The Fatima Anniversary
Published July 14, 2010 | 
By Dr . Robert Moynihan, Catholic Exchange, July 14, 2010
Ninety-three years ago [yesterday], on July 13, 1917 — precisely when Lenin was beginning to foment the Russian revolution in Petrograd (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_Days [1]) — three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, for the third time in three months on the 13th of the month (May 13, June 13, July 13), saw a Lady appear before them in the air, an apparition, and heard her speak a message.
It was about noon.
Such was the origin of the “secret” of Fatima — of three secrets, to be precise.
At that moment, in mid-1917, Europe was, for all intents and purposes, committing a type of suicide. World War I was three years old. Hundred of thousands of young men were lined up in trenches on the Western front, and in some battles, like Verdun, hundreds of thousands were killed in a matter of hours, as lines of human flesh surged forward, were mowed down, and surged forward again — in vain.
In the West, there was stalemate.
In the East, the Russians changed their government, pulled out of the war, and the Germans, essentially, won.
In those months in the middle of 1917, the civilization that had once been called “Christendom” energetically sculpted its own tombstone. (We are putting the finishing touches on that work in our own time.)
Wherever there had been a Christian government, a Christian legislation, a Christian ethos, a Christian world, it was being dismantled.
In central Europe, the Catholic Hapsburg government of Austria-Hungary, heir of the Holy Roman Empire with roots deep in the middle ages, was overthrown. The Emperor Karl and his wife were exiled to the island of Madeira, and the modern, secular states of Austria and Hungary were born.
In Russia, once called “Holy Russia,” the Romanovs were overthrown by Lenin, and communism became the official religion of the state, dogmatically atheistic, and the Russian Orthodox Church went into eclipse, fiercely persecuted. The new rulers turned churches into latrines.
In Germany, after the war, the Weimar Republic replaced the rule of the Protestant Hohenzollern Kaiser, and shortly thereafter the National Socialists came on the scene, while in England, the Anglican monarchs, heads of the Church, increasingly gave way to Parliament as Britain too grew ever more secularized.
The three children of Fatima must have dimly conceived of these events, as their elders and parish pastors must have spoken of the terrible war, and of the overthrow of traditional values which was occurring everywhere, and even all around them, in Portugal. (For a synthetic summary of Portugal’s anti-clerical revolution in 1910 in a popular style, see: http://www.fatima.org/essentials/opposed/masonrevol.asp [2])
A Reflection on Apparitions
Can apparitions really occur?
Isn’t it almost silly, according to our “modern” mind, which is so very rational, to think that the heavens can open, and a face can appear, and speak, to three children, or to a nun in Japan, or to a group of young people in Yugoslavia?
It does seem silly to many. Yet there is no doubt that apparitions occur. The evidence is overwhelming
The entire tradition of Scripture, of the people of Israel, of the Christian people from the beginning, is filled with appearances, epiphanies, moments when the veil which separates this “age,” this temporal world, from the “age to come,” the “eternal world,” parts, or lifts, and dazzling light, or a resplendent face, appears. This has happened, and happens.
Yet what does it mean? Many, indeed, would argue that it is “merely” a “psychological phenomenon.”
And they would be, in a sense, right!
The phenomenon does occur in the mind, in the psyche.
But that does not mean that what occurs is not true, not an “objective” phenomenon.
Such theophanies, such “revealings” of the presence of the holy (and God alone is holy) are like the moment of the Transfiguration. They are like the moment at table after the walk to Emmaus, when Jesus is recognized, even though he had already been with the disciples for many hours.
And, at Fatima, the objective reality of this “phenomenon” was punctuated dramatically on October 13, 1917, when the “Miracle of the Sun” occurred.
In front of a startled crowd of some 70,000 people, including the most skeptical of observers, something happened which was extraordinary and dramatic, and was perceived even by those who were not “susceptible” to such phenomena. There are even photographs of the stunned spectators looking up toward the sun-filled sky. Something happened. Something happened.
We once called such moments graces, literally, gifts. Something freely given by an “other” to someone who may be very humble, very unlearned, very simple, very ordinary by most standards.
In this sense, there is no particular honor, no personal sense of pride, to be associated with “receiving” an apparition, or any gift, of God. Since it is something given, it is, by definition, unmerited. There is truly no basis for the “mystic” to vaunt his “worth” — had God not desired to give the “experience,” it would not have been given.
Indeed, sometimes it seems that it is only those who are small, and weak, and broken, who can receive such graces. Like impoverished shepherd children in Portugal…
Sometimes, even, such graces seem sent in order to heal, to help set in motion a healing process — this could occur, perhaps, even to a modern person, even, perhaps, to a Vatican journalist.
Those who do not receive such graces — well, perhaps they are not so in need of healing, not so broken.
Being broken may be part of the price of being receptive to such graces, noticing them, “seeing” them.
