Salve readers! Sadly, this will be the very last post for CVSTOS FIDEI. 

Yes, it's only been six years & three months since my last post, and even then it was another year before you can find one more post. 

 Anyways, I stopped blogging because I didn't believe my sometimes antagonistic approach was helping anyone convert. Secondly, I mostly blogged at The American Catholic (though I rarely have written anything in the same time periods). It's been about 8-9 years since I consistently wrote anything, so we can 'officially' say this will be the final post for CVSTOS FIDEI. 

 Why even bother posting you say? 

 It's because I am starting another blog as a member of FŒDVS, the League of Catholic Bloggers. I will be attempting be more objective, with a Catholic perspective, drawing people closer to the faith & hopefully conversion. It's also a news blog so I'll be reposting current articles from prominent authors & writers to help promote their work. The name of this new venture is 'Observations of a Catholic Newsman', or simply, 'Newsman' for short.

If anyone still has my feed & have popped over to see what I've bothered to write, thank you for being such loyal readers.  I believe you're going to like the new format of the new blog I am launching (that in a way, is a continuation of CVSTOS FIDEI).

One last thing, when you visit, the new 'Newsman' blog has no postings thus far.  I just finished creating it.  It will be fully functional beginning February of 2020.

. . .yes, I still operate The American Catholic, Big Pulpit, Catholic Stand, Ignitum Today, & FŒDVS & with posts every day (yes, I've been busy).

Leave comments for old times sake here at CVSTOS FIDEI!.  :D

In Jesus, Mary, & Joseph,

Tito Edwards

P.S. Thank you all for being a part of CVSTOS FIDEI.  It was fun & a great learning experience.  This blog will automatically begin forwarding to Newsman in a few weeks.

I wanted to get the word out about a special talk coming up at St. Theresa's in Sugar Land.  Tuesday, October 22nd at 7:30pm, Dr. Kathryn Karges, MD, CFCMC, will speak about her special pro-life OB/GYN practice at St. Joseph's Hospital in Houston and the advances of Natural Reproductive Technology (NaProTECHNOLOGY) to help identify and treat a variety of women's health problems.

The Ignitum Today website has been down for a day and counting.

We are working to resolve this issue and how have a timetable to offer. IT should be up by Monday morning if not earlier, barring any other issues.

We were not attacked, we are just experiencing growing pains of a surge in visitors and and increase of database resources that will be resolved shortly.

The other websites are also suffering slow down issues, but nothing to worry about.

Thank you for your understanding and your prayers are appreciated.

 In Jesus, Mary, & Joseph,

Tito Edwards
Co-Founder of Ignitum Today

Crisis Magazine is clean again from the Trojan virus. It's been clean as far as I could tell since Sunday night.

So go on over there and read some great articles!

This is a general request to the readers of CVSTOS FIDEI to go over to Big Pulpit and click on the "Like" button which is located on the righthand side of the website.

Thanks in advance!

As some of you have noticed, there has been an uptick of postings recently.  Well, this may be an aberration, but I believe I got my blogging "mojo" back, but only time will tell.

The Custos Fidei website will be updated to accomodate a couple of new additions.  The news feed will remain, but in a slightly truncated format.

Other than that, it's wait and see if my "mojo" is back or not.

Update: They're still working on the issue and they're making progress.  More updates later.

Crisis Magazine is suffering from a virus and I would recommend those that read them to abstain for the moment from visiting them until the situation is rectified.

According to my anti-virus program, Kaspersky, they have a "trojan" somewhere on their website.  Fortunately my Kapsersky blocked that trojan, though I did suffer some delays.

I'll keep you all updated once the situation is rectified.

If any one of you can contact them to tell them of their situation that would be nice.  I've sent two messages to two separate emails but I haven't heard from them yet.

Thanks to an inquiry by a reader, I wanted to post quickly and give an update on my health.  I have recuperated and am doing very well.

The ironic thing about this illness is that I lost 10 pounds that haven't returned.  Plus I believe I had a dormant virus for nearly 25 years that finally ejected itself out of my body.

Deo gratias!

