Friday, February 27, 2009

The Stakes are Raised

1. The stakes have been significantly raised by Bishop Martino of Scranton in his ongoing dialogue with Senator Bob Casey. You will remember that in January the Bishop sent the Senator a letter calling on him to repudiate his support for the overturning of the Mexico City Policy. The Bishop has now sent another, even stronger letter to the Senator, and has posted on the website a document entitled "Official Notice: Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion", which cites the instructions from then-Cardinal Ratzinger on the process by which public officials are to be instructed and admonished, and the consequences if they do not turn away from "manifest grave sin". Let us pray that Senator Casey realizes how high the stakes are, and responds accordingly to the call of God, spoken by one of the Successors of the Apostles in our midst.

2. Notorious late-term abortionist George Tiller comes closer to facing human justice in Kansas. Someday, he will face a higher tribunal, and the prospect of a man facing that Judge with so many, many sins to account for is truly terrifying.

3. Meanwhile, the nomination of Tiller's pal, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to be HHS Secretary is being held up, apparently because her association with Tiller is too toxic even for the 100% anti-life Administration.

4. In the UK, they keep throwing contraceptives at the problem of teen pregnancy, and guess what? The number of teen pregnancies goes up. Gee, you think it might be because giving them contraceptives is the same thing as encouraging them to have sex, which sometimes leads to the natural consequence of getting pregnant? And their answer to this latest development? More contraceptives, of course.

5. The nominee to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel flat-out lies to Congress, denying that she ever made the absurd and radical argument that likened restrictions on abortion to "forced pregnancy" in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment.

6. Four members of a nation-wide ring that helps people commit suicide have been arrested. This kind of murder conspiracy has been going on for years, under the guise of "compassion in dying" and "alleviating suffering". It's the end-of-life version of the cult that at the heart of the Culture of Death.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Democracy in Action -- Not

1. Rep. Chris Smith (D-NJ), a pro-life hero, was trying to offer some amendments to the appropriations bill now working its way through Congress. The amendments would have restored the Mexico City Policy and prevented taxpayer money from being used for coerced abortions abroad. The House Rules Committee killed the amendments, as in, they won't even allow the members of Congress to debate and vote on them. Democracy in action.

2. Susan Wills from the USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat responds fully and definitively to the nonsensical article in Time that alleged FOCA is a mirage.

3. Last week, in a Times op-ed, two scholars offered a "compromise" on same-sex "marriage" that amounted to a virtually complete surrender by defenders of traditional marriage. Here is a very cogent response to that proposal, with a more authentic compromise that would preserve the definition of marriage while granting benefits to civil union couples.

4. For those who need a refresher on the evil history of the Temple of Moloch, er, I mean Planned Parenthood, and its wicked founder, here's a reprint of a Crisis Magazine story from 1998. The most important line is the quote from a former PPUSA president: "Planned Parenthood has never strayed from the fundamental principles she [Sanger] espoused". Precisely -- "a dog returns to its vomit" (Prov. 26:12).

5. To quote Shakespeare's Richard II, "This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars ... This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England". How noble it must have been. But things have changed. Here's why -- the British "children's minister" (although she appears to be an adult) says that parents shouldn't teach their kids about moral values relating to sex because it prevents them from being truly "open". Yeah, just what we need, teens who are more open to disordered sexuality, damaged relationships, broken hearts, STD's -- and sin. It's done so much for society and individuals so far. To quote myself, "this land of moral morons."

6. The tragedy of the Octomom continues. She has now been offered a large amount of money to appear in a porn film. There it is -- it started as the misuse of sexuality and fertility, continued into treating human life as a commodity to be purchased with the complicity of an unscrupulous doctor, expands into the voyeurism of the celebrity culture, and ends with the perfect example of exploiting a person as if they were nothing more than an object. Sad, sad, sad.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lies, Statistics, and Death

1. The Temple of Moloch (er, I mean Planned Parenthood's research shop, the Guttmacher Institute) has produced an in-house study that concludes that federally-funded contraception programs have prevented millions of abortions and teen pregnancies. The numbers are produced by using sophisticated statistical models generated by themselves, from data collected by themselves, and peer-reviewed by themselves. In other words, they're just making them up and dressing them in fancy scientific-sounding terms. Their favored solution, of course, is to give them boatloads more money, so they can continue their mission to destroy the normal sexual development of teens and kill their babies when the contraceptives fail. Pro-abortion "Catholics" will no doubt jump on this bandwagon soon, to justify their support of "abortion reduction (without actually doing anything to reduce abortion)" policies.

