Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Australian Anglican group 'first' to sign up to Pope's call
Melbourne, Australia (ENI). A group of "traditional Anglicans" in Australia has voted to accept the recent invitation of Pope Benedict XIV to convert to full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, whilst retaining their membership of the Anglican Church. Meeting in Melbourne, the Australian branch of Forward in Faith, which comprises many members of the international anglo-catholic grouping called the Traditional Anglican Communion, "received with gratitude" the Pope's invitation to join Rome. They decided unanimously to establish a working group to enable the process to move forward. [545 words, ENI-10-0125]
ENI Online - http://www.eni.ch/
Ecumenical News International
PO Box 2100
CH - 1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
Tel: (41-22) 791 6088 - 6111
Fax: (41-22) 788 7244
Email: eni@eni.ch
ENI Online - http://www.eni.ch/
Ecumenical News International
PO Box 2100
CH - 1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
Tel: (41-22) 791 6088 - 6111
Fax: (41-22) 788 7244
Email: eni@eni.ch
President Creates Need to Reject Health Care Bill, Says Fr. Pavone
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, issued the following statement today in response to the release of President Obama's version of health care reform legislation.
"The American people have already made their concerns about health care reform known," said Fr. Pavone. "The President's refusal to listen now makes it necessary to reject the bill in its entirety rather than to seek to reform it any further."
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.
Christian Newswire
"The American people have already made their concerns about health care reform known," said Fr. Pavone. "The President's refusal to listen now makes it necessary to reject the bill in its entirety rather than to seek to reform it any further."
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.
Christian Newswire
Friday, February 19, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
PAPAL MESSAGE FOR LENT 2010
VATICAN CITY, 4 FEB 2010 (VIS) - Made public today was the 2010 Lenten Message of the Holy Father Benedict XVI. The text, dated 30 October 2009, has as its title a passage from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans: "The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ". The full English-language translation of the document is given below:
"Each year, on the occasion of Lent, the Church invites us to a sincere review of our life in light of the teachings of the Gospel. This year, I would like to offer you some reflections on the great theme of justice, beginning from the Pauline affirmation: 'The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ'.
"First of all, I want to consider the meaning of the term 'justice', which in common usage implies 'to render to every man his due', according to the famous expression of Ulpian, a Roman jurist of the third century. In reality, however, this classical definition does not specify what 'due' is to be rendered to each person. What man needs most cannot be guaranteed to him by law. In order to live life to the full, something more intimate is necessary that can be granted only as a gift: we could say that man lives by that love which only God can communicate since He created the human person in His image and likeness. Material goods are certainly useful and required - indeed Jesus Himself was concerned to heal the sick, feed the crowds that followed Him and surely condemns the indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine - yet 'distributive' justice does not render to the human being the totality of his 'due'. Just as man needs bread, so does man have even more need of God. St. Augustine notes: if 'justice is that virtue which gives every one his due ... where, then, is the justice of man, when he deserts the true God?'
"The Evangelist Mark reports the following words of Jesus, which are inserted within the debate at that time regarding what is pure and impure: 'There is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him. ... What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts'. Beyond the immediate question concerning food, we can detect in the reaction of the Pharisees a permanent temptation within man: to situate the origin of evil in an exterior cause. Many modern ideologies deep down have this presupposition: since injustice comes 'from outside', in order for justice to reign, it is sufficient to remove the exterior causes that prevent it being achieved. This way of thinking - Jesus warns - is ingenuous and short-sighted. Injustice, the fruit of evil, does not have exclusively external roots; its origin lies in the human heart, where the seeds are found of a mysterious co-operation with evil. With bitterness the Psalmist recognises this: 'Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me'. Indeed, man is weakened by an intense influence, which wounds his capacity to enter into communion with the other. By nature, he is open to sharing freely, but he finds in his being a strange force of gravity that makes him turn in and affirm himself above and against others: this is egoism, the result of original sin. Adam and Eve, seduced by Satan's lie, snatching the mysterious fruit against the divine command, replaced the logic of trusting in Love with that of suspicion and competition; the logic of receiving and trustfully expecting from the Other with anxiously seizing and doing on one's own, experiencing, as a consequence, a sense of disquiet and uncertainty. How can man free himself from this selfish influence and open himself to love?
"At the heart of the wisdom of Israel, we find a profound link between faith in God who 'lifts the needy from the ash heap' and justice towards one's neighbour. The Hebrew word itself that indicates the virtue of justice, 'sedaqah', expresses this well. 'Sedaqah', in fact, signifies on the one hand full acceptance of the will of the God of Israel; on the other hand, equity in relation to one's neighbour, especially the poor, the stranger, the orphan and the widow. But the two meanings are linked because giving to the poor for the Israelite is none other than restoring what is owed to God, who had pity on the misery of His people. It was not by chance that the gift to Moses of the tablets of the Law on Mount Sinai took place after the crossing of the Red Sea. Listening to the Law presupposes faith in God who first 'heard the cry' of His people and 'came down to deliver them out of hand of the Egyptians'. God is attentive to the cry of the poor and in return asks to be listened to: He asks for justice towards the poor, the stranger, the slave. In order to enter into justice, it is thus necessary to leave that illusion of self-sufficiency, the profound state of closure, which is the very origin of injustice. In other words, what is needed is an even deeper 'exodus' than that accomplished by God with Moses, a liberation of the heart, which the Law on its own is powerless to realize. Does man have any hope of justice then?
"The Christian Good News responds positively to man's thirst for justice, as St. Paul affirms in the Letter to the Romans: 'But now the justice of God has been manifested apart from law ... the justice of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by His blood, to be received by faith'.
"What then is the justice of Christ? Above all, it is the justice that comes from grace, where it is not man who makes amends, heals himself and others. The fact that 'expiation' flows from the 'blood' of Christ signifies that it is not man's sacrifices that free him from the weight of his faults, but the loving act of God Who opens Himself in the extreme, even to the point of bearing in Himself the 'curse' due to man so as to give in return the 'blessing' due to God. But this raises an immediate objection: what kind of justice is this where the just man dies for the guilty and the guilty receives in return the blessing due to the just one? Would this not mean that each one receives the contrary of his 'due'? In reality, here we discover divine justice, which is so profoundly different from its human counterpart. God has paid for us the price of the exchange in His Son, a price that is truly exorbitant. Before the justice of the Cross, man may rebel for this reveals how man is not a self-sufficient being, but in need of Another in order to realize himself fully. Conversion to Christ, believing in the Gospel, ultimately means this: to exit the illusion of self-sufficiency in order to discover and accept one's own need - the need of others and God, the need of His forgiveness and His friendship.
