Getting political with a song...

If you haven't listened to "The Face of the New Democracy" yet its pretty good...

The Anchoress at Patheos is wrong

Patheos is becoming notorious for closing their comment box- especially when they don’t hear the feedback they were hoping for. 

The Anchoress (Elizabeth Scalia) has decided to opine about Catholics who are scandalized by Cardinal Dolan’s participation as Grand Marshal for the 2015 St. Patrick’s Day parade which has now become another outlet for “gay pride”.  Scalia believes we are wrong and goes on to twist assorted Scripture in an attempt to prove her point.  Mostly she failed-hence the reason she closed her comments. When the comments area of her Patheos blog got ugly, Scalia closed the comments down.

Here are a few comments from her blog before the comment box was closed...

I think these people are spot on!  

So again, like with Fr. Longenecker's "Church of Nasty" I am going to respond to why I believe Elizabeth Scalia is wrong here on my own blog because her comment area is closed.

For the first time openly gay homosexuals and their supporters will march with gay pride banners in the parade with a Catholic Cardinal as Grand Marshall kicking off the parade.  Devout Catholics are scandalized that this Cardinal (like those before him) sees nothing wrong with this.

Other’s have already written about the “cause of scandal” the Cardinal is (and will) inflict on devout Catholics, so I won’t repeat the obvious.

What I am going to do is point out Scalia's errors.

First, she gives Biblical examples of people in sin that were “quietly” corrected by Jesus (neglecting to recall when Jesus made a whip and used it against people, flipping tables and emptying the temple area of those who disrespected his Father's Temple).

Then she has this to say about Dolan…

What about a bishop agreeing to be Grand Marshall in a Saint Patrick’s Day parade wherein homosexual groups — yes, even the sort of lobbyist homosexual groups over which Pope Francis expressed concern — will be included among the participants?

That’s pretty bad, right? For some it is causing scandal and confusion and calumny and they are loudly suggesting — in a way Jesus never would — that the bishop should repent, apologize, express contrition (things Jesus didn’t demand of the adulterous woman) and then resign his office. They want him to literally remove himself from the area, before his uncleanliness renders everyone else unclean.

“in a way Jesus never would” - ??  Really? 

"Get behind me Satan!" was probably not whispered by Christ to Peter so no one else would hear. 

Matthew 16

²¹ From then onwards Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day.²² Then, taking him aside, Peter started to rebuke him. 'Heaven preserve you, Lord,' he said, 'this must not happen to you.' ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because you are thinking not as God thinks but as human beings do.'

The Apostles corrected each other- loudly and publicly -remember Saint Paul to Saint Peter-the pope!?  Saint Paul didn’t hold back because Jesus didn’t hold back.  

We are (in the case of Dolan) talking about when a member of the CLERGY commits scandal.

“Those who commit these types of scandals are guilty of the spiritual equivalent of murder, but I'm here among you to prevent something far worst for you. While those who give scandal are guilty of the spiritual equivalent of murder, those who take scandal- who allow scandals to destroy faith- are guilty of spiritual suicide.” -- St. Francis de Sales

Another example she gives is about the Prodigal Son, suggesting that Cardinal Dolan leading a parade under gay pride banners is the same as the Prodigal son’s father running out to greet his REPENTING son who has seen the errors of his ways and returned to his father. This is truly cringe worthy...

Quote: I’m not sure a bishop has a choice but to run out to meet prodigals, regardless of motivating factors. The father wants everyone to come home and be with him. Once they’re at the doorstep, they may be encouraged to come in; once they’re inside, they can be talked with, nurtured, fed, encouraged, formed, and made whole. This cannot happen as long as they are off in the faraway places.

The key here, aside from the father running out to the prodigal son, is that he ran out while the son was still a long way off.Later in the story, the older son — obedient and responsible — feels shortchanged and resentful, because the father has been so welcoming of the wastrel while barely noticing the elder son’s daily toil. And what does the father do? He goes out to his elder son, to reassure him that his faithfulness is seen and known. He tells him, “everything I have is yours” even while urging him to make his returning brother welcome.Because only in this way can his family eventually become whole, and holy.

Let’s be perfectly clear…gay rights supporters marching under gay pride banners in the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade are NOT- I repeat- are NOT prodigal sons HUMBLY returning to the father. 

They are in fact more like the sexually immoral mob pounding on Lot’s door demanding homosexual sex with the angels visiting Lot in Genesis 19! 