2. The indispensible Fr. Thomas Berg, LC, says plainly what everyone, especially our legislators, should be thinking -- the "Octomom" case makes it perfectly clear that the IVF industry is out of control, cannot be trusted to regulate itself, and must be subjected to close supervision by public health authorities.

3. Bishop Martino of Scranton is not the kind of guy who shilly-shallies around. Here he is, speaking slowly and plainly regarding pro-abortion politicians participating in the St. Patrick's Day parade. Short version -- don't even think about it.

4. Amazing story of a fetal cardiologist, healing babies whose hearts are smaller than a pea. Miracles every day.

5. A nice symposium on National Review Online about the meaning of Ash Wednesday and Lent. Somehow I don't see this kind of thing in the Times.

6. Scientists, plumbing the depths of human existence, have answered one of the burning questions about the meaning of life -- why women can't read maps and men can't find their keys. I hope this wasn't paid for by the stimulus package, because it's sure going to stimulate some arguments.

7. Fr. Edward McNamara, the liturgy answer man on the Zenit news service, responds to questions about Lent issues -- is it correct to remove holy water during Lent, how serious is the requirement of abstinence from meat on Fridays, and whether mimes (!!!!!!) and drama can be used during the Passion Gospels. The short answers, in order: "no", "very", and "what planet are you from and when is your flight back there?" (Fr. McNamara was a little more charitable on that last one, I have to admit)

8. Blogged yesterday about the Times' coverage of Catholic issues in the last few days. Blogging today about the divorce from reason among the same sex "marriage" proponents. Check it out at my ArchNY blog.


Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Our New Archbishop

1. We have a new Archbishop! Archbishop Dolan made a warm and friendly first impression. He told the press that his hero is Jesus Christ and said he'll be converting to being a Yankee fan. He's also strongly pro-life, as this article summarizes. For a more detailed backgrounder on the personal level, try this one from his home-town (St. Louis) newspaper.

2. What's even better is that the Times doesn't like him, calling him "a genial enforcer of Rome's doctrine". Heh, heh. They even exhumed the corpse of Daniel McGuire, from its uneasy resting place in the "theology department" at Marquette (a/k/a Dante's Sixth Circle), to grind his usual axe at the Archbishop. Hey, if the Devil's Daily doesn't like you, you must be doing something right.

3. Actually, I'm pretty grateful that he's a practicing, believing Christian -- some Episcopal dioceses aren't so lucky, witness the poor souls who now have a "Christian-Buddhist bishop".

4. More from the Personnel is Policy Department -- a detailed analysis of the radical ideology of the new head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (e.g., she's adamantly opposed to absolutely all restrictions or regulations on abortion, while insisting that taxpayers must pay for them, iron-clad pro-abortion litmus test for judges, etc.). While the name of the office is fairly innocuous, in reality it is a major player in shaping the policies of the Justice Department and the Executive Branch in general. Just think how federal conscience protection regulations will fare under her advice.

5. An excellent article on the post-abortion experiences of men.

6. Archbishop Chaput gives his views on the proper balance of faith in the public square, and warns against a spirit of adulation of the current President. Try to resist that, will you?

7. Now we know the world is coming to an end. William. Shatner. Wants. To. Be. Prime. Minister. Of. Canada.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Renewal Through the Confessional

1. The Times, once again with the tone of mild incredulity that you would associate with viewing the quaint customs of a lost tribe in a distant continent, reports on the revitalization of a parish in Stamford, CT, that centers on the Confessional. Of course, they follow the inevitable journalistic ritual of communing with the spirit of the ludicrous Richard McBrien, who informs us from the great beyond of revisionist "Catholicism" that Confession is a "dead letter" for Catholics nowadays. It certainly is, for those with deadened souls. My favorite line is the comment by the reporter on how real Confession separates us from our popular Oprah-fied culture, which is "relentlessly confessional and rarely contrite". Precisely.

2. Pope Benedict addressed the Pontifical Academy for Life on the theme of genetics and the danger of eugenics. He warned of genetic discrimination and reasserted a truth that all scientists should bear in mind: "Every human being, then, is much more than a singular combination of genetic information that is transmitted to him by his parents. The generation of man can never be reduced to the mere reproduction of a new individual of the human species, as is the case with all other animals. Every appearance of a person in the world is always a new creation."

3. At some point, Prof. Kmiec will sit down and be quiet, but in the meantime his absurd self-justifying ramblings have now reached the point of being openly critical of the Holy Father; he claims that the Holy Father's instruction to Madame Speaker of the obligation of Catholic public officials to defend human life intrudes upon the civic duties of judges. One benefit of this is to remind us, as St. Ignatius did in the Spiritual Exercises, that all Catholics, even Catholic lawyers and judges, must choose between the Two Standards -- the banner of Christ or the banner of Satan. So which will you be loyal to, Professor -- the law of Christ or the law of the Supreme Court? Choose wisely.