I truly believe there is a link between spiritual health and physical health.  Ever since my embrace of my Catholic faith nearly seven years ago I've noticed significant improvement in my overall mental and physical health.  All of this coinciding with my spiritual growth.

God has done a marvelous job of breaking me down and working on my ego.  And I am very thankful of that.

I have been quite ill for over three weeks. Initially I thought I got better, but the symptoms only quadrupled.

Sadly, this has taken a toll of me at work and for Big Pulpit. Fortunately, I finally succumbed to seeing a doctor and I'm on the mend.

God bless.

Tito

Is dissident and disgraced theologian Hans Küng calling Pope Benedict a sedevacantist?

Hat tip: The Pulpit/Photo credit: The Curt Jester

Cross-posted at The American Catholic.

The National Catholic Register is tied with Our Sunday Visitor for the best Catholic Newspaper in Christendom! The voting ends tonight so vote and put the Reg over the top!

The National Catholic Register has been selected as a finalist in the 2012 About.com Catholicism Readers' Choice Awards in these categories: Best Catholic Newspaper, Best Catholic Website, Best Catholic Radio Show, Best Catholic Facebook Page, Best Catholic to Follow on Twitter. You can cast one vote, in all five categories, every day of the voting period. Voting runs until 11:59 P.M. EST on Wednesday, March 21, 2012.

Click here to vote.

Note: The above was freely edited from the mad journalistic skillz of Matt "Not Pat" Archbold.

Fr. Z explains it well:

Perhaps other blogs will pick this up and help.

An article from the ultra-liberal New York Times (“Hell’s Bible”) is posted on the even more liberal MSNBC.

The article concerns the objections of the USCCB against pressure from the Obama Administration and/or states to force Catholic adoption agencies to allow homosexual “couples” to adopt.

You have to scroll down to the bottom of the MSNBC webpage to find the poll form.

Click here!

Stephen Colbert gives his two cents worth on the New Translation of the Roman Missal as well as Papa Bene not wearing his seatbelt during his trip to Germany.

Of course, most of what he says is incorrect, but the satire and delivery makes it enjoyable to view.

Warning, there is profanity that is bleeped out.


Hat Tip: Thomas Peters

I will be interviewed on the radio today at 5pm (Eastern) on the In His Sign Network radio station.  They are a lay Catholic radio apostolate located in Rosemont, PA.  They broadcast daily live from 5 to 6pm (Eastern) WTMR-800 AM and on the Internet at www.inhissign.com.

The interview will be about ThePulp.it, The American Catholic, Custos Fidei, and the other Catholic websites that I operate as well as my work on the National Catholic Register.

This is my first interview and it is an already humbling experience.  Pray for me that I won't make a fool of myself!

I couldn't resist not posting this.

Hat Tip: Creative Minority Report.

A Sudanese girl captured and enslaved by Arab Muslim slavers in the Darfur province circa 1869 A.D.  She was forcibly converted to Islam and given the name "Bakhita" which means "lucky" in Arabic.  She was sold and resold several times and was brutally treated by all her owners.  One Muslim owner whipped her to tattoo her as "his".

Her last owner, an Italian Christian, moved her (escaped more like it) to Italy where she eventually won her freedom through the Italian courts because Catholic Italy didn't recognize the institution of slavery.  She left her owner and joined the Canossians, a religious order.



During her time in Italy she was befriended by a village priest and converted to Catholicism.  After being freed from slavery she entered the Canossians as "Josephine Margarita Afortunada" in 1890 A.D., receiving Holy Communion for the first time from the Cardinal Patriarch of Venice himself.

Saint Bakhita's life as a slave was always that of giving and charity with gentleness and a smile.  She continued these virtues as a religious.

Her legacy was that of transformation that is possible through suffering. Her story of deliverance from physical slavery also symbolizes all those who find meaning and inspiration in her life for their own deliverance from spiritual slavery.  Reflecting her own material life of being forced to convert to Islam and finding peace and love in the arms of Christ as a Catholic.