It is all a mystery.
Benedict and Fatima
Strikingly, Pope Benedict reflected on precisely this mystery only two months ago, when he visited Fatima on the 93rd anniversary of the first apparition, on May 13.
During his homily that day, he said that some people might react with jealousy to Mary’s apparitions to the three young visionaries, disappointed that they have not had such experiences.
But that’s a mistake, he said, because God’s power can be perceived by all.
“God… has the power to come to us, particularly through our inner senses, so that the soul can receive the gentle touch of a reality which is beyond the senses,” he said.
“For this to happen, we must cultivate an interior watchfulness of the heart which, for most of the time, we do not possess on account of the powerful pressure exerted by outside realities and the images and concerns which fill our soul,” he said.
In that same homily, the Pope made the interesting remark that Fatima’s message and mission are “not over.”
They are not over, the Pope said, because the need for penance and conversion in the world continues.
And, as he flew to Portugal, speaking to reporters on his plane, the Pope suggested that the Fatima prophecy of a time of suffering for the Church could refer, in a general way, to the priestly sex abuse crisis.
“The Lord told us that the Church will always be suffering in various ways, up to the end of the world,” he said. “The important point is that the message, the answer of Fatima, is not substantially addressed to particular devotions, but is the fundamental response: permanent conversion, penance, prayer, and the three cardinal virtues: faith, hope and charity.” (Here is a link to a story on these events: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1002007.htm [3])
What Was the Message?
The children of Fatima said that, against their own volition and expectation, they saw a Lady, who appeared beautiful to them, and who spoke to them.
What was the essence of her message? What were the contents of her “secrets”?
I had thought much about writing on this matter. It has been on my mind for some time. And I have even taken some halting steps to research the question.
I have spoken twice, in person, at length, to Archbishop Loris Capovilla, the private secretary of Pope John XXIII, at Capovilla’s residence in northern Italy (he is still alive today; he lives near the birthplace of Pope John XXIII, in a tiny village called Sotto il Monte, not far from Bergamo).
We discussed the “third secret,” which he opened in the summer of 1959, at John XXIII’s request, out at Castel Gandolfo, in August of that year.
The Pope, with a Portuguese monsignor present to translate, read the text. John then ordered Capovilla to put it back in the envelope and told him to write on the envelope that it had been opened on that day, that the Pope had read it, and that the Pope had decided to leave the message for one of his successors to make public.
I asked Capovilla about the size and shape of the envelope he put the secret in, and exactly what he wrote on the outside of the envelope, and even whether he wrote in pencil or ink — ink, he said.
I spoke about Fatima more than once with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. The last time was in mid-March of 2005, just two weeks before John Paul II died, and just one month before Ratzinger was elected Pope.
In the days just after that meeting, I visited Sister Lucia’s convent in Coimbra. (Lucy was one of the three shepherd choldren, along with Francisco and Jacinta, who saw the apparitions; she lived until she was 97.) She had just died, in February 2005. (Here is a link to the story of her life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lúcia_Santos[4])
I received permission to visit her cell. I saw the little bed she slept on, and died on. I saw the lemon tree in the cloister garden outside her window. I saw the box of thread and beads she kept on her desk to make rosaries…
I later met and talked with Antonio Socci, author of a book which alleges that the text of the “third secret” released by the Vatican is not complete.
And over the years I have traveled 15 times to Russia, meeting with Catholic and Orthodox and even Communist officials there, attempting, in my own small way, to ascertain whether the “conversion of Russia” promised by Our Lady at Fatima has already occurred, or is starting to occur, and what I possibly could write, or do, to help that process in a nation which passed through 70 years of official state atheism. (Hence the effort to sponsor concerts of Russian Orthodox music in the West.)
Also, in recent years, I have spoken with high-ranking officials in the Catholic Church who have told me they are troubled by the lack of clarity about the entire matter of Fatima, even now — even since Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, has stated publicly that everything is clear and there is no problem about the content of the “third secret.” And, as these officials are superior to me, I cannot but feel they they are quietly encouraging me to continue to study this question, although I do not know why that should be so.
Regarding our understanding of the message of Fatima, what has changed in the past 10 years is the sexual abuse scandal. What has changed is the awareness of corruption in the Church, in men and women of the Church, on a level which, prior to ten years ago, most felt was impossible.
And so the essential message of Fatima, the message to repent, and to pray, and to offer up personal sacrifices for the souls of many, seems more relevant today than ever.
Whether the consecration of Russia has ever been done according to the will of the Lady who appeared at Fatima, is not a matter for me to judge. Clearly, many officials in the Church affirm that it has been done, and many simple faithful continue to have their doubts, since the word “Russia” was never publicly used.
And whether the full text of the “third secret” was or was not revealed is also not a matter for me to judge. Many officials in the Church affirm that it has been, and many simple faithful continue to have their doubts.
