Priorities

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It is moving to see a President shed tears over loss of Life, as President Obama did during the announcement of his Executive Action on gun control two days ago.

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But it is baffling to consider that the death of 26 innocent people at Newtown can move President Barack Obama to tears, while the death of over 57 MILLION innocent unborn babies does not appear to move him in the least.

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Just HOW Pro-Abortion is President Obama?

President Obama is the most radically pro-abortion President we have ever seen.

Ironically, this is a man who, as the black child of single mother,  would himself have faced a more than 54% probability of abortion, if abortion had been legal at the time of his birth.

• President Obama is so pro-abortion that he voted three times against Born Alive Infant Protection Acts that would require medical care for a baby who survives an abortion.
  President Obama supports the killing of a baby born accidentally in a botched full 9-month term partial-birth abortion.
• President Obama is so pro-abortion that he has voiced support for the abortion of his own grandchildren.
• President Obama is so pro-abortion that through ObamaCare, he has forced mandates on religious employers, forcing the employers to provide abortifacient drugs to their employees, against their own religious beliefs.  He has pursued this prioritization of abortion in health care after initially promising his pro-life Democrat colleagues (Stupak and his 11) that ObamaCare would not include abortion.
• President Obama even has a  “Science Czar,” John Holdren, who has advocated forced abortion and forced sterilization  in the United States to control population.

So we now have a President who has forced abortion onto America, against the wishes of 2/3 of the American population, by deception and through lies.

Do we plan to do something about this as voters in 2016?

Can the aggressive abortion agenda and the culture of deception in our government be changed?
Can we do something about this as voters in 2016?
-Stay tuned, for upcoming articles on the 2016 election, on candidates, and on America’s future options.

See also previous articles on related topics:

The Importance of Babies…

• The Baby – an article on the importance of the baby, written on my son’s birthday, 3 years ago today. Happy Birthday, Chris!
• Dear Baby – a letter written our first grandbaby before she was born
• Abortion – a Much Bigger Deal Than You Think – an article for those who think abortion is not a big deal.
• The Contrast – an article contrasting Madison’s Pro-Life community with Madison’s Pro-Choicers, and featuring the behavior of Annie Laurie Gaylor, Dan Barker, and the Freedom From Religion crowd at a Catholic Pro-Life event.
• Black Death in America – on the importance of showing concern for all black deaths.

Obama Administration Forcing Abortion…

• The Deceiver
• July 4th or Obama’s Independence Day Gift to America – a Trojan Horse
• Report Card Time: or Downgrading the United States
• August 1st, 2012 – Day of Infamy
• Political Puzzle Pieces Falling into Place

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Obama Administration Subverting Religious Freedom…

• A Tale of Two Presidents: Timothy & Barak
• A Tale of Two Presidents – the Drama Continues
• The No Religious Freedom Mandate and the President Can Issue Unilateral Mandates Mandate and the Let’s Sneak Abortion into ObamaCare While Nobody’s Looking Mandate

 Elections 2016:

• Elections 2016 or Taming the Black Swan or Selling Out vs Sticking to Principles
• Election 2014 – What Just Happened? or Battle for the Soul of America

Click Here: Abortion Killed 19 Times as Many Blacks as Murder

Click Here: 11% of US Black Population Has Been Killed By Abortion since 1990

Click Here: 25% of US Black Population Has Been Killed by Abortion Since 1973

See Also: Promiscuity Education?
And: There’s An Elephant in the Room

Setting the Record Straight II-
CNN Criticizes ‘Lavish’ Archbishop Residences

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CNN Versus the Catholic Church

-dedicated to Saint John Paul II, whose first feast day as a Catholic Saint is celebrated today!

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Sociology 101

Status Symbols

Like it or not, status and the symbols associated with status play crucial roles in society.

• Wealth in the form of cars, houses and fine clothing  elicits respect in a commercial society.
• Battle scars, medals and rank elicit respect in a military society.
• Publications in erudite journals reflect status in an academic society.

Status and symbols of status stand for our achievements and testify to the credentials we have acquired.  They are often earned and are often very meaningful.

Symbols of Respect

Symbols of status are not only earned, but are also given as signs of respect to those whom we revere and to whom we are grateful.

• A gold watch might be given to a faithful employee upon retirement.
• A bouquet of roses is be given to a sweetheart or to a mother.
  

  Pope Benedict celebrated Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City

• Magnificent buildings are constructed for societal institutions–
  the World Trade Center was a symbol of America’s flourishing economy,
  the monuments of Washington, D.C. reflect our respect for government,
  European Cathedrals testify to Christian Europe’s devotion to God and to Faith,
  and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City reflects the reverence New York Catholics had for their Faith in 1858 when it was built.

So in effect, lavish symbols do not reflect decadence in the person holding the symbol, but often reflect the respect that society has awarded to the authority represented, or to the person representing that authority.

CNN Attacks Catholic Symbols of Respect

Archbishop’s Residence adjacent to St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Could Pope Benedict have stayed here?

This brings us to a recent CNN article which upbraided several Catholic Archbishops for the lavishness of their residences, implying that the Archbishops were decadent individuals because of where they lived.

First on the list to be criticized by CNN was the residence of the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Dolan, the previous President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)– the top authority of the Catholic Church in the United States.  This is the man who represented the Catholic Church in America as he challenged President Obama over the Contraceptive and Abortion Mandate that was added to ObamaCare in 2012.

