CVSTOS FIDEI: October 2005

Saturday, October 29, 2005

The Church and China Reconcile

It seems that the Holy Spirit has worked behind the scenes to opening up Communist China to the Catholic Church. After 50 years of Communist Chinese hostility to the Church, relations have warmed over to the point of reconciliation. It has been reported that the nuncio in Taipei will be moved to Communist China within months. This can only signal that the Communists will not interfere in Catholic Church bishopric appointments. This also means that the underground Church and the Patriotic Church will converge and be united. Which will allow the continual growth of Christianity in China. Let us all pray for the growth of the Faith in the middle kingdom. For more click here.

Friday, October 28, 2005

Social Worker Covers Up Statutory Rape

Great posting by Christina on her RealChoice blog. It recounts the story of social worker who destroyed a fetus of a girl who was raped (statutory). Hence rendering the evidence of rape gone. The social worker was arrested on obstruction of justice. For more click here.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Iran Demands Destruction of Israel

During a rally in Tehran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanded that Israel be wiped off the map. President Ahmadinejad further went on to state that Israel will be eliminated by being pushed into the sea by the Palestinians. The Iranian government has openly and actively funded, trained, and supplied Islamic terrorist organizations to kill Jews and those that support Jews in any way since 1979. That was the year President Carter pulled his support for the Shah of Iran that caused the secular government to collapse and Ayatollah Khomeini to seize power. Thanks to President Carter, the U.S. and Israel have a hostile neighbor determined to engage in nuclear exchange with the ultimate goal of destroying Israel. I am not making this stuff up. As recently as 2001 Ayatollah Rafsanjani, the successor to Ayatollah Khomenei, said the following statement

"...to use nuclear weapon(s) against Israel, assuring them (the Iranian audience) that while such an attack would annihilate Israel, it would cost them (Iran) "damages only"."

I posted on September 18 an earlier article titled the Face of Evil. I wasn't be melodramatic, I was pointing out the fact that this person epitomizes all that is evil in the world and is pushing us into a nuclear confrontation. For Iran's President Ahmadinejad statement calling for the destruction of Israel, click here. For the reaction from the West to Iran's call for Israel's destruction, click here. For Iran's Ayatollah Rafsanjani's statement on a nuclear exchange with Israel, click here. For my posting on President Ahmadinejad, click here.

University of Notre Dame's Shame

The University of Notre Dame is again showing why they are the anti-thesis of what a Catholic university is suppose to be. Notre Dame is hosting "National Coming Out Day" and "Queer Film Festival" and the unCatholic Catholics are coming out of the woodwork. And I don't mean the homosexually inclined! A nun no less exclaimed, "the greatest sin for lesbian and gay people is to want to be straight." Nice. This just reminds me why I have disavowed everything related to the University of Notre Dame. For more click here.

Nebraska: Land of Vocations

Nebraska has been known to be a growing hotbed of Catholicism. You can add the best priest to Catholic ratio in the country to their strong faith. There is one priest to every 737 Catholics! For more click here.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

EU Threatens Pro-Life Polish President

Nice. With the election of Merkel in Germany, Sarkozy leading in the polls in France over Chirac, and Berlosconi riding high in Italy a conservative wave is hitting Europe. That still hasn't stopped the European Union (EU) from singling out Poland and threatening the Pro-Life President of Poland (Lech Kaczynski) by removing their EU vote. The EU, the same organization that refuses to acknowledge Christianity in any way in their(defeated) referendum on their new constitution. The EU that is siding with Islamic terrorists against Israel, the only democracy in the entire Middle East. The EU that has hunted down and denied practicing Catholics political office in their government. Their demographic nightmare due to their Culture of Death is abominable. For more click here.

Family Is Not An Option, It Is Gods Will

A great article in Touchstone magazine about the secular idea of childless marriages as a legitimate lifestyle choice (sic). You either display God's glory or deny it, no in betweens. For more click here.

Anglican Schism?

The Global South of Anglican Bishops are meeting in Egypt to decide where they stand in relation to the heretical wings of the Anglican church, ie, the U.S. and Canada. The aforementioned countries have since 2003 been appointing openly homosexual practicing bishops AND with active partners! Two Truths cannot exist simultaneously and this seems to be only clear to the traditional Global South. For more click here. Diogenes has some excellent commentary on the Anglicans and the mainline Protestants in general about their moral decay into relativism. For more click here. The Truth is absolute, that is why the Catholic Church is not a democracy, because Jesus asked Peter to build His Church upon this Rock!