4. Uh, okay. The headline is "Catholic Denomination Says Gay Priests Are OK". The article asks the question, "will such rogue religious groups ever be recognized by the papacy?" Since the ghost of the laughable Richard McBrien wasn't available to be contacted by Ouija board, I'll fill in. Let me think for a minute. Okay, I'll go out on a limb on this one and guess "no".

5. Here's a re-release of an excellent article about the political impact of the spread of pornography, particularly interesting for its discussion of the social effects of unregulated Eros, namely, -- the dehumanization of others. You may recall that the first part of Pope Benedict's Deus Caritas Est deals with the need for Eros to be married with Agape for love to have its true meaning.

6. The Archdiocese of St. Louis, which is awaiting the appointment of their own new Archbishop, is giving people the option of signing up for a text message to their cell phones when the announcement is made. I didn't get a text message this morning, but here's the official press release from 1011 about our new Archbishop. Please pray for Archbishop Dolan, and for Cardinal Egan.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Junk Journalism from Time Magazine

1. More biased junk journalism from Time magazine, trying to keep to the party line that FOCA is a mirage of our own creation, pushed just to raise money for the bishops. It's chock full of howling factual errors (e.g., claiming that FOCA was first introduced in 2003, when it was actually 1989). Plus, they somehow lost their Washington phone book so they couldn't figure out how to reach anyone at USCCB to talk about the postcard initiative. But they did manage to find some spokesman for a "Catholic" pro-Moloch, er, I mean "pro-choice" group to say all the expected things. My favorite is their claim that the President has given pro-lifers "little evidence" that he's the most pro-abortion president -- so just forget about the Mexico City Policy, all of his appointments of ardent pro-abortion people to key positions, and the imminent reversal of the stem cell policy. The article is thoroughly debunked by a watchdog journalist here. I got really annoyed by this and posted about it at my ArchNY blog.

2. The President and First Lady met with a bunch of interest groups recently and told them that they're critical to pushing the Administration's agenda. Among the guests: the heads of the "Human Rights Campaign" (the leading "gay" rights group) and the Temple of Moloch, er, I mean Planned Parenthood. But don't worry, the President has given us little evidence to be concerned about his agenda.

3. Archbishop Chaput on Madame Speaker. My favorite line: "it’s not a fairly black and white issue, it’s a clearly black and white issue. The Church without a doubt believes that human life begins at the moment of conception". As for the question of exclusion from Communion, let us pray that any discipline might "yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (Heb 12:11).

4. Cult of Moloch front group "Catholics United" come to the defense of pro-abortion Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' nomination to head Health and Human Services. In the process they personally and grossly unfairly attack Archbishop Naumann (who banned her from Communion) and lie about her record (claiming that her record is pro-life, a demonstrably false statement -- if her policies are so pro-life, why is Kansas' abortion rate higher than any of the surrounding states?). Remember, Sebelius is the one who hosted a fundraiser/tribute to late-term killer Dr. George Tiller -- in the governor's mansion, no less.

5. The age of designer babies is upon us. Dr. Frankenstein, call your office.

6. As many of you know, Catholic writer and blogger Amy Welborn lost her husband recently. Here, she shares an achingly beautiful reflection on what God is teaching her through his death. It's all about God.

7. Useful news from the Incredibly Bloody Obvious Department, courtesy of our blessed psychologists. Without them, we would never have figured out that men look at women in bikinis as if they were just objects. Really?

8. Posted yesterday at my ArchNY blog against the persecution of pro-life protesters. Check it out.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

What Filter Did She Have On?

1. George Weigel wonders, based on the post-meeting public statements, if Madame Speaker was at the same meeting -- or even in the same city -- as the Holy Father. You have to ask yourself what kind of filter was on her hearing so that what the self-absorbed Speaker found most remarkable about the meeting was not the specific and strong personal admonition from the Vicar of Christ, but what she said to him, and particularly that she got to show him pictures of her grandkids. Probably the "sin hardens your heart and makes you deaf to the Word of God" filter.

2. And then there's the imaginary and hilarious "fly on the wall" account of Madame Speaker's meeting with the Holy Father.

3. Correction to yesterday's comment about Madame Speaker not meeting with her Archbishop. Apparently, the meeting has already taken place and the result is… well, her spokesman said "She is not changing her position on abortion". Okay, now might be the time to review then-Cardinal Ratzinger's document "Worthiness to Receive Communion" and Canon 915. But boy, if the Speaker converted, what an impact it would have! That's something to pray for.