Apparently CNN would like to see this Archbishop/Cardinal/President of the USCCB demoted to less impressive living quarters. CNN complains that Cardinal Dolan shares the rectory pictured above with 3 other priests.  This is the rectory that housed Archbishop Fulton Sheen in the 1950’s, New York’s Archishop who’s sermons routinely drew 6,000 people to St. Patrick’s and whose television appearances competed with Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra.  On Good Friday, his sermons were broadcast outdoors to the thousands standing outside St. Patrick’s.  Cardinal Dolan today has comparable national and international visibility, meets routinely with political figures and celebrities, and has to plan the visits of religious leaders, including Pope Francis.

CNN would like Cardinal Dolan to run these operations from residence humbler than the rectory pictured above.

Cardinal Dolan’s Living Quarters

CNN would like Cardinal Dolan demoted to less impressive living quarters

If we listened to CNN and tried to demote Cardinal Dolan from his residence adjacent to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, what should be done with that residence, which was built by Catholics for the Archbishop in 1858, and is now a national historic landmark?

Shall we demolish it and put up a tent?
That won’t work, the value of Manhattan real estate is so high that the value of the lone tent could be criticized as lavish!

Shall we make the Cardinal live in the suburbs in Queens, schlepping through the subways to get to his Cathedral each morning?
CNN might like that; less time for the Archbishop to celebrate Mass, teach morality and train/ordain priests!

If we did banish the Cardinal’s living quarters to humbler suburbs, what is to be done with the land that had housed his demolished rectory residence?
Open a soup kitchen? That won’t work- not many homeless on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, across the street from Rockefeller Center.

Perhaps we should adopt the ex-mayor of Madison, Wisconsin’s suggestion, who proposed replacing Madison’s Catholic Cathedral with a shopping mall and parking ramp when it was destroyed by arson.
A Saks Fifth Avenue branch might be the New York City equivalent?
CNN might like that!

Why is CNN Attacking the Catholic Church, Anyway?

Why is CNN attacking the Church?

Because Ted Turner is the founder and owner of CNN.
Ted Turner hates the Catholic Church, openly opposes the Ten Commandments (he makes particular mention of the commanment relating to adultery), makes a habit of mocking religious people, and has openly mocked Pope John Paul II, who is now a saint. Today, October 22, 2014,  the Catholic Church celebrates the first feast day of Saint John Paul II.

The following passage is from CNN’s tribute to Turner which was published on the occasion of his 75th birthday:

“He revised the Ten Commandments, which he considered outdated, coming up instead with his Eleven Voluntary Initiatives, which he printed on cards small enough to carry in a wallet. He tossed out the commandments that struck him as outdated — a host of the “thou shalt nots,” particularly the one banning adultery. “People have had a lot of fun breaking that one. I know I did.”

(Ted Turner is)… a man who has been married and divorced three times and keeps four girlfriends in a “loose” weekly rotation,  believes people are meant to find a lifetime soul mate. He thinks he still has time to find his.”

Aside from being passionately anti-Catholic, Ted Turner is also one of the world’s richest men, and one of the most overtly anti-Catholic promoters of eugenic population control.

So it comes as little surprise that Ted Turner likes to attack the Catholic Church.

So Where Does Ted Turner Live?

One might think, based on CNN’s criticism ofArchbishops’ residences, and based on Ted Turner’s self-description as “environmentalist and pioneer in sustainability,” that Ted Turner might occupy modest living quarters.
But no, he does not.

The man who attacks the residences of Catholic Archbishops as being “lavish” has more than 20 “major” residences himself. His residences are routinely featured in architectural magazines.

Ted Turner is the second largest individual landholder in North America, and brags on his website that he owns over 2 million acres of personal and ranch land.
Ted Turner is a billionaire worth more than 2 billion dollars.

Ted Turner is about as lavish as a human being can get.  Mr. Lavish personified, in fact.

Why Would Mr. Lavish Criticize Archbishops’ Residences Which Are So Much Humbler Than His Own?

So when it comes to CNN criticism of Archbishops and their residences, it becomes pretty clear that CNN is just making feeble attempts to demote the Catholic Church and to reduce the moral sway the Church holds in the world.

Despite the efforts of CNN and the liberal media, the Catholic Church and the Ten Commandments continue to command respect and are widely acknowledged for the moral authority they rightfully represent.

No matter how many plush residences Ted Turner  builds for himself, no matter how many millions of acres and billions of dollars he owns, and no matter how many times he suggest that Catholic Archbishops should move into hovels or tents, Ted Turner will never command the respect, nor be acknowledged as the moral authority that he so clearly envies in the Archbishops of the Catholic Church.

Ted Turner’s Revision of the Ten Commandments

Richard Branson, business magnate and friend of Ted Turner, describes Ted Turner’s philosophy like this:

“I wrote recently about staying with Ted Turner for a few days at his stunning estate in Florida. Was struck by his incredible wit and passion for life, and we got talking about his philosophy for living life to the full.

“The rules/commandments we live by were written some two thousand years ago. Rules shouldn’t be written in stone. They should be updated with time. Here are Ted Turners 11 voluntary initiatives:”

Summarizing Why CNN Criticizes the Residences of Catholic Archbishops

• Ted Turmer, founder and owner of CNN, hates the 10 Commandments and hates the Catholic Church.
• Ted Turner has even suggested replacing the 10 Commandments with 11 Initiatives of his own.
• Ted Turner clearly resents the teachings and the moral authority of the Catholic Church and of her Archbishops, and would like to replace religious authorities with the United Nations, where he himself has status.
• This is why Ted Turner routinely attacks the symbols of respect which the world awards to the Catholic Church.
• Ted would like to be less biased in his bellicose attacks toward religion, but Catholicism is his favorite target due to the size of it’s membership, high degree of organization ( hence attacking Archbishops) and global influence.

