St. Albert the Great Parish Church Bulletin
August 15, 2002
Dearborn Heights, MI
Notes from your Pastor
Can some one teach what is opposite of the Church's teachings, especially in defending life in a mother's womb from the pulpit?
The answer is a big NO! Yet we have men of the collar using the pulpit (or Church bulletins) today and saying it is all right to be "pro-choice" or "pro-abortion." The Church teaches clearly that one cannot take any of these positions, for both defend abortion as an OK method to use. Abortion
means to terminate or murder life in the womb of the mother-to-be. There is no way the Church can sanction murder. Yet, there are some of the clergy who tend to make you believe it is OK They are dead wrong!
Since we are now in the time of electing officials for office, one of the
oldest cliches we get from some of the clergy is that "we cannot be a one-issue person. We have to look at all issues and vote for the best candidate." Of course they say this, especially for those who are pro-life because they know full well that pro-lifers will not vote for those who
favor abortion, whether the candidate be pro-choice or pro-abortion.
A Catholic who follows the teachings of the Church is always pro-life, for the Church teaches life begins at conception and must be defended at all costs. There are no if's, but's or what's.
Can someone vote for a candidate that is favorable towards abortion whether they be pro-choice or pro-abortion? The answer is a flat NO! If you vote for such a candidate then you too are favoring abortion, knowing
full well that the individual will perhaps do OK in other political issues but will push abortion agenda as well. And that is the big NO...NO. A Catholic cannot for any reason sanction murder (this is what abortion is all about) and by your vote you either will defend life or sanction murder. The choice is yours! And I pray to God that you will be pro-life by voting pro-life in the up-coming elections.
Fr. Dan Zaleski
4855 Parker
Dearborn Heights Heights, MI 48125
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Assumption Grotto
Parish bulletin
August 26, 2002
A Pastor's Descant
In a recent issue of Crisis Magazine, there was an interview with a decidedly non-Christian man, [who] finds it a scandal that [Christians] easily go along with ideas, policies, philosophies, trends, political positions, etc. that are in opposition to what we Christian say we believe.
What brings this to mind is a recent news story that a pastor of a parish of the Archdiocese has written a column in his church paper that approves the ‘pro-choice’ position in the abortion matter. His writing has generated much justified and heated anger from some of his parishioners. How can it be that a priest would write something that would–to the point–lend support to a pro- abortion candidate for public office? The fact is, that one of his own parishioners, who is a lector at Mass, is a candidate for governor of the State of Michigan. She is also pro-choice. He wrote the following malignant words endorsing ‘choice’ in an unqualified sense to his parishioners: “Choice is part of the very foundation of our Catholic Christian Community. To say that one is pro-choice is, for the Christian Community, an admission that we are created in freedom....it is a grave error to assume that the ability to freely choose actions and words is sinful.” Pro-life parishioners rightly have begun picketing the parish grounds. Now, if the clerical scandals of recent weeks have provoked outrage, all the more ought the faithful to rise up in indignation over this ever more grave form of clerical ‘abuse’, far more devastating, because it destroys not only this or that person’s moral life, but the souls and thinking of many people. I sure would like to see the novel policy recently adopted by our American bishops of ‘one-strike and out’ applied to such priests who dissent publicly from Catholic teaching or cause grave harm to morals through preaching, teaching, or writing. A sin against faith is more serious than a sin of unchastity. And, that this matter is certainly a sin against faith should be evident in that this priest’s position attacks not this or that doctrine, but undermines the very structure of faith. Faith is an unswerving submission to Truth, the free acceptance of revealed, given truths. ‘Choice’ in this priest’s terms would admit a freedom for each man to formulate his own doctrines, a view that is truly the very antithesis of faith.
Recall that the acceptance of secular culture by Christians was the complaint lodged against us by the non-believing philosopher quoted in the magazine article. One can only imagine what would be his contempt for priests who promote secular and anti-Christian views (many of which a non-believer himself might espouse) but who masquerades in clerical guise as a putative representative of Christ.
...
Fr. Perrone
13770 Gratiot Avenue
Detroit, MI 48205
assumptiongrotto@comcast.netA friend who is a protester wrote this after reading the apology of Fr. Ortman:
This weekend, Fr. “Doc” Ortman asked forgiveness for "misunderstanding" arising from his "ambiguous" statement a few weeks ago in the Our Lady of Good Counsel bulletin. He briefly explained that he is against “abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment,” and said he was writing this at the request of Cardinal Maida and Bishop Britt (who has been appointed to address the scandal surrounding OLGC’s advocacy of Jennifer Granholm and abortion). As a pro-life Catholic I welcome this step by Fr. Doc, but it remains ambiguous and it must be the first of several steps.
There was no "misunderstanding" three weeks ago. Fr. Doc and Fr. Sullivan were rather unambiguous and specific in trumpetting the following pernicious lies:
· “Pro-choice” on abortion is THE Catholic view
· Granholm’s “pro-choice” views are faithful Catholic views
· Laws protecting preborn children violate our God-given rights
· “Pro-choice” on abortion is not the same as “pro-abortion”
Further, they enthusiastically permitted Granholm’s husband to leaflet the parish before the election, identifying Granholm as “pro-life.” Last Sunday, Fr. Doc was caught again spouting his “pro-choice” dogma to a parishioner after the 5 pm Mass. This is “clerical abuse” of the worst kind, demonstrating that the OLGC priests are severely compromised in their ability to fulfill their pastoral duties faithfully.
Fr. Doc's new statement refuses to address any of these falsehoods. Then and now he says he "reverences" preborn life, yet he claimed three weeks ago that these lies are consistent with his "reverence." Now he says he's against abortion, but three weeks ago he said Catholics defend abortion's legality even while they oppose it. Granholm, Clinton, and Planned Parenthood all claim to be pro-life with the help of these priests' reasoning. Whether Fr. Doc is truly repentant is between him and God, but this scandal requires SPECIFICITY. Continued ambiguity reeks of bad faith.
As shepherds, Cardinal Maida and Bishop Britt must specifically contradict the four OLGC orthodoxies above. They must publicly censure Ms. Granholm until she reconciles her views to the Church. They must require Fr. Sullivan and Fr. Doc to recant these lies specifically and pledge fidelity to true Catholic teaching. They must remove Fr. Sullivan and Fr. Doc from ministry because of the danger to pregnant girls in the parish, and they must re-catechize the parish under faithful clerical oversight.
Until Cardinal Maida and Bishop Britt carry out this duty, the lay faithful must wage an ongoing public campaign, through every charitable means, to address Granholm’s and OLGC’s scandal, clarify the Church’s teaching, and persuade the bishops to do their duty.