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IT was one of those quiet summer Sunday mornings when I knew the priest in a distant parish would be away and he would have a stand in for the holiday. I sneaked in to this famous citadel of Pre-Raphaelite beauty and, like most Anglicans, sat as far from the front as possible. The choir sang the opening of the Eucharist, the Gospel was read – Jesus walked on the water and the priest started to preach. Then followed a 20-minute thesis on why the Bible had it wrong. Jesus couldn't possibly walk on water – that would defy nature...

Prohibition of drink 1146. What does the Catholic Church do to wipe out the drink evil which causes so much misery in so many homes? We Protestants fight for prohibition. The Catholic Church drills into every one of her children that drunkenness is an unjustifiable sin. But we refuse to admit that prohibition should be enforced upon all. The particular abuses do not justify so sweeping a thing as abolition of drink altogether. You don't throttle a man because one tooth is aching. The Church loes her duty in this matter in a sane way. Meantime, drunkenness is not the...

I just returned from Washington, DC. The City is charged with a frenzied war of words and increasing activity, all revolving around the “Health Care Reform” package which Speaker Nancy Pelosi is trying to get passed quickly. Today, in a rare Saturday session, the “showdown” in the “People’s House” begins. The very term “People’s House” developed in reference to the House of Representatives because it has been perceived as closer to the people then the Senate. The House, until the passage of the 17th Amendment to the US Constitution, was the only legislative branch to be elected. Senators were chosen...

Abortion is Not Health Care November 6th, 2009 by Joseph Meaney Bumper stickers with the message "Abortion is Not Health Care" have started appearing around the country. They could also say infanticide and euthanasia are not health care.Our first child, Therese Marie, was born on September 29th the Feast of the Archangels. While in the hospital I met the mother of a child born prematurely and who had to be treated in the neo-natal intensive care unit. That baby was fortunate to arrive in the USA and not Great Britain.Sarah Capewell’s boy Jayden came prematurely at 21 weeks and 5...

Gambling 1137. Why does not your Church condemn gambling and lotteries as sinful and immoral? Because they are not sinful and immoral in themselves. They can be made the occasion of sin, as when a passion for gambling leads a man to spend money which is not his own, or which is necessary for the upkeep of wife or children, or to pay his lawful debts. But if one can honestly afford it, he is free to invest in lotteries, or to indulge in the amusement of a wager, unless he is violating a law of the state. 1138. Does...

A priest in the Diocese of Scranton has been removed as administrator of three Throop parishes after he inadvertently displayed four photos of what a diocese spokesman called "minimally attired adult males" before the 8 a.m. Mass at St. Bridget's Church on Oct. 25. The Rev. Edward P. Lyman was using his personal computer to project an informational DVD about the diocesan Annual Appeal fundraiser when he accidentally showed the "inappropriate personal photographs" that were stored on his computer, according to a diocesan statement read at the Throop Masses on Sunday. Diocese spokesman William Genello said the photos were not...

Rome, Italy, Nov 6, 2009 / 02:58 pm (CNA).- Speaking to Vatican Radio on Tuesday, Cardinal Franc Rode shed more light on the reasons behind the ongoing apostolic visitation of female U.S. religious orders, saying that a “secularist mentality” and a “feminist spirit” evident in the communities were among the factors leading to the visitation.The apostolic visitation was launched earlier this year with the stated aim of helping strengthen religious communities in the U.S., which are suffering from a sharp decline in vocations.In his Tuesday interview with Vatican Radio, Cardinal Rode said “some criticism arrived from United States and...

Catholic League president Bill Donohue speaks to the way Catholics and Muslims are treated in the upcoming film, “2012”:When we got word recently that the movie “2012” depicts the Vatican being blown up, along with the famous statue from Rio, Christ the Redeemer, we were unmoved. Why? Because this occurs during the end of the world in a massive destruction. This kind of sensationalism, we reasoned, is standard fare for director Roland Emmerich: he is the guru of the “blow ‘em up” genre of movies. But now we’ve learned that while Catholics get theirs, Muslims are spared. Out of fear,...