But the profound basis of the entire story remains this: three simple children were chosen to see and hear certain things, and through them, thousands more, then millions more, were able to catch a glimpse “behind the veil.”
And what they saw so moved them that they spent the rest of their lives attempting to live, and communicate, what they had seen and heard.
It is this sense of the reality of the holy, the reality of the divine, the reality of the need for all of us to grow closer to this great reality, which I think is the essence of the message of Fatima.
And if we have lost our belief in the reality and importance of these things, then we have fallen far, and are to be pitied, for we have lost our way.
The Left’s Total Moral Bankruptcy
Published July 14, 2010 | Joseph Farah, WorldnetDaily, July 11, 2010
Did you hear the one about the Left’s plan to counter the tea-party movement?
It’s no joke.
“In an effort to replicate the tea party’s success, 170 liberal and civil-rights groups are forming a coalition that they hope will match the movement’s political energy and influence,” explained a Washington Post report. “They promise to ‘counter the tea-party narrative’ and help the progressive movement find its voice again after 18 months of floundering.”
The effort is curiously dubbed “One Nation.” Historically, of course, when that two-word phrase has been used in America, it is usually followed by another two-word phrase – “under God.” But with groups such as La Raza, the NAACP, the AFL-CIO and the SEIU joining the party, it is unlikely the deity will be invoked by any within this coalition.
You might ask: What’s their beef?
They’ve got Barack Obama in the White House. They have Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House. They have Harry Reid as Senate majority leader. They seem to have Elena Kagan on her way to the Supreme Court.
The answer, of course, is they see it all slipping away beginning this November. The tide has turned against their causes. Something very predictable happened on the way to their workers’ paradise – an awakening in the American spirit that is saying: We will slouch toward Gomorrah no longer!
That spirit is illustrated by the tea-party movement – the biggest and most potent grass-roots political development in generations. People who never before marched on Washington, carried a protest sign or rallied at a town-hall meeting have done just that – by the millions. They have no familiar household names among their leaders. They have no billionaires bankrolling them. They represent no special interests. They get no friendly coverage from the press. They demand nothing for themselves from government except their freedom and to be molested no longer. And this is what has the super-organized, well-funded, government-subsidized, media-backed Left in a tizzy.
Understandably so.
As I write in my new book, “The Tea Party Manifesto,” this movement represents what might well be America’s last chance for a return to liberty and self-government. If it fails, so does the uniquely American dream of constitutionally limited federal power, the protection of God-breathed inalienable rights, equal justice, the rule of law, the will of the people and national sovereignty.
So, you might ask, what does this new opposition movement demand? What will be the rallying cry of its planned march on Washington Oct. 2?
More government spending on job creation.
Yes, that makes sense. That plan is working so well. It has worked to perfection with the biggest stimulus spending programs in the history of the world. Obviously all we need to do is more of the same!
Of course, no rational human being involved in this movement actually believes that more government spending is going to solve the problem of unemployment. The smarter and more devious elements of this movement know that more spending will only make joblessness even worse. However, they also understand that it will create more unsustainable dependency on government, which will inevitably lead to chaos and the collapse of the nation and ideals they detest.
With Washington already facing insurmountable, intergenerational debt, what else could be on the minds of those within this movement who have any rational understanding of economics? They want to push America off the cliff.
Is there any other explanation?
They don’t want jobs. They want to complete the revolution. And they want to complete it, if at all possible, before the new Congress sweeps in following the tea-party electoral victory Nov. 2.
This rogue, reckless movement of fundamentally anti-American ambitions bears careful watching.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=177581
Tea Party and the Path to Power
Published July 14, 2010 | By GERALD F. SEIB, WALL STREET JOURNAL, JULY 14, 2010
Here are two big questions hovering over this year’s congressional elections: How radical is the mood out there, and do Republicans have a real chance of taking back control of the U.S. Senate?
And here’s a simple way to track the answer to both: Simply keep an eye on four tea-party amigos chasing Senate seats in the key states of Nevada, Kentucky, Florida and Colorado.
In those four states, candidates with tea-party inclinations and the support of tea-party activists have either won the Republican nomination or, in Colorado and Florida, are making serious runs for it. A couple of those candidates are people who would have been given little chance six months ago of winning a nomination, much less a general election.
GOP May Need Tea Party Success to Take Senate - Not content with just targeting the House of Representatives at the November midterms, Republicans are also eyeing off the Senate. But WSJ’s Gerald F. Seib says for that to happen, four key Tea Party candidates may need to win.In each case, Democrats and some outside analysts think Republicans may be shooting themselves in the foot by nominating candidates who can be painted as extremists with conservative views outside the mainstream, in a year when simply nominating safe, garden-variety Republicans would be good enough to win.
