"For false Christs and false prophets will appear..." -- Mark 13:6
As we who follow the Faith well know, the Catholic Church traditionally does not take sides in partisan politics. That restriction, however, does not apply to commentators who happen to be Catholic. Let it therefore be known that the following opinions do not speak for the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, but merely for a concerned writer with the interests of the faithful in mind.
We have an election coming up, and were this a traditional choice between Democratic and Republican candidates, I would remain silent on this particular medium. But it is not. This particular election puts America at the Rubicon. As is the usual situation, neither candidate is of our Faith. This in itself, however, poses no threat to either American Catholics or to the Catholic Church in America or elsewhere. What puts our country at the crossroads is that one of those candidates threatens, if reelected, to put an end not only to our religious freedom, but to freedom itself in America. That candidate is the incumbent president, Barack Obama.
By now, all Catholics in Connecticut are well aware that the so-called Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act would force Catholic health care providers to fund artificial contraception and abortion-inducing measures that violate Catholic teachings on such matters. Within the Archdiocese of Hartford, Archbishop Henry Mansell has been particularly vocal on this issue. This, however, is only the most blatant of a number of issues concerning the incumbent president which many, if not most Catholics, tend to find disturbing.
That Mr. Obama occupies the White House at all is largely the doing of biased and partisan news media who, during the 2008 presidential campaign, purposely ginned up hatred for the outgoing president, George W. Bush, and purposely promoted the Democratic Party candidate, Mr. Obama. In doing so, they also purposely withheld vital information about their chosen candidate which, if generally known, probably would have allowed cooler heads to prevail in the last election. Instead, Mr. Obama rode a tide of emotionalism to rise from general obscurity to the doors of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The first red flag came from popular television personality Oprah Winfrey, who, in a direct turnaround from her previous policy of not endorsing political candidates, rhetorically asked, "Is Obama The One?" This question should have been answered with an emphatic "NO!" "The One" is a title that rightfully belongs to Jesus Christ, and no one else.
Then, after Obama was elected, began a period of general hysteria almost eerily supernatural in its implications that became known as "Obamamania." Books by and about Obama flooded the newsstands. Episodes of fainting in the stands during Obama speeches (in all likelihood staged) were gleefully reported by ecstatic news media. Far-left commentator Chris Matthews of MSNBC, the broadcast news network most openly partisan to the left, claimed to have felt a tingle go up his leg at the sound of Obama's voice. Terms such as "messianic" and "messiah" were openly applied to Obama.
As we all know, or rather, should know, there is only one Messiah.
But it didn't end there. In a New Jersey township, in a scenario eerily reminiscent of Nazi Germany, school children were forced by a partisan teacher to sing hymns of praise to Barack Obama. Before Obama, no president ever would have condoned such idolization. Obama, however, made no effort to discourage such activity on his behalf. On the contrary, like the Roman emperors of old, he seemed to enjoy such implications of divinity. Certain celebrities, with whom Obama was an overwhelming favorite, took pledges "to serve the President of the United States." Excuse me. In a supposedly free country, we do not serve our president. He is elected to serve us! Neither do we sing hymns of praise to anyone but our Creator.
The most ridiculous expression of Obamamania came in 2009, not from any American source, but from the Nobel Committee in Stockholm, Sweden, who awarded that year's Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama, for essentially nothing more than simply being Barack Obama. He was given the prize not for anything he had actually done, but simply for his announced intentions -- none of which, incidentally, ever came to pass.
In the ensuing years, Obama proved that he was in fact none of what he had been hyped up to be. He was not a god. He did not have superhuman powers. He could not bring peace and kumbaya to the entire world with his physical presence alone. In short, the man was not the myth -- a myth which even he himself not only promoted, but apparently had come to believe himself.
When faced with a disaster having national consequences in the form of an oil rig rupture off the coast of Louisiana, he dithered and went off to play golf. Instead of reducing our national debt, he increased it by $6 trillion. His Cash For Clunkers program clunked. His expenditures of tax money for "green jobs," most notably Solyndra in California, ended up in dismal failure. His "stimulus" infusion of tax money into the economy stimulated nothing except an already bloated federal government. Plus, in the meantime, his government takeovers of substantial portions of the insurance, banking, and automotive industries, as well as a health care industry representing one-sixth of the total economy, resurrected echos of the former Soviet Union.
The recent campaign debates further accentuated a man cast into the role of President of the United States who in fact had no business occupying that office. Prior to these debates, his speeches had been made, with the aid of teleprompters, to selected audiences of those sympathetic to his viewpoint. Dissenters were never allowed to these events. Interviewers were careful to ask the president only those questions he wanted asked and was prepared to answer. Now he was forced to face a real challenge, and despite the fact that the moderators of these debates were all clearly in his camp, he was at a loss as to how to confront his challenger. Obama's belligerent bluster could not conceal his record, which was one of abject failure.
