Top homosexual blog laments: ‘WE ALWAYS LOSE’ when voters decide on marriage

by Kathleen Gilbert

June 29, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A prominent online gay publication has admitted the existence of a little-known but persistent obstacle to legalizing same-sex “marriage”: American voters.

A post on the Queerty blog Monday concluded that President Obama’s silence on gay “marriage” results from a recognition that most American voters oppose it.

“Even LGBT organizers agree that they’d rather pass marriage equality by legislature than at the ballot because at the ballot WE ALWAYS LOSE,” wrote Queerty’s Daniel Villarreal.

“People who oppose the ballot also like saying that if America voted on interracial marriage in the 60s, that still might be illegal too. But is that really our only defense against the ballot argument?” he continued. “If so, it’s no wonder that Obama hasn’t articulated a reason to support marriage that doesn’t fly in the face of the democratic process that had denied us our rights.”

Before New York legislators passed a same-sex “marriage” bill earlier this month, a poll by QEV Analytics found that 57 percent of voters in the state supported marriage as “only” between a man and a woman. The same poll, commissioned by the National Organization for Marriage, found that 59 percent favored putting the question on the ballot instead of leaving it to legislators.

When put to voters, measures to enshrine true marriage into law or a state constitution have won majority approval in all of the 30-plus states where they have been proposed.

Poll data on the issue have been found to be routinely misleading: a September 2008 survey found that lead-up polls on average vastly underestimated actual support for traditional marriage at the voting booth.

A plea to U.S. Bishops: Please love enough to speak of the dangers of homosexuality

by John-Henry Westen

June 29, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As the same-sex ‘marriage’ debate plays out in the United States, with New York having recently fallen, I can’t help but think that it all feels strangely familiar.  Back in 2003 and 2004 Canada went through these same debates. 

The methods used by homosexual activists in Canada were actually exported to the United States (first to Massachusetts) and have been similarly successful.  However, I cringe to see that the same unsuccessful approach to combating this agenda taken by religious leaders in Canada is being taken by U.S. leaders, with similar results.

To be sure, the efforts of the newly formed U.S. Bishops Conference office for the ‘promotion and defense of marriage’ are commendable. However, they are off target.  The slick and beautiful videos they have produced for the promotion of marriage and family life are truly great.  Thirty years ago they would have made a massive impact in fighting divorce and the contraceptive mentality. 

Today, however, what we need to realize is that in the same-sex ‘marriage’ battle, the fight is not really about marriage. 

As it was in Canada, in the debates leading up to the passage of our same-sex ‘marriage’ legislation in 2005, the issue is about societal approval for homosexual acts.

Homosexual activists argue the need for ‘marriage,’ but most have no interest in the constraints that such a formalized union would entail in terms of exclusive partnership.  However, the leaders among the activists have convinced the movement that they must attain marriage as a societal stamp of approval to homosexual behavior. 

For practicing homosexuals, as with all those engaged in aberrant sexual behavior, the conscience speaks uncomfortably.  Many activists in the sexual sphere seek societal approval, since they falsely believe that it will quell the voice of the conscience.  They are not looking for mere tolerance, but outright approval and even to quash all dissent, with coercion if necessary. 

In nations like my own, where speaking out against homosexuality has led to fines and penalties, there is also a growing movement advocating that pro-homosexual education be taught in schools and that parents be prevented from exempting their children from such classes.

The only way to truly win this debate is to raise the long-ignored subject of homosexuality itself: to teach the truth that homosexual acts are perilous to the body, and especially to the soul. To fail to do this would be to fail to address the heart of the matter.

In most people’s minds, arguments about the goodness of (heterosexual) marriage and raising children can be accepted right along with homosexual ‘marriage.’  Arguments that gay “marriage” will be a detriment to society, or that we should not alter traditional definitions, are tangential.  The core issue is the Church’s loving concern for those individuals who are putting their bodies and souls in danger with illicit and dangerous sexual practices, and society’s encouraging such behavior with the title of ‘marriage’.

That was what struck me when I read the New York Times coverage of the passage of the same-sex ‘marriage’ legislation pushed so hard by Catholic Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York. “The Catholic Church, arguably the only institution with the authority and reach to derail same-sex marriage, seemed to shrink from the fight,” it said.

The only answer that will move society away from the acceptance of homosexuality and thus same-sex ‘marriage’ is – caritas in veritate – or love in truth. And it is up to the Church to fearlessly preach this difficult, but beautiful message. It is not love to allow your children to rampantly misbehave without correcting them.  Speaking as a father of seven children, I will admit that it is often easier to turn the other way and purposely fail to notice misbehavior.  But out of love parents must correct and discipline their children, lest they come to harm. 

So too the Church, and especially Her shepherds – the fathers of souls - must feed the flock, must teach the truths however difficult and politically incorrect.  That is true love.

The Vatican has specifically warned against silence on the hard truths of homosexuality.  The man who is now our Pope, while he headed up the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a public document directed to the Bishops of the Catholic Church, stating that silence about the Church’s teachings regarding the spiritual harm of homosexual acts stems from a false charity which is ‘neither caring nor pastoral.’

Therefore I beg you, good priests and bishops and religious leaders of all Christian denominations, to speak out with conviction and love the truths of Christ, especially in these hard areas of human sexuality.  You will be criticized for it, but you must trust that God will see to it that the truth is well received. 

Love demands it and the future of Christianity depends on it.  How can I say the future of Christianity depends on it, since we know that Christ will be with His Church till the end of time? Because in this battle of homosexuality, a time of persecution of the Church is near at hand, and indeed, in many parts has already arrived.

This is not my estimation, but that of the Pope Benedict XVI.  In an address given only 18 days prior to his election to the pontificate, and one day prior to the death of Pope John Paul II, then Cardinal Josef Ratzinger said: “Very soon it will not be possible to state that homosexuality, as the Catholic Church teaches, is an objective disorder in the structuring of human existence.”

Yes, the time may be coming shortly when we are forbidden to state the basic truths of the Church.  Will we then have the courage to proclaim Christ’s truth with the possibility of losing our freedom, or perhaps even shedding our blood? If we choose silence now because of cultural pressures, the loss of human respect and political calculations, how can we imagine that when the penalties are increased to include imprisonment, and possibly even torment and death, we will dare to speak the truth of Christ?

July is the month dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord

By tradition, the Catholic Church dedicates each month of the year to certain devotions. In July, it is devoted to the Precious Blood of Jesus.

                     

In the past, the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Christ was celebrated on the first Sunday of July as confirmed by past Popes and recalled recently by Pope Benedict XVI in His speech after praying the Angelus on July 5, 2009.[1] He made special mention of Pope John XXIII’s apostolic letter “Inde a Primis” (dated June 30, 1960) which explained the devotion’s significance and approved its litanies.[2]

The Old fulfilled in the New Covenant

Sacrifice is the highest form of religious worship which man offers to God as an act of praise, thanksgiving, petition or atonement.[3] The most singular and pre-eminent sacrifice of the Old Law was the immolation of the Paschal Lamb which celebrated the sparing of Israel’s firstborn from the fatal sword of the Angel of Death in Egypt at the time of Moses and Pharaoh.

The imagery of sacrificial blood from slain animals is made more vivid and meaningful if we recall Moses’ words from the Book of Exodus, “And he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and he said: This is the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.” (Exodus 24:8)

This old sacrifice took a new form in the New Testament when the Immaculate Lamb of God offered Himself on the altar of the Cross to redeem mankind from sin and the slavery of Satan. And during the Last Supper, Our Lord offered Himself in an unbloody yet real sacrifice when He uttered the following words, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins.” (Matthew 26: 28) Truly, this “shedding of blood’ or “pouring out of blood” took place and forms one of the glorious mysteries of our Faith.[4]

The Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

· Catholic doctrine teaches the faithful that the blood of Jesus Christ is part of His Sacred Humanity and hypostatically united to the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.[5]

· And as such, it is worthy of adoration and veneration proper to latreutical worship (cultus latriae) which is rendered only to God. In other words, we adore the human nature of Christ because of its intimate and eternal union with the Person of the Divine Word.