But are these candidates really going to be a drag for Republicans? Or are they canaries in the national coal mine, telling us that the disenchantment, fear and anger that have developed in the wake of the worst economic recession in 75 years are driving voters to seek out-of-the-box candidates and ideas they wouldn’t have embraced before?
Those questions are being tested in Kentucky by Rand Paul, ophthalmologist, political novice and son of libertarian Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. In Nevada, it’s former state representative Sharron Angle who has won the nomination by pushing a brash populist message.
In a Colorado race that’s gotten less attention nationally than it deserves, Ken Buck, a little-known former county prosecutor who made a mark by targeting illegal aliens for prosecution, is challenging Republican establishment favorite and former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton. And in Florida, conservative former state House Speaker Marco Rubio marshaled enough energy from tea-party supporters to drive Gov. Charlie Crist out of the GOP nomination fight and into a candidacy as an independent.
Associated Press – Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul speaks in Shepherdsville.
Both Florida and Colorado have August primaries; Mr. Rubio is virtually certain to win the nomination, and Mr. Buck is rising fast.
What’s interesting about these four is that they are running in states where it isn’t obvious that a hard-edged, tea-party conservative approach is a winner. Instead, each state hangs in the balance between the two parties this year, making them especially good testing grounds.
They also happen to be test cases crucial to the national political balance of power. The Cook Political Report, a well-respected independent newsletter that tracks congressional races, rates all four Senate races as toss-ups in November.
So far this election cycle, most attention has been focused on Republicans’ chances of taking back control of the House, which appears a much easier feat than winning the Senate. But increasingly Republicans think winds are blowing so strongly in their direction that they have at least a shot at taking the Senate as well.
If Republicans are to pull off that trick, though, they may well have to win all four states where the tea-party amigos are running strong. A quick look at the math explains why.
Republicans need to pick up 10 Senate seats now held by Democrats to win full control of the Senate. They appear to be leading in North Dakota, Delaware and Indiana, states where incumbent Democrats are retiring and the Republicans appear to be on the rise.
That would leave the GOP needing seven seats. To get there, they would first need to avoid losing any of the five seats of their own where the incumbent Republican is retiring and where Democrats have a reasonable chance of turning the seat their way. That list includes Kentucky and Florida, as well as Missouri, New Hampshire and Ohio.
If Republicans hold onto those, their best shot then would require picking up all six seats where the Democrats’ hold appears shaky—a list that includes Nevada and Colorado, as well as Washington, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Arkansas.
After all that, Republicans would still have to find at least one more state where a safer Democratic seat could be put into play, such as Connecticut, California or someplace else.
The bottom line, then, is that it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Republicans pull off a surprise conquest of the Senate without winning at least three of the four states where tea-party candidates are surging.
Tea-party activists insist they aren’t linked to the Republican party. But at least on this important front, the Republican party, for better or worse, is linked to them.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703283004575362950960543866.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird
Spiritual Labor and the Big Spill
Published July 14, 2010 | By Ray Nothstine, Catholic Exchange, July 14, 2010
Many Americans are proud of where they come from; this is no less true of the people of the Gulf Coast. Human interest stories have gripped viewers and readers following the news about the BP oil spill, which often highlights the locals’ pride in their roots. Sal Sunseri, the owner of P&J Oysters in New Orleans says it well: “The history and culture of the seafood industry in Louisiana is part of the fabric of who we are. The world should not take this lightly.”
Sunseri brings to life an important point about the spiritual and cultural aspect of work that is especially rich on the Gulf Coast. Work in a free economy is an expression of our creativity, virtue, and response to a calling. Christian authors Gerard Berghoef and Lester DeKoster note that “God so arranges work that it develops the soul.”
BP is airing a commercial in which it vows to compensate fishermen and others for the loss of income until the cleanup is completed. This is a good start. But it also serves as a reminder that earnings are secondary to fishermen whose very labor is the preservation of heritage. It is not uncommon to hear fishing crews speaking Cajun French off the coast and in the bayous and marshes of Louisiana. Cajun French, an endangered language, was at one time banned in Louisiana schools. The spill is another threat to communities and a way of life for generations of a proud and sometimes marginalized people.
Vietnamese shrimpers, too, proudly work these waters, many of them refugees from communist aggression. They flourish at shrimping, a trade that generations of families practiced in Vietnam. The Vietnamese were among the first communities to rebuild their lives after Hurricane Katrina, often not waiting for government aid. The Washington Post, in a story on the Vietnamese community, echoed this fact and explained how the spill was especially tragic as a resilient community was forced to await assistance.
BP would be wise to continue to hire as many local crews as possible for cleaning up this disaster. Locals have an extra incentive to assist in a thorough effort since they are most tied to the water. BP needs to be concerned not only with repairing its brand; the company has a clear moral obligation to follow promises with action.