4. North Dakota's House of Representatives has passed a bill defining that a legal "person" begins at conception. You may recall that in Roe v. Wade, the Court expressed agnosticism about when life begins, and held that the Constitution did not include the unborn in the definition of "person" (they consulted the super-secret glossary, visible only to those with rose-colored glasses), but kind of left the door open a crack to legislative action in that area. This bill isn't law yet, and it won't overrule abortion rights (the Court has gone far past the Roe rationale), but legislative statements like these are a useful step towards restoring rationality and sanity in the law.

5. More from the forces of tolerance -- a pastor in Oakland was prosecuted under a city clinic access bill for handing out leaflets and holding a sign in front of a clinic. Yes, handing out leaflets and holding a sign is now criminal in California, and maybe in New York City too, if the City Council passes their egregious clinic access bill. "First Amendment? We don't need no stinking First Amendment!" UPDATE: The pastor has been sentenced to 30 days in jail, a $1130 fine, and three years probation. For handing our flyers and holding a sign. In America.

6. Another warning sign for scientists who are pushing the pace of research into embryonic stem cells -- an experimental injection of ESC's into the brain of a boy causes dangerous tumors.

7. I missed this in the pre-Valentine's Day crush, but our always-useful scientists have discovered the secret to effective kissing. No, it's not true love, it's… well... I'm sorry to say it, but it has to do with quantities of saliva. Now, I'm not going to try to confirm it. You're on your own on this one.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The Holy Father and Madame Speaker

1. The Holy Father met with Madame Speaker and, as expected, did what a pastor should do -- he spoke the truth to her. The Vatican press release puts it perfectly: he spoke to her of "the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development." Seed planted. Let's pray that the soil is welcoming and will bear fruit.

2. Perhaps now Madame Speaker will find time in her busy schedule to meet with her own Archbishop, a meeting she just hasn't been able to arrange so far. UPDATE: She did in fact meet with the Archbishop -- see my posting for 2/19, above.

3. Perhaps the first test of Madame Speaker's new conversion will be her reaction to a letter that has been signed by over 100 pro-life House members, seeking her assurance that provisions of appropriations bills that have previously banned funding for abortion (so-called "pro-life riders" like the Hyde Amendment) will be retained, or, at least, put up for a vote. This is an important part of the pro-life strategy this year, so the reaction to this will be crucial.

4. Two Republican leaders in the House respond to Cardinal Rigali's letter about FOCA and other threats, promising to work with pro-lifers to defeat these threats and to retain current portections for unborn life. And the response so far to the Cardinal's letter from the Administration is…. (sounds of trees falling in the woods with nobody to hear them).

5. The saga of poor Prof. Kmiec continues, as he twists and spins his way through the realm of moral self-justification to explain why the new Administration's policies are really pro-life. Really, it's like watching a slow-motion car wreck. Very sad.

6. Well, if the Times reports it, it must be true. The Newspaper of Record now recognizes that IVF carries risks of genetic problems in the babies. No kidding, really? Keeping eggs and sperm frozen, suspended in chemical media, well beyond their normal lifespan -- this has an effect on them?

7. What used to be a leading human rights organization has now descended into all the madness of the present age. Amnesty International, which once cared about the freedom of conscience against state coercion, is now protesting Mexico's protection of the right of doctors to decline to commit abortions or to dispense emergency contraception. Naturally, since the "right" to kill unborn children is now the trump card that outranks all other rights.

8. Mary Beth Bonacci has an excellent piece on "What if my kids ask me about my past?" The short answer -- the most important thing is to be living a chaste life in your marriage, where sex is sacred and beautiful and private. The kids will get that message from how we live, more clearly than anything we say to them.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Stem Cells, Logic, and More

1. Some early reaction to the expected approval of expanded federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Fr. Tad, one of our leading bioethicists, argues that it's "discrimination" against an entire class of human beings. This is the Lincoln argument -- going back to the roots of our society, the bedrock of our nation is the understanding that all are created equal, that these rights inhere in every individual human person, and that they cannot be stripped from us by any government.

2. Following this trend and using secular, non-religious arguments in the public square is Hadley Arkes, who invokes Aristotle's call for prudence in approaching FOCA. I know that the President had to read Aristotle to graduate from Columbia -- maybe it's still there in the recesses of memory (if Harvard Law School didn't erase it).

3. Whew. We can all rest comfortably now. The Times has finally exercised its Extraordinary Universal Magisterium to instruct the Holy Father on how to pope. Apparently, his latest "missteps… have still demonstrated to many parishioners that his concerns are far removed from theirs". I guess most parishioners aren't concerned with developing the loving intimate relationship with Christ in communion with His Church, which, if I recall, is pretty much the Holy Father's central concern.