Hat Tip: Carl Olson of Ignatius Insight Scoop

The secular website About.com is running a contest of which is the Best Catholic Newspaper (among many other categories). I'd like our readers to go visit their website to vote for the National Catholic Register as their choice (if it's not your choice, move along and read the other articles here on our website).

The National Catholic Register is America's oldest Catholic newspaper as well as being the most read and well written. They hold fidelity to the teachings of the Magisterium so you know you're getting high quality articles.

To vote for the National Catholic Register please click here.

A spiffy video about Catholic Answers Live:



Hat tip: Mark Shea

Here is an excerpt of an article by Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood:

Tracking had been strong but the studio had expected a gross in the $17M-19M range. CinemaScore was a "B". The audience equally divided between males and females, with 64% over the age of 25. The studio used Anthony Hopkins' pedigree to pursue an older target for the film. To appeal to younger moviegoers, it exploited the intensity of the exorcism moments and the premise of the unknown in the marketing materials. Interestingly, as Warner Bros was developing the campaign, the topic of exorcists became a current news event with the recent increase in the Catholic Church's recruitment and training of exorcists to fill what they characterized as an alarmingly growing need. This news got coverage, resulting in a high profile OP Ed piece in the New York Times. We bolstered that piece, and used a quote from it in the main trailer and in several TV spots, a very unusual tool that anchored our disturbing, effective premise that the film is “based on true events”.

Hopkins' pedigree is the core of the campaign, and he has done a very heavy press schedule on everything from Regis to Charlie Rose, and morning shows to late night. Additionally, we launched a significant Hispanic marketing campaign, through publicity, grass roots activity and a heavy media buy.

We also developed the faith angle through an extensive program with our consultants at Grace Hill Media. The outreach included drafting off of the topical conversation that was already happening within the church and allowing that to give the film a level of credibility. Father Gary Thomas participated in a number of interviews for us including an LA Times piece and a segment on Nightline that aired the Thursday before we opened. While this is a difficult segment to pinpoint in the tracking, the message of the film clearly has relevance for that audience and we feel that we captured their interest.

The campaign kicked off with trailers on Hereafter, Saw VII and movies throughout the holiday season to target both younger & older moviegoers. We built a mix of broad commercial films & older, more sophisticated awards films to get the right exposure.

We also ran a heavy TV schedule on everything from BCS College football games to NFL playoffs, and broad multi-targeted programming.

In terms of tracking, The Rite shows a pretty well-balanced balanced awareness and interest profile. The younger audiences will tend to gravitate to the suspense-thriller genre, while older audiences are likely to be drawn to the genre plus Anthony Hopkins appearing in his first starring role in quite some time. Notably, there were aggressive efforts in the last week towards Latino moviegoers, which could generate some upside to the film's opening weekend prospects as they tend to represent early boxoffice attendees.

As the campaign evolved, the nature of the story (centering around faith and belief) & the pedigree of Hopkins naturally led us to pursue an older target for the film. But we also wanted to appeal to younger moviegoers, so we exploited the intensity of the exorcism moments and the premise of the unknown in our marketing materials. Interestingly, as we were developing the campaign, the topic of exorcists became a current news event with the recent increase in the Catholic Church's recruitment and training of exorcists to fill what they characterized as an alarmingly growing need. This news got coverage, resulting in a high profile OP Ed piece in the New York Times. We bolstered that piece, and used a quote from it in the main trailer and in several TV spots, a very unusual tool that anchored our disturbing, effective premise that the film is “based on true events”.

You can read the rest here.

Christianity does not simply ask followers to respect life, nor does it insist they denounce the everyday sins of humanity. Truly devout living compels us to actively defend the right to life, which is our duty as the children of God.  However, the defense of life involves education and exposing disturbing signs of moral decay. Heavily responsible for these recent immoral trends, dangerous forms of unnatural contraception are an increasingly-valid threat and widely misunderstood. Although the bible asserts that children “are a blessing to be cherished and cared for when given,” these methods of pregnancy prevention challenge those words with their blatant disrespect for life, increasingly leading young adults astray.  