· It is for this same reason that we honor the Most Sacred Heart or the Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Devotion to the Precious Blood

This devotion is one of the most ancient of pious Church practices. It is said that the Blessed Virgin venerated the Most Precious Blood of her infant Son on the day of His circumcision as she collected the first relics of His Precious Blood on a piece of cloth. On that momentous occasion she united her tears with that of the Word Incarnate on account of not so much of the sensible pain but of His supernatural sorrow for the hard-heartedness of mortals.[6]

It was the first of seven Blood-Sheddings of Our Divine Savior, The rest being:

2. The Agony in the Garden

3. The Scourging at the Pillar

4. The Crowning with Thorns

5. The Way of the Cross

6. The Crucifixion

7. The Piercing of His Heart

In his book, The Precious Blood, Father Frederick William Faber, D.D., calls St. Paul the Doctor of the Precious Blood owing to his evident fondness to preach on It in his epistles (Romans 3:25; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12). He recounts that the lives of saints are replete with devotion to the Precious Blood making special mention of St. John Chrysostom, St. Austin, St. Gertrude and St. Catherine of Sienna whom he considered the Prophetess of the Precious Blood for putting emphasis on It as the solution to the ills of her times.

Father Faber also remarks that the Precious Blood makes us appreciate more Christ’s redemption of mankind, His sacrifice and Passion. It also makes us comprehend the beautiful doctrine and the august realities of the Blessed Sacrament as we kneel in front of the tabernacle in humble adoration.

Over time the Church gave Her blessing to the devotion by approving societies like the Missionaries of the Precious Blood; enriching confraternities like that of St. Nicholas in Carcere, in Rome, and that of the London Oratory; attaching indulgences to prayers and scapulars in honor of the Precious Blood; and instituting commemorative feasts of the Precious Blood, Friday after the fourth Sunday in Lent and, since Pius IX, the first Sunday of July.[7]

Sadly, however, the feast was removed from the church calendar in 1969, the argument being that the cultus of the Precious Blood is included in the Mass and Divine Office of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Nevertheless, it is still laudable and salutary to continue to see the month of July as dedicated to the Most Precious Blood, just as Blessed Pope Pius IX intended it to be.[8]

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[1]Zenit News, ZE09070502 - 2009-07-05 http://www.zenit.org/article-26369?l=english last visited June 15, 2009.

[2] Papal Encyclicals Online, “On Promoting Devotion to the Most precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” http://www.papalencyclicals.net/John23/j23pb.htm last visited: June 15, 2010

[3] Moorman, George J., The Latin Mass Explained, Rocfor, Illinois: TAN Books an Publishers, Inc., 2007, p. 6

[4] Moorman, George J.,Ibid, p. 22.

[5] Ott, Ludwig, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, (St. Louis, Missouri: B. Herder Book Company, 1960), pp. 151-152

[6] The City of God by Mary of Agreda, Incarnation, Chapter XIV, Washington, New Jersey: Ave Maria Institute, 1971, Chapter XIV, pp. 446- 454

[7] New advent Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12372c.htm. Last visited June 16, 2010.

[8] New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12373a.htm Last visited June16, 2010.

Promise of God’s victory, by Our Lady of Good Success to Mother Mariana of Jesus

“Unhappy times will come wherein those who should fearlessly defend the rights of the Church will instead, blinded despite the light, give their hand to the Church’s enemies and do their bidding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“But when [evil] seems triumphant and when authority abuses its power, committing all manner of injustice and oppressing the weak, their ruin shall be near. They will fall and crash to the ground.”

Mother Mariana of Jesus in an old painting in the Conceptionist Convent in Quito, Ecuador.

Related story:

http://www.tfp.org/tfp-home/about-our-lady/our-lady-offers-good-success-in-quito.html

U.S. Teens Want Virginity Until Marriage

A poll conducted in late 2010 by OneHope, a Christian
research and outreach group, found 61 percent of
young people in the United States would like to be
virgins when they get married.

Additionally, 63 percent said that, presuming they had lost their virginity, they would change the past if possible to regain it,
and only 16 percent thought sexual intercourse between
two unmarried people was morally acceptable.

Join the Fight Against Christianophobia

 

 

 

 

On June 22, the Pro Europa Christiana Federation held a rally in front of the European Parliament to launch its signature campaign in favor of the recognition of an annual World Day against Christianophobia.

In Brussels’ Luxembourg Square, a few dozen members distributed thousands of leaflets to passersby.  To attract public attention, those from various TFP organizations helping with the distribution wore a red cape and carried a red standard emblazoned with a golden lion.

March 2 was the date chosen for the World Day against Christianophobia, because on that fatal day, this year, Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistani Minister for Minorities, was murdered because of his Catholic faith.  The use of the term Christianophobia refers to the persecution of Christians in Islamic countries.  It also includes abusive secular laws in the West that hinder the practice of the Faith such as the prohibition of crucifixes in public buildings in Italy.

According to the promoters of the campaign, every five minutes a Christian is killed, which makes Christianophobia one of the worst social evil of our times. However, the issue is often ignored by world authorities.

To stop the killing of thousands of innocent people, Pro Europa Christiana Federation wrote a public appeal to the UN General Secretary, accessible by Internet at a special web address: www.againstchristianophobia.org .

Sign the petition at www.againstchristianophobia.org

“The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity,” the appeals reads, “but this is no reason to allow so much of it to be shed, nor to stand by with folded arms.”

During the public rally, members shouted slogans appealing to the conscience of the passersby:

• Shahbaz Bhatti, Imran Masih, Asia Bibi… / the list of the victims gets longer and longer / What shall we do for our persecuted Christian brothers throughout the world?
• Never in the history of human cultural conflicts/, has so much evil / been done by so few fanatics / to so many innocents / Nice speeches are not enough to stop the killings, / We need action / Promote March 2 as the World Day against Christianophobia!
• Burglary and destruction of churches / Blasphemous exhibitions / Discrimination at the workplace / Disrespect for the right to Conscientious objection / Christianophobia does not stop at Turkey’s borders / It is carried out by our own governments and by the European institutions
• Militant secularism wants to reduce Christians to second-class citizens / Will we accept to become strangers in our own land?

An annual World Day against Christianophobia would be an occasion to draw the attention of public opinion, social movements, policy makers and the media to this crucial issue and to provide a unique annual opportunity for Christians to defend their rights in society.

For more information see this link:

http://federation-pro-europa-christiana.org/wordpress/?p=2559

PHOTOS – Irish Catholics publically and proudly stand for Our Lady’s honor against blasphemous exhibit at University College Cork

Prayer Vigil in Reparation to Blasphemy at the main gate of the University College, College Road, Cork

On Thursday, 23rd June, at 4:30pm, and again on Saturday, 25th June, at 12:30pm, Ireland Needs Fatima organized a Rosary of Reparation and peaceful protest against the blasphemous art exhibit “Our Lady and Other Queer Santas,” by the self-avowed lesbian Alma Lopez, on display at the University College Cork and open to the general public.

Sadly, the digital photo collage of ‘Our Lady’ shows Our Lady of Guadalupe in a floral bikini, hands on hips, held up by a bare breasted angel.  Incredible!!!

But some Catholics in Ireland did not stay indifferent to this blasphemy!  They stood up and protested and prayed and remained faithful to the torch of faith and zeal handed down by the great St. Patrick.

 

For more information about the good work of Ireland Needs Fatima, please visit here:

http://www.isfcc.org/

San Diego diocese reverses parish decision, offers Catholic funeral to homosexual lounge owner

by Rebecca Millette

SAN DIEGO, California, June 28, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A San Diego Catholic church that recently cancelled the funeral Mass for the owner of a homosexual lounge has since had their decision overruled by the diocese.

The funeral Mass for John SanFilippo was scheduled at Our Lady of the Rosary Church this Thursday.  After learning that the deceased had been in a homosexual relationship for many years, the parish priests reportedly informed the family on Sunday that the funeral could not take place.

Our Lady of the Rosary parish told LifeSiteNews.com that they are refusing comment at this time and directed all inquiries to the diocese.