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Muslims Threaten Coptic Pope

Unfortunately more threats to Christians go unreported in the mainstream media. For more click here.

Cardinals Don't Speak Latin Anymore

What a crying shame. Not one of the Cardinals speak nor write in Latin during the last Synod of Bishops that was recently held in Rome (with the exception of his grace from Riga). For more click here.

Anglican Archbishop Akinola... Catholic?

Archbishop Akinola of the 17.5 million Anglican church of Nigeria is distancing himself from the heretical propagation of turning that practice of homosexuality into a virtue here in the U.S. Episcopal church, Canadian Anglican church, and the Anglican church in England. With the increased laxity showing in many mainstream Protestant denominations, church membership has continued to drop while the Catholic Church and evangelical Protestants have grown. Archbishop Akinola has publicly denounced the western Anglican churches and has stopped sending Nigerian seminarians from being trained in the West. Three cheers to Archbishop Akinola for standing for the Truth! For more click here.

Culture of Death Descends on Brave Catholic

Remember the Catholic school out in California that dismissed a teacher because she was a blatant Planned Parenthood participant? Well, the local paper outed not only the mother who reported this wayward teacher, but the young daughter of this mother as well. Her name is Katelyn and she operates a blog where she has been viciously attacked by the culture of death vultures. Here is the link to her article. Here is her link for your comments.

Monday, October 24, 2005

Contextually Speaking

Quintero at L.A. Catholic has memed me. Here are the rules for this meme: 1. Go into your archives. 2. Find your 23rd post. 3. Post the fifth sentence (or closest to it). 4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions. 5. Tag five other people to do the same thing. Here is my sentence from September 2005. Thankfully, Lafayette Mayor Joey Durel and local citizens did not allow that event to occur! Here is the context. I hereby tag ... Fidei Defensor. Moneybags. Neo-Con Tastic. P.I. Mom. kt4jc.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Don't Support "Save Lids to Save Lives"

With all apologies to Moneybags on his A Catholic Life blog, but the title I took from his article says it all. Apparently the monies being collected for "Save Lids to Save Lives" goes to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. OK so far, but this foundation donates money to Planned Parenthood which pretty much makes them a baby killer. Ipso facto, any lids you collect to send in to this foundation you are essentially an accomplice to murder. Learn it, live it, evangelize it. For more click here.

Culture of Life Multiplies, While Death... Dies

More hardcore stats showing that those that practice the Culture of Life program that says in Genesis 1:28 to go forth and multiply! Seems that in the Protestant cornucopia of alphabet denominations that only the evangelical Protestants have actually increased in adherents while the mainline denoms such as the Methodists and Lutherans have decreased. Hmmm, Evangelicals don't use the pill and mainliners do. Nope, no correlation there! Time to stick my head back into the sand. For more click here.

Friday, October 21, 2005

Sodomites Fearful of Extinction

Another great article on LifeSite.net (when is it NOT a great read!) about the liberal fear of a Christian-dominated planet. Apparently the publicity of an Arkansas couple that just gave birth to their 16th, yes, 16th child in the news recently has caused several people on the Left to loose a few brain cells. It seems they are beginning to scratch the surface of their hypocrisy of contraception, abortion on demand, and the promotion of homosexual lifestyles as being counter-productive to the(ir) cause. It makes for good reading, For the LifeSite.net article click here! For the anti-American Left (from San Francisco, how obvious) reaction click here! For the Euro-Left reaction click here!

Seminarian Quality Control

Father James Garcia is the parish priest at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Menlo Park, California and he commented on the need for visitation that the Vatican is conducting at St. Patrick's Catholic Seminary in California. He refers to this is as Quality Control and sees it necessary only because it is checking for theological orthodoxy in the classrooms and how seminarians are being formed for a life of celibacy. Fr. Garcia goes on to further state that the Church is never going to accept that homosexuality is part of the Creator's plan. Imagine, there is a priest in California with a backbone! I hope he gets elevated to a Bishop some day. For more click here.