"So we understand how faith is altogether different from a natural, good-feeling, obvious fact: humility is required to accept that I need Another to free me from 'what is mine', to give me gratuitously 'what is His'. This happens especially in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Thanks to Christ's action, we may enter into the 'greatest' justice, which is that of love, the justice that recognises itself in every case more a debtor than a creditor, because it has received more than could ever have been expected. Strengthened by this very experience, the Christian is moved to contribute to creating just societies, where all receive what is necessary to live according to the dignity proper to the human person and where justice is enlivened by love.
"Dear brothers and sisters, Lent culminates in the Paschal Triduum, in which this year, too, we shall celebrate divine justice - the fullness of charity, gift, salvation. May this penitential season be for every Christian a time of authentic conversion and intense knowledge of the mystery of Christ, who came to fulfil every justice. With these sentiments, I cordially impart to all of you my apostolic blessing".
MESS/LENT 2010/... VIS 100204 (1480)
The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source: V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service. Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City
"Each year, on the occasion of Lent, the Church invites us to a sincere review of our life in light of the teachings of the Gospel. This year, I would like to offer you some reflections on the great theme of justice, beginning from the Pauline affirmation: 'The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ'.
"First of all, I want to consider the meaning of the term 'justice', which in common usage implies 'to render to every man his due', according to the famous expression of Ulpian, a Roman jurist of the third century. In reality, however, this classical definition does not specify what 'due' is to be rendered to each person. What man needs most cannot be guaranteed to him by law. In order to live life to the full, something more intimate is necessary that can be granted only as a gift: we could say that man lives by that love which only God can communicate since He created the human person in His image and likeness. Material goods are certainly useful and required - indeed Jesus Himself was concerned to heal the sick, feed the crowds that followed Him and surely condemns the indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine - yet 'distributive' justice does not render to the human being the totality of his 'due'. Just as man needs bread, so does man have even more need of God. St. Augustine notes: if 'justice is that virtue which gives every one his due ... where, then, is the justice of man, when he deserts the true God?'
"The Evangelist Mark reports the following words of Jesus, which are inserted within the debate at that time regarding what is pure and impure: 'There is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him. ... What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts'. Beyond the immediate question concerning food, we can detect in the reaction of the Pharisees a permanent temptation within man: to situate the origin of evil in an exterior cause. Many modern ideologies deep down have this presupposition: since injustice comes 'from outside', in order for justice to reign, it is sufficient to remove the exterior causes that prevent it being achieved. This way of thinking - Jesus warns - is ingenuous and short-sighted. Injustice, the fruit of evil, does not have exclusively external roots; its origin lies in the human heart, where the seeds are found of a mysterious co-operation with evil. With bitterness the Psalmist recognises this: 'Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me'. Indeed, man is weakened by an intense influence, which wounds his capacity to enter into communion with the other. By nature, he is open to sharing freely, but he finds in his being a strange force of gravity that makes him turn in and affirm himself above and against others: this is egoism, the result of original sin. Adam and Eve, seduced by Satan's lie, snatching the mysterious fruit against the divine command, replaced the logic of trusting in Love with that of suspicion and competition; the logic of receiving and trustfully expecting from the Other with anxiously seizing and doing on one's own, experiencing, as a consequence, a sense of disquiet and uncertainty. How can man free himself from this selfish influence and open himself to love?
"At the heart of the wisdom of Israel, we find a profound link between faith in God who 'lifts the needy from the ash heap' and justice towards one's neighbour. The Hebrew word itself that indicates the virtue of justice, 'sedaqah', expresses this well. 'Sedaqah', in fact, signifies on the one hand full acceptance of the will of the God of Israel; on the other hand, equity in relation to one's neighbour, especially the poor, the stranger, the orphan and the widow. But the two meanings are linked because giving to the poor for the Israelite is none other than restoring what is owed to God, who had pity on the misery of His people. It was not by chance that the gift to Moses of the tablets of the Law on Mount Sinai took place after the crossing of the Red Sea. Listening to the Law presupposes faith in God who first 'heard the cry' of His people and 'came down to deliver them out of hand of the Egyptians'. God is attentive to the cry of the poor and in return asks to be listened to: He asks for justice towards the poor, the stranger, the slave. In order to enter into justice, it is thus necessary to leave that illusion of self-sufficiency, the profound state of closure, which is the very origin of injustice. In other words, what is needed is an even deeper 'exodus' than that accomplished by God with Moses, a liberation of the heart, which the Law on its own is powerless to realize. Does man have any hope of justice then?
"The Christian Good News responds positively to man's thirst for justice, as St. Paul affirms in the Letter to the Romans: 'But now the justice of God has been manifested apart from law ... the justice of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by His blood, to be received by faith'.
"What then is the justice of Christ? Above all, it is the justice that comes from grace, where it is not man who makes amends, heals himself and others. The fact that 'expiation' flows from the 'blood' of Christ signifies that it is not man's sacrifices that free him from the weight of his faults, but the loving act of God Who opens Himself in the extreme, even to the point of bearing in Himself the 'curse' due to man so as to give in return the 'blessing' due to God. But this raises an immediate objection: what kind of justice is this where the just man dies for the guilty and the guilty receives in return the blessing due to the just one? Would this not mean that each one receives the contrary of his 'due'? In reality, here we discover divine justice, which is so profoundly different from its human counterpart. God has paid for us the price of the exchange in His Son, a price that is truly exorbitant. Before the justice of the Cross, man may rebel for this reveals how man is not a self-sufficient being, but in need of Another in order to realize himself fully. Conversion to Christ, believing in the Gospel, ultimately means this: to exit the illusion of self-sufficiency in order to discover and accept one's own need - the need of others and God, the need of His forgiveness and His friendship.
"So we understand how faith is altogether different from a natural, good-feeling, obvious fact: humility is required to accept that I need Another to free me from 'what is mine', to give me gratuitously 'what is His'. This happens especially in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Thanks to Christ's action, we may enter into the 'greatest' justice, which is that of love, the justice that recognises itself in every case more a debtor than a creditor, because it has received more than could ever have been expected. Strengthened by this very experience, the Christian is moved to contribute to creating just societies, where all receive what is necessary to live according to the dignity proper to the human person and where justice is enlivened by love.
"Dear brothers and sisters, Lent culminates in the Paschal Triduum, in which this year, too, we shall celebrate divine justice - the fullness of charity, gift, salvation. May this penitential season be for every Christian a time of authentic conversion and intense knowledge of the mystery of Christ, who came to fulfil every justice. With these sentiments, I cordially impart to all of you my apostolic blessing".
MESS/LENT 2010/... VIS 100204 (1480)
The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source: V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service. Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City
Monday, February 15, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
This time they want the Post Office to cancel a planned new stamp honoring Mother Teresa
From: Brian Burch - CatholicVoteAction.org
Date sent 02/11/2010 09:02:20 am
Subject: Who hates Mother Teresa?
Dear CatholicVote Member,
The anti-religion crusaders are at it again.
This time they want the Post Office to cancel a planned new stamp honoring Mother Teresa.
