Letter From 183 House Members Urges Pelosi to Allow Vote to Cut Abortion Funding

The number of Congressmen and Congresswomen seeking to exclude abortion funding from healthcare continues to grow to a number that even CINO Pelosi can't ignore them.

A bipartisan group of 183 members of Congress sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter on Monday urging her to allow a vote on an amendment to cut the massive abortion funding and subsidies from the main health care "reform" bill in the chamber.

HR 3200 currently allows for both abortion subsidies and mandates and pro-life Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan wants the opportunity to propose an amendment to remove the funding from the bill.

"We urge you to allow members of the House to vote their consciences with regard to abortion and health care reform by allowing consideration of an amendment to prohibit government funding of abortion," the letter says.

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Bishops on Healthcare

Senate Panel Defeats Public Option in Baucus Health Care Reform Measure

Some good news for healthcare reform. I agree that we need reform, especially in regard to cost and accessibility, but the government-run part will only ration healthcare, increase abortion, and give the government more control of our lives.

A Senate committee today (Tues.) voted to defeat an amendment to include the public option in the Baucus health care "reform" legislation. The public option is the government-run health care program that pro-life groups worry would expand abortion funding more that is already present in the bill.

The Senate Finance Committee rejected an amendment from Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia on a 15-8 vote to include the government-run health care plan in the Baucus bill.

Sen. Max Baucus, the sponsor of the measure, voted against the public option along with four other Democrats and all 10 Republicans who are members of the committee.

During the debate, Baucus said he liked much about the public option but decided to vote against it because he worried adding it would kill the bill since the government option doesn't have the support of a majority of the members of the Senate.

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The bad news:

Senate Panel Rejects Amdt to Cut Abortion Funding From Baucus Health Care Bill

Memorial of St. Jerome

The Saint of the Day for September 30 is St. Jerome.

One of the greatest Biblical scholars of Christendom, Saint Jerome was born of Christian parents at Stridon in Dalmatia around the year 345. Educated at the local school, he then studied rhetoric in Rome for eight years, before returning to Aquilea to set up a community of ascetics. When that community broke up after three years Jerome went to the east. He met an old hermit named Malchus, who inspired the saint to live in a bare cell, dressed in sackcloth, studying the Scriptures.
He learned Hebrew from a rabbi. Then he returned to Antioch and was reluctantly ordained priest. With his bishop he visited Constantinople and became friendly with Saints Gregory Nazianzen and Gregory of Nyssa. And then in 382 he went again to Rome, to become the personal secretary of Pope Damasus. Here he met his dearest friends, a wealthy woman called Paula, her daughter Eustochium and another wealthy woman named Marcella.

Here too he began his finest work. Commissioned by the pope, he began to revise the Latin version of the psalms and the New Testament, with immense care and scholarship. Jerome eventually translated the whole of the Bible into the Latin version which is known as the Vulgate. But when Damasus died, his enemies forced the saint to leave Rome.

Accompanied by Paula and Eustochium, Jerome went to Bethlehem. There he lived for thirty-four years till his death in 420, building a monastery over which he presided and a convent headed first by Paula and after her death by Eustochium. The saint set up a hospice for the countless pilgrims to that place. His scholarship, his polemics, his treatises and letters often provoked anger and always stimulated those who read them. 'Plato located the soul of man in the head,' he wrote, 'Christ located it in the heart.'

A Spider bugs the Pope

Key Pro-Life Democrat Finally Get Mtg With Nancy Pelosi on Abortion, Health Care

Stupak has been awesome in his efforts to keep abortion out of nationalized healthcare. CINO Pelosi should be doing the same.

After months of no response from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, pro-life Democrats scored a meeting today with the pro-abortion leader. They have written two letters to Pelosi asking for a chance to have a vote on banning abortion funding in the health care bills and they finally got their chance today.

Rep. Bart Stupak, a pro-life Democrat from Michigan, has led efforts to remove the massive abortion subsidies and mandates from HR 3200.

He has been unable to get a commitment from Pelosi to allow a vote on his amendment on the House floor that, with the support of pro-life groups, would remove abortion funding.


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

Fr. Jenkins should drop the charges against these pro-lifers. They are only doing what he has failed to do, defend life.

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."

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Gingrich working on documentary on Pope John Paul

Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the US House of Representatives who was received into the Church earlier this year, is working on a documentary on Pope John Paul’s 1979 apostolic journey to Poland. “Nine Days That Changed the World” will explore the relation between the journey and the subequent downfall of Communism in the nation.

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http://www.ninedaysthatchangedtheworld.com/

Abortion Fight Complicates Debate on Health Care

Didn't Barry promise us, right after Joe Wilson yelled "You lie!", that no federal money would be used for abortion? If so, this should be a done deal. So why is congress still debating it? Was Joe Wilson right?

Abortion opponents in both the House and the Senate are seeking to block the millions of middle- and lower-income people who might receive federal insurance subsidies to help them buy health coverage from using the money on plans that cover abortion. And the abortion opponents are getting enough support from moderate Democrats that both sides say the outcome is too close to call. Opponents of abortion cite as precedent a 30-year-old ban on the use of taxpayer money to pay for elective abortions.

Abortion-rights supporters say such a restriction would all but eliminate from the marketplace private plans that cover the procedure, pushing women who have such coverage to give it up. Nearly half of those with employer-sponsored health plans now have policies that cover abortion, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

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Bill Clinton Attacks Pro-Life Americans, Pushes "Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy"

Come on Bill...the "vast right-wing conspiracy' nonsense didn't cover up your affair with Monica, and it won't cover up Obama's radical socialist agenda.

Former President Bill Clinton has returned to peddle the myth that pro-life Americans and others opposed to the aggressive pro-abortion agenda of a president are part of some "vast right-wing conspiracy" that supposedly lies about and unfairly attacks presidents with whom they disagree.