Priestly Lapse of Duty

A great posting by Quintero on his L.A. Catholic blog concerning the derelict of priestly duties by NOT promoting vocations, but promoting lay replacement of priests. It is disheartening to read but true. In the L.A. Archdiocese there is gross misconduct to the Vatican's directive of promoting vocations. Instead Cardinal Mahonys Archdiocese is promoting pastoral duties for laity, even the sanctity of the Eucharist is being violated. For more of this blog click here.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Review: Fr. Zigrang & the Tridentine Mass

Back in the summer of 2003 Fr. Zigrang celebrated the Mass according to the Roman missal of 1962, ie, the Tridentine Mass, at his parish of St. Andrew in place of the revised missal of Pope Paul VI. The issue is that Fr. Zigrang is supposed to recieve permission from the Diocese of Galveston-Houston via then Bishop Fiorenza (now his grace is the Archbishop Fiorenza of the now Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston). It was reported that Fr. Zigrang requested permission from Bishop Fiorenza for the opportunity to celebrate the Tridentine Mass several times without receiving even an acknowledgement of receipt of these requests. Regardless, Fr. Zigrang was relieved of his duties from the parish of St. Andrews. The decision of who and when can celebrate the Tridentine Mass is the decision of the bishops. So who is at fault here? I sympathise with Fr. Zigrang, but Bishop Fiorenza was correct in his actions. With that being said, in my humble opinion I believe that the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston created the problem via poor communications. In this case no communications. By avoiding the issue by not addressing it, this 'revolt' was inevitable. In general, I am of the opion that many problems with most of the dioceses of the United States, stems from ignoring issues large and small. This has caused many problems nationwide that is embarrasing to Catholics everywhere. I can only pray and hope that these issues will be addressed so what happened in the Summer of 2004 will not occur again. For more click here and here.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Overturning Roe v. Wade

Great posting by Fidei Defensor on his College Catholic blog about overturning Roe v. Wade. An excellent analysis of the makeup of the court and speculation of what to expect with the upcoming nomination proceedings and how we as Catholics are affected. For more click here.

Values Distorted

Edward Morrisey wrote an excellent article in the Daily Standard titled Temples Of Our Times. Mr. Morrisey posited,

"...the connection between the Minnesota Vikings' Love Boat cruise last week and the ongoing worship of self-obsession in American society."

Mr. Morrisey quotes in his Captain's Quarters blog: What temples do secular societies build? Lately in America, cities and states have increasingly found themselves funding and building vast offerings to professional athletes and the games they play, even though the owners and participants of these games make enough money to house themselves quite handsomely. Why do communities foot the bill for this, and what does it say about the people who support the practice?" It is a very insightful analysis of where we as Americans place our values in. Is the Minnesota Vikings Sex Scandal a reflection of us as a people, or is it where we are heading? More more click here.

Iraqi Intolerance of the 'Cross' in Red Cross

Another interesting article on how Muslims are intolerant of even the image of the cross. Even when this cross appears on Red Cross shipments for Iraqis who need these supplies. This occurred in Iraq as International Red Cross workers were seized by Islamic terrorists because they were helping those Iraqis in need with shipments labeled with the picture of the international recognized symbol of the Red Cross. This was posted by Robert Spencer of Dhimmi Watch. For more click here.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Religious Upheaval in India

An excellent article by Brian Saint-Paul about the religious upheaval facing India. Basically, because of the entrenched caste system in Hinduism, the approximately 250 million Dalits in India are beginning to open their eyes to the world. The Dalits are at the bottom of the caste system in India. The Dalits, which means untouchables, are so castigated they have their own category in Hinduism. Why is this important, and how did this happen? Well, with the dawn and accelerated growth of the media, ie, internet, satellite communication, etc. Dalits are beginning to build a self-awareness as the explore the world outside of India. With bigotry and persecution suffered in silence for so many years, many Dalits are beginning to discover Christianity (and Islam) that offers hope out of their misery. The love of Christ and the stories in the Bible of how He embraces even the lowest of the lows have struck a chord with the Dalit community in India which has resulted in mass conversions. Will this continue? We can only pray so! For more click here.

