The Contraception Deception

Catholic Culture Clash Links 4-16-11

The Pope turns 84 today. Happy Birthday Pope Benedict!!

The "pro-immigration" a.k.a. pro-illegal immigration (pro-amnesty) crowd is up in arms over the fact that a meeting on immigration was moved from the Catholic Church to another location since the representative speaking there who purports to be Catholic is pro-abortion.  Oh cry me a river....   Bishop Joe Vasquez did the right thing by having the public meeting moved since Rep. Louis Gutierrez has voted in favor of abortion rights legislation, which is in direct contradiction of Catholic teaching and policies. You do not check either your conscience or your religious beliefs at the door when you serve in Congress.  These Catholyc pro-abort politicians need to either get with the program and follow the precepts of the Catholic faith, including all social social teachings, or find another church which endorses the murder of innocents, which would be more in line with their beliefs. article here 

What do you think of the last minute deal that averted a government shutdown?  Do you think that Rep. Boehner and the leaders in the GOP caved?  I think that they should have stood their ground with regards to stopping funding of Planned Parenthood.  The GOP got some things they asked for but it seems like the Democrats got the better end of the deal.  The GOP needs to take back both the Senate and the White House in the 2012 election.

An evangelical pastor, John Piper, compared the burning of the Koran to crucifying Christ.  This is absurd!!  A book is merely a book.  The Koran can be reprinted.  Christ died for all of our sins. Christ was a person who was killed and not merely a book.  He said this in light of people being killed in the Middle East because the pastor in Florida burned the Koran.  Those who murdered people in the Middle East are murderers and his ludicrous comparison  is in effect justifying the Islamic extremists murderous reaction to the Koran burning.  The Florida pastor, whether you agree with him or not, was expressing his first amendment rights according to the Constitution. article here 

Have you heard of the latest controversy to do with Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV?  His recent Vortex video called "Pagan Easter" called for people to leave their church if the priest mentions Earth Day on Easter Sunday.  I agree with Michael Voris about 99.9% of the time but I disagree with him here.  I agree with most of that video but should he really be encouraging people to leave their churches?  Maybe, if there are other Catholic Churches around one can do some church shopping to find a parish that is in line with their traditional beliefs but what if there is no other parish in the area?  IMO Voris should have used a qualifier in his video.  Maybe, he even should have encouraged those to stay in their parishes to try and change their parish from the inside, so it follows the Magisterium and more laity know the true faith?  This is the same sort of thing he has encouraged us to do in some of his other videos. What do you think of this whole situation? 

Massive Attack

Anonymous Heroes

Pope Benedict's Reform

RealCatholicTV presents Theo-Psychology

Theology and psychology go hand-in-hand.  Psychology, rightly understood, does not conflict with the Catholic Faith. 

Hating On Catholics

Here is the AP article on Catholic bloggers:

Pressure is on to change the Roman Catholic Church in America, but it's not coming from the usual liberal suspects. A new breed of theological conservatives has taken to blogs and YouTube to say the church isn't Catholic enough.



Enraged by dissent that they believe has gone unchecked for decades, and unafraid to say so in the starkest language, these activists are naming names and unsettling the church.


•In the Archdiocese of Boston, parishioners are dissecting the work of a top adviser to the cardinal for any hint of Marxist influence.


•Bloggers are combing through campaign finance records to expose staff of Catholic agencies who donate to politicians who support abortion rights.


•RealCatholicTV.com, working from studios in suburban Detroit, is hunting for "traitorous" nuns, priests or bishops throughout the American church.


.."We're no more engaged in a witch hunt than a doctor excising a cancer is engaged in a witch hunt," said Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV.com and St. Michael's Media. "We're just shining a spotlight on people who are Catholics who do not live the faith."


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.


Yet on the Internet and in the church, conservatives are having the bigger impact.


Among Voris' many media ventures is the CIA — the Catholic Investigative Agency — a program from RealCatholicTV to "bring to light the dark deeds of evil Catholics-in-name-only, who are hijacking the Church for their own ends, not the ends of Christ." CONTINUED

This is a pretty fair and accurate article on conservative Catholic bloggers.

Walking the Walk and Not Just Talking the Talk

Tito Edwards of The American Catholic has posted an excellent article by Charles E. Rice on the Notre Dame 88, which outlines the great injustice being committed by Notre Dame.  Notre Dame refuses to drop the charges against Fr. Norman Weslin, O.S. and the rest of those who were arrested while peacefully entering Notre Dame Campus and praying while Obama, the most pro-abortion president ever, was receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame. Charles E. Rice explains about motions and decisions that have been made by the court so far.  He also talks about questions left unresolved.   On April 30, 2010 Fr. Jenkins released  a statement saying:
“the University cannot have one set of rules for causes we oppose, and another more lenient set of rules for causes we support.  We have one consistent set of rules for demonstrations on campus—no matter what the cause.”
Charles E. Rice points out how Father Jenkins statement is untrue.  In fact, there is evidence that the university treats pro-gay and anti-military supporters better then their own pro-life, Catholic brethren.  Then, Mr. Rice shares information on the "criminals" that have been stigmatized and targeted by Notre Dame.

I am so sick of Catholic Universities being CINO and violating Church Teaching.  These universities, Bishops, priests, and parishioners need to stop being CINO's.  The Bishops, priests, and professors need to start walking the walk and not just talking the talk- and some don't even do that anymore.  Many Catholic universities have abandoned Catholic principles and have accepted the liberal platform, promote that platform, which is diametrically opposed to Catholic Tradition or Catholic values.  Even those catholic universities which are Traditional or conservative, when push comes to shove and they have a choice of CYA or standing up for what's right, IMO it seems like they abandon Catholic principles and choose protecting the university's image rather than standing up for the student or whomever. I know of this because I have been personally affected by the decisions of the higher ups at the university level. 

I attended a very Traditional Catholic college in Ohio and put the priests and maybe even the professors on a pedestal and thought that they were the light of the world, the greatest and could do no wrong. I thought that they would do the "right" thing and watch out for me.  Boy was I wrong. Well, something awful happened to me while attending the university and it was compounded by the fact that it involved a faculty member and because of this the university covered it up and they scapegoated me.  I found out that at least some of the university staff only talked the talk, and most certainly did not walk the walk. I felt like my heart had been ripped out of me. I loved being at this college and had made many friends there. It really hurt that this college was making false accusations about me to cover up for the professor, and to save the reputation or image of the college.  So, when the priest sex abuse scandals started surfacing I could believe that this could happen. If a small cover up could occur at a small university why couldn't a huge cover up or multiple little cover ups occur in parishes nationwide? 

First, I was in shock, then sad and angry.  Then, I shelved my anger and sadness for awhile. Then I became angry at the Catholic Church and struggled with my Faith. I connected the Catholic Church as a whole with what had happened to me at the Catholic university.  Then, my husband helped me to realize that the people who did this to me are human and humans sin or do wrong, and do not represent the Church. Over the past three years or so I have met some wonderful Catholic friends online and they have helped me to overcome many of my struggles with my faith.  I thank them, my husband, and my parents for helping me to overcome many of the struggles I have had with my faith.

I just wish people would do the right thing - make the right decision- no matter how hard the decision was instead of making the easy decision and taking an easy out.

Let us pray for all Catholics or former catholics who have abandoned the Catholic faith and those dissenters who are leading the flock astray that they may return to the One True Faith and return to following the Magisterium. God Bless.

Here is a video of Michael Voris talking on Walking the Walk:

Catholic Answers

Catholic Heroes

Hatred of Heresy Is Good!