A similar situation occurred in 2005 when a Catholic funeral was requested for an openly homosexual businessman. Bishop Robert Brom of the Diocese of San Diego said the funeral could not take place in a Catholic church of the diocese.  Bishop Brom reportedly apologized to the man’s family afterwards.

LifeSiteNews.com contacted the diocese for further comment. 

“Diocesan Authorities have concluded that the funeral scheduled at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish may take place,” Rodrigo Valdivia, chancellor for the diocese, told LSN.

He added that the priest at Our Lady of the Rosary who responded to the funeral request was a visiting priest substituting during the pastor’s vacation.  “This visiting priest is not familiar with local practice,” said Valdivia.

The director of the cemetery is in contact with the SanFilippo family to make funeral arrangements and the funeral will take place as scheduled on Thursday, according to Valdivia.

A soldier speaks: why repealing ‘Don’t Ask’ is wrong - Intro

by Paul Hair

Paul Hair

Paul Hair serves in the U.S. Army Reserve as a non-commissioned officer. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and wrote or contributed to approximately 50 reports and assessments while in Iraq on an eight-month deployment during 2009-2010. He has worked as a civilian in both the government and private sectors.

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 24, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - I wrote a letter in late May 2011 to the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) requesting that Congress reconsider repealing what is popularly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). DADT is a misnomer. And so I shall refer to the repeal as the repealing of morality from the Armed Forces.

The Washington Times learned of my letter and reported on it in the June 8 edition of its “Inside the Ring” section (“Army dissent” paragraph).

I know for certain that leaders across the Armed Forces read what The Washington Times published, and so I am going to explain why I am questioning the pending repeal of morality. As always, my views are my own and I in no way represent the Army Reserve or any other part of the U.S. government.

Read the complete article here

Father of population control movement supports sex-selective abortion, mass sterilization

by Kathleen Gilbert

Author of "The Population Bomb," Paul Ehrlich.

June 27, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Even when confronted with the deaths of 160 million children in the womb simply because they were girls, the father of the modern population control movement doesn’t bat an eyelash.

The problem of sex-selective abortion has been receiving increased scrutiny in the media recently, following the release of Maria Hvistendahl’s book “Unnatural Selection,” which was reviewed last week in the Wall Street Journal.

In that book the author documents the devastation wrought by widespread female gendercide in countries that favor sons over daughters.  She also records a discussion about prenatal gendercide with Paul Ehrlich, the author of the 1977 book “The Population Bomb,” a seminal work in the modern population control movement.

In “The Population Bomb,” Ehrlich had mentioned sex selection as a potentially effective tool for reducing population, although effective prenatal gender determinators such as ultrasound had not yet been invented.

When recently confronted with his support for sex-selective abortion by Hvistendahl, Ehrlich reportedly expressed his continued support for the practice. Ehlich told Hvistendahl, “it would be a good idea to let people have their choice so that they could have fewer children and could have what they wanted.”

“You can be aborted as a conceptus, you can be killed at birth, or you can be sold into slavery and die in a slum someplace,” he said.

Hvistendahl writes that after she pointed out that the prenatal killing of girls has forced surviving women into even greater suffering, brought about by higher rates of kidnapping, sex trafficking and marriage brokering, Ehrlich agreed but dismissed the statistics as “the old unintended consequences problem.”

Ehrlich also defended the principle behind mass forced sterilization, a concept mentioned in a 1977 book he co-authored entitled “Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment,” but dismissed as impracticable.

While Ehrlich says critics have taken much of that book out of context, he told Hvistendahl that the idea of reversing fertility - that is, requiring potential parents to petition the government for permission to override the sterilant - would “solve a lot of the things that disturb people the most.” He also suggested that mass sterilization working in tandem with sex-selection technology would be particularly effective for population control interests.

Notably, the 1977 text was co-authored by the head of President Obama’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, John Holdren, who has faced widespread criticism for the pro-population control content found in the text.

Homosexuality soon to be taught in California public schools unless urgent action is taken

California bishops urge opposition to pro-homosexual textbook law

by Christine Dhanagom

• SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, June 28, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The California Catholic Conference has issued an action alert encouraging California Catholics to contact their Assembly Members in opposition to a proposed state law regulating text book content.

SB 48, The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful Education Act, was introduced by openly homosexual state Senator Mark Leno and passed by the Senate in April.

It was passed by the Assembly Education Committee in a party line vote and now awaits a floor vote in the Assembly. Democrats currently maintain a strong majority in the lower house of the California legislature, holding 52 of 80 seats.  If the bill is passed by the Assembly, it will go to the desk of Democratic Governor Jerry Brown for signature.

A similar bill was vetoed in 2006 by former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

If passed, the bill would require a politically correct overhaul of social science curriculum in California schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. It mandates proportional representation of the historical contributions of minorities, the disabled and homosexuals and prohibits any material that reflects negatively on a person because of race, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

“Professional educators and historians, working with teachers, parents and school boards, should design social studies curriculums,” said the California Catholic Conference’s action alert. “Politicians, subject to the winds of political correctness, should not because they often respond with more alacrity to the interest groups than to their constituents whose children attend California’s schools.”

The bishop’s statement also quoted the editors of the Los Angeles Times, who expressed concern that the bill would turn history instruction into the propagation of “fables.”

Pro-family organizations, along with some lawmakers, have also expressed concern over the way in which the revised curriculum would draw attention to the issue of sexual orientation for even the youngest of students.

During a Senate hearing, Republican Senator Robert Huff called the bill a “paradigm shift” which would have the effect of “actively promoting a lifestyle,” reports the International Press Association.

Pro-family activist James Lambert says he believes that the bill will be used as a tool by homosexual lobbyists to overturn Proposition 8, the California Constitutional Amendment that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

“For them, they’re reversing this and they want the public to promote their agenda, and I don’t think that’s the job and the function of the public schools,” he told OneNewsNow. “The public schools are there to teach kids the basic rudiments of education—math, English, history, language ... philosophy—but not to give political discourses. They’re out of touch.”

Homosexual Ideology, Satanic Pride

Written by Luiz Sérgio Solimeo

June 11, 2011 saw one more parade to glorify the vice of homosexuality. Dubbed, Europride or Eurogaypride, it was held in Rome, once known as the Eternal City, the center of Catholicism. The expression, “homosexual pride” summarizes the essence of the homosexual ideology. Let us see how.

Pride and revolt against God

Sin is a revolt against the order established by God and, therefore, a revolt against the Creator Himself. The more this revolt becomes manifest, the greater is the sin.

Man can sin out of weakness and feel shame for his sin and desire to make amends; or he can sin with special malice and take pride in his sin. In this case, revolt against the Creator becomes more manifest; for, as Saint Thomas says, “[it] is characteristic of pride to be unwilling to be subject to any superior, and especially to God.”[1]

For this reason, the holy Doctor presents “pride or self-love as the beginning of every evil.”[2] According to Scripture, "pride is the beginning of all sin."[3]

Pride, the sin of Lucifer

Theologians commonly believe that the sin of Lucifer and of the evil angels was one of pride. Indeed, having no physical body, they could not be carried away by concupiscence as with man. Therefore, their sin had to be one of the spirit.

Two passages from Scripture are usually mentioned to describe this sin. The first is from Isaias:

How have you fallen from the heavens, O morning star [Lucifer],[4] son of the dawn! How are you cut down to the ground, you who mowed down the nations! You said in your heart: "I will scale the heavens; Above the stars of God I will set up my throne; I will take my seat on the Mount of Assembly, in the recesses of the North. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will be like the Most High!"[5]

The second is from Prophet Jeremias:

Long ago you broke your yoke, you tore off your bonds, and you said: I will not serve.[6]

The homosexual ideology’s Luciferian pride

To take pride in practicing the homosexual vice and to proclaim this in public in the streets and squares of the world’s leading cities is a sin of the spirit, a challenge to the Law of God. It is a denial of reality as such and an adhesion to a utopia and to a pathological fantasy.

It is a manifestation of Lucifer’s pride and a repetition of his desperate cry of revolt, “I will not serve.”