Weigel: Europe Without God is a Death Knell

George Weigel is interviewed by The Brussels Journal to coincide with the release of his book, The Cube and the Cathedral. The book compares secular humanism in Europe, the Cube, and the rich Christian history and culture of its past, the Cathedral, to show why Europe is dyeing. It is a fascinating read in explaining whats wrong with Europe and why we as Americans must be concerned about it. The idea is that because of Europes attempts of eliminating Christianity from the public square, especially politics, they have indoctrinated enough generations in secular humanism to the point that childless families (and couples) or even one child family units. This is contributing to the demographic suicide that Europe is already facing and into the foreseeable future.

Bishop Chang's Funeral in Communist China (shhh, it's unofficial)

"Monsignor Chang was a courageous bishop, faithful to the Pope. He lived his entire life always faithful to the Lord and to the universal Church, without ever letting go of his faith, even in the face of threats from political powers." --homily by Father Chen Bishop Chang served 24 years in a communist Chinese prison for refusing to renounce the authority of the Pope. The 'unofficial' Church or Underground Church in communist China was allowed to hold a funeral for this persecuted prelate. It is amazing that 7000 laity attended the funeral even after a concerted disinformation campaign by communist authorities.

Libs: Abort 'Useless Eaters'

Great posting by Diogenes concerning the moral dilemas liberals face when their own views conflict with each other in deciding who lives and who dies.

Above is a Nazi euthanasia propaganda poster: "One genetically defective patient costs the state 5.5 Reichsmarks per day. For 5.5 Reichsmarks a genetically healthy family can live for one day!"

Pope Benedict XVI Draws Huge Crowds

The estimates coming in show that attendance of Pope Benedict XVI's public appearances in the Vatican seem to be drawing almost twice as much as the late pontiff, John Paul II. It could be a combination of wanting to see the new Pope or to see the new Pope and see the tomb of our beloved Pope John Paul II. For more click here.

Kansas Senator Brownback & Catholic

Besides Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas is a person I would support for his run for President of the United States in 2008. One of the reasons being he is a Catholic in every sense of the word. Not the Catholic-by-name-only senators from Massachusetts. For more click here.

Gaggle by NewsBusters.org

Monday, October 17, 2005

Examining Mormonism

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as Mormons call themselves, is one of the fastest growing religions in the U.S. as well as the world. My personal interactions with Mormons have almost always been quite positive. Through my personal journey (and growth) in my Faith I have begun to understand my coreligionists where they come from and what they believe in. From my personal understanding Mormons have an 'interesting' and 'unique' perspective on how they practice Christianity. In fact, many people question whether Mormons can be called Christians since many of their sacred tenets disqualify them from even being Christian. I don't believe they are technically Christian, but, again in my personal interactions, Mormons do a much better job than most Christians in behaving like a good Christian should. They are very family-oriented and to a fault will go out of their way to make you feel comfortable, thus truly living the life a Christian in all respects. I know that I look up to Mormons in general because of how they live their lives with love, happiness, and a general cheerfulness that we should all follow. Catholic Exchange has an article by Mary Kochan that touches on the major points of the tenets of Mormonism and how they compare and contrast with what Catholics and most Protestants believe in. For the article click here.

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Today is John Paul II Day!

"He was a man of peace and hope. He pointed out to the whole world, to every community, to all men and to each man that life can be made more human, and taught how it is possible, keeping one's own faith, to give respect and love to others." Statement in Polish Law affirming John Paul II Day. For more click here.

Secularism vs. Religion

A recent study came out authored by Gregory Paul arguing that the regions in the U.S.with higher rates of religious practice -- the South and Midwest -- have...

"markedly worse homicide, mortality, STD, youth pregnancy, marital and related problems than the northeast where societal conditions, secularization, and acceptance of evolution approach European norms."

That was a mouthful. Without fail the MSM picked up on this and proudly highlighted this insofar to even mention that religiosity is even dangerous. The study of course had many flaws and the main one being it selectively chose what to show and not show as far as stats. It failed to mention that since the 1960s and the 'If it feels good do it' generation came in and implemented abortion on demand, removing God from the public arena, and the promotion and glorification of perverse sexual practices, all these highlighted problems have gotten worse. There are many more instances of looking through the selective stats that you can paroose for yourself here.