4. Meanwhile, over in Lambeth Palace, the poor Archbishop of Canterbury is patiently waiting for history to catch up to his enlightened views on the true meaning of scripture (i.e., it's "time bound", while the good Archbishop somehow transcends time), particularly about homosexuality (which is really a beautiful thing, in his understanding of grace). Just in case it's not clear, the people who need to catch up are the "notorious" pope and us hidebound conservatives who actually believe what Christianity has always believed. Warning: don't read the original piece underlying this story, since that much exposure to mushy religious revisionism is bad for the soul.

5. Here's an interesting initiative -- offering prayers for the conversion of the President. Since he's already a believing Christian of the United Church of Christ variety, this is actually a prayer his conversion to respect for human life. That's a hope we can all believe in and pray for.

6. No, there's no new Archbishop of New York yet. Relax, take a breath. Chill out.

Monday, February 16, 2009

More from the 100% Anti-Life President

1. The 100% anti-life President gets ready to authorize spending federal money to dismember human beings (i.e., embryos whose stem cells are needed by researchers). Still waiting for those pro-life initiatives. Tick, tick, tick...

2. u7yh6uhyyhyih hhhujhn7yrfgtnuj7hy uuuuu8989ioioioioioioioioioiok9. Sorry, that's the effect of my head striking the keyboard repeatedly after reading about the priest -- the president of a Catholic university in Canada, no less -- who is claiming that the Church's teaching on abortion is not infallible, and that it's okay to have a variety of positions on that subject and on homosexuality and contraception. Father, you have now failed Catholic Dogma 101. For homework, read Lumen Gentium 25 and Evangelium Vitae 58-62; pray; pray some more; then, perhaps, you will return to Catholicism.

3. For those who think there's no hope for the new generation, check out this video of a twelve-year-old explaining the reality of abortion. Wow, just wow.

4. The forces of tolerance in Birmingham, AL, treat pro-life protesters as if the First Amendment doesn't exist, arresting them for passing out leaflets on the sidewalk. Ah, yes, the old "the sidewalks are not public property for non-residents" approach -- it's right there in the penumbra of the Constitution. Didn't Bull Connor use the same excuse?

5. Deal Hudson throws in his own $.02 about what the Holy Father should be told about Mrs. Pelosi in anticipation of their meeting in Rome (Psst... Your Holiness... She's 100% anti-life, publicly misrepresents Catholic teaching, and goes to Communion with an apparently untroubled conscience). Let us pray that her meeting with the Holy Father will yield a true conversion of heart in her.

6. You ordinarily expect our popular culture to be shallow and unreflective about virtually everything (except shallow things). Yet there's an article in Glamour magazine, of all places, that is surprisingly thoughtful about post-abortion regret. Kathryn Jean Lopez of NationalReview Online reflects on the broader significance.

7. Man, I wish I were an academic researcher. They actually get paid to produce important articles like this one: "Why Does Getting Married Make You Fat? Incentives and Appearance Maintenance". Guess what their conclusion is? Leaving the "dating market" reduces incentives to be thin and attractive. Um, right, absolutely, I have no incentive to remain attractive for my spouse now. Thanks, guys.

8. Happy Millard Fillmore Day.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Interview from our Dreams

1. This is hilarious, and very, very well done. Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, uses his column to conduct an imaginary interview with the President. If only the good bishop could get ten minutes to do the real thing. Perfect, absolutely perfect.

2. I'm shocked, shocked that manufacturers of hormonal contraceptives lie about their drugs. Even the FDA has sat up and taken notice. Now if only they could force them to admit to the connection with breast cancer, abortion, infertility, etc.

3. All the follow-up stories to the California octoplets serve as a reminder that the assisted reproductive industry in the United States is virtually unregulated (unlike its counterpart in Europe), and is in serious need of some oversight by public health authorities to prevent abuses and exploitation of women. This is a very lucrative business, and they have been very successful in resisting efforts to regulate them. It's the Wild West, with lives at stake.

4. Fascinating essay on the strange attitudes in Western society about food and sex -- basically that we're becoming mindful about food but mindless about sex. Fertile ground for the theology of the body to take root.

5. Where there's life, there's hope -- here's a lovely story about how the movie Bella has brought hope to many, including mothers who've decided to keep their babies after seeing the movie.

6. Very nice piece about the power of marital love in the face of cancer, from the Times. A bit too much information at points, but well worth reading as a tribute to "in sickness and in health…".