Hatred of the Catholic Church

Let us return to Rome’s “Europride.” Italian newspapers and Internet blogs published hundreds of photos from the march. What stands out most—even more than the wild display of lust and the semi-naked bodies and obscene postures and gestures—is the hatred shown against the Catholic Church.

A homosexual sacrilegiously presented himself posing as Our Lord Jesus Christ in dark glasses.

The offenses against the Sovereign Pontiff could not be more vile: a large banner at the front of the march showed a photomontage depicting the Pope with woman’s hair, wearing socks and skimpy lingerie. Below, the words, “[She] wears Prada but is a friend of Satan.”7]
Another banner showed a cartoon of Benedict XVI wearing a Nazi medal, holding a crosier with the Nazi symbol, and below the words, “Nazinger [Nazi+Ratzinger] attacks gays.” Another banner read, “Ratzinger, love your neighbor but not as Hitler.” And yet another, “Real Hell: The Vatican, mental Guantanamo.”

Many homosexuals dressed up as bishops or priests in a ridiculous and debauched manner.

Destruction of the notion of good and evil

During the parade, the denial of all morality came across not just through the general in-your-face sexual license but also in scenes such as that reported on under the title, “Rome’s Europride amid Angels, Devils and Spouses,” by Italy’s ANSA News Agency. It carried a picture of two men kissing, one dressed as a devil, with horns and a trident and the other like a good angel, with white wings and halo.[8]
The kissing “devil” and “angel” aptly represent the ultimate goal of the homosexual ideology: the complete denial of the difference between good and evil, right and wrong. Freed from morals and reason, man’s will shall become the only rule; good will simply mean what gives pleasure to our instincts and senses; and evil, anything that crosses us.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil”

Does this not remind us of the Prophet Sophonias and his rebuke to those “that say in their hearts: The Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil"?[9]
Unto them is the warning of the Prophet Isaias: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness."[10]
Here is where the satanic pride of the homosexual ideology leads us: it transforms light into darkness and darkness into light and wants to impose this darkness on the world, through the dictatorship of law and the propaganda coming from liberal media.

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[1] Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 84, a. 2, ad 2. See also: Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, Revolution and Counter-Revolution, Chap. VII, 3, at http://www.tfp.org/tfp-home/books/revolution-and-counter-revolution.html.

[2] Ibid., ad 3.

[3] Ecclesiasticus [Sirach]:10:15.

[4] St. Jerome translated “morning star” into Latin as Lucifer, following the Greek translation of the Hebrew made by the Seventy: “phophorós”, light bearer.

[5] 14:12-14.

[6] 2:20.

[7] We use “she” because the original Italian says “amica”, girl friend, and not “amico,” boy friend. “Il fotomontaggio del Papa in mutande e reggicalze. E, sotto, la scritta: ‘Veste Prada ma è amica di Satana.’” Grazia Maria Coletti, “Lady Gaga lo ringrazia Alemanno fischiato Europride, comizio della popstar al circo Massimo. Al corteo fotomontaggi del Papa in reggicalze” in Il Tempo, June 12, 2011, 05:30, at http://www.iltempo.it/politica/2011/06/12/1264536-lady_gaga_ringrazia_alemanno_fischiato.shtml?refresh_ce.

[8]ANSA, “Europride a Roma tra Angeli, diavoli e spose,” Updated: Sat, 11 Jun 2011 22:16:00 GMT, at http://notizie.it.msn.com/fotostory/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=158209692&page=14.

[9] 1:12.

[10] 5:20.

Frankness, loyalty, candor and the bridge between the person’s first and final innocence

If a man was able during his whole life to grow not only in experience but also in penetration of spirit, common sense and wisdom, in old age his mind acquires a splendor and nobility that shines through in his face and will be the true beauty of his last years.

‘His physical appearance may convey the impression of approaching death, but his soul shines with glimmers of immortality.’ [1]

Fifty and sixty year olds might think:

“ ‘How beautiful youth is! I miss my innocence. That candor of soul, that freshness! I do not want to die without having recovered the qualities of my childhood so that, when I present myself before Our Lady I can say:

“ ‘My Mother, my whole life is in your hands. I lost nothing of what you gave me. You made me fructify all that you gave me. But there were some things given to me in my early times that I never had again and need to recover.’” [2]

‘When someone attains the first dawn of reason, God manifests to him in some way how He wants to be seen, known and adored.’[3] It is quite probable that, when the person is about to die, God will again manifest himself to him in that primeval way in which the person is more attracted by God Our Lord.

So a kind of voltaic arch is established between the moment the person was born and the one in which he breathes his last.  And that special image of God again presents itself to the person, inviting him to Heaven.

Throughout life there are moments which recall the first image and prepare for the last image. Thus prepared, the person, having profited from the first image of innocence and upon receiving the last image, can say: “O my God, I adore Thee, and adore Thee this way.”

Then God receives this soul and takes it to Heaven, because it is similar to the image He had given it with the primeval innocence.

‘Life is a river that does not empty into a vacuum but into a sea compatible with the person and similar to him. It began with a metaphysical dawn and ends in a metaphysical sun.’ [4]

(Written by Plinio Correa de Oliveira)

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[1] Catolicismo, nº 12, December de 1951.

[2] 2-2-1972.

[3] 5-16-1976.

[4] 12-19-1979.

Why Devotion to the Immaculate Heart Is so Crucial for Our Days

Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is at the very core of the Fatima message. The Blessed Mother presented it as the solution to the problems of the world and to save souls from going to Hell.

Jesus Wants Devotion to the Immaculate Heart
At the third apparition, in July 1917, after the terrible vision of Hell, Our Lady presented devotion to her Immaculate Heart, together with the Communion of Reparation of the First Five Saturdays and the consecration of Russia, as the means to avoid the perdition of souls, the chastisement of a new world war and the expansion of communism.

At an earlier apparition in June, Our Lady had told Lucia, “Jesus . . . wants to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. To those who accept it, I promise salvation and those souls will be loved by God as flowers I have placed to embellish His Throne.

Devotion of Reparation
As recommended by the Blessed Mother, this devotion is intended to make reparation for the ongoing offenses suffered by the Immaculate Heart. At the June 1917 apparition, Our Lady opened her hands, which gave off an intense light: “In front of the palm of Our Lady’s right hand was a heart surrounded with thorns that appeared to be piercing it. We understood it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, insulted by the sins of humanity, which wanted reparation.”

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What is the meaning of this devotion? Why should we venerate the Immaculate Heart of Mary? Given our limited space, we will detail a few aspects, rich in meaning, of this admirable devotion.

A Symbol of Our Lady’s Love
From time immemorial the heart has symbolized love, the most noble of all sentiments. In relation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, it represents the Savior’s redeeming love to the point of delivering Himself for us and the co-redeeming love of Mary Most Holy that is united intimately with her Divine Son’s sacrifice.

Thus, the object of devotion to the Sacred Hearts is His merciful love. This is why Pope Pius XII affirmed the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus—it is fundamental. Based on his argument, theologians say the same about the Immaculate Heart of Mary: it is well understood and it is the essence of all devotion to the Blessed Mother.

Devotion to the Persons of Jesus and Mary
In addition to their specific functions, the parts of the human body serve to symbolize an aspect of a person’s most salient characteristics. Thus, a perspicacious person is said to have “eagle eyes” and a very courageous man has “a lion’s heart.” The same happens with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary: it emphasizes a body part to symbolize a salient aspect of the whole adorable Person of Jesus Christ and the venerable Person of His Most Holy Mother, which is their merciful love. Devotion to these Hearts addresses therefore to the Persons of Jesus and of Mary.¹

Immaculate, Most Holy, Full of Grace
The absence of any sin in a creature implies a most abundant help of grace, which would not be possible without the extraordinary help from God. This is why the Angel Gabriel greeted Mary as being “full of grace.”² Likewise, the absence of all sin implies a high degree of perfection and sanctity. Therefore, the Immaculate Heart of Mary symbolizes the hallowed purity and sanctity of Mary Most Holy and her complete fidelity to God.