Islamic Terrorists, The Unspoken Enemy

When the MSM names the Catholic Church by name in their coverage of the priest sexual abuse scandal as an example of the many MSM abuses and their anti-Catholic bias. Of course we live in a democracy and there is what we call freedom of speech which I am all for and enjoy myself. But I am not here to complain about how the MSM portrays the Catholic Church, but in comparison to other religious groups such as the Jews and Muslims, we (the Catholic Church clerics and laity) face unrelenting coverage. In particular, when Islamic terrorists strike in Nalchik, Russia, or Beslan, Russia, or Madrid, Spain or London, England, it takes several paragraphs into an article until the word 'muslim' or 'islam' is even mentioned in connection to the action. Mark Steyn of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote in his column today how the MSM agenda of multiculturism of tolerating the intolerant wrote:

"So you're nice about gays and Native Americans? Big deal. Anyone can be tolerant of the tolerant, but tolerance of intolerance gives an even more intense frisson of pleasure to the multicultural- masochists. And so Islamists who murder non-Muslims in pursuit of explicitly Islamic goals are airbrushed into vague, generic 'rebel forces.'"

Michelle Malkin was a bit more blunt but to the point. In her column she calls it as she sees it and I can't agree more with how she portrays the MSM political correctness jihad against naming the enemy. Here Michelle Malkin states:

"Such is the attitude of the national media, which seems to believe that 'tis better to live in ignorance and indulge in hindsight later than to offend the gods of political correctness."

Call a spade a spade and be fair not unequal when covering your stories. Nonetheless, thank goodness for the blogosphere or we'd still be listening to Dan Rather and 60 Minutes II. One example of the blogosphere revealing the truth is Kathy Shaidle of Relapsed Catholic. She blogged about the discontent in Russia by a famed author who has recognized how tolerance of the intolerant may ruin a Christian country such as Russia. This Russian author is in the similar mold as that Italian author Orriana Falluci and her books The Force of Reason and The Rage and the Pride.

Tags:islam,terrorists | 1 comments

Bishop William K. Weigand

Bishop William K. Weigand is a rarity within the Catholic Church in the U.S. Bishop Weigand actually lives the faith he practices without apology. Unlike a few malcontents here in the Archdiocese of Houston-Galveston and the most unCatholic Cardinal Mahony of the Archdiocese of L.A. Bishop Weigand is an example of living the life of a Catholic without compromising the Catechism.

In all fairness, Bishop Weigand has been criticized in the past for offering communion to the unCatholic former governor of California Gray Davis. So maybe his recent actions may be due from outside pressure or Bishop Weigand has grown a spine, or most probable he was being political in the past. I am uncertain on his change of enforcement, but it doesn't come a moment to soon in my opinion.

Recently an article appeared in the Sacramento Bee newspaper reporting the dismissal of a Catholic school teacher, Marie Bain, from an all girls Catholic high school because of her extensive involvement with Planned Parenthood and the abortion of young children. In a statement about her dismissal, Bishop Weigand commented:

"Abortion is gravely immoral and Ms. Bain's active and public participation in the procurement of abortions is morally inappropriate and unacceptable with regard to her work as a teacher at Loretto."

Bishop Weigand should be commended for his actions and help inspire those to live the Catechism! For more click here and here.

New Ways To Get Stem Cells

Some interesting news on the stem cell front from Catholic Online:

"Two new mouse experiments may show how to obtain human embryonic stem cells without ethical hurdles, a step that could allow federal funding for such research, scientists reported Sunday."

This shows there may be other ways to use stem cells without having to harvest human embryos. For more click here.

How Catholic Are You? Quiz!

Click here for the quiz!

Catholicism and Communist China

The Catholic Church in Communist China has two faces. One is the underground Church that the Communists do not recognize and repress. The other is the Chinese Catholics Patriotic Association that officially does not recognize the authority of the Church, ie, the Pope. The communist authorities are extremely insecure, bigoted, and insular when it comes to ANYTHING that can organize itself better and with a wider reach than the communists can themselves. This is very threatening to them as seen as the suppression of the Falun Gong, which is spiritual movement in and of itself. ZENIT Catholic news agency interviewed Italian Journalist Gerolamo Fazzini concerning Catholicism in Communist China. In the article Mr. Fazzini covers the many ways how both communities of Catholics practice their Faith under official Atheism imposed from the Communist Chinese.