I am continually shocked by the persistence of these activist groups. They seem to never give up! Any mention or reference of God must be wiped out. The Pledge of Allegiance, In God We Trust, you name it… they want it boarded up, whitewashed, and banished from our public life.
But not this time. Not Mother Teresa.
Sign on to our group letter to the Postmaster General here – http://www.stampoutbigotry.com/
A group called the Freedom from Religion Foundation is now spreading lies about Blessed Mother Teresa accusing this holy nun of having a ‘darker side,’ and calling her a ‘polarizing Roman Catholic figurehead.’
That’s why we decided to act swiftly and make sure this anti-Mother Teresa campaign doesn’t gain any more momentum.
The groups now protesting the new stamp never protested other stamps honoring Gandhi, or even Martin Luther King, Jr. who proudly understood his fight for civil rights to be rooted in his Christian faith.
What is plain is that these groups not only dislike Mother Teresa, they despise the Catholic Church. They simply cannot stomach the thought of the United States Postal Service honoring a Catholic nun who spoke out against abortion, contraception, and against the atheistic materialism of the west.
In her famous 1994 speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, Mother Teresa closed with these words:
“From here, a sign of care for the weakest of the weak - the unborn child - must go out to the world. If you become a burning light of justice and peace in the world, then really you will be true to what the founders of this country stood for. God bless you!”
Please sign our letter to Postmaster General Jack Potter at http://www.stampoutbigotry.com/
Please send this to your friends and family too. We need to push back against this ugly campaign, and stand up for this holy nun and all that she lived for.
Mother Teresa stood up for the best of America’s ideals. Now it’s time we stand up for her.
Sincerely,
Brian Burch
President
CatholicVoteAction.org
P.S. The Post Office announced that the new Mother Teresa stamp will be released August 26th. I plan to buy hundreds of them for all our business mail at CatholicVote! Tell the Postmaster you support the new stamp by signing our petition at http://www.stampoutbigotry.com/
NOTE: This message was paid for by CatholicVoteAction.org. As a public policy advocacy group, contributions to CatholicVoteAction.org are NOT tax-deductible. Contributions to CatholicVote.org remain tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CatholicVoteAction.org, P.O. Box 2709, Chicago, IL 60690
Call us at 312-201-6559
Support CatholicVoteAction by visiting https://www.catholicvoteaction.org/donations.php
Date sent 02/11/2010 09:02:20 am
Subject: Who hates Mother Teresa?
Dear CatholicVote Member,
The anti-religion crusaders are at it again.
This time they want the Post Office to cancel a planned new stamp honoring Mother Teresa.
I am continually shocked by the persistence of these activist groups. They seem to never give up! Any mention or reference of God must be wiped out. The Pledge of Allegiance, In God We Trust, you name it… they want it boarded up, whitewashed, and banished from our public life.
But not this time. Not Mother Teresa.
Sign on to our group letter to the Postmaster General here – http://www.stampoutbigotry.com/
A group called the Freedom from Religion Foundation is now spreading lies about Blessed Mother Teresa accusing this holy nun of having a ‘darker side,’ and calling her a ‘polarizing Roman Catholic figurehead.’
That’s why we decided to act swiftly and make sure this anti-Mother Teresa campaign doesn’t gain any more momentum.
The groups now protesting the new stamp never protested other stamps honoring Gandhi, or even Martin Luther King, Jr. who proudly understood his fight for civil rights to be rooted in his Christian faith.
What is plain is that these groups not only dislike Mother Teresa, they despise the Catholic Church. They simply cannot stomach the thought of the United States Postal Service honoring a Catholic nun who spoke out against abortion, contraception, and against the atheistic materialism of the west.
In her famous 1994 speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, Mother Teresa closed with these words:
“From here, a sign of care for the weakest of the weak - the unborn child - must go out to the world. If you become a burning light of justice and peace in the world, then really you will be true to what the founders of this country stood for. God bless you!”
Please sign our letter to Postmaster General Jack Potter at http://www.stampoutbigotry.com/
Please send this to your friends and family too. We need to push back against this ugly campaign, and stand up for this holy nun and all that she lived for.
Mother Teresa stood up for the best of America’s ideals. Now it’s time we stand up for her.
Sincerely,
Brian Burch
President
CatholicVoteAction.org
P.S. The Post Office announced that the new Mother Teresa stamp will be released August 26th. I plan to buy hundreds of them for all our business mail at CatholicVote! Tell the Postmaster you support the new stamp by signing our petition at http://www.stampoutbigotry.com/
NOTE: This message was paid for by CatholicVoteAction.org. As a public policy advocacy group, contributions to CatholicVoteAction.org are NOT tax-deductible. Contributions to CatholicVote.org remain tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CatholicVoteAction.org, P.O. Box 2709, Chicago, IL 60690
Call us at 312-201-6559
Support CatholicVoteAction by visiting https://www.catholicvoteaction.org/donations.php
Catholic Coalition Petitions Bishops Conference to End Pro-Abortion Grants
WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 /Christian Newswire/ -- American Life League, Human Life International, Catholic Advocate, Bellarmine Veritas Ministry and Real Catholic TV, members of the Reform CCHD Now coalition, launched a petition drive Thursday asking the bishops to suspend United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) grants.
The effort comes after repeated calls over the past three months for explanations from the USCCB in response to the discovery of CCHD money spent to support organizations promoting abortion and same- sex marriage.
American Catholics will be asked to sign the following at http://www.reformcchdnow.com/:
"To ensure no more Catholic dollars are spent to support organizations advocating abortion or same- sex marriage, I respectfully request the bishops suspend all national CCHD grants until the grants process has been reformed."
"Transparency and responsible stewardship of the money donated by hard-working American Catholics to further the mission of the Church should be a top priority for those in positions of authority at the Bishops' Conference," said Catholic Advocate Vice President Matt Smith.
A copy of the petition will be presented to the following:
• Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
• Bishop Roger Morin of Biloxi, Mississippi and Chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on the CCHD
• Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas, Texas and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on National Collections
• Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Texas and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities
• Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky and Chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage
CCHD donations are traditionally collected the weekend before Thanksgiving each year as one of the thirteen funds of the USCCB's National Collections program. Donations average between $7 - 9 million annually.
Below is a summary of what has transpired since information on CCHD grant recipients first surfaced in August 2009 by the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry.
* In October 2009, Human Life International, American Life League and the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry formed the Reform CCHD Now coalition. Twenty-one organizations are now members of the coalition.
* On Oct. 2 Bishop Morin announced that CCHD grantee groups Young Workers United and the Chinese Progressive Association had been defunded in response to the reports.
* In November 2009 the Reform CCHD Now coalition revealed the CCHD was supporting 31 organizations which are members of a radically pro-abortion, pro same sex marriage organization.
