Catholic Charities Scandal

I am sure many of you have already been made aware of the gravely disappointing actions of the Richmond, VA Catholic Charities in helping a young woman get an abortion. Today I received an email letter from Michael Hichborn at American Life League (the man you see in some of the Pro-life Youtube videos on this blog- see the Connecticut Catholic Corner: Don't be Fooled! post) and he's asked me to please share the information on my blog. So here is Mr. Hichborn's letter in its entirety:

Dear Pro-life Friends,

As you may be aware, American Life League has been covering a scandal in Richmond, VA where four employees of a Catholic Charities actually helped a teenaged Guatemalan immigrant obtain an abortion. What is so terrible about this is that Bishop DiLorenzo actually knew about the abortion that was to take place the following morning, and did nothing to prevent it. Even worse is that it took at least 3 months before these employees were fired.

And as if those weren't enough, the same employees helped the girl implant a birth control device several months before. Who knew about that, and why didn't it come out until now that this was done?There are so many questions surrounding this incident that American Life League asked the Commonwealth Attorney to step in and conduct an investigation.

Given that this looks so much like a cover-up, we wonder if this has happened before at this or even other Catholic Charities.

My friends, I am sending you some news clips on this and ask you to cover this on your blogs:

Washington Post: Antiabortion Group Urges Inquiry
http://www.washingtonpost.com /wp-dyn/content/article/2008 /07/07/AR2008070702319.html ?hpid=sec-religion
The Washington Times: Prosecution of Charity Ruled Out in Abortion Case
http://www.washingtontimes.com /news/2008/jul/08/prosecution -of-charity-ruled-out-in-case -of-teens-/
CBS-6 Richmond (Top Nightly News Story 7/7/08 – the story is the video to the right labeled "Should Charges be Filed in Abortion Case?" )
www.wtvr.com

If people like this are not exposed, then more and more pro-life champions like Catholic Charities will be infiltrated by the Culture of Death ... rotting them from the inside out .. until there is no one left. We have to expose this monstrosity to ensure that this never happens again.

Thank you all for everything you do for the babies!

--Michael Hichborn

American Life League

----end of letter----

I'd just like to add, please don't stop giving to Catholic Charities because of a few bad apples as the saying goes. Catholic Charities does amazing work helping people and if they suffer from lack of donations because of this scandalous action by a few, then thousands of needy and suffering people will suffer even more. Please pray for all involved, that this never happens again.

Press 1 For English, 2 For Latin, And 3 For Reverence

Doug writes: Back in my youth, shortly before the invention of the wheel, a popular TV commercial for an antacid product depicted one person offering some spicy dish to another person and suggesting, “Try it, you’ll like it!” (A subsequent commercial featured a man in obvious distress, bemoaning, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!”) “Try it, you’ll like it!” How often have we heard that suggestion from well-meaning, but often wrongly presumptive family members or friends?

Well, I’m not one of them. So I won’t guarantee that you will necessarily like attending a mass in the Latin rite, but you should at least try it.

Pope Benedict XVI has given a gentle nudge to dioceses to voluntarily offer the pre-Vatican II Latin rite at some masses. One reason I have heard cited is to supposedly bring unity back to the Church. While we in the US might bristle at the mass being celebrated in a “foreign tongue,” imagine a Polish Catholic in Mexico, going to mass at the local Catholic church without language being a barrier. Our Church knows no borders.

While there hasn’t yet been a tremendous infusion of Latin, or Tridentine masses in Connecticut, there have been some sparse offerings in various parishes.

I ventured into such a mass on two different recent occasions, but at the same church. The first occasion was a high mass and the second occasion was a low mass. The high mass was longer, about an hour and 15 minutes, and the low mass, celebrated by the same priest, was roughly 45 minutes in length.

I noticed that some members of the congregation were holding papers, presumably some form of missals, which theoretically helped them follow along. I still don’t know where they found these missals, but they didn’t seem to be reading them, as the timing of their standing, sitting and kneeling was about as conspicuously out of sync as mine was. If the mass in this church was a fire drill in a school, we were school kids instead of congregants, and the priest was the fire marshal, he clearly would have made us do it all over again.

That awkwardness and my own ignorance of Latin aside, I had mixed feelings about the experience.

Having satisfied my curiosity, I would probably not again seek to go to another Latin mass, but I wouldn’t necessarily avoid one either. And if the Church ever so requested, I would be willing to learn Latin, so long as Algebra was never again foisted upon me.

What I enjoyed most about the mass in the Latin rite, however, was the confirmation of what I previously had heard and read about it, the renewed and all too forgotten reverence for God in His house.