Children of Divorce Suffer More

Another book has come out showing the problems and conflicts that children of divorced parents have to deal with. This shows that in relation to children that are raised in united families, children of divorce suffer much more in terms of drug abuse, low morals, low religiosity, and greater sexual promiscuity. The book is titled Between Two Worlds: The Inner Lives of Children of Divorce by Elizabeth Marquardt. For more on this book click here.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Liberal Laxity Cause of Priest Sex Scandal

More news that the mainstream media (MSM) mostly refuses to report. With one notable exception and that is the L.A. Times. I need to give the L.A. Times some credit for reporting the laxity in the Archdiocese of L.A. seminaries, especially during the late 1960s. The Orange County Register has a blog which fleshes out the issue of laxity in the L.A. seminaries. This laxity contributed to the liberal Catholics led by Cardinal Mahony to shuffle child abusing priests that escaped the proper vetting process of screening out men with homosexual tendencies. In an effort to cover up the L.A. Archdiocese reportedly threatened legal action to reporters in order to prevent any information from leaking. The Roman Catholic blog has all the details here.

Planned Parenthood Sexual Abuse Cover Up

Quintero has posted another excellent article on his L.A. Catholic web log concerning how Planned Parenthood covers up statutory rape in California. Quintero posts as well an initiative in California called Proposition 73 about notifying parents of the child seeking abortion (of another child). The mainstream media (MSM) does not pick up on this and you won't hear about this (as of today) anywhere else except on L.A. Catholic and now CVSTOS FIDEI. Listen to the audio recordings of Planned Parenthood employees helping to cover up a sexually abused minor right here. For more click here and here.

Uganda's Successful Abstinence Program

The U.N. is retaliating against Uganda's successful Abstinence Program. The condom-loving U.N. is livid about President Bush's program is actually getting traction and working! Uganda's HIV transmission rates have dropped from 18% to 5-7% with the help of the U.S. owns AIDS initiative in Africa. For more click here.

Muslims Target Rosary

More news the mainstream media (MSM) refuses to report. A group of Catholics were attacked by Islamic extremists while praying the rosary in Indonesia in a private home. The other point I want to make besides the continued persecution of Christians in Muslim majority countries is the fact that because Indonesia drives many churches underground because of the Islamic practice of disallowing Christians from constructing new churches as well as denying Christians to even do repairs on their churches. Click here for the posting by Fidei Defensor on the College Catholic web log. For previous postings of persecution of Christians, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Friday, October 14, 2005

Apocalyptic Language by Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict's homily in the opening Mass of the Synod of Bishops was noted for its 'apocalyptic' language. Click here for more.

Cardinal McCarrick or Ayatollah McCarrick

I am just beginning to notice the unusual enthusiasm of Cardinal McCarrick has for Islam, or for behaving like a Muslim. I cannot say more than that until I do some research. But in the meantime here is the link for more of a looksee. Being familiar with another faith is fine and dandy, but showing an unusual amount of deference bordering apostasy is another thing.

Planned Parenthood in Hot Water

Planned Parenthood is in legal troubles for hiding the abortion of a 17 year old girl. Their rational that they were able to circumvent the law because she already had a child, henceforth an adult. The culture of death marches on. Click here for more.

The Hypocrisy of Dialogue With Islam

Excellent posting on the Western Resistance web log by Isabel de Castilla and Ruy Diaz. This blog is direct and to the essence of the matter of the hypocrisy of continuing a dialogue with Islam. I applaud the Vatican's efforts towards dialogue with other religions. But with Islam? If they want to dialogue with Christianity, they will do it on their terms, ipso facto, unequals where we are in the inferior position. There has got to be more to this than the Vatican reaching out for dialogue PR campaign.

Christianity Lite

"I'm spiritual, but not religious is a common refrain heard today..." Riiiight. "...why people feel that Christianity is lacking as a source of religious meaning and transcendence." "This Christian-lite church is good at living the zeitgeist, of sleeping the sleep of secular man; but when a person wakes up and is hungry for real meat and thirsty for real drink, Christian-lite doesn't satisfy..." Interesting article on those that claim to be 'spiritual' but not 'religious'. An excellent example of this, even within Christianity itself, is the Lakewood mega-church here in Houston, Texas. The pastor is Joel Osteen and Victoria Osteen. Listening to Joel Osteen is like listening to Cardinal Mahony (of L.A.) or any number of priests here in the Houston-Galveston Archdiocese where they fail to mention 'prayer', the 'Bible', or anything 'Christian', except for 'feel-good' ministrations! God bless Joel Osteens heart, but I don't believe he has even read the Bible through or understand many of it's theological underpinnings. He speaks like a politician, always avoiding the 'meat-and-potatoes' and charging head-strong into fluffy cakes and cotton speeches. For more on Christianity lite, click here.

