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EWTN Press Release

PRESS RELEASE


EWTN To Host Family Celebration in Birmingham, AL
Meet Raymond Arroyo, Danny Abramowicz and the “Crossing the Goal” team,
Marcus Grodi, Fr. Wade Menezes, Barbara McGuigan and many more!

Irondale, AL (EWTN) – EWTN Global Catholic Network will host its 10th free Family Celebration Aug. 8-9 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Ala.
This year’s theme, “Rejoice in Hope,” comes from Romans 12:12: “Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” and echoes the theme of Pope Benedict’s encyclical: “Saved by Hope.”
Those who attend can expect to rejoice in the roster of well-loved speakers. They include EWTN News Director and Mother Angelica Biographer Raymond Arroyo; Danny Abramowicz and his “Crossing the Goal” team; “Journey Home” Host Marcus Grodi, “Open Line” Host Barbara McGuigan, and Father of Mercy Wade Menezes, CPM, a network regular.
EWTN CEO and President Michael Warsaw will provide the welcome with “Bookmark” Host Doug Keck emceeing. Deacon Bill Steltemeier and Father Joseph Mary Wolfe will also be on hand for the always popular and insightful “Family Talk.”
In addition to this stellar lineup, Saturday night attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a live taping of a special edition of “Crossing the Goal” with its four co-hosts: Abramowicz, former NFL all-pro wide receiver and coach; Brain Patrick, whose “Son Rise Morning Show” airs on EWTN radio network; Curtin Martin, President and Founder of FOCUS; and Peter Herbeck, co-host of “The Choices We Face,” which airs on EWTN television.
Throughout the weekend, children will be entranced by special guest Rob Evans, a.k.a. “The Donut Man,” who, along with Brother Leo of “Hey Brother Leo” fame, will appear at the “EWTN Faith Factory” booth. In addition, “older kids” can line up to “Meet the Author” while browsing the EWTN Religious Catalogue shop.
Doors will open at 8 a.m. As always, there will be plenty of opportunities for confession as well as Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It’s a day no fan of EWTN will want to miss – and, best of all, it’s free!
For more information, please visit: http://www.ewtn.com/familycelebration/
EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 28th year, is available in over 148 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories. With its direct broadcast satellite television and radio services, AM & FM radio networks, worldwide short-wave radio station, Internet website http://www.ewtn.com/ and publishing arm, EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world.

EWTN Press Release

EWTN to Air Complete Coverage of Pope Benedict’s
Historic Trip to the Holy Land May 8 -15

Irondale, AL (EWTN) – EWTN Global Catholic Network will air complete coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s historic visit to Jordan and Israel May 8-15, 2009.
EWTN will follow the Holy Father across the region as he visits such sites as Bethany Beyond the Jordan, where Jesus Christ was baptized; the Grotto of the Annunciation, where Mary learned she would carry the Messiah; the presidential palace in Jerusalem, where the Holy Father will meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres; the Caritas Baby Hospital, the only pediatric hospital in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip that cares for poor children; the Aida Refugee Camp near Bethlehem, where the Holy Father will deliver an address, and much more.
Coverage will also include Pope Benedict’s meetings with numerous other heads of state, including the King and Queen of Jordan, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and with other religious leaders, including the Greek Orthodox, Latin and Armenian Catholic patriarchs, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, the chief rabbis of Israel, and many others.
EWTN News Director Raymond Arroyo will anchor the English coverage. Spanish coverage will be anchored by Alejandro Bermúdez, director of EWTN Noticias, EWTN’s Spanish news service, as well as director of the Catholic News Agency, and by Father Daniel Cardó Soria, chaplain of St. Malo Retreat Center in Lyons, Colorado, and an expert on the life and papacy of Pope Benedict.
For a complete television itinerary, with air times, please go to http://www.ewtn.com/tv/index2.htm. The event will be carried worldwide in English and Spanish on the EWTN television network, which is carried by EWTN’s cable affiliates, DirecTV, Dish Network, and AT&T U-verse. For a complete radio itinerary, please go to http://www.ewtn.com/radio/index.asp. The event will be carried on EWTN through Sirius Satellite Radio and EWTN AM & FM radio affiliates. In addition, the event will be streamed live on EWTN’s website (www.ewtn.com).
Media: For expert commentary on the Pope’s trip, or for a Catholic perspective on the most important news stories of the day, please contact EWTN at the numbers listed above.
EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 28th year, is available in over 148 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories. With its direct broadcast satellite television and radio services, AM & FM radio networks, worldwide short-wave radio station, Internet website www.ewtn.com and publishing arm, EWTN, is the largest religious media network in the world.

Update: "Frozen Embryo Adoption: Why Not?"

I received the following email response from my recent post "Frozen Embryo Adoption: Why Not?".

This is posted with permission from Edward J. Furton, M.A., Ph.D., Ethicist and Director of Publications at the National Catholic Bioethics Center.