The oil industry in the Gulf Coast accounts for almost a third of all U.S. oil production. The oil company’s contribution to the nation’s energy supply is invaluable, but they have been fighting public relations battles for years. Seen largely as a benefit to the community before the spill, they are now being battered by doubts from many in the region who repeat a common line: “We have made a deal with the devil.”
But many residents and local leaders understand that the oil industry is essential to Louisiana’s economic well being. The governor and legislators have fought a bipartisan battle to preserve jobs while the federal government seeks a moratorium on offshore deep-water drilling.
Many in Mississippi and Louisiana are also understandably weary of an often unresponsive federal bureaucracy. United States Congressman Gene Taylor (D-Miss), who represents the seacoast, said of the federal response, “I’m having Katrina flashbacks,” and called the current administration’s efforts “incompetent.” In a particularly harsh quip Florida Senator George Lemieux (R-Fla) added: “It’s not just oil that’s washing ashore Mr. President, it’s failure.” Asked about the biggest frustration with the federal response, Governor Bobby Jindal (R-La) on day 73 of the spill lamented, “There’s just no sense of urgency.”
There is dismay that a nation that once landed men on the moon, liberated nations, and fed and rebuilt its enemies has few answers: the “yes we can” mantra has not materialized for the Gulf. Out of the darkened waters, there is an opening for an oil company to do the right thing and repair trust with an understandably outraged populace.
The men and women of the Gulf Coast who take to the water to practice their trade deserve the opportunity to flourish in the vast wonder of creation. The many Christians among them are keenly aware of the passage from John 21, when the resurrected Christ from afar tells the disciples to cast their net on the right side of the boat and they are rewarded in abundance. The passage is a reminder that Christ has an intimate knowledge of and concern for even the creatures under the sea. It is a source of hope that the cooperation of private enterprise, government, and local ingenuity can bring healing and the rejuvenation of a treasured way of life.
Passing on the Pro-Life Hope: One Video at a Time
Published July 14, 2010 | By Peter J. Smith, Catholic Exchagne, July 14, 2010
One Wisconsin pro-life organization has adopted a unique and simple strategy to inspire people to celebrate a culture of life.
Wisconsin Right to Life’s new pro-life evangelism is the “Pass this on for me” campaign: a section of their website, where they find uplifting videos posted on YouTube celebrating life and family, allowing others to pass on their powerful and positive messages.
Perhaps the most powerful video WRTL has posted on their website is the story of “Bryce Daniel,” whose mother describes in the video how she and her husband struggled to have children, facing the heartbreak of two miscarried babies before conceiving a third time.
However, in the 35th week of pregnancy, an ultrasound revealed that their long-awaited baby had hydrocephaly: a condition in which fluid builds up in the brain, and which often leads to death shortly after birth. Specialists recommended abortion, and implied that her future fertility was on the line if she did not: “We could decompress your baby’s head and take him out, so you can have kids again,” said one specialist.
Despite the pain of knowing what might happen, she said, “I was not going to end the life of my baby.”
Bryce Daniel was born at just over 9 pounds, and video shows both parents beaming at him proudly. But for thirteen minutes, his mother recounted, Bryce neither moved nor breathed, with a heartbeat fading away.
“I remember saying, ‘Lord, please give me more time with my baby,’” she said – a prayer that, according to the video, was soon answered well above and beyond the parents’ hopes.
“I’ve been involved for a long time, and that one got me. It was just absolutely fabulous,” said Barbara Lyons, WRTL’s Executive Director in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com about the “Pass it on” videos. “These stories are so real, so personal, and so incredible,” said Lyons. “And I just think they give real value to our cause, because it puts a more personal touch to it.”
Lyons said the idea came from a friend in the advertising field, who suggested generating “a series of positive messages” to be passed on, hopefully creating a viral effect.
“One of the things we do with the ‘Pass it On’ campaign is to tell people, ‘send us something,’ and that is what happened,” Lyons said.
The story of Bryce Daniel, she said, showed how doctors recommending abortion puts a great deal of pressure on the parents, who are sometimes convinced it would be cruel to deliver a baby who would die shortly after birth.
“It makes their pregnancy, their thought process so much more complicated, when you have a ‘professional’ telling you: ‘you should just abort this child, it’s better for you, it’s better for him/her.’” said Lyons. “The courage it takes for people to ignore that advice, I think is so inspiring.”
Lyons said the campaign is meant to complement the “heavy” messages the pro-life movement often sends to expose the grave evil of abortion. “It’s very uplifting, and it’s a real morale booster for our own people,” she said.
One video features television star and former wrestler Mr T., distinctive for his Mohawk hairstyle, telling kids to “treat your mother right.”
“If it weren’t for your mother, you wouldn’t be here,” the wrestler says. “When you put down one mother, you put down mothers all over the world.”
The site also features a video of clips from Hollywood movies praising fatherhood, such as Rocky Balboa, Star Wars, and Finding Nemo, among others. It ends with the message: “Fatherhood begins when a child is conceived, and lasts forever.”
