Catholic Family Campaign

As Catholics in Kansas City and across the country head to Mass this weekend, they can expect to see messages in their weekly bulletins urging them to contact Congress about the recent health reform initiatives.  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has distributed the message that they cannot support the existing health care proposals unless it includes language specifically forbidding the use of taxpayer dollars funding abortions.  To date, the Democratic leadership has refused to include such language and is said to be considering rules to prevent amendments from being attached on the House floor.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D- MI) has proposed…read more at the Examiner

Tags: Family Values, Pro-Life, Religious Freedoms
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FOUL BALL!
By Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of New York
 
October is the month we relish the highpoint of our national pastime, especially when one of our own New York teams is in the World Series!
 
Sadly, America has another national pastime, this one not pleasant at all: anti-catholicism.
         
It is not hyperbole to call prejudice against the Catholic Church a national pastime. Scholars such as Arthur Schlesinger Sr. referred to it as “the deepest bias in the history of the American people,” while John Higham described it as “the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history.” “The anti-semitism of the left,” is how Paul Viereck reads it, and Professor Philip Jenkins sub-titles his book on the topic “the last acceptable prejudice.”
         
If you want recent evidence of this unfairness against the Catholic Church, look no further than a few of these following examples of occurrences over the last couple weeks:

read more

Tags: Hall of Fame, Religious Freedoms
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Senator John Edwards spoke often about “Two Americas” during his past Presidential campaigns.  The same could be same about Rio de Janeiro.  Two weeks ago the city was awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics.  This is quite an accomplishment as the City, and the Nation, takes center stage in the international community.  Brazil is currently the 10th largest economy and is predicted to be the fifth largest by 2016.

Beyond the flashy presentation and beautiful sandy beaches lies another side of Rio.  Rio is a city with 2 extremes.  There is the bustling, vibrate business and tourist mecca which attracts millions to the city every year for expanding commerce and pleasure.  Then there is the other side; the slums, the violence and the hopeless.  It is also a dangerous city plagued by poverty, violence, and drugs

This past weekend 14 people were killed in fighting between rival drug cartels the required the dispatching of over 2000 military police to patrol the city.  Unfortunately, this is not an isolated occurrence.  Over 2000 deaths have been attributed to the fighting over the last couple of years.

The pattern of segregating the people of Rio by financial status has existed since the early 1800s. The government has become concerned as the slums have continued to grow into the countryside.  They are completing an ambitious project to build walls (Eco-walls) around the slums in an effort to protect the environment and to keep them from growing further.  Many believe the real reason is not to protect the picture hillsides but instead to keep the slum dwellers separate and divided from the rest of the community.  It has even been compared to the Berlin wall.

Time will tell if the Brazilian government is ready to become involved and address the underlying social forces and institutional failures that created the slums in the first place or if they will continue a lack of involvement and indifference to the conditions of these citizens.  The Olympics provide an opportunity for the country to step up to the plate on basic human rights and show to the world an exciting, vibrant community where everyone can prosper or to reveal the darker side of the country that is only discussed in documentaries and investigative reports.

Tags: Economic Justice, Family Values
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from the Heritage Foundation’s Family Facts….

2. Marital Stability. Marriages in which both the husband and wife frequently attend church services are less likely to end in divorce than marriages in which neither spouse attends frequently. full details

4. Marriage among Mothers. On average, among urban mothers who gave birth out of wedlock, those who attend religious services frequently are more likely to become married within a year of their children’s births. full details

5. Attitudes toward Cohabitation and Premarital Sex. Young adults who attended religious services frequently during adolescence are more likely to disapprove of premarital sex and cohabitation than peers who had not attended services frequently. full details  

6. Marital Quality. On average, wives who attend church weekly with their husbands experience higher levels of marital happiness than peers in marriages in which neither spouse attends church weekly. full details  

7. Paternal Involvement. Fathers who attend religious services frequently are more likely to be engaged with their infant children than fathers who do not frequently attend services. full details

9. Domestic Violence. Men and women who attend church services weekly are less likely to commit an act of domestic violence than peers who seldom attend. full details 

Tags: Family Values, Marriage Resources
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The movie premiered last night and the reviews are in? Here is a good one. If you saw it,  leave a comment so we know what you think.

Tags: Family Values, Hall of Fame
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Katie Holmes has reportedly enrolled her daughter Suri in a Catholic school, despite arguments over it with Scientologist husband Tom Cruise.  Interesting…

Tags: Family Values, Religious Freedoms
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Thanks to Father Z for bringing this to my attention!

Statement of Bishop Alexander K. Sample In Response to Bishop Thomas Gumbleton’s Public Appearance in the Diocese of Marquette.

“I attempted to handle this matter in a private, respectful and fraternal manner with Bishop Gumbleton.  It is unfortunate that what should have remained a private matter between two bishops of the Catholic Church has been made available for public consumption.

I want to first of all say that my decision to ask Bishop Gumbleton not to come to Marquette had absolutely nothing to do with the group who invited him to speak, Marquette Citizens for Peace and Justice, nor with the topic of his publicized speech, since the Church is a strong advocate of peace and justice.  I am sorry for the negative impact this has had on those planning this event.

There is a common courtesy usually observed between bishops whereby when one bishop wishes to enter into another bishop’s diocese to minister or make a public speech or appearance, he informs the local bishop ahead of time and seeks his approval.  Only on October 9 did I receive any communication from Bishop Gumbleton, after this situation had already become public.

As the Bishop of the Diocese of Marquette, I am the chief shepherd and teacher of the Catholic faithful of the Upper Peninsula entrusted to my pastoral care.  As such I am charged with the grave responsibility to keep clearly before my people the teachings of the Catholic Church on matters of faith and morals.  Given Bishop Gumbleton’s very public position on certain important matters of Catholic teaching, specifically with regard to homosexuality and the ordination of women to the priesthood, it was my judgment that his presence in Marquette would not be helpful to me in fulfilling my responsibility.

I realize that these were not the topics upon which Bishop Gumbleton was planning to speak.  However, I was concerned about his well-known and public stature and position on these issues and my inability to keep these matters from coming up in discussion.  In order that no one becomes confused, everyone under my pastoral care must receive clear teaching on these important doctrines.

I offer my prayers for Bishop Gumbleton and for all those who have been negatively affected by this unfortunate situation.”

Tags: Family Values, Religious Freedoms
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Father Michael Sinnott, part of the Missionary Society of St. Columban, was kidnapped at about 7:30 p.m. local time “from outside his home in Pagadian City, Province of Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao, as he was taking an evening stroll in the garden,” the society said.

Tags: General, Religious Freedoms
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“If there was a god, I’d still have both nuts.” Lance Armstrong

Something to think about next time you see you kids with the yellow wristbands…

Livestrong.com website

Tags: Family Values, Pro-Life
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Cardinal Rigali’s released a powerful statement for Respect Life Sunday.  You can read the entire article at Catholic Online. 

Respect Life Sunday, this year celebrated on October 4this a day set aside for Catholics in the United States to reflect with gratitude on God’s priceless gift of human life. It is also an occasion to examine how well we, as a nation and individually, are living up to our obligation to protect the rights of those who, due to age, dependency, poverty or other circumstances, are at risk of their very lives.

read more…

Tags: Family Values, Pro-Life
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Father Emil Kapaun, the U.S. Army chaplain who died in a prison camp after saving dozens of soldiers’ lives in the Korean War, is deserving of the Medal of Honor, the secretary of the Army has determined.

This is a great honor for a Catholic priest who many believe is close to being declared a Saint. 

Read more….

Tags: Family Values, Hall of Fame
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