What was God’s response to that?  The complete destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah!

Scalia also paints Dolan at the now notorious dinner with Barack Obama as if he [Dolan] were Jesus eating with the Pharisees.

Quote: Understanding the circumstances surrounding any event plays hell with our easy judgments, doesn’t it?

Why would a bishop — say, for instance New York’s Cardinal Archbishop Timothy Dolan — participate in a political dinner that hosts real tax-collectors and known liars and sinners (as opposed to the less-obvious ones) and rather few actual holy men and women? Well for one thing, the dinner keeps the church present in a public square that would like to usher it out. One cannot speak to souls who bar you from the plaza. For another, it raises a huge amount of money for an organization that does a lot of good for people facing poverty and ruin. A bishop might risk causing “scandal and confusion” for the sake of those complicating, gray-inducing factors.Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”So Jesus ate and socialized, probably very pleasantly, with awful people. If we do not want to see a bishop seated next to a sinner unless that bishop is loudly consigning the sinner to hell, well then, we don’t want to see a bishop sitting next to anyone. And we do not want to see a bishop who models Christ Jesus.
But we were never supposed to want to be like the pharisees, nor expect it of our shepherds.

Again, Elizabeth Scalia is wrong. 

First her example is off.  Obama did not invite Dolan to a public dinner – Dolan invited the pro-abortion, forced HHS mandate on Catholics president to dinner.

Secondly, she COMPLETELY misses the point that the “sick” are those in sin seeking healing from the Physician.  If Jesus is the physician to heal them (and he is), he MUST tell them their sin (remember the woman at the well?) so they can confess and be healed! 

Did Dolan tell Obama over dinner that Obama was "sick" and needed to be healed?

Will Dolan go to those holding gay pride banners and tell them they are "sick" and need to be healed?   If you believe that will happen I have a bridge to sell you.

When Jesus ate with the Pharisees he corrected them at the dinner in front of everyone – did Dolan do that?

Luke 7 - ³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked Jesus^[j] to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. ³⁷ And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. ³⁸ She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” ⁴¹ “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii,^[k] and the other fifty. ⁴² When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus^[l] said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴ Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” 

Dolan did NOT do as Jesus Christ did.  Dolan joined in the celebration, eating and drinking with sinners without ever mentioning their sin or pointing out their errors.  He didn’t ask them if they wanted to be healed by Christ our physician.  He

didn’t even present himself as WORRIED for the souls at that dinner, rather he belly laughed with them, poised for photos and scandalized devout Catholics with the timing (remember what was going on at the time of this dinner 2012 election and the HHS abortion/birth control mandate being forced on Catholics) of his public cuddling with Barack Obama.

I am reminded more of Jesus’ teaching on the Seven Woes…

Matthew 23 - "Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ² “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; ³ therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. ⁵ They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. ⁶ They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi."

When the Faithful are scandalized REPEATEDLY by Catholic clergy there is a serious problem that must be addressed. Either the Catholic faithful are TOO pious or the clergy are truly scandalous.

Scandal:

Respect for the souls of others: scandal
2284 Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor's tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense.

 2285 Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."⁸⁶ Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office are obliged to teach and educate others. Jesus reproaches the scribes and Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in sheep's clothing.⁸⁷ 

2286 Scandal can be provoked by laws or institutions, by fashion or opinion. Therefore, they are guilty of scandal who establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of morals and the corruption of religious practice, or to "social conditions that, intentionally or not, make Christian conduct and obedience to the Commandments difficult and practically impossible."⁸⁸ This is also true of business leaders who make rules encouraging fraud, teachers who provoke their children to anger,⁸⁹ or manipulators of public opinion who turn it away from moral values. 

2287 Anyone who uses the power at his disposal in such a way that it leads others to do wrong becomes guilty of scandal and responsible for the evil that he has directly or indirectly encouraged. "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!

In light of the Church's teaching on scandal I do not believe the Catholic laity who are concerned with Dolan's scandalous behavior are "too pious", I believe they are spot on.


In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

Link: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a5.htm

Link: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2014/09/09/dolan-is-charged-to-model-christ-not-the-pharisees/

Link: http://www.catholic.org/bible/book.php?id=47&bible_chapter=16

Link: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/obama-tells-catholic-church-at-al-smith-dinner-tribulation-produces-perseve

Pope Francis and illegal immigrants rant

Posted by Connecticut Catholic Corner

Since Pope Francis has joined the ‘conversation’ about the tens of thousands of illegal immigrant children flooding into the United States I am going to get political for a moment.  I am sure this will be extremely unpopular with most, but I really don’t care.  I’m fed up so I am going to rant.