The language first cropped up during the Clinton presidency during the 1990s as a way to dismiss attacks on his record without addressing the substance of the opposition.

Now, in a new interview with NBC's "Meet the Press," Clinton is again promoting what many observers consider psychobabble.

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Advancing a Pro-Life Culture in a Catholic Community With Pro-Abortion Politicians

This article is adapted from remarks that Archbishop Burke delivered at InsideCatholic.com's 14th Annual Partnership Dinner.

It is clear that we are experiencing today a period of intense and critical struggle in the advancement of the culture of life in our nation. The administration of our federal government openly and aggressively follows a secularist agenda. While it may employ religious language and even invoke the name of God, in fact, it proposes programs and policies for our people without respect for God and His Law.

In the words of the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, it proceeds "as if God did not exist" (Pope John Paul II, Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles laici, "On the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World," 30 December 1988, no. 34).

At the same time, there is a lack of unity among those dedicated to advance a culture which respects fully the gift of human life and its origin in procreation, that is, in the cooperation of man and woman with God through the conjugal union and through education in the home which they have formed by marriage. Recent statements, occasioned by the Rites of Christian Burial accorded to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, have manifested profound disagreement and even harsh criticism among those who are publicly committed to the Gospel of Life.

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Pro-Life Black Pastors Oppose ObamaCare

Here is the statement they released:

The Black Pro-life Movement is outraged by the recent endorsement of this administration's health care proposal by some clergy of the Church of God in Christ.

As God-fearing individuals we encourage COGIC leaders to read and evaluate the President's plan, including the Capps-Waxman Amendment, rather than merely parroting his words. If unborn children cannot depend on the Church to carefully examine this bill to see if their lives will be protected from state-funded genocide, on whom can they depend?

Such an endorsement does not consider the devastating impact abortion is having in the black community. Over 1,400 black babies each day are lynched out of their mothers' wombs. Clearly, this rate of prenatal murder in our community outpaces death by heart disease, diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS and violent crime combined.

We find it troubling that this endorsement does not acknowledge the deliberate targeting of the black community by Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry, nor decry the mental and physiological impact abortion is having on black women across America.

We recommend in the strongest terms possible that this endorsement be withdrawn until such time that the Obama administration adds language to the health care proposal that specifically prohibits taxpayer funded abortions.

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African-American Leaders Oppose Black Pastors Backing Pro-Abortion Health Care

CCHD...Too Little, Too Late

The US Bishops need to shut down CCHD. It is nothing but a 'Catholic' version of ACORN and its culture of corruption. The fact that it has 'Catholic' in its title only makes it more of an embarrassment and a disgrace to the Church.

A watchdog group which discovered that the Catholic Campaign for Human Development has given grants to groups which support abortion and same-sex “marriage” has said it is pleased that the campaign has taken steps to defund at least two of the organizations.

Bellarmine Veritas Ministry (BVM), which describes itself as “a Catholic grass-roots organizing ministry dedicated to truth and action,” in August announced its effort to address some “troubling groups” funded by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).

According to its website, the CCHD was founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops in 1970 to fund projects such as voter registration, community organizations, community-run schools, minority-owned cooperatives and credit unions, capital for industrial development and job training programs, and rural cooperatives. That sounds a LOT like the activities that ACORN is involved in.

The CCHD makes grants to organizations that work to eliminate the “root causes” of poverty and to enact “institutional change.” more ACORN language.

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Optional Memorial of St. Wenceslaus

The Saint of the Day for September 28 is St. Wenceslaus

St. Wenceslaus, duke of Bohemia, was born about the year 907 at Prague, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). His father was killed in battle when he was young, leaving the kingdom to be ruled by his pagan mother. Wenceslaus was educated by his grandmother, Ludmilla, also a saint. She taught him to be a Christian and to be a good king. She was killed by pagan nobles before she saw him king, but she left him with a deep committment to the Christian faith.

Throughout his life he preserved his virginity unblemished. As duke he was a father to his subjects, generous toward orphans, widows, and the poor. On his own shoulders he frequently carried wood to the houses of the needy. He often attended the funerals of the poor, ransomed captives, and visited those suffering in prison. He was filled with a deep reverence toward the clergy; with his own hands he sowed the wheat for making altar breads and pressed the grapes for the wine used in the Mass. During winter he would visit the churches barefoot through snow and ice, frequently leaving behind bloody footprints.

Wenceslaus was eighteen years old when he succeeded his father to the throne. Without regard for the opposition, he worked in close cooperation with the Church to convert his pagan country. He ended the persecution of Christians, built churches and brought back exiled priests. As king he gave an example of a devout life and of great Christian charity, with his people calling him "Good King" of Bohemia.

His brother Boleslaus, however, turned to paganism. One day he invited Wenceslaus to his house for a banquet. The next morning, on September 28, 929, as Wenceslaus was on the way to Mass, Boleslaus struck him down at the door of the church. Before he died, Wenceslaus forgave his brother and asked God's mercy for his soul. Although he was killed for political reasons, he is listed as a martyr since the dispute arose over his faith. This king, martyred at the age of twenty-two, is the national hero and patron of the Czech Republic. He is the first Slav to be canonized.

Movie Review: Surrogates - PG13

As the previews indicate, the story is set in the future, where most people (referred to as 'operators') have a robotic surrogate who lives their lives for them. The operator basically stays home in a lounge chair. They are connected to their surrogate by computer so that they see what the surrogate sees, hear what they hear, smell what they smell, etc. This has resulted in a substantial drop in crime rates, because if a surrogate is 'killed' or injured, there are fail safes in place to protect the operator.