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Saint John Paul II, Pray for us!

The Rosary, Saint John Paul’s favorite prayer:

Free downloadable mobile PDF – How to Pray the Rosary.

A Visit to the Chazen…

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I visited the Chazen Museum of Art this afternoon.
And what did I see?

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ABORTION HURTS WOMEN

People who care help women avoid abortion.
WOMEN WHO WANT TO AVOID ABORTION IN MADISON, WI, CAN CONTACT THE WOMEN’S CARE CENTER
Outside of Madison, see Women’s Care Center.

Abortion and Homosexuality –So What Did the Pope Actually Say?

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When Two Jesuits Talk

Today, October 4th, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of St. Francis of Assissi. Our Pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit, made a bold gesture of love in adopting the name of St. Francis, patron of the Franciscans. St. Francis is commonly pictured with animals.  He was renowned for his love, not only of animals, but more importantly, of all human beings.  St. Francis lived his love to the extreme of adopting poverty himself.  This discussion of Pope Francis’ controversial America Magazine interview is dedicated to this unbelievable Pope on his feast day.

St Francis of Assisi (1181 – 1226) (from Universalis) Francis was the son of a prosperous cloth merchant in Assisi. When his father objected to having his goods sold without his consent to pay for the restoration of a church, the bishop commanded Francis to repay the money. He did. He also renounced his father and gave back everything he had ever been given, even his garments. He began a life of perfect evangelical poverty, living by begging and even then only accepting the worst food that people had to give. He preached to all the love of God and the love of the created world; because, having renounced everything, he celebrated everything he received, or saw, or heard, as a gift. A rich man sold everything and joined him in living next to a leper colony; a canon from a neighbouring church gave up his position and joined them also. They looked into the Gospel and saw the story of the rich young man whom Jesus told to sell everything; they saw Jesus telling his disciples to take nothing with them on their journey; they saw Jesus saying that his followers must also carry his cross. And on that basis they founded an order. Francis went to Rome himself and persuaded the Pope to sanction it, though it must have seemed at once impractical and subversive, to set

thousands of holy men wandering penniless round the towns and villages of Europe. Because Francis was wearing an old brown garment begged from a peasant, tied round the middle with string, that became the Franciscan habit. Ten years later 5,000 men were wearing it; a hundred years later Dante was buried in it because it was more glorious than cloth of gold. There is too much to say about Francis to fit here. He tried to convert the Muslims, or at least to attain martyrdom in doing so. He started the practice of setting up a crib in church to celebrate the Nativity. Francis died in 1226, having started a revolution. The Franciscans endure to this day.

Is the Pope Reversing the Catholic Church’s Ban on Abortion and Homosexual Marriage?

Recently there has been a media stir reflecting some confusion on Pope Francis’ position on abortion and on homosexuality, based on an interview he recently gave to America magazine.

Some in the media implied that the Pope is directing the Church not  to concern herself with the issues of abortion and homosexuality.
ABC went so far as to say that Pope Francis wants the Church to shake off “small-minded” rules on abortion and homosexuality.
Bloomberg claimed “Pope Says Church Should Stop Obsessing Over Gays, Abortion.”
Reuters reported somewhat more correctly that the Pope is asking for a change in tone.

Apparent Contradictions

And yet, the same Pope Francis, in the same America magazine interview in question, in the same paragraph, two sentences later, stated “The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church,” thus confirming his loyalty to Catholic Church teaching.

Also, the same Pope Francis just excommunicated a dissident priest in Australia the same month, who advocated gay marriage and female priests.

A Pope who just excommunicated someone for their stance on gay marriage is not likely to announce any changes in Church teaching on gay marriage, as liberal media seems to hope. Excommunication by the Vatican is very rare; there have only been 5 since the year 2000, and this is the first one under Pope Francis.

So, What’s the Story?

So is the Pope for abortion and gay marriage, or against?
Is the Church changing age-old teachings, is the Pope a radical progressive, or is the media botching their reporting?
Short answer: the media is botching  their reporting.
Longer answer? Keep reading.

Ignorance, Wishful Thinking or Deceitful Intent?

So the media is botching their reporting, yet again.
Out-of-context quotes from Pope Francis have gone viral a number of times already this year, and it’s hard to guess what the media is thinking by reporting so sloppily.

It’s difficult to determine whether the liberal media’s unprofessional reporting is due to ignorance of religion, to wishful progressive thinking, or to a deceitful intent to recruit more Catholics into the progressive political agenda, by leading them to think that the Pope approves progressive thought.

But far more interesting than speculating on media motivation is to ask what did the Pope actually say, and what is he trying to tell Catholics and the world?

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What did the Pope actually say?
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When Two Jesuits Talk

The Pope is a Jesuit, America is a Jesuit magazine, and the interviewer, Antonio Spadaro, is a Jesuit with an impressive Jesuit resume.

Jesuits are not feebleminded.  In fact, Jesuits are renowned for their scholarly talent.
When two Jesuits talk, not everybody can follow.

When two Jesuits talk, the discussion is rarely short.
The conversation in question here, the interview between these two Jesuits  was 12,000 words long.
If we typed that up as a college paper, it would be 50 pages long.

In the age of tweets and texting, that’s TMI (too much information) for most people.
We need an interpreter, and the one-liner produced by the mainstream media might not be very representative of what the Pope was really trying to say.

When two Jesuits talk, the discussion is always quite intellectual.  In addition to using theological references, biblical references, Latin phrases and Italian phrases, Jesuits also use references to the classics, to music, to literature, to history, and to numerous other things that leave most of us in the dust.