The Pope says the ILLEGAL immigrants must be “welcomed and protected”.  

Certainly we want them protected, but why would we ‘welcome’ uninvited ‘guests’ whom we can’t afford to care for, who bring sickness and disease, and who deplete our school systems and funds for the poor who are LEGALLY here?  This is an INVASION (as in UNWANTED), not an open border invitation to migration!  

These are NOT 'refugees' no matter how much a bleeding heart liberal wants to spin it that way.

I am not totally insensitive to these children, it’s a sad situation, but the answer is NOT allowing tens of thousands of ILLEGAL immigrants to walk into the United States and stay here. We simply can not be an open border nation that allows anyone and everyone to simply walk over the border and live here.  We have laws.  If someone wants to come live here DO IT LEGALLY.

And I have to ask Pope Francis, 'just who are YOU to judge us'?

Perhaps the Holy Father will welcome them to Vatican City?? 

I think that is a grand idea!

Grab some petty cash from the Vatican Bank, send it to the United States and we will HAPPILY put them all on planes to the Vatican.

How about that Holy Father?  Will YOU "welcome and protect" them all in Vatican City? 

I think not.

Pope’s statement (translated by Google so there are errors): 

   

Papal message on the occasion of  

"Mexico Holy See colloquium on human migration and development "Mexico City, 14 July 2014  I would like to extend my greetings to the organizers, speakers, and Participants in the "Mexico Holy See colloquium on human migration and development." Globalization is a phenomenon that challenges us, especially in one of its principal manifestations which is emigration. It is one of the "signs" of this time that we live in and that brings us back to the words of Jesus, "Why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"(Lk 12,57). Despite the large influx of migrants present in all continents and in almost all countries, migration is still seen as an emergency, or as a sporadic and circumstantial fact, while instead it has now become a hallmark of our society and a challenge.
That it is a phenomenon carries with it great promise and many challenges. Many people suffer forced to emigrate, and often, die tragically; many of their rights are violated, they are obliged to separate from their families and, unfortunately, continue to be the subject of racist and xenophobic attitudes.Faced with this situation, I repeat what I have Affirmed in this year's Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees: " A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed on the part of everyone, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalization - all typical of a throwaway culture - based on attitudes towards cultures of encounter, the only culture capable of building a better, blackberries just and fraternal world."
I would also like to draw attention to the tens of thousands of children who migrate alone, unaccompanied, to escape poverty and violence: This is a category of migrants from Central America and Mexico itself who cross the border with the United States under extreme conditions and in pursuit of a hope that in most cases turns out to be vain. They are increasing day by day. This humanitarian emergency requires, as a first urgent measure, these children be welcomed and protected. These measures, however, will not be sufficient, unless they are accompanied by policies that inform people about the dangers of a journey longer available and, above all, promote 'that their development in countries of origin. Finally, this challenge demands the attention of the international community entire So that new forms of legal and secure migration may be adopted.I wish every success to the laudable initiative of the Mexican government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in arranging a colloquium of study and reflection on the great challenge of migration and cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to All Those present.” –end quote-

Since I am sure our Holy Father has no intention of caring for even a single illegal immigrant child or cranking open the Vatican Bank to help pay for them, I suggest the following…

1)  Send back ALL the children/teens/adults we can (that is, if we can find the families).

2)  Put the United States military on our borders (as should have happened after 9/11) and REFUSE access to illegal immigrants WITH THE EXCEPTION of human sex trafficking.

3) The children, who arrived with adults to care for them, send them to inner cities with abandoned houses.  The Federal government will have to cough up the funds to fix up these abandoned properties (they are crime dens when left abandoned anyway) and allow them to live there WHILE THEY WORK.  If they don’t find a job on their own, they can work cleaning the streets of the cities they want the right to live in.

4) ALL illegal immigrant children who REMAIN in the United States (through foster care or adoption or with a parent) MUST JOIN THE MILITARY AND SERVE FOR AT LEAST FOUR YEARS to EARN their “RIGHT” to be here when they turn 18 years old.  Refuse and you are deported on your 18th birthday.

5) They do NOT get the RIGHT to vote until AFTER they have served four years in the military- they must EARN it because they came here illegally.

