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Showing posts from June, 2013

Francis praised Ratzinger: "He decided with courage and conscience" - Vatican Insider

Pope Francis prayed the Angelus on Sunday with faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square. In remarks before the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father spoke of the conscience as the interior space in which we can listen to and hear the truth, the good, the voice of God. Pope Francis praised his predecessor, Benedict XVI, as a model of docile attention to the voice of one’s conscience. “Pope Benedict XVI has given us a great example in this sense,” he said. “When the Lord had made it clear, in prayer, what was the step he had to take, he followed, with a great sense of discernment and courage, his conscience, that is the will of God speaking to his heart. Click on link below to read Pope Francis' entire text: Francis praised Ratzinger: "He decided with courage and conscience" - Vatican Insider
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Francis: "We need to grow in collegiality" - Vatican Insider

Clearly Francis is a pope who appreciates Vatican II!! Another wonderful sign that he will be the instrument to bring new life and spirit to the Church. BTW, did you know that 'collegiality' was a concept introduced to the Council by Canadian Bishops? Neat, eh? Francis: "We need to grow in collegiality" - Vatican Insider
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Voyager 1 located in strange, unexpected zone at edge of solar system | World | News | National Post

Voyager 1 located in strange, unexpected zone at edge of solar system | World | News | National Post
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Happy Anniver . . . ah forget it | Local | News | North Bay Nugget

"A North Bay man is one of four individuals who have been performing marriages for more than two decades without the proper licencing.   Daniel Bagley performed an undisclosed number of marriage ceremonies o from October 1990 to March 2013. The number of marriages Bagley performed wasn't released by Service Ontario, the agency conducting the investigation, however 818 marriages are affected." WOW!    How would you like to be one of these 818 couples and find out that you were never legally married? Does that mean that if they decided to go their separate ways they they wouldn't need a divorce? Click on the link below to see how at least one couple has responded to this unexpected news. Happy Anniver . . . ah forget it | Local | News | North Bay Nugget
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BIG BLUE WAVE: This is an atheist monument?

BIG BLUE WAVE: This is an atheist monument?
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Euphemisms: the modus operandi of death rights advocates | LifeSiteNews.com

George Orwell was right when he wrote that controlling the language of a debate is a sure way to get your way. It's a lesson that the pro-choice crowd used to great effect (after all, who can be against 'choice') and it seems that the pro-euthanasia crowd intend to use the same technique as well.  Euphemisms: the modus operandi of death rights advocates | LifeSiteNews.com
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Marriage, the Church & The Supreme Court | National Catholic Reporter

I'm posting this article to help those who are confusing the National Catholic REPORTER with the National Catholic REGISTER. The latter strives to promote an orthodox interpretation of the Catholic Church's positions while the former is more concerned with promoting a liberal agenda (just as this article does). The only columnist at the Reporter that is worth reading is John Allen... a writer whose work I always read whenever he posts a column. Marriage, the Church & The Supreme Court | National Catholic Reporter
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Across the Middle East, hatred between Sunnis, Shiites becoming more virulent - The Washington Post

Amid all the hysteria regarding the violence flowing out the Islamic world these day, it's often overlooked that this is essentially a civil religious war within that faith community. The attacks on the West pale in comparison to the many tens of thousands of Muslims who have died at the hands of the fellow Islamists. Here's an article that makes this point quite clearly.  Click on link below to read the entire article. Across the Middle East, hatred between Sunnis, Shiites becoming more virulent - The Washington Post
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Marriage Is Dead And The Church Is Next - NCRegister

Really? The Church is next? Actually this might just prove to be true. Look at what's happening now in Quebec, the first province to legalize same-sex marriages in Canada. The provincial government there has now introduced a 'charter' of secularism - an act that openly intends to drive the Church from the public square. If you doubt this, listen to the Premiere (Pauline Marois) in one of the many interviews she has given on the subject. She unabashedly states that the Church is an anachronistic vestigial remnant that no longer has any validity in the public forum. She uses our opposition to abortion, euthanasia, and same-sex marriage as evidence of her contention that the Church is no longer a 'progressive force for good' and should be consigned to the trash heap of history. So given that Quebec tends to run about 10 years ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to social legislation, it may well be that the Church is indeed about to face a threat to i
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The history of the swimsuit! An appropriate video given that summer's warm weather seems finally to have arrived.