The music was beautiful, solemn, holy and conducive to appropriate reflection. Incense was used at the High mass. The priest primarily had his back to the congregation, and not to the crucifix and the tabernacle. Last but not least, recipients of Holy Communion did so while kneeling at an altar rail, and received the Holy Eucharist on the tongue, not in the hand.

The attire of several people present in the mass astounded me. Several men wore jackets and ties, or at least a shirt and tie. Women wore dresses, and in some cases, even hats and white gloves. Items of casual attire such as jeans, shorts, shorter shorts, and ridiculously short shorts, T-shirts, flip-flops, halters, etc. were limited in presence. I also noted that the overall demeanor of most of the congregants present was more focused and respectful than what I typically see in the modern mass. Apparently, most of the folks present got the memo that they were actually in a church! That led me to wonder if the chicken or the egg came first. In other words, did these congregants consciously decide to dress more respectively because they were going to a Tridentine Mass, or were the congregants already more respectable people who simply all flocked to a Tridentine Mass? I don’t know the answer, and frankly, I don’t even care, given the result.

Sometimes, it’s not just what we say that is significant, but how we say it, and in that same regard, yes, actions can and do speak louder than words.

Only time will tell how this experiment plays out with the return of the Latin rite.

Flip a coin for your own preference of English vs. Latin, but the reverence void that we have sadly seen evolve since Vatican II is now gradually being filled.

That is a welcome and overdue trend that must continue, in any language.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
(Matthew: 5, 5)

Doug

Connecticut Catholic Corner is Growing!

Connecticut Catholic Corner is going through a growing spurt! When I launched this blog last year I really didn't know what to expect so I just took things one day at a time and let things evolve as they would. I have to thank each and everyone one of you reading and writing to me or just leaving the occasional comment. I have truly enjoyed every minute spent here and hope to have many more to come. And today I have the privilege of introducing a new contributor to Connecticut Catholic Corner. His name is Doug and he will be joining me in posting about our Catholic faith on this blog. You might see him post a few times a week or a few times a month. So I hope you will all enjoy his writing as much as I have. And please note, Connecticut Catholic Corner has a new email address. If you email us and want either Doug or myself to respond please put our name in the subject area and I will make sure it is directed to the right place. Now for the next announcement about this blog's growing spurt! Connecticut Catholic Corner has decided to join Youtube and share our own little homemade videos! It's just in the beginning stage right now and when it's finished I will post the Youtube Channel address and some videos. Please remember, I am no producer so don't get your hopes up too high! So on that note, I will say again, thank you to all my readers even if you oppose my beliefs. You are each and everyone of you a blessing. May God bless you and your loved ones.

Pope Benedict XVI Plans Trip to Lourdes

On Friday September 12, Pope Benedict XVI will start his apostolic trip to France for the 150th anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes. On Saturday September 13th, he will celebrate mass on the Esplanade des Invalides, then travel to the Church of the Sacred Heart and the Cachot (Soubirous family home), in Lourdes. He will also visit the Grotto and is scheduled to close the torchlight Marian procession of the esplanade of the Shrine of Lourdes. September 14th, on the Meadow in Lourdes, Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass for the 150th anniversary of the apparitions. On Monday the 15th of September the Pope will celebrate mass for the sick in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, then he will board a plane and return home to Rome that evening.

Father John Corapi's Conversion Story

I am a huge fan of Father John Corapi whom has a few shows on EWTN. Each Saturday night I try to tune in and watch him teach the faith like no one else I've ever seen. The man is a gifted teacher and a blessing to all who hear him teach. He played a large role in my converting to the Catholic faith. He answered many of my questions about the faith and taught me the truth of the Catholic faith just by watching his programs on EWTN. Now he wasn't the only one whom taught me the faith, but he did teach me a great deal and he's a joy to listen to. For anyone who doesn't yet know about Father John Corapi, I thought I would post his conversion story in his own words for you to listen to. I hope you find him a blessing the way I did.

Don't be Fooled!