* Also in November 2009 another detailed report was issued by American Life League and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry implicating MIV partners, CA Partnership partners, SFOP, Preble Street, Voces De La Frontera, and many others.
* By Nov. 25, 2009 LifeSiteNews reported that five bishops had decided to discontinue the CCHD collection.
* On Monday, Feb. 1 American Life League and the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry released further information on CCHD ties to the pro-abortion, same sex marriage Center for Community Change. Two top USCCB executives involved with the CCHD have served on the board of the CCC.
* On Tuesday, February 2, 2010, RealCatholicTV.com released video evidence that within hours of the initial story breaking, the USCCB and Center for Community Change each removed any reference to the other organization from their respective websites.
* On Tuesday, Feb. 2 Catholic Advocate called upon the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to suspend its grants pending "a complete review of its awards process."
The USCCB has yet to adequately respond to any of the charges since Bishop Morin's Oct. 2 memorandum, but has instead attempted to reframe the reports as a personal attack against USCCB employees.
"We remain hopeful these issues will be addressed, potentially leading to a renewal of the CCHD, and making it an organization that is a source of unity rather than division in the Church," said Human Life International's Stephen Phelan.
Phelan added, "we respectfully ask the Episcopal leadership of the USCCB to consider the petition in good faith."
The Reform CCHD Now coalition is a group of 21 Catholic organizations concerned that funds provided to the National Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) in special annual collections continued to support organizations that advocate for abortion and same-sex marriage. For more information on the Reform CCHD Now Coalition please see http://www.reformcchdnow.com/ and contact Stephen Phelan at 540-622-5270 (sphelan@hli.org) or Katie Walker at 540-659-4942 (kwalker@all.org).
Christian Newswire
The effort comes after repeated calls over the past three months for explanations from the USCCB in response to the discovery of CCHD money spent to support organizations promoting abortion and same- sex marriage.
American Catholics will be asked to sign the following at http://www.reformcchdnow.com/:
"To ensure no more Catholic dollars are spent to support organizations advocating abortion or same- sex marriage, I respectfully request the bishops suspend all national CCHD grants until the grants process has been reformed."
"Transparency and responsible stewardship of the money donated by hard-working American Catholics to further the mission of the Church should be a top priority for those in positions of authority at the Bishops' Conference," said Catholic Advocate Vice President Matt Smith.
A copy of the petition will be presented to the following:
• Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
• Bishop Roger Morin of Biloxi, Mississippi and Chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on the CCHD
• Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas, Texas and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on National Collections
• Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Texas and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities
• Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky and Chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage
CCHD donations are traditionally collected the weekend before Thanksgiving each year as one of the thirteen funds of the USCCB's National Collections program. Donations average between $7 - 9 million annually.
Below is a summary of what has transpired since information on CCHD grant recipients first surfaced in August 2009 by the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry.
* In October 2009, Human Life International, American Life League and the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry formed the Reform CCHD Now coalition. Twenty-one organizations are now members of the coalition.
* On Oct. 2 Bishop Morin announced that CCHD grantee groups Young Workers United and the Chinese Progressive Association had been defunded in response to the reports.
* In November 2009 the Reform CCHD Now coalition revealed the CCHD was supporting 31 organizations which are members of a radically pro-abortion, pro same sex marriage organization.
* Also in November 2009 another detailed report was issued by American Life League and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry implicating MIV partners, CA Partnership partners, SFOP, Preble Street, Voces De La Frontera, and many others.
* By Nov. 25, 2009 LifeSiteNews reported that five bishops had decided to discontinue the CCHD collection.
* On Monday, Feb. 1 American Life League and the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry released further information on CCHD ties to the pro-abortion, same sex marriage Center for Community Change. Two top USCCB executives involved with the CCHD have served on the board of the CCC.
* On Tuesday, February 2, 2010, RealCatholicTV.com released video evidence that within hours of the initial story breaking, the USCCB and Center for Community Change each removed any reference to the other organization from their respective websites.
* On Tuesday, Feb. 2 Catholic Advocate called upon the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to suspend its grants pending "a complete review of its awards process."
The USCCB has yet to adequately respond to any of the charges since Bishop Morin's Oct. 2 memorandum, but has instead attempted to reframe the reports as a personal attack against USCCB employees.
"We remain hopeful these issues will be addressed, potentially leading to a renewal of the CCHD, and making it an organization that is a source of unity rather than division in the Church," said Human Life International's Stephen Phelan.
Phelan added, "we respectfully ask the Episcopal leadership of the USCCB to consider the petition in good faith."
The Reform CCHD Now coalition is a group of 21 Catholic organizations concerned that funds provided to the National Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) in special annual collections continued to support organizations that advocate for abortion and same-sex marriage. For more information on the Reform CCHD Now Coalition please see http://www.reformcchdnow.com/ and contact Stephen Phelan at 540-622-5270 (sphelan@hli.org) or Katie Walker at 540-659-4942 (kwalker@all.org).
Christian Newswire
Monday, February 08, 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
Omission in Planned Parenthood's Tebow Response Speaks Volumes -- Dr. Alveda King
ATLANTA, Feb. 5 /Christian Newswire/ -- Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., commented today on Planned Parenthood's response to the Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad.
"Planned Parenthood's response to the Tebow family's Super Bowl ad continues that organization's history of deception," said Dr. King. "It features two African Americans, Planned Parenthood's preferred target for abortion, talking about 'respecting' women's choices without ever mentioning the 'A' word. Spare me. If abortion is supposed to be a choice that everyone respects, why can't Planned Parenthood even allow the word to be spoken?"
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro- life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.
Christian Newswire
"Planned Parenthood's response to the Tebow family's Super Bowl ad continues that organization's history of deception," said Dr. King. "It features two African Americans, Planned Parenthood's preferred target for abortion, talking about 'respecting' women's choices without ever mentioning the 'A' word. Spare me. If abortion is supposed to be a choice that everyone respects, why can't Planned Parenthood even allow the word to be spoken?"
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro- life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.
Christian Newswire
Bishop Gene Robinson claims Bible does not address ‘monogamous’ same-sex relationships
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=18571
WASHINGTON D.C., February 5 (CNA) - The first openly homosexual Episcopal bishop, V. Gene Robinson, has claimed that the Bible does not address the ethics of “monogamous, lifelong” homosexual relationships. He suggested that the people of St. Paul’s times did not realize that some people were “affectionally oriented” to their own sex.
On Tuesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., CNSNews.com spoke to Bishop Robinson about St. Paul’s condemnation in the Book of Romans of “unnatural” relations and “indecent acts” between members of the same sex. CNSNews.com asked if St. Paul was right to say homosexual acts were against nature.
The bishop said Scripture needed to be understood “in its own context.”
“We have to understand that the notion of a homosexual sexual orientation is a notion that’s only about 125 years old,” he added.