Dolorous Heart
The Immaculate Heart of Mary is also a dolorous heart, pierced with sorrow. Soon after the joys of the Savior’s birth, at the Presentation in the Temple, the old Simeon, turning to the Mother of God, prophesied, “Behold, this child is set for the ruin, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted. And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed.”³

Maximo Peinador, a Spanish theologian, comments:
What were the feelings of Mary’s heart upon hearing the words of Simeon? They are easily guessed: her admiration and joy before the manifestation of her Son suddenly turns into bitter sorrow. The words, not only about the future of her Son but her own, were clear and definitive. But the entire and definitive fulfillment of Simeon’s announcement would be realized on Calvary . . . . There, as nowhere else, Christ crucified would be a sign of contradiction . . . . At the foot of the cross, His Mother would feel the announced sword in all the fibers of her motherly heart.⁴

A Wise Heart
Mary Most Holy is the Mother of the Incarnate Wisdom, Jesus Christ, and for this reason she is venerated as the Seat of Wisdom. Her Immaculate Heart also is, therefore, a Wise Heart, and Catholic liturgy has applied to her, since the 8th century, texts from the Sapiential books of Scripture.⁵

This sapiential aspect is emphasized in the two references that Saint Luke makes to the Heart of Mary. “Heart” here is a symbol of Our Lady’s interior life and of her continuous contemplation of God’s marvels, particularly as manifested in her Divine Son.

The first reference is to the scene of the shepherds visiting the newborn Savior. Saint Luke comments, “But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). The second reference is about the loss and finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple. Saint Luke repeats the same comment, with a slight difference, maintaining the same sense, “And his mother kept all these words in her heart” (Luke 2:51).

A Maternal Heart, Full of Tenderness
It would be impossible in a short article to cover all aspects of the Immaculate Heart. But one cannot fail to recall that it is a motherly Heart filled with the tenderness that the best of all mothers had for the best of all sons. This tenderness is reflected in the love, full of mercy, that she has for us; which is why we invoke her as Mater Misericordiae.

A Devotion Suited to Our Days
We find ourselves today in a time when sentiment is dying and relationships between persons are increasingly dominated by brutality, cynicism, self-interest and sensuality.

Just think of abortion! Is this not the most cruel and brutal suppression of the most noble of all affections, which is motherly love? Isn’t this love often shortchanged by the attachment for a professional career or a transitory promiscuous relationship?

Isn’t something similar happening to fatherly love? Isn’t this tragic egoism that destroys family relationships, and thus the family itself, spreading to all other types of human relationships? Thus one understands the Blessed Mother’s 1917 prophetic wisdom in Fatima when men would witness the death of sentiment.

Hence the remedy for the immense crisis we find ourselves in is devotion to that venerable and most holy Heart capable of restoring true feelings of love, affection and mercy, and the purity of which our times are so needful. The Immaculate Heart is the source, overflowing with motherly love, of the one who is “full of grace.”⁶

Catholic Jesuit University Professors Promoting Assisted Suicide

Some Jesuit run Catholic Universities in the USA are already well known for their pushing of anti-Catholic teaching such as the promotion of  Planned Parenthood, dissenting nuns, such as Sister Gramick, drag shows, ugly modernistic art, homosexuality, etc.

Now, the Cardinal Newman Society has published a report that documents years of links between the assisted suicide movement and current and recent professors at four major Jesuit universities: Georgetown University, Marquette University, Santa Clara University and Boston College.

What’s next?

Related stories:

Jesuit college helps planned parenthood

Drag show at Catholic Seattle University

Protest to proceed tomorrow against abortionist Barcelona hospital linked to archdiocese

by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

BARCELONA, June 24, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Organizers of an ongoing protest against a hospital accused of performing abortions, which has links to the Archdiocese of Barcelona, say they will proceed tomorrow with their monthly demonstration despite claims that orders have been given to end the deadly procedure at the facility.

According to the newspaper ABC, a spokesman for the archdiocese says that the board of directors has given the order to stop the abortions, which were first reported in 2010.  The statement is the first time the archdiocese has broken its silence over the matter.

Despite the practice of abortion at the Sant Pau hospital and other hospitals in the area, the archdiocese has continued to maintain representatives on the board of directors, and has stonewalled efforts by local priests to end the relationship.

A group of priests and laymen led by Fr. Custodio Ballester have organized protests in front of the facility, one of which will be held tomorrow. Despite the assurance recently given to ABC by unnamed “spokesmen” that orders have been given to end the abortions, the organizers say they will continue to protest.

“We haven’t been able to confirm said order by the Cardinal, but even so, do you think that the board of directors of the hospital of Sant Pau is going to oppose itself to the provincial government and is going to stop doing abortions, just like that?” writes the leadership of the Cross of St. Andrew association.

“Tragically, and as much as we would desire it to be so, we don’t believe it is possible,” they add.

“For that reason, we encourage you, this month more than ever, to come with your families this Saturday the 25th, to the demonstration in Barcelona in defense of unborn children, with the purpose of converting the improbable into the possible.”

Fr. Ballester told LifeSiteNews that “the leadership of the Sant Pau Hospital is very annoyed by our demonstration each 25th in front of its doors and the march that follows. The thing has become very extensively known and is hurting their reputation.”

“This is the great hypocrisy: abortion is free and is a right, but its practice continues to be shameful even for the doctors themselves,” he added.

He noted that “silence is better” for the hospital, but that the silence has been “broken” by pro-life media coverage of the scandal.  In addition to LifeSiteNews’ coverage in English, Spanish Catholic and pro-life media outlets have been reporting continuously on the issue for months.

The protest will begin at 8:30 pm. at the entrance of the Santa Creu and Sant Pau hospital, which is at the end of Gaudi Avenue at the intersection of Sant Antoni María Claret (number 167) and Cartagena. At 9 pm. protesters will march to the Holy Family Basilica, while praying the rosary.

Interview: Boston archdiocese says rescheduled Mass is not celebrating homosexual pride

by Kathleen Gilbert

BOSTON, June 23, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Archdiocese of Boston has strongly denied that a rescheduled Mass initiated by the Rainbow Ministry of St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church will celebrate homosexual pride and said that Cardinal Seán O’Malley’s handling of the situation has been unfairly maligned.

“I can tell you unequivocally: this Mass is not a celebration of gay pride week, month,” a spokesman for the diocese told LifeSiteNews.com Thursday, echoing a statement issued by Cardinal O’Malley yesterday.

In that statement O’Malley had said that the “philosophical and political agenda of Gay Pride in relation to marriage and sexual morality is incompatible with the Church’s teachings. For that reason, [St. Cecilia pastor Rev. John] Unni rescheduled a Mass of welcome for all his parishioners to a time that would not associate the Mass with the Gay Pride agenda.”

O’Malley said, “Catholics who have same sex attractions are often criticized by their friends for coming to Mass,” and that those close to such individuals “are distressed that their loved ones feel rejected by their Church.”

“We want all baptized Catholics to come to Mass and be part of our community, but we cannot compromise the teaching of the Church rooted in Scripture and tradition,” he said.
O’Malley called the confusion surrounding the event “regrettable” and referred to his previous statements on his blog and an editorial in The Boston Pilot as sources of clarification on Church teaching.*

On Sunday, Rainbow Ministry supporters holding a prayer service in place of the Mass celebrated when the archdiocese announced that the Mass had not been cancelled, as initially believed, but rescheduled for July 10.

In its announcement of the rescheduled Mass, the archdiocese referred to “a Mass welcoming the wider community of the faithful, including gays and lesbians,” and said, “We respect the desire of those individuals organizing and participating in the prayer service.”  The Boston Globe reported the news Sunday with the headline, “Mass marking gay pride is back on.”

Archdiocesan spokesman Terrence Donilon on Thursday said he had unsuccessfully asked the Globe to change its headline.

“The Church has not and will not be put in such a position where it appears we are going back on our word that we will not support such activities,” said Donilon in a telephone interview Thursday with LifeSiteNews.com. “I can tell you unequivocally: this Mass is not a celebration of gay pride week, month - it is the welcoming Mass for the homosexual community and the wider community.” Donilon said that the archdiocese had spoken directly with Rev. Unni on the matter.

