-minute documentary represents a new direction for PRI's video efforts, says PRI's media director Colin Mason.
“We're trying to find a more immediate approach to introducing people to these issues,” Mason explains. “While the facts and numbers are obviously important, we have found that it's much more effective to get boots on the ground and actually discuss these topics head-on with the affected people. We think that this approach really makes the problems real to our audience.”
PRI's president Steven W. Mosher, who appears prominently in the documentary, agrees, saying that Russia is “demographically crumbling,” and that PRI's latest video does an excellent job of illustrating the human cost of this.
“If Russia doesn't turn its birthrate around fast,” says Mosher, “its human landscape will soon resemble the crumbling Soviet monuments that we visited. It is imperative for the survival of the Russian people that they once again take command of their fertility and begin renewing themselves. Only then will they be able to turn their economy and their culture around.”
This fast-paced, 12-minute documentary represents a new direction for PRI's video efforts, says PRI's media director Colin Mason.
“We're trying to find a more immediate approach to introducing people to these issues,” Mason explains. “While the facts and numbers are obviously important, we have found that it's much more effective to get boots on the ground and actually discuss these topics head-on with the affected people. We think that this approach really makes the problems real to our audience.”
PRI's president Steven W. Mosher, who appears prominently in the documentary, agrees, saying that Russia is “demographically crumbling,” and that PRI's latest video does an excellent job of illustrating the human cost of this.
“If Russia doesn't turn its birthrate around fast,” says Mosher, “its human landscape will soon resemble the crumbling Soviet monuments that we visited. It is imperative for the survival of the Russian people that they once again take command of their fertility and begin renewing themselves. Only then will they be able to turn their economy and their culture around.”
Europe Screening Out 'Imperfect' Children, Bioethicist Warns
People with genetic diseases are disappearing in Europe because of genetic screening, abortion and attitudes that exclude them from social life, an Italian bioethicist has warned.
“We realize it when we look around. We no longer see ‘imperfect’ children who are marked by genetic disorders,” neonatologist Dr. Carlo Bellieni wrote in the Sept. 9 issue of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.
“In a scared and prejudiced world, the search for imperfection and the destruction of the ‘imperfect’ patient become a common well-known social norm: a banality of evil which does not seem to bother anyone,” said Bellieni, who is the secretary of the bioethics committee of the Italian Pediatrics Society and a member of the Pontifical Academy of Life.
“These children are censured by the media, sheltered by families from a society which does not accept them despite many claims, and above all (they) are victims of abortion.”
He recounted how abortion targets those with genetic conditions.
In France, 96 percent of fetuses with Down syndrome are aborted. One Parisian deputy asked why four percent still are not aborted.
The abortion rate of fetuses with Down syndrome is above 60 percent in the northern Italian province of Emilia Romagna, one of Italy’s few regions which keeps reliable statistics. More than 50 percent of unborn girls with Turner Syndrome, a condition which causes shortness and low fertility, are also aborted in the region.
“The first case involves delayed intellectual development and the second delays physical development,” Bellieni noted, asking how that could be “reason enough” to destroy the unborn.
Prenatal genetic screening, ultrasounds and other tests for Down syndrome and other diseases are increasing, he said.
Parents and doctors who believe in “the sacredness of the human person” should reflect on why there is time for an abortion but “absolutely no time for treatment.”
Bellieni also blamed the disappearance of the genetically disabled on both society’s inability to accept cultural difference and the “shame” of families who feel like “genetic outlaws” and keep their children inside.
He said that prenatal selection and social exclusion helps prevent research therapies from being developed.
“If economic investments were made to cure genetic disorders equal to those made to prevent sick children from being born, we would make notable progress,” he said.
While genetic disorders are undesirable, “they should not make the affected person undesirable.”
Though their victims may face a difficult life, he asked, “are they truly so unbearable as we are made to believe?”
Studies have shown that sick people with good external conditions rate their quality of life higher than their peers, whether they are adolescents with Spina Bifida or those with serious physical disabilities. Quality of life for those with Down syndrome is “much higher than the media illustrates.”
“The media traces a portrait of disability which rarely strays from sterile compassion,” Bellieni charged.
Letter from Pope Benedict XVI on September 11th Tenth Anniversary
Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his prayerful support of the United States on the 10th Anniversary of September 11th, in a letter sent to Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In his letter, dated September 11, 2011, the Pope writes that, "On this day my thoughts turn to the somber events of September 11, 2001, when so many innocent lives were lost in the brutal assault on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the further attacks in Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. I join you in commending the thousands of victims to the infinite mercy of Almighty God and in asking our heavenly Father to continue to console those who mourn the loss of loved ones."