Planned Parenthood's New Image

A message from American Life League

Hardcore Christianity Debunked

Have you ever started off on one website then clicked a link from that and gone to another and clicked a link from there to another and so on until you don't remember where you started or how you ended up where you are? Well, I do that quite often. Many times I find myself ending up at some anti-Catholic site or a proclaiming Christian site that is bashing, mocking or outright lying about my Catholic faith. Up until this moment I have never mentioned any sites by name or debunked them for their falsehoods, but today all that is going to change. I guess I am just in a fed up mood and I am not going to let this stuff go without posting the truth. Why would I do that? Because of this verse in scripture: Romans 14:16 "Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil." I think this will make a perfect motto for my blog. So here's the deal, ANY anti-Catholic website or statements on websites are fair game to me. If you know of such websites, please email them to me. I will debunk their falsehoods one by one. It's passed time that Catholics stopped letting others spread falsehoods and lies about our faith. These lies are damaging, not only are they keeping people from becoming Catholic and having the fullness of Truth found in the Catholic Church but they are also leading many Catholics out of the Church in confusion. We need to stop this damage and share the Truth of our faith for all to see and know. So for what it's worth, I will start with this blog. So here's the first site to be exposed for its lying and false statements made against the Catholic Church. It comes from a site called "Hardcore Christianity" (http://www.hardcorechristianity.com/teachings/chapter5.php)
Here is what the site says:
Hardcore Christianity states: "The Roman Catholic church is the largest "Christian" organization in the world and the largest single religious group on the planet with over 1.2 billion adherents (there are approximately 1.1 billion Muslims & 700 million Pentecostals). Untold articles have been authored on this organization, pro and con, over the centuries with much continued confusion. Centuries ago priest's like Luther, Huss & Calvin started the Protestant revolution after they read the New Testament and discovered many of the teachings of the Catholic church were contradictory. What teachings were they talking about? How do their teachings compare to the truths in the Word of God? What caused the start of Protestantism?"
1) Popes, Bishops, Cardinals and Priests are forbidden to marry in the Catholic church, however Peter, the alleged first Pope, was married (Mk. 1: 29-31).
2) In addition, the Priest Zachary was married (Lk. 1: 5,13) and Bishops were permitted to marry (1 Tim. 3:1-4). In fact, forbidding people to marry is a doctrine taught by demons (1 Tim. 4:1-3).
3) The Bible forbids making or bowing down to religious images (Ex. 20:3-5).
4) Only God can forgive sins, humans cannot. (Mk. 2:7).
5) Jesus forbids calling any human, dead or alive, their spiritual "Father" (Mt. 23:9).
6) The Bible says there is only one mediator between humanity and God. It is only Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5-6, 1 Jn. 2:1-3, Acts 4:10, 12, Jn. 14:6).
7) The Bible teaches that when a person dies they either go to Hell or Heaven. There is no evidence of any kind that Purgatory exists, ever existed or any dead person can communicate with the living (Lk. 16:19-31, Mt. 25:41,46, Heb. 9:27).
8) Has the mother of Jesus ever been given an elevated status by God? According to Lk. 11:27-28 and Eph. 4:4-6, she has not. The veneration, exultation, glorification, honoring, blessed imagination and adoration of Mary is unscriptural.
9) What is the N. T. definition of a "Saint"? Is it a deified dead Roman Catholic? No. It is any born again believer, dead or alive (I Cor. 1:2, 6:1-2, Eph. 5:3, Phil. 1:1, 4:22, Jude 1:14, Rev. 13:7, 20:9). Is Roman Catholic doctrine occur.
-----------------------
OK, so I get a little up tight when I read this kind of garbage, I admit it. Now let's take these falsehoods one at a time and debunk them all.

