July 4^th

^or

Obama’s Independence Day Gift to America – a Trojan Horse  

July 4^th1776:

Independence Day.
A celebration of American Liberty.
The day the United States successfully rebelled against control by England, against taxation without representation.  Against taxation of citizens without their agreement (through voting) that the taxation was reasonable.
The birth of democracy in America.

• Independence: freedom from the control, influence, support or aid of others.
  
• Liberty: the ability of individuals to have agency (control) over their own actions.
  

  The Statue of Liberty

  
  

July 4^th, 2012:

President Obama has decreed (mandated) that Catholics provide pills that kill unborn infants to their employees (the Contraception Mandate, a decree added to ObamaCare after its passage).  For Catholics, this is a mortal sin. If they do not comply, they will be penalized with a tax. The President is demanding that Catholics, 25% of America, commit mortal sins, something that has never before occurred in our nation’s history.

What’s in a Mandate?

• The Contraception Mandate was not approved by American voters. In fact, 2/3 of Americans oppose federally funded abortion, which requires citizens to pay for the abortions of others.
• Congress did not vote on this mandate. In fact, Stupak and his 11 Democrats practically killed the ObamaCare bill before President Obama promised him that ObamaCare would not include abortion.
• The ObamaCare bill was passed under false pretenses, and after passage, the President broke all of his promises.

President Obama: wickedly clever

Bottom line: Catholics are now ordered to perform what they believe to be murder.
The Amish and Muslims get an exemption from ObamaCare. Some Native Americans get other religious exemptions to federal laws on the killing of Eagles. Many people get religious exemptions – only, however, at President Obama’s discretion. And President Obama decides that Catholics get no exemption. No input from the American people, the legislature, from Catholic leaders, or from any religious leaders whatsoever, including the Jewish and Baptist leaders who jumped to testify before Congress on behalf of Catholics, defending their right to conscience, as guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Liberal media has completely ignored President Obama’s abuse of authority.

The Trojan Horse: It contains a surprise you did not want or expect.

The Trojan Horse

President Obama’s tactics in his Contraception Mandate are wickedly clever. Knowing that Americans oppose federally funded abortion, he has diverted the discussion to something Americans approve of, contraception. Contraception is the Trojan Horse in which President Obama is delivering not only federally funded abortion, but also the right of American Presidents to decree mandates without consulting the American people, the legislature, or moral and ethical experts. So far, few have seen through his tactics, and many support his Contraception Mandate, which is actually a Presidential Power Mandate and a Federally Funded Abortion Mandate.
Why is President Obama so dedicated to abortion?  Abortion is a much bigger deal than you think.

Taxation by King George III or Taxation by Presidential Mandate?

King George III

If President Obama succeeds in getting this mandate through, his power will be established. He can then proceed to any mandate at all. The One-Child Policy Mandate. The Jewish Delis Must Serve Pork Mandate. The President who follows Obama, if a radical conservative, could continue with the Let’s Incarcerate All LGBT People Mandate, and the All Citizens Must Contribute To A Religious Fund Mandate, etc. etc.  I wonder if Obama favors a Tax on Tea mandate?

It is in the interest of ALL Americans to stop the issuance of mandates by Presidents, because the next President might not be one of your choosing.

What mandates would Romney favor, I wonder?

Time for Revolution

Time for Revolution

Revolution I : July 4^th, 1776

Revolution II: November 6, 2012

Who’s in?

May God help us with the second revolution, as He did with the first: Fortnight for Freedom 

What’s in a Mandate?

Defending Freedom Online

In the spirit of defending our nation’s religious freedoms, I’ve been participating in some online discussions on the subjects of Obama Administration’s Health and Human Services HHS Mandate, often erroneously labeled the “Contraceptive Mandate,” and on the Fortnight for Freedom prayer effort organized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which began on June 21, 2012.

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Typical Radical Catholic’s Argument

One Wall Street Journal discussion participant typified the arguments of radical Catholic supporters of the HHS Mandate, or the Obama Mandate, as I like to call it.

Response to Radical Arguments

Here are his comments and my reply:

CR wrote:

As a practicing Catholic, I’m still waiting for the day when the Catholic bishops organize a “Fortnight for Poverty,” a “Fortnight for Homelessness”, a “Fortnight for Healthcare”, or anything else with an underlying religion-based opinion on that doesn’t focus on women’s health and reproductive issues like this “Fortnight for Freedom”. Easy to tell what the bishops care about…

Syte’s response:

For a “practicing Catholic,” you have a pretty resentful attitude toward the Catholic bishops.
Hard to imagine why you participate in the institution headed by them.
Seems like you have mislabeled yourself- it’s not “practicing Catholic,” it’s more like “cafeteria Catholic” at best, and “heretic Catholic” (i.e., not Catholic at all) at worst, depending on what you are thinking.

Also hard to imagine that you don’t understand that ALL opinions, priorities and agendas, including the ones you mentioned, rely on having the freedom to pursue them.