LSN asked whether the archdiocese had communicated to leaders of the Rainbow Ministry that the Mass was not a celebration of gay pride. The original statement in the St. Cecilia’s church bulletin announcing the Mass had explicitly invited “all friends and supporters of the LGBT community to a Mass in celebration of Boston’s Pride Month.”

Donilon said, “They’ve read our words, obviously, and they’re clearly .... part of a parish that’s very aware of where the archdiocese is coming from.”

Referring to the statement that the archdiocese “respect[s] the desire of those individuals organizing and participating in the prayer service,” LSN asked: “To clarify, does the archdiocese condone their desire to hold a mass celebrating gay pride, or is that desire unacceptable?”

“The Church is not celebrating Gay Pride Week/Month/activities,” Donilon responded. “I think the Cardinal’s message sent earlier is pretty clear on that.”

The spokesman also shot back at criticism of the archdiocese’s handling of the situation from Catholics on the blogosphere.

“I’m not going to let these people attack the Cardinal’s integrity nor his 40 plus years of priesthood,” said Donilon, defending O’Malley’s record defending the unborn and marriage, and calling the attacks “outrageous and disgraceful.”

“This isn’t about defending Catholicism, this is about hurting, defaming, denegrating people, and speaking mistruths, and manipulating words and positions of the cardinal and archdiocese. I think they’re malicious,” said Donilon. “I’m talking both conservative and liberal bloggers.”

Note: This article had originally suggested that The Boston Pilot editorial referred to by Cardinal O’Malley was authored by the cardinal. This is incorrect. It was authored by the Pilot’s staff.

New law could make Kansas first abortion-free state

by Kathleen Gilbert

TOPEKA, Kansas, June 24, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) began inspecting the three remaining abortion clinics in the state this week, and said it will decide by July 1 whether they will be able to attain a license to practice under a new law.

Members of Operation Rescue, a pro-life whistleblower group, say they believe there’s a good chance the abortion clinics’ operating standards will be found unacceptable under the new requirements.

“We have doubts that any of the abortion clinics can meet the safety requirements of the new law,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “If they cannot comply, all three abortion clinics would be forced to cease abortion operations, making Kansas the first abortion-free state in the nation.”

The first government inspections under the new legislation began on Wednesday morning at Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood, an Overland Park abortion clinic that is currently facing 107 criminal charges related to illegal late-term abortions. The initial inspection is said to be a two-day review. The other two abortion clinics will be inspected within the next few days.

According to the new state law, clinics offering abortions must meet minimum safety standards before they can be licensed to legally perform abortions. The Health Department has the authority to deny, suspend, or revoke a license, and has the authority to fine a clinic for violations and go into court to ask that a clinic be closed.

The new standards include having an emergency door that can accommodate a gurney. The lack of such a door contributed to the death of Karnamaya Monger in Pennsylvania after a botched procedure by late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who now faces several counts of murder against both a woman client and infants killed after delivery.

Other requirements include maintaining proper emergency equipment, drugs and protocols, having proper lighting and ventilation, lavatory areas, and spaces for the sterilization of surgical equipment. Clinics must also have a licensed nurse in the clinic when abortions are done.

Operation Rescue has documented that it is a common practice for abortion clinics to employ under-trained, unqualified staff.

“If clinics cannot comply with these minimum safety standards, they are simply too dangerous to continue to operate. It is shocking that anyone would even question whether or not women deserve to be protected from shoddy and unsafe abortion practices,” said Newman.

“We certainly believe there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ abortion clinic. Abortionists have the attitude that they are above the law and will likely not keep it, therefore the best way to protect women is to close the abortion clinics.”

This storm could leave 135 million Americans without electricity

What might happen if a massive solar flare hits the earth?

This is definitely worth reading, although, please keep in mind, that God can use any force of nature to remind us of His Omnipotence and what happens when man rebels against Him and Natural Law.

Helios is angry

Moral and spiritual cataclysm shakes New York State as senate legalizes the sin of homosexual “marriage”

A moral wrong can never be a civil right!

June 24 is a day of immense moral tragedy in the history of New York State and in the USA in general as the NY state senate breaks with God’s marriage and “legalizes” homosexual “marriage.”     

Here are more important reflections on the issue:

Fighting for our culture -- battling for America's soul

Then, this morning, we already see indications of the next step in the process of moral purification, as in this article:

Sexual Freedom the next frontier

What will it take for America to wake up and turn back to God?

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BREAKING: Homosexual ‘marriage’ passes in New York

by John Jalsevac

June 24, 2011 (www.LifeSiteNews.com) - In a major blow to efforts to protect true marriage in the United States, the New York Senate voted Friday evening to legalize homosexual “marriage” in a 33-29 vote.

The Assembly has already passed their own same-sex “marriage” bill and Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) has stated that the Assembly will approve whatever comes out of the Senate.

Given that Governor Andrew Cuomo has been the driving force behind the legislation, it is practically guaranteed to become law. Homosexual couples will be able to get “married” within 30 days after the governor signs the bill.

The vote represented a defeat for Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. (D-Bronx), the lone Democrat who had waged a hard fought campaign to defeat the same-sex “marriage” bill, and had been successful the year before.

Diaz expressed shock on the floor that the Republicans, “the party that always defended family values,” had enabled same-sex “marriage” to pass. “God, not Albany, has settled the definition of marriage, a long time ago,” he said.

Shortly before the vote, senators had passed an amendment that provided stronger religious protections. That amendment passed 36-26.

However, earlier in the day Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) had criticized the new religious liberty language, saying that it does not guarantee that religious entities will not be forced with the choice of going out of business or violating core beliefs, as has happened in other states which have legalized same-sex “marriage.”

“This is deceptive language that does not do what it promises,” said Brown. “NOM has run this bill by several religious liberty scholars and they say they cannot even tell whether the language will permit Catholic adoption agencies to stay in business.”

Prior to the vote, the state’s Catholic bishops had issued an impassioned appeal urging senators to vote to protect marriage. New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan has been at the forefront of the fight for traditional marriage in the state.

“The Bishops of New York State oppose in the strongest possible terms any attempt to redefine the sacred institution of marriage,” they said. “The matter of religious exemptions has been and continues to be a secondary issue that in no way negates the fact that this bill is bad for society. We urge all Senators to vote no on Governor Cuomo’s bill. Marriage has always been, is now, and always will be the union of one man and one woman in a lifelong, life-giving union. Government does not have the authority to change this most basic of truths.”

However, their statement did not stop Republican Senator Mark Grisanti, in a speech moments before the vote, from simultaneously proclaiming his “Catholic” identity, and saying that “reason” had led him to throw his support behind gay “marriage.”

Grisanti had been one of the key “undecideds” in the GOP caucus, whose votes carried the weight to either pass or kill the vote. “As a Catholic I was raised to believe that marriage is between a woman,” he told the Senate, but added that after doing months of “research,” he had decided, “I cannot legally come up with an argument against same-sex marriage. Who am I to say that someone does not have the same rights that I have with my wife?”

In response to tonight’s vote, NOM’s Brian Brown promised to commit “at least $2 million” in elections in 2012 to topple Republicans who voted for gay “marriage” from office.

“The Republican party has torn up its contract with the voters who trusted them in order to facilitate Andrew Cuomo’s bid to be president of the U.S.,” he said.  “Selling out your principles to get elected is wrong.  Selling out your principles to get the other guy elected is just plain dumb.”

“Gay marriage has consequences for the next generation, for parents, and for religious people, institutions and small business owners.  Politicians who campaign one way on marriage, and then vote the other, need to understand: betraying and misleading voters has consequences, too.  We are not giving up, we will continue to fight to protect marriage in New York, as we are actively doing in New Hampshire and Iowa.”

Bishop Vasa: homosexual ‘marriage’ supporters misunderstand sex, human nature

by Kathleen Gilbert

Bishop Robert Vasa

SEATTLE, June 22, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Supporters of gay “marriage” fail to understand both the purpose of sex and the nature of human beings, said one Catholic bishop last week.