7. Yesterday was Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday. I'm posting today at my ArchNY blog on his legacy for the pro-life movement. Perhaps a re-read of the Gettysburg Address is in order as well.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Let's Indulge the Times

1. I realize that you can't expect even rudimentary religious literacy in an article about indulgences in the Times (e.g., they never went anywhere, so they're not being brought back; there's no counting of days anymore; they have nothing to do with "absolution"; etc.), but at least they managed to find a bishop whom they let explain to some extent what the Church actually believes. As for the "liberal theologian" they quoted, there is just something unbearably aggravating about learned men who blithely dismiss teachings of the Church that offer hope to people who trust in God's mercy.

2. Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrat from the Temple of Moloch) is pushing for Senate action on the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. As you can imagine, no rights are conferred on pre-born children, and parental authority over children will be undermined -- even to the point of endangering parental notification laws and requiring access to contraceptives without parental involvement (see, for example, this analysis from C-Fam).

3. An important debate is unfolding about whether to convert financially failing Catholic schools into Church-operated public charter schools. The fundamental religious mission of the Catholic school has long been maintained by the Church (see Vatican II's Declaration on Christian Education). What happens when the public school powers that be insist that our Church-sponsored charter schools teach immoral sex ed information, or insist on condom distribution or abortion referrals?

4. Prepare for the next step down the slippery slope. In Canada, activists are using the same-sex "marriage" precedent to push for polygamy. The cognoscenti scorns us whenever we point this out, but the truth is clear. And, in case you think that clear legislation in defense of marriage is sufficient, you don't realize the ability of judges to ignore the law and make it up as they go along. Anybody still think it doesn't matter who selects the judges?

5. Here's a beautiful reflection on the life of Msgr. William Smith, by Fr. George Rutler. Favorite quote from Msgr. Smith: "The new morality is nothing more than the old immorality."

6. Posted yesterday at my ArchNY blog on the horrible story of the late-term born-alive abortion in Florida. Read it if you have a strong heart, and pray for all involved.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Reducing Abortion by Doing Nothing About Abortion

1. Prof. Michael New once again restates the data that debunks the "abortion reduction" nonsense that is a theme of our current Administration and some Catholic fellow travellers. This is really a very simple reality-based concept that has been proven over and over again -- if you want to reduce the incidence of certain behavior (whether it be abortion, crime, or excessive pay for executives), you have to attack the behavior directly, since "root cause" efforts have little if any effect. Saying you want to reduce abortions without actually doing anything to reduce abortion leads one to believe that either (a) you're out of touch with reality or (b) you don't really want to reduce abortions.

2. A pretty good summary of affairs from the "Personnel is Policy" department, courtesy of a priest from Long Island. I'm just surprised that a single pro-lifer got appointed by the new Administration.

3. In 2006, Pope Benedict spoke of the non-negotiable issues for the Church in the public arena. A Cardinal in Spain, where the Church is under direct attack, has outlined our core agenda once again -- protecting life, marriage and the family, as well as religious liberty and freedom of conscience.

4. You can't possibly make this stuff up because nobody would believe it and it's too hilarious anyway. Famous dissident theologian Hans Kung has said that the President would make a better pope than Benedict XVI. Well, sure, Hans, old boy, there's just that little requirement about being Catholic, but your "theology" makes it pretty clear that that's just optional anyway.

5. Some students and professors returning to Boston College this Spring were shocked, surprised and appalled to learn that they had walked into a Catholic university, now that the administration has returned crucifixes and sacred icons to the classrooms. Some professors threaten to resign in protest, claiming to be insulted, etc, etc. If only...

Monday, February 9, 2009

Not Another Pro-Abortion Catholic!

1. More from the personnel is policy department. Now it appears that Kathleen Sebelius, the Governor of Kansas, is on line to be appointed head of Health and Human Services. You may remember that this Governor, who is Catholic, was barred by her bishop from Communion for her pro-abortion policies, and is most famous for hosting a fund-raiser and tribute in the Governor's mansion for the notorious late-term abortionist Dr. Tiller. Maybe she can trade theology insights with Mrs. Pelosi and Mr. Biden.

2. The Holy Father speaks on Italy's version of the Terri Schiavo case. The article also provides a pretty decent summary of where things are, in case you haven't been following it.

3. Here's a good wrap-up of the credulous press coverage of the whole "abortion reduction" canard. Archbishop Chaput nails the whole issue, as usual.

4. The Times, in all its glory, writes about families with large numbers of kids (i.e., more than 3) with a sense of cultural incomprehension that is palpable. Funny how the word "love" only appears once in the article, where the author notes that some doubt that there's enough love to go around. I guess in the Times' view of the world there's only a limited supply of love.

5. Interesting profile of the Bishop Martino of Scranton, who is considered "controversial" i.e., he actually believes what the Church does and teaches it boldly).