Finally, hard to imagine that you are unaware that Catholic institutions DO already serve the poor, the homeless, and those who need healthcare, more so than any other societal group, including government. Catholic institutions lead in this area in the U.S. and around the world.

Obama Mandates

If you could just see past the “contraceptive” label that liberals have purposely associated with this mandate, you would see that the conflict actually includes THREE very important issues:

• Mandates. Does the President of the U.S. have the authority to declare (mandate) what is right and what is wrong without consulting the American people, the legislature, the Supreme Court, or moral and religious experts?
• Killing (abortifacients). And yes, forcing Catholics to pay for the killing of human beings IS a bigger issue than the ones you mentioned.
• Shutting down Catholic institutions financially with penalties — first, by law, require Catholics do something they cannot morally do, then, when they violate the law which violates their religious beliefs and religious liberty, penalize them financially in such a way that Catholic institutions become bankrupt within two years.

THIS is what the “Contraceptive Mandate” is really about.

It’s not really a “Contraceptive Mandate,” but is more like:

• “Let’s Establish a New Power for President Obama: He Can Declare (He Can Mandate) What is Right and What is Wrong Mandate”
• “Let’s Force Everyone to Pay for Other People’s Abortion Mandate”
• “Let’s Bankrupt Catholic Institutions which Oppose Obama’s Abortion Agenda Mandate”
• “Let’s Close Catholic Institutions so the Obama Administration Can Take Over Several More Segments of the Economy and Control More Hospitals, Universities and Other Service Institutions Mandate”
• “Let’s Allow President Obama, Not Americans or Their Religious Leaders, to Declare What is Right and What is Wrong Mandate”
• “President Obama Will Decree What is Right and What is Wrong, and Heads Will Roll if Anyone Disagrees Mandate”
• “Didn’t Henry VIII Do that to Sir Thomas More (Whose Feast Day Was Yesterday) Mandate?” Do What? “Declare What is Right and Wrong, then Behead Those Who Disagree With the King Mandate”

Me helping Henry VIII with his Mandates (and I'm a "practicing Catholic!")

 Hope you do not pretend to impose your amateur opinions on other experts in your life, like your doctors, your lawyers, your professors, your police officers, etc., etc., as you seem comfortable imposing your amateur opinions on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

You’ve given me an idea — I should declare myself an Anglican and start telling the Queen of England what the Anglican Church should teach….
…But that’s why America was founded, to get away from Royal Mandates, wasn’t it?
How about we ask women (of whom I am one) what THEY want instead of having Obama MANdate what is “good” for women? What a novel idea, in a democratic nation, asking the women what they want, instead of telling them! 

 What IS in the Mandate?

Some AUDIO resources for those who are interested in understanding what is in the Mandate and why the Catholic Church is concerned:

• Bishop Morlino’s comments at Thursday’s Rosary Rally (60 minutes, including prayer of 15 decades of the rosary, 6-21-12)

• Bishop Morlino’s Homily at Friday’s Mass (6-22-12)

• Bishop Paul Swain (a lawyer), at Madison’s Thomas More Society (6-22-12)

Madison, Wisconsin’s Fortnight for Freedom Begins

Rosary over the Wisconsin State Capitol building at conclusion of rally (photos by Syte)

Audio: Bishop Morlino’s introductory remarks and Rosary let by Father Isaac Mary:

Capitol Rosary AUDIO  6-21-12

(60 min audio; small delay) Audio description: Bishop Morlino’s remarks, followed by 15 decades of the rosary led by Father Isaac Mary, Bishop Morlino’s conclusion, singing of God Bless America, and cheering as a giant “LIFE” rosary is released over the Wisconsin State Capitol Building. (Missed the beginning audio, as Bishop Morlino led everyone in singing Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.)

Background (click here)

More Photos:

Gathering at the WI Capitol at 7 PM

Father Rick Heilman, organizer at center

Patient Patriotic Folks; "LIFE" baloons in background

Beautiful Capitol, beautiful evening

Children holding the yellow LIFE balloon rosary. After praying 15 decades of the Rosary, children released the yellow rosary over the Capitol; a poignant symbol of our ardent prayers for our nation

The rosary rises higher as we all watch

The LIFE rosary drifts over Madison towards Lake Monona

Beautiful conclusion to a prayerful, peaceful rally

Fr. Rick invites everyone back for next Thursday, 7 PM, same place. He invites us to double today's magnificent turnout next week. Hundreds were here today.

Of course, the Schoenstatt Sisters were there to help us pray!

I hope somebody did a count- attendance was impressive.

Apologies, taking photos into the Sun at 7Pm is not trivial…

For More (and Best) Photos: See Tom Reitz’s photos on facebook

More Events to Come

There is nothing more moving than praying the rosary for freedom and for our nation, with hundreds of people on a beautiful day, on the steps of the Wisconsin State Capitol building.
A remarkable sight for passers-by, and a beautiful witness to our faith and our respect for life.