His most dismal moment came when once again he was put to the test of leadership, and failed that test most miserably. On Sept. 11, 2012, the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked by forces representing the international terrorist organization al Qaeda. It was an attack specifically planned for the anniversary of 9/11, the date of a three-pronged attack on the United States by Osama bin Laden, the former al Qaeda leader. Despite being informed by intelligence sources that this was, in fact, an attack of terrorism, Obama and his minions in the administration denied this, claiming it to rather be a spontaneous riot in response to an anti-Islamic video produced in California. Most egregiously, requests for help from Benghazi were denied by the State Department, and four Americans -- including Ambassador Christopher Stevens -- were needlessly killed.
Obama's response? He flew to Las Vegas to attend a fundraiser!
As of this writing, polls have Obama and his challenger, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, in a dead heat. Mr. Romney, though not a Catholic, has shown himself to be a sincere man of proven ability, and one who has the nation's interests at heart, rather than merely his own. Mr. Obama, on the other hand, has clearly demonstrated that while he likes the perks and the glory of being president, he shrinks from the responsibility. He likes living in the White House, flying on Air Force One, the lavish dinners, and the seemingly never-ending adulation of the press and fawning celebrities. But he does not like actually doing the job.
While Obamamania has clearly ebbed, with increasing numbers of Americans coming to the realization that we as a nation have followed a false Christ to the brink of possible extinction of the free country we have traditionally known, it is not yet over. America now stands at the crossroads, and for Catholics and other people of conscience our religious freedom is at stake. Our sacred beliefs should not be dictated to us by the federal government. Barack Obama would have it otherwise.
Let each and every one of us seriously keep these things in mind when we go to the polls on November 6.
Written by Tim Siggia
A Connecticut Catholic Corner Contributor
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
NBC dumps Debate for Russian smugglers
I don't usually get political on my blog... nor do I usually call out media bias, but this was too much even for me to hold back. I watched the Presidential Debate last night, as did millions of other Americans. This morning I was very interested to see how others felt after mulling things over. What I was not expecting was one news source to be SO biased they couldn't even bring themselves to make the Debate the "Top Story" this morning. I looked at CNN, Fox News and NBC news... guess which one thinks Russian smugglers tops the United States Presidential Debate?
Now lets look at where NBC puts the United States Presidential Debate in importance on their website...
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| CNN news put the United States Presidential Debate as "Top News" on their website. |
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| Fox News also found the United States Presidential Debate worthy of "Top Story" on their website. |
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| President Obama's lap dog AKA NBC News is doing all they can to pretend last night's Presidential Debate never happened. NBC has declared the "Top Story" this morning is Russian spies smuggling electronics above the first United States Presidential Debate of this election year. |
EWTN Press Release: October 4, 2012
Irondale, AL – Don’t miss the Opening Mass of the “Year of Faith,” where Pope Benedict XVI is expected to deliver a stirring homily to help the faithful live it fully! Airs live on EWTN at 4 a.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 11 from St. Peter’s Square in Rome, with an encore at 6:30 p.m. ET. Find EWTN at www.ewtn.com/channelfinder.
What two saints are being named new doctors of the Church? Tune in to the Opening Mass of the Synod of Bishops and find out. Airs live at 3:30 a.m. ET, Sunday, Oct. 7, with an encore at noon ET on EWTN. Find EWTN at www.ewtn.com/channelfinder.
What exactly is a Synod of Bishops and why is Pope Benedict convening one? Find out in this week’s “Vaticano,” EWTN’s weekly news magazine. The 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome is "aimed primarily at Europe and North America, concentrating on the societies where Christianity was once dominant but has seen a dramatic drop in influence in recent decades." Airs 10 a.m. ET, Sundays, 11 p.m. ET Mondays, and 5:30 p.m. ET Tuesdays – exclusively on EWTN. Find EWTN at www.ewtn.com/channelfinder.
The Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal World are special to our EWTN viewers. During the Year of Faith, we will air weekly reflections by Fathers Patrick, Leonard and Mark and Deacons John Paul and Pascal. These two-minute television spots – a new one each week – which will be shown throughout the day as well as on our soon-to-be-unveiled Year of Faith website. Watch for them; they will help you live the faith more deeply! Find EWTN at www.ewtn.com/channelfinder.