To see WRTL’s “Pass this on” campaign, visit: http://www.wrtl.org/passthison/ [1]
The New Contraceptive World Order
Published July 14, 2010 | By Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, Catholic Exchange, July 14, 2010
The 50th anniversary of the birth control pill — the Food and Drug Administration gave it final approval in 1960 — has been the occasion of much media fanfare, societal reflection — and what we might call Secular Triumphalism. We, the Enlightened, knew all along that giving women control over their fertility was going to be simply marvelous. End of story. Some of us have tried to point out that the pill had some negative consequences, but few seem interested.
The reason for the disconnect is that the ideology surrounding the pill is more significant than the pill itself.
Behind the apparently benign goal of giving people more choices lies a deeper goal: re-creating society. And since this new society is neither appealing nor natural, its advocates are not so eager to call attention to it.
The New Contraceptive World Order holds these tenets: Sex is a sterile recreational activity. “Safe” sex (meaning sex with a condom) has no significant negative consequences. Marriage is not necessary for either sexual activity or childbearing. And unlimited sexual activity is an entitlement for everyone old enough to give meaningful consent.
But there is a serpent in this man-made paradise: All of these tenets are false.
It isn’t true that sex is a sterile activity. Contraception fails — regularly. Even the pill only reduces the probability of pregnancy, but not all the way to zero. Uncommitted sex has plenty of negative consequences that cannot be prevented by contraception. Marriage really is the best place for both sexual activity and childbearing. And, because we have been convinced that unlimited sexual activity is an entitlement, we have sex in relationships that cannot possibly sustain a pregnancy. When the inevitable pregnancies result, we fall back on abortion to continue clinging to our belief in the New Contraceptive World Order.
Thus, the attempt to create this new society cannot succeed.
The New Contraceptive World Order is an artificial creation of the state. It requires continual support and coddling from the state, including ever-increasing efforts to suppress dissent and enforce conformity.
Cheerleaders for this new heaven on earth insist that all doctors be trained in abortions, that all pharmacists prescribe all forms of birth control, that all employers provide contraception and abortion in their health plans. Suppressing the choices of doctors, pharmacists, insurers and employers makes no sense — unless the real goal is to create the new and unnatural society of sterile sex.
Public-interest law firms defending First Amendment rights report that student pro-life groups are subjected to more restrictions on their free-speech rights than virtually any other student groups.
Obviously, restricting free speech in the name of reproductive “freedom” is incoherent. None of this would be necessary if the only purpose of the pill were to give everyone more choices. Continue reading
Michael Voris: Sex, Lies & Videotape 07-13
Published July 14, 2010 | The Archdiocese of New York is refusing to answer questions about an incriminating internet video.
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Michael Voris: The Long Goodbye 07-12
Published July 14, 2010 | Until the Church becomes authentically Catholic again, it can continue the long goodbye to its members.
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World Youth Day 2011 Registration Now Available at U.S. Bishops’ Website
Published July 14, 2010 | Catholic News Agency, July 14, 2010
Washington D.C., Jul 14, 2010 / 01:27 am (CNA).- World Youth Day Madrid 2011 registration is now available through the U.S. Catholic bishops’ World Youth Day website. The event will gather young people from around the world with Pope Benedict XVI to pray, learn, celebrate, and strengthen one another in faith.
The site includes links to important information about the August 16-21 event. Content will be added as additional information becomes available, a press release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) says.
Entry to main WYD events is free, but participants have options regarding meals, accommodations and transportation to Madrid. They also pay according to a fee scale set for each country.
Sister Eileen McCann, CSJ, coordinator for Youth and Young Adult Ministry at the USCCB, encouraged early registration, saying it allows organizers to plan for accommodations, meals and participation in activities.
“In addition to the Vigil and Mass with the Pope during the weekend, there are numerous catechetical and other cultural activities throughout the week,” she added. “Many groups also stay at parishes, school gymnasiums, or with local families.”
The WYD 2011 theme is “Planted and Built Up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith.” Organizers estimate that nearly 600,000 young people from outside of Spain will participate in the events, with about 25,000 of them from the United States.
Pope Benedict officially opened the registration process on July 1, becoming the first to register for the event.
The U.S. bishops’ World Youth Day site is http://www.wydusa.org.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/world-youth-day-2011-registration-now-available-at-u.s.-bishops-website/
The Soul of Madrid
LifeNews.com Headlines: July 14, 2010
Published July 14, 2010 | OBAMA ADMINISTRATION OKS FIRST TAXPAYER-FUNDED ABORTIONS UNDER HEALTH CARE LAW
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) – The Obama administration has officially approved the first instance of taxpayer funded abortions under the new national government-run health care program. This is the kind of abortion funding the pro-life movement warned the kind of abortion funding the pro-life movement warned about when Congress considered the bill.