This scene was repeated yesterday at hundreds of places all over the United States, and similar events will continue for two weeks all over America, until Independence Day.
Madison’s weekly Capitol rosary, thanks to Fr. Rick’s efforts, will continue weekly on Thursdays, past the Fortnight for Freedom prayer effort, all the way up to the election, November 2, 2012.
More events to come at Madison Diocese website.

Media Coverage of Historical Events?

Doubt very much whether this event will be covered by the Wisconsin State Journal or by the mainstream media.
But whether Catholics and the Fortnight for Freedom get treated to a media blackout or not, God is listening.
A concerted national prayer effort of this size is guaranteed to touch His heart.
Get ready for remarkable events.
This prayer effort is historical, and the results will be historical.
What an auspicious June!

May God bless America!

Some AUDIO resources for those who are interested in understanding what is in the Mandate and why the Catholic Church is concerned:

• Bishop Morlino’s comments at Thursday’s Rosary Rally (60 minutes, including prayer of 15 decades of the rosary, 6-21-12)

• Bishop Morlino’s Homily at Friday’s Mass (6-22-12)

• Bishop Paul Swain (a lawyer), at Madison’s Thomas More Society (6-22-12)

Americans Pray for Freedom Across the Nation

Or

Fortnight For Freedom

Or

Come and Join Us!

 (Fortnight for Freedom, 7PM July 21st, 2012, at the Wisconsin State Capitol, on the State Street steps.) 

Background

The First Amendment

President Obama’s Contraceptive Mandate has violated the First Amendment, depriving Catholics in the United States of their freedom of religion and freedom of conscience, by forcing Catholics institutions to provide abortifacient pills to employees of Catholic institutions, forcing Catholics by law to do something Catholics believe to be morally wrong.

Women’s Issue?

This is not a “women’s health” issue, because the pills are as affordable as aspirin, tissues, and other medical supplies which have often been considered “over-the-counter,” and which have frequently not been covered by insurance policies in the past.  In fact, women use numerous products that are not, and are not likely ever to be covered by insurance, including cosmetics, lotions and sanitary products.  All of the “services” covered by the “Contraceptive Mandate” are extremely affordable, and any woman who can afford aspirin or a meal at McDonald’s can afford to pay for these items herself.

By choosing to mandate (to require by law) the free provision of abortifacient pills, the Obama administration is not trying to help women.  The administration is trying to place financial strain on the Catholic Church, which is one of the largest and strongest opponents of the Obama administration’s “social” agenda.  If Obama succeeds in pushing through ObamaCare and the Contraceptive Mandate, Catholic institutions will be forced by their conscience, like Saint Thomas More, to break the law.  Cathoilics will be forced into civil disobedience, into not providing abortifacient services, and then into paying $2,000 yearly penalties per employee, which are estimated to bankrupt most Catholic institutions within two years. Goodbye Catholic universities, Catholic High Schools, Catholic Grammar Schools, Catholic hospitals, Catholic soup kitchens, Catholic adoption agencies, etc., etc.  Goodbye the role that Catholics and their institutions have played in our national life since the birth of this nation.

Hello, one more segment of the economy that the Obama administration can take over, in addition to health care and General Motors.  Also, a blow to the Catholic Church, the largest (25% of Americans are Catholic), most organized and strongest institution involved in opposing the Obama administration’s “social” agenda, particularly abortion.  Two birds with one stone.  Isn’t the Obama administration wickedly clever!?

Obama’s strategy

The Obama administration’s biggest agenda, both nationally and worldwide, is abortion.  But they have realized from recent polls that Americans are increasingly opposed to abortion, and now a majority of Americans cannot be relied upon to support Obama’s, Hillary’s and Sebelius’ national and global abortion agenda.  To understand why abortion is so important to these people, see Abortion: a Much Bigger Deal Than You Think.

Since Americans are no longer likely to support the abortion agenda, the abortion agenda must be sneaked in under a less controversial issue, such as contraception. By sneaking in abortifacients under the phrase “Contraceptive Mandate,” the Obama administration hopes to get the support of the American majority against the Catholic Church.  It also hopes to divide the Catholic Church, and thus to reduce the power of the Catholic Church, rendering it less able to oppose Obama’s “social” (translated: moral) issues, such as abortion, gay marriage, and government funding of numerous medical strategies that facilitate promiscuity and discourage or demote traditional family life. Divide and conquer.  Isn’t the Obama administration wickedly clever!?

So Now, What’s Happening?

Americans Are Praying

So what do we do when the wicked set snares for us?

People praying the the Wisconsin State Capitol on Corpus Christi Sunday, June 10, 2012

Good Christians pray for God’s help:

For my eyes are upon you, O Lord,
in you I take refuge; do not take away my soul.
Guard me from the trap they have set before me,
From the snares of evildoers.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While only I pass over them safely.
– Psalm 141:8-10

When and Where?

Starting Tomorrow!

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has organized a national 2-week prayer effort, the Fortnight for Freedom, which starts tomorrow, June 21^st, 2012.  It begins on the feasts of St. Thomas More  and St. John Fisher, who gave their lives for religious freedom. The Fortnight for Freedom ends on July 4^th, our American Independence Day.

