Free Republic

Immediately after Arizona passed her law to protect its honest American citizens the liberal hypocritical hand wringing attacks on the state started. It’s time for all of those calling for boycotts of Arizona to realize we don’t care what they’re saying. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was among the first to attack Arizona. The USCCB said, “This new law, although limited to the State of Arizona, could have impact throughout the nation, in terms of how members of our immigrant communities are both perceived and treated,” Bishop Wester [USCCB spokesman] said in the statement. “SB 1070 gives...

(CNA/EWTN News).- Arizona’s new immigration law has some flaws but shows the brokenness of the immigration system, Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput has said. Urging Congress to act, he noted the dangers and wrongs of both illegal immigration and the response to it. Writing in the May 5 edition of the Denver Catholic Register, the archbishop said Americans have a right to safety and to have solvent public institutions, but that cannot come at the cost of immigrants’ basic human rights. Discussing the controversy about the Arizona state law, he advised Catholics to listen first to the leaders of...

In commenting on the "Real Enforcement with Practical Answers for Immigration Reform" (REPAIR) proposal offered by Senate Democrats, the top Catholic in the U.S. on immigration issues says that it spends too much money on border enforcement and not enough on bailing out the economies of Mexico and Central America. Bishop John C. Wester, Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Migration issued a statement on Friday declaring that the Bishops "have concerns about the increases in enforcement resources contained in the framework" because "the United States has poured billions of dollars into immigration enforcement" and...

A group organizing a May 1 "May Day" rally in favor of "immigrant rights" in Lafayette Park in front of the White House is financially supported by the Catholic Church, Big Business, the federal government, and various Maryland governmental entities. It is anticipated that the demonstration will take the form of opposition to Arizona's new law that is designed to discourage illegal immigration. The buses will leave for Lafayette Park from CASA de Maryland centers starting at 12:30, with the rally scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.So-called "May Day actions" are being planned in dozens of cities around the U.S.CASA...

The controversy over Arizona's immigration law should be used to highlight the shameful role of the Roman Catholic Church in facilitating the foreign invasion of the U.S. This scandal deserves as much attention as the seemingly never-ending cases of sexual child abuse involving priests.In a major embarrassment for followers of the U.S. Catholic Church, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles compared Arizona's new law to "German Nazi and Russian Communist techniques." He actually wrote this on his personal blog, under the headline, "Arizona's Dreadful Anti-Immigrant Law." Mahony is described by the Los Angeles Times as "a nationally influential figure who...

April 29, 2010 - The US Bishops have roundly condemned the recent Arizona immigration law. That’s not necessarily surprising, especially given the social activist tendencies of some of the more politically liberal bishops, Cardinal Mahoney being a good example. What is surprising is this condemnation has also come from much more conservative quarters. Bishop Finn of the diocese of Kansas City/St. Joseph and Archbishop Dolan of New York have also both issued statements opposing the AZ law. It seems clear that the bishops are of one mind when it comes to this issue. There is a gigantic problem though. The...

USCCB Migration Chairman Joins Arizona Bishops in Decrying Anti-Immigrant Measure, Calls for Comprehensive Reform WASHINGTON— In solidarity with the Catholic bishops of Arizona, Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration, issued a statement April 27, opposing the enactment and implementation of Arizona SB 1070, which criminalizes undocumented immigrants. “This new law, although limited to the State of Arizona, could have impact throughout the nation, in terms of how members of our immigrant communities are both perceived and treated,” Bishop Wester said in the statement. “SB 1070 gives law...

Check out Father Pleger's Easter homily in which he advocates a womens priesthood and says we don't need the Pope. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP0j4SW2YTE

So much that you need to know about the Catholic Church's social policy problems can be summed up in one word: Chicago. On race, abortion, guns, immigration and "community organizing," Catholic Church officials in the Windy City have forged unholy alliances with radical left-wingers and enablers who undermine the faith — and the faithful. Exhibit A: the Archdiocese of Chicago's Office for Racial Justice and one of its most notorious priests, the Rev. Michael Pfleger. This week, Chicago Cardinal Francis George — who also happens to be president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — presided over a gala...

CHICAGO, April 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Archdiocese of Chicago's Office for Racial Justice has announced that Fr. Michael Pfleger, the notoriously controversial priest who has been a prominent supporter of pro-abortion politicians, including President Barack Obama, will be honored at the office's anniversary event in April. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, who is president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, has approved of the honor and will preside at the event. Fr. Michael Pfleger, the pastor of Saint Sabina Catholic Church in Chicago, was listed as a planned recipient of the Racial Justice Lifetime Achievement award at an...