KAGAN ASKED TO RECUSE HERSELF FROM CASE ON PRO-ABORTION HEALTH CARE LAW
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) – Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan says she will recuse herself from a handful of potential cases that could come before the high court with her on it if the Senate confirms her. However, she refuses to step down from considering the lawsuit on the pro-abortion health care law President Obama signed.
LINDSEY GRAHAM MAY SUPPORT KAGAN FOR SUPREME COURT DESPITE ABORTION VIEWS
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) – Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan may become one of the more ardent pro-abortion activists on the high court if confirmed, but that may not be enough to stop normally pro-life Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina from supporting her when the Senate Judiciary Committee votes next week.
POLL: VOTERS WANT REPUBLICANS TO KEEP PRO-ABORTION OABAMA’S POLICIES IN CHECK
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) – A new poll commissioned by ABC News and the Washington Post finds Americans are increasingly disenchanted with pro-abortion President Barack Obama. The new survey finds, by an 8 percent margin, voters want Republicans to control Congress to keep Obama’s agenda in check.
DEMOCRATIC REP PROMISES RETRIBUTION PROBE ON PRO-ABIORTION KENYA CONSTITUTION
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) – After pro-life members of Congress cried foul when it appeared the Obama administration illegally spent as much as $10 million supporting the campaign for a pro-abortion constitution in Kenya, now a pro-abortion member of Congress is calling for an investigation as well.
CALIFORNIA POLL SHOWS PRO-LIFE CARLY FIORINA LEADING PRO-ABORTION BARBARA BOXER
Sacramento, CA (LifeNews.com) – A new poll from SurveyUSA is the first to show pro-life California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina leading pro-abortion Sen. Barbara Boxer. The race is one of about 10-12 that could determine whether pro-life Republican leaders are able to wrest control of the Senate from pro-abortion Democrats.
MEDIA APPLAUD TEEN ABORTION IN EPISODE OF NBC’S FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
by Melissa Afable
NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” wants to tackle more than football players. In a bold move for scripted dramas, which usually shy away from taboo issues, the July 9 episode of the network drama featured a high school-aged character deciding to have an abortion, declaring it was “the right thing to do.” The plotline earned praise from many in the media.
ASSOCIATED PRESS REFERS TO NEWBORN INFANT AS “FETUS” IN ANOTHER ASSAULT STORY
by Tim Graham
Last year, Brent Bozell lamented the murder of Darlene Haynes in Worcester, Massachusetts, with her baby cut out of her womb, and how the media called it a “fetus” — even after the baby was born in a violent kidnapping. Now there’s a Massachusetts repeat, except this time, it was the baby that was killed in a Boston-area nail salon assault.
Founder’s Quote Daily
Published July 14, 2010 | 
“As long as Property exists, it will accumulate in Individuals and Families. As long as Marriage exists, Knowledge, Property and Influence will accumulate in Families.”
–John Adams, letter to Thomas Jefferson, 1814
GOSPEL & MEDITATION: Knowing the Father and the Son
Published July 14, 2010 | July 14, 2010
Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Father Shawn Aaron, LC
Matthew 11: 25-27
At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
Introductory Prayer: Almighty and ever-living God, I seek new strength from the courage of Christ our shepherd. I believe in you, I hope in you, and I seek to love you with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength. I want to be led one day to join the saints in heaven, where your Son Jesus Christ lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
Petition: Jesus, help me to seek you with a sincere heart.
1. Hidden from the Wise Wisdom, knowledge and understanding comprise three of seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. So in itself, being wise and learned cannot be an issue. Jesus is here speaking of those whose pride and inflated ego make them wise and learned in their own estimation and for their own purposes. The mysteries of God are thus hidden from them precisely because they have focused their hearts and minds on themselves as the supreme good: “The greater a being is, the more it wants to determine its own life. It wants to be less and less dependent and, thus, more and more itself a kind of god, needing no one else at all. This is how the desire arises to become free of all need, what we call pride” (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, God and the World, p. 125). In the end, it is they who have closed the door to God since God will never close the door on us.
2. Revealed to the Childlike Later in this same Gospel, Jesus will reaffirm this basic truth in another way: “Unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Even as adults we must never cease to be childlike, uncomplicated and duly dependent. Children are not naturally complicated and deceitful. Hiding behind masks and developing subterfuges is a tendency learned with time. Little by little we begin to calculate, use excuses, ration out our generosity, and stray from the simplicity and rectitude of the way God has marked out. We must strive to be sincere with our Lord and sincere with ourselves, seeking to please him above all things. Failure in our lives is due to insincerity, that absence of the total nobility and utmost loyalty needed to fulfill honorably what Our Lord asks of us.