The story opens with the murder of the son of Dr. Lionel Cantor, the inventor of the surrogates. Bruce Willis is FBI agent Tom Greer. Greer appears to be reluctantly using a surrogate for his job. He seems to want to live his own life. His wife also uses a surrogate, because it is how she copes with the loss of their son years earlier. Greer and his partner agent Peters are investigating the murder.

The investigation begins with a cult, led by the 'Prophet' (Ving Rhames), who doesn't believe in using surrogates. They also have a weapon that not only works on surrogates, but also on operators. It isn't too long before someone is able to penetrate the surrogate network and control other people's surrogates. This not only makes the investigation harder, but presents a threat to every operator.

Content Warnings: A sex scene early on, some gore and violence throughout.

Although set in the future, they are careful to not mention the year or to otherwise date the movie. Bruce Willis is very good. Very well done, and I highly recommend.

http://www.chooseyoursurrogate.com/

Optional Memorial of Sts. Cosmas and Damian

The Saints of the Day for September 26 are Sts. Cosmas and Damian


This is one of the most ancient feasts of the Church, and these two martyrs have been honored in the East and West in many ways, including the building of churches in their honor in Rome and Constantinople. Along with St. Luke, they are the patron saints of doctors. Little is known of their true history, but the legend that has come down to us is of very early origin.
Sts. Cosmas and Damian were venerated in the East as the "moneyless ones" because they practiced medicine gratis. According to the legend, they were twin brothers, born in Arabia, who studied in Syria and became skilled physicians. They were supposed to have lived on the Bay of Alexandretta in Cilicia, in what is now Turkey.

Since they were prominent Christians, they were among the first arrested when the great persecution under Diocletian began. Lysias, the governor of Cilicia, ordered their arrest, and they were beheaded. Their bodies, it was said, were carried to Syria and buried at Cyrrhus.

What is certain is that they were venerated very early and became patrons of medicine, known for their miracles of healing. The Emperor Justinian was cured by their intercession and paid special honor to the city of Cyrrhus where their relics were enshrined. Their basilica in Rome, adorned with lovely mosaics, was dedicated in the year 530. They are named in the Roman Martyrology and in the Canon of the Mass, testifying to the antiquity of their feast day.

The great honor in which they are held and the antiquity of their veneration indicate some historical memory among the early Christians who came out of the great persecutions with a new cult of Christian heroes. Cosmas and Damian were not only ideal Christians by their practice of medicine without fee, they also symbolized God's blessing upon the art of healing and that respect for every form of science, which is an important part of Christian tradition.

North Dakota Bishop Asks All Priests to Spend "At Least One Hour" Outside Abortion Facility

KUDO's to Bishop Aquila for providing leadership during the "40 days for life" campaign.

Bishop Samuel J. Aquila, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fargo, joined pro-life advocates for an hour of prayer this morning at 11:00, in front of a local abortion facility. His time of prayer coincides with the 40 Days for Life campaign, which began Sept. 23 in more than 200 communities nationwide.

This is the third annual 40 Days for Life campaign to be held in North Dakota.

In addition to his own participation in the pro-life campaign, Bishop Aquila also recently sent a letter to all priests of his diocese, asking them to participate in the 40 Days for Life campaign. In a Sept. 23 letter to priests, he wrote:

"I will pray on the sidewalk in front of the abortion facility on Friday, September 25, at 11 a.m. and again on Respect Life Sunday when I lead a Eucharistic procession to the abortion facility, carrying our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament to the site of death for so many of his children.

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Bishop Aquila prays at North Dakota abortion clinic as 40 Days for Life continues

Planned Parenthood Abortion Business Needs ACORN Treatment, DeFund It

Gary Bauer makes an excellent point.
Because of videos showing them helping a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute to conceal their prostitution business, ACORN was rightfully defunded by congress. There have also been several videos showing Planned Parenthood helping ladies posing as teenagers to conceal statutory rape. So why is Planned Parenthood still receiving federal funds?


For James O'Keefe, the sequel has been a blockbuster. As almost everyone knows by now, the investigative journalist and a friend secretly filmed themselves posing as a pimp and prostitute while ACORN workers advised them how to obtain a mortgage for a brothel of Latin American sex slaves.

But lost in the deserved attention to the ACORN sting film has been O'Keefe's first release, a 2007 expose of the systemic corruption at another liberal activist organization, Planned Parenthood.

ACORN is losing some of its federal funding in part because of O’Keefe’s video. But the Planned Parenthood story, in which O'Keefe and a friend posing as his pregnant minor girlfriend expose the abortion giant’s willingness to cover up alleged statutory rape, is just as incriminating.

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Brainwashing by the NEA

Sad to think that this is happening in America.

This is eerily similar to the songs that little kids in Communist North Korea sing about Jim Jong Il.

Review Ordered of Video Showing Students Singing Praises of President Obama

HealthCare Transparency?

Nat Hentoff Highlights Rationing of Seniors' Health Care in Column on Baucus Bill

Respected liberal pro-life columnist Nat Hentoff has a new opinion column he released yesterday that focuses on the concerns about rationing in the Baucus health care bill. After reading the legislative proposal, Hentoff agrees that provisions in the bill will lead to rationing of medical care for seniors.

The provisions have caused such a great last-minute problem that pro-life groups are working with two pro-life members of the Senate panel considering the bill on amendments to alleviate the concerns.

"In the Senate Finance Committee's health-care bill, there is a dangerous provision that could deny crucial health treatments for Medicare patients," he writes in a new column posted at WorldNetDaily.

"During the continuous, extensive coverage of this proposed legislation, there has been only very limited mention – and none I've seen in the mainstream press – of" the provision, he writes.

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Pro-Life Amendments to Baucus Bill Would Remove Financial Incentive for Rationing

Washington Times Confirms Baucus Health Care Bill has Rationing for Seniors

St. Finbar, bishop

The Saint of the Day for September 25 is St. Finbar.