6. It appears that some couples are putting off their divorce because of the economic hard times. Let's hope Congress doesn't' do anything to "stimulate" divorces.

7. The butcher involved in the abortion/murder in Florida has had his license to kill suspended in Florida. As of today, though, his NY medical license was still active. Of course, if the doctor had just murdered the baby in the womb, as originally planned, he would still be in good standing in Florida and New York, and no doubt a respected member of the community (and he might have been invited to the Governor's mansion in Kansas).

Friday, February 6, 2009

Horror in Florida

1. A horrifying story of a baby born alive after an abortion but left to die in the trash. The Culture of Death in all its tragic dimensions, in one story.

2. Contraceptives almost kill a young woman in Maryland. So where is the public outcry (a la Vioxx) to re-evaluate or even ban the drug? FDA? Congress? Women's health advocates? Trial lawyers? Anyone?

3. The new Administration continues to say that it wishes to reduce abortions, without doing anything to actually reduce abortions. This time, it's re-vamping the initiative to support faith-based community groups; I somehow doubt that crisis pregnancy centers will be included, but I'm pretty confident that condom distribution will get it's share of the pie. At the same time, the President "guarantees" that he will provide federal funding for dismembering small human beings, by overturning the last Administration's limits on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. All this, just one day after the President publicly declaimed that God does not approve killing innocent human beings. Of course, it could all just be political manipulation to gain and maintain power and influence, in other words, it's just the way all politicians operate.

4. Meanwhile, yet another group of scientists have shown that you don't need to kill small human beings in order to get pluripotent stem cells. Unfortunately, the scientists in Brazil, which apparently can't be seen from Washington.

5. Bishop Martino of Scranton sends Sen. Robert Casey what may be a canonical warning letter as a prelude to action under Canon 915 ("others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion").

6. A new study that religious belief is hard-wired into the brain and is useful for evolutionary purposes. So, since we can't help it, can we qualify for "protected victim" status?

7. Blogged yesterday on the cognitive dissonance of our President -- talking about how God doesn't approve killing innocent human beings, while at the same time…

Thursday, February 5, 2009

He Said What?

1. It's rare that you see moral blindness in its pure form. Yet here's the 100% anti-life President addressing the National Prayer Breakfast an hour ago and saying this: "There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know.” This poor man is going to suffer from serious cognitive dissonance at some point. Or perhaps he'll listen to himself, and the voice of God within, and have a conversion of heart.

2. Two follow-ups on that terrible misleading Catholic News Service story that downplayed the threats to conscience rights from FOCA. One that deconstructs the article, and another that deconstructs the disingenuous argument that FOCA won't harm current abortion laws or threaten conscience rights. If that CNS story appears in anyone's diocesan newspaper, a rapid response is necessary. I blogged about this the other day and I give everyone permission to plagiarize my comments.

3. If personnel is policy, then Administration policy is likely to be depraved. A newly appointed Deputy Attorney General has in the past represented pornographers and opposed protecting children from porn in libraries. Even worse, in a brief submitted to the Supreme Court, he denied the existence of post-abortion syndrome, saying abortion “rarely causes or exacerbates psychological or emotional problems.” Is this how the new Administration reaches across the aisle to pro-life/pro-family people? Let's hope the Senate does not give its consent to this nominee.

4. Outstanding review by Kathryn Jean Lopez of the effect of contraception on our society. This should be required reading in all schools and seminaries.

5. Okay, guys, start checking out her jawline. Our friends over in the UK (what's in the water over there?) have studied the subject and have found that women with strong jaws are more likely to be unfaithful. On the other hand, something about her navel can tell us how fertile she is. I wonder how we can incorporate these important discoveries into our Pre-Cana classes?

6. Now they get it -- Congress is considering cutting the beer tax as part of the economic "stimulus" package. Prost!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Planned Criminality

1. The Temple of Moloch, er, I mean Planned Parenthood, has once again been caught in the act of conspiring to cover up child abuse. But that's no reason to stop throwing taxpayer money at them, as Congress is thinking of doing with both hands and a wheelbarrow via the "Prevention First [Abortion Later] Act".

2. Gallup has an interesting survey on the level of religion in the various states. It would be interesting to do an overlay of these results with such things as abortion rates, out-of-wedlock pregnancy rates, divorces, absent fathers, crime, even voting patterns. It would also be interesting to compare it the results of a survey that Crisis Magazine did a few years ago on the health of the dioceses in the United States. I can't find that survey online anywhere, now that Crisis has gone out of print -- can any of you find it?

3. A clear-eyed look at the religious groups -- including some that style themselves as Catholic -- that promote "abortion reduction strategies" (i.e., saying you're interested in reducing abortions but doing nothing to reduce abortions). By their fruits you shall know them, and when you look at their fruits you can se that they are phony, phony, phony.