Same-sex relationships go against Scripture and morality, according to a letter mailed Monday by members of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bessemer City. The congregation recently drafted the letter stating its disdain for a resolution passed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. “We are writing to express our disappointment with the recent Churchwide Assembly’s approval of the resolution to allow gay and lesbian pastors,” the letter states. “We also disapprove of the resolution to find ways for congregations to recognize same-gender relationships.” The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted in August to open the...

A priest in the Diocese of Scranton has been removed as administrator of three Throop parishes after he inadvertently displayed four photos of what a diocese spokesman called "minimally attired adult males" before the 8 a.m. Mass at St. Bridget's Church on Oct. 25. The Rev. Edward P. Lyman was using his personal computer to project an informational DVD about the diocesan Annual Appeal fundraiser when he accidentally showed the "inappropriate personal photographs" that were stored on his computer, according to a diocesan statement read at the Throop Masses on Sunday. Diocese spokesman William Genello said the photos were not...

Linda Blair, Max Von Sydow and Jason Miller in the 1973 film The Exorcist (CNS Photo) An American exorcist has said the film The Exorcist led people to believe wrongly that the devil could "come and zap them" when in fact the devil is afraid of the power of Jesus inside them. Mgr John Esseff, retired exorcist of the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, told an audience of 400 students at Bowling Green State University, Ohio that the power of Jesus within them was "enormous". He said: "The devil is afraid of you - if you would just awaken to who...

Dallas, TX (LifeNews.com) -- The late-term abortion practitioner at the new abortion center in Dallas has admitted in a shocking interview that he kills unborn children during abortions. Curtis Boyd is one of the few abortion practitioners to admit what he is doing, but he has no qualms with his job. Boyd opened the first abortion center in Dallas in 1973 after the Supreme Court handed down the roe v. Wade decision allowing virtually unlimited abortions. In an interview with WFAA yesterday after news surfaced that he re-opened his late-term abortion center, Southwestern Women's Surgery Center, in the huge metro...

Emily's List spends millions of dollars supporting the campaigns of pro-abortion rights women. They advocate for complete and unrestricted access to abortion. EMILY's List boasts that they are the largest political action committee (PAC) with more than 100,000 members. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY's List has raised over $240 million and claims to have helped elect 80 pro-choice Democratic women to the U.S. House, 15 to the U.S. Senate, and nine women Governors to state houses. Pro-abortion women candidates benefit greatly when landing an endorsement from Emily's List. For the 2007-2008 election cycle, Emily's List raised $43 million to...

[snip] When [Christopher Wenthe became a priest], he didn't sell his scattergun, his bow or his fishing rods. Nor, in his ever-more-detailed studies of the Bible and the church, did he find conflict between his evolving life as a man of God, and his past -- and current -- life as a hunter. And killer. "It comes down to, 'Is it moral or not' to hunt? If it weren't, I wouldn't do it," he said. "To be honest, I haven't given it much thought. But I believe hunting is moral. We have a long tradition as Catholics and an extensive...

Just this year, Dobson gave 2009 Miss USA 1st runner-up Carrie Prejean the same treatment. To her credit, she had spoken out against same-sex marriage during the pageant, yet she seemed to have no moral dilemma when it came to posing for some prurient photographs. Dobson praised her for the former and had little to say about the latter, holding her out as a fine example of Christian womanhood who had been martyred by the media. I was still program director at a Christian station at that time, and we were given a choice between airing the Prejean interview or...

Last night, by a comfortable margin of 53-47%, the citizens of Maine became the 31st state to vote down gay marriage (as has every single state that has given its citizens a chance to vote on the issue). Not surprisingly, the mainstream liberal press is beside itself with frustration, especially because it drives yet another nail in the "inevitability" and "wrong side of history" arguments we are often fed. As I wrote on National Review this morning, Maine voted for traditional marriage "despite it being a liberal state, despite a 2-1 funding disadvantage, despite aggressive legal action against traditional-marriage...