6) If they refuse any of these terms, we DUMP THEM on the Mexican border and forbid them from EVER coming back or becoming residents of the United States of America. Period.

Too harsh?  I don’t think so.  These people are TAKING/STEALING from ALL legal United State’s citizens the moment they entered ILLEGALLY.  They are bringing sickness and disease that harm OUR legal citizens.  They want to be here illegally?  Let them pay and pay well for it so that others will soon know it is no vacation to enter the United States illegally. 

Enter legally and you have all the freedoms and rights of a United States citizen, come illegally and you will pay for it dearly for many years.

And let’s be clear, these people are FLOODING our borders now, NOT to escape some sudden outbreak of violence, but rather because they heard a twisted version of Obama’s “DACA” policy to allow the children of illegal immigrants ALREADY LIVING HERE to stay and become citizens. The families of these children believe that Obama opened the borders to all kids and promised to make them U.S. citizens.  THAT is why they are flooding into this country now. So the Holy Father's statement about people being "forced to migrate" is WRONG and has ZERO to do with the reason illegals are coming into the United States right now.

The 10-page July 7 report was issued by the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), which according to the Justice Department website is led by the DEA and incorporates Homeland Security. Its focus is on the collection and distribution of tactical intelligence, information which can immediately be acted on by law enforcement.

"Of the 230 migrants interviewed, 219 cited the primary reason for migrating to the United States was the perception of U.S. immigration laws granting free passes or permisos to UAC (unaccompanied children) and adult females OTMs (other than Mexicans) traveling with minors,” the report said.

source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/16/misperceptions-about-us-immigration-policy-behind-surge-illegal-children-report/

Pray for this nation and for the illegal immigrants- pray that they go home and are welcomed and protected in their own homeland.  Pray that LEGAL immigrants always find the United States of America welcoming and protecting of them and THEIR RIGHT to be here- they earned it legally.

I've got nothing else to say on this matter.

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

Source: http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/07/15/pope_calls_for_protection_of_unaccompanied_child_migrants_/1102879

Source:

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2014/07/16/report-unaccompanied-minors-coming-to-us-for-amnesty-not-fleeing-violence-n1862799

Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deferred_Action_for_Childhood_Arrivals

7 Quick Takes Friday: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

--- 1 ---

The Good:

No words needed in my opinion, but if you want to read more: HERE

--- 2 ---

The Bad: For decades now our nation has fought to end smoking because of the damage it does to our health (lungs in particular and increased heart attacks). We’ve spent millions to educate our children against smoking and now I fear that most of that work has been for nothing.

 This week voters in several states have voted to legalize RECREATIONAL marijuana (note: this ‘Quick Take Friday’ is NOT about medical marijuana).

What message are we NOW sending our children? 

 Recreational cigarettes are harmful, but DOPE is not?

Read HERE and HERE about the serious life threatening dangers of "recreational" pot smoking.  This is nothing to ignore- today's "pot" isn't what the hippies of the 1960's smoked.

 This is a BAD idea that will have VERY BAD consequences.

--- 3 ---

The Ugly:

Canada’s Crackhead Mayor

(CNN) -- Just days after admitting he had smoked crack cocaine, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford found himself trying to explain more bizarre behavior. A video obtained by the Toronto Star and released Thursday shows the embattled mayor staggering around and making violent threats about some unknown person. "I'm going to kill that (expletive) guy. I'm telling you it's first-degree murder. ... He dies or I die, brother," Ford is heard saying in the video.

Someone really needs to step in and get this guy some help.

--- 4 ---

The Good: A nice warm stranger’s shoulder to nap on. On a Brooklyn bound Q-train a 65 year old Jewish man allowed a perfect stranger to take a nap on his shoulder.

"But there is only one reason that I didn’t move, and let him continue sleeping, and that has nothing to do with race. He was simply a human being who was exhausted, and I knew it and happened to be there and have a big shoulder to offer him." 

 He might be Jewish, but he'd make the Pope proud!

--- 5 ---

The Bad: "Bad" parents play a rotten Halloween "I'm sorry but I ate all your Halloween candy" prank on their children- thanks to Jimmy Kimmel.

[I couldn't do this to my own kids, but I am glad other parents did it to theirs. :)  Thanks for the laugh.]

 

--- 6 ---

The Ugly: Monster Typhoon Haiyan slamming the Philippines.

Prayers for all the people suffering there.