The bishops have called us to focus “all the energies the Catholic community can muster” for religious liberty during this time.
Special prayers, novenas, Masses, rosaries, and concerted ringing of Church bells, are planned.  Friday, June 28^th, the Priestly Ordination Mass will be dedicated to Religious Freedom through Fortnight for Freedom:

Diocese of Madison, WI announcements, events and details (click).

USCCB National announcements, events and details (click).

What’s Going On in Madison?

In Madison, this begins with a Capitol Rosary Rally on Thursday, June 21^st, 2012, at the Wisconsin State Capitol at 7:00 PM, on the State Street Steps of the Capitol Building.
Madison’s Bishop Morlino will join the first rosary event.

Rosary rallies will be held at the Madison Capitol every Thursday at 7 PM, through November 1^st, 2012, until the General election.

Come and Join Us!

Come to help us Catholics pray, or come to watch, or come just to lend Catholics moral support.  You don’t have to pray the rosary to attend; you only have to be in support of religious freedom for all Americans, and be willing to ask God’s help.  Catholics happen to be the largest religious denomination in the United States, and are thus able to organize, but all who support religious freedom are welcome to attend.

Why Pray? Why the Rosary?

Catholics have found the Rosary to be a particularly powerful form of prayer throughout the ages.  The victory of Christian forces which prevented the Islamic invasion of Europe at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 was attributed to Pope Pius V’s call for all of Europe to pray the rosary.  The Christian fleet was at a material disadvantage, and the Turkish fleet had superior numbers, yet the Christian fleet won.

At the hour of victory, Pope Pius V, who was hundreds of miles away at the Vatican, is said to have gotten up from a meeting, went over to a window, and exclaimed with supernatural radiance: “The Christian fleet is victorious!” and shed tears of thanksgiving to God.  – EWTN library 

The Battle of Lepanto was first celebrated liturgically as “Our Lady of Victory,” and was later renamed “Our Lady of the Rosary.”

Aside: to address some of the misinformation out there about Catholics, Catholics do not worship or deify Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.  They simply ask her assistance in pleading with her Son Christ, much as a child might ask their mother’s intercession when they ask their father for something.  Catholics presume that Christ has a soft spot in His heart for his Mother.

Isn’t the Rosary a repetitive prayer condemned by the Bible?

Pope John Paul II: “The rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at a heart a Christ-centered prayer. It has all the depth of the gospel message in its entirety. "

No, the Rosary is not simply a repetitive prayer.  It is a complex form of meditation, in which many of the events of Christ’s life and passages from the New Testament are contemplated.  The Rosary is a prayer that gives structure to the complex series of meditations that are going on in the hearts and minds of those who are reciting the rosary.

The Bible passage most often quoted by those who object to the rosary is Matthew 6:7, which objects to “empty phrases” and to “vain repetitions.” Neither of these applies to the rosary, which is neither empty nor vain.  Jesus Christ Himself used serious repetitive prayer during the Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:39-44) and Christ instructed people to be persistent in their prayer (Luke 18:1-8).  More information.

Americans Have Been Praying
Before this Most Recent Effort

Americans have been praying for our government for quite some time now.  Many denominations are organizing and praying; please send in prayer programs and references if you want them added to this list.  Most of my references are Catholic, since that is what I know best.

Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rallies across the U.S.

March 23, 2012 Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally, also Madison’s Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally

Madison’s novena prior to the June 8, 2012 Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally

National headcount for June 8, 2012 Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rallies

Interfaith Novena:  – 9 days of interfaith prayer leading up to the June 8, 2012 Stand Up For Religious Freedom rally.

When will the media do their job, report on these national grass roots events, and give poor me a vacation from trying to compensate for their news blackouts?

Hey, Wisconsin State Journal (and all the rest of the media out there): I searched your site for “Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally” and it came up with Your search did not yield any results.
Really. Not surprised.
We’ll include some prayers for conscientious reporting by the U.S. media tomorrow, too.

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Hat’s off to some media who do have articles on the Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rallies or Fortnight For Freedom this week:

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Catholic Free Press
National Catholic Reporter
Family Institute of Connecticut Blog
Colorado Catholic Herald
AfricanAmreicanConservatives
TheCatholic Commentator……
added : WALL STREET JOURNAL just covered Fortnight for Freedom
added: CNS News covers Forthnight for Freedom

…. mostly religious, small and/or conservative organizations.

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Boo to ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN; 160,000 people have been rallying in 161 cities across the US for religious freedom, and ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN gave us a news blackout.

Expecting a media blackout again for Fortnight for Freedom, but God plans to listen.

 Remember: Come to the Fortnight For Freedom, 7PM Thursday, June 21st, 2012, on the State Street steps of Wisconsin’s Capitol Building in Madison!