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Two Catholic Men and a Blog: Catholic Phony

Peter Kreeft  has a fascinating way to describe how Catholics have been losing the culture war over the past few decades in a talk called “Winning the Culture War”, available on CD from  Lighthouse Catholic Media .  He describes how Satan plots to destroy Catholics à la Screwtape Letters. In case you are not familiar,  The Screwtape Letters  is a book by C.S. Lewis about an older demon, Uncle Screwtape, writing a series of letters to his nephew, Wormwood, about how to land a Christian in Hell. The talk begins by explaining that God is being itself and the goal of Satan is to move us away from true being or “the real”, and move us toward non-being or “the unreal”. Moving toward the unreal makes us phony, and he used the acronym of  P-H-O-N-E-Y  to make some powerful points.   Ironically, even the acronym of PHONEY is phony since it’s spelled incorrectly. The speaker seems intelligent enough to have planned it this way, but whatever the case, it is a very clever approach to bringing out
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The 'execution' of Paula Deen shows how badly we have misplaced our outrage - U.s. - Catholic Online

Paula Deen This isn't a religious article but it deals with an important issue: the power of language to form our attitudes and beliefs. So look past the fact that this is a story about a celebrity cook and recognize that the changing use of language can have an effect on all of us. The 'execution' of Paula Deen shows how badly we have misplaced our outrage - U.s. - Catholic Online
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How Will Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Change Our Culture? | Daily News | NCRegister.com

I am uncertain as to the validity of this argument given our experiences here in Canada over the past decade. It seems as if the extension of marriage rights to same sex couples has not brought about the societal catastrophes predicted by some, but I doubt that SSM is as benign as its advocates suggest either. But even if the entire argument laid out in this article is imperfect, there are elements within it that are well worth considering. How Will Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Change Our Culture? | Daily News | NCRegister.com
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A re-purposing of a Romanian Catholic Church in the spirit of the Gospel as practiced by the Worker-Priest Movement

CATHOLIC GROUP OPENS 'HOUSE FOR HOSPITALITY' ALLIANCE, Ohio (AP) -- In 2012, the phone rang at Bishop John Michael Botean's office in Canton: It was an elderly parishioner from tiny St. Theodore's parish. "She said 'We've rolled our last cabbage roll; we can't do it anymore,'" Botean recalled. It was the end of a chapter in the story of the Romanian immigrants who came to Alliance to work in its steel mills and factories. "More and more parishes don't have the same kind of jobs that Romanians came here for 100 years ago," Botean said. However, the head of Romanian Catholic Diocese of Canton (Eastern Rite) said he saw the impending closing of St. Theodore's social hall as opportunity for a new outreach. Click on link below to read entire article.
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Show Catholic Courage at Work

NCRegister | Show Catholic Courage at Work
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Words to live by!

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Embryoscopy of a 9 week old babe in the womb: Still think that a fetus is not a human person? This video might change your mind. H/T Suzanne at Big Blue Wave

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Third Irish Roman Catholic priest commits suicide

Cranmer: Third Irish Roman Catholic priest commits suicide
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Has post-Vatican II catechesis of Catholic youth failed? - duh...YES it has!

Whenever I first approach a new school, I've taken to starting by giving the graduating class a little pop quiz consisting of three simple questions. 1. What is the 'Trinity'? 2. Is Jesus God? 3. What are the three principal divisions of clergy within the RC Church? To date, after 24 years of ministry, I have had a grand total of two students answer these three questions correctly. So YES! Post-Vatican II catechesis has indeed failed Catholic youth. Has post-Vatican II catechesis of Catholic youth failed? | The American Catholic
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Why is the Pope so Popular?

Why is the Pope so Popular? | RELEVANT Magazine
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Doubts over future of Catholic weddings as Lords revisit gay marriage bill - Telegraph

Will Fr. Homer be forced to officiate at gay weddings? "Catholic bishops were advised earlier this year that they might have to stop carrying out weddings in the way that they currently do if they wish to avoid being taken to court under human rights laws. The church’s legal advisers said that the uncertainty could even lead to Catholic couples being forced to get married twice – once in front of a civil registrar before a separate church service, as happens in France and elsewhere. The problem is confusion over whether Catholic priests are acting as “public” officials when they carry out weddings, under a legal arrangement dating back 120 years. Catholic bishops and other church leaders have been vocal opponents of the plans for same-sex marriage and have made clear that they do not wish to carry them out. The Government’s same-sex marriage bill includes legal protections to ensure that no priest or church will be “compelled” to carry them out." Click on link below to rea
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Two exes, one house: How they still live side-by-side - A most creative solution to a tragic situation... one which places the interests of the children first!

Given the swelling number of families facing the financial and social challenges of how to live after a divorce with young children, I wonder if some real estate developer might start building such units for sale or rent. Perhaps a new market for contractors who could retro-fit urban housing to meet this untapped market could help fuel the economic activity which would keep both spouses employed in the proximate region to where they live. I've actually seen a similar application in old church rectories where door could be locked on both sides to separate the clerics and the live-in staff in their respective living quarters. Who knew the same architecture would work to facilitate the successful parenting by divorced spouses! Two exes, one house: How they still live side-by-side | CTV News
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Happy times in the family!