Conservative leaders today are rejoicing over the out come of last nights 2009 election victories that have taken place. Many of the conservative leaders and their base are touting that they can see the light at the end of the tunnel and our optimistic. Last night’s victories are quite encouraging in light of the past shellacking that conservatism and the Republican Party have taken but they are the last struggling convulsions of a nation on the precipice of total collapse. The absolute reality is that the conservative, optimistic ideal cannot support the excessive weight of the current crises and realities...

The past 12 months have been noteworthy for the number of Roman Catholics elected or appointed to top political posts, and yesterday's election results kept the streak going. The winners of the two biggest races, gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey, are Catholic Republicans who appear to be committed to their faith. Virginia's governor-elect, Bob McDonnell, has talked about his Catholic upbringing shaping his political views. New Jersey's governor-elect, Chris Christie, and his wife send their kids to parochial schools. The relatively new heads of the two major political parties are both Catholics whose lives have been deeply influenced...

On the one hand, there is the very welcome bulletin insert disseminated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in October that reads, in part, “Tell Congress: Remove Abortion Funding & Mandates from Needed Health Care Reform: Congress is preparing to debate health care reform legislation on the House and Senate floors. Genuine health care reform should protect the life and dignity of all people from the moment of conception until natural death. The U.S. bishops’ conference has concluded that all committee-approved bills are seriously deficient on the issues of abortion and conscience, and do not provide adequate...

Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights'The woman was a fanatic and a fundamentalist and a fraud, and millions of people are much worse off because of her life'. NEW YORK, NY (Catholic League) - On October 30, atheist Christopher Hitchens appeared on Dennis Miller’s Internet radio show condemning Mother Teresa, yet again. Here is one of his choice statements: “The woman was a fanatic and a fundamentalist and a fraud, and millions of people are much worse off because of her life, and it’s a shame there is no hell for your bitch to go to.” Catholic League...

COLUMNS Monday, 02 November 2009 The Bishops Go On Offense By Robert Royal    A Notre Dame professor reminded me this week of an old football saying: offense sells seats, but defense wins games. Painfully true about the problems of the Irish this year, but I’ve never thought much of that proposition. Taken to its logical extreme, the most you could hope for relying solely on defense is 0-0 ties. Far preferable is the profound and incarnational wisdom of the coach who said that “prayers work better when the linemen are big.�I’ll drop the football metaphors, not least because, in...

MARSHFIELD, Mo. — Prosecutors have charged four Amish bishops in southwest Missouri with failing to report suspected child sex abuse. The four men were charged Tuesday with one misdemeanor count each. Missouri law requires people with "responsibility for the care of children" to report suspected child abuse. Examples of mandatory reporters are doctors, nurses, social workers and teachers and ministers who are not engaged in a "privileged communication." A lawyer for the four men questioned whether the law applies.

Prayers/Scriptures for Election Presidential Prayer Team website ^ | 2004 | Presidential Prayer Team Posted on Friday, February 01, 2008 10:00:17 PM by Joann37 I found some Scripture references pertaining to the 2004 Presidential Election at the Presidential Prayer Team website. But the actual Scriptures were left out; only the references and the way in which we could apply them were listed. So I added the Scriptures (all are from the NIV). Many of us here are so concerned about the outcome of Tuesday's election. So PLEASE consider taking these Scriptures (and distributing to others, if you feel so compelled)...

Last week I blogged about the outrageous episode of Dominican Sister Donna Quinn's volunteer work at an abortion clinic being exposed. I urged AmP readers to take action and email her superior, Sr. Patricia Mulcahey, OP. No doubt in part because of your efforts, Sr. Mulcahey has now responded on behalf of her congregation: From Pat Mulcahy, Prioress of the Sinsinaw Dominicans On Behalf of Council Members, Erica, Howard, Jo, Liz, Mary Ellen, Sue, TerePublic Statement of the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation"Several months ago the leadership of the Sinsinawa Dominicans was informed that Sr. Donna Quinn, OP, acted as a...

