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CNN has been having repeated discussions about Romney, his religion...MSNBC...had the same conversation... ...I find the concept of baptizing the dead off-putting (and baptizing Holocaust victims absurd.)...Newsbusters...remarked on how MSNBC is trying to connect Romney and the Mormon church to issues of race...: ...(BuzzFeed writer and Mormon McKay) Coppins cited...MSNBC regulars...Marc Lamont Hill and Joy Ann Reid: ...Reid...said Romney deserves to be challenged on his church's past. "I think if he were a child when anti-black policies were in place, that would be different," said Reid. "But he was an adult, active in the ministry of his church, and it's...

A steady drip, drip, drip from the major media continues, and notice how this is framed as helpful advice to Mitt Romney: Now that Mitt Romney is likely the Republican nominee he may begin talking about his Mormon faith. Politico reports a lot of Republicans think he should embrace his Mormonism publicly so people can better understand him. . . . Mormonism is a big part of who Mitt Romney is. He traveled to France on a two-year mission for the church as a young adult, and who raised his five sons as Mormons and has held several church leadership...

April 18, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Homosexual groups are seeking the prosecution of a Spanish bishop after he gave a sermon repeating the Catholic Church’s teaching associating the gay lifestyle with the suffering of hell, and then an interview in which he endorsed psychological treatment for homosexual behavior. Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Plà of the diocese of Alcalá de Henares began the brouhaha on Good Friday earlier this month, when he gave a sermon on the death of the soul as a result of sin. Referring to various kinds of sinful behavior, including adultery, theft, and failure to pay wages to...

I saw an advance copy of a survey by William J. Byron and Charles Zech, which will appear in the April 30th edition of “America” magazine.  It was conducted at the request of David O’Connell, the bishop of Trenton, and its focus was very simple:  it endeavored to discover why Catholics have left the church.  No one denies that a rather substantive number of Catholics have taken their leave during the past 20 years, and Byron and Zech wanted to find out why.  They did so in the most direct way possible and asked those who had quit.The answers they...

There is a wonderful story about St. Thomas, teleology and a bunch of birds. It goes like this. A grand duke was visiting St. Thomas in the convent of St. Jacques in Paris and wanted to express his appreciation for St. Thomas and the Dominican Order by offering some sort of gift. The two went for a walk along the Left Bank of the Seine River and came upon a number of birds in cages being sold to passers-by. (I am told you can still buy birds at the spot today!) At this point, Thomas has an idea: will the...

Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle. Washington D.C., Apr 18, 2012 / 01:19 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican called for reform amid a doctrinal “crisis” within the U.S.'s Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), appointing Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle to lead renewal efforts.The appointment was made as the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith revealed the findings of its multi-year doctrinal assessment of the women's conference, which has more than 1,500 members throughout the country.The assessment document explained, “it is clear that greater emphasis needs to be placed both on the relationship of the LCWR...

Between 17 and 20 April in Harissa, fifty bishops will be debating the themes of Christian-inspired communication and informationFifty bishops from the Middle East are currently gathered in Beirut to talk about mass media. The discussion is being held by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, from 17 to 20 April in Harissa, the Marian shrine on a hill just a few kilometres from the Lebanese capital. The theme “Communication as a means of evangelization, dialogue, and peace in the Middle East” will be discussed by participants along with the President of the Vatican Congregation, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, and...

Archbishop Sartain gave the homily during the annual Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington last October. (CNS/Leslie E. Kossoff) By Francis X. RoccaCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Citing "serious doctrinal problems which affect many in consecrated life," the Vatican announced a major reform of an association of women's religious congregations in the U.S. to ensure their fidelity to Catholic teaching in areas including abortion, euthanasia, women's ordination and homosexuality. Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle will provide "review, guidance and approval, where necessary, of the work" of the Leadership Conference of...

Carbon dating and pathology to be used on skeleton Abbot reckoned to be 'portly' because of curvature of the spine Cistercian monastery supposedly 'haunted' by several ghostsFor something like seven centuries he had lain undisturbed. He – or at least his remains – survived Henry VIII’s destruction of his abbey in 1537, eluded the grave-robbers that followed, and avoided discovery by Victorian archaeologists. Even deep excavations and the underpinning of the crumbling building in the 1930s failed to unearth him. But the abbot who headed Britain’s second richest and most powerful Cistercian monastery may soon be unmasked – along with...

WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - The top Republican in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday defended his party's proposed deficit-cutting federal budget plan against complaints by Roman Catholic bishops that it would hurt the poor and violate certain "moral criteria." House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner argued that matters would worsen, with the government eventually unable to afford programs for the needy, unless it stops spending more money than it takes in. Boehner, who is Catholic, acknowledged that the bishops have a "moral argument," but said, "I want them to take a bigger look." "The bigger look is if we don't...

NEW YORK – It’s an age-old saying in Hollywood that sex sells, but with consumers finding themselves oversaturated with sexual imagery, today’s top acts are turning to something even more sinful to get our attention: Satan. Performer Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” is getting a lot of buzz this month, due in large part to her infamous Grammy performance earlier this year, where she acted out scenes from an exorcism onstage. While critics, particularly religious groups, blasted the imagery in that performance as ill-timed and awkward, there is no denying that Minaj garnered the attention she was looking for...

Pray For Our American Heroes and Our Nation Psalm 25:14-21 14. The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. 15. My eyes are ever toward the LORD, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net. 16. Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted. 17. The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses! 18. Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins. 19. Consider my enemies, for they are many; And...

Well, that didn’t take long. You had to figure it would just be a matter of time before Team Romney alleged anti-Mormon bias by its opponents or the press, and bingo, today we had two separate instances of the charge being raised... ...on Mike Allen’s Playbook this morning, suggesting...Obama campaign’s argument that Romney has a “penchant for secrecy” has a hidden anti-Mormon message. WHAT REPUBLICANS ARE SAYING about the “penchant for secrecy” attack line against Romney: “These are exactly the kind of questions we asked about Obama in 2008 and were accused of race baiting, or suggesting he was somehow...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Psalm 25 A Psalm of David. 1. To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 2. O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. 3. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. 4. Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. 5. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. 6. Remember,...

We always knew that Mormonism was going to be a touchy issue in this presidential campaign. After all, there are still many Americans who express discomfort with the idea of a Mormon president (up to 40 percent, depending on how you ask the question). But it's one thing when you ask that question in the abstract, and quite another when we're talking about a particular Mormon. In that case, I'm fairly sure that nearly everyone is going to decide their votes on how they feel about Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, not how they feel about Joseph Smith. Even Robert...

April 19, 2012   Thursday of the Second Week of Easter   Reading 1 Acts 5:27-33 When the court officers had brought the Apostles inand made them stand before the Sanhedrin,the high priest questioned them,"We gave you strict orders did we not,to stop teaching in that name.Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teachingand want to bring this man's blood upon us."But Peter and the Apostles said in reply,"We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.God exalted him at his right hand as leader...

 The Words of Consecrationby Sebastian R. FamaThe Traditionalist movement’s greatest complaint against the Church has to do with the new mass (post Vatican II). Their biggest objection is to the change in the words of consecration. This, they claim, renders the new mass invalid. They specifically object to the words used in the consecration of the wine. In the Tridentine Mass (pre Vatican II) the wording is as follows: For this is the chalice of my blood of the New and Eternal Covenant: the mystery of faith: which shall be shed for you and for many unto the forgiveness of...

Comic books as a method of missionizing for Islam (da'wa)?Yes. One year ago, Harvard University hosted a workshop to teach comic book artists how to address Americans' "unease with Islam and the Middle East." And later this week, Georgetown University will air a PBS documentary, Wham! Bam! Islam! celebrating a comic book called The 99. Wham! Bam! Islam! The 99 sounds innocuous. Adweek describes its topic as "a team of multinational superheroes [who] band together to fight the forces of evil." The American children's network Hub more fully explains that, "Created by noted Middle East scholar and clinical psychologist Dr....

Love is the highest form of human existence. We must love one another in order to come together, live together, and grow together. As JESUS loved and loves us.

A Philadelphia man told a jury today that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia priest who allegedly sexually abused him for years starting the late 1970s had said a colleague who is now a bishop in West Virginia also had sex with teenage boys. The 48-year-old witness, identified only as "John" in the 2005 report of the Philadelphia County grand jury, described a meeting one summer in high school where he spent summers at the Rev. Stanley Gana's 110-acre farm in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He said he was building a flagstone wall when a car pulled up driven by then-Rev. Michael J. Bransfield...