3. Christ, The Revelation of the Father Knowledge of the Father is the ultimate good man can possess because it corresponds to the deepest longing in the human heart for happiness. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that happiness lies in knowing that we possess the good we seek. We call the full knowledge of the good possessed “heaven,” which is our ultimate goal in life. To whom would Jesus not wish to reveal the Father? Has anyone ever lived for whom Jesus did not desire to know the Father and be in heaven? Jesus´ actions – his preaching, his sacrifices and death on the cross – demonstrate that he wants to reveal the Father to everyone. However he also chooses to need you and me to help him achieve this goal. Do I really desire everyone to know the Father and reach heaven? My actions will answer that question for me.
Conversation with Christ: Dear Lord, grant me the grace to possess the wisdom and knowledge that come from union with you while maintaining the childlike dispositions that you ask. Help me to depend on you as a loving child. Mother Most Pure, make my heart only for Jesus.
Resolution: Today I will reflectively read Philippians 2:5-11.
http://www.regnumchristi.org/english/articulos/articulo.phtml?se=363&ca=975&te=735&id=20302
TODAY’S SAINT: BLESSED KATERI TEKAKWITHA
Published July 14, 2010 | 
Kateri Tekakwitha, the “Lily of the Mohawks,” is the first Native American to be beatified. She was born in Auriesville, New York, in 1656 to a Christian Algonquin woman and a pagan Mohawk chief.
When she was a child a smallpox epidemic attacked her tribe and both her parents died. She was left permanently scarred with a pocked face and impaired eyesight. Her uncle, who had now become chief of the tribe adopted her and her aunts began planning her marriage while she was still very young.
When three Jesuit fathers were visiting the tribe in 1667 and staying in the tent of her uncle, they spoke to her of Christ, and though she was still not and did not ask to be baptized, she believed in Jesus with an incredible intensity. She also realized that she was called into an intimate union with God as a consecrated virgin.
She had to struggle to maintain her faith amidst the opposition of her tribe who ridiculed her for it. When she was 18, Fr. Jacques de Lamberville returned to the Mohawk village and she asked to be baptized.
The life of the Mohawk village had become violent and debauchery was commonplace; realizing that this was proving too dangerous to her life and her call to perpetual virginity, Kateri escaped to the town of Caughnawaga in Quebec, near Montreal.
There she lived the last years of her short life practicing austere penance and constant prayer. She was said to have reached the highest levels of mystical union with God, and many miracles were attributed to her while she was still alive.
She died on April 17, 1680 at the age of 24, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980. Devotion to her began immediately after her death and her body, enshrined in Caughnawaga, is visited by many pilgims each year.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/utiles/myprint/print.php
Tony Perkins, Family Research Council, July 14, 2010
…. If liberals couldn’t be restrained with their jobs on the line, then they certainly won’t think twice about abusing their power on the way out the door…..
Lame Ducks Are for the Birds
Unless there’s a major swing in public opinion, the Democrats’ campaign season is shaping up to be more of a farewell tour. Anxious to get back home and tamp down the criticism, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and company are bailing out of Washington a full week early. Considering all the unfinished business she’s leaving behind, Pelosi’s July 30 exit is a little surprising. Or is this just part of the Democrats’ overall plan? What if House leaders are saving their most controversial issues until after November when voters are powerless to do anything about it? That’s a question more insiders are starting to ask as some of the big ticket legislation on spending, the military, global warming, and campaign finance sit curiously idle.
With their 19-month joyride coming to an end, members know that it could be “game over” for their ultra-Left agenda. But if Pelosi’s party takes a beating on November 2, members will have plenty of time in November and December to exact revenge. If liberals couldn’t be restrained with their jobs on the line, then they certainly won’t think twice about abusing their power on the way out the door. “It’s been almost 30 years since anything remotely contentious was handled in a lame-duck session,” writes John Fund in the Wall Street Journal, “but that doesn’t faze Democrats who have jammed through ObamaCare and are determined to bring the financial system under greater federal control.”
Unfortunately for conservatives, that could mean everything from repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to legislation attacking pregnancy care centers and the pro-life Hyde Amendment. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) could squeak through, along with “card check” and cap-and-tax legislation. And that’s not all. Look for some of Congress’s most notorious porkers to get major parting gifts from the Appropriations Committee. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) is one of the members who sees trouble ahead. “Members of Congress are supposed to represent their constituents, not override them like sore losers in the lame-duck session.” Of course, “representing their constituents” hasn’t exactly been a hallmark of this Majority. But it’s never too late to start! Ask your members to respect America ‘s wishes after November and leave the policy-making to the next Congress.
A “Rational” Solution to Medicaid
Sex Ed: Going to Helena Hand Basket?
If you live in Helena (or even if you don’t), let the school system know they should scrap this curriculum. Email Superintendent Bruce Messinger at: bmessinger@helena.k12.mt.us. In the meantime, watch FRC’s Peter Sprigg debate the topic on Fox & Friends by clicking here.
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU10G06&f=PG07J01