Pope Benedict also notes, "The American people are to be commended for the courage and generosity that they showed in the rescue operations and for their resilience in moving forward with hope and confidence."
In his letter, dated September 11, 2011, the Pope writes that, "On this day my thoughts turn to the somber events of September 11, 2001, when so many innocent lives were lost in the brutal assault on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the further attacks in Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. I join you in commending the thousands of victims to the infinite mercy of Almighty God and in asking our heavenly Father to continue to console those who mourn the loss of loved ones."
Pope Benedict also notes, "The American people are to be commended for the courage and generosity that they showed in the rescue operations and for their resilience in moving forward with hope and confidence."
Scottish cardinal: same-sex marriage a ‘grotesque subversion,’ a ‘great wrong’
The bishops of Scotland have pledged their “strenuous opposition” as the Scottish government considers a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage.
Urging the government not to heed “a vociferous lobby group,” the bishops said on September 7 that “no government can rewrite human nature; the family and marriage existed before the State and are built on the union between a man and woman. Any attempt to redefine marriage is a direct attack on a foundational building block of society and will be strenuously opposed.” Cardinal Keith O’Brien repeated the words of the statement in a homily to Scottish politicians.
In a September 11 newspaper column, Cardinal O’Brien called same-sex marriage “madness” and a “grotesque subversion of a universal human right.”
“At the heart of this debate however there is one perspective which seems to be completely lost or ignored, it is the point of view of the child,” the cardinal wrote. “Same-sex marriage means same-sex parenting, and same-sex parenting means that our society deliberately chooses to deprive a child of either a mother or a father.”
Cardinal O’Brien added:
There is no question, that normalising gay marriage means normalising homosexual behaviour for public school children. In November 2003 after a court decision in Massachusetts to legalise gay marriage, school libraries were required to stock same-sex literature; primary school children were given homosexual fairy stories such as King & King; some high school students were even given an explicit manual of homosexual advocacy entitled “The Little Black Book: Queer in the 21st Century”, which the Massachusetts Department of Health helped develop. Education suddenly had to comply with what was now deemed “normal”.Other dangers exist, if marriage can be redefined so that it no longer means a man and a woman but two men or two women, why stop there? Why not allow three men or a woman and two men to constitute a marriage, if they pledge their fidelity to one another? …
Disingenuously, the Government has suggested that same sex marriage wouldn’t be compulsory and churches could choose to opt out. This is quite staggering arrogance. Firstly, no Government has the moral authority to dismantle the universally understood meaning of marriage. Additionally, imagine for a moment that the Government had decided to legalise slavery but assured us that “no one will be forced to keep a slave” would such an assurance calm the fury we would all feel? Would it in any way justify the dismantling of a fundamental human right? Of course not. It would amount to nothing more than weasel words to mask a great wrong.
On September 12, Bishop Philip Tartaglia of Paisley issued his formal response to the government consultation.
“A Government which favours and allows for same sex ‘marriage’ does wrong. It fails in its duty to society,” he wrote. “It undermines the common good. It commits an act of cultural vandalism. Such a government does not deserve the trust which the nation, and including many in the Catholic community, has shown in it.”
"Government should not be persuaded by voices which declare that any opposition to same sex ‘marriage’ is the result of homophobic bigotry,” Bishop Tartaglia added. “This is not only false, but is itself an illiberal and undemocratic intolerance which only seeks to close down rational argument and to intimidate people into acquiescence.”
Today on Kresta - September 12, 2011
Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 9
KRESTA SPECIAL PRESENTATION
As we commemorate the 10th anniversary this weekend of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, “Kresta in the Afternoon” has a special presentation today and Monday. We go back and look at the events, analysis, thoughts and predictions in the aftermath of 9/11. Questions about the nature of Islam, declaring war on a non-nation state, the future of American exceptionalism, protection of the homeland, anger and forgiveness, and much more. Today’s guests include Dr. Robert Fastiggi, Mrs. Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Akin, and Dr. George Braswell. It’s our presentation of “The Clash of Civilizations: Interviews from the days following Sept. 11, 2001.”
KRESTA SPECIAL PRESENTATION
As we commemorate the 10th anniversary this weekend of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, “Kresta in the Afternoon” has a special presentation today and Monday. We go back and look at the events, analysis, thoughts and predictions in the aftermath of 9/11. Questions about the nature of Islam, declaring war on a non-nation state, the future of American exceptionalism, protection of the homeland, anger and forgiveness, and much more. Today’s guests include Dr. Robert Fastiggi, Mrs. Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Akin, and Dr. George Braswell. It’s our presentation of “The Clash of Civilizations: Interviews from the days following Sept. 11, 2001.”
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