Historically today is the Feast of St. Finbar who lived in the sixth century in Ireland. He was a native of Connaught, and instituted a monastery or school at Lough Eirc, to which such numbers of disciples flocked, that it changed a desert into a large city. This was the origin of the city of Cork, which was built chiefly upon stakes, in marshy little islands formed by the river Lea. His baptismal name was Lochan; the surname Finbarr, or Barr the White, was given to him after. He was Bishop of Cork seventeen years, and died in the midst of his friends at Cloyne, fifteen miles from Cork. His body was buried in his own cathedral at Cork, and his relics, some years after, were put in a silver shrine, and kept there, this great church bearing his name to this day. St. Finbarr's cave or hermitage was shown in a monastery which seems to have been begun by our Saint, and stood to the west of Cork.

Catholic rapper ‘in good spirits’ after multiple strokes

I can really relate to this story, for two reasons that some of you may not be aware of: First, in late 2006, I had 3 strokes. Like B, I know that Jesus not only saved me, but also helped me to recover. Two, I really like rap and hip/hop. I would listen to more of it, if most of the lyrics weren't so offensive. That's why I listen to B.

Bob Lesnefsky, better known as "Righteous B," is in the hospital following a series of three strokes that hit the 31 year-old Catholic rapper and founder of Dirty Vagabond Ministries seemingly out of nowhere. His brother Andy reports that "the B" keeps saying that he "feels really loved" and that "he has no idea how he can ever thank everyone" for the outpouring of support they’ve been receiving.

On Wednesday, September 16, Righteous B went to the hospital with what the family thought was a severe migraine. Doctors later confirmed that he had experienced multiple strokes affecting the right side of his brain. They also discovered the blood clot responsible for the damage, which had moved and was no longer in danger of causing another stroke. Throughout the whole ordeal, Righteous B has been in good spirits, saying "Jesus saved his life."

story here

http://www.righteousb.com/

Paul Kirk Gets Kennedy Seat, Pro-Abortion Replacement

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick chose a close friend of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy to fill his seat in the Senate. Patrick picked Paul Kirk, who was the chairman of the Democratic Party in the late 1980s, to replace Kennedy, the pro-life advocate turned champion of abortion.

Kirk said today that he would be a “voice and vote for [Kennedy’s] causes and his constituents.”

For the health care debate, that means another vote for the Kennedy or Baucus bills, both of which include abortion funding and rationing of health care for seniors and are vigorously opposed by pro-life groups.

In making the announcement of his selection for a replacement, Governor Patrick acknowledged that he was entrusting what Kennedy called the “cause of my life” – health care reform -- to Kirk.

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Pro-Life Leader Worries House Won't Allow Vote to Ban Abortion in Health Care

Stupak deserves a lot of credit for his efforts to exclude abortion from the healthcare bills.

In a new interview with the National Catholic register, pro-life Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan says there has been some progress but amendments are still needed to stop massive abortion subsidies and mandates.

Stupak recently said he had been unable to get a meeting with President Barack Obama but appears to have finally been given a chance to speak to him over the phone.

"I spoke to President Obama last week," he said of the latest developments.

"Since we've been back this week, I've spoken with the House leadership and those who support abortion in the public option. They all want to talk now. We do see some movement, but there has been no change in the language," Stupak added.

With the House Appropriations Committee defeating his amendment to stop abortion funding, the next step is to get the House Rules Committee to authorize a vote for his amendment on the floor.

But Stupak sounds pessimistic on the possibility.

"We still have to go to the House Rules Committee. There we will ask that the Hyde Amendment be put into the health-care bill. Since none of the right-to-life amendments have been allowed, I don't have much hope this will happen," he told NCR.

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Where does abortion come from?

If you have any doubts about where the desire to abort comes from, check out this video of the “Northern Illinois Women’s Center”. Warning: the video contains disturbing images.


Full story here

Catholic HHS Secretary Sebelius Says Being Prohibited from Communion "Painful"

Unbelieveable. Sebelius knowingly, persistently and publicly opposes Church teaching, and she's trying to play the victim? This is her choice, her decision.

Over a year after Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann publicly prohibited the pro-abortion U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from receiving Communion, Sebelius has broken her silence on the matter. Appealing to the "separation of church and state," Nonsense....as a Catholic, you cannot condone the killing of babies at any time, for any reason. Sebelius said the episcopal order was "one of the most painful things I have ever experienced" and implied that her pro-abortion position was part and parcel of upholding the rights of an inter-faith constituency. In a response given to LifeSiteNews.com, Archbishop Naumann of Kansas City said the secretary's argument "misrepresents the issue" to make it appear that "she was the victim of merely upholding the law." More nonsense. The babies are the victims Kathleen. Not you.

Former Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius proved her bona fides to the pro-abortion movement time and again through close associations with now-slain abortionist George Tiller and Planned Parenthood, and through numerous vetoes of pro-life legislation and common-sense regulations on the abortion-industry.

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From the catechism:

2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae," "by the very commission of the offense," and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

Our Lady of Ransom

September 24 is the Feast of Our Lady of Ransom.

Would you risk your life to free someone from a concentration camp? Would you take the place of a prisoner? Would you sacrifice comforts and even necessities to save a slave? Would you pray and do penance for the freedom of Christian captives?
These things were done by the followers of Christ from the earliest days, but especially during the Middle ages. At that time the enemies of Christ's Church had conquered a great part of Christian territory and had carried off into slavery many thousands of Christians. Hit and miss, though heroic, efforts to free these unfortunates had been made here and there.