Beethoven

Pope Francis’ 50-page interview included references to Puccini, Alessandro Manzoni, Caravaggio, Chagall, Mozart, Beethoven, Prometheus, Bach, Wagner, La Scala, Knappertsbusch, Fellini, Anna Mabnani, Aldo Fabrizi, Cervantes, and El Cid, in addition to his theological and biblical references, and references to saints.

I’ll be up front and admit that I had to do some googling on more than a couple of those!

Bottom Line, When Two Jesuits Talk

When two Jesuits talk,

i.e. when Antonio Spadaro (Editor of the influential Jesuit journal Civiltà Cattolica)  interviews Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis),

we are not on the View with Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, and Barbara Walters. Whoopi might give a brilliant performance in  Sister Act, but in real life, she’s no Jesuit.

When two Jesuits talk, the conversation will be deep, it will be significant, it might take the rest of us some ploughing to get through it, but what we unearth will be worth the effort.

Recommendation

So my recommendation would be to read Pope Francis’ interview in it’s entirety.  Pope Francis is inspired, and he’s delightful.  I enjoyed the experience.  The interview can be found at America Magazine.

Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison

Failing that, if you’re looking for some Cliff notes and an interpreter, where better to get that than from Jesuit #3, Madison’s Bishop Robert Morlino?

Bishop Morlino’s synopsis and observations on the Pope’s interview can be found at the Catholic Herald’s Bishop’s Column, September 26^th, 2013.  Bishop Morlino’s got it down to under 2,000 words, or about a 7 page term paper.  Bishop Morlino is always a good read. And he’s very good at bringing it to our level.

Finally, if you want the perspective of one in-the-pew-Catholic like me, read on at your own (spiritual) peril.  It will probably be way longer than Bishop Morlino’s version, and way less accurate.  But here we go… thoughts from the pew…

The Controversial Paragraph

The media had to dig through half of Pope Francis’ 12,000 word interview, or through about 25 pages, before they could find one sentence that could be morphed by media into being “controversial,” albeit out of context. Here is the relevant paragraph (highlighting mine):

We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.

Note that the first highlighted item is the primary one reported by the media, while the second one, asserting that Church teaching has not changed and that Pope Francis is faithful to that unchanged teaching, was ignored by the media.

Rather then focusing on this out-of-context media implication that Pope Francis may be open to changing fundamental Catholic Church teaching, which is clearly disproved by the second highlighted sentence and by the recent excommunication, I’d like to focus instead on the title of the Pope’s interview, and on three points that leaped out at me when I read the interview document.  These items illustrate very clearly and succinctly the message the Pope was trying to send us.

The Title

The title of the Interview, approved by Pope Francis, was A Big Heart Open to God.

O.K., the Pope is saying we must have a big heart.  A big heart means love, self-explanatory.  No small hearts in the Church, please. We do everything with love.

The Pope is also saying that we must be Open to God.  What does that mean, to be open to God?  Well, we should be listening and seeking what God wants of us, as opposed to demanding what we want from God.  We should not ordering God, not ranting against God. Open to God means obedience to Christ’s teachings, obedience to the Church.  Our hearts should be open, waiting to be filled.

A Big Heart Open To God.
In six words, the Pope has managed to teach lovingly to both extremes in his unruly Church.  Disciplinarian dogmatists are reminded to have a big heart.  No Pharisees, please.  And liberal progressives are reminded to listen to God, to obey God.  No rebellion against Christ’s Church.

Pope Francis, the good parent, has spoken kindly and gently to his unruly bickering children, calling for unity, and reminding us in six words what we have to do.

 The First Question

The first question asked of the Pope was “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?”

Of all possible answers, Pope Francis chose “I am a sinner.”

Not “I am the grand high exalted holy ruler of 1 billion people.”
Not “I am a holy man.”
Not “I am a priest.”
Not “I am a Jesuit.”
Not “I am an Argentinian.” or “I am an Argentinian-Italian.”
Not “I am the son of Mario and Regina Bergoglio.”

No, instead the Pope said “I am a sinner.”

This Jesuit was not faking humility.  His words were carefully chosen, not to be about him, but to teach us.
The good gentle shepherd is reminding us “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)    By calling himself a sinner, he is reminding us not to throw stones at each other.

Pope Francis is telling us to treat sinners with mercy, because we are all sinners.
He is teaching gently by example, by announcing that he too is a sinner.
We must all remember that we are sinners, if we want to attract anyone to the Truth.
There is no room in the Catholic Church for holier-than-thou condemnation.
We must start with compassion, and not with condemnation.

In the interview, Pope Francis identifies his own calling with the calling of St. Matthew, the tax collector.  Our Pope says “ I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.”  Pope Francis wants to reach out lovingly to other sinners, and he wants us to do the same.

What Does It Mean for a Jesuit to be Bishop of Rome?

Early in the interview, Pope Francis was also asked “What does it mean for a Jesuit to be Bishop of Rome?”

Blessed Pope John XXIII

The Pope’s answer, quoting Pope John XXIII’s philosophy and motto, jumped out at me as illustrating his loving and nurturing approach to exercising authority, and as illustrating what he is asking of us:

The Pope said See everything; turn a blind eye to much; correct a little.

Again, our Pope, like a good shepherd, guides gently and slowly, rather than overwhelming us with condemnation and criticism.  He asks us to extend the same courtesy to each other.

The Pope also emphasized the importance of prioritizing discernment (discernment always done in the presence of the Lord).  This means that time and prayer are the most appropriate means for approaching problems, and we must be wary of impulses and hasty decisions.

