Monthly Archives: October 2010

AP Claims Catholic Bloggers Want to “Purge Dissenters”
by LisaGraas
2010 October 25

A new article by Associated Press [AP] writer Rachel Zoll claims “Catholic bloggers aim to purge dissenters” and includes a quote comparing us to the Taliban because we use “stark language.” The leftist media shows here a disturbing inability to distinguish between (a) the use of speech to debate ideas and (b) burning heretics. Do Catholic bloggers really want to kill people who disagree with them?

As a Catholic apologist for many years, I am somewhat accustomed to claims, both open and veiled, that bold disagreement with non-Catholics, dissenting Catholics, and the Left at large is somehow equivalent to “purging dissenters.” My mother is not used to it, though. A Baptist with an unshakable belief in Sola Fide, she said she was “shocked” to read this headline at the Washington Post: “Catholic bloggers aim to purge dissenters” which she reads as a charge that we want to “burn people.” She wasn’t so shocked, however, when I showed her an article written by the same writer, Rachel Zoll, in 2008 that smeared Baptists who were doing basically the same thing in their ranks. It appears that Zoll may have a personal agenda against religious fidelity itself.

Catholic activists featured by name in the article include Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV and St. Michael’s Media, Brian Hehir Exposed, Boston Catholic Insider, Bellarmine Veritas Ministry and Thomas Peters whose blog American Papist recently moved to CatholicVote. Others who might as well have been named are myself, Deal Hudson of Catholic Advocate and Inside Catholic. In the mix, as well, are countless smaller blogs like Te Deum Laudamus, Causa Nostrae Laetitiae, and Catholic Mom in Hawaii who daily and joyfully respond on their own initiative to provide back-up to counter the leftist media’s distortion of authentic Catholicism. This movement which some have called the Catholic Tea Party, is the Catholic version of the Taliban, according to one National Catholic Reporter analyst quoted.

John Allen, Vatican analyst for the National Catholic Reporter, has dubbed this trend “Taliban Catholicism.” But he says it’s not a strictly conservative phenomenon – liberals can fit the mindset, too, Allen says. Some left-leaning Catholics are outraged by any exercise of church authority.

NCR, referred to more simply as “Fishwrap” by blogging priest Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, is quite “left-leaning” itself and frequently uses very strong language to describe conservatives, both Catholic and non-Catholic. Examples include the accusation that Newt Gingrich is guilty of “spreading hysteria” and that Glenn Beck is a “hop, skip and a jump” from being a Marxist. Calling us “Taliban” which suggests we might kill people may be the strongest language yet.

Read more Lisa Graas at NewsRealBlog here>>>

Editor’s Note: Lisa Graas is a good friend and colleague to us here at AlwaysCatholicBlog. Lisa sent us the AP article for today’s post, “Finally, we’re kickin’ some CINO (Catholics in name only) butt… “. Of course, the LAME-STREAM MEDIA ‘s print buddy, WaPo, decided to set the standard using the National Catholic (Fishwrap) Reporter as mainstream. Yeah, right….

Hey Lisa, your are absolutely right, we didn’t care for the article either…but then what did we expect from WaPo? Fairness? Naaaaaaahhh…

Lisa Graas is a Catholic convert and mom of four who blogs on U.S./Kentucky politics and Catholic culture. Lisa is a pre-emminent Catholic blogger and we are so proud to have her here on ACBlog. Lisa’s Blog is called “Lisa” and is on Twitter @LisaGraas and on Facebook. Lisa also is a regular blogger at David Horowitz’s News Real Blog.

Now I got your attention..Take a look at probably one of the best vocation posts I have seen in quite awhile. One of our dear colleagues and friend’s here at ACBlog, @Sr_Lisa, (that’s Sr. Lisa’s twitter link…) has given us hope that more and more vocations will flower in an environment hostile to the Church.

Happy to see such a great Catholic blog written by a nun, Nunspeak shows us that Religious Sisters today do not have to be radical feminists with a miserable personality, but bright, happy women loving being Brides of Christ! thanks, Sister Lisa, actually Grazie mille!

Ad majorem Dei gloriam,

Sofia

That “V” Word

20 Oct 2010
by Sr. Lisa

A young friend of mine tweeted: “ahh that “V” word! Scary! Lol”. Yes, the V-word. I had just tweeted to her that St Magdalene of Canossa tells us, “God has given you a great gift by giving you a vocation…such a big grace!” Scary, to be sure.

I dedicate this post to her, and to all young women like her who are seeking to do what God wants, but with so much information and opportunity it really does get confusing along the way to hear closely what it is exactly God has in mind. I promised her I would write on the subject, and so, I wish to share my reflection of my own vocation that I shared with my Volunteers back in 2006 following my perpetual vows.