“That is to say, St. Paul was talking about people that he understood to be heterosexual engaging in same-sex acts," said Bishop Robinson.
The concept “heterosexual” also only dates to the nineteenth century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
"It never occurred to anyone in ancient times that a certain minority of us would be born being affectionally oriented to people of the same sex,” the bishop told CNSNews.com “So it did seem like against their nature to be doing so.”
He also claimed that St. Paul was condemning the practice of his times, in which older men sexually used younger boys.
“So the real question when you look at Scripture is, ‘What did it mean to the person who wrote it?’” said Bishop Robinson. “‘What did it mean for the audience to whom it was written?’ And only then can we ask, ‘Is it eternally binding?’ And in this case, I would say, the things that St. Paul was against, I’m against, too.”
He said the question today should be the rightfulness of “faithful, monogamous, lifelong-intentioned relationships between people of the same sex.’”
According to the Episcopal bishop, the Bible “simply does not address that.”
Robinson, who was married and has two daughters, divorced his wife and is now involved in a homosexual relationship. His ordination heightened conflict between the Episcopal Church and the global Anglican Communion of which it is a part.
Bishop Robinson delivered the invocation at the presidential inaugural’s opening ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 18, 2009.
The bishop’s interpretation of Scripture is shared by some homosexual activists but not adhered to by most Christians. Homosexual tendencies are described as “objectively disordered” by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, while homosexual acts are “contrary to the natural law” and can “under no circumstances” be approved.
Biblical scholar and Anglican Bishop of Durham N.T. Wright has also criticized some Episcopalians’ theology for treating chastity as “optional.”
“Jewish, Christian and Muslim teachers have always insisted that lifelong man-plus-woman marriage is the proper context for sexual intercourse,” he explained in the London Times.
“This is not (as is frequently suggested) an arbitrary rule, dualistic in overtone and killjoy in intention. It is a deep structural reflection of the belief in a creator God who has entered into covenant both with his creation and with his people.”
This understanding is “the uniform teaching of the whole Bible, of Jesus himself, and of the entire Christian tradition,” he wrote.
WASHINGTON D.C., February 5 (CNA) - The first openly homosexual Episcopal bishop, V. Gene Robinson, has claimed that the Bible does not address the ethics of “monogamous, lifelong” homosexual relationships. He suggested that the people of St. Paul’s times did not realize that some people were “affectionally oriented” to their own sex.
On Tuesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., CNSNews.com spoke to Bishop Robinson about St. Paul’s condemnation in the Book of Romans of “unnatural” relations and “indecent acts” between members of the same sex. CNSNews.com asked if St. Paul was right to say homosexual acts were against nature.
The bishop said Scripture needed to be understood “in its own context.”
“We have to understand that the notion of a homosexual sexual orientation is a notion that’s only about 125 years old,” he added.
“That is to say, St. Paul was talking about people that he understood to be heterosexual engaging in same-sex acts," said Bishop Robinson.
The concept “heterosexual” also only dates to the nineteenth century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
"It never occurred to anyone in ancient times that a certain minority of us would be born being affectionally oriented to people of the same sex,” the bishop told CNSNews.com “So it did seem like against their nature to be doing so.”
He also claimed that St. Paul was condemning the practice of his times, in which older men sexually used younger boys.
“So the real question when you look at Scripture is, ‘What did it mean to the person who wrote it?’” said Bishop Robinson. “‘What did it mean for the audience to whom it was written?’ And only then can we ask, ‘Is it eternally binding?’ And in this case, I would say, the things that St. Paul was against, I’m against, too.”
He said the question today should be the rightfulness of “faithful, monogamous, lifelong-intentioned relationships between people of the same sex.’”
According to the Episcopal bishop, the Bible “simply does not address that.”
Robinson, who was married and has two daughters, divorced his wife and is now involved in a homosexual relationship. His ordination heightened conflict between the Episcopal Church and the global Anglican Communion of which it is a part.
Bishop Robinson delivered the invocation at the presidential inaugural’s opening ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 18, 2009.
The bishop’s interpretation of Scripture is shared by some homosexual activists but not adhered to by most Christians. Homosexual tendencies are described as “objectively disordered” by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, while homosexual acts are “contrary to the natural law” and can “under no circumstances” be approved.
Biblical scholar and Anglican Bishop of Durham N.T. Wright has also criticized some Episcopalians’ theology for treating chastity as “optional.”
“Jewish, Christian and Muslim teachers have always insisted that lifelong man-plus-woman marriage is the proper context for sexual intercourse,” he explained in the London Times.
“This is not (as is frequently suggested) an arbitrary rule, dualistic in overtone and killjoy in intention. It is a deep structural reflection of the belief in a creator God who has entered into covenant both with his creation and with his people.”
This understanding is “the uniform teaching of the whole Bible, of Jesus himself, and of the entire Christian tradition,” he wrote.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Just exactly what IS the USCCB?
A commentary from http://www.realcatholictv.com/ What is the USCCB and why is there always some controversy swirling around it?
Scandal-Ridden USCCB Brings Pro-Abortion, LGBT Rights Activists to Speak and 4-Day Event
WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 /Christian Newswire/ -- Already embroiled in an abortion scandal, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will host a line-up of progressive leaders -- including prominent pro-abortion activists -- to their "Catholic Social Gathering" in Washington, D.C., Feb. 7-10.
The announced USCCB "gathering" conference comes on the heels of revelations the USCCB has long standing ties to the radically pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage group Center for Community Change. New evidence continues to emerge that the CCC is only a small part of a larger collaboration with organizations that promote abortion and homosexual rights agendas.
Presenting at the Social Gathering will be:
- Fr. Thomas Reese, who was forced to resign as editor of America Magazine by the Vatican for his refusal to stop publishing articles which question church orthodoxy on issues like contraception, human embryonic stem-cell research, same-sex marriage, homosexual priests, mandatory clerical celibacy, and whether Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be given communion
- Diana Hayes, professor of systematic theology at Georgetown University and noted speaker for Call to Action, the "Catholic" dissident group. Hayes is a homosexuality activist who wrote a book espousing liberation theology, calls for women's ordination and promotes same-sex "marriage."
- Page six of the official "Catholic Social Gathering" program gives a schedule for the Catholic Labor Network Gathering. USCCB exec John Carr is scheduled to join Paul Booth on a panel discussion. Paul Booth and his wife Heather Booth (another prominent pro-abortion activist with ties to the National Organization for Women, who helped organize a group called "JANE" in 1965 which helped young women obtain illegal abortions) founded the Midwest Academy a training institute for progressive activists.
- Paul Booth and his wife have served as host committee members for the National Organization for Women's Intrepid Awards Gala.
- Currently Paul Booth is executive assistant to the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The AFSCME endorsed the pro-abortion March for Freedom of Choice, held in Washington, D.C. in 2004.