On October 30, atheist Christopher Hitchens appeared on Dennis Miller’s Internet radio show condemning Mother Teresa, yet again. Here is one of his choice statements: “The woman was a fanatic and a fundamentalist and a fraud, and millions of people are much worse off because of her life, and it’s a shame there is no hell for your bitch to go to.” Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded today: I once told Hitchens that one of the real reasons he hates Mother Teresa has to do with his socialist ideology: he believes the state should care for the poor, not...

ELCA synods will not have the option of upholding traditional Christian teaching on marriage and homosexuality in their standards for pastors and other rostered leaders according to a draft of candidacy rules released Oct. 10 by the ELCA churchwide organization. No synod or bishop may make decisions on ministry standards that differ from the new policies of the ELCA churchwide organization as defined by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, the policy draft explains. The ELCA now allows pastors and other rostered leaders to be in committed same-sex relationships. “By the governing documents, all candidacy and call decisions are made on an...

In 1943, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a letter from his prison cell in Nazi Germany to a young couple who had just married: Marriage is more than your love for each other. It has a higher dignity and power, for it is God's holy ordinance, through which he wills to perpetuate the human race until the end of time. In your love you see only your two selves in the world, but in marriage you are a link in the chain of the generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to his glory, and calls into his kingdom....

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The western North Dakota bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America says congregations are wrestling with a national church policy that allows gay and lesbian people to serve as pastors or in other church leadership positions. Bishop Mark Narum, who leads 192 congregations that make up the Western North Dakota ELCA Synod, said he met with pastors of those congregations this month. He described it as a "wonderful open conversation." "But there is a whole group in the middle of the church wrestling over, 'What does it mean to be faithful?'" he said. "An important...

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan has condemned The New York Times -- blasting the Gray Lady and its columnist Maureen Dowd for what he says are examples of unfair, prejudicial and just downright mean anti-Catholicism. Dolan used his blog last Thursday on the Archdiocese of New York's Web site to rail against the Times a day after the paper refused to print his critique as an op-ed piece. He singled out Dowd -- a poison-penned, Pulitzer winner and former Catholic-school girl -- for "the most combustible," "intemperate and scurrilous" "diatribe" she wrote on Oct. 25, which "rightly never would have...

The director of the Planned Parenthood abortion center in Bryan/College Station, Texas has resigned her job. Abby Johnson had worked at the clinic for eight years, but departed from the facility following a profound change of heart about abortion. The Planned Parenthood clinic was the location of the first-ever 40 Days for Life campaign in the fall of 2004, and the prayer and fasting initiative has been held outside the doors of Johnson's former workplace five additional times since 40 Days for Life began its rapid spread to 282 cities across all 50 states and several other countries.

Planned Parenthood has been a part of Abby Johnson's life for the past eight years; that is until last month, when Abby resigned. Johnson said she realized she wanted to leave, after watching an ultrasound of an abortion procedure. "I just thought I can't do this anymore, and it was just like a flash that hit me and I thought that's it," said Jonhson. She handed in her resignation October 6. Johnson worked as the Bryan Planned Parenthood Director for two years. According to Johnson, the non-profit was struggling under the weight of a tough economy, and changing it's business...

Lutheran CORE Responds to ELCA Congregational Mission Director 09-246-JB CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two leaders of the Lutheran Coalition for Renewal (CORE) said, with a "resounding yes," they are serious about their endeavors as an organization. They also said they "take no joy in following a process that will likely lead Lutheran CORE to depart from the ELCA's (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) institutional life and ministry." The comments were in a letter written by the Rev. Kenneth H. Sauer and the Rev. Paull E. Spring -- both former ELCA synod bishops -- in response to an Oct. 12 open letter...