I'm away from home this weekend attending the wedding of my niece in Port Elgin, Ontario. I'll resume postings on the blog on Monday. Please say a prayer for the success of this marriage and for a long and happy life for the couple, Alanna and Adam Davidson.
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Pro-life protester Linda Gibbons arrested outside Morgentaler abortion site | LifeSiteNews.com

Pro-life protester Linda Gibbons arrested outside Morgentaler abortion site | LifeSiteNews.com
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Russia passes anti-gay law, activists detained | Reuters

Pierre Trudeau said it best with his snappy phrase "The State has no place in the bedrooms of the nation" when, as Justice Minister in the L.B. Pearson government, he changed Canada's Criminal Code* to remove homosexual acts as punishable offenses. As a Catholic priest I believe that homosexual acts - like all extra-marital sexual acts - to be a grave sin and an immoral act. But they shouldn't be considered a crime. Doing so grants too much power to the State to interfere in the intimate lives of its citizens. The State must have limits. If a house is supposed to be a man's castle - and if a citizen's sexual partner is another adult capable of freely consenting to participate , then the State has no business saying it's a criminal offense . These matters will be settled in a court far beyond the competence of any State's at a hearing we all will eventually face with Christ as our judge. That verdict is sufficient to deal with the consequences of a
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To Puff or Not to Puff | Daily News | NCRegister.com

Here's an interesting application of that old teaching that says just because something is legal doesn't necessarily mean that it's moral. I've battled a (so far losing) battle against tobacco down through the years. At one point I actually succeeded for more than 15 years before I fell off the wagon, and have bounced off and on ever since. The mornings spent coughing up half a lung every morning sadly demonstrates the long term detrimental effects of tar and smoke on my health. I doubt that marijuana smoke is any less damaging than tobacco - and will carry the same significant long term health consequences for smokers. Given that we are obliged to respect our bodies as a moral obligation, pot smoking would be as immoral as smoking cigarettes. To Puff or Not to Puff | Daily News | NCRegister.com
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The Ten Commandments lead to true freedom - not doom us to a life of frustrated desires

Here is a story about Pope Francis' recent reflection on the liberating reality of accepting and forming one's life in accordance with the Ten Commandments. http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=18103
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Number 59 and Number 95077 - Reflections inspired by the death of Henry Morgentaler

"I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion is already born – RONALD REAGAN In the eyes of the Third Reich administrators in the Nazi death camps of Auschwitz and Dachau, the numbers tattooed on the left forearms of Jewish prisoners was a means of identifying and keeping track of the millions of Jews who were being herded into these facilities like cattle, by train, day after day. But numbers meant more than that. To the henchmen of Hitler, the Jews were nothing, the veritable scum of the earth, ethnic debris – not human, no personhood, merely numbers. After the forced disembarkation from the trains, Jews were systematically shoved into one of two lines. Most women, children, older men, and those who were unhealthy were sent to the left. This was the lineup that led to immediate death in the gas chambers and cremation in the gas ovens. The smoke stacks of Auschwitz burned day and night as more than one million Jews were exterminated there. When Henry was forced off the
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Baptists plan exodus from Boy Scouts – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

This the wrong approach. First off, Baptists seem to be saying that they believe the witness (even if there were any... which I doubt would happen) of gay Boy Scouts would somehow harm straight Scouts. That simply is wrong on its face as these kids are together in many other venues (school, sports teams, etc.) without incident. There is no reason to believe that in an adult supervised activity like a Scout meeting that it would be any different. Secondly, how about the effect of a Christian witness on the gay kids? If leaders and scouts are living a Christian life, their values may be taken up by others who witness their love for each other. Finally, they are throwing out the baby with the bath water. Scouting has benefited untold numbers of kids over the generations. It is an evident and obvious good. Why would Baptist parents deny their kids that experience just because they might encounter the same gay kids they live and work with each day in other milieus? It doesn't make
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Sociologist, priest, novelist Andrew Greeley, 85, dies - Chicago Tribune

When it came to Greeley's sociological books, it was argued that he never had an unpublished thought. With his novels, he never had an unpublished fantasy! Either way, remember to pray for another priest who now is called by the eternal priest to give an accounting for his life and ministry. Fr. Greeley, like all priests needs all the help we can get when that day comes to aid us for our short-comings. Sociologist, priest, novelist Andrew Greeley, 85, dies - Chicago Tribune
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