This is how Pope Francis sees the role of a Jesuit in the Chair of Peter.

The Church as  a Field Hospital

The Pope gives us a third window into his philosophy in this interview, in his comparison of the Church with a field hospital:

I see clearly, that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds, heal the wounds…. And you have to start from the ground up.

It’s pretty clear that the Pope is not advocating or approving high cholesterol, but he recognizes that wounds have to be prioritized over cholesterol concerns.  He’s telling us to examine what we prioritize when we look at each other.  Do we turn a blind eye to much, identify the biggest wounds, and tend to those, before launching into overwhelming criticism?

We are not likely to get our culture on board with giving up abortion and homosexual marriage by condemning them.  It is by offering the love and peace of Christ that we will attract them, and the rest will follow in due course.

Respect for others does dictate kindness and a gentle approach.  Which one of us would like to be approached first with recriminations about our sins?  Who are we to decide that the degree of evil in the sins of others (gay lifestyle, abortion) is greater than the degree of evil in our own sins (pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth?).

Take Home Message

We could go on, quoting from and discussing the Pope’s interview.  But then this article would become longer than the Pope’s interview, and you are much better served reading Pope Francis’ actual interview yourself.

The biggest take home message this Catholic found in reading the Pope’s interview was that when evangelizing, our Church needs to proceed with love, humility, and gentleness, and we need to prioritize humanity’s biggest wounds. We also need to work on obedience and on unity.

And what are humanity’s biggest wounds?
Our Pope, discerning carefully in the presence of the Lord, will help us to identify those.
He’s been remarkable so far, flooding the world with his love, and including all of humanity in his flock.
His outreach to atheists is symbolic of his profound love for all of humanity.

A Club of 1 Billion

The Catholic Church is a global club of of 1 billion people.

Like any other large group, including large nations, we have our  conservatives and we have our liberals.  Some liberals and conservatives make good points.  Others take a good thing too far.

The person in charge of 1 billion people, in this case the Pope, should be a unifier, an educator and a leader, not a divider.  He should not start with criticism, blame and attack.  A good leader observes, waits, and corrects a little at a time; he breaks up job assignments into small manageable parcels.
This is what Pope Francis is doing, and his approach should not be taken to mean that he approves sin or that he has changed Catholic Church teaching.

The Pope has given us our marching orders in the gentlest manner: time for authoritarians to tone it down and to lead with love, and time for rebels to prioritize the will of God over their own will.

What Jesuits Do

What do Jesuits Do?

Jesuits were founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola, and are noted for their educational, missionary, and charitable works.

Then we should not be surprised when Pope Francis, a Jesuit, wants to teach, to teach the faith, and to teach the faith with love.

Pope Francis’s interview illustrates that he is a deep thinker, a compassionate shepherd, and a well-educated intellectual.
He’s made a great start in less than one year, with discernment, with humility, and with love.

The Best is Yet to Come

Few of us are qualified to judge a Pope.
Those of us who think we are probably have an issue with pride.
So when the Pope says something that surprises us, we need to examine what he said with an open heart, and have the humility to admit that his correction may be deserved.

In my judgement, this Pope is remarkable.  As were the previous ones in my lifetime.

Pope Francis’ Global Adoration effort and his day of prayer and fasting for Syria are among his first official actions.
With these actions, the Pope illustrated to us the importance of bringing faith into life, and into public life.
Pope Francis demonstrated the urgency of interconnection between Church and State.  Interconnection not from the top down, but from the bottom up.  The State does not dictate the faith of the citizens, but the citizens must use their faith and their God-given conscience and must stand up for what is right.

The results global prayer and fasting combined with interconnection between Church and State are just beginning to roll in.  The best is yet to come.

Not Just for Catholics

This is not just for Catholics.  Everyone should get on board.
This Pope is reaching out to all of humanity, including atheists.
He seems to be getting a very positive response to his call.

Summing Up

Pope Francis’ interview can be summed up pretty simply-

• Drop the finger-wagging, get out the smiles, treat people with respect, pray hard, pray globally, and correct just a little at a time.
• Remember, respect includes not calling people out publicly for their sins, at least not as the first resort.
• We attract more bees with honey than with vinegar.
• Sin is still sin, what’s wrong is still wrong, but let’s not forget the beam in our own eye when pointing out the splinter in someone else’s eye.

Does that mean that we give up the struggle to eliminate abortion or to preserve marriage?
No.
But those are not our opening efforts, before we break out mercy and love.
We don’t lead with those items while evangelizing.

Appendix:  More VIRAL QUOTES from Pope Francis:

From the Washington Post: Pope Francis’ Viral Quotes on Wealth, Abortion, Atheists, War and Gay Catholics. 