"Looking at this speaker lineup, one wonders if USCCB staff is thinking clearly about Catholic Social Teaching. Why are those who represent openly anti- life and pro-homosexualist organizations treated as experts in the field of peace and justice by Catholics who should know better?" asked Michael Hichborn, American Life League's lead researcher into the USCCB.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro- life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
American Life League: Open Letter to Tom Grenchik Regarding USCCB Cooperation With and Support for Pro-Abortion and Radical Homosexual Groups (04 February 2010)
http://all.org/article.php?id=12532
Reform CCHD Now:
http://reformcchdnow.com/
Christian Newswire
The announced USCCB "gathering" conference comes on the heels of revelations the USCCB has long standing ties to the radically pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage group Center for Community Change. New evidence continues to emerge that the CCC is only a small part of a larger collaboration with organizations that promote abortion and homosexual rights agendas.
Presenting at the Social Gathering will be:
- Fr. Thomas Reese, who was forced to resign as editor of America Magazine by the Vatican for his refusal to stop publishing articles which question church orthodoxy on issues like contraception, human embryonic stem-cell research, same-sex marriage, homosexual priests, mandatory clerical celibacy, and whether Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be given communion
- Diana Hayes, professor of systematic theology at Georgetown University and noted speaker for Call to Action, the "Catholic" dissident group. Hayes is a homosexuality activist who wrote a book espousing liberation theology, calls for women's ordination and promotes same-sex "marriage."
- Page six of the official "Catholic Social Gathering" program gives a schedule for the Catholic Labor Network Gathering. USCCB exec John Carr is scheduled to join Paul Booth on a panel discussion. Paul Booth and his wife Heather Booth (another prominent pro-abortion activist with ties to the National Organization for Women, who helped organize a group called "JANE" in 1965 which helped young women obtain illegal abortions) founded the Midwest Academy a training institute for progressive activists.
- Paul Booth and his wife have served as host committee members for the National Organization for Women's Intrepid Awards Gala.
- Currently Paul Booth is executive assistant to the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The AFSCME endorsed the pro-abortion March for Freedom of Choice, held in Washington, D.C. in 2004.
"Looking at this speaker lineup, one wonders if USCCB staff is thinking clearly about Catholic Social Teaching. Why are those who represent openly anti- life and pro-homosexualist organizations treated as experts in the field of peace and justice by Catholics who should know better?" asked Michael Hichborn, American Life League's lead researcher into the USCCB.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro- life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
American Life League: Open Letter to Tom Grenchik Regarding USCCB Cooperation With and Support for Pro-Abortion and Radical Homosexual Groups (04 February 2010)
http://all.org/article.php?id=12532
Reform CCHD Now:
http://reformcchdnow.com/
Christian Newswire
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
USCCB Exec John Carr Fails to Address Findings in Report on Pro-Abortion, Gay Marriage Group
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 /Christian Newswire/ -- American Life League and the Bellarmine Vertias Ministry, working with the Reform CCHD Now coalition, released two separate reports Monday on United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) ties with the Center for Community Change (CCC), a stridently pro-abortion, pro- homosexuality organization.
Specifically addressed in the report from ALL is USCCB exec John Carr's simultaneous membership on the CCC board and employment with the USCCB.
In his response to Our Sunday Visitor, John Carr, who oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) failed to address the points raised in the ALL or BVM reports including:
- Why over 50 CCHD supported organizations are in some capacity engaged in pro-abortion or pro- homosexual causes
- Why Tom Chabolla, associate director of programs for CCHD, replaced Carr on the CCC board while the CCC was heavily engaged in pro-abortion, pro- homosexual advocacy
- Why 31 CCHD grantees are "partners" with the CCC
- Why Ralph McCloud, CCHD executive director, spoke at a CCC-sponsored rally for Barack Obama. McCloud, referred to Obama's election as, "a great day," and proclaimed "very soon we will see a new Jerusalem"
- Why Carr's USCCB bio omits his involvement with the CCC, while near word-for-word copies of his bio for outside activities include it
- If Carr didn't know the direction the CCC was headed while chairing the board of the organization, how will he address, as the head of the CCHD, the ongoing problem of funding for radical pro-abortion, pro- homosexual groups
Since ALL's report released Monday, both the CCC and USCCB made immediate changes to their websites which housed the evidence. CCC immediately announced it had severed ties with the Movement Vision Lab, which was a main source of criticism, and the USCCB deleted the statement on the CCHD's Poverty USA webpage calling for support of the CCC.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro- life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
* American Life League: Conference of Catholic Bishops Exec Chaired Pro-Abortion, LGBT Rights Group (01 February 2010)
http://all.org/article.php?id=12507
* Bellarmine Veritas Ministry: Addressing the CCHD
http://bellarmineveritasministry.org/campaigns/cchd/
* Our Sunday Visitor: USCCB's John Carr responds to 'unfair allegations' (01 February 2010)
http://www.osvdailytake.com/2010/02/usccbs-john-carr-responds-to-unfair.html
* Inside Catholic: More Disturbing News about the CCHD (02 February 2010)
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7604&Itemid=48
Christian Newswire
Specifically addressed in the report from ALL is USCCB exec John Carr's simultaneous membership on the CCC board and employment with the USCCB.
In his response to Our Sunday Visitor, John Carr, who oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) failed to address the points raised in the ALL or BVM reports including:
- Why over 50 CCHD supported organizations are in some capacity engaged in pro-abortion or pro- homosexual causes
- Why Tom Chabolla, associate director of programs for CCHD, replaced Carr on the CCC board while the CCC was heavily engaged in pro-abortion, pro- homosexual advocacy
- Why 31 CCHD grantees are "partners" with the CCC
- Why Ralph McCloud, CCHD executive director, spoke at a CCC-sponsored rally for Barack Obama. McCloud, referred to Obama's election as, "a great day," and proclaimed "very soon we will see a new Jerusalem"
- Why Carr's USCCB bio omits his involvement with the CCC, while near word-for-word copies of his bio for outside activities include it
- If Carr didn't know the direction the CCC was headed while chairing the board of the organization, how will he address, as the head of the CCHD, the ongoing problem of funding for radical pro-abortion, pro- homosexual groups
Since ALL's report released Monday, both the CCC and USCCB made immediate changes to their websites which housed the evidence. CCC immediately announced it had severed ties with the Movement Vision Lab, which was a main source of criticism, and the USCCB deleted the statement on the CCHD's Poverty USA webpage calling for support of the CCC.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro- life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
* American Life League: Conference of Catholic Bishops Exec Chaired Pro-Abortion, LGBT Rights Group (01 February 2010)
http://all.org/article.php?id=12507
* Bellarmine Veritas Ministry: Addressing the CCHD
http://bellarmineveritasministry.org/campaigns/cchd/
* Our Sunday Visitor: USCCB's John Carr responds to 'unfair allegations' (01 February 2010)
http://www.osvdailytake.com/2010/02/usccbs-john-carr-responds-to-unfair.html
* Inside Catholic: More Disturbing News about the CCHD (02 February 2010)
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7604&Itemid=48
Christian Newswire
Bishops Must Immediately Suspend All Grants From Catholic Campaign for Human Development Program
Catholic Advocate Leadership Calls for Review of Grant Award Process
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 /Christian Newswire/ -- The leadership of Catholic Advocate today called upon the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to immediately suspend distributing any additional grants from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) program until a complete review of the award process occurs.
