“I like the fact that she is not brandishing her religion. I do not want Catholic judges to rule as Catholics but as judges. I am all for Catholic legislators having a Catholic-informed opinion, but a judge has a different charge. Unless something pops that we don’t know about, I am not going to oppose her. Indeed, the experiences I had working with the Puerto Rican community lead me to quietly root for her.”

I picked this up from the Limbaugh show on the radio today and have been digging for information.  Apparently, Sotomayor’s position on abortion is ambiguous…and Donohue posits that ambiguity of position is the best we can hope for under the current administration.  The left like to loudly proclaim their pro -abortion status – so the fact that this SC nominee doesn’t have a loudly and oft-proclaimed pro-abort position is surprising and in fact a good thing.

Could she turn out to be the left’s Souter?  My, that  would be ironic.

link

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their “right” to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our “democracy”. Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different “branches and denominations” were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the “winning” side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the “winning” side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America’s short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

There are times when it would probably be more fun to be a part of the dumb masses.

From CNN:

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) – The Rev. Michael Pfleger has ordered the American flag at St. Sabina Church hung upside-down — a historic sign of distress — to symbolize the growing death toll among the city’s youngsters.

So far this school year, 36 children and teens have been murdered — more than one a week — and Pfleger is among a chorus of weary Chicagoans who say the slayings aren’t getting the attention they deserve.

Had 36 kids died of swine flu this year, “there would be this great influx of resources that say, ‘Let’s stop this, lets deal with this,’ ” Pfleger said.

Instead, because violence is driving the epidemic, “We’re hiding it. We’re ignoring it. We’re denying the problems,” he said.

Do you remember Fr. Pfleger?  He was the Chicago priest who had to take a vacation because his Bishop told him to tone down the pro-Obama rhetoric.  

The key question, of course, is how anyone could miss the inconsistency here.  We have seen 36 kids die of murder in Chicago this year.  How many abortions have there been in Chicago this year?  And yet Father is such a strong supporter of the guy who so consistently advocates murdering the ones we do not see.

At this point I see two types of Obama Catholics:

1. Catholics duped into believing Obama really was the more pro-life of the 2 candidates by the likes of liberal priests and Doug Kmiec.

2. Catholics who knew the truth but voted Obama anyway.

Both are culpable, but group #1 is certainly less culpable.  I will not judge the hearts of either group, but I will most certainly judge their actions. The actions of both groups elected this president, and so far he’s done nothing to reduce the number of abortions worldwide.  And we knew he wouldn’t.

On Wednesday, CNSNews.com inspected the pediment embedded in the wall at the back of the stage in Gaston Hall, where Obama delivered his speech. The letters “IHS” were not to be found. They appeared to be shrouded with a triangle of black-painted plywood.    ["Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:8-11]

Pictures of the wooden pediment prior to Obama’s speech show the letters “IHS” in gold. Many photos posted on the Internet of other events at Gaston Hall show the letters clearly.

The White House did not respond to a request from CNSNews.com to comment on the covering up of Jesus’ name at Gaston Hall.

Georgetown, which is run by the Jesuit order, is one of the most prestigious Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States.

Roman Catholics traditionally use “IHS” as an abbreviation for Jesus’ name.  According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “St. Ignatius of Loyola adopted the monogram in his seal as general of the Society of Jesus (1541) and thus became the emblem of his institute.” The Society of Jesus is the formal name for the Jesuits.

Although the monogram was covered over on the wooden pediment at the back of the Gaston Hall stage where it would have been directly above and behind President Obama as he spoke,  the letters “IHS” are posted elsewhere around the hall approximately 26 times on shields representing different parts of the United States and the world.  [But here someone else was given pride of place.]

Obama did not mention the name of Jesus during his address. However, he did mention Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.

“There is a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells a story of two men…‘the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house…it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock,’” Obama said.

“We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand,” he added. “We must build our house upon a rock.”  [Which forces the question: What are the foundations of Georgtown University now?]

Hope there’s a good Catholic school left by the time my kids are college age…that I will be able to afford…(Ave Maria U? Franciscan? Southern Catholic College?)