Falsehood #1: "Popes, Bishops, Cardinals and Priests are forbidden to marry in the Catholic church", clergy in the Latin Rite do not marry because scripture first shows this and Jesus Christ himself was unmarried, Latin Rite Catholic priests are following Jesus Christ's example in celibacy and priesthood: Matt.19:12 "For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of Heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it." That's it folks, Jesus Christ's own words on the celibacy in the priesthood.
Falsehood #2: "forbidding people to marry is a doctrine taught by demons (1 Tim. 4:1-3)". The Catholic Church isn't forbidding anyone to marry, priests make this choice on their own if they wish to be priests. This verse is not about the priesthood as we see from the quote in Matthew 19:12 that I already gave. Jesus said "The one who can accept this should accept it." The men who wish to be priests in the Latin Rite are those men! They accept the celibacy and follow Jesus in a celibate priesthood. This is not unbiblical, but totally biblical!
Falsehood #3: "The Bible forbids making or bowing down to religious images (Ex. 20:3-5)." What an outright lie that statement is! What the scripture forbids is WORSHIPING statues. Well guess what? Catholics don't worship statues! In the bible God commands some statues and religious images to be made, if that was a sin WHY would God command it? He wouldn't! When God command the Ark of the Covenant to be build, He told them to make statues of angels made of gold. When the Israelites were in the wildness and plagued by snakes, God commanded them to make a statue of a snake (Num.21) and when ever someone was bit by a snake to go to the statue and they would be healed. Statues are NOT bad, worshiping anything other than God is. That was the point. How many Protestants have statues of the Holy Family and set up Nativity sets for Christmas? If they truly believed that the bible forbids the making of religious images then what are they doing every Christmas with their Nativity sets and putting angels on top of their Christmas trees? Or how about all those angel pins people wear on their coats? Or the pictures in our homes of "Jesus" (what some artist thinks he might look like)? Come on people, think! This stuff is common sense.
Falsehood #4: "Only God can forgive sins, humans cannot. (Mk. 2:7)". Someone at "Hardcore Christianity" hasn't read their bible very well. John 20:23 "If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." This is Jesus Christ talking to his disciples after he breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit making them the first priests in his Catholic Church. (Matt.16:18-19)
Falsehood #5: "Jesus forbids calling any human, dead or alive, their spiritual "Father" (Mt. 23:9)". Now if that were true Jesus Christ would have sinned because he called Abraham "father" in the Gospels, so we know that's not true. We also know that Paul himself explains how priests are "fathers" in the Church: 1 Cor. 4:15 "Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel." There it is folks! The priests are fathers through the gospel!
Falsehood #6: "The Bible says there is only one mediator between humanity and God. It is only Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5-6, 1 Jn. 2:1-3, Acts 4:10, 12, Jn. 14:6)" I don't know why this one is here as Catholics believe the same thing. Jesus is the ONLY mediator to God, even our Catholic catechism says so (#2674).

Falsehood #7: "There is no evidence of any kind that Purgatory exists, ever existed or any dead person can communicate with the living". This is two things, purgatory and the false belief that Catholics commune with the dead. Let me respond to the latter first. No saint who's physically died on earth is dead, not one. All are alive in Christ, that is what scripture says. What Communion of Saints is, is the Family of God on earth and in Heaven because death does not divide or separate the Family of God. It can't because Jesus Christ defeated death! Purgatory is seen in scripture a few times, though the word "purgatory" (like "trinity") is not used in the bible. In the scriptures we see it called "Abraham's Side" or "Paradise". All the righteous who died before Christ could not enter Heaven until He ascended, they were in purgatory on their way to Heaven. (Luke 16:19-31) Also, when Christ is on the cross he tells the thief "Today you will be with me in Paradise", this is not Heaven because later when Mary Magdalene tried to touch Jesus he tells her not to because he has not yet gone to the Father in Heaven (John 20:17). In Acts 1 it says Jesus was on earth for 40 days after he came out of the tomb before he finally ascended into Heaven. When Jesus and the thief went to "Paradise" that was Purgatory, the place of the righteous on their way to Heaven. That is scripture.
Falsehood #8: "Has the mother of Jesus ever been given an elevated status by God?" Well at least this time they asked-even though the insinuation is that Catholics are in error about Mary. The answer to the question is of course: YES! It's right there in scripture: Mary's Song, Luke 1:48 "for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,". There it is! Catholics call her Blessed Mother of God because that is what she is! She is blessed because scripture says so and she's the Mother of God Incarnate-hence "Blessed Mother of God" as Catholics call her.
Falsehood #9: "What is the N. T. definition of a "Saint"? Is it a deified dead Roman Catholic? No. It is any born again believer, dead or alive (I Cor. 1:2, 6:1-2, Eph. 5:3, Phil. 1:1, 4:22, Jude 1:14, Rev. 13:7, 20:9). Is Roman Catholic doctrine occur." Now I've read this over and over and I can't make any sense out of it. I can't help but go "Huh?" at this one. So either Hardcore Christianity is saying NO Roman Catholic is a born again believer and hence can't be any form of "saint" or they are so off the wall they think ANY and/or all Roman Catholics are "deified" when called "saint". They are wrong on all accounts. No one is "deified" by the Catholic Church, God and God alone is worshiped.
Ok, so there you have it folks. All "Hardcore Christianity's" claims have been debunked and shown to be false. Onward to the next! (Email me those anti-Catholic sites).

Do Catholics Pray Vain and Repetitious Prayers?

Today I am responding to another unfavorable view of my Catholic faith. This time dealing with "vain" and "repetitious" prayers mostly. The author "anonymous" also mentions Mary in what he/she perceives as some "goddess" in the Catholic faith. I touch briefly on this at this time because I plan a more detailed post on Mary in the Catholic Church in the future. So here's the post from anonymous and my response.