"CCHD can no longer pretend its problems have been solved with the defunding of two organizations last November after initial reports," said Catholic Advocate President Deal Hudson. "The CCHD should be completely overhauled or eliminated."
Information surfaced in November about CCHD money being granted to 31 pro-abortion groups aligned with the Center for Community Change (CCC). Additional information, uncovered by American Life League (ALL) and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry and released yesterday, points to potential conflicts of interest between staff of the Bishops' conference and their leadership on the board of CCC.
Catholic Advocate recommends CCHD Chair Bishop Roger Morin of Biloxi, Mississippi conduct an independent review of both grant applications over the past ten years and the minutes of CCC board meetings during the period when USCCB staff were members. Bishop Morin can help clear the air by presenting a thorough public report to the full leadership of the USCCB.
"Why has the USCCB promoted CCC on their website? How can the Bishops' conference effectively advocate for policies in line with the teachings of the Church while at the same time providing money to groups working against those same teachings?" asked Catholic Advocate Vice President Matt Smith. "Part of the game in Washington is joining coalitions to pass legislation. But joining and funding groups that contradict the basic priorities of the church on the sanctity of life and marriage is not advocacy, it is euthanasia of our values."
To read the full investigation of the American Life League (ALL) and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry visit http://www.reformcchdnow.com/.
Catholic Advocate is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization, including 75,000 members, addressing current ongoing debates about Catholic political participation, and calls upon Catholic voters to support candidates and policies faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Columns by Hudson and Smith on various topics are available at http://www.catholicadvocate.com/ and http://twitter.com/CathAdv.
Christian Newswire
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 /Christian Newswire/ -- The leadership of Catholic Advocate today called upon the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to immediately suspend distributing any additional grants from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) program until a complete review of the award process occurs.
"CCHD can no longer pretend its problems have been solved with the defunding of two organizations last November after initial reports," said Catholic Advocate President Deal Hudson. "The CCHD should be completely overhauled or eliminated."
Information surfaced in November about CCHD money being granted to 31 pro-abortion groups aligned with the Center for Community Change (CCC). Additional information, uncovered by American Life League (ALL) and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry and released yesterday, points to potential conflicts of interest between staff of the Bishops' conference and their leadership on the board of CCC.
Catholic Advocate recommends CCHD Chair Bishop Roger Morin of Biloxi, Mississippi conduct an independent review of both grant applications over the past ten years and the minutes of CCC board meetings during the period when USCCB staff were members. Bishop Morin can help clear the air by presenting a thorough public report to the full leadership of the USCCB.
"Why has the USCCB promoted CCC on their website? How can the Bishops' conference effectively advocate for policies in line with the teachings of the Church while at the same time providing money to groups working against those same teachings?" asked Catholic Advocate Vice President Matt Smith. "Part of the game in Washington is joining coalitions to pass legislation. But joining and funding groups that contradict the basic priorities of the church on the sanctity of life and marriage is not advocacy, it is euthanasia of our values."
To read the full investigation of the American Life League (ALL) and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry visit http://www.reformcchdnow.com/.
Catholic Advocate is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization, including 75,000 members, addressing current ongoing debates about Catholic political participation, and calls upon Catholic voters to support candidates and policies faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Columns by Hudson and Smith on various topics are available at http://www.catholicadvocate.com/ and http://twitter.com/CathAdv.
Christian Newswire
Monday, February 01, 2010
Pope tells English bishops to fight relativism with truth
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=18509
VATICAN CITY, February 1 (CNA) - Pope Benedict XVI spoke to members of the English and Welsh Conference of Catholic Bishops on Monday in Rome as part of their "ad Limina" visit. He used the meeting to respond to the wide range of issues being confronted by local Church and urged them to look to Cardinal John Henry Newman as a model for combating relativism and increasing vocations.
The Pope led off his speech with optimism, granting that "even amid the pressures of a secular age, there are many signs of living faith and devotion among the Catholics of England and Wales." As examples he cited the enthusiastic reaction in Britain to the visit of the relics of St. Therese and the growing anticipation for the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, as well as the popularity among young people for World Youth Day pilgrimages.
Benedict XVI also confirmed that he would in fact be visiting Britain, saying, "On the occasion of my forthcoming Apostolic Visit to Great Britain, I shall be able to witness that faith for myself and, as Successor of Peter, to strengthen and confirm it.”
He then moved on to the business of the day, starting with a reference to current laws in the countries that "impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs." In response to these, the Holy Father urged the bishops "to ensure that the Church’s moral teaching be always presented in its entirety and convincingly defended."
"Fidelity to the Gospel in no way restricts the freedom of others – on the contrary, it serves their freedom by offering them the truth," he added.
Benedict XVI incited the bishops to be insistent in declaring that they have a right to enter the national debate "through respectful dialogue with other elements in society" to make the Gospel known.
Additionally, the Pope invited all members of the Catholic community of England and Wales involved in communicating the Gospel: to "speak with a united voice" and to "be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit, who guides the whole Church into the truth, gathers her into unity and inspires her with missionary zeal."
The Holy Father continued by emphasizing that the lay faithful must be "equipped to hand on the faith to new generations comprehensively, accurately, and with a keen awareness that in so doing they are playing their part in the Church’s mission."
Pope Benedict XVI also presented the bishops with Cardinal Newman's "outstanding example of faithfulness to revealed truth" as a model for not giving in to the voices of relativism and to "spare no effort in encouraging priestly vocations and emphasizing to the faithful the true meaning and necessity of the priesthood."
He also implored them to make an effort to promote support and understanding among the lay faithful of the pastoral life and its difficulties, especially in the midst of "declining numbers and increasing pressures."
The Holy Father concluded by inviting the bishops to "be generous in implementing the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus," to bring members of the Anglican community into full communion with the Catholic Church.
Delegates from the Holy See and Great Britain are still negotiating the arrangements for the pastoral visit to the island in 2010. The culminating event of the trip could be the Pope officiating of the beatification rite of Cardinal John Henry Newman.
VATICAN CITY, February 1 (CNA) - Pope Benedict XVI spoke to members of the English and Welsh Conference of Catholic Bishops on Monday in Rome as part of their "ad Limina" visit. He used the meeting to respond to the wide range of issues being confronted by local Church and urged them to look to Cardinal John Henry Newman as a model for combating relativism and increasing vocations.