The Church decided to organize the work of ransoming slaves. In 1198 St. John of Matha and St. Felix of Valois founded the Trinitarians. From then until 1787 they redeemed 900,000 captives. The Order of Our Lady of Ransom, called the Mercedarians, and founded by St. Peter Nolasco, ransomed 490,736 slaves between the years 1218 and 1632. St. Vincent de Paul, a slave himself, led his priests to save 1200 Christian captives in the short period between 1642 and 1660 at the staggering cost of 1,200,000 pounds of silver. An even greater achievement was the conversion of thousands in captivity, and steeling them against the sufferings of a cruel martyrdom for the faith.

All this has been admitted by a modern, competent Protestant historian, Bonet-Maury. He records that no expedition sent into the Barbary States by the powers of Europe or America equalled "the moral effect produced by the ministry of consolation, peace and abnegation, going even to the sacrifice of liberty and life, which was exercised by the humble sons of St. John of Matha, St. Peter Nolasco, and St. Vincent de Paul."

Our Blessed Mother herself appeared in a vision to St. Peter Nolasco, and requested him to found a religious order devoted to the rescue of captives. This was in 1218. Previous to that, since 1192, certain noblemen of Barcelona, Spain, had organized to care for the sick in hospitals and to rescue Christians from the Moors. St. Peter Nolasco, St. Raymond of Pennafort, and King James formed the new Order of Our Lady of Mercy. The group included religious priests who prayed and gathered the means, while the lay monks or knights went into the very camps of the Moors to buy back Christians, and, if necessary, take their very places. We have mentioned the magnitude of their success, a success that was won through the heavenly assistance of the Mother of Mercy, Our Lady of Ransom.

Cardinal Mahoney tries to dodge abortion in healthcare question

What an embarrassment, and a disgrace.

Cardinal Mahoney pretends that he doesn't know if abortion is included in the healthcare bills being considered. Although he does say it shouldn't be, he also pretends that Obama doesn't want it included.
Note to Cardinal Mahoney: Abortion IS included. Obama won't sign a healthcare bill that doesn't include it. Any questions? Please see what Cardinal Rigali and some other Bishops had to say....they are doing the right thing by supporting Catholic teaching and insisting that it be excluded.

Wisconsin bishop defends priests who added Latin Masses, dispensed with altar girls, lay Eucharistic ministers

I hope the USCCB is listening...

Bishop Robert Morlino has defended the work of the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest, a Spanish community that administers five parishes in his diocese. Priests of the community have added times for Confession (an hour before every Mass), increased the number of Latin Masses, and ended the practices of female altar servers and lay extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.

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Baucus Changes Health Care Bill, Reduces But Doesn't Eliminate Abortion Concern

Abortion has nothing to do with healthcare, except for injuring women, yet pro-aborts refuse to remove abortion from the healthcare bills being considered.

In an effort to gain more support from members of the Senate Finance Committee who do not support his bill, Sen. Max Baucus unveiled a modification of the legislation on Tuesday. The modified bill reduces -- but doesn't come anywhere close to eliminating -- the abortion concerns pro-life groups have.

The original Baucus bill made it so abortions allowed under the Hyde amendment could be mandated in the health care scheme it sets up.

For pro-life groups, this meant that if the Hyde amendment were ever overturned -- something pro-abortion groups admitted on Monday is on their agenda -- abortions for any reason could have been mandated in the required essential benefits.

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Tens of thousands to begin 40 Days for Life campaign on Wednesday

I had intended to post this reminder yesterday, but didn't get a chance to. The 40 Days for Life campaign begins today. There are several ways in which you may participate.

The 40 Days for Life autumn campaign will begin on Wednesday in 212 cities, starting efforts like prayer and fasting for an end to abortion, peaceful vigils outside abortion facilities, and grassroots community organizing.

The official effort is scheduled to last until November 1. David Bereit, national director of 40 Days for Life, said that “tens of thousands of faithful people” will participate in 45 American states, five Canadian provinces and Denmark.

The organization reports it has helped mobilize more than 215,000 people in its two years of work. Their efforts have reportedly saved 1,561 lives from abortion and have been endorsed by dozens of pro-life and pro-family groups.
Religious leaders, including more than 20 Catholic bishops, have also promoted the campaign.

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http://www.40daysforlife.com/

Memorial of St. Padre Pio

The Saint of the Day for September 23 is St. Padre Pio.

Born to a southern Italian farm family, the son of Grazio, a shepherd. At age 15 he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars in Morcone, and joined the order at age 19. He suffered several health problems, and at one point his family thought he had tuberculosis. He was ordained at age 22 on 10 August 1910.
While praying before a cross on September 20, 1918, Padre Pio received the stigmata. He is the first priest ever to be so blessed. As word spread, especially after American soldiers brought home stories of Padre Pio following WWII, the priest himself became a point of pilgrimage for both the pious and the curious. He would hear confessions by the hour, reportedly able to read the consciences of those who held back. He was reportedly able to bi-locate, levitate, and heal by touch.

In 1956 he founded the House for the Relief of Suffering, a hospital that serves 60,000 a year.

Today there are over 400,000 members worldwide in prayer groups began by Padre Pio in the 1920's.

His canonization miracle involved the cure of Matteo Pio Colella, age 7, the son of a doctor who works in the House for Relief of Suffering, the hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo. On the night of June 20, 2000, Matteo was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital with meningitis. By morning doctors had lost hope for him as nine of the boy's internal organs had ceased to give signs of life. That night, during a prayer vigil attended by Matteo's mother and some Capuchin friars of Padre Pio's monastery, the child's condition improved suddenly. When he awoke from the coma, Matteo said that he had seen an elderly man with a white beard and a long, brown habit, who said to him: "Don't worry, you will soon be cured." The miracle was approved by the Congregation and Pope John Paul II on 20 December 2001.

Chairman Steele Says Pro-Abortion Candidates "Absolutely" Welcomed by GOP

What a letdown. An RNC chairman who disagrees with the RNC pro-life platform. This reminds me of Kerry, Kennedy, and a few other Democrats who were once pro-life, but sold out and turned pro-abort to advance their political career.