We can never serve God and money at the same time. It is not possible: either one or the other. This is not Communism. It is the true Gospel! Pope Francis poses for a photo after meeting with young people in downtown Cagliari, Italy, on Sept. 22, 2013. He spoke of the ‘idol’ of money during a trip to the region, one of the poorest areas in Italy.
Every unborn child, though unjustly condemned to be aborted, has the face of the Lord, who even before his birth, and then as soon as he was born, experienced the rejection of the world. . . . They must not be thrown away! Francis spoke about abortion on Sept. 20, the day after the publication of an interview in which he said that abortion, gay marriage and contraception should not become “obsessions” for faithful Catholics.
We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible, Pope Francis said in an interview that appeared in Jesuit publications around the world on Sept. 19, 2013. “I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear, and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.
If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge? Francis remarked to reporters aboard the papal flight on its way back from Brazil on July 29, 2013. Pope Francis reached out to gays during the news conference on the plane, saying he wouldn’t judge priests for their sexual orientation in a remarkably open and wide-ranging conversation as he returned from his first foreign trip.
War is madness. It is the suicide of humanity. It is an act of faith in money, which for the powerful of the Earth is more important than the human being. Pope Francis celebrates a worldwide Eucharistic adoration ceremony after his comments on war at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on June 2, 2013.
Eternity “will not be boring,” Francis declared May 31, 2013. Later that day, nuns held up candles during a ceremony led by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square.
The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone. ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! Pope Francis said during Mass on May 22, 2013. In the photo, Pope Francis delivers a speech during a meeting with young people in September 2013 in Cagliari, Italy.
If the investments in the banks fall slightly . . . [it is] a tragedy . . . what can be done? But if people die of hunger, if they have nothing to eat, if they have poor health, it does not matter! This is our crisis today! Pope Francis speaks after meeting with the faithful of ecclesial movements on the occasion of a Pentecost vigil in St. Peter’s Square on May 18, 2013.

What in the World Happened to Us?

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TV star Phil Robertson is a successful businessman whose family owned company makes duck calls and other products for duck hunters. The Robertson men, Phil, his brother and his three sons, are known for their long beards.  They also star in the  reality TV show Duck Dynasty, the most-watched nonfiction cable telecast in history.

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Here’s what Phil has to say about abortion:

What in the World Happened to Us?

More on Abortion:
Abortion- A Much Bigger Deal Than You Think!

President Obama on Children- ‘Our First Task’

President Obama on protecting our children from violence:

“They had their entire lives ahead of them; birthdays, graduations, weddings (wipes away a tear), kids of their own…
This is our first task – caring for our children.  If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right.
That’s how, as a society, we will be judged.
And by that measure, can we honesty say that we are doing enough, to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm?
I’ve been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we’re honest with ourselves, the answer is NO.”

See 2-minute video:

If protecting our children from violence is “Our First Task,” why is Obama not going after the primary causes of child death?

Some Child Death Statistics:

Annual child deaths, U.S.: 10,000
Leading causes of death: Accidents & unintentional injuries: 3,200

Deaths by Motor vehicle accident: 1418
Deaths from assault: 1,000
Deaths from accidental drowning: 726

Deaths from injury by firearms: 380
Deaths by suicide: 274
Deaths by firearms, intentional: 219

Is intentional death by firearms the best place for President Obama to focus if he wants to protect children?
Shouldn’t the focus be accidents, or motor vehicles, or drowning, or suicide?
Why is President Obama focusing on one of the smallest dangers and the least of possibilities?
See graph for comparison:

Now, let’s add a bit more data: children’s lives lost by abortion:

Annual child death by abortion: 1.2 million

See what the graph looks like now:

President Obama is actually promoting the leading cause of child death in the United States, abortion, which outnumbers the sum of all other child deaths by a factor of more than one hundred!

Abortion kills 120 times more children than all other causes of death combined, and abortion kills 5,500 times more children than intentional firearms do.

 

Obama Should Listen to the Children coming to Washington on January 25th, 2013, for the March for Life –

  -An event ignored annually by the mainstream media, despite attendance by 500,000 Americans who travel to Washington to protest Roe v. Wade each year.

Listen to the 500,000 opposing abortion, Mr. President!
Not your politically hand-picked four:

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Other tyrants who have used children as props(from Infowars.com) :

Madison Commemorates the 40th Dolorous Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

January 12th, 2013

Fr. John Sasse leads the Rosary

The 4oth anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion in the United States was commemorated today in Madison, WI, with the prayer of 15 decades of the Holy Rosary on the State Street steps of the Wisconsin Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin.

The event was sponsored by Pro-Life Wisconsin, Vigil For Life Madison, and the Diocese of Madison.
Father John Sasse led the prayers, and mentioned the progress our prayer has made in winning Americans over  to the defense of life.
Despite the ‘flu epidemic, the cold and the wind, scores of people braved the elements for this event to pray together.
Faithful Catholics knelt and stood with rosaries in hand on the Capitol steps.

Hecklers arrived, too, shouting rudely and trying unsuccessfully to disrupt our prayer.  Two were led off in hand-cuffs by police.

No media coverage was apparent. Madison’s media, like much of the secular media, neglects to cover events which reflect the spiritual life of Americans.

Click images or arrows below to advance slideshow:

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  Praying the Rosary on the State Street Steps

  of the Wisconsin State Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin

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  Fr. John Sasse leads the Holy Rosary

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  A beautiful but blustery day.

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  Everyone bundled up.

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  Heads bowed.

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  Holding the Crucifix

  Bette Wiessharr of Vigil for Life Madison bravely holds the Crucifix for an hour in the frigid wind. The crucifix was damaged by wind at the start of the Rosary Rally.

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  Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

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  Praying for our government and for our nation.

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  Pray the Rosary to end abortion.

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  Peggy Hamill of Pro-Life Wisconsin

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  Thank you, Jeanne Breunig!

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  Father John Sasse leads 15 decades.

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  Angry heckler led away in handcuffs.

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  Police escort heckler away.

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  The Rosary continues...

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  True Feminism

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  Police escort another handcuffed heckler away.

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  Praying in the cold!

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  On our knees...

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  A whole group of rude hecklers walk by.

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  Kurt Jacobson of Knights of Columbus holds the flag.

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  Prayers at the Capitol for our nation and it's future citizens.

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  Roe v Wade 40th Dolorous Anniversary

Roe v. Wade Turns 40

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Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion,
was issued on January 22, 1973.