Added after the event: Some AUDIO resources for those who are interested in understanding what is in the Mandate and why the Catholic Church is concerned:

• Bishop Morlino’s comments at Thursday’s Rosary Rally (60 minutes, including prayer of 15 decades of the rosary, 6-21-12)

• Bishop Morlino’s Homily at Friday’s Mass (6-22-12)

• Bishop Paul Swain (a lawyer), at Madison’s Thomas More Society (6-22-12)

 Cardinal Dolan for President!

or

Is the Republican Primary Over Yet?

The Presidential Race So Far

Mitt Romney - Barack Obama

Recent Gallup polls indicate a neck-in-neck competition between Mitt Romney and Barak Obama in the Presidential race.
Some are worried whether Romney will be able to beat President Barack Obama.
Others are worried whether Romney can be relied upon to repeal ObamaCare and refrain from issuing his own health mandates, if elected to the Presidency.

Solution?

Find someone more conservative and more popular than Mitt Romney!

Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Would anyone have guessed that according to the TIME Person of the Year Poll, Cardinal Dolan is way more popular than either Mitt Romney or Barack Obama?

Cardinal Dolan’s Popularity

Cardinal Dolan placed #16 globally in the TIME Person of the Year Poll, and about #4 nationally.
Cardinal Dolan got almost twice as many votes as Barack Obama, and about 6-fold more votes than Mitt Romney.

More famous people who were less popular than Cardinal Dolan:

• Lady Gaga
• Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona
• Steven Colbert
• Hillary Clinton
• George Cluny
• Sandra Fluke
• Michelle Obama
• Queen Elizabeth II
• Rick Santorum
• Newt Gingrich

Is Anybody in the U.S. More Popular than Cardinal Dolan?

Ron Paul

The only presidential candidate more popular than Cardinal Dolan was Ron Paul.
The only American more popular than both Ron Paul and Cardinal Dolan was Jeremy Lin, a famous baseball player.

Who Else Beat Out Ron Paul and Cardinal Dolan in Popularity?

Not too many people beat Ron Paul and Cardinal Dolan.

Anonymous Recruiting Ad: "Legion"

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Among those who did globally, were Vladimir Putin and the hackers called Anonymous, reputed to have hacked into the Vatican (and many other national websites).  Of course, in the case of Anonymous, there is the suspicion that they were not voted into #1 position globally, but could have hacked themselves into that position. 🙂

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Impact on the Republican Primary

Whether these results could impact the Republican Primary, or simply be a reflection of national opinion which can impact the Republican Primary,  is a matter for speculation.

Clearly, neither I, nor anyone else, including Cardinal Dolan, are seriously considering Cardinal Dolan for President.  But this popularity poll is interesting in the light of my previous articles on President Obama and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Dolan.  They have butted heads in an important religious freedom confrontation, and it’s interesting to see which President is so much more popular with Americans.

But back to serious consideration of the Republican Primary.

Most believe that the Republican Primary is all but over.
Some cling tenaciously to alternative possibilities.  These include a Ron Paul, whom many consider to be an ineffective eccentric.

Now, Ron Paul’s ability to top so many national figures in the TIME Person of the Year Poll indicates we should take him much more seriously than we have in the past.  He has beat Cardinal Dolan, Barack Obama, Lady GaGa, Steven Colbert, Hillary Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich.

Could Ron Paul be the next giant political surprise?

Is the Republican Primary Over?

The Republican Primary is Not Yet Over!

There’s already been some discussion of whether the Republican Primary is over yet.
In the light of this TIME poll, and taking into consideration that politics is complicated and is often filled with unexpected surprises and results (like Hillary Clinton’s defeat in 2008 by Barack Obama), in the light of these facts, we better keep an eye on Ron Paul, the pro-life doctor who has delivered over 4,000 babies and now wants to be our President.

Ron Paul shows no signs of giving up.  He is actually making great strides towards taking over state Republican parties and delgations to the Republican National Convention.  His campaign shows no sign of giving up. As of last weekend, Ron Paul has locked up at least half the delegates in at least 3 states (Iowa, Minnesota & Washington).  He only needs the majority of delegates in 2 more states (like North Dakota and Maine) in coming weeks to be entered officially in the nomination at the Convention at Tampa, FL.

Romney, with only 847 if the 1144 delegates needed for the nomination (74%), will still have to contend with Ron Paul for quite some time.

Full Results of the TIME poll:

Wisconsin State Journal Inflames Parish Conflict with Imbalanced Reporting

or

100 Minus 40 Equals 60!

Wisconsin State Journal’s (WSJ) reporting on the troubled infighting at St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Platteville is sadly lacking, and contributes to the confusion and discord going on at St. Mary’s right now.

The Problem

The initial event precipitating such extreme dysfunction at St. Mary’s, which has culminated in the closing of the parish school, was the fact that 40% of the parish demanded the firing of the conservative priests assigned to the parish.

News flash: This means that 60% of the parish APPROVED THE CONSERVATIVE PRIESTS, a fact that seems to be neglected by WSJ’s selective reporting and by dissidents at St. Mary’s.