Reflecting on my vows three words come to mind that encapsulate the whole of my religious vocation: ‘here I am’. This is the response I gave at the celebration of my final vows on the 3rd of December 2006 when then General Superior, M. Marie Remedios called out my name before the Bishop Domenico Sigalini and the assembly at the Church of St Magdalene Canossa in Ottavia – Rome. It was my response to a call by God to participate with Him in His plan of salvation. God called my name and I responded.

All of us are called by God but in various ways. Our Christian life is a life of learning to respond according to the state of life we live: some of us are single; others of us are married with children; others of us are religious and priests. But all of us have the same duty of learning to respond whole heartedly to God.

When we open the Bible, we find stories of many who have been invited to follow God, and how they responded. Abraham responded to God with these very words – here I am – in Genesis 22,1 when he was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac to demonstrate his faith, and in his faithful obedience he became the Father of Nations (Rom 4, 1- 17). Moses too received an invitation by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and when called, responded the same way: ‘here I am’ (Ex 3,4). And so also with the Prophet Isaiah when the Lord asked ‘whom shall I send?’ (Is 6,8) Isaiah’s response was ‘here I am, send me’. What is it then to be ‘called’ by God?

The word ‘vocation’ comes from the Latin word ‘vocare’ which means ‘to call, to summon, to invite’. Our vocation then – to the religious, singular or married state – is an invitation to live according to the will of God. And how do we know the will of God? This is the journey of each person to discover what God wants for him or her, but it is always tied to the mission of Christ who said, “my food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish His work” (John 4,34). The ‘work’ of the Father is redemptive, bringing about liberation for all humanity bound by sin from the time of Adam and Eve. Christ came to fulfill this plan of salvation through His life, death and resurrection. All Christians are called to collaborate in this redemptive work by bringing others to know and love God the Father through Jesus Christ. We too are called to hunger for all to know God through fully living out his will through our love.

More at Nunspeak…

Why do Muslims only Live on ONE WAY STREETS??

by AncientSoul
BattleBeadsBlog

Before I say anything .. have a look at a Muslim DANCING on High Altar at Florence Cathedral!
What do you think would happen if a Christian did something similar at a Mosque?

For some time now, I have noticed how one sided things appear from the Muslim world’s point of view. Couple things I can remember off the top of my head … I’m sure you can remember many more and that a search on Google will produce even more yet.

What about the Dutch cartoonist that had to practically go into hiding regarding a political cartoon about Mohammad? Then there’s the time they were ready to string up the Pope because he quoted a 14th century emperor who simply stated the truth about how violent they were. It’s ok for them to shoot rockets at Israel, but when Israel retaliates it’s wrong? How DARE Israel attempt to protect itself or stop the attacks on their citizens? They disperse themselves into ALL other countries .. why? Cuz they wanna make NICE? There is an agenda folks. He who has eyes, let them SEE!

I myself, and I venture to bet most of us, would not take up residency in another country and then demand that country to follow the codes and laws of the USA. We would not demand special rights so we could live as we did in our own country THAT WE JUST LEFT. If it’s that important to them, why did they leave in the first place? If that’s how they want to live, fine .. let them live like that in their OWN COUNTRY. But they want to force THEIR laws on us .. no, not just US … the WHOLE WORLD. They will not rest till the Islamic flag flies everywhere.

They say they are a peaceful nation. What they don’t say is that even the Koran says you will find contradictory statements in this book. When you do, you are to follow the most recently dated to be correct. Problem with this is that all the PEACEFUL stuff in the Koran was in the beginning of the book. The VIOLENT TAKEOVER POLICY comes later, is more recent and therefore is today’s law of the land.

We have all heard of the severe old testament type punishments for crimes … cutting off hands for stealing and certainly the stoning of adulterers, but are folks really aware that ANYONE that doesn’t believe as they do is an INFIDEL and by THEIR LAW (which they want IMPOSED IN THE USA AND EVERYWHERE ELSE) it states that all infidels must die unless they convert to Islam.

Continue reading this truthful and dynamic post here at BattleBeadsblog

Editor’s note: @Ancientsoul is part of the AlwaysCatholic family as well as having her own blog, BattleBeadsBlog. She has also produced the design for AlwaysCatholic and continues to keep AlwaysCatholic out there and running… for this we are forever grateful…
Great job, Mary..this piece ROCKS! Much love & prayers, Sofia

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 20, 2010

The Vatican (LifeNews.com) — Pope Benedict XVI named Raymond Burke, the former Archbishop of St. Louis as one of two Americans who will become cardinals in the Catholic Church. The pontiff said yes to the pro-life leader who has repeatedly said no to pro-abortion politicians receiving the sacrament of communion.