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.

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Cardinal says Communion received kneeling and on the tongue is most reverent

I hope the good Cardinal shares this with the USCCB.

In a homily Sunday at the Cathedral of Lima, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani said, “The most respectful manner of receiving the Eucharist is kneeling and on the tongue. We must recover the respect and reverence that the Eucharist deserves, because the love of Jesus is the center of our Christian life. The soul is at stake.”

During his homily the cardinal explained that this is the most solemn form of receiving Communion and those participating in the Mass followed his recommendation as they approached to receive the Eucharist.

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Funeral Rites Should be Denied to Publicly Pro-Abort Catholics: Archbishop Burke

One of my favorite Bishops.

In an address to InsideCatholic.com's 14th Annual Partnership Dinner Friday evening, Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Vatican's Apostolic Signatura, said that funeral rites should not be given to pro-abortion Catholic politicians. He also defended the duty of Catholics to speak in charity against the scandal caused by such figures.

"To deny these is not a judgment of the soul, but a recognition of the scandal and its effects," he said.

The archbishop said that, while "we must speak the truth in charity," Catholics also "should have the courage to look truth in the eye and call things by their common names."

"It is not possible to be a practicing Catholic and to conduct oneself in this manner," he told the crowd of about 200 guests.

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Archbishop Burke repeats: no Communion, no Catholic funeral for pro-abortion politicians

Archbishop Burke Criticizes Baucus Health Care Bill

In an appearance on FOX News on Sunday, the Vatican's Archbishop Raymond Burke reinforced warnings from the pro-life community over Democratic Sen. Max Baucus' proposed health care legislation. Pro-life leaders say that the bill poses too much of a threat to the unborn, elderly, disabled, and chronically ill.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to meet this week to vote on the plan, the latest version of the Democrats' health care overhaul to be introduced to the Senate.

"The Church certainly wants to support the provision of health care for those who are in most need, [but] we can never accept the mandate of abortion and this is abortion, provision of abortion, and this is in the Baucus bill. So it's certainly not acceptable," said Archbishop Burke, the head of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest court.

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Media Analysis Says Pro-Life Group Right, Baucus Health Care Bill Funds Abortions

Health care reform must recognize dignity of every person, Missouri bishop says

New Swine Flu Vaccines Don't Rely on Cells From Babies Killed in Abortion

A pro-life group that monitors vaccinations is pleased to report that the new H1N1 swine flu vaccines the federal government will be distributing next month do not rely on cells from babies killed in abortions. Other vaccinations have been condemned for relying on such cells to formulate the vaccines.

Children of God for Life tells LifeNews.com that four new H1N1 (swine flu) vaccines approved late last week by the FDA do not use aborted fetal cell lines

The four vaccines are made by Sanofi Pasteur, Novartis, CSL and Medimmune and all are using eggs from baby chickens instead of cells from humans.

"We are pleased that the pharmaceutical companies have chosen these cell lines for this year's H1N1 vaccines," Debi Vinnedge, the group's director, told LifeNews.com. "There are enough concerns about public health and safety without compounding the problems with moral issues."


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Vatican to investigate miracle attributed to US nun

A New Jersey diocese has completed its investigation of a radical diminution of a birth defect attributed to the intercession of the Servant of God Mother Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory (1891-1984), foundress of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints will now investigate the reported miracle.

The Irish-born nun served in the United States for most of her life.

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St. Thomas of Villanova

The Saint of the Day for September 22 is St. Thomas of Villanova

St. Thomas was born in Spain in 1488, and inherited a special love toward the poor from his parents; he often gave away his very clothes. After the death of his father and mother, he used his inheritance to sustain poor virgins. He became a lecturer in the higher schools at Alcala, entered the order of the Hermits of St. Augustine in 1516 at Villanova, and acted as court preacher to Charles V. Against his will he was made archbishop of Valencia (1544), then exercised the office as a zealous shepherd of souls and a great friend of the poor. The bed in which he died was borrowed back from the one to whom he had given it as alms shortly before. During the sixteenth century he was called the "apostle of the Spaniards."

Black Pro-Life Leader Says Opposition to Pro-Abortion Health Care Plans Not Racist

A top black pro-life advocate says there is nothing racist about opposing the health care plans pending in Congress because they force taxpayers to finance abortions. Dr. Alveda King is responding to critics who say such opposition is racist and point to the outburst from Rep. Joe Wilson.

During President Barack Obama's health care speech two weeks ago, Wilson shouted "You lie," as Obama ticked off a list of complaints about the bills he thought were false.

The Wilson comment has prompted some political observers to suggest that opposition to the three main bills -- HR 3200 in the House and the Kennedy and Baucus measures in the Senate -- is racially motivated. King says that's not so.

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Kmiec: Obama’s views are ‘catechism come to life’

Hey Doug, this is getting embarrassing. Please stop trying to convice everyone that the most pro-abort president in history is pro-life.




Kmiec also recounted a conversation in which then-Senator Obama called abortion the “taking of the life of a child”:


Mr Obama asked Prof. Kmiec: "What would cause a mother to contemplate taking the life of a child? It has to be something awful. It has to be a woman without shelter, without insurance, without the next meal on the table." Not true. You can't blame every abortion on poverty.

Prof. Kmiec admits that this approach to abortion is not the ideal solution, saying that poverty or not being married is no excuse to take the life of a child. However, he believes one should be realistic about the problem and if the abortion rate could be reduced - and some studies point out that tackling poverty could lead to fewer abortions - "this seems to me a good interim step".