The Pope led off his speech with optimism, granting that "even amid the pressures of a secular age, there are many signs of living faith and devotion among the Catholics of England and Wales." As examples he cited the enthusiastic reaction in Britain to the visit of the relics of St. Therese and the growing anticipation for the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, as well as the popularity among young people for World Youth Day pilgrimages.
Benedict XVI also confirmed that he would in fact be visiting Britain, saying, "On the occasion of my forthcoming Apostolic Visit to Great Britain, I shall be able to witness that faith for myself and, as Successor of Peter, to strengthen and confirm it.”
He then moved on to the business of the day, starting with a reference to current laws in the countries that "impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs." In response to these, the Holy Father urged the bishops "to ensure that the Church’s moral teaching be always presented in its entirety and convincingly defended."
"Fidelity to the Gospel in no way restricts the freedom of others – on the contrary, it serves their freedom by offering them the truth," he added.
Benedict XVI incited the bishops to be insistent in declaring that they have a right to enter the national debate "through respectful dialogue with other elements in society" to make the Gospel known.
Additionally, the Pope invited all members of the Catholic community of England and Wales involved in communicating the Gospel: to "speak with a united voice" and to "be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit, who guides the whole Church into the truth, gathers her into unity and inspires her with missionary zeal."
The Holy Father continued by emphasizing that the lay faithful must be "equipped to hand on the faith to new generations comprehensively, accurately, and with a keen awareness that in so doing they are playing their part in the Church’s mission."
Pope Benedict XVI also presented the bishops with Cardinal Newman's "outstanding example of faithfulness to revealed truth" as a model for not giving in to the voices of relativism and to "spare no effort in encouraging priestly vocations and emphasizing to the faithful the true meaning and necessity of the priesthood."
He also implored them to make an effort to promote support and understanding among the lay faithful of the pastoral life and its difficulties, especially in the midst of "declining numbers and increasing pressures."
The Holy Father concluded by inviting the bishops to "be generous in implementing the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus," to bring members of the Anglican community into full communion with the Catholic Church.
Delegates from the Holy See and Great Britain are still negotiating the arrangements for the pastoral visit to the island in 2010. The culminating event of the trip could be the Pope officiating of the beatification rite of Cardinal John Henry Newman.
Conference of Catholic Bishops Exec Chaired Pro-Abortion, LGBT Rights Group
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 /Christian Newswire/ -- A national group that promotes abortion and homosexual rights has deep ties with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, according to a report released Monday.
Top USCCB executive John Carr held simultaneous leadership roles, creating a conflict of interest, with the USCCB and the radical Center for Community Change.
"The closer we look at the Bishops' Conference [staff and programs], the more we find a systemic pattern of cooperation with evil," said Michael Hichborn, American Life League's lead researcher into the USCCB scandal. "The CCC has lodged itself into the highest places of power in the USCCB while working to promote abortion and homosexuality."
John Carr is the USCCB executive director of the Department of Justice Peace and Human Development which oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). He has been employed by the USCCB since 1987.
John Carr's relationship with the Center for Community Change goes back at least to 1983, serving in leadership roles from 1999 to 2006 including as chairman of the board. The Reform CCHD Now report details the organization's promotion of abortion, "reproductive rights" and homosexuality as among the CCC's core advocacy focuses.
In 2001, while Carr served as both a USCCB exec and CCC leader, the Catholic Bishops' Conference funneled $150,000 to the pro-abortion group. The USCCB web site currently promotes the group and officials have spoken at CCC events.
"Strangely, Carr's leadership on the CCC's board shows up on several bios he's submitted for speaking engagements, but the word for word bio on the USCCB web site mysteriously omits that one detail," Hichborn said. "Why?"
Revelations of John Carr's involvement in the Center for Community Change come only months after members of the Reform CCHD Now coalition, including American Life League, uncovered 31 CCHD grantees partnered with the CCC.
"The CCHD claims it will immediately investigate accusations against organizations it funds yet it is silent on the CCC," said Hichborn. "How can Carr and the USCCB possibly justify this intimate relationship with such an obvious enemy of the Church?"
The Reform CCHD Now coalition is a lay Catholic watchdog group comprised of some of the top Catholic pro-life organizations in the country including American Life League, Human Life International and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry. For a full list of all 15 coalition members see www.reformcchdnow.com.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro- life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
American Life League: Sleeping with the Enemy: Bishops Conference Cooperation with Pro-Abortion Organizations (01 February 2010)
Bellarmine Veritas Ministry: Revisiting the Center for Community Change (01 February 2010)
Reform CCHD Now
# # #
Christian Newswire
Top USCCB executive John Carr held simultaneous leadership roles, creating a conflict of interest, with the USCCB and the radical Center for Community Change.
"The closer we look at the Bishops' Conference [staff and programs], the more we find a systemic pattern of cooperation with evil," said Michael Hichborn, American Life League's lead researcher into the USCCB scandal. "The CCC has lodged itself into the highest places of power in the USCCB while working to promote abortion and homosexuality."
John Carr is the USCCB executive director of the Department of Justice Peace and Human Development which oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). He has been employed by the USCCB since 1987.
John Carr's relationship with the Center for Community Change goes back at least to 1983, serving in leadership roles from 1999 to 2006 including as chairman of the board. The Reform CCHD Now report details the organization's promotion of abortion, "reproductive rights" and homosexuality as among the CCC's core advocacy focuses.
In 2001, while Carr served as both a USCCB exec and CCC leader, the Catholic Bishops' Conference funneled $150,000 to the pro-abortion group. The USCCB web site currently promotes the group and officials have spoken at CCC events.
"Strangely, Carr's leadership on the CCC's board shows up on several bios he's submitted for speaking engagements, but the word for word bio on the USCCB web site mysteriously omits that one detail," Hichborn said. "Why?"
Revelations of John Carr's involvement in the Center for Community Change come only months after members of the Reform CCHD Now coalition, including American Life League, uncovered 31 CCHD grantees partnered with the CCC.
"The CCHD claims it will immediately investigate accusations against organizations it funds yet it is silent on the CCC," said Hichborn. "How can Carr and the USCCB possibly justify this intimate relationship with such an obvious enemy of the Church?"
The Reform CCHD Now coalition is a lay Catholic watchdog group comprised of some of the top Catholic pro-life organizations in the country including American Life League, Human Life International and Bellarmine Veritas Ministry. For a full list of all 15 coalition members see www.reformcchdnow.com.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro- life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
American Life League: Sleeping with the Enemy: Bishops Conference Cooperation with Pro-Abortion Organizations (01 February 2010)
Bellarmine Veritas Ministry: Revisiting the Center for Community Change (01 February 2010)
Reform CCHD Now
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