Tags:Christian,christianity,health and wealth gospel,Joel Osteen,motivational speaker,protestantism | 2 comments

Priest Shortage = Lack of Faith

"Participants in the Synod of Bishops agree that the lack of priests is a big concern for the Church, but that it is a symptom of a problem rather than a cause. Synodal fathers stressed this point during a press conference today as they made a preliminary evaluation of the working sessions of the synod on the Eucharist..." "...The real problem is the crisis of faith, as the priesthood is the fruit of the community's faith. Without faith, there are no priests, no vocations." The Synodal fathers go on further to stay that secularization is a main concern to the lack of faith and the shortage of priests. I certainly agree. I don't believe that making celibacy optional and allowing priests to marry will remedy the situation. In fact it will make it even worse by continueing to 'secularize' the Church, which will only add to the problem. For more click here.

When the MSM gets cognitive dissonance

Great blog by Patrick Coffin of Seize the Dei concerning the mainstream media (MSM) attempts at social engineering of the Catholic Church. Click here for the blog.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Christian Spine Found In Belgium?

Belgium is showing some moxie by actually standing up for Christianity! I cannot believe my eyes as I was skimming Relapsed Catholic and found this link about a group of Belgians bringing charges of blasphemy to a priest that allowed some perverse form of art into his church. Nice to see that there is life still in old Europe when it comes to confronting anti-religious clergy within the Catholic Church. Click here for more.

Church of England On Its Deathbed

Interesting to note that since the Lambeth Conference legalizing abortion in the Anglican Church, Episcopalian here in the U.S., church attendance has plummeted. The same can be said of all other Protestant denominations in the U.S. The only exception being the evangelical Protestant movement that has experienced growth. Such is the state that once you water down the liturgy and try to appease secular culture by legalizing gay marriage, allowing for contraception, and denying the Truth of the Word of God, you soon lose yourself in 'self'. You deny God's Grace in essence. This is endemic and in my opinion, the main reason why the Methodists, Baptists, and all other Protestant denominations continue to lose membership. With liberal and unorthodox clergy such as Cardinal Mahony and many spineless priests who don't want to 'ruffle' feathers in the Catholic Church, we to will fall under this spell if this diseased appeasement to secular culture reaches the Vatican. Click here for more.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Coach Resigns Over Ban on Prayer

It's one thing to separate religion from the public sphere, it's another thing to push it underground like the New Jersey school board has in this case. High school football coach Marcus Borden resigned from his coaching duties from East Brunswick. The school board disallowed him from leading his football squad in team prayer. If the coach had a preacher inside the lockerroom evangelizing that is one thing. But if you're leading a prayer group, others in the room who do not wish to participate can remain silent. No, this wasn't enough for a couple of the players parents. Instead of being prudent, they decided to force others to conform to their minority point of view. This is called the Tyranny of the Minority, which is usually led by the militant liberals. There comes a time when the subjugation of peoples rights to religious freedom is suppressed to fit ones world view. For more click here.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

That Ugly Cathedral In L.A.

A fine posting by Quintero from his L.A. Catholic blog concerning the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. I've seen the pictures when the Archdiocese of Los Angeles first opened this eye sore and I thought a Whataburger outlet looked a whole lot better than what I saw of Cardinal Mahony's moneypit of a Cathedral. It is a crying shame that the good laity of this Archdiocese of Los Angeles contributed money to this building of Catholic contempt vis-a-vis Cardinal Mahony.

Chinese Repression of Christians

Lost Budgie has posted an excellent blog on the persecution of Christians by the Communist government in China. These past few months there has been an increase in hostility towards the Vatican and the attacks on Christian leaders inside Red China. I want to show that the Communist experience in China is not a workers (nor peoples) paradise. Especially when the Communist government is still officially atheist.