A Letter About Me…but Not To Me. Every Catholic who goes regularly to Sunday Mass knows that every so often after the priest reads the gospel and begins to shuffle through announcements there’ll be a letter from the boss. So the celebrant will say, “Uh, today we have a letter from His Eminence Francis Cardinal George.” It’s usually calling attention to some charity or other worthwhile thing. Ah but today I have a letter from His Eminence Francis Cardinal George. I have it but it was not sent to me. But it’s about me. It’s a letter he has taken...

Why on earth is the Archdiocese of Chicago giving Father Michael Pfleger a lifetime achievement award? He is a disastrously disobedient priest who has been a thorn in Cardinal George’s side (and an embarrassment for the Church) for years. An AmP reader refreshes our memory: Fr. Pfleger is the same priest who was (temporarily) suspended for joining with a crowd threatening to “snuff out” a gun shop owner. He’s a pal of race-baiter Rev. Wright (of Obama fame). He gave that (in)famous anti-Hillary tirade during the ‘08 primaries. Michelle Malkin includes more links to Pfleger’s outrageous activities. I don’t share...

From a thoroughly Catholic perspective, the health care reform debate wasn’t nearly as simple as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops made it out to be, as though preventing public funding of abortion and negotiating conscience clauses was enough to render Obamacare worthy of Catholic support. This, however, is exactly the stance taken by the USCCB from the very outset, and it only opened the door for those difference-making pro-life legislators to take comfort in the promise of an executive order restricting federal funding of abortion and to justify voting “yes.”

In a final, urgent plea to prevent the passage of the current form of the Senate health care bill, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on Saturday evening sent a letter to Congressmen asking them to vote “no.” “For decades,” the letter says, “the United States Catholic bishops have supported universal health care. The Catholic Church teaches that health care is a basic human right, essential for human life and dignity.”

In their final-hour appeal to pro-life legislators to block this health care power grab in Washington, the bishops of the Catholic Church are coming out thousands of days late and millions of dollars short. In essence, they now need the forces of heaven to counteract their own past negligence. It’s no secret that the Catholic Church hierarchy in the United States have been the happy bedfellows of the Democratic Party since waves of Catholic emigrants flooded American port cities a century ago. Not until the infamous Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973 and the Democrats’ hardy embrace of the pro-abortion...

One proposal to address the serious problem in the Senate health care bill on abortion funding, specifically the direct appropriating of new funds that bypass the Hyde amendment, is to have the President issue an executive order against using these funds for abortion. Unfortunately, this proposal does not begin to address the problem, which arises from decades of federal appellate rulings that apply the principles of Roe v. Wade to federal health legislation. According to these rulings, such health legislation creates a statutory requirement for abortion funding, unless Congress clearly forbids such funding. That is why the Hyde amendment was...

Washington D.C., Mar 20, 2010 / 07:19 am (CNA/EWTN News).- While the U.S. Bishops are encouraging the faithful to call their representatives and ask them to oppose Senate legislation because of federal funding for abortion, the group Catholics United and other left-leaning groups are running interference, allowing lawmakers to justify ignoring the guidance of the bishops on the critical moral and political issues contained in the bill.In a recent email sent to supporters, Chris Korzen, the head of Catholics United, urges Catholics to “ keep the pressure up,” saying, “(h)ealth care reform is coming down to the wire, and abortion is...

Dear Bishop Stika. Is this another case of "A lie can run around the world while the Truth is still tying its shoes"? White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs posts "Catholic approval" and hundreds of people instantly retweet it as if it's true. The whole website becomes a tweetfest about Catholics approving the Senate Health Care Reform.PressSec Post: Another very important health care development - Catholics back health billhttp://bit.ly/csfmHu Instantly, Gibbs has tons of support. It’s as if the flood gates open. Google reports almost 12,000 results (pages and sites) for keywords "59,000 nuns health care" http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-us%3AIE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7SUNA_en&q=59%2C000+nuns+health+care&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai= And then ...the...

The thousands of pages in the health care reform legislation contain much to ponder, but what's most puzzling is the shying away from the Hyde Amendment in the Senate bill. The Hyde Amendment was first passed in 1976 and prevents use of federal money to pay for elective abortions and health plans that include them. It has saved U.S. taxpayers from having to pay for others' elective abortions. The Hyde Amendment has been satisfactory for America for almost 35 years. Why not incorporate it into health care reform legislation now? ...

"Don't mess with nuns!" is a comment I've often heard over the years from cradle Catholics who were taught by them. The question now arises whether the undecided Catholic members of the House will be influenced by the 60 nuns -- each a leader of her religious order -- who signed a letter to members of Congress urging passage of the Senate health-care bill now before the House. These 60 leaders claim to represent 59,000 nuns, and they make it perfectly clear they support the embattled president of the Catholic Health Association, Sr. Carol Keehan, who announced her support...