Bishop Robert Vasa, formerly of Baker, Oregon and now coadjutor bishop of Santa Rosa, California, spoke with LifeSiteNews.com on the topic at the U.S. bishops’ conference in Seattle. Asked to comment on the fight for same-sex “marriage,” Vasa indicated that the mainstream emphasis on equality and civil rights completely misses the point of the debate.

The real controversy, said Vasa, revolves around “a proper philosophical understanding of the nature of the human person, and the nature of sexual interaction between persons of the opposite sex.” It also stems from a general “failure to recognize and understand that sexual love is not about self-gratification and pleasure,” but about “entering into a relationship with another person which is by its nature capable of being fruitful.”

“In some ways homosexual relationships try to imitate [the marital relationship between a man and a woman], but that’s all it is: an imitation,” he said. “Some semblance of union which can never be fruitful or productive cannot really be an expression of love, it can only be an expression of self-gratification.”

While supporters “may not recognize this,” said Vasa, calling homosexual relationships by the name of marriage amounts to a “corruption” of an institution reserved for a union that is “faithful, permanent, and child-oriented.”

“Marriage is unique, it has its own internal dynamism and internal definition, and you cannot change the nature of a homosexual relationship by calling it ‘marriage,’” he said. “It is still not marriage, because marriage has its own identity, and we can’t take unto ourselves in this generation.”

Democrat Senators revive bid to legalize abortion on military bases

by Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 23, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Several Democrats in the U.S. Senate have introduced a bill that would eliminate the longstanding federal prohibition on abortion in military bases, and allow military funds to cover abortion in cases of rape and incest.

The “MARCH for Military Women Act (Military Access to Reproductive Care and Health)” (S 1214) is being sponsored by U.S. Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Kirstin Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Patty Murray (D-Mich.).

The measure would allow servicewomen to obtain elective abortions on US military bases (both domestic and overseas) so long as they paid with their own money.

A federal ban on abortions in military medical facilities has been in place since 1996, when Congress overturned a 1993 memorandum issued by President Bill Clinton allowing abortions to be performed on base. Clinton’s order revoked a Reagan-era ban on military bases facilitating abortions. 

Laughtenberg, one of the MARCH Act’s sponsors, nevertheless characterized the bill as preserving the right of a U.S. military woman to abort her child.  “Women who bravely choose to serve our country in the military shouldn’t have to forfeit their rights,” Lautenberg said in a statement. 

The New Jersey Democrat said that military hospitals that fail to provide abortion leave U.S. servicewomen “without access to safe and legal health care.” He called the situation “unjust.”

The bill has already been read twice in the Senate Armed Services Committee.

U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) has already introduced companion legislation (HR 2085) which has been referred to the House Committee on Armed Services. The measure has 44 co-sponsors, all Democrats.

The measure is not likely to advance in the House where a pro-life majority (mostly Republicans) holds sway.

During last year’s debate over the Burris Amendment (which was eventually struck out of the FY 2011 defense authorization bill), pro-life Republicans warned the bill would amount to public funding of abortion.

US Rep. Chris Smith, co-chairman of the House Pro-Life Caucus, noted that if the Burris amendment became law “as many as 260 military medical facilities worldwide will now be in the abortion business.”

“When we hire abortionists, when we provide operation rooms and recovery rooms and nurses, all of whom would participate in the killing of that child and wounding of that mother by the way of abortion, that is facilitation, that is public funding,” Smith told FOX News at the time.

The “MARCH for Military Women Act” is endorsed by a number of abortion advocacy groups including Planned Parenthood Federation of America, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, National Abortion Federation, American Civil Liberties Union, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the Service Women’s Action Network, National Partnership for Women & Families, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, the Reproductive Health Technologies Project, and the National Women’s Law Center.

This queen gave her life to help save the people from cholera

Albano is a beautiful lakeside town southeast of Rome, in the midst of the Alban Hills. Its location and elevation have ensured its position as a summer vacation spot. Then as now, anyone who can flee Rome during August does. A continuing testimony to this is the large number of lovely villas dotting Albano and its surroundings. But as is often the case in resort towns, the year-round residents had a great deal of contempt for the summer people.

For economic reasons, many of the populace also displayed envy and hatred toward the aristocracy and higher clergy who summered with them.  As a result, Albano had been fertile ground for Garibaldian propaganda….

But in August of 1867, the unthinkable happened: Cholera hit Albano itself. It must be remembered that back then, cholera ranked alongside malaria and yellow fever as one of the chief scourges of cities in warmer areas. It was a relatively new disease, having first emerged about 1830 from Bengal, after which it came to Europe, killing thousands as it progressed. Worse still, there was no known prevention or cure for it. One caught it or not; one survived it or not.

The Sisters of Mercy by Henriette Browne

Its eruption in Albano was a nightmare. Wealthy visitors left or canceled their stays on hearing the news. Civil government collapsed as the mayor and city council fled. Bodies piled up in the streets or rotted in houses. The sick were left to care for themselves and recover if they could. This neglect doomed many who might have recovered otherwise. The archbishop, Cardinal Altieri, was the only public figure who stayed, as did the vacationing (and exiled) royal family of Naples, who took their places beside the Sisters of Charity caring for the sick. Albano was a town waiting to die.

American Zouave ambulance crew

Pius IX ordered in the 6^th Company of the 2^nd Battalion of the Zouaves. Upon their arrival, the Pope’s soldiers immediately began their work. Some were assigned to dig graves in the cemetery, where, the first night, ninety corpses were brought to them. The remainder spent their time finding and nursing the sick—feeding them, caring for them, and seeing that the dying received the sacraments. In the stifling heat, with the odor of death and excrement all round, it must have seemed like a chamber of hell. Cardinal Altieri, the Queen Mother of Naples, and her youngest son, Don Gennaro, caught the disease and died, as did two Dutch Zouaves.

Portrait of Maria Theresa of Austria-Teschen (1816-1867), queen of the Two Sicilies

Charles A. Coulombe, The Pope’s Legion: The Multinational Fighting Force that Defended the Vatican (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2008), pp. 119-120.

Texas mother loses children’s custody for spanking daughter

by Patrick B. Craine

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, June 22, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Texas mother of three has had her children taken away, and was sentenced last week to five years probation, for spanking her two-year-old daughter.

“You don’t spank children today,” said Judge Jose Longoria of Corpus Christi’s 214th District Court.  “In the old days, maybe we got spanked, but there was a different quarrel.  You don’t spank children.”

Rosalina Gonzales had pleaded guilty to a felony charge of injury to a child.  As part of the deal, she is required to take parenting classes and pay $50 to the Children’s Advocacy Center.

Prosecutors described it as a “simple, straightforward” spanking case that didn’t involve a belt or leave bruises.

Gonzales was arrested in December when the child’s paternal grandmother says she had noticed red marks on her behind and took her to the hospital.

The three children have been placed in the paternal grandmother’s custody until the Department of Family and Protective Services determines that Gonzales is ready to have them back.

The Texas Attorney General’s website explains that spanking is permitted under Texas law if it does not cause injury, but it could be deemed abusive if not confined to the buttocks or if certain instruments are used.  “A blow that causes a red mark that fades in an hour is not likely to be judged abusive,” it says.  “On the other hand, a blow that leaves a bruise, welt, or swelling, or requires medical attention, probably would be judged abusive.”

Spanking has become a hot-button issue, with debates raging over the practice’s effectiveness and certain groups calling for it to be outlawed outright as a form of child abuse.  Many pro-family groups have argued, however, that the state’s effort to clamp down on spanking, in cases where the child is not injured, represents an unjust usurpation of parents’ proper authority over their children, and their right to discipline their child according to their own conscience.

What New Yorkers Really Think about Same-Sex “Marriage” -- VIDEO

You won’t find this type of candid footage on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC or even Fox News, but it shows you what the liberal media would like to hide: New Yorkers do not want the sacred institution of marriage -- ordained by God -- redefined, tampered or destroyed.