The hospital was pleased with their participation in the worldwide celebration of the planet.  “We asked all the patients and their families if they were all right with us cutting the power.  To a person, they all said as stewards of this planet it was their duty to observe Earth Hour.  They knew the risks and were willing to take it,” said hospital administrator Lawrence Cho.

Cho said that it was a net gain for planet Earth, despite the deaths. “The dead patients will no longer use any energy, and actually will be turned into energy in our patient incinerator,” said hospital administrator Lawrence Cho.

As power was cut in the critical care ward some patients screamed in pain, others died calmly in their sleep. Cho said that most of the medical equipment has battery-powered back up systems, but those were disabled, because hospital officials felt that violated the spirit of Earth Hour.

You can read the full article here.  Please note that BBSpot.com is a well known satire website.  The mark of great satire is when there’s a level of plausibility to it.  The question – how far are we from this being reality as earth-worship continues to grow?

As we’d hear from American Papist, this is a good case of bishop backbone.  But wait.  This headline from the AP (and swallow before you read so you don’t foul up your monitor):

“Vatican prelate defends abortion for 9-year-old.”

Apparently a letter from a Vatican official criticizes the excommunication.  The point worth making, of course, is that these folks excommunicated themselves, and the Bishop cannot get around that.  Fr. Euteneuer from Human Life International’s article:

The incident in question involves – unbelievably – the head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who issued a statement on March 15th criticizing a bishop in Brazil for properly declaring to be excommunicated the doctors…

The great irony in all this is that while we get little or no support from Church officials to correct bishops who are negligent in their duty to guard the faith and the flock, in this case, the local bishop did exactly the right thing in issuing this excommunication edict and he was slapped down by a Vatican official!

The appearance of a Vatican compromise on this issue comes at the worst possible time in the cultural and political situation of Latin America. This Catholic continent is especially the target of attack by the aggressive forces of the culture of death, so the last thing we need is for the Church to look weak or divided about our teachings or our resolve to fight the purveyors of death to our brothers and sisters there.

A couple of Protestant folks I know who have long-term connections to missions work in Brazil have explained that syncretism is alive and well there – mixing and matching different aspects of different faiths.  So although they are predominantly Catholic, it seems more a cultural Catholicism than an actual faith / belief system.  Here the Church could assert herself as a moral authority…but if a Vatican prelate is waffling on an issue that is a clear as can be, then what good can come from it?

Full article

The Canon is completely clear, it is not subject in my judgment to any other interpretations. When someone is publicly and obstinately in grave sin we may not administer Holy Communion to the person. And that, basically, for two reasons: number one, to prevent the person himself or herself from committing a sacrilege, and secondly, to protect the sanctity of the Holy Eucharist.

In fact, the Canon puts the burden upon the minister of Holy Communion whether it’s the ordinary minister which would be a bishop, a priest, a deacon—or an extraordinary minister—it doesn’t make any difference. It says they’re not to be admitted to receive Holy Communion.

Predictably, the crew that says “we don’t want to alienate anyone” is out in force on this…simple fact of course is that Burke’s really just trying to do his pastoral duty of preventing someone from jeopardizing their soul.

More…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-NOZU2iPA8

So it’s cheesy, features a couple of good lines like “he touched me deep inside,” good for some laughs at the expense of Christians.  But, at a blog that has sort of championed the viral cause of this video, I read an interview with the lead singer Sal Polichetti.  In it, explained that most of the band members got together as the result of needing to prepare music for a special Mass in the late 70’s at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in New York City.

Now if you take a look at the music they produced, and try to imagine it fitting any sort of Mass…well, it makes a chill go down your spine.  Interestingly, one of the band members, at the time, was a monk (CSC) at the time.  Their marketing guy is now a Catholic priest.

So, it seems that perhaps Sonseed grew out of the Spirit of Vatican II (not saying I hate their music, just that if they formed for the express purpose of playing music at Mass, something’s wrong.)

Here’s Sal’s interview.