Nevertheless, many families continually choose these “convenient” forms of contraception to control their family size. Even unmarried couples now frequently use these forms of birth control to recklessly satisfy their sexual desires. Even more troubling still are the countless young people engaging in sex freely because a variety of dangerous contraceptives apparently allow it. The use of these products isn’t just an insult to relationships or marriage, but an attack on the entire foundation of children and the family itself.

By largely relieving couples of the “threat” of pregnancy, contraceptives have legitimized premarital sex. However, when couples do view sex as an acceptable activity before marriage, they fail to live life for the glory of God. Children, for these sexually active, unmarried couples, become seen as a burden. As a result, the entire relationship is corrupted, with carnal satisfaction replacing deeper, worthy forms of connection. However, the mutual respect a relationship demands can also become secondary to the selfish gratification premarital sex provides. Without the sanctity of marriage, this disrespect can reach even greater lengths, as individuals become objectified as nothing more than sources of sexual enjoyment.

This disrespect manifests itself in society today in the form of oral contraceptives, which are an insult to both the family and children. Remarkably, these deadly forms of contraception are carelessly sanctioned everywhere, from the media to schools. They assist in the increasing sexual promiscuity of our nation and the rampant spread of disease. Despite being the most dangerous form of contraception, oral contraceptives are now the most popular as well. Unlike barrier forms of contraception, these pills are up to 99.9% effective at preventing pregnancy. In addition, they are cheap, readily available at family planning clinics, often at reduced prices, and convenient. Women need only take a pill at the same time each day to effectively eliminate the chance of pregnancy. Unfortunately, few young adults using this pill recognize the dangerous physical side effects that commonly occur.

These side effects begin with the dangerous implications hormonal methods of birth control can generate. While effective at preventing pregnancy, they falsely imply complete protection to all outcomes of casual sex, including sexually transmitted disease. Although schools frequently fulfill their minimal obligation, warning students about the dangers of this disease, the incomplete education they provide might simply prompt more confused young women to turn to this drug as a safeguard.

Alarmingly, the producers of these drugs are also accountable for these widespread misconceptions. Bayer HealthCare, the manufacturer of several popular oral contraceptives, devotes millions of dollars to advertising campaigns every year. According to this marketing, these drugs treat everything from acne to premenstrual depression. However, the FDA recently requested Bayer remove these television commercials, explaining that none of those claims have been conclusively proven and only mislead young adults further.

Despite the revelations about this drug manufacturer’s lack of integrity, the worst side effect of this drug remains the destructive physical consequences. Oral contraceptives literally disrupt a woman’s internal balance, altering hormones to make the body think it is pregnant. Although proponents of these destructive pills are quick to point to the decreased levels of estrogen in current products, many serious health problems still accompany these drugs, including cardiovascular complications. A recent Yaz lawsuit involves a woman who developed blood clots in her lungs after using this product. Because estrogen can play a role in blood coagulation and is a main ingredient, these drugs increase the risk of stroke and blood clotting.

The disrespect users of oral contraception show their body is a direct affront to God, as we are made in his image. Regardless of how users attempt to defend their decision to blatantly disregard the sanctity of life, they will never find justification in the eyes of God. Because it is the duty of all Christians to preserve life, it remains imperative to spread the truth about dangerous forms of contraception, especially birth control pills. These attacks on life represent an assault on decency and threaten to damage the moral fiber of this country until nothing pure remains and we are left with a wave of broken families, crime and rampant disease.

Contraception is not a sin because it can make women ill or lead to death. It fails to be a sin because it causes the spread of sexually transmitted disease. The use of contraception is not even a sin because it makes manufacturers of these immoral products disgustingly wealthy or tempts couples to commit adultery. Contraception is a sin because it attempts to remove God’s influence in reproduction, illustrating a desire to rule one’s own fate instead of serving The Lord. Unfortunately, the immoral sexual tendencies in modern society have gone so far that it is not only atheists and other misguided souls that must be informed of the evils of contraception. Even self-identified Catholics must be reminded of the promise they made to God which included the preservation of life, morality and reverence for all things sacred.

This is a guest post by Matt Phillips.