4. So it appears that younger women are choosing parenthood, rather than careers. However, since the article says nothing about women choosing marriage in increasing numbers, color me skeptical that this is a good trend.

5. The inexorable, slow-motion, drip-by-drip legalization of same-sex "marriage" continues in New York, as a Surrogate's Court for the first time recognizes a foreign "marriage" as valid for inheritance purposes. The only way to stop this is to pass a Defense of Marriage Act, which is a non-starter in our State Legislature. We're fighting a rear-guard action, hoping that maybe the cavalry will arrive soon.

6. A very nice piece from the National Catholic Register on Msgr. William Smith.

7. For those who think that tax problems are strictly a problem for appointees to high government posts, see this report. At least no "nanny tax" issues are likely to arise.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Plank, Meet Speck

1. This really frosts me. A number of "Catholic" members of Congress have written a letter to the Holy Father expressing their "concerns" about the removal of the excommunication of the bishops of the Society of St. Pius X. Yet our New York representatives who signed that letter have collectively voted pro-life only 25 times out of a total of 445 possible votes; the majority of all signatories have a 100% NARAL rating. What hypocrites, unable to see the gigantic plank in their own eyes, presuming to lecture the Holy Father about an act of mercy to remove a mote from the eye of another. Have these people never read the parable of the Good Samaritan? The Levite and the Priest are not the heroes of the story. Please pray for their conversion of heart, for the path they are on is the path to destruction.

2. More backlash from the Mexico City Policy decree: the president of Catholic University calls it a "betrayal", and the public doesn't like it. The fact is that people don't like our government spending our money to promote killing children.

3. More madness from across the pond. A British government official in charge of some kind of environmental stuff says that couples who have more than two children are “irresponsible”. Okay, so which one of my kids would he like me to murder so he can be "green"? Also, in a case where a child is put up for adoption due to his mother's addiction, a court denies custody to his grandparents, so that the child can be given to a homosexual couple.

4. Over in the UK they also like to study the bloody obvious, such as this report that blames much of the problems of children on "excessive individualism", namely "a belief among adults that the prime duty of the individual is to make the most of their own life, rather than contribute to the good of others". In other words, selfishness hurts other people. It hurts the selfish person too. What a shock.

5. Check out this trailer for an upcoming movie about Mary. Looks and sounds interesting.

6. Hadley Arkes pays tribute to Joe Biden, the Empty Man.

7. Posted yesterday at my official ArchNY blog about the politics of principle, in memory of Jack Swan, one of my mentors. Some people read these Varia and have suggested that I'm too "partisan". Read the blog to see what's really going on.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Groundhog Day

1. More propaganda on embryonic stem cell research, this time from Time Magazine. Yuval Levin takes it apart at National Review Online. Meanwhile, advances in non-embryonic stem cell research continue to occur, unnoticed by the media and the government/big pharma consortium.

2. Some women in Latin America are speaking out against the repeal of the Mexico City Policy. Now we get to see the real "global gag rule" in operation, as the media enforces absolute silence on those who oppose the Administration's policies.

3. A Minnesota school has revoked an athletic Hall of Fame award to a former student who has become a pro-abortion state legislator. The legislator, a regular Mass attendee, is of course upset. But perhaps he'll wake up for a moment and wonder whether his faith should have anything to do with his public positions. Sometimes the path to conversion starts with facing the uncomfortable truth that discipleship means more than accommodation to the spirit of the age.

4. What kind of political decision will the Republicans come to about the "social issues" -- keep on fighting, or throw in the towel? This decision will have momentous significance for the pro-life movement. In this regard, if you have the time for a long article, it would be valuable to re-visit George McKenna's excellent review of the history of abortion in modern American politics, and how the Republicans and Democrats have shifted their positions over time. At the same time, the GOP has elected a Catholic to be their National Chairman, Michael Steele. He says he's pro-life, but when the questions get specific, he gets a bit soft and vague.

5. The Times never fails to fail to surprise. In Sunday's Style section was a very positive feature story on lesbian-only gated communities, where no males are allowed, the hostility to men is palpable, and contact with the outside world is limited. Even the visit of a baby boy is cause for a paranoid-sounding email warning being sent to all residents: "There's a man on the land". The Times notes, with a tone of regret, that these communities are slowly dying off; I can't imagine why. Oddly enough, the Times doesn't see such people as odd.

6. Happy Groundhog Day. I'm going to post today on that movie at my official ArchNY blog, and its meaning for marriage. Seriously. I'm also going to blog on the politics of principle, in memory of a mentor of mine who died on this date, twelve years ago.