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.