Aside: The Church is not a democracy, and even if it was, the dissidents at St. Mary’s who disapprove of the conservative priests are in the minority.

The Problem Grows

The St. Mary’s dissident 40% went well beyond protest and demands.  They withheld giving, causing a parish financial crisis, which has led to the closing of the school.  Now they wish to blame the Bishop for the closing of the school.

How ridiculous would it be to refuse to give to Goodwill or to Salvation Army, then to upbraid them for inadequate service to the poor?  Or to refuse to pay taxes, then upbraid the government for not providing free services?  Or for a spouse to withhold their contribution to a household, then expect the mortgage to get paid?

Hostages Taken

Additional shocking fact: the liberal 40% of the parish is holding the rest of the parish hostage, demanding the removal of two priests as ransom, before they return giving to the previous level and prevent the closing of the school.  This was not covered adequately by the WSJ article.

Yes, 40% of the parish is holding 60% of the parish hostage, with everyone’s children in the balance.

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Failure to Report

Bad reporting

Another neglected fact: that the Bishop’s 5-page letter actually focused almost exclusively on communication, problem solving and forgiveness.  Yet the WSJ article, particularly it’s headline, focused on one warning that was mentioned by the Bishop, at the end of the letter, after numerous appeals for cooperation in solving the problems of the parish.

Comparable secular headline:  Policeman DARES to warn 90 mph speeder that he may be ticketed next time! After pleading with the driver for 15 minutes to be more considerate of his own safety, and the safety of others, policeman DARES to state that next time the speeder will get ticketed.

Imbalanced Choice of “Experts”

Choice of “experts.”  The WSJ quoted two liberal “experts,” who used inflammatory wording such as “medieval” and “nuclear option” to characterize Bishop Morlino’s letter. WSJ failed to quote two equally conservative “experts.” This hardly makes for balanced reporting.

Little New Here

The story here is not that Bishop Morlino is threatening dissenters, as the WSJ headline implies.
The story here is old, a story of division between liberals and conservatives.
In every segment of  American society today, in every religion, and in politics, there is a divide between liberals and conservatives.
It is happening at the national level with discontent over ObamaCare, and at the State level, with attempts to recall Governor Walker. It is happening in every Church in America.

Some people believe in maintaining the old rules of Judeo-Christian morality (conservatives), while others want to define their own rules (liberals).

Gallup:
40% of Americans are continuing to describe their views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal.
If you split the moderates 50/50, that would be 57% conservative and 38% liberal.
Rounding off, 60% conservative, 40% liberal (the magic St. Mary’s number surfaces!)

Sadly, the liberals, still in the minority (somewhat like the 40% at St. Mary’s), are less patient, more angry, more demanding, and more willing to engage in questionable tactics, such as holding children’s education hostage in an effort to get their own (minority) way.

The Liberal/Conservative Struggle and Lilberal Tactics

I have written whole blog articles on Alinsky tactics; tactics that encourage the use of ANY method, moral or immoral, to achieve one’s goal.  This philosophy is old:  Machiavelli promoted it circa 1500AD : “ the ends justify the means.”

Translated into modern jargon, they say “I  am right, and I am SO right, that my rightness is more important than democracy, more important than truth or than fairness, and in order to achieve my perfect goal, I am allowed to trample the rights of others—to challenge democratic elections, to intimidate people to achieve my goal, to hold others hostage, and to force them to agree with me by hook or by crook.  Violence is even O.K. if it helps me to achieve my noble goals.

These tactics are being used by 40% of America nationally (Obama administration’s passing of OBamaCare via lies made to Stupak ) and locally (Madison teacher’s union demonstrations  and Governor Walker recalls, complete with approval of fraudulent Mickey Mouse petitions).

St. Mary’s Not Surprising

Why are we then surprised that there is one Wisconsin Catholic parish where the same liberal/conservative conflict occurred and where the liberals tried to use the same nasty tactics?

Too bad the WSJ cannot write a more balanced report on this issue.

A Final Note

So the Catholic Church is a group whose leaders are drawn from volunteers who pledge their lives

Devoting a lifetime to the spiritual needs of others

to the service of the Church so completely that they give up commitment to a family life, in order to allow a more complete dedication to the members of the Church and their spiritual needs.

And the increasingly secular society in which we live has a dwindling interest in participating in this mission.  Few encourage their children to enter this life of service by becoming priests or nuns.

However, in the face of dwindling numbers of priests, the “dilute” or “cafeteria” Catholics (who do not want to devote themselves completely to the way of life taught by the Church) still want service from the Church, still want the Bishop to staff their parishes with priests, and now even want to control what kind of virtually free priests they are given and “fire” the priests whose personalities they do not approve.

O.K.
Let’s get this straight.
I want a service.
I want someone to clean my house, or to teach my children, or to repair my house.
Send me a trained expert virtually for free.
They better do the job my way.
Even though I am a novice, and they are experts on the subject, with 8 years training or more. If I don’t approve of the job they are doing, I will “fire” them, and you better send me some new ones whom I like better.
If you don’t, I will get out the Alinsky tactics of lying, cheating, ridiculing, and maligning them.
And, of course, the liberal media will assist me in my tactics to undermine the people who are serving me for free.
Yet heaven forbid that anyone even suggest that the free sacrificial service to me is discontinued!