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Here's a reminder from the catechism:

2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae," "by the very commission of the offense," and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

Born-Again Christian Gavin Mcleod Stars in New Faith-Based Film

As Murray Slaughter, he wrote for airhead anchor Ted Baxter on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" for seven years. As Merrill Stubing, he captained the "Love Boat" for nearly a decade after that. Today, iconic TV actor Gavin Macleod says "I know who my admiral is," referring to his faith in God.

Macleod, 78, is a born again Christian now piloting a career in the Christian film industry, and starring in the movie "The Secrets of Jonathan Perry," which opens this weekend.

"I've worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Gregory Peck, Mary Tyler Moore," he told FOX News in an exclusive interview. "[But] the biggest honor I have ever had was to play the role of Jonathan Sperry in this simple but special film."

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Feast of St. Matthew

The Saint of the Day for September 21 is St. Matthew.

No one was more shunned by the Jews than a publican, who was a Jew working for the Roman enemy by robbing his own people and making a large personal profit. Publicans were not allowed to trade, eat, or even pray with others Jews.

One day, while seated at his table of books and money, Jesus looked at Matthew and said two words: "Follow me." This was all that was needed to make Matthew rise, leaving his pieces of silver to follow Christ. His original name, "Levi," in Hebrew signifies "Adhesion" while his new name in Christ, Matthew, means "Gift of God." The only other outstanding mention of Matthew in the Gospels is the dinner party for Christ and His companions to which he invited his fellow tax-collectors. The Jews were surprised to see Jesus with a publican, but Jesus explained that he had come "not to call the just, but sinners."

St. Matthew is known to us principally as an Evangelist, with his Gospel being the first in the New Testament. His Gospel was written in Aramaic, the language that our Lord Himself spoke and was written to convince the Jews that their anticipated Messiah had come in the person of Jesus.

Not much else is known about Matthew. According to tradition, he preached in Egypt and Ethiopia and further places East. Some legends say he lived until his nineties, dying a peaceful death, others say he died a martyr's death.

In the traditional symbolization of the evangelists, based on Ezech. 1:5-10 and Rev. 4:6-7, the image of the winged man is accorded to Matthew because his Gospel begins with the human genealogy of Christ.

Movie Review: Whiteout - R

Approximately 50 years ago, a Russian plane crashed in Antarctica when the co-pilot went bad and shot the crew, who shot him in return. Now, 50 years later U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko is the law enforcement at a government research station in Antarctica. A body is found on a desolate area of ice, and Carrie investigates. Soon, the plane the plane that crashed 50 years ago is found, and a connection is drawn between the body and the plane. The plot revolves around 2 questions: Where are 6 containers that are missing from the plane? And what what was in them? The factor that adds to the suspense is that because of the investigation, Carrie and a couple of people helping her miss the last plane out and are now stuck at the research station for 6 months.


Content warnings: A few scenes with blood, a scene with frostbite, and one scene of Carrie in the shower (only seen through the shower door).


Plenty of action, and very suspenseful. The term whiteout refers to a snow storm, and those scenes were particularly awesome. The story was well-told, but a bit drawn out. There is a good plot twist toward the end. Overall, a good movie worth seeing.

http://whiteoutmovie.warnerbros.com/

Young Chicago woman runs half marathon to enter convent

A young woman has completed a Chicago half-marathon in a fundraising campaign to help eliminate her personal debt so she can enter religious life.

Alicia Torres, a 2007 graduate of Loyola University Chicago, began “The Nun Run” campaign with the support of friends. She and five companions ran the 13.1-mile Chicago Half Marathon on September 13 to raise funds to help pay down her debt.

In a Thursday e-mail interview with CNA, Torres said she plans to be a part of a new Franciscan community at the Mission of Our Lady of the Angles in Chicago’s West Humboldt Park neighborhood. The community is under obedience to Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal Francis George and will be under the oversight of Fr. Bob Lombardo, CFR.

“It is a great joy and honor for me to be part of this beautiful work for God,” she said.

Torres said the Chicago Half Marathon went “tremendously well” despite an ankle injury two weeks prior to the race.

“This was my first distance run since freshman year of high school when I ran cross country. I was able to finish 13.1 miles on Sunday in 2:40:03 (Thanks be to God!).”

Though “extremely exhausted,” Torres said it was motivating for her to offer a specific intention for each mile.

She reported that she has raised at least $28,000, not including donations sent to the Laboure Society within the past two weeks. The Laboure Society, an orgsanization dedicated to eliminating debt for prospective entrants to religious life or the priesthood, is helping the young woman.

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Optional Memorial of St. Januarius

The Saint of the Day for September 19 is St. Januarius

Together with his deacons Socius and Festus, and his lector Desiderius, Januarius, bishop of Beneventum, was subjected to most atrocious torturing during the Diocletian persecution (about 304). Nevertheless, with God's aid they were preserved unmaimed. The wild animals let loose upon them would not attack. Beheaded at Puteoli, their bodies were reverently interred in the neighboring cities. Eventually the remains of St. Januarius became the prized possession of the city of Naples.
"Even to the present time the blood of the saint that is preserved in a glass vial will become fluid shortly after it is brought close to the head of the saint; then it bubbles up in a remarkable manner, as if it had just been shed" (Breviary). Cardinal Schuster makes this statement in his Liber Sacramentorum (vol. 8, p. 233): "The author has seen the marvel of the blood liquefaction at closest range and can give witness to the fact. Taking into consideration all the scientific investigations that have been made, he would say that a natural explanation of the phenomena does not seem possible."

White House Still Refusing to Endorse Abortion-Excluding Language in Health Care Bill

Right after Barry told us that illegal imigrants wouldn't be covered, and before he told us that abortion wouldn't be covered, Joe Wilson yelled "You Lie!" Was Joe right? If Barry was telling the truth, this shouldn't be an issue.