This January 22, 2013, will commemorate
the 40th anniversary of that Supreme Court decision.

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To date, 55 million infants have been aborted in the United States, and are missing from our ranks as a nation.
55 million of us were not born, were not baptized, did not graduate, did not marry, did not have children, and did not contribute to the world in all areas, including philosophy, science, art, and religion.
At least one out of 6 Americans is missing.  If these children, who would now be 40, also had children, as many as one quarter of all Americans could be missing by now.

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One person who escaped abortion very narrowly, yet lived to contribute mind-boggling contributions to our society’s present capabilities, was Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple.  What would our world be now, without Steve Jobs?

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President Obama is another example of a person who might have been aborted, if Roe v. Wade had been legal at the time he was born.  As the black child of a single mother,  his chances of being aborted would have been extremely high. 77% of African-American pregnancies are aborted right now, a black child is 5 times as likely to be aborted as a white child.
Numerous potential Presidents may have been aborted in these past forty years.

Abortion is one of the biggest killers of history, and abortion is a much bigger deal than most people think.

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A Striking Coincidence

President Barack Hussein Obama,
the most radically pro-abortion President in United States history,
will be re-inaugurated on January 21, 2013,
the eve of the 40th anniversary,
of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.

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The Significance of the number 40 for Christians

The number 40 is a very meaningful number in Judeo Christian history.

• During the Old Testament great flood, rain fell for forty nights and forty days, during which all living beings on earth perished, except those on Noah’s ark.
• Spies explored the land of Israel for forty days (Numbers 13).
• The Old Testament Exodus from Egypt lasted 40 years, with the Jewish people wandering the Sinai desert. This period of years represents the time it takes for a new generation to arise.
• Moses’ life is divided into 40 year segments in the Old Testament.
• Eli, Saul, David, and Solomon, Jewish leaders and kings of the Old Testament, ruled for forty years.
• Goliath challenged the Israelites twice a day for forty days before David defeated him.
• Moses spend three consecutive periods of forty days and forty nights on Mount Sinai.
• 40 lashes is one of the punishments meted out by the Sanhedrin.
• Christ fasted and prayed in the desert for 40 days prior to His Temptation, Ministry, Passion, Death and Resurrection.
• Forty days was the period from the Resurrection of Jesus to His Ascension into Heaven.
• Lent consists of the forty days preceding Easter.

Madison Will Commemorate 40 Years with Prayer

Madison will commemorate the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on January 12, 2013, by praying the rosary on the steps of the Wisconsin State Capitol. This event is sponsored by Pro-Life Wisconsin, Vigil for Life Madison, and the Diocese of Madison.
Details can be found in the flyer pictured below and the PDF flyer here.

January 12th, 2013
11AM at the State Street Steps of the Wisconsin State Capitol
Madison’s Capitol Square
Put It on Your Calendar
Come and Join Us!

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Bishops Who Deserve the Purple Heart

or

Proud To Be a Catholic!

The Purple Heart is a medal awarded to soldiers for being wounded or killed while fighting an enemy of the United States.

I’ve already seen several Catholic Bishops this week, courageous spiritual warriors who have risked all in defending the values encoded in the Constitution of the United States – the defense of life, liberty and property.  The wounds they suffer may not be physical, but courageous Catholic Bishops suffer death threats, and many other forms of abuse.
I am sure there will be more reports of courageous Bishops before November 6th.  Send me reports, and I will add them to this list.

Bishop #1

Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison, WI

Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, WI – for a courageous election homily delivered on October 28th, 2012, entitled Lord, I Want to See.
Audio at Madison Cathedral Parish website.

Transcript below at end of this article.

Bishop Morlino spoke about the November 6^th election, on Benghazi, on gay marriage, on cafeteria Catholics, on abortion, on the Wisconsin State Journal, on the media, on a candidate who promotes abortion without restraint and at no cost:

As a result of this election, our country could become more and more inhuman in it’s soul, and the consequences of that, foreseen and unseen, would be catastrophic.”

“This is the most important election in my lifetime, the essence of what it is to be human is what’s at stake.  That’s far more important than the economy.  Because if humanity is under attack, nothing can go right with the economy. 

Bishop #2

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois:

Your vote will affect the eternal salvation of your own soul. – Breitbart.com

Bishop #3

Bishop Walker Nickless of Sioux City, Iowa– will be publishing the following ad in newspapers all across Iowa (click picture to enlarge):

(thanks to Tom Reitz for this info on facebook)

Bishop #4

Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin: Voting Democrat Puts Soul in Jeopardy

Bishop #5

Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs, Colorado:  Biden Should Not Receive Communion

When I started on this article, I had 3 Catholic Bishops.
Now I have 5.

More and More and More!!! … …

I thought I was finished with this article…  Breitbart.com informs us that many Catholic Bishops are beginning to unite publicly against the Democratic Pary’s championing of abortion.
Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia Pennsylvania  is included, #6

Breitbart writes:

The forces for life are beginning to wake up.

Hey, wait…
Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Illinois… # 7

Yippee!

Please note: that this was the MORMON
Tabernacle Choir. 😮

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Transcript of Bishop Morlino’s Election Homily on October 28th:

Lord, I want to see. 

Bishop Robert Morlino’s Sunday Homily, October 28, 2012

Based on the Gospel reading, Mark 10:46-52

Bartimaeus was not born blind, like the man in the gospel according to John, whom we always recall one of the later Sundays during Lent.   Bartimaeus was not born blind.  He had his sight for many years, and then lost it.   So he knew what he did not have.  And on top of it, he was reduced to begging by his blindness and disability, so that he was without human dignity.