 

Soul NUMBING blasphemy against Our Lord to premiere in Southern California

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please protest the Southern California Premiere of the blasphemous show Jerry Springer: The Opera, which is full of profanity, impurity and blasphemous content, such as

• The crucifixion is mocked and the Eucharist is trashed
• There is a lady singing “Jerry eleison” (mocking the Mass: Kyrie Eleison)
• Jesus is introduced as “the hypocrite son of the fascist tyrant on high.” He wears a diaper, is fat and effeminate.
• Eve gropes Jesus in a manner too indecent to describe while the Annunciation is described as immorality.
• God is a fat man in a white suit who complains about being blamed for everyone’s problems.  He invites Jerry Springer to join Him to “sit in Heaven beside me, hold my hand and guide me.”  At the end, Jerry emerges as the true savior of mankind.

You and I cannot accept such insults to Our Lord!

Contact the Chance Theater in Anaheim California.  It only takes a few seconds, so please do it now. The honor of the Faith is precious and cannot be simply brushed aside.

For the love of Our Lord and the Catholic Church, please use the contact information below to express your peaceful outrage against this blasphemy:

Chance Theater 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills, CA 92807

Phone: (714) 777-3033

Email:  info@chancetheater.com

The real reason why Jesus cried upon coming down the slope of Mount Olivet

Three days before Jesus Christ was brutally executed, He sat on top of Mount Olivet and patiently explained the process of universal and Church history through the ages, Matt. Ch. 24, from the viewpoint of Divine Providence.

Among the more striking images of His multi-faceted vision, He saw the various natural disasters that would befall mankind and, moreover, foretold the terrible destruction of His beloved city of Jerusalem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These events and visions contrast sharply with the triumphal, euphoric scenes, which we associate with Palm Sunday. On that morning, He left the home of His friend Lazarus and his two sisters in Bethany and climbed Mount Olivet.

As He went down the western slope, the dazzling spectacle of Jerusalem with its white and gold-capped palaces and the fabulous Temple came into view.  But instead of joy, a profound sadness came over Him, which caused Him to weep, for He saw forty years into the future that a massive Roman army would surround the city and smash it to pieces.

The eminent Jesuit exegete Cornelius À Lapide commented, Lk. 19:41-44, that the chastisement for Jerusalem was for its unbelief, obstinacy and ingratitude.

Father Cornelius continues that it was as if Christ had said, “For three years have I taught and preached in thy towns and villages; I have healed thy lepers, thy sick, thy possessed; I have restored thy dead to life. Why do you not return the love of one who so loves thee, but scorns and destroys Him as an enemy.”

So at the very beginning of Christianity, we have evidence of Christ’s intervention in history.

I was a Sunday-church going-Catholic brought up in a Protestant household during World War II.

I don’t recall the matriarch of the family ever going to church except for Halloween and Christmas parties in the basement, yet because of her Protestant culture; the concept of the will of God pervaded my entire ambience there. Today that understanding has been destroyed by Hollywood and television and has been replaced by sexual license and tolerance of all wrongdoing, which brings on the terrible conflicts in society because the will of God has not changed. For as the psalmist has said, “Veritas Domini manet in eternam”; The truth of the Lord remains forever.

The Month of May

Since we have been discussing God’s self-proclaimed sorrow over our ingratitude and His subsequent warnings, prudence demands that we explore the possibility that some recent events fall into that category. Many of the disasters during the recent month of May were among the worst that the affected area had ever experienced, but in accumulation the incredible number reached unprecedented proportions

In fact the year began with tragedies, some of which are now all but forgotten because of the steady stream of constant and ever-increasing troubles. On January 12^th, Haiti marked the anniversary of an earthquake, that took hundreds of thousands of lives, by seeing almost no progress in alleviating the enormous suffering that resulted. Piles of rubble still clog the streets and a million people still lived in makeshift refugee camps, which contributed to the cholera outbreak two months earlier.

Australia was swamped by floodwaters that devastated an area the size of Germany and France combined. In Brazil days of heavy rains unleashed tons of earth and rock causing giant mudslides in a large area north of Rio de Janeiro that killed over 600. On March 11^th, 2011, those with access to the Internet watched in horror as a thirty-foot Tsunami from an earthquake roared over numerous villages in northeast Japan. The powerful waves knocked a train of its tracks and days later was still missing. The economic impact will affect the country for months.

The May tragedies actually began four days earlier when killer tornadoes cut a swath of devastation through six states from Mississippi to Virginia with Tuscaloosa and Birmingham in central Alabama the hardest hit. In the former city, with winds of over 200 miles per hour, the tornado caused so much damage that meteorologists called it “the hand of God.” Newspapers and personal documents were found in Gadsden, Alabama a hundred miles away. As the death toll reached 320, experts called it the worst single-day outbreak of killer tornadoes in U.S. history.

Earlier in the month, the Mississippi River at the confluence of the Ohio rose to uncontrollable levels that threatened the safety of all life on both shores. Particularly vulnerable was Cairo, Illinois, a town of 3,000 sitting on a point between the two massive waterways. To alleviate the pressure of a possible inundation of a possible eighteen to twenty feet of water on the town, the Army Corps of Engineers blew a two-mile-wide hole in a protecting levee.

Cairo was saved, but at a price of flooding 130,000 acres of prime farmland and homes of 200 people. One fourth-generation farmer lost millions of dollars of buildings and equipment. And so the record flood rolled on down the Mississippi through Tennessee, Arkansas, the state of Mississippi to the frequent victim of tragedies: Louisiana, all suffering similar problems. This story is far from over, for the Missouri River which flows into the Mississippi above St. Louis is now rising to near record levels—déjà vu.

One more note and then we will end. At 5:41 Sunday afternoon, May 22^nd, another twister hit Joplin, Missouri killing well over a hundred people—at a certain point why bother to count. One young man with a future in show business was driving home from his high school graduation with his father. The deadly tornado bore down on the car and sucked him out of the sunroof. He was found days later in a nearby pond. The Catholic hospital was completely destroyed, the only other that was two blocks away resembled a war zone.

The nurse in charge of the critical care unit called the hospital for a report. “It’s bad,” a nurse told him. He hugged his wife and drove to work. What he saw when he arrived was horrible. Some waiting patients had missing limbs. One young man was holding his insides in his hands. A ten-year-old boy with a head wound struggled to breath… There is no need to continue—I think our point has been made.

In the next installment we will cover the doctrinal and historical aspects.

Written by Jeremias Wells

Super Bowl star: ‘nothing more honorable’ than fighting to preserve traditional marriage

by Kathleen Gilbert

David Tyree defends marriage in a video for the National Organization for Marriage.

NEW YORK, June 16, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In the lead up to a vote on gay “marriage” in New York, a former NFL football star has spoken out in favor of preserving traditional marriage, saying that allowing homosexual couples the status of marriage would mark a critical moral turning point towards “anarchy” in America.

“What I know will happen if this does come forth is this will be the beginning of our country sliding toward, it is a strong word, but anarchy,” said former New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree in a video for the National Organization for Marriage.

“The moment we have, if you trace back even to other cultures, other countries, that will be the moment where our society in itself loses its grip with what’s right. It’s about what’s right.”

Fox News New York noted that Tyree is best known for making a famous catch against his helmet during Super Bowl XLII in 2008, helping the New York Giants win an upset 17-14 victory in the final two minutes of the game.

Tyree, a 31-year-old Christian who is married with a sixth child on the way, continued: “It’s about how can marriage be marriage for thousands of years and now all of the sudden, because a minority, an influential minority, has a push or an agenda and totally reshapes something that was not founded in our country, not founded by man, it is something that is holy and sacred.

“I think there is nothing more honorable, worth fighting for, especially if we really care about our future generations.”

Tyree said that he doesn’t consider the question from a political perspective, but instead from “an angle of prayer.”

“Marriage is one of those things that is the backbone of society,” Tyree added. “So if you redefine it, it changes the way we educate our children, it changes the perception of what is good, what is right, what is just.”

The football star said that homosexual couples can never be considered an acceptable substitute for a mother and a father for children. “You can’t teach something that you don’t have, so two men will never be able to show a woman how to be a woman,” he said.