Burke is the head of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome, essentially the equivalent of the Vatican’s Supreme Court.

In a statement, Burke said he was “deeply humbled and honored” by the announcement, adding that he accepted the new position at the same time his thoughts “turn to the many challenges which the Church faces in our day.”

Burke is better known as the Catholic official who said 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry would not be allowed to receive communion at any church in St. Louis because of his staunch pro-abortion position.

Then, during the 2008 presidential election, Burke said all Catholics, including politicians, should not receive communion if they are pro-abortion.

Communion should be denied to pro-abortion politicians “until they have reformed their lives,” he said, in the interview with Radici Christiane magazine.

“Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ unworthily is a sacrilege,” he warned. “If it is done deliberately in mortal sin it is a sacrilege.”

Burke discussed “public officials who, with knowledge and consent, uphold actions that are against the Divine and Eternal moral law.”

“For example, if they support abortion, which entails the taking of innocent and defenseless human lives. A person who commits sin in this way should be publicly admonished in such a way as to not receive Communion until he or she has reformed his life,” he told the publication.

Burke also issued a challenge to ministers to make sure they are not providing the sacrament to pro-abortion lawmakers who have not repented from their position, which is at odds with the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church.

The Cardinal Newman Society, a pro-life Catholic group that monitors colleges and universities, applauded the Pope’s decision.

“Congratulations, Archbishop Burke, on the occasion of your appointment as a cardinal of the Holy Roman Catholic Church,” the group’s president, Patrick Reilly, told LifeNews.com.

He called the appointment “a sign of encouragement for Catholics around the world praying for a deeper commitment of our institutions to their Catholic identity.”

In his statement in 2008, Burke said not denying communion makes a bad witness to other Catholics and the public.

“If we have a public figure who is openly and deliberately upholding abortion rights and receiving the Eucharist, what will the average person think?” he explained. “He or she could come to believe that it up to a certain point it is okay to do away with an innocent life in the mother’s womb.”

The Vatican official said the intent of the communion denial is more about spiritual than political issues.

“It is not with the intention of interfering in public life but rather in the spiritual state of the politician or public official who, if Catholic, should follow the divine law in the public sphere as well,” he said.

“Therefore, it is simply ridiculous and wrong to try to silence a pastor, accusing him of interfering in politics so that he cannot do good to the soul of a member of his flock,” he said as a warning to media outlets and abortion advocates who criticize them.

Moreover, Burke added, “If a person who has been admonished persists in public mortal sin and attempts to receive Communion, the minister of the Eucharist has the obligation to deny it to him. Why? Above all, for the salvation of that person, preventing him from committing a sacrilege.”

As the founder and Editor of LifeNews.com, Steven Ertelt has provided the pro-life community with news via the Internet since 1993. He also serves on the board of Colorado Citizens for Life, the statewide pro-life group. He is the immedate past president of Right to Life of Wyoming, and previously served as the executive director of Montana Right to Life and the public affairs director for Indiana Right to Life. He is also a former president of Students for Life of America and started the college outreach at the National Right to Life Committee. A former radio announcer who has been interviewed on dozens of radio and television programs, Mr. Ertelt holds a bachelor’s degree in Politics from Hendrix College.

CMR friend Adam Wilson of the Cardinal Newman Society just informed me that a young wife and mother has been rushed to the hospital.

“I just learned that a close friend, who was recently diagnosed with MS, has been admitted to the ER again after losing sensation over much of her body. Please keep Katie Phillips in your prayers.”

My kids and I will include her in our prayers tonight and going forward.

Posted by matthew archbold at CreativeMinorityReport.com

Santiago, Chile, Oct 13, 2010 / 12:13 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI gave thanks for the initial success of efforts to free the first of 33 Chilean copper miners who have been trapped beneath the earth for the more than two months.

At his weekly general audience, Oct. 13, the Pope said that “with hope” he continues to commend the miners to the “divine goodness” of Christ.

The miners have been trapped under a half-mile of rock deep beneath Chile’s Atacama Desert since the mine shaft collapsed Aug. 5. Rescue workers originally projected that the miners would be free in late December.

The first of the miners was brought to the surface on Oct. 13 and rescue officials now say it is possible that all will be free within a day.

More at BattleBeadsBlog…

UPDATE on MINERS:
Late breaking news, last night: all 33 miners were rescued safely and some even expected to leave hospital early…Thank Our Lord and His Most Blessed Mother for this miracle in Chile…It has been reported that the miners were praying for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin by praying their Rosary on their fingers… Just a thought…33 miners…Our Lord crucified and risen at 33…hmmmm…Im just sayin’