Dear Julie:

Thank you for your comments about embryo adoption. The posting to which you were directed by Priests for Life was an initial response of The National Catholic Bioethics Center following the publication of Dignitas Personae. We initially thought that the Vatican had ruled against embryo adoption. We have since learned that this was not the case. The issue remains open for debate.

The press release of the Vatican and the talking points of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops both indicated that this remains an unsettled question. We will be adding further reflections on this topic at a later date.

Edward J. Furton, M.A., Ph.D.
Ethicist and Director of Publications
The National Catholic Bioethics Center
http://www.ncbcenter.org/
6399 Drexel Road
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19151
215-877-2660 (v)
215-877-2688 (f)
blocked::mailto:efurton@ncbcenter.org
Editor of Ethics & Medics
http://www.ncbcenter.org/em/
Editor-in-Chief of The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly
http://www.ncbcenter.org/ncbq.asp

The National Catholic Bioethics Center is a non-profit research and educational institute committed to applying the moral teachings of the Catholic Church to ethical issues arising in health care and the life sciences. The Center provides consultations to institutions and individuals seeking its opinion on the appropriate application of Catholic moral teachings to these ethical issues. Neither the Center's moral analyses nor any other project of the Center should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal or medical opinion or otherwise to engage in the practice of law or medicine, or other health care disciplines.

-end email response-

My thanks to Dr. Furton for taking the time to respond and share that information with myself and Connecticut Catholic Corner readers. It's much appreciated.

Frozen Embryo Adoption: Why not?

Have you wondered why the Catholic Church (which is completely 100% Pro-life) has put its foot down on frozen embryo adoptions? 

This isn't about creating more embryos with IVF, but about those already created - already conceived human beings frozen at the earliest stages of human development. What happens to them depends on how people view them. Are they human beings to be adopted or just a bunch of cells to be destroyed or used for scientific experiments?

As a Catholic, I accept all the teachings of my faith and trust that the Holy Spirit is guiding my Church in all it's teachings, thus doing God's Will and not mans will. While I accept all its teachings, I sometimes fail to understand them. This is my failing and not the Church's. It's OK to question things and admit not understanding something. I know that doesn't make anyone a "bad Catholic". I accept Church authority that it must know better than I do, but wish I could better understand it when it comes to one particular issue.

The one issue that has caused me confusion is frozen embryo adoptions. I totally understand and accept the Church's teaching on in vitro fertilization (IVF), that it isn't as God planned natural conception to be (to put it simply). I get that. My confusion comes with the fact that people (regardless of their faith) have already created these embryos - frozen conceived human beings - that have two options: 1) adoption which leads to life or 2) destruction which leads to their death.

I see Catholics and other pro-lifers marching with signs that say "Abortion Kills"- well so does letting these embryos be destroyed when they could be adopted and given life. So far, hundreds of thousands of frozen embryo human beings have been given life...my Church tells me this is wrong, but I can't help but feel happy those babies were born and not destroyed. Am I wrong? How am I wrong to celebrate a life saved from destruction? I just don't understand, I really don't. I have my own wonderful children that I thank God for daily, and I am not looking to adopt any embryos...so this isn't about me personally. It's about my struggle to understand the issue as a Pro-life Catholic woman who loves her Catholic faith.

I guess I am a person who looks at things in their most basic and simplest forms. This to me, is a case of life vs death. Two options, only one gives life. But the option in this case that allows for life, is the very option my Catholic faith forbids. This is something I have a hard time with.

Recently, I emailed Priests for Life to see if they could help me understand my Catholic faith's position on this issue. Here is my email to them and the response. (I have left out the person's name who emailed me).

My Comment: I understand the Church's position on Inv. Fertilization being wrong for Catholics, but I am having a hard time understanding it in light of embryo adoption. I see in the news that frozen embryos are available for adoption (thus giving them life and also making our courts view the embryos as adoptable human beings). My thought is that the life of the child outweighs the medical process as a moral issue. If frozen embryos are in need of adoption to give them life and save them from being destroyed why doesn't the Church allow this 'exception' (if you will) based on the life of the unborn child being the most important issue here. Seems like a life vs death issue. One option allows for life, the other is certain death to the conceived human being. Can you please explain this to me? Thank you and God bless all the work you do. -end-

The response from Priests for Life:

Thank you for writing to us at Priests for Life.

For more information on embryo adoption, please read the National Catholic Bioethics Center’s reflections on Dignitas Personae at http://www.ncbcenter.org/details_news.asp?idOfEvent=421.

Please continue to keep in contact with us so that we may work together for an end to abortion. Be assured of our prayers.

Sincerely,

---- -------
Priests for Life
Outreach Associate

****
Working link: http://www.ncbcenter.org/resources/information-topic/dignitas-personae/freezing-embryos/

First my thanks to Priest for Life for responding to me so quickly and for the work they do for the unborn every day. I appreciate the link and the information it provided, but I am still hoping a Catholic priest who happens to read this post will comment and tell me in plain simple terms why its better for these embryos to be destroyed rather than given life. I want to understand and I want to be at peace with this issue, but right now I am not.