Concerned about countries – including the United States --where Christianity was once dominant but has seen a dramatic drop? Then tune into “Vaticano,” EWTN’s weekly news magazine. The show will kick off the year with special interviews with various bishops attending the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome. The Synod is "aimed primarily at Europe and North America,” where the influence of Christianity has waned. Airs 10 a.m. ET, Sundays, 11 p.m. ET Mondays, and 5:30 p.m. ET Tuesdays – exclusively on EWTN. Find EWTN at www.ewtn.com/channelfinder.
During the Year of Faith, Pope Benedict is asking us to read the documents of Vatican II. Intimidated? Think it’s either too hard or too boring to be bothered? Then, tune in to “Council of Faith,” an EWTN Original Series. We’ll spoon feed you all you need to know – and it won’t be boring! Each program in the series features a different document. Airs 6 a.m. ET, Monday through Saturday (except Thursday, Oct. 11), beginning Saturday, Oct. 6 and ending Wednesday, Oct. 24. Find EWTN at www.ewtn.com/channelfinder.
Why does Pope Benedict want the faithful to read the documents of Vatican II during the Year of Faith? What’s so important about them? Find out in the EWTN special, “A Day at the Council.” Airs at 5:30 a.m. ET and 5:30 p.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 11 – exclusively on EWTN. Find EWTN at www.ewtn.com/channelfinder.
EWTN Rome Bureau Chief posts a new blog every day with the most inside information available. During the “Year of Faith,” you will not want to miss her insightful reporting!
Find “Joan’s Rome” at http://www.ewtn.com/news/blog.asp?blog_ID=1. You also don’t want to miss Joan’s radio program, “Vatican Insider,” which airs at 9:30 a.m. ET, Saturdays on the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network. (Find an EWTN affiliate near you at http://www.ewtn.com/radio/amfm.asp, listen to EWTN’s Sirius Satellite Channel #130, or listen live online – just go to http://www.ewtn.com/radio/amfm.asp, click on “Radio” at the top of the web page, and then “Listen Live” in the drop down menu, and “EWTN Radio” (English) in the sub-menu.)
It’s sensational! The Trial of Pope Benedict’s former butler, Paolo Gabriele, has begun and no one is covering it better than EWTN Bureau Chief Joan Lewis. Read her blog, “Joan’s Rome,” now at http://www.ewtn.com/news/blog.asp?blog_ID=1, with the headline: “Gabrielle: ‘I’m Guilty Only of Betraying the Holy Father’s Trust.’”
Listen for Year of Faith updates wherever you are on EWTN Global Catholic Radio. For a schedule of the many radio shows that will cover the Year of Faith, click on http://www.ewtn.com/radio/index.asp. These include “Women of Grace” with Johnnette Benkovic, “Catholic Connection” with Teresa Tomeo, “Son Rise Morning Show with Brian Patrick,” “EWTN Open Line,” “At Home with Jim & Joy,” and many others. Find an EWTN affiliate near you at http://www.ewtn.com/radio/amfm.asp, listen to EWTN’s Sirius Satellite Channel #130, or listen live online – just go to http://www.ewtn.com/radio/amfm.asp, click on “Radio” at the top of the web page, and then “Listen Live” in the drop down menu, and “EWTN Radio” (English) or Radio Católica Mundial (Spanish) in the sub-menu.
Coming soon! Two new EWTN websites: Our Online Services Department is hard at work building two new websites with everything you need to know about the Year of Faith and Vatican II. We will let you know when they go live!
Concerned about the rise of militant secularism? So is Pope Benedict XVI. But, as EWTN Blogger Joanna Bogle notes in her latest blog, “A Catholic Journalist in London,” there is hope. “Across Europe, the tide of militant secularism is rising, and we will have to be strong to withstand it. But the Church will be there when the waters surge and swirl and people get caught up in them, and lives are wrecked and misery caused. The Church will be the place of hope, the voice of sanity, the bashed and battered but surviving raft of safety. People are going to be – as Pope Benedict has noted – terribly, terribly lonely. In a culture without strong families, with transient relationships that end up going nowhere, in consumerism almost sickening in its intensity, there will be a deadly sense of hopelessness. Without drama, without great announcements, without armies and flags and trumpets, the Christian presence and message of love will be the thing that saves...and whether that presence will be there depends on our courage and faith every day.” Read more here: http://www.ewtn.com/news/blog.asp?blog_ID=4.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Homily against Obamacare - Obama's war on Catholics
Fantastic homily by the Archbishop of Kansas (Most Rev. Joseph Naumann) on EWTN.
God bless you for speaking out and telling the TRUTH. Listen up Catholics!
The website mentioned in the homily: WomenSpeakForThemselves.com
http://www.womenspeakforthemselves.com/
Tell Obama he does NOT speak for women! Let them hear YOUR voice!