ANONYMOUS writes: I AM A BIBLE READING BAPTIST AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT ROMAN CATHOLICS ARE ALL WRONG AND MESSED UP BECAUSE OF YOUR PAGAN ROOTS. I DON'T SAY THIS TO HURT YOUR FEELINGS BUT TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH SO YOU CAN BE FREE. JESUS WARNED US NEVER TO PRAY WITH REPETITION OVER AND OVER AND OVER "LIKE THE PAGANS PRAY" (PRAYERS WERE REPEATED OVER AND OVER IN THE PAGAN RELIGION OF THE EMPIRE). THAT'S WHY RC'S DO THAT VERY THING TODAY--A CARRYOVER FROM HER PAGAN DAYS AND NOW TOO. THE ROSARY IS A RITUAL OF WORSHIP TO THE VIRGIN GODDESS MARY. YOU CANNOT PRAY/"ASK" ANYONE WHO IS DEAD-THEY'RE DEAF! ALL THE DEAD ARE ASLEEP IN THEIR GRAVES WAITING FOR CHRIST TO RETURN. THEY CAN'T HEAR YOUR VAIN PRAYERS NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU REPEAT THEM. READ THE BIBLE AND YOU WILL SEE YOUR ERRORS AND LEAVE YOUR PAGAN PRACTICES AND BELIEFS BEHIND TO BE A BORN AGAIN BELIEVER!

My response: Unfortunately, with a view like that I hardly think my humble blog response is going to change your mind about the Roman Catholic Church, but never-the-less I will respond as best I can. First off, I'd like to say clearly the Roman Catholic Church is NOT "all wrong and messed up" and we do not have "pagan roots". The roots of the Catholic Church are found in scripture when Jesus was speaking to his disciple Simon and told him He was changing Simon's name to Rock [Peter] and on that rock Jesus was going to build his Church (Matt.16:18-19). This is the founding and "root" of the Catholic Church. This is when Simon Peter was then made the first Pope of the Catholic Church. He didn't actually start his roll in that position until Christ ascended (Acts 1 and 2). So that answers and debunks your claims to the Roman Catholic Church having "pagan roots". The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ in Sacred Scripture. Now about "repetitious" prayers. There is nothing wrong with repeating a prayer. You are misconstruing the verse (Matt.6:7). The emphasis is on "vain" not "repetition". The pagan prayers were all vain because they were said to false gods. That's it. Jesus himself repeats his prayers to God the Father in Heaven three times while in the garden at Gethsemane (Matt.26:36-46), so we know there is nothing wrong with repeated prayer. Matt. 26:36 "Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." 39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." 40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." 42He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." 43When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" Clearly Jesus is practicing repetitious prayer here, yet we know Jesus was without sin, so repetitious prayer is not wrong. Again the focus is on the word "vain" not repetition.
Now about your statement "THE ROSARY IS A RITUAL OF WORSHIP TO THE VIRGIN GODDESS MARY." -nothing could be further from the truth. First off, Catholics do not worship Mary. Secondly, Mary is not a "goddess" and last, the rosary is not a "ritual of worship". The rosary is a prayer. When a Catholic prays to a saint, we are asking that saint to pray for us and with us. We are not worshiping the saint. Catholics worship God and God alone. The word "pray" or "prayer" has different meanings depending on how it's used. When Catholics say they "pray the rosary to Mary" we do not mean it as a form of worship. Worship is for God alone. When we say we are praying to a saint, we are ASKING the saint to join us in prayer. You seem to believe that saints are dead and not in Heaven. That is not what scripture shows at all. Jesus said all those who died in Christ are alive.

Luke 20:38 "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive."

You then go on to talk about the dead being deaf. Where did you get that idea? From scripture we see a few examples of those who were dead knowing exactly what is happening on earth, from the Old Testament to the New Testament. An example from the Old Testament would be Saul. In 1 Samuel 28 we see Saul speaking with a very dead Samuel and Samuel telling him he knew all that had occurred since his death and what the will of God was and how Saul had angered God. Samuel was dead, but not "deaf" to the world nor ignorant of what had transpired since his physical death on earth. In the New Testament the Transfiguration is a great example of those who had died physically speaking and not "deaf" to what was happening on earth. We read of the death and burial of both Moses and Elijah in the Old Testament but in the New Testament they are speaking with Jesus and not "deaf" at all. Also, in Revelation 5, we see the saints in Heaven offering the prayers from us on earth to God. That is what we call "Communion of Saints", we are in communion with the saints in Heaven because we all belong to the Family of God. Death does not separate the Family of God because all those in Christ are alive as Jesus Christ said in the scriptures. Catholics are not pagans and we will not leave the only Church Jesus Christ founded on earth because you think we should. We are right where He wants us to be. God bless.