Shame on Everyone

Shame on St. Mary’s dissidents.
Shame on Wisconsin State Journal’s selective and inflammatory reporting.

They should both get on their knees before Bishop Morlino, ask his forgiveness for maligning him, and thank him for the sacrificial service he and the Catholic Church provide to Madison.

Here's a start- a WSJ reporter (guess which one?!), already on his knees before Bishop Morlino, contemplating the Bishop's words at the Religious Freedom Rally March 23rd. Now we just need an apology, and we're good to go!

Impossible, you say?
Maybe not…

Madison’s Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally

March 23, 2011

U.S. District Courthouse,
120N. Henry St.
Madison, WI

A Nationwide Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally was held on Friday, March 23rd, 2012, from noon to 1 PM.
Nationwide list of participating cities (click).
The Madison, Wisconsin rally was held at the U.S. District Courthouse in downtown Madison, at 120 N. Henry Street.
500 people were in attendance, including the Catholic Bishop of Madison and numerous priests and sisters.

Photos:

(Tom Reitz, ReitzInternet, Syte Reitz)

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Bishop Morlino’s remarks audio (click)

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Bishop Morlino on facebook (click)

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Madison Cap Times coverage:

Pro-life activists react to Obama’s ‘war on women’

Elsewhere:

Washington, D.C. Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally:  Star Parker speaks:

Translation of FFRF ‘Quit the Catholic Church” NY Times Ad

or

It’s Not Easy Being Free From Religion

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) published a full-page ad in the New York Times on Friday, March 9, 2012.  The ad mocks and demonizes the leadership of the Catholic Church, while inviting “liberal” and “nominal” Catholics to join FFRF.

It begins:

FFRFs New York Times ad, March 9, 2012

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The logic behind spending $52,000 in an attempt to recruit from a group (the Catholic Church) whose beliefs are diametrically opposed to one’s own group’s (radical atheists) is questionable at best.  The ad comes across either as an excuse to spew bigoted hate speech and ridicule towards the Catholic Church, or as a sign of desperation and instability in FFRF.

TRANSLATION of the FFRF New York Times ad:

We at FFRF have been laboring for decades (for two generations), trying to wipe out all mention of religion in the United States.
Ours has been a difficult road fraught with obstacles, and progress has been slow.
After all these years, our membership only represents 0.003 of 1% of America’s population.

Even fellow atheists keep their distance from us; only 1 out of 1,000 U.S. atheists have joined us.
Imagine, the other 999 out of 1,000 atheists tolerate Christian America (80% of America), and even join them in the more secular aspects of celebrating their holidays!  It makes us sick to our stomachs to watch people buying Christmas trees and buying toys for their children each Christmas.

We valiantly try to spread our creed in any way we can imagine.
We have tried to appeal to people’s intellects, asking them to be “free” thinkers, to question what they are taught and to conclude that we are right; that there is no God.
We have tried to put up golden plaques in State Capitol buildings at Christmas, calling on people to reject gods and to join us in celebrating the pagan Winter Solstice.  Unfortunately, no takers. Our Christmas plaques have informed people that their hearts are hardened by religion and that their minds are enslaved by religion.  Yet people do not flock to us.  They still put up a Christmas tree in the Capitol rotunda that dwarfs our signs by orders of magnitude, and they dare to call it a CHRISTmas tree, as generations of their ancestors have done.

We are working hard to sue Christians who profess their faith publicly, but most of our lawsuits are defeated.  People claim that the Constitution guarantees them the freedom to express their religion publicly, not what we claim, the right not to see any religious beliefs expressed anywhere by anybody except us (atheists are classified on most US campuses as religious organizations).
Even the Constitution makes it hard for us; the Founding Fathers used the term freedom OF religion instead of freedom FROM religion.  You can’t imagine how hard that makes our battle.

We are a modest outfit, with only 4 employees and a $500,000 per year budget.  There is just so much a tiny group can do with that.  We are really doing our best.  Our staff and budget is smaller than the average Christian Church’s staff and budget in Madison, and we are only one group, contrasted with almost 300 Churches in Madison.

So it’s not easy.  We can’t sue everybody.  We try to single out small communities with small budgets (like Marshfield, a small WI town that hardly has any cell phone coverage),  and we sue them whenever their teenagers try to pray on a sports field or their teachers hang the ten commandments in a hallway.  We hope that they will stop expressing their beliefs out of fear of our lawsuit which they cannot afford.  That way, we do not have to go to court and risk losing the case, or use up our meager budget. But people have no sympathy for us.  They don’t understand our pain.  They accuse us of jousting at windmills.

It’s been getting harder and harder.  Now more people have noticed what we are up to.  Organizations have turned up which help small communities when we try intimidation by litigation.  Outfits like the American Center for Law and Justice help the small outfits we try to sue.