Despite the Obama administration's repeated dismissal of the controversy over abortion funding in the health care reform bill, a confrontation between White House officials and Americans United for Life (AUL) Thursday revealed what pro-life leaders have been warning all along: that the White House is unlikely to put its money where its mouth is and support language in the bill that would explicitly prevent taxpayer funds from going to abortion and abortion providers.

Consonant with the warnings of pro-life forces, the outcome of the meeting helped clarify the extent of President Obama's commitment to supporting the stated health care interests of the abortion lobby. Organizations such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL have called repeatedly for the "right" of abortion to be broadly expanded through the bill.

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Notre Dame President to Join March for Life, Form Pro-Life Task Force on Abortion

If Fr. Jenkins were sincere about this pro-life effort, he would never have had the most pro-abort president in history as a commencement speaker and given him an honorary degree.

In apparent attempt to regain favor with pro-life Catholics upset that Notre Dame invited pro-abortion President Barack Obama to give its commencement address and gave him an honorary degree, university president John Jenkins says he will attend the 2010 March for Life.

Jenkins is also setting up a task force to promote the pro-life perspective on campus.

"Coming out of the vigorous discussions surrounding President Obama’s visit last spring, I said we would look for ways to engage the Notre Dame community with the issues raised in a prayerful and meaningful way," Jenkins writes in a note to Notre Dame staff and students.

"As our nation continues to struggle with the morality and legality of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and related issues, we must seek steps to witness to the sanctity of life. I write to you today about some initiatives that we are undertaking," he said.

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Pro-Life Catholics Express Skepticism About Notre Dame President's Overtures


http://www.replacejenkins.com/

St. Joseph of Cupertino

The Saint of the Day for September 18 is St. Joseph of Cupertino.

Joseph of Cupertino was such an extraordinary saint that his fellow-Christians could scarcely cope with him. First of all he was forgetful, even as a child, often not turning up for the scanty meals his impoverished widowed mother prepared. He would wander about the village of Cupertino, Italy, where he was born, gazing open-mouthed at everything. He found it hard to learn. And he was clumsy.
When he was seventeen he decided he wanted to become a monk or friar. The Franciscans would not take him because, they said, he was too stupid. The Capuchins threw him out after eight months because he broke everything. Eventually a Franciscan house at La Grotella accepted him as a stableboy.

He prayed and fasted and did his best to perform every task to perfection. Eventually the delighted brothers decided to accept him as one of their equals, and in 1628 he was ordained priest. From that time onwards Joseph of Cupertino was continually passing into ecstatic trances, sometimes even appearing to float above the ground. No meals could be taken in the monastery without some extraordinary interruption because of Joseph's miraculous behaviour. For thirty-five years the community decided that he should be kept out of the choir and refectory.

Naturally enough his miracles and above all the reports of his supernatural levitations attracted countless curious visitors. In 1653 the church authorities transferred him to a Capuchin friary in the hills of Pietarossa and kept him completely out of sight. Finally Saint Joseph was allowed to join his own order at a place called Osima, but he was still kept out of sight until his death in 1663. All this he bore without the remotest complaint. Fittingly the twentieth century has made the saint patron of pilots and airline passengers.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Paul Nichols does it again.

New Animated Catholic Film Inspires Catholic Youth to Live With Fearless Faith

In an age increasingly resistant to faith, no one is more vulnerable to secular attacks than our children. Catholic Heroes of the Faith presents "The Story of Saint Perpetua", a riveting, true account of a young woman whose faith and eventual martyrdom has left a lasting impression throughout the centuries. This first episode of the new animated series will inspire Catholic youth to respond with fearless courage and unselfish love in the midst of a godless culture.

According to the review on the United States Catholic Council of Bishop's website, "This is an uplifting half-hour animated dramatization of the arrest, imprisonment and martyrdom of saints Perpetua, Felicity and their companions, in the North African city of Carthage circa 203 AD. Aimed at viewers eight and up, the hand-drawn cartoon adheres to the journal Perpetua kept in prison, and shows her pagan father's efforts to convince her to abandon the faith, her bold testimony during her trial and -- as recorded at the end of the journal by a follower -- her fortitude in the arena."

http://www.catholicheroesofthefaith.com/


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ACORN = RICO: A Call for Federal Investigation.

Note: It is now 4 videos that have been produced showing Acorn corruption.

Now that a third ACORN video has surfaced, a pattern emerges of ACORN workers willing to help people engage in prostitution, tax fraud, housing fraud, and even human trafficking. Under federal law, a RICO investigation is now warranted. Three strikes and you’re out, ACORN.

Videos show ACORN employees offering to help two undercover reporters/filmmakers posing as a prostitute and pimp in falsifying tax returns and getting a federal loan to buy a house that they could use as a brothel for underage prostitutes smuggled in from El Salvador.

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Finders Keepers?

This is really cute. The father is so happy to catch a foul ball at a Phillies game. But the littlest Phillie fan has other plans...

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Florida high school officials going to court for praying

If I hadn't seen the state of Florida in the headline, I would have asked "In what country is this happening?" The 1st amendment does NOT prohibit prayer. It protects religious freedom.

In what critics are characterizing as the “criminalization of prayer,” a principal and an athletic director at a Florida high school are facing criminal contempt charges for violating a federal order prohibiting prayer at school events.

Principal Frank Lay and Athletic Director Robert Freeman at Pace High School in the Florida panhandle county of Santa Rosa could face fines, jail time and loss of their retirement benefits.

During a luncheon to honor those who contributed toward the public school's athletic Field House, Principal Lay reportedly asked Freeman to offer a blessing for the meal. Students were not present at the time of the blessing.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) charged that the action constituted a violation of a previous court order and accused Lay and Freeman of contempt of court. That figures...The Anti-Christian Liberties Union is constantly trying to suppress religious freedom.

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Florida high school officials’ prayer did not violate court order, judge rules

The First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.