A disturbing though came to me that I can't counter the way I would like to. My thought is this: What if life was like a ride at Disneyland? Maybe we have been spirits waiting in line for a body just like people wait in line for an amusement ride. Worldly life is then like a rollercoaster ride where nothing is ultimately real. Good and evil are just part of the ride and may not even be part of the spiritual world. What's important to the spirits is that you get a body. And anything can happen to you: short...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Charleston is going by its full name again. Since August, a black cloth had hung over the word "Lutheran" on the church's sign on Corridor G. It was Pastor Richard Mahan's way of protesting the vote by leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to allow gays and lesbians in lifelong, monogamous relationships to serve as clergy. The church removed the cloth a little more than a week ago. In its place, a new symbol hung for about a week: A sign that stated "Reclaiming the Name" in red letters, under...

The early 21st century stands as a period of profound moral confusion. On the one hand, mothers and doctors are permitted to crack open the skulls and suck out the brains of nearly-born babies with government sanction under the banner of partial birth abortion. Should these very same people hike into the woods and crack open a bald eagle egg, they could face serious prison time. It would therefore seem that contemporary society is marked by two seemingly contradictory extremes—- that of extreme license and that of excessive control. However, upon closer inspection it could be concluded that these conditions...

(In August the churchwide assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America adopted proposals to make it possible for Lutherans in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships to serve as ELCA associates in ministry, clergy, deaconesses and diaconal ministers.) In the wake of the ELCA assembly vote to allow gay and lesbian people to serve in the clergy or other leadership positions, the denomination's Presiding Bishop, the Rev. Mark Hanson, has told his bishops and laity to expect some congregations to leave. Whether ELCA congregations will defect in large numbers to more conservative Lutheran denominations remains to be seen. However,...

Cited by some U.S. bishops, the Catholic principle of subsidiarity is providing a new wrinkle in the health care debate The debate over health care reform is igniting another, related discussion: What is the proper role of government in the lives of a country's citizens? The Catholic Church endorses no specific political or economic system -- thus bishops and Catholic thinkers are drawing on Catholic social teaching to support sometimes conflicting solutions to find affordable health care for Americans without health insurance, who number 46.3 million according to the U.S. Census Bureau. There's little debate in the Church that some...

US bishops conference mounts late drive against 'unacceptable' health-care reform October 29, 2009 The US bishops' conference is mounting a late drive to secure passage of a pro-life amendment to the health-care reform bill. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is asking pastors all across the country to include an insert in their weekly bulletins, urging parishioners to call their Congressional representatives and encourage a vote for a pro-life amendment. The USCCB's pro-life office has indicated that it will press bishops to promote the dissemination of these bulletin inserts. The insert exhorts parishioners to act immediately. "Congressional votes may...

All Hallows' Eve Issue: Is the celebration of Halloween a pagan feast? May a Catholic celebrate Halloween in good conscience? What is the history of this popular American holiday?Response: We celebrate Halloween on the evening before All Saints Day. The word itself is a shortened form of "All Hallows’ Eve," which quite literally means "the eve of All Saints." From the earliest days of the Feast of All Saints (mid 700s A.D.), Catholics observed October 31 as the vigil of this November 1 celebration. This feast commemorates the lives of Christians who lived exemplary lives of faith. Pope Sixtus IV...

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new coalition of Catholic pro-life organizations is calling for a massive reform of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) and urging Catholics to boycott the upcoming November collection.The CCHD is the domestic social justice arm of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and focuses on supporting groups that work in community organizing.  They have been accused over many years of supporting radical left-wing groups who advocate a distorted un-Catholic view of social justice.  The organization primarily raises funds through an annual nationwide parish collection, this year scheduled for November 22nd.Scandal...

As the saying goes: “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” But taxes you can avoid and evade; death — not so. Therefore, the only logical response to death is to embrace it…or at least accept it. After all, it’s not like we have a choice.While traveling back from dropping off a son for college in Oregon last week, we attended Mass in Missoula, MT at St. Francis Xavier church. During the prayers of intercession, one prayer caught my attention: “For all who have died, for all who are going to die and for all who are afraid to...