Oh, we’ve valiantly tried many things, including suing against the National Day of Prayer.  We fought for 3 years, but lost that one.  People just seem to insist on praying and praying.

In our desperation, we have turned to ridicule.  Last Christmas, we ridiculed the birth of Christ.  We put up a fake “Nativity Scene” at the

FFRF's mockery of the Nativity

Wisconsin State Capitol.  It was a modest effort, reminiscent of the shoebox dioramas we make in grammar school.  But, heck, we don’t have the budget that some of those Christian groups have.  Little attention was paid to our ridicule efforts, and nobody flocked to  join our creed, which is based on the negation and the ridicule of the beliefs of others. Quite a few Madison bloggers laughed off our efforts — life is so hard when nobody takes you seriously!

Now, we are at our wits’ end over our lack of success in recruiting more than 0.003 of 1% of America to our membership in all these years.  Golly, we can’t even expand our ranks biologically; so many of our members do not have children at all, have children who reject our beliefs, or are members who promote and practice abortion. You have no idea how hard it is for an organization to expand amongst radical abortionists!

The last straw came when the world’s most famous atheist admitted last month that he is not sure whether God exists!  What’s an atheist to do? It’s just too depressing.

S0 we had a brainstorm.
We looked for an organization that has it all.
An organization whose creed is followed by the largest number of Americans.
An organization whose membership embraces half the population of Madison.
An organization whose national membership is growing.
An organization which has the best schools in the United States.  And the best hospitals.  And the best charities.
(Unfortunately, we have no schools or hospitals ourselves. We can’t do everything!)
An organization which encourages having children and is successful in passing on beliefs.
Yes, the Catholic Church!
We will recruit from the Catholic Church!
We will steal members from the Catholic Church!

And what is the best way to do that?
With an ad in the New York Times, of course!

So here’s the ad.

Low budget, of course; remember, we don’t have a big budget.
Like the “Nativity” mocking Christ’s birth, we threw it together ourselves.
Never mind that it’s not very professional.That doesn’t matter.
Never mind that it ridicules a quarter of America.
Never mind that 80% of America is Christian and may not like our tactics.
If we lie enough and ridicule enough, maybe we can steal just 0.025 of 1 % of their membership.
That would double our membership overnight!

Heh, heh, heh, wink, wink, wink, drool, drool, drool, what a great plan!
This will really work!

Our next group to target for ridicule and recruitment will be Islam…
let’s see how that works out…

Our Lady of Good Counsel

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Doug Erickson of the Wisconsin State Journal (WSJ) recently contacted me for a “faithful Catholic” view of Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton.
His article can be found at Holy Wisdom Monastery provides church services for disaffected local Catholics.

Doug’s WSJ article discusses the membership and philosophy of the Holy Wisdom group in some detail, but relegates input from real Catholics, including from the Diocese of Madison (quoting space limitations), to a last paragraph entitled “detractors.”

For the sake of accuracy, the Diocese’s complete statement and my complete statement to the WSJ are provided here:

Diocese of Madison’s clarification: click here for PDF statement.

My complete statement:

Doug’s Questions:

About 335 people are members of the weekly Sunday congregation at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, a community of Benedictine sisters. More than half are estimated to be disaffected Catholics who’ve left parishes in the Madison diocese over disagreements with Catholic Church doctrine in general or Bishop Morlino specifically.

The service is called a “Sunday Assembly with Eucharist.” It used to be a Catholic Mass, and still is structured like one, but the sisters are no longer under the jurisdiction of the diocese (as of 2006). Consequently, it is an ecumenical service where women preach and distribute the communion bread and wine. The language is “inclusive,” with no gender-specific references to God. Same-sex relationships are celebrated and same-sex marriage advocated.

1.) Have you heard of the service and, if so, what are your thoughts about it?
2.) Many of the people who worship there still call themselves Catholics, despite disagreeing with the Church on issues such as birth control, abortion, same-sex marriage and female priests. In your opinion, are they Catholics? Why or why not?
3.) As someone who supports the bishop and Church doctrine in general, does it bother you when hear about parishioners who leave their parishes for these types of reasons?

Benedictines of Middleton

Thanks, Doug, for your questions.  I welcome the opportunity to answer them.

The faithful Catholics of Madison who are aware of the existence of the community you mention, Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, are aware that it has departed from the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Bishop Morlino and Pope Benedict graciously granted the nuns’ petition to abandon their Catholic identity in 2006, and wished them well in their ecumenical efforts.  They are no longer Catholic Benedictine sisters.  One of their three members is Presbyterian, and they are no longer a Catholic religious order.  Perhaps a more appropriate name for them would be Ecumenical Women of Madison to avoid confusion. continue reading…

World’s Most Famous Atheist Not Sure Whether God Exists

From: The Telegraph (UK), Feb 24, 2012 :

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So… on the 15% probability that God exists (Dawkin’s calculation of 1 out of 7), Richard Dawkins’ plan is? …