I look forward to hearing any and all thoughts on this issue, whether they agree with me or not. Thanks and may God bless you all.

~Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner~

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**

Happy Easter!

Hi everyone! Some of you may be wondering where I've been and why there haven't been more topic issues posted by me lately. Well, one of the things I gave up for Lent was so much time online. I was limiting myself to posting only Catholic events and posts by Doug.


Now that Lent is over I will be posting more posts and answers comments and emails so please keep them coming!



I've got one Connecticut Health announcement- and it's a great one!

FREE DENTAL CARE!

Don't have insurance? Money tight or near nonexistant these days? Doesn't matter, come on in and get your FREE dental care!

WHERE: New Haven Citywide Public Field House (Atheltic Center)
480 Sherman Parkway
New Haven, CT

WHEN: April 17-18, 2009 - doors open at 5 PM

Presented by Connecticut Mission of Mercy

NO eligibility or income requirements, no appointments.
First come, first served.

Includes: fillings, cleanings, extractions, interim partial dentures (limited) and root canals.

For more information call: 866-539-9372 or visit http://www.csda.com/

**This is a project of the Connecticut Foundation for Dental Outreach and the Connecticut State Dental Association**

EWTN Holy Week Schedule

Highlights of EWTN’s Holy Week programming, including full coverage of this year’s “Way Of The Cross” from the Coliseum in Rome, are listed below:

HOLY THURSDAY:• Choral Meditations and Solemn Mass of the Lord's Supper (BNSIC) –The Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambi celebrates the Solemn Mass of the Lord's Supper live from The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. The Basilica Choir will offers a series of meditations preceding the Mass. Airs 5:30 p.m. ET, Thursday, April 9. •

The Easter Triduum: Ep1: Holy Thursday – Father John Corapi compares the Last Supper of Holy Thursday to the Passover. Airs 11 p.m. ET, Thursday, April 9.

GOOD FRIDAY:• Celebration of the Lord's Passion with Pope Benedict XVI – The Holy Father presides over the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at the Vatican Basilica in Rome. Airs 11 a.m. ET, Friday, April 10. •

Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion with the MFVA’s – The Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word preside over The Solemn Commemoration of the Lord's Passion live from The Our Lady of Angel's Monastery Chapel in Irondale, Alabama. Airs 4 p.m., Friday, April 10. •

Way of the Cross with Pope Benedict XVI –The Holy Father presides over The Stations of the Cross live from The Coliseum in Rome. Airs 3:15 p.m. ET, Friday, April 10. •

The Seven Last Words of Christ – This classical composition by Joseph Haydn features seven meditations on the last words of Jesus Christ. The Ottawa Chamber Music Society performs this rendition from Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa, Canada. Airs 2 p.m. ET, Friday, April 10. •

Life is Worth Living: Good Friday – Archbishop Sheen looks at three types of responses to Jesus' Crucifixion: apathy, sympathy, antipathy. Airs 7 p.m. ET, Friday, April 10. •

The Easter Triduum: Ep.2: Good Friday – Father Corapi talks about the Paschal Mystery-Christ's suffering, death and resurrection. Airs 11 p.m. ET, Friday, April 10.

HOLY SATURDAY:• Easter Vigil Mass with Pope Benedict XVI – The Holy Father celebrates The Solemn Easter Vigil Mass live from St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Airs 3 p.m. ET, Saturday, April 11. •

Easter Vigil Mass (BNSIC) – Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambi celebrates The Solemn Easter Vigil Mass live from The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. Airs 8 p.m. ET, Saturday, April 11. •

Passion in Jerusalem – A unique telling of the Easter story using footage from modern-day Jerusalem and Holy Week activities to recount the amazing story of man's salvation. Airs 11:30 a.m. ET, Saturday, April 11. •

The Easter Triduum: Ep.3: Holy Saturday – Father Corapi likens Christ’s time in the tomb on Holy Saturday to the darkness that is in the world today, but also to the Dark Night of the Soul through which we come closer to God. Airs 11 p.m. ET, Saturday, April 11.

EASTER SUNDAY:• Solemn Mass of Easter Sunday with Pope Benedict XVI – The Holy Father celebrates The Solemn Mass of Easter Sunday live from St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Airs 4:30 a.m. ET, Sunday, April 12. •

“Urbi et Orbi" Message and Blessing –The Holy Father gives the traditional Easter message and blessing "Urbi et Orbi" - 'to the city of Rome and to the world'- live from St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Airs 6 a.m. ET, Sunday, April 12.

For more information on Holy Week programming, please visit EWTN’s website, http://www.ewtn.com.

***This schedule comes from EWTN's 'WINGS' enewsletter***