The Secular Assault on Western Civilization

In my humble opinion our Western Civilization cannot progress without religion. Specifically Christianity since the time of Jesus physical presence on earth. From the dawn of salvation to the middle ages and the Benedictine monasticism to the Renaissance, Western Civilization is one with Christianity. With that said, I came across this nicely done blurb from RealClearPolitics.com concerning the assault by secularists and liberals (just to cover all of my bases here) on America. America of course being the pinnacle of Western Civilization itself.

Gaggle by NewsBusters

Monday, October 10, 2005

Muslim Intolerance of Christians

The continuing modern day persecution of Christians by Muslims was presented by Archbishop Berhaneyesus Souraphiel of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to the Synod of Bishops in the Vatican recently. He explained to the Bishops the continued harassment and pressures put on Christians working and living in Muslim dominated countries. The Archbishop stated in relation to Christians traveling to Muslim countries:

"Once they have reached their destination, they have their passports taken away and are subjected to every kind of abuse and oppression. In this situation many are forced to become Muslims,"

For more click here.

No Sanctity at Mass?

I caught this photo on the L.A. Catholic blog and I'm simply appalled at the lack of decorum and respect for the Mass itself. Cardinal Mahony sure has let things fall by the wayside in his Archdiocese. For more click here.

Saturday, October 8, 2005

The Battle of Lepanto

The Battle of Lepanto, October 7th, 1571 The victory at Lepanto, by the Christian princes over the Muslim forces from Turkey, was won on October 7th, 1571, which happened to be the very day whereon the Guildsmen of the Rosary, throughout the whole world, were offering their accustomed prayers and appointed supplications for the well-being of Christendom. This victory saved Europe from being overrun by the forces of Islam. Thence afterwards arose the custom of keeping a feast in honor of the victories granted to the Christians through devotions made on this wise. ...Leo XIII, in the most troublous times of the Church and the cruel storm of long pressing evils, by fresh Apostolic letters vehemently urged upon all the faithful throughout the earth the often saying of the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, raised the dignity of the yearly festival, added to the Litany of Loretto the Invocation Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and granted to the whole Church a special Office for this solemn occasion... Thus, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to honor Mary for the Christian victory over the Muslim Turks. Pope St. Pius V and all Christians had prayed the Rosary for victory. The Rosary, or the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is one of the best prayers to Mary, the Mother of God. It is referred to as the "epitome of the whole gospel" (Pope Paul VI).

Cardinal Mahony & Pagan Rituals

Cardinal Mahony's contempt for the Catholic Church is sickening. I have a picture of Cardinal Mahony leading a pagan ritual inside the L.A. Archdiocese Cathedral with members of other pagan and non-Catholic leaders! What in the world is going on there in L.A.? Can the laity do anything to remove this borderline heretic? It is aggravating to continue to unearth these unCatholic practices that Cardinal Mahony has been doing all these years. Click here for more on Cardinal Mahony from the L.A. Catholic blog.

Friday, October 7, 2005

That Slippery Slope of Gay Marriage

Nooo, my liberal friends tell me. There is no such thing as a slippery slope. Allowing people with homosexual inclinations to marry would not open the doors to polygamy. How wrong can these liberal friends of mine be wrong. Soon after, not only polygamy, but what would prevent someone to marry a preteen! What about beastiality? What would prevent someone to claiming that he (or she) have agape type love for their pet dog and marry IT! Well, well, well. It doesn't hurt anyone they say. Wrong. It hurts society by elevating deviant activities to such a level as a sacrament. Or better yet it denigrates the actual institution of marriage to the point of being meaningless. Click here, and here for the article of the beautiful threesome and their wedding that recently occurred in ultra-liberal the Netherlands.

High Price of Free Sex

The constant barrage of sex in the media in today's society will only get worse. I grieve for me and my future family once I have children of my own. It is important that we as Catholics raise our children with our Catholic values among other Catholics. I digress. An important point is made in this article in the relation of STD's to cervical cancer and the high percentage of teenagers engaged in premarital sex.

Cardinal Mahony's Unitarian Homily

Cardinal Mahony's reputation of blahness has reached Houston. I've heard of his unCatholic bishopric and aimless points, but I now have some proof of how contemptable his leadership of the L.A. Archdiocese is. Click here for his Homily. Click here for more commentary on Cardinal Mahony's falling star.

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