--- 7 ---

And finally, one that some are calling GOOD, some are calling BAD and I'm just calling it an UGLY non-apology.

 

 It's really UGLY when you lie, get caught LYING and refuse to admit you lied. Shame on you Mr. President, you're behavior is UGLY.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Leadership Or Idolatry? An Election Choice

"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

Just LISTEN to this priest, can you believe what he's saying?!!

The following homily by Fr. Sammie Maletta of St. John the Evangelist Parish in St. John, Indiana comes from the Creative Minority Report (one of my favorite Internet hangouts).

This priest holds nothing back about what Obama's administration is actually doing to Catholics and our nation. While I think the entire homily is fantastic, the 8 minute mark to the end had me cheering him on! Don't miss it!

Listen (there is nothing to watch) and then pass it on to other Catholics.





Well done Fr. Maletta, well done.

Notre Dame and Obama

I was recently reading an article by LifeSiteNews.com about the Obama/Notre Dame issue. Personally speaking, I think this article says it all perfectly and points out clearly WHY Obama should not speak at Notre Dame or be given an "honorary law degree".


I'd like to post a few quotes from the article that I feel are spot on, but please go to the link and read the whole article.

"Citing his grave concern over the President's support for anti-life policies, Bishop Coakley told LSN that he reminded University president Fr. John Jenkins of the USCCB directive that forbids Catholic schools from honoring those whose positions contradict the teachings of the Church.
"The University's invitation undermines the Catholic identity and mission of the institution," said Coakley."

"Last year, in Washington, D.C., Pope Benedict XVI addressed Catholic educators, including university presidents," wrote the bishop [Bishop Wenski]. "He said 'to justify positions that contradict the faith and teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission.'

"Father Jenkins, Notre-Dame's president, must have nodded off during the Pope's speech," he concluded."


And here is a list of Bishops (at the time of the article) who have already signed the petition to Notre Dame regarding this issue. I see only ONE Bishop from Connecticut so far, and I applaud him and thank him for standing up for what is right and setting the right example.

1. Bishop John D'Arcy - Fort Wayne-South Bend, IN

2. Bishop Samuel Aquila - Fargo, ND

3. Bishop Gregory Aymond - Austin, TX

4. Bishop Gerald Barbarito - Palm Beach, FL

5. Bishop Leonard Blair - Toledo, OH

6. Archbishop Daniel Buechlein - Indianapolis, IN

7. Bishop Robert Baker - Birmingham, AL

8. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz - Lincoln, NE

9. Archbishop Eusebius Beltran - Oklahoma City, OK

10. Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantú - San Antonio, TX

11. Bishop Paul Coakley - Salina, KS

12. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo - Houston, TX

13. Archbishop Timothy Dolan - New York, NY

14. Bishop Thomas Doran - Rockford, IL

15. Auxiliary Bishop John Dougherty - Scranton, PA

16. Bishop Robert Finn - Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO

17. Cardinal Francis George - Chicago, IL; President, USCCB

18. Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger - Evansville, IN

19. Archbishop José Gomez - San Antonio, TX

20. Bishop William Higi - Lafayette, IN

21. Archbishop Alfred Hughs - New Orleans, LA

22. Bishop Joseph Latino - Jackson, MS

23. Bishop Jerome Listecki - La Crosse, WI

24. Bishop William E. Lori - Bridgeport, CT

25. Bishop George Lucas - Springfield, IL

26. Bishop Robert Lynch - St. Petersburg, FL

27. Bishop Joseph Martino - Scranton, PA

28. Bishop Charles Morlino - Madison, WI

29. Bishop George Murry - Youngstown, OH

30. Archbishop John J. Myers - Newark, NJ

31. Bishop R. Walker Nickless - Sioux City, IA

32. Archbishop John C. Nienstedt - St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN

33. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien - Baltimore, MD

34. Bishop Thomas Olmsted - Phoenix, AZ

35. Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk - Cincinnati, OH

36. Bishop Kevin Rhoades - Harrisburg, PA

37. Bishop Alexander Sample - Marquette, MI

38. Bishop Edward J. Slattery - Tulsa, OK

39. Bishop Richard Stika - Knoxville, TN

40. Bishop Anthony Taylor - Little Rock, AR

41. Bishop Robert Vasa - Baker, OR

42. Bishop Thomas Wenski - Orlando, FL

Well done Bishops...

**all information derived from LifeSiteNews.com**