October 29, 2009The following article was submitted in a slightly shorter form to the New York Times as an op-ed article. The Times declined to publish it. I thought you might be interested in reading it. FOUL BALL!By Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan Archbishop of New York   October is the month we relish the highpoint of our national pastime, especially when one of our own New York teams is in the World Series!   Sadly, America has another national pastime, this one not pleasant at all: anti-catholicism.             It is not hyperbole to call prejudice against the Catholic Church a...

ELCA NEWS SERVICE October 29, 2009 Some ELCA Congregations Vote to Leave or Redirect Funds, Find It's Not Easy 09-241-JB CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Throughout the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), leaders and members have responded in a variety of ways to changes in the church's ministry polices, a decision made by voting members of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly. Some members agreed with the decision. Some were opposed. Some weren't sure how to react. Since the assembly, some ELCA congregations have taken votes to leave the denomination or redirect funds away from the ELCA. Leaders and members in a few...

Wow! This is big news. For months the bishops have been threatening to oppose the healthcare legislation as long as it included abortion funding. But I didn't expect this. Wonderful news. Catholic.org reports: An E-mail directive has been sent from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Pro-Life Activities Secretariat mobilizing every parish in the United States of America. It contains an urgent message which is to be distributed in every parish this weekend and announced at every single Mass. This massive and urgent appeal may be unprecedented in our history as Catholics in America. It is an effort to...

Two churches in Little Falls are learning just how polarizing the topic of gay clergy can be among its members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's decision to allow homosexuals in monogamous relationships to serve as church leaders even resulted in one Little Falls pastor's resignation. The Rev. Nate Bjorge's last day as lead pastor at First Lutheran Church in Little Falls is Friday. On Oct. 11 the church held a congregation-wide vote on whether the church should remain in the ELCA or join Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ, another Lutheran body. The church voted to stay in the...

Among the major nations of the Western world, the United States is singular in still having the death penalty. After a five-year moratorium, from 1972 to 1977, capital punishment was reinstated in the United States courts. Objections to the practice have come from many quarters, including the American Catholic bishops, who have rather consistently opposed the death penalty. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1980 published a predominantly negative statement on capital punishment, approved by a majority vote of those present though not by the required two-thirds majority of the entire conference.1 Pope John Paul II has at various...

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 A reasonable assessment of the swine flu vaccine Why be skeptical? Orthodox Catholics have a strong tendency towards healthy skepticism when it comes to big government and big pharma. We've seen the democide carried out by atheistic governments against several hundred million innocent men, women, and children over the past century. We've seen the demographic winter and destruction of over a billion lives at the hands of scientism's big medicine and big pharma. Science no longer serves the God who created the laws of nature and nature itself, even if many individual scientists, doctors and biomedical...

"Through the grace and mercy of God -- and the faithful prayers of more than 200,000 volunteers standing vigil outside abortion facilities -- an incredible miracle has taken place," said David Bereit, national director of 40 Days for Life...

Is Reagan Conservatism dead? The answer is a resounding - No! The ideal is as solid as it has ever been, but the objective view of this writer is that it is not enough to deliver this nation from the 70 year socialistic grip of liberalism and its horrific consequences (moral and institutional) on our society and people. Anyone who has an objective view and appraisal of our current situation would have to agree. In light of the present conditions plaguing our country and what seems to be the disintegration of the Republican Party, Conservatives have been on suicide alert...

Timely it is that the Vatican has set aside 2009 as the Year of the Priests and has even called for the faithful to sacrifice and offer up sufferings for them. Recently, there was a day of fast. Can you imagine the pressure they are under? Do you pray for your local priest on a daily basis? There is a poignant line in the original Prayer to the Archangel Michael where, in imploring help for the Church, it says that evil attacks with the strategy that "when the pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered." In our...