Bartimaeus is sitting there in his misery, and along comes Jesus.  And Bartimaeus can’t control himself, because all of a sudden, hope invades his misery, and he cries out to Jesus.  Jesus says “Bring him over here.  What do you want from me?”  Bartimaeus is s plainspoken man.  “Lord, I want to see.”  He receives his sight, and what does he do? Go back to his former life? No.  With his new sight, he immediately follows Jesus.   

That’s what our New Evangelization during the Year of Faith is all about.  So many once had their sight, but have become blind.  The problem is, they don’t know enough to say, “I want to see.”  And somehow, we are to be the instruments of the hope of Jesus Christ that moves them to say that.  But we have a major problem in our country and in our society, with people, including many Catholics, who simply do not want to see.

There is an article in the State Journal today, and you can almost conclude from that that it’s unreliable, but it is, by a sociologist, about Vatican II.  And Vatican II brought life to lay people.  Vatican II took lay people seriously.  All of that is right. 

How did Vatican II take lay people seriously?  Vatican II pointed out that lay people don’t simply obey the Church any more.  They’re adult.  They’re too adult for that. So what Vatican II said is the lay people are obligated to find out what the Church teaches, and then make up their own mind about it.  Find out what the Church teaches, and then say yes or no.  In other words, this sociologist, whose observations are included in the State Journal article, believes that what Vatican II did for the Church is make possible “cafeteria Catholicism.”  Vatican II pushed “cafeteria Catholicism.  O, you have to find out what the Church teaches, but then you decide whether you have to follow it or not. 

If one is called to be Catholic, one follows what the Church teaches.  That is the correct understanding of conscience.  And if one really cannot follow what the Church teaches, then one’s conscience requires that one leave the Church.   But one’s conscience does not require that one make up one’s own personal religion from A to Z, finding out the Church’s teaching, and then saying, “Well that’s O.K., that’s O.K., that’s O.K.; over here, I don’t like this, I will cast my line-item veto, on what the Church teaches.

Cafeteria Catholics were not always blind, but now they are, and they don’t want to see.  And the reason they don’t want to see is that there are people around telling them the whole point of Vatican II was to create cafeteria Catholicism.  How could that ever be true? 

There are many Catholics who happen to be Democrats, who don’t want to see.  There are many Catholics who happen to be Republicans, who don’t want to see. 

What is there to see?

A candidate who promotes abortion without restraint and at no cost.
Promotes abortion.   And on top of it, it’s free.
Promotes artificial contraception.   And it’s free.

Sometimes I think to myself, “It would make sense that someone would not worry about the effects of colossal death on future generations if their policy discourages future generations. 
If abortion is promoted, free, if artificial contraception is promoted, free, who are going to people future generations?  The birth rate goes down, down, down, down, down.  And so you worry less about handing on a debt to future generations because there might not be any, if we just abortion and artificial birth control ourselves as a culture and a society into oblivion. 

This is very serious business.  And yet there are many who call themselves Catholics who don’t want to see. 

Written in our very human nature, in the language of our body, by the Creator, is that marriage means one husband, one wife, one lifetime, with openness to children.  Every human being has the right to marry the person he chooses, or she chooses, of the opposite sex.  No one’s right to marry a person of the opposite sex is threatened.  But there is no right to redefine marriage as same-sex marriage. 

To redefine marriage is to attack the essence of being human.  “God made them human, male and female.” And He made them for marriage.  He gave their bodies a nuptial meaning.   That’s who we are as human.  We are male and female.  If that doesn’t matter, then humanity as it was created starts to ebb away.  And now we have people who want to play some kind of  a game that is deadly to humanity, that says, “Well, let the child be born, and after some years, let him or her decide whether he wants to be he or she.” 

Instead of being what God created me to be, I become what I think I am.  God is no longer in charge, what I think is in charge.  I don’t want to see. 

Many Catholics, unfortunately, are caught up in that. 
And if someone does not want to see, there’s no hope for healing.  Because they don’t know that they need to be healed, obviously. 
And look at the press and the television, the mass media. We’re getting an overdose of it every day.  “I don’t want to see what happened in Libya, in Benghazi.  I don’t want to see it—at least until the election is over. Then, maybe. ”

Bartimaeus’ salvation turned out to be in those four words,, “I want to see.”  Our country, and our culture, including many Catholics, proclaim, “I don’t want to see.”  

That’s the challenge of the New Evangelization.  And that’s the challenge that awaits our country that we have to face, ready or not, on November the 6^th, and I’m terribly afraid that we’re not ready to face it.  Because an electorate that doesn’t want to see, including Catholics,  cannot elect wisely. 

You and I have to be instruments of waking people up out of their blindness.  They’re blind, and they think it’s fine.  At least for right now.  That blindness could lead our country more and more in the direction of inhumanity.   As a result of this election, our country could become more and more and more inhuman – in it’s soul – and the consequences of that foreseen and unseen would be catastrophic.  This is the most important election in my lifetime, the essence of what it is to be human is what’s at stake.  That’s far more important than the economy.  Because if humanity is under attack, nothing can go right with the economy.

We have to pray hard, and we have to speak up, in the next nine or ten days, to our friends, our neighbors, our fellow family members who don’t want to see.  If the can discover that in not wanting to see there is no hope, there is no joy, maybe they would repent, by God’s grace.  And so above all, we have to pray for them, pray for our country, pray for those who do not want to see.   That they will decide in the favor of hope, and for the long-term future of our country they will choose life, rather than death, for humanity. 

Praised be Jesus Christ.